ESTRANGEMENT.
Charlotte von Stein sat before her mirror, anxiously regarding her
countenance, and carefully examining each feature and every little
wrinkle that was observable on her clear forehead and cheeks.
"No," said she, with an air of joyous confidence, "no, it is not
visible; no one can read it in my face! It is a secret between myself
and my certificate of baptism!"
As intelligent as she was, Charlotte von Stein was yet subject to
that cowardly fear of her sex--the fear that her age might be read in
her countenance. She, too, was wanting in that courage which contents
itself with the eternal youth of the mind, and does not demand of its
covering that it retain no traces of the rude, unfeeling hand of Time.
A woman who loves has invariably the weakness to desire not to become
old, at least in the eyes of him whose image fills her heart--in the
eyes of him she loves. She does not consider that, in so doing, she
insults the intelligence of the object of her devotion, by admitting
that he thinks more of the outward form than of the inner being, and
loves with the eyes only, and not with the mind.
In the first years of their acquaintance, and in the incipient stage of
their attachment, Charlotte von Stein had always listened to Goethe's
protestations of love with a merry smile, and had invariably replied:
"I am too old for you! Remember that I am some years older than
you--that I am old enough to be your mother." When she made this reply,
Goethe would laugh, and kiss with passionate tenderness the fair hand
of the woman who offered him motherly friendship, and whom he adored
with all the ardor of a lover.
But ten long years had passed since then! Charlotte thought of this
while looking at herself in the mirror, and she sighed as she admitted
to herself that she had committed a fault--a great fault, for she had
left the cool regions of motherly tenderness, and had permitted herself
to be carried away by the tide of Goethe's passion; the two flames in
her heart had been united into the one godlike flame of love. It had
seemed so sweet to be adored by this handsome man, and to listen to his
tender protestations and entreaties! It had been so charming to receive
each morning a letter filled with passionate assurances of love, and
vows of eternal fidelity! She had continued to read these ardent
letters until their words glowed in her own heart--until, at last, that
day came for the lovers of which Dante says: "On that day they read no
more"--the day on which Charlotte confessed to her enraptured lover
that his love was reciprocated.
A few days later, Goethe had written: "My /First and Best Friend/! I
have always had an ideal wish as to how I desired to be loved, and
have vainly sought its fulfilment in my illusive dreams. Now that the
world seems lighter to me each day, I see it realized in such a manner
that it can never be lost again. Farewell, thou fairest prospect of my
whole life; farewell, thou only one, in whom I need lose nothing, in
order to find all!"[46]
Charlotte had placed this little letter in a golden locket, from which
she was never separated; it had been her blissful assurance, her
talisman of eternal youth and joy.
She now turned from the mirror that utterly refused to say any thing
agreeable, and drew from her bosom her talisman, the locket that
contained the relic, the source of so much happiness, love, and delight.
Relics! Alas, how much that we consider real, present, and full of
life, is only a relic of the past! How few men there are in whose
hearts the love they once vowed should be eternal, is no more than
a relic!--the crumbling bone of a saint, to whom altars were once
erected, and who was adored as an immortal, unchangeable being. Alas,
Love, thou poor saint, how often are thy altars overthrown, and how
soon do thy youth and beauty fade, leaving nothing of thee but a little
dust and ashes--a relic!
Charlotte von Stein held the letter in her hands, but the thought did
not occur to her that it too was only a relic; she still considered it
the eloquent witness of passionate love. While reading the letter, a
bright smile had illumined her features, and imparted to them a more
youthful and beautiful expression. She now kissed the sheet of paper,
and replaced it in the locket which she wore on a golden chain around
her neck.
What need had she of written evidences? Was not _he_ near? would not
_his_ lips soon say more, in a single kiss, than thousands of written
words could tell?
"But he might have come sooner," whispered a voice in Charlotte's
heart; "it is very late."
