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THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 HEiNRicH Heine 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-TWO HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED 
 
 LETTERS ADDRESSED BY HIM TO DIFFERENT 
 
 MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY 
 
 EDITED BY HIS NEPHEW 
 
 Baron LUDWIG von EMBDEN 
 
 AND TRANSLATED BY 
 
 CHARLES GODFREY LELAND 
 
 LONDON 
 
 WILLIAM HEINEMANN 
 
 1896 
 
 [All rights reserved] 
 
First Published, March iSi^j 
 
 ••• 
 
 :• : 
 
PREFACE 
 
 BY THE ENGLISH TRANSLATOR. 
 
 It would really appear, in this our age of disillusion, 
 as if there were nothing to be expected save the 
 unexpected, and that no popular persuasion or con- 
 viction ever endures investigation. We have seen, 
 from Niebuhr to Mommsen, that all old legends are 
 old humbugs, that nobody ever said " Up, Guards, 
 and at 'em ! " nor ^^ La vieille Garde meurt mats ne 
 se rend jamais r And now we learn of Heinrich- 
 Harry Heine, who has been the pet vaurie7t and bad 
 boy, the witty and wicked incarnation of ^' flashing 
 wit and blasting mockery," the *^ later Byron " and 
 the ** German Shelley," and the ideal and idol of all 
 the enemies of Philistia, that he was — counter to the 
 course of all his kind — at heart and at home one 
 of the gentlest, most devoted lovers of quiet domes- 
 tic life who ever lived. This has come to light 
 by the publication of Heinrich Heine^s Familien 
 Leben, or ^'Family Life," by his nephew, Baron 
 vonEmbden, a work consisting ofT22 nitherto un- 
 pubHshed letters of the poet, chiefly to his mother 
 and sister, from the age of twenty to his death. 
 These letters are connected by brief, comprehensive, 
 
 447020 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 and judicious additions and comments by the editor, 
 the whole forming in their brief compass what we 
 must regard as being on the whole the best Life of 
 Heine which has as yet appeared. 
 
 It has been said by a reviewer that these new 
 documents ^' are an addition to literary biography 
 rather than to literature proper ; that there is hardly 
 a trace in these intimate loving letters of the spirit 
 which we associate with the poet; but that they 
 will be none the less welcome on that account, and 
 that this revelation of Heine's tenderness in his 
 family relations is indeed most welcome, human- 
 ising, and restful." We may go a step further, and 
 say that to the slightly-informed general reader they 
 may not seem to be at all remarkable as regards the 
 startling or sensational, but, as revealing the true 
 inner life of Heinrich Heine, they literally form one 
 of the great surprises of literature. The reader who 
 has noted what I have said in prefaces and notes to 
 my translations of his works cannot fail to have 
 observed that I laid very great stress on the extra- 
 ordinary contradictions, sometimes jarring, sometimes 
 in brilliant and beautiful contrast, which his character 
 presents, and which, as I said, entitled him to be 
 called, in preference to Jean Paul Richter, the Only 
 One in literature. Nevertheless, there was one 
 thing — that is to say, a complete abandon to Hel- 
 lenism, or ^' the world, the flesh, and the devil " — to 
 which he was always consistent. The mad-eyed 
 priestesses of ancient Babylon, the hetaira of Greece 
 and the odalisque, the unclad witches of the Sabbat, 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 lorettes and grisettes, e tutte quante^ dance through 
 his dreams and seem to inspire his Hfe. Nay, he 
 even tells us that " once I would fain have broke 
 the halberds with which the Gardens of Delight are 
 guarded," — meaning that he would have made free 
 love the law, or want of law, for the world. And 
 now we learn, as a final overwhelming proof of his 
 bizarre nature, that this rouew?iS> in reality all his life 
 long possessed by such an intense absorbing love for 
 his old mother and sister, and had constantly after 
 marriage such a faithful moral devotion to his wife, 
 ever fervently and truly expressed, as there are 
 few parallels for in literary biography. Macaulay 
 declares that the culminating point of Barrere's ini- 
 quity was in the fact that he had always been a pro- 
 fessing Christian; and by antithesis one may say 
 that all that was needed to complete Heine's true 
 character was to discover that he was really a model 
 husband, a son who worshipped his mother as if she 
 had been an angel, and had for his sister till his 
 last breath a chivalric devotion and admiration — all 
 natural and unaffected — far surpassing in depth and 
 beauty anything in his poems. From this point of 
 view, or as a surprise, this book is very remarkable 
 indeed, and I doubt not that the reader will agree 
 with me in the conviction which I formed as I read 
 it, that as a study of character it is the most inte- 
 resting of Heine's works. He informs us himself 
 in one of these letters that his wife had always 
 twenty-four hours' notice to prepare him for any 
 kind of surprise whatever, little thinking how one 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 day he was destined to surprise the world as Bene- 
 dict the married man ! 
 
 The teleologist who believes with Emerson in 
 compensation, and with the Christian in retribution, 
 will find great satisfaction in the fact, which appears 
 as in a mirror in these pages, that he who had 
 brought Von Platen to his grave by cruel slander, 
 and who had made his " venomed teeth and claws " 
 felt by every enemy on the slightest provocation, 
 who had ridiculed others for poverty, old age, and 
 unavoidable personal defects, and had heaped bitterly 
 ungrateful falsehoods on his old teacher Schlegel, to 
 whom he was under deep obligation — for Heine did 
 all this — was destined himself to suffer bitterly in 
 advanced life for want of money, and undergo long 
 tortures from not only cramps, paralysis, and blind- 
 ness, but to be tormented with a two years' lawsuit 
 with an ungrateful millionaire cousin, whom he had 
 nursed at the extreme risk of his own life all through 
 the cholera of 1832, and to feel himself obliged to 
 work hard for a living through all these trials. 
 
 The mother is the principal character in these 
 letters, and it is evident that from his earliest youth 
 to his dying hour he had for her a devotion, '' a reve- 
 rent and provident tenderness," which is as surprising 
 by depth of feeling as by the manner in which it 
 manifests itself delicately in all little things. One 
 may indeed say, to use the grand old word in very 
 truth, that in every relation with his mother, and on 
 every similar occasion to his sister and wife, Heine 
 shows himself a perfect gentleman. If the need be 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 to borrow a small sum of money, or ask her to attend 
 to some detail of forwarding a few books, he mani- 
 fests tact and refinement in endeavouring to spare 
 her trouble of any kind. All of this is without affec- 
 tation or a trace of effort to seem affectionate; in 
 fact, it is in their pure homely simplicity and earnest- 
 ness of affection that these letters are so attractive 
 and so beautiful. And as deeply sincere and touch- 
 ing are the many quaint old German terms of love 
 which he uses, ^' Dear old Mousey," ^* Kiss my dear 
 old mother, whom I love more than all the cats in 
 the world " — this in reference to a child-speech by 
 his brother, who had said he loved his mother more 
 than six cats. Also, " One should kiss the ground 
 on which thou hast trod ; " and finally, the beautiful 
 saying, " After all, I believe there is but one person 
 on whom a man can perfectly rely, and that is his 
 mother. There he is safe. He who doubts it, it 
 were better that he should at once quit the world." 
 
 It is very touching to observe how Heine, always 
 in extremes of suffering of many kinds and bed- 
 ridden, endeavours to make his mother believe that 
 he is getting better, and accounts for his paralysed 
 handwriting by the badness of the pens or similar 
 little devices. 
 
 The letters of Heine to his sister are inspired 
 with *' a passionate affection " allied to the most 
 delicate and unaffected respect. Even in his most 
 familiar jesting we detect a deep admiration for her 
 excellence, which inspires a longing in the reader 
 to have known one who could thus have influenced 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 such a man. He who has ever deeply reverenced 
 and loved to the end of life any one woman has 
 learned thereby to somewhat honour all, and from 
 boyhood to his dying hour, when Lottie stood by 
 him, she and the mother were to him as lights of 
 love and of faith in humanity. It is something to 
 know that Heine had such faith in such great 
 measure, since of all men he is supposed to have 
 been most devoid of it, or of love. Heine's first 
 letter to his sister Lottie ends with the words " Bist 
 Du auch werth dass ich Dick so sehr Hebe " — " Dost 
 thou really deserve that I should love thee so much ? " 
 And anon : ^^ I love thee inexpressibly, and yearn 
 to see thee. There is no soul on earth in whose 
 company I am so happy {wohl zu Muth) as in that 
 of my sister. We understand one another so per- 
 fectly; we only are in our senses, and the whole 
 world is mad." And again, " Thou good, dear, trans- 
 parent [durchsichtiges) child — dear, sweet, crystal 
 doll ! I ween that God meant all mankind to kiss thy 
 hands. That I believe — that is my religion." There 
 is no indication whatever anywhere that this vene- 
 ration and refined courtesy for mother and sister 
 was ever forgotten for an instant. A deep sense 
 of gratitude to both for having kept him above 
 despair pervaded every instant of his fife, so that 
 the motto for these letters might have been 
 " Tua erga me beneficia nunquam a memoria dis^ 
 cedent" 
 
 But by far the greatest interest which has been 
 or will be taken in this book is centered in the 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 character of Heine's wife, and here in this rela- 
 tion — all things duly considered — the poet gains 
 even more than he did as regarded the mother 
 and sister. For the latter were calm, dignified, and 
 refined German ladies, while Mathilde Crescenzia 
 Mirat, whose very name, as Heine said, always hurt 
 his throat, was the ideal of a Favismn^lle dupeuple — 
 a constant blessing and an endless tease, a loving 
 faithful nurse and an extravagant little sponge, 
 devoted to her husband, whom she, however, scolded 
 constantly, but far more devoted to her cockatoo, 
 Cocotte, who scolded all the world, and who appears 
 to have been morally and intellectually the very 
 counterpart of his mistress. Cocotte plays a great 
 r61e in this book; we seem to hear his appalling 
 screeches whenever the poet is trying to concentrate 
 his thoughts amid agonising headaches; when the 
 writer is sending his regards to friends, the parrot 
 squawks out his greetings too; in fine, it is an 
 uncanny demon of the air. And yet Heine tells his 
 mother with deep feeling that he could not live 
 without " his birds " — Mathilde being one of them. 
 Heine had, as he said, quarrelled with her daily for 
 six years — ?>., lived with her *' in wild wedlock " — 
 ere, on account of a silly duel, he married her that 
 she might inherit a good name and his small 
 property. It is as amusing as touching to observe 
 in the letters how from this time Heine loses no 
 opportunity of rehabilitating as it were his wife, 
 representing her as devoted and refined ; and then 
 the numerous artful little ways which he employs 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 to create the impression that Mathilde is deeply 
 devoted to her German connections and ever think- 
 ing of them ! It seems that Heine not only really 
 loved her, but was vain and proud of his love, being 
 determined to prove not only to the world, but to 
 himself y that he had married wisely and well. 
 
 In her years of youthful beauty she was very 
 beautiful; she had the liveliness, tastes, and ex- 
 tremely limited intellect (which does not preclude a 
 kind of quaint wit) of the ordinary French grisette, 
 and Heine, while making due allowance for her 
 own rather extra allowance of bon beCy or cheek and 
 garrulity, frivolity and extravagance, enjoyed and 
 made the most of her good qualities. What is very 
 amusing is that Heine, though he had lived with 
 her for six years, from the day of his marriage 
 evidently turned over a new leaf and regarded her 
 quite as a new person — one may almost say as a 
 delightful and interesting stranger. He is going to 
 teach her German — '*she will be gebildet and an 
 ornament to the family" — like a lover with a new 
 lady-toy. Alas ! Mathilde never learned a syl- 
 lable beyond " Guten Tag, mein Herr ; nehmen sie 
 Platz ! " and when she had fired off this volley at 
 some newly-arrived German visitor, she would break 
 into a peal of laughter and rush forth, leaving the 
 guest greatly amazed at his singular reception and 
 alone, till he was sent for to the sick-room of her 
 husband. Heine always calls her die Verschwen- 
 derin, or the Spendthrift, yet he does not mind her 
 wasting money so far as he is concerned, but because 
 
PREFACE. xiii 
 
 she will have the less to live on after his death. 
 ''After all," he says, with charming magnanimity, 
 "she is only spending her own money." Many 
 little hints indicate that the strange yet perfectly 
 well-matched couple had always been devotedly 
 faithful to one another ; they alternately quarrelled, 
 kissed, and had champagne dinners at Very's, when 
 Mathilde, by an ingenious fib, could persuade Hein- 
 rich that there was nothing in the larder but mutton, 
 and, enfin^ '' she nursed him devotedly through the 
 last terrible long years, and after his death showed 
 a loyalty as quarrelsome as ever to his memory." 
 
 Victor Ottmann mentions that Karpeles in his 
 Heine-book compares the Christiane Vulpius of 
 Goethe to Mathilde, and it is well known that the 
 world has never been weary of amazing itself at 
 such incongruous mating of men of genius to women 
 below them in intellect or of an inferior station ; 
 which is " all very genteel " but extremely silly, 
 because a female Goethe or Heine, or anything like 
 them in any degree, is not an imaginable quantity. 
 The poet as a poet in his inspired hours must ever 
 be alone on earth ; at other times he is just like 
 other men, if not even less given than they are to 
 "intellectual reflection." To them a really natural 
 and simple if not vulgar girl, capable of deep attach- 
 ment and not devoid of liveHness, is a far more con- 
 genial companion than a Mademoiselle Cathon or 
 Madelon, or any other precieuse^ who, to a higher 
 perception, only amounts to the grisette a little var- 
 nished. The little buzzing flies who see such vast 
 
xiv PREFACE. 
 
 differences in one another look very much alike to 
 a man at a yard's distance, but the ordinary mind 
 can never comprehend that what is of tremendous 
 importance to it is not the same to every one. 
 This consideration should be borne in mind while 
 reading this book, for it will explain to the reader 
 why it was that Heine took an interest in his merry, 
 quarrelling, devoted, French grisette wife; why he 
 identified his honour and feelings with hers, instead 
 of laughing at her, as a meaner man might have 
 done, and why, in fact, they were well matched — as 
 all couples are who are resolved to be so, and who 
 can hold to it. 
 
 Baron von Embden (the nephew of Heine and 
 son of Heine's sister Charlotte, who still lives, an 
 old lady of ninety) has done his work well in editing 
 this book, and certainly has not sinned by undue 
 verbosity, or giving any of that family twaddle 
 which prevails so vastly in such works. In de- 
 scribing the fire of Hamburg, and the heroic conduct 
 of his mother in endeavouring to save the poet's 
 papers, he gives a graphic and succinct sketch such 
 as even his uncle never surpassed, and there are 
 in the work many other touches which indicate a 
 vigorous and practical mind. In fact, the straight- 
 forward honesty with which he speaks plainly of 
 the tricks and devices of old Campe, of the Hamburg 
 uncle's coarse eccentricity, and of the ingratitude of 
 Carl Heine, are really astonishing, and all the more 
 so because there is no ill-temper or evidence of 
 personal ill-feeling in it all, but, on the contrary, a 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 very manifest desire to speak as well of them all as 
 truth permitted. To conclude, very nearly in the 
 words of a German reviewer, Victor Ottmann : We 
 cannot read this book without deepest sympathy 
 with the author of the letters, who was a much 
 enduring and bold champion, whatever else may be 
 thought of him. Therefore the work fulfils a good 
 object, for it is likely to destroy many an unjust pre- 
 judice ; it will render far more clear and intelligible 
 the artistic creative power of Heinrich Heine, and 
 brings us humanly nearer to the unhappy poet. 
 The keynote of the letters is best expressed in the 
 sorrowful plaint to his sister : — 
 
 " Shadowy love and shadowy kisses, 
 Shadowy life — so strangely flow, 
 Deemst thou, sister, all these blisses 
 Can remain for ever so ? 
 
 What we firmly held while loving 
 Flits like shadows o'er the deep ; 
 
 Hearts forget while onward moving, 
 Eyes at last are lost in sleep." 
 
 CHARLES GODFREY LELAND. 
 
 Florence, December 17, 1892. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 LET 
 
 TER 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LETTER 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. 
 
 Bonn, March 22, 1820 . . 
 
 4 
 
 36. 
 
 Paris, Sept. 18, 1843 . 
 
 78 
 
 2. 
 
 Berlin, Feb. 2, 1823. . . 
 
 5 
 
 ?>7' 
 
 Sept. 21, 1843 . 
 
 80 
 
 3. 
 
 Mays, 1823. • • 
 
 7 
 
 38. 
 
 ,, Oct. 18, 1843 
 
 81 
 
 4. 
 
 Ritzebiittel, July 28, 1823 . 
 
 8 
 
 39- 
 
 ,, Oct. 21, 1843 . 
 
 82 
 
 5- 
 
 Liinebiu-g, Sept. 15, 1823 . 
 
 9 
 
 40. 
 
 Bremen, Oct. 28, 1843 . 
 
 82 
 
 6. 
 
 Oct. 12, 1823 . 
 
 II 
 
 41. 
 
 Hanover, Dec. 9, 1843 . 
 
 84 
 
 7. 
 
 Nov. 7, 1823 . 
 
 12 
 
 42. 
 
 Cologne, Dec. 14, 1843 
 
 8s 
 
 8. 
 
 Dec. 8, 1823 . 
 
 13 
 
 43- 
 
 Brussels, Dec. 18, 1843 
 
 8S 
 
 9- 
 
 Dec. 26, 1823 . 
 
 T4 
 
 44. 
 
 Paris, Jan. 23, 1844 
 
 86 
 
 10. 
 
 Jan. 9, 1824 . 
 
 IS 
 
 4S. 
 
 ,, Feb. 20, 1844 • 
 
 87 
 
 II. 
 
 Gottingen, Jan. 31, 1824 . 
 
 18 
 
 46. 
 
 ,, March 4, 1844 . 
 
 88 
 
 12. 
 
 ,, March 30, 1824 
 
 20 
 
 47. 
 
 ,, July II, 1844 . 
 
 88 
 
 13- 
 
 ,, May 8, 1824 . 
 
 22 
 
 48. 
 
 ,. July 13, 1844 . 
 
 90 
 
 14. 
 
 ,, Aug. 9, 1824 . 
 
 26 
 
 49. 
 
 Amsterdam, Oct. 11, 1844 
 
 98 
 
 IS. 
 
 May II, 1825 . 
 
 27 
 
 SO- 
 
 Paris, Oct. 17, 1844 
 
 99 
 
 16. 
 
 July 31, 1825 . 
 
 29 
 
 SI. 
 
 
 , Oct. 24, 1844 
 
 . lOI 
 
 17. 
 
 LiJneburg, Oct. 1826 . . 
 
 37 
 
 S2. 
 
 
 , Nov. 28, 1844 . 
 
 lOI 
 
 18. 
 
 Heligoland, July 28, 1830 . 
 
 42 
 
 S3. 
 
 
 , Nov. 28, 1844 . 
 
 102 
 
 19. 
 
 Aug. 1830 
 
 44 
 
 54. 
 
 
 , Dec. 23, 1844 . 
 
 103 
 
 20. 
 
 Paris, Oct. 25, 1833 . . . 
 
 SO 
 
 55. 
 
 
 Dec. 29, 1844 • 
 
 loS 
 
 21. 
 
 „ Sept. 13, 1841 
 
 
 56 
 
 56. 
 
 
 June 24, 1845 • 
 
 . 109 
 
 22. 
 
 ,, March 8, 1842 
 
 
 57 
 
 57- 
 
 
 , Oct. 31, 1845 . 
 
 . no 
 
 23. 
 
 ,, May 13, 1842 
 
 
 60 
 
 58. 
 
 
 , April 23, 1846 . 
 
 . Ill 
 
 24. 
 
 ,, May 17, 1842 
 
 
 61 
 
 59. 
 
 
 , Dec. 26, 1846 . 
 
 112 
 
 25- 
 
 ,, May 16, 1842 
 
 
 63 
 
 60. 
 
 
 , Feb. 28, 1847 . 
 
 112 
 
 26. 
 
 ,, June 23, 1842 
 
 
 64 
 
 61. 
 
 
 March 27, 1847 . 
 
 114 
 
 27. 
 
 ,, Aug. 10, 1842 
 
 
 65 
 
 62. 
 
 
 , April 19, 1847 . 
 
 117 
 
 28. 
 
 ,, Nov. 28, 1842 
 
 
 66 
 
 63. 
 
 
 , May 8, 1847 . . 
 
 . 119 
 
 29. 
 
 „ Feb. II, 1843 
 
 
 70 
 
 64. 
 
 Montmorency, June 7, 184; 
 
 7 120 
 
 30. 
 
 ,, Feb. 21, 1843 
 
 
 71 
 
 65. 
 
 ,, June 22, 184; 
 
 7 121 
 
 31. 
 
 ,, March 22, 1843 
 
 
 72 
 
 66. 
 
 July 27, 184' 
 
 7 121 
 
 32. 
 
 ,, April 8, 1843 . 
 
 
 73 
 
 67. 
 
 ,, Sept. 21, 184 
 
 7 123 
 
 33- 
 
 ,, May 23, 1843 
 
 
 74 
 
 68. 
 
 Paris, Oct. 28, 1847 . . 
 
 . 124 
 
 34. 
 
 ,, June 18, 1843 
 
 
 76 
 
 69. 
 
 ,, Nov. 6, 1847 . . 
 
 . 125 
 
 35- 
 
 Trouville, Aug. 5, 1843 
 
 
 77 
 
 70. 
 
 , 
 
 , Dec. 4, 1847 . . 
 
 . 126 
 
xviii 
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 
 
 LETTER 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 LETTER 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 71. 
 
 Paris, Dec. 29, 1847 
 
 . . 127 
 
 1 97. Paris, Feb. 5, 1851 . . 
 
 • 175 
 
 72. 
 
 
 Jan. 19, 1848 
 
 . . 128 
 
 98. „ 
 
 March 12, 1851 
 
 . 177 
 
 73. 
 
 
 Jan. 27, 1848 
 
 . . 129 
 
 99. M 
 
 June 7, 1 85 1 
 
 . 179 
 
 74- 
 
 
 March 30, 1848 
 
 . . 131 
 
 100. ,, 
 
 July 9, 1851 . . 
 
 . 181 
 
 75- 
 
 Passy, May 27, 1848 
 
 . 137 
 
 lOI. ,, 
 
 Aug. 21, 1851 . 
 
 . 185 
 
 76. 
 
 
 June 10, 1848 
 
 . • 139 
 
 J02. 
 
 Dec. 5, 1851 
 
 . 188 
 
 n. 
 
 
 Aug. 12, 1848 
 
 . . 141 
 
 103. „ 
 
 Jan. 28, 1852 . 
 
 . 191 
 
 78. 
 
 
 Sept. II, 1848 
 
 . 142 
 
 104. „ 
 
 April 12, 1852 . 
 
 • 195 
 
 79. 
 
 P^£ 
 
 5, Oct. 19, 1848 
 
 • 143 
 
 105. „ 
 
 June 12, 1852 . 
 
 . 197 
 
 80. 
 
 
 Dec. 28, 1848 
 
 • 144 
 
 106. ,, 
 
 Aug. 2, 1852 . 
 
 . 199 
 
 81. 
 
 
 March 29, 1849 
 
 . 144 
 
 107. „ 
 
 Sept. 30, 1852 . 
 
 . 200 
 
 82. 
 
 
 April 21, 1849 
 
 . 14s 
 
 108. „ 
 
 Dec, 29, 1852 . 
 
 . 203 
 
 83. 
 
 
 June 14, 1849 
 
 . 146 
 
 109. „ 
 
 March 18, 1853 
 
 . 204 
 
 84. 
 
 
 Aug. 7, 1849 
 
 . 146 
 
 no. ,, 
 
 May 7, 1853 . 
 
 . 205 
 
 85. 
 
 
 Aug. 19, 1849 
 
 . 147 
 
 III. „ 
 
 June 21, 1853 . 
 
 . 207 
 
 86. 
 
 
 Oct. 24, 1849 , 
 
 . 148 
 
 112. ,, 
 
 July 16, 1853 . 
 
 . 208 
 
 87. 
 
 
 Jan. 21, 1850 
 
 . 149 
 
 113. .. 
 
 Aug. 18, 1853 . 
 
 . 211 
 
 88. 
 
 
 March 15, 1850 
 
 • 153 
 
 114. .. 
 
 Dec. 3, 1853 . . 
 
 . 213 
 
 89. 
 
 
 May 6, 1850 . . 
 
 • 155 
 
 "5. M 
 
 June 26, 1854 . 
 
 . 217 
 
 90. 
 
 
 June 15, 1850 . 
 
 . 158 
 
 116. „ 
 
 Aug. 31, 1854 . 
 
 . 2ig 
 
 91- 
 
 
 June 18, 1850 . 
 
 . 161 
 
 117- M 
 
 Nov. 6, 1854 . 
 
 . 221 
 
 92. 
 
 
 July 25, 1850 . 
 
 . 163 
 
 118. ,, 
 
 Nov. 7, 1854 . 
 
 . 221 
 
 93- 
 
 
 Aug. 3, 1850 . 
 
 . 165 
 
 119. „ 
 
 March 20, 1855 
 
 . 223 
 
 94. 
 
 
 Sept. 26, 1850 . 
 
 . 166 
 
 120. 
 
 Aug. 10, 1855 . 
 
 . 227 
 
 95. 
 
 
 Nov. 23, 1850 . 
 
 . 169 
 
 121. ,, 
 
 Oct. 24, 185s . 
 
 . 229 
 
 96. 
 
 
 Dec. 2, 1850 
 
 . 173 
 
 122. ,, 
 
 Nov. 19, 1855 . 
 
 . 230 
 
 
 
 
 APPEl 
 
 ^DIX. 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. A Letter from the Nurse, Madame Catherine Bourlois, describing 
 
 Heine's last hours 257 
 
 2. The Will of Heinrich Heine, registered Paris, February 20, 1856 . 259 
 
 3. Letters from Madame Mathilde Heine 265 
 
 4. The reply of the French Publisher, M. Levy .... 273 
 
 5. The Agreement of Sale regarding Heine's Literary Remains with 
 
 Messrs. Hoffmann & Campe 276 
 
THE FAMILY LIFE 
 
 HEINRICH HEINE 
 
 The domestic life (^Familienlebeii) of Heinrich Heine 
 has been set forth, inaccurately or unjustty, in diffe- 
 rent ways, and his relations to those most nearly 
 allied to him have often been harshly misrepresented. 
 In accordance with the wishes of his numerous 
 admirers, and to give, so far as possible, an accu- 
 rate idea of the character of the poet, my mother, 
 who is far advanced in years, and who is Heinrich 
 Heine's only sister, charged me to publish, ere 
 she departed, his family letters, which have been 
 hitherto kept as a cherished relic, and with them 
 certain reminiscences of her brother. 
 
 Heinrich Heine was during all his life in regular 
 correspondence with his mother and sister, while 
 after his residence in Paris he only wrote to his 
 brothers briefly and in the most superficial manner. 
 
 Heinrich Heine, born on the 13th December 
 1799 in Diisseldorf, died on the 17th February in 
 Paris in 1856, and has now reposed thirty-six years 
 in his vault in the churchyard of Montmartre. 
 
i'° 'W.r. A THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 What great changes there have been since the 
 departure of the poet, and what great political revo- 
 lutions ! His idealistic dreams of the future have 
 been realised ; ^ the petty provincialism {Klein- 
 stddterei), with its vexation and absolutism, which 
 so often provoked his mockery, has disappeared, 
 and a newly risen Germany has bound our different 
 States into a great and strong nation. 
 
 The satire and jest of the poet was never aimed 
 at the ideal, but at the realistic remnants of par- 
 ticularism 2 and religious impatience, and above all, 
 their apostles, who impeded and opposed the pressure 
 of progress among the people. The poet's impulse 
 towards truth and freedom inspired him to sketch 
 the contradictions of his time ironically and harshly, 
 to cast light on the contrasts and anomalies of a 
 narrow-minded view of life, and, in humorous 
 fashion, expose the follies of society so as to un- 
 mercifully rouse them from their torpid lairs. 
 
 To this day his opponents feel themselves 
 wounded and weakened in their narrow-minded 
 reactionary views, and deliberately misunderstand- 
 ing his efforts at reform, they judge according to 
 things as they are, and cast suspicion on his 
 patriotism. This is an all the more unjust accusa- 
 tion, because the poet in his verse and prose often 
 
 1 Good words and well expressed, but it is true that Heine gene- 
 rally argued too sagaciously from facts for his predictions to be 
 termed dreams. — Translator. 
 
 ^ A good word not known to us in English, indicating the petti- 
 ness or old fogyism of detail, such as preference of small interests to 
 great, and much allied to Kleinstddterei. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 3^ 
 
 bewailed his exile, and set forth his yearning for 
 Germany : — 
 
 " Oh, Germany, my distant dearie, 
 I almost weep to think of thee ! 
 This merry France to me is weary, 
 Its lightness is a load to me." 
 
 Samson Heine, the father of the poet, who was 
 born in 1765 in Hanover, came in 1796 to Diissel- 
 dorf, where he became intimate with the highly 
 respected family Van Geldern, and married on the 
 6th of June 1798 their daughter Betty, from which 
 marriage were born three sons, Heinrich, Gustav, 
 and Max, and one daughter, Charlotte. 
 
 Samson Heine established his home in Diisseldorf, 
 and the present house in the Volkerstrasse with the 
 marble votive tablet may be indeed on the place 
 where that in which Heinrich Heine was born once 
 stood, but there is at present not one stone left of 
 the original old dwelling, built more than a century 
 ago, since it was long ago torn down, then rebuilt, 
 and the new structure also demolished and replaced 
 in turn.^ 
 
 Heine's sister declared publicly, when she learned 
 that the present dwellers in the house showed 
 strangers two rooms in a stable-like back building, 
 which were reached through a narrow hencoop, as 
 the place where Heine was born, that those rooms 
 were never inhabited by her parents, and that the 
 poet's cradle certainly never stood there. 
 
 ^ Dasselbe zweimal abgerissen und wieder neu aufgebaut worden. 
 — Translator. 
 
4 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Heinrich Heine, whose intellectual development, 
 even as a boy, held forth the fairest hopes, was, 
 against his inclination, after he had passed through 
 the classes of the Diisseldorf Lyceum, brought up 
 by his parents for business {filr den Kaufmaiins- 
 stand). The latter, convinced, after several fruitless 
 efforts, that he was not quahfied for such pursuits, 
 yielded to his desires, and allowed him to study. 
 After the due preparation of a course at the Gym- 
 nasium, Heinrich Heine entered the University of 
 Bonn at the end of the year 1819. His family had 
 removed, after a short residence in Oldesloe, to 
 Liineburg, and after the journey his sister received 
 the following : — 
 
 I. 
 
 Bonn, March 22, 1820. 
 
 Dear Lottchen (Lottie), — I appeal to all my 
 letters. Thou shouldst write to me how all is going 
 on there, and what happened during the journey. 
 The hall of the Musical Union (Musikvereiii) is 
 certainly hung with black crape, and for four- 
 teen da3^s no allegro has been heard there, only 
 adagio. And how dead and silent the streets 
 must be ! Didst thou weep as thou wert driven 
 away ? How was it with you all upon the roads ? 
 I have sat many a night in my wooden chair, 
 and read mechanically on in my great learned 
 books while my thoughts wandered about on the 
 Luneburger Heath, and anxiously looked to see 
 whether your driver did not sleep, whether your 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 5 
 
 coach was in the right road, whether no wheel was 
 broken. 
 
 Dost thou really deserve that I should love thee 
 so much ? Harry Heine/ 
 
 Stud, juris. 
 
 After remaining one year in Bonn, Heinrich Heine 
 went to Gottingen, and then in the next year to 
 Berlin, where he matriculated at the University 
 in 1 82 1. He studied law and pohtical economy 
 {Kameralwissenschaften) ; but, in spite of the rather 
 dry work, remained true to his poetic impulses, 
 and made songs and romances in abundance. His 
 stay in Berlin and his intimate relations with the 
 elite of literary circles in the city of the royal resi- 
 dence (Residenz) developed more and more his 
 literary activity ; his works soon attracted general 
 interest, and even at that time he began to be famed 
 as a poet. 
 
 His sister Charlotte, who remained visiting her 
 uncle in Hamburg, betrothed herself to the merchant 
 Moritz Embden ^ of that city, who received in conse- 
 quence of the family festival held on the occasion the 
 following letter : — 
 
 II. 
 
 Berlin, February 2, 1823. 
 Dear Embden, — Your letter of the 23rd of March 
 gave me great pleasure. I congratulate you on your 
 
 ^ Harry, not Heinrich, was the name given to Heine by his 
 father, after that of a friend. — Translator. 
 
 2 Born in 1790, died in 1866. He left a son and three daughters. 
 
6 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 i)etrothal to my sister. Although I was deeply 
 moved by the news, and certainly far more than 
 any one supposed I was capable of being, it did not 
 Strike me as '' a strange whim of fate/' but far more 
 as something which I had long known — indeed, for 
 years — though during all my inner and outer storms 
 of life I had forgotten it. 
 
 I hope that you and my sister will be a happy 
 pair, for Lottie is capable of appreciating the value 
 of your character, and you also know the worth of 
 hers, because you will not, like our falsely-educated 
 dean mondey only appreciate in a woman certai7i one- 
 sided prominent advantages of intellect, or of the 
 heart or person, but will most surely, if I judge aright, 
 perceive and feel true culture in a beautiful symmetry 
 or equal proportion of all mental powers, and in 
 the harmony of soul and body, that which is best 
 worthy of love. My Lottie is music, perfect sym- 
 metry, and harmony. A brother need not fear to use 
 such expressions freely to the bridegroom. 
 
 The political portion of your letter greatly pleased 
 me. I am glad that the future husband of my sister 
 is no revolutionary ; and I find it natural enough 
 that a man who is a son aise and a happy bride- 
 groom does not desire the overthrow of existing 
 forms, and is desirous of his own peace and that of 
 Europe. Other views of life influence me ; and I 
 must confess that I feel rather strangely when I read 
 by chance in the newspapers that men have frozen 
 to death in the streets of London and others died of 
 hunger in Naples. But though I may be in England 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 7 
 
 a Radical and a Carbonaro in Italy, I still do not 
 belong to the demagogues in Germany, just for the 
 merely accidental trifling reason that in case the 
 latter should triumph, some thousands of Jewish 
 heads, and those just the best, must needs be cut 
 off. But however decidedly our views may differ 
 as to the questions of the day, or even be dia- 
 metrically opposed, I am still convinced that this 
 will not in the least have an unfavourable influence 
 on our intercourse as friends and relatives {ver- 
 wandtschaftliche Freimdschaf{)y which,- even from 
 afar (as a discontented antipathy will always keep 
 me away from Hamburg), will often cheer, edify, 
 and calm, by sensible advice and kind encourage- 
 ment, one who, like myself, lives in discontent, error, 
 and strife. H. HEINE. 
 
 III. 
 
 Berlin, May i^ 1823. 
 Dear Embden, — I have duly received your letter 
 of April 28, and hasten to comply with your wish to 
 see my tragedy by sending you a copy of it as a 
 token of my regard. May the little book meet with 
 a favourable reception from you, and its moral worth 
 be duly recognised. You will read therein how men 
 and races all do pass away, yet how this perishing 
 depends upon a great necessity above them all, and 
 meant by Providence to mighty aims.^ The true 
 poet does not give the story of his time, but of all 
 
 ^ The reference is here to Heine's play of " Ratcliff." 
 
8 THE FAMILY IJFE OF 
 
 times; and therefore a true poem is the mirror of 
 every age. 
 
 I will travel to-day to Liineburg, but am for the 
 moment very malade {sic), and write these lines 
 while suffering intense pain. 
 
 I greet thee from my heart, H. HEINE. 
 
 Soon after his sister's wedding, which took place 
 on June 22, 1823, he went to live near Ritzebiittel 
 to take sea-baths in Cuxhaven, as he suffered from 
 nerv^ous headaches brought on by over-work. 
 
 IV. 
 
 RlTZEBUTTEL,////j/ 28, 1 823. 
 
 Dear Lottie, — Here I am, and no more can I 
 say for suffering. I will go through the whole cure 
 here followed, and shall be all finished off and ready 
 by the 1st of September. Should a letter come for 
 me, then send it to me thus addressed, ^' H. Heine 
 of Berlin, living in the Harmonic, in Ritzebiittel." 
 There are very few people here; it is triste and 
 ennuyant, and everything horribly dear. I pay six 
 marks a day (about nine shillings), and there is 
 nothing cheaper to be had. Write to mother where 
 I am, and give my kind regards to Moritz and to 
 all who ask after me. And if thou canst write me 
 anything cheerful, then do so. — Thy loving brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 The sea-bathing acted favourably en Heine's 
 health, and after a short visit to his sister in Ham- 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 9 
 
 burg, he went and remained some months with his 
 parents in Liineburg. 
 
 V. 
 
 LiJNEBURG, September 15, 1S23. 
 
 Dear Brother-in-Law and dear Sister, — 
 I arrived here night before last in good hcahh, and 
 have also found my parents well and happy. I left 
 Hamburg at one o'clock, and had fine weather and 
 a rapid journey. It always remains the same old 
 morose Liineburg^ the royal residence of Tire- 
 someness. AimcJie7t was out of his wits for joy.-"- 
 Mother was not a little frightened, dear Lottie, to 
 hear of your mishap. I told her that her last 
 letter came with its good advice too late, but that 
 her hopes of becoming a grandmother will be even- 
 tually fulfilled, though time has been lost,^ I had 
 indeed a great deal to tell of you, as you may well 
 suppose. The thumbscrews were duly applied to 
 me. I gave mother a graphic sketch of your house- 
 maid, and she begs thee, dear Lottie, not to dismiss 
 this girl, for at the third thou'lt wish indeed thou hadst 
 the first again. Thou canst hardly believe, dear 
 Lottie, how much our mother thinks of thee by night 
 
 ^ Probably in reference to his clog Ami^ mentioned in the Reise- 
 bilder. — Tratislator. 
 
 2 It will doubtless be regretted by many readers that the grand- 
 motherly letter here alluded to was not included in the present 
 series. The Heines, old and young, appear to have been charm- 
 ingly and naively confidential as regards all their domestic affairs. — 
 I'ranslato?: 
 
lo THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and day. She wonders that thou hast become irri- 
 table {heftzg), and thinks that it is the result of thy 
 manner of living, and of spiced and rich food. I 
 could never tell her enougli as to thy appearance. I 
 was able to tell her with joy, dear Embden, how cor- 
 dially you {Sze) love my sister, how constantly you 
 care for her, endure her weaknesses, and bear her 
 caprices like a man, showing yourself always a brave 
 husband. Indeed, my friend, I count your little 
 skirmishes as nothing ; it is so everywhere ; the 
 intensest moment of marriage is a combat, even 
 unto bleeding ; and it is of no consequence that the 
 wife shows her teeth to the husband if they are 
 beautiful and white, that she weeps tears if they only 
 become her, or that she disdainfully tramples with 
 her feet if they are only pretty and small. And 
 what is so beautiful as reconciliation ! And Moritz 
 has such a good heart ! Yes, dear Embden, your heart 
 is very angular, but it is good ; and as for the rest of 
 your character, I must ever esteem and love it more 
 and more, though its roughnesses {Schroffheiten) are 
 remarkable, and my character is altogether differently 
 formed. I hope that we shall in consequence plea- 
 santly come to closer intimacy, and that you will 
 also find out and recognise the good which often 
 lies hidden in me. I have already given you proof 
 that I believe you possess a sharp, just view in prac- 
 tical life ; perhaps you may have observed that I, 
 in ideal life, that is to say, where ideas are con- 
 cerned, also see not less accurately and sharply. I 
 have profited much at favourable times by your in- 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. ii 
 
 sight, and I am very thankful to you for it. There- 
 unto I render gratitude for the excellent soups which 
 I have enjoyed at your table, for many a good glass 
 of wine, and for the many friendly acts wherein you 
 showed yourself a friend. 
 
 Keep me, therefore, in happy remembrance. Re- 
 member me kindly to all friends. — Fare well, and 
 keep in love your true H. HEINE. 
 
 VI. 
 
 LiJNEBURG, October 12, 1823. 
 
 Dear Lottie, — I duly received thy dear httle 
 letter of the 7th October, and kissed it abundantly. 
 Everything which thou writest in it is as neat and 
 pretty as if it had been turned by the cleverest con- 
 fectioner {Zitckerbdcker). Write to me often, for 
 thy every letter is a pleasure to me. We are all 
 quite well, father and mother being so, and Gustav 
 found himself only too much so. Maxy (Maxchen) 
 is industrious — the great pedant — but he is orderly, 
 and no one need fear him. 
 
 We have a new woman-cook, who is very cheeky 
 {frech). Keep thy maid, I counsel thee. My head 
 gets better day by day. What makes thee think 
 that I do not intend to carry out the plan of study- 
 ing law ? I love thee inexpressibly, and yearn in- 
 tensely to see thee again, for there is no one on 
 earth in whose company I am so happy (wo/il zii 
 Muthe) as in that of my sister. We understand one 
 another so well ; we alone are reasonable, and the 
 
12 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 rest of the world is mad. Write me a great deal of 
 what is new there. Spare thy health; too much 
 housekeeping up and down {das Herwmvirth- 
 schaften) is not good for thee. Be yielding to thy 
 husband; he is really a man of thoroughly good 
 heart. The difference between him and me is 
 exactly this, that the screws in his head are screwed 
 just a little too tight, while in mine they are just a 
 little too loose.^ 
 
 I have this instant received the address of the 
 books ; Jan is going to bring them. It is very tire- 
 some here, yet I am happy. Live well and love me 
 well. — Thy true brother, H. Heine. 
 
 VIL 
 
 LiJNEBURG, November 7, 1823. 
 
 Dear Lottie, — Thou art certainly vexed at me ; 
 and therefore I would not write to thee to-day if I 
 were not obliged to send thee the label bearing the 
 number which I forgot to put on the books. Send 
 me more books as soon as it may be possible. And 
 what had I to write to thee ? How we live thou 
 knowest. I am greatly honoured here. I am, in 
 particular, very often in society with the Superin- 
 tendent Christiani. Dr. Christian! has made me 
 famous in all Liineburg, and my verses circulate 
 {j'oulireji). And yet I constantly seek for some 
 soHtary retreat, for my headaches do not as yet 
 
 ^ Is this quaint popular German saying the original of our Eng- 
 lish expression, " To have a screw loose somewhere ?" — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 13 
 
 leave me, and they and my law-studies keep me too 
 busy. Of education and refinement there is none. 
 I verily believe that there is a non-conductor of 
 culture {jCulttirableiter) in the town-hall. But the 
 people are not bad. 
 
 How often do I think of thee, thou dear, good 
 transparent child ! ^ How often do I long to kiss 
 thy little alabaster paws ! Oh, do but love me as 
 much as thou canst ! What thou writest of Meth- 
 fessel to me delights me. Greet him right cordially. 
 I would indeed gladly hear my songs sung. I will 
 also try to have compositions for them by Klein. 
 We are all well. Fare well, sweet little crystal doll. 
 Make me a pair of woollen slippers. — Thy brother, 
 who loves thee, H. HEINE. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 LiJNEBURG, Deceiuber 8, 1823. 
 
 Dear little Soul, — It is long since I wrote to 
 thee, because I have been waiting for an answer to 
 my last letter. It is true that I should not have 
 minded that {IcJi hdtte inich freilich nicht daran 
 kehren sollcn), and might have written, but I had a 
 good excuse. I am, moreover, too much out of 
 temper to say anything cheerful, and thou knowest 
 that when my darkened hours {dilstere Stiinde) are 
 
 ^ DurchsicJitiges Kind. It is not complimentary to say in English 
 of any one that he is easily seen through ; but it is quite the reverse 
 in Germany, where clearness, frankness, and simple honesty with- 
 out any concealment or craft are really more generally esteemed 
 than in any other country, as this very expression proves. — Trans- 
 lator. 
 
14 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 on me, that I do not show myself to thee. Thou 
 shouldst always see me in a rosy light and love me. 
 Oh, how delighted I am to hear that thou wilt soon 
 come ! I can already hear thee — wau^ wau ! I 
 kiss the dear sounds already in advance in my ima- 
 gination. It will also please me to see Moritz. I 
 must needs feel kindly to him when I hear that he 
 loves thee so, as father never tires of telling. Oh, 
 how beautiful it is when you mutually learn how to 
 tolerate your mutual weak sides ! Mutual forbear- 
 ance, justice, and intelligence found a good married 
 state. Moritz will soon know how to treat such a 
 dear, pretty, marvellous glass toy as thou art. I 
 hope, dear Lottie, that thou art always well. Be 
 sure that I am always thinking of thee. I know 
 that our dear Lord would fain have all men kiss thy 
 hands. Therein do I believe ; that is my religion. 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 IX. 
 
 LiJNEBURG, December 26, 1823. 
 Dear Lottie, — It is a wrong which cries to 
 heaven that I do not get sight of a hne from thee. 
 How livest thou, and say what dost thou do ? Oh, 
 what a pain it is that I must travel forth without 
 having seen once more, and spoken to, and kissed 
 thee, sweet being ! I utterly bewilder myself every 
 morning by considering whether I would give one 
 or two of my fingers to live a few years by thee. I 
 would go to Hamburg to bid thee adieu if it were 
 not that I should there be obliged to run a gauntlet 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 15 
 
 of moral switches wielded by far too great an array 
 of acquaintances. 
 
 Write to me now and then when I am in Gottingen. 
 Thy letters bear the impress of thy pretty soul, and 
 are real bonbons for my heart. The thought of 
 thee, dear sister, must sometimes keep me upright, 
 when the great multitude bears me down with its 
 stupid hatred and disgusting love.^ I wish thee a 
 happy New Year, and also Moritz ; I will write to 
 him from Gottingen. Just now I have nothing to 
 say to him, and he is too good for mere formal letters 
 with the appropriate watery gushes. Oh, I beg you, 
 when you go to Solomon Heine, to make my greeting ; 
 and also greet Henry Heine with the whole Hen- 
 riade. And if it is not too troublesome, also greet 
 all the Embdens from me. 
 
 Above all things, fare well, and love me too. 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 X. 
 
 LiJNEBURG, January g, 1824. 
 
 Dear little Person, — I do not travel away 
 to-day, but on the day after to-morrow, as my shirts 
 are meanwhile drying, and when a letter which I 
 expect from Berlin will have arrived. Thou knowest, 
 from Hamburg experience, that wherever I am I 
 easily stick and stay. Parting from my parents will 
 
 ^ " They crushed me from above, 
 
 They poisoned the food I ate, 
 Some of them with their love, 
 And some of them with their hate." 
 
 — Heine, Booi of Songs, 
 
1 6 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 be hard, but in eight days from to-day the gates and 
 human faces of Liineburg must be behind me. We 
 will declaim thy grand trumpet-speech : Calypso ne 
 pouvait se consoler du depart d^Ulysse. Thinkest 
 thou still, little Frenchwoman, on those Telemaque 
 times ? How gladly would I kiss once more thy 
 charming cat's paws before I leave this place. And 
 it will be hard to part from Amichen, too. The 
 little beast has really made many an hour beautiful 
 for me. When I read, every evening, the nice little 
 animal sits on my shoulder, and begins to bark when- 
 ever I come to a fine passage in the book. Amichen 
 has more intelligence and feeling than all the German 
 philosophers and poets. 
 
 I was greatly delighted with thy letter of Decem- 
 ber 31st. I laughed heartily at thy hterary dis- 
 tress {NotJi). Write to me often. It is not really or 
 exactly true that I am working on a tragedy, as some 
 one has informed thee ; for I have not as yet written 
 a line of it, and the play exists thus far only in 
 my head, where many others, and with them many 
 good books, also lie in readiness. But now I am 
 too ill to write anything, and my few healthy hours 
 are devoted to my studies. It is now seed-time with 
 me, but I hope for a good harvest. I seek to acquire 
 the most varied kinds of knowledge, and will in con- 
 sequence show myself more versatile {vielseitiger), 
 and completely cultured as an author. The poet is 
 but a small portion of me.^ I believe that thou 
 
 ^ Here Heine utters a truth of which he afterwards lost sight, 
 and, strangely enough, the losing sight of it conduced to his real 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 17 
 
 understandest me sufficiently to comprehend this. 
 I took note of thy advice to have as many die as 
 possible in my tragedy. Ah, Lord ! I wish I could 
 kill off all my enemies in that way in it. 
 
 Give Moritz a thousand kind remembrances. Re- 
 peat to him the assurance of my friendship. He 
 who loves my Lottie I also love. And, moreover, 
 I am a great admirer of Archenholtz.^ I hope, dear 
 Lottie, that thou wilt send me many kind little 
 letters to Gottingen, for every one from thee cheers 
 my soul. All that which thou writest is so dear and 
 clear, it shows in every line thy good original soul 
 
 greatness, which was based on that "many-sided" knowledge 
 which he here declares he was determined to acquire. He in 
 later years, inspired by his success as a poet, believed himself to 
 be chiefly gifted as such ; in which he reminds us of Petrarch, who 
 had no doubt that he would live for posterity in his Latin, and not 
 in his Italian works. This misconception of his real strength gave 
 a carelessness, in a measure, to his prose composition, which, how- 
 ever, also permitted that free and bold expression of unconscious 
 thought, strength, and originality which is his trae/orfe. With all 
 his vanity, Heine never supposed that he was the equal of Goethe 
 or Lessing as a critic, yet neither of them saw so clearly into the 
 action of the intellectual developments of their time as regards their 
 result in ihe/iifure. The reason of this was that Heine, living in a 
 more advanced age, combined bold views in politics with those of 
 culture. It is difficult to separate this from the embroglio of petty 
 fancies and caprices with which it is entangled, and all the more so 
 because it is opposed to the growing spirit of the age, which de- 
 mands clear, prosaic, and consistent statement ; yet to the reader 
 capable of this, who can rise above "the inimitable and untrans- 
 latable graces" of language, he is really, as an inspired thinker 
 on serious subjects, far greater than he is as a poet. He spoke 
 truly when he said, "the poet is but a small portion of me." — 
 Translator. 
 
 ^ Author of a celebrated history of "The Seven Years' War." 
 Born 1743, died 1812. 
 
 B 
 
i8 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and heart {Gemiith) as in a bright mirror. — Fare 
 well, and love me well. H. Heine. 
 
 XI. 
 
 G'6TTl^G^T<i, January 31, 1824. 
 
 Dear sweet Sister,— I hope that these lines will 
 find thee well and happy. As for me, I feel much 
 better. I believe that Ltineburg must have a bad 
 atmosphere ; I hardly enjoyed one hour of health 
 while I lived there. The people did all they could 
 to make the hole {Nest) agreeable to me, especi- 
 ally towards the end {namentlich zuletzt). Nothing 
 remarkable occurred during my journey. The Liine- 
 burger Heath is a third part of eternity, and wearied 
 me to excess, so that out of ennui I made verses, 
 and some of them were to thee, which I may some 
 time give thee. They are only a few strophes ; but 
 I love thee, and am ever thinking of thee. 
 
 I was three days in Hanover, and there I became 
 acquainted with a beautiful woman — so amiable — 
 that is to say, / was ! I had very bad weather in 
 journeying from that town ; it snowed as if all the 
 hosts of heaven were shaking out their feather-beds 
 on me; and, over and above that, I sat in a half- 
 open extra-coach by a fencing-master, whose red 
 purple cloak gradually became ermined. And I 
 thought of thee, and let it snow on in God's name ; 
 and when I heard, Tara I tara ! and the youth 
 rolled by on the post-coach, I thought, " He has 
 letters which will be in three days' time in Ham- 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 19 
 
 burg ! " and I envied the letters. I arrived while 
 sound asleep in Gottingen. What does that be- 
 token ? 
 
