The love you showed me at our parting in B---- made me so happy and so
miserable, that I cannot yet recover from it. Your sad image is ever
before me; I still read deep sorrow in your looks and in your tears, and
my own heart tells me too well what yours suffered. May God grant us a
meeting as joyful as our parting was sorrowful! I can now only repeat
what I have so often told you: that if I felt myself without you, my
dearest friend, in the world, I could enjoy none of its pleasures
without an alloy of sadness; that if you love me, you will therefore
above all things watch over your health, and amuse yourself as much as
you can by varied occupation.
As I resolved to combat the melancholy which gives so dark a colouring
to all objects, I sought a kind of aid from your Sevigné, whose
connexion with her daughter has, in fact many points of resemblance to
that which subsists between us, only with the exception, 'que j'ai plus
de votre sang,'[1] than Madame de Grignan had of her mother's. But your
resemblance to the charming Sevigné is like the hereditary likeness to
the portrait of an ancestor. The advantages which she possesses over you
are those of her time and education; you have others over her; and what
in her appears more finished and definite--classic,--in you assumes a
romantic character; it becomes richer, and blends with the infinite,--I
opened the book at random: it was pleasant enough that I lighted upon
this passage--
"N'aimons jamais, ou n'aimons guères,
Il est dangereux d'aimer tant."
On which she remarks with great feeling, "Pour moi, j'aime encore mieux
le mal que le remède, et je trouve plus doux d'avoir de la peine à
quitter les gens que j'aime, que de les aimer médiocrement."
It is a real consolation to me to have already written a few lines to
you: since I have conversed with you, I feel as if I were nearer to you.
I have no adventures to relate as yet. I was so entirely engrossed by my
own thoughts and feelings, that I scarcely knew through what places my
road lay.
Dresden appeared to me less cheerful than usual, and I was thankful when
I found myself quietly established in my room at the inn.
The storm which blew in my face during the whole day, has heated and
fatigued me; and as I am, you know, otherwise unwell, I want rest.
Heaven send you also a tranquil night, and affectionate dreams of your
friend!
_Sept. 10th.--Morning._
'Vous avez sans doute cuit toutes sortes de bouillons amers, ainsi que
moi.' Nevertheless I rose in better health and spirits than yesterday,
and immediately set to work making all the little arrangements necessary
at the beginning of a long journey. In the evening I felt extremely
depressed, and as I dreaded an attack of my nervous hypochondriacal
disorder, which you christened my 'maladie imaginaire,' I sent for
Hofrath (Court-counsellor) W----, the favourite physician of the
strangers who pass through Dresden, because, independently of his skill,
he is an amusing and merry companion. You know the use I make of
physicians. Nobody can be of a more homoeopathic nature than I am; for
the mere conversing with a medical man on my complaint and its remedies,
generally half cures me; and if I take any of his prescriptions, it is
only in thousandth parts. This was the case to-day; and after some
hours, which W---- passed by my bedside, and seasoned with many a
piquant anecdote, I supped with better appetite, and slept tolerably
till morning. On opening my eyes, they lighted on a letter from you,
which the honest B---- had laid upon my bed, well knowing that I could
not begin the day so joyfully. Indeed, after the pleasure of hearing
from you, I have only one other--that of writing to you.
Do but continue thus unrestrainedly to give utterance to all your
feelings, and fear not to wound mine. I well know that your letters must
long resemble a sad and dreary landscape. I shall be tranquil, if I do
but see an occasional gleam of sunlight throw its rays across it.
_Leipsig, Sept. 11th._
In a very pretty room, with well waxed parquet, elegant furniture, and
silken curtains, all in their first 'fraicheur,' the waiter is now
laying the table for my dinner, while I employ these few minutes in
writing to you.
