The sun., 1890-01-26

| the eod.like grandeur OF his limbs, The breast
above all. mighty. broad. and arched. Arms
and thighs full and almost muscular. the feet
elegant and OF the purest shape. and nowhere
In the whole body q trace either Of fat or lean
ness and falling away. A perfect man lay In
great beauty before me, and the delight that II
gave me made me for q moment forget that the
| immortal soul had departed from such an en-.
velope." Nor were his powers OF pleasing In
ferior to his physical attractions. II his suo-
cesses with women were not enough to prove
this. We have the favorable Impression which,
according to all aocounts he made not only
upon the youthful Grand Duke OF Weimar. but
upon the whole court. The enthusiastic FRIEND
ships which he aroused In men also attest In
him the possession OF that most desirable Of
all qualities. the ability to bind the hearts Of
others to ones own.
It was not without reason, therefore. that
DR.. Zimmerman warned Frau Won Btoin
against the fasoinRtions OF this handsome
young genius. The Doctor had attended her
at the baths OF Pyrmont In ITS, and obtain cd
from her there the silhouette which he showed
to Goethe In 1775. and the sight Of which. he
assured her. had cost Goethe three eleepless
nights. She, in return. having expressed q
wish to make Goethe's acquaintance. tho Doo-
tor wrote to her: But my poor friend you
do not reflect. You desire to see him and you
do not know how dangerous to you this low
able and charming man may become"
Goethe's loves had been notorious. and his
engagement to Anna Sohonemapn tLili) which
had Just then been broken OF, was only the last
Of a series Of like afrairs which began whom he
was but fifteen years OF age. But his sweet
hearts had all been OF his own citizen rank.
Gretchen. the hrst was scarcely respectable
Katharine Schonkopf was the daughter OF
q tavern keeper. and Charity Melxner OF mer-
chant In Worms. Then followed his entanRle-
mont with his dancing masters daughter and
next, that with Frederika Brion the daughter
Of the pastor OF Sesenheim. In Wetzlar he fell
In love with Charlotte Buff the original OF
Werther's Charlotte, who was the dauRh-
ter OF a law official. Next came Maximilisne
Laroche. afterward Nine. Brentano. whose
father and husband were both merchants.
Anna Sybilla Mnnoh was OF q Frankfort citizen
family. and Lii, whom he came so near to
marrying. had O rich banker for father. In
Frau Won Stein he met for the first time In his
life woman OF the world and q lady Her birth.
her connections. her training. and her man
ners were all superior to those OF the women
to whom he had been accustomed. and must
have impressed his artistic sense with new
idea OF femininity. 1t is dificultfo for us Ameri-
cans to conceive Of the gulf which existed in
Germany q century ago. and which has not
yet been obliterated. between patricians and
plebeians. the noble and the non noble It was
not merely matter of birth and position. but
one OF breeding. manners. and habits. Goethe
himself was conscious OF his deficiencies OF
this respect. and took infinite pains to repair
them. So late as 1889. whom he had been six
years living at court In Weimar. he writes to
Frau Won Stein. who had undertaken to train
him: I strive after all that we last discussed
concerning conduct. life, demesnor, and polite
ness. let myself go. am ALWAYS attentive. and
1 can assure you that all whom I observe
play their own parts far better than do mine"
Two years later he makes Wilhelm Meister
tLehrjahre. Book ". chap. 81 discuss the dif-
ference between citizens and mobiles In o way
which plainly expresses his own ideas on the
subject. II know not how it iB in foreign
lands. but in Germany to a noblemsn only 10 u
certain universal. so to speak. personal educa-
tion possible. A citizen may gain merit for
himself and educate his mind to the highest
requirements. but his personality Is lost, pre-
sent himself as he will. whereas 1t is the duty
of o nobleman, who deals with the elegant. to |
give himself an elegant demeanor, while this
demeanor. since no door is shut to him. be- |
comes Free and. since he must pay with his |
figure and with his person. be 1t In the court or
in the army, he has reason for thinking some |
thing of himself. and for sho wing that he thinks
something Of himself" Indeed. although |
early ennobled by patent. Goethe, to the end OF
his life. never became thorough patrician.
Tho etiquette OF the Weimar court, which to |
Frau Won Stein was familiar. wearied him
immensely. He hated the entertainments
which he was forced to attend. and was con-
tinually irritated because his beloved took
pleasure in them and was gracious and COM
PLEASANT to the men she met at them. His
great delight was to steal on from time to
time to place like jena. and there Join In
revelry with the students. and. as we shall see
hereafter. his lack OF true refinement In deal
ing with women ultimately led to a breach be-
tween him and the object Of his alteration.
Precisely when and where Goethe first met
Frau Won Stein face to face does not anywhere
appear, nor Is it known what impression each
then made upon the other. Goethe did not
reach Weimar till Nov. 7. ITS. and the records
of the court make no mention OF Frau Won
Stein at any Of the entertainments at whichhe
was present She was. however, we'll acquaint-
,d with the family OF whom he was the guest
1t Weimar. and that within q month he paid
ler q visit at her husbands country seat,
Hochberg. appears from an inscription on q
writing table still preserved there. Goethe
len Dobr. TO-" Ten years later he reminded
lis beloved OF this first visit in a letter written
IN the same spot: Il think Of thee. my love, in
he old castle. where. ten years ago. 1 first
Iisited thee. and whore thou heldest me 80
asst through thy love-" This indicates that
wen at that time he was enamored Of his new
acquaintance. and then. or very soon there
.fter began the romance In action be-
ween the pair. which. as has boon said. is
he most remarkable In Goethe's career. He
lad Just broken of his engagement with Lii.
nd his susceptible heart. like nature. abb
orred vacuum. He was therefore pre-
ared for the worship Of o new idol. and he
ound one in Frau Won Stein. He had come to
veimar for visit to the Grand Duke OF only q
sw weeks. but her destinations kept him there.
rst, during tho winter. then for another year.
ntil finally he became q permanent resident
the place and died there. Indeed he re-
says. as he does in the letter Just
boye quoted. that Frau Won Stein was tho tic