Her beautiful brown eyes cast an anxious look toward the door, and she
smiled. Her heart throbbed in advance of time; it was still so early in
the morning, that it would hardly have been considered proper for him
to call at an earlier hour.
But now her heart beat quicker--she heard a step in the antechamber.
"It is he! Be firm, my heart, do not break with delight, for--yes, it
is he! it is he!"
She flew forward to meet him, with extended hands, her countenance
radiant with delight. "Welcome, Goethe, a thousand welcomes!"
"A thousand thanks, Charlotte, that your faithful, loving heart bids me
welcome!"
His large black eyes regarded her with all their former tenderness, and
then--then he kissed her hand.
Charlotte could scarcely restrain a sigh, and could not repress the
terror that pervaded her whole being. He felt the tremor in the hands
which he held in his own, and it was perhaps on this account that he
released them, threw his arms around her and pressed her to his heart.
"Here I am once more, Charlotte, and, as God is my witness, I return
with the same love and fidelity with which I left you! You can believe
this, my beloved, for it was on your account chiefly, or on your
account solely, that I returned at all. You must therefore love me
very dearly, Charlotte, and reward me, with faithful love and cordial
friendship, for the sacrifice I have made for your sake."
"It was, then, a sacrifice?" said she, with a touch of irony in her
voice that did not escape Goethe.
"Yes, my dearest, this return to cold, prosaic Germany, from the warm,
sunny clime of happy Italy, was a sacrifice."
"Then I really regret that you did not remain there," said she, with
more sensitiveness than discretion.
He looked at her wonderingly. "You regret that I have returned? I
supposed you would be glad."
"I can rejoice in nothing that I have attained by a sacrifice on your
part."
"My love, do not let us quarrel over words," said he, almost sadly.
"We will not unnecessarily pour drops of bitterness into the cup of
our rejoicing at being together once more. We have met again, and will
endeavor to hold each other fast, that we may never be divided."
"If an effort is necessary, then we are already half divided."
"But I have come home in order that we may be reunited, wholly and
joyfully," said Goethe, moved to kindness and generosity by the tears
which stood in her eyes, and the annoyance and sadness that clouded her
countenance, rendering it neither younger nor more beautiful.
But remembrances of the past smiled on him in the lustrous eyes of the
woman he had loved so ardently for ten years, and it was still a very
comforting feeling, after having been tossed about by the storms of
life for so long a time, to return once more to his heart's home, to
lie once more in the haven of happiness and love, where there were no
more storms and dangers, and where the wearied wanderer could enjoy
peaceful rest, and dream sweet dreams.
He seated himself at Charlotte's side on the sofa, laid his arm
around her neck, took her hand in his own, looked lovingly into her
countenance, and began to tell her of his journey--of the little
accidents and occurrences that can only be verbally imparted.
She listened attentively; she rejoiced in his passionate eloquence,
in his glowing descriptions of his travels, and yet--and yet, as
interesting as this was there was nevertheless another theme that would
have been far more so--the theme of his love, of his longings to see
her, and of his delight in being once more reunited with his Charlotte,
and in finding her so beautiful, so unchanged.
But Goethe did not speak of these things; and, instead of contenting
herself with reading his love in his tender glances, his smiles,
and his confiding and devoted manner, her heart thirsted to hear
passionate assurances of love fall from his lips. Her countenance
wore a listless expression, and she did not seem to take her usual
lively interest in his words. Goethe observed this, and interrupted
his narrative to tell her that he was delighted to be with her once
more, and that she was still as beautiful and charming as ever.
Hereupon Charlotte burst into tears, and then suddenly embraced him
passionately, and rested her head on his breast.
"Oh! let no estrangement occur between us; do not become cold and
reserved to me too, as you are to the rest of the world!"
"Am I that?" asked he, with an offended air. From her at least he had
not deserved this reproach, and it affected him disagreeably, casting a
damper over the gayety with which he had been narrating his adventures.
