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 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 
 
 Chap. Copyright No.„__ 
 
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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
1/ 
 
 FROEBEL'S 
 
 LETTERS ON THE KINDERGARTEN 
 
 Translated from the German Edition of 1887 by HERMANN POKS'll]-;. 
 School- Inspector to the Orplianage Board of Berlin 
 
 EDITED AND ANNOTATED 
 
 EMILIE MICHAELIS 
 
 Member of the Council of the Froehel Society, etc, 
 
 H. KEATLEY MOORE, B.A., B. Mus. 
 
 Ron. Treasurer and Member of the Council of the Frotbel Society, etc. 
 Joint Translators and Editors of "Froebei/s Autobiography'" 
 
 Authorized American Edition 
 
 " It would be aii everlasting' loss if the treasures which lie in Friedrich 
 Froebel were allowed to perish. He is a jewel, a pearl of price.*" 
 
 {Dr. Adolf Diestermeg. ) 
 
 
 SYRACUSE, "BT. Y. 
 
 C. W. BARDEEN, PUBLISHER 
 
 1896 
 
 
 Copyright, 1896, by C. W. Bardeen 
 
 \ 
 
uw 
 
 V> 
 
 THE SCHOOL Hi 1.1.1- I IS I'l HL1VATI0NS. 
 
 Froebel and the Kindergarten. 
 
 l. Autobiography of FriedricTi Froebel. Translated and annotated by 
 
 Emilie Michaelis and H. Keatley 
 Moore, ci.m1i. 12mo, pp. 183. $1.50. 
 
 Useful ami interesting * * * 
 among the be&l that could be added to 
 the teacher's library.— The Chautau- 
 quan. 
 
 There is no better introduction to the 
 Kindergarten.— Wisconsin Journal of 
 Education, Sept, 1889. 
 
 2. FroebeVs J.if/t-r.s on the Kindergar- 
 U n. Translated from the German edition 
 of 1887 by Emilie Michaelis a- II. Keat- 
 ley Moore. Cloth, 12rno,' pp. 331. $1.50. 
 
 It would In- :ui everlasting loss if the 
 treasures which lif in Friedrich Froebel were allowed to perish. He is a 
 |ewel,a pearl of price.— Adolph Diesterweg. 
 
 8. Child and Child-Nature. Contributions to the understanding of 
 Proebel's Educational Theories. By theBarouess Makenholtz von Bue- 
 low. cloth, l2mo, i>i». '2i>r. $1.50. 
 
 [ts design is to illustrate the theory and philosophy of Froebe'i's system. 
 It does this so clearly and pleasingly as to give no excuse for criticism. * * 
 The volume is one profitable lor every mother, as well as for every 
 teacher of children.- -Chicago Tnterocean. 
 
 I. 'I'll' X' a- Education. By Prof. .1. M. 1). Meiklejohn. Leatherette. 
 Irtiuo, pp. -47. 50 eis. Contains an accounl of Froebel's lift?, work, and 
 principles. 
 
 .".. I'h, Kindergarten System. Principles of Froebel's System, and their 
 bearing on the Education of Women. Also remarks on the higher educa- 
 tion of women. By Emily Shirreff. cloth. 12mo, pp. 200. $1.00. 
 
 '.'. Essaysonthi Kindergarten. Being a selection of Lectures read be- 
 fore the London Froebel Society, Cloth, 12mo, ])p. 175. $1.00. 
 
 ;. Primary //<//<*. By W. N. Kallmann. A Kindergarten Manual for 
 Public School Teachers. Boards, &vo, pp. 58. 15 full page plates. 75 cts. 
 Suggestions for Kindergarten Work. By Marion Strickland. 
 Leatherette, l6mo, pp. 69. 50 cts. 
 
 Gives detailed lesson-work for September, October, and November, 
 \\ ii h a ppropriate stories. 
 
 9. /'A, New Education. Edited by W. N. Kallmann. Vol. VI., the lasl 
 published. Cloth, Bvo, pp. 1 16. $2.00. 
 
 m. Tht First Thret Years of Childhood. By B. Perez, with an intrb-, 
 d notion by Prof, sully. Cloth, 12mo, pp.294. $1.50. 
 
 ( . \\. BABDEEN, Publisher, Syracuse, N. Y. 
 

 GERMAN" EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 2RIEDRICH FROEBEL expressed his desire to his 
 ^?fe wife that his letters should be collected and pub- 
 |^5b lished after his death, to which end he himself 
 carefully preserved several of his last letters. His 
 widow, Madame Luise Froebel, has conscientiously executed his 
 wish. In response to an appeal which she made to those friends 
 of Froebel who were known to have letters of the educational 
 philosopher in their possession, she received a large amount of 
 his correspondence. 
 
 Madame Froebel (who lives in Hamburg) has made most careful 
 copies of all these letters ; and thus, at last, a fairly comprehensive 
 collection of Froebel's Letters is in existence. I was requested 
 by Madame Froebel, as a service I might render to the cause so 
 dear to us, carefully to examine the letters and to prepare them 
 for the press, with some accompanying words of my own. As a 
 disciple of the Thuringian educationist, who had the good fortune 
 thrice, during 1850 and 1851, to study with Froebel in his house 
 at Marienthal, near the Liebenstein Spa, who am bound to the 
 highest gratitude towards this ever dear fatherly friend, and who 
 therefore would not willingly omit any opportunity to manifest 
 my love and reverence for the master, I have accepted the request 
 of Madame Froebel. 
 
 I should mention that I have withheld the earlier letters, written 
 between 181 1 and 1834, although they are of great general 
 importance, and have only published here those letters which 
 relate to the Kindergarten, because, as Madame Froebel justly 
 remarks, " In existing Kindergartens the genuine Froebelian 
 spirit is too often wanting, while it is just in these very letters that 
 
 b 
 
vi German Editor's Preface. 
 
 the special features of the Kindergarten system are truly set 
 forth." 
 
 Madame Froebel, in her deep reverence for her husband's 
 memory, has regarded the publication of these letters "as the most 
 important work of her life which yet remained to be done." * I 
 shall therefore conclude this Preface with some words which 
 certainly came from the bottom of her heart, and which embody 
 her dearest hope : " That it may be vouchsafed to us that these 
 letter?, becoming known to wider and ever wider circles, may 
 bring blessings to many children." 
 
 Hermann Poesche. 
 
 i Madame Luise Froebel (Fried rich Froebel's second wife) was born in 
 Osterode, in the I [arz district, in the year 1S15, and was married to Froebel in 
 i S3 1. For some years she had taken great interest in Froebel's educational 
 nlans, visited Keilhau in 1845 as a friend of Christian Froebel's family, kept 
 up a correspondence afterwards with Froebel himself on educational matters, 
 and finally received an appointment from him as directress of his Kindergarten 
 Training College for ladies at Liebenstein, in 1849. She was left a widow by 
 his death in 1S52, and has ever since spent her whole energy in forwarding the 
 Kindergarten system. She has never been very rich in this world's goods, 
 and it was an exceedingly graceful act of the late Emperor Frederick of Ger- 
 many to find time, in the few weeks of his reign, filled with cruel sufferings as 
 they were, to think of the aged widow of the illustrious German educationist, 
 and to provide for the remaining years of her life by the pension which she 
 now enjoys. The great interest felt by the late emperor in the Kindergarten 
 system was always understood to be largely inspired by his wife (our own 
 Princess Royal), who still continues her active sympathy with the cause. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 (By the English Editors). 
 
 iT has seemed to us unworthy to let the Jubilee of 
 the Kindergarten pass without some recognition in 
 England ; some tribute, however slight, offered to the 
 memory of the great educationist whose work we 
 are trying to carry forward. Hence the appearance of the present 
 little book — a faithful translation of the German edition of 
 " Froebel's Letters," published at Vienna, in 1887, by Herr 
 Poesche. Some additional impetus to the work was also given 
 us by the fact that Herr Poesche is personally known to one of 
 us ; and we are able gratefully to acknowledge his ardour and 
 success in the Froebelian propaganda. 
 
 It is now just fifty years since Froebel opened the first Kinder- 
 garten at Blankenburg, in 1840. Fourteen years passed before 
 we saw the first Kindergarten in England (1854). But one gene- 
 ration of Englishmen has passed away since that, and yet in this 
 short time, with all the inertive force of insular and conservative 
 England to strive against, hampered at the same time by a 
 foreign name, by foreign interpreters, and by much that was 
 foreign in its actual working detail, the Kindergarten has struck 
 deep root in our land, and has already, so to speak, acclimatised 
 itself. Its foreign name has been adopted, and is now reckoned 
 as very good English. Those who remain to us of its foreign in- 
 terpreters — the ladies to whose enterprising exertions we owe so 
 much, have also become as good Englishwomen as any others ; 
 its foreign details have entirely disappeared, and we have now a 
 vigorous and thoroughly national English Kinder garten. The 
 strictly German Kindergarten which, as these Letters show, was 
 the original conception of Froebel, had already widened out 
 
viii Preface. 
 
 rapidly as it developed in his own mind, until he left it to the 
 world as an educational movement limited to no race or clime. 
 In our time has been taken the further step in the course of 
 development which was imperatively necessary if the Kinder- 
 garten was to live out of Germany ; namely, the adaptation of 
 the original German form of the movement to the special racial 
 and linguistic peculiarities of the various nations who have 
 adopted it. In other words, we have now, instead of a transla- 
 tion, a re-created work, and instead of a strange, beautiful 
 system, appreciated by a few cultured people, an every-day, 
 familiar method, rapidly extending even into the schools of the 
 poorest of our fellow-citizens. That first English Kindergarten 
 of 1854, which for so many years had but few companions, 
 widely scattered, and coming slowly to the birth one by one, has 
 now developed into at least two hundred, even if we exclude a 
 large number of classes which are still imperfect ; and the number 
 is rapidly increasing. 
 
 But under all the special differentiation which is happily thus 
 arising to meet the educational needs of the various races and 
 nations of men, the great principles of the Kindergarten system 
 remain unchanged ; and these principles can be best studied 
 in the form in which Froebel himself set them forth. Traduttore, 
 traditore, says the Italian proverb — "Translator means traitor" — 
 and the interpreter, all too often, imitates Plato, developing his 
 theme in his own fashion, until the original Sokrates has become 
 quite unrecognisable. We have, therefore, left unaltered the 
 peculiarities of our Sokrates, even such as are most unattractive ; 
 that is, we have not abbreviated Froebel's diffuseness, nor omitted 
 his repetitions, nor cleared his mysticism, nor modernised his 
 antique philosophy, nor corrected his absurd symbolic etymo- 
 logy. We have presented him with all his faults, for these 
 arc a part of the man ; and our object is to make manifest the 
 real, the great-hearted Froebel, that his disciples may come to 
 know him, and love him, just as he was, even to love him, it may 
 be, somewhat in spite of himself. 
 
 Let not the student of the Kindergarten system be discouraged 
 by the grievous faults of Froebel's style. The man was, as it 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 were, dumb, so far as regards clear, nervous, readily intelligible 
 speech ; but though he could not properly say it, he had always 
 infinitely much to say. Every letter of this series is a pearl of 
 price, wretchedly set : let not the student regard only the poor 
 setting, and meanwhile overlook the pearl. We smile at the 
 derivation of hiibsch and schon (p. 79) ; but we find in this very 
 same letter the immensely valuable model-lesson (pp. 83-85), 
 which is pregnant with counsel that a student should "grapple 
 to her heart with hooks of steel." With what glad surprise such 
 passages will come to those who have known Froebel only at 
 second-hand, through the formalised "dry bones " (dry, even if 
 necessary) of Kdhler's " praxis," or some such medium, and who 
 now, for the first time, see in his own words, how well he himself 
 knew the secret of making those dry bones live. The lofty pur- 
 pose of Froebel, his intense earnestness, his incessant work, his 
 simple life, his trivial pecuniary reward, his purely religious spirit, 
 his never-failing faith and courage, even under intense depression 
 — all these features of the great man are vividly and unconsciously 
 set forth in the ensuing Letters. We feel how much easier it would 
 have been, both for us and our readers, if we could have written 
 out the whole afresh ; but we are, at the same time, convinced 
 that earnest students will find a greater reward in mastering the 
 book as it stands. Nowhere else can we find so much accurate 
 information about the last years of the master's work, and espe- 
 cially about his inner life at this period, as in these Letters ; no- 
 where else can we procure these interesting details of the creation 
 of the Kindergarten, or witness, growing under our eyes, bit by 
 bit, the formation of the methods which are now so familiar to us 
 all: nowhere else can we get such proof of Froebel's infinite 
 painstaking over every point, which, as we are told, is one mark 
 of the man of genius. It is also very impressive to note the 
 supreme value Froebel attaches to the main principle of Unity in 
 Education — unity at any given period, or "all-sidedness," as he calls 
 it, every faculty and power duly taken into account ; as well as 
 unity of the whole life, which must be an ordered progression, every 
 grade a development from the preceding grade, and all grades of 
 equal importance, from the cradle to the grave. This principle, 
 
x Preface. 
 
 in one or another shape, is emphasized in almost every letter ; its 
 importance must make us forgive the constant repetition. 
 
 We may note that according to English conventional usage, 
 we have throughout translated Frau and Friiulein by Madame 
 and Mademoiselle ; and have spoken of children always in the 
 masculine gender. 
 
 If any error should be discovered by our readers we shall be 
 much obliged if it can be signified to Mr. H. K. Moore, at 
 104, Bishopsgate Street Within, London, that we may correct it 
 in future editions. 
 
 To add to the usefulness of this volume we have prepared a 
 full index, and have also included a reprint, with additions and 
 corrections, of the Chronological Abstract which appeared in our 
 " Autobiography of Froebel," and which has been found of value. 
 
 Emilie Michaelis. 
 H. Keatley Moore. 
 
 The Croydon Kindergarten, 1890. 
 
RE- ARRANGEMENT OF THE LETTERS 
 
 IN THIS VOLUME IX THE ORDER OF THE DATES 
 WHICH THEY WERE WRITTEN. 
 
 1S38. 
 1839. 
 
 1840. 
 
 5> 
 I84I. 
 
 1842. 
 
 1843. 
 I844. 
 
 5 J 
 
 I845- 
 I846. 
 
 1847. 
 
 I848. 
 
 1849. 
 I85I. 
 
 1852. 
 
 To Mme. Markwitz in America . 
 
 To the Wives and Mothers of Blankenburg 
 
 Plan for Nat. German Kindergarten 
 
 I.-V. to Mme. Schmidt, of Gera 
 
 VI.-XIII. to Mme. Schmidt. 
 
 XIV. to Mme. Schmidt. 
 
 XV.-XVI. to Mme. Schmidt 
 
 XVII. to Mme. Schmidt 
 
 Appeal to German Wives and Maidens 
 
 I. to Mme. Muller, of Homburg 
 
 I. to Mlle. Luise Frankenberg . 
 XVIII.-XIX. to Mme. Schmidt, of Gera 
 II. -III. to Mlle. Frankenberg . 
 To Miss Howe, giving details of the workin 
 
 Training College .... 
 To Mlle. Marschner, of Dresden 
 To Mlle. Hesse, of Annaburg . 
 XX. to Mme. Schmidt, of Gera 
 IV. to Mlle. Frankenberg . 
 Appeal to German Women . 
 
 II. to Mme. Muller, of Homburg 
 To Mlle. Gumpert .... 
 
 I. to Mme. Doris Lutkens, of Hamburg 
 V.-VL to Mlle. Frankenberg 
 
 II. to Mme. Doris Lutkens, of Hamburg 
 To Mlle. Johanna Hebert, of Nuremberg 
 To Mlle. L. Kirchner, of Nuremberg 
 VII. to Mlle. Frankenberg 
 To Mlle. Breymann (Mme. Schrader) 
 
 III. to Mme. Doris Lutkens, of Hamburg 
 To Mlle. Luise Hertlein, at Hamburg . 
 
 G OF 
 
 AT 
 
 13 
 
 215 
 156 
 
 43-71 
 
 73-H7 
 
 120 
 
 127-130 
 
 137 
 220 
 231 
 236 
 144-7 
 237-9 
 
 247 
 256 
 260 
 
 153 
 240 
 262 
 
 234 
 269 
 
 293 
 243-5 
 295 
 307 
 309 
 246 
 312 
 
 303 
 274 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 [O the better understanding and appreciation of these 
 Letters it may be as well to preface them by shortly 
 setting forth some of the most distinctive principles of 
 Froebel's educational system. 
 The old German schools and teaching methods took no 
 account of children under school age. And even in the schools 
 themselves only the learning by rote of words and of some few 
 abstract notions, together with a little merely mechanical know- 
 ledge, were cultivated. The traditional teaching thus given to the 
 children they were expected to give back in the same words ; 
 like the housewife who puts linen away in the chest and takes it 
 out again when required. The old schools were but schools of 
 words. Such mechanical abstract teaching left undeveloped the 
 intuitive observing powers, and the mind lay lifeless as regards 
 original perception. The child's faculties were not stimulated to 
 freer development, but were fettered and paralysed. Incessant 
 cramming made the children lazy and disinclined for effort, and 
 mere continued repetition and passive reception of teaching killed 
 that natural longing which all children possess for acting out their 
 own conceptions, for pursuing their own inquiries, and for making 
 their own discoveries ; so that on leaving school they had gained 
 little or nothing to help them in life, or at all events were unable 
 to bring what they had learned into any practical use. 
 
 Then came Heinrich Pestalozzi with his " intuitive method," 
 that is, teaching by means of observation (Anschauwigs Unterricht). 
 With inexhaustible love and enthusiasm he devoted himself to 
 
 1 By Hen* Poesche, the German Editor. 
 
Introduction. 
 
 children under school age. He wrote books to help mothers to 
 educate their children ; indeed, he created in these mothers' 
 books the ideal of the mother - teacher in the character of 
 Gertrude (" How Gertrude Teaches her Children"). By means 
 of the principles of his " intuitive method " he gave a new founda- 
 tion to the old verbal and notional teaching of the schools. In 
 place of the lifeless learning of facts in cut and dried sentences, 
 he put learning by original observation ; for passive cramming 
 he substituted active discovery, genuine mental work. In their 
 enthusiasm for the new principle some fanatics went the length 
 of attempting to bring all teaching whatever under the "intuitive 
 method," as if it were the Alpha and Omega of educational 
 reform. 
 
 But in these days we can see that the " intuitive method " 
 is only one of the main elements of school teaching — an all- 
 important one, it is true, yet after all, only one amongst several. 
 
 Pestalozzi's great disciple, Friedrich Froebel, followed in the 
 footsteps of his master with keen intelligence and laborious 
 industry ; but he went further still, attaining to a new and higher 
 development, based upon fresh psychological foundations, and 
 elaborated with deeper thought. He dedicated his loftiest 
 powers, when he had reached an advanced age, to the family, 
 to the children beneath school age, to the mothers, because he 
 desired to begin from the very beginning in a thorough manner. 
 His greatest work is not confined to speeches nor books, but 
 comprises the plastic use of material and the founding of a new 
 educational institution — "The Kindergarten." He is not a 
 reformer of the art of teaching only, but of the entire theory of 
 education. 
 
 Froebel aimed at the complete education of man, as well in 
 regard to physical Nature as to mankind and to God, through 
 the three fundamental principles of human existence — Doing, 
 Thinking, and Feeling. In arranging these after a psychological 
 order, he placed doing first. The man, the child, is to him there- 
 fore before all else an active and a creative being, not a learning 
 and a knowing one. Knowing, perceiving, must spring to life, 
 must burst into power from doing. A hundred times and more 
 
Introduction. 
 
 does he return to this fundamental principle, ever setting it forth 
 in some new light On account of its immense importance a 
 few of Froebel's remarks on this subject may be quoted here, 
 verbatim. 
 
 {a) " A system of education worthy of mankind must place 
 man, in early life, according to the demands of Nature, amid 
 such relationships and spheres of action that he can show forth 
 his being externally to himself, by Creating and Doing ; and in 
 such wise may come to a knowledge of himself." 
 
 (b) " The working hours of each day, of teacher and pupils 
 alike, must be divided between handwork, that is, work aiming at 
 the production of tangible objects, and headwork, that is, learning 
 and instruction." 
 
 (c) " Therefore, in the first place, must instruction, the learning 
 and teaching of pupils and master, spring from their own labour 
 and hand-work, so that teaching may rest upon actual life." — 
 (From a letter to Dr. Hohebaum of 5th November, 1827.) 
 
 (d) " In primary or national education, must in every case the 
 Doing, the Thing Done, the Teaching and the Learning rest on 
 actual fact and on real existence, so that the mental intelligence 
 incessantly striving upwards in single things as in its general 
 career may thereby expand and develop the life-giving creative 
 power of the pupils according to the measure of their strength 
 and ability, their talents and desires." — (Outlines of the Plan of a 
 Model Charity School, Lange, i. p. 473.) 
 
 According to this principle, therefore, the child's conceptions, 
 thoughts, and ideas must not remain locked within his own 
 breast, but must, on the contrary, be outwardly expressed through 
 hand-work, through construction and creation, in some tangible 
 form. And vice versa, natural and artistic objects must not be 
 left as things outside the child's mind, but must be incorporated 
 as part of his spiritual nature, through careful instruction. 
 Froebel knits together into one short formula the two psycho- 
 logical opposites of doing and thinking, of art and science, 
 thus : " The external or object world must become internal or 
 subjective to the child, and the subject- world, in turn, become 
 objective." 
 
Introduction. 
 
 The activity, or doing, of a little child is expressed in the form 
 of play. To the child's play, which is, as he says, " the very life 
 of his heart," Froebel linked his earliest education in the nursery 
 and the Kindergarten, and he sought out and found a group of 
 toys and occupations (so interconnected as to form one ordered 
 whole) wherewith to satisfy this play-activity, and so bring it to 
 usefulness. 
 
 To aid the first tender putting-forth of will and movement by 
 the infant, and to assist in the development of his body, and of 
 his senses, Froebel places in the hand of the mother his "Songs 
 for Mothers and Nursery Songs " {Mutter- und Kose-Lieder). 
 Later on he brings the child into the company of other children, 
 in the Kindergarten ; so that in association with his companions 
 he can gratify his dramatic instinct, his need of outward represent- 
 ation, through Song-games illustrating some suitable subject by the 
 united powers of Verse, Tune and Action. 
 
 He would have the child spend much time in the garden at an 
 early age, amongst open-air Nature, so that with spade and hoe 
 and watering pot he may come into true practical relations with 
 the world of plants, make his own observations, and by active 
 work get together some experience-knowledge for himself, and 
 learn to know the works of God. He trains the child's hand by 
 giving him certain toys and occupations succeeding one another 
 in a carefully planned order. These toys, which form an analy- 
 tical series, will be found to be arranged in a descending order. 
 They are (i) Solids (soft-ball, hard-ball, cylinder, cube, and five 
 boxes of building bricks) ; (2) Planes, similar to those used in 
 Chinese puzzles, wherein the plane surface is the predominant 
 idea (squares and triangles — right-angled isosceles, right-angled 
 scalene, equilateral, and obtuse scalene — in variously coloured 
 wooden tablets) ; and finally (3) Li?ies (laths, sticks, rings and 
 threads) ; and (4) Points (stones, shells, sand). 
 
 Whilst the child is busy at play with all. the foregoing material, 
 the material itself remains unchanged and forms no new product. 
 Quite otherwise is it with the synthetic series formed by the 
 occupations, which are arranged in an ascending order : (1) Points 
 (pricking) ; ( 2 Lines (sewing, drawing, paper twisting, mat 
 
Introduction. 5 
 
 plaiting, etc.) ; (3) Planes (paper folding, paper cutting, and 
 pasting) ; (4) Solids (peawork, modelling in cardboard, model- 
 ling in clay). Here the material is changed under the child's 
 hand, and with his simple tools he becomes able to pro- 
 duce some useful, pretty or instructive object; for instance, he 
 can weave a mat for a lamp to stand upon, or he can model 
 a bird's nest with its eggs in clay, or he can draw on paper right 
 angles, acute angles, or obtuse angles, etc. 
 
 As in Nature the water invites the young duckling to swim ; so 
 does Froebel give the child this material wherewith he may 
 satisfy the yearning for outward manifestation common to all 
 children. The child can therefore give his conceptions a 
 tangible form by the work of his own hands, and through this 
 fact-representation he can strengthen himself for the percep- 
 tion and observation of the Good, the Beautiful and the True. 
 Froebel's Kindergarten method consists in this, that the child 
 learns to search for, to find out, and to invent forms and figures 
 at his own free will, and in doing this he develops the active 
 powers belonging to his nature, and forms his own individuality 
 and character. 
 
 Friedrich Froebel, by virtue of this main element of represen- 
 tation which he has introduced into education, is to be recognised 
 as the true artist amongst educationists. It is he who added on 
 to the old German and to the Pestalozzian systems the first 
 conception of the "ABCof manual activity," which Pestalozzi 
 had sought for but had not found. And while, so long as there 
 are children to be educated, the main educational principles of 
 (a) verbal and notional learning and teaching, and (b) the intui- 
 tive method of teaching and learning, must always exist, so also, 
 just as surely and as truly, must the Froebelian main principle of 
 representation be joined with the two others before we can bring 
 to completeness an universal, harmonious, and progressive educa- 
 tional system, and erect upon sure foundations a goal towards 
 which henceforth and for all time the energies of teachers may 
 be directed. 
 
 But the foregoing psychological conception of child-nature, 
 With the whole Kindergarten organization which rests upon it, are 
 
Introduction. 
 
 they well founded? Are there any touchstones which may 
 prove the metal genuine — have we any external tests ? Froebel 
 was far too earnest and conscientious a thinker not to have sought 
 after such touchstones wherewith to test his work and where 
 possible to support it by the authority of recognised laws. He 
 found that the physical development of a single individual went 
 upon parallel lines with the development of physical nature, and 
 that his mental development followed the same course as the 
 history of civilisation. Physical nature and history then became 
 his touchstones, wherewith to test these views upon the education 
 of each single child ; for this rested, as he believed, upon the 
 foundations of general psychological and physical laws. I shall 
 never forget that afternoon in 1851, in the Kursaal at the 
 Liebenstein Spa, when Froebel arranged all his educational 
 appliances on long tables, forming a completely developed series, 
 and explained their meaning and exhibited their value to a large 
 assembly, composed of his pupils of both sexes, and other friends. 
 Amongst them were Diesterweg, the Baroness von Marenholtz- 
 Biilow, and Madame Henriette Schrader. Middendorf took 
 down the speech Froebel made on this occasion and published 
 it in the Joitrnal for Friedrich FroebeVs Educational Aims (No. I. 
 p. 14). The peroration was as elevated in expression as it was 
 profound in thought. It ran thus : — 
 
 " The whole of nature, up to the appearance of man, the whole 
 of history from the beginning of the human race through all the 
 past up till the present moment, and then still onwards, beyond 
 us, to the next final consummation, when the development of 
 man shall fall from the Tree of Life as a ripened fruit, whose 
 kernel is the All, stands before my soul as a perfectly accurate 
 and so to speak an exhaustive representation of true education." 
 
 We have it laid down that the physical and mental develop- 
 ment of man runs parallel with nature and history, and that these 
 latter together form a type of the course of true education. Do 
 our great discoverers in science, our great students of history 
 warrant this statement ? I will only refer in the briefest and 
 most cursory manner to the discoveries of Comparative Anatomy 
 (especially in the department of Embryology) : whereby it 
 
Introduction. 
 
 appears that the human embryo before birth passes through the 
 chief forms of animal nature, from the lowest to the highest. 
 And up to a certain period of embryonic development, there is 
 not the slightest difference between the future child and other 
 mammals. Later on, first slight then more important differences 
 make their appearance, marking off the form as belonging to one 
 of the higher animals ; and finally, quite at the end of embryonic 
 life, not long before actual birth, appear those differences which 
 distinguish the human infant from the young of the nearest allied 
 animals. Therefore, in actual fact the bodily development of each 
 one of us is in some measure an enormously compressed 
 abridgment, a quick recapitulation of the creation of the higher 
 vertebrate animals in its various stages. Is it not true, then, 
 that the purely physical, purely animal development of man from 
 the simple to the complex, from the lower to the higher, is " an 
 exhaustive representation of true education " ? 
 
 But we have here more especially to do with the mental 
 development of man, which, according to Froebel's dictum, runs 
 parallel with the educational history of the whole race. And, 
 indeed, it is so. Each mind completely repeats in outline, and 
 in quicker succession, the stages of mental growth passed through 
 by the race. The mental development of any one man is in some 
 measure but an enormously compressed abridgment, a quick 
 recapitulation, of the educational development of mankind. 
 
 The discoveries in natural science, in prehistoric antiquities, 
 and in the history of civilisation, as well as in the comparative 
 study of national psychology, have in these days provided us 
 with a host of corroborative facts. We may here consider just a 
 few which bear upon our special subject of Kindergarten edu- 
 cation, and use them to trace the mere outlines of development 
 — not at all insisting capriciously upon any particular instances, 
 nor intending by those about to be given to supersede other 
 equally good illustrations. 
 
 Froebel would early place the child amidst open-air Nature, 
 out of doors, in the garden. Here the child's glance rests first 
 upon the world of plants, his hands naturally gravitate towards 
 the soil, he forms a little bed to plant, and shows us the first 
 
8 Introduction. 
 
 tender budding of a love of agriculture. Just so appeared 
 primeval Man, in the open-air of God's garden of Eden, living 
 upon the fruits that the trees yielded. Later on, he furrowed 
 the earth with a bough, and enjoyed the vegetables he thus 
 produced. Next Froebel strives by his " Songs for Mothers and 
 Nursery Songs " {Mutter- itnd Kose-Lieder), and by his ball- 
 games, action-games, and marches, to train the muscles, the 
 limbs, the senses. And (to proceed with our parallel) the con- 
 tinual and severe struggle for existence of primeval Man, the 
 climbing, running and hunting which hard necessity compelled 
 in order to obtain food, dwelling, and clothes, how they must 
 have strained the sinews and sharpened the senses ! What 
 agility and bodily skill primeval Man shows in his expeditions of 
 war or of the chase, in his mimetic, dramatic, and war dances ! 
 Froebel next puts finished material, in the form of toys (the so- 
 called " gifts "), into the child's hand, and demands from him 
 only the most simple form of play and thought, namely, to bring 
 together several separate similar things, so as to form with them 
 a Whole, full of beauty or of meaning, or to range them in orderly 
 sequence. And it is precisely thus that the first artistic work of 
 primeval Man occurs ; he begins by the forming of simple rows, 
 as strings of beads or of shells, for instance. If we would give 
 further parallels, we might point out how Froebel's thin-coloured 
 planes correspond with the mosaic wood or stone work of early 
 Man ; and how Froebel's laths, wherewith the child can form 
 letters, correspond to the beech-staves (buche?ien Stcibchen, now 
 contracted to Buchstaben, i.e. letters of the alphabet) whereon were 
 carved the runes and magic symbols of our primitive ancestors. 
 For the " occupations," Froebel demands a much more difficult 
 and complex manual labour from the child. The given material 
 must be altered and transformed, and this can only be contrived 
 by the help of simple tools : the wooden plaiting needle and 
 modelling knife, the horn or ivory paper knife, the steel pricking 
 needle, penknife, and scissors. Thus also did early Man arrive 
 at more complicated work only by inventing tools and learning 
 their use, and especially when by the knowledge of fire he could 
 get metal tools and replace with them his primordial simple tools 
 
Introduction, 
 
 of wood, bone, horn, and stone. The materials, first worked 
 upon just as Nature provided them, in the crude state, are 
 only in a late stage of civilisation prepared and transformed by 
 mechanical, physical, and chemical processes. To take a con- 
 crete example, it is easy to trace the correspondence of the 
 modelling in clay, the weaving and pricking of the Kindergarten 
 occupations with the primeval arts of pottery, plaiting, and 
 weaving, and puncturing (especially tattooing) of the earliest 
 savages. The child, at first speechless, begins by singing, and 
 not till later does he form articulate sounds. This is why 
 Froebel gives such precedence to singing in the Kindergarten \ 
 puts drawing before writing ; story telling before reading ; this is 
 why he first presents to the intelligence of the child only the 
 lower numbers and concrete object-notions, derived from the 
 observation of actual objects, and then widens these out, little 
 by little, till more advanced numerical conceptions and abstract 
 notions are arrived at. It is certain that like the infant, so also 
 primeval Man was long without the faculty of speech. Then 
 comes the question whether singing did not probably precede 
 talking. Next succeeds a long time, when writing, as yet, was not, 
 but during which drawing and painting were invented, and these 
 led up to the discovery of the representation of language by 
 symbols ; and so, finally, to writing. Without writing, no means 
 existed of securely transmitting knowledge, and Man often lost 
 that which he had learned through experience ; just as we see 
 that the infant easily forgets what he acquires. But after the 
 discovery of writing, Man possessed the means of a perfect 
 record, and could easily break through that narrowly circumscribed 
 body of symbols representing only the concrete and phenomenal, 
 within which savages to this day remain bound — the wild men 
 of protruding jaws, retreating foreheads, and imperfectly de- 
 veloped cerebral hemispheres. Soon came the book know- 
 ledge, book learning, giving the possibility of connected culture. 
 Rapidly and surely were then enlarged the bounds of Number 
 and of Thought, and the power of creating all those nobler 
 spiritual and mental possessions of humanity enshrined in Art 
 and Science. 
 
10 Introduction. 
 
 Now, since the Kindergarten method conducts the child from 
 its first spontaneous Doing, Creating, and Working, arising out 
 of the needs of its play, onwards to Knowing and Learning, to 
 the Book, to the School, surely Froebel had good right to assert 
 (as we in the foregoing brief cursory comparison by parallels have 
 also asserted) that " This course of education, this Educational 
 System, declares itself to any testing, comparing glance as one 
 which follows the course that Providence itself has taken in the 
 development of the culture and the education of the human race, 
 so far as this is at present known to us" (Lange, i. p. 473). 
 Froebel had, in fact, the clearest possible perception of this 
 parallelism between the development of one Man and that of 
 Humanity, and did, in truth, imitate the ways of Providence in 
 the methods of the Kindergarten ; which is to our mind a fact full 
 of deep meaning. 
 
 However, enough has been said by us of child-nature, its 
 development and its education. Now let the Master himself 
 speak, in his own manner, and with his own words, of 
 
 THE CHILD. 
 
PART I. 
 THE CHILD. 
 
THE CHILD. 
 
 To Madame Emilie von Markwitz, in North America. 1 
 
 1838. 
 
 " Charms that a chaste wife worketh, fain would I sing in my song ! 
 Look at the babe, the suckling, playing in lap of his mother ; 
 Roguishly upturned his glances, listening, looking up to her, 
 And ever on him the mother's fond eye rests, playing, responsive ; 
 So early victorious over the soul is the power of love." 
 
 — J. H. Eichholz. 
 
 ;ear MADAM — 
 
 Real family life, the tender care of childhood, the 
 education of children, are things which of themselves 
 knit closely together the thought and work of parents 
 with those of the practical educationist. Therefore I venture to 
 think it will not surprise you, but will, on the contrary, seem to you 
 quite natural, and fully justified by the claims of the great human 
 purpose which links our lives, that I — who so cherish in my heart 
 the lives of little children and of boys and girls, regarding them 
 as the germs of true natural lives of men and women, and as the 
 basis of the real life of the nation — that I, who so love to find my- 
 self in the nursery and the schoolroom, the inner sanctuaries of 
 the family, should write to a true-hearted mother like yourself, 
 even though I am not personally known to you. 
 
 But there is also another lofty and hallowed phase of life by 
 
 1 In the German text this letter is headed "To Madame Emilie F. , in 
 N. A. "; that is, as explained, Madame Emilie Frankenberg, in North 
 America, probably a sister-in-law of Adolf and Luise Frankenberg ; but by 
 the kindness of Madame Froebel we have been able to ascertain that the real 
 person addressed was not Madame Frankenberg, but Madame von Markwitz. 
 
 13 
 
14 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 virtue of which I claim admission to your family life, so full of 
 hope, so beautiful. This is my friendship with your husband, as 
 full of manly and benevolent virtues as of right fatherly feelings, 
 and with other members of your large family circle, who unite 
 their efforts in the cause of education with the similar efforts of 
 myself and my circle. And I hope, dear madam, that it may prove 
 of some assistance to you in the harmonious self-development 
 of your life that these friends, dear to both of us, should have 
 confidentially imparted to me for our mutual edification some 
 thoughts upon your joys and feelings as a mother, which your 
 earnest motherly soul has expressed to them. 
 
 Indeed, dear madam, I have been deeply touched and much 
 impressed. My sense of gratitude at once impelled me to express 
 to you by letter some thoughts inspired by your confidences ; 
 thinking also that perhaps you might find amongst them something 
 to assist your pure maternal aspirations. 
 
 My intention was quite definite, and I kept it carefully in 
 mind; nevertheless, from the time I was favoured with the 
 perusal of your esteemed letter up to the present, I have not 
 found it possible to carry it out. But now my intention springs 
 up afresh, as vigorous as ever, and insists upon being carried out ; 
 for I have just heard that another new young life has made its 
 appearance in that large family circle of yours, so closely united 
 by brotherly affection. Once again a new life has come to draw 
 still closer your intimate union, purifying and elevating you all. 
 Therefore I cannot further refrain from the execution of my long- 
 deferred intention. 
 
 Closely following the lines of your letter, permit me to begin 
 
 by an attentive consideration of the child's first appearance in the 
 
 world, — of his 
 
 Birth. 
 
 The confidences which you have imparted to us begin by 
 telling us how, amidst the joyful hope of bringing existence to a 
 new human soul and the thought of your anticipated mother-joys, 
 were mingled also thoughts of your own death. This confession, 
 dear madam, affected me the more in that it contains a lofty and 
 a true thought as well as a deep and a natural feeling. This 
 
The Child. 15 
 
 thought and this feeling we must by no means thrust into the 
 background at those critical periods of our lives when we are 
 responsible for the creation, for the birth, and for the care of a 
 new young life ; but, on the contrary, we must calmly lay hold of 
 them by their higher meaning, and bring ourselves to a clear 
 knowledge of all that is involved in them. In this way also they 
 will for ever cease to disturb, worry, and enfeeble us, and will, 
 on the other hand, elevate, confirm, and strengthen us. 
 
 Firstly, without frightening ourselves, but pausing calmly with 
 thoughtful glance before the flowers of the field, let us ask our- 
 selves where we can find, either in physical Nature or in Human 
 Life, that a new life comes into being except in connection with 
 the downfall or annihilation of an earlier life. 
 
 -Does not the hard seed-corn perish that the slumbering germ 
 within it may spring to life ? Does not the blossom fall to pieces 
 that the fruit may be nourished ? 
 
 Does not the maiden disappear to give place to the wife and 
 mother ? Does not the life of fascinating hopes shrink back be- 
 fore the fruitful life of hard actual work ? 
 
 But again, do we not recognise the maiden, elevated and beau- 
 tified, in the wife ? Does not the wife, and will she not always, 
 come before us elevated and beautified in the mother ? How 
 exquisitely and touchingly is this truth set forth in the Christian 
 faith, where the Wife passes altogether out of sight in order that 
 the Virgin may appear as Mother with the more perfect clearness. 
 
 What is the principle which underlies this undeniable, this 
 ever renewed and returning fact, that with the coming of 
 birth death also invariably appears? It is this — that we must 
 recognise, amidst the changing the Permanent, amidst the phe- 
 nomenal the Absolute, amidst the transitory the Eternal, and 
 amidst fleeting individual existences the everlasting Type. That, 
 to go further, it is indeed only from the fear of the changing, the 
 phenomenal, the transitory, and the individual that there arises a 
 yearning, a longing, an intuition, a conception of the Permanent, 
 of the Absolute, of the Eternal, and of the everlasting Type. 
 Herein, then, for us men, lies the profoundest meaning of 
 changing and phenomenal Nature, that physical Nature which is 
 
1 6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 so full of transitory and individual existences. Besides, in inti- 
 mate correspondence with Nature and the life of Nature, that 
 which perishes only reappears in fuller perfection in the succeed- 
 ing stage of development. It is thus, in the fulfilment of this 
 Divine ordering, that the expression of physical Nature becomes 
 so full of peace and joy. 
 
 Your fearful imaginings amidst your life so full of hope form a 
 speaking proof, dear madam, of the intimate and manifold way 
 in which one's whole existence and life are interwoven with the 
 great life of Nature, and carry within them and cherish her uni- 
 versal laws. The maiden, called upon to become a bestower of 
 happiness as wife, a being happy in herself as mother, must not 
 shrink from feeling herself at one with the lofty, noble life of 
 Nature ; nay, to acquire this feeling must be her sacred duty. 
 Moreover-, she must so feel, not in a partial and intermittent 
 manner, but wholly and always ; for it is through this life of 
 Nature that God speaks and works. The more she does this, 
 the more she feels that she herself exists in the midst of the great 
 universal life, and that she too is a member of it, so much the 
 more will she become a happy mother, and better than a happy 
 mother ; namely, a mother who makes others happy round her in 
 a wide-stretching circle. This union with the life of Nature is to 
 be found in fullest expression in the history of man's develop- 
 ment amongst the many lofty typical examples of noble women. 
 
 Permit me, dear madam, through you to speak to all maidens 
 approaching their entrance into married life, to all wives cherish- 
 ing the dearest of hopes within their bosom, and to use your 
 example as a means of pointing out a great truth to them : — To 
 rest in perfect trust upon Nature is the way to obtain the freshness 
 of life and health under all relations. May no maiden lose this 
 faith in Nature ; and if she cannot consciously put it into words, 
 may she be able to express it in manifold ways in her life and to 
 show it forth in deeds ! 
 
 But there was a second thing which powerfully moved me in 
 regard to this fear which pervaded your letter — that the birth of a 
 new life would perhaps cost you your own. It was the thought, 
 thrust into prominence by that feeling, and intimately connected 
 
The Child. ly 
 
 with it that you might be about to burden your dear husband with 
 the charge of a new life, unsupported by the true mother's care. 
 And this thought is yet more deeply stimulating than the feeling 
 we have already considered, for it does not concern itself with 
 anxiety over one's own life, but over the life of a stranger; and not 
 merely, indeed, the life of a stranger, already existent in this 
 outward world, but a new young life as yet in darkness and con- 
 cealment, still slumbering on the bosom of the future. 
 
 By the feeling previously considered, you were at one with 
 Nature, and by this thought you are at one with Man, with the 
 human race ; for it is a truly humane thought, whose point of 
 union, centre and kernel, is Life, Man and Human Life ; it is a 
 thought which gathers up into the idea of the child the lives of 
 yourself, your child, and your husband ; a thought which wholly 
 lives in you and in which you wholly live ; a thought wherein you 
 find all things, and wherein, for you, all things are absorbed. 
 
 Ah, how I wish that this feeling might be held in common with 
 you by all wives, rich in maternal hopes ! My soul longs that every 
 one of them should possess this feeling as a point of relation for 
 each thought and act of hers, — that her whole life, as well as yours, 
 might be absorbed by this thought, and that she, too, might find 
 all within it. And while the feeling of Oneness with Nature, which 
 we first considered, would lead up to a thoroughly strong and 
 healthy race, this thought of the human lives united in manifold 
 ways in the person of the child would give to that race a right 
 manly noble life and being. The race of man would blossom forth 
 in new splendour if such conceptions once became general ; ah, 
 would they could ! 
 
 There is yet one more thing that strongly affected me in read- 
 ing your sisterly confidences ; and that is, the child-like thankful- 
 ness which you express to your beloved departed mother, for her 
 love and care of long ago; yes, and for her fears and toils for you, 
 since to these you owe your being, your life, your present great 
 happiness. How shall I express forcibly enough the elevating 
 thoughts which rose within me, awakened by these confidences 
 welling up fresh from your life and from your inmost soul ? I 
 could already see how (from the feeling we first considered) you show 
 
 c 
 
1 8 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 yourself at one with Nature, and how (from the second) at one with 
 Mankind and human life, and I was now led to see how, by this 
 third phase of thought, you express your feeling of close union 
 with mankind when considered as grouped into families, and as 
 elevated, moreover, through this conscious grouping, into a higher 
 unity. From out the faithful cherishing of the family life springs 
 the true national spirit, and from out a truly national spirit finally 
 arises the conception of the universal brotherhood of man. May 
 many children, therefore, feel the emotions of gratitude towards 
 their parents which you have expressed, and especially may the 
 minds of daughters be filled with thankfulness towards their 
 mothers ; and then, again, may parents be thankful towards their 
 children, and onwards to their grandchildren ! Thus will arise 
 upon sure foundations, laid deep in human hearts, a real national 
 life, by which the brotherhood of man will be furthered and 
 broadened. How glad were I if all wives, and especially those 
 rich in maternal hopes and those already surrounded by affection- 
 ate children, could be brought to think of themselves in their 
 quality of daughters, and to be penetrated with sentiments such as 
 those you have expressed to us in so filial a manner in your con- 
 fidences ; then should we see each family cherishing grateful love 
 and remembrance of their parents, and so cultivating the true 
 national spirit and the sentiment of the brotherhood of all man- 
 kind which would spring forth from the family circle in youth and 
 vigour perpetually renewed. But a deep feeling of the universal 
 brotherhood of man, what is it but a true sense of our close filial 
 union with God? 
 
 If I search out, dear madam, the emotions which have swayed 
 your mother's breast when thinking of the child you were about 
 to welcome, and if I examine them in their likeness and in their 
 unlikeness also, I find that it is Love, Hope, and Faith which 
 accompany the new-born babe on his entrance into life. You 
 greeted him with Love, love of his life and of his being. You 
 greeted him with Faith, with the beautiful faith that the life of his 
 father, his ancestors, his nation, his race, the very source anci 
 fountain of life, would enter into his life and be bound up with it 
 in fuller clearness and completeness. And you greeted him with 
 
The Child. 19 
 
 the joyful Hope that health, bodily strength, and many various 
 faculties might be vouchsafed to him. Thus, with this threefold 
 emotion, should every happy mother welcome into existence the 
 gift which God has given her. 
 
 How beautifully connected with what has just been said is the 
 immediately succeeding event in the life of the new little citizen 
 of earth, — his 
 
 Baptism, 
 
 as you have been so good as to picture it for us in your letter. 
 
 What deep meaning is involved in the fact that you bring us 
 back at once into the family, indeed, into the very family living- 
 room itself ! The Family must always be considered as the sup- 
 porter and cherisher of the true life of mankind, and as that which 
 moulds the true life of the world ; and the family living-room is 
 the inner sanctuary where the human soul is aroused and pre- 
 pared for this double career. But, moreover, the family and the 
 family-room appear in your charming sketch of a christening as 
 neither isolated nor isolating ; not cut off by the four walls from 
 the general life of Nature, nor from the higher life of humanity . 
 quite on the contrary, all are closely knit into one whole. The 
 business cupboard and writing-table of the father of the family, 
 and the family store-closet, are alike shut close; and instead of 
 appearing as the familiar sights of the work-a-day and family life we 
 find them now covered with flowers, delighting us with the peace 
 of their still life, and with the joy of their beauty. Thus is Nature 
 with her wealth of flowers brought within the family living-room, 
 thus has she pierced through the barrier between her and it, to 
 show herself as the sanctuary and cherisher of life that she is. 
 
 But the room first puts on its full meaning when we observe 
 the mother's work-table, covered with a lily-white cloth, on which, 
 in the midst of a wreath of rosebuds, stands the shining, round, 
 white bowl adorned with golden circles and filled with clear 
 sparkling water. This is the place where the highest consecra- 
 tion of the life of the youthful citizen of the world and new 
 member of the human family is now to be received by him in 
 virtue of the religion of the Three-fold Life in Unity, and amidst 
 those friends who will help him on his path through life. 
 
20 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 How full of meaning, how touching is all this as told us by 
 your motherly love, and how clearly does it all seem to stand 
 before our eyes ! I can see every detail, from the white rose- 
 bedecked cloth, symbol of the spotless pure white page of life 
 now to be adorned with the roses of love, to the transparent 
 water which rests upon it, symbol of the transparent soul and 
 mind of crystal clearness which shall hover above that life and 
 pervade it. 
 
 As a member of Nature and natural life, as a member of 
 Humanity and human life, and as a member of that collective 
 mental and spiritual life which springs from God, and rests also 
 in Him, the new-born babe thus receives the consecration of 
 his existence. The love, faith, and hope which welcomed him 
 into existence, welcome him also to this holy and manifold en- 
 twining of his life with the source and wellspring of all life, with 
 God. And further, who could set forth worthily the symbolic 
 sense according to which this crystal water, drawn from an ever- 
 flowing spring, typifies all Nature as she appears in union with 
 him and welcoming him ? 
 
 What child, after so pure and holy a life-union and life-conse- 
 cration would not be able to enter upon 
 
 Life 
 with pure and holy soul ? 
 
 And indeed you, happy mother, have set before us in a charm- 
 ing manner the entrance into life of your new-born babe, your 
 firstling. 
 
 How touchingly, when the pain and suffering come to mind 
 which the existence of this little one has cost you, do you dismiss 
 them at once with the thought, " But the life of such a dear little 
 baby makes me forget it all ! " 
 
 How touching it is also when you bethink yourself of the new 
 phases of life and work which this darling awakes in his father ; 
 and when you are sorry for the additional burden thus set 
 upon your husband, and yet at the same time you are glad to 
 see him develop all these fresh emotions of watchful care which 
 correspond to the new relations of life which now surround him ! 
 For the inmost depths of his true and manly character are thus 
 
The Child. 21 
 
 laid bare to you, and you feel how much too poor a gift to such a 
 noble heart were that of your own love only, and you rejoice 
 therefore that you can bring him, in addition, his and your 
 child to reward him. What a bond of love and life have we 
 here ! 
 
 An important thing it is, indeed, when we consider how, in 
 life, the claims of new duties received and fulfilled through love 
 and by love, at once develop new powers, new faculties, new 
 means of action, in men ; and in proportion to the demand 
 which his duty makes upon a man and to the strength which is 
 taken out of him in fulfilling that duty, is the immediate return 
 to him of something higher and stronger, which comes to him out 
 of this very effort. Yes, it is so ; new claims upon one's life, 
 rightly considered, awake in a true-hearted man new powers and 
 new faculties. 
 
 Oh, would that all of us, and especially the younger men, could 
 recognise the truth of this great law of nature in all its bearings, 
 and apply it to all the new claims upon us which spring up and 
 meet us in our path through life ! And may such views of life, 
 such convictions of the compensating power life possesses, always 
 be with you in your own life, especially as mother and as 
 wife. 
 
 Amid such protecting care, in such hands, and led by such 
 guidance, even the youngest child soon feels himself strong. 
 What pleasure you have given us by your narrative, telling how 
 the little five-weeks-old baby, resting snugly sheltered in his father's 
 arms, and watched over by the loving care of his mother, takes 
 his first ride out of doors amidst the bright physical Nature 
 which is the handiwork of God. This entrance into the temple 
 of Nature, amidst such circumstances, cannot work otherwise than 
 for good upon the general development of the child, and must be 
 full of healthful results and impressions. Here, too, we must 
 remark the friendly human sympathy with which the young 
 world-citizen is welcomed upon this first little journey of his, 
 shown in the proffered congratulations of the passers-by. 
 
 As you thus contemplate your child amidst life, amidst Nature, 
 there awakes in your mother's heart anxiety about his right 
 
22 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 training for life. " The child must be good" 1 that is your most 
 earnest maternal resolve, your most engaging maternal hope, and 
 " that nothing may be omitted towards this end, so far as lies 
 in you," you seek for counsel and advice, wherever you may be 
 able to discover it near you, around you. Yet, however near 
 counsel may be found amongst those around you, there is a 
 counsellor yet nearer to you, or to any mother who will listen 
 and attend to its warnings ; I speak of the counsel of your own 
 heart, your own soul, your own intellect, so often buried, or 
 distorted, or weakened by the varied influences of life, the pre- 
 judices, the habits, the customs that enchain us all. Through 
 all these, nevertheless, can this counsel be discerned by the 
 faithful mother-instinct ; sometimes speaking out directly in the 
 voice of the heart, of the soul, without artifice or disguise ; some- 
 times only made manifest by a comprehensive glance which 
 compares together the child's life and its demands, the mother's 
 own life, and the life of nature, and scrutinizes the present and 
 the past as well as the future. The Good and True, moreover, 
 is innate from the first in the human soul, but can only be 
 made clear, and brought out from the depths into the light by 
 a searching and comparing glance directed generally into the 
 manifold relations of life, and into the child's soul, and specially 
 into the claims of his eager desire for activity. For it is by 
 cherishing carefully, thoughtfully, and in well-devised ways, such 
 as shall embrace the whole being of the child, this unceasing 
 desire of his for activity, that we shall encourage him to be good 
 rather than by any other method we can contrive ; through this 
 also that we shall best ward off the mischievous from him and 
 his surroundings. In this connection, never forget— try and 
 make it clear to your own intelligence by long-continued ob- 
 servation of nature and life— That all healthy and fresh develop- 
 ing and forming in life occur on the border of (or, as it ivere, in 
 the midst between) two worlds. For example, the tree, or any 
 such organism, grows with its roots in the earth dark as night, 
 while it thrusts its top, covered with twigs and leaves, high into 
 
 1 So our own Kingsley, " Be good, dear child, and let who will be clever." 
 
The Child. 23 
 
 the clear sunlit air. On the borders, in between the kingdoms 
 of the earth and the air, of darkness and light, the tree, like all 
 the vegetable world, develops the beauty of its flowers, the wealth 
 of its fruit Brightness and gloom, day and night, rigid fixed 
 earth and spirit-like breathing air are opposites which not only 
 ever' surround the child and the man, but which the man has to 
 know and to recognise for the invariable conditions under which 
 the whole world of nature, either actual or phenomenal, can alone 
 endure and become perpetual, and which therefore are the con- 
 ditions of all existence whatsoever upon the globe. All things, 
 even spiritual or mental phenomena, will become more clearly 
 and perfectly known through the right comprehension of these 
 opposites, and the development of man's being will proceed with 
 greater freedom ; indeed, can only then proceed with perfect 
 freedom. For in the first category — that, namely, of the surround- 
 ings of man — does not the right distribution of light and shade 
 enhance the beauty and expressiveness of every landscape ? And 
 in the second, that of man's own inner being, is not the insight 
 into the permanent and the enduring made clear and firm because 
 of our perception of the change which always surrounds us, and of 
 the things which perpetually vanish before our eyes ? And is not 
 the conviction, nay, the logical necessity of the spiritual unity of 
 all Being brought home to us by the very consideration of the 
 separateness and disjunction of the things of the outer world ? 
 Therefore, noble-hearted mother, be anxious only for this — that, 
 since all opposites find their solution and reconciliation in your 
 own harmonising and harmonious soul and intelligence, so also 
 your darling one may acquire in his turn, through refinement of 
 feeling and the practice of good, these joy-bringing, peace-attain- 
 ing treasures for his soul. The child's life, the common life 
 between the child and the mother, early gives, nay, very early 
 indeed, motives and opportunities for such development; and, 
 moreover, opportunities lie also in the many-sided commerce of 
 the child with life and with physical nature. 
 
 Still one more thing, dear madam, permit me to add to what 
 I have said above. In nature, in life, and in the phenomena 
 both of nature and of life, the everlasting force of destiny is 
 
24 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 paramount. We, as Christians, call this the everlasting dis- 
 pensation and guidance of Providence, and when this coincides 
 with the expression of our inmost thought, we receive and ac- 
 knowledge through it and in it, to our great blessing, the voice 
 and the will of God ; the manifestation of God, in nature and 
 in life. 
 
 Now, in the same way that nature and life enfold us who are 
 grown up, so do the actions and the lives of his parents enfold 
 every child. 
 
 You, yourself, madam, supply the proof of this assertion in 
 your simple motherly remarks, when in your mother's joy you 
 write, " My little one, scarce two months old, already begins to act 
 as though he wished to talk ; he purses up his little mouth or 
 widens it to its broadest • he looks as if he already understood 
 when I speak to him." Indeed, he does understand you, thought- 
 ful, observant mother ! Your eye and your face are almost more 
 to him than the sight of the sun's blaze or of the shining moon 
 were to the first man. 
 
 That is why the child so gladly gazes in the eyes of his mother 
 and father, and sets such store by their answering glance. In your 
 countenance he reads, proportionably to his stage of mental 
 development, what the thoughtful adult man reads on a starlit 
 night in the thickly studded shining heavens ; l the clouding of 
 your face is the same to him as the clouding of a clear sky is to 
 us ; the clearing of your face is as joyful to him as is to us the 
 return of the dazzling radiance of the sun pouring down upon the 
 re-awakened earth. Just as the expression of Nature is the 
 true manifestation of God to a thoughtful and observant man, so 
 to the child the glances, the appearance, the actions of his 
 parents combine to make up a manifestation of a higher life. 
 
 Let us then make it our anxious care that the child shall early 
 become conscious of the firm rule of destiny, which abides in 
 him and works in him, an ever-present Providence pervading his 
 
 1 The illustrious Kant used to say, "Two things fill my soul with ever- 
 increasing wonder and awe the more often I behold them : the starry heavens 
 above me, and the sense of right and wrong within me " (Sa/nmtliche Werke, 
 Lips, 1838 ; viii. 312). 
 
The Child. 25 
 
 life ; in which, in full accord with the unsophisticated expression 
 of his inmost soul, he may recognise to his great blessing the 
 voice and the will of God. Then will every individual man reach 
 the goal w T hither humanity is tending; and even should he stray 
 or stumble here and there, yet in the main will he reach that goal 
 by the path pointed out to him. Indeed, mankind has already 
 partially realized this mission, and will in the future still more 
 nearly realize it, by the operation of the methods that God has 
 chosen for the teaching of our race. 
 
 But why, I hear your womanly modesty and motherly simplicity 
 ask, why this public answer to sisterly confidences, which were 
 rather the outpouring of a joyous spirit than a formal letter 
 intended for wide circulation ? 
 
 For this reason, dear madam ; that the feelings expressed in 
 your sisterly letter have lived and still surely live in the hearts of 
 many noble mothers ; and therefore, perfectly natural as are these 
 feelings to every pure maternal bosom, they deserve that their 
 repose and harmony, their many-sided nature, and their lofty 
 and important relations with humanity should be appreciated and 
 made known ; and moreover, by this means they may come to be 
 even more tenderly cherished. 
 
 My having spoken through you, anxious mother, to many noble- 
 hearted mothers who feel like yourself about one of the most 
 important circumstances affecting mankind, will therefore, after 
 all, I hope, seem right even to your womanly modesty, or at least 
 will receive your indulgence. 
 
 That your dear baby, as he acquires consciousness, may grow to 
 feel himself to be in life and soul a member of his own family, 
 of his nation, and also of mankind ; and that his spirit may 
 early acknowledge that he is a child of Nature, of Mankind, and 
 of God ; this is my heartfelt wish, and with it I close this letter, 
 which I take the liberty to send you publicly, with cordial greet- 
 ings to your beloved husband, and to your much-respected 
 family. 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
PART II. 
 FOUNDATION AND CONSTRUCTION. 
 
FOUNDATION AND CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 Introduction. 1 
 
 ^HE foundation of the Kindergarten and its bringing 
 to life was accomplished slowly and painfully, amidst 
 much heavy outward and inward conflict. The 
 ground plan had been determined by Froebel as 
 early as 1835, when he was in Switzerland: for he writes from 
 Willisau 2 to Langethal, in April, 1835 — " My resolution is quite 
 irrevocable, to devote myself henceforth solely to the fundamental 
 idea of my life (the fostering of the natural desire for activity), 
 to exhaust every effort towards accomplishing its clear develop- 
 ment, simple exposition, and complete expression." From the 
 middle of June to 20th Sept., 1836, Berlin was the nest where he 
 brooded over this new fledgling of his mind. 3 On 23rd July, 
 1836, he writes from Berlin thus to Langethal: "The clear and 
 thorough setting-forth and working-out of my fundamental idea, 
 its complete presentation in some visible shape, this alone comes 
 before my mind as upon all grounds a first and original claim 
 upon me ; and by quiet withdrawal into my own thoughts, by 
 complete absorption within myself, but also by silent observation 
 of the powerful forces which move and control the life around me, 
 I have gained surprising glimpses, made astonishing progress, 
 
 1 By the German Editor, Herr Poesche. 
 
 2 Froebel transferred the Wartensee School to Willisau in 1832, and con- 
 tinued to conduct it there till 1835. He l e ^ Willisau in the summer of 1835. 
 to found with Langethal the Bern Orphanage at Burgdorf. He had pre- 
 viously been giving courses to teachers at Burgdorf, with Langethal ; and at 
 the date of this letter had returned to Willisau to conduct the examinations 
 of the children, before finally taking leave of them, Langethal continuing 
 meanwhile at Burgdorf with the teachers. 
 
 3 Froebel's first wife (Madame Henriette Froebel) had become alarmingly 
 ill, and it was imperatively necessary that she should leave Swiss air. Froebel 
 therefore gave over his post at Burgdorf to his nephew Ferdinand and to 
 Langethal, and took his wife to Berlin. 
 
 29 . 
 
;o Letters of Froebel. 
 
 and even, if you like, I will say I have made many conquests. 
 The whole conception grows upon me more and more as a great 
 unity, yet rich in variety ; as something made up of many diverse 
 forms and at the same time making many new ones, as a mighty, 
 and yet as a beautiful tree of life within me." This letter was 
 written from No. 46, Old Schonhauser Street, probably at the 
 house of his wife's aunt. (The first Madame Froebel was a 
 native of Berlin.) This same lady also had, in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of Berlin, at Schonhausen, a little house and 
 garden, "our little hut" as Froebel calls it. It was here that he 
 fought " a real fight for life " to win an answer to the question 
 " where he should cast the anchor," or, to use a better figure, 
 " where he should plant the germ " of his forthcoming new 
 venture, whether in Schonhausen or in Blankenburg, near 
 Keilhau. Barop succeeded in getting him to choose Keilhau, or 
 at least Blankenburg, close by. And we find the inventor of 
 the Kindergarten writing from Keilhau on 1st December, 1836, 
 to Langethal in Switzerland : — " Since I left Switzerland, I have 
 been at work uninterruptedly, watching over, making clear, 
 developing, shaping, and constructing the fundamental idea of 
 my life — I am often, very often, quite tired out." By the end of 
 February, 1837, we find Froebel living in a building formerly used 
 as a powder-mill at Blankenburg. Still in the grip of old educa- 
 tional prejudices, he is preparing to entrust his work to men 
 teachers, instead of to mothers and women teachers, and still 
 seeks, for a very long time, after a suitable name for his institu- 
 tion. At one time he thinks of christening it " Nursery School 
 for Little Children," or " Self-teaching Institution." At another 
 time he inclines towards a longwinded description : — " Institution 
 for the culture of family life, and for education towards national 
 and individual life, through the culture of the instinct for activity, 
 inquiry and creation inherent in man — that is, in the child — as a 
 member of the family, of the nation, of mankind ; that is to say, 
 an institution for the self-teaching, self-education, and self- culture 
 of men by means of play, of creative original activity, and of 
 voluntary self-instruction ; for Families and National Schools." 
 Finally, there occurs to him in a fortunate moment, as he is 
 
Foundation and Construction. 31 
 
 walking over the beautiful Steigerwald between Keilhau and 
 Blankenburg, the pretty and conclusive appellation — " Kinder- 
 garten." Upon the discovery of this delightful name the wood- 
 clad slopes of the mountain rang afar with his mighty joyous 
 shout, " Eureka, I have it — the Kindergarten ! " Nature and 
 name of the new Institution were thus at once happily found. 
 How energetically and with what enthusiasm the Master now 
 carries through the foundation of the institution, and strains 
 every nerve to bring it into life, the following letters will serve to 
 show. These eminently precious, thoughtful and tender letters 
 are written to his cousin, the wife of Magister Schmidt, in Gera. 
 The reader will soon judge of their worth for himself, and we 
 need not further enlarge upon their contents or their meaning. 
 It much more concerns us to say a few words about the con- 
 struction raised upon Froebel's foundation ; to answer, that is, 
 the question as to what has been done since Froebel's death 
 towards the completion of his idea, by his scholars and his 
 friends, of both sexes, on the literary and on the practical sides. 
 
 On the literary side we get an excellent view of what has been 
 done through a volume by Louis Walter on " Froebelian Litera- 
 ture " (Adler, Dresden). Walter classifies methodically the 
 authors and the books which have more or less contributed 
 towards the success of the Frobelian principle. He enumerates 
 and describes works by sixteen physicians, many of them of the 
 first rank, as Bock, Virchow, P. Niemeyer, Schreber, etc. ; by 
 seventeen philosophers, such as Krause, 1 H. von Fichte, T. Ziller, 
 Stoy and Michelet ; by eight theologians, amongst whom are 
 G. Werner, Steinacker, Karl Schwartz and Bahring; by eight 
 lawyers ; by eleven masters of grammar schools and commercial 
 schools, as Wichard Lange, Prof. E. Pappenheim, Erasmus 
 Schwab, and the Councillor of Education, Dr. R. Schmidt ; by 
 seventeen masters of Normal Schools, amongst whom we find 
 Diesterweg, Dittes, Kehr, Schutze, Scholz ; by eighty-six masters 
 of National Elementary Schools, such as the Councillors of Edu- 
 cation, Bormann, Hoffmann, and Kockel ; Dr. Pilz, Keferstein, 
 
 1 As to Krause's interesting correspondence with Froebel see the companion 
 volume, " Froebel's Autobiography " (Sonnenschein). 
 
32 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 etc. ; by six principals of Idiot Asylums, Georgens, Schroder, etc. ; 
 by seventy-four teachers of the actual Kindergarten methods in a 
 practical sense, amongst whom are Middendorff, Frankenberg, 
 Marquardt, Benfey, Poesche, Hoffmann, Koehler, Seidel, etc. ; 
 by forty-seven literary men of all sorts and conditions, as for 
 instance, Dr. Kiihne, Rossmaessler, Miiller, Ule, Bruno Meyer, 
 Von Holzendorf, Dr. Emminghaus, etc. ; by eight editors of 
 journals ; and by forty-six ladies, a list comprising the Baroness 
 von Marenholtz-Biilow, Mesdames Kenriette Schrader, Ida 
 Seele (Madame Vogeler), Doris Liitkens, Guillaume, Bertha 
 Meyer, Lina Morgenstern ; Mesdemoiselles Amalie Marschner, 
 Luise Hertlein, Thekla Naveau, Eleonore Heerwart, Lortzing, 
 Schaefer, Focking, and thirty-two others. Already a library of 
 the Froebelian literature would contain several hundred volumes. 
 In the practical preparation of methods the three close country- 
 men of Froebel, namely Koehler of Gotha, and Schmidt and 
 Seidel of Weimar, have won the chief honours. And with what 
 diligence, like a swarm of busy bees, the faithful guardians of the 
 Froebelian treasure work ! They form a real army of women, 
 this host of Kindergarten teachers. We can indeed say that 
 Froebel's " grain of mustard seed which he took and sowed in his 
 field, now it is grown, is the greatest among herbs, and becometh 
 a tree ! " (Matt. xiii. 31, 32.) 
 
 Hand in hand with the literary side of the Froebelian Education 
 has ever gone its practical working. The simple private Kinder- 
 gartens of earlier times are now classified into Kindergartens for 
 the higher classes and National Kindergartens \ we have Kinder- 
 gartens belonging to private individuals, to committees and com- 
 panies, to parishes, to states ; and there are, moreover, Normal 
 Kindergartens for the practice in teaching of young teachers 
 of both sexes. The least progress made by the Kindergarten 
 movement, so richly developed in all the period preceding school 
 life, is that in the period of school life itself; and yet it paves the 
 way to all school teaching, advanced or elementary alike. It is 
 high time that something should be done about this ; at least, 
 certain selected "occupations" should be carried on much later 
 than hitherto. In the department of adjuncts to the school we 
 
Foundation and Construction. 33 
 
 find much improvement, however. Here we see open play- 
 grounds for the children, school gardens (Erasmus Schwab), and 
 school work-rooms planned and actually brought into existence, 
 especially in the larger towns. i\s regards the school work- 
 rooms, particularly with reference to the educational- work - 
 question, I may be permitted to remark, with a view of clearing 
 up many misunderstandings and misrepresentations, that I was 
 the first (at the gathering of the friends of the Kindergarten 
 movement in 1851) to urge that the Froebelian games and occu- 
 pations should be carried onward, so as to become the means 
 of teaching actual handicrafts. In 1852 an address of mine 
 on this subject was printed by Herder, of Freiburg (Breisgau, 
 Baden), which I had delivered at Christmas, 1851, in Georgens' 
 School at Baden-Baden, under the title, " Handiwork considered 
 as a means of Culture towards the Development and Education 
 of Man.*' Late in the summer of 1852 I received Professor 
 Biedermann's book, " Karl Friedrich's System of Handiwork : ' 
 (Leipzig, Avenarius). I became intimately acquainted with 
 Biedermann, who then dwelt in Lindenau, near Leipzig, and in 
 the following autumn I had the pleasure of presenting him to the 
 Baroness von Marenholtz-Bulow at his house. The necessary 
 consequences of the Froebelian system when applied to educa- 
 tional handiwork were demonstrated by me in a series of essays 
 on " Practical National Education," published in Diesterweg's 
 review, " Rheinische Blatter" ("Rhine-pages") in 1856-1858, 
 but thought out in book-form from the very first. In the mean- 
 time the Dane, Clausen Caas, not without encouragement from 
 me, pushed on a propaganda for educational handiwork in 
 Germany, and many of our leading men, as for example Dr. 
 Woldemar Goetze, in Leipzig, Herr von Schenkendorf, in Goerlitz, 
 etc., see in this system the firm foundations of a beautiful and 
 living industrial efficiency. Thus, on this side also we have to 
 Moice over our great progress. 
 
 yier school life w ? e have to chronicle a most remarkable result 
 
 ^<^ extension of the Froebelian system, in the culture of 
 
 4* & ; special vocation. The importance of these circurn-, 
 
 ? 2j>es it advisable to describe the plan and work of some: 
 
 D 
 
34 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 one institution of the kind. I choose for this purpose the 
 " Pestalozzi-Froebel-House" at Berlin. Froebel claimed as the 
 practical foundation of his Kindergarten the education of young 
 girls in their special teaching vocation, and also at the same 
 time in their housewifely duties. Therefore he would first train 
 nurses, who would be able, when needed, to lend a hand to the 
 busy housewife in her work of the house, while they would take 
 over from the mother the necessary watchful care, the educa- 
 tional responsibility, for her child. Beyond these he would have 
 the trained Kindergarten teachers, called to exercise their high 
 vocation in Kindergartens or in private families. And, last of all, 
 he planned the culture of young ladies of good position in society 
 for their future educational duties simply as mothers. Ever since 
 the year i860 the " Froebel- Verein " of this place (Froebel Society 
 of Berlin) has been engaged in a constant endeavour to solve 
 these problems of Froebel's, and has brought to bear upon them 
 the greatest practical fitness, the most incessant perseverance, 
 and the warmest enthusiasm; and with excellent results, as shown, 
 inter alia, by the successful manner in which it has secured a 
 true educational basis as the foundation of its seven Kinder- 
 gartens, its " College for Kindergarten Teachers," and its 
 " Training Institute for Nurses." But there remained, and still 
 remains wanting, the home, the visible hearth {focus), round 
 which these vigorous efforts might group themselves, and where 
 they might concentrate themselves ; some given place and time 
 where their various powers and the means of their application 
 might be drawn together and co-ordinated. On the other hand, 
 the " National Education and National Kindergarten Society in 
 South- West Friedrichstadt " } commenced its fruitful labours by 
 acquiring its own house and garden ; and the " Pestalozzi- 
 Froebel-House," the home of this united society, I now propose 
 to set clearly before the reader's eyes, so far as the information 
 which I have collected about it will serve. 
 
 1 A middle class quarter of Berlin. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 35 
 
 The Pestalozzi-Froeb el-House, Berlin. 
 
 IF it is true that emotional sensibility and love of family life 
 are main characteristics of the German people, if it is true that 
 Pestalozzi and Froebel based all their efforts for educational 
 reform upon the Family, then the Pestalozzi-Froebel-House (at 
 16, Steinmetz Street, Berlin) deserves a detailed description here. 
 
 " The National Education and National Kindergarten Society," 
 an association of ladies and gentlemen of good social position, 
 took over, in the year 1873, a simple National Kindergarten, and 
 developed it into an establishment of high importance to the art of 
 teaching, which they have called the "Pestalozzi-Froebel-House." 
 
 According to my information, the success of this establishment 
 " has owed much to the keen scrutiny, mingled with the most 
 kindly interest, of H.I.H. the Crown Princess of Prussia. 1 Her 
 Imperial Highness has continually supported the society by word 
 and deed, and several of its contrivances and inventions owe 
 their existence to her initiative, whilst many a child in the 
 Pestalozzi-Froebel-House has found its prettiest Christmas 
 treasures in the generous gifts of the Princess." 2 Madame 
 Henriette Schrader, also, Froebel's grand-niece, who watches 
 over the extension of his work with the far-seeing constructive 
 eye of genius, has taken an important share in organizing the 
 whole establishment from beginning to end, so that it may be 
 a living embodiment of the spirit of Pestalozzi and Froebel in 
 house and school. The society, aiming at active reform, has set 
 before itself as its object "the education of the people in general, 
 with special reference to the education of girls," and in this 
 province, while maintaining a close connection with the School 
 on the one hand and the Family on the other, it aims at pro- 
 ducing something which shall be in itself a well-ordered complete 
 whole. Before all else the society sets itself to give women an 
 
 1 Victoria, Princess Royal of England, eldest child of the Queen, Crown 
 Princess of Prussia in 1887, when this chapter was written, and now (1890) th<= 
 widowed Empress Frederick, dowager Empress of Germany and motherjel. 
 the present Emperor William II. 1 Q f ^e 
 
 2 The lamented Emperor Frederick, whilst Crown Prince, also took 
 
 terest in the institution, paid several visits to it, and assisted it in rru materials 
 
36 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 education which is based on the principle of unity, and to foster 
 those elements of bodily and mental activity in the children and 
 young girls under its care which shall serve towards the renewing 
 and ennobling of family life. 
 
 To support these lofty and noble aims, then, are the resources 
 of the society definitely organized. 
 
 I. 
 
 The foundation of the living, active spirit of the establishment 
 is the well-organized complete household arrangement of the 
 Lady Principal, Mile. Hammink-Schepel. Acting on that root- 
 principle of Pestalozzi's, "Not skill, nor books, but Life itself is 
 the foundation of all education," 1 every onesided theory, every 
 abstract and unfruitful dogma, is cleared away, and a great point 
 is made, with good reason, of the fact that the "atmosphere of 
 the family" and Pestalozzi's "power of the common dwelling- 
 room " are everywhere cherished in this house ; for, indeed, 
 " from whence is the genuine fostering care to come, which is so 
 necessary for a child's life, if his home is desolate and empty, 
 or if his mother, from want of time or from ignorance, is not in 
 a position to provide it ? " A mother who understands the 
 importance of introducing her child, in the right spirit, to house- 
 keeping duties, and of giving him a share in these things, care- 
 fully regulated according to his powers, is preparing beforehand 
 those capacities which will later on form the basis of right 
 practical efficiency in his life as a citizen. The housekeeping of 
 a family brings one into constant interchange with nature, with 
 commerce, and all the many divisions of a citizen's life, and gives 
 an intelligent mother many opportunities to place the child in his 
 earliest youth amid loveable relations with man, with God, and 
 with Nature. How well Froebel understood this is shown in his 
 " Songs for Mothers and Nursery Play" {Mutter- und Kose-Lieder). 
 In accordance with the educational meaning thus attributed to 
 housekeeping and the work of the fan.ily, this pleasant and 
 
 The National Kindergarten in the Pestalozzi-Froebel-House," by 
 Schrader. Parti. (Berlin: Leonard Simion.) 
 
Foundation and Construction. 37 
 
 health-giving duty is provided for in the institution we are de- 
 scribing by a complete and well-furnished kitchen, a bath-room, 
 a courtyard, a garden for amusement (with sand for digging, with 
 pebbles, and pine cones, moss, and shells, and straw, etc.), and 
 one for orderly gardening, and also by a series of rooms and 
 halls suitably furnished and arranged for games, occupations, 
 handiwork, and instruction. 
 
 II. 
 
 Let us now consider the basis of the whole institution educa- 
 tionally speaking ; that is to say, the children's division. 
 
 The establishment contains : — 
 
 i. The Kindergarten proper, a National Kindergarten with four 
 classes, for children from z\ to 6 years old. 
 
 2. The Transition Class, only held in the morning and by one 
 teacher, for children about 6 or 6| years old. 
 
 3. The Preparatory School for children from 6 to 7 or 7J 
 years old, preparing for the two school classes. 
 
 4. The school of knitting and handiwork planned out and now 
 in preparation, which will give to boys from six to ten years old, 
 and to girls from school age up to their confirmation, a varied and 
 comprehensive system of education in domestic affairs. 
 
 (I.) The purpose of the National Kindergarten is to provide the 
 necessary and natural help which poor mothers require, who have 
 to be about their work all day, and must leave their children to 
 themselves. The occupations pursued in the Kindergarten are 
 the following : free play of a child by itself ; free play of several 
 children by themselves ; associated play under the guidance of a 
 teacher (Froebel's Games) ; gymnastic exercises ; several sorts of 
 -handiwork suited to little children ; going for walks ; learning 
 music, both instrumental (on the method of Madame Wiseneder) 
 and vocal \ learning and repetition of poetry : story-telling ; look- 
 ing at really good pictures ; aiding in domestic occupations ; gar- 
 dening ; and the usual systematic ordered occupations of Froebel. 
 Madame Schrader is steadfastly opposed to that conception of the 
 Kindergarten which insists upon mathematically shaped materials 
 
38 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 for the Froebelian occupations, the early training of the intellect, 
 and the stern discipline of the schoolroom. The plan of this 
 Kindergarten, therefore, derives its basis, not from the school, but 
 from the healthy moral-religious life of the family ; and the guid- 
 ance given to the little ones is less that of a school teacher than 
 that of a true mother. Madame Schrader says very rightly that 
 the tender age of little children needs above all " organic or self- 
 developing life," and " the warm breath of the atmosphere of the 
 family ; " and she therefore principally directs her efforts, availing 
 herself of the natural development of the child's yearning for 
 activity, towards preserving and strengthening the loftier moral 
 feelings in the child. Very characteristic also of her method in 
 the Kindergarten is the planned effort after concentration, so that 
 some one object, the " Object for the Month," shall always be 
 present as a centre of interest for the child. " From the richly- 
 crowded ever-changing life of things and phenomena which the 
 Kindergarten offers, some one object is chosen for a central point 
 each month. To the ' Object for the Month ' the manifold activity 
 of the child is by preference directed during this period, and he 
 learns to concentrate his interest upon it, and thereby comes not 
 only to regard things as separate objects with which he busies 
 himself in many various ways, but also to understand them as 
 related to other things and to mankind — all this, of course, within 
 the natural limits which bound the minds of children of this age." l 
 And what are the results which Madame Schrader promises us 
 from such a method in Kindergarten education, from such a con- 
 tinuous connection of bodily and mental exercises? "Through 
 kindly care for animals and plants, as also, in a general sense, 
 through acquaintance with Nature, and through the useful appli- 
 cation of natural products, the children acquire a loving relation- 
 ship with Nature, and win points of vantage whence they may, 
 later on, come to understand her by the aids of religion, poetry, 
 and science. Through the manufacture of various articles, such 
 as folded forms in paper, woven mats, or clay models, etc., and 
 
 1 " National Kindergartens," by Madame Schrader. No. 2, " The Object 
 for the Month." (Berlin, 1885. Leonard Simion.) 
 
Foundation and Construction. 39 
 
 through the use of these things for the service or the decoration 
 of the institution, are the children familiarised with the first 
 beginnings of handicrafts and of art-work, and thus they win the 
 elements of the knowledge of industrial life and industrial activity. 
 Through perfectly free use of slate and pencil, clay, paper, needle 
 and thread, bricks and laths, etc., the children have opportunities 
 given them to make ' free inventions ' of their own, and thus to 
 attack the first steps in art. Through a systematic arrangement of 
 Froebel's occupations, the intellectual capacities of the children 
 are nourished — never by abstract teaching, but always by working 
 out in action — and the child is prepared for school. Through the 
 connection of picture, song, and story, with the experiences of 
 the child, the imagination of the little ones is naturally cherished, 
 and a poetic and bright view of life is encouraged." All the 
 above is drawn from actual practice, a fruit plucked from the 
 fresh tree of life. And if not every tree, nor every Kindergarten, 
 can bear such rich fruit, nevertheless it cannot be denied that 
 the Kindergarten system affords good ground "for the harmonious 
 interchange between the life of the body and that of the mind." 
 
 (II.) and (III.) The Transition Class serves as a bridge to the 
 Preparatory School ; and herein, by gradual steps, the Institution 
 couples the Froebelian principle of "reproduction," or repre- 
 sentation, with the Pestalozzian principle of " intuition." " No 
 fresh stage of development, no new treatment of life and of out- 
 ward things can be allowed, according to Pestalozzi's and Froe- 
 bel's dicta, to stand in flagrant contradiction to that which has 
 preceded it. On the contrary, in fact, all changes in modes of 
 education and of instruction, and in their application, must be 
 most gradual ; resembling in this the changes in the course of 
 development of the child himself, which never occur by fits and 
 starts. On this account, the first teaching in the Preparatory 
 School, conducted upon Froebel's principles in this institution, 
 stands in no rude contrast to the previous work in the Kinder- 
 garten. The child finds a wealth of material in the Kindergarten 
 for the development of his desire for activity whereby he expresses 
 his thought, and the same is the case in the lower classes of the 
 Preparatory School ; following Pestalozzi's and Froebel's method. 
 
40 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 At this stage not books, but Life, still remains the central point, 
 and the point of departure for instruction. 
 
 (IV.) The school for handiwork, only open in the afternoons 
 (Wednesdays and Saturdays excepted), concerns itself, partly with 
 carrying onwards the Froebelian occupations into the practical 
 handicrafts allied to them ; such as making paste-board boxes and 
 baskets, weaving osier-baskets, or cloth mats, etc., and partly 
 with instruction in knitting, patching, and darning. The children 
 only pay fifty pfennige (sixpence English) a month, until they 
 reach the Preparatory School. The motive underlying these 
 handicrafts is set forth by Madame Schrader after this fashion: — 
 " The children find in our institution, as Pestalozzi requires that 
 they should find, every encouragement to develop their capabili- 
 ties and powers by use ; not by their selfish use, to their own 
 personal advantage, but by their use in the loving service of others." 
 " The longing to help people, and to accomplish little pieces of 
 work proportioned to their feeble powers, is constant in children ; 
 and lies alongside of their need for that free and unrestrained play 
 which is the business of their life." Therefore opportunities are 
 created for the elder children to satisfy this want in the following 
 way: — They are expected to employ themselves in cleaning, taking 
 care of, arranging, keeping in order, and using the many various 
 things belonging to the housekeeping department of the Kinder- 
 garten ; for example, they set out and clear away the materials 
 required for the games and handicrafts ; they help in cleaning the 
 rooms, furniture, and utensils ; they keep all things in order and 
 cleanliness \ they paste together torn wall-papers or pictures and 
 cover books, and they help in the cooking and in the preparations 
 of cooking ; in laying the tables ; in washing up the plates and 
 dishes, etc. The children gain in this manner the simple but 
 most important foundations of their later duties as housekeepers 
 and householders, and at the same time learn to regard these 
 duties as things done in the service of others." 
 
 Next to the School for Handiwork, in economic importance, 
 ranks the kitchen. Dinners are provided for those children whose 
 parents work all day away from home, at a trifling charge of five 
 and ten pfennige (one halfpenny and one penny in English). 
 
Foundation and Construction. 41 
 
 Also for a trifle poor children may receive assistance of various 
 kinds in illness, or may have milk, or baths, through the kindness 
 of the kindred " Association for the Promotion of Health in the 
 Household." 
 
 III. 
 
 Upon the foundations above described rests the upper struc- 
 ture of the Institution, namely : — 
 
 A training-school for young girls to prepare them for their 
 future vocation as housekeepers and as mothers. 
 
