deceive the father. We went up to the lad, who turned away and tried
to withdraw; but Liese brought him back, and he, too, when he was
undeceived, made the most extraordinary gestures. We went together to
the house. The table was covered, and the father was already in the
room. Olivia, who kept me behind her, stepped to the threshold and
said, "Father, have you any objection to George dining with us today?
but you must let him keep his hat on." "With all my heart!" said the
old man, "but why such an unusual thing? Has he hurt himself?" She led
me forward as I stood with my hat on. "No!" said she, leading me into
the room, "but he has a bird-cage under it, and the birds might fly
out and make a terrible fuss; for there are nothing but wild ones."
The father was pleased with the joke, without precisely knowing what
it meant. At this instant she took off my hat, made a scrape, and
required me to do the same. The old man looked at me and recognised
me, but was not put out of his priestly self-possession. "Aye, aye,
Mr. Candidate!" exclaimed he, raising a threatening finger at me;
"you have changed saddles very quickly, and in the night I have lost
an assistant, who yesterday promised me so faithfully that he would
often mount my pulpit on week-days." He then laughed heartily, bade
me welcome, and we sat down to table. Moses came in much later; for,
as the youngest spoiled child, he had accustomed himself not to hear
the dinner-bell. Besides, he took very little notice of the company,
scarcely even when he contradicted them. In order to be more sure of
him, they had placed me, not between the sisters, but at the end of the
table, where George often used to sit. As he came in at the door behind
me, he slapped me smartly on the shoulder, and said, "Good dinner to
you, George!" "Many thanks, squire!" replied I. The strange voice and
the strange face startled him. "What say you?" cried Olivia; "does he
not look very like his brother?" "Yes, from behind," replied Moses,
who managed to recover his composure immediately, "like all folks."
He did not look at me again, and merely busied himself with zealously
devouring the dishes, to make up for lost time. Then, too, he thought
proper to rise on occasion and find something to do in the yard and
the garden. At the dessert the real George came in, and made the whole
scene still more lively. They began to banter him for his jealousy,
and would not praise him for getting rid of a rival in me; but he was
modest and clever enough, and, in a half-confused manner, mixed up
himself, his sweetheart, his counterpart, and the _Mamsells_ with each
other, to such a degree, that at last nobody could tell about whom he
was talking, and they were but too glad to let him consume in peace a
glass of wine and a bit of his own cake.
[Side-note: The "New Melusina."]
At table there was some talk about going to walk; which, however, did
not suit me very well in my peasant's clothes. But the ladies, early
on that day already, when they learned who had run away in such a
desperate hurry, had remembered that a fine hunting-coat (_Pekesche_)
of a cousin of theirs, in which, when there, he used to go sporting,
was hanging in the clothes-press. I, however, declined it, externally
with all sorts of jokes, but internally with a feeling of vanity, not
wishing, as the cousin, to disturb the good impression I had made as
the peasant. The father had gone to take his afternoon-nap; the mother,
as always, was busy about her housewifery. But my friend proposed
that I should tell them some story, to which I immediately agreed.
We went into a spacious arbour, and I gave them a tale which I have
since written out under the title of _The New Melusina._[8] It bears
about the same relation to _The New Paris_ as the youth bears to the
boy, and I would insert it here, were I not afraid of injuring, by odd
plays of fancy, the rural reality and simplicity which here agreeably
surround us. Enough: I succeeded in gaining the reward of the inventors
and narrators of such productions, namely, in awakening curiosity, in
fixing the attention, in provoking overhasty solutions of impenetrable
riddles, in deceiving expectations, in confusing by the more wonderful
which came into the place of the wonderful, in arousing sympathy and
fear, in causing anxiety, in moving, and at last, by the change of
what was apparently earnest into an ingenious and cheerful jest, in
satisfying the mind, and in leaving the imagination materials for new
images, and the understanding materials for further reflection.
