pleasure in which I engaged with different companies of young people,
was this,--that we seated ourselves in the Höchst market-ship, observed
the strange passengers packed away in it, and bantered and teased, now
this one, now that, as pleasure or caprice prompted. At Höchst we got
out at the time when the market-boat from Mentz arrived. At a hotel
there was a well-spread table, where the better sort of travellers,
coming and going, ate with each other, and then proceeded, each on his
way, as both ships returned. Every time, after dining, we sailed up to
Frankfort, having, with a very large company, made the cheapest water-
excursion that was possible. Once I had undertaken this journey with
Gretchen's cousins, when a young man joined us at table in Hochst, who
might be a little older than we were. They knew him, and he got himself
introduced to me. He had something very pleasing in his manner, though
he was not otherwise distinguished. Coming from Mentz, he now went back
with us to Frankfort, and conversed with me of every thing that related
to the internal arrangements of the city, and the public offices and
places, on which he seemed to me to be very well informed. When we
separated, he bade me farewell, and added, that he wished I might think
well of him, as he hoped on occasion to avail himself of my
recommendation. I did not know what he meant by this, but the cousins
enlightened me some days after. They spoke well of him, and asked me to
intercede with my grandfather, as a moderate appointment was just now
vacant, which this friend would like to obtain. I at first wished to be
excused, as I had never meddled in such affairs; but they went on urging
me until I resolved to do it. I had already many times remarked, that in
these grants of offices, which unfortunately were regarded as matters of
favor, the mediation of my grandmother or an aunt had not been without
effect. I was now so advanced as to arrogate some influence to myself.
For that reason, to gratify my friends, who declared themselves under
every sort of obligation for such a kindness, I overcame the timidity of
a grandchild, and undertook to deliver a written application that was
handed in to me.
One Sunday, after dinner, while my grandfather was busy in his garden,
all the more because autumn was approaching, and I tried to assist him
on every side, I came forward with my request and the petition, after
some hesitation. He looked at it, and asked me whether I knew the young
man. I told him in general terms what was to be said, and he let the
matter rest there. "If he has merit, and, moreover, good testimonials, I
will favor him for your sake and his own." He said no more, and for a
long while I heard nothing of the matter.
For some time I had observed that Gretchen was no longer spinning, but
instead was employed in sewing, and that, too, on very fine work, which
surprised me the more, as the days were already shortening, and winter
was coming on. I thought no further about it; only it troubled me that
several times I had not found her at home in the morning as formerly,
and could not learn, without importunity, whither she had gone. Yet I
was destined one day to be surprised in a very odd manner. My sister,
who was getting herself ready for a ball, asked me to fetch her some so-
called Italian flowers, at a fashionable milliner's. They were made in
convents, and were small and pretty: myrtles especially, dwarf-roses,
and the like, came out quite beautifully and naturally. I did her the
favor, and went to the shop where I had been with her often already.
Hardly had I entered, and greeted the proprietress, than I saw sitting
in the window a lady, who, in a lace cap, looked very young and pretty,
and in a silk mantilla seemed very well shaped. I could easily recognize
that she was an assistant, for she was occupied in fastening a ribbon
and feathers upon a hat. The milliner showed me the long box with single
flowers of various sorts. I looked them over, and, as I made my choice,
glanced again towards the lady in the window; but how great was my
astonishment when I perceived an incredible similarity to Gretchen, nay,
was forced to be convinced at last that it was Gretchen herself. Nor
could I doubt any longer, when she winked with her eyes, and gave me a
sign that I must not betray our acquaintance. I now, with my choosing
and rejecting, drove the milliner into despair more than even a lady
could have done. I had, in fact, no choice; for I was excessively
confused, and at the same time liked to linger, because it kept me near
the girl, whose disguise annoyed me, though in that disguise she
appeared to me more enchanting than ever. Finally the milliner seemed to
lose all patience, and with her own hands selected for me a whole
bandbox full of flowers, which I was to place before my sister, and let
her choose for herself. Thus I was, as it were, driven out of the shop,
she sending the box in advance by one of her girls.
