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f BAHEIi. 307
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Letters Of Rahel, 3 Vols. 8vo, 1834; And...
in literature . Moreover , when tlie two former rendered tlieir homage at last , ( not without hope of reward , ) Rahel pursued her way in
litter forgetfulness of self . She had become acquainted with sympath Goethe in y ; Carlsbad at a later , and date he he enj esteemed oyed her her society still more with without respect being and
, fettered by any connection or giving rise to exchange of letters : she adhered slightly to the individualbut exerted herself for the
, genius ; it was not his acquaintance but his works which she enjoyed and pointed out with pride . "
In the summer of 180 8 , Rahel took a country house in Charlottenfcergandamong the friends who nocked around herVarnhagen
, , , was a frequent visitor . The mutual confidence between these two increased daily . He liked to lay before her the very sanctuary of
Ms soul , and to speak to her of every experience he had hitherto gained in life . Kahel approved or blamed him , but whatever she
said was imbued with unremitting sympathy for her friend . Her letters and memorials , into which Varnhagen also was allowed
insight , glowed with noble passion and showed forth the life of her heart and mind . Varnhagen spent whole nights in reading these
pages . Meanwhile the summer passed away ; he had not yet finished his studies and was obliged to leave Berlin . The disparity
of age seemed so great as to form an indispensable obstacle to their unionand the result was that he was absent for _& ve years , seeing
, Rahel but seldom ; still neither change of condition , nor tempting ambition could destroy his inward conviction that his happiness
rested with her . They kept up a correspondence , and the same pure and elevated spirit _Tvhich had imbued their personal intercourse
reigned in these letters . Meanwhile the tide of events rolled on , changing the aspect of
Europe . Prussia still rung with the fame of Friedrich the Great , though in truth his spirit had died away . The Prussian polity had
degenerated into a system of petty artifice , and the military spirit had lost in character and dignity . Mirabeau's words upon Prussia ,
" Pourriture avant maturite" seemed to be verified , the kingdom representing a dead organism of which the energy of the great king
had been for a time tlie living principle . Napoleon counted many admirers , who beheld his triumphs
without thinking it possible that he would soon carry his fame into the very heart of Germany . A voice which now and then attempted
to rouse the spirit of tlie nation , and render it alive to the danger of a neihbour such as Napoleon , was not listened to . Personal
enmities g , jealousies , and dislikes prevented the patriots from combining their talents and powers of action . Thus it came to pass
that he whose hands paralysed everything , who valued no one but himself , who fancied he was able to command mankind and to rule
its spirit , and who despised all creatures because they knelt before himsucceeded in exciting kingdom against kingdom and nation
, against nation . The prospect grew darker and more threatening
vol .. in . z 2
F Baheii. 307
f BAHEIi . 307
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), July 1, 1859, page 307, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01071859/page/19/
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