L'ENVOI.
Of the four dramas in this volume, two have hitherto
remained unpublished. “Madonna Pia” was written
many years ago with a view to performance. It was
suggested by a powerful dramatic sketch called
“Malaria,” in one Act, which had a short life upon the
Paris stage. To this sketch two Acts were prefixed, and
to these the original, which forms the third Act, was
fitted with some necessary adaptations. “The Gladiator
of Ravenna,” probably the finest piece of dramatic
writing produced on the modern German stage, was
translated many years ago, and printed for private circulation.
“King René's Daughter,” from the Danish
of Henrik Hertz, having run through two editions, a
third has been called for, and it has been included in
the present volume. The translation of “The Camp
of Wallenstein,” which appeared in ‘Blackwood's Magazine,’
has been added to make it accessible in a more
convenient form.