Scarcely had I reached home than my father caused me to be called, and
communicated to me that it was now quite certain that the Archduke
Joseph would be elected and crowned king of Rome. An event so highly
important was not to be expected without preparation, nor allowed to
pass with mere gaping and staring. He wished, therefore, he said, to go
through with me the election and coronation diaries of the two last
coronations, as well as through the last capitulations of election, in
order to remark what new conditions might be added in the present
instance. The diaries were opened, and we occupied ourselves with them
the whole day till far into the night; while the pretty girl, sometimes
in her old house-dress, sometimes in her new costume, ever hovered
before me, backwards and forwards among the most august objects of the
Holy Roman Empire. This evening it was impossible to see her, and I lay
awake through a very restless night. The study of yesterday was the next
day zealously resumed; and it was not till towards evening that I found
it possible to visit my fair one, whom I met again in her usual house-
dress. She smiled when she saw me, but I did not venture to mention any
thing before the others. When the whole company sat quietly together
again, she began, and said, "It is unfair that you do not confide to our
friend what we have lately resolved upon." She then continued to relate,
that after our late conversation, in which the discussion was how any
one could get on in the world, something was also said of the way in
which a woman could enhance the value of her talent and labor, and
advantageously employ her time. The cousin had consequently proposed
that she should make an experiment at a milliner's, who was just then in
want of an assistant. They had, she said, arranged with the woman: she
went there so many hours a day, and was well paid; but she would there
be obliged, for propriety's sake, to conform to a certain dress, which,
however, she left behind her every time, as it did not at all suit her
other modes of life and employment. I was indeed set at rest by this
declaration; but it did not quite please me to know that the pretty girl
was in a public shop, and at a place where the fashionable world found a
convenient resort. But I betrayed nothing, and strove to work off my
jealous care in silence. For this the younger cousin did not allow me a
long time, as he once more came forward with a proposal for an
occasional poem, told me all the personalities, and at once desired me
to prepare myself for the invention and disposition of the work. He had
spoken with me several times already concerning the proper treatment of
such a theme; and, as I was voluble in these cases, he readily asked me
to explain to him, circumstantially, what is rhetorical in these things,
to give him a notion of the matter, and to make use of my own and
others' labors in this kind for examples. The young man had some brains,
but not a trace of a poetical vein; and now he went so much into
particulars, and wished to have such an account of every thing, that I
gave utterance to the remark, "It seems as if you wanted to encroach
upon my trade, and take away my customers!"--"I will not deny it," said
he, smiling, "as I shall do you no harm by it. This will only continue
to the time when you go to the university, and till then you must allow
me still to profit something by your society."--"Most cordially," I
replied; and I encouraged him to draw out a plan, to choose a metre
according to the character of his subject, and to do whatever else might
seem necessary. He went to work in earnest, but did not succeed. I was
in the end compelled to re-write so much of it, that I could more easily
and better have written it all from the beginning myself. Yet this
teaching and learning, this mutual labor, afforded us good
entertainment. Gretchen took part in it, and had many a pretty notion;
so that we were all pleased, we may, indeed, say happy. During the day
she worked at the milliner's: in the evenings we generally met together,
and our contentment was not even disturbed when at last the commissions
for occasional poems began to leave off. Still we felt hurt once, when
one of them came back under protest, because it did not suit the party
who ordered it. We consoled ourselves, however, as we considered it our
very best work, and could, therefore, declare the other a bad judge. The
cousin, who was determined to learn something at any rate, resorted to
the expedient of inventing problems, in the solution of which we always
found amusement enough; but, as they brought in nothing, our little
banquets had to be much more frugally managed.
That great political object, the election and coronation of a king of
Rome, was pursued with more and more earnestness. The assembling of the
electoral college, originally appointed to take place at Augsburg in the
October of 1763, was now transferred to Frankfort; and both at the end
of this year and in the beginning of the next, preparations went forward
which should usher in this important business. The beginning was made by
a parade never yet seen by us. One of our chancery officials on
horseback, escorted by four trumpeters likewise mounted, and surrounded
by a guard of infantry, read in a loud, clear voice at all the corners
of the city, a prolix edict, which announced the forthcoming
proceedings, and exhorted the citizens to a becoming deportment suitable
to the circumstances. The council was occupied with weighty
considerations; and it was not long before the Imperial quartermaster,
despatched by the hereditary grand marshal, made his appearance, in
order to arrange and designate the residences of the ambassadors and
their suites, according to the old custom. Our house lay in the Palatine
district, and we had to provide for a new but agreeable billetting. The
middle story, which Count Thorane had formerly occupied, was given up to
a cavalier of the Palatinate; and as Baron von Königsthal, the Nuremburg
/chargé-d'affaires/, occupied the upper floor, we were still more
crowded than in the time of the French. This served me as a new pretext
for being out of doors, and to pass the greater part of the day in the
streets, that I might see all that was open to public view.
