T HE

M E N D E L S S O HN F A M I L Y
( 1 7 2 9 —1 8 4 7
) H, ”

FR O M LE T TER S AN D JO URN ALS“

SEB ASTIAN HE NSEL

EI G HT P ORTRAI TS FROM DRAWIN G S BY WILHELM HENSEL

S E C OND R E VI S E D E DI TI ON

T RAN SLA T E D BY C ARL KL IN G EMANN

A ND
AN A M E RICAN COLL AB ORATOR

A NOTI CE B Y G EORG E G ROVE, Esq , D C L . . .

V OL . II
.

N , 2 56?
1963
E DWAR D J O HN

NEW YORK
HA R P E R 87
, B R O T HE R S , F R A N KL I N S Q U A R E
c ( c
(

Ente r ed ac c o rdin g to Ac t of Co n gre ss, in th e year 1 88 1 , by

HARPER 8L B ROTHERS ,

In the Ofli c e of the Lib rarian of Co n gr e ss, at Washington .

Aa r mM3 n m ww d

8 4 57 1 1
 CON T E N T S

T HE S E C OND V O L UM E .
 VOL . II ,

18 8 5- 1 8 4 7 .

Ic h n en n e de n de n G lii c klic h st e n ,

Un d e i l i g d an n zur er kam ;
ii c kg e k e h rt , v on W0
Die S o n n e di e a li en leuch te t S t ern e Feuer M eer
, , , , ,

Der Wo l ken Z ug— un d we n n da hun dert Ja bre leb st ,

Ni ch ts a n dre s si eh st du a ls i n w e m ge n Jah re n a uch

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M E N A N DE R ) .

Him ca ll t h e h a ppie s t
do I ,

Wh o free fro m so rro w sa w th e heigh t an d dept h of li f e ,

Th e sun a n d gre at l i gh t sta rs fi re a n d se a

hi s , ,

An d cl o uds— a n d i f t ho u li ve a hun dred ye a rs .

,

No m o re ca n s t t h o u be h o ld t h an i n a f ew .

An d n o thi n g m o re s ublim e is s ee n by m o rta l e ye ,

 { 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

T HE winter o f 1 8 3 5 passed drear ily— everybody had to strive

to get accustomed to the great loss Felix persisted in a sol itary
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al most desperate mood , and Fanny was fi rm l y convinced that he

must be gi n quite a new life and marry She talked about it to
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him , and w a s overj oyed by his assurance that he would look about
him on the R hine next s ummer , which proved that he had a
certain obj ect i n View What else could have induced hi m t o
.

think o f the R hine especially ? W e shall see how successfully

he sought and fou n d .

A letter fr om Fann y to Klin ge m an n dated Janu ary 3 1 1 8 3 6 , , ,

may fi nd its place here

I wil l begin thi s lette r to you only to make a beginn i n g ,

an d wi l l continue a n d se n d it o ff when I can The correspo n d .

e n ce with you is so pleasant that it is the o n ly one I keep up ,

a n d will not allow to be interrupted so far as I am concerned .

For in c orresponden ce as i n actual life I like an intercourse

, ,

where one may be m a u ssa de or laz y now an d the n without ,

the other taking o ffence or seei n g an intention On e must be .

allowed even to write a letter containi n g nothi n g but How do

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you do ? Answer soon An d you must allo w me to do so this
.

time for I really have not much more to say to—day .

F ebr ua r y 4 — Wh a t you sa y about a n e w year a n d e p ochs

.

i n life is ve r y true W e ha v e now go n e through o n e of these

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experie n ces and , I am su r e the e n d of January has sho wn us

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quite a diffe r ent face fro m the e n d of the year One i n v o l un .

ta r ily feels rid o f a bu r de n i n fo r ever layi n g by so to speak , ,

the n a m e of a yea r which contai n s so man y chan ges I t may

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b e p r ej udice or imaginatio n but if with the years w e w ould

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VO L . II. B
 1 8 3 6 —1 83 9 .

also get rid o f imagination we should be parting with too much

that is true a n d real ! W e h ave return ed to music a gain by
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t aki n g up St Paul of which Felix left some pieces he r e at
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Christmas which we san g yesterday with a few friends in

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honour of his birthday W e are much delighte d with it an d .

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like to thi n k of father s e nj oymen t o f this music for which he ,

was i n debted to the W oringen party who san g most excellently ,

seve r al of the pieces after we un fortunately had left D u sseldo r f

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Father took immense pleasure in it and especially thought t he ,

sermon o f St Stephen an d the followi n g pieces pe r fectly

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origi n al It was rema r kable and often struck Felix as well

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as myself that a person s j udgment on a subj ect o f which
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he had st r ictly speaking no technical k n owle dge could have

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been so acute a n d even at times so indisputably correct as

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fathe r s was in music He fre quently regretted in the lat ter
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time particularly that no talen t had been given h i m ; but the

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most remarkable featur e i n h i s character t o my mi n d was the , ,

harmonious de v elopme n t o f his whole facultie s i n cluding t he ,

i n tellectual organs which produced a u n ity of thought feeli n g

, , ,

and ac tion such as w e seldom see He was in truth the ce n tre .

o f our ci r cle a n d w e miss him sadly

, A thousan d small thi n gs .

consta n tly make u s feel h i s absen ce and on eve r y occasion i t ,

strikes us h o w di fferen t o n e thi n g or the other would b e if he

were alive My m othe r a n d sister live together and their j oi n t
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l ife does c r edi t to them both as might have b e en e xpected The ,

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conduct too of my b r o ther i n -law Di r ichlet is beyon d praise

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Paul as the head of the house carefully superi n ten ds the a ffai r s
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of t h e family ; an d I believe if father can look down upo n u s ,

now h e w ill not be dis sati sfied with our doi n gs Hensel i s
,
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w o rki n g ha rd a t his picture t h e firs t sketch of which you wil l ,

remember ( the I sra elites leavi n g E gypt with Miriam leadi n g ,

the ma r ch ) He gave me the coloured sketch on m y birthday

.

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it was the last thi n g that father s faili n g eyes allowed him to
se e disti n ctly a n d he was much pleased a n d i n te r ested with it
, ,

a n d m ade a few remarks which He n sel has turned to go o d use .

I thi n k the pictu r e will be ve r y beautiful .

F e bru a r y 8 —M y letter will soon reach the a g e o f Methu

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sela h a n d I must think of fi n ishi n g it I hope you will carry

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 L E T TE R T O KL I N G E M A N N .

out your i n tention of comi n g to the m usi c al festival on W hit

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sun day : Felix s pleasure w ould be as great a s yours Such .

a R henish W hitsunday might well make us fo rget the wr etched

state of so man y things in German y ; but unfort unately there
is hardly a chan ce of my enj oying t h e pleasure this year To .

make up for it we went to the Si n gakademie the o t her day ,

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a n d w ere pe r fectly scandalised at a performa n ce o f Israel i n

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E gypt . Nobody would believe ho w this institution has gon e
down but unhappily the public do n o t perceive it fo r the good ,

people of Berlin have faces harder than fli n t and w ill not

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be ashamed . If the conductor were to t ake pai n s , it would
only be for the sake o f that t ri fle called duty and conscience fo r ,

but few see the di fference between his performan ces a n d the
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P assion con ducted by Felix Altogether I have now (an d
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He n sel no less ) a dég o zl t of Berlin di ffi cult to describe ; t hose
w ho can n ot find happiness in themselves and in their o wn
family life a r e lost here once look beyond that and a desolate ,

waste meets your eye in every direction— nature politics , and ,

art . An d P r ussia to o who once aspired to t h e glo ry of march

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i n g in the van of civilisa t io n now follows maxims which they

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have begun to forget in Austria You w ill have heard of t he .

p r ohibi t io n of t h e French papers of the suppression of j ournal

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ism to a certain exte nt , and o f the i n t e r dict issued against the

young w r iters Other meas ures equally mad a re impending
. .

An d with all this they proceed with a ki n d of Make i n dul

ge n ce w hich neutral ises the inte n ded e ffect For in stan ce the .
,

ci r culation of the papers is allo wed till April l — that is as ,

lon g as the subscriptio n s last ; meanwhile the prohibition gets

k n ow n in Paris and they let loose their raillery, which of course
, , ,

is all read here I t is generally believed that th e prohi bition

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will n ever be put into execution .

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A Poli s h Je w said to be quite a vi r tuoso on an i n strument
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c o n sisti n g of bundles of straw a n d wooden sticks , is excitin g

muc h i n terest here n o w I shoul d n o t have believed it unless

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Felix had writte n about him but I h ave seen hi m and can assure
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yo u that he is a very handsome m a n He is a reg ular Jew in .

G us iko w . See Felix s publ is hed le tte r o f Feb

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. 1 8 , 1 8 3 6.
 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

his dress and his habits which makes h is fortune at court I

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could gi ve you a very approp r ia t e Jewish phrase for thi s only ,

you would not unders tan d it .

F e bru a/r y l 2 — I have hea r d the phenomenon a n d without

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being ecstatic like most people must o wn that the skill of the
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man beats e v ery thi ng that I could have imagi ned for with his ,

wooden sticks resti n g on st r aw , his hammers also bei n g of w o od ,

he produces all t hat is possible w ith the most perfect i n stru

me n t It is a complete riddle to me how the thin sound th e
.

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thing gives , something l ike Papageno s flute can be produced ,

w ith such materials One o f his clever trick s is putting toge~

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ther his instrumen t before the eyes o f the audience ; altogether ,

he seems to be a sly fox of the very first order I dir ect your .

atte n tion to thi s G u si ko w , i f he comes to London W e all .

agree that father would have been much interested i f h e could

have heard him .

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Mi n ister Altenstein has been much pleased with Hen sel s
drawing o f Mrs Austi n : he holds her in hi gh esteem , and
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says that she i s the only person w ho ever understood him .

However you do not kn ow the man and so can only hal f ap pr e

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ciate the fun of these words B ut it is high time to conclude .

this letter ; I ought to remember t hat , in London , what with

the long papers an d the lon g dista n ces the day is a few hours ,

sho r ter than elsewhere P r ay, write something about politics in

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your next for our newspape r s are so insipid that o n e really

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hea r s less than nothi n g I believe a man who has lived in

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Lo n don for eight years quite forgets what such a thi n g as our
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Sp i ker sc he Z ei tu n g is like Car a b a i ! .

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Felix had fi n ished St Paul du r in g the winter of 1 8 3 5 and
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the oratorio was performed for the fi rst time at the D u sseldor f
musical festi val of 1 8 3 6 At first o n ly his b r other Paul and
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his wife i n te n ded to go but at the eleventh hour Fa n n y r e

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solved to ac c ompan y them The u rge n t request of the W orin

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ge n s — who had a n empty corner in their ho u se a n d would ,

have thought it an i n fri n ge m e n t of the laws of hospitality to

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leave it un occupied at a musical fe stival —the prospect o f

m e eting Kl in ge m an n an d a thousa n d other frie n ds and above , ,
 F A N ZVY A N D R E B E C CA T O K L I N G E M A N ZV .
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all the desire o f being present at th e first public performan ce

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of St Paul tempted her A j oi n t letter of the sisters an
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n o un c e d this intention to Kl i n g e m an n .

B erlin : M ar ch 2 6 , 1 8 3 6 .

Fa n n y — W ho are going to the festival on the Rhine ? I

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my mother and Paul with his wife whom I might as well have
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mentioned fi rst N o w thi s is not intended as a threate n ing

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lette r like the one from Boulogne (I wa s seriously angry then

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fo r I thought yo u would not come ) but as a very genteel beg ,

g ing -letter contai n i n g nothing but

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P lease do come also I I , ,

be lieve you will come if it is possible ; but make it possible .

There are several kinds o f possibilities , amongst which I beg you

to choose the one that will enable you to come to D u sseldorf .

Consider everythin g you will consider without my remindi n g

you an d act according to o u r best convictions I need not tell
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you how I am interested in hearing the first performance of

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Felix s great work ; the long j ourney I am undertaki n g o n
purpose is a su ffi cient proo f But I sho uld not be leavi n g .

husban d and child ( at least, so I am trying to persuade mysel f

now ) only that mother contrary to all our expectatio n s , has
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decidedl y d eclared that she wished to u n dert ake the j ourn ey ;

and therefore it is perhap s be tter that I should go with her .

W hy could not father have been spared for this ? You can n ot
imagi n e how fond he was o f the oratorio : he would certainly
h ave go n e .

R e bec c a — I ought to be j ealous a n d try to dissuade you

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from go i ng to the festival as the others will have enough ,

pleasur e as i t is and you are at a still greater distance from

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Berli n at D u sseldorf than you are in L ondon ; but with the

gene r osity of Scipio , I say Go , .

Bei n g p r esent at a Rhenish musica l festival en ables o n e to

dream o n ce more the old dream o f old Germany which the ,

Lo n doner forgets in the daily turmoil and w hich we i n the , ,

Be r lin sa n ds forget in the atmosphere of criticism Do n o t

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resist an y of the j oyful emotions which it cannot fail to awake n

in you -"fir stly because you are a man with eyes and ear s a n d
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L ea h di d n o t go a f ter al l .
6

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next because you are Felix s friend As for me all I can do is
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to act the part of signpost sta n di n g still with outstretch ed

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arms pointing to Dii sse l do r f for whether I like it or not, I must

remain he r e.

I can n ot conscien tiously invite you to come and see me as ,

I advise eve ry o n e I wish well to — to turn their backs u pon Berlin .

So m u ch th e more generous would it be if you would delight ,

an old frie n d by a visit— almost as generous as she is herself i n

persuadi n g you to go to the musical festival for i n reality such
generosity is not at all a part o f my black character Dirichlet .

wishes to be remembered to you and desires your acquai n tance

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Between ourselves however , I am sur e he is prej udiced against

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you , though he has never said so ; for with us all , you are a ,

kind o f sacred personage agai n st whom nobody is allowed to

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breathe a word R emembering the spirit o f contradiction he

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has i n common with the rest of us I say Come see, and con
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quer. The same spirit makes me sure that Dr F who m . .

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everybody praises so mus t be abomi n able ; and I shall continue

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to think so until I know him personal ly .

At Frankfort-o u -th e-Maine they visited Dor othea Schlegel,

and were all delighted to see how well she bore her age (sh e was
then seventy-one ) From Bingen t hey made an excursion to the
.

Dr use n b u rg
, a n d there I i n tended dear , Fan n y writes , to
give a description o f your feeli ngs supposi n g I coul d have taken
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you out of my pocket then and there and un folded you like the
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pan orama of the Rhi n e But afterwards we went about the

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whole day on our own or stran ge donkeys legs (do not laugh
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I held out as bravely as any k n ight s dame of old ) a n d in the ,

evening I was complete ly tired out and not in the mood fo r

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long descriptions Therefore you must be content with the

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following short accoun t . W e wen t up to Prince Frederic s ’

castle of Rhe in ste in as prettily decorate d a country seat as ever

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old robber -knight possessed , full of stained -glass windows (I

wished I could have taken one home for William and Rebecca ,
for they are not to be had fo r money) old armour , goblets never
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used for dri n king swords never drawn , chairs never sa t u pon,
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can non (what an anachronism l ) never fire d— the whole very

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S T . P A UL A T D US S E L D OR F .

pretty to look at and dreadful to live in W e also went to th e

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Niederwald and to Jo han n i sb e r g .

From Co logn e Fan ny wrote a very low-spirited letter to he r

husband regretti n g the whole j o u rney Since her marriage she
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had never travelled a nywhere without him and there where they , ,

h ad spent a very interesting and pleasa n t time the year be fo r e ,

she felt th e contrast very strongly B ut th is mood soo n subsided .

V
at D u sseldorf where the V o ri n ge n s received her with the
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well known cheerful bustle that shows you are welcome
- The .

same afternoo n the first orchestral rehearsal o f the first part o f

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St Paul took place
. You can fancy with what excitemen t
.

I loo ked for ward to it The overtur e i s very beautiful the idea
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o f introducing St Paul by m eans o f th e cho r ale

. W achet auf , ,
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r u ft uns die Stimme Sleepers wake a voice is calli n g ) , ,

is almost a stro ke of wit and exquisite ly carried out He has , .

c ompletely hit the organ sou n d in the orchestra The cho r uses .

are sung with the g r ea te st precision but n o solos were rehea r sed ,

yeste rday The appa rition-scene soun ds quite di tfe r e n t from

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what I had ex pected but it is so beautiful , so s urprisi n g so

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touchi n g that I know little in m usic to equal it It i s God .

comi n g in the sto r m W he n after the followi n g chor us Ar ise

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and sh i n e fo r thy light comes loud applause bra v os a n d
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Tu s c e s filled the roo m I tha n ked God tha t you we r e n o t
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he r e dea r mo t her ; for co n sidering the impressio n made by t his

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m o st i m p e r fe c t r ehearsal on the audie n ce and o n me who am so , ,

much you n ge r st r on ger a n d less impressionable tha n you I am

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s ure you could n o t have bo r ne it the emotion woul d have be e n ,

too much for you B ut I feel quite ashamed of be i n g the o n ly

.

one of the family allo w ed the happi n ess of witn essing this How .

I wi sh you could a ll en j oy it ! I do n o t remembe r ever ha v i n g

felt a similar se n satio n of mi n gled j oy a n d sad n ess .

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After the rehearsal Felix w en t home with me and we ,

remain ed together till half past eleven I should ne v er have .

thought it possible that I could feel so happy an ywhe re in the

world away from home as I do with these dear excellent ,

people If o n ly you were here also dear Wi lli am l it is really

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quite pleasan t a n d comfortable to feel so much at home so far

A co n f used very exc i tin g n o i se made by th e brass i ns t rum en ts
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8 1 8 3 64 8 3 9 .

from home But I am looking forward not a little to being

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really at home
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Ah R e b e c c a l we have heard an overtu r e
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to Leonore a rare piece l I t has actually never been played
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for Beethoven disliked it and put it aside The man had no .

taste ! I know fe w thi ngs so pretty , so charming and so full o f ,

interest Hasli n ger has pri n ted a complete edition o f his works
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without including it ; but perhaps he w ill afte r the present ,

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success .

On the seco n d day the N inth Symphon y was performed .

The rema r ks Fan ny wh o had formerly o n ly k n o w n the work fr om

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the score makes abo ut the performance show that even thorough
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m usician s require time and a profound k n owledge of thi s work

to do i t j ustice : This gigan tic N inth Sympho n y which i s so ,

grand a n d in parts so abominable as only the work o f th e

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greatest o f men could be was played as if by o n e man ; the,

fi nest n u a n c es the most hidde n mean i n gs were ex p resse d to

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perfection ; the masses fell int o shape the symphony became ,

compreh en sible a n d then it was really exquisitely beautiful A

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gigantic tragedy with a conclusion meant to be dithy rambic

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b ut falling into th e opposite extreme — the height o f bur

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l e squ e .

Fanny concludes the account o f the j ourn ey in her diary

with these word s : I see well that no married woman c an
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travel for pleasure without either husband or child ; and I sha ll

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never part from mine again u n less I am obliged .

She wrote to Klin ge m an n

Jun e 1 1, 1 83 6 .

M o tto L uf t i m L a ub un d W in d im R o hr
U n d All e s i st
zerst obe n .

( A breeze i n t h e le a ve s , a wi n d i n th e reeds ,

An d a ll h as va n i shed ) .

An d yetit was so beautiful 1

But till I hear wh at you did together at Dusseldorf the next
day how you liked Brussels an d Antwerp after you h ad left
, ,

how you arrived in Londo n and how Felix found his way to ,

Frankfort , there is a blan k in my memory , which I long to fill

uP
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That twofold life in Becker s hall and garde n and in the ,
 FE L I X A S A C ON D UC T OR .
9

W o r i n ge n s house , was really pleasant , a n d if e xiste n ce i n your

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metropolis contai n s moments of which we in our littl e German

towns can form n o conception on th e other han d a R henish
,

musical festival is an eve n t of which no adequate idea can pierce

through the E n glish fogs An d you an d I w h o so e nj oyed this
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,

special occasio n together , are sure to e nj oy talki n g it over a ga i n .

Felix is really a born conductor , and a very expe r ie n ced o n e into

the bargain W hen one sees how things hi therto unheard o f an d
.

scarcely be lieved possible are realised when the right man is in

comman d , it is qui te sadde n ing to think how seldom t h e place
finds the right man , and the man the r ight place The wo rld .

wo ul d wear a di fferent aspect i f that were always the case , a n d

if there could be some ki n d o f su n -dial showi n g ( to pa r ents
especially ) what direction to give to the education of their
childre n That this is the chief point i n educat ion is too seldom
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recogni sed There is hardly an y man so n eglected by Providen ce

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that he might n o t do some good i f on ly he had been furn ished

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w ith the mean s of turning h i s po w ers to account But to retu r n .

to Felix I have observed with hear t-felt pleasure his powe r

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o f man aging people ; without appa r e n tly inte n di n g it , he c o n

t r ives to interest all with whom he comes in contact , not o n ly

i n himself, but i n his cause , and th at solely , as he believes ,

from its o w n i n heren t j us tice An d his music ! That must be

.

ge n ui n e because it shi n es by i ts own light an d has no n eed of

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out w ard artificial help An d this , agai n , is part o f his character

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and closely con n ected with al l the rest The crowds o f peopl e .

arrivin g from all directions the meeti n g of fr ie n ds not seen fo r

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years made up a whole which was quite unique and the sho r t
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n ess of the hours the limited time allo w ed for the w hole event
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added to the charm It is t r ue a few quiet days a fte rwards

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i n that first of all hospitable houses would have been pleasant

e n ough A c h ! es w a r do c h sc hcin e Z e i t
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I have j ust received th e fi r s t volume of E c kerman n , and

will look through it It is lo n g si n ce I have read a n ythi n g
.

n e w tha t I l iked i n the least ; m ost o f the new publicatio n s

are really n o t wo r t h readi n g a glan ce through as o n e turn s

,

over the leaves is quite su ffi cient There has not been such .

an utter sta gnation in literatu r e for a lo n g time .

10 1 83 64 83 9 .

Ju n e 7 .

I read the greater part of the fi rst volume of E ckerma n n

yesterday , an d gladly confess that I was much pleased with it .

This seems to me fa r the best thing that has appeared o n Goeth e

since his death , the reason being that such modesty a n d c o n
’
sc i e n t i ou sn e ss as th e autho r s a r e rare in literature From what .

he says o f himsel f it i s clear that he was a ve ry n arrow-mi n ded

,

m an , perfectly absorbed in Goethe but one who could liste n ,

atte n tively and record faithfully , and thus I really be lieve that
no work by Goethe himself gives a mo r e genui n e and original
portrait o f the poet I am struck by the co n sta n t recurrence in
.

this book o f remarks father u sed to make ; he would have

been greatly pleased i f h e could ha v e known it Another .

reason for my liki n g it is that it contains n o scandal This .

speaks highly i n favour o f E ckerma n n for how easily h e might ,

have w r itten a piqua n t book ! In sho r t , as far as the present

case goes I gladly a n d completely retract my accusation
,
‘
.

’
This pleasan t little book claims o n e s inte r est to th e e n d an d I ,

feel personally obliged to the author for h is w ise moderation in

writing these t w o small volumes co n tai n i n g pure gold , instead
of the weighty tomes he u n doub tedly could ha v e filled .

In conclusio n I will put you a prize question How is it

,
.

possible to speak of the u n iversal opi n ion of any period whe n

’
St Paul and the Huguenots appear at the same time , a n d
.

both fin d their public ? I belo n gin g to the admirers of the

,

former wo r k fin d n o w a peculiar pleas ure in tasking my memo ry

,

to complete the solo -pieces from the voice -pa r ts w hich is all ,

I po ssess of the music W here these are not suffi cient I am

.

obliged to add from memo r y until I g e t the p r inted score .

T o -day I tried to make out the famous duet o f the false w i t

nesses all I knew being that I had to fill i n eleven bars I
,
.

could o n ly make out eight however , .

R ebecca was ordered to Franz ensbad fo r her health , an d

Thi s re fe rs t o a cut tin g crit i cis m o n a publ i ca tion o f Varn hage n s wh i ch ’

,

we ha ve o mi tt ed a n d whi ch c o n clude s : Var n h a ge n w i ll do a l l t h e d a m age he

,

is ca p a ble o f an d whe n he i s de a d an d his mem o i r s are publ ished s ca n da l w ill

, , ,

b e gi n a ga i n wi t h fre sh vi go ur
’
.
12 1 83 6 1 8 3 9.

July 18 .

My li fe here goes on in the same style so so la la ; but at , , , ,

any rate I am now i n good health , and d r i n k walk bathe and , , ,

rest without sleeping to -day , for the first time I shall di n e at ,

’
the ta ble d hé te by gen e r al request Hunga r ian wi nes ? My
, .

best compliments but I am n o t allowed ; t hey are too ex

,

citing I have j ust tried a so -called piano — such a r attli n g Old

.

concern ! The day after to morrow there is a charity -ball ; -

perhaps I shall go and watch i t for a quarter of an hour to ,

see the Poles and the Austrian nobility i n full dress they
a r e very handsome not at all like your B erlin fops In this
, .

house two little countesses are stayi n g one exactly like the other , ,

elegan t and graceful w ith black eyes a n d hair They look about
, .

them so merrily and w ith such a ge n uine fifte e n -year-Old sign ific
,

an ce that I always feel inclined to kiss my hand to them as they

, ,

stro l l about so prettily before my windo w To day the whole .

-

c ompany met in my lodgi n gs and we r e discus s i n g pleasure when ,

a lace -merchant was announced and called in with exclamatio n s ,

o f j oy E at firs t wanted to buy the whole stook ; then bar

. .

gained for half a n d at last bought a ti n y little piece I bought

,
.

one too No w good n ight The wi n d alone is whisperi n g in

.
,
.

the solemn silence E verybody has gone to bed for it is — nine

.
,
’
o clock .

July 2 4 .

I am w r iti n g to a brilliant accompaniment of m ilitary music

seren adi n g Herr von R , who has arri v ed at this house Si n ce
. .

he came I have ofte n been remi n ded o f the late Ge n eral B for
, .
,

the yery noble young ladies above me hammer away e v ery day
at the same galop But dear childre n what cold weather ! I
.
, ,

wish I had a good fur and a pair of Parisian s instead of my

gay white muslin dresses B ut I begin to feel very well in deed .
,

a n d they say I have quite red cheeks R eally o n e sees g en s dc .

l a u tr e m o n de here ! W hat will you say to a Prince W l adoya n o

’

from R ouman ia who look s like a young P a ga n ini and whose

, ,

wife a P rincess G hika from B ucharest trails the most beautiful

, ,

T urkish shawls (which E like an enthusiastic connoisseur esti .

, ,

mates at thalers) alo n g th e ground early i n the morn in g

 RE B E CCA A T FR A N Z E N S B A D .

We have also a most beautiful R u ssian lady who appears at ,

the B r u n n en in a n églig é o f black velvet wi th blon d-lace E . .

c annot get over her enthusiasm about the exquisite shawls that
sweep the gravel every m orni n g E xcuse these shaw l details .
-
,

but what else can I say ? I wish to good n ess that D irichlet
were here ! I can hardly await the time Madame M has left . .

’
to day fo r Marienbad and wi shes to be p ut at everybody s
-
,
’
feet. Have you a n y levers to lift me up again For
two weeks and a half now I have n o t heard a sensible word .

I s t hi s l ife W hat a wretched existence it is when one ,

’
rej oices in every hour that is over ! It is like a winter s sleep
°

1n summer .

Au gu st 6 —After all my dull peevish letters h o w asto n ished

.
, ,

you will be when I w rite that I am enj oying myself exceedingly !

S in c e Dirichlet came I am quite a chan ged perso n and have as R , , .

says a good hu m eu r W e have fi ne w eather make excursions

, .
, ,

and spend the whole day in the ope n air , chat with some ni ce
n e w acquaintan ces whom even Di r ichlet allows to be p l easant
,

the baths are doing me goo d : in a word everything has c h anged ,

for the better So long as I was by myself, I felt like a stray

.

sheep not kno w ing where to t urn and sh r inki n g fr om all s t r a n ge

, ,

fa c es kind or u n kind No w after our early m or n i n g draught

, .
, ,

we breakfast in the park i n viti n g each o ther in tu rn s , a n d

,

making up our o w n parties at the co ffee tables ; the n dine in -

the Ku r sa a l t ake an afternoo n d r ive , when co ffee again plays an

,

im p orta n t part , or else go to th e park where there is ple n ty of ,

’
society If o n ly the weather will keep fin e we may play All s
.
,
’
well that ends well and forget the melancholy beginni n g To
, .

day Otto kin d 1 was here a n d the whole populatio n high and
, ,

low, stared at him in the streets W e did not stir fr om our .

pl ace in the park ; but virtue was rewarded for he pa s sed close ,

by , a n d talked to the R S near us so I co ul d see him ve r y wel l ,

i ndeed His appearance is most insign ifican t

. .

’
David s e n gagement to All the R ussias has pleased more
2

than it surprised me Felix mus t n o t be behi ndhand now hi s

.

first fiddle lea ds the dan c e and I am goi n g to preach to him on

,

Th e Ki n g of G r eece .

D a vi d t he n
, Co nc er t m ei ater at L eipzig, m ar ri ed a R uss ia n p ri n cess .
14 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

t hat te xt But it is a most a m usi n g story , and doubly so here

.
,

where I have opportunities of seeing the abs urd pride o f the

R ussian nobility They keep aloof from everybody , for fear o f
.

breath ing the same air with other people ; a n d I am surp r ised
that they condesce n d to drink out o f the same B r u n n en with
the c a n a i llc ! You both mother and Fan ny write me delight, ,

ful letters and i f I were gen erous I should send them back
,

agai n so as to give you somethi n g pretty to read B ut you

, .
,

dear mother must tame down that h eart o f sixteen which gives
, ,

you n o rest because Felix is in love Can n ot Dr W gi ve you

,
. . .

a prescription fo r this youthful n ess of mind B u t it is exciti n g ,

even fo r a sister ; and I wish we knew something certain I .

am sure he has fou n d some o n e worth having for he is not ,

without taste W hydoes my imagi n ation dwell upon J e an r e n au d

.

or Souchay ? Tell me what you think .

Unheard-o f festivities are goi n g on here Yesterday t here .

w as a gra n d ball in ho n our of Ki n g Ot to and the Q ueen of

Bavaria ; the B ru n n e n were illumi n ated an d the whole ,

fashionable wo r ld — the Russians the nobility an d yo ur daughter , ,

— were present I f you want to know what Otto is like picture

.
,

to yoursel f Schubring but still smaller, thinner more sickly

, ,

and sallow he limps on one foot has no front teeth (as you hear ,

when he speaks ) and is rather deaf B ut I really pitied the

,
.

poor creature and his bad dan ci n g w a s more the e ffect of a

,

heavy heart than hea v y heels 1 closely examined the Greek s .

who form his suit e to find out which of them will eventually
,

stran gle him The physiognomies of all are u n prepossessi n g and

.
,

by no means Hellen ic the o n ly exception bei n g M au r o m i c h al i s

, ,
’
whom they have also dressed i n Greek costume for show .

From my post of observatio n I saw th e whole performan ce well .

The master of the ceremo n ie s presented the guests to each othe r ,

the Queen said someth ing agreeable to every one the very ,

pretty daughter of the Duke of Olden burg sent 0 8 her chamber

’
lai n to order R s so n -i n -law to dan ce with her ; their bowings
.

a n d c u rt se yi n gs— e v erythi n g i n fact Dear me what a world , .

,

it was ! The R u ssia n set o n ly dan ced with the princes of the
blood They t he R ussian s have established a miniatur e empire
.
, ,

of their o w n here making t hemselves at home in their domineer

,
 M E T T E R N I CH . CHOP I N . l 5

ing style e v erywhe re even playi n g Zeck o n the promenade,

,

which is a public walk The r e t he men shout like mad their

.
,

un cultu r ed voices remin di n g o n e of th e hissing of the kn out ,

a n d almost tear the d r esses o ff their very pretty wome n — for t hey

are that as even I can n ot de n y Nobody else high or low

,
.
, ,

dares approach t hem Amon gst them is a Madame de M who

. .
,

makes me u n de r s t a n d Armida Circe the Sirens and Co as I , , ,

.

n eve r did before An y o n e more beautiful I never saw an d yet not

.
,

a fea t u r e in h e r face exp r esses good -n ature or indeed feeli n g of ,

a n yki n d — all i s cold calc ul ation Poiso n ed draughts a n d daggers.

a r e familiar tools with her I am con vinced but she is so d ivi n ely
,

beautiful so seductive so charmi n g that you can not t ake your

, , ,
’
eyes O ff her a n d I could scarcely resent even Dir i c h le t s bein g
,

despe r a tely in love wit h her But she reserves the fasci n ation of
.

he r eyes fo r coun ts a n d p r i n ces I have n ever met with such an.

accompli shed fli r t e v en i n a novel but her coquet ry is di fli c ul t

, ,

to a n alyse ; she dresses like a child in a white frock with a , ,

fr e sh flo w er or t w o in her hai r but the effect of all down to the

, ,

las t th r ead is ca lculated Dear me ! how i n n ocen t we good

, .

ladies of Berlin are ! Such arts as t hese are out of our reach
al t oge t her !
On W ed n esday Prin ce Mettern ich came to wait upon Ki n g
Ot to W e followed him t o the B r u n n e n and pas sed close
.
,

to him th r ee times : he is a fin e man , with a noble to ur n u r e ,

a n d has the ki n d of nose so ma n y great men have ; at the

same time he is a little like the I tzi gs although I do n o t
, ,
’
thi n k t hat he belon gs to the t r ibe His p r etty you n g w ife
‘
.

loo ks sca r cely older than his da ughter who was also of the ,

party .

F r om Franzen sba d the Di ric hle ts accompan ied by Professo r ,

Gan s w en t to Marie n bad Chopi n was stayi n g there but never

,
.
,

appeared an d his phy sician an d a Polish countess who assumed

, ,

comple t e comma n d over him , did n o t allow him to play R e .

’
be cca s desire to hear the m an of whose playing she had hear d
such wo n ders from Felix a n d Pa ul was so st r o n g that she ,

r esol v ed as she says to commit a ba ss ess e a n d use her rights

, ,

as
‘
s m ur de Messieurs Paul e t Felix Me n dels sohn B art holdy .
16 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

’
The ba ssesse against Chopin she wrote a fe w days after ,

wards,
ha s been committed and was a complete failure , .

Dirichlet went to see him and begged fo r but one maz u r ka for
a sce u r , etc Impossible ! mal aux nerfs mauvais piano— e t
.

comme n t se porte cette ch ere Madame Hensel e t Paul est , ,

marié ? heureux couple ! & c Allez -vous p r omener ?. The

’
fi rst a n d last attempt o f the kind we ever make .

On Sunday morni n g we started for Marien bad Mme ,

Franke Gans and Magnus accompanyi n g us to our carriage

, , ,

a n d drove O ff through stubble -fie l ds miserable huts a n d w ild ,

,

fir -crowned b ill s for that country of witches Bohemia I loo ked

, , .

’
about me on all si des for some trace o f gipsy camps or witches
-

'

b r ooms Judging by Felix s sketches it must be very much like

.

the Scotch Highlands for the stubble gives the fields a moor
,

like aspect but the people seem universally kind and one is
, ,

not over-molested by beggars That race seems more good .

natured here than at home for the smallest gift produces a ,

Kus s d Ha n d ( I kiss your hand ) ; we saw man yfine dark

’
,

complexio n e d specime n s We spent the first night at Klattau

.
,

the road to which passes through the town of Laus an d another ,

route through Mis — names w hich delighted Fran k Yesterday, .

Monday we travelled thro u gh Ho r asdi o w i tz Strak on itz , and

, ,

W o dn i an ( I pronounce these names admirably ) to B udweis a , ,

queer place with flat roofs , i n numerable bells images of sai n ts

, ,

i n cages before the houses and other sign s o f Catholicism

,
We .

had the hon our of occupyi n g the same room in which Cha r les X .

heard mass dined played cards and I belie v e hun ted a lso ;
, , , , ,

at least, the room is large en o ugh To -day was a splendid da v .

for travel li n g— delightful weather warm but with a b r eeze , , ,

and w e had the first good potatoes I have tasted for a long time ,

at Kaplitz Un fortu n ately I was n o t allowed to take but ter

.
,

with them as i t does not agree with the iron I am supposed to

,

have still in my system Fruit is also fo rbidden At six w e

. .

arrived at this place Frei stadt W e might have go n e on for

, .

a n other stage , but the pretty little town beguiled us it is two

miles beyo n d the German fro n tier, on either side of which the
coun tries a r e almost a s disti n ct from each other as the ca n ton s
of Vaud and Valais He r e begin forests hills of a p r etti e r out
. .
 R E B E CCA A T M UN I CH . r7

li n e , meado w s an d well-built vi llages the mountai n s o f Ischl

, ,

bei n g disce r nible far away i n the distance W e climbed a hill .

near the to w n sa w the sunset learned by he a rt th e c o n tour o f

, ,

the beautiful Ischl mountai n s silhouetted in dark -blue a ga inst

the rosy sun set sky spoiled three leaves in my sketch-book
,

under the delusion that we were drawing and walked round the ,

an cient fortificatio n s with t heir gray walls a n d towers The .

moat is filled up and plan ted with fruit-trees a n d the whole ,

to w n surrou n ded by a pretty walk with fine lime -trees It was .

a lovely evening a n d remind e d m e stro n gly of our wal k at

,

Bahli n ge n where we sa w the Alps fo r the first time

, Ho w .

I wish you were all here now that the fine scenery i s begin n i n g
,
.

All this is o n ly an i n troduction and yet I am quite delighted ,

already Oh Fa n n y w hy canno t we make a tour o f this kind

.
,

together ? An d w hy could not father have seen this beautiful

c o untry ? Alas ! when will it be possible to e nj oy an hour of
pleasure w i thout a fresh pang reminding us o f our loss
The Di ric hle ts travelled as far as Gastein but the cholera ,
’
prevented the m goin g to Italy O therwise R ebecca w r ote , I
.
,
’
see n o reason why we sho ul d not h ave gone as far as Naples .

At Mu n ich Dirichlet received the news of the death o f his only

survivi n g sister .

M u n i ch Sep t ember 1 5 .

W e arrived here yesterday morni n g a n d only hea r d then of ,

’
the death of Di r i c h l e t s siste r as w e have not bee n to I n sp r u c k
, .

I cannot tell you how so r ry I am for the poor mother espe ,

c i a lly
. I consta n tly think of our poor g r an dmother w ho used ,

to say we ought to pray God n o t to se n d us al l the a fflicti o n we

a r e able to bear ; and after all , she has lived long enough to
,

survive ten child r en ! W e have resolved to let her ha v e t he

o n ly j oy left her in this w orld , so my poor D i richlet goes to
Aix-la-Chapelle from Leipzig where he takes me fi r st ,
If we .

h a d known it before , we would have taken her her li t tle g r an d

son ; but i t is too lat e i n the year n o w for W alter an d me t o
trav el .

As you c a n fancy I am not in the mood n o w for sight

,

seei n g a n d ple asu r i n g — i n deed I would rather have go n e ,

v o r. . 11 . c
18 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

straight on ; but the d ull prose of li fe has its rights a nti asserts
them so we must stay he r e till Sunday to have our clothes
,
.
,

washed Little a s I am i n the humour for it, I still go on

.

sight —seeing ; for though the finest work s of a r t fail to ki n dle

my admiration now I sh all be glad some day to have seen them
, .

At pre se n t all my thoughts are with our poor mother

, This .

morn i n g Dirichlet per suaded me to spend an ho u r at Leuchten

’
berg s Collection which will unfortunately not be ope n much
,

lo n ger The small room co n tai n s many works of ge n ius Those

. .

’
works w hich bear the imp r ess of man s mind and skill exe r cise
on us a far more powe r ful fasci n ation than anything i n i n an i
mate nature .

Dirichlet left his wife an d child at Nuremberg and haste n ed ,

to his parents He was t heir only survivi n g chil d b u t also

.
,

t heir favourite , and he became henceforward their one j oy The .

mother was destined to sur v ive even this her last t r easure an d ,

to die in her hun dred t h year .

’
At Nu r embe r g Schiller s words from Tell Hie r w i r d gefreit ,
’
u n d anderswo beg r abe n ( Here people woo an d there t hey
‘
,

mou r n t heir dead ) we r e o n ce more realised Whil st Dirichlet

’
.

was m a ki n g his prepa r atio n s fo r lea v i n g his wife an d child and

’
goi n g to his parents a r rived the n e w s of Felix s e n gageme n t
,

to C ecile Je an r e n au d R ebecca had been eagerly expectin g this

.

e v en t du r i n g t h e w hole j ou rn ey The family were awa r e t hat.

Felix h ad set h i s whole affectio n s o n a beautiful girl in the

R hi n e provi n ces ; but the k n o wledge w as founded on l y o n
rumour R ebecca wr ites from Gastein that she had take n up
.

t he A llgem ei n e Z ei tu n g in the hope of seei n g amo n g th e

parag r aphs on the Fran kfort Fai r The well k n o w n musician ,
‘ -

Felix Me n delssoh n on such a n d such a day was betrothed t o ’

,
’
etc ; but all she could fin d was cott o n ma r ket flat an d a
.
‘

report of t h e Bun de stag I n N uremberg R ebecca recei v ed a

.

letter from Felix himself with the welcome n e w s He h ad r e .

turned t o Leipzig immediate ly after h i s e n gageme n t a n d thither ,

she followed him i n gr eat delight at the lo n g looked for i n tel

,
- -

lige n c e and w as thus the first of his family to see h i m i n his

,

happi n ess She fou n d him very b r ight but compo sed a n d w ith
.
,

an ai r of profou n d sat isfac t io n : he w as al so th o r e commu n ica t ive

20 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

Kal kb r e n n e r s best pupil , M r S ta m

’
. at e
,
l
y ev e du Co n s er v a to i r e
de P a r is an d popul ar
music master there , is here in Germany -

learn i n g music from F e li x an d refuses to play u n til he has learned

,

somethi n g better I n fact except in Berlin and i n Aix—la

.
,

Chapelle people are begi n ning to un derstand his music Here

, .

he i s pe r fectly adored .

B ut n o w listen : to morrow I can n ot leave fo r Felix has

-
,

invited a small party Lipinsky and David are to make music ,

and I am n ecessary to make tea The day after t o morrow .

-

’ ’
there is a rehearsal of L i p in skys conce r t at which Felix s Me ,

lusi n a is to be performed an d on Friday the concert itself takes

,

place At p r esen t I have arran ged to sta r t on Saturday but

.
,

really I cannot even promise that An d n o w good bye , my .

-

dear good husband ; I am counting the days u n til we meet again

either he r e or in Be rlin but I am as happy here as I can b e
,

anywhere w ithout you I never think o f your mother without

.

deep emotion May God spare her and may we be able to do

.
,

something towards making the rest o f her li fe happy !

Thus R ebecca su ffered do u c e v i o le n c e and stayed at Leipzig ,

the greater part o f October .

Duri n g her ab sence the youn g Goe the grandso n o f the poet , ,

passed through Berlin and Fan ny writes : He is a good —n atured

,

looki n g youn g fellow of eigh teen w hom n obody would ta lk ,

about if h i s n ame were W erner, but from whom everybody

’
expects a g r eat deal because his name is Goethe
,
Upon the .

whole the family spent the summer o f 1 8 3 6 v ery quietly Their .

w hole atte n tion was fixed upon Fran kfo r t and the con sta n t ,

expectatio n of important eve n ts the r e p r oduced that frame O f

mi n d in which one takes every ri n g for the postman a n d e v e ry ,

bill for the lon ged for lette r to say nothi n g o f looki n g up
-
,
’
excitedly every time the door Open s .

At last in Sep t ember the postman really brought to the

, ,

mother the desired ne ws that her last child had also foun d the
,

compani on destined for him .

Fra n k f ort Septe mber 9, 1 8 3 6 .

Dear Mother - I have o n ly this moment returned to my

,

room but I can settle to nothing till I have written to tell yo u

,
 FE L I X S E N G A G E M E N T
’
. 2 1

that I have j u st been a ccepted by C ecile Je an re n au d My head .

is quite giddy fro m the even ts of the day ; i t i s already late

at night a n d I have nothi n g else to say ; but I must w r ite to
,

you I feel so rich and happy To -m orrow I will , i f I c an

. .
,

write a long lette r an d so i f possible will my dea r betrothed

, , , .

Your letter is lyi n g before me a n d I have opened it j ust to ,

see that you are well but I ca n not read it yet Farewell a n d
, .
,

keep me always in your t ho u ghts FE L I X . .

In 1 8 3 6 Me n delssohn received a confidential o ffer of the

co n ductorship of the Céic i li e n -V erein at Fra n kfort-o u-the Mai n e -
.

Sc h e lb l e the fou n der who had hitherto conducted it himself

, , ,

had lo n g been se r iously ill and the institutio n w as in dang r of

,
e

breaki n g u p u n less some musician o f ability could be found t o

,

carry it o n Men delssohn replied at once that any permanen t

.

arra n geme n t of the kind was out of the question as he would ,

on no account give u p his post at Leipzig ; but that if there

’
was an y chance of S c he lble s recove r i n g after rest a n d chan ge
o f air su fi c i e n tl to resume the directorship for the wi n ter he
y ,

would gladly u n dert ake it for the summer For the sake of .

re n dering so important a service to a valued friend and to a ,

cau se he had m uch a t heart b e readily gave up his fo r mer

,

plan of a t our in Switzerland to e n d with sea-bathing at ,

Ge n oa .

Seldom has goo d action met with more immediate reward .

Felix went to Fra n kfort on June 4 di r ectly after the Dii sse ldo r f ,

musical festival, a n d at fi rst gave himsel f up entirely to rest

and refreshme n t in the lovely scenery round Frankfort Few
,
.

men w ere able to work harder than he , and not ma n y

h ave h ad the same power o f e nj oyi n g complete relaxatio n ,

especially amid fin e scenery a fter a period o f turmoil and excite

,

ment such as the Dii sse l do r f festival when for weeks together
, ,

h e had not a mi n ute to call his own The direction of the .

Cii c il i e n -V e r ein did n o t absorb too much of his ti me a n d he ,

had plenty of leisure He fr equently mentio n s a w ood : to

.
‘

ramble there of an eveni n g u n der the splendid beeches amon g ,

the plan ts and flowers blackberries and strawberrie s, m akes

,
’ ’
o n e s heart s w ell with gratitude .
22 1 83 6- 1 83 9 .

An d in another se n se too his hea r t was full Mme Jeuri

, , . .

renaud the widow of a P r o tes ta nt clergyman at Frankfort , had

,

two daughters one C ecile bei n g peculia r ly lovely a n d attractive

, , , .

Feli x wh o had been in troduced to t h e family d uring hi s

,

fo r mer stay at F r a n kfo r t n o w visite d them agai n and it is more

, ,

than possible that his though t s we r e tu r n ed in this di r ection

when he promised Fa n n y at Christmas 1 8 3 5that he would look
about hi m on the R hi n e for a wife in the co u rse of the summer .

He foun d what he sought in C ecile Je a n r e n a u d She was n o t .

a striking person in a n y way n either extraordina r ily clever , ,

brilliantly witty nor exceptionally a ccomplished but perhaps it

, ,

was the very absence of these qualities which made her society
exercise an influence as soothi n g and re freshing as that of the
o pen sky or running water .

’
An d such a wi fe was per fectly suited to one of Felix s
nervous excitable temperament : her gen tl e n ess and brightness
,

gave her an influence over him w hich a woman of a di fferent

character coul d never have obtained an d made his li fe one con ,

tinned course o f happiness till the close .

There were prej udices against him to be overcome at fi rst .

C ecile once wrote t o Fan ny that her first idea o f Felix had
be en o f a sti ff dis a greeable j ealous old m an who played dul l
, , ,

fug u e s with a velvet cap on h i s h ead T his delusio n was dis .

ll e d of course by the first i n terview and he soon became

p e ,

intimately acquai n te d with the daughter Havi n g gained her .

a ffections it did not take lon g to gain over the other influential
,

membe rs of the family .

Before , however making a formal declaration he aecom

, ,

a n i e d Schadow to Scheveni n gen for sea-bathi n g This was

p .

partly in fulfilment of a promise given at Dii sseldo r f and partly ,

to test his love by a prolo n ged absen ce He was naturally in .

rather low spirits during the separation , as all hi s letters testify .

F e his: to Reb ec c a .

Fr an k fort-o n -th e -Mai n e : July 2 4 , 1 83 6 .

AlthoughI am a b ad correspondent j ust n o w I must wr ite ,

you a l ine at Franzensbad , before I start fo r the seaside, for

 ’
FE L I X S E N GA GE M E N T . 2 3

I will not have it said that at any period of my life I did not
write to you The present pe r iod i s a very stran ge one , for I
.

a m more desperately in love than I ever was in my life be fore

,

and I d o not know what to -do I leave Frankfort the day .

after to morrow but I feel as if it would cost me my li fe At

-
, .

any rate I intend to return here and see t his charming girl once
more before I go back to Leipzig B ut I have not an idea .

whether she li kes me or not and I do not know what to do to

, ,

make her like me as I have said al ready But one thing is c e r .

t ain , that to her I owe the fi r st real happi n ess I have enj oyed

this year, a n d I n o w feel fr esh and hopeful a gain for the first
time W hen away from her, though I am al w ays sad — n o w you
.
, ,

see , I have let you into a secret which n obody else kno w s a n , y
thing about ; but in order that you may set the world an example
o f discretion I w ill tell you nothing more I f yo u wan t
,

further information write to me at the Hague p aste r es ta n te

, , ,

fo r the day a fter to -morrow I am goi n g to the dete stable sea

si de 0 R ebe cca ! what shall I do
.

Such is my mood now the whole day I can neither com .

pose n o r play the piano : the utmost I can do i s to sketch a

l ittle But I must thank you for your kind express i o n s about St
. .

’
P aul such wo r ds from you are t h e best and dearest t hat I can
ever hear and what you a n d Fanny say abo ut the wo r k the
,

publ ic says — for n o other exists for me I only wish you would .
“

write to m e a few more times a bout it and very m i nute ly as ,

to my other music Do you t hi n k it can be indi fferent to m e

.

whether you l ike anything o f tha t kind or not

The whole time that I have been here I have worked at St .

’
Paul because I wished to p ublish i t in as comp lete a form as
,

possible a n d moreover , I am quite convinced that the begin

,

ni ng of the first and t he end of the seco n d part are now three
ti mes as good as they were — which was, indeed my duty ; for ,

i n man y poi n ts e specially as to subo rdi n ate matters in so lar ge

,

a work I only succeed by degrees i n r ealisi n g my thoughts

,

a n d exp r essi n g them clearly In the pri n cipal moveme n ts and

.

melodies I can not i n deed make an y subse que n t alterations

, , ,

P a rt of h
t is l t t e er ha s been published befo re , i n La dy Wa lla c e s
’
trans
24 1 8 3 6—1 8 3 9.

because they occur at once to my mind j ust as they a r e ; but I ,

am not su fficie n tly advan ced to say this of ev er y part I have .

n o w however been working for rather more than two years a t

, ,

o n e oratorio thi s is certai n ly a very lon g time and I rej oice at ,

the approach o f the moment when I shall correct the proofs and
be done with it an d begin with somethi n g else I inte nd first
, .

to write some sympho n ies I have ha r dly composed a n ythi n g

.

here as the first page will explai n I am m uch too low-spi r ited
, , .

How you w ould laugh to see m e in such a state !

This morning four members Of the Ctic i li e n -V erei n which I ,

co n ducted for the last time on W ednesday presented me in the ,

n ame of the a s sociation with a travelli n g dressing-case It is more .

fit for a pri n ce travelling i n cogn ito than for a musician b e i n g a ,

N e p lu s u ltr a of splendour a n d elegan ce with the i n scription ,

’
‘
F M B and Caecilia which pleases m e very much This
. . .
,
.

letter is certainly one O f t he most stupid ever written but you ,

are at Franzensbad a n d I am goi n g to Scheveningen an d that ,

as Droysen says is o f the most stupid too

‘
, .

Fe lix to hi s M o ther .

Th e H a gue Augus t 9 , 1 8 3 6 .

I received your kind letter the day before yeste rday a n d tha n k ,

you for it from my heart But you real ly see more in my last
.

letter than I i n tended to say a n d when you speak of my betrothal

, ,

my happi n ess a n d the coming chan ge i n my prospects I can

, ,

only say that as yet all is very uncertai n B ut I than k you .

for the dea r ki n d words you wrote about the mere pos sibility
, ,

a n d feel i n clined to co n sider them as your permi ssio n to t ake

this step so n ecessary for my happiness I n any case I should

,
.

like to have your conse n t that I m ay n o longer be tormented

,

by doubts o n this head at an y rate I n deed m y special O bj ect

,
.
,

in writi n g is to ask you for i t If you tell me that you a re .

ready o n ce m ore to trust me e n t irely and o ffer me again the ,

full libe rty I have e nj oyed i n former years you w ill make me ,

yery happy You may r est assured that I shall not abuse your
.

confide n ce and perhaps I have done something to deserve it

, .

Please tell me so , dear mother .

 FE L I X S E N G A G E M E N T
’
. 2 5

W ith all this h oweve r bear in m i n d what I wrote in the

, ,

be gin n i n g All I ask i s that yo u will give m e your consent ;

.

fo r , though I suppose my age makes it n o lo n ge r legally

necessary I will n o t act without it B ut whether I shall be
,
.

able to avail myself o f it on my retur n to Fran k fort that as I , ,

said before i s a perfect myste ry All depends on the state in

,
.

which I find matters there for I really feel completely ign oran t
,

now O n o n e poi n t , however , I am quite clear and that is that

.
,

I would gladly sen d Holland its D utchm en sea bath s bathing , ,

-
,

cars Ku r s a a l and visitors to the devil a n d wish I was back in

, , , ,

Frankfort W hen I have seen this charmi n g girl ag a in I hope

.
,

the suspense will soon be over, and I shall k n o w whether we are

to be anythin g — o r rather everythi n g— to each other , or not ;
at p r ese n t I really know ve r y l ittle of h e r , and she of me so I ,

can n ot answer all your questions about her This much I can .

tell you that she m ade my stay at Fra n k fort very happy j ust
, ,

when I needed a little happiness and did not expect to get it ,

also that h e r father Pastor J e an r e n au d is dead , and that she

, ,

has been educated at home with the utmost care a n d te n derness

by her mother ( a Souchay ) that her Ch r istia n n ame is C ecile , ,

and that I love her very much .

Dear mother there i s one thi n g more I wish to a sk and

, ,

that i s that you w i l l not allow yourself to be agitated about me

,
.

I pe r ceive from yo u r letter that you are very an xious an d that ,

will make m e anxious too w hereas I wish to be ca lm and col ,

l e c te d and to go through thi s a ffair w ith the cool n ess I have

,

always man aged to preserve hitherto when taki n g an important ,

step i n life I beg you also not to speak about the matter to
.

any one , especially not to any one at F r an kfor t as it might ,

destroy my whole chan c e Dear mother , please an swer this

.

i mmediately .

But his time at th e sea came to an e n d and Felix hasten ed ,

back to F r ank fo r t where the e n gageme n t was sh ortly con

,

c luded He could not however e nj oy h is happi n ess long as he

.
, , ,

ha d to retur n to Leipzig immediately after w ards Of cou r se .

the family we re eager to hear about the be trothed , an d such

ent husiastic accounts came from all sides that they g r ew more
26 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

and more desirous o f making her person al acquaintance Bu t .

this w as not to be fo r some time A lively correspondence soo n .

began , and some o f the letters may follo w here .

F e li x to F a n n y .

Fr an k fo r t : December 1 3 , 183 6 .

Yes my dear Fau ce, here I am again writi n g to you at

,
’
C ec ile s desk and feeling most happy B ut what words am I
,
.

to use to describe my happiness ? I do not know and am dumb , ,

but not from the same reason as the apes on the O rinoco — fa r
from it .There is one drawback however which makes me feel , ,

now and then as if I were goi n g mad an d that is our calls , ,

which must begin to -morrow There are 1 6 3 o f them exactly .

What do you say to that Can tor ? An d by my he a r d, I am

, ,

bo und to pay them all and no lame n tatio n s will get me let o ff
,

one B u t really I do not mind even that— I am so happy

.
, .

I have now spent four days with my C ecile and have a week ,

more before me E verything in the house is so nice and plea

.

sant , an d Ka r l Je an r e n aud whose acquaintance I have o n ly

,

made this time , is as amiable and kind as the others— such a

good fellow Moreover I have a lot o f good music in m y head
.
, ,

which I know you will like , and altogether I c an exclaim with

heartfelt thankfulness , What a happy man I am ! Farewell ,

etc .

F a n n y to Cec ile .

B er li n : D ecember 2 3 , 1 83 6 .

Your drawing dear C ecile has given us great

, ,

pleasure a n d we all like it very much , especially Hensel who

, , ,

k n owing most about it can appreciate it best , an d is I may

, ,

say , a very amiable public You will allow me I know to

.
, ,

sound the praises o f my husband a little or rather to tell you ,

that I c an never praise him e n ough He is such an excellent .

man th at I can say of him as you do of Felix , that his talent

is by no m e ans the best part o f him An d yet I w ish you could .

see the pictu r e he has j ust finished : to my mind it shows not

only brilliant powers but a good heart
, .
28 1 83 6 - 1 83 9 .

yet know my C ecile How I wish you did ! They gave me h e r

.

portrait on Christmas eve but it o n ly sti r red up afr esh my

-
,

wrath agains t all bad a r tists an d I was v ery n ear sayi n g most
,

impolite thi n gs to the pai n te r B by n ame w h o comes fr om ,

.
,

V ienna However I restrained my self because Mme J e an r e n a u d

.
, , .

had been so ki n d an d i n te n ded to give me pleasure a n d because ,

C ecile has sat so often for her por t rait Still it is abo m i n able . .

She look s like an ordinary youn g woman flattered a n d th e pic ,

tur e is full of coarse mistakes I pointed out a few to the a r tist

.
,

and h e became quite con fused an d confessed to them at once , .

It i s really too bad that with such a sitter the fellow could n o t
have show n a spa r k O f poet r y — b y which I mean truth to n ature
he need n o t have painte d t his a ffec ted young perso n with a pi n k
and white complexion an d light-blue eyes instead of my Cecile
, ,

with her dark -blue eyes bru n ette complexion and perfectly
, ,
’
n atural ma n n er I am ve ry curious to see V eit s po r t r ait ; he
.

i s pai n ti n g one which will be , I hope fa r superior to t his though , ,

he r mobile countenan ce must prese n t g r eat di fficulties to an

artist .

J a n u a r y 4 1 8 3 7 —Accept my hearty good wi shes for the

, .

Ne w Year i n which we have now made some progress

, I we n t .

’
home in suc h low spirits last N e w Yea r s eve an d hea r d the ,

clock strike twelve from my bed ; little did I thi n k that I

should be spe n ding the last hour s of the same year feeli n g so
i n te n sely than kful a n d gree t the n e w one with such hope a n d
,

j oy I praise God for all His te n der me r cies and you share my
.
,

feeli n gs and rej oice in my happi n ess I k n ow , .

F e li x to F a n n y .

L eipzi g : Jan uar y 24 , 1 8 3 7 .

I intend leavi n g for Fra n kfort on the 1 7 th of March ,

l
and the church p e r fo r
- m a n c e takes place on the 1 8 th I h ad .

’
n early said alas fo r I do not feel i n the least inclined fo r i t at
,

pre sent and woul d rather n o t have to go throug h so much hu stle

,

a n d exciteme n t so shor tly before my wedding -tour I vituperate .

S t Pa ul pro duced chur ch a t L e ipzig

’
. w as in t h e .
 C ON CE R T S A T L E IP Z I G . 29

the whole busin ess of conce r ts and music he r e an d yet can n ot ,

h elp blessi n g it now and then too for the r e is a g r eat deal , ,

about it that is very delightful You can n ot thi n k how man y . .

i n te r esti n g phen ome n a pass across our ho r izon duri n g a wi n ter

s e as o n : how I wish that you could take part in it fo r o n ce
i t would amuse you infinitely Last week Ben n ett played his
.

C minor concerto and was en thusiastically appla uded by the

,

Lei pzigers who have all of a sudden become his frie n ds an d

,

a dmirers i n deed he is the sole topic o f co n versation here now

, .

At the co n ce r t befo r e M o li qu e played exquisitely A n e w over .

’
ture by Spo h r The daughter of the ai r is coming out ; he
, ,

writes t o me that the idea was suggested to him by my

’ ’
‘
Melusina At the charity co n cert a n e w overture o f Bennett s
.
-
,

is to be played and we have already had t w o n e w o n es by

,

Hiller ( who desires to be remembered t o you eve ry time I

’ ’
wri te) ; moreove r we intend tryi n g R adziw i ll s Faust soo n
,
‘
,

a n d Mme Cr e sc i n i has promised to come

. so you good people ,

of Berlin had better hold your t ongues .

R ebec c a to Cec i le .

M a r ch 1 1 , 1 8 3 7 .

I cannot tell you dear Cecile how glad I am that you are
, ,

still at Leipzig, which is compa r a tively near u s and that you ,

’
will see mother an d hear St Paul before you go If o n ly we . .

were n o t still quite so fa r o ff or if we could have a telescope ,

’
from the Leipziger Strasse to R eichel s Garten or a railway or i f , ,

it w ere not for man y reasons so di ffi cult for me to mo v e ! Felix

, ,

who between ourselves leads the whole concert committee

, , , ,
’
artists a n d all by the nose might well take a few days leave
, ,

a n d b r ing you here if he felt seriously so i n cli n e d a n d you

, ,

did n o t Obj ect to his compan y You shall see Berli n in all its .

glo ry or i n no glory at all whichever you like : the la t ter wo ul d

, ,

show the town to the best advan tage B ut I wish I were at .

Leipzig sitti n g by you in the chorus I would certainly take up

,

my poi n ts and mi n d my rests I suppose you have n ever sun g

,
.

in a chorus before Is it not delightful ? Ah ! I must say Gi v e

.
,

me a m usician W ha t pleasure Fel ix s di ffere n t varieties o f

.
’
30 I 8 3 64 1 8 3 9 .

music will gi ve you ! Does h e play you any of hi s funny pieces ,

or is he to o much in love ? If he does ask him fo r the preludes ,

’
a l en fa n t with wrong conclusions : they w ould make me laugh
on my death bed U n fortunately we are quite shut out fr om
-
.

this musical life as we have no musical fr iends n o w and have

, ,
’
to depend entirely on Fan n y s gran d performances which o n ly ,

take place now and then They are really very beautiful but
.
,
.

after them people are afraid of playi n g or sm grn g be fore Fa n n y ,

so we have music o n ly when w e are by ourselves My best love .

’
to Felix Does he n o t look han dsome at his conductor s d esk
.

I like t o watch him especially when h e is pleased he nods his

,

head and pushes out his under-lip j ust as if there were nobody
in the room at all .

F e li x to F a n n y .
‘

M arch 7 , 1 8 3 7 .

I must write to you abo ut your son g yesterday Ho w bea u .

ti ful it was ! You know what my opi n ion of it always has bee n ,

but I was curious t o see whether my old favou r ite , which I had
only heard hitherto sung by R ebecca to your accompan ime n t i n
the gray room with the en gravings w ould have the same e ff ct ,
e

here in the crowded hall with the glare of the lamps a n d

, ,

after listening to noisy orchestral music I felt so st r an ge when .

I began your soft pretty sympho n y imitati n g the waves with

, , ,

all the people listen ing i n pe r fect sile n ce ; but never di d the
so n g please me better The people un derstood it t oo for there
.
, ,

was a h um of approbation each time the refrain return ed wi th

the long E a n d much applause when it w as over
,
Mme . .

Grabo w san g it correctly tho u gh n o t n early as well as R ebecca

, ,

but she did the last bars very prettily Be n n ett w h o w as i n .

,

the orchestra se n d s his complime n ts , and begs me to tell you

,

all that you k n ow al r eady about the song and I t hank you in ,

the name of the publi c of Leipzig a n d elsewhere for publishi n g

it agai n st my wish .

’
This referred to a son g Fa n n y ha d published I n Felix s .

’ ’
fi rst books of songs Opus 8 an d 9 The Home -spell Italy ,
‘
, ,

Aft er th e perf o rm an ce of on e of her so n gs a t L e ipz ig .

 ’
FAN N Y S CO M P O S I TI ON S .
3!

’
and Suleika and Hatem No s 2 3 an d 1 2 in Opus 8 , and
‘
,
.
, ,
’ ’ ’
Sleepless Forsaken and The N u n No s 7 1 0 an d 1 2 in
,
‘
, , .
, ,

Op us 9 had be en by Fa n n y This was w ell k n ow n amo n g the

,
.

frie n ds of the family but the public imagined her share of

,

’
Fel ix s publ ications to be much larger In the early part of .

1 8 3 7 Fa n ny se n t a song to Schlesinger the music pu bli sher ,

-
.

He publi shed it in an album a n d Felix wrote in additio n to ,

the let ter al ready given Do you kn ow F a n c e your so n g i n

‘
, , ,
’
A maj or i n Sch lesi n ger s Album is a grand success here The
n e w M u s ic a l G a z ai t ( I mean the editor who dines at the ,

same hotel with me ) is quite e n thusia stic about you They all .

say it i s the best thi n g i n the album — a bad compliment for ,

n othi n g else is good But they rea lly app r eciate it So now
. .

’
you a r e a real author an d I hope you feel pleased
, .

She ce r t ai n ly did feel pleased ; for the yea r before she ha d

bee n much pained at the want of i n terest i n her musical pur
suits By a si n gular chan ce as Rebecca writes to C ecile their
.
,

circle o f fr ie n ds was the n composed of wholly u n musical people

-
a circumstance o f which Fa n n y also complains in a letter to

Kli n ge m a n n of July 1 5 1 8 3 6 , .

I i n close t w o pia n ofo r te-pieces which I have written

sin ce I came home from Dii sse ldo r f I leave it to you to say .

whe t her they are wor th p r ese n ti n g to my unk n own youn g fr ie n d ,

but I must add t hat it is a pleasure to m e to fin d a publi c for

my little pieces in Lo n don for here I have n one at all Once , .

a year perhap s some o n e will copy a piece of mine or ask me

, , ,

to play some t hi n g special — certai n ly n o t ofte ner a n d n o w that

R ebecca has left o ff si n gi n g my s ongs lie u n heeded a n d u m ,

k n own I f n obody eve r o ffers a n opi n io n or takes the slightest

.
,
’
i n terest in o n e s prod uctio n s o n e loses i n time n o t o n ly all ,

pleasure i n them but all po w er of j udgi n g of their value

, .

Felix who is alo n e a su ffi cie n t public for me is so se ldom here

, ,

that he cannot help me much an d t hus I am th r ow n back ,

’
e n ti rely o n myself But my o w n delight i n m usic an d He n sel s
.

sympathy keep me awak e still a n d I ca n n ot help co n sideri n g .

it a sign of t alen t that I do n o t give it up though I can get ,

n obody to take an i n terest i n my e fforts But e n ou h of thi s .

g

’
u n i n teresti n g topic .
3 2 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

Another
letter to the same shows her candid appreciation of

what others accomplished in music .

December 1 6 , 1 83 6 .

We have been hearing an excellent pia n ist Dobler who was , ,

doubly i n teresting to me as I have never h ea r d Thalbe r g a n d

, ,

he has en abled me to form an idea of the latest progress in

execution I am so fo n d of lea r ning an ythi n g a n d here we
.
,

have so few opportunities ! If thi s n ice youn g virtuoso would

but adopt a more solid taste he might become someth i n g ex
,

t ra o r di n a ry I can n ot u n derstan d how it is possible with all

.

the con stant revolution s i n music fo r variatio n s to hold their

own as they do with both composers and pian ists I have .

music at my house th e day after to mo r row ; then comes -

Ch r istmas which puts a stop to all music except trumpets

,

and rattles I w ish you were he r e

.

The impression m ade on her by th e fi nish ed execution of

modern pianists was no passing one ; and it eve n made her
un d uly hard o n herself She writes to Kli n ge m an n on April 3
.
,

183 7 B y an association of ideas my mind recurs to your

Collard piano which I appreciate much an d envy you With
, , .

all my talk o f buyi n g an E n glish gran d -piano I shall probably ,

neither get that nor any other a n d I need i t less than I did
, ,

for my playi n g seems to me quite an tiquated after hea r ing these

modern wizards a n d ac r obats a n d I shrink back m ore and
,
’
more i n to my nothi n gness .

This discon ten t with hersel f appears to have lasted some time ,

fo r as late as July 1 ,
- 3 1 8 3 7 Felix w r ites to his mother
,
1

I feel rather provoked that Fa n n y should say the n e w

piano fo r te school outgrows he r Thl s is far from b ei n g the
.

case ; she could cut down all these pet ty fello ws with ease .

They can execute a few variat io n s and to u r s de for c e cleverly

e n ough but all thi s faci lity and coquetti n g with facility no
,

longer succeed s i n dazzling even the public There must be .

soul i n order to carry others alon g with you ; thus though I ,

might , pe r haps prefer liste n i n g to D

,
for an hour to heari n g
In L a dy Wa lla ce s t ra ns l a t i o n
’
.
34 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

t alk ver the p a s t and the future I may well say with tru e
O ,

thankful n ess that I am a happy man .

I i n te n d to work very ha r d and bring out a great many ,

n e w wo r ks and make real progress

, but before I do that it i s
neces sa ry to complete all th e accumulation of unfinished music .

This shall be my task for the summer whe n I m ean to car ry ,

out man y old proj ects a n d what I have n ot finished befo r e

,

wi n ter I must lay aside I composed at Spire three organ

.

preludes w hich I t hi n k you will like ; a book of so n gs without

,

words is nea r ly re ady for pri nti n g but I do not mean to ,

publish an y more of these j ust now as I would rather write ,

greater thi n gs I have almost finished a stri n g quartet a n d

.
,

shall soon b e gin another I am in the right vein for w orki n g

.

now .

W e thi n k of stoppi n g here for at least a n oth er week to ,

make excursio n s in the su rr ounding count ry W e the n return .

to Frankfort probably by way of Heidelberg If during our

, .

stay I catch sight of my O l d friends the sn ow-moun t ains o f ,

Switzerlan d I shall fin d it hard to turn n orthwards a gain but

,

this time we have no c hoice C ecile wants some space left an d .

,

so I conclude .

The rest of the summer up to the time of the Birmi n gham ,

’
musical festi v al was spen t by the F e li c i an s as Fa n ny used to
, ,

call the co u ple a t Fra n kfort and Bi n gen Felix had a gr e at

, .

drea d of this j ourney to E n gl an d He wrote to his si s ter when .

,

recommen di n g her to make a visit to th e seaside

I f you dislike the idea of pa r ting fr om He n sel thi n k of me , ,

who must i n a few weeks though we have not been marr i ed ,

four mo n ths yet leave C ecile here and go to E n gl and b ymyself

, ,

a l l too for the sake of a musical festival

, ,
Goi n g to the seaside .

for your healt h is a ve ry di fferent thing ! The fes tival will be

no thi n g but busi n e ss an d excitemen t ; i t is to last four days ,

an d al r eady my work is cut out for me thus : the first day

”
playi n g th e o r ga n ; the seco n d conducting S t Paul ; the thi r d
“
, .
,

playing the pian o ; a n d o n the fourth and last the o r ga n again , .

Mo r eover they t alk o f produci n g my n e w psalm As the hart

,
“
,
” ’
pa n t s and my Midsummer night s Dream Moreover Ne u
,
- .
,
 T HE B I R M I N G HA M FE S TI VA L .
35

komm has a n e w grand ca n tata of his own The Ascension ,

’
moreove r several pieces from Bach s Passio n with accordin g
, , ,

to report n e w parts for the trum pets ; moreover the Ita lian
, ,

singers will sing ; moreover th ere is the whole o f the Messia

,
“

moreover each co n cert will contai n a symp h ony and an ove rture ;
,

moreove r it lasts to Septe mber 2 2 and on the 3 oth I mu st he

, ,

i n my place at a rehea r sal i n Leipzig for the fi r st subscription ,

concert is o n O c t ober 1 0 Graciou s me ! all this is no j oke

. .

B ut possibly the death of the King of E ngland will intervene ,

’
a n d put a stop to the whole proj ect .

The conte mplated e v ent however did n o t happe n an d Felix

, , ,

had to go I n all his le tters of t his period w e find traces

.

sometimes ope n ly exp ressed sometimes alluded t o — o f an i n

,

creasing dislike to pe r formances a n d conducti n g and a g r ow ,

i n g desire to stay at home e n gaged on his o w n work — composi

,

tio n He had ne v er at a n y time ca r ed much fo r these outward

.

de m on s t r a t io n s of succe ss a n d now whe n his own home life

, ,
-

ope n ed a new world to him he fel t more a n d mo r e averse to

,

such opportunities of public display a n d gr udged the e xp e n di ,

ture of time and labour which they entailed The Birmi n gham .

fes t ival taxed his en e r gies se v erely but n othi n g could have ,
’
been more successful He was the t rue hero of the festival
.
‘
,

a n d co n ce n t r ated on himself all the imme n se enthusiasm of

which an E n glish audie n ce is c apable After the se exciti ng .

’
sce n es which n eeded as Felix writes the cold-blooded n ess of
, , ,
’
a fish to stan d them he had to tra v el back immediately Taking
, .

o n ly six days a n d fi ve n ights to Fran kfort a n d C ecile he went ,

o n with her at a mo r e mode r ate pace i n three days to Leipzig , , ,

’
w he re he arrived at two o clock in the afternoon a n d conducted ,

t h e s u bs c r ip tio n -co n cert at six The trombon es and drum s

.

u t t hemselves to such violent exertio n s that towards the end o f

p
”
the co n cert I was certainly some w ha t caput 1
he w ri tes t o his ,

mo t her It is n o t to be wo n de r ed at if he longed for home and

.

re st
.

The siste r s it w ill b e remembered h ad n o t yet see n C ecile

, , ,

which they bo t h a lit tle re sented e specially Fan n y who thought

, ,

t hat an opportu n ity mi g ht ha v e bee n found sooner o f brin gin g

K n ocked up .
30 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9 .

her to Berlin Towards the end of August the W oringen gi r ls

.

came to Be r lin w ith the old President a n d the family bei n g , ,

naturally a n xious to repay them for their former hospitality ,

m ade the time as pleasa n t as they could A great deal of good .

music w as gone through and the Su n day music in particular

,
-

assumed larger an d la r ger proportions bo t h as regards the per ,

formers the audien ce , a n d the character of the mu sic In fa ct

, .
,

t h e whole thi n g outgrew i ts original aspect of a frie n dly gather

i n g for m an y of the visitors were tota l str a ngers brought by
,

persons themselv e s o n ly recently introduced an d the s ingers ,

could sca r cely fin d sta ndi n g room , to say n othing of seats so ,

overcrowded did the rooms become .

W ith t he exception of the Singakademie none of the i n s t i .

t u ti on s for the executio n o f good music now so numerous i n

Berlin were in exis tence and that venerable association never
,

w as in a hu r ry to include in its programmes un known comp o

si t i o n s old or n e w
, .

V
After a ple as ant stay of some weeks the V o r i n ge n s s tarted ,

for home ta king Leipzig on their way On this occasion Fa n n y

,
.

could not refrai n from expressing her fe eli n g of an ger a gainst the
’
F e li c i a n s and even gave Ve n t to it in her le t ters to them
, .

Thus she wrote to C ecile on O ctober 5 1 8 3 7 ,

’
I a m eagerly l ooking forward to Felix s concerto .

W ill it be printed soon so that we may have it ? When I

,
’
see Fel ix s w o r ks for the first time i n print I l o ok at them w ith ,

the eyes of a stra n ger i a c r itici se them w ithout partiality

, . . but
it always makes me sadly recall th e time when I used to kn ow
his music from its birth It is so di ffere n t n o w , and what a p i ty
.

it is that fate should have decre e d that we are to live so far

a part and that he should have had a wife these eight mo n ths
,

whom I have ne v er seen I te ll you ca n didly that by this .

time when anybody comes to talk to me abo ut your beauty

,

and yo u r eyes it makes me quite cross I have had enough

,
.

of h e arsay and beauti fu l eyes were n o t made to b e heard

,
.

However like all such moods which are fostered by silence

, ,
’
an d v a ni sh d i rectly they are expressed openly Fa nny s resent ,
 FA N N Y A T L E I P Z I G .
37

ment soon evaporate d a n d yielding to the persuasion o f

, ,

the Wo r i n g e n s she accompanied them to Leipzig where she

, ,

was at la st to see the beautiful eyes of which she had heard so

much and whi ch made as great an impressio n on her as they did
,

on everybody else W hen at home again she writes t o Kli n ge

.
,

mann : At last I k n o w my sister-i n -law and I feel as i f a load ,

were o ff my mi n d for I cannot deny that I was very uncom fort

,

able a n d out of sorts at never having seen her She is amiable .

,

childlike fr e sh b r ight and eve n -te m p e r e d an d I co n sider Felix

, , , ,

mos t fortun ate for though inexpressibly fond o f him she does ,

not spoil him but w hen he is capricious treats h i m with an

,

equan imity which will in course o f time most likely cure his
fits o f irritability alto ge ther Her presence produces the
.

e ffect of a fresh breeze so light and bright and natural is

,
’
she .

This favourable impressio n see m s to have been mutual for ,

Fanny writes t o C ecile on November 183 7 The kind

things you say to me dear C ecile have made me very happy
, , ,

for seldom in my life have I been m o r e an xious to make a

favourable impression than I was on you ; and your kind w ords ,

w hich I belie v e to be si n cere allow m e to hope that this has

,

been the case . How I do l ook forward to a visit fr om

’
you !
The wi n ter of 1 8 3 7 was not an eve n tful o n e He n sel finished .

a large picture Christ in the W ildern ess and Fan n y played

,
’
,

i n public for a charity about which she writes to Kl in g em an n on

,

Februa ry 2 7 1 8 3 8 : Last week the fashionable wo r ld was in

,

great excitement about a charity-c oncert— one of those amateur

a ffairs where the tickets are twice the u sual price and the ,

chorus is composed of countesses ambas sadresses and o fficers , .

A woman of my rank was o f course pressed to play so I per ,

’
formed in public for the first time in my life and took Felix s ,

G min or concerto I was n o t the least nervous my frie n ds

.
,

bei n g ki n d enough to undertake that part of t he busi n ess for

me a n d the concert wretched as the p rogramme was r ealised
, , ,
’
thalers .

In th e spring of 1 8 3 8 P aul and hi s wife wen t to Leipzig for

’
the chr istening of Felix s first son and Felix gave a promi se to ,
38 1 8 3 6 - 1 8 3 9.

spend som e t ime at B e rlin This news was received

. of course
with much pleasure ,
a n d Fan n y writes

Mi n d Felix th at you do not forget my B ach an d

, , , ,
’
one thi n g mo r e ( Ce cile Albertine Paul— who wil l remin d him
, ,
’
have you M o sc h e l e s s new Studies an d will you send them to me ,

by Paul an d fetch them back in p e r son ? I shall be so much

obliged to you i f you will You will receive a special letter
.

fr om me very soon about your headquarte r s during your Visit

to Berli n The seven towns of Greece a r e fighting fo r you
.
,

a n d the two sisters hitherto such friends are in danger o f

, ,

becom i n g swo r n foes on your accoun t as you will fin d out fo r ,

yoursel f Dear Felix I have n o t composed a single note this

.
,

winter although for that reason perhaps I have played more

, , ,

th an ever ; but I scarcely remember w hat it feels like to be

writi n g a son g Will it ever come back ? or is Ab r aham well
.
‘

stricken in age But what does it signify ? I am n o t a hen

to cackle o v er my o w n eggs and not a soul dances to my pipi n g
,
.

Will yo u favou r th e people here by playi n g to them some Sun

day ? Or must I shut up shop during your visit ? 0 children h o w ,

I look forward to having you ! By that time the garden w ill

be beautiful and (please God ) we shall e nj oy life very much
, .

’
Good -bye dear brother and sister with everybody s love
, ,
.

They did indeed enj oy themselves, both in the house and

the garden with Felix and his family duri n g the greater part of
, ,

the summer and made as much as possible of the lon g-wished

,

for u n ion Hen sel however had been absent since May 2 7
.
, ,

having gone to E nglan d w ith his pictures Mi riam and Christ ‘ ‘

.

He had a twofold purpose i n View h is first obj ect bei n g to see

the country in which the fam il y through Felix , Kli n ge m an n , ,

and other friends took so great a n i n terest ; and his second to

,

make his own name known there .

The time was well chosen for the accomplishment o f his

first purpose Ki n g W illiam IV ha d di ed the year before and
. .
,

the coro n ation of Queen Vic toria then only eighteen years of ,

age havi n g been delayed by various circumstances , took pla ce

,

duri n g his visit to London and gave him th e opportunity of ,

 HE N S E L I N L ON D OIV .
39

seeing much that was interesting For sho w ing his picture s .

a n d fi n di n g an engraver — a special obj ect with him — the moment

was less favourable The dealers in works of art especially would

.

take no notice o f any picture unless it had some refere n ce to the

great event o f the day .

Hen sel although gen erally a lazy correspondent wrote very

, ,

communicative letters during thi s his first prolo n ged absence

from home , and some extracts from them will b e found i n teres t
ing The young quee n expressed a wish to see hi s pictures,
.

and the Gallery at Buckingha m P alace was the place fixed upon
for exhibiting them Hensel writes : Fa n cy my conste r n ation
.

when upon entering th e gallery I sa w all the fin e R ube n s V an

, , ,

Dyks R embrandts etc and found I had to place my produc

, , .
,

tions i n the middle of them ! B ut there was no help for it , the

ordeal had to be faced and mi ght prove instructive As you
, .

know I have al w ays preached on the necessity for arti sts of a

,

little salutary m or tific a ti on and moreover desired though w ith

, ,

fear and trembli n g to see my own productions amo n g those o f

,

the heroes of art After arra n ging my pictures , I had half a n

.

hour le ft in which to look at the gallery ; so after filling my mi n d

with the best I could see I came back to my o w n work a n d did
, ,

not sp a re myself a n y humiliation that migh t prove useful well ,

knowi n g that such a n oppo r tu n ity m ight perhaps never recur

a gai n .I did feel humiliated but elevated at th e same time , ,

for I saw clearly that m uch had been already achieved a n d ,

that mo r e was within r ea ch , i f God a n d good fortun e give me

’
time a n d opportun ity .

The picture of Miriam was purchased by the Queen an d the ,

Duchess of Suthe r la n d having asked for a replica w hich He n se l

, ,

declined to paint, o r dere d another pict ure in which o n e of the ,

figu r es fr om the Miriam was to be promine n tly i n t r oduced

‘
.

Lo r d E ge r ton also ordered a large picture the subj ec t bei n g ,

’
Stanzas 2 1 2 2 , an d 2 3 of the Third Ca n to of Childe Harold
, ,
’
i n which Byron desc r ibes the Duchess of Devo n shir e s famous
ball at Brussels o n the eve of the battle of W aterloo and the ,

Duke of Brunswi ck who was killed catching the fi rs t sound of

, ,

the firing These two pictures occupied Hensel during the n ext
.
46 1 8 3 6 —1 8 3 9.

He gives the following description of the coronation

L on don : Jun e 2 8 , 1 8 3 8 , C o ro n a t i o n .

Al l i s
over an d the Queen is crowned I have j ust seen the
,
.

fair young girl step forth from this gate a n d as she in h e r

1
, ,

m e di azv a l costume passed down the li ne of halberdie r s d r essed

, ,

in red again st the vene r able g r ay walls I could have imagi n ed

, ,

mysel f back in the Middle Ages I t w as a very p r et ty picture .

,

with j ust a touch of sun light May it be a good omen for her .

reign I can write no more j ust now , for I have this moment
retu rned thoroughly knocked up and as it is half past six I
, , ,

must dine quickly and then pass the eve n i ng i n loite r i n g about
,

among the people of whom I mean to make a special study

,

to n ight
-
.

2 9 th — Lo n don has bee n quite mad fo r a lon g time but e sp e c i

.
,

ally so y es terday a n d to day it is tired out a n d sleepy Accord

,
- .

ing to a mi n isterial announceme n t over strangers ha d ,

arrive d and even Lo n do n imme n se as it is could hardly co n tai n

, , ,

the influx of visitors Lucky those who had secured some place
.

of repose Ho w ever in spite o f all the accumulation of people

.
, ,

there has bee n no dearth Lo n g processio n s of en ormous I r ish .

o xen passed through the s t reets and were all reduced to bee f ,

a n d eate n some from the orthodox dishes and plates some wi t h

, ,

out a n y such luxurious i n ventions N either was the eye n e .

gleeted for w hole forests a n d ga r dens ar r ived in Lon don the

, ,

fo r mer to be used for decorating balconies the latter for fair ,

ladies to put in thei r hair an d bosoms — indeed I now believe ,

’
i n Shakespeare s walki n g forest of Du n si n a n e It i s said that .

flowers were sen t even from R ussia and ice from all quarters ,

where water w as frozen — t h a t i s to say from everywhere It was ,

.

p leasan t to watch t h e preparations but walking or drivi n g were ,

almost out of the question ; a n d as I am o blig ed to dri v e a great

deal n o t k n o w ing my w ay it took m e quite th r ee times as
, . ,

lo n g as usual to go any w here Indee d all commu n ication was .

,

a s good a s stopped for everybody who did not wish to be con

,

si de re d a nobody w a s afraid of bei n g seen p u shi n g hi s w ay

through the crow d The carri a ges were rolli n g about at four
.

’
o clock yeste rday m orni n g (i n for the poor little
Th e le tt er c o n ta i n s a s ke t ch of W e st m i n st er Abbey as a v i gn e tt e .
42 1 83 6- 1 83 9 .

appe ar ed at all, which gave th e wh ole a ffair the aspect of a part y

so as i t turned out the coronation day cost me less than any
, ,

other during my stay in London At a qua r ter to twelve the .

procession began to arrive at W estmi n ster Abbey a n d by an ,

hour later th e whole had been absorbed i n the cathed ra l I .

need n o t describe th e procession i n full as you will see it all ,

i n the papers but will me n tion a few details

, So for i n stan ce .
, ,

it was fin e to see the good feelin g of a whole n atio n break out

i n cheers when Marshal Soul t appeared ; that th e y we r e n o t
i n ho n our of the he r o and fo r mer e n emy n o r of the Fre n ch ,

nation was su fficien tly shown by the fact that Ge n e r al Sebas

,

t i a n i was allo w ed to pass un n oticed The Austrian ambassador .

also was loudly chee r e d a n d tha t p r obably not merely for the
,

splendour of his attire as he was equalled i n t hat r espect by

,

the Belgian Ambassador Pri n ce de Lign e who did n o t ho we v e r

, , , ,

create the same sen sation N othing more brillian t by t h e

.
,

way could be seen than all the beautiful horses with their rich
,

harn ess the carriages a n d grooms co v e red with gold embroideries

, ,

a n d the sple n didly dressed people inside All this too was .
, ,

encircled b y the ven e r able g ray buildi n gs and the cro w ds o f

common people un de r the dull sky which was o n ly now a n d then
,

pierced by sunbeams ; at first i n deed it rai n ed But when , , .

the golde n fairy like carriage — supported by Triton s wi th their

,
-

tride n ts an d surmoun ted by the great crown of E n glan d— d r o v e

,

up and the g r aceful gi r l was see n bowi n g r ight an d left— when at

,

that i n stant the m ass of people we r e completely hidden by their

w avi n g handkerchiefs an d rai sed hat s while o n e roar of cheering ,

al m ost drown ed the peali n g of the bells the blare of the trum ,

pets a n d thu n de r i n g of the gun s o n e had to pi n ch o n eself to

, ,

make sure that it was n o t all a d r eam out of the Arabian ‘

’
Nights Then fell a sudden sile n ce— the silen ce of a church
.
,

after the Queen had en te r ed the cathedral I mixed amon g the .

crowd w alked up to the doorway of the abbey a n d peered

, ,

i n to the solem n obscurity ; but my involun tary emotion was

dispelled by a se n se of the ludicrous as I looked cl o sely
at their dressed -u p modern ci n quecen to halberdie r s whose ,

cheeks suggest be ef and whose noses tell tales of whisky and

claret I w as able to take a good look at the di ffere n t groups ,
.
 CO R ON A TI ON OF Q UE E N VI C T ORI A .
43

and selecte d som e for my sketch -book ; i n deed I ha v e filled a

small book entirely markin g all th e time the g r eat contrast
,

between popular movements in E ngland and i n Italy How .

di fferent is a papal coronation or even a benediction a t R ome l

I found some v ery fine arrangeme n ts a n d e ffects of deco r ated
balco n ies roofs with women standing out aga inst the sky etc
, , .
,

and took note of a ll in case I should ever pai n t a n E n glish

,

Paul Veronese There are peculiar a tmospheric effects here to

.

be found nowhere else , but they must be spari n gly u s ed or one ,

may arrive at the s ame point as th e present E n glish school .

W hen the firi n g of the first gu n announced the moment o f

the coronation I went back to Lady San don , and the n we saw
,

t h e whole proc ession move back again I feel that the impres .

sion of this picturesque and poetical scene will remai n with m e

for l ife and if you had but been there I sh ould not h ave had
the wretched feeling which cros sed my mind every n o w an d
‘

then nor have pa ssed such a miserable eveni n g as I did with

, ,

all the merry -making going on round me .

The family li fe at Berlin thi s summer w as most pleasant ,

in spite o f the wretc hed weathe r which prevented the use of ,

th e garden and even of the ga r den sal oo n Felix composed a .

’
good deal w hile Ce cile drew a n d pai n ted ; a companionshi p
,
’
which Fan n y used to call the double counter poi n t of her
- ‘

own married life Her thoughts were c o n stan tly in E ngland

.

o r e n g aged in plan ni ng a j ourney to Italy to be unde rt aken ,

’
directly after He n sel s return Her letters to him are full of
.

this plan , and her exultation at the idea of at last accomplishing

her long-cherished desire Their qui et home-life was disturbe d
.
,

however by an epidemic of the measles which spared neither

, ,

old nor young Felix and his fam ily were frighten ed a w ay from
.

Berlin ; while Hen sel retu rned i n equal haste as Fan ny ,

announced to Kli n ge m a n n on September 1 8 1 8 3 8 ,

’
Only a few lines dear frie n d to a n nounce Hensel s safe
, ,

ar r ival He was delayed for one day a t Hamburg an d so arrived

.
,

yeste r day morn ing an d I need not describe o ur pleasure at meet

,

i n g again after so long a separation That th e news of the .

44 1 8 3 6 —1 83 9 .

measles should have driven hi m i n a panic to the steamboat

was e n t irely out of my calculation s , as I though t I had made
hi s mi n d perfectly easy by desc r ibi n g t he illness as light as it
really was But how t r ue it is a n d will ever be that even in
.
, ,

the most i n timate correspo n dence you never can tell exactly
what the e ffect o f a le t ter will b e— writte n words are so di f
fe r e n t from spoken o n es O ur plan s have now un dergo n e the
.

most mature co n siderat i on n d the result of all our balan ci n gs

,
a

be tw een what is good a n d what is still better appears to be ,

that we are to give u p our j ou r n ey to Italy this autumn a n d ,

instead spend next se a so n i n Londo n I inten d to accompan y .

Hensel an d so shal l h ave the pleasure of meeting you an d man y

,

other old frie n ds again and also o f maki n g the acquai n tance of
,

several delightful person s hitherto unknown to m e Wi t h .

regard to the l atter I am not unco n scious o f a trial awaiti n g me

, ,

as many of them must have formed an ideal o f me fa r beyond

what I c an ever come up to I am not given to self fl a tte ry
.
-
,

and have little as it may appear a natural shy n ess which will
, , ,
’
be inc reased by the consciousness th at my husban d s fr ie n ds will
be expecting to se e a prophetess or a heroine a n d will behold a
, ,

dwarf I am quite aware that this is only the first impress i on

.
,
'

but you will agree with me that it is mortifying I derive .

’
great pleasure from Hen sel s drawings and inte r esting accounts
of his visit to London and I am quite in love with Coun tess D
, .
,

and look at h e r heave n ly face at least ten times a day— a c on fe s

sion in which you will recognise my peculiar disi n terestedness ,
capable as usual of rej oicing that m y husban d should have so
beautiful a sitter Such beauty is i n deed a rare a n d e n viable
.
, ,

g i ft of heaven W hat
. a pity that such a gifted creature shoul d
b e denied nearly al l happiness i n life !

F a n n y to Céc ile .

B er l in : O ct o be r 9 , 1 8 3 8 .

Dear Gile i I can only write these words to—day to send my ,

b e st wishes for your birthday t o you or rather to Felix for your , ,

life is I am sure , more precious to h i m than to yourself I am

,
.

obliged to go out a n d pay twe n ty -seven tiresome v isits havin g ,

 FE L I X T O FA N N Y .
45

to call among others on Fann y J and invite her to din n er to .

,

morrow Is not that tiresome enough ? So between three a n d

.

’
four o clock to -morro w , j ust the time you will be receivi n g this
letter we shal l be entertai n ing two or three tedious g uests and
, ,

drinking your health in pine -apple cup you Sun day child God , .

grant you health and a long life ; and if ever you should live to
b e a little old woman with a palsied head even that will become ,

you l ike everythi n g else you do B ut i t is time you should

,
.

write to me for v o i le! la tr oi si em e fo i s that I have k n ocked ,

, .

’
and you have not said Come in Therefore I w ill not t ell you .

much about the exhibition especially as there is not much to say

,

about i t I hope we may meet before our j ourney to E n gland

.
,

to w hich I look forward with a mingled feeli n g of pleasure and

alarm Lo n don is too big for me Good -bye dear children
. .
, ,

good -bye and pardon this piece o f stupidity folded , sealed and
, ,

addressed as a letter I suppose it is the atmosphere of the stove

.
,

whi ch is heated for the fi r st time t o -day that makes me so dull , .

