The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-02

The young man was pleased with the
thought OF change of scene, and he found
life at Waimar so much to his taste that
he remained there. He had not only Tie
affection of the Grand Duke as a con-
genial companion, but the uncle Of the
little count found in Goethe decided talents
for organization and advising.
He made him Geheime Legations Raths
with a salary equal TO about 81 coo year
of our money, and there at Weimar the
poet stayed until the close of his long
life. We cannot speak at length of his
life at Weimar, of his friendship with
all the members of the ducal family, ths
duchess Luise, the Dowager Duchess
Amalia, as well as the Duke Karl. Non
| is there space to speak Of minor hirja-
! tons with Corona Schroeder and others.
Frau Won Stein and Miss VuIpius.
! His affection for Frau Won Stein was
! The engrossing affair Of his first ten or
twelve years at Weimar. His love for
! Chrlstiane Vulpius had marked influence
on The next twenty years of his life.
Frau Won Stein was an accomplished
woman seven years older than he, and
! the mother of several children when he
| first knew her. Their friendship at first
| platonic, grew into something stronger.
/ though no scandal ever attached to it. In
| 1871 he wrote, My soul is henceforth in
! separable from yours" and later, You
are the only woman whose love has mada
me perfectly happy"
But when after years she would not
| agree to leave her husband and marry
him, a little change came over him. A
| journey to Italy gave him time for rehec-
ton, and his acquaintance with Christie
| ane Vulpius in 1888 practically ended his
| intimacy with Frau Won Stein. While it
lasted they had seen each other almost
every day. and, whether in Weimar or
| at a distance, had exchanged almost daily
/ letters
Christane Vulpius, when he first met
her, was q young, almost friendless girl.
She came to HIM one day in the park to
present a petition for help for her brother,
who was a man Of some literary pre-
tension. The young, beautiful girl gained
the affection of the poet.
He made her mistress of his house, in
stalled members of her family in it, treat
ed her in every way as his wife, although
the marriage ceremony was not performed
until 1906, when their son was II years old.
Goethe's mother always wrote to Chris
| tiane as to a daughter-in-law, yet we can
but wonder that a man as large-minded
| as Goethe should have been willing TO
place the woman he 1911 in so anomalous
a position. She was not received in Wei-
mar society and 1t is hardly a wonder
that thrown so on her own resources, she
should have yielded more or less to her
hereditary thirst for drink. Whatever
her faults, the poet had loved her fondly.
She was apparently an intelligent womans
and shared many of his studies. When
she died in 1916 he was almost heart-brOk-
en-. Thou witt not forsake me- no, no.
thou must not forsake me- he cried at her
deathbed.
1t is long procession this file of wom-
en-, who held for a longer or shorter time
the heart of Goethe. Mother, sister, wife,
there Is no doubt of the genuineness of his
feeling for them. Gretchen, Hatcher,
Frederika-few of his admirers doubt that
hf= hoy h1ofa han ar
could have married Frederika Brion, the
beautiful and amiable daughter of the
Sesenheim pastor. He saw her only once
after their separation-eight years later
though she lived to be an old woman.
Charlotte, Lii Frau Won Stein, Christiane,
these seven seem to have been the most
serious attachment of his life, though
many minor affairs have left an impress
on his writings.
Inspired by Them All.
Frederika inspired his Mignon, Atdlie,
and to a certain extent Marguerite Char
lotte Bupp, the Charlotte" Of Werthera
Christiane reappears more or less in Eu-
phosnie, and Frau Won Stein in Iphigena,
and Eleanor d'Erte. Lii was the inspra-
ton of many of his short poems and in
, deed had he loved less widely who can
say that his works would have shown
half so true an insight with the human
heart.
1 have passed over in this list. Betdnn
Brentano. daughter of Maximiliane Ia
Roche, whose self-styled friendship with
, Goethe has been proved to be a rather
slight affair. She was really p years ola
when she visited him in Weimar in leUf'
) protesting then to be only a child. On
later visit she so conducted herself as 10
! make it necessary for him to forbid her
, to the house Yet her correspondence
; THE Correspondence with Child lends
much more Importance than it deserves
to Goethe's acquaintance with Bettina.
! Descendants Of several of these women
; are living and many of them will particl-
pate i'm the approaching celebration. Their
own monument is to be found in the WORKS
) of the poet, who drew on every sentiment
, tai episode of his life for literary mate
, rial