The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-29
GOETHE AS An AMATEUR FIREMAN
How He Helped the Jews of Frank
fort Put Out IA Dangerous Fire.

From me Jewish Chronicle.
In connection with the celebrations of
the Goethe anniversary which have taken
place in most of the large cities of Ger
many, an incident is recorded of an act
of kindly heroism on the part of Goethe
toward the Jews of Frankfort. His con-
nection with the Jewish quarter of his ma
tive city is too well known 10 all ac
quainted with the details of his life to need
any relation here; readers of Lewes' Life
of Goethe" may find there the significant
fact that the young poet spent so much
time in the Judengasse that fe acquired
so full a knowledge of ''Y iddish'' as to
venture on writing a short play in the
dialect. II is. therefore, clear that he
must have numbered many friends in that
part Of Inc city and it would afford mat
ter of no inc0nsiderable interest to trace
some of these friendships.
During the early years of the eighteenth
century Frankfort was the victim of sew
erai serious outbreaks of fire, in the
course Of which hundreds of houses were
destroyed and many families left destiS
tute. In consequence of the great misfor-
tunes the city experienced a terrible scare
whenever smoke was seen or smelt, and
a custom arose up TO announce even the
smallest outbreak by blowing of horns
ringing of bells. beating of drums, cIat-
tNiAAAS VI AAtNdiSf anu All lildl WAS avail
able to attract attention in the dead of
night quite out of proportion to the dan
ger. The youthful Goethe received early
impressions of these records, which sank
deep into his poetic and imaginative brain
But that he was practical as well as i'm
aginative the following incident bears tes-
timony:
On May 30 1774-a Sunday at 2 o'clock
of the night. a fire broke out in the Ju-
dengasse, by which 20 houses were de-
stroyed. 1t was the rule to leave the work
of extinction and assis lance to The com
mon people" but Goethe knew no rank
or creed when human life was in danger
Notwithstanding, or surely forgetting for
the time, that he was the son of a Kaiser
fcher Rath and himself a doctor at law,
though he wore fine clothes and silk stock
ings, he rushed into the throng and Joined
the army of helpers. His superior hear
ing and position did good work He soon
managed to bring order into the land of
extinguishers, who up to this time had
been running i'm each others way by
bringing The full buckets and returning
with the empty ones through the same
hole, which had been made in a high wall
separating the Judengasse from the Aller-
heiligengaS se. Goethe showed them a bet
ter and quicker way through a narrow
lane. AT once the poor Jews rushed with
their few rescued possessions along the
less mob with shouts of derision, and the
water which was so sorely needed to ex-
ttnguish the fire was turned upon them.
a few words from the young Goethe put
an end to all this demeanor
Goethes action during the distress be-
came the talk Of the town, and many of
| the poor Jews, who did not even know
his name, spoke in loud praise of the
| young gentleman protector who had
| saved them from the mob as well as the
| fire. One of these, who inhabitated the
| house yum Plug" found after the fire
number Of silver 'kreuzer" which by
reason OF the heat had been melted into a
! lump. In memory of this disaster this
| lump" in which some of The krenzeI
were sin distinctly visible. and on which
some of the stamping could be traced, he
| came sort of heirloom in the family II
was not till many years afterward that
a grandson of this old inhabitant of The
Judengasse, who happened to be a school
| fellow of Ferdinand Killers, learned from
| the "Dichtung and Wahrhe,t' who was
| the young gentleman hero to whom his
| ancestor owed a debt of gratitude The
relic of coins is in possession of the family
| at the present time.