much did our friend find himself rewarded in secret, when he discovered
in the rest of the family hearts so openly disposed for his saint. The
copy which he used only one week during the year was given over to our
edification all the remaining time. My mother kept it secret; and we
children took possession of it when we could, that in leisure hours,
hidden in some nook, we might learn the most striking passages by heart,
and particularly might impress the most tender as well as the most
violent parts on our memory as quickly as possible.
Porcia's dream we recited in a sort of rivalry, and divided between us
the wild dialogue of despair between Satan and Adramelech, who have been
cast into the Red Sea. The first part, as the strongest, had been
assigned to me; and the second, as a little more pathetic, was
undertaken by my sister. The alternate and horrible but well-sounding
curses flowed only thus from our mouths, and we seized every opportunity
to accost each other with these infernal phrases.
One Saturday evening in winter,--my father always had himself shaved
over night, that on Sunday morning he might dress for church at his
ease,--we sat on a footstool behind the stove, and muttered our
customary imprecations in a tolerably low voice, while the barber was
putting on the lather. But now Adramelech had to lay his iron hands on
Satan: my sister seized me with violence, and recited, softly enough,
but with increasing passion,--
"Give me thine aid, I entreat thee: I'll worship thee if thou demandest,
Thee, thou reprobate monster, yes, thee, of all criminals blackest!
Aid me. I suffer the tortures of death, everlasting, avenging!
Once, in the times gone by, I with furious hatred could hate thee:
Now I can hate thee no more! E'en this is the sharpest of tortures."
Thus far all went on tolerably; but loudly, with a dreadful voice, she
cried the following words:--
"Oh, how utterly crushed I am now!"
The good surgeon was startled, and emptied the lather-basin into my
father's bosom. There was a great uproar; and a severe investigation was
held, especially with respect to the mischief which might have been done
if the shaving had been actually going forward. In order to relieve
ourselves of all suspicions of mischievousness, we pleaded guilty of
having acted these Satanic characters; and the misfortune occasioned by
the hexameters was so apparent, that they were again condemned and
banished.
Thus children and common people are accustomed to transform the great
and sublime into a sport, and even a farce; and how indeed could they
otherwise abide and endure it?
THIRD BOOK.
At that time the general interchange of personal good wishes made the
city very lively on New-Year's Day. Those who otherwise did not easily
leave home, donned their best clothes, that for a moment they might be
friendly and courteous to their friends and patrons. The festivities at
my grandfather's house on this day were pleasures particularly desired
by us children. At early dawn the grandchildren had already assembled
there to hear the drums, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, and cornets played
upon by the military, the city musicians, and whoever else might furnish
his tones. The New-Year's gifts, sealed and superscribed, were divided
by us children among the humbler congratulators; and, as the day
advanced, the number of those of higher rank increased. The relations
and intimate friends appeared first, then the subordinate officials;
even the gentlemen of the council did not fail to pay their respects to
the /Schultheiss/, and a select number were entertained in the
evening in rooms which were else scarcely opened throughout the year.
The tarts, biscuits, marchpane, and sweet wine had the greatest charm
for the children; and, besides, the /Schultheiss/ and the two
burgomasters annually received from some institutions some article of
silver, which was then bestowed upon the grandchildren and godchildren
in regular gradation. In fine, this small festival was not wanting in
any of those things which usually glorify the greatest.
The New-Year's Day of 1759 approached, as desirable and pleasant to us
children as any preceding one, but full of import and foreboding to
older persons. To the passage of the French troops people certainly had
become accustomed; and they happened often, but they had been most
frequent in the last days of the past year. According to the old usage
of an imperial town, the warder of the chief tower sounded his trumpet
whenever troops approached; and on this New-Year's Day he would not
leave off, which was a sign that large bodies were in motion on several
sides. They actually marched through the city in greater masses on this
day, and the people ran to see them pass by. We had generally been used
to see them go through in small parties; but these gradually swelled,
and there was neither power nor inclination to stop them. In short, on
the 2d of January, after a column had come through Sachsenhausen over
the bridge, through the Fahrgasse, as far as the Police Guard-House, it
halted, overpowered the small company which escorted it, took possession
of the before-mentioned Guard-House, marched down the Zeil, and, after a
slight resistance, the main guard were also obliged to yield. In a
moment the peaceful streets were turned into a scene of war. The troops
remained and bivouacked there until lodgings were provided for them by
regular billeting.
This unexpected, and, for many years, unheard-of, burden weighed heavily
upon the comfortable citizens; and to none could it be more cumbersome
than to my father, who was obliged to take foreign military inhabitants
into his scarcely finished house, to open for them his well-furnished
reception-rooms, which were generally closed, and to abandon to the
caprices of strangers all that he had been used to arrange and keep so
carefully. Siding as he did with the Prussians, he was now to find
himself besieged in his own chambers by the French: it was, according to
his way of thinking, the greatest misfortune that could happen to him.