 The primary object in this division is so to arrange the educa- 
 tion of these girls, drawn from the ranks of the people, that they 
 shall be better equipped than they formerly were for the fulfil- 
 ment of those duties which life will shortly lay upon them ; that 
 they shall come more and more clearly to understand how to 
 fulfil their housewifely duties, and their responsibilities as educa- 
 tors of their children ; and that they shall enter upon their new 
 life strong in both body and mind, well prepared for, and finding 
 pleasure in, their work. Further, this Institution offers to girls of 
 the upper classes opportunities on the one hand of acquiring 
 systematic culture towards housekeeping and towards educating 
 their own family, or towards professional Kindergarten work as 
 the vocation of their life, and on the other hand, of preparation 
 for those duties towards the poor which devolve upon the ladies 
 of the upper classes. This department of the Institution is very 
 earnestly promoted, and it is certainly of the highest social im- 
 portance that young ladies should thus in very early youth be 
 habituated to actual handiwork, and to the accomplishment of 
 duties in the service of their poorer fellow-men, and should be- 
 come well prepared for those duties by teaching and by real work. 
 The means for attaining these various objects are thus arranged. 
 
 1. In the complete training of the young girl for housewifely 
 duties, the most important element is the kitchen, that is to say, 
 the School of Cookery. And as the institution is now about to 
 closely connect the work of the School of Handiwork with that 
 of the School of Cookery, it will become possible to offer a com- 
 
42 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 plete school of housewifery even to poor girls of the school-age. 
 Such girls will in future have the opportunity, in this Institution, 
 of doing ordinary school work in the afternoons, as is the case in 
 a Servants' Home, of taking walks together, of working in the 
 garden, etc. ; the main object still remaining that of training both 
 girls drawn from the ranks of the people and young ladies oi 
 the upper classes, in the theory and practice of cookery and 
 housewifery, and especially in such a manner that they shall learn 
 most thoroughly what is most required in their own housekeep- 
 ing, and shall be able to put it into practice in the best way ; in 
 fact, that they shall be accustomed to the real earnest work of the 
 household. 
 
 2. The educational vocation of the wife in both the narrow 
 and the broad senses of the term, and the culture of women in 
 the practice and theory of education, are provided for in the 
 many divisions of the Training College department of the Insti- 
 tution. Therein ladies of the upper and wealthier classes find 
 opportunities for delightful and invigorating association with the 
 world of children, for loving and natural intercourse with the 
 poorer classes of the people, for systematic preparation towards the 
 education of their own family, or towards the profession of Kinder- 
 garten-teacher, whether as a fully qualified teacher of the higher 
 grade, or as a nursery governess or teacher of the second grade. 
 It is no small curriculum which is to qualify these young ladies 
 for their highly responsible vocation : but it has been planned 
 with a keen regard for including only that which is truly neces- 
 sary. In the first division — that for Kindergarten teachers — the 
 instruction is classed under the following heads : Theory of Edu- 
 cation, including the elements of Hygiene — History of Education 
 and Religion — Theory and practice of Kindergarten teaching — 
 Teaching Methods — Geometry — Singing — Drawing and Colour- 
 ing — Gymnastics — Natural History — Elements of Political Eco- 
 nomy, and the visiting of Charitable Institutions — The Froebelian 
 Occupations — Special preparation for the practice of Kinder- 
 garten teaching and School teaching — Instruction in Needlework, 
 and especially with a view to improving the methods of mending 
 linen — Extension of the Froebelian Occupations into allied handi- 
 
Foundation and Construction. 43 
 
 crafts, such as weaving of cloth mats, basketwork, etc. — and 
 Household Work. The course of instruction for nursery-gover- 
 nesses, or Kindergarten teachers of the second grade, is naturally 
 simpler. These receive instruction in the Froebelian Occupations 
 and the Theory of Education — in Natural History — German — 
 Story-telling and recitation of Poetry — Singing — Drawing — Gym- 
 nastics — Needlework, etc. The students are made to work 
 practically in the various departments of the institution ; indeed, 
 the elder ones are able, and are expected, to turn their studies to 
 useful application as assistant teachers, whereby they gain confi- 
 dence, and accustom themselves to independent action. 
 
 In these ways has this great institution arisen from small be- 
 ginnings. In the Pestalozzi-Froebel- House the efforts of the 
 two great educators have again found a common home, and the 
 lives of the householder, the child, the college student, and the 
 teacher are fused into one energetic whole by the glow of cheerful 
 activity. 
 
 Twenty Letters of Froebel to Madame Schmidt, in Gera. 
 
 Letter I. 
 Blankenburg, near Rudolstadt, $th June, 1840. 
 
 Dear and esteemed Cousin, — 
 
 Again I approach you by letter, and although not about any 
 personal matter, yet with the old personal trust ; and I hope for 
 your most friendly attention. 
 
 The approaching Festival of the 400th anniversary of the in- 
 vention of printing, which, no doubt, is much discussed in your 
 circle, has suggested to us an idea whereby what is lasting and 
 beneficent in this celebration may be connected with the world of 
 children, with the life of early childhood and its care, and so with 
 the child-loving souls of our women. The celebration of this 
 
44 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 festival must excite the most lively interest in the bosoms of all 
 thinking and feeling men. 
 
 I take the liberty of sending you the plan l describing such a 
 work for German women and girls, hoping for your kind co- 
 operation, that you may make good use of it amongst the circle 
 of your lady acquaintances. 
 
 Should this subject enlist your sympathies, as I flatter myself it 
 will, so that you would make interest with the editor of the 
 journal of your town in favour of the work, it would gladden us 
 much if a suitable article were written inviting subscriptions. 
 
 The address which appeared in the Rudolstadt weekly journal 
 is enclosed. 
 
 I wish, dear cousin, that you had already carried out your 
 intention of visiting us. Then would my little child-world, which 
 feels itself happy under the guidance of the principle shown forth 
 in my plan, be now praying from out the happiness of the child- 
 life for your cordial assistance towards putting my plan into 
 execution. 
 
 Give my kindest remembrances to all your dear family, and 
 especially to my honoured cousin, your dear husband ; and accept 
 the assurance of my unaltered sentiments of friendship and esteem 
 for yourself. 
 
 I am, Your affectionate Cousin, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 Blankenburg, 19th July, 1840. 
 Dear and much-esteemed Cousin, — 
 
 You will have hardly been able to understand why your re- 
 peated kind enclosures have up till now not brought you one 
 word of thanks from me in return. The celebration of the Gut- 
 tenberg festival, 3 and the foundation of the German Kindergarten 
 took place on 28th June. 3 I thought I had better wait till it was 
 over before I sent you particulars as to the subscriptions. 
 
 1 For his plan, see Appendix to the present section of the book. 
 
 2 The 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. 
 
 3 "28th July," by error, in the German text. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 45 
 
 Then I was busy with a description of the festival and with 
 my report, and at the same time it seemed necessary to prepare 
 an account of the proposed new German educational work as 
 regards the culture of very young children. This description and 
 the rest I intended, dear cousin, to have sent you along with my 
 letter of thanks. But the printing takes so much more time than 
 I expected that I cannot venture to delay my letter till it is ready. 
 
 The number of subscribers has not equalled our expectations. 
 It has not reached the stipulated ioo for the first stage, but only 
 amounts to about 70. 1 Most of the subscriptions come from the 
 neighbourhood; those received through your kindness must be 
 reckoned with the more distant ones, yet there are a few from as 
 far as Westphalia. 
 
 Weimar has shown itself sympathetic, the Grand Duchess has 
 subscribed, and also the reigning Duchess of Meiningen. 
 
 You will now perhaps begin to think, my kind and sympathising 
 cousin, that this result, so small as yet, makes me doubtful of the 
 success of the whole project, and weakens my resolution to pro- 
 ceed with my undertaking. Nothing of the kind ; it has only 
 taught me the whole position of affairs ; it has enabled me more 
 clearly to discern at once the obstacles which lie in the path of 
 carrying out the work, and the means and the way to overcome 
 them. Therefore the work shall most surely be carried through ; 
 it must be accomplished by appealing to the loftier side of human 
 nature, and I shall not abandon my efforts. 
 
 The greatest obstacle of all is the want of public spirit. There 
 is a widespread feeling which may be put into the form of the 
 rather vulgar proverb, " My shirt is nearer my skin than my 
 coat." This may be physically true ; it holds in time and space ; 
 but yet, after all, it does not hold if the essential meaning of the 
 thing be considered, for in the most handsome and best made 
 shirt I can freeze to death, or at all events can catch my death ot 
 cold, whereas a good coat preserves me from both these dangers. 
 
 1 Froebel in his plan desired 100 subscribers of ten thalers each (30.?. Eng- 
 lish) to found the work ; then 1,000 more to actually start it. (See his plan, 
 already referred to, which will be found at the end of this section of the book.) 
 
46 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Whereby I do not mean to say that a good shirt is of no use. I 
 mean merely to assert that the effort to acquire a good coat, 
 something which shall cover you all over and protect you, is by 
 no means an absurd or useless endeavour. My parable applies 
 to both the earlier and later stages of family education, as well as 
 to the future institutions for the care of little children which are 
 to become the order of the day. Such institutions, in very truth, 
 can only prosper when they are supported by a genuine edu- 
 cational spirit on the part of the general public and by a common 
 interest in the care and culture of early childhood. I might give 
 you many symbolic illustrations of my meaning. Look, for in- 
 stance, at isolated trees ; how they grow amidst a perpetual 
 struggle for existence and are often on the point of perishing, 
 because the wind blows away the leaves which they strew above 
 their roots to protect them ; but on the other hand, the trees 
 which you see united together in a wood preserve each other's 
 protecting and nourishing layer of leaves, and grow aloft in power. 
 Just so, dearest cousin, must we strive to awaken a public spirit, 
 and bring people to a sense of its proper value. But why do I 
 say all this to you, who are already so cordial a sympathiser? 
 For this reason : that you may impart my convictions and the 
 grounds for them to other sympathisers, if you feel yourself im- 
 pelled to do so. 
 
 To-day I can only send you and the two other ladies of your 
 town who are in sympathy with our cause, this fragment from the 
 festival. 
 
 My kind remembrances to your much-esteemed husband and 
 your dear family. 
 
 Dearly beloved cousin, let us cherish the union of heart and 
 soul which has so long existed between us, in order that we may 
 use it to the blessing of mankind. It is because of this great 
 object that your faithful friendship in heart and life is so inexpres- 
 sibly dear to me. Be assured of this from 
 
 Your sincerely attached Cousin, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 47 
 
 Letter III. 
 
 Blankenburg, 5/// Sept., 1840. 
 Beloved dearest Cousin, — 
 
 You must have been certain how happy you would make me 
 through the assurance of your warm sympathy in my life-work, 
 and I too rejoice in your certainty that this would cheer me. 
 It is a precious boon for our life when one soul can comprehend 
 another soul in relation to the highest and best possessions life has 
 to offer. I feel myself fortunate, that with respect to the principles, 
 the starting point, or the end in view, in what I have done towards 
 the care and education of little children too young to do any- 
 thing else than play, you understand me thoroughly ; without its 
 being necessary for me to address a word of explanation to you. 
 You perceive and quite correctly express my design of cherishing 
 and awakening a germ in the soul of man, in his intelligence and 
 his life, beginning with the earliest childhood, which shall develop 
 into a tree of life of unfading freshness, with blossoms ever 
 renewed, and bearing ever more perfect and riper fruit, in peace 
 and joy. And not alone in this world but into the next shall grow 
 this tree of life, giving pleasure to God and to noble and true- 
 hearted men, and filling with joy Him who so loved little 
 children. 1 
 
 Then shall the earth, moreover, be acknowledged for what it 
 really is, one of the many mansions in the house of God our 
 Father 2 ; yea, as a part of His heaven itself, and as such shall it 
 be held in honour. Not, however, after any arbitrary, self- 
 evolved, or excogitated interpretation, but after the manner that 
 God Himself teaches us and permits us to be taught in so many 
 diverse ways. But men, who love phrases better than facts and 
 deeds, refuse to understand me when I depose the empty phrase 
 from its place of honour, and set in its room the fact and the 
 deed ; and those, moreover, clear, pure, vivid and simple, such 
 as they have come to us from God's own hand. 
 
 1 " Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such 
 is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xix. 14). 
 
 2 "In my Father's house are many mansions " (John xiv. 12). 
 
48 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 And what could be more grateful to me than your ready com- 
 prehension of the motives which guide my action in this matter ; 
 for my most earnest efforts are wholly spent in the endea- 
 vour to hear the voice of One who leads us into all Truth, and 
 never in self-regard, selfishness, or wilfulness. You know the 
 method and the means of action which I should most gladly 
 follow. My heart and mind delight to live and work in simplicity 
 alone, in stillness and modesty, withdrawn somewhat from the 
 world, but always in clearness and orderliness and harmony of 
 thought, and so as to yield fulness to life ; my objects being the 
 Good, the Virtuous, the True, and whatever gives peace and joy. 
 
 By an extraordinary fatality, by a special concatenation of cir- 
 cumstances, I have always been, from my earliest youth onwards, 
 urged forward and driven into activity against the claims and 
 desires of my own soul. I know, dear cousin, for I have often 
 experienced it, that the Good, the Virtuous, the True, and the 
 Sincere arise only from amongst the smallest, stillest, and most 
 hidden places of life. Whatever I may have succeeded in ac- 
 complishing during my life which has any real value, however 
 slight, has originated in this seemingly casual manner. 
 
 To-day I would gladly return, if surrounding conditions 
 only allowed me, to the smallest beginnings of things ; but the 
 artist life, the life of construction, through which we all must 
 pass — and I also with my Kindergarten, if it ever is to really 
 exist ; such a life, I say, broadens and enlarges itself before one 
 knows whither it is tending. So grew up the plan of a German 
 Kindergarten in my mind, arriving quite unexpectedly to my- 
 self at the dimensions and wide contents which its contour at 
 present embraces. I am beginning again to-day with the idea of 
 the Kindergarten, developing it from its smallest germ ; a task in 
 which many things here combine to help me, if only I could 
 attain the one necessary condition, namely, a true womanly heart 
 educationally capable, combined with an intelligence full ot 
 motherly experience, and willing to be devoted to the culture 
 and watchful care of the little ones, and to the training of the 
 elder daughters and young women. 
 
 The whole sex, whose powers are now to bud forth, can be 
 
Foundation and Construction. 49 
 
 educated and trained towards the goal of all mankind, although 
 we have to begin at the very earliest beginning, for the history of 
 man has often shown this ; but three conditions are imperatively 
 necessary, working together as one undivided unity : — 
 
 (1) Woman's heart and woman's life, (2) in intimate union with 
 genuine loving care of children ; and both the care of children 
 and the woman's heart grounded upon (3) a true sense of com- 
 munion with God. 
 
 But this sense of the divine is not to arise from thought, or 
 from feeling, or from unconscious habit ; it is to be a deep-felt 
 penetrating action of all three, working together as a single 
 mental whole. 
 
 And what reward can I offer to a womanly soul thus conse- 
 crating herself to this sphere of work in self-sacrificing love for 
 children ? Not enough to content her, if I may judge by what 
 I have heard as likely to be demanded : yet this is not the main 
 difficulty ; the first thing is to find such a womanly soul. 
 
 In my own circle of acquaintance all the women-folk are en- 
 gaged with their chosen vocations or their home duties. 
 
 Your recommendation, my dear cousin, to develop the Kinder- 
 garten on a small, on the smallest, scale is quite after my heart; and 
 further, its development on a large scale, as a great institution, 
 does not attract me in the least, for I know that a large under- 
 taking would not only bring with it much fatigue and trouble for 
 me, but also, what is of more consequence, it often times carries 
 with it much that is empty and lifeless : I, on the contrary, desire 
 that my idea, in all its purity and divine fervour, may, even as 
 the tiniest of germs, strike firm root ; but where am I to find the 
 needed womanly help ? It seems quite otherwise to me if the 
 plan is brought out on a large scale, for we could then offer a 
 solid position to a whole family, if it were a suitable one — I mean 
 a family so penetrated with the spirit of the entire movement as 
 to look on me as its spiritual father and true friend. You see 
 now, my kind sympathetic cousin and friend, after what fashion I 
 have been picturing to myself the possible starting of the whole, 
 in what I might call a patriarchal guise. 
 
 But I await your further advice with cordial readiness, and with 
 
 E 
 
50 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 equal readiness I lay my whole life and work before you for your 
 examination. 
 
 For my work has one aspect which is without doubt quite 
 strange to you ; I mean its industrial and mercantile aspect. I 
 regard it as the most suitable thing for the welfare of the whole 
 plan that I myself should bring out the gifts and material for the 
 occupations, with all that belongs to them, and publish the neces- 
 sary letter-press and lithography. I find this the surest means for 
 securing the unity of the whole, its self-dependence and inter- 
 dependence. But here again, I am no man of business, nor is 
 any one of my friends ; and he who could have undertaken this 
 for me, my nephew, has been snatched away from me years since, 
 by death. 
 
 I have for some time, as regards this branch of my work, sought 
 after a young man who would associate himself with me and 
 take all these business and mercantile affairs off my hands ; but 
 such a position would demand requirements not very easily 
 fulfilled. The young man must not only be a man of business, 
 with the necessary knowledge and experience, but must also have 
 a due sense of the power of education and of the brotherhood of 
 mankind ; that is, he must appreciate the spirit and the endeavour 
 of the whole movement, and take pleasure in his work for the 
 sake of the cause. I am fully persuaded that the whole affair 
 could be made an excellent business speculation, one such as 
 rarely occurs, indeed, because our knowledge of the spirit of the 
 movement would keep it as a monopoly wholly in our hands. 
 But it is not so easy to convey one's own strong persuasion into 
 another's mind ; and to suppose that he would be able to study 
 alone, and so convince himself, implies a stage of culture for my 
 supposed young man of business which is not readily to be met 
 with. 
 
 But if it be possible to find such a one, then the whole move- 
 ment in its business aspect lies clear before me. Had you only 
 a son, my dear cousin, already arrived at man's estate and already 
 destined to commercial pursuits, I would enter into complete 
 details with you. 
 
 I am impelled by your friendly sympathy to turn back again to 
 
Foundation and Construction. 5 I 
 
 the undertaking of the German Kindergarten, and to beg for your 
 kind co-operation. 
 
 A few persons in Leipzig have given a cordial reception to my 
 endeavours, and have expressed themselves favourably about 
 them. Dr. Vogel, the director of the city schools ; Prof. Lindner ; 
 Dr. Lechner, the head-master ; Otto Wigand, the bookseller, and 
 several others beside. But on the whole no active support has 
 come from Leipzig, and only three subscribers date from that 
 city. 
 
 Dr. Lechnet published a very powerful appeal for subscriptions 
 in the Leipzig Daily Journal. I take the liberty of sending you 
 a copy of this. By all that I hear of Leipzig, it only needs now 
 that the matter should be vigorously taken up at several points. 
 Perhaps, moved by Dr. Lechner's appeal, some kind lady of 
 Leipzig will let me know that, induced by the aforesaid appeal 
 and the spirit and aim of the undertaking, she feels compelled to 
 offer to collect subscriptions, and begs to be supplied with plans 
 and subscription forms. I send you, too, twenty-five plans, etc., 
 for you kindly to distribute as you think best. As you, dear 
 cousin, are willing to further the work, I am sure of success in 
 advance. The work of a woman's heart and a woman's hand is 
 already a great thing to have, but still more valuable is the intelli 
 gent comprehension which each of your letters so excellently 
 expresses. Enclosed, I send you a letter which I have just 
 received, and which contains the opinions of several leading 
 educationists, and amongst them that of the venerable Professor 
 Zerenner, of Magdeburg, about this subject. To be precise, I 
 I have not heard of actual opposition on any side ; but on the 
 contrary, of much cordial approval ; only people have not the 
 courage or the faith to set to work directly to assist me in starting 
 the enterprise. If only a few ladies would but follow your 
 example, the undertaking would soon spring into existence in 
 all the force of youth; and as it is, I can heartily rejoice in your 
 enthusiastic co-operation, and am deeply thankful to you for it. 
 Let us only continue united, as at present, in mind and deed for 
 the furtherance of the cause, even in its very smallest details. 
 Yea, though it were but two hearts, fervently united in the pursuit 
 
52 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 of some pure aim for the good of humanity, they can accomplish 
 work of almost inconceivable value, as the history of mankind has 
 shown ; and we have more than two, for beyond yourself and our- 
 selves we have your dear husband, my honoured cousin, helping 
 us, and standing by our side. To him also I am heartily thankful 
 for his co-operation. So soon as the description of the festival is 
 published I will send you a few facts, so that you can insert a 
 second notice in your local journal, giving further account of the 
 progress of our undertaking. 
 
 But what will you say, my dear cousin, as to my venturing to 
 steal so much of your time, and expecting you to read through so 
 long and so badly written a letter? Only the certainty of finding 
 the true friend in the affectionate relative emboldens me to im- 
 pose thus upon you. 
 
 May Providence guide this union of heart and purpose to a 
 beautiful blossoming and a ripe fruitage, to such blossoms and 
 fruit on the tree of humanity as will yield joy and health and 
 peace to many souls. We two both bear the name of Friedrich l 
 (Frieden-reich, rich in peace) ; may many souls, though they are 
 but children, receive from us at least the germ of the true Peace 
 of Life which leads onward to the true joy of soul. 
 
 As we here are quite in agreement with your views as to the 
 good of travel for young persons, our teachers have undertaken 
 several journeys with their pupils. 
 
 You know, of course, that Middendorf and Barop, the first 
 being the uncle of the second, are both sons-in-law of my only 
 surviving brother, 2 who now lives at Keilhau. From all in Keil- 
 hau and all here I am to send you and your dear ones the most 
 friendly greetings. 
 
 I have enclosed a number of my weekly journal with the plans; 
 perhaps you will find a notice therein which may please you. 
 With warm esteem and friendship, 
 
 I am your affectionate Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 1 Presumably, Madame Schmidt's Christian name was Frederica. 
 
 2 Christian Ludwig Froebel. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 53 
 
 Letter IV. 
 
 - Blankenburg, o^th Dec, 1840. 
 Dear and much-esteemed Cousin, — 
 
 The warm sympathy of yourself and of my honoured cousin, 
 your husband, with my efforts regarding childhood, moves me 
 deeply ; and it is doubly prized by me, for the sake of the cause, 
 because your own dear sons have already passed through the 
 years of early childhood, and your attention is naturally directed 
 on their account to the more special and individual needs of 
 adult life. You and your husband are deeply persuaded of the 
 necessity to cherish and develop the sense of kinship with man 
 in every child, and the sense of kinship with God in every man. 
 The appreciation of the importance of such things can never 
 come too soon, nor can it ever be too late to acquire it, neither 
 should we ever let it be overwhelmed by the cares arising from 
 our special vocations in life. How glad I am, how happy, to be 
 able to tell you that already ten, and again ten, nay, that a hun- 
 dred and more than a hundred share in your feelings, thoughts 
 and convictions upon this subject, at all events in their essence, 
 even if not in such strength or to such intensity as is the case 
 with yourself. You are actually, dear cousin (and I tell you 
 this with deep feeling, as ray dear kinswoman, of the spirit as 
 well as of the body), the first German mother to attack the ques- 
 tion of childhood so warmly and thoroughly, so powerfully and 
 energetically. 
 
 Oh, how long have I wished to find just such a mother ! For 
 I knew if I could find her, that her life would shed powerful in- 
 fluence on all around her, an influence as still and as invisible as 
 that of the magnet. And so has it happened, dearest cousins, 
 wife and husband both. Since I wrote to you, another of the 
 seeds which we scattered over Germany, in the effort towards a 
 satisfactory education for children, has germinated, has struck 
 root ; and from its kernel and seed-leaves, a flourishing Kinder- 
 garten has developed. This too, by what is a stroke of good 
 fortune for me, and a thing of deep significance, has happened 
 quite close by, in fact, in the capital of my own little country, in 
 
54 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Rudolstadt : and — also a matter of significance in my eyes — 
 without my personal initiative, except that I played with the 
 children here in Blankenburg. 
 
 The parents first came over by themselves, then they brought 
 their children with them, and joined in our games, and the inner 
 life of both parents and children was filled with content. Then 
 the thing budded and grew for months long — why, from the first 
 visit till now, it is even more than a year — for "a good thing 
 takes its own time." The test was a valuable one for me, since 
 I knew that the cause would issue victorious from the fiery trial ; 
 and moreover, Providence has taught me for thirty and odd years 
 how to wait, and how meanwhile quietly to care for the " day of 
 small things." 
 
 At the end of last month I was invited by some mothers to 
 establish my method of educational games and occupations at 
 Rudolstadt ; and on the first Tuesday of the present month, from 
 two to four in the afternoon, the 
 
 Rudolstadt Kindergarten 
 was opened, with twenty-four charming children, varying from 
 two to five years old, accompanied by their mothers, by some of 
 their fathers, and by a few other relatives. It is a true Garden 
 of Children; they are as joyous, as lively, as fresh, as vigorous 
 as the flowers in a garden — and at the same time as loveable and 
 gentle as mignonette or violets. 
 
 A few of the mothers had arranged everything by means of a 
 circular. Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon we have games 
 and occupations from two to four. 
 
 The Princess Dowager has found us a room. The necessary 
 furniture was provided by those who could afford it ; the cost of 
 fuel is borne by the Association of Mothers. Last Tuesday was 
 our third meeting. Parents and children seemed not merely con- 
 tented, but happy ; every one was saying, " The children have 
 become dearer than ever to their parents, now that they have 
 seen them engaged so pleasantly and brightly in such well- 
 ordered busy activity." Some of the fathers were again present, 
 although the matter is for the most part taken up by the mothers 
 only. That the interest which has been exhibited strengthens 
 
Foundation a?id Construction. 55 
 
 my position, you can easily see ; but it must be kept up by the 
 utmost exertion on my part also, or rather I should say, on our 
 part. Up to twelve o'clock I am engaged in giving lessons here ; 
 and punctually at one o'clock I have to start for Rudolstadt. 
 The cost of the journey is of course at the charge of the Associa- 
 tion of Mothers. Shortly before two I arrive at the room, and 
 soon there come the children in their mothers' hand, or with 
 their nurses. 
 
 My friend and true colleague, Middendorff, accompanies me, 
 as well as a young man whom the princess has sent to study with 
 me. The playtime is devoted, half to building, half to games. 
 By about six o'clock we reach Blankenburg again. 
 
 The most cheering thing about it all is that noble ladies and 
 ordinary citizens' wives meet together pleasantly engaged in a 
 common interest, and working hand in hand for a common end. 
 Thus does childhood unite us all, sharply separated though we be 
 in general by rigid conventions ; and its effect will soon be made 
 manifest in some beneficent, hallowing way, reacting upon our 
 forms of society. 
 
 Presently I shall have something to say, dear cousin, about the 
 way in which the care for the life of childhood will have an 
 awakening and stimulating effect even upon Rudolstadt. 
 
 Why have I written all this to you, my dearest cousin, before 
 " I begin my reply to your kind letter ? Because I think that it 
 is cheering to realise the fact that what we are devoting our ut- 
 most watchfulness and care to, is receiving the like attention from 
 other cultivated and noble-hearted men, and this cheering fact 
 I was glad to convey to you, and also to those who have taken 
 such an active part with you in furthering the cause of childhood, 
 and thereby that of mankind, and yet further, that of Christianity 
 itself. I used the word " Christianity " of set purpose, for I will 
 just briefly and simply place before you, without any attempt at 
 word-painting, what I am unchangeably and most deeply con- 
 vinced of, as regards this matter. I mean that we shall be borne 
 onward into the very heart of practical Christianity through 
 these games and occupations of little children, which we are con- 
 triving with such attention, loving care, inward watchfulness, and 
 
56 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 outward work. In the first place, we thus avoid all those sad 
 consequences which arise from the neglect of children in their 
 earliest years. For the great friend of children has said : 
 " Whoso shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, 
 it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his 
 neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea " (Matt, 
 xviii. 6). And how many, many children, often very tiny ones, 
 are there not who are " offended " in Jesus' sense of the word, by 
 the weariness which comes of doing nothing, or by being forced 
 into unsuitable occupations ? In the second place, also, we are 
 fulfilling one of the weightiest commands of Jesus, which he puts 
 into the words, "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of 
 God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein " (Luke xviii. 
 17). Now the Kingdom of God is the kingdom of unity, of 
 union, of unification, of unison, of concord, of love, of peace, 
 of law, of introspection, of perception of the inner essence 
 which underlies outer manifestations. It is the kingdom of social 
 union, of trustfulness, of belief, of hope ; it is that province of 
 the observation of the small which concerns it as member and 
 part of the large, of the near as germ of the far, etc., etc. And 
 all this, dear cousins both, will be, by means of these games and 
 occupations, early awakened, nourished, cared for and developed 
 in the child. Herein lies the secret of the success which results 
 from the operation of this system of organised occupations, a 
 success often apparently inexplicable, and by many spoken of as 
 its " magical effect " ; herein lies that hallowing influence which 
 extends its attitude of belief and trust (that is, the childlike, 
 motherly, brotherly attitude) over the whole life of the child, and 
 which from this beginning spreads ever widening throughout the 
 whole family. For God's will is to give help to all mankind, and 
 that every one should attain to the knowledge of truth, through 
 the means which He has made manifest in the inner being of 
 the universe and of living creatures. These means are displayed 
 in the phenomena of all creation, and before all else in the soul, 
 in the mind and in the hand, as well of each man in his individual 
 capacity, as of the vast collective unity of mankind, held to- 
 gether by God. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 57 
 
 Since man only comes to the power of self-examination and 
 self-knowledge, in any relation whatever, with the greatest diffi- 
 culty ; and since he must first learn to see and to study himself 
 in the mirror of Heaven (eternity) and that of Nature and of 
 all creation (change and transience), that he may acquire that 
 knowledge ; therefore God, as a loving Father, has surrounded 
 man with the chief means and conditions required by him, 
 placing them in what lies near him, in the smallest things, in 
 the very heart of his own life, and exhibiting them in their purest, 
 fullest concord amidst the earliest experiences of childhood, no 
 less than in the great spheres of the world and of human life; 
 so that through these means and conditions man may live and 
 journey onward as a child of God in heaven, even while yet upon 
 the earth — at unity with himself, at unity with the Cosmos of life 
 (Nature, the visible creation) and at unity with God, in joy and 
 in peace. God is omnipresent, and consequently He is present 
 upon the earth ; God also speaks to us inwardly, works in us 
 inwardly ; but where God lives, works and speaks, i.e., manifests 
 Himself, declares Himself, there does He dwell, in the human 
 sense of the word : and the place where He dwells we call heaven. 
 In very fact, it thus appears, that while yet on earth we may walk 
 in heaven. Christianity opens our eyes to this truth : for, to take 
 one instance out of many, Jesus says, "I have yet many things to 
 say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when He, 
 the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth " (John 
 xvi. 12, 13). These things we shall hear, for the Spirit, the Spirit 
 of all things, shall tell us them, even the Spirit of God, if we will 
 but cling to the path which He points out for us, the path which 
 leads us to the beginnings of life, back to childhood. We must 
 render perceptible to the child the unity of the world, absolute 
 existence, the world within ; and these in an earthly, human, 
 childlike, intelligible fashion. Unity must be perceived in 
 variety, absolute existence in phenomena, harmony in melody, the 
 soul in the body — in a word, all things in all things — and this 
 through many-sided harmoniously active life and work. Such 
 things we have to give to children through the system of ordered 
 games and occupations which I have created. 
 
5S Letters of % Froebel. 
 
 I have endeavoured to show you, in the above, dear cousin, 
 how by these methods of games and occupations we should be 
 carried right into the heart, the very life-centre of active Christi- 
 anity ; and I have pursued the theme firstly in the interest of our 
 children, that is, the childhood of the whole Christian world ; but 
 secondly, also, in the interest of all children whatever, of the child- 
 hood of the entire race of man, for that is at stake in this matter. 
 
 The manner in which we are educated, and in general treated, 
 in our earliest childhood has, as we all know, a remarkable in- 
 fluence upon our emotions, our thoughts, our actions, during the 
 whole of our life. But will not, then, he who from earliest child- 1 
 hood is educated and trained in the principles of unity, unison, 
 union and love ; of the inward world, the spiritual and the perma- 
 nent ; of joy and peace ; of the habit of elimination of the transient 
 from out all phenomena, of the perception of the many-sidedness 
 of all things, etc., etc. — and all these things do but compose the 
 spirit of practical Christianity — will not such a one, I say, later in 
 life, gladly recognise this spirit, and be helpful and energetic in 
 the same ? 
 
 And in this way I foresee the time — it lies spread out clear 
 and fully defined before my eyes like some lovely spring land- 
 scape — when through such attentive study of the life of child- 
 hood, and especially through the fostering care for the creative 
 activity of children (whereby they give outward shape to their 
 inward thoughts, and realise inwardly what they perceive out- 
 wardly), the whole race of man shall be convinced of the truths 
 of Christianity. 
 
 From the first thoughts upon life of my earliest boyhood, 
 onward to now, this has been the main subject of attention, per- 
 ception, consideration and endeavour, with me. 
 
 This is the outcome, the goal, of all my efforts in the cause of 
 education, for now more than thirty-five years ; it was the de- 
 clared groundwork of my educational establishment, which will 
 soon be five-and-twenty years old ; but now only does it first come 
 to pass, that I am beginning to be understood elsewhere than just 
 in my own house. The first ud sough t-for, genuine, free, self- 
 originated comprehension of my life-aims has come from you, my 
 
Foundation and Construction. 59 
 
 beloved cousin, — doubly dear to me on this account. Why do I 
 tell you all this ? For the very reason, in the first place, that you 
 can appreciate it and understand it. What good would it do for 
 me to express my thoughts elsewhere, where I should only appear 
 to utter strange unintelligible speech ? Secondly, I address myself 
 to you, as I wish you to know my thoughts, and to make myself 
 certain that you have understood them. Finally and chiefly, 
 though, in the third place, because the question whether my work 
 and my efforts have a Christian meaning and a Christian aim 
 (though very few men really know what they mean when they put 
 this question) is the corner-stone, ever present, silent or expressed, 
 of all discussions as to the worth or the worthlessness of my edu- 
 cational endeavours. You can now answer with precision any such 
 questions which may be put to you. Too many people will be 
 ready to get rid of the thing, by any means, to thrust it aside, to 
 avoid the trouble of making themselves acquainted with its mean- 
 ing by some personal examination of their own. 
 
 Now, after this long communication, which has forced itself 
 into utterance, I scarce know how, from the depths of my heart, 
 let me set to work to answer your dear letters ; and I will take 
 the last part first. 
 
 In that letter, dear cousin, you did indeed send me a festival 
 gift, as well as an evidence of the progress of our cause ; for 
 although the Kindergarten in its inmost nature, and in an especial 
 sense, is purely a department of woman's life and work, yet in the 
 present position of our society, when woman's work is so rigidly 
 defined by man's will, even to the fettering of some of its noblest 
 impulses, and when at the very least women are debarred from 
 much that is rightly their own, it is in the highest degree important 
 that you should have gained so favourable an opinion of our 
 enterprise from men of standing in your locality. 
 
 On these accounts I rejoiced greatly when I read your news 
 of the willing adherence of these highly esteemed gentlemen, my 
 dear cousin, his colleague Miiller, and (in your last letter) Pastor 
 Lang. Supported by the valuable co-operation of three such men, 
 and invigorated by a right true womanly and motherly enthusiasm, 
 all obstacles must disappear before you ; as you say yourself, 
 
6d Letters of FroebeL 
 
 very properly, in your latest letter, and after your first conversa- 
 tions with pastor Lang. But before I go on let me call to 
 remembrance, as fortifying us in our outlook into the future, the 
 principle we learn from nature and from life, both intuitively and 
 by experience : — namely, that wherever healthy life buds forth, 
 there new life only unfolds itself to meet and overcome various 
 obstacles ; nay, further, that these obstacles in a certain sense are 
 actually necessary for strengthening and fortifying this young life. 
 Let us look closely at the buds of our trees, and see how thick 
 and close are the coverings which lock them up, and how slowly 
 and against what resistance these coverings are burst open, before 
 the tender little leaves appear ; or let us look at the kernel, or the 
 seed-corn, which a still stronger chain holds fettered, till the feeble 
 germinating point can shake itself free ; or, finally, let us look at 
 the helpless infant and its birth. 
 
 Obstacles are not appointed by Providence with the design of 
 repelling newly uprising life, but with the purpose of strengthening 
 it at once, upon its first appearance, and of making evident the 
 meaning of that appearance. I am glad to think that a like 
 ordeal awaited you also ; for in the face of the obstacles which 
 sprang up to confront you, the young life of your undertaking 
 strengthened itself, and by the way in which you trustfully set 
 forward against all opposition, this young life acquired respect and 
 an acknowledged position. If I might ask so much of you, I 
 would beg you to give my best thanks to these three gentlemen for 
 their aid in the cause of children's education, although they will 
 later on receive thanks in a far more beautiful shape, namely, by 
 the success of the whole enterprise, as indeed Pastor Lang has 
 well observed. 
 
 It was a happy thought of Herr Muller to urge you to begin at 
 once. For through the actual presentation of the method, all im- 
 perfect though it was, yet moved entirely by a spirit of love for 
 the little ones, parents and children had the opportunity of seeing 
 for themselves in earnest that here they had presented to them 
 for their acceptance something which corresponded to the inmost 
 and the noblest needs and desires alike of parents and of 
 children. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 61 
 
 The great pleasure I have received from the susceptible nature 
 of your friend, Pastor Lang, so easily running over into friendly 
 acts, you have quite correctly anticipated. Assure that worthy 
 man yet again of my high esteem and gratitude. May his present 
 attitude and his present conduct only remain constant ! Such 
 is always my first thought on similar occasions, in the light of my 
 very large experience : for no one can show more knowledge of the 
 mutability of men's attitudes than I can. Whenever men do not 
 at once find a thing to be precisely as they saw it and wished it to 
 be, they are quite likely to let that thing go altogether, although, 
 just previously, they have been enthusiastic and even glowing in 
 the expression of their sentiments about it. Wherefore I cherish 
 above all things the sympathy which comes to me freely from any 
 man, without any solicitation whatever of mine ; as, for instance, 
 the welcome sympathy of your friend, Pastor Lang, etc. 
 
 Here I will take occasion to make a twofold observation — and 
 in the first place I remark that the games in a circle hardly ever 
 make the children tired. The reasons of this fact lie very deep, 
 to my thinking. 
 
 This kind of play is the symbol of a triple life. First, it is the 
 symbol of the individual life of the man and of the child ; for all 
 our actions tend, like those of the children in their games, to 
 some one invisible fundamental conception, hope, or longing of 
 the soul. 
 
 Next, it is a symbol of the life of Nature, where, as is the case 
 with the planets, all revolves about a midmost unity, a definite 
 sun and centre. 
 
 And thirdly, it is a symbol of the collective life of mankind in 
 general, whose ultimate point of relation and of union also rests 
 on the invisible midmost unity of all Life, upon God Himself. 
 Believe me, dear cousin, I hold it certain that a child yearns for 
 such symbolised relations of life ; and if they are cherished, and 
 if, as opportunity offers, they are awakened, and raised up so to 
 become an inward and spiritual intuition, the child will be 
 strengthened for that demand, later to be made upon him, that 
 he shall hold fast to the invisible unity in life amidst the ceaseless 
 changing play of phenomena. 
 
62 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 My second remark is that it is of no consequence that pre- 
 cisely these songs and these tunes shall be sung which have been 
 suggested by myself. They have been merely put forward by 
 way of example, so as to show in a general way the spirit as well 
 as the form and complexion of the whole scheme ; others may 
 perhaps find much prettier and more suitable songs, although I 
 have of course taken pains to select the best in form and feeling, 
 as well as having the clearest words and the prettiest tunes, I 
 have been able to find. 
 
 And since those songs which arise or which come to the mind 
 on the impulse of the moment, and amidst special circumstances, 
 are always the best, I beg of you when such songs and games 
 occur to you, at once to note them down in writing, that they 
 may not be lost. Then, if youwill send them to me from time to 
 time, I will interweave them with the rest, to the great joy of the 
 world of children and to the perfecting of the whole collection \ 
 whereby they will, as members of a larger whole, as flowers in a 
 wreath, shine out with added beauty. All the friends of child- 
 hood, both gentlemen and ladies, are kindly acceding to my 
 request in this matter ; and the next Sunday Journal will allow 
 you to see for yourself what rich results this system has already 
 produced. 
 
 I am very much obliged to you for your neat arrangement of 
 such published notices as have reached you about my system of 
 Children's Occupations. But is not the School News of Darm- 
 stadt read in Gera? There is a article in No. 64 well worth 
 reading, and there are also others. And in Madame Louise 
 Marezoll's Women's Newspaper, which is now being continued 
 under the title of Women's Mirror — is another excellent article. 
 Did I not send you these journals ? I am sorry if I did not — yet 
 it is perhaps all the better, for the project has struck root in your 
 circle by its own unaided strength. In Vol. III. of the Women's 
 Mirror for this year occur some straightforward telling remarks 
 by the editress, Louise Marezoll, serving as an introduction to my 
 " Plan for a German Kindergarten." 
 
 The starting of your play-classes for little girls from six to eight 
 years old has my full approval. Such children give only a quarter 
 
Foundation and Construction. 63 
 
 of the trouble, at the most, which smaller children give, especially 
 little boys ; and besides this you will get a quicker result, and 
 particularly a more attractive and more easily understood example 
 to show to those who see things chiefly by their outward appear- 
 ances, and are not apt to perceive their inner life and meaning. 
 
 You have given me much pleasure by what you tell me of this 
 winter's prospects, and of the outlook for the coming spring, in 
 regard to our enterprise, which has begun so bravely with you ; I 
 shall try and help to forward and to invigorate it, so far as my 
 humble powers will serve. I hope Pastor Lang will remember 
 his promise when spring begins, and will throw open his garden 
 for the children's games, so that your institution may become a 
 " Kindergarten " in the accurate meaning of the word. It will be 
 the second " garden of children " in all Germany, the first being 
 the one we have here. For I desire that in future all institutions 
 in Germany for the education and care of little children, all that 
 are based on games and occupations, all that correspond worthily 
 to the child's nature and the man's being, may be called by this 
 name of "Kindergarten." May they bear this name as a sign full 
 of life and charm, which shall indicate their spirit, their endeavour, 
 their special character as serving all mankind ; and we, here, have 
 therefore already named our institution the " Rudolstadt Kinder- 
 garten." 
 
 As for the elder girls taking" part in the games and occupa- 
 tions, by all means induce them to do so, if by any possibility you 
 can contrive this : and I advise it upon four grounds. Firstly, 
 you will in this way get as many and as inexpensive assistants 
 as possible for the institution ; secondly, you will give an 
 opportunity for young women to learn our methods, and so to 
 become of assistance to mothers and families. Thirdly, you will 
 enable them, as future mothers, to educate themselves, and to 
 learn how to play with their children, even the tiniest, in ways 
 which are of deep significance, though at the same time perfectly 
 simple. Motherly and womanly instinct does much to effect this 
 of its own accord, I grant ; but it does not accomplish all that 
 should be done, by a great deal : it often makes mistakes, and, 
 on all accounts, a system based on principles, intelligently and. 
 
64 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 judiciously interpreted, is much to be preferred. I have oppor- 
 tunities at present, my dear cousin, of seeing many mothers and 
 Kindergarten teachers, and those of the well-to-do and even of 
 the educated classes minding children of one and two years old ; 
 but how much they leave to be desired, if we are to talk of a 
 really suitable and intelligent treatment of children ! Fourthly 
 and finally, amongst such a number you will assuredly find some 
 few who have real sympathy with children, and who are not 
 needed at home, or who are compelled to earn their own living ; 
 these, therefore, you may specially train as nursery governesses, 
 such as are so often inquired for in families. 
 
 As regards gymnastic exercises for girls, the Gera parents are 
 perfectly right in wishing for them. I have made experiments 
 on the subject in one of my educational institutions in Switzer- 
 land. The gain from such exercises is manifold. If the idea 
 should really begin to take practical form, I will send you a good 
 book called " Free Exercises," by Spiess, an exceptionally good 
 gymnastic teacher we had there. I sent my niece to Spiess to 
 have lessons in gymnastics while she was staying in Burgdorf. 
 But you will see, as the series of games progresses, especially in 
 the action-games derived from ball games, etc., how all the main 
 exercises of gymnastics are embodied in them. If your decision 
 in favour of gymnastic exercises comes into practical operation, 
 I will send you a clean copy of that part of the method, not yet 
 printed, so that you can get a clear idea of the connection of the 
 whole set of action-games, up till now only given in detached 
 numbers in the Sunday Journal. 
 
 It seems to me a good idea of Pastor Lang's to bring in 
 several more subscribers by means of a circular. I would only 
 suggest that you should first collect together several mothers by 
 personal invitation ; for these will immediately form a kernel 
 round which the others will group themselves, drawn into sym- 
 pathy with the undertaking as if by a magnet. Personal con- 
 ferences do a great deal. In Rudolstadt the whole thing began 
 with two mothers, each of whom addressed herself to others on 
 all sides, and each of the converts whom they made also en- 
 deavoured to make others in her turn ; finally, the whole was 
 
Foundation and Construction. 65 
 
 brought into definite form by the issue of a circular and the 
 receipt of subscriptions. 
 
 Begin then, dear cousin, with good courage. You are afraid, 
 you say, of two things ; and, firstly, that you are not competent 
 in the method. 
 
 From my station afar off, I can see, on the contrary, that you 
 are so competent. It would, of course, have been better had 
 you accepted Madame M.'s invitation and accompanied her 
 here; but of what use is it to regret this now? Frequent occur- 
 rences in my own life have convinced me that we ought to listen 
 very intently to the lightest call from within, for we oftentimes 
 afterwards discover that more importance lay therein than we had 
 thought at the time, as regards the designs of Providence and for 
 the general good. 
 
 Madame R. did not understand me, and her character is weak 
 and unsettled ; otherwise she would have profited by the pains 
 I took to get her here in order that she might acquaint herself, 
 even if but slightly, with the method. Ladies of her rank owe 
 it to themselves as a duty to devote part of their work in life to 
 children. She seemed to feel this herself, and in fact she dis- 
 tinctly said as much, but she had not courage, nor endurance, 
 nor persistence of will enough to carry it through. What a good 
 thing it would be if she were able to find time to give you a general 
 sketch, with details, of the whole method which we are pursuing 
 here. 
 
 Now, do not lose heart ! Strive above all things to possess 
 yourself of the spirit of the whole, and then throw yourself will- 
 ingly into the work and into the real claims which the children's 
 lives are making upon us. Observe, this is the method I also 
 follow in educating myself for the execution of my plans. The 
 general idea of the whole method is my loving guide, and I 
 follow it as the truest, kindliest friend of my life and my soul ; 
 my teachers are the children themselves, with all their purity 
 their innocence, their unconsciousness, and their irresistible 
 claims, and I follow them like a faithful, trustful scholar. If any- 
 thing proves successful, I at once lay upon myself the obligation 
 to make it so thoroughly my own as to be able to trace it out 
 
 F 
 
66 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 from the idea or root principle by necessary consequence and 
 development. 
 
 Should your venture succeed, pray count on me with absolute 
 certainty for anything I can do to help you ; you need only 
 express your wishes quite clearly. The Sunday Journals, as they 
 continue, will offer you many a friendly hint. Let a start be 
 made, if in ever so small a way, and we will see that it does 
 not fail. 
 
 But, say you, you are also afraid of a second thing : that the 
 time devoted to the play-classes will encroach too much upon the 
 duties which you owe to your own family. I am heartily glad 
 to be able fully to reassure you on this point by examples drawn 
 from actual experience. 
 
 My friend and colleague MiddendorrT, as a man and a father, 
 finds himself in precisely the same position as you occupy as a 
 woman and a mother. He is faithfully working away here at 
 building up our institution, and our common anxiety is that the 
 manifold results of his work for us all shall also yield gifts and 
 fruit for him individually, as a father, as a citizen, and as a mem- 
 ber of a family. 
 
 Whatever is truly for the well-being and the furtherance of all 
 of us, must at the same time be truly for the well-being and the 
 furtherance of each one of us, still more for the good of our 
 families. Clearly to prove this dogma, in its absolute truth, from 
 the phenomena and necessities of life, is the greatest task of my 
 life, and in fact this work is intimately connected with the pro- 
 duction of my Kindergarten method, so that the one springs out; 
 of the other. But this is so far-reaching a subject that I must 
 not enter upon it further to-day ; I should like to talk with you 
 more about it. 
 
 At present I will only give you the assurance that all your 
 doubts and fears will eventually disappear, to your perfect satis- 
 faction. The point lies in this : we should strive to convert all 
 the results of the work which we do for the good of mankind, 
 be they what they may — learning, experience, culture, material 
 prosperity, etc. — to our own individual use also, as if they were 
 some precious gift made to ourselves. Then the worth and work 
 
Foundation and Construction. 6j 
 
 of women, wives, mothers, and teachers will appear in a much 
 clearer and purer light than before, since it is evident, from this 
 single undertaking, that you may bring a considerable money 
 gain to your family, which will richly reward you for all the time 
 spent upon the experiment. 
 
 If the inhabitants and mothers of Gera are forward enough 
 for it, the method will soon flourish. When once they see an 
 actual start made, children and parents will never let it sink. 
 But if children and parents are not forward enough for it, then no 
 amount of sacrifice will serve to make a good start. I have 
 examples of both kinds : Rudolstadt" serves for the first, while, as 
 for the second, the start at Dresden has already cost us hundreds 
 of thalers, and is still but a lame affair. Why? Because there 
 is a lack of united public feeling there, in favour of it ; while, at 
 the same time, the various cliques of the town and the school- 
 masters are all working against it. 
 
 At the end of your kind letter you say that you have still much 
 more to tell me about the games, but that you refrain, from fear 
 of robbing me of too much time, because of the length of your 
 letter. No, dear cousin, do not think so ! I have chosen it as my 
 vocation to spend my life and work upon these things, and every 
 such communication is a treasure for me, to be used for the wider 
 dissemination of the method, as indeed you will see in your own 
 case in the next Sunday Journal. Your own precious leisure 
 would be too much infringed upon, or else I would beg of you to 
 collect as many observations for me as you can, both things which 
 you yourself have observed, and also remarks made by your Robert 
 and the other children when at play. If you have the time for 
 this, pray do it, for the furtherance of the cause ; other friends 
 are at work for me in the same way. How much I have enjoyed 
 your detailed remarks in your previous letter you will readily per- 
 ceive when you see the use I have made of them in the Sunday 
 Journal. I beg of you earnestly to let me have your candid 
 opinion on the observations I have made upon them in that 
 article ; and especially whether you consider my interspersed 
 comments of use to mothers and to persons having the charge of 
 children. 
 
68 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 (Saturday, 12th). Now, I will also briefly reply to your kind 
 letter of the 8th inst. I have already expressed above my great 
 pleasure at the excellent co-operation of the three gentlemen with 
 yourself. From this bond of union, so quietly pledged, there 
 needs must come something solid and firm by way of result. 
 Through their co-operation I can clearly see that a possibility has 
 already arisen of that very thing coming to pass which in your 
 letter you say seems impossible, namely, the establishment of a 
 play-class (a Kindergarten class) at some one or other of the Gera 
 schools. 
 
 The blessing of Heaven always rests upon the quiet thoughtful 
 work of women. I cannot express how deeply I regard your 
 quiet active participation in the work, your labours " beneath the 
 surface" as Herr Miiller so truly describes them. It will surely be 
 with them as in the spring time, when all things which have pre- 
 viously been silently prepared under the earth's mantle burst forth 
 in fulness and beauty. Be assured, I am by no means against 
 working quietly, and even, it may be, very slowly, towards the end 
 in view. 
 
 It results from what I have said above about myself and my 
 doings that I have learnt to wait and to persevere ; and therefore 
 I gladly and with deep thankfulness accept what you so kindly 
 offer me, namely, your help in preparation and in actual work. I 
 rejoice in your firm and enduring resolve to a ; d me. Already 
 upon this fair tree fruits rich in blessing are showing forth. 1 
 
 The main thing is to get people first to look at something ; 
 talking about a thing, without showing it, is of no use whatever. 
 You must have found this yourself. The very humblest attempt 
 which you make in such a way that others can take part in it, 
 becomes for this reason of double importance. I hear excellent 
 accounts of the people of the Reuss principality, especially of the 
 towns-folk in that region : there seems to be much healthy intelli- 
 gence and a brisk active way of life amongst them. 
 
 The pleasant picture you have sketched for me of the merry 
 
 1 Here follows an introduction to ball-games and action-games which the 
 German Editor has omitted. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 69 
 
 good fellowship of the college playground in your town, especi- 
 ally in the spring and summer terms, attracts me like a magnet ; 
 how much the greater, then, is the influence upon that gay troop of 
 children. Yes, you are quite right, something could well be done 
 with those thirteen younger children, and your dear sons could 
 soon train themselves to be the leaders of the games under the 
 supervision of the mothers of their class-mates. 
 
 At our suggestion O. Kraemer, a teacher, started something of 
 this kind in the excellent playground of the great school at Leip- 
 zig, but he stood too much alone, and there were other unfavour- 
 able circumstances in the affair, so that the enterprise, which began 
 in a spirited way, relaxed and fell to nothing. 
 
 But to return to the capital playground of your college. How 
 delightful would it not be, if an organised game could be arranged 
 there under the eyes of the fond mothers of those boys ! Do not 
 be frightened that I shall hold you too strictly to your word. I 
 know too well the power of the social influences ruling our lives. 
 But this very giant force of life, especially its conventional and 
 social claims, and particularly with regard to mothers, makes it 
 necessary that we should watch in the most scrupulous way over 
 anything, the very least thing, which shows itself to be for the good 
 of the children. Now, as regards the affection of mothers for 
 children, we have an instance at Rudolstadt, where ladies of high 
 rank, otherwise wholly absorbed in the duties of society, pass two 
 hours twice a week entirely with children. You see how it works 
 when carried into actual practice, this invitation of mine, " Come, 
 let us live for our children." 
 
 You have given me much pleasure, dear cousin, by your de- 
 scription of the way in which your dear sons received the little 
 games, and immediately set them in operation. Your intelligent 
 comprehension and account of them sends back my work to me 
 in an embellished form. Your mode of playing is altogether too 
 charming. If it were not so shameless a request I would beg for 
 many such accounts of your experiences of play. But I know 
 well and I honour the duties of a mother, and of the mistress of 
 a house, and I willingly waive my request, although I cannot helo^ 
 regarding any neglect to record your valuable observation 
 
Jo Letters of Froebel. 
 
 real loss for childhood. Also your comparative account of the 
 various expressions of children is of great importance ; it is 
 a subject to which one can rarely get even cultivated parents 
 to pay attention. How I should like to be always by when 
 you are playing with the children; what treasures of experi- 
 ence I should gather ! Allow me to confide something to you 
 in the most profound secrecy — you are a born Kindergarten 
 teacher ; and these young girls, too, who are growing up around 
 you, must love you very dearly, I should think, for your un- 
 assuming motherly caressing nature. Such a nature is a very 
 precious possession, and one which tends towards the weal 
 of our common manhood : and she to whom God has vouch- 
 safed it ought religiously to cherish it. Your dear sons, the 
 outcome and the proof of such a character, were universally 
 beloved in Keilhau, because of their openhearted simplicity 
 and their natural politeness. I am happy, excellent parents, to 
 be able to tell you this. Another thing; I shall perhaps now and 
 then for the good of the world of children make use of facts 
 which I have gathered from your homely observations, without of 
 course trenching upon your privacy. Let it pass without notice, 
 and continue to write in as unrestrained a manner as before. 
 
 You are afraid that I picture to myself your family life as more 
 happy than it really is. Do not believe anything of the kind ! I 
 know the actualities of life from all points of view only too well; 
 but behind the simple and oftentimes unrecognisable face of the 
 actual I have learnt to see and to treasure the features of the true 
 human inner ideal. I know that shadows are a part of its sur- 
 roundings; ay, and that oftentimes the deepest black of shadows 
 serves to give the right brilliancy to the beauty of a fair spot, that 
 above the dark clouds the dazzling clearness of the sun is en- 
 throned, and that the sun himself often seems to acquire enhanced 
 radiance when his beams break out from among dark cloud masses. 
 What attracts me is not so much life in its outward appearance, 
 as the intelligence which enlivens and cherishes that life ; in a 
 word, the spirit that makes itself manifest through the life. 
 
 My whole household sends all of you the kindliest greetings. 
 Genhope to have the pleasure of seeing you here next year. 
 
Foundation and Const/action. 
 
 I trust this very long letter will not be a disturbing element in 
 your life ; far rather may it be a sign of the deep interest I take, 
 even down to its smallest details, in the life to which you have 
 devoted yourself. 
 
 Write again very soon, and tell me how your preparations are 
 going on, and how many children have come to the Kindergarten 
 class. 
 
 Wishing you with all my heart a most enjoyable Christmas, I 
 am, dear cousin, 
 
 Your affectionate Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 
 Letter V. 
 
 Blankenburg, December 19 f/i, 1840. 
 Very dear and honoured Cousin, — 
 
 You have admitted me lately into your beautiful family life and 
 mother's life, in many ways, and permitted me to become a witness 
 of your joys. True mother's love, real woman's life, however, 
 appear in their clearest glory at this sweet Christmastide, when 
 they strive to bring the highest and best — the divine in child- 
 like guise, the Christ-child, into the midst of the family circle. 
 Will you, in your kindness, allow me to send you a Christmas 
 greeting? How can I doubt of that, when I remember your 
 character, so ready to find pleasure in everything. 
 
 You stand clearly before my mind in your simplicity and 
 modesty, as well as in the far-reaching activity of your mother's 
 solicitude. You show me the lofty influence of mother's work and 
 mother's life upon child nature and child life ; may I, in return, 
 show you the nature, the power, the meaning of this motherly and 
 womanly influence as seen reflected in the clear mirror of life ? 
 Gazing into this life-mirror, I have beheld woman's work as the first 
 and most essential link of the great chain of human life. It is not 
 enough for man, as an intelligent being, that good shall result from 
 his actions ; his dignity, his station as the child of God is only 
 then duly shown forth, when he has gained a clear consciousness 
 of that which he has created. Thereby he attains clearness as to 
 what he wishes, and whaf he ought to do, and so he comes to a 
 
7 2 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 true self-appreciation. He acquires the elevating sentiment that 
 man stands not alone in his work, that his aspirations are not un- 
 shared; and this quickening sense of community with other men is 
 all indispensable to a many-sided activity, as well as to work which 
 is meant to endure ; wherefore 1 trust the Christ-child may bring 
 to you, also, this gladdening sentiment, this truth of deepest import. 
 To create this sentiment, to awake this consciousness in all women 
 is the object of the little book I send you ("Woman's Mission," 
 by Krusi). Permit me, therefore, to present it as a modest little 
 Christmas gift. If it serves to help your intelligent nature, always 
 so quick to spread good things abroad, in bringing home a con- 
 sciousness of the meaning and importance of woman's influence 
 to many of your lady friends, and thus uniting them in the cause 
 of the elevation of manhood, through and in childhood, then in- 
 deed shall we, year by year, greet Christmastides fuller and fuller 
 of beauty and of meaning. 
 
 Your sons Robert and Moritz have played well and intelli- 
 gently with the gifts that I sent you to test for me. I also have 
 learnt a great deal from their play, and have received much plea- 
 sure too ; wherefore I should like, at this sweet Christmastime, 
 to give some pleasure to my cousins in return. If you will 
 permit me, I will ask them to accept the packet accompanying 
 your book, namely, the next following gift of my series, which they 
 will find now suitable to their age. I do not doubt that their 
 father, with his great interest in his sons' doings, will gladly permit 
 them to use this box of materials for play or for real occupation ; 
 and I hope they will pass many leisure hours over it, especially 
 in these holidays. 
 
 It is a law with this, as with the former box, that in each con- 
 struction the whole of the materials must be used up : or at least 
 each separate piece must be arranged so as to stand in some actual 
 relation to the whole. While this awakens the thinking spirit, it 
 nlso strengthens and elevates the imagination; because, amidst so 
 much variety, the underlying unity is made visibly apparent, and 
 the invisible law is felt. 
 
 There is, therefore, nothing strange or incompatible about this 
 gift, in regard to the meaning of the feast of Christmas ; on the 
 
Foundation and Construction. 73 
 
 other hand, it is in close sympathy with its spirit and its tendency, 
 inasmuch as it contributes its little mite also, namely, the power 
 of intelligently showing and thankfully acknowledging that unity 
 which pervades all things, and which is dimly felt by the soul, and 
 whose message of peace the Christ-child brought us in these very 
 days. Therefore I may at least claim your indulgence for the 
 packet I send you to-day, because of this its inner meaning. 
 
 May the highest and best that all your spirits are longing for 
 to-day, really come to you all, so that the splendid wish your 
 kindness has found for me — Peace and Joy (Friede und Freude) — ■ 
 may be reflected and re-echoed in the hearts of you all, an echo of 
 the heavenly greeting which was given to the world one holy 
 night, uniting it with God, and renewing its youth. 
 
 Your loving 
 
 Cousin. 
 
 Letter VI. 
 
 Blankenburg, January iSt/i, 1841. 
 Dear and esteemed Cousin, — 
 
 Your kind letter shows so unmistakably how you have known 
 and experienced that which alone forms our true joy, that I will 
 merely now say that your welcome letter, dated December 25th 
 and January 10th, brought me true Christmas pleasure, being as it 
 were an echo of this beloved festival. I was especially charmed 
 with the few touches in which you described your sons' Christmas 
 joys over their little stock of Christmas gifts. I have passed Christ- 
 mas in the course of these many years, in all kinds of ways, ac- 
 companied by presents of the most various value, down to mere 
 nothings ; and very often, I must confess, I have received the 
 deepest joy from those Christmases which brought me the smallest 
 and the simplest presents. 
 
 Please tell my little cousins this, with my love ; so that they 
 may rightly value their Christmas with its simple gifts, and may 
 cherish the pure joys w T hich it yields them. 
 
 Christmas presents derive their true value not from their costli- 
 ness, but from the spirit in which they are given and received. 
 May my dear little cousins long continue to receive their Christ- 
 
74 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 mas presents in the pure and simple joy of the heart. From the 
 bottom of my heart I rejoice to be able fully to share such joys 
 with them. 
 
 In view of the great interest you take in my work and my 
 educational efforts, you must allow me, my dear cousin, to lead 
 you on further and further into their inner spirit, and the latest 
 development to which they have attained 
 
 Much that is good, much that is noble, much that is indeed 
 sublime, and altogether worthy of humanity exists upon the earth, 
 especially amongst us Germans, and particularly in our family 
 life and in the lives of individual women and of mothers ; but it 
 lies too widely scattered and is unconscious of its own existence, 
 and by consequence it lacks unity of purpose. Now, unity of 
 purpose is the true safeguard in life against surrounding circum- 
 stances, and is the true means towards attaining a vigorous 
 powerful growth upwards and onwards, towards making outwardly 
 manifest that which stirs the soul within. This inner unity for 
 one great life-purpose is what I am striving to found ; it is the 
 beginning of a mutually helping, mutually respecting association 
 of noble-hearted women — perhaps quite simple persons in their 
 outward relationships — with true mothers all working towards their 
 mutual enlightenment, encouragement, and invigoration. By 
 such an association the separate, disunited women who now are 
 like single dew-drops, each reflecting the sun's rays in splendid 
 tints, will show forth the great life of humanity which amidst aU 
 its varied aspects, nevertheless, is one giand whole ; just as all the 
 dew, water, and rain-drops unite to provide for us the rainbow, 
 the arch of peace connecting heaven and earth. I hope you 
 may catch my meaning from this imperfect representation of 
 it. 
 
 On this account I let Krusi's little book, called " Woman's 
 Mission," appear like a guest at this festal time in the homes of 
 several women and mothers ; and I am pleased to find that it has 
 been received everywhere with a right sisterly welcome. For 
 instance, amongst others, take the foundress of the Rudolstadt 
 " Mothers' Association for the Promotion of the Kindergarten," 
 who writes thus to me : — " I have read your little book with 
 
Foundation and Construction. 75 
 
 great interest; it attracted me strongly by its clearness and by the 
 graceful position full of blessings given or taken therein assigned 
 to women. I wish I could place the book in the hands of every 
 mother." The volume did, indeed, travel round the circle of 
 the ladies forming this association. It became known at court, 
 and the simple-hearted, eminently motherly Princess Karl herself 
 asked for it. According to my view, dear cousin, such a senti- 
 ment amongst women and mothers, uniting them, and rousing 
 them to mutual consciousness of their position, should be 
 cherished with the utmost care. May the Rudolstadt Mothers' 
 Association, therefore, become more and more conscious of itself 
 as a whole, self-poised ; and may your own association reach also 
 to like consciousness ! When once each one of these separate 
 associations has attained to clear perception of its aims and 
 consciousness of its own vitality, then a higher union will quickly 
 form itself, that is, union from a higher standpoint. So a single 
 floweret of auricula or hyacinth carries with it the conception ot 
 a splendid, perfect, living whole ; but it takes many of these 
 flowerets, grouped on one uniting stalk, to form the lovely flower- 
 cluster. 
 
 Endeavour, dear cousin (forgive my plain speaking) to become 
 quite clear in your ideas and at one within yourself, a task which 
 in your case is surely easy enough ; and then clearness and 
 unification with the world without will come of themselves. Let 
 us only first win one such circle, and a second will soon arise ; 
 and when we have two, which, if God will, shall enter into a 
 higher union together, I believe that the cause of childhood, the 
 true family-life, is won. 
 
 Therefore, dear cousin, only now be true and endure. I fully 
 realise the truth of what you have said so finely about woman's 
 work and mission, but if you, with full conviction, are following 
 out a larger mission, God will double your strength for the 
 fulfilment of your own special vocation ; He can awake greater 
 readiness in you for all those duties which you have to work 
 through in your household and family life, and so you will soon 
 prove equal to your task once more. And I may tell you from 
 personal experience, that our power and courage, and above all 
 
*] 6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 our enjoyment in single and small things grow apace when once 
 we have the consciousness of working directly for a greater, and 
 indeed, for the greatest, general result. Believe me, dear cousin, 
 c r at any rate do not misunderstand me, the true care of children 
 and of childhood, the true care of manhood in childhood, and 
 thus the true care of the divine in the human, is, as it were, a true 
 service of God, and one which the present stage of the develop- 
 ment of humanity imperatively demands. 
 
 You think it is odd that your association in Gera seems to be 
 arranging itself upon opposite lines to those of the Rudolstadt 
 Association ; for the latter arose through the energy of women, 
 and yours was chiefly founded by men. But to me this dis- 
 crepancy seems on the surface only, the circumstances are really 
 almost identical, and I think their differences shadow out the 
 expression of a higher law of life. 
 
 Permit me, in virtue of the great indulgence which my dear 
 cousin, your husband, always shows towards my life-confessions, 
 to lay before you quite openly my convictions upon this matter. 
 Our Creator, as a loving Father, has shown us the duties and the 
 laws of life in countless symbols ; and through what we perceive 
 He has made known to us what is above and beyond perception ; 
 for instance, in growing things, especially in trees, which set 
 forth a whole world and system of life before our eyes ; in the 
 seasons ; in the solar system and its laws ; and in many other ways ; 
 but before all the rest in marriage, through its necessities and 
 laws. Marriage, looked at in its whole being, with all its duties 
 and all its significance, and the knowledge thus gained applied to 
 the other claims of life, yields the true Ariadne's clue which leads 
 us through the labyrinth of existence. 
 
 The laws exemplified in marriage repeat themselves in all 
 things, wherever man aims at any true life-unity ; even in man 
 himself, where the soul (the feminine element) and the intellect 
 (the male element) strive to attain to harmony and clearness, so 
 that they may together penetrate to the peace of life. I hope you 
 can now see without my pursuing the idea further into its details 
 what lofty meaning, what deep truth, are enshrined in the method 
 which is being created by your Women's and Mothers' Associa- 
 
Foundation and Construction. 77 
 
 tion for the promotion of the Kindergarten. 1 Foster this method, 
 dear cousin, beyond that which already exists in your own mind, 
 cherish it with the most watchful care, for woman's soul must 
 gain stability and clearness by man's intellect, and man's intellect 
 harmony and life by woman's soul ; and thus the true life of 
 mankind, as the guardian of childhood, will shine forth in its 
 perfect form, and be acknowledged as such. You know how 
 careful and tender we have to be in married life, and in the 
 household, about the commonest everyday things, and so must it 
 be in every relationship in which, as in marriage, we have to set 
 forth the representation of a lasting, peaceful, and gladsome life- 
 unity. 
 
 Forgive my frankness ; but only frankness amongst honourable 
 persons can lead mankind onwards towards its goal, and in the 
 face of so lofty an aim as ours — nothing less than the representa- 
 tion of the divine in daily life and through daily life — why should 
 we hesitate to be frank? You see by what I have said how 
 specially close to the watchful woman's-soul and mother's-instinct 
 lie life, and the key to life, and its control. Ought not mothers, 
 then, to use their great privilege, their treasure, their talisman, 
 given to them by God our Father, for the weal of mankind, or at 
 all events for the benefit of the children whom they have borne 
 with so many pains? 
 
 Marriage, moreover, sheds an absolutely clear light over the 
 interconnection of life-relationships, or at least it gives us the 
 means of explaining them, and whoever does not use it for this 
 purpose has himself to blame. From this we can perceive that 
 clearness of purpose in life is one of our duties in life. We ought 
 to be clear about all the circumstances of life, and about all life- 
 relationships — this is the first condition towards remaining faithful 
 in all our dealings, and deriving perpetual blessing from them. 
 The second condition is that we shall really be, within ourselves, 
 that which we are striving to make ourselves outwardly appear. 
 
 1 Froebel is advising his cousin to continue to accept the help of her gentle- 
 man friends, rather than conform to the Rudolstadt model, where ladies alone 
 worked, but wherein he himself probably provided the intellectual character- 
 istics desired. 
 
Letters of Froebel. 
 
 You, dear cousin, a contented wife and a happy mother, take 
 great pains over your housekeeping, and carefully watch your 
 children's training. Make yourself fully conscious of all these 
 spheres of work, and of the whole value and meaning of your 
 position, and hold fast the resulting claims upon you for active 
 life-work in the stillness and calm of your own mind, and in all 
 simplicity and modesty and self-retirement. You do well ; there 
 are many things in life about which one can never speak, and 
 others about which one only dare speak with intimate friends ; 
 but in the stillness of consciousness within, and in silent action 
 without us, we ought yet to hold these things fast, and to bring 
 them ever more and more to clearness. 
 
 This is what I think, my dear cousin, as to your life-relation- 
 ships ; I esteem them as unusually fortunate and harmonious, in 
 that they permit you to work for the welfare of mankind by their 
 means. 
 
 Most men, and they oftentimes the noblest hearted, esteem 
 their position in life and their power of usefulness too lightly, 
 whereby many a good work goes undone. We ought always to 
 remember that we are all tools in the hands of God, we are His 
 servants even in the least things ; and we should, then, in all 
 modesty and humility, give that anxious care to our work in the 
 world which is His due. 
 
 Amongst the things which exist by the fiat of God — and all 
 things, truly, must be regarded as originating from Him — I hold 
 it to be one of the most fundamental laws that everything has its 
 true place in Space, and its true utility in Time. It is because of 
 this that everything works so smoothly and so happily in the solar 
 system — and shall it be otherwise with Man, the first of conscious 
 beings? Let us at least equal in this regard the unconscious sun, 
 earth, moon, rain, and dew. What cannot one single shower 
 accomplish at the proper time, in the proper place, and of the 
 proper amount ? I say to myself: That which the creatures of 
 God, inferior to man, can accomplish by God's laws through 
 instinct, that Man ought consciously to accomplish according to 
 God's will, acting by his own free will and choice ; for in this 
 consists his liberty. Courage then ! Courage and trust ! 
 
Foundation and Construction. 79 
 
 In exceptional circumstances we often attach too much im- 
 portance to separate effects and single speeches, but in ordinary 
 life we are apt to pass over these too carelessly. Take, for ex- 
 ample, the expression of your little Hermann, " Es ist schon" 
 (" It is lovely "). The ancients differed altogether from us in this 
 matter; whence it comes that they so often "entertained angels 
 unawares," and their life was so much nearer the divine than is 
 ours, that they themselves were conscious of the near approach. 
 
 What is it, dear cousin, that I am trying to convey to you by all 
 this ? That it is not enough in the phase of the development of 
 life and of humanity to which we have now attained that anything 
 should merely occur, but we ought to be able to consciously ob- 
 serve its occurrence. When we bring anything, be it ever so 
 small, fully before our consciousness, we always gain something 
 in clearness and insight. Let us take this phrase of Hermann's, 
 Es ist schon (" It is lovely "), and ask why he does not hold to 
 the phrase suggested by you, Es ist hilbsch ("It is pretty"). I 
 reason thus with myself about this : hilbsch comes from hub, that 
 is from haben ("to possess"), and implies a preference above 
 some other thing not so pretty; it necessitates the idea of a simi- 
 lar thing with which to compare it, that is, it calls up an image of 
 a second object besides the one under contemplation, and in 
 general it is a composite, twofold idea, therefore too difficult and 
 intellectual to please a child. On the other hand, schon, (" lovely") 
 comes from scheinen, " to shine," which suggests a complete unity in 
 itself, something self-illuminated, like the sun. This explanation 
 shows also the simple intellectual power gained by regarding a 
 thing separately, by and through itself; as here, when the word 
 Scheinen ("to shine") connotes unity.' And hence we can see 
 how much easier it comes to the simple, unrestrained child to call 
 these forms, lovely as the sunlight, schon ("lovely," etymologically 
 "shining"), rather than hilbsch ("pretty," etymologically "desir- 
 able to possess "), whereas, perhaps, an older child, accustomed 
 to compare things together, would possibly prefer to call such 
 forms hiibsch (desirable above others). To whom am I indebted 
 for this reflection? To little Hermann, by your kindness in 
 repeating his phrase. And are we to regard this as an isolated 
 
So Letters of Froebel. 
 
 reflection ? By no means. It leads me on to perceive that the 
 life and the intuitive observing power of a child are as yet one 
 and indivisible. 1 
 
 You have given me real pleasure by the news that Kriisi's little 
 book has met with so cordial a reception. I am much obliged to 
 you for telling me. For this book is one of my favourites, and I 
 rely greatly on it for winning mothers to a higher consciousness 
 of their mother's duties, and so to a perception of the benefits of 
 associated or joint training and care of children. You will more 
 and more come to see, dear cousin, that without this mutual 
 association in the care, in the real culture, of children and of 
 young persons, no sure testimony can be won for our educational 
 principles, and no enduring result can be accomplished. 
 
 Harmony between the womanly intelligence and the maternal 
 life, between the consciousness and the act, is what we, in our 
 zeal for the welfare of children and of humanity, have to aim 
 at. But this result is not obtained amongst you women in the 
 same way as amongst us men. We meet together for mutual 
 counsel and aid, and determine upon united action by a general 
 resolution. You, on the other hand, are like the world of flowers 
 and trees, where, under the awakening, illuminating, warmth- 
 giving rays of the sun, each single, individual life blossoms forth 
 at once, and all of them at the same time, together ; and where, 
 moreover, each one can only clearly see her own peaceful, joyful 
 life as it is reflected in the lives of others, and, if I may say so, 
 as embellished when thus seen. Just so an auricula-bloom can 
 only perceive its own existence, clear and beautiful, in the exist- 
 ence of another ; notwithstanding that in a cluster of auriculas 
 there is much variation in form, in colour, in grouping, in odour, 
 and, in short, in the general effect. 
 
 Observe, dear cousin, that I desire the highest life-unity for 
 the blossoms of humanity, for the women and mothers ; not an 
 externally enforced, artificially planned unity, but one which 
 while it grants to each one a firm retention of her individual 
 personality, grows and develops from within outwards, blooming 
 and fragrant. 
 
 1 Froebel's etymology is purely fanciful. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 81 
 
 I desire that their life may, like the life of the plants, freely 
 awake and shape itself under the influence of the noontide sun 
 of life, after God's own law ; unison and concord, a higher, nay, 
 the highest symphony of life, with rhythm, melody, and harmony, 
 will then spring forth of themselves. Thus it will not be long 
 before we two arrive at a perfect mutual understanding, and this 
 agreement of two persons only will readily extend itself until your 
 friends also come to share fully in our plans and ideas. 
 
 Then the will of God shall be expressed in the life of man, 
 consciously and of free choice (through the freedom of the will) ; 
 whereas in physical nature and in the inferior animals His will 
 is manifested as a natural law and under the compelling rule of 
 instinct. 
 
 What I strive to win for the life of individual women and 
 mothers, I strive to win for family life also. 
 
 For such a change I am striving to prepare, by means of my 
 games and occupations. I hope they may succeed in their aim. 
 If women would definitely put their case before the enlightened 
 men of their circle, and let them see what their heart and soul, 
 their intelligence and their life are planning for the welfare of 
 childhood and the family, the men would certainly bestir them- 
 selves, and gladly meet such desires half-way. And in this 
 regard you yourself will assuredly be able to arouse, invigorate 
 and encourage your sisters and friends when you tell them of your 
 three Gera gentlemen who have in all genuine manly earnest- 
 ness embraced the cause which you set before them — the weal of 
 childhood, and of the family in its earliest beginnings. 
 
 And I can give you another token of hope for the rapid pro- 
 gress of the good cause. The reigning princess of Sondershausen 
 has decided to establish a Kindergarten in her palace on the 
 model, or rather according to the idea, of the Rudolstadt Kinder- 
 garten, and is informing herself of the necessary details through 
 the tutor of the young princes and princesses, who is in com- 
 munication with me. My answer to his letter of inquiry has 
 already been despatched, and I shall tell you later on what 
 comes of it. The tutor is mightily taken with the matter, and 
 so is, as it would appear, the princess herself. 
 
 G 
 
82 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 I send my best thanks to Mile. Erwina for her friendly New 
 Year's greeting to the German Kindergarten, expressed in the 
 subscription for a share. But it seems to me really remarkable 
 how languidly and slowly the world of German women concerns 
 itself with our undertaking. So far as my experience goes, the 
 plan is highly appreciated, and yet at the same time (while it is 
 quite easily to be started if only several persons will join together 
 with subscriptions for the purpose), the list of subscribers fills 
 up so slowly, name by name, that as I have said, it will be a year 
 and more before it is quite full. If the fixed number of subscribers 
 is not obtained, well, then no one will be asked to pay ; but if the 
 work succeeds, as I hope it will, then surely no intelligent German 
 wife or maiden would like to be left out of it : so that either way 
 there is no risk to the subscribers. Rightly understood, a sub- 
 scription is nothing more than a preliminary undertaking that one 
 approves of the plan in general, and that if it comes into opera- 
 tion one will join to a definite extent in furthering its interests : 
 and yet people seem to be as afraid of giving their signature as if 
 it involved a weighty obligation. 
 
 Thank the dear old grandfather, who enters so kindly into my 
 ideas of suitable occupations for children ; and tell him that 
 although his strength does not allow him directly to work for 
 them, he can yet raise his voice in their favour on all suitable 
 occasions ; and the voice of age and experience is everywhere 
 received with the respect due to it. Besides, men seem to require 
 that a voice of authority shall arise and speak firmly to them. 
 
 I send my greeting to my two dear young cousins, and thank 
 them for their parcels. I have just been learning something from 
 them by a critical examination of their drawings. I hope soon 
 to send them back a return gift of the same nature either written 
 or printed. 
 
 I am particularly pleased that your husband honours my games 
 with such a critical inquiry; if only I could instil into him a 
 knowledge of their inner spirit and life, I have not the smallest 
 doubt but that I should enjoy the full approval of such a 
 thoughtful teacher and real educationist. The special value of 
 these games is most difficult to express through the lifeless 
 
Foundation and Construction. 83 
 
 medium of words, unless one becomes mathematically dry, but 
 it manifests itself easily enough in action and in life. Remember 
 me very kindly to your good husband, and tell him my purpose 
 is to prepare a fruitful soil for the future teachers of these pupils, 
 so that not only shall the seed they sow spring up readily in 
 mind and spirit, but shall, like all healthy and vigorous growths, 
 thrust deep roots downward. 
 
 How gladly I receive your numerous interspersed comments 
 and speculations ! You seize so firmly, in all aspects, the inmost, 
 deepest meaning which I wish these games to take when played 
 by children under the conduct of grown persons, that I promise 
 myself the best results from your use of them. Try as soon as you 
 can to train up little helpers amongst the elder children who take 
 part in the games ; girls readily and gladly assist, and the whole 
 work may thus be rendered much lighter for you. If, after the 
 general games are over, you now and then play or sing for a little 
 while with the elder and more competent children, you will soon 
 train up two or three playfellows well grounded in the games and 
 firmly confident in the songs. We at Rudolstadt are constantly 
 doing this. There is emulation amongst the younger ones to be 
 chosen as helpers in this way. 
 
 I should like next to give you a little sketch of a complete 
 chain of games. 
 
 1. Whenever I lead the games, whether with the older or the 
 younger children, I always begin with the ball. I find its effect 
 is to unite and quiet the children, especially if I use it in a 
 manner particularly directed to attain these objects. 
 
 2. I always begin by turning to a child who happens to stand 
 close to me, and make whatever he is doing my starting-point 
 gradually leading on from that to some game which all may play 
 together; then pausing a little at any suitable circumstance which 
 may occur in the game, I use that as a passage to the intro- 
 duction of the ball. This passage is easy to manage in quite a 
 natural way. The more closely the beginning of the game is knit 
 to the life of the child, flowing as it were out of himself, the better 
 the game develops. You need not be anxious about this. The 
 children themselves soon show you the best way to set to work, 
 
84 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 You have so often played with children yourself that you can 
 regard the circle as already formed for games. 
 
 3. As soon as I have gained the attention of one child to the 
 ball, several others quickly fall in also ; and we rapidly pass from 
 the questions, " What is this ? " or " What have I got here ? " to 
 the question, "What can you tell me about this ball?" Then, 
 holding the ball in front of the children, or in the midst of them, 
 that they may clearly see it, I try to pick out from amongst the 
 various answers I receive such as will best lead them to observe 
 its general properties. And now I bring them to the definite 
 decision, " The ball is pretty," whereupon I sing them the phrase. 
 Meanwhile I am quietly arranging the children in a circle without 
 their perceiving it, and then I put the question to them, "Would 
 you like to look at this ball ? " So one part of the game follows 
 on from the other. 
 
 I have a sufficient provision of balls with me that each child 
 may have one, and I say or sing, as I give him his ball, — 
 
 tf Make a cup with hands spread wide.. 
 And put the pretty ball inside ; " 
 
 And this brings me easily to the song, — 
 
 " In my open hand I hold a pretty little ball, 
 Let me rock it to and fro, and mind it does not fall," ,etc. 
 
 The ball is then rocked to and fro, or up and down, and pre- 
 sently it rolls a little in the hand : as soon as this is perceived, 
 the game-leader puts the fact into words, and says or sings, — 
 
 "The ball gets tired of lying still, 
 If there's a chance to move, it will ! " 
 
 I let the attention of the children rest awhile upon these words, 
 and upon this movement of the ball, as I did before upon the 
 consideration of the properties of the ball in itself, and again upon 
 the ball as an object in repose : in this manner the pair ofoppo- 
 sites, rest and motion, become quite distinct to the child, and he 
 is readily led to an intelligent consideration and comparison of 
 the two states. 1 
 
 After a series of various ball-games we come to one in which 
 
 1 See Froebel's " Ball-Games." 
 
Foundation and Construction. 85 
 
 the ball is made to travel from one child to another, and this is 
 followed by the children themselves moving round, to the song, 
 " Come, let us all move round and round," etc. 
 
 You see from this how simply the lifeless ball calls up active 
 life, and the single quiet ball-game is converted into a general 
 lively action-game. 
 
 The children learn these songs incredibly fast, especially if you 
 sing them very clearly and slowly all together in chorus. Even if 
 the little ones do not outwardly seem tajoin in, they are thinking 
 it all to themselves, as is proved by the words and songs welling 
 forth from their little throats like water from a full spring when 
 they are by themselves, 
 
 What has just been described shows- forth a pretty little chain 
 of games, or at least a definite selection of games ; and it may, so 
 long as the children find pleasure in it, be repeated in some of the 
 following play-hours. 1 
 
 The games form in themselves a closed chain proceeding from 
 the simplest and most necessary links ; a closely connected whole, 
 depending upon necessary laws ; yet it is not at all needful upon 
 this account rigidly to follow the order of the games as given in 
 the series. This would quite destroy that fresh merry life which 
 should animate the games. One rule must be, however, unfail- 
 ingly and uniformly observed ; the games must always begin with 
 the earliest and easiest ones of whatever selection may have 
 been made, and must rise by development from simple to com- 
 plex, according to the universal and never-to-be-forgotten law : but 
 within this limit free choice and unhindered play of movement is 
 allowed. Otherwise the games would cease to be games, and 
 lose their full educational power. You yourself, dear cousin, like 
 every game-leader, would find yourself cramped and hindered. 
 