 While I, the next morning, stood at the window 
 in the inn, I saw my old boot-black going by, and 
 called him in, when the droll fellow, without speak- 
 ing a word, entered and brushed my coat and shoes, 
 still without saying anything, and departed with- 
 out manifesting the least amazement that I had been 
 absent for three years from Gottingen, because he 
 bore in mind my old injunction never to talk in my 
 presence and ask no questions. 
 
 I have but few acquaintances here, and the pro- 
 fessors are not particularly fond of me, because 
 when I was previously suspended (konsilirt), I sent 
 my P.P.C. cards {Abschiedskarten) in mockery to 
 the members of the Academical Senate. 
 
 I am up to the neck in my legal studies, and it 
 agrees with me. I found it lucky that I, though I 
 came in the middle of the course, can still hear 
 something, so that I have lost nothing. 
 
 Farewell, beautiful lady. Keep me in kind remem- 
 brance, and write to me often. My address is, " H. 
 Heine, Cand. juris. ^ in the Rothenstrasse, at the 
 Widow Brandissen's, Gottingen." Give my best re- 
 gards to all friends, and write to me how everything 
 looks, and if the tarts have turned out well in Ham- 
 burg this year. When thou cookest or bakest any- 
 thing nice, lay it by for me until my return. But 
 thou thyself art dearer to me than all the tarts or 
 pies in this world, lemon-pie included. I would gladly 
 
20 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 write more fully to thee, but my head is confused, 
 and I cannot express how deeply devoted to thee is 
 thy brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 XIL 
 
 G5TTINGEN, March 30, 1824. 
 
 Dear Lottie, — I have duly received your joint 
 letter with that of Moritz, and learn from it with 
 pleasure that you are both well and comfortable. 
 Tell Moritz that I am delighted to be in his happy 
 remembrance, and that I will soon write to him. 
 Nor will I write a special answer to you to-day; 
 and the object of this letter is only to tell thee that 
 I shall this week make a trip to Berlin in order to 
 pass a part of this vacation there, and that I shall 
 soon be able to write to thee something more in- 
 teresting than I can from here, and that if I can do 
 anything for thee in Berlin, thou must, to go about 
 it, write and address it to ^^ H. Heine from Diissel- 
 dorf, to be delivered by M. Friedlander & Co., the 
 New Friedrichstrasse, No. 47, Berlin." The object 
 of this journey consists of a thousand small objects, 
 and amusement is the least of them. Meanwhile, such 
 a stirring up by travel and such a change is very 
 beneficial to my head. I hope that thou, dear Lottie, 
 art well and lovest me. My Muse is muzzled, that 
 she may not disturb the legal threshing of straw 
 with her melodies. Yet I sent not long ago a cycle 
 of small poems to the Gesellschafter} and ordered 
 
 1 A widely-read journal published by Professor Grelitz. — German 
 Editor, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 21 
 
 two copies to be sent to Hamburg, and beg that 
 thou wilt direct one to Uncle Henry. Do not forget 
 that. And be also so kind as to say to Uncle 
 Henry that I received his letter, and that the money 
 advised {das Creditiv) was duly paid to me. As 
 thou, of course, understandest, this must be done 
 promptly, and thou canst also say that I am 
 going on a journey, and will write to him anon. 
 And forget it not on thy life, for Uncle Henry 
 shows me a great deal of love and kindness, and 
 I owe him much, much gratitude. I had a letter 
 yesterday from Liineburg, by which I learned that 
 Therese Heine had been ill with small-pox, but 
 had recovered. Tell me whether she suffered 
 much. That would grieve me sadly. Give my 
 kindest regards to the dear girl, as well as to all 
 the others. 
 
 I cannot boast as yet about my health, but I am 
 getting on. I am in vigorous correspondence with 
 Liineburg, and write very often. Thou knowest 
 that it is a pleasure for father and mother, and a 
 double one for the dear father, since he brings the 
 letters himself. I think of thee continually, dear 
 sweet little woman ( Weibchen), and would fain see 
 thee in thy present rounded form {in deiner Run- 
 dung). The feelings of an uncle already move in 
 me, and I am anxious to know whether I am to 
 have a nephew or niece. Oh, how delighted Moritz 
 will be when he shall hear the first child's cry ! 
 What a smell of baking cakes there will be at 
 mamma's ! Everybody will rejoice and be moving, 
 
2 2 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and Aunt Jette ^ will not at first know whether she 
 has become an aunt or a great-aunt. 
 
 But that all this may come to pass, take care of 
 thyself, dear child, and keep in love thy brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 GoTTiNGEN, May 8, 1824. 
 Dear Sister, — I will only let thee know to-day 
 that I am well and have arrived again in Gottingen 
 in good condition, and that I am expecting from thee 
 a detailed letter as to how thou art. Everything 
 else is a mere bagatelle; all that I would know 
 is how thy health is. When dost thou expect the 
 great event ? ( Wanngedenkst du niederzukommeri P) 
 See now how good it is to have learned to count. 
 Take care of thyself; do not run too much, do 
 not eat too many dainties, else thy child will be 
 always craving them (em Ndscher), and read no 
 verse, or he will turn out a poet, which may 
 be regarded as a great misfortune.^ I forgot the 
 state in which thou art, else I had not sent thee 
 the thirty-three songs. I made my journey to 
 Berlin in terrible weather, cold, and snowing fear- 
 fully. The return trip was better, in fine weather, 
 and in forty-eight hours — so quickly do we travel 
 by express post {Schnellpost).^ 
 
 ^ The wife of Henry Heine was the sister of Moritz Embden. 
 
 ^ This may remind the reader of Mrs. Nickleby's saying, that it 
 was quite a mercy that her son Nicholas did not turn out to be a 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 * At the time when Heine wrote this, the first Schnellposten or 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 23 
 
 It was indeed startling when I again saw bedecked 
 with the most delightful verdure of spring the 
 Hartz Mountains, which I had left covered with 
 snow. It was in the Hartz Mountains that I saw 
 a lady who was very much like thee in features 
 and in her whole being. I was going from StoUberg 
 to Harzgerode, over a high, snow-covered mountain, 
 where the coach threatened to roll over every 
 moment — an utterly dangerous, desolate place. 
 When we at midnight came to the Harzgeroder 
 post-house, we found the waiting-room half full 
 of passengers, who had come partly in other post- 
 coaches, partly by extra-post, and who there drank 
 coffee, donned or doffed their fur cloaks, quarrelled 
 loudly with the postmaster, cursed the weather, and 
 cut cat's melancholy faces.^ 
 
 By the stove, which was not remarkably warm, 
 sat a very beautiful woman, who seemed to be very 
 distinguished {sehr vornehm), but extremely out of 
 temper, and who had precisely thy look when thou 
 
 fast posts had only just been introduced to Germany by the Prussian 
 General Postmaster, Von Nagler. 
 
 ^ Katzenjammergesichten. The cat's melancholy is the indescrib- 
 ably miserable mixture of headache, nausea, and dizziness which 
 men feel the next morning after having been badly drunk. It 
 is very characteristic of the thoroughly unflinching character of 
 German thought, that while this topic is so little considered by 
 other races, the Germans have given it a name, and devoted to it 
 so many songs and comments as almost to form a small literature. 
 The best article on this important subject may be found in the 
 Burschicoses Wdrterhiich^ Ragaz, 1848. The moral Katzenjammer 
 occurs when the headache, &c., is further aggravated by regret for 
 having been drunk, for *' money spent and thrown away," and 
 a general sense of utter worthlessness. — Translator. 
 
.24 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 art ill-disposed. But she looked like vexation her- 
 self when she learned from our postillion that the 
 road was so very bad to Stollberg, and a fine gentle- 
 man with a magnificent fur coat, who moved about 
 anxiously endeavouring to appease her and waiting 
 her least sign, had to endure the whole torrent of 
 her impatience, and, half weeping and half scolding, 
 she said to him, "Why did you not murder me 
 before? Did you not know that I am ill?" — and 
 so on. 
 
 I tried to pacify the dejected dame as much as 
 possible, and trilled from Jean de Paris — 
 
 " Ah, what a pleasure 'tis to travel ! " 
 
 and when she heard that, a charming, melancholy 
 smile stole over the beautifully - miserable coun- 
 tenance, she no longer scolded so loudly the poor 
 fine fur-coated gentleman, and as the latter gave 
 her his arm, and daintily conducted her to her car- 
 riage, she turned several times, bidding me adieu, 
 and sighed and warbled — 
 
 " Ah, what a pleasure 'tis to travel ! " 
 
 These words have been ringing all the morning 
 in my ear, and therefore I tell the tale ; but should 
 I tell all about Berlin, I should not be so soon sjt 
 an end. I can tell thee this, however, that I am 
 still regarded there by the people with abundant 
 love and respect; and they wondered not a little 
 that I should have chosen tiresome Gottingen in- 
 stead of fascinating Berhn for residence. Still more 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 25 
 
 were they astonished that I was able to go away 
 betimes, so as to lose no lectures here. I have 
 passed many a pleasant hour in Berlin, and re- 
 ceived much intellectual stimulus and refreshment, 
 and this journey was certainly in every respect 
 profitable. 
 
 Dear Lottie, I thank thee for being so kind as to 
 deliver my message to Uncle Henry, and I would be 
 still further indebted if thou wouldst again kindly 
 remember me to him ; for in all the distracting cir- 
 cumstances, mental and external, in which I have of 
 late been involved, I have not written to the good 
 uncle, and it is on my mind that he shall know that 
 I did not remain too long in Beriin, and J:hat this 
 journey was physically and mentally of great ad- 
 vantage to me. 
 
 I now feel myself better than I have been for a 
 year and a day. If I can, I will to-day write to 
 Luneburg. What is Uncle Solomon Heine doing ? 
 I was much alarmed when I learned lately that all 
 the family of Uncle Heine were so ill. Thank God 
 that they are better. I am glad that I did not know 
 it before. I pray thee write to me fully what they 
 are now doing. My address is '^ H. Heine, Stud, 
 juris. ^ from Diisseldorf, in Gottingen." 
 
 Remember me to Moritz ; a part of this letter is 
 also for him. I often think of him. Write soon 
 and keep me in love. Thou dost not really beheve 
 how much and from my heart I love thee. — Thy 
 brother, H. HEINE. 
 
26 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 XIV. 
 
 GoTTiNGEN, August g, 1824. 
 
 Dear Father Moritz, — I cannot express how 
 much mother's few Hnes and your postscript pleased 
 me. I congratulate you on the sweet little daughter, 
 and hope that she will resemble her sweet little 
 mother. I thought of our dear Lottie by day and 
 night. My thoughts were always on the Neuenwall, 
 in one of the nice little rooms. I have learned for 
 some time with great pleasure, dear Moritz, that you 
 have day by day mastered the secret of living happily 
 with our dear Lottie and of making oneself happy. 
 I know well that so shrewd and excellent a man 
 {braver Mann) as you are would at last attain the 
 secret and know how to apply it, as I also knew 
 that such a darling child as our Lottie would 
 always show herself amiable and child-like if she 
 were rightly treated — that is to say, like a beloved 
 child. 
 
 Now there is a new tie which binds you to har- 
 mony and love ; the sweet being to whom you have 
 both given life will be for you a new source of new 
 joy and love. 
 
 And I too, dear Moritz, am bound to you by a 
 new family tie : your daughter is my niece. 
 
 May Heaven keep in health the two beings, mother 
 and daughter, whom we love so dearly ! 
 
 As for myself, my health continually improves — 
 of course very slowly. I am exclusively occupied 
 with my legal studies, and hope to take a degree 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 27 
 
 {Promovireti) in January. I certainly believe that 
 my headaches will disappear in the course of a few 
 years, and that I shall then be in better condition 
 than now to work and live vigorously. 
 
 Remember me most kindly to our sweet Lottie. 
 I cannot sufficiently declare how pleasant and de- 
 lightful her last letter was. I kissed every line, 
 and read it and kissed it again. I beg you give 
 her greeting in my name, and kiss her hands. 
 
 If I can, I will write to-day to our dear mother. 
 How pleased she must be! I have company {Fremde) 
 here now — that is, my brother Max, who is here on 
 a visit. We talk all the time about you. Remem- 
 ber me to your mother and brother. 
 
 I pray you do not give the child any showy or 
 affected {prdciosen) name : let her have one which 
 shall be simple and truly German. Live well and 
 love me well. — I am, your brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 XV. 
 
 GoTTiNGEN, May II, 1825. 
 
 Dear Brother-in-law,— You have really good 
 cause to be very angry at me, and I really do not 
 know how I sl^ll excuse my long silence. All that 
 I will allege is that it was the result neither of 
 neglect nor of indifference. I am always thinking 
 of my sister, therefore on all which is connected 
 with her, therefore on my brother-in-law. But I 
 love you too much to embitter an hour with long 
 
28 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 sketches of the painful situation of a sickly, ill- 
 tempered man plagued by God and the world. 
 You are too dear to me that I should write to you 
 empty words, or mayhap untruths ; therefore, the 
 good brother-in-law and his little wife will pardon 
 my long silence. But now I can write to you. My 
 health is better — it was very bad — and it looks 
 brighter in my outer life. I have steadily studied 
 law during all the past winter, and was consequently 
 able last week to pass my examination as Doctor in 
 Jurisprudence, which I did extremely well. This 
 is, as regards taking the degree, the chief thing; 
 all else — as, for instance, the disputation — is mere 
 form and hardly worth mention. I am, therefore, 
 now, in fact. Doctor, and it no longer causes an ironic 
 impression when you in your letters address me by 
 this title. I will, however, dispute in six weeks 
 hence ; for, firstly, there is no hurry, because I shall 
 remain here till Michaelmas, and, secondly, I will 
 first write a dissertation. That is the best news 
 which I can give you ; everything else is as yet in 
 obscurity. You can, therefore, easily understand 
 why I spare you information as to my external 
 circumstances, which, as with every one, are hmited 
 by economic considerations. I may always be ac- 
 cused of folly and want of clearness, but I know 
 that I think and act as becomes my inner dignity. 
 I have, dear Moritz, my special jury over all which 
 I do, but this jury is not as yet united to a judge 
 over me, and it is not likely that there will be shop- 
 keepers {Kaufleute) among them. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 29 
 
 I hope that this letter will find you well and 
 cheery. As I learn that Lottie is about to go to 
 Llineburg, I will write to the dear little woman there 
 to kiss little Molly {Mariechen). How anxious I am 
 to see her ! 
 
 Will I settle in Hamburg? That the gods who 
 created hunger only know. I would not establish 
 myself there unless provided for a few years with 
 food. Meantime, everything will be done on my 
 part, and, baptized as Doctor of Law, and (let it 
 be hoped) also sound in health, I will soon go 
 to Hamburg. I would not write you this did I 
 not know that you have often wished to know 
 it too. 
 
 Therefore, fare thee well, continue loving me, and 
 believe that I am, with all my heart, your devoted 
 brother-in-law, H. HEINE. 
 
 XVL 
 
 GOTTINGEN,/«/^3I, 1825. 
 
 Dear Lottie, — I have learned from father that 
 thou hast long ago left the flowery valleys of Lline- 
 burg and art once more in blest Hamburg. As for 
 me, I am ever, as thou seest, in the learned cow-shed 
 Gottingen, where I pubhcly disputed on the 20th 
 instant for my juristic doctorial dignity. This infor- 
 mation has doubtless been conveyed to thee from 
 Liineburg. I believed thou wert there, else I had 
 written sooner. 
 
 I have commissioned Max to send my theses from 
 
30 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Berlin to Moritz.^ I would have written to him ere 
 now if I really thought it worth while to say so 
 much about taking a degree in law. 
 
 Greet Moritz most cordially from me, and if thou 
 art sure that he is no gossip {P lander tasche), tell 
 
 him that I am not only Doctor of Law, but also 
 
 .^ It rained yesterday as it did six weeks ago. 
 
 When, long ago, it was the longest day, I thought on 
 Zollenspiker and feted it with perspiration and think- 
 ing of you. 
 
 Thou hast now been intimate with our Moritz for 
 two years, and must know very well what his nature 
 is, and if he can hold his tongue, and so forth. I ate 
 the day before yesterday beautiful strawberries; 
 that lay right soft and fair on the white sugar, and 
 very nicely did I cover them. 
 
 I do not know how long I shall remain here, and 
 whether I will not leave in a few days on a pedes- 
 trian tour. In any case, I will be by the middle of 
 September in Liineburg to see my parents, and 
 
 thence . I do not know whether it will really 
 
 be possible for me to settle in Hamburg. I am not 
 
 ^ These were the theses held in Latin by Heine on this occasion : — 
 
 1. The husband is master of the dowry. 
 
 2. The creditor must give an acknowledgment. 
 
 3. All legal proceedings should be conducted publicly. 
 
 4. No obligation results from an oath. 
 
 5. The confarreatio was among the Romans the oldest kind of 
 legal marriage. 
 
 ^ The German editor remarks that this is an allusion to Heine's 
 baptism as a Christian on the 28th June 1825. Zollenspiker, 
 alluded to in the next paragraph, is the place where Heine's sister 
 was married. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 31 
 
 now altogether in such bad condition as to my 
 health ; it is, the Lord be praised ! much better than 
 it was, though I am still invalid enough to think 
 more of the present than of the future. But I will 
 in no case go to Hamburg unless my means of sub- 
 sistence are first secured. 
 
 If this cannot be, I shall at once select Berlin, 
 where several sources of subsistence are promptly 
 open to me. If I can only realise that thou, dear 
 Lottie, art contented with me, and seest that I, on 
 my side, have done everything which I deemed pos- 
 sible so as to live in thy beloved presence (in deiner 
 geliebten Ndhe zu leben). 
 
 Be convinced that no pleasure, no champagne, no 
 theatre, no gratification of vanity, and no glances 
 from fair ladies, are so dear to me as a confidential 
 gossipping interview [zusammen sein) with thee, 
 thou good, lovable {liebenswurdiges) child. Thou 
 knowest me as I am — how yielding, how tract- 
 able, and how readily pleased — thou and two other 
 magnificent (herrliche) ladies know it very weU, and 
 know how to appreciate it. 
 
 I beg thee, dear, walk a great deal, so as not 
 to become too plump. I beg thee, don^t become a 
 Hambiirgerin. Remember me to, and kiss for me 
 thy child, and write to me as soon as it may be. 
 Send me the letters here to Liineburg. I will, when 
 I journey hence, write to father as to where he shall 
 forward them. 
 
 Greet our Gustav, who is at last really to be 
 found in Hamburg, and with all my heart. I send 
 
32 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 enclosed the thesis which I debated, and which 
 thou mayst give to Gustav, or to any other learned 
 one. 
 
 Fare well and love me well. — ^Thy brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 My mother thus describes the appearance of her 
 brother: — '^He appeared younger than he really was, 
 beardless until he contracted his incurable disorder, 
 the delicate and almost girl-like features of his oval 
 pale countenance shaded by light brown hair. The 
 mouth contracted to a satirical [satyrischen) smile 
 when he uttered jest or witticism, while his eyes, 
 which were at times rather expressionless (matt), 
 began to light up. He was of middle height, always 
 dressed very elegantly, and his whole appearance 
 had in it something aristocratic. He was always 
 very industrious and given to work, and attended 
 lectures regularly. Student ways were never to 
 him sympathetic ; he did not smoke, never drank 
 beer, was very moderate as to wine, and, though a 
 member of a Burschenschaft or Students' Union, 
 avoided all nightly meetings." 
 
 Heine was very undetermined, after receiving his 
 degree as doctor, whether to permanently settle in 
 Hamburg or Berlin. He had many friends in Berlin, 
 and there were there two circles of society which 
 had for him great attraction. The house of the 
 poetess Elise von Hohenhausen was the rendezvous 
 of all beaux esprits (Sch'dngeister), and this woman 
 of genius, who was an enthusiastic admirer of Lord 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 33 
 
 Byron, whose poems she partially translated, first 
 recognised Heine's great poetic gifts, called him 
 the German B3T-on, and proclaimed in him a re- 
 vival of her ideal. 
 
 The second circle, which contributed still more to 
 his poetic development, was that of Varnhagen von 
 Ense, whose brilliant and intellectual wife, Rahel, 
 with their brother Robert and his beautiful wife, 
 were among Heine's most intimate associates. There 
 was an altar erected in their house to Goethe, and 
 enthusiastic propagandas were made for an intelli- 
 gent understanding ( Werthschdtzung) of his writ- 
 ings. Everything in their extravagant admiration 
 was measured by him, and there was discovered in 
 Heine's poems a certain affinity with the style of 
 Goethe, notwithstanding their very different ten- 
 dencies. 
 
 Max Heine has described in his diary the Berlin 
 friends of those days, and narrated how, with a 
 letter of introduction, he called on Moses Moser, that 
 tried and noble friend of Henry Heine, to whom so 
 many letters, laughing to-day and wailing on the 
 morrow, were directed by the poet. 
 
 " Moser was an active partner in the wealthy 
 banking-house of M. Friedlander & Co., and in 
 the noblest sense of the word a self-taught man 
 (^Autodidact) and a philanthropist. He applied 
 every hour of leisure to serious study, and his ver- 
 satility was marvellous. Apart from his thorough 
 knowledge of almost all languages, he read Plato, 
 Homer, Tacitus, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Dante in 
 
 c 
 
 '^.. 
 
34 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 the original, followed Sanskrit studies, and was 
 perfectly at home in astronomy, philosophy, and 
 belles-lettres. With the letters of introduction from 
 Heinrich in one hand and Mr. Moser on the other, 
 I now entered a large circle of families whose 
 members were the most gifted and distinguished 
 possible. First it was [Zuerst war es) Varnhagen 
 von Ense, famed for his critical and biographical 
 writings, a recognised model-master of German style 
 {als deutscher Stylist ein anerkanfites Muster). The 
 soul of his house was the celebrated Rahel, the 
 highly-gifted wife of Varnhagen, and she it was 
 who gave the capricious young poet the Aristo- 
 phanic nickname of '' an untutored darling of the 
 Graces." Here one met the intellectual pinnacles 
 {die geistigen Spitzen) of Berlin, and all the arts 
 and sciences were represented — William and Alex- 
 ander von Humboldt, the great philosopher Hegel, 
 the immortal sculptor Ranch, Schleiermacher, Hit- 
 zig, Chamisso, and the brother of Rahel, Ludwig 
 Robert, celebrated as a poet, and his ideally beauti- 
 ful wife, Madame Frederika, were, with many others, 
 there as constant guests. 
 
 "An entirely different circle, secluded in itself, 
 was that of the house of Veit, which was in in- 
 teresting alliance with the intellectual and com- 
 mercial history of Berlin. The principal of a dis- 
 tinguished mercantile establishment, he assembled 
 every week a circle of men who undertook for this 
 evening the problem of conducting an entertainment 
 richly adorned with wit and humour. The chief 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 35 
 
 members of this circle (were) almost all collectively 
 true friends of H. Heine : Moser and a distinguished 
 jurist, Professor Gans, were never-failing guests, 
 Dr. Rosenhain, a botanist, the genial writer Daniel 
 Lessmann, and Joseph Lehmann, the publisher, 
 editor, and principal contributor to the '' Magazine 
 of Foreign Literature." This Lehmann, the oldest 
 friend of H. Heine, admired the poet from his first 
 appearance, and, under the anagrammatic name of 
 Anselmi, contributed the first critical notices of 
 Heinrich Heine's poems. His perfectly successful 
 {gelungenen) parodies of them are often believed to 
 be poems by Heine. Lehmann followed H. Heine 
 faithfully through his whole literary career in his 
 widely-read publication, often illustrating him in 
 admirable essays, and ever showed himself capable 
 of combining the cordial friend with the incor- 
 ruptible and firm critic in the kindest manner {in 
 humanster Weise). 
 
 " I must mention certain other families where I 
 and my brother Henry had the kindest welcome, 
 and where a brilliant company assembled every 
 week. 
 
 "Dr. Leopold Zunz, the great Orientalist, and 
 editor of the much read and influential ^Haud and 
 Spener's Gazette ' {Haude und Spenersche Zeitung), 
 was himself a member of the Veit social circle, 
 where the so-called Zunz witticisms went gaily 
 cheering from mouth to mouth. 
 
 '^ I was also introduced to the Mendelssohnian 
 family by Moser, and listened with delight to the 
 
36 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 playing of young Felix, and little did I then think 
 that from that boyish head would ever come such 
 songs without words, and Heine's words with such 
 music. 
 
 ** I must also mention the extraordinarily esteemed 
 {ausserordentlich geschdtzten) Albert von Chamisso, 
 who, although French by birth, stands with (the 
 first) on the summit of German lyric poets. Through 
 him I became acquainted with the criminal advo- 
 cate Hitzig, Chamisso's distinguished biographer. 
 Hitzig was always a loving friend of H. Heine, in 
 whose poetic youth he manifested the liveliest in- 
 terest. Through his aid the tragedies of H. Heine 
 appeared among Ferdinand Diimmler's publications. 
 The same is true of Professor Gubitz, who formerly 
 published the journal entitled 'The Companion for 
 Intellect and Heart.' To him I often brought little 
 poems by Heine, which he as a poet specially in- 
 troduced to the German public through the ' Com- 
 panion,' and succeeded in obtaining the Maurer 
 bookselling establishment as the publisher of his 
 first work." 
 
 Despite all the allurements which residence in 
 Berlin offered to Heine, love for his relations drew 
 him to Hamburg, and after a prolonged visit for 
 restoration of health and spirits in Norderney, he 
 visited his parents in LUneburg to discuss with them 
 his affairs. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 37 
 
 XVIL 
 
 LiJNEBURG, October 1826. 
 
 My dear Lottie is here heartily greeted and 
 assured of my brotherly love. I have indeed thought 
 oftener of thee than thou deemest, and far more 
 tenderly in later days than I would ever have 
 dreamed that I could do. I read of thy confinement 
 while at Norderney in the Hamburg Zeitung^ and 
 indeed I was most uneasy till I had done so. I am 
 glad that thou hast a boy. May God take the dear 
 child in His special care, and grant that manhood 
 may not be in him precociously crippled. 
 
 Wherever I am, dear Lottie, and wherever I may 
 be, my heart pours forth daily in the most loving 
 and devoted wishes for thee and thy children. May 
 all go well with thee and thine for ever ! Only be 
 good and thou wilt be happy, and thy children will 
 also be good and happy. I beg thee forget me not, 
 for I love thee much. — Thy brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 In the beginning of November Heine came to 
 Hamburg, intending to settle there as a lawyer, but 
 he soon abandoned this intention and devoted him- 
 self entirely to the Hterary calling. 
 
 The first part of the Reiscbildery published by 
 Campe, had appeared, and the literary results, rich 
 in fame, which were beyond all limits, probably con- 
 tributed not a little to induce him to abandon the 
 dry and just begun legal career. 
 
38 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 The effect of this book was truly sensational. 
 The humorous, witty, and brilHant original manner 
 of his prose style caused, as did the new form of 
 his verse, a great revolution in German literature, 
 in which it, imitated by many, long ruled. 
 
 H. Heine led a very retired life in Hamburg. 
 His parents had removed thither from Luneburg, 
 and, with the exception of seeing them and visiting 
 the houses of his sister and of his two uncles, he 
 saw little of any families. He devoted his whole 
 time to finishing the second part of his Reisehilder^ 
 and this work had as great a result as the first. In 
 the spring of 1827, very soon after the appearance 
 of this work, he went to England, where he remained 
 three months. He wrote that "London exceeded 
 his expectations as to size, but that he almost lost 
 himself in it. There was nothing but fog, coal- 
 smoke, porter, and Canning, and it was so dreadfully 
 damp and uncomfortable. The eternal roast-beef 
 and mutton, vegetables just as God made them — 
 and heaven protect every one from their sauces. 
 Send a philosopher to London, but on your life — 
 no poet ! " Returning, Heine passed over Holland 
 to Norderney, and came at the end of September 
 to Hamburg. 
 
 Then appeared the "Book of Songs," which the 
 whole public greeted with enthusiastic rejoicing, and 
 which is regarded even to-day as the brilliant star 
 {Lichtbild) of Heine's Muse. But many critics of 
 the time, who thought that the old measures of 
 German poetry had been violated, could recognise 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 39 
 
 in the melodious rhymes, as of popular songs, only 
 a styleless and capricious form of verse. 
 
 The reproach raised against Heine that he ne- 
 glected classic form was most unjust, and it is 
 often repeated when anything new or unusual is 
 created. Heine did not write flowingly and care- 
 lessly, but attached unusually great value on the 
 stylistic {stilistische) perfection of expression, and in 
 all sketches or first draughts of his manuscripts 
 which I turned over, there is hardly a page in 
 which alterations and improvements are not to be 
 found. 
 
 Heine, who since he had settled in Hamburg 
 always cherished a vague hope of being appointed 
 Syndicus in that city or as professor in Prussia, 
 found himself disappointed in such hopes. He 
 finally considered and determined to accept the en- 
 gagement offered to him by Baron Cotta to conduct 
 a journal. Cotta wished Heine to bind himself to 
 conduct the " Political Annals " as editor and contri- 
 butor. Heine, who had written several articles for 
 this journal, would only agree to an engagement 
 fixed for six months, as great inducements had been 
 offered him to accept a place as professor in the 
 University of Munich. 
 
 Edward von Schenk, who was then Minister, who 
 was greatly interested in the poet, and became his 
 friend, certainly believed that he could secure for 
 Heine the professorship wanted. The latter was 
 warmly commended to the King, Louis I., who was 
 much pleased with his poems, and in whose hands 
 
40 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 the decision lay. The decree as to the appoint- 
 ment was actually drawn up, and Heine would have 
 received the post had not Jesuitical slander hindered 
 the project. False reports and eavesdroppings as to 
 free-thinking expressions of too bold a nature by the 
 poet were urged on the King, which irritated him, 
 and caused the non-signature of the decree. Greatly 
 irritated, Heine left the beer- Athens {Bier-Athen)y 
 as he called Munich, and carried out his long- 
 cherished desire to visit Italy, being accompanied 
 by his brother Max as far as the Tyrol. 
 
 After Heine had seen the galleries and monu- 
 ments in Verona, Milan, and Genoa, he went in 
 the beginning of September, by way of Leghorn, 
 to the Baths of Lucca, whose wildly romantic situa- 
 tion in the Apennines charmed him, and where he 
 determined to remain four weeks to benefit his 
 health by using the mineral baths. Regretting his 
 shght knowledge of Italian, he wrote : — 
 
 ^*I do not understand the people, nor can I con- 
 verse with them.^ I see Italia, but I hear it not. 
 And yet I am not quite devoid of intercourse. 
 Here the stones speak, and I can understand their 
 
 ^ This is difficult to understand in itself. Heine was a very good 
 Latin and French scholar, and it would seem as if such a very 
 quick-witted man should have made his way in Italian almost at 
 once ; and I can hardly believe that all the reports which he gives 
 in the Baths of Lucca of his long conversations in it were mere 
 inventions. It is probable that the passage given by Baron Embden 
 was written before he felt himself at home in la dolce lingua^ or 
 during some hour of temporary discouragement, such as all beginners 
 in a language often experience. Heine could read Dante, which is 
 more than many can do who speak Italian fluently. — Translator. 
 
 "^SlWMf jScfW^^ 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 41 
 
 silent speech. A broken column of the Roman 
 days, a mouldering tower of the Lombard time, 
 a Gothic pillar fragment, weather-worn, can fully 
 understand all that I say. Many a time and oft 
 the ancient palaces would fain whisper to me a 
 silent secret which I cannot hear for the dull clatter 
 of our daily life; and then I come to them again 
 by night, and find the moon a good interpreter, who 
 knows full well the lapidary style, and can translate 
 it very perfectly into the very language of my heart. 
 Yes, by night I can understand all Italy, for then 
 the younger race sleeps with its modern opera 
 tongue, and the ancient folk rise from their cool 
 beds and talk with me in most beautiful Latin." 
 
 In art-abounding Florence, the city of the Medicis, 
 Heine remained almost six weeks, intoxicated by its 
 art-treasures and picture-galleries, when, postponing 
 his visit to Rome for some later time, he took the 
 way homeward by Venice. There he received the 
 painful news of the sudden death of his father, and 
 hastened his return to console his mother and sister 
 for the loss of their deeply-beloved parent. 
 
 Heine remained with his family in Hamburg until 
 early in the next spring, when he went back to 
 Berlin in order to renew, by the aid of his influential 
 friends, his efforts to obtain some state appointment. 
 For three months he lived in rural solitude in Pots- 
 dam, busily working at the continuation of the third 
 volume of the ^^ Pictures of Travel," and, after a 
 short visit to Heligoland, resumed his residence in 
 Hamburg. In the beginning of 1830 the work was 
 
42 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 published, and attracted great attention ; but it was 
 at once prohibited through all Germany, owing to 
 its free-thinking discussion of political questions of 
 the day and religious matters. Max Heine writes 
 regarding this in his diary : — 
 
 ''Among the University friends of my brother in 
 Gottingen was Carl von Raumer, a nephew of the 
 distinguished historian, author of the 'History of 
 the Hohenstaufen,' with whom I was very intimate. 
 He was a greatly gifted, poetic, visionary youth, who 
 in those days read with me with enthusiasm the first 
 part of the Reisebilder^ which had just appeared. 
 He subsequently became Minister of Public Instruc- 
 tion in Prussia, and at last went so far in his reh- 
 gious delirium as not only to prohibit the works of 
 H. Heine in Prussia, but even had the confiscated 
 copies destroyed." 
 
 Many of his earlier friends in Berlin kept shyly 
 away from him, and Heine endeavoured to forget 
 his vexation caused by many anonymous criticisms 
 in different journals in the cool waves of the North 
 Sea in Heligoland.^ 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Heligoland, yi«/y 28, 1830. 
 Dear Lottie, — Though private correspondence 
 to friends is disagreeable to me, and I have nothing 
 
 ^ It was at this time that, irritated by his disappointments, and 
 still more by the attacks here alluded to, that he retaliated, as he 
 said, by flaying the greatest dog of them all — Von Platen — alive, and 
 dragging the carcass before the world on the stage. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 43 
 
 to write save that I love thee, I cannot refrain from 
 sending a few Hnes to thee at the bath. I have 
 really nothing more to say than that I love thee, 
 and very much indeed. I often think on thee — yes, 
 for twenty-five hours a day — and my most earnest 
 wish is that the bathing may restore thy health. To 
 tell the honest truth, I am very much afraid lest thy 
 temperament may lead thee astray into forgetting 
 thy present condition and the object of the journey, 
 and to inspire in thee irritation or excitement, which 
 may injure thy health. I trust that thou wilt have 
 sense enough, whatever may happen, to think of 
 thyself and thy children. Pray avoid evening as- 
 sembHes; do not be impatient {heftig); be patient 
 and as cheerful as possible. It is only in such 
 conditions that the bath can have any (beneficial) 
 effect. 
 
 Thou seest that I lay down good rules, but, 
 honourably confessed, I myself, who am in similar 
 circumstances, do not follow any of them. 
 
 Do my best, I cannot drive from me the sad or 
 mournful melancholy which afQicts me, and so live 
 in society which does me no good, gossip too much, 
 think too much, eat too much, have a constant hum- 
 ming and tapping in my ears, and my headaches 
 are in full bloom. I have been here for three 
 weeks, and may remain for three weeks longer. 
 There are not many Hamburgers here ; among 
 them are the Schroders. We eat together, drive 
 all day together by the German Ocean, and I can 
 get along very well with them; but I love thee a 
 
44 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 thousand, yes a million times more. I embrace 
 thee, and hope to see thee soon again. I will pass 
 the autumn near thee, since my work does not 
 allow me to go often to town.^ If anything new 
 takes place in the family, I do not know what it is, 
 as my mother never writes. 
 
 Adieu ! I kiss thee on paper {schriftlicJi) ; next 
 month I will kiss thee on thy mouth {miindlich). 
 
 Thou needst not write an answer. Next week I 
 will write to Immermann, and enclose a letter for 
 thee. Thou mayst, therefore, when in Diisseldorf, 
 inquire of the Government-Councillor Immermann if 
 he has not a letter for thee. Fare well, sweet dame, 
 and keep me in thy love. — Thy true brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Heligoland, August 1830. 
 
 Dear good Sister, — I hope that this letter will 
 reach and find thee in much better health. Mine 
 is " middling " {Mit der metnigeti geht es so ziem- 
 lich). Bathing in the German Ocean is the best 
 remedy for my trouble. Though I have abundant 
 entertainment here in Heligoland, still I ever think 
 of thee. Mademoiselle Schroder has departed, and 
 another singer named Siebert has come in her place, 
 and I have much sing-song in my ears. I quarrelled 
 
 ^ He dwelt at that time in Wandsbeck, near Hamburg. — Ger- 
 man Editor. 
 
 *^>^',*:^^r-'"'?'''■"^•>fC^^'^i;s^^ 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 45 
 
 every day with Miss Schroder thrice, and had one 
 reconcihation and a half. I shall remain here ten 
 days, and then return to Wandsbeck (or St. George) 
 and to work. I have no news from Hamburg. 
 Shouldst thou get this letter, as I hope thou wilt, in 
 DUsseldorf, remember me kindly to our uncle and 
 aunt. Take good care of thy health, do not allow 
 thyself to be excited, and love me well. I hope to 
 see thee in fourteen days. Calypso ne pouvait se 
 consoler du depart d' Ulysse. 
 
 It must have been lively in Ems, and thou hast 
 met the French Revolution, as one may say, half 
 way. 
 
 I kiss thee. — Thy true brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 The French Revolution of July, which Heine 
 mentions so jestingly in the preceding letter, was 
 destined to exert a deeply significant influence on his 
 life, and it inspired the young poet with joy and wild 
 inspiration. The fall of the Bourbon absolutism 
 and the victory of the popular party exerted a mighty 
 and controlling {ergreifend) force in his mind, which 
 Heine vigorously expressed in the Appendix to the 
 "Pictures of Travel" in 1831, as well as in the 
 preface to Kahldorf's pamphlet on the nobility, writ- 
 ten at the same time, and in letters to Count M. 
 von Moltke. 
 
 Weary of the many annoyances which he was 
 obliged to endure in his own country, especially by 
 the prohibition of his works in Germany, the poet 
 developed his previously conceived idea to emigrate 
 
46 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 to France. Having, therefore, at the end of April, 
 left as a farewell salute to his native land the " Songs 
 of the New Spring," dedicated to his sister Charlotte, 
 he left Hamburg, and arrived about the beginning 
 of June in Paris. 
 
 He has sketched the cause for this change of 
 home in his '' Confessions," in the following humor- 
 ous form : — 
 
 "I had done and suffered much, and when the 
 sun of the Revolution of July rose in France, I 
 immediately after felt very weary, and needed re- 
 creation. What was more, my native air became 
 every day more unwholesome, and it became neces- 
 sary for me to think of a change of climate. I had 
 visions ; the clouds in their courses alarmed me, for 
 they made strange and terrible faces at me. Often 
 did it seem to me that the sun was a Prussian cockade, 
 and by night I dreamed of an ugly black eagle who 
 tore my liver, and I became very melancholy. And 
 withal, I had become acquainted with an old Berlin 
 Councillor of Justice, who had passed many years in 
 the fortress prison of Spandau, who told me how 
 disagreeable it was to be obliged to wear irons in 
 winter. I found it indeed very unchristian that the 
 fetters were not warmed, at least a little, for men. 
 For if they were warmed a little, they would not make 
 such a disagreeable impression, and even freezing 
 natures could endure them ; and one ought also to be 
 so considerate as to perfume the chains with essence 
 of roses and of laurel, as is done here (in France). 
 I asked my Councillor if he often had oysters in 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 47 
 
 Spandau ? He replied, ' No ; that Spandau was too 
 far from the sea. And meat too was not common 
 there, and that the only volatile'^ was the flies 
 which fall into the soup.' About the same time I 
 became acquainted with a French bagman {commis 
 voyageur)j who travelled for a wine merchant, and 
 who could not praise too highly the jolly life which 
 one could lead in France — how the heaven was there 
 hung full of fiddles,^ how people sang the Marseil- 
 latsCj and Ejt avant marchons,^ and Lafayette aux 
 cheveux blancs^ and how Freedom, Equality, and 
 Fraternity was inscribed at every street corner — 
 praising meanwhile the champagne of his firm, and 
 giving me a great handful of its advertisements. He 
 also promised to give me letters of introduction to 
 the best restaurants in case I should visit the capital 
 to recreate myself. And as I really needed recrea- 
 tion, and Spandau is too far from the sea to eat 
 oysters there, and as the Spandau volaille did not 
 tempt me, and as Prussian fetters are very cold 
 in winter, and could not be good for my health, I 
 determined to travel to Paris, and in the native 
 country of champagne and of the Marseillaise to 
 drink the former and hear the latter sung, as well as 
 
 ^ Gefliigel. 
 
 2 Wie der Himmel dort voller Geigen hdnge. For an equivalent 
 to this phrase I must have recourse to the infinite resources of the 
 American language. ** How did you feel," asked one of a friend 
 newly converted, "when you first experienced religion?" "I 
 felt," was the reply, ''as if every hair on my head was a fiddle 
 playing ' Hail Columbia,' and as if my heart was a band of music." 
 — Translator. 
 
 3 La Parisienne, 
 
48 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 En avant marchons and Lafayette aux cheveux 
 b lanes. ^^ 
 
 Heine dwelt, before his departure to Paris, with 
 his mother in the Neuenwall, No. 28, and as he by 
 no means intended to remain permanently in France, 
 he left his correspondence there, with finished and 
 unfinished manuscripts. In the year 1833 a fire 
 broke out in his mother's house, and all was burned. 
 There were also consumed — more's the pit}'- ! — the 
 letters to his mother and sister during his Italian 
 journey, and the account of his first year's residence 
 in Paris. All the manuscripts mentioned in the 
 letters of Ludwig Robert, M. Moser, and Julius 
 Campe were then lost, and Heine bewailed, in dif- 
 ferent communications of the 1 6th July 1833 to 
 Varnhagen (V. Ense), and on the 17th March 1837 
 to Julius Campe, what a great loss he had endured 
 in papers by the conflagration. 
 
 Paris, the beautiful, great, elegant, unprejudiced 
 Eldorado, with its theatres, balls, and public amuse- 
 ments, had a bewildering effect on Heine, who, 
 provided with good letters of recommendation, be- 
 came acquainted, in the elegant salons of society, 
 with the most eminent political and literary people of 
 the time. Heine, who, while giving himself up to 
 the whirl of pleasure, also carefully observed what 
 passed, sketched in a gay and humorous style his 
 new impressions in newspaper articles and in letters. 
 He described how Paris delighted him by its gaiety, 
 which manifested itself in everything, and how the 
 polite, amiable, and aristocratic {vornehm) manner of 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 49 
 
 the French people gratified him. ^' Sweet pine- 
 apple perfume of politeness ! how beneficently dost 
 thou refresh my poor soul, which had swallowed in 
 Germany so much tobacco-qualm, smell of sour-krout, 
 and coarse vulgarity! But beyond the poHteness, 
 the language of the French people had for me a cer- 
 tain coating {A nstricJi) of elegant style ; and a Paris 
 Dame de la Halle speaks better French than a 
 German canoness of sixty-four descents." 
 
 Heine was to be found every day in the book- 
 shop of Heideloff" & Campe in the Rue Vivienne. 
 
 It was a rendezvous for all the most eminent 
 Germans who w^ere casually visiting Paris, or who 
 resided there. Felix Mendelssohn, Michael Beer, 
 KorefF, Alexander von Humboldt, Baron Maltitz, 
 and many others, met there to mutually exchange the 
 news received by them from home. 
 
 The glorious galleries of the Louvre, as well as 
 other great exhibitions of pictures, enchained {fes- 
 selten) Heine, and his articles on them, which ap- 
 peared in the first volume of the Salon (1833), 
 contain, in the really plastic description of certain 
 paintings, some of his very best work.^ 
 
 Heine's political reports to the Augsburg Allge- 
 meine Zeitung^ which were badly mutilated by the 
 German censorship, were afterwards published in 
 the original text under the title of " French Affairs " 
 {Franzbsische Zustdnde), and light was thrown on 
 
 ^ " Gehbren durch die wahrhaft plastische Schilderung einzelner 
 Bilder, mit zu seinen besten Arbeiten auf kunstwissenschaftlichem 
 Gebieie:' 
 
 D 
 
50 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 the pressure exerted on the German press, and the 
 manner in which it was gagged, by the reckless and 
 extremely bold language of the preface. 
 
 The many torments of the censorship, and a little 
 difference between him and his publisher, had so 
 injured his excessively nervous system that Heine 
 was obliged to seek for recovery at a bathing-place, 
 and when perfectly recovered he wrote as follows :— 
 
 XX. 
 
 Paris, October 25, 1833. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have been here eight 
 days since my return from Boulogne, where I re- 
 mained for six weeks, and was constantly very com- 
 fortable, in good health, and cheerful. Bathing did 
 me, of course, no harm, but it was not so beneficial 
 as formerly. I do not find that it strengthens me in 
 body and mind as it once did, and I must therefore 
 seek for some other means of cure. 
 
 To thee, dear Lottie, I return most cordial thanks 
 for the letters of thy ducky-darhng {Pute, Putchen^ 
 turkey-hen). Tell Marie and Ludwig that I write to 
 them as soon as I shall have time. 
 
 To kiss thy youngest. It is to be hoped that 
 thou art well ; I think constantly on thee, and thou 
 canst not believe, dear Lottie, how I love thee. 
 I saw yesterday a young lady who looked exactly 
 as thou didst before thou wert married. Christiani 
 and his wife have not as yet returned from Bor- 
 deaux. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 51 
 
 Dear mother, thou must really cease thy grieving 
 over the extraordinary malhcur of not being able to 
 see me. To come hither from France is not to be 
 thought of. Dismiss the idea, or else be sure that I 
 am going to Egypt, where I have long had a desire 
 to travel. If it be not possible for thee to longer 
 refrain from seeing my dear countenance, know at 
 least that I am no disobedient son, and that I fulfil 
 thy every wish, if it be not incompatible with thy 
 happiness. I will not cross the sea, nor permit thee 
 to do it — most decidedly not — otherwise I go to 
 Egypt. But I will, if thou absolutely requirest it, 
 go this summer for eight days to Hamburg, to the 
 shameful den (dent schdndlichen Neste)^ where I 
 shall vouchsafe to my enemies the triumph of 
 seeing me again, and of being able to overwhelm 
 me with abuse. 
 
 I do not really believe that I run any risk as re- 
 gards my political position, but prudence and pre- 
 caution are advisable in all things. Let no soul 
 know except Lottie that I have so much as an idea 
 of going to Hamburg, or my enemies will be on the 
 watch. But should I arrive unexpectedly, they will 
 have no time to consult together and to go to Ham- 
 burg. Thou wilt soon learn how hostile the Prus- 
 sians are to me — between us perhaps I exaggerate 
 the matter {ich iibertreibe vielleicht die Sache)j 
 but yet I am cautious and circumspect, and owing 
 to my great foresight thou mayst always be free 
 from fear. 
 
 I am in safety everywhere; am devoid of pas- 
 
52 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 sion, calm, and am getting as big a belly as 
 Burgmiiller.^ 
 
 With time comes wise counsel {kommt Zeit^ 
 komint Rath). At present my affairs are so un- 
 settled that I cannot determine what I shall be doing 
 six weeks hence. In the meantime there may be 
 many changes in the world, and I myself may have 
 time and opportunity to undertake a journey to thee 
 in all tranquillity. 
 
 Just wait ! don't confuse me ! I have a great deal 
 on my mind. 
 
 I kept the dwelling (flat) in the city where I had 
 enjoyed for one year complete quiet, and now, un- 
 lucky man, at my return I find a family, terribly 
 noisy, and with crying children, just under me. 
 
 Fare well ! Tell me what Max writes. I have 
 great works in my head, if I only had rest. God 
 knows that I would make but little commotion or 
 trouble if I were not always compelled to it. 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 Heine's brother had also left Hamburg. Gustav, 
 born in 1803, after having been at first engaged in 
 agriculture and then in trade, entered the Austrian 
 military service, and rose in the cavalry to be first 
 lieutenant. After marrying Emma Cahn (Cohen), 
 by whom he had three sons and two daughters, he 
 left the service, and, from a small beginning, estab- 
 lished in Vienna the subsequently official and widely- 
 
 1 A composer and teacher of singing to Heine's sister Charlotte 
 in Dusseldorf. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 53 
 
 circulated Fremdenblatt, was raised to nobility, and 
 died on the 15th November 1886 in Vienna as a 
 manifold MILLION AIRE.^ 
 
 Max, born in 1805, after completing his medical 
 studies, entered the Russian state service, took part 
 in 1828 as miHtary physician in the Russian war in 
 the Caucasus, became doctor in a cadet institute, 
 was ennobled, made court-councillor, and left the 
 service with the title of state-councillor, after marry- 
 ing the widow of the Imperial personal physician 
 Privy- Councillor von Arndt. He was known as the 
 writer of many medical works : 1 844, ^^ Medical 
 Topographical Sketches of Petersburg ; " 1 846, 
 " History of the Eastern Pestilence; " 1848, ^^ Frag- 
 ments of Medical History in Russia;" 1853, "Tra- 
 velhng Letters of a Medical Man." [He was the] 
 composer of many belletristic writings : '^ Sketches 
 of Gretsch, the marvel of the Lake of Ladoga," 
 '' Pictures from Turkey," " Letters from Petersburg," 
 and Poems; 1868, ^' Recollections of H. Heine and 
 his Family." [He] died November 6, 1879, in 
 Berlin. 
 
 The many torments of the German censorship, 
 as well as the decrees of the German Diet, which 
 forbid not only Heine's writings, but all that which 
 he might in future write, greatly limited his action 
 
 ^ I deem it to be my duty to the Baron's sense of dignities to 
 italicise and "cap" this culmination of earthly honours. The rise 
 from being a farmer to a merchant, thence to an officer, an editor, 
 and a nobleman, up and up, prorsiim et sursum, till far above all 
 earthly glory we find " Gustav " a mehrfach milliondr, is charac- 
 teristic. — Translator. 
 
54 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 as an author.^ He had, even in 1832, published 
 some articles in the Revue des Deux Mondes, which 
 were greatly liked, and he determined in conse- 
 quence to translate all his earlier works into French ; 
 and, as they appeared rapidly one after the other, 
 every one of his books excited an unexpected recog- 
 nition of its merits among the French people. 
 
 A great evil for Heine was the multitude of poli- 
 tical refugees who then swarmed in Paris, and from 
 whose theories of overthrowing everything he held 
 himself aloof, and who, in connection with Paris 
 correspondents of German journals, cast suspicion 
 on his character by false gossip. That Borne also 
 joined this movement, and in his letters from Paris 
 and in the Reformateur sharply attacked Heine, 
 accusing him of ambiguous diplomacy and cowardly 
 veering and shifting his course between the two 
 parties, greatly wounded the latter. He spoke in 
 his letters to several friends in bitter words of this 
 unmerited injury, adding that he would not sacrifice 
 his literary ability to newspaper quarrelling, and 
 therefore was for the time silent. 
 