"Am I really cold and reserved?" he asked, as she did not reply, for
the second time.
"Yes, Wolf," said she, with vivacity, "you know that you are; the world
accuses you of being so."
"Because I am not like a market-place, open to the inspection of every
fool, and in which the inquisitive rabble can gaze at, handle, and
criticise every thing, as though the holiest thoughts of the soul were
mere wares exposed for sale!--because I am rather to be compared to a
fortress surrounded by a high wall, which opens its well-guarded gates
to the initiated and chosen only. In this sense I admit that that which
is called the world, and which is in reality only the inquisitive,
gossipping rabble, composed chiefly of individuals who make great
pretensions to intellectuality, but are generally empty-headed--that
this world calls me cold and reserved, I admit. But have I ever been so
toward my friends, and, above all, toward you?"
"No, Heaven be thanked! no, my beloved Wolf!" cried Charlotte, in eager
and tender tones, well aware that she had committed an error, which
she wished to repair; "no, toward me you have always been friendly,
communicative, and open, and therefore--"
"And therefore, my love," said he, interrupting her, "therefore you
should not have reproached me, undeservedly, in the hour of our
reunion." He arose and took his hat from the table.
"Oh, Wolf!" cried she, anxiously, "you are not going?"
"I must, my dearest! I must first pay a few formal visits, to avoid
giving offence. I must call on some friends I expect to meet at the
ducal table to-day."
"Perhaps it was only on this account that you visited me?" said
Charlotte, the tears which she could no longer repress, gushing from
her eyes. "Wolf, did you visit me solely because you expected to meet
me in the ducal palace to-day?"
He regarded her with a look of distress and astonishment. "Charlotte,
dear Charlotte, is it possible that so great a change has come over you
in two short years?"
She started, and a glowing color suffused itself over her countenance;
the poor woman thought of what her mirror had told her but a short time
before, and Goethe's question awakened bitter reflections. "Am I really
so changed?" sighed she, and her head sank wearily upon her breast.
"No," cried he, earnestly, "no, Charlotte, you cannot have changed;
it is only that this first moment of reunion after a long separation
has affected us strangely. We will soon be restored to each other
completely, we will soon be reunited in love and friendship. Charlotte,
it is impossible that two years of separation can have torn asunder
the holy union of our souls! Let us strive to prevent so unhappy a
consummation; it would be a misfortune for me--yes, I may say, a
misfortune for you, too! I think we love each other so tenderly that we
should both endeavor, with the whole strength of our souls, to ward off
misfortune from each other. Let these be my farewell words, darling,
and, as I have just learned that you too will dine at court to-day, I
can joyfully say--till we meet again!"
He embraced her, and pressed a kiss on her lips, a kiss that wounded
her heart more than a cold leave-taking would have done; for this
gentle, friendly kiss seemed to her but as the second echo of what her
mirror had said! As the door closed behind his loved form, Charlotte
sank down on her knees, buried her face in the cushions of the sofa,
and wept bitterly.
His head erect, his countenance grave and earnest, Goethe walked on to
pay his calls; and those whom he thus honored found that be had come
home colder and more reserved than when he had departed. But, at the
banquet, in the ducal palace, he was neither cold nor reserved; there
he was eloquent and impassioned,--there enthusiastic words of poetic
description flowed like golden nectar from his smiling lips; there his
eye sparkled and his cheek glowed, and his illustration of life in
Italy awakened delight and admiration in the hearts of all--of all,
except Charlotte von Stein! She sat at Goethe's side, and he often
turned his lightning glance on her, as though speaking to her alone,
but Charlotte felt only that what he said was intended for all. Had he
but attempted to whisper a single word in her ear, had he given her
hand a gentle pressure, had he but made her some secret sign understood
by herself only, and permitted her to feel that something peculiar
and mysterious was going on in which they two alone participated! In
society, Goethe had formerly, before his journey to Italy, availed
himself of every little opportunity that arose to press her hand
and whisper loving words in her ear. To-day he was wanting in these
delicate little attentions--in these little love-signals, for which she
had so often scolded him in former times! She was therefore very quiet,
and did not join in the applause of the rest of the company. But,
amidst the admiration evoked by his eloquence, Goethe listened only
to hear a word of approval from Charlotte, and, when his friend still
remained silent, his animation vanished and his countenance darkened.