I left Dresden at ten o'clock this morning, in tolerably good
spirits,--that is, painting fancy pictures for the future. But my
lingering regrets at leaving you, dear Julia, and the comparison of my
insipid and joyless solitude with the exquisite pleasure I should have
had in taking this journey under more happy circumstances, with you,
fell heavily upon my heart.
Of the road hither, there is not much to be said; it is not
romantic,--not even the vineyards, which extend to Meissen, and which
present to the eye more sand than verdure. Yet the country, though too
open, sometimes excites agreeable feelings by its freshness and
fertility: this is the case at Oschatz, where the pretty bushy Culmberg
looks down upon the plain, like the rich-locked head of youth. The
'chaussée' is good, and it appears that the post is improving even in
Saxony, since the excellent Nagler created a new post-era in Prussia.
Nothing amuses me more than the energetic zeal with which B---- drives
on the willing as well as the phlegmatic: he behaves to them as if he
had already made the tour of the globe with me, and had--of
course--found things better everywhere than at home.
In the delicate state of my health, the comfortable English carriage is
a real blessing. I rather hug myself on understanding the art of
travelling better than my neighbours; particularly as far as the
maximizing of comfort is concerned: in this I include the taking the
greatest possible number of things (often dear, accustomed memorials)
with the least possible 'embarras' and loss of time,--a problem which I
have now perfectly solved. In Dresden, before I packed up, you would
have taken my room for a broker's shop. Now all my wares have vanished
in the numerous receptacles of the carriage: yet without giving it that
heavy, overloaded look, at which our postilions so readily take fright;
and which marks a man, to the discriminating eye of innkeepers, as one
embarked on the grand tour. Every article is at hand, and yet perfectly
distinct, so that when I reach my nightly quarters, my _domestic
relations_ are quickly re-established in a strange place. On the road,
the transparent crystal windows of the largest dimensions obstructed by
no luggage or coach-box, afford me as free a view of the country as an
open 'calèche,' while they leave me lord of the temperature.
The men on their lofty seat behind overlook the luggage and the horses,
without the power of casting curious glances into the interior, or of
listening to the conversation which may be passing there; if, perchance,
on our arrival in the country of the Lilliputs or the Brobdignags,
secrets of state should come under discussion. I could deliver a course
of lectures on this subject,--one by no means unimportant to travellers;
but I have been thus diffuse here only for the sake of furnishing you
with a complete picture of myself as you are to think of me, wandering
over the face of the earth, while my nomadic dwelling and the ever
changing post-horses daily bear me further from your sight.
The host of the Hotel de Saxe, unquestionably one of the best inns in
Germany, is an old acquaintance of mine, and established many strong
claims on my gratitude when I was a student at Leipsig. Many a joyous
and sometimes rather riotous repast was given at his house; and I now
invited him to partake of my solitary one, that he might talk to me of
the past, and of the wild days of my youth. The present times are, alas!
become more serious everywhere. Formerly, pleasure was almost raised
into a business,--men thought of nothing else--studied nothing else; and
feet, so ready to dance, were lightly set in motion. Now-a-days, people
find their pleasure only in business, and stronger excitements are
required to make us merry--if that ever be the end proposed.
_Weimar, Sept. 13th.--Evening._
I will not weary you with any 'tirades' on the battle-fields of Leipsig
and Lützen, nor with a description of the 'chétif' monument to Gustavus
Adolphus, or of the meagre beauties of the environs of Schulpforte. In
Weissenfels, where I wanted to buy a book, I was surprised to learn that
not a bookseller was to be found in the residence of the great Müllner.
They were most likely afraid that he would saddle them with a law-suit,
at first hand.
I trod the plains of Jena and Auerstadt with just such feelings as a
Frenchman of the 'grande armée' might have had in the years 1806 and
1812, when he marched across the field of Rossbach;--for the last
victory, like the last laugh, is always the best. And as the seat of the
Muses, the cheerful Weimar, received me in its bosom after all these
battle reminiscences, I blessed the noble prince who has here erected a
monument of peace; and has helped to light up a beacon in the domain of
literature, which has so long illumined Germany with its many-coloured
flames.
