The Book Of The Bush by George Dunderdale (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

Just After Receiving His "Leaving Certificate" From The Gymnasium Of

Rudolstadt.

As Regards The Sons Of Christoph,  They Were The Immediate Cause Of

Froebel's Going To Griesheim,  For Their Widowed Mother Sent For Her

Brother-In-Law To Consult Him As To Their Education. Julius,  The Eldest,

Was Well Prepared In Keilhau For The Active Life He Was Afterwards

Destined To Live. He Went From School To Munich,  First,  To Study The

Natural Sciences; And While Yet At The University Several Publications

From His Pen Were Issued By Cotta. Later On He Took An Official Post In

Weimar,  And Continued To Write From Time To Time. Meanwhile He Completed

His Studies In Jena And Berlin Under Karl Von Ritter,  The Great

Authority On Cosmography,  And Under The Distinguished Naturalist,

Alexander Von Humboldt. In 1833 He Became Professor At The Polytechnic

School In Zurich; But His Literary Avocations Eventually Drew Him To

Dresden. Here He Was Chosen Deputy To The National Assembly At Frankfurt

In 1848. After The Dissolution Of That Assembly,  Julius Froebel,  In

Common With Many Others Of The More Advanced Party,  Was Condemned To

Death. He Escaped To Switzerland Before Arrest,  And Fled To New York. In

After Life He Was Permitted To Return To Germany,  And Eventually He Was

Appointed Consul At Smyrna.

Karl Froebel,  The NextEd To.

[107] This Passage May Serve As A Sufficient Illustration Of Froebel's

Metaphysical Way Of Looking At His Subject. It Is Scarcely Our Habit At

The Present Day To Regard The Science Of Being (Ontology) As A Science

At All,  Since It Is Utterly Incapable Of Verification; But It Is Not

Difficult To Trace The Important Truth Really Held By Froebel Even

Through The Somewhat Perplexing Folds Of Scholastic Philosophy In Which

He Has Clothed It.

[108] See The Previous Footnote,  P. 93.

[109] These Events And Situations Are Fully Set Forth In The Letter To

The Duke Of Meiningen,  _Ante._

[110] As Mineralogist.

[111] Christian Ludwig Froebel.

[112] Christoph.

[113] This Younger Langethal Afterwards Became A Professor In The

University Of Jena.

[114] The Minister's Widow Lost Her Widow's Privilege Of Residence At

Griesheim By The Death Of Her Father,  And Bought A Farm At Keilhau.

[115] Froebel Told His Sister-In-Law That He "Desired To Be A Father To

Her Orphaned Children." The Widow Understood This In Quite A Special And

Peculiar Sense,  Whereof Froebel Had Not The Remotest Idea. Later On,

When She Came To Know That Froebel Was Engaged To Another Lady,  She Made

Over To Him The Keilhau Farm,  And Herself Went To Live At Volkstädt.

[116] This Young Girl,  The Adopted Daughter Of The First Madame Froebel,

Was Named Ernestine Chrispine,  And Afterwards Married Langethal.

Froebel's First Wife,  Henrietta Wilhelmine Hoffmeister,  Was Born At

Berlin 20th September,  1780,  And Was Therefore Thirty-Eight At The Time

Of Her Marriage. She Was A Remarkable Woman,  Highly Cultured,  A Pupil Of

Schleiermacher And Of Fichte. Before Her Marriage With Froebel She Had

Been Married To An Official In The War Office,  And Had Been Separated

From Him On Account Of His Misconduct. Middendorff And Langethal Knew

The Family Well,  And Had Frequently Spoken With Froebel About This Lady,

Who Was Admired And Respected By Both Of Them. Froebel Saw Her Once In

The Mineralogical Museum At Berlin,  And Was Wonderfully Struck By Her,

Especially Because Of The Readiness In Which She Entered Into His

Educational Ideas. When Afterwards He Desired To Marry,  He Wrote To The

Lady And Invited Her To Give Up Her Life To The Furtherance Of Those

Ideas With Which She Had Once Shown Herself To Be So Deeply Penetrated,

And To Become His Wife. She Received His Proposal Favourably,  But Her

Father,  An Old War Office Official,  At First Made Objections. Eventually

She Left Her Comfortable Home To Plunge Amidst The Privations And

Hardships Of All Kinds Abundantly Connected With Educational Struggles.

She Soon Rose To Great Honour With All The Little Circle,  And Was Deeply

Loved And Most Tenderly Treated By Froebel Himself. In Her Willingness

To Make Sacrifices And Her Cheerfulness Under Privations,  She Set Them

All An Example. She Died At Blankenburg In May 1839.

[117] The Expected Dowry Was Never Forthcoming,  Which Made Matters

Harder.

[118] Christian Had Already Assisted His Brother At Griesheim,  And

Before That,  To The Utmost Of His Power. The Three Daughters Were (1)

Albertine,  Born 29th December,  1801,  Afterwards Married Middendorff; (2)

Emilie,  Born 11th July,  1804,  Married Barop,  Died 18th August,  1860,  At

Keilhau; (3) Elise,  Born 5th January,  1814,  Married Dr. Siegfried

Schaffner,  One Of The Keilhau Colleagues,  Later On.

[119] Johannes Arnold Barop,  Middendorff's Nephew,  Was Born At Dortmund,

29th November,  1802. He Afterwards Became Proprietor And Principal Of

Keilhau.

[120] March 1828.

[121] This Excellent Man Was Drowned In The Saale While Bathing,  Soon

After This Letter Was Written.

[122] He Always Regarded Himself As Perfectly Tolerant.