Should any one hereafter read this tale in print, and doubt whether it
could have produced such an effect, let him remember that, properly
speaking, man is only called upon to act in the present. Writing is an
abuse of language, reading silently to oneself is a pitiful substitute
for speech. Man effects all he can upon man by his personality,
youth is most powerful upon youth, and hence also arise the purest
influences. It is these which enliven the world, and allow it neither
morally nor physically to perish. I had inherited from my father a
certain didactic loquacity: from my mother the faculty of representing,
clearly and forcibly, everything that the imagination can produce
or grasp, of giving a freshness to known stories, of inventing and
relating others, nay, of inventing in the course of narration. By my
paternal endowment I was for the most part annoying to the company;
for who likes to listen to the opinions and sentiments of another,
especially a youth, whose judgment, from defective experience, always
seems insufficient? My mother, on the contrary, had thoroughly
qualified me for social conversation. The emptiest tale has in itself
a high charm for the imagination, and the smallest quantity of solid
matter is thankfully received by the understanding.
By such recitals, which cost me nothing, I made myself beloved by
children, excited and delighted youth, and drew upon myself the
attention of older persons. But in society, such as it commonly is,
I was soon obliged to stop these exercises, and I have thereby lost
but too much of the enjoyment of life and of free mental advancement.
Nevertheless both these parental gifts accompanied me throughout my
whole life, united with a third, namely, the necessity of expressing
myself figuratively and by comparisons. In consideration of these
peculiarities, which the acute and ingenious Doctor Gall discovered
in me according to his theory, he assured me that I was, properly
speaking, born for a popular orator. At this disclosure I was not a
little alarmed; for if it had been here well founded, everything that
I undertook would have proved a failure, from the fact that with my
nation there was nothing to harangue about.
[1] The German word is "Koth," and the whole object of the line is
to introduce a play on the words "Göthe," "Götter," "Gothen," and
"Koth."--_Trans._
[2] That is, towards _Germany_, Germany is _the Land_ by
pre-eminence.--_American Note_.
[3] Abbreviation for Frederica.--_Trans._
[4] The exclamation used on striking a bargain. It is, we believe,
employed by some trades in England.--_Trans._ [
F] The general custom of the country villages in Protestant Germany on
such interesting occasions.--_American Note._
[6] In the original his answer is "Guet," fur "Gut."--_Trans._
[7] Diminutive of Barbara.--_Trans._
[8] This is introduced in _Wilhelm Meister's Wanderjahre._--_Trans._
PART THE THIRD.
CARE IS TAKEN THAT TREES DO NOT GROW INTO THE SKY.
ELEVENTH BOOK.
After I had, in that bower of Sesenheim, finished my tale, in which the
ordinary and the impossible were so agreeably alternated, I perceived
that my hearers, who had already shown peculiar sympathy, were now
enchanted in the highest degree by my singular narrative. They pressed
me urgently to write down the tale, that they might often repeat it
by reading it among themselves, and to others. I promised this the
more willingly, as I thus hoped to gain a pretext for repeating my
visit, and for an opportunity of forming a closer connexion. The party
separated for a moment, and all were inclined to feel that after a
day spent in so lively a manner, the evening might fall rather flat.
From this anxiety I was freed by my friend, who asked permission to
take leave at once, in the name of us both, because, as an industrious
academical citizen, regular in his studies, he wished to pass the night
at Drusenheim, and to be early in the morning at Strasburg.
We both reached our night-quarters in silence; I, because I felt a
grapple on my heart, which drew me back; he, because he had something
else on his mind, which he told me as soon as we had arrived. "It is
strange," he began, "that you should just hit upon this tale. Did not
you remark that it made quite a peculiar impression?" "Nay," answered
I, "how could I help observing that the elder one laughed more than
was consistent at certain passages, that the younger one shook her
head, that all of you looked significantly at each other, and that
you yourself were nearly put out of countenance. I do not deny that I
almost felt embarrassed myself, for it struck me that it was perhaps
improper to tell the dear girls a parcel of stuff, of which they had
better been ignorant, and to give them such a bad opinion of the
male sex as they must naturally have formed from the character of
the hero." "You have not hit it at all," said he, "and, indeed, how
should you? These dear girls are not so unacquainted with such matters
as you imagine, for the great society around them gives occasion for
many reflections; and there happens to be, on the other side of the
Rhine, exactly such a married pair as you describe, allowing a little
for fancy and exaggeration; the husband just as tall, sturdy, and
heavy,--the wife so pretty and dainty, that he could easily hold her
in his hand. Their mutual position in other respects, their history
altogether, so exactly accords with your tale, that the girls seriously
asked me whether you knew the persons, and described them in jest. I
assured them that you did not, and you will do well to let the tale
remain unwritten. With the assistance of delays and pretexts, we may
soon find an excuse."