 After the '' French Affairs," which appeared in 
 the second part of his " Literary History," or as 
 the second, third, and fourth part of his Salon, he 
 pubHshed in 1840 the book on Borne. His anger 
 at Borne had grown with years, because the attacks 
 
 ^ This is very doubtful, for the very fact of a book's being pro- 
 hibited generally increases its sale, so great is the charm of the 
 forbidden. It is tolerably certain that in 1847, &c., those who 
 wanted to read anything of Heine's in Germany had no great 
 difficulty in obtaining W..— Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 55 
 
 of the former had found a believing echo {ein glau- 
 biges Echo) among those who were inimical to or 
 envious of the poet. At last the long-announced 
 book appeared. Borne had in the meantime died, 
 and to the reproach of his friends that he did not 
 issue it while Borne was alive, Heine said, " Then 
 it would have been declared to my discredit that 
 I had killed him and vexed him to death." The 
 lady friend of Borne, Madame Wohl, of whom 
 Heine had asserted several things which greatly 
 irritated her, had a small book compiled by her 
 friends, in which all the vindictive remarks of Borne 
 as to Heine, uttered in private letters, were pub- 
 lished. A year had passed, Heine had forgotten 
 the affair, when a Mr. Salomon Strauss appeared 
 as second spouse of the injured lady, who demanded 
 of Heine either a public recantation or satisfaction 
 with weapons. 
 
 The duel took place. Heine received a chance 
 shot {Streifschuss) which slightly wounded him in 
 the hip, and so honour was satisfied ; but Frankfort 
 was for a long time the source of innumerable com- 
 ments which reflected on his private life, and which 
 were published in German and French journals. 
 
 This collection of confidential {confessioneller) com- 
 ments was the more painful for Heine because he 
 was reproached because his change of religion had 
 not been in accordance with his real conviction. His 
 going over to the evangelical faith was essentially 
 allied to the intention of setthng in Hamburg as a 
 lawyer, a practice which at that time was throughout 
 
56 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Germany only allowed to members of the Christian 
 Church. He wrote regarding this to Moser : " That 
 men will depreciate me as a poet is of little moment 
 to me, but that people will play so harshly, or rather 
 thrash me, as to my private affairs, is very grievous. 
 While I was a Jew I was called a Greek {Hellene), 
 and I was hardly baptized ere I was called a Jew." 
 
 His book on Borne also exercised a greater influ- 
 ence on his future life; for Heine, who had main- 
 tained a relationship with a beautiful and amiable 
 girl with whom he lived, desired before the duel, 
 not knowing what would happen, that her future 
 should in any case be secured, and was legally mar- 
 ried to her. The ceremony took place in the Church 
 of Saint-Sulpice, and a legitimate tie united him to 
 the warmly loved, and for many years companion of 
 his life. 
 
 His sister received the following in relation to 
 this event : — 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Paris, September 13, 1841. 
 
 Dear and much-loved Sister,— I am able 
 to-day to announce to thee officially my marriage. 
 On the 31st August I married Mathilde Crescentia 
 Mirat, with whom I had previously quarrelled daily 
 for more than six years. She has, however, the 
 noblest and best heart, is good as an angel, and her 
 conduct was, during the many years of our life in 
 common, so devoid of blam.e as to be praised by all 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 57 
 
 my friends and acquaintances as a pattern of proper 
 behaviour {Sittsamkeit). H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine wrote to his friend Lewald on the announce- 
 ment of the marriage : *' This matrimonial duel, 
 which will not end till one of us be slain, is certainly 
 more dangerous than (was) the short Hohngaug'^ 
 with Salomon Strauss of the Frankfort Jews Street." 
 
 xxn. 
 
 Paris, March 8, 1842. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I hope that these lines 
 will find you in the best enjoyment of life, and I 
 wait in great impatience for news of thee — how thou 
 art, how all is with Lottie, and above all, how it is 
 with the family. I have been better of late ; my eyes 
 are now in perfectly good condition, and only the 
 paralysis in my face remains, but it causes me no 
 pain whatever. My wife has unfortunately been ill 
 since ten days, and she is only just able now to go 
 out. And we have had fearfully cold weather, which 
 is as yet not quite over. 
 
 I live quietly, rationally, and in hope, the Lord be 
 praised ! I belong to the class of men who are 
 contented when things go on in the old way. Every 
 
 ^ Holmgang. The Norse term used in all sagas for a duel be- 
 tween champions, who were accustomed to go to fight on a holm 
 or island. It appears to be an habitual joke with Germans to speak 
 of their married life as one long quarrel. They frequently describe 
 the festival held on the thirtieth anniversary of their marriage as the 
 celebration of the Thirty Years' War. — Translator. 
 
58 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 change and fuss {Spektakel) is repulsive to me ; by 
 that thou canst see that I have grown old. Since 
 six months I feel a vast weariness of mind, and, as 
 the hundred-year-old Veronica said, ^' Thought is 
 running low." This, however, is only a transient 
 state, as I well know, a result of great excitement, 
 since I have more than eight years — more's the 
 pity ! — indulged in a passionate state of mind. 
 
 My wife is — God be praised ! — quite well. She 
 is a most excellent {kretizbraves), honourable, good 
 creature, without deceit or malice. But, unfortu- 
 nately, her temperament is very impatient, her moods 
 unequal, and she often irritates me more than is 
 good for me. I am still devoted to her with all my 
 soul ; she is still the deepest want of my life ; but 
 that will all cease some day, as all human feelings 
 cease with time, and I look forward to that time 
 with terror, for then I shall have to endure the 
 burden of the caprices without the alleviating sym- 
 pathy. At other times I am tormented with realising 
 the helplessness and want of decision {Rathlosigkeit) 
 in my wife in case I should die, for she is as inex- 
 perienced and senseless as a three-year-old child. 
 Thou seest, dear mother, that all my troubles are 
 in reality for the greater part only hypochondriac 
 fancies. 
 
 I have determined, as regards this spring, to go 
 into the country near Paris, and not to a bathing- 
 place. Although my finances are in tolerably good 
 condition, still this is more economical than travel- 
 ling. The journey to the Pyrenees, and the other 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 59 
 
 troubles which came at that time, ruined me for a 
 long time before I could get to fairly running in the 
 ruts again.^ 
 
 And now farewell, and greet for me Lottie and 
 her kitten. I talk about you daily with my wife, 
 who would so gladly see you all. 
 
 I greet the betrothed couple. When is the mar- 
 riage to take place ? 
 
 My hair-cord (seton) on the neck does me good, 
 and causes me almost no pain. — Thy obedient son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 On the night of the 4th and 5 th of May 1842 
 there broke out in Hamburg the great fire which 
 laid half the town in ashes, and also destroyed his 
 mother's dwelling. Despite the sad experience of 
 1833, Heine had for a second time sent her a chest 
 containing manuscripts and letters to keep for him, 
 believing that they would be safer with her than by 
 himself, considering his frequent changes of resi- 
 dence. His mother dwelt in the Neuenwall, which 
 was an offering to the flames, and in the catastrophe 
 the poor poet's papers, or his mental treasures, which, 
 
 ^ There can be no doubt that Heine was all his life long pitiably 
 poor, when we consider his unquestionably proper position as a 
 great man. That a summer jaunt, undertaken in the desperate 
 hope of restoring his health, should have seriously crippled his 
 finances, is really painful. But as suffering and poverty form the 
 badge of all the tribe of geniuses, we might pass it by were it not 
 that he was so brilliantly surrounded by " manifold millionaires," 
 who were his nearest or dearest friends, and who, it may be sup- 
 posed, were proud of the tie or the intimacy. It is of this that he 
 himself bitterly complains in discussing his pension. — Translator. 
 
6o THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 as he said, could never be replaced, were lost. He 
 wrote: ^' Those manuscripts were products of my 
 first youthful power, and never will I be able to so 
 throw off {niederschreibeti) anything again. I wished 
 to lay them by, so that at a later time, when through 
 weakened health my mental vigour should decay, I 
 could hve on this reserved capital in my old age." 
 
 Heine's sister, Charlotte, endeavoured at the risk 
 of her life to enter the abandoned dwelling of her 
 mother in order to rescue his papers. She suc- 
 ceeded in getting into the street with the packet of 
 manuscripts, but there she found the scene greatly 
 changed. The fire of the houses burning opposite 
 sent a shower of sparks and ashes on her, and her 
 senses were overpowered with suffocating smoke. 
 Pushed onward by the alarmed multitude, she con- 
 vulsively held the papers in her hands, when they 
 were knocked from her grasp by some accidental 
 blow. She fainted, and would have perished, had 
 she not been raised and carried by some one, who 
 is as yet unknown, away from danger. 
 
 XXIIL 
 
 Paris, May 13, 1842. 
 
 Dear good Mother and dear Sister, — I 
 received your letter of the 7th yesterday evening, 
 and was thereby at least able to sleep quietly 
 last night. For twenty-four hours I went about as 
 if my head were gone after I learned the alarming 
 news from the newspapers. I am amazed at thee, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 6i 
 
 dear Lottie! How couldst thou write so calmly 
 and sensibly seeing the terrible fire before thee? 
 I thank thee from my very heart for the relief 
 {Berruhigu7ig) which thou givest me. 
 
 My wife fell ill with fright after hearing the 
 terrible news. I hope that the terror and agitation 
 will not to your injury cast you down. My poor good 
 mother! do not let thyself be too much troubled 
 on account of mere material losses. 
 
 ^^God is a good man." But this time He trusted 
 too much to the excellent institutions for extinguish- 
 ing fire in Hamburg. 
 
 Fare well ! Remember me kindly to my brother- 
 in-law. I have, as I hope, to-day a good post. — Your 
 faithful H. Heine. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Paris, May 17, 1842. 
 
 Dearest Mother and dear Sister, — I have 
 duly received your letter of the 9th, and thank God 
 that we have got out of it with (only) a black eye 
 (so mit einem blaue Ange davon gekommen sind). 
 
 That the dear mother is burned out is of course 
 very grievous, but the chief thing for us was that 
 thy house, dear Lottie, was uninjured. It is to be 
 hoped that thou wilt not have lost much otherwise 
 in any other way. Pray set my mind at rest regard- 
 ing this, which has been from the beginning my 
 great apprehension. Thy husband is of practical, 
 active nature, and he will soon repair small losses 
 
62 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 by freshly stimulated industry. Did mother insure 
 her effects, and will it be paid ? Tell me something 
 about it ? I am as if stupefied by the accursed 
 affair; my nerves have been all at once paralysed, 
 and it will be perhaps not till to-morrow or the day 
 after that I shall be mentally clear-sighted. 
 
 When people on Friday asked me on every side 
 for news from Hamburg, I showed a friend thy 
 letter of the 7th, and he found it very touching that 
 my poor mother, while everything was burning, still 
 remembered to have a letter post-paid to me. In- 
 deed it is not my fault if this incident (as you may 
 see from the enclosed clipping from the National) 
 was published, and several leading newspapers have 
 repeated it. My dear good mother, who did this to 
 save me a few sous outlay, while the fire was before 
 your door! Certainly she will in future, out of 
 vexation, no longer frank 'her letters ! 
 
 And now farewell, and love me well. Kiss the 
 children. Write to me soon and often. My wife 
 sends most cordial regards. She was very much 
 shocked when she heard the news from Hamburg. 
 She has a very weak head but a very good heart. 
 It is very important to me to know that Campe was 
 insured and will get the money. I have written to 
 him to-day. — Yours truly, H. HEINE. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 6z 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Paris, May i6, 1842. 
 Monsieur Mr. Henri Heine, 
 
 Agent de. Change h Hai7ibiirg?- 
 
 My dear Uncle, — I hope that the horrors of 
 the terrible disaster which happened to Hamburg 
 have not made you ill. I can readily imagine how 
 great the shock must have been to your mind, since 
 I, afar in the distance, have felt it so keenly, I 
 retain to this hour a singular sense of numbness 
 in my head. I was for twenty-four hours without 
 news from you, until I at last received a letter 
 from my dear mother and sister. Lottie wrote with 
 a self-possession and calmness worthy of a field- 
 marshal. The disaster made a great sensation in 
 Paris, and awakened a sympathy which should 
 awaken shame in those Hamburgers who are not 
 yet cured of their hatred for the French, and still 
 continue to show it. The French are the finest 
 race. 
 
 And so, despite the admirable fire apparatus of 
 which you always boasted, you are half burned up ! 
 What a stretch — from the Deichstrasse to uncle's 
 house on the Jungfernstieg ! And the Jungfernstieg 
 burned with the Pavilions ! I am very anxious to 
 learn how far the insurance companies will fulfil 
 their agreements. 
 
 Fare well, dear uncle, and remember me from my 
 
 1 The original belongs to Mme. Anna Hanau nee Oswalt, in 
 Frankfurt-on-the-Main, a niece of Henri Yitmt.— German Editor. 
 
64 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 heart to Aunt Jette, who has doubtless suffered not 
 a Httle, as well as Hermann and the young ladies. 
 My wife, who is just at present in the country for 
 her health, came running in weeping when she 
 heard the terrible news. The catastrophe of the 
 Versailles Railway shocked us terribly, as we lost 
 by it many friends. What misery ! — Your true 
 nephew. H. Heine. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Paris, y/m<f 23, 1842. 
 
 Dear good Sister, — I must thank thee for thy 
 dear, dainty, and clever letters. 
 
 Thou art really a splendid {prdchtige) person. 
 Thou knowest I seldom pay compliments ; but thou, 
 dear Lottie, deservest a whole load of flattering 
 phrases. Write to me often ; thou really dost not 
 know how much thou dost cheer and revive me. 
 Thou writest delightfully. I am anxious to know 
 if thy eldest daughter takes after thee. Has she the 
 gentleness of the grandmother ? 
 
 My wife sends regards to thee. She will please 
 thee when thou seest her. She has a soul as good 
 as an angel, and perfectly honourable through and 
 through, great-minded and noble, but wild and cap- 
 ricious, sometimes tormenting and quarrelsome — yet 
 which is quite tolerable, since she always remains 
 very pretty and graceful. 
 
 I saw lately the young Dutchman who brought 
 me remembrances from you all; he does not seem 
 in the least changed. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 65 
 
 Give my regards to my brother-in-law. I kiss 
 the little dolly heartily. More anon. 
 
 Now I am trying the water-cure. Whether it 
 will help me, God knows ! — Thy true brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XXVH. 
 
 Paris, August 10, 1842. 
 
 Dear Lottie, — I am about to go to a bathing- 
 place, and too much busied with my preparations 
 for departure to be able to write thee a long letter, 
 as I desired to do, and as thou well deservest. Thy 
 last letter was so kind and loving, and caused me so 
 much pleasure. Armand Heine, whom I did not 
 know before, was lately here, and he told me much 
 of Hamburg.^ He told me, to my delight, that thy 
 children have got on well, and that thy eldest 
 daughter, Marie, is as tall and clever as her mother. 
 She might try the pen for once, and write to her 
 uncle. 
 
 I am going with my wife to Boulogne-sur-Mer, 
 where thou canst write to me poste restajtte, if thou 
 wilt please me. My wife finds herself fairly well. 
 We often talk of thee, and she already knows many 
 of our family pictures {Familienstucken). This 
 
 1 "Armand Heine, who died in 1883, a cousin of the poet, 
 founded, with his brother Michael Heine, the famous {weli beriihmte) 
 banking-house of A. & M. Heine in Paris. Alice, daughter of the 
 latter, and the widow of the Duke de Richelieu, has taken in 
 second marriage the Prince of Monaco." — Note by the Baron von 
 Embden, 
 
 E 
 
66 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 winter she is to learn German. Thou seest how I 
 educate her, and how she will soon be an ornament 
 to our family. For some time past she has quar- 
 relled very little, and is becoming very corpulent. 
 As for the rest, she is goodness of soul personified, 
 and wins all hearts. 
 
 Give my regards to thy husband, and kiss the 
 dear children. 
 
 And so lebe wohlj and keep in loving remembrance 
 thy trusty brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 Mathilde did not learn German, and the only 
 phrase which she retained from her instruction was 
 the standing remark when a German was announced 
 as a visitor, " Gitten Tag^ mein Herr ; nehmen Sie 
 Platz !"—{'' Good day, sir; take a seat!"). Then 
 she broke into ringing laughter, and ran away, leav- 
 ing the guest astonished at his singular reception, 
 and alone, till he was summoned to the sick-room 
 of the poet. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Paris, November 28, 1842. 
 
 Dear Sister, — Although my head is benumbed 
 [betaubt) with hard work, I haste to send thee my 
 wishes for thy happiness. How can I express the 
 joy which almost overwhelmed me on receiving thy 
 dear letter ! Indeed, I and my wife, who takes the 
 deepest interest in thee, have passed a very pleasant 
 hour. She sends you all the most sincere regards, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 67 
 
 and with them special thanks for the portrait which 
 we have received. She was out of herself for joy- 
 when she got it, and it has been since then paraded 
 in our drawing-room, where it is shown to every- 
 body and often admired. Thou art still externally 
 and intellectually so very young, and yet hast a 
 daughter who will soon be married, and thou wilt 
 then become a grandmother! And the old Luck 
 will become a grandmother ! Oh, that I had for a 
 moment my old father ! How he would have re- 
 joiced ! That is my constant thought, and the good 
 fortune makes me sad. I send my very kindest regards 
 to the bride as well as to the bridegroom. I thank 
 my brother-in-law from my heart that he wrote at 
 once to me, and I congratulate him with great joy. 
 Oh, that I could pass a few days with you ! What 
 sorrow! But it is not possible. The hope that 
 Marie will come to Paris delights me to my very 
 soul. She will convince herself that she has no 
 common uncle, and that her aunt is pretty and good. 
 Remember me to mother. I embrace you both. I 
 will write to mother soon. As I said, I am very 
 busy with much work. At this instant I am in it 
 up to the ears. I have the most important affairs 
 until the end of February, and, what is a pity, I 
 suffer from headache, and must often take a holiday 
 {fezern) against my will. 
 
 But I shall get through with it all, and then I 
 will do something for my headache. — ^Thy trusty 
 brother, H. HEINE. 
 
68 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Heine, having collected his correspondence for the 
 Allgemeine Zeitung in the varied papers under the 
 title of Lutetiuj had the book published. It is a 
 historical work of the daily events in Paris during 
 the reign of Louis Philippe, the period of the citizen- 
 kingdom, in which politics, art, and social Hfe are 
 sketched in a piquant and amusing form. Even 
 then Heine gave warning of the boldly rising Social- 
 ism, which, though it might not effect a radical 
 reform in all existing things, still held in its grasp 
 the future. " The propaganda of Communism has a 
 language which every race understands. The ele- 
 ments of this universal tongue are as simple as 
 hunger, envy, or death. It is easily learned, and 
 it will resolve itself into a general revolution in all 
 the world — the great duel of the destitute with the 
 aristocracy of possession." 
 
 In 1843 H. Heine published in Laube's Zeitung 
 fiir die elegante Welt a new humorous epic {Epos)^ 
 the " Summer Night's Dream," which, however, was 
 first generally appreciated and admired when it 
 appeared in book form in 1847. 
 
 Heine wrote incidentally of the great fire in 
 Hamburg : ^' My own poor Hamburg lies in ashes, 
 and the places which were so well known to 
 me, with which all the memories of my youth had 
 so closely entwined themselves, are all a smoking 
 pile of ruins. I regret most the loss of the Petri 
 Tower; it was so much elevated above all the sur- 
 rounding littleness ! The town will soon be built up 
 again, my old oblique-angled slobbery Hamburg! The 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 69 
 
 Breitengiebel, where my shoemaker dwelt, and where 
 I ate oysters at Unbescheiden's — a prey to the 
 flames ! The Hamburger Korrespo7tdent declares in- 
 deed that the Dreckwall v/ill soon rise hke a phoenix 
 from the ashes — but alas ! it will be no longer the 
 old Dirtwall. And the Town Hall — how often I 
 delighted myself by gazing at the statues of the 
 emperors who, looking as if carved from Hamburg 
 smoked beef, adorned the facade. Have the high 
 and well-powdered wigs which there gave a majestic 
 dignity to the heads of the Republic been saved ? 
 But Heaven preserve me from pulling at those old 
 wigs in a moment like this. I would rather prove, 
 on the contrary, that the Government of Hamburg 
 always surpassed those whom they governed as re- 
 gards good-will for social progress. The people are 
 here far below their representatives, among whom are 
 men of the most eminent culture and intelligence. 
 But it is to be hoped that the great fire will have 
 enlightened the lower minds also a little, and that 
 the whole population of Hamburg will now see that 
 the spirit of the time, which let his beneficence be 
 manifested in adversity, shall not be insulted by a 
 petty shopman's spirit in the future. The civil 
 equahty of the different professions of faith cannot 
 be longer delayed in Hamburg. We will, as regards 
 the future, hope for the best. Heaven does not send 
 such great trials in vain." ^ 
 
 ^ The giving equal civic rights to men of all religions in Ham- 
 burg actually did not take place till 1849 — that is to say, the town 
 remained in the narrowest-minded sense in the Middle Ages until 
 within forty years. 
 
70 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Paris, February ii, 1843. 
 Monsieur Mr. Henri Heine, 
 
 Agent de Change d, Hamburg. 
 
 Dear Uncle/ — These are the first lines which 
 I have written for three weeks. My trouble of the 
 eyes came on again with greatest force, and it is 
 only to-day for the first time that I feel a little 
 relieved. I would not speak to you, who have so 
 much more cause for grief than I, of my own afQic- 
 tions, were I not obliged to explain why it is you 
 now receive a letter for the first time from me. 
 The painful intelligence of the cause of your grief 
 was announced to me by my mother ten days ago, 
 and I can assure you that I have often since then, 
 and weeping, thought of you. Heaven sustain 
 you and console your kind heart. My wife, who 
 manifests the deepest sympathy of sorrow in your 
 affliction, desires to be remembered to you. 
 
 I beg you to assure Aunt Jette that I, though so 
 far away, share her suffering. Remember me to 
 Emily and Hermann, who was always a fine fellow. 
 
 I cannot express to you, dear uncle, how my heart 
 is pained, because I, when such mournful events 
 happen, cannot go to Hamburg. But since I have 
 been married, I am not so much given to moving 
 
 ^ This is a letter of condolence on the occasion of the death of a 
 daughter of the uncle, Mathilde, who departed at the age of seven- 
 teen. The original MS. belongs to Dr. H. Oswalt, living at Frank- 
 fort-on-the-Main, a nephew of Henry Heine. — German Editor. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. ' 71 
 
 about {inobil) as I was. I cannot leave my wife here 
 alone in Paris, and to take her with me is too ex- 
 pensive and ceremonious. I lead here, however, a 
 very happy domestic life, enjoy the most delightful 
 peace of mind, and nothing is wanting to me save 
 freedom from my complaint of the eyes and the fear- 
 ful headache, in which the other disorder is rooted. 
 I have recently had a seton {Haarseil) set in my 
 neck, and hope for relief from it. I am, as I said, 
 sound at heart, and I eat as much as six Frenchmen 
 — yes, almost as much as three Hamburgers. 
 
 And so adieu, dear uncle. Happier hours will 
 come again anon. I love you very much. — Your 
 obedient nephew, H. Heine. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Varis, February 21^ 1843. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — Thou must pardon my 
 delay in writing. The trouble in my eyes has been 
 — more's the pity! — the cause of my not writing. 
 I can now see for the first time since ten days. 
 This temporary affliction alarmed me very much, 
 because it was connected with a paralysis of the 
 muscles on the right side of the face. But my 
 trouble as to the eyes seems to be only transitory, 
 which will often make its appearance at certain 
 times, and as regularly disappear, while the remain- 
 ing paralysis of the face (which is not, thank God ! 
 visible) will require a longer time ere it can be driven 
 away. On this account I have had a seton in my 
 
72 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 neck. In all else I am sound from my heart — ^yes, 
 healthier than ever. My trouble affects me very 
 much as regards my work, for I take very great 
 care of myself. I have a good physical constitution, 
 and hope to jump about in this world for a long time 
 to come. But that thou wert ill, dear mother, often 
 afQicts me. Write to me much and often. Remem- 
 brances to Lottie ; I often think of her. Madame 
 Hollander has often praised greatly my niece Marie ; 
 how she remains young, and, in spite of her twenty 
 years remaining in Hamburg, has not suffered in 
 the least by any loss of her French amiability. I 
 saw her yesterday in a ball at her father's, the old 
 Worms, where I, by the way, only went on account 
 of my wife ; she is so delighted with dancing, and 
 deserves that I should often sacrifice myself to her. 
 She has also of late nursed me very well, and as 
 regards her I am very happy. 
 
 Thou askest me as to Atta Troll. It may have 
 got a little colour from an Emancipation Jew, but 
 between us I only had satire of human ideas of 
 Liberalism in my mind. Thou seest that I answer 
 thee. 
 
 And now fare well, dear mother, and write much 
 and frequently to me. — Thy devoted son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Paris, March 22, 1843. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — If thou weighest all my 
 words like gold in the scales, I cannot write to thee 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 73 
 
 with ease, as I am accustomed to do. It should be 
 reassuring to thee when I write everything at once 
 to thee, even something which vexes me without a 
 cause. 
 
 When r last wrote there lay in my house two 
 corpses — two neighbours had died of typhus fever, 
 one of whom was a young man of thirty, one who 
 had left wife and child destitute. My wife lay ill, 
 and the weather was very cold. In such circum- 
 stances no one writes many letters. The weather 
 to-day is beautiful ; it has been like spring for eight 
 days. I feel myself very much cheered by it and 
 well. My wife has recovered, and she now scolds, 
 thank God ! in perfect health. I now hope that thou 
 also art all right. ^ 
 
 Fare well, and remember me with love to Lottie 
 and the children. — Thy truly devoted son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Paris, April 8, 1843. 
 Dearest Sister, — My mother wrote to me 
 recently that on the 8th of this month — that is, to- 
 day — the wedding would take place, and I am in con- 
 
 ^ Dass auch Du ganz auf den Strumpf—^^ that thou art also quite 
 on the stocking^'' i.e.., hearty, strong. Strwnpf, according to W. D. 
 Whitney, is perhaps related with stumpf, a stump or stock, and it 
 is remarkable that in Westmoreland a stockener is a little, sturdy, 
 thick-set fellow. This may be an accidental coincidence ; but if so, 
 it is very curious. (See Brochett's "Glossary of North Country 
 Words," vol. ii. p. Z% cited in " Denham Tracts," English Folk- 
 lore Society, 1891). — Translator. 
 
74 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 sequence thinking constantly of you. To-day you 
 must all have enough buzzing about your ears ; since 
 the memorable Zollenspiker day thou hast not en- 
 joyed such difete} I congratulate thee and embrace 
 thee with all my heart, and beg thee to assure the 
 young couple of my most deeply-felt sympathy 
 and love {ineine tiefempfundenste TheilnaJime und 
 Liebe). The most joyful congratulations and many 
 most friendly greetings to thy husband. Kiss for 
 me our mother, the old Good Luck, and thy chicks 
 {Kucken). My wife sends to you all her best and 
 kindest congratulations. I hope that you are all well. 
 All is well with us, only my poor head gets no 
 better. ... H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXIIL 
 
 Paris, May 23, 1843. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — I have duly received thy 
 letter of May 9th, and learned by it that thou art 
 well. The letter from thee last year of the same 
 date was cheering. 
 
 I can never forget the terror of that fire. Neither 
 can I forget how grand my sister was on that occa- 
 sion. What a heroine ! Wellington was a dishclout 
 compared to her ! 
 
 I send sincerest regards to dear Lottie, and thank 
 her for her last news as to the marriage of my niece. 
 
 ^ '* Zollenspiker is a place in the Vierlanden, near Hamburg, where 
 weddings are celebrated." — German Editor. That is, in reference 
 to the fiie after the wedding, represented elsewhere rather by a 
 *' party," a reception at the ceremony. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 75 
 
 She must have received my congratulations at the 
 same time. But now I would like to know how all 
 is going with the young couple. May their honey- 
 moon form no contrast to their after life ! 
 
 As for my married life, there has been in it no 
 change ; on the contrary, my life becomes every year 
 more reasonable and tractable, and I have never 
 regretted having wedded her. That is saying much 
 at the present time, and in Paris, which swarms 
 with miserable marriages; good ones are so rare 
 that they ought to be kept in spirits. 
 
 My headache is always the same. What cure I 
 shall adopt this summer I do not as yet know — 
 travelling expenses are so great, since I must take 
 my wife with me ; she cannot remain alone in Paris. 
 I shall indeed not travel at all. Perhaps I shall find 
 a dwelling-place near Paris where there is some 
 country air, if I can find one cheap. 
 
 Thou hast no idea of how often I think of thee. 
 Write to me often and much, how thou art and how 
 all goes. 
 
 As soon as thou gettest a letter from Max, pray 
 let me know it. I would like to know whether he 
 received my letter which I sent to him lately via 
 Riga, by a friend who was to send it to his address 
 in Petersburg, which I do not know. 
 
 And so fare well. Kiss Lottie and the dear chil- 
 dren for me. — Thy faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
76 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Taris, /una 1 8, 1843. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I duly received last 
 week thy dear letter of the 5 th with the enclosure, 
 and I thank thee for the heartfelt proof of thy 
 motherly love, which shows itself here as on every 
 opportunity. That there are so many evil mortals, 
 and that for the much good which I do always I am 
 so ungratefully treated, and as especially there is so 
 much misjudgment of me, it is certainly a comfort 
 that I have such a good {brave) mother as thou art, 
 and thy greatly loving care for me is indeed of 
 greatest value. To whom I shall give the paper to 
 keep I do not know. I believe the best course is to 
 keep it myself. I am really sound from the heart 
 and well, and my trouble in the head is of such a 
 nature as not to prevent my growing old and grey. 
 In any case, I live so temperately that my health, 
 instead of deteriorating, improves. Therefore be 
 easy. I also hope that thou, dear mother, art well. 
 Write to me often as to this, how thou art. Heaven 
 keep us all ! Write and tell me how it looks there. 
 
 As I do not read the Telegraph^ do not forget to 
 keep an eye on it for me. Uncle has sent me with 
 a kind letter his portrait, which is very much like 
 him.2 Q2s\ has also written very affectionately to 
 
 ^ The Telegraph was a journal edited by Karl Gutzkow, a leading 
 enemy of Heine. — German Editor. 
 
 2 This refers to a lithograph of Salomon Heine, drawn by the 
 celebrated Otto Spekter of Hamburg. Salomon Heine, bom 
 October 19, 1767, died December 23, 1844, married Betty nee 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 77 
 
 me, so that I, thank God ! am now on the best of 
 terms with the family. 
 
 I think that Max does best to send his letters to 
 me through thee vid Hamburg, for I believe that 
 directly here from St. Petersburg is not safe. 
 
 Write to me how all goes with Lottie and the 
 young married couple. I think I shall remain in 
 Paris till the 4th of next month, and then go for 
 six weeks or two months to a seaside place, perhaps 
 to Boulogne. Quiet, sea-air, and bathing will be 
 good for me there. Things look badly as regards 
 my German authorship on account of successful 
 censorial growls {Censurnergelungen). If thou wilt 
 write at once to me, I shall receive thy letter here 
 in Paris. My wife kisses thee. — Thy devoted son, 
 
 Henri Heine. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Trouville, August 5, 1843. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — For three weeks I 
 went dragging after me the uncertainty as to whither 
 I should travel. At last I came here, where I have 
 been for eight days, not determined whether I would 
 
 Goldschmidt, who was born in 1777, and died in 1837, whose six 
 children, all deceased, were as follows : — 
 
 Friederike, married Moritz Oppenheimer. 
 
 Fanny, married Schroder, M.D. 
 
 Hermann, born 1804, died unmarried 1 830, in Rome. 
 
 Amalie, married John Friedlander. 
 
 Carl, born 18 10, died 1865, married Cecilie Furtado in Paris. 
 
 Therese, died 1880 in Ottensen, married Dr. Adolf Halle. 
 
 — German Editor, 
 
78 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 remain or not. That is the reason why I did not 
 write sooner to thee. Now, however, that I have 
 determined to remain a good while, I announce to 
 thee my well-being, and beg thee to let me know 
 as soon as possible of thine. My address is, 
 " H. Heine, a Trouville, Department Calvados, en 
 France." Write to me soon how all is going with 
 you all. I and my dear wife are well, and the sea- 
 baths suit me this year very well. 
 
 We constantly talk of thee, and thou canst not 
 imagine how earnestly my wife desires to see thee ; 
 for I often tell her how much love thou hast ever 
 shown me, and how few mothers there are like 
 thee. 
 
 My eyes are, unfortunately, very weak, as usual 
 in summer. To kiss Lottie and the chicks. Fare 
 well, old Good Luck ! — Thy most warmly loving son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 I beg do not prepay thy letters. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Paris, September i8, 1843. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — Thy letter of August 18, 
 which thou didst send to Trouville, was correctly 
 forwarded to me, and since that I also received thy 
 letter of September 2nd. I learn from the latter, 
 with great sorrow, that Uncle Heine's health is not 
 so good. I beg thee to write to me accurately and 
 in detail how he is. I am, as regards this, if not 
 quite at ease, at least firmly convinced that the 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 79 
 
 health of this dear man is based on an iron con- 
 stitution, which may indeed be gradually worn away 
 by shocks, yet which will, to our joy, last yet a long 
 time. Uncle never sinned as regards his health, 
 save in excess of eating, and his really vital powers 
 have only been at times injured by mental troubles. 
 God keep him well ! 
 
 And thou, sweet old puss, how art thou ? If thou 
 diest ere I see thee again, I will shoot myself. Bear 
 that in mind in case the fit should seize thee to 
 change thy Dammthor dwelling for a worse lodg- 
 ing. Mind that, and thou wilt never commit any 
 such folly. 
 
 I conversed yesterday here with a friend of Max, 
 a Mr. Gretsch of Petersburg, who also knows thee, 
 and who spoke with such deep regard and respect 
 of thee that I went about all day in very melancholy 
 mood, with a soft-boiled heart. 
 
 Were it possible — but just now it is not — I would 
 visit thee this year ; but next year it shall most 
 certainly be done. Give my kind regards to Lottie 
 and the children. 
 
 As I hear, X ^ is in Paris. What luck for Paris, 
 and an indemnification for the absence of the Queen 
 of England. 
 
 Fare well ! Above all things, live as long as 
 possible, and mind what I have told thee. — Thy 
 faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 ^ A frequent guest at the table of his uncle Salomon, whose 
 delusions as to his own greatness often called forth Heine's mockery. 
 — German Editor, 
 
So THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Paris, September 21, 1843. 
 
 Dearest Sister, — Thou wilt have received these 
 
 lines by Mdlle. A. de C , a young person who has 
 
 as admirable a character as her skin is black. She 
 is of African race, but has been brought up in Paris 
 since her tenderest infancy, and that in the same 
 pension where my wife passed many years. She 
 is her most intimate friend, and thou mayst infer 
 from that that I know her well, and can commend 
 her with good conscience and cordial warmth. Her 
 father is a rich merchant from St. Thomas, who 
 recently married a lady of Hamburg, who is now in 
 Hamburg, and in order to treat with him of delicate 
 
 matters Mdlle. de C is going to Hamburg in 
 
 company with her brother, who is also as black a 
 young man as he is good. 
 
 Treat them well from love to us ; thy sister-in-law 
 begs the same. When thou canst benefit them by 
 good advice and aid, thou wilt surely do so. What 
 is in question is to influence her father, though she 
 will not at once confess as much to thee, for she is 
 of very proud character, but the young man will 
 soon inform thee of all their affairs. I have com- 
 mended them to Cgecilia Heine. 
 
 I have received no letter from thee, and we live 
 accordingly in the greatest anxiety. Give my kind- 
 est regards to thy husband, and kiss the children. — 
 Thy faithful brother, H. HEINE. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 8i 
 
 Thou hast so good a heart and art so shrewd, 
 that I doubt not thou wilt be a source of joy and 
 advantage to our friend. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Paris, October i8, 1843. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have duly received thy 
 last letter, and thy idea that we shall make a ren- 
 dezvous with Max in Hamburg in the spring has 
 earnestly awakened in me the desire to see thee and 
 him again. But I will see thee before spring, even 
 in this year, and ere thou expectest it I will stand 
 some morning early in life-size before thee. But 
 that is all a great secret, and thou must not say a 
 word to a soul in the world about it ; for I shall not 
 go by water, but directly through Germany, and as 
 I shall not say a word about it to anybody here, and 
 as I intend to travel quickly, there will be nothing 
 to fear from Government. But, as I said, not a 
 word to a soul about it. I shall write to Uncle 
 Heine and inform him of it, but only one day before 
 my departure, and not earlier, for very important 
 reasons. If Lottie can be silent regarding it, thou 
 mayst inform her of it. I shall leave my wife here 
 in Paris, in the boarding-school where she formerly 
 dwelt. As I do not know when I shall leave the 
 city, do not write any more to me here. 
 
 Next week more from thy devoted son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 F 
 
82 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Paris, October 21, 1843. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I hope to see thee in 
 good health, and will write to thee to-day but little, 
 since I shall see thee in from ten to fourteen days, 
 and tell thee orally all that I have to say, and all 
 love and kindness. I intend to go from here to 
 Brussels, and thence probably to Amsterdam, and so 
 on over Bremen to Hamburg, where I anticipate 
 the reception by thee with perfect safety. I have 
 very promptly made up my mind to this journey, 
 for such things must not be put off. Delay is as 
 painful as unwise. 
 
 And so I shall soon see thee again, dear mother. 
 Do not be frightened at my changed appearance. I 
 will write to thee again while on the journey. 
 
 Kiss Lottie and the children for me. I shall soon 
 kiss them all in reality. H. HEINE. 
 
 XL. 
 
 Bremen, October 28, 1843. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — As thou seest, my journey 
 is nearly ended. I arrived here an hour ago, sound 
 and well, but very weary from so much travelling 
 by night. 
 
 How I shall go hence to Hamburg I do not yet 
 know, since I will not travel again by night, and 
 the post-coach only leaves this evening. I may per- 
 haps arrive early in the morning of the day after 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 83 
 
 to-morrow, or, if it be possible, to-morrow evening 
 early. 
 
 Kiss Lottie and the children, whom I will kiss the 
 day after to-morrow. — Thy true son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 Heine was obliged, during his trip through Ger- 
 many, to observe the utmost precaution, since it 
 had been forbidden to the poet to enter the Prus- 
 sian dominions, and there were the most severely 
 detailed instructions relative to his arrest at all 
 the frontier stations, which orders were annually 
 renewed. 
 
 After a twelve years' absence, Heine had a long- 
 ing to see his fatherland again and to embrace his 
 mother and sister, so went to Hamburg. He passed 
 his six weeks' visit almost exclusively in the family 
 circle of his loved ones, and was hardly accessible 
 to the greater number of his acquaintances. He 
 also availed himself of his being there to con- 
 clude a contract with his publisher, Julius Campe, 
 as to a complete edition of all his works, and made 
 conditions for an annually rising rent or annuity, 
 beginning with 1800 marks banco (about 3400 
 francs), which should after his death pass to his 
 wife during her life. The anxiety as to the future 
 of Mathilde, allied to inconsiderate haste, caused 
 him to conclude the bargain, and he afterwards 
 often regretted having been so yielding to his 
 publisher. 
 
 In December Heine undertook his journey home- 
 
84 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 ward, and promised that he would, in company with 
 Mathilde, whom he could never sufficiently praise, 
 renew his visit next year and remain a longer time. 
 On account of the frost which had set in, he was 
 obliged to risk the journey by land, and it is touch- 
 ing to observe how Heine, who was in great anxiety 
 regarding it still, wrote to his mother at every 
 opportunity.^ 
 
 XLI. 
 
 Hanover, December 9, 1843. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I arrived here yester- 
 day safe and sound. I shall remain here on account 
 of business for a few days, and I have nothing to 
 fear. The weather is perfect, and perhaps this has 
 induced me to remain here for a few days. I am 
 happy and very cheerful, and hope that thou art not 
 too much troubled. 
 
 Kiss Lottie and her children, and greet them for 
 me. In about ten days I shall be in Paris, and 
 will at once write to thee. — Thy devoted son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 ^ It is to be regretted that Baron von Embden, who had mani- 
 festly the fullest opportunity to collect information and also the 
 ability to describe facts very graphically, did not give us more 
 information as to Heine's life at this interesting time. It may be 
 observed that Heine — often very naively — did his best to praise his 
 wife, or, to express it plainly, endeavoured to vindicate his marriage 
 to his mistress; but, making every allowance, he was evidently 
 most sincerely devoted to her, and it is in this, as in many things, 
 he shows the extraordinary attachment to domestic life and family 
 ties which is characteristic of the Hebrew race. This noble trait, 
 which is evident in every page of this book, constitutes its greatest 
 charm. — Translator, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 85 
 
 XLII. 
 
 Cologne, December 14, 1843. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have not been, as thou 
 seest, so long in Hanover as I intended. Now I am 
 in Cologne, where I shall remain one day ; the day 
 after to-morrow I shall go by railway to Brussels, 
 an easy journey of one day, and from there it is 
 only a cat's leap to Paris. My journey is, there- 
 fore, as good as over, and thou canst sleep in peace. 
 I feel just at present very much wearied with 
 travelling by night, but gay and well in other 
 respects. The weather has been charming, and I 
 was in this respect very much favoured. 
 
 And now fare well. I will write to thee eight 
 days hence. Give my kindest regards to Lottie 
 and kiss the children. Best remembrances also to 
 my brother-in-law and to my nephew. — ^Thy faith- 
 ful son, H. Heine. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 Brussels, December 18, 1843. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — I have just arrived here 
 sound and well. I shall continue my journey to 
 Paris, where I shall arrive early in the morning, 
 day after to-morrow, and this letter may serve thee 
 as notice of my arrival, that I am, as it were, already 
 at home ; therefore, be easy and leave me too at 
 ease. I shall (not) be able to write to thee before 
 six or eight days, for as soon as I arrive in Paris, 
 
86 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 I shall be overwhelmed with such a rush ( Wulst) of 
 business that I shall not be able to write very soon. 
 I have had thus far very fine weather. Remem- 
 ber me kindly to my dear sister Lottie and her 
 children ; all my thoughts on the journey wandered 
 from you to my wife, and from my wife again to 
 you. If I may only find you all well and happy 
 next year, that is my only anxiety. 
 
 My pen will not write, but I am as ever, your 
 faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 Paris, yawwar,;/ 23, 1844. 
 Dear good Sister, — Mother has announced to 
 me the happy accouchement of thy daughter four- 
 teen days since, but since then I have been without 
 news as to her condition, which is the main thing, 
 and therefore I must complain of your neglect. I 
 hope that Marie is well, and that I shall very soon 
 receive from you assurances regarding it. I and 
 my wife are tolerably well, and ever speak of thee. 
 I can never tell her enough as to what a splendid 
 sister thou art {was Dufiireine Pracht von Schwester 
 bist)y and the love with which I speak of thee makes 
 her almost jealous. We live very quietly and retired. 
 
 My plans for this summer are still the same, and 
 I will sometime write more in detail to thee regard- 
 ing them. 
 
 Write to me fully and circumstantially, so that 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 87 
 
 I may get an accurate idea as regards the place 
 there. But above all things, always give me the 
 most accurate news as regards the health of our 
 uncle. I hope that thou art well, and dost not 
 exert thyself too much. Mother complains some- 
 what as to thy state of health ; I hope it is nothing. 
 
 In spite of my increasing paralysis of the face, 
 I still work a great deal ; but it may be that some 
 day I must pitch my pen to the devil and see myself 
 condemned to be idle {Garnichtsthiin). 
 
 My wife behaves tolerably well, does not scold 
 too often, but is always a spendthrift. I make 
 both ends meet with toil and care, yet I contrive to 
 do it, and sorrow flies. Oh, my sweet angel, if I 
 could only see thee often — only see thee without 
 speaking ! 
 
 Fare well ! and greet all the family from me, 
 thy family cock {^Haiishahn) and the chicks {Putchen). 
 — Thy diffuse and tedious brother, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 Paris, February 20, 1844. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — There was nothing in the 
 letter which I wrote to Lottie, and I do not know 
 why she would not let thee see it. I cannot write 
 much to thee to-day, and may not be able to for 
 four weeks to come, for my trouble in the eyes has 
 returned, and I must, in the meantime, take great 
 care of them. The physician says that I must this 
 
88 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 time wait longer than usual till the attack shall have 
 passed, and I can use them again as usual. 
 
 I send love to Lottie and to the children. Write 
 soon to thy faithful son, H. Heine» 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 Paris, March 4, 1844. 
 Dear good Mother, — Thou must always be- 
 lieve exactly what I say, for I tell thee everything. 
 I have just received thy letter, and I see by it that 
 thou makest for thyself unnecessary thought and 
 sorrow. My eyes, or rather the eye which gave me 
 trouble, is well again, but I must take great care of 
 myself; therefore I write to nobody, read nothing, 
 and nurse myself. I hope that I shall in a few days 
 be all right again. I long so much to see you all 
 once more. This shall in any case come to pass 
 this summer, though I must again go to Hamburg 
 for a short time, and again leave my wife here. 
 
 H. Heine. 
 XLVII. 
 
 Paris, /w/j/ 11, 1844. 
 
 Dear good Sister, — I wrote yesterday to our 
 dear mother, and told her that I would journey to 
 Hamburg by land, and not by way of Antwerp. 
 Now she need not trouble at every breath of wind. 
 
 But I tell thee to-day, dear Lottie, the truth, 
 which is, that I next week, on the 20th of July, 
 shall go by the steamboat from Havre to Hamburg, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 89 
 
 and therefore arrive on the 22nd or 23rd. Mother 
 need know nothing of all this until I shall have 
 arrived safe and sound with my wedded half. 
 
 It is the best time for a sea-voyage, and beyond 
 the sea-sickness there is not the least thing to trouble 
 us. But now, dearest Lottie, comes the question of 
 lodging, and regarding this I will tell thee as accu- 
 rately as possible what is to be done. 
 
 I have not been this year to a bathing-place, and 
 my nerves are so irritated that I shall certainly be 
 ill unless I can inhale fresh air in the country or 
 sea-air on a strand, and that while in the completest 
 repose. It would gratify me very much, dear Lottie, 
 if thou couldst find for me some country-house 
 beyond the Dammthor where I could pass August, 
 September, and October. But if this is not possible, 
 I will remain but a few days in Hamburg, and go 
 at once with my wife to Heligoland, to breathe sea- 
 air there for a few weeks, and, should it agree with 
 me, to take sea-baths. I greatly need it. 
 
 As soon as I shall have arrived in Hamburg I 
 will go to Hillert, though I foresee that his newly- 
 built City of London will be intolerable to me, who 
 have an aversion to all newly-erected buildings. But 
 I shall remain there only a few days, and then go 
 into the country, should I get a house there, or to 
 Hehgoland if I have none. If I go to Heligoland, 
 thou shalt look in the meantime for a dwelling in 
 town for me in thy neighbourhood, which I can at 
 once enter when I return. In case it will be no 
 trouble to thee (and only in this case), it would be 
 
90 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 a great favour to me if thou couldst receive my wife 
 for a few days while I shall be at Hillert's ; not that 
 I would save money, but because it seems to me to 
 be more respectable that my wife should not go to 
 an inn ( Wirthshaus). In any case, I will write to 
 thee again regarding this. 
 
 How would it do if thou wouldst make a little party 
 of pleasure and accompany us to Heligoland ? That 
 would be most agreeable to me. Canst thou arrange 
 it ? It would, at any rate, do thee much good. 
 
 As I shall remain there, at the latest, only to the 
 end of November, I will bring no household gear 
 with me, and I must therefore have the house in 
 the country, or later that in town, completely fur- 
 nished, and hire all things needful. Yet the prepa- 
 ration {Einrichtimg) need not be so very complete, 
 since I do not care to have provided for me many 
 utensils, and things which I may subsequently use or 
 can carry away with me. I require two bedrooms, 
 each with a bed, one sitting-room, one workroom 
 (or study), and a small chamber for a maid. 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 VAR.is,July 13, 1844. 
 
 My dear Lottie, — I am busied up to my neck 
 with preparations for travel, I shall soon leave, as 
 I wrote thee, and next Saturday early shall be with 
 my wife on the Hamburg steamboat in Havre. As 
 regards my letter which I wrote to thee the day 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 91 
 
 before yesterday, I would say to thee in addition, 
 that I, after due consultation with my physician, 
 will most certainly go to take sea-bathing in HeH- 
 goland, and therefore will previously pass only a 
 few days in Hamburg. I therefore perceive that 
 I shall only need a dwelling after returning from 
 Heligoland, and thou needst therefore only take 
 the trouble to find me that, and not a place in the 
 country. And in any case, as regards this dwelling- 
 place in town, thou needst not rent it till I shall 
 have seen it, as I shall so soon be there. I should 
 like the Esplanade best, but thy Theaterstrasse, 
 rather near the Jungfernstieg, will content me. The 
 new Jungfernstieg will do just as well. 
 
 I will perhaps write to mother before I depart, but 
 do not tell her that I am coming by water ; I will 
 only let her know that she may expect me between 
 the 23rd and 25 th, else she may be frightened. 
 
 My wife and I imagine ourselves already in Ham- 
 burg, and converse constantly about you. How glad 
 I shall be to see you and the children once again. 
 
 The weather is beautifully pleasant and cool; I 
 shall travel at the pleasantest time of year. I beg 
 thee, try to arrange it so that thou and Marie canst 
 go with us to Heligoland. The expense will not be 
 great, and the air is so delightful and healthy. 
 
 To-day Furtado will travel from here to Hamburg 
 to bring Csecilia thence, and proceed with her to 
 the bathing-place, Lenk, in Switzerland.^ 
 
 ^ " Csecilia, nee Furtado, wife of Carl Heine, dwelling in Paris, 
 is known for her wealth and for many benevolent institutions in 
 
92 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 On a fine sunny afternoon, the Havre steamboat 
 arrived rather late in our harbour, and we all waited 
 a long time on the Schiffsbriicke (ship-bridge) in 
 anxious expectation of becoming personally ac- 
 quainted with Heine's wife, Mathilde. At last the 
 ship drew near, and my uncle, who had grown some- 
 what bulkier, and in whose external traits there were 
 no signs of ill-health, came ashore, with a stately 
 lady in a grey travelling-dress on his arm. Mathilde 
 was really a very beautiful woman, quite tall, a 
 somewhat voluptuous form, a charming oval face 
 enclosed by chestnut-brown hair, fuU red lips show- 
 ing fine white teeth, and great expressive eyes, 
 which flashed fire when excited. 
 
 We were soon destined to see these beautiful eyes 
 send out their lightnings, when, after a joyful greeting, 
 my father led her to the coach, and, after she had 
 taken her seat in it, handed to her a box which he 
 at once let fall in pain, for he felt himself bitten. A 
 loud cry escaped from Mathilde, for in the box was 
 her parrot Cocotte — her darling whom she had 
 brought from Paris — and she screamed in accents of 
 anger {im erregten Tone), '^My God, how incon- 
 siderate to frighten poor Cocotte so, after his having 
 been so sea-sick ! " 
 
 Fortunately Cocotte had suffered no injury, and 
 
 France. Her husband, Carl Heine, born January 20, 18 10, died 
 July 4, 1865, in Bagneres de Luchon, from a blow accidentally 
 received while riding. The marriage was childless and they adopted 
 a little girl. This adopted daughter married General Ney, Prince 
 of Elchingen, and being soon a widow, united herself in second 
 marriage with the Duke de Rivoli." — German Editor, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 93 
 
 the features of the beautiful dame assumed their 
 usual smiling serenity. My uncle approached, laugh- 
 ing heartily, and said, ^^Dear brother-in-law, you 
 came near being out of Mathilde's good graces for 
 ever ; yet I wrote to you that I should come with 
 my wife and parrot, but you took no notice of the 
 latter until he introduced himself to you by a bite." 
 This Cocotte was an ungovernable, violent, spiteful 
 creature, which, when in ill-temper, began to chatter 
 and screech wildly, which was extremely annoying 
 to the poor poet during his frequent headaches. One 
 day, when the bird had an attack of cramp, Mathilde 
 rushed into the study screaming, *' Henri, Cocotte 
 is dying ! " to which Heine piously repHed in Ger- 
 man, which was unintelligible to Mathilde, " Gott sei 
 gedankt ! " ('' God be praised ! "). But the gratitude 
 was premature, for Cocotte recovered. 
 