After the preliminary alteration and arrangement of the rooms in the
town-house had seemed to us worth seeing; after the arrival of the
ambassadors one after another, and their first solemn ascent in a body,
on the 6th of February, had taken place,--we admired the coming in of
the imperial commissioners, and their ascent also to the /Romer/,
which was made with great pomp. The dignified person of the Prince of
Lichtenstein made a good impression; yet connoisseurs maintained that
the showy liveries had already been used on another occasion, and that
this election and coronation would hardly equal in brilliancy that of
Charles the Seventh. We younger folks were content with what was before
our eyes: all seemed to us very fine, and much of it perfectly
astonishing.
The electoral congress was fixed at last for the 3d of March. New
formalities again set the city in motion, and the alternate visits of
ceremony on the part of the ambassadors kept us always on our legs. We
were, moreover, compelled to watch closely; as we were not only to gape
about, but to note every thing well, in order to give a proper report at
home, and even to make out many little memoirs, on which my father and
Herr von Königsthal had deliberated, partly for our exercise and partly
for their own information. And certainly this was of peculiar advantage
to me; as I was enabled very tolerably to keep a living election and
coronation diary, as far as regarded externals.
The person who first of all made a durable impression upon me was the
chief ambassador from the electorate of Mentz, Baron von Erthal,
afterwards elector. Without having any thing striking in his figure, he
was always highly pleasing to me in his black gown trimmed with lace.
The second ambassador, Baron von Groschlag, was a well-formed man of the
world, easy in his exterior, but conducting himself with great decorum.
He everywhere produced a very agreeable impression. Prince Esterhazy,
the Bohemian envoy, was not tall, though well formed, lively, and at the
same time eminently decorous, without pride or coldness. I had a special
liking for him, because he reminded me of Marshal de Broglio. Yet the
form and dignity of these excellent persons vanished, in a certain
degree, before the prejudice that was entertained in favor of Baron von
Plotho, the Brandenburg ambassador. This man, who was distinguished by a
certain parsimony, both in his own clothes and in his liveries and
equipages, had been greatly renowned, from the time of the Seven Years'
War, as a diplomatic hero. At Ratisbon, when the Notary April thought,
in the presence of witnesses, to serve him with the declaration of
outlawry which had been issued against his king, he had, with the laconic
exclamation, "What! you serve?" thrown him, or caused him to be thrown,
down stairs. We believed the first, because it pleased us best; and we
could readily believe it of the little compact man, with his black,
fiery eyes glancing here and there. All eyes were directed towards him,
particularly when he alighted. There arose every time a sort of joyous
whispering; and but little was wanting to a regular explosion, or a
shout of /Vivat! Bravo!/ So high did the king, and all who were
devoted to him, body and soul, stand in favor with the crowd, among
whom, besides the Frankforters, were Germans from all parts.
On the one hand these things gave me much pleasure; as all that took
place, no matter of what nature it might be, concealed a certain
meaning, indicated some internal relation: and such symbolic ceremonies
again, for a moment, represented as living the old Empire of Germany,
almost choked to death by so many parchments, papers, and books. But, on
the other hand, I could not suppress a secret displeasure, when at home,
I had, on behalf of my father, to transcribe the internal transactions,
and at the same time to remark that here several powers, which balanced
each other, stood in opposition, and only so far agreed, as they
designed to limit the new ruler even more than the old one; that every
one valued his influence only so far as he hoped to retain or enlarge
his privileges, and better to secure his independence. Nay, on this
occasion they were more attentive than usual, because they began to fear
Joseph the Second, his vehemence, and probable plans.
