Part 25

Since 1889, the drama has occupied the foreground of interest in Germany. The permanent repertory of the German theatre has not, it is true, been much enriched, but it is at least to the credit of contemporary German playwrights that they are unwilling to rest content with their successes and are constantly experimenting with new forms. Besides Hauptmann and Sudermann, the most talented dramatists of the day are Max Halbe (b. 1865), O.E. Hartleben (1864-1905), G. Hirschfeld (b. 1873), E. Rosmer (pseudonym for Elsa Bernstein, b. 1866), Ludwig Fulda (b. 1862), Max Dreyer (b. 1862), Otto Ernst (pseudonym for O.E. Schmidt, b. 1862) and Frank Wedekind (b. 1864). In Austria, notwithstanding the preponderant influence of Berlin, the drama has retained its national characteristics, and writers like Arthur Schnitzler (b. 1862), Hermann Bahr (b. 1863), Hugo von Hofmannsthal (b. 1874) and R. Beer-Hofmann (b. 1866) have introduced symbolistic elements and peculiarly Austrian problems, which are foreign to the theatre of north Germany.

The German lyric of recent years shows a remarkable variety of new tones and pregnant poetic ideas; it has, as is natural, been more influenced by the optimism of Nietzsche--himself a lyric poet of considerable gifts--than has either novel or drama. Detlev von Liliencron (1844-1909) was one of the first to break with the traditions of the lyric as handed down from the Romantic epoch and cultivated with such facility by the Munich poets. An anthology of specifically modern lyrics, _Moderne Dichtercharaktere_ (1885) by W. Arent (b. 1864), may be regarded as the manifesto of the movement in lyric poetry corresponding to the period of realism in fiction and the drama. Representative poets of this movement are Richard Dehmel (b. 1863), K. Henckell (b. 1864), J.H. Mackay (b. 1864 at Greenock), G. Falke (b. 1853), F. Avenarius (b. 1856), F. Evers (b. 1871), F. Dormann (b. 1870) and K. Busse (b. 1872). A later development of the lyric--a return to mysticism and symbolism--is to be seen in the poetry of Hofmannsthal, already mentioned as a dramatist, and especially in Stefan George (b. 1868). Epic poetry, although little in harmony with the spirit of a realistic age, has not been altogether neglected. Heinrich Hart (1855-1906), one of the leading critics of the most advanced school, is also the author of an ambitious _Lied der Menschheit_ (vols. 1-3, 1888-1896); more conservative, on the other hand, is _Robespierre_ (1894), an epic in the style of Hamerling by an Austrian, Marie delle Grazie (b. 1864). Attention may also be drawn to the popularity which, for a few years, the so-called _Uberbrettl_ or cabaret enjoyed, a popularity which has left its mark on the latest developments of the lyric. Associated with this movement are O.J. Bierbaum (1865-1910), whose lyrics, collected in _Der Irrgarten der Liebe_ (1901), have been extraordinarily popular, E. von Wolzogen (b. 1855) and the dramatist F. Wedekind, who has been already mentioned.