But they had loved each other too long and too tenderly not to be
alarmed by the thought of a possible coolness and separation. True,
Charlotte often wept in the solitude of her chamber, and accused him
of ingratitude; true, Goethe often grumbled in silence, and lamented
over Charlotte's irritability and sensitiveness, but yet he was earnest
in his desire to avoid all estrangement, and to restore to their hearts
the beautiful harmony that had so long existed.
He resumed the habit that had formerly given him so much delight--that
of writing to Charlotte almost daily. But her sensitive woman's ear
detected a difference in the melody of his letters; they were no longer
written in the same high, passionate key, but had been toned down to
a low, melancholy air. Her own replies were of a like character, and
this annoyed Goethe greatly. He abused the gloomy skies of Germany, and
lamented over the lost paradise of Italy; and Charlotte could not help
comprehending that she was the cause of his discontent and anger.
But still he visited her almost every day, and was always animated and
communicative in her society. He read portions of his newly-commenced
drama "Torquato Tasso," with her, told her of his plans for the future,
and permitted her to take part in his intellectual life. Then she would
soon forget her little sorrows and her woman's sensitiveness, and
become once more the intelligent friend, with the clear judgment and
profound understanding.
On an occasion of this kind, Goethe requested his "beloved friend" to
return the letters he had written to her during the two years of his
sojourn in Italy.
Charlotte looked at him in astonishment. "My letters--the dear letters
I have kept so sacred that I have not shown a single one of them to my
most intimate friends--these letters you desire me to return?"
"Certainly, my dear, I beg you to do so. I intend having an account of
my Italian journey published--have also promised Wieland some fragments
for his "Mercury," and, in order to prepare these for the press, it
will only be necessary to have the letters I have written to you
copied."
"Can this be possible, Wolf?" asked she, in dismay. "Do you really
intend to have the letters, written by you to me, read and copied by a
third person?"
"As a matter of course, I will first correct these letters, and leave
nothing in them addressed to you personally and intended for your dear
eyes only," replied Goethe, laughing. "I always had this end in view
while writing to you in Italy, and you will have observed that my
letters were always divided, to a certain extent, into two portions.
The first is addressed to you only, my dear Charlotte--to you, my
friend and my beloved--and this was filled with the words of love and
longing that glowed in my own heart. The second portion is a mere
narrative and description of what I have seen, heard, and done while in
Italy, and was intended for publication."
"But this is unheard of," cried Charlotte, angrily; "this experiment
does great honor to your cold calculation, but very little to your
heart."
"Charlotte, I am not aware of ever having done any thing discreditable
to my heart in my relations to you!"
"Relations to me!" she repeated, offended. "Certainly, this is an
entirely new name for the ardent love you once protested could never
expire in your heart."
"Charlotte, dear, beloved Charlotte!" he sighed, sadly, "do take
pity on us both. Be yourself once more. You were once so noble, so
lofty-minded; do not now fall from this high estate, but take a quiet,
unprejudiced view of our relations. Why should you reproach me for
desiring to have a portion of your letters published? Will they be any
the less your letters on that account?"
"They are not, and never were mine!" she replied, angrily; "they merely
chanced to be addressed to me--these letters, which you intended for
publication even while writing them, and which were so well concocted
that it will only be necessary to extract a few little elements of
feeling and sentiment to make the manuscript complete and ready for
the press. And I, poor, blinded simpleton, imagined that this Goethe,
who could leave me to go to Italy--I imagined that this Goethe, whom
my soul had followed with its sighs of affectionate longing, still
loved me. I was generous enough to believe that the thoughts, love, and
confidence contained in his letters were addressed to me only; but now
I must learn that I was nothing more to him than the representative
of the great hydra-headed monster, the public, and that he was only
informing it when he seemed to be speaking to me!"