 During the first days of their visit Heine and his 
 wife lived in our house on the great Theatre Street, 
 and went next week to an elegant apartment in the 
 first storey of the Esplanade. They usually took 
 their meals by us, and Mathilde, who greatly liked 
 Hamburg cookery and food, was gay and at her 
 ease, all the more because we all spoke French, and 
 her jesting sallies were appreciated. 
 
 The first visit which Heine made with his wife 
 was to his uncle Salomon, with whom Mathilde was 
 much pleased, since her husband, adroitly acting as 
 interpreter, contrived to evade the fact that she knew 
 no German. The old fellow {der Alte) was realty 
 a good, benevolent gentleman, but a harsh family 
 
94 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 tyrant/ and could not endure that any one in his 
 presence spoke in a foreign language, because he only 
 understood German. And as to his German, Heine 
 said very descriptively that at his official dinners 
 there stood at one side of the table one waiter for 
 the dative, and on the other one for the accusative.^ 
 One of his sons-in-law, who had previous to this 
 time established himself in England, was there very 
 unfortunate in business. He was fond of speak- 
 ing English whenever an opportunity presented 
 itself. One day, while dining with his uncle, he con- 
 versed over the table with his vis-a-vis, the wife 
 of the English Consul, who was a German, all in 
 English. The old man, who had escorted the lady 
 to the table, listened a while, and at last, frown- 
 ing, interrupted the conversation thus — " It is true 
 that my son-in-law speaks good English, but 
 his learning the language cost me half a million 
 marks." 
 
 Salomon Heine dwelt during the summer in a 
 magnificent villa in Ottensen, the gardens of which, 
 opulent in flowers (blumenreiche) and in the form 
 of terraces, extended to the strand of the Elbe, and 
 it was there that the family dinners were held on 
 
 1 This harsh phrase indicates what is undoubtedly evident, that 
 Baron von Embden generally speaks fairly and squarely, or really 
 truthfully, in all his sketches of character. There is more of this 
 honest bluntness anon. — Translator. 
 
 ^ Referring to the confusion between mir and mich, prevalent 
 among many in Germany, and alluded to in Sandomir and Sando- 
 inich. It is peculiarly Prussian. 
 
 " Und statt mir, sagt er, sagst du mich." 
 
 — Tratislator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 95 
 
 Wednesday and Saturday. On the following Sun- 
 day the elegant equipage of the uncle came to 
 bring the poet and his wife to dine at the villa, 
 though Heine accepted the invitation very unwil- 
 lingly, since he foresaw that Mathilde, his lively 
 child of nature {sein munteres Naturkiitd), was 
 little adapted to please the plutocrat of the family 
 there assembled. 
 
 Owing to the interdict by the old man of all 
 conversation in a foreign language at his table, 
 only a few French words were slyly whispered, 
 and poor Mathilde was obliged to remain silent for 
 two hours, and be fearfully bored. And during 
 the dessert there occurred a sad contretemps. It 
 happened that the old man had an immense cluster 
 of grapes, every one almost as large as a plum, 
 which had grown in his hot-house, and which he 
 ordered a servant to carry about and show to the 
 guests, to their general admiration. When the 
 bunch came to Mathilde, she, believing that it was 
 meant for her, took it, and ate it with relish. After 
 a while the old man asked excitedly where the grapes 
 were, when Heine with promptness answered, ^^ Dear 
 uncle, the bunch was a miracle (Wunder), and it 
 caused another marvel, for it has vanished — an angel 
 made away with it." The old man laughed, and the 
 bunch of grapes was forgotten, for he was pleased 
 when his nephew uttered such impromptus. At 
 another time he said of a note-broker {Wechsel- 
 makler) who was sometimes a guest at his uncle's 
 table (the man had been in his youth at a univer- 
 
96 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 sity, but was very limited as to intellect, and was 
 much addicted to good eating), ^^ Pity that his learn- 
 ing got no further than his gullet." 
 
 Mathilde was glad when she was again at home, 
 and declared that she would never again visit her 
 tiresome, formal uncle. Heine knew his little obsti- 
 nate girl (Trotzkopfchen)^ and was in great embar- 
 rassment, for the good- will of his uncle was of serious 
 importance to him, and replied that there was but 
 one way out of it, which was that she should return 
 to Paris without him. And as Mathilde held to her 
 resolution, her husband was obliged, under pretence 
 of her mother's illness, to send her back to her former 
 pension at Madame Darte's ; and so, after a visit of 
 fourteen days, she, bathed in tears, took leave of us. 
 
 Heine remained in Hamburg and finished his 
 work, Deutschland, ein Wintermdrchen ('^ Germany, 
 a Winter Tale"), a humorous epic, which, with -his 
 Neue Gedichte, or '^New Poems," appeared before 
 he left for Paris. In Germany his impressions of 
 travel during the previous year were sketched, and 
 the sharply satirical lashing in it of the then intoler- 
 able condition of his native land greatly angered 
 many or excited their opposition; but the greater 
 portion of his readers admired his brilliant and ever- 
 vigorous wit. The sale of the book was strictly 
 forbidden in Prussia, which was an unhoped-for ad- 
 vertisement, as it caused a most incredible demand 
 for prohibited copies.^ 
 
 1 People make light of such prohibition. I know of a perfectly 
 authentic instance in which some magistrate or other official had it 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 97 
 
 The " Winter Tale " pleased Uncle Salomon so 
 much that he made his nephew a handsome present 
 in money, and promised him that the annual allow- 
 ance which the poet received from him should in 
 case of his death be continued to his wife. 
 
 Heine usually took his meals in the house of my 
 parents, and often remained through the evening 
 gaily conversing over a cup of tea. My sister Anna,^ 
 his favourite, made it for him, and had above all to 
 endure his jests. 
 
 He said almost every time, to tease her, " Is that 
 such a cup of tea as you prepare for yourself, or is 
 it camomile tea?" {Camillenthee). Tired of this 
 repeated mockery, she one day prepared for him a 
 cup of real camomile tea, which he, as soon as he 
 had tasted it, set aside in disgust, exclaiming, " Pah ! 
 the little chit has revenged herself on me ! " ^ 
 
 Heine's favourite lounge was the Pavilion on the 
 Alsterbassin, where he met and conversed every day 
 with his friends Dr. Wille, Julius Campe, Dr. Fuchs, 
 
 intimated to a bookseller that he suspected that the latter had by 
 him many copies of Deutschland by Heine, and that at four o'clock 
 that afternoon he would come and search for them. It is needless 
 to say that when he came no such books were found in stock. — 
 Translator. 
 
 ^ Madame Anna Italiener, nee Embden, in London. — German 
 Editor. 
 
 2 Ber ! das Backfischchen hat sick gerdcht. A Backfisch is lite- 
 rally a very small fish, just large enough to fry or bake, or, as we 
 say, pan-fish. Owing to their restless livelirtess, they are supposed 
 to resemble girls of from twelve to fourteen ;fears, or misses hardly 
 in their teens. The term whitebait in English or blanchaille in 
 French might be appropriately applied to dainty little damsels of 
 the backfisch order. — Translator. 
 
 G 
 
98 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Michelis, Dr. Carl Toepfer, Professor Zimmermann, 
 and the painter Kizero. 
 
 I often had the privilege of accompanying him. At 
 such times he would sit, either speaking seldom, 
 dreamily gazing on the curling waves of the Alster, 
 following with his eyes some passing swan, or else 
 in conversation, giving me admirable advice as to 
 what books I should read. He warned me against 
 too much reading of newspapers, since far less 
 remained of it all in the memory than from the 
 perusal of even a book of mediocre merit. He 
 esteemed Jean Paul (Richter) very highly, and re- 
 commended me to read his works slowly and atten- 
 tively, which would bear fruit during all my life. 
 Nor could he sufficiently recommend me, considering 
 the want of good humorous German novels, to make 
 myself famihar with the works of Dickens. 
 
 This charming intercourse came to too early an 
 end for all of us, because Heine's publisher in Paris 
 greatly required his presence there, and he therefore, 
 after an affectionate adieu, returned in the beginning 
 of October by the steamboat, via Amsterdam, to his 
 home. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 Amsterdam, October ii, 1844. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — We arrived in Amsterdam, 
 
 where we were due in the morning, at seven o'clock 
 
 this evening. However, I have had a very pleasant 
 
 journey, and I have not been in the least sea-sick. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 99 
 
 This evening I shall go on to the Hague, and shall 
 be in Paris in two or three days, whence I shall 
 not write to thee at once, since the trip is now only 
 a trifle. I hope that these few lines, written in 
 the greatest hurry, will be sent on this evening. 
 In any case, thou must have long since been at ease 
 regarding me, since thou hast seen how pleasant 
 and calm the weather has been. 
 
 I write these lines on the bench of the railway- 
 office with a sea-sick pen. 
 
 I embrace Lottie. Kindest regards to all. — Thy 
 faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 Paris, October 17, 1844. 
 
 My dear good Mother, — Thou hast, I hope, 
 received the letter which I wrote to thee on my 
 arrival in Amsterdam. The remainder of my 
 journey was favoured by the finest weather, and 
 I arrived 3^esterday evening in the best condition, 
 and met my dear wife in Paris. I found her brisk 
 and well, and also that she had been a pattern of 
 obedience as regards all which I wished her to do. 
 We were almost overwhelmed at the joy of meeting. 
 We look eagerly at one another, laugh, embrace, 
 talk about you, laugh again — the parrot screaming 
 meanwhile like mad. How glad I am to have my 
 two birds again. Thou seest, dear mother, that I am 
 as lucky as a man can be, since nothing in this 
 world is perfect; all I need is a healthy head and 
 
loo THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 my dear mother and Lottie near me. In a few days 
 I shall need you both still more ; just now I am too 
 full of the delight of returning home. 
 
 Tell Lottie that she must write to me soon 
 (Faubourg Poissonniere, No. 46). I shall write to her 
 later, for I have nothing new to tell, and she will 
 learn my happy arrival from this letter. I send my 
 kind regards to the whole clique, the Little Turkey 
 {Putcheii)y the boy {de7t Jung), and very special 
 love in my name and in that of my wife to my 
 brother-in-law, and to whom my wife, for his 
 kind and pleasant attentions, sends her warmest 
 thanks.^ 
 
 Write to me soon how Uncle Heine is getting 
 on. I left you all in such good condition, that I 
 assume it still continues. 
 
 A vast quantity of work is waiting for me even 
 now, and, despite my fearful headache, I must for 
 coming months make great exertion. But I am gay 
 and lively.^ I lately bought for my wife a magnifi- 
 cent album, such as she has long desired. She 
 promises that she will write to you soon. God 
 keep thee well in all things the meantime, and thou 
 wilt live long. 
 
 * Welchem meine Frau fiir seine artige Aufmerksamkeit ihren 
 verbindlichsten Dank sagen Idsst. I have in almost all cases re- 
 duced such German conventional forms of polite expression to 
 simple English equivalents which preserve the spirit of the original. 
 — Translator. 
 
 2 It is touching to observe that Heine, in his letters to his mother, 
 always kept his troubles and sufferings out of sight, and, to cheer 
 her, always affected to be cheerful. In this, at least, he was uni- 
 formly consistent and noble. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. ' .V'. ] , , iibr 
 
 I embrace thee, dear mother. Was Jette on Wed- 
 nesday night often obliged to look after the wind ? 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LI. 
 
 Paris, October 24, 1844. 
 Dear good Mother, — I see and hear nothing 
 of my box, and yet I greatly need the books which 
 are in it. I pray thee write to me at once at what 
 time and how the chest was sent. I am, thank 
 God, quite well, as is my wife. Kiss Lottie and 
 the children. We talk about you here all the time. 
 Lottie will, I hope, soon write. — Thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LII. 
 
 Paris, November 28, 1844. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — My eyes have troubled 
 me again, but they are now well, and to spare them 
 I write very little. Otherwise, I and my wife are 
 very well. We are cheerful and happy. I have 
 received thy last letter. The illness of Uncle afflicts 
 me beyond all measure. Do but write to me soon 
 and often. I have received thy letter. I know what 
 the poem can be of which thou speakest ; if it con- 
 cerns me, send to me in a newspaper cover {Kreuz- 
 convert). I pray thee give the enclosed to Lottie. 
 
 It is late and very dark, and my pen is worse than 
 my heart. ... H. HEINE. 
 
c^dr. cc'c /'\ -tHE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 LIIL 
 
 My dear good Sister, — I thank thee for thy 
 letter of the i8th. I would have written to thee 
 long ago, and written much. But, unfortunately, 
 the trouble in my eyes increased so frightfully that 
 I could only write with great exertion, and I had 
 nothing to say to thee of great importance. My 
 eye, which was quite closed for three weeks, is now 
 open again, but it is still very weak. However, the 
 trouble appears to be chronic, and I shall (there- 
 fore) certainly be free from it from time to time. 
 In other respects I am quite well, have a good 
 appetite, am very calm, and live agreeably in my 
 home. The squandering lady (die Verbringerin) 
 is, as usual, a good child, frank and gay, and some- 
 times out of humour. We always talk of you. And 
 I cannot describe how much my wife thinks of you 
 all, especially of mother, who is really a most ad- 
 mirable woman {prachtgute Frau), Do kiss her 
 heartily in my name and that of my wife. (And 
 do not forget) also to kiss thy children, and give 
 to thy husband the kindest regards from me. 
 
 What thou writest about Uncle (Salomon Heine) 
 is extremely sad. Thou canst imagine my grief. 
 Do not, for thy life, leave me uninformed as to 
 his condition. I expect every week a bulletin from 
 thee. I beg thee, do not neglect to let me know as 
 often as possible the news, be it sad or cheerful ; it 
 is important beyond all you can imagine. I never 
 expected it, and it grieves me to the heart. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 103 
 
 The trouble in my eyes which attacked me here 
 at once is the cause why I did not write to Max, 
 as I intended, a detailed letter. I wished to tell 
 him everything in full, and so it happened that I 
 wrote nothing. But now it has come to pass that 
 thou art bound to inform him quickly and accurately 
 the condition of our poor uncle, and tell him the 
 truth. If there is hope that he will not come too 
 late to fulfil the duties of filial affection, he will per- 
 haps hasten thither sooner than usual. Therefore, 
 I beg thee, write to him at once, and keep him au 
 courant to all the circumstances of that dear health. 
 
 And now, fare well. So soon as my eyes permit 
 I will write more. 
 
 And it is so dark to-day, withal ! A dreadful and 
 disgusting month ! 
 
 I wait impatiently for thy next letter. Regards 
 to all.— Thy faithful brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 LIV. 
 
 Paris, December 23, 1844. 
 
 Dear Child, — I enclose a letter for mother, 
 which is also for thee. I further trouble thee with 
 a commission for Uncle Henri. I had sent him a 
 draft for 1000 marks banco on Campe, begging him 
 to discount it. My good uncle sent me yesterday 
 the full amount, but remarked that Campe had not 
 accepted the draft, and was not disposed to, but 
 first expected an answer from me to his last letter. 
 There has been since then a difference between us, 
 
I04 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 which I hope is only based on a misunderstanding, 
 which I cleared up in my answer. But as I on 
 that occasion told him the truth very plainly, this 
 is perhaps the cause why he will not acknowledge 
 my draft. Therefore say to Uncle Henri that I 
 thank him with all my heart for his confidence, but 
 that under the circumstances I shall not avail my- 
 self of the draft which he gave me on Fould till 
 I have heard through thee that my draft on Campe 
 has been honoured. And should it not be met, I 
 will send back to Uncle Henri his bill of exchange. 
 Do not say anything about this to mother. I shall 
 in future be more on my guard with Campe, though 
 I have hitherto had no dispute with him. 
 
 My wife has received a Christmas present from 
 Uncle Heine. ... H. Heine. 
 
 Salomon Heine died December 23, 1844, and the 
 news caused the poet, owing to his nervous tempera- 
 ment, a terrible excitement. 
 
 Salomon Heine, born in 1767, came without means 
 to Hamburg, and, after some experience in business, 
 established himself as a discounter of bills, founded 
 the banking-house which is famous through all the 
 world, and died a many- fold millionaire, greatly 
 lamented on account of his many works of charity. 
 His principal endowments are the Herman-Heine 
 Institution for Advancing Money ( Vorschussanstalf), 
 in memory of his son, who died in Rome, and the 
 Hamburg Israelitic Hospital, in memory of his wife 
 Betty, nh Goldschmidt. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 105 
 
 LV. 
 
 Paris, December 29, 1844. 
 
 Dear good Sister, — I received your letter late 
 yesterday evening. Thou canst easily imagine 
 what a terrible night followed. My brain throbs 
 in my head — I cannot bring two thoughts together. 
 Though I was prepared for such an occurrence, I 
 was shocked by it more deeply than I have been by 
 anything since the death of my father. I wonder 
 that thou in all thy affliction couldst at once write 
 to me. 
 
 Thou weepest, but I have not as yet been able to 
 shed a tear. You women have the advantage that 
 you can weep more easily. My wife also weeps ; 
 she came to me three times in the night. Thou art 
 quite right, time alone can here bring consolation. 
 How Therese, the dear woman ! must suffer ! ^ And 
 Carl, the poor young fellow, how much he must 
 have endured ! I will not write to the poor children 
 until I am composed and calm. O God ! what an 
 affliction ! 
 
 How our poor Uncle Henry must have suffered ! 
 Give him all my love. I have not the head to con- 
 dole. The pen trembles in my hand — and withal, 
 
 ^ *• Therese, the youngest daughter of Salomon Heine, who died 
 in 1880, was, just as little as {ebensowenig wie) her elder deceased 
 sister, Madame Amalie Friedlander, an unfortunate youthful love of 
 Heinrich Heine. Some passages in his poems may refer to Amalie, 
 who, being beautiful and intelligent, was greatly regarded by the poet 
 with mutual sympathy." — German Editor. 
 
io6 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 my eyes are in the most terrible condition. Oh, if I 
 could but weep ! 
 
 I wrote to him only yesterday, although I had a 
 foreboding of the sad event. This man played a 
 great part in the history of my life, and shall be 
 depicted so as never to be forgotten. What a heart ! 
 what a head ! I have long been without any anxiety 
 regarding his last arrangements {Jlber seine letzten 
 Verfiigungen) ; he has himself spoken or distinctly 
 intimated to me what they were. I would give my 
 last schilling if it would have kept him to me five 
 or three years longer — yes, the half of my own 
 remaining life. And how kindly and lovingly he 
 treated my poor mother! He said many a hard 
 thing to me; once this summer when angry he 
 even gave me a blow with his cane. Ah, Lord ! 
 how gladly would I again receive more blows. ^ I 
 could only weep. 
 
 I wait with anxious suffering for the letter of 
 mourning from mother, who, as I knew her, will 
 not be soon consoled, and will find all her old 
 wounds again opened. Write to me very soon 
 how Carl bears it, also Therese, who, with all her 
 fineness, is still a delicate being, and has ere this 
 suffered so much. Her father was all in all to 
 
 1 This very strikingly recalls a passage in Heine's "Germany," 
 ("The Romantic School," vol. ii. p. 23), in which he, in commenting 
 on Von Arnim's romance of Der Auerhahn^ cites the anecdote of 
 "good Franz," who remembers that his late father now and then 
 in his ill-humour gave him a kick. " This last recollection moves 
 good Franz to tears, and he grieves because his father is dead and 
 can kick him no more." — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 107 
 
 her, and she was like him in all her being. Fare- 
 well, and write to me soon. I have nothing to write 
 to thee — to-day I am only a flabby wash-rag {ein 
 matter Waschlappen). I was always ready for this 
 event, and had long ago repeated to myself all that 
 could console me, and yet the misfortune strikes me 
 as if quite unexpected and all impossible. Yes, I 
 know that it is true — know that he is gone from me 
 — ^yet cannot believe it true. 
 
 Give my kindest regards to thy husband. Kiss 
 the dear children for me. I would so gladly say 
 something cheerful, but merriment is out of my 
 mind to-day. — Thy brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 The sudden news of the death of his uncle Salo- 
 mon, and the announcement that there was not in 
 his will any mention of the continuance of the yearly 
 allowance which had always been made to the poet, 
 had a crushing effect on the health of the latter. 
 His only son, Carl, who was, more judatco, according 
 to the Jewish custom, the chief heir, refused to pay 
 the pension, and also directed that the small legacy 
 of 80CX) marks banco which had been explicitly 
 left to Heine, and was justly his, should not 
 be paid, because the latter threatened to prosecute 
 him. 
 
 When Heine was advised not to carry the affair 
 to extremes, and to compromise the affair by arbi- 
 tration, he wrote : — 
 
 " I know Carl Heine better ; he is as obstinate as 
 he is determined. He cannot be moved by appeals 
 
io8 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 to his ambition/ for he is in this respect the very 
 opposite to his father, who flattered public opinion 
 like a courtier, and it is all one to my cousin what 
 people say. He has only three passions — women, 
 cigars, and tranquil ease (Ruhe). I cannot take the 
 first from him, but I can disturb his tranquillity, and 
 the lawsuit aids me in this." 
 
 Both were fiery-tempered men, and it was not 
 until two years later, and after great trouble on the 
 part of his sister Charlotte and different friends, that 
 an understanding was arrived at with Carl Heine. 
 He agreed to pay an annuity of 4000 francs semi- 
 2innuB.lly J>r<^ numerando (in half-yearly instalments), 
 of which half should be paid after the death of Henry 
 Heine to his widow. 
 
 Carl Heine was a passionate man, but good from 
 his very heart, and the plaints of the poet as to his 
 avarice and parsimony were unjust. When Heine's 
 ill-health grew worse, and the care of him caused 
 great expense, Carl voluntarily raised the pension to 
 8000 francs, and Mathilde received as widow, not 
 the half-annuity as stipulated, but 5000 francs yearly, 
 in remembrance because when, in 1832, the cholera 
 raged in Paris, and Carl Heine was ill with it well- 
 
 ^ That is, by any sense of shame as to public opinion or the 
 ambition to appear well before the world. It must be admitted 
 that Carl Heine's indifference in this respect must have been very 
 severely tested. It is evident that he subsequently realised that he 
 was not in a very enviable or commendable position. Baron von 
 Embden very kind-heartedly gives him credit for generosity because 
 he subsequently paid the pension, but it does not appear that he 
 cared for the two years of suffering and litigation imposed on the 
 invalid and nearly blind poet.— Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 109 
 
 nigh unto death, he owed his restoration to health 
 entirely to the sacrificing care of his cousin Heinrich.^ 
 During this long-continued, irritating excitement, 
 H. Heine's illness had become very dangerous, but 
 he was rescued by the water-cure ; and, in the hope 
 of a complete restoration to health, he took a place 
 in the country. 
 
 LVI. 
 
 Paris, yi?/«^ 24, 1845. 
 
 My dear good Mother, — I have been for 
 fourteen days at Montmorency, and seldom come to 
 town. On arriving here yesterday evening, I learned 
 that a German letter for me had been sent to Mont- 
 morency, and I suppose it is from thee. To-morrow 
 I will get it, and, if necessary, answer accordingly ; 
 if not, be contented with knowing that we are all 
 well. I have in Montmorency a small country-house 
 with a pretty garden, a true paradise en miniature. 
 My wife behaves very amiably, and amuses herself 
 with flowers ; my parrot talks rather too much. My 
 left eye is still closed. I need sulphur baths, which 
 suit me. I can hardly write with this pen to-day, 
 but I will not leave thee too long without a letter. 
 
 ^ This is perfectly true, as appears by Heine's account of his 
 experiences during "the cholera-time" in Paris, in the "French 
 Affairs," vol. i. {Die Cholerazeit en Paris), during which from one 
 to two thousand died daily in the capital. Heine modestly makes 
 no mention whatever of his services to Carl, merely saying that he 
 remained on account of a friend. It is almost impossible at this time 
 to conceive one man's going through more horror and apprehension 
 of death than Heine underwent to nurse Carl. — Translator. 
 
no THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 I hope that thou and Lottie are both well. Walk a 
 great deal. We converse constantly of thee, and 
 thou hast no idea how much my wife loves thee. 
 Write to me soon how all things are with thee. I 
 do but Httle now, and do not write. 
 
 Fare well and love well. — Thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 Paris, October 31, 1845. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — Thou art again very 
 tardy with writing. Thy silence causes me the more 
 suffering at a time of year when the weather is so 
 unfavourable. I hope that thou and Lottie are well. 
 All is as usual with me — nothing remarkable has 
 happened. My wife is well. I hope that her trouble 
 has quite disappeared. We live quietly in harmony 
 and well, are much at home, and recall you in our 
 long winter evening discourses. 
 
 It is to be hoped that this year will glide along 
 {rutscht sick) without fresh knocks ; the last was a 
 bad year. 
 
 Remember me kindly to the dear sister. I have 
 nothing to tell her, else I would write to her ; but 
 she must not leave me without a letter. 
 
 My wife sends her regards. Just now she is busy 
 with the hemming {Sdumen) of my bed-clothes ; linen 
 work is her favourite occupation (Liebhaberet). — 
 Thy faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE in 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 Paris, April 23, 1846. 
 
 Dearest good Mother,— I received thy last 
 letter about fourteen days ago, and perceived by it 
 that thou art well. I am not a little astonished at 
 the news that thy companion, Aunt Jette, is about to 
 be married and will leave thee. I shall be in great 
 trouble till I learn from thee that she has been well 
 replaced. I hope that nothing else unpleasant has 
 occurred, and that Lottie is well. With me all goes 
 on as usual. My trouble draws down more and 
 more to the lower part of my face — to my mouth. 
 Yet I am at heart hearty and well {frisck und 
 gesund). This year I will take a journey to some 
 sea-bathing place, and do something in earnest to 
 completely restore my health.^ 
 
 I hardly work at all ; it is perhaps the best that I 
 can do. I shall begin to travel about the middle of 
 the next month. My wife is well, except that for 
 two days past the birds of ill omen pipe a few dis- 
 cordant notes. I have changed my lodging, and am 
 now living more agreeably in the same street. My 
 
 ^ That Heine, with that terrible and insidious complaint paralysis 
 gradually gaining on him, couM write so reassuringly and hopeflilly 
 to his old mother, is a great indication of "goodness of heart in the 
 best place." If I have very often, indeed frankly, pointed out his 
 faults, it will, I trust, not be considered as inconsistency. I have 
 always, I trust, been steady and consistent to the opinion expressed 
 in my prefaces to the translation of the " Pictures of Travel " and of 
 ''Germany," that his life and works reflect the greatest variety of 
 jarring influences which are to be found in any writer. — Translator. 
 
112 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 address is 41 Faubourg Poissonniere. Write soon 
 to me, so that the letter may still reach me here in 
 Paris. 
 
 My wife sends the kindest remembrances. — Thy 
 faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 LIX. 
 
 Paris, December 26, 1846. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — ^We are at the end of the 
 old year, which was as worthless as the last. May 
 the new year behave better ! In any case, I con- 
 gratulate thee ^ and our dear Lottie on this change 
 of the year. We embrace thee with heartfelt tender- 
 ness. My wife is quite well, and I am better. I 
 eat and drink with a good appetite, and have got rid 
 of all my doctors. We live quietly and in harmony. 
 We are always talking of you. 
 
 Enclosed a letter, which I beg thee to send to 
 Campe. 
 
 H. Heine. 
 LX. 
 
 Paris, February 28, 1847. 
 
 Dear good magnificent Mother,^— The last 
 letter from thee and Lottie, which contained the 
 
 * Jedenfalh grattilire ich Dir. Graiuliren cannot in all cases be 
 translated "to congratulate." The word in English implies some 
 special subject, while in German it conveys kindly wishes in general. 
 Here it strictly means a greeting or happy New Year ! — Translator. 
 
 ^ Liebe gute Pracht- Mutter. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 113 
 
 answer to my question to Campe, was duly received, 
 and I thank thee, darHng Lottie, from my heart for 
 the prompt despatch. I have now found out a way 
 by which I can get a prompt answer from you both — 
 that is, by giving you a commission to fulfil. I hope 
 that you are all well. We are having dreadfully 
 cold weather, which I do not very well endure. I 
 find myself, however, fairly well; my health im- 
 proves peu-d-peUj and I am looking forward to a 
 pleasant spring and summer. Only my poor eyes 
 suffer greatly ; I should rather say that the cramping 
 paralysis always draws the eyelids down more and 
 more, so that I now see very badly. The eyes 
 themselves are well {gesund), 
 
 I am all right with Carl Heine ^ — yes, I am even 
 quite contented with him, for he will not only pay 
 me the pension in full, just as I drew it from his 
 father, to the end of my life, but he has also given 
 me the joyful news that after my death (God pre- 
 serve me !) the half of the sum, that is, 2400 francs 
 (;£'ioo), shall go as a pension for life to my surviving 
 
 ^ Mit Carl Heine — bin ich ganz aiifs Rcinc. Here we may 
 "score another " to the poet's great credit. Herr Carl had evi- 
 dently embittered two years of life for the invalid poet-cousin, and 
 that in a manner which, for want of better evidence, must seem to 
 every one to have been extremely ungrateful. He only paid, after 
 a protracted struggle, that which was equitably due to a near relative, 
 who as a distinguished man was the great honour of the family, who 
 was suffering from ill-health and limited means, and who had saved 
 his debtor's life in a manner which was almost unparalleled in the 
 records of heroic self-sacrifice. And yet he was a mehrfach Mil- 
 lionair. It may be as Baron Embden asserts, but it is impossible 
 to perceive in all this why he should declare that Carl Heine was a 
 herzensguter Mann. — Traits lat or. 
 
 H 
 
114 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 wife. That is more to my mind than if he had 
 given me a great sum. It is indeed a great question 
 whether she will survive me ; but she is so unspoilt 
 {unverwohnt) and inexperienced that I cannot take 
 sufficient precaution for her. If she were shrewder, 
 I would have troubled myself less as to her future,^ 
 and by this thou mayest see that stupidity is a 
 blessed and divine gift, because others must take 
 care for her. My affairs, au reste^ are getting on 
 well. I do not refer to speculations on the Bourse — 
 I got a black eye there. 
 
 We always talk about thee and dear Lottie and 
 the children. God preserve thee ! 
 
 Kindest regards to my brother-in-law Moritz, 
 especially from my wife, who dotes on him {die einen 
 Narren an ihin gefresseti hat). Carl was amazed 
 at the enthusiasm with which my wife spoke of 
 Moritz. He also praises him. 
 
 And now fare well, and keep me ever dear. 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXL 
 
 Paris, March 27, 1847. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — We have been favoured 
 by the most beautiful weather here for several days, 
 
 ^ It will be seen eventually that Heine need have been under no 
 apprehension on this subject. A man of letters who had lived with 
 Heine and aided him in his work, and with whom I conversed many 
 times, was wont to speak kindly and gratefully of the poet, but 
 always shrugged his shoulders and smiled when Madame Heine was 
 referred to. My impression is that he by no means considered her 
 as wanting in Klugheit, but as very deficient in habitual amiability 
 and courtesy. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 115 
 
 but it was too sultry to be healthy; every one is 
 more or less unwell, and I, for my part, still suffer 
 with my eyes. Thou canst not imagine how unplea- 
 sant it is not to be able to read nor dare to go into 
 a theatre on account of the terrible gaslight ; to sit 
 every evening tete-a-tete with my wife, who must 
 take the place of other amusements. I have rented 
 a very beautiful country-house in Montmorency ; it 
 also costs a very beautiful sum of money — ICX)0 
 francs for the season. I shall go there in May and 
 surrender myself to the most complete and nerve- 
 invigorating repose. 
 
 And how is it with you all ? Do but write to me 
 often. I thank Lottie too for every line which she 
 writes to me. 
 
 I have published ^' Atta Troll " in French, and it 
 is tremendously successful. 
 
 Fare well ! I will now go take a walk in this fine 
 weather. — Your true and loving H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine writes in the French preface : — " ' Atta 
 Troll ' was written in 1 841, at a time when the so- 
 called political art of poetry was in bloom. Opposi- 
 tion sold her leather (got rid of her prose) and became 
 poesy. The Muses received the stern injunction to 
 no longer amuse themselves idly and frivolously, but 
 to enter the service of the Fatherland, either as sutler- 
 women ^ of freedom or as washerwomen of the Chris- 
 tian German nationality. By the immortal gods ! then 
 the question was to set forth the inalienable rights 
 ^ Marketenderinnen — viVandi^res. 
 
ii6 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 of the spirit {des Geistes), especially in poetry. As 
 such a declaration was the great business of my life, 
 I have specially kept it before me in this present 
 poem, and both the tone {Tonart) as well as its 
 subject was a protest against the plebiscites of the 
 tribunals of the day; and, in fact, even the first 
 fragments of ^ Atta Troll ' which were printed stirred 
 up the wrath of my heroes of character, my Romans, 
 who not only accused me of literary, but of social 
 reaction ; yes, even of mocking to scorn the holiest 
 ideas of humanity. As regards the aesthetic value 
 of my poem, I willingly abandoned it altogether {so 
 gab ich ihn gem Preis)y and wrote for my own plea- 
 sure and delight in the capricious dreamy fashion of 
 that romantic school in which I had passed my most 
 delightful youthful years. In this respect my poem 
 is perhaps objectionable. But thou liest, Brutus, 
 thou liest, Cassius, and thou liest, Asinius, when ye 
 declare that my mockery struck at those ideas which 
 are a precious acquisition by the noble efforts of 
 mankind {eine kostbare Errungenschaft)^ and for 
 which I myself have fought and suffered so much. 
 No, it is just because those ideas constantly sweep 
 in their grandest clearness and magnificence before 
 the poet that he is more irresistibly seized by a 
 desire to laugh when he sees how roughly, awk- 
 wardly, and foolishly those ideas are grasped by 
 narrow-minded contemporaries. He therefore makes 
 his jest at their temporal idleness and cowardice 
 {iiber ihre temporelle Bdrenhauf). There are mirrors 
 which are ground in such a distorted manner that 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 117 
 
 even an Apollo must needs see himself reflected 
 therein as a caricature, and provoke us to laughter. 
 We laugh in such a case at the grotesque exaggera- 
 tion — not the god." 
 
 LXII. 
 
 Paris, April 19, 1847. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I have received thy 
 letter of the 13th, and see by it that thou art well, 
 also that Madame Gustav has calved.^ I offer him 
 my congratulations through you. Hitherto he has 
 only been able to make girls, but that is no (great) 
 act ; if I had cared for that, I might have now been 
 the father of nine daughters — just as good as Apollo, 
 who begot the Nine Muses. I hear nothing but what 
 is good of Gustav from Vienna — all seems to go 
 admirably with him. And I also hear, to my great 
 amazement, that he manages housekeeping very 
 economically (I thought, of course, of the commis- 
 sionaire). Remember me cordially to him. I often 
 think of him, and I recalled only yesterday evening 
 how he once, when a little boy, declared that he 
 would rather have his mother than a cat — yes, that 
 he loved her more than six cats. 
 
 I give my dear Lottie a paternal embrace, as I do 
 to the children. I find myself well and cheerful, 
 but rail at the whole world ; and if thou hearest 
 perhaps that I have fallen in battle or been grassed, 
 then believe that I am only biting a pleasant pie. 
 
 ^ This delicate allusion is to his sister-in-law. — Translator. 
 
ii8 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Unfortunately my eyes are no better, and cramp is 
 attacking my mouth, but that will probably disap- 
 pear before the calming influences on the nerves of 
 country air and rest. With doctors I no more will 
 have to do. I observe that all the people who died 
 this winter had medical attendance. 
 
 Just now, while I am getting ready to go to the 
 country, I am busy putting my papers in order. 
 This time I am going through all my letters, and 
 burning all in which there is the least thing which 
 can be taken hold of, especially as regards family 
 affairs. Therefore, I have — more's the pity ! — been 
 obliged to burn a part of the letters from thee, and 
 nearly all from Lottie, which greatly grieved me, 
 for I love thee more than — six cats. 
 
 I have, as thou knowest, pubHshed ^' Atta Troll " 
 in French, and am charmed at the extraordinary 
 pleasure with which it is received. Give my regards 
 to Max when thou writest to him, and, I beg thee, 
 send me once again his Petersburg address. I have 
 mislaid it, and do not wish to take the trouble to 
 seek for it. 
 
 Just now my wife entered (she dwells just six 
 rooms distant from my study), and, without my 
 saying a word to her, observed that I was writing 
 to you, and begs to send you many kisses and 
 tendernesses. I love this cat too, more than any 
 six other cats. She sends her best regards to her 
 brother-in-law, and I avail myself of the same 
 opportunity to send mine to Moritz. Thou hast 
 no idea, dear Lottie, how very favourably my wife 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 119 
 
 is impressed with thy husband. She also wishes 
 to be remembered to Ludwig, the (young) gentle- 
 man-nephew. — Your devoted H. HEINE. 
 
 LXHI. 
 
 Paris, May 8, 1847. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I thought I had an 
 opportunity to forward something to Havre, and 
 prepared for that purpose a small box in which 
 were two silk dresses, a black one for thee, and a 
 violet-like, light-coloured gown for dear Lottie, but 
 as the opportunity was missed, I sent the box directly 
 by post, so that thou mightst receive it vi^ Havre. 
 Although I gave orders to have it sent paid for in 
 advance in Havre (it is not possible to pay directly 
 from here to Hamburg), I do not know that it was 
 done, and thou hast, perhaps, dear mother, a heavy 
 freightage to pay. Tell me if this was so. I and 
 my wife looked out the clothes ourselves; she re- 
 joicing Hke a child at doing so, and hopes that 
 Lottie will approve of her taste. That I never 
 heeded or thought of thy approval in any case is 
 to be understood, and I shall be contented if thou 
 dost not quarrel with me about it. We greet and 
 kiss thee. — True and loving, H. HEINE. 
 
I20 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 Montmorency, yif^«(? 7, 1847. 
 
 Dearest good Mother,— Thy dear letter and 
 that of Lottie acknowledging the receipt of my small 
 box was duly received here, where I have been 
 living these three weeks in a delightful country- 
 house, where I enjoy the most agreeable and com- 
 fortable existence. A great garden, almost a park, 
 with high trees, in which the " nightingirls " (Nach- 
 tigohls), as old Nathan David of Copenhagen calls 
 them, sing so beautifully. And amid all this I do 
 nothing, and only take care of my health. So that, 
 as thou seest, thou needst not be concerned con- 
 cerning me. My wife is as gay here as a marmoset 
 monkey {Meerkatze), cheers my darkened hours, 
 and even behaves herself very well. Were it not 
 for my eyes, which keep me from all reading, I 
 should want nothing but my mother and sister, but 
 we talk about you continually with sincerest love. 
 
 There is just now a ballet by me being brought 
 out in London in the theatre of the Queen of 
 England {auf dem Theater der Konigin von Eng- 
 land). As I have been already paid for it, and 
 with an enormously great sum, I await the result 
 without any anxiety; should it be a brilliant suc- 
 cess, as there is reason to believe, there is blooming 
 for me {so erbliiht mir) in England a new pecuniary 
 resource such as I never found before in Germany 
 or France. I kiss dear Lottie, with the children, 
 most cordially. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 121 
 
 My wife, the darling spendthrift, sends her kindest 
 regards to you all, and especially to my brother-in- 
 law. 
 
 My parrot squalls aloud at this moment as if he 
 would also send his regards to Hamburg. — Your 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 Montmorency, y^^w^ 22, 1847. 
 
 Dearest good excellent Mother, — I know 
 not why, but I have been tormented for several 
 days with the thought that thou art perhaps ill, 
 and I confess that I wish I had a letter from thee. 
 Therefore do not let me wait long for news of thee. 
 Since I have suffered so much with my eyes, I write 
 with beautifully cut quill-pens — the devil take them ! 
 — for among twenty there is hardly one good. 
 
 My good Cat sends her kindest remembrances. 
 She is happy in having a country place with such 
 a great garden, where she busies herself from early 
 morning till evening with watering, picking fruit, 
 planting, and plucking, wears a broad brown straw 
 hat, and is the most harmless amiability personified. 
 
 I kiss dear Lottie ; but write, write, write ! — 
 Yours, H. Heine. 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 Montmorency, yi^/^ 27, 1847. 
 
 Best good Mother, — If I now write but Httle 
 to thee, it is partly because I have really very little 
 
j22 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 to say that is of any consequence, and again because 
 I have been in the country. I have become so lazy 
 that I feel a real aversion for pen and ink. I am 
 tolerably well, but my trouble in the eyes is stiff- 
 necked. I hardly dare read, and writing is not 
 particularly good for me. 
 
 I shall get this winter in Paris some one to read 
 to me who will also act as secretary. If thou 
 shouldst therefore receive from me a letter not in 
 my handwriting, do not be afraid ; I will announce 
 it to thee six months in advance. I will hope that 
 in thy last letter which thou didst send directly here 
 thou didst speak the truth, and that thou art really 
 well. Thou hast no idea of how much I often tor- 
 ment myself when I think of you all. I seldom go 
 to Paris, and live here quiet and peaceful in my 
 rurality {Landlichkeit), and devote myself to con- 
 scientiousness. 
 
 There has been for two days infamously rainy 
 weather, and the birds of ill omen are beginning 
 to pipe in my wife. She loves thee and Lottie 
 beyond all telHng, and we constantly talk about 
 thee. She behaves admirably, except for small 
 caprice and great extravagance; and, after all, 
 since I have no children, she only squanders in 
 reality her own money. I shall only have the less 
 to leave her than if she were more economical. 
 
 Remember me most kindly to dear Lottie and the 
 children. Oh, that I had to-day a barley-soup such 
 as one gets at Lottie's, or a milk-pudding such 
 as Anna loves! Fare well, and write to me here 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 123 
 
 at Montmorency direct, according to the address 
 given. 
 
 It is raining as if in bucketsful from heaven. — 
 Your faithful H. Heine. 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 MoKTMOKKUCY, September 21, 1847. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I duly received thy 
 dear letter of the 3rd instant, and learned from it 
 with joy that thou art well. With me all is as usual. 
 I am now receiving from Germany many letters in 
 which I am congratulated on my complete restoration 
 to health. What that refers to I do not know, since 
 I have read nothing for months. I let you know 
 to-day that I shall leave Montmorency in three days 
 on account of the approaching damp and frosty time 
 of year. I shall return again for the present to my 
 old residence (Faubourg Poissonaire, 41),^ whither 
 thou mayst address thy letters ; but by the begin- 
 ning of October I shall have a new lodging, and 
 will let thee know where it is as soon as I shall be 
 well established in it. What a batter and clatter 
 (Gezippel tmd Gezappel) — muss and fuss — and all 
 to make our little bit of life more tolerable. My 
 
 ^ Such is the spelling as given in the revised German edition ; but 
 it was the Faubourg Poissonniere, as I can vi^ell remember, in 
 September 1847, when I made daily visits to a cousin who was a 
 close neighbour to Heine. But then there may be a rankling bad 
 pun in poissonaire — who knows ? Heine was capable of as evil 
 thoughts and deeds in this department of crime as was Rabelais 
 himself, who esteemed a "first-rate bad" calembourg above a good 
 one. — Translator. 
 
124 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 wife sends her kind regards. She is very busy; 
 she and the parrot quarrel all day long, but I cannot 
 do without either of them. My eyes are always 
 troubling me, and I cannot read. Write to me 
 much and very often, but I tell thee beforehand 
 that I cannot write much. 
 
 I send my love with all my heart to dear, dear 
 Lottie, and kisses for all her children. My wife, in 
 addition to the kisses for the whole kinship, has 
 bound upon my heart extra kisses for my nephew. 
 Also the kindest regards to my brother-in-law, 
 Moritz.— Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 Paris, October 28, i347. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I now Hve at 21 Ter. Rue 
 de la Victoire. That is the chief cause why I write 
 to-day. 
 
 Just think that on the 21st of the last month I left 
 Montmorency, and now I must leave this (lodging) 
 before two weeks are over, and enter a new place. 
 That is two movings ! What trouble for my poor 
 wife ! In the midst of all this misery I lost my maid, 
 and my wife was for ten days obliged to attend 
 to all affairs herself. So she is now quite run down, 
 and I am very sorry for it all. Otherwise all is well. 
 My eyes are always in a suffering condition. Thy 
 letter containing the enclosure from Christiani was 
 duly received. Christiani's trouble with the eyes was 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 125 
 
 due to a very different cause.. I will this winter try 
 to find something better. 
 
 Fare well ! Dear Lottie, I kiss thee and thy dear 
 mother twice. — Thy obedient son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 VK&.\%y November 6 , i^/^T^ 
 
 Dearest good Mother,— I duly received thy 
 letter and Lottie's of the 1 1 th, and learn from it with 
 grief that thou hast been ill, and art perhaps not 
 yet again restored to health. The most terrible 
 thing in absence is that when far away the sufferings 
 of our loved ones always seem greater than when 
 near by, when even a glance from our eyes gives 
 mutual consolation. I beg thee, dearest mother, 
 write to me at once, or else let some one write for 
 thee the real truth how thou really art {wie es mit 
 Dir aussieht), for I can endure anything except 
 uncertainty. 
 
 I cannot understand why my delay in writing 
 could make thee uneasy. I had prepared thee for it 
 long before, and that I should have at this time all 
 kinds of flutter and clutter about me. 
 
 My new lodging is more beautiful yet smaller 
 than the last ; thus far I am satisfied with it. Rue 
 de la Victoire, 21 ter. 
 
 I send most heartfelt thanks to dear Lottie for 
 the last two letters ; only continue to write me many, 
 especially regarding the family, of whom I hear 
 
126 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 nothing. Thy plan to visit me here enraptures me ; 
 my wife is fairly carried away with joy at the thought. 
 To-day I will not write much to thee regarding it, 
 for I am suffering more than usual with my poor 
 eyes. I will write to thee in my next letter in 
 detail regarding the execution of thy plan. Canst 
 thou not travel in winter? Give me, dear Lottie, 
 thy present address, since I may, in all probability, 
 give some one a letter of recommendation to thee, 
 and do not know the address. 
 
 Kind regards to thy husband and my nephew. 
 My wife sends kisses ad lib. {in bianco). Farewell, 
 and love me well. If my old Mousey were but well 
 again ! H. HEINE. 
 
 LXX. 
 
 Paris, December ^y 1847. 
 Dear good Mother, — I learn with joy from 
 thy last letter that thy health is improving, and I 
 hope that thou hast told the truth. As for my 
 health, I am always suffering with my eyes, but in 
 all else I am better than ever. Yes, I have not 
 been for two years so fresh and hearty as for the 
 last fourteen days, the cause being a certain drink 
 of herbs which I am now taking as a cure, and 
 which, as my physician assures me, will radically 
 cure me, so that I look forward to a happy winter. 
 As soon as my cure is completed I'll write to thee 
 more thereon. I have a pen with which I cannot 
 write, nor can I make another one to-day. Already 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 127 
 
 it is growing very dark, and these, my rooms, alas ! 
 are not too light. The last indeed is little to my 
 taste, since I have heard, especially to-day, a tire- 
 some knocking near me all the time. 
 
 If I am not mistaken, this must be thy birthday, 
 and I offer thee my wishes for thy happiness with 
 all my heart. As I do not know that I can write to 
 thee before the New Year, I now give thee double 
 congratulations. What shall I give thee for Christ- 
 mas ? A crystal chandelier for thy salon or a 
 Turkish carpet ? I saw one yesterday which only 
 cost 6000 francs. My wife has already bought me 
 my Christmas present with her money which was 
 saved up — namely, a magnificent vase — really so 
 superb that the goddess Hammonia herself need not 
 be ashamed to use it. I would not exchange it for 
 the throne of the king of Prussia ; I sit upon it so 
 peaceably and calmly. 
 
 I kiss thee, my dear Lottie, as well as the chil- 
 dren. Write soon to me, my dear old Mousey! 
 —Thy faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXI. 
 
 Paris, December 29, 1847. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I write to thee to- 
 day in the most vexing circumstances, videlicety 
 there is a constant hammering in the house, and it 
 smokes. Therefore, I will remove as soon as I shall 
 have found a new habitation. 
 
 My cure succeeds, but my eyes are always suffering, 
 
128 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and I therefore cannot write. Wiesbaden is of no 
 avail. The cure of Christiani there is a peculiar 
 case. He gambled in Wiesbaden, and when he had 
 lost all he had, his eyes were suddenly opened ! 
 
 My wife sends happy greetings for the New Year 
 to thee and to my dear sister. We wish you luck 
 and blessings. 
 
 Write soon to me. I am very sad when weeks 
 pass without a letter from thee. The old year 
 departed was a bad one. The Devil take it ! 
 
 Write ! write ! Soon ! soon ! — Thy obedient son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXXII. 
 
 Vakis,, January 19, 1848. 
 Dear good Mother, — I duly received thy last 
 letter containing happy wishes for the New Year, and 
 I hope that the news of thy good health is the truth. 
 As for me, I feel better than usual, very much better, 
 and if my cure, has not worked so rapidly on my 
 eyes as I could have wished, it has at least relieved 
 me from several troubles, such as bowel-complaints, 
 headaches, and the like. I shall in a few days move 
 again; my infamous landlord has, against all law 
 and our contract, put his horses under my bed- 
 chamber, and they stamp all night long, which keeps 
 me awake. I pass all day out of doors to avoid the 
 noise. I write in haste before I go forth, and it is 
 dark at nine o'clock. My poor wife was very ill 
 yesterday. What I suffer ! Just now she had me 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 129 
 
 called ; she has passed a good night, and I hope that 
 she will soon again take flight. Yesterday she had 
 a nervous attack, and when a tumbler of water was 
 put to her mouth to restore her, she bit it convul- 
 sively with her teeth, and the pieces of glass had to 
 be pulled from her mouth. Think of my terror ! I 
 hope that no bit of glass remained. Nothing but 
 alarm and disagreeable events ! What I endure ! 
 This human life oft hangs upon a thread. 
 
 It has been published in the English newspapers 
 that I was dead, and my early departure was very 
 much regretted. In the German press I am at least 
 three-quarters dead. But now I am accustomed to 
 such things. 
 
 I kiss thee, dear Lottie, and pray that thou and 
 dear mother will often write to me. As soon as I 
 shall obtain new lodgings I will send thee my new 
 address. — Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXIII. 
 
 Paris, /(z««ar;j 27, 1848. 
 Dear good Mother, — I will only hurriedly 
 inform thee that I will in a few days enter my new 
 lodging, and that my address is '^ Rue de Berlin, 
 No. 9, a Paris." Therefore write to me soon. My 
 dear wife is quite well again, and doth scold as of 
 old {und zankt nach wie vor). We live very har- 
 moniously in general, but she torments me in the 
 details; for, namely, I must endure a great deal 
 from her love of cleanliness {Remlichkeitslicbe)^ 
 
 I 
 
I30 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and therein she reminds me often of our cross- 
 eyed Anna, who drove me to desperation with her 
 scrubbing. 
 
 I expect a long letter from thee, dear Lottie, and 
 meanwhile I kiss thee and thy chicks. I am now 
 always in good health, but my real cure has been 
 neutralised for the present by the great alarm and 
 the noise in the house. 
 