Next day I presented myself to this my old commander, and to the rest of
the illustrious family, whom I found little altered. The Court had,
however, received the agreeable addition of two amiable princesses, who,
had they been born in the humblest sphere, would have been distinguished
for their external charms and their admirable education. A stranger is
received here with a politeness and attention now completely out of
fashion in other places. Scarcely was I announced, when a 'laquais de
cour,' waited upon me to place himself and a court equipage at my
disposal during the time of my stay, and to give me a general invitation
to the Grand Duke's table.
In the morning, the Grand Duke had the kindness to show me his private
library, which is elegantly arranged, and remarkably rich in splendid
English engravings. He laughed heartily when I told him that I had
lately read in a Paris journal that Schiller had been disinterred by his
order, and that the skeleton of the illustrious poet was to be placed in
the Grand Ducal library. The truth is, that his bust, with some others,
decorates the room, but that his skull, if I was rightly informed, is
enclosed in the pedestal;--certainly a somewhat singular token of
respect.
I visited the park with renewed pleasure. The ground is not, indeed,
rich in picturesque beauty, but the laying out is so skilful, the
several parts are so well imagined and executed, that they leave on the
mind a feeling of satisfaction which such combinations, even under more
favourable natural circumstances, seldom produce in an equal degree.
Among the new improvements I found a small botanic garden, laid out in a
circular plot of ground, in the centre of which stands a majestic old
tree. The garden is arranged according to the Linnæan system, and
exhibits a single specimen of every tree, shrub, and plant which will
stand abroad, and is to be found in the park and gardens. It is
impossible to conceive a more agreeable spot for the living study of
botany than the seat under this tree, which, like a venerable patriarch,
looks down upon the surrounding youthful generations of every form,
foliage, blossom, and colour. Continuing my walk, I saw a model farm of
the Grand Duke's, where gigantic Swiss cows give little milk,--for
transplantations of this sort seldom answer. Further on, I found the
pretty pheasantry, which is rich in gold and silver pheasants and white
roes. The great ladder on which from seventy to eighty heavy turkeys are
drilled by the gamekeeper to climb in company is curious enough; and the
old lime-tree, completely loaded with such fruit, has a strange exotic
aspect.
As the Court dines at a very early hour, I had scarcely time to put
myself into costume, and arriving late found a large company already
assembled. Among them I remarked several Englishmen, who very wisely
study German here, instead of first learning, with great trouble, the
ungraceful dialect of Dresden: they are most hospitably received here.
The conversation at table was very animated. You know the joviality of
the Grand Duke, who in this respect completely resembles his friend, the
never-to-be-forgotten King of Bavaria. We recapitulated many a laughable
story of the time when I had the honour of being his adjutant; after
which I was compelled to ride my grand 'cheval de bataille'--my
expedition in the air-balloon.
Much more interesting were Duke Bernard's descriptions of his travels in
North and South America, which I understand we shall soon have an
opportunity of reading in print, with remarks by Göthe. This prince,
whom the accident of birth has placed in a high station, occupies a
still higher as man: no one could be better fitted to give the free
Americans a favourable idea of a German prince than he, uniting, as he
does, frank dignity of deportment with genuine liberality of thought,
and unpretending kindness and courtesy.
In the evening there was a grand assembly, which, in virtue of its
nature and quality, was not particularly rich in enjoyment. Every
agreeable feeling however revived within me, when I found myself seated
at cards opposite to the Grand Duchess. Who has not heard of this noble
and truly excellent German woman, before whose serene and clear spirit
Napoleon himself, in the plenitude of his power, stood awed, and who is
beloved by every one who is permitted to enjoy her gentle and
heart-cheering society? We sat indeed at the card-table, but gave little
heed to the laws of whist; while time fled amid animated and delightful
conversation.