I was much astonished, for I had thought of no couple on this or the
other side of the Rhine; nay, I could not have stated how I came by the
notion. In thought I liked to sport with such pleasantries, without
any particular reference, and I believed that** if I narrated them, it
would be the same with others.
When I returned to my occupations in the city, I felt them more than
usually wearisome, for a man born to activity forms plans too extensive
for his capacity, and overburdens himself with labour. This goes on
very well till some physical or moral impediment comes in the way, and
clearly shows the disproportion of the powers to the undertaking.
[Side-note: Return to Strasburg.]
I pursued jurisprudence with as much diligence as was required to
take my degree with some credit. Medicine charmed me, because it
showed nature, if it did not unfold it on every side; and to this I
was attached by intercourse and habit. To society I was obliged to
devote some time and attention; for in many families I had fallen in
for much both of love and honour. All this might have been carried
on, had not that which Herder had inculcated pressed upon me with an
infinite weight. He had torn down the curtain which concealed from me
the poverty of German literature; he had ruthlessly destroyed so many
of my prejudices; in the sky of my fatherland there were few stars of
importance left, when he had treated all the rest as so many transient
candle-snuffs; nay, my own hopes and fancies respecting myself he had
so spoiled, that I began to doubt my own capabilities. At the same
time, however, he dragged me on to the noble broad way which he himself
was inclined to tread, drew my attention to his favourite authors, at
the head of whom stood Swift and Hamann, and shook me up with more
force than he had bound me down. To this manifold confusion was now
added an incipient passion, which, while it threatened to absorb me,
might indeed draw me from other relations, but could scarcely elevate
me above them. Then came besides, a corporeal malady, which made me
feel after dinner as if my throat was closed up, and of which I did not
easily get rid, till afterwards, when I abstained from a certain red
wine, which I generally and very willingly drank in the boarding-house.
This intolerable inconvenience had quitted me at Sesenheim, so that
I felt double pleasure in being there, but when I came back to my
town-diet it returned, to my great annoyance. All this made me
thoughful and morose; and my outward appearance probably corresponded
with my inward feelings.
Being in a worse humour than ever, because the malady was violent
after dinner, I attended the clinical lecture. The great care and
cheerfulness with which our respected instructor led us from bed to
bed, the minute observation of important symptoms, the judgment of the
cause of complaint in general, the fine Hippocratic mode of proceeding,
by which, without theory, and out of an individual experience, the
forms of knowledge revealed themselves, the addresses with which he
usually crowned his lectures--all this attracted me towards him, and
made a strange department, into which I only looked as through a
crevice, so much the more agreeable and fascinating. My disgust at the
invalids gradually decreased, as I learned to change their various
states into distinct conceptions, by which recovery and the restoration
of the human form and nature appeared possible. He probably had his
eye particularly upon me, as a singular young man, and pardoned the
strange anomaly which took me to his lectures. On this occasion he did
not conclude his lecture, as usual, with a doctrine which might have
reference to an illness that had been observed, but said cheerfully,
"Gentlemen, there are some holidays before us; make use of them to
enliven your spirits. Studies must not only be pursued with seriousness
and diligence, but also with cheerfulness and freedom of mind. Give
movement to your bodies, and traverse the beautiful country on horse
and foot. He who is at home will take delight in that to which he has
been accustomed, while for the stranger there will be new impressions,
and pleasant reminiscences in future."
There were only two of us to whom this admonition could be directed.
May the recipe have been as obvious to the other as it was to me! I
thought I heard a voice from heaven, and made all the haste I could
to order a horse and dress myself out neatly. I sent for Weyland, but
he was not to be found. This did not delay my resolution, but the
preparations unfortunately went on slowly, and I could not depart so
soon as I had hoped. Fast as I rode, I was overtaken by the night.
The way was not to be mistaken, and the moon shed her light on my
impassioned project. The night was windy and awful, and I dashed on,
that I might not have to wait till morning before I could see her.
[Side-note: Return to Sesenheim.]
It was already late when I put up my horse at Sesenheim. The landlord,
in answer to my question, whether there was still light in the
parsonage, assured me that the ladies had only just gone home; he
thought he had heard they were still expecting a stranger. This did not
please me, as I wished to have been the only one. I hastened, that,
late as I was, I might at least appear the first. I found the two
sisters sitting at the door. They did not seem much astonished, but I
was, when Frederica whispered into Olivia's ear, loud enough for me to
hear, "Did I not say so? Here he is!" They conducted me into a room,
where I found a little collation set out. The mother greeted me as an
old acquaintance; and the elder sister, when she saw me in the light,
broke out into loud laughter, for she had little command over herself.
