Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1884-11-26
PROF. EGGERS' LECTURE.
"BuRoER. AUTHOR Or .LENoRE. !"
a Biography Full OF interest and One
That Held a Large Audience At
tentise Throughout its Recital.

Professor Eggers's audience last evening
in the Ladies Literary rooms on Pearl
street, was much larger than that On Tues
day evening of last week. As al his previous
lectures, the number of ladies present great
~ outnumbered the sterner sex, although at
all there has been a moderate representation
of gentlemen Of literary tastes, The Profes-
sor's subject last night was Burger" the
author of "Leonore," aud by way of intro
ducing his subject be gave such literary his
tory of Klopstock, Wieland, Schiller, Goethe
and others, as had either a contemporaneous
bearing on his subject or was intimately con-
nected with the literature of the older Ger
was of an order as original and imperish-
able as were those of Schiller and Goethe.
and was brilliantly expounded in his three
greatest ballad poems, ''The Wild Hunts
man." 1.-The Honest Man" and ''Leonore,"
This poets life throughout had been erratic,
full of yicissitude, and notable illustration
of the axiom that To be happy one must be
virtuous. Burgers early life was not
pleasing one. He had been especially un-
fortunate in the choice of his parents, his
father being an easy, pipe-ioving man, who
cared but little for the culture of his chill
dren, and his mother whimsical, ill-natur-
ed vixen, though distinguished for unusual
truthfulness at all times, and for having ex-
pressed the belief that hell was paved with
the heads of pastors, except in one place re-
served for her husband. He owed his educa-
ton to his grandfather, whose patience and
purse had been greatly tried by his wild
freaks and excesses in college.
Notwithstanding his excesses and debauch-
cry, Burger sometimes rose in his writings
TO the most magnificent heights, though the
greater number of them were on his own
level, and frequently even below. His mari
tai relations were unfortunate, of some
what questionable order, and brought upon
him much sorrow and retribution' The
larger part of Burgers poetry was not inter
estin, was mere rubbish by reason of being
too drastically natural, or Rbounding In
NEUROLOGICAL doggerel, offensive TO decency
and good taste. His "Leonore," however.
was masterpiece, without blemish or su-
perfuous word, and in popularity there was
none in the German language could with il
compare. It's legend was popular one of
the time, ''that tears or extreme, continued
sorrow for the departed disturbs the repose
of the dead" 'Leonore's" continued la
menting for the death of her lover upon the
battlefield, brings his ghost at midnight TO
her door, and with him, mounted upon the
same spectral steed, they are carried TO the
grave of the departed lover, where she is
found a corpse on the following day. The
poem abounds in the weird, uncouth, super
stitious legends peculiar to the German,
Persian and Indian nations, based upon the
Immortality of the soul. The three parts of
the composition are "the triumphant return
of an army without the lover" "the grief,
despair and curses of the maiden" and s'the
return of the ghost, which carries of Leo
nore." The subject for Professor Eggers'
lecture next Tuesday evening is "Lessing."
author of Nathan, the Wise," which play
will be specially discussed.