In a court like this, visited by so many foreigners, there cannot fail
to be originals who afford matter for piquant anecdotes, even those
least given to scandal. Some very diverting stories were related to me
when, on rising from table, I mingled again in the crowd. Among other
things, a visiting card, 'in naturâ,' was showed to me which apparently
owed its existence to a well-known anecdote concerning an Englishman.
This example suggested to the mad-cap Baron J---- the thought of
re-acting the affair with one of his table companions, a ci-devant
captain, who was tolerably ignorant of the world and its usages. With
this view, he hinted to the poor man, who had been leading a secluded
life in D----, that politeness required of him to make a round of visits
in the town; to which the unsuspecting captain patiently replied, that
he was not conversant in these matters, but would willingly put himself
under J----'s guidance. "Well then," said he, "I will provide the
cards, which must be written in French, and in three days I will call
you in my carriage. You must put on your uniform, and your cards must
express to what service you formerly belonged." All was done according
to agreement; but you may imagine what laughing faces greeted our
visitors, when you learn that the following 'carte de visite' was sent
up before them in every house:--
"Le Baron de J----, pour présenter _feu_ Monsieur le Capitaine de M----,
jadis au service de plusieurs membres de la Confédération du Rhin."
_September, 14th._
This evening I paid my visit to Göthe. He received me in a dimly lighted
room, whose 'clair obscure' was arranged with some 'coquetterie'; and
truly, the aspect of the beautiful old man, with his Jove-like
countenance, was most stately. Age has changed, but scarcely enfeebled
him: he is perhaps somewhat less vivacious than formerly, but so much
the more equable and mild; and his conversation is rather pervaded by a
sublime serenity, than by that dazzling fire which used occasionally to
surprise him, even in the midst of his highest 'grandezza.' I rejoiced
heartily at the good health in which I found him, and said with a smile,
how happy it made me to find our spiritual King in undiminished majesty
and vigour. "Oh, you are too _gracious_," said he, (with the yet
uneffaced traces of his South German manner, accompanied by the
satirical smile of a North German,[2]) "to give me such a title." "No,"
replied I, truly from my very heart, "not only king, but despot, for you
have subjugated all Europe." He bowed courteously, and questioned me
concerning things which related to my former visit to Weimar; then
expressed himself very kindly with regard to M----, and my efforts to
improve it, gently remarking, how meritorious he ever thought it to
awaken a sense of beauty, be it of what kind it may, since the Good and
the Noble unfolded themselves in manifold ways out of the Beautiful.
Lastly, he gave me some gleam of hope that he might comply with my
earnest request that he would visit us there. Imagine, dearest, with
what 'empressment' I caught at this, though perhaps but a 'façon de
parler.'
In the course of our conversation we came to Sir Walter Scott. Göthe was
not very enthusiastic about the Great Unknown. He said he doubted not
that he wrote his novels in the[3] same sort of partnership as existed
between the old painters and their scholars; that he furnished the plot,
the leading thoughts, and skeleton of the scenes, that he then let his
pupils fill them up, and retouched them at the last. It seemed almost to
be his opinion, that it was not worth the while of a man of Sir Walter
Scott's eminence to give himself up to such a number of minute and
tedious details. "Had I," added he, "been able to lend myself to the
idea of mere gain, I could formerly have sent such things anonymously
into the world, with the aid of Lenz and others--nay, I could still--as
would astonish people not a little, and make them puzzle their brains to
find out the author; but after all they would be but manufactured
wares." I afterwards observed, that it was gratifying to Germans to see
what victories our literature was achieving in other countries; "And,"
added I, "our Napoleon has no Waterloo to dread."