 I love thee beyond all words, my dear good 
 mother. H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine carefully concealed the real state of his 
 health from his old mother by attributing his ille- 
 gible handwriting to bad pens, and describing his 
 terrible sufferings as due to temporary indisposition. 
 The miraculous draught of Dr. Sichel had not the 
 promised result, and as little the water-cure of Dr. 
 Wertheim. Dr. Gruby, a Hungarian, now under- 
 took his cure, and the patient, by his advice, entered 
 the private hospital of his friend Faultrier. Terrible 
 cramps, beginning in the head, which raged through 
 his whole body to his feet, made great doses of 
 morphine necessary to allay the passing pains. In 
 the midst of these severe sufferings the great Revo- 
 lution of February (1848) broke out. Heine, as 
 much surprised as all the world beside,^ said of 
 
 ^ The reader who will consult my notes to the translation of 
 "French Affairs" may learn from them that that which was an 
 overwhelming surprise to Heine, to the chief of police, and even 
 to Louis Philippe himself, was well known long beforehand to 
 those who were preparing the couj). More than a month before 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 131 
 
 Louis Philippe's fall, '^Luck in war seldom comes 
 to old men. Louis Philippe tore away in the first 
 bewilderment of battle, and so we came into a re- 
 public without knowing how it came to pass." ^ 
 
 Heine remained with his friend Faultrier to the 
 end of March, and then, tolerably strengthened, 
 went to a country residence in Passy. 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 Paris, March 30, 1848. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — Just because it is so 
 stormy in the world, and especially troublesome 
 here, I cannot write much to thee. The row {Spek- 
 takel) has brought me down physically and morally. 
 I am distressed as I never was. Now I mean to 
 live very calmly, and not trouble myself any more 
 about anything. The noise broke out in the midst 
 of the crisis of my cure, and I have lost by it money 
 as well as health. Should things, as I fear, become 
 more gloomy, I will go forth with my wife, or even 
 alone. I am very much out of temper. Nor can 
 affairs be going well in Germany, and I have little 
 longing to go there. My wife is well. We live 
 
 it occurred, I wrote to America predicting the day on which the 
 RevoUition would break out, and its absolute certainty of success. 
 Never was there so great a secret so well kept. — Translator. 
 
 ^ This is true. If Louis Philippe had been " hard as nails," and 
 made of the same grim unflinching stuff as were some of the men 
 who organised against him, or had even been surrounded by good 
 fighters and could have held out for a week, he might have con- 
 quered. But he and his all ran at the first cry. — Translator, 
 
132 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 quietly and out of the world. I will not on any 
 account bring myself out before the public. How- 
 ever, I am much slandered by the Germans here. 
 They screamed out that I had received money from 
 the late Government when they found my name on 
 the pension list.^ 
 
 The weather is very fine, and I often go out 
 walking. My housekeeping goes on its own calm 
 way (^geht ihren ruhigen Stiefel fort). My wife 
 behaves well; if she did not, I would bestow on 
 her her freedom, as all kings are now doing to their 
 
 ^ The hiesige Deutsche of whom Heine speaks, and who would 
 probably have jumped en masse for his pension if they could have 
 got it on any terms, should have done him the justice to remember 
 that it was so trifling that it probably did not more than pay his 
 doctor's bills, and certainly, as has been frequently asserted, did not 
 equal the amount of money which they annually begged from him. 
 His charity to these impecunious refugees was famous, as I often 
 heard at the time, and it was among them that he found his bitterest 
 revilers. It was entirely left out of sight that these petty pensions 
 were bestowed freely, not by any means entirely for services, but 
 often as honours, to scores of men who could do nothing whatever 
 for them. It certainly would have been more strictly correct or 
 honourable if Heinrich Heine had not taken the pension, and for a 
 very curious reason, because he was a correspondent of the Allge- 
 meine Zcitung, and because a sense of obligation to Guizot often ap- 
 parently influenced him in his writing. But he (perhaps exceptionally 
 among the small pensioners) really thought that, as "a great politi- 
 cian," he must do something for his money ; and he was very wrong 
 to sneer at Benjamin Constant for " taking money — money from Louis 
 Philippe," when he was doing the same himself. It may be so ; it was 
 a grievous sin, and grievously did Heine answer it, while the long 
 array of greater recipients of royal bounty shrugged their shoulders 
 and escaped scot free. " For it was written in a chronicle of eld," 
 said Frater Rimbombardius, "that one man may steal a horse, yea, 
 'hoc magno erit illi honori,' while another must not look over the 
 hedge, sine castigatioiie" — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 133 
 
 people ; then she would soon find what comes of 
 being free. Thou hast no idea of what wretchedness 
 is prevalent here : everybody is free and bankrupt.^ 
 Fare well ! 
 
 Write to me often, dear mother. Thou, too, 
 dear Lottie. Do not expect too much news of me ; 
 I write very unwillingly — am afraid of writing. To 
 make my address more accurate, write, " To Henri 
 Heine, chez M. Faultrier, 84 Rue de Lourcine, a 
 Paris." 
 
 1 have all my letters now sent to this address, 
 for I do not trust my house-porter. Has our family 
 lost much money ? Dear Lottie, do but write to 
 me often and kiss the children. My wife sends cor- 
 dial greetings. H. HEINE. 
 
 The Revolution of February inspired Heine with 
 fresh youthful enthusiasm,^ and he sighed, ^'What 
 misfortune to have experienced such a Revolu- 
 tion in my condition ! I ought to have been dead 
 or in good health." His account to the Allgemeine 
 Zeitung of the three days of February began as 
 follows : — 
 
 ^ After the 24th February 1848 there was in Paris such a state 
 of stagnation in business, poverty, and want of circulating medium 
 as I have hardly, if ever, seen equalled, even in American crises 
 or panics. All bankers suspended payment, and the wealthiest 
 were obliged to live on credit till they could obtain money from 
 abroad. — Translalor. 
 
 2 That is, now and then, according to the caprice of the moment. 
 At one time he praised it, and anon spoke of it as a mere outburst 
 of street blackguards, " who hardly got sight of their foes." Quid 
 Primum sit aut ultimum ignorat, — Translator, 
 
134 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 ^^ My head was bewildered ; a constant drumming, 
 shooting, and the Marseillaise. The last, the inces- 
 sant song, almost split my head, and, ah ! the mob 
 of thoughts, so dangerous to the State, which I had 
 kept imprisoned for years, broke forth again." 
 
 But from the letter to his mother it may be seen 
 that the revolutionary chaos, which aggravated the 
 nervous sufferings of the poet, soon effected a reaction 
 of exuberant spirits, and this impatience (UnmiitJi) 
 increased when the Allgemeine Zeitungy basing its 
 assertions on an article in the French casual publica- 
 tion the Revue Retrospective ^ cast grave suspicions 
 on Heine's opinions. 
 
 The pubhcations from the archives of the previous 
 Government, under Guizot's Ministry, established 
 the truth that many persons had enjoyed pensions 
 from it, among them Heine, from the same casse 
 from which the ex- King of Sweden, Gustavson, the 
 Prince Godoy, the famed historian Augustin Thierry, 
 and many political refugees and artists were sup- 
 ported. Among the Germans were Dr. Weil, editor 
 of the Stuttgarter Zeitungy the Councillor of Lega- 
 tion Schmieder, and Baron von Klindworth.^ 
 
 1 Neither Heine himself nor his nephew, Von Embden, seem to 
 have once dreamed that his fame, far from being exalted by associa- 
 tion with most of these *' distinguished," but in many cases rather 
 dirty names, is somewhat injured by it. They were, with few ex- 
 ceptions, doing political, concealed, and therefore unclean work for 
 political purposes. Heine was a famous poet, very poor and blind ; 
 and though, like the fly on the chariot, he had an enormous idea of 
 his own weight in politics, it amounted practically to nothing at all. 
 The people would read his letters because they were by the eccentric 
 Heine, and for nothing else. It is very evident that both uncle and 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 135 
 
 The charge was renewed afterwards, to which 
 Heine replied with a pubHc explanation in the Augs- 
 burger Allgsmeine Zeitung^ and as it is not known 
 to every one, it here follows in unabridged form : — 
 
 " Explanation. 
 
 " The Revue Retrospective has for some time delighted 
 the Republican world with the publication of papers from 
 the archives of the last regime, and among others it re- 
 vealed the accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 during the business management of Guizot. The cir- 
 cumstance that the name of the subscriber was there 
 included with stated sums of money afforded a wide 
 scope {Spielrauni) for suspicions of the most detestable 
 kind, and treacherous collocations {Zitsa7nmenstellung)^ 
 which were not supported by what had appeared in the 
 Revue Retrospective^ served as a foil of accusation to an 
 accusation by a correspondent of the Allgejtieine Zeiiung, 
 which plainly sounded as if the Guizot Ministry had pur- 
 chased my pen for certain sums to defend its acts. The 
 editors of the Allgemeine Zeitung^ who gave with that 
 accusation a note in which it was further still declared 
 that I might have received that subsidy not for what I 
 had written for them for twenty years, but much more 
 for what I had not written, had had ample opportunity to 
 observe that I am not the servile author who accepts pay 
 for silence, — and this editorial power might properly have 
 defended me with such a levis nota. It is, therefore, not 
 to the article by the correspondent, but to that editorial 
 
 nephew derived great, if not perfect consolation, from the association 
 with such names as '* King," though an ex-monarch, and *' Prince," 
 though he was a Godoy. — Translator, 
 
136 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 note to which I will confine these remarks, in which I 
 will explain as clearly as possible my relations to the 
 Guizot Ministry. It is higher views which impel me to 
 this, and not the petty considerations of personal safety, 
 nor even of honour. My honour is not at the disposition 
 of any casual correspondent ; not even the first journal at 
 hand is its tribunal ; I can only be judged by the highest 
 court of literary history. Nor will I even admit that magna- 
 nimity shall be interpreted and defamed as fear. No, the 
 support which I received from the Guizot Ministry was 
 no tribute ; it was really a support. It was — I call the 
 thing by its right name — the great alms which the French 
 people expended on thousands of foreigners who, by 
 their zeal for the Revolutionary cause, had more or less 
 gloriously compromised themselves, and for which they 
 had sought refuge by the hospitable hearth of France. 
 I took such pecuniary aid shortly after that time when 
 the lamentable act of the Diet appeared which sought to 
 ruin me even financially, as the leader of a so-called 
 Young Germany, since they prohibited by an interdict 
 in advance not only all which I had written, but all which 
 I might subsequently write, and so deprived me not only 
 of my means and methods of earning a living without 
 judgment or justice. And that the payment of the need- 
 ful (^erlangteti) means of support was assigned to the 
 treasury of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and indeed 
 to the pension fund, of which there is no official control, 
 was due to the fact that the other treasuries were at that 
 time over-taxed. It may be, too, that the French Govern- 
 ment would not too openly support a man who was always 
 a thorn in the eyes of the German embassy, and whose 
 extradition might be claimed under many circumstances. 
 How urgently my Prussian friends importuned the French 
 Government with such demands is known to many ; but 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 137 
 
 M. Guizot obstinately refused to give me up, and paid 
 me my pension regularly without intermission. He never 
 required from me for it the slightest service. When I 
 called on him shortly after he had taken the portfolio of 
 Foreign Affairs, and thanked him that he, notwithstand- 
 ing my Radical complexion, had notified the continua- 
 tion of my pension, he replied with a melancholy air of 
 kindness, ' I am not the man to refuse a bit of bread to 
 a German poet who lives in exile.' This is what Guizot 
 said to me in November 1840, and it was the first and 
 last time in my life in which I had the honour to address 
 him. I have given to the editorship of the Revue Retro- 
 spective the proofs which substantiate the truth of the 
 above assertions, and they may now express themselves 
 as to the significance and origin of the pension in ques- 
 tion as is becoming to French loyaute. 
 
 Heinrich Heine. 
 
 «* Paris, May 15, 1848." 
 
 LXXV. 
 
 Passy, May 27, 1848. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have been living for 
 three days in a summer-house near Passy, which is 
 half-an-hour from Paris. Whether this dv^elling 
 will suit me, or whether new disturbances are des- 
 tined to afQict my life here, I do not know. Thus 
 far misfortune has followed me in every change of 
 residence. At present all is tolerably well. I write 
 these lines to thee in the open air, under green 
 leaves, where the sun's rays play on my paper, which 
 is very pretty, but which greatl}^ impedes my writing. 
 
I -.8 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 My trouble in the eyes, especially the paralysis of 
 the muscles of the face, is just now in full irresistible 
 bloom, and therefore my poor wife must put up with 
 a great deal of my irritation. Yet we have but just 
 now breakfasted very well together on this very table 
 on which I am now writing, and greatly enjoyed our 
 domestic tranquillity, as well as the fine strawberries 
 and asparagus which we ate ! 
 
 How are you all doing? How is it with thee, 
 dear Lottie, in these dreadful times? Have ye sugar 
 enough, so that the strawberries can lie softly, and 
 be nicely and warmly covered up ? 
 
 This year is not a year of sugar, and the whole 
 world goes very bitterly. 
 
 I trouble myself about nothing, and even my in- 
 validity protects me, it may be, from dangers of 
 death to which I would have been exposed if I had 
 thrown myself madly and in health into the battles 
 of the time. 
 
 I have had a letter from Gustav and his wife, in 
 which he declares that he is a happy father of a 
 family, and enjoys the greatest domestic bliss. 
 
 My address is now, " 64 Grande Rue a Passy, pres 
 de Paris." Write to me soon and much. I now 
 conclude, and kiss you and the two children. 
 
 The sun's rays blind me too much at this instant. 
 The parrot screameth, and my wife sends greeting. — 
 Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 139 
 
 LXXVI. 
 
 F ASSY, /u?te 10, 1848.1 
 
 Dearest Sister, — My wife desires that I shall 
 not delude thee too much or longer regarding the 
 true state of my health, so that should I die, thou 
 mayest not be too suddenly alarmed. Yet this last, 
 let us hope, may not happen so soon, for I may drag 
 out a dozen years longer as I am — Lord help me ! 
 I have been so crippled for fourteen days that I have 
 been obliged to be carried like a child, for my legs 
 are like cotton. My eyes (are) terribly bad. But at 
 heart I am all right, and my brain and stomach are 
 in good condition. I am well cared for, and I am 
 in no great need whatever as regards defraying great 
 expenses for illness. . . . My wife is very well, and 
 we live very agreeably. Should I die in this condi- 
 tion, my end would be better than that of a thousand 
 others. Now thou knowest where thou art. 
 
 I would so willingly have visited thee this summer ; 
 it may be that I shall see thee next spring, or thou 
 
 1 It was on this day, June 10, 1848, while Heine was writing this 
 letter at Passy, that I was at the police-office in Paris asking for my 
 passport, wishing to go to England. There was a regulation at the 
 time that passports must be applied for twenty-four hours in advance. 
 But when I made the due notification, my passport was at once 
 handed to me, with a polite smiling intimation that they were only 
 too glad to get rid of me — so delighted, in fact, that in my case the 
 usual rule was suspended. I did not return till twenty-one years 
 later, and, by odd coincidence, as I have mentioned in the notes to 
 "French Affairs," it was with a full knowledge that the next day 
 there was to be an attempted revolution, in which I was offered 
 a prominent position as an old barricader of 1848. This was the 
 affair of the PUbiscite. — Translator. 
 
I40 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 mayst come here next year. But I am thoroughly 
 glad that thou canst not come this year, on account 
 of the universal revolutionary rioting {Wcltrevo- 
 luziojtsgepolter)j which you all have doubtless to 
 endure. Yes, we live in a miserable period, and I 
 should like in a hearty and happy time, and not in 
 hours of illness, to enjoy meeting thee again. Will 
 I ever get better? That God, who manages all 
 things for the best, only knows. Write to me fre- 
 quently and fully how all seems to be with the 
 family. Let us keep my illness a secret from mother 
 always in future as before. 
 
 " Shadowy love and shadowy kisses, 
 Shadowy life so strangely flow, 
 Deemst thou, sister, all these blisses 
 Can remain for ever so ? 
 
 What we fondly held while living. 
 Flits like shadows o'er the deep ; 
 Hearts forget while onward moving, 
 Eyes at last are lost in sleep." 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 Repose was needed owing to Heine's nervous 
 condition, for the noise of Paris, where mobs went 
 singing and rioting about the streets, cast him into 
 feverish excitement, and made his residence there 
 unendurable. So he rented a country place in re- 
 tired repose, where there was healthy air, and hoped 
 that this would cause some alleviation of his suffer- 
 ings. This result was unfortunately not obtained, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 141 
 
 and the state of the poet's health in Passy grew 
 rather worse than better. Of which he wrote : — 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 Passy, August 12, 1848. 
 
 Dearest Sister, — The condition of my eyes is 
 such that for every letter which I write myself I must 
 atone with a day of most certainly acute suffering, and 
 as thou wilt not have a letter from me at such a price, 
 I will to-day and in future employ a pen in other 
 hands to give thee information of my health. This 
 has in no respect improved, yet there is no present 
 danger, and what is saddest is that I still live. Thou 
 needst not therefore torment thyself as to me, but I 
 deserve pity to the utmost. I have often to endure 
 the most agonising cramps, and am then like a 
 fettered man. I have for two months lost all use of 
 my feet and legs, and must be rolled here and there 
 in a chair. I have become a poor paralytic man, who 
 would be a great burden to thee if thou wert here. 
 And yet I cherish the hope to visit you all next year, 
 and we have meanwhile time enough to arrange 
 everything necessary for my comfort. This year it 
 would not be possible. I have a thousand affairs to 
 arrange, since the Revolution and my sudden mis- 
 fortune of being crippled have brought all my worldly 
 affairs into the most illimitable confusion. I hope 
 that all will go better, and I endure meanwhile my 
 fate with patience. 
 
142 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 My wife loses her head, and is often like a 
 lunatic. 
 
 I have not written to Max, but shall soon do so. 
 
 Give my kindest regards to your husband, and 
 kiss for me my dear nieces. Remember me lovingly 
 to Ludwig, and thank him for his kindly interest in 
 me. — Thy loving brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXVIII. 
 
 Passy, September ii, 1848. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — These are the first lines 
 which I have written for five weeks. I refrain from 
 all such work on account of my eyes, and thou must 
 therefore be contented if I write to thee by aid of 
 my secretary, for I suffer so much from every letter 
 that thou shouldst be really glad that I do not on 
 thy account incur such pain. I long since wrote to 
 thee that my right arm suffers from such pains as 
 precede palsy. Otherwise all goes on as usual, and 
 moneys — that cowardly money, which hid itself for 
 fear of a Republic — is beginning to reappear. I 
 never go to town, and trouble myself about nothing 
 save my health. I hope that thou and Lottie, as 
 well as the dear children, are all well. We love 
 thee beyond all words. I shall remain four weeks 
 longer here. The weather is perfectly beautiful. 
 — Thy faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 143 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 Paris, October 19, 1848. 
 
 Dear Mother and Sister,— I have just re- 
 ceived your letter, from which I learn with joy that 
 you are well. As for, me, my condition is always the 
 same, or at best but little improved. My cramps 
 have somewhat ceased, but my eyes are always 
 abominably bad, although I spare them inexpressibly 
 — never read, and do not write myself. But letters, 
 dear Lottie, I always read with my own eyes, which 
 I particularly mention on account of thy question. 
 As regards the cholera, ye need not trouble your- 
 selves much about me ; this old monster (Bestie) is at 
 any rate not so terrible as it once was. More terrible 
 are matters in Vienna, and our poor Gustav may 
 indeed have suffered some anxiety. 
 
 Write to me how all has been with him. I am 
 not in direct correspondence with him. My wife is 
 well and sends kindest remembrances to you. We 
 are continually conversing about you, and we can 
 especially never say enough that is cheerful and 
 agreeable as regards mother. The chief thing which 
 I have to tell to-day is that I am still quite contented 
 with my new dwelling, and that I by no means 
 regret the sacrifice which I made as regards the 
 change. We live calmly, quietly, and safe from 
 sudden alarm {sicker vor dem Schuss). Give my 
 kind regards to, and kiss the young ones for me, 
 and remain ever loving to your true 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
144 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 Paris, December 28, 1848. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — Though writing is 
 forbidden me, I cannot refrain from sending thee 
 greeting for the New Year. God sustain thee and 
 bestow on thee many and happy years of life. I 
 also send my regards to dear Lottie — a New Year's 
 ring-cake {Kj'ingel) such as we ate in Diisseldorf 
 in the morning with our coffee — which consisted of 
 three beans (of coffee) and three pounds of chicory. 
 Of sugar not a shadow ! {keine Idee). Dost thou 
 remember the great coffee-pot which looked like 
 a flower vase or a Roman jar ? It was of very 
 beautiful black tin {BlecJi). Fare well and love well. 
 — Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXXI. 
 
 Paris, March 29, 1849.1 
 Dear Lottie, — Thy letter has deeply affected 
 me, and since reading it I have wept and wept again, 
 so that I can hardly see to-day. Only a word of 
 consolation. Death is no disaster, but a suffering 
 of years ere we come to death is. The suffering of 
 years ! happy they who are soon done with it — -per 
 acquit^ as my little father said ; we turn round and 
 go to sleep, and all is paid. 
 
 I am at this instant suffering too much to be able 
 to specially condole with thy husband. I press his 
 1 Written on the death of her youngest daughter. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 145 
 
 hand in silence. And thou, poor strong heart ! how 
 much hast thou had to endure ! God keep thee safe, 
 dear good sister. Thou, my good mother, must 
 wait some time for a letter from me, and I can only 
 hastily embrace thee to-day. 
 
 Kiss Lottie and the children for me. My wife is 
 well ; I am still in the same sad state. — Your faithful 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXXXH. 
 
 Paris, yi/nV 21, 1849. 
 Dear good Mother, — I hoped day by day for 
 some improvement, and I am greatly grieved that 
 I have nothing cheering to report concerning my 
 state of health. My eyes seem to be somewhat 
 better, but now I am suffering again with cramps 
 in my right arm and hand, which renders writing 
 bitterly unpleasant. My wife sends her kindest 
 regards. The departure of our little niece for her 
 long home has terribly distressed us, and I, who 
 am now so easily moved, have been for eight days 
 ill after learning the sad news. An illness in an 
 illness ! ^ What one endures ! And how much you 
 must have suffered there and still suffer ! God 
 guard thee and my Lottie ! I hope that thou art 
 well. Tell me the truth. Fare well and love well. — 
 Your faithful H. Heine. 
 
 ^ Velutf "Imperium in imperio," or " Infelicitatis omnis ex 
 particeps." 
 
146 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 LXXXIII. 
 
 Paris, /««<? 14, 1849. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I conjure thee to 
 write to me soon ; I cannot understand why I have 
 been so long without a letter from thee. We live 
 here in anxiety and sorrow. The cholera is raging 
 terribly, and people perish like flies. My wife is 
 also ill, and I have almost lost my senses. And I 
 find myself miserably bad ; but the cholera spares all 
 who suffer with chronic complaints, probably because 
 they live temperately. Kiss Lottie and the children 
 for me. I hope that you are all well. Illness is the 
 most terrible suffering, death is the least and the 
 most tolerable. — Thy ever-loving and faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXXXIV. 
 
 Paris, August 7, 1849. 
 
 Dear good Sister, — Thy last letter greatly 
 grieved me, for I can well understand how much 
 thou hast to suffer from the disturbances there on 
 account of the situation of thy dwelling. I am afraid 
 that thou art confined to bed more frequently than I 
 am aware of. I pray tell me the truth. We are 
 living at a time when there is little that is agreeable 
 to communicate, which gives the consolation that the 
 full extent of our misfortune is fully known to us, 
 and that the imagination is not tormented by uncer- 
 tainty. With me all goes as usual ; my eyes cause 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 147 
 
 intolerable pain, and I am devoured with sorrow and 
 a feeling of hopelessness. Therefore I write to thee 
 rarely and but little, but I always think of thee, and 
 there is no night in which I do not devote to thee 
 many tears.^ All is as usual with my wife, an angel 
 who often has very devilish freaks, and the sweetest 
 spendthrift who ever tormented on this earth, or 
 blessed, a husband. My dear Lottie I kiss a thou- 
 sand times. — Thy faithful son,^ H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXXV. 
 
 Paris, August 19, 1849. 
 
 Dear good little Mother,— I learn with 
 terror from the newspapers how frightfully all is 
 going with you, and how my friends the Prussians are 
 carrying on in Hamburg. Were I there, they would 
 certainly on this occasion lay hands on me. All is 
 quiet here, even in my household. My wife is again 
 well, the Lord be praised ! and tries to cheer up 
 my sad hfe as well as she can. She is a good child, 
 and when she troubles me, it is not her fault, but 
 
 -^ It may be remarked as regards this letter that it indicates un- 
 mistakably the most terrible sufferings — blindness, physical pain, 
 absence from those whom he dearly loved, and the inability to write. 
 When Heine was younger, and had no more to complain of than 
 the average of men of his . class, he made Germany ring with his 
 complaints of peculiar misery, declaring that — 
 
 ** Where men speak of sorrows, 
 Thou'lt hear them speak of mine." 
 
 2 Dein getreuer Sohn. The letter is evidently meant for both sister 
 and mother, though addressed to the former. 
 
148 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 her infirmity. God guard her, as well as you all; 
 and give my kind regards and kisses to my dear 
 sister, as well as to the children. 
 
 Thou, dear mother, wert always a noble, God- 
 fearing woman, of true piety, and for thy sake God 
 will ever stand by us. — Thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXXXVI. 
 
 Paris, October 24, 1849. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have just received thy 
 dear letter. Didst thou but know how unwillingly 
 I write, thou wouldst not often wish for letters from 
 me. Firstly, I again for several days have seen 
 very badly; and secondly, I have little that is 
 cheerful to relate. The devil take my eyes ! all the 
 doctors' quackery does me no good. I only write 
 with my own hand to thee, dear mother ; here I 
 cannot dictate, because I must every now and then 
 let slip something confidential. 
 
 I congratulate thee on thy Viennese grandson. 
 The Lord be praised that I find by all this produc- 
 tiveness that Gustav is well. And I observe thereby 
 that he does not betray his wife ! 
 
 To-day I cannot see at all ! Therefore I write to 
 thee to-day, and thou wilt receive these lines only 
 to perceive by them how well I am. Kiss Lottie. 
 — ^Thy faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 Dictation was very disagreeable to Heine, and it 
 was long ere he could accustom himself to it. He 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 149 
 
 said of it, ^' Hitherto I wrote everything myself, 
 and I beHeve that dictation of prose in German is a 
 doubtful business. The author has not only to keep 
 in view the cadence (Tonfall), but also the architec- 
 tonic construction of his periods. Our language is 
 adapted to the eye; it is plastic, and as regards 
 rhyme, not only the sound {Klang), but also the 
 manner of writing has its influence.^ Strangely 
 enough, there is here impressed the difference which 
 prevails therein between the Germans and French 
 even in the verbal indication of the thing. The 
 German calls his intelligence or understanding [sein 
 Verstdndniss) Einsicht^ the Frenchman entendement. 
 The German must, in my opinion, see or have prac- 
 tically formed {plastzsch) before him what he collo- 
 quially creates (was er sprachlich schafft). Verses 
 which one finishes in one's head are easier to dictate 
 than prose, and yet I could not do that; I should 
 change so much." 
 
 When his health permitted, Heine wrote his MSS. 
 on great folio sheets with lead-pencil in great letters, 
 and only his letters were dictated. 
 
 LXXXVII. 
 
 VxKis, January 21, 1850. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I duly received the 
 letter from thee and Lottie, with happy wishes for 
 
 1 Entscheidet — leads to conclusions, determines, or forms our 
 impression. As, in many cases, I translate here by the spirit, and 
 not by the letter. — Translator, 
 
 2 Einsicht is, however, insight or seeing into. 
 
I50 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 New Year. I hope that you have all happily 
 begun the year. Heaven grant that it may end 
 peaceably and without terrors. With me this new 
 year has not as yet assumed a character, and it 
 is droning away as sillily and melancholy as the 
 last. 
 
 Nor is there the least change in my state of health. 
 I continue to take care of my eyes without result. 
 If I did not cherish them as I would the apple of my 
 eye (eben wie meinen Augapfel), I should now be 
 bhnd, which would be a terrible disaster, from which 
 God guard me ! I therefore do not always write to 
 thee myself, which makes no great difference, since 
 I now no longer express my thoughts in letters. 
 My wife is still suffering from the consequences of 
 her heedlessness; she cannot walk as yet, but is 
 beginning to hop about the room on one leg like a 
 frog. She sends her kindest regards to you, as you 
 are indeed a constant theme of conversation with us. 
 My wife bears the results of her accident with less 
 impatience than I expected ; she makes up for the 
 evil instants of ill-temper with so much amiability 
 at other times, that I find, as regards this business, 
 I make more than I lose. 
 
 I beg you all write to me very soon, and from 
 thee I also expect a long letter about thyself and the 
 loved ones — the whole Holy Family. I hope thou 
 art quite recovered from thy accident. The jack- 
 fool Von Wihl assists me sometimes, and never fails 
 to amuse me in one way or another. One must, of 
 course, be on one's guard with him ; but then who 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 151 
 
 is there among mankind against whom one should 
 not be on one's guard ? ^ 
 
 I will say nothing as regards the absurdities 
 uttered in German newspapers as to my so-called 
 conversion. It is the same thing as it is with every- 
 thing which they assert concerning me.^ And so, 
 
 ^ Heine here expresses the idea which was inscribed long ago in 
 another form on the wall of the dungeon in Venice, where it may 
 still be seen : — 
 
 " God guard me from my friends, whoe'er they be ! 
 I'll guard myself against mine enemy ! " — Translator. 
 
 ^ Out of justice to the journals thus alluded to, it may be declared 
 that they did not act nearly so absurdly in the matter as Heine 
 himself, with whom the whole affair seems to have been a reclame 
 to attract attention. After having, in all his writings for many 
 years, in a very irregular, inconsistent manner, alternately praised 
 and ridiculed most forms of faith or philosophy, but showing him- 
 self, on the whole, a rather feeble "Nothingarian," with only an 
 sesthetic morality, Heine, in the preface to Deutschland (Germany), 
 1852, with a great deal of talk about himself, or of ich and niich, 
 as was his wont, discussed what he had previously said on religion 
 in the remarks on the Romancers, and proclaimed himself a Theist 
 and a believer in the Bible, gilding his praise of the latter with a 
 quotation from " Josua Ben Siras Ben Eliezer," which amounted to 
 nothing, since all profession of faith from a graduate in philosophy 
 depends on a very close explanation of what one means by *' God '' 
 or " Bible." Heine, in truth, never believed consistently or seriously 
 in anything, whatever he may have fancied now and then. Yet he 
 was not more inconsequential than Carlyle, who, after having set 
 forth Pantheism, clearly and boldly adorning the doctrine with all 
 the poetic power which he possessed, and after having done more 
 than any man of his time to weaken orthodox religion, denied that 
 he had believed in or taught anything of the kind, and, on being 
 asked if he was not a pan-theist, replied, "No, but a /^/-theist." 
 The truth was, that in Heine the early Jewish faith of his boyhood, 
 like the Scotch Presbyterianism of Carlyle, always exercised a cer- 
 tain associative, merely sentimental influence, and when the later 
 autumn of life came on, both reverted more or less to childhood. 
 
152 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 dear mother, farewell. May the good Lord preserve 
 thee, guard thee from all sufferings, especially of the 
 eyes, take care of thy dear health ; and, if things do 
 not always go as thou wouldst have them, console 
 thyself with the thought that few women are so 
 loved and honoured by their children as thou art, 
 and as thou truly deservest to be, my dear, noble, 
 upright, and true mother. What are others com- 
 pared to thee? People should kiss the ground 
 which thy foot hath trod. 
 
 The winter is infinitely harsh,i and I hope that 
 thou keepest warm in thy thin-walled shaky little 
 house by the Dammthor. I do not let it make any 
 difference, and burn whole forests to keep warm, 
 and I am in other matters well cared for. — Thy 
 true son, H. HEINE. 
 
 In the previous letter Heine declares that it is an 
 absurdity when German newspapers speak of his 
 conversion, and yet a religious revolution {Umsch- 
 wung) had begun to influence his manner of thought. 
 Heine, who had in his parents' home grown up in 
 the IsraeHtish faith, was, without any ritual compul- 
 sion, made faithful by it to a strict reverence for 
 God, and went over in 1825 to the Lutheran faith.^ 
 His philosophical studies, with which he was always 
 
 ^ Unendlich rauh, or " no end of rough." It would seem as if the 
 common English expression "no end of" had come from the 
 German. — Translator. 
 
 2 It will be remembered by the reader that Heine, and many 
 of his friends, have declared that this conversion was only made to 
 enable him to practise law. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 153 
 
 occupied, placed him far above all forms of any 
 positive religion. 
 
 In his transition he attained, through the new 
 doctrines of St. Simonism, to a poetic pantheism. 
 
 If he at a later period always remained a free- 
 thinker, he was finally inspired by a detestation of 
 atheism, and, after having been sorely tried by the 
 long sufferings of a sick-bed, he returned again to a 
 pure deism devoid of form.^ 
 
 LXXXVIII. 
 
 Paris, March 15, 1850. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — The letter in which thou 
 didst acknowledge the receipt of the draft was duly 
 received. Yes, I repeat my promise to thee, that I, 
 should I ever be in a temporary embarrassment, 
 will at once inform thee of it, so that I may arrange 
 as regards the sum remitted, which is safer in thy 
 hands than mine. I have, I believe, told thee that 
 my finances are tolerably well in order, and that 
 
 ^ Baron von Embden has here very succinctly, and as clearly as 
 he could, expressed his uncle's singular melange of faiths. At first 
 a pious Jew, then a pretended Lutheran, again a poetic pantheist 
 (to which should have been added his frequent extravagant expres- 
 sions of admiration for what he regarded as Kant's pure atheism), 
 all his life as a philosopher elevated above all forms of faith, always 
 a free-thinker, and finally an abstract deist — not a monotheist. Add 
 to this that he very distinctly declared himself a mystic and super- 
 naturalist in aesthetics (vide Salon) and bitterly ridiculed the same 
 principles in Germany. Which proves effectively what I have more 
 than once declared, that he was everything by turns and nothing 
 long. — Translator. 
 
154 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 only troubles for the time can intervene which are 
 not tormenting but only annoying, and the receipts 
 for the next quarter regularly and steadily replace 
 the deficit of the past. The expenses of my illness 
 are very great, not because I need so many doctors 
 and apothecaries, but because I am compelled to 
 protect myself by sacrifices of money against many 
 injurious influences.^ The very worst in all my 
 illness is that I must five so long, which thou dost 
 not, of course, dear mother, think is so bad ; but I, 
 who must suffer so much physically, and lose all 
 hope of recovery, envy the men who are carried 
 away by acute disease. What is worst in dying is 
 that we cause so much afQiction to those who love 
 us. How gladly would I wander from the world if 
 I did not reflect on the helplessness of my spend- 
 thrift (wife), on the grief of the old frump (Schachtel) 
 who dwells by the Dammthor, and on the tears of 
 my sister. I thank her for her last dear missive. 
 Dear Lottie always delights me w^hen I get letters 
 from her. But you too must not expect answers 
 too frequently, for it grieves me too much that I can 
 only send you only troubling or mournful letters, 
 and that I can only write at third hand. 
 
 I thank my nephew with all my heart for his 
 
 ^ This reads as if the author were in some way literally black- 
 mailed by threats, but Baron von Embden explains it as a reference 
 to the many charitable gifts of money which Heine made to German 
 exiles in Paris. It is certainly true that, if Heine was wanting in 
 " religion," he had to fulness that which constitutes the very best 
 part of religion, a charity and generosity devoid of ostentation or 
 weakness of any kind. That he was in all the ordinary relations of 
 life a good man is evident from these letters.— Translator, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 155 
 
 friendly letter, which I read with pleasure though 
 with difficulty. He must write to me often, but 
 with black ink and in a more legible manner. I am 
 anxious to know how the youth is getting on {in 
 welcher Weise der junge Mensch sick herausfindet)^ 
 and what is to be hoped for in him. I send love 
 to my Annie and Lena,^ with kisses. How often I 
 think on my dear Annie, on my sweet child, of the 
 sweet milk-pudding which she makes so well. Oh, 
 that I had my Annie here, and such a perfect 
 pudding too ! after which I drank a cup of tea, but 
 not of the first drawing, but one of the after cups 
 which she kept for herself My wife, who is well 
 again, and who now goes out, sends her love. And 
 so fare well, and love well your devoted 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 LXXXIX. 
 
 Paris, May 6, 1850. 
 
 My dear good Mother and dearly loved 
 Sister, — I have "received with great joy the letter 
 from which I learned that you are well, and withal 
 find in it more loving sympathy than I deserve, 
 and more even than is temporarily good for me. 
 How can I reciprocate it all? And how can I 
 gratify your loving wishes to be continually in- 
 formed as to my health in my present condition, 
 when every external communication from abroad, if 
 
 ^ Madame Helene Hirsch, nh Embden, in Berlin. — German 
 Editor. 
 
156 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 it must be in German, is rendered peculiarly diffi- 
 cult. For I have no longer the aid of a certain 
 German who has for twelve years attended to all 
 my scribbling {meine Schreibseligkeiten versorgte)^ 
 and as I cannot dictate any German to the French- 
 man who took his place, I have not every day at 
 command a German pen wherewith I can confer 
 with you. If you therefore receive letters at much 
 more irregular intervals, you must attribute it to 
 those circumstances, and free me from the reproach 
 of unloving neglect. There is, however, nothing at 
 present of importance here. I am somewhat better 
 as regards my heart. I suffer rather less, but I am 
 afraid that the malady itself is proceeding with its 
 deHberate but fatal snail's pace ever onwards.^ I 
 now take very little medicine. My wife is very 
 well ; she is growing very stout ; and sends her kind 
 regards to you all. Carl comes now and then to 
 see me ; he was here four times in one month, but 
 now seems to be intending to leave. I touch (do) 
 nothing which could hurt him. He has a good 
 heart, but there is no railway from his heart to his 
 pocket. I do not complain of him, and let matters 
 go on just as they will or may. 
 
 I thank thee, dear Lottie, for thy kind zeal to 
 serve me, but I limit my requirements to what our 
 dear mother long ago offered. Canst thou not send 
 me German books from the circulating library in 
 
 ^ " How wearily time crawls along, 
 
 That hideous snail that hastens not." 
 
 — Poem on his illness by H. Heine ^ 185 5- 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 157 
 
 Hamburg by the steamboat, by which they can also 
 be returned ? 
 
 I would often gladly read something German, and 
 as I never can get from the library here what I 
 want, and as there is no circulating library here, 
 I must find some other way. In such a case, you 
 could send me a catalogue from Hamburg in a news- 
 paper wrapper. 
 
 I do not intend to go to the country, yet I shall do 
 something very idyllic, and that indeed to-morrow, 
 for I am to drink asses' milk. My physician has 
 prescribed it, and if it is wholesome, I will gladly 
 seek refuge among asses {bei Eseln meine Zuflucht 
 nehmeti). I would have written to Gustav long ago, 
 if I had not again lost his address; but I intend 
 to write to him soon, to attend to something for me 
 in Vienna. I have received a charming letter from 
 Max. It often occurs to me to move with all 
 my household to Hamburg, and if I were only cer- 
 tain that such a removal, and all the riot and racket, 
 would not injure my poor person, it might eventually 
 come to pass. But I have, unfortunately, too much 
 on hand {um die Ohren)j and although it gives me 
 great trouble, I really cannot cast aside all my 
 business and hterary occupation. Write to me 
 much and often. If Ludwig could leave Hamburg 
 for a few days without injury to his business, he 
 might avail himself of the present rapidity and 
 cheapness of the railway journey to come here to 
 Paris, where I would be very glad to see him, and 
 could also, by means of oral instruction and other 
 
158 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 employment, make him useful in my most confi- 
 dential affairs. It could all be done in eight days, 
 and the youth would have had no time in which 
 to learn to know Paris too intimately. 
 
 And so farewell, and keep me in loving remem- 
 brance, and excuse me should I delay for some time 
 with my answer. I send kind regards to my 
 nephew Ludwig, and to you all. I wish very much 
 to have a letter, and that in her own hand, from my 
 dear niece Anna. She need not specially trouble her- 
 self, and may write whatever comes into her head. 
 I have a good cook now, but nobody in France can 
 make a decent pudding {Auflauf) with confitures as 
 you do in the North. God grant thee, dear Lottie, 
 much prosperity, and His blessing in thy new house. 
 Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 XC. 
 
 Paris, ^une 15, 1850. 
 Dearest Mother, — I duly received thy dear 
 letter with the postscript from Lottie and Annie, and 
 I should have answered it before, had it not been 
 for the trouble which I have with my German corre- 
 spondence, and which I mentioned in my previous 
 letter. Beyond this, nothing has taken place, and 
 it grieves me, dear mother, that I can only sing thee 
 my old song of Lamentation, with the melancholy 
 old variations ; and so I can only repeat that the 
 worst of this illness is, that from it one can only 
 suffer terribly, but not die so quickly. Thou mayst 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 159 
 
 depend upon it that I will not conceal from thee 
 any change for the worse. When I do not write 
 to thee, there is no occasion for any other thought, 
 save that I either want a pen to which I can trust, 
 or else that I do not wish to increase my already 
 sufficiently wretched state of mind by mournful 
 news. But be convinced that I always think of 
 thee. In very truth I long to survive thee, so as 
 to spare thee the grief of hearing of my departure, 
 and that is perhaps the main interest which I take 
 in life. If I had thee no longer, I would meet death 
 with a much Hghter heart. Lottie has her children 
 and her husband ; and as for my wife, she has too 
 happy a temper to suffer much on account of my 
 loss, after a time. Dost thou not see how much I 
 am in the right not to write often such melancholy 
 letters ? I have been a very sorrowful jester with- 
 out a jest. 
 
 I thank thee, dear sister, that thou hast attended 
 to what I wanted regarding the books, but I (only) 
 asked thee to send me a catalogue in a newspaper 
 wrapper by post, which would have only cost eight 
 schillingy instead of which the bookseller Jovien 
 has sent me his catalogue in a packet by way of 
 Havre, and with it three books, none of which have 
 the least interest for me.^ I have just returned them 
 by Carl Heine, who will take them with him, and 
 thereby save me the outlay of seven francs, that 
 
 ^ In reference to a peculiar and sometimes very annoying custom 
 which some German booksellers still have, of sending books not 
 asked for to their customers to examine, it being understood that 
 if the leaves are cut the books must be paid for. — Translator. 
 
i6o THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 being the price of a packet, since the rascals of 
 forwarding agents in Havre charge as much for 
 commission and expenses to send a few books as 
 for a great box ; for the freight itself, especially from 
 Paris to Havre, is very trifling. But I would gladly 
 pay as much for sending such books as interest me, 
 and if I cannot find an opportunity to send them 
 by some one, I will send them back promptly at my 
 own expense. But that I may not be obliged to 
 repeat this too often, I beg that not less than a 
 dozen books at a time be sent to me, and only those 
 which I have specially ordered. 
 
 Among the books which I wish to read are 
 these : — Dickens' (Boz), especially his " Pickwick " 
 and Travels in America and Italy. Humphreis 
 Wanduhr (" Master Humphrey's Clock "), by the 
 same author, and the Grillchen atif dem Heerde 
 (^'The Cricket on the Hearth") I have read before. 
 Then I want the translation of the Russian works 
 of Gogol; and I also wish to read a romance by 
 L. Storch, which in the catalogue is entitled Der 
 Stern Jacobs^ eine Messiade ('' The Star of Jacob, a 
 Messiad "). If this book be not to be had, I wish 
 to read the successive numbers by the author. 
 There are also many novels by Tieck which I have 
 not read, and I want the numbers indicated. And 
 look, dear Lottie, and see if there be in the circu- 
 lating library the Kronwachter of Arnim, first and 
 second parts, the latter volume of which appeared 
 some years ago ; and so — enough ! Some of these 
 books will certainly be found, or enough to make a 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. i6i 
 
 nice despatch to me, but I pray thee let them be sent 
 soon^ because I often have in the summer-time oppor- 
 tunities to send the books back without expense. 
 
 I thank my dear niece Anna for her letter with 
 all my heart. It would delight me immeasurably to 
 see her again, as everybody has something charm- 
 ing and loving to tell of her. Should she become 
 like her mother and grandmother, the man who bags 
 her {der sie mal aufsackt) may congratulate himself, 
 especially should she have the gentleness [Sanfte) 
 of both. — Your loving faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 XCI. 
 
 Faris, /une i8, 1850. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I hope that these 
 lines will find thee well, since I, for my part, have 
 been much better for two days past ; as it happens 
 with nervous complaints, of which mine is one, that 
 the patient finds himself down in the dumps one day 
 and up singing the next, and never knows where 
 he is with his health. This want of stability is the 
 reason why I never give you all details of my dis- 
 orders or troubles, since they will have changed their 
 details as soon as thou wilt have received my letter. 
 Carl Heine thinks of leaving Paris soon, and I send 
 the books by him back to the circulating hbrary in 
 Hamburg. I forgot to remark in my last letter that 
 I have read the work of Dickens called Weihnachts- 
 geschichte (" Christmas Story "),^ and that it conse- 
 
 1 Probably the " Christmas CaxoV— Translator. 
 
 L 
 
i62 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 quently need not be sent to me. And I also forgot 
 to mention that M. Jovien made a mistake in my 
 address, and therefore his package went for some 
 time astray; therefore Lottie must give him the 
 right address to aid him in forwarding the books, 
 which I hope to receive as soon as possible. All is 
 quiet here. My wife is well, but unfortunately grows 
 more corpulent every day — she already weighs one 
 hundred and eighty pounds. She sends her kindest 
 love, and never ceases talking about you. 
 
 This morning I had a call from the world-re- 
 nowned poet. Dr. Wihl, who commissioned me to 
 send his compliments to my mother and sister. His 
 vanity apart, which makes him capable of the worst 
 things, and which has certainly led him into much 
 evil, he is a very good man. 
 
 I have not as yet managed to write to Gustav, 
 since, as thou knowest, every epistolary communi- 
 cation in German is so very difficult for me ; but I 
 will write to him soon, since I have some commis- 
 sions of importance to me for him to execute, and I 
 am convinced of his liking me {von seiner Zuneigung 
 zu mir). I send my best love to thee, dear Lottie, 
 as well as to my dear nieces and my dear nephew. 
 
 Tell me, Lottie dear, why I never get a letter from 
 Campe. My drafts are duly paid by him every time 
 when I draw on him half-yearly, but I get no answer 
 to my letters. What is he cooking up ? {was kocht 
 er?). Fortunately I have no need to publish any- 
 thing just now, else this silence, which might compel 
 me to make engagements with other publishers, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 163 
 
 would perplex me. But that he does not know, 
 and this unresponsiveness on his side is not to be 
 answered. Try to find out something as to this, my 
 dear Lottie, and write to me, of all things, as soon 
 as possible. — Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 xcn. 
 
 Paris, /«(^ 25, 1850. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — My last letter crossed thine, 
 and it is probable that the same will occur again 
 with this. I hope that thou art well, which is the 
 main thing. As for me, I find myself tolerably so-so, 
 and though my malady does not diminish, still it 
 seems to me as if my strength were increasing, 
 and there are days when I have very little pain, 
 and then I give free rein to imagination, with far- 
 flying projects based on health. I work very little, 
 but my soul was never so awakened, more active, 
 or energetic than at present. But my eyes are 
 always in bad condition. I have again tried to 
 write, but it hurt me. Not to scribble so much, I 
 write with a lead-pencil, which I find hard work. 
 
 I send my kindest regards to dear Lottie, and 
 thank her for what she has communicated. I have 
 received the books, yet all was not quite right as 
 regards the last lot received ; for some pleased me, 
 and were what I wanted, and others were already 
 known to me — a mistake probably caused by my not 
 expressing myself clearly. Now the trouble is to 
 find a chance to send the books back as soon as 
 
1 64 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 possible. I would like to know if the expense 
 would be less should I have the books forwarded by 
 railway directly from Hamburg. Pray let Ludwig 
 find out whether packets can be so sent by railway, 
 and how much one must then pay by the pound ? 
 I know this much, that by rail packages from 
 Cologne to Paris cost only a mere trifle. 
 
 My wife sends her most cordial regards ; we talk 
 about you day and night, especially by night, be- 
 cause we never retire before twelve or one o'clock. 
 We live quietly and in perfect agreement, and my 
 wife was never so reasonable as just now. And 
 yet Germans here have spread a scandal that we 
 are separated on account of dissension. You have 
 no idea what vermin bearing the name of Germans 
 creep around here. The person of whom Lottie 
 warns me is a jewel compared to the louse named 
 Ferdinand W., of whom Campe gives me informa- 
 tion as to myself — a wretch on whom I have been 
 bestowing benefits all the time for fifteen years, and 
 who was at last guilty of such vulgar meanness 
 {Gemeinheiten) that I put him with curses out of 
 doors. ^ 
 
 ^ This reminds me of an "item" which was circulated in the 
 German newspapers about this time. It bore the heading of ^^ Ein- 
 grosser Mann ein grober Mann — "A great man a rude (or vulgar) 
 man" — and was to the effect that some German who had a 
 letter of introduction to Heine called on him and knocked at the 
 door, which was partially opened by the poet. "What do you 
 want?" inquired the latter. "I have a letter of introduction to 
 
 you from ," answered the visitor. "I do not wish to see 
 
 you," answered Heine. " But I have a letter of introduction," 
 persisted the stranger, to which Heine replied that he did not 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 165 
 
 I repeat to thee, dear mother, that I am now 
 rather better. Perhaps I am, Hke all invalids, a little 
 unjust, and I cannot really avow that I find myself 
 24 per cent, better than before. 
 
 So now fare well ! Write to me soon and a great 
 deal, and keep in love your faithful 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XCIII. 
 
 Paris, August 3, 1850. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I hope that thou 
 art well, and that I shall soon receive a letter 
 from thee in which this hope will be confirmed. 
 I hasten to let thee know, before the post leaves, 
 that I send thee a packet of books by the diligence, 
 and beg thee to send them without delay to the 
 circulating librarian Jovien, as well as the enclosed 
 notice, by which he will learn what books he 
 is to send me promptly per diligence. I say ex- 
 pressly by the diligence, and not by the Hamburg 
 steamboat, which, as I have to-day learned, costs 
 more. This packet of to-day I could only pay 
 postage on as far as Aix-la-Chapelle, and I 
 believe that the porto so far costs two francs. I 
 
 care, that he would not be intruded on by everybody, &c. Then 
 there was a struggle— the stranger trying to force his way in, 
 reiterating that he had a right to present his letter, but the author 
 succeeded in excluding him and in bolting the door. The story 
 was told to Heine's discredit, but it is extremely probable that he 
 knew his man in advance, and this seems the more likely of a 
 person who would, after being told to depart, endeavour to make 
 his way in by force. — Translator, 
 
i66 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 therefore pray thee, tell me how much thou hast 
 had to pay for the packet from Aix to Hamburg, 
 so that I may not only repay thee, but also learn 
 how much the freight is by land as compared to 
 that by steamboat. I beg thee not to neglect to 
 let the bookseller know that he must send the 
 books at once. 
 
 I greet dear Lottie with all my heart, and hope 
 that my dear sister will write to me soon and 
 much. I live very much alone and learn nothing 
 from Hamburg. 
 