However do w rite , and remember that ki n d fate has given you

,

a sister -in -law , who to day and ever calls herself your
-

Afl e c ti o n ate F
'

F e lix to F a n n y .

O c to ber 1 1 , 1 8 3 8 .

’
I am glad Hensel liked merry E n gland I wish we could .

Se e the beautiful drawi n gs which his books are full of n o doubt , .

So I hear you a r e going there t ogether next year It is a very .

sensible pla n for I am su r e you will feel comfortable in the dear

,

smoky old place .

It is a great drawback livi n g so far from one another for we ,

’
n o t o n ly have to resign each other s society but all our surround ,

i n gs and interests are di ffere n t and the se exercise a great ,

though unco n scious i n flue n ce upon u s— a n influe n ce which

acts di fl e r e n tly an d h as di ffe r e n t results in each place N o w
, .

you have your charmi n g exhibitio n a t which I would give a ,

good deal to spend o n e morning for we have nothi n g of th e kind

,

here The same thing struck me with r egard to S e yde l m an n

.
,

for , though he makes a great impression here he was much more ,

appreciated in Berl in where he was so much better supported

, .
46 r8 3 6 — 1 8 3 9 .

’
E milia G al o tt i was perfo rmed yesterday a n d I w ent to th e ,

theatre for the first time but even his acting did not thorough ly
,

please me because the rest of th e compan y were so poor I

, .

thought o f that delightful eveni n g when we saw the same play

together and took Cé c il e away be fo r e th e end because I could
, ,

not stand it O n the other hand he c an a c t the Robbers here

.
, ,

which the ki n g declines to allow in Be rli n and they say it is his ,

’
b e st character David gave me an hour s haran gue upon it
.
,

book i n hand I am goi n g to put an advertiseme n t i n the

.

paper beggin g for a repetition and he has given a hal f-promise ,

of it already To return — as far as music goes we are better

.
~
,

o ff here and if you were wit h us n o w as you were about this time ,

last year you would be much amused at all the proceedings

, .

W e have new pian is t s alas I for all t h e concerts up to ,

Christmas and amo n g them are some queer specimen s Next

, .

week we have a competition of si n ge r s which is really quite

ala r ming Mme L owe fro m Be rli n and Mme B o tgo r sc h e k
. .
, .

from Dresde n Mme Shaw fro m Lo n do n and Miss N ovello fr om

, .
,

Milan all meet here a n d make the Gewandhaus their battle

,

fi eld No v e llo is coming I believe o n purpose to play a trick

.
, ,
’ ’
on Shaw (a S haw b e rn a c k if I may take a lea f out of Hen sel s
,

book ) She has w ritten a lot of letters from Italy leavin g me

.
,

to pay the postage announ ces a co n cert two days after Mme
, .

’
Shaw s first a n d then goes on to Prussia
, .

’ ’
At Mrs Shaw s first con cert we perform Beethoven s music
.

’
to E gmon t with recitations by S e yde lm an n and little M oser
, ,

plays It puts me i n to a stew already to think o f the even i n g

. .

P r ofes sor Stenzel Ar nold Mendelssoh n Heinrich Beer E mil

, , ,

B e n de m an n the Fr ankfort merchants M u h l e n fe l s are all mixed

, ,

up together .

F e lix to Fa n n y .

L eipzig : December 2 9 , 1 8 3 8 .

My third étu de is a wretched piece whether you play ,

it ill or well ; forgi v e me for sending it you b ut I wanted to ,

w r ite something for you a n d thus the e v il came about ( for as

, ,

you know I do n o t care for No s 1 and 2 either ) Well

, . .
,

you must give me credit for good intentions at any rate .

 T HA L B E R G . D R O UE T .
47

I i n close a letter to Mme X from the committee to you , my

. .

dear Talleyran d I will confide that it conta ins an o ffer of sixty

,

thalers for the concert my obj ect being that you may assure her
,

that there is no chance of our givi n g more as she may want to ,

bargain about i t— a thi n g I hate For thi s reason I am glad .

that the committee at o n ce named a higher sum than they have

ever given before for our E nglish singers receive less ; besides
, ,

I d o think she ought to be satisfied W hen I read your letter .

about her to the committee they w ere all enthusiastic about

,

her I remarked that after all one could not be certain as to

.

her qualifications but they replied Ah l l your sister ! l

, ,

Thalberg had a concert last night and gave me the greatest ,

pleasure Try and hear him whenever you can fo r like every
.
, ,

thi n g pe r fect he makes one set to work again with fresh

,

spirit His fantasias ( especially the one on the Donna del

.

Lago w ith all their astoun di n g di ffi culties contain the ,

choice st a n d most delicate e ffects every embel lishme n t tells , ,

for his exquisite taste is backed up by k n owledge as well as by

confiden ce The stre n gth of his wrists i s incredible and at the
.
,

same time he yields to none in lightness a n d dexte rity of fi n ger .

Mi n d you hear him oft e n for more exquisite virtuoso play

,
-

i n g it w ould be impossible to find He does not preten d to be

.

anything but w hat he is a brilliant virtuoso and the m a n who

, ,

attains pe r fectio n in the line he has ma rked out for himsel f has
accomplished all that can be desired .

F e li x to F a n n y .

is the bea r er of these lin es .

The sight o f these notes will recall I am sure ho w father , ,

always b r ightened up at the nam e of Dr o u é t, and how he would

hum the above or a pass a ge from some of his other rondos after
, ,

dinner ; also ho w we had to play t o him as children eighteen

yea r s ago a n d the r efo r e no w ords of mine are n ecessary to
,

i n sure a ki n d reception fo r the m a n wi th whom so man y remiu

48 1 8 3 6- 1 8 3 9 .

i sc e n c e s
are connected I may add that I heartily hope he
.

may give a crowded concert in Berli n , and I am convinced

you can do a great deal t owards bringin g about such a result
by letti n g hi m b e heard beforehand for he never plays with
out delighting his audience I beg you to give him this .

opportu n ity and i n general to do all you can for him In his
, .

straightforward simplicity he scorns newspaper articles a n d

everything o f the kind so I wish him success , if it were o n ly
,

that his modesty may be rewarded and that the nat ions may ,
’
sho w themselves to be but men as Ki n g David says B ut , .

when yo u hear him play hi s wo n derful execu t ion , refined vir

,

t u o si ty enchanting tone unerring certa i n ty and his composure

, , , ,

w ill explain better than words my anxiety for his success in

Be rlin and you w i ll see at o n ce why I beg you to take h i m to

,

your heart — figu r ati v e ly o f course , or Hensel wo ul d stab me on

,

the spot .

I am writing in great haste and you shall have a better ,

letter very soon To -day I can on ly say th is : receive Drou et

.

kindly thi n k of the days go n e by , enj oy him as I have enj oyed

,

him an d keep the old place in your a ffecti on for

,

FE L I X M .

E xtr a c t fr o m a L e tter f
o Fa n n y to Kli n gem an n .

No vember 3 0, 1 8 3 8 .

My sister has lost her youngest child , a beauti ful boy

of thirteen months and she herself has before and a fter the
, ,

death o f th e child bee n suffering from such a severe though

,

not da n gerous complaint neu r algia in the face that it has

, ,

required all our courage to witness her su fferings I w i ll spare .

you the details o f all we have gon e throu h during this tryi n g g

’
time ; R ebecca s i n te n se bodily pai n w h ich made her so delirious ,

t hat she h a d to be held do w n in bed took away the sharpest ,

sting of he r grief fo r the dear child and sh e is quite resign ed , ,

calm , and ge n tle in her a ffl ictio n Our love too the love of all .
,

her family has given her much comfort My dear husban d took
,
.

tw o dra w ings and an oil-p a i n ti n g of the dead child and o n e ,

of the dra w ings especially is so wonderfully like th at it is a real

50 1 8 3 0- 1 8 3 9 .

moment pe r fectly e n chan ted with the situation of the pl a ce

O ur little lodgings a r e quite pretty and the De v r i e n t s did n o t ,

do them j ustice That you may n o t thi n k especially you dear

.
, ,

mothe r that we are living i n a paper box or even like the

, ,

fi she r man and his wife in the fai r y tale I will tell you that ,

after di n ner I am going to S win e m ii n de to get a piano if pos ,

sible a n d some fur n iture o f which we sta n d much more i n need

, ,

than we do of room B ut it will not be easy for t he Pri n ce s s

.
,

Liegnitz is turn in g Heri n gsdorf upside down ; she a rr ives to

day a n d her train o f cooks lackeys a n d inspecto r s ha s been
, , ,

upsetti n g the place sin ce yesterday Altogether we have had .

ple n ty of scope for our loyalty o n the j ourney On the steamer .

we met nothi n g but R ussian s the reti n ue of the G r a n d Duke ,

precedi n g h i m ; h e occupied six ships and you may j udge o f ,

the reputation the people h e a r from the fact that their lugga ge ,

was separated fr om that of the other passe n gers that it might

’
be the mo r e easily ove rlooked for th e y steal like raven s as t he , ,

people here say The captai n the pilot a n d the passe n ge r s

.
, ,

abused them ope n ly Se r iously I want to persuade you to come

.
,

here fo r a fe w days ; th e place is lovely a n d will I am afraid , , ,

n o t r emai n so long for the curse of civilis a tion with its green
, ,

and ye llow houses is begi n n ing to appear alrea dy a n d the most

, ,

beautiful spots will soon be spoilt The best of the view here .

is t hat so far it is e n ti r ely u n obstructed .

My d r ive to S w in e m ii n de was successful for I fo un d an i n ,

strumen t which they a r e goin g to se n d to —mo r ro w I brought .

a chest of drawers back with me a n d now we are comfo r tably ,

settle d I am thankful to say that the first bathe has do n e

.

R ebecca good an d I feel quite relieved o n that point

, I have .

i n vited the G s fr om S w i n e m ii n de to c o fl e e o n Sunday afternoon ;

.

t h e B S a r e comi n g also a n d we shall have music a n d t h e féte

, ,
’
will be complete ! I inte n d to christen a n umber of Felix s
pieces and mine Thalberg Liszt Herz and Belli ni to suit the , , , ,

taste of our guests .

I am at once humorous and sentimen tal dear husband j ust , ,

like a n ovel by Jean Paul — a state of mi n d I am firmly resolved

to mai n tain So far I have succeeded but every time I thi n k
.

of you (an d it does happen sometimes i) I feel incli n ed to cry .

 HE R L VG S D OR F
’
.
51

Heri n gsd o r f : July 3 , 183 9

R ebec c a — I t isreally very generous of you de a rest husb an d

.
, ,

to w r ite to me before you have had breakfast a n d i n you r usual ,

state of hur ry ; but even if you had n o t I should have se n t you ,

more news to day Dear husband had I k n o w n ho w lovely it

-
.
,

is he r e I sho uld certa in ly not have dissuaded you from a c c om

,

pa n yi n g me for the scenery seems as if made o n pu r pose for

,

you How you would e nj oy rambli n g about a n d lyi n g under a

.

t r ee i n some mathematical attitude gazing a t t h e sea a nd

, , ,

maki n g the grea test discoveries It is quite the co u n t ry for .

reflection and if e v en I feel it so ho w much more wo uld you !

, , ,

But i t makes m e melancholy to look at this idyllic vill age wi th ,

its modest thatched cottages and think that with in a few years ,

the hand of man will spoil the charmi n g little n ook un der p r e
te n ce of improving it Already I seem to see Belvederes taking
.

’
the place o f the storks n ests lazy fl o w e r-garde n s i n stead o f ,
’
corn-fie l ds an d on the beech -hill a c afe with its military band
, , ,

while wo r st of all the bright , hard -w o r king peasants wi ll be

, ,
’
changed i n to begga r s All this is in my mi n d s eye o n ly fo r a
.
,
’
yet it is a l ittle spot of earth fr esh from the Creator s ha n d an d ,

w here the peasa n ts also have c r eated their o w n home st ea ds a n d

fields You would b e charmed with i t all b ut what i s the use
.

of saying it n o w I No t only are you n o t here but the dista n ce ,

betwee n us is daily increasin g Thinki n g of it last n ig ht made .

me quite sad ; but the monstrous nonsense M p r oduced and .

,

which kept us up u n til the illegitimate hour of half past ele v e n ,

made me weep tears of lau ghter i n stead of so r ro w W e ll .

,
1
O ctober must come some day !

July 5, 1 8 3 9 .

F a n n y— Ar t is our great resource here ; a n d you would

n o t believe the delight we t ake in music Yeste rday the piano .

a r rived W hen it might be supposed to have recovered from

.

the exertion of the walk upsta irs I tried it but instant ly , ,

Diri chle t had g o n e to Par is , where he t h o ugh t of s ettl in g , b u t th e i dea

52 1 83 6- 1 8 3 9 .

a string smashed and that note was d umb For the last hour
,
.

a n d a half at least a tun er has been sitti n g at i t a n d the lo n ger

, , ,

he tun es the worse it sounds He can n ot p u t in a n e w st r i n g .

,

and as I perceive that they are all rusty I shall use more stri n gs
, ,

here than n eedles Mo r e over i t is a whole n ote too lo w so we

.
, ,

shall be abl e to si n g high notes a d libi tu m Th r ee chee r s for .

art l Agai n it the piano makes a n excelle n t table a n d a first

, , , ,

rate book case I have j ust been i n to the nex t r oom to ask
-
.
,

R ebecca whether we had n o t better turn out the tu n er He has .

spoiled two strings besides mi n e and the pia n o is n o w quite ,

two n otes too low More to -morrow . .

S a tu d J l 6 — l t is impossible for book or chro icle to

r a y u y ,
. n

describe the cannibalistic appearan ce M prese n ts early in the .

morn i n g after bathi n g I repeat she looks a can nib al and

.
, ,

n othing but a can n ibal Over a gown of b r o w n print she wears

.

her favourite garment a Kasaw o i ka w ith long hangi n g sleeves

, ,

trimmed with ragged fur ; these she dra w s t hrough h e r belt ,

in defere n ce to my request that she would fasten them up

somehow to keep them out of our milk I also begged her to .

t i e up her hair , but she ca n n ot reli nquish the privilege of run

n ing about like a shaggy poodle or an unkempt savage till noo n ,

as the other bathers do Add black stocki n gs and a red petti

.

coat kept in continual display by her graceful movements an d

, ,

th e pictu r e is complete We have a greed to give up co ffee i n

.

the after n oon for the sake of our noses which would almos t
, ,

ki n dle a fire without the aid of matches I am so tan n ed too .

, ,

dear husban d that a lemon held against my face looks white

,
’
a s a lily . Our féte to-day h a s lost its p o i n te for yeste r day s ,

Cantor has succeeded i n reducin g the instrument to such a c o n

dition that it is impossible even to si n g to it We a r e how .
,

e v er quite u n dismayed a n d mean to try an artist from Swi n e

, ,

m ii n de. The one yesterday was fetched from a neighbouri n g

vill ag e by mistake .

The sa m e.

Heri n gs d o rf : Jul y 1 7, 18 3 9 .

W e have made some very n ice excursions The . day

before yesterday we we nt to S wi n e m ii n de and saw , the
 A [eU S S I A N F R I G A TE 53

Russian frigate I wish you had been w ith us dear husban d

.
, ,

fo r it was ve ry inte r esti n g an d you who are neither so an ti-wa r

, ,

like nor so a n ti —R ussian as I would have car r ied aw ay a less sad ,

i mpression than I did The fi r st aspect when yo u come on deck

.

is really imposi n g and those who use their eyes without t hi n k

,

i n g ca n not help e nj oying themselve s as i n deed most people do , , ,

.

W he n howe v er o n e considers the science the skill and i n dustr y

, , , ,

expended i n creati n g a n d the order clean li n ess an d regularity

, , ,

exe r ted in mai n tai n i n g this work of a r t— for th e arsenal looks

,

like a j ewel-box an d e v ery ca n no n m ight be a piece of dra w i n g

,

room fu r n iture — a n d t he n reflects on the pu r pose for which these

n oble faculties a r e employed — o rganised murder— i t is e n ough

to i n spi r e with te r ro r a pe r so n who h a d n ever k n own fear be fore .

W he n supper -time a rri v ed an d abo ut a dozen fellows mus tered ,

rou n d a kettle ha n gi n g fr om the ceiling a n d gazed with their ,

dull Slavonic faces i n to the gra y b r oth t hey were going to

devou r I assure you I w as n ea r e r c ryi n g than laughing ! An d
,

yet t hey are n o t the lowest o f the huma n species A n aval battle .

has always appea r ed to m e the height of ba r ba rism a n d seei n g ,

a m an o f-wa r has o n ly st r e n gthe n ed this O pi n io n

- W hat ci v il .

ised ba r b a r ia n s we shall a ppe ar to ome wiser ge n e r atio n of s

the fu tu r e that w il l ha v e r eplaced w ar— t h e appeal t o me r e b r utal

fo r ce by i n te r n a tio n al t r ibun al s ! I do n o t say that wars w ill
!

the n be w holly impos sible but t hey will take t h e place that ,

duels do n o w a n d become daily mo r e a n d more exception al

,
.

W hen that time comes people will have a right to t alk about,

Ch r i stia n i ty I like Louis Philippe because he is le Nap o leo n

.
,

de la p a i n and beca u se he is goi n g to try a n d settle the a ffairs

s
,

of the world i n a E ur opea n Cong r ess which is a g r and thought , .

You may laugh a t my policy of peace but I am right ! W ome n ,

l
always are the pike is blue .

Yesterday we made a n excu r sion i n to the forest which ,

’
might be called a pa r ody on Felix s forest féte for his t able
- 2
,

deco r ated wi t h ga r la n ds w a s r epresen ted by a few ham sa n d

wiches o n a mo s sy sto n e a n d his chorus o f twen ty experie n ced
,

A referen ce t o Gelle r t s fa ble Di e l Vidm sj n e c I m -

’
in T h e Co n tra di c ter
,
' '

2
T hi s refe r s t o a le t t er fr o m Felix de scribi n g t o hi s m o ther a f éte gi v e n in
h is h o n o ur a t Fra n kf o r t ( Fel i x s L e t t e r s July 3’
, ,
54 1 8 3 6- 1 83 9 .

sin gers by our little store o f d uets The fo r est however , w a s .

,

n o t part of the parody for n othi n g could have been more

,

beautiful O ur party w as disti n guished by the presence of t wo

.

gentlemen ( we were eight ladies a n d five childre n ) On Sun day .

’
the ta ble d hote was brilliant fo r we had nin eteen ladies seve n
, ,

childre n a n d three gentlemen one bei n g a little Jew dentist

, ,

from Berlin a n other a son of B o c kh and the third an u nknown

, ,

— n o t great but big man .

,

R ebec c a to Di r i c hlet .

On e
charming peculiarity of this country is the i m p o s
si b i l i ty of w alki n g ten yards o n level gro und ; hence ari ses a

ce r tai n picturesquen ess in every log of timber an d in each an d ,

all of the thousand and o n e obj ects which casually meet the eye ,
w hile fr om every g r ee n k n oll ascen ded without the slightest ,

exe r tion o n e has fresh views in i n finite variety The Baltic

, .

has been sadly calumn iated : it is not tame not w a n tin g i n colour , .

At this mome n t it is of the deepest blue much deeper than the ,

sky a n d the waves with their white foam se n d the red i n to my

,

cheeks I am actually bei n g blown r ight through by the m o st

.

re freshi n g sea -breeze for you must k n ow that I am w r iti n g on

,

the Acacia Hill at t he back of our house ; at my feet are t he

thatched ro ofs peeping from between the trees a n d in the back ,

g roun d is the da r k forest on the Blue Hill (this is its n ame n o t ,

a poetical desig n ation ) the whole bei n g bo u n ded by the se a — a

,

glorious sight ! If you we r e but he r e to sh a r e it with me and ,

e n j oy it all i n the depths of you r quee r ma thematical soul

E ight mo n ths ago yeste r day o u r dear child was take n from
us The huma n heart is like a grave ; deep down lies grief
.
,

faithfully a n d firmly buried and above i t the green grass gro w s

,

a n d the flowers flourish but ma n y a time it is to r n ope n a gai n

,

a n d a fresh grief added ove r which it closes agai n a n d fr esh

, ,

flowers spri n g up u n til at last— ah the r e our wisdom e n d s !

, ,

W e are led by a higher han d W ell you know t he n ever-chang.

,

i n g bur de n of m y song : let me live w ith you w hich mea n s , ,

w r ite ofte n how you get o n I do not thi n k it is pos sible for
.

husband a n d wife to be leading a more di ffere n t life than you

 F A R E IVE L L
/
7 0 HE RL VG S D O AF’ ’
. 55

are in Paris and I at Heringsdo r f The even te n our of my days .

flows on as mon otonously as my lette rs If Fan n y were n o t .

longing fo r her husban d and I were not anxious to e nj oy her

,

society up to the last mome n t before her depa r ture for her grand
tour I should not o n ly n o t forward our leaving but engage lodg
, ,

i n gs for the second season B ut this is the best time befo r e

.
,

the corn is cut , and while the g r ee n still keeps th e fr eshness

of spri n g .

The sa m e to the sa m e.

B erl in : Au gu st 7 , 1 8 3 9 .

I have yet to tell you about our last days at Herings

do r f a n d w il l do so at once tired and overhea t ed as I a m with
, ,
’
t r a v elli n g and unpacking Our last experience was a ki n g s
.

bi r t hday such as you see described by the dozen in t he pape r s

,
.

-
di n n ers school -children simple add r esses e ta — all extremely
, , ,

hea v y and dull , except the illumi n a tio n s i n the eve n i n g a n d ,

t hey were magical The scattered cotta ges amo n g t h e hills a n d

.

copses covered with li ghts an d garla n ds of flo w e r s t h e sta rr y v ault ,

above the groups of gay holiday -make r s al l made it a deligh tful

, ,

eveni ng W e stayed out o n the Beech Hill I have m entio n ed so

.

ofte n long after all t he people h a d go n e and the lights had

bee n exti n guished watch i n g the moo n rise over the sea an d
, ,

admi re u s— the next mo r n i n g by half past three we w e r e on

the same spot again to see th e sun rise O n S unday eve n ing
, .

aft e r the lo n g calm we had fine breakers a gai n a n d I could not ,

resist the temptatio n so An to n ie a n d I left the t e a-t a ble an d

,

plu n ged i n to the water letti n g a few waves dash ove r our heads
, ,

a n d t he n with drippi n g hair sat down again to tea

,
.
,

At Stetti n we had th r ee hours i n which to p a c k a n d di n e ,

’
a n d we had j ust time le ft to play a very n aughty t r avelle r s t r ick ,

fo r w hich you would have scolded me well if you h a d bee n t here ;

but havi n g done it I will co n fess W e heard a delightful te n or
,
.

voice si n gi n g j ust opposite so Fan n y a n d I we n t to our wi n dow

,

a n d lis te n ed W he n h e h a d do n e I thought it would be o n ly

.
,

fair to let h i m hea r so m eth i n g too so we san g a duet out o f ,

the wi n dow— w e are w ell up i n our duets j ust now from havi n g ,
6
5 1 83 6 -1 83 9 .

sung so many at Heringsdorf The windo w s opposite filled with

.

people an d we were much applauded whe r eupo n our t enor

, ,

began to sing again but by that time our horses had come a n d
, ,

we did not hear t he e n d Perhaps he is si n gi n g still

. .

I say nothi n g of my feeli n gs as I stood in your empty room ,

and amo n g my dear pictures— you can imagine them W ell it .

,

all has to be borne an d e n dured W hether we are in j oy or in

.

sorrow time p asses remorselessly on This j ourney at a n y rate

, .
, ,

has been prosperous a n d I had left o ff believing in the po s i

,
s

b ili ty o f such a thi n g .

58 I TA L V .

which I found o n my arrival yesterday From the first glance .

I should thi n k the so n gs show talent, but I have n either see n no r

heard anythin g else about h i m .

W e calculated yesterday that we a te somethi n g a t every

station throughout our j ourney excepti n g N e u h o f a n d Ma r ksuhl, ,

where nothi n g was to be had W hen I add that a sausage .

,

bread and wine and sweetmeats were put i n to t he ca rr iage -b a gs

,

at Fra n kfort you may imagi n e that we did n o t suffer fr om

,

hun ger The j ou r ney took us four days as we slept last n ight
.
,

at W eimar ; but the little o n e was a patte r n of good n ess in the

carriage and only got one slap the whole way He screamed
, .

frightfully the n but soon fell asleep and when he awoke k issed
, ,

me as te n derly as if he had not been slapped a n d I had not ,

been the party w h o s l apped him W ell tha n k God we are safe .
, ,

home a n d I am very glad May we soon have a happy mee t i n g

, .
,

dear Fan ny !

The Hensels were so comfortable in the cosy home a t

Leipzig where they spe n t a week that Fanny a lways con
, ,

si de r e d their departure from Leipzig the begi n n i n g o f their

j our ney Felix was o thoroughly happy both i his pos tion
. n w n
i
,

and i n his home life and this state was favourable to a

-
,

large amount of work of di ffere n t ki n ds The 9 5th and .

’
1 l 4 th Psalms the overtu r e to
,
R uy B l as the Son ata i n D ‘
,

maj or for piano a n d Violoncello the stri n g q u a r tet in E ,

flat th e Serenade a n d Allegro Giocoso for pianoforte and

,

orchestra a n d many songs w ith pian o accompan ime n t were

, ,

produced du r ing the yea r s 1 8 3 8 a n d 1 8 3 9 Mo r eover h e .

,
’l
was begin n i n g to think of E lij a h a s a letter to Schub r i n g
‘
,

o f November 2 1 8 3 9 shows The Hen sels left Leipzig

, , .

on September 4 U n fortu n a t ely they were pe r suaded by i n ter

.

e ste d i n nkeepers to try a new rou t e to Bamberg but they ,

e n coun tered the proverbial fa t e of those w h o t ry sho r t cu ts ,

for the n e w route was not o n ly lon ger but in such an n u ,

finished state th at they fr equently had to tak e to the fields .

Again whe n they reached the Mai n e one pitch -dark n ight they
, , ,

found the ferry-m a n like the re st of the wo r ld a t that time

, ,

E l i j ah w as fin ished i n th e yea r 1 8 46 .
 WA L HA L L A .
sr,

asleep i n b e d ; but the pos tilion declari n g the r iver was shallow
enough to be forded a n d the only other al te r n ati v e bei n g to
,

remain in the ca r riage all n ight on the ba n k they resolved ,

o n the ad v enture and accomplished it i n safety

, .

By way of Bambe r g N u r embe r g a n d Augsbu r g they reached

, ,

Munich Bavaria was then a most inte r e sti n g country espe

.
,

c ia l ly fo r an artist as Ki n g Ludwig did much to encou r age the

,

fin e a r ts a n d under hi s rule many n oble works were produced

, ,

as well as a fe w conspicuous failures At Augsbu r g the cathe .

d r al r esto r ed a n d clea r ed of t h e t r ashy additions of later c e n

,

t u r i e s made a grand i mpression upon them a n d N urembe r g

, , ,

of cour se w a s fully appreciated Their first specime n of Ki n g

,
.

L u dwig s o w n creatio n s was the W alhalla , as yet unfi nished about

’
,

which Fan n y writes

Ab o ut h alf an hour from Ratisbon o n th e left ban k of t he

Da n ube the W alhalla stands i n a comma n ding position on the
,

top of a fin e emi n e n ce , surrou n ded on all sides by well-wooded

hills with villages a n d rui n s W hen finished the buildi n g wi th
,
.
, ,

its e n o r mous marble colo n n ades distinctly defi n ed agai n st th e

sky will be un doubtedly mag n i fice n t but parts of it we do not
,

like a n d t he r e i s a striki n g inco n gruity i n the idea o f a Greek

,

temple b e i n g called W alhalla a n d desti n ed to r eceive the busts

,

of celeb r ated Ge r m an s At prese n t yo u see n othing b u t a

.

colo ssal sca ffoldi n g of boa r ds whic h being o n a hill so near the
, ,
’
water ir r e si st ibly remi n ds one of N oah s a r k From t he inside
,
.

o n e c a n fo r m some idea of w hat it will be like e specially with ,

the aid of a little eng r avi n g we had give n us The hasty a n d .

superficial way in which they deal he r e w ith even g r eat u n de r

taki n gs will be best imagi n ed fr om the fact that a si n gle
Ca rya t id by S c h w a n th al e r has bee n copied fou r teen time s ,

becau se he could n o t be allowed tim e to model di ffe r ent o n es .

I n deed the whole of Bavaria i s but o n e large box of b r ick s

, ,

wi t h which th e fan ciful child livi n g i n Mun ich amuses himself

a s h e likes The o n ly fear is that w h en t h e child is go n e the
.

beautiful man y-colou r ed houses may fall dow n an d it mus t ,

s t r ike everybody that too much i s bei n g u n dertake n i n propor

t io n to the mea n s of the coun t ry and the cul t u r e of the people .
60 I TA L Y .

But it cannot b e denied that the ki n g is a grand man in hi s

way and shows knowledge and sense He i s the best and
, .

cleverest o f mini sters of public buildi n gs (Obe r ba u dir ekto r ) and , ,

as he has also a handsome allowa n ce as King of Bavaria h e is ,

able to ca r ry out all his fan cies whether i n buildi n gs painti n g

, , ,

o r sculpture He behaves handsomel y a n d ki n dly too to wa r ds

.

the artists so lo n g as they work fast enough , and i n this ma n n e r

many wo n derful things are b r ought about ; indeed it requi r es ,

some e ffo r t to refrai n from e n vy at the sight of e n e rgies so

taxed an d respo n ding so readily to the strain His predilection
, .

for the Gothic style has given a fr esh impulse to th e arts con
n e c te d with it a n d in painting o n glas s carvi n g in wood a n d sto n e
,
, ,

a n d masonry his subj ects are n o w on a par with our a n cestors

,
.

At Munich they becam e personally acquainted with all the

ar t ists — S c h w an th a l e r Hess Schnorr Cornelius and Kaulba ch
, , , ,

— a n d were much interested in the bright and busy atmosphe r e

in which they lived They also derived g reat pleasure from a

.

’
musical acquain t ance Delphi n e Handley mentioned i n Fel ix s
, ,

letters fr om Mun ich as Delph ine S c hau r o th He n sel t o ok .

sketches of many i n teresti n g people and altogether their s tay ,

a t Mun ich was very gay and pleasant .

The n ext few days brought them within sight of the

sublimest mountain -scenery as they crossed the Stelvio the
,

highest and grandest o f all Alpine passes .

F a n n y to her M o ther .

B o rm i o , at th e fo o t o f S t elvi o o n th e
th e , I ta li a n si de .

Sep tember 2 7 1 8 3 9 , .

W e left Berli n j ust a mon th ago a n d to day we have ac c o m

,
-

p l i sh e d our passage over the highest road in the Al ps W e had .

a delightfu l j ourney of four davs thro u gh t he Ty r ol favoured ,

by exceptio n ally fin e w eather for t he cold a n d rain of the

,

latter pa r t of our time at Mun ich was succeeded by blue skies

an d cloudless sunshi n e .

M i la n S ep te m ber 3 0 — On Tuesday the 2 4 th we left

,
.
, ,

Mu n ich in ra t her doubtful weathe r which however cleared u p , , ,

 T HE S TE L VI O . 61

completely afte r a few slight showers a n d passi n g through a , ,

beautiful an d i n teresti n g country a r rived a t the foot of the ,

mou n tains The n ext morni n g we sta r ted a t sun r ise the moon
.
,

bein g j ust opposite the sun and the sky b r i lliantly clear an d , ,

the fi r st obj ects that met our eyes we r e the snow-mou n t ai n s

o f Tyrol towards which we were drivi n g No t far fr om the
,
.

frontie r is Hohen schwa n gau an old castle w hich th e C row n ,

Prince of Bava r ia has restored in feudal style The side by .

w hich we approached it is flat w i t h low bil ls in the distance

.
, ,

t he cou n try r ich in green pastures and beautifully clear lakes .

O n the other side of the castle crow n ed hill i s a splendid Alpine -

lake with swans that look like floati n g stars o n the da r k-green
,

w ater and beyo n d these are several chai n s o f mou n ta ins risi n g
, ,

progressively higher A co n venient road leads up to the cas t le

.
,

an d t h e ve r y lamps and lamp -

posts a r e Gothic ; i n deed you ,

w ould never imagin e how Gothic it all is You may pe rhaps .

, ,

remember tha t Dome n ic Qu aglio designed all the fur n itu r e

down to t he smallest chair and died i n the castle The walls , .

of all the rooms are painted in wax a n d the Crown Pri n ce has ,

had the impartiality to choose the histo r y of the S w a bia n

E mperors for one room a n d that of the Guelphs for a n o t he r
, .

Howeve r j oki n g apar t though i t is ra t he r i r resistible all i s

, , ,

carried out ve ry well and i n good taste decidedly better than

, ,
’
in Prince Frederic s castle on the R hi n e a n d the view fr om t h e ,

windo w s which command four lakes of a n e n tirely di ff e r e n t

,

cha r acter is delightful ,

Shortly afterwards you cross the.

Austrian fro n tier over which we passed u n molested by mea n s o f

,

a flo r in an d the same day we went on to F i n st e rm ii n z o v er a n

, ,

importan t pass which opens the road to Italy as fr om t he n ce

, ,

you c an get to Botzen without h avi n g to cross an y more moun

tai n s Thi s pass vividly remi n ded me of the St Gotha r d
. . .

The sple n did road bordered by rocks is a steep asce n t the

whole way with th e Inn roari n g far below ; j ust at t he most
,

romantic poi n t it suddenly turns i n t o the moun tains j ust as at ,

’
the Ur n er Jo ch but i n stead of the Devil s Bridge you pas s a
,

fortress built by the Austrian s on and i n the rock a n d t hen ,

emerge on a quiet green plateau j ust as at U r se r n ; the stream , ,

h itherto so turbule n t — t here is a waterfall short ly befor e

62 I TA L Y .

you reach the f ortress — n o w flow s alo n g as quietly a s a

Tyrolese river c an fo r they all seem to co n sist of champ a g n e
,

instead of water After drivi n g for some time alo n g t hi s

.

plate au we saw a gigantic ma ss of s n ow-mou n tains i n fr o n t

,

of us and whe n we were informed that this was the Stelvio

,

with the n e w r oad we we r e to traverse I confess t hat my heart ,

sank We slept at the foot of the mou n t ai n s a n d started at

.
,
’
half past five the next morn ing for our day s task with a ,

cloudy sky and a mist which kept us for th e first fe w hou r s in

,

unce r tainty about the weather I will try to give you as good .

a n i dea as I can of this remarkable road The asce n t on the .

Tyrolese side comp r ises three stages of about five Ge r man miles ,

each bei n g of a totally disti n ct character fr om the others .

D uring t h e fi rst the road all the while ascending considerably

, ,

we drove st r aight on i n to a n arrow valley conti n ually crossi n g ,

the wild moun tain stream a n d getti n g ever higher a n d higher , ,

as w e app r oached the snowy wall that shuts in the v alley R eal .

Alpine sce n ery pastures with cattle chalets rocks a n d mou n

, , , ,

tai n streams sp r ead out before us Trafoi the fi r st re sting .

,

place is , feet high an d here we were at the foot of the ,

Stelvio itself Fro m this point the road is no lon ger s traight
.
,

but climbs zigzag u p the s t eep mou n tain Seen fr om below .

,

the railings at the side look l ike the espaliers of a n imme n se

vi n eyard a n d yo u may often see twelve windi n gs at once The
, .

secon d resti n g place is called F r anzen sh ohe a n d touches th e

'

-
,

s n ow li n e Here we were su r rou n ded o n all sid e s b y glacie r s

-
.

and wide snow-fie l ds and could see the Or tl e r sp itz fr om

,

top to toe quite n ear while the green valley beyo n d passed ,

out of our sight W e had still another mile to d r ive th r ough

.

the s n ow b u t the weather was so be autiful a n d th e su n so bright

,

tha t i n stead of piling on the rugs fu r g lo v es shawls a n d other , , ,

w r aps with which we had p r o v ided ou r selves we even took o ff ,

our cloaks The air was delightfully fresh withou t bei n g at all
.
,

cold On this latter part of the road are i n n ume r a ble st r o n g

.

wooden roofs u nder which travellers m ay shelter from the

,

avalan ches and which also serve to prote ct the road At last
,
.
,

aft e r more than ten hours o f u n interrupted uphill work , we

’
safely reached the summit Santa Maria Here we dran k th e ,
.
 T HE S T E L VI O . 63

last d r ops of t h e Hun ga r ia n wine vour gift dear Rebecca to , , ,

the health of all o ur loved ones whereve r t hey may be a n d , ,

the n down we we n t mer r ily in t w o hou r s as great a distan ce as ,

that which it had take n us more than t e n to asce n d I have .

neve r see n a n ythi n g so wild a n d dese r ted -looking as this summit

of the Stelvio with nothi n g but rocks and snow far a n d wide
,
.

The d r ivi n g down is delightful A dra g was put on o n e of the.

wheels a n d we rolled down safely and swiftly alo n g the admi r able
,

road with not a sto ne or a n obstacle of an y kind to hi n der us

, .

Here we saw the source of the Adda which is fr om its birth ,

most active a n d vigo r ous an d forms several splendid w ate rfalls

, .

He r e also are the won derful gall e r ies blasted in t h e rocks the r e
t he r e were six or eight o f them a n d i n most we c ou n ted t e n or
,

twelve ope n i n gs th r ough which you may see the Vi ew I can n ot .

tell you how inte r esting it is to p ass through all these di ffe r ent
stages the bare rocks a n d eternal sn ow th e p in es the deciduous
, , ,

t r ee s and then all the loveliness of the fertile valley Thoroughly

, .

’
deli ghted with our day s wo r k we arrived at Bo r mio j us t as , .
,

dark n ess was setti n g i n an d the r e I began this l ette r

, .

I have gi v en rat her a detailed desc ription of this pass b e ,

cause I am su r e it is n o t so ge n erally known as most thi n gs

about w hich I shall have to tell you late r o n 1
.

W e we r e pa r ticula rly fo r tu n ate w ith regard to weathe r for ,

rt began to rai n when we started from Bormio the n ext morni n g

,

a n d poured incessantly for three days which would ha v e been ,

most disag r eeable on the pass though in t he plain it seemed a

,

ki n d of rest from the co n sta n t looking a n d admi r i n g In the .

valley of t he Adda we found great devastatio n caused by a ,

hur r ican e a fo r tn ight ago ; the road had been tor n up i n

va r ious places and bridges a n d houses were utterly w recked
, .

The road had bee n enti r ely restor e d a n d the b r idges replaced ,

by te mpo r ary o n es but still t h e sight filled us with a w e On

, .

the morn i n g of the 2 9 th we reached the lake of Como a n d he r e ,

for the fi r st time I beheld Italy so familiar from the r a p t urous ,

desc r iptio n s of othe r s and yet so surp r isi n g ! W e had al ready

,

I publis h t h e de s c r ipt i o n e n t ir e beca u s e cro ssi n g th e Al p s i n s u n shi n e

,

wi ll s o o n be a t hi n g o f t h e p a s t a m o r e e n ligh t e n ed ag e preferr i n g t o b u rr o w
,

un der t he m i n th e da rk —A U T H O R
. .
04 I TA L Y .

seen olive chestnut , and mulberry-tre e s but hitherto the

, ,

cha racter o f the country had been dis t inctly Alpine He r e how .
,

ever i t suddenly un dergoes a complete change At V arenna

,
.
,

where we stopped the hotel is close to the lake and you look
, ,

across the soft delicate light —green water to the beautiful mou n
,

tains with their varied outlines Neither are rocks a n d s n ow .

mi ssing fr o m the landscape b u t they modestly keep in the ,

background leaving the first place to gentle loveliness

,
In .

the foreground was a garden with lemon and o ra n ge tre e s ,

~
,

loaded wi th blossoms a n d fruit large fig—trees roses an d gigantic , , ,

aloes growing out of the walls all this stupen dous vegetation ,

covering a series of terraces the last o f which leads down to the ,

lake A slight drizzle did not o f course prevent our goi n g

.

down to the garden an d the charm of the landscape was scarcely

,

marred by the clouds I can n ot describe how happy I fel t

.

and how touched for touchi n g is the epithet best suited to t h e

,

beauty of this coun try I felt as i f I were u n deserving o f i t all

.
,

a n d lo n ged to have you all with me You dear mother would .

, ,
’
n eed Faustus s cloak to carry you home again in the eve n i n g or ,

you would find i t too fatiguing ; but yo u r n ext j ourney de a r ,

R ebecca must be to the Italian lakes even if you cannot manage

, ,

the whole of Italy this count ry would exactly suit you a n d is ,

i n itself worth seei n g Milan is quite near too. An d as fo r figs ! .

’
I assure you I never eat the luscious fr uit which melt on one s
,

to n gue without lon gi n g to be able to pop one into your mouth

also An d grapes ! well I thi n k they we e mean t for me for
.
,
r
,

n obody likes t hem better tha n I but they are quite renowned
here a n d one gets them fo r less than nothing ! The peaches
,

do not an swer my expectations all I have come across as yet ,

bei n g hard a n d not fit to eat .

The road by Lake Como is again a splendid one ; the edge

here however is protected by gran ite walls instead of raili n gs,
, ,

a n d the galleries have openi n gs like irregular gateways from ,

w hich you catch the most charming vistas i n stead o f mere ,

apertures to admit light such as those i n the galleries on the

,

pass It was impossible to reach Milan by dayligh t and as we

.
, ,

did not like to lose the first impression we r emained at M onza ,

for the ni g ht I cannot imagine what Lucia w as abou t runnin g

.
,
66 I TA L Y .

wil l do for his wife , wh o is v ery pretty He is extremely kin d, .

takes an i n terest in everythi n g an d looked over the sketch -books ,

with the liveliest at ten tion making n oises j ust as Schadow d oes ,
.

He is witty too , an d chaffed ho n est R ottman n in the most

comical ma n n er W hen W ilhelm had taken R o tt m an n s po r t r ai t
.
’

a n d was goi n g to add th e shadow Ka ul bach b egged him to ,

’
leave that to him and then dre w in it R o tt m an n s profile with
, ,

the enormous nose which has procu red him the nickname of i l ,

n a son e R ottmann himself wrote under i t

.

Hoho , da i st si e ja ,

Wie sie der Spi egel wi e s ,

Di e u n geheur e Na se ,

D ie s ich s o o ft sch o n s t ie ss ‘ .

An d so
that sketch has tur n ed out quite a j oke At the r e .

quest o f the company I played as well as I could but the i n str u ,

ment was rather out of tune The conversation was ve ry lively , .

a n d the eveni n g altogether as pleasa n t a o n e as I ever spent .

Up o n the whole Munich left a very favourable impressio n upon

me for we made the acquai n ta n ce of some ple a sa n t people and
, ,

the works of art even the ancient ones bear a kind of stamp o f
, ,

actual life for yo u see that they are cared for and understood
, ,

which e n hances their value Lo n g li fe to the Ki n g of Bavaria .

,

qu a n d m em e !

’
At
Padua , which left a disagreeable impressio n of decay ,

the chu r ch of St An ton io and t h e Scuola di Tiziano a room

.
,

pai n ted in fresco with miraculous scen es fr om the life of St

, .

An thony are wort h seei n g

, Fan n y remarks : A painti n g said .
,

to be by Titian represe n ti n g St An t ho n y maki n g an i n fant

, .

speak is ve ry pretty The mi r acles of this sai n t are all of a

, .

practical ki n d and whe n I tu r n R oma n Ca tholic he shall be my

,

patron He r esusci tates defu n ct glasses a n d plates and thi s

.
, ,

you k n ow would b e useful to a housekeeper W e also went to

,
.

the Chapel i n which F or ster clean ed (years ago ) the pai n ti n gs

,
’
by Jacobo d Av a n zi ; the di r t b e wash ed down may still be seen
t here and the tables he used are s t ill sta n di n g o n e on the to p
,
’
of the other They are a nation of pigs. .

Ha ,
here beh o ld
h a I yo u
T h e migh t y m o n stro u s n os e ;
Wh ichever w a y he h o ld i t ,

I t mee t s w i th hi ts a n d bl o ws .
 VE N I CE . 67

L e tter to the F a m ily .

Ve ni ce : O c to ber 1 3 1 83 9 , .

On my lea f in t he book o f fate is an entry stating that i n ,

’
the year 1 8 3 9 on Octo ber 1 2 , at two o clock in the a fternoon
,

( by our wa tches) I should behold V enice for the first time from
th e mouth o f t he Brenta as w e turned i n to the la g unes and then ,

e n ter this wonderful island -city this republic of beavers As you

, .

like hearing about our travels I hasten to let you share our
,

enj oyme n t as much as possible I do not remember in my

.

whole life to have felt so much astonishmen t , admiration ,

emotion a n d j oy in any twe n ty-four hours as I have in th is

,

wonder ful city o f Ve n ice an d my eyes have hardly been dry a

,

moment sin ce we arrived so enchanting is it all As one first

, .

approac hes a n d sees it floating upon the water one scarcely ,

knows which to admire most its grandeur or its fairy-like

,

beauty But whe n you get into the first streets all of water
.
, ,

and see other s t reets branching out right and left nothing but ,

the sight o f shirts and aprons p r osaically han ging out to dry
from all the houses in the suburbs could convince you that you
are not dreaming D irectly a fter dinner we le ft our b ad hotel
.

( one m uch recommended to u s at Mu n ich

) and walked about for

some time on the quays a n d in the narrow streets , and I then

,

experie n c ed for the first time the peculiar e ffe ct prod uc e d by

se ei n g in re al ity what one has lo n g bee n familiar with in pic
’
tures The church o f S t Mark the Doge s palace with the two
. .
,

columns in front the Rialto the Bridge o f Sighs etc , di d not

, , , .

seem new , but old friends , only superior to my recollection s

of them But w hat most su r prised me was the life in the city
.
,

the hu stl e almost like that in Paris the n umber of shops and
,

c afes
. I had expected to fin d here the s ame ki n d of splendid
decay that there was i n P adua which really is a moulderi n g
,

to wn , but here everything was alive and in the freshest of

’
health ! Thi s morning by ni n e o clock we had e n gaged an
open gondola , and began our sight-seeing in a state o f high
pitch e d expectation Fi rst o f all we went right across the
.

har bo ur to the Island and chur ch of St Giorgio , where there are

.
68 I TA L Y .

some fi ne pictures inside but the fin est o f all outside in the

, ,

vie w of a city which is quite unique Thence we wen t to Sta . .

Maria della Salute at the entrance of the Grand Can al where

, ,

we saw several paintings by Tintoretto and some by Titian , .

’
Then on to the German painter Ne rly s a specially i n teresting ,

visit to me because he h a s the same studio in the Pisani Palace

,

in which poor Leopold R obert died It was very affecti n g to .

see his room and walk u p the staircase h e used after r ead ,

i n g the details of his life and death in the little biography .

Nex t to the Academy which is the building Goethe describes

,

in such glowing terms u n der the name o f Carita ; here we

wal ked up the stai r case he speaks so much o f The collection .

of painti n gs however can scarcely have been there i n his

, ,

time or he surely would have said somethi n g about it On e

, .

is the Assumption of the Virgin Mary which you know from ,

the engravi n g ; it does not do j ustice to it, but I feel powerless

to describe this wo n derful pictu r e Moreover there is a con .
,

side r a b l e n umber of other paintings interesting in their way , ,

but aft er seeing that one first (an d it is always sho wn fi rst)
you have to come down again to be able to appreciate the
others even the rest of the Titians When one has returned to
,
.

a more ordinary state o f mind , there is a good deal to enj oy in

the picture o f little Mary in th e Temple by great Titian — indeed ,

it i s really delightful with a touch o f Dutch n a i v e te in the con

,

c e ti o n
p . There are some large brilliant pieces by Paolo
,
V ecchio
( whom w e always call Uncle Paul now ) an d some scenes ,

with a backgrou nd take n from old V enice , by Bellini both ,

exceedi n gly interesting There is a great deal mo r e tha n we

.

could even look at to -day ; it is quite too much to ta ke i n all at

one visit I must men tion that the pictures a n d buildin g are
.

beautiful ly kept —a rarity in Italy where it is ge n erally distress

,

ing to see the state of n eglect in whi ch the greatest treasu r es o f

architectur e an d painting a r e all owed to remain Padua out .

does other places in this respect and I cann ot tell you how the
,

tow n disgusted me I am obliged to confess having had a

.
,

guide w ho could read and interpret hieroglyphics (r ide Goethe ) ,

t hat there is much that is beautiful to be seen there but the ,

actual sight a fforded me little pleasure O ur next grati fi cation .

 VE N I CE . 09

was addressed neither to the eye n o r to the ear bei n g noth i n g ,

less than a feast of oysters w ith which we recruited ou r selves for

,

further exertio n s The n we we n t t o the Pi san i Palace w hich con

.
,
’
tains but one pai n ting Paolo Ve r on e se s splendid picture of th e
,

Family o f Darius before Alexander of which you have often ,

heard my husban d speak The owners of the palace by ta king

.
,

the trouble to walk a few step s o n their balcon y can see the ,

whole of the Gran d Canal from one e n d to the other The .

B a r b ar ig o Palace has about twe n ty Titian s all i n a sa d state o f ,

decay whilst the Pisan i bears an imposing aspec t of old -fashio n ed

,

g r andeu r W hen walki n g down the staircase I almost fancied

.

mysel f a n oble Venetian , for I as su r e yo u o n e feels by no mean s

o n e of the people t here W e e n ded our mor n ing s wo r k by
’
.

going to see Aurel R obert w ho still occupies the lodgi n gs he ,

shared with his b r other — th e i r studio was else w here — and t hus
A

completed the touchi n g picture of his surroundings Aurel .

’
showed us his drawi ngs from his brother s pictures an d several ,

un fin ished thi n gs This w as a mo rnin g in V e n ice ! In clude in

.

your imagi n ation a brillian t sky the mildest possible air the , ,

pleasant glidi n g motion of the O pen go n dola over the b r ight

green wate r sparkli n g i n the s u n shi n e an d you will ag r ee with ,
’
me that it is o n ly i n V e n ice that such a morn i n g s en j oyment
is possible On e can not help w anti n g all whom we love to
.

e nj oy it too Paul I believe n eeds little pe r suading for he

.
, , ,

i s ce r ta in to bri n g Alberti n e here some day ; but for Dirichlet

it is more di fli c u l t a n d I am speculati n g already as to how
,

they could best arra n ge a j our n ey he r e some day in the future .

R ebecca m u st see V enice — i t is exactly the place to suit her .

I wrote so fa r i n the aftern oo n while my husban d wen t o ut ,

again At seven he came to fetch me an d we we n t to the Piazza

.
, ,

where a ban d was playi n g in t he m iddle of a dense crowd Un der .

the arcades were a g r eat n umber of bea utiful a n d elegantly

dressed l adies whom I i n spec t ed tho r oughly a n d then we went
, ,

to the Piazzetta where we could se e the moo nl ight on the

,

water Here we r e gathered people of a lower class the attrae

.
,

tion be i n g a perma n ent fai r wi t h a mario n ette theatre , and the ,

usual qu a rrels fights shouti n g of vendors a n d singi n g— b y n o

, , ,

mean s bad of its ki n d for a bass and soprano sang a duet

,
70 I TAL Y .

correctly a n d with taste accompanying themselves on a violin

,

and guitar By n i n e o clock , what with the military band and

.

its drums the loud talking the cryi n g of chi ldren and th e
, , ,

gen eral co n fusion , the noise became maddening As soon as .

I got home I discovere d that I h a d lost my brooch a n d my ,

husband hastened back to look for it in spite o f my remon

stran c e s a n d absolutely found it on the Piazza
, Wa s it not .

lucky ?
’
I ought now to give you an account of our six days j ourney
from Milan to Venice with stoppages at C r ema Brescia Desen
, , ,

zan o V ero n a , V icenza , and Padua but in most cases I refer you
, ,

to Goethe wh o really describes it all almost as well as I

,

could— so little is chan ged in these parts I can give you .

no better idea of the architecture of Palladio whom Goethe ,

admires so much an d fr om whose designs half Vicenza and the

,

greater part of Padua and Venice were bui lt than by saying ,

that it reminded me very m uch o f the works of S c hl ii te r ; some

o f the buildi n gs here , especially th e arsenal are so like , that ,

V ice n za did not look at all stran ge to me It is most interest .

’
ing to read Goethe s descriptions with the reality before us ;
though it is more than fifty years since he was here , all his
rema rks are as true and as fresh as if he were writing o f
to d ay .

W hat you say about the daguerreotype interests u s very

m uch ; please keep us a n fa i t in th i s important matter .

’
E xtr a c t fr o m a L e tter of F a n n ys to Oée i le .

V e i ce : O ct ober 20 1 8 3 9 n , .

W e were j ust starting for our second visit to Titian s Assum p

’

’
tion when we received Felix s letter advisi n g us to see it often
, , .

’
I gave his messag e to the glory and now assure him that I for ,

o n e ha ve nothing in common with the blockhea d who does n o t

’ 1
admire two or more cherubs heads The wreath o f children is .

’
one of Titian s finest creation s an d Titian himself is certai nly ,
’
one of God s finest creations ; whe n therefore God and Titian , ,

combine to do their best the result mav well b e w orth see ing
,

Felix s L e tters September

’
, 1 4, 1 8 3 9 .
 VE N I CE .
71

How pleasant it will be to have lo n g talks about Ve n ice with

Feli x ! There is n o occasion for him to call himsel f a grai n o f
’
pepper o r a brewer s ho r se either for I like the p r esen tation of
, ,

little Mary in the Temple with the to r so in the walls the woman
, ,

selling eggs at th e side a n d the beautiful beggar woman behind ;

,

also the E n tombme n t ; the sweet impassioned e ithe r -player ,

too I like even bette r Neither a r e the three heads by Giorgione

,
.

in the M an fri n i gallery at Can ar e ggio at all bad ; also I have

appreciated the gondol a s and I hope to know V e n ice pretty
,

well by the ti me we leave it There was a moon down in the .

calen dar but u n fortunately most of the evenin gs we r e too dark

,

fo r rowing about in gondolas .

O c t o ber 2 3 .

Yesterday we too k a manly resolution and le ft our Luna

( the ho t el ) which,
my h usba n d says is not a c a sta but a d irty ,
’
Lun a we have moved to apartments i n R obert s house whe r e ,

for the first time in V enice we slept well and were not moleste d ,

by mosquitoes I am hardly fit to be seen for both my eyelids

.
,

are swollen i n numerable bite s cover my n eck a n d face a n d my

, ,

han ds look as if they were tattooed R obe rt has take n g r eat .

pai n s to fin d models fo r W ilh e lm a n d n o w he r eally h a s a ,

choice of them a n d is goi n g to begin a head to -day You

,
.

asked me the other day whether the Itali a n cooke ry agrees

with me an d I an swer pretty well o n the whole ; the roasts are
,

served without g r avy but their S tu ffa t i a n d Umidi a n d all

,

the rest of their stews I like very well a n d the cheese eaten ,

with all the soups is excellent The soups themsel v es however .

, ,

a r e ve r y mo n otonous for t here are o n ly th ree va r ieties : rice

, ,

maccaroni a n d vegetable soup v o ila to u t The bread a n d the

, , .

butter are excelle n t a n d till n o w I have everywhe r e foun d the

,

fi r st i n di ff ere n t a n d t h e sec ond sca r cely fit to eat so that I have ,

don e without it An other excellen t thing is a ve r y small ki n d

.

of biscuit which they call I n v is i bi li The V en etians eat n o

,
.

vegetables except a bad ki n d of cabb age The pears are

,
.

excelle n t a n d the wi n e good but i n fe r ior of course to t hat of

, ,

the ter r a fir m a They generally lea v e thick d r egs in the co ffee

.
,

and whe n ever that is the case I take to pasto r al life an d dr i n k

7: I TA L Y .

milk Until we came to V enice I constantly refused wine

.
,

though all Italian s recommend you to m ix it with you r water ;

but as we had at first to pay the us ual tribute to the climate ,

Sebastian an d I have resolved to dri n k it while we are here

on ly a fterwards we shall return to water I should mention
,
.
,

too that we still have delicious strawberries

, .

Oc t o ber 2 8 .

The lo n g period of glorious weather came to an e n d a fe w

days ago a n d to-day we have a fire aft er bei n g uncomfortably
, ,

cold for several days I hope we shall find it w armer on the

.

Contin e n t especially as we go fu rther south , t han it is in this

,

fish-tub ; it is really high time to be going i n to winter qua r ters .

We al w ays spe n d an hour i n the eve n ing at the c afé drinking ,

t e a and reading the papers which do not b r i n g very pleasant ,

news fr om Germany The prin ces still go on co n spi r i n g against

.

their subj ects a n d whe r e it will lead to nobody k n ows The

, .

small sovereigns a r e the wor st of all I t seems quite stran ge .

,
’
with one s mind full of such unpleasan t subj ects to go out i n ,

the lovely eve n ing a n d walk about the Piazza which i s really ,

the finest open space in the wo r ld We visited the Academy .

again the other day There are nearly four hun dred paintings
.

still u n hun g for want of space and a n e w room is bei n g built , .

A dozen other galleries might b e furnish ed w i th the pictu r es

hun g too high to be see n Amo n g them are some i n teresti n g
.

’
curiosities — for i n stance Ti tia n s fi rst an d last painting side
,

by side The fi rst , an An n u n ciatio n shows promise of future

.
,

greatn ess ; but the latter— stran gely e n ough a dead Christ wi t h , ,

mourning di sciples— is almost dreadful in colour and composition .

’
Belli n i s pictures are also very i n teresti n g as they rep r ese n t ,

V e n etian ceremonies with views of V e n ice in the backgroun d

, ,
’
and , like Kr ii ge r s Parade are full o f port r aits which though
’
, , ,

o f course un known o n e fancies o n e recogn ises

, That o u r public .

should still co n ti n ue to admire these very smooth portraits is

another sad p r oof of wan t o f taste an d the whole exhibition this ,

year 1 is ve ry an n oyi n g You will like a study W ilhelm h a s made

.

o f a V e n etia n woman wi t h the white veil they all wear T o -day .

T he ir le t t ers fro m B erl i n were f ull of c o mpl a in t s a bo u t i t .

74 I TAL Y .

pe r missio n a n d we crossed w ithout the slightest dan ger though

, ,

i n stead of three paoli we had to pay twe n ty-six of which the ,

Cardi n al -Legate , the author o f the whole delay got two thirds , .

E xtr a c t fr o m a L e tter to R ebec c a .

Fl o ren ce : No vembe r 1 9 , 1 8 3 9 .

The delights o f Florence , i ts charming sce n ery and u n p a ra l

leled treasures of art are p r overbial The Pitti Palace an d the
, .

U ffi zzi alone might supply the world from their stores The .

Tribun e is generally ack n owledged to co n tain the n e p lu s u ltr a

of works of art but to m y thinking there are room s in the
,

P itti Palace which al most surpass it as regards pictures ; but

there are no sculptu res mixed with them whilst in the T r ibune ,

you may take i n three V en uses at one glance -two by Titian as ,

well as the Ve n us de Medici The liberality of the Gran d Duke

.

is beyon d praise for though livi ng in the Pitti Palace he

, , ,

admits the public to the free enj oyme n t of all i ts treasu r es as ,

you w ill understan d when I tell you that the pai n ters who are
at work in every room copying put down their di r ty pallets on
, ,

the most valuable mosaic -tables The fi rst time we we n t the .

weather was so bad that we were d r ipping by th e time we

arrived and I felt sure they would not admit us but they
, ,

made no obj ection , and if we had chosen w e might have dried

our wet clothes o n the velvet sofas for the furn iture is a ll with ,

out covers There are as man y as six Raphaels in o n e room ,

.

besides others elsewhere a n d the whole arran gements ar e so

,

good that the m ost hypercritical of c r itics coul d fin d nothing

to obj ect to I n the Tri b un e on the other han d I am always
.
, ,

seized w ith a r e v o l u ti o n i sin g mania for there are some pictures ,

there I can n ot thi n k dese r vi n g of such a position whilst other ,

rooms con tai n many I should like to see there Ho w I should .

like as mother says to be appoi n ted furnisher and decorator to

, ,

the gallery ! For instance i n a room not always open there is

,

a female portrait by Titian called Flora w hich is a perfect , ,

gem The head is eviden tly the same as that o f his M is t ress
.

in Paris and the pose is simila r but much superior a s I think

, , ,
.

I saw it yesterday for the first time when W ilhelm was not wi th ,
 o x VI E T o .
75

me , but I am going to show it to him to-day . That picture 1

should at once remove to the Tribune .

Fanny writes o f the route to R ome by Siena , which they

had chosen : Du r i n g the whole way from Fl ore n ce to R ome I
said each day at nin e o clock W hat a mon otonous and wearisome
’
,
’
road this is At ten o clock how charming B yeleven it was
,

agai n dull ; at twelve once more beautiful ; and so on for the

whole six days That is the peculiarity of this country : you
.

ar e in a constan t state either o f deligh t or of disgust and Frau ,

v Varnhagen deserves some credit fo r havi n g invented this

.

’
an tithesis without having been in Italy .

Di a r y .

One o f the most i nteresti n g points on t he route is Orvieto ,

situated on a high hill in the ce n tre o f a valley which is again
, ,

i nclosed by a considerable range o f b i lls Drivi n g first down .

and then u phill you get the most beauti ful views of the town
,
.

The w eather was splendid the M o n te fia sc on e we drank on the

,

w ay excellen t and our carriage with four horses wen t like the
, , ,

w ind so the whole drive w as exceedingly pleasant

,
The ca t he .

dral has a m agnifice n t fa cade ove rloaded with mosaics sc ul p

, ,

ture an d architectural orn ame n ts though we could not quite

, ,

say as Goethe does of the Bucen tauro that it c o n si sts o f orna

, ,

ments o n ly It is the florid style pu shed to extravagance and

.
,

the execution is almost pai n fully elaborate and mi n ute The .

double twisted pillars inlaid with coloured and gold m osaic are
, ,

most beautiful The r e was enough to furnish us wi th enj oy

.

ment for days togethe r ; but we could on ly stay one hou r or our ,

detestable i ettu r i n o would have been driven to despair We

'
.

are decidedly dissatisfied with this mode of travelli n g but he ar ,

from all sides that it is t he on ly practicable o n e in t he Roman

’
territory , as they have n o such thing as our E xtra Post .

Orvieto the success of that pa r ticular t rip was succeeded

, ,

by the most abomi n able quarte r s at R ico r si where they were ,

obliged to stop as there was no other resti n g—place within many

,

miles It seems scarcely credible that things could have been

.
76 I TA L Y .

so bad on o n e of the most frequen ted roads in the most fre

,
e

qu e n te d cou n t r y in the world Two mason s were ej ected fr om .

their beds to provide for Fan n y a n d He n sel , and Sebastia n

almost had to share his wi th a poodle The supper co n sisted o f .

m utto n the sheep having first to be shot as it was too wild to

, ,
’
be caugh t The whole inn looked so like a robbers den that
.

Fan n y declared she was afr aid of going to sleep an d proposed ,

t hat they should stay a w ake the w hole n ight .

To the F a m i ly .

R o me : No vem be r 2 8 , 1 8 3 9 .

W e have at last reached in safety this important poin t of o ur

j ourney , and for some time to co m e t h e pi lgrims m ay lay aside
their staves We arrived here at t e n o clock of the day before
.
’

yesterday a n d to—night— only thi n k— w e are sitti n g round a fire

,

in our comfo r table l o dg in gs, w i th all our arrangements completed

They told us at Florence that lodgi n gs were di fficult to get but it ,
'

i s not so : excellent apartme n ts han dsomely furn ished are o fl e re d

i n abundance but the rents a r e high , We really deserve some .

credit for refusi n g to co n clude a bargain o n the spot for some

of the very tempti n g ones we saw ; but I am quite satisfied with
those we have take n for I expected somethi n g much worse
,
.

For our four rooms well fur n ished in the best quar t er but on
, , ,

the seco n d floor an d with n o view we pay thi r ty scudi a mo n th

, , ,

which i s a medium re n t h e r e I have unpacked all my p r etty .

things to imp r ove the s a lo tto

, .

No vember 2 9 .

This is our fourth day in R ome an d— I am almost ashamed ,

to confess it — I have ha rdly seen a n ything yet The weather is .

bad a n d m y husb a nd has so far be e n run n i n g about the w hole

,

day lo n g I wish you could se e him : it is quite delightful to

.

see his eyes beami n g with happiness He has met wit h the very .

ki n dest reception ; everybody see ms to be so glad to see hi m

agai n and t hey remember everythi n g h e said or did ate or
, ,

dra n k a n d al l ask after G r ahl ; indeed the whole thi n g amuses

, ,
’
me greatly His reputatio n a n d Felix s have smoothed my
.

path wo n de r fully but I fe e l oppressed wi th the respon sibility o f

,
 R OJ V E .
77

doing honour to my relatives Meantime here is De c em b er 2 .

, ,

and I have had to make my debu t (without a n i n strume n t to

practise o n at home ) at a musical soirée like our Sun day-music
’ l
— but at w hose house do you think ? Cava liere L a n dsb e r g s
, .

He lets i n struments out on hire at ten scudi a month , but for old
’
friendship s sake o ffered me one at n ine w hich I decli n ed He , .

is quite an importan t personage here and has a pretty s a lo n , ,

wi t h a splendi d i n strument ; he received ladies and ge n tlemen

with grace , m a n o n tr opp o accompa n ied a small tenor in ,
’
Adelaide and ind uced another lady to play two trios and me
,

one while Madame Va n u t e l li , a beautiful lady with pleasant

,

ners played the part o f listener All this while I could not
,
.

help thi nki n g of R ietz and David maki n g hi m belie v e that Cerf
was goin g to send him to prison fo r playing at o ur house on a
Sunday, and o f that other day when S p i tz e de r pain t ed his face
li ke a herald V erily times have changed with hi m ! O ur first
.

visitor in R ome was L , and I must tell you the best th ing he
.

said I played a piece , after which he made the following r e

.

mark in his Berlin dialect The theme of that piece reminds

’
me very much of an Italian air that I can n ot remember Don t .

you know Hen sel ,

Yesterday we we r e at the Sistine Chape l ,

a n d I saw the Pope a n d all the cardi n al s ve r y well , as they

passed by W e poor women fare badly at these ceremonies for

.
,

we are made to sit in the backgroun d , beh ind a trellis an d those ,

who like myself are short-sighted cannot see mu ch though we

, , , ,

are obliged to sit still for three hours listening to the i n cor r ec t ,
’
a n d indi fferent singing of the Pope s choir and to the not very ,

interesting performan ce o f the mass by a few old cardinals with ,

quave r ing voices Still I shall go there o ften for it will be

.
, , .

better as one gets accusto med to it an d it is one o f these duties ,

’
one s conscien c e enj oins upo n a traveller .

Picture my distress dear R ebe cca The ambas sadors are not
, .

going to give any balls this year An d I should so have liked to .

dance a galop wi th Kestn er Altogether the season is very dull

.
,

R ome is empty t he whole world has gone to N aples a n d th e

, ,

rest are left lamenting However I do n o t min d it at all B ut

.
, .

I can n ot understa n d why St Ursula does not bri ng her 1 1 C00

.
,

F orm er lv o n e o f l
t h e v i o i ns at th e K on i gs tad t Thea tr e i n B er li n .
78 I TA L Y .

virgins t o Rome fo r in this o n e week I have made the

,

acquaintance of bachelors and th ere may be more whom ,

I do not know Child r en too a r e rare here much more so th an

.
, , ,

antiquities However I discovered to -day a boy of eight w ho

.
, ,

wi ll probably have Italian and Fren ch lessons with Sebastian .

B u t how beautiful the Campo Vaccino is ! This again is one , ,

o f those original a n d out -o f-the -way places that surprise one ,

in spite o f all the pictures and descriptions o n e may have seen

or read ; not that it is exactly striki n g and th e e ffect it pro ,

duces is not so much extravagant as peculiar It keeps on .

increasing though and as o n e may sa y it bides its time St

, , , , . .

’
P eter s on the other han d asserts itself at once the build i n g
, , ,

and its surrou ndi n gs are in such complete harmony It h as the .

a i r of wishing all beholders to say How beautiful thou a r t ! ,

a n d it is impossible to help saying so Although conscious o f .

this desire to impress one i s not o ffen ded at it so ove r power

, ,

ing is the e ffect and so immediate The Campo V accino on

, .
,

th e o t her han d has so much o f accident about it Nature and

, .

time have converted the imposi n g buildi n gs of the R oman s

into a heap of rui n s the charm of w hich however is u n p a r al
, , ,

leled. They are n o w digging away and brin gi ng to light ,

pillars walls an d tessellated pavements but there is much sti l l

, , ,

b uried an d the green grass is fast covering w hat has bee n so

,

lately exposed ; the part above ground h owever remains a silent , ,

observer of this age as it has been of so many before it

, .

Good-bye ! It i s j ust striki n g eleven and regularly a t ,

si x in the mor n ing the

p ifi er a r i rous e me from my slumbers .

Theirs i s the most horrid m usic ever produced by human lungs

’
and goat s hide an d c an i n deed only be outdone by the playi n g
,

o f the Ital ian orga n ists No one w ho has n o t heard it w ould

.

believe wha t that is like ; to me the priest sin gi n g mass is the

divinest music , because it silen ces the organ Good -bye dearest .
,

family ! I would gladly refu se an i n vitation from L to spend .

an evening with you .

D ec em be r 8 — Yeste r day w e dined for the first time with

.

I n g r e s director of the F r e n ch Academy who recei v ed us most

, ,

kin dly He retain s an a ffectionate r ememb r an ce of Paul whom ,

. ,

to disti n guish from Felix he always calls Vo tr e fr er e qu i j o u e ,

 T HE FR E N CH A CA D E M Y . 7
7
"
si bi en de la ba sse k n ow h e ( Ingres ) is a great fidd ler
. As you ,

before the Lord , and after dinner we had t r ios as is the case ,

every Sunday The whole Fre n ch Academy w ere assembled

. ,

a l l looki ng thorough j eu n e F r a n c e with beards and hair ct la ,

R a p ha e l and nearly a l l han dsome young men whom I could

, ,

not blame for longi n g after the fl e sh pots o f E gypt in the sh a p e -

,

o f the balls Horace V ern et used to give There is no da n cing .

’
to Ingres s fiddle , fo r he will ha v e nothing but ultra -classical
music You may think of us there now and then on a Sunday
.
,

evening I thought much of Felix in that house as you may

.
,

fancy . A gran d institution is this Fre n ch Academy , a n d how

well o ff the Fren ch artists are altogether ! The gifted e n graver
Cal am a tta is co n stan tly at work for Ingres , engraving even his
port raits which is what I call bei n g thoroughly w ell -to do in
,
-

the world Then how beautiful th i s Villa Medici is and what

.
,

an e n viable post is that o f director here at R ome the very centre ,

of the a r t-world with e n ormous powers of influe n ce over the

,

pick of th e young artists in his own coun try It is impossible .

to imagine a more delightful position for an artist but u n fo r ,

t u n a te ly people get spoiled and do not kn ow when they are

, ,

well o ff I am sure most of us are the be t ter for roughi n g it

.

a l ittle .

D ec e m ber 1 1 — ’
To day i s father s birt hday and at Berlin
- .
,

th e shops a r e begi n n in g their Ch r istmas display Here we are .

e nj oyi n g bright sunshi n e an d have let out our fire w hic h so , , ,

fa r we have o n ly w anted mor n ing and eve n ing

,
This week I .

beheld for the fi r st t ime the priceless treasu r es o f th e Vatican ,

and also what few stran gers are allowed to see the private
, ,

apart men ts o f the Pope This tough old man of seve n ty-fiv e
.

has had all his rooms newly furn ished i n good but simple ,

taste— red damask w ith green curtai n s— as if h e means to

,

occupy the m for years t o come W e admired his sple n did ivo r y .

c r uc i fixe s and i n lai d chairs , but t h e best of all was the view ,

with the Alban ia n h ills Monte Cavo th e Campo An n ibale and

, , ,

F r ascati in the d istan ce R ome i n the foreground and the piazza

, ,
’
of St Peter s at our feet Then we we n t to see th e museum ;
. .

the S ta n z e are mostly in excelle n t condition esp ecially that o f ,

He li o do ru s The Mass of B olsena is wonderful — indeed so is

.
,
80 I TAL Y

everyth ing ! I n o n e room are the T r ansfiguratio n the Ma ,

donna di Folign o , the Coron ation of S t Mary, an d th e Com .

munion of St Jerome The Transfiguration o f course was

. .
, ,

doubly interesti n g to me ; the copy i s really exce llen t The .

servants in the gallery were so deligh t ed to see W ilhelm again ,

it was quite touching especially R i n aldi who us ed to wait o n

, ,

him We merely passed through the sculpture galleries and

.
,

went on to the gardens The first w hich stands pretty high is

.
, ,

full o f fl o w e r-beds and contains th e bronze fir -co n e from th e Castel

,

S Angelo Thence we went to a second ga r de n on undulating

. .

g round , with e n ormous orange -trees on espalie r s and hedges o f ,

roses and my r tle On the left you have a view of the Dome of St
. .

’
Peter s and o n the right of Monte Mario a n d the V illa M e lli n i
, ,
.

There is a summer-house conta i n i n g some pretty old sculptures ,

maj olica floors etc and all about are fountain s po n ds — where
, .
, ,

the Pope feeds the fish — anim als of di fferen t k ind s a n d all so r ts o f ,

b eautiful and i n teresting obj ects The views , too are ve r y varied, .
,

from th e uneve n ness o f the ground They p r esen ted u s with .

’
some o f the Pope s oran ges w hich are ripening i n o ur rooms , .

The gr apes are still excellent but neither the pears nor the ,

b read are hal f as good as they were i n Ve n ice .

To R e be c c a .

R o me : D ecem b er 1 6 , 1 8 3 9 .

What is the use o f all this I must j ust for o n ce as Felix ,

used to say roll in your arms an d talk rubbish by letter You

, .

know I always chose you for that department Dear me how .

,

often I am obliged to keep the very best of nonsense to myself ,

because you do n ot happen to be n ea r me ! If I have been con

sta n t ly wishi n g for you here it has hitherto been as much for ,

yo u r sake as my o w n but the other day I wanted you enti rely

,

for myself for instead of feeling as I did as dull as a pug o n

,
-

a box — I should h ave been as fr olicsome as a rabbit if you had ,

been there too It w as at a solemn meetin g of the Arc h m ol ogi c al

.

’
Society on V in ke l m an n s birthday (many happy returns to
V

which they would make me go These meetings are held on .

the Tarpeian R ock and Kestner now presides instead of B un sen

,
82 I TA L Y .

las t week Jette like all true geniuses has profited by repose
.
, , ,

an d her soups are as classic a l as the soil She is ve ry clever, .

and goes to the market which is som e way o ff fo r everythi n g

, , ,

and when I asked her yesterday what she had brought for the
soup she said : R iso di P a sta ” She has e v en 0 M in n a l
,
‘
.
,

baked a po un dcake in a fryi n g -pan on the stove which has only ,

fallen short of absolute perfection becaus e we could n o t get a n y

powder I shall s t op the first gentleman I meet wi th powdered
.

hair a n d ask him where he purchases his wisdom a n d then

,
1
,

we will c r own your e fii gy on the Capitol W e will show the .

R oman s what a cake should be l N ext time I w r ite I will let

you k n ow w hether w e have an ora n ge -tree or a l aurel for our
Christmas-tree W e mean to i n vite Ka se lo w sky a n d pos sibly
.
,

the G i b so n e s who are very kind to us I know n o other ni c e

, .

people to ask .

E n tr e n o u s soi t di t, I have never i n my life beheld such a

curiosity -shop o f dull people of every age a n d sex a s we have
h ere They rea l ly seem to h ave come tog e ther o n p u rpose to form
.

an en sem ble quite unparalleled For th is reason th ose even i n gs .

ar e the pleasa n test which I spe n d alone with m y husban d a n d

child in our very comfortable room Afte r Ch r istmas we shall

,
.

invi t e the di fferent sets of our acquaintance an d e n dea v our to ,

scatter a few grain s of amusement among the highly r espectable ,

but most unint erestin g people W e went a d r i v e bo t h yesterday
, .

a n d the day before the weather bei n g splendid

, The fi r st day .

we visited the church o f San Paolo some distan ce outside the ,

gates which is being rebui lt a n d also t he pyramid of Ce stiu s

, ,

an d the Protesta nt cemetery which w ith its gro u ps of pine s , ,

a n d c ypresses a n d roses in full bloom is a melan choly and beau

, ,

tiful spot in the midst o f so man y remains of an tiquity We .

’
saw Bar t holdy s g r ave an d Sebastian gathered a few flo w ers
,

from it for mother W e also saw amon gst other t hi n gs the

.

p r etty mon umen t to poor Miss B athu r st an E nglish lady whose , ,

horse took fr ight whilst she was ridi n g by the Tibe r a n d threw ,

her into the river whe r e sh e w a s d r owned Yeste r day we saw

,
.

a la r ge pa r t of an cient R ome— the e n ormous rui n s of the bath s

of Caracalla the tomb of t he Scipios a n d the cata combs The
, , .

A pl a y on th e w o r s d Wei shei t wi s d o m
, , an d We iu ke i t whi t e n e ss
, .
 D OJII E S TI C D E T A I L S . 83

entrance to the latter used to be open but the Gove rnment had ,

it closed about sixty years ago , after fifty youn g men who h a d
go n e i n wi thout a guide lost their way and never came back .

A monk wi th a ve r y expressive Span ish looki n g face showed us -

over them The monume n t of Caecilia Mete lla also which is

.
,

amo n g the an cient tombs on the Appian W ay, is not far from
t h e chu r ch from which you enter the catacombs so tha t there ,

is nothi n g to break in upon the sort of reverie into which one

falls and which is enhanced or rather so ft ened , by the brillian t
, ,

sunshi n e .

But there ! I was not to say a word about anything ancient

this time and I am at it again it is really impossible to help
,

it here Indeed , you would n ever believe h o w contagious the

.

mania fo r antiquities is Be fore you leave R ome you can see

.

no be auty in any t hing that has two legs and a whole nose and
as for a buildi n g wi th all its pillars standi n g— why you woul d
, ,

not look at it N ow I be seech you not for fifty pounds of butte r

.
, ,

as my husba n d says to show this lette r to anybody but mother

,

and the bro t he r s and sisters ; there is too much scandal in it ,

a n d the whole world is but a large wheel .

L e tter to the F a m i ly .

Decem ber 3 0 .

My enj oymen t o f the charming weather and the bright ,

wa r m sun shi n e is really ti n ged with regret because you ca n not
sha r e it for tho u gh it would be too hot for mother R ebecca and
, , ,

the o t he r s would delight in it I am more and more convinced

.

tha t even ten years ago a j ourney to Italy would n o t have suited
mother To see ev e rything— people curiosities and v iews
.
, ,

you have to clim b i n Ci m a as they ca ll it here and that alon e ,

would have been su fi c ie n t to p u t i t out o f her reach not to ,

men tio n the fleas and o ther well k n own dr awbacks B u t if I -

.

could sudde n ly t r a n sport you to the V illa Mills (it takes thi s
ve ry prosaic n a me fro m its prese n t o w ner an E n glishman ) where , ,

you dri v e up to the gate and enter a garden in which without ,

exaggeratio n millions o f roses a r e i n ful l bloom besides thou

, ,

sa n ds o f other flowers you would b e en chanted Besides the

, .

flo w e r s this garden has o ther attractions ; the rui ns o f th e P a la c e

84 I TAL Y .

of the C aesars extend i nto it ; the walls are m ade u p o f ancient

fragme n ts there is a summer-house pai n ted by Giulio R omano,
a n d in fact magn ifice n t views meet your eye in every direction
,
, .

The whole place is l i ke an e n chanted castle It is actually on .

sale and may be had for a trifle 1 W ho feels inclined to buy it ?

,

W e ha v e been making use of the delightful weather this

week to visit several places and even duri n g Christmas time we
,

did not n eglect our duty as strangers Dear mother I hope you .
,
’
w ill admir e us when I tell yo u that on T uesday at ten o cl ock , ,

a fter the distribution of the Christmas p r esents we dro v e to ,

the Sixtine Chapel t o hear the musical mass , and though we did ,

not get home till mid n ight we were up n ext morning i n the
,
’
dark , an d by half past eight were in St Peter s to secure good .
,

sea ts for the procession in which the Pope is ca r ried round .

We w ere most success ful fo r in St Peter s the women are n o t

, .
’

’
so badly treated as they are in the Pope s chapel ; indeed qu ite ,

the reverse for they have the best seats on a rais ed tribune
, ,

whence they can see a n d be see n and in consequence they dis

,

play themselves in m an y-coloured bonnets and feathers , instead

of the black veils supposed t o be obligatory but o f whi c h I did ,

not see a single specimen The w hole ceremony is very magni

.

fic e n t a n d very amusi n g T here is a grand display of uniforms

.

civil military and clerical — and the scene altogether co n veys

, ,

the idea of a play acted fo r the be n efit of the strangers When .

th e Pope hi mself was o fficiating at the altar an d tur n i n g now ,

‘

’
to this side n o w to that I was again remi n ded o f Goethe whose
, ,

diary of November 9 I beg you to read I could not help .

th i n ki n g also how asto n ished St Pete r w ould be if he were to

.

come in and see the pomp and display ! But you will he want
i n g to k n ow how our Christmas festivities we n t o fl and I am
“
,

an x ious to hear about yours W e invited two or th r ee people

.
,

and got ready a few presents for them our Christmas -tree bei n g ,

composed of bran ches o f cypress myrtle and orange the latter

, , ,

laden with their o w n fruit and it all looked ve ry pretty My

,
.

husband gave me a beautiful little cabinet i n laid with ivory , ,

and I gave him a sketc h by Paul V e r onese which he liked very ,

much Man y thanks dear mother for your p r o mised presents ;

.
, ,

we shall need them indeed , for by the time we get home we

 CA S A B A R T HOL D Y . 85

shall be complet e beggars I have always heard that people get

.

thin in Italy but certainly their purses do I am a Fa lsta ff in

, .

c omparison to min e .

L etter to the F a m i ly .

Jan uar y 9 , 1 8 40 .

Amo n g a ll
the beautiful things we h ave seen one has
given me special pleasure dear mother and that i s the Casa
, ,

Bartholdy now inhabited by some E nglish people w ho have

, ,

filled the rooms with beautiful rugs ca rpets sofas and a quan tity , , ,

of old furniture and valuables so that the whole place looks ,

very bright and pleasant They kindly allow str an gers to go

.

over th e house an d I looked about me with mi n gled feelings o f

,

pleasure and emotion the more so from my husban d being able

,

to describe how it all used to be No w there i s a collection o f .

modern pictures selected with g r eat taste and a pro fusion o f ,

vases an d maj olicas — all delightful traces it seem s to me o f the , ,

artistic mi n d which once had its abode here for it was u n ,

doubtedly th e room painted in fresco which gave the originating

i mpulse to t he w hole as it n o w stands I had a similar sensation .

a t the c h arming V illa Alban i where the inn u merable tre as ures
,

of a r t were forme r ly ar r anged by Wi n kelman n i n beautiful

rooms built for the p urpose After his time they were lo n g
.

le ft in a state of total neglect but the present owner has restored

,

them to their former condition a n d liberally thro w n the m O pen

,

to the public People used t o be allowed to wa n der through

.

"
the rooms and gar den at will b u t three mo n th s ago a tourist
,

chipped a piece o fl a statue to take a w ay as a memento and .

,

now you are o n ly allowed to go roun d wit h a servant I am .

sure I should have shut out stran gers alto gether if it h a d

been m y v illa .

Februa ry 4 .

The oranges are still hanging on some trees whi le others ,

ar e already white with blossom Monthly roses have been in .

bloom th e whole w i n ter ; a n d yet this heavenly climate and

rich soil produce less than is wrung out of our sands by northern
e n e rgy an d industry Think of the asparagus Berlin sends to
.
86 I T AL Y

all parts of th e world in spite of her twenty degrees (Réa u m ur)

o f cold ,while here w here nature n eeds so little aid eatable
, ,

fruit is scarcely to be had in winter and t h e fe w vegetables ,

are very i n ferior Ah ! what might not be made o f this coun t ry

.

and o f its i n habitants if P rovidence would but sen d them the man
they need A favourite subj ect for discus sion i n our leisure
.

hours is W hat would h ave become of the wo r ld if N apoleon

, ,

leaving Fran ce an d the rest of E urop e alone had occupied himsel f ,

with reorganising Italy ? In my Opinion France would have

been quite as well o ff without him and Italy would have again ,

become what it was once an earthly paradise , .

L etter to the F a m i ly .

Feb rua ry 25
.

We are still in the full tide of the merry Carnival and I am ,

far more amused with it all than I expecte d I need not .

enter on a formal desc ription fo r Goethe took that trouble o ff ,

my hands fi fty years ago and not only the principal features
, ,

but even many o f the masks have remained unaltered si n ce then

, .

The chi ef day that o f t he Moccoletti is still to come We ha v e

, , .

tried all modes o f seeing the fun from a balcony in the Corso ,

( in three di ff erent situatio ns

) walking and driving in
,
a ca r riage , ,

and I decidedly prefer the last In this manner you are car r ied .

safely and comfortably through t h e crowd and also ge t the best ,

of the fun which co n sists in the war mai n tai n ed again st the
,

carriages from the houses a n d also by the two rows of carriages

,

between them selves The di fferen t missiles c o nfe tti (made

.
,

o f plaster of Pa r is ) sugar plums large and small an d bouquets

,
-
, ,

the latte r being o f course , the most di sti n gu é are gen e r ally
, ,

returned i n kind and Sebastian was quite i ndignan t with me

,

the other day for sending a bouquet in reply to a volley of c on

fetti because I happened to have nothi n g else at hand Flour
,
.

is m a u v a i s g en r e and properly speaking forbidden but bushels

, , , ,

of it are used notwithstanding Altogether a good man y people .

,

especially strangers treat the thin g without any grace an d find

, ,

their amusement in the quantity and hardness of the materials ,

which they shower down from a sa fe distance in the second o r

 T HE CA R N I VA L . 87

thi r d s tory E ven from quite near you get very sh a rp voll eys
.
,

in the face ; but everybody is mad enough or sensible e n ough to

take no o ffen ce , but try and revenge themselves in the best w ay
possible The Prin c e of Syracuse brother o f the Ki n g of Naples
.
, ,

hired a balcony and poured dow n such an inexhaustible st r ea m

,

o f flour t hat it w as hardly possible to pass his co r ner ; b u t a

youn g R oman noble who had specially su ffered from his pelting
had c o nfetti made i n the shape o f maccaro n i and r ip o sted with ,

them the next day whi ch they say so an noy e d the N eapolitan
,

maccaro n i -eate r that he has been better behaved ever since .

Among the most amusing o f the cari catu r es was a gaily

decorated cart con taining a body of surgeons arme d with huge
,

forceps in which they held skulls and teeth si n gly and i n sets , ,

a tr e m e n do u s squirt and other i n st r uments of to rt ure all on the

, ,

most gigantic scale O n the box was a m an who had been tre
.

panned a n d at the back sa t a sav a ge In this man n er they

, .

paraded the Corso shouting out panegy r ics on their o wn skill

, ,

till at last they stopped in fro n t of a balco n y on which sat a ,

bevy of ladies an d, havin g held a consultatio n as t o thei r heal th ,

,

they declared unan imously that all the symptom s i n dicated t h e

use o f the syri n ge raised their squirt a n d ej ected from i t — a large
, ,

’
bo uquet A fellow with a big he a r d in a woman s gow n an d
.
,

cap but without a mask went s t umbling about complai n i n g

, ,

that he could not fin d a place to be b r ought to bed i n Ma n y .

o f the coachmen are dressed up as wome n and in some cases a r e ,

by n o means bad -looki n g The large carriages gaily deco r ated

.
,

and with wheels wreathed with laurel are very pre t ty They , .

gen erally carry about a dozen maskers dressed p r ecisely alike ,

whi ch has an i r resistibly comic e ffect ; but when you see one
o f these carria ges coming you must look out for your face as
, ,

you are sure to receive a perfect hail o f c on fetti Most ladies .

W ear wire -masks fo r protection but I can only h a ve a veil as I

, ,

cannot do without my glasses O n the Giovedi G r asso o n e of .

,

the be st days I drove out with a daugh te r of Tho r waldsen a

, ,

very pleasan t woman and her n ie c e and Sebastian You can not
, ,
.

imagi n e how fully one is occupied on these occasio n s What .

’
with keepi n g o n e s eyes open to see the fu n a n d avoid being
pelted— what with retur ni n g if possible with i nte rest the fi re
, ,
88 I TAL Y .

one has received an d arran ging the ammu n ition collected i n the
,

carriage — what with keepi n g up a conversatio n with the masks

who climb o n the step an d behave like acquainta n ces ti ll they
,

can find an oppo r tu n ity of throwi n g some thi n g in your face I can ,
’
as sure you o n e s han ds are full However o n e gets i n to the spiri t.
,

of it and befo r e lo n g feels almost insulted if a carriage passes

,

without throwi n g it looks so like n eglect Do you recogn ise your

, .

daughte r dear mother frolick i n g away for hours i n the mid st

, ,

of this turmoil an d in a noise which c an be compa r ed n either

,

to the r oa r i n g of the sea nor to the b o w lin g of w ild beasts bei n g ,

like nothi n g but itself I believe the open air has a g r eat deal
to do with it for in a room it would be i n tolerable I shall
, .

n ever forget o n e of the ma sk s I saw yesterday — a tall th in .

you n g m a n dressed as a c i -dec a n t j en n e ho m m e i n a sca rlet silk ,

coat with swallow-tails t r aili n g on the ground The so -called

, .

Co n ti too wi th paper collars three ya r ds lon g an d wigs of red

, , ,

a n d yellow curls mixed look very n ice The garden ers with
, .

their lo n g scissors exist still as Goethe de sc r ibed them an d n u ,

fort unately the same accide n t he m e n tio n s happen ed a few days

ago — fiv e horses started a few min utes late for the race an d , ,

darting th r ough the crowd which always flo w s together a gain ,

the momen t after it has been divided knocked do wn several ,

people Two have died al r eady and the number wou n ded is
.
,

from four to twelve accordin g to the di ffere n t accoun ts E ver

, .

si n ce the guard h ave bee n a little mo r e strict but the soldiers ,

have really a disagreeable duty to pe r fo r m for t h e excite d ,

populace o n ly j eer and laugh at them when they w an t to make

room and will not be kept from run n i n g across the road behi n d
,

their backs They are j ust like n augh ty child ren for o f course
.
,

the order has o n ly be e n given for their own safety Such m ad .

proceedin gs i n the most sober-minded city in the world rea lly

form a rema r kable con tr ast If we could have an ythi n g so .

amusi n g in Be rli n the Leipziger Strasse wo ul d be a splen did

,

locality for it much better than the Corso

,
.

M ar ch 1 4 .

I feel I owe you a description of the close of the

Carnival a n d a fe w li n es will give i t yo u The last even ing .
9° I TA L Y .

Extr a c t fr o m a L e tter Ho m e.

M a rch I hO pe a n d trust that yo u have been

s pending a s thro u ghly successful as beautiful a n d as bri ght a , ,

f éte d aya s w e have This morni n g I finished a lit t le composi

.

tion and W ilhelm added th e last strokes to a small pictu r e

,

w hich h e had done w hilst still too weak to sketch fr om nature .

It i s the stu dv o f a head begun at Venice a n d for the last few ,

da ys I have not be en allowed to see it but this mo rning he ,

called me upstairs and prese n ted it to me on your birthday .

’
At two o clock the united families of Hen sel a n d Ka se l ow sky
stepped into a ca r riage in warm a n d delightful weather a n d
, ,

drove out through the most dista n t gate of R ome — the Por t a
S an Sebastia n o The atmo sphere was unusually transparent
.
,

even for Italy w here the most distant obj ects stand out with a
,

clearn e ss and softn ess of which n o picture can convey an ade

quat e idea for the simple reason that it is altoge t her beyond
,

the r e ach o f human mean s being a gi ft from heave n itself The

, .

stre e ts were thronged with loungers who remembered n othi n g ,

’
o f Cesar s death but we r e entirely occupied with your birthday
, .

The peasants and the nurses from the b ill s were in all their
Sunday fi nery ; procession s of priests o f all colours cardi n als in ,

their red and mon signori in their violet stockin gs and women ,

and boys on donkeys were walki n g riding and drivi n g i n to the

, , ,

country A n umber of girls who a r e to be married after E aster

.

(marriages are forbidden i n Lent

) were g o ing on foot to a c o n

vent whe r e they were to reside for some time in fulfilme n t o f

, ,

a vow a n d looked very pretty in their gray gown s with cords

, ,

rou n d their waists and white veils like nuns As for ourselves
, .
,

w e drove alo n g very merrily (my h u sband was i n o n e of his

S unday moods and the r est o f us never stopped laughing the
,

whole d ay l ong ) past the mo n ument o f C aeci lia Metella which

, ,

is one o f my favourite spots on the Vi a Appia between two ,

’
ro w s o f grand ruins , to a place called R oma Vecchia where ,

a very picturesque farm stan ds surroun ded by b e auti ful ruins , .

Here you are so near the mountai n s that you can di stingu ish
L ea h birthda y
’
s
 E X C UR S I ON IN T HE CA M P A G IVA .
91

every house in Frascati O n the fa r m is the well t hat Wilhelm

.

i n troduced into his picture of t h e W oma n of Sama r ia ’

This .

bein g the limit of our excursion w e got out o f t h e ca rr iage

a n d walked abo ut while the gentleme n great and sm a ll ske t c h e d
, , ,
,

and then drove along an i n t eresti n g ro a d to the g r o tto of E geria .

’
Here you pass right through the Campagn a di R oma which , ,

with all its desolation is so charming Herds of cattle cows

, .
, ,

horses goats , and sheep may be seen graz ing i n every di r ection
, ,
’
and quite as ubiquitous w as Aurel R obe r t s herdsman i n th e
fur j acket whom Wilhelm persists in callin g a cross between
,

a man a n d a sheep In the grotto o f E geria we drank your

.

health in some Orvieto we had ta ken with us dear mother ,

.