"Charlotte, I conjure you, do not continue to talk in this manner; you
cannot know how your words grieve my heart! Charlotte, by the brightest
and most beautiful years of my life, I conjure you, do not step forth
from the pure and radiant atmosphere in which you have heretofore
appeared to me. I conjure you, my friend, by all the adoration, esteem,
and love which I have consecrated to you, do not descend from the altar
on which my love has placed you; do not join the throng of those women
who are unnecessarily jealous when they fancy their lovers not quite so
tender as usual. You are not one of them; remain, therefore, on your
altar, and allow me to worship you as I have heretofore done."
"You do well to say 'as you have done,' but as you no longer do," cried
Charlotte, bursting into tears, without considering that woman's tears
are but poor weapons to use against men, and that the woman must be
very young, very beautiful, and the object of great adoration, who can
afford to disfigure her countenance with tears and clouds of discontent.
Goethe looked at her in surprise and alarm, and his glance rested on
her countenance inquiringly, as though seeking the charm that had
formerly attracted him so irresistibly. Then, as she fastened her
tear-stained eyes on his countenance, he started and turned hastily
aside, as though some unwelcome vision had arisen before him.
The conviction now dawned on Charlotte that she had committed a grave
error; she quickly dried her eyes, and, with that power peculiar to
women, she even forced a smile to her lips.
"You turn from me, Wolf," said she, in tender tones, "you do not reply?"
"My dear," said he, gently, "as you have asked me no question, what
can I answer? You asserted that I no longer loved and adored you as
in former days. To such an assertion, Charlotte, I can make no reply;
I would consider it a sacrilegious breach of the union that has been
sanctified and confirmed by long years of love and fidelity, and that
should be elevated above all doubt and protestations."
"Then you love me, Wolf? You still love me?"
"Yes," said he; and it seemed to Charlotte as though he had laid a
peculiar emphasis on this little word. It sounded like another echo of
the ominous whisperings of her mirror.
For a moment both were silent, perhaps because Charlotte was too
completely absorbed in her own thoughts. When they conversed again it
was on an entirely different topic.
After a short time Goethe tenderly took leave of Charlotte, and left
the house; he hurried through the streets and entered the park, to the
densest and most obscure retreats of which he had so often revealed his
thoughts in past years. This park had been Goethe's true and discreet
friend for many years, and he now turned his footsteps once more toward
the favorite retreat in which he had so often poured out his sighs and
complaints in former days, when Charlotte had cruelly repelled the
advances of her tender friend and lover. Goethe suffered to-day also,
but his sufferings were not to be compared to those he had formerly
experienced in the same shady avenues. Then his soul was filled with a
despair that was tempted with hope and joyousness. For was there ever a
true lover whose ladylove had driven him to despair by her cruelty, who
did not nevertheless entertain a joyous hope that her hard heart would
at last be softened, and that he would yet become a _happy_ lover? Then
these avenues had often resounded with Goethe's sighs and lamentations,
and there the tears of wounded pride had often filled his eyes. To-day
he neither sighed nor lamented, and his eyes were tearless, but he
looked gloomy, and an expression of annoyance rather than of sadness
rested on his countenance. In silence he walked to and fro with hasty
strides; suddenly he raised the light cane which he held in his hand
and struck a sprig of blossoming woodbine from a vine that overhung
the walk, so violently that it fell to his feet; and then his lips
murmured: "She is very much changed. She has become an old woman, and
I--I cannot make myself ridiculous by playing the lover--no!"
