THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 MRS. VIRGINIA B. SPORER
 
 > 
 
 7 s '
 
 HEINK1CH HEINE WHEN A STUDENT AT GOTTINUEN, 
 From n drawing: by n college mate.
 
 THE FAMILY LIFE 
 
 HEINRICH HEINE 
 
 One Hundred and Twenty-two Family Letters 
 
 of the Poet hitherto unpublished 
 
 from his College Days 
 
 to his Death 
 
 BY HIS NEPHEW 
 
 BARON LUDWIG VON EMBDEN 
 
 FROM THE GERMAN BY 
 
 CHARLES DE KAY 
 
 WITH FOUR PORTRAITS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CASSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 104 & 106 FOURTH AVENUE
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1892, BY 
 CASSELL PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 A II rights reserved. 
 
 THE MKRSHON COMPANY PRI 
 RAHWAY, N. J.
 
 PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 THE first collection of the works of Heinrich 
 Heine in seven volumes was published in 
 America in 1865, closely followed by the com- 
 plete works in twenty volumes issued by Messrs. 
 Hoffman & Campe of Hamburg. As early as 
 1855 a translation of the " Reisebilder " by 
 Charles G. Leland appeared in Philadelphia, and 
 in 1864 the " Buch der Lieder." A selection of 
 his songs and ballads translated by Emma Laza- 
 rus, a poetess whose end was in some respects 
 like that of the Jewish poet, appeared in New 
 York in 1881, and another selection translated by 
 Frances Helman has just made its appearance. 
 It is therefore likely that a translation of the 
 familiar letters of Heine addressed chiefly to his 
 mother and sister will find readers on this side 
 of the Atlantic. 
 
 2043377
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 It would be indeed strange if so modern a 
 thinker and one who in some respects stands 
 with the first in German literature should fail to 
 remain a figure of uncommon picturesqueness 
 and to challenge the interest of those who regard 
 as antiquated his views of the struggle between 
 the people and the privileged classes. It is 
 not only as a literary star of the first bright- 
 ness, but as captain in the battle America has 
 been fighting for more than one century, that 
 Heine claims o-ur sympathies. 
 
 The letters are not literary at all. Always a 
 foe to fine writing in his letters home, Heine was 
 often loose in construction and sometimes un- 
 grammatical, but at the same time his German 
 is racy. They reflect the hopes and needs of 
 the man, his attitude of mind toward money, his 
 wife, household, publishers, friends, enemies and 
 relatives. They are Heine in his well moments 
 seated beneath his vine, making sly fun of Ma- 
 thilde and Cocotte the parrot, or Heine on his 
 invalid's chair, spluttering fiercely against a 
 brother who has blundered while negotiating with 
 old Campe the publisher. Broad wit is not ab- 
 sent, a sort of wit that recalls Rabelais rather
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 than Sterne ; but the editor of these letters has 
 suppressed more than he has allowed to stand. 
 Heine was often the victim of slanderers of the 
 true Germanic sort who invented and garbled 
 with a heavy hand. The letters permit us to 
 light up many an obscure corner and at least ap- 
 proach a separation of fantastic matter from facts 
 in Heine's essays in autobiography. Here and 
 there are keen thrusts like those which have en- 
 deared him to people who can laugh when a 
 hand which is light on the sword-grasp pierces 
 a dullard ; but now and then the same hand is 
 caught swinging a club or hurling a stone, 
 for all the world like a naughty boy in the 
 street. 
 
 In presenting us with the "eternal womanly" 
 Goethe served the world well, but he failed to 
 leave us an equivalent phrase for the " eternal 
 Jewish," a question that is always with us. At 
 a moment when that cheerful practice of the 
 middle ages, Jew-baiting, seems revived in Ger- 
 many, these letters are not inopportune. 
 Nations that call themselves Teutonic make 
 much of home-love and of the constancy of the 
 domestic affections among themselves, which
 
 Vi PREFACE. 
 
 they credit to race; it is therefore well in 
 the case of so conspicuous a genius as Heine 
 to note that his intimate life is a witness to the 
 repute of Jews as husbands, fathers, uncles, sons. 
 It may be that the domestic virtues so clearly 
 and naturally shown in them will do something 
 to disarm the wrath of people who may have 
 good reason to deplore the result of some con- 
 test between Aryan and Semitic wits. 
 
 Yet certain foibles which are so common in 
 Jews that they may be called racial are not want- 
 ing. While striving to gain two chief ends, the 
 certainty of a sufficient pension to allow him to 
 live in Paris, and, later, a support for his wife 
 after his death, he shows in these letters the 
 suppleness, the tendency to quick temper and 
 the readiness for ruthless revenge which many 
 Jews exhibit to-day and for which the Bible is 
 one long precedent. 
 
 If it were not so sad it were almost comical to 
 trace here the methods Heine used in order to 
 bring pressure to bear on his rich uncle Salomon 
 Heine and on that uncle's heir through the 
 poet's mother and sister living in Hamburg ; his 
 way of forcing the publisher to better terms, and
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 his ill-concealed threats to publish what his 
 cousins wished suppressed. There is something 
 ghoulish in Heine hoarding an assortment of 
 family skeletons, to rattle them now and then 
 and so keep his well-to-do relatives alive to the 
 fact that he was not dead yet. 
 
 But against this slipperiness of the poet his 
 love of mother and sister shine all the brighter. 
 There is no underthought here ; here no wires 
 are pulled. The fascination which his genius 
 and sorrowful later life have always exercised 
 is not lessened when we find him striving by 
 an elaborate edifice of lies and mystifications 
 to keep his old mother ignorant of his frightful 
 condition, and then, as soon as he is sufficiently 
 at ease to afford it, presenting sister and nieces 
 with Paris gowns. 
 
 Many things that Aryans attribute to the 
 Jews are not at all racial, but merely common 
 to humanity. It does seem, however, that the 
 peculiar mixture of generosity and meanness 
 reflected from Heine's character in these letters 
 is typical of the race. While poor he was for- 
 ever wailing over his wife's extravagance (my 
 squanderer was the constant nickname he gave
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 her) yet he adored her, was only happy when 
 she was near, labored for her alone and as soon 
 as he had a fair income gave fine gifts to 
 those he loved. 
 
 His will, translated from the French in 
 the appendix, contains a statement of the 
 chief object of his life. This was to work for 
 a removal of the barriers of prejudice between 
 France and Germany, which had been strength- 
 ened by the Napoleonic wars and in nowise 
 weakened by subsequent events. 
 
 That this was not an idea which grew up dur- 
 ing his illness appears from the short sketch of 
 his life which Heine sent to Philarete Chasles 
 in 1835: 
 
 " So far as concerns the Teutomaniacs, those 
 German old women, whose patriotism consists 
 merely in a blind hatred of France, I have pur- 
 sued them with acrimony in all my writings. 
 This is an animosity which dates from the time 
 of the college fraternity (Burschenshaff] to which 
 I belonged." 
 
 Indeed Heine of Diisseldorf as a boy was for 
 many years under the French flag; he had only 
 the most delightful memories of the French oc-
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 cupation and he always admired Napoleon the 
 Great. In this he was by no means alone among 
 Germans. Here we find him using French 
 words and phrases and have his own evi- 
 dence to prove that success in France founded 
 his literary and financial success in Germany. 
 Therefore he was well prepared for the task of 
 reconciling the French and Germans, better pre- 
 pared than Matthew Arnold was at a later date 
 when he tried to soften the rooted dislike of 
 the Briton for the Frank. 
 
 Germans, however, never forgave Heine for the 
 ridicule he cast on them, for the atrocious and 
 often true things he said of them as they were 
 in the earlier half of the present century. The 
 monument in his memory planned for Diisseldorf 
 was not built, although the Empress of Austria, a 
 member of that royal family of Bavaria which 
 he had so virulently lampooned in the person 
 of Ludwig I, was an active patroness of the 
 movement. 
 
 Mr. von Embden, to whom we owe these letters 
 in their present shape, speaks of the unification 
 of Germany as if Heine would have applauded it. 
 But surely ao man would have stood more aghast
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 at a result which puts his hated Prussians in com- 
 mand, continues the existence of kings, prince- 
 lets and Junkerthum, justifies the insolence of 
 professional soldiers and has carried to an extra- 
 ordinary degree the old tension between French- 
 men and Germans. 
 
 Indeed, as we see it now, not the least tragic 
 part of Heine's life is the failure of his work in 
 this regard. But idolized Goethe could not have 
 accomplished that task, much less one whose 
 calm was anything but Olympian, whose pen 
 dropped gall, who was a member of an envied 
 and detested race and whose residence in France 
 gave apparent countenance to charges of cow- 
 ardice and want of patriotism. 
 
 Heine had his own courage and his own pa- 
 triotism ; they were not of a very lofty kind, but 
 are shown in his satires on the Germans. His 
 impish wit, his quick turns to escape the 
 cudgel wielded by the Deutscher Michel are 
 amusing; but to the Michael of Germany 
 it must have seemed that they were meant, 
 not so much to reform him as to amuse his 
 old enemies, the " Franz-hosen," as, with a 
 play upon their supposed love of personal
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 adornment, Michael of Germany loves to call 
 the French. 
 
 The mention of Matthew Arnold will suffice 
 to recall his Essays in Criticism and the appre- 
 ciation he showed of Heine's work in life. He 
 calls the " Romanzero " " a collection of poems 
 written in the first years of his illness with his 
 whole power and charm still in them." But 
 Heine himself, we know now, considered it 
 inferior work produced after his powers had 
 been weakened. Writing to his mother in De- 
 cember 1851 he says: " I assure you it is a very 
 weak book but nobody must say so. I wrote 
 it with my powers broken." Had Matthew 
 Arnold written his essay after the publication 
 of Carlyle's diary, he would have found a parallel 
 between these two singular spirits, their railing, 
 and their unhappy later lives, but also much to 
 serve as contrast ; for Heine was at once poet 
 and clear thinker up to a certain point, while 
 Carlyle was a prose master whose brain was far 
 from clear. Both had points of resemblance 
 in external matters and both attacked hum- 
 bugs to the best of their ability. But it 
 may be said that of the two it was Heine
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 who seems to have had a suspicion that he 
 himself was at times more or less of a hum- 
 bug. He took himself less seriously than 
 Carlyle. 
 
 When we would grapple with the secret of 
 his genius, however, Heine proves evasive. We 
 see him studying English literature, translating 
 Byron, popularizing the chief men and women in 
 Shakspere's plays and catching a distinct whiff of 
 the manner of Lawrence Sterne in his prose. He 
 calls Sterne somewhere the born equal of Shak- 
 spere. We then see him exploring Spanish 
 literature and repeating in German the simple 
 lilt of the old Spanish ballads. But his real 
 attraction does not lie in the colors which he 
 took on so easily and used for his own purpose 
 with so much nctivett and skill. It was not his 
 criticism of pictures or books or philosophy that 
 made people care for his work; it was the 
 peculiar quality of the Weltschmerztinak rose from 
 his verse and prose sweet, but with a sugges- 
 tion of death, like jasmine flowers too long im- 
 prisoned in their box. It is this taint which set 
 Heine apart from other writers and makes him 
 so much relished by thousands who possibly
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 may be at a loss to understand the origin of 
 their pleasure. 
 
 It is true that Heine was not a well man even 
 when young; we perceive that from the letters 
 now published written while at the universities. 
 
 Rewrote to Philarete Chasles in 1835: "My 
 studies, interrupted by romantic moods, by 
 endeavors to establish myself, by love and by 
 other sicknesses were continued from 1819 on at 
 Bonn, at Gottingen and at Berlin. I lived four 
 years and a half in Berlin where I was in friendly 
 relations with the most remarkable men of learn- 
 ing and where I was afflicted with a dagger 
 stroke in the loins given me by a certain Scheller 
 from Dantzic whose name I shall never forget, 
 because he is the only man who has understood 
 how to wound me in the most poignant fashion." 
 
 But the peculiar flavor which is his final charm 
 does not spring from his health, though bad 
 health may have assisted it. Nor can we sup- 
 pose that his love affair in extreme youth with a 
 cousin in Hamburg was the moving cause. We 
 must look to the race of which he is so brilliant 
 an ornament for an explanation that is ade- 
 quate.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Heine was neither a German nor a Frenchman, 
 least of all a Greek as he fondly imagined him- 
 self ; he was a Jew. As such he occupied that 
 position apart which all the European peoples 
 feel the Jews to occupy and which some people 
 openly resent. It is only in this way that the 
 extraordinary phenomena of the present day can 
 be explained Jews detested, feared and perse- 
 cuted in Russia, Jews detested still and feared 
 in Germany, Jews envied if not so generally 
 detested in France. It is unchristian and 
 wrong; it is cowardly if you will, but this atti- 
 tude of large numbers of men in Europe is a fact 
 and a force which were far better acknowledged 
 and faced than explained away by half state- 
 ments. It was this feeling toward the Jews, 
 then and now unaccountably violent in Ger- 
 many, it was this feeling acting on his sensi- 
 tive nerves that gave its peculiar flavor to the 
 Weltschmerz one tastes in Heine's works. 
 
 The Jews are a profoundly uncomfortable peo- 
 ple who, as a race and Heine often pointed it 
 out are far removed from the serenity of the 
 Greeks of the classic period. Circumstances hav- 
 ing to do with their past as well as the present
 
 PREFACE. XV 
 
 force them to seek the towns ; only when 
 necessity compels are they dwellers in country 
 parts. Their nimble wits give them a distinct 
 advantage in crowds ; but it may be noted that 
 in the most favorable circumstances they are the 
 greatest grumblers on earth ; nothing pleases them, 
 or if something should, their keen wit sees some 
 advantage in pretending they are dissatisfied. 
 This is the chief reason, and probably the only 
 reason, for the attempts made in America to ex- 
 clude Jews from certain hotels. The keepers of 
 hotels, used to the long-suffering, abused Chris- 
 tian of our stripe, cannot put up with people who 
 are just the opposite, who are eternally growling 
 and grumbling at prices, the quality of food and 
 service, and are ever looking for their rights. As 
 if our public had any rights ! 
 
 One of the words that occur most frequently 
 in Heine's familiar letters is verdriesslich. He 
 is always out of patience with little things. 
 Yet like his race again he suffered real agony 
 and years of agony with a constancy and pluck 
 that were simply heroic. 
 
 Heine has in his published works a strong 
 feminine element. His letters to the family in
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Hamburg show the trait even more; many 
 sound like the hasty scrawl of a young girl from 
 her boarding school. But this is not saying 
 that he was unmanly; it is merely trying to 
 define the man by bringing a certain trait into 
 relief. 
 
 Heine had many bitter quarrels in his life with 
 members of his family and others, but the bit- 
 terest was with another Jew, Ludwig Borne. The 
 chapters of his book on Borne are among the hap- 
 piest, funniest and most ruthless, nor are Jews 
 by any means the last to enjoy the fun he had 
 at their expense. It was a Jew with whom 
 he fought that duel which was the cause of his 
 marrying, just before the affair, the young French 
 woman with whom he had been living after the 
 fashion of the Quartier Latin. As with his bap- 
 tism, so with his marriage : the laws of the Chris- 
 tians forced him to give up a Pagan wedlock 
 or shall we say an Oriental? and accept the 
 Christian forms. 
 
 His self-centered character, rarely given to ad- 
 miring other writers who were contemporaries, 
 appears in a negative way. Though it is certain 
 he knew Beranger, La Fayette, Victor Hugo,
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 George Sand, Thophile Gautier and the elde 1 * 
 Dumas, we look in vain through these letters 
 for a mention of them. Often one is ready to 
 accuse him of selfish neglect of those at home, so 
 devoid are his letters of descriptions and anec- 
 dotes which, had he taken the trouble to give 
 them, would have proved a godsend to the Ham- 
 burg home. No ; early in life after graduation 
 he seems to have written himself out in that 
 sort of correspondence ; at least we may give 
 him the benefit of the doubt and suppose that 
 the letters home which were burned in Ham- 
 burg's conflagration were of this kind. Later, 
 of course, when a confirmed invalid, it is per- 
 fectly natural that he should have little leisure 
 and indeed little eyesight to amuse his old 
 mother and his sister. 
 
 After reading these letters and the comments 
 of his nephew, sister, brother and niece which 
 have been added here and there, one finds that 
 Heine remains as before a man without a coun- 
 try, a partisan rejected of all political parties, 
 who was not even in the domain of religion 
 either a Christian or Jew or philosopher, and 
 whose one effort to benefit mankind increased
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 rather than lessened the national hatred it 
 sought to remove. 
 
 But then he was a very wonderful poet. Why 
 ask for more ? 
 
 CHARLES DE KAY. 
 
 NEW YORK, January i, 1893. 
 
 Footnotes added by the translator are marked TR., and refer to 
 the popular edition in twelve volumes, Heinrich Heines Sammt- 
 liche Werke ; Bibliothek Ausgabe. Hamburg : Hoffman & Campe.
 
 THE FAMILY LIFE OF 
 
 HEINRICH HEINE 
 
 THE family life of Heinrich Heine has been 
 falsely depicted in various ways and his rela- 
 tions to his nearest kindred have been often woe- 
 fully twisted. Yielding to the wishes of his 
 many admirers and in order that the character of 
 the poet might be estimated with more exactness, 
 my mother, now well on in years, who is the only 
 sister of Heinrich Heine, has laid on me this task. 
 She asks that his letters to the family shall be 
 published during her lifetime, letters which she 
 has guarded hitherto as a precious legacy en- 
 hanced by all the memories of her beloved 
 brother. 
 
 Throughout his entire life apart from his fam- 
 ily Heinrich Heine kept up a regular correspond- 
 ence with his mother and sister, but with his 
 brothers after the emigration to Paris he had
 
 2 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 only the most superficial epistolary connec- 
 tion. 
 
 Born the thirteenth of December 1799 at Diis- 
 seldorf, Heinrich Heine died the seventeenth of 
 February 1856 in Paris, and for these thirty-six 
 years past has lain in his tomb in the cemetery of 
 Montmartre. 
 
 Since the departure of the poet how many 
 things have changed and what tremendous polit- 
 ical revolutions have occurred ! The ideal dreams 
 of the future which he cherished have come true ; 
 gone is that narrow town-provincialism with its 
 vexations and absolutism that so often roused 
 his gibes ; and a newborn Germany has bound to- 
 gether the separate states into a great, powerful 
 nation. 
 
 Heine's satire was never aimed at the ideal, but 
 always at the crude remnants of individualism and 
 religious intolerance, especially at the champions 
 of these survivals who stood out against the im- 
 pulse of the people toward progress. The poet's 
 instinct for freedom and truth inspired him to 
 depict with irony and the shrillest colors the 
 discordant shades of the time and all the con- 
 trasts and contradictions which spring from a
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 3 
 
 narrow view of the world ; he must illumine with 
 his humor the follies of society and relentlessly 
 drive them back into the caves where they were 
 born. 
 
 Heine's enemies feel themselves hurt down 
 to the very present time in their small-souled 
 reactionary views by the work he accomplished 
 so long ago. Purposely ignoring his zeal as a 
 reformer, they judge him according to things as 
 they now exist, and cast suspicion on his pa- 
 triotism. This is a piece of fault-finding all the 
 more unjust, since in his verses and writings the 
 poet often bemoaned his exile and drew a pic- 
 ture of his yearning for Germany : 
 
 Ah, Germany, far-off and dear, 
 I well nigh weep at thoughts of thee ! 
 Meseems that joyous France is drear, 
 Her giddy people weary me.* 
 
 Samson Heine, father of the poet, was born 
 in Hanover in 1765 and came to Diisseldorf in 
 1796; there he learned to know intimately a 
 notable family, the Van Gelderns, and on the 
 sixth of June 1798 he married their daughter 
 
 * See vol. ii. p. So of the edition called the Bibliothek-Ausgabe. 
 For Heine's sketch of his father see vol. v. pp. 289-300. TR.
 
 4 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Betty. From this wedlock sprang three sons, 
 Heinrich, Gustav and Max, and one daughter, 
 Charlotte. 
 
 Samson Heine established his hearth in Diis- 
 seldorf, and it is quite likely that the house 
 in the Volkerstrasse, which bears the marble 
 memorial plaque, indicates correctly the spot 
 where stood the dwelling in which Heine was 
 born. But not a stone remains of the old house, 
 which was built more than a century before ; 
 twice have houses been torn down and rebuilt 
 there. The sister of Heine, when she heard 
 that the tenants of the present house showed to 
 strangers, as the birthplace of Heinrich Heine, 
 two rooms in a rear building in the nature of a 
 stable reached by a narrow ladder for poultry, 
 declared publicly at the time that this part of 
 the house was never used at all by her parents 
 and the poet's cradle could never have stood 
 there. 
 
 After he had passed through the classes of the 
 lyceum at Dusseldorf, the young Heinrich, whose 
 intellectual development even as a boy gave rise 
 to the brightest hopes, was destined by his 
 parents, but against his own inclination, to mer-
 
 FAMIL V LIFE OF HEINRICH HEItfE. 5 
 
 cantile pursuits. After several attempts which 
 showed no results the parents became convinced 
 that he had poor qualifications for this career; 
 then they yielded to his wishes and allowed him 
 to study. Having terminated a course in the 
 "gymnasium" preparatory for college, he en- 
 tered Bonn University toward the end of the 
 year 1819. After a short stay in Oldesloe his 
 family emigrated to Liineburg, and after this pil- 
 grimage his sister received from him the follow- 
 ing letter: 
 
 I 
 
 BONN, March 22, 1820. 
 DEAR LITTLE CHARLOTTE : 
 
 I rely greatly on all my [home] letters. You 
 must write me how all things are with you there 
 [at Liineburg] and just what happened when you 
 left [Oldesloe]. The hall of the Musical Society 
 must have been hung with black crape ; I'm sure 
 that for a fortnight not an allegro was heard 
 there only adagio. And then the streets how 
 dead and alive must they be now ! Did you 
 shed tears when you left ? How did you get on 
 during the journey? Many a night have I sat
 
 6 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 on my wooden chair and mechanically read on 
 in my big, learned books, and all the while my 
 thoughts were wandering about over Liineburg 
 Heath, and were anxiously looking out to see : 
 if perchance your driver were not asleep ; if your 
 wagon were really on the right track ; if your 
 wheel had not broken. 
 
 Are you worthy that I should so love you ? 
 HARRY HEINE, 
 
 stud, juris. 
 
 After staying a year in Bonn, Heinrich went 
 to Gottingen, and the year after sought Berlin, 
 where in 1821 he caused himself to be matric- 
 ulated as student in the university. He read law 
 and finance, but, notwithstanding this somewhat 
 dry work, he remained true to his poetic instincts 
 and produced songs and romances in abundance. 
 His sojourn in Berlin and his intimate relations 
 with the best literary circles of the capital con- 
 tinued to develop his literary activity. His pub- 
 lications soon roused a general sensation, and at 
 this period lies the beginning of his fame as a 
 poet. 
 
 His sister Charlotte, who was staying in Ham-
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 7 
 
 burg at the house of her uncle, engaged herself 
 to Moritz Embden, a merchant of that town,* and 
 as a sequel to a joyous festival held by the 
 family to honor the event, the latter received the 
 following epistle : 
 
 II 
 
 BERLIN, February 2, 1823. 
 DEAR EMBDEN : 
 
 Your letter of the twenty-third of last month 
 has filled me with great joy. I congratulate you 
 on the engagement to my sister. Although the 
 news agitates me very much, certainly far more 
 than anyone could have suspected, yet it did not 
 come upon me as a " singular whim of fate "; 
 rather did it seem to me a fact of which I had 
 long been aware, and indeed known many 
 years ago, but one which I had gradually forgot 
 during the storms of life within me and without. 
 
 I hope that you and my sister will be a happy 
 pair, since Lotta is perfectly capable of feeling 
 the worth of your character, and since you also 
 understand how to appreciate the character of my 
 
 * Moritz Embden, born 1790, died 1866, left one son and two 
 daughters.
 
 8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 sister. Moreover, you will certainly not esteem 
 too much, as occurs in our fine, overcultured 
 world, a one-sided predominance in a woman of 
 intellect, or of heart, or of body ; if I judge you 
 aright, you will certainly recognize true culture 
 only in a beautiful balance of all the attributes 
 of the soul and recognize real lovableness in a 
 harmony of soul and body. My little Lotta 
 is music all proportion and harmony ... a 
 brother need not forbear to utter such senti- 
 ments to the bridegroom. 
 
 The political portion of your letter has pleased 
 me much. I am glad that the future husband 
 of my sister is not a revolutionist. Moreover, I 
 find it most natural that a man who is & son aise 
 and a happy bridegroom too, should not desire the 
 fall of existing forms, and is anxious about his 
 quiet and that of Europe. Other circumstances 
 govern me, and besides, I feel a little queer when- 
 ever I read by chance in the papers that a few 
 people have frozen to death on the streets of 
 London, a few persons have starved to death in 
 the streets of Naples. Still, though I'm a 
 Radical in England and a Carbonaro in Italy, 
 I do not belong to the demagogues in Germany,
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 9 
 
 for the entirely fortuitous and insufficient reason 
 that upon the victory of these people a few 
 thousand Jewish necks and just the best ones 
 of all would be promptly sliced off. 
 
 Meantime let our views upon the events of 
 the day be as sharply separated as they will, 
 or even quite opposed to each other, I am never- 
 theless convinced that this will not exercise in 
 the slightest degree an unfriendly pressure on 
 our friendship as near relatives, which even at 
 a distance (for a sullen dislike will always keep 
 me away from Hamburg) will often brighten, 
 teach and rest me by genial sympathy, intelli- 
 gent explanations and loving stimulation ; for I 
 live ever out of sorts and in the midst of error 
 and battle. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 BERLIN, May 3, 1823. 
 DEAR EMBDEN: 
 
 I have your letter of April 28 all right and 
 hasten to fulfill your desire to see my tragedies 
 at the same time that I have the honor to 
 send you the inclosed copy as a proof of my
 
 10 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 regard. May the booklet find a welcome in your 
 home and may the ethical bases of the matter 
 not be ignored by you ! You shall read in this 
 book how men perish and races of men, and 
 yet how this destruction is caused and controlled 
 by a higher necessity and has been purposely 
 arranged by Providence for great objects and 
 aims.* The true poet does not give the history 
 of his own times, but that of all times, and for 
 that reason a true poem is also ever a mirror of 
 the present. 
 
 One of these days I'm going to Liineburg, 
 but at this moment I am very malade and 
 write these lines suffering the most awful 
 pains. 
 
 I send you hearty greeting. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Soon after the marriage of his sister, which 
 took place June 22, 1823, Heine went to Ritze- 
 bttttel for his health in order to take sea baths in 
 Cuxhaven, because he had contracted nervous 
 headaches through overwork. 
 
 * Heine's " William Ratcliff," a tragedy in one act (1822).
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1 1 
 
 IV 
 
 RlTZEBUTTEL, July 28, 1823. 
 
 DEAR LOTTA: 
 
 Here I am ! Can't say more owing to wretched 
 health. I shall take the whole cure here. About 
 the first days of September I shall be through 
 with it. If a letter comes for me, send it to me 
 addressed H. Heine from Berlin, lodging at the 
 Harmony in Ritzebuttel. There are few people 
 here, triste and ennuyant. And everything fright- 
 fully dear. I pay out daily more than six marks, 
 and it's impossible to get along cheaper. Notify 
 mother where I am. Greetings to Moritz and to 
 all who ask after me. 
 
 If you can write me something to brighten me, 
 do let me hear ! 
 
 Your loving brother 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Sea baths did Heine's health good, and after 
 a short stay in Hamburg at his sister's house 
 he went on to Luneburg for a visit of a few 
 months to his parents.
 
 12 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 V 
 
 LUNEBURG, September 15, 1823. 
 DEAR BROTHER-IN-LAW AND SISTER: 
 
 Yesterday evening I reached here sound and 
 well, and have found my dear parents sound and 
 well also. 
 
 I left Hamburg at one o'clock good weather 
 and a quick passage. Here is the same old 
 grumpy Liineburg, seat of boredom ! Little Ami* 
 was quite beside himself with joy ! Mother was 
 not a little frightened, dear Lotta, when she 
 learned of your mishap. I told her that her last 
 letter with good counsel came too late, and that 
 although time is lost her grandmotherly hopes 
 would still be fulfilled. I had to tell a lot about 
 you ; that you can readily suppose. The thumb- 
 screws were put to me in proper fashion ! I have 
 given a description of your maidservant to mother 
 and she counsels you, dear Lotta, not to get rid 
 of this girl ; when you got the third maid you 
 would begin to regret the first. You can scarcely 
 imagine, dear Lotta, how much mother thinks 
 
 *A lap dog of which Heine was fond. See verses to a 
 Mopschen, vol i. p. 233. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 13 
 
 about you, day and night ! She is surprised that 
 you have become violent and believes that it 
 comes from your way of living, from the spiced 
 and fat dishes. 
 
 I could not tell them enough as to your appear- 
 ance. With delight I was able to tell, dear 
 Embden, that you love my sister with all your 
 heart, always taking pains for her, supporting 
 her foibles, bearing in manly fashion her little 
 caprices, willingly dispensing with your own 
 whims and always showing yourself a trusty 
 husband. Verily, my friends, I reckon as noth- 
 ing your little skirmishes ; that is omnipresent ; 
 the loftiest moment of wedlock is a battle 
 and even a bloody one. It really means noth- 
 ing if the wife shows her teeth, so long as the 
 teeth are nice and white ; if she sheds tears, so 
 long as they become her; and if she stamps 
 angrily with her feet, so long as they are sweetly 
 small. And what is more blissful than forgive- 
 ness ? And Moritz is so kind-hearted ! 
 
 Yes, dear Embden, your heart is, 'tis true, full 
 of corners, but it is sound, and as to the rest of 
 your character I had to admire and love it more 
 and more, although its angularities are uncom-
 
 14 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 
 
 mon and my character is quite otherwise planned. 
 I hope that in the future we shall come nearer 
 together in all geniality, and that you too may 
 find out and recognize the good which often lies 
 hidden away in me. I have already given you 
 proof that I trust you for possessing in prac- 
 tical life a clear and true view ; perhaps some 
 day you will discover that in the ideal life, 
 namely, wherever it is a question of ideas, I have 
 eyes no less sharp and true. At a needful moment 
 you have been very useful to me through your 
 penetration and I am very grateful for it. I must 
 give you good thanks besides for the good soups 
 that I have eaten at your board, the many good 
 glasses of wine I have drunk with you, and the man- 
 ifold favors which you have so kindly shown me ! 
 Keep me in happy remembrance ! Greet heart- 
 ily all friends. Fare ye well and keep in affection 
 
 Your trusty 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 VI 
 
 LUNEBURG, October 12, 1823. 
 DEAR LOTTA: 
 
 Your dear little letter of October 7 duly 
 received last week and sufficiently kissed. Every.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 15 
 
 thing you write is so dainty one would say the 
 most skillful pastry cook had modeled it. Write 
 to me often ; each time you give me pleasure 
 thereby. We are all in the best of health. 
 Mother and father are well. Gustav was in good 
 condition only too good. Little Max, the big 
 pedant, is industrious. But he's orderly never- 
 theless, and we need fear nothing on his account. 
 We have a new cook ; the which is most sassy. 
 I advise you to keep your maidservant. My 
 head does better every day. How can you be- 
 lieve that I am not purposing to carry out the 
 prescribed plan of reading law ? I love you 
 beyond all words and yearn for the moment 
 when I can see you again, since there is no per- 
 son in the world in whose company I am of better 
 spirits than in that of my sister. We understand 
 each other so perfectly; we alone have sense; and 
 the rest of the world is clean crazed ! Write me 
 lots, whatever news there is in your place. Be 
 careful of your health ; this bustling round is not 
 wholesome for you. Be yielding to your hus- 
 band ; he is in verity a thoroughly kind fellow. 
 We two differ in this regard : in his head the 
 screws are turned too tightly, and in mine they
 
 16 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 are screwed too loosely. I have just received the 
 address for the books; Jan goes to fetch them. 
 It is very borous here, but I am pleased. 
 Farewell and keep me in affection. 
 
 Thy faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 VII 
 
 LUNEBURG, November 7, 1823. 
 DEAR LOTTA: 
 
 You are certainly angry with me ! And still I 
 would not write to you to-day except that I 
 must send you the ticket list which I forgot 
 to place with the books. Send me some more 
 books soon. And after all, what were there to 
 to write ? How we live you know well enough. 
 
 I am much honored here. Especially am I 
 often in society at Superintendent Christiani's ; 
 Dr. Christiani has made me famous in all 
 Liineburg and my verses circulate ! At the 
 same time I am always trying to withdraw from 
 society; my headaches, which will not disappear, 
 and my law studies occupy me too much. 
 
 There is no culture here ; I believe there is a 
 lightning rod for culture on the town house,
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1 7 
 
 But the people are not so bad. Often do I think 
 of you, kindly, darling, transparent child ! How 
 often I yearn to kiss your little alabaster paws ! 
 Love me just as hard as you know how ! 
 
 What you write about Methfessel* pleases me 
 highly. Remember me heartily to him. I wish 
 I could hear my songs sung. I must see to it, 
 anyhow, that I get Klein's music to them. We 
 are all in good case. Farewell, sweet little doll 
 of crystal ! Knit me a pair of woolen slippers. 
 Thy brother, who loves thee, 
 
 HARRY HEINE. 
 
 VIII 
 
 LiJNEBURG, December 8, 1823. 
 DEAR LITTLE SOUL : 
 
 I have not written you for a long time, because 
 I have been ever waiting for an answer to my 
 last letter. I ought not to have minded that, and 
 written all the same ; still I have a good excuse. 
 Moreover I am in too vile a mood to say any- 
 thing gay, and you know that when I have my 
 black hour on I never permit myself to be seen 
 
 * For a short notice of Albert Methfessel, composer, written 
 1823, see vol. xii. p. 119. TR,
 
 1 8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 by you. You must always see me in the rosiest 
 light and must love me well. Ah, how delighted 
 I am with the news that you are soon to be here ! 
 I hear you already : yow, yow ! In thought I kiss 
 the sweet tones of your voice. 
 
 I shall be glad also to see Moritz. I have to 
 like him when I hear that he loves you so much 
 as father tells and cannot finish telling. How 
 splendid it is, now that you two have learned to 
 bear with each other's weak sides ! Mutual for- 
 bearance, allowances and understanding lay the 
 foundations of a good marriage. Moritz will 
 know well enough how to treat such a dear, 
 fragile, pretty and lively toy as you are. 
 
 I hope you are in good health, dear Lotta. Be 
 quite sure that always I think of you. Don't 
 I know well enough that the good Lord intends 
 that all men shall kiss your hands ? That I be- 
 lieve ; that is my religion. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 IX 
 
 LUNEBURG, December 26, 1823. 
 DEAR LOTTA : 
 
 Tis a wrong that cries to heaven that I don't 
 get a line under my eyes from you. How are
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 19 
 
 you living how are you getting on? O how 
 I suffered to have to leave without having, 
 sweetest creature, seen you again spoken to 
 you kissed you ! 
 
 All the morning I've been racking my brains 
 whether it would be one or two ringers that I'd 
 be glad to sacrifice in order to be able to live a 
 few years in your neighborhood. I would come 
 to Hamburg to say good-by to you if I did not 
 have to run the moral gauntlet there past too 
 big a crowd of acquaintances. 
 
 Write me now and then after I reach Got- 
 tingen. Your letters have exactly the stamp of 
 your neat, pretty soul, and are veritable bon- 
 bons for my heart ! Thoughts of you, dear 
 sister, will often hold me erect when the great 
 herd of mankind crushes me with their stupid 
 hatred and loathsome love. 
 
 My greetings for the new year ! Congratula- 
 tions to Moritz also ; I will write him from Got- 
 tingen. Here I have nothing to report to him 
 and he is too good a fellow for a commonplace 
 letter with obligatory watering. Do, pray, con- 
 gratulate them in my name when you are at 
 Uncle Salomon Heine's. Remember also me to
 
 20 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Henry Heine, together with the entire Henriade. 
 And if it is not too much trouble, give my re- 
 gards to all the Embdens. 
 
 But before all things fare you well and hold 
 me fast in affection. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 X 
 
 LUNEBURG, January 9, 1824. 
 DEAR SMALL PERSON: 
 
 To-day I am not off, but to-morrow I journey, 
 if in the meantime my shirts are dry and if the 
 letter arrives which I expect from Berlin. You 
 know from the Hamburg experiences that I 
 readily stick fast wherever I may be. But to- 
 day a week the gates and human faces of 
 Luneburg must be behind me. Separation 
 from the parents will come hard. We declaim 
 your little piece with trumpet accompaniment : 
 Calypso ne pouvait se consoler du depart d" Ulysse. 
 Do you ever think, small Frenchwoman, of that 
 Te'le'maque period? 
 
