New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-03-15
RECOLLECTIONS OFsHEINE.
THE porT,s HOME LIFE.

,rpy,s rtpsr GLIMPSE OF HEINE-nEINEs
MARRIAGE TO MATnLDE-A PARROT AS WIT
NEss-1NEs IN AN AUTOGRAPH ALBUM.
The German poet, Alfred Meissner who was intl-
mate with Heinrich Heine during the latter years Oh
his career in Paris is publishing in the Vienna Neae
Freie Presse series of articles giving his reco'ec
tions of his friends domestic life. From the two
articles which have already appeared, the follow
ing Is translated and condensed. MeissDer first VS.
tied Heine in 1s47, bearing letter of introduction
from Heinrich Laube. OF this VISIT he writes;
soon found the house. which on the corner OF a
little narrow street that bends OFF the Rue Gu taun0ug
POissonucre. 1t bore the number 40. mouH.eu tJ
flights OF dangerously polished sths' anu stoou
before small brown door by which there was q gitel
SILK bellpull rang ana corpurni fitDeF I,Nd
lady opened the dooFcsst SHARP ooS at my o am
sorry" sad in French. with real cnagrlh I 10y l
Monsieur Hene come from L'psc ana DIl'S ~ hara
letter from Monsieur Laube When' MADAME '' 40,
He is not oui! He not QUIT" cried very va mn mn
voice from within, and small man, nelther oIu hI
young with s head bent forward, apleaFeu a, ,n1
door ~ @, ErGs s,niicS Teh9. and pressurc Of his soft
hand greeted me. EDtreZ tOul0urs! EntIcl 'CpouN'
have Just comb hone-must change ny CLOTHES Dr. cause
am bathed In sweat" said he coughing but - loud
as If he were talking to a halfGea person. 1es my
letter from Laubc," he explained 10 his wife Midane
Heine VIII not ADMIT Germans "a see nc SIC KNOWS
'ns Ja' mem ETr said Madame s@ing, Iec9snzed
Monsieur ms q German at once" by whh "eneu;
On Mon Dieu, by your clothes ard your shoes" l
cas-, look Z NY coat and my ,hoeS-)Tcsd,h hlaA71
couldn't anything remarkable Hbput lhVn, sun
thew must have lacked something OF STYLE 10 tel me
50 Xas moi nnllte however Aud wby." asked, care
That Your husband is ovebGrieued with visitors"
" cann,t it," said Heine, who ID the m" mig
dom CONES anything agreeable 10 me nom IHP I'vi
land. The Germans VINO present themselves ncIe ar
ofiep of a doubtful nature. But If a worthy icHoW-
country man. whose name is known 10 me- uocs ~ i
honor TO pay me visit ne can De SUR Oh n have
long chat" ,r, g.
Now / had a closer look at Heine He was still far
from
ihink True the right eyei!d had fallen ana hell con-
ceaed the eve, but no other trace OF the coming nHo
beauty The forehead was hlSh ana DlIau "a" shaod
q welfoIIGed mouth and concealed me chin INC enln
wbiskers sprnKled with white but the GaTh Vo W.
bar Of The head winch hung dON ulod tu n.|T of
.tyed no trace of age. Tie general rNpIcSS'Ou VI
icire's face Was OF dreamy melancholy DuI Wnvn
he smoke or moved an unexpected look OF energy ap
peared and an astonishing and almost dem0hlac Shil'
when later naGo such irGhtfll rdyagcs had only he
gun show slight, Almost unn0ticeADie marAs oi us
presence.
IIeipe had been fond of society, and at one
time moved in high Paris circles. and was on
intimate terms with the most notable men OF tho
French press. At the time Meissner kne" him'
however, he lived in a very retired way. lie VS.
tied nv families either German or French, because
he could not take his wife with him. He was we'll
known TO the literary world of France, but he sell
dom came into personal relations with Its members
Two of them had always kept away from HIN
Victor Hugo on his stills, and Lamartlne On his IN
cense-perfnmed throne of clouds. He had been on
friendly terms with George Sand, but he had not
seen her since she went to live with Chopin. some
years before III the acacla-Shaded COur dOrleans
Next to this genial lady. Balzac interested him
most and he often spoke of his former walks with
the great novelist in the Tuileries Gardens. His
associations with Leon GOzlan and jules Jauin
had almost ceased In short most of bis old liter
airy friends seemed to have forgotten him. Only
Gerard de Ncrval, who took a keen interest IN
German intellectual life, came often to see
him. Nearly all his associates were German
writers living in Paris newspaper correspondents.
The only one for whom Heine appeared TO have an
affection was Heinrich Seuffert, who was one OF his
seconds in his duel with Strauss. Seutfert was
singular man. lie wrote French as we'll as German,
and his political letters to the Augsburg Atgemene
Ztupq were so much in Heines style that they were
frequently mistaken for his. He was nicknamed
the Man with the Ribbon" from the fact that he
constantly carried with him piece of narrow black
ribbon a yard long, which he waved to and fro and
tossed up in the air. The ribbon always lay near
him when he wrote. Sometimes he would play with
il as furiously as kitten with a ball. Every week
he bought new ribbon and threw the old play
thing away.
1t was after his thirteth year that Hcines rela-
tonship with Mathildc began. He looked upon 1t
as a merely temporary affair at first but tender
yielding heart, combined with weak WILL CON
verted 1t into firm, enduring. bond. whether 1t
gave direction to his life aud brought him more
happiness than sorrow is a question bard to an
sver. Once he tried to break away from 1t. In
1885 he went to Campo, from whence lie wrote:
Thank God. my soul is once more tranquil My
excited senses are again tanned, and live jOyously
and freely i'll the castle of charming friend, In
cordial circle of distinguished persons. | be-
lieve my spirit is at last purified OF
all dross. My verses will be better, my
books more harmonious. SO much | know
i have at this moment horror OF everything that
is not noble and clear of all that is common and
VAIN He did not keep on this high plane very
long though. Three months later he wrote from
Boulognc to another friend: Unfortunately did
not see the bearer of your letter. because was in
the country near st. German, at the castle Of a
most beautiful most noble and most intellectual
woman-with whom. however, am not in love.
AN condemned to love only the lowest and most
ignorant. Do You comprehend how this mast make
man suffer who is proud and intelligent| lie
had in fact. on his return to Paris. resumed
his life with Mathilde, whom he presented
TO his friends as Madame lleine. They
conducted together MENACE Pdrisien for many
years before they were united III legal way. In
fact II was not until his duel IN 1911 that Hene,
fearing be might be killed, changed his wild
marriage" into tame marriage" he wrote
friend. ito assure Mathde's position in the
worldD Mathide was Norman village child,
thrown by accident into Paris, and was wholly
uneducated. Worse still, she had no capacity for
study Heine sent her for several months to board
ing-scbool, but she learned nothing Aftcrward
he engaged friend TO teach her the elements of the
German language but after SIX months effort she
was not able to speak a single German
sentence The nearest she came to success in this
direction was "Nemen-Siplats." with which phrase
she always greeted the poets German callers Once
she declared that she should have to give up her