"Certainly," replied he, disregarding my 'fade' compliment, "setting
aside all our original productions, we now stand on a very high step of
culture, by the adoption and complete appropriation of those of foreign
growth. Other nations will soon learn German, from the conviction that
they may thus, to a certain extent, dispense with the learning of all
other languages; for of which do we not possess all the most valuable
works in admirable translations?--The ancient classics, the master-works
of modern Europe, the literature of India and other eastern lands,--have
not the richness and the many-sidedness[4] of the German tongue, the
sincere, faithful German industry, and deep-searching German genius,
reproduced them all more perfectly than is the case in any other
language?"
"France," continued he, "owed much of her former preponderance in
literature to the circumstance of her being the first to give to the
world tolerable versions from the Greek and Latin: but how entirely has
Germany since surpassed her!"
On the field of politics, he did not appear to me to give into the
favourite constitutional theories very heartily. I defended my own
opinions with some warmth. He reverted to his darling idea, which he
several times repeated;--that every man should trouble himself only thus
far,--in his own peculiar sphere, be it great or small, to labour on
faithfully, honestly, and lovingly; and that thus under no form of
government would universal well being and felicity long be
wanting:--that, for his own part he had followed no other course; and
that I had also adopted it in M---- (as he kindly added), untroubled as
to what other interests might demand. I replied frankly, but in all
humility, that however true and noble this principle were, I must yet
think that a constitutional form of government was first necessary to
call it fully into life, since it afforded to every individual the
conviction of greater security for his person and property, and
consequently gave rise to the most cheerful energy, and the most steady
trust-worthy patriotism, and that a far more solid universal basis would
thus be laid for the quiet activity of each individual in his own
circle: I concluded by adducing,--perhaps unwisely,--England in support
of my argument. He immediately replied, that the, choice of the example
was not happy, for that in no country was selfishness more omnipotent;
that no people were perhaps essentially less humane in their political
or in their private relations;[5] that salvation came not from without,
by means of forms of government, but from within, by the wise moderation
and humble activity of each man in his own circle; that this must ever
be the main thing for human felicity, while it was the easiest and the
simplest to attain.
He afterwards spoke of Lord Byron with great affection, almost as a
father would of a son, which was extremely grateful to my enthusiastic
feelings for this great poet. He contradicted the silly assertion that
Manfred was only an echo of his Faust. He confessed, however, that it
was interesting to him to see that Byron had unconsciously employed the
same mask of Mephistophiles as he himself had used, although, indeed,
Byron had produced a totally different effect with it. He extremely
regretted that he had never become personally acquainted with Lord
Byron, and severely and justly reproached the English nation for having
judged their illustrious countryman so pettily, and understood him so
ill. But, on this subject, Göthe has spoken so satisfactorily and so
beautifully in print, that I can add nothing to it. I mentioned the
representation of Faust in a private theatre at Berlin, with music by
Prince Radzivil, and spoke with admiration of the powerful effect of
some part of the performance.--"Well," said Göthe gravely, "it is a
strange undertaking; but all endeavours and experiments are to be
honoured."
I am angry with my vile memory that I cannot now recollect more of our
conversation, which was very animated. With sentiments of the highest
veneration and love, I took my leave of the great man,--the third in the
great triumvirate with Homer and Shakspeare,--whose name will beam with
immortal glory as long as the German tongue endures; and had I had
anything of Mephistophiles in me, I should certainly have exclaimed on
the step of his door,
"Es ist doch schön von einem grossen Herrn
Mit einem armen Teufel so human zu sprechen."[6]
I was invited to dine with the Grand Duke to-day at the Belvedere, and
at two o'clock set out on the pleasant road thither. Ever since I have
been here the weather has been wonderful:--days of crystal, as your
Sevigné says, in which one feels neither heat nor cold, and which only
spring and autumn can give.