 The main thought must be held fast ; but the precise form and 
 style in which the games are played must be the outcome of the 
 moment. The freer and more spontaneous the arrangement, the 
 more excellent is the effect of the game. 
 
 1 Here follows, in the letter, Froebel's well-known description of " Ball and 
 Action Games." 
 
86 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 It is amidst the perpetual and inextricable combination of the 
 limited with the illimitable, of the definite with the infinite, in 
 every sphere of human existence, that the free unfolding of man's 
 nature, his liberty of soul, becomes possible ; and this according 
 to God's will as well as according to man's own inner God-given 
 law (that is, according to his conscience) and in harmony with 
 the grand unity of living nature. 
 
 You now see, my dear cousin, that the games and occupations 
 which I have arranged have a theoretical as well as a practical 
 value, a subjective value for the individual person as well as an 
 objective value for the little group of companions in social life; 
 and also that by their nature and because of the germs of mental 
 development which they carry with them, or have the power at any 
 rate to call into life, they have a scientific as well as an aesthetic 
 meaning ; they are as valuable on the moral as on the intellectual 
 side, alike important for the heart, the head, and the activities of 
 common life. They are of as great moment in the development 
 of virtue as in the development of religious life; and, in the latter, 
 they are of especial value towards the acquirement of pure Chris- 
 tian principles. 
 
 On account of this fundamental, all-encompassing character of 
 the games, they meet with general sympathy from every one who 
 plays them herself, or even has seen them played by others, and 
 has thereby personally experienced their influence. Therefore, in 
 good time, and with earnest study on the part of lovers of the 
 method, three results will eventually come about. Firstly, these 
 games will win ever more and more general acceptance and 
 application ; secondly, they will pass beyond the narrow circle of 
 separate children into the family as a whole, and will become a 
 national possession, nay, a possession belonging to the whole 
 human race, like the great Greek games once were; thirdly, they 
 will in their own time grow ever more perfect on the one side in 
 beauty and grace, and on the other side in the general service of 
 humanity. 
 
 I have let myself run on in all this detail that your gentlemen 
 friends and colleagues may read it, or better still, that you may 
 tell it to them; so that they may see that we have here no childish 
 
Foundation and Construction. 87 
 
 or one-sided play, but games which represent true thoughts and 
 ideas of adult and and cultivated men, and which, as such, are 
 worthy the acceptance of intelligent and acute women and mothers, 
 as well as of thoughtful and active-minded men and fathers. 
 They throw a bright light across the past, they work powerfully and 
 beneficently in the present, and are filled with blessed promise 
 for the future. How comes this to be possible ? Through the 
 fact that they study to set forth what a man ought to do ; namely, 
 to accomplish in small things in separateness and imperfection — 
 always striving nevertheless to be perfect — that which God does 
 in great things, in universality and in complete perfection. 
 
 Man must ever aim at learning God's methods of development 
 of culture, of education, as applied to humanity ; and especially at 
 striving to set them forth as applied to his own individual educa- 
 tion, and the education of his family and his nation. Here you see 
 my teacher, my professor, who teaches from the book of the highest 
 and holiest revelations of life, a book not merely held in the hand 
 or got by heart, but set forth in actual living characters, and with 
 never a contradiction. 
 
 The educational method and plan of God shows us how upon 
 the level background of life He shapes forth ever clear, mutually 
 helpful, living laws; and these are the conditions under which 
 man is free to rise above himself, to educate and fill himself with 
 culture. Therefore he must proceed through much that is con- 
 tradictory or in disorder, and which passes before him, nay, also 
 within him, — guided by the inner light which is at one with his 
 very being — before he can attain to harmony of life and learn the 
 laws of life. I intend also, or rather I recognise already, that the 
 games produced or invented by me form an image of the ten- 
 dencies of education. It does no harm to the development of 
 the children, when now and then something which should come 
 later is taken earlier, and when things which should be separate 
 are taken together, if only the child comes quicker to a compre- 
 hension of the spirit of the whole, thereby ; under all variety there 
 lies a basis of unity, and under all apparent irrationality or chance 
 a basis of law. Secondly, the child should be so generally trained 
 by these games, that later on in life, when his mind is competent 
 
88 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 to grasp the idea, he shall be able to look back and discover for 
 himself the basis of unity and law which underlay them. Thirdly, 
 that he may perceive their unity and law to be one with the unity 
 and law pervading his own life and its development. Lastly and 
 fourthly, that this double perception may give him the means and 
 show him the way, at all events approximately, to trace out the 
 unity and law underlying all vital phenomena whatever. 1 
 
 The comprehension of the games to be arrived at later on by 
 the growing mind of the child, is the main thing to aim at. To 
 awake and cherish mental life in the child, to bring the laws of 
 life before him as an intuition, or as a clear consciousness, and 
 to enable him right fully to enjoy the fruit of after-life, peace and 
 joy, is the aim we have in these children's games. 
 
 Endeavour above all things to stimulate a more vigorous 
 attempt at carrying on a Kindergarten ; because the thing itself, 
 in action, speaks better than any written or printed address. We 
 have seen excellent results in Rudolstadt already. One thing is 
 very necessary — quiet patience on the part of the teacher, so as 
 to give the children plenty of time to feel at home with her. 
 
 For the many imperfections of this letter I must plead as an 
 excuse that I have been frequently interrupted whilst writing it. 
 
 The friendliest greetings to all of you, 
 
 From your affectionate Cousin. 
 
 Letter VII. 
 
 Blankenburg, 30/^ January? 1841. 
 My dear Cousin, — 
 
 A part of my answer to your letter, the receipt of which gave 
 me such pleasure in many different ways, is still waiting to be 
 
 1 Here follow the games with the sphere and cube, and action-games. Cf. 
 Froebel's Sonntagsblatt. 
 
 2 Here, as also in the dating of the previous letter, the old-fashioned 
 " Tanner" is used {ox January (" Januar"). It had already become obsolete in 
 the chief towns, but was still usual in the provinces. " Muhme," also the true 
 German word for a female cousin, and always used by Froebel in addressing 
 Madame Schmidt, had already been replaced in the towns by the modern 
 " Cousine," borrowed from the French. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 89 
 
 written, when I now receive another and an equally delightful 
 missive from you, telling me that with a rapidity I never expected 
 your beautiful garden (Kindergarten) has been already set out, 
 that it is being worked upon and brought into cultivation, and 
 that in due course, following the months of the year and the 
 seasons, it will be sown with suitable seeds of all varieties. Yes, 
 dear cousin, there is this about the Kindergarten that is especially 
 delightful — the sower, even in the act of sowing, is rewarded by 
 both flower and fruit, and that in double portion, one for herself 
 and one for the children. 
 
 I am right glad that you have struck out a beginning on your 
 own account, in firm and sure reliance of finding the true way. 
 Why should you not find the true way ? I have learnt it from 
 mothers and children, and am still daily learning from them. But 
 you are a mother yourself ; and to create direct from the source of 
 inspiration, without the intervention of any intermediary, is always 
 the best. Original work is always the best sort of work. That 
 you have progressive minds by your side to support you, amongst 
 your gentlemen friends, and can avail yourself of their strength, 
 gives me peculiar pleasure. This is of manifold significance, and 
 I send Pastor Lang my hearty thanks for his support. 
 
 I am sending you a quantity of songs. But as you will cer- 
 tainly be finding out for yourself many which are much prettier 
 than these, I would ask you to copy them out for me. 
 
 And in the interest of the children I have still another request 
 to make — that you would record in writing the most important 
 facts about each separate child. It seems to me most necessary 
 for the comprehension, and for the true treatment of child-nature, 
 that such observations should be made public from time to time, 
 in order that children may become better and better understood 
 in their manifestations, and may therefore be more rightly treated, 
 and that true care and observation of unsophisticated childhood 
 may ever increase. 
 
 I enjoy, in anticipation, your next letter, which will bring me 
 news of the happy progress of your Kindergarten. 
 
 Your grateful Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 
9° Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Letter VIII. 
 
 Blankenburg, 2jf/i Feb., 1841. 
 Dear and deeply respected Cousin, — 
 
 Although I have not before me your last letter but one — that 
 one in which you kindly wrote me so many details of your work 
 — because (since our life here is all shared in common) the circle 
 at Keilhau are now enjoying its perusal, as I sent it to them a few 
 days since, I will nevertheless try to set down what occurred to 
 me on its first reading, and answer its various points, though, 
 perhaps, not in the same order as you put them. 
 
 Before anything else I must express my pleasure that you 
 are working in good understanding with the principals of the 
 Collegiate School, and especially with such active and helpful 
 co-operation on the part of Pastor Lang. This gives your under 
 taking an inward as well as an outward support, and endows it 
 with the character of sharing in the work common to all the 
 various educational bodies ; which cannot fail to be most helpful 
 to the stability and to the usefulness alike of their work and of 
 yours. You send me, kind cousin, friendly congratulations about 
 our Mothers' Association in Rudolstadt, and I assure you that I 
 am very pleased with its success ; but we cannot pride ourselves 
 upon the co-operation of such powerful male assistance as you 
 have. This arises from various reasons. You see, dear cousin, 
 every centre has its special advantages and disadvantages. 
 
 Our mothers and nursery governesses share more largely in the 
 life of the children, it would seem, than do yours in Gera. 
 Several mothers with us take definite parts in the games, others 
 copy out the songs that we sing, and I believe that many games 
 are repeated in the family circle at home. 
 
 I am glad to be able to set down for you and the sister institu- 
 tions in Frankfurt and Rudolstadt several favourable points which 
 I have observed. Firstly, the advantages and fruitful results of 
 these Kindergartens have been proved upon the children who have 
 taken part in them. Secondly, there is a continual increase in the 
 
Foundation and Construction. 91 
 
 number of children. In Rudolstadt we have to limit our number 
 to twenty-six, because of our want of room. Thirdly, we observe 
 that children who scarcely sing at all with us whilst the games 
 are being played, nevertheless sing away in the confidence of 
 their own homes, clear, merry and loud. Fourthly, our children 
 play our games with their little brothers and sisters at home, and 
 use our names too, quite correctly. Fifthly, and this is the most 
 important observation, we find that naughty ways, especially 
 amongst the boys, disappear, while at the same time a greater 
 power of original action makes its appearance. 
 
 And we must tell you also of a further point we observe ; that, 
 as a rule, the smaller children play more intelligently, quietly, 
 imaginatively, steadily, and persistently, than the elder ones, who 
 are much more easily distracted. At the same time, we notice 
 that this fault of the elder ones grows less as we go on. 
 
 I hold it of the greatest importance that we should interchange 
 the observations that we make, so that little by little we may come 
 to know the grounds and the conditions of the phenomena we 
 observe, and can formulate their laws. Then we shall be in a 
 position to assist those things which are favourable, and to check 
 those which are disadvantageous, to the good development of the 
 children. 
 
 I am firmly convinced that all the phenomena of the child- 
 world, those which delight us as well as those which grieve us, 
 depend upon fixed laws as definite as those of the cosmos, the 
 planetary system, and the operations of nature ; and it is there- 
 fore possible to discover them and examine them. When once we 
 know and have assimilated these laws, we shall be able power- 
 fully to counteract any retrograde and faulty tendencies in the 
 children, and to encourage, at the same time, all that is good and 
 virtuous. 
 
 In accordance with this truth, and supporting my firm convic- 
 tion of it, observe how the children are impelled by a certain yearn- 
 ing desire and dim ineffable feeling which urges them on in quite 
 a remarkable and special way to the unwearied pursuit of circu- 
 lar action-games ; for these will lead them towards a comprehen- 
 sion of the solar system and the orbital motion of worlds. 
 
92 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 And further I will confide to you, who so thoughtfully and 
 carefully study the spirit of children's play — but you must be 
 careful to whom you repeat it — that in my play and in my games 
 I have always had a definite second purpose beyond that of 
 guiding the children back upon their own nature, namely, to lead 
 them onward to observe the life of the outer world, of the 
 cosmos, and especially of the physical nature that most closely 
 surrounds them ; because the cosmical laws can only be ex- 
 pressed to them by means of individual instances. Thus I 
 hope later on to bring the children to a practical (and by 
 " practical " I mean such as can be turned to real use in every 
 day life), to a practical knowledge of God, His words, and His 
 modes of action, and therefore of His nature, and of His will ; 
 and then they will not only be capable of recognising and 
 examining into the will of God, but also of acting in accordance 
 with it. And further, dear cousin, I may say in confidence that 
 the ultimate aim and special purpose of my games and system of 
 play is to bring the children, through the aid of physical nature 
 and animal life (here especially represented by children's love, 
 and our love for children, with the mutually reflex actions of these), 
 ■ — and also through Jesus, as the greatest lover of children — to a 
 true union with God in sentiment, thought and action ; that is, 
 to a truly religious state. 
 
 The enthusiastic and self-sacrificing efforts of yourself and Pastor 
 Lang in conducting the play-hours without any emolument, is 
 in the highest degree worthy of our thanks. May a correspond- 
 ing result come to reward you for your good care of the great 
 principle ! May that principle itself be manifested, also, in a 
 certain degree of completeness ! The Rudolstadt Mothers' 
 Association is not so fortunate in this respect. For Middendorff 
 and I, on account of the rapidity with which it is necessary to 
 travel thither, and also on account of the bad weather and the bad 
 state of the roads, are obliged to drive every day to Rudolstadt, 
 which, of course, makes a serious inroad upon our funds ; and 
 beyond this there are the expenses of warming the play-room and 
 of purchasing the necessary materials. Yet every one expresses 
 the wish that the work we have begun shall be carried on through 
 
Foundation and Construction. 93 
 
 the summer, and a garden and playground up in the hills are 
 already offered us without charge. 1 
 
 Do not think ill of me, dear cousin, because I have perhaps not 
 expressed myself sufficiently thankful for your furtherance of my 
 work, and your co-operation in spreading abroad the Kindergarten 
 system, and above all, for your foundation and conduct of the 
 institution in Gera. It is an extraordinary peculiarity of my nature 
 that I am often least profuse in thanks, where I am inwardly 
 most thankful and most rejoicing ; for I am too apt to assume that 
 my grateful state of mind is easily perceivable by those to whom 
 it is due. To my hurt I have experienced this fact several times ; 
 and as it would seem, I have .repeated the error in regard to your- 
 self, my best of cousins, to whom I feel so deeply thankful. Also, 
 I will confess to you that I fear to speak too openly of my dear- 
 est joys and hopes, lest by exposing them I should cause them 
 to wither away. Enough : let me say that the Kindergarten in 
 Gera which has arisen from your enthusiasm and from your 
 intelligence, planted and nurtured by yourself, is the dearest ot 
 all to me, as it now stands ; and that I acknowledge it to be the 
 best-grounded and the firmest-established and deepest-rooted 
 of all, in the public life as also in your own individual life. 
 Through your friendly co-operation it is like a strawberry plant 
 which silently drives its runners here and there, and whose run- 
 ners, where they find specially rich and tempting soil, throw out 
 roots which soon become independent plants for themselves. In 
 this figure I foreshadow what may be expected to come out of the 
 part now taken in the games by the elder girls, about which you 
 write to me. It is precisely this silent, unexpected and unnoticed 
 progress that I desire, and that is so dear to me. God prosper it ! 
 
 You are right in saying that many games, when they have been 
 long and carefully played, become graceful and beautiful in them- 
 selves. Amongst them I rank " The ball flies high to form an 
 arch," and many other ball games. 
 
 [Note, Feb. 29M.] I am very grateful to you for having taken 
 
 1 Rudolstaclt is surrounded by hills, and the citizens delight to possess a 
 " berg," or hill-meadow, in which they usually build a summer house ; and 
 here they spend their summer evenings or holiday afternoons. 
 
94 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 the trouble to wind and sew the balls yourself. Permit me to make 
 a request as to the finished surface of these balls : and that is, that 
 each should be entirely of one colour, and also that the series 
 should follow the prismatic order, the colours of the rainbow. 
 
 Studying the lives of children and following the bent of your 
 own enthusiasm you have presented us with a new game. My 
 hearty thanks for it. I am myself exceedingly fortunate in being 
 so much at one with the children, and so at home with them that 
 my mind is as readily set in motion by them as one of their own 
 wooden toy rollers. A large majority of our games I have 
 created, just as they are, simply by watching children at play, and 
 then re-casting their games in the spirit of my whole system. 
 Thus, quite lately, I have prepared a limping-game, because I see 
 my boys are always limping and hopping. I have also taken your 
 idea of a clucking-hen, or hen-and-chickens, as the basis of a 
 game which I will send you for trial. 
 
 I am also very grateful to you for the remarks of your dear little 
 ones about rosebuds and green leaves. I shall make use of them 
 in a game of flowers. We must have several such games for our 
 summer walks, some to be played with real flowers, some as action- 
 games where the children impersonate various flowers and plants. 
 
 The object of such games will be readily apprehended by you. 
 It is to draw the children to the observation of natural phenomena, 
 and at the same time to sympathy with the pure, eternal, unrest- 
 ing, ever peaceful, helpful life of nature ; and to reproduce like 
 things in their own lives on the higher plane of consciousness 
 and union-with-God. I like the German word Gotieinigkeit, 
 "union-with-God," better than the foreign word Religion, or 
 religiousness, which, according to the real meaning of the word, 
 is no longer satisfactory to me now that Jesus has appeared and 
 worked in the world. 1 
 
 Now I hope I have fully answered your last letter (or rather 
 
 1 Religio (the Latin whence conies the French word religion) is thought to 
 come from reli^are, " to bind," as if it were the force of duty or conscience, 
 binding us to God and the divine life. Such an idea, Froebel means, seems 
 more applicable to the Old Testament dispensation, of Law, than to the New, 
 of Love. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 95 
 
 your last but one) from memory. But even as I thus write, another 
 remark of yours, as to the music of our little songs, occurs to me. 
 You are quite right ; we ought to try and attain a somewhat higher 
 level in that department. Our little songs are very often learnt 
 from mothers and children, and our aim in constructing them is 
 that the representation of the game, the words, and the music 
 should all three combine to form a whole, the parts of which 
 mutually strengthen and elucidate each other. 
 
 Is there anything more that I could desire in your work, and 
 especially in your method of dealing with the system ? On the 
 contrary, it is, in its present stage, and particularly in the way it 
 develops itself, just as I would have it, precisely after my own 
 heart ; for I delight in quiet, simple, steady, self-developing pro- 
 gress. This is why your mode of life, quiet, unnoticed, retired 
 as it is, according to your own description of it, nay, even almost 
 unknown, so to speak, appears to me so eminently fitted for our 
 purpose. It resembles the violet's life and life-work, which 
 blossoms all concealed, and is only detected and then carefully 
 sought out, when its delicate perfume spreads abroad. However 
 easy-going a man may be, he yet likes those things best which he 
 has sought out with a certain amount of personal exertion, and 
 has made his own. Oh, I beg you, do not be anxious, and least 
 of all with regard to me. By your work and the way you accom- 
 plish it, you are fulfilling, if you will let me say so once for all, 
 the closest, dearest, and sweetest wish of my heart. You give 
 me, as you give your little ones, joy, peace, calm; and my founda- 
 tions become more stable by your help. 
 
 I am delighted over and above all this, to learn that you find 
 your operations steadily winning confidence amongst those who 
 have come to know of them. Call on me for anything that I can 
 do to help, so that we may cherish this growing confidence and 
 promote it together. I was greatly pleased to know that several 
 ladies are sharing in your work; it seems impossible now that 
 your hopes and anticipations should lack fulfilment. 
 
 Your pretty and amusing game with the " Little Blue-mantle " 
 (little Iduna) has introduced a very poetical element into our 
 games, and it ought to prove, as I think, a valuable and fruitful 
 contribution. 
 
g6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 But encourage your little girls to be always observing, and then 
 to think over what they have observed, for this alone promotes 
 genuinely original action. I have carefully watched some of our 
 little ones who behave in a like manner ; and I have observed 
 how rapidly their lips move as they talk to themselves about any- 
 thing that has strongly impressed them. 
 
 A little boy showed me lately how important it is to accom- 
 pany building games with speech or song : for, having built some- 
 thing by himself, he turned to me and said, " Now, tell me some- 
 thing about it ! " 
 
 The affection of your wayward Adele delighted me much. The 
 contest amongst the children for the best place and the first greet- 
 ing is always very enjoyable ; but we must be careful that no one 
 feels himself overlooked. 
 
 Sincerest good wishes to all your dear ones, 
 
 From your grateful Cousin, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Letter IX. 
 
 Blankenburg, 21st March, 1841. 
 Much-esteemed and dear Cousin, — 
 
 At last I am able to reply to your kind letter of the 7th inst. 
 
 Permit me to answer you clause by clause. 
 
 1. "Often and often," so you say, "passages which I read in 
 the Sunday Journal evoke from the depths of my inner conscious- 
 ness like thoughts which I have originated for myself, and like 
 experiences which I have gone through in my own life, until I 
 grow quite astonished and puzzled." What you thus confide to 
 me relates to one part of the sweetest, best and purest fruit of 
 my life; one part, namely, of what I mean to do, or have 
 already accomplished (through my children's games and occupa- 
 tions) towards clearing a pathway through the tangles of human 
 life. I am endeavouring to bring man, through the knowledge 
 of his own inner feelings and the experiences of his own life, to 
 a forefeeling, a perception, and finally a clear consciousness, of 
 this great fact — that for all the important needs of life, and for 
 
Foundation and Construction. 97 
 
 the deepest conceptions which govern life, there exist universally 
 applicable life-experiences and examples, which are found to be 
 repeated in the case of every man who examines the development 
 of his own career with careful scrutiny, and endeavours to bring 
 himself to a consciousness of its meaning. 
 
 The observation of this fact should annihilate the feeling of the 
 separateness of the individual in life, which is the death of all 
 true life ; and should permit men to regard themselves as mem- 
 bers of our common humanity, uniting together to form one great 
 whole, should enable them to feel and know themselves as such, 
 and to act out and live up to this idea. To acquire this con- 
 ception is to acquire the highest good for humanity at large, as 
 well as for the separate individuals which compose it. Regarded 
 thus even for you, dear cousin, the true spirit, the genuine life, 
 and especially the lofty aim, of my games and occupations, be- 
 comes ever more and more clear and manifest. But you must 
 also perceive, dear cousin, that you yourself fulfil the one needful 
 condition towards understanding me — you have a soul ready to 
 believe, to trust, and to make sacrifices. Such a soul creates all 
 that is lovely, great, good, true, and noble in life — belief, trust, 
 and self-sacrifice in and for the wellspring and unity of life; whether 
 the whole body of life, humanity, or its separate existence 
 amongst individual men, or lastly in the child, who as yet reposes 
 in life's slumber, a living member of a living whole. This triple 
 and yet single belief I desire to awake right early in man, in the 
 child, by the careful tendance of childhood ; to cherish it, arouse 
 it, and stimulate it to worthy actions. 
 
 2. I have been much pleased with what you say about Lange- 
 thal's essay upon the text, in his own words, " Our little ones 
 carry about the living God in their hearts," as to the suitable 
 religious training of the smaller girls by means of learning little 
 hymns. You choose hymns which treat of such subjects as are 
 familiar to the children, and occur in their everyday life, and 
 you think thereby to win children to observe, acknowledge, and 
 realize spiritual things. How true and again how beautiful is all 
 this on your part ! Once more we find ourselves thinking pre- 
 cisely alike, as to the way we would treat the education of chil- 
 
 H 
 
9 8 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 dren. Humanity is a beautiful thing in its unity ; in its collective 
 and its individual aspect too. Each man sees himself improved 
 in his fellow-man, and in his race ; and yet each is self-sustained 
 and self-originating, free within himself. 
 
 3. You tell me that the "Marching Song" and the song of 
 "The Ball and the Pigeon" are favourites with the children : but 
 they have sprung' from the life of the children themselves; nay, 
 the marching song is nothing else but the children's life. 
 
 4. In speaking of the song 
 
 " My little ball is well-behaved, 
 And so's my little child," 
 
 what you tell me about your merry Adele is delightful. This 
 experience, and your kindness in communicating it, belong to 
 the finest blossoms and fruitage of my life-work. It proves for 
 me, moreover, that truth which so deeply affects the education 
 of man, that we arrive at the knowledge of the true and the right 
 by the comparison of exact opposites of like kind. 1 It never has 
 so good an effect to show a little child his own image mirrored in 
 other human beings, in other persons, as to let him perceive him- 
 self and his life symbolised and set fortli in inanimate and imper- 
 sonal things. In the first case the human mind has to meet 
 a thousand distracting and narrowing elements of personality, 
 whilst in the second the thing, the fact, to which his attention is 
 called, tells its tale without interruption. With the fact he 
 
 1 An example will show Froebel"s meaning clearer to those who are not 
 familiar with this method of philosophical inquiry, almost invariably resorted 
 to by him in his educational researches. An antithesis of like kind is found 
 to a given thesis, and from the union of these opposites springs a new truth, 
 by synthesis. Thus, if we take the geometrical form of a sphere of even curva- 
 ture and extreme mobility, and find the opposites of these qualities in another 
 geometrical form, the cube, we arrive at a third and distinct form, viz., the 
 cylinder, through the union of this pair of opposites. The point of likeness 
 between the two opposites — the living child and the lifeless ball — is that both 
 are easy to set in motion ; the distinctive character of both may indeed be said 
 to be mobility. Thesis, a moving child ; antithesis, a moving ball ; result- 
 ing synthesis, the idea of motion. It is easier for the child to apprehend the 
 fact of motion by the comparison of such total opposites as an animated being 
 and an inanimate thing, which are alike only in this one point, that both are 
 in motion, than by comparing himself with other children in motion, who 
 present a thousand forms of similarity* 
 
Foundation and Construction. 99 
 
 approaches also the unchangeable, everlasting, self-centred law 
 of that fact, which works irresistibly upon mankind like fate or 
 destiny. I believe that in this way man may become rich in all 
 experience of good ; of evil also, and that without losing his 
 innocence. To acquire this power of education for mankind, 
 especially for his early childhood, is my aim ; and I believe it is 
 the true aim of all mankind also. I believe that this method of 
 directing a child's attention to himself and teaching him to observe 
 carefully his own actions is the method freest from danger. 
 
 5. The representation of facts and circumstances of history, 
 of geography, and especially of everyday life, by means of build- 
 ing with the bricks contained in my boxes of " gifts," I hold to 
 be in the highest degree important for children, even if these 
 representations are imperfect and fall far short of their originals. 
 The eye is at all events aroused and stimulated to observe with 
 greater precision than before the object that has been represented, 
 when next it actually comes before the child in nature or in life. 
 And thus, by means of perhaps a quite imperfect outward repre- 
 sentation, the inner perception is made more perfect. I rejoice 
 beyond measure in the fact that everything in the life of the 
 children turns out exactly as my mind has anticipated. For all 
 life and all mind is everywhere one and the same in essence. 
 
 6. The various means of comprehension afforded by forms and 
 by modes of representation, especially by building, as pursued 
 by boys and girls of the same age and the same average general 
 development, soon claim the teacher's attention. The children 
 quickly discover their favourite forms. To avoid any onesided 
 development through this, it is a good plan to take the forms 
 which the separate children have individually discovered, each 
 for himself, and then set all the class to work them out together. 
 
 As for the difference in character between the building forms 
 invented by boys and by girls, I have frequently observed amongst 
 my own class of children that the girls invent lighter and more 
 interesting forms, more nearly adapted to the ordinary require- 
 ments of life, and at the same time much prettier. The girls 
 are usually more persevering, too, than the boys. 
 
 Here in Rudolstadt we have a few children who are quite 
 
ioo Letters of Froebel. 
 
 unusually gifted in invention. Personal talents and degrees of 
 individual development are often extremely unlike in different 
 children. 
 
 7. You express a desire to introduce our games into many 
 family circles. If there is any member of the family who takes 
 a prominent interest in the children's doings this would certainly 
 be of great usefulness. A few families in Rudolstadt already use 
 the games, and in these cases the mothers are the leaders. 
 
 8. It has occurred to me that Gera might be a point of union 
 whence the newly-awakening need of the other towns in Reuss 
 and the neighbouring country might be supplied. The only thing 
 would be to find a tradesman who would keep the materials for 
 my games and occupations always in stock. 
 
 I am firmly convinced that my several undertakings, if grouped 
 together, would not only become well grounded, but would strike 
 firm root and endure, if I could but give the separate bodies of 
 sympathisers a more closely connected form, and could extend 
 the range of the whole operations to the scale demanded for their 
 full development. Yet no ! I thrust this conviction, with the 
 wishes it inspires, back into my inmost soul, and content myself 
 with far more modest results, such as that obtained in so impor- 
 tant a degree through your enthusiastic kindness. May not the 
 slightest breath of unavailing desire on my part nip in the bud, 
 as it were with one of the frosts of early spring, the tender plant 
 which is so dear to us ! 
 
 9. But setting all the above on one side, let me urge one more 
 request, dear cousin. After you have shown the results of your 
 Kindergarten work to the parents of the children forming your 
 class, could you not induce one of these gentlemen to write an 
 account of it for a public journal, say the General Intelligencer 2 
 I think we are bound to assist the sympathy which now manifests 
 itself towards the earliest years of childhood by publicly bringing 
 before it the results we have obtained through our newly 
 organised child-culture and our series of occupations. Anything 
 I could do in this regard would have too little authority and 
 weight. 
 
 10. That you, dear cousin, find happiness in your voluntary, 
 
Foundation and Construction. 101 
 
 unselfish labours, and are able to make your beloved and un- 
 usually gifted family share in that happiness, is a source of great 
 gratification to me. My undertakings must not be allowed to 
 bring discord into any one single bosom. But it is not so, for our 
 children carry happiness with them into their families from our 
 Kindergarten ; we can show many examples of this. 
 
 ii. The experience of the awakening and ennobling effect of 
 singing upon the children, even upon the youngest of them, is 
 universal in our Kindergarten. 
 
 12. I have often observed what you say of the almost magic 
 effects obtainable by ball-games, especially with sickly, rather 
 stupid children, who remain uninterested for a length of time 
 together. At last you see pleasure rise, as if from a deep grave, 
 and smiles spread over their face, and their little arms seem 
 to acquire life for the first time. Something of this sort must 
 have been actually seen before the seemingly incredible value 
 theoretically claimed for these occupations of children can be 
 really acknowledged, and their conformity with nature, their 
 suitability, yes, and I will add their beneficent and elevating 
 character, properly appreciated. 
 
 13. Many thanks for your remark about the boy "who quietly 
 let his eye travel from the ball, hanging at the end of its cord, up 
 to the hand which held that cord, and which held the ball too by 
 means of it." x With your kind permission I shall make use of 
 this observation, and of several others of yours, full of living force 
 and penetration, for my Sunday Journal. I am convinced, and I 
 wish all teachers and especially all mothers shared in the convic- 
 tion, that the very earliest phenomena of child-life are full of 
 symbolic meaning, that is to say, they indicate the higher, the 
 intellectual, life in the child and his individual peculiarities at 
 the same time ; as in the case above mentioned. Our duty is to 
 search in everything for its ultimate basis, its point of origin, its 
 well-spring; and to make clear the connection between the out- 
 ward manifestation and its inward cause. 
 
 1 The little fellow had discovered for himself that objects fall when unsup- 
 ported ; and the interest in the above lies in the fact that he had sought out, 
 unaided, the cause of an apparently unsupported ball not falling. 
 
102 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 14. Also what you have observed as to the value of these 
 games in familiarising the children with Nature, is very just. 
 (And they are none the less stimulating and educational on the 
 moral and religious sides.) I should like to have a talk with the 
 principals of your school, especially with Pastor Lang, and with 
 yourself, about this point. The nature of our games calls out the 
 children's powers of perception and observation ; powers which 
 I hold to be of the highest importance for childhood, as they are 
 for human life in general. In nature and in life, especially in 
 the latter, there is no repose. All repose is such in appearance 
 only. Therefore, to penetrate to the real essence and useful 
 power of things, we must observe and understand them when in 
 motion. So with the science of numbers ; so also with language, 
 when the children put words together for themselves, and thus 
 represent all things in a new light. 1 
 
 15. As to your work in general, you are too modest when you 
 call it " extremely imperfect." I feel sure, on the contrary, that 
 a Kindergarten directed by your womanly motherly tact and nice 
 appreciation, must be far prettier and more interesting than any- 
 thing we can show. I should be glad to learn of you in all 
 earnestness. 
 
 16. The observation made by yourself and your friend that 
 the children's games may very easily be converted to drawing- 
 room amusements is well founded. We have in Leipzig, and 
 here also, enlivened many happy evening meetings in this way. 
 For instance, we let the ball travel from hand to hand of the 
 company as they sit round the table, and each member is bound 
 to say something about the ball or by means of the ball, which 
 then must be set to music either by himself or another, and 
 sung. In the same way ball-games may be introduced very 
 prettily amongst grown-up people ; for instance, the game 
 
 "Dear little ball, 
 Now rise, now fall," etc., 
 
 1 Froebel appears to mean that this is one reason why the games, which 
 represent facts of life and nature by the movements of the children, are of such 
 great educational value. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 103 
 
 is extremely pretty when all the balls are seen springing into the 
 air at once. 
 
 17. I also let my children choose their balls with regard to 
 their colour. It is remarkable how many children have some 
 particular pet colour, as blue, or red, etc. I have often remarked 
 with girls, that they choose the colours which preponderate in 
 their dress. It is not at all indifferent to children what ball they 
 play with ; on the contrary, if they let the ball drop, they seek to 
 recover their own ball again. I might almost say that their ball 
 soon grows into a part of their life. 
 
 18. Do not make yourself so uneasy with the foreboding that 
 I over-rate your work, viewing it from a distance, and hence, 
 that I should be disappointed if I were to see it on the spot. 
 Although I live so much for form, and amongst forms, it is not 
 the forms themselves which bind me, in the least ; it is the mind 
 that speaks through those forms, whence it comes that the most 
 imperfect outward representation arising from a lofty inner con- 
 ception is more to me than the most perfect representation of a 
 lower conception. And it is the sense of unity, the spirituality 
 of life, the pure childlike womanly soul pervading your work 
 which bind me, or rather, which draw me irresistibly toward it, 
 like the sense of unity and the other qualities I have named, bind 
 me to the ball-games which possess them. I only hope that the 
 people of Gera will appreciate your self-sacrificing labours as fully 
 and as gratefully as in the truest sense of the word my own 
 soul does appreciate them ; indeed, that were to heap manifold 
 rewards upon myself, for then should I feel assured of one spot 
 at least in Germany where the endeavour of my life had struck 
 firm root and would bud, bloom and bear fruit in due time. God 
 grant it may be so ! 
 
 You are right ; the foundation of the national German Kin- 
 dergarten would delight me above all things ; because I long 
 for the most perfect possible representation of my conception. 
 And towards this many things may soon be shaping themselves, 
 perhaps. 
 
 Quite recently I have received several new subscriptions, the 
 most interesting one having come from Paris, but a few days 
 
104 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 since. I bad made use of a suitable opportunity which offered 
 itself to send a copy of my description of the festival of 28th 
 June, 1 1840, together with a letter of explanation, to the Duchess 
 Helena of Orleans.* 3 I had almost forgotten all about this letter 
 when a few days since I received a letter from the Tuileries, from 
 the Duchess's secretary, in which she had commanded me to be 
 informed of the interest with which she had perused my com- 
 munication, and the good wishes she felt towards my success, 
 willingly taking part in the foundation of the National Kinder- 
 garten, and sending me her subscription for two shares. 
 
 Ought not such examples to have influence with other great 
 ladies, inducing them to join our movement ; such as those who 
 visited you, the Princess of Ebersdorf, and the Countess of 
 Costritz? 
 
 Shall I send you some numbers of the Journal for them ? Or 
 shall I address myself directly to these ladies ? 
 
 19. It is to be hoped that one of the three gentlemen who 
 are of so much service to you will be able to find time to give 
 an account of the work carried on at Gera, in one of the news- 
 papers. It would materially assist in awakening and in strength- 
 ening the belief in the goodness and practicability of the system, 
 if a well-written account of the results of its three months' trial 
 amongst you were to appear. I say this somewhat timidly, my 
 dear cousin, to you who cherish the whole idea with such a deep 
 motherly fondness, lest it should be with me as with the dog in 
 the fable, who snapped at the shadow, and let fall the substance; 
 but beyond the silent- speaking deed, beyond the living out- 
 spoken word of mouth, God has given us also writing and 
 
 1 The 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. See Letters I. and 
 IT. The festival was held first at Keilhau and then at Blankenburg, the 
 latter on the date mentioned, the 28th ; and celebrated, as the title of the 
 pamphlet informs us, four different things — the invention of printing, St. John's 
 Day, the birthday of several of the associates of Froebel, and the foundation 
 of the Kindergarten. 
 
 2 At this time Louis Philippe (of the house of Orleans) was King of 
 France (1 830-1848), the Tuileries — now no more, having been destroyed in 
 the troubles of 1871 — was his palace at Paris : the Duchess Helena was the 
 wife of his eldest son, the heir presumptive. She was by birth a princess of 
 Mecklenburg Schwerin. Her son is the present Comte de Paris. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 105 
 
 printing, and the issues of -the journals, which last seem to rne 
 like the breath of spring awakening the leaves and flowers on 
 the trees. And I think that we are bound to use every means 
 that God and chance have placed in our hands towards awakening 
 mankind, individually and as an entire race, to a conscious- 
 ness of the purpose of their existence, though the use of these 
 must be made with due limitations and in closely knit unity of 
 purpose. 
 
 When I thus put forth thoughts, in full reliance on your sisterly 
 sympathy, as openly as if I were talking to myself from out the 
 depths of my most secret consciousness, can you still think, dearest 
 cousin, that the work at Gera, full of life as it is, does not satisfy 
 me ? Oh, but it does satisfy me. It is, as it were, the healthy, 
 powerful shoot of some germinating seed or acorn, and I cannot 
 but remember that the slightest injury to that tender shoot may 
 interfere with the proper vigorous development of the whole future 
 plant. This germinating seed, planted by your trust and faith, 
 and so carefully and tenderly nourished, is to me the dearest plant 
 on earth of all that I now possess ; wherefore it is that I desire it 
 may become inwardly strong with the greatest possible strength, 
 putting forth the loveliest heart-leaves and budding branches, and 
 that I am anxious that we should quietly watch its progress and 
 carefully cherish it. Watchful care for the true life of the children 
 and of their mothers is always the first thing we must have before 
 our eyes ; for if there is no inner strength in the movement it can 
 never gain stability ; it will put forth no leaf, no blossom. 
 
 Everything hinges upon the quiet, watchful care of the well- 
 spring, the source, the point of origin ; and upon the intelligent 
 direction of its aim. And this brings me to a point which I should 
 like to consider calmly with you, my truest life-friend and well- 
 wisher to the inmost struggles of my soul : and this matter I will 
 now proceed to communicate to you. Afterwards I should like 
 you to take the opinion of your husband, who works so true- 
 heartedly with you for our cause, as well as the opinions of the 
 Dther friends, the ladies and gentlemen who join with you in the 
 work. 
 And first, by way of introduction, a brief account of my own 
 
106 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 mental development. Brought up from early childhood, almost 
 as completely separated from the outer world in certain ways as 
 if I had been immured in a cloister, yet within these sharply de- 
 fined limits wholly given over to the love of Nature, of animal 
 life, and of religion, my earliest development began with the 
 comprehension of my personal life and consciousness ; and this 
 comprehension, I might say, I gained by studying my own image 
 as seen in those three mighty mirrors. Even the comprehension 
 of mankind as a vast whole, and a glimmering consciousness of 
 the great spiritual life of that whole, dawned upon my soul. I 
 can describe it in no other way than by saying that in my later 
 childhood, and at my entrance into boyhood, I often felt as if my 
 mind were a smooth still pool, scarce a handbreath over, or even 
 a single water-drop, in which surrounding things are clearly 
 mirrored, while the blue vault of the sky is seen as well, reaching 
 far away and above. 
 
 Thus I proceeded along a path of mental development peculiar 
 to myself, which led me at ten years old, away from my father's 
 house, 1 more into contact with the outer world, and more than 
 ever desirous of comprehending it. Yet I still held fast to the con- 
 sciousness that had already sprung up within me, of an existence 
 in common with Nature, with humanity, with religion. Nature, 
 humanity, religion, that means God ! Whilst truly maintaining 
 my inner individuality, I pushed my studies ever forward in things 
 external to myself, till finally my desire came to be that I might 
 touch the whole body of human knowledge and experience. To 
 gain a position where I could work towards this end now stood 
 as my highest aim, and in the years 1814 to 1816 I found myself 
 at Berlin, on the threshold of such a position, which was almost in 
 my grasp. 2 But standing close to this sphere of work as I did, I 
 saw that it did not meet the wants of my soul : instead of unifica- 
 
 1 In 1792 Froebel went to his uncle Hoffmann at Stadt Um. The peculiar 
 childhood of Froebel is described by himself in detail, and in a most vivid and 
 interesting manner, in his Autobiography, translated by the present Editors, 
 (Sonnenschein). For the circumstances referred to above, see pp. 14, 17, etc. 
 
 2 Froebel is alluding to his assistant-professorship of Mineralogy at the 
 University of Berlin. See Froebel's Autobiography, pp. 96 and 121. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 107 
 
 tion of spirit and of endeavour I found individual effort ; instead 
 of the production of a whole I found the production of separate 
 portions. I could find no solid conceptions of Life, based upon 
 unity and comprehensiveness, upon the One and the Whole. I 
 heard the same cry from the foremost teachers of the University 
 of Berlin. Therefore I gave up my first idea, and instead of it I set 
 before me as my life-work the perfecting such a conception of Life. 
 I founded an Educational Institution in 1816, 1 whose leading idea 
 was to aim at a preparation for a true University education. In 
 some subjects I succeeded in my aim, but I soon found that 
 my requirements were not sufficiently met by my pupils to enable 
 me to succeed in my whole design. Therefore I now determined 
 first to work exclusively for the provision of a general well-founded 
 education. 2 My efforts in this direction led me by a quite 
 peculiar path of destiny, yet still keeping the thread of my life 
 unbroken and complete within itself, to Switzerland. 
 
 My work there had many sides. The study of early childhood 
 came more before me than it had done in Germany. My duties 
 lay amongst quite young children fresh from Nature. At the same 
 time I had fathers of families, and those who were already teachers, 
 as my scholars. Their experiences were consequently also mine. 
 I learnt from them, and they in turn sought from me the satisfac- 
 tion of their own needs. I myself was principal of an Orphanage 
 School : s and thus was carried into the midst of the very earliest 
 years of childhood, with all its special needs and claims, while at 
 the same time I was introduced to the ways and means of satisfying 
 those needs and claims. 
 
 The care of earliest childhood next became my exclusive study, 
 and my destiny led me in my researches, though by a hard and 
 sorrowful path, back into Germany again. 4 Here, in 1836, the 
 ball, the sphere, and the cube, as the earliest toys of childhood, 
 were discovered and worked out, but still in the same remarkable 
 retrograde fashion, from the cube proceeding to the sphere, and 
 from the sphere working back to the ball. That which for twenty- 
 
 1 At Griesheim (Autobiography, page 122). 2 At Keilhau (Autob., page 122). 
 3 At Burgdorf (Autob., pp. 135, 6). 4 His wife's illness, etc., (Autob., p. 137).- 
 
108 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 five years had been floating before me as a nebulous idea arising 
 from study and knowledge, now first came before me as a definite 
 truth, arising from life and through life, and the sun burst forth 
 and day dawned upon me. The sun of life ! It beamed for me 
 upon the life of earliest childhood, cleared all clouds away, and 
 led me on into its very heart. 
 
 I soon felt deeply that some important connecting link was im- 
 peratively required to prepare the newly awakening life of a child 
 for its later activity with the ball. It was through the ball itself 
 that I discovered and recognised this connecting link : in general 
 terms it may be described as the first development of muscular 
 movement and sensation specially distinguishing infancy. All indi- 
 vidual development and culture, as well as all culture of the race, 
 must proceed by a steady logical succession of connecting links. 
 The link between the infant, still an undivided self-sufficient 
 whole of peaceful life, and the ball, which is something external 
 given to him to play with, lies in the child's own limbs, the child's 
 own senses ; and the first toys and occupations of the child come 
 from himself; he plays with his own limbs, and uses them as the 
 material for representing his ideas. 
 
 This spontaneous activity of limb and vividness of sensation 
 natural to infancy, and I may say inseparable from it, must also 
 be carefully studied ; for a considerable degree of cultivation of 
 these powers is already necessary in the use and application of 
 the ball, sphere, and cube. In ordinary nursery practice something 
 of this was already to be found ; but it was not consciously ad- 
 hered to, nor pursued with recognition of its purpose. The cause 
 lay in the absence and want of an earlier and distinct means of 
 training ; namely, the watchful care which fills the mother's life 
 and mother's mind, developed and elevated into a conscious aim. 
 
 You must know, my dear cousin, that I have a sure conviction 
 that the reason is that we do not make quick progress with our 
 good cause, even though it is so well appreciated on every side 
 girls (and even grown women) are far too little conscious of their 
 true womanly feelings and the claims that these have upon their 
 attention, and that women and mothers do not recognise their 
 own motherly yearnings and responsibilities. I would gladly re- 
 
Foundation and Construction. 109 
 
 move this want. I desire to supply the missing educational 
 method by means of which the womanly life may be stimulated to 
 self-consciousness in girls; yes, and even the longing for the voca- 
 tion of a mother, or at least, a deep respect and recognition of that 
 sacred vocation, may be awakened in girls who have the charge of 
 children. And at the same time I should bring to a clear self- 
 knowledge and a distinct consciousness the motherly, womanly 
 feelings and responsibilities in the mothers themselves, and in 
 grown-up women. For indeed, whatever in man is not brought 
 into full consciousness, amongst those things which he is, which 
 he possesses, and which he does — that, if we are to speak in the 
 full sense of the word " man," he neither truly is, possesses, nor 
 does. 
 
 To help the child to use his own body, his limbs, and his 
 sensations, and to assist mothers and those who take the place 
 of mothers to the consciousness of their duties towards the 
 children and to a lofty conception of those duties, I have care- 
 fully preserved several little songs and games as they have 
 occurred to me in the course of my life ; and have given them the 
 name of — 
 
 " Little Nursery Songs (Koseliedchen) and Games 
 
 to train the body, the limbs, and the senses, 
 
 for quite little children." l 
 
 I send this collection to you, for your severe criticism. You, 
 best of all, from the rich treasure of your experience as a mother, 
 can pronounce whether I have or have not hit the mark at which 
 I have aimed. Strike out ruthlessly all that seems to you unsuit- 
 able. And if you could give the little songs to mothers who 
 have quite little children, so that they may test them thoroughly, 
 or if you are able yourself thus to try them, I should be above 
 all things delighted. 
 
 The motion of the fingers and the hands is quite clearly indi- 
 
 1 " Kosen " is an untranslatable word. The fond prattling of a mother 
 with her infant, made up of " little language " intermingled with caresses, is 
 expressed by it. " Koseliedchen " are therefore something more than Nursery 
 Songs. 
 
no Letter's of FroebeL 
 
 cated by the contents of the songs, and I can give you further 
 details later on. 1 
 
 It would delight me greatly if you would confide to me what 
 you remember of your feelings, perceptions and ideas as a mother 
 greeting the new-born life of her infant, and your observations of 
 the first movements of its limbs, and the beginning of the de- 
 velopment of its senses. It would certainly be of practical 
 utility, and of permanent blessing for the race of man, which is 
 perpetually renewing itself, if girls, women and mothers could be- 
 hold, imaged in a kindly but absolutely clear mirror the self- 
 developing, womanly, budding, motherly sentiments which sway 
 them, regarded especially with a view to the children's welfare, 
 so that they might carefully cherish and enlarge the dimly felt 
 yearnings, feelings, and thoughts which arise within them in regard 
 to the world of children. Such a mirror do I reckon " Emil's 
 Cradle Song," for instance {Sunday Journal, No. i) ; and also 
 " Mother's Joys," in No. 3, and " First Pleasures of the Mother," 
 recently printed. 
 
 A collection of such Mothers' Songs, which should precede 
 the " Little Nursery Songs and Games," might, perhaps, bear the 
 name of " Songs of Consecration," i.e., of dedication to watchful 
 care over early childhood. 2 
 
 I have laid before you the first completed idea, that of the 
 little Nursery Songs and Games for the development of the limbs 
 and senses, that you may test its worth ; and I now also lay 
 before you the entire conception in its full extent, with the same 
 object in view. If we find it impossible to awake the womanly, 
 motherly instinctive perception of the supreme importance of the 
 
 1 This collection of " Koseliedchen" developed into the famous " Mutter ■- 
 mid Kose-Lieder," sometimes translated "Mothers' Songs and Games," per- 
 haps better rendered by " Songs for Mothers, and Nursery Songs," the first 
 part of the book representing the feelings of Mother {Mutter lieder), the second 
 containing Nursery Songs (Koselieder) for her to sing to her child, and 
 these latter are accompanied in every case by suitable movements illustrating 
 the songs, and at the same time developing the child's power of muscular 
 action. The English translation most in use is that by the Misses Lord, 
 "Mothers' Songs, Games, and Stories" (Rice, Fleet Street). 
 
 2 This idea was actually carried out, as sketched in the preceding note. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 1 1 
 
 welfare of the human race, and of the care for this, and if we 
 fail to raise this- instinct fully into consciousness, we shall never 
 advance with the true care of children and with the true educa- 
 tion of man. 
 
 I trust you may be able to understand this, for I have written 
 it under many distractions and interruptions, and I fear it is in 
 many places almost unintelligible. 
 
 I believe, dearest cousin, that after progressing through the 
 vast orbit of almost two generations, 1 I have been carried round 
 to the point of commencement, to the fountain-head of the 
 education of mankind, but with the significant addition of a full 
 consciousness of my task. 
 
 Only now that the whole body of human education lies before 
 me do I feel myself competent to become a really worthy educa- 
 tor of men, and particularly of children ; especially also now 
 that the womanly soul and the womanly life stand as assistants by 
 my side, and in particular that you yourself, with your usual 
 kindness, enlighten and encourage me with outstretched hand. 
 
 I believe that a sort of semi-omnipotence becomes attainable 
 in the course of time by two human beings fully at one in spirit, 
 completely conscious of being so, and united in the pursuit of a 
 noble object. 
 
 Monday, 21st March. Please receive, besides the "Nursery 
 Songs " spoken of above, some building songs and two flower- 
 games. In the first of these latter, " the flower-garden," the 
 child chosen to represent a given flower may mention some pecu- 
 liarity of that flower, and thus it will become apparent what the' 
 child loves best, or what strikes him most. 
 
 Do not be alarmed, dear cousin, at the volume of my commu- 
 nications ; I will now leave you leisure for reading. I already 
 rejoice in the prospect of receiving your next letters ; they are 
 the sweetest flowers the spring can bring me. 
 
 My heartiest greetings to all the good helpers in your work, 
 
 1 Froebel was nearly fifty-nine at this time (born April, 1782) ; and regard- 
 ing thirty as the duration of a generation, he might fairly speak of himself as 
 having lived through two generations. 
 
1 1 2 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 both ladies and gentlemen, and especially to my much-honoured 
 cousin, your husband, and to your two dear boys. 
 With unchanging truest thankfulness, 
 
 Your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter X. 
 
 Blankenburg, ^th April, 1841. 
 
 Dearest and highly esteemed Cousin, — 
 
 I hope you will forgive me for profiting by an opportunity of 
 again addressing you. Our dear pupil K. W. is on a holiday trip 
 with two student friends to visit his mother. I embrace the 
 occasion, and send you and your dear ones my most heartfelt 
 good wishes by them; and I would beg of you to allow the young 
 folks to be present at one of your beautiful Kindergarten games. 
 
 I have received much pleasure these last few days in hearing 
 all that is good and kind about your Kindergarten class from 
 every one who has seen the games played. Amongst other 
 things, they tell me, dear cousin, that you are evidently born for 
 some such sphere of work. This, indeed, I already knew; but 
 it is always gladdening when such observations are repeated by 
 others, showing that such self-sacrificing work as yours is acknow- 
 leged at its proper worth. 
 
 By this same conveyance I send you the continuation of the 
 Sunday Journal. I shall be very glad if any one of you finds 
 pleasure in the explanation of the Fifth Gift ; but in any case 
 I would beg you to send me your observations on this work, as 
 occasion offers, so that later on I may make use of them. 
 
 I have good news for you as to the progress of our undertak- 
 ing. The Prince and Princess of Sondershausen have decided to 
 found a Kindergarten in their principality ; and are about to send 
 me a young man full of desire for training children, that I may 
 educate him into fitness for the establishment of such an institu- 
 tion. It appears as if the scheme were understood there with as 
 deep earnestness as eager enthusiasm. If only we could once 
 succeed in winning over a princely family to a true feeling for the 
 
Fotmdation and Construction. 113 
 
 cause, in inward meaning as well as outward manifestation ! Or, 
 better still, if one could only carry the scheme really into the 
 heart of a group of citizens and families ! 
 
 The wife of Pastor Richter, of Leipzig, is coming here about 
 the middle of May for a few weeks, in order to make herself 
 acquainted with our games and the way we play them. After so 
 much sympathy shown on every side I can but trust that interest 
 in the movement will so grow in Gera as to warrant soon the 
 establishment of a complete Kindergarten after the plan of the 
 " German National Kindergarten." The directors of the Girls' 
 Public Schools ought to be standing by your side, much respected 
 cousin, united with you, founding, leading onward and guiding 
 the beautiful work ; and with their co-operation, blessings would 
 be sure to fall upon the institution. 
 
 Yet, dear cousin, I am always sorry when I have been impelled 
 to speak out in this way under uncontrollable impulse, lest it 
 should leave the unfortunate impression that I am not penetrated 
 to my very inmost soul with care, appreciation, and thankful 
 devotion for what has actually been done up to the present. Oh, 
 but I am deeply, fervently thankful for all the existing work, and 
 I wish for nothing more than a quiet, silent, steady progress and 
 development of it all. 
 
 To-morrow C. Schneider celebrates a little festival with some 
 of our games in Frankfurt, at the close of the winter half-year of 
 his Kindergarten ; but I can only appear at it by letter. 
 
 Cordial good wishes to all, and best hopes for an enjoyable 
 holiday-time, from 
 
 Your affectionate Friend and Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter XL 
 
 Blank enburg, iStk Aprils 1841. 
 My kind dear Cousin, — 
 
 Your last letter has brought me much true pleasure in several 
 ways. First, I was gladly and truly surprised to hear that your 
 dear Robert is already so far grown up as to be able, on this 
 occasion of the beautiful festival of peace and resurrection, to 
 
 1 
 
1 14 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 enter with full consciousness of its meaning upon the most 
 gladdening bond of our life. 1 I take the warmest interest in 
 this joyful event in your family, so respected and loved by me. 
 
 Permit me to unite to your own hopes my earnest wishes for 
 his welfare, his future work and the fruitfulness thereof; may he 
 always, in whatever may eventually prove to be his vocation, 
 work for the blessing of mankind like his parents, whom he 
 doubtless honours as he has reason to do, and especially like his 
 mother, dear to him above all others. 
 
 Greet my dear cousin from me, in fullest sympathy. I hope 
 my earnest good wishes may have some value for him, even 
 though the sacred festival has so long passed. 
 
 Together with this good news you send me the joyful intelli- 
 gence that your beloved Kindergarten will be continued during 
 this coming summer. What gladder news could you have sent 
 me? It is indeed true that I have never contemplated the 
 opposite alternative — that it might cease. But now that this 
 occurs to my mind I can see what an inexpressible loss I should 
 have suffered by such a fatal piece of news. 
 
 I will also acknowledge, what you in your modesty are always 
 reminding me of, that the general effect of the whole work is 
 wanting in completeness with you, much as we rejoice over your 
 Kindergarten ; but nevertheless I hold your work and your Kin- 
 dergarten as of far higher importance than my own here in 
 Blankenburg, for yours is under the guidance of a mother's spirit, 
 deeply penetrated with the truth of the whole system, and working 
 at the same time in fullest understanding with the intelligence 
 and insight of male friends and of fathers of families. 
 
 In all this I am not saying either to you or to the whole com- 
 munity anything either merely flattering or agreeable ; it is the 
 simple truth. Such a concurrence of fortunate relations as those 
 under which the Kindergarten in Gera develops blossoms and 
 bears fruit by the labours of yourself and all those working with 
 you ; such unanimity and unity of purpose is very seldom found. 
 
 1 Evidently alluding to Robert's confirmation, Easter being the usual time 
 lor that rite of the Lutheran Protestant Church in Germany. 
 
Foundation" and Cojistmictioni n 5 
 
 It therefore becomes my glad duty to cherish this work most care- 
 fully, and raise it into a normal or model Kindergarten for Ger- 
 many, seeing that it carries within itself all the conditions neces- 
 sary for such an undertaking. I shall do all that lies within me 
 to achieve this result, and fulfil my duty towards you all, and to- 
 wards the parents, who, in your town, put such trust irr>you. 
 
 Consequently it is with very great pleasure that I see a prospect 
 of being able to pay a visit to Gera within a fortnight. This 
 chance is so much the more appreciated by me, in that you meet 
 me with such heartfelt friendliness of greeting and such- pressing 
 invitation. As soon as I can fix upon the day I will let you 
 know, for I should very much like to be able to meet those 
 gentlemen who have worked so well with you. 
 
 Shall you hire a little plot of garden for your children: during 
 the summer? This would be of importance, because- the children 
 might go and work there. The middle bed should contain the 
 children's own plots ; the side beds should be the general garden, 
 common to all, and containing as great a variety of plants as 
 possible, to be cultivated by the common care and interest of all 
 the children. 1 
 
 The chief idea is that the special shall be embraced and pro- 
 tected by the- general, that rest should be united with motion, the 
 field with the garden,, the useful with the delightful, flowers with 
 fruit and vegetables ; and further, that these things should be 
 mingled together, so that the child may compare them and gain 
 knowledge by merely looking at them. 
 My unaltered respect to you alii 
 
 Your deeply grateful Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 
 1 Here Froebel inserted a sketch like that in the Weekly Journal ( Wochen- 
 schrift), No. 14. 
 
1 1 6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Letter XII. 
 
 Blankenburg, igt/i April, 1841. 
 Dear kind Cousin, — 
 
 . The gentleman who is good enough to carry this letter for me 
 is Herr Kohl, our loyal colleague in the school at Keilhau, and a 
 great help to us in the Blankenburg Kindergarten, because of his 
 musical ability. I need add no more to ensure him the friend- 
 liest welcome in your esteemed household ; and indeed I have no 
 doubt that his gentle yet vivacious spirit will of itself strike out 
 the path to your liking. 
 
 I am glad, dear cousin, that he will be able to become 
 acquainted with you, and especially to learn to know you in 
 your beautiful work. I know very few to whom I should not 
 grudge this pleasure, withheld from me.. But I hope that he will 
 sing you some of the little songs that he has composed, and 
 especially the " Song of Concord " which you might possibly be 
 able to manage with the assistance of the elder girls in your own 
 Institution. It is, indeed, written for a large body of children, 
 and for a Kindergarten already some time established; at least 
 thirty-two persons take part in it. Still, if opportunity offers, he 
 may be able to give you an idea of it, and for thinking people an 
 idea of my whole endeavour shines through it, namely, that the 
 individual ever becomes conscious of its own existence, and self- 
 poised, through contemplation of the general ; and then, as a con- 
 scious, self-poised personality, works in and for the whole. 
 Perhaps this game may win many families for your Kindergarten . 
 
 Also I would ask you to be so kind as to introduce Herr Kohl 
 to the gentlemen who help you. 
 
 In your last letter, dear cousin, you spoke so thoughtfully of 
 Che daisy, which is also my favourite flower, and our " family 
 flower," if I may so say, that I determined to send you the 
 " Daisy Game." Herr Kohl will give you the music for it. Also I 
 send you Arndt's poem, "The Mary-Flowers" (Daisies); and with 
 them please receive a parable which that poem has brought to my 
 mind. It may perhaps give you pleasure to read this to the elder 
 girls of your institution. It brings nature nearer to us in all her 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 1 7 
 
 simplicity ; and perhaps you- will recognise therein the message 
 of my life and my soul to all thoughtful children, to youths, and 
 above all to maidens. 
 
 But it is time to close this letter ; for verbal communication is 
 better than writing at the present time. 
 
 With heartiest greetings to you all, 
 
 Your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 RS. — It is thirty-eight years in. these very days- since I first had 
 the pleasure of seeing you. 
 
 Letter XIII. 
 
 Blankenburg, ^tkjime, 1841. 
 Dear and much-loved Cousin, — 
 
 If I were not so firmly assured that you cannot doubt the good 
 faith of your cousin, I should have good cause to fear lest you 
 should misunderstand my unusually long silence. Bait I trust that 
 in your good nature you may merely have said to yourself, " I 
 wonder what makes my cousin so long refrain from sending me 
 those long letters in which he used to take such interest? Is it 
 from ill-health, or from the many claims and the great pressure on 
 his life ? " Thank Heaven, it is not from the first, but solely from 
 the last. Through a variety of concurrent circumstances these 
 last few weeks, from the end of April till now, have brought with 
 them such dire confusion into my life, that I should have been 
 quite unhappy both in soul and spirit had I not held fast, and 
 made up my mind steadily to work hard until my troubles died a 
 natural death. 
 
 It would be only reasonable that I should give you a list of 
 these interruptions, but there have been so many of them that 
 one has driven the other out of my memory. Some, however, I 
 must mention, because they have had results which have lasted 
 even till now. The most important is that the lady who, up to 
 the present time has been at the head of my small household, my 
 faithful niece, 1 has been called home to lend assistance to her 
 
 1 Not really his niece (that is, his brother's daughter), though he calls her 
 " Nichte" but a more distant relation. 
 
1 1 S Letters of Froebel. 
 
 sister-in-law in her household duties, whereby my usual habits 
 have all been thrown into disorder. It is so hard to find a woman 
 who, to the proper feeling for order and cleanliness, unites a 
 certain degree of culture, and at the same time is simple in her 
 life and in the claims which life brings upon us. And as I was 
 spoiled by my dear wife in her life-time as regards all these 
 matters of the household, I have hitherto been unable to bring 
 myself to the point of seeking for a suitable housekeeper, although 
 my present arrangements bring endless distractions. A little girl 
 of eleven looks after the small matters in the rooms and about the 
 house ; her mother, my landlady, sees to the more important 
 things, For dinner I go to a tavern, about a quarter of an hour 
 away from home, where, unfortunately, they are not altogether 
 punctual. Dinner almost always takes an hour and a half out of 
 my day in this manner, and how much interruption such a mode 
 of life causes to my work you may readily guess. On the top of 
 all this I have the additional work thrown upon me by the advent 
 of the young teacher from Sondershausen. 
 
 Also there are several visitors here, at the baths, to whom, for 
 the sake of my educational projects, I am bound to show attention 
 in many ways. And at Keilhau they also had friends on a visit, 
 which made still further demands upon my time : and then there is 
 my regular work always going on, here and in Rudolstadt, so that 
 you may see, dear cousin, how it comes about that your kind 
 letter has lain so long unanswered. All this time I lived in the 
 fond hope of seeing you, my best of cousins, and all your dear 
 family ; intending to pay you a visit during these weeks. The 
 hope has lingered, by me week after week, only to receive per- 
 petual disappointments. What more remains to say, than that I 
 long with all my heart to see the dear children you have gathered 
 round you, and to see you, dear cousin, with your respected 
 colleagues, at your work in the midst of them. 
 
 I am bound only too fast by ties and engagements which I dare 
 not set aside, because of the claims of my educational movement 
 upon me. But I hope that without being able to promise long 
 beforehand I may in some unexpected way suddenly find myself 
 able to snatch a visit to you ; for my spirit and my soul un- 
 
Foundation and Construction. 119 
 
 ceasingly drive me towards you, and even my devotion to my 
 educational work demands that I should see you. I know no 
 one who assists in that work with such self-sacrifice and such 
 helpful activity as yourself. He who sees his dearest project 
 so faithfully cared for as mine is by you — how could he but 
 earnestly desire to meet you face to face and to clasp your hand 
 with gratitude ? 
 
 What great pleasure you gave me with the prettily arranged 
 bouquets of your dear little ones ! I wish I could have sent you 
 in return one of the many wonderfully beautiful garlands which 
 I so often receive in this rich flower- month from my own beloved 
 little children. I should have liked to send you a close-woven 
 wreath of forget-me-nots which I had ; or we might have made 
 little bouquets out of it for all your dear little children ; for this 
 one was so thick and full that it kept itself fresh through its own 
 moisture and with the help of a shower or so, and bloomed for an 
 extraordinarily long time. By way of thanks for it I have just been 
 able to prepare a pleasant surprise for my little ones. Madame 
 
 von M , x who was here two years ago, and still remembers our 
 
 children with affection, sent me a dozen aprons and a dozen neck 
 scarves for distribution amongst our dear little ones : these things 
 she had had sewn for us in her knitting school. So on the 
 Saturday before Whit-Sunday we shared them out, and I had the 
 great pleasure of seeing the joyous children decked out in their 
 aprons and scarves for the pleasant Whitsuntide festival, and of 
 receiving their thanks and handshakings. 
 
 Already during the winter had some ladies sent me several 
 dozen stockings for the dear children, knitted by them in thankful 
 remembrance of hours pleasantly spent in the Kindergarten 
 here. So you see, dear cousin, people make me rich, and enable 
 me to bring joy to the children and to their families in quite 
 another way from that which I strike out for myself. 
 
 I know that my pleasures, that all our pleasures, are mirrored 
 in your responsive soul, which is the reason I tell you all these 
 things. 
 
 1 Not Madame von Marenholtz-Bulow, as might perhaps be assumed. 
 
120 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 From Debreczin, in Hungary, a mother writes to me begging 
 for an account of my occupations for children. 
 
 In Rudolstadt two ladies have granted part of their hill-garden 
 to the Kindergarten, and we can now arrange our garden beds in 
 the same manner as yours. 1 
 
 Madame R will come here on the 12th inst. If only she 
 
 were not so weakly in health, I would ask her to unite her life- 
 work with my own. I greatly need a fellow-worker in the same 
 spirit ; one who would cherish and support my plans. For two 
 years I have bitterly felt what it means to lose one's wife. 
 
 My warmest greetings to all your dear ones. With love, faith- 
 fulness, and thanks, 
 
 Your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter XIV. 
 
 Blankenburg, gth Dec, 1842. 
 Dear kind Cousin, — 
 
 I am extremely glad that you have sent me word of the cause 
 of your now frequent long silences. I will frankly admit that I 
 could not at all understand it, although I was unwilling to think 
 that it arose from any lessening of the most friendly feelings you 
 have for me ; therefore it is gratifying to have the real cause ex- 
 plained. 
 
 I think that the invisible nearness, in the spirit, of the life of 
 friends and associates works for good upon our own life now pre- 
 sent before us ; and therefore I beg you to bring near me, 
 my life and work, the presence of your own, as often as your 
 serious duties of life may permit. The belief alone, and still more 
 the knowledge, of the spiritual nearness of such sharers in our 
 life strengthens the soul. 
 
 My answer to your kind letter follows : — 
 
 I am glad that you have understood and will endeavour to 
 carry out my wish, dear cousin ; to find a place for " a well- 
 educated girl of my teaching, who wishes to enter an honourable 
 
 1 See Letter XI. (at the end). 
 
Foundation and Construction. 121 
 
 and liberal-minded family in which the work would not be too 
 hard for her, and where she could put to the test my principles 
 and her own, and win honour for the system we advocate." Since 
 writing to you I have found a most honourable lady in Rudolstadt 
 who is prepared to give what I am asking for one of those trained 
 pupils of mine. The girl in question is a strong healthy young 
 woman, and has made a successful beginning in the much-respected 
 and honourable household which she has entered, which is a very 
 mirror for woman's work. You can therefore recommend these 
 pupils of mine, dear cousin, when an opportunity offers, with 
 complete confidence. 
 
 You must not take it amiss that I wrote so definitely in reply 
 to your simple questions as to the education a young girl should 
 possess if she were about to be trained by me — but that, once for 
 all, is my way. I always take up a matter heart and soul, and fix 
 my eye steadily upon the proposed end in view ; if the whole 
 thing collapses like a soap bubble it matters not to me, I have 
 enjoyed the beautiful sphere and the magnificent play of colour, 
 and at the very least I have had the spectacle of a clear presen- 
 tation of a life unity complete within itself. I have, at any rate, 
 had a vision of what might be accomplished, fulfilled, and at- 
 tained (subject to the ruling of circumstances, of course), if only 
 men mutually understood one another, and cared more for the 
 common interests of all — and this is enough for me. If I have 
 the assurance of being right in my judgment, that under the given 
 conditions success is possible, I am content that the develop- 
 ment and the outcome shall depend on destiny and the will of 
 God ; and I refrain from pushing my anxiety into the far-off future. 
 
 But do not think that phenomena which vanish into nothingness 
 are really without result ; they are like the day flies, who at the 
 least show what warm, growing weather we have. Wherefore 
 the smallest and least important of life's phenomena, if carefully 
 treasured, will by-and-by bask in the full spring sunshine which 
 enfolds all things. 
 
 You write to me, " Could I only send you for this work of ours 
 a girl endowed with every capacity, and in whose ability I had 
 complete confidence ! " Such girls are pearls — let us seek dili- 
 
122 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 gently for them. But yet it remains a remarkable fact that many 
 mothers of the middle ranks of education set their faces against 
 sending their daughters into training for the educational pro- 
 fession. 1 
 
 Illness in Keilhau, and my unceasing work and the training of 
 the young teachers detain me here, so that we have been hindered 
 in getting out our report upon the progress of the scheme for a 
 German National Kindergarten, but we hope certainly to have 
 it all ready by the beginning of the New Year. 
 
 Since it gives you pleasure to see the reward of my efforts 
 gradually glimmering into dawn, I will add that a friend who has 
 devoted himself to university work, Herr von Leonhardi, of 
 Heidelberg, has recently written to me that he proposes to found 
 a Kindergarten later on. Herr von Leonhardi has been associ- 
 ated with us since 1838. 
 
 Your kind letter says, " How far off is the publishing of ' Songs 
 of Mothers and Nursery Songs ' {Mutter- mid Kose-Lieder)} " The 
 printing has not yet begun ; but this is the least part of the under- 
 taking. The steel engravings and the plate printing are the prin- 
 cipal work ; and, as to these, twenty-one designs, etched on steel, 
 are ready. By Christmas the engraver hopes to have finished 
 twenty-four plates. I take the freedom of sending you a complete 
 set of the proofs, as far as I have yet received them, but do not 
 forget that they are only rough proofs. It is true that as to the 
 drawing, some of which is still very imperfect, nothing or at all 
 events but little, can be changed ; but in the polishing-offthe whole 
 plate will gain in clearness. The utmost diligence will now be 
 shown in pushing on with the work, but you know what artists 
 are, and how they refuse to be hurried, and many a day slips by 
 and is lost, that to the layman seems as if it might have well been 
 used in forwarding the book. However, there is no help for all 
 this, but patience. Still we are in hopes that the end of next 
 summer will see us through with the book, whose advancement 
 when it appears will be kindly helped on by the special good 
 
 1 This sentence was misplaced (at the end of the previous paragraph) in the 
 German original. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 123 
 
 offices of Herr J. Mayer, the head of the Bibliographical Institution 
 in Hildburghausen. Please make what profitable use you think 
 fit of this intelligence, to help the book. I think no one will re- 
 gret having purchased it. I hope, indeed, that it will be handed 
 down from mother to children's children as the book of the family. 
 
 The " Nursery Songs" {Kose-Lieder) are, as you know, to begin 
 the collected edition of my children's games, etc., which I am 
 now about to publish, and they will, as it were, carry the banner 
 for the rest. The ball-games are complete in nearly all their 
 stages, and lie there ready for press. The perfected drafts of 
 other games are also completed, so that all can follow swiftly one 
 after the other ; and then, dear cousin, it will be for you to awake 
 amongst the households themselves practical sympathy with these 
 games in all their several grades. From the new year onwards, I 
 shall devote myself with increased power to the working-out and 
 further development of the collected materials before me. 
 
 In order that you may see for yourself that the lithographers 
 have finished the drawings for the sixth gift, I send you a proof 
 of them. By the end of January I hope to have the drawings 
 for all the gifts complete for delivery. 
 
 Just during this short time, endeavour to keep the interest in 
 the system from cooling, both among yourselves and others. You 
 see for yourself, and you may decisively affirm to others, that I 
 labour unceasingly at perfecting the whole system in all its varied 
 departments, and devote myself with the most complete abandon- 
 ment to my work ; although, and indeed because of this, I have 
 lately been able to spare so little attention for the separate 
 departments. 
 
 I may repeat yet once again, that if I could find a young 
 man who would enter with ardour into my ideas, be able to 
 appreciate their meaning, and willing to charge himself with 
 the business details of publication, I would ensure him as re- 
 ward for his trouble a competency for himself and his entire 
 family (if he should have one), sufficient for all human neces- 
 sities; and into the bargain, he would enjoy the pure and truly 
 humane family life, which must arise amongst those who embody 
 these educational ideas. 
 
124 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 You have delighted Middendorff and me with the kind re- 
 membrances of Herr Ribbe. We remember him as a favourite 
 comrade in camp and field. We cordially reciprocate his kind 
 messages, and would gladly hear more particularly what he is 
 doing. Tell him, pray, that although the war is over, the fighting 
 still continues, as far as we are concerned ; but now it is against 
 an invisible enemy that we struggle, still always in defence of the 
 welfare and salvation of the Fatherland, and this time in its up- 
 springing childhood. How glad we should be if he chose to join 
 us in this fight too, as a true-hearted comrade ! 
 
 Up to now I have been following your kind letter, line by line, 
 to the end. Now I pass on to something new. 
 
 I have long felt the necessity for games about colour, but I 
 have never had leisure enough to elaborate a scheme for them. 
 Lately, in a fortunate hour, two such games occurred to my mind, 
 or rather, to be precise, two intermediary games, connecting form 
 and colour, two games of tablet-laying. I enclose them for trial, 
 especially by yourself and your beloved circle. If the games 
 prove to be worth anything they must take definite rank as one 
 department of the whole system of games. Therefore, as soon as 
 you have thoroughly made yourself mistress of the idea which 
 governs them, send me, I pray you, your severest criticism there- 
 upon. 
 
 Pure colour games, to carry the training of the sense to a 
 further point, would be by means of discs or circular tablets, 
 differently coloured on their two faces. 
 
 Now a few words about the first game. The ground form, 
 from which all is developed, is a square tablet, four times the size 
 of our cube : 1 and this square as the normal form lies at the base 
 of all the following divisions. Imagine eight such squares lying 
 before you, like our eight cubes and eight building blocks. The 
 first square is whole and undivided. The second square is cut 
 vertically parallel to the sides, giving two equal rectangles ; and 
 the remaining squares are also similarly cut into three, four, five, 
 
 1 Froebel's standard cube is one inch on the side (one zoll of the old German 
 measure) and these square tablets were to be two inches on the side ; so that it 
 would take four cubes to completely cover one of them. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 125 
 
 six, seven and eight equal rectangles. The eight squares must 
 now be laid before the child, with the parts arranged vertically 
 or horizontally, but always in a straight line, and so as to show 
 a diversity of colours. Next, everything which lends itself to 
 observation must gently and playfully be brought before the child; 
 for instance, " Here is a square uncut ; and here is one cut in two ; 
 see how one cut gives us two pieces," and so on. All this, not in 
 a rigidly orderly way, but as opportunity and attentiveness permit. 
 
 Then come comparisons of the divisions, such as that "two 
 sixths equal one third," etc. This is the quickly tiring and weary- 
 ing side, the knowledge-acquiring side of the game, and it is under- 
 stood as a matter of course that it has to be given quite casually, 
 and only as chance may provide suitable openings for it. The 
 arrangement of the pieces the child should decide for himself, 
 which it will please him to do, but some one must stand by and 
 quietly overlook it all. 
 
 Next, the separate divisions are used for making beautiful forms, 
 either vertically, horizontally, or even obliquely arranged. 
 
 There still remains the change of colours. The colours must 
 make amongst themselves a complete colour-harmony. For 
 instance, red and green (green being made up of the other two 
 primaries, blue and yellow) ; yellow and violet (violet being com- 
 posed of blue and red) ; blue and gold or orange (orange being 
 composed of red and yellow). 
 
 You see that the two harmonising colours in each varying com- 
 bination contain between them all the three primary colours. 
 Now the colours may be grouped in all kinds of ways upon the 
 same ground form, wherein we get true colour-games ; and with 
 varied colours one and the same form will assume many varied ex- 
 pressions. The essence of the game lies in each successive alter- 
 ation of form or arrangement of colours always being evolved as a 
 development from the previously existing given form and colour. 
 
 We pass on to enlargement or variation, extension or contrac- 
 tion, and transition from one fundamental difference to another, 
 for example, from the four-sided pattern to the two-sided or three- 
 sided. 
 
 All things and everything are allowed; with the one proviso 
 
126 L etters of Froebel. 
 
 that the sense of unity is always to be aroused in the child ; or if 
 it is already present, that it is to be further stimulated and brought 
 into consciousness. 
 
 I showed this game to a teacher of children, who at once 
 ordered a set as a Christmas present for a little girl. But why 
 did I tell you of this ? It would be better to receive your judg- 
 ment quite unbiassed — and what I have sard must only go so far 
 as to show you that the game is worth your investigation. 
 
 The second and larger game is based upon the same main 
 features, and also contains the eight squares cut as already de- 
 scribed : besides oblique cuts of various slants, from the normal 
 oblique line down to that ©f the fifth degree. What I call a 
 normal oblique line is the diagonal of a square (4 5 ), the half- 
 oblique line is the diagonal of a rectangle whose base is half its 
 height (that is the rectangle made by cutting a square in half 
 vertically), the quarter-oblique line is in like manner the diagonal 
 of a rectangle whose base is a quarter of its height (that is, a rec- 
 tangle which is the quarter of a square cut vertically). This game 
 serves also as a transition to the acquaintance with lines of all 
 different directions as we find them in the occupation of "Prick- 
 ing," and later on in " Drawing : " and is an excellent training for 
 the eye. My dear young cousins can search out for their mother 
 the capabilities which lie in this game. 
 
 These games would be highly valuable to the youngest children 
 in your High School at Gera, for the teaching of symbol, form and 
 number, and also in regard to the clear expression in speech of 
 what the child has observed. And it seems to me that this is 
 one of the ways in which our games might have proved of 
 practical use to your High School. Would not the directors of 
 the High School arrange for a preparatory class, below the first 
 school form, like Herr Schneider has done at Frankfurt? You 
 could then give these games as a kind of reward to the children. 
 Drawing on chequered slates is extremely important for girls, train- 
 ing them to exactness and to the perception of the beautiful. 1 
 
 1 This does not mean that Froebel thought drawing more important for little 
 girls than little boys ; but only that in his day it was already customary to 
 
Foundation and Construction, 127 
 
 Now it is certainly time to close this letter. God bless and 
 
 guide you, and your dear ones, safely from the old year into the 
 
 new. And remain as friendly and true to me in the new year as 
 
 you have been in the old : before ail things remain faithful to our 
 
 work. 
 
 Your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter XV. 
 
 Blankenburg, igtA Sept., 1843. 1 
 Dearest Cousin, — 
 
 I had firmly purposed this very day to write to you, firstly, to 
 wipe off my epistolary debt towards you, and secondly, at last 
 to send you, and through you the other lady subscribers to the 
 Kindergarten, a complete account of the movement up to date, 
 including a cash statement. But, further, I longed for some news 
 of you and of your dear ones after so great a lapse of time, and 
 I needed to refresh myself with new tokens of your sympathy 
 with my life. 
 
 And just now comes your kind letter, with so encouraging an 
 assurance of all this, that I really hardly know how sufficiently 
 to thank you for it. For while much sympathy reaches us in life 
 and along its usual chain of occurrences, sympathy is indeed rare 
 with those inner feelings, those gravest emotions, our silently 
 passing memories of events in life and the anniversaries which re- 
 call them ; so rare, indeed, that we can count scarcely any sym- 
 pathizers at all with us in such matters. How happy then am I, 
 who can feel assured of such a sympathy from you, seeing that 
 I have received so many oft-repeated assurances of it ; and how I 
 rejoice to-day at your continued remembrance of me and at the 
 interest you still take in my life. 
 
 Yes, dear cousin, it is quite true that the dear departed one 
 whose memory you are so kind as to honour with me on this 
 
 teach boys drawing and was not yet customary to teach it to girls, to whom 
 nevertheless, as he points out, it was also of extreme importance. 
 
 1 There is a lapse of three-quarters of a year between this letter and the 
 preceding. 
 
128 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 anniversary, was a woman of very uncommon character — un- 
 common in the perfect correspondence of her inner development 
 and culture with her outer life ; as uncommon in the lofty clear- 
 ness of her mind as in the warmth and affectionateness of her 
 soul ; as uncommon in the thoroughness of her education and 
 the accuracy of her judgment, as in the simple and unassuming 
 nature of her whole being. The more opportunity I have had, 
 since her outward separation from me (and in consequence of 
 my adopted career), of studying the character of woman's soul and 
 woman's life in all ages and of all sorts and conditions, so much 
 the more do I perceive what a wonderful educator of girls and 
 of young women was born in her, and how much the world has 
 lost by her continued ill-health in the last years of her life, and 
 especially by her early death. 1 
 
 Did I ever tell you her prayer ? It is so extremely simple, 
 that even in this her whole nature is mirrored. " Make me clear, 
 make me true, make me faithful, make me free ! " In these four 
 simple words (klar, wa/ir, treu, frei), each one of which most 
 remarkably contains but four letters, was summed up the prayer 
 of which her life was one long expression. This prayer I have 
 sent you as thank-offering for your warm-souled sympathy. 
 
 And further thanks I will also give for your posting your kind 
 letter precisely on my dear wife's birthday, the 16th; and this 
 time my thanks shall take the form of the following lines, which 
 were written about her by my late father-in-law : — 
 
 " On the first birthday of my daughter Henriette Wilhelmine, 
 16th Sept., 1 78 1. 
 
 " O thou who bringest a deeper and purer joy to my days, 
 
 Beloved and only daughter, part of my life and heart ! 
 
 Thy murmuring tones redouble each pleasure that rises within me 
 
 When in the morning mine eyes grow glad with thy first baby-glances, 
 
 As, cradled all soft in my arms, thou smilest a roguish ' good morrow.' 
 
 To thee sings my heart on thy birthday, in tones which are full of rejoicing, 
 
 Full of a father's ineffable pride and delight in his offspring. 
 
 Hear Thou my song, too, O Father, O Lord and Creator of all things, 
 
 Telling, though feeble its tones, of gratitude heartfelt and tender ; 
 
 Pouring forth praise and thanksgiving for Thy gift more precious than riches. 
 
 1 Madame Henriette Froebel (Froebel's first wife) died in 1839, four years 
 before this letter. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 129 
 
 God, hearken unto the prayer that wells forth from my over-full heart, 
 Glows in my reddening cheek, all watered with passionate tears ; 
 Grant to this darling of mine, in the far-stretching ocean of life, 
 Protection and favouring winds till she comes to the haven at last ! 
 Only from Thee, O my Father, come days of good fortune and pleasure ; 
 Pour out these blessings upon her, and add to them one far more precious — 
 May she have virtue, the jewel whose price is so far above rubies, 
 Making life splendid, and bathing the death-bed with radiant effulgence. 
 Forget not, O Father, Thy child, and so may her life be one Eden 
 
 Until when, her blameless head bowed 'neath the icy cold fingers of age, 
 Kind Death comes with gentle caresses, and lays her to sleep with the blest." 1 
 
 These were prophetic words of her father's ! 
 
 I would gladly at once proceed to answer your kind letter, but 
 the postmaster will no longer take in letters after post-time, so I 
 must as briefly as possible add only what is absolutely necessary. 
 
 First, please receive herewith the copies of the complete 
 account of my system, with the money particulars referred to at 
 the beginning of this letter, and I hope that all will prove to be 
 quite after your own wish — I mean, clearly explanatory of the 
 system. Send your princess a copy, moreover ; she has, happily, 
 many most honourable predecessors in supporting us. Further, 
 
 1 would beg my esteemed cousin to publish in your local journal, 
 in continuation of his previous kind communications, the news 
 that a complete account of the system has now appeared. I 
 want the writer to bring prominently forward the assistance which 
 Gera has rendered in furthering this German national enterprise. 
 
 Finally, I will ask you kindly to send me back the proofs 
 of the etchings, with the printed matter connected with them, 
 belonging to the " Songs for Mothers and Nursery Songs " 
 {Mutter- und Kose-Lieder), as the letter-press printing is now begin- 
 ning, and I want the proof impressions for this work. 
 