W hat could be more classic or more roman tic ? W e then turned

’
homewards and got back in very good spi r its by six o clock to
, ,

an excellent spring -soup a n d roast hare , whi ch prosaic as it may ,

soun d at the close o f such a day w e enj oyed thoroughly In ,

.

the even ing we had Severn the E nglish pai n ter whose like n ess
, ,

W ilhel m began and two youn g musical e n thusiasts E n glish

, ,

and Ge r man who know Feli x

,
The former begged me to .

’
accompany him i n the g r eat aria fr om St Paul which he did .
,

not k n o w very well by hea r t and , as I did not k n ow the aecom

,

a n i m e n t perfectly either i t tur n ed out rather a queer per form

p ,

ance Afterwards I played several things I did k n ow by heart ,

.

and the eve n i n g was as bright an d pleasant as the mor n i n g had

’
been.

Di a r y .

On Saturday w e had a beautiful drive the day being cold ,

and clear though disagreeable W e went first to the Villa

, .

Wo l c h o n sky which comman ds one of the fi n est and most exten

,

sive views i n R ome a n d has a beautiful garden with pa r t of the

,

ancient aqueduct run ning through it There is a charmi n g wal k .

with a hedge of roses on o n e side and eno r mous prickly pear s on

the other, a n d each of the ivy -covered niches of the aqueduct
con tai n s a bust It is altogether a lovely spot an d we have
. ,
’
decided (win d and weather permi tti n g) to celebrate R ebecca s
birthday here Then we drove to the B a tti ste r i a of the La teran
. ,
92 I TA L Y .

to reach which you pass through a be autiful pictur esque court , ,

then through the ch urch to the i n n er court o f the conve n t ,

which is surroun ded by cloisters and sepa r ated from the outer
co urt by two rows of small pillars The cloisters give striki n g .

evide n ce o f the exuberant fancy of the architects and sculptors

of those early times for n o t w o pillars are alike W e noticed
, .

several like those i n the cathedral at Orvieto t w isted i n various ,

inge n ious ways an d i n laid with mosaic In the centre of the

,
.

court betwee n two pillars is a well said to be that of the W oman

, , ,

o f Samaria but i n reality dating from the ea r ly Middle Ages

, .

The walls contain beautiful fragments of sculpture pa r tly built ,

in The pai n ters are all in distre ss b e cause some fi ne trees which
.
,

stood here formerly have been grubbed up an d sold by the mo n ks

, .

They say too that the fragments used to lie about i n a much
more picturesque manner In spite o f all , h owever , it is w o n
.

de r ful still and from this and a few other buildings which have
, ,

escaped the ge n eral ruin o n e is able to form some idea o f the

,

glorious be auty of R ome down to the fifteenth and sixteen th

centuries At that time i n deed when the monuments of ancien t
.
, ,

R ome w ere still in a state of almost complete preservatio n and ,

the buildings of Christian Ho m e of the Middle Ages — sple n did

in architecture and go rgeous with mosaic an d sculptures— were
,

for the most pa r t already in existence how won derful how over , ,

poweri n g i t must h ave been If the world of our own day w ith
.
,

its love of art an d knowledge o f its history coul d but have one ,

glimpse of R ome as it was the n what a di fferent asp ec t it would

,

presen t to t h e R ome of to day— maimed a n d mutilated ever

-
,

i n sulted by fr esh i n co n g r ui ties and absur dities but still the ,

E ter n al City i n spite of all that m a n ha s done by cruelty bigotry

, , ,

a n d wa n t of taste to degrade it It makes me quite sad to

.

think o f all that has been destroyed in the las t thousan d years
or so by t he stupidity or the arbitrari n ess o f man An d eve n .

in our o w n day look at the miserable patchwork i n t he Coliseum

, ,

which seem s to have been made as glaringly white a n d as o ffen

sive to the eye as possible ; while to crown all t hey add a table t
, ,

stati n g that it is the work of his most holy of holinesses Gregory ,

XVI . This mania of th e Popes for putti n g their n ames on

e very trifli n g thi n g they h appe n t o build is really provoking .
94 I TAL Y .

Di a r y .

S u n da y, Ap ri l 5— We spent the evening with Ingres to

.
,

mee t Vernet who was very pleasant but might have be en taken
, ,

for an Arab as h i s lo n g beard marked features sparkling eyes

, , , ,

and brown complexion are quite in keeping with his o r ie n tal cos
tume His weari n g this sounds ridiculous to those who have n o t
.

seen him and we were quite prepared to laugh ; but there is really
,

n o feeling o f masquerade about it as all is ni harmon y with

,

the picturesque dress which is made still mo r e e ffective by his

,

E uropea n cleanli n ess and innate taste his man n ers too have a
flavour o f the E ast which makes the to u t en s em ble i n teresti n g
a n d impressive W e ha d a great deal of talk with him which
.
,

c ould not fail to revive an old proj ect we have often discussed

toge ther and we spe n t half the n ight after i n serious co n versa
,
’
tion the upshot of which was Learn to labour an d to wait
, .

This bei n g an essentially German maxim is altogether beyo n d

, ,

a Frenchman s powe r s of comprehen sio n a n d whe n Wilhelm told

’
,

V ernet o f h i s inte n se lo n gi n g to see the E ast he looked quite ,

bewil dered an d said it would o n ly take him a fortn ight to get

,
’
there A Frenchman s light way of lookin g at life a n d be n d
.

ing outwa r d circumstan ces to his will is most catc hin g a n d for ,

the mome n t di ffi culties and obstacles di sappeared an d i n all ,

since r ity I urged u pon W ilhelm to take us back to Trieste a n d

then a n d there embark for the E ast but his g r ave a n d delibe rate
,

argume n ts soon convinced me of the impossibility of th e whole

t hi n g . How hard it is for me to feel that my very existe n ce
’
entails such sacri fices ! V ernet s energy a n d outspoke n n ess have
enabled him to realise what has lo n g been the dream of ou r life .

and the secret will soon be common property Ther e lies the .

future of a r t an d all this W ilhelm would have a ccomplished

,

i f he had onl y had the po w er to c a rry out hi s ideas But we .

Germans al ways have to wait I al ways have to let the r ight

moment pass i always come too late I W e cannot cut ourselves
loose from the ties of home an d family to say nothi n g of our ,

own i n dividuality The whole matter absorbs and moves m e

.

deeply .
 VE R N E T . G O OD FR I D A Y .
95

Di a r y .

Ibegged Vernet to let W ilhelm draw him in his picturesque

dress to which he very kindly consented and cam e this morning
, ,

wi th t he old pai n ter R eichardt I had a n ice breakfast ready

, .
,

and the conversation was most animated Vern et talki n g much ,

of the E a st and of his next proj ect of going straight from Pa r is

,

to Algiers to paint battle scen es Reichardt and an oth er painter .

stood watchi n g my husband at work and helped him by dipping ,

his brushes in the white fo r V ern et had on ly an hour to spare

,
.

Meanwhile I played and in le ss than a n hour the drawi n g was

,

fi nished , to the great delight o f the painte rs who were ful l of ,

admiratio n at W ilhelm s extraordinary rapidity Ve r n et himself

’
.

was more than satisfied so it was a very pleasant morning

, .

Yesterday Good Friday morning we wen t first t o pick up

, ,

’
d O sso l i who accompanied u s to the Sixtine as I was afr aid I
, ,

should n o t be admitte d without a ticket I secured a seat among .

the fr on t places an d as the ve r ger later allowed a few of the

, ,

l a d ies to go close to the raili n gs I sa w all the ceremonies pe r ,

fe c tly this t ime and came to t h e conclusion that th e adoration

,
’
o f the cross is one o f the finest The Passion w a s su n g first .
,

and this time I succeeded in catchi n g the thread and following

it to the end The arra n gement is broadly speaking , the same
.
,

as that adopte d by Bach The part of Jesus was sun g by a fin e

.

bass voice the E van gelist by a ra the r harsh baritone The music
. .

to the choruses of the people is by V ittoria and these short ,

passages i n four pa r t s with the words su n g straight through

,

without va r iation or repetitio n a r e most importa n t a s a r e fr esh

,

’
men t after t h e i n credibly monoto n ous delivery of the Pas sio n .

Wi th the exception of these sho r t choruses all is recit e d to a

'

melody run ni n g somethi n g like this

96 I TA L Y.

the emphasis a n d duration o f the notes varyi n g accordi n g t o

the number o f syllables Of course there is no expression at .

all The words are su n g with a ce r tai n pathos , but with obvious
.

haste I was deeply in t e r ested an d my at tentio n did n o t flag

.
,

for a si n gle mome n t but Sebastian Bach was in my mind all

,

the time Th e se obsolete forms of si n gi n g st r ongly remi n d

.

me of ancient mosaic but t hey strike me as eve n more sni ff

,

a n d death -like This likeness is easily explai n ed for the two

.
,

forms of art date fro m the same period I believe , too that i n .
,

a Byzantine chu r ch my ear would n o t have been o ffen ded by

such si n gi n g as it was here i n the S i xti n e where a r t has been ,

carried to t he culmi n ati n g poi n t o f perfection — n ay almost ,

beyo n d i t— an d where in co n sequence the utter poverty of the

, ,

music is felt to be the mo r e inco n gruous The music peculiar .

to the Sixtin e Chapel on the other hand (a musical composition

,

such a s those of our grea t maste r s I have n o t yet heard ) bears ,

the sta mp of a much later period being o f an almost ex agg erated ,

sweetness a n d i n rather a rococo style I speak s tro n gly in

,
.
,

order to preserve th e clea r ness of my impressions o n this matter

for the futu r e Such m u sic co n veys n o idea of the maj esty o f
.

art ; simple music simply performed would come much nearer ;

but more of th is hereafter .

W hen the Passion was over th e Pope came i n a n d a Latin ,

sermo n preached w ith al tern ate pa thos an d ran ting followed ,

, ,

after w hich came the prayers These a r e a series of collects for .

—lite r a lly —God a n d the whole world a n d at each o n e the car ,

di n a ls be n t t heir k n ees As i n so ma n y other cases the Church

.
,

of R ome has degraded this an cient and o n ce simple a n d be auti

ful ce remo n y of the ado r at ion of the cross to a mere outward
display a n d they bow like old wome n at a tea party The prayer
,
.

for the Je w s alo n e is pronoun ced standi n g To u t deg en er e en tr e

’ ’
.

l es m a i n s oles ho m m es .

Aft er the
p r aye r s are over a cross is placed in the middle of the
cha pel a n d the Pope ha v i n g been divested of his chasuble an d
, ,

tiara steps forward i n a beretta an d lon g w hite gown to adore

,

t h e c r oss t h e ca r dinals a n d the rest of th e cle rgy followi n g

,

i n tu r n Duri n g this ceremonial the I m p m p e r ie are sung to

.
98 I TA L Y .

only six large candles o n the r ai li n g that divides t he chapel in tw o

being left burni n g i n the i n c reasi n g dark n ess The large figures .

on the ceiling have quite a s t a r tling e ff ect i n the dim light a n d ,

o n e is O ppressed with fatigue fr om the long mo n otonous si n gi n g ,

when sudde n ly after a lo n g pause t he four voices b r eak i n to

, ,

swee t harmo n y a n d begin p i a n owith the ex quisite Mise r e r e

,
’ ‘
.

This would be beautiful u n der any c i rcumsta n ce s but in ,

these surrou n di n gs and after what h as preceded it t he e ffect

, ,

is prodigious an d for two hundred years has n ever failed to p ro

,

duce the strongest impressio n This is anothe r example of the.

clever n ess with which everything i n the Church of R ome i s

calc ul ated to affect the sen ses ; but how an y one can allow them
selves to be ca u ght by what is obv iously a matter of calculatio n ,

clever though i t may he remains a myste ry to me Di v ested of its

,
.

w eird poetry a n d looked at solely fr o m a musical poi n t of view

, ,
’ ’
Alleg r i s Miserere is a very simple four -part verset t o i n G
‘

mino r repea ted with little al te ration t e n times an d used by th e

, ,

singers merely as a can v as to be embroidered with thei r t radi

ti o n al a n d some w hat rococo embellishme n t s The choir is said .

to have contained as man y as eighty voices in form er times but ,

yeste rday there were only n i n eteen for I coun ted them as they ,
’
passed o n e by o n e through the ladies t r ibun e to t heir seats in
’
the choi r As I said before they begi n the Miserere i n B mi n or
.
,
‘
,

but are un able to keep this key a n d at each versetto go down ,

about a thi r d of a n ote so that they e n d i n rather a low key ;

,

but this had rather a good e ffect than othe r wise They si n g the .

sam e Miserere both o n Thursday and F r iday but o n F r iday ,

’
it was over a little earlier and everybody w e n t to St Pe te r s
, .
,

where another was sung The si n ge r s bein g placed i n a high

.

gall ery visible to all in the full blaze of da ylight a n d lamp

,

li ght it was a very fin e sigh t

,
.

This eveni n g we were at a curious part y at th e Countess

Kai sa r o fi s After all the church music w e have he a r d dur i n g
’
.

the las t fe w days the brilliant idea occurred to thi s good lady of
,
 E A S TE R CE RE M O N I E S .
99

’ ’
per fo r ming P e rg ol e se s Stabat Mate r ‘
The accompan iment .

was a quar tet the strings bei n g played by Landsberg Bousquet

, , ,

and good Mr L e v r e ux with his sweet smile while I had to take

.
,

the piano part ; but I got so weary over it that I almost fell
asleep as I was playing A bass and a t enor sang the Stabat
.

Mater very well — indeed as well as o n e could w ish — but we

had had more than enough of that ki n d o f musi c already .

Saturday 1 8 th , we took a res t a n d allowed the Jews!

,

he a the n s to be baptized in the Lateran i n o ur abse nc e

sallied forth at n oon when the firing a n d ri n ging of b e lls he
,

Dur i n g Lent every bell i n R ome i s sile n t but at E st er the

’
a ,

e n ormous bell of St Peter s gives the sign al and 1 s im m e di ately

.
,

followed by the peals in all the many hundred c hu frfhes the ,

deafe n i n g but not disc ordant noise being completed by th e fir ing

of muskets and ca n no n After a fe w moments on t h e P a s

. s
e
,
’ ’
giata we we n t at three o clock to San Biagio degli Armeni
,

in the Vi a Giulia where divine service was sun g to a music

,

which resembled nothing but the b o w l in g o f c a ts I am posi .

tive that no worse torture w as ever i n flicted upon the human

ea r — n o t in the idol-worshi p of the Ca r ibs or the ado r atio n o f ,

V i t zl i P utzl i by the Mexicans — tha n i n t his se r vice of t h e

Armen ia n s no word of which I could catch but Miow l
, The
san ctuary is separated from the co n gregat ion by a ch intz curtain ,

a n d a se co n d i n closes the al t ar ; in fac t the cos t ume moveme n ts

, , ,

and i n articul ate si n gi n g are very Je w ish an d altoge t her bar ,

barou s compa red to the R oman Catholic service .

Yes terday being E aster Su n day we attended high mass at

, ,
’
St Pe te r s i n the morn i n g and I o w n that the c ro wded chu rch
.
,

a n d i n fi n ite variety of costumes made it a wo n de r ful spectacle .

There was a fin e procession in which for once the Greek and

,

Arme n ian bishops take part Those we saw were most dis
.

t i n gui she d-looki n g the former being a remarkably ha n dsome

,

you n g man with a black bea r d a n d wearing a ki n d of c r ow n ,

and the lat ter a splendid old man mag n i ficently dress e d an d
w e a r i n g a mit r e We afterwards wen t up to the loggi e above
.

the colo n n ades to see the be n edictio n O n ly the spac e nearest .

to the church is filled but it is a ve ry solemn mome n t when

,

the Pope raises his hands to bless the people who all fall ,
-
ro o I TA L Y .

on their knees I co ul d scarcely appreci ate it though being h al f , ,

dead from fatigue In the eveni n g there was an illuminatio n

.
,

and the outlines of the cupo l a traced out by innumerable lamps ,

’
making it almost like an architect s plan had a marvellous ,

effect At th e mome n t the clock struck eight a torch issued

.

from the top o f the cupola and the whole instantaneously became
,

o n e blaze of to r chlight It was very wo n de r ful for the mome n t

.
,

b u still I p re fer the simple illumi n ation by lamps The fi n est

[ t
.

th in g i s the view of the cupola from the P i n c i o— i t sta nds out so

brilli an t ly from the dark sky a n d looks such an enormous size
,

above the l m a ss of black buildings

‘
.

l
The s tran gers in R ome ge n erally disperse after E aster ,
e ve ryb ody; leaving for Naples or other places more distant , but
the fi tn sel s remai n ed and entered on quite a new phase o f their
’
e xi sten c e perhaps the ve ry happiest 1 n all Fa n n y 8 life As the
, .

diaiy an d lette r s will sho w they had fo r med an i n n er circle

,

of i n timate fr iends most of whom we r e a rtists or at any rate

, ,

pe ople of artisti c tastes Amo n g the fo remost of these were

.

three youn g Fren chmen Bousquet a n d Goun od m us ical studen ts

, ,

at the Academy t h e latter bei n g the now famous c o mposer

, ,

a n d D u ga sse a u
,
a young painter more amiable than gifted .

Another fr ie n d was Cha r lotte Thygeson a young Danish lady , ,

a relation of Thorwaldsen a n d an accomplished pianist The .

circle was completed by the German pai nters Mag n us , E lsasser ,

a n d Ka se l o w sky and it was this charming society which made

,

their last few weeks in R ome so pleasan t .

Di a r y .

Thu r sda y, Ap r i l 2 3 — W e
di n ed early and drove to the
.

Villa M e llini on Monte Mario The view is charmi n g e sp e c i

.
,

ally o n th e way up for fr om the to p the lines are somewhat

,
’
confused and irregular St Peter s is very fin e but the Vatican
.
,

looks a short compact mass for which reason I prefer the View
,

from the F incio w here you see it stretchi n g out in lon g li n es

, .

The wi n din gs of the Tiber with the Po n te Molle and its castle
look very fin e from this poi n t As we drove do wn the hi ll the
.
,

evening glow increased in i n tensity and as we crossed the Ponte ,

1 02 I TA L Y .

view o f P onte Nomentano and that part o f the Camp a gn a which

is encircled by mountai n s o n the further side of R ome of which
, ,

one gets a glimpse now an d the n between the hills Aft erwards .

w e ha d a cha r mi n g walk in the cool of the eve n i n g through the

meado w s and hills of the Campagn a as far as Acqua Aceto sa a , ,

mineral well close to the Tiber N o t hing can be more e nj oyable .

than climbing the high hil l near Salaro to gaze upo n the divine ,

lan dscape one sees there and then coming down to discover an
,

entirely di fferent Vie w towards the Tibe r which is he r e j oi n ed ,

by the Anio W e d r ove home by the Arco Oscuro an d spe n t

.
,

the eveni n g with I n g r es In the morning I felt quite posses sed

.

with the notion o f giving a real con cert in the beautiful garden
hall of the Academy and I went hopi n g t o persuade Ingres to
,

give his consent But he is full of obj ecti ons and eviden tly does
.
,

not care fo r it as I do so I do not think we shall come to an

,

understanding .

To R e bec c a .

Yesterday we made a charmi n g excursion a n d an amusing ,

one too There was a festa at Santa Croce a church opposite to

.
,

the Lateran but separated from it by an e n ormous meado w to

, ,

which the people repaired after the service and amus ed them ,

selves the whole day B ousquet and Gounod called on us the

.

evening before , so we invited them and Ka se l o w sky to drive

with us Just as we were goin g to start , another Frenchman
.

arrive d who stayed in the same house with u s at V enice a n d has

been spending the wi n ter here— a painter and a very pleasan t , ,

che e ry fellow W e took hi m i n too so with the coachman we

.
,

made eight in the carriage The young people were so boisterously

.

merry the count r y so beautiful and the weather so delightful

, , ,

that it was altogether a happy day W e got out first at the .

tomb o f C aecilia Metella to find an echo about which Felix had

,

writte n to us 1 The Fren ch painter sat down on an old wall and

.
,

l
Th e pas sa ge i s D o n t fo rget t h e ech o n ear Caecil ia M e te lla Th e to we r
’
.

s ta n ds to t h e lef t o f t h e r oa d I n th e sa me di r ect i o n a bo u t fif ty y a rds fur t he r

.
,

fr o m t h e ro a d a m o n g so me o l d rui n ed wal l s an d st o n es t her e is th e m o st p e r

, ,

fec t e ch o I ha ve ever cha n ced t o mee t wi t h in my l i f e ; i t seem s as i f it n ever

wo ul d cease mut terin g a n d murmuri n g I t begin s i n a sligh t degr ee cl o se
.
,

be hi n d th e to wer b ut t h e f ur t her yo u pr o ceed t h e m o re mysti c al i t be co m es

,

Y o u m ust t ry to fin d t h e righ t s po t
’
.
 E XC UR S I ON S A IVD C OM P O S I T I O N S . 103

so comically an d cleverly imitated our si n ging an d shouti n g

that we we r e all taken in at first As you may be sure , we gave
.

tha t echo plenty to do afterwa r ds but at last we found the right

,

spot and held a lon g conversation with the real one Then we
, .

had a feast of ora n ges in the carriage a n d they made no end o f ,

fun with a napkin we had bro ught wi t h us and which they tied ,

round o n e a n other as i f they were goi n g to be sha v ed At last .

they began to sing and then the b r illiant idea occurr ed to me of

,

teaching them t hat delightful comic son g —J Laudon rii c kt a n

Laudon is comi n g — and you should have seen the fu n they
made o f it a n d the serious pains they took to acquire the righ t
,

pronunciation of those two words They succeeded at last an d

.
, ,

in spite of laughin g we san g very well together Our p r etty

, .

excursion ended with the V illa W o lc h on sky fro m whe n ce we ,

could watch the crowd without getting involved in the dust

,

and confus ion ourselves .

I have bee n compo sing a goo d deal lately and have called ,

my pi a no pieces after the names of my favourite hau n ts partly ,

because they really came into my mi n d at these spots pa r tly ,

be cause our pleasa n t excursio n s were in my mi n d while I was

writi n g them They will form a delightful souve n ir a kind of
.
,

secon d diary But do not imagi n e that I give these n ames

.

when pla yi n g them i n society ; they are for h ome u se e n tirely .

C ecile G ibs o n e is quite r ight in praisin g our hospita lity in foreign

parts for I am sure we deserve it We have kept open hous e
, .
,

or rather open sa lon , here afte r o ur manner and have hardly ,

s pe n t three eve n i n gs alone the whole w inter .

Di a r y .

Inthe eve n i n g some people called amongst others K and T , . .

K is al w ays chasing after w i t but it decli n es to be caught a n d

.
, ,
”
boun ds o fl at so smart a pace that he is le ft hopelessly behi n d .

T is so u n ut terably dull that I can fin d n o wo r d w hich de

.

sc ribes him dull bei n g much too short ; a n e w o n e sho ul d be

,

inve n ted exp r es sly for him th e very soun d of which should se n d
,

one to sleep I n gres is certainly awkward for a Frenchman

.
,

an d T , w ithout doubt is most lively for a Dutc hman whic h

.
, ,
1 04 I TA L Y .

proves that a dull Frenchman is more amusing tha n a witty

Dutchman In short it was a dreadfully sleepy evening
.
, .

Sunday May 2 there was a gra n d Mass a i G r ec i ( the Greek

, ,

church ) which surprised me not a little I had expected such

, .

music as we heard at the Armenian church but what we did ,

hear was church music well w ritten in three pa r ts co n ducted ,

from the sco r e a n d sung fi rmly an d correctly by a w ell -appoi n ted

,

choir placed near the congregatio n The voices were t w o b asses

,
.

and one tenor and the music prope r ly co n st r ucted vocal compo
,

siti o n s The follo w ing is the melody assigned to most of the

.

responses

It was all fuller i n to n e and in better style than t he Roman

Catholic mass and the ceremonies had a peculiar g randeur and
,

di sti n ctio n much enha n ced by the pe r sonal appearan ce of the

,

bishop which is a great contrast to that o f the Pope The

, .

music did not strike me as an cient I n the eveni n g I played a .

’
good deal fi n ishing with Bach s conce r to and all the people
, ,

we n t q uite mad abo u t it though they had heard it so ofte n and

, ,

pressed about me shaki n g and kissing my han d Among those .

who found the g reate s t di ffi culty i n composing themsel v es w a s

Goun od w h o lively as he is declares himsel f quite at a loss for
, , ,

wo r ds to expr ess his app r ecia t io n of my i n flue n ce over him a n d

his happi n ess i n our society There is a great di fferen ce between
.

him an d Bousquet who i s much calme r and has a decided p en

, ,

c ha n t fo r the F r e n ch cla ssical school while Gou n od roman tic , ,

to a degree a n d full of passio n seems quite upset by his i n tro ,

duction to German music It has startled him like a bomb .

shell and I should not wo n der if it did as much dam age

,
.

Mo n day May 3 spe n t the morni n g at the Villa

, ,
1
The deli .

c i o u s air a n d sou n d of the bells gave o n e qu i t e a S un day feeli n g .

My happi n ess he r e is indescribable For some time past I have .

’
bee n i n a state almost of exaltation so i n te n se is o n e s e nj oyme n t ,

of li fe i n its pu r e st a n d highest sense The o n ly d r awback is .

1 Th e Villa un le ss o therw is e s pec ifi ed a lwa y s me an s the F e ch Aca demy

, , r n .
1 06 I TAL Y .

way led th rough the olive wood down into the valley and over a ,

little bridge back to the other side Then we climbed t h e hill .

’
again to the V illa d E ste where there are the most wonderfu l ,

cypress -trees I ever beheld for height and breadth a n d thick

ness and also some beautiful stone-pines The bui ldings are
, .

in rather an antiquated style and the w hole has a n unfi n ished ,

look especially as the Duke of Modena its present owner does

, , ,

not keep it in repair W e n ext made our way on foot to th e

.

Grotto of the Sire n s by a di fficult but beauti ful path which , ,

however sho w s sign s o f renovation , railings having been put up

, ,

as w ell as seats wherever there is a view to be seen This is .

most contrary to the habits of the country a n d I have become ,

so thoroughly naturalised that I prefer the customary Italian

neglige n ce After this w e sat down in fro n t of the temple
.

looking over the cascade and ate our excellent p r a n z etto in the
,

highest spirits By desire of the company W ilhelm improvi sed

.

a little poem which I set to music an d havi n g writte n out the

, ,

parts sa n g with Charlotte and Magnus to the immense delight

, ,

of the rest After sitti n g com fortably over our meal for n early
.

two hours w e drove on to the V illa Ad r iana This is a wilderness

, .

o f ruins pi n es olive trees and cypresses and looked most

, ,
-
, ,

striking in the rosy hues of a brilliant sunset We wandered .

about till the Av e Maria and then drove back under the clear ,

evening sky with a glo r ious moon The da y was o n e of e n tire

, .

enj oyment and the Paulsens have sho wn us a most successful

,

g en ti l ezz a .

F r ida y, M a y 8 — In
the afte r n oon I wen t to the V illa with
.

W ilhelm who began a study I showed him the view fr om the

,
.

Belvedere which he had not see n be fore In the eve n i n g Magnus

, .

came in a n d our Frenchmen or as we call them now the three

, , , ,

c ap r i c e s— for Bousquet has sur n amed himself Ca p ri c e e n l a ,

Gounod Cap r i c e en m i a n d Dug asse au Ca p ri c e m si bem olle

, . .

As usual we had plenty of music talk and laughter a n d did

, , , ,

n o t separate t ill late Bousquet sho w ed me a can tata he is at

.

wo r k upon which seemed to me to co n tai n much that wa s beau

,

t iful His acquain tance with German music w ill be an unmixed

.

benefit I bel ieve , but so far Goun od seems to be on ly bewildered

,

and upset by it He strikes me as much less mat ured than hi s

.
 T HE E N GLIS H . 107

comrade but as yet I k n ow nothi n g of his music for a scherzo

, ,

he played to me the other day a n d asked m e t o accept was

too bad to be ta ken into accou n t a t all ; I thought I discerned
some traces o f G erman i n flue n ce in it .

Tu esda y M a y l 2 — Aft er sev e ral rainy days I went to the

,
.

F incio this morni n g The ai r w as so deligh tful the green so

.
,

fresh a n d everythi n g so beautiful I Ho w happy we are here !

,

How glad I am that we are goi n g to stay another fo r tn ight a n d ,

how so r ry that it is only a fortn ight ! S uch is I may co n fidently ,

state my habitual fr ame of mi n d no w

,
.

Just at the last we have m ade the acquai n tan ce of a very

nice I r ish family The son c al led on us before a n d lately he
.
,

has introduce d us to the eldes t da ughter and the rest of the

f amily . They consist o f th r ee g igantic daughters — wi t h ha nd

some E ngl ish faces on lo n g sle n der fl o w e r st alks who all ride -
, ,

paint horses and lan dscapes talk German French and Ital ian , , ,

fluently and sin b adly — a tall so n a number o f child r en

,
g
, ,

a pleasant mother a n d a good -looking father a n d they live in ,

handsomely furnished apartments in the R o n dan i n i Palace which

Goethe mentions Most of the characte r is t ics I have given a r e
.

decidedly E nglish but thei r amiability and fr ie n dli n e ss are so

,

contrary to the spirit of that nation that I was all asto n ishme n t ,

till I heard tha t they were I r ish a n d then I unde r stood it ,

.

Their name is P alliser They knew Felix in Fran kfo r t and h e

.
,

is their Alpha a n d Omega The mother told m e w i th much pride

.

’
that they had sun g some of the choruses in St Paul to him ; .

but he would not be particularly encha n ted I fear for sin ging , , ,

as I said before is by no means the best accomplishme n t of the

,

family The cleverest of them is the eldest daughte r who is

.
,

indeed a n accomplished lady and a very charming perso n W ith , .

regard to the E n glish in gen eral it would be impossible to find ,

a ruder or more churlish person than an E nglishman with whom

you are not acquainted I get quite vexed w ith them every day
. .

They live here in such a compact mass as almost to form a

nation alty o f themselves but they seem somehow out of place
, ,
’
and in consequence their ways o ffend one s ta ste as they wo ul d ,

not do in t heir own co untry I avoid playing at E n glish parties

.

as much as possible , fo r however lan guid the conversation may

,
ro 8 I TA L Y .

have been during the whole eve n i n g it becomes as an imated as ,

possible the moment music begi n s and agai n flags as soon as it ,

sto rm The national pride which enables them to do such grea t

.
,

things as a nation seems i n tole r able arrogan ce i n the in dividual

, ,

a n d even when they take pains to be kind they are generally as

clumsy as bears .

M a y 1 3 — I went with Sebastia n to Santa Ma r ia sop r a

.

Minerva which con ta ins the sta t ue of Christ by Michael An gelo

,

and many tombs including those of several Popes There is

, .

also a cloister with frescoes out of which as usual I was driven

, , ,

by the monks In the eve n i n g the Frenchmen d r opped i n and

.
,

W ilhelm began their portrai ts a great deal of fun goi n g o n , ,

of course i n the meantime E ach sitter was allowed to o r der

, .

me to play whatever he chose an d in this manner I w ent nearly ,

’
throu gh Fidelio besides several other things and ended with
, ,

’
Beethove n s sonata i n C maj or Gounod behaved almost as if .

he were i n toxicated and talked a lot o f n o n se n se but w hen it

,

came to his exclaiming with immense e n thusiasm , B eethov en est

un o li sso n the o t hers pro n ounced it high time fo r him to be
p
in bed an d carried him off Again it was half past t w el v e
, .

be fore we separated .

Thu r sd a y , M a y 1 4 .

W ilhelm gave me a charmin g little picture of a shepherd

boy which he had painted i n two or th r ee days In the evening .

I spent a n hour on th e F i n cio in the dusk The moon was .

already up and sheddi n g a mellow ligh t which beamed clearer

, ,

and clea r er as the dark n ess increased The stars came out one .

by o n e and the buildi n gs at my feet lay in calm repose , all that

,

o ffen ds the eye by daylight being obliterated in the subdued

radiance The grass an d even the paths w ere full of glo w -worms
.
,

the air was mild , and a sense of perfect repose hovered over all
—the beauty of the scen e was i n de e d indescribable i n c o m ar
p ,

able a n d I shal l never forget it My eyes are wet at the bare

,
.

remembrance o f it .

E xtr a c t fr o m a L etter to the F a m i ly .

’
Yesterday evening our performance Bach s t r iple-concerto —

- came
’
o ff capitally before a brilliant assembly at La n dsbe r g s ,
 n o I TA L Y .

Berlin for you have no idea how much he likes it I have not
, .

bee n able to accustom my taste to it, nor to the roast capretto ,

which they praise so much either ; it tastes like wild mutton , .

The thin g I enj oy most is the air which I can never praise or ,

appreciate enough .

Di a r y .

May 1 6 this morni n g I went with Wilhel m to the

.
—E arly

Villa W o l c ho n sky to make arran gements for our party there on

,

Tuesday W hat a paradise it is ! Mingled amo n gst the ruins

.

grow roses cypresses and aloes all in pro fusion ! An d yet

, , ,

with all the luxurian ce there is a kind o f solemnity It is .

i n deed a lovely spot a n d if our pa r ty does come off at last it

,

will have a char m all its o wn This evening we mean to go .

a n d see the Coliseum by moo n light .

M a y 1 7 — O ur evening yesterday turned out something

.

quite di ffere n t from what we expected but no n e the less ,

e nj oyable The sun set and the moo n rose in a clear sky an d
.
,

nobody thought of bei n g an xious about the weather Magnus a n d .

Lan dsberg came in the eve n i n g and at nine our Frenchmen ,

appeared wi th a fourth Terry a violi n -player from the Comic , ,

Opera i n trod uced by Bousquet By this t ime the m oo n had

,
.

so completely clouded over that we gave up all thoughts o f

the excursion and with man y lamen tations counterman ded the
,

ca rr iage It was a g r eat n uisance for I had to sit down to the

.
,

pian o and it is lon g sin ce I have played anythin g so badly as

,

I did Les Adieux l Ab se n c e e t l s R etour

'

, I suppose I was
put out by the presen ce of a stran ger Afterwards I played .

’
parts of Fidelio ‘
As I began a so n ata the sky cleared a little
.
,

a n d by half past el even it was quite b r ight so we r esol v e d amid ,

gene r al acclamatio n s of j oy to w alk to the Coliseum We took .

the wa y p a st the Fou n tain of Trevi which looked very fin e , ,

and Mon te Ca v allo where the colossal figures and fou n tain
,

look e d perfec tly glo r ious in the moon light— indeed I have n ever
seen an ythi n g mo r e wonderful ; the whole of the Piazza was
magn ifice n t especially the pe r spective Then down through
, .

the Basilica of Co n stan tine to the Coliseum of Traj an at the , ,

back of which to w ards the Forum a lamp was bu rning before

, ,
 R OM E B Y M O ON L I G H T . ru

the Madon n a It w as all wo n de r ful splendid but th e Co li se um l

.
, ,

The moon kept disappea r i n g behind the clouds a n d then peep ,

i n g out again , which added to th e e ffect After staying a good .

while we walked back the whole len gth of th e Forum Go u nod .

climbed an acacia —tree a n d th r ew u s down whole bran ches of

blossom so that we looked like Birnam W ood walkin g to Du n si
,

nane I n the meantime I had ta ken o ff my bon net as C ecile

.
,

did her cap in the cotillon (th ough with no intention of imita t
ing her ) W e the n went on to the Capitol and the Pa n theo n
.
,

which looked so calm a n d solem n and by Monte Ci to r i o to the ,

’
Piazza Colonn a At this poi n t somebody began to sing Bach s
.

co n certo and we all j oi n ed in in chorus keepi n g step to t he

, ,

time ; i n sho r t we walked through R ome like a parcel of tipsy

,

students and to d ay I feel asha m ed to think I should have

,

be h aved so before a perfec t st r a n ger He had o n ly arrived in .

R ome the day before so hi s first experien ce w as a curious one

, .

It was half p ast one whe n we got home b u t we hardly sleep

at all n o w .

S u n da y l 7 — VVe we r e rather tired in co n seque n ce o f our

,
.

exe r tion s la st n ight an d n o t so rr y that a proj ected excu r sion

,

with the S c h a do w s to V eii was gi v e n up o w i n g to the weather ,

.

W e spent a pleas an t e v e n i n g wi t h t h e S c ha do w s a n d I h a d a ,

good d e al of conve r sa t ion with R e i n i c k who is v e r y nice , .

Afte r this we had a deligh t ful adve n tu r e On our way there .

w e had be e n o n the F i n cio e nj oyi n g the m ild air an d the sight

of t h e millio n s of glow w o r m s and when we left at eleven the

-
,

clear light of th e moo n t hen j ust risi n g, tempted us to go

,

ag a i n as far as San Tri n i ta There we met D uga sse a u w ho had

.
,

bee n wi t h Ingres a n d w ho was much asto n ished to see us a n d

, ,

tu rn ed b ack with us W he n w e reached the Academy he tried

.

to pe r suade us to go i n to t h e garde n because it was so beau ti ful , ,

’
a n d while w e we r e hesi tati n g h e we n t under Gou n od s wi n dow

he li es n the e n t r esol ) a n d called o ut to him t o come do w n

( v i ,

fo r a ge n t lema n a n d lady wa n ted to see him Gou n od came to .

the wi n dow a n d called o u t B a h elle est bon n e v o tr e da m e

, , , ,

y e v o u d r a i s bi e n l a v o i r taki n g me for a fellow -student

’
dr essed up i n w oman s clothes I n t h e mean time somebody
.

had ope n ed the gate a n d w e walked in t o t h e garde n which was ,

1 12 I TAL Y .

reall y an enchan ting scene Duga sse a u fetched Gounod who

.
,

had hastily dressed again but B ousquet was fast asleep for
, ,

which he was well laughed at by the o t hers After spen ding .

some time i n the garden , they suggested that we ought to go

into the B o sc hetto an d without givi n g us time to consider
,

Goun od rushed back to hi s room an d fetched the key so we ,

walked through the trees to the B elve de r e I have n ever seen .

any t hi n g so beautiful as the view from this spot by moon light .

All the nearer obj ects the buildings and groups of t r ees at the
,

V illa B orghese for instan ce , were as clear as by daylight while ,

we could see the fai n t outline o f the hills beyo n d a n d St , .

’
P eter s quite sharp and dist inct The obelisk a n d church of
.

San Trinita looked splen did too An d the n the little wood as
.
,

we looked back o n it from the te r race wi t h the silver light ,

shi n ing through t he dark trees — i t was heave n ly ! D uga sse au

was in a fun n y humour an d would not allow Gou n od to go into
,
’
ecs tasies as he was on the verge of doi n g J e n a i j a m a i s
,
.

c om m i s de v e r s da n s m a v i e he said q uite seriously

, We tore .

ourselves with di fli c u l ty from this e n chanted spot , and again it

was hal f past one when we reached home .

How much I have seen and go n e through i n Rome ! W hen

rambli n g about i n this merry way under the b r ight southern
moo n I t h ought a hun dred ti m es of th at first nigh t o f Wil
,
’
helm s ill n ess when I sat by his bed in such deadly anxiety !
,

I have a curious feeling that all these experiences have made

me you n ger instead of older S uch a tour as this is a treasure
.

L etter to the F a m i ly .

Vi ll a Wo l c h o sky : M ay 2 0 1 8 40 n , .

W e a r e havi n g a day of i n ten se e nj oymen t — a truly poetic

day , and it shall n o t pass w ithout our thoughts flyi n g to you It .

is a day worthy of the Decameron for everybody is allowed to do,

w h a t they please ; but as we all choose to do o n ly w h at is p r oper ,

we could appear w ithout hesitatio n befo r e t h e t r ibun al of the

p r incess So testify the un der sign ed (he r e follow the sign a
.

tu r es of Mdlle Thygeso n Bousquet D uga sse a u Magn us Kase

.
, , , ,

l o w sky t h e two E lsa sse r s a n d the He n sel s father and so n

, , , ,
1 14 I TA L Y .

Ka se lo w sxy and Du gasse au drawin gs , all o f which I shall bring

home with me so that you may have an idea of the luxurian ce
,

of thi s cha r mi n g spo t W e did not hurry over our meal , as

'

you may imagi n e and , a fter spen ding a couple of hours very
,

plea santly together , w e dispersed a gain as the fit took us .

Charlotte , Magnus , Bousquet , and I sat i n the shade o f the

rui n ed aqueduct with a hedge o f roses in fr o n t of us and tried
, ,
’
some of Felix s and my part-so n gs fo r two three and four , ,

voices You will laugh when I tell you how we divided the
.

parts — but after all it i s only a fool who tries to do better t han
he call ! I san g soprano ! Bousquet— who has no more voice
than I what he has being tenor- took the bass ; he k n ows
,

nothi n g o f German but i n spi t e of all obstacles w e did some of

,

the son gs very fai r ly On e that I had composed expressly t h e

.

day b efore would n o t go but it will do some day for o n e of ou r

,
’
garden pa r ties Towa r ds four o clock the sky clouded over an d
.

a thunder-storm came o n We ha d gone to the n eighbou r ing .

V illa Massimi , w hich co n t ains some fr escoes by mode r n German

pai n ters but the sto rm drove u s back and we took refuge i n
, ,

the sa la o f the V illa W o l c h o n sky an elegan tly fu rnished ,

room with l ar ge windows on both sides commanding exqui site

,

v iews There we watched the thunder-storm sweeping over the

.

’
glo r ious landscape Then we sat down to din n er a n d Je tte s
.
,

cookery met w ith u n iversal app r oval from the various n a t io n al i

ties At every i n stant however, we kept j umpi n g u p an d rush
. ,

ing to the window or on to t h e Belvedere for the storm was ,

follo w ed by a rainbow more splendid than a n y I ever saw— a

perfect double arch glowing with the most inte n se colour ; it
,

exactly spanned m y beloved hills of Alba n o an d was visible ,

fo r abou t half an hour Before we had fi n ished di n ner the

.

weather ha d completely cleared up a n d we t ook our c o fl e e i n ,

the garde n Towards eve n i n g t h e Paul se n s came a n d the

.
,

gentlemen played B oc c i a w hile we walked about the garden , ,

until it grew quite dark and the glow—worms came out Then ,
.

we sat down again in another arbour of r oses which had been

lighted up (illuminated ro ses look very well l ) a n d pe rformed ,

the songs we had practised in the mor n i n g W hen it was quite .

late we we n t back into the s a la d r an k te a an d drew a little , ,

 VI L L A W OL CHON S K Y . “ 5

lottery we had prepared The first prize was an en g raving .

a fter R aphael a n d the others a p urse I had crocheted and

,

seve r al o f my pian o-pieces that have bee n favourites here which ,

I had copied i n my neate st hand Fate however proved very .

adverse for my thr ee piano pieces fel l to the Paulsen famil y

,
-
,

the best going to the colo n el w ho i s hal f blind and thoro u ghly ,

u n musical but a great admirer of min e Ho wever I thi n k

,
.
,

Fr aulein Thygeso n will eventuall y get them so they will be in ,

good hands The en graving fell to Magn us who does not kno w
.
,

what to do with it as he is leavi n g in a few weeks and all the

,

gentlemen who had worked fo r me drew blan ks— i e sheets of . .

notepaper with little vi ews of R ome In con sequence I was .

obliged to p r omise that I would copy several more of my pieces .

About midnight w e came home thoroughly satisfied with our ,

’
day s pleasure An d really I have never see n a more perfectly
.

successful féte ; there was not a drawba ck o f a n y ki n d for even ,

the th u nder-storm added to our e nj oyment N either was there .

a minute unoccupied for co n versation grave or gay but al w ays

, ,
'

inte r esting was goi n g the whole day a n d the r e was not o n e o f
, ,

us I believe who did n o t feel his or her mental qualities to

, ,

have risen above the average Ho w you would have e nj oyed .

you r self R ebecca ! Do you fancy n o w that I talked about you

,

to these frie n ds whom you have never seen

The chief attraction o f the V illa W o l c h o n sky is as L used , .

’
to say of R ome the situation o f the old hole
, The V illa .

itself is not a palace but a dwelling-house built in that delight

,

fully irregul ar style o f Ita lian archite cture which I am so fo n d

of The stai r case is quite open and can be seen from the out
.

side T hrough the garden length w ays run the ru ins of the
.

aq ueduct which they have turn ed to a c count in various ways ,

,

buildi n g steps in side the arches putting seats at the top and , ,

filli n g the vacant spaces in the ivy mantled walls w ith st atues -

a n d busts R oses climb up as high as they can fin d support

.
,

a n d aloes Indian fl g-trees a n d palms r u n wild among capitals

, ,

of columns , an cient vases and fragments o f all kinds As for

, .

the roses there are million s of them in bushes and trees ,

, ,

arbours and hedges all flourishing luxurian tly ; but to my mind

,

they never look more lovely or more poe tic than when cli n gi n g
1 16 I TA L Y .

to the dark cypress trees The beauty here is all o f a serious

-
.

and t ouchi n g type with nothing smal l an d pret ty about it

,
‘
.

An ythi n g of that kind you do see is owi n g to the bad taste of

the last fe w ce n turies N ature design ed 1 t all on a large scale
.
,

and so did the ancients a n d t he sigh t of their j oi n t ha n di w o r k

,

affects me even to tears Altoge t her my feeli n g so youn g here

.

has a decided tinge o f the Indian summer for whe n ever I feel ,

particularly glad comes the melancholy reflection that not o n ly

this deligh t ful time , but the prime of life itself is passi n g ,

rapidly away : these ideas do not occur to o n e when one is

young in fact as well as in feeli n g Be that as it may I e nj oy .
,

the p r esent moment after my o w n fashio n mo r e than I can say , ,

a n d I k n ow that you are all glad w e a r e so happy Only you .

must not mi n d if when we come home we talk of nothi n g bu t

Italy ; I cannot promise not to do so for my heart is too full ,

of it W e have another bea utiful day i n store a pendant to

.
,

the V illa W ol c ho n sky but I will not w rite an ything about it

,

until it has actually come o ff I will send you an accoun t of

.

it from Naples for this will probably be my last letter from

,

R ome .No , R e b e c c a l w e are not goi n g to stay a fort n ight

longer and another fortnight after that although Ingres and
, ,

his guests di d torment us almost to death yesterday and talked ,

of gettin g up a petition sig n ed by th e whole Fre n ch Academy ,

and although my husband has left it to m e to decide and ,

al thoug h there is the Corpus Christi procession on the 1 8 th a n d ,

p art o f the n e w church of San Paolo is to be consecrated on the

2 l st ! We a r e stro n g-minde d and mean t o leave R ome : our,

carriage is all ready But i n the meantime we are enj oying

.

the most delicious days and nights , d r inki n g the cup of pleasure
to the very dregs allowi n g the least little bit o f time for sleep
, ,

and passi n g half th e nights in strollin g about drawi n g and , ,

making music I can scarcely bear to be under a roo f now

.
,

a n d have not been even to the V atican for ever so lo n g In the .

eveni n g my h us band can hardly prevail upon me to come i n ,

and w h en on th e very threshold I hesitate , for fear of being shut

in from the air .B ut do not be alarmed our nerves are neither ,

excited nor unstrun g but we are in per fect health an d tran

,

quillity ; it is only the feeling that this beauti ful time is

1 18 I TA L Y .

a ft ernoon I continued our packi n g , with many interruptio n s

fr om visitors , an d, dead tired as we were we we n t for a little ,

w h ile to the P as se gi a ta in the eve n i n g Th e sirocco had been .

blowing all day a n d the day before as well so everybody was

, ,

sleepy an d grumbli n g an d many seemed scarcely able to hold

,

up their heads W e had a thunde r-storm i n the afte r noo n but

.
,

the eve n ing though O ppressive was fin e W e came home

, , .

lighted by glow worms to fin d that we had missed several

-
,

visito rs but old Santi n i was waiti n g to wi sh u s good -bye After

, .

he left w e w ere alon e t ill nearly n i n e whe n Duga sse au came , ,

quickly followed by Bousquet a n d Gounod a n d by Cha r lotte , .

I was very t i r ed and low so to prevent myself begi n n i n g to cry

,

agai n I went to the pia n o and played the two alleg r os from
I n t h e mean time W i lhelm
’
B eethoven s son ata i n F mi n or .

began to put the lights into the po r traits of the th r ee an d I ,

promised Bousquet t hat if he would sit properly I would play

him the allegro from the son ata in B flat maj or o n ce more ,

which I did after Charlo t te had played a few pieces Then I .

’
p layed two of Felix s songs a n d Goun od was on his knees ,

b eggi n g me to play the adagio when the B e lla ys a n d B r un is

came in .E lsasser a n d Kase l o w sky were t here also The .

charmi n g idea occurred to E lsasser o f drawi n g a little lan dscape

un der his por t rait an d he sat by the pian o at wo r k upon it
, .

W ilhelm was drawi n g Madame Brun i I played the sonata in .

’
C sharp mi n or and two pieces of Felix s whe n E lsasser asked ,

for the son ata in A fl at maj or with the variat ion s and I had ,

j ust played the two first movemen ts when w e heard si n gi n g in

the st r eet which p r oved to be a delightful seren ade i n our
,

ho n our Landsberg Magn us Ba r o n B ac h Quat r oc c h i S c h an zky

.
, , , , ,

and Bru n i we r e stan di n g i n the door w ay opposite with lan tern s ,

a n d they sang three part-songs very co r rectly and p r ettily .

W ilhelm went down a n d fetched them a n d in retu rn I played ,

them the little so n g without wo r ds in E maj or Then Madame .

Bellay san g my Italian cavati n a twice th r ough W ilhelm d r ew ,

’ ’
Bruni s face as a kin d of mask over his wife s portrai t et p o u r ,

fi n i/r I played Bach ’

s co n cert o W e broke u p after half past
.

one in a state of mi n gled pleasure emotio n , a n d excitement

, , .

Having first writte n my diary , I got to bed about three .

 FE T E A T T HE F R EN CH A CA D E M Y . 1 19

L e tter an d Di a r y .

S u n da y, M a y 3 l —We were invited t o spe n d the day from

.

breakfast till evening at the French Academy , and have music

in the lovely garden-hall as I had wished The weather which
, .
,

had been dreary and oppressive for the last two days was kind ,

enough to show us special favour and the day was again one o f ,

those I shall never forget The Academy garden , which is .

ge n erally open was closed to the public and I n gres had i n vited
, ,

only those living in the house and the ha bi tu és and so m e of , ,

our friends such as E lsasser and Ka se l o wsky an d Cha r lotte

, ,

Thygeso n whom he se n t for on hearing me express a reg r e t that

,

she was not present I assure you it is quite delightful to play

.

to the plash of a fountain ; I have not often felt so merry as I

did on this day and Papa Ingres was i n ecstasies at hearing
,

s o m u c h music , and bei n g allowed to accompany in some o f

’
Beethoven s pieces although we kept up a kind o f sile n t antagon
,

i sm for I would play fast a n d he had to hobble after me as

, ,

best he could W e played with scarcely a b r eak till the seco n d

.

breakfast an d all the time the bearded fellows ( Fre n ch Academy

,

studen ts ) w ere lyi n g about on the steps an d pe destals of the

pillars i n a state of u n mitigated asto n ishme n t at our bei n g able
,

to e nj oy oursel ves i n this man n er fr om morn till de wy eve It was .

really w orth our while to have come all the way fr om Be rlin to
te a ch them ho w to while away the time i n t h e most heavenly
spot on earth Then we h a d a deal of pleasa n t chat and a n
.
,

abunda n t breakfast a fter which we had music now and then

, ,

but walked abou t in the garden bet w een whiles a n d sa t in ,

my favourite bosc hetto practisi n g part -so n gs Ingres t ook us .

to his studio to see his much -talked-o f picture w hich was to ,

have been fi n ished i n a fortnight when we came The compo .

sitiou is beautiful and the se n time n t n oble but bo th drawi n g ,

a n d colo u ri n g are weak and it is n o t n early fi n ished

, W e saw .

’
Vernet s r o om arra n ged i n the Turkish fashio n a n d the n climbed ,

up to the Campa n ile where I had n ever been before an d fr om

, ,

which I saw the splen did View for the last time in t he light o f
the setti n g su n n o t without man y tears W he n we w en t down
, .

agai n the i n strument had been moved i n to the la rge b al l the ,

1 20 I TA L Y .

t w ilight was rapidly deepening and a peculiar se n sation stole ,

o v er the wh ole company For a long time I preluded as softly .

as possible for I could not have played loud a n d eve rybody

, ,

talked i n wh ispers and sta r ted at the slightes t n oise I played .

the adagios fro m the concerto i n G maj or a n d the so n at a i n C ,

sharp mi n o r an d th e begi n ni n g of the grand so n ata i n F sh arp

,

mino r— with Charlotte Bousquet and Gounod sitti n g close , ,

beside me It was an hour I shall never forget After di n n er

. .

we we n t o n to th e balcon y whe r e it was lovely The s t ars , .

above a n d the ligh t s o f the city below the glow -wo r ms a n d a

, ,

long t r ailing me t eor which shot across the sky the lighted ,

w i n dows of a church on a h ill far away and the delicious a t mo ,

sphere in which everythi n g was bathed— all combi n ed to stir i n

us t he deepest emotio n Afterwa r ds we we n t to the e n d of the
.

hall an d san g th e part-so n gs w hich gave great satisfa ctio n I , .

repeated by ge n e r al request the Mozart fa n t asia t o fi n ish with ,

a n d the two cap r iccios a n d then the part-son gs we r e asked for

,

once mo r e — and then mid n ight had a r ri v ed and ou r t ime was ,

o v er . They w eep they know n o t w hy! was our last m u sic i n

,

R ome .

The t e n der embrace I n gres gav e me would have been more

acceptable if it had not taken place in presence of all the
youn g m e n who I have no doubt e nj oyed it exceedingly I am
,
.

sure t hey owe us the ple a santest day they have ever had under
’
I n gr es s direction .

Di a ry .

M o n da y, J u n e 1 , l 8 4 o the mo w ing made up accou n ts .

—I n
,

did se w i n g received vi si t s a n d packed W ilhelm we n t out o n ce

, , .

more a n d di d a little to his d r awin gs of the P a l lise r s which

, ,

are v e ry good In the aftern oo n all t h e friends came a n d at

.
,

five w e d r ove out first to An g ri sa n i to order our h o r ses the n to

, ,

St O n ofrio to see the glo r ious v iew , a n d o n to the V illa P a m fili

.
,

whe r e we ar r i v ed at sun set ; the pi n es we r e dipped in liquid

gold a glo ry overspread the e n tire ci ty , th e mou n tain s were
,

glowi n g with colou r the Alban Hills a burn i n g pu r ple a n d t he

, ,

village s r os y red W e stayed till th e sun had go n e dow n a n d

.
,
 NAP L ES TO B ER LI N .

I HAVE a great deal to make up for I could n o t write on the ,

j ourn ey not even make a note , as I had no book w i th me The

, .

few mome n ts of leisure we had at Albano I employed in writi n g

home though I had great di fficul ty i n overcomi n g my over
,

poweri n g fatigue and n o w we are sitting at Naples which shows

, ,

itself to us for the first time owing to the sirocco and fog in , ,
’
one u n iform tint .

These fir st remarks in the diary a fter leavin g R ome give the

key to the rest of the j ourn ey They had already touched the .

acme , an d although as the following pages w ill sh o w Fa n n y

, ,

did full j ustice to N aples and kept her eye an d mi n d ope n to all
,

that was beautiful still it was only the eye that was gratified
,

and not the heart T hat was full of R ome ; a n d n o w that that
.

delightful part of t heir j ourney was over she became home ,

sick The e n thusiasm the deep happiness she had felt at R ome
.
,

w ere gone and though still admiring the extraordinary beauty

, ,

aroun d her she went through the sight-seeing as a duty an d

, ,

lo n ged for repose .

They left R ome on J une 2 1 8 4 0 Their fr ie n ds bade them ,

.

a cordial farewell Bousquet drove with them to the Alban

.

Hill s and roamed about there with them The co n versation

,
.

often tu rned upon the plea sant time they had enj oyed together
in R ome and on the friends they left behind
,
.

Di a r y .

Di r ec t ly after passing the Campo Annibal e we entered a

charming r o a d through the forest which co n ti n ued to the very ,

summit of Mon te Cavo On o ur way Bousquet told us much

.

that was deeply i n teresti n g We had talked much of Goun od.

 G O UN OD A N D L A C O R D A I R E . 123

be fore and Bousquet lavish ed alte rnate abuse and pity upon
,

him for hav ing given u p all pa r ticipation i n t hose delightful

last days No w he told us how far Gounod had allowed him
.

self to b e drawn into engagements of a religious nature the ,

result o f which b e much feared for o n e of his weak character .

P é r e L a c o r dair e , o f whom I h ave often heard the Fre n chmen

speak p assed his novitiate at Viterbo and was ordained thi s
,

winter and he inten ds spe n ding some time in R ome in order

, ,

to prepare fo r the foundation of a n e w h ouse in Fran ce He .

has the reputa tion o f having u n e téte c ha u de a n d a great deal

of imagination a n d he is e n deavouri n g to secure as many artists
,

as possible hopi n g to influence thro u gh them man y who a r e

,

inaccessible to the clergy During the wi n te r he tried to win

.

over bo th Bousquet a n d Gounod and the latte r excitable a n d , ,

easily influenced a s he is ha s so thoroughly embraced his views

,

that Bousquet is afraid he will give up music and take to the

cowl B ousquet him self discontin ued his visits as soon as he
.

’
discer n ed P ere L a c o rda i r e s intentions not feeling himself stro n g
,

enough to resist his eloquence which he says is extraordi n ary

, , , .

The Society of St John the E van gelist in Paris consists e n tirely

.

o f young artists who have boun d themselves together with th e

,

obj ect of employi n g Christian art to convert the w orldly minded ;

beyond this they have taken no vows L a c o r da i r e has bee n .

asked to draw up the rules for this fr aterni ty and Goun od is ,

said to have j oined it A n umber of young men of the best

.

fami lies who were at R ome last winter some already engaged ,

in other avocations are n o w devoting themselves to the priest

,

hood in the hope of emancipatin g the world thro u gh religion

, .

All this is very remarkable especially when cont r a sted with the
,

hideous materialism a n d i n satiable avarice now so rampan t

amon g the Fren ch It is the reaction from these ten denci es in
.

an unusually violent form .

L etter Hom e.

Na ples : July 9 , 1 8 40 .

If I were to give my bes t first I should begin wit h ,

the Vie w I am at this mome n t privileged to enj oy but I had ,

rather proceed ch ronologically so will co n ti n ue the account of

,
12 4 NAPLE S T O B E RL I IV .

o ur j ourney from Alban o on w hich Bousquet accompan ied us

,

as far as Ge n zano While he was still wi th us we met an other

.

Fre n ch painte r B o n iro te who was o n a w a lkin g tour to Naples

, , .

The Pontine Marshes did not impre ss me particularly for it is ,

o n ly i n o n e or two places that they look really bad I w as v e r y .

sleepy and should certainly have gone to sleep but fo r S e ba st ian

, ,

who watched me with Argus eyes an d ne ver allo w ed m e to -

indulge in the shortest n a p At Te r raci n a whe r e we spe n t the

.
,

n ight the scenery becomes sudde n ly beau tiful with palm t r ees
,
-
, ,

t he sea and grotesque rocks up which the to w n seems to climb

,
.

It has a decidedly more souther n aspect than R ome my o w n ,

beloved R ome for which my husba n d and I though sittin g on

, ,

the fi n e st balcony in Napl es daily moan a two-part song with ,

or without wo r ds as it happen s I assure you it needed some

, .

firm n ess to break o ff our life the r e for the various ci r cum ,

stances which u n ited to make it so ch arming may perhaps n ever , ,

occur again Terraci n a has a sple n did hotel actually on the

.
,

sea which when we a r rived was sparkling in the last ra ys of

,

the setti n g su n A harbour is bein g built besides oth er thing s

.
,

so Terracina i s actually the fi rst to w n in Italy in which I

have seen any buildi n g going on We ate our supper and fell .
,

asleep to the m u rmur of the sea Next morning we co n ti n ued .

our j our n ey , an d part of it alon g the sea , was delightful ,

with luxu r iant vegetation Then passi n g a lake we tur ned

.
, ,

in lan d , losing sight but n o t scen t of the sea fo r our noses

, , ,

every n o w an d then remi n ded us o f its vicinity The way from .

Fo n di to Itri was a w ild moun tain pass At Gaeta we on ce .

more reached t he sea-shore a n d got a foretaste of Naples for, ,

the two have much in common Here aga in the hotel is .

close to the sea with a garden full o f orange -trees lea ding down
,

t o it A good place that

. To the right is the fortress on the
rock an d the wide gulf ; to the le ft the lovely promon tory
, ,

shading o ff to w ards the horizo n in a soft haze The foreground .

consists of cyp r esses pi n es ora n ge -trees and olives growi n g

, , ,
’
down to the water s edge T h e weather was sple n did and the
.

sunshi n e dazzli n g W e had an excelle n t breakfast, a n d then

.

took a siesta in the cle an well-furn ished rooms o n e of which

, ,

has a charming little loggi a W e made inquiries about the .

12 6 N AP L E S T O B E RL I N .

street of Sta Lucia which ru n s in a cu r ve up to our h ouse

.
, .

The balco n y is over the sea a n d j ust u n der o u r feet is a fish

,

preserve i n w hich the anchovies fo r ou r di n n er are ca ught fresh

,

eve r y day If this is not enough turn again to t h e left and

.
,

behold the E n glish fleet three great th re e de c k e r s looki n g as

,
~
,

cal m a n d maj estic as if they had o n ly come o n purpose to

add to the beauty of t h e scene whereas they are really here to
,

exercise a slight pressure upon the N eapolitan go v e r n men t on

the question of Sicilian sul phu r Their boats a r e r owing with.

measured strokes backwards and forwards the whole day long ,

and the sea is alive with lit t le ski ffs so that our eyes are c o n ,

stan tly occupied The i n tolerable noise of the streets is t oo

.

far o ff to be distu r bi n g the o n ly conti n uous sounds b eing the

,

pleasantly mo n otonous beat of the c a r s and the ripple of the ,

waves as they break against t he wall below Here we have .

already spe n t three days like princes in a fairy tale quite by

, ,

ourselve s so much so that we have not yet delivered a n y letters

, ,
’
except those at our ba n ke r s on the mo rning after our arrival ,

when W ilhelm found two le t ters— o n e from you dear mot her , ,

and the other fr om Maria n ne a n d her childre n co n taining than k , ,

God ! o n ly good news The M e u r i c o ffr e ladies have j ust called ;

.

they told m e that this hotel was formerly the Prussian embassy ,

but through a caprice of the Coun tess L it w as exchan ged for .

one i n a far less beautiful situation I am su r e it must have .

been a v e ry uncommon kind of wilfulness to i n duce a person to

give u p a positio n which it seems is almost u n ique even in
Naples .

W e go out in the morning and have al ready seen much in,

these three days , but in the aftern oon our balcony is in shade ,

a n d then I prefer it to a n y party of pleasure so I write here , ,

whilst W ilhelm and Sebastian d r aw In the evenings there is a .

moon j ust i n t h e righ t position to cast its golde n reflection on

,

the sea and then the scene is eve n more beautiful than by day;
,

for besides the moon a n d its lon g track on the wate r and the stars , ,

we have the lights of the E n glish fleet an d those of the hermitage

on V e suvius a n d the villages fa r a n d wide whilst fishi n g-bo a ts
, ,

glide to and fro , disappearing a n d reappea r i n g fr om behi n d the

Castello eac h carryi ng a pan of blazi n g pitch the fi ery glow
, ,
 N AP L E S . 127

from which turns the moon a n d its reflection to pale silver .

Lastly lights are glit tering in the Castello and on Pizzi Falcone
, ,

a n d a coronet o f lights ru n s along the S t a Lucia up to ou r house . .

—This mor n i n g on the staircase of the museum I m e t— whom

, ,

do you thi n k your friend Pauli n e Ga rcia dear mother n o w , ,

Mme Vi ar do t I recognised her at once and we were both

. .
,

delighte d at meeting It is a pity that she has only a few days

.

lo n ger to stay here a n d a still greater pity that we were in R ome

,

together for the las t few day s without k n owing i t —Dear mother .
,

for an answer to your questio n why our letters smell of musk I

must refer you to the post o ffi ce They may perhaps have lain .

in the v ici n ity o f some sweet love letter for n o sce n ts o f that -
,

kin d have come across our threshold or even gree t ed o ur noses , .

Do believe that we are by this time really longi n g for home and ,

that we do not mean to remain here lo n ger than necessa r y W e .

should both have prefer r ed going home direct from R ome so as ,

to r etain that scene in our minds undistur bed by later impres ~

sio n s but we could not conscien tiously not see Naples It is

, .

a r eal pleasure now to be writi n g of our approachi n g meeti n g .

Mind you all keep well so th at we may have a j oy ful welcome

,

home
Whi t M on da y J u n e 8 — To -day took place the festiv al
, .

’ ’
of the Madon n a dell Arco the subj ect of R obert s picture , .

W e d r ove to see it seven miles into the country through a n ,

indescribable turmoil t h e w hole w ay There we r e hun d red s of .

vehicles such as R obert pai n ted orn amen te d wi th green boughs

, , ,

han dkerchiefs an d ribbo n s the people in them carryi n g stick s

, ,
’
like forks fr om which were suspe n ded feathers flowe r s sai n ts
, , ,

pictures baskets spoons a n d a thousand other a r ticles purchased

, , , ,

at the fair near the church E veryb ody was dressed i n th eir .

best a n d there was a ru n n i n g accompanime n t of tambourine s

,

and c astan e tte s singi n g and shouting all seaso n ed with the
, ,

choking dust N ear the church the n oise was deafen i n g and
.
,

the cro w d eno r mous ; people were sitti n g in booths dr i n ki n g ,

but I saw n o excess Ma n y of the physiog n omies an d com

.

l e xi o n s were quite African o n e gi r l especially who was heat

p ,

ing a tambouri n e and laughi n g looked a pe r fect savage In the , .

c hurch a man was crawling about on his knees a n d licki n g the

128 N AP L E S T O B E RL I IV .

fl oo r— a charming pena n ce W e had our carriage driven into

.

the shade whilst Wilhelm walked about sketching W e agreed

,
.

that this festival would form a most appropriate subj ect for a .

frieze , as i t really does resemble a bacchanalian procession .

Tu es da y J u n e 9 — This morni n g we went to the museum

, . .

The an tique fragments— consisting of mosaics rep r ese n tation s ,

from nature of a n imals mo r e especially done with great truth

, ,

and correctness a n d pai n ti n gs such as pictures of houses and

, ,

gardens almost i n the French style — o ffer materials for a com

,

p l e t e h istory o f art W ilhelm was e.n chan ted with th e feeli n g

fo r colour shown in man y o f them You pass th r ough a garden .

where all ki n ds of Pompeian fragments lie scatte r ed amon g

roses and other shrubs to the large room where that unwieldy
r a a m u flfin the Far n ese Hercules a n d the Farn ese bull are n o t
g
l a c ed but stowed a w ay— an expression I am inclined to use
p ,

with regard to everythi n g in the museum There seems to be .

no notion here of a r tistic a r rangemen t which in such collections , ,

as those i n the V atica n and at Mun ich , is in itself a wo r k of art .

W e n ext visited the room containing the treasures found at

Pompeii — a very womanly collection ; an d curiously enough there
were more women there than in all the other rooms put together .

Costly gold orname n ts i n the very best taste (our serpent -brace
lets have been imitated from some here ) ; kitchen ute n sils a n d
household fur n iture o f every description ; provision s j ust as they
were dug up ; eggs bread wine rice oil , with the vessels in
, , , ,

which they were kept ; the purs e taken from the hand o f t h e
skeleton called t h e wife of Di o m e d wh ich also wore handsome ,

gold or n ame n ts ; a n d gems cups vases , man y of them so m uch

, ,

i n the style resuscitated by Ben ve n uto Celli n i that they might be

taken for Floren ti n e work of the sixteenth cen tury How i m .

patien t I am to see Pompeii itself Then we we n t i n to the

’
picture galle ry R aphael s well -k n ow n Holy Famil y is most
.

beautiful ! especially Sta E lizabeth the loveliest old woman I

.
, ,

am su r e that ever was painted so pleasant lookin g and gen tle

, ,
-

though really old No e n graving or copy can do j ustice to

.

her face j u st as there are fin e shades of pronunciation in

,

a language which no foreig n er ever acquires I stayed at .

home in the eve n ing an d read some French newspapers full o f

130 N AP L E S T O B E R L IN .

quently imitatio n s of trees a n d all exce e di n gly elegan t and ,

p r etty others h ave an i n ge n ious contrivance for taki n g t hem o ff

the base so as to make them more portable The water vessels
, .

fr om the temples have elastic bronze han dles which c a n a l so be ,

tak e n o ff and carried separately besides a co n t r ivan ce to prevent ,

spilli n g A tea -u r n is made o n a plan well worth imi tating

. .

A thousan d other small obj ects have co n tinued i n u se these

years nearly un changed such as locks and keys thimbles , , ,

dice ivory needles for sewi n g illustrated theat r e tickets of

, ,

bo n e spoo n s portable cooki n g-stoves ve r y prettily an d ele

, ,

an t l co n st r ucted a n d weighi n g scales a n d weights The

g y . .

wo r ld did not look so very di ffe r ent then afte r a l l o n ly every , ,

thi n g had an elegan ce a n d a sple n dour entirely lacki n g in our

utensils of the same ki n d It is impossible to enumerate all .

the i n teresti n g thi n gs Then follows the collectio n of vases

.
,

but to appreciate t hese properly requir es a knowledge I do n o t

possess of the disti n guishing characteristics by which c on n o i s
s c urs c a n assign each o n e to its native to w n or even facto r y ;
for i n sta n ce the vases of N ola are know n by their peculiar ly
,

rich a n d deli c ate varn ish It is a topic however on which I .

, ,

do n o t like to speak for as I am guided merely by my own feel

, ,

i g of w hat is beautiful or the reverse , my j udg m ent is of n o

i

value It is however, a n en ormous collection a n d mo st com

.
,

l e t e n umbers of the vases havi n g been found in t h e tombs

p , ,

whi ch have proved the best and safest receptacles for them to
t his day Several models of tombs are also exhibi t ed here o n e
.

of a w arrior from Paestum is painted inside in the same style as

the vases A whole cemetery was discovered here i n Naples n ear
.

the m useum .

Lastly we vi sited the collection o f bro n ze s t atues also i n ,

cluding ma n y fin e thi n gs ; amo n g othe r s several life size statues -

’
of co n suls and wome n a colossal horse s head ve r y magnificent
, , ,

a n e n tire horse of smaller size from a quad r iga o n the fr ont o f ,

the theatre at Herculan eum the o n ly pa r t they have been able ,

to put together agai n a recumbent fau n a Me r cury killi n g

, ,

Argus etc ,
A bishop had bells fou n ded from the bo dy of the
.

horse belo n gin g to the colos sal head !

Toward s eve n i n g w hen the sky had clea r ed up after a violent
,
 M O ON L I G HT . 13 1

thunder storm we drove by the Toledo a continual ascent the

-
, ,

w hole way to Capo di Monte w here the r e are some char mi n g

, ,

cou n try houses and a l ovely vie w , th e whole of N aples being

spre a d out before you in all its size a n d splendour St E lmo . .

ha s a remote like n ess to Monte Mario which I o ft en used to ,

abuse but n o w long for every eve n i n g We drove back u n der

,
.

’
a glorious moon going at a foot s pace do w n t h e Toledo o n
, ,

account of th e tiresome soldiers who are an annoyan ce both day

,

and night I f I were Ki n g of Naples I should find someth ing

.

better to do than spendi n g my time i n d r illi n g an d manoeuvri n g .

It was exceptio n ally beauti fu l on our balco n y that eve n in g th e ,

moon bei n g j ust opposite over the coast of Sorrento and th r o w ,

i n g its golden light right across the sea Then the light divided .
,

the b r oad sea n ear the shore b ei n g sepa r ated by a large mass
of shade fro m the gli t te r in g sheet of gold beyond which w a s ,

not unlike the look of glow -worms e n m as se as one sees them o n

the F i n cio As the boats glided through the expanse of light the
.

waves round them began to spa r kle even before t hey reached it ,

a n d when they entered the shadow they dre w a lo n g broad

furro w of light behind them Still more wo n derful e ven i n
.
,

the darkest part of the sea each litt le black hull had its
brilliant wake of phosphoresce n ce The t h ree little fire m en
.

w e see e v ery n ight a ppearing and disappearing behind the

Caste l lo we r e not wa n ti n g either W ith such s urroundi n gs
.
,

the common est eve n ts s e e m like fairy -tales If we had but had .

these apartments in R ome where our li ttle roo m used to be so

,

overcrowded ! Here with so much space at our command we

, ,

live like p r inces in an enchanted palace .

L etter an d Di a r y .

Dear Mother and Brothers an d Sisters , —Last week we m a d e

g r an d e xc u r s1 o n s to Ischia and Vesuvius On Su n day we took .

t h e steamer to Ischia a delightful sail t hough the slow boat

, ,

takes upwards of three hours W e passed P o sili p p o Ni si da

.
, .

P uzz u o li Bai se a n d Cape Miseno with an old watch -to wer on

, , ,

i t s summit : and leaving Cap r i a n d the coast o f Sorrento to

,

o ur left, sailed alo n gs ide of Procida A large building t he .

,
1 32 N AP L E S T O B E RLIM

’
bishop s palace stan ds on the little promo n tory which you se e
, ,

fi r st , and the town which lies between the sea a n d the hill h a s a
, ,

pecul iarly southern almost orie n tal appea rance The costume of
, , .

the women resem b les th at of the modern Greeks a fe w of whom ,

’ ’
we saw at the Madonn a dell Arco Close by Procida but higher
‘
.
,

a n d larger i n every way is Ischia At eve r y mi n ute the coast

, .
,
'

promontories i sla n ds and villages meet the eye at di fie r e n t

, ,

a n gles and dissolving views of the most i n teresti n g kin d followed

,

each other in such rapid succession that we had hardly time to

t ake them i n although the boat went slowly
,
V esuvius with .

its t w o peak s dominates the scene from all poi n ts O n our .

a rr ival at Ischia we we r e tormen ted by a double set of toute r s the ,

boats which prete n ded to take us o n shore but did n o t approach

within t e n ya r ds of it an d a mob consisting of half the p o p u la
, ,

tion a n d all the don keys howli n g shouting and fighti n g for the
, , ,

ho n our of conveyi n g us to lan d W e stepped out of the boat on .

’
to the do n keys backs and so rode o u t o f the sea a n d straight
,

on . Isch ia p r esents an eve n more southe r n appearance t han

Naples the rocks being covered wi t h a wild and p r ofuse vegeta
,

tio n of Indian figs in actual t r ees aloes pomegra n ates and

, , , ,

vi n es ; bet w een we had co n ti n ual glimpses of the b luest of seas

a n d the w hitest of houses a n d vi n eya r d walls W e did indeed .
, ,

feel far away fr om the K r euzberg .

W e h a d a n excellen t breakfast a n d the n reste d for it was ,

v ery hot a n d my courage failed me at the thought of ridi n g

,

I O L d the
lu islan d j ust at n oo n In the afternoo n we rode .

about a litt le u p hill a n d do w n betwee n the walls of the vi n e

, ,

ya r d without a n y shade but always su rr ounded by a m a r vel

, ,

l o u sly p r ofu se vege t atio n which clothes the rocks and forms
,

the fo regrou n d of all th e lovely v iews By t he t ime we r eached .

the po r t I was completely k n ocked u p and we had to wait o v er ,

an hour am on gs t the swarm s of lazza r o n i At five we w e n t on .

board again a n d had a delight ful s a il back in the cool of the

,

evening seein g the sun se t a n d the moon ri se the latter at fi r st

, ,

looking like a sort of n ight-cap on t h e top of the hills until i t ,

rose higher a n d shed its magic light over t h e sea W e c ame .

home v e ry tired Na ples is a diabolical tow n and th e d ust an d

.
,

n oise , the driving about and thro n gi n g of people , kill me A .

134 N APLE S T O B E RL I N .

its shape) was on our left a n d we did not go u p it W e a p , .

p r o a c he d the crater with an indescrib a ble feeling of curiosity ,

a n d gazed i n to it with amazement an d horror What a dia .

b oli c mess The sulphurous smell the colou r s such as you see ,

n owhere else i n n ature gree n yellow red and blue all poisono u s
, , , , ,

hues and the ashy gr ay at the bottom of the caul dro n the
, ,

smoke n o w thick now thin risi n g from all the crevices a n d

, , , ,

envelopi n g eve rythi n g while it conceals n othi n g— all this cha n g ,

ing with every step made up a spectacle of horror On all sides

, .

too j ut out the craters of former eruption s one of which on ,

t h e O pposite side of the crater w e climbed up and w ere rewarded ,

by a prospect of overwhelming beauty— the bay o f Naples , the

islands th e lovely be n d of the coast at Ca ste llam a r e the to wn s
, ,

and villages as far as Campan ella with the rocky peaks behind ,
’
them Torre dell An n u n ziata an d the white road leadi n g t o
, ,

Pompeii — all this we gazed upon for the fi rst time with a ,

feelin g almos t of awe , from that gruesome emine n ce Tu r n .

round and you see at your feet a wide crater , that o f 1 8 3 4 ,

with beyo n d it a wall of j agged rock formed by the eruption ,

that destroyed Pompeii and Herculan eum and beyond that ,

the innumerable villages in the plai n the whole bounded by ,

the mountai n -chai n o f the Abruzzi Turn again to the left .

,

facing the su n and there rises a dismal mountain o f yellow

,
’
green sulphur a n d lava which realises all one s ideas of the
,

i n fern al regio n s The sun had set in a crimson glow which

.

fain tly ti n ged the smoke the fire gleamed o ut between the ,

sto n es a n d fi ssu r es an d some places were too hot to stand upon

, .

An d yet the volcan o i s u n usually quiet now for the last eruption ,

w as a year and a half ago Afte r sun set began our difficult .

retreat I had not th e courage to let them ca r ry me down the

.

co n e a n d prefer r ed sac r ifici n g my feet ; but you have no idea

,

what this descen t is They chose the side which ha s fewer

.

sto n es mixed with the loose ashes than the side we came u p ,

but it is a fearful busi n ess W e were quite smothe r ed by the .

smoke an d kept sinki n g up to our kn ees i n the ashes which

, ,

filled our shoes at every step so that we could hardly drag our ,

feet alo n g a s w adi n g panti n g a n d stum bling we made o ur

, , , , ,

way I could n o t get o n so the others got a good start of me,

.
,
 C O N TR A S T B E T IVE E N N AP L E S A N D R O JI E .

and I was l e ft far behind with my guide pitch da r k n ess set in , ,

a n d I lea r n t what fear was ! At last t r embli n g wi t h fatigue , ,

I reached the others Although this wo r st part of the way

.

takes o n ly t e n mi n utes to go down ( we were a n hour goi n g up ) ,

I assure you it was a ten mi n utes I shall n ever forge t It was .

now night but w e stumbled o n for some time till we foun d our
, ,

ho r ses which ca rr ied us to the he r mitage whe r e w e rested a

, ,

w hile i n the ope n a ir The moo n had r ise n a n d the n ight was
.
,

mild a n d beautiful ; we ate t h e cold supper we had brought

with us sitti n g r oun d a table of ston e dra n k some L a c rym aa
, ,

Ch r is ti an d then rode do w n to R e si n a whe r e we foun d o ur

, ,

ca rr iage W e w ere back i n N aples by half past t w el v e a n d I

.
,

assure you the sight of houses car r iages chairs an d last but , , , ,

n o t least my bed was more g ra t eful than I c a n say One

, ,
.

lea r n s to app r eciate these i n stitutio n s after maki n g acquai n t

a n ce with t h e old ge n tleman a n d his domestic ar r an geme n ts .

But it w as a n impression n ever to be forgotten !

Beyo n d the p r incipal sights I thi n k I shall lea v e Naples as
,

igno r ant as a goose for I am al w ay s glad n o t t o be obliged to

,

leave our quiet c ool pleasan t balco n y The town i s to me

, , .

te rr ible a n d I a m i n cli n ed to belie v e t hat it is a ffected by the

,

proximity of Moun t V e su v iu s Beau t iful a s it is I should n o t

.
,

ca r e to live he r e wh e r eas fo r R ome we sigh eve ry day i n spite

,

of all the attrac t io n s that sur r ou n d us W e both feel that i t .

has stolen too much of ou r hearts fo r u s to be able to e nj oy

a n ythi n g else after it W hen o n ce back at home w i th you w e
.
,

shall fin d our hea r ts i n thei r r ight places again ; but he r e we

a r e o n ly half o u r selves a n d t ha t h alf is the eyes rather than
,

the soul You a r e right dear R ebe cca i n disce r n i n g i n my

.
, ,

lette r s the old s t o r y of the man who forgot himself a t R ome .

On e thi n g I ca n n ot u n de r stan d a n d that is that you fin d people

,

there o n w hom it all makes n o imp r ession whateve r To a n y .

o n e of mi n d o r of cultivated tas t e e v e n tho u gh he be b u t a ,

di le tta n te R ome must be inexpre ssibly i n te r esti n g

, The me r e .

d a n dy alo n e has n o pa r t or lot i n the life the r e a n d I ha v e ,

myself m et amiable i n dividuals of t hat ki n d who did n o t k n ow

how to get th r ough the day Ah ! forgive me if I wea ry yo u .
,

but I have been tur n i n g over m y R oman diary to-day and it ,

136 N AP L E S T O B E RL I IV .

has put me quite out of co n ceit with Naples ; I feel i n deed that
my life is still bound up with R ome Ac h e s w a r w o hl sc hbn e
’

Z ei t so I have said a n d su n g a thousand times lately It needed .

all our stre n gth of mind to tear ourselves away a n d n o w we ,

a r e so rry we did leave a n d wish we had stayed but at the same

,

time we long for home where amid all our dear surrou n dings
, , ,

we shall live over agai n that delightful time i n th e endeavour

to make you sha r e r s i n it But enough of R ome. R eg r etti n g
it c an do n o good either to you or to my self for you have n ever ,

bee n there an d I ca n not go back We shall soo n meet agai n

, .
,

a n d then the year o f separation will be over but a year of life ,

’ ’
as well — L a v i ta fu gge e n o n s a r r esta u n e r a — an d never
was life dearer to me than it is n o w .

L e tter a nd Di a r y .

Na ple s Jul y 1 0, 1 8 40 .

Dear Mother We returned in the eveni n g of the day be fore

,
’
yesterday from a six days excursion a n d o n ly received the day ,

befo r e starti n g your lette r of the 8 th with the particulars of ,

’
t h e king s death w hich interested u s much
, The fact we had .

hea r d before We shall fin d many chan ges : may they be for

.

t he best !

W e started on our excursion a la stu den t w ith o n e carpet ,

b a g o n e garmen t an d so forth but n o t with o n e horse for we

, , , ,

had t o take innumerable donkeys a n d seve r al boats be sides ,

apparatus of various kinds for ridi n g d r ivi n g an d carryi n g , , .

The fi r st was the o n ly day w hich brought adve n tu r es I n the .

mo rn i n g the sea was calm so w e sta r ted i n a four -c ared

,

boat fo r Cap r i a distan ce gen erally done in four hou r s ; but

,

w he n we were half way a co n t r a r y wi n d arose a n d after saili n g ,

fo r three hou r s th e boatme n declar ed that i t was impossible to

i e a c h Cap r i
. We the n decided to make for So r re n to the wi n d ,

bei n g i n that directio n , but after sailing straight o n for abo u t

a n hour the wind all of a sud den chopped round a gai n we had ,

to sho r ten sail an d matte r s became de sperate

,
The r owers .

struggled a gai n st the waves but could m a ke n o way a n d at

, ,
’
th r ee o clock we were still at the same spot as we w e re a t t w el v e .

The m e n got ti r ed, the wa v es r an high we w e r e co v e red w ith ,

1 38 N AP L E S T O B E RL I N .

continual views of Capri and th e Isla n ds of the Si r e n s R ight .

out in to the sea j ut e n ormous rocks full of caves a n d eminences , ,

’
covered at the to p with villages at the base with fish e r m e n s ,

cottages R ounding the last poi n t you come upon Am alfi

.
, ,
’
exqui sitely situat ed on a hill slopi n g down to the water s edge .

We walked u p at on ce to t he most curious i n n perhaps in the

whole world a Franciscan monastery which was emptied a
, ,

short time ago a n d turned i n to a tavern The fr a ti are how .

,

ever soon coming back aga i n so we were fortunate i n bei n g

, ,

amon g the latest guests From every win dow and still mo r e .
,

fr om t he terraces where we spent the even i n g, are lovely views

of the sea the tow n and the hills The fin e cloisters the paths
, , .
,

i n the fo r m of a cros s a la r ge cave in th e rocks the little sleep

, ,

i n g cells each holdi n g b u t o n e bed in t r ue mo n kish styl e — all

-
, ,

w e r e out of the way a n d i n creased our pleasu r e in the splendid

,

scenery W alte r my boy guess wha t we had for supper at

.
, ,

Am a lfi ? If you give it up ask your mother t o help you an d if , ,

she gives it up I will tell you — th e first potatoes in t heir ski n s

,

(P e llka r tofieln ) W e fell to with such appetites that the

.

waite r looked on i n astonishme n t and when we had emptied ,

the large dish asked whether we wa n ted more p a ta te at ,

which we all burst out laughi n g Sebastia n however was .

, ,

quite moved an d said he felt as if we were in Be rlin I could

,
.

not qui t e agree wi t h him To get from our con vent to the .

t o w n we had to pass th r ough the stran gest p l a c e s fli gh ts of fi

s tai r s da r k passages mills , queer little alleys all leadi n g t o the

, , ,

market-place an d church with its man y steps of which Catel ,

made such a beau tiful pic t u r e E arly on Saturday Wilhelm .

walked up alon e to R avello a little town high up i n the mou n ,

tai n s w hich is said to co n tain some very interestin g architec t u r e

, ,

but which was p r o n oun ced u n —ge t—a t—able for Sebastian an d me .

W e then had a delightful sail alo n g the coast to Sale r n o the ,

sea being lik e glass W he n it behaves like that it is really the

.

g r eatest possible ple as ure to be o n it The cath ed ral of Salern o .

,

a very an cient building must o n ce have bee n sple n did The

, .

porch with its ma n y arches a n d a n cie n t pilla r s all va r ied is as , ,

bright an d beautiful as a n y thin g one could w i sh to see but ,

terribly disfigured by the bad tas t e of last centu ry Insi de , .

 P OM P E I I . 1 39

the coarse stupi d pilaste rs no doubt con ceal beautiful columns ,

as in the Lateran T he pulpits for the epistle and gospel are

.

fine a n d similar in style , though still mo r e beautiful to those o f

, ,

San Lorenzo of which part s of the mosaic pavement also r e

,

min ded me If as seems probable the w hole church was for

.
, ,

me rly li n ed with mosaic it must have been really magnificent

, .

In the sacristy or rather i n a,

lumbe r -room which looks like th e

wardrobe o f a theatre is a splendid ivory altar with scenes from

,
‘

th e Bible The pillars o f the door are supported by lion s

. .

On S u nday we made an excursion to P aestum saw the ,

famous temple, and the view o f t he Gulf of Salerno — u n fo r t

ately one can n ot stay lon g for fear o f malaria— and drove o n
the same evening to Caste lla m a r e where we greeted our old ,

friend V esuvius , then looking beautiful i n the sunset .

On Mon day morning w e rode on do n keys to Pompe u un der

‘

a thick and lowering s irocc o This is one of those sights which .

imp r ess one w i t h awe a n d if I may be al l o w ed the expressio n

, , ,

with solemn curiosity None o f us could speak except i n a low

.

to n e . Having seen the crater beforehan d o n e understan ds ,

perfectly w hen looki n g up from the streets of the town itself

, ,

h o w likely the event was to happen Of course you see the .

moun ta in o n the opposite side fr om that seen from N aples an d ,

t h e co n e is to your left while that fearful wall which was formed

,

w hen Pompeii was dest r oyed meets the eye at o n ce ; in fact ,

V esuvius l i ke some grim phantom frowns down upon the silent

, ,

streets an d nothin g can be imagi n ed more awe-i n spiri n g than the

,

aspect o f this ste r n destroyer still a r med with the same po w er ,

o f doi n g mischie f while at his feet are the speaki n g w it n esses

,

of the horrid crime he committed eighteen ce n turies a go The .

moun ds o f small stones a n d ashes rou n d th e excavate d houses

complete th e vivid picture o f the dreadful eve n t to such
a degree that you feel as if it happen ed only yesterday to ,

people with whom you had been person ally ac quai n ted There .

are man y spo t s fro m which a sple n did picture might be tak en
of Vesuvius w ith Pompeii in the foreground but it has n ever ,

been don e that I k n ow of W e passed betwee n the ave n ues of.

weeping -w illows to the street of tombs o n ma n y of which t h e ,

ma r ble monuments are so w ell p r eserved that they might have .

1 40 N AP L E S T O B E RL I N .

le ft the wo r ksh ops to-day In the house of Dio m e d there is a

.

g r eat cellar in which the impression of the skull and arms of a

skeleto n may still be see n as i t was foun d lean i n g against the
,

wall The r e were m a ny skeleto n s i n it and th e poor people

.
,

m u st have died a cruel dea t h for the ashes could only have ,

made their way slo w ly through the narrow holes at the top ,

so their to r tu r e must have bee n prolo n ged The a r chitec t u r e o f .

th e houses i s so well k n ow n th at I n eed say nothing about it ;

but I am b r i n gin g home a very faithful water-colour sketch of the
’
s o called
-
House of the Poet by B o n ir o te The ce n tral cour t
,
.
,

open to the sky with the p er go la supported by pillars which

, ,

o n e sees at almost a ll the house s i s charmi n g The pai n ti n gs ,

.

did not altogether please me as I thought them wan ti n g i n ,

t aste and s tyle and i n this W ilhelm ag r eed wi t h me

,
I do n o t .

care i n the least for the uni n te r e st i n g w r eaths and meagre

pilasters which are r epeated i n all di r ec t io n s nei ther do I
, ,

appreciate the peculia r red of most of the walls ; all their

vessels however a r e absolutely beautiful and i n a noble style
, , , .

The g r ottos of mosaic a n d shells I t ho u ght almost ugly but ,

most of the paveme n ts a r e elegant a n d in good t aste The .

public buildi n gs the Forum Basilica etc a r e g r an d es pecially

, , , .
, ,

when compa r ed with the small dwelli n g -houses obviously the ,

homes of those who spe n t most of their lives i n the ope n air ;
the theatres for tragedy a n d come dy are quite di stin ct i n their
constructio n and both in a good state of preservation I should
,
.

like to k n ow w hat the a n cie n ts used the pit for besides holdi n g
the band of music for that could n o t have surely occupied th e
,

whole space seei n g that Spo n tini was n o t their m a estr o di

,

c ap ella The absurd c ic er o n i mai n tain that otherwise it was

.

empty which I ca n n ot believe : they were much too ca r eful

,

about eco n omisi n g space for that The amphitheat r e ou t side .

th e tow n is also well p r eser v ed A g r eat ma n y thi n gs puzzle

.

me . The vessel s exhibited in the museum are in n o sort

of proport ion to the numb e r of h ouses n o w uncovere d, a n d for
one thi n g the r e is sca r cely a n y fu r n iture W hat has become .

of that ? Did t he inhabitan ts sa v e much at the t ime ? That

is scarcely p r obable as the eruption came on almost sudden l y
, .

Di d they come back afterwa r ds and rake amo n g the ashes fo r ,

 NA P L E S T O B E R L I IV .

’
E xtr a c t fr o m a L etter o
f F a n n ys .

July 11 .

A
thousand greetings my beloved husban d ! I n spite
,

o f the u n certainty of this ever reachi n g you I m ust w r ite i n ,

order to keep up i n te r course of some ki n d with you W he r e a r e .

you ? W hat a r e you doi n g An d are you at work only w ith the
eye or does the han d take its part also ? Do not fret if you are
,

only seei n g for that with you is never lost time ; there bei n g
,

no stony ground in your composition every t hi n g bears fr uit ,

thirty an d forty-fold I regret more and more that we did

.

not from the fi rst make the s a lo n our usual sitti n g room You -
.

would n o t belie v e how delightful it is an d what a lazy pleasant

, ,

life I am leadi n g I am glad t hat we shall still have five days

.

here together ; missi n g you so much keeps me down n o w but ,

’
if we two a couple of God s loveliest thoughts — were to lead
—

this pagan existe n ce ( or godl i ke if you wi l l ) for a n y length

,

o f time my spirits would become irrepressible

,
It is never too .

hot E ven while the sun is on us I need o n ly close half the

.

sh utter for the sweet breeze from the sea is so refreshing that
,

we gai n more than we lose by admitti n g t h e sun with it a n d ,

during the whole afternoon I sit outside a n d spoil my diges

tion over bad books Goun od has come and wishes to be kindly
.
,

remembered to you as do Bousquet a n d N ormand They all

, .

come and see me pretty often and so does Madame D whose

, .
,

society is very acceptable ; fa u te de m i eu x I like especially , ,

while you are away to have at least o n e woman with all my

,

you n g m e n , a n d in spite of her coquetry I thi n k she i s of the

sa me mind for she cordially desi r es my compa n y An d she
, .

comes to see m e whereas with all the other ladies I know here
,

I should have to go to them which is n o t n early so comfortable

, .