Had it, however, been possible for him to have taken the matter more
easily, he might have saved himself and us many sad hours; since he
spoke French well, and could deport himself with dignity and grace in
the daily intercourse of life. For it was the king's lieutenant who was
quartered on us; and he, although a military person, had only to settle
civil occurrences, disputes between soldiers and citizens, and questions
of debt and quarrels. This was the Count Thorane, a native of Grasse in
Provence, not far from Antibes: a tall, thin, stern figure, with a face
much disfigured by the small-pox; black, fiery eyes; and a dignified,
reserved demeanor. His first entrance was at once favorable for the
inmates of the house. They spoke of the different apartments, some of
which were to be given up, and others retained by the family; and, when
the count heard a picture-room mentioned, he immediately requested
permission, although it was already night, at least to give a hasty look
at the pictures by candlelight. He took extreme pleasure in these
things, behaved in the most obliging manner to my father, who
accompanied him; and when he heard that the greater part of the artists
were still living, and resided in Frankfurt and its neighborhood, he
assured us that he desired nothing more than to know them as soon as
possible, and to employ them.
But even this sympathy in respect to art could not change my father's
feelings nor bend his character. He permitted what he could not prevent,
but kept at a distance in inactivity; and the uncommon state of things
around him was intolerable to him, even in the veriest trifle.
Count Thorane behaved himself, meanwhile, in an exemplary manner. He
would not even have his maps nailed on the walls, that he might not
injure the new hangings. His people were skilful, quiet, and orderly:
but in truth, as, during the whole day and a part of the night there was
no quiet with him, one complainant quickly following another, arrested
persons being brought in and led out, and all officers and adjutants
being admitted to his presence,--as, moreover, the count kept an open
table every day, it made, in the moderately sized house, arranged only
for a family, and with but one open staircase running from top to
bottom, a movement and a buzzing like that in a beehive; although every
thing was managed with moderation, gravity, and severity.
As mediator between the irritable master of the house--who became daily
more of a hypochondriac self-tormentor--and his well-intentioned, but
stern and precise, military guest, there was a pleasant interpreter, a
handsome, corpulent, lively man, who was a citizen of Frankfort, spoke
French well, knew how to adapt himself to every thing, and only made a
jest of many little annoyances. Through him my mother had sent to the
count a representation of the situation in which she was placed, owing
to her husband's state of mind. He had explained the matter so
skilfully,--had laid before him the new and scarcely furnished house,
the natural reserve of the owner, his occupation in the education of his
family, and all that could be said to the same effect,--that the count,
who in his capacity took the greatest pride in the utmost justice,
integrity, and honorable conduct, resolved here also to behave in an
exemplary manner to those upon whom he was quartered, and, indeed, never
swerved from this resolution under varying circumstances, during the
several years he staid with us.
My mother possessed some knowledge of Italian, a language not altogether
unknown to any of the family: she therefore resolved to learn French
immediately; for which purpose the interpreter, for whose child she had
stood godmother during these stormy times, and who now, therefore, as a
gossip,[Footnote: The obsolete word, "gossip," has been revived as an
equivalent for the German, "/gevatter/." But it should be observed
that this word not only signifies godfather, but that the person whose
child has another person for godfather (or godmother) is that person's
/gevatter/, or /gevatterin/ (feminine).] felt a redoubled
interest in our house, devoted every spare moment to his child's
godmother (for he lived directly opposite); and, above all, he taught
her those phrases which she would be obliged to use in her personal
intercourse with the count. This succeeded admirably. The count was
flattered by the pains taken by the mistress of the house at her age:
and as he had a cheerful, witty vein in his character, and he liked to
exhibit a certain dry gallantry, a most friendly relation arose between
them; and the allied godmother and father could obtain from him whatever
they wanted.
If, as I said before, it had been possible to cheer up my father, this
altered state of things would have caused little inconvenience. The
count practised the severest disinterestedness; he even declined
receiving gifts which pertained to his situation; the most trifling
thing which could have borne the appearance of bribery, he rejected
angrily, and even punished. His people were most strictly forbidden to
put the proprietor of the house to the least expense. We children, on
the contrary, were bountifully supplied from the dessert. To give an
idea of the simplicity of those times, I must take this opportunity to
mention that my mother grieved us excessively one day, by throwing away
the ices which had been sent us from the table, because she would not
believe it possible for the stomach to bear real ice, however it might
be sweetened.
Besides these dainties, which we gradually learned to enjoy and to
digest with perfect ease, it was very agreeable for us children to be in
some measure released from fixed hours of study and strict discipline.
