“ The works of fiction which seem to have principally engaged the public attention, are what may be called historical legends; and it is no wonder, since the legends of their own country have been so well received by the British public, that authors should be found to write and translate, and booksellers to publish, those of other countries.
The “Popular Tales” is not the first work of this nature which is of German origin; in the beginning of the preceding year, a book made its appearance, entitled “German Popular Stories;” ”

“ Antonia, from a spoiled child becomes a tyrannical mistress; a desire of revenging herself, and the temptations of a sorceress, induce her to become leagued with the powers of darkness; but far from obtaining happiness, she increases her misery ”

“ We know but one way of making gold, and that a very tedious one; instead of obtaining the universal medicine, we get but an alcahest, and that of human life. Whether the author intended to ridicule alchemy, or to intimate his superior knowledge, we must leave to the readers of Theophrastus, Raymond Lully, George Ripley, Basil Valentine, and Van Helmont ”

“ The Fatal Marksman—is of a very gloomy cast, but still well told; it turns upon a superstition not uncommon in England, that a gun which has killed a man, or balls which have killed game, if recast, will do the same again. ”

“ The Spectre Barber—is the most finished story in the collection, and seems to be formed upon two or three legends, which, if not of English origin, were so far naturalized as to have been quite familiar to us in our younger days. The legend of the barber himself seems, however, at any rate to be of German origin.
The Magic Dollar—is founded upon a tradition still very current in Germany, and bears some resemblance to the Bottle Imp. ”

“ Guilt is universally punished, unless repentance, and that grand sign of it, restitution as far as power permits, succeed. Irresolution and timidity bring the person into difficulties and dangers.—But a better idea may be formed of the nature of the work, by a short critique upon each tale. The first volume contains six tales, viz. The Treasure-seeker, the Bottle Imp, the Sorcerers, the Enchanted Castle, Wake not the Dead, and Auburn Egbert. ”