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KAHEL. 313
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...
connection were with Kahel the favorite objects of reflection , and in her conversation were the subjects to which she always returned .
She now often spoke of death with serenity and cheerfulness , and of her own death as if she feared it notbut rather desired to
con-, template it with something like inquisitive scrutiny . In sudden bursts of feeling " , fervent prayers , and in profound and singular flashes of
thought , her powerful mind each day turned to God . We were accustomed at this period to see her stir up and investigate such subjects
and their relations , and were made aware by her expressions that a tendency towards the invisible was not only prominent in her , but
belonged to her deepest personality . She now spoke with calm fervor of a dream which had comforted her in childhood . ' In my seventh
year , ' said she , ' I dreamt that I saw God near me , His mantle covered the whole heavensI ventured to lie down on a corner of it ,
and fell asleep there in peace , and happiness . Ever since the remembrance of this dream recurs to me , and in times of trouble its
memory on awakening is like a consolation from above . I dared to lie down at the feet of God upon a corner of His mantle , and was
free from care , for He allowed me to be so / I often heard her , during her most painful attacksrepeating in her full , clear ,
affecting tones , ' I lay myself down upon , the mantle of God , He allows me to do so ; though I complain , I am happy ; God is near me , I
am in His hands , He knows what is best for me and why it is thus . ' " Her sentiments towards those at a distance , as well as those
beside her , were of the most elevated kind ; lier dearest ties were preserved , while all harshness and contradiction were annihilated
or subdued ; reconciliation was now ever present to her , she was ready to meet every happy overtureher good feeling made her
, satisfied if others only seemed to forget their injustice , and she bespoke mutual forgiveness .
" Her friend , Madame von Arnim , having urged her to consult a celebrated homoeopathic physicianDr . von Necker , she consented ;
, but after a trial of some weeks , Rahel felt that her danger only increased , that her strength became more impaired . On one occasion
she said to Dora , who was speaking of summer , Ah ! if you knew what I am thinking—I shall not be here beyond March ! ' But at
other times she rallied , thought with- pleasure upon the coming season , arranged her papers with her accustomed punctuality and
the most arduous application , attended to the "wants of the suffering and even desired to see them . In these days of distress we all felt
deeply certain of an indestructible companionship . The following words uttered bRahel on the 2 nd of March , are worthy of the highest
admiration : ' Wh y at a history ! ' she exclaimed with deep emotion ; 4 here like one who has fled from Egypt and Palestine . I
meet with help and love . I think on my origin and my connection with fate with a sublime rapture : through _sucli are the oldest
remembrances of the human race linked with tlie latest condition of
things , through such are the earliest ages and the most remote
Kahel. 313
_KAHEL . 313
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), July 1, 1859, page 313, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01071859/page/25/
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