Readersareimpatienttohavedonewiththesemiscellaneouspreludings，andtobeoncedefinitelyunderway，suchaJourneylyingahead。Yes，readers；aJourneyindeed！And，atthispoint，permitmetowarnyouthat，wheretheground，whereDryasdustandtheDestinies，yieldanythinghumanlyillustrativeofFriedrichandhisWork，onewillhavetolinger，andcarefullygatherit，evenashere。Largetractsoccur，bestrewnwithmerepedantisms，diplomaticcobwebberies，learnedmarine—stores，andinhumanmatter，overwhichweshallhavetoskipempty—handed:thisalsowasamongthesadconditionsofourEnterprise，thatithastogonowtooslowandagaintoofast；notinproportiontonaturalimportanceofobjects，buttoseveralinferiorconsiderationswithal。SobusyhasperverseDestinybeenonit；perverseDestiny，edaciousChance；——andtheDryasdusts，too，andNightmares，inPrussiaaselsewhere，weknowhowstrongtheyare！
Friedrich’scharacterinoldagehasdoubtlessitscuriousaffinities，itsdisguisedidentities，withtheseprognosticfeaturesandindicationsofhisyouth:andtoourreaders，——ifwedoevergetthemtothegoal，ofseeingFriedrichalittlewiththeirowneyesandjudgments，——theremaybepleasantcontrastsandcomparisonsofthatkindinstore，oneday。Butthefarcommonerexperience（whichalsohasbeenmyown），——hereisSmelfungus’ssternaccountofthat:——
\"Myfriend，youwillbeluckierthanI，if，aftertenyears，nottosay，inasense，twentyyears，thirtyyears，ofreadingandrummaginginthosesadPrussianBooks，ancientandnew（whichoftenarelaudablyauthentic，too，andexactastodetails），youcangatheranycharacterwhateverofFriedrich，inanyperiodofhislife，orconceivehimasaHumanEntityatall！Itisstrange，aftersuchthousand—foldwriting，butitistrue，hisHistoryisconsiderablyunintelligibletomankindatthishour；leftchaotic，enigmatic，inagoodmanypoints，——themilitarypartofitalonebeingbroughttoclearness，andrenderedfairlyconceivableandcredibletothosewhowillstudy。AndastotheManhimself，orwhathisrealPhysiognomycanhavebeen——！Well，itmustbeownedfewmenwereofsuchRAPIDITYoffaceandaspect；sodifficulttoseizethefeaturesof。Inhisaction，too，therewassuchrapidity，suchsecrecy，suddenness:amanthatcouldnotberead，evenbythecandid，exceptasinflashesoflightning。Andthentheangerofby—standers，uncandid，whogothurtbyhim；thehastymalevolences，thestupidities，theopacities:enough，inmoderntimes，whatissayingmuch，perhapsnoman’smotives，intentions，andprocedurehavebeenmorebelied，misunderstood，misrepresented，duringhislife。Nor，Ithink，sincethat，havemanymenfaredworse，bytheLimnerorBiographicclass，thefavorabletohimandtheunfavorable；orbeensosmearedofandblotchedof，andreducedtoamerebluranddazzlementofcross—
lights，incoherences，incredibilities，inwhichnothing，notsomuchasahumannose，isclearlydiscerniblebywayoffeature！\"——
Courage，reader，nevertheless；ontheabovetermsletusmarchaccordingtopromise。