With my grandfather and other members of the council, whose families I
used to visit, this was no pleasant time, they had so much to do with
meeting distinguished guests, complimenting, and the delivery of
presents. No less had the magistrate, both in general and in particular,
to defend himself, to resist, and to protest, as every one on such
occasions desires to extort something from him, or burden him with
something; and few of those to whom he appeals support him, or lend him
their aid. In short, all that I had read in "Lersner's Chronicle" of
similar incidents on similar occasions, with admiration of the patience
and perseverance of those good old councilmen, came once more vividly
before my eyes.
Many vexations arise also from this, that the city is gradually overrun
with people, both useful and needless. In vain are the courts reminded,
on the part of the city, of prescriptions of the Golden Bull, now,
indeed, obsolete. Not only the deputies with their attendants, but many
persons of rank, and others who come from curiosity or for private
objects, stand under protection; and the question as to who is to be
billetted out, and who is to hire his own lodging, is not always decided
at once. The tumult constantly increases; and even those who have
nothing to give, or to answer for, begin to feel uncomfortable.
Even we young people, who could quietly contemplate it all, ever found
something which did not quite satisfy our eyes or our imagination. The
Spanish mantles, the huge plumed hats of the ambassadors, and other
objects here and there, had indeed a truly antique look; but there was a
great deal, on the other hand, so half-new or entirely modern, that the
affair assumed throughout a motley, unsatisfactory, often tasteless,
appearance. We were, therefore, very happy to learn that great
preparations were made on account of the journey to Frankfort of the
emperor and future king; that the proceedings of the college of
electors, which were based on the last electoral capitulation, were now
going forward rapidly; and that the day of election had been appointed
for the 27th of March. Now there was a thought of fetching the insignia
of the empire from Nuremburg and Aix-la-Chation; while Gretchen, by her
unbroken attention, had highly encouraged me. At last she thanked me,
and envied, as she said, all who were informed of the affairs of this
world, and knew how this and that came about and what it signified. She
wished she were a boy, and managed to acknowledge, with much kindness,
that she was indebted to me for a great deal of instruction. "If I were
a boy," said she, "we would learn something good together at the
university." The conversation continued in this strain: she definitively
resolved to take instruction in French, of the absolute necessity of
which she had become well aware in the milliner's shop. I asked her why
she no longer went there; for during the latter times, not being able to
go out much in the evening, I had often passed the shop during the day
for her sake, merely to see her for a moment. She explained that she had
not liked to expose herself there in these unsettled times. As soon as
the city returned to its former condition, she intended to go there
again.
Then the impending day of election was the topic of conversation. I
contrived to tell, at length, what was going to happen, and how, and to
support my demonstrations in detail by drawings on the tablet; for I had
the place of conclave, with its altars, thrones, seats, and chairs,
perfectly before my mind. We separated at the proper time, and in a
particularly comfortable frame of mind.
For, with a young couple who are in any degree harmoniously formed by
nature, nothing can conduce to a more beautiful union than when the
maiden is anxious to learn, and the youth inclined to teach. There
arises from it a well-grounded and agreeable relation. She sees in him
the creator of her spiritual existence; and he sees in her a creature
that ascribes her perfection, not to nature, not to chance, nor to any
one-sided inclination, but to a mutual will: and this reciprocation is
so sweet, that we cannot wonder, if, from the days of the old and the
new [Footnote: The "/new/ Abelard" is St. Preux, in the Nouvelle
Héloise of Rousseau.--TRANS.] Abelard, the most violent passions, and as
much happiness as unhappiness, have arisen from such an intercourse of
two beings.
With the next day began great commotion in the city, on account of the
visits paid and returned, which now took place with the greatest
ceremony. But what particularly interested me, as a citizen of
Frankfort, and gave rise to a great many reflections, was the taking of
the oath of security (/Sicherheitseides/) by the council, the
military, and the body of citizens, not through representatives, but
personally and in mass: first, in the great hall of the Römer, by the
magistracy and staff-officers; then in the great square (/Platz/),
the Römerberg, by all the citizens, according to their respective ranks,
gradations, or quarterings; and, lastly, by the rest of the military.
