In July 1833, Schleiermacher’s wife went with her invalid friend Mrs. F——, and the daughter of the latter, to Putbus in Rügen for sea-bathing. Subsequently Schleiermacher took the rest of the family to Putzar in Pomerania, the estate of Count Schwerin, whence they afterwards joined their mother in Rügen, while Schleiermacher undertook a journey through Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, with his friend Count Schwerin.
[In a letter to his wife, previous to his departure, Schleiermacher speaks of this tour as probably the last he will undertake, “with the exception of the long one” from life to death, and thus in truth it proved; and as if this feeling made him cling more tenderly than ever to those who had constituted his greatest happiness through life, his letters during his passage through the Scandinavian countries contain little more than the expressions of his intense uneasiness at not receiving news from his dear ones, whose letters had been unaccountably retarded, in consequence of which he even at one moment contemplated returning home directly. In addition to this there is a bare mention of the places he has visited, and the distinguished personages to whom he has been introduced, among whom, to his great delight, was not the king. Whether he was in any way specially prejudiced against Bernadotte, or the fact of the latter being a Frenchman, and originally one of Napoleon’s marshals, was at the bottom of it, does not appear in the letters; but in writing to his wife of the urgency with which his friends press him to allow himself to be presented to the king, who was in the habit of receiving all foreign savants who visited his capital, Schleiermacher says: “I have not the slightest desire to make myself ridiculous with my bad French before that Gascon, and if it be at all possible to avoid it, I will not go to him.” But more than all, these letters (which are included in the German edition, but have been omitted by the translator because of their trivialness) are remarkable for the absence of every indication of the fact, that his progress through the three northern kingdoms was a continual ovation. In Copenhagen more particularly, his arrival was hailed with the greatest enthusiasm, and the professors and students of the university, as well as a number of distinguished men of all classes there, joined in a public banquet in his honour, which ended with a torch procession, the never-failing feature in German and Scandinavian ovations.]
Schleiermacher to his Step-Son.
[CCCCLIX.] 6th November, 1833.
My poor son, you have indeed had to wait long for accounts from me! When I think that the day after-tomorrow it will be four weeks since I returned, it seems too bad not to have written to you before this, and one of your sisters, at least, ought to have put pen to paper for you. I, for my poor part, have been thrown at once into such a turmoil of business, that I may be absolved from all blame. That I should respond to your pleasant and circumstantial account of your excursion by a similar narrative of my travels through Scandinavia, is, alas, out of the question. Such narratives must be written on the spot, as my dear travelling companion did, while I did nothing more than jot down short notices in my memorandum book to aid me in the circumstantial account of my wanderings which I knew I should have to give, when we should all be assembled round the tea-table; but in which I have not, during the four weeks I have been back, got further than to the northernmost points of our journey.
… Of the kindness with which I was received everywhere, I cannot say enough. I was only sorry to find, when I returned home, that so much ado had been made about it in the newspapers. It was amusing to see how at one moment the Count took me under his protection and at another I took him under mine; he me when among the great in rank, I him when among the learned; and how we got on without a knowledge of the language of the country (which indeed I understand pretty well when I read it, but which I can as little understand when spoken as I can speak it myself) by the help of an interpreting coachman, when we had to communicate with the plebs, and in society with the aid of a mouthful of French… . . For the rest, I am delighted that you were able to make that tour. Your letters, written at the period, have given us all, and I think me more especially, very great pleasure. You were intent upon improving yourself rationally, and I believe you have succeeded, and that you sympathized so warmly with the life at Ehringhaus, has given me greater confidence even than before in regard to your future… . . I see that mother has already made out a clean bill of health for me; and, thank God, I can fully confirm it. During the four weeks that I have been at home I have tried myself in various ways, and have borne all very well. Could I but get rid of some of my business occupations, so as to be able to devote myself more to literary labours; but I am afraid that will not be possible… . . I hope you will let us know in your next how the crown-prince1 has been received at Aix. I am very much pleased to find that his journey has been a kind of triumphal procession. I believe the best of him, and hope for the best from him, and neither fear the aristocratic nor the pietistic tendencies which people attribute to him. And now, farewell, for the present, dear son! May God continue to be with you as we desire.
Schleiermacher to his Son.
[CCCCLX.]
I see that neither mother nor daughter has dated her letter, and I will, therefore, tell you that this sheet has been put into my hands to-day, the 30th of January, but too late for the post.2 … . I look upon it as an over-sanguine expectation, even should you intend to finish your studies here, that you will be able to be here by Easter; and I intreat you not to neglect anything to effect this, however pleasant it would be, but to follow up your course of studies to the last. But that you may be here for our silver-wedding on the 18th of May, that I consider more feasible, and if we could then have you all together, as many as you are, that would indeed be delightful. Immediately after we had sent off our last letters, the Count3 came here for a few days, and seemed no less impatient than his son to see Hildegard bear his name; but, before the vacations, it will not be possible; and, for my part, I would rather it should be at the end of the vacations than at the beginning; but whether I shall be able to carry the question is very dubious. That mother has all hands full of work, you may suppose… . . Hildis is already strutting about with a beautiful little gold watch, à quatre couleurs, presented to her by her future father-in-law, during his stay here, and accompanied by some pretty verses. Our Elsbeth has long been suffering, and has to-day ventured out, for the first time, to her sister, whose little Siegfried is at present the general attraction and delight of the whole family. By the time you arrive, he will probably have developed his linguistic talent a little more, and also be able to move with greater ease. At present, he begins to be able to stand when he is held, and his speaking powers are limited to a very doubtful “papa” and “mamma,” and a few monosyllabic articulations. I have been forced to keep the house these last three days, on account of a cough and hoarseness, which made it impossible for me to lecture. To-day I was obliged to go out to christen a child, and I also attempted to lecture for an hour, but it went off very badly. From to-morrow, however, I will commence again, as usual. And now, my dear, God be with you. This letter will be sent to the post to-morrow.
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