 Remember me respectfully to all the lady subscribers to the 
 Kindergarten, and accept my best wishes for all your dear ones. 
 
 Your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 1 We have taken the liberty of departing from our usual exactitude, and 
 somewhat freely translating Herr Hoffmeister's lines, which are in extremely 
 irregular blank verse in the original. 
 
 K 
 
130 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Letter XVI. 
 
 Blankenburg, igt/i Sept., 1843. 
 Much esteemed, dear Cousin, — 
 
 Fulfilling the promise in the letter I have just despatched to 
 you, I begin now to answer your last kind letter to me. 
 
 I desire to add to what I was confiding to you concerning my 
 dear departed wife, that her favourable judgment of the new work 
 I had already begun in the last period of her life, the decided 
 hopes she expressed for its success up to the last day she lived, 
 and, above all, the blessing which in the last moments of all 
 her pure life she lay upon this work and its beginnings — that 
 these, I say, in unison with my own judgment and my own con- 
 victions, are what has supported me, unswerving, in my course 
 towards the goal I have set before me. Were the results hitherto 
 obtained yet smaller, were men and circumstances yet more 
 unfavourable, than now they are, still the clear judgment of my 
 wife, so quietly and firmly expressed, would have unlessened 
 value for me. And if it were not that I must rejoice that the 
 great opposition my life has of late years had to encounter has 
 been spared to her, I should find it hard to endure her early loss; 
 and, on the other hand, had she enjoyed good and vigorous 
 health at the close of her life, her death, which in that case 
 would have destroyed the active co-operation I should have been 
 receiving from her in my latest life-aims and my acknowledged 
 vocation, would, I venture boldly to assert, have proved indeed 
 a heavy blow for my whole people. 
 
 Oh, we men acknowledge too little the importance of one 
 single fellow-man engaged in the precise vocation for which he 
 was destined, and holding his true post in life ; we acknowledge 
 00 little the importance of the health of this single human being ! 
 Ah, but how much hangs upon this solitary thread ! More is it 
 to be prized than great knowledge and experience. 
 
 It is upon this consideration that I set such an inexpressibly 
 high value upon the early maintenance and consolidation of the 
 bodily and mental health. And therefore likewise do I strive 
 
Foundation and Construction. 131 
 
 to attain a right comprehension of each child's life-vocation. 
 These possessions — bodily health and knowledge of one's true 
 vocation in life — I would secure to every man, in his childhood, at 
 the earliest possible moment. 
 
 But the parents refuse to listen. Who, then, can alter it? 
 God cannot, of Himself, for His purpose is to create men with 
 a free will, determining their career for themselves. Well — but 
 this much I know, that many men's careers have been broken, 
 and many more are daily and hourly now being broken, through 
 failure to understand their vocation in life. Up till now there 
 has been no means of ascertaining a man's vocation. To provide 
 such a means is my great care, and is the cause of my devotion 
 to the elaboration of my game-system. It is indeed the inmost 
 secret aim I have had in view; and when once it is generally 
 acknowledged, there will begin a new era for the human race. 
 At present the greater part of mankind has sorrowfully to com- 
 plain : "When the determination of my life, of my position in the 
 community of my fellow-citizens, yet lay free for my own hand 
 to choose, or for my friends to choose for me„ I was, as these 
 youths are, all unsure upon the whole matter ;. whence it comes 
 that all my life long I have been kept back, and that my career 
 has been a thing of shreds and patches." But in God's purpose 
 it was neither meant to be nor to remain such. 
 
 We who know better must not cease to live our present lives 
 of sacrifice for the overcoming of these evils. There are many of 
 us, and of both sexes. We must not cease to join hands and 
 hearts, nor mutually to render help and trust to one another. 
 
 Properly the German Kindergarten should be by this time aiding 
 us in our task : only men are so blind. In furthering the German 
 Kindergarten, each man would be but furthering the realisation of 
 the dearest wishes of his heart. Who can endow men with in- 
 sight ? Speaking openly, heart to heart, dear cousin, how much of 
 your inmost and loftiest spiritual life do you not owe, according to 
 your own showing, to this idea of a German Kindergarten? And 
 is it not so with many more mothers in Gera ? Wherefore you 
 ought all to clasp hands with me, and to enlist your lady friends in 
 the cause as well, so that I can reach you all eventually — though I 
 
1 3 2 Letters of Freeh eb 
 
 shall have been long dead, and though it is your children and 
 your children's children to whom I shall then be speaking, through 
 the progress and development of this idea of the Kindergarten. 
 For what are the following if they are not weighty words of pro- 
 mise ? Health of body and mind, knowledge and grasp of out- 
 determination, of our vocation in life, peace of heart, joy of soul, 
 and vigorous creative power ! And yet no man seems willing to 
 make sacrifices to attain such ends ! Your own letter in its most 
 just complaints of the defects of girls' present education shows 
 the fact all too clearly. 
 
 Whenever men shall have perceived with certainty that for 
 themselves and for their children the service of the Educa- 
 tional Idea means a life founded upon a sure basis, means bread, 
 means civic well-being, then at last shall this educational idea 
 number as great multitudes of disciples as do the churches of the 
 present day in what concerns the various matters of religious 
 belief. 
 
 And even to you, dearest cousin, I would say, examine your- 
 self on this point. You would gladly know that your dear son 
 was engaged in the service of this great idea, such as you have 
 always embodied it in your own mind ; but in secret your fear 
 lest in its pursuit he may neglect to secure the necessary basis 
 for an assured condition in civic life. Do I make a mistake in put- 
 ting it thus ? Have I misunderstood your feelings and my good 
 cousin's your husband ? What would you answer if I ventured 
 to say to you, " Educate your son for the idea of humanity " ? 
 
 " Shall we meet again hereafter ? " you ask. Yes, as you, 
 suppose, I do believe firmly that we shall personally meet here- 
 after all those with whom in life we have been united by some 
 fundamental conception, some common root principle : and I 
 have grounds for my conviction. As regards the rest of mankind, 
 even if some common dwelling-place of the departed should 
 bring us face to face with them, we probably should pass them by 
 as we now pass them by in this world, knowing them not. This 
 conviction being firmly established within me, I nevertheless, 
 cherish to my utmost the further belief in continuous spiritual 
 community of life between myself and my beloved ones, " not 
 
Foundation and Construction. 133 
 
 lost, but gone before ; " yes, and I believe, moreover, in the 
 reflex working of my culture of this spiritual communion back 
 upon my own life; I believe I can find it, and can trace it in 
 its influence upon my actions. 
 
 And also in recalling such imaginings I am again brought back 
 to the establishment of the Kindergarten and our association 
 for its promotion : a powerful bond of union exists in the 
 thought, that at the basis of the Kindergarten lies an idea which 
 serves alike for all the interstellar spaces, for all the systems of 
 the suns, namely this : — The fulfilment of the divine will even to 
 the smallest details, and the manifestation of the same. This 
 is especially seen when in order to become consciously such a 
 manifestation of the divine, man has first to attain the basis of 
 self-consciousness ; to which end serves the early culture of the 
 spirit of humanity in the world of childhood. And seeing what 
 lofty, and at the same time true and hopeful ideas are thus inter- 
 woven with the furtherance and culture of our main idea, that is, 
 with the foundation and development of the Kindergarten system, 
 who divines its power, who believes in its truth, who is willing 
 with this aim to work for it unswervingly ? It is a grain of mus- 
 tard seed, under the shade of whose branches^ when they have 
 grown great, shall rest our children and our children's children, 
 in peace and joy. (See Mark iv. 31, 32.) 
 
 I read further on in your letter : " Moritz's future position 
 often gives me serious anxiety." 
 
 I should in your place, and in Moritz's place, whether he is 
 to be a merchant or a man of business, bind up his life with the 
 service of an idea; and this is possible more now than ever 
 by the path I have made clear, which leads through the careful 
 culture of the child's life, and the man's, onwards to an indus- 
 trial career. 
 
 If your son were older, if he had already served his apprentice- 
 ship as a merchant, and if we were sitting together making actual 
 arrangements in view of immediate practical conclusions, I could 
 speak more definitely to you. Enough for the present to 
 say that a spiritual view of all vocations and careers in life, with 
 especial relation to the highest opportunities they offer (and quite 
 
134 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 before all others, with relation to the education and culture of 
 mankind, collectively and individually, i.e. by nations as well as by 
 individual men and children), will in its own good time be clearly 
 ascertained and made manifest The German Kindergarten, in 
 its industrial and mercantile aspects, is even now striking out the 
 path to such an end ; but who is able to divine the great in the 
 little, the perfect conception of a visible life in the abstraction of 
 an invisible idea ? 
 
 Do not forget, but consider carefully the conclusion I drew 
 just now from the contemplation of the life of my departed wife : — 
 That upon the right understanding and the right handling of the 
 life of some one single human being may depend the well-being 
 of the whole race. We pass far too lightly over the single life 
 and the need of care for it, especially at the moment of deciding 
 upon its career, the choice of its life-work. It costs much trouble 
 to examine all carefully, I know full well ; we must go thoroughly 
 through an entire set of circumstances to arrive at a correct deci- 
 sion, but none of this is lost labour. The only thing which can 
 now and at once give to a human life a sure foundation, and 
 which also will remain true for all time, is such a conception of 
 its career as is based upon the true inner welfare of the race. 
 
 As to the causes you enumerate for the impending close of 
 your Kindergarten, I think just as you do; yet I am not at one 
 with you about the injurious influence and the disturbing effect 
 you allege that it has produced upon your domestic life. But I 
 must recollect my ignorance as to this last, and not be like a 
 blind man who presumes to reason about colours. This much, 
 however, I must declare as my firm conviction. The service 
 of a great principle working for human good, of a thought recog- 
 nised as rife with blessing for mankind at large, must necessarily 
 be fraught also with blessing, peace and joy for each one ; espe- 
 cially bringing these treasures into any family where such an idea 
 is cherished, and such a thought is embodied and is developed 
 in actual life. I cannot give up my absolute conviction of this. 
 Were this view not a true one, were this conviction not immovably 
 fixed upon a sure basis, absolutely self-sufficient, all work for 
 mankind and the good of mankind undertaken by any single 
 
Foundation and Construction. 135 
 
 man would lack any sure foundation, and the whole endeavour 
 would be a foolish child's play. But it is not so ! 
 
 "Shall you continue Kindergarten work ? " you ask. Well, 
 consult your husband about this, consult also the mothers who 
 gave you their confidence ; but do so, if it be possible, from a 
 serious and vital point of view. This is quite certain, that if you 
 let slip the thread, and allow the clue to be drawn in amongst the 
 knotted skein of life, you will find it hard to recover it, and firmly 
 to seize it again. 
 
 The system is earnestly discussed now on every side. Do you 
 see the Kohla newspaper in Gera? In No. 35 you will find an 
 article about my work here. It is much too restricted to a per- 
 sonal notice of myself, which is unpleasant to me, though I serve 
 as a point of union for the whole system : and MiddendorfF says 
 " It is stimulating." But have you not some one at hand who will 
 write about the system and its principles in your local journal, say 
 upon the occasion of the publication of my general account of 
 the Kindergarten system? You have your dear husband and 
 other friends by your side, and can win honour for Gera by con- 
 triving to get this done; besides that, it will be of good augury for 
 future work. The system, as I said, is now openly recognised as 
 valuable, in many places. I have just spoken of one such 
 public approval, and I may add another, in the pamphlet called 
 " The Orphan Boy of Herrenburg," by Pastor Fredner, of Wolfis, 
 near Ohrdruf, in Gotha. Good words, you see, no longer arrive 
 singly, and boldly venture to show themselves. 
 
 With respect to your wishes about the little verses, I will do 
 what I can; meanwhile take the supplement to yesterday's Sunday 
 Journal as an earnest of my promise. 
 
 We are daily expecting my nephew Ferdinand Froebel on a 
 visit. 
 
 My joy over the S. family has come to an end. Even before 
 four weeks had elapsed, our close relations had ceased. A big 
 book might be written about the affair. I believe I am right in say- 
 ing that the spirit of my whole system was too lofty for Herr S. 
 He could not work in it, even if he had been able to understand 
 and grasp it. He took great pleasure in the actual work, but 
 
136 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 never attained to a true conception of its meaning. Perhaps he 
 felt this. At all events, he flung his taunts of disillusion in my 
 face. It was a repetition of a very common history, that of the 
 fox and the grapes ; the grapes were too high, so he called them 
 sour ; and now he speaks ill of me to high and low, to prince and 
 peasant. What is to be done but to keep a dignified silence 
 under all this, live it down, and show by actual work that the 
 system was and is quite other than he represents it to be ? 
 
 You see, dear cousin, that we all have our special troubles 
 to fight against, every one's life is more or less broken; but what 
 you hope will arise from your work for the benefit of your little 
 world of children, I hope will come also to me and mine from 
 my work. And like you, I shall continue in spite of all hind- 
 rances, to gather round me children and those who love children, 
 and strive to lead both the first and the second towards the goal 
 of humanity. 
 
 This summer many very intelligent strangers have visited me : 
 some from Wittenburg, from Landsburg on the Warte, from 
 Marlishausen, from Altenburg, etc. Also a Dr. Hult Yates, from 
 London, and his wife came to see me, and manifested the greatest 
 interest in the whole subject, taking home with him my games 
 and my publications in order to translate them and bring them 
 out in English. 1 
 
 I have several very capable girls here, studying with me. 
 
 I not only " have still the idea of visiting Leipzig this year and 
 running on to Gera," but I am actually working hard daily and 
 hourly without intermission to render it possible; for its realisation 
 depends entirely on the conclusion of my work in time. 
 
 And in a general way I think of travelling, when this work is 
 over, for the promulgation of the idea; its possible general accep- 
 tation seems to demand this of me. 
 
 Again I send the warmest greetings to your whole family, 
 
 from your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 1 We have not as yet found any trace of such translations. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 137 
 
 Letter XVII. 
 
 Frankfurt-on-the-Main, 17th Dec, 1844. 1 
 Dear Cousin, — 
 
 You could not be allowed to keep Christmas without some 
 small gift from me, even if it consists but of these few lines of a 
 letter and one or two not very important newspapers with 
 accounts of my work on the Main, the Neckar and the Rhine, 
 My friend Middendorff has already told you, in his answer to 
 your two last kind letters to myself, that ever since last Whitsun- 
 tide I have been partly drawn, partly driven by peculiar chances 
 amongst the various cities which lie along the three rivers I have 
 named — and partly I have gone thither of my own free will — in 
 the pursuit of my work concerning the early care of little children, 
 their first beginnings of education and of culture, etc., the mate- 
 rials for which I find spread over all God's world, wherever power, 
 life and spirit are at work. 
 
 "That in itself is praiseworthy and noble," will you say, "but 
 to forget your friends amidst these pursuits — friends, moreover, 
 who have so enthusiastically worked for them with you, and still 
 continue to work — no, my dear cousin, that is neither praise- 
 worthy nor noble." You are quite right, my dear cousin; and who 
 is the greatest loser by the fault, and who feels the truth of the 
 remark more deeply than I ? 
 
 In the rush of my labours I am unable to allow myself the 
 smallest recreation; my entire aim and endeavour is only directed 
 towards the one end. The loveliest songs of the birds, the 
 choicest blooms of the flowers, the mild midsummer evenings 
 and the winter nights all aflame with stars, are for me as if they 
 were not ; it seems as if I dare not stay to enjoy them until I 
 have won at least some part of the way towards my goal ; but I 
 find it bitterly hard, even with all this, to gain the smallest step in 
 advance. And while in my struggle with the problem of educa- 
 tion, I find half the men I know arrayed against me, nay, I may 
 
 1 It will be observed that there is a lapse of a year and a quarter between 
 this letter and the preceding. 
 
138 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 say, there are three to one, four to one, or even a hundred to one 
 against me, and while true peaceful pleasure is denied me — at 
 the same time, and in consequence of my restless mental labours, 
 the most important concerns of life have to go neglected, as my 
 friends very properly remind me; the sword of Damokles is con- 
 stantly swinging over my head, and danger is averted by but a 
 single hair. 1 The most miserable part of it all is that whilst I 
 know and feel my position, I am powerless to change it. People 
 think I live thoughtlessly and regard my own pleasure only, where- 
 as I am ceaselessly thinking and searching for the Right and the 
 True ; though, indeed, no one is satisfied with the result. 
 
 I am like an arrow which has struck its mark, but is unable to 
 pierce it, and is shattered by its own force. I am like a tree upon 
 the summit of a rock, grown up from a seed that has fallen into 
 some crevice, and now standing exposed to all the storms and 
 howling winds of those heights; such a tree as must renounce the 
 joy of lovely flowers and ripening fruit, and content itself with 
 driving its roots ever deeper into the rocky clefts, ever further into 
 the darkness and the night, gaining thereby strength to resist the 
 storm, lest it be hurled altogether over the precipice into ever- 
 lasting darkness and night beneath. 
 
 "A pretty Christmas letter, indeed!" you are saying. "How 
 can a letter like this, full of complaint, dare to show itself this 
 Christmastide, and to pose as if bringing some message of joy?" 
 Yes, it dare and can ! For by all this a sincere friend is only 
 trying to tell his kind womanly sympathiser that no common for- 
 getfulness has caused his long silence, but only the ceaseless quest 
 of the Golden Fleece of childhood and childhood's early care and 
 training which we are all forced to admit as indisputably neces- 
 sary, and which prize, had I once obtained it, I should have 
 brought home to you, dearest cousin, and to all my friends, to 
 your great rejoicing. 
 
 4 We understand Froebel to mean by this that just as the pleasure of Damo- 
 kles in the banquet spread before him was stayed by the sight of the drawn 
 sword hanging above his head, suspended by one single hair, so his own 
 pleasure in his noble effort was destroyed because of the constant pecuniary 
 and other difficulties which seemed perpetually on the point of overwhelming 
 him. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 139 
 
 It has been, therefore, my desire to bring you joy, my friend so 
 true and constant, which has kept me silent this long while, and 
 has, however, only had for result that I send you a letter full ot 
 complaints as a Christmas gift, instead of that joyful present we 
 hoped for. You see, then, that if the ultimate cause of this letter 
 be considered, it is after all suitable for Christmastide ; for 
 what should be the nature of all Christmas gifts, from the greatest 
 to the least ? They ought to come from the heart of the giver, 
 and express the inmost feelings of both the giver and receiver : 
 and what more precious thing can one human being give to 
 another than the key which unlocks the chambers of his soul ? 
 
 It is thus that I live with my blessed one, my late wife ; and 
 as I progress with myself, as I rise higher and higher, so do I 
 gain more insight into the meaning of her life upon earth. And 
 if ever God grant us to meet again — a thought which enfolds such 
 great bliss that I trust it is not a mere imagination of my own 
 mind — we shall meet as after an outward separation, truly, but 
 also as after an unbroken inner companionship : and so will it be, 
 I believe, with all the souls who have learned truly to know each 
 other during their present earthly pilgrimage. 
 
 But I must give you a sketch of my journey. On Whit- 
 Monday I came here, and found my old friend Schnyder from 
 Wartensee : and in fact it was specially in order to meet him 
 that I came hither. Nevertheless, after only a day or two, he 
 was obliged to return home to Switzerland. 
 
 Through an old friend, Von Leonhardi, I became acquainted 
 with a merchant of this town, a certain Herr Klotz, whom in the 
 following week I accompanied to his country seat at Lower 
 Ingelheim, a place doubtless known to you because the emperor 
 Carl the Great (Charlemagne) held his court there. And in that 
 place I was high busy for three or four weeks over reforming a 
 charity school for children. The accompanying sheet from the 
 Educational Journal of the Grand Duchy of Hesse will tell 
 you all the rest about this part of my doings. Soon after this I 
 was living in Darmstadt to be near Ida Seele, who is established 
 here as Kindergarten teacher, directing Kindergarten games, 
 and who was educated by me for her new vocation, so that we 
 
140 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 might bring into practical working order my games and occu- 
 pations. 
 
 As Darmstadt lies on the high road from Heidelberg to 
 Frankfurt, and I was living alternately in both places, I often 
 stopped in Darmstadt, there to labour at the further construction 
 of the work now begun in earnest, or rather^ to watch over it and 
 care for it as a gardener tends his plants. 1 
 
 My head quarters were at Heidelberg ; and I gained much by 
 my stay there. I lived with a faithful and energetically helpful 
 friend of mine, the Leonhardi whom I have just mentioned ; 
 and I profited greatly, not only from this old friendship, but 
 from many new ones. I also found them all very eager for the 
 establishment of a Kindergarten there ; though indeed the real- 
 ization of their hopes still lies in the future. I am grateful to 
 Heidelberg for one acquaintance especially, that of a certain 
 doctor of medicine, a German American, who was then staying 
 in Heidelberg in order to study the newest European discoveries 
 in his science, meaning to introduce them in America on his 
 return home next year. I had much confidential talk with him 
 about my struggles, and he urged me most earnestly to go to 
 America, where he was sure that I should reap an immediate 
 harvest from my self-sacrificing labours, so that I could soon earn 
 for myself the means of gaining my goal and achieving my aim 
 by my own unaided effort. I still seriously harbour the idea, 
 
 1 It might seem a little strange that Froebel has not mentioned here the 
 well-known Darmstadt educationist, Julius Folsing, whose intimacy he en- 
 joyed, even to the point of frequent and vehement discussions on educational 
 points where the two savans found themselves in disagreement. At Folsing's 
 request Froebel introduced his games and occupations into the Infant School 
 {Spielsclmle) which formed part of the great educational institution of Darm- 
 stadt, founded and directed by Folsing. Froebel sent one of his pupils from 
 Blankenburg, a lady known, both by her maiden name, Ida Seele, and later 
 on as Madame Vogeler, as one of the master's earliest and most faithful 
 disciples. (Her later Kindergarten work was confined principally to Berlin. 
 One of the present writers had the pleasure of being instructed by Madame 
 Vogeler in the use of Froebel's gifts. Her ways with children in the Kinder- 
 garten were inexpressibly charming, and are still remembered with delight by 
 all who heard her teach.) But later on Folsing quarrelled openly with Froebel, 
 chiefly because of Froebel's insisting upon the name "Kindergarten," and 
 swiftly turned from a warm friend to a bitter foe. See the Introduction to 
 Part IV. "Attack and Defence," and the Letters to Mme. Liitkens in that part. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 14I 
 
 and shall consider the possibility of carrying it into execution 
 next spring. 
 
 From Heidelberg I went to Carlsruhe, where I worked for my 
 cause with lectures and conferences. The outcome of it all still 
 lies in the dusky bosom of the future. More decided was the 
 result in Stuttgart, where the wife of Herr von Pistorius, the 
 Councillor of Legation, invited me to introduce my games and 
 occupations into the Children's Home at Geisburg, where she 
 has property and influence. I was exceedingly happy to find two 
 sisters there, and fifty children, all of bright intelligence. Further 
 on I sowed the good seed in Bensheim and in Osthofen, near 
 Worms. 
 
 For the last six weeks I have been here, working at my 
 publications and my games. 
 
 " God created man in His own image : in the image of God 
 created He him" (Gen. i. 27) ; and "Ye should be perfect even 
 as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. v. 48). What do 
 these texts mean, if not that man ought to set God's work, God's 
 creation, before himself, as a type or model? Now God sets 
 forth His will first, and then His purpose, in things, in facts, in 
 the corporeal and phenomenal world, and so ought man to do 
 likewise : wherefore I, too, from now and henceforth, shall create 
 and work and set forth my will and the aim and object of 
 my life, the path and method of my educational endeavour, by 
 means of things and facts, and a world of material manifestations. 
 " The child creates his own world for himself; it is at once the 
 expression of his inward realization of the external world and its 
 surroundings, and also the outward representation of his internal 
 mental world, the world of his own subjectivity." 
 
 Humanity, the child, the boy, the girl, and too often also, the 
 man and the woman, shall, as far as my strength and my will can 
 
 1 The reader will observe that Froebel's idea of a Deutscher Kindergarten 
 (German National Kindergarten) has already expanded, as it was evidently 
 sure to do sooner or later, into the broader idea of a Kindergarten Movement 
 without limits of nationality. And as to his relations with the United States— 
 always kept before him as an eventual resource after a possible failure in 
 Germany— they continued till his death. See Letter III. to Madame Lutkens, 
 in Part IV., written in March, 1852, the year he died. 
 
142 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 prevent, no longer waste their force, their time, their means in all 
 the various relations of life, paying, as it were, a dear scholar's 
 fee, only to perceive too late, when the path has turned and is 
 already descending towards the grave, of what lofty meaning is 
 Life ! Even the smallest things of life are important if each man 
 is to attain with certainty his earthly determination and destiny ; 
 which are the preparation for his new life beyond. 
 
 God clothed His highest, His own image, in a mass of clay, and 
 was not ashamed of His creation; neither will I then be ashamed 
 to set forth in little blocks of wood my ideas upon the nature of 
 man and especially of the child, such as I have evolved them by 
 long thought, dating back even to my childhood and my earliest 
 youth. And though these ideas have passed through many 
 stages, varying in clearness, yet they have been always alike in 
 one thing— namely, in the absolute truth of their expression of my 
 soul and mind at the time. 
 
 As soul and mind have shaped themselves from out the mass 
 of clay forming humanity, so also shall the educational spirit and 
 the soul which cherishes the life of children shape themselves 
 from the mass of wood, the ball, and the little wooden blocks of 
 the Kindergarten. 
 
 I know clearly what I want, and I will win it by these means. 
 What God, as Creator and Father, did for each man and for all 
 men too, for humanity, in His creation, by means of His creation, 
 that will I imitate, as a man (acting, as far as I may, like the 
 Father), in my creation, in my world which I have created, and 
 by means of this world of mine, for the benefit of each one — as 
 will be seen when men have grasped the true meaning of the 
 materials I employ ; — namely, the ball, the cube, etc. ; but in 
 especial and quite above all else, for the benefit of childhood, for 
 the good of children, the germs and buds of humanity. 
 
 I hope and wish, dear cousin, that this letter has after all 
 proved a Christmas pleasure. A true womanly soul cannot mis- 
 understand me, for what I am so earnestly striving for is only what 
 the uninfluenced woman's soul, the pure wifely spirit, does of itself. 
 And indeed woman often devotes herself, soul, will and desire, 
 to things which are most insignificant in outward appearance, and 
 
Foundation and Construction. 143 
 
 whose significance we men understand either too late or not at 
 all. As I hope that you have understood me, and that my letter 
 has thus fulfilled its purpose, I would beg of you to keep it for 
 future testimony in my favour, after I shall have been carried to 
 the grave ; for what I have here written to you has welled up from 
 my very soul, and has been set down without any other thought 
 than to make myself and my work clearly understood by you, and 
 to give you pleasure thereby. 
 
 If my dear cousin, your husband, can do anything with any of 
 the enclosed newspapers towards making my endeavours more 
 widely known — as for instance, in the Leipzig Daily Journal — 
 he would give me great pleasure, and you, too, would oblige me if 
 you would try at convenient opportunities to help on the sale of 
 my productions. See now, I have become quite a merchant, but I 
 hope a true merchant, according to God's image in nature ; for 
 God's way is to resolve all that is unusual and complete into the 
 elements of which it is composed, to be anew worked up into 
 higher forms, and perhaps at last to appear as part of man himself. 
 I receive your affectionate present in the same spirit, and thank 
 you for it : everything is with me not only an end in itself, but a 
 means for reaching something still more general, and therefore 
 more lofty. 
 
 And now I have nothing more to say to-day, except to wish 
 you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year : a happy depar- 
 ture from the old year and a happy, peaceful, joyful entry into the 
 new year, 1845. When I say I wish "you" a merry Christmas, 
 I mean to include your whole family union — yourself, your hus- 
 band, and all the children ; yet I will add for each individual, my 
 most cordial wish that a blessing may fall on him or her. 
 
 Finally, just one request; gladden me with a few lines right 
 soon. I shall find difficulty in spending Christmas amongst my 
 own people, for a promise given to a friend and the claims of life 
 unite to retain me here. But by the new year I hope to be home 
 again. 
 
 In the new year as in the old, in the future as throughout the past, 
 I am your faithful, grateful Cousin, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
144 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 Letter XVIII. 
 Keilhau, near Rudolstadt, 2$rd January -, 1847. 1 
 
 If I were not cognisant of your great kindness and indulgence 
 towards me, dear and much-esteemed cousin, proofs of which I 
 have so repeatedly experienced from you, I certainly should ex- 
 pect you to scold me for letting three weeks slip by before send- 
 ing you any word of thanks for your sympathy, manifested in so 
 many different ways [during my visit]. And especially since I 
 have not yet inquired after your health, which is so dear to me ; 
 not asked if the heartfelt prayers for your steady improvement 
 which I offered up when leaving Gera have been heard, to the 
 joy of your dear ones. May it have been so : and pray let me 
 be assured of it, if even only by a few lines from the hand of my 
 dear cousin, your husband. 
 
 On my return I found letters here which have still further in- 
 creased my work. Also, two new students have made their ap- 
 pearance. This makes six young women in all, who are studying 
 for Kindergarten teachers with me ; i.e. studying to develop their 
 usefulness as trainers of children. It gives me much extra 
 trouble and work to bring up these newly entered students to the 
 level of the others ; and indeed, the thing is almost impossible 
 to be done. Although I am at work from nine in the morning to 
 seven in the evening, uninterruptedly, except for two hours at 
 noon and an hour at tea-time, leading, teaching, and personally 
 always busy and in request, all this eager stir and movement, so 
 fresh, sound, and vigorous, only gives me pleasure, when I see it 
 blossoming and setting for fruit. Oh, my child-loving cousin, 
 could you only take part once again, after this long time, in our 
 morning hour, from nine to ten, which we devote entirely to the 
 subject of the development of the child ! How much should 
 we not hear and learn from you in the course of our discussion ! 
 We always closely connect our work with actual observations 
 
 1 The reader will observe that two years have elapsed between this and the 
 previous letter. Froebel has just returned from a stay with Madame Schmidt 
 at Gera, during which he has observed with regret that her health had be- 
 come impaired. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 145 
 
 drawn from life. I should also like to invite you to our building 
 lessons. Such a vigorous life manifests itself in them, expressing 
 itself by form, by speech, and quite beyond either, by song ! 
 Besides the young teacher from Annaburg I have won over yet 
 another teacher, Herr Stangenberger, in Poppenwind, a musically 
 gifted young man, to help me in my building-songs. 
 
 Many very pretty pieces, for single children, or for the whole 
 class, with words and melodies, have we composed during these 
 last weeks, most of them suggested by the free spontaneity of the 
 children themselves. No-! the wealth and blessing for the child- 
 ren and for their teachers — the true "gardeners" of the garden 
 of children (Kindergarten) — which lies in these progressive 
 occupations for children cannot be expressed in words, nor sung 
 in melodies ! 
 
 One can scarcely believe the fact that men are so dull ; that 
 the human heart has become so wooden or stony as not to be 
 able to feel the true force of these things, as not to be ready to 
 sacrifice anything to spread abroad such a system of child-culture, 
 of human culture and development — not ready to stretch out a 
 willing hand to the support of one who is struggling to achieve and 
 carry out this system. The most that they do is to rob me of 
 perhaps the best pair of wing feathers that I have ever grown, 
 to make pretty feather coronets for themselves from out my publi- 
 cations ; in fact, out of the ninety-ninth book for children they set 
 to work to make a hundredth. 
 
 I wish you could have been here this evening and seen the 
 many beautiful and varied forms and lovely patterns which freely 
 and spontaneously developed themselves from some systematic 
 variations of a simple ground form, in stick-laying. No one 
 would believe, without seeing it, how the child-soul— the child-life 
 — develops, when treated as a whole, and in the sense of forming 
 a part of the great connected life of the world, by some skilled 
 Kindergarten teacher — nay, even by one who is only simple- 
 hearted, thoughtful, and attentive ; nor how it blooms into de- 
 licious harmonies like a beautifully tinted flower. Oh, if I could 
 only shout aloud with ten thousand lung-power the truth that 
 I now tell you in silence ! Then would I make the ears of a 
 
 L 
 
1 46 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 hundred thousand men ring with it ! What keenness of sensa- 
 tion, what a soul, what a mind, what force of will and active 
 energy, what dexterity and skill of muscular movement and of 
 perception, and what calm and patience will not all these things 
 call out in the children ! 
 
 How is it that parents are so blind and deaf when they pro- 
 fess to be so eager to work for the welfare, the health and peace 
 of their children ? No ! I cannot understand it ; and yet a whole 
 generation has passed since this system first delivered its message, 
 first called for educational amendment, first pointed out where 
 the need for it lay, and showed how it could be satisfied. 
 
 If I were not afraid of being taken for an idiot or an escaped 
 lunatic, I would run barefoot from one end of Germany to the 
 other and cry aloud to all men : "Set to work at once for your 
 children's sake, on some universally developing plan, aiming at 
 unity of life-purpose, and through that at joy and peace." But what 
 good would it do ? A Curtman and a Ramsauer * in their stupidity 
 or maliciousness, make it their duty to stigmatise my work as sin- 
 ful, when I am but quietly corresponding with just my own friends 
 and sympathisers, for they say I am destroying all pleasure in life 
 for the parents : " who could be so silly as I — amongst sane men 
 who acknowledge that parents have a right to enjoy life — I who 
 perpetually call to these parents in tones of imperative demand, 
 " Come, let us live for our children !" (" Kommt, laszt wis unsern 
 Kindern leben "). 
 
 Thus talk the very men who are so anxious to bring peace, or 
 at all events, happiness and well-being to our nation and our 
 fatherland, through the education of its youth; thus talk the 
 fathers, guides, and teachers of the nation. What a condition of 
 soul and spirit this betrays ! Who can portray it ? 
 
 Why do I worry you with all this, dear cousin ? Because of the 
 need which weighs on the human heart for another and a sympa- 
 thising heart, and because I know the faithful, honest share you 
 take in my life and its endeavours. And even the utterance of the 
 confidence strengthens him who confides his sorrows to another. 
 
 1 Unfriendly " orthodox " critics of Froebel, 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 47 
 
 I have not been able to give you assurance of my continued and 
 undiminished trust in you for this long time. May this, like all 
 trust, fortify your soul. 
 
 Your Keilhau relatives have all taken a most lively interest in 
 your recovery of health. All send their hearty good wishes. 
 And I would ask you to give the same from me to all your dear 
 ones. Once more I urge you to let me hear news of you, just a 
 few lines to tell me that your health is returning. 
 
 Your faithful Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter XIX. 
 
 Keilhau, 14th October, 1847. 
 Dear and esteemed Cousin, — 
 
 Your kind letter of the 20th June and 5th of July reached me, 
 having been sent after me on my travels. To answer it in its 
 fulness of feeling and purity of intellectual thought, as it deserved, 
 was impossible amid the bustle of my life at that time, and the 
 many claims upon me, and so my answer was deferred till I 
 should be home again at Keilhau. And when I at last reached 
 here I was plunged into distractions of all sorts. Please, there- 
 fore, forgive my delay in replying. 
 
 Those beautiful and precious experiences of soul and mind, 
 arising from your invalid condition, which you have been so kind 
 as to communicate to me — who is there that would not rejoice 
 over them in heartfelt sympathy with you ? I thank you most ear- 
 nestly for them. Something of the same kind took place with 
 my beloved wife, now amongst the blest, when she seemed out- 
 wardly to have already abandoned all participation in the affairs 
 of life, and was lying calm in spirit and self-absorbed, almost as 
 if dead : and yet she was following in her own mind the thoughtful 
 conversation which chanced to be proceeding at the moment be- 
 tween myself and some friends by her bedside. She manifested 
 her consciousness of our talk by short ejaculations, illuminating the 
 stillness like flashes of starlight in a dark night. Had my dear 
 wife enjoyed the chance which fell to you, of becoming restored 
 
148 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 to health once again, she would have doubtless had some such ex- 
 periences to recount as those you have been so good as to confide 
 to me. On this account, dear cousin, I am doubly grateful to you ; 
 for you have shown me the joyful vision that must have been 
 before my dear departed one in those moments of exaltation of 
 spirit accompanying the outward bodily exhaustion and collapse. 
 
 Permit me then, dear cousin, in return for your communication 
 from a condition of bodily illness and suffering, to make a com- 
 munication to you from my present condition of bodily health and 
 vigour. 
 
 My life always was and still is, as your own observation must 
 have shown you, often a very harassed existence as regards 
 eternal relations ; full of trouble, anxiety and care. It was only 
 natural that in the past, when my dear wife still shared my life 
 with me, and many other friends surrounded me, that these times 
 of worry "and hindrance should have their effect upon my friends 
 as well as upon myself; and then I was in the habit of explaining 
 to them, and especially to my dear wife, the workings of these 
 trials upon my spirit, the clear insight into life which sprang from 
 them, the complete glance over the whole of existence and the 
 sensation of spiritual independence which I gained thereby. If 
 those heavy days had fallen on me alone, and had not pressed also 
 on my wife and on my friends, I could have willingly borne them, 
 and even thankfully rejoiced in them ; for the benefits always far 
 outweigh the injuries in these untoward circumstances ; the mind 
 clears itself and is raised into personal independence and liberty 
 of thought. 
 
 You see here, dear cousin, amidst externally troublous and 
 thwarting relations of life the same effect on the spirit taking place 
 as that which you have experienced from the sickness of your 
 body — the spirit gains in freedom, independence and activity, and 
 grows more penetrating and more circumspect. These two ex- 
 periences, yours as well as mine, are of the highest importance in 
 the conduct of life, as regards its disturbed and difficult passages, 
 or its outward circumstances and life-relations ; for the victorious 
 spirit not only shows itself more independent and free, but many 
 a thing which first asserted itself as a hindrance often serves finally 
 
Foundation and Construction. 149 
 
 towards this very development and enfranchisement of spirit ; what 
 seems at first to cloud it, does in fact clear its vision. 
 
 In general, it seems to me, judging by my own light and indeed 
 by that of strangers as well, that the human spirit ought to fulfil 
 its duty of winning more independence and freedom through and 
 in life itself. It should therefore, independently and self-impelled, 
 but at the same time in conjunction with others, bind itself to 
 work for the culture, the guidance and development, and the 
 education of all that is truly for the good of humanity, and there- 
 fore especially to the watchful care of children. 
 
 It seems to me that this free, independently active spirit, 
 wherever it finds itself, should especially devote itself to cherish 
 the master-thought, the ground-idea of our time : — that is, the 
 education and development of man ; for it can only mirror itself, 
 and recognise its own features, in the surface of some work under- 
 taken in common with others. 
 
 I think that in our day, in numerous ways, this really represents 
 the struggle and the yearning of men's spirits in general under our 
 special circumstances ; and I firmly believe that it is the need of 
 your soul in particular ; a need felt by you your whole life long, but 
 not yet clearly acknowledged. The pure soul and the consciously 
 pure intellect regard as above all things else the culture of man- 
 kind by means of self-sacrificing, watchful care. This is their 
 basis of action, this their goal. And herein lies the well-spring, 
 dearest cousin, of that enduring love which you bear towards 
 children and child-culture, and also of the progressive and help- 
 ful care which you bestow upon the Kindergarten idea. 
 
 This twofold aspect of the work (at once basis and goal) is a 
 phenomenon which I have repeatedly observed in my life, and 
 from it flows that remark which I have already made above : — 
 The spirit which is free within itself, and pure, strives after a per- 
 sonal, i.e., an outwardly unfettered union with others for aiding 
 the development of the human being, especially in the world of 
 children, just as the spirit of mankind strives ever, in a precisely 
 analogous action, to become a freer spirit. 
 
 I sympathise heartily in your joy over your motherly union of 
 heart with your son Robert. A more beautiful and blessed ex- 
 
150 Letters of Fro eb el. 
 
 ample of the relation of mother to son cannot be imagined ; and 
 it bears witness, moreover, to what I was just now saying : — the 
 longing of the spirit, free within itself and pure, after intimate 
 communication of thought. In your case this intimate union of 
 spirits arose out of communion with Nature, and the emotions of 
 the soul which sprang from that source, and the thoughts which 
 then filled your minds. I will make this prayer with you : — May 
 life never rob him of the emotions and thoughts which then arose 
 within him ! When you write to him, send him my cordial good 
 wishes. And the cheerful confidence, supported by a thorough 
 union of soul and of family feeling, with which you view the life- 
 development of your Moritz, gives me much pleasure ; wherefore, 
 pray greet him, too, most cordially from me. 
 
 The present circumstances of your domestic relations impel 
 you once more to observe the remarkable manner in which you 
 are continually brought back into the sphere of the education of 
 children ; it is like some apparition that turns and winds itself 
 through all the paths of your life. If I do not mistake, I have 
 already previously called your attention to this, and expressed my 
 belief that you ought to have pursued this career further than you 
 did, and in fact, ought still to pursue it. 
 
 With the vigorous help of younger teachers you ought to plant 
 and bring into full fair blossoming — a Kindergarten ! 
 
 J. B. cherishes the hope of being appointed to the superintend- 
 ence of the Gera creche 1 (Bewahr-Anstait) next year. Pray write 
 me the truth of this in your next letter. I should be exceedingly 
 glad if it were so, and still more if the creche took on the name 
 of Kindergarten, as has been the case in Annaburg, Marienberg, 
 Liinen, and Homburg. People do indeed say, " What's in a 
 name ? A name is but a sound ; the thing is the real matter." 
 That is quite true in one sense : but the same thing under this 
 new name develops an entirely new spirit, we find ; and it is, after 
 
 1 Bewahr-Anstalt is precisely the German for the French Creche, an institu- 
 tion for keeping the children of poor working mothers safe during the day while 
 their parents are at their daily work. The system of the creche is now being 
 adopted in England, in London and in many provincial towns : Croydon for 
 one. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 5 i 
 
 all, the spirit which is the life of anything. Therefore do I wish 
 for a Kindergarten in the place, where you may co-operate in its 
 work. All your fore-feelings, dear good cousin, set forth in your 
 letter, which in this very moment I have again read through with 
 keen pleasure, would thus reach their fulfilment. You would com- 
 pletely " experience the reflex feeling of blessedness which always 
 flows back over our soul, and over our mind and body also, when 
 we have been amongst the children playing the Kindergarten 
 games." 
 
 I am grateful to you for your kind thought of me whilst playing 
 with the children on the merry afternoons you speak of. Such 
 little friendly reminiscences, dear cousin, are necessary to cheer 
 and refresh the life of the toiling man and the weary mind, for with- 
 out them he soon sinks into the Slough of Despond, and regards 
 his work as fruitless, like the Danaids eternally fetching water in 
 a sieve. 
 
 You would perhaps like a bird's-eye view of my excursion — so 
 here it is. In May I completed my course of teaching with the 
 students. In the first days of June I went to Gotha, to examine 
 the progress of the Kindergarten there, and to introduce one of 
 my later students as partner in the direction. 1 From Gotha I 
 went on to Marienberg, in the Upper Erzgebirge, 2 to be present at 
 the opening of the Marienberg Kindergarten on the 9th of June, 
 and here I stayed for eight days. Then I was in Annaburg (a few 
 miles off), where I visited Superintendent Schumann, and de- 
 livered an address in a conference of clergymen, on the develop- 
 ing and training methods which form my system of child-education. 
 From this place I went to Plauen, in Saxon Voigtland, 3 where 
 for a few days I tilled the land which. I had earlier sown, watered 
 it plentifully, and devoted especial care to the Kindergarten. 
 
 1 The Gotha Kindergarten was that under the direction of the well-known 
 August Kohler, familiar to all Kindergarten students as author of the Praxis 
 des Kindergartens, translated in part by Miss Mary Gurney under the title of 
 " Practical Guide to the Kindergarten." 
 
 2 The " Ore -Mountains " famous for their metallic treasures, dividing 
 Saxony from Bohemia. Marienberg is a little place five miles from the 
 Bohemian frontier, and about fifteen miles south of Chemnitz. 
 
 3 In the lower Erzgebirge, on the Saxon side, forming the extreme western 
 corner of Saxony. 
 
152 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 About the end of June I came back to Halle, and travelled 
 straight through to Quetz, 1 to Pastor Hildenhagen's, to arrange 
 a children's festival for the children of the Kindergarten there 
 (which has been open for a year now), in conjunction with" the 
 school children of the place. 
 
 On the 25th July this festival took place. Your newspaper, I 
 suppose, gave you an account of it ; but I send you herewith two 
 other accounts which seem to me to go deeper into the matter, 
 and yet are more simple in style than usual, especially that in 
 the General Intelligencer. At this children's festival there were 
 also present two mistresses from Hamburg, and Middendorff, who 
 came from Keilhau, as well as several former students of mine. 
 
 A definite result accrued from this for Hamburg, because it was 
 then and there decided to form a Kindergarten in that town ; 
 and later on, the idea developed so far that Alwine, Middendorff's 
 daughter, after completing her course of study, is to go there, 
 probably next spring, to assist in actually establishing the Ham- 
 burg Kindergarten. 2 
 
 In the beginning of August I travelled from Quetz to Bruns- 
 wick, Hanover and Bremen ; and was back again at Quetz by the 
 middle of August. In the three places named I worked, in re- 
 sponse to invitations I had received, towards the establishment of 
 a Kindergarten in each. What result will flow from my labours 
 lies as yet in the dusky bosom of the future. The id-ea of the 
 Kindergarten was eagerly received and warmly approved every- 
 where, especially in Brunswick. 
 
 I was at Eisenach on 25 th August, at the choral festival of the 
 Thuringian Choral Association ; and at the same time working 
 towards the establishment of a Kindergarten there. The main 
 idea of the system, which I expounded in an address upon the 
 subject delivered in the Town Hall, was warmly approved ; but 
 
 1 A little village a few miles north of Halle, in the province of Saxony. 
 
 2 This was in connection with Madame Doris Liitkens' Girls' High School, 
 at Hamburg, see No. 10, Part III. (See Part IV. for correspondence with 
 Madame Liitkens herself.) Alwine Middendorff became the wife of Herr 
 Wichard Lange, of Hamburg, editor of the standard edition of Froebel's works, 
 from which the present translators extracted the " Autobiography of Froebel." 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 53 
 
 whether it has struck root, and a Kindergarten will actually grow 
 out of it, remains yet in the hand of fate. 1 
 
 Now I returned home to Keilhau again, by way of Gotha and 
 Weimar ; but first I stayed a week amongst the children of a 
 clergyman 2 who is related to me, and whose daughters took huge 
 delight in our Kindergaten games. 
 
 In Gotha we celebrated the anniversary of the foundation of 
 the Gotha Kindergarten ; and in Weimar I was also able to work 
 for the Kindergarten. 
 
 It was after an absence of fourteen weeks that I returned to 
 Keilhau ; and found all of them busy with preparations for 
 autumn holiday journeys. 
 
 Now I must close, with cordial remembrances to all your dear 
 ones. Write soon again to your Cousin, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter XX. 
 
 Keilhau, >\th Feb., 1848. 
 Much-esteemed and dear Cousin, — 
 
 I am really not sure whether I answered your last kind letter 
 or not. Its contents so deeply impressed me, I was so long 
 occupied earnestly in considering what you said, and so made up 
 my mind that I must answer it at once, that I cannot tell whether 
 I did so or not. But let it be as it will ; if I did answer, then 
 you will see by this how I continue to be moved by your kind 
 communication, and if I did not answer, then this will at length 
 come to show you how seriously I have been occupied with your 
 thoughts. The considerations and experiences which we gather 
 in the unfettered world of soul and spirit are amongst the sweetest 
 flowers and the richest fruits of life, and are fraught with the 
 gravest consequences. 
 
 What can be of more concern to the educator than clear 
 glances into the region of existence and pure Being ? I have been 
 
 1 Fraiilein Trabert, a pupil of Froebel's, did afterwards found an excellent 
 Kindergarten in" Eisenach, which she conducted for thirty years. 
 
 2 Probably the pastor of Buttstedt, a village near Weimar. 
 
154 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 filled during this beginning of a new year, in an especial manner, 
 with thoughts on the relation of human existence to pure Being, 
 of the everlasting and permanent to the phenomenal and tran- 
 sitory, of the comprehensive unity to the individual unity, and also 
 with these problems as converted to the service of educational 
 requirements ; for example, the study of these relations and their 
 conditioning, in actual life, with all its limitations truly considered. 
 My mind is still full of these things. 
 
 And now I would beg of you, dear cousin, in this new year truly 
 to cherish interchange and union of mental and spiritual life with 
 all who surround you. The man who has arrived at clear self- 
 consciousness can give and impart to his fellows, far more, in- 
 finitely more, than one generally considers possible \ but the 
 solitary man, he who evidently stands alone, and especially he 
 to whom manifold spiritual glimpses are vouchsafed, must never 
 forget this — on the contrary, he must bring it vividly before him- 
 self and act upon it earnestly in practice — that such clear and 
 assured spiritual glimpses have been granted to him only in order 
 that he may evermore bring the invisible unity of spirit into 
 greater honour, more earnest culture, and more fruitful activity. 
 I perceive more and more how much we may prepare towards 
 this end in our teaching of quite little children, or indeed, how we 
 may even actually lay the foundations of it. And in such things 
 the true nature of the Kindergarten shows itself with ever greater 
 clearness and decision. How gladly would I write to you fully 
 upon this topic, but time does not suffice. May you find it 
 possible soon again to send me precious confidences like those 
 of your last letter. 
 
 The study which has so absorbingly occupied me since the 
 new year has centred itself chiefly around two books, whose 
 titles I must send you, as I want you to examine these books 
 somewhat carefully. It is true that men say ladies do not love 
 to read books scientifically written, and filled with a definite 
 teaching purpose. It is so much the more important that I should 
 learn from you if the books have proved as absorbing to you as 
 they have done to me. I am at all events sure of this ; I should 
 dearly like to read them with you, that we might choose out what- 
 
Foundation and Construction. 155 
 
 ever we both recognised as true in them, and apply it to the use 
 of a Kindergarten to be conducted and cared for by both of us 
 in common. Yes, dear cousin, that would be the greatest pleasure 
 I could have, and the most precious gift of life I could receive, 
 the crown and garland of honour completing my work, to found 
 and conduct a Kindergarten with just such a thoughtful, sensible, 
 lofty soul as yourself for my co-founder and colleague, in pure 
 spiritual and moral accord and association. But really this does 
 not absolutely require an outward and local companionship. Minds 
 can work in the most intimate union, though separated by long 
 distances of space ; and so I pray you go on with your life-work, 
 and send me cheering news of your watchful care and continued 
 interest either in a local Kindergarten, or at all events in the 
 Gera creche. 
 
 The titles of the above-mentioned books are : — 
 
 1. " L. Aime Martin on the Civilisation of Mankind through 
 Women ; or, the Education of the Mothers of Families." Tran- 
 slated by Dr. J. Leutbacher. 
 
 2. " Psyche, The History of the Development of the Soul," by 
 Dr. L. G. Carus. 1 
 
 1 The letter finishes abruptly thus, without signature. As regards the 
 " Psyche," see Herr Poesche's interesting account of it in the Introduction to 
 Part IV. of the present book. 
 
156 Letters of Fro eb el. 
 
 Appendix to Letter I. 
 of the series of letters addressed to Madame Schmidt, in Gera. 
 
 " Come, let us live for cur children." 
 
 Sketch 
 
 of a plan for founding and developing a 
 
 Kindergarten^ 
 
 or General Institution for increasing the comprehensive observation 
 
 of the life of children, especially by means of encouraging their 
 
 constant desire of activity. 
 
 Presented to 
 Ger?nan Wives and Maidens, 
 as a worthy means of celebrating the 400th Anniversary 
 of the invention of Printing, 
 for their Consideration and Co-operation. 
 
 Blankenburg, near Rudolstadt, in the Thuringian Forest, 
 
 1st 3fay, 1840. 
 
 Ye Wives and Maidens of Germany, 1 — 
 
 Woman's life and Child's love, Child's life and Woman's 
 sensibility, and in general the childward care and the womanly 
 soul, are only divided by an intellectual discrimination. In 
 essence they are all one. For God has placed the bodily and 
 mental progress and perpetuation of the human race, through 
 childhood, under the control of woman's heart and soul, and of 
 right womanly sensibility. This is a truth as deep-rooted as it is 
 
 1 Froebel's address is simply Ihr ("Ye!"), but this form has so entirely 
 passed away (if ever it was in use) that we have ventured to expand it as 
 above. 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 57 
 
 far-reaching and rich in results. The history of man from the 
 earliest ages to the present day bears witness of it. The poet 
 and the thinker testify to it, the philosopher and the investigator 
 of life acknowledge it. But life, in its manifold development and 
 many-sided culture — often acting against the feelings of the 
 mother, and in opposition to the womanly soul in general, as 
 well as to the contradiction of the needs of the child-life — 
 has brought about, through the giant-strength of external circum- 
 stances, an unnatural separation between childhood and woman's 
 life, between womanliness and child-life. Perhaps this separation 
 is but one of the wise decrees of Providence, for thereby the 
 original unity of these two elements is clearly made known; 
 and thereby, moreover, as with every other neglected and lost 
 possession, not only its high value will eventually come to be 
 profoundly realized, but also a vigorous endeavour will be aroused 
 on all sides to bring about once again that original union of 
 woman's life and true childward care which was granted to man 
 by God, through Nature and Mankind. To win this back again 
 must be the first care of all who are true friends of humanity 
 and of the realm of childhood, and who desire the honourable 
 appreciation of woman's soul. For the basis, the start and 
 direction of the whole future life of the man lies in the care of 
 the child, in the earliest watchful childward care by woman's 
 soul and woman's life. Who does not know this? Who does 
 not acknowledge it ? Who has not actually experienced it, or at 
 the least has not divined its truth? The following time, the 
 later years of life only give the wider development and the more 
 definite culture. The earliest childward care must therefore be 
 once again given over to women as a part of their lives ; woman's 
 life and childward care must in fact be made one, the womanly 
 soul and the enlightened observation of children must once again 
 unite. 
 
 To accomplish the aims set forth above, and to meet the 
 claims which so clearly make themselves heard, is certainly one 
 of the most sacred tasks of life. To solve such a problem would 
 be to grant to mankind the most blessed of gifts, for every 
 individual as for the race. 
 
158 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 But how is this to be done, in the face of that rupture of the 
 natural and primordial union of these life elements which we see 
 around us on all sides, and against the often irresistible and 
 destructive force of the outward relations of each one's life and 
 business occupation, as a citizen, or as a member of society? 
 How indeed, except by following the path God shows us in 
 Nature and in Life, and by pursuing it to its end ; although it is 
 a path hitherto trodden as a way of separation, and leads through 
 a life not natural, but of man's contrivance. Arrived at the end 
 we now turn the path towards its true goal, so as eventually to 
 bring it back once more to the original unity, by means of a 
 bridge or mediating course. Then, having passed along this way, 
 thus contrived with effort, we may at last arrive, with clear self- 
 consciousness and self-determination, at that point at which 
 Nature arrives of herself, all unconsciously and by instinct. 
 
 The primordial union of womanly life and motherly life with 
 childhood can only be won back again by a carefully planned 
 mediation between the external relations of women's lives, the 
 civic and social demands upon them, and the claim of the child's 
 being. And such a means of mediation, applicable to all classes 
 of society, and satisfying the demands made by all kinds of 
 social relations, necessitates the training of all kinds of women 
 engaged in minding children, children's nurses, maids, nursery- 
 governesses, and teachers (as well as male teachers and attend- 
 ants upon children of a somewhat more advanced age), who will 
 mediate or stand between and unite the necessities which press 
 upon the mother's heart — her wishes, cares, and endeavours — 
 and the needs of the children ; and their function is to be, to 
 attain, and to give, for the children's benefit, that which the 
 mother, even with the best will in the world, can neither be, 
 attain, nor give. 
 
 But it is impossible to mediate in this way (by means of 
 children's maids and nursery governesses), in all states of society, 
 such as the poorer classes, where the force of the struggle for 
 existence thrusts asunder mother's love and childward care ; and 
 this is shown by the institutions for the care of the little children 
 of the poor, the creches, etc., which womanly love and motherly 
 
Foundation and Construction. 1 59 
 
 feeling have called into existence. These institutions, however, 
 must be regarded as assuming the midway position between 
 mother and child, not individually but collectively; and for this 
 purpose they also must have cultured governesses and a suffi- 
 ciency of assistants. In this way this class of claims also is to be 
 satisfied. 
 
 To obtain these means of mediation, to work out their pre- 
 paration, is therefore the next problem to be solved. The need 
 for such a mediation declares itself loudly in all classes and rela- 
 tions of life. How mighty a cry goes up over the cruel want of 
 truly educational and what has been here called mediational care 
 of children; how piercing and often heart-rending is the grief of 
 the earnest educationist, the friend of mankind, and especially 
 the friend of childhood, over the shameful ill-management of the 
 early years of childhood ; a mismanagement proceeding partly 
 from ignorance and perversity, partly from carelessness, partly from 
 the distortion, or even the total absence of womanly, child-loving 
 sensibility. In place of development of the child-life we see re- 
 straint and repression; in place of encouragement of the innocent 
 and free activity inherited in every child, we see the intentional 
 crippling of its energies ; in place of awakened life-powers, we find 
 aptitudes lulled to slumber ; in place of an ever-growing vigour, 
 we find an ever-increasing languor ; and in place of an uplifting of 
 body and mind towards robust health, we find a deliberate degra- 
 dation down towards sickly weakness : or else we are confronted 
 with the wild and uncontrollable character which results when chil- 
 dren are uncared for and are left altogether to their own impulses. 
 But true watchful care over their little lives we miss altogether ; 
 and, in fact, true culture of the child-life and of the incessant 
 childish longing for activity, can be given to the children only 
 with great difficulty ; for the most part, therefore, it is not given 
 at all by the poor mothers, harassed as they are by the many 
 conflicting claims of their own life. To assist them in attaining 
 this care of child-life and this culture of childish powers, the 
 mothers shall now be welcome to our outstretched friendly hand. 
 And if the real unsophisticated womanly nature is to be satisfied, 
 and the claims of the child's life are to be fully met, the essential 
 
160 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 nature of the instruction of little children and the means needed 
 in its pursuit, must first of all be clearly ascertained ; and the 
 mediating members between mother and child must be carefully 
 trained in their use and application. That is, before all else, 
 women must be educated specially for the care of childhood. 
 
 What qualifications should be possessed by such women ? 
 Obviously they must be skilled in those things which are common 
 to both mother and child, since they are to play the part of 
 mediators, so that they can take the place of the mother as caring 
 for and instructing her child ; they must therefore be able to lend 
 a hand to the mistress of the house in her housewifely cares, 
 upon emergency, as well as able to relieve her of the burden of 
 watching, attending on, and educating her child. Wherefore 
 such women must be trained in all the work of the house, as well 
 as in the education and care of children. 
 
 But how is this to be accomplished ? Unquestionably, with 
 every claim of life is given the means of its satisfaction, and every 
 want implies a remedy not far off. Is the need which we express 
 a true one ? Then it necessarily follows that at some time or 
 other, nay, in the present time, we can, if we search for it, discover 
 the means of satisfying it. And so it happens here, in very truth. 
 
 The conditions to be fulfilled in this case are both inward and 
 outward in their nature. 
 
 As regards outward conditions we have already the creches, 
 etc.; we have also several institutions for training nurses and 
 domestic servants, and finally, we have most vigorous Ladies' 
 Societies for local charities ; but we find here, as always, that the 
 true way to make these powers helpful, either for individual 
 cases or for the general need, is to bring about a vitalizing union 
 of all the agencies, and to form from out various detached or 
 isolated efforts one general organization, complete and inter- 
 connected within itself. 
 
 As regards inward conditions, we observe that in the soul of 
 every German wife or maiden lies a sympathy, more or less deep, 
 with the being and the well-being of children, joined to a sense of 
 the profound importance of childhood. We are continually meet- 
 ing with the perception of these feelings amongst womankind, 
 
Foundation and Construction. 161 
 
 coupled, for the most part, with a sorrowful recognition of the 
 hindrances to which the mother's love is exposed by the sur- 
 rounding conditions of her life, which prevent her from devoting 
 herself to her child as she desires ; so that she cannot be to him, 
 or provide for him, what she feels instinctively she ought to be, 
 and ought to provide. We find, indeed, that there arises a longing 
 for the very kind of mediating influence that we have described — 
 for a third power, which shall bridge the gap set by the life of our 
 day between the mother's love and the child's need ; aided — not 
 weakened — by which power the mother's love may, with greater 
 clearness and precision, supply the child's needs. But the neces- 
 sary force to create this mediating power is wanting, because of 
 the general isolation of agencies. Our duty is therefore to unite 
 the separate agencies, to elevate individual feelings into a universal 
 perception, to organize a common achievement out of what is now 
 the individual desire ; to which purpose we here hold out the 
 hand of fellowship, and indicate the means and the direction by 
 which the movement should proceed. 
 
 Now, therefore, we hereby invite all German wives and maidens 
 to unite with right German enthusiasm in founding and developing 
 a General i?tstitution for the complete culture of child- life up to school- 
 age. We claim their help, in a genuine German spirit, in one 
 common effort to found and develop the German Ki?idergarten 
 (or child-garden). As in a garden, under God's favour, and by 
 the care of a skilled, intelligent gardener, growing plants are culti- 
 vated in accordance with Nature's laws, so here, in our child- 
 garden, our Kindergarten, shall the noblest of all growing things, 
 men (that is children, the germs and shoots of humanity), be 
 cultivated in accordance with the laws of their own being, of God, 
 and of Nature. The path to be followed by such a method of 
 education shall be shown, and its general outline traced. Thus 
 shall this institution attain the purpose for which it is to exist, 
 and fulfil the pressing need which has called it forth; viz., it 
 shall educate female and male "gardeners" who will be able to under- 
 take the earliest care and educatio?i of childhood. We invite you 
 to this enterprise with a complete manly confidence in the result, 
 which cannot be shaken or disturbed, because our own long 
 
 M 
 
1 62 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 effort towards this end — an effort continued over many years — has 
 already received encouraging sympathy from many sides, at the 
 hands of the most cultured, the noblest, and at the same time the 
 most simply natural of our German ladies. 
 
 The object of our undertaking is to banish, at least from the 
 earliest culture of childhood, all that is undecided and uncertain, 
 and hence destructive or prejudicial, in its operation ; and to base 
 that culture on the eternal principles or laws manifesting them- 
 selves in Nature, in the history of man, and by revelation, as well 
 as on the laws of the most rigidly reasoned thought. 
 
 German mothers, actively engaged in the midst of our social 
 life, full of feeling, thought, and good sense, will see at once the 
 importance of bringing up from the very earliest development of 
 their intelligence the children whom they themselves have borne 
 with so much pain and care, and whom they have nursed at their 
 own breasts, surrounded by a culture and method of education 
 closely corresponding to their own intuitive desires, hopes, and 
 wishes ; and further, this education must be also connected with, 
 and grow out of, the life granted to the children by God and 
 Nature through these mothers themselves ; and finally, it must be 
 also in harmony with the divine, the human, and the natural 
 elements of childhood. 
 
 The first care, the first task, of our undertaking is, then — as has 
 already been said above — the training of women versed in child- 
 ward care for the various relations and the varying necessities of 
 our social life ; nurses, nursery governesses, and Kindergarten 
 mistresses ; masters and superintendents of both sexes for the 
 service of the beneficent institutions which we have in many 
 places for the care of children — creches, playgrounds, industrial 
 schools, and infant schools ; and this training must be full of a 
 childlike spirit, and imbued with the keen perception of child- 
 nature, cherishing it and lovingly developing it in all ways. 
 Already numerous inquiries have reached us for persons so 
 trained. 
 
 Mediating between the life of the mother and of the child, as 
 has been already observed, the two first classes at least, the nurses 
 and nursery governesses, must on the one side be competent in 
 
Foundation and Construction. 163 
 
 household work, and must on the other be properly qualified to 
 care for and guide the child. This last condition necessitates the 
 nursery governesses (and, indeed, children's teachers of both sexes) 
 being well grounded in the nature and the course of development 
 of the child, being penetrated with love for children, and being 
 thoroughly acquainted with the needs of child-life and the way to 
 fulfil those needs by means of appropriate watchful care and edu- 
 cation; moreover, it implies that they shall be drawn, from their 
 very entrance into their sphere of work, towards the knowledge 
 of Nature, and the close observation of life, and shall be able to 
 guide the child in a corresponding course of education. 
 
 On this account the professors of the proposed institution 
 would be chosen from amongst men of the profoundest insight 
 and richest knowledge, quick to perceive and develop the ground- 
 principles of the universe as the principles of their own individual 
 life. And as it requires the most accomplished teachers, so also 
 would the institution require the best educational collections and 
 appliances for its work ; such as would enable it to deal with its 
 own sphere of culture, and to connect itself with the next following 
 series of educational institutions. 
 
 To attain, as perfectly as possible, the aim of the general scheme 
 of education thus set forth, there must be connected with the insti- 
 tution for training nurses and teachers, an institution for the care 
 of little children, and for teaching them suitable occupations, as, 
 indeed, has been already pointed out ; and to this second institu- 
 tion little children of all ages up to school-age should be admitted. 
 In this Kindergarten, using the word in its narrowest sense, the 
 students of our training college would prepare themselves for their 
 future vocation, under the guidance of experienced teachers of 
 children, thoroughly imbued with the educational ideas already 
 set forth. The Kindergarten, while useful for a practising school 
 for the students, would therefore, at the same time, serve as a 
 normal school to other similar institutions for children, enabling 
 them to imitate its methods. 
 
 Now, turning to the subject of the assistance which should be 
 rendered to the mistress of the house, we see that the nurses or 
 nursery governesses must at the same time be receiving their 
 
164 Letters of Froebel 
 
 necessary instruction in the care of all housewifely and domestic 
 affairs, and must have suitable opportunities afforded them for 
 the needful practice of these things. The general domestic con- 
 cerns of the institution itself would furnish excellent materials and 
 subjects too for these studies, which would be under the care of 
 a firm and enlightened principal, thoroughly skilled in all house- 
 wifely matters. And the most accomplished teachers for woman's 
 handiwork, needlework, etc., would also be required, as within the 
 general scope of the educational curriculum. In one word, our 
 institution must not be found wanting on any side, in any phase, 
 of the sphere of culture which has been set forth as worthy to be 
 adopted ; and even the culture of Nature herself, especially the 
 care of plants and flowers, must form part of the work. 
 
 The great end and aim of the whole undertaking, its object and 
 purpose, finally, is the Education of Man from its earliest beginning, 
 by means of action, feeling, and thought, in complete accord with 
 his own inward being and outward relations, and the development 
 of man into a state of unity with his fellow men, with Nature, and 
 with God in the truest sense of the term — especially, therefore, into 
 thorough and comprehensive unity of life ; this to be attained by 
 the right care of child-life, the encouragement of childish activities, 
 the development and formation, culture and presentation of the 
 pure child-nature. Hence, in the scope of such an institution, 
 nothing must be found that is antagonistic to or destructive 0! 
 such purposes ; while, on the other hand, we must search out 
 everything that can contribute to our aims, and bring it, when 
 found, into union with our work. Hence, further, in the genera 1 
 conduct, and even in the appearance of things in such an institu- 
 tion, nothing meaningless or irrational must be found ; on the 
 contrary, not only the facts which surround the child, but every- 
 thing with which he comes in contact, must carry with it some 
 distinctly expressed relation towards a higher unity of life. 
 
 However vast may appear the development of such a compre- 
 hensive educational unity, embracing our relations with man, with 
 Nature, and with God, nay, however vast it may actually be, it 
 will at the same time provide for the claims and needs of the 
 smallest and simplest life-groups, without defect or excess of cul- 
 
Foundation and Construction. 165 
 
 ture, even down to the individual man and his personal relation- 
 ship, through the living force of the spirit of unity which will 
 dominate the whole. And however laborious may appear the 
 development of so vast an undertaking, the path securely leading 
 thereto has already been in great part blocked out and made 
 level. 1 
 
 It lies, namely, in the active, clearly denned co-operation of 
 many persons towards one end and purpose, in trustful union ; 
 each of them contributing an amount of money, relatively small, 
 but to be actually paid down at once, and thus collectively pro- 
 viding a fund sufficient for the development of the work they have 
 undertaken in common. 
 
 Let the single subscription or share required for the development of the 
 general educational work which has been above proposed to German wives 
 and maidens for their acceptance be ten thalers Prussian currency (about thirty 
 shillings sterling). 
 
 And let us suppose that at least a hundred wives and maidens of the more 
 distinguished classes of society at once seize the conception, in the deep signifi- 
 cance which has been here shown to belong to it, and in the far-reaching range 
 of beneficent work which lies before it in the future ; and suppose that each of 
 them sees it to be so true and so highly important that she not only subscribes 
 her ten thalers for her own share, but also by using her influence amongst her 
 own circle of friends and acquaintances finds ten other wives or maidens whom 
 she can win over to the cause in like manner ; then the 
 
 Hundred 
 
 German wives and maidens, founders of the work, at once increase to a 
 
 Thousand 
 
 German wives and maidens, who actually begin the work. 
 
 It is quite safe to assume, from the truly human interest and religious spirit 
 of the whole conception, and from the purity of the feelings, and the life full of 
 love towards mankind and towards God, which characterise German women, 
 that either by the direct influence of this thousand subscribers, or at all events 
 
 1 [Note by the German Editor.] For example, in Bern, Switzerland, the 
 Bernese City Girls' School, founded soon after 1830, entirely by municipal 
 funds, and without state help, and so maintained, was felt to be insufficient for 
 the needs of the community. Therefore, in 1836, some of the inhabitants 
 formed themselves into a society, providing funds as shareholders, and founded 
 the Citizens' Girls' School in Bern. Langethal was invited to become direc- 
 tor ; and his acceptance of the post was the cause of his breaking with Froebel. 
 Langethal's successor was Frohlich. See Frohlich's speech to the Congress 
 of Teachers at Frankfurt, in 1857, on the subject of girls' schools, reported in 
 the Rhine News (Rkeiniscke Blatter) of Diestervveg. It contains genuine results 
 of the Pestalozzi-Froebelian method of education, or pedagogy. 
 
1 66 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 by their influence at second-hand or third-hand, 10,000 more German wives 
 and Maidens will be won over to active co-operation in the undertaking. 
 Therefore we have a new series of 
 
 Ten Thousand 
 
 German wives and maidens who will carry forward the work. And this brings 
 us to a total of 
 
 Eleven Thousand One Hundred 
 
 German wives and maidens engaged in constructing the work. 
 But let us assume that only 
 
 Ten Thousand 
 
 actually join ; and that each of these takes up a single subscription or share 
 of ten Prussian thalers (thirty shillings sterling) : then we shall have a total 
 fund of 
 
 100,000 Prussian Thalers (^"15,000 sterling) 
 
 as the capital with which we have to deal. 
 
 The actual payment of the money should begin as soon as the establishment 
 of the institution is ready to be proceeded with, and should be arranged in 
 such a way as is most secure for the interests of each shareholder and of the 
 whole body of shareholders, and the instalments should be made easy. 
 Further details on these heads would be given when the subscription list is 
 full, and when the execution of the plan which has been sketched above can 
 become a living reality. 
 
 The educational work which has been described would be the permanent 
 possession — ever renewing itself, ever developing itself into greater perfection 
 — of all those German wives and maidens who share in it ; and they will have 
 contributed towards the elevation, firstly, of their own German nation, but also, 
 at the same time, in truth, of the whole human race ; towards the welfare of 
 their own children, of all German children, yes, and beyond this, of all 
 children whomsoever ; towards the peace of their own families, of the entire 
 German family life, and, indeed, of all family life wheresoever it may be ; 
 towards a great blessing for their people, for all peoples, for mankind, and so, 
 finally, for the present and for all the future ! For the object of this under- 
 taking is twofold : Firstly, the realization in as clear and perfect a manner as 
 possible of the fundamental conception of a mode of education based upon the 
 early and complete training of human life, and satisfying the needs of child- 
 hood by a genuine encouragement of the spontaneous activity of children, 
 through the medium of a normal institution, or model school, accurately 
 planned for the care of children, for providing them with certain games and 
 with certain occupations ; that is the institution which we have symbolically 
 named a Kindergarten. Here the fundamental conception will take on a 
 visible shape, and show its applicability to the realization of our educational 
 intuitions and investigations, and to actual practical work. And the Second 
 object is the establishment of an institution for the training of nursery 
 governesses and teachers in the early education of children, according to prin- 
 ciples founded upon examination of child-nature, and upon observation and 
 culture of child-life and childish activity. 
 
 These two institutions would, each severally, and both in union together, 
 make a complete system under the name of Kindergarten, a name which 
 expresses in a symbolical manner their inmost and deepest meaning. 
 
 The capital named above would be applied in the following ways : — 
 
Foundation and Construction. 167 
 
 I. The acquisition of the necessary land for the institution ; with room for 
 buildings, courtyard, garden, and playground. 
 • 2. The erection of the necessary buildings. 
 
 From the sympathy and encouragement which from the first and down to 
 the present time the worshipful Town Council and the honourable citizens 
 of this place 1 have extended towards my ideas, it is to be confidently hoped 
 that they will continue their support to the actual plan now elaborated, so that 
 all business relations will be made easy, and particularly that they will grant 
 a suitable piece of ground and perhaps also sufficient timber for the buildings, 
 as a free gift from the town. 
 
 3. The purchase of suitable and necessary furniture and domestic utensils. 
 
 4. The purchase of the necessary educational materials, collections of speci- 
 mens, etc. 
 
 i 5. The secure provision for wages and salaries for the staff and their 
 assistants, the persons in whose hands will lie the training, teaching, and 
 culture to be given, and, in fact, all persons engaged in the institution ; and 
 especially the establishment of an inalienable capital fund whose interest will 
 be applied specially to this purpose. 
 
 6. The establishment of a system which will make it possible to carry out 
 some such plan as has already been hinted at, whereby the best instructors 
 shall be obtained in each department of children's education, and not only 
 obtained, but permanently retained in the institution's service, and their future 
 provided for ; therefore, upon their appointment they should become members 
 of a life-insurance corporation, and receive a policy which would assure a 
 maintenance to their family in case of the early death of its head. 
 
 The permanence and progressive development of this undertaking will be 
 secured through the general support of the public and the fees of the students, 
 the details of which must be settled later on. 
 
 The government of the whole institution will lie with the general body of 
 all the subscribing and supporting wives and maidens, after a manner to be 
 particularized more in detail later on. They will choose from their number 
 presidents and membei-s of council in the way which has been found best and 
 most representative in similar associations of shareholders. A like method 
 will provide treasurers and trustees for the whole scheme. Further regulations 
 would be entrusted to a committee to draw up, after consultation with the 
 persons most thoroughly acquainted with these matters. 
 
 A few additional points need special mention. 
 
 The first hundred wives and maidens who subscribe towards the under- 
 taking must be always honourably distinguished as its Founders, and must be 
 so recorded in the foundation deeds. Therefore a careful and accurate register 
 must be kept of all subscriptions from the opening of the list. 
 
 As soon as the first hundred names have been subscribed, the whole under- 
 taking will be submitted to the government of the principality (of Schwarz- 
 burg) for approval, and the gracious favour and protection of these high 
 personages solicited. 
 
 When the first thousand names have been subscribed in due course, the 
 undertaking shall be set on foot, and especially the building shall at once 
 begin, and the foundation stone of the principal block be laid. Beneath the 
 foundation stone shall be placed, in some way which shall be recognised as 
 the best known way to preserve them imperishably, the names of the hundred 
 
 Blankenburc 
 
1 68 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Founders, and also the names of the first thousand who establish the work, 
 and the names of all the wives and maidens who up to that time have assisted 
 in this establishment, as a permanent memorial of the beginning of the whole 
 work. 
 
 The advice of the most experienced German architects will be invited about 
 the buildings, their external and internal arrangement, and the style of their 
 construction, which must depend upon the uses they are to serve. 
 
 For the utmost security of the capital, the buildings, furniture, collections, 
 etc., shall all be insured in whatever fire insurance company is accounted the 
 safest. 
 
 Since the whole body of the wives and maidens who are subscribers and 
 supporters of the institution are the permanent possessors of the original 
 property which will thus have been created, as well as of all the subsidiary 
 property which will collect around it in the progress of the undertaking, such 
 as materials, tools, furniture, various collections of objects, etc., and, in fact, 
 of the whole undertaking in every part, they are by consequence the sole 
 persons entitled to the net profit or surplus shown after defraying the expenses 
 of maintenance, expansion of the general scope, and of providing for greater 
 and ever greater security of the whole work. In business language this means 
 the payment of dividends in hard cash ; but as the aim of the founders of the 
 institution, in creating it, is that it shall continually develop towards a more 
 general understanding of the care of children and a more general provision for 
 satisfactory and complete children's education — especially as relates to children 
 under school age — subscribers will receive the value of those dividends, 
 only in one or more of the following forms : — 
 
 1. Use of the institution for purposes of study and culture, for themselves 
 Or for others, at an agreed rate, the charge to be debited against the amount 
 of the dividend declared. 
 
 2. Use of the collections, especially of the teaching materials and appliances 
 of the institution, also at an agreed rate. 
 
 3. Purchase of complete materials for games and occupations for their own 
 use, at agreed rates. 
 
 Further advantages to subscribers would be that young persons recom- 
 mended by them for admission as students would take precedence of others ; 
 and so also, if subscribers and non-subscribers applied at the same time to the 
 institution for trained students as nurses, maids, or teachers, the inquiries of 
 subscribers would be attended to first. 
 
 But all these advantages, important in themselves and to the 
 individual subscribers as they may be, and as they will become, 
 especially as years go on, are quite inappreciable when compared 
 with the advantage which will arise to mankind from the embodi- 
 ment of the idea itself, the establishment and working-out of the 
 unifying thought which lies at the root of the whole undertaking. 
 For the starting point, the centre, and the closing point of the 
 whole scheme, that which determines and organizes all the in- 
 fluences and lines of force radiating from these points and re- 
 turning again to them, is the idea which gives life to the whole, 
 the thought which is the basis of the whole, the -conception, 
 
Foundation and Construction. 169 
 
 namely, of the essential Unity of all Life, the certain truth of 
 which makes itself spontaneously manifest in the actions of men's 
 lives, in their purest feeling, and in their clearest thinking. This 
 Unity, this certain basis of all life, is God ; or as the more usual 
 statement of this truth puts it — God is the Father of all mankind. 
 Men must therefore bestir themselves to be truly God's children, 
 to live their lives as such. Before all else must we strive to 
 educate, by all the various modes of development, our fellow 
 men, our children ; using as our point of departure the cherish- 
 ing and encouragement of their craving for incessant activity in 
 movement, in thought, and in creative actions ; so that they may 
 raise into an object of firm belief, and may thus bring actually 
 into view, and make manifest in elevated feelings and noble 
 actions, the longing of the human soul for a life at one with 
 Nature and Humanity, and, above all and beyond all, with God ! 
 Wherefore — 
 
 " Let us live for our Children /" 
 
 We have felt irresistibly impelled at this time of the festival of 
 the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing to issue this 
 invitation and to make this appeal ; for the event we are com- 
 memorating is not only of the highest importance to mankind in 
 general, and to Germans in particular, but appeals in a special 
 manner to the world of German women and of children. For 
 without this discovery how and where could the culture and the 
 condition of women's lives have been improved ? how could all 
 their separate needs, claims, and desires have been known with- 
 out this art, which collects them into one universal statement, 
 and raises them to a possession shared in by all ? and especially, 
 how should we have fared with the education of children and the 
 care of childhood in general, and with those of German children 
 in particular? Wherefore it behoves the whole community of 
 German women to feel thankful for this beneficial invention, and 
 to express their thanks in some practical form upon this high and 
 festal occasion. Such thankfulness, and such a practical proof 
 thereof, is necessary, as would be shown in causing the gracious 
 
170 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 benefit, the divine gift of unity of spirit and of Life, whose 
 appreciation has been so wonderfully aided by this invention of 
 printing, to flow, at the earliest possible moment, over the child- 
 hood of mankind. We need a new mode of childward care, con- 
 ceived in this spirit and working from the earliest years towards 
 this goal ; we need a new method of education for mankind, to 
 be begun in his earliest years ; and by consequence we hold the 
 carrying out of the plan set forth above as the most appropriate 
 and satisfactory manner, the most worthy and permanent, the 
 fullest of blessing and of progressive force, in which the collective 
 wives and maidens of Germany can celebrate this festival of the 
 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. We once more 
 invite them with confidence, therefore, to join in this undertaking ; 
 nay, we boldly claim their support in establishing this work, 
 penetrated as we are with its inmost truth and deepest import- 
 ance ; and we dare go further, and affirm our belief, at this time 
 of the Jubilee Festival of Printing, that this invention can scarcely 
 be put to a work of more lasting importance and of more blessed 
 influence than the printing of the foundation-deeds of the pro- 
 posed universal, unifying work of German wives and maidens in 
 the training and care of children. 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Blankenburg, near Rudolstadt, in the Thuringian Forest. 
 
 1 st May, 1840. 
 
 As the idea which lies at the root of the above sketch immediately excited 
 the general interest of a rather large meeting, to which it was submitted as a 
 preliminary test ; and as it called forth a general feeling that it was an idea 
 which must find great favour, particularly amongst women, because of its 
 nature and because of the special circumstances of the time of its appearance, 
 and would therefore immediately take on the practical form of subscriptions for 
 shares, it was considered necessary that the majority of those present favour- 
 able to the idea should form an association for its support until some general 
 statement could be laid before the honourable subscribers themselves, on the 
 basis of which statement the method for proceeding further in the matter 
 could be determined, and be then submitted to them in some public manner. 
 
Foundation and Co7ist ruction. 171 
 
 All notices about the matter bear the signature of the — 
 
 " Society for Promoting an Educational Undertaking by the 
 Work of German Wives and Maidens ; " 
 
 and similarly all communications (which should be postage-paid) should be 
 addressed to the — 
 
 " Society for Promoting, etc., etc., Blankenburg, near Rudol- 
 stadt, Principality of Schwarzburg." 
 
 Friedrich Wilhelm Witz, Burgomaster, 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 Wilhelm Middendorff, 
 J. Barop. 
 
 Blankenburg and Keilhau, 
 12th March, 1840, 
 
PART III, 
 PROPAGATION AND EXTENSION, 
 
 in 
 
PROPAGATION AND EXTENSION. 
 
 Introduction. 1 
 I. 
 
 FroebeFs Propaganda for his Kindergarten. 
 
 FTAT agencies were set in motion by Froebel to pro- 
 pel pagate and extend his ideas far and wide ? The 
 answer to this question is necessary for the right 
 understanding of these letters ; and therefore our 
 next task must be to set it forth. The basis of Froebel's work 
 after 1837 is the development of his wonderfully acute inven- 
 tion, or discovery as we ought rather to call it, of a complete 
 course of games and occupations for the Kindergarten, that is to 
 say, the working out of its material side. The games and oc- 
 cupations which he had created in the silence of solitude, often 
 with locked doors, living the life of a hermit, now had to be 
 carefully illustrated and made plain by lithographs and direc- 
 tions, to be packed up by the work-people at his Kindergarten 
 Factory (Beschaftigungs-Anstalt), and pushed in a mercantile way. 
 The gifts thus made their way through the toy-shops to the chil- 
 dren in the bosoms of their families ; and this purely mercantile 
 method was the first form of Froebel's propaganda. And also 
 Froebel's own travelling trunk at this time was never unprovided 
 with sets of his gifts, etc., which he required for his demonstrations. 
 Whilst the joiner diligently plied his plane, making building- 
 cubes after Froebel's models, Froebel with almost unwearied 
 energy wielded the pen as letter writer and essayist. His writings 
 constitute the second form of his propaganda. Their mass is 
 such that it has hardly been yet thoroughly looked through, and 
 the present collection of letters is but a small sample of the 
 correspondence which he conducted, chiefly in the interest of his 
 
 1 By the German Editor, Herr Poesche. 
 175 
 
1 76 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 system. Articles of larger or smaller dimensions were contri- 
 buted by him to his three periodical publications, the Sunday 
 Journal (Sonntagsb/alt), 1838 ; l the Weekly Journal of Educa- 
 tion ( IVochenschrift, etc.), 1850; and the Journal for Friedrich 
 FroebeFs Educational Aims (Zeitschrift, etc.), 1851; and as for 
 independent literary works, we have the little books of " Songs 
 for Mothers and Nursery Songs" (Mutter- und-Kose-Lieder), the 
 "Hundred Ball-game Songs," etc.; the publication of which, 
 by the way, took almost all his means and brought him into 
 great financial uncertainty. Whatever Froebel had learnt by 
 study, or during his wanderings, and had brought into a practical 
 or literary form, now found its value and application in the 
 Kindergarten, his own special field of work. If he heard that 
 one Kindergarten child had said to another child not yet in the 
 Kindergarten, " Oh, do come with me to the Kindergarten ! " he 
 was highly delighted ; and these children who were themselves so 
 happy in the Kindergarten that they were always inviting others 
 to enter, he rightly used to call his best and most successful 
 propagandists. At the time of Froebel's death (1852) there were 
 at least twenty-five Kindergartens. In the spring of 1848, in a 
 letter to Ida Seele, he enumerated " sixteen genuine and recog- 
 nised Kindergartens." Institutions for the care of children, under 
 male direction, he had founded as early as 1839 in Dresden, 
 where Frankenberg, formerly a teacher at Keilhau, was the prin- 
 cipal, and early during " the forties" in Frankfurt, with Hochstetter 
 and Schneider as principals. But these first " sixteen genuine 
 Kindergartens " seem to demand special record here. They are 
 as follows : — 
 
 Blankenburg : June, 1840. 
 