He ceased speaking, without having finished his sentence, as if
alarmed at his own words. He then stooped down, picked up the sprig of
woodbine, and regarded it thoughtfully.
"Poor blossom," said he, gently, "I did wrong to strike you! You are
not beautiful, but you are very fragrant, and it is for this reason
probably that the kindly and delicate feeling of the people has given
you so pretty a name. They call you, 'The longer, the dearer!' I will
not tread you under foot, you poor 'the longer the dearer;' your
fragrance is very delightful, and somehow it seems to me as though
Charlotte's eyes were gazing at me from out your tiny cups."
He placed the flower in a button-hole of his coat, and, as though his
little "the longer the dearer" blossom had given him a satisfactory
solution of his heart-troubles, he left the shady retreat and went
toward an opening in the park. He walked rapidly, and was on the
point of turning into a path that led to his garden-house, when he
saw a young girl approaching from the other side of the road. She was
unknown to Goethe, and her whole appearance indicated that she did
not belong to that favored class that claims to constitute what is
called "society." The simple calico dress which enveloped her full
and graceful figure, the coarse shoes in which her little feet were
enclosed, and the white and delicate little ungloved hands, proclaimed
that she did not belong to "society." Moreover, the light little hat
which ladies of rank wore jauntily on one side of their powdered hair
at that time, was wanting. Her hair was uncovered, and surrounded her
lovely little head with a mass of sunny curls. Her countenance was
radiant with youth, innocence, and freshness; she blushed as her eyes
encountered Goethe's lightning glances. Her large blue eyes rested on
him with an expression of gentle entreaty and tender humility, and
a soft smile played about her pouting, crimson lips. This youthful,
charming apparition resembled but little the pale, faintly-colored
blossoms of the flower which he wore in his button-hole; she was more
like the rich mossrose-bud which nestled on the fair girl's bosom, and
with which she had confined the two ends of the lace shawl that hung
loosely over her beautiful shoulders.
Goethe now stood before her, regarding her with inquiring, wondering
glances. With a graceful movement the young girl raised her right hand,
in which she held a folded paper.
"Mr. Privy-Councillor, I beg you to take this and read it."
"What does this document contain?" asked Goethe, in tender tones.
"It is a petition from my brother in Jena," murmured her clear, silvery
voice. "I promised him to give it to the privy-councillor myself, and
to entreat him right earnestly to grant my dear brother's request. Dear
privy-councillor, please do so. We are such a poor and unhappy family;
we are compelled to work so hard, and we earn so little. We have to
study such close economy, and there are so few holidays in our life!
But it would be a glorious fête-day for us all if the privy-councillor
would grant what my dear brother so ardently desires."
Goethe's eyes were still fastened on the lovely apparition that stood
before him like an embodied Psyche. In her rich, youthful beauty she
seemed to him like some myrtle-blossom wafted over from sunny Italy.
"What is your name, my dear girl?" asked he.
"My name is Christiane Vulpius, Mr. Privy-Councillor," murmured she,
casting her eyes down.
"Not the daughter of that good-for-nothing drunkard, who--"
"Sir, he is my father," said she, interrupting him in such sad,
reproachful tones, that Goethe felt heartily ashamed of his
inconsiderate words, and took off his hat as he would have done to
a lady of rank. "Forgive me, mademoiselle, I did wrong. Excuse my
thoughtless words. But now I can readily comprehend that your family
must be poor and unhappy. It seems to me that misfortune has, however,
not dared to touch these rosy cheeks and lustrous eyes with its rude
fingers."
She smiled. "I am still so young, sir; youth is light-hearted and hopes
for better times. And then, when I grow weary of our dark little room,
I run here to the park. The park is every one's garden, and a great
delight for us poor people. Here I skip about, seek flowers in the
grass, and sing with the birds. Is not this enough to make me happy,
although hard work, poor fare, and much abuse, await me at home?"
