THE COLD HEART _To face page_ DUTCH MICHAEL FELLING THE TREES 14 PETER'S DREAM 22 "HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH, THEY ASKED HIM" 24 "PETER MUNK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE PINE GROVE" 26 "THEN IN A FLASH A MONSTROUS WOODCOCK SWEPT DOWN FROM ABOVE AND SEIZED THE SNAKE IN ITS BEAK" 28 "YOU HAVEN'T QUITE HIT IT, CHARCOAL PETER" 30 PETER GAMBLING AT THE INN 36 "SO HERE WE ARE AT THE END OF IT ALL" 40 "THEN THE MONSTER STRETCHED FORTH AN ARM AS LONG AS A WEAVER'S BEAM AND A HAND AS BROAD AS A LARGE TABLE" 46 "AH, HAVE MERCY, GOOD LADY AND GIVE ME A DRINK OF WATER" 58 "BUT SCARCELY HAD HE UTTERED THESE WORDS THAN THE GLASS MANIKIN SUDDENLY BEGAN TO INCREASE IN SIZE AND STATURE" 62 "AND AS HE PRAYED MICHAEL DECREASED MORE AND MORE IN SIZE, FALLING TO THE GROUND" 68 "LOOK ONCE MORE AROUND, PETER MUNK!" 72 INTRODUCTION LOUIS ADELBERT VON CHAMISSO In 1813 Europe was busy watching the career of the Corsican Giant--which was nearing its end. Having reached the summit of power, and put his foot on the neck of Europe, Napoleon was suddenly hurled down from his dizzy height. And yet in the midst of stirring events and the din of arms, people found time to pay attention to important literary productions. A curious book, "The Strange Narrative of Peter Schlemihl," by Louis Adelbert von Chamisso, which made its first appearance in Germany in 1813, aroused an ever increasing interest, in spite of the distraction of the public mind, until the name of the author became world-famous.