Whether or not the work that has been produced in such rich measure since the year 1889--or however much of it--is to be regarded as a permanent addition to the storehouse of German national literature, there can be no question of the serious artistic earnestness of the writers; the conditions for the production of literature in the German empire in the early years of the 20th century were eminently healthy, and herein lies the best promise for the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--(a) _General Histories_, _Anthologies_, &c.: A. Koberstein, _Grundriss der Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur_ (1827; 5th ed. by K. Bartsch, 5 vols., 1872-1874; 6th ed., vol. i., 1884); G.G. Gervinus, _Geschichte der poetischen Nationalliteratur der Deutschen_ (5 vols., 1835-1842; 5th ed. by K. Bartsch, 1871-1874); A.F.C. Vilmar, _Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur_ (1848; 25th ed., 2 vols., 1900, with a continuation by A. Stern); W. Wackernagel, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur_ (1851-1855; 2nd ed. by E. Martin, 1879-1894); K. Goedeke, _Grundriss zur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung_ (3 vols., 1857-1881; 2nd ed. by E. Goetze and others, in 9 vols., 1884 ff.); W. Menzel, _Deutsche Dichtung von der altesten bis auf die neueste Zeit_ (1858-1859); H. Kurz, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur mit ausgewahlten Stucken_ (3 vols., 1857-1859; 7th ed., 4 vols., 1876-1882); O. Roquette, _Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung_ (2 vols., 1862; 3rd ed., 1878-1879); W. Scherer, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur_ (1883; 10th ed., 1905). English translation by Mrs F.C. Conybeare (2 vols., 1885; new ed., 1906); Kuno Francke, _German Literature as determined by Social Forces_ (1896; 6th ed., 1903); F. Vogt and M. Koch, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur_ (1897; 2nd ed., 2 vols., 1903); J.G. Robertson, _History of German Literature_ (1902); A. Bartels, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur_ (2 vols., 1901-1902), with the accompanying bibliographical summary, _Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Literatur_ (1906). There are also histories of the literature of separate countries and districts, such as J. Bachtold, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur in der Schweiz_ (1887); R. Krauss, _Schwabische Literaturgeschichte_ (2 vols., 1897-1899); J.W. Nagl and J. Zeidler, _Deutsch-Osterreichische Literaturgeschichte_ (2 vols., 1899 ff.). The most comprehensive collection of German literature in selections is J. Kurschner, _Deutsche Nationalliteratur_ (222 vols., 1882-1898). Of general anthologies mention may be made of W. Wackernagel, _Deutsches Lesebuch_ (4 vols., 1835-1872; new ed., 1882 ff.), and F. Max Muller, _The German Classics from the Fourth to the Nineteenth Century_ (1858; ed. by F. Lichtenstein, 2 vols., 1886; new ed., 1906). For illustrations to the history of German literature, see G. Konnecke, _Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliteratur_ (1887; 2nd ed., 1895).

(b) _Special Periods_: i. _Old High German and Middle High German Periods_: R. Kogel and W. Bruckner, "Geschichte der althochdeutschen Literatur," and F. Vogt, "Geschichte der mittelhochdeutschen Literatur," in H. Paul's _Grundriss der germanischen Philologie_ (2nd ed., vol. ii. pt. i., 1901); F. Khull, _Geschichte der altdeutschen Dichtung_ (1886); J. Kelle, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur_, i.-ii. (1892-1896); R. Kogel, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters_, i. (1894-1897); W. Golther, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur von den ersten Anfangen bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters_ (in Kurschner's Deutsche Nationalliteratur, vol. 163, pt. i., 1892); W. Scherer, _Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert_, and by the same author, _Geistliche Poeten der deutschen Kaiserzeit_ (both works in _Quellen und Forschungen_, 1874-1875); O. Lyon, _Minne- und Meistersang_ (1882). There are numerous series of editions of medieval texts: K. Mullenhoff and W. Scherer, _Denkmaler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus den 8.-12. Jahrhundert_ (2 vols., 3rd ed., 1892); M. Heyne, _Bibliothek der altesten deutschen Literaturdenkmaler_ (14 vols., begun 1858); F. Pfeiffer, _Deutsche Klassiker des Mittelalters_ (12 vols., begun 1865), with the supplementary _Deutsche Dichtungen des Mittelalters_, edited by K. Bartsch (7 vols., 1872 ff.); K. Goedeke, _Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter_ (2nd ed., 1871); J. Zacher, _Germanistische Handbibliothek_ (9 vols., begun 1869); H. Paul, _Altdeutsche Textbibliothek_ (16 vols., begun 1882); _Deutsche Texte des Mittelalters_, ed. by the Berlin Academy (1904 ff.). Convenient editions of the Minnesang are K. Lachmann and M. Haupt, _Des Minnesangs Fruhling_ (4th ed. by F. Vogt, 1888), and K. Bartsch, _Deutsche Liederdichter des 12. bis 14. Jahrh._ (4th ed. by W. Golther, 1903).