 There has been no change in my health. I bear 
 my fate calmly, and enjoy the most delightful domes- 
 tic peace as well as the cherry-pies {Kirschkuchen)j 
 which my cook can make admirably. My cook is 
 a genius, and under the name of German Nudeln 
 she prepares a dish which is really the Jewish 
 Schaletj and which I eat with pleasure. That is 
 the greatest news which I can give. Live well and 
 love me well. — Thy faithful son, H. Heine. 
 
 XCIV. 
 
 Paris, September 26, 1850. 
 
 Dear good Mother and my much-loved 
 Sister, — Nothing very joyful has occurred as 
 regards myself since my last letter; my health is 
 the same, but my household affairs have gone, 
 as I foresaw, much worse. The young girl of 
 whom I wrote to you has become seriously ill, 
 and as I had not the heart to send her away, I 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 167 
 
 have now in my house two invalids. She has 
 been confined to her bed for six weeks, will not 
 soon recover, and the doctor holds out but little 
 hope for the future as to her. The illness is in 
 her blood — she is lost, and in all this there is 
 much which will trouble me. On one side my 
 wife loses her factotum^ and a companion much 
 needed when she goes abroad, while I, on the 
 other, miss my nurse and French reader, who was 
 always ready when wanted. 
 
 I now have no one as French reader, and was 
 obliged to take a garde-malade, who wearies me 
 sadly by her negligence, eats enormously, is of 
 black complexion, and yet costs me 150 francs 
 per month — that is to say, five francs a day. My 
 wife is, therefore — as may be naturally understood 
 — not always in an amiable disposition, and under 
 such circumstances you can easily understand that 
 I often long for you. I dare not, however, as yet 
 think of emigrating to Hamburg, at least not until 
 my health shall be in a more stable condition — I 
 mean, that the cramps from which I suffer must 
 first cease. My illness, as I have always declared 
 to you, is painful and nervous, and every movement 
 is in consequence intolerable. 
 
 I might greatly endanger my body by going 
 to Hamburg, nor is it by any means certain that 
 the climate there would agree with me. 
 
 You see how considerately and calculatingly 
 I go to work, and that it shall not be my fault 
 should the bankruptcy of my body take place, ere 
 
1 68 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 thou, dear mother, art at least covered (by the 
 earth). 
 
 We constantly converse of you all, and my wife, 
 I assure thee, spares no pains in taking care of me. 
 She sends her kindest regards to you, as well as to 
 the younger generation. Let my nephew Ludwig 
 know that his cousin Drucker wrote me a very neat 
 letter, and sent me a catalogue, in which, however, 
 I found less than in the Hamburg one, and I do 
 not know whether I can make any use of it. For 
 the present, I shall hold to Hamburg, but I must 
 beg that there shall not be such long delay in send- 
 ing me books. It was an eternity before the last 
 lot came. I sent back the last packet yesterday 
 by Messagerie, and addressed them again to dear 
 mother in Hamburg. Thou wilt have a heavier 
 freight to pay this time than before, since I could 
 not pay on it to the frontier. A stupid fellow, to 
 whom I confided the care of the bundle, did not 
 even bring me back a postal receipt, and thou must 
 therefore let me know at once whether the books 
 arrived safely. I do not know whether thou hast 
 the earlier list of books which I lately sent there ; 
 for greater certainty I will enclose once more the 
 (names of the) books which I wish to have. But 
 take especial care that the packet be sent forthwith, 
 and that I shall not be obliged to wait so long, also 
 that the right number of the house be placed on 
 the address, and with it a small certificate of the 
 value. 
 
 I thank you for your last letter, and thee espe- 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 169 
 
 cially, dear Lottie, do I thank for the information 
 and cheering (items). 
 
 Is there not any other good circulating library in 
 Hamburg as well as Jovien's ? In such case, send 
 me its catalogue in a newspaper wrapper. — Your 
 faithful H. Heine. 
 
 xcv. 
 
 Paris, November 23, 1850. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I hope that thou art 
 well, and that the terrible coming winter will not 
 make thee shake and shudder ; for at every return 
 of rough weather I think of thee, of thy dear weak 
 form, on the miserably decayed old roof of thy old 
 house by the Dammthor, of every blast of wind 
 which thou must feel, and my heart is often cruelly 
 pained as thou describest thyself Thou dost well, 
 therefore, to write to me so often at this time. As 
 for me, there has been no change in my condition. I 
 always hope that it will improve, and this hope 
 proves every morning to be false. What shall I 
 do? I must take life as God ordained it for me. 
 I neglect nothing as regards taking care of myself, 
 and my wife is glad when she can pay out our 
 last sous for my sick-nurse and otherwise alleviate 
 my sufferings. As regards the maid, I had a hard 
 time of it with her, till I finally induced the poor 
 soul to go to a hospital, where she is at present, 
 and is notably better for the change. Had I done 
 this four months ago, I should have been by a 
 
I70 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 considerable sum better off, and also have escaped 
 the expensive misunderstandings from which I 
 can now only extricate myself with difficulty, — I 
 refer to my domestics. Many old imbroglios in my 
 finances now seem to be clearing up, and 1 see the 
 possibility of rescuing a part at least of many things 
 which I long ago resigned. 
 
 What afflicts me most is not to be able to earn 
 a sous at a time when I could do so much. Still 
 no word from Campe, whose silence seems to be 
 deliberately calculated to await the moment when I 
 shall blow on the last hole (be reduced to extremity), 
 and give myself over bound hand and foot for an 
 apple and a piece of bread ! But he is mistaken. 
 I wrote to Gustav not long ago, and gave him certain 
 literary commissions. 
 
 Although my dear Lottie writes that the chest 
 with books was sent from Hamburg so early as the 
 2nd of October, I have not as yet received it, 
 and beg Lottie to make the necessary inquiries re- 
 garding it. I confess that I am greatly troubled as 
 regards it. 
 
 And now farewell! 1 kiss you all, truly and 
 heartily. H. HEINE. 
 
 There had been no improvement in Heine's para- 
 lytic condition, and the extremities of his body were 
 motionless. 
 
 He was carried every morning very carefully from 
 his bed to a lukewarm bath on a chaise longue^ or 
 stretcher, covered with a white quilt. His suffering 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 171 
 
 body could not endure the lightest touch, and every 
 sudden movement caused him extreme pain.^ He 
 once cried to his doctor, who was present at this 
 carrying, '' See how I am honoured in Paris, where 
 people uphft and bear me on their hands ! " 
 
 A nurse had to sleep near him every night, and 
 the bedroom of his wife was as far as possible 
 from his own, so that her repose might not be dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 The arrangement of his dwelling was that of a 
 fairly respectable {behdbig) citizen's home, and was 
 wanting in the extravagant adornment of modern 
 luxury. His bedroom, which was always large and 
 airy, gave a home-feehng despite its simplicity. 
 Beyond the usual equipment there was a sofa for 
 visitors, and opposite it a writing-table covered with 
 a great many papers, newspapers, and books. The 
 reception-room contained furniture covered with red 
 velvet, the wall was ornamented with a portrait of 
 his wife, an oil-painting of his sister, a lithograph 
 of Salomon Heine, and a small book-shelf, chiefly 
 filled with his own works in plain binding. In the 
 middle of the room was a table with albums, books, 
 and pictures, and on the chimney-piece a bronze 
 clock between two porcelain vases in which were 
 always fresh flowers. 
 
 Heine always ate a hearty breakfast, consisting 
 of roasted meat not over-done, fruit, and a glass 
 
 ^ Yet, while in this terrible state, Heine was obliged to work hard 
 for a living, or to prevent himself from actually sinking to the level 
 of a pauper. — Translator. 
 
172 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 of Bordeaux wine and water. After a short pause 
 he began to work, dictated to his secretary, or 
 listened to reading. In the afternoon the poet, 
 when his health permitted, received visits from 
 friends, strangers, and also from elegant ladies of 
 the higher circles, whose presence when they were 
 young and beautiful always cheered him. Heine 
 called ladies "the great nation; the rulers of the 
 world ! " At six o'clock dinner was served ; it was 
 simple but very substantial. Constant variety was 
 expected, and it was generally eaten with a good 
 appetite. His wife had much trouble in gratifying 
 his gastronomic demands, for Heine was a great 
 gourmand, who once after an exquisite dinner at 
 Vefour's said, "This meal was so good that it 
 deserved to be taken kneeling." 
 
 Mathilde also liked to dine in a restaurant, and 
 to manage this she often had recourse to this trick. 
 Her husband did not like mutton ; therefore, when 
 he returned to the house with a good appetite and 
 in good-humour, and asked what there was to eat, 
 she replied, "Roast-mutton." Then he would at 
 once take his hat and say, "Come, Mathilde, we 
 will go and dine at Vefour's." If they met good 
 friends on the way, they were asked to join, and 
 as champagne was an indispensable relish for a 
 good dinner with Mathilde, this oft-repeated joke 
 caused great outlay. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 173 
 
 XCVI. 
 
 Paris, December 2, 1850. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — Thy dear letter an- 
 nouncing the accouchement of Madame Gustav 
 Heine, as well as the note from my sister informing 
 me of the misunderstanding as to the books, were 
 received last week, and I will reply to the latter 
 with a few lines. 
 
 I have done thee, my dear Lottie, great injustice, 
 since I accused thee of neglect when I did not 
 receive the books which I wanted from Hamburg. 
 At the time I received a letter from young Drucker, 
 who told me that he had made an arrangement with 
 the Schlosschen circulating Hbrary to forward books 
 to me whenever I gave the numbers from the cata- 
 logue, which he sent me per convert. I received this 
 catalogue, and approving the arrangement which he 
 had made with the Schlosschen bookseller, I sent 
 him at the same time a list of books which I wished 
 to have forwarded. When I some days later re- 
 ceived these books, and to the question, " Did they 
 come from Cologne ? " received an affirmative from 
 the postman, I was firmly convinced that these were 
 the books which I had ordered thence, and after 
 they had been read to me, I requested that they 
 should be well packed and sent to the Schlosschen 
 establishment in Cologne, and this was done on 
 payment of freight, as I now see that packages can 
 be prepaid to Cologne. There was with the package 
 
174 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 a direction from me, as is usual at the MessageriCy 
 and I wrote in a special note to the circulating 
 library aforesaid in reference to a second sending, 
 and the requisite hire and costs. I am now offended 
 because I have not received from Cologne (where 
 my mistake must have been immediately observed) 
 any mention regarding it, and as I will not write to 
 the circulating library, which certainly has behaved 
 unpolitely, nor to the stupid fellow who is guilty of 
 the blunder, I beg thee, dear Lottie, to get Ludwig 
 to write to Cologne, so that the package may be 
 without delay sent to Hamburg, so that thou canst 
 return the books. 
 
 The affair, dear mother, with which I must trouble 
 thee is much more important. But here I can be 
 more direct, and need not use many words. I 
 promised thee to have recourse to thee in case I 
 should need the sum which thou didst offer me, and 
 unfortunately I must to-day keep my promise. I 
 wish, however, that thou wouldst let me have the 
 money in this manner. Send me at once a draft 
 for six hundred francs, payable here at sight, and 
 keep the remaining four hundred francs till I write 
 to thee how and when thou shalt forward them. I 
 assume that thou canst spare the money, and as I 
 long ago explained the budget of my receipts, it will 
 not make thee uneasy that I rather apply to thee 
 than to have inconvenient or expensive negotiations 
 and operations elsewhere to obtain a small sum 
 which it is necessary for me to raise before the 
 end of the year. I will say nothing more, and I 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 175 
 
 hope that thou dost trust to my integrity, else it 
 would pain me to the heart to have written (this) to 
 thee to-day. 
 
 There has been no change in my health, but I 
 expect, when there shall be a change in the weather, 
 such an improvement as I always experience in 
 winter. 
 
 And now fare well. — Thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine, 
 
 No. 58 Rue d'Amsterdam. 
 
 xcvn. 
 
 Paris, February 5, 185 1. 
 
 Dear good Mother and dear Sister, — I 
 have yet to thank you for your New Year's greeting, 
 and I also cordially thank the younger brood for 
 theirs. I am delighted to learn that you are well. 
 Nothing remarkable has taken place here. I am 
 again sickly inclined — rather better than before, 
 perhaps much better — but I still have great nervous 
 troubles, and — the greater the pity! — the cramps 
 have now a tendency upward, which often wearies 
 my head sadly. So I must patiently endure what 
 the dear Lord has ordained, and I bear my fate with 
 patience since I constantly think of you with love. 
 And at this time I am treated by my wife with the 
 tenderest care, and nothing spared which can con- 
 duce to my best nursing or alleviation or pleasure. 
 And my finances are also admirably well arranged 
 
176 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 just now ; and as regards this Carl has done me good 
 service, since he has without any previous pressing 
 or fussing voluntarily paid the contribution needed. 
 I do not trouble myself to reflect as to what the cause 
 of this benevolence may be, as I indeed will not in 
 this world worry myself nor rejoice as to money. 
 God's will be done ! Nor will I borrow any trouble 
 as to the Spendthrift. She is" too lovable, and her 
 faults are so much the result of a good heart, that I 
 cannot find fault even at the most senseless expen- 
 ditures and similar follies. But for her, life would 
 have no interest for me; she enables me to bear 
 this painful burden, which I would certainly throw 
 aside if I were alone. 
 
 Only write soon to me, and, dear Lottie, as much 
 in detail as thou canst. I thank thee for the books, 
 which I will probably send back to-morrow to Ham- 
 burg, to mother's address. 
 
 As I can only pay the freight for a short distance, 
 so must thou, dear mother, again make a large ex- 
 penditure, but it will be to me a very great obliga- 
 tion. The Cologne library contains very few books 
 which I want, and I can get from it very little 
 which pleases me. The Hamburg catalogue is 
 much richer, and therefore I must beg thee, dear 
 Lottie, to send me a new invoice from there, and 
 that as soon as possible. I send thee for this object 
 the enclosed list. Should there be, contrary to all 
 my hopes, so many books out that they cannot 
 make me up a batch, I still beg them not to fill 
 it up with books which I have not indicated. I 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 177 
 
 shall rely on that, and I beg thee to let me know 
 when the books shall have been sent. 
 
 Live well and truly love well your faithful 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XCVIII. 
 
 Paris, March 12, 1851. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I was very much 
 rejoiced indeed at receiving thy last letter. I had 
 received a few lines from Lottie a few days before, 
 and not one syllable from thee in it. And at the 
 same time I received a letter from Herr Werth,^ 
 in which he began by saying that he could not 
 see thee because thou wert unwell. Any other 
 man would have worried himself to death, but on 
 stern reflection I calmed myself, concluding that 
 Lottie would not write a cheerful letter if it 
 were a serious illness, but that in the latter case 
 one would employ different terms with a certain 
 expression of embarrassment. But I hope, dear 
 mother, that thou art well. Should it happen that 
 anything serious is the matter, tell it to me plainly, 
 for the whole truth is not so tormenting as doubt. 
 
 I am indeed getting better, but very slowly. For 
 two years I have not taken any medicine — or 
 rather, my wife has not allowed me to take any, 
 for she will not suffer a vial of physic to cross 
 the threshold, and she has driven all the doctors 
 
 1 George Werth, a merchant of remarkable literary ability, in- 
 troduced to Heine by Spiller von Hauenfeld (Max Waldau). — 
 German Editor. 
 
 M 
 
178 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 to the devil, except one, whom I often do not see 
 for months together,^ and he is so small that I 
 may almost say I have none. Of evils, one should 
 always choose the least. Yet, notwithstanding, I 
 do not believe that I shall ever stand again on 
 sound legs. I have done with this life, and were 
 I only sure that I shall be well received in heaven 
 I would endure life with patience. 
 
 My best joy, dear mother, is to think of thee, of 
 Lottie, of my brothers, and of the small brood. My 
 wife behaves almost exemplarily. She brightens 
 life and makes it beautiful, consoles and enraptures 
 me, but often unawares gives me a blow to the 
 heart by her incurable extravagance. There is no 
 help for it, and it is indeed my greatest affliction. 
 This fever of always scattering money is terrible. 
 And yet I am no miser. I have long ceased to 
 laugh about it. 
 
 I send my heartfelt love to dear Lottie. Herr 
 Werth, who called on her, is a very nice, extra- 
 ordinarily talented, and extremely able and upright 
 man. I have seen very little of him myself, but 
 know him well through mutual friends. 
 
 The books which Lottie notified me had been 
 sent have not arrived, and I hope that there are 
 not to be any more tremendous troubles about 
 them. Herr Werth may tell Campe plainly what I 
 said to him. Lottie was mistaken in thinking that 
 I forbid him to do so. However, to say anything 
 definite through a third person is not my custom, 
 
 ^ Dr. Gruby. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 179 
 
 and I have always found that no good {Segen) 
 ever came of such circumlocution. I say all that 
 I please that it may be known, but I cannot let 
 myself down to taking anybody for my compkre. 
 
 My wife sends kindest greeting to you all, and 
 we talk all day long of thee and of Lottie. She has 
 not forgotten a word that Lottie said, and the con- 
 versation always ends with her telling me to show 
 my tongue. 
 
 Write to me very much and soon {recht viel und 
 bald), for I live retired from the whole world, and it 
 may be of advantage to me, especially in family 
 relations, to be aufait. And dost thou, dear Lottie, 
 find thyself well ? Couldst thou not by the electric 
 telegraph show me thy tongue ? ^ 
 
 Give my best regards to thy husband, and also to 
 the young ones. Compliments to the young ladies 
 when opportunity permits. With love and faith, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 XCIX. 
 
 VARis,/une 7, 1 85 1. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — It is a long time since I 
 have had any news as to thy health. I hope that 
 thou hast stood the annual change from cold to 
 warm weather ( Uebergangsjahreszeit) well. It stung 
 me up a Httle, but I pulled through, as I think, in 
 better condition than I did last year. My general 
 health is somewhat better, leaving, however, a wide 
 margin for complaint. That Gustav has for the 
 
 ^ Heine spells it electerisck. The electric telegraph was still a 
 novelty to most people in 1850. 
 
i8o THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 time given up his journey hither on account of 
 great occupation has troubled me. I have many 
 German visitors, who, however, seldom tell me any- 
 thing agreeable. Yesterday I heard the scandalous 
 story which so much compromises the Gabes and 
 the whole O. family. I mean the imprisoning the 
 mother of Gabes on account of alleged lunacy. The 
 woman is here, and every one who hears her story 
 is indignant.^ 
 
 Is it really true that Dr. S hung himself ? I 
 
 pray thee, Lottie, to give me more close details as 
 to this, for I can hardly believe it. It begins to 
 look very melodramatic in our family. 
 
 I received the books long ago, and will soon send 
 them back to you with thanks. 
 
 I send love to dear Lottie, the children, and Lud- 
 wig, and owe thanks to the latter for his last letter. 
 
 What thou writest, dear Lottie, as to Dr. Halle, 
 is a proof of thy sympathetic heart, and I also take 
 great interest in the fortune of this distinguished man, 
 but it may be that avarice has contributed much to 
 his fixed ideas. I was visited of late by the head of 
 the banking firm of Warschau in Konigsberg, who 
 
 is related to John F in Berlin, and who informed 
 
 me in confidence that he always complains that he 
 must starve in his old age from want of money. 
 
 ^ There was a pamphlet published in reference to this case. It 
 was entitled Eipe Mutter im Irrenhause — "A mother in a mad- 
 house." It may be here remarked that Heine, notwithstanding his 
 complaint that he never heard anything agreeable, was as fond of 
 scandalous gossip as any of the daughters of Israel, of whom the 
 Talmud declares that ten measures of talk having been sent upon 
 the earth, these ladies alone secured nine of them. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. i8i 
 
 I hear nothing from Campe. That thou, dear 
 mother, wilt put no faith in the chatter and gossip 
 which German newspapers disseminate as to my 
 condition, is to be understood. 
 
 I have, dear mother, been busier of late than thou 
 wouldst suppose, having undertaken a general re- 
 visio7i of all my papers, looked over all thy letters 
 and Lottie's, and to make sure that no misuse could 
 be made of them by accidental falsification, I — 
 though it greatly grieved me — burnt them all. I 
 certainly hope, dear mother, that thou approvest of 
 this proceeding, since I would not for anything in 
 the world expose thee to the rude curiosity {der 
 rohen Neiigier) of strangers of a later generation.^ 
 
 Love me right well and write to me ere long. — 
 Your faithful {Euer getreuer\ H. HEINE. 
 
 Paris,/«/v9, 1 85 1. 
 Dearest Mother and dear Sister, — Just 
 now all is going on well with me, except that 
 
 ^ A very natural regret has been expressed that Heine burnt 
 these letters, but there can be no doubt that he was influenced by 
 the kindest and most delicate feeling in doing so. It is, however, 
 very evident that he anticipated that his own letters would be at 
 some time published, and therefore it would have been well from a 
 literary or artistic point of view if he had allowed a few to remain, 
 that readers might have formed some slight idea at least of his 
 mother and "Lottie" as they were and how they wrote. We 
 become naturally interested in them while reading what he wrote, 
 and there was evidently little danger that the '* coarse curiosity " of 
 strangers would have led to any disagreeable result. The two 
 invariably appear in a favourable light. — Translator. 
 
i82 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 during the hot weather I suffered sadly with my 
 eyes. I observe that you have received the 
 package of books, but as I could only pay for a 
 few stations in advance, I have certainly cost 
 you a great deal of freight. I send enclosed a 
 new list of books, among which are some which I 
 very much wish to read; for instance, the novel 
 by Madame von Palzow entitled Saint Roche, and 
 another by Mugge, Toussaint Louverture. 
 
 That stupid fellow Von Schiff ^ has published a 
 book, LuftschWsser (" Castles in the Air "), which is 
 not included in the catalogue, yet which I would 
 like to read. All which the stupid fellow writes 
 is good, extremely remarkable, and he has more 
 talent than countless numbers of those who are 
 famous. So it happens that in literature all 
 goes by luck. Dear Lottie, only read a book 
 recently published by Campe which is entitled 
 Schief Levinchen imd Mariandel seine Kalle ; " ^ 
 
 ^ Dr. H. Schiff, a step-cousin of Heine's grandfather, had for 
 second wife a Widow SchifF. He was a talented author, yet never 
 received the fame which he, according to Heine, deserved. De- 
 graded by drunkenness, he was given up by his family, and died 
 in the Hamburg hospital. As he was a friend of Strodtmann, it 
 resulted that from the information which he communicated to the 
 latter there were many inaccurate and unjust items in it relative to 
 the poet's private and family relations. — German Editor. 
 
 2 "Cross-eyed or crippled Little Levi and his bride Maria," 
 a work probably abounding in German- Hebrew, or, to judge by 
 the title, all in the Yiddish dialect. It is very remarkable that 
 Heine, who must have understood Yiddish, and who was certainly 
 troubled by no scruples, nowhere in his writings shows any 
 familiarity with this extraordinary and curious tongue, which is 
 exquisitely adapted to humour. And it would also seem as if the 
 authoress of " Daniel Deronda " had been quite ignorant even of 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 183 
 
 it is a masterpiece; artistic and witty, and I believe 
 that it is by Schiff. As I hear, dear Lottie, thou 
 hast the intention of presenting me with the 
 " History of Comic Literature " by Flogel, I hasten 
 to tell thee that I obtained it some time ago, and 
 therefore do not need it. Herr Werth informed 
 me that Campe will during this month visit me 
 here in Paris. Take no notice of it unless he 
 should tell thee so himself; but in such a case 
 Campe himself might bring me the books.^ The 
 young man of whom thou didst speak has not 
 yet made his appearance; thou mayst be sure 
 that I quite understood thee. I must — more's the 
 pity ! — always burn the gay letters of my dear 
 Lottie. I cannot neglect it. 
 
 My dear Annie, unless she has too much to do, 
 can often write to me, and this correspondence will 
 no doubt be most agreeable to me. I also send my 
 kindest regards to Ludwig and Lena. 
 
 I kiss my dear mother (who is dearer to me than 
 all the cats in the world) twenty-five times. My 
 wife greets and perspires. — Your faithful son and 
 brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 its existence, its absence from her book amounting to a fault. 
 It has quite a literature, at the head of which must be placed the 
 Yiddish Chrestomatie of Max Griinbaum. I possess, I believe, ten 
 printed vocabularies of it, not including the Slang Dictionary of 
 the great Martin Luther, in which nearly one half the words are 
 Yiddish. — Translator. 
 
 1 This caution not to let Campe know that his intention was 
 known, but, in case he himself betrayed it, to at once "avail the 
 opportunity " by making him bring the books ^ is worthy of Sganarelle. 
 — Translator. 
 
i84 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Heine was very much offended by the whimsical 
 silence {launisches Stillschweigen) of his publisher, 
 and there would have probably been a breach between 
 them, had not the latter, urged by his personal 
 interest, come to Paris, where he learned from Mr. 
 George Werth that the poet, in spite of his illness, 
 had completed a new and extensive work. Heine 
 intended that this book, the Romancero, should 
 not be pubHshed till after his death, but at Campe's 
 urgent solicitation he abandoned this resolution, 
 and so disposed of it for 6000 marks banco. 
 Campe could, when his own interest was concerned, 
 be extremely amiable, and knew very well how, 
 even from the first interview, to wind the poet round 
 his thumb {zu seinem Gunsten umstimmen). Campe 
 had not, before agreeing to pay the price, ascer- 
 tained what was the content of the manuscript, and 
 to Heine's question how he could pay such a very 
 considerable sum for what he had not read, he re- 
 plied, ^^ It is not necessary ; what Heine writes is 
 good." The poet was not unsusceptible to such 
 flattery, and this firm confidence in his intellectual 
 creation was quite enough to again firmly bind the 
 knot of friendship, which had of late been some- 
 what loosened, between him and the publisher.^ 
 
 ^ It is not necessary to dwell on this transaction further than 
 to say that if this sum was enough for the Roniancero, that the 
 greatest living German poet of his time could receive in 1851 for 
 what constituted much more than a year's hard work only 6000 
 marks. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 185 
 
 CI. 
 
 Paris, August 21, 1851. 
 
 Dearest good Mother,— I duly received thy 
 last letter. I have no great opinion of homeo- 
 pathy, yet next year I will certainly do some- 
 thing vigorous for my illness, for I will go to the 
 baths of Gastein, and avail myself of the journey 
 to visit Hamburg. I have for two years taken 
 almost no medicine. My condition improves very 
 slowly, yet the improvement cannot be denied. 
 I have a great pleasure in the visit of Gustav, 
 who has been here with his wife for six days, 
 and will leave at the end of next week for Ham- 
 burg. He will therefore tell you himself a great 
 deal about me, and to thee, dear Lottie, all that I 
 have to say. 
 
 I can for some time write little to thee, for my 
 German secretary lives out of town, and is seldom 
 for an hour in Paris. And beyond this, thou 
 canst well imagine that there are very few of the 
 Germans here who often help me with their pens 
 (mit der Feder helfen) to whom I would confide a 
 letter to thee.^ 
 
 I will perhaps send by Gustav the MS. of a 
 whole book to Campe, and it may easily be all 
 printed in two months. Gustav's visit has greatly 
 stirred me up, and I shall be unable to work for 
 
 ^ This remark speaks volumes, and explains how it was that 
 so much contemptible scandal and gossip was constantly printed 
 as to this wretchedly suffering invalid. — Translator. 
 
i86 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 fourteen days. We talk from morning till even- 
 ing. We laugh all the time, and my wife laughs 
 with us, while the parrot screams in between, 
 while the two latter know no better one than the 
 other what we are saying. My wife finds that 
 Gustav greatly resembles me. 
 
 Just now Gustav has the pleasure of learning 
 that the blackguard {Lump) with whom he lately 
 had a lawsuit, who was the editor of a rival news 
 paper, has been turned out of Vienna. 
 
 And now fare well ! Give my best regards to 
 Ludwig, Lena, and Anna, the last of whom I 
 thank sincerely for her cheerful letter. — Your 
 faithful H. Heine. 
 
 After Campe's departure Heine was surprised by 
 the arrival of his brother Gustav, who had come 
 with his wife on a short visit to Paris. The 
 best understanding prevailed between the brothers, 
 and many jests passed between them. To the 
 question of his brother if it were true that he had 
 become a pray-sister^ Heine replied, "No, I have 
 rather become a lay-brother, having lain so long 
 
 ^ ^^Ob es wahr set, dass er eine Betschwester geworden ?" antiuortete 
 Heine: ''^ Nein^ ich bin vielmehr ein Betbruder geworden^ und bete 
 alle Tage zum lieben Gott.^' Betschwester, a "pray-" or "prayer- 
 sister," is a term equivalent to "pious old tabby" in English. 
 There is, of course, an equivoque for such a very evident pun as 
 it offers, — qui saute aux yeux ; so all Germans repeat, '•^Junge 
 Bettschwester, alte Betschtvester" i.e.^ young drabbles, old tabbies, 
 or young doxies, old orthodoxies ; or, as another hath it, young 
 bed-fellows, old bead-tellers, the latter version being for Catholics. 
 It is Ray I think who translates it " young wenches, red wrenches." 
 — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 187 
 
 here abed, where I, dear brother, pray the Lord 
 every day to give thee better political opinions." 
 And to Gustav's question whether he might an- 
 nounce Heinrich's religious change publicly in his 
 Fremdenblatty the latter replied, ^'What can it 
 matter to the great elephant of the king of Siam 
 whether a small mouse in the Rue d 'Amsterdam 
 in Paris believes or disbelieves in his grandeur and 
 wisdom ? " 
 
 When Gustav left Paris, Heine gave to his charge 
 the manuscript of the RomancerOy which he delivered 
 to Campe in Hamburg. This interview, to Heine's 
 great annoyance, was unfortunately the cause of 
 fresh misunderstandings and quarrels with his 
 publisher. A few months later, in October, the 
 Romancero appeared, and at once crowned the poet 
 with new laurels. It was everywhere regarded as 
 a marvel that Heine had created this brilliant work 
 during the fearful pains of protracted illness, and 
 that he through it all could thus preserve his 
 spiritual power and his poetic thought unim- 
 paired. 
 
 Almost at the same time with the Romancero 
 appeared the ballad-poem Der Doctor Fausty which 
 was subsequently added in the Vermischte Schrif- 
 ten or Miscellaneous Writings to the pantomime 
 libretto of the ^* Goddess Diana " and the " Gods in 
 Exile." 
 
i88 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 CII. 
 
 Paris, December 5, 1851. 
 
 Dearest Mother,— As there is at this moment 
 again the greatest excitement in Paris, and as there 
 was much bloodshed yesterday and the day before, 
 I hasten to inform thee that I am well and out of 
 the reach of all danger. My illness has at least 
 this advantage, that I cannot mix myself in partisan 
 strife. If I were in health, I should have at every 
 moment an opportunity to be maimed or shot dead. 
 My wife unfortunately will not be restrained from 
 sticking her nose out of doors in every tumult, and 
 day before yesterday she was in the midst of fire. 
 I have — more's the pity ! — no authority to com- 
 mand in France, and the proper authority thereunto 
 is wanting in my own house. 
 
 I fear lest it will yet go very badly with Louis 
 Napoleon. He has, unfortunately, not understood 
 that the French do not love a republic, yet will 
 still keep it. They will not willingly lose what has 
 already cost so much. 
 
 How many men have an antipathy for their 
 mistresses, yet cannot make up their minds to 
 leave those who have already cost them so much 
 money.^ 
 
 ^ This reflection was evidently caused by momentary anger at 
 "the Spendthrift," inspired by her going out into the fusillade. 
 Heine had already employed this simile in a letter from Bareges, 
 August 20, 1846, to the Allgemeine Zeitung. "These people 
 remain obstinately true to the principles for which they have 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 189 
 
 I have received the box of books, and I return 
 thanks for what is sent. I hope that the invoice, 
 which was not returned to me, has not been lost. 
 Please send me an answer as to this. I have 
 received a letter from Gustav, and he writes in 
 it that he loves his wife so much. But I remark 
 that he has not, unfortunately, attended to my 
 business as he at first induced me to believe he 
 would, and I apprehend that there will be new 
 trouble from this source. 
 
 I told you in my last letter that I have repaid 
 Gustav everything. I doubt not that you under- 
 stand why I mention this. I am an invaHd, and the 
 hour might come at any time when I cannot speak. 
 
 To thee, dear Lottie, I send kindest regards. 
 Remember me to thy husband and kiss my two 
 nieces and my nephew, of whom we here ever 
 think with much love. My spendthrift has got 
 herself a green dress which I call the Vitzliputli 
 robe, because I have estimated that it cost just as 
 much as I got for the poem of Vitzliputzli in the 
 Romancero. We live in the greatest harmony, in 
 the most beautiful and expensive peace. We often 
 talk of you, and gossip till deep into night about 
 dear mother. Pray tell Anna, when she writes to 
 me, to use very black ink, for I always read my 
 family letters myself, and my eyes are especially 
 bad in winter-time. 
 
 sacrificed so much, for the same reason why many men cannot 
 tear themselves loose from a mistress ; they keep her because she 
 has already cost so much." — Translator. 
 
190 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 The Romancero is causing more enthusiasm than 
 I expected. I assure thee that it is a very weak 
 book, but one must not say so. I wrote it with 
 faculties disabled {mit geldhmten Krdften). 
 
 I hope, dear mother, that thou art very well, and 
 that my health will always follow suit with thine. 
 Thou understandest me. Write to me soon and 
 much. — Thy faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine was no admirer of Napoleon III., and 
 expressed himself plainly (as to him) so early as 
 1849. ^'A coup d^etat {Staatstreich) is a public 
 secret. So much is said of it that no one believes 
 in it, but there is one laid by {aber er bleibt nicht 
 aus). The President is working after the pattern 
 of his uncle, and will burst out in an Eighteenth of 
 Brumaire. Go ahead ! go ahead ! {Nur zu f) When 
 the Republic was proclaimed a year ago, it seemed 
 to the world as if something which was only a 
 dream, and ever to remain a dream, had become 
 reality. But I am so unfortunate as to know France, 
 owing to many years' residence therein, only too 
 accurately, and I am anything but uncertain as to 
 what we have before us. The Republic is nothing 
 but a change of name, a revolutionary title. How 
 could this corrupt and feeble state of society change 
 its nature so rapidly? To make money, to grab 
 office, to drive with four horses, to have an opera- 
 box and rush from one pleasure to another was 
 till now their ideal. Where did these beings con- 
 ceal thus far so carefully their stock of bourgeois 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 191 
 
 virtues ? Paris, you may take my word for it, is 
 devoted to Napoleon — I mean to the Napoleon d'or 
 of twenty francs." ^ 
 
 cm. 
 
 YPCSi\% January 2%, 1852. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — I sent the box of books to 
 thee eight days ago, which thou didst duly receive. 
 The list of books — that is, the books whose titles I 
 wrote out — was not sent back to me this last time 
 from Hamburg, and to-day I must send thee a new 
 one. To be sure that it shall not be lost again, I 
 beg that it may be copied. The new invoice of 
 books to which Lottie will attend will be used by 
 Campe, who will add to it some other works. 
 
 I hope that you are all well. As for me, I am 
 always in the same unpleasant way {in derselben 
 sduerlichen Stimmung). There are so many troubles 
 now going on in the world, that I am fairly anxious 
 and disconsolate, and feel more uncomfortable than 
 ever in my poor sick skin. My wife is also, and, 
 alas ! out of temper, which has, however, its physi- 
 cal cause. She suffers much from headache. The 
 winter is gliding sorrowfully away, and I shall be 
 
 1 In other form this might be written thus : In the earlier era 
 when the gens de Vepee — as Mme. d'Epinay called them — ruled, 
 the word of the age might have been ^^Thomfne c'est le steel." 
 Then came the epoch of letters and it was Phomme c'est le style. 
 And now we are in the third age which Heine predicted, the 
 Lessepisode, or Lessepilepsy, or in a delirium of avarice, over which 
 may be inscribed in letters of gold, *^ Vhomme c'est le steal." — 
 Translator. 
 
192 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 glad when it is over. My relation to my family 
 is just now very unpleasant. We talk constantly 
 about you, and I hope that my Lottie will soon 
 write me a cheering letter. God guard you, and 
 send you that health which I now too late perceive 
 is the main thing. 
 
 Here in Paris everything seems sadly confused, 
 and we see a mad future before us. Those who 
 are in good health will shoot one another; the 
 invalids will, however, run no risk; therefore be 
 without fear regarding me. I send my kindest love 
 to my niece and nephew. Fare well, my dear 
 mother, and love well thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 Heine worked industriously at the collected edition 
 of the French translation of his works, and the 
 admirable {geistvolle) and often enthusiastic spirit of 
 the criticisms of such of his works as had appeared 
 (in French), were for him a new incitement (Sporn) 
 to make the French public acquainted with his intel- 
 lectual productions. Les CEnvres Completes de Henri 
 Heine, of which seven volumes had appeared before 
 his death, had the most brilliant success, and placed 
 him at once in the rank of the first French authors. 
 Heine himself translated his prose works most care- 
 fully, and every witty point is rendered in a most 
 masterly manner.^ In his preface to the French 
 
 ^ An opinion from which I, with all due modesty, beg leave to 
 deicidedly differ. I have studied this French version, word by word, 
 with the utmost care while translating from the German original, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 193 
 
 version of his poems, Heine does full justice to his 
 friends who undertook the difficult work of trans- 
 lating from the German. He could not think with- 
 out deep emotion of his friend Gerard de Narval, 
 who visited him every evening in the month of 
 March 1848 in his solitude on the Barri^re de la 
 Sante, to work with him at the translation of his 
 peaceable German dreamy fancies {friedlichen deuU 
 schen Trdumereifi)^ while all political passions were 
 raging around, and the monarchy crashed in ruin 
 with tremendous sound. Buried in their idyllic 
 and aesthetic conversation, they did not hear the 
 cry of the masses who then raged through Paris, 
 
 and, as the reader will perceive by my notes, have fully established 
 what I asserted, that if an English translation were as full of omis- 
 sions, variations, discrepancies, and faults, it would be ridiculed out 
 of sight and sale. Though advertised by Messrs. Calmann & Levy 
 as the (Eicvres Completes of Heine, there are wanting in it whole 
 chapters, and very often pages and paragraphs, which is carried so 
 far in the French Affairs and Lutetia^ that these works in French are 
 more suggestive of volumes of scanty elegant extracts than a transla- 
 tion. It is a great mistake to declare that *' all the Witzpointen are 
 rendered in a masterly manner." On the contrary, in almost every 
 instance where there is any real difficulty the translator skips it 
 with the most airy indifference, when, with a little care and re- 
 search into the resources of vigorous old French humour {e.g., into 
 Leroux de Lincy's Provcrbes), the point might always have been 
 given. That which would offend French readers or individuals in 
 the German is carefully removed from the French, and there are a 
 few amusing instances of actually misunderstanding German words, 
 which prove that it was some French secretary who did the work, 
 and not Heine himself. It is a matter to be regretted that the 
 French pubHc, owing to the fact that their version is supposed to 
 be perfect, and by the author himself, will perhaps be for ever pre- 
 cluded from having a complete and accurate translation of the works 
 of Heine. — Translator. 
 
 ^ Probably meant for Nerval. 
 
 N 
 
194 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 howling " Des lampions ! des lampions I " which was 
 the Marseillaise of the February Revolution. ^ 
 
 Heine also expressed himself very gratefully as 
 to his later translator, since he devoted to the 
 undertaking the deepest inner thoughts of a poetic 
 work, to give again in a Latin dialect {romanischer 
 Mundart) that which was written in a language of 
 the German stock. 
 
 His poems were partially translated by Rene 
 Taillandier, Gerard de Narval (Nerval), Schure, and 
 Marelle, into rhymes, partially metrical, into French. 
 These translators took great liberty with the rhyme, 
 and in their metric version the easy poetic rhythmic 
 euphony was lost. Heine himself jested at the 
 manner and fashion in which the tender and per- 
 fumed children of his Muse had been treated, who 
 sounded as prosaically reasonable in the translation as 
 moonshine wrapped in straw. While reading these 
 translations, he felt as if some one had taken him 
 by the hair, led him into a public place, and cried, 
 "Whip him — lay it on ! " "I really seem to my- 
 self," he wrote, " as if I had gone with the treasury 
 of my literary value through Germany, and now 
 
 1 Ohi^ les lampions ! is not properly a song, but a cry, on which 
 songs have been made, but none of such importance as to be ranked 
 with the Marseillaise. The true Marseillaise of 1848 was the Chant 
 or Chceur des Girondins, claimed as original by A. Dumas. As it 
 was sung by the mob at the barricades all the time, night and day 
 (as I well know, having joined in it many a time while armed and 
 among my men), I cannot but wonder that Heine took no heed of 
 it. Dumas declared that the Chant des Girondhis had carried the 
 Revolution, and that, as he wrote it, therefore he had caused the 
 whole affair. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 195 
 
 must needs change the paper into (small) silver. 
 Every time when a German comes to me, I feel 
 a cold chill run down my back as if a secret agent 
 of the German Parnassus had demanded my extra- 
 dition from the French Government, and would take 
 me back to where there is howling and gnashing of 
 teeth — that is, to Germany. Yes, after a thousand 
 years I shall be slandered, and all on account of 
 these wretched translators." ^ 
 
 CIV. 
 
 Paris, April 12, 1852. 
 
 Dearest good Mother,— I will only tell thee 
 to-day that I will to-morrow send a box to thy 
 address in Hamburg by the express-post, in which, 
 in addition to the books which I had from the 
 circulating library, there will be a packet which is 
 meant for my dear sister Madame von Embden. 
 Among the books are the volume of my Tragedies 
 which thou didst lend me in Hamburg, also two 
 
 ^ All of which did not prevent Heine from doing all he could in 
 every way to induce almost anybody to translate his works. Lady 
 Duff Gordon has told us how Heine fairly implored her, while 
 almost a child, to put him into English. He expressed great 
 exultation and joy at hearing of my translation of the Reisebilder 
 (in a letter of October 4, 1855), and even before he had seen the 
 book called the report of it a piece of good news, and was delighted 
 to hear that it had "enormous success," which was quite true. As 
 a translator himself, Heine was not invariably a success, as may be 
 seen from his rendering of poems from Lord Byron, which, while 
 cleverish and accurate, lack the expression or chief charm of the 
 original. In prose he was very flighty or discursive. — Translator. 
 
196 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 copies of my bronze medallion, of which thou 
 didst also lend me one in Hamburg, so that I 
 might have a duplicate of it cast here. One of 
 these copies thou canst keep for thyself, and the 
 other pray send to Campe, to whom I promised 
 it. The box must be made up with great care, 
 so that the packet for Lottie in it cannot be in- 
 jured : it is a silk dress — the very latest which 
 the season has produced, and in good taste to the 
 very last degree, for my Spendthrift selected it. You 
 may depend on it that my wife had more real plea- 
 sure in sending this than if I had given her a dress 
 for herself. She is — more's the pity ! — often troubled 
 with headaches. We live very unitedly, and she 
 exerts all her amiability to make me forget my invalid 
 condition. I am quite wonderfully well taken care 
 of; yet she is my only care and trouble, to use my 
 old expression. She sends her kindest regards. I 
 do the same to the whole Goose-market family. ^ I 
 wish I knew somebody who would take my Annie 
 away from the Goose-market. She must now be a 
 very tempting morsel, or will be, especially when 
 stuffed with golden chestnuts and raisins. Pleasant 
 manners {Artzgkeit\ simplicity in outward seeming, 
 avoidance of all that is loud {auffallend)^ freedom 
 from coquetry, a love of truth, and good-nature are 
 the qualities which are best for young ladies. 
 
 Only let me know that the box has come to hand 
 
 1 Heine's brother-in-law had left the old house, and taken 
 another at the corner of the Goose-market and Jungfernstieg, in 
 Hamburg. — German Editor. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 197 
 
 all right. Dear mother, you will have to pay again 
 an enormous freight, and I cannot manage it other- 
 wise, for the forwarding agents of Cologne (a true 
 nest of thieves) extort a tax on every package 
 {brandschatzev). But these are the last books 
 which I shall have sent in this manner, and for 
 the reason that there is nothing more in the library 
 which can be useful to me. I shall find in future 
 some better and cheaper means of transport. 
 
 If thou dost not often receive a letter from me, 
 understand that it is because I have not often by 
 me some confidential friend to whom I can dictate 
 in German. When I go to the country, thou must 
 often wait long for a letter. 
 
 I love thee with all my soul. — Thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 CV. 
 
 Paris, /««^ 12, 1852. 
 
 Dear good Mother and dear Sister, — I 
 was much delighted with thy letter, and also what 
 Lottie wrote, announcing to me the coming arrival 
 of my brother. I can imagine the excitement which 
 this agreeable surprise must have caused you. I 
 look forward with impatient expectation to the hour 
 when I shall embrace my dear Max after such a 
 long separation. As for my health, it is as usual ; it 
 is as repulsive to me as it is wearisome to be always 
 ripping up (durchtrdschen) the sorrowful subject, 
 in detail. Even with those who visit me I never 
 talk on the subject now. I seldom see any doctor. 
 
198 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and I have no occasion to do so; but I am ex- 
 tremely anxious to know what Max will say. You 
 must write to me exactly at what time I am to 
 expect to see him here, because even agreeable 
 surprises are too much for me on account of my 
 nervous suffering. My wife is not allowed to sur- 
 prise me with anything, unless she gives me twenty- 
 four hours' notice beforehand of it. I hope mother 
 is quite well, and that you are all sound and lively. 
 Gustav will certainly go to Hamburg. My wife is 
 tolerably well ; she complains that she is no longer 
 so pretty as she was, and that she must therefore 
 dress the more beautifully; to which I declare the 
 contrary, on account of the extra expense. She 
 has had her portrait taken, but is not at all con- 
 tented with it. In order to have peace I must abuse 
 it ; and she is really better-looking en natura than 
 en effigie. Yet I often prefer the picture because 
 it does not scold. ^ 
 
 So now fare well ! I send regards to my nephew 
 and to my niece, with a kiss to the latter. Dear 
 Lottie, I have written to Campe to send me books 
 here by Max. But pray let him know as soon as 
 possible that this will require too much time, and 
 beg him, if no other opportunity presents itself, to 
 send me the books without delay by railway, post, 
 or steamboat. Don't forget it. 
 
 1 "And thou hast seen the Pope," said the learned Flaxius as he 
 gazed with interest on the attenuated form of the ancient mendicant. 
 "Wouldst thou gladly behold his form again?" ^^ Signore, sty 
 but most willingly — on the face of a silver coin." And the sage 
 threw his alms about him and bestowed. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 199 
 
 I am so delighted to think of seeing my Max 
 again. I hardly hoped for such a pleasure. — Your 
 faithful H. Heine. 
 
 CVI. 
 
 Paris, August 2, 1852. 
 
 My dear good Mother and Sister, — The 
 departure of Max has caused me great sorrow, and 
 I feel as if overwhelmed with grief. It is delightful 
 to see any one after such long absence, but we pay 
 dearly for it by the pain of parting. My wife is in 
 the same mood, and Calypso could not have been 
 more afflicted at the departure of Ulysses than my 
 Spendthrift at that of Max. The latter hit it off 
 badly here (Jtat es schlecht getroffen)y for he came just 
 in the midst of the great heat, and I, who suffered 
 terribly from it, could not pass one healthy hour 
 with him. I did indeed suffer horribly from the 
 heat, but now that the weather is improving I am 
 recovering. Max will tell you orally everything 
 regarding me, and for some time there will not be 
 anything to write, since I am at present very busy. 
 
 We constantly conversed of you with truth and 
 tenderness. We were much amused at the remark 
 of Ludwig as to the stigmata ( Wundermale) of our 
 martyr. We love him in reality extravagantly, he 
 has such a good heart. I send most cordial kisses 
 to my niece Anna and to my Lena, who is a charm- 
 ing girl. Write to me as soon as Max arrives. Is 
 Carl in Hamburg? Max will tell you how much 
 
200 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 care and trouble is required here in Paris, when one 
 becomes invalid, to settle one's self comfortably — 
 how my Spendthrift takes care of my health, and 
 how nothing is wanting or lost to me which can be 
 had for money. Nothing is spared — quite the con- 
 trary; but the main thing — peace — is hard to get. 
 And yet Paris offers me greater advantages than 
 other places, where far greater torments would 
 attend me. My wife sends her kindest love, and 
 there are very few fat women who are so lovable 
 in hot weather as she is. I embrace thee, and am 
 your faithful H. Heine. 
 
 CVII. 
 
 Paris, September -^o, 1852. 
 
 Dearest Mother, — I waited before writing to 
 thee, because I wished to receive before so doing 
 a letter from Max in Hamburg. It seems, however, 
 that he has departed without writing anything to 
 me about our meeting, which is a great and un- 
 pardonable neglect, as to which I will say nothing, 
 lest I express myself too bitterly. I who, owing to 
 my illness, have not my arms free like other men, 
 and who am often utterly dazed and bewildered {tin 
 grossen Strudel sztse), still do not neglect the least 
 trifle, while Max, who has nothing to do but to take 
 care of himself, behaved more frivolously than any 
 poet would dare to do. 
 
 I hope that you {ihr) are well, and I hope to soon 
 receive a letter from thee {von Dir). I write to- 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 201 
 
 day specially to thee to let thee know that I send to 
 thy address and by the steamboat from Havre a 
 chest of books, for which I, unfortunately, can pay 
 only to Havre, so that I must beg thee to again 
 make a great outlay for me, and to let me know 
 explicitly how much it cost. There are in the chest 
 a number of books which Lottie's librarian, Herr 
 Jovien, sent me here without my asking for them. 
 I beg you to thank him very much indeed on re- 
 turning them (for one must be always grateful for 
 every politeness), but at the same time request that he 
 will never again send me a single book which I have 
 not ordered, of his own selection, since he cannot 
 know if I want to read them, and therefore have to 
 pay freight for nothing. Then thou wilt find in the 
 box another lot of books which all bear on the title 
 the stamp of Bernhardt's Circulating Library, and 
 which also have on their backs numbers on rose-red 
 paper, while Jovien's tickets are green. These books 
 belonging to Bernhardt were sent to me by Campe. 
 I beg Lottie to take great care that these books do 
 not get mixed up together. 
 
 How I have got into trouble owing to Gustav's 
 unsuitable {unpassendes) discussion with Campe ^ 
 you will have learned from Max ; but as Gustav is 
 my brother, and committed a great blunder owing to 
 
 1 From a subsequent letter it appears that Gustav did not read or 
 attend to certain instructions which Heinrich Heine had given him ; 
 that he had been cajoled by Campe, and wrote to the poet advising 
 him to depend entirely on the friendship of the old bookseller. 
 This badly managed mission seems to have been a source of great 
 trouble, if not of pecuniary loss, to H. Heine. — Traitslator. 
 
202 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 too great zeal for me, I would be the last to be angry 
 with him, and he may scold about me {raisonniren) 
 as much as he pleases, or even about my wife ; as 
 Max says to me, he must go according to his dis- 
 position, as I have known it and forgiven him for 
 forty years, and he will, notwithstanding, always 
 be a dear brother, whose better quaHties I esteem 
 all the more. And it cannot be denied that he has 
 good qualities. I know him through and through, 
 and I know accurately the cause of all his faults. 
 He is not the first of his kind. The censorship 
 prohibits further speech. . . . 
 
 And now, dear Lottie, how is all with thee? 
 How is thy whole brood, and the two great turkey 
 chicks and the great young one ? I talk about 
 thee daily with my wife, who sends thee her 
 kindest regards. I am not getting on so badly. 
 In the beginning of the season I stuck fast awhile 
 {hat es gehapert)j but I now find myself quite well. 
 I am well cared for and work but little. I will not, 
 under any circumstances, work uselessly without 
 remuneration. All is quiet, and since Gustav is 
 not here we live in unity and peace. Is Carl still 
 there ? Let me know. Above all things, write to 
 me soon. 
 