This eve n i n g we p r opose maki n g a g r and aquati c excu r sio n with

Madame D Bousq ue t a n d Gou n od I ha v e been o n ce already
.
, ,
.

on the water with Seba stian as my pag e a n d Je t te as m y ,

’
da m e d ho n n eu r to Quee n Joan s palace which looks muc h
’
, ,

fi n er i n the e v e n i n g tha n it does by daylight there seems so ,

much more myste ry a n d r oman ce about i t How often we .

thought of you ! How much I mi ss n o t havi n g you here to ,

 A AP L E S . 143

share all my pleasure ! n o t but what I do share them all with

you i n mi n d ; an d believe me my enj oyment i s n e v e r perfect
, ,

w he n yo u are not there I hope you do not obj ec t t o my

.

makin g these excursions : I can n ot well refuse with out seemi n g

prudish and ridiculous to the you n g people Good -bye dear .
,

h usban d d r in k Sicily to the dregs a n d when you are quite

, ,

satisfied come back to your Fan a n d your B ap two people who ,

lo v e you heartily .

’
P S
. . She can not fi n ish but must send her love once more , ,

an d yet o n ce more W hy should this paper travel to Palermo

.

’
w ith an y space left blan k ? I began Jules Jan i n s V oyage en
Italie yesterday By the time h e gets to Flo r e n ce his e n thu
.

si a sm h as evaporated and he tur n s back again

, The book .

co n tai n s some p r e t ty bits but also such g r o ss es beti ses t hat for
, ,

the first time i n my life I could n o t refrain fr o m maki n g a

remark or two i n pen cil on the margin— a thi n g I have never
do n e befo r e to a book that does n o t belon g to me N o w I c a n .

n o t bo ast of this again any mo r e tha n I can of n ever having

s t ood on a chair in church after that day a i Gr ec i in R ome .

Addi e c a r i ssi m o m i o !
,

Di a r y .

I often think now of how soon I shall be far a w ay from all

this beauty a n d how many years it will be before I r e v isi t i t
, .

Ce r tain combinatio n s of plants one o n ly sees he r e in the South

have impressed themselves pa r ticula rly u pon my memory ; for
i n stan ce aloes gro w i n g in the grass as at t he Villa M ills vines
, , ,

amo n g the olive-trees so symbolical in their beauty and produc

,

ti v e n e ss of the fertile South s to n e -pi n es a n d cyp r ess -t rees bearing

, ,

n o fruit an d servi n g no special purpo se but so beau t iful so R oman

, , , ,

so hi storical so sugges t ive I ca n not recall wi t hout emotion

, .

the lovely groups of pi n es an d cyp r esses which I used to see from

the V i lla Medi ci in the garden s of the V illa L u do v i si t he very
, ,

look o f them i s associate d with so man y happy days The .

palm -tree gen erally stan ds alo n e a n d is seen at its best so fo r , ,

each o n e fo r ms a group i n itself an d seems t o need i n deed to , ,

tolerate no accessories It is t he embodiment of the solitude

,
.
,
 1 44 N AP L E S T O B E R LI N .

th e mystery and the marvellou sness of the E ast 0 beautiful

, .

Ita ly ! How rich thou hast made me ! What treasures I am

bea r i n g home fr om thee in my hea r t But shall I be able to
trus t my memory entirely Will my recollection s be as vivid
as my impressio n s were

L e tter Ho m e.

Na ple s : July 2 2, 1 8 40 .

’
Yeste rday afternoon at two o clock my dear husba n d came
, ,
’
back safe and sound from a nineteen days trip to Sicily N o w .

you k n ow the great secret which has been weighin g so heavily on

my woman ly heart He would not tell you abo ut it till he had
.

retur n ed in safety for fear you should be an xious about h i m

, ,

bei n g as h e w a s i n Palermo for th e fete of Sta R osalia d uri n g

, , .

the most i n tense heat and abo ut u s who were here alo n e N o t
, , .

that we were in a n y dan ger here — w e we r e as safe i n o ur sa lo n as

’
i n Ab r aham s bosom but I confess I did feel a trifle uneasy about
,

my husban d myself though than k God h e has come home

, , ,

well a n d happy an d not eve n more su n burnt than is be comi n g

, .

He has been a s busy as ever in the sho r t time ma de a number ,

o f nice acquaintances taken m any po rtraits sketches a n d studies

, , , ,

a n d return s charmed with the beauty of the country He .

visited Palermo and Messina from whe n ce he made a trip to ,

Taormina I am ver y sorry n o w that I did not go with hi m

. .

If we had sta r t ed from R ome one day earlier I should probably ,

have go n e for a boat sailed that ve r y da y and the n ext the one
, , ,

W ilhelm wen t by did not leave till July 2 In the mea n time
,
.

the heat had become i n te n se a n d my cou rage failed me I n , .

the villas a n d gardens round Palermo there are no ora n ges they ,

a r e con sidered too commo n but pisa n g palms a n d castor-O i l , , ,

trees The sugarcan e a n d o ther exotic plants grow in the O pen

.

air .

He liked the Sicilian s very much They are said to be .

quite a different race from the N eapolitan s whom they detest ,

a n d despise to a de g ree and a r e libe r al c ul tivated hospi t able

, , , ,

a n d wealthy W ilhelm says he neve r saw a fi n er display o f

.

horses and carriages than at Pale r mo — i t beats Londo n He .

sketched the statu e of S ta R osalia which Goethe describes so . .

1 46 N AP L E S T 0 B E RL I N .

you dear people ! This is I hope my last

N ow farewell , , ,

despatch from Naples a n d the n ext will be dated from somewhere

,

much nearer Pray for a good j ourn ey fo r us as we pray to

.
,

find you all well and happy An d now , a dieu from Naples
. .

’
E xtr a c t fr om a L e tter o f R e bec c a s to Cec i le .

B erl in : July 2 4 , 1 8 40 .

We ha d a letter from t he Hensels the day before yes

t e r day: they still i n tend starti n g by steamer on the 2 6 th an d ,

in about a month please God they will be with us I can n ot .

te ll you how glad I am Meanwhile our fe w days with Fel ix

.

were deligh t ful an d we than k you very much fo r spa r ing him
,

t o us fo r so lo n g That we talked occasio n ally of you an d th e

.

little o n es you are do ubtless awa r e from the ti n gli n g of your

ears But for fear you shall be j ealous of Madame L owe He r r
'

.
,

Kii t e m an n or a n ybody else i n the world let me a ssure you

, ,

that Fel ix although he seemed to be enj oyi n g himself he r e a n d

, ,

saw how greedy we were of his society made rather a wry face , ,

actually a n d me n tally when David we an d his own good se n se

, , ,

prevailed upon him to stay over Wednesday eveni n g an d come ,

home to you a few hours later I will not say t hat there are .

no husbands who love their wives as much as Felix lo v es you ,

but I have never seen one so much in love before However .

,

I c an understan d it for though I am not your husban d I am a

,

little in love with you myself .

L e tt er fr o m F a n n y to the F a m ily .

M o n da y a ft ern o o n Augu st 1 0
, .

I am sitting fo r the last time on the glo r ious balco n y look

i n g at the view Our boxes are packed a n d j ust bei n g car r ied
.

o ff and to -mo r row we sta r t

,
I cannot u n derstan d how it is that I
.

have not yet shed a tear at the th ought of leavi n g so soo n ,

whilst i n R ome I c r ied regula r ly every da y for a mo n th before

an d D a v i d i s a hu n dr ed a n d t hirt y y ar d s o ff wi th t he sec o n d o rche stra It .

i s an e n o r m o us b u si n e ss o ver 2 00 m e n t we n t y t ro mb o n e s six t ee n t rumpe ts

, , , ,

etc. Spo n t i n i h i ms elf wo ul d s ca rcely say E nc or e dc u x vio lom th is t i me .

”
 P AR T Y A T N A P L E S . G E N OA . 1 47

ou r departure If it was not for the long j ourney befo r e us

.
,

I should eve n be glad To -day we di n ed w ith the Du e de .

Mo n tebello The r e were present Herr De c a i te l , some ge n tlemen

.

I did n o t know an d Kem ble with his dau ghter S he i s very

,
.

ugly and w as abominably dressed which made her l o ok most n u ,

g r aceful ; but she speaks Fren ch very well and seems to be more ,

cle v er than amiable as sh e was rather sharp a n d alt ogether n u

,

a tt r active The duke is really a very amiable man with r efi n ed

.
,

a n d pleasa n t ma n n e r s and I li ke him much ,

The duchess is .

k ind t o o an d very ag r eeable an d does all she can to remind

, ,

o n e as little as possible of her E nglish o r igin In the afternoo n .

w e sat for some time unde r the beautiful portico and Mis s ,

Kemble sang Her voice i s fine but like her person without
.
, , ,

charm This is my unbiassed opi n ion for she made herself ve ry

.
,

ag reea ble to me I also played several times on the fine E rar d

. ,

a n d had an appreciative audience although un fortunate ly I did ,

n o t show myself to advantage for I fel t weak and scarcely able ,

to man a ge t he sple n did instrume n t I could hardly get thro u gh .

Bach s co n certo We then to o k a co r dial farewell of the ki n d

’
.

family a n d got home in the exqu isite moonli ght about t w elve
,
’
O clock worn out with the heat
,
which has been excessive the ,

last few days .

L etter to the F a m i ly .

Ge n o va la s uperb a . Cro ce di M al ta : Augus t 1 4 , 1 8 40 .

Thalatta Thalatta I exclaim i n exultation not however ,

at having the sea before me b u t at havi n g left it beh in d If , .

a n y one thi n g i n the world c a n be extremely pleasant or the

reverse it i s travelling by sea Pleasa n t un doubtedly for those

, .

who like my husban d can t ake like n esses eat d r ink an d find
, , , , ,

themselves ge n erally c o m m e le p o n t n e uf but decidedly n u ,

pleasan t for those who like myself have been spen di n g one , ,

whole day i n Leghorn an d four hours i n Genoa with all the ,

furniture in the room dan ci n g waltzes a n d di e g a n z e b etr u n , p

ke n e We lt s ic h u m di e r o the We ltg eis tn a se dr ehe n sehn That .

I may not exagge r ate however I must own that by dint o f , ,

lyi n g flat I managed p r etty tolerably but th e whole time we ,

were on board I could not sta n d or eve n sit u p for five m i nutes .
14 8 JVA P L E S T O B E RL I N .

I must take a rest a fter the exertion o f this half-page for my ,

ideas are dancing country dan ces with the words I write The .

mai n thing is we are o ff and hope to continue our j ou r n ey

, ,

without delay You will most likely receive us with the sam e
.

remark good Mme Beer addressed to her son Michel how ugly
.
,
‘
,

o u have grown ! Be prepared for you know that Italy is not

y ,

a country from which people return either youn ger or handsomer .

W e have had our fi ll of travelling that is certain and when , ,

the mouse has had e n ough the flour tastes bitter The begging .

and ex t ortion which ar e i n deed worse here than elsewhere

, ,

have never ir r itated me so much before and I am longing for ,

my hon es t fatherland .

W e had good w e ather for o ur voyage at first , but the two

last n ights were so stormy especially the last that I could n o t
, ,

close my eyes from fright When I di d fall asleep from fatigue

.
,

I d r eam t quite vividly that we were all sitting round the table
at your house dear mother a n d I was j us t saying So the
, , ,
’
long wished fo r mome n t has come at last when I was awoke by
- -
,

the creaking an d groan ing of the ship to find the table in the ,

cabi n u pset and myself tossing about most uncomfortably on the

Mediterranean I shall long remember how pleasant i t was to
.

see the fi rst streak o f dawn Shortly before arriving at Gen oa I

.

got u p to see the to w n but could not remain on my feet and

, ,

had to lie down on deck an d get a casual glimpse now an d the n .

The situation is splen did an d the town almost like Naples run s
, , ,

high up the hill .

Di a/ry .

Gen oa : Augu st 1 6 .

Towards even ing I took a little walk with W ilhelm and

Sebastian though it was raini n g and a sirocco blowi n g W e
,
.

have not yet seen th e sun here W e went to the cathed ral .
,

which i s Lombardo-Gothic (M e m — W hen I wri t e my hi sto ry of .

’
art I shall dub it the ticki n g style , on accoun t of its s tripes )
-
.

B ut all these fa cades have some peculiarity or other Here .

,

for insta n ce , there are at o n e corn er three pillars quite disco n

n e c t e d from the buildi n g In the B rignole palace there are
.

s ome sple n did pictures W ilhelm w as enchan ted with one by

.
1 50 N AP L E S T o B E RL I N .

head of an old man bendi n g over a book held b y a page i n fr o n t,

which shows much more earnestness an d dig n ity t han is cus
t o m a ry with the j olly old fellow ; also an e n ormous alta r piece
w ith wi n gs , the Adoration of the Magi i n t he middle a n d sai n ts

a n d angels holding all sorts of bass -viols a n d trumpets on the

’
sides exactly in Paul Ve r on e se s style Yesterday I thought
, .

h ow like he was to Ha n del with his b r oad masses modi sh

, ,

flourishes , and consta n tly repeated e ffects whi ch however , , ,

n ever fail to produce as much asto n ishment and emotion as at

first They are both splendid men ! By Bon ifacio there is a

.

Christ in the house o f the publican w ith people eating a n d ,

dr i n king and a child feeding a dog to the left t his picture I

,

liked the first time I saw it A beautiful Mantegn a has an.

E vangelist writing in the m i ddle and male and female sai n ts ,

around all small figures on a gold ground This picture I

, .

imagine belongs to his first period when he still followed ,

the old school ; but what an advance it shows already on

ea r lier wo r k He w a s a great m a n ! I say nothi n g of the Sposa
lizio for every thing possible has been said about t hat alr e ady
, .

’
F r a n c i a s An n un ciat io n did n o t impress me as much as last year .

Then the r e is a n extraordinary pic t ure by Bo n ifacio It appears .

to he inten ded for the discove ry of Moses , b u t the composition

is out of all boun ds Ladies an d gentlemen a r e sitting eati n g
.

a n d d r i n ki n g a n d con ve r sing familiarly a stout cook stan ds by

,

the side of the p r i n cess a cask of wi n e is being tapped a band

, ,

is playi n g etc By Belli n i there is a la rge picture i n the sam e

, .

O dd sple n did , a n d origi n al style as thos in V e n ice It

, e r e re
p .

sen ts a saint prea chin g at Co n sta n ti n ople i n fr on t of St Sophia , .

,

to a congregation of the queerest —looki n g Tu rks and M amelukes

w ith turban s almost like houses , white cloaks an d c u rious cos
’
t u m e s al t ogether The chu r ch is very like St Ma r k s i n Venice
. . .

At the back are slender spi r es , with a wi n ding stai r case run n i n g
up the outside of o n e of them and white houses The light , .

i n this picture is very truthfully re n dered It is impossible to .

form an idea of the style of these V en etia n s without seei n g

them Then we we n t agai n to the chu r ch of St Ambrogio as
. .
,

W ilhelm wan ted to m a ke a slight sketch of it for a compo sition

he has in his mind It is a beautiful chu r ch a n d might be as
. .
, ,
 M ILAN CA T H E D R A L . 1
51

Wilhel m says so easily restored to ,

fo r mer dignity by the i ts

removal of a few orname n ts a n d a little di r t .

Thu r s da y Au g u st 2 0 — This morn i n g at seven W ilhelm

,
.

went with Sebastian to the cathedral to draw I followed them

’
.

late r and was i n expre ssibly delighted to be there again ; it i m

,

pressed me much mo r e than before Last year we came here .

from Bamberg a n d R atisbon where we had been seei n g g ran d ,

buildi n gs in a similar style N o w we have been seei n g th e .

I t al ia n chu r ches mostly basilicas which I also admi r e St

, , ,
.

’
Peter s an d the many imitatio n s of it the German -Italian style
, , ,

and all t he rest each of w hic h you like by turns when you see
,

them ; but to day I felt fully convi n ced that this is the t r ue
-

style of ecclesiastical architecture a n d the finest chu r ch in

Italy and it was built by a Ge rman W hat a glo r ious thi n g is
,
.

the gen ius o f m an ! God Himself has not created a n ythi n g more
won derful !

L ett e r an d D ia r y .

Airo l o : Au g ust 2 4, 1 8 4 0 .

Unless I make h aste I shall not be able to begi n this letter

south O f the Alps for in a few hou r s we shall have crossed
,

them an d be spe n di n g the n ight at U r se r n where we all slept

, ,

o n ce before in th e year 1 8 2 2 In the afternoon of the 2 oth we

, .

left Mila n for Como i n te n din g to call on Hiller at o n ce but

, ,

heard that his house was out of the t own on the shore of the
lake an d it was then too late to get so far N ext mo r n i n g we
, .

hired a boat a n d ro w ed out to call o n him Much delighted he .

,

got i n t o our b oat and accompa n ied us o n our excursion to the

’
V illa d E ste whe r e Queen Ca r oli n e of E n gland used to live
, .

He then invited us to spe n d the rest of the day with him and ,

took us i n the aftern oon (by water again ) to the V illa Pliniana ,
’
whe r e close to the well me n tio n ed in Pli n y s letters we had a
, ,

nice merry supper i n a public hall on the shore of the lake

, .

The o n e describi n g the well which ebbs and flows eve r y three ,

hours is written up on t h e w all in Latin a n d I t alian We took

, .

special notice of the passage i n which he recomme n ds his fri end

to sit down near the water a n d eat and d r i n k an d followed hi s ,

advice to the letter 1 8 00 years after he gave it D uri n g supper

, .
1 52 NAPLE S T O B E RL I N .

’
Hensel t ook Hille r s port rait The next day at Bellinzona o n e
.
, ,

of th ose eve n ts happened to us which form the great i n te r est

’
of t ravelli n g an d impress themselves i n delibly on o n e s memo ry .

We arriv e d in th e even in g a n d our din n er was se r ved i n a room

,

w he r e an elderly gentleman was already si t ti n g a t his meal .

He add r essed us kindly and courteously a n d we soo n percei v ed , ,

i n the course of conve r satio n that we were t alki n g to a well ,

educated and distin guished m an W hen we h ad fi n ished .

di n ner a n d were going to depa r t he i n quired wha t natio n we ,

belo n ged to an d w he r e we lived and heari n g t hat we came

, ,

from Be r li n questioned us about Humboldt whose acquai n ta n ce ,

we we r e able to claim W hen W i lhel m asked him if he should

.

take a n y mess a ge to Humboldt and fr om whom he a n swered : , ,

[0 s o n o u n u o m o i n fe li c em e n te c o n o sc i u to— i l c o n te G o nfa lo
n i er i At this n ame I was of course , not a little touched l
. .
,

W hen he heard our name we fou n d that he was pe r fectly well

acquai n ted with us a n d our whole family through the Ar c o na ti s ; ,

they had lauded the hospitality of the Berlin ers i n gen e r al an d o f ,

ou r selves i n particular to him a thousan d times Of course we

, .

n o w fel t like old acquai n tan ces and W ilhelm ha d his sketch -book
,

brought up which he looked throug h with the grea test i n t e r est

, ,

a n d gladly co n sente d to sit so W ilhelm took a very good like n ess

,

o f him W e talked much of Gans a n d he inquired after

.
,

Bartholdy as an excellent man w hom he had k n own in Italy

,

twenty yea r s ago and of whom he had not heard si n ce his r etu rn
,
.

In sho r t we found so man y interests in commo n that the eve n ing,

one of the pleasante st o n our whole tour passed away only too ,

rapidly , a n d we took leave of this rema r kable man as of a n old

frie n d .His way of speaki n g about his misfortun es was i n de
s c ri b abl
y touchi ng He actu a lly passed fifteen w hole years in
.

the Spielbe r g wi thout hea r i n g a w ord of wha t was goi n g o n in

t he world or in his o w n family except w he n the death of h i s w ife
,

was a n nounced to him in the cu r test a n d driest te r ms after he ,

had bee n there ten yea r s The poor lady petitio n ed repeatedly
.
,

but in vai n to be allowed to j oin h i m a n d at last begged for

, ,

pe r mission to settle at B r irn n so as t o be near him As this ,

.

He w a s t h e c o mp a n io n in mi s f o rt un e of S ilvi o P el lic o , an d w ell k n o wn

thro ugh th e l a t t er s b o o k L e m i c p ri gio n i
’
.
1 54 N APL E S T O B E RL I N .

W hen we had descen ded a little way , the drag broke a n d in the ,

i n creasi n g darkness the d r iver h a d to lead the ho r ses down the

steep hill at t he slo w est possible pace At last we came to a .

soli tary hous e at which h e stopped and call e d till the people
,

came o u t hesita t ingly with a la n tern He asked if t hey could .

le n d u s a woode n d ra g b u t they had not got one so w e had to

, ,

co n ti n ue ou r w ay as befo r e At last we came to such a ste ep

.

place that the d r iver himself requested u s t o alight a n d thu s ,

we made ou r way o n foo t in a b solute darkness , down t h e S t

, .

Gotha r d — not a ve ry comfo r table p r oceedi n g Fortuna tely .

,

h owe v er , the weather was fine ; i f we had had the gale and
t hun der -storm that came the day aft er , our positio n would have
bee n really awkwa r d At last we sa w deep down below the
.

lights of the Hospice the have n of refuge , in w h ich we passed

,

our first night o n Swiss territory But I have promised to pro .

claim t o the whole world that i n all Italy we n ever were so

badly cheated as that n ight i n t h e Hospice of the Ur se rn
V alley i n straightforwa r d ho n est Switzerland
, , If t h e tru t h .

must be told the landlord there , quite a youn g fe llow w a s a

, ,

b g ge r scou n drel t han any of his Italian colleagues

. W hat .

a triumph for W ilhelm !

On August 2 5 we we n t on through thick mist a n d r ai n which ,

was disappointi n g as I could not see the Ur se rn t ha l at a ll an d I

, ,

h a d bee n looki n g forward to it so much from the deep impression

it made on me whe n I w as here befo r e I did , however recogn ise .
,

An de r matt with its li t t le white church a n d the ge n eral lie o f

, ,

t h e g r oun d W he n we reached the other side of the U r ner

.

Loch we could have the ca r riage open so as t o see the wild

’
sce n e ry of the Devil s B r idge Still however we h ad seve r al .
, ,

heavy shower s and t he weathe r did n o t regula rly clear till w e

,

had passed Alto r f and reached the Lake at F lii e le n I recog .

n ise d W ase n a n d altogether remembe r ed t h e gene r al cha r acte r

,

of t h e r oad ve r y well a n d the p r og r ession from sno w bare

, ,

rock s moss and fir-tr ees , first stu n ted an d then of n oble pro
, ,

portio n s to deciduous t r ees and then to orcha r ds a n d n u t

, ,

g r o v es i n the valley On e thi n g I had completely fo rgotten was

.

t he drive from Amsteg to Altorf th r ough a fertile pleasant plai n , ,

with high mou n tai n s on either han d A road to Bru n n e n by .

 T HE RI G HT . 1 55
‘

land being d istinctly m ar ke d i n our map , we had o f course , to ,

get into a boat at F lii e l e n a n d cross the lake at Bru nne n ,

passing Tellen Platte a n dG r ii tli wi th B l ii m lisalp to our left a n d

, ,

B r isten st o c k behind us A thu n der-storm was threateni n g a l l

.

the time but the lake was kind enough to remain quiet The
,
.

’
people assured us at Brun n en whe r e we arrived by five o clock
, ,

t hat the storm would pass over so we drove on through Schwyz , ,

seeing t he Hake n and Mythen , to the lake of Zug by the side ,

of which the road passes for some time Meanwhile the sto r m .

approached the lightn ing flashed upon the lake the thun der
, ,

r e -echoed amo n g the rocks the rain poured down , a n d large ,

hailstones beat in our faces In such weather we arrived at

.

Arth glad to have reached a place of refuge

, .

B ut Wilhelm really did a very foolish thing The thunder .

s torm passed away i n t he evening leaving a cloudy sky , but ,

the people i n t he house assured us that t h e sunrise was i n

va r iably clear the mo r ning after a thundersto rm and so a n ,

hour after midnight he started up the Righi with a guide

carryi n g a lantern The n ext morni n g at eight he came back
.
,

bathed in perspiratio n without having see n so much as a trace

,

of a s n ow-mounta i n an d having bee n obliged as all the paths

, ,

had bee n destroyed by the sto rm to w ade through innumerable ,

moun tain -streams and to take short cuts involving his j umping
from rock to rock It was a mad excursion but, than k God !
.
,
1
he came t o n o harm .

In passi n g through Bade n they were much delighted with

the rich well -cul t ivated coun try At O ffenburg our travellers
, .

resolved to make a trip to Strasbu r g .

Di a r y .

We drove to Kehl walked fr om thence across the R hi n e

,

bridge a n d then t aki n g a ca rr iage d r ove down the rather lo n g

,

ave n ue to Strasburg and the Place de la Cathéd rale The .

cathedr al is the most elega n t building possible i n its own style ,

T hi s cen t o f t h e Righi a b o u t whi ch He n sel w a s t e ased w i th o ut mercy

as , ,

i s r e f err ed t o in t he wo rds un der Fel ix s p o r tr ai t i n t h is v o lume : I we n t w i t h

’

my l an t ern an d my lan t ern wit h me up th e R ighi a t o n e o cl oc k in the m orn in g

, ,
’
.
‘
1 56 NAPLE S T o B E RL IN

almost overc r owded on the outside with the little pillars w hrc u
cover e v en the la r ge wi n dows From the i n side the e n ti r e .

length of th e walls is compo sed of enormous stai n ed glass -

wi n dows a n d the effect is most beautiful On the fa cade as

, .

w e ll as on the spire now finished , immense labour has been

,

bestowed but I believe that the Spire was inten ded to have
,

bee n still higher I n side the choir has been abomi n ably
.

modern i sed and the organ was restored six years ago with a
,

want of taste wo r thy of the seventee n th centu ry Upon the .

whole the cathedral o f R atisbo n impressed me more B ut it is .

nice to have seen this o n e too ; a traveller who has made the
personal acquaintan ce of man y edifices of ra n k so to speak , ,

h a s such a good co n science No t fa r o ff is the house of E rwi n

.

von Stei n bach much of which is in good p r eservatio n especially

, ,

a staircase which is a gem It wi n ds i n a spi r al a n d tu rn s

,
.
,

from the bottom to the top on its own axis so that o n e can ,

look straight up it It scarcely looks like a wo r k of a r t still

.
,

less like a co n coctio n of stones a n d mo r tar but mo r e like a ,

fantastic productio n of nature such as those wo n de r ful spi ral ,

shel l s . The ban iste r s are little pillars i n tersected by t h e ,

railing which is i n the form of i n terwoven b r an ches This

,
.

staircase is indeed in its way as gr eat a masterpiece as the

, , ,

ca t hedral .

At Leipzig, w here they arrived on September 3 they found ,

Felix whose j o u rney to E n gland had been delayed by a n attack

,

of illn ess but who was now quite w ell again

, As may be .

imagi n ed there was no lack of subj ects of co n ve r sation He

, .

played to them his cantata for the festiva l of t h e in vention of

prin ting which Fan n y liked ve r y much a n d discussed with he r
, ,
’
his plan s for the future His i n te n tion was to take a yea r s
.

r est after the termi n ation of his engageme n t at Leipzig which ,

h eld good for the wi n ter and go pe r haps to Italy — a pla n w hich
,

his sister with her fresh e n thusiasm on the subj ect of co u r se

, ,

encouraged W e shall see b y-an d-b y that matte r s took a ve r y

.

d i ffere n t turn C ecile w a s i n good health a n d u n alte r ed love

.

l i n e ss an d sweet a n d amiable as eve r while t h e chil dre n Ca r l

, , ,

and Marie were growing an d thriving On Friday September

,
.
,
 AT HOM E AG AI N .

’
A B L ANKfollo w s i n the diary after Fanny s prom ise o f w rit
i n g at some future time about the impression made by h er
return to Berlin evide n tly an unpleasan t one The fi r s t song
,
.
,

however which she composed after she had come home was to
,
’
Goethe s li n es
At h o me a ga i n o n ce m o re i n pea c e we re st ,

Fro m d o o r to d o o r a ll l o o ki n g a t i t s be s t ;
T h e a rti s t s eye st ill cheri she s a st o re
’

O f i m a ge s i n st i n c t wi t h l i fe a n d l o r e .

An d t h o ugh t hr o ugh di sta n t l a n d s we l o ve t o ro a m ,

Fro m he n ce we ca me a n d here we a r e a t h o me :
,

W e t urn fr o m a ll th e ch a rm s t he wo rld pre s e n t s u s

, ,

T o t hi s o n e c o rn er which a l o n e c o n t e n t s u s
,

— w hence we may draw the conclusion that her first impression

was only a passi n g o n e yielding quickly as she experienced the
,

comfort of her o w n home and that this w as t h e reason why the

,

page i n her diary i n te n ded for it remained blank She gave .

exp r ession to her feelin gs of pleasure i n t he above-me n tioned

composition and soo n after i n a very me r ry lette r to Felix w h o
, ,

in his an swer wishes her to remain in this buoyant travelli n g

‘

’
spirit, while continui n g to l ive i n the quiet o f home .

The Hensels were soon settled down again in t heir home

a n d i n the family circle but t hey foun d g r eat chan ges i n
,

the outside world Frede r ic W illiam I l l had died Frederic

. .
,

W illiam I V was o n the thro n e a n d a political m oveme n t ha d

.
,
’
begun which he n cefo r th plays a n importan t part in Fanny s
diary a n d letters .

Fel ix s L e tt er s
’
, L a dy Wa ll a ce s t ra n sl a t i o n
’
, L eipz i g : O c to ber 2 4, 1 8 4 0 .
 N I B E L UN G E IV-L I E D . P OL I T I CS .

F a n n y to F e li x .

B erli n : December 5 1 8 40 , .

I am heartily glad to hear that you are en teri n g i n to

the idea o f the Nibelun gen with so much zest As you have .

’
procured R au p a c h s work on the subj ect your ske t ch i s most ,

likely at this momen t fa r more adva n ced than mi n e ever w a s ;

i n dee d I tho u ght rather of the characters a n d the plo t a s a
,

whole than of the arran geme n t of the scenes The co n clusion .

strikes m e as th e greatest di fli c ul ty for who would fi n ish an

,

opera w ith all that hor r ible ca r nage ? An d yet what else is to
be don e ? The si n ki n g of the Nib e l un g e n h oard t akes place i n -

this manner : After Hage n has murdered Siegfried he cast s

—
,

’
e n vious eyes upon Ch ri e m h ild s treasures bro u ght if I mistake , ,

not from the N ibelun gen-lan d a n d dr eadi n g lest by their

, , ,

mean s she might rouse fr iends who would ave n ge her w ron gs ,

h e takes them from her an d si n ks them in th e R hine Do l e t .

me hear from time to time how the plan p r og r esses An d do write .

a n d t ell me whether yo u have any th i n g good at your Qua r te t

soirées which might be of use to me for my Sunday-music as ,

I inten d b e g in n i n g it next week

'
.

My hu sban d i s ha r d at wo r k as usual finishi ng hi s foreign ,

sketches wit h g r eat pleasu r e W e din e when Sebastian comes

.

home fr om school in the afternoon a n d have settled down to a

,

comfo r table pleasan t life for the winter W hether there will
, .

be a n y revival i n art here time alo n e will show If the report .

that Co r n elius is coming be true it would prove that there

,

are good i n ten tion s at a n y rate although Co rn elius might not

,

be qui te the right man for the post if as they say the o n ly , , ,
’
work to be do n e is the execution of Schinkel s fresco-design s .

Schinkel conti n ues in a sad state , h i s mi n d being completely

gone Perh a ps my husban d is th e o n ly a rtist here w h o w ould
.

’
si n cerely rej oice at Cor n elius s comi n g The brothe r s G rimm .

w ill b e here in a few days a n d negotiations are said to be goi n g

,

o n with Rii c ke r t
. O ur ne w spape r s nevertheless are as poor as
, ,

ever th e Pietists are taki n g the lead an d personal governmen t

,

appears to be ca r ried to a great exte n t W hat do you say about .

F r en c h politics ? An d ho w do you like the deba t es i n the

160 1 84 1 . AT H OM E A G A I IV .

Chamber ? Is it n o t very sad ! Sad for us too for phili stinism ,

is beco m i n g rampa n t a n d sayi n g A fin e thi n g indeed is your

, ,

co n stitutio n al governme n t !
Amo n g the disti n guished men wh om the ki n g desi r ed to fix
i n Be r li n was Me n del ssoh n B a r tholdy As early as N ovembe r .

1 8 4 0 his brother Paul had bee n applied to to sou n d him about

settling in Be rlin a n d co n sult with him as to ways a n d m ean s
, .

Paul offe red a t once to go to Leipzig himself a n d co n fi ded the ,

obj ect O f his j ou r n ey to Fa n n y though keepi n g it a secret from

,

his mother a n d R ebecca who were more excitable in order not

, ,

to rou se hopes which migh t prove vain The p r opositio n s of .

which Paul was the bearer were appa r e n tly ve r y promising and ,

seemed to open out a tempting sphere of actio n The plan was .

,

t o di v ide the Academy of Ar ts into four departments viz , .

Pai n ti n g Sculpture Arch i tectu r e an d M usic each department

, , , ,

having a directo r who should assume in turn the supe r inte n d

,

e n ce of the whole Academy The mai n featu r e of the sc h e m e

.

as regards music was the foundation of a large Co n servatorium ,

with Me n delssohn as director which should after a tim e give ,

public c o n ce r ts of sacred an d secular music with the assistan ce ,

of the a r t ists from the Cou r t Theatre .

The p r oposal was an allu r i n g o n e at first sight and th e ,

prospect of the whole family bei n g again un ited in Berli n

naturally made his b r others a n d sis ters a n xious that Felix should
accep t it as he was himself i n clined to do N evertheless he
,
.
,

had had from the begi n n i n g stro n g doubts not as to the possi ,

b ili ty b u t as to the probability of the plan bein g carried out

, , ,

and as we shall see eve n ts p r oved how correct his j udgmen t

, ,
’
i n the matter was .He k n ew the ki n g s i n decision in affairs of
this ki n d Those who had alread y been summo n ed to Be rlin foun d
.

themselves i n the vaguest and most u n certain positio n ; they

received la rge salaries it is t r ue but h a d nothing to do for
, ,

them except to wal k abo u t wi t h their ha n d s in their pockets

,
.

The usual practice was reversed for instead of havi n g places t o , ,

fill whe n th e m e n could b e foun d the men were fou n d first a n d , ,

the places for them after w ards Mendelssoh n howeve r i n sisted

.
, ,

o n k n owing t h e exact duties of the position to which he was to

be appointed an d whe n the negotiatio n s began it became

,
rb z 1 84 1 . AT HOM E A G A I N .

had don e much for music in the town and his popula r ity there ,

was somethi n g ex traordi n a ry His mother was n o t far wro n g .

in writing w he n a mon ume n t was bei n g e r ected to Bach from

, ,
’
the p r oceeds of a concert co n sisting solely of B a ch s o r gan
,

music w hich Felix got up : If he were to annou n ce tha t he

,

w ould stan d i n the market -place i n his n ight-cap I believe the ,

’
people of Leipzig would pay for admission .

The negotiatio ns wi t h Berlin mea n dered on in an aimless

man n er ; indeed the next letter from He r r von Massow whom ,

t h e ki n g had e n t r usted wit h the tra n sactio n instead o f bei n g ,

’
m ore definite was even vaguer , Me n delssohn s questions were .

n o t touched upo n at all the title a n d salary alo n e bei n g m e n

,

t io n e d, a n d it became more a n d more obvious that at p r esen t ,

and pe r haps permanently th e post would have n o subs tantiali t y

,

whateve r But by this time he was bei n g attacked from an other

.

side his family of course on ly thought of the delight of havi n g

the son an d brother settled finally in Berli n and urged him to ,

accept the flatte r i n g proposals of the king N eve r perhaps .

, ,
’
in his whole career did Me n delssohn s stern co n scien tiousn ess
show mo r e strikingly tha n now The temptation was n o small .

one . W hy should n o t he drawn towa r ds Be r li n as he w a s by

,

the ties of family a ffectio n follo w the example of so many ,

other men o f mark and accept so honou r able a post ? W hat

,

did it matter to him if little w as deman ded o f him in return

for a high s a lary ? If wo r k could not be fou n d for h im what ,

co n ce r n was it of his ? B ut it we n t agai n st his conscien ce ,

a n d nothi n g could i n duce hi m to d isobey th at He saw too .

that it might not an swer i n the lo n g r un e v en as far as his -

,

family was co n ce r n ed a n d told his brother Paul so very plainly

,

in his le t ter of Jan uary 2 1 8 4 1 ,

.

The correspo n de n ce we n t on a n d the statutes Felix had ,

asked for were sen t He w r o te about them to Paul i n a horrified

.

to n e l W ill i t be believed that after exte n sive plan s had been

.

made an d after Me n delssohn as we shall see had been at

, , ,

wo r k upon th e m w ith the g r ea t est zeal fo r more than a year ,

the whole thi n g fell absolutely to the groun d , a n d for an other

whole generatio n the co n st i tution of the Ac a de m v remained in
Felix s L e tte r s Februa ry
’
, 1 3 , 1 8 41 .
 JVE G O T I A TI ON S WI T H B E RLIN 163

th e same rotten co n dition ? Du r ing the n e xt twen ty-fiv e years

the a ffair did n o t progress a si n gle step and n o improveme n t o f ,

an
y ki n d was int r oduce d A n d yet it
. was not the oppositio n ,

bu t t h e leaders a n d co n ductors of the i n stitution themselves ,

i n cludi n g the mi n ister who in a spirit o f carpi n g criticism were

, , ,

u r gi n g the n ecessity for reform .

As if to point th e di ffere n ce bet w een Leipzig a n d Berlin i n

m usical m atters and make it more di fli c ul t for Felix to leave
,
‘

h i s prese n t post everythi n g combined at the moment to ope n

,

fr esh prospects for music in Leipzig The King of Saxo n y .

ha d been p r esent at one o f the conce r ts and his ope n ly expressed ,

delight at the per forman ce gave a n e w impulse to the Gewan d

h aus a n d paved the way for a great deal hitherto tho u ght
,

impossible E ven the legacy w h ic h Feli x had used all h is e n

.

de a v o u r s to procure for musical endo w ments was to be gran ted

s oon i n a word at Leipzig everything was going accord ing to
,

his wishes while at Berlin everything was in th e clouds

,
.

However i n May 1 8 4 1 perceivi n g that it was useless to

, ,

a ttempt anything further by letter h e betook himself with , ,

a ll his family to Be r lin but he gained nothi n g for the

, ,

pe r sonal n egotiation s like the co r responden ce became more

, ,

co n fused an d i n comprehen s ible every day Fresh complicatio n s .

,

serious or trifling continually cropped up ; the king w as ever

,

suggesti n g new proj ects which only served to make the a ffair
,

more i n tricate a n d fi n ally the negotiations were very n ear bei n g

,

broken o ff e n ti r ely Howeve r a compromise was e ffected ;

.
,
’
Me n delssohn was to place himself at the ki n g s disposal for a
yea r dur i n g which time the gre a t question of the reorganisatio n
,

of t h e Academy should be considered at leisure and — buried .

That this would be the ultimate resul t Felix foresaw clearly .

Bot h he an d the kin g were to be at liberty to dissolve the con

t r act a t the end of the yea r Such was the result o f these tedious
.

’
negotiation s I All Me n delssohn s letters show clearly that it was
mai n ly his regard for h is mother who would have felt the dis ,

appointment seve r ely which i nduced him to accept this stran ge

,

en gagement the tempo r ary nature of w hich he full y realised

, .

’
A summary o f the negotiations is given in Herr v o n Massow a
x6 4 1 84 1 . AT HOM E A GAA» .

1
report to the ki n g from which it plainly appea rs t h at th e,

di ffi culties did n o t arise with Felix but wi t h th e other side , .

He retu r n ed to Leipzig with h i s family o n May 2 1 to make ,

prepa r atio n s for the cha n ge His propo sals for the refo r m o f .

t h e Academy were put together i n a P r o m em o m a w n i c h he

’

presen ted to Ministe r E ichhorn a docu m en t which remai n ed ,

’
i t is n eedless to say valu a ble materia l , .

’
Felix s ret urn t o Berlin w a s delayed — for a gain the r e was a
chan ge a n d the a r rangeme n ts made i n pe r so n appeared to be
,

forgott e n Both sides felt it to be nece ssa r y fo r him to ha v e

.

t h e o fli c i a l title of Ka p e llm e i ste r in o r de r t o secu r e h i s ,

’ ’ ’
positio n with the ki n g s musici a n s that is the king s ban d
‘
, ,

a n d the si n gers of the court opera Thi s was n o han ke r in g a fter .

a title on his pa r t for he was al r eady Kapellmeiste r t o the Ki n g

,

of Saxo n y but he k n e w the w eak n ess of t he good people of

,

Berli n a n d felt that the success of his pl a n s depe n ded upo n

,

some such o fli c i a l ra n k indeed this promotio n was urged by ,

M asso w fo r the s ame r eason I n July ho we v e r he r eceived a le t ter .

, ,

from Mi n ister E ichhor n i gn oring all that had been said on this ,

topic a n d o ffe r i n g h i m the alternative either of goi n g to Berlin

, ,

wi t hout an o ffi c i al appointme n t or the title of Kapellmeister ,

but w ith a salary of 3 000 thalers o r of breaki n g o ff the nego ,

t i a t i o n s altogether I n th is state of thi n gs t he cor r espo n de n ce

.

had to be r ecommen ced in o r der to resto re e ve n the s ta tu s qu o

of May These i n tri g ues a n d machi n atio n s of cou r se a n noyed
.

h i m very much a n d p u t him completely out of t un e before the

, ,

commen cemen t of his career at Be r li n as is evide n t fr om h i s ,

letters of that period to those i n timate frie n ds to whom he co ul d

2
express his disgust without reserve .

This fr ame of m i n d however did not a ff ect his power o f , ,

’
work He was scribbli n g notes as he tells Fra n z Hauser and
. , ,
’
these notes we r e the m usic for An t igo n e This was o n e o f .

’
the kin g s ma n y thousan d schemes w h ich Felix took up w a r mly
He read the play and w as exceedi n gly pleased wi t h the idea
, ,

but like so man y other proj ects i t woul d h ave been po stpo n ed
, ,

Feli x s L e t ters B erl i n M a y

’
, ,

Felix s L e tt e r s— t o Kl in g e m a n
2 ’
n J ul y 1 5 0
to D a vid , Au gu st 9 ; an d to
Ha use r O c t o ber 1 2 1 8 4 1
, , .
16 6 1 84 1 . AT HO M E A G AIN .

earnestn es s a n d deep sign ifican ce of all we sa w a n d heard coul d

,

n o t fail to impress eve n those who w e r e n o t able to unde r sta n d

’
it I t made a g r eat sen sation a n d the An tigone was p r o
.
,

du c e d at all the la r ger theatres , givi n g rise to in n umerable con

t r o v e rsi e s amo n g the antiqua r ian s wh o fought them out in the ,

periodicals with true German profun dity and shall I add , , ,

tiresomeness .

The An tigone was performe d i n pub l ic fo r the first tim e

in Be r lin at the Schauspielhaus, i n Ap r il 1 8 4 2 True to h i s .

’
p r i n ciple o f keeping silence i n public M e n del ssohn abstained
‘
,

fro m w riti n g a wo r d about it ; he had had his say in the music ,

a n d left the rest to those whose d uty or i n clination led them

l
to j oi n the stri fe .

’
Mendelssohn s prese n ce i n Be r lin duri n g the summer o f
1 8 4 1 a n d the followi n g w i n ter n aturally brought abo u t other
musical even ts such as concerts of which several were give n
, ,

u n der his d irectio n The Sun day-music also flou r ished and
.
,

a t tracted a brilliant audie n ce often as i n teresti n g as the music , .

’
On one Sunday t h e lion was Cor n eli us lately arrived ; on
‘
,

a n other B unse n an d Felix o n a thi r d Tho r waldsen and round

, ,

such centres as these mustered an assembly of all the beauty

a n d i n te llect rank a n d fashio n of Be r lin The seventeen th
, , .

’
volume of Hensel s collectio n of portraits is su fficie n t evide n ce
of the disti n g u ished society w hich met at th eir house in that
yea r co n tai n i n g as it does like n esses of Tho r waldsen Pasta
, , , , ,

E r n st the violi n ist Mme U n ger-Sabatier and her husba n d ;

, .

Li szt who o n thi s hi s fi r s t appea r an ce i n Be r l in created a fran tic

,

e n thusiasm Lepsius t h e great E gyptologist ; Roo kh the philo

, ,

l o gi st who was the n livi n g i n the house with them ; a n d M r s

,
.

Austi n the well-k n o w n E n gli sh autho r ess

,
A cleverly dra w n .

head of Pri n ce R adzi w ill (so n of the composer of Faust ‘

co n cludes the volume which is one of the most i n teresti n g in ,

the whole collectio n .

Me n delssoh n left Be r li n i n the spring (th e negotiations

bei n g postpon ed till the autumn ) an d after a short sta y o n the ,

R hi n e we n t— this time with his wife — to E n gland where he ,

L e t t ers t o Deh n , O c t o ber 2 8 , 1 8 4 1 , an d S t ern ,

M ay 2 7 , 1 8 44 .
 FE L I X I N L ON D ON 167

w as more co urted caressed than ever The published letter

an d .

of Ju n e 2 1 1 8 4 2 gives a n accou n t of his stay

, ,
.

After his return to F r ankfo r t he w rote on July 1 9 1 8 4 2 ,

My dear little Mothe r Here we are well and happy after

,
‘—
, ,

a prosperous a n d happy j our n ey Our dear child r en a r e i n ex .

c e l l e n t health a n d your charmi n g letter tells me t h e same o f

,

you The blue sky and delicious atmosphere give us o n e lovely

.

day aft er an other If the human hea r t could but be su ffi cien tly
.

than kful for so ma n y mercies ! I e n j oy of all thi n gs being a t

Fran kfo r t amo n g so ma n y nice fr ie n ds a n d r elatio n s a n d su r
, ,

r oun ded by such beautiful sce n e ry I a m out e v e ry morni n g .

by six o clock for a walk t o t he Da rm stéi dt e r W arte a n d

’ ’
,

by the time I come home the child r e n a r e up an d si t ti n g at

thei r breakfast Lookin g forwa r d to Switze r lan d with Paul
.

a n d Albe r t i n e i s also a pleasu r e May God fulfil all t he se .

cheerful p r ospects and accep t our happine ss as tha n ks fo r all

,

His benefits past a n d futu r e C ecile made up her mi n d this .

morni n g to come wi t h us leavi n g t h e child r en wi th her mothe r

, ,

who t a kes the greatest delight i n looki n g afte r them but I ,

k n ow she will r et r act agai n a doze n times befo r e we s ta r t ;

neve r theless I hope i n the e n d to prevail upo n her to go an d
, ,

the Paul s will do their best to u rge her I kno w , .

Last night j ust as I was starti n g on an excur s ion to the

,

M ii hlb e rg wi t h V eit a n d B e r n u s in came Hiller a n d his w ife ; ,

o n the s t eamer we fou n d Mme Mathieu a n d Herr and Mme . .

R ube n s a n d at Maye n ce we had a chat w ith the V o r i n g e n s

2
,
V
.

They accompan ied us to the statio n b u t Pri n ce Frederick who ,

h a s j ust re t ur n ed fr om R ome delayed u s so lo n g o n the road that,

we n early missed our trai n At the sta tion we met Schlemmer .

and his wife j ust a rr i v i n g fr om E m s Julia Schu n k Je a n r e n a u d , ,

much improved i n health fr om D r esden R osen hai n fr om Paris

, , ,

a n d the B e n e c ke s— the father comi n g fr om Lo n do n a n d the son ,

fr om his cou n try -house Such a gathe r i n g ! So pass our days

.

a w ay .

An excelle n t t ra n s l a t i o n by M r . G . Gro ve o f p art o f t his le tte r is co n ta in ed

S ir T he o d o r e M a rt in s L ife of t he
’
in P r i n c e Co n sor t .

3
B e r l i n a cqua i n t an ce s .
16 8 1 84 1 . AT HO WE r A G A IN .

I owe you fu rthe r particula r s o f our time i n Lo n don after ,

our trip to Man chester I could n o t m ake up my mi n d to go .

’
to Dublin as it woul d have involved a twelve hours pass a ge the
, ,

thought of which made me put a n e n d to the nego t iatio n s In .

’
Manchester we had two qui et days w ith C ecile s un cles a n d
aun ts O n our retur n to Lo n don we were plu n ged o n ce more
.

i n the whi r l I w ill tell you whe n we mee t of Si r E dward

.

’
Bul w er s shocki n g fli r tation with Cecile and how o ld R ogers ,

( Samuel R oge r s t h e poet

) shook
,
ha n ds wi t h her a n d begged ,

h e r to b r i n g up her child r en t o be as charmi n g a n d to speak as

good E n glish as herself ( this created quite a se n satio n ) a n d also ,

abou t Mr R oebuck (ask Di r ichlet who h e is ) A p r op os at

. .
,

Ai x la Ch a pelle we visited the Meye r s i n proper fo r m ; b u t at

- -

Cologn e we had b a r ely twe n t y mi n utes a n d could n o t attempt ,

to see Louise He n sel I must also tell you of ou r charades at

.

t h e B e n e c k e s wh e r e Klin ge m a n n acted a W est I n dia n pla n te r

,
.

a n d Si r W alter Scott ; of t h e fish di n n e r give n me at Gree n w ich

by th e directors of t h e Philha r mo n ic Society at w hich w e ate ,

’
w hitebai t a n d made speeches ; of my choruses fr om
,
An tigo n e ,
’
as sun g at the M o sc h e le s house ( I can give you a n imitation
of it o n th e piano at which I thi n k I hear R ebecca laughi n g
,

al r eady b ut w hy does n o t she write also of my j ust catch

i n g He r r v o n Massow at the B r un swick Hotel a n d mee t i n g ,
’
Abeke n at B un sen s a n d of our dull dinner -pa r ty at the
,
’
B un sen s All these details must be rese r ved fo r ou r meeti n g
. .

B ut I m u st gi v e you a m in ute account at o n ce of my las t visit

at Bucki n gham Palace for I k n ow that you will be as much ,

inte r e sted i n hea r i n g as I am i n writi n g about i t B ucki n gham .

Palace i s as G r ahl says the o n e really plea san t comfor table

, , ,

E n glish house i n whic h o n e feels d s o n a i se O f course I do .

k n o w a few othe r s but ye t o n the w hole I ag r ee wi t h him

, .

Joki n g apa r t P r i n ce Albe r t had aske d me to go to him on

,
’
Satu rday at two o clock so t hat I might t ry h i s o r gan befo r e I
,

left E n glan d I fou n d him alo n e an d as we were t alki n g a w ay

.

the Quee n came i n also a lo n e i n a simple morn i n g d re ss She

, ,
.

said sh e was obliged to leave for Cla r emo n t i n an hou r an d the n , ,

sudde n ly i n te rr u p ti n g he r self exclaimed But good n ess what , , ,

’
a. co n fu sio n ! for the wi n d had l i t t ered the whole room and ,
1 70 1 841 . AT H OM E A G AIN .

that I migh t not be made to su ffer for th e acci dent and hoped ,

she would sing a n other song After some consultation with her .

’ ’
husban d he said She will si n g you somethi n g of Gluck s
,
‘
.

Mean time the P r incess of Gotha h ad come i n and we five pro ,

’
c e e de d th r oug h various corridors and rooms to the Queen s
sitting-r oom where there stood by the pian o a mighty rocki n g
,

horse and two great bird -cages The walls were decorated with .

pictures ; beautifully bound books lay on the tables and m usic ,

on the pian o The Duchess of Kent came i n too a n d while

.
,

they were all talki n g I r umm a ged about amo n gst the mu sic ,

and soon discovered my fi r st set of songs So of course I .

, ,

begged her rathe r to sing o n e of those than the Gluc k t o which ,

she ve ry kindly co n sen ted ; an d which did she choose Sch on er

u n d sch oner sc h m ii c kt sich sa n g it quite cha r min gly i n -
,

strict time an d tun e an d with ve r y good execution O n ly in

, .

’
the lin e Der P r osa Las t und M ii h whe re it goes down to
‘
,

D an d the n comes up agai n by semito n es she san g D sha r p each ,

time ; an d as I gave her the note the two fi r st t ime s the last ,

t ime she sang D whe r e it ought to have been D sha r p But .

with the exception of this little mistake it was really charmi n g ,

and the last lo n g G I have never heard better or purer or more

natural fr om a n y amateur The n I was obliged to co n fes s
.

that Fan n y had wri tte n the son g (which I foun d ve r y ha r d but ,

pride must have a fall ) an d to beg her to sing o n e of my o w n

,

also If I would give her ple n ty of help she would gladly t ry

.

sh e said an d then she san g the P i l g e r sp r u c h

, La ss dich nur
really q uite faul tlessly a n d with charmi n g feeli n g a n d ex
,

p ressio n I thought to myself O n e must n o t pay too many

.
,

compliments on such an occasio n so I merely than ked her a ,

g reat many times upo n which she said Oh if o n ly I had n o t , ,

’
been so frightened ; gene r ally I have such a lo n g breath Then .

I p r aised her heartily a n d w ith the best co n scien ce i n the

,

world ; for j ust that part with the lo n g C at the clo se she had
do n e so well taki n g it a n d the three n otes next to it all i n the
,

same breath as o n e seldom hears it do n e a n d the r efore it

, ,

amused me doubly that she her self should have begu n about it .

After this Pri n ce Albert san g the Ae rn dte -Lie d E s ist ein ,
’
Sch n itter and then he said I must play him some thi n g be fore
,
 FE L I X A T B UCK I N G HA M P A L A CE . 171

I we n t and gave me as themes the chorale wh ich h e had pl ayed

,

o n the organ and the so n g h e had j us t su n g If everyt hi n g had

.

gon e as usual I ought to have improvised dread fully badly for it

,

i s almost always so with me whe n I want it to go well and the n ,

I should have gone away vexed with the whole morning B ut .

,

j ust as if I we r e to keep nothi n g but the pleasantest most ,

cha r mi n g reco l lection of it I n ever imp r ovised bette r I was

, .

i n the best mood for it a n d played a lon g time and e nj oyed i t

, ,

m yself so much that besides the two themes I brought i n the

, ,

so n gs that the Queen had sung quite n aturally ; a n d it all wen t

,

o ff so easily that I would gladly n o t have stopped a n d t hey ,

follo w ed me with so much intelligence and a tte n tion t hat I felt

more at my ease than I ever d id i n improvisi n g to an audie n ce .

The Queen said several times that sh e hoped I w ould soon come
to E n glan d again and pay t hem a v i sit and then I took lea v e ; ,

a n d do w n belo w I saw the beautiful ca r riages waiti n g wi t h t heir ,

sca r let ou t r ider s a n d in a quarte r of an h our the flag was

, ,

lo w ered an d the Cour t Ci r cular an n ounced Her Maj es ty l e ft

’
the Palace at thi rty mi n u t es past three I walked back .

’
th r ough the r ai n to l i li n ge m an n s a n d e nj oyed mo r e than a ll
,

givi n g a pipi n g-hot accou n t of it all to him an d C ecile I t .

was a deligh t ful morni n g i I must add that I asked permi ssion
to dedicate to the Queen my A mi n or sympho n y as havi n g been ,

the os ten sible obj ect of my visit to E n gla n d and because the ,

E n glish n ame would sui t the Sco t tish piece so cha r mi n gly .

Al so , that wh en the Queen w as goi n g to si n g she said B ut , ,

‘

the par rot must be removed first or he will sc r eam louder tha n
,

I can si n g ; upo n which P r i n ce Albert ra n g the bell and the

’
Pri n ce of Gotha said I w ill ca rr y him out upo n which I
, ,

replied Allow m e to do that (like Cousin W olf with his Allow

,

m e m e m e
, ,
an d lifted up the big cage and car r ied it out

to the aston ished ser v a n ts etc Much remains to be told

,
.

w hen we meet but if this lo n g description makes Di r ichlet set

,

me dow n as a t u ft -hunter tell him that I vow a n d decla re that

I am a g r eater radical than eve r a n d appeal fo r co n fi r matio n to
,

[ Grote R oebuck a n d yourself my darli n g mother who I k n o w

, , , , , ,

e nj oy all these deta ils as much a s I e nj oy them myself .

As I am i n the humo u r for desc r iptions I must tell you ,

1 72 1 84 1 . AT HO M E A GAIN .

about a scen e o n th e voyage which made a g reat impression on

me We h a d had a beautiful passage duri n g the night a n d
.
, ,

hea r i n g the sailo r s say t hat w e were only half a n hour from
O ste n d I wen t on deck a n d foun d the sea s till gray i n t he
,

twilight a n d t he mor n i n g s ta r looki n g lovely i n the dawn

,

W e were steeri n g s t r aight for the lighthouse wi th its b r ight ,

white beam an d below we r e some red and yellow lights which

, ,

marked t h e ha rbour -bar E n glan d lay behind an d the Co n .

,

t i n e n t with all its delights befo r e us

, , .

September the scatte r ed membe r s of the family w e r e

In
reunited in Berlin a n d direc tly Felix arrived the i n te r mi n able
,

negotiat io n s about his n e w post recommenced He w as ho w .

,

e v er tired of delays a n d de te r mi n ed to brin g the ma tter to a

, ,

co n clusion o n e way or t h e o t he r This was t he mo r e n ecessa r y .

’
as he was full of plan s for composition the E lij ah a subj ect ,

which had already occupied a n d i n te rested him was begi n n i n g ,

to take shape i n his min d a n d he wa n te d to know whe ther his ,

time for the n ext few years was to belo n g to himself or to othe r s .

He the r efore begged to be told eithe r w ha t h e w a s to do or ,

defi n itively that he w as to do n o thi n g as n o sphere of wo r k was ,

ready for him ; i n which case he could set to wo r k w i thout

fear o f i n te rruptio n The answer like o fficial utte r an ces i n
.
,

ge n e ral was n ei t her yes n o r n o but a repetitio n of the old

, ,

request that he would w ait he would soon find suffi cient work , ,

a n d i n the mea n t ime he might e nj oy his sala ry of thale r s .

But this w as exactly what he ha d begu n to feel i n to lerable so ,

he sat dow n with a h e a v v heart to ask for an audie n ce at which

to o ffer his re sign atio n .

The decisive s tep seem e d to h ave been take n a t la st .

Massow came himself to tell h i m the day fixed upo n by the

king for the audie n ce a n d said how sor ry he was t hat the ,

matter had come to a n e n d but that the ki n g was muc h vexed , ,

a n d wo ul d take leave in very few words E verythi n g there .

,

fore seemed to point to a n u n comfo r ta ble departure a n d

, ,

Felix had the task of p r epari n g his mo ther for this sad e n d to
all her hopes He put it o ff to the last moment the e v e n i n g
.
,

befo r e t h e a udi e nce and then taki n g h er for a walk i n th e

, ,
 1 74 1 84 1 . AT HO M E A G AIN .

realise his plans as Mendelssohn would have done He believed .

tha t Me n delssohn himself could n o t name any o n e who could

replace him He the n return ed to these plan s which i n his fertile
.
,

brai n had by this time taken a n other shape , a n d fortunately a

mo r e practicable o n e The scheme w as to foun d a regular
.
,

court chapel that is to say a small choir of abou t thirty fir st

, ,

rate si n ge r s ( the subsequent cathedral choir) a n d a small ,

orchest r a (t o be formed fr om the pick of the opera o r chestra ) ,

which should be bound to execute church -music o n Sundays a n d

festival days a n d orato r ios a n d othe r music of that kind o n
,

various occasions : Me n delssohn was to be the co n ductor compose ,

music for it etc Me n delssohn whose fi r st though t p r obably was

, .
,

for his family immediately caught u p this idea which seemed

, ,

to o ffer some ground for a n arran gement and replied th a t i f t his ,

scheme had o n ly been me n tioned to hi m be fore he should ha v e

looked upo n the poi n t as settled because th e wa n t of a practical ,

sphere of action was exactly what h a d made him th r ow t h e thi n g

up N o w there seemed every prospect o f an u n derstandi n g
.

being a rr ived at The king a n swered that he was w ell aware

.

that a musician required an ins trume n t to make music o n and ,

to furn ish him with such an inst r umen t of singers a n d playe r s

’
should be hi s the kin g s care but t hen if he found him this
, ,

instrumen t he must be su r e o f him w henever he n ee ded him

, ,

a n d th at would o n ly be possible i f he remained in h is service .

Till this i n strument was complete he might do what he liked ,

return to Leipzig travel in Italy It appears you are fond o f

,
’
t ravelli n g the king repeated seve r al times )
,
in short h e should -
,

be pe r fectly free so lo n g as he was ready to come when the

,

ki n g called hi m He did n o t ask for a n immediate a n swer ;

.

Men delssoh n was to thi n k it over an d give h i s a n s w er to Massow .

Thus the audien ce e n ded very much i n the way Hensel had
a n ticipated Massow who was prese n t at the con versation ( which
.
,

lasted upwards of an hour ) positively beamed w ith delight and ,

repeated over a n d over again i n ecstasy You will n e v er dream ,

’ ’
of leavi n g us n o w 1 Felix s chief thought was of the pleasure
he was about to give his mother He came home fa tigued an d .

exhausted but cha rmed with the fa sci n ati n g man n e r s of the
,

king who delighted everybody who came i n to perso n al c ontact

,
 A R R A N G E M E N TS . r7 5

with him The family we r e e n cha n ted a t the result o f the

.

audien ce and his mother especially was as v eheme n t in

,

exp r es si n g her j oy at the prospect of keepi n g h e r Felix as she

had bee n befo r e i n giving way to he r so rr ow a t the idea of
losin g him Men delssohn took the p r ecaut ion o f writi n g a
.

lette r to t h e ki n g co n tai n i n g a summa r y of the con v ersatio n ,

a n d exp r es s i n g his i n tention of return i n g to Leipzig until the

i n st r u m e n t should be ready for him to play upo n ; he decli n ed

to r ecei v e more than half hi s sala ry so lon g as h e w as merely at
’
t h e ki n g s di spo sal without a n y defi n ite du t ies a t Berli n except ,

composi n g such works as t he ki n g should be pleased to comman d .

I t must be o wn ed that when h e came to th i n k the matter over

i n cold blood he felt by n o mean s sur e that this plan would n o t
,

evaporate as all the former one s h ad do n e howeve r it o ffered ,

at a n y rate somethi n g practical and preve n te d his cutti n g him

,

self w holly adrift fr om Be rli n w hile th e re sig n ation of hal f th e

,

sala r y released his se n si t ive co n scie n ce fr o m the i n tolerable

bu r den of recei v i n g mo n ey for w hich h e was gi v i n g no equi
vale n t i n work One thousa n d fi v e hu n d r ed t halers which he
.
,

s t ill etai n ed was a fair recompense for the import ant wo rks
r
,

’
he compo sed for the ki n g at Leipzig Ath alia th e M id ,
‘
,
‘

’ ’ ’
summe r n ight s Dream
- an d CE di p u s an d for his relinquish
, ,

me n t of other o ffers of pe r ma n e n t employment such for instan ce ,

a s t hose made him at this t ime by the Ki n g of Saxo n y .

Felix a n d his fami ly left Be r lin i n Octo ber the forme r ,

’
i n te n di n g to return on N ovember 1 4 for F an n v s birthday bu t ,

the followi n g letter arrived in his place .

L e ipzig : No vem ber 1 6 , 1 8 42 .

Dear Fan n y — Unfortunately I was n o t able to S pend the

,

1 4 t h w ith you n o r even to se n d this letter in time for quite

, ,

u n expectedly I h a d to go to D r esden a n d I would n o t w r ite ,

w i t hout inclo si n g the Cherubi n i you wished for Accept him .

ki n dly la t e as h e comes a n d thi n k of me at all the fin e pas sages

, , ,

t hat is to say p r etty n ea r ly from begi n n i n g to e n d

, I tried t o .

g e t the full sco r e i n stea d of this mise r able a r ra n geme n t but i t is

,

not to be had i n Germa n y An yho w I wish you eve ry happi

.

nes s dearest Fa n ny to day as well as fou r days ago , to -mo r ro w

, ,
-
x7 c r 8 4 r. AT H OM E A G AIN .

as well as to -day a n d I tha n k God every day of my life for

,

givi n g me such a siste r as you .

My obj ect i n goi n g to Dresden was to make sure of that lo n g

promised legacy (a n d I hope I succeeded ) a n d also to than k th e ,

ki n g for his ki n d o ffers of which I told you a n d to explain why

, ,

I can n ot accept them That busi n ess i s over n o w : he received

.

me i n the pleasan test man n er a n d I have the sati sfac t io n o f ,

knowi n g tha t that botheri n g que stion of whether my e n g a ge

ment was to be here or at Berli n has been decided at last wi t h
out anybody feeli n g hurt Duri n g the couple of days I spen t .

there I was as frolicsome as a rabbit with the Hii b n e r s Ben de ,

man n s Francks e t c a n d a few hours after my retur n I went

, ,
.
,

back to the station an d waited two hou r s for C ecile who came
, ,

at last looki n g as well and lively as possible a n d i n a most

, ,

talkative mood Heaven be praised for her health a n d our

.

happi n ess The child r e n are th r i vi n g The day after to -morrow

. .

we inten d retu r n i n g to our old qua r te r s but C ecile of course w ill ,

not go till everythi n g is ready an d i n good o r der .

Tell Paul that the other eve n in g I was i n the Tun n el again
with W who was lo n gi n g for him So did I W e had peas
.
,
. .
,

dressed i n t a llo w and cauli flowers in soap -lather ; also a pie

,

crust with nothi n g i n it j ust like th e speeches an d toasts,

.

An d n o w good -bye May you keep well a n d be as happy this

, .

an d all the yea r s of your life as you make all of u s especially , ,

me who c an n ever th an k yo u e n ough for all you are a n d have

,

been ! May we meet soo n !

They did not meet soo n a n d whe n they did it w a s in ,

sorrow for Fel ix w h en he went did not fi nd hi s mother alive

, , ,
.
1 78 T HE YE A R S 1 842 A ND 1 84 3 .

j ourney , and proposed spending a week at Be r lin ; but a grea t

misfortun e sudden ly befell the famil y a n d called h i m there a t ,

an earlier date .

Leah had latterly been uncommon l ywell an d in good spirits .

She ente r ed w ith greater eagerness than usual into all the pre
a r a t i o n s for Christmas and no one wh o saw h e r pursui n g the
p ,

even te n our of her life from day to day always calm always , ,

happy coul d dream of any approaching danger There was

, .

i n deed not the slightest sign of the e n d O n Sun day Decem .

,
’
ber 1 1 , Va rn h age n s nieces the Fr aulei n Assing had been
, ,

invited to di n ner as well as the family who al w ays gathered

, ,

round her on Sun days a n d the Wo r i n ge n s who were con sidered

, ,

almost members o f the family The party w a s a merry o n e .

,

a n d she e n tered i n to all t h e fun a n d laughte r extracting a ,

promise from the Wo r in g e n s in the course of co n versation t o

, ,

spend th e next ten Chris tmases with her .

I n the evening an exceptionally numerous party gathered

in the d r awi n g-room , but in the midst of a lively conversation
she was taken ill and had to be carried to bed
, .

After a time she fell asleep in her h abitual position , seeming

qui te comfortable even her hands bei n g warm an d her children
, ,
’
could not conceive t hat they were standing by their mother s
death-bed This lasted till half past nine on Monday morning
.
,

December 1 2 when there was a short str uggle , a n d all was

,

over .

Thus another full an d happy life was cut short by a sudden ,

almost painless death w i thout a n y preceding illness Fan ny

, ,
.

wri tes i n her dia ry : A more happy end could not have been
desired for h er She was taken literally as she told Albe rtine
.

l ast summer she should like to be know ing n othi n g about it and ,

without being laid up but e n gaged to the last in the ordinary

,

course of her pleasan t daily life and in the full e nj oyment of her
,
’
i n tellectual faculties .

The Vo ssi sc he Z e i tu n g of the next day contained the fol

l o wi n g obi t uary notice probably from the pen of V ar n hag en
,
 D E A TH OF T HE M O T HE R . 1 79

L EAH S AL OM ON . A P ORT R AI T .

B erl in : December 1 2 , 1 8 42 .

Berlin has lost to day o n e of its most emi n ent i n habitants

-
.

Leah Salomon the w ido w of Town cou n cillor Mendelssohn Bar

,
-

’
th o l dy and mother of the Ki n g s Kapellmeister Felix Me n dels
, ,

sohn Bartholdy died this morni n g from an attack of spasm of

,

the lun gs w ith w hich she was seized on the previous eveni n g
, .

E n dowed with rare qualities o f head an d of hea r t she was high ,

minded an d a ffectionate to a degree a n d fulfilled all the d uties ,

of a lovi n g wife and devoted mother He r be n evole n ce e xe r .

,

c i se d in secret and inva r iably guided by sound common-sense

, ,

made itsel f felt far and wide The sweetness of her character
.

did n o t exclude firm n ess and in times o f difficul ty and dan ger
, ,

when her husband showed himself a patriot ful l of faith and

patien ce her courage equalled his Her death will be deplored
,
.

not on ly by her gifted children and near relations but by a large ,

circle of frie n ds and acquai n tances for she had gathered rou n d
,

her a society as select as it was brillia n t and as sociable as it ,

w as an imated It was while e n gaged in conversation , friendly

.

an d i n tellectual as he r s always was that she was sudden ly called

,

aw ay Her memory will be cherished by all who kne w her and

.
,

han ded down to future ages i

There were o f course n o Christmas festivities thi s year and
, , ,

all felt it a ki n d of comfort when the time was over On the .

Mon day after Dirichlet w e n t to Leipzig for a few days with his
eldest son and shortly after this visit Felix wrote to Rebecca
, .

L e ipzig Jan ua ry 5, 1 8 43 .

Dearest Sister — I must send you a fe w lines of thanks for the

,

g reat pleasure w e have had in Di r ichlet a n d W alter s society for

’
,

as you deprived yoursel f of their compan y for that time we feel ,

t hat it is to you we owe their visit I could tell you in person .

better than by lette r how much good they have done me but
I c an assure you that bitter tears rose to my eyes when I lost
sight of the trai n that was carryi n g them a w ay That Dirichlet .

a n d I hit it o ff uncommo n ly well you have long known and ,

1 80 T HE YE A R S 1 84 2 A ND 1 8 4 3.

yet I was almost astonished to see how naturally he fell int o

our life here although I should at any time and more n o w
, ,

of course than ever have fo u nd it di ffi cult to arrange an ythi n g

,

exactly to suit him He was wholly restricte d to our society ,

.

for we oft en do not see even our most intimate friends n o w as ,

we feel our sorrow least when we are alone He seemed how .

,

e v er to feel the same and if he retai n s only hal f the pleasant

, ,

recollections o f hi s visit that we and all who met him here do I ,

hope h e wi ll keep his promise and pay us a n other soon But .

y o u must come too , R ebecca ; you must see our house here .

I could w r ite yo u a whole volume about W alter for I am ,

sure you do not know the boy half so well as I do (h o w you

will laugh at m e for saying this I) B u t seriously I do not .
,

believe that I am mistaken in calli n g him a pattern child both

in what he is an d what he is not and I am convin ced he is ,

highly gift ed I know no boy that I love more or think more

.
,

highly of and none whom I should so w ish mine to resemble at

,

the same age His very faults o f w hich you so often complain
. . ,

a n d Dirichlet too sometimes I consider pa r t o f his excellences ,

,

for that very forwardness in speech and timidity in action

which I should blame in a you n g man seem to me only natural
i n a boy whose mind has developed faster than his bo dy and ,

especially in o n e who has been brought up at home and in ,

s u c h a home I have only o n e thing to wish for him , and that

.

is the continuance o f his health for he has all other qualities

we could desire for him a n d will , I be lieve even more than
, ,

realise all our ho p es and expectations I O bserv e d him closely .

during these few days an d very much admired his dispositio n

, ,

especially his docility I co uld go o n talki n g about all tha t

.

st r uck me in h i m for ever but I will o n ly me n tion o n e thi n g

,

more I do not say of him as I do of other boys what a very good ,

man he will make some day but I feel that he is good already,
.

Dirichlet and the boy himsel f wil l have told you about his
sketches for he to ok great pride i n them An d he really did
,
.

m ake asto n ishing progress I have kept them all a n d numbered

.

them and you w ill be su r prised w hen you look over th e series
,

to fin d how among all the chil dish n onsense there will sudden ly
, ,

appear half-figu r e s, es p c i a l l y o f ho se s drawn quite charmi n gly

e r . .
1 82 T II E YE A R S 1 84 2 AND 1 8 4 3.

do not exclaim , i n a ho r rified t one Oh Wal te r l but shak e , ,

’

your head strike the C agai n a n d m ake hi m listen to the sound

, , .

’
—
I n this mann er you will form a singer te n or or bass There s .

a se r mon for yo u ! B u t I told Dirichlet beforehand that I

should write you a lon g letter about W alter , an d here it is !
W hat could be a greater inte r est or pleasure to us j ust now than
a dear promising boy such as he is l A thousand loves to him
, ,

and Dirichlet an d than k them in our n ame Tell Fan n y I

, .

shall write to her next time .

The mother had been the literal centre o f the family circle ,

and though the four children did not n eed her to keep up their
a ffectio n they felt the loss of this rallying-point in m an y mi n or
,

but important i n cide n ts of daily life She was the natu ral .

head roun d whom the others fell into their own places as a
,

matter of course The members of the family di n ed every

.

Su n day with her the Christmas -eve gathe r ing took place year ,

after year at her house Felix w he n he came to Be r lin was as

, , ,

a rule her guest N ow the brothe r s an d sisters were forced to

.

make fresh arran gemen ts and they all felt the chan ge acutely
,
.

Felix speaks of it in a letter to Paul w r itten shortly after his ,

’ 1
mother s death
L e i pz i g : D ecem b er 2 2, 1 8 4 2 .

My dear Brother — I wrote to you th e day after my arrival

,

here that we were all well , and living on in our sorr ow as we

best could dwelli n g o n the happi n ess we once possessed My
, .

letter was addressed to Fan n y but w ritte n to you all though , ,

it seems you had n o t heard of it a n d even this t r ifle shows what

w ill day by day be more deeply an d painfully felt by u s that ,

the poi n t of u n ion is now gon e whe r e we could always feel our
selves still to be childre n a n d, th ough we were n o lon g e r so in
,

years , we felt that we w ere still so in feeli n g When I wrote .

to my mother I knew that I wrote to you all , an d you knew it

,

too ; we are children no longer but we have e nj oyed what it ,

really was to be so Now this is go n e for ever ! At such a

.
,

time , we clin g to outward th ings from hour to hour like people ,

in a da r k room groping to fin d the way Tell me i f we cannot .

Felix s L ett ers l a t ed by L a dy Wall a ce

'

,
t ra ns .
 FE L I X T O P A UL . 1 83

arrange that I should write to one of you by turns once every

week an d get an a n swer from you so that we may at least hear
, ,

of each other every three w eeks i n depe n dently of more frequent ,

letters ; or say whether any better arrangement occurs to you .

I than k you also a thousand times for your kind question about
the house I had already thought of asking you for i t , and
.

n o w you o ffer it to me But before we final ly settle thi s I

.
,

should like you to bring the subj ect cautiously on the tap is ,

i n the presence o f our siste r s and brothers -in -l a w If you .

percei v e that any unpleasant feeling is awakened in their min ds

by such a proposa l w hen for t h e first time in Berlin I am not
, , ,

to live under th e same roof with them and if they give a n y ,

indication of such a feeling even by a si n gle word or rema r k

,

( you will quickly observe this a n d I rely e n tirely on you, ) then ,

we must give it u p In any other event , I shall thankfully

.

accept your kindness My next visit to Ber lin wi ll be a severe

.

trial to me —indeed all I say or do is a trial to me anythi n g in

, , ,

short that is not mere patien t e n durance I have however

,
.
, ,

begun to work again a n d that is the only thi n g which occupies

,

m e a little Happily I have some half-mecha n ical work to do

.
, ,

transc r ibing, instrumentatio n and similar thing s This can , .

be accomplished by a kind of almost an imal instinct w hich w e ,

can follow , and which does us more good than if we had it not .

B ut yesterday I was obliged to direct That was te r rible . .

They told me that the first time would inevitably be terrible ,

but soo n er or later it must be done I thought so too but I .

,

w ould fain have waited for a few w eeks The first thi n g was a .

’
song of R o c hlitz s but when in the rehearsal the alto sang
,
’
p i ano ,
As the hart pants I was so overcome tha
, t I w as
obliged afterwards to go out o f the room to give free ven t to ,

my tears .

T O -day Heaven be praised I am n o t required to see or to

, ,

speak to any o n e and m y cough too , is better Thus ti me

, .
, .

glides on ; but what we have o n ce possessed is not less .

precious and our present loss not less pain ful with time
, .

The whole family naturally desired to see as much o f Fe l ix as

possible du r i n g this period of common a ffi i c ti o n , and so the
1 84 T HE YE A R S 1 84 2 A N D 1 84 3 .

Hensels planned a j o u rn e yto L e ip zig for which on e of t he Gewand

,

b ans -concerts a fforded an excuse Feli x writes about it

.

L e i pz i g : Febr ua ry 1 1 , 1 8 43 .

I write to in form you (i n high dudgeon ) t hat the next

subscription-concert will be o n e of th e worst if n o t the worst of , ,

the w hole winter E xcuse my detailing all the circumstances

.

’
which force us to perform Pape s sympho n y in A maj or i n stead
’
o f Beethoven s sympho n y in D minor and a cavatina of ,
’ ’
Donizetti s instead o f Bach s Mass in B m i n or— i n sho r t it is so ,

arranged an d I have not been able to chan ge it No w you

, .

must decide whether you will come for a bad co n cert i m m e di

ately (w hich has its advanta ges ) or for a better one a week later
,

(which is n o t without d r awbacks ) .

l
Has the thie f been fou n d
I see fr om an article in the L eip zi ger Allgem ei n en Z ei tu n g
that a daring burglary has been committed by night i n t h e
house o f Professor D at Berlin ; that the police h a d given
him warning a week beforehand an d fo r eight days every p r e ,

caution had b e e n taken but nothing havi n g been seen which

, ,

could cause alarm the watchmen had been removed on the

,

ninth and the house was e n t ered that same night

, A different .

version has reached me from another source so my accoun t ,

va r ies acco r di n g to circumstances especially as to the len gth ,

and thick n ess of the crowbar But , j esti n g apart it is a h orrible

.
,

business .

O n February 2 1 the Hensels went to Leipzig, where they

spe nt a very pleasant week Fan ny w r ites in her diary
.

We had a great deal of music a n d heard Gade s first work ,

’
,

a sym phony in C minor which is full of promise Felix was

, .

quite e n chanted with it a n d directed the rehea rsals wi th a care

,

a n d atte n tion which might almost have be en called a ffec tio n ate .

Be r lioz was at Leipzig at the same time with u s a n d his odd ,

m anners gave so much O ffen ce that Felix was co n ti n ually bei n g

called upon to smoothe somebody s ruffl ed feathe r s W hen th e
’
.

1 A d a ri n g b ur gl a ry ha d bee n c o mmi tted i n t h e D ir i c h l e t s

’
h o u se sh o rtly
b e f ore .
1 86 T HE YE A RS 1 84 2 AND 1 84 3 .

which does not exactly prej udice me a gainst him is his great love
and esteem for us o f which his j our n ey to B e rli n so l e ly to see
, ,
‘

us was a practical proof

,
His presence was a great incitement
.

to me, for I played a n d talked about nothing but music duri n g

the many afternoons I spent alone with him fo r he generally ,

stayed on with us a fter dinner We talked much too , about

.
,

his own future and I thi n k I was not wrong in putting oratorio
,

before hi m as likely to take the first place in music in Fran ce .

He en t ered so fully into my vie w s that he set to work at once

upon the lib r etto : Judith is the subj ect he has chosen His .

perfect confide n ce in us fully merited the kind reception he met

w ith from ourselves and as I gratefully acknowledge fro m my
, , ,
’
bro t he r s and sisters too He w as a general favour ite
. .

In J uly 1 8 4 3 R ebecca and her two boys W alter a n d ,

E rnst , started o n their long-proj ected tour in Italy going first ,

to Freiburg in Breisgau where W o r ingen had settled and then

, ,

to B adenweiler where they we r e to wait in beauti ful sce n ery for

, , ,

Dirichlet who could not follow till after the conclusion of his
,

lectures At o n e time whe n the j ourney was first planned in

.
, ,

the sp r i n g th e He n sels had though t seriousl y of j oi n ing them

, ,

but they had give n up th e idea As w e shall see a stra n ge

.
,

chain of circumstan ces obliged them to follow l ater on The .

entire correspondence during thi s tour having been preserv ed ,

the letters on both sides wi ll gi v e the be st description o f th e

li fe and events of the time .
 L E TTE R S FR OM HOM E AND ABR OAD

R ebec c a to F a n n y .

Kehl : Jul y 1 5, 1 8 4 3 .

I ha ve had a pleasant j ou r ney and charming weather,

especially from Darms tadt to Heidelberg along which de ,

lightful road we drove in an open carri age on a lovely mor n

ing I sa w at least twenty houses there i n w hich I should like
.

to take u p my abode as a professor I suppose I may spare .

myself a description o f thi s country so well known to you all ,

a n d also of t hose parts of it which you do n o t know The .

names of Heidelberg V e in h e im Han dschuhsheim are su fi c i e n t

V
, ,
’
to warm o n e s hea r t for their all e n ding i n hei m ( home ) makes
,
’
one lo n g to set up on e s home there At Heidelberg we drove after
.

di n ner to the V o lfsb r un n e n and the trout -pon ds (as you know ,
V

the trout always chooses p r e ttv country ) then to the old castle, ,

where we got wet W e made our e n trance into Heidelbe r g in

.

a very j ovial man n er as we approached we met omnibuses

laden with bearded stude n ts in blouses going o n excursions and
, ,

the town itself w as decorated with wreaths a n d flags I began to .

feel confused at so much being done i n my ho n our un t il I learnt ,

that these m arks of respect w ere not i n ten ded for me alo n e but ,

fo r two princes of Baden as well On Friday the train took us

.

in a n hour and three -qua rters to Karlsruhe I thought I woul d .

give mysel f an extra treat a n d go on to Baden for the after n oon ;

but that part was rather a failu r e Our rooms looked into a
.

narrow street an d I was very tired although the distance was

, ,

so short but after a few hours on the sofa I went to the new
,

castle to see the su n set Instead of th e sight we expecte d a

.

thunder-storm came over to us from t he Old ca stle and tra ,

v e l le d so much faster than we could that we were wet through

1 88 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

’
again before we got home I waite d till two o clock to -day, .

h oping fo r fine weather to see Geroldsau a n d the conve n t

of Lichtenthal but it was not forthcomi n g, so we drove on
,

here through the rain The weather improved on the further

.

side of the hills a n d the cathedral lay before us in the glorious

,

ligh t o f the setting sun T O morro w I am going over it wi t h

.
-

Walter and I feel as if I were looking forward to some g r eat

,

event How light and airy it looks with t h e hills i n the dis
.

tance and i t really seems higher than they do

,
I found a good
ho t el here at Kehl far better than I expected ve ry quie t a n d
, ,

clean , the beds enormous , a n d t r out a n d stewed peaches for

dinner I thought of you dear Fanny as I always do when I
.
, ,

am pleased or displeased wit h an ythi n g Altogether I like this .

place very much although the scenery can not compare w i t h that
,

of aristocratic pretentious Bade n with its gran d hotels c o n

, , ,

taining waiters and as man y bells which ri n g the whole ,

day long Here the church -bells are pealing a knot of peasa n ts
.
,

i n whi t e j ackets a n d fur caps stan d discussi n g politics u n der our

wi n dows , others are comi n g i n from the fields carrying loads on
th eir heads a n d every o n e of t hem wishes one good evening
,
.

This exactly suits my idy llic mind , and the air makes one aware
’
o f the vicinity o f the moun tains B u t ten o clock is striking
.

—a late hour for such a small town Good -night More . .

to -morrow .

l
Freiburg I co n gratulate you about Felix and am very ,

glad O f it al though I do not profi t by his coming It is lik e

,
.

my bad luck that thi s sho ul d happe n the very first winter I am
away from home I hope he will like his post and then we
.
,

shall live together for a longer time ; but i f— which Heaven

forefend — h e does n o t like it I do not envy you very much , .

W hen we we r e a t Leipzig this time he was most pleasant I , .

entirely approve of your disposal of Jean P aul as of eve ryt hing

2
,

you do a n d I hope you will also approve of my doings for I

, ,

still keep my childish dread o f a scolding although I can n ot ,

boast o f ever having had one from Dirichlet But to return to .

my travel s .

1
I t h a d j u stbeen s et t led th a t he w a s t o c o me t o B erl i n for t h e win ter .

F a n n y w a s g o i n g t o give h i s w o rk s t o t h e Wo r in g ens
‘
2 .
1 90 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

R ebec c a to P a u l .

B a de n we i ler : July 2 8 , 1 8 43 .

I will improve a rainy day of which u n fortunately there

, , ,

are a g r eat man y by writing my weekly j ournal to you who a re

, ,
’
most likely by this time a grass widower You will pro bably .

have heard at No 3 Leipziger Strasse— for you keep u p your

.

con n ection with that establishment I hope— that I a m remai n ,

ing on here which I do n o t reg r et as i t is really a charmi n g little

, ,

n ook quite
, the lovely valley of which Fan n y si n gs wi th such ,

green meadows full of splendid trees , and so man y spri n gs , ,

th ough it is high up amo n g the hills ; the air is balmy laurels ,

and olea n de r s g r o w in the ga r de n s the o bti ga to rui n ed castles

,

and oaks are in their right places a n d should o n e fancy o n e , ,

gets tired O f the vie w of the green hi lls one has o n ly to t u r n ,

the other way and there is the R hine r i v e d/r o i te et r ic c

, ,
f

g a u c h e wit
, h the w hole of Alsace and the V osges It is exactly .

the pl a ce I like to live i n ; for there are not o n ly beautiful

spots but eve ry step is beautiful down to the carefull y gravelled
, ,

walks which spa r kle with coloured crystals ( I should like t o

send a cart -load for our garden ) and every c o w -shed nay every , ,

stick is wreathed with the most lovely creepers This c a n

,
.

give you no idea of how be autiful it i s but you w ill b e able ,

to imagine that it i s beautiful i f only the weather we r e better

, .

They say i t is ve r y ha d i n deed i n S witzerlan d ; at Lauck in ,

Bade n there is deep snow and as lo n g as the wi n d i s blowi n g

, ,

from Basle there is no hope of its becomi n g settled .

’
The ta ble d hdte here remi n ds me of Heri n gsdorf for it is ,

n early all wome n a n d child r e n — even E r n st dines dow n stairs .

Schuhmacher is making great p r og r ess in wisdom sketches keeps , ,

a diary and pays court to the F r e n ch chamber -maids Franz

, .

has got me a book adorned with vig n ettes a n d entitled Schuh ,

’
m a c h e r i an a ,
for me to w r ite down the i n n umerable anecdotes
touchin g my suite which have greatly amused him
, The .

best of it is that Sch uhmacher i s invariably take n for t h e

ge n tleman o f the par ty a n d tries to keep up the character as
,

lo n g as possible At Heidelberg they asked h i m wheth er he

.

’
commanded two rooms with two beds Mi n n a is quite .
 B A DE N WE I L E R . 19 1

bewildered by all she sees and piously horrified at the man y

,

Roman Catholic images by the wayside Oh look the r e .

, ,

madam the r e is our Lord Christ hanging out in the rain again
,

This j ourney has al r eady given me a foretaste of m an y of

the discomfo r ts which await me i n Italy I do not thin k I c a n .

be worse cheated any w here than I have been at Leipzig and

Heidelberg nor can fleas be more superabun dant while as for
,

the la n guage I shall have no more difficulty i n making myself

,

understood i n Itali an than I have here i n German The fin e .

scenery so like Switzerland , seem s to bring with it t he delightful

,

Swiss -Germa n My neighbour at di n ner a lady from Basle,

.
,

asked me if I could not speak German the only German they ,

understand well here being Fre n ch Th e dinner-bell brings a .

welcome interruption to the flow o f my pen .

F a n n y to R ebec c a .

B erl in : Jul y 2 7 , 1 8 4 3 .

’
So you are at Badenweiler So far so good Angelica s
.
, .
‘

eyes are qui te as blue as the lake of Geneva a n d though she is , ,

n o t quite as tall as the m ountai n s what good would it be i f she

,

were Your delightful letter fr om F r eibu r g reached me yeste r

day j ust at the right moment for fi r s t the n urse ran after us
, ,

w i t h it into the garde n j ust as we were accompa n ying J a ko b y

,

to the gate and seco n dly I had already written three pages to
,

2
my husban d aski n g him to let me take Schuhmacher whom
, ,

you said in your last you meant to send back I might have .

k n own beforehand that yo u would keep him a n d it is all the ,

better for Hei n rich , fo r t hat compound of pig and donkey is so

ve ry good-n atured that I canno t ma ke up my mi n d ston y ,

hea r te d as I am to pa r t wit h h im I shall k eep him for the

, .

sam e reason that made Polycrates thro w away his ring Jak o b y .

has called several times during t he last fe w w eeks 3

How rude .

he can be But really those rude people have rather the best
o f it , that is , if they have like Jakoby redeemi n g qualities ,
, ,

1 Fra u v o n Wo ri n ge n had go n e t o B a de n weil er wit h t hem .

He n sel w as o n a j o urn ey t o E n gl an d .

Th e m a t hema t i c ia n w h o w as a l so g o i n g t o I t a ly
, .
1 92 L E T TE R S F R O! ! H OM E A N D A B R O A D .

for i f they do but tak e the trouble to be ordina r ily po lite ,

people are amazed charmed and grateful i n to t h e ba r gain I

, , .

should have liked to have seen hi m a n d S c h On le in together to ,

s e e w hich o f th e two would have ou tdone the other in rudeness .

’
S c hOn le in s manners have a tinge o f aristocracy for Ja ko b y h as ,

waited on him a dozen times at lea st and he has each time let ,

him w ait in vain , till at last he has been obliged to go again t o

the Thiergarten Heaven preserve m e from ever being so ill that
.

I should be obliged to con sult Sc h On le in I need not go to him .

about my b an ds which you thin k far worse than they are i f you
,

imagine that I cannot write The numb n ess has almost dis .

appeared and the weakness comes an d goes by fits Galvanism

, .

did not suit me and I am n o w trying bathi n g them in a decoction

,

of b r an dy w hi c h prescriptio n h as acquai n t ed me with the i n terest

,

ing fact th at i n Be r lin where every third shop sells Schnapps

, ,

th ere is no d istillery , a
n d I shall have to see where I can get the

stuff I played very well h ere the other day but the next at
.
, ,
’
Mme Decker s worse than an y night-watchman — i n a word I
.
, ,

c an n o more depend upo n myself n o w than I could at fourtee n ,

a n d it is hard to become i n capable before I have reve r sed those

fi g ures .

’
Felix s coming is still very u n certai n , an d I try to dismiss
the subj ect e n tirely from my mind Meanwhile he is coming .

on W ednesday for a week and has composed a chorale for the,

anniversary o f the thousandth year o f German i n depe n dence ,

which is I b elieve goi n g to be su n g in the cathedral here— an

, ,

appropriate symbol o f h i s O w n affai r s which seem likely to ,

linger on for a thousan d years .

I can well believe that every kitc hen -garden remi n ds you of
Con suelo ; but it i s really a pity that you do not see a n d hear
h er p r ototype on the stage She is a n i n comparable pe r so n !
.

An d ma n y of her traits are so true to n ature that whe n I hear

her speak Consuelo stan ds before me It is a pity though that
, .
, ,

our excelle n t ma n ager Kii stn e r does not see it i n the same light ,

a n d by h is bad treatment really makes it impossible for her to

appear a third time i n stead of w hich she gives a concert to

,

morrow N either w ill he O ffer her an engagement altho u gh sh e

.
,

wo u ld like to s ing at the German O pera a n d it would be a n ,

1
94 L E T TE R S FR O M HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

m essages fro m yo u a n d Felix so they a r e e stablished for the ,

day at the W o r i n ge n s The children a r e at Baden w eiler , u n der

’
.

the care o f Min n a Schuhmacher the lan dlord his family a n d

, , , ,

the whole company of bathers with who m they are great fa v our ,

ites The dr ive he r e wa s ve ry pleasant ; I was in the best o f

.

compan y bei n g quite alone a n d to say nothing of the great

, , ,

pleasu r e of returni n g to the W o ri n g e n s I was highly delighted

’
,

at seei n g the well-known cou n t ry o n ce m ore It w as like .

n eari n g home whe n I saw the cathedral rise in the air .

S a t u r da y 1 2 th —
,
This is a pleasa nt o r as
. they say he r e , , ,

a lu sc htiger morn i n g La st n ight I was as cross a n d out of

.

sorts as possible fr om a combination of troubles Dirichlet had

, .

not arrived I had not told the m to send me n ews of the children ,

as I thought I was certain to be back to -day ; I had come home

ti r ed out fr om a long walk i n which I h ad got wet th r ough ; ,

and to crown all I had had to p ut on a pair of great thick

, ,

peasan t s shoes While I was lying on the sofa i n An gelica s

’
.
’

dressing gown the idea suddenly flashed i n to my mi n d that

-
,

pe r haps Dirich l et had not taken the route by Freiburg after all ,

a n d that he might be sitting at that very moment at Bade n

weiler , abusi n g me so that our meeting would have to begin with

,

explanatio n s If I had been able to stir a limb I should have

.
,

gone back to Badenweiler that night Fran z and An gelica did .

all that ki n d n ess an d Ja ko b y all that sa rcasm could do to calm

, ,
’
me down This morn i n g at five o clock I heard somebody
.

k n ock three doors o ff ; I j umped out o f bed an d rushed out of

the room as I was a n d there stood Di r ichlet He h a d go n e
, .

straigh t from the diligen ce to sleep at the Z éi h r i n ge r Hof and ,

was i n ten di n g t o call on the N o ri n ge n s By accident they

‘
.

ga v e him the room n ext to J a kob y who happe n ed to wake up , ,

’
a n d recogni s i n g D ir i c h l e t s voice bega n to make a row and
, , ,

Bo r cha r dt we n t i n i n his n ig ht shirt to Dirichlet who of course , , ,

r a n st r aight he r e w i thout eith er sleep or breakfast At seven .