ii. _From 1350-1700._--L. Geiger, _Renaissance und Humanismus in Italien und Deutschland_ (1882; 2nd ed. 1899); K. Borinski, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters_ (in Kurschner's _Deutsche Nationalliteratur_, vol. 163, ii., 1898); H. Palm, _Beitrage zur Geschichte der deutschen Literatur des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts_ (1877); C.H. Herford, _Studies in the Literary Relations of England and Germany in the Sixteenth Century_ (1886); C. Lemcke, _Von Opitz bis Klopstock_, i. (1871; 2nd ed. 1882); M. von Waldberg, _Deutsche Renaissance-Lyrik_ (1888), and _Die galante Lyrik_ (1885); F. Bobertag, _Geschichte des Romans in Deutschland_, i. (to 1700) (1877-1884); K. Borinski, _Die Poetik der Renaissance und die Anfange der literarischen Kritik in Deutschland_ (1886). A vast quantity of the literature of these centuries has been republished by the Stuttgarter literarischer Verein (founded in 1839), whose publications now number considerably over two hundred volumes; further, W. Braune, _Neudrucke deutscher Literaturwerke des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts_ (begun 1882); K. Goedeke and J. Tittmann, _Deutsche Dichter des 16. Jahrhunderts_ (18 vols., 1867 ff.), and _Deutsche Dichter des 17. Jahrhunderts_ (15 vols., 1869 ff.). A valuable anthology is K. Goedeke's _Elf Bucher deutscher Dichtung von Sebastian Brant bis auf die Gegenwart_ (2 vols., 1849). Since 1890 the _Jahresberichte fur neuere deutsche Literaturgeschichte_ have provided an exhaustive survey of all publications dealing with modern German literature. A useful practical bibliography for English readers, covering this and the succeeding periods, is J.S. Nollen, _A Chronology and Practical Bibliography of Modern German Literature_ (1903).

iii. _The Eighteenth Century._--J. Schmidt, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur von Leibniz bis auf unsere Zeit_ (4 vols., 1862-1867; 2nd ed. 1886-1890); J. Hillebrand, _Die deutsche Nationalliteratur im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert_ (3 vols., 1845-1846; 3rd ed. 1875); H. Hettner, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur im 18. Jahrhundert_ (4 vols., 1862-1870; 4th ed. by O. Harnack, 1893-1895); J.W. Schafer, _Geschichte der deutschen Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts_ (1855-1860; 2nd ed. by F. Muncker, 1881); J.K. Morikofer, _Die schweizerische Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts_ (1861); J.W. Lobell, _Entwickelung der deutschen Poesie von Klopstock bis zu Goethes Tod_ (3 vols., 1856-1865). There are also innumerable more special treatises, such as A. Eloesser, _Das burgerliche Drama_ (1898); O. Brahm, _Das deutsche Ritterdrama des 18. Jahrhunderts_ (1880), &c. Of collections of the literature of this and the following century, reference need only be made to the _Bibliothek der deutschen Nationalliteratur des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts_, published by Brockhaus (44 vols., 1868-1891), and _Deutsche Literaturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts_, edited first by B. Seuffert (1882-1894), and subsequently by A. Sauer.