 This page is nearly at an end, and I embrace thee. 
 —Your faithful H. Heine. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 203 
 
 CVIII. 
 
 Paris, December 29, 1852. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, my dear good Sister, 
 and all that hangs and bobs round about ye,^ — 
 I duly received your letter containing a descrip- 
 tion of mother's birthday festival ; I need not say 
 with great pleasure, or how much I rejoiced over it. 
 And now I send you to-day my greetings for the 
 New Year, which seems to promise tolerably well. 
 I have the hope that the new year will be better for 
 me than the old. I need not say that I wish you 
 all all there can be of love and happiness (Gute). 
 Heaven grant you prosperity, harmony, and cheer- 
 fulness! My wife also sends her kindest wishes, 
 and is just now intending to ornament the windows 
 with new white curtains, so as to receive the New 
 Year in a friendly manner. She is very amiably 
 inclined, and will make fewer New Year's presents 
 this year than usual, which is indeed a great ad- 
 vance. She sends her love to my dear nephew 
 Ludwig, in which I join, including my brother-in- 
 law Moritz. I also send my most heartfelt regards 
 to Anna and Lena, and I shall find an opportunity 
 
 ^ Alles was daran herumbaumelt und bttmmelt. These two verbs 
 have the meaning of hanging and swinging like fruit on a tree, while 
 the latter {bummeln) also means like "to bob round," to loaf, idle 
 about, yfaw/r, as in Spanish galeofar. So "a loafer." German 
 landlaufer, in America simply laiifer, contributed to form it. The 
 German bummeln passed in Pennsylvania into bummen and bum. 
 During the Civil War all irregular and marauding hangers-on of the 
 army were called bum?ners. — Translator. 
 
204 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 before the end of the month of letting them know that 
 they have in Paris an uncle who loves them dearly. 
 
 I kiss dear mother all over her face and both her 
 dear hands. My wife says that mother must have 
 looked very pretty in her new cap. 
 
 And so fare well. Write to me a great deal, and 
 ever love your faithful H. Heine. 
 
 CIX. 
 
 Paris, March i8, 1853. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — It is not my fault that 
 I so seldom write, for my German secretary is now 
 ill, and seldom comes to me. Therefore I delayed 
 the promptly answering thy last letter. Thou com- 
 plainest that I no longer write with my own hand ; 
 but do not again, else I will do so, and the exertion 
 will certainly cost me a three days' headache. When 
 I strain my eyes in the least, I get at once my old 
 headaches, and thou knowest what that means. 
 When I write — that is to say, with my own hand — 
 it is always with a lead-pencil, and it is very illegible, 
 not at all suited for a letter, and I should then limit 
 myself to merely the most necessary communication. 
 Just now I have a great deal to do, and cannot spare 
 myself much. While a man lives he must keep on 
 at his calling, and there is, in my isolated condition, 
 no one to help me. 
 
 My wife is well, and is at this instant extremely 
 happy because I have expended a considerable sum 
 in buying linen for the household. Linen stuff 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 205 
 
 pleases her better than fine clothes, which is very 
 praiseworthy. We live in great concord — that is 
 to say, I give in on everything. We constantly 
 converse on you. And now fare well ! I send my 
 best love to my dear Lottie, and kiss thee and thy 
 children. Dear Lottie, in thy next letter write to 
 me the Goose-market number, in case I should send 
 any one thither. I was lately visited by Dr. Wille, 
 who now lives in Zurich. It is a great question 
 whether Therese will visit me should she come 
 here. I doubt it very much myself, because every- 
 thing will be done to prevent it. I kiss you. — 
 Your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 ex. 
 
 Paris, May 7, 1853. 
 Dearest Mother, — I received a letter eight 
 days ago from our Lottie, but there was not a Hne 
 in it from thee; therefore the assurance from my 
 sister that thou art quite well is not quite satisfac- 
 tory, and I beg thee to send a few words at once. 
 I am as usual, and my wife is at present well. She 
 has been suffering a great deal, as her health is not 
 on the whole good, and she will perhaps in later 
 years have to endure a great deal, or, as she has no 
 talent for quiet illness, never attain to great age. 
 We are at present in such blest harmony that angels 
 might envy us ; and this creature, who is good to 
 the very soul, in whose heart there is not a drop 
 of falsehood, and who does not even understand 
 
2o6 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 the wickedness of the world, really sweetens my 
 sorrows. 
 
 An article by me in a French review ^ has had an 
 immense success, but I must learn to my great wrath 
 that this fine work was published in a miserable 
 German translation by a miserable German book- 
 seller in Berlin, and that not in a newspaper, for 
 which I should not have cared, but as a special 
 pamphlet, at which Campe was again in the ex- 
 tremest rage. The plan which I had of combining 
 this work, of which the continuation is yet to be 
 written, with certain other pieces in one volume, and 
 in this year, has thereby been defeated {wird zu 
 Wasser), and so my property has been stolen from 
 me by my dear fellow-countrymen from before my 
 nose, and I have been compelled to endure a great 
 loss in order that another may gain a very little. 
 But I shall make no riot about it, as Campe wanted 
 me to do. I am convinced that the blackguard ^ who 
 made the translation is one of the EnHghtened of the 
 school of a Salomon or Klei, as I gather from many 
 terms of speech, and still more from the fragments 
 snuffed out from newspapers which he printed in his 
 hack job (Mackwerk) as appendix, in which he gives 
 all kind of maimed and bungled information as to my 
 
 ^ Heine refers here to Les Dieux en Exil in the Revue des Deux 
 Mondes {vide " The Gods in Exile " in " Germany," vol. ii.). As it 
 was well known that Heine would publish a translation of this, as 
 he did of all his works, in German, and also that he was poor and 
 suffering, this prompt piracy of his " Gods in Exile " was a peculiarly 
 infamous deed, well deserving all that he says on the subject. — 
 Translator. 
 
 2 Lump, a dirty blackguard, of the nasty wash-rag description. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 207 
 
 health, so as to even convey the impression that he 
 is a kind friend. The affair has soured Hfe for me 
 most accursedly. Our Lord and Saviour must be 
 God indeed if he can forgive such Pharisees their 
 persecutions. Monsieur Wihl had the kindness to 
 turn himself out of doors, and there is another 
 dirtier, worse, and more dangerous blackguard, the 
 
 literary man W , who shall never more cross 
 
 my threshold. There are a number of this same 
 stamp {eine Menge dieses Gelichters) in Paris, who 
 run about and gossip or correspond, and whom I, 
 thank God ! do not see. 
 
 Oh, that I might gossip for one short hour with 
 Lottie ! I send most cordial regards to all. 
 
 Live well and love well your faithful 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 CXL 
 
 Paris, y«w 21, 1853. 
 
 Dearest good Mother,— I do not know which 
 of us owes a letter to the other, but I have nothing 
 to say save that I am well — that is to say, as well 
 as a man in my wearisome illness can be. My wife 
 was well until yesterday evening, when she began 
 to complain a Httle, but I hope it will be nothing. 
 I always lose my head the instant anything, however 
 trifling, is the matter with my dear wife. Men are 
 great fools ! — but the greatest fools are those who 
 do not love their wives, for they are obHged' in 
 any case to lay out a great deal of money on them. 
 
2o8 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and they might obtain for this expenditure tender 
 feelings. 
 
 I send sincerest regards to dear Lottie and to the 
 children. I beg thee to particularly kiss my dear 
 niece Anna for me. Therese has visited me here, 
 but in company with Carl, who was sent as sentinel, 
 so that I could say nothing which she should not 
 hear. I am always thinking of thee, dear mother, 
 and I love thee inexpressibly. 
 
 I work very hard, which of course is a great 
 exertion for me, yet it at the same time does me 
 good by giving my mind occupation. 
 
 I embrace thee tenderly, and pray our dear Lord 
 to keep thee in good health and happiness. — Thy 
 faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
 CXII. 
 
 Paris, y«/j/ i6, 1853. 
 
 Dearest Sister, — Excuse me for not having 
 promptly answered thy letter, but I had no one at 
 hand to whom I could dictate in German. As re- 
 gards the question of my autobiography which the 
 enclosed sheet contains, I will tell thee only a little. 
 
 What my fore and family names are, thou knowest 
 as well as those of my parents, so that thou canst 
 fill up this form for thyself. My wife is named in 
 full, Mathilde Crescenzia Heine, but I call her by 
 preference Mathilde, because the name Crescenzia, 
 which is that of her mother, always hurts my 
 throat. As for the date of my birth, I remark to 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 209 
 
 thee that I, according to my baptismal certificate, 
 was born on the 13th of December 1799, and that 
 in Diisseldorf by the Rhine, as thou must also 
 know. As all our family papers were lost in the 
 great fire in Hamburg, and as the date of my birth 
 may be erroneously given in the Diisseldorf archives 
 (for reasons which I will not here mention), the 
 above-given date is the only authentic one — in any 
 case, more authentic than the recollections of my 
 mother, whose memory, as it is growing old, cannot 
 supply that of lost papers. As for the educational 
 institutes in which I was trained, they are also 
 known to thee : they begin with the Franciscan 
 Cloister in Diisseldorf, then I passed two years in 
 the Protestant Academy of Vahrenkamp, after which 
 I went through the classes of the Lyceum, which 
 is now called the Gymnasium. My mother will 
 remember the teachers of the Franciscan Cloister 
 as well as of the Lyceum, and I do not think it 
 is necessary to give their names here. I had the 
 advantage of being instructed by very eminent men 
 in the Universities of Bonn, Gottingen, and Berlin, 
 but it is too tiresome for me to chant off-hand 
 (absuleiren) all their names. 
 
 As for the books, I refer thee to Campe, who is 
 better informed than I am myself, and he can better 
 fill up for thee the form mentioned. As for the rest, 
 I need not mention more; what I have given has 
 bored me sufficiently. 
 
 Shouldst thou see Campe, ask him in my name 
 to give thee the list of books which I noted from the 
 
 O 
 
2IO THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 catalogue of Laeisz, according to which he was to 
 forward me a lot which has not yet come to hand. 
 Send me that list at once, that I may strike out the 
 books which 1 do not need, and send thee a new 
 list, in order that those may be sent regarding 
 which Campe has so long and so unjustifiably put 
 me off. I would write to him directly if I had not 
 his last letter yet to answer, and if I did not feel 
 indisposed just now to do so. For he accused me 
 in his last letter as if I were always putting diffi- 
 culties in the way, and disturbing our good under- 
 standing by asking him for too much money. 
 Heaven knows that I never asked him for a penny 
 which was not doubly due me. And it is indeed 
 true that my brother contributed much to an im- 
 broglio between me and Campe, which cannot be 
 helped now. Moreover, Max is more to blame than 
 Gustav — much more, since he in his vanity {Egois- 
 mus) did not so much as give himself the trouble to 
 really read the letter in which I gave him the most 
 binding instructions. According to them, he should 
 have made certain concessions, if not as to the 
 amount of money, at least in regard to other in- 
 terests which were of money value to Campe — and 
 the affair was plain enough. Instead of that, the 
 fool preaches to me to rely blindly on Campe's 
 friendship, and would fain persuade me that it is 
 not necessary for me to think so much of money, 
 and so would have me shorn before as well as 
 behind. I have not written to him since he has 
 been in Russia, because, should I write, something 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 211 
 
 harsh might escape me, and in such cases silence 
 is best. 
 
 I write to thee to the care of my dear mother, as 
 I would have the kind remembrance which I would 
 send her yesterday may be received a few hours 
 sooner. I kiss the dear good mother with all my 
 heart, as does Mathilde, who was very ill, but is now 
 well again. She sends you the tenderest caresses. 
 I find myself tolerably well, except that the excessive 
 heat has treated me to a constant headache. 
 
 My kindest regards to thy husband as well as 
 to thy children. — Cheerful and full of love, your 
 faithful H. Heine. 
 
 CXIII. 
 
 Paris, August 18, 1853, 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I have learned with 
 pleasure from thy last letter that thou art well. I 
 have, of course, no better proof of it than thy own 
 letter, and in many an hour I worry myself very 
 much regarding thee. But thou knowest our agree- 
 ment. Do not complain too much if I write seldom, 
 for thou knowest I have not at every minute some 
 one at call to whom I can dictate in German. 
 
 My wife is well, but is not just at this minute in 
 my possession, for she has gone, on account of family 
 affairs, on a two days' journey to her home (in the 
 country), and will return this evening. 
 
 I send all love to dear Lottie and her children. 
 
212 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 I thank Lottie for her last letter, and mean to send 
 her very soon a list of books. I have recently 
 received from Campe a letter, though I did not 
 reply to his last. He again assumes that I am 
 perfectly willing to serve him in everything, and I 
 can see how he is choking with anger because I will 
 not let myself be unconditionally plundered, as I 
 once did. He informs me that he is bringing out 
 a new edition of the '* Book of Songs." ^ He shall 
 never get another line of manuscript from me for 
 nothing, and I will (sooner) let everything remain 
 in my portfolio. 
 
 All is quiet here and the fear of war has vanished. 
 And yet I believe that war will break out next year, 
 for relations and interests are too complicated. A 
 match may now set the world aflame, and firemen 
 who are foremost have more fear than sense.^ And 
 now, dear mother, fare well, and be sure that I think 
 of thee by night and day. Our whole relation- 
 ship consists only in this, that thou art an old far- 
 distant mother of mine, but thou art such a glorious 
 (erzbrave) woman, and such a dear old mousey, 
 that I can never get enough of thee, and love thee 
 inexpressibly with great respect. — Thy obedient son, 
 
 H. Heine. 
 
 ^ The " Book of Songs " was originally sold to Campe for Jifty 
 louis-cTor. — German Editor. 
 
 2 In reference to the Oriental question and the Crimean war. — 
 German Editor. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 213 
 
 CXIV. 
 
 Paris, December 3, 1853. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I am not very familiar 
 with the accursed Russian calendar, and do not 
 know whether the State-Councillor Kiselefif will 
 make his ceremonious call this week or the next. 
 I write to thee to-day to congratulate thee on thy 
 birthday, and I think again with delight on little 
 Paul's congratulation to thee with the flower-pot 
 last year.i 
 
 May Heaven, dear mother, give thee many joys, 
 and keep thee, as ever hitherto, in health and 
 spirits. The cold weather has begun here already, 
 and I think with terror how the winter may attack 
 thee in thy dovecote. Oh, that I could be by thee 
 to stop every hole through which a draught of air 
 could pass ! We are always talking of thee, and 
 my wife says that it seems as if she had seen thee 
 only yesterday, but I feel as if I were always by 
 thee. 
 
 As for my health, it is as usual, and I do not 
 know what I can really add to this question of the 
 Canonicus Karthiimel. I always suffer from cramp, 
 but in my case it does not attack the stomach, as it 
 did with my father. I hope that you all live merrily 
 and in peace. I am very equable — am willing that 
 
 ^ Paulchen, or Little Paul, brought a pot of hyacinths as a birthday 
 present to his grandmamma ; but when the old lady, with many 
 thanks, offered to take it, "Pauly" held on to it weeping, and 
 refused to give it up. — Gernian Editor. 
 
214 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 five shall be called an equal number.^ Nothing has 
 gone well with me in this world ; but then it might 
 have gone a great deal worse. This is the consola- 
 tion of a dog who has only been half- whipped. 
 
 I hope to write to you once more ere the year 
 will end, and as thou knowest I have not always a 
 German secretary by me, thou wilt willingly forgive 
 me if the due congratulation for the year does not- 
 come just at the right time. 
 
 All is quiet here, and Paris is busy with building. 
 Everything is being torn down and rebuilt, so that 
 one does not know where to find the old corners. 
 I am very much pleased with my wife, and she is 
 the most devoted and faithful soul whom one could 
 imagine. Of course, I believe that, after all and in 
 the end, there is only one person on whom a man 
 can rely — and that is his mother. And if any one 
 doubts it, nothing is for him more advisable than 
 that he leave this world as soon as possible.^ 
 
 And now fare well, dear mother. I send kind 
 regards to dear Lottie and her dear children, and 
 
 ^ Lassefunf eine grade Zahl sein. "Oh, well, black's white if 
 you choose to call it so." — Translator. 
 
 2 " He turned him round and stood full still, 
 O laugh na' at my mither ; 
 Light loves I may get many a ane. 
 But minnie ne'er anither." 
 
 That this was not a passing fancy or mood of Heine is shown in 
 Das Liedchen von der Reue {Buck der Lieder-Romanzen), in which 
 love for a mother above all other love is expressed with a passion 
 for which I can recall no parallel in poetry. None of those who 
 declared that Heine wanted love ever realised what depths of love 
 were in his nature. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 215 
 
 embrace you all with sincerest love. — Thy faithful 
 son, H. Heine. 
 
 Heine's health had been again seriously affected 
 by a bad cold. An inflammation of the throat, 
 accompanied by severe attacks of pain in the bron- 
 chial tubes and breast {laryngitis), rendered breath- 
 ing difficult, and there was, moreover, a bed-sore 
 {Geschwulst) found on his back, which made lying on 
 it very painful. A painful operation became neces- 
 sary, and the poet thought that he must soon die. 
 After the operation the condition of the patient 
 improved, and he had hardly begun to feel better 
 before he began to work again as unweariedly as 
 ever. 
 
 Soon after, in the spring of 1854, my sister came 
 to Paris ^ to visit her uncle, and wrote regarding 
 this meeting that she hardly recognised him when 
 she saw his suffering form, and so changed that 
 tears kept her from speaking. The paralysis of the 
 eyelids concealed from him her suffering. 
 
 ^^ ^ Come nearer, dear child ! ' he said with a feeble 
 voice, ^ that I may see thee better — here close by me.' 
 And with his hand he lifted his eychd in order to 
 see if I was like my mother. 
 
 " I must sit by his bed, and his first questions 
 were of the loved ones at home. ' Ah ! I shall 
 
 ^ Marie, the Princess della Rocca, who published in 1881 
 Erinnerungen an H. Heine, Hoffmann & Campe, Hamburg (" Re- 
 collections of H. Heine"), and in 1882 Skizzen iiber H. Heine 
 (" Sketches of H. Heine '').— Translator. 
 
2i6 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 never see my dear mother again : and will my dear 
 Lottie come soon ? ' he cried, as if suffering." 
 
 My sister further informs us that — 
 
 '' The evening before I left, I sat by him ; he had 
 told me of his youthful years and of his battles with 
 mankind {init der Menschheit), and hushed in silence 
 {lauschte schweigend) his memories. Wearied, he 
 lay there almost lifeless; the sick-room was but 
 badly lighted ; a lamp burnt sadly and dimly (triibe) 
 behind the screen, and one could hear the monoto- 
 nous ticking {einforniige Ticketi) of the clock. I 
 did not dare to disturb his repose, and sat immov- 
 able on my chair, when all at once he endeavoured 
 to change his position, which his physician had 
 seriously prohibited being done without the aid of 
 his nurse. He was attacked with agonising pains, 
 and groaned in the most terrible manner. 
 
 ^^ This scene was something new to me ; I be- 
 lieved it was his death-struggle when I saw him 
 thus struggling for breath, and I prayed God to free 
 him from these torturing pains {qualvollen Schmer- 
 zeii). Pauline, his faithful nurse, endeavoured to 
 calm him, declared it was but a passing pain, and 
 that she had often seen him in such a state. I 
 remained no longer in the room; I hastened away 
 sobbing, and saw him but once, for an instant, to 
 take leave of him. It was for eternity ! " 
 
 Beside his illness, Heine was greatly afflicted with 
 the disagreeable relationship with his old friend J. 
 Campe, whose closeness in money matters {Schwie- 
 rigkeit in Geld-dingen) caused him much discomfort 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 217 
 
 and vexation. Campe had been accustomed to buy 
 the manuscripts of Heine extremely cheap, and he 
 felt deeply injured because the poet, now crowned 
 with fame, asked higher prices. Heine's pecuniary 
 condition had entirely changed since the publication 
 of his French works/ which were brilliantly paid for, 
 and since his old dependence as a poor man on 
 his German publisher had vanished, he could in all 
 tranquillity await concurrence with his demands. 
 
 Heine now earned much money, paid all his earher 
 debts, and so early as the end of 185 1 applied his 
 first surplus to repaying his brother Gustav all that 
 he had borrowed from him. 
 
 It gave him great delight to be free from his old 
 debts, as it enabled him to make presents to his 
 mother, sister, and nieces, and to satisfy Mathilda's 
 often far-reaching desires. 
 
 cxv. 
 
 FARiSf/ime 26, 1854. 
 
 Dear good Lottie, — My wife has had the 
 pleasure to look up for thee a gown of the last 
 fashionable pattern of plaid (carrzrt), and two, but 
 quite plain {gajtz imi), for my nieces ; and I send 
 them to thee by railway in a special little box, 
 which I address to thy husband. I also send at the 
 
 ^ i.e., the translation of his German works into French. The 
 sentence as given by the German editor is misleading. The ensuing 
 paragraph is an amplification of the statement that " being rich he 
 was no longer poor." — Translator. 
 
2i8 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 same time a manuscript for Campe, but I would not 
 pack the dresses with it because he is married, and 
 womankind is envious [die Weiber einander nichts 
 gonnen). I mean the robe gris de perle for Annie, 
 and the blue dress for Lena, whom thou expectest in 
 Hamburg, as thou didst say. Over sea I counsel 
 thee, even if an opportunity should occur, not to send 
 the gowns, as salt air injures the colours. But if the 
 blondine should remain too long a time absent, thou 
 canst, if thou wishest so to do, give the brunette, 
 who has remained behind, the blue gown also ; and 
 I say to thee, by the way, that this would be quite 
 agreeable to me. 
 
 I have bought nothing for mother, as she would 
 not have a fine gown made for her, and would only 
 scream at it. I therefore beg thee to buy for her in 
 Hamburg a very fine cap, and tell her that it came 
 in thy package. Buy just as fine a one as possible, 
 and let me know how much it cost. I have particu- 
 larly observed the name which thou didst mention, 
 and will write to thee about it anon. I shall not 
 forget it. 
 
 I am not very well this summer. I suffer by day 
 and night cramping pains, and never leave my bed. 
 My wife is very well, and was ten times better 
 pleased at buying the gowns than if they had been 
 for herself; but she shall have a good reward for 
 that. She is indispensable to me in my sorrows, 
 and I shudder at the thought that I must leave 
 her. 
 
 Fare well, dear sister ! Give my kindest regards 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 219 
 
 to Annie and Ludwig, as well as to thy husband. — 
 Thy faithful brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 P.S. — Thou hast no idea how much I have en- 
 dured from the Jesuit/ and how he does all in his 
 power to torment me. We are, however, the best 
 of friends. Dost thou remember a certain " Rother 
 Aron " ? 
 
 CXVI. 
 
 Paris, Augiist 31, 1854. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have to-day great 
 news to tell to thee. I have quite given up my 
 old dwelling in Paris, and now live near the Bar- 
 riere, in a house which I alone occupy, to which 
 there is a really large garden with really large trees, 
 and where I shall be able to enjoy the pleasant 
 season of the year most delightfully. I have made 
 the greatest pecuniary sacrifice in order to bring 
 about this revolution, and really do not regret it, 
 because my health will be thereby benefited to an 
 extraordinary degree. My system now is to do 
 everything for my health and nothing for other 
 people — not even for the Spendthrift, for whom I, 
 however, could never leave enough. My address 
 is, "Aux BatignoUes, Grand Rue, No. 51, a Paris." 
 
 Thou canst have no idea, dear mother, how much 
 the good air and sunshine, of which I had none 
 in my last dwelling, benefit me. Yesterday I sat 
 
 ^ Campe. 
 
2 20 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 better than ever under the trees of my own garden, 
 and ate the fine plums, which, over-ripe, almost fell 
 into my mouth. I thought of you {Euc/t), and de- 
 termined to write to you to-day at once, though I 
 am now in the utmost confusion. My wife, who 
 always, when she speaks of herself, does so in 
 German as Meine Frau (which sounds very poll- 
 parroty), sends her sincere love. She just now bids 
 me say, ^^ Dis a ma mere que meine Fran est trls 
 occup^ey et que meine Fran Vembrasse millefois" 
 
 I send my kindest regards to Lottie, also to the 
 young ladies and Ludwig, including Moritz. 
 
 As regards X., I have the best intelligence from 
 a lady who is very truthful. He is, it appears, 
 a very good man, very agreeable, and has, out of 
 his own country, some property, which has not 
 been confiscated, as was his family estate, which 
 will, however, probably be restored to him when he 
 poHtically professes penitence.^ But as he already 
 has a domestic cross or curse at home, he will the 
 more easily reconcile himself to such thoughts, and 
 dutifully duck his head. 
 
 I have left the proof-reading of two volumes of a 
 work entirely to Campe, and I will rather be a little 
 less immortal for a few years than strain my eyes 
 too much. 
 
 Keep in love your faithful H. HEINE. 
 
 1 Wenn er politisch zu Kreutze kriechen will. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 221 
 
 CXVII. 
 
 Paris, November 6, 1854. 
 
 Dear Annie, — I have long intended to write to 
 thee, but I never accomplished it, having so much 
 racket and clacket {Gezippel und GezappeV) about my 
 ears, nor am I to-day in condition to write a single 
 sensible word. Thy dear letter greatly amused me, 
 and we laughed very much at thy drawing. My 
 wife loves thee very much, and sends her kindest 
 regards to thee, as well as to thy father, thy brother, 
 Lenchen, and, of course, to thy mother. 
 
 With this I send thee an autograph, for which thy 
 father will pay thee twelve yellow louis-d'ors. Buy 
 for thyself therewith whate'er thou wilt, and as by 
 so doing thou wilt relieve me from the trouble of 
 buying something myself, as well as of packing and 
 sending, thou wilt do me a service for which I thank 
 thee. 
 
 Pray acknowledge the receipt of this letter. As 
 soon as I am in a good humour I will write to thee 
 again. 
 
 Meanwhile, fare well, and bear in loving remem- 
 brance thy faithful uncle, HARRY HEINE. 
 
 cxvni. 
 
 Paris, November 7, 1854. 
 
 Dearest good Mother, — I would not write to 
 thee before I could tell thee definitely that I had 
 moved, but the moving was delayed from day to 
 
222 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 day by all kinds of accidents, and it was only yes- 
 terday that I came into my new quarters. It was 
 a journey of two hours, in which I, however, was 
 favoured with the finest weather. I am at present, 
 as thou mayst well believe, in the greatest confusion, 
 with a thousand things about my ears, and must 
 therefore limit this letter to giving thee my address ; 
 it runs as follows : '' Aux Champs Elys^es, 3 Avenue 
 Matignon, Paris." 
 
 Just to think that to this instant I have never had 
 any copies of my book from Campe! The devil 
 might become clever (and learn a thing or two) 
 from the poisons which the latter mixes up. I 
 hope in a few weeks to be quite calm and at peace. 
 I send love to my dear sister and the children. 
 I embrace you all with all my heart. — Thy faithful 
 son, H. Heine. 
 
 Heine had left the house in Batignolles, which 
 was too damp, and had gone to the Champs Elysees. 
 The new dwelling was admirably situated, and just 
 to Heine's taste, in the third storey, without any 
 noise overhead, roomy, light, and airy. There was 
 a balcony, where, on sunny days when there was no 
 wind, he was carried, so as to see the innumerable 
 promenaders and equipages with their occupants 
 who were on their way to the Arc de Triomphe, and 
 thence to the Bois de Boulogne. This gave great 
 pleasure to the poet, and his new home became so 
 dear to him that he remained there till his death. 
 
 In addition to the hterary and artistic celebrities 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 223 
 
 of France who visited Heine, it became the fashion 
 for German authors to make a pilgrimage to him, 
 even as Mahometans go to Mecca/ and after their 
 return home there often appeared in feuilletotts and 
 newspaper contributions bon-mots and all kinds of 
 anecdotes — some of them mere inventions — written 
 to convince the public that such a visit had been 
 made in Paris. 
 
 The health of Heine grew worse in the winter of 
 1855, and caused a return of his previous suffering, 
 but he also this time recovered from the transitory 
 danger, and devoted himself, after a short period of 
 rest and recreation, to his work. 
 
 CXIX. 
 
 Paris, March 20, 1855. 
 
 Dearest Sister, — I am suffering at this instant 
 extraordinary pain from cramp in the throat, and 
 am not able in consequence to write much to thee. 
 A few days ago I sent thee a small chest, directed 
 to the Goose-market, but without the number of 
 the house, by the Messageries Royales. It is to 
 be hoped that the railway or post-office officials 
 
 ^ A beautiful comparison, which is made all the more true be- 
 cause Heine to the end of his days believed that he was really a 
 great lawyer, and in one place declares himself effectively to be 
 wiser in law than the German Government. For as the Caaba or 
 Black Stone of Mecca is the corner-stone of the law of Islam, and 
 Blackstone that of the law of England, and as Heine was a black 
 stone of offence in the way of the German authorities, if there ever 
 was one, the infinite German inwardness of the simile becomes at 
 once apparent. — Translator. 
 
2 24 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 know the address of Moritz ; but if it does not arrive^ 
 thou must send to find out as to the arrival of the 
 chest. There is a Hut^ (bonnet) in it for thee, and, 
 to avail myself of the opportunity, I also sent a hat 
 for Annie and one for Lena. The last two are quite 
 plain — one for Anna and for Lena — the light blue 
 hat for the blondine and the rose-coloured one for 
 the brunette. I hope that thine, which is bluish, and 
 somewhat more serious,^ will become thee, and that 
 I shall have thy custom for the future. Unfortu- 
 nately I could only pay the freight as far as Brussels, 
 and thou wilt have a devil of a rate {Heidenportd) 
 to pay. 
 
 My wife sends her heartiest and kindest greet- 
 ings. It was the greatest pleasure in the world for 
 her to attend to getting the hats, and one can depend 
 on her good taste. I kiss you all. Give my best 
 love to my nephew, and also to thy husband. 
 
 My French books give me no end of hubble- 
 bubble and trouble. In fourteen days the French 
 version of Ltitetia will appear. I have no news as 
 to Carl, and I beg thee to tell me how and where 
 he is. Do but keep my dear old mother nice and 
 warm ; she is just glorious ! God keep you all ! 
 
 Your faithful brother, H. HEINE. 
 
 Lutetia excited a great sensation when it ap- 
 peared in April 1855, and in the preface to this 
 
 ^ In 1855 the chapeati was a chapeau ferme or bonnet with 
 ribbons. — Translator. 
 
 ^ Ebenfalls blaulich tind etwas ernster. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 225 
 
 edition Heine scourged in his well-known humorous 
 manner of writing the Socialism which was even 
 then rising boldly. He said : — 
 
 ^'It is only with terror and horror that I think 
 of the time when these gloomy iconoclasts will 
 attain to power, when with their horny {schwieligeit) 
 hands they will unpityingly break all the marble 
 statues of beauty which are so dear to my heart ; 
 they will crush to powder all those fantastic, gro- 
 tesque, and gay arabesques of art which the poet 
 loved so much; they will fell my groves of laurel 
 and plant potatoes there ; the lilies of the field, which 
 toiled not, neither did they spin, albeit Solomon in 
 all his glory was not arrayed as they were, will be 
 torn up from the soil of society unless they will take 
 spindle in hand ; the roses, those idle brides of the 
 nightingales, will share the same fate ; the night- 
 ingales, those unprofitable singers, will be driven 
 away ; and, ah ! my ' Book of Songs ' will be used 
 by the grocer to make from it cornets, into which 
 he will pour coffee or snuff for the old women of the 
 future. Ah ! yes, I foresee all this, and unspeakable 
 sadness steals over me when I think of the destruc- 
 tion with which the victorious populace {Proletariat) 
 threatens my verse, which is to sink into the grave 
 with all the old romantic world." And further : — 
 "The devil is a logician, says Dante. A terrible 
 syllogism holds me in its bonds, and if I cannot 
 refuse the proposition ' that all men have the right 
 to eat,' I am also compelled to expect and submit to 
 all its consequences. And in thinking thereon I am 
 
 P 
 
226 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 in danger of losing my senses. I see all the demons 
 of Truth dancing round me in triumph, till at last a 
 sublime high-minded (hochherzige) despair seizes my 
 soul, and I cry, ^ It has long been judged and con- 
 demned, this old society! Let that be done to it 
 that is just ! '" 1 
 
 My mother had a great desire to see her brother 
 once more, and, disturbed by the acute character 
 which his sufferings had assumed, she wrote that 
 she would come to Paris to attend him personally 
 as soon as her domestic duties should permit it. 
 
 ^ It seems actually incredible that a man of the intelligence which 
 Baron von Embden evidently possesses should speak of these re- 
 marks as "lashing Socialism with humorous satire," or have taken 
 them literally as merely something funny. For Heine could not 
 satirise consistently, or merely exercise his humoristische Schreib- 
 weise, or be funny at the expense of something which he seriously 
 believed was coming to pass, and to be in the future an awful 
 power threatening "society ; and that he did seriously believe that 
 such would be the case is manifest, not only from these very lines, 
 but from a great many passages scattered through all his works. 
 For it was just in perceiving that Socialism (which was not then 
 *' rising boldly" before the world, but, as Heine truly declared, 
 was lurking obscure and unknown in garrets and crypts), was 
 destined to become great and terrible, that the sense of these re- 
 marks consists. The developments all over Europe and America 
 during the past twenty years have shown that the poet predicted 
 very accurately the age of combined republicanism, utilitarianism, 
 and science, and surely it would have been a most singular thing 
 if he had "lashed" and ridiculed that which he understood, pre- 
 dicted, and wrote about more admirably and clearly than any man 
 of his time as destined to come. But that any one would ever 
 understand this as satire or a scourging would have dehghted him 
 immensely. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 227 
 
 cxx. 
 
 Paris, August 10, 1855. 
 
 Dearest Mother,— I have thought of nothing 
 since thy last letter but the joyful meeting with 
 my darling sister. It is all arranged that my dear 
 Lottie, on her arrival here, shall have a habitable 
 room, where she and one of my nieces (for I should 
 be delighted if she would bring Anna or Lena) 
 could be comfortable. Yes, it would be an infinite 
 dehght should Lottie bring with her one of the dear 
 children, Anna or Lena, no matter which, since both 
 are equally dear to me, and it is only age which 
 makes any difference between them. We have 
 abundant room in our lodgings, and all strangers 
 who come here admire the fine view and the excel- 
 lent air which we enjoy, so that while in the most 
 brilliant central point of Paris we still seem to be in 
 the country. Laube and his wife from Vienna were 
 here last week, and visited us frequently. There 
 was also Friedland and his wife from Prague. This 
 man has, as I once informed you, partially made up 
 the loss which I suffered through him, and as I have 
 his note ( Wechsel), and as he is very rich, I shall 
 
 lose nothing in the end. And also Dr. L , who 
 
 had a letter of introduction to me from Lottie, 
 visited me eight days ago. He seems to be an 
 extremely agreeable and amiable man, has a good 
 exterior, does not talk stupidly, and has promised 
 to visit me again. He will remain five weeks longer, 
 
228 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 and I told him that Lottie would see him while still 
 in Paris. 
 
 My wife is well ahd very gay. I still suffer with 
 my old enemy, the cramp, which is not, however, so 
 painful, yet which attacks me on all occasions of 
 enjoyment, and especially when at work. 
 
 I always diplomatise with Campe, and however 
 obstinate he may show himself, I do not let myself 
 be now cajoled any more by him. He must now be 
 secretly furious with me, and certainly plays me all 
 kinds of vile tricks in the dark. But I veer and trim 
 sail (lavire)y and in the end I shall get what I want. 
 He will be furious when he learns that Lottie and 
 Gustav are come to Paris. Schiff seems to be his 
 factotum, and Lottie should be on her guard. 
 
 My wife sends greetings and kisses from her 
 heart, and my Littleness does the same. I embrace 
 thee tenderly, my good, most admirable mother, and 
 remain ever, with deepest love, thy faithful son, 
 
 H. Heine.1 
 
 ^ In the last paragraph but one Heine uses a very peculiar expres- 
 sion, the explanations of which are so interesting that I give them 
 in full. I refer to where our author says of Campe, " So lasse ich 
 mich jetzt nicht mehr von ihm ilber den Loffel barbiren." From an 
 article in the Blatter fur Pommersche Volkskunde, No. I. 1892, 1 learn 
 that the expression iiber den Loffel balbiren (i.e., barbiren), to shave 
 one over the spoon, or to humbug him, comes probably from the old 
 custom of village barbers when a customer had very much shrunken 
 cheeks, of using a spoon which was put inside the mouth so as to 
 produce a smooth convex surface over which the razor could more 
 easily pass. This very naturally suggested the remark that " I will 
 not suffer myself to be smoothly puffed out, soaped down, and 
 shaved by him over a spoon " — the latter suggesting naturally a com- 
 plete shave or a very thorough swindle. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 229 
 
 CXXI. 
 
 Paris, October 20^, 1855. 
 
 Dear good Mother, — I have now no German 
 secretary, and cannot write to thee much with my 
 own hand, hence my delay. Moreover, I am every 
 day expecting the family, which must at last be 
 fairly under way. Lottie's bed is already made. 
 I wrote this day to Gustav to congratulate him on 
 his new creation ; he is the one who continues our 
 line. I have brought it to nothing. I also thanked 
 Gustav for the honour he paid me by naming the 
 young one after me. Should he still be in Hamburg, 
 I beg him earnestly to make peace with Campe; 
 this quarrel has caused me great vexation and in- 
 jury. Lottie can well act as mediator, since she per- 
 sonally asked Campe for his orders to Paris. Campe 
 may send me by her the third part of Meissner's 
 novel. 
 
 Annie will not lose much should she not come (as 
 Lottie writes) this year, and that for many reasons. 
 But I hope that in the spring there will be a more 
 favourable combination of circumstances {Conjunc- 
 turen) which will guarantee a more agreeable journey 
 hither ; for now the fashionable season is beginning, 
 and for that, because of her short visit, the child is 
 not prepared. By the way, if Lottie is still in 
 Hamburg, and by chance owns a copy of my ^'Shake- 
 speare's Maidens and Women," I beg her to bring 
 it, for I can no longer get it here. I kiss thee, dear 
 mother.— Thy faithful son, H. HEINE. 
 
230 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 CXXIL 
 
 Paris, November 19, 1855. 
 Monsieur Hermann Heine, 
 d, Hamburg} 
 
 Dearest Hermann, — I have just learned from 
 Lottie what a loss thou hast lately had, and though 
 I am very ill and almost blind, yet will I condole 
 with thee with my own hand. The sorrowful news 
 was to me a great shock. My dear Uncle Henry 
 was an excellently good man, soft and gentle even 
 to weakness, and therefore all the more lovable. 
 He was polite, respectable, of good manners ; there 
 was in him nothing whatever vulgar, and never did 
 a word spoken in malice fall from his lips. He 
 never told a lie, and evil meaning, whether refined 
 or rude, was foreign to his heart. But what was 
 above all things chiefest unto his fame was that he 
 was a perfectly honourable man. 
 
 He was a thoroughly honourable man, my late 
 dear uncle, and I hear with joy, dear Hermann, that 
 thou art like him in this respect. Such a good 
 quality is very rare, more's the pity! Falsehood 
 and faithlessness now bear the bell,^ and where evil 
 
 ^ The original of this letter belongs to Herr Dr. H. Oswalt, in 
 Frankfort-on-the-Maine, grandson of Henry Heine. 
 
 Henry Heine, born 1774, died 1855 ; married Henrietta Embden, 
 born 1787, died 1868 ; left two children : — 
 
 Hermann, born 18 16, died 1870. 
 
 Emilie, married S. Oswalt, in Frankfort (on-the-Maine ?), born 
 181 8, died in 1892. — German Editor. 
 
 2 It is impossible not to trace in this and the following certain 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 231 
 
 is sown there will disaster and dire destruction be 
 harvested. The tears of suflfering ones do cry to 
 God (whose hand also lies heavily on me, be it as 
 punishment or in probation, truly I know not). I 
 am greatly suffering, yet I bear my misery with 
 resignation to the unsearchable will of God. 
 
 I can no longer see the letters which I write, and 
 so hasten to give thee my parting brotherly regards. 
 — Thy faithful cousin, H. HEINE. 
 
 Before the reception of the preceding letters my 
 mother had arrived in Paris with her brother Gustav. 
 She related to me the following regarding her last 
 meeting with her brother Henry : — 
 
 " Mathilde was in the vestibule {Flur). She 
 embraced me, and said, ere I entered the house, that 
 my brother had called her and said, ^ I feel that 
 Lottie is coming; there is no previous preparation 
 ( Vorbereitung) needed ; bring her at once to me ; 
 I will not lose a moment in seeing her.' When 
 I approached his bed, he, with the cry ^ Mein 
 liebes Lottchen T (My dear Lottie!), at once em- 
 braced me, and held me long in his arms without 
 speaking more for a long time, then leaned his head 
 on my shoulder and held out his hand to his brother 
 
 Latin homely sayings, which were ever in Heine's mind, and which 
 he cites in other places, e.g. — 
 
 " Multis annis jam peractis, 
 Nulla fides est in pactis." 
 Also — 
 
 " Justa a te superi exigent supplicia," &c. 
 
 — Translator. 
 
232 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Gustav. His joy at seeing me was indescribable, 
 and I must not leave him from dinner-time till late 
 in the evening. After what I had previously learned 
 as to the illness of my brother, I feared that the first 
 sight of his suffering would shock me terribly, but 
 as I only saw his head, which smiled at me with 
 a wonderfully glorious (verkldrter) beaut}-, I could 
 abandon myself utterly to the first delight of seeing 
 him again. But when towards afternoon his nurse 
 carried my brother in her arms to a chaise longue 
 in order to make the bed, and I saw his shrunk-up 
 body, from which the limbs hung down as if lifeless, 
 I was compelled to summon up all my energies to 
 endure the terrible sight. My bed was next to the 
 sick-room, and during the first night he suffered 
 from protracted pains in the chest and head, which 
 agonised me. Similar attacks returned every night, 
 and then, when I hastened to his bed, the laying my 
 hand on his forehead seemed to give him at once 
 relief My brother often said that I possessed a 
 rare magnetic power, which he felt at once when I 
 stepped, though ever so softly, into his room. 
 
 ^' During the periods when he was free from pain, 
 early memories of bygone years, of home, or of rela- 
 tions would make him laugh ; and if Mathilde was 
 present, she too would burst out laughing, and then 
 ask, because she did not understand German, what 
 it was that we were laughing at. 
 
 "Mathilde lived on the best possible terms with 
 me, but not with Gustav, who did not speak French, 
 and so could not make himself intelligible to her, 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 233 
 
 which produced a great feeling of mutual restraint 
 (gegenseitige Spannmtg). Moreover, Gustav re- 
 garded this marriage of inclination {Neigungshei- 
 rath) of his brother as a great disaster, and, accord- 
 ing to his ideas, it had been the cause of his 
 discomfort and suffering. Mathilde, who had been 
 accustomed to a certain degree of indulgence and 
 of being spoiled ( Verhdtschlung), regarded Gustav's 
 reserve as contempt,^ and I was often called into 
 requisition as interpreter in order to maintain a 
 superficial friendship by little improvisations. After 
 we had once taken a drive, Gustav gave a very 
 small pourboire to the coachman, who, pocketing 
 it, growled, ^ Ladre.^ Mathilde burst out laughing, 
 and to Gustav's question, ' Wherefore this un- 
 restrained hilarity ? ' {waruni dieses unbdndiges 
 Lachen P), I replied, * Gamichts — oh ! nothing at 
 all; he only returned thanks for the gratuity.' 
 
 *' Such scenes were often repeated, and I was just 
 simply delighted when Gustav, leaving me in Paris, 
 returned to Vienna, that no real quarrel had taken 
 place between them. Mathilde's easily excited tem- 
 perament often caused little outbreaks of anger 
 over trifling things, and my brother had much to 
 suffer from her jealousy, which he bore with stoical 
 patience, and which he could always allay with a 
 few soothing words. 
 
 '' The whole left side of my brother was paralysed, 
 
 ^ ' ' Oft we see in lyfe, alacke ! 
 
 Ye pott doth call y« kettle blacke." 
 
 — Translator. 
 
234 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 the left eye blinded, the arm and hand palsied — in 
 fact, only the right side of his body had retained its 
 nervous force, so that it remained possible for him 
 to write with the right hand. He often laid it in 
 my right hand, and assured me that my presence 
 was a great comfort to him. I could hardly under- 
 stand what he could find in chatting so confidingly 
 in German, and when the theme of our youthful 
 years was exhausted, I must talk about our mother 
 and the children. When Richard Reinhardt, the 
 secretary who had served him for years, left him a 
 few months before, he felt the loneliness of a sick- 
 room very sensibly ; his daily visitors rather wearied 
 than cheered him ; and the amanuenses engaged in 
 consequence of advertising in newspapers did not 
 replace the loss. But very recently there had come 
 to him a singularly gifted, pleasant creature, a Ger- 
 man girl, a merry Suabian, who combined French 
 esprit with German earnestness {Innigkeit). She 
 read to him with a deeply resonant voice, and was so 
 accomplished in French that he could leave the cor- 
 rection of his works to her. She was at the time 
 unwell, but would soon return, and he was anxious 
 to know what impression she would make on me. 
 
 ^' Mouche, as my brother called her, from her seal, 
 on which a fly was engraved, was, in fact, a charm- 
 ing, youthful being {Erscheinung), who became, 
 even during my transitory visit, highly sympathetic 
 to me. She was of medium height, more pleasing 
 than pretty. Her refined face, framed by brown 
 hair, and her roguish eyes gleamed over a short 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 235 
 
 nose, while she had a Httle mouth, which, in speak- 
 ing or laughing, showed rows of pearly teeth. Her 
 hands and feet were small and neat, and there was 
 something unusually graceful in all her movements. 
 
 '^ Despite her liveliness, she had already experi- 
 enced much of the bitterness of life. Married at an 
 early age to a Frenchman, she passed the first years 
 of her wedded life in Paris ; but the little German 
 soon became wearisome to her volatile husband, who 
 wasted his fortune in the most frivolous manner. To 
 get rid of his wife he contrived this plan. He in- 
 vited her to accompany him on a journey to England, 
 and when they arrived in London asked her to go 
 with him to visit a family of his friends. The car- 
 riage stopped before a fine country-house, where an 
 old gentleman received them in the most friendly 
 manner, but they had hardly entered an elegant 
 drawing-room before her husband disappeared. 
 
 " She soon became aware that she was in a mad- 
 house, and to her weeping and entreaties to set her 
 free she was threatened with violent restraint unless 
 she would keep quiet. Terror frightened the poor 
 woman so much that a paralysis of the tongue long 
 hindered her from speaking. It was some weeks 
 before she recovered her bodily powers sufficiently 
 to convince the physician that she was sound of 
 mind, whereupon she was permitted to return to 
 Paris. Further existence with her husband was of 
 course impossible, and in order to make a living 
 she gave lessons in German. 
 
 " Mouche came every day for several hours to my 
 
236 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 brother, and his esteem for the lively little being 
 caused in Mathilde a degree of diseased jealousy 
 which at last became animosity. To the wish of 
 her husband that Mouche should sometimes take a 
 place at their table, Mathilde gave a stern denial. 
 She hardly responded to Mouche's salutations ; and 
 whenever the latter entered the invalid's chamber, 
 the former indignantly left it. 
 
 " I was once taken for Mouche when old Beranger 
 visited my brother, and found me sitting in half- 
 darkness by the bed. Advancing to my brother he 
 said, * Dear Heine, is Madame the celebrated new 
 reader Mouche?^ To which my brother, smiling, 
 replied, ' Cher amiy you must have mouche volante ^ 
 — it is my sister.' 
 
 " I heard last of the dear Mouche in 1887, when 
 Madame Camille Selden informed me that she had 
 pubHshed some reminiscences of my brother, and 
 that she was living in Rouen as teacher of German 
 in a ladies' boarding-school. 
 
 ^^ My brother was very fond of children, and was 
 glad when three darling little ones, the children of a 
 friend of Mathilde, the wife of a manager of a circus, 
 came to visit him. The youngest of these was his 
 godchild. Then the children received cakes, and 
 my brother told them pretty stories, to which they 
 listened in silence. Once on such a visit, when he 
 had described the splendour of heaven to them, and 
 how people ate cakes there from morning to night, 
 
 ^ Mouches volanteSi German Augenflinimern^ dimness of the eyes, 
 specks or spots before one — i.e. , you do not see plainly. — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 237 
 
 and how the angels when they had finished eating 
 always wiped their mouths with their white wings, 
 the little girl who was his godchild cried, displeased, 
 ' That is not at all clean of them ! ' ^ I observed at 
 the same time that Heine had no adopted child, as 
 had been generally reported. 
 
 " I learned in the beginning of December that one 
 of my children had suddenly fallen ill, and therefore 
 formed the determination to return to Hamburg. 
 Before I left I asked Dr. Gruby what he considered 
 the condition of my brother to be, and received the 
 comforting assurance that unless something unex- 
 pected should intervene, he might live for two or 
 three years. 
 
 '' I informed my brother that I must leave, pro- 
 mising faithfully to return the next spring. He 
 heard it with sorrow, and begged me, should it be 
 possible, to bring with me my son Ludwig, to whom 
 he had in his will given the care of his literary 
 remains {Nachlass), regarding which he wished to 
 discuss many things. He then explained to me more 
 in detail many things regarding this, and bade me, 
 above all things, watch Campe, who could omit 
 whatever he pleased from the complete edition, but 
 not add anything by his own will. 
 
 " To lighten my departure, my brother composed 
 the day before a merry poem, which jocosely de- 
 scribed my meeting again with my family. When I, 
 
 1 Sehr unreinlich von ihnen. It was probably malpropre or 
 vilaine in French. But it was very like Heine, in whom a certain 
 kind of want of refinement very frequently most unconsciously 
 betrayed itself. — Translator. 
 
238 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 on the morning of my departure, went to take it from 
 the desk where it had been laid, it had vanished, and 
 I learned to my sorrow that it had been used by the 
 maid to Kght a fire. When I bewailed this to my 
 brother, he said, ' Comfort thyself, dear sister ; when 
 thou returnest I will write thee a poem which shall 
 be even far more full of fire.' 
 
 " But there was no meeting again, for it was hardly 
 two months before he found unexpectedly eternal 
 rest, and my kiss of departure was the last which I 
 ever pressed on his pale cheeks." 
 
 A few weeks after the departure of his sister the 
 condition of Heine grew much worse. Difficulties 
 of breathing and cramps in the breast became much 
 commoner, and often compelled him to sit up all 
 night in bed. Sleeplessness caused great weakness, 
 but despite this the poet worked from two to three 
 hours daily. Three days before his departure there 
 was a painful vomiting, which could not be stopped, 
 and for which Dr. Gruby's order to place ice on the 
 stomach only produced temporary alleviation. The 
 last night was very painful, the weakness increased, 
 and the death-struggle ensued. 
 
 H. Heine preserved his full consciousness to the 
 last, and died in the morning towards five o'clock on 
 the 17th of February 1856. The funeral took place 
 on the 20th of February on a cloudy winter morning 
 at eleven o'clock, according to the wish expressed in 
 his testament to be buried as quietly and with as little 
 display as possible at the Montmartre Cemetery. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 239 
 
 The news of his death had a terrible effect on his 
 sister, who did not suppose, when she left her brother 
 a little time before, that the day when he would be 
 freed from his pains would so soon approach, and 
 the suffering which it caused his old mother, who 
 survived him, mocks all description. 
 