 How delighted were I to kiss once more your 
 charming cat's paws before I leave this part of 
 the world! Departure from little Ami will
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 2t 
 
 also be hard. Truly this small beast has made 
 many an hour bright. Every evening when I 
 read, the trig little creature sits on my shoulder 
 and always begins to bark when we reach 
 a fine passage in the book. Little Ami has 
 more wisdom and feeling than all the German 
 philosophers and poets. 
 
 I greatly rejoiced at your letter of the thirty- 
 first of December. Heartily did I laugh at your 
 literary dilemma. Write me often. That I am 
 at work on a tragedy, as people have informed 
 you, is not quite correct. 
 
 The fact is, I have not written a line of it, and 
 the piece so far exists only in my head, where 
 many another piece and a lot more good volumes 
 are lying ready. Till now I have been too ill to 
 write anything and the few hours of health I 
 have are devoted to my studies. In truth it is 
 still seed time with me ; but I hope for a good 
 harvest. I try to assimilate the most varied 
 knowledge, and shall for that reason evince my- 
 self all the more cultivated and many-sided an 
 author. The poet is only a small part of me ; I 
 think you have known me long enough to under- 
 stand that. Your counsel to let many deaths
 
 22 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 
 
 occur in my tragedy has my attention. Good 
 Lord, I wish I could let all my enemies come to 
 a bad end in it.* 
 
 Greet Moritz from me many thousand times. 
 Reiterate the assurance of my friendship. Who- 
 ever loves my wee, small Lotta, him also do I 
 love. Besides, I am really a great admirer of 
 Archenholtz.f 
 
 I hope, dear Lotta, you will see that many nice 
 letters reach me in Gottingen ; each one of them 
 brightens up my soul. Everything that you write 
 is so nice and clear; like a burnished mirror 
 every line shows me your excellent natural 
 temperament. 
 
 Farewell, and hold me in affection. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 XI 
 
 G6TTINGEN, January 31, 1824. 
 DEAR, SWEET SISTER : 
 
 I hope that these lines will find you in perfect 
 health. So far as I am concerned I am getting 
 
 *For Heine's humorous claim to modesty in wishes see vol xii 
 P- I93- TR. 
 
 t Perhaps an allusion to Jos. Wilh. Archenholtz, author of 
 works on England, Italy, the Seven Years' War, etc., who died 
 near Hamburg in 1812., TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 23 
 
 on better than before. I think Liineburg must 
 have a bad air : hardly a single hour of health 
 did I enjoy there. The people, it is true, did 
 everything to make the nest agreeable, espe- 
 cially at the last. I finished the journey with no 
 very remarkable events. Liineburg Heath is 
 one-third of eternity and bored me quite 
 enough and through weariness of spirit I made 
 rhymes yes, rhymes to you, which perhaps some 
 day I may let you see. They are only a couple of 
 stanzas. But I love you and think ever of you. 
 
 I passed three days in Hanover and got ac- 
 quainted there with a beautiful lady and was 
 most agreeable no other than I ! In my jour- 
 ney hither from Hanover I had bad weather ; it 
 snowed as if all the heavenly armies were shaking 
 their feather beds down on me, and what is more, 
 I sat in a half-open side coach near the master- 
 at-arms, whose crimson-red mantle gradually 
 turned to ermine. And I thought of you and I 
 let it snow in the name of God, and when trara, 
 trara, the postilion on the post wagon rattled 
 past, my heart was much moved and I thought : 
 that boy certainly has letters which will reach 
 Hamburg in three days, and I envied the letters.
 
 24 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 I came to Gottingen while I slept. What 
 does that omen mean ? 
 
 The next morning as I leaned out of the win- 
 dovv of the tavern I saw my old bootblack pass 
 and called him up. In comes the whimsical fel- 
 low without uttering a word, and brushes my 
 clothes and boots without speaking a word, and 
 does not show the slightest surprise at my being 
 away from Gottingen for three years ; my old 
 orders that he must never speak in my presence 
 and never ask a question have never been for- 
 gotten. 
 
 I have few acquaintances here and the 
 professors are not particularly fond of me, be- 
 cause when I was rusticated here I sent cards 
 of farewell in a mocking tone to the members 
 of the Academical Senate. 
 
 I'm up to the neck in juristic studies and 
 things roll along. I found it a bit of luck that, 
 although I have come in the middle of a term, I 
 can hear a good deal on subjects for which I 
 have not come too late. 
 
 Farewell, beauteous lady, and keep me in 
 happy memory and write me oft. My address is 
 H. Heine, cand. juris, on the Rothenstrasse at
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 25 
 
 Widow Brandissen's in Gottingen. Greet all 
 acquaintances for me and write how everything 
 looks and whether the tarts have come out good 
 this year. If you cook or bake anything, put it 
 aside for me until I get round to see you. But 
 you yourself are more dear to me than all the 
 tarts on this globe, not excepting even lemon 
 tarts ! 
 
 I would like to write you more, but it is too 
 dusky in my brains and anyhow I could not 
 express at all how heartily devoted to you is 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XII 
 
 GOTTINGEN, March 30, 1824. 
 DEAR LOTTA : 
 
 I have received your and Moritz's letter all 
 right and seen with pleasure that you are both 
 well and in a happy frame of mind. Tell Moritz 
 I am very glad to hear that he remembers me in 
 kindness and that I shall write to him before 
 long. Nor shall I give you, dear Lotta, a real 
 and actual reply to-day ; the purpose of this 
 letter is merely to inform you that I propose to
 
 26 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 
 
 make a flying trip to Berlin this week in order 
 to pass there a part of the present vacation ; that 
 presently I am sure to be able to write something 
 more interesting and that if you wish to have 
 anything done for you in Berlin, you must write 
 it out for me at length, directing H. Heine from 
 Dusseldorf, care of M. Friedlander & Co., on the 
 new Friedrichstrasse, No. 47 in Berlin. 
 
 The reason for this trip is composed of a 
 thousand little by- reasons ; amusement is certainly 
 the least of them all. Meantime the movement 
 and the change in such a trip is very good for my 
 head. I hope, dear Lotta, that you too are in 
 good health and love me still. My Muse is fur- 
 ished with a muzzle so as not to bother me with 
 her melodies while threshing the straw of jurispru- 
 dence. Yet not so long ago I sent off a cyclus 
 of little poems for Der Gesellschafter* and gave 
 orders that they should send two copies to you 
 in Hamburg and I want you to give one copy to 
 Uncle Henry. Don't forget this. And be so 
 good as to say to Uncle Henry that his letter 
 reached me and the credit was paid me all right. 
 As you may imagine, you must do this at once 
 * A widely read periodical published by Professor Gubitz.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 27 
 
 and may add that I am on a journey and will 
 for that reason write later on. Don't forget 
 this either, by the soul of you ! because Uncle 
 Henry has shown me much kindness and favor 
 and I owe him much gratitude. 
 
 Yesterday I had a letter from Liineburg and 
 heard that Theresa Heine* had been sick of the 
 smallpox and was convalescent. Tell me if she 
 suffered much. It would pain me greatly. 
 Send my best regards to that dear maid as well 
 as to the rest of the clan. 
 
 As to my health I am still unable to boast a 
 great deal, but it will do. I am in a tide of 
 correspondence with Liineburg and write often. 
 You know it gives father and mother pleasure 
 and a double pleasure to dear father, because he 
 goes for the letters himself. Of you, dear, sweet 
 wifelet, I think constantly ; would I could see you 
 in your present rounded shape ! Already there 
 stirs in me the suspicion of avuncular feelings, 
 and I am on tenterhooks whether I shall get a 
 nephew or a niece. O what a happy man will 
 Moritz be when he hears the first cry of the 
 child ! How it will smell of cookies in mamma's 
 
 * Youngest daughter of Salomon Heine for whom the poet has 
 been accused of Cousinenschwarmerei. See note p. 137. TR.
 
 28 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 house ! Everybody will be delighted and bustle 
 about, and in the first moment Aunt Jette* will 
 not know whether she has become an aunt or 
 really a great-aunt. 
 
 But in order that all these things come to pass 
 take care of yourself, dear child, and keep in 
 
 affection 
 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XIII 
 
 GOTTINGEN, May 8, 1824. 
 BELOVED SISTER: 
 
 All I'll do to-day is to notify you that I have 
 reached Gottingen again sound and well and 
 that I expect to get from you a letter full of 
 particulars as to how you are. Everything else 
 is side-issue I only want to know how you feel. 
 When do you expect to be delivered ? Now do 
 you perceive what a good thing it is to have 
 learned to add and subtract ? Spare yourself in 
 all things, do not run much, don't eat trash, or 
 else your child will be a nibbler of sweets, and 
 also do not read any verses, or else the child you 
 bear will be a poet which may well be called a 
 
 * The wife of Henry Heine was the sister of Moritz Embden.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 29 
 
 great piece of bad luck. I forgot your present 
 condition ; otherwise I should never have sent 
 you the thirty-three songs. 
 
 My trip up to Berlin was made in bad weather; 
 it was cold and snowed horribly. The journey 
 back was much better, in fine weather and forty- 
 eight hours so swiftly flies the lightning post ! * 
 
 It was most surprising to see the Harz Moun- 
 tains, which I had left covered with snow, already 
 clad in the most genial of spring verdure. It was 
 in the Harz indeed that I saw a lady who looked 
 very like you in features and in general appearance. 
 
 It was this way. I drove from Stollberg to 
 Harzgerode over a tall, snow-clad hill, where the 
 coach threatened every moment to upset a per- 
 ilous, dreary ride. Now about midnight when 
 we reached the posthouse at Harzgerode we 
 found the waiting room half full of passengers 
 who had come, some of them by other post 
 coaches, others by special coach, and there they 
 were, drinking coffee, putting their furs off and 
 on, quarreling in loud voices with the postmaster, 
 
 * At that time the first lightning post coaches were introduced 
 into Germany through the efforts of the Prussian postmaster- 
 general von Nagler.
 
 30 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 cursing the weather and making faces like the 
 day after a debauch. 
 
 Near the stove, which was not particularly 
 warm, sat a marvelous-lovely woman who seemed 
 exceeding distinguished, but, alas, most dis- 
 gusted and she looked precisely as you do when 
 you are in a cantankerous mood ! Why, she 
 looked like cantankerousness itself when she 
 learned from our postilion that the road to Stoll- 
 berg was so vile ; and a dainty gentleman in a 
 magnificent fur coat, who wound wheedling about 
 her in an anxious deprecatory way, watching for 
 her slightest nod, had to support the entire flood 
 of her grumpiness. Half crying, half scolding, 
 she said to him : " Why did you not kill me out- 
 right before it came to this? Didn't you know 
 that I am sick ? " and so forth. 
 
 I tried as well as I could tc comfort the angry 
 lady and warbled, 
 
 O, what pleasure travel brings ! 
 
 from "Jean de Paris." When she heard that, the 
 sweetest little melancholy smile crossed her 
 pretty, vexed countenance ; she rowed with less 
 violence that wretched, natty gentleman in the fur
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 31 
 
 coat, and when presently the latter offered her 
 his arm and led her gracefully to the coach, she 
 turned again and again to me with farewell bows ; 
 she sighed and warbled, 
 
 O, what pleasure travel brings ! 
 
 To-day these words have been ringing in my 
 ears the entire morning and so I have told you 
 the adventure. But should I talk about Berlin I 
 would not be so quickly done. Only this much 
 will I say, that I am still held in sufficient love 
 and respect by the people there. They wondered 
 not a little moreover that through love of work 
 I should select for my abode wearisome Gottingen 
 instead of fascinating Berlin. And people won- 
 dered still more that I was able to leave at the 
 proper time in order not to be late for lectures 
 here in Gottingen. In Berlin I passed many a 
 charming hour and absorbed much spiritual stir 
 and refreshment, and assuredly this journey was 
 in every respect useful to me. 
 
 Thanks, dearest Lotta, for your kindness in 
 carrying out my commission with Uncle Henry ; 
 you would make me grateful again if once more 
 you would give my greeting to kind Uncle
 
 32 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINR1CH HEINE. 
 
 Henry. For in the restless agitation in which I 
 have been inwardly and outwardly up till the 
 present moment I was not able to reach the point 
 of writing to our kind uncle ; so it is important 
 for me that he should learn I did not stay too 
 long in Berlin and that the trip was healthful to 
 body and soul. 
 
 Just now I feel better than I have known 
 myself for a year and a day. If it is possible, I 
 shall write to-day to Liineburg. How is Uncle 
 Salomon Heine ? I was not a little scared when 
 I heard not long ago that everybody at Uncle 
 Heine's was so ill. Thank God they are in 
 good health again ! I am glad that I did not 
 know it before. I beg you to write me the 
 particulars, how they are now. My address is 
 H. Heine, stud, juris from Dusseldorf in Gott- 
 ingen. 
 
 My regards to Moritz ; part of this letter is 
 meant for him ; I think of him often and with 
 pleasure. Write to me soon and keep me in 
 affection. You cannot possibly believe how 
 heartily I love you ! 
 
 Thy brother, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 33 
 
 XIV 
 
 G6TTINGEN, August 9, 1824. 
 
 DEAR FATHER MORITZ : 
 
 I cannot utter to you the delight I felt in 
 mother's lines and your postscript ! I congratu- 
 late you on the coming of the sweet little 
 daughterlet and trust that she will become a 
 copy of her sweet little mother. Day and night 
 was I forced to think of our dear Lotta ; my 
 thoughts were ever at the Neuenwall in one of 
 the dainty rooms. For some time, dear Moritz, 
 I have observed that you are discovering day by 
 day more exactly the secret, how one can live 
 happy with our dear Lotta and make her a happy 
 woman. I knew well enough that so clever and 
 honest a man as you are would end by getting 
 to the bottom of the secret, just as I knew that 
 so dear a child as our Lotta would always show 
 herself lovable and childishly docile, if a per- 
 son only treated her properly ; in fact, like an 
 adored child. 
 
 Now a new bond has knit you together in 
 union and happiness ; the sweet creature to 
 whom you two have given life will be a fresh
 
 34 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 source of new gladness and love. And I too, 
 Moritz, am bound closer to you through a fresh 
 family chain : your daughter is my niece. May 
 Heaven keep in good health both the beings 
 whom we love so much, mother and daughter ! 
 
 So far as I am concerned, my health gets on 
 better all the while ; very slowly to be sure. I 
 am exclusively occupied with my law studies 
 and think of taking a degree in January. I am 
 quite certain that in a few years my headaches 
 will vanish and that then I shall be able better 
 than now to work hard and to live. 
 
 To my sweetest Lotta I send the heartiest 
 greetings. I cannot tell her enough how sweet 
 and delightsome her last letter was. I kissed 
 every line, and then read again and kissed once 
 more. I beg you to congratulate Lotta in my 
 name and kiss her hand. 
 
 If possible I shall write to-day to our dear 
 mother. How she must rejoice ! I have guests 
 here just now, namely Brother Max, who is with 
 me on a visit. We can never reach the end of 
 our talks about you two. I send my congratula- 
 tions to your mother and brothers. 
 
 I beg you not to give the child a " precious "
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINKICH HEINE. 35 
 
 name ; give her a simple, genuine German one. 
 Fare ye well and hold me in affection. 
 I am, 
 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XV 
 
 GOTTINGEN, May u, 1825. 
 DEAR BROTHER-IN-LAW : 
 
 You have real occasion to be very angry with 
 me and I really do not know how I can excuse 
 my long silence. The only thing I shall put for- 
 ward is that I have failed to write neither from 
 neglect nor indifference. I am always thinking 
 of my sister and consequently of all things con- 
 nected with her and consequently of my brother- 
 in-law. But I love you too well to embitter an 
 hour of your time with long descriptions of the 
 miserable situation of a sickly, grumpy man, 
 plagued by God and the world. Certainly you 
 are too dear to me to write you empty words 
 or perchance lies ! So then, let a kind brother- 
 in-law and his small wife forgive my long 
 silence. 
 
 But now I am able to write you ; my health im-
 
 36 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 proves it was very wretched and at the same 
 time the clouds raise a little from my outer 
 life. 
 
 All the past winter I dug -away at jurispru- 
 dence without let up, and so last week was in 
 condition to take the examination of doctor of 
 laws, which I passed in fine shape. This is the 
 capital point with regard to degree taking ; all the 
 rest for example, disputation is empty form 
 and scarcely worthy of mention. So practically 
 I am a doctor, and it has no longer an ironical 
 effect when you call me that in your letters. 
 But I shall not dispute for six weeks to come, be- 
 cause in the first place there's no hurry, as I shall 
 remain here till Michaelmas, and in the second 
 I want to finish writing my disputation. This is 
 the best news I can impart everything else is 
 still in the dark. You can easily explain to 
 yourself moreover why I spare you the facts 
 concerning my external affairs which, as with 
 everybody, depend on economical conditions. 
 People may complain as they will of my folly and 
 chaotic state, but I know that I think and act as 
 befits my inner self-respect. Dear Moritz, I have 
 my well established jury for whatever I do but
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 37 
 
 this jury is not yet assembled to act as the 
 judge over me. Merchants are scarcely apt to 
 be among them. 
 
 I hope that this letter finds you sound and 
 gay. As I hear that Lotta is about to journey 
 to Liineburg, I shall write to the dear little wife 
 there. Kiss for small Marilet ! How curious I 
 am to see her ! 
 
 Whether I shall establish myself in Hamburg ? 
 That is known to the gods who created hunger. 
 I shall not settle down there without being 
 provided with bread for a couple of years. Mean- 
 time on my side everything will be done ; bap- 
 tized * and a DOCTOR JURIS, and 'tis hoped in 
 good health, I shall presently arrive in Hamburg. 
 I would not write you all this if you had not often 
 asked to know. 
 
 Fare ye well ; keep me in love, and be assured 
 that from my heart I am 
 
 Your devoted brother-in-law, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 * At that period no Jew could receive a degree at law, or prac- 
 tice. It was customary for Jews like Heine, on whom their spe- 
 cial religion lay very slack, to pronounce the formulas of Christian 
 baptism like that of taking a degree, holding that the shame lay 
 with those who baptized. TR.
 
 3 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 XVI 
 
 G6TTINGEN, July 31, 1825. 
 
 DEAR LOTTA: 
 
 I have heard from father that you left the 
 flowery meads of Liineburg long ago and find 
 yourself once more in Hamburg the blessed. 
 So far as I am concerned, as you see, I am still 
 in that learned cowstable Gottingen, where I 
 disputed in public on the twentieth of the 
 present month for the degree of doctor of laws. 
 They must have sent you this piece of news from 
 Liineburg. I thought you were there, otherwise 
 I should have written to you before. 
 
 I have asked Max to send my theses'* from 
 Berlin to Moritz ; I should have written him by 
 this had I considered it worth while to make 
 much talk about the winning of a doctor's 
 degree. 
 
 Greet Moritz heartily for me, and if you are 
 
 * The Latin disquisition by H. Heine contained contentions 
 on the following subjects: i. The husband is master of the dowry. 
 2. The creditor must produce a receipt. 3. All judicial acts are 
 to be performed in public. 4. No binding duty springs from an 
 oath. 5- Among the Romans confarreatio was the most ancient 
 form of legal wedlock.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 39 
 
 certain he is no blab, say to him that I am now 
 
 not only a Doctor Juris, but also .* 
 
 Yesterday it rained just as it did six weeks ago. 
 When the longest day occurred a little while ago 
 I thought of the Zollenspiker f at Hamburg, and 
 solemnized the occasion with perspiration and 
 thoughts of you two. 
 
 For the last two years you have known our 
 Moritz quite intimately enough to tell whether 
 he can keep his mouth shut and so forth. Day 
 before yesterday I ate fine strawberries ; they lay 
 most sweetly on the sugar and I duly covered 
 them well up. 
 
 I don't know how long I shall remain here, and 
 whether I shall not within the next few days 
 leave town and make another trip afoot. In any 
 case I shall be in Liineburg the middle of Sep- 
 tember in order to see the parents, and thence my 
 
 way leads to I really do not yet know if it 
 
 will be possible for me to stick fast in Hamburg. 
 To be sure, I do not feel so badly off in health 
 any more ; thank God, my constitution is stronger 
 
 * Play upon Heine's baptism into the Lutheran Church, June 
 28, 1825. 
 
 f Where the wedding of his sister was celebrated.
 
 40 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 than it was ; but I am still enough of a sick man 
 to think more about the present than the future. 
 In no circumstances shall I come to Ham- 
 burg if means of subsistence are not assured me 
 beforehand. 
 
 If this is not the case, then provisionally I 
 choose Berlin, where there are more chances of 
 gain open to me at once. If only I could have 
 have the consciousness, dear Lotta, that you are 
 contented with me, and perceive that on my part 
 I have done everything by which I believed it 
 possible to arrange to live in your beloved neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Be assured that no pleasure, no champagne, 
 no theater, no tickling of vanity and no glance 
 from lovely woman were so much to my heart 
 as a cozy, gossipy stay with you, dear, lovable 
 child! You know well enough howl am how 
 livable, how docile and contented with little! 
 You and two other stately ladies know that very 
 well and understand how to value it. 
 
 I beg you to walk a great deal lest you get 
 too fat ! I pray you do not become a Ham- 
 burg woman ! Greet and kiss for me your little 
 girl. And write me soon. Just send the letters
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 41 
 
 to Liineburg ; I will write to father as soon as I 
 leave, to say whither he shall send them. 
 
 Remember me to our Gustav, at last in Ham- 
 burg for good and all. I send inclosed the theses 
 on which I disputed, which you may impart 
 to Gustav or to any other learned person you 
 please. 
 
 Farewell, and keep me in affection. 
 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 The frontispiece is one little known and was 
 drawn by a friend of Heine's youth, during his 
 first stay in Gottingen. It was held in high 
 honor by his sister owing to the strong resem- 
 blance ; the youthful bust carved by Professor 
 Herter in 1890 at Berlin is very like it. 
 
 At this period my mother depicted her brother 
 as follows : " His appearance was more youthful 
 than his age would lead one to expect ; he was 
 without beard until his incurable illness began ; 
 the delicate, almost maiden-like features of his 
 pale, oval face were set in a background of light 
 brown hair. His mouth would twist itself in a 
 satirical smile when he repeated a joke or wit-
 
 42 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 ticism, and the grayish blue eyes, at other 
 times somewhat dull, began to sparkle. Of 
 medium stature and always elegantly clad, his 
 whole being expressed an aristocratic something. 
 He was always very active and industrious and 
 went regularly to lectures. The habits of stu- 
 dents never had his sympathy ; he did not smoke, 
 drank no beer, very little wine, and although 
 member of a Burschenschaft, avoided all nocturnal 
 banquets." 
 
 After taking his doctor's degree Heine was 
 very undecided whether he should choose Ham- 
 burg or Berlin for a continued residence. He 
 had many friends in Berlin, and in particular 
 there were two social circles which exercised 
 a great attraction on him. The house of the 
 poetess Elisa von Hohenhausen was the gather- 
 ing place of all the beaux esprits ; and this 
 woman of genius, an enthusiastic admirer of Lord 
 Byron, whose poems she had in part translated, 
 was the first to recognize Heine's high poetic gift ; 
 she called him the German Byron and proclaimed 
 that in him her ideals had been born again.* 
 
 *For translations of "Manfred "and short poems by Byron, 
 see vol. i. pp. 214-227. TR.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 43 
 
 The second circle, which assisted his poetic 
 evolution more, was that ruled by Varnhagen 
 von Ense, whose brilliant wife Rahel, the latter's 
 brother Robert and his beautiful wife, formed 
 Heine's most intimate surroundings. In this 
 house there was an altar raised to Goethe, and a 
 lively propaganda was carried on there to obtain 
 a true understanding and valuation of his works. 
 Owing to their exaggerated worship everything 
 was brought into comparison with him ; notwith- 
 standing the very different direction the works 
 of the two poets took, a certain relationship with 
 the poetic method of Goethe was extracted from 
 Heine's poems. 
 
 In his diary Max Heine * describes the Berlin 
 friends of that period ; he tells how he came 
 bearing a letter of introduction to Moses Moser, 
 to that trusty and noble friend of Heinrich 
 Heine, that very friend, in fact, to whom were 
 addressed the poet's letters, to-day full of 
 laughter, to-morrow of wailings. 
 
 Moser was partner in the wealthy banking 
 house of M. Friedlander & Co., and was self- 
 taught and a philanthropist in the noblest sense 
 
 * The brother who entered the Russian Service as a surgeon. 
 He wrote a number of books of travel and biography. TR.
 
 44 FA MIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 of the word. He used every spare hour for solid 
 studies and his many-sidedness was a subject for 
 remark. Apart from his thorough knowledge of 
 almost all tongues, he read Plato, Homer, Tacitus, 
 Shakspere, Cervantes, Dante in the original ; he 
 carried on studies in Sanskrit and was entirely at 
 home in astronomy, philosophy and belles lettres. 
 " With the letters of introduction from Hein- 
 rich in one hand " wrote Max Heine " and Mr. 
 Moser on the other, I entered that large 
 circle of families whose members were among 
 the most gifted and illustrious of mankind. 
 First it was Varnhagen von Ense, famous 
 from his critical and biographical writings an 
 acknowledged model as German stylist. The 
 soul of his house was the celebrated Rahel, 
 Varnhagen's gifted wife ; she it was who dubbed 
 the young, high-spirited poet with the Aristo- 
 phanic nickname of ' naughty favorite of the 
 Graces.' In this house the intellectual moun- 
 tain tops of Berlin were to be met, and all the 
 arts and sciences were represented. Wilhelm 
 and Alexander von Humboldt, the great philoso- 
 pher Hegel, the immortal sculptor Rauch, 
 Schleiermacher, Hitzig, Chamisso and the
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 45 
 
 brother of Rahel, Ludwig Robert, famed as a poet, 
 together with his ideally beautiful wife Friederike, 
 were like many others constant guests. 
 
 "Quite another circle, which formed a world 
 to itself, was offered me by the Veit house- 
 hold which stood in interesting connection with 
 the history of intellectual and commercial Berlin. 
 Head 'of a well-known business house, he gath- 
 ered about him every week a circle of men who 
 on such evenings set before them the task of 
 furnishing an entertainment richly spiced with 
 wit. The leaders of this circle were almost all 
 of them personal and true friends of Heinrich 
 Heine. Moser and the celebrated jurist Professor 
 Gans were guests never absent. Dr. Rosenhain 
 too, the botanist, the clever writer Daniel Less- 
 mann, and Joseph Lehmann, publisher and editor 
 of the Magazine for Foreign Literature, whose chief 
 contributor Lessmann was. 
 
 " Lehmann, the oldest friend of Heinrich Heine, 
 had been an admirer of the poet from the mo- 
 ment of his first appearance; it was he who, 
 under the name in anagram of Anselmi, furnished 
 the first critical notices of Heine's poems. His 
 able parodies of the latter have been indeed
 
 46 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 often taken for poems by Heine. In his widely 
 read periodical Lehmann followed trustingly on 
 through the entire literary life of Heine ; he often 
 illustrated Heine's beautiful passages and always 
 understood how to unite in the most kindly man- 
 ner a hearty friend and a stern, incorruptible critic. 
 
 " I must mention a few more families in which 
 I and my brother Heinrich met with the kindliest 
 reception and where every week an intellectual 
 society came together. 
 
 " Dr. Leopold Zunz, for instance, the great 
 Orientalist and editor of the much read and 
 influential Haude und Spenerschen Zeitung. He 
 was himself a member of the friendly circle about 
 Veit, where the so-called ' Zunz wit ' sped in 
 jovial fashion from mouth to mouth. 
 
 " Moser took me also to the Mendelssohn 
 house and I listened with ecstasy to the playing 
 of young Felix and did not imagine at the time 
 that later such ' songs without words ' would pro- 
 ceed from this boy's head and that Heine's 
 words would be published with such music ! 
 
 "I must also recall Albert von Chamisso, a man 
 extraordinarily beloved, who, though by birth a 
 Frenchman, stands among the leaders of German
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 47 
 
 lyricists. At his house I came to know the crim- 
 inal counselor Hitzig, Chamisso's notable biog- 
 rapher. Hitzig was always a warm friend of 
 Heinrich Heine, with whose youth as a poet he 
 has shown the most lively sympathy. Owing to 
 his good offices the tragedies of Heine appeared 
 in the press of Ferdinand Dummler. The same 
 may be said of Professor Gubitz, who at that 
 time edited the paper Gesellschafter fiir Geist und 
 Herz. I often took small poems by Heine to 
 him ; indeed, he had introduced the poet to the 
 German public by means of the Gesellschafter 
 and brought him the booksellers Maurer as 
 publishers of his first collection of poems." 
 
 In spite of all the allurements which a residence 
 in Berlin had for Heine, love for his relatives 
 drew him toward Hamburg ; after a longer stay 
 in Norderney he made a visit to his parents in 
 Liineburg in order to talk over his affairs with 
 them. 
 
 XVII 
 
 LUNEBURG, October, 1826. 
 MY DEAR LOTTA 
 
 may consider herself heartily greeted and as- 
 sured of my brotherly love! Verily I have
 
 48 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 remembered you oftener than you would believe 
 and far more tenderly (particularly in these later 
 days) than I myself thought possible. At Nor- 
 derney I read in a Hamburg journal of your 
 confinement, and of a verity before I read that I 
 had less quiet nerves. I am delighted that you 
 have a boy ! May God keep the dear child in 
 his special protection, so that the human thing 
 in him shall not be crippled too early ! 
 
 Dear Lotta, wherever I may happen to be, my 
 heart is poured out daily in the most loving and 
 pious wishes for you and your children. May 
 things ever go smoothly with you and them ! 
 Only be good and you will be happy, and then 
 your children will be good and happy too. I 
 pray you, do not forget me, for I love you 
 much. 
 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 At the beginning of November Heine reached 
 Hamburg in order to settle down there as a 
 lawyer ; but in a very little time he gave up this 
 plan and devoted himself entirely to the profes- 
 sion of an author.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 49 
 
 The first part of the " Reisebilder " brought out 
 with Campe, had made its appearance, and the 
 literary result, glorious beyond all measure, may 
 have contributed not a little to the giving up of 
 the dry legal career hardly begun. 
 
 The effect made by this book was truly sensa- 
 tional. The humorous, intellectual and original 
 method of his prose style, just like the novel 
 metrical structure of his verse, induced a tremen- 
 dous revolution in German literature ; imitated 
 by many, it ruled their style for a long period. 
 
 Heinrich Heine lived very retired in Hamburg ; 
 his parents had emigrated thither from Liineburg 
 and he had relations with few families beside 
 theirs, the house of his sister and those of his 
 two uncles. He gave his whole time to finishing 
 the second part of the " Reisebilder." This book 
 also had the same remarkable success as the first. 
 
 In the spring of 1827, soon after the appearance 
 of the last mentioned book, Heine went to Eng- 
 land * and stayed there three months. He wrote, 
 "that London overtopped his expectations with 
 respect to its enormous size, but that he came 
 near giving himself up for lost there. Nothing 
 
 *For " Englische Fragmente," see vol. vi. pp. 221-302. TR,
 
 50 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 but fog, coal smoke, porter and Canning and so 
 fearfully wet and uncomfortable ! The eternal 
 roast beef and leg of mutton, the vegetables as 
 God made them and Heaven guard everybody 
 from their sauces ! Send a philosopher to Lon- 
 don ; by your life, no poet ! " On his return trip 
 Heine passed through Holland to Norderney and 
 returned to Hamburg at the end of September. 
 
 First appeared the " Buch der Lieder," which 
 the entire public received with enthusiastic plau- 
 dits and which to-day is still considered the most 
 brilliant product of Heine's muse. But many 
 critics of that period who believed that the old 
 metrical method of German poesy was insulted, 
 were only able to see in these melodious rhymes 
 in the nature of folk songs an artificial metre 
 without style. 
 
 The objections which were raised against 
 Heine that he neglected the classic forms was 
 very unjust, and are often repeated when any- 
 thing new and unaccustomed is created. Heine 
 did not write sketchily and without care, but laid 
 uncommon stress upon stylistic finish of expres- 
 sion. In almost all the sketches among his 
 manuscripts which I have read through, there is
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 5 1 
 
 hardly a page on which changes and improve- 
 ments have not been made. 
 
 Heine at the time of his settlement in Ham- 
 burg had always yielded to the vague hope that 
 he would get a position there as a syndic, or 
 else in Prussia as a professor. But in these de- 
 sires he found himself disappointed. He resolved 
 to consider a permanent engagement as journalist 
 opened up by Baron Cotta and at the end of 
 the year betook himself to Munich. Cotta 
 wished to make a positive engagement with 
 Heine as editor and co-worker on the Politische 
 Annalen. Heine however, who wrote several 
 essays for the Annalen, was willing to make a 
 permanent engagement for six months only, 
 because great prospects were shown him concern- 
 ing a chair as professor in the Munich University. 
 
 The Minister at that time, Eduard von Schenk, 
 who took a lively interest in the poet and gave 
 him his friendship, felt quite certain that Heine 
 could procure the desired professorship by his 
 aid. Warmly recommended by him to the king, 
 who found great pleasure in reading Heine's 
 works, the decision lay with Ludwig I. The 
 decree of nomination was already written and
 
 52 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 he would have received the place through the 
 favor of the art-loving monarch, had not Jesu- 
 itical whispers undermined the plan. Slanders 
 and too liberal remarks of the poet caught up 
 by eavesdroppers were brought to the king; 
 these put the monarch in bad humor and 
 spoiled the signing of the decree. Out of 
 temper, Heine left that Beery Athens, as 
 he called Munich, and carried out his long 
 cherished resolve of visiting Italy.* He was 
 accompanied as far as the Tyrol by his brother 
 Max, who was a student in Munich. 
 
 After he had examined the monuments and 
 galleries in Verona, Milan and Genoa, he 
 reached the baths of Lucca at the end of Sep- 
 tember, coming by way of Leghorn. The wild 
 and romantic situation of Lucca among the 
 Apennines delighted him and determined him 
 to stay four weeks for the hot baths. Deploring 
 his defective knowledge of Italian, he wrote: 
 
 "I don't understand the people and cannot 
 talk with them. I see Italy, but do not hear 
 her. Still I am often not without all enter- 
 
 * For the Italian journey, see Reisebilderll., in vol. vi. pp. i- 
 211. For savage verses on Ludwig I. and his son Otto, tempor- 
 arily King of Greece, see vol. ii. pp. 114-118, etc. TR,
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 53 
 
 tainment. The very stones speak here and 
 I understand their silent tongue. Any broken 
 column belonging to the days of Rome, any 
 moldering tower of the Lombards, any weather- 
 worn clustered Gothic pier knows very well what 
 I mean. Many a time the old palaces want to 
 whisper something to me in secret ; but I cannot 
 hear their answer by day owing to the hollow 
 noises of life; then I come back in the night 
 and the moon proves a good interpreter who 
 understands a lapidary style ; she knows how to 
 translate into the dialect of my heart. Ay, at 
 night I can understand Italy perfectly ; then 
 the new young people with their new opera 
 language sleep and the ancients ascend from 
 their cool couches and speak to me in the most 
 polished Latin." 
 
 In Florence, the art-loving city of the Medicis, 
 Heine stayed almost six weeks intoxicated by 
 the art treasures and picture galleries ; postpon- 
 ing his visit to Rome, he journeyed back by way 
 of Venice. There he had the sorrowful news of 
 the sudden death of his father, and hastened his 
 return in order to comfort mother and sister for 
 the loss of his warmly beloved father.
 
 54 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 He remained in Hamburg with his people till 
 the next spring and then returned to Berlin, in 
 order to repeat with the help of his influential 
 family his efforts to obtain a state appointment. 
 He dwelt three months at Potsdam in rural 
 quiet, busily at work on the continuation of the 
 third volume of the " Reisebilder," and after a 
 short visit to Helgoland took up his residence 
 again in Hamburg. 
 
 Early in 1830 occurred the publication of the 
 book; it roused a great sensation. But owing 
 to its too liberal discussion of the political ques- 
 tions of the day and of affairs of religion, it was 
 at once proscribed throughout the whole of Ger- 
 many. Max Heine wrote in this connection in 
 his diary : 
 
 "Among the friends my brother made at the 
 University of Gottingen was Carl von Raumer, 
 nephew of the famous historian, writer of the 
 story of the Hohenstaufens. I was very intimate 
 with him. He was a highly gifted, poetic and 
 gushing young fellow, who at that very time was 
 reading with me enthusiastically the first part of 
 the ' Reisebilder,' which had just appeared. 
 Later he became Minister of Public Instruction
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 55 
 
 in Prussia and in the aberration of his pietism 
 carried it so far as to forbid the sale of 
 Heinrich Heine's work in Prussia; ay, he 
 caused such copies as were seized to be ground 
 up." 
 