O clock I sent him to wake up the W o r i n g e n s a n d the a ll eg r i a

’
,

was great Al l sorts of pla n s have been made a n d u n made

. .

Jakoby le ft suddenly p r omising to m ee t us a t Ge n oa Nice , , ,

Floren ce or some such beau tiful place Your delightful le t ter

,
.

has been read Dirichlet has gone to see his colleague here , a n d
,
 F EL I X A T B E R L I N . r9 5

in the mea n time I am scribbli ng to you Ja ko b y admires yo u .

,

a s he ought and made quite an enthusiastic speech about you r

,

eyes yesterday .

F a n n y to R e be c c a .

Augu st 1 2 , 1 8 4 3 .

Felix has been here for a week a n d his a ffairs have made ,
’
such progress that nothing is wanting but the ki n g s si gn at u re
to the co n tract On Sunday h e conducted t h e anniversary of
.

the thousan d years in the cathedral w ent to Potsd a m afterwards ,

’ ‘ ’
for the general rehearsal o f T a ub e r t s Me dea an d a co u rt -conce r t ,

a n d slept the night at a dread ful i n n of which he gave us a ,

mos t amusing account Fancy ! a poodle j umped out of the bed

.

he was goi n g to occupy j ust as one did at R icorsi o f fatal

, ,

memory on our tour The next day Lenn e m ade him promise
, .

’
always to stay a t his house in future On Mon day Mede a .
‘

was performed ; on Tuesday he cam e here played the organ , ,

a n d dined with Lord Bee fsteak where h e a n d Madame Vi a r do t,

made music after di n n er came home ful l o f good stories and

, ,

left on W ednesday morning It is now almost certain that .

he will conduct the symphony -concerts next winter ; also , I

believe two oratorios and the cathedral music
, .

F e li x to R ebec c a .

L e i pzig : Augus t 1 0, 1 8 4 3 .

I have been a very irregular correspondent for which you ,

m u st forgive me but I have bee n ve r y busy and in great c o n

,

fusion besides w hich it i s par tly your own fault Your first
, .

delightful le t ter said that you w ere o n the point of l eaving

Freiburg (w hich I regre t ted ) that you were goi n g to se n d away
,

the servan t (which I also regretted ) and that I might write to ,

you at V evay (w hi ch suited me very well ) Two days after .

comes Jakoby from Berli n and whe n I begin to tell him all,

the n ews he laughs at me an d says t hat be fore he left a letter

,

had ar r ived from you with an al te r ation of plans which pleased ,

me ve r y much I ough t of cou r se to have written at o n ce to

.

F r e iburg but I had to go to Berlin fo r the anniversary and had

, ,
1 96 L E T TE R S FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

a long disagreeable corresponde n ce with Massow wh ich put me

, ,

out of spirits for a week I saw Dirichlet start fr om Berlin to j oin

.

you and resolved to wait till I had something de fin ite to say

,

abo u t n ext winter a n d could date from Leipzig where I arrived

, ,

only yesterday and w rite to —day to greet you i n W o n derlan d I f

, .

’
the King of Prussia accepts Herr v o n M a sso w s proposals which ,

perfectly satisfy m e I shall have to go to Berlin in O ctober an d

, ,
’
stay there for the time The Ki n g s assent will most likely be
.

given at o n ce so I have bee n consulti n g Paul about a house

, ,

and h e assures me that you would n o t mi n d my occupyi n g yours .

E very nook a n d corner of it i t is true will recall the past , , ,

but still it would b e wro n g to give way to the feeling to the

exte n t of choosi n g a n other house It is s tra n ge that I should .

come to Be r li n t h e very w inter you are away I have accepted .

a n engageme n t for a music -fes t ival i n the Pala t inate at Zwei

(
brucke n ) for Jun e of ne xt year and intend going to Fra n kfort ,

with my whole family about the end of May Perhaps we may .

meet in that land of fruit a n d w i n e You w ill shake your head .

at my travelling plan s and fiigh tin e ss generally but thank , ,

God C ecile a n d the child r en are as well as t hey can be a n d I

, ,

am as fond of trave l li n g as ever An d why may not I play the .

fine gentleman a n d S pend the summer i n one place a n d the

,

wi n ter in another ? E ve n if nothing comes of it t he plan s are ,

pleasan t .

B ut e n ough of myself He r e come C ecile a n d Carl the .

,

lat t er wi th a live crayfish which he sets crawling on t h e floo r

, ,

while Marie and Pa ul scre a m with deligh t The other day .

I heard Paul m aki n g a t r emen dous noi se in the n ext room and ,

Ca r l c allin g out E n c o r e l E n co r e !
‘ ’
W hen C ec il e wen t to se e
what it was all about Ca r l said Mamm a, I wanted to k n o w
‘
, ,
’
what kind of voice Paul had so we are having a rehea r sal , .

Mari e was stan di n g by a n d she said quite seriously Paul has

, ,
’
really a very strong voice for singing They are all dea r good .
,

children an d a great blessi n g an d even the baby looks about ,

quite intelligently with his blue eye s .

O n Monday I was prese n t at the Medea of E u r ipides at

Potsdam An i n vitatio n had been sent to me for the general
.

’
rehearsal the day before ( I was commanded to at te n d the
1 98 L E T TE RS FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

than i n the kitchen garden o f No 3 Leip z ige r Strasse or even

- .
,

i n the M ilc h w i e se at Leipzig Thi n k of i t I greet every fi r a n d

.

every n ut-tree for me but most of all th e brooks which bubble

, ,

and splutter as I do when I wa n t to desc r i b e a n ythi n g beautiful .

I believe that is the reason I am so fo n d of hea ring them .

Sometimes they hiccup too .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B erlin : Au g ust 1 9 , 1 8 4 3 .

I must tell you somethi n g that has happen ed here ,

which will find its way into all the newspapers in the world to
day .O ur beautiful opera —house has go n e the way of all theatres ,

and been bu rn t to the grou n d The walls a r e still sta n ding 3

.

melan choly rui n b u t the i n side is completely gutted ; the

,

n eighbouring buildi n gs however have bee n sa v ed owing chiefly

, , ,

to the fine still nigh t The wind carried the flames to w ard s
,
.

the libra ry an d all e fl o r ts w ere directed to that point and to

, ,

the palace of the P rince of P r ussia .

The last represen tation yeste r day con sisted of two comedies
by Kotzebue in which D or i n g appeared a n d a ballet probably
, , ,

th e cause of t he whole disaster The day before yeste r day I had

.

agreed to go wi th th e Pauls but I sent wo r d in the morning

,

that I woul d n o t because of the heat a n d now I am sorry ,

for it .

W e heard the first alarm at half past ten and I spent half ,

th e night in the ya r d w ith Mi n n a Sophie and the watchman , ,

.

We soon heard where th e fi re was and I own that I was really ,

sorry a n d felt as if w e were losing an old frie n d for we could

, ,

tell even from our house that there was n o hope o f saving the
buildi n g I missed havi n g a m an to protect me for I should
.
,

have liked to have gone to the but could not w ell take
the watchman away fro m th e yard , and was afraid of goi n g al one .

’
This morning I was there before eight o clock a n d found that ,

Paul had actually cleared his o ffi ce and had had all his papers ,

removed to his other rooms there is not a doubt that that part
of the to wn would have bee n in dan ger if the Catholic ch u rch
T hey lived at 51 Jag e rs trasse .
zo o L E T TE RS FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

We have been discussi n g o u r pla n s with the docto r an d he ,

s tro n gly advises u s n o t t o go to Nice before October a n d every ,

body agrees that i t is o n ly a wi n ter r eso r t a n d is at othe r times , ,

i n autum n especially exceedi n gly hot and stormy at the same

, ,

time As I do not feel ill enough to wish to spen d the whole

.

winter there we laid our wise heads tog e ther and took coun cil ,
, ,

w hile E r n st who looks as rosy a n d r oguish as ever w as getti n g

, ,

perfec tly well The con clusio n we a rr ived at was that we would
.

consider our stay here a n d in Badenweiler su ffi cie n t yi lleg i a tu r a

for me (this lazy carele ss life a g rees wi t h me an d I am rising
, ,

like a cake so that the cap in my bo n n et which used to touch

, ,

my nose a t Be r li n , is n o w qui te a long way from it ) and so ,

make our way by the di r ect route o v e r the Simplon a n d through

,

the Italian lakes to Florence a n d R ome whe r e we shall arrive

, ,

in good time if w e do not li n ger for e v er at one place a gai n

, .

We dn esda y M y letter was i n terrupted yesterday by our

.
-

going for a sail on the lake , w hich was calm as you will imagin e ,

from th e fact that I ve n tured my precious person on it Oh it .

,

was i n deed most lovely quite southern l Altogether the evenings

,

a r e t he best pa r t of the day here a n d the sta r s are so bright

,

and look so lovely reflected i n the lak e with the moo n which
, ,

has j ust rise n Yesterday several of the boats had to r ches

.
,

as yo u used to desc r ibe at N a ples a n d I begin to imagi n e tha t

,

n othi n g i n the w o r ld c a n be more beautiful when up comes ,

somebo dy from Como a n d assures us that the lake there is still

fi n er a n d goe s o n to tal k so much about the myrtle hedges etc ,
,
-
, .

that I feel su r e w e shall never be able to leave the place a n d

if you keep stoppi n g eve ry w he r e how a r e you to see all you ,

wa n t to see ? He r e is a piece of ne w s for those d i sposed to

make fun of their neighbou r s : Di r ichlet is growi ng a beard
like a ba n dit which rouses great i n terest among the German
,

population here, but to my mind looks ve ry co m i cal on his

honest face .

I hear n o music at all unless you can call the d r ummi n g o f

,

the E n glish people on the pia n o in the reading -room by that

name ; a pianofo r te arran gement of R obert l e Diable lies there ‘
,

a n d each n e w -comer plays it t hrough t we n ty times over Please .

tell Felix ou r pla n s as t hey appear after the n i n ety-ni n th alte ra

,
o
 FA N N Y T O RE B E C CA . 201

tion I am quite ashamed of our fic kle n e ss an d try to r e

.
,

member great men in histo r y who have su ffered from the same
complai n t but I c an o n ly fi nd le s a g e M em n o n and P e ter i n
,

de r F r em de The latter is ou r coun t erpa r t I belie v e An old

.
, .

Sc otchman he r e told m e as a great piece of n ews that the Ki n g

of Prussia had en gaged Mendelssohn for the sacred music .

’
Indeed ! said I .

F a n n y to R eb ec c a .

Au g us t 2 7 , 1 8 43 .

’
Felix s lo n g long affair is settled at last the ki n g has
, ,

s i gned and so t hank good n ess we shall have some good music
, , ,

this wi n ter As h i s luck never forsakes him we can o n ly call it

.
,

a fortun ate coincidence that th is year the orchestra will hav e

less to do than usual from the opera house havi n g bee n burn t
,
-

do wn You know that h e i s going t o conduct the orchestra

.

soir ées Do not fret at losi n g his first winter here for n o sym
.
,

phon y c an compare to the blue sky you will behold and the r e is ,

no voice like the sea Naples is the grandest a r i a di br a v m a

.

God ever composed a n d Pompeii th e fi n est requiem

, yo u w ill
n eve r get tired of them I am looking forwa r d eage rly to your
.

fi r s t lette r s from t h e land o f w o n de r s for I belie v e the r e are ,

few people o n wh o m it w ill make so much impre ssion ; n o t

man y feel as much as you do N ow all th e old lo n gi n gs that .

I have this summer so successfully lull ed to sleep that I did ,

n o t eve n ca r e to drive as far as Charlottenburg will rise a gain , .

But really the garden i s i n describably beautiful I have never .

see n i t so nice before the cool wet weather we h a d at fi rst

, ,

has kept eve rythi n g so fresh a n d g r een The whole of August .

has bee n wa r m and fin e a n d in ten days the gra ss a n d foliage

,

got qui e brown ; then the S

t t r a la u e r F i sc hzu g l brought a
thunde r -storm with t o r ren t s o f rai n which pou r ed dow n th e ,

terrace i n s t reams as you have seen it do Si n ce then the weather

, .

h as been glorious again the air as mild a n d soft as you could

,

breathe anywhe r e Al l the green is refr eshed agai n a n d looks

.
,

remarkably well preserved for its a ge with ha rdly an y bare ,

places at all Th is w eek bri n gs to an end my plea sa n t life

.

A po pu l ar f est ival at B erli n , whi ch ta kes pla ce on August 2 4 .

2 02 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

with the W o r i n ge n s and I say as you do that I could not

, , ,

have believed it possible to love those girls more than I did

be fore but fin d it really is so You o ught to see h o w much
,
.

the industrious creatures have man ag ed to get through in these

short two months they have run errands writte n sewed , , ,

p ainted arranged really to an extraordin ary exte n t and all

, , ,

wit h such method ! If Ko r ff does not make R osa happy beyo n d

measure I shall kill him to a cer tai n ty
, .

Schuhmacher is su r e to fin d a place with Felix who could ,

n o t be more lucky steppi n g with o n e foot i n to your house and

, ,

with the other into you r servant This would be all very fine .
,

if I knew of a n y place n ear for you ; the thought of it occupies

me so m uch that I d r eamt lately that I had taken very nice
apartments for you over the way with but one d rawback which , ,

was that the only mean s o f gettin g i n to them was by climbing

,

over the roof Shall I tak e them ? .

R e bec c a to F a n n y .

Ge n o a : Sept ember 1 5 1 8 43 , .

at last dear Fan n y I can shake han ds with you

No w , ,

from across the Apennines and a cross the Po which w e passed ,

’
without a n y adventures a n d w ithout the legate s permissio n ;
the Ticino the Simplon — an d so m uch besides — now lie betwee n
,

us and how m uch beauty that compri ses you yourself know
,
.

B ut if the t r uth must be told I have not yet fallen into the ,

right mood for Italy Do not cry out upon us at once for i t
.
,

will come a n d shall come a n d this is on ly the N orth of Italy

, , ,

where we get fin e momen t s but whole days of disag r eeables , .

I w ill proceed chronologically although I have sent Felix an ,

account o f our j ourn ey already .

O n the Bl st we tore ourselves with di fli c nl ty away fr om

V evay The weather the lake a n d the lights had bee n so
. , ,

exceedi n gly beautiful for the las t few days that you can ima
gine bet ter than I can describe it all We drove to Martig n y .
,

a n d the whole way I kept regretti n g that dear father turned

b a k at Bex , a n d so never saw the Lago Maggiore The next

c
.

mo r n i n g September 1 we undertook a vent ur esome expedition

, , ,

and walked (that is to say I rode ) at five in the m orni n g up

,
2 04 L E T T E RS FR OM HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

m e n ting himself a n d u s the whole day as to how he migh t

smuggle a packet o f ciga r s through but he showed them at th e ,

custom-house to the o fli c e r wh o looked roun d to see if any o n e

,

w as by a n d the n said Mettez —les vite dans votre poche a fin

, ,
‘

’ ’
qu o n n e les voie pas The n the beggar s who hold thei r legs
.
,

in a peculia r ly crooked positio n such as I have see n n owhere ,

else a n d the picturesque vines w hich look like trees

, ,
The i n n
’
at Domo d Osso l a, where we passed the n ight is already quite ,

Italian for it is all over balco n ies The c a m er ier e open ed a t

, .
'

least twen ty large rooms for u s for that o n e n ight Bulleti n .

six dead twen ty dismissed cu r ed remai n der uncoun table I n eed

, , .

not tell yo u that I am alludi n g to the fleas But se r iously it .

,

was a delightful even i n g ; we sat for a lo n g time in light at tire

o n the long n arrow balco n y
,
The next day we drove to Baven o
. .

Dirichlet climbed up the Montero n e to have a last look at th e ,

snow-mountains and I with the child r en an d Min n a we n t to

,

the i sla n ds i n a gondola Isola Bella is lovely a n d it gives o n e

.
,

almost a poetical feeli n g to find this compendium this ext r act ,

of Italy in o n e garden j ust as we are e n tering the coun try

, .

The full moon illumi n ed sea and sky fo r our sail homewa r ds .

The next day the 4 th , we shipped ou r selves a n d t he carri a ge

,

and crossed the lake to Laveno , where we came in for a gen ui n e

Italian comedy A fair was goi n g o n an d of course all the people
.
,

had n othi n g bet ter to do than to watch our ca r riage bei n g

lan ded ; a n d we c r eate d so much i n terest that when the 1 2 0
n i as they call them selves began grumbli n g at the m a n c i a
f g
a n i , , ,

a p a r ty formed itself amo n g the people and sto od up for

Di r ichlet a n d abused th e fa qu i n i Then we went b v Varese .
,

where the Milan ese go for t hei r v i lleg i a tu r a , to Como where ,

the best hotel the An gelo was o b such a di r ty i n n ! R eally

, , , , ,

Fan n y , some thi n gs are too bad ! The doors for i n stance could
o n ly be touched with the to n gs n o t to me n tion unme n tio n ables
,
.

D uring these firs t days I have been u n dergoi n g th e most dreadful

nausea crying several times a day and turning sick at all I
, ,

saw a n d smelt but I am getting better n o w On the 5th we .

m a de a steamboat excursion o n the lake to Villa S e rb e llo n i an d

Sommariva where we saw the fi rst pi n es and cypress trees
,
-
,

e nj oyed the beautiful vie w o f the Lago di Lecco and break ,

 M IL A N . 20 5

fasted u n der the syc e mores at Ca de n ab b i a In th e eve n i n g .

at Como we met Jacoby w ho ho w e v er went back s t raight to

,

Milan where we follo w ed h i m on the after n oo n of the 7 th It

,
.

is the fashion now to pu ff up the Lake of Como beyo n d every

thi n g else , but I do not fall in with it ; I p r efer Maggiore to
Como and the Lake of Geneva to bo th The evening at Milan
,
.

was again lovely ; al t ogether we cannot be gratefu l enough for

,

the weather o f t h e last fortn ight W e pa ssed u n der a campa

.

nile w hilst the Av e Ma r ia was ri n gin g At Milan we got at .

fi r st into a perfect hole of an i n n but as it was late a n d da r k ,

a n d the children we r e sleepy we put up there for t h e night

,
.

The i n stant we sa w the place by dayligh t w e resolved to leave

it an d go to the Albergo R eale where J ac o b y is stayi n g The r e
, .

we foun d pleasan t little apar t me n ts w ith a terrace adj oining ,

t h e s a lo tto on which E rnst can r u n abou t and the world at

, ,

o n ce looked a di ff erent place Our fi r st walk was o f c ourse to

.

t h e cathed r al a n d right up on to the roof fr om whe n ce it looks

, ,

indescribably beautiful j ust like a forest of whi t e cypress trees ;

,
-

I remained an hour with W alter a n d Jakoby givi n g mysel f up ,

quietly to its i n fluence This is the way I like to see e very

.

t hi n g a n d I inte n d t o take Flore n ce in the same way

,
It was .

a fest ival o f the V irgin and people we r e comi n g in and o ut

, ,

and all the pictur es were deco r ated with flo w ers and illuminate d .

Next we went wi th Jakoby and Bo r chardt to the Ambrosian

Library where all the ch ests of ra r e man uscripts and vi gnettes
,
’ ’
were opened in honour of two membres de l Ac a dé m ie Then .

’
we went to see the remains of Leo n a r do s Cenacolo where I saw ,

a very small engraving of a Ch rist e n p r ofile which I instantly, ,

’
recogn ised fr om a sketch i n He n sel s book Thence we went to .

’
R o b e sc e l li s, who keeps besides his pictures a c afé where we
, , ,

had so bad a breakfast tha t w e declared we would send the bill

‘

to He n sel without even payi n g the postage if the pictur es were ,

n o t fine enough to impress ign ora n t people like ourselves B ut .

t h e head o f Christ by Leonardo 1

h a d such a powerfu l e ffect
eve n on the mathematical m inds t hat instea d o f se n di n g t h e
,

bill w e voted an address of than ks This Christ has bee n .

Hens el h ad bee n cha r med w ith i t , an d wa n t ed to pur chase i t for the B erl in
M u seum .
2 06 L E T TE R S FR OM HO M E . A N D A B R OA D .

bough t by a n E n glishman as well as a Madonn a by Murillo

, ,

with an ugly but i n teresting child In addition to this an d .

ma n y other beautiful thi n gs he showed us a portrait by V elas ,

’
quez which I to eve r ybody s amusement thought strikin gly
, , ,

like Borchardt The pictu r e-dealer told u s that a P r u s si a n o

.

had been there a v er o c o n o sc in to r e with a real enthusiasm fo r

,

art i l s ig n o r e He n s ele At this we were e n p a ys de c on n a i s

, .

s ci/ne e and I promised to send his respectful compliments

, .

On Monday the 1 1 th we went to Ge n oa

, , I will not weary .

you with accou n ts of di fficulties about passports t he dirt o f our ,

v e ttu r i n o , and the dul n ess of the road from Milan t o Novi b u t ,

will go on at once to pleasan t thing s for I have nearly filled ,

t h e si n gle sheet allowed by t he post At Ce r tosa near Pavia .

, ,

I sa w the first alta r s wit h Flore n ti n e mosaic which you dear ,

Fa n n y mentio n ed so often Altogether the arrangeme n ts fo r

, .

worshi p the r e are splendid N ear N ovi we saw the Apenni n es

.

for the first time in the brilliant hues of sunset an d came to ,

the conclusion that Italian colours are n o delusion after a l l .

To-day we have been drivi n g round the tow n The M e di te r .

r an e a n was dark bl ue and i t was altogether one of those

,

moments which well repay one for the mo n ey one spen ds a n d ,

the dirt a n d fatigue o n e encounte r s in t r avelling .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B erl in : Sept em b er 2 2 ,
1 8 43 .

Felix has brought with him your letter from Mila n ,

’
which i s quite like one of N icolai s all fleas and grumbles I , .

should be very sorry for your disappointment with Italy if I

were not co n vinced that it would pass away a n d give place ,

to an abiding state of enchantment Bother it all our tastes .

,

can n ot b e so very di ffere n t but that all the bad smells a n d fle a

,

bites in the world will not be able to prevent you from feeling as
happy as a king As for smells I believe t hey are worse round
.
,

Mila n than anywhere I am longing to see h o w soo n your

.

grumbli n g will give place to a di ffere n t tune and I am surprised ,

that it did not on the Lake of Como B ut I decidedly approve .

of y ur pushing on or li n geri n g j ust as the fit takes you If

o
, .
 2 08 L E T T E RS F R O /11 H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

stones could have bee n seen through such a gla mour An d .

those high rock s risi n g above the gulf to the left a r e the
marble qua rr ies o f Ca r rara B ut oh ! what is the use of my .
,

waxi n g enthusiastic on pape r ; you do not know you can not ,

even imagi n e all these wo n de r s Ho w you two Hensels can

, .

venture to talk about Italy without ha v ing seen the Gulf o f

Spezia passes my comprehension ! That alo n e would be a su fli
cien t excuse for coming here again The hotel was splendid .
,

thoroughly Italia n in every respect bei n g an old palace o f the ,

’
Doria s with a n enormous gateway marble s taircase a s a lo n at
, , ,

le a st forty feet high wi n dows three times the size of ou r s in the

,

Leipziger Stras se— wi th tiny leaded panes like a garden hot-bed ,

and looking as if they had n ever been cleaned since the days o f
An d r ea Doria— four bare dirty walls a n d high above the door , ,
’
a copy of Titia n s Ascensio n The other rooms were in similar .

tas t e W e had lobster and fish for di n ner A little ga r de n

. .

with alleys of olea n ders and ora n ge -trees i n ter twi n ed with ,

garlands of roses leads down fr om the town to the sea After

, .

din n er we mean t to go for a walk but a lad with a boat per ,

su ade d, or ra ther forced us t o go for a sail on t h e gulf an d , ,

amused u s immensely w ith hi s t r icks an d n o n sen se Altogether .

it is on ly those who have see n it who can believe the amou n t of

wit fib b in g , eloquence ogl i n g an d maki n g of fin e speeches
, , ,

expended here i n extorting an extra pen ny or t w o The .

other day we went also by boat to Porto Ven e r e which lies

, , ,

right in th e sea j ust as the towns did in the Arabian N ights

, ,

or which is much the same as Am alfi does according to the

, ,

pictures Opposite Po rto V e n ere is an island called Palma r ia

.
,

a mere rock with v i n es pines a n d olive trees inhabite d only

, , ,
-
,

by fishermen except for a family of E n glish wh o have lived

, ,

t here for ten years summer a n d w i n ter i n a lonely house

, , .

Lord Byron a lso lived o n t he Gulf for some time Napoleo n is .

the favourite of the people a n d everybody old a n d youn g , , ,

t alks of what he said , pla n n ed a n d did m a é m or to t h ey add , , .

In our hotel the rooms towa rds th e sea we r e occupied by a

German p r ince whom they called the P r i n c ip e di Lip s I t i s
,
.

the heredita r y p r in c e of Lippe who i s travelli n g i n cog n i t o like , ,

o l d Ga n s u n der t h e name of S c h w a n t h a le r
,
Un fo r tunately I was .
 CA R R A R A . 09

sea-sick o n the way back from P orto V e n ere , al t hough the sea
’
was per fectly calm but two hours sleep resto r ed me e n ough t o
,

venture on a walk and climb up a little hill be hin d Spe z i a ,

where we remained till the eve n i n g The r e was no Germ a n .

turf for us to sit upon but I picked a bouquet of hay wi t h

,

berries exquisite heath an d myrtle in blossom fr om t h e hedges

, , ,

an d th e Gulf lay at our feet Unfortu n ately we o n ly stayed

.
,

there a day a n d a half Carrara was another inte r es t i n g point

.

on our j ourn ey to Lucca ; it i s the true E ldorado of marble for , ,

as o u k n o w all the houses and all t h e stones are made of it

y , .

The way to the quarries lies through a shady g r een valley ,

which looks so pretty from Spezia with a brook clear as crys tal , , ,

run n i n g over pebbles o f white marble a n d bridges of large rough

b locks I felt it al m ost u n seemlyto be treading on such cos tly
.

material with my d usty travelli n g shoes The whole of the -

.

’
little town lives on marble of course and th e n ume r ous sculpto r s ,

s tudios a n d workshops all with their large doo r s open displayed

, ,

a motley compa n y appare n tly o n the best o f te r ms— coloss al

,

kings and a rch dukes , no less t han four V en uses de Medici

-
,

several new likenesses of Bosio which are C opied here by the ,

dozen chimney pieces tables lemons potatoes e tc and I

,
-
, , , , .
,

believe even the b r ead we bought was also of marble — a t a n y

rate it was hard e n ough Befo r e o n e house we r e at least
.

twen ty large baths a whole cartload of morta rs was ready t o

,

start and enormous blocks were being carried down to the

,

saw -mi lls and places for polishi n g on carts d rawn by oxen a t ,

whom the drivers shouted a n d swo r e te r ribly The fe w hours .

we spe nt there , hot as the su n wa s interested me i n tensely , .

As we had one foot in the carriage ready to sta r t we were ,

cordi ally addressed in German by a ge n tleman who i n troduced

himself as the sculptor W a perfect stranger to us He almost
.
, .

d ragged us to visit his studio a n d then escorted us back to the

,

carriage with a vow of eternal frien dship to be renewed in R ome , .

It will not be over warm on my side .

W ill you more especially Hensel be o ffe n ded if I tel l you

, ,

how we were cheated i n Mode n a and Lucca ( Carrara i s in

Modena ; we were not at the capita l ) by having four horses and
three postilio n s imposed upo n us ? We had taken v ettu r i n o
VO L. I I . P
2 10 L E T TE RS FR OM HOAI E A N D A B R OA D .

fr om Milan to Gen oa and found that it implied selli n g 0 11 1

,
‘

— ’
sel v es body and soul so o n e s last experie n ces always st r iki n g
, ,

one as the w o r st in this coun try— w e t ra v elled w ith post-horses

from Ge n oa he r e but they cha r ged us fo r at lea st six horses ,
,

and gave us o n e and a half At each station Dirichlet had a .

quar r el with t he post-master in his choicest Italia n a n d referred ,

him to the ta r i ff which h e had with him at which the post

, ,

master in v ariably regretted his inability to read a n d gave us ,

as m an y ho r ses as he pleased chargi n g wh at te r ms he liked , .

So it went o n each dispute being a lesson in Italian til ! we got

, ,

to the State of Modena whe r e matters got m uch wor se and w e

, ,

were driven the last stage before reachi n g Lucca by a postilion

who had killed at least one pe r son al r eady I am ce r tain I was ,
.

quite tha n kful when we reached Lucca alive b u t not a r oom was ,

to be had in the h ote ls on accou n t of a co n gress of natu ralists

, .

We ha d j ust made up our minds to d r ive on through the n ight ,

’
i n spite o f our postilion s imprecatio n s whe n a m a n s tepped ,

forward whom t he peo ple called S ign o r e i l P r ofessor e and ,

o ffered us lodgi n gs in his h ouse The la n dlord i n fro n t of whose .

house w e were stoppi n g a dvised us to go the r e an d said it was ,

very p u li to a wo r d that occurs at least t h ree times i n every

,

sen tence on th e principle I suppose th at eve rybody is most

, , ,

proud of the vi r tue he has least claim to W e accepted an d fou n d .

,

ourselves i n pleasant qua r ters with a ve ry handsome woman in , ,

a n extrao r di n ary d r ess or rather u n dress The sign o r p r ofesso r e .

w as a surgeo n a n d this appa r e n tly piquan t adventure merely

,

e n ded i n my appea r i n g n ext morni n g as i f I were su ffering

from sca rlet fever such havoc had the bugs and mosquitoes made
,

of my face a n d hands They are still in a sad s t a te a n d the

.
,

red bumps h ave a charmi n g e ffect on my sun b u r n t coun te n a n ce .

I n the mean time it is night so I will go o n about Florence ,

to -morrow .

Sept ember 2 6 .

He r e we are i n our o wn lod gi n gs which will expl a i n why

, ,

my lette r h a s lain fallow so long ; an d n o w you must excuse

blots for E r nst is ri di n g abou t th e room a n d exclaimi n g i l
, ,

p a ssa o r to e v ery other mi n ute

p W e did n o t fin d it easy to .

g e t r ooms at all for almost all

,
the well -furn i shed lodgi n gs are
 L E T TE R S FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

gesticulate over their work ! P r en do n o qu i m og li e i n ten er a

’
e tci
, a fish e r -boy said to us at Spezia I asked Dir ichlet .

i f the cabmen at home talked like that Dear Fan ny , please .

take t hose lodgings to which we h ave to climb over the roo f

they will do nicely Hensel should dr eam that you are livi n g
.

on the roof and the n you can turn it i n to a duet

, .

A statue o f the dying Abel don e by D up r e o f Siena who was , ,

formerly a wood-carver i s exciting much interest here , We .

have seen it and it is really extraordi n a r y for a first wo r k Up

,
.

to this time the m an and his family have been i n positive wan t ,

but now he has orders for te n years his portrait has been painted ,

and engraved and at Siena they took the horses out o f h is

,

carriage They say he was nearly out of his mi n d It is a cr u el

. .

thi n g this public ! N o w at last , good -bye to you all dear

, , ,

brothers an d siste rs W r ite much and often for your letters

.
,

are a chief part of my pleasure .

R ebe c c a to F a n n y .

Fl o ren ce : O c t o ber 6 .

I wait one hour I wait two hours but no letter from my

, ,

Fanny though I had o n e yesterday from Paul and Albertine

, ,

declari ng that you wri te to me every week That must be a .

delusion o f theirs for we have been here a fo r tnight a n d, ex

, ,

c e p ti n g one forwarded fr o m N ice not a letter have we had from ,

you For that reason solely I am writing to you again , as I

.

believe it to be the best means o f co n j uri n g o n e from you

to -morro w j ust as we used to order the soup in the hope of
,
’
bri n ging Paul to dinn er on Sundays I perceive fr om Paul s .

letter that my poor epistles go the round o f the family a mark ,

of atte n tio n which touches me deeply , especially as I have

been so candid in confessi n g all that puzzled me at first B ut .

now all that is past a n d go n e a n d I thank God every day for ,

allowing me to see all the wonders here and drink my fill o f ,

them As you know Italy begi n s p i a n i ssi m o a n d goes on

.
, ,

c r esc e n do a l fo r ti ssi m o the lon ger you stay here Two of i t s .

pri n cipal elements are w an ti n g in the No r th of Italy— the sea

a n d art : the former we saw i n all its glo r y o n our way from

Genoa, an d the latter— why we a r e in Florence a n d I n eed say

, ,
2 14 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

statues Minn a cannot get over their givi n g u s nothing t o

.

eat at a party a n d my only regret is that t here is nowhe r e i n

,

the environs of Florence whe r e we can ramble about in the

’
fields an d have a picnic a l a lle m a n ole That is what my soul .

is longin g for this lovely weather but there are villas eve ry ,

where and all o f the m l e t As yo u see I am thinking of your

,
.
,

V illa W o l c ho n sky The Arn o does not show itself o ff to us as

.

it did to you Just now it i s not unlike a gutter i n deed all

.
,

the rivers are d r ied up which does not improve the scenery
, .

I think o f Hensel eve r y time I have t o use ta le qu a le or

any o f his other expressio n s which we used to make such j okes
,

of It always feels stra n ge to see a n ything in reality which

.

you have know n from pictures and description long befo r e .

Thus the other day I had stayed rather late with the children in
t h e B ob ol i G ardens and was coming home almost in the dark (you ,

know h o w easily that may happen here when th e night follows ,

so immediately after sunset ) when I met a procession of mo n ks

,

in those white masks with the holes for the eyes that o n e k n ows
so well car r ying a dead body to the grave w ith torches and
,

hymns It is a thi n g one m ust have seen very often before o n e

.

could get accus tomed to it B ut I have seen nothing else here

.

that could frighten o n e a n d we h av e often been i n the streets

,

till midnight without a tho u g ht of fear The wretched state of

, .

the locks is i n itself a proof of the secur ity of the to w n .

Your a n gel by Luca della R obbia I have n o t seen yet but ,

I have seen the fin e has reliefs in the Ac c a de m i a delle belle a r ti ,

-

a n d a beautiful sac r ed picture by Giovanni in Santa C r oce the , ,

Pantheon of Floren ce , where Dan te , Michel Angelo Galileo , ,

and the rest of the ha u te v o lée have monumen ts It i s dis .

gusti n g to see how they idolise Galileo now , to make people

forget their old si n s but if another were to arise amo n g them
,

to -day they would treat him quite as badly It was ve r y .

touching to m e to see his garde n a t Bellosguardo , whe r e he

li v ed i n which he used to dig as they forbade him eve n to

"
, ,

t alk about science The other day i n the Pitti I was standi n g
.

’
with Dirichlet before a painti n g of Perugino s and after t alki n g ,

Italia n for some time to Italians he said to m e i n Ge rman ,

’
How true it is that Per ugi n o paved t h e way for Raph a el !
 T A L K I N G I T A L I A IV . 2 1 5

upon which a pai n te r who was copyi n g the picture t urn ed

roun d an d bestowi n g on us a scrutin ising gla n ce to see wh e ther
, ,
’
we we r e wo r th the trouble said You ar e quite right i n that
, ,
.

He turned out to be a ve ry pleasant Han overian I n the U ffizi i .

w e met a n other ag r eeable Ge r man painter but as a rule we feel ,

’
quite Italia n At ni n e o clock in the mo r ni n g after our break
.
,

fast en fa m i lle comes Signor Paperi n i a teacher whom we

, ,

en gaged at fi r st for W alter o n ly but foun d that he spoke ,

such exqui site Italia n that we de te r mi n ed t o profit by his i n

struction a n d t ake l esson s ou r sel v es He is a ve r y n ice well .
,

educated m an speaks E n glish an d French well an d is lea r n i n g

, ,

Ge rma n but makes such delightful bl un de r s that I do n o t feel

,

a bit ashamed of m ine in Italian I get on pretty well with .

speaki n g on ly it does not do for me to hear or speak E n glish

, ,
’
as I fin d myself sayi n g yes Dirichlet speaks with le ss ease
.
,

b ut more grammatically a n d classically I\ a m still at logger .

heads with t he i n dicative and co nj un ctive a n d most of all with ,

the p a ssa to deter m i n a to All the r e st of us but me have said

.

ba sti m en to for bui l di n g and bee n duly laughed at

,
Us ’
.

i n cludes Jakoby a n d Borchardt The latter m u rde r s the l an .

guage rather than speaks it Di r ichlet i n va r iably uses m a i s for

.

m a an d lo n ta n o for lo n g
,
W e all have ple n ty o f confidence
.
,

but i t i s dreadful the way we all try to fin d out the sou r ce

of a n y fresh piece of learn ing o n e of us has mastered They .

call white bread sem m e li e kifie li here : is it not droll ? Greet

the garden a n d the ga r de n -hall for me ; as yet I have not
seen one more prettily laid out .

F a n n y to R ebec c a
B erl in : O ct o ber 1 8 , 1 8 4 3 .

This time I have somethin g nice to talk abo ut too .

’
The Midsummer n ight s Dream has been dreamt i n the n e w
-

palace an d if I do n o t se n d this lette r till to -morrow it will

,

o n ly be that I may tell you of the success of th e first public

performan ce w hich t akes place to n ight The whole thi n g was
,
- .

splen did but the music is the most e n chanti n g thi n g you ever
,

heard B ut I must go back a little Last week the m usician s

. .
2 16 L E T T E RS F R OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

from Leipzig a r rived to be prese n t at the féte They are Hiller

, .
,

David Gade (wh o will p r esent himself before yo u some day i n

,

R ome with a le tte r of i n trod u ction ) and a delightful little Hu n ,

ga ri an Joachim who though only twelve , i s such a clever violi n i st

, , ,

tha t David can teach h im nothing more and such a sensible boy ,

tha t h e travelled here alo n e an d lives by himself in th e R hen ish

,

Hotel al l of which seems quite n atural an d proper These

, .

merry folk a n d E ckert (w ho will prese n t himself before you

some day i n R ome w i tho u t a letter of int r oduction ) spen t a
couple of ve ry amusi n g evenings with us as the performa n ce ,
'

w as de l ayed fo r two days ; one at Paul s especially where every ,

body that could fiddle fiddled and everybody that could play ,

playe d b ut u n fortun ately not a soul amo n gst us had the smallest
,

v oice for the smalles t son g eve ry o n e bei n g i n strume n ta list s

,
.

On Satu r day took place the gr eat emig r ation We had got .

hold of another ticket a n d took Antonie with us ,

At the .

E i n si edl er the r e w a s n o t a room to be h a d so we seve n ladies ,

’
a rr a n ged o ur hair i n Felix s room , and then proceeded to the
palace I sat n ext to Mme Tieck who se n t her love to you and
. .
, ,
’
was a pleasant neighbour ; behind me was Ku gl e r s sis ter who ,

from sheer delight kept squeezi n g an d pinch i n g me the w hole

even i n g but you know one can put up with that The perform
,
.

a n ce was almost too much fo r my n erves fo r I have hardly ever ,

k n own our mother so v ivi dly prese n t t o my mind — I kept

fan oyi n g I could hear he r la u gh I missed you also very much . .

The o n ly t hi n g I did n o t like in the pe r form an ce w as the

d r esses which Tieck obsti n ately insisted o n having i n the
,

Span ish s tyle of the seven teenth century w hich disturbed me ,

mo r e t han I could have believe d possible ; whereas the clown s

w ere for t h e most pa r t excelle n t a n d even Gern , w ho to the ,

terror of th e fairies pla yed th e part o f Bottom was better tha n ,

I h a d expected The fairie s about thi r ty childre n fr om the

.
,

school of da n ci n g were charming an d wh en they trooped into

,

th e theat r e to the st r ai n of that lovely march the e ffect was ,

qui t e m agical But the most beautifu l part of the whole piece
.
,

a n d the o n ly thi n g whi ch I n ever tho u ght much of i n readi n g the

play is the last scene where the court goes o ff in proce ssion
, ,

to the sple n did weddi n g-march a n d you hear the m usi c ,

 L E T TE RS FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

s peaki n g is to me at times I thought she played so m e parts with

,

g reat grace and intelligence Her way o f glidi n g ac r oss the st a ge

.

and bei n g h ere and there a n d everywhere at o n ce is inimitable .

The theatre was o f course full of our friends and acquai n tances :
we coul d not get four seats together so I was alon e in the ,

P a r qu e t with Sebasti a n and had the Ste ffe n s Aun t Levy a n d

, , ,

the Friedheim s n ear me Up i n the balco n y were two imposi n g

.

rows of Men delssoh n s and Company Paul declares that when .

‘
Mendelssohn w a s called for he stood up in front of th e balcon y
looking as blan d as possible but n o one took any notice of him
, .

After t he play we had tea and champ a gn e at the Pauls ’

To .

day and to-morro w Felix co n d ucts agai n a n d we shall go on ce ,

mo r e to morrow On Saturday he leaves us Is it n o t j ust

-
. .

like the luck of this fortun ate m an that this first wo r k of his
,

youth which established his fame should agai n be b r ought

, ,

forwa r d i n a form which w ill certai n ly cause it to fin d i ts

w ay through the whole of German y ? W e we r e me n tio n i n g
’
yesterday what an importan t pa rt the Midsumme r n ight s -

Drea m has always played in our house and h o w we had all at ,

di fferent ages gone through the whole of the parts fr om Peas

b lossom to Hermia a n d Hele n a and now it had come to such
,
’
a glorious en di n g But we really were brought up on the
.

’ ’
Midsumme r nigh t s Dream , a n d Felix especially had made it
—

his o w n almost recreating the cha r acters which had sp r un g

,
’
fr om Shakespeare s exhaustless gen ius From the weddi n g .

ma r ch so full of pomp but so thoroughly festal in its ch aracte r

, ,
’
to the plain tive music at T h i sb e s death the fairy so n gs the , ,

dan ces the interludes the cha r acters including such creatures
, , ,

as the clowns — a ll and everythi n g has found its counte r pa r t in

’
music a n d his work is on a par w ith Shakespeare s B ut it is
,
.

’ ’
time to have done with the Midsummer n ight s D r e a m
- An d .

bei n g do n e , thus W all (my lette r ) a w ay doth go ’

Wall was .

very fine too Moonshi n e had a live dog at Potsdam but the
.
,

beast rushed up to Lion and bit him so he appeared yeste r day ,

with a stu ffed one u n der his arm He gets i n to such a state of
.

mi n d over his pa r t that at last he cries which has a most amus ,

~

i n g e ffect He r e we are again though it is a mercy t hat m y

. ,

p a per is full now ! If only mother could have seen it ! That

 M I D S UM M E R N I G H T S D RE A M
- ’
2 19

is my constant thought I will not say that I am sorry you

.

were not there fo r I ca n n ot pity you for anything you miss

,

he r e Besides it will have become n atu r alised by the time you

.
,

come home N o w it is really high time for me to begin to

.

lea ve o ff ; you k n ow it is not a spe edy process with me W hen .

you come back you will be such a splendid Italian scholar tha t
I shall be a fraid o f saying Allegr o m a n o n tr op p o before you .

You were quite good enough before .

Felix to R ebec c a .

L e i pzi g : O ct o b er 2 3 .

From early morning to late at n ight I have h ad to sit at

my de sk writing out scores t ill my head ached and so several ,

Saturdays have passed without my being able to ateh the mail .

My last stay at Berlin too was a very fatiguin g time I had .

eleven full rehearsals and four performa n ces in a fortnight and ,

got rather home sick at last from w hich it has taken me all the
-
,

t ime since my return a week ago to recover N o w a man can .

take up his correspondence again — b y which I do not mean such

a letter as this which does n o t come within that to me hateful
,

term at all but all my other letters— but I have nothing to tell
,

you about but oboes and tru mpets and they do not bear de sc r ip,
’
tion There are t welve numbers in t he Midsummer night s
.
- ‘

’
Dream a n d the dead -march fo r Thisbe is quite in the style of my
,

mock -preludes which used to make you laugh so ; it is written for

a clarinet a bassoon and a drum but it is n o good tryi n g to
, , ,

describe it Shall I have the chance of playing it to you in the

.

P alati n ate next summer E ckert will arrive i n R ome almost

at the same time as this letter Make him tell you all about u s
.

’ ’
and the Midsummer ni ght s Dream
- He will give you a m uch .

better idea o f it than the papers I assure you that many times
.

duri n g each rehearsal an d each performance I felt an extra pang

of regret at your absence It would have exactly suit ed you ,
.

a n d you would have e n tered so heartil y into the success an d ,

bee n so vexed with all the shortcomi n gs It is amusi n g thoug h .

, ,

that the public o f B erlin should be so su r prised a n d delighted

w i t h our old favourite amongst th e beloved W illiam s plays
’
.

Yesterday it was performed at Berlin for the seven th time in

2 20 L E T TE RS FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

ten days and in the morn ing not a ticket was to be had— so
,

Paul writes .

On e day lately Gustav Magnus h is wife and broth er Edward , , ,

a n d Mr T ii r rsc h m i e dt ca me t o see u s m ost unexpecte dly a n d

.
, ,

there w e were all sittin g together i n our blue room You know .

h o w it is when people meet only once in a way at Be r li n an d ,

so it was now— n one of us could understand how we could have

lived a day without meeti n g They spent o n e day here out o f .

their time at Dresde n a n d we all e nj oyed ourselves very much

, .

To -day Schubri n g fr om Dessau was here and he is coming ,

back to dinner b ut I am t a ki n g a holiday fi r st writi n g t o you

, , ,

a n d then I mean to go a n d play billiards at the c afe Yeste r day ’

I beat the mark er four times ( I should say he beat me fi v e ) I .

should very m uch l ike to k n ow whether this letter is worth the

postage to Rom e P lease tell me by return of post a n d I will
.
,

make my ar ran gemen ts acco r di n gly It ought to be altogethe r .

sublime , since its desti n ation is R ome but after all it comes ,

from L eipzig and I must date and sign it You will be glad
, .

to hear that I am n o w livi n g o n larks a n d apple sauce playing -

,

billiards at the c afe a n d strolling about the whole day lon g in

,

the delightful summer air which has for the last few days been ,

reviv i ng us all Ah but br o c c o li p a sseggi a ta c afe g r ec o Ce tte

’

.
, , ,

de li c i eu se R om e as Be rlioz used to say He is n o w writing a

’
.
,

se r ies of articles in the J o u r n a l des D e ba ts o n his German to ur at

’

which the musical gossi p s are in despair He pri n ts everything . ,

and I am quite surprised that he has not yet mentio n ed Christel

a n d Jette But C ecile e nj oys it thoro u ghly David b r o ught
‘
. .

her the paper the o ther day and when she found my Fre n ch ,

letter printed as it i s with all its mistak es I thought she would

, ,

ne v er stop laughing She also is u n accountable as you used to

.
,

say of fathe r However she is very well a n d bloomi n g an d

.
,

mer r y th an k God , a n d is wearing her curls agai n so t hat all

, ,

who see her a r e qui t e cha rmed Heaven prese r ve her and th e .

four children j ust as they a r e for they have never given us o n e ,

u n easy moment yet I ha d to give Paul a floggi n g though to

.
, ,

day b u t there was no help for it : he st r uck Jette a n d C ecile

, ,

could not persuade him to beg her pardo n so I ha d to strike ,

Felix s serv an ts
’
.
2 22 L E T T E RS FR OM HO M E A A’D A B R OA D .

havi n g seen one with frescoes dati n g ( so Albrecht Durer says)

fro m before the time th e Italian s had i n vented pai n ting and a ,

huge Madonna by Cimabue I was much i n terested in seei n g .

these begi n n ings of a r t but o n e specimen is eno u gh

, .

I will write to Alberti n e next a n d describe all t he monsters ,

we have see n especiall y a little man n iki n at Pavia whom I shall

, ,

never forget He was no taller than E rnst with an e n ormous

.
,

head a n d the complacent looki n g face of a c r eti n a n d he r a n

-
,

beside our carriage with a ti n y violin u pon which he sc r atched ,

dist r essingly Ano ther o n e at Milan with no legs , j umped

.
,

about on a leather like a frog L a st Sunday on the way to .

Poggio Caj an o we came in for a very edifyi n g spectacle : all

th e women an d girls were sitti n g in fro n t of the houses on both
sides of the street havi n g thei r hair combed fo r the week past
,

and the week to come W e w ere quite amused to be sure they

.
, ,

did it so c o n a m o r e , and in the last village where th e toilets ,

h a d been completed they looked very n ice ,

By the same toke n .

we h a d grapes a n d V ino Santo the r e , a n d I can remember the

taste of them to this day .

R e be c c a to F a n n y .

Cas ti gl io n e , a queer d irty l ittle pl a ce

, i n th e Ape n n in e s .

On the day after my last letter the w eather clea r ed u p a

little a n d we started di r ectly after breakfast to see a few
,

churches— San Lo r enzo with th e chapel of the M edici full o f

’
B u o n a r o tt i s mo n uments where I was quite put o u t by the dance
,

music to which they san g the ser v ice S Marco the B attist e r ia ,
.
, .

a n d lastly the cathedral W e walked roun d fo r some time

.

feasti n g our eyes o n the cupola an d the Campanile risi n g in the

clear blue atmosphe r e st r olled about u n der the arcades of the
,

U ffiz ii a n d on to the Lu n ga r n o lingeri n g on a ll the bridges till

, ,

di n n er -time came and i n the after n oo n we n t to the Boboli

,

Gardens p p 0 W e have become grea t c o n n o i sseu r s i n art ,

, . . .

a n d insi s t on seeing everythi n g that marks a n epoch in its

history E ach has his own special pai n ter w hom he a ffects
. .

Di r i c h l e t s is Perugino and it is for the sake of t he name I

’
,

verily believe that we have e n g a ged a v e ttu r i n o from Perugi a .

 L E A VI N G FL O R E N CE . 223

Jakoby runs after An n unciations and gets a good deal teased ,

about it my sp e c i a li te is old Fiesole while B orchar dt admires

,
’ ’

all so r ts except Cimabue who still sca r es us all W e shall

, , .

perhaps become e n thus iastic admirers of the e n o r mous great

toes at th e Tri n ity this bei n g the coun t r y o f miracles and
,

conversion s W e already began to tur n our coats at the

.

Academy On W ednesday at half past four j ust as I was

.
,

getti n g up we had a slight ea r thquake the first i n my e xp e r i

, ,

en ce the bed shook a n d the light was almost exti n guished It ,

.

is a very strange sensation but we started i n spite of the e v il ,

omen , passin g Sta Croce and the beautiful hills rou n d Flore n ce
.

i n the glorious light of ea rly mor n i n g all full o f reg r et at what ,

w e were leavi n g It is very curious how o n e gets accusto med

.

to houses trees pictures a n d sce n ery for we w e re n o t leaving

, , , ,

a n y fr iends as t h e mathematicia n s follow u s i n E few days

, .

An d h o w man y things we get attached to in tu rn ! I p u t

’
away Keller s map of Switzerlan d with quite a pan g a n d now ,

it was j ust the same again at taki n g leave of the G u i ola cli
F i r en z e .

Ha v i n g made this reflec t ion I go o n i e on the road to ,

. .

I n cisa i n t h e most beautiful weather At I n ci sa we di n ed a n d

,
.
,

I inte n ded to w r ite to you but the situation of the old hole was ,

s o bea u tiful that we thought we had better take a walk until

our p r a n z o was ready O n ce for all I beg pardo n of Paul a n d .

his wife for our Italia n words and phrases which I really do n o t ,

use fr om affectatio n You know yourselves ho w i n the course .

of a week one falls i n to the la n guage a n d expre ssio n s o f the

people roun d o n e a n d Italian is so comfo r table a n d at the same
, ,

time a bit scurrilous a n d Jewish P o v eri n o is decidedly n eb .

bi c h. A p r op o s of Jews at Incisa we washed our hands i n the ,

very room where Pius V I I had his feet kissed when o n his w ay .

’
to F r an ce The w hole day s j ourn ey was ve r y fin e al w ays risi n g
.
,

se m p r e s a li ta - a n d on the hills were ma n y Ge r ma n oaks We .

spe n t the night in a solitary house ve r y high u whe r e again 1

p ,

had to swallo w my w r ath for an other stage would have brought ,

us to Arezzo which is a bishopric but it was too da r k for our

, ,

v ettu r i n o He is howeve r a g a la n tu o m o a n d the i n n was

.
, , ,

much better than the one at T r e u e n b r i e z e n E a r ly this mo r n i n g .

2 24 L E T TE R S FR O M H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

we sta r ted i n wind rain and a thu n der storm

, ,
-
.
(Th e horses a re

being p ut to so more to-mo r row )

, .

Perug ia : Octo ber 2 7 .

If we only had fin e weathe r this would be one of the most ,

interesti n g pa r ts of our j ou rn ey but un fortunately it is raining

,

i n cessantly and so cold t hat Be r lin in November is nothing to

,

it Yesterday afternoon it cleared up once mo r e , an d on t he lake

.

o f Trasimene we had some fin e e ffects of ligh t a n d shade which ,

mak e all the di fference amon g the Apennines We passed the .

night at Passignano close to the lake an d the rippling o f the

, ,

water an d the fr esh fish remi n ded me vividly o f Switzerland .

It was a warm an d lovely evening with a white cloud , out of ,

which flashed summer lightning and a clear sky covered with ,

stars an d th e moon in her first quarte r By seven this morn ing

,
.

we were in our carri a ge with oxe n in front o f the horses a n d

, ,

drove first along t h e shore of the lake , then amo n g the hills .

It is a wild roman tic country with man y ruins o f to w n s an d old

,
’
castles , a n d t h e v e ttu r i n o explai n ed to me that in Han nibal s
times all the towers had been furnished with c a n n on We .

arrived here about noon and walked about i n the rain looki n g
,

at chur ches and pictures tho u gh unfortunately it was very dark

, .

In the Cambio the ceiling of t he hall i s adorned with th e

planets by R aphael inte r t w i n ed with elegant arabesques which
, ,

looks rather mo r e taste ful t han the arra n gement i n your bed
room 1 Above the hall is a little c h apel with paintings do n e
.

’
entirely by Perugi n o s pupils a n d wood -carvi n gs after designs
,

by R aphael a n d Perugin o all so small an d pretty and in such

,

exquisite taste ! It is a pity that we have this constant rain ,

for Perugia is such a deli ghtful smoky old nook j ust the place
, ,

for scrambli n g about into e very corn er an d its situation on t he ,

top of a m pi n g hi ll from whe n ce you see the country like a map

, ,

is so striki n g Dirichlet would not rest till he had made us climb

.

up to one of the highest points and survey the v i s ta fr om u n der

our um brellas it must be charming on a clear day In a private .

house here is an exquisite Madon n a by R aph ael quite something ,

F an n y h a d h a d al l t hes e e n gra v in gs p ut i n t o on e fra me , an d w as c on

t in ual l y t eas ed a bo u t t hem .

2 26 L E T TE RS F R O .” HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

Temple of Mi n erva h e writes so much about The vestibule .

with the stai r s leadin g dow n fr om bo th sides like the o n e i n ,

’
Antigo n e impressed me most al t hough they a re n o t a n ti
, ,

c hi ssi m e but a restoration

,
In a place that w a s o n ce a school
.

t here are six charmi n g li t tle a n tique pillars also remai n s o f a ,

temple We a re begi n n ing to feel the infl uence o f R ome for

.
,

we come i n all direc t io n s upon remai n s of amphitheat r es arches , ,

aq ueducts churches built o n the rui n s o f temples a n d co ttages

, ,

contain ing fragments of fo rmer m ag n ificence It i s q uite strange .

to feel that we are so near R ome a n d might be di n i n g on ,

W ed n esday with the Pope ! I have n o t much to report this

time The day before yesterday we left Perugia direc tly after
.

sun r ise with regrets at n o t being able to stay lo n ger a n d came

, ,

first to Maria degli An geli E rn st said That is a new -fashioned

.
,
’
church are we to go i n the r e too ? He was quite r ight for a ,

prodigious picture by Ove r bekke was not wo r th the t r ouble

'
.

Fro m then ce we drove on i n the sweet fresh au t um n air with ,

oxen di r i nfor z o u p the steep road wi n din g rou n d t he hill t o

,

Assisi , th e bells ri n ging all the while in di ffe r ent keys I s ho u l d .

be in a constant state of emotion if ce r tain thi n gs did not make

me lau gh till I c r y such for i n sta n ce as the men who shake a
,

box in fron t of you beggi n g a i m s fo r the poor souls in pu rgatory ,

and the beggars with their cloaks made of a thousan d rags

'

patched together but worn with as great a n ai r as if they were

,

t h e impe r ial pu r ple These characteris t ics of Italy familiar as

.
,

one is wi th them in pictures never fail to p r oduce their own

,

e ffect se r ious or comic On our arrival we we n t to S an

, .

Francisco where there a r e two la r ge ch urches o n e above the

, ,

other the lower o n e being especially interesting an d myste rious

, ,

so ancie n t a n d so dismal W e heard m ass there an d at fi rst

.
,

the soun d reve r berati n g i n t h e imme n se vault st r uck me as

, ,

v ery impressive , but I soon wearied of the mo n oton ous gabble .

The n we went to the little chapel dedicated to Sta Catherin a .

,

also pai n ted all over , with two charmi n g little a n gels above the
door The cathedral was built before the inve n t io n of a rc hite c
.

ture The other churches we left an d asce n ded the fo r tific a

.
,

tions to see what J akob y calls the geography passi n g alon g bad ,

r oads and thro u gh seas of mud an article ve ry plen tiful i n,

 TE R N I . 2 27

Assisi . They seem to thi n k much o f the P e p e any more

do n ot ,

t h an our i e tt u r i n o does and altogether they speak very openly

‘

about th e go v e r nment They k n o w nothing abo u t Bologna

.

except that r egime n t after regime n t has been sen t the r e a n d ,

that more troops are waiti n g to start at Folign o ‘

I suppo se .

’
k n ow a l l about it fu o ri says the c a m er i er e Di r ichle t
y o u , ,
.

ge t s a lesso n in Italian fr om every c a m er i er e W alte r makes .

good progress by tal king with th e d i ffere n t coachmen fo r h e ,

al ways sits o n th e box I made hi m very happy in Assisi by

.

purchasing a Madonn a painted on a gold groun d for fi ve paoli .

I f I had not made up my mind not to buy a n y pictures for fear

of bei n g laughed at I might have had a whole gallery there for
,

a few scudi I was so fatigued with all we had do n e last n ight

.

at Foligno and thi s morn i n g at Spoleto that I gave up the

, ,

aqueducts a n d ruin s a n d lav down o n the sofa— as i t \hap pe n s

, ,

there w as none at Folign o —w hile Dirichlet and W alter went

out This morn i n g at Spoleto however I inspected while they
.
, ,

we r e go n e somethi n g t hat was by n o means a n tique suc h a ,

lovely R oman gi r l of twelve and t o -night I saw some m o r e beau,

tiful specime n s on the promen ade of Terni B ut we have to get .

ther e fi rst th r ough a n arro w rocky valley abounding i n woo ds

, ,

of ilexes a n d paths leadi n g into the many side valleys with

, ,

below the rocky bed of a d r ied -u p river— a sight w hich alway s

makes me thirsty ; but the t rees do not seem to feel it for ,

everythi n g i s fresh and gree n with here a n d t he r e a few ,

aut um n al tin t s which o n ly make it p r ettier To-morrow morn .

i n g we are goi n g to the wat erfall From time immemo r ial the .

postmaster here has held the privilege from the Pope of

d r iving st r an gers there so he cha rges of course highly for his
,

co n v eyan ces .

Se tte Ven e , a so l ita ry h o use in th e Ca mpa gna : O cto ber 3 1 .

You see bei n g e n dowed with mo r e patien ce tha n you we

, ,

are stoppi n g he r e at the gates of R ome though it is only six ,

o clock half an hour afte r the Av e Maria W e celebrated Paul s

’
,
’
.

b ir t hday most brilliantly i n th e mor n ing at the wate r fall of

,

Tern i i n the e v en i n g u n der the solitary arch left of the R oma n

,

b r idge across the Nera at Nar n i For t he last five d ays the .

weather has been so war m as to surprise even the natives If .

22 8 L E T T E RS FR OM H OM E A ND A B R OA D .

we have a few more such days in R ome with a full moo n a n d , ,

keep well i n to the ba r gai n how delightful i t will be ! I

,
’
believe we have passed the dr eaded c c n est qu e c ela fo r this ,

road i s leadi n g us p i a n p i a n o t o t h e remotest a n tiquity an d ,

we a r e greedy after every old sto n e The d r ive to the wa terfall

.

was a gre a t success but our pleasu r e was r ather spoiled by

,

t h e crowds of beggars wo r se t han an y I have yet see n i n Ital y

, ,

altho u h we have passed th r ough a la r ge part of the States o f

g

the Church One good thing i s that one nee d n o t pity th em

.
,
’
as one does at home w here one s whole day i s spoilt if o n e ha s
,

se n t a beggar away They do n o t su ffer from cold a n d n eed

.
,

not su ffer from hunger if they would but use thei r hands th e
,

soil o n ly asks for a lit t le cultivat io n to make it yield nou r ish

ment for more t han all the i n habita n ts It is a sadde n i n g sight .

to turn from the rui n s a n d behold large tracts of fertile grou n d

l yi n g waste o n the o n e ha n d and o n the other a numbe r of
,

st r o n g m e n well able to work lying about an d picking up their

, ,

lazy livi n g fr om t h e rui n s left by the ir forefathers To -day at .

Ci v ita Castellan a we sa w descendants o f the old R oman soldiers

st r olling about i n slippers W e we n t to the fortress i n the
.

aftern oon a n d the comma n dant was most polite picked me some
, ,

flowers from his garden and ki n dly showed us over the to w er

, ,

i n which more than a hu n dred p r iso n e r s are kept all for politi ,

cal o ffe nces Many are in for life a n d it made me feel quite ill
.
, ,

but I can do nothing to change thi n gs for th e better so we must ,

be con tent wi t h seeing what the a n cien ts did a n d what P ro v i d ,

ence still does for t his lan d of wonders Our cicerone yest er .

da y told us that Cu r io D e n ta to p a p a a n ti c o diverted the

, ,

wate r fall It is a n i n tere sti n g fact that this waterfall o n e o f

.
,

the fi n est should be the work of m a n I am goi n g out to have

, .

a lit tle more of the Campagna by moonlight To -morro w, .

R oma !
R o me : N o vember 2 .

W e are actually here ! W hat will not ca r riages a n d horses

a c complish ! I could scarcely believe that we should really see
R ome , till yesterday at h al f past eleven , whe n Dirichlet asked t he
v e ttu r i n o what gateway it w as that we saw before us a n d he
f
,
’
repli e d , No n e porta , e ponte Molle It was so stran ge Before
. .
2 30 L E T TE R S F R OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

The 4 th — Thank g o o dn e ss w e have got lodgi n gs at 4 5 Via

.
, ,

Capo l e Case on the thi r d floor b u t sun n y and airy with a bal
, , ,

co n y outside the sa lo tto and in a respectable a n d as far as

, ,

R oman notions go comfortable house

, Health and happiness .

to you and yours in the comi n g year Next year my c o n gr a tu .

l a t i o n s will not I hope have to travel so far M ez z ogi o r n o is still

, , .

ringi n g in my ea r s and a word of very indefinite mean in g it is

,

with R oman landlords ; but our rooms are really m ezzogi or n o .

F a n n y to R e be c c a .

B erl in O ct o b er 3 1 , 1 8 4 3 .

W elcome to R ome , at the post o ffi c e i n the Piazza Colonna , -

where you will probably receive this letter As I see that your .

memory , which impartially retai n s all impressions whether ,

pleasant or the reverse , has bee n faithful w ith regard to our

tour , there w ill be no lack o f O ppo r tu n ities for thi n king of us .

I hope R ome w ill ag r ee with yo u— t hat you w ill like it I have

n o doubt . Give my love t o the Alban Hills with the little ,
’
white houses , looki n g like child r e n s toys and the yellow streak , ,

which will i n terest W alter be cause it is said to have bee n there

that Ha n n ibal stood E very time you come upon it u n expectedly
.

it will rej oice your heart Ah h o w glad I am that you are

.
,

seeing all those wo n der ful, st r iki n g , never to -b e -forgotten -

sights
Politics are still i n a most u n settled state Han over is .

thinking of e n teri n g i n to a prelimi n ary treaty w ith th e Zoll

verei n which is co n sidered very important But in spite o f
, .

obstacles the S pi r it of the n atio n makes co n stan t p r ogress

, .

That can n ot be de n ied Ah what do you care about the Zoll

.

?
v erei n or the spirit of the nation You are w alki n g o n the
P i n c i o , coun ti n g the wi n dows in t he V atic an , a n d you do n o t care
a fig for the rest of the world Is not the souther n i n so u c i a n c e
.

contagious to a deg r ee ? Ch r ist took i n to co n sideratio n the

country He was i n when He told the people n o t to toil more than
the lilies of th e field or the you n g r ave n s If people we r e to act .

l iterally upon this here t hey would star v e , a n d when a Berlin

,

preacher , ta le qu a le , e n forces th e p r i n ciple o n his co n grega tio n ,

O P I N I ON S O N T HE ‘
M I D S UIWM E R -N I G HT ’
S DRE A M .
’
2 31

I do n o t k n o w w hether to laugh or to be vexed at his a b sur di tv .

Lately I ha v e been listeni n g to seve r al o f the preache r s with a ,

view to ch oosi n g for Sebastian but as I had some obj ectio n t o , ,

each the m o m e n t I heard h im I bega n to fear that if I we n t t he,

round of all I should n o t be able t o se n d my boy t o an y one of

them As however my husban d left the matter e n ti r ely in my
.
, ,

hands I e n ded by fixing upon the cle r gyman who teaches at th e

,

Gymnasium Pastor Eysse n h a r t a simple k ind ear n e st m a n

, , , , ,

without a t r ace of affectation w h o pleases me much Sebastian , .

’
has had two lesso n s from him already Time is time w as .
,
.

After a n i n terruption o f eightee n months I have had my

’
first musical m a ti n ee wi t h Felix s new Violo n cello son ata (in
,

which Gan z did n o t fail to make one huge blunder ) my piece ,

’
fr om Faust Felix s alto solo a n d cho r us etc It was a g r eat
, , .

\
e ffort to begi n again though it i s o n ly fo r two or th ree times
, ,

as I shall have none in December but Hensel wish ed it Oh .

,
’
Di r ichlet how I do miss B o rc h a r dt s te n or ! Yo u have n o idea
,

of the state of dearth we are i n n o w I can n ot even use my .

fin e bass o n accou n t o f the bala n ce of the parts

,
Th r ee little .

pipi n g bi r ds a r e all I can fin d ; but one halfpe n ny w o r t h of ‘

’
bread to this i n tolerable deal of sack Ad v o c em Shakespeare .
,

I w ish you could hear a specimen n o w a n d then of the opi n ion s

about the Midsummer n ight s Drea m
- ’ ’
W e had a r egular .

chorus of asto n ishme n t over it yeste r day at the Ste ffe n s W ith’
.

the in n u merable editio n s of th e i n n umerable translatio n s p r i n ted

a n d sold eve r y year , o n e would n ever believe h o w ma n y people

there are who do not know t he play at all An d yet it is con .

s ta n tl
y bei n g pe r formed , and t h e n the r e i s not a seat to be h a d
for love or mo n ey Magnus overheard the other day a lively
.
, ,

dispute at a r estaura n t , amon g a lot of y ou n g fas hi on a bles as ,

to whether Shakespeare or Tieck had w r itten the play On e I .

,

thi n k mai n tai n ed that Shakespeare h a d tran slated it i n to

,
’
E nglish . The vulgarity of the clow n s and the ass s head are , ,

very t ryi n g too to elegan t people a n d they express their i n dig

, , ,

n at io n loudly in spite of the ermi n e mantle which royalty h a s

,

spread over the piece of folly The fi r st rema r k Felix heard .

about it w a s at suppe r in the new palace whe n a s t a r red but ,

not very e n li ghtened ge n tleman said to him W hat a pity that ,

232 L E T TE R S FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

’
you have wasted your be autiful music o n such a stupid play !
To -day my husban d is i n vited to Potsdam w here he is to exhibit ,

his po r t r ait of the Prince of W ales The weather is most .

favourable fo r this ceremon ious but honourable expedition .

Fa n n y to R e bec c a .

B erl i n : No vem ber 1 5, 1 8 4 3 .

Our house is pretty full no w that P o u r tal e s has a r rived wi th

his pri n cely household of n inetee n persons How amused mother .

would h ave been at the list — i t is qui te a s tudy The name .

of the adopted daughter is Am i n ka Z iill i c h von Z iihlb o r n On e .

of our n e w inmates gave occasion to a fine qu ip r o qu o the other

day Heinrich came t o He n sel a n d said that a ge n tleman was
.

below who co uld not spea k German but wa n ted to see his m as ter
, .

Accordi n gly i n came a n elega n t young man sayi n g Mo n sieur

, , , ,
’ ’ ’
j ai été chez mo n si e ur le pr ev ot de l eglise e t i l m a dit que ,
’
vous v-o u dri e z bien me co n fesser You must know that t h e
.

chaplai n of the c ountess has take n up his abode i n the room

over the stu dio Did not th e poor m a n chance upon a veri table
.

F r iar Tuck ? W e scolded Hensel ve r y much for not receivi n g

t h e co n fession for as he is boun d by n o vows he might have
,

told us al l the sec r ets afterwards Yesterday eveni n g he pro

.

posed a toast i n cha r acter w ith his n e w dign ity .

Do wri te w hether the Dutch pai n ter T is livi n g or did live .

at your house in the Capo l e Case You will know him by his
.

being such a bo r e ; indeed I believe he inve n ted the scien ce and

, ,

has tak en out a pate n t for life If it is that house as I thi n k

.
,

it must be we k n o w it, a n d t hat would be v ery n ice Tell us

, .

e v erything from the fleas to the lords an d the beggars on two

,

legs o r t hree I can n ot repeat too often that everythi n g

.

i n terest s us Do not fo r get to visit the bo sc o at the Fren c h

.

Academy the garde n u p the ste ps a n d make Ka se l o w sky show

, ,

you all the places where I had fits of e n thusiasm an d the n si n g ,

a seco n d to me On e could wax e n thusiastic in R ome even

.
,
’
if Mephistopheles were sittin g on o n e s sho ulders My secon d .

m a ti n ee w ent o ff so badly that , i f the t hi r d and last before

Christmas does n o t make up for it I shall thi n k twice before

,
2 34 L E I TE RS FR O M H O M E A N D A B R OA D .

F a n n y to R ebec c a .

B erli n : No vember 2 4, 1 8 43 .

Do gladden the hea r ts o f Dirichlet and Jakoby by telli n g

them the r eason why u de n t s have not serenaded B oc kh on

hi s bi r thday to -day . time t hey had intended to ha v e a

torchligh t procession i n his honour and great festivi t ies alto ,

gether They had alre a dy obtained the gracious permissio n of

.

t he police when the preside n t of police asked to see th e list

,

of everybod y who was to take pa r t i n it and struck out the ,

names of ten students whereupo n the others at once gave u p

,

the whole thi n g a n d n o w only mean to send a deputation

,

w ith their co n gratulations and gi v e him an accoun t of the

,

proceedings .

W e are well acquai n ted with that passage at the V eits ’

.

Did you fin d your way up there at o n ce ? I t ur n ed back j ust

b efo r e reachi n g the door as I felt co n v inced that n o hum a n
,

b eing could b e li v i n g higher up a n d that we should fin d ou r sel v es

,

o n the roof if we we n t a step further I s till k n ow my way .

about R ome splendidly b e tter than I do in Be r li n I won der

, .

w h y it amuses o n e so to read in a letter from R ome Papetto ,

v i a del Babui n o — the mere names

’
The other day we met at a grand so i r e e at P e r tz s the new
’

conservative Professor Huber whose ole bu t has been so disa strous

’

, ,

for not a soul came t o even his thi r d lecture a n d three di ffe r en t ,

addres ses have been presented by the University protesting

agai n st his appointmen t — r i de B oc kh Have I told you what .

a n absurd n ewspaper the B a r m en a n d W

,
u
p p er tha l G a z e tte ,

we are taki n g to please B oc kh who felt an irresistible lo n gin g to

,

see it Twenty people have asked me already where Barmen is

a questio n which surprised me as much a s the i n cog n ito which
’
the Midsummer-night s Dream has hithe rt o preserved .

R ebe c c a to F a n n y .

D ecember 1 5, 1 8 4 3 .

I fou n d your letter o n our return from vi siti n g se v eral

st udios ; an d havi n g put it i n my pocket un r ead we muffled u p ,

the children go t i n to a carriage a n d drove to the Late r an ,

, ,
 VI L L A W OL CHON S K Y . M US I C . 2 35

where we did n o t forget to look at the beautiful cloisters and ,

then on to the V illa W o l c h on sky of Hen sel memory I fully ,

.

i n dorse all you have said about it an d sin g the en th usias tic ,

seco n d you begged me to The r e on classic soil , sit t ing with

.
,

D i r ichlet o n the pedestal of the bust of Alexander while Kase ,

lo w sky and the childre n wh o stick to him like burrs took

, ,

their places on the little antique bench at the side I read aloud ,

such parts o f your letter as I considered suitable to the audien ce .

Ho w absu r d a n d how stupid are those intrigues of the police !

Dear me w ho gives a thought to liberty here ? I n stead o f i t
,

there is pe r fect absen ce of constrai n t but how far it goes a n d o f ,

what natur e it is I need n o t explain to you An d what more .

does o n e w an t than to be allowed to walk about u n der the blue

sky in the w arm su n shi n e ? Pray do not take thi s se r i o u sly
,
.

I hope He n sel wi ll not be an gry with us for taki n g u p so much

’
of Ka se lo w skys time I believe it will do him all the good i n
.

the world to be i n the open air this beautiful weather ; and a

walk i n the cou n t r y or an extra visit to th e violin player or the
,
-

Titian s c an n o t b e waste of time for a n a r tist W e a r e n o w quite

,
.

R oman , bei n g o n vi si ti n g terms wi t h th r ee Abbates an d the ,

p a dr on e of the house has a great respect for us W e got a .

’
er m e ss o for t h e V illa L u do v i si fr om the o w ne r s youn ger
p
brother P r i n cipe B u on c o m p agn i who devotes himself to mathe
, ,

maties Poor you n ger son ! his i n come is on ly

. scudi ;
but he came here yesterday on foot with a pa r cel of books tied ,

u i n a pocket -handkerchief The whole family are oted for

p . n

their sti n giness .

’
Landsberg s so i r ées have begun ; and we had the overture
’
to the Flauto Magico pe r fo r med by four ladies of whom
‘
,

Mme V a n u t e lli was o n e ; a sonata for two pian os by F r a n ck

.

’ ’
a n d Mme Ne r e n z and P e r go l e si s Salve R egi n a sun g by
.
, ,

Sig n ora S c i ab a tta who has a splen did contralto Her b r othe r
, .
,

whom I have ofte n hea r d you me n tion , is n o w e n cha n ti n g St .

Pete r sburg by his good looks a n d his voice The best item .

came a fter m ost of the people had left Beethove n s Sonata in ’

,

C mi n or played by Fran ck and E ckert in a very di fferent style

,

to w hat the amate urs could do , were twenty-four o f them all to

try at once !
236 L E T TE R S FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B er l in December 5 1 8 4 3 , .

’ ’
Ja ko b ysarrival i n R ome is a n n oun ced i n to day s paper
‘
-
,

a n d I hear fr om private sou r ces as much of Stei n er so I am n o t ,

u n easy about your prog r e ss i n mathematics You will also like .

to know how we are getti n g o n he re a n d so much ha s happen e d ,

t hat I am in dan ger of fo r ge t ti n g if I do n o t w r i te down the

even ts of each day W e have had three musical parties a t
.

Paul s a n d o n W ed n esday the fi r st subscriptio n -con cert took

’
,
’ ‘
place un der Felix s direction wi t h the very beautiful sympho n y
,

in A maj o r The room was crowded almost to suffocatio n a n d

.
,

o n e r n the r isk of squeezi n g somebody o n e k n ew to death a t

a
every turn The whole a ffair is ve ry amusi n g On Thursday
. .

e v en i n g we had a g r an d se r e n a de Wi e p r e c h t with h i s cho r al ,

society a n d a mili t a r y ha n d As t h e weather was ve ry bad I

.
,

had the ga r den -hall lit up a n d the whole thi n g looked ve ry

,

pretty Felix would have k n ow n nothi n g about it till the last

.

moment if W o r i n gen could have kept the sec r et bu t he let it

, ,

out i n the morni n g Yeste rday I had the l a st Sun day-music

.
,

which w as ve r y successful Mme Decker sa n g a gai n for the

. .

’
first time and so exqui sitely I play e d B eeth ove n s trio in
,
.

’
E flat and with Felix Beetho v e n s polo n aise a n d t h e i n te r ludes
, , ,
’ ’
fro m the Mi dsumme r -n igh t s D r eam with great app l ause ,
.

Felix is i n very good spi r its so far an d very amiable I n a ddi t io n ,

.

t o a ll the music I have me n tio n ed he has had to s w al lo w ,

no e n d of con ce r ts rehearsals theatres and all so rts of thin gs

, , , .

To -mo rrow i s th e Midsummer-n ight s Dream on Wed n esday

‘ ’ ’
,

the seco n d co n cert ; a n d so we pass our days I am v e ry glad .

that the V Vo r i n ge n s a r e so lucky a n d Ferd i n an d is i n such a state

,

of bliss that h e is by no mean s a n xious to go back to Liegn itz .

2
Yesterday we all we n t to a little di n ne r given by VVe b e r n ,

W here some bottles of champagn e a clumsy se r va n t ( w h o i n ,

spired me w ith great re spect for our Hei n r ich ) a n d the high ,

spirits of th e men kept us laughi n g i n ces sa n tly .

M e n del sso h n h a d ar ri ved a t B er h n on No vember 1 1 .

3 Gen era l Webern t h e well -k n o wn ve t era n o f t h e w ar of 1 8 1 3-15 .

,
2 38 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

in the blue room where the Christmas-tree is to stand to mo rr ow

, .

The double w i n dow is now i n the middle and I am goi n g to ,

give C ecile to -morrow sixteen plants big and little to sta n d in , ,

it My other prese n ts will b e — for her a black satin dress a

.
, ,

bo n n et a few tr i fl e s and one o f my well -known much too green

, ,

landscapes on pressed carto n-paper for P aul a landscape from

, ,

Sachse (the picture-dealer ) which he has a special longin g fo r ;

,

for Fa n ny a table -cover fo r the blue room ; for Hensel an i m

, ,

mense ham and some claret ; for Sebastia n a study-lamp ; for ,

th e children a set of small furn iture ( they have been wishin g

,

fo r furnitur e ) etc W ell now I should like to k n ow ho w

,
.
, ,

this list sounds in the neighbourhood of the Ar a Coeli On .

Christmas-day I have for the fi r st time to co n duct the music in

t h e cathed r al with orchestra there is to be a new psalm of mine ,
’ ’ ’
To our salvation , fr om Handel s Messiah a couple more new ,

tr i fl e s of mine and some chorales with t r ombo n es

, On Ne w .

’
Year s day it will be much the same with a slight va r iation o f ,

colour another new psal m o f mine the Halleluj ah Cho r us from

, ,

t he Messiah a n d some more chorales with t r ombones

, I must .

say between ourselves that so far I do not expect much from

it but do not tell anybody !
,

W e are leading a very quiet life for my horror of aristocratic ,

acquai n tan ces has if possible increased since we came and yo u ,

would lau gh to see me plun ging about in the e ffort to escape the
nets o f th e E n glish ambassador He has hooked me for one .

dinner though but he will not do it twice that I vow Why

, , .
,

excepti n g their excellencies an d a fe w barons you k n ow yourself ,

how few people I know who m one could i n vite and visit i n return ,

so we stay at home in our own family circle a n d that is much ,

the best R e ll stab declares that the c oncerts o f the royal c h apel
.
,

three o f w hich have take n place a lready are nearly as goo d as ,

those o f the Paris Co n servatoire but it is n o t so a n d u n less , ,

they improve very much they w ill never be worth a n ything .

I am now in correspondence with the London Philharmon ic

'

Society who want to e n gage me as their permanent con ductor

,

for n ext season I feel much i n clined to accept as the society

.
,

is ( speaki n g a r tistical ly ) so very a r istoc r atic but I do n o t yet ,

kno w whether it will be possible especially o n account of C ecil e

,
 CHRI S T M A S L E T TE R S . 2 39

and the child r en for t hey could not well spen d th ree month s
,

in E n gl a n d a n d to be separated fr o m them for t hree m o n th s

,

would be still worse This al so we must keep to ourselves — i t

.

is a great secret as ye t a n d the M o r n i n g Her a ld hea r s every

,

word yo u say in R ome even in your sleep ; so you h a d better

,

n o t talk about it at all I hope you notice t hat I am tryi n g

.

to put t his letter i n to a di ffere n t shape as yo u made such fun ,

of the last one I am deli ghted to hear that Italy agrees so

.

well with you and praise both it a n d you for y our good b e
,

haviour W he n I think that the Pi ffe r a r i are n o w droni n g

.

away , that the Ar a Coeli will be all astir to mo r row that the -
,

flowers are bloomi n g in th e V illa P a m fili a n d that you a r e ,

within a sho r t walk of it all — I feel ready to give u p at o n ce

the Christmas fair i n the B r e i te n str a sse an d all the Christmas
-

rattles and come straight o ff to R ome if on ly it were possible

, , .

I say to you as Kl in ge m an n did to me before my first j ourn ey

to E n glan d Have your fill o n ce more of dumpli n gs a n d pears ,
’
for you will never get them the r e ! By t h e dumpli n gs an d
’
pea r s I mean of course the V atican and Tasso s oak ; a n d spe
c iall
y S an O n ofrio and S pecially S Maria Maggiore t o -morrow l
.

W he n I re flect that t h e day befo r e yesterday was th e shortes t

day a n d that I may possibl y go to E n glan d and possibly earn
, ,

a g r eat deal of mo n ey the r e a n d po ssibly u n dergo such extra

,

or di n ary exertio n s that I shall n eed a n extr a o r di n a ry holiday

afterwards I fe e l as if I should like to go to Switze rla n d for a
,

bit after the musical festival at Z w e i b r ii c ke n o n August 1 .

The r e would still be six or eight weeks of capital weather for

Switze r lan d ! Perhaps we might meet on the G r imsel or on th e
Diablerets or somewh e r e else where there is fine scenery ? Ar e
,

these castles i n the air ?

R ebec c a to F a n n y .

(W ith a v ig n e tte o f th e C hristm as-tree b y Kase lo w sky ) .

R o me : December 2 7 .

F eli c issi m
fe sta to all of you ! an d hearty thanks to you
a

es pecially dear Fan n y for your t w o delightful letters which

, , ,

put me qui te i n tun e fo r the festivities My lau r el h a s been .

2 40 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

dreaming of your fir -t r ee here is the represen tation o f it an d ,

n o w for the explanatory remarks The t r ee is a laurel which .

touches the ceiling of our room and is adorned w ith roses , ,

en ormous g r apes o r an ges and the well known R oman can died
, ,
-

fruit ; round the base is a garlan d of laurel apples and nuts , , ,

a n d above th at the prese n ts These are— a like n ess of litt le .

E r n st dra w n for me by Ka se l o w sky a vase of G ia llo a n t! 00 t o

, ,
/

h old ciga r -ash for Dirichlet an d a pile o f cigars which cost ,

Ka se l o w sky and m e i n fin ite trouble to build u p as they w ould ,

fall down again the temple of V esta as an i n k-stan d and the ,

th ree celebrated columns i n bronze a pai n t-box filled with real ,

paints a n d imitatio n s in sugar, for Ka se l o w sky an d the Floren ,

tine boar as a letter-weight Besides these more important .

articles the r e were a few l ittle v ases of r o sso g i a llo and al l , ,

sorts of a n tique colours , filled wi t h blotti n g-san d sugar -plums , ,

a n d all ma n n e r o f absurdi t ie s and the whole t hi n g was splendidly

,

illuminated O ur court as you choose to call it consisted of

.
, ,

Jakoby Stei n er Borcha r dt Moser , Ka se l o w sky Geyer and

, , , , ,

Julius E lsasse r so now you have our Christmas party The

1
, .

tree was real ly a m asterpiece Later w e had lobster-salad .

,
’
san dwiches cake and pun ch ; but how we missed He n sel s
, ,

verses ! Your health was duly proposed in prose a n d I made a ,

speech full of feeli n g proposi n g in order to drive a w ay the

, ,

emotion all were likely to feel at the thought o f fr ie n ds at home ,

the heal th o f the future wives o f the bachelors present which ,

soon restored the a llegr ia The day before yesterday I was .

presented with a beautiful sepia-dra w ing by August E lsasser ,

whom I have n o t seen yet ; the poor fellow cann ot even leave
his room a n d we are not allowed t o visit hi m till he has
,

finished his pictu r e which he seems to be pai n ti n g with his

,

life -blood .

Accordi n g to what they say there c an be very littl e hope ,

’
for h im — but we must hope for a miracle Since Ka se l o wskys
recovery everythi n g seems possible we have n o t bee n sight
,
.

seei n g much of late but we were (p a u v r es ho m m es) at the

,

V illa L u do v i si That m ean Piombi n o o n ly gave us a p erm esso

.

Two pa i n ters . E l sasser, th e yo un ger brother o f th e well -k n o wn l a n ds ca pe

pa i n t er
.
2 42 L E T T E RS FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B erli n December 2 6 , 1 8 43 .

We were all rath er quiet on Christmas eve n on e of us -

,

feeli n g really m e rry l thi n k but each a n xious not to betray

, ,

himself to the others Felix ho w e v er amused me immen sely

.
, ,

i n the afternoon He w a s composi n g cathed r al music in hi s

.
-

study whilst I was a r ra ngi n g the p r ese n ts wi t h C ecile but again ,

a n d agai n he came out a n d helped us played wi t h th e dogs and ,

horses and then ran back to his chords with renewed zeal an d
,

ear n estn ess This wen t on for about an hour I have thought
. .

of qui t e a n e w a r rangeme n t If God spa r e us to another Christ.

mas an d g ran t us to be all togeth er why sho ul d we not have a ,

pic n ic in the garden hall T h e weather is generally mild about

-

Christmas -time and the room is easily heated as I foun d out

, ,

t h e other day when Felix had a rehearsal there

,
The weather .

keeps mild and damp a n d I am sure that I am n o t e xagge r a t

,

ing whe n I say that we have not seen the sun above twice i n
eight weeks .

You want to know who Mme O is ? Mr O is a n ugly . . . .

wine merchan t fr om Bo r deaux and Mme O who is a very

-
,
. .
,

pretty woman si n gs F r en ch roman ces an d o r di n a r y Italian airs

,

very n icely an d is an accomplished flir t u n p eu da n s l e g en r e

, ,

de M m e W but p r ettier a n d more coque t tish with a touch

. .
, ,

of childlike i n n oce n ce She is turn ing the heads of the a r isto

.

cracy in quite an amusi n g w a y Th e husban d disposes o f his .

wi n es while the wife is executi n g sen timen tal melodies w ith a n

,

obligato accompanime n t i n which eyes ha n ds a n d a snowy neck , ,

play their parts to perfection .

To day is the rehea r sal in the cathedral of the n i n ety eighth

- -

’
psalm which Felix ha s composed for Ne w Yea r s day The age
,
.

of sign s a n d miracles is n o t w holly go n e by a n d the good results ,

’
of the ki n g s e n deavo urs to promote a religious te n dency are
evide n t to all for on this day may be seen t he spectacle o f me
,

hiri n g a seat of the sac r ista n p r ovided I c an get one As a ,

.

’
rule I do not hear these pe r forman ces of Felix s for on high ,

festivals the cathedral is so c r owded that o n e has no chan ce o f

a sea t a n d standing fo r hours together amo n g the crowd would
.
,
 FE L I X [ N S O CI E T Y . 2 43

be rather too g r eat a t r ial of faith for me I assure you it is .

as good as a play to hear Fel i x talk of his dealings with the

cathedral clergy o f his i n tim a te fr ien dship with Coun t B ede r u
, ,

the mutual a ffectio n between him an d Herr von V i tzle b e n and

V
,

a thousand such stories W e often sca rcely know how to stop

.

la ughi ng You can n ever di scon cert him either ; the other day
.
,

at a s oi r ee m o n str e given by the E n glish ambassador , he c o n

’

’
d ucte d the latter s ridiculously childish sympho n y with an
almost imperceptible smile o f sarcasm on his lip but with the ,

utmost politeness He was not in the least put out but only
.
,

laughed though I was so vexed at seeing him co n ductin g suc h

,

stupid stuff that I felt i n cli n ed to cry It was the same t he .

’
other day at a large party at He r r von M asso w s where he aeco m ,
’
p a n i e d Mme O. i n Gr a
.ce g r ace besides an inte rm i n able
, ,

Italian duet an d other trash a n d then played his own trio , ,

with some o fficers talking loudly the whole time , and eve n after
that he did not s n ap at us the n ext day As I said befo r e .
,

the age o f miracles is not yet gone by Mean while the rehea r sa l .

in the cathedral has alread y taken place and the psalm i s ve r y ,

beautiful ; it begi n s a c ap e lla with a deep bass solo then the ,

i n struments come in gradually i n the followin g order— ha r p ,

trombo n es , t r umpets till a t the roaring of the sea the whole

,

orchest r a rushes i n — an d a magni fice n t rush it is .

I must tell you a b out the un commonly stupid féte the

De v r i e n ts gave the other da y The entertainment was t o be .

some scen es fr om B luebeard and W erder was to act Simon ,

’ ‘
,

but he was un expectedly summoned to Stettin the day before ,

and Dev r ie n t w ho had to take his part o n ly got back from the
, ,

theatre at te n By that time the compa n y wh o had be en i n

.
,
’
v i te d for eight o clock precisely and had had n oth ing to do but ,

to sit staring at one another were qui te tired out The scen es
, .

selec ted were all tragic and horrible without any relief and the , ,

performers were ve r y poor except Marie who showed e xtra o r di n

, ,

ary t alent De v ri e n t who took Simon and Taube rt who made

, , , ,

a capita l old witch

. There was n o s tage but only a cu r tai n ;
.
,

a n d y ou ha v e no idea h o w absurd it was to see so much despair ,

di shevelled hai r fai n ting away and general apparatus of woe ,

, ,
’
right i n one s lap as it were I believe that they have j us t .
2 44 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E AND A B R OA D .

decided that Marie i s to go o n the stage The audien ce too .

, ,

was a set of prosy G e h e i m r ath s from the Thiergar ten The .

most interesting poi n t i n the whole eve n in g was beyond a doubt

’
A s toilette sh e wo r e a Paraphrase (it i s n o lo n ger called a Pot
.

pourri ) of black silk t r immed with the fur of t ortoise shell cats ,

open sleeves sho w ing her bony a r ms a n d black -velvet bracelets ;

, ,
’
her hair was arran ged like a lunatic s a n d the whole thing was ,

evide n tly i n tended to be artistic but o n ly succeeded i n being ,

so hideous that I really co u ld not take my eyes o ff her Thi s .

’
so i r e e put Felix i n to a rage which las ted for three days how
,

ever, as I wrote be fore I have never seen hi m more amiable

,

than he is t his w inter, although he has had now and then a good
deal to t ry him He never gives way to temper now as he used
.

to do and i f he remai n s like this we can not be tha n kful

, , ,

e n ough for havi n g him here So far he has played i n public .

’
twice ; o n ce at M o liqu e s co n cert (h e has often played wi th us
’
lately ) w hen he played Beethoven s sonata in A mi n or a n d
, ,

again at the subscription -concer t w here he took his o w n conce r to ,

i n G minor bei n g applauded both times i n a manner quite

,

exceptional for Be r li n But people are begi n ning to u n de r stan d

.

that the symphon ies go i n quite a di fferent way to what they

did and in course of time the audience will make as m uch
,
’
progress as the orchestra Felix s se c o n d psalm for the cathe
.

dral choir a c ap ella i n eight parts is so beautiful very Gre

, , , ,

gorian and remi n ding o n e of the Sixtine I am curio u s to hear

,
.

what will b e said abou t it that is i f people listen at all Felix

, , .

would prefer composi n g with the orchestra , an d has got i n the

’
thin end of the wedge by introduci n g Han del s choruses after
those a c ap ella j ust as h e i n troduced from the first solo-pieces
, , ,

at the subscriptio n -con certs i n the hope o f be ing able to smuggle

,

pa r t-singing i n b y-a n d-b y He sets about it all so cautiously

.

an d prude n tly that I have n o doubt he will get hi s own way i n

everythi n g An d really the mo r al influen ce of a disti n guished

.

man t ells for so much that something will be do n e even with

the Philistines an d blockheads .

So Delaroche ha s arrived in R ome and Sch u etz wants to ,

leave an d I n gres is growi n g tired of his position ! I can n ot

,

un ders tand these p e 0p le ! I a m not na t urally an enviou s

2 40 L E T TE R S FR OM I I OM E A N D A B R OA D .

They are all i n a state o f perfect fury about Catel about Sc u ff , ,

about the P r incess and her commiss i o ns or non-commission s , etc

, .

I cannot get up much interest i n the question , but o n e thing i s

clear — a Prussian academy must be founded N 0 other n ation .

goes wanderi n g about here like stray sheep as the Prussians do .