 Rudolstadt : Dec, 1840. 
 
 Gera 2 : Jan., 1841 (Madame Schmidt). 
 
 1 As some authorities {e.g , Hanschmann) give 1837 as the date of the 
 commencement of the Sonntagsblatt, while Froebel always gives 1838, we 
 applied to Madame Froebel on the point. She informs us that the first number 
 was written in 1837, but not published till 1838. It continued till 1840. 
 
 2 Not 1840, as the German Editor gives it, for see Letter VII. to Madame 
 Schmidt, Part I., of 30th Jan., 1841. 
 
Propagation and Extension. \JJ 
 
 Darmstadt : 1844 (Ida Seele. Later on a preparatory school 
 for boys and girls was added, under two of Froebel's Kin- 
 dergarten students, Henriette Ackermann and Therese 
 Langguth). 
 Quetz : 1846 l (Pastor Hildenhagen and his sister-in-law, 
 
 Amalie Kriiger, one of Froebel's Kindergarten students). 
 Homburg : 1847 (Privy Councillor Miiller's wife). 
 Dresden : 1847 (Liiise Frankenberg, Kindergarten of the 
 
 Women's Charitable Institution). 
 Gratz : 1847 (Ida Weider). 
 Marienberg : 1847 (Auguste Steiner). 
 Annaburg : 1847 (Anna Hesse). 
 Hildburghausen : 1847 (Amalie Henne). 
 Zo blitz : 1847 (Herr Kromer, certificated teacher). 
 Liinen : 1847 (Marie Christ). 
 Gotha : 1847 (Herr August Kohler). 
 Erfurt: March, 1848 (Auguste Michaelis). 2 
 Hamburg: May, 1848 (Alwine Middendorff in Madame Doris 
 
 Liitkens' School). 
 In Upper Ingelheim and Gaisburg, near Stuttgart (Principal, 
 the wife of Privy Legation Councillor von Pistorius), Froebel intro- 
 duced his occupations into the children's creches already estab- 
 lished there ; but Kindergartens, strictly so called, did not yet 
 exist there in 1848. 
 
 Of these first centres of Kindergarten work, those in the 
 west (Frankfurt and Darmstadt), probably through the narrowing 
 influence of Folsins;, 3 showed themselves the least fruitful in the 
 
 1 This no doubt should be 1846 (not 1847, as the German Editor gives it), for 
 Froebel says, in Letter XIX. to Madame Schmidt, in Part I., that he went to 
 Quetz in June, 1847, to hold a children's festival at the Kindergarten, then 
 already a year old. 
 
 2 No relation to Madame Michaelis, one of the translators and editors of this 
 book. The date of opening is as above, and not 1847, as in the German edition ; 
 for see p. 241. Of the teachers named in this list, Madame Michaelis knew 
 well Ida Seele, from whom she received lessons in the gifts, and whose Kin- 
 dergarten in Berlin (founded after Mile. Seele's marriage with Herr Vogeler), 
 she often visited ; and Amalie Kriiger, who was at that time teaching the prac- 
 tical occupations under the Berlin Erziehungs Verein, founded by the Baroness 
 von Marenholtz- Biilow, who herself taught the theory of education there. 
 
 3 See the Introduction to Part IV. We may also add an interesting and 
 
 N 
 
178 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 true spirit of Froebel and the least active in propaganda work. 
 The Prussian Kindergartens (Annaburg, Erfurt and Liinen), were 
 crushed by a decree of the Prussian Minister, Von Raumer (7th 
 August, 185 1). On the other hand, Dresden, Hamburg, Gratz 
 and Gotha had a most successful career, of which more anon. 
 
 To his published method ox praxis of the Kindergarten Froebel 
 added personal training of Kindergarten teachers by a definite 
 course of instruction in a Training College; and his students 
 became the most effective means for preserving and extending his 
 ideas. Froebel knew right well that it would be so, and con- 
 sequently he not only gave regular courses in Blankenburg, 
 Keilhau, Liebenstein (1849) an d Marienthal (1850-1852), but as 
 a travelling teacher, or in a certain measure as a peripatetic phil- 
 osopher, he gave courses, followed by valuable results, in Dresden 
 (winter of 1848-49), and in Hamburg (winter of 1849-50). 
 
 His fourth method of propaganda was to throw open from 
 time to time the doors of his study, of the Kindergarten and of 
 the class-rooms of the Training College, and to go out amongst 
 the people along with the children, Kindergarten students, pro- 
 fessors and other friends, and there to give a specimen of the 
 practical side of his work in a festival of games and youthful 
 sports conducted on a large scale. Examples of this are the fes- 
 tival at Quetz, near Halle (25th July, 1847), that held on the 
 common at Rudolstadt (18th August, 1848), and that- held on 
 the Altenstein, near the Liebenstein Spa (3rd July, 1850). As 
 to the last-named festival, I can bear witness from my own per- 
 sonal observation, of the deep roots it struck, and the powerful 
 effect produced by it amongst the people in favour of FroebePs 
 system. 
 
 Froebel reaped less reward from his fifth method of propa- 
 ganda, the founding of Educational Associations, as in 1845, at 
 Eichfeld, Schwarza, Kirchhasel, Rudolstadt^and Saulfeld. Genu- 
 
 valuable anecdote as to this in one of Ida Seele's charming Reminiscences of 
 Froebel, in the Viennese journal, Kindergarten, April, 1888. A cat ran 
 up a tree in the midst of a group of children being taught by Folsing. Froebel, 
 who stood by, hurriedly whispered, " Connect your game with the cat," for he 
 saw that pussy possessed every child's attention at that moment. But Folsing 
 not only disregarded the hint, but took offence at the interruption. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 1 79 
 
 ine leaders and qualified guides of such associations were wanting 
 in these small places, and consequently they dwindled away 
 directly Froebel withdrew his personal co-operation. But Froebel 
 himself, judging from his Swiss experiences, set great store by these 
 Educational Associations. Thus he writes in December, 1847, 
 to Felsberg : — " The Kindergarten and Educational Associations 
 unite with the festivals of children's games and youthful sports to 
 form, in my opinion, the fundamental harmony, the all-uniting 
 triad or common-chord, of the elevation of the People, the Father- 
 land, and the Family. Therefore are they to be cherished above 
 everything." 
 
 From time to time Froebel would call together his colleagues, 
 teachers, and friends in "Teachers' Meetings" to examine and 
 further develop his system, as in 1848 at Rudolstadt, and 185 1 
 at the Liebenstein Spa. Thither would come the Kindergarten 
 teachers to interchange their knowledge, their experience, their 
 observation, under learned and highly placed educationists (such 
 as Dr. Peter, Dr. Diesterweg, etc.); and to work diligently and 
 enthusiastically for several days together under the eye and per- 
 sonal direction of the master himself. Could there be a more 
 intensely powerful means than this for the propagation of his 
 educational system ? 
 
 And finally, the sixth method must be referred to and extolled ; 
 FroebeFs extraordinary activity in sowing the seed broadcast 
 when on his journeys. Every year he left his home several times 
 to enlist recruits by his games, his publications, his inspiriting 
 addresses ; to delight children, to call Kindergartens, Educational 
 Associations, and the like, into existence : — as, for example, on his 
 great journey into the regions of the Rhine, Main, and Neckar, 
 in 1844. And when, with deeply stirred sympathy, w r e contem- 
 plate these many journeys taken in support of " The Idea," at a 
 pecuniary sacrifice, and in a manner unselfish and unassuming to 
 a most unusual degree, we are involuntarily reminded of other 
 sublime leaders in the past, and a well-known text comes into our 
 mind : " Behold, a sower w T ent forth to sow." Thus went Froebel 
 forth, and over all Germany he diligently scattered the seed of his 
 Kindergarten ideas. 
 
180 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 II. 
 
 Extension of the Kindergarten since Froebel's death (1852). 
 
 Since FroebeTs death what has been done down to the present 
 day, in the way of spreading the Kindergarten system, in the 
 various modes of propaganda we have indicated above, by 
 Froebel's friends and students, male and female : how much have 
 they accomplished ? 
 
 The Kindergarten Factory, as Froebel established it in Blanken- 
 burg, after his creative spirit, to fulfil the functions of providing 
 the materials for his system, is now at work, at least in a merely 
 imitative fashion, in almost every large town in Germany : and 
 what Froebel's assistants had with great pains to produce by the 
 labour of their hands is now made easily and in large quantities 
 by machinery, and then sold in the ordinary mercantile way. 
 
 The Letters which Froebel wrote with his own hand, and to 
 individual persons, are now rendered available to the whole 
 reading public through the Press, like the present collection, and 
 are sent out into the world as independent works to aid in the 
 propaganda. 
 
 The Educational publications, large and small, even the Nursery 
 Songs (Koselieder) have been often republished and re-edited, 
 explained, and collected, and have been translated into many 
 foreign languages, forming now a sort of Polyglot Propaganda of 
 the Kindergarten— in short, it may be said in sober earnestness, 
 that we have a Froebel Library. Besides, there are two periodi- 
 cals specially devoted to the Froebelian system, the Kinder- 
 garten, published by A. Pichler's widow and son, in Vienna, 
 and the Education of To-day (Ersiehung der Gegenwart), pub- 
 lished by Wigand, in Kassel ; and these work with excellent 
 results for the Froebelian propaganda. 1 
 
 Teachers' Meetings. — One general meeting, for all Germany 
 and many provincial ones, are held regularly every year, and at 
 
 1 We may add to Herr Poesche's list the Swiss Kindergarten 
 {Schweizerische Kindei'garten), published by Zollikofer, in St. Gall, which we 
 are surprised that he overlooked, as it is now in its seventh year (estab. 1883). 
 
Propagation and Extension. 181 
 
 these there are sure to appear some genuine disciples of Froebel, 
 who warmly bear witness to the justice, the deep significance, and 
 the progressive character of the master's views. 
 
 Froebelian Child?-eris Festivals are held in the open air at Berlin 
 and many another town during the fine months of the year : but 
 we must admit that they no longer have the large character and 
 deep impressiveness Froebel knew how to give them. 
 
 The journeys which Froebel used to make have been continued 
 by the Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow, who has compassed sea 
 and land to make proselytes. 
 
 Finally, Educational Associations, Kindergartens, and Trai?iing 
 Colleges for Kindergarten students, the three great means of the 
 propagation and extension of Froebelian ideas, are now spread 
 all over the entire world. As far . as my knowledge permits, I 
 will proceed to give a short statistical abstract of the work being 
 done by these three chief elements of the propaganda. 
 
 {A) Germany. 
 (a) Ce?itral Germa?iy. 
 
 The cradle of the Kindergarten movement was in Central Ger- 
 many ; at Blankenburg, in the principality of Schwarzburg- 
 Rudolstadt. Froebel's system has struck deepest root in this 
 middle part of Germany, in Schwarzburg, Reuss, Saxony and 
 Hesse, and above all, in Thuringia ; and here the Kindergartens 
 are at their thickest. It has a deep meaning, therefore, and is 
 full of an intense expressiveness, that single word " Froebel," 
 which one sees hewn in great letters on the face of the granite 
 cliffs which overhang the bridle path over the Glockner mountain. 
 
 But now to the statistics. 
 
 i. Froebel's first German Kindergarten at Blankenburg in the 
 Schwarza Valley broke down, but by means of a large subscrip- 
 tion 1 it w r as refounded as a "Living Memorial to Froebel" 
 (Miss Eleonore Heerwart). 
 
 1 In which the present editors collected at Croydon, £2> 8s., and the Froebel 
 Society of London gave ^16 16s., the proceeds of a concert. Other English 
 men and women subscribed separately ; but the total amount sent from 
 England was felt at the time to be unworthy of our nation. 
 
1 82 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Also Rudolstadt. possesses once more a municipal Kinder- 
 garten, the only one of its kind in Thuringia. 
 
 2. >In the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen there is 
 one Kindergarten, at Sondershausen itself (established by the late 
 Mile. Thekla Naveau). 
 
 3. In the principality of Reuss (younger branch) at Gera are a 
 Kindergarten and a Kindergarten Training College (Herr Elm, 
 Government certificated teacher ; established by the late 
 Madame Schmidt, Froebel's cousin). 
 
 4. In the principality of Reuss (older branch), there is a 
 Kindergarten at Greiz. 
 
 5. In the Duchy of Saxe Meiningen Froebel had a Kinder- 
 garten and a Training College at the Liebenstein Spa (1849), 
 which were transferred later on to Marienthal, a place not far 
 from the first. He received valuable support from the teachers 
 in Salzungen, especially from the late Herr Maurer. At this day 
 in the Meiningen duchy we have Kindergartens at Meiningen, 
 Hildburghausen, Saalfeld, Schalkau (founded by the late Joh. 
 Stangenberger, certificated teacher) Possneck, and Camburg. 
 
 6. In the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg there is a Kindergarten at 
 Altenburg. 
 
 7. In the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Gotha was formerly a 
 central point for Froebelian work, under the late August Kohler. 
 Kindergartens now flourish at Gotha, Waltershausen, and 
 Grafentonna. 
 
 8. In the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar we have Weimar, 
 which has now become the centre of Froebelian work for 
 Thuringia, with its Kindergarten and Training College, founded 
 by the late Herr Schmidt, 1 certificated teacher, and now 
 under the direction of the teacher at the Charitable Institute 
 ( Stiffs lehrer), Herr Friedrich Seidel, 1 and Mile. Mina Schellhorn. 
 Weimar is the home of the National Froebel Association of 
 Germany." Besides this, in the state of Weimar we find another 
 Training College, and several Kindergartens, in Eisenach (Mile. 
 
 1 Respectively the past and present editors of the journal Kindergarten, 
 published at Vienna. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 183 
 
 Moder), and also in Jena (Madame Horn), Apolda, Weida, 
 Neustadt, Buttelstedt (founded by the late Pastor Steinacker), 
 Allstedt, Blankenhain, etc. 
 
 9. The kingdom of Saxony at present leads the world in 
 Kindergarten affairs, and Dresden, the modern Florence on the 
 Elbe, has risen to be in a certain sense the headquarters of the 
 movement, being the home of the Baroness von Marenholtz- 
 Biilow, 1 and of the International " Educational Association," 
 possessing a Training College and many Kindergartens. Amongst 
 
 1 The Baroness Bertha von Marenholtz-Biilow is, by universal consent, the 
 present head of the Froebelian movement. She is, of all the living disciples 
 ■who have enjoyed the personal teaching of the master, the one who has most 
 thoroughly imbibed the spirit of his principles, who has made the greatest 
 sacrifices for the sake of advancing his work, and who has achieved the most 
 striking successes. Beyond this she is the only living intimate friend of 
 Froebel left to us, except Madame Luise Froebel ; and, apart from her own 
 large acquirements, has in Froebelian traditions an authority, therefore, 
 superior to that of all others, since she represents in her person that devoted 
 band of earlier students and friends who in the last years of the great teacher 
 were admitted to the fullest communion in his thoughts and plans. 
 
 Madame von Marenholtz is of the Yon Biilow family (and it is usual to add 
 her own family name to that of her husband, the Baron [Freiherr] von Maren- 
 holtz), and therefore both by birth and marriage belongs to the highest 
 aristocracy of the Duchy of Brunswick. At the time she met Froebel she 
 was already about forty, and while as yet not particularly distinguished in 
 educational work, had always taken great interest in the subject. Visiting the 
 Liebenstein Spa in May, 1849, an ^ going to her usual lodging, the Baroness heard 
 from her landlady of " an old man who had come a week or two before to the 
 farm near by, who played and danced with the village children, and whom 
 the villagers had nicknamed The Old Fool. A few days later she m2t the 
 man so described, a tall lean figure, with long grey hair, at the head of a troop 
 of children from the village, mostly barefoot, and but scantily clothed, three to 
 eight years old ; these he led, marching two and two, up a little hill, and 
 there he set them to play, teaching them the song which belonged to the 
 game." In these well-remembered words, which open her interesting 
 " Reminiscences of Friedrich Froebel," Madame von Marenholtz vividly depicts 
 her introduction to the man in whose work she was to become the most ardent 
 co-operator. Addressing him after the game was over, and manifesting her 
 great interest, she was at once invited by Froebel to visit his class of Kinder- 
 garten students, fourteen in number, amongst them his own great-niece, 
 Henriette Breymann (Madame Schrader). What she there learnt so power- 
 fully interested her that she at once threw herself into the movement, working 
 as diligently as any of the actual students. It was not long before she induced 
 her friend, the famous educationist Diesterweg, to join her at Liebenstein ; 
 and though he at first disliked the idea of mixing up play and study, he soon 
 found that Froebel's view of play was a far higher one than his own, and 
 could be, and was in fact, synonymous with study ; and from coolness he 
 
184 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 the Dresden Froebelians we count Herr Bruno Marquardt, Dr. 
 Paul Hohlfeldt, Herr W. Schroder, Mile. Marschner, and the late 
 Herr Frankenberg. Leipzig, with one Training College and 
 seven Kindergartens, follows worthily after Dresden (Madame 
 Goldschmidt, Mile. A. Hartmann). Elsewhere in the kingdom 
 we find Kindergartens at Chemnitz (Director Holscher) Plauen, 
 Lobau, Krimmitschau, Glauchau, Grimma, Zittau, Reichenbach, 
 in the Voigtland, Seifhennersdorf, Freiberg, and Frankenberg. 
 
 passed swiftly to an enthusiasm equal to that of Madame von Marenholtz, 
 attending Froebel' s classes daily, and soon sending one of his daughters as a 
 permanent student. The next year, 1850, the Baroness again spent the sum- 
 mer at Liebenstein, and now found her friend and his students all comfortably 
 established, through her own good offices with the Duke of Meiningen, in 
 the duke's country house of Marienthal, about half an hour's distance away. 
 Here many educationists came to observe the new movement, and in her 
 "Memories," Madame von Marenholtz mentions several by name, amongst 
 them Herr Poesche, the German Editor of this book. In 185 1 Madame von 
 Marenholtz was present at Froebel's (second) wedding on Whit-Tuesday, at 
 Liebenstein, and stayed on through the summer working with him. Many 
 times Froebel charged her solemnly to carry on his work, popularise it, make 
 it intelligible to the "great ones of the earth," and divest people of the absurd 
 prejudices which existed against it. His fears were not groundless, for 
 Madame von Marenholtz, when dining one day with the duke of Meiningen, 
 at Altenstein, in August, 185 1, was shown the fatal number of Voss's 
 Gazette, containing the Prussian Government's order of prohibition issued 
 against Kindergartens. At first she thought it a joke of the Duke's, as his 
 Highness loved to tease her on her educational hobby, but she soon realised the 
 truth, and at once undertook the task of breaking the news to Froebel, who 
 had heard nothing of it. He bore the blow very bravely, but it undoubtedly 
 struck home. "With an enthusiastic nature like his, such a defeat must have 
 been almost overwhelming: he died within a year. But the immediate results 
 were in one sense gratifying ; for all those who had perceived the value of 
 Froebel's views united to bring about a great "Kindergarten Conference,' 
 which was held on September 27th, at Liebenstein, Diesterweg in the chair, 
 and of which Madame von Marenholtz has fortunately given us a most graphic 
 account. Madame von Marenholtz tried hard to get the evil law of prohibi- 
 tion repealed, even obtaining a personal interview with the Queen of Prussia 
 for that purpose ; but at the time it was all in vain, and the law remained thus 
 for about ten years. In 1852 the Baroness, the better to pursue her studies of 
 Froebel's ideas, had arranged to reside actually in the Liebenstein Kinder- 
 garten itself, so as to have children perpetually under her eyes, as well as daily 
 paying long visits to the master in the neighbouring Marienthal ; but family 
 affairs and illness detained her in Berlin so long, that ten days before she 
 reached Liebenstein, Froebel had passed away (21st June, 1852). The physi- 
 cian at the baths told her, when she sought for details of his last days, that he 
 had never seen any one look death in the face so cheerfully and calmly as 
 Froebel ; and drew a pretty picture of the dying man, smilingly listening to 
 
Propagation and Extension. 185 
 
 10. The Prussian province of Saxony rivals the kingdom in its 
 culture of the Kindergarten idea. In Haile is a Kindergarten 
 and Training College (Mile. Sellheim), and there are three 
 Kindergartens at Erfurt, two others at Langensalza and Nord- 
 hausen, near Miihlhausen, as well as Kindergartens at Kelbra, 
 Bleicherode, Ellrich, Naumburg, Weissenfels (two), Liitzen, Mer- 
 seburg, Eisleben, Zeitz, Magdeburg, Schonebeck, Buckau, Halber- 
 stadt (Mile. Puhlmann), Quedlinburg. 
 
 the song of the birds outside his open window, and glancing for the last time 
 at the beautiful landscape he loved so well. In these days of sorrow, Mid- 
 dendorff, who took up Froebel's work from his failing hand, reminded Madame 
 von Marenholtz that her first duty lay, for so Froebel had defined it, in spread- 
 ing information of the Kindergarten in foreign lands. Accepting this onerous 
 bequest, after properly fitting herself for its fulfilment, Madame von Marenholtz 
 favoured our country by making it her first point of attack. She came to 
 London in 1854-5, delivering lectures and otherwise working at the Froebelian 
 propaganda for six months. At this time the only Kindergarten actually at 
 work, the Baroness tells us in " Work and the new Education " (or " Hand- 
 work and Head work," as Miss Christie translates it), was at Hampstead. We 
 regret that the utmost diligence has failed to obtain further particulars of this 
 small Hampstead Kindergarten. From England she went to Paris in 1855, 
 and started a still more vigorous campaign, diligently attempting to convert 
 August Comte amongst others. In 1857-8 Madame von Marenholtz went to 
 Belgium, and here found Madame Guillaume's Kindergarten already flourish- 
 ing ; and with so good a basis to work upon, she won great and practical 
 successes, which have borne lasting fruit. Even in 1857 she found means to 
 persuade the Belgian authorities to allow her to introduce Froebelian occupa- 
 tions into the infant schools. The year 1859 finds this ever-vigilant apostle of 
 the Kindergarten in Flolland, enlisting fresh disciples and encouraging those 
 who had already embraced the new ideas, such as Madame van Calcar. The 
 Kindergartens in Holland struck Madame von Marenholtz as the best she had 
 hitherto seen, a result which certainly was greatly due to the efforts of Madame 
 van Calcar. In i860 Madame von Marenholtz was hard at work in Switzer- 
 land, lecturing at Geneva, Neufchatel and Lausanne, and the great work at 
 Geneva sprang directly from her lectures there. In 1861, as the prohibition 
 against the Kindergarten was at last removed in Prussia, she herself aiding 
 largely to effect this, she began giving courses of lectures at Berlin, a practice 
 which soon grew into a regular annual work with her, Madame Michaelis 
 (one of the present editors) having been privileged to follow one of these 
 courses in 1863 in addition to working with the distinguished educationist in 
 private. It was in this year (1863) that Madame von Marenholtz founded 
 the "Education Society" {Erziehungs- Verein) of Berlin. Such continued 
 labours might seem to imply the possession of unusual strength, but it was in 
 feet against constant ill health that Froebel's devoted friend had to struggle, 
 and every summer saw her necessarily taking the waters at some bath or 
 other, such as the Liebenstein Spa, where she had so happily met her beloved 
 master. In the summer of 1870 Madame von Marenholtz gave over her 
 
1 86 Letters of Froebel 
 
 ii. In the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, Kassel has 
 always been a principal stronghold for the Kindergarten. Here 
 is published The Education of To-day (Erziehwig der Gegen- 
 wart), edited by Dr. G. Wittmer and published by Geo. Wigand ; 
 and an Educational Association flourishes under the protecting 
 aegis of the Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow (Herr Boss, 
 certificated teacher, and the late Madame Schwarzenberg), 
 and a Kindergarten. There are Hessian Kindergartens also in 
 Marburg, Eschwege, Hersfeld, Eulda, Hanau, Frankfurt, and 
 Wiesbaden. 
 
 12. In the southern part of the Prussian province of Hanover 
 we find Kindergartens at Hanover (Madame Lindner), Gottingen, 
 Eimbeck, Verden, Helmstadt, and Hildesheim. In the northern 
 part, which has just begun to awake to the merits of the Kinder- 
 garten system, Liineburg (one Kindergarten and two " Learn and 
 Play " classes, Herr Cassau, certificated teacher) and Emden 
 (Pastor L. Pannenborg Vietor) have interested themselves greatly 
 in Kindergarten methods. 
 
 13. Froebelian work in the Duchy of Brunswick boasts of 
 several most remarkable ladies : the Baroness von Marenholtz- 
 Biilow (whose ancestral estate is at Kiiblingen,) Madame 
 
 Berlin work to the able hands of Madame Schrader, and removed her main 
 sphere of operations to Dresden, where she founded a " General Society of 
 Education " [Allgemeine Erziehungs Verein), and a journal, the Education of 
 To-day [Erziehung der Gegenzvart), and gave regular courses of lectures, as 
 at Berlin. In 1871 Madame von Marenholtz travelled by way of Vienna to 
 Italy, lecturing and holding meetings; and in 1871 and 1872 she visited 
 Venice, Florence, Rome, and Verona with the happiest results. In 1874 she 
 was permanently back at Dresden, . where she has ever since given her whole 
 time and strength to forwarding the purpose of her life. In 1882, at the 
 festival held in Dresden to commemorate the centenary of Froebel's birth, 
 Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow received at the hands of Professor Adolfo Pick 
 a most beautiful album, the joint gift of all the Italian Kindergartens, which 
 owed their being to her ; but her health had already begun to fail so rapidly 
 that she was unable to play the prominent part in the festival to which her 
 great position entitled her. Since that time she has lost her sight, and has 
 been quite unable to do actual teaching, but her interest remains unabated, 
 and from time to time she is able still to influence the Froebelian movement 
 by her devoted amanuensis, her niece, Mile, von Biilow. This brief account 
 of a most distinguished career has, we think, justified our opening sentence, 
 that the Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow is beyond cavil the present head of 
 the Froebelian movement. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 187 
 
 Henriette Schrader, nee Breymann 1 (Froebel's grand-niece, born 
 at Watzum), and the late Madame Wiseneder, in Brunswick, 
 inventor of the " Musical Kindergarten " 3 (Mile. Hauer, and the 
 late Mile. Vorast, teachers). In the duchy are also Kinder- 
 gartens at Wolfenbiittel and New Watzum. 
 
 14. In the Duchy of Anhalt there has been a Training College 
 and Kindergarten since 1864 at Kothen (Dr. Karl Schmidt's 
 Institute), 3 and there are also Kindergartens at Dessau, Zerbst, 
 and Bernburg. 
 
 1 Henriette Breymann was the daughter of the pastor of Watzum, where she 
 and the other ladies of her family conducted a Ladies' School. When she 
 had fully studied the Kindergarten system, which she did at Marienthal with 
 her great-uncle himself, in the last training course {B ' ildungscursus) he ever 
 gave, she added to the school the Kindergarten referred to above. After- 
 wards, in 1863-4, srie went to Geneva, where the Baroness von Marenholtz- 
 Biilow had excited much interest in the movement by one of her missionary 
 expeditions ; and here, Mile. Lagier and Madame Landesmann with friends 
 providing the necessary funds, Mile. Breymann established the well-known 
 " Jardin d' Enfants," in the Chantpoulet quarter. Subsequently she returned 
 to Watzum, giving over the direction of the Geneva Kindergarten to one 
 whose name is no less inseparably connected with the history of the Kin- 
 dergarten than her own, namely, to the Baroness Adele von Portugall. 
 Madame de Portugall was taught by Mile. Breymann and Madame von 
 Marenholtz. During this sojourn of Madame Schrader's at Geneva, one 
 of us (Madame Michaelis) had the great pleasure of first making her ac- 
 quaintance. After her marriage, a few years later, Madame Schrader went 
 to Berlin. Here, again, she found a vigorous Kindergarten movement in 
 process, started by Madame von Marenholtz. Possessed now of ample 
 leisure, Madame Schrader threw herself into the work with all her remarkable 
 energy, and that knowledge which amounts to positive genius. The ex- 
 traordinary impetus she has given to the Froebelian system in Berlin has 
 already been referred to (see the Introduction to Part II. " Pestalozzi-Froebel- 
 House") ; and she is justly regarded as the head of the whole movement in 
 North Germany. Her sister, Mile. Marie Breymann, was by the testimony 
 of all who knew her, one of the best Kindergarten teachers who ever existed, 
 and her early death was felt as a severe blow to the cause. 
 
 2 In this " Musical Kindergarten" Madame Wiseneder had, amongst other 
 things, a childish orchestra of toy instruments, carefully tuned to harmonise 
 together ; and produced effects in this manner which were not only extremely 
 charming, but were truly educational. 
 
 3 Dr. Karl Schmidt's valuable " History of Education" {"Gesch. der Pad.'''') is 
 probably known to all our readers. He was a friend and pupil of Froebel (at 
 Keilhau) ; and the account of the master which he gives in his History is 
 peidraps, on the whole, the best we have. Besides the well-known History, Dr. 
 Karl Schmidt has written many other educational works. 
 
1 88 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 (b) North Germatiy. 
 
 Turning northwards we come upon the great plain of North 
 Germany. 
 
 i. Berlin, the capital of the empire, stands far beyond all 
 other places of this region in the splendid work it has done on 
 the true lines and in the true spirit of Froebel ; which, indeed, has 
 already been shown in the present book (see Introduction to 
 Part II. and elsewhere). Under the auspices of the Froebel 
 Society (Professor Dr. Pappenheim, Dr. Angers tein, Herr Rein- 
 ecke, Inspector of Schools, Madame Wiener, Mile. Schafer, and 
 others) there are a Training College, a Children's Governesses' 
 Institution, a People's Kindergarten, and seven other Kinder- 
 gartens. We have already spoken of the other great Berlin 
 Froebel Society, that of " South-west Friedrichstadt," and of its 
 work (Madame Henriette Schrader, Madame Bertha Meyer). 
 There are several independent courses of lectures for training 
 Kindergarten students, for instance, those of Herr Georgens, 
 those of Mile. Schulz, etc., and several local associations and 
 private schools conduct Kindergartens. Also, many families unite 
 together to make what are called Family Kindergartens. In many 
 creches Kindergarten teachers are engaged ; many families have 
 Kindergarten teachers as Mothers' Helps, etc., while in other 
 families Kindergarten teachers attend at stated hours (as morning- 
 governesses, etc., to undertake the education of the children. It 
 is scarcely possible to give with any accuracy the numbers of the 
 Kindergartens in Berlin. Musshacke's Calendar for 1868 enu- 
 merated eight Kindergartens (belonging to one or other of the 
 two great Societies), nine People's Kindergartens, and nineteen 
 private Kindergartens. If we add to these the Family Kinder- 
 gartens, we may safely say that there are at present about fifty 
 Kindergartens in Berlin. 
 
 In the Mark of Brandenburg 1 our especial notice is drawn to 
 the Kindergarten under the protection of the Dowager-Empress 
 Frederick (Princess Royal of England), who herself founded it at 
 
 1 The province of which Berlin is the chief town. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 189 
 
 Bornstadt. There is also a Kindergarten at Brandenburg, be- 
 sides another at Wriezen, near Frankfurt on the Oder. 
 
 2. Next to Berlin, the most flourishing Kindergartens are 
 found at Breslau, in the province of Silesia. Here we find a 
 Kindergarten Association (Mile. Asch), with a Training College 
 (Rector Pfliiger, Dr. Neefe), a Kindergarten Governesses' Insti- 
 tution, and twelve Kindergartens under the Association. In 
 Gorlitz also is a Kindergarten (Herr Albin Finster). Herr Von 
 Schenkendorf here works in a most enthusiastic manner at the 
 development of Kindergarten occupations into technical exercises 
 as preparation for actual handicrafts. Besides this there are in 
 Silesia two Kindergartens in Beuthen, and one in Ratibor. 
 
 3. In the Prussian province of Posen (Prussian Poland) there 
 are a Training College and a Kindergarten at Bromberg (the 
 late Dr. Deinhardt and Herr Gossmann, certificated teacher), 
 and also Kindergartens in Posen itself, and in Polish Lissa. 1 
 
 4. In the Prussian Provinces of West and East Prussia the 
 respective capitals, Danzig and Konigsberg, each have Kinder- 
 gartens ; and besides these there is a Kindergarten at Dirschau, 
 in West Prussia, and another in East Prussia, on the extreme east- 
 ward frontier of the kingdom, at Lotzen, in Masuren, where is also 
 a Ladies' Association. In the province of Pomerania I only 
 know of one Kindergarten, that at Roslin. 
 
 5. In the Mecklenburg duchies are at least five Kindergartens, 
 two at Rostock (Herr Daun), and one each at Wismar (Bernhardt 
 Schlotterbeck), Giistrow and Schwerin. 
 
 6. In the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein is a Kinder- 
 garten Training College at Altona (Heinrich Hoffmann), and 
 another Kindergarten at Flensburg. 
 
 7. The free imperial town of Hamburg is another great centre 
 of Froebelian work. It boasts of several Ladies' Associations 
 (Madame Wiistenfeld, the late Johanna Goldschmidt, the late 
 Dr. Wichard Lange, the late Madame Doris Liitkens, and the 
 
 1 Famous ground in the eyes of educationists, as the dwelling-place of the 
 great Comenins (Johann Amos " of Comnia," Moravia), where he wrote and 
 published in 1631 the " Janua Linguarum Reserata," and where, in 1648, he 
 also published his " Novissima Methodus Linguarum." 
 
190 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Councillor of Education, Theodor Hoffmann) one Training 
 College, one Nurse's Institution, six City Kindergartens, which 
 are under municipal management, two other public Kinder- 
 gartens, and about twenty-nine private ones. 1 
 
 8. Lastly, the free imperial town of Bremen has three Kinder- 
 gartens in the town proper, one in Bremerhafen, and another in 
 Vegesack. 
 
 (c) South Germany. 
 
 In South Germany the ideas of Froebel have hitherto attained 
 comparatively little influence. 
 
 1. In the south-west, in the Prussian province of Westphalia 
 and the Rhine province, I only know of Kindergartens in Essen 
 (Westphalia), Diisseldorf and Birn, on the Nahe, in the department 
 of Coblenz. 
 
 2. In the imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Loth- 
 jingen), the late Professor Fritz, of Strasburg, and Pastor Kurz 
 interested themselves in the cause of the Kindergarten as early 
 as 1850. But how much is now to be found in Alsace-Lorraine ? 
 The Kindergarten should be energetically pushed here by all 
 patriots, as the best means for Germanising, the province. 
 
 3. The Bavarian Palatinate on the Rhine shows the most 
 praiseworthy eagerness in Kindergarten affairs. Here is a 
 " Froebel Society of the Palatinate," as well as a "Froebel 
 Association of the Palatinate " (Pastor Bahring, at Minfeld) with 
 twelve Kindergartens, which are in connection with the neighbour- 
 ing Kindergartens in Karlsruhe and Mannheim ; and there are 
 also Kindergartens at Frankenthal (Herr Karche, Councillor of 
 Trade), Durkheim (Subrector Pastor Beyer), Spires, or Speier, 
 (Herr Lang, the bookseller), Kaiserslautern (Herr Rodel, certifi- 
 cated teacher), Landau (Herr Ney, solicitor), etc. Landau 
 possesses an establishment for its Kindergarten which can hardly 
 be equalled in Germany. Beside the two-storied school building 
 
 1 It will, of course, be remembered that Madame Luise Froebel, the 
 master's second wife, lives at Hamburg. She has been kind enough to clear 
 up a few uncertain points for us, in the present edition. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 191 
 
 lies an enclosed but spacious playground dotted over with shady- 
 trees, and in the midst of it an aquarium full of fish, and a superb 
 aviary, quite a house in itself, crowded with pigeons and other 
 birds. On the ground-floor of the school-house are two spacious 
 rooms, which can be thrown into one large hall by taking away 
 a light wooden partition separating them ; and many other excel- 
 lent devices are to be seen. 
 
 4. The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, upon which 
 Froebel built such high hopes in 1844, 1 now only possesses 
 Kindergartens at Offenbach and Worms (Mile. Boutti). Why 
 are Benzheim and Darmstadt so wanting in public spirit? 
 
 5. The Grand Duchy of Baden has in Karlsruhe a Ladies' 
 Association and two Kindergartens ; in Heidelberg, a Froebel 
 Society, founded by the late Herr von Leonhardi 2 and Dr. K. 
 Mittermaier, and three Kindergartens with one people's Kinder- 
 garten. There is also a Kindergarten at Pfurzheim. 
 
 6. The Kingdom of Wiirtemberg has Kindergartens at Stutt- 
 gart, Heilbronn (Julius Braun), and Waldorf, near Tubingen. 
 Moreover, in the 175 Infant Schools of this kingdom, great use 
 is made of FroebePs gifts and occupations, and of his other 
 educational appliances. 
 
 7. In the Kingdom of Bavaria, Munich has a Kindergarten 
 Association, a Training College, and twelve Kindergartens (Dr. 
 Martin, Councillor of Medicine, Dr. P. Schramm, Herr Dohring, 
 head certificated teacher), in spite of the opposition of the 
 ultramontane Roman Catholics. 3 There are 183 creches for 
 infants of poor working people in Bavaria; and much good might 
 be anticipated from the introduction of Kindergarten methods 
 therein. Kindergartens are also found at Hof (Baron von 
 Dobeneck), Bamberg, Wiirzburg, Schweinfurt, Nuremberg, Am- 
 berg, Strubing, Landshut and Augsburg. 
 
 1 That is, in connection with Herr Folsing : see Introduction to Part IV. 
 
 2 See antea, Part II., Letter XVII. 
 
 3 See as to this opposition on the part of Roman Catholics a Swiss narra- 
 tive in our "Froebel : s Autobiography," p. 132. 
 
192 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 (B) Austria. 
 
 In 1872 the Austrian Minister of Education, Herr Stremeyer, 
 included the Kindergarten in the system of national education of 
 that country. Since that time in Austria the Kindergarten has 
 received the attention it so well deserves, and has taken a new 
 start of the most encouraging kind, as is evident from the simple 
 fact that the youngest scion of the imperial house 1 "has been 
 educated by two Kindergarten teachers. According to statistics 
 published by the Kindergarten Association of Vienna, Austria- 
 Hungary, in 1883, possessed 369 Kindergartens, besides 299 
 creches. The German School Society, in 1884, had thirty-two 
 Kindergartens of its own, and supported twenty others. As to 
 the numbers in the separate provinces, the following informa- 
 tion must serve, but it is compiled from older and therefore more 
 restricted information than that given above for Germany. 
 
 1. Vienna, the capital of the empire, has a " Kindergarten 
 Association for Austria " (President A. S. Fischer, Ph. Brunner), 
 more than thirty Kindergartens and one Training College, in which, 
 up to the present date, eleven courses have been completed, and 
 236 Kindergarten teachers have been trained. One very praise- 
 worthy undertaking of this association is the sending out to all 
 provinces of the empire a circular of questions with a view of 
 collecting materials for a history of the various Austrian Kinder- 
 gartens and creches. In the rest of the Arch-duchy of Austria 2 
 are Kindergartens at Korneuburg and Linz. 
 
 2. In Styria, the chief town, Gratz, with its Kindergarten 
 Association, Training College, and seven associated Kindergartens 
 gives an example of Kindergarten culture, most worthy of imita- 
 tion (Madame Anegg, Mile. Thurnwald). 3 I vividly remember 
 
 1 The Archduchess Elizabeth, daughter of the late Crown Prince Rudolph. 
 
 2 The province which contains Vienna. 
 
 3 For instance, to show the progressive and originative spirit which rules the 
 Kindergarten movement here, the present Editors have always admired a 
 feature in the education of Kindergarten nurses which they believe to be 
 peculiar to Gratz. After their training in ordinary nursery work, and in the 
 application of Kindergarten ideas to that work, they attend frequently during 
 their last three months at one or other of the hospitals, where they are 
 taught the sick-nursing of children in all the usual infantile ailments. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 193 
 
 the scene in 185 1, when Froebel climbed up on to a chair, 
 and with deep emotion read to an assembly of friends of the 
 Kindergarten movement then being held at the Liebenstein Spa, 
 a beautifully expressed letter from a Styrian gentleman of Gratz, 
 calling down a blessing upon him and his efforts, and praying 
 for his success. A history of the Kindergarten movement in 
 Gratz, which goes back into "the forties," would be extremely 
 
 interesting. 
 
 In all Styria, including the Kindergarten at Uebeljamo, near 
 Marburg, we count about thirteen Kindergartens. 
 
 3. In Moravia, Briinn is the seat of a "Froebel Association 
 (German) for Moravia/' and sixteen Kindergartens are conducted 
 there by the municipality (Dr. Heinrich Sonneck). Znaim has an 
 "Association for founding and maintaining Kindergartens and 
 Creches" and one Kindergarten; and there are also Kindergartens 
 in Prossnitz and Sternberg ; and in the Hanna, 1 at Kremsier. 
 
 5. Bohemia has certainly over sixty-five Kindergartens. In 
 Prague (Director Heinrich) there are one public Kindergarten 
 and many private ones. Municipal Kindergartens exist at 
 Reichenberg, Aussig and Leitmeritz, and private Kindergartens 
 at Pilsen (under the German School Association), Teplitz, 
 Bohemian-Leipa, Saaz, Budweis, Briix, Elbogen, Eger, etc. 
 
 6. In the other Austrian Provinces we find more scattered 
 Kindergartens: Salzburg, one; Carinthia, three (at Klagenfurt); 
 Krain, one; Trieste, five; 2 Gorz and Gradisca, one each; Silesia, 
 four; (Troppau, Bielitz, Biala, Freudenthal) ; Galicia, six; Buko- 
 vina, one; and Croatia, three. 
 
 7. In the kingdom of Hungary are about eighty Kindergartens; 
 and two Ladies' Associations in Buda-Pest, which have set before 
 them as their object the propagation and extension of the Kinder- 
 garten system. These are the "Society for the Protection of Little 
 Children " (Countess Tisza, Madame Kralowansky) and a society 
 under the presidency of the Baroness Edelsheim. The first-named 
 
 1 This Hanna district, about twenty-eight square miles in extent, is remark- 
 able for a special dialect and other peculiarities ; and its inhabitants, who are 
 Slavs, boast themselves to be the representatives of the original people of 
 Moravia. 
 
 2 Some of these are municipal Kindergartens. 
 
 O 
 
194 Letters of Fro e be I. 
 
 society also conducts a Central Teaching Institution and four 
 Kindergartens. Elsewhere in Hungary we find Kindergartens 
 and Ladies' Associations at Kaschau, Leutschau, in the county 
 of Zips (North Hungary, the region of the upper Theiss and 
 Erzgebirge) Kesmark, Iglo, Pressburg, and Dobschau ; and Kin- 
 dergartens alone at Szarvas, Rosenau, Old-Kanizsa, Szatmar, Sik- 
 los, Oedenburg (four), Raab (four), Arad (three), Bela, Szegedin, 
 Szolnok, Lonja, Nagyvaszany ; in the Banate, near the Servian 
 frontier, at Temesvar, Pancsova and Weisskirchen. In Sieben- 
 biirgen a special journal for Kindergartens and creches is published 
 at Klausenburg ; and at the same place are a Training College for 
 Kindergarten teachers and three Kindergartens. Hermannstadt 
 and Kronstadt have also a Kindergarten at each. 
 
 The following figures will give a striking view of the rapid 
 growth of the Kindergarten movement in Austria. In 1873 
 there were 2,461 children in the Kindergartens; but in 1883 
 there were 17,764. Thus the number of Kindergarten children 
 was multiplied sevenfold within ten years ; and in Lower Austria 
 (where from 403 children in 1873 ^ rose t0 4,86i in 1883) it 
 was even multiplied elevenfold ! 
 
 (C) Switzerland. 
 
 Switzerland worthily matches Germany and Austria ; and the 
 Swiss Kindergartens grow ever more and more in number and 
 importance. At present there are eighty-one Ladies' Associations 
 and 106 Kindergartens, spread over ten cantons. At the head of 
 the Kindergarten movement stands — 
 
 i. Geneva with the unique example of no less than fifty-five 
 public Kindergartens with 3,072 children (Mile. Zollikofer, 1 the 
 late M. Carteret, Director of Public Instruction, 2 Baroness Adele 
 de Portugall 3 ). In 1876, 206 private creches were converted into 
 
 1 This is an error of Herr Poesche, the German Editor : for Mile. Zollikofer's 
 excellent work for the cause has been done at Aarau, not Geneva. 
 
 2 We may also mention that M. Carteret was not only Director of Public 
 Instruction, but also President of the Grand Council. His services to educa- 
 tion in Switzerland were very great. 
 
 3 Madame de Portugall, nee Hoburg, was born in the province of East Prussia ; 
 married the Freiherr von Portugall, a noble of East Prussia, and was early left 
 
Propagation and Extension. 195 
 
 Kindergartens under state government, and they have done well 
 in their new form. Each parish selects its own Kindergarten 
 
 a widow — losing not only her husband, but her stepson, to whom she was much 
 attached. In these circumstances she found a new happiness in enthusiastically- 
 embracing the cause of childhood as preached by Froebel. She studied the 
 system thoroughly under Madame Schrader (then still Mile. Breymann), and also 
 worked with Madame von Marenholtz-Btilow, at Watzum. Thence she went 
 to England, where she stayed two years at Manchester, working as Kindergar- 
 ten teacher in a private school (1861-1863). Returning to the Continent at the 
 close of 1863, she attended the lectures of Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow at 
 Berlin, and it was here that one of the present editors (Madame Michaelis) first 
 met her, and a life-long friendship began. Madame Schrader was giving up the 
 direction of the Chantpoulet Kindergarten shortly after this, and could find no 
 one more worthy to be her successor than Madame de Portugall, who replaced 
 Madame Schrader at Geneva in May, 1864. After directing the Chantpoukt 
 Kindergarten for nine years, Madame de Portugall went, in 1873, to Muhlhausen, 
 in Alsace, succeeding Mile. Hausbrand as principal of the Kindergarten founded 
 and maintained there by Madame Schwartz, a lady whose generous use of con- 
 siderable wealth in the cause of education cannot be passed without a word of 
 cordial recognition. In 1875 the Education Department of the Grand Council 
 of Geneva determined to conduct all the infant schools in the canton upon the 
 Kindergarten system ; and the reputation of the Chantpoulet establishment 
 (whose success, indeed, it was which brought about this happy decision) stood 
 so high that M. Carteret recommended its late head as a most suitable person 
 to carry out what was nothing less than an educational revolution. Madame 
 de Portugall was appointed to the post in 1876, and soon proved the wisdom of 
 the choice the department had made. Indeed, it is not too much to say, that 
 in the hands of any one less courageous, less gifted with tact, less gracious in 
 manner, while unyielding in principle, less thoroughly conversant not only 
 with the philosophy of the Kindergarten but with its practical details of every 
 kind, and less abreast of the time in all general educational methods and culture, 
 this finely planned scheme would have gone to wreck. It is owing to the almost 
 unique combination of power and charm possessed by our friend that every 
 obstacle was conquered — and obstacles were countless — that the natural resist- 
 ance of the old-fashioned teachers and the whole bureaucracy of education was 
 overcome, and that Geneva obtained the lasting honour of being the first state 
 in the world to formally adopt and actually carry out Froebel's principles as the 
 basis of education. The work once done, and done so brilliantly, facilitated 
 the efforts of the Belgian reformers, who were soon able to gain for their 
 country a like advantage, and Geneva's example also helped the reformers in 
 some other Swiss cantons. Through all the changes of parties and governments 
 since the time of the establishment of Froebelian principles in the state educa- 
 tion of the countries named, these principles have firmly endured, and still 
 endure ; so that in the face of experiments carried on for sixteen and fourteen 
 years respectively, in countries widely separated by distance, race, religion and 
 national characteristics/and yet equally successful and permanent, it seems re- 
 markable that other governments have not yet followed their example ; or if 
 they have established the Kindergarten system on paper, have shrunk from 
 putting it into actual and universal practice, as is unfortunately the case in Austria. 
 After ten years devotedly spent in the great work above described, whose 
 
ig6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 teacher, subject to the approval of the Government. A lady in- 
 spector, appointed by the Government, overlooks the whole, and 
 arranges training classes for the teachers. For the Kindergarten 
 alone Geneva voted 53,000 francs (^2,120) in the budget of 1881. 
 2. In St. Gall (the late Dean Mayer, president of the Swiss 
 Kindergarten Association ; the late Johann Wellauer) the state 
 institutions comprise a Normal Kindergarten Institution with a 
 Training College and a Kindergarten modelled on the Geneva 
 organisation. Also Wintherthur, following the same plan, spent 
 no less than 70,000 francs (^2,800) upon Kindergarten work 
 in 1881. These encouraging results for Switzerland are due to 
 the persons already named, and others ; especially to the energy 
 of Pastor Bion, of Zurich (the present President of the Swiss Kin- 
 dergarten Association); of Herr Fr. Beust, the famous schoolmaster 
 of Zurich; 1 of Herr Charles Kiittel, Inspector of schools in 
 Luzern and editor of the Swiss Kindergarten, the official journal 
 of the Swiss Kindergarten Association ; and of Professor Raoux, 
 in Lausanne, etc. 
 
 importance cannot be over-estimated, Madame de Portugall was compelled 
 to leave Switzerland for the more genial climate of Italy, in consequence of 
 the rapidly declining health of Mile. Progler, her constant friend and com- 
 panion, and one whose collaboration in the formidable labours at Geneva was 
 simply priceless. Madame Schwabe joyfully seized upon the opportunity thus 
 afforded her to place Madame de Portugall at the head of the famous Naples 
 Kindergarten, in 1884 ; and it is at this post that Madame de Portugall still 
 continues her invaluable services to the Kindergarten cause. 
 
 Madame de Portugal! has had the special honour of being called (on two occa- 
 sions) to act as principal examiner for the Froebel Society of London. 
 
 1 We wish we had space to express and justify our admiration of Herr 
 Beust's truly remarkable institution, which, beginning with a perfect Kinder- 
 garten Transition-class, proceeds throughout strictly on the lines of Froebel and 
 Pestalozzi. We are speaking from the personal knowledge of one of us (E. M. ) 
 when we say that so far as we know this school stands alone in its complete 
 fulfilment of the designs of these great educationists. It was therefore with 
 peculiar pleasure that, on the occasion of a recent visit, looking over the shoulder 
 of a bright boy of six or seven, the name of ' ' Ferd. Froebel " was recognised by 
 E.M. on his copybook as he sat at work. Inquiry discovered that he was really 
 the great-grand-nephew of the master. Little Ferdinand Froebel is the grand- 
 son of Theodor Froebel, youngest brother of- Karl and Julius Froebel, the 
 nephews of Friedrich. Indeed, this school was founded by Karl Froebel him- 
 self, and was transmitted directly from him to Herr Beust. Theodor, this lad's 
 grandfather, and Karl Froebel's brother, established himself as a horticulturist 
 and landscape gardener at Zurich, and his son, little Ferdinand's father, now 
 carries on the business which Theodor founded. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 197 
 
 (D) Belgium. 
 
 As in Austria and Switzerland, so also in Belgium, the Kinder- 
 garten is recognised by the state. It there figures, according to 
 a conception very worthy of adoption by other states, as the first 
 grade of public instruction. The Baroness von Marenholtz- Billow 
 and Madame Henriette Schrader first gained a footing for the 
 Kindergarten in this country (Jacobs, " Manual ; '). 1 
 
 The present leaders of the Kindergarten system in Belgium are 
 M. Guillaume (of the Conservatoire, at Brussels) and his wife 
 Madame Guillaume, who is inspector of Kindergartens — the post 
 precisely analogous to that held by Madame de Portugall at 
 Geneva — M. Eugene Tedesco, Inspector of schools, and M. 
 Frederic Stern. 2 
 
 (E) Italy. 
 
 In Italy there is an "Association for the Promotion of the Kin- 
 dergarten System"; and Kindergartens are flourishing in various 
 towns, especially in Florence, Naples (Madame Salis Schwabe, 3 
 
 1 Herr Poesche refers here to the " Manuel Pratique des Jardins d' Enfants 
 de Frederic Froebel," by J. F. Jacobs and the Baroness von Marenholtz-Bulow. 
 Oar copy is the 2nd edition, Brussels, 1864. 
 
 2 To these we should like to add the name of M. de Buels, who, when 
 Burgomaster of Brussels, came over to the Educational Conference at S. Ken- 
 sington and delivered an admirable address upon the great work undertaken by 
 Belgian Froebelians. His own share in that work was considerable. 
 
 3 Madame Salis-Schwabe, whose mother's name was Salis and her father's 
 name Schwabe, married her cousin, whose benevolence, as we have heard, 
 equalled her own. Their goodness to the employes of Herr Schwabe's fac- 
 tories, near Manchester, in the way of providing schools and other advan- 
 tages, are well known, as well as many other more general benefits to 
 England ; but that which endears Madame Schwabe to the friends of educa- 
 tion and of true charity to the poor is the splendid Froebelian work in Naples, 
 which has formed one of the main occupations of her widowhood. Struck, 
 while on a visit to Naples, with the squalor and dense ignorance of the lower 
 orders there, which indeed must force itself upon all of us who have visited 
 that lovely and unhappy city, if we have ever deviated from the main streets, 
 Madame Schwabe resolved to make a strenuous effort at the improvement of 
 this particular evil as her contribution to the general wave of enthusiasm called 
 forth by the declaration of Italian independence (1866). She therefore 
 
198 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Mile. Petermann), Bologna (Ugo Vital), Venice (Prof. Adolfo 
 Pick 3 ), etc. In Italy, as well as elsewhere, it was the Baroness 
 von Marenholtz-Bulow who was the apostle of the Kindergarten. 
 The fact that the King and Queen of Italy were present at the 
 Centenary festival of Froebel's birth, held at Rome in 1882, suffi- 
 ciently indicates the high interest that is taken in the affairs of the 
 Kindergarten in Italy. 
 
 acquired a large disused public building (the ex-Collegio Medico), and 
 established there, in 1873, a public and gratuitous Kindergarten and elementary 
 school, starting with forty children. (Later on, as there was room, paying 
 children were also admitted. ) The first head of the Kindergarten was Mile. 
 Petermann, a pupil of the Baroness von Marenholtz-Bulow, and the first (and 
 we are happy to say the present) manageress, Mile. Barmann. In 1877 the 
 Training College was added, beginning with eight students, and primary schools 
 were further added in 1879, beginning with 170 children. In 1890 the addition 
 of an Industrial wing, where actual handicrafts are taught after the ordinary 
 school hours, has completed the scheme, a monument to the generosity and 
 perseverance of Madame Salis-Schwabe. As we have elsewhere stated, 
 Madame de Portugall was appointed head of the Kindergarten side of the 
 institution in 1884, and still holds that post. There are at present (1890) 174 
 children in the free Kindergarten, and 54 who pay fees. In the Training Col- 
 lege there are now nineteen students. Signor Quarati (whom Madame Schwabe 
 had caused to be trained in the Birkbeck Schools in England) is the head of 
 the elementary school department, which at present numbers 417 children. 
 The primary school has 449. No less than 200 children were turned away 
 this year (1890) for want of room. Since the institution was opened in 1873, 
 there have entered in all 9,632 pupils. The Town .Council of Naples (Muni- 
 cipio) has long taken interest in this undertaking, and has materially assisted 
 in supporting a work of such great benefit to the town, and in 1S87 the 
 Government of Italy took up the cause. Signor Coppino,. Minister of Instruc- 
 tion, incorporated the whole institution as an Elite Morale, or foundation, and 
 endow< d i" with the buildings it occupied, and with an annual subsidy of 
 12,400 1 re ^496). It also enjoys the income from the 50,000 lire (^2,000) 
 with which Madame Salis-Schwabe had endowed it. With these aids and 
 the increased revenue from fees, it is now (1890) self-supporting. 
 
 1 Professor Pick was induced by one of Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow's 
 many missionary travels, sowing the seed of Kindergarten ideas, to undertake 
 the foundation of a Kindergarten at Venice, in 1869, which he started at a 
 public conference in the Ateneo. Madame della Vida Levi (like Professor 
 Pick, of the Hebrew faith) warmly associated herself with this movement, and 
 at a later time established an independent Kindergarten of her own, in which 
 Madame Michaelis had the pleasure to be of some slight assistance to her. 
 
 We might add to the information in the text the early Froebelian propaganda 
 at Milan, through the enthusiastic discourses of Signor Vicenzo di Castro, about 
 twenty-five years since ; and that Madame Michaelis was much gratified with 
 the intelligent method and thorough work of the Florence Kindergarten, 
 which when she was staying there in 1868 was directed by Mile. Bertuchek, a 
 pupil of the Baroness von Marenholtz-Bulow. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 199 
 
 {F) Portugal, Spain, Greece. 
 
 In the remaining peninsulas of Southern Europe the Kinder- 
 garten has also gained a firm footing. 
 
 1. In Portugal, since 1879, the Kindergarten has found great 
 favour with the families of the Portuguese. The further develop- 
 ment and propaganda of the Kindergarten system have now been 
 taken in hand by the " Society for the Improvement of Educa- 
 tion" at Oporto (Senhor Osorio, president; Senhor da Vascon- 
 cellos, secretary). In Oporto (and in Lisbon also) a great festival 
 was held on the Froebel centenary, in 1882, and bold as was the 
 plan of a complete Kindergarten then conceived, it is, however, 
 to be fully carried out. The building is to contain 200 children, 
 and of the 4,300 square metres of land occupied (about 1^ acre, 
 English), 3, 509 (about f acre; English) are devoted to the garden. 
 The lower storey will contain two glass-roofed verandas, an anti- 
 chamber serving as cloak-room, three work-rooms, two corridors, a 
 visitor's room, a store-room for materials, a lavatory, two play- 
 rooms and a broad staircase; and the garden will have a fountain, 
 an aviary, a pond, available for cold baths if desired, a hen-roost, 
 a large summer-house, a gymnasium, a green-house, flower-beds, 
 some of them for the free use of the children, trees of all possible 
 varieties, playgrounds, a large maze or labyrinth, and heaps of 
 sand for digging, etc., to provide healthy out-door exercise. The 
 
 'cost is estimated at 30,000 milreis (about ,£6,650). In generous 
 combination with the Kindergarten we find in this plan several in- 
 terchanging elements of educational reform ; for instance, Schwab's 
 School-gardens, as attached to the schools of Vienna, the handi- 
 craft-schools, a Pestalozzian idea, and the gardens for youths 
 (Jugend-Gdrten), an idea of the Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow; 
 and these are connected together and combined to form one 
 system. Further, a most interesting combination is here to be 
 effected between the Kindergarten Establishment and the Pesta- 
 lozzi College. Compare, in this respect, the Pestalozzi-Froebel- 
 House at Berlin, described at p. 35. 
 
 2. Spain has a Kindergarten Training College in the Normal 
 
2CO Lettei s of Frocbel. 
 
 Training School at Madrid, with Kindergarten attached ; and 
 there is also another Kindergarten at Madrid, and one at Bilbao 
 (Mile. Grafle). These Madrid Kindergartens have become so popu- 
 lar that they cannot hold all the children who are anxious to 
 come. It is certainly a remarkable circumstance that Froebel's sys- 
 tem should have at once gained such general approval in Spain. 
 Indeed, it may be with confidence predicted that the Kindergarten 
 will form the basis of the entire Spanish school system in the im- 
 mediate future. "The Kindergarten and its Methods," by the 
 Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow, has been translated into Spanish 
 by Professor Rio. 
 
 3. In Greece, also, the interest felt in the Kindergarten grows 
 from day to day, which is especially due to the efforts of Madame 
 Lascaridi. 
 
 (G) Russia. 
 
 Since 1863 Russia has shown a very active interest in the 
 Kindergarten, and has sent several young ladies to the training 
 colleges at Berlin, Gotha, Dresden and Prague (Director Heinrich) 
 to be educated as Kindergarten teachers. In St. Petersburg we 
 now find a Froebel Society, a Training College, and several Kinder- 
 gartens (Mile. Pauline von Sadler) ; as well as Kindergartens at 
 Moscow, Kiew, Omsk, Helsingfors and Ekenaes, in Finland (Pastor 
 Cygnaus), Riga and Dorpat, in Livonia. 
 
 (H) Holland, Sweden, England. 
 
 The northern Teutonic nations strive diligently to overtake 
 Germany in Kindergarten activity. 
 
 1. In Holland the leader is Madame Elise van Calcar, 1 wife of 
 
 1 One of this accomplished lady's pupils has recently established a Kinder- 
 garten near Croydon, and the Editors have thus learned from good authority 
 many interesting particulars of Madame van Calcar's enthusiastic nature and 
 unusual educationalpowers. " Coerflahhe" in the German text, is evidently a 
 printer's error for Over Flakee, one of the great islands at the mouth of the 
 Maas. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 20 r 
 
 the burgomaster of the island of Over Flakee, where there are two 
 Kindergartens. 
 
 2. In Sweden there are Kindergartens in Gothenburg. 
 
 3. England has proved to be warmly in sympathy with Froe- 
 bel's methods. The chief moving agent in English Kindergarten 
 work is the British and Foreign Schools Society (founded in 1868), 
 which has won a firm footing for the Kindergarten in England 
 since 1874, and brought about a still better understanding of the 
 system through an important exhibition of Kindergarten work held 
 in South Kensington in 1884 (Miss Eleonore Heerwart, Lord 
 Reay, W. Wouren). Many German Kindergarten works have 
 been translated into English, as, for example, the works of the 
 Baroness von Marenholtz-Btilow (Countess Krokow), the Kinder- 
 garten Praxis of August Kohler (Miss Mary Gurney), Seidel's 
 Catechism, etc. A Training College exists at London (Kinder- 
 garten College), as well as many Kindergartens in London and 
 Saffron Walden; and there are also Kindergartens in Dublin, 
 Manchester, Croydon (Madame Michaelis), Aberdeen and Birm- 
 ingham. 
 
 APPENDIX BY THE TRANSLATORS TO THE 
 SECTION "ENGLAND." 
 
 It is to be hoped that Herr Poesche's account of other countries is nearer 
 the mark than this almost ludicrously inexact presentation of the Kindergarten 
 in England. The conjunction of " London and Saffron Walden " seems par- 
 ticularly happy ; and although we personally cannot complain, as one of our- 
 selves is honourably mentioned by name, and our Croydon work has its fitting 
 place, yet to overlook the undoubted precedence of the Manchester Kindergar- 
 ten Association amongst English Kindergarten Societies, and to notice nothing 
 else of the Froebel Society's long work save its defunct Training College, 
 shows, to put it mildly, a want of the sense of proportion. The British and 
 Foreign School Society was founded in 1808, as a reference to the first ency- 
 clopaedia might have informed the German Editor. Mr. "Wouren," we are 
 daring enough to assume, is our excellent friend, the Rev. A. Bourne (Secre- 
 tary of the British and Foreign Schools Society) in a continental disguise. 
 Otherwise, although we ourselves took a fair share in the important Exhibition 
 and Conference referred to in the text, we cannot say we remember meeting 
 Mr. "Wouren." Neither are we acquainted with Madame "Krokow's" English 
 translations of Madame von Marenholtz' works, although we know well Miss 
 Christie's excellent translations, and Miss Shirreffs work in this department 
 (always good), and several American translations of Madame von Marenholtz. 
 
202 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 The Kindergarten in England began by the foundation of a Kindergarten at 
 Hampstead, which Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow found at work, the solitary 
 institution of its kind in our country, during her six months' visit in 1854-5, 
 when on her missionary tours in favour of Froebel's s)Stem. The Baroness 
 herself laid the foundations for several more by lectures and conferences : and 
 in " Die Arbeit und die Neue Erziehung" (" Hand Work and Head Work " 
 in Miss Christie's translation) she mentions having herself taught in one of the 
 London "Ragged Schools " for several months, to the great delight not only 
 of the children but also of the teachers. When she left us in 1855 sne transferred 
 much of her own course of work, in lecturing, etc., to Herr H. Hoffmann, from 
 Hamburg, who continued to give courses of practical lessons to teachers in 
 several of the Kindergartens which had now sprung up, or schools which 
 were looking favourably on the new system. The Baroness von Marenholtz- 
 Biilow herself published a little book in London, in 1855, called "The Infant- 
 Gardens." She pays a cordial tribute to the readiness with which Charles 
 Dickens welcomed Froebel's ideas, and gave them all the aid in his power, 
 publishing more than one article upon them in his journal, Household 
 Words. Many newspapers ( Times, Morning Herald, etc. ) and the leading 
 critical journal, the Athenceum, also noticed her work favourably. It is also 
 interesting to observe that another of the foremost Englishmen of the time, the 
 famous Dr. Colenso, Bishop of Natal, then over in London collecting artisans 
 for the colony, and teachers for his beloved Zulus, at once saw the surpassing 
 merit of the Kindergarten system and sent two teachers to take lessons of 
 Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow. The bishop took back with him to the 
 colony several complete sets of the gifts and materials for the occupations; and 
 was overjoyed lo find that his chief difficulty in teaching the Zulus, namely, the 
 difficulty to get them to understand English books and English teachers, was 
 quite surmounted by a system which explains itself intelligibly to children of 
 all races and tongues alike. 
 
 The same year (1854) that brought the Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow to 
 our shores brought also Madame Ronge. This gifted and unhappy lady had 
 been already active in the cause at Hamburg, having originally been taught 
 there by Froebel himself, and by Middendorff, in 1849. Madame Ronge estab- 
 lished a Kindergarten of her own in Fitzroy Square, in 1854, which she gave 
 over to Miss Praelorius, who came to London from Nassau very shortly after- 
 wards in the same year. Madame Ronge now went to Manchester, where she 
 gave courses of lectures, and taught privately and in schools ; amongst the latter, 
 in the schools of Mrs. Moore 1 and Miss Barton, both of whom established 
 Kindergartens in connection with their schools. (Our friend, Miss Barton, 
 we are happy to say, is still at the head of her school, with its accompanying 
 Kindergarten.) So great was the favour accorded to Madame Rouge's efforts 
 that in 1854 the Manchester Kindergarten Association was founded — the first 
 Kindergarten Association in this country. It still exists, but at the present 
 moment (1890) no longer in its pristine vigour, and its well-wishers would be 
 glad to see a renewal of energy restore this valuable society to the position to 
 which its great services so well entitle it. Madame Ronge's well-known "Kin- 
 dergarten Guide," though now superseded, was in its day the best book of its 
 kind in English. 
 
 In 1861 many well-known names in the English Kindergarten movement first 
 occur. Miss Eleonore Heerwart, our much-respected friend, now first began 
 her long and honoured career in our country. She came over in 1 861 to 
 
 1 Not related to the present Editor. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 203 
 
 conduct the Kindergarten belonging to Miss Barton's school at Manchester, 
 mentioned above. Miss Heerwart brought to us the traditions of Keilhau 
 .itself, where she had enjoyed the training of Froebel's best friend, Middendorff, 
 who taught at Keilhau from his beloved master's death in June, 1852, to 
 his own too early death in November, 1853. After 1853 Froebel's widow, 
 Madame Luise Froebel, continued the training of students in which she had 
 been helping Middendorff for a short time, but with her departure in the 
 spring of 1854 to Dresden, where she assisted Dr. Bruno Marquardt, the 
 training of Kindergarten students at Keilhau came to an end. Miss Heerwart 
 was occupied in Kindergarten teaching in various parts of Germany till Miss 
 Barton was happily advised to invite her to this country. Completing this 
 small account of a lady who has been excelled by no one in the value, the 
 earnestness, and the practical results of her Kindergarten work in England, 
 we may add that in 1864 Miss Heerwart left Manchester for a Kindergarten 
 in Belfast ; and after two years' work there she established a Kindergarten 
 and school of her own in Dublin (1866). In 1874, the British and Foreign 
 School vSociety, which had always taken the greatest interest in our move- 
 ment, determined to establish its own Kindergarten Training College at 
 Stockwell ; and at this time Miss Heerwart. was passing through London 
 on her return to Germany, having disposed of her successful establishment 
 in Dublin. The Society had the good fortune to be able to induce her 
 to remain in England, as principal of their new Kindergarten Training 
 College, and she continued worthily to fill this position till 1883, sending 
 out many carefully trained students, who are now amongst our best teachers 
 Miss Heerwart, on retiring from active work in her profession, went over 
 to Germany to take part in founding the Memorial Kindergarten of Blanken- 
 burg, in 1883, the outcome of the Froebel Centenary festivals held all over 
 the world in 1882; and at her departure from England, after nearly a 
 quarter of a century's work, she received the honour of a public leave-taking, 
 not unaccompanied by remembrances of a more substantial nature from her 
 English friends. Since then Miss Heerwart has lived chiefly at Weimar, 
 always occupied in Froebelian propaganda, and has officiated as principal 
 examiner for the Froebel Society in 1887 and 1888. 
 
 Besides Miss Heerwart, our distinguished friend the Baroness Adele de Por- 
 tugall came to England in 1861. Madame de Portugall became head of the 
 Kindergarten attached to Mrs. Fretwell's school, at Manchester. (We have 
 given some account of our friend's life-work in'a note to the section Switzerland.) 
 Miss Doreck had come over (from Wurtemberg) in 1857, and had, in 1866, 
 established her well-known school in Kildare Gardens, whence she removed 
 to Kensington Gardens Square. She became so interested in Froebel's 
 system by attending the lectures of Herr H. Hoffmann (mentioned above) 
 that she from the first established a Kindergarten in connection with her 
 school, and made herself so practically acquainted with the Kindergarten 
 methods, and still more especially with the principles underlying them, that 
 she was unanimously elected to the presidency of the Froebel Society on its 
 foundation in 1874. The Kindergarten established by Miss Doreck still 
 flourishes under the experienced guidance of her relative, Miss Roth, a pupil 
 of Miss Heerwart. 
 
 In April, 1874, Madame Emilie Michaelis, a pupil and friend of Madame 
 von Marenholtz-Biilow, Madame de Portugall, and Madame Vogeler (Ida 
 Seele), who had previously been working at the Kindergarten propaganda, 
 for love of the cause, in Switzerland and Italy, came to England definitely to 
 adopt Kindergarten teaching and training as her profession. After lecturing 
 
204 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 in London " to mothers" (one of the said "mothers," Mrs. Lewis, who had 
 been famous on the English stage as Miss Kate Terry, sister of Miss Ellen 
 and Miss Marion Terry, soon afterwards established a class in her house 
 under the lecturer's guidance), Madame Michaelis was appointed by the 
 Girls' Public Day School Company to introduce the Kindergarten into the 
 Notting Hill High School. A bright young form-mistress there, our friend 
 Miss Emily Lord, at once took profound interest in the new teaching, and 
 herself in course of time became well known by her Kindergarten and Training 
 College at Norland Square, Notting Hill, as one of the most successful and 
 energetic of English Kindergarten teachers and trainers. Amongst other 
 courses delivered in this year (1874) by Madame Michaelis, was one to the 
 teachers of the infant schools under the School Board at Croydon, Surrey ; 
 which led eventually to her being engaged by Mrs. Berry (at that time resid- 
 ing in Croydon) as principal of a Kindergarten which was established at 
 Croydon in January, 1875. (Mrs. Berry's services to education comprise also 
 the chief share in the establishment of the Croydon High School for Girls, 
 and also — which is more pertinent to the matter in hand — many years' work as 
 Honorary Secretary of the Froebel Society.) 
 
 Returning to the year 1874, we find in the autumn of that year Miss Heer- 
 wart installed as principal of the newly founded Kindergarten Training College 
 at Stockwell, and Miss Bishop (a pupil of Miss Praetorius) appointed as the 
 first lecturer to the teachers of infant schools under the School Board of 
 London ; the same post which is now so excellently filled by our esteemed 
 friend Miss Mary J. Lyschinska, a pupil of Madame Schrader. 
 
 The movement had now developed to such importance in London that a 
 central society was manifestly needed, and in November, 1874, the Froebel 
 Society of London was founded by Miss Heerwart, Miss Doreck, Miss Bishop, 
 Madame Michaelis, Miss Manning and Professor Joseph Payne. These 
 formed the first council of the society, Miss Doreck being the first President, 
 and Miss Manning the first Honorary Secretary. The council was soon after 
 strengthened by the accession of Miss Shirreff — the present much-respected 
 President, who took office on Miss Doreck's death, in 1877 — of her sister, 
 Mrs. William Grey, of Miss Mary Gurney, and of other prominent educationists. 
 Miss Shirreff' s presidency has been one long course of generous effort, as 
 English Froebelians gratefully recognise. No labour possible for her to under- 
 take has been left undone, in spite of a persistent ill-health that would have 
 afforded any one else sufficient excuse for repose. The most recent of the 
 President's many valuable publications is "The Kindergarten at Home." 
 
 The Froebel Society almost at once began practical w T ork by instituting 
 courses of lectures at the College for Men and Women, Queen's Square, 
 Bloomsbury. The examinations of teachers under the Society began in 1876 
 (the chief examiner of that year being Madame de Portugall), and have continued 
 uninterruptedly till now. The great value attached to the certificate, in conse- 
 quence of the uniformly high character of the Society's examinations, would 
 seem of itself to ensure the permanence of this valuable branch of the Society's 
 work, which extends largely with each succeeding year. 
 
 In 1879 the Froebel Society established a Kindergarten Training College in 
 Tavistock Street, Fitzroy Square, Miss Bishop being the first principal, and 
 the whole establishment being organised as a separate association, with a 
 council of its own ; all the council, however, being members of the Froebel 
 Society. (We may here add that in 1 88 1 Miss Lawrence, a pupil of Kohler, 
 succeeded Miss Bishop as head of the College ; and that, in 1883, the College 
 was transferred to the Maria Grey Training College for Teachers, becoming 
 
Propagation and Extension. 205 
 
 the Kindergarten department of that institution, and passing therefore under 
 the headship of Miss Ward, and in this form it still continues.) 
 
 In May, 1880, the first public company for the promotion of the Kinder- 
 garten system was founded. This was the Croydon Kindergarten and Prepa- 
 ratory School Company, Limited. The Croydon Kindergarten of 1875, which 
 had come into the hands of Madame Michaelis, required organisation to meet 
 the needs of the town. A committee was formed to assist Madame Michaelis 
 in the business portion of the work, leaving to her, without interference, the 
 educational conduct of the institution. It was pointed out that the form of a 
 committee, as a responsible body, was a weak one, since some members might 
 retire and throw all the financial responsibility as to leases, buildings, etc., 
 upon those who remained. It occurred to one of the committee that the 
 Public Companies' Act could be easily applied, and as a result the Croydon 
 Kindergarten Company was founded, and has been ever since carried on 
 with no legal assistance whatever. During the ten years of its existence the 
 Croydon Company, besides its teaching work, has trained over seventy students 
 for examination as Kindergarten mistresses by the Froebel Society. This more 
 durable form of Kindergarten Association proving successful and easy in work- 
 ing, has caused the establishment of the Bedford Kindergarten Company, 
 Limited (1883— Head Mistress, Miss Sim), and of the Sutton (Surrey) Kinder- 
 garten Company, Limited (1888 — Head Mistress, Miss Tinsley) ; and the 
 Croydon Company had the pleasure to assist in creating these friendly rivals. 
 
 In 1882 the centenary of Froebel's birth was celebrated in London by a 
 soiree and conversazione, held at the Stockwell Training College, by the invi- 
 tation of the British and Foreign School Society. Mr. W. Woodall, M.P., 
 presided. Some excellent addresses were delivered ; several interesting sou- 
 venirs of Froebel, of his educational career, and especially of his Kindergarten 
 work, were exhibited, and of course a general exhibition of the Kindergarten 
 gifts and occupations took place ; in short, the evening forms a very pleasant 
 memory for Froebelians. A plan for erecting a monument and establishing a 
 memorial Kindergarten at Blankenburg was set on foot (Froebel's original 
 Kindergarten here having long before ceased to exist), as a worthy way in 
 which to honour the master's memory, and the Froebel Society of London gave 
 a concert at Willis's Rooms, most of the choir being persons associated with 
 the Kindergarten movement, to raise a lund for aiding the Blankenburg plan. 
 A moderate contribution was indeed forwarded to Germany as the result, 
 though this was by no means so substantial as the Society had desired. In 
 fact, while the memorial Kindergarten was established in the following year 
 (1883) with the funds raised in various countries, the monument, which takes 
 the expressive and most appropriate form of a marble cube, with cylinder 
 and ball superposed, was erected entirely at the charge of the Baroness von 
 Marenholtz- Biilow. Besides the small fund raised by the Froebel Society 
 in London, the present Editors had the pleasure of sending a few pounds to 
 Germany as the result of contributions collected by them in Croydon. 
 
 The year 1884 was a marked one in the history of the Kindergarten in 
 England. In that year the International Exhibition held at London (one of a 
 series of four remarkable undertakings of this nature) concerned itself with the 
 subjects of Health and Education. The British and Foreign School Society 
 had just opened a Training College for Infant School teachers at Saffron Wal- 
 den, where the curriculum comprised a considerable study of the Froebelian 
 methods, in addition to the English methods necessitated by the Government 
 code, so that these fortunate teachers, if no others, should have a competent 
 knowledge of the Kindergarten system, and should be able to apply it so far 
 
2o6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 and so soon as the Education Department would allow. We are happy to be 
 able to add that in consequence of the enlightened conduct of this Society, of 
 many of the great School Boards, especially that of London, and of several local 
 efforts of the like kind (as with our own Kindergarten Company and the School 
 Board at Croydon, forinstance), a growing publicopinion has been created all over 
 the country, and the policy of the Department has grown much more liberal 
 with regard to the Kindergarten system ; so that the difficulty at the present day 
 lies chiefly between the Inspectors and the Teachers, and is therefore rapidly 
 tending to disappear. The International Exhibition gave the British and 
 Foreign School Society a golden opportunity to emphasize the views which had 
 led to their action at Saffron Walden, and in pursuit of which they had honour- 
 ably worked for so many years ; and the Secretary of the Society, our valued 
 friend the Rev. Alfred Bourne, together with Miss Heerwart, who came over 
 from Germany for the purpose of assisting her old college, organised the most 
 complete and successful exposition of Kindergarten methods and work ever 
 seen in this country. A large room was allotted to the Society in the Exhibition, 
 and all the principal Kindergarten teachers and trainers of London, together 
 with ourselves from Croydon, loyally united in contributing to the exhibition 
 by sending exhibits of work, and taking it in turn to give actual specimens of 
 teaching, each school bringing its own children. Great interest was excited ; 
 the president of the Section, Lord Reay, was frequently present, and even 
 H.R. H. the Prince of Wales, president of the entire exhibition, made a point 
 of attending one of these practical demonstrations. We may add that the 
 Kindergarten which chanced to be at work at the exhibition on the day of the 
 Prince's visit was that of Miss Pearce (Mrs. Reaney), of Streatham Hill ; and 
 it was fortunate that the games which were played by the children were amongst 
 the most charmingly graceful of the whole series, and that the singing was un- 
 usually ^bright and good. Besides this important exhibition the Kindergarten 
 System formed one section of a very interesting series of conferences on edu- 
 cational subjects which were held in lecture theatres attached to the Exhibition. 
 Two days were devoted to this subject, and the proceedings were very ani- 
 mated. Miss Heerwart contributed a paper, read by the Rev. Alfred Bourne; 
 and Miss Manning also gave a paper. The principal English friends of the 
 Kindergarten joined in the discussion of these papers, and amongst foreign 
 educationists of note who took prominent parts were M. Buels, the Burgo- 
 master of Brussels and Belgian Minister of Education, a firm friend of the 
 Kindergarten ; the aged Professor Stoy, of Jena (since deceased), doubly wel- 
 come as one of the few surviving personal friends of Froebel ; and Madame la 
 Comtesse Dinan, who gave a valuable account in some detail of the well-known 
 Salles cT Asile of Madame Pape-Carpentier, at Paris. The Kindergarten section 
 of the Exhibition was closed most appropriately by a special conference of 
 Kindergarten teachers and trainers, and others intimately connected with the 
 movement. The principal speakers were Miss Frances Lord, Miss Lyschinska, 
 Miss Heerwart, Miss Snell, Madame Michaelis, and Miss Franks. The presi- 
 dent was the Rev. Alfred Bourne. To prove by actual demonstration that con- 
 siderable bodies of children could be satisfactorily taught in Froebelian methods 
 in ordinary infant-schools — a point which had frequently been discussed — Miss 
 Tillotson (one of Miss Heerwart's pupils at the Stockwell Training College, 
 and now Mistress in the Stockwell Training College of the British and 
 Foreign School Society) taught a class of sixty Board School children in the 
 presence of the assembled Conference, very greatly to their satisfaction. 
 
 It was not to be supposed that so much concerted action could remain barren 
 of practical consequences amongst English Froebelians, quite apart from the 
 
Propagation and Extension. 207 
 
 very important result already produced upon the public at large, and upon the 
 educational authorities of the country. The most evident need was that of some 
 combined attempt to maintain a high standard of training for Kindergarten 
 teachers, a policy which the Froebel Society had been consistently following 
 from its foundation. The dangers from imperfectly trained teachers, equipped 
 with some superficial mechanical knowledge of Froebel's methods, but entirely 
 ignorant of Froebel's aims, were sufficiently apparent ; and it was evident that 
 the best method of indicating the really qualified teachers was by some gener- 
 ally recognised certificate. The London Kindergartens and the Croydon Kin- 
 dergarten were well represented upon the council of the Froebel Society, and 
 were used to a high standard maintained by joint action; and the two other 
 chief provincial associations were persuaded, after many discussions, to accept 
 the high standard of London, the Manchester Kindergarten Association (the 
 oldest English Froebelian body), first, in June 18S7 ; and the Bedford Kinder- 
 garten Company, the next year, March, 1888. Thus was formed the National 
 Froebel Union for examinational purposes, working by means of a Joint 
 Board chosen from the councils of the three societies in the proportion of 
 one member to every complete fifty subscribers. Besides the examination for 
 the full teacher's certificate (or "higher certificate") intended to be taken in 
 two portions, the two examinations being a year apart, the Joint Board 
 and the three societies instituted a simpler examination, for an "elementary 
 certificate," sufficient for assistant teachers, nursery governesses, etc., and 
 intended to be taken in one year ; and in either case sufficient evidence of 
 general education was made a preliminary condition of entrance, according 
 to the long usage of the Froebel Society. 
 
 Examinations under the Joint Board may be held at any town in Eng- 
 land, where not less than £21 is guaranteed towards the expenses of the 
 local centre. The first examinations under the Board were held in 1889, 
 at London, Cheltenham, Croydon, Manchester, Plymouth and Shrewsbury; 
 128 students being examined. In 1889, tne entries were 169, and the ex- 
 aminations were held at London, Bedford (which had now joined the Union), 
 Cheltenham, Croydon, Manchester and Plymouth. The Manchester Associa- 
 tion, in consequence of changes in its constitution, and not from any un- 
 friendliness, felt it its duty, unhappily, to withdraw from the National Froebel 
 Union in May, 1889 ; Manchester students still continuing to present them- 
 selves at their local centre. The numbers of students coming up for examina- 
 tion continued to rise, and in 1890 there were 231 entries, examinations 
 being held at London, Bedford, Cheltenham, Cork, Croydon, Plymouth and 
 Sheffield. 
 