 Scared, many of his early friends in Berlin 
 drew anxiously into the background, and Heine 
 tried to forget his vexation at many malignant 
 anonymous criticisms in various newspapers 
 among the cool waves of the North Sea off Hel- 
 goland. His pain at these attacks could not 
 have been very lasting however, for his sister 
 Charlotte, who was at Ems undergoing treat- 
 ment because of bad health, received the follow- 
 ing letters : 
 
 XVIII 
 
 HELGOLAND, July 28, 1830. 
 DEAR LOTTA: 
 
 Although a friendly correspondence is a bitter 
 pill to me, and though I have nothing whatever 
 to write except that I love you, still I cannot 
 avoid sending you a couple of lines to the 
 baths. Really I have nothing else to say to 
 you except that I love you and in truth very
 
 5 6 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 greatly! Very often do I think of you daily 
 for twenty-five hours, in fact and my highest 
 hope is that the trip will restore your health. 
 Honestly I am oppressed by the fear that your 
 temperament will lead you to forget your condi- 
 tion and the purpose of the journey, as well as 
 to cause you to yield to such emotions as may 
 harm your health yet more. I hope you have 
 sense enough to remember yourself and your chil- 
 dren under circumstances that may occur. Be 
 sure to avoid evening social gatherings ; do not 
 give way to your temper; be patient and as jolly 
 as possible. Only in such a frame of mind will the 
 baths do you good. You see I give you good 
 rules but honestly ! I myself, though I'm in 
 similar circumstances, unfortunately do not fol- 
 low one of them. 
 
 I cannot by any means protect myself from the 
 gloomy state of mind which weighs on me here ; 
 I am in a lively social movement, a thing that 
 never did me good ; chatter far too much ; think 
 too much ; eat too much. I have a great deal of 
 humming and knocking in my ears and my 
 headaches are at their highest point of bloom. 
 I have been here three weeks and perhaps shall
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 57 
 
 stay three weeks longer. There are few Ham- 
 burg people here, but among them the Schroe- 
 ders ; we dine together, gallop about the North 
 Sea all day long, and I like them well enough 
 but you I love a thousand times more ay, a 
 million times more ! I embrace you and hope 
 to see you again soon. I want to pass the 
 autumn in your vicinage, since my work seldom 
 permits me to come to town.* What particu- 
 larly is going on there en famille I do not know 
 since mother does not write. 
 
 Farewell; I kiss you by letter and next 
 month I shall kiss you by mouth. You need 
 not write any answer. Next week I shall write 
 to Immermann and will shove a note for 
 you into his letter. So on your arrival in 
 Diisseldorf you can send to Judge Immer- 
 mann to ask if he has not received a letter for 
 you. Farewell, sweet woman, and keep me in 
 affection. 
 
 Your faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 * Charlotte von Embden lived at the time in Wandsbeck in the 
 neighborhood of Hamburg.
 
 5 8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 XIX 
 
 HELGOLAND, August, 1830. 
 DEAR, SWEET SISTER: 
 
 I hope that this letter may still catch you and 
 moreover in much better health. As to mine, it 
 is only so-so. For my trouble bathing in the 
 North Sea is always the most healing thing. 
 Although I have had enough entertainment on 
 Helgoland so far, I think constantly of you 
 nevertheless. Miss Schroeder has departed, but 
 another songstress, the Siebert girl, has arrived 
 and I have a lot of singsong about my ears. 
 With the Schroeder girl I daily quarreled 3 
 times and made up i^ times. I shall stay here 
 ten days more and then return to Wandsbeck 
 (or St. Georg) to take up work again. I have 
 no news from Hamburg. If the letter catches 
 you in Dusseldorf still, as I hope, greet uncle 
 and aunt for me most heartily. Be careful of 
 your health ; don't let yourself be vexed and 
 keep me in affection. I trust to seeing you in 
 a fortnight. Calypso ne pouvait se consoler du 
 dtpart d' Ulysse ! 
 
 It must have been lively in Ems and you, so
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 59 
 
 to speak, went to meet the French Revolution 
 halfway. I kiss you. 
 
 Your faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 The French Revolution of July, 1830, which 
 Heine mentioned waggishly in the last letter, was 
 destined to exert a fateful action on his life ; it 
 was welcomed by the young poet with plaudits 
 and exuberant enthusiasm. The fall of Bour- 
 bon absolutism and the victory of the people's 
 party wrought upon his spirit in a powerful, 
 passionate way. Heine expressed this impres- 
 sion in the liveliest fashion in the appendix to 
 the " Reisebilder," which appeared in 1831 ; also 
 in the preface to Kahldorfs pamphlet on the 
 nobility in letters to Count M. von Moltke, 
 which was written at the same time.* Weary of 
 the outrages which the poet had to support in 
 his own land, especially the proscription in 
 Germany of his writings, his prior plan of car- 
 rying out the emigration to France ripened. 
 At the end of April, with a farewell greeting to 
 Germany the poems of " The New Spring," 
 
 *See vol. xii. pp. 7-20 for Einleitung zu Kahldorf tiber den 
 Adel in Briefen an den Grafen M. von Moltke (1831). TR.
 
 60 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINKlCti HEINE. 
 
 dedicated to his sister Charlotte Heine left 
 Hamburg and reached Paris at the end of July. 
 
 The reasons for his emigration were described 
 in his " Confessions " in the following humorous 
 way : 
 
 "I had done much and borne much, and when 
 the sun of the Revolution of July arose in France 
 I had become absolutely worn out and needed 
 recreation. Moreover the atmosphere of home 
 had become day by day more and more unhealthy 
 for me and I had to consider seriously a change 
 of climate. I had visions. The clouds fright- 
 ened me and made all sorts of ominous grimaces 
 at me. Often methought the sun was a Prussian 
 cockade ; I dreamed o' nights of an ugly black 
 vulture that devoured my liver and I became 
 very melancholy. Besides, I had made the 
 acquaintance of an old Berlin justice of the peace 
 who had passed many years in the fortress of 
 Spandau and who told me how very unpleasant 
 it was when one had to wear the irons in winter. 
 In fact I thought it extremely unchristian that 
 they did not warm the poor fellows' fetters a 
 little. If they would only warm our chains a bit, 
 these would not make such a disagreeable
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 6 1 
 
 impression, and then even shivery persons could 
 wear them fairly well ; besides, they ought to 
 have the forethought to perfume the chains with 
 extract of roses and laurels, as they do in this 
 country. I asked my justice of the peace if they 
 often gave him oysters for dinner at Spandau. 
 He said no ; Spandau was too far from the ocean. 
 Meat too, he said, was rather uncommon there, 
 and as to game on wings, there was nothing but 
 the flies that fell into one's soup. At the same 
 period I formed the acquaintance of a French 
 commis voyageur, who was traveling for a wine 
 business and who could not boast enough of the 
 jollity of life in Paris at present how the skies 
 were hung with fiddles and how from morn till 
 eve people sang the ' Marseillaise ' and ' En 
 Avant Marchons ' and ' Lafayette aux Cheveux 
 Blancs,' and how Liberty, Equality and Fra- 
 ternity were written up at all the street corners. 
 At the same time he praised the champagne sold 
 by his house and gave me a large number of 
 copies of their card, and promised to let me have 
 letters of recommendation to the best restaurants 
 of Paris in case I wished to visit the capital for 
 my own enjoyment. Now as I really needed
 
 62 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 something to enliven me, and Spandau is too 
 far from the ocean to eat oysters there, and the 
 wild-fowl soup of Spandau did not particularly 
 allure me, and besides, the Prussian chains are 
 exceeding cold in winter and could not well be 
 of use to my health I resolved to journey to 
 Paris and in the native land of champagne and 
 the ' Marseillaise ' to drink the former and listen 
 to the singing of the latter, not to speak of ' En 
 Avant Marchons ' and ' Lafayette aux Cheveux 
 Blancs!'*" 
 
 Before his departure to Paris Heinrich lived 
 with his mother on the Neuenwall, No. 28, and 
 as he in no wise intended to take up his perma= 
 nent abode in France, he left his correspondence, 
 with finished and unfinished manuscripts at his 
 mother's. In 1833 fire broke out in this place and 
 all his papers went up in smoke. Unfortunately 
 the letters sent to his mother and sister during the 
 Italian voyage and the first years of his residence 
 in Paris were burned at the same time. All the 
 letters in which mention was made of Ludwig 
 Robert, M. Moser and Julius Campe were then 
 destroyed by fire, and Heine lamented in vari- 
 ous letters July 16, 1833 to Varnhagen and 
 
 * See vol. viii. pp. 29-30. TR,
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 63 
 
 March 7, 1837 to Julius Campe what a loss of 
 manuscripts he had sustained through the fire in 
 his mother's dwelling. 
 
 Paris beautiful, great, elegant, unprejudiced 
 Eldorado, with her theatres, balls and uncon- 
 cealed enjoyments, made an intoxicating impres- 
 sion on Heine. Supplied with good introductions, 
 Heine soon became acquainted with the most 
 prominent political and literary magnates in the 
 salons of elegant society. Not merely giving 
 himself up to the whirl of pleasures, but also ob- 
 serving everything, Heine described the new 
 impressions with a joyous and humorous pen in 
 articles for the newspapers and in letters. He 
 wrote how Paris entranced him by the gayety 
 which appeared in all social phenomena, and 
 how the courteous, kindly, polite manners of the 
 Parisian people pleased him. 
 
 " Sweet perfume of politeness, how you did 
 refresh and restore my wretched soul, which in 
 Germany had been forced to swallow so much to- 
 bacco fumes, sauerkraut smell and brutality ! 
 But beside politeness the speech of the French 
 folk has for me a certain tinge of good breeding ; 
 and any Parisian dame de la halle speaks more at-
 
 64 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 tractively than a German abbess with sixty-four 
 ancestors." 
 
 In the publisher's shop of Heideloff & Campe 
 on the Rue Vivienne Heine was to be found 
 daily; this was a place of meeting for all the 
 more prominent Germans who visited Paris as 
 travelers or had chosen for that city their abode. 
 Felix Mendelssohn, Michael Beer, Koreff, Alex- 
 ander von Humboldt, Baron Maltitz and many 
 more made the shop their place of tryst in order 
 to swap with each other news from home. 
 
 Above all things the splendid galleries of the 
 Louvre riveted Heine's attention, as well as the 
 great annual exhibitions of paintings; and his re- 
 ports on the latter, in the first part of the " Salon" 
 which appeared in 1833, belong to his best work 
 in the field of the fine arts because of the really 
 plastic descriptions he gave of individual pictures. 
 
 Heine's political reports for the Augsburger 
 Allgemeine Zeitung, badly mauled by the censor- 
 ship in Germany, appeared later in the original 
 form under the title, "Condition of France,"* and 
 in this the unsparing and extraordinarily bold 
 statements of the preface threw a strong light on 
 * See vols, ix. and x. for " Franzosische Zustande." TR,
 
 FA MIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 65 
 
 the oppression and fettering of the German 
 press. 
 
 The goadings of the censorship and a small 
 difference of opinion with his publisher in that 
 regard had so attacked his exceedingly irritable 
 nerves that Heine had to seek relief at the baths 
 and later, having quite restored his strength, he 
 wrote : 
 
 XX 
 
 PARIS, October 25, 1833. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I have been back here eight days from Bou- 
 logne, where I was for the last six weeks very 
 comfortable, well and jolly. Bathing certainly 
 did me no harm, but still not so much good as for- 
 merly. I do not feel myself strengthened by it 
 as before in body and mind, and so must look 
 about for another remedy. 
 
 To you, dear Lotta, heartiest thanks for the 
 letters from your chicks; tell Marie and Ludwig 
 that I shall answer them myself as soon as I have 
 time. 
 
 A kiss to your youngest. To be hoped you 
 are well think of you constantly you can
 
 66 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 hardly imagine how much I love you, dear Lotta. 
 Yesterday I saw a young woman who looked ex* 
 actly as you did before you were married. Chris- 
 tiani and wife are not back yet from Bordeaux. 
 
 Your wailings, dear mother, over the extraor- 
 dinary malheur not to have sight of me must be 
 stopped. To come here into France is not to be 
 thought of; give it up or else be assured that 
 I shall travel to Egypt, whither I have long 
 cherished a great desire to journey. If it is not 
 possible for you to do without my winsome sight, 
 you know that I am not a disobedient son and 
 that I will fulfill every one of your wishes if it is 
 not inconsistent with your own welfare. I can- 
 not and will not allow you to travel by sea not 
 by any means, otherwise I am off to Egypt ! But 
 if you insist upon it, I will come this summer to 
 Hamburg for eight days, to that disgraceful lair 
 where I shall give my enemies the triumph of 
 seeing me again and being able to heap insults 
 upon me. 
 
 I do not really believe that I shall expose my- 
 self to any danger owing to my political position. 
 But caution is advisable in all things. You 
 must not let a soul beside Lotta suspect that I so
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 67 
 
 much as cherish the idea of coming to Ham- 
 burg ; otherwise I shall put my enemies even now 
 on guard. But if I come unexpectedly they will 
 have no time to take counsel and come to Ham- 
 burg. You will presently learn how much the 
 Prussians are on the watch for me ; between our- 
 selves perhaps I exaggerate the matter ; but still 
 I am careful, and just because I do take great pre- 
 cautions you can always be without anxiety on 
 my account. 
 
 I am safe in all places, am without passions and 
 quiet and am growing a big stomach like Burg- 
 miiller.* 
 
 Counsel comes with time. At present my 
 circumstances are so muddy that I cannot 
 determine what I shall do within a six weeks. 
 Mayhap many a thing in this world will change 
 during that time, and I myself meanwhile may 
 obtain at least time and opportunity to consider 
 quietly such a matter as a journey to you. So 
 wait a little ; don't make my head spin. I have 
 a lot in my noddle. 
 
 I had retained my rooms in town, where for a 
 
 * Composer and his sister Charlotte's music teacher in DUssel- 
 dorf.
 
 68 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 year I enjoyed the greatest quiet, and then, 
 unhappy one ! as I returned a family moved in 
 below me with a frightful row and screaming of 
 children ! 
 
 Farewell ; tell me what Max has to say. I 
 have great works in my head, if I could only 
 obtain quiet. God knows, I would make but 
 little row if I were not always forced to make it. 
 
 Write to me, dear Lotta. Talk sense into 
 mother. Only write me exactly how mother, 
 you and the children are. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine's brothers had also left Hamburg. 
 Gustav, born in 1803, had entered the Austrian 
 army after he had first tried farming and then 
 mercantile pursuits; he had risen in the cavalry 
 to first lieutenant. After his marriage with 
 Emma Calm, who bore him three sons and two 
 daughters, he left the service, founded in Vienna, 
 beginning very modestly, the later official and 
 widely read Fremdenblatt, was raised to the 
 nobility, and died in Vienna, November 15, 1886 
 as a millionaire several times over. 
 
 Max, born in 1805, after finishing his medical
 
 FAMtL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 69 
 
 studies, entered the civil service of Russia, took 
 part in the Russian campaign in the Caucasus 
 as an army doctor, became physician to the 
 Institute of Cadets, received a title, became 
 court counselor, and left the service with the 
 title of counselor of state after his marriage 
 with the widow of the imperial physician, Privy 
 Councilor von Arndt. He was known as the 
 author of several medical works : " Medical- 
 Topographical Sketch of St. Petersburg," 1844; 
 "History of the Oriental Pest," 1846; "Frag- 
 ments from the History of Medicine in Russia," 
 1848; " Items of Medical History from Russia," 
 1851 ; "Letters of Travel of a Physician," 1853. 
 He was the author of several literary works: 
 " Sketch of Gretsch " ; " The Wonders of Lake 
 Ladoga"; "Pictures from Turkey"; "Letters 
 from St. Petersburg " ; " Poems " ; and " Reminis- 
 cences of Heinrich Heine and His Family," 1868. 
 He died in Berlin the sixth of November 1879. 
 
 The many worriments of the German censor- 
 ship, together with the resolutions passed by the 
 German Bundestag, which proscribed not only all 
 of Heine's existing works, but those which he 
 might write in future, raised a bar against his
 
 7 FAMILY LIFE OF HE1NR1CH HEINE. 
 
 activity as a writer. As early as 1832 he had 
 caused a few articles to be tucked into the Revue 
 des deux Mondes, which received much applause, 
 and in consequence he resolved to translate all 
 his earlier works into French. Each of his books 
 as it appeared excited in an ascending degree of 
 fervor an undreamed of recognition and appre- 
 ciation in the French nation. 
 
 A serious evil for Heine were the political 
 refugees who at that time overflowed Paris 
 and toward whose theories of destruction he 
 held himself averse. These men in collusion 
 with the Paris correspondents of German papers 
 cast suspicion on his character by lying gossip. 
 It hurt him sorely that even Borne joined this 
 movement and permitted himself to make sharp 
 attacks on Heine in his letters from Paris, as well 
 as in the Reformat eur, and accused him of cow- 
 ardly tacking between the parties and an ambig- 
 uous diplomacy. In his letters to various friends 
 he poured out his bitterness over this unfair in- 
 sult, adding that he was not willing to sacrifice 
 his activity as an author to a newspaper quarrel 
 which would absorb his time and should there- 
 fore for the moment remain silent.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 71 
 
 After the " Condition of France," the second 
 part of his " History of Literature," and the 
 second, third and fourth parts of the " Salon " had 
 appeared, he published in 1840 his book on Borne.* 
 With the years his rancor about Borne's con- 
 duct had kept on growing, because the latter's 
 early attacks had found a willing echo among 
 his enviers and foes, and at last the long an- 
 nounced work appeared. Meantime Borne had 
 died and to the taunt of the latter's friends that 
 Heine had not published it while Borne was 
 alive Heine replied: " Then people would have 
 said of me that my book had killed him and I 
 had worried him to death." 
 
 Mrs. Wohl, the friend of Borne concerning 
 whom Heine had made various remarks which 
 wounded her sadly, caused her friends to put 
 together a peculiar little volume in which were 
 collected and published all the hateful utter- 
 ances Borne had made concerning Heine in pri- 
 vate letters addressed to her. A year had gone 
 by ; Heine had quite forgot the matter, when a 
 certain Mr. Salomon Strauss introduced himself 
 
 *See vol. xi. pp. 163-301, " Heinrich Heine liber Ludwig 
 Borne." TR.
 
 72 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 as the husband of the injured lady and demanded 
 of Heine a public apology or satisfaction by way 
 of arms. 
 
 The duel took place ; Heine received a grazing 
 bullet which slightly cut his hip and there- 
 with was honor satisfied ! But for many years 
 Frankfort was the source of numberless para- 
 graphs which cast scandal on his private life 
 and found acceptance in German and French 
 papers. 
 
 The dragging of utterances of the confessional 
 into the question was all the more painful to 
 Heine because people made the accusation that 
 the change of religion which he undertook was 
 not in accordance with his inner persuasion. 
 His entrance into the evangelical (Lutheran) 
 religion had everything to do with the purpose 
 of settling in Hamburg as a lawyer, a profession 
 which at that time was open in Germany only to 
 members of the Christian Church. Therefore it 
 was that he wrote to Moser : " It can move me 
 but little that they drag the poet from his pedes- 
 tal, but that they strike so hard, or it were better 
 to say, cudgel away so hard at my private life is ex- 
 tremely vexatious. As long as I remained a Jew
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 73 
 
 people called me a Greek of Hellas and 
 scarcely am I baptized when I am scouted as a 
 Jew " ! * 
 
 But his book on Borne was to exert a still 
 greater influence on his future ; for Heine, who 
 had entered into a relationship with a beautiful, 
 lively girl and shared his lodgings with her, 
 desired to secure her future at all hazards prior to 
 the duel, not knowing how it might turn out, 
 and so he caused himself to be legally united to 
 her. The blessing on their union was given in 
 the church of St. Sulpice and a legitimate bond 
 now connected him with a warmly loved com- 
 panion for many years of his life. 
 
 Concerning this step his sister received the 
 following : 
 
 * Heine dubbed his enemy Ludwig Borne a Nazarene and ex- 
 plained his views of Jew and Christian as follows ("H. Heine iiber 
 L. Borne," 1840) : " I say Nazarene in order to use neither 'Jewish' 
 nor 'Christian,' although both expressions are synonymous to 
 me and are never used by me to denote a faith, but an individuality. 
 ' Jews ' and ' Christians ' are words that have quite the same 
 sense in contrast to ' Hellenes,' with which I likewise denote no 
 special people, but a bent of mind and point of view of certain 
 men, born and cultivated in them. In this connection I wish to 
 say : All men are either Jews or Hellenes, namely : persons with 
 ascetic, iconoclastic, spiritualizing impulses, or, persons with a 
 realistic nature, glad with life and proud of development." TR.
 
 74 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 XXI 
 
 PARIS, September 13, 1841. 
 DEAR AND MUCH BELOVED SISTER: 
 
 Only to-day am I able to officially announce 
 to you my marriage. On August 31 I wedded 
 Mathilde Creszentia Mirat, with whom I have 
 been quarreling every day for more than six 
 years. However she has the noblest and purest 
 heart, is as good as an angel, and her conduct 
 during the many years of our life in common 
 so unblemished that all friends and acquaint- 
 ances have boasted of her as a model of pro- 
 priety . ***** H.HEINE. 
 
 Heine wrote to his friend Lewald on the 
 announcement of the marriage : " This marital 
 duel which shall never end until one of us is 
 killed is certainly more perilous than the brief 
 visit to the field of honor with Salomon Strauss 
 from the Judengasse of Frankfort." 
 
 XXII 
 
 PARIS, March 8, 1842. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 I trust that these lines reach you in the best 
 of health; with much impatience I await news
 
 MATH1LDE MIRAT, HEINE S WIFE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 75 
 
 from you how you are, how Lotta is, and 
 generally how things progress in the family. 
 Affairs with me are a little better of late ; my 
 eyes are quite restored again, and it is only my 
 facial paralysis that remains, and that is by no 
 means painful. Unfortunately my wife has 
 been ill for ten days and only at this moment 
 has she dared to go out again. Moreover it 
 has been frightfully cold, and that has not yet 
 entirely left us. I live a quiet life, well reasoned 
 out and hopeful. Nothing new has occurred, 
 thank God ! I already belong to the people who 
 are satisfied if things remain as of yore. Every 
 change and noise are distasteful you can 
 see by that I have grown old. For the last six 
 months I have felt a frightful weariness of spirit 
 and as the hundred-year-old Veronica remarked : 
 " My thoughts grow less." But this is a pass- 
 ing condition I know that well enough 
 the sequence of great emotion, since unfortu- 
 nately for the last eight years I have passed 
 the time in an impassioned state of mind. 
 
 Thank God, my wife conducts herself extremely 
 well. She is a thoroughly square, honest, kind 
 creature, without falseness or malice. Unfor-
 
 76 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 tunately her temperament is very boisterous, her 
 whims never the same and often she is more irri- 
 tating to me than soothing. I am still bound to 
 her with my whole soul. She is ever my most 
 inward necessity of life but even that will end 
 some time and I look forward to this period 
 with horror. Then I shall feel only the burden of 
 her whims without the sympathy that makes them 
 easier to bear. At other times anxiety for the 
 helplessness and lack of judgment of my wife 
 worries me in case I die, for she is as inexperienced 
 and without judgment as a three-year-old child ! 
 You see, dear mother, how my troubles are at 
 bottom merely the whimsies of a hypochondriac, 
 for the most part ! 
 
 For the spring I have already made my re- 
 solves ; I am going into the country in the 
 neighborhood of Paris and not to the baths. Al- 
 though my finances are somewhat in order, this 
 move will be more agreeable to them than travel. 
 The journey to the Pyrenees and the bad luck 
 that came about the same time ruined me for a 
 time and I had difficulty in getting into the 
 grooves again. 
 
 And now farewell, and greet Lotta and her
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 77 
 
 kittens. Daily I speak of you to my wife, who 
 would so much like to see all of you. 
 
 I send kisses to the bridal couple ; what date 
 is fixed for the wedding? 
 
 My seton in the neck does me good and hurts 
 hardly at all. 
 
 Your obedient son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 On the night of the fourth of May 1842 the 
 great fire broke out in Hamburg which laid half 
 the city in ashes and also burnt the house of the 
 poet's mother. Notwithstanding the unhappy 
 experience of 1833 Heine had sent her for the 
 second time for safe keeping a chest full of manu- 
 scripts and letters, since he thought them safer 
 there than in his own abode, which was often 
 changed. His mother lived on the Neuenwall, 
 which became the prey of the flames, and in the 
 course of this catastrophe the poor poet's papers, 
 his intellectual treasures, went up in smoke ; he 
 said himself that they were irreparable. He 
 wrote: " These manuscripts were the product of 
 the first strength of my youth, and I shall never 
 be able to write them down again as they stood.
 
 7 8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 I wanted to let them lie in order to draw later from 
 the accumulated capital in my old days when the 
 freshness of my mind shall have worn off owing 
 to weakened health." 
 
 Heine's sister Charlotte tried at the risk of her 
 own life to penetrate her mother's abandoned 
 house in order to save his papers. She was able 
 to reach the street with a parcel of manuscripts ; 
 but there the situation had swiftly changed. Fire 
 from the houses opposite sent a rain of sparks and 
 ashes down on her and thick smoke-clouds dark- 
 ened her senses with a choking vapor. Pushed 
 forward by the escaping throng, she kept a des- 
 perate hold on the papers in her hands, which 
 however fell to the ground at a sudden push. 
 Then her senses failed and she would have been 
 lost had not some person unknown been merciful 
 enough to drag her out of danger. 
 
 XXIII 
 
 PARIS, May 13, 1842. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER AND DEAR SISTER : 
 
 Yesterday evening I received your letter of the 
 /th and at least have been able on its account to
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 79 
 
 sleep quietly through the night. For twenty-four 
 hours I have been going about headless, since I 
 learned the alarming news from the papers. I 
 am lost in wonder at you, dear Lotta ! How you 
 could write so quietly and sensibly at the sight 
 of that frightful conflagration. I thank you from 
 my heart for setting me at rest as you have. 
 
 My wife is sick from fright since she learned 
 the fearful news. I hope that the scare and 
 agitation did not upset you afterward. My 
 poor, kind mother ! Do not agitate yourself too 
 much from sorrow at material losses. 
 
 God is a good man. This time however he 
 has trusted too much to the good fire establish- 
 ments of Hamburg. 
 
 Farewell ; I send friendly greeting to my 
 brother-in-law. I hope to get a good mail to-day. 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXIV 
 
 PARIS, May 17, 1842. 
 DEAREST MOTHER AND DEAR SISTER; 
 
 I have your letter of the ninth all right and 
 thank God that we got off with a black eye as
 
 8o FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 we did. It is certainly a sorrowful thing that 
 dear mother's house is burned, but the main 
 point for us is this : your house, dear Lotta, was 
 untouched. I hope that in another way also 
 you have not lost much by the mishap ; I there- 
 fore feel at rest on a matter which from the first 
 was my chief care. Your husband is of an ener- 
 getic, practical character and he will replace small 
 losses soon through his newly stimulated in- 
 dustry. Did mother have her things insured, 
 and will the companies pay? Give me some 
 news in this respect also. I am still as it were 
 deafened by the whole cursed business ; the 
 nerves of my head were suddenly shaken and 
 perhaps it will be to-morrow or day after before 
 my brain clears. 
 
 While people were asking me from all sides 
 for news from Hamburg last Friday I showed 
 a friend your letter of the 7th, and this man 
 thought it extremely touching that my poor 
 mother thought of prepaying the letter for me, 
 although everything was then in flames. Verily 
 it is not my fault that this item has come to be 
 published, as you will see by the inclosed cutting 
 from the Nationale, and several important
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 81 
 
 journals have already given the incident. My 
 poor, kind mother, who wants to spare me the 
 cost of a few sous while the fire is before your 
 door! Now at any rate she will not prepay the 
 postage any more, just out of spite ! 
 
 And now farewell and keep me in affection. 
 Kisses to the children. Write me often and 
 much. My wife asks to be heartily remembered. 
 She was very much overwhelmed at the news 
 from Hamburg ; she has a very weak head, but a 
 most excellent heart. That Campe was insured 
 and is paid his insurance is very important to me. 
 Have written him to-day. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXV 
 
 Monsieur Mr. Henri Heine, 
 agent de change 
 
 Hi Hambourg. 
 
 PARIS, May 16, 1842.* 
 MY DEAR UNCLE: 
 
 I hope that the affrights of the horrible mis- 
 hap which has struck Hamburg have not made 
 
 * Mrs. Anna Hanau, formerly Miss Oswalt of Frankfort-on-the- 
 Main, a friend of Henry Heine, owns the original.
 
 82 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 you ill. I can easily imagine how great is the 
 upset to your nerves, since even at this distance 
 I felt it myself ; to the present hour I have had 
 a singular stunned feeling in my head. For 
 twenty-four hours I was without news of any 
 kind concerning you, when at last I received a 
 letter from my dear mother and sister. Lotta 
 wrote with a sense and a quiet worthy of a field 
 marshal. Here in Paris the misfortune made a 
 great sensation and met with a sympathy which 
 is truly cause for shame to those Hamburg people 
 who are not healed of their hatred of the French, 
 but continue to show the same down to the 
 present. The French are the squarest of people. 
 
 So then, notwithstanding the excellent fire 
 engine plant of which you have always boasted, 
 you are half burned to the ground ! What a 
 stretch between the Deichstrasse and Uncle 
 Heine's on the Jungfernstieg ! The Jung- 
 fernstieg burnt down along with the pavilions! 
 I am very desirous to learn how far the insurance 
 companies will fulfill their obligations. 
 
 Farewell, dear uncle, and greet Aunt Jette 
 heartily from me ; she must have been not a 
 little anxious; and also Hermann and the young
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 83 
 
 ladies. My wife, who is in the country for her 
 health at this moment, came in weeping that 
 day when she heard of the misfortune ; for the 
 rest she is in fair health. The catastrophe on 
 the Versailles railway also shook us a good deal, 
 because many of our friends were destroyed by 
 it. What wretchedness ! 
 
 Your faithful nephew, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Concerning the great Hamburg conflagration 
 Heine wrote on occasion : " Poor old Hamburg 
 is a wreck, and the spots I knew so well, which 
 are so intimately bound up with all the reminis- 
 cences of my youth are now a smoking ash heap ! 
 I deplore most the loss of that old St. Peter's 
 tower it was so lifted up and superior above the 
 pettinesses of its surroundings! The city will 
 soon be built up again my old crook-cornered, 
 slab-sided Hamburg ! The big gabled house 
 where my cobbler lived, and where I devoured 
 oysters alongside the flaunting a prey to the 
 flames ! The Hamburger Correspondent it is 
 true reports that the "Dirtwall " will soon arise 
 like a phenix from the ashes but alas, it will
 
 84 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 never be the same old Dreckwall again ! And 
 the town hall how often I stood entranced be- 
 fore the paintings of emperors which, as if carved 
 out of Hamburg smoked beef, ornamented its 
 facade! Are all the magnificent and finely 
 powdered bigwigs saved which gave to the heads 
 of the republic there a majestic appearance? 
 Heaven forefend that at such a moment as this I 
 should tweak ever so little at those old wigs ! 
 On the contrary I would rather bear witness on 
 this occasion that in Hamburg the government 
 always surpassed the governed in good will 
 toward social progress. The people always stood 
 on a lower level than their representatives, among 
 whom were men of the most remarkable culture 
 and wisdom. But it is to be hoped that the 
 great conflagration will have somewhat enlight- 
 ened the baser intellects and that the entire 
 population of Hamburg now perceives that the 
 spirit of the age, which did them a kindness by 
 means of their misfortune, must not hereafter 
 be insulted by a wretched shopman's wisdom. 
 More especially, equality in citizenship for men 
 of different religious views * can certainly not 
 * This took place at last in 1849.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEIVRICH HEINE. 85 
 
 be postponed in Hamburg any longer. Let us 
 expect the best from the future ; Heaven does 
 not send great trials for nothing. 
 
 XXVI 
 
 PARIS, June 23, 1842. 
 DEAR, KIND SISTER: 
 
 I have still to thank you for your dear, dainty 
 and clever letters. 
 
 You are a splendid person in all ways you 
 know I rarely indulge in compliments but you, 
 dear Lotta, deserve a whole cargo of flattering 
 words. Write often to me ; you have no idea 
 how you make me gay and refreshed. You write 
 charmingly. I am curious whether your eldest 
 daughter follows your footsteps. Has she by 
 any chance the gentleness of her grandmother? 
 
 My wife sends her regards. She will please 
 you when you see her. A thoroughly honest, 
 angelically kind creature, generous and noble- 
 minded through and through, but full of moods 
 and uncontrolled ; at times tormenting and a 
 scold things which are always bearable, how- 
 ever, since with them all she remains very pretty 
 and graceful.
 
 86 FAM1L Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Latterly I saw young Hollander, who carries 
 back greetings to you ; he does not look at all 
 changed with years. 
 
 Regards to my brother-in-law. I kiss heartily 
 the little puppets. More presently ! 
 
 I am trying the water cure now whether it 
 will help me God only knows ! 
 
 Your true brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXVII 
 
 PARIS, August 10, 1842. 
 DEAREST LOTTA: 
 
 I am about to journey to the baths and to-day 
 am too much occupied with preparations to 
 write you a long letter, as I would like to do and 
 as you indeed deserve. Your last letter was so 
 delightfully kind it gave me great pleasure. 
 The other day Armand Heine* was here, whom 
 I had never met and who was able to tell me a 
 good deal about Hamburg. To my delight he 
 told me that your children had come out well, 
 
 * Armand Heine, died 1883, a nephew of the poet, founded 
 with his brother Michael Heine the famous bank of A. & M. 
 Heine in Paris. Michael's daughter Alice, widow of the Due de 
 Richelieu, married for second husband the Prince of Monaco.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 87 
 
 and that your eldest daughter Marie had be- 
 come as slender and clever as her mother. 
 She might put her pen to paper some day and 
 write to her uncle. 
 
 I am going to Boulogne-sur-Mer with my wife ; 
 you can write me there paste restante if you wish 
 to please me. My wife is pretty well at present. 
 We often talk of you and she already knows a 
 good many of our family music pieces. Moreover 
 this winter she is to learn German. You see how 
 I educate her and how she will soon become an 
 ornament to our family. For some time now she 
 scolds very little and has become very corpulent. 
 In other respects she is kindness personified and 
 wins all hearts. 
 
 Greet your husband and kiss the dear children. 
 
 And now farewell, and keep in affection 
 Your trusty brother 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Mathilde never learned German, and the only 
 sentence which stuck to her memory was the 
 standing formula when a German came on a visit : 
 Guten Tag, tnein Herr; nehmen sie Platz ! Then 
 she would break out in a peal of laughter and
 
 88 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 run away, leaving the visitor alone in the room, 
 petrified at the singular reception, until he was 
 led into the sick chamber of the poet. 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 PARIS, November 28, 1842. 
 DEAREST SISTER : 
 
 Although my head is as it were stunned by 
 hard work, I hasten to send you my congratula- 
 tions. How shall I express the pleasure which 
 almost overwhelmed me at the coming of your 
 letter? I and my dear wife who takes the most 
 perfect interest in you both of us have passed a 
 very pleasurable hour. She wishes to be recom- 
 mended most warmly, and particularly to have 
 you thanked for the portrait which we received. 
 She was beside herself with joy when she got it 
 and since then it is on parade in our drawing 
 room, where it is shown to everybody and is 
 often admired. 
 
 Outwardly and intellectually you are still so 
 young and already you are marrying off a 
 daughter and soon will be a grandmother ! And 
 then old Gluck will be a great-grandmother!
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 89 
 
 O that at this moment I had poor little father 
 with me ! How he would have rejoiced ! That 
 is constantly on my mind, and so, happiness 
 makes me sad ! Allow me to most obediently 
 commend myself to the bride and to the groom 
 as well. I thank my brother-in-law most heartily 
 for having written me at once and I congratulate 
 him with great joy. 
 