Here one could survey at a single glance the entire commonwealth,
assembled for the honorable purpose of swearing security to the head and
members of the empire, and unbroken peace during the great work now
impending. The Electors of Treves and of Cologne had now also arrived.
On the evening before the day of election, all strangers are sent out of
the city, the gates are closed, the Jews are confined to their quarter,
and the citizen of Frankfort prides himself not a little that he alone
may witness so great a solemnity.
All that had hitherto taken place was tolerably modern: the highest and
high personages moved about only in coaches, but now we were going to
see them in the primitive manner on horseback. The concourse and rush
were extraordinary. I managed to squeeze myself into the Römer, which I
knew as familiarly as a mouse does the private corn-loft, till I reached
the main entrance, before which the electors and ambassadors, who had
first arrived in their state-coaches, and had assembled above, were now
to mount their horses. The stately, well-trained steeds were covered
with richly laced housings, and ornamented in every way. The Elector
Emeric Joseph, a handsome, portly man, looked well on horseback. Of the
other two I remember less, excepting that the red princes' mantles,
trimmed with ermine, which we had been accustomed to see only in
pictures before, seemed to us very romantic in the open air. The
ambassadors of the absent temporal electors, with their Spanish dresses
of gold brocade, embroidered over with gold, and trimmed with gold lace,
likewise did our eyes good; and the large feathers particularly, that
waved most splendidly from the hats, which were cocked in the antique
style. But what did not please me were the short modern breeches, the
white silk stockings, and the fashionable shoes. We should have liked
half-boots,--gilded as much as they pleased,--sandals, or something of
the kind, that we might have seen a more consistent costume.
In deportment the Ambassador Von Plotho again distinguished himself from
all the rest. He appeared lively and cheerful, and seemed to have no
great respect for the whole ceremony. For when his front-man, an elderly
gentleman, could not leap immediately on his horse, and he was therefore
forced to wait some time in the grand entrance, he did not refrain from
laughing, till his own horse was brought forward, upon which he swung
himself very dexterously, and was again admired by us as a most worthy
representative of Frederick the Second.
Now the curtain was for us once more let down. I had, indeed, tried to
force my way into the church; but that place was more inconvenient than
agreeable. The voters had withdrawn into the /sanctum/, where
prolix ceremonies usurped the place of a deliberate consideration as to
the election. After long delay, pressure, and bustle, the people at last
heard the name of Joseph the Second, who was proclaimed King of Rome.
The thronging of strangers into the city became greater and greater.
Everybody went about in his holiday clothes, so that at last none but
dresses entirely of gold were found worthy of note. The emperor and king
had already arrived at /Heusenstamm/, a castle of the counts of
Schönborn, and were there in the customary manner greeted and welcomed;
but the city celebrated this important epoch by spiritual festivals of
all the religions, by high masses and sermons; and, on the temporal
side, by incessant firing of cannon as an accompaniment to the "Te
Deums."
If all these public solemnities, from the beginning up to this point,
had been regarded as a deliberate work of art, not much to find fault
with would have been found. All was well prepared. The public scenes
opened gradually, and went on increasing in importance; the men grew in
number, the personages in dignity, their appurtenances, as well as
themselves, in splendor,--and thus it advanced with every day, till at
last even a well-prepared and firm eye became bewildered.
The entrance of the Elector of Mentz, which we have refused to describe
more completely, was magnificent and imposing enough to suggest to the
imagination of an eminent man the advent of a great prophesied world-
ruler: even we were not a little dazzled by it. But now our expectation
was stretched to the utmost, as it was said that the emperor and the
future king were approaching the city. At a little distance from
Sachsenhausen, a tent had been erected in which the entire magistracy
remained, to show the appropriate honor, and to proffer the keys of the
city to the chief of the empire. Farther out, on a fair, spacious plain,
stood another, a state pavilion, whither the whole body of electoral
princes and ambassadors repaired; while their retinues extended along
the whole way, that gradually, as their turns came, they might again
move towards the city, and enter properly into the procession. By this
time the emperor reached the tent, entered it; and the princes and
ambassadors, after a most respectful reception, withdrew, to facilitate
the passage of the chief ruler.