At any rate our ambassador ought to have su ffi cie n t knowledge

,

o f art not to allow such mistakes as the Pri n cess is making i n

her artistic e fforts Ar t is the true politics of R ome Moreove r

. .
,

I think founding a Prussian academy at R ome would be j ust

the thing for our prese n t king for it would make almos t a s
,

much noise in the world as the bishopric at Jerusalem ; a n d

i f, by maki n g as many mistakes as possible — but why should
one fall into the true Berlin style the mome n t one b egins to
t hink of a Prussian institution even of one which h as as yet
,

n o existence

To -morro w is the Babel o f l an guages at the Propagan da,

and Di r ichlet is goi n g I shall in the mean time p r obably go
.

to hear some celeb r ated Italian preacher I saw nothi n g of the .

church ceremo n ies at Ch r istmas for t h e mid n ight mass was too
,

late for me a n d the other too ea rly ; i n deed I was so tired with
, ,

my Christmas-eve pa r ty that I slept the n ext morn i n g till ten

’
o clock Altogether I candidly co n fess that the church cere
.
,

monies an d the churches themselves attract me less than

a n ythi n g in R ome I am qui te sick already of colours and
.

elegan ces of dress and ce r emo n i al and the whole of the r o ba

,

o f religio n ; i n deed I could not have believed that I had so

,

much Protestan t blood in me I will guard it too by not

.
, ,

going to the Protestant church The other day I had a con

.

t r o v e r sial dispu t e with an a bba te about Luther but b e pro ,

y oked it . Thi s would be an other good point to set befo r e

the king in favour of an academy it would be so useful as a ,

safeguard for the young against proselytisers The sudden con .

v ersion o f a sculptor named Ho fl m an n i s much talked of ; three

'

, ,

weeks ago he received the Holy Commun ion i n the Protestan t

Church , an d a few days ago he not o n ly t u rn ed R oman Catholic
but was remarried according to Catholic rites to his wife who , ,

had go n e over some time before Overbeck gave a din n e r a n d

.
,
’
Aal b o m a supper in ho nour of the ceremo n y
,
Boccaccio s .
 M US I C I N R OM E . 2 47

‘
M e l c hi se de c k E breo is r ight enough about the divinity of

‘
Christian ity .

’ ’
Yesterday at Lan d sberg s we had t he chi ldren s t o y-sym
, ,

phon y which made the o ther folks stare but delighted the
, ,

Germa n s Mme N e re n z laughed so much at my saying the

. .

other day when E ckert and Fra n k w e r e playi n g her the So n gs

,

without W ords that I felt quite like their aun t and it has
’
, ,

become a p r ove r b amo n g them all now W e old ones derive .

’
g reat satisfaction fr om this school of Felix s followers Frank .

’
has formed his playi n g e n tirely o n Fe li x s style an d he could ,

not have chosen a better model W e ca n n ot get up a quartet .

’
for want of a V ioloncello N 0 Italian cello can ever get beyond .

’
Beethoven s T r io i n C minor so Paul would mak e hi s fortune ,

here This letter has taken o n e day lo n ger t han it t ook to cr eate
.

the w o r ld for to day is the seventh day and lest it should reach
,
-
,

to nine like a child -bed fever I will say good -bye at o n ce I

, , .

have t old yo u that the Villa W o l c ho n sky sends its love to you ,

and if I did n o t say the same o f the V illa Mills it is my forget

fulness for I have been twice charged with the message Do you
, .

k n o w a cypress there with a rose -tree growi ng i n the middle and,

flingi n g its blossoms all o ver the dark green It is quite poetic .

Fa n n y to R ebec c a .

B erl i n : Ja n u a ry 9 , 1 8 44 .

You write to me by an open window and I answer from ,

behin d fro sted pan es Such is li fe ! Hensel an d I invariably .

heave a dee p sigh over your letters and yet they give us great ,

pleasu r e especi ally the Ch r istmas o n e with its charming

,

vig n ette I believe we must do Italy toge t her some day as a

.
,

gr a n d e n s em bl e ; fi r st we san g our part no w yo u are singing ,

yours a n d we shall e n d I hope by t aki n g up the theme

, , ,

together This musical simile suits m e for i f you are sur

.
,

roun ded by flowers blue skies and balmy breezes we are , , ,

floati n g in a cri sp atmosphere of music of all so r ts from the ,

lowest to the highest the fashionable -frivolous to the cathedral ,

An llus io n to th e seco n d sto ry o f the fir st da yi n

a t h e D ec a/m er on e . Th e
hero h o weve r is ca lled Ab ra h a m a n d M e l c hi se de c k is
, , , the hero of th e t i dhr
sto r y o n wh i ch i s f o u n ded N a tlum t he Wise
,
.
2 48 L E T T E RS F R O! ! HOM E ’
A A D A B R OA D .

sac r ed The greater part however is still to come but if I give

.
, ,

you the names o f the ar tists n o w w ith us Sch r ode r-De v rie n t , ,

Servais Moria n i S c i ab a tta and R ichard W agne r with h i s

, , , ,
’
Flyi n g D utchman you will be able to form some idea of t h e
,

time an d mo n ey I shall have to lay out in soun d Last week we .

hea r d Henrietta Son n t a g who still si n gs exquisi tely but the , ,

’
best of all was to hear Felix s accou n t of how she came to be
there an d of all that happened at th e rehea r sal The Coun tess
, .

’
R ossi ti r ed of hea r i n g all Be r li n ravi n g about Mme O s French
, . .

roman ces resolved to step forth from her reti r ement a n d favour
,

the Court i f the queen would invite her to do so ; but as etiquette

,

i n te rfered to p r event this bei n g man aged Herr v o n Massow ,

and Count B ederu had a race to see who could get up a musical
pa r ty fi r st a n d He r r von Massow w o n Their maj esties a n d ou r
, .

selves havi n g accepted this amusi n g fete took place last Thu r sday
, .

Cou n tess R ossi a n d Mme 0 each san g their solos a n d then . .

j oi n ed in a duet Felix accompa n yi n g Cou n tess R ossi a n d after

, ,
’
wards a t the ki n g s request he extemporised but was n o t quite
, , ,

so much i n the vein as usual Coun tess R ossi still si n gs w ith .

th e same grace and finish that disti n guished Hen r ietta So n n tag
-
i n deed it was r eally charming and we could n o t help admi r in g ,

little Mme O for not making an absolute fiasco a piece of luck

. .
,

to which u n doubtedly her p r etty face con tributed not a little .

’
Servais played the other day at a pa rty at Felix s house Taki n g .

pity o n your p r obable ign ora n ce I will inform you that Servais ,

is a Belgian th e fi r st livi n g Violoncello player a n d the fi r st gr i

, ,

m a c i er i n the wo r ld W e had heard much of this talen t of his

.
,

a n d it was very droll to see Felix who was accompan yi n g him , ,

keepi n g his eyes fixed upo n him except for a casual glan ce at the ,

music a n d studyi n g his g r imaces w ith a ki n d of amused curiosity

,
.

He i n ten ds to express t h e fashionable idea nowadays of bei n g

filled with thoughts quite beyo n d exp r essio n but the e ffect of ,

all these emotions st r ivi n g for the maste ry o n hi s ho n est Flemi sh

face is o n ly comical I am growi n g day by day more reserved an d
.

’
critical wi th regard to such mu sic a n d won derful a s Se rv ais s , ,

execution may be I would n o t get up from my chair to hear

,

him a seco n d time It i s di ffere n t with Mo rian i to whom I

.
,

am looki n g forwa r d with much pleasure A beautiful v o i c e go e s

'

.
2 5
0 L E T TE R S FR OM HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

commu n icatio n in the Sp e n er sc he Z ei tu n g was immen se a n d ,

’

the hi la r i té g en er a le E ven we ourselves we r e surprised not

.
,

having made much of the allusion i n yo u r last as the t hi n g ,

appeared so very improbable You a re i n deed havi n g a .

delightful time and we thoroughly enj oy followi n g you about

,

a n d sharing your pleasu r es as fortu n ately we k n ow all the

, , ,

chief pe r son s and places A Prussian academy i n R ome ?

.

Yes it would be a fin e thi n g W e h a d a lo n g tal k about the

,
.

co n te n ts of your last letter the day befo r e it arri v ed and I disco ,

ve r ed that Hensel would mak e an excelle n t ambassador to R ome .

I suppose we German s i n herit from the o ld imperial times that

easeless lo n gin g for Italy on the o n e ha n d a n d for Germany, ,

our home o n the other It is di fferen t with other natio n s

,
.

t hey t ravel for ma n y reasons but we all go there because the ,

coun try has for us an irresistible attractio n I have really put .

the case well and think I can do n o less than confer the order
,

o f the Swan upon myself You must know that there is an

.

Or de n sfes t to-day so this piece of folly i s really bei n g committed

,

in the nineteenth cen tury Have you seen the proclamation .

It is a masterp iece ! I should n o t have t hought i t possible to

compress so much inconsequence contradiction n o n sen se an d , , ,

sentimentality w ithin th r ee pages If I were ce n sor I would .

,

a n n ul the docume n t But it was gen ui n e ! Froriep i s to be

.

’
decorated to day with the dog s collar and I am going to co n dole
-
,

with hi s wife for we have what they call a fin e day i e in the

, , . .

’
su n one plunge s over o n e s ankles in melted s n ow an d in ,

the shade it is as slippe ry a s possible But never mi n d The . .

ice o n the wi n do w -panes has thawed and the sun is shining a , .

little Oh R ebecca the w eather we have had ! First a lon g

.
, ,

and severe fr ost ; then storms water -spouts snow a n d ice—in , , ,

short all that nature could fin d that was disagreeable To-day

, .

the bi r ds i n the garden acted a t r agedy (This is for W alter ) . .

The crows suddenly began maki n g a te rrible noise a n d it was ,

so prolo n ged a n d so plai n tive that the garden er was i n duced to

go a n d see what was the matte r ; he fou n d o n e of t hem lyi n g
dead and the others were si n gi n g a requiem over the co rp se !
,

Might n o t a j ourn ey here do some good to poor E lsasse r ?

He could have the same advan tages in the Cli n i c a m as Kasel
 KI N D A CT OF T HE
’
KI N G S . 2 5!

o w sk had and we should certainly do our best for him I am

y , .

convi n ced that my husband could get him the means for it is ,
’
quite o n e of the king s best qualities that he is always glad to
give money to a n y o n e who needs it As I have spoken my .

mi n d freely about him I should also tell you how n icel y he has
,

behaved to Felix A tale n ted youn g musician who has been

.
,

for the last seven yea rs tutor in a family at Mecklenburg and ,

had never heard a note of his music wrote ve r y prettily a n d ,

modestl y to Felix asking him to look over some of his compo

,

si t i o n s a n d tell him whe t her h e thought h e had a n t ale nt

, y .

Felix wrote to him speaki n g in very high te r ms of his music an d

, ,

received a n an s wer which migh t h ave been add r essed to some

being from a higher sphe r e ; indeed it was the most natural flow ,

of g ra t itude I have ever heard Felix m ade a n applicatio n to the

.

ki n g for assista n ce an d got an an swer the day but one after ;

,

the young man is to have two hun dred thalers for two years so ,

now he is comi n g an d will be able t o hear and compose as m uch

,

music as he likes This is o n e only out o f a thous an d pretty

.
,

touchi n g amusi n g an d out-o f-the-way things that have happened

, ,

to Felix si n ce h e came .

’
It was Fanny s greatest w ish that the Di ri c hl e ts shoul d
again live with them as they h a d don e be fore at N o 3 Leip
, ,
.

zige r Strasse ; but R ebecca did not agree to this plan so ,

Fan ny yieldi n g to n e cessity took ch armi n g apa r tme n ts fu r

, , ,

n i sh e d with every moder n comfo r t fo r her sister in the Leip ,

zige r Platz No 1 8 W ith a care an d tende r n ess almost more

,
. .

mothe r ly than siste r ly she made all the arra n gemen ts down to
,

t h e smallest details If possible you shall have no discomfo r t ,

’
whateve r she w r ites
,
The climate which I can n ot alter is
.
, ,

e n ough already You must a n d shall fin d everythi n g i n good

.

’
order . It was a real blow to h e r that e v e n ts w hich will be
reco r ded b y a n d-b y caused a tedious an d expensive delay
-

’
before R ebecca could enj oy all these preparatio n s Fanny s .

first lette r on the subj ect continues

 L E T TE R S FR OM HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B e r li n : Ja n u ar y 3 0 1 844
. .

N ow for other topics L i e b e tr a u t Felix gave a most

,

amusi n g din n er-p a rty the other da y w i th Mme Sch r oder , .

D e v r i e n t Gade S c i a b a t ta etc
, ,
Mme Sch r oder is t he most
,
. .

e n te r tai n i n g woman full of fun a n d w ith a host of good sto r ies

, ,
.

’
N ext Satu r day Felix s birthday we have a few people b u t it
, ,

is such a n e ffo r t to me that I really feel as if I had never h ad

a n ybody to di n n er befo r e On Sun day w eek my music begi n s
.

’
agai n a t Fe l ix s request for he has heard that the gossi p s
, ,

are sayi n g he does n o t like ou r havi n g musical pa r ties His .

position at the cathedral i s but so -so but how is it po ssible for ,

him to get o n wi th Strauss ! You w ould n o t believe ho w ever , ,

h o w little the se vexatio n s a ffect him n o w W hen you come .

home stron g and well as I hope yo u will a n d have left behi n d

, ,

a ll your aches a n d pai n s a n d a ll fit s of low n ess too I must take

, ,

care not to b e the o n ly g r umbler i n the family so I w ill begi n ,

this ve r y day an d t ry to be as amiable as possible Oh dear I .

,

ha v e s u ch a lot of visits to pay a n d this wi n ter has been so wet ,

t ha t yo u c a n sca r cely get fr om roo m to r oom wi thout soaki n g

’
you r fee t ; but as for wasti n g o n e s mo n ey o n a ca r ri a ge — that
is not the will of P r ovide n ce as father used to say As it is it ,
.
,

is quite abomi n able the way mo n ey goes with n othi n g to sho w ,

for i t I can n ot help b r eaki n g out whe n ever I thi n k of it But

. .

what a splendid si n ger Mo ria n i i s ! Just fa n cy be delighted ,

me in Lucia in spite of the worst possible surroundi n gs He

,
.

si n gs w ith such simplici ty a n d makes the whole e ffect me r ely

,

by t h e way i n whic h h e produces his voice which plea ses me ,

imme n sely People say he c a n do n othi n g which is charmi n g !

.
,

E xtr a c t fr o m a L etter f
o F e li x to R ebec c a .

B e r li n Febru ary 1 5, 1 8 4 4

You ask me for a p r ogramme for Holy W eek N othi n g .

can be easier : go to the Sixti n e chapel o n W ed n esday Thursday , ,

a n d F r iday a n d liste n
,
wi thout bei n g discou r aged by the i n e x
,

pres sible dulness of the i n n ume r able psalms which they r ecite
2 54 L E T TE RS FRO ”. HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

Dear W alte r yo u might ha v e drawn me by thi s time a

,

horse or t wo a good skirmish a siege or Gregory V II at

, , ,
.

Canossa Or you might wri te ! E verythi n g from R ome is

.

inte r esti n g Tell me what you e a t a n d w hat lessons you do ;

.

whether you have foun d the place where C i cero stood w hen he
’
said a u sga e ta n de m a ba ter e Ca ti li n a and whether t here
, , ,

ar e till to be had such good c o nfetti for throwing at the shop

s

at the co r n er of the Vi a Condotti an d the Corso You are now .

in the midst o f t h e Carnival .

R ebec c a to F a n n y .

I have been doi n g the Carnival in a carriage and from ,

both wi n dows a n d balconies ; for as Borcha r dt has a carr iage

a n d a b alcony a n d Ka se l o w sky a balco n y w e had our choice
, , .

D r ivi n g howeve r made me quite wild although I o n ly stood

, , ,

upon the defe n sive ; altogether I acted as the j u s te m ili eu

between my p hi lo sop he r eti r é da m o n de Di r ichlet w h o threw , ,

flowers an d suga r -plums with a fine contempt for t h e wo rld i n

ge n eral a n d W alter who w as in a state of fra n tic delight with
, ,

every mask a n d even at every sugar-plum that hit him or dig

,

in the ribs h e received They o n ly bomb a rd with flowers a n d

.

sweetmeats now as stucco c o nfe tti are m a u v a i s g en r e only

,

to be reso r ted t o at the last extremity The bouquets flyi n g .

t hro u gh t h e air in every direction are a very pretty sight The .

evening o f the Moccoletti was much spoilt by the rain but we ,

’
were ve ry m erry on our or rather o n B o r c h ar dt s balco n y The
, , .

pa r ty co n sisted of the S c iab a tta s Ka se l o w sky, Borchardt a n d , ,

ou r selves W alter bei n g very busy t ryi n g to exti n guish the

,

lights i n the carriages belo w with a lo n g c a n n a Opposite us .

was th e g r ave column of An to n inus gazi n g solem n ly down at ,

the mad goi n gs on below The r e has been o n e bad accide n t .

a young m a n who t r ied to defe n d a lady w i t h him agai n st the

d i r ty pocket ha n dkerchiefs of the crowd , was seve r ely stabbed
-
,

a n d died yeste r day I only wonder that such thi n gs do not

.

occur more frequently with the people i n such a state o f excite

ment Last Sun day week we we r e at a little ba l m a squ e given
.

by your fr ie n ds th e Brunis whe r e I en j oyed myself ve ry much ,

 T HE CA R N I VA L . 2 55

i n deed a n d even dan ced old as I am A saltarello by three

, ,
.

couples d r essed as T r aste v eri n i for which a n old lady played

, ,

the tambou r ine and Brun i himself the gui tar was quite charm
, ,

i n g ; Sig n ora An gelica Bru n i especially wi t h her b r other for a ,

partn er really dan ced quite li ke a Bacchan te The fran tic

,
.

exciteme n t the shouting a n d clapping of h a n ds all seemed

, ,

very st r an ge to us phlegmatic N orth-Germans Yesterday we .

we n t to the V atican again aft er a lo n g interval for it acts like

, ,

poison o n those troubled with rheumatism There I had the .

pleasur e o f seei n g t h e most beautiful woman my eyes ever

beheld I was struck dumb with amazement W hat were the
. .

Mi n erva Medic e a the Nile and Demosthenes in compariso n with

, ,
’
her ? I felt j ust like Fran z i n G otz v o n Berlichi n ge n She is .

a Fren chwoman a Mme de Cla ir b o u r g and I repeat Ve n us was

, .
,

a fish w i fe to h e r She is creati n g quite a sensation he r e Old

. .

F o ge lb e rg walked rou n d a n d roun d her car r i a ge at the Ca r n ival ,

sta r in g at her , till he r husban d th r ew a handful of c o nfe tti i n

his fa c e Ka se l o w sky is quite wild about her ; he has seen her
.

’ ’
several times en to i le tte at S c h n e tz s a n d Dela r oche s She .

da n ced a m i n u e t at th e Ca r n ival-ball with Mme Dela r oche and .

several other Fr e n ch people , d r essed as rococo shephe r desses but ,

u n fo r tu n ately I s t ayed a w ay fr om a stupid feeli n g of shyness .

Al together my dislike of st r an gers aided a n d abetted by ,

Di r ichlet has played me mo r e th an one trick I repent of it

, .

afte r wards , but feel that I sh all ne v er get o v er it , so I must go

o n as I am But did the sp r i n g in R om e make you so r i di c u
.

l o u sly weak ? I cry at eve r y fr esh sp r i g and at every stupid

j oke though I make ple n ty myself The other day we were at
, .

’
a dreadfully slow a ffair at Sa n ti n i s He had covered up a bust .

of Palest r i n a with a table -napki n and this h e removed with a ,

speech followed by the r ecital of a hundred son nets and some

,
’
u gly music by the Pope s choir There were o n ly a lot of monks
.

prese n t besides oursel v es E rn st has foun d some playm a tes a t

.

’
N e re n z s In fin e w eather they go for a walk and when it i s
.
,

w et they play i n doors to the secret deligh t of whichever mamma

,

h a s n o t got t hem This of cou r se i s o n ly a j ok e for they are

.
,

really very good and most amusing .

2 6
5 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

On August 1 a n d 2 Fe lix is to conduct a great musical

festival at Z w e i b r ii c ke n where amo n g other t hi n gs St Paul
, , , .

a n d the W alpurgisnacht a r e goi n g to be performed , a n d I ca n n ot

help thi n ki n g that you will ve ry likely play the last ac t of your
t ra v els the r e and t ake your fare w ell o f the beauties of N atu r e
, ,

while the t r umpets are heraldi n g your retur n to the pleasu r es o f

ar t and of friendship Thus the symphony o f your tour will
.

close with a splen did fin a le d la Beethove n The final chord s .

will be long enough if you begin on August 1 a n d reach here

by the end of the month I throw this out as a bone for yo u
.

to pick at your leisure .

I rehearsed the W alpu rgisn acht for the secon d ti m e

yesterday and we si n g it next Sun day It wen t o ff sple n didly
,
. .

M m e Decker Auguste L ewe Bader and our new bass si n ger

.
, , ,

Beer did won ders in the ch orus a n d you cann ot think how fin e ,

t he music is a n d so pleasant to sing

,
These rehearsals are the .

greatest t r eat to u s The sisters an d brothe r s dined here a n d

.
,

i n the aft ernoon we parted in pursuit of vario u s artistic pleasures .

Felix whose sweetness a n d good —t emper are still c r esc en do took

, ,

Sebastian and M in n a s you n gest to t h e Kii n igsta dt theatre , an d

’

we and the Pauls we n t to the first co n cert of the charmi n g

M ila n o ll o s t wo girls of eleven a n d fourteen years of age who
,

play the v ioli n the elder o n e exquisitely and the youn ger very
, ,

cleverly Both a r e a pleasure to look at They are dressed

.
.

coquettishly but sensibly i n short wh i te frocks the elder one ,

with her dark hair in beautiful lo n g plaits the o t her with a ,

cu r ly head like a cherub The public have gone wild about .

them , a n d with reaso n Felix has gai n ed his point c o n tr e v en t

.

e t m a r ée a n d vocal music is to be i n troduced at the sub sc rip

,

tion-concerts ; at the last we are to ha v e the n inth symphon y

and Felix s psalm , W hen I srael out of E gypt came
’ ’
.

You ask why we did not send you the W edding March in
a letter ? In the first place because i t i s so lo n g that we could
ha rdly have got it i n to a sheet of notepaper and in the second ,
.
,

what a r e you t hinking of This year you have o r an ges dirt , ,

and sun shi n e a n d u n less we keep pea s clean lin ess , and music
, ,
2 58 LE TTE RS F R O ” . HO M E A IVD A B R OA D .

not b e able to resist a delightful quar ter of an hour s chat We ’

.

are c o n ten ti ss im i and while se n di n g yo u a vote of co n fiden ce in

,

due form I solem n ly i n vest you with the portfolios o f the hou se
hold — the Cabinet the Home O ffi ce and the E ducation Depa r t
, ,

ment— a n d wi ll instruct my minister o f fi n ance to put the

necessary su m s at your disposal I am eagerly looki n g forwa r d .

to the li ttle conservatory and fancy I see from here the o r an ge

,

tree with its dried -u p fruit and withered blossom How it will .

remi n d me of Italy ! Ca n you give us no news o f Naples ?

Is there a revolutio n there or is there n o t ? Travellers say n o t
, ,

but the well-informed are mysteriously silent The political .

atmosphere looks lowering a n d the n a v e di S P i e tr o seem s , .

ra ther shaky .

R e bec c a to F a n n y .

R o me : M ar ch 3 0 1 8 44 , .

Of the environs we have only seen Frascati and Grotta

Ferrata whe r e there was a ham-fair las t Mo n day we had a
, .

delightfully clear day and a merry drive in spi t e of various

o bs tacles mostly of the laugh able sort
, In the first place .
,

Kase l o w sky w o u ld sit wi t h his back to the horses so he had to ,

leave the car r iage when h a lf way a n d lie back duri n g the rest ,

of the time in an omi n ous silence which he broke after su n d ry ,

’ ’
fr i tti s and a m i do s at the o s te r i a c o n c a c i n a but conti n ued ,

rather cross till after di n ner The n his dog was missin g and .
,

he reproached Moser in few but severe w ords ( please do not

forget t his i n cide n t ) till the stupid animal which has not a grain
, ,

of se n se t ur n e dup W e got back at seven quite exhausted havi n g

, .
, ,

walked through Mondrago n e T a v e rn o a n d Falco n iere amid the , , ,

c r owd of ham -dealers ( By-the -b y I could n ever have believed

.
,

that the neighbourhood of R ome could produce such a number

o f u gly w omen as we sa w at G r otta Fer r ata— one S pecies a ki n d ,

of stout old hag riding was especially fin e ) I begged Di r ichlet

, , .

’
to allo w me to close the shutters a n d say not at home but he ,

w ould not a n d p r oved t o demonstration that no stra n gers could

,

possibly come a n d that he wa n ted to see our daily fr ien ds W e

,
.

gave way the gentlemen disposed themselves o n t w o chairs

,

each while I t ook to t he sofa till tea , wh ich we had a n hour

, ,
 B R I G /1 N 0 5 . 2 5
9

earlier than us ual w ith eggs ham etc as we had eaten nothing
, , ,
.
,
’
si n ce one o clock except n uts and raisi n s which o n e gets every
, ,

where W e had j ust fin ished ; the table was strewed w ith the
.

r ui n s of Troy eggshells ham-parings etc and Moser a n d

, , ,
.
,

Ka se lo w sky were j ust taki n g leave , when the bell ra n g and i n

rushed Mme Bruni in a velvet mantilla a n d hat wi t h feathe r s
.
,

Mme Bellay in an elegan t Parisian toilet, her daughter, a n d all

.

the husba n ds (NB The fi r st time th ey had ever come in the

.

eve n i n g) A dreadful mome n t ensued before t h e ruins had been

.

cleared away fr esh boilin g water brought an d m y cap h astily

, ,

a dj usted I count upo n your sympathy ! Du ga sse a u also came

.

i n a little late r and th e se ssio n lasted till midnight

, If you .

thi n k that that w as the end of it you are much mistaken , .

W hen they had all gone away a n d I had go n e to bed a n d ,

Di r ichlet set tled do wn t o wo r k i t was discove r ed that Ka se lo w sky

,

had forgotten his beast which after the eve n ts of the day was
, , ,

ridiculous en ough It took some tim e to pe r suade it t o set t le

.

down but th e child r e n were delighted in the morni n g and took

, ,

it i n to their beds a n d fed it Sebastian should have been there

.

too He would also j oi n i n another of their pastimes W hen

. .

ever the bell r i n gs they bo th rush out and shout like mad ,
Chi a?
The topic of th e day is that the dilige n ce has been attacked
by brigan ds bet w ee n N aples and Terracina an d pillaged It is .

but too true 0 Hensel fo r Ho r ke l who was i n the cabriolet

, , , ,

has gi v e n us a ve ry comical accou n t o f the whole affair They .

issued their comman ds to the un lucky passe n ge r s — n el n o m e di

G es a Cr i sta e de lla S a n ti ss im a M a do n n a fa c c i a i n ter r a and ,

the n rifled their pockets an d their boxes Ho rke l is quite the .

he r o of the day j ust as we were after our robbery He o n ly lost his

, .

w atch a n d six scudi an d you may t ell his mo ther that the fr ight
,

has agreed with him r ather tha n othe rwise for th e day aft e r ,

his arriv al h e took a wal k with u s in the V illa P o n ia t o w sky and

drank tea wi t h us in the eve n ing Yeste r day I sa w the pro .

’
cession of palms in St Pete r s but n o t ha v i n g spe n t the previous
.
, ,
’
night in the ladies tribune 1 had t o s ta n d a n d could not , , ,

t herefo r e stop lo n g
, Di richlet was to ha v e j oi n ed in the pro
.
 2 60 L E T TE RS FR OM HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

cession , but did not for want o f a pair of breeches w h ich he did
, ,

not feel inclined to purchase so after all he stayed at home , ,

worki n g I f I did n o t make him go out for a w a lk n o w a n d then

.

h e really would ove r wo rk himself In the aft ern oon as I said .

,

befo r e we were a t the V illa P o n i a to w sky til l after sun set If

,
.

I we r e n o t afraid of wearyi n g you with my constant talk abo u t

flowers I w o ul d te l l you o f the quantities o f hyaci n ths I b r ought
,

home and of how charmi n gly my room is ador n ed to-day with

, ,

nosegays from all the seve n hills of R ome I t is so lovely t hat .

I feel sure nobody will come t o see it .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B er l i n : M a rch 1 8 , 1 8 4 4 .

W e have bee n leading a most dissipated life he r e

lately Last week we had two or three engagements for eve r y
.

day i n cludi n g four large eve n i n g parties o n four successive

, ,

eve n ings at o n e of which we heard the Cou n tess R ossi at

, ,

a n other Miss Birch (an E n gl ish si n ger who si n gs j ust like ,

Clara N ovello ) an d at t w o o t hers Madame Decker The latter

,
.

gave the most sple n did so i r é es you c an imagin e on two suc

c e ssi v e Thu r sdays ; they were intended in honour o f the Duke

of Meckle n burg and his The a ter -I n ten da n t, but u n fo r tunately

the former di d n o t come to Berlin at all , a n d the latter h ad to go
back a fter the first fete These failures , however , did not i m
.

pair ei ther the brillian cy of the so i r e e or the good h umour o f

’

our hostess w hose voice was in excellen t co n ditio n

,
Last .

Sunday w e had the most brilliant Sunday-music that ever w as ,

both as regards the m usic and the audie n ce W hen I tell .

yo u that we had twe n ty-two carriages in the court, and Liszt

‘

a n d eight pri n cesses in the roo m , you will dispe n se with my

desc r ibing the splen dours of my dwelli n g but I will give you
’
my prog r amme : quin t e t by Hummel duet fro m ‘
Fidelio , ,

variations by David , played by that capital little Joachim who i s ,

’
n o i n fant p r odigy but a most praiseworthy child a n d S eba stian s
, ,
’
g r eat fr iend to boot two so n gs one of which E cke rt s beautiful
, , ,
’
Lass die Schme rze n dieser E r de , Felix an d Mme Decker pe r .

fo r med by hea r t with eminent success as usua l I give you

, ,
.

my permissio n to make n o secret of this to E ckert Then .

2 62 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

a gain i n to the lovely air for i f we a r e havi n g th e most delig ht

,

ful spri n g weather what m u s t it be w ith you ! By the time

,

this letter reaches you several days will have passed si n ce your
,

birthday a n d yet I canno t send i t till to -morro w that I may

, ,
’
i n close an account of to day 8 perfo r mance of Israel in E gypt
-
,

which has given us so much to do lately B ut fi r st of all I mu st .

wish you man y happy returns a n d hope that you a n d y ours ,

may have health happi n ess and fine w eather on your bi r th

, ,

day for then I am sure you will spe n d a charming day out
,

of doors in some beautiful spot I am looking for w ard to your .

description of the fete but not to the day itself because then , ,

Felix will be go n e and the mere thought of that is disg usti n g

,
.

How soon we become familiarised with an ythi n g pleasan t ; a n d

a lthough I can n ot say that I accept i t all as i f it ought to be

as it is yet I do n o t k n ow how we sha ll do without him They

,
.

do not come back befo r e the e n d of Au gust when you I hope will , , ,

be here also and so I w ill pass th e summer in j oyful anticipation

,

o f the good time in store for us There i s so much noise a n d .

confusion about me tha t I c an ha r dly fin d a quiet moment for

writing This eveni n g after the oratorio we expect som e people
.

’
for a hot supper , and as we are dining at the Pauls an d Hei n rich , ,

as you will remember has origi n al ideas of ar r an gi n g a t able

, ,

y o u will not be surprised to hear that I am havi n g t h e cloth

laid for the evening in the morni n g running i n to the ga r den

for a whi ff o f fresh air receivi n g visitors a n d attendin g to , ,

a r rangemen ts for to morrow , t h e l st between whiles

-
, .

’
M o n da y Ap r i l l Israel our supper and everythi n g else
, .
, ,

is now past and go n e but each in its way deserving of ho n our

,
’
able mention I must give you an accou n t of the whole week
. .

The rehear sals of the oratorio and th e choruses of the sympho n y

to gether overwhelmed Felix wi t h work so that one day he did ,
’
not get his di n n er till seven o clock The sympho n y on Thu r sday .

was splendid a n d played with the greatest e n thusiasm E ach

,
.

member of the choir I met in the corridor afterwards was i n a

state of exaltation and n ever did I un derstand a n d appreciate the
,

gigantic work as I did this time But you shoul d ha v e seen .

how Felix conducts it a n d the w ay he has made the orchest r a

,

understa n d it It we n t off sple n didly a n d I do not remember

.
,
 ‘
I S RA E L I N E G YP T .
’
HOL Y WE E K .
3

a mo r e suc c e s sful musical even i n g The two last rehea r sals o f .

’
‘
Israel w ere so fa r fr om perfection tha t I we n t wi th som e
app r ehe n sion to the chu r ch i t was crowded to the ve r y
doors , but seats n ear the altar had been reserved for us a n d
t h e re st of the a r is t ocracy The bass e s made a g r oss mistake in
.

the first r ecitative but after that all we n t beautifully ; the

,

three huge masses the choir the orchest ra a n d the organ were
, , ,

in such wo n derful harmony an d t he o r gan especially has such

,

a glo r ious e ff ect that I should n e v er like to hear a n orato r io

without i t aga i n Afterwards we all assembled r ound my supper
.

table an d se t to work on a n imme n se fish a ditto turkey and an

, , ,
’
excellen t cup Felix was in good spi r its Bunsen in raptur es
.
, ,

an d eve rybody h appy only for t h e shadow cast over us by the

,
’
news of Thor w aldsen s death whi ch depressed He n sel so much ,

that h e was n o t in the vein for gi v i n g toasts .

The mos t i n terestin g piece of hom e n ews is that Ca r o has

w o n his sp u rs . He and our w atchman W i n ter seized and took
to the police an in dividual who was spe n di n g th e night in the
little cella r by th e ga rde n a n d wh o most likely belonged to a
,

set of ge n tlemen who robbed N o 1 that very night Fel ix was . .

immen sely tickled at my givi n g a t h a ler to W inte r and a piece

of r oast mutton to Caro ; but I am v e r y glad tha t ou r p r e c a u
t i o n a r y measu res have saved us fr om actual robbery so that we ,

ha v e n o t spe n t our mo n ey in vai n Fo u r little fr uit-trees for .

,
’
Felix s four child r e n ha v e been plan ted to day by m y orders
,
-
, ,

o n the grass-plot i n the cou r tya r d which you laid down There .

is a g r eat deal goi n g o n i n th e garden n o w , w hich is a pleasure

t o see . A coup le of our oldest frie n d s l eave B erlin thi s mon th
the De v r i e n t s He has accep t ed an enga geme n t as directo r
.

of t he thea t r e a t Dresden by which h e hopes to m ake his

,

fortu n e It is sa d but too true that though our circle of me r e

.
, ,

acquai n t a n ces i nc r eases daily the number o f our real fr iends is

,

dimi n ishi n g to an alarming de g ree So says He n sel , so says .

F elix , and so say I .

2 64 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

R e be c c a to F a n n y .

Ro me April 1 3 , 1 8 44 .

Allthis week I have bee n t hi n ki n g how nice it was that the

1 1 th w as a Thu r sday mail day but w he n it came not a single
, , ,

letter fr om home It was a grea t dis a ppoi n tment , and marred

.

my otherwise b righ t and ple a san t birthday I owe you an .

account of Holy W eek which tha n ks to Providence I survived

, , , ,

thus giving a n other proof of how much better I am for tho u gh , ,

fa tigued a n d exhausted like th e rest of the world I am n o n e the ,

worse On Thu r sday I was I regret to say prese n t at th e

.
, ,

washi n g of the feet an unpleasant process w hich however

, ,

W alter thoroughly e nj oyed e n teri n g with much gusto i nto ,

every detail W e g a v e up the di n n er a n d had ours i n stead in

.
,

the cou r t of a little os ter i a , first clea n i n g our own k n i v e s and

fo r ks Then we we n t back to t he V atica n i n such good time
.
,

that the Sixti n e w a s not yet ope n and we rested h a lf a n hour i n ,

t he illumi n ated Paolina Here we could collect our tho u ghts

.

a n d get into a proper frame of m i n d w h i c h is al most impossibl e ,

’
amo n g the ill-behaved crowd of th e Sixtine a n d St P eter s . .

The n we went wi t h the st r eam i n to the Sixti n e where our ,

patie n ce through the lon g pauses and en dless Psalms was at

len gth rewarded by the Lamentation s which w e r e exquisite ly ,
’
su n g and the Miserere , unfortun ately B a i n i s which you told
, ,

me about and which moreo v er they san g ve ry i n c o rre c t lv I

, , , .

w a s su r p r ised to fin d that th e pause for the silent P at ern oster ,

after the last light is exti n guishe d the descript ion of which I ,

have neve r read either i n books of travel o r i n your letters

without t e a r s m ade no impression upon me w hatever i n reality
, .

There w as really n o s t illness a t all what w i t h coughi n g blowin g , ,

of noses scrapi n g of feet a n d the chatteri n g of th e I n g lesi ;

, ,

then t h e w hol e looked so very like a comedy got u p for

t he benefit of the for es ti er i O n Good Friday we too k your.

advic e al w ays wor t h followi n g a n d atte n ded t h e ea r ly service

, , ,

with the Pa ssion and the I m p r o p e r i e Ho w ex t remely beautiful .

it is ! Am I w r ong in thinkin g that Palest ri n a olte n puts me

i n mi n d of F a sc h We walked home ac r oss th e pleasan t
meadow s di n ed rested awhile and t he n drove rather late t o
, , , , ,
2 66 L E T TE R S FR OM HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

he paid us t hr ee visits yesterday ! He stayed rather lo n g ; and

Ch e li n i a han dsom e Piarist mo n k w h o often comes to see us
, , ,

dropped in as well as Madame N e r e n z so we imp r o v ised a

, ,

so i r e e m u s i c a le for the Padri in the m iddle of t h e da

’

y I must .

now be terse as I have much to tell you yet Fi r st of all

, .
,
’
E lsasse r s picture the Campo San to at Pisa by moonlight is
, ,

finished and it is beautiful beyond descriptio n The execution

, .

is as finished as in a Dut ch m a ster but the truth and the poet ry ,

’
of it ! Dr B raun calls it the philosophy of moonlight
. but
that is n o t the idea it conveys to me The o n ly thing is to see .

it and that more than once till your eyes can tak e in all the
, ,

detai ls provided you succeed in keeping them d r y On Sunday

, .

the poor fello w came to see u s He never left his room all .

through the winter but h e stayed with u s at least three hours

, ,

a n d in spite of his bad grammar and complimen t s was very

interesti n g No w I must come t o the prose of t his poet r y of

.

m oon light This picture on w hich he has been at wo r k with

.
,

the greatest devotion for n i n e mo n th s and which is o n e of t he ,

most beautiful paintings of modern times was o r dered by th e ,

Kin g of W ii rte m b ur g for 7 0 Frederics d or - ’

and he wi ll
not be induced to ask for more ! I h ave exerted all m y eloquen ce
upon his b r other but in vain ; a n d I dare n o t say an ythi n g to
,

h imself as he is so very excitable Hen sel c an always hit upon

,
.

some expedie n t and he knows everybody so could he not fin d

, ,

some means of representi n g to the king that i t is impossible for

a sick m an to live upon such a sum as that ? I o n ly speak o f
the time it h a s taken h im for that at least o ugh t to be paid , , ,

for It is a picture which according to th e u n iversal O pi n io n

.
, ,

will be some day— too late for the a r tist to profit by i t — worth
’
its weight in gold If I w ere the Ki n g o f Prussia s pa r ticular
.

friend , I should n o t rest till I had got a pension fo r the poor

fellow for the few yea r s he has to li v e I do n o t know whe ther .

’
you understan d me as P rofessor N i e dli c h says No b ody would
,
.

believe u n less they had seen it that such patriarchal simplicity

, ,

as that of the two E l sa sse r s could exist in this wicked wo r ld .

So much for E lsasser If I only had room I would write th e.

,

sto ry of the cushio n I worked fo r him an d w hich Mi n na ca r r ied ,

to his house to have an opportu n ity of seein g t he picture She .

 . MO RA L I N FL UE N CE OF R OIPI E . 267

was quite hu r t a t h i s offe r ing her a scudo , but asked permissio n

’
to come agai n a n d b r i n g Co r nelius s cook The chap ter o f Mi nn a . .

Dirichl e t a n d Julie Corn elius i n Rome w ould be worth a wh ole

letter to itself W e met the other day a t t he Cassas the
.
’
, ,

sec r etary o f the French Academy who paid me the greate st ,

compliment I ever received by saying after I had played some, ,

thi n g that he h a d had the ho n our of hearing m e four yea r s

,

ago at the F r e n ch Academy Is not that a n order of the R e d.

E agle first class ? I am very glad to hear of all your m usical

e nj oyme n ts but not of the decrease i n our circle of fr iends I f
,
.

you and Felix have a n y di fficulty i n gathering nice people

around you either there can be no nice people in Be rlin or
, ,

there must be something in the atmosphere which m akes it

impossible to make frien ds It can n ot be de ni ed th at one
.

d r ive in the coun t r y round R ome does more to bring people

toge ther than a n ynumber of meetings in a close room Which .

remi n ds me that I have n o t said anythi n g about our departure

for why ? we do n o t depart To all o f us it seems a wrench .

to leave R ome This has been a win ter for which w e c a n never
.

be than kfu l e n ough W e have all been well and happy a n d

.
,

Di r ichlet has enj oyed his work a n d be en ve r y fr iendly with the ,

a r t ists especially the E lsasse r s for whom h e has a great a ffect-ion

, , .

But w e must do o ur duty and see Naples and Sicily , .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B erli n : Apri l 3 0, 1 8 44 .

spite of the dry and cold sp r i n g an d the co n stan t

In ,

ea st wi n d w hich covers eve r ythi n g with dust everything is

, ,

al r eady green here The grass is in splendid condition a n d the

.
,

n i ghti n gale in excelle n t voice But I am in one of the leas t .

pleasan t phases of spring— all the carpets are up the floo r s have ,

n o t yet bee n waxed t h e curtains are at the wash a n d brooms

, ,

and dustpan s a r e goi n g all over the house S uch earthly .

troubl es as these do n o t to uch your ideal life You ask how .

,

would many o f your R oman acquai n tances look here ? Surely

n o t to ad v antage fo r it is o n e of the privileges of that stran ge
,

climate that everyt hi n g capable of imp r oveme n t loo ks its ve r y

best w hile at the sa me time hopeless u gli n ess folly a n d
, , , .
268 L E T T E RS FR OM HOJWE A N D A B R OA D .

P hilistin ism look their very worst Do n o t you also feel that .

you are more ge n tle less i n cli n ed to be ha r d upon people

, ,

an d that your good poi n ts seem more p r omi n e n t than usual ?

Thi s it is which makes o n e less seve r e with othe r s The n the .

enj oymen t of the beauty of R ome which o n e shares with the ,

other visitors creates a so r t o f freemaso n ry You will be better

, .

o ff when yo u come back than w e were for our raptures o n ly ,

disgusted people while I am looking forward to talking over the

,

Pope and all his works w ith you I am much touched by what .

you say o f E lsasser a s I c a n see how i t all is so well I h O p e it

, .

wi l l not fall o n stony groun d He n sel at any rate will do all

.
, ,

i n his po w er to se r ve him Did I n o t always t ell you that his

.

bad grammar a n d complimen ta ry speeches go for nothing a n d ,

that he is an ideal human bei n g ? I wish I could see hi m

again , for I am really fo n d of him His b r other was little mo r e .

t han a boy then . I am glad to hear that h e also is likely to

become a good m an Ho w they must have enj oyed being wi t h
.

you — so grateful as they a r e for the smallest ki n d n ess shown

them !
The F e l ic ian s left us n early t hree w eeks ago an d I am as ,

melan choly as an old cat The last thing h e did i n music here w as
.

’
t o direct Faust at th e R a dzi w i lls It we n t o ff v ery w e l l an d
.
,

the so i r ee was pleasant as th e y always are at that noble house

’

, .

Since the dear F e l ic i a n s wen t away w e have had n o small

children i n the house which is a great pity as we have the
, ,

p r e ttie st little kids j ust n o w W alter s white goat h as a s n ow

’
.

’
w hi te you n g o n e a n d the garde n er s t w o cha rmi n g g ray a n d
,

black a n d—w hite o n e s which amuse me very much The pleasu r e

-
, .

my big boy takes i n them makes me thi n k how delighted the

little ones would have bee n B ut as we are obliged to limit the
.

n umber of our flock a n d the goat s have un fo r tunately t aken

,

after the rest of the family a n d p r o duced only males the poor
, ,

you n g generation is doomed to slaughter I shall hon e s tly .

pay W alter the market p r ice of his specime n a n d I c a n c o n ,

sc i e n t i o u sly promi se not t o pollute my o w n i n terior with t h e

v ictim , for not o n ly did I n o t ca r e for c ap r e tti i n Italy but I ,

could n ever bri n g myself to eat an y animal I had been pe r son

ally ac quai n ted wi th .
2 70 LE T T E RS FR O M HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

Again we have been havi n g a fe w of those days w hich belo n g

exclusively at R ome ; one a t Alba n o i n weather such as God ,

rarely sends eve n i n Italy This time w e did not follow i n your
,
.

steps but arran ged the Albania n Hills quite di fferently taki n g
, ,

first one day as you k n ow for Frascati a n d Grotta Fe r rata ; then

, ,

last Tuesday week we we n t to Albano roun d the lake to Mo n te

, ,

Cavo where we had lun ch down to the lake of Nemi a n d back

, , ,

to Albano by N emi Ge n za n o and Ar i c i a B ut I was not so

, , , .

heroic as you for the ri de down Monte Cavo alo n e was too much
,

for me so I walked from N emi to Genzano w here Borcha r dt

, ,

surprised me with a c or r i c o lo which brought us back to Albano , .

The lake of N emi has take n quite a hold o n my im a gi n atio n .

The charming outli n e of the da r k little town by th e balmy

water with the sea beyon d an d the spri n g over all was so lovely
, , ,

W e were lucky enough to find o n Mon t e Cavo the first Wa l d

m e is ter ( woodru ff ) a n d concocted fo r our dinner at Alban o
,

a classi c M a i tr a n k which with the light o f the setting sun o n

,

the sea se n t our by n o means depressed spirits up t o a ve ry

high pitch That eve n i n g n either the B r u n is nor the B e l lays
.

made their appeara n ce so we spent i t very quietly with E lsasser , ,

Kase lo w sky a n d Borcha r d t w h o h a d all three made the ex

, ,

c u rsi o n w ith us .

An other very ple a sant day was the 2 6 th Ka se lo w skys

’
,

birthday W e gave h i m some nice p r ese n ts— a stra w hat a

.
,

cameo ri n g which he had been ogling for some time a n d some

, ,

plan ts for his balco n y a n d Bo r chardt p resen ted him with a ,

double ope r a glass The two di n ed with us a n d in the after

-
.
,

noon we went to the V illa P a m p hi li and i n the evening his ,

artist fr iends Ha ll m a n n a n d Lehm an n assembled rou n d a

cake a present from Moser and a cup All this se n t Ka se l o w sky
, , .

i n to a state of happi n ess I should find it ha rd to desc r i b e but ,

w hich was the be s t part of the whole day Borchardt h a s given .

large o r ders fo r pictures to bot h the E lsa sse r s a n d Ka se l o wsky ,

a n d alto ether behaved very ha n dsomely t o E lsa sser which we

g ,

are glad to k n ow of before our departure The lo n g -ta lk e d o f .

-

excursio n t o Cerva ra i s fixed for to -m orrow Yesterday we spent .

t h e whole day in t h e V atica n in the E t ruscan Museum the , ,

’
lib r a r y w ith t he N ozze Al do hr an di n i the beautiful room wi th ,
 P A L E RM O . 27 1

copies o f the arabesques fr o m the Loggie and took leave o f the ,

frescoes a n d th e Mado n n a di Folign o I a m going prese n tly .

to Augus t E lsasser to play t o him with Borchardt par t s o f

, , ,
’ ’
the Midsummer night s Dream an d the Hebrides
‘ -
( If we .

two were he r e together little E lsa sser w ould not be always

,

pressing me t o play which you k n o w I can not bear ) The n

, .

we di n e at the Lepre and go to the Cor sin i gallery then to

, ,

San Pietro in Montorio, a n d after that take leave o f the Dela

roches with whom we spen t a ve r y pleasant evenin g lately
,
.

’
They we r e so to speak alon e and I played Mozart s sonatas
, , ,

wi th Mme Delaroche to a run n i n g accompan iment of fun She

. .

ga v e me her portrait an engravi n g ta ken merely for their

,

frie n ds by her husband August E lsasser has also given m e a

.

beautiful water colour sketch so I shall without i n tendi n g i t

-
, , ,

bring home a complete album .

You talk o f the reflections you wri te in your diary I .

could n ever bring mysel f to write down anything merely for m y

o w n reading All my atte m pts i n the diary line have turned
.

out perfec tly ch ildi sh and I co n tent myself now with notin g
,

dow n impo r tant eve n ts You are to all inte n ts and pu r poses
.

my diary .

No w good bye fr om R ome

- Ah it is sad to part ! ,

The Diri c hl e t s did n o t stay long in Naples this time and ,

a

let t er soon arrived fr o m

Pa le r m o .

This headi n g is so sig n ificant that I n eed o n ly state briefly

that we have arrived in safe ty tho u gh a good deal fatigued a n d
, ,

t hat Palermo is worth all the fatigue i n the wo r ld Co n fused a n d .

e n tan gled as my ideas are V esuvius sea—sick n ess Indian figs

, , , ,

a n d regrets at leaving R ome all whirl ing ro u nd together in ,

my poo r head I mus t try and tell you what we have been
.

doi n g At Naples the weather was much against us for each

.
,

morni n g we had a sti ll i n g sirocco a n d each afte r noon a thun der,

storm .

The r e was n o room for u s I am so rr y to say i n the V illa di

, ,

R oma so w e lodged opposite to where you did at 3 1 Santa L u cia

, ,
.
272 L E T TE RS FR OM I I OM E AND A B R OA D .

The vie w was n o t equ a l to that fr om the V illa d i R oma as th e ,

bakehouse of the barracks hid the i slan d s b u t stil l i t was very ,

beautiful V esuvius with its cloud of smoke looked straight in

.
, ,

at our wi n do w B ut w e seem to have left all this so far behind

.

al r ea dy that I can n ot get u p a n y i n terest i n writi n g about it .

At noon on Tuesd a y J a c o b y escorted us o n board and there w e ,

said good -bye to him for h e goes back to R ome by the e n d o f

,

the week and th en retu r n s to Germany O ur E r c o la n o was sup

, .

’
posed to sta r t at o n e o clock , but we had to wait till th r ee as ,
’
their Se r ene High n e sses the Cou n t of Syracuse s ho r ses who ,

were to go with us had n o t made their appearance E r n st and

, .

Walter had i n the mea n w hile made gre a t friends with t h e com
pany on board amo n g whom the r e were seve ral Ge r man s The
,
.

sea w as ve r y calm an d our din n er o n deck very amusi n g

, .

’
Nobody was ill i n spite of the captain s forebodi n gs
, I re .

mained o n deck till after mi dn igh t watchi n g the phosphorescen ce ,

o n the wa t e r a n d the in n umerable s t a r s which ma de it almost

, ,

as light as day E rnst was i n raptu r es wi t h th e small b ed s

.
,

which did not appear quite so att r active to me I lay do wn i n .

my dress on a sofa but soo n w oke up in a miserable state and

, ,

continued in tortur es till we g o t o n shore at Palermo I followed .

your advice and l a y stretched out on a be n ch en deavou r i n g

, ,

once or t w ice to take a look at the dark -blue sea and t h e shore
o f Sicily but failed utterly
,
W hen we were close to Palermo .
,

Dirich let made m e get up o n ce more ; and then , despite my

misery a thrill of admiration ra n th r ough me at the sight of
,

the wo n d r ous beauty I t is fa r supe r ior to Naples . .

W e had a dreadful confusio n o n boa r d w ith the first Italian

custom-house o fficers who would n o t yield to reaso n a n d then ,

the landi n g i n little boats did n o t exactly imp r ove my co n ditio n ,

as i t w as very rough At last howeve r we we r e on ter r a fir m a ,

.
, ,

and fou n d ourselves i n a comfo r table hotel though not close to ,

th e se a I reg r et to say for t h e fin e Hotel T r i n acria will n o t

,
.

be ope n till J uly After a little sl e e p a good wa sh a cha n ge

.
, ,

of d ress a n d an excelle n t di n n er all our suffe r i n g s w e r e for

, ,

gotte n a n d we spent the afte r n oon ve ry p leasa n tly i n the ga rdens

,

of th e V illa Bute ra a n d those belo n gi n g to the Duca di Serra

,

d i Falco If you w ish to see w hat I am about p ay a v i sit

. ,
2 74 L E T T E RS FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

land of Homer a n d of the Sa r a cens the c r adle o f the Ho h e n sta u ,

fe n s a n d the spot w here t h e crea t io n of the world is said to have

,

taken place I wish a few of the fleas had bee n le ft out The
. .

heat is very bearable the nights bei n g al m ost cool All the
, .

ga rden -walks are cove r ed with o r an ge -blossoms and fallen

lemo n s E n ough for to-day of blossoms hi lls a n d su n shi n e
.
, , .

Fa r e w ell a n d sympathise with me i n my happiness at for once

,

drea m ing the dream of life i n a ll i ts be auty .

E xtr a c t fr o m a L etter of F a n n y to R e be c c a .

B erl in : M ay 1 8, 1 8 4 4 .

We fully e n ter i n to the sad n ess w hich pervaded your last

’
letter from R ome with the charmi n g vign et te of Tasso s decayed
,

oak Oh Dirichlet how I shall enj oy heari n g you go into

.
, ,

raptures over the cou n try yo u used to abuse before you k n ow it !

I o n ly hope we shall n o t be obliged to give up speaki n g Italian
for good a n d all 1 He n sel is quite a fraid of the seve r e c r i t icisms
you will pass o n his u n criti c al , u n grammatical flue n cy Firs t .

of all though I will tell you somethi n g you will be glad t o

, ,

hear although I am afraid it may e n d i n n o t hi n g After

,
.

’
readi n g your letter about E lsa sse r s picture and co n sulting with ,
’
us Paul has decided to send a bill of exchan ge for 1 00 Louis -d or
,

to V alenti n i to be paid at o n ce to E lsasser if he will let him

, ,

have the picture I am ve r y much afr aid this over -scrupulous

.

man will not make u p h is mind to send it to us a n d compensate ,

t he Ki n g of W ii r te m b u r g a fter wards ; but perhap s when th e ,

kin g hea r s t hat private i n dividuals have o ffered hi m a much

higher price he m a y be induced to give mo r e himself I shoul d
, .

b e so glad if Paul got the pictu r e !

’
Mon day is old S c ha do w s eighty fir st birthday a n d there is -
,
’
to be an immense din n er at Kroll s on the E xe r c ie rp la t z (which ,

is an other surp r ise for you ) a n d I o n les c ir c o n s ta n c es have

, , ,

accepted t h e i n vitation but po ssessi n g n o suitab l e summe r

, ,

toilette had to get a go w n cap colla r and everythi n g in all

, , , , ,

ha ste yeste r day As ho w eve r it would be an u n hea r d —o f e v en t

.
, ,

for m e t o appear a t a public di n n er— eclipses a n d leap-years

are fr eque n t occu r rences in compa r iso n — I suppose somethi n g
will happe n to p r eve n t my goi n g .
 P UB L I C A FFA I R S IN B E R L I IV . 2 75

The garden is looking better than eve r the fresh sown grass ,
-

sparkles like emeralds and it is thorough growi n g weather ;

,

but I am afr aid that by the time you come back you will have
to p ut on spectacles to look for the gree n the lilac -leaves wil l ,

be like tobacco and the grass-plots wi ll have vanished like

,

fairy-tales and you will thi n k it was o n ly my boasti n g but it

,

is true n evertheless
,
.

Wa le srode in his last work mai n tains that the Spree is

, ,

t h e emblem of calm s t eady progress which made me la u gh for

, ,

three ho urs straight o ff The minister h as delivered himself of

.

a new decree respecti n g the universities which equals his former ,

mas t erp ieces In future Dirichlet w ill have to hold a disputa

.

t ion wi t h his audie n ce The whole production is again absurd

.
,

self contradictory and illogical and shows a t e n dency to b r ibe

-
, ,

the young m e n tho u gh they have n o t the pluck to do even that

,
’
thoroughly It really makes one s blood boil
. .

Altogether public affairs are n o t in a pleasant sta te The .

fr ightful speculation in rail w ay sh a r es the distress among the ,

weave r s of Silesia for whom every possible e ffort is be ing made

, ,
’
the Grimms lett er t o the papers stating that Ho ffman v o n
Fallerslebe n was an u n welcome guest on their birthday the r e ,

pression of all attempts at promoti n g general inte rcou r se between

t he Universities of Germa n y by imp r i s onment or expulsio n the ,

fresh prohibitory decrees issued every day the way the gover n ,

ment a n d the police spe n d all their time in meddli n g a n d leave

t h e public safety a n d sanita ry matte r s to t ake care of themselves
— the se a n d such as these are the to pics of the day N othing
, , .

else happens Mean w hile our life flows on in its usual cour se
.
,

a n d the o n ly noise t hat w e hear is the click of the Bo c cia -balls .

Albertine an d I sit out eve r y eveni n g on two pretty ne w garde n

chairs watching with much amusement the games of the
,

g r own u p childre n
-
.

F e li x to F a n n y .

4 H o bart P la ce , E a to n Sq ua r e : Ma y 1 3 , 1 8 4 4 .

Dearest F an n y — I should have writte n to you long ago if

,

I could always do w hat I liked but I r esolved at any rate that ,

2 76 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

I w o uld announ ce my safe arrival in Lo n don to you and b e g ,

you to han d the news on to Paul I fou n d it very hard to leave .

wife an d children but I had good news of them this mor n i n g

, ,

a n d hope tha t by the time of my r eturn the quiet a n d cou n try

air w ill have done them mo r e good tha n a l l the medici n e in the
wo rld Heaven g r an t it be so 1 You can n ot think what
.

a n xiety I we n t through at Leipzig .

The j ourney here was as pleasan t as could be especially the ,

c r ossing I fou n d Kl in ge m a n n well a n d happy and the same dear

.
,

old fellow he a l w ays w as He is goi n g to add a postscript If . .

C ecile were but w ith me this w ould be as p l easa n t a visit to ,

E n glan d as I ha v e ever had fo r all the old fr ie n ds are so u n ,

chan ge d so ki n d and lovi n g that I am quite touched by i t

, , .

N o t hi n g ho w ever can be complete without C ecile a n d so I

, , ,

w elcome the mul tifarious occupatio n s every m ome n t brings I .

hope too that my labours will not be e n ti r ely fr uitless ; at least

, ,

I hear ve ry satisfacto r y news from the Philharmon ic and if all ,

goes on as well as at the rehearsal of t he day before yesterday

hen my sy m pho n y in A minor was played really splendidly
( w
) ,

I hope to he of some service to the i n stitution You shall hear .

more on t his subj ect but n o w for the postscript , .

Kli n g em an n .

An d so we are se n ding a j oi n t letter once more an d olden ,

times have come back again Ah if o n ly it were the real old ,

times and we that is I could but be eve rlastingly yo un g l

, , ,

I see n o chan ge in Felix ; indeed we all think him looki n g

.

stro n ger a n d better than two yea r s ago He is cheery an d in .

good spi r its a n d it is a real pl easure to be wi th him N obody

, .

is a g r eater gainer by the whole a ffair than I W hat can be .

'

more delightful for a solita r y bachelor with no home circle ,

-

of his o w n than t o ha v e such a pleasa n t compa n ion with a

, ,

p r ospect too of keepi n g him for some months ? Poor Cecile I

, ,

W hat a lo n g separation it i s for her and for hi m l How we

shoul d like to have her here ! But wi t h all my sor r o w on her
a ccou n t I ca n not help enj oyi n g myself very much
, It is a pro .

v i de n t i a l arrangement I a m sure to compe n sate me for the

, ,

l oss of the Beneck t hi s s u m m e r Ano ther fortunate circum

ea .
27 8 L E T TE RS FR O M HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

F e li x to R ebe c c a .

L o n do n : Ma y 1 8 ,

This letter goes fr om Kli n ge m an n s fi r eside al l the way to ’

greet you at Naples A good fire is bu r n i n g o n the hearth , fo r

.

it is bitterly cold and we were quite chilly — a complaint yo u

,

will hardly u n de r stand when you receive this May we soon .

meet in the su n shi n e or if that cann ot be managed in the cold

, , ,

north wind That is m y chief reason for writi n g for you said , ,

i n your last to Fanny that you would meet us on the R hine or

, ,

perhaps at the Z w e i b r ii c ke n music a l festival a n d I want to do ,

all in my power to persuade you to adhere to this delightful

plan Pray do not let anything i n terfere with it it would be
.

so delightful if our fi r st meeting took place o n the R hi n e and ,

soo n ! Oh ho w delightful it would be ! But I need not say

,

a n other w ord about i t— you kno w it all ! So I will end by

repeati n g Do come,

You wil l have heard from Berlin that we have had all sorts
of troubles to conte n d with so our news will scarcely harmonise
with your blue sky sunshi n e and rippling water C ecile was
, , .

taken very un w ell indeed at Leipzig chiefly I suppose from , , ,

exhaustio n aft er the lo n g an d trying wi n ter , w ith t h e whooping

cough a n d the cares i t i n volved The childre n were not qui te .

recovered and Clarus talked of E m s and Schwalbach for C ecile ,

,

but the Fran kfort doctor did not advise either and prescribed ,

n othing but good country air a n d pe r fect rest whereupon ,

we en gaged a n ice house two leagues from Fran kfo r t where ,

C ecile was to go with her mother a n d th e childre n Yesterday .

she wrote me word that our fat little Paul has the measles and so ,

they will all probably take them an d i t is quite uncerta in when ,

C ecile may move into the country I had been counting the .

days till then because I expected so much from the fin e air a n d

, ,

n o w i n stead of bei n g relieved from t h e old cares fresh ones are

, ,

springi n g up It was a bad cough nervous d r y and tryi n g to

.
, , ,

a degree , and gr ea t weakness that C ecile suffered from at

Leipzig an d I believe we m u st take it ve r y seriously in hand
, ,

lest worse shoul d be i n store Than k God she was already .

,

much better when I left Frankfo r t a n d with proper care and ,

 FE L I X I N L ON D ON . 2 79

at t en tion I n eed n o t plea se G o d be u n easy ei ther for the p r esent

, ,

or for t h e fu ture But grea t care i s un doubtedly necessa r y a n d

.
, ,

as you m ayimagin e , I do all i n my power to see that she has i t .

U n der these circumstan ces my prese n t visit he r e ca n n ot of ,

course be co mpared to the last when C ecile was wi t h me a n d

, , ,

enj oyed i t so and everythi n g seemed so bright B ut the ki n d

,
.

ness of my frien ds is so great and the way in which the musical

,

public r eceive me so very sympa t he t ic a n d the obj ect of my ,

coming — to be of use in t h e Philha r mo n ic co n certs— is bei n g

so completely reali sed that I am su r e I shall look back to it wi t h
,

pleasure when o n ce I am h ome a gain and have seen wife a n d

children well You know that I a m Kli n ge m a n n s guest He is
.
’
.

going to add a postsc r ipt a n d I am t rying to persuade him to

,

come with me to G erman y in July Have you heard that .

,

though t r avelling from Colog n e to Ostend i n o n e day I h ad ,

time a t Aix la -Chapelle to call on Mr Meye r , mea n i n g to ask

-
.

afte r Mama Dirichlet whe n 10 and behold there was th e Mama

,

herself at breakfast looki n g so charmi n gly well and you n g that

,

I was thoroughly delighted an d we embraced each other hea r tily !

,

She mus t i n deed be included i n the R henish family -meeti n g ,

a n d play a promi n e n t part t o o My love to Di r ic h let ( I shook

.

ha n ds with Mr Babbage yeste r day ) an d Walter (he must eat

.

m a n i c hc di c tc llo and a ll ki n ds of fr n tti di m a r ) ; my love to

E r nst also to P a u sili p p o and Am al fi
,
.

P o sts cr ip t by Kli n g em ann .

Ah if you could but k n ow still youngest o f all my friends

, ,

h o w ofte n w hen tu rn i n g a lo n gi n g eye back to the m ost beau t iful

time of my youth I h ave thought of w riti n g to you w r i ti n g a ,

real let te r you would forgive me a n d I should have t he less

, ,

hesitation i n figuri n g here as a fragmenta r y appe n dix But fate .

is in fault fo r n o t allo w i n g me to see you for the last sixteen years .

I have been more lucky with the othe r s as t his appe n dix proves , ,

a n d I am i n debted to Lo n do n for a g r eat deal of Feli x who ,

fr om tim e to time and always at the right mome n t , se n ds a

,

delightful breeze of recollectio n s r u ffl i n g my hair— wh ich is

getti n g g ray— and in every way does me more good than I can
2 80 L E T TE RS FR OM HOrl/E A zVD A B R OA D .

exp r ess W hy do n o t you come o v e r like a ge n tle zeph yr You

.

would fin d some thi n g here t o suit you for it is n o t all Babbage ,

’
and R ule B r ita n n ia a n d yo u would e nj oy you r self I am
, ,

ce r tain Felix fo r tun ately feels the spell as w ell as exercises it

. .

Althou gh his wife i s n o t wi t h him a n d we miss he r so r ely h e , ,

looks w ell a n d cheerful a n d e nj oys the lo bster and the pies and
,

t he E n gli h ladies a n d is j u st as m uch a stonished as eve r a t the

s ,

n umbe r of E n glishme n he meets a n d t h e amou n t of E n glish he ,

he a r s s poke n a n d i s al t oge the r i n good spi r its If he does n o t

,
.

c mpo s e the fi n est w o r ks i t i s o n ly becau se of the i n cessan t

o ,

b ustle for such a lio n has n o t ime to himse l f except e a r ly in

,
‘

the mo r n i n g a n d la t e at n ig ht Those hours I ha v e him entirely .

,

a n d w e lead the life of com m o n huma n bei n gs and talk of our ,

frien d s I p r ofit most of co u r se As a n artist n o st r an ger

.
,
.
,

e v er held the po si tio n he r e that Felix does ; his stro n g calm ,

dispo sition e le v ates him far above all the smoke a n d hubbub ,

a n d eve n the Phil is ti n es feel this an d respect a n d app r eciate each ,

i n his o w n w a y the po w er all ack n ow l edge

,
W e Joh n Bulls .
,

t hough w e be a r e alto gethe r m o r e childlike a n d ca n did i n this

,

respect t ha n t he s c rib b li n g Conti n e n t Sh r ewder too tha n your .

l azy macca r o n i -eate r s w e possess the organ of ve n e r atio n a n d

, ,

c an admi r e ho n es tly a n d gladly W hat a pity it is you a r e n o t .

’
p resen t at Felix s r ecep t io n s It w ould delight your sisterly
hea r t fo r it does good even to a poor outsider The fir st Phil
,
.

ha r mo n ic co n ce r t he co n ducted w as a st riki n g i n st an ce of this .

Bo th o r c he st r a a n d audien ce we r e i n spired with new li fe they

played his sympho n y in A mi n or m ore beautifully than it h a s
ever bee n played be fo r e a n d e v e rybody liste n ed with a closer ,

atte n tio n a n d appla u ded mo r e vehemently than e v er I do n o t

,
.

wi sh eve rybody to u n de r st an d my Felix a s well a s I an d some

o t h e r s do The c r o wd though th ey may admire the p r ophe t
.
,

a n d m a gicia n a n d fin d them selves,

u n co n sciously att r a cted
t o w a r d s him n ever c a n app r eciate to the fullest exte n t a really
,

n oble a n d elevated character My paper is full but I ack n ow .

ledge that I still o w e you a letter as you o w e me a meeti n g , ,

’
a n d an O ppo r tu n ity of at last maki n g Di r i c h l e t s acquai n tan ce ,

a n d seei n g fo r myself the k i n d of life you lead W here w ill .

that he a n d w he n ? Felix speaks of th e Rhi n e May it be so !

,
.
2 82 L E T T E R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

some ki n d was being prepared fo r De v r i e n t The great R pic . .

.

t u re d to himself that this festival woul d induce De v r i e n t to come

back an d establish himself here for all futu r e t ime (I wish I h ad
as thoro ugh a belief in my own ideas a n d unde r taki n gs ) but ,

his arran gements were so u n speakably foolish that if he had been ,

allowed to ma n age the affair as he liked th e artistic wo r ld of ,

’
Berlin would have bee n scratching o n e ano t he r s eyes out for six
’
month s to come He n sel s good sense prevailed however a n d
.
, ,

at last the fete was reduced to the presen tation of a beautiful

chi n a vase with the names of the don ors on the pedestal O n
, .

W ed n esday De v ri e n t made his last appearance as Tasso After , .

the theatre hi s frien ds (exclusive of actors ) a ssembled in the

H otel de R ussie where h e stayed for the last few days and the
, ,

vase was presented to him wit h an introductory speech by

W erder who broke down i n the middle
, The n followed a .

’
frugal repast the supe r intendence of which R h ad ma n aged
, .

to secure an d in co n seque n ce the champagn e at th e ge n e r al

,
‘

expense flowed in such abundance that I dread to see the b i ll ,

whic h is still hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles .

De v r i e n t was very happy O n the following day the actors

.

gave him a dinner and ano ther present so his last t w o days ,

h ere were very pleasan t The day before yesterday it was Thor
.

’
w al dse n s turn and on this occasion a series o f the m ost p r e po s
,

t e r o u s blunders was committed The b all o f the Academy w a s

.

beautifully decorated w ith a colossal statue of Thor w aldse n

, ,

cleve r ly modelled by Kiss in th e centre and the whole really

, ,

looked very fine A speech fr om my handsome fr ien d R eumont

.
,

an animated dithyrambus fro m the g r eat R un ge n h age n and a ,

can tata by Kopisch a n d Taubert much in the style of Anti

,
‘

’
gone were the mai n features of the solemn ity The point o f
, .

it was that by m i s ta ke the k i n g a n d court were n o t invited !

Imagi n e th e dismay of the a r tistic wo rld o f Berli n Among .

others who had al so been forgotte n I have o n ly heard as yet ,

the n ames of Beuth a n d H umboldt W hat do you t hi n k of all .

this ? Fan cy the horror of the steward s when n o t a mouse not ,

eve n a chamberlai n appeared in t he royal box an d they thus

, ,

became acquain ted with what they had do n e I The pain te r s hap
pe n i n g to di n e w i th us afterwa r ds I let out a bit against W ach
,
 f AL E RM O . 83

an d the others laughing at them me r cilessly while they were

, ,

more inclined to cry But I really could not help it they

.

deserved to be lashed Why n eed they make such a fuss about

.

getting up a Thor w aldse n celebration at all if they cannot ,

avoid maki n g such clumsy mistakes

I have no very rece n t n ews of C ecile by the last the three
other children (Pa ul was well agai n ) t h e mother aun t and , , ,

eighteen members of the family altogether we r e down with measles .

C ecile has had another attack of inflammation of the throat it

was better again but I con fess that altogether I am much more
,

uneasy about her than Felix is God gran t that I may be .

mistaken , an d ove r-an xious Of Felix we have very good n ews .

He is happy delighted with th e e n thusiastic reception he meets

, “

with i n London w hich can n ot fa i l however to make him feel

, , ,

more the cold n ess of the people here It is a great con tras t . .

C ecile ha s not told him about her own ill n ess and forbids me ,

to do so either .

R ebec c a to F a n n y .

V ill a di Ro m a : M a y 3 1 1 8 44
Na ple s, , .

Your balcony desires to be remembered to you U n fo rt u n .

ately I am n o t i n habitin g it as the apartments are under r e

,

pair but I have j ust paid it an eve n i n g visit a n d given your

,

love to the three fi shi n g boats and the full moo n on the sea .

Agai n I am copy ing you dear Fa n n y for I am here in a

‘
, ,

state of tem po r a r y w ido w hood Ou r plan of maki n g excur .

sio n s in Sicily w ith the children proved imp o ssible for I could ,

neither ri de n o r go i n a lettig a n o r by steamer for fear of sea

, ,

sick n ess I eve n h a d to gi v e up Cefal u because I had to choose

.
,

between a ride of six German miles an d a sail in a small boat .

I am not sorry for it as n othi n g can be superior to Palermo :

,

but Di r ichlet had been looki n g forward so eage r ly to E tn a a n d

the tomb of Archimedes t hat I almost forced him not to gi v e
,

up the chan ce of so man y pleasan t recollectio n s an d came back ,

here by the la r ge ste amer P a ler m o wi th some people we h a d

made acquaintance w ith I was afr aid of th e heat a n d of the
.

small mail steamers w hich are said to be ve ry bad but it was

, ,

with a heavy heart that I left that mo st poe t ic spo t Palermo , ,

 2 84 L E T TE R S F R OAI HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

and established myself in the V illa d i R oma I sa w eve rythi n g .

in t h e neighbourhood of Pale r mo : Monte Pellegri n o with ,

’
Goethe s chapel of Sta R osalia where like him I hea r d the
.
, , ,

o r gan and the si n gi n g ; Mon r eale — did Hen sel take the bridle
path from S Marino to M o n reale it i s worth seei n g— B agg ar ia
.
,

where we wen t to see the D uca di Serra d i F a l io and severa l ,

times a day to the m a r i n a Oh ! how beautiful how poetic .

, ,

a n d how Moorish it all is ! An d how good th e hotel was a n d ,

the strawber r ies an d the n esp o le j a p a n es e ! Neither must we

,

fo rget the Ziza with its Moorish halls and its vie w celebrated ,

in history I wish I were there still for I feel rather solitary

.
,

here and the time passes very slowly without Dirichlet At

,
. .

Pale rm o 1 had Don R omeo I can scarcely believe that you do.

not kno w Don R omeo for we are always talki n g about him
, .

He i s S c h ap se and cousin W olf rolled into o n e only as hi s , ,

n ame shows translated i n to a Pa l e r mitan which is equi v ale n t

, ,

t o sayi n g youn g and han dsome Like cousin W olf he has a .

,

small income and a g r e a t display of white li n e n a n d is ve ry

, ,

polite on all occasio n s ; like S c h ap se he k n ows everythi n g a n d ,

gets everybody what they want He was introduced to us by .

an officer for whom Dirichlet had a letter and h e ha s sca r cely ,

left us si n ce ar r an gi n g our excursions maki n g th e p a tto wi th

, ,

t he coachme n a n d boatme n buyi n g sewi n g silk for me sewi n g

, ,

o n butto n s for Dirichlet and altogether p r ovi n g himself a v er o

,

a m ic o But I am ve r y ti r ed so good-night ! The day after

.
,

to -mo r ro w I will tell you more about R omeo ; to—morrow I a m

goi n g t o So rr e n to to visit the Ne r e n ze n s .

J u n e 5— E v v i v a . The sh ape of these n otes of exclama

’
tio n will show that my ej aculatio n is i n te n ded for Paul s little
da u gh t er E nv i v a ! W hat a load off my mi n d ! I wish I
.
'

were with yo u a n d able to go a n d see the new mother ! On such

,

occasio n s n o t even V esu v ius a n d the sea can make up for the
lack o f pe r son al intercourse A thousand good wishes to the .

fathe r mo t he r a n d child
,
On the 2 4 th we drank their health
,

at the foot of Monte Pellegri n o a n d I thought the event must ,

b e n ear but by that time it w as already ove r

,
.

I am da t i n g this le tter from Sor r ento as you p r edicted , ,

dea r Fa n n y but there is o n e g r eat drawback I made use o f

, .
2 86 L E T T E RS FR O M HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

hedges are full of poetry the mind can not fail to imbibe a t rac
,
e

or two of it .

R e be c c a to Fa n n y .

S o rren to : J un e 1 9 , 1 8 4 4 .

My dear Fanny — Your last letter lies before me reproach

, ,

i n g me with my sins : fi r st in not havi n g w r itten to you for ,

so lon g in spite of the fr ien dly welcome you gi v e my letters and

,

seco n dly i n having wronged poor N aples so much The fi r st

,
.

burden I c a n discha r ge at o n ce , and the second — but why did

our luck turn at Naples ? W hy did I fall il l there ? and w hy
was I so abominably cheated at the V i lla di Roma which has ,

chan ged its p a dr on e ? W hy were there at th e most o n ly four

days out of fourteen on which we could get out ? W hy does
the climate not suit me ? An d above all why does it lie , ,

between R ome a n d Palermo ? Besides you have bewi tched ,

us O n e day I get your letter sayi n g how smoothly everythi n g

.

is goi n g with us h o w fo r tun ate we are i n havi n g no ill n ess etc

, , .
,

and the next I am in bed An other time you write how we ll .

we have arran ged everythi n g and 10 ! we had j ust made t w o , ,

great m istakes first in separati n g an d the n i n leavi n g Pale r mo

, , ,

whe r e we w ere livi n g like the gods i n I taly Fro m these .

philosoph ical rema r ks you will perceive that I h ave not much to
relate I n fact we a r e living very quietly ; in the afte r n oon we
.

sit out on the terrace which h as the prettiest view i n all Sor
,

rento watch the sun se t behind Cape Mise n o feel that we c a n

, ,

no lo n ger enj oy ou r selves as we did an d yet groan at leaving ,

Italy in a fortnight An d t hus Italy is fadin g slowly away

. .

The wi n ter i n R ome was a real I n dian summer for me ; w hen

you see me again you will wo n der how I could have been so full
of fun for I have g r ow n very old in appea r a n ce and my hair is
, ,

getting quite gray .

F a n n y to R e bec c a .

B erl in : Jun e 1 9 , 1 8 44 .

My dear R ebecca — W hat a fright the n ews of your ill n ess

,

has given me Y o u began i n such spirits a n d your letters have

.
,

be en so full of a ll t hat is pleasant a n d delightful t hat I was really ,

 FE L I X I N L ON D OIV . S O RRE N T O . 2 87

not p repared for a n y b a d tidi n gs I am sur e n o an xiety is .

n ece s sary t o make me fully co n scious that you are the charm o f

my life ; I am perfectly a w are of tha t fac t when you are quite

well so you mus t never be ill again Perh aps afte r all the
,
.
, ,

v oyage to Sicily w a s rather too much for you .

A few days ago we had a great treat in the arrival of Ja ko b y ,

wh o gives us such a min ute a n d delightful accoun t of you all ,

a n d c a n answer our questions at o n ce which is more than the ,

best of letters can do I t gave me quite a fore tas te of your

.

ret urn I should thi n k that n o w ha v i n g had the be st part o f

.
,

i t you will b e beginni n g to feel t ired of travelli n g and be

, ,

lo n gi n g for home agai n W e t urn from all the cha r ms the

.
‘

’
w orld prese n ts us Ja ko b y made good u se of hi s eyes and all
.

his faculties out t here as might be expecte d of so emine nt a

,

man He is well an d i n good spirits

. .

N ext Su n day I shall have my last music of the summer and ,

mea n t o conclude with Felix s pa r t so n g for me n s voices We r

’ ’
-
,

hat dich du sch on er W ald wi th hor n s a n d trombo n es W e have

,
’
, .

excelle n t n e w s of Felix as you wi ll believe w hen I tell you that

,

he has ordered a large B a u m kn c he n to be sent to him in

’
Lo n don The Midsum mer-ni ght s Dr eam musi c has been pe r
.

’
formed with grea t success i n London a n d the Antigo n e i n ,
‘

Paris both of which compositio n s are n o w shelve d i n Be rlin

, .

’ ’
Howeve r they are rehea rsing Athalie with Felix s m u sic In
, , .

’
this kind of play the y h a v e to fin d some o n e to take De v r i e n t s
.

parts an d the choice will probably fall on He n dr ic h s a youn g

, ,

a c t o r whom Berli n a n d Hamburg are bo t h st r iving for .

R e becc a to F a n n y .

S o rren t o : Jun e 3 0, 1 8 4 4 .

Dear Fanny — W ith man y blushes I seize my pen to make

, ,

the co n fession — tha t we s tay o n here for a no t her month ! I

have begun sea-ba thing a n d it s uits me admirably i n spite of my
, ,

havi n g tried it with the greatest u n willi n gn ess Aft er man y .

r o s a n d c on s — for I had the musical festi v al very much at hear t

p
— w e have take n airy lodgi n gs a n d mea n to r emain th rough July
, .

It is di vi n ely beautiful he r e a n d yet I k n o w not why all my

, , ,

delight i n travelling is gone a n d I have a ho r rid lo n gi n g for

,
2 88 L E T T E RS FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

you a n d the others It i s very odd about Na pl e s— beautiful as

.

it is it is less s i m p a ti c a to me tha n an ything else I have

,

seen i n Italy and n o w we shall be kept so long i n the n eig h

,

b o ur ho o d and yet leave the chief sights u n seen ; the heat makes
°
it quite i mpossible to go a n y w he r e for the t he m o m e te r is at 9 5 ,
°
here to -day and i n N aples l o2
, An d yet except for a co uple .
,

of hou r s about n oo n it is not oppressi v e ; th e morni n gs a n d

,

eveni n gs are cool and fr esh an d our bath e amon g the great ,

rocks most invigorati n g besides the Ar cadian simplicity of our

,

arra n ge m ents for we u n dress on the sho r e a n d run i n an d out of

,

the water i n full view of all the fishi n g boa ts ; but the sparkle
,

a n d the warmth of the water a r e i n desc r ibable Homer becomes .

for the first time a reali t y i n this la n d of grottoes an d sacred ,

groves At Meta close to Sorrento stan d two ancie n t olives ;

.
, ,

the ide n tical t r ees so they say under which Ulysses made h i s
, ,

bed when he visited the land of the Phenician s Others suppose .

Sicily to have been the Islan d of the Bles t

‘

You must find a great di ffer e n ce between my letters from

R ome a n d those from here which con ta in nothing ; but you ,

would n o t believe ho w w orried I am with all this travelli n g ,

a n d stopping bathin g and lingeri n g This u n certai n ty t o o

, ,
.
, ,

about our immediate futu r e preoccupies me a n d n o w there will ,

b e the removal then the time t ill one has got a little settle d
, ,

then the packi n g up agai n then t wo w orryi n g days of sight ,

seeing i n Naples a n d then the great j our n ey i t all weigh s

,

hea v ily upo n me .

The child r en are i n a great state of delight o n ly W alter has ,

his g r ievance which is that he must n o t bathe o n account o f

,

the i n flamed eyes he got fr om a t rip t o the blue grotto while ,

E rnst is equally d isgusted to fin d t hat he m u st and sc r eam s ,

every morn i n g as if he were bei n g mu rdered So it i s m a n .

,

kind is n ever conte n t W hat wou ld n o t I have given i n Be r li n to

.

be spe n din g a summer with my dear o n es i n Sor r ento a n d n o w ,

that I am here I am lo n gi n g for home agai n wi th all my might .

An d when I am i n Berlin h o w I shall miss not retu rn i n g to ,

the old house agai n ! L was qui te right i n sayi n g he w ould .

’
express his d— d feelings o n that co n fou n ded i n strumen t Y o u .

A B e r li n ca ke l o o ki n g like a piece of the tr un k of a t ree .

2 90 L E T T E RS FR OM HOAI E A N D A B R OA D .

cows a n d poultry belo n g in g to the hous e so our eggs and milk ,

are fresh A priva t e doo r lead s fro m the garde n s o n t o the

.

hill a n d from the summit you see the gulfs bo t h of N aples a n d

,

o f Sorre n to ; the path too is quite di f f erent from most here as ,

i n stead of run n i n g bet w een wall s on each side it comman ds a ,

’
fin e view of the sea and of the whole pian o d i Sor r ento ( I
,
‘

wish I could see it fro m the house ) n o w a l mos t smothered in ,

foliage a n d goes for pa r t of the way through a shady cool wood

,

of chestn ut trees Altogether you can not imagi n e what an

- .

idyllic li fe w e are leadi n g Moreover the house sta n ds high so .

, ,

we get most refreshi n g w h i ffs of fr i tto m i s to fr om the sea a n d

the mou n tains a n d it is so little hot that I h ave added o n e more
,

garme n t to my very scan ty attire An d n o w we are expecting .

Herr Kestner in his pu rple v elvet d r essi n g-gown for he will have ,

Dirichlet sit for his portrait W hat more could heart desire ? .

I am at present engaged - fit employment fo r the occupan t of

such princely apartments — i n k nitting silk stockings for Walter ,

havin g hunted in vai n for knitti n g -cotton i n N aples the other

da y a n d in darning our linen ( fancy with Vesuvius stari n g one i n
,

th e face l ) which shows considerable w e ar and tear from the whol e

,

year of travelli n g which came to an e n d yesterday I am also

, .

reading Boccaccio Goethe Homer a n d the S wiss Family R obi n

, , ,
’
son for w hen the day begins at six o clock it seems to last quite
,

twe n t y-six hours At night we c an n ever make u p our minds to

.

go to bed for if it is clea r we can see Naples with its lights looki n g
,

like a diamond crow n stretchi n g all the way to P o sili pp o and ,

over the whole p i a n o the little lights t w inkle right u p the hills
till t hey m eet the stars The light o f day is I am sorry to say
.
, ,

so ve ry b r illian t t hat W alter still su ffers from his eye a n d has ,

to do his lesson s with Di r ichlet by ear o n ly On his birthday .

he had a delightful donkey -ride with the Ne r e n z childre n and a ,

fea st of cakes an d a p r icots a n d we gave hi m some pri n ts of ,

N eapolitan sce n es which you will fin d ve r y amusing and a n

, ,

olive wood paint-box The people about here are very clever at
- .

cabin et maki n g a n d gardeni n g ; their other mean s of livelihoo d

-

a r e silk -cultu r e cheati n g an d raw cucum b ers

, , .

B u t a truce to no n se n se ! I had a letter the o t her dayfrom

Augus t E lsa sse r who i s i n r a ptures a t Paul s h avi n g bought hi s
'

,
 F EL I X A T S O D E N . 291

picture a n d beg s m e to express his thanks to Paul for the

,
’
generou s way in which he has made h i m happy a n d at the ‘
,

same time apologi se for his n o t bei n g a b le to send the pictur e

at o n ce as he is goi n g to copy it for t he King o f Wii r te m b e rg
, .

He h as however made Ka se l o w sky certify on the back that

, ,
’
Pau l s is t h e o riginal Is not t ha t like E lsasser ? I cannot
.

tel l you h o w glad I am a n d how much I than k Paul for procur

,

i n g this won derful pai n ting for himself and all of us E lsasser .

i n tends w r i t ing to Paul himself but please inform hi m before ,

han d that he ca n n ot spell any more than he can speak cor , ,

r e c tl
y ; but I will not allo w a n y one to laugh a t his mistakes .

Perhaps however Julius E lsasser who was at Ar ri c ia making

, , ,

studi es will help him O n ce upon a time we too made pla n s

,
.

for goi n g to Ar r i c i a a n d Frascati but now p a u v r es hom m es , we , ,

f

must put up wi t h Sor r en to .

Please di r ect your next to Zurich p aste r es ta n te The , .

idea of givi n g up that othe r bun dle of hay the musical festival ,

a t Z w eibrucken is more than t his poor donkey can swallow

, .

I taly however has its merits a n d who kno w s whether we shall

, , ,

e v er see it again while we are as youn g as w e are n ow or even ,

whe n we a r e old for that matte r ! W e do , indeed tal k of

, ,

another vi sit four years hence !

F di sc to R eb ec ca .

S o de n
ea r Fra n k f o rt o u -th e -M a i n e : July 2 2 1 8 4 4
,
n -
, .

( W i t h a v ign ette by C ecile ) Here a r e some wild flower s .

fr om the Taunu s, pai n ted for you fr o m nature by C ecile W e .

have n either o r an ges nor lemon s here , but plenty o f flowers

such as these a n d if you do n o t b elieve it come and see That
, .

is the obj ect of my letter It would be too de lightful if we .

were to meet he r e an d now I do not co n sider it at all i m p r o b

,

able . The quiet days a n d rich fruitful country are quite

charmi n g an d I shall stay on as lo n g as possible If we co ul d
, .

finish up with your arrival we should have a r eal bouquet in , ,

eve r y sense of the w o rd Perhaps you will hardly b e able to

.

a ppreciate this scenery after Pale r mo a n d Sorre n to but that is

,

not a feeli ng we should encou r age Those who have a t rue .

292 L E T T E RS FR O M HO M E A N D A B R O A D .

feeling for beauty of o n e kind and derive rest and pleasu r e from ,

it cannot I am sure circum scribe their powe r s of e nj oyme n t

, , , ,

but will o n the co n tra r y en deavour to wide n them as much as

, ,

possible so as to take i n all genuine beauty I never can bear

,
.

to hear people able to appreciate Beethoven only or Palestrina ,

o n ly or agai n M ozart or Bach only Give me all four or n o n e

, , ,
.
,

at all The upshot of which i s that you must a n d shall like

.
,

the footpat h fro m Soden to Al te n hai n Ple n ty of real chestn uts .

and walnuts— you have been havi n g better ones though — oaks
at least o n e thousand yea r s old c o rn fie lds and blackber r ies ,

these are better here — a n d the R hine and t he Maine i n the

background ; a n d oh ! such apple a n d pear -trees Palms we .

have not but uncom m only good puddi n gs a n d dumpli n g s in

,

s tead I f you think little o f the se ask W alter and he will si de

.
, ,

with the German s I k n ow On the oth e r han d V esuvius I

, .
, ,

must o w n has greate r attractions than the Z we ib r ii c ke n musical

,

festival B r e i ti n g will probably be o n e of the singers but

.
,

whether he i s i n as good a state of p r eservatio n as Pompeii ,

I am doubtful The co n fectioner here deals in shirt-button s ; the

.

’
policeman is our cook s husband ; in the church at N euenheim
t hey have R oman Catholic service at eight and the Protestant ,
’
at ni n e we are only t w o hours w alk from the Feldbe r g ; there
are man y don keys also a duchess Ho ffma n n v o n Falle r s
,
.

leben is livi n g opposite our house ; F r eiligrath is at Kron

t hal and Len au at Fran kfort ; a ll points o f att r action for
,

Di r ichlet p r o v ided he still he a r a German hea r t i n his bosom

,

( a ph r a se th a t quite irritates C ecile there is something so ,

‘

’
supercilious about it she says ) She has quite recovered from
, .

her ill n ess a n d got back he r o w n heal thy looks the children
, ,

too look splen didly b r o w n After my mad most mad life in

,
.
, ,

E n gl an d— for n ever before w a s an y thing like t his season — w e

n ever w e n t t o bed befo r e half past one every hour of eve r y day ,

was filled with engagemen ts th r ee weeks beforehan d a n d I got ,

th r ough mo r e m u sic i n two mo n th s than in all the rest of the

year —this life at Sode n with its eat ing an d sleepi n g without
, ,

d r ess-c oat wi t hout pian o wi t hout visitin g-cards W i thout car

, , ,

r i a e a n d horses but with do n keys with wild flowers with

g , , ,

music -paper a n d sketch-book w ith C ecile and the child r en , is ,

do ubly refreshi n g .
2 94 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E AND A B R OA D .

you have seen already i n the Allgem e in e of Augsburg th a t ,

’
the An tigo n e is being performed in Par is with i n c r easi n g
‘

applause and even i n the p rovincial tow n s of France Next

,
.

’
we are t o have one of the Trilogies of ZE sc hyl u s at least so ‘
,

say s Bunsen b u t I am such a thorough modern as to prefe r

,

Sophocles to ZE sc hyl u s t e n times over ; the latter makes me

shudder .

If yo u are obliged t o keep indoors duri n g the hotte st time

of the day I suppose you will most probably return by la n d
, ,

which I should h e very glad o f, as I dread the sea fo r you B ut .

in that case you will come home without stopping anywhere o n

the road , will you n o t ?

R ebec ca to F a n n y .

S o rr e n to , Augus t 3 : on th e m o ve .

I believe you are something of a prophetess de a rest Fan n y , ,

for who could have told you that a sail to Capri the other
day made me so wretched for days after that we have decided
on gi vi n g up the voy a ge a n d being roasted over a slo w fire o n
,

ter r a fir m a i n stead ? B u t we a r e in a fin e predicame n t fo r , ,

never doubti n g but that w e sh ould retu r n by sea , we sold our

somewhat rickety car r i a ge at Naples for a hun dred and twe n ty
d ucat i a n d so shall have to find our way as best we c a n
,

from Con stan tin ople t o Ad r i anople , and on to Be rlin It is .

’
not howe v e r so very bad afte r all for An gr i san i s successor
, , , ,

Parete a ki n d of a rr angement a den s: m a i n s for either post

,
’

horses or v ettu m n o w ill furnish u s, at a slightly higher rate

,

than the othe r s wi t h good carriages a n d h orses and provide

, ,

them with food from one e n d of Italy to the other ; while as

for Germa n y in this o n e year it has become a lmost like a
,
’
patch wo r k counterpan e for r ailways Turni n g one s back upon
- .

I t aly can u n der no circumstan ces be a ple a san t j ourney a n d I ,

wish we could take one j ump right over N orthe r n Italy Switzer ,

lan d and the Rhine a n d fin d ourselves at home with you

, ,
.

R ome I actually d r ead to see a gai n a n d w ould gladly skip ,

’
it i f possible I saw about t he An tigone i n Paris in the
.
‘

Al lg em e in e and al so i n some odd n umbers of the S ta a tszei

,
 R E T UR N T O R OM E . 2 93

ta n g , which have fou n d t heir way he r e Did I n o t tell you .

i n one o f my le tte r s fr om Rome abou t i t s fi r s t dé bu t in Pa r i s ,

’
which took place i n Henri Leh man n s stud io u n der Julius ,
’
Stern s directio n ? Lehman n wen t t o the expe n se of thirty-six
thalers fo r the hi r e of plan ts to decorate his studio wi t h and ,

invited half Pa r is before who m the An tigone was performed

,
.

1
His brother told me all about it at the time It is said to .

have bee n a most b r illiant a ffai r acco rdi n g to the Allg em ein e , .

