Some of these have fallen into my hands, by an accident
which it is needless at present to mention; and one of these very
stories, with its prelude in the words of Mr. Knickerbocker, I
undertook to read, by way of acquitting myself of the debt which I
owed to the other story-tellers at the Hall. I subjoin it, for such of
my readers as are fond of stories.[12]
[Footnote 12: I find that the tale of Rip Van Winkle, given in the
Sketch-Book, has been discovered by divers writers in magazines to
have been founded on a little German tradition, and the matter has
been revealed to the world as if it were a foul instance of plagiarism
marvellously brought to light. In a note which follows that tale, I
had alluded to the superstition on which it was founded, and I thought
a mere allusion was sufficient, as the tradition was so notorious as
to be inserted in almost every collection of German legends. I had
seen it myself in three. I could hardly have hoped, therefore, in the
present age, when every source of ghost and goblin story is ransacked,
that the origin of the tale would escape discovery. In fact, I had
considered popular traditions of the kind as fair foundations for
authors of fiction to build upon, and made use of the one in question
accordingly, I am not disposed to contest the matter, however, and
indeed consider myself so completely overpaid by the public for my
trivial performances, that I am content to submit to any deduction,
which, in their after-thoughts, they may think proper to make.
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