New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-08-13

HE 70 he the mother Of the greatest OF
Germanys poets, softening none OF her
limitations. which were those OF the edu-
cational and social environment OF heI
time and place and station-rather' IN
deed. emphasizing them, in order 10
hiring out clearly what, in the language
Of our own day. is best described as an
exceptional Temperament The bog
raphv constantly leads up TO the Oiym-
plan son through the richly gifted
sanely balanced mother, but as often the
reverse process is applied the woman
heinz interpreted through the man.
In her early pages Miss Reeks goes
deeply into the German burgher atmos-
phere Of Frankfort. which produced ana
moulded the mothers mind before IL
sbaped the sons. She lays stress upon
the first ouickening Of German national
consciousness by the victories of Fred
erick the Great over the French, con
seriousness that was deeply felt in the
house of Goethe's parents. She attaches
no less weight to the earlier Germanic
city OF the elections Of the emperors oil
the Holy Empire, because in them she
sees one Of the sources Of Goethe
Deutschtnm. This. however, was to the
vary end historic and poetic rather than
actual. for in the days Of the father
lands humiliation the author of "Goetz
Won Berlichingen" and Faust was not
a patriot. but little German a Wei
marian statesman timidly guarding the
nliputian interests Of his petty sovereign
and patron. and not a voice and ar
inspiration crying out for liberation from
the foreign yoke Goethe's name is alb
sent from the constellation Of German
singers Of 1919 This, however. is wan
dering away from Miss Reeks's subject
vet serves the purpose Of indicating the
point where the influences Of heredity
and early environment ended. There is
indeed a wide field for reflection upon
the divergences between Goethe's tenn
perament and character and his
mothers
Katharine Elizabeth Textor the
mother of Johann Wolfgang Won Goethe,
was born in Frankfort -on- the Main in
the year 1881, of an old and honored
burgher family Her father was the
cjtv's burgomaster, the little Elizabeth,
as she was called, being in her childhood
sufficiently proud Of his dignity and rank
10 earn the nickname Of princess" from
her mother and sisters. Formal educa-
ton she received but little, after the
neglected. habit Of that day where girls
we're concerned. She never learned
10 spell properly. a shortening 10 which
she often alluded in her correspondence
in later years.
At the age Of seventeen Elizabeth Tex
tor was given in marriage TO Johann
Kaspar Goethe. the son Of tailor and
sometime nnkeeper within the city walls,
but desirable pGrti on account Of his
wealth. Thirty eight years old, pompous,
conscientious. ambitious, the bride
groom strengthened hi: hitherto equivo-
cal. if respectable social position by this
alliance With the family Of the City's
fIItl magistrate. ne iidii AioN'll'b ~
tcnsively. was q lover Of art and litera-
ture in a cropping, imperfectly informed
way. and had obtained the title Of i'm
rerial councillor as a reward for tho &c
tive part he had taken in the orgaldza-
,iop Of the ceremonial attending the
coronation Of the Emperor Karl MI, an
event that had made deep and ro-
mantle Impression on the girl who VS.
now his wife. The prosaic, we'll mean
ing husba nd set about repairing the neg
l,ct Of EHzabeth'S education, and IT Is
no doubt owinG 10 his tuition that she
acquired wide KNOWLEDGE OF German
and even Of English literature. AS
matter Of fact. she outstripped her tutor
Imperial Councillor Goethe was maj
OF the letter f culture; its spirit which