The Hereditary Grand Duke and his wife live at Belvedere quite like
private people, and receive their guests without etiquette, though with
the most perfect politeness. The Grand Princess (Grossfürstin) appeared
still much depressed in consequence of the Emperor's death, but when the
conversation grew animated, she gave us a very affecting description of
the floods at St. Petersburg, of which she had been an eyewitness. I
have always admired the excellent education and the various attainments
which distinguish the Russian princesses. The late Queen of Wurtemberg
was even learned. I had once to deliver a letter to her in Frankfurt,
and remained by her desire standing in the circle after I had given it
to her, till the other persons of whom it was composed were dismissed. A
professor of a Pestallozian school was the first in turn, and appeared
to know less about his system than the Queen, then Grand Princess
(Grossfürstin) Katharine, who several times corrected his diffuse and
inaccurate answers with singular acuteness. A 'diplomate' followed, and
he also, in his sphere, received the most dextrous and well-turned
replies. She next entered into a scientific discussion with a celebrated
economist from A----; and lastly, profound and brilliant reflections, in
a lively controversy with a well-known philosopher, closed this
remarkable audience.
After dinner, the Hereditary Grand Duke took us into his conservatories,
which, next to Schönbrunn, are the richest in Germany. You know, dear
Julia, that I lay little stress on mere rarity, and, in plants, as in
other things, delight only in the beautiful. Many treasures were
therefore thrown away upon me; and I could not share in the raptures
into which several connoisseurs fell at the sight of a stalk, which was
indeed only six inches high, and had not above five leaves, and no
flowers, but, on the other hand, had cost sixty guineas, and is as yet
the solitary specimen of its kind in Germany. I was, however, greatly
delighted by a _Cactus grandiflorus_ in full flower, and many other
splendid plants. I looked with great reverence at a magnificent large
Bread-fruit tree, and pleased myself with dyeing my fingers crimson from
the cochineal insects which inhabited a Cactus. The varieties of plants
exceed sixty thousand. The orangery is beautiful, and contains a veteran
with a trunk of an ell and a half in circumference, which has safely
weathered five hundred and fifty northern summers.
I spent the evening at Herr V. G----'s, a clever man, and an old friend
of Madame Schoppenhauer, who is also a kind patroness of mine. Frau V.
G----e came in afterwards, and was a very agreeable addition to our
company. She is a lively, original, and clever woman, on whom the
incense strewed upon her with so much justice by her father-in-law, has
not been entirely without its influence. She evinced great pleasure at
the arrival of a first copy of Granby, which she had just received from
the author, who had studied German in Weimar. The offering did not
strike me as anything very considerable; and I told her I could only
wish the author might be more interesting than his work. Perhaps I said
this from 'dépit,' for here, as all over the Continent, it is the
fashion to flatter the English inordinately, and God knows how 'mal à
propos.'
_September 16th._
After taking my leave this morning of all the illustrious family, I
devoted the rest of the day to my friend Sp----, who, together with his
family, affords a proof that a life at court and in the great world is
perfectly compatible with the simplest domestic habits and the most
attaching kindness of heart. A young Englishman, secretary to Mr.
Canning, who spoke German like a native, entertained us with some
humorous descriptions of English society, and was exceedingly bitter
upon the discourtesy and want of good-nature which characterize it. This
gave him, at the same time, a good opportunity of saying handsome things
of the Germans, particularly those present. _It is only while they are
abroad that Englishmen judge thus_: when they return, they quickly
resume their accustomed coldness and haughty indifference, treat a
foreigner as an inferior being, and laugh at the German 'bonhommie,'
which they praised as long as _they_ were the objects of it; while they
regard the truly laughable veneration which we cherish for the very name
of Englishman, as the rightful tribute to their superiority.
This is the last letter, dear Julia, which you will receive from hence.
Early in the morning,--not at cock-crow, that is, but according to _my_
calendar,--at about twelve o'clock,--I intend to set out, and not to
stop till I reach London.
Take care of your health, I beseech you, for my sake, and tranquillize
your mind as much as you can by the aid of that wondrous
self-controlling strength with which the Creator has endowed it. Love me
nevertheless--for my strength is in your love.
Your faithful L----.