 If I could only be with you for a few days ! 
 What a sorrow ! It is however impossible just 
 now. The news that Marie will come to Paris 
 puts ecstasy into my deepest soul. She will be 
 convinced that she has no commonplace uncle 
 and that her aunt is pretty and kind. I send 
 greeting to mother and embrace you both. As I 
 said, I am much overcome by many labors. I 
 have at the present moment a lot round the ears. 
 Till the end of February I have more than 
 enough to do, affairs of the most important kind, 
 and unfortunately my head is sick and often I 
 have to take a holiday against my will. 
 
 But I shall get through and then I shall do 
 something permanent for my headache. 
 Your faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 90 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINR1CH HEINE. 
 
 The poet had put together his correspondence 
 with the Allgemeine Zeitung in the miscellaneous 
 writings under the title of " Lutetia " and 
 brought them out in book form.* It is a histor- 
 ical treatise on the daily happenings in Paris dur- 
 ing the reign of Louis Philippe, the period of 
 the citizen kingship, in which politics, fine art 
 and social life are described in a piquant and 
 amusing way. Even at that date Heine was giv- 
 ing warning of the bold rise of socialism to which 
 the future would belong, unless a thorough refor- 
 mation should be made in existing circumstances. 
 "The propaganda of communism has a language 
 that every people understands. The elements of 
 this universal speech are as simple as hunger can 
 be, as envy, as death itself. It is such an easy 
 language to learn ; it will resolve itself into a 
 world-wide revolution the great duel of those who 
 have nothing with the aristocracy of ownership." 
 
 In 1843 Heine published in Laube's Zeitung 
 fur die Elegante Welt a new humorous epic 
 called the " Midsummer Night's Dream/'f which 
 
 * See vols. ix. and x. under "Franzosiche Zustande." For his 
 remarks on Communism see vol. x. p. no. TR. 
 
 f For " Atta Troll, ein Sommernachtstraum," see vol. ii. pp. 
 138-210. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 9* 
 
 only later, in 1847, on its appearance in book 
 form, obtained from the public a general under- 
 standing and recognition. 
 
 XXIX 
 
 Monsieur Mr. Henri Heine, 
 agent de change 
 
 in Hambourg. 
 
 PARIS, February u, 1843. 
 DEAR UNCLE : 
 
 These are the first lines I have written for 
 three weeks. For the weakness in my eyes had 
 started afresh with the utmost violence and it is 
 only to-day that I feel myself a little relieved. I 
 would not speak to you of my own sufferings, 
 since you have more cause for sorrow than I,* if 
 I did not have to state the reason why you re- 
 ceive a letter from me only at this date. The 
 sorrowful news which has put me in mourning was 
 reported to me by my mother ten days ago, and 
 I can assure you that meantime I have thought 
 
 *This is a letter of condolence upon the death of the elder 
 Henry Heine's daughter Matilda, in the bloom of her seventeen 
 years. Dr. H. Oswalt of Frankfort, nephew of Henry Heine, 
 has the original.
 
 92 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 often of you and not without tears. Heaven 
 keep you and pour balm on your loving heart. 
 My wife, who offers you the most sorrowful sym- 
 pathy, begs to be remembered. 
 
 I pray you assure Aunt Jette that at a distance 
 I felt her sorrows as my own. Remember me to 
 Emily and Hermann, who was always a good 
 boy. 
 
 I can never tell you, dear uncle, how crushed 
 my heart is to think that when such mournful 
 events happen I cannot even come to Hamburg ! 
 
 But since I have been married I am not so 
 
 
 
 movable as formerly. I cannot leave my wife 
 here [in Paris] alone, and it costs too much money 
 and trouble to take her with me. For the rest I 
 pass here a happy domestic life, enjoy the most 
 valuable quiet of spirits, and need nothing but re- 
 lease from my eye trouble and the vile headaches 
 in which that trouble has its real root. Latterly 
 I have had a seton put in the back of my neck 
 and hope to obtain some soothing of the pain. 
 Inside me, as I say, I am thoroughly well and eat 
 as much as six Frenchmen yes, almost as much 
 as three Hamburgers. 
 
 And now, my dear uncle, farewell ; happier
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 93 
 
 hours will be sure to return. I love you 
 much. 
 
 Your obedient nephew, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXX 
 
 PARIS, February 21, 1843. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 My dawdling in writing you must pardon. 
 Unfortunately my eye troubles were to blame 
 for my not writing for some time. I have been 
 able to see at all only for the last ten days. 
 This temporary burden has worried me on this 
 occasion very much, because it was accompanied 
 by a weakening of the face muscles on the right 
 side (from the crown of the head to the chin). 
 Still my eye trouble seems to have been only a 
 passing ill which at certain times is likely to 
 make its appearance and disappear just as regu- 
 larly; the facial paralysis (which, thank God, is 
 not visible) remaining behind will take somewhat 
 longer to drive off. For that purpose I have 
 had a seton placed in the back of the neck. 
 Otherwise I am healthy from my heart outward ; 
 indeed I am in better case than ever before.
 
 94 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 My trouble interferes with my work a great deal, 
 because I am sparing myself in an extraordinary 
 fashion. I have a good constitution of body and 
 hope to skip about in this world for a long time 
 to come. 
 
 But that you, dear mother, have been ill wor- 
 ries me not seldom ; write to me soon and at 
 length. Hearty and many greetings to Lotta ! 
 I think of her very often. Mme. Hollander 
 said delightful things to me about my niece 
 Marie. How young Mrs. Hollander remains, 
 and, in spite of her twenty years in Hamburg, 
 has not lost in the slightest degree her French 
 charm ! I saw her yesterday at a ball at her 
 father's, old Worms, whither I went, be it said in 
 parenthesis, only on account of my wife. She 
 so loves to dance, and she deserves that I should 
 sacrifice myself for her now and then ! More- 
 over in these later years she has taken ex- 
 cellent care of me and on this side I am a happy 
 man. 
 
 You ask me about " Atta Troll "; he may have 
 received a little warm color from a Jewish 
 Emancipationist but between ourselves I only 
 had in mind a satire on the ideas of liberalism
 
 FAMIL y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 95 
 
 entertained by mankind. You see that I answer 
 your questioning. 
 
 And now, dear mother, farewell, and write 
 much to me and often. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 PARIS, March 22, 1843. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 If you weigh my every word on goldsmith's 
 balances I cannot write to you any more with 
 the unconsciousness and easy hurry I have 
 hitherto employed. It should rather be a 
 reason for quiet to your mind that I do report 
 everything to you, even a fit of bad temper that 
 lias no cause. 
 
 When I wrote you last, two corpses lay in my 
 house ; two neighbors had died of typhus fever, 
 one of them a young man of thirty-one, who 
 left his wife and children helpless. My wife lay 
 sick and the weather was very cold. Under such 
 circumstances one does not write joyous letters. 
 To-day it is wondrous fine ; for the last eight 
 days we've been getting weather like spring;
 
 96 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 I feel myself uncommonly inspirited and well; 
 moreover I am able to write once more. My 
 wife is restored to health too, and, thank God, 
 scolds away in full possession of health. I hope 
 now that you also are entirely on your legs again. 
 Farewell, and remember me to dear Lotta and 
 the children. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXII 
 
 PARIS, April 8, 1843. 
 DEAREST SISTER: 
 
 Mother wrote me the other day that the 
 wedding takes place the eighth of this month. 
 That's to-day; and I am steadily thinking about 
 you all. I wait impatiently for news from you, 
 whether everything went off nicely. You must 
 have your hands full to-day. Since the ever-to- 
 be-remembered day at the Zollenspiker* you 
 have had no such important day. I congratu- 
 late you and embrace you from my heart ; I beg 
 also that you will assure the young couple of my 
 
 * Place at Vierlanden near Hamburg where marriages are cele- 
 brated.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 97 
 
 most profound sympathy and love. The jolliest 
 congratulations to your husband and many 
 friendly remembrances. Kiss mother for me, 
 old Gluck and your chicks. My wife sends 
 you the happiest and most loving messages. I 
 hope that you are in good health. 
 
 We are getting on well, except that my poor 
 head is no better. ***** 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 PARIS, May 23, 1843. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 I received your letter of the ninth of May all 
 right and saw therein that you were well. Your 
 letter of the same date last year was less de- 
 lightful ! - 
 
 I can never forget the terror of that conflagra- 
 tion. And I also never forget how great my 
 dear sister's behavior was on that occasion! 
 What a heroine ! Wellington * is a dishrag to her ! 
 
 I send my hearty greeting to Lotta, and 
 thank her for her latest report on the marriage 
 of my niece. She must have received my con- 
 gratulations at the same time. But now I 
 
 * For Heine's estimate of the English military idol see vol. vi, 
 p. 291. TR.
 
 98 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE, 
 
 would like to know how matters stand with the 
 young couple. May the honeymoon never con- 
 trast too sharply with the months that come 
 after ! 
 
 Nothing has changed in my case in wedlock ; 
 on the contrary, each year my wife gets more 
 sensible and docile, and I have not yet regretted 
 my marriage. That's a good deal to say in the 
 present generation and in Paris, where bad mar- 
 riages swarm ; good ones are so rare that they 
 ought to be preserved in alcohol. 
 
 My head trouble is always the same thing. I 
 don't know yet what kind of a cure I shall try 
 this summer; traveling expenses are too great, 
 since I have to take my wife with me ; can't leave 
 her in Paris alone. Anyhow I shan't travel at 
 all. Perhaps I'll take a house in the neighbor- 
 hood of Paris where there is some country air, if 
 it can be cheaply put in order. 
 
 You have no conception how very often I think 
 of you. Only write me often and much, how you 
 feel, how things are with you. 
 
 As soon as you get a letter from Max let me 
 know. I would like to know whether he received 
 the letter which I sent him lately by way of Riga
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 99 
 
 to a friend who agreed to forward it to his 
 address at St. Petersburg, which I did not know. 
 And now farewell ; kiss Lotta and the dear 
 children for me. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 PARIS, June 18, 1843. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Your welcome letter of the 5th instant I re- 
 ceived last week all right together with the in- 
 closures, and I thank you for the evidences of 
 your warm motherly love which assert themselves 
 on this as on all other occasions. 
 
 Since there are so many wretches in the world ; 
 since I am always very ungratefully treated for 
 the many good acts I do ; since in general many 
 a thing to put me out of sorts weighs upon me, 
 it is certainly a great comfort for me to have so 
 nice a mother as you are, and on that account 
 alone your loving care for me is even now of the 
 greatest value. 
 
 I don't know yet to whom I can give the 
 papers to keep. I think it is best if I keep them
 
 100 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 myself. For I am sound and well from my in- 
 most heart, and my headaches are of the kind 
 that lets one become old and gray. In any case 
 I live so moderately that my health will rather 
 improve than worsen. Therefore quiet yourself. 
 I hope that you too, dear mother, are in good 
 health. Do write to me on this point how you 
 are getting on. May Heaven keep us all ! Write 
 me how everything is where you are. 
 
 As I do not read Der Telegraph* don't forget 
 to keep your eye on it for me. Uncle has sent 
 me his likeness with a loving letter ; the portrait f 
 is wonderfully like. Carl also wrote me very 
 warmly, so that I am now, thank God, in the best 
 of understanding with the family. I think Max 
 would do better if he sent his letters for me 
 
 * Der Telegraph, a newspaper edited by Carl Gutzkow, one of 
 Heine's chief enemies. 
 
 f A lithographic likeness of Salomon Heine by Otto Spekter in 
 Hamburg. 
 
 Salomon Heine was born October 19, 1767, died December 23, 
 1844, married to Betty Goldschmidt (born 1777, died 1837). Their 
 six children and sons-in-law are all dead : Friederike, married to 
 Moritz Oppenheimer. Fanny, married to SchrSder, M. D. 
 Hermann, born 1804, died unmarried at Rome in 1830. Amalie, 
 married John Friedlander. Carl, born 1810, died 1865, married 
 to Cecilie Furtado in Paris. Therese, died 1880 in Ottensen, 
 married to Dr. Adolf Halle.
 
 FA MIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICff HEINE. 1OI 
 
 through you at Hamburg ; I believe the post 
 direct this way from St. Petersburg is not very 
 sure. 
 
 Write me how matters stand with Lotta and 
 the young bridal couple. I think of staying in 
 Paris till the fourth of next month and then going 
 for six weeks or two months to a seaside resort, 
 perhaps to Boulogne again. The quiet, sea air 
 and also the baths there will be wholesome for me. 
 
 It looks very badly for my literary work in 
 German because of the botherations by the cen- 
 sorship. If you write at once I shall catch your 
 letter here in Paris. My wife sends you a kiss. 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 TROUVILLE, August 5, 1843. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 During three weeks I dragged myself about 
 with an utter irresolution as to whither I 
 should go. Finally I came here, where I have 
 been for eight days, just as irresolute whether to 
 stay or not. That is the reason I did not write 
 to you earlier. But now that I am determined
 
 i02 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRlCH HEINE. 
 
 to hold on here a good while, I report my good 
 health to you and beg that you will inform me 
 as to yours as soon as possible. My address is 
 H. Heine a Trotiville, de'partement Calvados en 
 France. Write me very soon how you are all 
 getting on. I and my dear wife are well, 
 and this year the sea baths agree with me 
 very well. Constantly we speak of you ; 
 and you cannot conceive how eagerly my wife 
 desires to see you, for I often tell her how 
 much love you have always shown me and how 
 there are few mothers like you in the world. 
 
 Unhappily my eyes are very weak, as always in 
 summer. Kiss Lotta and the chicks. Good-by, 
 old Gluck ! 
 
 Your most profoundly affectionate son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 I beg you not to frank your letters. 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 PARIS, September 18, 1843. 
 DEAR KIND, DEAR MOTHER : 
 
 Your letter of August 18 which you ad- 
 dressed to Trouville was duly forwarded, and
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 103 
 
 since then I have also received your letter of Sep- 
 tember 2. With deep sorrow I perceive from 
 the latter that Uncle Heine's health looks badly ; 
 I pray you always write me exactly and exhaust- 
 ively how he gets on. In this respect I am, if 
 not entirely at rest, still possessed of the firm be- 
 lief that the health of this dear man has an iron 
 foundation, which perhaps might be slowly worn 
 away by constant shocks, but will last for a long 
 time to come for the happiness of all. Except 
 for excess at meals, uncle has never broken a rule 
 of good health, and the genuine life springs have 
 only been attacked now and then by sorrow God 
 preserve him ! 
 
 And you, sweet old cat, how are you getting on ? 
 If you die before I can see you again I shall put 
 a bullet through my head. Mark that against 
 the chance that any suggestion should assail 
 you to exchange your house on the Dammthor 
 for a less excellent lodging. Mark that, will 
 you ? and then you will not commit any such 
 folly ! 
 
 I spoke to a friend of Max yesterday, Gretsch 
 from Petersburg, who knows you too and spoke 
 of you with so much reverence and respectful
 
 104 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 affection that I roamed about all day very melan- 
 choly and with my heart cooked soft. 
 
 If it were possible (but at the present moment 
 it is almost impossible) I would visit you this 
 year; but in any case it shall be next year. 
 Greet Lotta and the children. 
 
 As I hear, X.* is to be in Paris. What happi- 
 ness for Paris a reparation for the failure of the 
 Queen of England to come here ! 
 
 Farewell. In fine, stay alive as long as possible 
 and take you note of what I have said. 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXVII 
 
 PARIS, September 21, 1843. 
 DEAREST SISTER : 
 
 You will receive these lines by the hand of 
 Mile. A. de C., a young person who is as remark- 
 able for character as she is black of complexion. 
 She is of African race, but educated in Paris from 
 her tenderest infancy, and in truth in the same 
 boarding school where my wife passed several 
 
 * A frequenter of his uncle Salomon's table, whose overweening 
 conceit often roused Heine's ridicul
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 105 
 
 years. She is the latter's most intimate friend 
 and you may judge from that if I know her well 
 and if I can recommend her to you with as good 
 a conscience as hearty warmth. 
 
 Her father is a rich merchant from St. 
 Thomas ; latterly he married a rich Hamburg 
 woman and is now in that city ; in order to 
 arrange delicate affairs with him Mile, de C. 
 goes to Hamburg in company with her brother, 
 a young man as black as he is good. 
 
 Receive them with kindness for our sakes: 
 your sister-in-law also begs you to do so. If you 
 can assist them in any way with good counsel 
 and help, you will be sure to do it. The point is 
 to bring a pressure to bear on her father; she 
 will not wish to acknowledge this at once, be- 
 cause she is of an uncommonly high-spirited 
 nature ; but the young man will soon instruct 
 you as to their circumstances. I have also re- 
 commended her to Cecilie Heine. 
 
 I get no letter from you and we are therefore 
 living in the greatest anxiety. Greet your hus- 
 band and kiss the children for me. 
 
 I embrace you heartily. 
 
 Your faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 106 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 You are so quick and have such a kind heart 
 that I do not doubt you will be of the happiest 
 usefulness to our young friend. 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 PARIS, October 18, 1843. 
 DEAR, KIND, PRECIOUS MOTHER: 
 
 I got your last letter all right, and your idea 
 to appoint a rendezvous with Max in Ham- 
 burg in spring has roused powerfully in me the 
 desire to see you again. But I want to see 
 you sooner than spring this very year in fact 
 and before you know where you are I shall 
 be standing before you as large as life ! 
 
 But that is a great, big secret and you must 
 not tell a soul a word of it ; for I am not travel- 
 ing by water, but straight through Germany; 
 and as I speak of it to no one here and more- 
 over shall journey quickly, there is nothing to 
 fear from the government. But as I said, not a 
 word of this to a soul ! I shall write to Uncle 
 Heine, but only the day before I leave not 
 earlier than that, for weighty reasons.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 107 
 
 If Lotta can keep silent, you may let her know 
 about it. I leave my wife here in Paris at the 
 boarding school where she was formerly. As I 
 do not know when I shall get off, do not write to 
 me at this address. 
 Next week more from 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 PARIS, October 21, 1843. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 I hope to find you in the best of health, and 
 to-day shall write you but little, since I shall see 
 you ten or fourteen days hence and then can 
 tell you everything possible that is loving and 
 warm. I am on the point of starting, first to 
 Brussels, whence I shall probably go to Amster- 
 dam, and thence by way of Bremen to Hamburg, 
 where I look with certainty for the best of wel- 
 comes from you. I have made up my mind 
 quickly to this journey; things of the kind 
 must not be postponed. That were as unwise 
 as painful ! 
 
 And so I am soon to see you again, dear
 
 Io8 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 mother. Don't be frightened at my changed 
 appearance. I will write you again on the way. 
 Kiss Lotta and the children but I shall soon 
 kiss you all with my own lips ! 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XL 
 
 BREMEN, October 28, 1843. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 You see my journey is half finished. I arrived 
 here an hour ago sound and well, but very tired. 
 How I am to go forward to Hamburg I do not 
 know yet, since I do not wish to travel through 
 a night again and the post coach only leaves 
 this evening. So perhaps I shall only get to you 
 early day after to-morrow, or if possible to-mor- 
 row evening very late. 
 
 Kiss Lotta and the children, whom I shall kiss 
 myself day after to-morrow. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 During his journeyings about Germany it was 
 necessary for Heine to take the greatest precau- 
 tions, because the poet was forbidden to enter
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 109 
 
 the Prussian states * and at the frontiers the 
 most particular orders of arrest lay in waiting for 
 him and were renewed every year. 
 
 After an absence of twelve years Heine was 
 driven to Hamburg by the yearning to see his 
 native land once more and to embrace his 
 mother and sister. He passed his six weeks of 
 stay almost exclusively within the narrowest 
 family circle of his dear ones, and was hardly 
 accessible at all for the greater number of his 
 acquaintances there. Besides, he made use of 
 his presence in Hamburg to conclude a contract 
 with his publisher Julius Campe for the issue of 
 his complete works ; and he exacted a royalty 
 on a yearly ascending scale up to the sum of 
 eighteen hundred marks (about seven hundred 
 dollars), which was to pass to his wife for her life 
 after his death. Anxiety for Mathilde's future 
 caused him to close the bargain with a cer- 
 tain precipitation, and afterward he often rued 
 the day when he was so docile with his pub- 
 lisher. 
 
 * The reader will remember how singularly intermixed at that 
 period were the various states in Germany ; Prussia especially 
 held outlying portions of Germany hard to evade on a direct 
 route. TR.
 
 HO FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Heine began the return trip in December, and 
 promised to repeat his visit for a longer stay 
 next year, in company with Mathilde, concerning 
 whom he could not say enough in praise. 
 Owing to the setting in of frost he had to run 
 the risk of journeying by land, and it is touching 
 how at each stop Heine caused word to be sent 
 to his mother, who was in the greatest terror on 
 his account. 
 
 XLI 
 
 HANOVER, December 9, 1843. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 Yesterday I arrived here sound and well. I 
 shall stay a few days on the score of business ; I 
 have nothing to fear. The weather is wonderful 
 and just this may perhaps induce me to remain 
 for a special purpose here a few days. I am 
 happy and gay of mood and hope that now you 
 too are not sad. 
 
 Kiss and greet Lotta and her children. In 
 about ten days I shall be in Paris and will write 
 you at once. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FA MIL Y LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 1 1 1 
 
 XLII 
 
 COLOGNE, December 14, 1843. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 As you see, I did not stay in Hanover as long 
 as I purposed. Now I'm in Cologne and in- 
 tend to stay one day. Day after to-morrow I 
 shall go to Brussels by railway, an easy day's 
 journey, and thence it is but a leap to Paris. So 
 the journey is as good as done with and now you 
 can sleep quietly. At this moment I am very 
 tired from the journey by night ; otherwise jolly 
 and quite well. The weather was most fine and 
 in this respect Heaven particularly favored me. 
 
 And now farewell ; I shall not write for eight 
 days. Greet Lotta and kiss the children for me. 
 Also greet heartily my brother-in-law and 
 nephew. Weary and in haste, 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XLIII 
 
 BRUSSELS, December 18, 1843. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 I have just reached here sound and well. 
 Early to-morrow morning I shall travel toward
 
 112 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 Paris, where I shall be day after to-morrow early. 
 So I am as it were at home and this letter may 
 serve now as an announcement to that effect. So 
 be at rest and let me be quiet. Shall not be able to 
 write you again for six or eight days, because as 
 soon as I get to Paris I shall be overwhelmed by 
 such a deluge of business that I can hardly hope 
 to get to writing very soon. 
 
 So far I have had wondrous fine weather. 
 Greet Lotta, my dear sister and her children. 
 All my thoughts on the journey traveled from 
 you to my wife and from my wife back to you. 
 May I again find you all well and happy next 
 year that is my only care. 
 
 My pen won't work, but I am ever 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XLIV 
 
 PARIS, January 23, 1844. 
 DEAR, KIND SISTER : 
 
 Mother announced the fortunate delivery of 
 your daughter about a fortnight ago, but since 
 then I have been without news of her condition, 
 which is the main point, and for that I have to
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1 13 
 
 complain of your neglect. I hope that Marie is 
 in good health and that I shall get news from 
 you pretty soon that will put my mind at rest. 
 
 I and my wife are in a fair state of health and 
 constantly talk about you. I cannot tell her 
 enough what a splendid sister you are, and the 
 love with which I speak of you almost makes 
 her jealous. We live quiet and retired. 
 * * * * * 
 
 My plans for this summer are still the same, 
 and I shall write to you about them in good 
 time. Write to me much and circumstantially, 
 so that I can form an exact estimate of local 
 matters with you. But especially let me always 
 know the exact news concerning the state of 
 uncle's health. I hope that you are feeling well 
 and do not tax yourself too much. Mother com- 
 plains a little of her state of health ; I trust it is 
 nothing. 
 
 Despite my increasing paralysis of the face, I 
 work a good deal. But perhaps some day I may 
 have to pitch my pen to the devil and be con- 
 demned to do nothing at all ! 
 
 My wife is conducting herself pretty well ; does 
 not scold too often, but always remains a spend-
 
 114 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 thrift. I get through with difficulty and trouble, 
 but I do get through, and the cares vanish. If 
 I only could see you now and then, sweet angel, 
 just to look at you without saying a word ! 
 
 Farewell, and greet the whole gossipred from 
 me the cock of the house and the chicks. 
 Your discursive brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XLV 
 
 PARIS, February 20, 1844. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 In the letter I wrote Lotta there was nothing 
 at all, and I do not know why Lotta did not 
 want to let you see it. 
 
 I can't write you much to-day and perhaps not 
 in the first four weeks either, for my eye trouble 
 has come back again and meantime I must 
 spare my eyes very much. The physician tells 
 me that this time I must wait longer than ever 
 until the crisis is passed and I can use my eyes 
 again as before. I greet Lotta and the children. 
 Write soon to your 
 
 Faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1 15 
 
 XLVI 
 
 PARIS, March 4, 1844. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 You must always believe my word, for I always 
 tell you everything. Your letter came just now 
 and from it I see that you are fabricating for 
 yourself needless ideas and cares. My eyes, or 
 rather the eye from which I suffered, has been 
 healed ; but I have to spare myself, and so I 
 write to no one, read nothing and take care of 
 myself. I hope in a few days I shall be entirely 
 on my feet again. I yearn to see you all again. 
 That shall take place this summer in any case, 
 even though I go again to Hamburg for a short 
 time and leave my wife behind again. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XLVII 
 
 PARIS, July n, 1844. 
 DEAR, KIND SISTER : . 
 
 Yesterday I wrote to dear mother and an- 
 nounced that I should make the journey to 
 Hamburg per land, and in truth by way of Ant-
 
 Il6 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 
 
 werp. So now she will not tremble at every puff 
 of wind. 
 
 But to you, dear Lotta, I will tell the truth, 
 namely : that next week, the twentieth of July, I 
 shall leave Havre for Hamburg on the steamer 
 and therefore get to you on the 22d or 23d. 
 Mother need know nothing until I have arrived 
 sound and well with my better half. 
 
 It is the finest season for journey by sea and 
 apart from seasickness there is nothing at all to 
 worry over. Now however, dear Lotta, comes 
 the question of lodging, and on this point I shall 
 tell you to-day most particularly what is to be 
 done. 
 
 This year I did not go to the seaside and my 
 nerves are in such an irritated state that I shall 
 certainly fall sick, if I do not fill my lungs with 
 fresh air for a time in the country or with sea 
 air on the coast, and that too in the greatest 
 quiet of soul. So if you, dear Lotta, could find 
 a country dwelling for me near the Dammthor 
 where I can pass August, September and Oc- 
 tober, I should be greatly accommodated. But 
 if that is not possible, I shall stay at first only a 
 few days in Hamburg and then go at once with
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 117 
 
 my wife to Helgoland in order to breathe in sea 
 air for a few weeks and, in case they do not dis- 
 agree with me, to take baths also. I am in such 
 great need of this ! 
 
 As soon as I arrive in Hamburg I shall drive 
 to Hillert's again, although I foresee that his 
 newly built Stadt London will not be good for 
 me who have a horror of all new constructions. 
 But I shall stay there only a few days and then 
 go to the country, if I get a country abode, or to 
 Helgoland if I get none. If I go to Helgoland 
 you can look up meantime a house for me in 
 town in your neighborhood which I can move 
 into at once on my return. 
 
 In case it does not put you out (but only in 
 this case) it would be agreeable to me if you 
 could shelter my wife for the few days I shall pass 
 at Hillert's, not because I want to save money, 
 but because it seems to me more respectable for 
 my wife not to go to a hotel. In any case I shall 
 write you again on this point. 
 
 How would it be if you gave yourself a little 
 pleasure and accompanied us to Helgoland ? 
 That would be the most pleasing so far as 
 I am concerned. Could you possibly do that ?
 
 Ii8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 In any case it would be very good for your 
 
 health. 
 
 ***** 
 
 As I shall stay there only till the middle or, at 
 farthest, the end of November, I shall bring noth- 
 ing with me for housekeeping and so must hire 
 the country house or later the town house 
 entirely furnished and supplied with all necessary 
 utensils. But the equipment need not be com- 
 plete, since I am quite indifferent whether or ot 
 I buy there all kinds of things and furnishings 
 which I can always use there later, or perhaps 
 even take away with me. I need two bed- 
 chambers with one bed each, one living room, 
 one workroom and a little room for a maid. 
 ***** 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XLVIII 
 
 PARIS, July 13, 1844. 
 MY DEAR LOTTA : 
 
 I am up to the neck in preparations for the 
 journey, and, as I wrote you, am departing about 
 this time from Paris and shall be next Saturday 
 morning early on the Hamburg steamer with my
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 119 
 
 wife. In regard to the letter which I wrote you 
 day before yesterday, I remark further that after 
 a careful consultation with my physician, I shall 
 in any case go to the sea baths at Helgoland, 
 and so for the present shall pass but a few days 
 in Hamburg. So I now see that I shall only 
 need a dwelling in Hamburg after I return 
 thither from Helgoland, and therefore you need 
 trouble yourself only for such a house and not 
 for a country place. In any case, in respect of 
 this town house also, you must not hire it until I 
 have seen it ; I shall be there so soon. I would 
 like best the Esplanade, but your Theater Strasse 
 somewhat near the Jungfernstieg would be just 
 as good. 
 
 Perhaps I shall write to mother again before I 
 leave, but not to tell her that I go by water ; I 
 shall only say that she may expect me between 
 the 23rd and the 25th, so that she may not get 
 a scare. 
 
 My wife and I are in thoughts already in Ham- 
 burg, and we speak of you constantly. How I re- 
 joice to think of seeing you and the children again ! 
 
 The weather is nice and friendly and cool ; I 
 am traveling in the finest season. I pray you
 
 120 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 make it possible that you and Marie can go with 
 us to Helgoland. The cost of everything is very 
 small and the air is so delicious and healing. 
 
 To-day Furtado leaves here for Hamburg in 
 order to take up Cacilie * there and go with her 
 to the baths of Leuk in Switzerland. 
 
 Greet your husband for me and kiss the 
 children for me on account. 
 
 How I shall rejoice to see you and my old 
 
 mother again ! 
 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 On a splendid sunshiny afternoon the Havre 
 steamer came into this port a little late, and we 
 were all hanging about the bridge for a long 
 while in the utmost excitement over the expec- 
 tation of learning to know Mathilde, Heine's 
 wife. At last the ship approached and my uncle 
 
 * Cacilie Furtado, wife of Carl Heine and settled in Paris, 
 known for her wealth and the many beneficent foundations she 
 made in France. Her husband Carl Heine, born January 2O, 
 1810, died at Bagneres de Luchon, July 4, 1865, having been 
 struck by apoplexy while out walking; he was buried in Paris. 
 The marriage was childless and they adopted a little girl. This 
 adoptive child was married to General Ney, Prince of Elchingen, 
 and having become a widow early, married in second nuptials the 
 Due de Rivoli.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 121 
 
 came ashore. He had grown a little stouter, had 
 nothing external about him that looked sickly, 
 and had on his arm a stately lady in a simple 
 gray traveling dress. Mathilde was a really 
 very beautiful woman of tall figure, somewhat 
 luxuriant lines and lovely oval face framed with 
 chestnut hair, red, full lips which showed pretty, 
 white teeth, and large, expressive eyes which 
 shot fire when under excitement. 
 
 We were destined to see these fine eyes flash 
 very soon, when, after a joyous greeting, my 
 father led her to the carriage and handed her a 
 box after she had entered but with a start of 
 pain let it fall as he felt his finger sharply bitten. 
 A shrill scream escaped from Mathilde, for in 
 the box was Cocotte the parrot, her darling, 
 which she had brought from Paris. 
 
 " Heavens, what carelessness to scare him so, 
 after poor Cocotte has just been so seasick ! " 
 said she in an irritated tone. 
 
 But happily Cocotte had sustained no injury, 
 and smiling joyously the beautiful woman's 
 features smoothed themselves out. My uncle 
 approached laughing loudly and said : " Dear 
 brother-in-law, you nearly forfeited Mathilde's
 
 122 FAMILY LIFE Of HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 favor forever ; I wrote you that I would come 
 with my family, that is to say, with my wife and 
 parrot, and now you ignore the latter entirely 
 until he has to introduce himself to you with a 
 bite ! " 
 
 Cocotte was an uncontrolled, evil-disposed 
 creature which began to clap his beak and 
 scream savagely when in a bad humor, a thing 
 which was extremely irritating to the poor poet 
 with his many headaches. 
 
 One day Mathilde rushed into the room when 
 Cocotte had an attack of the cramps. " Heine " 
 she sobbed " Cocotte is dying." And Heine 
 replied in German, not understood by Mathilde, 
 " God be praised " ; but the prayer came too 
 early, for the bird returned to health. 
 
 During the first days of his stay Heine and his 
 wife lived in our house in the greater Theater 
 Strasse, and during the next week moved into an 
 elegant lodging in a first floor on the Esplan- 
 ade. Meals were chiefly taken with us, and 
 Mathilde, who enjoyed very much the dishes 
 peculiar to Hamburg, soon felt herself very gay 
 and at home, all the more since we all spoke 
 French and her sportive ideas got applause.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEltfRICff HEINE. 123 
 
 The first visit which Heine made with his wife 
 was to his uncle Salomon, who took a liking to 
 Mathilde, since Heine, acting the interpreter 
 with great tact, knew how to get round the fact 
 that she did not understand a word of German. 
 The old gentleman was a kindly, beneficent 
 man, but a fearful domestic tyrant and could not 
 bear to have people converse in his presence in 
 a foreign tongue, because he understood German 
 only. And concerning his German Heine said 
 with no little descriptiveness : " At official 
 dinners a servant stood on one side of the table 
 for the dative and at the other side a servant for 
 the accusative."* 
 
 One of his sons-in-law, who had settled before 
 in England and had there failed in business, 
 liked to embrace every occasion to speak Eng- 
 lish ; one day he carried on in a loud voice a 
 conversation in English with the wife of the 
 British consul, who sat opposite. The old man, 
 who had taken the lady in, listened quietly for a 
 time ; finally he wrinkled his brow and, inter- 
 
 *An allusion to the errors commonly made by Germans in 
 using the accusative for the dative case or vice versa ; more par- 
 ticularly the use of mich for mir. TR.
 
 124 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 i 
 rupting the conversation, said : " Is it not so, my 
 
 son-in-law speaks good English ? but I had to 
 pay for it, for his learning this language cost me 
 half a million marks ! " 
 
 In summer Salomon Heine inhabited a splen- 
 did villa at Ottensen, whose flower garden ran 
 in terraces to the brink of the Elbe, and the 
 family dinners were given there on Wednesday 
 and Sunday. 
 
 Next Sunday the fashionable carriage of Uncle 
 Salomon came round for Heine and his wife in 
 order to take them to the country seat to dine, 
 and Heine accepted this invitation with ill grace, 
 because he knew that Mathilde, his gay child of 
 nature, did not fit in very well with the plutocrats 
 of the family there assembled. 
 
 Aware of the orders of the old gentleman that 
 no one should converse in a foreign tongue, only 
 a few French words were whispered on the sly, 
 and poor Mathilde had to hold her tongue for 
 two hours and bored herself fearfully. At 
 dessert the unlucky chance befell that the old 
 man sent round a bunch of grapes of unusual 
 size, with berries almost as large as plums, 
 which was grown in his hothouse, but only as a
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 125 
 
 curiosity for the amazement of all. When the 
 plate reached Mathilde she took the bunch, 
 since she did not think otherwise than that it 
 was meant for her and she paid those grapes 
 special attention. After a little the old man 
 asked in an irritated way where the bunch was, 
 and when he was told what had occurred, Heine 
 said with quick resolution : " Dear uncle, your 
 grape bunch was a miracle, but still another 
 miracle has occurred it has disappeared ; an 
 angel carried it off." The old man laughed 
 and the grapes were forgotten, for he loved to 
 have his nephew get off impromptus of that 
 sort. 
 
 Another time Heine was speaking of an 
 exchange broker who occasionally was a guest 
 at his uncle's table, had visited a university town 
 in his youth, was somewhat limited in wit, and 
 thought much of good eating, and he said : " Pity 
 that his learning only got as far as his throat." 
 
 Mathilde was glad when she got home again, 
 and declared to her husband that she did not 
 want to visit again the stiff, wearisome society at 
 his uncle's. Heine knew his stubborn little girl 
 and was in great embarrassment, because the
 
 126 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 good will of his uncle was very important to him ; 
 he answered there was only one way out of it, 
 namely, for her to return to Paris without him. 
 As Mathilde insisted on her resolve, her husband 
 was compelled to send her to her early boarding 
 school in care of Mme. Darte at Paris, under 
 the pretense that her mother was ill ; and after 
 a fortnight's stay Mathilde took leave of us, 
 bathed in tears. 
 