B un se n has reduced the Trilogy of [E sc hyl us to the di m e n

s io n s of a si n gle play a n d added a s a co n clusio n the
, Prussian
’
Royal Li tu rgy Yo u r w retch e d summer makes me feel sorry
.

fo r you even he r e the Neapolitan s declare that it is so col d

t hey cannot get w arm in their beds and they have given u p ,

b athing so you may imagine ho w W e ll it suits the fo r estieoi or

,
‘

In gr as i .
2

Ro m e l 2 th
bro u ght this letter o n with me he r e for I
.
— I ,

fou n d i t impossible to w r ite in Naples as the climate or the , ,

t ow n exe r cised its old s pells a n d m ade m e so miserable that I

, ,

co uld neither go out nor do a n ythi n g w hatever So I have .

been t h r ee times in N aples wi t hou t once seei n g the museum

o r b uyi n g a scrap of c o r a l o r lava Than k good n e ss I have .

n o w tur ned my back upo n i t ! We drove here w ith post-horses

in two days a n d su ff ered very little from the heat as there
, ,

was always a brea t h of air in the ma r shes W e saw the .

g ree n and yellow poiso n o u s vapo u rs risin g from the groun d ,

a n d at V elletri we e n countered a v iolent storm of r ain the ,

first for two mon th s which we hailed with delight a n d which

, ,

marvellously refr eshed t h e Camp a gn a and the hill cou n try -

.

The L a te ran g r eeted us in the glow o f a S ple n did sun set an d ,

w e agreed t hat nothi n g in the wo rld could be m ore bea utifu l .

Ka se l o w sky came to meet us half-w ay to Albano an d has got us ,

a lo dgi n g exac tly opposite our former quarters so we are o n the ,

sh ady side I n our a partmen ts we foun d Moser w ho had been

.
,

waiting for us ever si n ce noo n but other w ise we a r e t r avelli n g,

i n cog n ito , as there i s not a soul here But what do I h ear that .
,

y o u have bee n shooti n g at the sove r eig n Is thi s your latest

1
ud o lph L ehm a n n t h e well kn own
R ,
- a rtist i n Lo n d o n .

N e a po li ta n fo r I n g l e si .
2 96 L E T TE R S FR O M HO M E A N D A B R OA D .

trick ? It has quite go n e out of fashion in Fran ce and En g

la n d . A ddi o Soo n to meet face to face !

R ebe c c a to F a n n y .

M tt o
o : No t bl a ck i n my min d t h o ugh yell o w in my legs
, .
’

R o me : Au g ust 22 .

The motto does n o t strictly apply to me for I am i n deed ,

black in my mi n d an d that because I am yellow not o n ly i n

, ,

my legs but also in my arms face eyes— in sho r t all o v er , , ,

my body I will c ut it sho r t and tell you i n one w ord that

.
, ,

by way of summi n g up our pleasan t recollectio n s of N aples ,

I ma n a ged to pick u p the r e a fi ne full grown j aundice -

,

which compel s us very much agai n st the grai n t o stay o n

, ,

he r e for yesterday the facult y Ale rz and C a spar , were at last

, ,

i n duced to give their ve r dict which was that I mus t not ,

t hi n k of tra v elli n g for a n other fo r tn ight I hope to goodness .

I may be fi t for it then for ever si n ce we left Palermo I

,

ha v e had a burn ing desire to be at home I did n o t k n ow b e .

fo r e that the j aun dice - setting aside its cosmetic e fl e c ts, which
I am likely to b r ing home u n impai r ed as they are said to leave ,

thei r traces for a long time— is such a very disagreeable and

pai n ful disease You w ould n ever believe what I su ffered
.

that last fortnight in Sorrento but I am feeli n g a little better

,

sin ce the day before yeste r day o w in g a s Min n a m ai n tai n s to

, , ,

a sympathetic remedy applied b y he r se l f an d the lan dlady but ,

what it is I am n o t to know W e are however l ucky i n bei n g

.
, ,

here amon g our fr ien ds a n d i n a quie t house where they can

,

c o o k my lit t le bit of food — little I say advisedly for cold water ,

is m y chief article of diet wh ich is a pity when I was so n ice

, ,

a n d plump ! N o w they are all showi n g themselves wise after

t h e eve n t ! Ale r z ass u res me that if I had con sulted h i m before
goi n g to Naples h e would have forbid de n it, and Caspar himsel f
came back in a pitiabl e co n dition from Cas te lla m are ; i n deed ,

he made me laugh yesterday i n spite of my misery by givi n g ,

me a full true a n d pa r ticular desc r iption of m y feeli n gs from

, ,

his o w n expe rie n ce of this hor r ible complai n t I ca n n ot go .

out at all a n d am lea st u n comfor t a ble whe n lyi n g full le n gth

,
2 98 L E T TE R S FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

not belo n g to German y an d E n gland does not sing a Cap e lla , ,

but with an accompan iment of thu n deri n g men o f-wa r Heave n -

.

gran t they may come to te rms before i t be too late l But t he

a ffair looks more threateni n g than ever Oh if only you were .
,

back agai n — i t does seem so lo n g to me ! Your nicely polished

furn iture will have lost its gloss a n d the flies will have spotted ,

y our clean chintz a n d the view from your window , now so

,

green and bright will look dusty an d faded if you go on delaying

,

for ever a n d ever .

Yester day th e exhibitio n was opened and this time the old ,

’
e rr u qu es of senato r s whose busi n ess it is to ha ng rej ect — or
p , , ,

as one might put it bring the pictures to the scaffold — have ,

had a couple of younger members added to them who like , ,

true fift h wheels have o n ly dragged the cart 3 little deeper in

,

the old ruts Hensel was put on the committee but he declined
.
,

to act to my great satisfaction fo r vexed as he already i s a n d

, , , ,

j ustly so at their way of ha n gi n g the pictures it would be t e n

, ,

thousand times worse if he had to co n t e n d for days w i t h these

leathern puppets stu ffed w ith horse -hai r w h o go by th e name ,
’
of artists His honesty would n o t allow him to rest con tented
.

like the said leather gen tlemen with provi di n g fo r himsel f and
h is belo n gi n gs b u t he would fight tooth a n d n ail for each one
,
’
of his bro ther a r tists R iedel s picture is about the best then a
.
,

charming little landscape by E lsas ser but several have n o t yet ,

arrived As you w ill mo st likely be burning to see all t he

.

sights of Be r lin the moment you a r rive it is lucky that we ,

shall have two exhibitions The Industrial E xhibition is very .

amusi n g , ve r y praise w o r thy and will most likely produce a ,

g reat stir in trade it is said t o have b r ought a host o f visi t ors

to Berlin already a n d most of the fo r eign govern me n ts n e w

, ,

papers etc , have sen t repo r te r s Abo v e

, . tickets have .

be e n sold already for the lottery which t he committee i s

organising the p r izes for which are to be obj ects pu r cha sed
,

by the exhibition W ith all this it is almost a n exte mpore

.

a ffair fo r the first o m c i al a n n oun cemen ts ra n much in this way

,

W e in t end to open an exhibitio n but all contributors may ,

’
expec t a slap i n the face The r egulatio n s were fr amed i n the .

same i n v i t i n g style but w he n t hey fou n d that no o n e could be

,
 FE L I X S D I FFI C UL TIE S A T B E RL I N
’
. 2 99

i n duced to sen d a n ythi n g they bega n to mend I f we ever .

have a n o t her a fl a i r of the kind properly carried out it would

certai n ly be a splendid success The flo w er—show which took
.
,

pla ce du r i n g t he same time though n othi n g ve r y o ut of t he

,

way w as atte n ded by from

,
to perso n s Berlin .

is really becomi n g a large town

The Wilhelmsplatz is j ust like a n enormous twelfth-ca ke ,

horribly sti ff a n d regular but t h e g ravel walks are fi r m an d

,

goo d an d that is not o n ly some t hi n g but much I n fact

, , .

German y is j ust n o w very flouri shi n g but its political c o n di tion

,

is mise r able This fellow E ichhor n seems resolved to stifle

.

all freedo m of thought an d if so much as a mouse stirs he flies

,

i n to a panic W hat a rickety concern the State of Prussia m ust

.

be if it is really i n danger the moment three stu den ts form

,

t hemselves into a u n ion or three professors publish a periodical !

,

But after all E i c hhorn is only a tool i n the hands o f others and ,

t hose alas ! mus t be looked for i n m uch higher quart e rs

,
The .

neve r en di n g prohibitions the meddli n g w i th everythi n g the

-
, ,

system of consta n t esp i o n a g e carried o n i n t h e mids t of peace

,

and i n spite o f the quiet disposition of t h e nation has n o w ,

reach e d a climax which is pe r fectly i n to lerable .

W e must set aside the co r respo n den ce for a while i n o r der

to relate eve n ts n o t t ouc hed upo n i n the letters Men del s .

’
sohn s relatio n s wi t h Be r li n came i n t h e autumn of 1 8 4 4 to
the c r isis which he himself ha d fo r eseen in the spri n g P r ob .

ably he was then fi r mly re sol v ed not to ret u r n fo r a pe rman e n cy ,

which w ould account for C ecile an d the children leavi n g Be r li n ,

which Fan n y repeatedly lame n ts ove r both in her le tte r s a n d

,

dia r y as a ve ry stupid arran gemen t an d which i n dee d would

, , , ,

have a ppea r ed stran ge if the family were to retur n i n autum n .

Duri n g the winter of 1 8 4 3 an d 1 8 4 4 Mendelssoh n had come to

the absolute con victio n that the r e w as no lasting sphe r e of
work for him i n Berlin His position was too i n tricate a n d too
.

co n fi n ed he could scar cely turn without comi n g i n to collision

with one or other of the departments , n o w with the Singa ka de m i e
a n d its co n ductor , n o w with the manage r s of the theat r e , now

with the ecclesiastical autho r ities I t bec a me too mo r e and

.
, ,
3 00 L E T T E RS FR OM HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

more e v ide n t that the di fficulties we r e not mere accide n t s but ,

i n cide n tal to the artificial nature of the posi t ion that he was ,

hemmed in o n all sides by other o fficials who had a b r oader ,

an d mo r e defi n ite sphere of action a n d that t herefore there ,

was no hope that the lapse of time w ould tend to make matters
r u n smoother but the co n t r ary , for t h e more energeticall y and
,

the more conscientiously b e fulfilled his d uties the more o p ,

position would b e roused on all sides Thus h e had already .

made up his mind when he le ft Berlin not to return fo r a

perman en ce which resol v e was no doubt stren gt hen ed by the
,

w armth and e n thusiasm o f his reception i n E n glan d The r e .

he found full scope for each one of his faculties as an a rtist ,

and everything w as made so easy for him that no n e of t he

petty obstacles which made his position i n Berli n so tryi n g
ever crossed his path The con trast must have bee n pai n ful !
.

A correspo n de n ce wi t h Bunsen o n the s u bj ect of the T r ilogy of

[E sc hylu s confirmed him i n his intentio n 1
by provi n g to h i m
again , as he says that his stay on such slippery grou n d under
,
’
such perplexed circumstan ces was impossible and as h e did , ,

not want to be an i n differen t doubtful secre tly discon te n ted , ,

servant to the ki n g the a ffair must come to an e n d W i t h

’
,
.

this obj ect he came alone to Berli n on September 3 0, the

a n nouncemen t of his ar r ival o n ly precedi n g him by a few hours ,

a n d proposed to the king as he had done i n 1 8 4 3 ,

to dimini sh ,

his sala r y set him free from defi n ite d uties and the obliga
,

tion of livi n g at Berli n and give him o n ly separa t e commis

,
’
sions To these te r m s the king agreed Mendelssohn s salary
.
,

was fixed at thale r s and he was again free to settle

,

whe r ever he pleased His choice fell for the present o n

.

F r an k fort Fan n y remarks i n her diary on this occasio n

.

W hen I hear him talk about i t I can not help a greei n g wi t h

him for his motives are absolu t ely noble and w o r t hy of him ;
,

bu t still it is a pity a n d ve r y hard for me who e nj oyed the

, ,

happi n ess of livi n g near him a n d his family so inte n sely An d .

a l l the m usic I was lo o k in g forwa r d to ! Perhaps we may not

se e less of Fel ix himself though for if he comes he r e several
, ,

ti mes a ye a r as he says h e will and we have him in the house

, ,

L e tt ers, v ol. ii p. . 827 of th e E n gl ish edi ti o n .

302 L E T TE R S FR OM H OM E A N D A B R OA D .

of you and t he child r e n , and believe me I can not even n o w thi n k

, ,

of that without tea r s much as it has occupied my mi n d already

,

a n d believe a lso that I lov e you more tha n I c an express

, , .

Moreover it seems to me that the whole affair i s foun ded on

,

a n illusio n and that this vague indefinite state of things

, ,

ca n n ot last so t ha t I should n o t be surprised i f the prese n t

,

expe r ime n t were to come to an end as quickly as the former

o n e did I believe I should fin d it easier to h e a r if the r e were
.

some palpable obstacle but these men tal wor r ies are more i n
,

surmoun table and harder to u n derstand The line Felix has .

t aken is reasonable — tha t we must acknowle dge but I cann ot

co n ceive why it would not have been still more reasonable for
us to spe n d our lives together grow old together , and see our ,

children gro w up together B ut I suppose it is all for the best

.
,

a n d you at a n y rate are well o ff for you remain for a time with ,

your mothe r whose delight at havi n g you I can well u n der

,

stan d a n d am glad to thi n k of

,
.

I dare say Felix has be en g r oanin g to you over the hardship

o f ha v ing to si t to Hensel but he h e a r s up pretty wel l under
,

it Altogether I ca n n ot help admiring the way he keeps up

.

his spirits d u ring his separation from you an d hi s wo n derful ,

s weetn ess of disposition I only w is h he had n o t felt obliged

.

to i n flict so great a sacrifice upo n us a ll as well as upo n ,

himse lf .

On N ovember 3 0 Felix left Be rli n the perfo r mance o f St , .

’
Paul havi n g been a kind o f formal fa r ewell After th e gene r a l .

rehearsal so m e m usical fr ie n ds gave him a pretty serena de ,

’
ending with E s ist bestimmt i n Gottes R ath after w hich
‘
, ,

as Fanny w r ites we had b r ead a n d butter B a u m ku c hen a n d

, ,
’
punch laughter an d floods of tear s, all mixed up together
, .

At the pe r fo r man ce the room was c r owded i n every corn er t h e ,

whole mu sic-lovi n g popula t ion of Be rlin being presen t a n d every ,

’
body i n a stat e o f distress at Mendelssoh n s goi n g a w ay though ,

they had all or nea r ly all co n tributed to mak e him go His

, , .

departure was hasten ed by the n ews that his youngest child ,

little Felix who had su ffe r ed most from the measles was dan
, ,

e r o u sly ill at F r a n kfort He recovered after a lo n g pe r iod of

g .
 B O T H D I R /CHL E T S [L L A T FL OR E N CE .
30 3

a n xiety b u t was n ever st r ong and died you n g although after

, , ,
'

the father s death .

W he n the first n e w s ar r ived o f R ebecca s ill n e ss i n R ome

’

there seemed to be no se r ious cause for apprehe n sion but she ,

was much worse tha n t hey had any idea of i n Be r li n She was .

’
su fferi n g from black j aundice a n aggrava ted fo r m of the ,

disease ge n erally fa t a l a n d at t h e same time she was en c ei n te

, , ,

though the R oman doctors den ied the possibility of such a thi n g ,

a n d t r eated her for j aundice alone w hich caused her infi n ite ,

suffering in the lo n g r un I t was all bearable so long as they

- .

we r e i n R ome wi th people they knew a n d surrou n ded by

, ,

frie n ds who mitigate d the lo n gi n g fo r home ; but a most u n

fortu n ate complicatio n arose for Dirichlet had a v iole n t a t tack
,

o f R oma n fever an d w as o r dered immediate cha n ge o f ai r

, 1 1! .

as they were Kase l o w sky packed the m u p a n d wen t with them

,

to Flo r en ce a j ourn ey w h ich R ebecca never afte rwards spoke of

,

if she could help i t ( in her letters at the time she hardly alludes
to the ho r rors she had gone th r ough) though she once said wi t h , ,

a sh udd e r th at she h ad nearly go n e out of her mi n d a n d could

, ,

n e v er tell a n ybody h o w much she had su ffe r ed .

At Flore n ce t hey remai n ed for Dirichlet got worse , .

Ka se lo w skystayed for some w eeks and engaged private lodgings ,

for them but had to retu r n to R ome a fter he had seen them
,

settled Duri n g this time R ebecca wrote o n ly sho r t letters wi t h

.
,

sca r cely any details a n d n ever men tio ned h e r o w n seve r e

,

illness n o r her co n ditio n so that for months the family was i n

, ,

ign o ra n ce of th e real state of thi n gs Mean while as so ofte n .

,

happe n s i n such cases a l l so r ts o f co n t r adicto ry r eport s some

, ,

times alarmi n g some times r e assuring reached the members of

, ,

the family w ho wer e kept in a co n stant sta te of su spense

, .

Fan n y took g r eat pai n s to write calm a n d cheerful letters to

Flore n ce although her dia ry bea r s witn ess to her an xiety a n d
, ,
’
t o add to the ge n eral gloom Paul s li t t le daughte r was taken,

da n ge r ously ill towa r ds the end of Octobe r a n d for some days ,

her life was despai r ed of Just at the moment of the greatest

.

anxiety abou t the child a letter arrived from Dirichlet a n ,

n o u n c i n g that owi n g to his ill n ess they m ust remain in I taly

for the w hole wi n ter ! Their i n timate friends we r e at o n ce

‘ ‘
3 04 L E T TE R S FR O M HOM E A JVD A B R OA D .

taken into co n sul tation with a Vie w more es pe cially to the best
,

way of a v erti n g heavy pecuniary sacri fices a n d on t his occasion ,

Jakoby came forward in the noblest man n er u n dertaki n g the ,

’
chie f pa r t of Dir i c hl e t s wo r k the University and the Kr iegs
,

schule so that at le a st t hey should not have a diminished

,

i n come with w hich to meet their increased expenses A very .

ala r mi n g letter from Ka se lo w sky to Fanny wri t ten immediately ,

after his return to R ome confirmed the apprehensions she and

,

Hensel had begun to entertain and deci ded them to go to Italy,

and o ffer their help— a resol v e which co uld o n ly be st rengthened

’
by the first authe n tic news of Rebec c a s condi tion contained in ,

’
a letter o f M i n n a s to a fr iend i n Berli n If this intelligence .

were really true there remai n ed n o doubt as to what was to b e

,

don e so Fan ny wrote at once dema n di n g a n exact account o f

,

the whole state o f thi n gs and concluding as follows

,

No w this is the p r 0p o sal He n sel a n d I submit t o your

j u dgme n t O ur i n tention of comi n g out to you , in case your
.

illnesses make it desirable i s no momen tary impulse but the

, ,

result of mature con sideration for we have consulted wi t h the

,

brothers talked it over with the whole family and spe n t man y
, ,

days and many sleepless nights in think i n g over it To Hensel .

the j ourn ey would be n o loss but rather the contrary , as he has

,

se v e r al Italian pictures on hand and we all agree that it would

,

n o t h u r t Sebastian for I am sure Diric h let wo ul d help h i m

, on
a little with his Latin and his bei n g co n firmed a year later is
,

of n o consequence N o w for the chief poi n t : it does not n o w

.

seem necessary fo r ei t her of you than k God that we should , ,

come i m m edi a tely but i f you really i n te n d a confineme n t dear

, ,

R ebecca you might b e glad to have me — a t least , so I flatter

,

myself— and i f so please w r ite a li n e to say as near as you c a n

,

when you expect to be laid u p so that we may choose the least

,

u n comfortable time for travelling and yet ar r ive in time for ,

both the birth and t he christe n i n g It will certai n ly be desir .

able for you not to hu r ry home too soon after the eve n t an d ,

when o n ce we have come all t hat dista n ce we shall like to look

about us a li ttle (n o t long ) though we must be back a gain in
,

Be rlin a t t h e same time or befo r e you You see that every thi n g .
3 06 L E T TE RS FR O M HOM E A N D A B R OA D .

R ebec c a to F a n n y .

Fl o re n ce : No vember 2 5 .

AlthoughI have lon g known what we are to o n e another ,

a n d that I would do t h e same for you each fresh proo f of your ,

love touches me and gladden s my heart more than I can say as ,

did your letter received yesterday by which I see that you have ,

resol v ed to undertake the lo n g j ou r n ey in the depth of wi n ter

to b ring me comfort and I hope happi n ess For th e fi r st time
, .

I am almo st glad of my p r o ba ble conditio n for even n o w I am ,

n o t ce r tai n about it or I should have m entio n ed it lo n g a g o

, ,

inste ad of ala rming you about my bei n g so ill Dirichlet has .

writte n Felix the whole history and I w ill w i th all possible, ,

b r evity repeat the hor r id details to you so that yo u may see

, ,

for y ourselves how much chance there is of a merry christe n i n g ,

a n d reconsider your determination to travel in t h e depth of

winter from Berlin to Flore n ce in order to act the part of sick

nu r ses [Here follows an accou n t con tai n i n g chiefly what has
.
.

been told al ready ] Thus I find myself actually in the state I

.

o n ce thought impossible for I really do not know whether I

,

have been for the last fi ve months progr essing towa r ds mate rn ity
or not You must con fess that it is a queer sto r y W hat I have
. .

suffered it is impossible to write a n d scarcely possible to t ell

, ,

but you may well imagine that I have n o t gone th r ough t he

doubts , th e no the yes a n d th e fea r ful j ou rn ey h e r e i n the
, , ,

quiet w ay I am writi n g about them n o w ; no indee d i t was , ,

’ ’
Agitato ma t r oppo a n d a t times ,
Furioso ma n o n ta n to ! ‘

If everything goes o n well I suppo se the eve n t will take place

,

n o t later than the beginni n g of Ap r il I mean to keep as quiet .

a s possible a n d perhaps all may turn out be t ter than I thi n k

, ,

but I cannot express what a comfort an d help you would be to

me I begin to take in the idea that perhaps you will come
.

after all though at first I could not get i t into my head a n d

, ,

at times I a m almost beside myself wi t h j oy Last n ight I .

’
woke up a n d went th r ough the whole of He n sel s eating
catechis m in my he ad I remember it quite well and can follow ,

all the articles So i t is possible t hat we may meet at Floren c e !

.

I begi n to hope
 P R OS P E C T OF M E E TI N G .
307

F a n n y to R eb ec c a .

B erl in : Decem b er 1 3 , 1 8 44 .

My dearest R ebecca — At last I have your p a ter p ec c a v i

, .

Why you did n o t send it lo n g a go or at least let us guess the ,

possi b ili ty we will pass over in silence as I have laid down for
, ,

myself a n e w rule of li fe i e never to waste w ords about thi n gs

,
. .

that are past In short we will reverse the fable an d make it ,

.
, ,
’
Apollo flie s and Dap hne him pursues : you can not come so
, ,

we Wi ll a n d u n less we get wholly u n foreseen n ews from you

,

( but everyth i n g about you for the last three mo n ths has been

un fo r eseen ) or some u n expected event should deta i n us we

, ,
’
shall start between Christmas and N e w Year s Day so an an swer ,

to this letter would not find u s Ka se lo w sky will be there 1

.
,

I suppose and he will look out fo r lodgings for us ; nearness

,

to you is the s in e qu d n o n and nearly all I care for as I shall , ,

spend all my time with you He n sel means to paint , a n d will .

bri n g a picture he has begun here ( Ka se l o wsky w ill be able to

a r ran ge fo r that too ) a n d as for Sebastian why he does not
, , , ,

w an t much room B u t I do not wish you to take th e lodgi n gs

.

( u n less you wanted to secure so m ething exceptionally good

)
till aft er my next letter which I hope will fix t he day of our
, , ,

depar t ure Pos sibly the ve ry severe weather we have had for
.

the last fortnight may change after Ch r istmas for we seldom ,

have such excessive cold Therefore , R ebecca , put o ut German

.

’
Tactics and the game o f t h e mi ll lay in an enormous supply ,

o f eatables , a n d set three more chairs by the fireplace , fo r we

are coming Do you hear ? W e a r e coming If you do not

. .

beli eve you w ill see This is my Christ m as p rese n t to you for
, .
,

I hope you will get this letter j ust at Christmas Hensel sends .

his love ; hopi n g to see you so soo n h e can n ot ove r come his ,

usual d islike t o w r iting and I share the feeli n g God g r ant

, .

us a prosperous j ourn ey an d that we may fin d you all well ,

a n d safe ! Best love to your husban d the children and Kasel , ,

o w sky . I f I had not made it a rule to allow no ifs (a rule I

‘

break three or four times a day ) I should be hea v i n g sighs ,

Af t er di n g t o n ece ssa ry bu s i n e ss h e h a d re t urn e d wi t h

a t te n , a p i c tur e he
w a s p a in t i n g to do wh a t he c o uld fo r t h e D ir i c hl e ts
,
.
3 08 L E T TE R S FR O M HOJI E A rVD A B R OA D .

because you left R ome — w e should have bee n at home the r e !

0 R ome my R ome ! In Florence we are
,
maiden s fro m a ‘

’
foreig n lan d N ever complain of your weakness to me agai n
.

if after all that has happened it goes well with you I shall
, , ,

say that you have the constitution of a horse and are a rare ,

speci men of stre n gth May everything go w ell !

.

F eli x to R e be c c a .

Fra n kf o rt : Ja n uar y 1 0, 1 8 4 5 .

Dear Sister , — You will receive these lines by Fan ny which ,

alone is su ffi cie n t to sho w the time that has passed since our
last lette rs Fan n y will tell you the grave care and an xiety we
.

have been in for the las t few months I was really n o t fi t to .

write and moreover did n o t wish to add my cares to your heavy

,

burden Thank God it n o w looks as if our dear little o n e we r e

.
,

on the way to complete recovery The doctor says so and .

,

appearances bear him out so we are begin n ing to hope a gai n

, ,

a n d tha n k Hea v e n daily and hou r ly ! The s ummer at Soden

has appa r e n tly restored C ecile for she is well looks cheerful
, , , ,

and bloomi n g an d du r ing the terrible days after my return

,

( when the child was all but gone ) her calmness and gentle n ess

supported a n d almost cheered me The three elder children

, .

are thriving ; Carl gets on with his lessons Marie sews and , ,

P aul makes a noise fit to break our heads I thi n k you w ould .

be pleased w ith t hem I mysel f am w hat you k n ow me to be ;

.

but wha t you do n o t know is that I have for so m e time felt the
necessity for complete res t — n o t travelling n o t co n ducti n g n o t , ,

pe r formi n g— so kee n ly that I am compelled to yield to it ,

a n d hope to be able to order my life acco r dingly for the

whole year for repo se I t is therefore m y wish to stay here
.
, ,

quietly through wi n ter spri n g a n d summer , s a n s j our n ey sa n s

, , ,

musical festival , sa n s everythi n g An d should we not be .

o bli g e d to go to one o f the Taunus baths for hea lth s sake w e

’
,

shall not even do t hat Co n sequen tly I have already refused

.
,

all i n vitation s ( amo n g them one which fl a tte r ed me much to a ,

mus ical festi v al at N e w York ) I g r ew so fond of ou r quiet .

mo n oton ous life at Sode n this summer— an d the fe w days since

 M E E TI NG I N I TAL Y .

T HE depa r ture fr om Berlin was delayed for a few days fo r ,

o n t h e very day they had fixed for st a rti n g Fan n y had the fi rst

o f man y attacks of bleed ing at the nose This o n e w a s so .

violen t t hat i t lasted fo r thi r ty -six hours day a n d night t o , ,

the great ala r m of a ll a r ound he r ; but much as her frie n d s,

dreaded them subse que n t eve n ts proved that these attacks

,

were saluta ry rather than otherwise .

After Christmas the ex t reme cold mitigated a n d on Ja n ua ry ,

2 1 8 4 5, the Hensels left fo r Leipzig by t r ai n a n d fr om t here

, ,

wen t on with their o w n carriage a n d post -horses They tra .

v e l l e d as fa r as Munich by lo n g stages the second a n d third

,

day even up to midnight b u t at Mun ich t hey fou n d r eassuri n g

,

letters , and therefo r e resolved o n t a ki n g the j our n ey more

easily, as was indeed necessary for the moun t ai n roads w e r e so
,

slippery as to be dan gerous by n ight The w eather con tinued

.

favou r able all the way through Ty r ol by Innsbruck and Botzen

, , .

They had chosen the B r e n n er Pass as the lowest a n d safest and ,

a slight fall of sn ow las ting half an ho u r— the o n ly sno w on

,

their j ou rney — did not delay them The waterfalls frozen in

.
,

all man n er of fantastic shapes we r e a wonderful sight and the

, ,

mountai n s seemed even more soli ta ry and imposing in their

winter than in their summer d r ess .

C r ossin g th e Alps was the great di fli c ul ty an d the o n ly ,

pa rt of the j ourney which might have been dan ge r ous ; but

obstacles of a di ffere n t ki n d aro se at the Papal fr o n tier for ,

t h e travel lers had omitted to have their passpo r ts v i se d by the

’

’
Papal N uncio at Mun ich a n d it was o n ly after a two hou r s
,

negotiation that they we r e allowed to proceed to Bolog n a where ,

they arrived about mid n igh t exhausted with hunger a n d fatigue

,
.
 A R R I VA L I N F L OR EN CE .
31 1

He r e He n sel had t o go in the dark before t asting a morsel to ,

the director of the police i n order to obta i n permission to lea v e

,

the Papal States again the n ext mo r n i n g As the car r i a ge .

e n tered Bolog n a i n the middle of the night the streets looked ,

as if they w ere bounded on each side by high w alls of gliste n i n g

white fo r the r e h a d bee n such a hea v y fall of snow the w ee k
,

befo r e t hat all commu n ication h a d been inte rrupte d If t his .

had happe n ed on t h e Alps t h e route would have bee n i m

p r acticable a n d the travellers might have been fo r ced to give
,

up the attempt or go round by Fran ce .

F r om Bologna the He n sels haste n ed ac ross th e Ape n n ines ,

and passi n g the last night at Ca v igli aj a drove down to Flore n ce

, ,

o n Sun day Ja n ua r y 1 9
,
At fi r st sight they w ere shocked at
.

’
R ebecca s look s so g rea t was t h e chan ge in her appea r a n ce
, ,

a n d she was mo r eo v er i n a state o f g r eat exciteme n t as she h a d

, , ,

o n ly j ust r eceived the note a n n oun ci n g thei r arrival at V ero n a .

Di r ichlet too w as much cha n ged a n d looked w r etched from

, , , ,

the pecu l iar e ffec t fever al w ay s has o n th e ski n .

Soo n however they se t tled down to a very comfortable life

, , .

T he two sets of lodgi n gs we r e exactly O pposite each other so ,

’
that the two families could wi sh each othe r Good morning ‘

ac r oss the st r eet or even talk secrets fr o m t hei r windo w s i n

,
’
Ge r man R ebecca speedily picked u p st r en gth u n der Fa n n y s
.

ca r e a n d everythi n g assumed a fa r pleasa n ter aspect than

,

might have been expected but un fo r tun a te l y He n sel was obliged

,

shortly to leave All his endeavou r s to find a s u itable model

.
,

o r costumes proved i n vain and so he left after a fe w days for

, ,

R ome to paint there by hi m sel f The oth e r s remained behi n d.

i n quiet expecta t ion of t h e e v e n t R ebecca h ad hired a pian o .

to u n ite as she said t h e ag reeable to the agreeable a n d this

, , ,

not o n ly con tributed t o t he gene r al satisfac tion b ut a fforded ,

her a di v e r io n she h a d much missed

s .

F e li se to the S i s te r s .

Fra n k f o rt : Ja n uar y 2 9 , 1 845 .

Havin g received this morn i n g your most welcome message

of the 2 l st I c a n w r i te to you both a t once G o d be prais e d ,
, .
3 12 M E E TI N G I N I TA L Y .

dear Fanny for the reassuri n g n ews you give u s

,
No w that I
know that you Hensels are in Florence I am much easier an d ,

more in my natu r al s tate of mi n d T r ue though it be that we .

a r e powerless to h el p o n e an other i n the most important matters

( God alone can do that ) yet there are m any subordinate matters
,

w hich when put together make up a very importan t part of

, ,

ou r happiness or misery ; a n d n o w that you are together I thi n k ,

of the many happy h ours v o u will spend a n d hope you will ,

have a safe and pleasant j ourney home agai n so that I can n o w ,

look forward with con fidence a n d re n e wed hopeful n ess .

Thank God I have also good news to give you O ur li ttle .

’
on e s health has greatly improved du r ing the last three weeks ,

and our hope and courage are retur n ing, for which we praise
God daily an d hourly I have been foolish enough to be
.

seriously unwel l for t h e last fortnight and still get on badly ,

with letter-writing for my only occupations are eati n g drink

, ,

ing and sleeping to make up for what I have lost The doctor
, , .

took leave of me four days ago and si n ce then I ha v e been ,

t aking a good deal o f exercise and mean to go to a ball on ,

.

Friday for which Cecile is hav ing a wh ite dress made trimmed
,

w ith roses In short when m eat wine an d snoring shall have

.
, , ,

replaced all I have lost by sighing groaning an d s w earing we , , ,

shall be in our old state again , w ith eve rythin g right a n d bright .

How much love C ecile sends you I n eed not tell ; she adheres to
what sh e w rote to me in B erlin the other day: Fa n ny and
’
R ebecca belon g to e a ch other a stateme n t to which I am i n
,

c l in e d to asse n t You ask m e to describe o u r man n er of life

. .

I work early in the mo r n i n g a n d at ten Carl comes and sits

,

by me for an hou r readin g an d cipheri n g At five in the after .

noon I try to instil i n to his mi n d some notion of geogra phy a n d

spel l in g ; but I m u st be di ffe ren tly constituted fr om you for ,

whilst you fin d when teachi n g that you have not fo rgotte n your
Greek I find when gi vi n g lesson s that I have remembered
,

n o t hi n g Marie is learning the scale of C and even that I

.
,

partially forgo t , for I made her tur n her thumb under after the
third finger till C ecile came in upon us an d was a m azed
, No w .

goodbye you dear siste r s l You dear Fan n y tell me when we

, , ,

may expect a certa in event that o ccupies us all .

 M E E T I N G u v I TA L Y .

T a u se n d B lume n a uf de n Fluren ,

Som m e r w a rm un d t h a u e r fri s c h t,
B leiche n Win te rs le t zt e Spure n
Ha t e inl in der H a uch ver wi sch t .

R i n gs i m G r ii n der v ogel Fe i er
Ob de s L e n z e s Wi ederku n f t ,

U n d di e Seele stimm t die L eier

Z u de s Wa ldes L i e de r zu n ft .

All e S o r ge n a ll e Schm er ze n
,

Si n d ver w eht u n d a b ge th an
Offe n s t e h n di e seel g e n He r ze n
’

U m de n F rii h l i n g zu e m p fa h n l .

These pret ty emblems of sp r i n g b r i n g good news only for ,

health fine weathe r eve rythi n g h a s come back at once and

, , , ,

the fear that I should n o t like R ome which you expressed in ,

yo u r last let ter re ally made me laugh The old place i s now
, .

doing itsel f j ustice a n d yesterday and the day before yester day
,

we shook hands an d made peace But I m ust first apologi se .

’
for having been hitherto so out of tu n e Hen sel s ill n ess o n ce .

or twice looked serious , which made my fi r st few days quite

wretched added to the bad wea t her the havi n g n o wome n
, ,

servants (which I felt very m uch at first but have n o w got ac ,

customed to an d shall h ave some lovely stories t o tell you w he n

,

we meet ) and the size of our lodgings which I like n o w but

, , ,

w hich seemed so large c ompared t o those at Floren ce that I

fel t quite desolate in them The street , also I thought dismal
.
,

then thou gh now I have s o thoroughly m ade up my mind that

,

it is destined to become o n e o f t h e fi n est in R ome (Nicolo di

S an Tole n ti n o ) that if I had a turn for speculatio n I would
buy up all the vaca n t places an d build such beautiful houses
Fl o wers li f t t heir l o vely f a ce s
O n th e me a d o ws o n t h e le a s ;
,

Pa lli d W i n t er s gl o o my t ra ce s
’

M el t b ef o re t h e b al my breeze .

B irds rehe a rs e i n f e st i ve mee t i n gs

W elco me ch o ru ses t o s pr in g ,

An d we j o i n i n gr a t eful gree tin gs

As t h e w in ged wa rblers s i n g .

E a rt h is h a p p y ; a ll a ffli ct i o n s
Are w i th i c e a n d s n o w go n e by ;
E ve r y b r e a th wa f t s be n edic t i o n s
Fro m th e blue a n d sun n y sky .
 R OM E . R E T UR N OF S P R IN G .
3 1 5

that e v erybody wo u ld want t o li v e he r e The situation is good .

,

close to the P i n c i o a n d to the fou n tain of Tre v i the gay world ,

i s passi n g by the w hole day lo n g on the way to Porta Pia and ,

if there were o n ly carriages o n th e Piazza Ba r beri n i the t hi n g

w ould be perfect F r om all which you see h o w t r ue it is t hat
.

a th ing may be black or white accord i n g to the way one looks

at it O ur rooms look too as if they were i n habited by lovers
.
, ,

of the fine arts for we h a v e a p i an o — qui te out of tun e fully half

, ,

a n ote too low a n d givi n g out as much sou n d as a fur cap on

,

a woollen blan ket— and still better He n sel has this mo r n i n g

, ,

begun painti n g agai n fr om a model a n d has o r dered it o r her , , ,

a gai n for the afte r n oo n which shows that he can wo r k W i thout

,

over fati gue Artists here a r e wo r se o ff than ever fo r m odels ;

-
.

Chi ar u c c i a is engaged every day till the e n d of May Ma r iuccia ,

actually till Jan uary while a n other u c c i a asks for a carr iage to
,

fetch her a n d charges two scudi a day— i n sho r t the best a r e

, ,

not to be had at all I o w e a n apology also to m y Caliban

.
,

who doe s as much w o r k as it takes Hein r ich Sophie and Colbe r g , ,

t o get th r ough with help from Mi n n a in Be r lin He h a s our .

di n n er r eady pun ctually by hal f past o n e keeps the r oom s a n d ,

every t hi n g very clea n goes o n all the erran ds has the laudable
, ,

R oman habi t of maki n g a sepa r ate j our n ey for each si n gle

o r an ge or g rain of salt when he run s like a g r eyhound so as
,

to be back from the R o t un da i n a mome n t a n d always h a s a ,

spare half hou r for maki n g speeches W ith a ll his me r its he

-
.

is a perfec t caricature i n ap pearan ce a n d to see him a n d Hei n ,

rich waiti n g at din n er toge t he r would be delightful .

F e lix to the S is te r s .
‘

Fr a n kf o rt : Mar ch 2 5, 1 8 4 5 .

Your letter has j ust a rr ived and b r ought spri n g with it For
, .

the fi r st time to day we have out of doo r s that ki n d of atmo

-

sphere i n which ice a n d wi n ter cold melt a w ay a n d all becomes ,

mild warm a n d e nj oyable If howeve r you ha v e n o d r ivi n g

, ,
.
, ,

ice i n Flore n ce you ought to en v y i t s i n s tead of the reve r se fo r

, ,

i t i s a splendid spectacle to see the water bubbli n g u n der the

Pa rt ly publi s hed i n t h e L e tt e r s, La dy Wa ll a ce .
3 15
’
M E E T I I VG I N I T A L Y .

bri dge nere a n d springing and rushing along an d fli n gi n g

, ,

about the great blocks and masses of ice a n d saying Away , ,

‘

’
with you ! we have do n e with you for the present i It also i s
celebrating its sp r ing-day a n d s howing that under its icy cover
,

ing it has preserved both stre n gth an d youth a n d runs alon g ,

twice as rapidly and leaps t w ice as high as i n the sober days of

,

other seasons You should really see it for o n ce The whole

. .

bridge and the whole quay are black with people all enj oyi n g ,

the fine sight gratis with the su n sh ini n g o n them gratis too
, .

It is very pitiable in me that i n stead of speaki n g o f the poetry ,

of sp r ing I invariably talk of the economy she brings i n w ood

, ,

light a n d over-shoes and ho w much sweeter eve rything smells

, , ,

and h o w man y more good things there are to eat a n d that the ,

ladies have resumed their bright gay-coloured dresses an d that ,

t he steamboats are going down the R hine instead of dili

g e n c e s etc
, .

From the above you will perceive and Fanny also (for you ,

must send all my let t e r s to he r at R ome ) that God be p r aised , , ,

t here is n othing n e w with us which means that w e are a ll we l l ,

a n d happy a n d thi n king of you

, I came w ith Schlemmer last .

night from a mu sical punch-party where I fi r st played ,

’
Beethoven s So n ata 1 06 in B flat and then drank t wo hun dred ,

a n d twelve glasses of punch fo r ti ssi/m o w e san g th e duet from

’
Faus t in the Mainz Street because there w as such wo n derful ,

moo n light a n d to -day I have rather a headache Pray cut

, .

o ff t his part before you send the letter to R ome ; a youn ger

sister may be e n t r usted with s u ch a co n fidence but an elder ,

on e
, an d i n such a papal atmosphere— n o t for your life 1
E dward Magnus who is here j ust n o w on his way from Paris is
, ,

painting our Ca rl an d the pi cture is very pretty a n d very like

, ,

the boy already Carl is very good a n d sits m ost patien tly on ly
.
, ,

rushing now a n d then o n Paul a n d Ma r ie w ho a r e sitti n g on the ,

g r oun d gazi n g in admira tio n aft er w hich he retur n s a n d keeps ,

as still as possible for an hour I am reading them R um pel .

st il zc h e n with great applau se Do s E rn st know it ? a n d . e

W alter ? an d you ? If n o t I will read it to you too a n d you , ,

’
m u st e nj oy it Paul is fo n d of imitati n g R umpelsti lzchen s
.

man oeuvre at the end whe n he stamps one foot on the ground ,
3 18 M E E T /IVG I N I T A L Y .

’
people but simply as o n e s o w n con scie n ce dicta t es Yesterday
, .

’
I heard a n other opera quite German th e libretto afte r Scri be
, , ,

an d the music aft er Aube r but fo r that very reason far better
,

t ha n t hose of Aloys Schmi t t or the other Germa n s Dear me l .

i t i s v ery bad but w hy does n o t the ki n g of Prussia gra n t a c o n

,
.

sti tu t i o n ? Can you imagine th e States in Berlin set to music ?

W he r e am I getting t o ? Qu o m e r ap i s a s Sebastia n

would say ) Va le farewell that is all the Latin I k n o w

.
, , .

R eb e cca
s t ayed o n quietly at Flore n ce i n the mea n time but ,

Di richlet was obliged to leave in the begi n n i n g of April for

B e r li n to resume his lectures
,
He gives the following de sc r ip
.

t io n of crossi n g the Alps

He r e I am at Coire an indisputable proo f that the passes

,

a r e ope n As soon as I got to Milan I heard that all they said

.

at Flore n ce about communication bei n g i n terrupted on the St .

Gotha r d was an inventio n a n d that the dilige n ces had been

,

goi n g over the Simplon St Bernard the Sp l iige n a n d S t

, .
, , .

Gothard daily throughout the w i n ter and that th e courier had ,

even been crossing the Stelvio once a w eek On receivi n g this .

i n tellige n ce and learn i n g that n othing w orse was to b e feared

,

than a little delay in case of fresh-fallen snow I should have ,

liked to t ake the St Go thard as the shortest pass but fo r tun

.
,

ately all t he seats for Friday were taken and I had to go by ,

the lo n ger route to Coi r e I say fo r tunately for we disco v ered

.
,

the next day that so much snow had fallen on Th ursday and
Friday t hat there was a delay o f some hours i n crossi n g the
S p lii g e n and so the higher and more exposed St Gothard
,
.

would have probably take n a whole day longer A j ourney .

across the Alps in winter is certainly no p a r ti e de p la is i r but ,

i n teresti n g enough in its way to make u p for some i n conve n ience .

Yo u can really form n o idea of the quan tity of snow which

accumulates i n the course of the wi n ter in those high regio n s .

He r e a n d there o n e see s the ba r rier which guards the r oad at

t h e edge of the precipice peepi n g out of the s n ow eighteen or
t we n ty feet below o n e so that t he r e evide n tly must be from
,

twenty to twe n ty fiv e feet of s n o w u n der n eath the t r ack o n w hich

-
 ’
KL I N G E M A N N S E N G A G E AME N T .
3 19

one is drivi n g If it is firm the sledge glides along sple n didly

.
,

a n d fas te r than a carriage but this is far fro m bei n g the case,

whe n as yesterday one has to form a path through new fallen

, ,
-

s n ow At every moment o n e is in dan ger of sinki n g some yards

.

deep and it i s a mat ter o f congratulation to be only upset twice

, ,

as I was A Milan ese gentleman whom I met this morning at

.

break fast and who h ad made the same j ourney the day before ,
,

was not so lucky and found himself lyi n g i n the snow no less
,

than fi ve times One part amused m e ver y much the driving

.
, ,

or rather scrambli n g down th e so called winter road which

,
-
,

is quite di fferent from the proper one and on which you let ,

the horses run straight down j ust as you do wi th your own ,

person on the crater o f Mount V esuvius In this manner the .

e n dless wastes o f snow carried me back to the volcano .

F e li x to R ebec c a .

Fra n k fo rt : Apri l 1 1 , 1 8 4 5 .

Ma n y thousa n d good wi shes for your bi rt hday my dearly ,

beloved little siste r Ho w much rather would I be sayi n g so

.

than writing i t Oh ! ho w I wish I could d r op i n upo n you wi th

.

a gold n othi n g or a sil v er wa it-a -wh ile as a birthday -gift— but ,

stop i I h ave a pre t ty p r ese n t for you t o day and o n e that you ,

w ill like in the shape of a deligh t ful piece of n ews

,
Klinge .

man n is e n gaged to Sophie Rosen of D etmold (he is to fetch

her in May and promises to come he r e as soon a s they are
,

married ) and is as happy as possible I w a s so glad when I

, .

got his letter a few days ago that I danced rou n d the room fo r
full fi v e mi n utes I made her acquai n tance last summer in E n g
.

la n d (where h e fi r st k n ew he r ) and feel sure she will make hi m ,

a n excelle n t wi fe for she has t h e same quiet pleas a nt manners

, ,

as her brother who died a n d the same modesty and depth o f ,

feeli n g is thoroughly well educate d, an d very p r etty to look at

, .

She has smooth fair hair parted in the middle an d a thorough ,

Ge r man face rou n d with blue eyes - there is a pe r fect si gn a le

, ,

m e n t for you When Kl in ge m a n n was travelli n g last winter

.
,

he pas sed through Detmold an d m e t her agai n h e thou ght

about it very seriously but ga v e no i n dication of his feeli n gs
,
3 20 M E E TI N G I N I TA L Y .

till lately whe n he wrote from E nglan d and n o w he i s e n

, ,

gaged Yo u ca n not thi n k how glad I am

. .

Meanti m e here is the 1 2 th a n d your letter has ar rived ,

’
w ith Fan n y s a n d I can read between the lines t hat you are
,

well and happy agai n God be prai sed ! The r e is certai n ly

.

such a th i n g as sympathy in the world for the children have ,

been talki n g o f nothi n g but R umpelstilzchen fo r the last four

days and n o w it is the very first topic in your letter
, .

I have j ust been practisi n g for an hour for to -morrow I am ,

’
going to play Beethoven s so n ata in C maj or at a concert in the
Cac ilie n V erein fo r the su fi e r e r s from the flood s
- f
The atmo .

s phere here too is qu ite spri n g-like and we have violets and the , ,

fresh green W ha t a chan ge it seems t o make in o n e s whole

.
’

bein g B ut the floods were terrible A la r ge part of one of the

. .

butt r esses of the bridge is still lying in the Mai n e a n d I have ,

sent to a sk the senate to l e t it remain till July as you migh t ,

be inte rested to see it They answe r ed very politely that it

.

would h ave been left i n any c ase but was certain to be so n o w ,

that I had made the request There are g r een peas here too .
,

but they a r e too dear fo r me so what i s the good But green

,

peas c h e a p l That is something like sp r i n g ! So Di r ichlet i s

comi n g ? W e are looking forward n o t a little to hi s a r ri v al ,

that you m a y be sure o f .

F elix to F a n n y .

Fra n kfo rt : Apri l 2 0, 1 8 4 5 .

Dear Fan ny —Thi s letter i s meant for you but I must

, ,

address it to R ebecca for two reasons first because I have n o t

, ,

got your direction , an d secondly because Dirichlet started do wn

the R hine yesterday well an d in good S pirits after spendi n g a
, , ,

day with us a n d e nj oi n ed upon me to write directly afte r his

,

departure His frie n ds he r e would not recogn ise him w ith that
.

enormous beard besides which he looks muc h s tronger a n d

,

younger a n d fatter than he u sed to do He was in g r eat S piri t s . .

We spe n t the evening at Madame Je an re n au d s ( I h a d to tie

’

his cravat for him ) You can imagine the n umbe r of questio n s
.

he had to a n swer He could n o t make out how it was I had

.
3 22 M E E TI N G I N I TA L Y .

fo rm d it extremely gay from the cro w d s o f people w h o had com e

to see the Lumi n ara Our first w a l k w as t o th e piazza o f the
.

cathedral w hich is a sple n did buildi n g w ith very an cie n t

, ,

mosaics and fin e carvi n g ; but we w ere most i n te r es t ed by the

Campo San to the subj ec t o f the picture by E lsasser which
,

Pa ul bou ght through R ebecca s interposition We st ay ed the r e

’
.

for a long time admiring the bea uty of the spot discussi n g the ,

point of v iew from which E lsasser had taken his sketch an d ,

’
finally agreeing that he had not taken any o n e precise Veduta ,

but summed up as it were the i n teres t and beauty o f the whole

, ,

spot and thus c r eated a work of art o f his own One gets quite
, .

’
vexed with the lea n ing tower , for as it is one s eye is only dis
tressed by it and yet from its pure an d noble proportions it
,

mi ght be one of the finest buildi n gs of Italy .

In the afternoon we heard to our great regret that the

Luminara h a d been put o ff on accou n t of the u n ce r tain weather ,

so after an almost endless debate we decided to go back to

Lucca an d return t o Pisa the next day if the weather w e r e
,

favou r able The d r ive back seemed like a j ourney th r ough

.

fairyland or the Arabian Nights for the whole way to Lucca ,

every house was illuminated besides the milli on s of glow—worms , ,

and the lovely moon and stars ; all round us and above seemed
nothi n g but o n e glittering sea of light The next day w a s fin e .

and clea r , so we returned to P isa first going to see the her d ,

of camels the onl y one i n E urope since the time of the crusades
,
.

We found a few animals in the stable but were told that about ,

a mile farther in the forest we should fin d a quan tity and so ,

we did In a n open glade in the forest studded with a few

.
,

sple n did trees was grazing a herd of fo ty or fifty camels and

,
r
,

i t looked so stran ge to see in the ope n air doi n g j ust as they ,

pleased such a number of the creatures o n e is accustomed to

,

see sin gly i n menageries c r amped u p and deprived of a ll free

,

dom of moveme n t They were very phlegmatic a n d tame

.
,

hardly stir r i n g from the positions they had take n w hether ,

sta n din g lyi n g or kneeli n g but almost all we r e rumin ati n g

, , , ,

an d they stared at us with their queer faces It was such a .

stra n ge out-o f-the -w ay sce n e to come upo n i n the deep quiet

,

ness and solitude of the wood that we tore oursel v es away with
 A RR I VA L I N B E R L I N .
323

difli c ul ty, and th e children w ould have liked to stay altogethe r .

Then ce we got back to the tow n to the cathedral piazza where

, ,

we could hardly make our way through the dense n oisy cro w d , ,

and then we n t o n ce more over the cathed r al and t he Ca m p o Santo

'

by which t ime the dark n ess had set i n the lamps were lit a n d , ,

the Lumi n ara began The p r ettiest view is on the Lu n ga r n o the

.
,

street on both sides o f the Arno following the large semicircular

,

bend of the river a n d chiefly consistin g of fine quays with splen

,

did palaces built on them W here the houses are smaller they
.

hide them on this occasion with sca ffolding , made to imitate

pa laces a n d illuminated The illum ination exte n ds to all parts
, .

of the town even the remotest alleys ; and the bridges quays
, , ,

ships , and boats all shini n g in the dazzlin g light , look mag
,

n ific e n t , especially when seen from the centre of the Lu n garno .

From thence the travellers hastened on without accident of ,

an y ki n d, by Ge n oa M i lan the S p l ii ge n , and Switzerland to

, , ,

Freibu r g in Breisgau w here t hey meet the W orin ge n s and th e

, ,

day after t heir arrival Felix and Paul : so the lo n g-talked -o f

family meeti n g was reali sed at last They all remai n ed there.

fo r six days and then we n t down the R hine to Mayence and

,
’
Soden whe r e a delightful fortnigh t was spen t at the F e l i c i an s
,

Duri n g this time i t was decided that Felix sh ould resume

his old post at Leipzig O n August 2 the Hensels and Diri c h
.

lets arrived sa fely at Berlin .

Two years of quiet but inten sely happy home life remai n to b e
descri bed W ith the exceptio n of a few days at Leipzig this
.
,

j ourney to I t aly was the last occasion on which Fan n y left her
house a n d garden .

The spri n g o f 1 8 4 6 was ea r ly and unusually fine a n d Fan n y ,

enj oyed i t thoroughly They had perfect summer weather i n

.

the begi n ning o f March , and by the 1 7 t h the almo n d -trees were
in full bloom Towards the e n d of April she writes : It
.

is al ready summer i n the garden the blossom of the fr uit-trees ,

is over and the lilacs and chestn uts are in full beauty— a ve ry
,

rare occurren ce This lovely spri n g has done me so much good

.
,

I feel a child again a n d e nj oy our garden which gets more

, ,

beautiful every day like a happi n ess which is always eludi n g

,

our grasp The house has so man y drawbacks in wi n ter that

.

we have a so r t of right to this compensation I have resumed .

my m a ti n e es and some have been very successful especially

’

, ,

as th e garde n hall a t this time of year gives them such a dis

-

tinct character But it is a serious matter to look forward a

.

year or two an d thi n k of the changes which must take place .

Our circle of fr ie n ds has been filli n g in lately The Jako b ys .

are a very pleasan t additio n His superiority of mind shows .

itself in every way and he is as pleasan t as possible with us

, ,

and thoroughly unde r stands and appreciates listening to music .

An other ag r eeable acquai ta ce is Herr v Ke u de ll who has

n n l
.
,

such an ear for music as I have not met w ith si n ce Gou n od a n d

D ug asse a u , plays extremely well a n d is altogether a ve r y live ly
,

an d ch a r ming man Beh r Borchardt and the other y oun g

.
, ,

No w a mb a ssa do r in Ro me .
3 26 C ON CL US I ON .

entry occurs i n her diary At l ast Felix has written , a n d

‘

given me his professional blessing i n the ki n dest manner I .

know that he is not quite satisfied in his heart of hearts , but I

’
am glad he ha s said a kind word to me about it .

The following is the letter

L e i pz i g : August 1 2 , 1 8 4 6 .

My dearest F an c e — No t till to-day j ust as I am on the

, ,

point o f starti n g , do I , unnatural brother that I am , find time

to thank yo u fo r yo u r charming letter , and send you my pro
fe ssi o n al blessi n g on becoming a member of the craft This I .

do now i n full F a n c e , and may yo u have much happiness in

,

givi n g pleasure to others ; may you tas t e o n ly the sweets a n d

n one o f the bit ternesses o f authorship may the public pelt you
’
with roses and never with sand ; a n d may th e p r i n te r s i n k
,

n ever draw black lines upon your soul — all of which I devoutly

believe will be the case so what i s the u se o f my wishin g i t i

,

But it is the c ustom o f the guild so take my blessing under ,

my h and and seal .

( L . S )
. The j ourneyman tailor ,

F Ee M E NDE LSSOHN B ARTHOL DY .

P S
. I was very much pleased with Herr von Ke u de ll who
.
,

has been here lat ely He will have told you of the musical
.

p ar ty he came in for— where th e clarinet again got out in the

’
time in that easy trio o f Mozart s Oh de ar l .

A hap p y thou ght .

your Sun day m a ti n ées next year , why should you not
At
try something with an accompaniment for wind i n struments ?
’ ’ ’
One of Mozart s or Spoh r s or Beethoven s qui n tets wo ul d be
, ,

charming as i n terpreted by your expressive fingers I throw .

out this hint solely for your benefit for I have not breathed a ,

word of it to anybody else as I think o f maki n g use of it myself

,

one of these days .

1
The nurse w as so very ice and when she we n t downstairs
n ,

The ba by s n u rs e
’
, w hom t h e D i ri c h l e t s were se n din g bac k to I ta ly .
 F E L IX T O FA N N Y .
7

cryi n g a n d calli n g out ta n ti ba c i a F i or a I n early cried too , .

She had her di n n er here but I kept u p such a con ve r sation in

,

Ital ian that she could scarcely eat a morsel W hy by t h e way .

, ,

does Dirichlet nev e r write such letters to his brother-i n -law as

he wrote to Ohm by the nurse ( You see I read every thi ng
) .

I put her in charge of th e guard an d gave her a bi lle t do n e; ,

-

for the di li gen ce o fli c e at R eichenbach All this is meant for

‘
.

R e b ecca as I have j ust fou n d out but never mind ; you two
, ,

a r e a n d always will be the fish-otters a simile which occurs to ,

’
me j ust n o w because C ecile has taken to the Flegelj ahre a n d ,

1
the book is always on the table E n ough for to -day ; my .

love to Paul W hose visit gave us i n credible pleasure I shall

, .

se e you this autum n please God well and happy

, , .

Extr a c t fr o m a L e tter of R ebec c a to Ceci le .

B erli n : Augu st 1 4 , 1 8 4 6 .

To-day I w ill only thank you for your ki n dness to the nurse ;
I am sure seeing yo u was a most unexpected pleasure to her ,

for she had been told that sh e woul d have not a momen t to
spare at Leipz ig E ve rythi n g about trai n s a n d diligences is
.

wrapped in mystery as far as we are concerned W e were all .

sorry to see the good creature leave fo r she was a very pleasant ,

pe r son to have about o n e and you kno w from experience , de a r

,

C ecile how seldom o n e likes the en to u r a g e of a baby ; but t his

,

n urse was so attached to the child and to all of us partly from , ,

her isolatio n from the other serva n ts and her lan guage recalled ,

so many pleasant reminisce n ces that it is a great pity that I

,

co ul d not keep her The o n ly ad v antage of the change is that

.

ba by now bestows all her attention s on me .

W hat do you say to thi s glorious summer ? I o n ly regret

that you ar e spendi n g it i n the town of Leipzig I am pe r fec tly .

satisfied with my country-house in t o w n for the garden is ,

beautiful beyond desc r iption a n d my healt h much better than

,

I co ul d have expected afte r last wi n ter N ext to Karlsbad .

wate r and the fi ne air my pleasant ex iste n ce with Fan ny has

,

Se e v ol . i . p . 2 02 .
328 CON CL US I ON .

do n e me most good You o n ce wrote that we two belonge d to

.

each other an d you are quite right

, .

’
At this m oment I hear Fann y down stairs p laying Felix s
L e rhh e n l i e d over a n d over aga in quite slowly which has so
’
,

excited my curiosity that I call out o f th e window a n d ask h e r

w hat it all means She replies that she i s t ea ching Sebastian
.

the ba ss but his powerful organ has not reached me Fancy

, .

’
Fan n y s havi n g a son with a bass voice l
O n ce more many than ks for the dinner the talk in Italian
, , ,

the bi llet-do u se a n d especially to Felix for nearly crying (I did

,

it in reality ), and fo r everything .

F a n n y to Cec ile .

Au t umn 1 8 4 6 ( W i t h o ut d a te ) .

How I pity you fo r havi n g had to spend this most lovely o f

all summers in town W e have been e nj oying it in our garden
.

as I hardly re m ember to have enj oyed a summer before a n d I ,

have felt inclined to say to each momen t as it pas sed Oh stay

'

, ,

a while thou art so sweet 1

,
Mean w hile aut u mn is upon us
without our scarcely perceivi n g its a pproach , and we have cool
mornings and eveni n gs though th e days are still lovely I, .

should have liked you to share our calm and pleas ant li fe a n d ,

I regret to hear o f your bei n g so thin and having so poor an

appetite R ebecca has got quite plump and except for a
.
,

few d a ys last week she has bee n quite stro n g and well the
whole summer ; if we had had you we should have taken j ust ,

a s much care of you Agai n I am so sorry t hat you should

.
,

sh are in the expen se of the house without sh ari n g our enj oy

ment of the ga r den , whi ch ha s been beyo n d words this summer .

O ur whole manner of life is so closely bound up with the place

that the ve r y idea of perhaps having to live somewhere else
s ome day frighte n s m e .

W hen Felix w rote th e letter inserted above b e was on t he ,

point of startin g fo r E n gla n d where t he fi rst performan ce o f

,

the E lij ah was to take place at Birmi n gham He had be en .

T his phra se me th in g l i ke c ur s twi ce G o e the s Fa ust

’ ’
, o r so i t, o c in .
3 3° C ON CL US I OIV .

done , first thing to—morro w morn i n g I shall shut mysel f up a n d

decli n e to budge till E lij ah is fi n i shed which may not be for ,

another three weeks and that I also swea r by my beard

,
.

You ask what I did on the R hi n e ; but the mis fo r tun e is ,

’
that C ecile s letter to Paul gi v i n g at my r eq uest all the deta ils
, , ,

of my tour crossed yours to me so that I ca n n ot possibly a sc e r

, ,

tain what you k n o w a n d what you do not k n o w The best way .

will be for me to write o n ly what I know C ecile c a n n ot ha v e

told you for indeed there is some choice o f mate r ial Three
, .

such eventful w eeks I never i n my life passed befo r e for I was ,

’
never i n bed till mid n ight or o n e o clock a n d up agai n by six , ,

and fro m hal f past six the whirl bega n agai n and wen t on till ,
’
midnight or o n e o clock The main featur e o f my stay at
.

Ai x—la-Chapelle was that both the Marquis de Sas se n ay and

B urgomaste r N e ll e se n made u n heard —o f exertions to p r ovide m e
wi t h milky rice puddi n g ( Mlle Li n d havi n g told them how fo n d
-
.

I was o f it ) but they di d not succeed for their F r e n ch cooks

, ,

i n every case produced something di fferent much g r a n der b ut , ,

still n o t milky rice O n ce too I took a bath , a n d when I was in

.
, ,

it found it was the tepid spring of Ai x and it m ade me so drowsy ,

that I all but fell asleep ever so man y times duri n g the day .

A Fre n chman from Paris i n quired o n Sunday Qu est—c e

’
,
’

qu elle chante c e soir Mlle Li n d

,
I an swe red
. La ,
’
C r éatio n upon which he turned upon me an d said
,
Com ,

me n t peut—el le chanter la Cr eati on ? La derni ere fois que j ai ’

’
ente n du la C r éation en France c é tai t une ba sse-ta i lle qui la
,

chan tait l The ch oruses were splendidly su n g an d i f Paul ,

could have heard Jenny Li n d si n g the two first ai r s o f Al exan

’ ’
der s Feast he w ould have applauded as h e did that time a t
,

the co n cert Onslo w a sked me again for my baton and I had

.
,

to write something on it u pon which he has written an a r ticle

,

in the Fre n ch papers Like a g r a n d m o n a r qu e he left me h i s

.
’
,

portrait in plaste r of Pa r is i n timati n g that I might like to have

,

i t copied to give his friends an opportu n ity of g e t ti n g i t at

Kist n er s Kyll m an n was j ust the same as pleasant as ever ,
’
.
,

and I spent a happy day at his house and thought of the time ,

when we were there with our pare n ts A few dea r good .

people n ever change than k God— o n ly a few but still there

, ,
 FE L I X A T R US S E L I) OR F .
33 1

they are O n the Saturday before W hit Sun day Simrock spe n t
.

’
a n hour with me over E lij ah and at eight the rehearsal began
, ,

a n d was not over till t w o when there was a grand din n er , at

,

which I was o blige d to be present and which lasted till half ,

past four At fi ve the general rehearsal of the Creation

.

began a n d lasted till about nine , and at nine I went to see the
,
’
Swedish Professor Geyer (you remember him i n L indblad s
time ) w here we had music and I played th e sonata in C sha r p
, ,
’
minor, and some songs without words, etc Immediately after .

Ai x-la -Chapelle followed D u sseldor f, wh ere they serenaded me

twice , as the two Li e der tafe ln of the place hate eac h other to
that extent that they could not be induced to combine The .

m e n tion of D u s seldorf sobers me fo r th e few days I spent t here

,

recalled unpleasant associations add to which tha t R ietz is so

shockingly treated by the musicians there that he has made up
his mind to leave ( I hope he will , too ) ; that many o f my merry
companio n s in former days are sadly chan ged an d that ve ry ,

few keep sti ll the same That Hildebrand is among the latter
.

I n eed not tell you ; Lessi n g , too , h ammers away with his old
perseverance , and leads the same quiet l ife he always did Both .

the Hasenclevers looked very well and I think they have chan ged
,
’
for the be tte r Rie tz s concert was crowded but there was
.
,

a something I did not like about i t there di d not seem to be a

fr iendly feeling, though it was neither aristocratic nor orderly .

Fortunately it was fo llowed by that delightful half-day at

’ ’
Kyll m an n s when we played to our hear t s co n tent on his ne w
,

E r ard an d pronou n c ed V euve Clicquot an excellent woman

,
A .

r o o s one chie f result o f my j ourney is th at I am to have

p p ,

eve r y year two doze n bottles from th e widow Thereby han gs .

a tale which I will unfold when w e meet I was back i n .

Colog n e the same even i n g and next day at Li ege C ecile is

,
.

sure to have written all about the O r ban s and the torchlight ,
’
procession with my M e e r e st ill e a n d the German so n g 0
‘
, ,
‘

’
B e l gi qu e l
That I did not co n duct came about in the natu ral course
of eve n ts I arrived only a quarter of an hour before the
.

gen e r al rehearsal , without a though t o f he a tin g time and ,

though they bothered me dr eadfully I said I had come to lis ten ,

 L OIVCL US I ON
'

33 2 .

and stuck to my inte n tion Moreover the bishops h ad c ut .

,

do w n the expe n ses so that the means were very ine fficient a n d ,

nothi n g co u ld have been done with o n e rehearsal However, .

I was very happy liste n ing and can now form some idea of ho w ,

my Lauda Sion will sound when well performed Some pa rts .

of it would I thin k please you and I shall be glad to play it

, , ,

to you On the way back I di n ed at Dii r e n with W e r gifo sse ,

.

’
and Frau Iven sang till the trai n started I f the Di ri c hl e ts .

ears d id not tingle that day th ey n ever will In th e eve n i n g a t .

Cologne the firs t rehearsal took place at the G iir z e n i c h and I ,

’
heard an d conducted for th e fi r st time my Schiller s Fest
’
gesan g It sou n ded very j olly The next day we had the two
. .

thousand voices How did that soun d ? W ell as far as that

.
,

goes i t was no lo u der tha n a n y other choir (a fact which al ways

surprises people ) but to a practised c ar there w as a certain
,

w hirr and rush , j ust as thi r ty violi n s are no lo u de r than t e n ,

but di fferen t, more penetrati n g a n d more massive I w as very , .

’
much pleased w ith it The S e ydl i tze n s (Ve rke n iu s s daughter
.

a n d wido w you know whose guest I was were most good an d

) , , ,

kind a n d it was particularly g r atifyi n g to me to receive so many

,

m arks of esteem and approval fr om a German audience Where .

ever I appeared d u ri n g the whole three weeks , but especially

at Colog n e the people cheered and shouted and w hen t h e
, ,

greater part o f the t w o thousand singers sang my V olkslied by

he a r t I was not only immensely pleased but quite overcome
,
.

W hen we meet I shal l have m an y amusing incidents to tell you ,

that seem too insign ificant to write about .

’
Inthe mea n time E lij ah had been finished and the first
‘
,

performance took place at B irmi n gham on Au gust 2 5 1 8 4 6 , .

Felix gives an a ccou n t of it in two published letters one to ,

P au l the other to Madame Frege at Leipzig

,
.

A period of perfect rest exe r cised its accustomed benefici a l

i n fluen ce on him after the fatigues of this summer On Sep .

tembe r 2 9 immediately after his return to Leipzig, he wrote to

,

Fanny :
I
ca n not yet make u p my mi n d to undertake a j ourney or
a n ythi n g e ls e but after the exe r tio n s o f thi s summer and all
, ,
3 34 C ON CL US I ON .

w arm weather has done him a great deal of good also although ,

he regrets that he no lo n ger feels the same el asticity that he

used to have I am workin g a good deal and feel that I get
.
,

on a consciousness which , ad ded to the glorious weather gives

, ,

me a feeling o f conte n t and happiness such as I have pe r haps

never be fore experienced except for a short time during our
,

fi rst s t ay in Rome .

D uring the wi n ter Fanny He n sel encouraged by the success ,

o f man y of h er pieces began a work on a larger scale

,
a trio ,

fo r pian o v ioli n a n d Violon cello which w as performed with

, , ,
’
u n iversal applause on April 1 1 (R ebecca s bi r thday ) at the first ,

o f the Sun day m a ti n é es The day w a s an importan t o n e al

.

together, for it w as the ope n i n g of the P russian Landtag an ,

eve n t to which the last pages of the diary contain many allu
sion s showing that Fan n y w as decidedly on the side of the
,

opposition .
‘
No w politics will for a time take the lead and ,
’
absorb all other i n terests she writes Her feel ing of happiness
, .

a n d perfect co n tentment was however, lasti n g as o n e of the

, ,

last entries in the diary shows Yeste r day the first breath of
.

sp r ing was in the air It has been a long wi n ter with much
.
,

frost and sn o w un iversal dearth an d distress indeed a winter

, ,

full o f su ffe r ing What have we done to deserve being amon g

.

the few happy ones in the wo r ld ? My i n most hear t is at any

rate full of than kfulness an d when in the mor n ing a fter break
,

fasti n g with W ilhelm we e ach go to our own work , with a .

pleasa n t day to look back upon , a n d another to look forward to ,

’
I am quite overcome with my own happi n ess .

Inthe m iddle of May 1 8 4 7 she had another attack of bleed

i n g from the nose w hich was stopped this time by a n e w remedy
, .

On Friday afternoon May 1 4 she was conducti n g a rehea r sal

, ,

by her little choir of th e music for the next Sun day but w hile ,

sitting at the pian o playi n g the accompan ime n t she felt su d

de n ly ill her han ds fell powerless by her side she became
, ,

S peechless and helpless , and sho rtly after lost conscious n ess .

Medical aid was at han d but all was in vai n and by eleven
, ,
’
o clock at night all was over A rush o f blo o d to the head had
.

killed her .
 FAN N Y S ’
D E A TH .
335

In the place o f the pian o in the garden -hall on Sunday stood

the co ffin covered with exquisite flowers sent more especiall y
, ,

by the Deckers who had ransacked their beautiful conserva

,

tories W ilhelm Hensel took a sketch of the deceased o n e of

.
,

his best likenesses and the hardest task he ever fulfilled To

, .

hi m it was the loss of everything for his whole family life w a s ,

destroyed In all cases except where the daily labour h a s not to

.
,

provide the daily bread , the death of the mother creates a more
i rr ep ara b le void than that of the father but seldom has this ,

been felt more intensely than i t was i n this case All business .

matte rs , the whole man ageme n t of th e house the superi n te n d .

ence of the p roperty the education of their son had been her
, ,

care for i n all these thi n gs her husban d was per fectly i n
,

expe r ie n ced living as he did wholly for his a r t B ut even i n

, .

this his own pecul iar sphere her i n fluence had been greater ,

than he had been aware of and he was completely distracted ,

whe n he had lost her Hithe r to the most industrious o f men

.
,

he had o r de r s i n suring him years of interesting work and a ,

large pictu r e for the coronation -h all at B runswick almost finished ;

but he never pai n ted a n ythi n g worth having during the fi fteen
years that h e sur v i v ed her a n d never touched again the picture
,

for B r un swi ck so n ear completio n Though formerly he had .

al m ost to be driven from his studio in the eveni n g to take

exe r cise and abho r red letter-writi n g to such an extent that he
,

i n variably postpon ed it when ever possible h e now spent most ,

of his time out of doors or in writing letters Formerly he would .

look hastily through the newspapers at meal times a n d could -

,

not be i n duced to t ake an interest in politics : n o w his t able was

littered with n ewspapers and he fr equented clubs an d meeti n gs
,

with a feve r ish r estlessn ess Housekeepi n g he never attempted

.

again .

’
The i mpression made by Fa nny s person a n d character may
b e summed u p in a few words She was small , and h ad— a n i n
.

he r itance from Moses Me n delssohn — o n e shoulder higher than

the other but very slightly so Her chief beauty was her la r ge
,
.

dark very expressive eyes whi ch did not bet r ay her short
, ,

sighte dness Her nose and mouth were rather large but sh e
.
,

h a d fine white teeth Her hands were those of an accomplished

.
3 36 CON CL US I ON .

pianist Her movements we r e quick and decided and he r

.
,

counte n an ce full o f life faithfully reflect i n g every change o f moo d

, .

She n ever could disguise her feelin gs an d everybody soon found ,

out what she thought o f t hem ; fo r while she would show her
delight at seeing a dear fr iend i m m ediately if anybody ,

approached whom she did not like wrinkles would at o n ce form

in her forehead and at the corners o f her mou t h Few have .

the same facul ty of e nj oyi n g anythin g be autiful whethe r it we r e ,

fi ne weather a handsome face distinguished tale n t or beautiful

, , ,

sce n ery She was very fond of the fresh air an d used to call i t
.
,

one of her greatest e nj oyme n ts Her disgust at an ything ugly

.
,

and her wrath with an ythi n g ha d we r e equally inte n se She , .

could not bear dull insipid vai n or shal lo w people an d had a

, , , ,

few bétes n oi/r es her antipathy to whom she could not get over
, .

W hen cal led upon to endure their pre sence , her cou n te n ance
would assume an expression of such deep distress as would
often cause the greatest amusement amo n g those a r ou n d her ,

from the disproportion between the o ffe n ce and the state of m i n d

it produced As soon as it was over she woul d laugh about i t
.
,

without be ing able t o man age any better the next time Luxury .

and creature comforts she was i n di ffe r ent about ca r i n g nothi n g ,

for good eating a n d drinki n g good accomm odation , dress or

, ,

a n y articles of luxury W ha t she did require was i n te r course

.

with a fe w refined an d clever people and the pleasures o f art , .

The love of liberty was deeply rooted in her character ; and

she held aloof fr om people who prided themselves either on their
birth or their wealth She had a great aversion to payi n g calls
.

’
and other social duties and kept out of all such as much as
,

possible She was the most faithful a n d constant of fr ien ds to

.

all she thought wo r thy o f h er i ntimacy , and capable of a n y

sacrifice for their sake .

All this was n o w swept away a n d by so sudden a blow that,

her u n prepared relatives seemed to have no fortitude left where

with to meet it Fe lix sensitive to all impres sions whether of
.
,

j oy a n d sorrow , and capable m ore than most o f givi n g i n tense

expressio n to his feelings , r e —echoed as it were , what w as in the ,

mind of all the mourners when he wrote

 33s CO N CL US I OM

heari n g the i n te n sely sad passionate F minor quartet which

,

he wrote in t h e summer of 1 8 4 7 will at on ce feel the chan ge

,

which had come over his spirit : t he blow was mo rta l It is .

remarkable that it was not to his o w n a r t that he fi r st turn ed for

comfo r t but to pai n ti n g The water-colour sketches he brought
,
.

home fr om hi s last Swiss j ourn ey show marked prog r ess on the

former o n es B r oader in design the r e is still the same mi n ute
.
,

t reatment a n d correct d r awi n g a n d observation of detail but ,

a much greater fr eedom o f ha n dli n g and fo r ce and harmon y of ,

colouri n g In fact they a r e real pictu r es such as n o artist need

.
, ,

have been ashamed to o w n .

Paul a n d his family a n d Hensel returned to B e rlin after a

stay of four weeks i n S w itze rland but Felix and his family ,

remained till Sep t embe r Gradually he took up music agai n ,

.

a n d fo r med grea t p l a n s in h i s mi n d -a n oratorio Ch r ist us ,

l e ft u n fin i sh e d— several compositions of sacred music i n str u ,

’
me n tal pieces a fe w so n gs and above all the ope r a Loreley
, , , , ,

for which Geibel had wr itten a libretto which pe r fectly sa tisfied

h im It was very striki n g that his long -cherished wish for a
.

good opera-lib r etto should o n ly be realised as the san ds of life

w e re running out .

After his return to Leipzig his friends did i n deed fin d h i m

stronger in body and u n cha n g ed i n m i n d as full as ever of life ,

a n d fire when at t h e pia n o or whe n talking o n musical su b

e c t s ; but these mome n ts o f excitement were followed by deep

j
dep r essio n , when b e shun n ed society, and shra n k fr om seeing
even his most i n timate frie n ds He looked older too a n d pale r
.
, ,

and had a ge n eral air of exhaustio n O n ce active and en ergetic

.

almost to restles sn ess he would n o w si t idle with his hands i n

,

his lap instead of walking with his old quick elastic s t ep he ,

wo u ld d r a g his feet sl owly an d wea r ily along while hi s i rr it ,

ability with rega r d to t r ifli n g an noya n ces was extreme He felt .

the atmosphe r e of the to wn opp r es sive and seriously thought of ,

retiring an d settli n g in some beautiful spot on the R hi n e .

’ ’
A week s visit to Berli n and the sight of Fan n y s rooms ,

which had been left u n touched — and remai n ed so u n til t he

house w as sold— u pset him agai n , and destroyed all t h e good
'

e fl e c t s produced by th e j our n ey to Switzerland He resigned .

 D E A T H OF FE L I X .
3 39

th e conductorship o f the Gewandhaus -concerts and of the per

fo r m an c e of E lij ah at Be r li n fixed for N ovember 3 but , ,

adhered to the idea of conducting it in V ienna on N ovember 1 4 , ,

w hen Jenny Li n d was to sing .

On October 9 he took a walk in th e morni n g with M o sc h e l e s

a n d his wife see mi n g in very low spirits at fi rst but brighte n
, ,

ing up till h e became almost gay In the afternoo n he wen t .

to see Mme Frege t o tal k over the selec t ion and arra n gement
.
,

of a new boo k of so n gs h e was about to publish for i n these ,

appare n tly mi n or details h e was as careful and con scientious a s

’
in matters of impo r tance On e of them the Nachtlied wri tte n
.
, ,

for the birthday of his friend Schleinitz on October 1 is prob ,

ably his last composition He said to Mme F r ege that it

. .

w as rather a strange kind o f birthday presen t but that he was ,

very fo n d o f it as it expressed so exactly his own stat e o f mi n d

, .

he felt so weary .

Mme Frege san g the songs over to him several times and
.
,
’
then he expre s sed a wish to hear somethi n g from the E lij ah
she we n t to fetch a light and whe n sh e came back foun d him
,

shiveri n g with his hands cold and sti ff and his head aching
,

violently He recovered sufficiently to walk home but this

.
,

was t he begin n i n g of the end The attacks recurred with i n

.

creasi n g violence ; Paul who h a d com e to h i s sick -bed was

, ,

prese n t at the last on N ovember 3 fr om which he n ever rallied ,

, ,

and expired on the morni n g o f the 4 th .

The whole population o f Leipzig manifes ted the greatest

sympathy during h is illn ess and after his death all mourned as
,

if they had lost a beloved relative At the fun eral service .

i n the P auli n e r -Kirche at Lei p zig on N ovember 7 M o sc h e l e s

, , ,

David , Hauptmann and G ade were th e pall -bearers

, The .

co ffi n was ta ken to the railway sta tion i n the eveni n g and c o n ,

v e e d to Be r lin by n ight A K othen it was recei v ed by th e

'

y t .

Gesan gverein a n d at Dessau a chorus was ready to sing an

,

Abschiedslied composed in honour of the departed by the aged

Friedrich Sch n eider .

Felix lies by the side o f his siste r Fanny in the churchyard ,

of Holy Tri n ity at Berlin

, .
 3 40 CON CL US I ON

’
The follo w ing description o f Felix s personal appearance is
contributed by Mr G Grove : . .

‘
In person Me n delssoh n was short not so much as fi ve feet ,

six inches in height and slight o f build ; in figure lithe and

, ,

very light an d mercurial His look was dark and very Jewish .

the face unusually mobile and ever varying i n expression full , ,

of brightness and animation a n d with a most unmistakabl e ,

look o f ge n ius His complexion was fr esh a n d showed a good

.
,

deal of colour His hair was black t hick , and abundant but
.
, ,

very fine w ith a natural wave in it a n d was kept back fro m hi s

, ,

forehead which was high and much developed By th e e n d of

, .

his li fe howe v er it sho w ed a good dea l of gray and he began to

, , ,

be bald His mouth was u n usually delicate a n d expressive a n d

.
,

had generally a pleasant smile at t he corners His w hiske rs .

were very dark and h is closely shaven chin a n d upper lip were
,

blue from t h e strength of his beard His t eeth were beautifully .

white a n d regular ; but the most striki n g p art of his face w ere
the large da r k -brown eyes W hen at rest he o ften lowered th e .

eyelids as if he were slightly short-sighted— which indeed he

,

w as ; but when animated they g ave a n extrao r di n ary brightness

and fire to his face and were as expressive a pair of eyes as
,

were ever set in a human being s head ’ ”

W hen he w as playi n g .

extempore or was otherwise much excited they would dilate and

, ,

become nea r ly twice their o r di n ary size the brown pupil changing ,

to vivid black His laugh was hearty and freque n t a n d when

.

especially amused he would quite double up with lau ghter , a n d

shake his han d from the w r ist to emphasize his merrime n t He .

would nod his head violently when thoroughly agreei n g so ,

that the hair came down over his face — in fac t his body w as
almost as expressive as his face His hands were small with 2
.
,

taper fi n gers On the keys they behaved almost like livi n g

.
“

” 3
a n d i n telligent creatures full of life and sympathy His ac tion
,
.

at the piano was as free from a ffectatio n as everythi n g el se that

he did a n d very inte resti n g At times especially at the organ
, .
, ,

he lean t very much over the keys , as if watch ing for the strains

H e w a s sh o rt er t h a n S t ern da le B en n e t t , w h o w as 5ft 6 i n
. .

2
A c a st o f his h a n d c a n be bo ugh t .

Th e B i sh o p o f L i me r ick .
3 42 C ON CL US I ON

mann Schubring Hiller M o sc h ele s are ch a rged with an amo un t

, , , ,

of real a ffectio n ra r ely met with but which never leads him to ,

sink h is o w n ind ivi dual O pi n ion on any poi n t which h e thought

material as may be seen i n ma n y cases Talent and perseveran ce
,
.

h e was al w ays ready to encourage and the cases of Taubert , ,

E ckert Gade Joach im R ietz N aumann Sterndale Bennett

, , , , , ,

Hiller and the ano n ymous student whose cause he plead s so

,
1
earn estly to th e ki n g show how eager he always was to promote
,
’
the best interests of those whom he believed to be worthy .

But it was not only fellow-artists w h o could count u pon his

sympathy ; be freely bestowed it o n all without class-disti n ctio n s
of any kind Thus he eagerly in t erested himsel f in behalf of
.

a Swiss moun tai n -gui de a n d good servan ts and i n tellige n t ,

w o r kmen we r e always sure of active assista n ce fr om him His .

popularity with the so called common people was remarkable -

.

The way children hun g about him and th e delight it was when he ,

came to Berlin , the presen t w r iter can testify at the same time ,

recalling with grateful emotion m any an ins tance of absorbin g

wo r k laid aside to accede to some childish request made in the
, ,

full certain ty of gain in g his attentio n .

It o n ly remains n o w to s um u p in fe w words the further his

tory of the other persons whose lives have been t raced in this
book but it is mai n ly a catalogue of deaths .

’
The first to depart this life was C ecile Felix Mendelssohn s ,

widow She survi v ed him for n early six yea r s leadi n g a retired
.
,

life partly a t Berlin an d p a r tly at her n ative town Frankfort

, , ,

fi n di n g her sole pleasu r e i n her promisi n g child r e n a n d devoti n g ,

her whole e n ergies to their education The germs of that .

wasti n g disease to which she fell a victim had probably lain

’
dorman t lo n g before ; but after Felix s death consumptio n made
rapid progress and she died at Frankfort on Sunday September
, ,

2 5 1 8 53 j ust as it was st r iki n g noon

, , She is buried i n the .

beautiful cemetery the r e with its view over the glorious cou n try
,

to the Taun us Hills .

The Di r i c h l e ts left Berlin in the autumn of 1 8 55 a n d ,

set tled at G fittin ge n w he r e he ha d been o ffered the post le ft

,

L e tt ers, 1 8 4 4, 11. 3 25 .
 T HE
'

D I R /CHL E T S G oT T I N e E N
'

AT .
3 43

vacan t by Gauss Dirichlet had always e n tertained ultra -l iberal

.

views an d take n a n acti v e part in politics ; a n d R ebecca fully

,

sympathised with his opinions They were both stro n gly

.

opposed to the reactio n ary measures adopted in Pru s sia at that

’
time a n d Di r i c hle t s w o r k at the u n iversi ty and more especially
, ,

of the K riegsschule was made so disagreeable to hi m t ha t he

,

gladly accepted the call to G otti n ge n i n order to fr ee himself ,

from a position which h ad become i n tole rable .

The other members of t he family were sorry to see them

leave Be r li n n o t only on accoun t o f the loss to themselves
,

of the daily in tercou rse but because they doubted whethe r

,

the Di r i c hle ts would be able to settle down comfo r t ably i n a

small place after li vi n g in a large tow n all t heir lives These .

fears however , proved groundless and t heir fe w remain i n g

, ,

years pas sed in un disturbed happi n ess Dirichlet fou n d a circle .

of co n genial colleagues and an i n tellectual and appreciati v e

,

audience so that he was happy in his work while R ebecca was

, ,

surrou n ded wi t h every comfort in the ho use and ga r den they

h a d bought and i n her lette rs co n stantly ex p r esses her satis
,

faction with everything N o w and then there i s a little

.

h a r mless pleasantry over the peculiari t ies of th e small to wn as ,

for i n stan ce when sh e writes to her nephew Sebastian Hen sel ,

There i s no such thing here as d ivision of labour : from the

Ho fra th (the very top of the tree ) down to the cobbler eve r y ,

body has hi s o w n little piec e of grou n d an d works o n it i n the ,

morni n g devoting the afte r noon to his duties as Ho fr a th or

,
’
cobble r I too shall live to hoe my own pota toes
. She soon .

beca me the ce n tre of a pleasant society The day before yes .

’
terday she writes to her nephew we san g the S o n an d
, ,
”
Stran ger before sixty o f our intimate friends Sto ut Bode .

’
meier s capital bass inspired me with the idea and it was very ,

suc c essful The con c erto -pieces went so prettily a n d there

.
,

w as such spirit and go in the whole perfo r mance that I for my

’
pa rt e nj oyed it thoroughl y B o de m e i e r s Kauz was really
.

splen did ; h e showed so m uch racy but good -natured humour ,

a n d so much musica l intellige n ce besides his really fin e voice , .

’
The watc hman s so n g made me shed many a tear but nobody ,

but you would know why The short solos in the chorus w ere .
344 C ON CL US I OrV .

s ung by the two Siebold girls who looked very pretty in the ,

s econd place a n d sa n g cha r mi n gly in t h e first

, We wound u p .

”
with supper and two bowls of Cardi n al ; an d our company
“

exp r essed their grati t ude by eati n g an d d r inki n g to a n enormous

exten t and the professors by proposing the healths of eve rybody
,

— hosts guests singers and even the music The rehearsals were
, , , .

the best part it was so interesting to see ho w they u n derstood the

,

music and grew fo n d of it an d we became the best of frie n ds over

,

it . W alter one of the stude n ts who w a s to si n g th e mayor o f

, ,

the village was eviden tly quite put out at the fi r st r e hearsa l by
, ,

havi n g o n ly one note to si n g ; but at the seco n d it dawned upon

him and I explained to h i m that this part had always made
,

the greatest e ffect o f all and he did it sple n didly

, Let me play .

”
the lio n too we had of course as well as cues an d all It was , .

very nice and it has made me feel quite at home havi n g good
,

music in the h ouse Yes indeed we are feedi n g these people

.
, ,
’
with the crumbs from our former feasts .

’
After Fan n y s death R ebecca took cha r ge of her orphan
son (which w as the more n ecessa ry from his father as we men ,

ti o n e d be fore havi n g given u p his home ) a n d replaced his

, ,

mother i n w hat scarcely can be replaced the self-de n ying ,

matern al devo tion ; indeed sh e n ever m ade an y di ffe r e n ce b e

,

twee n her own child r en a n d this adopted son Those o n ly who .

were immediately about he r knew w hat a wa r m lovi n g hear t

was co n cealed u n de r tha t appa r en tly cold exterio r .

In th e a utum n of 1 8 58 Sebastian He n sel a n d his bride

visited the Dir i c h le ts a t G ottingen fo r the last time spe n ding ,

four weeks in thei r comfortable home The life and soul o f the .
'

’
pa r ty w a s Diri c hle t s aged mo ther then i n he r n i n etieth year , ,

b u t a woman of extraordi n a ry e n ergy a n d vitality She j oin ed .

i n the m ost fatigui n g mountain excursions and was quite h urt ,

if an ybody ventured to o ffer her an arm in climbi n g busied ,

herself in the house and garde n a n d even took pa r t in the ,

dan ci n g which w as occasio n ally improvised in the eveni n g .

W he n t h e He n sels took lea v e t here was no a ppea r ance fore ,

boding sudden death to eith er Rebecca or Di r ichlet but he ,

returned from a t r ip to Swi t ze r la n d during the vacation dan

3 40 C ON CL US I ON .

’
R ebecca s daughter also lived in hi s family fo r several years .

Sebastian Hensel too found i n him an ever-ready friend a n d

, ,

adviser in all a ffairs of importa nce .

T h e great dread Paul al w ays had of publicity makes it all

the more praise worthy in him to have been the first to publish
’
Felix s letters and thus lay the foun datio n for a correct estima
,

tion o f his character The considerable profits of the publica

.

tio n he devoted to charitable purposes .

U n fortunately the family i n heritance o f a speedy and pain

,

less death was de n ied to Paul He d ied after lo n g and severe

.

suffering o n June 2 1 1 8 7 4 and his wife followed him on J u ly

, , ,

The words Felix wrote to R ebecca on July 7 , 1 8 4 7 We

h ave now ended a great chapte r a n d neither title nor begi n n ing
,

of the n ext is yet writ t en but God will make it all right the
,

right motto fo r the begi n n i n g and the end of all chap t ers —h ad
’
a still deeper sig n i fi ca n ce for the family after Felix s death .

S u rely the ch apte r , t h e life of the Men dels sohn family was at ,

an e n d for ever at an end for with Felix and Fa n n y the artistic

, ,

element which had pervaded everythi n g was taken away B ut .

for German y too one chapter came to an end with the year
’
1 8 4 7 and the next was headed P olitics
,
.

The events o f t h e last fe w years are known throughout the

wo rld a n d h ave n o place in this boo k we are now a u n ited
,
.

Fathe r land high in the respect of E urope, an d to this ge n era

,

t ion has been gran ted that highes t of human des t inies —to have
l ived in a g r eat time
!
Still the descen dants o f the Mendelssoh n
.

family look back wi t h melancholy emotion to the paradise o f

their youth no w closed fo r ever and to the happiness of a ti m e
, ,

W hich never will — never can return -

.
 I N D E X .

AB B B AC

B B O T S F OR D , i 1 9 8
’
.
‘
An t g o n e , 1 1
i . 1 6 4, 1 6 8 , 1 7 7 , 1 8 5, 2 8 7 ,
Abeke n , ii 8 1 , 1 6 8 . 293 , 3 17
Aca demy o f Ar t s, B erl i n , i i 1 6 0 . An t iph o n a et R e sp o n so ri um , ’
i . 163,
Ac ademy i n R o me , t h e Fre n ch , i i 7 8 , . 23 6
1 01 , 1 04 , 1 1 1 , 1 1 9 An xie t i e s, Feli x s fa mi ly, 11 2 7 8 , 3 08
’
.

t a lk o f a P russia n , i 2 41 . Archae o l o gi cal mee t i n g i n R o me , a n ,

ii , 2 4 6 , 2 50 ii 8 0
.

V
Acca dem ia i n e n i ce , t h e , i i 6 8 . Argyll Ro o ms , t h e , i 1 8 4 , 1 9 4 .

Accide n t , Felix s, i n L o n d o n , i 2 2 9 Ar i a f o r M m e M i lder, Fe li x ’s, i 1 7 6

’
. . .

Aci s a n d G a l a t e a , Fe l i x a rr a n ge s, i 1 6 5
’
Arl a n d , i 7 1 .

Adel ai de , i i 7 7 Arme n ia n Church i n Ro me , t h e , 1 1 9 9

’
. .

Adieux , l e s, l Ab se n c e e t l e R et o ur , Ar n d t s Ta le s, He n sel i llu s t ra t e s, i 9 7

‘ ’ ’ ’
.

ii 1 1 0
. Arn im , B e tt i n a v o n , i 2 51 .

Ae rn dte L ied , Feli x s, ii 1 7 0 frie n d o f He n s el , i 9 7

- ’ ’
.

Aff ect i o n a t e n a t ure , Fel ix s , n 3 4 1 . Ar n o ld M e n del sso h n , i i 4 6 .

Aff ec t i o n be t wee n Fe l ix a n d hi s fa t her, Ar t i n B erli n , i 1 00 ; i i 2 9 8 . .

i 3 15
. Ar t i sts As so cia t i o n , Feli x member o f
’

Aga t h o d aem o n , Wi elan d s, i 7 0

’
th e , i 1 58
’
. .

Aix -l a -Ch a pelle f e st iva l , i 3 3 0 ; 1 1 3 3 0 Asce ’ ’

. . n s i o n , N e u k o m m s, 1 1 3 5 .

Albe rt , Pr i n ce , ii 1 6 8 . Assi s i , i i 2 2 5
.

Album , Schle sin ger s, 1 1 3 1 As t h e h ar t p an ts , 11 3 4 , 1 8 3

’
’
. .