 The original composition of the Joint Board was Rev. Alfred Bourne (chair- 
 man), Madame Michaelis, Mr. H. Courthope Bowen and Mr. Claude G. Monte- 
 fiore (of the Froebel Society) ; Miss Herford and Miss Snell (of the Manches- 
 ter Association). In 1888 Dr. Philpotts (head-master of the Bedford Gram- 
 mar School), Rev. Dr. Poole and Miss Sim (of the JBedford Company) were 
 added. In 1889 the Manchester members withdrew. In 1890 the Rev. Mr. 
 Bourne, owing to ill-health, had to relinquish the post for which his great 
 abilities and long sustained efforts in the cause so eminently fitted him, and 
 his place as chairman was filled by Mr. Claude G. Montefiore, for a time, and 
 then by Mr. Courthope Bowen. Miss Rosamond Davenport- Hill (the well- 
 known member of the London School Board) was elected to the seat at the 
 Board vacant by Mr. Bourne's retirement ; and another member being now 
 due to the Froebel Society, because of its increase of numbers, Miss Emily 
 Lord was appointed. Later in the same year Mr. Montefiore retired, and 
 
208 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 was replaced by Mr. A. R. Price, who had for some years been the Treasurer 
 of the Froebel Society. The composition of the Joint Board, as it stands at 
 the close of the present year (1890), is therefore as follows : Mr. H. Courthope 
 Bowen (Chairman), Miss R. Davenpo:t-Hill, Miss Emily Lord, Madame 
 Michaelis and Mr. A. R. Price (of the Froebel Society), Dr. Philpotts, Rev. 
 Dr. Poole and Miss Sim (of the Bedford Company). 
 
 From 1888 onwards, the Froebel Society accepted the duty of recommending 
 an Examiner to test the Kindergarten work of the Infant School Teachers on 
 the London School Board. The first examiners were Mr. Storr (1888), Miss 
 Pattison (1889), Madame Michaelis (1890). 
 
 The Froebel Society has for some years been in the habit of inspecting 
 Kindergartens when desired to do so, and of ascertaining also by other means 
 the value of the teaching in various Kindergartens. The number of special 
 Kindergarten Training Colleges is about ten, and of other institutions where 
 students are trained, and which are in the habit of sending up candidates for 
 examination by the Society, from thirty to thirty-five ; and the number of 
 properly taught Kindergartens recognised by the Society is about 100. But, 
 with the usual national idiosyncrasy of sturdy independence, many excellent 
 teachers have not as yet brought themselves into touch with the Froebel 
 Society. Several such are known, indeed, to the present Editors ; but it is 
 one of the aims of diligent members of the Froebel Society constantly, by 
 persuasion, to reduce the number, and to bring about that complete union 
 wherein alone lies strength ; and no doubt the gradual influence of time and 
 the growing reputation and importance of the Froebel Society will achieve 
 the desired result. Meanwhile, it is the opinion of the Editors, after careful 
 consideration, that the total number of fairly qualified trainers of Kindergarten 
 mistresses in England may be taken at about fifty, and the number of well- 
 taught Kindergartens at about 200. But as to the total numbers of institu- 
 tions adopting the Kindergarten name in our country, it is simply "legion." 
 Every school has its Kindergarten class, good, bad or indifferent. The whole 
 meaning of the Froebel Society and the other bodies of the kind is an effort 
 truthfully to promote Froebelian education, in other words, to change all the 
 countless sham Kindergartens into real ones. 
 
 From what has been said above it is abundantly evident that England has 
 realised the presentiment of the master, so frequently expressed in his last 
 days, that his great system, originally conceived with regard to his own dearly 
 loved country ("Allgemeine Deutsche Erziehungs-Anstalt," "Deutscher Kin- 
 dergarten," etc.), might, after all, strike deeper root in foreign nations than 
 among his own people. Pie regrets, in writing to Miss Howe (Part III., No. 5), 
 that his own want of acquaintance with foreign languages limited his efforts in 
 this direction. Could he know how the Kindergarten has developed in Eng- 
 land from a foreign imported system into an essential part of our modern 
 education ; could he see the enormous power his principles have acquired in 
 our country, far beyond the Kindergarten itself — influencing our educationists 
 of all ranks, and in some cases completely remodelling methods of education 
 — he would be filled with a deep and holy rejoicing at the wonderful success 
 of his life-long efforts in the cause of humanity, from the side of education, 
 and especially as regards those beloved little ones " of whom is the kingdom 
 of heaven." 
 
Propagation and Extension. 209 
 
 (/) Japan. 
 
 The Kindergarten was introduced into Japan by a Berlin 
 lady, the wife of one of the high Japanese officials, who had long 
 served in Berlin. This lady established a Training College for 
 Kindergarten teachers under the protection of the empress, who 
 had collected one of the most complete libraries of Kindergarten 
 literature to be found, in doing which she had been supported by 
 the Mikado himself. After a sufficient number of Japanese 
 Kindergarten teachers had been trained a large normal Kinder- 
 garten was set on foot. According to the report of Professor 
 Mason, of Boston, from 200 to 300 children, between the ages of 
 two and six, are now educated here daily, under the superin- 
 tendence of the Berlin lady we have named. She has a well- 
 equipped staff of teachers, assistants, and maids under her, all 
 thoroughly trained in Froebel's principles. The empress manifests 
 much interest in the Kindergarten, and pays frequent visits to it, 
 encouraging the staff to still further progress. 1 
 
 {K) America. 
 
 Kindergartens flourish apace in the United States of North 
 America, and the results of Froebelian work are so great that we 
 can hardly show anything to compare with them in the Old 
 World, even in Germany, the cradle of the Kindergarten system. 
 
 1 Herr Poesche has not mentioned the date of the foundation of the first 
 Japanese Kindergarten ; but we may say that this nation, so remarkable for 
 its swiftness of adaptation, had in 1878 already sufficiently advanced to be able 
 to send an exhibit of Japanese Kindergarten work to the International Exhibi- 
 tion of Paris held in that year. The Japanese Commissioner for Education 
 sent to London at the time of the International Exhibition (Health and 
 Education, 1884), when the Froebelians of London made the important 
 demonstration of their methods which we have above described in our 
 Appendix to the section " England," took great interest in the Kindergarten 
 part of the Exhibition, paid frequent visits to it, informed himself more fully 
 of the aims and principles of Froebel as there shown, and eagerly accepted 
 several of the exhibits, models, work, etc., for transmission to Japan. We 
 indulge our personal vanity in adding that amongst his presents the Com- 
 missioner accepted an entire set of Froebel's drawing, completely worked out 
 by Croydon students, which we hope has done good service to the little 
 subjects of the Mikado. 
 
2io Letters of Fro eb el. 
 
 The following figures will make it manifest that Froebel's 
 keenest longings and hopes with regard to the New World have 
 been fully realised. According to the statistics furnished by 
 the Bureau of Education in 1873 there were 42 Kindergartens; 
 in 1 88 1 there were 273 Kindergartens, with 676 teachers and 
 assistant mistresses and 14,107 scholars; in 1885 there w T ere 
 563 Kindergartens with 1,400 teachers and assistant mistresses, 
 and 29,716 scholars; 423 institutions being kept by English- 
 Americans, 142 by German-Americans, and 100 being connected 
 with various public schools. Almost every state has its associa- 
 tions and societies for the promotion of Froebel's method, 
 as, for example, the " American Froebel Union " (President : 
 W. Hailman, of Laporte, director of the German and English 
 Academy, Milwaukee) and the Ladies' Associations of Phila- 
 delphia, San Francisco (Professor Adler l ), etc. The following 
 have rendered extraordinary service to the cause of the Kinder- 
 garten in America : — Mr. Henry Barnard, ex-Minister of educa- 
 tion ; Miss Peabody, 2 of Cambridge, U.S.A., sister-in-law of the 
 celebrated schoolmaster Horace Mann ; Mile. Mathilde Krieger 
 (a former purjil of the Berlin Training College) and her mother ; 3 
 the Kraus Boltes, 4 husband and wife, of New York ; the late 
 
 1 Professor Adler is wrongly placed at San Francisco. His great sphere of 
 philanthropic and beneficent work is at New York. The proper name to 
 associate with the introduction of the Kindergarten in San Francisco is that 
 of Miss Emma Marwedel, whose quarter of a century of earnest and original 
 work entitles her to great respect. In 1888 we had the pleasure of receiving 
 her, when visiting England — quite aged, but still full of energy. Miss Kate 
 Wiggin, whose personal acquaintance we made in London this summer (1890), 
 should also be mentioned here as one of the foremost leaders of the Kinder- 
 garten movement in San Francisco to-day. She is principal of the National 
 Kindergarten ( Volks Kindergarten), and is a woman of very remarkable gifts. 
 
 2 Miss Peabody is one of the few persons yet living who knew and worked 
 with Froebel. Although Herr Poesche has only mentioned her amongst 
 others, those who are intimately acquainted with American Kindergarten 
 work know that Miss Peabody, if any one, may be described as the Apostle 
 of the Kindergarten in America. Her Froebelian work stands pre-eminent 
 there, and her authority is unquestioned. 
 
 3 Mile. Krieger was a fellow student with Madame Michaelis, one of the 
 present Editors, under Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow, at Berlin, in 1863. 
 
 4 Who have produced what in our opinion is perhaps the best English 
 practical guide to Kindergarten work that has ever yet appeared ; in addition 
 to which their Kindergarten at New York is a model for such institutions. 
 
Propagatio?i and Extension. 2 1 1 
 
 Edward Wiebe, etc. 1 The American newspapers are especially 
 enthusiastic oyer Froebelian matters, and the booksellers (Steigers, 
 New York) and authors strive with emulation as to who shall 
 produce the best translations of the foremost German Kinder- 
 garten publications ; as witness : Horace Mann's translation of 
 the collected works of the Baroness von Marenholtz-Biilow, 
 Neffelt's translation of Goldammer's writings, Borschitzky's 
 Kindergarten songs, etc. 2 The Kindergarten town, before all 
 others, is certainly St. Louis, with its sixty free Kindergartens 
 and 185 teachers and masters, and 4,805 children in the Kinder- 
 gartens proper, besides 3,925 children, who, after the model of 
 Froebers Transition Classes, attend partly the Kindergarten and 
 partly the Elementary School classes. All these are free from any 
 school-fees whatever. In Chicago we learn from the Western 
 News of nth March, 1886, that over thirty Kindergartens, 
 attended by more than 2,500 children, have been established in 
 the last five years. Here are two large societies, the " Froebel 
 Association " and the " Free Kindergarten Association," with 
 two Training Colleges (Normal Schools) and twenty-four Kinder- 
 gartens. The fourteen Kindergartens of the Free Kindergarten 
 Association take children of the poorest classes without fee. 
 The Association has in this manner already done a large amount 
 of good, and it still holds on its beneficent career, supported 
 more and more in its good work by noble friends of humanity. 
 
 1 To show the intense and living earnestness in Kindergarten matters per- 
 vading American Society, even of the highest class, we may say that Mrs. 
 Cleveland, wife of the ex-President of the United States (the immediate 
 predecessor of the present President), is the leading member of the Mission 
 Kindergarten Organisation, opened this year (1890) at the corner of First 
 Avenue and Fifty-Third Street, New York, and giving daily shelter and free 
 instruction to poor children from three to seven years old. Mrs. Cleveland 
 spares neither money, clothes, nor kind words, and visits this squalid 
 quarter of the great city almost daily. Interesting and admired as she always 
 has been ever since she was brought into the front rank of American society 
 by her marriage, which occurred during her husband's presidency (a fact unique 
 in the history of America), her quiet, half-concealed, constant, loving work 
 upon this Kindergarten Mission seems to many to be her truest social effort. 
 
 2 It is too bad, without the least excuse, except that of American habits of 
 piracy' of copyright, to rob us of our good friend Borschitzky, whose long 
 residence in our country fairly entitles us to claim him as an Englishman, and 
 whose songs were, as we all know, published in England. 
 
212 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 The children, drawn from such miserable dwellings that it is 
 impossible for them to be neatly clothed, receive clothing from 
 the Association, and many of the poor little scholars are also fed 
 daily at its expense. Once in the week a meal is served to all 
 the children in the schools at the expense of the Association, in 
 order that they may receive lessons in good manners at table, and 
 in proper behaviour, from the Kindergarten teachers. Of course, 
 in addition to this, care is taken that their faces and hands are 
 thoroughly washed and their hair neatly brushed ; and if a child 
 comes to school in the morning unwashed or untidy, he is sent 
 back to his mother, so that she may be made aware of her neglected 
 duty. The young teachers and assistants who have charge of 
 the children pay a visit to their parents from time to time, to see 
 how the children live at home ; and it follows naturally that by 
 these visits many a home, once untidy and uncomfortable, has 
 been gradually brought into a more respectable condition. In 
 these free Kindergartens the main principles of religion are 
 taught. By means of pretty coloured pictures, namely, the 
 children learn the Bible stories ; and the first principles of Chris- 
 tian morality are taught them in a strictly unsectarian manner. 
 The Training College ("Normal School") prescribes one year's 
 course of studies for its students. These young ladies, who 
 must be at least eighteen years old, are educated without fee in 
 all branches of their work, and in return they have to place their 
 time at the disposal of the Association, that is, they must assist 
 to educate the children in the fourteen Kindergartens, or at all 
 events must help in keeping order. It need scarcely be said 
 that one indispensable qualification for a young aspirant is that 
 her moral character is unblemished ; beyond this she only needs 
 to have musical ability and a merely average education, though the 
 young ladies of superior education are always taken by preference. 
 Each student must serve as probationer for a month, to see if she 
 is fitted for her proposed vocation. Should she satisfactorily 
 pass through the month's probation, and then do well in her 
 year's course, she receives a certificate. But she can only gain 
 a full diploma as teacher after five months further study, and 
 after thoroughly informing herself upon the history and the theory 
 
Propagation and Extension. 213 
 
 of education. It is very rarely that a young lady is rejected on 
 account of unsuitableness for her profession, and in these cases 
 deficiency sometimes arises from over-culture as well as from 
 total want of culture. Of course most girls adopt the profession 
 as a means of livelihood after the completion of their student's 
 course ; and it is interesting to note that the demand for trained 
 Kindergarten teachers is greater than the supply. The most 
 pressing inquiries are for German-American teachers, that is, 
 ladies who can speak with equal ease and purity both German 
 and English. Many schools in Chicago have a Kindergarten 
 infant class attached to them, and in all parts of the city private 
 Kindergartens, where cultured ladies educate the children of 
 well-to-do parents at stated fees, have lately sprung up. 
 
 And not only in the south, but in the east (New York, Hobo- 
 ken, Boston, with its forty Kindergartens) and in the west (San 
 Francisco with over twenty Kindergartens) the Kindergartens 
 flourish and are numerous ; and as for the Inland States one 
 example at least we may give, namely, Davenport in the State of 
 Iowa, where there has been a Kindergarten Association with its 
 Kindergarten since 1861. The Kindergarten buildings are by 
 the side of the Mississippi, and the board over the entrance bears 
 the words, " Froebel's Infant-Garden." Thus^has Froebel's work 
 encircled the globe, and his name is written in large characters 
 for all the world to see, from Thuringia to Iowa, from the granite 
 rocks of the Glockner to the banks of the Mississippi ! 
 
 In the year 185 1 I was fortunate enough to be in Froebel's 
 house at Marienthal on the 21st April, with his pupils, celebrating 
 his 69th birthday — the last but one he was to know. We long 
 discussed how best to proceed, and with what embellishments our 
 plan might be adorned. In the end we chose five girls from his 
 scholars, and they were to represent the five continents of the 
 earth, declaiming verses before the illuminated world (iV.B, — 
 the globe was, on this occasion, only made of willow-wands and 
 oiled paper), and prophesying in these songs the extension of 
 Froebel's principles into all the quarters of the earth. We have 
 
214 Letters of Froeb el. 
 
 only to remember that the centenary of Froebel's birthday was 
 celebrated in Europe, North America, Brazil, Chile, Japan, India, 
 and Australia to acknowledge that in very deed that fantastic 
 vision and prophecy have truly come to pass. 
 
 But let us close with what we began, Germany and the 
 Germans. In the year 1878 we could count at the Paris Exhibi- 
 tion 929 German Kindergartens : we have now certainly over 
 2,000. And it is not merely in the enumeration of these 
 Kindergartens that our advance is manifest, but much rather in 
 the acknowledgment of their value as the basis and foundation 
 stone of our national education. And in this latter point much 
 remains yet to be done in Germany ; for Diesterweg's epigram, 
 which he sent to the Rhine News (Rheinische Blatter) in 1857, 
 has unfortunately come true : "Our Kindergartens seem to share 
 the fate of the rest of our German manufactures, which have first 
 to travel to London and Paris, and win acceptance in those 
 cities before they can be rewarded with favouring glances in the 
 country of their birth." But Froebel, writing to Langethal long 
 before, in 1836, had said much the same thing in his own pecu- 
 liar way : " Am I travelling amongst a foreign people ? Am I 
 not a German travelling amongst Germans ? And why, then, am 
 I not understood ? " 
 
 Well, let us steadily work on, and leave the rest to the 
 guidance of Providence. Nevertheless, I cannot refrain from 
 adding yet one more quotation, an admonition from an earnest, 
 practical man, the Chief Councillor for Education, Dr. von 
 Sallwiirk, of Carlsruhe, in the German News [Deutsche Blatter) : 
 " Froebel to-day stands in England and in France like the patron 
 saint above the door of the Schools of Education. 1 In Brussels, 
 in the year 1880, Froebel was extolled to the skies. In French 
 Switzerland they are enthusiastic about him, and in Italy a very- 
 earnest study of his work has set in. These phenomena are not 
 so unimportant as people are accustomed to consider them in 
 many German educational circles ! " 
 
 1 Decidedly an overstatement as regards France. Up to the present time 
 France cannot be fairly said to have begun to adopt the Kindergarten— a 
 neglect in which she stands almost alone amongst the great nations. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 215 
 
 (1.) 
 
 To the Wives and Mothers of Blankenburg-, 
 
 and especially to three of them, the Wives of Superintendent 
 Oertel, ^/"Rector Maurer, and of Kerr Sattler, Chemist. 
 
 Blankenburg, 25/$ December, 1839. 
 Honoured Wives and Mothers, — 
 
 At this beloved Christmas-tide what most stirs the heart of 
 all wives and mothers, and almost narrows their life at this time to 
 one single point, is the joy of the children, the merry activity of 
 all the dear little folk, and especially of the youngest amongst 
 them. The enjoyments of this festive season, which either they 
 or their friends provide for the darlings of their heart, or which 
 these beloved ones provide for others, are the cause of much 
 merry conversation, and are now strengthening the bond of 
 union which binds together the common life of themselves and 
 their numerous companions. 
 
 Wherefore I hope to obtain your indulgence, most honoured 
 wives and mothers, seeing that I come before you at a time 
 which is so truly a festive season for children and for the lovers 
 of children, with a petition conceived in the interest of children 
 of tender age. I thus confess my design at the outset. 
 
 Some time since, in the gloomy days of bitterness while I 
 sorrowed at the loss of my dear wife, now amongst the blessed ; 
 and especially in those days when the gift which her soul had 
 received from Nature, its bodily envelope, I mean, was once more 
 returned to the mother earth, the most noble-minded women in 
 Blankenburg came before me in a guise so amiable, so thought- 
 ful and kindly, all of them uniting in endeavours to bring peace 
 to my sorrowing soul, and deeply touching me with their goodness, 
 that a gentle desire made itself felt in my heart to seek out some 
 object which might serve as a fitting centre to occupy and pre- 
 serve that most beautiful and rare union of womanly minds which 
 had thus been formed for my solace, in the first instance. At 
 
2 1 6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 that time, out of all the projects which occurred to me I could 
 find none which pleased me, none which was truly appropriate ; 
 and my desire has lain still unsatisfied within my soul until these 
 present days. Now another plan for uniting women in a com- 
 mon cause has taken possession of my mind ; and my original 
 desire has not only awoke anew to life, but has acquired a de- 
 termined form and a definite purpose. This desire, and the 
 present opportunity, which is so eminently appropriate for ex- 
 pressing it, now urges me, most esteemed ladies, to address you 
 at this festival time, and by an open letter. 
 
 From the establishment in this place of the first educational 
 institution which based itself upon ordered games and occu- 
 pations, and which has so quickly developed here from that first 
 germ into a healthy and admired plant — mainly by the cherish- 
 ing aid of the authorities and the parents of Blankenburg, who 
 believed in its future — there has arisen the idea that we need a 
 larger, earlier, and more general care and observation of child- 
 hood ; and further, with a view to obtain this result, that we need 
 more special training for those who are the first to have charge of 
 children — that is, for children's maids and nursery governesses — 
 not only for the purposes of the general public, but especially in 
 relation to our local educational institutions. I have been asked 
 for some time since, indeed, to unite and incorporate with my 
 educational establishments here the traininof of such children's 
 maids and nursery governesses, and also, if possible, the training 
 of actual educators of very young children. But prudent and 
 experienced women, conversant with motherly difficulties, will see 
 at once that more is required for the due culture of such students 
 than any solitary educator and trainer, however devoted, can of 
 himself supply ; they will recognise the necessity of the practical 
 and thorough co-operation of cultured and experienced wives and 
 mothers with such an educator ; but this co-operation, this help, 
 is at present entirely wanting to me. 
 
 I have already once before taken the liberty, esteemed Madame 
 Oertel, to point out to you the gravity of these requests which 
 reach me from all sides, to undertake work not alone necessary 
 for Blankenburg families, whose daughters are maybe discover- 
 
Propagation and Extension. 217 
 
 ing in themselves a vocation for work of this kind, and not alone 
 necessary for merely the earliest years of childhood, but a work 
 which is necessary to the best interests of all the growing and 
 developing portion of mankind, and one which is sure to find 
 speedy imitation elsewhere ; and on that occasion, dear madam, 
 I set before you a scheme to supply the want — namely, that as 
 soon as possible a few of the most cultured, thoughtful, humane, 
 and, above all, child-loving women of Blankenberg should unite 
 together in an effort towards the end I have indicated, towards 
 the fulfilment of a need so universally felt, and that they should 
 pledge themselves to contribute to this cause all their powers of 
 heart and hand, of thought and action. 
 
 But now, at this very moment that I seek to consult with you, 
 honoured wives and mothers, on this important subject, I am in 
 receipt of a copy of an essay, written in a lady's hand, and which 
 must have sprung from a mother's heart, the author having sent 
 it to a scholarly and patriotically minded German gentleman, that 
 he might look it through, and then procure its insertion in a 
 widely read German journal. By this article, a copy of the 
 sketch of which is enclosed, I perceive that in addition to oral 
 and separate inquiries we may soon expect a public and therefore 
 a more closely combined attack to be made upon us from with- 
 out, urging us to the very work I have put before you. But even 
 if this attack should not be actually delivered, the MS. shows me 
 — especially when I read it in conjunction with the article in 
 No. 312 of the German hitelligencer (Deutsche A nzeiger) of 15th 
 May last — the suitability both in time and place of our Blanken- 
 burg Association of cultured, large-hearted women, through whose 
 sympathy and aid I might find it possible to meet the want that 
 is so universally felt, and now begins to be so generally ex- 
 pressed — that is, for the due culture of attendants for children. 
 And, I would add, it would be delightful to be able to greet this 
 public request by an accomplished fact, to greet it, or perhaps to 
 precede it. 
 
 Hence am I so bold, upon this blessed day of Christmas, the 
 day whereon the Saviour of children and of men was born, to 
 lay before you my scheme for such an association for your 
 
2 1 8 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 general consideration ; and to offer it, should it meet with your 
 approval, as a means of worthily celebrating the Christ-festival. 
 
 Yes, much-esteemed wives and mothers, this is how I would 
 have you celebrate the present Christmas ; the special children's 
 festival; the festival when all men rejoice in and with the chil- 
 dren ; the festival of the true life brought to mankind, the pure 
 light, the perfect love, towards which in truth it must always be 
 our aim to train the children. I would that this festival might 
 prove to be our Association-day, the foundation-day of an under- 
 taking for the benefit of childhood and the early training of 
 children in general, and also for the training of healthy-minded 
 and brave-hearted maidens into the first real nurses. 
 
 Do not, honoured wives and mothers, allow yourselves to be 
 daunted by the smallness and the almost insignificant character 
 which must mark the beginning of such things, especially when 
 we have to reckon with the modest and retiring nature so appro- 
 priate to the noblest feminine souls; but proceed with me to the 
 foundation-feast, and thence to the establishment of the Asso- 
 ciation. All that is truly of importance to mankind has come to 
 us out of obscurity, small and insignificant, entrusted to the care 
 of womanly souls ; often, as indeed this very festival reminds us, 
 to the care of only one woman, she being the sole guardian of 
 the very highest treasure. 
 
 If we choose this day for our opening day, the birthday of the 
 divine friend of children, of him who saw and honoured the Man 
 in the Child and the divine in the human nature, the spirit and 
 hallowedness of this day shall rest upon our work, and without 
 doubt many will join with us because of the feeling and spirit 
 which our association with such a day will naturally call forth. ; 
 
 You yourself, esteemed Madame Oertel, have pointed out to me 
 many a wife and mother of our town who would be likely to join 
 our Association ; and the maidens would come also, for there 
 must be cases such as those indicated to me by your husband, 
 where the eldest daughter of a bereaved family, by studying with 
 us, would fulfil the dearest wishes of her sorrowing father; and 
 in fact, such a case actually happened lately amongst my own 
 students. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 219 
 
 Thus working together in fullest confidence and in all sincerity, 
 though at first in quite a small circle and for an aim narrowly 
 limited, your Association would eventually grow, honoured ladies, 
 and would, with perhaps the assistance of other energetic and 
 honourable women of Blankenburg, form the earliest germ of 
 a general German Women's Association for the care of the 
 earliest years of childhood, would nourish this germ, and sweep 
 away from before it all the obstacles to its growth. The condi- 
 tions and aptitudes for this Association exist and are evident to 
 me among the circumstances of our time, which is why I cherish 
 the desire for it so faithfully in my bosom, and why my assurance 
 is so firm that many noble-hearted wives and mothers of Ger- 
 many, from far and wide, will hasten to join in such a work as 
 soon as its blessed nature is visible as an accomplished fact, even 
 though it appear at first on but a very small scale. Let this day, 
 at all events for you three ladies to begin with, be the Foundation- 
 day, the Association-day, of our limited work here at home ; 
 which work, however, is at the same time destined to germinate 
 and to develop into a great Women's Association for the care of 
 children. 
 
 If you wish to know more precisely the principles which should 
 lie at the base of such an Association, and which are evolved of 
 necessity from the very nature of the enterprise, I shall feel it a 
 pleasant duty to give further particulars. 
 
 Receive, honoured ladies, the assurance of my special esteem 
 and attachment. 
 
 [No signature.] 
 
220 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 (2.) 
 
 [" Come, let us live for our children"^ 
 
 An Appeal to German Wives and Maidens, 
 
 and to all Germans who love Manhood, Youth, and Childhood, 
 
 made in favour of the German Kindergarten by 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Blankenburg, 1844. 
 The following three works about the Kindergarten have ap- 
 peared up to the present. 
 
 1. " Songs for Mothers and Nursery Songs " {Mutter- und Kose- 
 Lieder), a book for the family. The first games used in the 
 Blankenburg Kindergarten. 
 
 2. " A Hundred Songs for the Ball-games of the Blankenburg 
 Kindergarten " ; serving both as preface and as supplement to the 
 work called " The Ball, the child's first toy, and always his best 
 beloved plaything." 
 
 3. The " third gift " of the series of games used in the same 
 Kindergarten : — " The Divided Cube, cut once through each side 
 — the delight of children," with two hundred ways of using it for 
 building, and as many little songs. 
 
 These published works lie open to the perusal and the close 
 scrutiny of all. Taking them in their entirety, and also examining 
 each one in itself, it becomes clear even to the most cursory 
 glance what is meant by the " Kindergarten," what is meant, 
 moreover, by the "German Kindergarten" as a Normal or Model 
 Institution of this kind; in fact, the aim which these undertakings 
 have in view is quite manifest to every one. 
 
 The bodily and mental powers are to be awakened and de. 
 veloped, ways and means for their exercise indicated and pro- 
 vided, and assistants trained; so that every child, no matter of 
 
Propagation and Extension. 221 
 
 Avhat rank or condition, may here be able to work out and faith- 
 fully express his real nature, character and true vocation in life • 
 educating himself as well as being educated. This is the simple 
 purpose of the " Kindergarten," this the goal towards which the 
 "German Kindergarten'' is directed. 
 
 But whilst goal and purpose are so clear, almost concentrated, 
 as one might say, in a single point and precisely indicated, more- 
 over, by the needs of all men ; yet this point can only be attained 
 through the combined action of many minds — indeed, it would 
 scarcely be too much to say, the action of all minds. For the 
 child must not only be shielded from all evil examples, that which 
 is faulty in his nature being left unstimulated and unnourished, but 
 must at the same time be educated in all that is valuable for life 
 by means of example and practice — in goodness, in observing 
 power, and in practical ability, as well as in the application of 
 whatever instruction is imparted to him ; so that later on that 
 child will come to look upon self-development as his highest need 
 in every circumstance of his life, Women must be trained in 
 this work, and become penetrated with its spirit to make them- 
 selves helpful in family educational cares, and in all grades of 
 completeness from the nurse to the teacher ; and this is the 
 general purpose of the Kindergarten, and the especial purpose of 
 the German Kindergarten. 
 
 That these ends of the Kindergarten should be attained, is to 
 the interest of every man, whoever he may be, and it might almost 
 be said that every one's interest is equally great in this ; rich or 
 poor, high or low, cultured or of unlettered natural understanding 
 and simple life, young or old, imperfect attainment of ends by 
 the one class brings about disadvantage to the other, as each 
 man's own observation must force him to admit. 
 
 All of us, without exception, feel — each one in his own way and 
 some more, some less — the consequences of deficient culture and 
 faulty education at every stage, in our various relations of life and 
 spheres of work, and we have had to contend against these ill 
 consequences our whole life long. 
 
 Before all others, however, the place where the ill consequences 
 of deficient education in the various grades of culture make them- 
 
222 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 selves most felt is the household, the family ; and it is the educa- 
 tion and culture of the children that is at fault, especially of the 
 children from the time they leave their mother's arms up to 
 school-age. Who does not know, even the most patient and 
 devoted mother, how hard it is, especially in the age just referred 
 to, to keep children occupied suitably and for any length of time ? 
 Who does not know how hard it is to find maids or nurses for very 
 young children ? 
 
 The true care for genuine education therefore rests upon you, 
 O mothers, wives and maidens, beyond all others, for it is you 
 who are the first and the most concerned in the consequences of 
 faulty education. To you, God and Nature, and the customs of 
 life and of society almost exclusively entrust the earliest educa- 
 tion of man, of the child, in your capacity of mothers or daughters, 
 or of assistants to one or the other. 
 
 How rare it is that you find surrounding circumstances free from 
 hindrance in your task ; how far rarer it is that you find them truly 
 helpful to you ; how rare that you can fairly claim yourself to 
 possess the necessary insight, the practical knowledge fitting you 
 for your task, upon a truthful scrutiny ; how rare that you can 
 engage the assistance of some one who is properly qualified, or 
 who has ever enjoyed facilities for so qualifying herself! 
 
 Natural instinct and good example will do much in this regard, 
 it is true ; but here, as in all human concerns, one must proceed 
 by extension of knowledge and by careful scrutiny, or both the 
 one or the other may mislead or be misdirected. Experience 
 cries aloud to us, to warn us of this danger. You feel this, and 
 you know this, all too well, true-hearted, good, and noble parents, 
 upright judges against yourselves ! Man shall assuredly not neglect 
 his natural instincts, still less abandon them, but he must ennoble 
 them through his intelligence, purify them through his reason. 
 Whatever a man does in his character of a member of humanity 
 he has to do with insight and after careful scrutiny. Wherefore 
 the yearnings of to-day after the realisation of a simple, easily 
 managed method of children's education and children's care, 
 expressing and satisfying the claims of child-life, turns with full 
 confidence to you for their fulfilment, O German wives, mothers 
 
Propagation and Extension. 223 
 
 and maidens, and beyond you to all Germans who love mankind 
 and childhood. 
 
 Scrutinise what has been said above in the light of your soul's 
 needs, of your life's wants, of your spirit's intuitions ; always re- 
 membering that " the letter killeth," that every printed description 
 or statement can but present a single detached phenomenon out 
 of all the great living unity of real education ; and then lend us 
 your hands, helping and forwarding, and you shall see rise up 
 before you in the German Kindergarten an educational life which 
 shall be one and a whole ; at all events, which shall be such, so 
 far as regards the earliest years of education, which will serve as a 
 beginning. 
 
 One hour of earnest observation of such an educational system 
 in actual operation, or even a vivid account thereof, is more helpful 
 towards the development of the general plan than the reading 
 of a voluminous educational work; for by' observation you can 
 not only apprehend the truth of the system, but can see how it is 
 actually carried out. 
 
 The German Kindergarten as Normal Institution must become 
 an actuality, Kindergartens throughout the land, in town and 
 country, as branches of the first, must also become actualities, 
 that the word may become a fact, and this fact strike deep into 
 our national life, to the salvation and blessing of all — of all I For 
 it is important to all alike, that a thorough and sufficient and truly 
 humane scheme of children's education shall exist, and shall be 
 applied to all the various special conditions of our life. 
 
 With lightning speed flashes through our heart the evil example 
 of wicked men, and so is it with the evil example of naughty 
 children, striking upwards from below, striking downwards from 
 above. Every one knows that it is hardly possible for the most 
 careful parents to protect their children from the poison of evil 
 example, or indeed, to know from what quarter the pest may 
 come ; and through its habit of springing upon its victim in this 
 unexpected fashion it is able to inflict so much the deeper and 
 deadlier hurt upon the young soul. The consequences may not 
 be apparent — and this is one of the worst aspects of the evil done 
 — until years afterwards. Have you not known cases where the 
 
224 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 hearts of the children of some pure and noble minded family have 
 in an instant been poisoned in this wise ? 
 
 But there is another and almost more powerful enemy of the 
 blessed ignorance of childhood, of the purity of the children's 
 heart and soul, which, like the blight and canker in the world of 
 plants, manifests its presence by the stagnation of the vital fluid. 
 This enemy is the mischievous idleness which results from our not 
 satisfying or from our misdirecting the natural longing for some 
 mode of activity which is inherent in all children. 
 
 From this there is no other salvation for us —think of this, ye 
 parents, ye mothers, ye lovers of men and of children, of what 
 class soever ye be ! — no other salvation than in a comprehensive, 
 general, thorough, early (nay, the earliest) education, exactly fitted 
 to the needs of the child and of the future man in the child, such 
 as is given us in the Kindergarten system, and in the German 
 Kindergarten especially. 
 
 If we fail to eradicate the evil during childhood we shall never 
 cease to grieve over it, for it will continue to make itself felt as now, 
 in families, schools, churches, and the whole public life of the land. 
 
 The separate creches and infant schools which now exist are 
 quite insufficient to cope with this evil ; for as to the creches their 
 care is simply of externals, and as to the infant schools they are 
 individually separate, each one being fitted for some special con- 
 dition of society — and further, though their intention is good, they 
 only train the memory, neglecting or insufficiently attending to the 
 creative and expressive needs, which, however, are the most 
 essential needs of little children. 
 
 Therefore the creches and infant schools must be raised into 
 Kindergartens, wherein the child is treated and trained according 
 to his whole nature, so that the claims of his body, his heart, and 
 his head, his active, moral and intellectual powers, are all satisfied 
 and developed. 
 
 Not the training of the memory, not learning by rote, not 
 familiarity with the appearances of things, but culture by means 
 of actions, facts, and life itself, bring a blessing upon the individual, 
 and thereby a blessing upon the whole community; since each 
 one, be he the highest or the humblest, is a member of the com- 
 
Propagation and Extension. 225 
 
 m unity : now, the training of the Kindergarten is alike of the 
 head and heart, and educates at one and the same time towards 
 skilfulness in action and towards rectitude in Hfe. 
 
 Therefore work, work, all of you who are friends to the earlier 
 satisfactory training of children — and who is not a friend thereto ? 
 — work with a will, that we may raise up and develop an educa- 
 tional life for the culture of childhood in its model or normal form, 
 and in its fullest power, in the shape of the German Kindergarten. 
 
 Many noble, highborn, wealthy persons of your sex, who are also 
 at one with you in mind and soul, German wives and maidens, 
 and many of the true German friends of Man have already en- 
 tered into bonds of fellowship towards this end. 
 
 The prospectus and balance-sheet of the German Kindergarten 
 is already before you all, and a supplementary pamphlet will 
 soon be placed in your hands. But the response hitherto received 
 has not been sufficient to enable the work to make a beginning, 
 even in its earliest and simplest form ; for the subscriptions are 
 not enough for the permanent appointment of even one "mother " 
 of a Kindergarten, and therefore at present the children cannot 
 be assembled continuously in a Kindergarten and be continu- 
 ously busied there, according to the spirit of our institution. 
 
 But in order that you may at least in some measure educate 
 and occupy the children in the spirit of this method the three 
 works mentioned at the head of this address, fruits of patriotic 
 effort and collective action, have been published. They are here 
 laid before every one who considers the idea to be worthy of his 
 support and justified by facts. And although what is here offered 
 you is not of great bulk, yet it constitutes, with the life it affords 
 you the opportunity of creating for yourselves, a work of import- 
 ance ; it is the fruit of the belief in the future lying before it, which 
 the idea of the German Kindergarten has been already able to in- 
 spire in many noble-hearted and experienced persons, especially 
 true-hearted mothers and sensible wives. Rejoice, ye noble ones, 
 when you read this. Rejoice, if any good result towards the early 
 training of children springs from what is here laid before the 
 world ; for if so, it will be due to the truly maternal solicitude with 
 which you cared for and protected those first thoughts which 
 
 
 
226 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 have ever since been struggling to express themselves in the form 
 of the Kindergarten. For one thing, we have here disposed, once 
 for all, of the objection, "What is the use of the German Kin- 
 dergarten to foreigners? Can they derive any benefit from it?" 
 Believe me, the blessings of the Kindergarten already rise like 
 the stimulating odour of flowers into the lofty palace, and sink 
 like cool, refreshing dew into the poorest hut. And yet the work 
 is but still in the bud. 
 
 Examine closely the publications which are here set before you 
 as a preface, so to speak, or example, showing the spirit and the 
 method of the whole work. These fragments are not presented 
 as a system complete in itself, and still less are they to be 
 regarded as worked out and properly adapted for all degrees of 
 culture and all conditions of life ; these developments will follow 
 in good time. 
 
 Meanwhile, in all love and sympathy for children, use the 
 material which has here been made ready to your hand ; so that, 
 encouraged by the result which is sure to follow, you may join 
 in association with the noble and large-hearted friends of man 
 in every rank of society, and with them take good care that 
 the work shall not shrivel in the bud. May you find yourselves 
 impelled to unite together and aid the work to complete itself, to 
 develop into actual life, in theory and practice, possessed of ways 
 and means ; for association strengthens and makes efficient the 
 work of each individual, as well as serving for a normal type and 
 a fruitful life-source for other such associations and circles. 
 
 Now help, all ye who know the meaning of the words "child" 
 and "education" — and who is there who was not once a child, or 
 who has not received the benefits of education ?— help a work 
 which, like Christianity itself, or like a blossom of that sacred tree 
 of life (which sees in every child a citizen of Heaven, and which, 
 on this account, demands from us the care of children), brings 
 salvation and blessing to every one and rejects none. Help a 
 work which so thoroughly arouses and nurtures life, regards it as 
 a gift of God, and carries out the sense of one connected whole, 
 even down to the smallest details, that its least influence upon 
 the child never remains without some blessed result. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 227 
 
 Ye wives and maidens of richly endowed soul, clear intelli- 
 gence, and energetic readiness to take up every good work in all 
 the provinces of Germany, who are deeply convinced of the value 
 and importance of the object here proposed, unite and bring 
 together the wives and maidens of your neighbourhood, and 
 show them how, in furthering this nationally beneficent scheme, 
 they will also be consulting their personal weal and founding 
 the well-being of their present or future family ; make it come 
 vividly home to them that to no one can the happiness of the 
 household or the family lie more closely to heart — which is as 
 much as to say the early and thorough culture of children — than 
 to them, who are knit close for their whole lives to the home and 
 the family. Show them that whoever wishes to lay deep and 
 sure foundations for true family weal (and who wishes it not, even 
 as maiden, still more as mother?) can find the foundation stone 
 nowhere else than in the family-life ; namely, in the educating 
 home-influence, which rules within the family ; and that it is pre- 
 cisely the task which the German Kindergarten has set before it 
 (and it will be the task likewise of the other Kindergartens which 
 will spring to life in every town and province) to arouse that 
 true, universally binding, universally contenting, educating spirit 
 in all families, in all German lands, to stimulate it to free and 
 active life, to nourish it into fullest strength. It is quite true, 
 therefore, as was said above, that each one is consulting and 
 furthering his own interest who is furthering the interest of the 
 German Kindergarten. Should those of the middle classes ob- 
 ject, "The subscription is too heavy"; then answer them — 
 " Who asks you to subscribe a whole share each ? who asks for 
 your subscription to be paid down all at once ? who asks for it 
 as a free gift, your interest or profit in which vanishes when you 
 pay it in?" All this is silly, but one nevertheless very often 
 hears these futile objections. 
 
 However, this money question is not the real cause of the 
 frequent unwillingness to take part in our enterprise, this is not 
 what keeps people back. Rather is it that they need convinc- 
 ing of the truth of the whole system, that their heart and soul 
 have yet to be stirred to seek their children's welfare, and to 
 
22& Letters of Froebel. 
 
 win the hope which they have set upon those children, or even 
 upon their grandchildren, still unborn, so that they have yet to 
 be made to perceive the future results, the blessings already be- 
 stowed and those now arriving through the Kindergarten ; con- 
 vince them of this, and you will find not one way, but many ways 
 at once becoming possible, whereby to forward the great work— 
 and they themselves will indicate which ways, and will hold out 
 helpful hands to cheer you on. 
 
 Let me give a few examples of suggestions given me by 
 sympathising womanly souls, of means useful for gaining the 
 co-operation of very small and poor communities. One of these 
 friends of Man gave it as her advice that on every work-day 
 a very small subscription should be collected, such as would 
 in all amount to sixpence, and that should go on for a year. 
 Suppose the wives or maidens subscribing give but a farthing 
 each, if there are twenty or twenty-four of them, $d. or 6d. 
 would be raised every day. Could not this be done any- 
 where, with a little energy ? Certainly it could. Gather together, 
 then, wives and maidens of every place, be it the smallest of 
 parishes. Will you not give these small sums during a year in 
 order that ways and means may be given you, and that you may 
 be strengthened for the pursuit of your especial vocation as 
 religiously minded and yet also enlightened, practical and ex- 
 perienced guardians of children, some of you as daughters in your 
 own families, some as assistants in the families of others, some 
 active as mothers, rich in blessed works, some preparing for future 
 motherhood? Another noble-minded friend of your sex adds the 
 following suggestion : — That women's handicrafts should be plied 
 collectively, in what are called Ladies' Working Societies, some 
 perhaps aiding in the work by providing materials, others by 
 making them up. The articles thus made would then be dis- 
 posed of in the usual manner, and the proceeds applied to the 
 purchase of one or more shares in the German Kindergarten, 
 which might remain the joint property of all those who took part 
 in the Working Society, at the same time being a pleasant 
 reminder of their association in a work as Christian as it is 
 humane, and of their true German womanly spirit. You see how 
 
Propagation and Extension. 229 
 
 many ways one may discover of helping not merely to found this 
 beneficent undertaking, but even to bring it to completion in all 
 its perfection. And these ways are sure and simple, directly 
 working towards the great purpose. As soon as by the co-opera- 
 tion of all, which makes it so easy for each one, the German 
 Kindergarten shall have been erected, then also will local 
 Kindergartens spring up in every neighbourhood. Personal 
 visits to the Kindergarten actually at work will do more in an 
 hour towards your local aims than your propaganda could effect 
 in a month, and the Kindergartens will at once supply the finest 
 possible spheres of culture for yourselves and for your daughters. 
 And if, as was above indicated, substantial support can be given 
 to the undertaking by combining and sharing the burden, as 
 regards circles possessing but little means, how much more easily 
 can it be given by those more fortunate in this world's goods — at 
 all events, by the united action of the several members of one 
 family kindred. 
 
 Besides this, let us repeat once again, the entire Institution 
 remains the property of all the shareholders, each one having a 
 property in it, according to the amount of his share, and the pro- 
 perty passing with the shares in the event of a change of 
 holders. 
 
 Ever increasing is the cry of need for properly qualified assist- 
 ants in the care of children of tender years, call them nursery 
 maids, nursery governesses, or what you will ; ever increasing are 
 the inquiry and the competition for such qualified guardians of 
 childhood. By the ordinary methods this need cannot be less- 
 ened nor this inquiry satisfied. The establishment first of the 
 German Kindergarten and then the general growth of local Kin- 
 dergartens which will follow on, can alone bridge this difficulty ; 
 first, by rendering it possible for girls without means, even for 
 quite poor girls, if they are thoroughly modest and religious, to 
 qualify themselves for the care of young children by the simple 
 plan of giving them credit for the fees of their education in 
 the Institution, which they would have to repay from the pro- 
 ceeds of their first earnings, by instalments covering a specified 
 number of years. 
 
230 Letters of Fro e be I. 
 
 It is now quite clear what the German Kindergarten aims at, 
 and how it desires to proceed ; that it springs from the everlasting 
 source, rests on the everlasting basis, and returns again to that 
 source and to that basis ; and yet once more let it be said that 
 the way from the lifeless letter, through the eye into life, is a long 
 one, and that what the human mind wants is rather direct 
 observation and representation of life itself. 
 
 Wherefore, all ye noble ones, all ye friends of Man, who are 
 persuaded of the truth of what has been set forth herein, deal 
 with it each one after her own manner, and according to the 
 means lying nearest to her hand, that the work may germinate, 
 grow green, bear blossom and fruit, and prove a blessing to every 
 German family and the salvation of every German child. 
 
 Believe then, oh, believe, in the faith of a true German ! 
 Believe that German faithfulness, German truth, German wide- 
 reaching practical activity, German rectitude and candour — in 
 spite of unfriendly criticisms — do live and move in the breast 
 of a German. Believe, moreover, in his unselfish love ; that only 
 wishes to do good to every young growing soul, now and in his 
 future relations ; that would therefore early put within reach of 
 each child the way and the means by which he may fulfil his duty 
 in his present position and in that to come ; and that in conse- 
 quence would neither favour nor prejudice any child. Such a love 
 of man is like the air that cools every one's heated brow, like the 
 water which refreshes all alike, like the earth which bears all men 
 on her bosom, like the light which shines on the whole world. 
 
 Forget not the wisdom of ancient German proverbs, centuries 
 old, " The weal and woe of every man lies within his own bosom.' 
 They have lain there from everlasting, but never before was it so 
 clearly apparent as it now is. 
 
 Work with a will that belief may come, with love and trustful- 
 ness, so that the idea which lies at the root of the German 
 "Kindergarten, and of Kindergartens in general, may shine forth 
 clearly and on all sides, before its discoverer sinks into his grave. 
 If you fail, then fails the realization of his idea. It cannot be 
 otherwise, as the history of ideas will show you ; for many noble 
 ideas have lain in the grave during long, long years with those who 
 
Propagation and Extension. 231 
 
 unsuccessfully first strove to give them " a local habitation and 
 a name." Yet he may depart in peace, he may die in a good 
 hope, for if the worst befall, he has done what he could and 
 ought ; according to the deepest conviction has he spoken, and 
 has faithfully worked his hardest for what he has held to be true. 
 
 (3.) 
 
 Two Letters of Froebel to Madame Mtiller, wife of 
 Councillor Mtiller, of Homburg". 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 Keilhau, near Rudolstadt, 
 
 11 th May, 1845. 
 Much-esteemed Lady, and most valued Friend, — 
 
 Your kind letter of the 9th inst., 1 which I have just received, 
 has so greatly pleased me that I am compelled to sit down and 
 answer it at once. 
 
 First, I must express my sympathy in your maternal happiness, 
 now that you behold your daughter a bride, fall of rich hopes. 
 It is remarkable, man though I be, that I seem as if I could share 
 with my every nerve and sense in your great joy. I perceive 
 right well what a difference it must make to the loving faithful 
 mother whether she has to regard her son as a bridegroom, or 
 her daughter as a bride. In the latter case her child's bridal 
 makes her live her own experiences all over again, raised to a 
 higher consciousness; her existence as wife and mother, her joys 
 and griefs, her pleasures and sorrows all pass before her mind. 
 And what life, how happy soe'er it be, has not its grief? and 
 what life, how blessed soe'er it be, is without its sorrow ? Good 
 and profitable is it for Man that thus it is ordained ; yet neverthe- 
 less every mother longs to guide her beloved daughter through a 
 path of roses without thorns, as she moves forward to her highest 
 vocation, to fulfil her especial duty towards humanity. The more 
 nearly she finds it possible to accomplish this, the happier and 
 
 1 Not the 1 8th, as the German erroneously has it. 
 
232 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 more contented is her mother's heart. May I beg to add to 
 the other felicitations of the engaged pair my own best wishes for 
 their happiness. 
 
 It always causes me deep emotion, as an educationist, when a 
 maiden whom I know becomes a bride, and I am the more 
 anxious and expectant when she is in very truth a maiden, with 
 a pure maiden's feelings, thoughts, and actions, beliefs, hopes, and 
 affections. I always begin thinking how, in the thoughts and inner 
 life of that maiden, during her bridehood and early wifehood, there 
 lies the germ of a new life for humanity with all the conditions 
 needful for its out-budding ; for the loving sentiments with which 
 her soul is now vaguely filled will later on develop amidst the sur- 
 roundings of the coming life, into definite precision ; and all 
 history, as well as our daily experience, shows us how largely the 
 future of mankind hangs upon the progressive, and for that 
 matter, upon the reactionary side also, of the life of some one human 
 being. I know that this view would only meet with jeers, or 
 worse, if I were publicly to proclaim it, and I do but scarcely hint 
 it even to myself, yet I can think of these questions in this way 
 and no other. Every virgin bride reminds me that salvation came 
 to mankind through a Virgin Bride; and in every virginally 
 minded bridegroom I see the angel who meets her with the 
 heavenly greeting. In truth it must so come to pass ; every 
 family must again become God-consecrated, must approximate 
 more and more nearly to the Holy Family, if ever the kingdom of 
 the peace of heaven, of God and of Jesus is to come upon earth. 
 My valued friend, you cannot fail to see that this forms the back- 
 ground of all the system of culture and development of my Para- 
 dise of Children, my Kindergarten : — pure maidens and unsullied 
 youths are to proceed from it in future days to elevate the concep- 
 tion of life, and to live it*out in purity before men. Even if I 
 never see it, nor the next generation, nor the generation after that, 
 yet it will come to pass in the end, and mankind shall see the per- 
 fect life lived upon this earth, the conditions thereunto being now 
 fulfilled. Herder's apostrophe to women — " Think and teach, 
 for ye alone can, the happy generation which will one day follow 
 after ours," will ring in the ears of thy nobler souls among women 
 
Propagation and Extension. 233 
 
 until many of them shall have become penetrated with its truth, 
 and will then, at length, proceed to put it into action. You will 
 observe, much-esteemed friend, that this is the aim towards which 
 I am striving with my " Songs for Mothers and Nursery Songs," 
 {Mutter- und Kose-Lieder),so little known, so often misunderstood; 
 and it is with gladness that I learn you perceive the influence of 
 these songs in the Kindergarten, and in the living forms of your 
 own children ! 
 
 If your daughter now soon to be married should hereafter leave 
 Homburg, she must imitate the excellent example of her mother 
 and at once create a Kindergarten round her. In the Kinder- 
 garten — how often must you have experienced this — one can, as it 
 were, actually feel the beat of the angels' wings whom our Father 
 sends down to protect and shield His children. 
 
 In your kind sympathy you wish me to tell you what I have 
 been doing in the work of children's education since I left Frank- 
 furt. I respond gladly to your wish, though I have not much to 
 tell. Upon my return home, a gentleman in Gotha, who had for 
 a long time been taking a friendly interest in myself and my work 
 was good enough to entrust his niece to me, a girl of eighteen years, 
 to be trained in the care of children and the conduct of a family 
 Kindergarten. I found another young woman in my own place 
 ready for a like training ; and therefore at once began a regular 
 course with these two, and again took up my old occupation. 
 The girl who shortly before had left me to undertake the direction 
 of a creche near Saalfeld has up to now, I am pleased to say, given 
 satisfaction to her superiors. The second of the two girls I have 
 just been speaking of has already found work in Salzungen. 
 
 From many quarters I receive applications for children's gover- 
 nesses, "Kindergarten teachers" as I would fain have them called, 
 and for principals of Kindergartens as well. For example, they 
 write to me from Dortmund, where they are founding a normal 
 school and a high school. But I have no one to recommend 
 for the post, since those who have been trained by me up till 
 now have always had their posts already settled before they 
 came to me. You would give me much pleasure, and what is of 
 more importance, you would help forward the cause, if you could 
 
234 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 find a couple of right good girls, of the stamp of your Nanni, for 
 example, and send them to me for training. They must be able 
 to pay the fees during the course, but these are only two thalers 
 (six shillings) a week for board, lodging, and teaching. 1 The more 
 this system of children's education is welcomed, and the more it 
 comes into actual practice, the more important it is to provide 
 thorough trained persons, competent to direct the institutions 
 which are founded. If you meet with such persons, qualified in 
 mind and body for our vocation, make it your business, in the 
 interest of the world of children, to win them to the task. 
 
 Another piece of work which greatly occupied me after I came 
 home was the formation of " Associations of German Men and 
 Fathers for the Promotion of Education." My address on this sub- 
 ject must have already reached you in the columns of the Didas- 
 kalia. 9. The idea met with much encouragement in these parts. 
 ****** 
 {Cetera desunt.) 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 Keilhau, i6t7ijuly, 1848. 3 
 Dear Madam, — 
 
 You were amongst the first of the thoughtful German ladies 
 thoroughly to comprehend my aim in the improvement of the 
 common education of children, not only to give it its proper mean- 
 ing and its place in the education of mankind, and also to obtain 
 State recognition for it. You showed your appreciation of my 
 ideas by raising the narrow, almost negative, work of your creche 
 into the broad, educationally progressive, positive work of a Kinder- 
 garten. Years have passed since that time, when my endeavours 
 
 1 Even if we take into account the greater value (roughly speaking, about 
 the double) of money in Froebel's day, these fees must strike the reader as 
 absurdly low. Nothing, perhaps, could more strikingly prove how sincere was 
 Froebel's love for his life-work, and what great sacrifices he was prepared to 
 make for it. 
 
 2 An important educational literary and scientific journal of the period. 
 
 3 Three years later than the previous letter. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 235 
 
 first met with your helpful sympathy, and we have been steadily 
 working on in our respective spheres with hardly any news of each 
 other ever since. But I have always remembered your Kindergar- 
 ten work with the warmest wishes for its success, and have greatly 
 appreciated your recognition of the fundamental principles of the 
 Kindergarten when I set them forth in their original form. 
 
 It seems to me, therefore, a pleasant duty to be fulfilled, that I 
 should imform you of the latest results of my efforts. The entire 
 body of national school teachers of the duchies of Meiningen and 
 Coburg, and the National School teachers of the kingdom of 
 Saxony also have acknowledged the Kindergarten to be the forma- 
 tion of real German national education ; and they are petitioning 
 their chief authorities to recognise it as the earliest, and therefore 
 a highly important department, of the system of national educa- 
 tion, and they ask that it should be incorporated, with all its 
 various institutions, in that system, receiving like privileges and 
 like support with the other departments. 
 
 That such a result should follow upon the request which these 
 teachers made for a searching examination into the aims and 
 methods of the Kindergarten, or rather into educationally progres- 
 sive instructions in general, comes from the nature of the thing 
 itself; and it was quickly resolved to hold a conference where 
 several might meet to discuss the matter, an idea which has now 
 developed into a public invitation to this conference being 
 addressed to all German National teachers and educationalists. 
 The invitation appeared in No. 25 of the Saxon School Journal 
 for 1 2th July, a few copies of which I venture to send you. 
 
 Since the members of this conference will of course desire to 
 obtain as thorough a knowledge as possible of the aims and 
 methods of the Kindergarten, a fresh necessity makes itself felt, 
 namely, that they should see the results of the work of the estab- 
 lished Kindergarten, and hear the experience of all those who have 
 turned their earnest attention to the system in its practical appli- 
 cation. Circulars have therefore been sent out requesting speci- 
 mens of work and statements of experience for the conference. 
 
 It comes vividly before my mind, upon this, that you are 
 blessed with a clear sight into these matters. You will therefore 
 
236 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 think it quite natural for me to ask you especially to give an 
 account of your experience in this field of work, in the form of 
 an open letter which may be laid before us for friendly discussion. 
 It would give us all pleasure if you would grant this request, and 
 it would be a special pleasure to myself to get news once more 
 of your beautiful and blessed work. 
 
 With the assurance of my especial esteem, 
 
 I am, yours faithfully, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 
 (4.) 
 
 Seven 1 Letters of FroeTbel to the Kindergarten Teacher, 
 Mile. Luise Frankenberg"/ 
 
 2 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 Keilhau, 13/// Nov., 1846. 
 Dear Luise, — 
 
 I was quite astonished to find, on my return to Keilhau about 
 a week ago, that you were no longer there, and I was much 
 pleased to hear that you had so good a situation — good, that is, as 
 far as salary and home comfort are concerned. But I soon heard 
 that your situation is a very hard one in regard to work, and I 
 satisfied myself that it really is so, on reading your clear account 
 of it in your letter to Madame von Born. Now as to hard work 
 there is not much to be said. Very great hardships may be over- 
 come, and indeed they are sent to us for the purpose of being 
 overcome, and in all circumstances it is our duty to overcome 
 them, if they are commensurate with our strength. Having 
 assured ourselves of this we must not run away from present 
 difficulties ; firstly, because we know what they are, and secondly, 
 because "as thy days, so shall thy strength be." But it is true 
 
 1 Not " Six," as in the German. 
 
 2 Sister of Froebel's friend and disciple, Adolf Frankenberg, who prepared 
 the way for the master so ably in Dresden. Luise Frankenberg married Por- 
 fcssor Marquardt, of Dresden. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 237 
 
 that there are occasions when the difficulties are too great for our 
 strength. 
 
 Now I trust implicitly to your own true judgment and your 
 experience of life not to deceive yourself in this matter ; that is, 
 neither to under-rate your strength, nor over-rate your difficulties. 
 If your work is really harder than you can manage, please write 
 to me at once, as it may be possible to find you a situation as 
 Kindergarten teacher in the neighbourhood where you now are. 
 
 Send me word if you have any opportunity of going to 
 Chemnitz, as I could send you a card of introduction to some 
 one there. Here in Keilhau everything is going on in the old 
 way. I have four students to teach. I wish I had a few more 
 of them, because there is a project to open some new Kinder- 
 gartens at Easter. Perhaps amongst your new acquaintances you 
 may run against some young women of eighteen to twenty-eight 
 with qualifications such as these : purity of character, love of 
 children, fondness for play, and the gift of song; and with a 
 longing to be trained for the education of children ; if so, I beg 
 you to put me in communication with them. 
 
 From all I send you kindest wishes : and I, in especial, cordially 
 wish you well. 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 Keilhau, nth April, 1847. 
 Dear Luise, — 
 
 Your gay happy lines of 23rd February, from Dresden, were 
 delightful to receive. I wish you joy from the bottom of my 
 heart, upon this happy turn in your destiny, and give you my 
 warmest thanks for the friendly privilege you have granted me by 
 telling me all about it. Nor will I withhold my opinion, but on 
 the contrary I will tell you openly that by holding fast to the 
 habit of confiding in people and uniting with them, and especially 
 to that of feeling a true, steadily maintained, and humanly 
 natural spirit of thankfulness, such as that which breathes 
 
238 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 through your dear letter, you are laying the real foundation for a 
 happy development of your whole educational career. 1 
 
 Glance, dear Luise, at the spring, now beginning to burst forth 
 and bud, to bloom and even in a concealed way to fruit ; see 
 how on all sides everything grows and develops so healthily and 
 strongly, so freshly and merrily, through the continual and increas- 
 ing influence of air and light, warmth and moisture, sun and earth. 
 It is like some wondrous educationally progressive institution, 
 where each one is fulfilling his own precise vocation, and is drawn 
 forward according to the determination of his own nature. It is 
 like some wondrous garden, nay, it/.? a very garden, wherein God 
 trains His children for the aim and purpose of their existence. 
 And is not this wonder due to the unbroken harmony of the 
 life ? Wherever that harmony is broken, there the life-develop- 
 ment is narrowed and hindered. 
 
 Moreover, we see how the tiniest bud, plant or flower seeks 
 to bind itself in harmony with air, light and sunshine. But 
 what the powers and operations of .nature are to the growth of 
 nature, the powers of the mind and the working of the soul are 
 to the growth of mankind, to the growing child. Therefore, dear 
 Luise, in order to work holily in your adopted vocation, seek always 
 after unfettered and unbroken harmony between mind and soul, 
 such as manifests itself in your friendly letter. 
 
 This testimony of mine is old ; it served as motto at the head 
 of the mountaineers' greeting when we celebrated the foundation- 
 feast of the German Kindergarten : — 
 
 "Thankfulness is the most lovely of human possessions, and 
 the teaching of thankfulness is the greatest benefit that can be 
 conferred upon mankind." 
 
 But what else is thankfulness than the cherishing of the most 
 intimate and spiritual communion between mind and soul ? 
 
 You tell me how much pleasure it would give you to see me 
 again in your Kindergarten, especially if I were to bring you 
 something new. Perhaps you may be gratified in both points, 
 
 1 Mile. Frankenberg had recently received the appointment of teacher in 
 the Kindergarten of the Women's Charitable Institution, at Dresden. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 239 
 
 particularly if you were to extend your individual and personal 
 wish to an invitation from several people. As to my bringing 
 you something new and spirited, there is no trouble in that. 
 Every day we work out something fresh in the students' course I 
 now have on hand. The last course was very good ; it bore 
 charming blossoms and rich fruit, but the present course is far 
 better, fuller of blossoms, heavier with fruit. And so will each 
 succeeding course, assuredly, mount upon the shoulders of its 
 predecessor ; but if we all remain truly united in mind and soul 
 whatever is thus newly won will become at once the possession 
 of the past students as well as of the present. 
 
 Tell me, does your institution bear the name of Kindergarten 
 by the order of the Ladies' Association, or is it an addition 
 of your own ? If the latter, then endeavour to get it acknow- 
 ledged at once by the Association, as it is of unspeakable 
 advantage. It forms a strong bond of union in mind and soul 
 with all other Kindergartens and Kindergarten teachers, and 
 with myself. 
 
 All here who knew you send their kind remembrances. 
 
 Always your faithful friend, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Extract from Letter III. 
 
 Keilhau, \2tJ1 October, 1847. 
 My very dear Luise, — 
 
 You must have been wondering why you have had no answer 
 to your kind letter of iSth August; but that letter had to be 
 sent after me, as it arrived at Keilhau during my absence. 
 (Note : Some business matters follow, and are omitted.) 
 
 I am heartily glad that things go so well with you and your 
 institution, though I can quite believe that it costs you a good 
 deal of trouble, and that it is a long matter to get everything 
 arranged as you like it. But patience overcomes all things. 
 
 If it had been possible I should have liked very much to visit 
 you and the committee of the Ladies' Association in Dresden, 
 but neither time nor money sufficed. Make my compliments to 
 
240 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 the committee, especially to Mile. Marschner. Tell her that I 
 have firmly determined to write to-day to her : but it is now 
 striking eleven, and the letter ought to go very early to-morrow 
 to the post ! Besides all which, I am very tired. 
 
 I have also received most cheering accounts from Ida Seele 
 and Marie Christ. From all sides, in fact, I hear of but one re- 
 sult. Even if the cause progresses but slowly, it is spreading more 
 widely on every side. Particularly in the direction of a closer 
 connection throughout the whole movement we are making great 
 strides. Of this more soon. 
 
 I will only now add the hearty good wishes of all the ladies 
 here ; and my own as well. 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Letter IV. 
 
 Keilhau, i$f/i February, 1848. 
 Dear Luise, — 
 
 Again you have given me real pleasure, with your last little 
 letter. But she who is in so fortunate a position as to be able 
 to give pleasure to others, must be happy also in herself, and 
 cannot indeed help feeling so. Therefore I rejoice doubly over 
 your kind words, which not only give me pleasure, but are in 
 themselves an assurance that you are happy too ; and with good 
 reason, for you are continually spreading joy in the circle of your 
 daily work. I feel intensely, as do you, how the love of the little 
 ones for you, and your love for the little ones — love and respon- 
 sive love — grow by their mutual interchange; and lam convinced 
 that this must have had an excellent effect upon you, even from a 
 purely physical point of view, for you write that you have begun 
 this year under much more cheerful auspices as far as health is 
 concerned. God grant they may be fulfilled. 
 
 Make this thing clear to your own mind — and encourage your- 
 self with the thought of it, even if others seem unable to com- 
 prehend, or to acknowledge it — that while working in your own 
 sphere, at the care and culture, the progressive development and 
 the imperceptible formation of the character of children, you are in 
 
Propagation and Extension. 241 
 
 fact engaged in a great and permanently advancing, good work. 
 It is also true that such work assuredly receives its acknowledg- 
 ment in the long run, and that, too, according to the measure 
 which it deserves, though this acknowledgment may be often late 
 in manifesting itself. 
 
 This reminds me of the gratitude I now feel, as an old man 
 nearing my grave, for the thoughtful care which, as I have been 
 told, a young girl bestowed on me when I was a child. She her- 
 self was scarcely more than a child. It is a pleasant thought to 
 me, to be able to assure myself, while I study the efforts of 
 children to express their emotions, that my own little childish 
 hands may have thankfully patted her cheeks in return for her 
 goodness. And such sentiments of enduring thankfulness will 
 become ever more and more general through our Kindergarten 
 work, and you yourself will be rewarded by them even down to 
 your last days. 
 
 # =& * # « 
 
 As to the power of the thousand, and yet another thousand, of 
 those mere prettily painted toys which you are so afraid of, I am 
 perfectly convinced that it will be broken, or at all events much 
 weakened, by the awakening interest of the children themselves 
 for occupations which make for culture. The parents, as I have 
 so often repeated, will in their turn discover by experience that 
 children are far fonder of the simpler unpainted toys, and are 
 happier and play longer and in a more permanently educational 
 way with them, than is the case with all the thousand painted 
 things. 
 
 Your wish that this year may see me amongst you all in Dres- 
 den may possibly be fulfilled, if your dear sister-in-law, who so 
 enthusiastically enters into all the circumstances of our life, is able 
 to carry out a plan which she has told me about. I should be 
 able to tell you of many a new invention for the benefit of that 
 world of children which is so dear to us both. 
 
 On the 1 st proximo a new Kindergarten is to be opened at 
 Erfurt. Auguste Michaelis, 1 of Gbtha, has decided to begin there 
 
 1 Not a relative of the present Editor. 
 
 R 
 
242 Letters of FroebeL 
 
 (at Erfurt) with twenty-five children. On the ist May Madame 
 Doris Liitkens will found a Kindergarten in Hamburg. With a 
 view to this she published an important article on the Kindergar- 
 ten system in the Hamburg News of 5th November last (No. 47). 
 You ought to try and get this article ; it would both interest and 
 improve you. 
 
 If at any time you meet with newspapers containing anything 
 relative to our work, pray make notes, at any rate, of the title and 
 number of the paper, and send them to me at the first oppor- 
 tunity. It helps me greatly in my work to know how I stand in 
 the eyes of the world, and where I may find persons who are in 
 sympathy with my views. Even in your Saxony the cause gains 
 more and more adherents. A short time ago I had a letter from 
 a Herr Stade, of Reichstadt, a teacher, who wrote very apprecia- 
 tively about our affairs and asked me to send him samples of 
 several of our educational materials. I could only wish Herr 
 Stade would visit you or your brother. He seems from his letter 
 to be an active-minded practical young man. 
 
 In Zoblitz, in the Upper Erz mountains, a teacher, Herr 
 Kromer, has established a Kindergarten, which is really a result 
 of that at Marienberg ; and I hear from Superintendent Schneider 
 at Marienberg that the new institution is making healthy progress, 
 and also that they are doing well at Marienberg, under the in- 
 tellectual and spirited direction of Mile. A. Steiner. 
 
 As to Luise Levin, 1 who is sending you news of herself, I have 
 only to repeat my former accounts of her progress ; she is taking 
 the greatest possible pains to put herself in thorough harmony 
 with her work, both as to the spirit of her life and as to her tech- 
 nical proficiency. If, therefore, later on a fitting opportunity 
 should offer, you might recommend her with the fullest con- 
 fidence. 
 
 (Here follow names of several Kindergartens.) 
 
 I bid you cordially farewell. 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 1 Who became Froebel's (second) wife three and a half years later (Jul), 
 1851). 
 
Propagation and Extension. 243 
 
 Letter V. 
 
 Marientrnl, \%th Jan., 1851. 
 Dear Luise, — 
 
 After a long silence you are now to receive another letter from 
 me, I always find pleasure in writing to you. It has been a long 
 uncomfortable time that I have been cut off from you, from that 
 Dresden which had become so dear to me, and still more from 
 the friends in Dresden whom I had grown to esteem so highly, 
 and by whose many manifestations of affection I set such store. 
 The reason of our long separation, if I may speak symbolically, 
 precisely resembles the events of May at Dresden, 1 for the in- 
 visible yet lovely and, as it seemed, substantial building of hope 
 crumbled overhead and fell upon me, burying me alive in its ruins. 
 
 Ever since that time I have been working away like some 
 buried miner to win out from night and the depths of the earth 
 to the light of day and the living men above, and especially to 
 those among them who are my friends, but not seldom when I 
 have thought that in another few moments I might be able to 
 raise the joyful shout " Light ! " I have sunk anew into the depths, 
 almost deeper than before. It has been a very dreary miserable 
 time. I cannot depict the curious condition of mind, soul, and 
 life in which I was, entangled in a spider's web, or rather spun 
 around in a cocoon. My soul and mind were afflicted with a 
 creeping malady which ate them away like a cancer, and this 
 trouble fell upon me before I was aware of its coming. 
 
 Not until the beginning of the new year did day break upon me 
 and surround me and abidingly dwell with me, and perhaps by 
 the time May comes again, the second May since 1849, I may 
 have dug my way completely out and up into the land of the 
 living, or let me say rather into life. With each fresh word I 
 write I draw a deeper, fuller breath, and my spirits rise. I feel 
 like a man crossing a mountain, who inhales the fresh mountain 
 air and enjoys the open landscape of the valley meadows stretch- 
 
 1 The revolution of May, 1848, when the high political hopes entertained 
 by the progressive party were doomed to bitter disappointment. 
 
244 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 ins: before him, and assures himself that he will soon be near that 
 lovely goal of his wanderings. I think I shall soon be able to 
 visit my very dear Dresden friends again, free in soul and in 
 mind ; pray say so to Herr Strauch and the two Lecerfs, who 
 stand so high in my esteem. As for your good brother, I intend 
 to put in a few lines for him with this letter. 
 
 Now to answer your kind letter of the 14th inst. The fore- 
 going will give you a notion of the cause wherefore three letters of 
 yours, as well as letters from several other friends, have remained 
 unanswered. I may put the matter in another way, thus : — 
 
 The reins of life had fallen from my hands. I felt unable to 
 resume them, or attempt anything that related to the conduct of 
 life. It was as if I were in a state of coma, and I saw and felt 
 nothing but that I was in this paralysed condition. Others ex- 
 perienced the effect of this, especially the dear friends in Dresden- 
 Yet even at this time I thought of every one, yourself included, 
 with all kindness, and I am .glad that the consciousness of this 
 kept you unchanged in your trust towards me. I thank you for it, 
 and hope that no one may have lost faith in me because of my 
 apparent neglect. 
 
 I have always felt the greatest interest in your life, and am glad 
 to find you once more speaking with such good courage that you 
 even think of founding a Kindergarten of your own. I cordially 
 wish you success. In this regard do not forget A. M.'s 1 experience 
 in Erfurt. She had many difficulties at first, it is true, to contend 
 with, but now she prospers well ; and I could tell you of many 
 others who are working to the great satisfaction of both parents 
 and children. 
 
 If only you had thought to tell me in what part of the country 
 you mean to make your venture ! I wish it were possible to 
 carry -out our old intention, and make you the Kindergarten 
 teacher at Blankenburg, my Blankenburg. Ask Middendorff 
 about this. There you would be well known and receive much 
 friendly support ; and I would help forward this plan in every 
 possible way. Keilhau would be quite near to assist you ; and if 
 
 1 Auguste Michaelis (see previous letter) 
 
Propagation and Extension. 245 
 
 the income was small, the expenses would be less there than any- 
 where else. 
 
 I enclose a testimonial for you, as you request. But a testi- 
 monial to be effective must rely on facts, and I find that many 
 particulars have escaped me as to our mode of working together, 
 time, place, etc. Therefore tell me plainly if it is not sufficient for 
 your purpose. 
 
 You see that your hope has been fulfilled. Yesterday I 
 received your kind letter, and to-day the answer is already 
 written. Write to me as soon as possible with further details of 
 your plans. 
 
 Kind regards to your brothers, your sister-in-law, and yourself, 
 from your true friend, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 
 Letter VI. 
 
 Marienthal, 29^ Jan., 1852. 1 
 Dear and highly esteemed Luise, — 
 
 Your kind letter gave me a double pleasure, first, because it 
 brought me fresh news of you, and secondly, because the news 
 was at the least fairly satisfactory. From the bottom of my heart 
 I wish success to your courage, to your perseverance, in a word, 
 to your trust in God, and to your steady use, having that feeling 
 always in mind, of your powers and acquirements. This habit of 
 feeling and action will assuredly accompany you, and those qual- 
 ities will be like protecting genii always stationed beside you. 
 
 Try ever more and more to penetrate to the spirit of the whole, 
 the spirit of union and unity , the spirit of mutual support and 
 furtherance in all that the dear children entrusted to your care 
 may do, and in all that you may do with them ; the spirit of the 
 link of agreement, the reconciliation of opposites, the spirit of 
 real life-culture, of true love. Read my Weekly Journal of 
 
 1 There is some mistake of the German editor as to this date. The letter 
 follows evidently not far after Letter V., i.e. during 1851 ; but by error bears 
 the same date as Letter VII. 
 
246 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Education} and do not merely read it, but really study it. Be 
 in yourself both the gardener and the plant in your garden of 
 children, your Kindergarten. Work out everything for yourself, 
 and observe what happens in your own mind, soul, and life. 
 Make yourself mistress of the circumstances, in this way, in your 
 mind and practice ; and carry the same principles into your work 
 in the Kindergarten and with your little ones, observing what 
 happens also to them ; and in this way it will not be long before 
 the knowledge of the spirit of the whole comes to you. 
 
 Helpful and encouraging recognition of your work will also 
 come in good time. Enough for to-day. Your dear namesake 2 
 has probably sent you all further news, herewith. 
 
 Your sincere Friend, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Letter VII. 
 
 Marienthal, 29//* Jan., 1852. 
 Dear and much-esteemed Luise, 
 
 I am deeply gratified to learn from your letter that you h,ave 
 perceived the great fact that in order to win a satisfactory acknow- 
 ledgment of the meaning and value of our work it is not enough 
 merely to labour well and bravely within our allotted sphere of 
 action, but that the locality of this sphere itself must have been 
 carefully chosen for its position, its outward environment, and so 
 forth, so as to be in harmony with our actual work, and truly 
 helpful to us. Always be ready to make little sacrifices for the* 
 advantage of the cause, with this end in view, even if in other 
 ways you have to give up something. I am firmly convinced that 
 you will meet with an ample reward. 
 
 But I do not in the least mean by this that you should set in- 
 ward things below the outward. God forbid ! The inward, the 
 invisible, thought, love, zeal, these are always and for ever the 
 chief things to cherish. I only mean that outward things serve to 
 
 1 The Wochenschrift '; a continuation of the Simday Journal {Sonntagsblatt). 
 
 2 His second wife, Madame Luise Froebel ; probably only recently then 
 married, if this letter is, as we believe, dated August, 1851. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 247 
 
 express these, especially as regards rendering them precise and 
 clear, and manifesting their union with Nature. 
 
 If your work seems to need help in this direction, tell me so 
 plainly, and I will see what is possible to be managed. 
 
 You must on no account give up Bautzen, 1 but strive your 
 utmost to retain it. As for your foes, the clergy, 2 they must be 
 vanquished. It is very cheering to know that men of importance, 
 such as Deacon Seybt, are visiting your Kindergarten, and I hope 
 many others may follow their example. 
 
 Could you not find a nice girl amongst the peasantry and train 
 her into an assistant ? Later on she might go as Kindergarten 
 nurse into some family, and then bring her little charges with her 
 to your Kindergarten. This would give you some one with whom 
 to talk about your work and its results, which is always good for 
 you in an educational sense. 
 
 Your namesake, my wife, sends you a sisterly greeting, and you 
 have also the cordial good wishes of 
 
 Your faithful Friend, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 (5.) 
 
 Letter to Miss Howe, at Leitheim, near Donauworth. 
 
 Keilhau, iSt/i April, 1847. 
 
 First, let me offer my warmest thanks for your cordial sympathy 
 with my efforts in education. I hope that your enthusiasm for 
 the work may hereafter produce blessed results for the budding 
 human race, somewhere or other in the world. 
 
 Your kindly meant proposal, which you suggest to me as the 
 best way of attaining my life-aim — the establishment of my system 
 of education (now proved by years of trial to be true, for it has 
 
 1 Where Mile. Frankenberg had established her Kindergarten. 
 
 2 At this time the clergy were very strongly prejudiced against the Kinder- 
 garten, and no doubt had been using their influence against the movement in 
 Bautzen. Kindergartens were prohibited in Prussia, in 185 1, as being anti- 
 religious and socialistic in aim. 
 
248 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 been fully tested by results), namely, education by development^ in 
 one of the great centres of the world, such as London or Paris, or 
 in the United States of America, so that it may be thoroughly 
 examined and applied on a large scale — has been put before me, 
 many times already, by influential men. But there is one insur- 
 mountable objection to it as far as I am concerned — my want of 
 a complete mastery of foreign tongues. 
 
 The educational scheme in itself, and the plan for carrying it 
 into practice, are quite complete in every particular, and clearly 
 and precisely arranged in my mind, and, indeed, they have already 
 been many times applied in actual practice, whenever, and so 
 far as opportunity has allowed. A small part of the system has 
 been printed and published, but this consists of detached frag- 
 ments only. 
 
 Every sharply defined grade of human culture, such as that 
 under which we now live, demands a system of education which 
 shall embrace the whole being of man, his mental and natural 
 sides, and all his varied affinities and relations, and shall therefore, 
 as true to both man and child, educate the latter progressively and 
 by development, in such a way as to produce and constantly 
 maintain a sense of unity and completeness running through the 
 whole of its life. 
 
 Such a scheme of education is mine, and therefore it sets itself 
 (and always, from the first plan, did set itself) the definite task of 
 founding anew the practical methods of actual teaching, so as to 
 bring them into satisfactory relation with the needs of our life of 
 to-day ; that is, from each grade of culture to produce the next 
 higher grade, by natural and logically consecutive development, 
 in the same way that we see the fruit develop from the blossom 
 and ripen into seed. This will occur with the following plan. 
 
 Plan. 
 
 I. Decision, zeal, and perseverance must be brought to 
 bear in working upon my plan ; so that 
 
 (a) More careful observation of the child, his relationships and 
 his line of development, may become general amongst us ; and 
 thereby 
 
Propagation and Extension. 249 
 
 (b) A better grounded insight be obtained into the child's 
 being, mental and physical, and the general collective conditions 
 of his life. 
 
 (c) The laws of educational progress may be more and more 
 clearly deduced, for the child and the man, through the observation 
 of those engaged in teaching ; the truth of these laws proved, and 
 the child actually trained in accordance with them. 
 
 (d) Deeper insight will be gained into the meaning and im- 
 portance of the child's actions and outward manifestations ; and 
 also into 
 
 (e) The way of dealing with children which has been evolved 
 naturally by the mother, led by her pure maternal instinct ; treat- 
 ing both the mother's action and the child's as representative, 
 regarding them firstly in relation to the child's destiny as a man, 
 and secondly, to the means and methods of attaining that destiny. 
 Thus, careful observation would be directed towards the combined 
 mother-and-child-life, for it is here in a peculiar and especial 
 sense that we are to seek the expression of the natural laws of 
 development and their application, which laws, when deduced, are 
 those whereby alone our problem can be fully and completely 
 solved : that is, the problem of the general all-embracing pro- 
 gressive development and education of the child. Therefore, 
 finally, 
 
 (f) It is the aim of my plan, by working so as to gain all the 
 objects above enumerated, to bring about a more general use of 
 progressive development in the culture and education of children ; or 
 rather, indeed, that this view of education may establish itself as 
 the one which alone truly expresses and satisfies the needs of each 
 individual as well as of each community, large or small. 
 
 According to the above it comes within the scope of my plan, 
 II. To lay down a scheme of culture covering the entire 
 bodily and mental circumstances and conditions affecting the 
 child, which must express, truly and harmoniously, the line of 
 development and education to be followed. 
 
 As early as the year 1826 I took much pains today the founda- 
 tions for such an undertaking by my book, called " The Education 
 of Man " (Menschen-Erziehung). 
 
250 Letters of Frcebel. 
 
 But as the work of education really begins with the birth of 
 the child, and must at first be pursued in the family, and especi- 
 ally by the mother, I started a journal (1838-40), called The 
 Sunday Journal (Sonntagsblatt\ to direct attention to this aspect 
 of the matter, and in particular to begin and carry out an educa- 
 tional course planned in reference to this doctrine. The course 
 eventually resolved itself into a quite unique form of practically 
 educational book for the very first training of the child, that is, 
 for mere babyhood ; influencing and training the child's body, his 
 limbs and his senses, as well as his soul, his mind and his whole 
 inner nature — the book for mothers and families known as " Songs 
 for Mothers and Nursery Songs " {Mutter- und Kose-Lieder). 
 
 III. But such a course of training and occupations for 
 children, answering to the laws of development and the laws of 
 life, demanded a thoroughly expressive medium in the shape of 
 materials for these occupations and games for the child : therefore, 
 to meet this want I arranged a series of play materials under the 
 title of " A complete series of gifts for play." 
 
 IV. The present condition of our social life, in all its 
 varied grades, first demands, however, if we are to attain an earlier 
 and better training for children, a much more complete training 
 for their mothers and outside helpers, in the shape of children's 
 nurses, nursery governesses and teachers. Whatever is itself 
 perfect and vigorous will produce what is perfect and vigorous in 
 its turn. But such a result can only be attained by associated 
 work ; just as in the education of children we absolutely need the 
 association together of numbers of children alternately with the 
 quiet of the home training. I therefore recognised as early as 
 1840, that for the needs of our present grade of social development 
 two distinct species of schools or training establishments were 
 absolutely necessary. 
 
 (A) We need a training establishment for those who are to 
 assist in the home education of families in the capacities of 
 children's nurses, nursery governesses and teachers. But, since 
 children to a quite peculiar degree educate one another, mutually, 
 if meeting together for associated play, under proper guidance and 
 suggestive influence, we equally need 
 
Propagation and Extension. 251 
 
 (B) Establishments for training quite young children, in their 
 first stage of educational development, where their training and 
 instruction shall be based upon their own free action or spon- 
 taneity, acting under proper rules ; these rules not being arbitrarily 
 decreed, but such as must arise by logical necessity from the 
 child's mental and bodily nature, regarding him as a member of 
 the great human family ; such rules as are, in fact, discovered by the 
 actual observation of children when associated together in com- 
 panies. These establishments bear the name of Kindergartens, 
 or " Gardens of Children," a name expressing both their aim and 
 their methods of working. 
 
 (A) In the first-named species of training establishments, those 
 for the training of teachers to assist educationally at home, in the 
 family, the teachers for the second species of establishments, the 
 Kindergartens, would also be trained. These last-named teachers 
 might be called " Child-gardeners " [Kindergartnerinneri), accord- 
 ing to the work they will have to do as Kindergarten teachers. I 
 made great efforts at the time of the Guttenberg Festival, in 1840 
 (400th anniversary of the invention of printing), to awake a 
 general public interest in this matter, and to found a perfectly 
 arranged Kindergarten Training College by public subscription. 
 I have, however, hitherto failed to obtain the amount of public 
 support necessary to carry out the establishment on the scale 
 needed for completeness ; and I have, therefore, been compelled 
 to do the best I could by private enterprise, alone, and without 
 funds, working myself and at my own risk. Consequently, I have 
 held a training course annually, the length of which I was forced 
 to confine to six months, and the object of which was to educate 
 young girls in Kindergarten methods so far as to enable them to 
 take the entire educational charge of children up to school age. 
 They are to occupy the children in such wise that ennobling and 
 educationally progressive impressions shall remain imprinted on 
 their minds, and they are to develop the children's ideas so as to 
 tend towards the culture of their whole nature, and to the ex- 
 pression of every need of their life. Wherefore, I always associate 
 
252 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 actual work in a Kindergarten with my Training Course to give 
 my students opportunity for practice in their future duties. 
 The practical working of my training course is as follows : — 
 
 (a) The working day for students generally begins at 7 o'clock 
 in the morning ; and they attend from 7 to 8 the various classes 
 of the usual morning's religious instruction given in the elder 
 boys' school, so that they may be guided to the right method of 
 imparting religious instruction to children, and may be trained to 
 the care and observation of the earliest germs of the religious 
 instinct in man. 
 