 Heine remained in Hamburg and finished his 
 book " Deutschland, ein Wintermarchen," a 
 humorous epic, in which his impressions of the 
 sea voyage of the year before were depicted, 
 and which appeared with the " New Poems " in 
 September, while he was staying in Hamburg.* 
 The severe satirical lashing of the situation of 
 affairs, at that time impossible to endure, aroused 
 in many persons anger and vexation, but the 
 majority on the other hand were astonished at 
 his clever indestructible humor. 
 
 The "Wintermarchen" proved such a pleasure 
 to his uncle Salomon that he made his nephew 
 a round present of money and promised him that 
 
 *For the long poem " Deutschland " see vol. ii. pp. 211-278, 
 TR,
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 127 
 
 the annual income which he received should be 
 continued to his wife after his death. 
 
 Heine took his meals usually in my parent's 
 house and often stayed there in the evening for 
 a jolly gossip over a cup of tea. My sister Anna,* 
 his favorite, made tea for him and had to suffer 
 particularly from his teasing. 
 
 Almost always he inquired : " Is this a cup of 
 tea such as you would have made for yourself, or 
 is it camomile tea?" Weary of this reiterated 
 teasing, she handed her uncle one day a cup of 
 real camomile tea, which he put down from his 
 lips, shuddering, while he exclaimed: "Boo! 
 the bread and butter Miss has taken her re- 
 venge ! " 
 
 Heine's favorite haunt was the pavilion on the 
 Alsterbasin whither he went almost every day 
 and remained gossiping with his friends Dr. Wille, 
 Julius Campe, Dr. Fuchs, Michelis, Dr. Carl 
 Toepfer, Professor Zimmermann and the painter 
 Kizero. 
 
 Sometimes I was allowed to accompany him, 
 and then he sat either monosyllabic, dreamily 
 gazing down on the crinkled waves of the Alster, 
 * Mrs. Anna (Embden) Italiener, born in London,
 
 128 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 following with his eyes a swan as it sailed by, or 
 talkative, giving me excellent hints of what books 
 I ought to select for my reading. He warned me 
 against the reading of newspapers, since less of it 
 sticks in one's memory than what one gains from 
 any ordinary book. He had a high regard for 
 Jean Paul and I must read his works slowly and 
 carefully, which would bear fruit for my whole 
 life! Moreover, he could not recommend me 
 enough to make myself acquainted with the 
 works of Charles Dickens in the absence from 
 the German of the rarely occurring novel of 
 comedy. 
 
 This delightful propinquity came to an end too 
 soon for all of us, for Heine's French publishers 
 asked urgently for his presence in Paris, and 
 after a tender farewell he returned at the begin- 
 ning of October on the steamer by way of Am- 
 sterdam to Paris. 
 
 XLIX 
 
 AMSTERDAM, October n, 1844. 
 DEAREST MOTHER: 
 
 Amsterdam, which we should have reached 
 this morning, was not reached till seven this
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 129 
 
 afternoon. Still, I have had a very pleasant 
 journey and was not sick at all. This very night 
 I travel to the Hague and in two or three days 
 I shall be in Paris, whence I shall not write you 
 at once, as the rest of the journey now is child's 
 play. I hope that these few lines written in the 
 greatest haste will get away this evening. In 
 any event you must have set your mind at rest 
 about me some time ago, since you could see 
 yourself how fine and quiet the weather was. 
 
 I write these few lines on the bench at the rail- 
 way station and with a seasick pen. 
 
 I embrace Lotta. Greetings to all. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 PARIS, October 17, 1844. 
 MY DEAR, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 I trust you received the letter which I wrote 
 you on my arrival in Amsterdam. The rest of 
 my journey was also favored by good weather, 
 and yesterday evening I arrived in Paris in the 
 best health at the side of my dear wife. I found 
 her lively and in good health, and she has con-
 
 130 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 ducted herself like a model of obedience just as I 
 arranged. We are both still as if stunned by the 
 joy of seeing each other again ! We look at each 
 other with big, round eyes, laugh, embrace, talk 
 about you all, laugh again, and the parrot screams 
 in between like mad. How glad I am to see both 
 my birds again ! You see, dear mother, I am as 
 happy as a man well can be, seeing there is 
 nothing perfect in this world. All I need now is 
 a sound head and the presence of my kind 
 mother and my kind Lotta. In a few days I 
 shall miss you still more ; now I am filled too 
 much with the delight of coming back. 
 
 Tell Lotta that she must write me soon (Fau- 
 bourg Poissonttre, No. 46). I shall only write to 
 her later, since I have nothing yet to report to 
 her and she will hear of my happy arrival from 
 this letter. I greet the whole cabal the chicks, 
 the boy, and very special compliments are to be 
 paid in my name and my wife's to my brother-in- 
 law, to whom my wife sends the warmest thanks 
 for his courteous attentions. 
 
 Only write to me soon how Uncle Heine is ; I 
 left you all in such good health that I take yours 
 for granted.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 131 
 
 A great pile of work awaits me here this minute 
 and despite my vile headache I must strain every 
 nerve for the next few months. 
 
 I have bought my wife a marvelous splendid 
 family register, just such an album * as she has 
 been long desiring. She promises to write you 
 soon. Meantime God keep you and you will live 
 long. 
 
 I embrace you, dear mother. Did Jette have 
 to look to see what the wind was very often on 
 
 Wednesday night? 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LI 
 
 PARIS, October 24, 1844. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I see nothing and hear nothing of my chest and 
 yet I need the books that are in it. I pray you 
 write me at once when and how that box left. 
 I am, God be praised, in good health ; my wife is 
 also well. Kisses to Lotta and the children. 
 We talk of you here all the time. Lotta will 
 soon write me, I hope. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 * For lines in Mathilde's album see vol. iii. p. 97.
 
 I3 2 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 LII 
 
 PARIS, November 28, 1844. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 My eyes were in bad case again, but are better 
 now and in order to spare them I write little. 
 Otherwise my wife and I are in good health. 
 We are happy and of good cheer. Your last let- 
 ter is received. Uncle's sickness makes me sad 
 beyond conception ; do write everything at once 
 and often. I have your letter ; I do not know 
 what poem it can be which you mention ; if it 
 relates to me send it to me under separate cover. 
 I beg you to forward the inclosure to Lotta. 
 
 It is late and very dark and my pen is much 
 
 blacker than my heart. 
 
 * # * % * 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LIII 
 
 PARIS, November 28, 1844. 
 MY DEAR, KIND SISTER : 
 
 I thank you for your letter of the i8th. I ought 
 to have written to you long ago and at length. 
 But unhappily my eye trouble had so wretch- 
 edly increased that only with the greatest effort
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 133 
 
 could I write at all and I had nothing of urgent 
 importance to say. My eye, which was shut 
 entirely for three weeks, is now open again, 
 but is still very weak ; the trouble, however, 
 seems periodical, and I shall certainly be 
 quite free from it from time to time. Other- 
 wise I am in excellent condition, have a good 
 appetite, am very quiet, and live pleasantly in 
 my domestic shell. The squanderer is as ever 
 a kind child ; honest, gay, only now and then 
 given to a few whimsies. We are always talking 
 about you all. And I cannot tell you how much 
 my wife admires you all, particularly mother, 
 who is a woman splendidly kind. Kiss her well in 
 my name and my wife's. Kisses to your children 
 too, and the heartiest greetings to your husband. 
 What you write me concerning uncle [Salomon 
 Heine] is very sad. You can imagine my sor- 
 row. At any risk you must not leave me with- 
 out news of his condition ; I expect a weekly 
 bulletin from you. I beg you not to neglect to 
 let me know as often as possible the mournful or 
 pleasant news of the family ; it is beyond all con- 
 ception important to me. I did not imagine 
 this, and my heart is very heavy in consequence.
 
 134 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 My eye trouble, which came upon me immedi- 
 ately I arrived, is to blame that I did not write a 
 minute report to Max, as I intended. I wanted to 
 explain everything to him in a necessarily cautious 
 and clearly stated way and so it happened that 
 I wrote not at all. But it is now a case in which 
 it is your duty to report to him quickly and firmly 
 uncle's condition ; tell him the truth. If there is 
 hope that he may not come too late to fulfill the 
 duties of filial attachment, perhaps he will now 
 hasten thither quicker than before. I pray you 
 write to him at once and keep him also an courant 
 as to the condition of a health so dear to us. 
 
 And now farewell. As soon as my eyes per- 
 mit I shall write more. Besides, it is so dark to- 
 day ! A disgusting, loathsome month ! I await 
 with anxiety your next letter. Greetings to all. 
 Your true brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LIV 
 
 PARIS, December 23, 1844. 
 DEAR CHILD : 
 
 Inclosed a letter to mother, the contents of 
 which is for you too ! I burden you in addition
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 135 
 
 with a commission for Uncle Henry. I had sent 
 him a bill of exchange for one thousand marks 
 drawn on Campe, with the request that he should 
 discount it. Now my kind Uncle Henry sent 
 me yesterday the sum of money, but called my 
 attention to the fact that Campe had not yet 
 accepted it, and though not declining to do so, 
 was waiting for an answer from me to his last 
 letter. 
 
 Since then a difference of opinion has risen be- 
 tween us, which, it is to be hoped, only has a mis- 
 understanding at bottom, and which I explained 
 away in my reply. But since on this occasion I 
 have told him [Campe] very forcibly the truth 
 of the situation, it is just possible that he may 
 not accept my draft. So I wish you would tell 
 Uncle Henry that I thank him very heartily for 
 his confidence, but that in the above circum- 
 stances I shall not allow the draft on Fould re- 
 ceived from him to be paid out to me until 
 I have received news through you that my bill 
 of exchange has been accepted by Campe. If 
 this is not done, I shall send back to Uncle 
 Henry his draft. Tell mother nothing about 
 this. Shall look out for myself better in my
 
 136 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 dealings with Campe, although hitherto I have 
 had no dispute with him. 
 
 My wife has received a Christmas present from 
 Uncle Heine. 
 
 * * * * # 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 On the twenty-third of December 1844 Salo- 
 mon Heine died, and the news of his decease 
 threw the poet, with his nervous temperament, 
 into great excitement. 
 
 Salomon Heine, born 1767 in Hanover, came to 
 Hamburg without means, established himself as 
 an exchange broker after preparing himself for 
 mercantile pursuits, founded the at one time 
 world-famous banking house, and died a million- 
 aire several times over. He was very generally 
 regretted owing to his many works of benev- 
 olence. His most prominent foundations are 
 the Hermann Heine Loan Institute in memory 
 of his son who died in Rome as early as 1830, 
 and the Hamburg Hospital for Israelites * in 
 memory of his wife, Betty Goldschmidt. 
 
 * See vol. ii. p. 106, for Heine's bitter verses suggested by this 
 hospital. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 137 
 
 LV 
 
 PARIS, December 29, 1844. 
 DEAR, KIND SISTER: 
 
 Late yesterday evening I received your letter. 
 You can easily imagine what a frightful night I 
 have passed. My brain is trembling in my head. 
 I am not able yet to put two thoughts together. 
 Although I was prepared for the catastrophe, still 
 it has shaken me so deeply as no event has moved 
 me since the death of my father. I am amazed that 
 you can write me at once under all your sorrow. 
 
 You weep ; but so far I have not been able to 
 shed a tear. You women have this advantage, 
 you can weep easier than men. My wife is 
 crying too ; thrice this night has she come to 
 my room. You are right in saying that time 
 alone can console us under this affliction. How 
 must not that good woman Therese* suffer! 
 
 * Therese, the youngest of Salomon Heine's daughters (died 
 1880) was as little an unhappy youthful love of Heinrich Heine as 
 her older sister, who died before her Mrs. Amalie Friedlander. 
 Certain quotations from his poems may very possibly have refer- 
 ence to Amalie, who was beautiful and clever according to every 
 account and was highly esteemed by the poet. [But see letter cix. 
 for the endeavors of the family to keep Therese from Heine's sick- 
 bed in 1853. TR.]
 
 138 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 And Carl, the poor boy, how much must he have 
 undergone ! I shall not write to the poor children 
 until I am controlled and quiet. My God, what 
 a sorrow ! 
 
 And dear Uncle Henry, how this must fall 
 upon him ! Tell him everything that is affec- 
 tionate. My head will not yet permit me to send 
 condolences. The pen shakes in my hand. 
 Moreover, my eyes are in the most frightful con- 
 dition again. Oh, if I could only weep. 
 
 It was only yesterday that I wrote to him, 
 although I had a premonition of disaster. Let 
 me have all the details of his last moments. 
 This man has played a great role in the history 
 of my life and shall be depicted in a way none 
 shall forget. What a heart ! What a brain ! 
 Concerning his last arrangements I have long 
 been without anxiety ; he himself has told me 
 enough about it or clearly given me to under- 
 stand. I would give my last shilling if I could 
 only have kept him alive five years, or even only 
 three years more ; yes, I would have given the 
 half of my remaining years of life for that satis- 
 faction. And how charmingly he treated my 
 poor mother!
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEItfRICH HEIXE. 139 
 
 He said many harsh things to me ; in his 
 excitement he even gave me a blow with his 
 cane my God, how gladly would I not take my 
 blows again ! If I could only cry! 
 
 I am awaiting with anxiety the woeful letter 
 from mother, who, I know her so well, will not 
 be quieted soon and is now tearing open all the 
 old wounds. Only do you write me at once how 
 Carl is getting on ; and about Therese too, who 
 along with all her firmness is still a tender 
 creature and has already borne much. Her 
 father was all in all to her and she is so like him 
 in her whole nature. Farewell, and write me at 
 once. I have nothing to say to you to-day ; am 
 nothing but a sloppy dishrag to-day. 
 
 I have always been steeled against this occur- 
 rence and long ago repeated to myself every- 
 thing that can comfort us and yet the disaster 
 falls upon me as if it were quite unexpected, 
 quite impossible. Yes, I know it is quite true, 
 that I have lost him, but I cannot believe it yet. 
 
 Greetings to your husband. Kiss the two 
 dear children. Would like to say something gay 
 to them, but to-day all fun is out of me. 
 
 Your brother, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 14 FA MIL Y LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 The sudden news of the death of his uncle 
 Salomon, and the fact that there was no allusion 
 in the will, as his uncle had promised, to a 
 continuation of the annual allowance, had a 
 crushing effect on Heine's health. His only son 
 Carl, who was the chief heir morejudaico, declined 
 to continue the payment and had also ordered 
 withheld the small legacy of eight thousand 
 marks which in accordance with the terms of the 
 will went legally to Heine, because the latter 
 threatened to obtain his rights by way of the law. 
 
 When they besought Heine not to push the 
 matter to the last point, but to compose the dif- 
 ference of opinion with his cousin by attempts at 
 a compromise, he wrote to Hamburg : " I know 
 Carl Heine better than you ; he is as stubborn 
 as he is secretive. One cannot get at him on the 
 line of ambition, for in this respect he is the 
 opposite of his father, who flattered public 
 opinion like a courtier, while it is entirely indif- 
 ferent to my cousin what the people say. He has 
 but three passions women, cigars and quiet. I 
 cannot take from him the two former but his 
 quiet [I can] and it is just a lawsuit that serves 
 my purpose."
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 141 
 
 Both were hot-headed, and it was not till two 
 years later, after many troublesome efforts of his 
 sister Charlotte and various friends, that an un- 
 derstanding with Carl Heine took place. It was 
 agreed to pay an allowance of four thousand 
 francs pranumerando, one-half of which was to 
 continue for his widow after the death of the 
 poet. 
 
 Carl Heine was a man of violent temper but 
 good heart, and the poet's complaints of his 
 knavery were unjust. When Heine's sickness got 
 worse and his nursing cost great outlays, Carl 
 Heine raised the pension voluntarily to eight 
 thousand francs, and Mathilde received as 
 widow not the half allowance stipulated, but 
 every year till the end of her life the sum of 
 five thousand francs probably in remembrance 
 of the fact that when in 1832 the cholera was 
 raging at Paris and Carl Heine had fallen sick of 
 it and was in peril of his life, his health was re- 
 stored to him only through the self-sacrificing 
 nursing of his cousin Heinrich. 
 
 Heine's sickness was very badly heightened by 
 the continuous state of excitement, but a water 
 cure saved him; and in hopes of entire con-
 
 142 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 valescence, he had moved into a country house at 
 the order of his physician. 
 
 LVI 
 
 PARIS, June 24, 1845. 
 MY DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Since about a fortnight I have been living at 
 Montmorency and get rarely into the city. 
 Yesterday evening I came in and heard that a 
 German letter had been forwarded to me at 
 Montmorency, and I suppose that the letter is 
 from you; I shall get it to-morrow, and if it be 
 necessary shall answer it later; if not, then con- 
 tent yourself with the news that we are in good 
 health. I have a little country house in Mont- 
 morency with a pretty garden a veritable 
 paradise en miniature. My wife conducts herself 
 most affectionately and amuses herself with the 
 flowers. My parrot screeches rather too much. 
 My left eye is still closed. I am using sulphur 
 baths, which are excellent for me.. I can scarcely 
 write at all with the pen I am using to-day ; but 
 I must not leave you too long without a letter. 
 I hope that you and Lotta are in good health.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 143 
 
 You must walk a great deal. We talk of you 
 constantly, and you have no conception how my 
 wife loves you. Do write me soon how things 
 are with you. I do very little write nothing! 
 Farewell and keep in affection 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LVII 
 
 PARIS, October 31, 1845. 
 DEAR, PRECIOUS MOTHER : 
 
 Again you are getting very lazy about writing. 
 Your silence makes me still more anxious in a sea- 
 son when the weather itself puts one in bad humor. 
 I hope that you and Lotta are in good case. 
 Things go on here as usual. Nothing note- 
 worthy has happened since I wrote. My wife is 
 well ; indeed, I hope that her illness has entirely 
 forsaken her. We dwell here quiet, peaceful and 
 well, are much at home and recall you in our 
 long winter-evening talks. 
 
 'Tis to be hoped that this year will slink off 
 quietly without any new blows ; it has been a 
 vile year. 
 
 Greet my dear sister heartily ; I have nothing
 
 144 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 
 
 to remark to her, otherwise I should write to her. 
 But she must not leave me without a letter. 
 
 My wife asks to be remembered. At the 
 moment she is occupied in hemming my bed- 
 clothes ; linen is her hobby. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LVIII 
 
 PARIS, April 23, 1846. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I duly received your last letter a fortnight ago 
 and saw that you were well. Not a little am I 
 astonished that your companion Jette is about 
 to don the married woman's cap and will leave 
 you. I shall be in much worry until I hear 
 from you that she has been satisfactorily re- 
 placed. I hope that nothing else disagree- 
 able has happened, and that Lotta is well. 
 Things go on with me as usual ; my trouble 
 draws downward to the lower parts of the face, 
 toward my mouth. But I am fresh and sound at 
 heart ; I intend this year to make a trip to the 
 baths and so do something really serious toward 
 my complete restoration.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 145 
 
 I hardly work at all ; that is certainly the best 
 I can do. Probably I shall leave about the 
 middle of next month. 
 
 My wife is in pretty good condition ; only for 
 the last two days the little birds that grunt have 
 been sounding their pipes a bit. I have moved 
 and am now living a little more comfortably on 
 the same street. My address is ^/ Faubourg Pois- 
 sontire. Write me soon, so that the letter may 
 catch me in Paris. 
 
 My wife asks to be tenderly remembered. 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LIX 
 
 PARIS, December 26, 1846. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 We are at the close of the old year, which has 
 done us as little good as its forerunner. May the 
 new year conduct itself better ! In any event, 
 I congratulate you and our dear Lotta on this 
 change of season. My wife also asks me to tell 
 and wish you everything that is most kind. We 
 embrace you with the most profound tenderness. 
 My wife is now quite well in health and things
 
 146 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 get on much better with me. I drink and eat 
 with a good appetite and have cleared out all 
 the physicians. We live quietly and in the best 
 unity. Talk of you all the time. 
 
 Inclosed a letter which I beg you to send to 
 Campe. 
 
 ***** 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LX 
 
 PARIS, February 28, 1847. 
 DEAR, KIND GLORY OF A MOTHER ! 
 
 Your and Lotta's last letters, in which is the 
 reply to my questions for Campe, has been 
 duly received, and I thank you heartily, dear 
 Lotta, for its prompt furtherance. I have now 
 found a means to secure an immediate answer 
 from you both namely, by giving you a com- 
 mission. I hope you are both in the best of 
 health. A savage cold has set in here which is 
 not exactly favorable to me. Still, I keep pretty 
 well, my condition improves pen &fleu,ar\d I look 
 forward to an agreeable spring and summer. 
 Only my poor eyes are suffering very much, or 
 rather the convulsive paralysis drags my eyelids
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1 47 
 
 down more and more, so that I am seeing very 
 badly ; the eyes themselves are sound. 
 
 I am now on entirely good terms with Carl 
 Heine ; indeed, I am even satisfied with him ! 
 Not only is he to pay me the pension which 
 I received from his father down to the end 
 of my life, but he has besides imparted to me 
 the solemn promise that after my death (God 
 preserve me !) the half of the sum, namely two 
 thousand four hundred francs, shall go to my 
 wife for life if she survives me. I am more 
 pleased with that than if he had made me a 
 present of a large sum of money. It is a great 
 question, 'tis true, if she do survive me ; but she 
 is so spoiled and inexperienced that I cannot 
 sufficiently care for her. If she had more sense, 
 I would have occupied myself less with her 
 future ; and here again you see how foolishness 
 is a happy gift from God, for other persons must 
 look out for the foolish. My business looks well 
 in other respects. I do not mean the stock ex- 
 change, from which I have withdrawn with a 
 black eye ! 
 
 We are always talking here about you and dear 
 Lotta and the children. May God preserve you !
 
 148 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Fine compliments to my brother-in-law 
 Moritz, particularly from my wife, whose head 
 has been quite turned by him. Carl was sur- 
 prised to hear with what enthusiasm my wife 
 talked of Moritz; he also spoke of him in 
 praise. 
 
 And now farewell, and keep me in affection. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXI 
 
 PARIS, March 27, 1847. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 For some days the most marvelous fine weather 
 has favored us here, but it is still too sultry to be 
 healthy ; the whole world is more or less out of 
 kilter, and for my part I am still suffering with 
 my eyes. You cannot conceive how unpleasant 
 it is not to be allowed to read, and also not to go 
 to the theater because of the frightful gas lights ; 
 here I sit every evening en t$te-h-tete with my 
 wife, who has to take the place of all other 
 amusements. I have hired a wondrous fine 
 country place at Montmorency ; it costs likewise 
 a wondrous fine sum, one thousand francs for the 
 season, and in May I shall move out there and
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 149 
 
 give myself up to the most complete, nerve 
 strengthening quiet. 
 
 And how are things with you ? Only write me 
 lots. Lotta also is thanked for every line she 
 writes me. 
 
 I have published "Atta Troll" in French, and 
 it is an incredible success. 
 
 Farewell ; I must now go out for a walk in this 
 beautiful weather. 
 
 Your loving, faithful, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine wrote in the preface to the French 
 issue: "'Atta Troll' was written in 1841 at a 
 time when the so-called political poesy bloomed. 
 The opposition sold out its junk shop and turned 
 to poesy. The Muses received the most strict 
 orders no longer to loaf about in a lazy and friv- 
 olous way, but to enter into the service of the 
 fatherland, as who should say the market women 
 of liberty, or the laundresses of the truly Chris- 
 tian and Germanic nation ! By the eternal gods ! 
 at that time it was necessary to stand up for the 
 inalienable rights of the intellect, especially in 
 poetry. As this stand was the grand purpose of
 
 150 FAMILY LIFE OF IIEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 my life, I have naturally least of all lost sight 
 of it in the present poem, and the prosody, 
 as well as the contents thereof, was a protest 
 against the plebiscita held by the journalistic 
 tribunes of the day. 
 
 "And in fact, the very first fragments of 'Atta 
 Troll ' which were printed roused the spleen of 
 my character-heroes, of my Romans, who accused 
 me not merely of a literary but of a social 
 reaction ; yea verily, of scorn for the most holy 
 ideas concerning mankind ! With respect to the 
 aesthetic value of my poem, I gladly gave that 
 up, and wrote it for my own joy and delectation 
 in the fantastic dream-method of that romantic 
 school in which I have passed the pleasantest of 
 my youthful years. In this respect, perhaps, my 
 poem is damnable. But thou liest, Brutus; thou 
 liest, Cassius ; and, Asinius, thou liest likewise, 
 when ye maintain that my jesting is aimed at 
 those ideas which are a valuable gain made by 
 mankind, for the which I myself have battled and 
 suffered so much ! No, just because those ideas 
 are always floating before the poet with the most 
 beautiful distinctness, just so much the more 
 irresistible is the desire to laugh which seizes
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEItfRICIt HEINE. 151 
 
 him when he perceives how rudely, lumpishly and 
 lubberly these very ideas have been conceived 
 by the narrow minds of his contemporaries. 
 Then he jokes, as it were, across their temporal 
 bearskins. There are mirrors which are ground 
 at such a slant that an Apollo himself must be 
 reflected in them as a caricature and compel 
 our laughter. But then we laugh at the distorted 
 picture, not the god." 
 
 LXII 
 
 PARIS, April 19, 1847. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I have received your letter of the I3th, 
 and see with delight that you are in good health 
 and moreover that Madame Gustav has calved. 
 I send him congratulations through you. So far 
 he has been able to engender girls only ; that is 
 nothing; I, had I wished, might have been at 
 present the father of nine daughters just as well 
 as Apollo who engendered the nine Muses. I 
 hear nothing but good of Gustav from Vienna ; 
 he is getting on splendidly, it seems. Formerly 
 I heard with great bewilderment that he was liv-
 
 IS 2 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 ing in a very economical way ('tis true I thought 
 of the commissioner). Greet him heartily for 
 me ; I often think of him, and it was only yester- 
 night that I recollected how once as a little boy 
 he assured us that he loved his mother more 
 than his cat ; nay, that he loved her more than 
 six cats ! 
 
 My dear Lotta I embrace fraternally as well as 
 the children. I am gay and well, but rail against 
 the world ; and if by chance you hear that I am 
 on a diet of grass, be assured that I am only 
 taking a bite at a good cooky ! 
 
 Unhappily, nothing is changed as regards my 
 eyes ; it is the cramp also that affects the mouth ; 
 probably it will vanish under the nerve-sooth- 
 ing air and quiet of the country. I shall permit 
 no doctors near me any more. I notice that all 
 the people who have died this winter have had a 
 physician ! 
 
 At the present moment, while I am preparing 
 to move into the country, I am employed with 
 the arrangement of my papers. This time I am 
 going through all my letters again and burning 
 all in which the slightest thing occurs which 
 might be taken up, especially in family matters.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 15$ 
 
 Unhappily I have been forced to give to the 
 flames a part of the letters from you and almost 
 all of those from Lotta ; a thing that hurt me 
 grievously, since I love you both more than six 
 cats! 
 
 As you know, I have published "Atta Troll ' in 
 French and am delighted by the extraordinary 
 applause it has found. Greet Max for me when 
 you write, and I pray you send me again his 
 address at St. Petersburg ; I mislaid it and want 
 to spare myself the trouble of looking it up. 
 
 Just now my wife came in (she lives six rooms 
 away from my workroom) and without my tell- 
 ing it noticed that I was writing to you two and 
 asked to be remembered with many kisses and 
 tender words. 
 
 This cat also I love more than six other cats. 
 She asks particularly to be remembered to my 
 brother-in-law and on the same occasion I also 
 add a few greetings for Moritz. Dear Lotta, you 
 have no conception how very favorably my wife 
 was impressed by your husband. She also sends 
 her greetings to Ludwig, worshipful my nephew. 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 154 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 LXIII 
 
 PARIS, May 8, 1847. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I thought to have an occasion to send some- 
 thing to Hamburg and so I arranged for the pur- 
 pose a little chest in which were two silk dresses, 
 a black gown for you, and a violet-hued, bright- 
 colored robe for my dear Lotta. But as the occa- 
 sion did not turn up I put the little chest into the 
 straight postal road in order that perchance you 
 may get it by way of Havre. 
 
 Although I gave orders to prepay it at Havre 
 (one cannot prepay through to Hamburg from 
 here) I do not know whether that has been done, 
 and perhaps, dear mother, you have been com- 
 pelled to pay a heavy expressage. Tell me if 
 this has been the case. I and my wife looked up 
 the gowns ourselves and my wife enjoyed herself 
 like a child doing it ; and she hopes that Lotta will 
 agree with her taste. It is understood that in no 
 case have I reckoned on your agreement, and I 
 shall be satisfied if you do not scold me about it ! 
 
 We greet and kiss you both. 
 
 True and loving! 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 155 
 
 LXIV 
 
 MONTMORENCY, June /, 1847. 
 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 Your and Lotta's kind letter, in which the 
 reception of my small chest is announced, was 
 received here duly at the proper time, since for 
 the last three weeks I have been here in my coun- 
 try place so marvelous fine, where I enjoy the 
 pleasantest and most comfortable existence. 
 
 A big garden, almost a park, where are tall 
 trees in which the " nightingoles," as old Nathan 
 David of Copenhagen used to say, sing in most 
 delightful fashion. And meantime I do nothing 
 and take care of my health. 
 
 You see that you need be under no anxiety on 
 my account. My wife is as jolly withal as a 
 monkey, brightens the hours in which I am low- 
 spirited, and indeed conducts herself excellently. 
 Were it not for my eye trouble, which compels 
 me to deny myself all reading, I would lack for 
 nothing unless it be my mother and sister; but 
 we talk constantly about you with the most pro- 
 found affection. 
 
 At this moment a ballet by me is being re-
 
 156 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 hearsed in London at Her Majesty's Theater. 
 As it has already been paid for by the manager 
 (and with an enormously big sum) I shall await 
 the result quite without disquiet ; if it be a bril- 
 liant success, as expected, there springs up for 
 me in England a new source of pecuniary help, 
 the like of which till now I have never found 
 in Germany, and also not in France. I kiss 
 heartily my dear Lotta and her children. 
 
 My wife, that charming squanderer, asks to be 
 remembered heartily to you all, and particularly 
 to my brother-in-law. My parrot screams at this 
 moment as if he also wished to have his compli- 
 ments forwarded to Hamburg. 
 
 Your 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXV 
 
 MONTMORENCY, June 22, 1847. 
 
 DEAREST, KIND, HONEST MOTHER : 
 
 I know not why, but for several days the 
 thought has been torturing me that you might be 
 out of sorts, and I will confess that I would I had 
 a letter from you ere this ! So don't let me wait 
 long for news of you. Since I have suffered so
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINKICH HEINE. 157 
 
 much from my eyes, I write with nicely whittled 
 feather nibs, which the devil fly away with ! for 
 among the score there is scarcely one that is good. 
 
 My kind cat asks to be heartily remembered. 
 She is happy to have a country place with so big 
 and beautiful a garden where she can occupy 
 herself from early morn to late evening with 
 watering, gathering fruit, with planting and 
 pruning ; she wears a big brown straw hat and is 
 the most innocent delightfulness in person. 
 
 I kiss my dear Lotta but write, write, write 
 Your 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXVI 
 
 MONTMORENCY, July 2/, 1847. 
 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 If I write you little at present, that comes 
 from the fact that I have really nothing profitable 
 to impart ; besides., since living in the country I 
 have become so lazy that I have a regular loath- 
 ing for ink and pen. I am on the whole well, 
 but my eye trouble is stubborn. I must read 
 almost not at all ; writing likewise is not par- 
 ticularly wholesome for me.
 
 158 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 
 
 This winter in Paris I shall procure a reader, 
 who can also serve as a secretary. If therefore 
 you get a letter from me some day which is not 
 in my handwriting, do not be scared ; I give you 
 warning six months in advance. I hope that 
 in your last letter (which you addressed directly 
 hither) you told the truth and are really in good 
 health. You have no idea how I worry very 
 often when I think of you. I go to Paris rarely, 
 and live here, quiet and peaceful, in my country 
 state ; I care for myself with conscientiousness. 
 
 A disgracefully bad rain storm has been going 
 for two days, and the little grunty birds are 
 piping with my wife. She loves you and Lotta 
 unspeakably and we talk of you constantly. Her 
 conduct is excellent barring a slight indulgence 
 in moods and the worst of prodigality. All the 
 same, since I have no children she only squanders 
 her own money after all, since I shall leave her 
 less at my death than I woujd had she been 
 economical! 
 
 I greet my dear Lotta and the children heartily. 
 Ah, if to-day I only had a little barley soup such 
 as one can eat at Lotta's house, or an Auflauf 
 such as Anna loves to eat ! Farewell, and write
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 159 
 
 directly to me here at Montmorency at the 
 given address. 
 
 Rain is falling from the sky as if from buckets. 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXVII 
 
 MONTMORENCY, September 21, 1847. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Your nice letter of the third of the month was 
 received all right and I perceive therefrom with 
 pleasure that you are well. I am getting from 
 Germany various letters of good wishes in which 
 I am congratulated on the complete restoration 
 of my health ; what this refers to I know not, 
 since it is months that I have not read a line. 
 
 I notify you to-day that in three days I shall 
 leave Montmorency again owing to the approach- 
 ing wet and frosty season. For the time being I 
 shall move again into my old dwelling (Faubourg 
 Poissontire No. ^/), whither you are to address 
 all your letters. But about the beginning of 
 October I shall have a new house and will notify 
 you just as soon as I have moved in without mis- 
 hap. What a bang and bounce and dingdong
 
 160 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 in order to make the shreds of life a little bear- 
 able ! My wife asks to be remembered ; she is 
 very busy. She and the parrot scold all the day 
 long but I have need of both. My eyes are 
 still suffering and I cannot read. Do write me 
 often and much, but I warn you beforehand 
 can't write much! 
 
 I greet heartily my dear, darling Lotta, and 
 send kisses by her to all her children. My wife 
 has solemnly bound me to send extra greetings 
 to my nephew beside those for the entire gos- 
 sipred. For my brother-in-law Moritz likewise 
 the friendliest greetings ! 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXVIII 
 
 PARIS, October 28, 1847. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I am living now 21 Rue de la Victoire that's 
 the main thing I have to report to you to-day. 
 
 Just think the twenty-first of last month I left 
 Montmorency and moved into my old lodgings, 
 and a fortnight ago I had to leave them again 
 and move into new quarters. So I have been
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 161 
 
 moving twice ! What a burden for my poor 
 wife ! In the midst of this bother my maid- 
 servant left, and for ten days my wife had to 
 perform her work ! So now she is as if beaten 
 to pieces and in consequence I am very woeful. 
 Otherwise, however, things go nicely with us. 
 My eyes are always in a suffering state. Your 
 letter was duly received with the inclosure- from 
 Christiani. His eye troubles are from a very dif- 
 ferent source. This winter I shall try something 
 better. 
 
 Farewell ! Dear Lotta, I kiss you, and you, 
 dear mother, I kiss twice ! 
 
 Your obedient son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXIX 
 
 PARIS, November 6, 1847. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Your and Lotta's letter of the eleventh of the 
 month was duly received, and with great sorrow 
 I find that you have been ill and perhaps are not 
 yet restored to health. The frightfulest thing 
 in being separated is that at a distance one 
 imagines the sufferings of one's dear ones as
 
 1 62 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 much greater than if they were near, where the 
 mere sight of them acts as a comfort. I pray you, 
 dearest mother, to write me at once, or let some- 
 one write at once, how things are with you the 
 strictest truth for I can stand everything except 
 uncertainty. I do not understand how my delay 
 in writing could have disquieted you; long ago I 
 prepared you for the fact that in this season all 
 possible bangs and bounces fall on my shoulders. 
 
 My new dwelling is finer but smaller than the 
 other ; so far I am satisfied with it (Rue de la 
 Victoire, 21, Ter). 
 
 To you, dear Lotta, heartiest thanks for the 
 last two letters ; only do write me a great deal, 
 particularly in regard to the family, because here 
 I learn nothing. Your project to visit me here de- 
 lights me ; my wife also is beside herself with joy. 
 
 But to-day I shall write you little in this 
 matter, since I suffer to-day more than com- 
 monly with my eyes. But I will write you next 
 time at length concerning the carrying out of 
 your plan. Write me, dear Lotta, your present 
 address, since I shall probably have to give some- 
 one a letter of introduction to you and never 
 know the address.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 163 
 
 Your husband as well as the children and my Sir 
 Nephew are to be greeted for me. My wife sends 
 kisses in bianco. Farewell, and keep me in affection. 
 