After this first and somewhat odd reception, the conversation became
at once free and cheerful, and a circumstance, which had remained
concealed from me this evening, I learned on the following day.
Frederica had predicted that I should come; and who does not feel
some satisfaction at the fulfilment of a foreboding, even if it be a
mournful one? All presentiments, when confirmed by the event, give man
a higher opinion of himself, whether it be that he thinks himself in
possession of so fine a susceptibility as to feel a relation in the
distance, or acute enough to perceive necessary but still uncertain
associations. Even Olivia's laugh remained no secret; she confessed
that it seemed very comical to see me dressed and decked out on this
occasion. Frederica, on the other hand, found it advantageous not to
explain such a phenomenon as vanity, but rather to discover in it a
wish to please her.
Early in the morning Frederica asked me to take a walk. Her mother
and sister were occupied in preparing everything for the reception of
several guests. By the side of this beloved girl I enjoyed the noble
Sunday morning in the country, as the inestimable Hebel has depicted
it. She described to me the party which was expected, and asked me to
remain by her, that all the pleasure might, if possible, be common to
us both, and be enjoyed in a certain order. "Generally," she said,
"people amuse themselves alone. Sport and play is very lightly tasted,
so that at last nothing is left but cards for one part, and the
excitement of dancing for the other."
We therefore sketched our plan as to what should be done after dinner,
taught each other some new social games, and were united and happy,
when the bell summoned us to church, where, by her side, I found a
somewhat dry sermon of her father's not too long.
The presence of the beloved one always shortens time; but this
hour passed amid peculiar reflections. I repeated to myself the
good qualities which she had just unfolded so freely before
me--her circumspect cheerfulness, her _naïveté_ combined with
self-consciousness, her hilarity with foresight--qualities which seem
incompatible, but which nevertheless were found together in her, and
gave a pleasing character to her outward appearance. But now I had
to make more serious reflections upon myself, which were somewhat
prejudicial to a free state of cheerfulness.
[Side-note: Effect of Lucinda's Curse.]
Since that impassioned girl had cursed and sanctified my lips (for
every consecration involves both), I had, superstitiously enough, taken
care not to kiss any girl, because I feared that I might injure her in
some unheard-of spiritual manner. I therefore subdued every desire, by
which a youth feels impelled to win from a charming girl this favour,
which says much or little. But even in the most decorous company a
heavy trial awaited me. Those little games, as they are called, which
are more or less ingenious, and by which a joyous young circle is
collected and combined, depend in a great measure upon forfeits, in the
calling in of which kisses have no small value. I had resolved, once
for all, not to kiss, and as every want or impediment stimulates us to
an activity to which we should otherwise not feel inclined, I exerted
all the talent and humour I possessed to help myself through, and thus
to win rather than lose, before the company, and for the company.
When a verse was desired for the redemption of a forfeit, the demand
was usually directed to me. Now I was always prepared, and on such
occasions contrived to bring out something in praise of the hostess, or
of some lady who had conducted herself most agreeably towards me. If it
happened that a kiss was imposed upon me at all events, I endeavoured
to escape by some turn, which was considered satisfactory; and as I
had time to reflect on the matter beforehand, I was never in want of
various elegant excuses, although those made on the spur of the moment
were always most successful.
When we reached home, the guests, who had arrived from several
quarters, were buzzing merrily one with another, until Frederica
collected them together, and invited and conducted them to a walk
to that charming spot. There they found an abundant collation, and
wished to fill up with social games the period before dinner. Here,
by agreement with Frederica, though she did not know my secret,
I contrived to get up and go through games without forfeits, and
redemptions of forfeits without kissing.
My skill and readiness were so much the more necessary, as the company,
which was otherwise quite strange to me, seemed to have suspected some
connexion between me and the dear girl, and roguishly took the greatest
pains to force upon me that which I secretly endeavoured to avoid. For
in such circles, if people perceive a growing inclination between two
young persons, they try to make them confused, or to bring them closer
together, just as afterwards, when once a passion has been declared,
they take trouble on purpose to part them again. Thus, to the man of
society, it is totally indifferent whether he confers a benefit or an
injury, provided only he is amused.