iv. _The Nineteenth Century._--Th. Ziegler, _Die geistigen und sozialen Stromungen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts_ (1899; 2nd ed. 1901); R. von Gottschall, _Die deutsche Nationalliteratur des 19. Jahrhunderts_ (1854; 7th ed., 4 vols., 1900-1902); R.M. Meyer, _Die deutsche Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts_ (1899; 4th ed. 1910); R.M. Meyer, _Grundriss der neueren deutschen Literaturgeschichte_ (1902); C. Busse, _Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung im neunzehnten Jahrhundert_ (1901); R. Haym, _Die romantische Schule_ (1870; 2nd ed. 1906); G. Brandes, "Den romantiske Skole i Tyskland" (1873), and "Det unge Tyskland" (1890), in _Hovedstromninger i det 19de Aarhundredes Litteratur_, vols. ii. and vi. (German translations, 1887 and 1891; several subsequent editions, Danish and German; English translations, ii. 1903, and vi. 1905); R. Huch, _Die Blutezeit der Romantik (2nd ed. 1901), and Ausbreitung und Verfall der Romantik_ (1902); F. Wehl, _Das junge Deutschland_ (1886); J. Proelss, _Das junge Deutschland_ (1892); A. Bartels, _Die deutsche Dichtung der Gegenwart_ (7th ed., 1907); A. von Hanstein, _Das jungste Deutschland_ (2nd ed., 1901); J.F. Coar, _Studies in German Literature in the Nineteenth Century_ (1903); Ch. Petzet, _Die Blutezeit der deutschen politischen Lyrik_ (1903); H. Mielke, _Der deutsche Roman des 19. Jahrhunderts_ (4th ed., 1900); S. Friedmann, _Das deutsche Drama des 19. Jahrhunderts_ (2 vols., 1900-1903); B. Litzmann, _Das deutsche Drama in den literarischen Bewegungen der Gegenwart_ (4th ed., 1898). (J. G. R.)

GERMAN REED ENTERTAINMENT. The dramatic and musical entertainment which for many years was known in London by the title of "German Reed" was a form of theatrical enterprise deserving of commemoration in connexion with those who made it successful. Mr THOMAS GERMAN REED (born in Bristol in 1817, died 1888) married in 1844 Miss PRISCILLA HORTON (1818-1895), and in 1855 they started their entertainment at the "Gallery of Illustration," in Waterloo Place, London. From 1860 to 1877 they were assisted by JOHN ORLANDO PARRY (1810-1879), an accomplished pianoforte player, mimic, parodist and humorous singer; and the latter created a new type of musical and dramatic monologue which became very popular. His tradition was carried on after 1870 by MR CORNEY GRAIN (1844-1895), who, as a clever, refined, and yet highly humorous society entertainer (originally a barrister), was one of the best-known figures of his day. After the retirement of the elder German Reeds, their son, ALFRED GERMAN REED (1846-1895), himself a capital actor, carried on the business in partnership with Corney Grain. The "German Reed Entertainment"--which was always patronized by a large class of people, many of whom objected on principle to going or taking their children to a regular theatre or a music-hall--retained its vogue for forty years at Waterloo Place and at the St George's Hall, Regent Street. But the death of Mr Corney Grain almost simultaneously with Mr Alfred German Reed, in 1895, together with the changed public attitude towards the regular theatre, ended its career.

GERMAN SILVER or NICKEL SILVER, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, prepared either by melting the copper and nickel together in a crucible, and adding piece by piece the previously heated zinc, or by heating the finely divided metals under a layer of charcoal. To destroy its crystalline structure and so render it fit for working, it is heated to dull redness, and then allowed to cool. German silver is harder than silver; it resembles that metal in colour, but is of a greyer tinge. Exposed to the air it tarnishes slightly yellow, and with vinegar affords a crust of verdigris. At a bright red heat it melts, losing its zinc by oxidation unless protected from the atmosphere. At a heat above dull redness it becomes exceedingly brittle. German silver in various modifications of composition is much used in the arts. Alloys, of which about 50% is copper and the residue zinc and nickel in about equal proportions take a fine polish, and are used as imitation silver for knives and forks. With a somewhat higher proportion of copper an alloy is formed suitable for rolling and for wire. In Chinese _white silver_ or _packfong_ (paktong) the amount of copper is smaller, about 40%, with about 32% of nickel, 25 of zinc, and 2 or 3 of iron. German silver for casting contains 2 or 3% of lead, which like iron increases the whiteness of the alloy. German silver, having a high specific resistance and a low temperature coefficient, has been used for electrical resistance coils, and these qualities are possessed in a still greater degree in _manganin_, which contains manganese in place of zinc, its composition being 84% of copper, 12 of manganese and 4 of nickel. The addition of a trace of tungsten to German silver, as in _platinoid_, also largely increases the resistance.