[123] Froebel Moved From Griesheim To Keilhau In 1817.

[124] In 1820.

[125] It Was In 1828 That Barop Formally And Definitely Joined The

Froebel Community.

[126] The Long Turmoil Of The Napoleonic Wars,  The Outcome Of The French

Revolution,  Ceased In 1815; And The Minds Of The Students And The Other

Youths Of The Country,  Set Free From Th Some Purpose; And Now Was

The Time For The Example Of The Ever-Victorious Duke To Work A

Miracle Of Valour.  But The Crisis Had Come On Too Quickly,  And There

Was No Time To Pump Up Bravery From The Deep Well Of History.  The

Unearthly Ugliness Of The Savages,  Their Thick Lips,  Prominent Cheek

Bones,  Scowling And Overhanging Brows,  Broad Snub Noses,  Matted Black

Hair,  And Above All The Keen,  Steady,  And Ferocious Scrutiny Of Their

Deep-Set Eyes,  Extinguished The Last Spark Of Courage In The Heart Of

Hyde.  He Did Not Look Fierce And Defiant Any More.  He Felt Inclined

To Be Very Civil,  So He Smiled A Sickly Smile And Tried To Say

Something,  But His Chin Wobbled,  And His Tongue Would Not Move.

The Blacks Came Nearer,  And One Of Them Said,  "Gib Fig Tobacker,

Mate?"  Here Was A Gleam Of Hope,  A Chance Of Postponing His Final

Doom.  When A Foe Cannot Be Conquered,  It Is Lawful To Pay Him To Be

Merciful; To Give Him An Indemnity For His Trouble In Not Kicking

You.  The Shepherd Instantly Pulled Out His Tobacco,  His Pipe,  His

Tobacco-Knife,  And Matches,  And Handed Them Over.  A Second

Blackfellow,  Seeing Him So Ready To Give,  Took The Loan Of His Tin

Billy,  With Some Tea And Sugar In It,  And Some Boiled Mutton And

Damper.  These Children Of The Plains Now Saw That They Had Come Upon

A Mine Of Wealth,  And They Worked It Down To The Bed Rock.  One After

Another,  And With The Willing Help Of The Owner,  They Took Possession

Of His Hat,  Coat,  Shirt,  Boots,  Socks,  Trousers,  And Drawers,  Until

The Hyde Was Completely Bare,  As Naked,  And,  It Is To Be Hoped,  As

Innocent,  As A New-Born Babe.  His Vanity,  Which Was The Major Part

Of His Personality,  Had Vanished With His Garments,  And The Remnant

Left Of Body And Soul Was Very Insignificant.

Having Now Delivered Up Everything But His Life,  He Had Some Hope

That His Enemies Might At Least Spare Him That.  They Were Jabbering To

One Another At A Great Rate,  Trying On,  Putting Off,  And Exchanging

First One Article And Then Another Of The Spoils They Had Won.  They

Did Not Appear To Think That The New Chum Was Worth Looking After Any

Longer.  So He Began Slinking Away Slowly Towards His Flock Of Sheep,

Trying To Look As If Nothing In Particular Was The Matter; But He

Soon Turned In The Direction Of The Home Station.  He Tried To Run,

And For A Short Time Fear Winged His Feet; But The Ground Was Hard

And Rough,  And His Feet Were Tender; And Though He Believed That

Death And Three Devils Were Behind Him,  He Could Go But Slowly.  A

Solitary Eaglehawk Sat On The Top Branch Of A Dead Gum-Tree,  Watching

Him With Evil Eyes; A Chorus Of Laughing Jackasses Cackled After Him

In Derision From A Grove Of Young Timber; A Magpie,  The Joy Of The

Morning,  And Most Mirthful Of Birds,  Whistled For Him Sweet Notes Of

Hope And Good Cheer; Then A Number Of Carrion Crows Beheld Him,  And

Approached With Their Long-Drawn,  Ill-Omened "Croank,  Croank," The

Most Dismal Note Ever Uttered By Any Living Thing.  They Murder Sick

Sheep,  And Pick Out The Eyes Of Stray Lambs.  They Made Short

Straggling Flights,  Alighting On The Ground In Front Of The Miserable

Man,  Inspecting His Condition,  And Calculating How Soon He Would Be

Ready To Be Eaten.  They Are Impatient Gluttons,  And Often Begin

Tearing Their Prey Before It Is Dead.

Mr. Robinson Clothed The Naked,  And Then Mounted His Horse And Went

For The Blacks.  In A Short Time He Returned With Them To The

Station,  And Made Them Disgorge The Stolen Property,  All But The Tea,

Sugar,  Mutton,  And Damper,  Which Were Not Returnable.  He Gave Them

Some Stirring Advice With His Stockwhip,  And Ordered Them To Start

For A Warmer Climate.  He Then Directed Hyde To Return To His Sheep,

And Not Let Those Blank Blacks Humbug Him Out Of Clothes Any More.

But Nothing Would Induce The Shepherd To Remain Another Day; He

Forswore Pastoral Pursuits For The Rest Of His Life.  His Courage Had

Been Tried And Found Wanting; He Had Been Covered--Or,  Rather,

Uncovered--With Disgrace; And His Dignity--At Least In Riverina

--Was Gone Ausen In The

       Suburbs Of Frankfurt.

1808.  He Goes To Pestalozzi At Yverdon With His Pupils.

1809.  He Draws Up An Account Of Pestalozzi's Work For The Princess Of

       Rudolstadt.

1810.  Froebel Returns To Frankfurt From Yverdon.