 The loss of her darling and pride of her life threw 
 her on a sick-bed, but her powerful constitution en- 
 abled her to recover, and she did not die till three 
 years later, when she sunk to her last repose on 
 the 3rd September 1859, or on the same day with 
 her faithful companion (Gesellschafteriii), during the 
 cholera, which was then raging most terribly in 
 Hamburg. 
 
 The earth had hardly covered Heine's grave 
 when there arose between his brother Gustav and 
 Mathilde an unpleasant public quarrel as to which 
 of the two had the right to erect a monument over 
 the deceased poet. 
 
 Regarding this affair I subsequently received from 
 Madame Mathilde a detailed communication which 
 will be found in the Appendix,^ and I limit myself as 
 regards publishing further letters from her, as they 
 were neither composed by her nor in her hand, and 
 only bear the signature '' Vve. Henri Heine." 
 
 Another document of Mathilde's informed me that 
 she would not carry into execution the disposition 
 § 3 of the will. This ran as follows : — 
 
 *' I desire that after my decease all my papers and 
 
 ^ Letters from Madame Mathilde, Appendix, p. 265 et seq. 
 
240 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 all my letters, carefully locked {verschlossen)^ shall 
 be at the disposal of my nephew Ludwig von 
 Embden, to whom I will give further instructions 
 as to what use he shall make of them, without 
 prejudice to the rights of property of my general 
 heir." 
 
 Madame Mathilde alleged as a motive for her re- 
 fusal to dehver the papers to me that my uncle had, 
 during the previous summer, intended to make 
 another will, and that she had classified and exa- 
 mined the papers left without having found the 
 written information required. These declarations 
 were made by the advice of Mathilde's legal adviser, 
 a M. JuHa, in order to negative, as they contradict, 
 the declaration of my mother, who had discussed 
 in detail this subject with my brother two months 
 before his death. 
 
 This man (Julia) had an unbounded influence on 
 Madame Mathilde, and he endeavoured, though no 
 document of H. Heine authorised him to do so, and 
 despite his ignorance of the German language, to 
 usurp my testamentary rights. It was contrary 
 to all my feelings to have a lawsuit with Madame 
 Mathilde, since I had promised my uncle to support 
 and protect his widow, and I limited myself to en- 
 forcing the fulfilment of the testamentary conditions 
 in the most friendly manner. My efforts did not 
 succeed until Madame Mathilde had completely 
 quarrelled {grundlick uberworfen) with M. Julia, 
 for reasons which are best suppressed {die sick der 
 Oeffentlichkeit entziehen)^ and which brought to a 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 241 
 
 deplorable conclusion his unwarranted interference. 
 Madame Mathilde placed all the papers which had 
 been left at my disposition, with the exception of 
 a fragment of Memoirs, which I was not to receive 
 till after her death, and which she would not suffer 
 to pass from her hands, because it would enable her 
 to threaten the family with its publication in case 
 her annuity should be withheld. 
 
 After careful examination of all the papers of the 
 deceased, I sent the as yet unpublished manu- 
 scripts to Hamburg, leaving the less important in 
 Paris. There were carefully packed up, in addition 
 to the fragments of the Memoirs, several bundles 
 of rough notes {brouillons) of manuscripts already 
 published, and letters addressed to H. Heine, of 
 which the greater part consisted of correspondence 
 with Julius Campe. 
 
 The death of Madame Mathilde was kept a secret, 
 and not announced to my mother nor to me, and we 
 first learned the fact of the burial from the news- 
 papers. I at once ordered my nephew living in 
 Paris to reclaim the papers left by Heinrich Heine, 
 but received as answer that it was too late, as 
 everything had been legally sealed up. Madame 
 Mathilde had from childish fear never made a will, 
 and had died suddenly of apoplexy. An old cousin 
 of Mathilde, Madame Veuve Fauvet, n^e Mirat, dwell- 
 ing in the village of Vinot, succeeded in establishing 
 herself as the heiress. The inevitable M. Julia had 
 had himself appointed as plenipotentiary in the 
 affairs to her, and in her name he seized on every- 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 thing, including the papers of H. Heine left by me 
 in Paris. 
 
 I demanded in the most energetic manner from 
 M. Julia, who had established himself as at home 
 in the dwelling of Madame Mathilde, the delivery 
 of these papers, because it certainly was not the 
 intention of the original testator, my uncle H. 
 Heine, that his papers should pass into the pos- 
 session of utter strangers. 
 
 The correspondence was without result, and I 
 went to Paris to institute proceedings against M. 
 Julia. My lawyer declared that he could do nothing 
 against M. Juha till I should have gained a suit 
 against the heiress of the Widow Heine in every 
 detail. Not wishing, as a German, to carry on 
 before French tribunals a long and expensive suit, 
 I proposed to pay a certain sum to the heiress for 
 her assumed right to Heine's papers, with the con- 
 dition that M. Julia should bind himself by legal 
 acknowledgment to deliver to me everything which 
 had to his knowledge been found. The result of 
 this clause was that no offer of terms was ever 
 made to me (as M. Julia promised there should 
 be), and M. Julia, who had distinctly placed himself 
 in the position of a litigant for the possession of 
 the fragments of a Memoir, sold^ by means of the 
 monstrous puffing (reclame) of a Berlin literary 
 man, the few leaves of which it consisted to the 
 Gartenlaube and M. J. Campe for sixteen thousand 
 francs. 
 
 M. Julia proclaimed himself to be the heir of the 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 243 
 
 Heine papers, kept silence as to the true facts as 
 to how the fragment of the Memoir came into his 
 hands, and his communications regarding it in R. 
 Fleischer's Deutsche Revue, as well as in different 
 German and French publications — which distinctly 
 show the marks of clumsy invention on their very 
 face — are in utter contradiction to all the as yet 
 known or published official documents.^ 
 
 Strodtmann writes in his biography of H. Heine, 
 that Campe, after the death of the poet, had to 
 endure the most irritating vexations from the Heine 
 family, and that the latter refused all co-operation 
 in the collected edition, and proposed to sell him 
 what had been bequeathed, with the directions as to 
 arrangement included, demanding for this the extra- 
 vagant sum of 30,CX)0 francs, and finally 1 2,000. 
 
 To correct this assertion, I here declare that, being 
 greatly urged by Mr. Campe, senior, to obtain for 
 him these papers, I had offered the disposition of 
 them for 15,000. He offered me 12,000, and I for 
 that purpose went to Paris to recommend Madame 
 Mathilde to accept the offer. According to my 
 opinion, there was a great deal in the manuscripts 
 which had previously been sold to Campe, and as 
 it had been marked out by the censor, had not been 
 pubHshed. In any case, a lawsuit could not have 
 been avoided had I sold the bequest to any other 
 
 ^ When we consider all tMt Baron von Embden had to endure 
 from M. Julia, it would appear as if the heirs of a stranger djdng 
 in France were about as badly off even to-day as they would have 
 been a century or two ago, when the droit d'aubaine swept up 
 everything for the king, as Sterne has so quaintly described it. 
 
244 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 publisher. I knew old Campe too well for that. 
 When I returned, I informed Mr. Campe that the 
 Widow Heine would accept his offer. To which 
 he replied, " Now it is too late ; the edition of the 
 entire set of works is in press, and I will only give 
 the half" 
 
 I most unwillingly broke off all negotiation, and 
 after Campe's death sold the bequest for io,ooo 
 francs to his son and successor, which sum the 
 Widow Heine received in full. In 1 869 the bequest 
 appeared in an admirable arrangement of Strodt- 
 mann's as a supplementary volume to the great 
 collected edition, and this brought to the publisher, 
 as he informed me, a very considerable profit. 
 
 The earlier collected edition of from 186 1 to 1862 
 was edited by Strodtmann for old Campe, without 
 the concurrence of any member of Heine's family, 
 and published. The arrangement of it made by 
 Heine himself, to add nothing to it, and to omit 
 everything which could cause offence or vexation, 
 was ignored. This collected edition contained a 
 great deal which had not previously appeared, and 
 which never should have appeared — as, for instance, 
 the poems, Schlosslegende (" Castle Legends "), the 
 Weaver, &c. 
 
 Heinrich Heine ordained in his will, § 4, ^' That 
 if my friend Campe, the publisher of my works, 
 wishes for any alterations in the manner and style 
 in which I have arranged my different writings in 
 the before-mentioned prospectus, I desire that no 
 one shall place any difficulties in his way, since I 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 245 
 
 have always conformed willingly to what he has 
 required as a publisher. The main thing is, that 
 not a line shall be inserted into my writings which 
 I have not expressly intended for publication, or 
 which has not been pubHshed under the signature 
 of my full name; an assumed sign {chiffre) is not 
 sufficient to ascribe a certain writing to me, which 
 has perhaps appeared in any journal, since the 
 placing such an indication of the author by means 
 of a chiffre always depended on the managing editor, 
 who always followed the custom of making altera- 
 tions in the substance or form of any articles which 
 were indicated only with such a mark. 
 
 " I distinctly forbid that, under any pretence what- 
 ever, any writing by any other person, however 
 trifling it may be, shall be appended to my works, 
 unless it should be a biographical note from the 
 pen of one of my old friends to whom I had ex- 
 pressly confided such work. I take it for granted 
 {ich setze voraus) that my wish in this respect — 
 that is, that my books shall not serve to include, 
 or to disseminate, or to drag along with them (ins 
 Schlepptau nehmen) any foreign matter — will be truly 
 observed to the fullest extent." 
 
 Campe had, in breaking off the negotiations as to 
 the bequest {Nachlass)^ simply for the concession of 
 the terms {Dispositionefi) laid down by Heine for 
 the complete edition, offered 3000 francs, which 
 Mathilde roundly refused, in the hope of inducing 
 him to accept her terms for the whole. 
 
 This refusal may have been the motive why 
 
246 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 Campe henceforth did not regard himself as bound 
 to observe the above-given conditions of the will, 
 especially because the public earnestly required an 
 edition of the work perfect as regards all deficiencies 
 {in alien Lilcken ergdnzte Ausgabe). 
 
 It must be said, however, of the publisher Adolf 
 Strodtmann, that while he cleverly accomplished this 
 undertaking, he went too far, being urged by too 
 great zeal in his efforts to omit nothing from the 
 complete edition. 
 
 In 1864 the differences between the French pub- 
 lisher and Madame Mathilde were arranged by me, 
 she having thought that her claim to copyright 
 {Tantikmenrcht) were infringed on. I paid no re- 
 gard to her demand to settle the claim to 20 centimes 
 a volume for a certain sum, because her annuity from 
 Carl Heine of 5000 francs, with 3400 from Julius 
 Campe, sufficed for her to live on. I sold the copy- 
 right of Madame Mathilde to Messrs. Levy and 
 Brothers for the sum of 17,500 francs, and received 
 the whole in full after leaving Paris. 
 
 New difficulties, however, arose when, in 1866, the 
 " Letters of Heine " appeared in French, and Madame 
 Heine demanded an extra recompense for them of 
 the Brothers Levy, which the latter refused to pay. 
 The lawsuit which followed was decided against 
 Madame Heine, although the celebrated advocate 
 Jules Favre exerted all his eloquence in her favour.^ 
 
 ^ It would appear that, in common honesty or equity, Madame 
 Heine was entitled to this money. The whole history of the final 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 247 
 
 The erroneous opinion that unpublished manu- 
 scripts by Heinrich Heine still exist was publicly 
 contested during the life of Madame Mathilde by 
 the declaration ^' that nobody legally possesses any- 
 thing (of the kind), and whoever has anything must 
 make it known." Further, the w^idow of H. Heine, 
 in the contract of sale of the works left with Hoff- 
 mann & Campe, declared that all the manuscripts of 
 the literary bequest of H. Heine were in the hands 
 of Herr von Embden, and that she possessed no 
 more poems or written works by him, with the ex- 
 ception of the fragments of a memoir, which should 
 not be published for the present, and that Messrs. 
 Hoffmann & Campe are authorised to bring action 
 against any one, whoever he may be, who shall pub- 
 lish anything as yet unprinted. 
 
 Strodtmann believed erroneously that all the manu- 
 scripts which Heine mentioned in his correspondence 
 since 1823 were still in existence, forgetting that a 
 great deal was destroyed in the Hamburg fire,^ and 
 more recent biographers repeat the tale with myste- 
 rious importance, depending on untrustworthy per- 
 sons, without giving practical reasons for their belief. 
 
 disposal of Heine's property, in spite of the most clearly expressed 
 instructions by him (at least as it is related by Baron von Embden), 
 indicates that law, as it exists, especially in France, owing to its 
 ultra-refinements and red-tape, instead of enforcing justice, is rather 
 an aid to mere robbery. — Translator. 
 
 ^ Everything in Hamburg of Heine's was certainly not destroyed. 
 In the German publisher's preface to " Germany " there occurs the 
 following : — " Heine believed that the first manuscript of the work 
 which he had sent to Hamburg had there perished in the great fire 
 of 1842 ; but it was subsequently found among certain papers of 
 the publisher's which had been rescued." — Translator. 
 
248 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 As regards the Memoirs, I would recall this, that 
 in 1833 and 1842 a considerable amount of manu- 
 script perished, and that the poet himself, after his 
 reconciliation with Carl Heine, voluntarily destroyed 
 a portion of them.^ He had already previously, in 
 consequence of financial pressure, published frag- 
 ments of his Memoirs in different works, as, for 
 example, in his Confessions and book on Borne. 
 During all his life, and even to his death, Heine wrote 
 at these Memoirs, and had the intention to arrange 
 what had been published with what he had written 
 as a whole. A great part of the fragment of the 
 Memoirs which appeared in 1884 had been de- 
 stroyed in an unauthorised manner by Max, Heine's 
 brother, when the latter visited the Exposition in 
 1867, and Mathilde had in the kindest manner 
 allowed him to see it.^ Madame Mathilde was natu- 
 
 ^ It is no scandalous or impertinent conjecture that what was de- 
 stroyed on this occasion contained matter which Carl Heine feared to 
 have published, H. Heine could be diabolically bitter and unscru- 
 pulous, as his attack on Platen proved, and it may be that the fear of the 
 publication of this portion of the Memoirs was the real cause of Carl's 
 paying his cousin what was due to him. Baron von Embden has himself 
 informed us that H. Heine was deeply angered at Carl. — Translator. 
 
 2 It speaks volumes for the fairness and candour of Baron von 
 Embden that he seems by the use of the word unauthorised to con- 
 demn this proceeding of Max. It is extremely probable that the 
 latter found in the Memoirs violent or scandalous attacks on him- 
 self, and matter to irritate, or even disgrace, the family. Mathilde, 
 as we are told, had actually kept this document as a means of com- 
 pelling Carl or his heirs to continue her pension, by threatening to 
 publish it in case it should be discontinued. Taking all things into 
 consideration, it was well that the worst of it was destroyed. There 
 is no kind of literature which the world can so well spare as the 
 chroniques scandaleuses, — Translator. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 249 
 
 rally very much irritated at this, sent for me to come 
 to Paris, and when I asked my uncle for an explana- 
 tion of this act of authority, he replied, " It was 
 necessary for the good name and fame of my brother 
 to destroy the latter portion of the Memoir, which 
 was written in a delirium of passion (Fieberhitze)y 
 and to make innocuous the portion which remained 
 in the hands of Mathilde." 
 
 Madame Mathilde was unfortunately often very 
 badly advised, and the remaining papers, before they 
 came into my hands, had been offered to the French 
 Government for 30,000 francs, which, after some 
 negotiation, was refused. The recently revived re- 
 port that the Memoirs of Heine exist in the secret 
 archives of the Austrian Government may have 
 come from the fact that Herr von Friedland, an 
 acquaintance of many years with H. Heine, induced 
 the so easily excitable Madame Mathilde to confide 
 to him the MS. Memoir, in order that he might 
 offer it to the Austrian Government, through Prince 
 Metternich, for sale. When I came to Paris and 
 heard of this, to my great astonishment, I induced 
 Madame Mathilde to urgently require the return of 
 the manuscript, which was sent back to her with 
 thanks, after it had been ascertained that it con- 
 tained nothing dangerous.^ Therie are in the hands 
 
 ^ It is very evident, from the manner in which this fragment of 
 Memoir was offered at such tremendous price to the French and 
 Austrian Governments, that Mathilde believed that it really con- 
 tained terribly scandalous records. Persons of her class and kind 
 are, however, easily induced to believe that anything out of the range 
 of their intellect or knowledge — be it a manuscript, an old book, or 
 picture — is probably worth immense sums of money. — Translator. 
 
250 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 of the Austrian Government no manuscripts by H. 
 Heine excepting a few sheets, an autograph which 
 was most gratefully received by Her Majesty the 
 Empress, a great admirer of the poet, on the occa- 
 sion of a visit to my mother in Hamburg. 
 
 This distinguished lady had a predilection for H. 
 Heine, based on the most refined intelligence ; and 
 when the project patronised by her of erecting a 
 monument to him in Dtisseldorf did not succeed, 
 she placed on her marble fairy castle Achilleion, at 
 Corfu, one of intellectually inspired magnificence, 
 and such as he could hardly have had in his native 
 land. From the sea-strand a flight of several hundred 
 stairs of white marble leads up to the slope of a 
 wooded hill, and high above, on an interval in the 
 stairs, rises an open temple of six columns, open on 
 all sides, which is of white marble, with a round 
 cupola. The centre of the exquisite building, which 
 is overshadowed by immense silver-grey olive trees, 
 shelters the life-size statue of Heinrich Heine, a 
 creation of the Danish sculptor Hasselriis, who lives 
 in Rome. The calm and serious statue, inspiring 
 sympathetic accord,^ stands in sight of the sea of 
 which the poet has sung so deeply and movingly 
 {ergreifend)y and represents him as sitting in the 
 last stage {Stadimn) of his incurable disorder, with 
 bowed head and closed eyes, whence tears flow. 
 One hand holds the pencil for writing, the other 
 a sheet with the words by him — 
 
 1 Die ernste, stimtnungsvolk Statue. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 251 
 
 " What means this lonely tear-drop 
 Which dims my eye to-day ? 
 It's the last now left me 
 From times long passed away." ^ 
 
 Madame Mathilde inhabited for many years a 
 simple very comfortable dwelling in Batignolles, Rue 
 I'Ecluse, from the back windows of which there was 
 a view of flowery garden scenery. There was in 
 all the apartments a perfection of order and neat- 
 ness for which the industrious Pauline toiled inces- 
 santly. Her amusements consisted in visiting the 
 circus, or small theatres of the Boulevard, whenever 
 lively pieces were given, or to take a walk with 
 Pauline in the Champs Elysees. Table guests also 
 played a great part in her household, and when I was 
 a guest she always had prepared some dish which 
 had been a favourite one with her pauvre Henriy 
 and believed in her childlike manner that she had 
 thus honoured his memory. It was touching to 
 hear with what devoted love she spoke of him, and 
 confided to me the fact that many men had sought 
 to marry her, but that she would never make up 
 her mind to forget her Henri and give up his cele- 
 brated name. When her patcvre Henri was very 
 
 ^ " Was will die einsame Thrane ? 
 Sie trlibt mir ja den Blick, 
 Sie bleibt aus alien Zeiten 
 In meinen Augen zuriick." 
 
 First published in the Reisebilder, the " Homeward Journey,",No. 29. 
 The impression which the correspondence with Heine's mother leaves 
 is, however, that a more appropriate motto would have been, *' He 
 wanted postage-stamps and ye gave him a statue." — Translator. 
 
252 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 angry because she had spent too much money, or 
 he thought sadly of his mother and sister in Ger- 
 many, a single caress of love was always enough to 
 awaken to him joy and merriment. 
 
 " Then comes my wife, fair as the morning ray, 
 And drives my German sorrows far away," 
 
 Mathilde was a great lover of animals ; besides 
 Cocotte, she had a bird-cage with from fifty to sixty 
 canaries and three white Bolognese dogs. When 
 the whole menagerie began to cry, chirp, and bark, 
 the noise was intolerable, and if I would hasten 
 away she said amazed, "C'est drole! vous etes 
 comme votre oncle, qui n'amait pas les betes." 
 
 During the siege Mathilde remained in Paris, and 
 bewailed to me later what she had endured, and 
 how she had been obliged to pay 200 francs for a 
 chicken. When I expressed my astonishment that 
 she paid so much, she replied, laughing, '* Que faire 
 si c'etait le prix." She never learned to understand 
 the value of money, and always remained a great 
 harmless child. She generally passed the summer 
 months in the country, and about two years before 
 her death I saw her last in Longjumeau, where she 
 dwelt in an airy, roomy apartment, and it was with 
 childish dehght that she showed me the shady foliage 
 and fruit-trees in the garden. 
 
 Mathilde's personal appearance changed very much 
 of late years. Her hair had whitened, her corpulence 
 terribly increased, and wails over suffering from 
 rheumatism escaped from her once laughing mouth. 
 
HEINRICH HEINE. 253 
 
 After a plentiful breakfast she became good-humoured 
 once more, and when, after some hours of joyful com- 
 pany, she embraced me in adieu, she never dreamed 
 that we should never meet again. 
 
 On the 17th February 1883, on the anniversary 
 of the death of her husband, Mathilde stood at the 
 window of her dwelling in Passy, when, just after 
 conversing with Pauline, she suddenly fell dead to the 
 ground, struck by apoplexy. 
 
 After twenty-seven years she was re-united in the 
 same grave to the loved husband whose life she had 
 made beautiful by her amiability and gaiety, and had 
 caused to forget so many hours of heavy suffering. 
 
 The publication of the preceding family letters of 
 Henry Heine may serve as a guard against many 
 erroneous assertions regarding the poet, be of ad- 
 vantage as regards his relations to his family, and 
 at the same time serve as a permanent mark of 
 affection and esteem for the departed. 
 
 One may justly apply to these letters his own 
 words — 
 
 " My sufferings and complaints beside, 
 Are in this book by me ; 
 And when the book is opened wide, 
 My heart is ope'd to thee." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 Letter of the Nurse Catherine Bourlois to 
 Madame Charlotte Embden, in Hamburg. 
 
 Paris, March ii, 1856. 
 
 Madame, — I have sent to your brother very long details 
 as to all which he asked me regarding the death of M. 
 Heine. Madame your sister-in-law left the house of 
 death half-an-hour before the burial; she has not yet 
 returned to the Avenue Montaigne, but M'lle Pauhne 
 comes every day to get her letters from the concierge. I 
 do not know the address of Madame Heine. 
 
 The day before his death my poor master said, " I 
 am satisfied now that my family is come, for I shall never 
 see them again." He regretted very much not having 
 written on Wednesday, because he would never be able 
 to write again. He repeated on the last night, as he had 
 done on Friday, "I am lost." During this fatal night 
 I had with me a watcher, and I went to awake M'lle 
 Pauline when I saw that his end was near. I could 
 have of course called Madame,^ but the least noise 
 
 1 It can hardly fail to strike the reader unpleasantly that this 
 woman should take it on herself to apprehend evil consequences in 
 such a manner, and thus prevent Madame Heine from being present 
 at her husband's death. Heine was actually in extremis, and yet 
 Madame Bourlois says that she would not call his wife for fear of 
 
258 APPENDIX. 
 
 might have made his last moments worse, and I feared 
 the effect which the death of a husband might produce 
 on his wife. However, at the last moment M'Ue Pauline 
 ran to Madame, and I had only time to say to her on 
 the threshold, " All is over." 
 
 A quarter of an hour before his death M. Heine was 
 in full consciousness. I constantly encouraged and con- 
 soled him to the best of my power, but he perceived, as 
 we did, that the medicines produced no amelioration. 
 The attachment which he had for you, and the request 
 which you made when leaving that I would write to you, 
 made it a duty to do so, and I have done so without 
 informing Madame Heine. Please therefore, Madame, 
 do not speak to her of my letters, and if you have new 
 orders to give, you will add to my address, " Commune 
 de Passy, Rue du Belair, Barriere de I'Etoile, Paris." 
 
 From not being correctly addressed, your letter did 
 not arrive till the 9th. 
 
 I am, Madame, your very humble servant, 
 
 Catherine Bourlois. 
 
 I will add that on Saturday, between four and five 
 o'clock in the evening. Monsieur called me three times, 
 and told me to write . . . but I did not understand 
 the sense of his words, and did not wish to make him 
 repeat them. I answered " Yes," and a little time after, 
 " When your vomiting shall have ceased, you will write 
 yourself." He repHed, " I am about to die." 
 
 aggravating his last moments ! It would seem as if this conduct had 
 been inspired by some ill-feeling towards Madame Heine, because in the 
 next sentence the woman specially requests Madame Embden not to 
 inform Mathilde that she— the nurse — had written anything. Why 
 this secrecy if there was nothing wrong to conceal? — Translator. 
 
APPENDIX. 259 
 
 11. 
 
 Will of Heinrich Heine 
 
 Before M. Ferdinand Leon Ducloux and M. Charles 
 Emile Rousse, notaries in Paris, undersigned, and wit- 
 nessed by (i.) M. Michel Jacob, master-baker, dwell- 
 ing in Paris, Rue d' Amsterdam, No. 60 ; (2.) and M. 
 Eugene Grouchy, master-grocer, living in Paris, Rue 
 d'Amsterdam, No. 52, both witnesses fulfilling all the 
 conditions required by law, as they have declared to 
 the notaries here undersigned, according to the queries 
 duly made separately unto each ; and in a bedroom of 
 M. Heine, hereinafter named, seated in the second story 
 of a house in the Rue d'Amsterdam, No. 50, in which 
 bedroom the notaries and witnesses above named, chosen 
 by the testator, have assembled at the express requisition 
 of this last : 
 
 Appeared M. Henri Heine, man of letters and Doc- 
 tor of Law, living in Paris, Rue d'Amsterdam, No. 50, 
 who, being ill of body but sound of mind, memory, 
 and understanding, as it hath appeared to the said 
 notaries and witnesses by conversation with him, and in 
 view of death, dictated unto the aforesaid M. Ducloux, 
 in presence of M. Rousse and of the witnesses, his testa- 
 ment in the following manner : — 
 
 § Firstly^ I declare for my universal legatee Mme. 
 Mathilde Crescence Heine nee Mirat, my legitimate wife, 
 with whom I have passed for long years my good and 
 my bad days, and who has cared for me during the long 
 and cruel duration of my illness. I leave her in full 
 and entire possession, and without any conditions or 
 restrictions, all that I possess, or which I may possess, at 
 my decease, and all my rights to any possession whatever. 
 
26o APPENDIX. 
 
 § Secondly^ At a time when I hoped for a prosperous 
 future, I alienated all my literary property for very in- 
 significant sums: unfortunate events have since then 
 swallowed up the small hoard which I possessed, and 
 my illness does not permit me to re-establish to a small 
 degree my fortune to the profit of my wife. The annuity 
 which I hold from my late uncle Salomon Heine, and 
 which was always the case of my budget, is only partially 
 assured to my wife. It was I myself who thus wished 
 it. I now feel the greatest regret for not having better 
 established the independence of my wife after my death. 
 The aforesaid pension of my uncle represented in reality 
 the rent of a sum which this paternal benefactor did not 
 care to put into the hands of a poet unskilled in business, 
 in order to assure me a permanent enjoyment thereof. 
 I depended on this dotation when I married a person 
 for whom my uncle showed a marked preference, and to 
 whom he gave many testimonials of affection. Although 
 he did nothing for her in an official manner in his testa- 
 mentary dispositions, it is not to be less presumed that 
 this forgetfulness is rather due to an unfortunate chance 
 than to the sentiments of the defunct. He whose mag- 
 nificence has enriched and endowed so many who were 
 strangers to his family and to his heart, could not be 
 accused of mean niggardliness when there was a question 
 of the wife of a nephew who made his name illustrious. 
 The least gestures and words of a man who was gene- 
 rosity itself ought to be interpreted as generous. Charles 
 Heine, a worthy son of his father, has agreed with me 
 in these sentiments, and it was with a noble eagerness 
 that he yielded to my demand when I begged him to 
 assume the formal engagement of paying after my de- 
 cease to my wife, as a life-annuity, the half of the pension 
 which dated from his late father. This stipulation was 
 
APPENDIX. 261 
 
 made the 25th of February 1847, and I am still moved 
 by the recollection of the noble reproaches which my 
 cousin, notwithstanding our differences in those days, 
 made me regarding my want of confidence in his feelings 
 as regarded my wife. When he offered me his hand 
 as pledge of his promise, I pressed it against my poor 
 suffering eyes and wetted it with my tears. Since then 
 my position has grown worse, and my illness has drained 
 many resources which I might have left to my wife ; and 
 as these unforeseen vicissitudes and other reasons force 
 me to have anew recourse to the worthy and just feelings 
 of my cousin, I engage him not to diminish the half of 
 the pension aforesaid, in paying it to my wife after my 
 death, and to pay it to her integrally, as I received it 
 during the life of my uncle. 
 
 I say expressly " as I received it during the life of my 
 uncle," because my cousin Charles Heine has during 
 the past five years, in which my malady has greatly in- 
 creased, more than doubled the amount of my pension, 
 a generous attention for which I owe him very great 
 gratitude. It is more than probable that I have no 
 need to make this appeal to his liberality, for I am 
 persuaded that, with the first shovel-full of earth which 
 he will throw on my tomb, according to his right as my 
 nearest relation, should he be-in Paris after my death, 
 he will forget all these wretched complaints which I 
 have so much regretted and expiated by long, intense 
 suffering. He will not then certainly remember aught 
 save the good friendship of earlier days, of that afifinity 
 and conformity of sentiment which united us from our 
 tender youth, and he will vow a perfectly fraternal affec- 
 tion to the widow of his friend ; but it is not useless for 
 the rest of either that the living shall know what the 
 dead require of them. 
 
262 APPENDIX. 
 
 § Thirdly^ I desire that, after my decease, all my 
 papers and all my letters shall be scrupulously closed, 
 and be at the disposition of my nephew, Ludwig von 
 Embden, to whom I will give my ulterior instructions 
 as to the use which he shall make of them, without pre- 
 judice to the rights of property of my general legatee.-^ 
 
 § Fourthly^ Should I die before the complete edition 
 of my works shall have appeared, and I shall have been 
 unable to attend to the direction of this edition, owing 
 to my death having taken place ere its termination, J 
 beg my relative Dr. Rudolph Christiani to replace me 
 in the direction of this publication, by conforming 
 strictly to the prospectus which I shall have left on 
 this subject. If my friend M. Campe, the publisher 
 of my works, desires any changes in the manner in which 
 1 have arranged my different writings in the said pro- 
 spectus, I desire that no difficulties be caused him in 
 this respect, since I have always endeavoured to con- 
 form to his wants as a bookseller. The principal thing 
 is that there shall be nothing intercalated in my writings, 
 no line which I have not expressly intended for publicity, 
 or which has been printed without the signature of my 
 name in all its letters. A conventional cipher does not 
 suffice to attribute to me an article published by some 
 journal, since the indication of the author by a cipher 
 always depended on the managing editors, who always 
 assume the right to effect changes in substance or form 
 in an article signed only with a cipher. Therefore I 
 
 1 Nothing could be more clear than the will of Heine on this point. 
 How it was disregarded by the law or want of justice in France ap- 
 pears from what Baron von Embden has already told us ; and how, in 
 spite of the distinct instructions of Heine, a complete stranger was able 
 to lay his hands on a valuable portion of these papers, and proclaim 
 that he had been requested to edit Heine's remains ! The modera- 
 tion of the language of Baron von Embden in speaking of M. Julia 
 deserves great commendation. — Translator. 
 
APPENDIX. 263 
 
 expressly forbid that, under any pretence, any article what- 
 ever, however small it may be, by another person, shall 
 be added to my works, unless it be some biographical 
 notice emanating from the pen of one of my old friends, 
 of whom I have expressly demanded such work. I wish 
 and expect that my will in this respect, that is to say, 
 that my books shall not (be made to) remark or pro- 
 pagate any writing by another, shall be loyally executed 
 in its fullest extent. 
 
 § Fifthly, I forbid that my body shall be submitted 
 after my decease to an autopsy ; but as my disorder often 
 resembled a cataleptic case, I believe there should be 
 taken the precaution of opening a vein in me before my 
 interment. 
 
 § Sixthly, Should I be in Paris at the time of my 
 decease, and I do not dwell too far from Montmartre, 
 I desire to be buried in the cemetery of that name, 
 having a predilection for that quarter, where I resided 
 for many years. 
 
 § Seventhly, I desire that my funeral shall be as 
 modest as possible, and that the expenses of my inter- 
 ment shall not exceed that which is generally incurred 
 for such a purpose by the simplest citizen. Although 
 by act of baptism I belong to the Lutheran confes- 
 sion, I do not desire that the clergy of that Church 
 shall be invited to my funeral. I also forbid any 
 other minister of any other sect to celebrate the rites \ 
 and this desire is not dictated by any caprice of a free- 
 thinker. Since four years I have abdicated all philo- 
 sophic pride, and have returned to religious ideas and 
 sentiments. I die believing in one God, single and 
 eternal, creator of the world, of whom I implore mercy 
 for my immortal soul. I regret having spoken in my 
 writings of holy things without the respect which is due 
 
264 APPENDIX. 
 
 to them, but in doing this I was rather led away by the 
 spirit of the age than by my own inclinations. If I 
 have unconsciously offended good manners and morals, 
 which is the true essence of all monotheistic beliefs, I 
 beg pardon for it of God and man. I forbid that any 
 discourse in German or French shall be delivered at my 
 tomb. At the same time I distinctly desire that my 
 compatriots, however happy the destinies of our country 
 may become, shall refrain from bearing my ashes to 
 Germany. I have never desired to lend my person 
 to political mummeries. The great business of my 
 life was to work at an entente cordiale between Germany 
 and France, and to expose the tricks of the enemies 
 of democracy, who trade for their own profit on inter- 
 national prejudices and animosities. I believe that I 
 have merited well from my fellow-countrymen as well 
 as from the French, and the rights which I have to their 
 gratitude are without doubt the most precious legacy 
 which I have to confer on my universal legatee. 
 
 § Eighthly^ I appoint for testamentary executor M. 
 Maxime Joubert, counsellor of the Court of Cassation, 
 and I thank him for having been willing to assume this 
 charge. 
 
 The present testament has thus been dictated by M. 
 Henri Heine and written in full by the hand of M. 
 Ducloux, one of the undersigned notaries, as it has 
 been dictated to him by the testator, the whole in pre- 
 sence of the aforesaid notaries and of the witnesses ; 
 the which being duly interrogated, declare that they are 
 not relations of the legatee. 
 
 And the said will having been read in the presence 
 of the testator, he hath declared that said will contains 
 the full setting forth of his desires. 
 
APPENDIX. 265 
 
 Made and passed at Paris in the bedroom of the 
 above-mentioned M. Heine, the year 185 1, on Thursday 
 the 19th of November, about six o'clock in the after- 
 noon. 
 
 And after another complete reading, the testator and 
 the witnesses have signed with the notaries. 
 
 Registered at Paris, the 20th day of February 1856. 
 
 III. 
 
 Letters from Madame Mathilde Heine, Widow. 
 
 Paris, March 25, 1856. 
 
 My dear Nephew, — I have received your two letters, 
 and I thank you for the kind words which they contain. 
 Monsieur your father has also done me the honour to 
 write me a touching letter, which very much gratified 
 me. Be so kind as to say to him, I beg you, that I long 
 ago conceived for him a high esteem, and that I make 
 it a duty to convey to him, under these circumstances, 
 my sincerest thanks and the most marked assurance of 
 my most affectionate sentiments. I hoped, I declare, 
 to have found the same conduct in all the members of 
 the family of my husband, but my hopes in this respect 
 have not been realised. You are not, doubtless, in ignp- 
 rance of the very serious affront which I have received 
 from my brother-in-law, M. Gustav Heine of Vienna. He 
 is not content with not having so much as let me know 
 that he was alive, although I begged Dr. Gruby, my 
 husband's doctor, to announce to him the death of his 
 brother, as he did to other members of the family. 
 After having left me entirely to my own resources in 
 
266 APPENDIX. 
 
 the accomplishment of the first and indispensable duties, 
 such as are quietly executed, and which one does not 
 put into the newspapers, so that I have been obliged to 
 have recourse to strangers for aid, he has published in 
 a German journal the following note, which has been 
 reproduced in French publications : — 
 
 "M. Gustav Heine, the brother of the celebrated 
 Henri Heine, who died recently in Paris, is about to 
 raise to his brother a monument which is to cost 10,000 
 francs. M. Gustav Heine, who lives in Vienna, has had 
 executed here the design of the monument, which has 
 been this day forwarded to Paris." 
 
 This note was to me a grave offence, for it announced 
 to the public before it had been communicated to me an 
 intention which concerned me more than any one, and 
 which M. Gustav Heine could not execute except with 
 my consent. 
 
 Thus I regarded this note at first as one of those re- 
 ports without foundation, such as go circulating about in 
 newspapers. What induced me to suppose so, was not 
 only that my rights were disregarded, and ordinary good 
 manners trampled on, it was also and above all the price 
 of the monument, so arrogantly advertised in a newspaper 
 article. I could not imagine that my brother-in-law 
 would thus intrude himself, and seem to appear to act 
 from a motive of pure ostentation in such a melancholy 
 affair, and into a deed of a dignified, sacred, and really 
 rehgious character. My first care, therefore, was to reply 
 by the following letter : — 
 
 " Paris, March 10, 1856. 
 " Monsieur, — I learn that you have republished the 
 note published by the Augsburg Gazette relative to a 
 pretended monument which M. Gustav Heine of Vienna 
 
APPENDIX. 267 
 
 proposed to erect to the memory of the late Henri 
 Heine, my husband. 
 
 " Permit me, sir, to remark here, that I have made the 
 acquisition in the Cemetery of Montmartre of a piece 
 of ground whereon to estaWish the perpetual sepulchre 
 of my husband, and that no person can pretend to erect 
 a monument there without having first consulted with 
 me. Not having had to this moment any knowledge 
 of the act mentioned by the Augsburg Gazette, it is per- 
 mitted me to add that this act, to which the German 
 journals have endeavoured to give a certain notoriety, 
 should be to the present time considered by the public 
 as not existent. I have the honour, &c. 
 
 "Widow of Henri Heine." 
 
 After reading this letter M. Gustav Heine could have 
 made the matter all right, and he should have tried 
 to do so. He should have written to the newspapers 
 and said that his intention really was to raise a monu- 
 ment to the memory of his brother, but that he had no 
 intention of acting separately from and without me. 
 Far from that, he addressed the following letter to the 
 Journal des Debats : — 
 
 "Vienna, March 14, 1856. 
 
 " Monsieur, — The newspapers have announced that 
 I have the intention of erecting a monument to the 
 memory of my brother Henri Heine, and that the de- 
 signs for the said monument have been sent to Paris to 
 be executed there. 
 
 " As the eldest brother of the defunct, and in accord- 
 ance with the desire expressed by my venerable mother, 
 I will fulfil the sacred duty of indicating in a worthy 
 manner to posterity the place where the glorious remains 
 
268 APPENDIX. 
 
 dear to my affection are buried. I have for this purpose 
 commissioned two artists, celebrated in Vienna, to com- 
 pose two different designs for monuments in marble and 
 granite ; but before being executed, I believe myself 
 obliged by a sentiment of filial piety to send the designs 
 in question to Hamburg to get the opinion of my mother, 
 and to form thereupon my definite choice. 
 "GusTAV Heine, 
 
 " Managing Editor of the ' Fremdenblatt.' " 
 
 This time, seeming to trample on all my rights, by 
 expressing himself as if I did not exist, or as if I had 
 deserved that the family of my husband should put me 
 entirely aside in such an important affair, M. Gustav 
 Heine has directly inflicted on me a serious insult, and 
 I am therefore compelled to form a decision. This de- 
 cision is that no person except myself shall continue to 
 take charge of the dear and sacred remains of my poor 
 husband. I have in consequence answered to the 
 /ourtial des Debats : — 
 
 " Paris, March 21, 1856. 
 
 "Sir, — In my letter of the loth of this month, which 
 you were so kind as to publish, I had the honour to 
 inform you that having obtained possession of a plot 
 of ground for the perpetual interment of Henri Heine, 
 my husband, no person has the right to raise a mauso- 
 leum upon this tomb without my consent. 
 
 " To-day, after the letter from Vienna which you pub- 
 lished in your number of the day before yesterday, I 
 believe it to be my duty to go further, and declare that 
 I will not permit any person to share with me the care 
 of preparing a last dwelling-place devoted to the man 
 of genius who did me the honour to associate his life, 
 
APPENDIX. 269 
 
 and who retained for me to his last day his best and 
 most affectionate feelings. — Be pleased to accept, &c. 
 
 "Widow Henri Heine." 
 
 I have had regarding this affair the consolation of 
 securing the most lively and general sympathy of the 
 press. I have not met with a soul who did not seem 
 to be indignant that any one should profit by the 
 moment when I was overwhelmed by a terrible misfor- 
 tune to make me suffer attempts at persecution. People 
 were amazed that such an action came from my brother- 
 in-law, and was exercised against a woman. It was 
 known how deeply my husband was attached to me, 
 and the offensive proceedings levelled at his widow were 
 regarded as an insult to his memory. There was not 
 a portion of the letter, including the reference to my 
 mother-in-law, which did not occasion great reprehen- 
 sion. It was generally admitted that he did not in the 
 least diminish the insult which he inflicted on me by 
 sheltering himself under cover of the ever-to-be-re- 
 spected wishes of my venerated mother-in-law, whom 
 I learned from my husband to esteem and to love. 
 There were some persons who went so far as to say 
 that the real intention of my brother had been merely 
 to attract attention, and not to carry out what he had 
 announced. They proved this by saying that he who 
 really wishes to accompUsh anything does not begin by 
 voluntarily putting himself into the position of making 
 it absolutely impossible to obtain what he wants, by 
 inflicting a wanton injury on the only person who can 
 grant it to him. 
 
 As for me, dear nephew, I let it all pass without giving 
 any opinion. Buried in grief and living in retreat, I have 
 broken only once, and that to my great grief, the pro- 
 
270 APPENDIX. 
 
 found silence which I imposed on myself, in order to 
 defend my dignity and my ignored rights. This was 
 absolutely due, not only to myself, but also as regards 
 my poor husband, to whose desires and to whose memory 
 I should not regard myself as very faithful should I suffer, 
 be it what it may, or under whatever pretence, that any 
 attack should be made on the rights which I hold from 
 him, and thus abase in me the dignity of the person to 
 whom he was the most deeply attached. — iVccept, dear 
 nephew, &c., Widow Henri Heine. 
 
 Paris, March 1856. 
 My dear Nephew, — In reply to your letter, you seem 
 astonished that M. Joubert has not written to you, and 
 that I have not sent you myself the papers and the few 
 letters which my husband kept. Permit me to observe to 
 you that the honourable M. Joubert was not called on to 
 write, but simply to send, should it be called for, a copy 
 of the will, and it is that which he has done. He also 
 waited till you should send to him or address to me 
 the instructions which my husband wished to send you 
 when he dictated his testament — instructions without 
 which the direction which he gave you is impossible to 
 execute, and consequently becomes null and void. It 
 results from your letter that you have not these instruc- 
 tions ; you therefore beg me to send them to you, believ- 
 ing, wrongly, that I have them. I have not got them at 
 all, I have never had them ; what is more, in arranging 
 the papers of my husband, which I have examined one 
 by one, I have found nothing which resembled instruc 
 tions. This does not astonish me. I knew that my 
 husband had changed his mind as to his testament, 
 especially since last summer, and he had decided that 
 
APPENDIX. 271 
 
 he would leave it to me to dispose of all his manuscripts 
 as I might choose. He told me so very often, and hence 
 resulted a will which he had begun some days before his 
 death, but which, alas ! his death interrupted. In this 
 revised document, written by his hand, my poor husband 
 was not content to again appoint me his universal legatee, 
 without condition or restriction; he went so far as to give 
 me, by the public homage which he rendered me, a new 
 mark of the high esteem and constant and unchangeable 
 sympathy which united us so closely for so many years. 
 The thought that I was to the last moment the most 
 active and almost the unique preoccupation of a great 
 man whom I loved, is a sweet consolation and a vivid 
 joy to my heart. 
 
 All that remains for me, my dear nephew, is to ex- 
 press to you the grateful sentiments with which I am 
 penetrated in reflecting on the expressions of devotion 
 and affection which your letter contains. Believe indeed 
 that I in turn remember with pleasure my dear nephew 
 Ludwig, and that I hope to hear good news of him, 
 whenever an opportunity shall present itself 
 
 Accept, my dear nephew, and I beg you present to 
 all your family, the assurances of my best regards. 
 
 Widow Henri Heine. 
 
 To M. Jules Claretie, of the "Figaro." 
 
 Paris, February 20, 1867. 
 Sir, — How do you know of the lawsuit which I have 
 determined to institute against M. Michel Levy ? I live 
 very retired, and make no noisy display of the feeling 
 which has impelled me to avenge the memory of my 
 husband, so hatefully insulted. 
 
272 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is therefore my adversary who has pleaded his 
 cause before you, and it was his arguments, without 
 reply, which made you write these words : — 
 
 "I trust that Madame Heine, understanding that 
 she has been badly advised, will not carry this matter 
 further." 
 
 You deceive yourself, sir. In a lawsuit of this kind, 
 lawyers only serve to make clear my path. I act spon- 
 taneously, sustained by conscience, not for a question 
 of money, but for one of honour. For your personal 
 edification, these are the facts. I have often heard it 
 said that men of letters are mere children on business 
 beside their publishers. Imagine what my inexperience 
 was when I treated with M. Michel Levy ! 
 
 But he was so good, so engaging, that I could not 
 be on my guard. One day, deeply touched by his kind 
 solicitude, I told him that there were being published 
 in a foreign country the letters of my husband, plausibly 
 accurate, but rather fabrications. I was afflicted at this 
 — but how could I plead my cause in Germany ? " Get 
 me those books," replied M. Levy, " and I will demand 
 100,000 francs damages of the publisher." 
 
 I give these figures for accuracy's sake. I only desired 
 one thing, which was to prevent the publication, and I 
 had the good fortune to meet a protector who would 
 enable me to do so ! Having duly informed myself, I 
 purchased seven large volumes in German, which I sent 
 to him. 
 
 Months and years passed. I asked M. Levy to re- 
 turn me the volumes which I had confided to him, 
 since he had done nothing to vindicate my rights, but 
 he was always " so occupied," and the brochures were 
 so far away on the shelves, that I waited patiently, 
 and should be doing so still, if I had not learned very 
 
APPENDIX. 273 
 
 indirectly that M. Michel Levy himself published the 
 fabricated and translated letters which had before ex- 
 cited such anger. Hence the suit-at-law, and as without 
 speaking of my judges at Berlin, I shall find this time 
 my judges in Paris, the end seems to me to be less 
 difficult to attain. 
 
 Did you, sir, know these facts ? I am convinced that 
 you did not, and yet they are given in my summons. 
 
 You will no longer have the right to laugh at me. 
 You in your turn have played the game of M. Michel 
 Levy. You believed that he related to you a curious 
 legal case, and he only wanted ten lines in your news- 
 paper, knowing very well that, written by you, they 
 would enable him to sell before the decision in the 
 trial a great many volumes. I beg you, sir, to insert 
 this letter in your next number. I say nothing to you 
 as to my right ; it is a prayer which I address to you 
 with the expression of my kindest wishes. 
 
 Widow Henri Heine. 
 
 IV. 
 Letter from M. Levy. 
 
 Paris, Febmary 22, 1867. 
 A Monsieur Jules Claretie, Editor of the Figaro. 
 
 Sir, — The reflections inspired in you by the suit-at- 
 law instituted against us by the Widow Heine on the 
 subject of the correspondence of her husband, the first 
 two volumes of which were recently published by us, 
 have provoked a pretended rectification, signed by that 
 lady, which accuses you of having complaisantly made 
 
 S 
 
274 APPENDIX. 
 
 yourself my advocate with a view to obtaining a business 
 puff or advertisement. 
 
 As regards this accusation of showing me a favour, 
 you know, sir, how gratuitous is such an assumption 
 on the part of Madame Heine, and whether I have the 
 honour to know you so intimately as to have the right to 
 demand a service of you. 
 
 As to the subject of the dispute, it is not suitable to 
 discuss it in detail in a journal. I will Hmit myself in 
 justification to the following : — 
 
 The first article of the treaty which I concluded 
 with Madame Heine, January 28, 1865, includes the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 I. The full and entire ownership in the works which 
 have been or are to be published by Henri Heine. 
 
 II. The exclusive right of translation into French 
 of all the works of Henri Heine published in German. 
 
 III. The right of translation into French of all the 
 works of Henri Heine, posthumous and inedited, which 
 are yet to appear. 
 
 In virtue of the rights which this article confers on 
 me so explicitly, I have had translated the Correspond- 
 ence of Heine, which constitutes volumes xix., xx., and 
 xxi. of the original edition of the complete works of 
 Henri Heine, published in Hamburg by Hoffmann and 
 Campe, grantees of Madame the Widow Heine, by the 
 same title as to me, and German publishers for her 
 husband for more than forty years, as I have been 
 myself his French publisher since about fourteen years. 
 This origin of my translation is a material fact, easy 
 to prove, which Madame Heine, or rather the persons 
 who advise her, have not apparently taken the pains 
 to verify, but which the wisdom of a tribunal will not fail 
 to inquire into. 
 
APPENDIX. 275 
 
 An unauthorised edition of certain works of Henri 
 Heine has been pubUshed in seven volumes by Binger 
 Brothers, in Amsterdam. This edition was actually com- 
 plained of to me two or three years ago by Madame 
 Heine, who sent me a copy of it to use, should I 
 think it advisable to prosecute its publishers. But I 
 absolutely did not take anything from that edition, nor 
 did I have a single line translated from it, as I would 
 have proved to Madame Heine, if, before making an 
 appointment with me, she would have come to see me, 
 as my amicable relations with her perhaps rendered it 
 advisable for her to do. 
 
 I still hope that Madame Heine, convinced of my 
 good faith, in face of the palpable proofs with which I 
 meet her, will withdraw the accusation which unskilled 
 advisers have so unthinkingly induced her to bring 
 against me. 
 
 Accept, sir, the assurance of my most respectful 
 esteem. Michel Levy. 
 
 P.S. — Madame Heine speaks of her inexperience, and 
 intimates that I took advantage of it in concluding our 
 agreement. But it was not directly with her that I nego- 
 tiated the business; it was with M. Von Embden of 
 Hamburg, nephew and friend of Henri Heine, to whom 
 she had given the care of all her interests, and who came 
 to Paris expressly to confer with me. Madame Heine 
 needed only to have refused to put her signature below 
 the contract, as she probably did to the letter which has 
 been addressed to you. 
 
276 APPENDIX. 
 
 Contract with Messrs. Hoffmann & Campe on the 
 Sale of the Papers Left by H. Heine. 
 
 1. Sold for the sum of 10,000 francs, the posthumous 
 works of Henri Heine which are now in the hands of 
 M. Von Embden. 
 
 2. Madame H. Heine, widow, declares that she pos- 
 sesses nothing more or less of the poems or other pro- 
 duct of H. Heine, except a fragment of Memoirs which 
 she for the present will not publish. 
 
 3. She authorises Messrs. Hoffmann & Campe to call 
 to account any one, whoever he may be, who shall 
 publish inedited matter, of course at the expense of 
 Messrs. Hoffmann & Campe. 
 
 Hamburg, August 16, 1869. 
 
 PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. 
 EDINBURGH AND LONDON. 
 
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