"But it seems to me," said Goethe, taking the hand, which still held
the petition, gently in his own, "it seems to me that this fair hand
has no right to complain of hard work. It is as white as a lily."
"And this hand has made a great many lilies," rejoined she, smiling.
"My work consists in making flowers. I love flowers, and roam through
the woods all day long on Sundays, seeking beautiful flowers to copy
from. My field-flower bouquets are great favorites, and the milliners
pay me well for them. They are very fashionable, and the high-born
ladies at court all desire to wear field-flower bouquets on their hats.
Day before yesterday I furnished a field-flower bouquet, which the
milliner sold to Madame the Baroness von Stein, on the same day, and
yesterday I saw it on her hat."
The hand which but now had clasped the white tapering fingers of the
young girl so tenderly, trembled a little, and a shadow flitted over
his smiling countenance. Madame von Stein's name sounded strangely on
the young girl's lips; it seemed like a warning of impending danger. He
looked grave, and released her hand, retaining only the petition. "Tell
me what it contains," said he, pointing to the paper. "I would rather
read it from your lips than from the paper?"
"Mr. Privy-Councillor, it concerns my poor, dear brother. He is such
a brave, good fellow, and so diligent and learned. He lives in Jena,
translates books from the Italian and French, and sells them to
publishing houses. The office of secretary of the university library,
in Jena, is now vacant, and my brother desires it, and would be so
happy if he should receive the appointment! He has dared to address
you, Mr. Councillor, and to entreat you earnestly to use your influence
to secure him the situation. I have undertaken to deliver the petition,
and to say a great many fine phrases besides. Ah, Mr. Privy-Councillor,
I had written down a whole speech that I intended to make to you."
"Then let me hear this speech, my fair girl. The nightingales and
bullfinches have hushed their songs, and are waiting for you to begin."
"Sir," murmured she, blushing, "I do not know why it is, but I cannot."
He bent forward, closer to her side, so close that the wind blew her
golden locks against his cheek. "Why is it that you cannot, my fair
child? Why not let me hear your beautiful little speech?"
"Because, because--I have hitherto only seen you at a distance, and
then you looked so exalted, and walked with so much stiffness and
dignity, that I entertained the most profound respect for the proud old
privy-councillor, and now that I am near you I see, well--"
"Well?"
"Well," cried she, with a joyous peal of laughter, "I see that you are
much too young, that my speech is entirely inappropriate."
"Why so?" asked Goethe, smiling. "Try it, let me hear it, nevertheless."
She looked up at him with an inquiring, childlike expression. "Do you
believe that my beautiful speech would influence you and promote my
brother's interests? If you believe that, I will speak, for my brother
is a dear, good fellow, and I will do any thing to make him happy!"
"Then let us hear it," replied Goethe, delighted with the fair young
girl, whose beauty, grace, and naïveté, reminded him of the lovely
Leonora in Rome. Yes, it was she, it was Leonora, with this difference
only, that this fair girl was a northern version of the Leonora of the
south, but was none the less beautiful on that account. "Oh, Leonora,
you child of the sun and of Nature, am I really to be so blessed, am I
to find you here again--here where my heart was congealing, and longing
for the sunny rays of delight from a fair woman's eyes? Yes, Leonora,
this is your sweet smile and kindling, childlike glance; it is you, and
yet it is not you. God and Nature were reflected in your countenance, a
whole heaven shone in your features. Fair Nature is reflected in this
lovely countenance also, but I seek the divinity in vain, and instead
of heaven I find the joyous earth enthroned therein!"
Goethe was occupied with these thoughts while Christiane, blushing,
smiling, half-ashamed at times, and then again bold and fearless, was
declaiming her well-prepared speech. Too much of what was passing in
Goethe's mind must have been reflected in the tender, ardent glances
which rested on her countenance, for she suddenly broke off in the
midst of a sentence, murmured a few embarrassed words, blushed,
courtesied, and then turned and fled like a startled doe.