A lbum s, He n s el s po rtra i t i 2 4 9 ; u 1 6 6 At h a li e , ii 1 7 7 , 2 8 7 , 3 2 9
’ ’
. . .

Al e rz, i i 2 4 1 , 2 9 6
. Schul t z s, 1 9 4
’
.

Alce st e i n P a r is , i 1 2 8 . Att a chme n t o f F a n n y an d Fel i x , i 1 1 7 , .

Al ex an der s Fe as t , i i 3 3 0 At te n t i o n s fro m l a di e s, i 2 6 1 , 3 03
‘
' ’
. .

Alexa n ders, t h e M i ss , i 3 04 . At t wo od, i 2 2 9 , 2 3 4 , 2 3 6 2 9 4 , 2 9 7

.
.

Allegr i s L a me n t a t io n s , ii 9 7 2 53 , 2 6 4 Aubergi s t e , Ca t e l s , i 1 2 5
’ ’ ’
. .

M i s erere , i 3 2 5 ii 9 8 2 6 5 Auber s Leo ca d i e , i 1 2 5

’ ’
. , .

A llg em e i ne Z e i tu n g, t h e , i i 1 8 . A udie n ce , a n E n gli sh , i 1 4 9 .

Allied a r m ies i n P ar i s, t h e , i 57 . w i t h t h e Ki n g, ii 1 7 3 .

Al ps in W i n t er, t h e , ii 3 1 0, 3 1 8 . t h e Po pe , ii 2 4 5, 2 49 .

Al s a ger, M n , i 2 9 7 . Auf F lii g e ln de s Ge sa n ge s , ’ i 3 3 1 .

Al te n st ei n , V o n , Mi n i s ter, i 3 1 1 ii 4 . . Au st i n , Mr s , i 2 2 6 , 2 51 , 3 01 , 3 2 1 1 1 4 ,
. .

Am a te ur is h n ess i i 3 01 , . 166
A m aj o r , i 2 45 Au st ri a n ce n so rship , i 2 2 7
’
. .

Am a l fi, 1 1 1 3 8
. Au t h o rs a t W eim a r, i 6 6 .

Ambass a d o r , th e E n gl ish , 1 1 2 3 8 , 2 4 3 , . A u t o gra ph s , i 2 50 .

2 53
Ambro sia n Li brar y, t h e , u 2 05 .

Am ia bili t y, Felix s, i 1 58 ii 2 3 7 , 2 44 ,
’
. . AB B AG E , M r , 1 1 2 7 9 , 2 9 3 . .

2 56 , 3 01 B a ch, i 8 5, 3 3 3 ; i i 3 8
. .

An derso n M r s , i 2 3 8
, . . m o’n ume n t a t L e i pz ig, ii 16 2 .

B a ch s Co n certo , ii 1 01 , 1 04 , 1 1 1 , 1 1 8
’
An di e Kiin st l e r , i i 3 2 9 . . .

An t hem , Fa nn y s W edd i n g i 2 4 1
’
. 1 47
 3 48 I N DE X .

B AG B RE

c s Tripl e Co n ce r t o 1 1 1 08
Ba h
’
, . B erl i n , Felix g i ve s up a pp o i n t me n t a t s
fugue s F lix pl a ys i 9 1 1 1 3 , e , .
, i i 3 02.

M as s ( B min o r ) 1 1 53 1 56 ; i i 1 8 4 , . , . B erli o z , i 2 57 1 1 1 8 4, 2 2 0 3 4 1
. . .

music a n d T hib a u t i 1 3 9 , . B ern er, o rga n i st a t B re sl a u , i 1 1 8 .

a t t h e Cz ic ih e n V erei n i 2 7 3 -
,
. B ern h ar d a n d M o s e s M , i 7 , 1 1 , 2 0 . .

Feli x pla y s a t S t Pa ul s i 2 9 7 ,
’
, . B er t h o ld Auerb a ch , i 2 2 .

o pi n i o n o f i n P a ri s 1 12 7 , , . B igo t, M m e , i 8 1 , 8 3 , 2 8 9 . .

o rga n piece i 2 7 2 , . B irch M i ss, ii 2 6 0

, .

Passi o n i 1 56 1 6 5 1 6 9 B irmi n gh a m Fe s t iva l , 1 1 3 4, 3 3 2

’
.
, , , .

Prelude s F a n n y pl a y s 1 8 8 , ,
. B ir t h o f Abra h a m , i 6 1 .

B a de n Felix a t i 1 3 6
, , . D iri chle t , i 3 09 .

B a der i 1 7 2 2 52 2 56
, .
, , F an n y , Felix, a n d Rebecc a , 1 73 .

B a g pipe s t h e i 1 9 6 2 1 4 , ,
.
, Flo re n ti n a , i i 3 1 3 .

B a ill o t i 1 2 4 1 2 7 , .
, He n sel , i 9 6
B ai n i s M i sere r e 1 1 2 6 4 L eah, i 6 1
’
. .
,

Ba i s M i s erere i 3 2 5 Pa ul , i 7 4
’
.
, , .

B a ll a t B rus sel s i i 3 9 P a ul s d a ugh t er, 1 1 2 8 4 , 2 9 3

’
.
, . .

Devo n shire H o u se 1 1 8 2 , . R ebecca s fi r s t child, 1 3 02 , 3 1 5

’

Fra n kfo r t ii 3 1 2 , . Seb ast i a n , i 2 4 8 .

Fr a n zen sba d ii 1 4 , . B i rt hd a y, Ab ra h a m s, i 1 50
’
.

M un ich i 2 7 1 Cecile s, i i 4 4
’
, . . .

i n R o me i i 8 9 2 55 F a n n y s , i 8 3 , 1 52 , 1 6 2 , 3 3 5; 11 3 05
’
.
, .
, .

B a n di t t i ii 2 59 Felix s, i 1 2 0 ; i i 2 52 , 2 57
’
, . . .

B a n ki n g h o u s e o f M e n del sso h n i 3 3 L e a h s , ii 9 0
'

.
, .
,

R ebecc a s , ii 9 1 , 3 1 9 , 3 3 4
’
3 1 5; i i 3 4 5 . .

B ar biere , i 2 58 . W a l t er s, i i 2 90
’
.

m
B ar a n n , i 2 6 2 . B i sh o pric o f Jerusa lem , 1 1 2 4 6 .

r h ldy
Ba t o ,
i 7 5, 8 5, 9 8 , 2 9 2 i i 8 2,
. . B l a c a s , D ue de , ii 8 1 .

B leedi n g a t t h e n o se, F a n n y s, 1 1 3 1 0.
’
1 52 .

llec
Co t io n , t h e , i 1 04 . 334
u me
s rn a o f, i 6 1 , 7 5 B li n d n e ss o f Abra h a m , i 3 1 5 .

h g S re
B a t i n a t o r n t o , ii 2 8 8 , 2 9 3 . B lume n b a ch , i 1 08 .

Fel x B lu n ders i n B e r l i n , 1 1 2 8 2
’
B ri to n , i s, i 1 8 4 ; ii 1 8 5, 3 3 0 . . .

Ba uer , i 3 3 1, 3 3 9 . B o cci a , i 2 4 9 ; ii 1 1 4 , 2 7 5
. .

i
B a um k ii c h e n , 1 6 5; 1 1 2 8 7 , 3 02 . . B oc kh , i i 1 6 5, 1 6 6 , 23 4, 2 6 1
.

e u y Fre ch ii
B a t , a n , 2 55 . B o de m e i e r , ii 3 43 .

B eer b i ger
as s s n
. , ii 2 56 . B o hem i a , ii 1 6 .

He r ch i i B o i eldieu s Ch a pe r o n R o uge , ’ i 1 3 7
’
in i , 46 . .

ich el ii
M a , 1 48 . B o n i r o te , ii 1 2 4 1 2 9 , 1 40 . ,

ee h ve Felix pprec i B o n n e t R o uge , 1 2 53

’ ’
B t o n, s a i a t o n o f, .

B o n n et s E vide n ce o f Chri st ia n i ty,

’
i 1 69
.

ee h ve c ce
B t o n s o n r to s — E fl a t, 1 1 8 8 ;
’
. i 10
.

G m j r ii
a o , 120 . B o rch a rd t, 1 1 1 93 , 2 05, 2 3 1 , 2 4 0, 2 49 ,
.

M a ss , i 1 56 . 3 24
S o n a t a s , i i 1 08 , 1 1 8 , 1 20, 2 3 5 , 2 4 4,
. B o rghe s e , Pri n ce ss, 1 1 8 9 .

3 2 0, 3 3 1 B drn e , i 1 2 9 , 1 6 0
.

S mph e
y o n i s, i 1 5 6 C n o , i i 3 05 . mi r . B o si o , like n e sse s o f, 1 1 2 09 .

D mi r i h no , n n t , ii 8, 1 84 , 262 ; . B o t g o r sc h e k , M m e , i i 4 6 . .

r l
P a sto a , i 2 8 1 . B o ucher, i 1 2 5 .

m r ii
T r i o s— C i n o , 2 47 ; E fl at , 23 6 . ii . B o ul o gn e , i 3 2 1 .

B e l la ys, ii 1 1 8 , 2 59 . B o urs e , l adie s o n th e , i 2 52 .

B e n de m a n n , 3 2 5; 1 1 4 6 , 3 2 9 i . . B o usque t, i i 9 9 , 1 04, 1 06 , 1 1 2 , 1 1 8 , 1 2 2,
.

e edic i
B n t o n , L a t a n , 1 1 1 1 7 ; St P t
’
s, er . . e er 1 42
ii B o yce s An them s, i 2 3 7
’
99, 265
.

B e n e c k e s, i i 1 6 7 , 2 7 6 . B ra h a m , i 1 4 5, 1 8 9 .

e edic ii
B n ts 41 . . B ra u n , ii 8 1 2 6 6 .
,

e e S er d le i i
B n n tt , t n a , 2 9 , 3 0, 3 40 . B re n ta n o , i 9 7 , 2 51 .

B erger i L , . 74 . . S o phie , i 7 0
De
Be r i o t , , 1 3 01 . B rera , t h e ii 6 5, 1 4 9 .
35
° IN D E X .

CO N ELI

Co n duct i n g , Felix, i n B erli n Ca t hedral , Devel o p m e n t o f Felix i 1 1 3 2 8 1 , .

,

i i 1 9 5, 2 3 8
. Devo t i o n t o hi s wife Felix s i i 1 4 6 ,
’
, .

so rr o w , ii 1 8 3 O pera , 1 3 2 9 . . D e v r i e n t i 1 57 1 6 5 1 7 0 2 4 6 ; i i 50
, .
, , , .

Co n ducto r, Felix a s a , i 2 8 1 , 2 8 5; ii 9 , . . 24 3 , 2 6 3 , 2 8 2
3 0, 2 6 2 Di a ry Fa n n y begin s a i 1 6 8
, , .

C o n fi r m a t i o n , F a n n y s, i 7 9 Di ct i o n a ry o f M u sic Gro ve s
'
’
.
, , i . V1 1 1 .

Co n s erv a t o ire , L e i pzi g , ii 1 6 1 , 1 7 7 . 2 2 5; i i . 3 40

t a lk o f, a t B erli n , ii 1 6 0 . D i effen ba ch i 3 1 8 11 1 9 3 , . .

Co n sta n t, B e n j a mi n , i 4 4 , 1 3 8 . D i ffere n t s tyle s o f mu s ic Feli x o ,

Co o ke , i 1 4 5 . a pprec i a t i n g 1 1 2 9 2 , .

C o ri o l a n u s, 1 1 3 05 D i ligen ce upset wi th Felix i 1 3 2

’
.
, .

Co rn eliu s, i 1 00, 2 51 ; i i 6 0, 1 05, 1 59 ,

. . D iri chle t fi rst a cqua i n ta n ce w ith
,

1 6 6 , 2 2 9, 2 6 5 i 164
.

C o r o n a ti on o f Quee n icto r i a , i i 3 8 V . M a d a me , 1 1 1 8 , 2 7 9 , 3 4 4 .

Co un t erpo i n t o f m a r r ied life , i i 4 3 Di s like , Abra h a m s, t o B erli n , 1 7 1

’ ’
. .

Cra mer, F ra n z , i 1 8 4 , 2 2 5 Felix s , to B erli n , 1 3 1 8 ii 2 Par i s

’
. . .

J B , i 1 8 1, 296
. . . 1 1 2 4 ; pe r f o rm an ce s, i i 3 5
. .

Cra mer s exercis e s, i 8 3 Di st i n gui shed visi t o rs a t Fa n n y s , 1 1

’ ’
.

Cre a t i o n , t h e , ii 3 3 0 1 6 6 He n rie tt e s, i 4 4 M o s e s s, i 2
’ ’ ’
. . .

Cr e l in g e r , M m e , ii 1 6 5 . . Di stress i n German y, ii 2 7 5, 3 3 4 .

Cr e sc in i, M m e , i i 2 9 . . Lo n d o n , i 3 05 .

Cro f t s T e D e u m s, i 2 3 7
’ ’
. D i s t urba n ce s i n B erl in , i 3 1 8 ; Dii ss e l .

Cupb o a rd , At twoo d s mu sic i 2 3 7

’
. do r f, i 3 2 6
C ur io n i , i 1 80 . L o n d o n , i 3 08 .

C uri o si t ie s fr o m Po mpe ii , 1 1 1 2 8 Diver tisseme n t a t Ki n g s T hea tre , i 1 8

’
. .

D oble r , i i 3 2
'

D o n Ju a n , i 1 4 5, 3 2 6
‘ ’
.

AHLI NG , i 1 57 D o n i ze tt i s o peras , i i 2 1 3
’
. .

Da h l m an n s E n gli sh Revo l ut i o n , D o n key c arr i a ge Felix i n a , i 2 3 7

’ ’
, .

ii 2 6 9
. D o n a del L a go , Tha l b e r g s , i i 4 7
n
’ ’
.

D a n ces, Fel i x , i 2 2 8 , 2 7 1 , 2 8 8 . D o n zelli , i 1 8 0 .

D a n c in g i n Ro me , i i 2 55 . Dra m a t ic co mpo sit i on , Ab r a h a m o n

D Ar g e n s, M ar qu is , i 1 2 , 2 7 i 87
’
. .

D a ugh t er o f t h e Ai r , Sp o hr s , i i 2 9
’ ’
. Dra m a tur gi e L e ss i n g s , i 3 3 6
’ ’
, .

D a vid , i 1 59 ; i i 1 3 , 1 9 , 46 , 57 ,
. . Drawi n g Felix o n Wa l t er s ii 1 8 0
,
’
, .

216, 3 3 9 Drawi n gs Cecile s ii 2 6 4 3 2 9 1 ,

’
, .
, ,

D a vo u st M a rsh a l i 58 7 3
, , .
,
Felix s i 1 1 7 2 2 2 2 2 6 ; He n sel s
’
, .
, ,
’

D a vy L a dy i 2 52
, ,
. i 1 03 ; i i 4 4 , 4 8 , 1 4 5
. .

De a t h o f Ab ra ha m i 3 3 7 , . Dress i n Lo n d o n , Felix s, i 1 8 6
’
.

Cé c i l e , i i 3 4 2 . Dro uet , i 1 9 4 ; ii 4 7 . .

D ir i chle t , ii 3 4 5 . Dro y se n , i 1 59 , 1 6 4 , 201 , 2 1 7 ; 1 1 2 4

. .

D i ri c h l e t s si s t er, i i 1 7
’
. Due t , Fel i x s , i i 1 01 '

F a n n y, i i 3 3 4 . D ug a ss e a u , i i 1 00, 1 1 1 , 1 1 8 .

Feli x , i i 3 3 9 . Du n kirk, Fa n n y a t , i 3 2 2 .

He n r i e tta , i 6 0, 2 7 2 . D ur er Fe stiva l , i 1 56 .

Hen sel , i i 3 4 5 . D us s eld o rf , Felix s p o st a t , i 8 6 , 2 9 1

’
.

He n sel s m o t her, i 3 2 4
’
. fes tival , i 2 7 9 ii 4 . .

J o seph, 1 3 4 . l as t vi s i t t o , ii 3 3 1 .

L ea h , ii 1 7 8
M o se s, i 2 9 .

Pa ul , ii 3 4 6 AR L Y ta l e n t of Fel i x an d Fa n n y
{
.

Rebecca , i i 3 4 5 . i 74 .

R ebecca s child , i i 4 8
’
. E a st er S o n a ta Fa n n y s i 2 1 3 ,
’ '

, .

Decide s t o se t t le i n Germ a n y, Fe l i x , E ckert ii 2 1 6 2 1 9 2 3 5 2 4 7 2 6 0

, .
, , , ,

i 2 75
. E di n burgh i 1 9 6 , .

Decker, M m e , i 2 52 , 2 8 2 1 1 . . . 1 9 2, E gerto n L o rd ii 3 9 , , .

E gmo n t ’ B ee t h o ve n s i 3 2 8 ; 1 1
’
2 56 , 2 6 0, 3 3 5 , , . . 46
Del ar o che i 3 2 0 ; 1 1 2 4 4 2 55 2 6 5 2 7 1
, . .
, , , E i chh o r n i i 1 6 4 2 9 9 , . .

Deux J o ur n é e s Ch e r ub i n i s i 3 2 8 ’
E l j a h ii 58 1 7 2 3 2 8 3 3 2 3 3 9
'
i
, , .
, .
, , . .
 GON

El io t , i 1 08
. F i n gal s Ca ve 1 2 04
’
, .

E l sa sser, ii 1 00, 1 1 2 , 1 1 7 , 2 4 0, Fi r st pri n t ed wo r k Fel ix s i 1 1 8 ’

.
, , .

2 9 0, 2 9 8 Fi sh o t t ers i 1 6 8 1 8 9 ; i i 3 2 7 ,
’
.
, .

E m i li a G al o t t i , i 3 3 6 ; 1 1 4 6 Flegelj a hre i 2 02 2 1 0 ; ii 3 2 7
’ ’
. . . .
, ,

E n cke , Pr o fes so r, i 1 7 4 . Fl o re n ce i 2 7 4 ; i i 7 4 2 1 0 3 03 3 1 1
, . .
, , ,

E n ga geme n t , Fa n n y s , i 1 6 8 ; Fel i x s, Fl o uri she s ( Tzw c lw s) i 2 8 9 i i 7

’ ’
. .
, .

ii 1 8 , 2 5 Kli n g e m an n s , ii 3 1 9 ; Re Fl ii g e l a i i 1 1
’ ’
. .
, , .

becca s , i 2 7 2 , 3 1 5
’
. Flyi n g Du t chma n Wa g n er s i i 2 4 8 ,
’ ’
, .

E n gl an d , Feli x i n , i 1 7 6 , 2 7 9 , i i 1 57 , . . F o o d i n Ro me i i 1 09 V e n i ce ii 7 1
, , . , .

1 6 6 , 2 7 5, 3 3 2 h is l o ve o f, i 2 9 2 , . F o ul d, i 4 4, 6 1 .

ii 4 5; He n s el i n , i i 3 8
. . F o y, Ge n era l , i 3 1 1 .

E n gli s h a n d mus ic , th e , i 1 4 7 i i 1 07 . . Fra n ck , i i 2 3 5, 2 4 7 .

E n t hu s ia s m a b o u t Feli x i n L o n d o n , Fra n k , i 1 52 .

ii 2 8 3
. Fra n kfo r t , ii 2 1 , 3 00 .

E pigr a m s, Klin g e m an n s, i 2 3 2 F r a n ze n s b ad , ii 1 0
’
. .

E r b i c h, i 1 3 5 . Frederic t he Grea t , i 9 .

E rdma n n o n M o s e s M , i 1 8 . . F r ege , M m e , i i 3 3 2 , 3 3 9 . .

E rn st , ii 1 6 6 F r e i sc h ii t z , i 1 2 8 , 1 4 5, 1 8 8
’
. .

E s i st be st imm t , i i 3 02
’ ’
‘
. F rii hli n g sli e d, in B fl a t , i i 1 6 9 .

E ssa y o n evide n ce , M o ses M a, i 1 8 Fug ue s , Felix s , i

’ ’ ’
‘
. . i n A fla t , 1 3 3 1 ; . .

E t ude , Fe l ix s 3 r d, ii 4 6 Felix pl a ys, 1 9 1 , 2 9 7

’
. .

E ur yan t he , i 2 3 7 ii 3 05
’
. .

E xc ursi o ns fr o m Ro me , ii 9 0, 1 01 , 1 05, .

2 58 , 2 7 0 AD E , 1 8 4 , 2 1 6 , 2 52, 3 3 9
11.

E xhibi t i o n s i n B e r li n , i i 4 5, 2 9 8 . G ea t a , ii 1 2 4 .

E xp re ss i o n , Felix s v ar ie t y o f, i 3 1 9 G i
’
. a ns, .1 6 4 , 1 7 3 ; 11 1 5, 1 52 .

E x t empo r i s e s , Fe li x, i 9 1 , 1 2 0, 3 02 , . G z
an , i i 2 3 1 .

3 3 5; ii 1 7 1 . G de
ar n, life
i n t h e , i 1 22 , 1 3 0, 1 59 , ii .

E ys o l d, i 1 08 3 8 , 1 59 , 2 01 , 2 7 5, 3 2 4 L a s , i 6 3 e h
’
. .

e ’
M o s s M s , 2 5 o n th e i
.
, . 61 Spree i .

Pi t t i Pa a , 274 ;l ce i at an, 80 . V ic ii .

Hebr ide s 1 2 08
AC S I M I LE , , . i a Wo l c ho n sk y, i i 9 1 , 1 1 4
V ll .

Fa mily meet i n g ii 3 2 3 , . G rde h ll

a n a , i 1 22, 2 5 2 i i 2 42 . .

Fan t as ia Hummel s i 9 2 ; M o za rt s
,
’
, .
’
, G wr de n s es, i 1 3 0, 1 5 2 .

i i 1 20
. G u r e r
a s s , P o f sso , i 3 1 0 .

’
T h a l b e r g s, i i 4 7 . Giebel , ii 338 .

F a rewel l c o n cert, B erl in , 11 3 02 . Ge er lmu ikdirek

n a sFe x to r , l i , 11 1 7 7 .

F asc h , ii 2 6 4 . Ge li
n de
s, M m e ,
i 71 . .

Fashi o n s , i 7 3 , 1 1 6 , 1 43 , 1 51 , 1 8 6 , 2 54 ;
. Ge ii
noa , 1 47 .

ii 2 4 4
. Ge lem
nt Felix perfec
an, a t, i 2 3 8 .

Fa u st , B erli o z s , i 2 57 ; G o e the s, i 1 6 0 ;
’
.
'

. i
G er ar d, 2 57 , 3 2 0
.

Ra dzi w i l l s , i i 2 9 , 2 6 8 Ge m depe de ce h u dh
’
. r an In n n , t o sa n t
F e li c i a n s, t h e , ii 3 4, 2 6 8 iver ry
’
. an n sa , ii 1 95 .

F é m y, i 108 . . Ge dh u c cer
w an a s on t s, 3 5, 4 6 , 1 6 1
Fer o n , M m e , i 1 4 5 c duc h p fere
’

. . 1 7 7 . 1 8 4, 3 29 ; o n to rs i of r

Fe s ta , N ea po li ta n , 1 1 1 2 7 . toFe x i li , 3 33 .

Fe st iva l s Ai x-l a -Ch a pe l le , i 3 3 0, ii

,
. . Geyer ii , 2 40, 3 1 3 3 3 1
. .

3 3 0 ; Co l o g n e , i 3 1 7 , ii 3 3 0 ; D ur er, . . G ib so n e s, ii , 8 2 , 1 03
i 1 56 ; D uss eld o rf , i 2 7 9 , i i 7 i n v e n
. . . Gl g w
as o , i 2 07 .

t i o n o f p r i n t i n g, ii 1 4 5 t h o u san d t h . Gl Fel ix
o ri a ,
’
s, i 1 1 8 .

ye ar ii 1 9 5
. . Gluck , i
1 82 ; ii 1 70
. .

F et e , Fre n ch Ac a demy, 11 1 1 9 ; L an ds . ve
G od sa Ki g t he
’
n , 1 1 19 .

berg s , ii 1 4 1
’
. G e he i
o t , 9 1 , 1 1 3 , 1 28 , 1 6 1 , 2 51 , 2 6 4 ;
.

t h e T a yl o rs , i 2 2 1 ;
’
ill a Wo lch o n
. V ife
E c ke rm n a n s L
’
g d o f, i i 9 ra n s o n .

sky, i i 1 1 3 . o f, ii l i j u ey i
20 ; I ta a n o r n
.
, 8 9, ii . .

Fiddle , Felix pl a ys a bro ken , i 2 2 7 . g

6 8 , 8 6 , 1 4 4 , 2 8 4 ; s o n s, i 6 5 .

Fideli o , i 1 2 7 , 1 3 7 ; i i 1 08 , 2 6 0
’
. . G f l ier
on a o n u i , C o n t , ii 1 52 .

Fi e s c h i , i 3 2 1 .
r h ldy
G o n sa l vi , B a t oife d l ’
s L o f Car in a ,

Fi n ck , i i 2 53 .
i 1 00
.
35
2 IN DE X .

G5
'
r

G 6 ttm g e n , D i richle t s e tt le s a t, i 3 1 4 ; . Hess , 11 . 60

ii 3 42
. He yde m i 1 2 3 , 1 3 3 , 1 40, 3 1 7
an n , .

G o un o d , i i 1 06 , 1 08 , 1 1 1 , 1 2 3 , 1 4 2 1 8 5,
.
, Heyse , 1 8 9 , 1 07 ; i i 1 6 5
. .

3 25 Highl a n d s, t he , i 2 1 0 .

Gra b o w M m e 1 1 3 0 , .
, . Hildebra n d , i 3 1 8 i i 3 3 1 . .

G ra hl i i 7 6 1 6 8
, .
, Hi ller, Fer d in a n d , i , 1 08 , 2 57 , 3 3 0 ; 11 .

Gra n d Prix de R o me 1 2 57 , . 216

G ra u n i 6 5 , . H o ffm a n n , ii 2 4 6 .

Greek Church i n Ro me 1 1 1 04 1 43 , .
, Ho l tc y, i 1 52 , 1 6 0 .

Greek le ss o n s i 8 9 1 7 3 , .
, H o lyr o o d , i 1 9 8 .

Gre en wich i 2 9 9 , . H o mbe r g, Herz , i 2 4 , 3 1 3 6 . ,

Gri mm t he bro thers ii 1 59 2 7 5

, , .
, H o me -si c kn ess , i 2 3 1 : 1 1 1 2 2 .

G r ls i ii 4 1 H o ra E st, i 1 6 3 , 2 3 6
‘ ’
, .

Gro pius s Pa n ora m as i i 2 7 3 , . H o rchheim , i 1 3 3 , 1 4 1 ; 1 1 3 01, 3 3 3 . .

Gro s i 3 20
, . B o r kel , i i 2 2 9 , 2 59 .

Gro ve G ii 3 4 0
, .
, . H o rn , Wl l h e l m , i 1 2 3 , 2 3 8 .

Gue sts qua r t eri n g o f R o ya l i 2 9 0

, , . H o r n s, d1 sc o r da n t co a ch i 2 1 2 .

G u g e l s c o n cer t Felix pl a y s a t i 1 1 8 H o r sleys , i 2 9 4 ; ii 4 9 , 3 4 1

’
, , . . .

Guilla ume T ell i 2 58 ,

’
. H o spi ta l , gift t o B er li n , i 3 06 .

G un t her i 3 2 8 , . H o us ekeepi n g i n Ro me , i i 8 1 , 1 09 , 2 3 5 .

G usi k o w , i i 3 . Huber, Pro fe sso r, i i 2 3 4 .

Guy M a n n eri n g, i 2 2 0
’
. H ub n e r , i 3 2 5 .

Hugue n o t s , i i 1 0
’
.

Humbo ld t, i 3 4 , 44 , 1 3 0, 1 51 , 1 6 2 , 1 7 4 ,
.

AG E N, M m 217 e .
, 11 . 3 1 3 ; ii 1 52 , 2 8 2 .

Ha i z i n g e r s, i 1 3 7 . Hummel , i 9 1 , 1 2 5 2 54 ; qui n t e t , 1 1
. .

H a mbu r g, i 3 3 , 7 2 , 2 9 8 . 1 09 , 2 6 0; s o n a t a , f o ur h an d s, i 2 6 3 .

H a mle t i n L o n d o n , i 1 8 9 . Hummi n g, Abra h a m s trick o f, i 9 4

’
.

H a n del s mus ic , i 9 1 , 2 7 3 1 1 2 3 8, 2 44
’
. .
‘
Hym n o f P ra is e, i i 1 4 5, 1 56
’
.

H a n dley , Del hi n e , i i 6 0, 6 5 .

H a n ds, n umbn e ss o f F an n y s, 1 1 1 9 2
’
.

H a n st e i n , de a t h o f, i 1 3 3 . E F L AN D a n d Sch i ller, i 6 9 .

Ha rpers, W el sh , i 2 1 3 . I ll n e s s o f Abra h a m , i 3 02 ; Cecile .

H a upt ma n n , ii 3 3 9 . 11 . 278 Dir i chle t , ii 3 03 : Felix , i .

B an ser, i 3 3 5 2 2 9 ; ii . He n sel , ii 8 9 , 3 1 3 .

H a vre , i 4 8 . R ebecca, i i 4 8 , 2 8 5, 2 9 6 .

H awe s, i 2 3 4 . I llumi n a t i o n s, i i 1 00, 2 6 5, 3 2 1 .

H a ym o n D o ro the a Schlegel , i 3 8 . I m m e r m a n n , i 1 00, 2 8 2 , 2 9 2 , 3 2 6 .

Hebride s , i 2 07 , 2 22 , 2 2 5, 2 7 6 , 2 7 8
’
. I mpre ss i o n pr o duced by Felix s mu si c
’

He gel , i 1 7 4 . i 2 26 ; I t a ly, 1 2 7 4 , i i 7 5; L o n d o n
. . .

H ei mkehr a u s der Fremde So n a n d .i 1 49 , 1 8 1 , 2 9 3

S tra n ger i 1 2 3 , 2 48 : ii 3 4 3 . .
’
I m p r o p e r ie , i i 9 7 , 2 6 4 .

He in e , i 8 1 , 1 00, 1 2 9 , 1 7 3 ; B o n m o t I n depe n de n t sp i ri t, Felix s i 3 3 0

’
. , .

o f, i 3 2 1 I n fl ue n ce , Felix s , a t L eipzig, ii 2 )
’
. .

Albe r ti n e , i 3 1 5 . R o me , i i 1 3 5, 2 6 7 .

Hei n rich , 1 1 1 9 1 , 2 6 2 , 3 1 5 . I n gr e s, i 3 2 0 ; i i 7 8 , 1 02 , 1 1 9 , 2 44
. .

He m e li n k , i 3 2 2 . I n vera r y , i 2 06 .

He n drick s i i 2 8 7 , . I o n a , i 2 05.

He n kel , Fra u v o n , 1 9 3 . lphigen i a i n Ta ur is, i 2 52 ’

.

He n n i n g, i 1 08 . I s chi a , ii 1 3 1 .

Hen sel , fir st a cquain ta n ce w ith , i 9 5 I s id o r e de M eri d a , i 1 4 5

’
. .

L o ui se , i , 59 , 1 01 , 1 7 5; ii 1 6 8 I sra el i n E gyp t , i 2 7 9 , 2 8 6 , 3 2 5 1 1 3 ,
‘ ’
. . .

Herder, i 1 2 . 26 1
Heri n gsd o rf , 1 1 4 9 . I ta li an expr e ss i o n s, 1 1 2 1 2 , 2 1 9 , 2 23 .

H er o ld s libre t to s, i 1 3 7
’
. pe a s a n try, gra ce o f , ii 2 1 1 .

He r z , i 1 28 . s pe a k i n g , 1i 2 1 5 , 23 3 , 2 7 4 .

M a rcu s, i 2 9 . I ta ly , pl a ce s f o r s eei n g, i 1 3 8 , 2 4 1 ; ii . .

He n rie tt e , i 3 6 . 43
Ho fr athin . i i 1 9 3 . I t zi g , i 6 4 , 6 7 : 1 1 1 5
. .
354 IND E X .

L o reley, 1 1 3 3 8 M o del s, 1 1 7 1 , 3 1 5
’
. .

L o t t i, i 1 3 9 . M elique ii 2 9 , 2 4 1 , .

L o ui s N a p o le o n s a t t emp t a t B o ul o g n e , M o ller, S i r L a n d L a dy , 1 2 3 3
’ “

. .

ii 1 49
. M o n sign y s , B a ch s mus ic c o mp a red
’ ’
to
L o ui s Philip p e , ii 53 . i . 127
Lo uvre , t h e , i 2 54 . M o n t ebell o D ue , de ,
11 . 1 47
L o vie , Alph o n s e , i 3 07 M o n z a ii 6 4
’
.
, .

Lii w e , M m e , i i 4 6 , 1 4 6 , 2 56 . . M o o n ligh t, ii 1 08 , 1 1 0, 1 2 6 , 1 3 1 , 2 3 3 .

Ludwig o f B a va ri a , K 1 n g , ii 59 . M o ri an i , ii 2 4 8 , 2 52 .

M o r n i n g-H o u r s, ’ i 1 8 , 2 4 .

M o s c h e l e s, i 1 2 3 , 1 8 1 , 1 90, 1 9 4 , 29 3 .
.

ACH T der T o n e Wi n t er s, i 2 8 6 ,
’ ’
3 04 3 3 5 ii 4 9 , 3 3 9 ; s t udi e s, 1 1 3 7
, , . .

M a d o n n a del Ar c o , L a , i i 1 2 7 ,
’
. ii . 38
132 M o s er, i 1 56 , 2 2 9 2 4 0 2 58 ; 1 1 4 6
.
, , .

M agn ific a t, Felix s i 1 1 8 ’

, . M uhl e n fe l s, i 1 8 9 , 2 3 8 ; ii 4 6 . .

M a gn us , i . 1 1 3 ; i i 1 6 1 00 .
, , 1 05, 1 1 3 , M uller, O t t fried, ii 8 1 .

1 18 , 2 2 0, 2 3 1 , 3 1 6 M u n ich , F an n y a t , ii 6 5, 6 9 ; Felix, .

ir k i
Ma t a n , ’
1 4 0, 2 8 4 ; . 11 . 2 70 i 26 0
.

Ma libr i
an , 1 7 9 , 3 01 . M u seum a t Na ple s 1 1 1 2 8 , .

M a n -o f—w ar , R u ss i a n , 1 1 53 . M u s ic as a pro fe ssi o n i 8 2 8 5 , .

,

M an t i us , i 2 48 2 52 .
, M us ic i n le t t er c o n fis ca t ed i 2 7 7 : i n , .

Ma rgg ra f, ii 6 5 . P a ri s i 9 0 1 2 8 , .
,

Ma r ri a g e o f Abra h a m , i 7 2 ; F an n y, i . . M us ic a l p a r t ie s E n gli sh a mb as sa d o r s ,
’
,

2 4 1 ; Felix , ii 3 3 M o s es, i 2 2 ; . . i i 2 4 3 ; L ei p zig ii 3 1 6 3 2 6 ; M m e

.
, .
, .

R ebecca i 3 1 5 Decker s ii 2 6 0 ; Pa ul s i i 2 1 6 2 3 6
’ ’
, .
, .
, .
,

M a r t e n s M ill , i 7 3 , 2 8 4 M u sici a n a c ra bbed i 3 2 4

’
.
, ,
.

M a rx, i 1 2 3 , 1 53 2 6 0, 3 3 4
.
,
M u si c -p a per Felix w i she s f o r i 7 8 , , .

M a t hem a t ici a n s, Fre n ch , i 3 1 1 . ll usi ka lisc h c Z ei tu n g i 1 2 3 1 4 5

i
, ,

M a sa ni ell o , i 1 8 8
’
.

M ass, Felix t h i n k s o f wr i t i n g a , i 3 2 5 .

M a s so w , Herr v o n , ii 1 6 2 , 1 6 8 , 1 7 3 , 2 4 8 . AC HT L I E D, Felix s
’ ’
, 11 . 339
M a t r im o n i o , I l , t ri o fr o m , i 3 02 B ac h s M as s, edi ti o n o f
’ ’ ’
. Nzig e h s
f ‘ e a sl e s i 2 4 8 ; ii 4 3 , 2 7 8 , 2 8 3
,
. . i 1 53
.

e de a
’
T a u b e r t s ii 1 9 5, 1 9 7
,
’
, . Na ple s, 1 1 1 2 5, 2 7 1 , 2 8 3 .

M e da l , L o o s , i 2 8 8
’
. Na p o le o n , i 2 57 , 3 2 1 ii 8 6 , 2 08 . .

M eere ss t ille i 1 6 1 1 7 7 ; i i 3 3 1
’
, .
, . Na t h a n M e n del sso h n , i 3 5 .

M eie r ei t h e , i 6 1 , 1 4 9
. . Na t h a n t h e W i se , ’ i 1 3 , 1 6 , 3 3 , 3 3 6 .

M elr o se Abbey , 1 1 9 9 . Na t i o n a l mu s ic , so c a lled , i 2 1 3 .

M elu si n a , i 3 3 1 i i 2 9 N a t ura li sa t i o n o f M o se s M , i 2 7
’
. . . .

M emn o n , L e Sa ge , i 2 80 ; i i 2 01
’
. . Nea te , i 1 8 9 .

M em o ry , F a n n y s , fo r mu sic , i 8 9 N eedlewo r k , t h e si st e rs , i 1 6 3
’ ’
. .

Felix s i 1 7 1 2 8 1 N ego t i a t i o n s wi t h B erli n , ii 6 0, 1 7 2 ,

’
, .
, .

M e n del De ssa u i 3 , , . 1 7 7 , 1 9 5, 2 01
M e n o f—w a r E n gli sh i 3 01 i i 1 2 6
-
, , . . N e r e n z , M m e , 1 1 2 3 5, 2 4 7 , 2 6 6 , 2 8 4 . .

M e ssi a h t he i 1 54 ; ii 3 5 2 3 8
,
’
, . .
,
N e r l y, ii 6 8 .

M e tt e r n ich ii 1 5 ,
. N eubu r g , Dr i 107 .

M eyer i 1 2 5; ii 1 6 8
, . .
N euilly , E n gli sh c a mp a t , i 58 .

Vl e ye r b e e r i 1 2 4 2 54
1
, .
,
N e u ko m m , i 1 28 , 1 8 1 , 2 9 3 ; ii 3 5, 1 4 5 .

Mi al i 1 2 7
, .
N eum a n n , i 1 3 7 .

M id summer n igh t s Dre a m 11 177 -

’
,
’
.
,
Ne w Y o rk , Felix i n vi ted t o , 11 3 08 .

1 9 7 2 1 5 2 3 1 2 3 6 2 7 1 2 8 7 ; o ver
, , , , ,
N ewsp a pe r s, P ru ssi a n , ii 4 , 1 59 .

t ure i 1 3 0 1 6 1 1 90 1 9 4 2 2 8 i i 3 4
. .
, , , , ,
. N ibelu n ge n , t h e , ii 1 59
’
.

M il a n ii 6 5 1 4 9 2 05
, .
, ,
N 1 c o l a i , i 8 , 1 8 , 2 0 ; i i 206 , 2 3 3
. .

N o ddi n g , Felix s trick o f, i 2 2 8 1 1 3 4 0

’
M il a n o l l o s , i i 2 56 . . .

M 1 l de r , M m e , i 1 1 8 , . . 1 57 , 1 7 2, 1 7 4, No r b l i n , i 1 2 7 .

17 6 No rm a n d , i i 1 4 2 .

M iri a m , He n s el s i 2 52 ; ’ ’
, . 11 . 2, 3 9 No r w o o d , Felix a t , i 2 3 6 .

M i s e r ere ii 9 8 , 2 53 2 6 4
’
, .
,
N o vell o , C l a r a , i 2 51 ii 4 6 , 2 60 . .

Mo cco le t t i , t h e , 1 1 8 9 , 2 54 N ur s e , Fl o ra s , ii 3 2 7
’
. .
 I N DE X .
355
POB

B AN , i 2 06 . Pe as a n t s s in gi n g, i 2 6 5 .

O be ra mmerga u , i 2 6 0 . P eel , S ir Ro be rt , i 1 8 3 .

Obe r o n i n L o n do n , i 1 4 5; Wra P e r g o l e s e s M o t e t s , i 3 2 5; S a lve Regi n a,

’
. .

n i t zk y s , i 9 2 11 2 3 5; S ta ba t M a t er, 1 1 9 9
’
. . .

(E di p u s , i i 1 7 7 , 3 1 7 , 3 2 9
’
. P erier, Amed ee , i 1 3 6 .

Ohm , i 3 1 0 ; ii 3 2 7
. . Pe r so n a l a ppea ra n ce o f F a n n y , 1 1 3 3 5 .

O , M a d a me , ii 2 4 2 , 2 48
. . Felix , L e a h , 1 3 04 ; M o s e s, .

On s l o w , i 1 2 5, 2 7 5 ii 3 3 0 ; qu a rt e t s ,
.
, . i 21.

i 297
. P er ugi a , 11 . 224
O pera , a Germ a n , ii 3 1 8 ; i n Fl o re n ce , do , i
’
. t . 12
ii 2 1 3 ; L o n d o n , 1 1 4 5, 1 7 9 ; Pa ri s ,
. . Ph i lh a r m o n ic S o cie t y , i 1 8 4 , 2 7 5, 2 7 9 ;
.

i 1 2 6 , 2 58
. Felix o n c o mpo s i n g , ii16 8, 23 8, 27 6
.

ii 3 1 7
. Ph re n p l o g ic a l o n t,
’
s, devel pme Felix
Orga n , a t B uck i n gh a m Pa l a ce , ii 1 6 9 . i 182
.

W eim a r , i 9 1 Fan n y s weddi n g

’
. i i
P a n s t s a t Le , 11 50 ipzig .

piece fo r , i 2 2 5 i n o r a 1 o ri o , ii 2 6 3
. . Pl a n o a t r n g s or , 11He i d f
50 ; . Felix
Fel ix pl a ys , i 2 9 3 , 2 9 7 , ii 3 4, 1 9 5, . . pl y
a s a n o l d, i 3 1 9 ; o n o ar s , . b d hip
321 in Ro me
, 11 3 15 .

Org a n pl a yi n g , B ern e r s , i 1 1 8 leme i i

’ ’
- . Pi a n o , C n t s, 1 8 6 , 2 2 5; E n g h s h , .

i n I ta ly , ii 7 8 ’ . ii 3 2 ;. Hummel i
’
s, 1 25 .

O rg a n prelude s, Feli x s , ii 3 4 i piece F y i

’
. P an o s, an n s, 2 6 3 , 11 3 1, . .

reci ta l a t L eipzig, ii 1 6 2 . 1 01 , 1 03 , 1 1 5, 2 6 9 ; F e l l x s ,
’
22 7 i .

s o n a ta s , Felix s s ix , ii 3 1 7 , 3 2 1 icc l F e ch
’
. P o o in r n O p e ra , 1 1 26 .

O rpheus , Gluck s , a t F a n n y s, i 2 52 c ure g lle e d

’ ’ ’
. Pi t a ri s i n Lo n o n , i 1 8 8 , .

O rvie to , ii 7 5 .

Ossu l s to n e , L o rd , i i 2 9 3 . Pi ct u r e s, B e l l i m s, 1 1 , 6 8 , 1 50 ; D a vid s, ’

O tell o , i 1 7 9 , 2 58 l 2 54 ; E lsa sse r s , ii 1 1 7 , 2 6 6 , 2 7 4 ,

’ ’
. . .

O t t e t , Felix s , i 1 3 1 , 2 9 7 2 9 0, 2 9 8 ; He ns el s , i 9 1 , 1 08 , 2 4 9 ,
’ ’
.

O tto , kin g o f G r eece , ii 1 3 ii 3 8’ 3 2 5; In gre s , 11 1 1 9 O ve r

’
. . .
,

O verbeck , i 1 00 ; ii 105, 2 2 6 , 2 4 6 beck s , i i 1 05; Ra ph a el s, 1 3 05; i i

’
. . . .

O ver tu re s Heb ri de s, i 2 07 , 2 2 2 , 2 2 5,
’ ’
. 7 4 7 9 , 1 2 8 , 2 1 3 ; R u b e n s s, i i 1 48 ;
, .

Meere s s t ille i 1 6 1 , 1 7 7 ,
’
T i t i a n s, i 1 8 8 , ii 6 6 , 6 8 , 7 0, 7 2 , 7 4
’
27 6, 27 8 . . . .

ii 3 3 1
. M elu s i n a , i 3 3 1 , ii 2 9
’
. . a t Dev o n sh i re H o u s e , i 1 8 3 ; Fl o r .

M i ds umme r n ight s Drea m , i 1 3 0 ’

e n ce , i i 7 4 , 2 1 3 ; Ge n o a, ii 1 4 8
‘ ’
-
. . .

1 6 1 , 1 90, 1 9 4 , 2 2 8 , i i 3 4, 2 17 M l l a n ii 1 4 9 , 205 , .

Tr umpe t! i 1 57 , 2 8 6 , 2 8 8 P i ff e ra r i , 1 1 7 8 , 2 3 9
’
. .

Pi g n a t el li , Pr i n ce , 11 1 4 5 .

’
P 1 l g e rs p r u c h , t h e 1 1 1 7 0 , .

AE R , i . 1 24 P i r a t e , T he , i 1 4 5
’
.

P a e st um , ii 1 3 9 . P i sa , i i 3 2 2 .

P a ga n i n i , i 1 7 4 2 57 . Pixis, i 1 24 .

Pa i n se c 5 1 Pa r i s , i 7 2 , 8 9
’
. P l a n t a de , i 1 2 4 .

Pa le r m o , i i 2 7 1 P l a yi n g, E n gl i sh
’
. Do hl e r s , 1 1 32 .

Pa le s trin a , ii 9 7 , 2 55, 2 6 4 p e o p le s ii 2 00 F a n n y s, i 26 3 , 3 3 4 ,
’ ’
.
, . .

P a l l ise r s, t h e , ii 1 07 , 1 2 0 . i i 3 2 ; Felix s’, i 2 2 8 , 3 1 9 , ii

.
’
. .

V
Pao l a ecchi o , 11 6 8 . 3 40 ; T ha l b e r g s 1 1 4 7 , .

Pa ri s , Ab ra h a m i n , i 4 8 2 53 and .
, P l a ys i n p ubl ic , F a n n y 1 1 3 7 ; Felix , .

L o n d o n , 1 2 9 5 Dirichle t s t udie s i 1 1 8 ; 1 1 2 44
. .

in , i 3 1 1
. Feli x, i 1 2 4 ; He n se l s , i . . Po la n d, a M e n del ss o hn k in g o f, i 3 03 .

3 19 P olch a u , i 6 4 , 6 9 .

Par h a m e n t , i 2 9 7 . Po le s i i 1 2 , .

Pa rt so n gs , i i 1 1 8 Fel i x s , i i 1 1 4 , 1 2 0, Po li t ics , E u r o pea n , 1 1 7 2 , 1 57 , 2 3 0, 2 9 7

’
- . . .

28 7, 3 3 2 3 3 4 ; Pa ris , 1 50 ; Pruss i a n , 26 9,
.

Pas s a l aqua i 3 1 7 . . 2 7 5, 2 9 9
Pa s s i o n , B a ch s , i 1 6 5, 1 6 9 , ii 3 5; Po m p ei i , ii 1 3 9
‘ ’ ’
. . .

Schle s i n ger s edi t io n , 1 1 56 , 1 6 5; i n

’
. P o n te M o lle , Fa n n y s , 11 2 6 9
’ ’
.

R o me , i i 9 5 Po pe s ch o i r , t he 11 9 8 , 2 55
'
. .

Pa s ta , i 1 8 0 ; 1 1 1 6 6 P o p ula r i t y a t L e 1 p zig , Felix s , 1 1 1 6 2

’
. .
.

Pa ul se n s, t h e , ii 1 05, 1 1 4 . Po r t ra i t s o f Ca r ] , 11 3 1 6 ; C éc il e , i i 2 8 1 . .
 5
0 IN DE 1 . .

P OR S AA

Fa n n y i 2 45; Fel i x i 1 6 8 1 7 0
, , .
,
R eicha rd t ( pa i n t er ) , ii 9 5
ii 3 01 ; Rebecca 1 2 7 1 th e S i sters
.
, .
,
R e i c ha r dt s so n gs, i 6 5
’
.

i 23 6
. Re in i c k , i i 1 1 1 .

Po r tra i t s G era r d s 1 3 2 1 Hen sel s Re i sebilder, Hei n e s , i 1 7 3

’ ’ ’ ’
, , .
, .

Rei s ebr iefe , Felix s , i 2 59

’
i 101 , 2 4 9 , 2 51 , 1 1 6 6 , 9 5, 1 08 , 1 1 8 ,
'

. . .

R el a xa t i o n , Fel i x s po wer o f, 1 1 2 1
’
23 2 .

Po si t io n , Felix s, a t B e r l in , 1 1 1 6 0, 2 9 9 ; Religi o us vi ews , Abra h a m s, i 7 9

’ ’
.

D usseld o rf, i 2 9 2 , i i 1 6 1 ; L ei p zig, . . Re l ls t a b , 1 1 6 2 ; ii 2 3 8 .

i 3 3 3 , i i 2 9 , 1 6 3 ; L o n d o n , 1 2 9 4,
. . . R equiem , Ch e r u b i n i s i 2 3 7
’
. .

ii 2 7 7 , 2 80 ; M u n i ch , i 2 6 1 ; P a ri s ,
. . R e st , Felix l o n gi n g fo r , i i 3 08 .

1 275
. R e st i n g, Fel i x , i i 3 3 3 .

Po t s da m , Fel ix lef t behi n d a t , i 107 B e 1 uru f r o m I t a ly , Fa n n y s, 1 1 1 57

‘

. .

Po ur ta l e s, C o u n t , 11 2 3 2 . R ice-puddi n g , i i 3 3 0 .

Pra c ti s i n g , Feli x, ii 3 2 0 M m e B igo t . . R ichm o n d , i 1 8 7 .

on, i 83 . R idi n g , Felix , i 2 2 3 .

Pra n d , i i 6 5 . R ie t z , i 1 08 , 1 1 8 , 1 2 3 , 1 3 1 , 1 3 3 , 1 57 ,
.

Pr asli n , D u e de , 1 54 M a r qu is de , . 1 6 4 , 1 7 2 ; ii 7 7 , 3 3 1 .

R i g hi , He n sel s a s ce n t o f 1 1 1 55
’
1 2 59
.
, .

Prelude s a 1 e n fa n t , Fel i x s , 1 1 3 0, 2 1 7 , Rivul e t , Felix s , i 2 2 4 , 2 2 7

’ ’ ’ ’ ’
. .

R o bbers, t h e , i i 4 6
’
2 19 .

Pre s e n ta t i o n s t o Felix , i 2 8 8 ; 1 1 2 4 . . R o bert Aurel , ii

, 6 9, 9 1 L eo po ld, .

Pr o fe sso r ship, Dir i c h l e t s , i 3 1 5

’
. i i 6 8 , 1 27
.

Pro gre s s i n c o mpo s i t io n , Felix s , i 1 6 3 R o ber t , L ud w i g a n d R ike , i 1 3 7 , 1 7 4 ,

’
. .

Pro mem o ri a , ii 1 6 4
’
. 2 53
Pruss i a n so ldie r s i n P a ri s, 1 57 . R o b e sc e l l i , 1 1 205 .

Psa lm s, Felix s — i i , i i 2 4 4 Ro bi n de s B o is ( F r ei sc lw tz ), i 1 2 8
'

. . .

xc v a n d cxiv i i 58 ; xcviii i i 2 4 2
. . . . . Ro chli t z , so n g by , i i 1 8 3 .

Publi she s, Fa n n y, i i 3 3 , 3 2 5 . R o de , i 1 2 4 , 1 2 7
.

Pii c kl e r , Co u n t , 1 2 9 6 . R o ebuck , M r , 11 1 6 8 . .

P u nc h a n d An t igo n e , ii 3 1 7 R o gers, S a muel , ii 1 6 8

’
. .

P u n ch p ar t y , a m usi ca l , i i 3 16 . Ro m a n Ca th o li c E m an cip a ti o n B i ll ,
P up il s , He n s el s, i 2 4 8
’
. 1 1 7 4 , 3 07
.

P ur cel l s Psa lm s, i 23 7 R o m a n Ca th o l i ci s m , con ve r ts t o , i 4 2 ,

’
. .

45, 59 ; f ea r o f Felix em
b ra ci n g, i 1 51 .

U AG L I O , D o me n ic ii 6 1 , . R o ma n fever, Diri chle t 111 o f, 1 1 3 03 .

Qu a rr ell in g Felix ii 2 53 , , . Ro m a V
ecchi a , i i 90 .

Quar tet pa r ty a t Al sa g e r s i 2 9 7 R o me , Di r ic h l e t s a r rive i n , 1 1

’
, . 3 03 ; .

Qua rt e ts Fel i x s i 2 2 5 i i 3 4 ; A m i n o r
,
’
, .
, .
,
Hen sel , ii 7 6 ; D iri c hl e ts re turn t o ,
.

1 1 3 3 ; B mi n o r 1 1 2 7 ; C mi n o r
.
, .
,
11 2 9 5.

1 1 1 7 ; E b i 2 22 i i 58 ; F mi n o r
.
, .
, .
,
R o me o , D o n , 1 1 2 8 4 .

ii 3 3 8
. R o n d o , Fel i x s, E b , i 3 3 1
’
Dro u e t s , .
'

Qua rte t so ir é es Felix s ii 1 59 ,

’
, . ii 4 7 .

Q u ee n Vic to ri a co ro n ati o n 11 40 a n d , , . Ro s e n , i 1 8 9 , 2 3 8 , 2 9 6 ; 1 1 3 1 9
. .

Fel i x ii 1 6 8 , R o ss i , Co u n t e ss ( S on t a g ) , ii 2 4 8 , 2 6 0 .

Quetelet He n sel s po rtrai t o f i 2 50

,
’
, . Ro ss i n i , i 1 2 4 , i i . 19 ; Fa n n y o n, .

Quin te t Fel ix s i 2 9 7 Hummel s 1 1

,
’
, .
’
, . i 1 52
.

1 09, 2 6 0 Ro t t m a n n , 1 1 6 5 .

Quin te ts for Sun da y m u sic, 1 1. 3 26 R o uge t de L i sle , 1 1 1 1 .

Qu ipro qu o , A, i i 2 3 2 . R uck e rt , i i 1 59 .

R um pels t ilzche n , 11 3 1 6 , 3 2 0
’
.

R u n g e n ha g e n , i 2 7 8 i i 2 8 2 . .

AD OWI T Z Gen e ra l 1 3 1 4 , , R uss i a , Gran d Duke N ich o l as o f, i 9 5 .

Ra dziwill i 2 52 ; ii , . . 268 R us si an s, i i 1 5 50 . ,

Ba b e ] 1 3 6 4 2 i i 7 5 Ruy B la s , i i 58
’
, .
, , . .

Rech a M e n dels so h n i 43 . .

R ef o r m a t i o n symph o n y i 2 22 , .
. 225
R ef o rm B ill i 3 07 , . AAL I N G , th e Si s t ers i 59 , 1 07 ,

Be ic ha i 1 2 7 , . S a l a ry o f a rt i st s, F e l i x on , ii 47 .
 8
35 I NDE X .

SU T WE P
Su herl a n d, Duchess o f, 1 1 3 9 , 4 9
t . T u n n el , th e , i 2 1 6’
.

S w an , or de r o f t h e , 11 2 50, 2 6 9 . Tur rsc h m i e dt , M m e .

, 1 . 11 2 20 .

Swimmi n g , F eh x, i 7 9 , 1 9 6 .

Swit zer l a n d , 1 2 7 2 i i 3 4 , 1 6 7 , 3 3 7
. .

Symph o n i e s, B eeth o ven s , 1 1 56 ; C N G HE R-S AB ATI E R, M m

’
. e .
,
11 . 166
mi n o r, D mi n o r, 11 1 8 4 ; .

n i n th , i i 8 , 2 6 1 ; p a sto r a l , i 2 8 1 ;
.

Felix s , A m aj o r ( I ta li a n ) , 1 2 7 8 ,
’
.

i i 2 3 6 ; A mi n o r ( S c ot c h ) , i 1 9 8 , AN E Y C K S a l ta r piece i 3 2 3 ’
. .
-
, .

2 2 5, i i 1 7 1 , 1 7 7 , 2 7 6 ; chi ldre n s , i Va n u t e l li M m e ii 7 7 2 3 5
’
. .
, .
, .
,

1 51 , 1 6 5 .C mi n o r No 1 . Var i a ti o n s Fa n n y o n 11 3 2 ; Felix s
, , .
’

e a rly, 1 1 1 8 ; refo r m a t i o n , 1 . . cell o i 1 8 1 f o ur b a n ds 11 2 57

, .
, .

2 22 , 2 2 5 ; G a de s C m i n o r , 11 1 8 4 ; Va n ha ge n v o n E n s e i 4 3 4 5 3 3 5;
’
.
r
, .
, ,

M o z a rt s E b , i 1 8 4 ; Pa pe s A, 11
’ ’
. i i 1 0, 1 7 8
.

184 V
a t ic a n , t h e , 1 1 7 9 , 2 7 0 .

S ymph o n y -s o i r ée s , ii 1 9 5, 3 05 . V
ei t , Philip , i 3 8 , 9 8 , 2 7 3 ; 1 1 2 8 , 1 05, . .

Syr a cu se , Pr i n ce o f, ii 8 7 . 167, 23 3
V
en ice , 11 6 7
V
erhul st , ii 57 .

V e r k e n i u s , ii 3 4 1 .

AF E L LI E D E R , i 1 2 1 . V
e r n et , i 3 20 ; ii . 9 4
.

T a gli o n i , V
erses , He n s el s , i ’ 9 8 , ii 1 06 , 24 9 ,
’
.

T asso , G o e t he s , i i 2 8 5 3 1 4 ; Kl i n g e m a n n s, i 1 9 9 , 2 3 2
’ ’
. .

T a sso s o a k , ii 2 6 9 , 2 7 4
’ ’
. V esta le , Sp o n t i n i s, i 4 4
’ ’
.

T a ubert , ii 1 9 5, 2 4 3 , 2 8 2
. V e s uvius i i 1 3 3 .

Ta yl or f a mily , t h e , 1 2 1 8 . Vi ar do t , M m e , ii 1 2 7 1 8 9 , 1 9 2 , 1 9 5 . . .

Tea -cm d-S zw m l i m es, i 1 3 0 . V ill a Alb a n i , ii 8 5; L u do v i si , ii 1 4 3 , . .

T e a chi n g h i s ch i l dre n , Felix , 1 1 3 1 2 ; . 2 4 0 ; M edic i , ii 7 8 , 1 04 , 1 1 1 , 2 2 9 ; .

s i n gi n g , Felix o n , 11 1 8 1 . M e l l in i , ii 1 00 : M ill s , 11 8 3 , 2 4 7 ;
. .

T e n dern e ss o f Felix , 1 3 06 . Wo l c h on sky, ii 9 1 , 1 1 0, 1 1 2 , 2 3 5, .

T e rra ci n a , ii 1 2 4 . 2 47
T erry , 11 1 1 0 . V i o l in co n ce rt o ( fo r R ie tz ) , 1 1 1 8 .

T h a lbe r g , ii 3 2 , 4 7 . V ir y, i 4 8 , 8 2
.

T hib a u t , 1 1 3 8 . V i t to r i a , i 1 3 9 i i 9 5 . .

T h o mp so n , 1 1 9 7 .
‘
V o l k s lied , Felix s , ii 3 3 2
’ ’
.

Th o r o ugh -b a ss , F a n n y le ar n s, i 8 8 . V o lu n t ee r s , Pru ss i a n , i n 1 8 1 3 , i 7 4 , 9 7 .

T h o r w a l ds e n , 11 1 6 6 , 2 6 3 , 2 8 2 Vo m H i mmelh o ch , ch o ra le , i 1 1 9
’
. .

Th i e e D a y s , ’ t h e , i 2 55 .

T hyge s o n , Ch a r l o t t e , 1 09 , 1 1 2 ,
AG H
S pupil st o ry o f i 1 2 9
’
119 , , .

T ib a ldi , Co s ta n z a , i 1 52 . W a gn er R ich a rd 11 2 48 , , .

T ieck , i 4 1 , 9 7 ; ii 1 6 5, 1 9 7 , 2 1 6
. . Wa lha ll a t h e 11 59 , , .

Ti m e s o n Fel i x , 1 1 8 7 , 1 9 4 . W a lle n st ein Schiller s i 6 5 6 9

‘ ’
,
’
, .
,

T 1 v o l i , i i 1 05 Wa lpu r gis n a ch t i 1 3 1 2 7 6 11
’ -
, .
, . 17 7 ,
T o a s t s , He n s el s , i i 2 57 , 2 6 3
’
.

T ra n sl a t i o n s , M o s e s M ’s , 1 1 6 , 1 7 . . Wa l t z -t u n e w ith wo r d s 1 1 56 , .

T r a n s fig ura t i o n , ’ He n s el ’s c o py o f, Wasse tr age C

r r
’
h e r u b i n
’
is i , , . 3 28
i 1 01 , 1 05; i i 8 0
. . We a t her , 1 2 1 5; i i
. . 8 5, 9 3 , 2 4 5, 2 50,
T ri bu n e a t Fl o re n ce , th e , 1 1 7 4 . 3 2 0, 3 2 8
T r ick , a t r a veller s , ii 55
’
. W eber, 1 2 3 7 , 2 51 ; a st
. a t , i 228 l w l z .

T r i o , B ee th o ve n ’s C mi n o r, 11 2 4 7 . W ebe Ge er l
rn , n a Von , 23 6, 3 41 ii .

Fa n n y s , ii 3 3 4 Felix s , i i 3 1 7 ,
’ ’
. . W eddi g F
n ,
’
an n y s, 2 4 1 ; M ar ,
11 i . ch .

3 21 2 1 6 , 2 56
’
O f Ca a o , i 1 2 1 , 1 3 2 ; m ch .

Trumpe t o ve rt ur e , Feli x s, i 1 57 , 2 8 6 ,
’
. to r , u Felix ’
s, 1 1 3 3 .

288 W e im i
a r, 6 6 , 9 0, 1 1 3.

T r umpe t s, fl o w er, 1 2 2 4 n e w p ar ts f o r , . W elli g

n ton ,Duke o f, 1 8 3 ; 11 4 1 i . .

i n B a ch s P ass i o n , ’ ii 3 5
’
. el h
W s a ir , imi i ta t o n , 228 i .

T u e s P e t ru s, 1 1 3 9 , 1 51
’
. W s el h mu ic
s ,
1 214 .

T un er a t He r i n gsdo rf, i i 52 . W epp er i

l , 172 .
 [IVD E X .
35
9

‘
W erther G o e the s 1 1 8
,
’ ’
, .
‘
Wo ma n of S a m a ria ,
’
He n s el s
’

, i . 91,
'

Wh eel t he He n sel s pic t ur e 1 1 6 8

’
,
’
, , . 1 05
Whe n Is ra el o ut o f E gypt c a me 1 1
’
, .
7
W o r i n g e n s , t h e , i 2 8 0, 2 8 7 , 2 90 ;
. 11 . 2,
2 56 7 , 3 6 , 1 7 8 , 1 8 8 , 2 02
Whi s t i 9 1 1 4 4
, .
,
W r an i t zkys Obero n , 1 9 2
’
.

Wieck C l a ra ( M m
, e . Schum a nn ) 1 , . 334
W iel a n d i 7 0 , .

l Vi e p r e c ht , 23 6 ii . AHN , Pr o fesso r, 1 1 1 4 1 .

W i lm se n , 1 2 4 1 . Z el t er, i 7 4 90, 1 2 0, 1 3 0, 1 57 , 1 7 1 ,
. ,

W ilk i e s pic t ure 1 2 9 8

’
, . 2 7 3 , 2 7 8 ; ii 1 09.

Wi n kelma n n i i 8 0 8 5 , .
, Z e un e , i 2 9 0
.

Wi n t e r s M a ch t der T iin e i 2 8 6
’
Z w e i b rii c k e n f e s ti va l , 11 1 96 , 2 3 9 , 2 5
’

, . . 6,
Wo l ff s ca n ta ta
’
,
i 286
. 2 78 , 29 1
2 Va l ua ble and I n ter es ti ng Wo r ks .

H U M E S E N G L AN D Hi sto ry o f E n gl a n d fro m th e I nv a si o n o f
’
.
,

Juliu s C ae sa r t o th e Abdica t i o n o f J a me s II 1 6 8 8 B y D AV I D .
, .

H UM E 6 v o l s i n a B o x 8 yo Clo th w i th P a per L a bel s U n cu t

. .
, , , , ,

E dge s a n d G il t T o ps $ 1 2 00 ; Sheep $ 1 5 00 ; H a lf C a l f $ 2 5 50 , , , .

A l so 6 v o l s i n a B o x 1 2 m o C l o th $ 3 00 ; Sheep $ 4 50
.
, , , , , .

T HE IVO R K S O F O L I E R G OL D S M IT H E di t ed b y P E T E R V .

C U NN I N G H A M , E S A 4 v o l s , 8 v o , C l o th , P a pe r L a bel s , U n c u t
. . . .

E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s, $8 00 ; Sheep, $1 0 00 ; H a lf C a l f, $ 1 7 00 .

T HE R I S E O F T HE D U T C H RE P U B L I C A Hi s to r B y JO H N . y .

L O T H R O P M O T L E Y, L L D , D C L W i th a P o r t ra i t o f \Villia m o f . . . . .

O ra n ge 3 v ol s , in a B o x
. 8 r o , C l o th , “ i th P a pe r L a bel s , U n cu t
. .

E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s, $0 00 ; Sheep , $7 50 ; H a l f C a l f, $ 1 2 7 5 .

HI S T O RY O F T HE U NIT E D N E T H E R L AN D S : Fro m t h e D e a th
o f W i lli a m t h e Sile n t t o t h e T w elve Y e a r s T r uce — 1 5 W it h
’
4 8 - 1 6 09 .

a full V
ie w o f t h e E n gli sh - Du tch S tr uggle a ga i n st Spa i n , a n d O f t he
O rigi n a n d De s tr uc t i o n o f th e Sp a n i sh A rm a d a B y JO H N L O T H R O P .

M O T L LY , LL D , D C L P o r t ra i ts
. 4 v o l s , i n a B o x, 8 i o , C l o t h ,
. . . . . .

wi th P a p e r L a bel s, U n cu t E dge s a n d G il t T o p s, $8 00 ; Sheep,

$1 0 00 ; H a l f C a lf, $ 1 7 00 .

T HE L I F E A N D D E A T H O F J O H N O F B A R NE V E L D A d y o ,

c a t e o f H o ll a n d W i th a V ie w o f t he P r im a r y C a u se s a n d M o ve
.

me n ts o f th e T hi rty Y e a rs Wa r B y JO H N L O T H R O P M O TL E Y
“ ’
.
,

LL D D C L .
,
I llu st ra ted
. 2 v o l s i n a B o x 8 yo C l o th w i th
. . . .
, , , ,

P a pe r L a bel s U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s $4 00 ; Sheep $ 5 00 ;

, , ,

H a lf C a lf $8 50 ,
.

S T h e Hi st o ry o f t h e D ecli n e a n d F a ll o f t he R o
’
G I B B ON R OM E .

m a n E m p ii e B y E D W AR D G I B R O N
. W i th N o t e s b y D e a n M I L .

M A N , M G UI Z O T , a n d D r W I L L I A M SM I T H
. 6 v o l s , i n a B o x , 8 yo . . .

C l o th , w i t h P a pe r L a bel s , U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s , $ 1 2 00 ,

Shee p , $ 1 5 00 ; H a lf C a lf, $ 2 5 50 A l so 6 v o l s , i n a B o x, 1 2 m o , . .

C l o th , $3 00 ; Sheep $ 4 , 50 .

A D I CT I ON AR Y O F T HE E NG L I S H L ANG U A G E P ro n o un c
i n g , E tym o l o gic a l , a n d E xpl a n a to ry : emb ra ci n g Scie n t ifi c a n d o the r
T erm s , N ume r o u s F a mili a r T e r m s , a n d a C o pi o u s Selec ti o n o f O ld
E n gli sh W o r d s B y t h e R e v J AM E S S T O R M O NI H
. T he P r o n u n c i a '
.

t i o n R e i i s e d by t h e R e v P H P H E L P , M A I m p e i ia l 8 r o , C l o th , . . . . .

$ 5 00 ; H a lf R o a n , $ 6 50 ; F ull Sheep , $ 6 50 .

P H AR AO H S , F E L L AHS , A N D E X P L O RE R S . B y AM E L I A . B .

E D W AR D S I llu s t ra t ed 8 r o , C l o t h , O rn a me n ta l ,
. . U n cu t E dge s an d

Gil t T o p , $4 00 .

R E C O L L E C T I O N S O F P R E S I D E N T L I NC O L N a n d His A dm in i s
t ra ti o n B y L U C I U S E C H I TT E N D E N hi s R egi s t e r o f t h e T r e a su r y
. .
, .

W i th P o r t r a i t 8 r o , C l o th , U n cu t E dge s a n d G il t T o p , $2 50 ; H a lf
.

C a l f, $4 7 5 .
 Va l u a ble a nd I n te r esti ng Wor ks . 3

A M AN U A L O F H I S T O R I C A L L I T ER AT UR E c o mp ri sin g B rie f ,

D e s c rip t i o n s o f t he m o s t I mp o r t a n t Hi s to r ie s i n E n g li h Fre n ch s
, ,

a n d Ge r m a n t o ge t he r W i th P ra c ti c a l Sugge st i o n s a s to M e th o d s a n d
,

C o u rs e s o f Hi s t o ric a l S tudy fo r th e U se o f S tude n ts Ge n e ra l R e a d , ,

e s a n d C o llec to r s o f B o o k s
r ,
B y C H AR L E S K E ND A L L A D AM S L L D .
, . .

T hi r d E di ti o n R evi s ed a n d E n l a r ged ,
C r ow n 8 r o C l o th $2 50 .
, , .

IL I O S t he C i ty a n d C o u n t ry o f th e T ro j a n s A Na r r a t ive o f t he M o st
,
.

R ece n t D i c o ve r ie s a n d R e se a r che s m a de o n t he P l a i n O f T ro y
s By .

D r H E NR Y S C H L I E M A N N
. M a p s P l a n s a n d I ll u st i a t io n s I mp e .
, , .

ria l 8 r o I llumi n a t ed C l o th $ 7 50 ; H a lf M o ro cc o $ 1 0 00
, , , .

T RO J A R e sul ts o f th e L a t e s t R e s e a r che s a n d D isc o verie s o n th e

.

S i t e o f H o me r s T r o y a n d i n th e H e ro ic T umuli a n d o the r Si te s
’
, ,

m a de i n t he Y e a r 1 8 8 2 a n d a N a r ra tive o f a J o u rn ey i n t he T ro a d,

in 1 8 8 1 B D r H E N R Y S C H L I E M ANN
. y P r efa ce by P ro fe sso r A
. . .

H S A YC E W i th W o o d cu t s M a p s a n d P l a n s 8 o C l o th $ 5 00 ;
. .
-
, ,
. r
, ,

H a lf M o r o cco $ 7 50 , .

T HE S P A N I S H—A M E RI C AN R E P U B L I C S B y T H E O D O R E C H I L D . .

I llu s tra t ed by T o n T HU L S T R U P F R E D E R I C R E M I N G T N W I L L I A M
.
,
O ,

H A MI L T O N G I B S O N W H R O G E RS a n d o ther E mi n e n t A rtis ts, . .

, .

L a r ge 8 yo C l o t h O r n a me n ta l $3 50
, , , .

ART A N D C R I T I CI S M . M o n o g ra ph s and S tudie s B y T H E O D O R E .

C H I LD . R ichly I llu s t ra t ed . L a rge 8 v o , C l o th O r n a me n ta l U n cu t

, ,

E dge s a n d Gil t T o p , $6 00 .
( I n a B ox ) .

HI S T O R Y O F T HE U N IT E D S T AT E S B y R I C H A R D II I L D R E T H . .

FI R S T S E R I E S : F ro m the D isc o very o f th e C o n t i n e n t t o t he O rga n

i z a t io n o f t h e G o ve rn me n t u n der t h e Fede ra l C o n s t i tu t io n S E C O ND .

S E R I E S : F ro m t h e A d o p ti o n o f the Fede ra l C o n s t i tu t i o n t o t he e n d
o f t h e Six t ee n t h C o n g r e ss A l s o 6 v o l s , i n a B o x , 8 v o , C l o th , w i th
. .

P a pe r L a bel s , U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s , $ 1 2 00 ; Sheep , $ 1 5 00 ;

H a lf C a l f, $2 5 00 .

M E M O I R O F T HE L I F E O F L AU RE N C E O L I P H A NT a n d o f
A lice O li p h a n t , h i s w i fe B y M A R G A R E T O L I P HA N T W O L I P H AN T . . .

2 vo l s 8 r o C l o th U n cu t E dge s a n d G il t T o p s $7 00 (I n B o x )
.
, , , , . a .

E P I S O D E S I N A L I F E O F A D V E N T U RE ; o r M o ss fro m a R o ll ,

i n g S to n e B y L A U R E NC E O L IP HA N T
. 1 2 m o C l o th $ 1 2 5 .
, , .

HAI F A ; O R L I F E I N M O D E RN P A L E ST I N E B y L AU R E NCE
, .

O L I P H A NT E di t ed wi th I n tro duc t io n by C HA R L E S A
.
, D A NA , . .

1 2 o C l o th $ 1 7 5
m , , .

C O N S T IT UT I O N A L H I S T O RY O F T IIE U N I T E D S T AT E S fro m
t hei r De c l a r a t i o n o f I n depe n de n ce t o t h e C l o s e o f t hei r C ivil Wa r .

B y G E O R G E T I C K N O R C U R TI S I n tw o V o lume s V o l I 8 r o C l o th . . . .
, , ,

U n cu t E dge a n d Gil t T o p $3 00 s
, .

OU R IT A L Y A n E x p o si t i o n o f th e C l im a t e a n d R e so urce s o f S o u th
.

e r n C a li fo r n ia B y C H A R L E S D U D L E Y W AR N E R
. I llus tra ted 8 vo . .
,

C l o th U n cu t E d g e s a n d Gil t T o p 82 50
, , .
 4 Va lu a ble an d I n ter es ti ng Wo r ks .

L O N D O N L E T T E R S , AN D S O M E O T H E R S B y G E ORG E W . .

SM AL L E Y , L o n d o n C o rr e sp o n de n t o f t he N e w Yo r k T r i bun e 2 vo l s . .

V o l I P e rso n a l i tie s— T w o M idl o thi a n C a mp a ig n s

. V o l I I N o te s . . .

o n S o ci a l L ife — N o t e s o n P a rli a me n t — P a ge a n t s — M i scell a n ie s .

8 r o , C l o th , U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s , $6 00 .

L I F E AN D L E T T E R S O F G E N E R AL T H O M A S J J AC K S O N .

(S to n e w a ll J a ck so n ) B y Hi s W ife , M A R Y A N NA J AC K S O N W i th . .

an I n t ro duc ti o n by HE NR Y M . FI E L D , I llu str a t ed . 8 ro,

C l o th , $2 00 .

‘
P O L IT I C AL H I S T O R Y O F R E C E NT T I M E S ( 1 8 1 6 W it h
Speci a l R e fe re n ce t o Ge r m a n B y W I L L I AM M UL L E R T ra n s y . .

l a t ed , n i th a n A ppe n dix c o r e ri n g t he P e r i o d fr o m 1 8 7 6 to 1 8 8 1 , by
t h e R e v J O H N P P E T E RS , P h D
. 1 2 m o , C l o th , $ 2 00
. . . .

T HE L I F E A ND L E T T E R S O F L O R D M A C A U L AY B y h is .

N ephe w , G E O R G E O TT O T R E E L Y AN , M 1
V
’
W ith P o r tra i t o n S t eel . . .

2 v o l s , 8 r o , C l o th , U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p s, $ 5 00 ; Sheep ,

.

$ 6 00 ; H a lf C a l f, $ 9 50 P op u la r E di tio n , t w o v o l s i n o n e , 1 2 m o , . .

C l o th , $ 1 7 5 .

T HE E A R L Y H I S T O RY O F C H AR LE S J A M E S F O X B y G E O R G E .

O TT O T R E VE L YA N 8 v o , C l o th , U n cu t E dge s a n d G il t T o p s , $ 2 50 ;
.

H a lf C a lf, $4 7 5 .

M E M OI R S O F J O H N A D AM S D I X C o mp iled by his S o n M O R .
,

G AN D I x W i t h F ive S t eel pl a t e P o rtra i ts 2 vo ls 8 v o C l o th -

. .
, , ,

U n cu t E dge s a n d G il t T o ps $5 00 ,
.

T H R O U G H T HE D A R K C O NT I NE NT ; o r T he S o u r ce s o f th e ,

N ile A ro u n d t h e G r e a t L a ke s o f E qu a t o ria l A fric a a n d D o w n t he

, ,

L ivi n g s t o n e R ive r to th e A tl a n tic O ce a n 1 4 9 I llu s tra ti o n s a n d 1 0 .

M ap s . B y H M ST AN L E Y 2 v o l s 8 r o C l o th $ 7 50 ; Sheep
. . . .
, , , ,

$ 9 50 ; H a lf M o ro cc o $ 12 00 ,
.

T HE C O N G O a n d t h e F o u n di n g o f i ts F ree S ta t e a S to ry o f W o rk ,

a n d E xpl o ra t i o n W i th o ve r O n e Hu n dred Full pa ge a n d sm a lle r

.
-

I ll u s t ra t i o n s T w o L a rge M a p s a n d s eve r a l s m a lle r o n e s

. ByH M , . . .

ST AN L E Y 2 vo l s 8 r o C lo th $ 7 50 ; Sheep $9 50 ; Ha l f M o ro cco
. .
, , , , ,

are 00 .

H I S T O R Y O F T HE E NG L I S H P E OP L E B y J O HN R I C H A R D .

G R E E N M A W i th M a ps 4 v o l s 8 yo C l o th $ 2 50 p e r o l
, . . . .
, , ,
v .

V o l m e s s o ld s ep a ra t ely
rr C o mple t e s e t s Sheep $ 12 00 ; H a l f .
, ,

C a l f $ 1 9 00
,
.

I HE M A K I N G O F E N G L AN D
‘
B y J O H N R I C H A RD G R E E N W i th . .

M a ps 8 O C l o th $ 2 50 ; Sheep $ 3 00 ; H a lf C a l f $4 7 5
. \
, , , ,
.

T HE C O NQ U E S T O F E NG L AN D B y J O H N R I C H AR D G R E E N . .

W i th M a p s 8 v o C l o th $2 50 ; Sheep $ 3 00 ; Ha lf C a lf $ 4 7 5
.
, , , , .

*
A SH ORT H I S T O RY O F T HE E N G L I S H P EO P L E B y J o a n! .

R I C H ARD G R E E N M A R ev is ed a n d E n l a rg ed ,
W i th C o lo red . . .

M a ps a n d T a ble s 8 v o C lo th $1 2 0 .
, , .
 Va l ua ble a nd I n te r estin g Wo rks .

T HE L AN D A N D T HE B O O K B iblic a l I llu s tra tio n s d ra w n fro m .

t h e M a n n e rs a n d C u s t o m s , t he Sce n e s a n d Sce n e r , o f t h e Ho ly y
L and B y W I L L I AM M T H O M S O N , D D , F o r ty- fiv e Y e a rs 9 M is
. . . . .

s io n a r
y i n Sy r i a a n d P a le s ti n e I n T h r ee o lume s C o p i o u sly I l. V .

lu s tra ted Squ a r e 8 v o , O r n a me n ta l C l o th , p e r vo lume , $ 6 00 ;

.

Shee p , $ 7 00 : H a lf M o ro c c o , $ 8 50 ; Full M o r o cco , Gil t E d g e s,

$ 1 0 00 ( Vo lu m e s s o ld sep a r a te ly )
. .

V
o lume I S O UT H E R N P A L E S TI N E AN D J L R US A L E M - o lume I I
. . V .

C E N T R A L P A L E S TI N E A N D P HtE NI C I A — o lume I I I L E B A N O N , DA . V .

M AS C U S , A N D B E Y O ND J O R D A N .

A l so , H a n d so me P op ula r E dit io n i n T hree o l s , C l o th , $9 00 per V .

S e t H a l f L e a the r, $1 2 00 (S o ld o n ly i n S e ts ) . .

HI S T O RY OF M E D IE VA L AR T B y D r F R AN Z V O N R E R E R
. . .

T ra n s l a ted a n d A u gme n ted b y J o seph T h a che r C l a r ke W rt lr 4 22 .

I l l u st ra tro n s , a n d a Gl o s sa ry o f T ech n i c a l T e r m s 8 r o , C l o th , $ 5 00 . .

HI S T O R Y O F AN C I E NT A RT B y D r F R AN Z V O N R E E E R Re . . .

vi s ed by th e A u th o r T ra n sl a ted a n d A ugme n ted by J o seph T h a ch

.

e r C l a r ke W i th 3 10 I llu s tra t io n s a n d a Gl o ssary o f T ech n ic a l

.

T e rm s 8 r 0 , C l o th , $ 3 50
.
'
.

T HE I N A S I O N O F T HE C R I M E A : i ts O r ig i n , a n d a n A cc o u n t
V
o f i ts P ro g r e s s d o w n t o t h e De a t h o f L o r d R a gl a n B y A L E X A ND E R .

W I L L I A M K I N G L AK E W i th M a p s a n d P l a n s S ix v o lume s, 1 2 m o ,
. .

C l o th , $ 2 00 p e r v o l H a lf C a l f, $ 2 2 50 p e r s e t . .

T HE T S A R A ND HIS P E O P L E ; o r , S o c ia l L i fe i n R u ssia Pa .

pe rs by T H E O D O R E C H I L D , E U G ENE M E L C I O R D E O G UE, C L AR H V
E NC E C O OK, a n d A S S I L I V E R E ST C II AG I N V
I llu s t r a ted Squ a r e 8 vo , . .

C l o th , U n cu t E dge s a n d G il t T o p , $3 00 .

L I F E O F B I SH O P M AT T H E W S I M P S O N, o f t he M e th o d ist E pis
c o p a l C hu r ch B y G E O R G E R C R O O K S , D D I llrrstr a t e d 8 r o ,
. . . . .

C l o th , $3 7 5; Gil t E dge s, $4 2 5; H a l f M o r o cc o , $5 2 5 (S o ld by .

S u bs c r ip t io n ) .

S E R M O N S B Y B I SH O P M AT T H E W S I M P S O N o f th e M e th o d ist ,

E p i sc o p a l C hu r ch E d it ed by G E O R G E R C R O O K S D D
. 8 ro .
, . .
,

C l o th $2 50,
.

O UT L I NE S O F I NT E RN AT I O NA L L AW w i t h a n A cc o u n t o f i ts ,

O rigi n a n d S o u rce s a n d o f i ts H to r ic a l Devel o pme n t

,
B yG LO R G E rs .

B D AV I S U S A
.
, C ro w n 8 r o C l o th $ 2 00
. . .
, ,
.

C U R I O S IT IE S O F T HE A M E RI C AN S T A G E B y L A U R E N CE .

H UTT O N W i th C o pi o u s a n d C h a r a c t e ri st ic I llu st ra tio n s C ro w n

. .

8 v o C l o th U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p $2 50
, , , .

L IT E R AR Y L AN D M AR KS O F E D I NB U R G H B y L AUR E NCE .

B UTT O N I llu s tr a t ed
. P o st 8 v o C l o th O rn a me n ta l $1 00
.
, , , .

S T U D I E S IN T HE VVA G NE R I AN D R AM A . B y HE N R Y E . KR E H ~
R IE L P o s t 8 v o C lo t h $ 1 2 5
.
, , .
 Va l u a ble a nd I n ter es ti ng Wo r ks . 7

CY P R U S : i t s A n cie n t C i tie s , T o mb s,
T emple s A N a r ra tive o f and .

R e s e a r che s a n d E xc a v a t i o n s du r i n g T e n Y e a rs R e s ide n ce i n th a t
’

I sl a n d B y L P D I C E S NO L A
. . IVi t h P o r t r a i t, M a p s , a n d 4 00 I l
. .

lu s t ra ti o n s 8 yo , C l o th , E x tra , U n cu t E dge s a n d Gil t T o p , $ 7 50

. .

T HE A N C I E NT C IT I E S O F T HE N E W W O RL D : B ei n g V o y
a ge s a n d E xpl o ra t i o n s i n M ex ic o a n d C e n t r a l A me ric a , f ro m 1 8 57

t o 1 8 82 B y D ES I R E C I IA R N A Y
. T ra n sl a t ed by J G o rrin o a n d . .

Hele n S C o n a n t I llu s t ra t i o n s a n d M a p R o a l 8 v o , O rn a me n ta l
. . . y
C l o th , U n cu t E dge s, Gil t T o p , $ 6 00 .

A H I S T O RY O F O U R O W N T IM E S . fr o m the A cce ssi o n o f Q uee n

V ic to ri a t o Ge n e r a l E lec ti o n o f 1 8 8 0 B y JU S TI N M CAR T I I Y
t he .
‘
,

M P . 2 r o l s 1 2 m o C l o th $ 2 50 ; H a lf C lf $ 6 00
.
, , ,
a , .

A SH O R T H I S T O R Y O F O U R O \VN T I M E S f o m th e A cce ,
r s

si o n o f Q uee n V ic t o ri a t o t h e Ge n e ra l E lec ti o n o f 1 8 8 0 B y JUS TI N .

M CA R T H Y M P
‘
,
1 2 m o C l o th $ 1 50
.
, ,
.

A H I S T O R Y O F T HE F O U R G E O R G E S B y JU S TI N M C A R T H Y .
‘
,

M P . . I n F o u r V o lume s V o l s I a n d II 1 2 m o Cl o th $ 1 2 5
. . .
, ,

e a ch .

T HE F R E N C H R E V O L U T I O N B y JU S TI N H M CA R T H Y In . .
‘
.

T w o V o l rrm e s V o l rrm e I P o s t 8 r o C l o th $ 1 50
. . ,
, .

T HE F R E NC H R E V O L U T I O N O F 1 7 8 0 a s v ie w ed i n t h e L igh t o f ,

R e p rrb lic a n I n s ti tu t i o n s B y J O H N S C A BB O TT .I llu s t r a t ed 8ro . . . .

,

C l o th $ 3 50 ; Sheep $ 4 00 ; H a lf C a lf $ 5 7 5
, , , .

T HE H I S T O R Y O F N A P O L E O N B O N A P A RT E B y JO H N S C . . .

AB B O T T M r I llu st ra t i o n s a n d P o r t ra i t s
. a ie, 2 v o l s 8 o C l o th , . .
,
r , ,

$ 7 00 ; Shee p $ 8 00 ; H a lf C a lf $ 1 1 50
, , .

NAP O L E O N AT S T HE LE N A ; o r A n ecd o t e s a n d C o n ve r s a t i o n s
. ,

o f t h e E m p e ro r du r i n g t he Y e a rs o f h is C a p t i r i ty C o llec t ed fro m .

th e M em o ri a l s o f L s C a s a s O M e a r a M o rrt lro l o n A n t o m m a r c hi
'

a , , , ,

a n d O the r s B y J O H N S C A BB O TT
. I llu stra t ed .8 o C l o th . . . v
, ,

$ 3 50 ; Shee p $ 4 00 ; H a lf C a l f $ 5 7 5 , , .

T HE H I S T O RY O F F RE D E RI C K T HE S E C O N D c a lled F r ed ,

e r rc k t h e G re a t B y J O HN S C A BB O TT
. I llu stra t ed 8 v o C l o th
. . . .
, ,

$ 3 50 ; Sheep $ 4 00 ; H a lf C a lf $ 5 7 5 , , .

S T UD IE S O F T HE G R E E K P O E T S B y JO H N AD D I N G T O N S Y M .

O NU S .2 v o l s Squ a r e 1 6 O C l th $ 3 50 ; H a lf C a lf $7 00
.
,
m ,
o
, ,
.

A H I S T O RY O F C L A SS I C A L G R EE K L I T E R AT U R E By J P . . .

M A H AFF Y 2 v o l s 1 2 m o C l o th $ 4 00 ; H a lf C a lf $7 50
. .
, , , ,
.

A H I S T O RY O F L AT I N L IT E R AT U R E fro m E n n iu s t o B o e th iu s , .

B y G E O R G E A U G U S TU S SIM C O X M A 2 vo l s 1 2 m o C l o th $ 4 00 , . .
, , ,
.

T E N N Y S O N S C O M P LE T E P O E M S T he C o mple te P o e t ic a l \Yo rk s
’
.

o f A lf e d L o r d T e n n y so n
r ,
W i th a n I n tro duc to r y Ske tch by A n n e
.

T h a cke ra y R i tchie W i th P o r tra it s a n d I llu stra ti o n s 8 o E x tra

. . v ,

C l o th B e r e lle d G il t E dge s $ 2 50
, , ,
.
 8 Va l ua ble a nd I n ter es tin g Wo r ks .

T HE S T O R Y O F T HE E A R T H A N D M AN B y J W D AW S O N , . . .

LL D , F R S
. . . P ri n cipa l a n d V ice -C h a n cell o r o f M c G ill
.

U n iversi ty , M o n t re a l W i th T w e n ty I llu stra tio n s N e w a n d R e v is e d

. .

E ditio n 1 2 m o , C l o th , $ 1 50
. .

T HE O R I G I N O F T HE W O R L D , a cc o rd in g t o R evel a tio n an d Sc i
e n ce B y J W D AW S O N, L L D , F R S , F G S 12 m
. . . . . . . . . . o, C l o th ,
32 00 .

M O D E RN S C IE NC E I N B I B L E L AN D S B y S ir . J W D A W S ON
. .
,
LL D . .
,
F R S M a p s a n d I llu stra t io n s
. . . . 1 2 m o C l o th , ,

$2 00 .

T HE S T U D E NT S S E RI E S M a p s a n d I llu stra tio n s 1 2 m o C l o th :

* ’
. .
,

F R ANC E — GI BB O N — G R E E C E — R O M E ( by L I D D E L L ) —O L D T E S
. . . .

TAM E N T HI S TO R Y N E W T E S T AM E N T HI S T O R Y STR I C K L AN D S ’
. .

U E G D — A N C I E N T H I S T O R Y O F T HE E A S E — HA L
Q E E N S O F N L AN .

L A M S M I D D L E A G E S — H A L L A M S C O NS TITUTI O N A L HI S T O R Y O F E N G
’ ’
.

LA N D — L Y E L L S E L E M E N T S O F G E O L O G Y — M E R I VA L E S G E N E RA L
’ ‘

~
. .

HI S T O R Y O F R O M E — C o x s G E N E RA L HI S TO R Y O F G R E E C E — C L A S '
.

S I CA L D I C TI O NA R Y — S K E A T S E TYM O L O G I C AL DI C TI O NA R Y —R A W
.
'

L I N S O N S A N C I E N T HI S T O R Y $ 1 2 5 p e r v o lume
’
. .

L E W I S S HI S T O R Y O F G E R M AN Y — E CC L E S I AS TI C A L HI S T O R Y T w o
’
.
,

V o l s — HUM E S E N G L AN D —M O DE R N E U R O P E $ 1 50 p e r v o lume
’
. . . .

W E S T C O TT AN D H O R T S G R E E K T E S TA M E NT $ 1 00
’

, .

JE S U S C H R I S T I N T HE O L D T E S T A M E NT ; o r, T he G re a t Ar
g um e n t B y W H T H O M S O N, M A , M D
. C r ow n 8 v o , C l o th ,
. . . . . .

32 00 .

M O D ER N IT A L I AN P O ET S .
( 1 7 70 E ssa y s and Ve rsio n s .

B yW I L L I A M D E AN HO W E L L S . Wi th P o r tra i ts . 12 m o, C l o th , $2 00 .

S YD NE Y S M IT H A Ske tch o f t he L i fe a n d T ime s o f the R e v

. .

Syd n ey Sm i th B y STU AR T J R E I D W i th S t eel pl a t e P o rtra it a n d

. . .
-

I llu st ra t i o n s 8 v o C lo th $ 3 00
.
, , .

T HE F A L L O F C O N S T ANT I N O P LE B e i n g t he S to ry o f t he .

F o u r th C ru sa de B y E D W I N P E AR S L L B 8 v o C l o th $ 2 50
.
,
.
, , .

C ARI C AT U RE A ND O T H E R CO M I C AR T i n All T ime s a n d M a n y ,

L an ds B y JAM E S P A R T O N
. 2 03 I llu st ra tio n s 8 v o C l o th U n cu t . .
, ,

E d g e s a n d Gil t T o p $ 5 00 ; H a l f C a l f $ 7 2 5 , , .

G E OR G E E L I O T S L I F E R el a ted i n h e r L e t te rs a n d Jo u r n al s
’
. .

A r ra n ged a n d E d it ed by h e r Hu sb an d J W C R O S S P o r tr a i t s , . . .

a n d I llu stra t i o n s 3 v o l s 1 2 m o C lo th $3 7 5; Ha l f C a l f $9 00
. .
, , , , .

P op u la r E di tio n C l o th $2 2 5; Ha l f B in d in g $2 00 , , .

C O L E RI D G E S W OR KS T he C o mple t e W o rk s o f S a muel T aylo r

’
.

C o leridge W i th a n I n troduc to ry E ssa y up on h is P hil o so phic a l a n d

.

T he o l o gic a l O p in io n s E d ited by P ro f W G T S H E DD Wi th . . . . . .

S teel P o rt ra it a n d a n I n dex 7 v ol s 1 2 m o C l o th $ 2 00 p e r VOL

, .
, ,

ume ; $ 12 00 per se t ; Half C a l f $ 2 4 2 5 ,

.