 (b) From 8 to 9, breakfast and recreation. 
 
 (c) From 9 to 10, explanation and observation of the develop- 
 ment of child-life, of the nature of the child thereby unfolded, and 
 of the laws and corresponding needs of the culture and education 
 of children ; as well as demonstration that these laws are at the 
 same time essentially those of every satisfactory scheme of educa- 
 tion. 
 
 (d) The rest of the various weekdays up till 7 o'clock in the 
 evening, except for two breaks (for dinner and tea) is devoted by 
 the students to the study and practice of practical efficiency in my 
 methods for children's education. These comprise, amongst 
 others, — ■ 
 
 1. The acquisition of little games, arranged to exercise the 
 limbs and senses of the child, using also the family nursery-book 
 before mentioned. 
 
 2. The acquisition and practice of other games for children, 
 arranged to serve special ends, and particularly suited to varied 
 grades of development, these games being played with the mate- 
 rial already referred to in Section III. These games collectively 
 form a series, linking themselves one to the other into a har- 
 monious whole, full of life and vigour, and bringing out, amongst 
 them, every phase and side of the child's life. 
 
 3. Further acquisition of many and varied little occupations or 
 handicrafts in various materials, bearing the same causal connec- 
 tion with the games before referred to as a fruit bears to its 
 flower, and expressing all possible grades of the child's develop- 
 ment with precision. This department of the training course is 
 
Propagation and Extension. 253 
 
 in the highest degree important for the student ; indeed, it is quite 
 as important as the preceding, because the child exercising its 
 own spontaneous activity through these handicrafts, and becom- 
 ing acquainted with common facts of life, is carried forward in the 
 path of education as a firmly compact, vigorous, complete unity. 
 
 4. Practice in combined games for many children, and particu- 
 larly action-games, which will, from the first, train the child (by 
 his very nature eager for companionship) in the habit of associa- 
 tion with comrades, that is, in good fellowship and all that this 
 implies. A logically necessary part of my system, deeply rooted 
 in the innermost principles of the whole, is the fundamental rule 
 that frequent changes must be made in the children's games and 
 occupations, and for these changes (which must be by no means 
 left to chance to determine, but must be well thought out) the 
 students of the Kindergarten system must be thoroughly prepared. 
 For example : to games for individual children succeed games for 
 the whole Kindergarten together ; to games which involve sitting 
 or standing still succeed eames which involve action. The child 
 in these associated games alternately appears first as taking some 
 individual or separate part, and then as merely one of several 
 closely knit and equally important members of a greater whole, 
 so that he becomes familiar with both the strongly opposed 
 elements of his life ; namely, the individual determining and 
 directing side, and the general ordered and subordinated side. 
 And all this must, of course, invariably be suited to the nature of 
 the child ; to the course of development which is being pursued ; 
 to his physical capacities, etc., and must express the outward cir- 
 cumstances of his life, their condition and laws. The aim is to 
 train the child harmoniously on all sides of his being, and to 
 bring him to comprehend the intelligent, the well-mannered, the 
 moral, and finally, the religious elements in life. One of the 
 most powerful agencies for furthering this aim is Singing, which 
 works by words and by musical tones, by meaning as well as by 
 melody. 
 
 5. Therefore, further, the students have to be specially trained 
 in children's songs, little songs to elevate the heart and open the 
 mind ; partly used also to accompany the many various games 
 
254 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 played by the children, in which case they are carefully devised 
 to lay bare the inner meaning of the game, and also to serve as 
 an outlet for the spontaneous and diligent activity of the children; 
 and, further, these songs always set forth the harmony, the inner 
 concord, and the love which pervade the universe, and which 
 make known to us the Creator as our true and loving Father. 
 
 It is acknowledged that children entrusted to the care of 
 teachers of this kind quickly gain pleasure in singing, and some 
 amount of executive power ; and even the love for real music 
 itself awakes within them, and is cherished. To the culture of 
 the heart, the soul, and the intellect through the ear, by the 
 means of song, corresponds precisely their culture through the 
 eye by the means of beautiful forms, figures, and colours. And 
 to singing in the one case correspond drawing and colouring in 
 the other. 
 
 6. The rudiments of drawing are therefore invariably and quite 
 completely developed amongst the students through the study 
 and constant practice of the various games, especially those in- 
 volving construction, partly by the culture of the eye in judging 
 of size and form, and partly by the use of the hand in the con- 
 structive work. 
 
 7. The necessary naming of objects, and the description of 
 their properties, and relationships in drawing, bring us quite 
 naturally to the consideration of the beginnings of speech. And 
 in the simplest way, by the necessity of expressing words and 
 tones in some visible manner — that is, by definite signs which 
 may be seen, we reach Writing and Reading ; the passage being 
 quite spontaneous, and satisfying the inner as well as the outer 
 nature of the child, his natural instinct for active work driving 
 him towards presentation of all kinds. 
 
 8. The continually growing crowds of all kinds of objects, and 
 their comparison together, necessitate the consideration of the 
 first rudiments of Number, and its relationships. 
 
 9. And since Order, Measure, Rhythm, Form, Size, Number, 
 Ratio, etc., are on all sides visible and audible, nay, even they 
 may often also be touched and tasted, it seems as if everything 
 were pointing to Mathematics as the one true way, and the one 
 
Propagation and Extension. 255 
 
 true science of order and knowledge, as, so to speak, the central 
 point of all true perception of things ; and that is why she has 
 to show herself to the child, but in purest childlike guise, and like 
 the earnest wayworn philosopher becoming herself a child for the 
 child's sake. And the same paths by which the child is led, 
 through the quiet observation of fixed forms and objects, are also 
 opened to him even more readily by comparison of the living and 
 moving forms and objects of animated nature. Wherefore, in no 
 less a degree than to the foregoing, — 
 
 10. The students must devote themselves to the thoughtful 
 observation of Nature, as a book and a scripture of God, and to the 
 introduction of the little ones entrusted to their care to the same 
 study, through which they may be led on to perceive and ac- 
 knowledge the Father who loves them all, the Creator of this 
 world of beauty. Through all nature, especially the vegetable 
 world, the kingdom of bud, and flower and fruit, fly the angels, 
 silent, bearing holy messages to us from Him. Therefore, also, — 
 
 n. The students must acquire some knowledge of the cultiva- 
 tion of plants, and flowers and gardens. Gardens for children 
 should receive their special attention, as these are an important 
 means of education and development, and therefore form part of 
 the Kindergarten system. 
 
 12. The self-consciousness, the feelings and the thoughts 
 awakened by all these means of stimulus must be linked to the 
 Word, must be made manifest in little songs or proverbs. This 
 is especially the case as regards the dim perceptions of a wise 
 Creator of Nature, and a Father who thinks for us and loves us. 
 
 (B) The students get their practice with classes of children ; 
 twice a week with our own children, and a few others from the vil- 
 lage, and twice a week also with a larger class in the next village. 
 
 Just one word now on the Kindergarten itself, in which all the 
 above scheme is brought into practical application. The Kinder- 
 garten is to undertake the entire care and training of the child 
 from the earliest possible age to school-age, that is, till he is six or 
 seven years old. As to age much depends upon the grade of 
 development of the individual child, and much upon the culture 
 of the teacher. 
 
256 Letters of Froehel. 
 
 I can but hope that the resume of my method for the early- 
 care of children may meet with your approval. For further 
 details I will refer you to my published works. 
 
 Receive the assurance of my special esteem, and believe me, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 (6.) 
 
 Letter to Mile. Marschner, of Dresden. 
 
 Keilhau, Sept. 2nd, 1847. 
 Dear Madam, — 
 
 Permit me to put before you, for your examination, a matter 
 which is of the highest importance in my educational projects. 
 For some time I have felt the necessity of issuing a short explana- 
 tory address about my institution for the training of nurses and 
 governesses for young children — a sort of programme of it, in 
 fact. But up till now I have continually put off its preparation, 
 knowing so well how much more readily one can express one's 
 meaning by facts than by words ; and, indeed, the simpler and 
 more precise a written account is desired to be, the harder is it 
 to write. I trust, however, that the sketch I send you herewith 
 is both simple and precise, and at the same time I hope it pos- 
 sesses also a much higher quality. 
 
 I am most deeply convinced that in the present age there exist 
 certain sharply defined needs with regard to the human race, 
 which perpetually renews itself in childhood, and with regard to 
 the grade of human culture whereon we stand to-day, at least so 
 far as it is manifested amongst us Germans. Foremost of these 
 needs of our age are the observation, care and training of the 
 budding and growing part of the human race, that is, of children. 
 Furthermore, I am as deeply convinced that our collective efforts 
 in the improvement of education, whether the education of indi- 
 vidual minds, or of families and communities, and whether in 
 regard to the State or the Church, can only tend towards the 
 desired result when we have made clear to our minds the nature 
 
Propagation and Extension. 257 
 
 of these needs, and when we seek to supply them with active 
 self-devotion. 
 
 Consequently, I bend my efforts, above all else, towards the 
 clear apprehension of the present grade of human culture, and 
 its educational needs ; and I seek after the true means of satis- 
 factorily meeting those needs. The soul of a woman who thinks 
 and teaches is so sure a touchstone for what is right in time and 
 place, as well as in ways and means, that I come to you in 
 all confidence, to submit my aims and my researches to your 
 judgment. I want to know the impression the enclosed sketch 
 makes upon you, even if it should be an unfavourable one. I 
 only want the truth ; for all my trust is anchored upon that. 
 
 So that you may quite understand my drift in this sketch, I 
 should like to offer a few explanatory remarks. 
 
 Women, whatever their stage of culture, ought to take their 
 rightful position with regard to the development and education of 
 the human race ; and this position ought to be universally acknow- 
 ledged, whether with regard to the individual child, the family, 
 or the entire nation. Woman's work must be many-sided, com- 
 prehensive, and must embrace action, feeling, and thought alike. 
 
 I speak of the whole female sex. The several spheres of work 
 must be allotted to individual women according to their degrees 
 of culture. 
 
 Again, I speak of the whole female sex, as contrasted with 
 the whole male sex; the two sexes uniting in closely bound 
 union to set forth the phenomenon of mankind as a complete 
 fact — a Thing-in-itself. Just as head and heart go together to 
 make up the perfect human soul ; so do men and women unite 
 with a close and reciprocal influence upon each other, to make 
 up the complete presentation of humanity ; and in this each sex 
 takes a distinct part, according to its own individuality. 
 
 I set out from this conviction — Mankind is a complete fact, a 
 Thing-in-itself, a Thought of God! Man, as a being of change 
 and development, must necessarily be divided, 1 whence comes 
 
 1 Necessarily ; because, according to the teaching of Hegel, which Froebel 
 here refers to, all development is the result of reconciliation or union of two 
 opposites. 
 
 S 
 
258 Letters of Froebel 
 
 the opposition of the sexes ; and still further, the development of 
 each individual man similarly necessitates his two-fold manifesta- 
 tion as a thinking and a feeling subject. 
 
 But the precisely similar duty of all women in relation to 
 progressive education also follows of necessity as a consequence 
 of these views : I mean, that their duty is similar as to its nature 
 and importance, though women have many quite distinct spheres 
 of work. To woman belongs the subjective element in educa- 
 tion, the awakening and the culture of the inner mental world, 
 in the budding human race, the child-world. And on the other 
 hand, to man belongs the objective element, the outlook over 
 the external world, and the comprehension thereof. Both these 
 spheres of culture and development are alike essential. If we 
 are to investigate their relative importance, however, we cannot 
 do better than follow the analogy of a building, where a good 
 and sufficient foundation is rightly regarded as the most important 
 part of the structure ; or we may take our example from farming, 
 where a vigorous germination, rooting, and commencement of 
 growth is the most essential preparation for a good crop. Just 
 so is it with man in his rise towards his lofty goal of culture ; 
 certainly the most important step is the awakening, the fostering, 
 and the culture of the child's mind and soul, that is, of the mind 
 and soul of humanity renewing itself through childhood. 
 
 But, further, the education which men impart to our youths is 
 never left to the unassisted promptings of nature, because, even 
 though they are often quite right in intention, they may be 
 wrongly pursued, everything must be thought out and duly 
 ordered. So also must it be with the training of children by 
 women, the development and education of manhood at its first 
 commencement ; all must be thought out and duly ordered, after 
 the laws which have been given to us by God. 
 
 You see, honoured madam, this is indeed at once the starting- 
 point and the goal of all my educational efforts. I want to see, 
 universally acknowledged, and in operation, the rightful position 
 of the whole female sex, with regard to the education of the 
 race ; each one working according to the measure of her power, 
 her culture, and the nature of her environment. But women's 
 
Propagation and Extension. 259 
 
 work in education must be based, not upon natural instinct, so 
 often perverted or misunderstood, but upon intelligent knowledge, 
 inspiring a nature originally child-loving, and penetrated with the 
 lofty meaning of its task. 
 
 Some mothers, who by thought and by years of actual practice 
 in their former days, in teaching and training children, had 
 evolved a method of instruction of a certain kind, and had made 
 this suffice for their own narrow circle, levelled the taunt at me, 
 that I, a man, understanding nothing therefore of a mother's life, 
 a mother's instinct, etc., etc., should dare to presume to instruct 
 mothers in their dealings with their own children, a matter which 
 they as mistresses of the household and as women, endowed with 
 all the specially feminine qualities of soul and heart, must of 
 course understand far better than I. How could such a thought 
 enter my head as to attempt anything against the course of 
 nature ? My whole strength is exerted, on the contrary, to the 
 work of getting the natural instinct and its tendencies more 
 rightly understood, and more acknowledged ; so that women may 
 follow its leadings as truly as possible, aided by the higher light 
 of intelligent comprehension, and yet at the same time in all free- 
 dom, and with complete individuality. 
 
 This is the intention of my games for the educational develop- 
 ment of the powers, this the purpose of my Kindergarten, this 
 the aim of my institution for the training of nursery governesses 
 and teachers of children. 
 
 I observe that in pursuing my line of thought I have laid 
 before you not merely an explanation of the plan of the proposed 
 institution which accompanies this letter, but the entire scope of 
 the views as to the progressive development of mankind which 
 form the basis of my whole system ; but I gladly submit these 
 also to your kindly and searching examination. 
 
 It is very possible, dear madam, that you may hold views of 
 human life and its needs quite other than those I have expressed; 
 but I beg you to criticise me with the utmost frankness, for I 
 seek only the truth. In any case, I shall have submitted my 
 views, I am sure, to a very severe examination in submitting 
 them to you. 
 
260 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Whatever verdict I may obtain at your hands, even if it be 
 blankly adverse, rest assured of my continued deep respect, and 
 believe me, 
 
 Your obliged 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 (7.) 
 
 Letter to Mile. Hesse, of Annaburg*. 
 
 Keilhau, near Rudolstadt, Nov. 27M, 1847. 
 Dear Anna, — 
 
 Now, as our musicians say, I can write to you con amore, 
 which has been up to this time impossible for me to manage. I 
 can picture you to myself surrounded by your charming circle of 
 little children, stimulating the tender life towards loving sacrifice, 
 strengthening the feeble will with gentle earnestness, and deve- 
 loping the immature physical powers. I see you with my mind's 
 eye, engaged in translating into the glowing language of the 
 living soul what I have taught you in the still life of the under- 
 standing ; expanding what our limited time here only allowed 
 us to work out along some one set path, into a many-sided, 
 lovely, ever-varying method, penetrating deep into the life of 
 the dear ones entrusted to your charge, awaking them to the 
 perception of the inner life, and already cherishing that sense of 
 an altogether higher life, which as yet exists all unconsciously 
 within them. Thus do I see you, dear Anna, busy amidst your 
 many glad tasks ; and I enjoy the picture more than I am able 
 by words to express. 
 
 Yet even a little word sometimes serves to bind all together : 
 let me therefore rejoice over you, in one word, as over a very 
 dear, true-hearted and faithful daughter. As I write the word 
 daughter^ you seem to stand before me, with all your own well- 
 known ways, ordering everything with care and gentle firmness, 
 and surrounded by dear little children. The better to realize 
 your present career, I have collected all the letters which you 
 
Propagation and Extension. 261 
 
 have so kindly sent me during the year, memorials of your good- 
 ness and faithful remembrance of me, that I may read them all 
 through one after the other. I know beforehand that this task 
 will set my heart beating quicker at the guilty thought of my long 
 silence. 
 
 But, dear Anna, as you will some day experience in your own 
 life, in all likelihood, the life of a man who is devoted to some 
 lofty sphere of work, to the service of some noble ideal, presents 
 so many peculiarities, that it is hardly comparable to an everyday 
 existence : these peculiarities are grounded in life, it is true, but it is 
 in the highe?' life. One of them, which as a Kindergarten teacher 
 you must yourself have already discovered, is the fact that when 
 we are absorbed by a thought, especially an idea whose manifes- 
 tation and elaboration wholly engages us, we become lost to our 
 surroundings, and we appear careless and unresponsive. We 
 wander amongst our fellow-men like a very stranger, exchanging 
 speech with them, it is true, but not really mingling in their life. 
 In such a state I have been living for years. You see the conse- 
 quence in this pile of unanswered letters that you have sent me. 
 Now the spell begins to break ; and you are receiving as a reward 
 for your patient waiting, the first-fruits of my freedom. 
 
 For many years my mind and soul have been engrossed with 
 the unspeakable importance of the Kindergarten and its develop- 
 ment ; all my thoughts and feelings have been concentrated upon 
 a proper manifestation and systematisation of the Kindergarten 
 idea, and upon the possibility of its general establishment, which 
 would result as a consequence. See the marksman taking aim, 
 how he bends his whole power of action upon attaining his mark, 
 and how he disregards everything beside that one object. Just 
 so my thoughts and actions have been bent upon the perfect- 
 ing of the Kindergarten system, with this further addition that 
 the task was so unexpectedly heavy, that my whole being was 
 abandoned to the effort. 
 
 Now at length the idea of the Kindergarten has touched 
 bottom, not only striking deep root in heart and soul, but con- 
 vincing men's minds and wills that it is a many-sided complex 
 unity, complete within itself, operating upon the inward and the 
 
262 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 outward nature alike, and more and more controlling and direct- 
 ing the relations of life. This bright and fascinating hope comes 
 to me from national school teachers in town and country ; those 
 of Meiningen, of the Hildburghausen district, and of the Thur- 
 ingian Forest, for example, are ready, with all the firmness of con- 
 viction, to propagate and develop this idea in fitting time and place. 
 
 w w ^ ijfe *t$ 
 
 (Cetera desunt.) 
 
 (8.) 
 
 An Appeal to German Women. 
 
 Keilhau, Friday, 26th June, 1848. 4 a.m. 
 
 Honoured noble German Women, — 
 
 In the clear moonlight the approaching dawn is gradually 
 beginning to unveil, and I sit, upon my return from my travels in 
 the cause of education, alone in my silent chamber, thinking over 
 the results which are the blossoms and fruit of the last few weeks, 
 days and hours. The clear-shining morning star softly pierces 
 through the twilight, brilliant herald of the coming sun, so soon 
 to give form anew to the world which its beams embrace, and to 
 show us the glad, peaceful, joyful face of Nature, fulfilling her 
 highest function as the revelation of God. Like that morning star 
 a thought rises in my soul, still bathed in the gentle twilight of 
 meditation : — "Amidst the growing self-consciousness and mutual 
 consciousness of the souls of the women of our day, amidst the 
 conception to which they are now attaining of their lofty womanly 
 worth and destined work, and amidst the fulfilment of those 
 blossoming feminine wishes and hopes which in the regions of a 
 higher enthusiasm have developed into living activities, there 
 rises the brilliant morning star of a new era, prophesying to us 
 the speedy advent of a glorious sun — the sun of a joyful union 
 of Germany, of a peaceful united action amongst Germans, of a 
 free German national life." 
 
Propagation and Extension. 263 
 
 Yes, so it is, ye noble German, women ! Like the morning 
 star, which is at first scarcely distinguishable and almost un- 
 marked, but rising higher and brighter amidst the twilight, pre- 
 sently becomes the harbinger of the day which will make all 
 things manifest in the new-born sunlight, so also the enthusiasm 
 for a general united action on the part of all German women and 
 maidens in the cause of the true care of children and their true 
 training and education — an enthusiasm based upon the deepest 
 feelings of your pure and womanly souls, which are, as it were, a 
 sanctuary amidst all the errors and tangles of life — rises as a star, 
 heralding not only the dawn of a new race, but the uprising of a 
 new nation, a new German people, born again unto a higher 
 destiny — yea, of a new Humanity, one, at last, worthy of itself. 
 
 Words are all too weak to express the imaginings of the noble 
 nature, the great worth of the possible future of our German 
 national and family life, which fill my soul when I think upon 
 such a union of wives and maidens. Yet it has to be attempted, 
 after some fashion, for your sake, O noble German women, in 
 whose soul and spirit all that is truly human in our German 
 national and family life lies reflected, whether from intuition or 
 from actual experience. Moreover, all effort, and especially that 
 of the tender, thoughtful, modest, and retiring soul and life of 
 woman, needs some outward recognition to make it clear, since 
 of itself it is manifested inwardly alone. It shyly germinates 
 concealed, and the influence of the sun is necessary, from without, 
 to enable the germ, already formed within, to burst through its 
 envelope and manifest itself externally. 
 
 Let me lay before you, my esteemed countrywomen, what I 
 read in the open book of man's destiny, and especially in the 
 pages referring to our German nation. I am driven by an 
 irresistible force to tell you what I read therein, and I can see no 
 appeal from its teaching, for it is the voice of my own soul, and 
 though it comes but from one man, it is at the same time the 
 voice of all humanity : — 
 
 " In such an enthusiastic and inspiriting adoption of the 
 essentially feminine vocation of the progressive education and 
 development of children as that which springs from out the 
 
264 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 sanctuary of your pure souls lies the one indispensable condition 
 necessary, that humanity, and the German nation in especial, may 
 be born again into a higher state of existence, and attain a higher 
 grade of development." 
 
 And I am no less irresistibly carried on to make an earnest 
 prayer to you, valued wives and maidens — indeed, it is the main 
 purpose of this letter to do so — that you will cherish and nourish 
 this sacred enthusiasm that I have spoken of; and first of all 
 within yourselves. Review it perpetually by searching your own 
 and others' lives, in the history of their development, so far as it 
 lies open before you ; read, to help yourselves, in the books of 
 the present and the past, and explore the writings of those who 
 seek to lift the veil of the future ; dive deep into the histories 
 of the inward and outward career of man, in the race, the nation, 
 the individual; compare what you have read with the silent 
 creations of organic Nature, their conditions and the history of 
 their development ; in a word, use every opportunity that comes 
 before you to elevate and stimulate your enthusiasm. Such an 
 opportunity may be found everywhere, if only the glance which 
 searches for it be keenly intelligent ; and the search will enable 
 you to appreciate and truly live for your high rank and destiny 
 "to cherish and develop the Divine in the Man, through the 
 Child." For what is there higher than thus to recognise oneself 
 as the Child of God, as true to God our Father, and as gratefully 
 serving Him ? 
 
 But cherish this enthusiasm also for the sake of the loftier 
 purpose of life which will thereby unite you amongst yourselves. 
 Let its weakening, let its cooling, seem to you as a denial of your 
 own powers, and as a refusal of those demands which humanity 
 has a right to make upon you, because of your life's vocation. 
 Few mortals stand in so fortunate a position as you, who are able 
 to work for so many noble aims, and always to press onward and 
 upward. 
 
 Seek therefore for the impressionable amongst your sex, and 
 surely you will find that many such are members of your circle 
 of acquaintance of wives and maidens ; win them over to the 
 adoption of the care of little children as a career, penetrate them 
 
Propagation and Extension. 265 
 
 with your own enthusiasm ! Let no opportunity slip for this 
 propaganda, and utilise the many varied relationships of your 
 life to promote it. Oh, I pray you, do not evade this highly 
 important duty, so often lightly passed by in the whirl of our 
 common life : acknowledge it as an imperative command laid 
 upon you, that every one of you in her own station shall work 
 towards the well-being of humanity with all the powers and 
 means at her command, and especially through careful observa- 
 tion and study of the budding childhoodof the race. Moreover, 
 the work is not difficult; indeed, the conviction of others is 
 rather to be attained by the force of your own conviction, the 
 way laid down for others and their path made straight by the 
 power of the truth within yourselves ; the warm glow of enthu- 
 siasm called up in them by the reflection of the fire^which burns 
 so brightly in you. Success is certain beforehand, even if at 
 first it extends to only a very few; for as the work endures a 
 few others will come, and so others, again, and yet others ; and 
 all of them will be mutually encouraged more and more, and 
 cheered in their work as time goes on. Effort will call forth 
 responsive effort, and firm resolves in some will induce resolves 
 as firm in others. 
 
 Further, the second equally indispensable conditio?! of a final and 
 comprehensive state of well-being for humanity, and especially for 
 our own people, the educational co-operation of the other half 
 of mankind — I mean of the male sex — will rise to meet your own 
 perfect fulfilment of your duty ; and the men will stand beside 
 the women and give them powerful support and protection. At 
 first, perhaps only those men and youths will come forward who 
 are convinced of the high importance of education, and especially 
 of a natural system of education for children, and who are already 
 as thoroughly penetrated with these ideas as yourselves. It is 
 not needful, I am glad to say, that I should take all the responsi- 
 bility of this statement, pledging merely my own consciousness 
 of my duty and my destined career, as a man and as a member 
 of mankind, in proof of it ; you may call witnesses from your 
 own family circle — your sons, your brothers, uncles, husbands — 
 who will justify what I have asserted by their convictions and 
 
266 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 their actions ; so that even if our beginnings may be small, we 
 shall grow as the work grows firm and endures, and shall see 
 once again, for sure, a perfect German race, not in fine isolated 
 specimens here and there, but everywhere, and everywhere united, 
 as a possession and characteristic of the German national life ; in 
 fact, what is now scattered and solitary shall then be universal. 
 As the tenderness of Jesus to some few children is now shared 
 by all children alike, and has thus become the possession of 
 all mankind, so what was once the outcome of a single man's 
 sensations or thoughts shall now become the possession of the 
 intellect of all mankind; that intellect which represents man's 
 highest united and clearly self-conscious existence. 
 
 Noble women, support, I pray you, with all the force of your 
 soul and your will, the earnest struggles of our men and youths 
 devoted to the education of man and of the human race, and 
 glowing with enthusiasm for the improvement of our German 
 national culture ; for if we men work separately, unaided by you 
 and your sex in some permanent and effective manner, we cannot, 
 with all our efforts, accomplish anything comprehensive and 
 satisfactory, either for separate families, still less for the nation, 
 least of all for mankind at large, though the need is everywhere 
 pressing. 
 
 It is only by united action, and only through the children, 
 through the care and training of childhood, that the two sexes can 
 reach their lofty aim, the aim of mankind, of our nation, and of 
 every family — to completely fulfil our common vocation and 
 realize our destiny. For just as in family life the child, whose 
 nurture so sharply divides the sexes as represented by his parents, 
 yet after all unites them the more firmly, since they continue 
 in self-sacrifice to fulfil their noble vocation as members of 
 humanity, so also in virtue of the lofty decrees of providence, 
 the collective body of children, ever renewing itself, acts upon 
 the greater family of mankind at large. The care of childhood 
 is seen to be the one unfailing, perfectly satisfactory condition 
 and means of uniting the two separate sexes to form the one 
 great body of mankind, and fully to work out their destiny. This 
 chord of three notes melts together in a higher sense to form an 
 
Propagation and Extension. 267 
 
 unison, which sounds abroad in a full and clear tone. This 
 larger unity is but the unity of the family over again, where the 
 love of the two parents finds in the child its meaning and its 
 union, attains its purpose and meets its God and Father, reaches 
 its highest development of means and aim, of condition and 
 destiny. Childhood and Manhood melt together to form the 
 unity of Mankind, and this last, as the everlasting child of God, 
 melts in its turn into unity with its Divine Father. 
 
 As the greatest friend and loftiest teacher of mankind has 
 said : — The kingdom of peace and purity, unity and truth, 
 belongs to the children (" For of such is the kingdom of God," 
 Mark x. 14) ; and, again : Only by returning to the spirit of 
 childhood can we regain this kingdom (" Whosoever shall not 
 receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter 
 therein," Mark x. 15). So also upon the earth, it is the return 
 to childhood which ensures us those blessings of heaven, 
 peace and purity, unity and truth, and all that of necessity 
 blossoms and fruits from these ; and it is the sanctifying and 
 loving care of childhood which alone can bring us earthly 
 salvation and joy. 
 
 And now also, noble women, I must pray you to support me, 
 too, in my efforts to found a progressively developing education 
 for children, amidst which they shall unconsciously mature, like 
 plants under the gardener's eye, as I have so often told you ; 
 support me, too, who am driven on by an irresistible force to 
 become the spokesman in this cause, the protagonist in this 
 battle. For indeed, without the powerful support of your sex I 
 am as nothing ; just as I should be nothing, either, without the 
 support and active maintenance of my own sex. I am, as it were, 
 the third party in this holy bond ; in this complete and sacred 
 threefold chord I am the representative of the innocent voiceless 
 children, and like the helpless children I am nothing without the 
 support of at least the majority of those of both sexes, who share 
 with me the belief in what the greatest friend of children pro- 
 phesied, and. what is now at last about to come to pass in a 
 more general acceptation — that the loving care of childhood and 
 of manhood is in the ultimate resort one and the same thing, an 
 
268 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 everlasting, self-complete unity; and that the attainment of this 
 unity is the divinely appointed duty of the two sexes ; a duty 
 which, moreover, unites into one humanity these sexes so widely 
 divergent in their nature and their position with regard to each 
 other. 
 
 While I look forward with confidence to the support of your- 
 selves and your sex, I am also assured of the support of my own ; 
 and you too, as I have said above, may satisfy yourselves in your 
 own families of the existence of this male sympathy with our aims. 
 For in your families, so dear to you, so tenderly cherished, you 
 may see already in actual living operation the consummation to- 
 wards which humanity at large is now striving ; and this sort of 
 proof is the highest triumph of the truth of anything that is ac- 
 knowledged to be true, and that has been properly described — 
 the inward union of those elements which are outwardly separated, 
 perceptible unity in visible diversity, the lofty unison of all exist- 
 ence sounding amidst the many various notes of different phe- 
 nomena, the law of life shining as the basis of the freedom of the 
 will. The salvation of the world is born anew — our German 
 family life is its latest birthplace ; and in that typical family life it 
 shall continually renew itself in every child and through every 
 child, needing nothing more than our protecting care. 
 
 Up, then ! and let us, of both sexes, see to it that this protect- 
 ing care is provided on the part of that combined humanity 
 which we unite together to form. And thus shall we drink to- 
 gether at the fountain head of all truth. Further, it is truth alone, 
 and our conduct (which should have its roots in truth), which can 
 free us, and which can endow- us with all things needed for our 
 good ; all those things that the Saviour, centuries long since, 
 sought to obtain for us by His life, and by His love. Every one of 
 us of either sex should now and henceforth strive like Him — I 
 mean, should strive with love like His, but in a correspondingly 
 lower degree — towards the good of all men, working through his 
 or her life, and setting forth our purpose in that life ; each one 
 according to his or her powers and surrounding circumstances. 
 
 In conclusion, may the one source and fountain of all that lives 
 stream through our souls and unite into one flood the separate 
 
Propagation and Extension. 269 
 
 runlets of our life ! May Love, Goodness, Truth, Fidelity, the 
 elements of that great stream, be apparent in our every action ! 
 May these four qualities, even upon earth, unite you women in- 
 separably with us men, and unite both of us inseparably with 
 humanity, and especially with our German nation, and with every 
 individual member of that great people, for the salvation of each 
 one and of all together, by vigorous endeavour, blossoming fairly, 
 and coming in time to noble fruit ! Then the peace which has 
 hitherto belonged to the other world may descend also upon this, 
 and the soul which is joyful in this world may carry over its joy 
 into that other ; so shall the earth be as a part of heaven, and 
 mankind actually become in consciousness and in deed what it 
 already is according to its nature — namely, the free-born daughter 
 of God ! 
 
 With which considerations, noble German women, I bid you 
 and those who are dear to you a mutual farewell in all unity of 
 spirit. 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 (9.) 
 
 Letter to Mile. Gumpert* 
 
 Keilhau, 2yd July ', 1848. 
 Respected Madam, — 
 
 Will you pardon the freedom I take in writing to you ? The 
 thoughts which busied us together so engrossingly during the last 
 hours of my recent stay in Dresden have sunk so deep into my 
 mind, and have called up further developments of thought which 
 are so important, and which seem so completely to embrace the 
 inmost nature of life, that I really feel compelled to share them 
 with you, and therefore venture upon continuing our conversation 
 in this epistolary manner. 
 
 It seems to me that we must admit this to be the first great 
 fact of to-day : — that life, with all its attendant circumstances, is 
 drifting daily faster and faster towards ruin and dissolution. 
 
 The second great fact, closely connected with the first, relates to 
 
270 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 physical nature and the great generalisations of life, and is to this 
 effect : — that both in nature and in life, wherever we find decay 
 and dissolution, we find also the germs of a new development; so 
 that swiftly, to him who has eyes to see, the new form takes sub- 
 stance and rises into view upon the ruins of the old. Every one 
 who desires to understand his own time and its phenomena, to 
 seize its meaning, to carefully observe it, and to use it for the 
 best, whether for the present moment, or for the more permanent 
 needs of life — and what man of prudent habit has not such a 
 desire as this? — must before all things else keep his mind open 
 and eye clear to recognise and acknowledge these new forms 
 and developments as they arise from the old. 
 
 This brings us to the third great fact, which is one of the 
 highest possible moment for the fulfilment of our vocation in life, 
 and necessary, not only for each one, but also for every society : — 
 that it is never blind chance that directs us, but that, on the con- 
 trary, we are controlled in all things, thanks to a loving, guiding 
 providence, by one great everlasting law, whose nature is unfolded 
 by numberless subsidiary laws, always active and always con- 
 nected amongst themselves ; and these subsidiary laws, though 
 they are but parts of a greater unity, nevertheless rule us even 
 in the smallest occurrences of life. 
 
 Now let us apply these three main facts of life, dear madam, to 
 our own work, which has itself, as I believe, been called forth even 
 through that mighty law of life whereof I have just spoken. We 
 find, first of all, that our educational system has for its deepest 
 foundation the germ of a new life which is budding forth, accord- 
 ing to the eternal law, amidst the decay and dissolution of all 
 life-relationships that mark the world of to-day — a new life, lead- 
 ing us onward to a higher, a purer, a more peaceful, and a more 
 joyful existence. The development, the cherishing of this new 
 life-germ depends solely upon the living human race, and we are 
 of the number : that is to say, this unfolding of the new life-germ 
 into full growth and perfect development depends in an especial 
 sense upon those amongst men who are rich in experience of the 
 inward and outward life, who are clearly conscious of their lofty 
 vocation as human beings and willing and able to fulfil it — each 
 
Propagation and Extension. 271 
 
 one practically efficient and active in his particular station and in 
 his own individual way. In all modesty we must reckon ourselves 
 amongst the chosen few. 
 
 But to say that anything needs tender cherishing care for its de- 
 velopment, is but in other words to postulate the womanly life and 
 sensitiveness, the womanly soul and manner of working — as your 
 own charming poems have so truly expressed it. Therefore we 
 must turn towards the world of women, towards the noble woman's 
 soul, conscious of its own nature and of its high vocation; and we 
 must make our petition that women will trustfully accept the charge 
 which we would fain lay upon them of the cherishing and shaping 
 this tender germ of the new life which is struggling with all its 
 powers to burst forth from its bud. 
 
 This, then, was the result we arrived at during the short time 
 we held conference together, and the conviction was firmly 
 shared by both of us alike ; — that the germ of the new existence 
 whose arrival we awaited, lay in the world of Childhood ; was, in 
 fact, the source of its ever-fresh renewal, and was thrusting out its 
 roots and stem from within. The practical result of our exchange 
 of ideas was consequently a resolve to enlist the valuable services 
 of mothers and maidens in the cause of children's education, and 
 also, and especially, to influence ladies of high birth and position — 
 of the very highest, indeed, if we could reach them — and to con- 
 vince them of the true value for mankind and of the stringent need 
 of the system we are advocating ; for such ladies would have the 
 means as well as the will to help us ; the material as well as the 
 shaping idea ; the power to execute as well as the earnest zeal 
 to endeavour. And let us also be ever mindful of the lesson of 
 our time, enforced by so many and such terrible examples — that 
 in the case of all persons of such high position, wealth and 
 poverty, possession and deprivation frequently lie in the mere 
 glance of an eye, in the lightest whisper of a mouth, in a single 
 word ; that it is often the fate of an instant to decide that he who 
 is to-day extolled as the benefactor of his nation, or of all man- 
 kind, shall to-morrow be hooted down as the betrayer of both. 
 Each one of those highborn ladies, spotlessly pure as a lily, 
 shining clear as an angel, must yet see narrowly to it, lest the fatal 
 
272 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 words, " Too late ! " plunge all that high and holy purity into 
 darkness and misery. 
 
 If only our queens, our princesses, all our highest and mighti- 
 est ones, would but think of this ! If they could but realize what 
 power a lovingly guiding Providence, an everlasting paternal good- 
 ness has placed in their hand and laid in their heart, for the firm 
 foundation of the happiness of their subjects, in the family and in 
 the nation alike ! If they would but see how he invites them to 
 scatter abroad the seeds of individual and national prosperity ! 
 If they would but recognise that the duty is laid upon them to 
 vigorously support this movement for the culture of very young 
 children in families and in Kindergartens, with all the rich conse- 
 quences dependent upon that ! Then we should save for our 
 people, for humanity, for our contemporaries, and for posterity, 
 through them, through the deep and true feeling of their woman's 
 heart, that superfluity of this world's best things which they still 
 now possess, even after the large amount which the male sex has 
 taken from them. 
 
 May it come to pass in the great family of the nation, the 
 married life, so to speak, of the human race, as it often comes to 
 pass in real families and in ordinary married life, and to the bless- 
 ing of all — that where the men have trampled down all that is 
 noble, the love of woman is able to revive it and upraise it again ! 
 
 That I might express these thoughts to you, dear madam, is the 
 purpose of this letter, in addition to my natural wish to thank 
 you for the confidence you have reposed in me, which I do, as 
 you see, in my own peculiar way. Confidence is the true thanks 
 for confidence. I might have put that as a heading to this letter 
 if it were not that with me ideas involuntarily follow the same 
 order of development on paper as that in which they originally 
 arose in my mind ; a circumstance which indeed has its good side 
 in regard to their inner connection, though it sometimes may be 
 rather wearisome for the reader. I can only hope that the pub- 
 lished circular letter, which I venture to enclose in the present 
 one, may not prove an example of what I have just said. I have 
 enclosed that letter also in the same spirit of mutual confidence 
 which has induced me to write this one to you. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 273 
 
 The printed letter enclosed deals with the actual situation, and 
 has, in fact, like the present letter, arisen directly therefrom : it 
 differs simply by being addressed, not to one friend, but to a 
 large number of noble women, all inspired by the thought of work- 
 ing towards a satisfactory and complete education of children, 
 and thereby towards family and national well-being through the 
 united action of mothers and maidens. I have thought it my duty 
 to send you a copy of this circular letter, dear madam ; for by 
 your child-loving mind you already stand upon the same plane of 
 activity (activity in an imperishable work) with that sweet circle 
 of women whom a common motive has bound together so fast 
 that they are become almost as one person. And since the order 
 of ideas in that circular letter is not the same as in this, it is my 
 hope that the two letters may be mutually explanatory, may com- 
 plete one another, so to speak : especially with regard to the most 
 important conception of a single mighty Law of Life, individual- 
 ising and all-embracing at the same time, and enduring for ever 
 and ever. This Law rules the great unities of Mankind and of 
 Life — it is our duty to strive to understand its all-penetrating 
 force ; and as soon as we have arrived at its understanding, then 
 voluntarily and in all freedom of will w r e ought to bring it to 
 practical application in our life, and to live according to its behest. 
 This mighty all-penetrating law expresses itself everywhere, and 
 in a manner especially marked with regard to the sexes in their 
 mutual relations ; wherefore we recognise it in remarkable clear- 
 ness and simplicity in the family, in the relationship between 
 father, mother and child. Whence it becomes our particular 
 duty to hold high the idea of the family as a holy thing; for 
 in it lies and germinates the weal of all nations, the salvation of 
 mankind. 
 
 This conception, this conviction, form the basis of my Kinder- 
 garten system. Lovers of that system have called upon me to 
 bring it to a public test by demonstrating its nature upon a scale 
 suitable to its complete exhibition, and request me to invite the 
 public to witness this demonstration. 
 
 I send you some copies of my invitation to this meeting, 
 which I published originally in the Educational Journal for 
 
 T 
 
274 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 Saxony} As soon as further details of time and place are de- 
 cided upon I will let you know them. 
 
 As I close this letter I receive a number of programmes of the 
 " Second General Teachers' Conference for Saxony." I see that 
 the Kindergarten is admitted to its true place in this programme, 
 as an organic member of the national German educational system 
 and this fact is of such exceeding importance that I send you one 
 of the copies herewith. 
 
 I should rejoice greatly, dear madam, if you should feel in 
 duced to favour me soon with some account of the results of your 
 labours in extending this system of Kindergarten education for 
 very young children, which we offer as suitable to the spirit o 
 the age ; and which embraces their education in private families 
 also, through and by means of the Kindergarten. 
 With very great esteem, 
 
 I am, yours truly, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 (10.) 
 
 Letter to Luise Hertlein, of Vienna, 
 
 Kindergarten Teacher with Madame Doris Liitkens, in Hamburg. 
 
 Marienthal, 29//? March, 1852. 
 There was no need to apologise for your long silence. You 
 know my own negligence as a correspondent, and indeed I have 
 long been a letter in your debt. And, moreover, you say quite 
 truly that in these matters we must trust to that bond of spiritual 
 union which connects our lives, and which should make us 
 strong enough in soul and spirit to overcome anything that thus 
 threatens to weaken our friendship. Indeed, it could not fail to 
 
 1 Schuheitung 
 
Propagation and Extension. 275 
 
 quicken and raise our lives if we were more constantly brought 
 to feel the reality and necessity of this spiritual bond between us. 
 It is by such incessant mutual attraction that the stars preserve 
 the harmony of the heavens. In my view it is by such a senti- 
 ment that mankind will be enabled to arrive eventually at that 
 highest plane of development where it will become possible for 
 us to recognise the intimate and perpetual interconnection of all 
 the living phenomena of mind, resting on the essential unity of 
 all the forms of life. What a vast series of ascending planes of 
 development stretches out thus before us on this earth alone ! 
 And yet, in the ultimate resort, all that vast series already poten- 
 tially exists in germ in the Kindergarten and its developments. 
 
 Yet, in spite of the above, which I have put forward to quiet 
 your conscience as to your long silence, I am glad that this 
 latter is at last broken, and especially glad because of the imme- 
 diate reason for it. 
 
 I have already known for some time that Madame B. desired 
 to have one of my students as a nursery governess, and I did 
 actually send one to her for trial, all the way to Coblenz. Why 
 it was that the engagement was not entered into I do not know ; 
 but it is certainly remarkable that an engagement so actively 
 sought for by the student who then went to Coblenz should have 
 fallen through, and yet the very same thing should now come 
 of its own accord to you, who knew nothing about it and had 
 taken no trouble to secure it. This is an example of the curious 
 chances of life ; and shows us that our best course is always 
 patiently to await the development of things. How many times 
 has not fortune favoured you already in your life ; and, while you 
 were steadily fulfilling the duties that lay immediately before you, 
 expanded and enlarged those duties into a wider and more 
 congenial sphere of culture. 
 
 In another sense, too, your new engagement, generally so satis- 
 factory, seems to me especially important ; and the more I think 
 of it the greater its importance grows upon me. You will 
 remember the great value I used to attach, when I was teaching 
 you the unities of life, to the great principles of observation, re- 
 cognition, and conjunction, or in one phrase — " The reconcili- 
 
276 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 ation of opposites by a mediating link/' I think I can offer you 
 a striking proof of the justice of my views in this regard, drawn 
 from your own life, and doubly manifested there. In all your 
 future career, pray listen to and observe the deep laws of nature 
 and life which underlie the Kindergarten system of education. 
 
 You know, as the song "North and South" tells us, what 
 sharply contrasted opposites we find in North and South Ger- 
 many, both in the aspect of the country and in the races which 
 inhabit it. Here, then, is a remark which I might easily develop, 
 and apply to the guidance of your future life. You, dear Luise, 
 are a Viennese, a South German ; and the mediating link of my 
 own life has served to connect you with your opposite, Madame 
 Doris Liitkens, a North German, by the most perfect and stable 
 relationship. Then, again, how do you become connected with 
 Madame R. B. ? Where is the point of origin of this new for- 
 mula? Is there any opposition between North Germany and 
 Hamburg? Perhaps not much : but Madame B. learnt Kinder- 
 garten principles in Baden, pondered over them a whole month 
 by herself. At last in stony Berlin the spark kindled into flame, 
 and she turned towards the North, towards yourself at Hamburg, 
 to satisfy the wishes, the maternal necessities, which had been 
 borne in upon her, as I have said, in the South (in Baden). 1 
 
 Further, you know that for generations men have been long- 
 ing for a bond of union between South and North. Now you 
 see wherein such a bond is conditioned, and whereby it becomes 
 possible. Acknowledge, then, in these occurrences (which I 
 cannot now properly comment upon) the truth of the Kinder- 
 garten principle — the principle of the progressively developing 
 culture of mankind towards unity and high purpose in life — and 
 see how it stands in all the strength of a true, a high, a Fatherly 
 protection. And think, moreover, how we are pledged to faith- 
 fully enforce this principle, especially in the family. Finally, 
 convince yourself of the great importance of your future position 
 
 1 The English Editors feel bound to remark that in these examples Froebel 
 would seem to have pushed his favourite principle beyond what it can fairly 
 be made to bear. It must be remembered that he was now within a few 
 days of seventy years old, was in ill health, and more than usually fanciful. 
 
Propagation and Extension. 277 
 
 with all its duties, which now lie certainly before you, though as 
 yet they are still indistinctly determined. Wherefore keep that 
 consciousness of their importance continually before you, and let 
 it rule all your actions. 
 
 Observe, dear Luise, that we must bend our attention firstly 
 towards the kernel, the main centre of our national life, the family ; 
 and in the family, firstly, to the mothers and daughters, that 
 they may hunger and thirst for instruction, as I have often found 
 the case in my association with the simplest peasant families; 
 secondly, that the rulers of our land, our governments and their 
 leaders, may become learned, willing, and helpful, in educational 
 matters, and may find the due scope for their energies in the 
 Kindergarten system ; and thirdly — as the mediating link con- 
 necting these two opposites — we are to come forward and satisfy 
 at once the hunger and thirst of the people, and the statesman- 
 like desires and efforts of their rulers. 
 
 By which you see that I not merely recognise the gravity 
 of these new relationships, as well as Mile. D. does, but I 
 seek to extend and widen your considerations concerning them. 
 At the same time this will serve you as an example of my usual 
 practice of examination into the phenomena and the events of 
 life, that I may range them in an orderly way and come to a 
 clear view of them and of their intimate vital interconnection 
 one with the other. I attach the greatest importance to this 
 study of phenomena, and regard that life as the highest and best 
 which is lived in accordance with the results and conclusions of 
 such a study. 
 
 As I remarked above, our life, regarded as a clear self-con- 
 sciousness, a living intuition, and a firm will, must remain ever 
 in harmony with the will of the life universal (that is, must not be 
 disturbed by our perpetual efforts) — just as harmonious, in fact, 
 as are the great unconscious entities of physical nature and the 
 general scheme of the world. This, indeed, was the highest and 
 ultimate aim of Jesus, who says, " I and my Father are one " 
 (John x. 30), and " I listen to the voice of my Father " (John viii. 
 28, 47). All my efforts in the cause of education are in har- 
 mony with these words of Jesus, and rest, as Jesus commands, 
 
278 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 upon the basis of the unity of life — as indeed I have already 
 above expressed it. 
 
 Thank God that you have not been led to imitate the pre- 
 sumption of certain highly cultured circles who deny their 
 Master, whereby you would have falsified your whole principles 
 and denied the eternal law which lies beneath them, founding 
 all your future work upon lies and deceit, to say the best of it : 
 for your escape from this snare you cannot thank God too 
 warmly. I must here confide to you a conclusion of the deepest 
 significance, which I draw from observations extending over my 
 whole life. Ever since I have taken the standing of a national 
 educationist, and have spoken out freely upon the principles 
 which should govern the education of the people (and the 
 education of mankind, in fact), I have observed that all those who, 
 after having once enthusiastically acknowledged the truth of the 
 principle of progressive development, have later on deserted it 
 and turned their back upon it, perhaps have even denied it alto- 
 gether, have thenceforth suffered their life long from confusion and 
 disaster. I could almost say that this conclusion might be drawn 
 from my own life. And hence this educational idea becomes a 
 sacred thing to me, not because it is mine, but because it is 
 deeply implanted, with all its many various roots, in the nature of 
 the human mind. I know that I can convince but very few of 
 my fellow men of the intense verity of this, to the extent that I 
 myself am convinced ; but this need not hinder me, any the 
 more, from being faithful to my light. 
 
 Rejoice in your motto, " Everywhere with pride and joy truth 
 to acknowledge," and I, too, rejoice in your hope that by your 
 removal to Coblenz and the B. family you will bring " some good 
 to our cause, which thereby becomes more widely known." I 
 am sure you will ; and you have my cordial good wishes for a 
 blessing on your efforts. 
 
 A most excellent student will be your successor at Madame 
 Liitkens', and if I were sure you would not misunderstand me I 
 should say she is the precise opposite of yourself, being a sweet 
 gentle soul. 
 
 Observe how in the life of Madame Liitkens we find the con- 
 
Propagation and Extension. 279 
 
 trast to what I was saying a little above. Although it cannot be 
 denied that she takes up a position almost the contrary of mine 
 in her opinions on society, on life, and I might perhaps even 
 add on education, yet from the first moment that she really 
 thoughtfully considered and acknowledged the truth of my edu- 
 cational aims she has remained their true supporter : and she has 
 been so fortunate as to receive, one after the other, three 
 Kindergarten teachers from out my students, who have all of 
 them proved most able assistants to her. Here you see the 
 truth, from another side, of the proverb: — "Whoso faithfully 
 cherishes the idea shall be faithfully rewarded by the idea," 
 and in the second place you see also that life in general, and 
 true vital powerful educational work in particular, exist by the 
 reconciliation and union of opposites ; for you are as opposite 
 to Alwine 1 as two persons of similar education and work can be, 
 and your successor is equally unlike you. 
 
 Hence you may assure yourself, dear Luise, that life is ever made 
 up by developments of the union of opposites, according to the 
 everlasting law God has imposed upon it, and that it lies upon 
 your spirit to search out and acknowledge examples of this law, 
 through which you may become able to walk warily in your life 
 by the light of consciousness and insight, intelligently following 
 out the will of God and submitting yourself thereunto. 
 
 And this happens to be especially the point that my opponents 
 never seem to see, or at all events never admit. But so long as 
 we do not acknowledge these palpable facts of nature, which are 
 objective to us, that is, which are independent and outside of 
 ourselves, as representing a law of society and life, and refuse 
 to recognise this law in our spirit as being truly a law of God (but 
 still leaving to ourselves the freedom of the will) — until, I say, 
 these facts are felt, by at least a few chosen souls amongst men, 
 to constitute a fundamental law of life, Life will never lose its 
 perpetual waverings, its misunderstandings, and its want of faith 
 This is my deepest, firmest, and ever present conviction. 
 
 1 Alwine. Middendorff (afterwards Madame Wichard Lange), her predeces- 
 sor with Madame Liitkens — see Letter XIX. to Madame Schmidt, Part I. of 
 the present book. 
 
280 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 And while even so firm and decided a statement of my convic- 
 tion may nevertheless fail to convince another man that this law 
 is really true, it will still have this effect, that you, and all others 
 to whom the intelligence of this great law may come, will be 
 attentive to the phenomena of life and to the laws of God, which 
 are expressed through them, so that you may come to acknow- 
 ledge the will of God as an objective perception. To become 
 what we ought to become, we must clearly acknowledge that we 
 and our mental phenomena are a mingled mass of opposites — 
 and this not to our hurt, but to our good — as for example, soul 
 and intellect, heart and head, intuition, feeling and reason, etc. 
 To such opposite-similars it is our task in life, and by means 
 of life, to find the mediating link, the point of union. 
 
 The Incarnation and the Life of Jesus are conditioned by this 
 same law, as is also his harmony of action with the One God : 
 and so, too, turning to another sphere, my own action, and my 
 own aim in life are harmonised with those of Jesus ; for from 
 them come unity of life, unity with God, and the real power and 
 vigour of life. "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matt, 
 vii. 20). 
 
 Osberve all this and prove it from the thousand experiences of 
 life, and from time to time, as opportunity serves, let me know 
 how it goes with your inner as well as your outer life ; thus, for 
 one of us at least, may life be made clear, which is but another 
 way of saying that its conduct may be made more true. 
 
 I know that many others with whom I am personally not 
 acquainted have like aims with myself; and we may perhaps hope 
 that we may thus accomplish together something for the peace 
 of life which we all so long for, and for the joy of life which we 
 all so need. 
 
 You are right to make the Journal your study ; for there is 
 much more in it than the mere words express, many undeveloped 
 germs, much seed-corn. Believe me, I should study the Journal 
 myself, if I could but spare the time, and that with profit : I mean 
 that I should study it with a view to the development of those said 
 germs and seed-corn. In the fourth number of the Journal is 
 an article upon " Stick laying," which contains a deep-lying con- 
 
Propagation and Extension. 281 
 
 ception of society and of life, the recognition of which is of great 
 importance for the conscious and sure guidance of life, and of 
 children's education, and men's too. Whether many will recog- 
 nise it, is quite another question ; yet, if only a few perceive 
 the truth of it, that is sufficient, for they will work upon others. 
 
 Now, as a conclusion of the whole matter, you see by what 
 I have written that I not only approve of your resolve to accept 
 the Coblenz invitation, but that you have acted in the affair in 
 every way precisely as I could have wished. God's blessing on 
 your work ! This letter must serve for quite half a year, I entreat. 
 Do not forget to come to the public demonstration of the " gifts " 
 which I intend to give at the Liebenstein Kindergarten next 
 summer. 
 
 All desire to be kindly remembered to you, especially your 
 namesake, and myself. 
 
 Your Friend, 
 
 Fr. Fr. 
 (Friede, Freude, Freiheit.') 1 
 
 1 Von mir, Ihren Frd., Fr. Fr. [not Ihnen Frd., Fr. Fr., as in the 
 German text. That is, " peace, joy and freedom : " a play upon his usual 
 abbreviated signature, " Fr. Fr." (Friedrich Froebel), with Frd. added, for 
 Freund (friend). See also the same signature to the letter toLisette Kirchner, 
 in Section IV. The namesake is, of course, Madame Luise Froebel. 
 
PART IV, 
 ATTACK AND DEFENCE. 
 
ATTACK AND DEFENCE. 
 
 ' l n = 
 
 Introduction. 1 
 
 HE more foes, the more honour." This proverb 
 serves well for Froebel. And his foes were not 
 only many, but mighty ; nay, of the mightiest in the 
 land, and such as few persons have had to encounter. 
 Amongst them was the Prussian Minister of Education, Von 
 Raumer, who on 7th August, 1851, simply abolished the Kinder- 
 garten in Prussia, on the ground that it was " a part of the Froe- 
 belian Socialistic system, calculated to bring up our young people 
 in atheism ! " 
 
 Froebel, on principle, did not usually answer his foes ; he 
 sought rather to overcome their hostility by making his practical 
 work as perfect as possible, and trusting to the evidence of 
 actual facts to prove the justice of his ideas. But he abandoned 
 his usual course in this case of the Prussian Minister, and sent 
 him (quite in vain, it is true) a paper of defence and justification, 
 the draft of which, in Froebel's own handwriting, is in my posses- 
 sion, and shall one day be published. 
 
 The following letters of Froebel were all written during the last 
 three years of his life, and dated from Liebenstein and Marienthal. 
 They are concerned throughout, in an indirect way, with his 
 opponents of the orthodox religion, and they contain the evidence 
 that he never lost the Christian faith, nor separated himself from 
 the Protestant Church, in which he had been brought up, but 
 held the position of a broad-minded tolerant Churchman as regards 
 the less orthodox communities. 3 
 
 1 By the German Editor, Herr Poesche. 
 
 2 The Protestant {Evangelischen) Churches of North Germany are now two 
 in number, and every citizen, whatever the private belief of his parents or him- 
 self, must be baptized and confirmed in one or the other, unless he is a 
 Roman Catholic. These two branches are the Old Lutherans and the New 
 
 23 5 
 
286 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 In the first letter, which is addressed to Madame Doris Liitkens, 
 at Hamburg, it is more particularly the pedantic educationist 
 Folsing who claims our attention ; in the two letters to the 
 Kindergarten teachers of Nuremberg, the decree for the abolition 
 of the Kindergarten in Bavaria is dwelt upon, and in the last letter 
 Froebel tells us about his educational efforts on behalf of the 
 " Home Missionary Society." l A few remarks are necessary upon 
 these various points. 
 
 i. The opposition between the strictly orthodox conception 
 of society, and that of persons holding freer religious views, still 
 manifests itself daily, and almost seems to grow more and more 
 intense in regard to the instruction of very young children. For 
 example, even down to our own day an invariable charge is made 
 against the Kindergarten by persons of rigidly orthodox views, that 
 it has no definite profession of faith ; and " Oberlin Schools " are 
 founded, under the protection of the aegis of the great strategist 
 Von Moltke, and others, with the direct view and in the full 
 purpose of working against the "godless" Kindergarten. 2 And 
 on this account, too, the old-fashioned creches are taken into 
 favour ; for in these, as a rule, only children of one denomination 
 are gathered together. 
 
 2. Froebel saw in the earliest education of children a neutral 
 ground, a place of peace, and in giving his Kindergarten its form 
 and method, he entered into friendly relations with Catholics and 
 Protestants, Jews and Free Christians {e.g. as to the latter, Wis-, 
 licenus, Baltzer, Hildenhagen and Uhlig). He made use of all 
 forms of "practical Christianity." What belief Froebel himself 
 
 or Reformed Lutherans, corresponding roughly to our High Church and Broad 
 Church. Froebel belonged to the latter, but his father would certainly have 
 belonged to the former, if the division of the Church had taken place during 
 his life, instead of about 1845. 
 
 1 As to this great work of the philanthropist, J. X. Wichern, see the notes 
 to the last letter in this book. 
 
 2 The German Editor might have added a choicer example of narrowness 
 drawn from Berlin usage, where, to counteract any ill effect from the Kinder- 
 gartens under the influence of Madame Schrader (Froebel's great-niece), the 
 orthodox have thought fit to establish several so-called " Christian Kinder- 
 gartens " of their own. General von Moltke is a patron of these " Christian 
 Kindergartens," also, as well as of the Oberlin Schools. 
 
Attack and Defence. 287 
 
 held can be at once perceived quite clearly from the following 
 letters. But if a more explicit testimony of Froebel's perfectly 
 Christian views be needed, I will add here a few words from his 
 nephew, Karl Froebel, some time professor at Edinburgh. 1 
 Herr Karl Froebel says : " My uncle was truly pious in the 
 Christian sense, through and through. His whole life has left 
 this distinct impression upon me. Certainly it was rather the 
 spirit than the form of Christianity with which he was penetrated 
 in so remarkable a manner. He believed that his work in educa- 
 tion would eventually bring about a new form of Christianity, and 
 that Christendom would become conterminous with the whole 
 human race/' Not the form, but the spirit of Christianity, we 
 see, enthralled Froebel. If we want more precisely to describe 
 this spirit, we may turn to a little book he himself has recom- 
 mended 2 — "Psyche" (the soul), by Dr. R. Cams, 1846; 
 "which/' as he says in a letter to Felsberg, of 7th February, 1847, 
 "is most remarkable to me on this account, that the writer and 
 I set out from completely opposite standpoints, and yet he arrives 
 by similarly ordered reasoning at precisely my own results. Up 
 to the present I have met with no work which bears such clear 
 witness as this to the truth of my aims and efforts." What, then, 
 were the results gained by viewing the world from Carus's Theistic 
 standpoint ? He shows us nature, as a huge, powerful, immortal 
 life unity, ruled by moral principles and by the mind of God. 
 Every living thing is a leaf or twig of this tree of life ; especially 
 man, in whom, as the crown of creation, nature arrives at self- 
 consciousness. The connection of man's life with the natural 
 universal life is shown in triple wise; firstly, as a desire for 
 harmony with the highest life, that is, for unity with God ; secondly, 
 as a desire for harmony with all the living beings that surround 
 us, that is, for unity with the world ; and thirdly, as a desire for 
 unity with self called forth by the everlasting conflict between 
 mind and body. If Froebel's religious position is desired to be 
 accurately known, Carus should be closely studied, The Theism 
 
 1 Where he still resided. 
 
 2 As, for instance, to his cousin, Madame Schmidt, of Gera, to whom he in- 
 troduces the book at the end of Letter XX., Part I. of the present volume. 
 
288 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 of Cams has, of course, nothing to do with Pantheism, which 
 latter simply identifies God and the world. Enough has been 
 said upon this point. 
 
 3. The opposition of Folsing, in Darmstadt, was certainly- 
 grounded upon a divergence from Froebel in religious matters ; 
 but was aggravated by Folsing's over-weening conceit. He was 
 an organist and a military schoolmaster (began as an artillery- 
 man, then went to the Teachers' Training College at Friedburg, 
 where Curtman was director, and was there trained as a teacher); 
 and he had founded at Darmstadt an Infant School, which showed 
 good and practical results. In 1844 Froebel, travelling in the 
 Rhine, Main, and Neckar district, came to Darmstadt and 
 entered into nearer relations with Folsing. On some practical 
 points Folsing was superior to the creator of the Kindergarten ; 
 he led the children's singing well, and was very clever in keeping 
 their attention constantly alive by recitations, stories, verses, fairy 
 tales, etc.; and he had large curved pieces of wood for building 
 with, that enabled the children easily to construct the most in- 
 teresting forms. At the beginning Froebel was successful in 
 placing his first and best disciple, Mile. Ida Seele, at the head 
 of an Infant School in Darmstadt ; and he desired them to have 
 the name as well as the thing — " Kindergarten." But Folsing 
 stood for his own title. His ideal was the " Infant School," and 
 his influence was sufficient to prevent the use of the word 
 " Kindergarten." 
 
 As the name " Kindergarten " also plays a part in the letters to 
 the Bavarian Kindergarten teachers in Nuremberg, it is worthy 
 of remark that Froebel expresses himself very fully to his disciple 
 in Darmstadt, Ida Seele, about the unpleasantness there, and the 
 difference between the names " Kindergarten " and " Infant 
 School." This is how he writes to Ida Seele on 14th March, 
 1847, when she had already been appointed mistress of the Infant 
 School at Darmstadt : — 
 
 " Also I hope I may attain here (in Darmstadt) my third great 
 object — which is the establishment of a Normal- Kindergarten, 
 one which will serve as a practical model to others as to actual 
 working, and will also bear the name of ' Kindergarten.' For 
 
Attack and Defence. 289 
 
 the name of the thing, or of a person, is by no means to be 
 neglected as without influence. You know how often I have 
 remarked upon this with reference to your own name; 1 and we 
 have a proverb which says the same thing, with that good com- 
 mon sense which is the characteristic of proverbs, 'Call a child 
 by its right name.' 
 
 " You remember wtll enough how hard we worked, and how 
 we had to fight, not occasionally but constantly, and with all our 
 force, that we might elevate the Darmstadt creche, or rather 
 Infant School, by improved methods and organization, until it 
 became a true Kindergarten. And you remember to what a 
 great extent we soon succeeded in this task, by our united efforts. 
 You know what trouble I took to acquire a piece of garden 
 ground for that Institution, so that the children might have their 
 own little gardens in the central part, surrounded by the general 
 school-garden on all sides ; because I consider all such Institu- 
 tions incomplete without this important adjunct, of whose far- 
 reaching influence and importance you must have been thoroughly 
 convinced at Blankenburg. You know what pains we both took 
 to meet the school's requirements on the purely teaching side, 
 when Herr A., our teacher, unexpectedly left us ; and what 
 trouble we gave ourselves to make you qualified for every emer- 
 gency of this kind, so far as we could forecast the future ; and 
 you remember how in all these points we succeeded to the 
 general satisfaction of all concerned, not merely just at first, but 
 in the permanent enduring work. 
 
 " Now what was the outcome of all this,, even during my own 
 stay at Darmstadt ? Why, the fetters which always cripple a 
 creche, or an Infant School, and which seem to hang upon it 
 from its inception, and to cling round its very name — these 
 fetters were allowed to remain unbroken. Every one felt pleased 
 with so diligent, so faithful a mistress as yourself, and appreciated 
 the fruitfulness of your work ; all esteemed you and recognised 
 your worth properly ; yet at the same time they withheld from 
 you the main condition of an unimpeded development, that 
 
 1 Seele, in German, means " Soul." 
 
 U 
 
290 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 freedom on all sides which is absolutely necessary to every young 
 healthy and vigorous plant : and instead of this they crippled you 
 with old mechanical and formal restraints, as far as possible. 
 You must remember the half-a-folio-full of ' House- Rules,' or 
 whatever they were called, which made their appearance even 
 while I was still in Darmstadt. They seemed to me like chains 
 thrown round the whole, preventing its free outgrowth ; but I can- 
 not say if you too felt them as such, since I carefully abstained 
 from making any remarks to you upon the subject, for fear of 
 dashing your courage. 
 
 " Gratitude for the possession of the living principle involved 
 in our method of child-development — whose value is, moreover, 
 abundantly manifested by its results — ought by this time already 
 to have induced the committee to call the child by its right 
 name. This is what they have done in Homburg, where they 
 have set your people a striking example by adopting the name 
 of ' Kindergarten ' at the same time that the old Infant School 
 was remodelled upon the basis of our games and occupations. 
 
 " Is there really such importance underlying the mere name of 
 a system? — some one might ask. Yes, there is ; and it is proved 
 by results which are simply surprising, and which are not con- 
 fined to any one place. See, for example, Gotha, Liinen, etc. — 
 for I will not name Dresden. I will grant you this, as to your 
 influence, that the personal result of your work is very great, 
 indeed greater than at either Gotha or Liinen, and that you have 
 deserved all possible recognition of your labours in your own' 
 sphere ; but that sphere was and still is only an Infant School, 
 one of a large class of such schools, and distinguished from them 
 mainly by its superior excellence. It is true that any one carefully 
 watching your teaching would observe a new spirit infused into it, 
 expressing and fulfilling the child's own wants and desires, and 
 would welcome a fresh mode of handling subjects and developing 
 them, suitable to that new spirit ; but that your method of chil- 
 dren's instruction was completely adapted to lead up to the entire 
 sphere of the human culture and development of to-day our care- 
 ful observer would not be able to admit, at all events, upon the 
 single specimen submitted to him in your school. You would 
 
Attack and Defence. 291 
 
 strike him as personally capable, nay, as extremely capable, but 
 you would fail to strike him as a high-minded, true-hearted and 
 heaven-sent servant and priestess of the idea which God has 
 now called to life within man's bosom, and of the struggle towards 
 the realization of that idea — education by development — the 
 destined means of raising the whole human race, and before all 
 else the German nation, to a new plane of culture. For, after all, 
 what do we mean by ' Infant School/ and what do we mean by 
 * Kindergarten ' ? 
 
 " A School is a place and a method in and by which a man 
 obtains knowledge of something outside himself, and is won to 
 the contemplation and acquisition of facts placed before him. 
 But the child must first himself be something, before he can turn 
 to the contemplation of strange things foreign to his nature. 
 One ought already to have some firm standpoint of his own, 
 before one begins to acquire things altogether novel. So the 
 spirit of the age commands it to be, and above all with children. 
 We must admit that no man can acquire fresh knowledge, even 
 at a school, beyond the measure which his own mental strength 
 and stage of development fits him to receive. But little children 
 have no development at all. Wherefore, in their one-sided and 
 half-hearted way, men set about to create infant schools, which 
 are nothing but a contradiction of child-nature. Little children, 
 especially those under school age, ought not to be schooled and 
 taught, they need merely to be developed. It is the pressing need 
 of our age, and only the idea of a garden can serve to show us 
 symbolically — but accurately also — the proper treatment of chil- 
 dren. This idea lies in the very name of a Kindergarten, which 
 is destined to fulfil the need of true childward care : would it were 
 universally acknowledged and adopted ! And the name is there- 
 fore absolutely necessary to describe the first education of children. 
 We misconceive our time if we think otherwise; we cramp the 
 progress and the spread of that culture of childhood which is 
 dear to God and to Jesus ; we render impossible the harmony, 
 and concord, unity and union, which comprehensive and truly 
 blessed and hallowed educational principles would bring us, if 
 we do not make this name of ' Kindergarten ' general, which so 
 
292 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 exactly describes the thing we mean. Facts tell for this view, as 
 already said above ; for where the name has been adopted, 
 there a cheerful interest has been at once awakened, if no more. 
 
 " I am very tired, for it is already past midnight, and possibly 
 I may have been somewhat prolix over all this ; but you may 
 gather the grief with which I have seen my fairest hopes deceived, 
 and have found, as a result of your unusual gifts, your faithful 
 services, and your perseverance — all placed at the service of 
 Darmstadt — only an excellent Infant School, instead of the fair 
 blossom of a Kindergarten. 
 
 " The results of your work are good — are indeed very good. 
 Who could refuse to acknowledge so much ? But how much 
 better and fairer would they have been, had only your committee 
 been able to resolve to call your work by its proper name, and to 
 make evident, by that expression, the real nature of the new spirit 
 you have introduced ! Then first, and then only, will your 
 institution and your own work become a living member of the 
 great fundamental unity of education which we so urgently need 
 to see established, when you adopt the name 'Kindergarten'; 
 then only will your institution and your work acquire that deep 
 meaning and value for the life of the town which they so well 
 deserve ; then only can I become to you, as you have a right to 
 hope and expect of me, a kind of father, a source of trust, 
 a stay and support, remaining, for want of this, confined to kindly 
 words and feelings, and unable to place at your service those 
 means which I long to make yours. 
 
 " Well, then, consider the whole scope of what I have said. 
 Do you not now feel a spiritual breath of life, a unifying, peace 
 and joy-bringing sensation sweep over you, even at the contem- 
 plation of this necessary step as a thing quite possible to be 
 attained ? How much more, then, would you not rejoice if it were 
 actually accomplished ! " 
 
 Notwithstanding this, things remained in the same old groove at 
 Darmstadt ; and Froebel ceased to worry himself about Folsing. 
 This man, however, in 1849, levelled a direct attack against 
 Froebel in a pamphlet called "Froebelian Kindergartens." 
 Froebel did not take the trouble to answer. But his talented dis- 
 
Attack and Defence. 293 
 
 ciple, Madame Doris Liitkens, of Hamburg, took up the cause on his 
 behalf, and stoutly defended him in a pamphlet called " Froebel's 
 Kindergartens, by Doris Liitkens, nee Von Cossel, of Hamburg." 
 (Perthes-Besser and Mauke, 1849.) "Then appeared," says Dr. 
 Wichard Lange, who carefully followed the whole course of these 
 proceedings in Hamburg, " in a journal edited by the lady, 
 under the title of Our Children, a series of letters from Herr 
 Folsing, all of them penetrated with the spirit of opposition to 
 the Kindergarten system. These letters were answered as they 
 appeared by Madame Doris Liitkens herself, and in a most clever 
 way; for while hitting the nail on the head, and leaving her 
 opponent in a very unpleasant plight, she contrived to pay him 
 personal respect and to acknowledge his great services. In this 
 correspondence Herr Folsing falls so lamentably short of his 
 fair antagonist that at the close one cannot but pity the poor 
 man. The attentive reader is forced to the conclusion that 
 Folsing's opposition does not really spring from the system it- 
 self, but that it is due to his own egregious conceit, which drives 
 him to hail down blows blindly upon a thing which he ought, on 
 the contrary, to have most carefully weighed and considered. 
 
 (1.) 
 
 Three Letters to Madame Doris Liitkens (Principal 
 of a Girls' High School in Hamburg"). 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 Liebenstein Spa, $ist August, 1849. 
 Esteemed Madam, — 
 
 A number of kind and friendly letters of yours lie before me, 
 
 expressing your warm and practical sympathy with my educational 
 
 aims, and your intimate conviction of the truth of them. And 
 
 yet these letters, which I prize for my own sake as well as for the 
 
 sake of the cause of childhood, remain unanswered, which seems 
 
 hardly to be explained. Nevertheless, the cause of this neglect is 
 
294 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 very simple. It is that such sympathy as yours makes me forget all 
 else, awakens me to fresh effort, and gives me the clear assurance 
 that I shall succeed in carrying through my work, which can then 
 speak for itself; for I perceive more and more as time goes on, 
 that only a glance unfalteringly fixed upon the wished-for goal, 
 only steady continuous footsteps along the allotted path, only un- 
 ceasing fulfilment of the current necessities which such efforts 
 unceasingly produce will suffice to bring me at last, and that but 
 slowly, to the accomplishment of my purpose. 
 
 It is true that in a mode of life and work such as mine, one 
 has to lose much that is kind and friendly, such as life freely puts 
 forward in ordinary commerce with Nature, with Society, and even 
 with oneself; and I have to forego very much pleasure in this 
 way that falls to the lot of others who take the world more 
 lightly. Yet at the same time, such as I are privileged to escape 
 much that is unfriendly, and life provides plenty of this latter 
 material, especially for active workers ; or if anything of the kind 
 reaches us eventually, it is not till it has worn itself out, and the 
 bitterness of its sting has left it. This has happened to me with 
 Folsing's pamphlet on " Froebelian Kindergartens " — for never 
 since I heard of its existence have I had a free moment to pro- 
 cure it, still less to read it. On the other hand, we of this " take 
 no notice " policy, who utterly neglect such censorious pamphlets, 
 and instead of answering them trust to our life and our work to 
 give them the lie, sometimes miss many kind and friendly side- 
 passages. Thus it is only a few days ago that I heard of your 
 reply made on my behalf to Folsing, a reply which surprised and 
 delighted me by its calmness, clearness, and simplicity. All who 
 heard it read — for we had it read to us at a little meeting of 
 educationists — acknowledged the pleasure your pamphlet gave 
 them by its main characteristics just named, and beyond, and 
 especially, moreover, by the delicacy and precision with which all 
 personalities were avoided. 
 
 Many thanks, dear madam, for what you have done by this 
 pamphlet for the cause we have at heart, even though the thanks 
 come somewhat late. 
 
 I should have liked to be able to give you a more sub- 
 
Attack and Defence. 295 
 
 stantial sort of thanks, to thank you in right practical fashion 
 for your long-continued protective care of my idea and its out- 
 ward manifestations, — namely, by having you here as my guest for 
 some weeks, or some months for that matter, that you might 
 witness the vigorous support vouchsafed to me at the Lieben- 
 stein Spa in the cause of children's education ; those who support 
 me being of all classes of society, of both sexes, and of every 
 conceivable stage of culture. I observed no age, no position 
 which formed an exception, right from the humble day-labourer 
 up to some royal highnesses from Weimar, who were staying for 
 the summer in Wilhelmsthal and came over to Liebenstein to 
 examine carefully and seriously our methods of training children, 
 by means of occupations and games. 
 
 I am glad to be able to look forward to spending some months 
 next winter at kindly Hamburg, so good and gracious towards 
 the Kindergarten, and I can then fulfil my pleasant duty of thank- 
 ing you for your continued sympathy. Until. then I must retain 
 the expression of my deep feelings within my own breast. 
 
 Believe me. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 Marienthal, 1st March, 1851 
 Esteemed Madam, — 
 
 From Hamburg I get news of a kind utterance of yours about 
 me — that a letter from me would be even more welcome to you 
 than the friendly message which the bearer had given you from 
 me. Coming from a noble heart and clear-sighted intelligence 
 like yours, such a challenge has not failed to arouse many various 
 considerations in my mind. Thus, beside the feeling of pleasure at 
 your kindness, I have also the unpleasant feeling of being your 
 debtor ; for I have not yet expressed to you my thanks for the 
 constant and watchful way in which you have fostered and aided 
 my educational endeavours. That I have not manifested my 
 thankfulness in black and white must show you, esteemed madam, 
 
296 Letters of Froehel. 
 
 in an unmistakable manner — even with your slight knowledge of 
 my nature, which is easily wrought to thankful feelings — how my 
 life is fettered. You may judge how overburdened I am, when I 
 have hitherto been unable to find time simply to express what I 
 so keenly feel. 
 
 But it is so, and ever was. Though I gain a clear view of life, 
 and therefore may indulge in definite expectations as to the 
 future, yet there always rush in upon me a crowd of life- 
 phenomena, of life- experiences, disturbing my soul and oppress- 
 ing my mind, the more powerfully and the more distressingly be- 
 cause so little expected ; and these intruders push further on and 
 further till they win a footing in the very centre of my existence. 
 On the other hand, I am penetrated with thankfulness towards 
 you, none the less, as well as with the sense of my obligation to 
 express those thanks I owe you for your protecting and fostering 
 care of the great educational ideas whose exponent I have be- 
 come. I am not saying all this in a mere personal and individual 
 way, but recording it as a matter which may aid in the investiga- 
 tion of great departments of life, and the laws thereof, whose 
 discovery and acknowledgment lie so near the heart of both of 
 us. 
 
 And as it belongs to my character to cherish thankful thoughts 
 (as indeed is the case with most men), so also does it equally form 
 a necessary part of me to be irresistibly driven to search out the 
 inmost, the ultimate (or rather indeed the primary) cause of every 
 external phenomenon or fact of life ; and to discover its germ, its 
 point of departure, its root. My whole work is based upon this 
 peculiar need of my nature, that of searching out the primary 
 basis of all phenomena. Amongst such investigations there is 
 none that urges itself upon me more closely, definitely and press- 
 ingly than this acknowledged fostering care of yours towards the 
 Kindergartens of Hamburg. I do not regard this merely as a 
 thought, an idea of your own ; far rather does it appear to me as 
 something that has been imported into and become interwoven 
 with your life, so that it is an actual potent fact of life with you, 
 of far-reaching influence. And where, dear lady, are we to look 
 or the origin of this important life fact? What form did it take ? 
 
Attack and Defence. 297 
 
 It was a simple casual thought of your own, caught at by me and 
 stayed in mid-career, the thought, namely, that once occurred 
 to you to send me the results of your work in the theory and 
 practice of education. To this communication you, un- 
 consciously following the great law of the union of opposites, 
 which is the basis of the union of all nature and all life, added a 
 request for a personal conference with me. In this seemingly 
 unimportant request (based on the double thought, as I at once 
 remarked with interest, of a wished-for union between us and 
 of the connecting or mediating link necessary to that union), a 
 mere breath of the mind, as it were, lay the foundation of it all ; 
 and Hamburg already rejoices, and for centuries to come will 
 rejoice, in growing fervour and fulness at what it has brought 
 forth. Assume that there are now in Hamburg seven or eight 
 institutions for the care of children, managed in an intelligent and 
 progressively educational manner; this gives us at least 300 
 children in Hamburg, who enjoy this inestimable blessing. Now 
 look along the chain of events which culminates in this point, and 
 by which this rich result has been arrived at. Take away the first 
 link, that is the fancy which impelled you to write to me, and can 
 you imagine the noble great result as nevertheless existing ? In- 
 deed you cannot ! Think then, and be sure, how thankful I must 
 be, when I perceive and acknowledge this, and how gladly I 
 would express my thanks to you. For though the system itself, 
 wherever it is made known, produces a great impression, it is only 
 continual and progressively fostering care that yields true results, 
 as we both know from our separate and our common experience, 
 that is to say, a fostering care of the work under the consciousness 
 of its aim and purpose, its ways and means. We ought also never 
 to forget, and must constantly bring back clearly before us, the fact 
 that we live in a new age, in the age of endeavour and struggle to- 
 wards knowledge, consciousness, insight — The Age of Perception. 
 We must all follow along this great plane of the present develop- 
 ment of Society, Life and Mankind ; in the same way as out of 
 doors, in the free natural life, the smallest violet root and the 
 colossal oak alike have to follow the call of the coming spring, a 
 gentle breeze or a warm slender ray of sunshine. We, as thinking, 
 
298 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 free-willing men, have it in our power to resist or follow the call, but 
 good results lie only along the path of the great unmistakable course 
 of life-development ; and just as the fate of violet and oak are 
 bound up with the coming natural spring, and its circumstances 
 of place and* time, of when and how, so is the fate of man, and of 
 us two along with the rest, bound up with the coming of the great 
 springtime of human life and of the race of man. We are assured 
 of this by the results already obtained through the study of the 
 law that development is due to the reconciliation of opposites 
 through the link of mediation, and we have to decide as thinking, 
 self-conscious and free-willing men whether this law is to operate 
 alone, of itself, independent of ourselves, and to produce new 
 developments in this way, or whether these developments are to 
 be watched for and fostered by us as thinking beings possessing 
 the consciousness of their aim and purpose, and of the conditions 
 which surround them. This much is clear, that whatever we may 
 have already gained by the study of this great law of development 
 is but a small fraction, but a beginning of those great results which 
 we may eventually attain from it by intelligent observation and 
 careful, conscious attention. The main purpose of this letter, 
 dear madam, is to speak to you frankly on this subject, and all 
 that has gone before has been by way of introduction. 
 
 I have already remarked that we are living in an age when we 
 are consciously under a law of development acting by the recon- 
 ciliation of opposites, and that man must be swept along the 
 general stream of life according to this law, whether he wishes or 
 not ; but it is surely nobler and more worthy of mankind to know 
 the course we are pursuing, to observe it rationally, and follow it 
 consciously and with some independence of character. For all 
 this you can supply proofs easily from your own experience. 
 
 You have, as I hear, though as yet I have not been able to 
 procure it, published an article in your journal, called Our 
 Childre?i, which seeks to reconcile and harmonise my views as 
 to the nature and life of man and the path of his development, etc., 
 with the orthodox dogmatic or Church view; and I learn from 
 letters of friends that your task has been performed in a way 
 which calls for the highest approval and grateful acknowledg- 
 
Attack and Defence. 299 
 
 ment. You see in this the truth of what is said above. Here you 
 are striving to find the middle-point wherewith to mediate and 
 unite the two opposites, you are consciously aiming at balancing 
 the two. If, therefore, you have acted from self-determination, 
 from free-will, you have followed in every point the general for- 
 ward sweep of the coming springtime of man's development to- 
 wards self-consciousness. Here are displayed your position, your 
 sphere of work, your scope of character as parts of the great 
 unities of life and of mankind ; you are seen as working with full 
 consciousness of the meaning of your efforts, towards uniting to- 
 gether the many-sided elements of life by means of mediation. 
 This is the claim which life makes upon you, upon both of us ; it 
 is the task of our individual and united lives. 
 
 What I have just been saying is in no wise to be taken as 
 merely personal, or self-regarding, though it relates to myself; it 
 is, in truth, altogether relative to humanity at large. This is not 
 a paradox, for everything that is acquired by a great unity, say by 
 a family, a community, a nation, must in its beginnings be 
 acquired by the single members of that unity ; and further, it will 
 take them in one of the three grades of development, either that 
 of mere unconsciousness, or of vague feeling, or in the third and 
 highest grade, that of conscious intelligence, so far as it has been 
 maintained by mankind up to the present time. This last grade, 
 of course, includes but comparatively few amongst men, who, in 
 consequence of their development above the general mass, will be 
 the first to acquire the new truths. 
 
 It thus becomes our clear duty, without any selfish vanity or 
 assumption of superiority — and especially is it your duty to 
 steadily further the doctrine which has brought forth already 
 blessed fruits, the doctrine that development is gained through 
 the union obtained by the reconciliation of opposites. 
 
 If one desires to do vigorous and effective work in the service 
 of an idea, one must fully comprehend that idea ; and the prob- 
 lem now resolves itself into how to work for the doctrine of the 
 union of opposites. 
 