This morning I could observe, with more attention, the whole character
of Frederica, so that for the whole time she always remained to me the
same. The friendly greetings of the peasants, which were especially
addressed to her, gave me to understand that she was beneficent to
them, and created in them an agreeable feeling. The elder sister
remained at home with her mother. Nothing that demanded bodily exertion
was required of Frederica; but she was spared, they said, on account of
her chest.
There are women who especially please us in a room, others who look
better in the open air. Frederica belonged to the latter. Her whole
nature, her form never appeared more charming than when she moved
along an elevated footpath; the grace of her deportment seemed to
vie with the flowery earth, and the indestructible cheerfulness of
her countenance with the blue sky. This refreshing atmosphere which
surrounded her she carried home, and it might soon be perceived that
she understood how to reconcile difficulties, and to obliterate with
ease the impression made by little unpleasant contingencies.
The purest joy which we can feel with respect to a beloved person is
to find that she pleases others. Frederica's conduct in society was
beneficent to all. In walks, she floated about, an animating spirit,
and knew how to supply the gaps which might arise here and there.
The lightness of her movements we have already commended, and she
was most graceful when she ran. As the deer seems just to fulfil its
destination when it lightly flies over the sprouting corn**, so did her
peculiar nature seem most plainly to express itself when she ran with
light steps over mead and furrow, to fetch something which had been
forgotten, to seek something which had been lost, to summon a distant
couple, or to order something necessary. On these occasions she was
never out of breath, and always kept her equilibrium. Hence the great
anxiety of her parents with respect to her chest must to many have
appeared excessive.
The father, who often accompanied us through meadows and fields, was
not always provided with a suitable companion. On this account I
joined him, and he did not fail to touch once more upon his favourite
theme, and circumstantially to tell me about the proposed building
of the parsonage. He particularly regretted that he could not again
get the carefully finished sketches, so as to meditate upon them,
and to consider this or that improvement. I observed, that the loss
might be easily supplied, and offered to prepare a ground-plan, upon
which, after all, everything chiefly depended. With this he was
highly pleased, and settled that we should have the assistance of the
schoolmaster, to stir up whom he at once hurried off, that the yard and
foot-measure might be ready early on the morrow.
When he had gone, Frederica said, "You are right to humour my dear
father on his weak side, and not, like others, who get weary of this
subject, to avoid him, or to break it off. I must, indeed, confess
to you that the rest of us do not desire this building; it would be
too expensive for the congregation and for us also. A new house, new
furniture! Our guests would not feel more comfortable with us, now
they are once accustomed to the old building. Here we can treat them
liberally; there we should find ourselves straightened in a wider
sphere. Thus the matter stands; but do not you fail to be agreeable. I
thank you for it, from my heart."
Another lady who joined us asked about some novels,--whether Frederica
had read them. She answered in the negative, for she had read but
little altogether. She had grown up in a cheerful, decorous enjoyment
of life, and was cultivated accordingly. I had the _Vicar of Wakefield_
on the tip of my tongue, but did not venture to propose it, the
similarity of the situations being too striking and too important. "I
am very fond of reading novels," she said; "one finds in them such nice
people, whom one would like to resemble."
[Side-note: Plan for the New Parsonage.]
The measurement of the house took place the following day. It was a
somewhat slow proceeding, as I was as little accustomed to such arts
as the schoolmaster. At last a tolerable project came to my aid. The
good father told me his views, and was not displeased when I asked
permission to prepare the plan more conveniently in the town. Frederica
dismissed me with joy; she was convinced of my affection, and I of
hers; and the six leagues no longer appeared a distance. It was so easy
to travel to Drusenheim in the diligence, and by this vehicle, as well
as by messengers, ordinary and extraordinary, to keep up a connexion,
George being entrusted with the despatches.
When I had arrived in the town, I occupied myself in the earliest hours
(for there was no notion of a long sleep) with the plan, which I drew
as neatly as possible. In the meanwhile I had sent Frederica some
books, accompanied by a few kind words. I received an answer at once,
and was charmed with her light, pretty, hearty hand. Contents and style
were natural, good, amiable, as if they came from within; and thus the
pleasing impression she had made upon me was ever kept up and renewed.
I but too readily recalled to myself the endowments of her beautiful
nature, and nurtured the hope that I should see her soon, and for a
longer time.