GERMAN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA. This German possession is bounded W. by the Atlantic, N. by Angola, S. by the Cape province, E. by Bechuanaland and Rhodesia, and is the only German dependency in Africa suited to white colonization. It has an area of about 322,450 sq. m., and a population of Bantu Negroes and Hottentots estimated in 1903 at 200,000.[1] The European inhabitants, in addition to the military, numbered 7110 in 1907, of whom the majority were German.

_Area and Boundaries._--The boundary separating the German protectorate from the Portuguese possessions of Angola is the lower Kunene, from its mouth in 17 deg. 18' S., 11 deg. 40' E. to the limit of navigability from the sea, thence in a direct line, corresponding roughly to the lat. of 17 deg. 20' S., to the river Okavango, which it follows eastwards until the stream turns abruptly south (towards Lake Ngami). From this point a strip of German territory 300 m. long and about 50 m. broad, projects eastward until it reaches the Zambezi a little above the Victoria Falls. On the south this narrow strip of land (known as the Caprivi enclave) is separated from southern Rhodesia by the Kwando or Chobe river. On the east the frontier between British and German territory is in its northern half the 21st degree of E. longitude, in its southern half the 20th degree. This frontier is drawn through desert country. The southern frontier is the Orange river from its mouth to the 20 deg. E. The coast-line between the Kunene and Orange rivers is not wholly German. Just north of the tropic of Capricorn is the British enclave of Walfish Bay (q.v.). The northern part of the protectorate is known as Ovampoland, the central portion as Damara (or Herero) land; the southern regions as Great Namaqualand. These names are derived from those of the dominant native races inhabiting the country.

_Physical Features._--The coast-line is generally low and little broken by bays or promontories. In its entire length of about 800 m. it has no good natural harbour, and its bays--Angra Pequena, otherwise Luderitz Bay, Sierra Bay, Sandwich Harbour--are in danger of being filled with sand by the strong, cold, northerly coast current. Swakopmund is an artificial harbour at the mouth of the river Swakop. The small islands which stud the coast north and south of Angra Pequena belong to Great Britain. The coast-line is bordered by a belt of sand-dunes and desert, which, about 35 m. wide in the south, narrows towards the north. This coast belt is flanked by a mountain range, which attains its highest elevation in Mount Omatako (8972 ft.), in about 21 deg. 15' S., 16 deg. 40' E. N. E. of Omatako is the Omboroko range, otherwise known as the Waterberg. South of Omboroko, occupying the centre of the country, the range attains its highest average altitude. The following massifs with their highest points may be distinguished: Gans (7664 ft.), Nu-uibeb (7480 ft.), Onyati (7201 ft.), Awas (6988 ft.), Komas (5331 ft.) and Ganab (4002 ft.). In the S.E. are the Karas mountains, which attain an elevation of 6570 ft. The mountains for the main part form the escarpment of the great Kalahari plateau, which, gently rising from the interior towards the west, slopes again towards the south and north from the point of its highest elevation. The Kalahari plateau changes the undulating character it has in the west to a perfect plain in the far east, where the watered and habitable country merges into the sterile Kalahari desert. In the northern half of the country the central plateau contains much rich grass-land, while in the north-eastern region the Omaheke desert has all the characteristics of the Kalahari.

