ADVERTISEMENT
THE first idea of this Romance was suggested by
the story of the Santon Barsisa, related in The
Guardian.--The Bleeding Nun is a tradition still
credited in many parts of Germany; and I have
been told, that the ruins of the Castle of Lauenstein,
which She is supposed to haunt, may yet be seen
upon the borders of Thuringia.--The Water-King,
from the third to the twelfth stanza, is the fragment
of an original Danish Ballad--And Belerma and
Durandarte is translated from some stanzas to be
found in a collection of old Spanish poetry, which
contains also the popular song of Gayferos and
Melesindra, mentioned in Don Quixote.--I have
now made a full avowal of all the plagiarisms of
which I am aware myself; but I doubt not, many
more may be found, of which I am at present
totally unconscious.