My father's ill humor increased: he could not resign himself to the
unavoidable. How he tormented himself, my mother, the interpreter, the
councillors, and all his friends, only to rid him of the count! In vain
they represented to him, that, under existing circumstances, the
presence of such a man in the house was an actual benefit, and that the
removal of the count would be followed by a constant succession of
officers or of privates. None of these arguments had any effect. To him
the present seemed so intolerable, that his indignation prevented his
conceiving any thing worse that could follow.
In this way his activity, which he had been used chiefly to devote to
us, was crippled. The lessons he gave us were no longer required with
the former exactness; and we tried to gratify our curiosity for military
and other public proceedings as much as possible, not only at home, but
also in the streets, which was the more easily done, as the front door,
open day and night, was guarded by sentries who paid no attention to the
running to and fro of restless children.
The many affairs which were settled before the tribunal of the royal
lieutenant had quite a peculiar charm, from his making it a point to
accompany his decisions with some witty, ingenious, or lively turn. What
he decreed was strictly just, his manner of expressing it whimsical and
piquant. He seemed to have taken the Duke of Ossuna as his model.
Scarcely a day passed in which the interpreter did not tell some
anecdote or other of this kind to amuse us and my mother. This lively
man had made a little collection of such Solomonian decisions; but I
only remember the general impression, and cannot recall to my mind any
particular case.
By degrees we became better acquainted with the strange character of the
count. This man clearly understood his own peculiarities; and as there
were times in which he was seized with a sort of dejection,
hypochondria, or by whatever name we may call the evil demon, he
withdrew into his room at such hours, which were often lengthened into
days, saw no one but his /valet/, and in urgent cases could not
even be prevailed upon to receive any one. But, as soon as the evil
spirit had left him, he appeared as before, active, mild, and cheerful.
It might be inferred from the talk of his /valet/, Saint Jean, a
small, thin man of lively good nature, that in his earlier years he had
caused a great misfortune when overcome by this temper; and that,
therefore, in so important a position as his, exposed to the eyes of all
the world, he had earnestly resolved to avoid similar aberrations.
During the very first days of the count's residence with us, all the
Frankfort artists, as Hirt, Schütz, Trautmann, Nothnagel, and Junker,
were called to him. They showed their finished pictures, and the count
bought such as were for sale. My pretty, light room in the gable-end of
the attic was given up to him, and immediately turned into a cabinet and
studio; for he designed to keep all the artists at work for a long time,
especially Seekatz of Darmstadt, whose pencil, particularly in simple
and natural representations, highly pleased him. He therefore caused to
be sent from Grasse, where his elder brother possessed a handsome house,
the dimensions of all the rooms and cabinets; then considered, with the
artists, the divisions of the walls, and fixed accordingly upon the size
of the large oil-pictures, which were not to be set in frames, but to be
fastened upon the walls like pieces of tapestry. And now the work went
on zealously. Seekatz undertook country scenes, and succeeded extremely
well in his old people and children, which were copied directly from
nature. His young men did not answer so well,--they were almost all too
thin; and his women failed from the opposite cause. For as he had a
little, fat, good, but unpleasant-looking, wife, who would let him have
no model but herself, he could produce nothing agreeable. He was also
obliged to exceed the usual size of his figures. His trees had truth,
but the foliage was over minute. He was a pupil of Brinkmann, whose
pencil in easel pictures is not contemptible.
Schütz, the landscape painter, had perhaps the best of the matter. He
was thoroughly master of the Rhine country, and of the sunny tone which
animates it in the fine season. Nor was he entirely unaccustomed to work
on a larger scale, and then he showed no want of execution or keeping.
His paintings were of a cheerful cast.
Trautmann /Rembrandtized/ some resurrection miracles out of the New
Testament, and alongside of them set fire to villages and mills. One
cabinet was entirely allotted to him, as I found from the designs of the
rooms. Hirt painted some good oak and beech forests. His cattle were
praiseworthy.
Junker, accustomed to the imitation of the most elaborate Dutch, was
least able to manage this tapestry-work; but he condescended to ornament
many compartments with flowers and fruits for a handsome price.
As I had known all these men from my earliest youth, and had often
visited them in their studios, and as the count also liked to have me
with him, I was present at the suggestions, consultations, and orders,
as well as at the deliveries, of the pictures, and ventured to speak my
opinion freely when sketches and designs were handed in. I had already
gained among amateurs, particularly at auctions, which I attended
diligently, the reputation of being able to tell at once what any
historical picture represented, whether taken from biblical or profane
history, or from mythology; and, even if I did not always hit upon the
meaning of allegorical pictures, there was seldom any one present who
understood it better than I. Often had I persuaded the artists to
represent this or that subject, and I now joyfully made use of these
advantages. I still remember writing a circumstantial essay, in which I
described twelve pictures which were to exhibit the history of Joseph:
some of them were executed.