 Oh, if only my old Mausel* were in good 
 
 health once more ! 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXX 
 
 PARIS, December 4, 1847. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I perceive with pleasure from your last letter 
 that you are on the way to betterment, and I 
 hope that you have told the truth. With regard 
 to my health, I am always suffering with my eyes, 
 but in other respects I am in better case than 
 usual. Indeed for the last two years I have 
 not felt so young and well from my heart as I 
 have the last fortnight ; that comes from the 
 draft of herbs which I am now drinking as a cure 
 and which, according to the assurances of my 
 physician, will radically restore me ; so that I 
 look forward to a good winter. As soon as my 
 cure is finished I will tell you more about it. I 
 have a pen with which I am not able to write and, 
 moreover, cannot cut myself another, since un- 
 * Affectionate name for his mother. TR.
 
 1 64 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 fortunately my house is not a very light one 
 the latter is in general not up to my desires, since, 
 particularly to-day, I am always within sound of 
 knocking. 
 
 Unless I am mistaken your birthday ought to 
 fall somewhere hereabout and I send you my 
 wishes for good luck with the heartiest love. As 
 I do not know that I shall write to you before 
 New Year's, I am congratulating you twice over 
 on this occasion. What shall I present to you on 
 Christmas ? A candelabrum of crystal for your 
 drawing room, or a Turkish carpet ? I saw one 
 yesterday that only cost eight thousand francs. 
 My wife has already bought my Christmas present 
 (with the money she has laid by), namely, a magnifi- 
 cent night-chair, which is really so magnificent that 
 the goddess Hammonia* would not be ashamed 
 of it. I would not swap it against the throne of 
 the King of Prussia, and sit upon it quiet and safe. 
 ***** 
 
 I kiss my dear Lotta as~well as the children. 
 Write to me soon, my good, dear old Mausel ! 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 * Tutelary goddess and patron saint of Hamburg. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 165 
 
 LXXI 
 
 PARIS, December 29, 1847. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I am always writing to you under the most 
 vexatious external hindrances, for in my house the 
 knocking never ceases and the chimneys smoke. 
 So I shall move as soon as I can find a new house. 
 
 My cure begins to tell fairly, but my eyes are 
 still always suffering ; wherefore I am able to 
 write but little. Wiesbaden can do me no good. 
 Christiani's recovery there is a special matter of 
 its own. Christiani gambled at Wiesbaden, and 
 when he had gambled away all his money there 
 suddenly his eyes were opened ! ! 
 
 My kind wife asks to congratulate you and my 
 dear sister on the new year. We wish happiness 
 and blessing to you ! 
 
 Do write to me soon ; I am very sorrowful 
 when I remain a few weeks without a letter from 
 you two ! The old departing year was a vile 
 one ! The devil take it ! 
 
 Write, write ! Soon, soon ! 
 
 Your obedient son, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 1 66 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 LXXII 
 
 PARIS, January 19, 1848. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Your last letter containing good wishes for the 
 new year was duly received and I hope that 
 the report of your good health is the truth. So 
 far as I am concerned I find myself better than 
 usual, very much better, and though the cure 
 does not work so quickly on my eyes as I could 
 wish, yet it has already relieved me of several 
 troubles, such as pains in the lower stomach, 
 headache,and the like. In a few days I must move 
 out again ; my infamous landlord has quartered 
 his horses under my sleeping chamber contrary 
 to right and compact, and these stamp the whole 
 night through and rob me of my sleep. I pass 
 the whole day outside the house on account of 
 the banging. I write in a hurry before going out, 
 and it is still dark at nine o'clock. My poor 
 wife was very sick yesterday. What I must 
 bear with ! 
 
 Just now my wife had me called ; she has 
 passed a good night and I hope she will soon 
 feel her wings again. Yesterday she had an
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 167 
 
 attack of the nerves, and she bit through with 
 her teeth in a cramp-like way the glass of 
 water which was held to her lips for refreshment ; 
 they had to tear the bits of glass out of her 
 mouth ! Imagine my terror ! I trust that no 
 splinter has been left. Nothing but scares and 
 unpleasantnesses ! What I bear with ! Often 
 human life hangs on a single thread ! 
 
 In the English papers they have got me dead 
 again and regret very much my early demise. 
 In the German papers I am at least three-quar- 
 ters dead. I am used to this sort of thing now. 
 
 I kiss you, dear Lotta, and beg that you will 
 write me a good deal, especially about dear 
 mother. As soon as I move into the new house 
 I will notify you of the new address. 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXIII 
 
 PARIS, January 27, 1848. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I only want to tell you hurriedly that in a few 
 days I shall move into my new house and that 
 my address is Rue de Berlin, No. 9, & Paris.
 
 1 68 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Write me therefore soon. My dear wife is quite 
 restored again and scolds as much as ever. We 
 live very peacefully for the most part, but she 
 worries me in small matters. Particularly I have 
 to support a great deal from her love of cleanli- 
 ness, and then she reminds me not seldom of 
 squinting Nan, who drove me to madness with 
 her schrubben. 
 
 I expect a big letter from you, dear Lotta, and 
 meantime I kiss you and the chicks. I still find 
 that I am well ; but my original cure has been 
 neutralized by the scare and the constant noise 
 in the house. 
 
 I love you unspeakably, my dear, good mother ! 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine concealed from his old mother the true 
 facts of his health, excusing the illegible writing 
 by bad pens, and described his severe sufferings 
 as a temporary indisposition. The miraculous 
 draft of Dr. Sichel did not have the promised ac- 
 tion, and just as little did the water cure of Dr. 
 Wertheim. 
 
 Heine now took for his physician Dr. Gruby, a 
 Hungarian, and at his suggestion entered the
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 169 
 
 private hospital of his friend Faultrier. Fright- 
 ful cramps, beginning at the head and raging 
 through the whole body down to the feet, made 
 large doses of morphia necessary in order to ob- 
 tain a merely passing alleviation. In the midst of 
 these violent sufferings the February Revolution 
 suddenly broke out. Heine, no less surprised 
 than all the rest of the world, said concerning the 
 fall of Louis Philippe : " Luck in war is rare with 
 old people ; Louis Philippe skedaddled in the 
 first confusion of the battle, and so we found our- 
 selves in the Republic, without knowing what 
 had happened to us." 
 
 Heine stayed at his friend Faultrier's place 
 till the end of March, and then in May, somewhat 
 strengthened, moved into a country place at 
 Passy. 
 
 LXXIV 
 
 PARIS, March 30, 1848. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Just because it is so stormy in the world and 
 things are particularly turbulent here, I can write 
 you but little. The row has reduced me very 
 much, physically and morally. I am discouraged
 
 17 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 as never before. Want to live quite still now 
 and bother my head about nothing more. Right 
 in the midst of the crisis of my cure the hubbub 
 began and I have paid not only in money but 
 also in health. Should matters turn still more 
 gloomy, as I fear, I shall depart with my wife, or 
 else alone. Am very grumpy. In Germany too 
 it must not be very agreeable, and thither I have 
 no great longing either. My wife is well. We 
 live quietly and apart from the world. In no 
 circumstances shall I put myself forward. Not- 
 withstanding, I am much slandered by the Ger- 
 mans here. They are screaming because I 
 accepted money from the fallen government, 
 since my name is on the list of pensioners. 
 
 The weather is marvelous fine and I walk a 
 great deal. My household goes along in its quiet 
 jog trot. My wife conducts herself well. If she 
 did not conduct herself well, I would give her 
 her freedom now, as all the kings now give their 
 peoples liberty ; then she would soon see what is 
 the upshot of freedom ! * 
 
 You have no idea what miser e prevails here now. 
 
 * For a charming little poem on his wife, see vol. iii. p. 267. 
 TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 17 J 
 
 The whole world is becoming free and bankrupt. 
 Farewell ! 
 
 Do write me a great deal, dear mother. And 
 you too, dear Lotta. But don't reckon on news 
 from me ; I take up the pen only too unwill- 
 ingly. Am afraid of writing. In order to make 
 my address still more distinct, write down : To 
 H. Heine chez Mr. Faultrier, 84 Rue de Lourcine, 
 & Paris. I have all my letters addressed in that 
 way now, because I do not trust my house porter. 
 Did the family lose much money? Do write 
 me a good deal, dear Lotta, and kiss the children. 
 My wife sends hearty greetings. 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 The February Revolution at first enlivened 
 Heine with a new enthusiasm of youth, and he 
 moaned : " What a piece of bad luck to witness 
 such a revolution in my condition ! I ought to 
 have been dead, or else well." His report of the 
 three great February days to the Allgemeine 
 Zeitung began : " My head was as if stunned 
 endless drumming, shooting and Marseillaise ! 
 The last, that unceasing song, almost split my 
 brain, and alas! a mob of thoughts most perilous
 
 1?2 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 to governments, which I had held imprisoned 
 there for years, broke their way again to light ! " 
 
 But from his letters to his mother alone one 
 can see that the revolutionary chaos which 
 aggravated the poet's nervous trouble soon occa- 
 sioned a reaction from his happy feelings; and 
 this disgust increased when the Allgemeine 
 Zeitung, referring to an article in the French 
 journal Revue Retrospective', cast a bad light on 
 Heine's view of the situation. 
 
 Publications from the archives of the last 
 government under the ministry of Guizot showed 
 that several persons enjoyed pensions from the 
 fallen government, and among them Heine too, 
 and from the same budget which afforded sup- 
 port to Gustavson the ex-King of Sweden, 
 Prince Godoy, the famous historian Augustin 
 Thierry and many political refugees and artists ; 
 among Germans to Dr. Weil, editor of the Stutt- 
 garter Zeitung, Schmieder, counsel to the lega- 
 tion and to Baron von Klindworth. 
 
 Quite lately the accusations made at that 
 time have been repeated ; they were charges 
 which Heine met by a public statement in the 
 Allgemeine Zeitung of Augsburg. As this is
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 173 
 
 not known to everyone it is given at full length 
 here. 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 " For some little time the Revue Retrospective 
 has been amusing itself with the publication of 
 papers from the archives of the late government 
 and among others it has also made public the 
 accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 during the leadership of Guizot. 
 
 " The fact that the name of the undersigned 
 was given together with a certain sum of money 
 opened a wide field for suspicions of the most 
 hateful kind, and a malicious putting of two 
 and two together, for which there was no warrant 
 in the Revue Retrospective. This has served a 
 correspondent of the Allgemeine Zeitung the 
 foolish purpose of an accusation which, without 
 beating about the bush, points to this: that 
 Guizot's Ministry had bought my pen for cer- 
 tain sums of money in order to defend the 
 measures of its government. The editors of the 
 Allgemeine Zeitung accompany this correspond- 
 ence with a note in which the opinion is 
 uttered that I may have received that subsidy
 
 174 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 not so much for what I wrote as for that which 
 I did not write. 
 
 "The editors of the Allgemeine Zeitung, who 
 for twenty years have had abundant occasion to 
 remark (not so much through that part of my 
 writings which they printed as, far more, by that 
 which they declined to print) that I am not a 
 servile writer who would allow his silence to be 
 bought the said editors at any rate might have 
 spared me that levis nota. I do not offer these 
 lines in answer to the article of the correspond- 
 ent, but to the editorial note, and will explain as 
 distinctly as possible my relations to the minis- 
 try of Guizot. Higher interests determine me to 
 take this step not the little matter of my per- 
 sonal safety, not even the question of honor. 
 My honor is not in the keeping of the next best 
 newspaper correspondent ; nor is the next best 
 daily journal the court for it : I can be judged 
 only before the assizes of the history of literature. 
 Besides, I cannot admit that generosity shall be 
 interpreted as fear and reviled as such. 
 
 " No ; the support which I received from the 
 Guizot administration was no tribute ; it was 
 merely a support ; it was I am calling things
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1-75 
 
 by their right names the splendid alms which 
 the French people have distributed to so many 
 thousands of strangers who through their zeal for 
 the cause of Revolution have been more or less 
 gloriously compromised in their own homes and 
 have sought an asylum at the hospitable hearth of 
 France. I accepted such support in money soon 
 after the time when those regrettable decrees 
 of the Bundestag appeared which sought to ruin 
 me financially as the leader of the band of so- 
 called Young Germany, decrees which laid under 
 ban not only my existing writings but in 
 advance all other writings which might come 
 later from my pen, aiming by this means to 
 rob me without right or verdict of the means of 
 existence. The reason that the payment of the 
 assistance in money was assigned to the budget 
 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and moreover 
 to the fund for pensions, which is not sub- 
 mitted to public examination, lay chiefly in this, 
 that at the moment the other budgets were too 
 heavily laden. Perhaps, too, the French Govern- 
 ment did not wish to support publicly a man 
 who was always a thorn in the side of the Ger- 
 man legations and whose banishment had been
 
 1 76 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 demanded on many occasions. It is widely 
 known how urgently my most royal and Prussian 
 friends enlightened the French Government 
 with such claims. But Mr. Guizot refused stiff- 
 neckedly my banishment and paid me my pen- 
 sion every month, regularly, without an omission. 
 Never did he demand from me the slightest 
 service in return ! When I waited upon him 
 soon after he had taken the portfolio of Foreign 
 Affairs, and thanked him for having notified me 
 of the continuance of my pension notwithstanding 
 the Radical complexion of my views, he answered 
 me with a kindly melancholy: 'I am not a 
 person to refuse a German poet who lives in 
 exile a bit of bread.' These words were said 
 to me by Mr. Guizot in November 1840, and this 
 was the first and last time in my life that I had 
 the honor of speaking to him. 
 
 " I have given the editors of the Revue Retro- 
 spective the proofs which establish the truth of the 
 above explanations, and they can now, as French 
 loyaute" demands, speak their minds from the au- 
 thentic sources which are open to them as to the 
 meaning and origin of the pension in question. 
 
 " H. HEINE. 
 
 L "PARIS, May 15, 1848."
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 1 77 
 
 LXXV 
 
 PASSY, May 27, 1848. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 For the last three days I have been living at 
 Passy in a house with garden ; the place is dis- 
 tant half an hour from Paris. I do not know 
 whether I have hit it off rightly with this dwell- 
 ing, and whether new disturbances will not em- 
 bitter my life here. Up to the present, bad luck 
 has always followed me with every change of 
 dwelling. For the moment, things go fairly with 
 me. I write you these lines in the open air, 
 under a green arbor, where the sunshine plays 
 on my paper a very pretty effect, but it bothers 
 me a good deal in writing. My eye trouble, and 
 in general the paralysis of the muscles of my 
 face, are momentarily in their most insufferable 
 bloom, and for that reason my poor wife has to 
 bear a good deal from my grumpiness. Yet just 
 now we have breakfasted together at the same 
 table on which I am now writing, and we have 
 been enjoying greatly our domestic quiet as 
 well as fine asparagus and strawberries ! 
 
 How are things with you ? How does dear
 
 178 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 Lotta get on these terrible times ? Are you 
 sure you have enough sugar so that the straw- 
 berries can lie comfortably and be warmly tucked 
 in? 
 
 This year is no saccharine one, and the whole 
 world finds a bitter taste in the mouth. 
 
 I take no bother for anything, and my disease 
 itself perhaps protects me at this moment from 
 fatal dangers to which I might have been ex- 
 posed had I been able to plunge into the daily 
 battles crazed and well ! 
 
 I have a letter from Gustav and his wife ; 
 he asserts that he is a happy father of a family 
 and in the enjoyment of the greatest domestic 
 
 bliss. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 My address now is 64 grande Rue h Passy, 
 firh de Paris. Write me soon and much. I 
 end here and kiss you both, as well as the 
 children. 
 
 At this moment the rays of sunlight dazzle 
 me too much. The parrot is screaming and my 
 wife sends regards. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 179 
 
 LXXVI 
 
 PASSY, June 10, 1848. 
 DEAREST SISTER: 
 
 My wife desires that I should not keep you 
 any longer in a state of too great deception 
 regarding the facts of my health, a deception 
 which was necessary owing to mother ; so that if 
 I die you should not be too much horrified. But 
 that extreme, dear child, will not occur so very 
 soon, it is to be hoped, and I can still drag my- 
 self through life for a dozen years more just as I 
 am God's pity! Have been so lame for a fort- 
 night that I have to be carried like a child ; my 
 legs are like cotton. My eyes horribly bad. 
 Internally, however, I am well, and brain and 
 stomach are sound. Am well cared for and have 
 lack of nothing to meet the great expenses of 
 sickness; . . . 
 
 My wife conducts herself admirably, and we 
 live very pleasantly. If I die in this condition, 
 my end will be still far better than that of a 
 thousand other people. Now you know where 
 you stand. 
 
 Gladly would I have visited you this summer;
 
 I So FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 perhaps I shall see you the coming spring, or 
 perhaps you will be coming hither next year. 
 This year I am at bottom glad not to be able to 
 see you here, on account of the rumblings of the 
 world's revolution which you must have to bear 
 quite as much as we do here. Yes, we live in a 
 wretched period, and I want to enjoy a sight of 
 you again while I am gay and well not just for 
 a few sickly moments. But shall I ever be 
 better? God, who guides all things for the best, 
 alone knows that. Write me often and at length 
 how everything is in the family. Now as earlier 
 let us conceal my sickness from mother, 
 ***** 
 
 Shadowy kisses, shadowy passion, 
 
 Lives of shadow passing strange ! 
 
 Deem you, sister, things their fashion 
 
 True shall keep with never a change? 
 
 Things we kept in warm affection, 
 Like to dream shapes off they sweep. 
 Hearts forget each predilection 
 And our eyelids close in sleep.* 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Quiet was necessary in Heine's nervous con- 
 dition, for the noisy life of Paris, where crowds 
 
 * See vol. ii. p. 32. The words are the same except that Schives- 
 ter has been substituted for Narrin, TR.
 
 CHARLOTTE EMBUEN, HEINE'S ONLY SISTER.
 
 FAMILY LtFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 181 
 
 of people marched about the streets singing and 
 making a row, put him in a fever of excitement 
 and made living in the city unbearable. He 
 moved into a country house in a retired quiet 
 neighborhood and with a good air, hoping there- 
 by to obtain some alleviation of his sufferings. 
 Unfortunately this effect was not obtained, and 
 the poet's health, instead of being improved in 
 Passy, was rather worsened. He wrote in this 
 connection : 
 
 LXXVII 
 
 PASSY, August 12, 1848. 
 DEAREST SISTER: 
 
 The condition of my eyes is so indifferent that 
 I purchase each letter which I write with my 
 own hand at the cost of the most violent pains, 
 and since you would surely not wish to have a 
 letter at such a price, I shall to-day and here- 
 after make use of a strange pen in order to im- 
 part to you news of my health. It has not in 
 any way improved, but there is no danger pres- 
 ent, and the sad thing about it is just this, that I 
 stick to life. So you need not be anxious, but I 
 do deserve pity in the highest degree.
 
 182 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 I am often martyred by the most horrible 
 cramps, and at the same time have to sit like a man 
 in chains. For two months I have entirely lost the 
 use of my feet and legs and have to be rolled to 
 and fro on a chair. I have become a miserable 
 paralytic who would be a great burden to you if 
 I were with you. Still, I support myself with 
 the idea of coming to visit you next year, and 
 meantime we have leisure to arrange everything 
 with regard to my comfort. It is not possible 
 this year ; I have a thousand things to put in 
 order here, since the revolution and my sudden 
 mishap of paralysis have thrown all my worldly 
 affairs into the most complete confusion. I hope 
 things will get on better, and meantime I bear 
 my fate with patience. My wife loses her head 
 and acts often as if crazed. 
 
 I have not yet written to Max, but shall 
 soon. Greet your husband for me and kiss 
 for me my dear nieces. To Ludwig my 
 hearty greeting, and thanks for his loving 
 sympathy. 
 
 Your most affectionate brother, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 183 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 PARIS, September 11, 1848= 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHERLET: 
 
 For five weeks these are the first lines I have 
 written with my own hand. For the sake of my 
 eyes I avoid this entirely, and you too must 
 presently be content if I write you through my 
 secretary. I suffer so much at each letter that 
 on the whole you should be glad that I do not 
 put myself to such painful expense on your 
 account. I wrote you long ago that my right 
 arm also suffers from such cramps as are the 
 forerunners of paralysis. 
 
 Otherwise things are as usual; money, 
 cowardly money, which crept away in fear of the 
 Republic, creeps out again into daylight. I go 
 to the city not at all, and take no account of any- 
 thing but my health. I hope that you and 
 Lotta, as well as the dear children, are in good 
 health ! We love you inexpressibly. I shall 
 stay here four weeks longer; the weather is 
 beautiful. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 1 84 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 LXXIX 
 
 PARTS, October 19, 1848. 
 DEAR MOTHER AND DEAREST SISTER : 
 
 Just now I received your letter, in which I note 
 with delight your good health. As to myself, 
 my condition is always the same, or else only a 
 very little better. My cramps have let up a little, 
 but my eyes are ridiculously bad, although I 
 spare them in a way hard to describe, never read, 
 and do not write with my own hand even to you. 
 But letters, dear Lotta, I always read with my 
 own eyes, a thing which I state to you particu- 
 larly because of your questions. As regards the 
 cholera, you need also not worry yourselves at all 
 in my regard ; this ancient beast is moreover 
 not so much to be feared as formerly. Matters 
 are more terrible in Vienna, and our poor Gustav 
 may well have suffered some anxiety. 
 
 Write me how it has happened with him. I do 
 not correspond directly with him. My wife is in 
 good health, and asks to be warmly remembered 
 to you all. We talk all the time of you all, and 
 particularly concerning mother we can never say 
 enough that is pleasant and agreeable. The
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 185 
 
 main thing that I have to report to you to-day is 
 that I am still very content with my new house, 
 and in nowise rue the sacrifice which I made for 
 the change. We live quietly, retired and safe 
 from bullets. Greet and kiss for me the youth- 
 ful gossipry and remain affectionately attached 
 To your true 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 LXXX 
 
 PARIS, December 28, 1848. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Although writing is forbidden me, I cannot 
 help congratulating you at the new year with my 
 own hand. God keep you and grant you still 
 many and happy years. I also congratulate you, 
 dear Lotta. A New Year's cake such as we ate 
 in Diisseldorf in the morning with our coffee, 
 which latter was composed of three beans and 
 three pounds of chicory ! No thought of sugar ! 
 Do you still recall the old coffeepot that looked 
 like a flowerpot or a Roman vase ? Was made of 
 very beautiful black tin. 
 
 Farewell, and keep in affection 
 
 Your trusty 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 1 86 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 LXXXI 
 
 PARIS, March 29, 1849. 
 DEAR LOTTA:* 
 
 Your letter has shaken my nerves grievously 
 and since then I have been crying and crying 
 until to-day I can hardly see at all. Only one 
 word of comfort : dying is no ill luck, but this is 
 to suffer for years before one can reach the point 
 of dying. Suffering year after year! happy are 
 they who get through with it quickly per acquit 
 as our little father used to say and one turns 
 round and goes to sleep and everything is paid for ! 
 
 I am at this moment too much in pain to con- 
 dole with your husband particularly ; silently I 
 press his hand. And you, poor, strong heart, 
 how much have you had to bear! God preserve 
 you, my dear, kind sister! 
 
 You, my dearest mother, will have to wait some 
 time for a letter from me, and to-day I can only 
 hastily embrace you. 
 
 Kiss my Lotta and the children for me. My 
 wife is well. I am still in the same wretched state. 
 
 Your trusty 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 * On the death of her youngest daughter.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 187 
 
 LXXXII 
 
 PARIS, April 21, 1849. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I have hoped from day to day to feel better 
 and am very much annoyed that I have nothing 
 pleasant to report concerning my state of health. 
 My eyes seem to grow better, but now I am 
 suffering again from cramps in the right arm and 
 in the same hand, which further spoils my writing 
 terribly. My wife asks to be heartily remem- 
 bered. The call to her final home of my poor 
 niece has saddened us inexpressibly and I, who 
 am now so easily upset, have become sick for 
 eight days in consequence of the news a sick- 
 ness within a sickness ! What people can sup- 
 port ! And how you must have suffered then, 
 and must still suffer ! God keep you and my 
 Lotta. I hope that you are in good health ; tell 
 me the truth. 
 
 Farewell, and keep in affection 
 
 Your trusty 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 lS8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 LXXXIII 
 
 PARIS, June 14, 1849. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I entreat you to write me soon. I cannot 
 imagine why I am so long without a letter from 
 you. Here we are, living in anxiety and 
 wretchedness. The cholera is raging frightfully. 
 People are falling like flies. My wife is sick too, 
 and I have almost lost my head. I myself am 
 still as sick as a dog, but the cholera spares all 
 the chronic sick, probably because they always 
 live in a regular way. Kiss Lotta and the chil- 
 dren for me. My wife asks to be heartily remem- 
 bered. I hope that you are well. Sickness is 
 the worst of wretchedness ; death is the slightest 
 and most easily borne. 
 
 Your everlastingly loving, trusty son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXXIV 
 
 PARIS, August 7, 1849. 
 DEAR, GOOD SISTER : 
 
 Your last letter has saddened me greatly ; I 
 can well imagine how much you might have suf- 
 fered from the agitation in Hamburg because of
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 189 
 
 the lay of your house. I fear you are oftener con- 
 fined to your bed than I know ; I pray you tell me 
 the truth. We live in a period when people have 
 nothing much that is pleasant to report, and com- 
 fort can only be extracted from the certainty that 
 the unhappiness is as great as we know, so that 
 imagination does not worry us with uncertainty. 
 
 I am getting on as usual, my eyes suffering 
 terribly, and I am consumed with sorrow and the 
 feeling of utter helplessness. For that reason I 
 write you seldom and but little ; but I think of 
 you almost all the time, and no night passes that 
 I do not make an offering of tears to you. 
 
 Things are as usual with my wife an angel 
 who often has devilish whims, and the sweetest 
 squanderer who ever in this world tortured and 
 made her husband happy. 
 
 I kiss my dear Lotta a thousand times. 
 
 Your trusty son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXXV 
 
 PARIS, August 19, 1849. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHERKIN : 
 
 I see with terror in the papers how desolate 
 the outlook is with you and how my friends in
 
 190 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Prussia are carrying on. Were I there, they 
 would certainly nab me on this occasion. Every- 
 thing is quiet with us, even in my household. 
 My wife, thank God, is of good health and tries 
 to gladden as much as possible my wretched 
 existence. She is a kindly child and if she gives 
 me pain it is not her fault but her disease. God 
 keep her, as well as all of you ; kisses and greet- 
 ings to dear sister and the children. 
 
 You, dear mother, were always an honest, God- 
 fearing woman, of true piety, and for your sake 
 God who is good will always stand us by. 
 Your trusty son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXXVI 
 
 PARIS, October 24, 1849. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Just now I have your dear letter ; if you knew 
 how unwillingly I wrote you would not demand 
 a letter from me often. In the first place I am 
 seeing very ill for the last few days and then I 
 have really nothing very fascinating to impart. 
 May the devil fly away with my eyes ! all the 
 quackery helps me little. Only to you, dear
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 191 
 
 mother, do I write with my own hand ; in your 
 case dictation won't do, since in spite of all 
 some intimate things will slip out. 
 
 I congratulate you on your little Viennese 
 nephew ; thank God that from this fertility I can 
 at least perceive that Gustav is in good health. 
 Moreover, I see that he is not deceiving his 
 wife! 
 
 To-day I can see nothing. That's why I shall 
 write you one of these days, and you get these 
 lines only in order to judge of my good health 
 from them. 
 
 Kisses for Lotta. 
 
 Your trusty son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Dictation was extremely uncomfortable to 
 Heine, and it took a long while before he accus- 
 tomed himself to it. He said in this regard : 
 " Heretofore I always wrote everything myself 
 and believe that, especially as regards German, it 
 is a poor affair to dictate prose. The author has 
 to consider carefully not only the stress of tone 
 but also the architectural structure of his periods. 
 Our language is also arranged for the eye ; it is
 
 I9 2 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 plastic, and in rhyming not only the sound but the 
 spelling makes a difference. Singularly enough, 
 the difference which exists in this respect between 
 German and French expresses itself even in the 
 verbal definition of the matter. Germans call 
 their understanding of a thing Einsicht, but 
 Frenchmen entendement. The German, accord- 
 ing to my opinion, must see before him in 
 plastic form what he creates in speech. One 
 can dictate verses made in the head more easily 
 than prose; and I could not do that either; 
 even then I would have to change a great deal." 
 Heine wrote his manuscript on great folio sheets 
 in big letters with a pencil, as soon as his health 
 permitted, and only dictated his letters. 
 
 LXXXVII 
 
 PARIS, January 21, 1850. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I received all right your and dear Lotta's 
 letter with wishes for the New Year. I hope 
 you have entered on this year in pleasant 
 fashion. May Heaven permit it to end quietly 
 and without a scare. In my case the year has
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 193 
 
 not taken on any character yet ; it drones along, 
 idiotic and melancholy like the last. 
 
 Not the slightest change in my state of health ; 
 I spare my eyes always, but without result. 
 If I did not spare them even as the apple of 
 my eye, I would be blind now, which is of 
 course the greatest evil from which may a good 
 God preserve one. For that reason I still do not 
 write you by my own hand, but that makes no 
 great difference, since I never express thoughts 
 any more in letters. 
 
 My wife is still suffering from the results of her 
 silliness ; she cannot walk yet, but begins to hop 
 about the room now on one leg like a frog. She 
 asks to be remembered with the most heartfelt 
 tenderness, but in general you are our staple 
 of conversation. My wife bears her mishap with 
 less impatience than I expected ; she makes up 
 for the bad moments when her temper is ugly 
 by such an amount of infinite sweetness at other 
 times that I can always find my accounts in this 
 business on the right side. I pray you to write me 
 soon, and from you too I expect a long letter 
 concerning yourself and the darlings the entire 
 holy family !
 
 194 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 I hope you are entirely restored from your mis- 
 hap. That domestic jester, von Wihl, visits me 
 occasionally and never fails to amuse me in one 
 way or another. To be sure, one must be on one's 
 guard with him ; but, to be sure, who is the per- 
 son with whom one must not be on one's guard? 
 
 Concerning the nonsense in German news- 
 papers on my so-called conversion I will not say 
 anything. In this case it is the same thing as in 
 all the news in the papers about me. 
 
 And now, dear mother, farewell. May 
 gracious God preserve you, keep you from pain 
 and eye trouble, spare your dear health, and 
 though things often do not go as you would like, 
 yet comfort yourself with the thought that few 
 women have been loved and worshiped by 
 their children as you have and as verily you 
 deserve to have been, my own dear, honest, 
 upright and true mother! What are all the 
 others in comparison with you ? 
 
 People ought to kiss the ground your feet 
 have trod. 
 
 This winter is infinitely raw would that you 
 kept warm in that thin, wobbly little dwelling of 
 yours near the Dammthor! I let myself lack
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 1 95 
 
 for nothing and for warming burn whole forests. 
 Am generally well cared for. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 In the above letter Heine calls it nonsense 
 when German newspapers talk about his con- 
 version ; and yet, although perhaps at the time 
 he did not know it himself, a change was taking 
 place in his way of religious thinking. 
 
 Heine, who had been brought up in his 
 parents' house to the faith of Israel, was held by 
 those parents to a strict worship of God without 
 any insistance on ritual; but in 1825 he went 
 over to the Lutheran faith. His philosophical 
 studies which occupied him all his life, raised 
 him far above the forms of all positive re- 
 ligions. 
 
 Passing forward he reached a poetic pantheism 
 by the way of the new teaching of Saint Simon- 
 ism. If later he remained always a freethinker, 
 still in the end atheism gave him a disgust, 
 and, sharply tried by the long sufferings of his 
 sick bed, he returned again to pure, formless 
 deism.
 
 196 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 LXXXVIII 
 
 PARIS, March 15, 1850. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 I have duly received the letter in which you 
 note the reception of the bill of exchange ; yes, 
 I repeat my promise that I will at once notify 
 you if I should fall into any momentary embar- 
 rassment, in order that I may have command of 
 the returned sum of money, which is safer in your 
 hands than in mine. I think I have already told 
 you that on the whole my finances are properly 
 arranged, so that only temporary embarrassments 
 could arise, which are not painful, but merely 
 annoying, and that the next quarterly payment 
 always fills up the deficit of the preceding 
 quarter in the quietest and most regular fashion. 
 
 The expenses of my sickness are very large, 
 not because I need physician or apothecary 
 much, but because I have to guard myself 
 by sacrifices of money from many noxious in- 
 fluences.* 
 
 But as to my sickness, the worst of all is that 
 
 * Meaning the financial assistance which Heine gave to many 
 of the German refugees in Paris.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEiNRicit HEINE. 197 
 
 one hangs on to life so long, a thing, dear 
 mother, which naturally does not seem to you 
 the worst ; but I, who have to bear so much 
 physically and lose all hope of cure, I envy 
 people who are quickly snatched away by acute 
 diseases. In death the terrible thing consists 
 only of this : that it plunges our dear ones into 
 woe. How gladly would I leave this world if 
 I did not think of the helplessness of my 
 squanderer, the misery of the old baggage who 
 lives near the Dammthor and the tears of my 
 sister ! I thank her for her latest kind advices. 
 My darling Lotta always gives me the greatest 
 pleasure when I get one of her letters. But you 
 must not expect an answer from me often, for it 
 gives me too much sorrow to find that I can 
 write you only saddening or mournful letters 
 and even these only by a third hand. 
 
 I send hearty thanks to my nephew for his 
 friendly letter, which I read with pleasure, but 
 with great difficulty. He must write me often, 
 but with black ink and in legible writing. I am 
 anxious to learn from you how the young fellow 
 will come out and what we may expect from 
 him. I send greeting to Nanny and Nelly and
 
 198 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 kiss them. How often I think of my dear Nanny, 
 my sweet child and about the sweet Auf- 
 lauf which she knew so well how to prepare ! * 
 Would I had my Nanny here, together with so 
 well cooked a dish ! After that I would drink a 
 good cup of tea, but not one from the first 
 pouring, but from the last cups, which she used 
 to keep all for herself. 
 
 My wife, who is going out walking once more 
 and is in good health, sends her love. 
 
 And now farewell. Keep in affection 
 
 Your faithful 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 LXXXIX 
 
 PARIS, May 6, 1850. 
 MY DEAR, KIND MOTHER 
 
 AND MUCH BELOVED SISTER : 
 
 With joy did I receive the letter, from which I 
 
 gathered your good health and in which at the 
 
 same time I find more loving sympathy than I 
 
 can possibly deserve, more than might seem at 
 
 times quite to fit me. How can I repay all this ? 
 
 
 
 * A sweet dish that rises in the oven like an omelette-soufflee. 
 TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 199 
 
 And how can I satisfy your loving wishes 
 always to be kept advertised of my condition in 
 a state of things like this : when every com- 
 munication with outside, if it must be given 
 in German, is made particularly difficult for 
 me? 
 
 For you must know I have no longer the help 
 of the German who for the last twelve years 
 cared for my correspondence, and as I cannot 
 dictate any German to the Frenchman who has 
 taken his place, it is not every day that a German 
 pen is at my command in order to communicate 
 with you. So that if from now on you get 
 letters from me at still more irregular intervals 
 you may put it down to this state of things and 
 absolve me from every blame of unloving neglect. 
 
 For the rest, nothing particularly remarkable 
 has taken place here. I feel somewhat better 
 about the heart ; I suffer a little less ; but I fear 
 that the disease goes always onward with its quiet 
 but fatal snail's pace. I avoid almost all medi- 
 cine. My wife is in excellent health, is getting 
 very stout, and asks to be affectionately remem- 
 bered. 
 
 Carl comes to see me now and then ; he was
 
 200 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 four times here in one month, but he appears to 
 be on the point of leaving on a journey. I touch 
 on nothing that may hurt his feelings. He has a 
 good heart ; but between heart and pocket there 
 is no railroad in running order. I do not com- 
 plain, and always let things go along now as go 
 they will. 
 
 I heartily thank you, dear Lotta, for the 
 kindly eagerness to serve me ; but in this regard 
 I refer to what long ago I told dear mother. Is 
 it not possible to send German books to me here 
 from your circulating library and by the steamer 
 which might also bring them back ? 
 
 I would like now and then to have some Ger- 
 man piece read aloud to me, and as I never get 
 from the bookseller here the volume I ask for, 
 and as there is no circulating library here, I must 
 look about me for an escape. In case it can be 
 done, you might send me a catalogue from Ham- 
 burg under separate cover. 
 
 I do not go into the country, but nevertheless 
 I shall, and no later than to-morrow, perform 
 something extremely idyllic : I shall begin to 
 drink ass's milk ! My physician has ordered it 
 and if it is wholesome for me I shall gladly take
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 20 1 
 
 refuge among the donkeys.* I should have 
 written to Gustav long ago if I had not again 
 lost his address. But I shall write to him pres- 
 ently to ask him to do something for me in 
 Vienna ; so send me his address again. I have 
 had the most affectionate letter from Max. 
 
