"Mr. Emerson arrived from Concord. He said he took it for granted we
should be occupied at that hour, but he would seize the moment to look
over his papers. So I begged him to go into the small study and find
quiet there as long as he chose.... Presently Emerson came down to
tea; the curtains were drawn, and a few guests arrived. We sat round
the tea table in the library, while he told us of ----'s life in
Berlin, where Mr. and Mrs. Hermann Grimm and Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft had
opened a pleasant social circle for him. He also talked much of the
Grimms. His friendship for Hermann Grimm had extended over many years,
and an interesting correspondence has grown up between them. More
guests arrived, and the talk became general until the time came to
listen to 'Amita.'"
The charm of that reading can never be forgotten by those who heard
it. The paper itself can now be found upon the printed page; but
Emerson's enjoyment of his own wit, as reflected back from the faces
of his listeners, cannot be reproduced, nor a kind of squirrel-like
shyness and swiftness which pervaded it.