There are no rivers of importance wholly within German South-West Africa. The Kunene (q.v.) has but a small portion of the southern bank in the colony, and similarly only part of the northern bank of the Orange river (q.v.) is in German territory. Several streams run south into the Orange; of those the chief is the Great Fish river, which has a course of nearly 500 m. Both the Kunene and the Orange carry water all the year round, but are not navigable. Neither is the Great Fish river, which, however, is rarely dry. The Okavango, which comes from the north and runs towards Ngami (q.v.), is perennial, but like the Kunene and Orange, belongs only partly to the hydrographic system of the country. From the inner slopes of the coast chain many streams go N.E. to join the Okavango. They cross the Omaheke waste and are usually dry. Ovampoland has a hydrographic system connected with the Kunene, and, in seasons of great flood, with that of Ngami. Before the Kunene breaks through the outer edge of the plateau, it sends divergent channels south-east to a large marsh or lake called Etosha, which is cut by 17 deg. E. and 19 deg. S. Of these channels the Kwamatuo or Okipoko, which is perennial, enters Etosha at its N.W. corner. The lake when full extends about 80 m. W. to E. and 50 m. N. to S. From its S.E. corner issues the Omuramba, which divides into two branches, known respectively as the Omaheke and the Ovampo. These streams have an easterly direction, their beds, often dry, joining the Okavango. The other rivers of the protectorate have as a rule plenty of water in their upper courses in the rainy season, though some river beds are dry for years together. After a heavy thunderstorm such a river bed will be suddenly filled with a turbid current half a mile wide. The water is, however, before long absorbed by the thirsty land. Only in exceptionally rainy years do the streams which cross the sand belt carry water to the ocean. But in the sand which fills the river beds water may be obtained by digging. Of rivers running direct to the Atlantic the Little Fish river enters the sea at Angra Pequena and the Kuisip in Walfish Bay. The Swakop rises in the hills near the Waterberg, and north of it is the Omaruru, which carries water for the greater part of the year. Hot springs are numerous, and it is remarkable that those of Windhoek flow more copiously during the dry than the rainy season. There are also many cold springs, and wells which contain water all the year.

_Geology._--Gneiss and schist, with intrusive granites and porphyries, overlain to a great extent by sand and lateritic deposits, occupy the coast belt, coast mountains and the plateau of Damaraland. In the Huib and Han-ami plateaus of Great Namaqualand the crystalline rocks are overlain by sandstones, slates, quartzites and jasper rocks, and these in turn by dolomites. They are probably equivalent to the Transvaal and Pretoria series (see TRANSVAAL: _Geology_). The next oldest rocks are of recent geological date. The Kalahari Kalk, which extends over large areas to the south-east of Ovampoland, may be of Miocene age, but it has not yielded fossils. Extensive tracts of alluvium occur in the basin of the Ovampo, while the dunes and sand-tracts of the Kalahari occupy the eastern regions.

_Climate._--On the coast the mean temperature is low, and there is little rainfall. Moisture is supplied by dense fogs, which rise almost daily. South-west winds prevail. Inland the climate is temperate rather than tropical, with bracing, clear atmosphere. There are considerable differences of temperature between day and night, and two well-marked seasons, one cold and dry from May to September, the other hot and rainy from October to April. In winter ice frequently forms during the night on open water on the plateau, but it never remains all day. The yearly rainfall is about 20 in. in the Damara Hills; there is more rain in the north than in the south, and in the east than in the west. In the greater part of the colony the climate is favourable for European settlement.

_Flora and Fauna._--The vegetation corresponds exactly with the climate. In the dry littoral region are plants able to exist with the minimum of moisture they derive from the daily fog--_Amarantaceae_, _Sarcocaula_, _Aloe dichotoma_, _Aristida subacaulis_ and the wonderful _Welwitschia_. Farther inland are plants which spring up and disappear with the rain, and others whose roots reach permanent water. The former are chiefly grasses, the latter exist almost solely in or near river-beds. Amongst the fine trees often seen here, the ana tree (_Acacia albida_) is the most noteworthy, its seeds being favourite fodder for all domestic animals. _Acacia giraffae_, _Ac. horrida_, _Adansonia sterculia_, near the Kunene the _Hyphaene ventricosa_, deserve special notice. The vegetation in the mountain valleys is luxuriant, and towards the north is of a tropical character. The palm zone extends a considerable distance south of the Kunene, and here vegetation spreads over the sand-dunes of the coast plain, which are covered with grasses.

Large game, formerly abundant, especially pachyderms, is scarce. Of antelopes the following species are plentiful in parts: springbok, steenbok, kudu, rietbok, pallah; of monkeys, the _Cynocephalus porcarius_ is frequent. Various kinds of hyenas and jackals with fine fur (_Canis mesomelas_), also _Felis caracal_, abound. The spring-hare (_Pedestea caffer_) and rock-rabbit (_Hyrax capensis_) may often be observed. Of birds there are 728 species. Crocodiles, turtles and snakes are numerous.