 I have said above that men may be sharply divided into three 
 stages of culture, or, to be more accurate, I should have said 
 
300 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 that in the progress of development three stages differentiate 
 themselves and fall apart ; and these stages are seen both in 
 individual men and in the race as a whole. They are (i) Un- 
 consciousness, the merely instinctive stage ; (2) Vague Feeling, 
 the tendency upwards towards consciousness ; and (3) relatively 
 clear Conscious Intelligence. We find also three attitudes, spheres 
 of work, and regions of mind in man ; (1) the region of the soul, 
 the heart — Feeling; (2) the region of the mind, the head — 
 Intellect ; (3) the region of the active life, the putting forth to 
 actual deed — Will. 
 
 As mental attitudes these three divisions seem the wider 
 apart and the more opposed in their nature, the more we con- 
 template them ; as spheres of work and regions of mind they seem 
 quite separate and perfect opposites • in fine, they are entirely 
 strange to each other, one might say they are at enmity with 
 each other, as Theory and Practice, as Empiricism and Science, 
 as Religion and Philosophy, as human, arbitrary, externally pro- 
 duced Manufacture and natural, ordered, internally developed 
 Creation. 
 
 But the highest and most absolute opposition is that which 
 most needs and necessitates reconciliation; complete opposites 
 condition their uniting link. The highest grade of development, 
 and therefore that with the sharpest opposites, is as we have seen, 
 human life, such as we know it to-day, with all its varied phe- 
 nomena. The need for the uniting link appears in every circum- 
 stance of life, and efforts to reconcile the clashing life-elements 
 are perpetually made from all sides. To satisfy that need, to 
 bring those efforts to a successful issue, is the most imperative task 
 now set before the human race, before its communities, its fami- 
 lies, and, indeed, before each individual man, according to the 
 measure of his ability and sphere of his usefulness. 
 
 There are three main opposites in life which ever seek a 
 mediating link, and which strive perpetually towards union — 
 Religion, Philosophy (in all the varied forms of theory and 
 practice, science and the conduct of life) and Nature ; regard- 
 ing Nature here as representing all physical life, everywhere de- 
 veloping itself by internal laws. 
 
Attack and Defence. 301 
 
 Considering these three opposites as ever engaged in efforts 
 towards mutual reconciliation and union we might expressively 
 represent them in a figure, thus : — 
 
 Nature. 
 
 Religion. Philosophy. 
 
 Now, with your educational enterprises, you have, as I conceive, 
 the thing, begun to create this mutually mediating link, so de- 
 sired and so conditioned ; and you have rightly apprehended the 
 whole position and seen the way to meet the indicated conditions. 
 For the child — the progressively developing education of the child— 
 this is the mediating link, which can reconcile and unite ail these 
 opposites, and bring together what are now so widely separate. 
 In the vocation in which you are more particularly engaged, and 
 also in your literary work, and especially your journal, Our 
 Children, you have rightfully given to the child his true position 
 in the midst of these conflicting emotions. 
 
 You have so rightly apprehended the aims of our day, the needs 
 of our time, and you have so vigorously set to work to fulfil them, 
 that I claim of you, esteemed madam, that you shall go further 
 and deeper and more comprehensively into the work ; that you 
 shall not confine yourself to reconciling religion and philosophy 
 by the truly mediating link which will unite them, but proceed 
 to the harder task of reconciling the training of children in dog- 
 matic theology, that is, the work now done in the schools of 
 orthodox religious communities, with the education of children 
 as it ought to be, governed purely by the laws of reason and of 
 life. 
 
 According to my view, this is your lofty mission in life. In the 
 place of the old dogmatically religious, orthodox Church teaching, 
 you in your character of woman, of mother, will restore the child, 
 the future man, to teaching governed by the laws of life and 
 mind, to development, to culture, to true education ; and you will 
 
302 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 realize that the strengthening of character, which we all agree to 
 be a necessity of the age, is to be gained not only by stimulating 
 the soul, and elevating the emotions, in one department of life, 
 but by raising the whole mind, by training the intellect and the 
 will. 
 
 Examine closely what I have said, I pray you. Nothing has 
 been set down from personal motives, nor from arrogance. I 
 have felt compelled to let you know how you and your work 
 affect me, in my deepest, my inmost convictions; and to show 
 you how I have considered it all from many various standpoints. 
 I am convinced that in this way alone, can the efforts, the work, 
 the will of Jesus become apparent in all their truth, and the 
 meaning of His life be made clear and be acknowledged by all 
 men — a consummation as devoutly to be wished by us in our 
 character of men as in that of Christians. Then the soul would 
 acknowledge and esteem the intellectual power, just as the intellect 
 already recognises the soul as that which gives true warmth to our 
 lives ; and life as a whole would make manifest the soul, which 
 quickens existence and gives it a meaning, as well as the intellect, 
 which gives it precision and culture. Intellect, feeling and will 
 would then unite, a many-sided power, to build up and rightly 
 constitute our life. In the room of the unstable character which 
 must result from the mere cultivation of one department of 
 emotion, in the room of the doubt, or I might say empty 
 negation, which too often proceeds from the mere cultivation of 
 the intellect ; in the room of the materialism, animalism and 
 sensuality which must come from the mere attention to the 
 bodily and physical side of our nature, we should then have the 
 harmonious development of every side of our nature alike, we 
 should be able to build up a life which would be everywhere in 
 touch with God, with physical nature, with humanity at large. 
 The life of mankind, of each individual, as well as of the com- 
 munities into which individuals are gathered, from the single 
 family up to the whole human race, will thus become a 
 
 " Combined work of God, of Nature and of Man." 
 In this manner alone, by the unity given to human life, through 
 
Attack and Defence. 303 
 
 the reconciliation of its opposites, can the life of Jesus be mani- 
 fested in humanity, in individual men and in the whole rare. 
 
 It is scarcely possible, dealing with so much as I have here 
 done, that I can have always made myself quite clear ; but I 
 have desired to give you a proof of the great esteem in which I 
 hold you, of my recognition of the value of your work, and of the 
 thankfulness I shall always feel towards you, and I have there- 
 fore spoken with perfect frankness and without circumlocution of 
 our common work, or rather, to be accurate, of the relationships 
 of our separate work, towards a common end. 
 
 This is neither the time nor place to thoroughly exhaust the 
 
 subject, nor could I ever, perhaps, manage this in correspondence 
 
 amidst the many claims on my life ; but my intention is later on 
 
 to develop its chief points in a general article upon it in the 
 
 Journal. 
 
 It would be an excellent opportunity for talking over our 
 whole work if you could arrange to take your holiday next 
 summer in Liebenstein and Marienthal with us. 
 Believe me, with the highest esteem, 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 Letter III. 
 
 Marienthal, \oth March, 1852. 
 Esteemed Madam, — 
 
 I have derived much genuine pleasure from reading your 
 article in No. 38 of the Hamburg News. You have done good 
 service therein, not only to our cause, to the idea, but also 
 to mankind, which searches for it knows not what. The idea 
 itself is unshakably true, and the conviction of its truth has 
 established itself now in the souls and minds of many men. The 
 most pressing of all needs to-day is that each one should as 
 clearly as possible ascertain his standpoint in society, and his 
 relationship to the various mental attitudes and forms of effort 
 which exist there. And how, then, can we, seeing how seldom 
 truth offers herself to our eyes in this life, how can we do less 
 
304 Letters of Fro eh el. 
 
 than announce this truth, which is so irresistibly borne in upon us ? 
 If the idea whose servants we both are, pledged with deepest 
 conviction to its furtherance as our life-work, contains disturbing 
 elements, or were limited in scope, one-sided — of actual falseness 
 I need scarcely speak — it would be worth absolutely nothing, 
 and in fact, would be altogether mischievous. Constant and 
 close scrutiny from every possible standpoint is the one and 
 only way in which to be assured of the truth of an idea ; and 
 this way you have adopted, esteemed madam, and this way you 
 also recommend to others, and rightly so, as being their sole path 
 to the desired goal. 
 
 You have understood me perfectly, and why should I refrain 
 from cheerfully admitting that in these later days I can scarcely 
 call to mind any one who has so thoroughly succeeded in attain- 
 ing my point of view and in sharing my ideas as yourself? My 
 endeavour is not to bring to market my individual views and 
 personal experience in order to seek recognition for them, or, as 
 it were, to find purchasers of them. No, my endeavour is to in- 
 dicate certain universal facts of life, certain universal truths, to 
 whose influence, I as well as every other man, with the whole per- 
 sonality formed by my intellect, my actions, my feelings, and my 
 will, am subject, and which form the universal basis and ground- 
 work of life, and give limits and conditions to its development. 
 We see in clean, rich, fruitful soil how all sorts and species of 
 various plants grow quite well, each developing according to its 
 own habit, and true to the laws of its own kind ; and just so, 
 according to your testimony, can the most varied phases of belief 
 build up their vigour from natures which are alike in having 
 peace of mind, joy of heart, and freedom of action. Up till now 
 I have drawn my closest friends, the keenest sympathisers with 
 my work and my endeavours, from men of very various religious 
 beliefs ; the professors of my own religion alone are either my 
 open foes, or, at least, are quite unsympathetic towards my ideas. 
 Now you have demonstrated the folly of the two sources of weak- 
 ness in our Church — enmity and indifference towards truth, so far 
 as they are applied against my ideas ; you have made yourself 
 thoroughly acquainted with my life, which for fifty years has laid 
 
Attack and Defence. 3° 5 
 
 open to the scrutiny of every one, in all its parts and with all its 
 relationships; and you have acknowledged that during all my 
 struggles to gain acceptance for demonstrative truths of life I 
 have never made proselytes, nor instituted propaganda ; my work 
 has had but one aim, to set forth those truths of life which 
 irresistibly show themselves upon examination to be the basis and 
 condition of life, so that they may lie bare and open to the 
 scrutiny of every man. So shall we all, to our great peace of 
 mind, attain to the knowledge of these general truths, which are 
 of universal and fundamental application, and which give us 
 support in individual instances also. Every one can now examine 
 for himself, and he who refuses to examine stands self-con- 
 demned. 
 
 Blessings, in time and in eternity, be upon your head, because 
 you, with your orthodox views, have nevertheless called men to 
 this grave inquiry. May your proposal, your invitation, your 
 desire, meet with every attention and have rich results ; may girls 
 arrive from all denominations, according to your wishes, and 
 present themselves as students of your course upon educational 
 principles ; and may they, without polemical wrangling, and still 
 less with feelings of enmity drawn from religious motives, closely 
 scrutinise the truth you lay before them ; then will they take it to 
 their bosom and let it melt deep into their inmost nature, and 
 become a part of their very being, especially in regard to the 
 religious aspect of it ; and they will give it out again to others as 
 the whole and entire unity which it will thus have become to 
 themselves. 
 
 The half-hearted, undetermined, characterless condition of 
 German life to-day is fast becoming intolerable to the man of 
 character, powerful in will and deed. Wherefore I have made a 
 firm resolve, that if the conditions of German life will not allow 
 room for the development of honest efforts for the good of humanity 
 (and the present conditions are such as to make one think of the 
 sword of Damokles, and expect its speedy fall) ; if this indifference 
 to all higher things continues — then it is my purpose next 
 spring to seek in the land of union and independence a soil 
 where my idea of education, as a force working towards unity o£ 
 
 x 
 
306 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 life and power of life, may strike firm root. 1 This is the present 
 aim and object of my work. I will tell you in confidence, 
 honoured madam, that only to-day I have sent off a very definite 
 statement to the United States, where I have a most estimable 
 energetic brother-in-law. And besides I know in whom I trust, 
 I have put my trust in Him from my youth up, and I am without 
 fear or trembling, without nervousness or apprehension as to my 
 personal concerns, therefore. 
 
 As I am quite sure that in your earnest inquiries and work 
 everything that throws clear light on the various relationships and 
 views of life, such as prevail at the present day, or are seeking to 
 prevail, is welcome to you, I venture to recommend to you a 
 treatise in the Germania which would well repay your study. It 
 is called " Germany and the Home Mission," and runs through 
 three numbers (6, 7, and 9). It is by Dr. Gwinner, of Frankfurt, 
 and is written in an extremely quiet manner, regarding the subject 
 objectively. I think you will like it much, and am anxious for your 
 frank account of what impression it makes upon you. I especially 
 recommend to your notice the ninth number of the first volume ; 
 for if I rightly understand the appendix to your recent publica- 
 tion, it says that we must before all else strive to raise the science 
 of teaching (fiaedagogik) into a united whole, and we may then 
 use it as a starting-point from which to proceed through many 
 various faiths, and with full recognition of their religious 
 differences, but with perfect mutual toleration among them, to the 
 attainment of true religious peace between all Churches. To win 
 this holy result let us unite heart, head, and hand ; soul, mind, 
 and action ; feeling, intellect, and will ; religion, philosophy, and 
 education ; intuition, experience and observation. 
 
 With the highest esteem, 
 
 I am, Yours sincerely, 
 
 Fr. Froebel. 
 
 1 This was written in March, 1852 ; but in June all his plans were to, cease 
 for ever. 
 
Attack and Defence. 307 
 
 (2.) 
 
 Letter to Mile. Johanna Hebert, Kindergarten Teacher 
 
 at Nuremberg*. 
 
 Marienthal, 22nd Nov., 1851. 
 Dear Johanna, — 
 
 I wanted specially to add a request of my own to the letter my 
 wife sent you yesterday, but I could not find time for it. 
 
 You tell us that in Nuremberg, also, the Kindergartens belong- 
 ing to the Free Christians are prohibited, and that two official 
 proposals have been made to you as to your future : either to con- 
 tinue your Kindergarten work on your own responsibility, under 
 the name of a creche, or to keep the name of Kindergarten on 
 condition of joining the Church. 
 
 My request to you is that you write to me as quickly as pos 
 sible what you think of doing, so that we may not permit the 
 somewhat favourable relationships which have formed around 
 you and the movement to be wasted ; and I have important 
 suggestions to make to you in this connection. 
 
 If you desire to know my views upon the proposals made to 
 you, but without at present receiving their explanation, or any 
 statement of the grounds upon which I base them (for which I 
 have no time), they are shortly these. As regards the first, re- 
 lating to the change of name, I would not, I could not, agree to 
 it. Why should truth be ashamed to bear her own name? For 
 if it is agreed, as I have said to you hundreds and thousands of 
 times, that truth will make us free, why is adherence to the name 
 of truth to be less effective in this case ? 
 
 As to the second proposal, it touches, I admit, a very tender 
 and difficult point ; but its difficulty merely lies, as my deepest 
 conviction will have it, in the present imperfection of our know- 
 ledge. If all those good folks who go about ordering and altering, 
 and turning topsy-turvy all the relations of life, had but been 
 clearer and more perfect in their knowledge, we should not have 
 had to submit to this sorrowful and confusing period, whence 
 as yet nothing seems to be coming to release us. 
 
308 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 If my teaching and the life of all of us here are still fresh in 
 your memory, you must remember that one of the fundamental 
 truths which we all feel irresistibly impelled to acknowledge, is 
 this : All things develop — little things or great, internal or ex- 
 ternal, unconscious or perfectly conscious — through fast mainten- 
 ance of the bond of inner connection and relationship. This 
 bond of inner connection may, however, permit of countless 
 changes of various external forms, and yet be all the while truly 
 maintained at bottom. The endeavour to hold fast the true inner 
 connection of things is the main pillar, the foundation stone of 
 our life and work here. You know that we and you all lived here 
 in joy, peace, and freedom : and I may add that our present 
 students, who have a very good mutual understanding amongst 
 themselves, live even more happily than their predecessors, for 
 they are as happy as children, or as one of them put it in childish 
 fashion a couple of days since — " she did not think the angels in 
 heaven could be any happier than she was ! " In this joyful way, 
 amidst this peacefulness, with all this freedom of soul, mind and 
 life, am I to be regarded as cut off from my mother Church ? Or 
 do I not rather, as I think, live in her midst, and in perfect union 
 with her ? Is all this merely phenomenal, or is it truth ? Does 
 our happiness rest on vague emotion, on mystic phrases, or on 
 clear intuitions of nature, of intellect, and of life ? Does it not 
 rest upon the everlasting laws of thought, independent of all out- 
 side interference or condition, embodied in our very speech itself, 
 that is, in the laws governing that mother tongue which has 
 originated from our own brain ? And further, dear Johanna, you 
 have not only a theoretical, i.e., an intellectual argument to guide 
 you in this ; but you have also a considerable experience, covering 
 many things and much time, that is to say, a practical argument, 
 that it is possible for one to live truly and uprightly and at peace 
 inwardly, and to develop one's nature peacefully, joyfully, and 
 freely ; and this all the better within the mother-church than with- 
 out, as I truly believe : and I have all the experience of my 
 seventy years to convince me of it. 
 
 This frank expression of opinion is not meant as a piece of pro- 
 paganda, nor to talk you over, but simply as a faithful answer to 
 
Attack and Defence. 309 
 
 your second proposal. I think the Kindergarten should be carried 
 on as a Kindergarten, you returning to church-membership. Do 
 not forget, moreover, that Kindergartens have only arisen in the 
 Protestant Evangelical Church, and could not have proceeded 
 from any other. Again let me say, this is and must be taken 
 only as the answer to your questions as to what we thought of the 
 proposals made to you. 
 
 Write quickly and tell me how all goes, and what you think of 
 doing. I can tell you of a place now open, if you wish : Madame 
 S has again left Kiel, and wants a successor for the Kinder- 
 garten she has begun there. This letter has grown under the pen 
 beyond what I thought to write when I sat down ; but I hope its 
 length is not to the detriment of its whole effect. 
 
 Luise, the ever-thoughtful vigorous mistress of our household, 
 greets you as a true friend ; and I also, in a fatherly spirit. 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 (3.) 
 
 Letter to Mile. Lisette Kirehner, at Nuremberg'. 
 
 Marienthal, 2yd Nov. ^ 1851. 
 My dear Lisette, — 
 
 If I do not mistake, I am a letter in your debt : but even if I 
 were not, I am impelled to write to you. The Bavarian Kinder- 
 gartens are now prohibited, at all events those belonging to 
 the Free Christians, that is, such as those which you have hitherto 
 been conducting. Now, what are you going to do ? I beg you 
 earnestly to write and tell me as quickly as possible, that we may 
 come to well thought-out decisions worthy of the circumstances, 
 and that we may choose the right path. 
 
 As I hear, your comrade was informed, being known as a Free 
 Christian, that she could only be permitted to carry on the 
 Kindergarten in her own name, if she rejoined her mother- 
 church ; you, my dear Lisette, have never left your mother- 
 church, you have remained in it, like myself — a position which 
 seems of the highest importance in the present state of things. 
 While you were studying with us, you gained the conviction that 
 
310 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 one could live a truly Christian life, and more particularly a life 
 based upon the Protestant Evangelical doctrines, and yet have a 
 perfectly joyful and free existence, expressive of the entire being 
 of a man, and permitting the development of the character in such 
 a way as to satisfy all the many-sided wants of our being. 
 
 Therefore, as regards you, dear Lisette, if I am rightly informed, 
 it would be quite in consonance with the laws of your state for 
 you to conduct a Kindergarten in your own name. If I am not 
 in error, and this is so, it would be a great gain for the cause ; 
 for it would be at once apparent that the prohibition did not touch 
 the principles of the Kindergarten, nor its fundamental basis. 
 Such a practical proof of this' would be in the highest degree im- 
 portant. So write to me, I beg, what you are willing to do, and 
 what steps it would be necessary to take for the establishment of 
 a real Kindergarten in your name at Nuremberg. 
 
 I have heard that you have been asked for my publications, that 
 they might be examined as to the orthodoxy of the religious basis 
 which underlies them and all my other endeavours, of course in- 
 cluding the Kindergarten. I enclose you a pair of publications 
 herewith, some twenty or thirty years old, it is true, but which 
 faithfully exhibit my thoughts upon Christianity and the Church. 
 To these thoughts I have never been unfaithful, never even once 
 wavering in all these years. Perhaps it would be a good thing 
 to present these works to the same person who asked you for the 
 others. 
 
 In the pamphlet entitled " A Thorough Education, etc.," l 
 please allow me to call your attention to passages on pp. 6 and 7. 
 
 1. " Every form of education which is intended to be really 
 fruitful, must be based upon religion, . . ." etc., etc. 
 
 2. " The Christian religion, the religion of Jesus, satisfies to 
 perfect completeness the mutual relations of God and man ; and 
 indeed creates them. . . ." 
 
 3. " Every form of education which is not based upon the 
 Christian religion, the religion of Jesus, is deficient and limited," 
 
 1 The full tide of this pamphlet (published in 1 821) occurs in the following 
 letter. 
 
A ttack and Defence. 3 1 1 
 
 4. (Page 20) " Through Jesus came to us that deepest of all 
 truths, and that profoundest of all experiences — God is our 
 Father." 
 
 And in my " Principles of the Education of Man " (pp. 
 1, 16, 23), please read over the passages referring to religion, and 
 point out the places indicated to the same person when you give 
 him the pamphlet. 
 
 This unbroken lifelong faithfulness of mine towards my original 
 thoughts, convictions and efforts as to religious and Church 
 subjects is amply shown, as you very well know, in "Songs for 
 Mothers and Nursery Songs" {Mutter- und Kose-Lieder), which is 
 the basis of Kindergarten teaching — and indeed, in all my other 
 publications. Such unalterable maintenance of my position all 
 through the gradual clearing of my conceptions on such matters, 
 and through their steady application to the problems of life, my 
 unchanged religious thoughts, convictions, and endeavours, all 
 moulded by the spirit, teaching and example of Jesus, are a source 
 of pride to me, bring calm, security, and permanence to my mind, 
 peace and joy to my soul, freedom to my actions — and all these 
 blessed results rejoice me as but various manifestations of one 
 and the same essential unity. 
 
 You, dear Lisette, an independent student, a daughter, so to 
 speak, and a teacher, as you love to call yourself in describing 
 your position to me, have now to think if — and how — you can 
 base your future action upon ground-principles. Write me your 
 decision upon the matter of this letter, for we must see that life, 
 whenever possible, is made clear, true, and certain. 
 
 Make no secret of anything about me, my life, my teaching, 
 my publications, or my conferences on first principles : whatever I 
 have said I will abide by. In all my actions I have aimed at 
 clearness of life, thought, speech, and action. 
 
 My wife, myself, and all here who know you unite in kind 
 wishes towards you — especially 
 
 Your fatherly Friend, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
312 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 (4.) 
 
 Letter to Henriette Breymann 1 (now Madame 
 Sehrader, of Berlin), at Baden. 
 
 Marienthal, 6th February, 1852. 
 Dr. Gwinner, of Frankfurt, has published three articles in the 
 Germania, in the first of which he shows the real essence and the 
 unsatisfactory nature of Wichern's " Home Mission " 2 ; and in 
 the third and last, while fully admitting the necessity of raising the 
 moral status of the people, he shows that Wichern's " Home Mis- 
 sion " is not calculated to do this work, and, indeed, does not seem 
 fitly planned for the purpose. He would, on the other hand, rather 
 seek the means of elevating the people, the means of their salva- 
 tion, if you please to call it so, in education. The German nation 
 can be morally saved, in his view, only through education, and he 
 therefore speaks of a " Mission of Education." You see, then, 
 that Dr. Gwinner, in thus considering the life of the German 
 people, agrees entirely with me in the supreme point of all ; for 
 you know very well that in 1821 I wrote a pamphlet on this 
 special subject, as the very title of it shows at a glance, " A 
 thorough education — at once creating and satisfying the German 
 character — the primary necessity of the German nation." All 
 my educational work has reposed on this basis ever since, and, in- 
 deed, had done so for years before that pamphlet was issued. This 
 is one fact of sufficient importance. But if you go further, and 
 carefully examine our educational system, beginning with the baby 
 
 1 Froebel's grand-niece. 
 
 2 J. H. Wichern was born in 1808, at Hamburg, and studied at Gottingen 
 and Berlin. After taking orders, he turned his whole attention to the miser- 
 able condition of the poor in his native city, and in his Sunday-schools soon 
 had 400 to 500 children about him, whose lives he sought to elevate ; a staff 
 of forty or fifty volunteers aiding his efforts. About 1840 his activity was very 
 great, including refuges, homes for the fallen, etc. In 1848 he combined all 
 his philanthropic work, and extended it, under the title of the Home Mission 
 {Inner e Mission). From 1848 to 1850 he had 10,000 orphans on his hands, 
 victims of the scourge of typhus then raging, and entrusted to him by the Prus- 
 sian Government. Later on, his efforts reached the houses of correction and 
 prisons ; and, in fact, his whole life was one long labour in the cause of poor 
 and suffering humanity. 
 
Attack mid Defence. 313 
 
 on the mother's knee, and continuing through the nursery to the 
 Kindergarten, then through the transition class to actual teaching 
 instruction, and if you compare it with what Dr. Gwinner has said 
 here about the essential nature of education — this education which 
 he claims shall save the people, in his "Mission of Education" — 
 you must surely perceive, as I do, a second and still more import- 
 ant fact : — that his " Mission of Education " aims at precisely the 
 sort of training which we actually give, and which we seek to give 
 with wider and ever wider extension. All the time I was reading 
 these articles this close similarity of his thought and our work was 
 present to me, so that I kept saying to myself that some one must 
 quickly set to work to proclaim that it is the Kindergarten system 
 that provides the sort of education fitted to fulfil all the needs of 
 the " Mission of Education." Have you read the article atten- 
 tively, my dear niece ? Have you not had the same thoughts ? 
 And then, when it becomes imperatively necessary for Dr. Gwinner 
 to describe the sort of education we are to seek for, he only says 
 (p. 612), "We can but forecast its nature, and strive to aid in the 
 common work of attaining it." But do not I — do not we all — 
 know that German education should be a national German work ? 
 Did I not say this in 1836 ? Have I not said so in all my pub- 
 lications for this last thirty years ? 
 
 And what does he say next ? "A total reform of the present 
 education of the young must be the first comprehensive and really 
 practical step." Is this anything other than the very title of my 
 pamphlet of 1820, "A Thorough Education, etc." Then he says : 
 " In what sense such a reform should be understood is clearly seen 
 from the preceding." But what is the " preceding " other than 
 what I have said all along, from 18 16 to 1852, and with especial 
 clearness since 1838 and 1840, through the Kindergarten? Fur- 
 ther, " Only a few tentative beginnings — but even as such, re- 
 markable — show the genius, the zeal, and the courage whose 
 uprising the spirit of history awaits." When you read this, did 
 you not expect, would not any one expect, who knows even only 
 a little about my educational work and aims, that in connection 
 with these " few tentative beginnings of the genius, etc.," Dr. 
 Gwinner would surely refer to our work, which has existed for 
 
314 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 thirty years as a " thorough educational system, creating and satis- 
 fying the German character"? Did it not seem that he must 
 notice this as a national work, both by aim and act ? What does 
 he do, whither does he point our attention, while not one institu- 
 tion of ours only, but half a hundred actually exist, and afford 
 hundreds of proofs of the success of the system they embody ? 
 He, a German, seeking to found a " Mission of Education " in 
 Germany, goes out of Germany for his pattern ! He directs us to 
 model ourselves on a certain Swiss institution, and that, moreover, 
 one whose spirit was not strong enough to maintain its existence, 
 for, as is well known in Switzerland, and especially in the Canton 
 of Bern, the ruling spirit of this place was a spirit of egotism, 
 and in consequence of this the institution went to pieces years 
 ago, and has now quite fallen into ruin. 1 That is the way he 
 cherishes and advances German life and endeavour, German sen- 
 sibility and intelligence, and that is his compliment to German 
 scholarship ! Seeing all this, I think that we Froebelians (and 
 by Froebelians I mean those who conceive the germinating point, 
 the seed-leaves, the very life-source of progressively developed 
 human education, to be contained in the dogma that "life is 
 one," that all the varied life of man is to be regarded and treated 
 as a single unity), that we Froebelians, I say, should now put 
 forward our claims and our views in some comprehensive mani- 
 festo, setting forth our fundamental principles, our accomplished 
 work, and our lives ; for we can very well join all this on to the 
 articles before us, simply and solidly, as an expansion and com- 
 pletion of Dr. Gwinner's views therein made known ; but the 
 immediate result of such a manifesto would be to show that the 
 progressively developed education for which we have so long 
 striven is, in fact, such as completely satisfies Dr. Gwinner's de- 
 mand for a " Mission of Education." The proposed article or 
 
 1 This unkind reference to Pestalozzi's practical failure is yet not without 
 truth. We do not understand the word " egotism " to be levelled at Pestalozzi 
 (which would be absurd), but at his staff, such as Niederer, Schmid, etc. It 
 is a pity that Froebel did not pause a moment in his argument to acknow- 
 ledge the permanent, as well as to point out the fallacious and transitory, 
 elements of the work of his great predecessor. 
 
Attack and Defence. 31$ 
 
 manifesto must be made throughout to refer continually to Dr. 
 Gwinner's articles, and must move from subject to subject in 
 parallel lines with them. When written, it had better be published 
 in our journal, and the number containing it should at once be 
 sent to Dr. Gwinner and to the editor of the Germania. Arndt 
 himself is now too old to do much on that paper, and merely lends 
 it, as titular editor, his name, his good wishes, and his patriotic 
 efforts, which continue to form the footing upon which it is con- 
 ducted. I would have gladly sketched the proposed manifesto 
 myself, but time fails me for such a task. Now, on p. 616 of the 
 Germania in the notes, you will find that this very article of 
 Dr. Gwinner's acknowledges the collective power of women in an 
 educational capacity ; and since you have a ready pen, and are 
 not at this moment overburdened with weighty business, I look 
 to you for such an article as I have described. At the same time, 
 many can lend you a hand with it, for the ground to be covered 
 is extensive, and the matters to be dealt with are of profound im- 
 portance. 
 
 I think I have now fully explained what I mean by sending you 
 Dr. Gwinner's articles, and what I desire and expect of you. But 
 in such cases the ultimate decision rests with the person to whom 
 the request is made : it is you yourself, in fact, who have to decide 
 upon the acceptance or rejection of the task. Yet I may point out 
 one thing, which has long been upon my mind to say. In laying 
 the foundations for our work towards inward and outward unity 
 of life, mention is frequently made of " Froebelians." Now, such 
 an expression is not only dead against my own feeling, not only 
 contradicts my own convictions, but also works against our very 
 aim and object, the unification of life. For all " ans " and " ites " 
 have shown themselves throughout history to be sources of divi- 
 sion, not of unification ; and yet it is unification that is the purpose 
 and end of life ; to find unity in variety ; and to recognise the 
 one in the all. Why is it that these personal sectarian names, 
 these "ans " and "ites," are sources of division? Why, if not just 
 because they are personal, and all that is personal is separatist, 
 carries the seed of division within its nature. In one sense, and 
 that a sense by no means to be passed over, these sectarian 
 
3 J 6 Letters of Froebel. 
 
 names are a source of union and strength amongst their own 
 adherents, but the sect, as a whole, means division. Wherefore 
 I have always refrained from using personal names in my under- 
 takings. For example, not the " Froebelian," but the " General 
 Educational Institution for Germany " ; and in Blankenburg, not 
 " Froebel's Children's Educational Institution," but the " Institu- 
 tion for the Promotion of Spontaneous Activity in Children," or 
 the " Institution for Children's Occupations," or the " Kinder- 
 garten " ; and so also in Switzerland, and everywhere else that I 
 have worked. The expression "Froebelian" divides you from 
 me, divides me from you ; we seem to stand opposed to one 
 another, and only in our capacity of fellow " ans " or " ites " are 
 we united. But I hope, on the contrary, that we are altogether 
 at one, altogether united, in being, aim, and life, in regard to 
 the main principles of our work and action, as I have often said 
 before. Let us call ourselves the "Lovers of Unity," if you 
 please, and by such a name the element of complete personal 
 individuality is not at all excluded ; or if this seems colourless to 
 you, and since those who live for unification of life must of neces- 
 sity be filled with peace and joy, we might call ourselves, if you 
 think it better, the " Lovers of Peace and Joy." However, this 
 is a question which had better remain, awaiting the free develop- 
 ment of life for its settlement ; it is sufficient to have mentioned 
 it this once. 
 
 Now you have plenty to work at for a long time ! Luise sends 
 her kind wishes, and all the students greet you. Do you know 
 that Ottilie Baring is to go to Switzerland ? As for the rest, we 
 have excellent news from many various regions. 
 In love and truth, I remain, 
 
 Your affectionate Great- Uncle, 
 
 Friedrich Froebel. 
 
 THE END. 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL ABSTRACT OF THE PRINCIPAL 
 EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF FROEBEL AND THE KINDER- 
 GARTEN MOVEMENT. 
 
 1746. Birth of Pestalozzl. 
 
 1770. June 24. Birth of Christian Ludwig Froebel. 
 
 1780. Sept. 17. Birth of Froebel's first wife, Henriette Wilhelmine 
 
 Hoffmeister, at Berlin. 
 1782. April 21. Birth of Friedrich August Wilhelm Froebel, at 
 
 Obenveissbach, Thuringia. 
 
 1792. Froebel is sent to Superintendent Hoffman (his mothers 
 
 brother) in Stadt-Ilm. 
 Sept. 3. Birth of Heinrich Langethal, at Erfurt. 
 
 1793. Sept. 20. Birth of Wilhelm Middendorff, at Brechten, near 
 
 Dortmund, Westphalia. 
 1797. Froebel is sent to Neuhaus, in the Thuringian Forest, to learn 
 
 forestry. 
 1799. Returns home ; goes thence to the University of Jena. 
 
 1801. Leaves Jena (having closed his student's career there with 
 
 nine weeks-' imprisonment for debt), and begins to study 
 farming with a relative of his father's, near Hildburghausen. 
 Dec. 29. Birth of Middendorffs wife, Albertine Froebel, eldest 
 daughter of Christian Froebel. 
 
 1802. Death of Froebel's father. Froebel becomes actuary to the 
 
 Forest Department of the episcopal State of Bamberg. 
 Nov. 29. Birth of Johannes Arnold Barop, at Dortmund, 
 Westphalia. 
 
 1803. Froebel goes to Bamberg, and takes part in the governmental 
 
 land-survey, Bamberg now passing to Bavaria. 
 18C4. Becomes Secretary and Accountant first to Herr v. Wolders- 
 dorf, in Baireuth, and afterwards to Herr v. Dewitz, in Gross 
 Milchow, Mecklenburg. 
 July 11. Birth of Barop's wife, Emilie Froebel, second daugh- 
 ter of Christian Froebel. 
 1S05. Death of Superintendent Hoffman. Froebel, going to study 
 architecture at Frankfurt, is persuaded instead to become a 
 teacher in the Model School, under Gruner. Visits Pesta- 
 lozzi at Yverdon. 
 1807. Froebel becomes tutor to the sons of Herr v. Holzhausen 
 near Frankfurt. 
 
 3*7 
 
318 Chronological Abstract. 
 
 1808. Goes with his pupils to Pestalozzi, at Yverdon. 
 
 1809. Draws up an account of Pestalozzi's work for the Princess of 
 
 Rudolstadt. 
 
 1 8 10. Froebel returns from Yverdon to Frankfurt. 
 
 181 1. Proceeds to the University of Gottingen, in July. 
 
 1 81 2. Thence to the University of Berlin, in October. 
 
 1 813. Enlists in Lutzow's Chasseurs (Langethal and Middendorff also 
 
 serving) to resist Napoleon's invasion. His eldest brother, 
 (Christoph), dies of typhus while nursing French prisoners in 
 hospital. 
 
 1 8 14. Jan. 5. Birth of Elise Froebel (Madame Schaffner), youngest 
 
 daughter of Christian Froebel. 
 May 30. Peace of Paris. In August Froebel becomes assist- 
 ant professor in the Mineralogical Museum of the University 
 of Berlin. 
 
 181 5. April 15. Birth of Froebel's second wife, Luise Levin. 
 
 1 8 16. Nov. 13. Froebel founds his U?iiversal German Educational 
 
 Institute, in Griesheim. 
 
 1 81 7. The School is transferred to Keilhau. Arrival of Langethal 
 
 and Middendorff. 
 
 1 818. Froebel marries Mile. Henriette Wilhelmine Hoffmeister. 
 
 1820. Christian Froebel arrives at Keilhau with his wife and daugh- 
 
 ters. Froebel writes To the German People. 
 
 1 82 1. Froebel publishes privately, Principles, A i/ns, and Imier Life 
 
 of the Universal German Educational Institute at Keilhau; 
 and also Aphoris?ns. 
 
 1822. Followed by 0?i German Education, especially as regards the 
 
 Univ. Germ. Ed. Inst, at Keilhau, and On The Univ. Germ. 
 Ed. Inst, at Keilhau. 
 
 1823. Publishes Continuation of the Account of the Univ. Germ. Ed. 
 
 Inst., at Keilhau, 
 
 1824. And Christmas at Keilhau. 
 
 1826. Middendorff marries Froebel's niece, Albertine, and Langethal 
 
 marries Ernestine Chrispine, the adopted daughter of 
 Madame Henriette Froebel. Froebel publishes the Educa- 
 tion of Ma?i, (Menschen-Erziehitng). Later he founds the 
 weekly Family fournal of Education. 
 
 1827. Death of Pestalozzi. Froebel writes his autobiographical 
 
 Letter to the Duke of Meiningen, never completed. (Trans- 
 lated in the " Autobiography of Froebel.") 
 
 1828. Second autobiographical sketch in a Letter to Krause (trans- 
 
 lated in the "Autobiography of Froebel." Barop joins Keil- 
 hau. 
 
 1829. Plan drawn up by Froebel and his friends, for the Duke of 
 
 Meiningen, for a National Educational Institue, at Helba. 
 
 1830. Death of Wilhelm Carl, one of the Keilhau community, by 
 
 drowning in the Saale. 
 
 1 83 1. Froebel breaks with the Duke of Meiningen, and gives up the 
 
 Helba project. Goes to Frankfurt, meets the musical corn- 
 
Chronological Abstract. 319 
 
 poser, Schnyder, and accepts his offer of his castle at War- 
 tensee, near Sempach, Luzern. 
 The Institution at Wartensee opened by Froebel and his 
 nephew Ferdinand. Barop marries Emilie Froebel. 
 
 1832. Barop goes to Wartensee, and soon afterwards the school is 
 
 transferred to Willisau, Luzern. Froebel at Keilhau for a 
 short time. 
 
 1833. Madame Henriette Froebel joins her husband at Willisau. 
 
 The authorities engage Froebel to lecture to young teachers 
 at Burgdorf. Langethal replaces Barop, who returns from 
 Willisau to Keilhau. 
 
 1835. Froebel and Madame Henriette Froebel, with Langethal, 
 
 undertake the foundation of an orphanage and school for 
 the Canton of Bern, at Burgdorf. 
 
 1836. Middendorff and Elise Froebel come from Keilhau to join 
 
 Ferdinand Froebel at Willisau. Froebel writes The New 
 Year, 1836, demands a Renewal of Life. 
 
 1836. Madame Henriette Froebel's health gives way, and Froebel 
 
 takes his wife to Berlin. Ferdinand Froebel and Langethal 
 succeed him at Burgdorf. 
 
 1837. Froebel begins to work out his series of gifts and occupations. 
 
 Opens an Institution for the education of little children at 
 Blankenburg. 
 
 1838. Froebel begins his Sunday Journal {Sonntagsblatt), which 
 
 continues till 1840. 
 
 1839. Froebel and Middendorff visit Dresden and found "Institu- 
 
 tion for Care of Little Children," under Adolf Frankenberg, 
 and next year a similar school in Frankfurt, under Hoch- 
 stetter and Schneider. 
 Death of Madame Henriette Froebel. 
 
 1840. Festival of the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing. 
 
 Creation of the Universal German Kindergarten, at Blank- 
 enburg, as a joint stock company. The first Kindergarten 
 is opened in Blankenburg, June 28, and the second at Rudol- 
 stadt, on the first Tuesday in December. Henceforward 
 Froebel and Middendorff make frequent journeys from 
 Keilhau to various parts of Germany to promote the Kinder- 
 garten movement. 
 
 1841. Third Kindergarten opened in January, at Gera, by Madame 
 
 Schmidt, Froebel's cousin ; see Part II. of this volume, 
 which consists of twenty letters to her on this subject. 
 March. Printing of a collection of Koseliedchen by Froebel. 
 
 1843. Publication of Froebel's Songs for Mothers and Nursery 
 
 Songs {Mutter- nnd Kose-Lieder). 
 
 1844. Fourth Kindergarten opened under Ida Seele, at Darmstadt # 
 
 Froebel makes a tour for propaganda amongst the Rhine 
 Main, and Neckar districts. 
 1846. Fifth Kindergarten opened, at Ouetz, under Pastor Hilden- 
 kagen and his sister-in-law, Amalie Kriiger. 
 
320 Chronological Abstract. 
 
 1847. Ten more Kindergartens opened : Homburg (Madame Miiller), 
 
 Dresden (Luise Frankenberg), Gratz, Marienberg, Anna- 
 burg, Hildburghausen, Zoblitz, Erfurt, Liinen (Marie Christ), 
 and Gotha (Herr August Kohler). 
 
 1848. Opening of the Hamburg Kindergarten, under Alwine Midden- 
 
 dorff, by Madame Doris-Liitkens. General Congress of 
 teachers called by Froebel at Rudolstadt. Second journey 
 to Dresden in the autumn. 
 
 1849. Froebel settles at Liebenstein, intending to train Kindergarten 
 
 teachers there, and appoints Mile. Luise Levin directress of 
 his training college. Folsing's bitter pamphlet against 
 Froebelian Kindergartens answered at once by Madame 
 Doris Liitkens, in FroebePs Kinde?gartens. Continuation of 
 the controversy by the same opponents in the journal Oitr 
 Child?'en. Propaganda work at Hamburg, first by Midden- 
 dorff, then by Froebel. 
 
 1850. Froebel returns to Liebenstein. Through the influence of 
 
 Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow he receives the neighbouring 
 country seat of Marienthal from the Duke of Meiningen for 
 the purposes of his Training College. Founds the Weekly 
 Journal of Education ( Wochenschrift, etc.), under* the 
 editorship of Wichard Lange. Elise Froebel marries 
 Dr. Siegfried Schaffner. 
 
 185 1. Jan. 9. Death of Christian Ludwig Froebel. 
 
 Aug. 7. Entire Prohibition of the Kindergarten in Prussia by 
 the Education Minister, Von Raumer. Bavaria follows 
 suit in November, so far as regards all Kindergartens 
 except those attached to the orthodox Protestant churches. 
 
 July. Froebel's (second) marriage to Mile. Luise Levin. 
 Foundation of the Journal for Friedrich FroebePs Educa- 
 tional Aims {Zeitschrift, etc.). 
 
 1852. April. Froebel attends the Educational Congress at Gotha, 
 
 under the presidency of Theodor Hoffman. 
 June 2i. Death of Froebel. 
 College at Marienthal removed to Keilhau and placed under 
 
 Middendorff, Madame Luise Froebel also assisting. 
 
 1853. Middendorff enthusiastically received by the Congress at 
 
 Salzungen, when addressing it on Froebelian methods. 
 Nov. 27. Death of Middendorff. Keilhau under Madame 
 Luise Froebel. 
 
 1854. Madame Luise Froebel goes to Dresden in the spring to assist 
 
 Dr. Bruno Marquardt (husband of Luise Frankenberg) in 
 his Kindergarten and Training College ; Keilhau ceasing to 
 be a Training College. Goes to Hamburg in the autumn 
 as directress of the Public Free Kindergarten, and trains 
 teachers there. (She is still earnest in the cause ; and still 
 resides at Hamburg, 1890.) 
 
 First Kindergarten i?i Engla?id, at Hainpstead. 
 
 Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow begins her long series of mis- 
 
Chronological Abstract. 321 
 
 sionary journeys in favour of the Kindergarten by coming 
 to England, 1854-5. 
 Madame Ronge founds the Kindergarten in Fitzroy Square, 
 London — the first English Kindergarten of any importance — 
 and not long after transfers it to Miss Praetorius, herself 
 going to Manchester to lecture, etc. The outcome of this was 
 the foundation of the Manchester Kindergarten Association, 
 the oldest Kindergarten Society in England. 
 
 1855. Herr H. Hoffmann, of Hamburg, lectures in London. 
 
 i860. Aug. 18. Death of Madame Barop (Emilie Froebel). 
 Foundation of the Froebel Society of Berlin. 
 
 1 86 1. Miss Heerwart comes to England to conduct the Kindergar- 
 ten at Miss Barton's school, at Manchester, and Madame de 
 Portugall that at Mrs. Fretwell's school, also at Manchester. 
 Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow founds the Education of To- 
 day (Erziehungder Gege7twart), edited by Dr. Karl Schmidt, 
 of Kothen. 
 
 1866. Miss Doreck (who had come to England in 1857) establishes 
 a school with Kindergarten attached, in Kildare Gardens, 
 London (removes in 1870 to Kensington Gardens Square). 
 Miss Heerwart goes to Dublin ; establishes a Kindergarten. 
 
 1873. Establishment of the Pestalozzi-Froebel-House at Berlin, un- 
 
 der Madame Schrader, by the National Kindergarten Society, 
 Friedrichstadt, Berlin. 
 
 1874. April. Madame Michaelis, who had been engaged in Kinder- 
 
 garten work in Switzerland and Italy, comes to England. 
 Is appointed in the summer to lecture to the School Board 
 teachers at Croydon. Founds Croydon Kindergarten with 
 Mrs. Berry, January, 1875. 
 
 November. The London School Board appoint Miss Bishop 
 to lecture on the Kindergarten system to their infant school- 
 mistresses. 
 
 Miss Heerwart becomes principal of the Stockwell Training 
 College, under the British and Foreign School Society. 
 
 November. Foundation of the Froebel Society of London by 
 Miss Doreck (President), Miss Heerwart, Miss Bishop, 
 Madame Michaelis, Prof. Joseph Payne, and Miss Manning. 
 
 Miss Shirreff (President in 1877 and ever since), Mrs. Wm. 
 Grey, Miss Mary Gurney, and other educationists, joined 
 very soon afterwards. 
 1876. First examination for Kindergarten teachers held by the 
 Froebel Society. Madame de Portugall chief examiner. 
 
 1879. Death of Langethal. The Froebel Society founds a Training 
 
 College in the autumn. (Transferred to the Maria Grey 
 College in 1883.) 
 
 1880. May. The Croydon Kindergarten Company (Ltd.) is founded, 
 
 with Madame Michaelis as its head-mistress. 
 1882. Centenary of Froebel's birth. Concert at Willis' Rooms in aid 
 of Blankenburg Memorial Kindergarten. Soiree at Stock- 
 
322 Chronological Abstract. 
 
 well Training College. Monument at Blankenburg, erected 
 at the cost of Madame von Marenholtz-Biilow. 
 
 1883. Foundation of the Bedford Kindergarten Co. Head-mistress, 
 
 Miss Sim. 
 Miss Heerwart leaves England to re-found the Blankenburg 
 Kindergarten. 
 
 1884. January. Dr. Wichard Lange (Middendorff's son-in-law, and 
 
 editor of the standard edition of Froebel's works) died. 
 
 May. International Exhibition at South Kensington, London, 
 on Health and Education, at which a Kindergarten section, 
 with an exhibition of work and materials, and with model 
 lessons at weekly intervals, was arranged by the British and 
 Foreign School Society, all the London Kindergartens (in- 
 cluding Croydon) contributing. 
 
 August. Conference on Infant Education in the Exhibition ; 
 M. Buels of Brussels, Prof. Stoy of Jena, Madame la Com- 
 tesse Dinan of Paris, and all the leading English Froebelians 
 taking part. 
 
 October. Close of the section by a Conference of the Kinder- 
 garten teachers of England. 
 
 1887. June. The Manchester Kindergarten Association joins the 
 
 Froebel Society of London to create the National Froebel 
 Union — an examining body for Kindergarten teachers and 
 governesses. The Croydon Company was already repre- 
 sented on the Froebel Society's Council. 
 
 1888. March. The Bedford Kindergarten Company joins the Na- 
 
 tional Froebel Union. 
 
 The Froebel Society begins the work of testing the Kinder- 
 garten work of the London School Board by examination. 
 
 Frederick III., Emperor of Germany (son-in-law of Queen 
 Victoria), amongst. the few acts of his brief reign, pensions 
 Madame Luise Froebel. 
 
 1889. The Manchester Kindergarten Association withdraws from the 
 
 National Froebel Union. 
 
 1890. Monument to Pestalozzi, erected by public subspription, at 
 
 Yverdon. Inscribed: " To Pestalozzi, 1 746-1 827. He lived 
 like a beggar, to show beggars how they ought to live like 
 men. Saviour of the poor in Neuhof. Father of the orphans 
 in Stanz. Founder of the popular school in Burgdorf. 
 Educator of men in Yverdon. All for others, nothing for 
 himself." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abolition of Kindergartens in Bavaria, 
 307 ; in Prussia, 285. 
 
 Action Gaines, 253. 
 
 Adler, Prof. (U.S.A.), 210. 
 
 Allstedt, 183. 
 
 Alsace-Lorraine, 190. 
 
 Altenburg, 1 82. 
 
 Altenstein, — festival at, 17S ; 184. 
 
 Altona, 189. 
 
 Amburg, 191. 
 
 America, 209-213 ; FroebeFs resolu- 
 tion of emigration to, 305-6 ; 
 — Froebel Union of, 210. 
 
 Anhalt, 187. 
 
 Annaburg, 145, 15 1-2, 177-8. 
 
 Apolda, 183. 
 
 "Appeal to German Wives and 
 Maidens," 1844, 220; "to 
 German Women," 1S48, 262. 
 
 Arad, 194. 
 
 Association, Free K. G., of Chicago 
 (U.S.A.), 211 ;— Froebel, of 
 Chicago, 211 ; — Froebel, of 
 Moravia, 193; — Kindergarten, of 
 Davenport (United States), 213 ; 
 — Kindergarten, of Gera, 76; 
 — Kindergarten, of Italy, 197 ; 
 — Kindergarten, of Vienna, 
 192; — Manchester K.G., 202, 
 207 ; — Mothers', of Rudolstadt, 
 75> 9° ; — National Froebel, of 
 Germany, 218; — Swiss K. G. , 196. 
 
 Attack and Defence, Part IV., 285 
 and seq. 
 
 Augsburg, 191. 
 
 Aussig, 193. 
 
 Austria, 192-4. 
 
 Ball-games, 83-4, 98, 101-3, 107, 
 
 176, 220. 
 Bamberg, 191. 
 Baptism, 19. 
 
 Barmann, Mile., 19S note. 
 Barop, 52. 
 
 Barton, Miss, of Manchester, 202-3. 
 Bautzen, 247. 
 
 Bavaria, 190-1, 286 ; abolition of all 
 except Church Kindergartens, 
 307-11. 
 
 Bedford, 207 ; Kindergarten Co. of, 
 215. 
 
 Bela, 194. 
 
 Belfast, 203. 
 
 Belgium, 197. 
 
 Benfey, Prof., 32. 
 
 Berlin, 185, 187-8 ; Educ. Soc. of, 
 185 ; Froebel Soc. of, 34, 188 ; 
 Nat. K.G. Soc. of, 34, 188. 
 
 Bernburg, 187. 
 
 Berry, Mrs., 204. 
 
 Bertuchek, Mile., 198 note. 
 
 Beust, Herr F., of Zurich, 196. 
 
 Beuthen, 189. 
 
 Biala, 193. 
 
 Bielitz, 193. 
 
 Bilbao, 200. 
 
 Bion, Pastor, Pres. of Swiss K.G. 
 Association, 196. 
 
 Birn, 190. 
 
 Birth, 14. 
 
 Bishop, Miss, 204-5. 
 
 Blankenburg, 44, 118, 176, 178, 1 8 1, 
 203, 205, 244, 289. Letters 
 written at — Letter to Wives and 
 Mothers, 1839, 215-9; I.-XVI. 
 to Mme. Schmidt, 1840-3, 43 
 and seq. ; Plan for National Ger- 
 man Kindergarten, 1840, 156 ; 
 Appeal to German Wives and 
 Maidens, 1844, 220. 
 
 Blankenhein, 183. 
 
 Bleicherode, 185. 
 
 Bohemia, 193. 
 
 Bologna, 198. 
 
324 
 
 Index. 
 
 Bornstadt, 189. 
 
 Borschitzky, Mr., 21 1. 
 
 Boston (U.S.A.), 213. 
 
 Bourne, Rev. Alfred, 201, 206-7. 
 
 Bowen, H. Courthope, 207-8. 
 
 Boys and girls compared, 99. 
 
 Brandenburg, 189. 
 
 Bremen, 190. 
 
 Bremerhafen, 190. 
 
 Breslau, 189. 
 
 Breymann, Mile. Henriette, see 
 
 Schrader, Mme. ; Mile. Marie, 
 
 187 note 
 Brideship, 231-2. [201-6. 
 
 British and Foreign School Soc, 
 Bromberg, 189. 
 Brunswick, 151, 153, 186. 
 Brussels, 197. 
 Briix, 193. 
 Buckau, 185. 
 Budapest, 193. 
 Budweis, 193. 
 
 Buels, M., of Brussels, 197 note, 206. 
 Building, 96. 
 Bukowina, 193. 
 Biilow, Mme. von Marenholtz, see 
 
 Marenholtz, Mme. von. 
 Buttelstedt, 183. 
 
 Caas, M. Clausen, 33. 
 
 Calcar, Mme. van, 185, 200 (and note). 
 
 Camburg, 1 82. 
 
 Carinthia, 193. 
 
 Carlsruhe, 141, 1 90- 1. 
 
 Carteret, M., of Geneva, 194-5. 
 
 Carus, Dr., 155, 287. 
 
 Castro, Signor Vincenzo di, 198 note. 
 
 Catholics (Roman) and K.G., 286. 
 
 Cheltenham, 207. 
 
 Chemnitz, 184. 
 
 Chicago (U.S.A.), 211-13. 
 
 Child, The, 13. 
 
 Child-and-Mother life, 20. 
 
 Christ, Mile. Marie, 177, 240. 
 
 " Christian Kindergartens," 286 note. 
 
 Christianity and K.G., see Kinder- 
 garten, religious aspects of. 
 
 Christians, Free, and K.G., see Free 
 Christians. 
 
 Christie, Miss, 202. 
 
 Christmas, 71, 73, 138-9, 215-9. 
 
 Cleveland, Mrs. (wife of ex-Pres., 
 U.S.A.), 211. 
 
 Coblenz, 278, 281. 
 
 Colenso, Bishop, 202. 
 
 Colour-games, 124-6. 
 
 " Come, let us live for our children," 
 146, 156, 169, 220. 
 
 Comenius, 189 note. 
 
 Comte, Aug., 185. 
 
 Cork, 207. 
 
 Courses for K.G. teachers, Froebel's, 
 144-5, 178, 237; fully de- 
 scribed, 252. 
 
 Creches, 150, 160, 191-4, 224, 289. 
 
 Croatia, 123. 
 
 Croydon, 204 ; — School Board, 204, 
 206 ; — Kindergarten Co., 205-6, 
 209 note. 
 
 Danzig, 189. 
 
 Darmstadt, 140, 177, 1 9 1, 288-90. 
 
 Davenport (U.S.A.), 213. 
 
 Davenport-Hill, Miss R., 207-8. 
 
 Dessau, 187. 
 
 Development, always occurs between 
 two worlds, 22 ; — due to recon- 
 ciliation of opposites, 98, 258, 
 275-6, 279, 298-300 ; — human, 
 three grades of, 299-300; — of 
 human life compared with that 
 of nature, 297-8 ; — higher, neces- 
 sary to German nation, 264. 
 
 Dickens, Charles, 202. 
 
 Diesterweg, 31, 179, 183; epigram 
 of, 214. 
 
 Dinan, Comtesse, 206. 
 
 Dirschau, 189. 
 
 Dobschau, 194. 
 
 Doreck, Miss, 203-4. 
 
 Dorpat, 200. 
 
 Drawing, 127, 254. 
 
 Dresden, 66, 176-8, 183-6, 203, 
 237-8, 243, 290 ; Gen. Soc. of 
 Educ, 186. 
 
 Dublin, 203. 
 
 Durkheim, 190. 
 
 Dusseldorf, 190. 
 
 Education, International Exhibition, 
 South Kensington, London, 
 1884, 205-6, 209 note. 
 
 Education of Man (Froebel), 249. 
 
 Education of To-day (newspaper), 
 180, 186. 
 
 Eger, 193. 
 
Index 
 
 325 
 
 Eimbeck, 186. 
 
 Eisenach, 153, 182. 
 
 Eislebeu, 1S5. 
 
 Ekenaes, 200. 
 
 Elbogen, 193. 
 
 Elizabeth, the little Archduchess, 
 of Austria, 192. 
 
 Ellrich, 185. 
 
 Emden, 186. 
 
 England, 136, 185, 195 note ; Ap- 
 pendix, History of the English 
 Kindergarten, 201-8. 
 
 Erfurt, 177-8, 185, 241, 244. 
 
 Erzgebirge, 151, 194, 242. 
 
 Erziehung der Gegenzvart, see 
 Education of To-day. 
 
 Eschwege, 186. 
 
 Essen, 190. 
 
 Examinations of Froebel Soc, etc., 
 207-8. 
 
 Factory, Froebel's K.G., 175, 180. 
 
 Family Kindergartens, r8S. 
 
 Festivals, Children's, 178, 180. 
 
 Finland, 200. 
 
 Fitzroy Square, 202. 
 
 Flensburg, 189. 
 
 Florence, 186, 197, 198 note. 
 
 Falsing, 140, 177, 286, 288, 294. 
 
 France (Paris), 185. 
 
 Frankenberg, town, 184 ; Adolf, 32, 
 176; Luise, 177; — Letters to, 
 236, etc. 
 
 Frankenthal, 190. 
 
 Frankfurt, 90, 1 13, 140, 176-7, 186; 
 Letter XVI. to Mme. Schmidt, 
 1844, written at, 137. 
 
 Franks, Miss, 206. 
 
 Frederick, Empress - Dowager, of 
 Germany (Princess Royal of 
 England), 35, 188. 
 
 Free Kindergarten Association of 
 Chicago, 211. [307-11. 
 
 Free Christians and the K.G., 280, 
 
 Freiberg, 184. 
 
 Fretwell, Miss, of Manchester, 203. 
 Freudenthal, 193. 
 
 Froebel and Pestalozzi, I ; general 
 sketch of his education system 
 by Poesche, 1 and seq. ; by 
 himself, 247-56 ; sketches his 
 own life, io5 and seq. ; as a 
 child, 241; his daily life, 117; 
 
 his struggles, 1 37-8, 148 ; his 
 desolation, 244 ; his letters, 
 175, 180; his publications, 175, 
 180; his system of propaganda, 
 175 and seq. ; his journeys as 
 propaganda, 151, 179, 181,202; 
 his religious faith, 285-7, 298, 
 301-2, 304, 308, 310-11, with 
 extracts from his own works ; 
 centenary of birth of, 198, 203, 
 205, 214 ; name engraved on the 
 Glockner, I Si. 
 Froebel, Mme. Henriette (Froebel's 
 first wife), 29-30, 127-8, 130, 
 147-8, 215.* 
 Froebel, Mme. Luise (Froebel's second 
 wife) — life of, vi; 13,183, 190, 
 203, 242, 2S1, 316. 
 
 Froebel, Christian Ludwig (brother), 
 52 ; Ferdinand (nephew), 135 ; 
 Ferdinand (great-grand-nephew), 
 196 note ; Karl (nephew), of 
 Edinburgh, 196 note, 287 ; 
 Theodor (nephew), of Zurich, 
 196 note. 
 
 Froebel Association {see also "Asso- 
 ciation") —National, of Germany, 
 182; — of Chicago, 21 1 ; — of 
 Moravia, 193. 
 
 Froebel Society of Berlin, 34 ; — of 
 London, 203-5. 
 
 Froebel Union of America, 210 ; 
 — National, of England, 207-8. 
 
 FroebeVs Educational Aims, Journal 
 for, 176, 280. 
 
 " Froebel's Infant Garden," Daven- 
 port, U.S.A., 213. 
 
 FroebeVs Kindergartens, Mme. Liit- 
 kens, 293. 
 
 Froebelian Kindergartens, Folsing, 
 292-4. 
 
 Froebelian Literature, 31. 
 
 " Froebelians," Froebel's dislike of 
 such terms, 315-6. 
 
 Frohlich, Herr, 165 note. 
 
 Fulda, 186. 
 
 Gaisburg, 177. 
 
 Galicia, 193. 
 
 Games, symbols of Life, 61 ; — inner 
 
 meaning of, 82 ; 86, 91, 252. 
 Gardens, K.G., 115, 120. 
 Geneva, 185, 194-6. 
 
326 
 
 Index 
 
 Cera, — K.G. Association of, 76; 
 
 S9-9°> 93, 105. H2. 114, 131, 
 
 134-5, 151? 176, 182. See also 
 
 Schmidt, Mme. 
 Germany, 181 and seq., 214. 
 Gifts, 72, 96, 99, 220, 250. 
 Glauchau, 184. 
 Gorlitz, 189. 
 Gorz, 193. 
 
 Gotha, 151, 153, 177-8, 182, 290. 
 Gothenburg, 201, 
 Gottingen, 186. 
 Gradisca, 193. 
 Grafentonna, 182. 
 Gratz, 177-8, 192. 
 Greece, 200. 
 Griez, 182. 
 
 Grey, Mrs. Wm., 204. 
 Grimma, 184. 
 Guillaume, M. and Mme., 32, 185, 
 
 197. 
 Gumpert, Mile., Letter to, 269. 
 Giistrow, 189. 
 
 Guttenberg Festival, see "Printing." 
 G winner, Dr., 306, 312 and seq. 
 Gymnastics, 64. 
 
 Halberstadt, 185. 
 
 Halle, 152, 185. 
 
 Hamburg, 152, 177-8, 189, 202, 242, 
 
 293, 295-7. 
 Hampstead, 185, 202. 
 Hanau, 186. 
 
 Handicraft Schools, 33, 40, 199. 
 Hanna, the, 193. 
 Hanover, 186. 
 Hebert, Mile., of Nuremberg, Letter 
 
 to, 307. 
 Heerwart, Miss, 32, 181 ; life of, 203, 
 
 204, 206. 
 Heidelberg, 140, 191. 
 Heilbronn, 191. 
 Helmstadt, 186. 
 Helsingfors, 200. 
 Henne, Mile., 177. 
 Herford, Miss, 207. 
 Herrmanstadt, 194. 
 Hersfeld, 1S6. 
 Hertlein, Mile. Luise, of Vienna, 
 
 32. Letter to, at Hamburg, 
 
 274. 
 Hesse, Mile., of Annaburg, 177. 
 
 Letter to, 260. 
 
 Hesse Darmstadt, 191. 
 
 Hesse-Nassau, 186. 
 
 Hildburghausen, 177, 182. 
 
 Hildenhagen, 177. 
 
 Hildesheim, 186. 
 
 Hoboken, 213. 
 
 Hof, 191. 
 
 Hoffmann, Herr Theodor, of Ham- 
 burg, 190 ; — Herr Heinrich, lec- 
 tures in England, 202-3. 
 
 Hofmeister, Herr (father of Mme. 
 Henriette Froebel), poem by, 
 128-9. 
 
 Holland, 185 note, 200. 
 
 Homburg, 151, 177, 290. 
 
 Home Mission, Wichern's, 286, 306, 
 312. 
 
 Howe, Miss, Letter to, 247. 
 
 Hungary, 193-4. 
 
 Iglo, 194. 
 
 Infant Gardens, Mme. v. Marenholtz, 
 202. 
 
 Infant Schools and Kindergartens 
 compared, 291. 
 
 Ingleheim, 177. 
 
 Inspection of K.G. s by Froebel Soc, 
 208. 
 
 International Exhibition on " Edu- 
 cation " held at S.Kensington, 
 London, 1884, 205-6, 209 note. 
 
 Italy, 186, 196 note, 197-8 ; — King 
 and Queen of, 198. 
 
 Jacobs, M. J. F. ("Manuel Pratique," 
 
 etc.), 197.. 
 Japan, 209. 
 Jena, 183. 
 
 Jews and K.G. , 198 note, 286. 
 Joint Board for Exams-, 207. 
 Journal for Fr. FroebeVs Educ. Aims, 
 
 176, 280. 
 " Jugend-Garten," 199. 
 
 Kaiserslautern, 190. 
 
 Kanizsa, 194. 
 
 Kant on the Stars and the Mind, 24 
 
 note. 
 Karlsruhe, see Carlsruhe. 
 Kaschau, 194. 
 Kassel, 186. 
 Keilhau, 70, 90, 118, 122, 147, 152- 
 
 3, 178, 203. Letters dated at — 
 
Index. 
 
 327 
 
 2 letters to Mme. Miiller, 1845- 
 8, 231 ; Letters I.— IV. to Luise 
 Frankenberg, 1846 - 8, 236 ; 
 Letters XVIII.-XX. to Mme. 
 Schmidt, 1847-8, 144; Letter 
 to Miss Howe, 1847, 247 ; 
 Letter to Mile. Marschner, 1847, 
 256 ; Letter to Mile. Hesse, 
 1847, 260; Appeal to German 
 Women, 1848, 262 ; Letter to 
 Mile. Gumpert, 1848, 269. 
 
 Kessmark, 194. 
 
 Kelbra, 185. 
 
 Kiel, 309. 
 
 Kiew, 200. 
 
 Kindergarten, foundation of the, 29, 
 44; — practical observations on 
 work in the, 37, 61, 83, 85, 90, 
 94, 98, 101-3, 240, 246, 260-1. 
 {See also Ball Games, Games, 
 Songs, etc.); — religious aspects of 
 the, 47, 55, 71, 75-8, 86-7, 92, 
 94, 97, 131, 141-2, 217-8, 226, 
 254, 264, 267-8, 278-80, 286-7, 
 301-2, 334, 307-11; the name 
 essential, 63, 151, 239, 288-9; 
 — aim of the, as sketched by 
 Froebel, 220 and seq., 251, 255, 
 312 and seq. 
 
 Kindergarten, National German, 103, 
 122, 131, 141 ;— full plan of, by 
 Froebel, 156; 161, — financialplan 
 for, 165-6 ; 220, 225 ; — financial 
 aspect of, 227-9. 
 
 Kindergarten Guide, Ronge's, 202. 
 
 Kindergarten in England, in Ger- 
 many, in Gera, etc., see England, 
 Germany, Gera, etc. 
 
 Kindergarten (newspaper), 180-2. 
 
 Kindergarten, Szuiss (newspaper), 180 
 note. 
 
 Kindergarten Teachers, see Teachers. 
 
 Kindergarten Training College of 
 Froebel Soc. of London, 204. 
 
 Kindergartens, first sixteen, 176-7. 
 
 Kirchner, Mile., of Nuremberg, 
 Letter to, 309. 
 
 Klagenfurt, 193. 
 
 Kohl, Herr (music of KG.), 116. 
 
 Kohler, Aug., 32, 177, 182. 
 
 Konigsberg, 189. 
 
 Korneuburg, 192. 
 
 Koseliedchen, 109-11. 
 
 Kothen, 187. 
 
 Krain, 193. 
 
 Kraus-Boltes, the, New York, 210; 
 
 their Guide to K. G. one of the 
 
 best, 210 note. 
 Krause, Prof., 31. 
 Kremsier, 193. 
 
 Krieger, Miss (U.S.A.), 210 note. 
 Krimmitsch.au, 184. 
 Kromer, Herr, of Zoblitz, 177, 242. 
 Kronstadt, 194. 
 Kriiger, Mile. , 177. 
 Kriisi, Herr ("Woman's Mission'*), 
 
 72, 74, 80. 
 
 Lagier, Mile., 187 note. 
 
 Landau, 190. 
 
 Landshut, 191. 
 
 Lang, Pastor, of Gera, 59-64, S9- 
 90, 92, 102. 
 
 Lange, Dr. Wi chard, 31, 152- note, 
 189, 293. 
 
 Langensalza, 185. 
 
 Langethal, PL, — extract of letter of, 
 20; 97, 165, 214. 
 
 Lausanne, 185, 196. 
 
 Law, Universal control of — not 
 chance, 270-1. 
 
 Lawrence, Miss, 205. 
 
 Leipa, 193. 
 
 Leipzig, 51, 69, 113, 184. 
 
 Leitmeritz, 193. 
 
 Letters, Froebel's use of, as propa- 
 ganda, 175, 180. 
 
 Leonhardi, Herr v., 122, 139-40,191. 
 
 Leutschau, 194. 
 
 Liebenstein, 178-9, 182-4, 193, 28 r, 
 295. Letters dated at — Letter 
 to Mme. Liitkens, 1849, 293. 
 
 Life, One Law of, 273 ;— tends 
 towards ruin, whence arise new 
 developments, 269 ; — three main 
 facts of", 270. 
 
 Linz, 192. 
 
 Lisbon, 199. 
 
 Lissa, 189. 
 
 Livonia, 200. 
 
 Lobau, 184. 
 
 London, 185, 207 ; School Board, 
 204, 208. 
 
 Lonja, 194. 
 
 Lord, Miss Emily, 204, 208 ; — Miss 
 Frances, 206. 
 
328 
 
 Index. 
 
 Lotzen, 189. 
 
 Liineburg, 186. 
 
 Liinen, 151, 177-8, 290. 
 
 Liitkens, Mme. Doris, of Hamburg, 
 32, 152, 177, 189, 242, 274-9, 
 286, 293 ; three letters to, 
 1849-52, 293-306. 
 
 Liitzen, 185. 
 
 Luzern, 196. 
 
 Lyschinska, Miss, 204, 206. 
 
 Madrid, 200. 
 
 Magdeburg, 185. 
 
 Manchester, 195 note, 197 note ; 
 — K.G. Association of, 202, 207. 
 
 Mannheim, 190. 
 
 Manning, Miss, 204, 206. 
 
 Man's objective influence in Educa- 
 tion, 258-9. 
 
 Marburg, 186. 
 
 Marenholtz-Biilow, Mme. von, 32, 
 181 ; life, 183 ; 186, 195 note, 
 197-200, 202, 205. 
 
 Maria Grey Training College, 205. 
 
 Marienberg, 151-2, 177, 242. 
 
 Marienthal, 178, 182, 184, 213. 
 Letters dated at, — Letter to 
 Mile. Hebert, of Nuremberg, 
 1851, 307; Letter to Mile. 
 Kirchner, 1 85 1, 309; Letters 
 V.-VII. to Luise Frankenberg, 
 1 85 1-2, 243-6 ; Letter to Luise 
 Hertlein, 1852, 274 ; Letters 
 II., III., to Mme. Doris Liitkens, 
 1S51-2, 295; Letter to Mme. 
 Schrader, 1852, 312. 
 
 Markwitz, Letter to Mme. (U.S.A.), 
 
 13- 
 
 Marquardt, Herr Bruno, 32, 184, 
 203. 
 
 Marriage, 76, 231-2. 
 
 Marschner, Mile., of Dresden, 184, 
 210; letter to, 256. 
 
 Marwedel, Miss Emma (San Fran- 
 cisco), 210. 
 
 Mecklenburg, 189. [i§4- 
 
 Meiningen, — (Duchess -of), 45; 182, 
 
 Merseburg, 185. 
 
 Michaelis, Mme., 177, 187 note, 203- 
 4, 206-8;— Mile. Auguste, 177, 
 241, 244. 
 
 Middendorff, W., 32, 52, 55, 66, 124, 
 137, 152, 185, 202-3, 245 ; 
 
 Middendorff, Mile. Alwine(Mme. W. 
 
 Lange), 152, 177, 279. 
 Mikado, the, 209. 
 Milan, 198. 
 Minfeld, 190. 
 Moltke, General v., 286. 
 Montefiore, Claude G., 207-8. 
 Month, Object for the, 38. 
 Moore, Mrs., 203. 
 Moravia, 193. 
 Moscow, 200. 
 Mother-and-Child life, 20. 
 Mullhausen, 185. 
 Miiller, Mme., of Homburg, 1 77 ; 
 
 letter to, 231. 
 Miiller, Herr, of Gera, 59, 60. 
 Munich, 191. 
 Af utter- unci Kose-Lieder, no, 1 2 2-3, 
 
 129, 176, 220, "250, 311. 
 
 Nagyvaszany, 194. 
 
 Names, influence of, 6^, 79, 289 ; 
 see also Kindergarten, the name 
 essential. 
 
 Naples, 196 note, 197, 197-8 note. 
 
 Nassau, Hesse-, 186. 
 
 Natal, 202. 
 
 National Froebel Union, of England, 
 207-8 ; Nat. Froebel Associa- 
 tion of Germany, 182. 
 
 National German Kindergarten, 
 see Kindergarten, Nat. German. 
 
 Nature, Observation of, necessary, 
 
 255- 
 Naumburg, 185. 
 
 Navan, Mile. Thekla, 32, 182, 289. 
 Neuchatel, 185. 
 Neustadt, 183. 
 New York, 211, 213. 
 Nordhausen, 185. 
 Notting Hill, 204. 
 Number, 254. 
 
 Nuremberg, 191, 286, 307-1 1. 
 Nurses, see Teachers. 
 
 Oberlin Schools, 286. 
 
 Oblique lines, 126. 
 
 Occupations, K.G. , 252. 
 
 Oedenburg, 194. 
 
 Oertel, Mme., of Blankenburg, Letter 
 
 to, 215. 
 Offenbach, 191. 
 Omsk, 200. 
 
Index. 
 
 329 
 
 Oporto, 199. 
 
 Opposites, Three main, in Life 
 (Religion, Philosophy, and 
 Nature), 300-1, with diagram. 
 
 Orleans, Duchess of, 104. 
 
 Our Children (Mme. Liitkens' paper), 
 293> 298, SQL 
 
 Over Flakee, 200 note, 201. 
 
 Palatinate, 190. 
 
 Pancsova, 194. 
 
 Pape-Carpentier, Mme., 206. 
 
 Paris, 197. 
 
 Pattison, Miss, 208. 
 
 Payne, Prof. J., 204. 
 
 Peabody, Miss (U.S.A.), 210. 
 
 Pearce, Miss, 206. 
 
 Pestalozzi, I, 314; monument to, 
 
 322. 
 Pestalozzi-Froebel-House at Berlin, 
 
 Petermann, Mile., 197 note, 198. 
 
 Petersburg, St., 200. 
 
 Pfurzheim, 191. 
 
 Philadelphia, 210. 
 
 Philpotts, Dr., 207-8. 
 
 Pick, Prof. Adolfo, 186 note, 198. 
 
 Pilsen, 193. 
 
 Pistorius, Mme. v., 141, 177- 
 
 Plan, Froebel's, for National German 
 Kindergarten, 156 and seq. 
 
 Plan, detailed, of the work of a 
 Training College and K.G., 248. 
 
 Plauen, 152, 184. 
 
 Plymouth, 207. 
 
 Poesche, Hermann (German Editor 
 of these Letters) ; General In- 
 troduction with Sketch of 
 Froebel's Educational System, 
 1 ; Introd. to Part II., Founda- 
 tion of the K.G., 29; 32, 33; 
 Introd. to Part III., Propaga- 
 tion and Extension, 175 ; — at 
 Marienthal fete, 213 ; Introd. 
 to Part IV., Attack and De- 
 fence, 285. 
 
 Poole, Dr., 207-8. 
 
 Portugal, 199. 
 
 Portugal!, Mme. de, 187 note; life 
 of, 194-6 note; 198 note, 203. 
 
 Posen, 189. 
 
 Possneck, 182. 
 
 Praetorius, Miss, 202. 
 
 Prague, 193. 
 
 Preparatory School, 39. 
 
 Pressburg, 194. 
 
 Price, Alfred R., 207-8. 
 
 Pricking, 126. 
 
 Printing, Festival of the 400th Anniv. 
 of Invention of, 43-4, 104 note, 
 156, 165, 251. 
 
 Progler, Mile., 196 note. 
 
 Propaganda, Froebelian, 175, 180. 
 
 Prossnitz, 193. 
 
 Protection of little Children, Society 
 for, 193. 
 
 Protestant Churches of Germany, 
 285 note. 
 
 Protestants and K.G., 286, 309. 
 " Prussia, 178 ; abolition of K.G. in, 
 184, 285, decree of abol. with- 
 drawn, 185 ; 189. 
 
 Psyche (Dr. Cams), 155, 287. 
 
 Publications, Froebel's, 175-180. 
 
 Quarati, Signor, 198 note. 
 
 Quedlinburg, 185. 
 
 Quetz, 152, 177; festival at, 178. 
 
 Raab, 194. 
 
 Ratibor, 189. 
 
 Raumej, Herr v., 178, 285. 
 
 Reading and Writing, 254. 
 
 Reay, Lord, 206. 
 
 Reichenbach, 184. 
 
 Reichenberg, 193. 
 
 Resurrection, Froebel's beliefs about, 
 
 I32-3- 
 
 Reuss, 182. 
 
 Rhine, Main, and Neckar journey, 
 Froebel's, 137-9, 288. 
 
 Rhine News {Rheinische Blatter) 214, 
 etc. 
 
 Rhine province, 190. 
 
 Riga, 200. 
 
 Rome, 186, 198. 
 
 Ronge, Mme., 202. 
 
 Roslin, 189. 
 
 Rostock, 189. 
 
 Roth, 203. 
 
 Rudolstadt — Princess Karl of, 54, 75 ; 
 — Mothers' Association of, 75, 
 90; 44, 54> 64, 66, 69, 75, 81, 
 88, 99, 100, 118, 120, 176; — 
 festival at, 178 ; 179, 182. 
 
 Russia, 200. 
 
33o 
 
 Index. 
 
 Saalfeld, 182. 
 
 Silesia, 193. 
 
 Saaz, 193. 
 
 Sim, Miss, of Bedford, 205, 207-8. 
 
 Sacrifice, necessity of, for the cause, 
 
 Snell, Miss, 206, 207-8. 
 
 246. 
 
 Sondershausen, 81 ; Princess of, 112; 
 
 Saffron Walden, 205. 
 
 182. 
 
 St. Gall, 196. 
 
 Songs, K.G., 62, 89, 95, 98, in, 
 
 St. Louis (U.S.A.), 2ii. 
 
 116, 145, 253. 
 
 St. Petersburg, 200. 
 
 " Songs for Mothers and Nursery 
 
 Salles d' Asile (Paris), 206. 
 
 Songs," see Matter- und Kose- 
 
 Salzburg, 193. 
 
 Lieder. 
 
 San Francisco, 210, 213. 
 
 Sonntagsblatt, see Sunday Journal. 
 
 Saxony, kingdom, 183, 242 ; pro- 
 
 Spain, 199, 200. 
 
 vince, 185. 
 
 Spires, 190. 
 
 Schalkau, 182. 
 
 Stangenberg, Herr (K.G. songs), 
 
 Schellhorn, Mile., 182. 
 
 145, 182. 
 
 Schenkendorf, Herr v., 189. 
 
 Steiner, Mile. Auguste, 177, 242. 
 
 Schleswig Holstein, 189. 
 
 Sternberg, 193. 
 
 Schmidt, Mme., of Gera (Froebel's 
 
 Stick laying, 145-6, 280. 
 
 cousin). Twenty letters to, 43 
 
 Stockwell, 203, 205. 
 
 and seq. ; opens play classes at 
 
 Storr, Fras. J., 208. 
 
 Gera, 63; founds Gera K. G., 
 
 Stoy, Prof., of Jena, 31, 206. 
 
 89; illness of, 144; 176, 182. 
 
 Strasburg, 190. 
 
 Schmidt, Herr, of Weimar, 32, 182. 
 
 Strutting, 191. 
 
 Schmidt, Dr. Karl, of Kothen, 187 
 
 Stuttgart, 141, 177, 191. 
 
 note. 
 
 Sunday Journal, Froebel's, 5 2 > 62, 
 
 Schneider, Herr, of Frankfurt, 126. 
 
 64-7, 88,96, IOI, IO4, IIO, 112, 
 
 Schnyder, Herr (musical composer), 
 
 135, 176, 250. 
 
 139- 
 
 Sutton K.G. Co., 205. 
 
 Schonebeck, 185. 
 
 Sweden, 201. 
 
 School, Infant, 291 ; Preparatory, 
 
 Szviss Kindergarten (newspaper), 180 
 
 39- 
 
 note, 196. 
 
 Schrader, Mme. (Froebel's great 
 
 Swiss Kindergarten Association, 196. 
 
 niece), 32, 35, 183, 186, life of, 
 
 Switzerland, 185, 194-6. 
 
 187 note; 195, 197, 286; 
 
 Szarvas, 194. 
 
 letter to, 312. 
 
 Szatmar, 194. 
 
 Schwab, Herr (School Gardens), 
 
 Szegedin, 194. 
 
 199. 
 
 Szolnok, 194. 
 
 Schwabe, Mme. Salis-, 196 note ; 
 
 
 life, 197-8 note. 
 
 Tablets, 124-6. 
 
 Schwartz, Mme., 195. 
 
 Teachers, K.G., 63, 12 1-2, 144, 
 
 Schweinfurt, 191. 
 
 162-3, 216, 229, 250, 259. 
 
 Schwerin, 189. 
 
 Teachers' Conference for Saxony, 
 
 Seele, Mile. (Mme. Vogeler), 32, 79, 
 
 274. 
 
 139, 176-7, 240, 288. 
 
 Teachers' Meetings, Froebel's, I79 - 
 
 Seidel, Herr, 32, 182. 
 
 180. 
 
 Sexes, Union of the tw T o, necessary in 
 
 Temesvar, 124. 
 
 Education, 258-9, 266-7. 
 
 Teplitz, 193. 
 
 Sheffield, 207. 
 
 Thankfulness, 238. 
 
 Shirreff, Miss (Pres. of Froebel 
 
 Tillotson, Miss, 206. 
 
 Society of London), 202, 204. 
 
 Tinsley, Miss, 205. 
 
 Shrewsbury, 207. 
 
 Trabert, Mile., 153. 
 
 Siebenbiirgen, 194. 
 
 Training Colleges, see also Courses, 
 
 Siklos, 194. 
 
 41, 208 ; in England, 250. 
 
Index. 
 
 331 
 
 Transition Class, 39. 
 Trieste, 193. 
 
 Uebeljamo, 193. 
 
 Union of sexes necessary in Educa- 
 tion, 258-9, 266-7. 
 
 Vegesack, 190. 
 
 Venice, 1S6, 198 note. 
 
 Verden, 186. 
 
 Verona, 186. 
 
 Vida-Levi, Mme. della, 198 note. 
 
 Vienna, 192 ; K. G. Association of, 
 
 192. 
 Vietor, Pastor, 186. 
 Vocation in Life made clear by K. G., 
 
 131- 
 
 Vogeler, Mme., see Seele, Ida. 
 
 Waldorf, 191. 
 
 Wales, H.R.H. The Prince of, 206. 
 
 Waltershausen, 182. 
 
 Ward, Miss, 205. 
 
 Wutzum, 187. 
 
 Weekly Journal, Froebel's, 115, 176, 
 
 245- 
 Weida, 183. 
 Weimar, — Grand Duchess of, 45 ; 153, 
 
 182, 203, 295. 
 Weisserifels, 185. 
 Weisskirchen, 194. 
 Westphalia, 190. 
 Wichern, J. X., 286 ; — and Home 
 
 Missions, 312 note. 
 Wiebe, Edw., 211. 
 Wiesbaden, 186. 
 
 Wiggin, Miss (San Francisco), 210. 
 
 Winterthur, 196. 
 
 Wiseneder, Mme. (Music for K.G.), 
 
 37. 187. 
 
 Wismar, 189. 
 
 " Wives and Maidens, Appeal to 
 German," 1844, 220. 
 
 " Wives and Mothers of Blanken- 
 burg, Letter to the," 1839, 215. 
 
 Wochenschrift, see Weekly Jour- 
 nal. 
 
 Wolfenbiittel, 187. 
 
 Woman's true work (as an Educator), 
 221 and seq , 257-60. 
 
 Woman's subjective influence in Edu- 
 cation, 258-9. 
 
 Women, Civilization of Mankind by 
 (Martin), 155. 
 
 "Women, Appeal to German," 
 1848, 262. 
 
 Worms, 191. 
 
 Wriezen, 189. 
 
 Writing, 254. 
 
 Wurtemberg, 191. 
 
 Wurzburgj 191. 
 
 Zeitschrift, etc., see FroebeVs Edicc. 
 
 Aims, Journal for. 
 Zeitz, 185. 
 Zerbst, 187. 
 Zittau, 184. 
 Znaim, 193. 
 Zoblitz, 177, 242. 
 Zollikofer, Mile., 194. 
 Zulus, 202. 
 Zurich, 196. 
 
 Kiitler & "tanner, the Selwood Printing Works, Froine, and London. 
 
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