 The idea of transporting myself with my house- 
 hold to Hamburg often bobs up in my mind, and 
 if I were sure that this transfer and the bang and 
 bounce would not attack my poor body too much, 
 it might at last come to be carried out. Unfor- 
 tunately I am up to my ears in work and although 
 it strains me much, I can't avoid all business and 
 all literary work. Write me soon and much. 
 
 If Ludvvig can get away from Hamburg one of 
 these days for a little while without neglecting in 
 any way his business, it might be well to take ad- 
 vantage of the present quickness and cheapness 
 of railway travel and send him to Paris just for 
 once. I would see him here with the greatest 
 pleasure and might make use of him through ad- 
 vice and commissions by word of mouth which 
 
 * A favorite in that menagerie of beasts which Germans use as 
 synonyms of stupidity. See " Die Wahlesel," a political satire, 
 vol. iii. p. 219. TR.
 
 202 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 would also be very profitable for my most inti- 
 mate affairs. Everything would be finished in 
 eight days and the boy would have had no leisure 
 to get too exact an acquaintance with Paris. 
 
 And now farewell ; keep me in affection : 
 write to me much, especially on family matters, 
 and forgive me if I keep you waiting long for 
 answers. I greet my nephew Ludwig heartily, 
 and so with all the rest. 
 
 I would like some day a letter, and moreover 
 in her own handwriting, from my dear niece 
 Anna. She need not bother herself a bit, and 
 may write whatever comes into her head. I 
 have a good cook now, but a regular Auflauf with 
 sweetmeats cannot be made in France as it is 
 with you in the North. 
 
 God pour much happiness and blessing, dear 
 Lotta, upon your new house ! 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 XC 
 
 PARIS, June 15, 1850. 
 DEAREST MOTHER: 
 
 I have duly received your kind letter, with 
 postscripts by Lotta and Nanny, and would have
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 203 
 
 written you sooner if it had not been for the 
 difficulties concerning German correspondence 
 of which I notified you in my former letter. 
 Otherwise nothing has happened, and as regards 
 my illness, it puts me out a great deal if I have 
 to sing to you, dear mother, my old song of com- 
 plaint with the same old sorrowful variations. 
 I will only repeat : the worst of this illness is 
 that one merely suffers frightfully from it, but 
 does not die quickly. You can rest assured that 
 I shall not conceal any turn for the worse. If I 
 do not write, you need imagine nothing more 
 than that I have not at hand a friendly penman, 
 or else that I do not wish to blacken still more 
 my already sufficiently darkened mood by sor- 
 rowful communications to you. But I think of 
 you constantly ; be assured of that. Truth to 
 say, I would like to survive you in order to spare 
 you the sorrow of the news of my death and 
 perhaps that is now the chief interest I take in 
 life. When I no longer have you I shall turn 
 toward death with a much lighter heart. Lotta 
 has her children and husband, and so far as my 
 wife is concerned, she has too happy a nature 
 that she could not in the long run do without me.
 
 2<H FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Don't you perceive how much reason I have 
 not to write often only melancholy funeral-call 
 letters ! I have turned into a very sorrowful, 
 fun-lacking clown ! 
 
 Thank you, dear sister, for having considered 
 my hastily expressed desire in regard to books. 
 But I told you that you should send me under 
 separate cover a catalogue. Such a sending 
 would have cost eight shillings at the most. In- 
 stead of that, Jovien the bookseller has sent me 
 his catalogue in a parcel by way of Havre, and 
 added to said parcel three more books, which 
 have not the slightest interest for me. I am 
 sending you these books by hand of Carl Heine 
 presently ; he takes them with him and in that 
 way saves me the expenditure of seven francs, 
 for that is what the parcel costs, since the rascals 
 of forwarding agents in Havre charge just as 
 much commission and costs for the couple of 
 books as for a large box ; the freight itself, par- 
 ticularly from Havre hither, is very unimportant. 
 But I would gladly pay such a sum for parcels of 
 books which have some interest for me in the 
 reading, and if I find no occasion to send them 
 back, will return them quickly at my own
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 205 
 
 expense. But in order that I may not need to 
 repeat this too often, I must beg that at least a 
 dozen books be sent me at once, and that noth- 
 ing be sent which I did not expressly ask for. 
 
 Among the books which I wish to read are the 
 writings of Dickens (Boz), especially his " Pick- 
 wick " and travels in America and Italy. " Hum- 
 phrey's Clock " by the same author, as well as 
 his " Cricket on the Hearth," I have already 
 read. Then I would like the writings of Gogol 
 translated from the Russian. Moreover I wish 
 to read a novel by L. Storch which is called in 
 the catalogue : " The Star of Jacob, a Messiad." 
 If this book is not on hand, I would like to read 
 the following numbers by that author. Many of 
 Tieck's novels also I have not read and I beg 
 you to send the volumes marked. Look, dear 
 Lotta, and see if there is not in the circulating 
 library the first and second parts of "Die 
 Kronen-wachter," by Arnim, the latter volume 
 of which only appeared a few years ago.* 
 Enough for the present ! 
 
 Some of these will doubtless be found, from 
 
 * L. Achim von Arnim, a writer of romances and short stories, 
 who is still read in Germany. TR.
 
 206 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 which as soon as possible a neat invoice can be 
 put together, but I pray you to let them come 
 soon, since I find occasion oftener in summer to 
 send back the books without expense. 
 
 I send my heartiest thanks for her letter to 
 my dear niece Anna ; I would have infinite 
 pleasure in seeing her again, for everybody tells 
 me so much that is nice and delightful con- 
 cerning her. If she turns out like her mother 
 and grandmother, the husband may congratulate 
 himself who ends by bagging her, particularly if 
 she also has the gentleness of both. 
 
 Your loving, faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XCI 
 
 PARIS, June 18, 1850. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I hope that these lines find you in good con- 
 dition ; on my side, for the last two days I feel 
 better than usual, because with nervous dis- 
 orders such as mine conditions change so, that 
 one despairs to-day and rejoices again the day 
 after and never knows where one's health 
 exactly stands. It is this lack of stability which 
 furnishes the reason why I never give you
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 207 
 
 details concerning my sufferings, which are cer- 
 tain to have changed by the time you have 
 received my letter. 
 
 Carl Heine is about to leave, and so I send by 
 him back to Hamburg the books of the circulat- 
 ing library. In my last letter day before yester- 
 day I forgot to remark that I am also acquainted 
 with that one of the works of Boz (Dickens) 
 which is entitled " Christmas Tale," and that 
 therefore you need not send it to me. More- 
 over I forgot to remark that Mr. Jovien has 
 given my address wrong, and for that reason his 
 parcel took long to find me. Therefore Lotta 
 must give him my correct address for the send- 
 ing of books, which I expect as soon as possible. 
 My wife is in good health, but unfortunately she 
 becomes more corpulent every day. She weighs 
 180 pounds already. She asks to be heartily 
 remembered to you, and never ceases to talk 
 about you all. 
 
 This morning the world-renowned poet Wihl 
 made me a visit and commissioned me to im- 
 part his compliments to my mother and sister. 
 Barring his vanity, which might cause him to 
 do the worst of things, and certainly has lured
 
 208 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 him to much that is evil, he is, all the same, a 
 very kind person. 
 
 I have not yet reached the point of writing to 
 Gustav, as every epistolary communication in 
 German, as you know, is made hard for me ; but 
 I shall write to him soon, as I have some com- 
 missions for him to be executed in my interests 
 and am sure of his love for me. You, dear 
 Lotta, I heartily greet, as well as my dear nieces 
 and nephews also. 
 
 Tell me, dear Lotta, why I get no letter from 
 Campe. My drafts are punctually paid by him 
 every time I draw on him for my quarterly 
 pension, but I get no answer to any of my 
 letters. What does he want ? What is he cook- 
 ing up ? Luckily, I have no need at present to 
 publish anything ; otherwise this silence on his 
 part, which might force me to enter into rela- 
 tions with other publishers, would put me to 
 some embarrassment. But he can hardly know 
 that, and this absence of reply on his part admits 
 of no reply. Try to find out something in this 
 connection, my dear Lotta, and write rne in 
 general as much as you can. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 209 
 XCII 
 
 PARIS, July 25, 1850. 
 DEAREST MOTHER: 
 
 My last letter crossed yours and it is prob- 
 able that this will happen again. I hope that 
 you are all well which is the main thing. On 
 my side, I am feeling so-so, and even though 
 my sickness is still not dwindling, nevertheless it 
 seems to me as if my strength were gaining, and 
 there are days in which I feel little pain and 
 permit my fancy a free course with wide-flying 
 plans of health. I work little, but my mind was 
 never more alert, active and robust. Things are 
 still bad as regards my eyes. Again I have tried 
 to write, but it went ill with me. In order not 
 to blot so much I often write with the lead 
 pencil, which is however very cumbersome. 
 
 My dear Lotta has my hearty greeting and 
 thanks for the advices she sends. I have received 
 the books, but am in poor luck with this con- 
 signment, for on the one hand I have got things 
 which do not please me entirely and yet were 
 things I wanted ; on the other hand I have re- 
 ceived what I have read already, perhaps because I
 
 210 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 do not express myself properly. Now it shall be 
 my care to find an occasion to send the books 
 back again soon. I would like to know whether 
 the costs would be less if I caused the books to be 
 brought by rail direct from Hamburg ; Ludwig 
 should make inquiry whether in any event one can 
 send parcels directly hither by the trains and how 
 much freight must be paid for a given number of 
 pounds. All I know is that parcels which come 
 here from Cologne by rail only cost a ridiculously 
 small amount. 
 
 My wife asks to be remembered heartily; we 
 talk of you day and night, mostly at night, for we 
 never go to bed earlier than twelve or one o'clock. 
 We live quietly and in the greatest unity, and 
 never was my wife more reasonable than just 
 now. And yet the Germans here have spread a 
 report that I am separated from my wife on ac- 
 count of quarrels. You have no conception what 
 sort of vermin crawls about here under the name 
 of Germans. The person against whom Lotta 
 warns me is nevertheless quite a precious stone 
 by comparison with the louse from whom Campe 
 pretends to have received news of me and whom 
 he calls Ferdinand W. A wretch, to whom for
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 211 
 
 fifteen years I have shown kindnesses, and who 
 nevertheless at last performed such low tricks 
 that I was forced to turn him out in dis- 
 grace ! 
 
 I repeat, dear mother, that I am getting on 
 better ; perhaps I am somewhat unjust, as all 
 sick folk are, and will not acknowledge to myself 
 that I am at least twenty-four per cent, better in 
 health than before. 
 
 And now farewell ; write me soon and a good 
 deal, and keep in affection, 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XC1II 
 
 PARIS, August 3, 1850. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 I hope that you are in a good state of health 
 and that I shall soon get letters from you in 
 which I shall see this hope confirmed. I hasten 
 to-day to notify you before the post leaves that 
 I am sending you a parcel of books by the dili- 
 gence, and pray you to deliver it without delay 
 to Jovien, the keeper of the circulating library,
 
 212 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 
 
 together with the accompanying list, from which 
 he may see what books he is to send me at once 
 by diligence. I expressly say diligence nothing 
 by the Hamburg steamer, which I find to-day 
 will cost more ! For I have been able to express 
 the present parcel only as far as Aix-la-Chapelle 
 and, think of it ! the freight that far only costs 
 two francs ! I beg you will therefore tell me 
 how much you had to pay for the package from 
 Aix to Hamburg, not only in order to return 
 you the money on occasion, but to learn in 
 general how much the freight is by land in con- 
 tradistinction to steamer costs. I beg you also 
 not to forget to let the bookseller know that he is 
 to send the books off without delay. 
 
 I greet heartily my dear Lotta, and hope that 
 my dear sister will write me soon and much. 
 I live very isolated, and otherwise would not 
 hear anything about Hamburg affairs. 
 
 No change has taken place in my health ; I 
 bear my lot quietly and enjoy the finest house- 
 hold peace as well as cherry tarts, which my 
 cook knows how to bake in a very superior 
 fashion. My cook is a female genius, and under 
 the title of German Nttdeln she constructs a dish
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 213 
 
 which is actually the schalet* of the Jews, the 
 which I eat with pleasure. There is the greatest 
 bit of news I have to impart ! 
 
 Farewell, and keep me in affection. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XCIV 
 
 PARIS, September 26, 1850. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER 
 
 AND MUCH BELOVED SISTER : 
 Since my last letter nothing much that is en- 
 joyable has occurred; my health is just the same, 
 but my household arrangements, as I foresaw, 
 have turned much more annoying. The young 
 girl of whom I wrote you has become seriously 
 ill, and as I did not have the heart to send her 
 away, I now have two sick people in my house. 
 For the last six weeks she has been bedridden, 
 will not be able to convalesce very quickly, and 
 the physician makes but small promise for the 
 future. Her illness comes from poor blood ; she 
 
 * A fruit cake like shortcake, perhaps originally the same term 
 as charlotte, and if so of unknown origin. Some Jews claim 
 schalet as the original. Called by Polish Jews schlod. TR.
 
 214 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 is as good as lost, and from this direction I may 
 expect a great deal that is unpleasant. On the 
 one hand my wife loses her factotum and a 
 necessary companion for walking in the streets, 
 and I lose my caretaker and reader in French, 
 who was at my orders every hour. I now have 
 someone to read French to me in the evening 
 only, and have been placed under the necessity 
 of hiring a garde malade, who bores me greatly 
 by her lazy, negligent ways, who consumes a 
 great deal of feed, is black of complexion and 
 costs me notwithstanding 150 francs a 
 month ; that is to say, five francs a day. For 
 this reason my wife is very naturally not 
 always in a happy mood, and you can easily see 
 that under these circumstances I often yearn 
 for you. But at present I must not yet think of 
 emigrating to Hamburg- at least not until my 
 health has taken on more solid strength, by 
 which I mean that the cramps from which I 
 suffer a great deal must first stop. 
 
 As I have always told you, my disease is a 
 painful, nervous one, and in its case every move- 
 ment becomes unbearable. I might put my body 
 in danger during a transfer to Hamburg, more-
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 215 
 
 over it is not certain that the climate there 
 would suit me at present. 
 
 You see how cautiously and forethoughtfully 
 I go to work, and how it will not be my fault if 
 the bankruptcy of my body should set in at least 
 before you, my dear mother, are at rest. 
 
 We talk of you here all the time and I can 
 assure you that my wife does not spare any 
 trouble in caring for me. She sends hearty 
 greetings to you, as well as to the younger gen- 
 eration. Tell my nephew Ludwig that his cousin 
 Drucker has written me a very nice letter and 
 sent me a catalogue ; but in this catalogue there 
 is even less to be found than in the Hamburg 
 catalogue, and I don't know yet whether I can 
 make any use of it. For the present I shall stick 
 to Hamburg, but I must beg that I shall not be 
 kept waiting so long for the dispatch of books. 
 Yesterday I sent the last invoice back by express 
 and addressed once more to dear mother in 
 Hamburg. You will have to pay a larger freight 
 this time than in the last instance, because I 
 could not frank it even to the frontier. 
 
 A stupid fellow, to whom I committed the for- 
 warding of the package, did not even bring me
 
 2l6 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 back a receipt from the post, and so you must 
 let me know at once if the books have arrived in 
 good order. I don't know whether you still pos- 
 sess the former list of books which I sent you 
 latterly ; for greater certainty I shall give you 
 inclosed once more the list of books I wish to 
 have. Particularly care for this, however : that 
 the package be sent at once, and that I shall not 
 have to wait so long; moreover be careful that 
 the correct street number gets on the address, as 
 well as a small estimate of value. 
 
 I thank you much for your last letter, and par- 
 ticularly you, dear Lotta, must I thank for all 
 your communications and funny passages. 
 
 If there is a good circulating library in Ham- 
 burg beside that of Jovien, then send me a cata- 
 logue of it under separate cover. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XCV 
 
 PARIS, November 23, 1850. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I hope that you are in good health, and that 
 the terrible winter approaching may not shake
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 217 
 
 you. At every increase of this raw weather I 
 ever think of you, your dear, weak body, the 
 miserable rotten roof of your old abode near the 
 Dammthor, and every blast of wind which you 
 must feel there ; and my heart is often in 
 deeper anxiety than you can conceive. You 
 would do well, therefore, to write me often 
 nowadays. 
 
 As regards myself, no changes have taken 
 place in my condition ; I am always hoping that 
 things will be better, and every morning this 
 hope turns out a liar. What shall I do? I must 
 take life even as God gives it me. I permit 
 nothing to lack in caretaking, and my wife is 
 happy if she can spend the last sous for the 
 expenses of my sickness and the improvement 
 of my condition. 
 
 With regard to the maid, I had a hard battle 
 with her (Mathilde) before I persuaded her to 
 send the poor creature to the hospital, where she 
 actually is at present, and already finds herself 
 noticeably better. Had I done this four months 
 ago, not only would I be richer by a notable sum 
 of money, but I would have escaped certain costly 
 false positions, from which I can extract myself
 
 218 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 with difficulty only now I am speaking with 
 regard to my domestics. Many an old tangled 
 spot on my finances seems now to get light upon 
 it, and I have a prospect of rescuing at last 
 something of a good many matters already given 
 up for lost. What has annoyed me most is, that 
 I am not in a position to earn a sous at a time 
 when I might do so much. 
 
 Again not a word from Campe, whose silence 
 appears to be calculated for this end : to await 
 the moment when I am " blowing at the last 
 hole" and must give myself up, bound hand and 
 foot, for an apple and a bit of bread ! He is 
 mistaken. I wrote to Gustav not long ago 
 and burdened him with some literary com- 
 mission. 
 
 Although my dear Lotta writes that the little 
 chest with books was sent from Hamburg hither 
 as early as October 2, nevertheless up to to-day 
 I have never received it and pray Lotta to make 
 the necessary inquiries. I confess that I am not 
 a little grumpy over this. 
 
 And now farewell ; I kiss you all truly and 
 heartily. 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 219 
 
 No improvement had occurred in Heine's 
 paralytic condition and the extremities of his 
 body remained without movement. 
 
 In the morning after a lukewarm bath he was 
 carefully removed from his bed to an invalid's 
 chair stuffed with soft blankets, for the slight- 
 est pressure and every quick movement caused 
 the most violent pains to his suffering body. 
 He once called out to his physician, who was 
 once present at this transfer: "Now you can 
 see how people in Paris worship me and fairly 
 dandle me on their hands ! " 
 
 At night a maid had to sleep near him and 
 by his special command his wife's chamber was 
 placed as far as possible away from his own in 
 order to spare her night rest. 
 
 The ordering of his household was that of a 
 well to do burgher residence and the extrava- 
 gant decorations of modern luxury were absent. 
 His bedchamber, always roomy and airy, made 
 a homelike impression despite its simplicity ; 
 beyond the absolutely necessary objects were a 
 few seats near his bed for visitors and opposite 
 these a writing table covered with a countless 
 mass of papers, journals and books. The recep-
 
 220 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 tion room was furnished with red satin furniture, 
 the walls were embellished with a portrait of his 
 wife, an oil likeness of his sister, a lithographic 
 portrait of Salomon Heine, and a little bookshelf 
 filled for the most part with his own works in 
 undecorative bindings. In the middle of the 
 room stood a table with albums, books and 
 pictures and on the chimney-piece a bronze time- 
 piece between two porcelain vases which at all 
 times were filled with fresh flowers. 
 
 In the morning Heine ate a nourishing break- 
 fast consisting of some light roasted meat, fruits 
 and a glass of Bordeaux and water. After a little 
 rest he began to work, dictated to his secretary, 
 or had someone read aloud. In the afternoon 
 if his health permitted, the poet received the 
 visits of friends, strangers and also of elegant 
 women of the upper classes, whose presence always 
 brightened him up if they were young and pretty. 
 Heine called women " the great nation, ruler of 
 the world." 
 
 At six o'clock dinner was taken, which was 
 prepared in a simple but nourishing way, had 
 always variety to offer, and was for the most part 
 eaten with a good appetite. His wife had hard
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 221 
 
 work satisfying his gastronomical demands : for 
 Heine was a great gourmand who once said, after 
 a rich banquet at the Cafe Vfour : " That din- 
 ner was so good it deserved to be eaten on one's 
 knees." 
 
 Mathilde also loved to eat at the restaurant, and 
 in order to make it possible she often took refuge 
 in the following stratagem. The taste of mutton 
 was very displeasing to her husband ; so, when he 
 asked what there was to eat, as he came home 
 with a good appetite and in a good humor, she 
 would say mutton ! At once he would take up 
 his hat and say : " Come, Mathilde, let us go and 
 dine at Ve"four's." If acquaintances were met 
 with on the road they were asked to come along 
 and as Mathilde regarded champagne as a spice 
 which could not be omitted from a good dinner, 
 this joke, being often repeated, caused very con- 
 siderable expenditures. 
 
 XCVI 
 
 PARIS, December 2, 1850. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 Your dear letter in which you impart to me the 
 confinement of Mme. Gustav Heine, as well as
 
 222 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 the little letter from sister, in which she gives 
 me news of the misunderstandings which have hap- 
 pened as to the books, was duly received last week 
 and first I shall answer the last with a few lines. 
 
 I have done you injustice, dear Lotta, by 
 charging you with neglectfulness when I did 
 not get the books from Hamburg which I de- 
 sired. At that time I received a letter from 
 young Drucker who informed me that he had 
 made arrangements with the Schlosschen circula- 
 ting library to send me parcels of books when- 
 ever I forwarded the numbers in the catalogue 
 which he had sent me under separate cover. 
 I received this catalogue and at the same time 
 answered young Drucker and authorized the con- 
 tract he had made with the Schlosschen circu- 
 lating library; I sent him at the same time a list 
 of books which I wanted sent to me. 
 
 So, a few days later, when I received these 
 books, and to the question if they came from 
 Cologne received from the postman an affirma- 
 tive answer, I was absolutely certain that these 
 were the books which I had ordered there ; and 
 after I had had them read aloud to me, I gave 
 the order to send them back to Cologne to the
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 223 
 
 Schlosschen circulating library well packed up, 
 and this was duly done under frank, since, as I 
 now perceive, one can prepay parcels as far as 
 Cologne. Along with the package went a letter 
 of directions from me, as the custom is with 
 expressage, and in a separate letter I wrote to 
 the said library such directions as were neces- 
 sary in regard to a second invoice and as to the 
 money for the books and costs. Now I am in- 
 dignant that from Cologne, where they must 
 have perceived my error at once, I have received 
 no notification concerning it, and as I don't 
 want to write to the circulating library, which 
 in any case has acted discourteously, nor to the 
 idiotic fellow who was guilty of the botherment, 
 I therefore pray you, dear Lotta, to get Ludwig 
 to write to Cologne, so that the package may 
 be sent to you in Hamburg without delay, and 
 so you can give back the books to the library. 
 Far more important, dear mother, is the 
 matter concerning which I must enlighten you 
 to-day. But in this case I can be more concise 
 and need not heap up words. I promised you, 
 you will recall, to knock at your door in case I 
 should need the sum of money which you offered
 
 224 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 me, and unfortunately I must fulfill my promise 
 to-day. But I wish that you would forward the 
 money to me in the following way : send me at 
 once a bill of exchange for six hundred francs 
 payable here and keep meanwhile the other four 
 hundred francs until I write you when and how 
 you are to send them to me. I am assuming 
 that you can deprive yourself at present of the 
 money, and as I long ago reported quite frankly 
 the budget of my income, you will not be dis- 
 quieted, because I would rather ask aid of you 
 than undertake negotiations and moves on 
 account of a small sum which I need at the close 
 of the year, moves which would be costly or dis- 
 agreeable. I shall not tell you more, and I hope 
 you trust to my truthfulness; otherwise it will have 
 pained me greatly to have written to you to-day. 
 
 No alteration has taken place in my health, 
 but when the change of weather is passed I 
 hope for a certain betterment such as I always 
 experience in winter. 
 
 And now farewell, and keep in affection 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE, 
 
 50 Rue Amsterdam,
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H 'El TV 'RICH HEINE. 22$ 
 
 XCVII 
 
 PARIS, February 5, 1851. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER AND DEAR SISTER : 
 
 I have yet to thank you for your good wishes 
 for the new year ; the young brood also I 
 heartily thank. I am rejoiced to see that you 
 all are well. Meanwhile nothing important 
 has happened here. I am again in sickly mood, 
 somewhat better than before, perhaps very much 
 better. But I still have severe nerve pains and, 
 unhappily, the cramps draw upward oftener and 
 that tries my head very much. So I now have 
 to bear what God has laid upon me, and I sup- 
 port my lot with patience while I constantly 
 think of you all with love ; moreover I am treated 
 by my wife at this moment with the most tender 
 care ; nothing that my nursing requires is omitted, 
 nor anything that can procure me pleasure or 
 the assuagement of pain. 
 
 My finances also are at this moment exceed- 
 ingly well arranged and in this regard Carl also 
 has put me under obligations, since this year, of 
 his own movement and without preliminary 
 bang and bounce, he has given me the needful
 
 226 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 sums. I do not so much as trouble myself to 
 think from what direction this favorable treat- 
 ment arises, even as I shall in general neither 
 worry nor rejoice in this world concerning aught 
 that relates to money. May God's will be done ! 
 
 And then I cannot take complete care before- 
 hand for the squanderer. She is too lovable and 
 her faults arise too much from goodness of heart 
 that I could grumble at her for even the most 
 senseless expenditures and such like follies. 
 Without her would not life be devoid of interest ? 
 She helps me support this painful burden which 
 I certainly would throw aside were I alone in the 
 world. 
 
 Write to me very soon ; and you, dear Lotta, 
 do give me as many details as possible. I thank 
 you for the books you attended to, which I 
 shall probably send back to-morrow to Ham- 
 burg to mother's address. 
 
 As I can prepay only a short distance, you, dear 
 mother, must again pay a large expressage for me, 
 but you perform a great favor by so doing. For 
 the circulating library at Cologne contains but 
 few books which I can use and so I can draw 
 thence little that is enlivening. The catalogue at
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 227 
 
 Hamburg is much richer, and despite the larger 
 cost, dear Lotta, I must therefore beg that you 
 will cause a new invoice to reach me thence, and 
 that as soon as possible ! For this purpose I 
 send you the inclosed list ; if, contrary to expec- 
 tation, so many books are out on loan that 
 enough volumes cannot be forwarded, I beg 
 nevertheless that this invoice be not filled up with 
 books that I have not put down on the list. I 
 depend on it however, and beg you to inform me 
 when the volumes have been dispatched. 
 Farewell and keep in hearty affection 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 XCVIII 
 
 PARIS, March 12, 1851. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I was most uncommonly delighted to receive 
 your last letter. A few days before I had re- 
 ceived a few lines from Lotta, and in the letter 
 found not a single word from you. At the same 
 time I had an epistle from Mr. Wirth,* who 
 
 * Georg Wirth, introduced to Heine by Spiller von Hauen- 
 schild (Max Waldau), a merchant of remarkable literary cultivation.
 
 228 FAMILY LIFE OF HE1NRICH HEINE. 
 
 began with a statement that he had not been 
 able to see you because you were not in good 
 health. Anyone else would have worried himself 
 to death, but after serious consideration I was 
 able to quiet my mind by acknowledging to my- 
 self that Lotta would not have written any joy- 
 ous letters if it were a serious illness, but that in 
 such a case one would express one's self with dif- 
 ferent turns of phrase and with a certain embar- 
 rassment. I hope, therefore, that you, dear 
 mother, are well. But if by chance it should be 
 the case that you are seriously ill, tell me frankly ; 
 for the whole truth is not so torturing as doubt. 
 
 Things are better with me, but move very slowly. 
 For two years I have taken no medicine, or rather 
 my wife won't suffer any more that a bottle of 
 medicine shall cross the threshold ; and all the doc- 
 tors too she has sent packing to the devil, with the 
 exception of a single one, whom I do not see for 
 months at a time and who is of so minute a size that 
 really I may almost say I employ no doctor at all.* 
 
 Among a number of ills one should always 
 choose the least. 
 
 Nevertheless I do not believe that I shall ever 
 
 * Dr. Gruby, a Hungarian.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 229 
 
 stand on sound legs again. I am done with this 
 world and if I were sure that some time I should 
 be received with affability in heaven I would bear 
 my existence in patience. 
 
 My greatest happiness is to think of you, dear 
 mother, of Lotta, my brothers and the little 
 brood. My wife conducts herself in an almost 
 exemplary fashion. She eases me and makes my 
 life beautiful. She comforts and delights me, but 
 now and then unwittingly breaks my heart with 
 her irreclaimable squandering. There is no help 
 for this; that is really my greatest chagrin. Her 
 fever to be constantly pouring out money is 
 frightful. And at the same time I am no miser. 
 Long ago I stopped laughing about it. 
 
 I send hearty greeting to my dear Lotta. Mr. 
 Wirth who called on her, is a very nice and extra- 
 ordinarily talented, not to say a most honest and 
 upright person ; I myself have but little acquaint- 
 ance with him, but know him well through 
 friends in common. 
 
 The books whose dispatch Lotta announces 
 have not yet arrived, and I hope that there will 
 not be great botherations with them again. 
 Herr Wirth can tell Campe as he will what I
 
 23 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 said to him. Lotta was in error when she be- 
 lieved it necessary to forbid him so to do. But 
 to have something said by a third person pur- 
 posely is a thing that does not suit me ; I have 
 always found that not much salvation came to 
 me from such circumlocution ; I speak out every- 
 thing that I desire people should know, but I 
 cannot afford to bring myself down to the level 
 of making anybody my compere. 
 
 My wife asks to be remembered heartily to you 
 all ; entire days are spent by us in talking about 
 you, dear mother and about Lotta. She has 
 not forgotten a word of all that Lotta said, and 
 our conversation always ends with this I have 
 to show her my tongue ! 
 
 Do write me lots and soon, for I live retired 
 from the whole world and it might happen 
 profitably to me to be particularly au fait in 
 family matters. And you, dear Lotta, are you in 
 good health ? Don't you think you "could show 
 me your tongue by way of the electric telegraph? 
 I greet your husband heartily, as well as the 
 young folks. To the younger ladies, greetings 
 at your convenience. 
 
 With love and faithfulness, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 231 
 XCIX 
 
 PARIS, June 7, 1851. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 Again a long time has elapsed since I have 
 had news of your good health. I hope that you 
 have withstood well the transition season ; it has 
 prickled me a bit ; but, as I imagine, I have 
 escaped in sounder case than last year. My 
 condition has improved a little, though at the 
 same time there is still much occasion for com- 
 plaint remaining. It has saddened me that 
 Gustav has given up his journey hither for the 
 moment, owing to overmuch work. I have a 
 great many visits from Germans, but they rarely 
 have anything pleasant to impart. Yesterday I 
 learned the scandalous history which has com- 
 promised the Gabes in your town and the whole 
 Oppenheim family. I mean the locking up of 
 the Gabes mother owing to alleged insanity. 
 The woman is here now and everyone who hears 
 her adventure is outraged.* 
 
 Is it really true that Dr. S. has hanged him- 
 
 * There appeared at the time a pamphlet on the subject, ' ' A 
 Mother in the Insane Asylum."
 
 232 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 self? I beg Lotta to tell me something more 
 particular about it ; I can hardly believe it. 
 Things are beginning to look very melodramatic 
 in our family! * * * 
 
 I received the books long ago, and shall send 
 them back again one of these days with hearty 
 thanks. Hearty greetings to Lotta, the children, 
 and Ludwig: the last I have yet to thank for his 
 recent letter. 
 
 What you write me with regard to Dr. Halle, 
 dear Lotta, is proof of your sympathetic heart ; 
 I, too, feel great interest in the fate of the 
 remarkable man, but miserliness may have 
 readily added a good deal to his monomania. 
 Latterly I was visited by the head of the banking 
 house Warschan in Konigsberg, who is related 
 to John F. in Berlin, and he told me in con- 
 fidence that the latter was also nearly insane; 
 that he was ever lamenting how in his last days 
 he would have to starve for lack of money. 
 
 I am still without news of Campe. It stands 
 to reason, dear mother, that you do not place 
 any faith in the clack which the German 
 papers make concerning the condition of my 
 health.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 233 
 
 During these days, dear mother, I have been 
 more occupied with you than you can have 
 dreamed ; for I have undertaken a general re- 
 vision of my papers and have again looked 
 through all your letters and Lotta's, and, how- 
 ever it pained me, have given up all these 
 epistles to the flames in order to be certain that 
 no bad use shall be made of them through some 
 chance breach of trust. I am of sure hope, dear 
 mother, that you agree with this action, since 
 for no consideration on earth would I be willing 
 to expose you to the rude curiosity of persons 
 in the generation to come. 
 
 Keep me in warm affection and write to me 
 soon. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 C 
 
 PARIS, July 9, 1851. 
 DEAREST MOTHER AND DEAR SISTER: 
 
 At this moment I am pretty well in health, 
 but I suffered badly with my eyes during the 
 great heat. As I perceive, you have the parcel 
 of books back again; but as I could prepay only
 
 234 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 for a few stations, it surely cost you a great deal 
 of freight. I send you inclosed a new list of 
 books among which are a few which I wish 
 very specially to read, for instance, the novel 
 by Frau von Palzow entitled " St. Roche," and 
 a novel by Miigge called " Toussaint Louver- 
 ture." 
 
 Here's that stupid fellow Schiff,* who has pub- 
 lished " Luftschlosser," a book that is not in the 
 catalogue, but which I would much like to read. 
 Everything the stupid fellow writes is good and 
 exceedingly remarkable ; and he has more talent 
 than countless other people who have renown. 
 So it is in literature too luck is everything. 
 
 Dear Lotta, read a book which has appeared 
 with Campe called " Schief Levinchen und 
 Mariandel seine Kalle "; it is a masterpiece, 
 artistic and clever, and I believe it is by Schiff. 
 
 * Dr. H. Schiff, a stepcousin ; Heine's grandfather married a 
 widow Schiff in second nuptials. Schiff was a talented author, 
 but never received the recognition which, according to Heine's 
 verdict, he deserved. Having got down in the world through 
 drink, he was given up for hopeless by the family and died in the 
 Hamburg Hospital. Owing to his friendship with Strodtmann 
 there arose in the latter's biography of Heine, through statements 
 made by Schiff, a great many inexact and wrong statements con- 
 cerning the private and family relations of the poet.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 235 
 
 As I hear, dear Lotta, you are entertaining the 
 idea of getting for me the " Geschichte der 
 Komischen Litteratur " by Flogel ; I therefore 
 hasten to notify you that some time ago I had 
 it procured and therefore do not need it. 
 
 Mr. Wirth has sent me word that Campe is 
 about to visit me here in Paris this month; don't 
 let him notice anything if he does not tell you 
 himself ; yet on this occasion I might well avail 
 myself of the chance to have the books brought 
 here by Campe. The young man of whom you 
 made note has not yet appeared at my house 
 and you can be assured that I have understood 
 entirely your meaning. Unhappily I have to 
 burn my dear Lotta's joyous letters at once ; 
 nevertheless I must not omit it. 
 
 My dear Nanny might often write to me when 
 she does not have too much to do ; this corre- 
 spondence would certainly be most pleasurable to 
 me. I send regards to Ludwig and Lena too. 
 As for my dear mother, whom I love more than 
 all the cats in the world, I kiss her twenty-five 
 times. My wife sends greetings and perspires. 
 Your faithful son and brother, 
 
 H. HEINE.
 
 236 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Heine felt bitterly hurt by the moody silence 
 of his publisher and very likely it had come to a 
 break with Campe if the latter had not suddenly 
 come to Paris, urged by his own interests, when 
 he learned through Mr. Georg Wirth that the 
 poet had finished a large book notwithstanding his 
 sickly state. Heine intended to issue this work, 
 the " Romanzero," only after death ; but he gave 
 up this resolve at the urgent request of Campe, 
 and the latter bought the work for the sum of six 
 thousand marks. When his o\vn interest was 
 at stake Campe could be extremely pleasant and 
 at the first meeting knew how to change the 
 poet's mood to his own profit. Before the agree- 
 ment as to price Campe had not examined at all 
 the contents of the manuscript and when Heine 
 asked him how he could pay a notable price for 
 a book without having first read it, he replied : 
 "That is unnecessary; what Heine writes is 
 fine." The poet was by no means unimpres- 
 sionable by flattery of that kind and this im- 
 perturbable trust in the creations of his brain 
 was enough to strengthen once more the some- 
 what loosened bond of friendship with his pub- 
 lisher.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 237 
 
 CI 
 
 PARIS, August 21, 1851. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I duly received your last letter. I have no 
 great opinion of homeopathy, but next year I 
 shall certainly do something important for my 
 health, for I shall make a visit to the baths of 
 Gastein and on this occasion probably go by way 
 of Hamburg. For more than two years now I 
 have taken no medicine. My state of health 
 improves very slowly, but the improvement is 
 not to be ignored. 
 