After these achievements, which were certainly laudable in a boy, I will
mention a little disgrace which happened to me within this circle of
artists. I was well acquainted with all the pictures which had from time
to time been brought into that room. My youthful curiosity left nothing
unseen or unexplored. I once found a little black box behind the stove:
I did not fail to investigate what might be concealed in it, and drew
back the bolt without long deliberation. The picture contained was
certainly of a kind not usually exposed to view; and, although I tried
to bolt it again immediately, I was not quick enough. The count entered,
and caught me. "Who allowed you to open that box?" he asked, with all
his air of a royal lieutenant. I had not much to say for myself, and he
immediately pronounced my sentence in a very stern manner: "For eight
days," said he, "you shall not enter this room." I made a bow, and
walked out. Even this order I obeyed most punctually; so that the good
Seekatz, who was then at work in the room, was very much annoyed, for he
liked to have me about him: and, out of a little spite, I carried my
obedience so far, that I left Seekatz's coffee, which I generally
brought him, upon the threshold. He was then obliged to leave his work
and fetch it, which he took so ill, that he well nigh began to dislike
me.
It now seems necessary to state more circumstantially, and to make
intelligible, how, under the circumstances, I made my way with more or
less ease through the French language, which, however, I had never
learned. Here, too, my natural gift was of service to me; enabling me
easily to catch the sound of a language, its movement, accent, tone, and
all other outward peculiarities. I knew many words from the Latin;
Italian suggested still more; and by listening to servants and soldiers,
sentries and visitors, I soon picked up so much, that, if I could not
join in conversation, I could at any rate manage single questions and
answers. All this, however, was little compared to the profit I derived
from the theatre. My grandfather had given me a free ticket, which I
used daily, in spite of my father's reluctance, by dint of my mother's
support. There I sat in the pit, before a foreign stage, and watched the
more narrowly the movement and the expression, both of gesture and
speech; as I understood little or nothing of what was said, and
therefore could only derive entertainment from the action and the tone
of voice. I understood least of comedy; because it was spoken rapidly,
and related to the affairs of common life, of the phrases of which I
knew nothing. Tragedy was not so often played; and the measured step,
the rhythm of the Alexandrines, the generality of the expression, made
it more intelligible to me in every way. It was not long before I took
up Racine, which I found in my father's library, and declaimed the plays
to myself, in the theatrical style and manner, as the organ of my ear,
and the organ of speech, so nearly akin to that, had caught it, and this
with considerable animation; although I could not yet understand a whole
connected speech. I even learned entire passages by rote like a trained
talking-bird, which was easier to me, from having previously committed
to memory passages from the Bible which are generally unintelligible to
a child, and accustomed myself to reciting them in the tone of the
Protestant preachers. The versified French comedy was then much in
vogue: the pieces of Destouches, Marivaux, and La Chaussée were often
produced; and I still remember distinctly many characteristic figures.
Of those of Molière I recollect less. What made the greatest impression
upon me was "The Hypermnestra" of Lemière, which, as a new piece, was
brought out with care and often repeated. "The Devin du Village," "Rose
et Colas," "Annette et Lubin," made each a very pleasant impression upon
me. I can even now recall the youths and maidens decorated with ribbons,
and their gestures. It was not long before the wish arose in me to see
the interior of the theatre, for which many opportunities were offered
me. For as I had not always patience to stay and listen to the entire
plays, and often carried on all sorts of games with other children of my
age in the corridors, and in the milder season even before the door, a
handsome, lively boy joined us, who belonged to the theatre, and whom I
had seen in many little parts, though only casually. He came to a better
understanding with me than with the rest, as I could turn my French to
account with him; and he the more attached himself to me because there
was no boy of his age or his nation at the theatre, or anywhere in the
neighborhood. We also went together at other times, as well as during
the play; and, even while the representations went on, he seldom left me
in peace. He was a most delightful little braggart, chattered away
charmingly and incessantly, and could tell so much of his adventures,
quarrels, and other strange incidents, that he amused me wonderfully;
and I learned from him in four weeks more of the language, and of the
power of expressing myself in it, than can be imagined: so that no one
knew how I had attained the foreign tongue all at once, as if by
inspiration.
In the very earliest days of our acquaintance, he took me with him upon
the stage, and led me especially to the /foyers/, where the actors
and actresses remained during the intervals of the performance, and
dressed and undressed. The place was neither convenient nor agreeable;
for they had squeezed the theatre into a concert-room, so that there
were no separate chambers for the actors behind the stage. A tolerably
large room adjoining, which had formerly served for card-parties, was
now mostly used by both sexes in common, who appeared to feel as little
ashamed before each other as before us children, if there was not always
the strictest propriety in putting on or changing the articles of dress.
I had never seen any thing of the kind before; and yet from habit, after
repeated visits, I soon found it quite natural.