 The arrival of Gustav was a great pleasure 
 to me ; for the last six days he has been 
 here with his wife and toward the end of next 
 week he journeys home by way of Hamburg. 
 So he will tell you much about me by word 
 of mouth, and to you also, dear Lotta, he will 
 impart by word of mouth everything which I 
 have to say to you. During the coming weeks 
 I can write but little, since my German secretary 
 lives in the country and very rarely comes to 
 Paris for an hour. Besides this, you can easily 
 believe that I would dictate a letter to you
 
 238 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 through very few of the Germans here who some- 
 times help me out with a pen. 
 
 Perhaps I shall send to Campe by Gustav the 
 entire manuscript of a book, and this can proba- 
 bly be printed in two months. Gustav's arrival 
 has excited me very much and I shall probably 
 be capable of no work for a fortnight ; we clack 
 from morning till night. We laugh all the 
 time and my wife laughs with us ; my parrot 
 screams in between without either of them under- 
 standing what the talk is about. My wife finds 
 that Gustav has a strong resemblance to me. 
 
 At this moment Gustav has the pleasure of 
 learning that the vagabond with whom he re- 
 cently had a lawsuit in Vienna, the editor of a 
 rival paper, is to be presently bidden to leave 
 Vienna. 
 
 And now farewell ; greet Ludwig, Lena and 
 Anna, the last of whom I heartily thank for her 
 gay letter. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 After Campe's departure Heine was surprised 
 by the arrival of his brother Gustav, who had
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 239 
 
 come to Paris with his wife for a visit of a short 
 period. The best understanding existed between 
 the brothers, and many a jocose remark was ex- 
 changed between the two. 
 
 On his brother's question whether it was really 
 true that he had married a sister of charity Heine 
 answered : " No, rather have I become a monk, 
 and pray God every day that he may impart to 
 you, dear brother, better political views." 
 
 To Gustav's demand whether he should not 
 pronounce himself openly in the Fremdenblatt con- 
 cerning his religious change of views Heine 
 rejoined : " What possible difference can it make 
 to the big white elephant of the King of Siam if 
 a wee little mouse in the Rue d'Amsterdam at 
 Paris believes or does not believe in his grandeur 
 and wisdom ? " 
 
 On his departure Heine gave his brother 
 Gustav the manuscript of the " Romanzero," who 
 brought it to Campe in Hamburg. To the vex- 
 ation of Heine this meeting unfortunately pro- 
 duced fresh misunderstandings and quarrels with 
 his publisher. In October, a few months later, 
 appeared the " Romanzero," which added new 
 sprays to the poet's laurels.
 
 240 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 It was generally considered a marvel that 
 Heine was able to create this clever work during 
 the frightful tortures of his sick bed and pre- 
 serve unweakened his strength of mind and 
 poetic fire. 
 
 Almost at the same time with the " Roman- 
 zero " appeared " Der Doctor Faust," a Tanzfoem, 
 to which were added later in his miscellaneous 
 works the pantomime-libretto ''Die Gottin Di- 
 ana " and " Die Gotter in Exil."* 
 
 CII 
 
 PARIS, December 5, 1851. 
 DEAREST MOTHER: 
 
 As the greatest excitement is abroad in Paris 
 at this moment, and yesterday and day before 
 yesterday much bloodshed occurred, I hasten to 
 report to you that I am in excellent health and 
 beyond the reach of every danger. At least this 
 advantage exists in my sickness : I do not mix in 
 the combat of partisans. If I had been well I 
 might at this moment have had the chance to be 
 wounded or even shot to death. 
 
 * These three pieces are found in vol. viii. of the library edition, 
 TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 241 
 
 Unfortunately, at every sound of tumult my 
 wife cannot refrain from sticking her nose out on 
 the street and yesterday was caught in the middle 
 of musketry fire. Unhappily I have no commands 
 at all to give in France, and as in every part of the 
 country, the needful authority is lacking in my 
 abode. 
 
 I fear that things are still going ill with Louis 
 Napoleon. Unluckily he has not grasped the 
 fact that the French, it is true, do not love the 
 Republic but still wish to hold on to it. A thing 
 is not readily surrendered which has been won at 
 such cost. 
 
 How many people, are there not? who feel re- 
 sentment to their mistress but still cannot make 
 up their mind to forsake the woman for whom 
 they have spent so much money ! 
 
 I have received the little box of books, and 
 thank you for the invoice. I hope that the list, 
 which was not sent back to me, has not gone 
 astray ; answer me on this point. I have had a 
 letter from Gustav; he writes that he loves his 
 wife very much. Unfortunately I perceive that 
 he has not carried out my business in the way 
 he made me believe he would, and in this con-
 
 242 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 nection I fear I shall reap a harvest of new vex- 
 ations. 
 
 I told you in my last letter that I had paid back 
 everything to Gustav ; nor do I doubt that you 
 have felt why I mention such things. I am a 
 sick man, and the hour might easily arrive in 
 which speech may be impossible. 
 
 I greet you heartily, dear Lotta ; remember me 
 to your husband and kiss my two nieces and my 
 nephew, whom we always recall here with great 
 love. My squanderer has bought her a green dress 
 which I call the Vitzliputzli gown.* For I have 
 calculated that the gown will cost as much as 
 the money earned by the poem " Vitzliputzli " 
 which is found in the " Romanzero." We live in 
 the most perfect harmony, in the loveliest, cost- 
 liest peace ! We often talk of you all and often 
 clack till midnight about dear mother. When 
 Nanny writes I pray her to take very black ink, 
 since I always read my family letters myself and 
 in winter particularly my eyes are very weak. 
 
 The " Romanzero " excites more enthusiasm 
 
 * Referring to his poem which alludes to the old Mexican god of 
 war of that name, whose symbol is the humming bird with its neck 
 of brilliant, changing green. See vol. iii. pp. 61-76. TR.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 243 
 
 than I expected. I assure you it is a very weak 
 book ; but you must not repeat that. I wrote it 
 with my powers lamed. 
 
 I hope, dear mother, that you are very well, 
 and I shall always arrange my health according to 
 yours. You know what I mean. 
 
 Write to me soon and much. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine was no worshiper of Napoleon III and 
 as early as 1849 uttered the following: 
 
 "A coup d'ttat is an open secret. People gossip 
 so much about it that they end by no longer believ- 
 ing in it ; but it is not going to stay away. The 
 President is working on the model of his uncle 
 and marches on to an eighteenth Brumaire. Up, 
 then, and at it ! 
 
 " When the Republic was proclaimed about a 
 year ago, the world obtained the impression that 
 something which was nothing but a dream and 
 ought to be a dream only had become a reality. 
 But I have the unhappiness to know France only 
 too exactly through my residence here for years, 
 and I am not at all in the dark concerning what 
 we have to expect.
 
 244 FA MIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 " The Republic is nothing more than a change 
 of name, a revolutionary title. How in the world 
 could this corrupt, effeminate society change so 
 quickly? To make money, seize on offices, ride 
 in a coach and four, own a box at the theater 
 and to chase from one pleasure to another that 
 was their ideal hitherto. Where could these fel- 
 lows have so carefully hidden away their stock of 
 civic virtues? Believe me, Paris is thoroughly 
 Napoleonist I mean that here is the rule of the 
 Napoleon d'or."'* 
 
 cm 
 
 PARIS, January 28, 1852. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 Eight days ago I dispatched to you the chest 
 of books, and by this you must have duly re- 
 ceived them. The list of books, to wit, the books 
 of which I wrote down the titles, has not been 
 sent back to me from Hamburg of late, and to- 
 day I must send you over a new list to boot. In 
 order to be sure that it shall not go astray again I 
 beg that you will have it copied at once. Campe 
 
 * The coup (Ptiat thus foretold took place ; next year Napoleon 
 III placed upon his own head the imperial crown, and the down- 
 fall of the emperor took place fourteen years after the death of 
 the poet.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 245 
 
 can use the new invoice of books, which Lotta 
 will arrange, in order to pack among them a few 
 books of his own on this occasion. I hope you 
 are all well, and so far as I am concerned I find 
 myself still in the same disgruntled frame of mind. 
 
 There is so much evil being done in the world 
 just now that I am actually anxious and scared, 
 and feel myself more uncomfortable than ever 
 in this wretched skin of mine. Unhappily my 
 wife also is in a bad temper, a direct result, it is 
 true, of corporeal reasons. She suffers a good 
 deal from headache. Winter creeps along in 
 mournful fashion and I shall be glad when it is 
 gone. My relations with the family are at this 
 moment very objectionable, and that without my 
 fault. We speak constantly of you, and I hope 
 my dear Lotta you will soon send us a very gay 
 letter. God keep you all and grant you health, 
 which, as I notice unfortunately too late for my- 
 self, is the main point. 
 
 Here in Paris things are all in a snarl and we 
 look forward to a mad to-morrow. Those who are 
 well will shoot each other down, but the sickly 
 have nothing to risk, and so you can be without 
 anxiety on my account. I send hearty greeting
 
 246 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 to my nieces, as well as to my nephew. Farewell, 
 my dear, kind mother, and keep in affection 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine wrought industriously on the complete 
 edition of his works in French and the clever 
 and often enthusiastic criticism of the works 
 which had appeared before was a new spur to 
 him to make the French public acquainted with 
 the product of his genius. 
 
 Les CEuvres completes de Henri Heine, seven 
 volumes of which had appeared up to the time 
 of his death, won the most brilliant success and 
 placed him in the ranks of the first authors of 
 France. Heine himself translated the prose 
 works in the most careful way, and all the finest 
 witty points are reflected therein after a 
 masterly fashion. In the preface to the French 
 edition of his poems Heine does full justice to 
 the friends who undertook the difficult labor of 
 translating from the German. Particularly was 
 he unable to think without emotion of his friend 
 Gerard de Nerval,* who during the evenings of 
 
 * This talented young French writer committed suicide, having 
 fallen into a melancholy. He wrote a book on Germany. TR.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 247 
 
 March 1848 visited him every day in his isola- 
 tion near the Barriere de la SantJ in order to 
 work with him on the translation of his peaceful 
 German fantasies, the while all about raged the 
 passions of politics and the monarchy went down 
 with a frightful noise. Deep in their idyllic and 
 aesthetic conversations, the two did not hear the 
 cry of the masses which was then sounding 
 through Paris the masses howling their song, 
 Des Lampions ! des lampions ! the Marsellaise of 
 the February Revolution. 
 
 Heine also spoke with gratitude of his later 
 translators, while pointing out the temerity of 
 the attempt to render in the tongue of a 
 Romanic people the most profound and intimate 
 thoughts of a poetical work belonging to a 
 speech of the Germanic stock. 
 
 His poems were translated into French partly 
 in metrical form, partly in rhyme by Ren6 
 Taillandier, Gerard de Nerval and Marelle ; but 
 these translators allowed themselves, for the pur- 
 pose of rhyming, many licenses, so that in the 
 metrical rendering the easy and poetic harmony 
 of the rhythm found in the original was lost. 
 Heine himself jested at the way and fashion
 
 248 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 the tender, fragrant offspring of his muse had 
 been treated, which in translation sounded about 
 as sensible and prosaic as " bits of moonshine 
 packed in straw " ! It seemed to him while read- 
 ing these translations as if somebody had taken 
 him by the scalp lock, dragged him to the open 
 market place, and called out, Hit him ! Hit him ! 
 "Verily it seems to me as if I had looted the 
 safe containing my literary worth in Germany 
 and now were engaged at Paris in turning all my 
 booty into money. Every time a German comes 
 to see me a cold chill runs down my back, as if he 
 were a secret agent of the German Parnassus who 
 had obtained from the French Government my 
 surrender and intended to lead me back thither 
 where is howling and gnashing of teeth I mean 
 back to Germany. Yea, even after one thousand 
 years have fled, I shall still be slandered, and all 
 on account of these unfortunate translators ! " 
 
 CIV 
 
 PARIS, April 12, 1852. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 To-day I only want to notify you that to-mor- 
 row I shall send off to your address by express
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 249 
 
 to Hamburg, a chest in which, besides the books 
 that I borrowed from the circulating library, there 
 is still another parcel which is meant for my 
 dear sister, Mrs. von Embden. 
 
 Among the books there is also the volume of my 
 tragedies which you lent me in Hamburg, as well 
 as two examples of my bronze medallion, one of 
 which likewise was lent me by you in Hamburg in 
 order that I might have more copies cast from it 
 here. One copy of the medallion, then, you are 
 to keep for yourself as before, and the other copy 
 of the medallion please send to Campe, to whom 
 I have promised it. The box must be opened 
 with the greatest care in order that the parcel for 
 Lotta which is therein shall not be damaged ; for 
 it contains a silk gown, the very newest which 
 the season has brought forth, and exceedingly in 
 good taste, since my squanderer has chosen it. 
 You can rest assured that my wife obtains more 
 pleasure through this gift than if such a gown 
 had been presented to her. She is unfortunately 
 still affected with headaches very often. We 
 live in great unity, and she makes use of all her 
 charm in order to make me forget my sickly con- 
 dition.
 
 25 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 I am taken care of in the most extraordinary 
 way, and yet she is my only bitterness to use 
 my old phrase. She asks to be heartily re- 
 membered to you all. I do the same and 
 send compliments to the whole Goosemarket 
 family ! * 
 
 If I only knew of someone to carry off my 
 Nanny from the Goosemarket ! She must make 
 a very nice dish by this time, particularly if 
 stuffed with golden chestnuts and raisins. Nice 
 behavior, simplicity in outward appearance, 
 avoidance of everything that calls attention to 
 her, absence of coquetry, love of truth and 
 sweetness of temper are the traits which are 
 of greatest use to young women. 
 
 Do write me whether the chest came duly to 
 hand ; you must have had to pay again an 
 enormous freight, dear mother, and I am unable 
 to arrange it otherwise, because the Cologne for- 
 warders a veritable band of robbers blackmail 
 each box. But these are the last books which I 
 shall have sent me in this way, for the reason 
 alone that the circulating library does not offer 
 
 * His brother-in-law had left his former home and moved into a 
 dwelling on the corner of the Goosemarket and the Jungfernstieg.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 251 
 
 me much I can use. I shall make me better 
 and cheaper channels. 
 
 Often if you do not get a letter from me for a 
 long while, I can explain it thus: I have not 
 always at hand a trusted friend to whom I can 
 dictate German. If I go into the country this 
 summer you will often have to wait for a letter. 
 
 I love you with my whole soul. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CV 
 
 PARIS, June 12, 1852. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER AND DEAR SISTER: 
 
 Your letter, dear, kind mother, as well as 
 Lotta's epistle, in which brother's arrival is an- 
 nounced, has filled me with the greatest pleasure. 
 I can imagine the excitement into which this 
 delightful surprise has plunged you. I look for- 
 ward with impatient expectation to the time 
 when I shall embrace my dear Max after such a 
 long separation. All is the same with my health ; 
 it is as wearisome as repulsive to me if I have 
 to be always threshing over again this subject en 
 detail. And I now never talk about my health
 
 252 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 any more with those who come to see me. I 
 see my doctors little and am in need of nothing; 
 but am highly curious to hear what Max has to 
 say to me. You must assuredly write to me 
 the time at which I may expect him here, be- 
 cause owing to my nervous disease even pleasant 
 surprises are not good for me. My wife is warned 
 not to give me any surprise which she has not 
 exactly heralded twenty-four hours earlier. 
 
 I hope that mother is well and that you are 
 all sound and bright. Gustav will of course come 
 to Hamburg. 
 
 My wife seems pretty well ; she complains 
 that she is not as pretty as before and for that 
 reason must wear more good clothes ; I insist 
 upon the exact opposite chiefly owing to the 
 cost of decorations! She has had her portrait 
 taken, but is not at all pleased with it ; to obtain 
 peace and quiet I have to " cuss " that portrait. 
 But really she looks better in natura than en 
 effigie. But sometimes I'm fonder of the picture, 
 because it never scolds.* 
 
 And now farewell. Greetings to my nephew 
 
 * For verses written in exasperation at his wife's moods, see 
 vol. iii. 293. In better moods, pp. 121, 279, 285 and 286. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 253 
 
 and nieces and kisses to the latter. Dear Lotta, 
 I have written to Campe to have books sent 
 hither with Max. But let him understand as 
 soon as possible that this would cause too much 
 delay, and that I beg him, in case no other occasion 
 comes to hand, to send me the books without 
 delay by the railroad, post or the steamer. 
 Don't forget this. 
 
 How delighted I am to see my Max again ! I 
 hardly believed that I should live long enough 
 
 for this joy. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CVI 
 
 PARIS, August 2, 1852. 
 MY DEAR, KIND MOTHER AND SISTER : 
 
 The departure of Max gave me great anguish 
 and I am as it were crushed by sorrow. It is a 
 great joy to see one another again after so long 
 a separation, but one has to pay dearly for it 
 with the anguish of separation. My wife is in 
 the same mood and Calypso could not have been 
 more sorrowful at the departure of Ulysses than 
 my squanderer has been at the departure of Max. 
 The latter struck a bad streak here, since he came
 
 254 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 bang into the great hot term, and I, whom it ex- 
 hausted frightfully, could not spare him a single 
 well hour. I suffered much from the heat, but now 
 that the weather is better I am on the mend. Max 
 will give you news by word of mouth concerning 
 everything that relates to me, and for some time 
 I shall need to write you little ; that suits me well, 
 since at the moment I am very much occupied. 
 
 We have talked about you constantly in all 
 trustiness and tenderness. We have been much 
 amused at Ludwig's remark about the miracu- 
 lous stigmata of our martyr. We love him at 
 bottom quite unusually ; he has such a kind heart. 
 I send kisses to my niece Anna, and to my own 
 Lena, who is a very nice girl. Write to me as 
 soon as Max arrives. 
 
 Is Carl in Hamburg? Max will tell you how 
 much trouble and care it takes in Paris to arrange 
 one's self comfortably if one is sickly, how my 
 squanderer attends to my nursing, and that noth- 
 ing is lacking or forgotten which can be procured 
 for money. There is no saving; on the con- 
 trary ; but the main point rest is very difficult 
 to procure in this place. And yet Paris affords 
 me greater advantages than other places, where
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 255 
 
 much more vexatious torments would be sure to 
 await me. My wife asks to be heartily remem- 
 bered, and there are few fat women who are as 
 sweet and lovable in this heat as she. 
 I embrace you both, and am 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CVII 
 
 PARIS, September 30, 1852. 
 DEAREST MOTHER: 
 
 I delayed writing because beforehand I wanted 
 to await a letter from Max at Hamburg; but it 
 appears that he has left you without having 
 written me before he went, according to our 
 compact, which is a great and unpardonable 
 piece of negligence concerning which I shall 
 say nothing, because otherwise I might express 
 myself too bitterly. I, who by reason of my 
 sickness do not have my arms free and often sit 
 in a great whirl of work, I nevertheless do not 
 neglect the least detail, and Max, who is oc- 
 cupied with care of himself alone, acts frivolously, 
 as a poet would scarcely have a right to do. 
 
 I hope that both of you are feeling well, and
 
 256 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 from you, mother, I hope soon to see letters. I 
 write you to-day chiefly in order to notify you 
 that I am sending to your address, and that per 
 steamer from Havre, a chest of books which un- 
 fortunately I can prepay only as far as Havre ; 
 so I must again beg that you will lay out a 
 goodly sum for me, and beg you to tell me 
 exactly how much it cost. In the box is a lot of 
 books which Lotta's manager of the circulating 
 library Mr. Jovien sent me hither without 
 being requested. I beg you to see that they go 
 back with much thanks (since one should be 
 thankful for any and every courtesy), but accom- 
 panied by the prayer that he should never again 
 send me books hither which I have not ordered 
 in accordance with my own selection, since he 
 could not know that I cared to read a single one 
 of them ; and so pay freight expenses to no pur- 
 pose. Then you will find in the box another lot 
 of books, all of which have on their title pages 
 the stamp of Bernhardt's circulating library and 
 moreover have rose-colored tickets for numbers 
 on the back, while the books from Jovien carry a 
 green number-ticket on the back. These books 
 from the Bernhardt circulating library were sent
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 257 
 
 me by Campe. I beg Lotta to take exact care 
 that the books be not mixed together. 
 
 Perhaps you have learned from Max how I 
 fell into confusion through Gustav's unsuitable 
 conversation with Campe. Since Gustav is my 
 brother and at the worst committed a stupidity 
 through too much zeal, certainly I shall be the 
 last to growl at him for so doing. Let him 
 gossip about me as much as he chooses, and even 
 about my wife, as Max says ; let him follow his 
 natural character as he will, since I have known 
 him to possess always that character and for forty 
 years have ever forgiven him ; he shall always be 
 to me the beloved brother whose finer traits I 
 value all the more. And it is not to be denied 
 that he has good qualities. I know him through 
 and through and understand exactly the gene- 
 alogy of his faults. He is not the first of his sort. 
 The censorship does not permit me to say more. 
 
 And now, dear Lotta, how is it with you ? 
 How is your youthful brood ? the two big pullets 
 and the boy? I talk about you with my wife 
 every day ; she asks to be heartily remembered. 
 I am not so badly off in health. At the opening 
 of the season I had a rough time, but now I am
 
 258 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 feeling very well. I am well cared for and work 
 but little. In no event shall I do work for 
 nothing. Everything is quiet here, and as Gus- 
 tav is not present, we live in peace and harmony. 
 Is Carl still in Hamburg? Let me know. Any- 
 how, write to me soon. 
 
 Here is the page ended, and I embrace you both. 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CVIII 
 
 PARIS, December 29, 1852. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER, MY DEAR, KIND 
 
 SISTER, AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT BUMPS 
 
 AND BOUNCES ABOUT You : 
 
 I have received with pleasure the letter which 
 speaks of mother's birthday festival, and greatly 
 was I delighted thereat. To-day I send congratu- 
 lation for the new year, which announces itself 
 pretty kindly for me. I cherish the hope that 
 the new year will be better than the old. I 
 hardly need to tell you now that I wish you 
 everything that is nice and good. May Heaven 
 keep you in health, harmony and sweetness of 
 mood ! My wife also asks me to give her con-
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 259 
 
 gratulations, and is just in the act of decorating 
 the windows with new white curtains in order to 
 receive the new year in a courteous fashion. 
 Her mood is extremely charming, and this year 
 she makes fewer New Year presents which verily 
 is a step in advance ! She sends friendly greeting 
 to my nephew Ludwig and I too send regards 
 to Ludwig as well as to my brother-in-law Moritz. 
 I send hearty greeting also to Anna and Lena 
 and shall find occasion before the end of next 
 month to let them know that they have in 
 Paris an uncle who loves them greatly. 
 
 I kiss my darling mother all over her face, 
 and both hdr dear hands too. My wife says 
 that dear mother must certainly have looked 
 very well in the new cap. 
 
 And now farewell. Write to me much, and 
 
 keep in affection 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 CIX 
 
 PARIS, March 18, 1853. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 It is not my fault if I do not write to you 
 oftener, for my German secretary is sick now-
 
 260 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 adays and can rarely come to see me. That is 
 why I delayed sending an answer at once to 
 your last letter. You complain because I do not 
 write with my own hand. Don't do that any 
 more, otherwise I shall write you with my own 
 hand, but that effort will cost me every time a 
 headache for three days. If I strain my eyes in 
 the slightest degree I get my old headaches back 
 again, and you know what that means. When I 
 write, that is, when I use my own hand, it has 
 always to be done with a pencil, and the result 
 is very illegible; but illegibility does not do 
 at all for letters, and besides, I should confine 
 myself to the most necessary information alone. 
 At this moment I have much to do and can 
 spare myself but little. As long as a man is 
 alive he must carry on his work, and in my 
 isolated condition nobody can help me. 
 
 My wife is in good health and at this moment 
 is very happy because I have bought for a con- 
 siderable sum a lot of linen for the household. 
 Linen gives her more pleasure than pretty 
 clothes, and that is very praiseworthy. We live 
 in great unity, that is, I yield in all things. We 
 are ever talking of you both and now farewell.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 261 
 
 I greet you heartily, my dear Lotta, and kiss 
 you and your children. In your next letter, 
 dear Lotta, do write me down the number on 
 the Goosemarket in case I should have to send 
 anyone to your address. 
 
 Latterly Dr. Wille visited me ; he lives now in 
 Zurich. It is a great question whether Therese 
 will visit me if she comes to Paris. I doubt it 
 much, because in every possible way they will try 
 to prevent it. 
 
 I kiss you both. 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CX 
 
 PARIS, May 7, 1853. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 About eight days ago I received a letter from 
 our Lotta, but as not a line from you was within, 
 the assurance of sister that you are in good 
 health is not so very satisfactory, and I beg you 
 to send me a few words very soon. I am in my 
 ordinary state and my wife too is at the present 
 moment well. She has been very wretched, as in 
 general she is not entirely strong and perhaps in
 
 262 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 later years will have to bear a good deal of pain, 
 or else, since she has no talent for a quiet life of 
 sickliness, she will not reach any great age. At 
 the present time we find ourselves in such a 
 tender harmony of spirit that the angels might 
 well envy us ; and this creature, kind to the 
 depths of her soul, in whose heart not one drop 
 is false, and who does not so much as conceive 
 the wickedness of the world verily she sweetens 
 for me my sufferings ! 
 
 An article by me in a French review has had 
 frightful success,* but to my greatest bitterness 
 I must learn that this fine work has been pub- 
 lished in Berlin by a wretched German book- 
 seller in a wretched German translation, and that 
 not at all in a periodical, which would have been 
 all the same to me, but as a separate pamphlet, 
 at the appearance of which Campe has again 
 shown the most violent excitement. Through 
 this publication goes to pieces a scheme to pub- 
 lish the work in question this very year, for 
 which I have still to write a continuation, bound 
 up with other articles. Thus is my property 
 stolen away from under my own nose by my be- 
 
 * Les Dieux en Exil in the Revtie des Deux Mondes.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 263 
 
 loved fellow-countrymen and great damages 
 done me for the sake of a little profit. Never- 
 theless I shall not begin any row, as Campe 
 would like me to. I am certain that the vaga- 
 bond who made this translation is a literary 
 sectarian from the school of a Salomon or a Klei ; 
 this I have smelt out from various turns of speech, 
 but still more from fragments in the newspapers, 
 which he has had printed in his patchwork 
 besides, and in which he gives all sorts of garbled 
 news of my health and would even like to give 
 himself the appearance of a kind-hearted friend ! 
 
 My life is made cursedly hard for me and in 
 good sooth our Lord and Savior must be a god 
 in order that he could pardon in such Pharisees 
 their passion for persecution ! 
 
 Monsieur Wihl had the kindness to chuck him- 
 self out of the house, and a still dirtier, still viler 
 and much more dangerous vagabond, the litter- 
 ateur W., is never, thank God, to cross my thres- 
 hold again. There is a mob of fellows of this 
 kidney in Paris who run about and gossip, or 
 even correspond, and whom, thank God, I do 
 not see. 
 
 Oh dear, if I could only talk myself out with
 
 264 FAM1L Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Lotta for an hour or two ! I greet all heartily. 
 Farewell, keep in love 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CXI 
 
 PARIS, June 21, 1853. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 I don't know which of us owes an answer to 
 the other, but I have nothing to report except 
 that I am in good health, as good at least as 
 is possible in my long and wearisome illness. 
 My wife was well until yesterday evening, when 
 she complained a little ; but I hope that it means 
 nothing. I always lose my head at once as soon 
 as anything is amiss with my dear wife. Men 
 are big fools ! But the biggest fools are those 
 men who do not love their wives, because they 
 have to make the same expenditure for them and 
 for the same money might obtain for themselves 
 a bit of tenderness. 
 
 I send greetings to my dear Lotta and the 
 children. I beg you to particularly kiss my dear 
 niece Anna. Therese has visited me here, but in 
 company with Carl, who was sent to act as sen-
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 265 
 
 tinel, so that I should say nothing she ought not 
 to hear! 
 
 I am always thinking of you, dear mother, and 
 love you unutterably. 
 
 I work a great deal, which of course attacks my 
 strength, but at the same time does good by 
 diverting my thoughts. 
 
 I embrace you tenderly and pray to God who 
 is kind that he keep you well and gladsome. 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CXII 
 
 PARIS, July 16, 1853. 
 DEAREST SISTER : 
 
 Pardon me for not answering your letter at 
 once ; I had no one at hand to whom I could dic- 
 tate German. In answer to the question con- 
 tained in the paper forwarded to me, regarding 
 my biography, I shall only say a few words. 
 
 You know what my baptismal and surname are, 
 as well as the names of our parents, so that you 
 can fill up this rubric. The names of my wife are 
 Mathilde Creszenzia Heine; I like best to call 
 her Mathilde, because the name Creszenzia, which
 
 266 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 is also that of her mother, has always given me a 
 pain in the throat. As to the date of my birth 
 I have to say that according to my notice of 
 baptism I was born the thirteenth of December, 
 1799, and that at Dusseldorf on the Rhine, as 
 must likewise be known to you. Since all our 
 family papers were destroyed at Hamburg in the 
 conflagration, and in the register at Dusseldorf the 
 date of my birth could not have been properly 
 entered for reasons which I do not care to men- 
 tion the above date alone is authentic at any 
 rate more authentic than the recollections of my 
 mother, whose aging memory is not capable of 
 replacing any papers which are lost. 
 
 As to the schools in which I was polished off, 
 they too are known to you ; they begin with 
 the Franciscan monastery at Dusseldorf ; later I 
 passed two years in the Protestant Institute of 
 Vahrenkamp, afterward I attended all the classes 
 at the lyceum, which is now called the gym- 
 nasium. The teachers of the Franciscan monas- 
 tery, as well as those of the lyceum, will be re- 
 called by mother, and I think there is no need of 
 mentioning them here. At the Universities of 
 Bonn, Gottingen and Berlin, where later I passed
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 267 
 
 some years, I enjoyed tuition from very celebrated 
 persons, but it is too tedious for me to reel off the 
 list of their names. Now as regards the books, 
 in this particular I will refer to Campe, who knows 
 the facts better than I do myself, and so he can 
 fill up the rubric in question. For the rest, I 
 think there is nothing more to mention and what 
 has already been stated bores me quite enough. 
 
 When you see Mr. Campe beg him in my name 
 to give the list of books which I drew up from the 
 Lacisz catalogue and in accordance with which he 
 was to send me an invoice which has never come 
 to hand. Do send me this list at once in order 
 that I may strike out the books which I no longer 
 need and send you a new list, so that I can get 
 the books forwarded whose dispatch Campe has 
 delayed so long, so unwarrantably long ! I would 
 write to him direct if I did not have also to 
 answer his last letter and if at this moment I did 
 not lack the spirit. For in his last letter he has 
 again blamed me, as if it were I who laid obsta- 
 cles in his way and who broke up our good rela- 
 tions by demanding too much money from him. 
 Heaven knows that I make no demands on him 
 for anything which I do not believe myself to
 
 268 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HE1NR1CH HEINE. 
 
 have earned twice over. For the rest my brothers 
 have done their part in bringing on that confu- 
 sion which exists between Campe and me and is 
 now no longer to be altered. 
 
 For the rest Max is far more to blame than 
 Gustav, since in his egotism he did not even 
 take the trouble to read carefully the letters 
 in which I gave him the strictest instructions 
 with regard to Campe. He might have made 
 him concessions, if not with regard to the 
 sum of money, still with respect to other inter- 
 ests which have money value for Campe and 
 the affair would have been quite simple. Instead 
 of that the fool preaches to me to rely blindly on 
 Campe's friendship, and tries to persuade me 
 there is no need for me to make such a point of 
 money and I ought to permit my fleece to be 
 sheared now as before. So I have not written to 
 him since he reached Russia, because when I do 
 write something bitter might slip out, and on 
 such occasions silence is the best. 
 
 I write you under the address of my dear 
 mother so that the greetings that I shall send 
 her herewith may reach her a few hours earlier. 
 Right heartily do I kiss dear, kind mother; and
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 269 
 
 Mathilda too, who has been very sick but is re- 
 stored again, asks to forward you the tenderest 
 caresses. I am merely so-so; only this power- 
 ful heat has regaled me with permanent headache. 
 My most friendly greetings to your husband 
 and your children as well. 
 
 Jolly and loving, 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CXIII 
 
 PARIS, August 18, 1853. 
 DEAREST, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 With delight I have seen from your last let- 
 ter that you are in good health. To be sure I 
 have no greater warrant than your own letter, 
 and many a time do I worry greatly on your 
 account. But you know our agreement. Do 
 not complain because I rarely write, for you 
 know that I do not have anyone at each mo- 
 ment at my command in order to dictate German. 
 
 My wife is very well, but at the present moment 
 she is not in my possession, for owing to family 
 matters she has gone for two days to her home 
 and will not come back till this evening.
 
 270 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 I send hearty greetings to my dear Lotta and 
 her children. I thank Lotta for her last letter 
 and will send her back presently a list of books. 
 I have just had another letter from Campe, 
 though I had not answered his last epistle ; once 
 more he questions my wish to be of service 
 in all kinds of ways, and I can see how he is 
 choking with exasperation because I will not 
 permit myself to be exploited by him without a 
 proviso. He announced that he is again issuing 
 a new edition of the " Buch der Lieder."* Not a 
 line of manuscript does he get from me for noth- 
 ing, and so I let everything lie in my portfolio. 
 
 Everything is quiet here and the fear of a war 
 is gone. Nevertheless I believe that war will 
 inevitably break out next year, because the rela- 
 tions and the interests are too much mixed up. 
 A lucifer match can set the world in flames just 
 now, and the firemen f who are in command 
 show more anxiety than sense. 
 
 And now farewell, dear mother, and be as- 
 sured that I think of you day and night. Our 
 
 * Bought at one time by Campe for fifty louis d'or. 
 t 1853-56. The Eastern question and the war of the 
 Crimea which sprang from it.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 271 
 
 whole relationship, to be sure, only consists in 
 the fact that you are my old discursive mother, 
 but at the same time you are such a perfectly 
 square woman and such a dear old Mausel that 
 I can never get enough of you, and with the 
 highest respect love you unspeakably. 
 Your obedient son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CXIV 
 
 PARIS, December 7, 1853. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I am not very well acquainted with the 
 accursed Russian calendar and know not whether 
 Counselor of State Kiseleff is to make his visit 
 this week or the next. To-day I write to con- 
 gratulate you on your birthday and I think once 
 more with laughter of little Paul's congratula- 
 tions made last year with a pot of flowers.* 
 
 May Heaven, dear mother, grant you a vast 
 deal of happiness and keep you as always lively 
 and in good health. Cold has already arrived here 
 
 * This little grandson of Heine's mother brought her a pot 
 of hyacinths and when the grandmother, thanking him, reached 
 forward to take it, the child burst into tears and would not give 
 it up.
 
 272 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 and I think with terror how the coming winter 
 may be able to assault you in your little dove- 
 cote. Would that I could get to you in order to 
 stop up every crevice where a draft could get 
 through ! We talk of you constantly and my 
 wife says that it seems to her as if she had left 
 you but yesterday but to my mind it is as if I 
 were ever by your side. 
 
 With respect to my health, I am getting on as 
 usual, and verily I know not what I could add 
 to this answer of Canonicus Karthiimel. I am 
 still suffering from cramps, but these do not, as 
 they did with my father of blessed memory, af- 
 fect the stomach. I hope that you all live in 
 gayety and unity. I am very quiet indeed 
 and agree that five is an even number. Nothing 
 has turned out luckily for me in this world, but 
 still I might have had a worse fate. That is the 
 way that half-whipped dogs comfort themselves. 
 
 I hope to write you again in this year, and as 
 you know that I still have no German secretary 
 at command you will gladly pardon me if my 
 congratulations for the year do not reach you at 
 the proper time. 
 
 Everything here is quiet and all Paris is occu-
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 273 
 
 pied with building. Everything is torn down, 
 built up afresh ; and one scarcely knows any more 
 where the old corners are to be found. I am 
 highly pleased with my wife and she is the truest 
 soul anyone could imagine. Of course when all is 
 said, I believe there is only a solitary person 
 upon whom a man can entirely rely, and that per- 
 son is his mother. Here a person is entirely 
 sure ; whoever doubts that, for him no course is 
 more to be recommended than that he should 
 leave this world as soon as possible. 
 
 And now, dear mother, farewell. I greet my 
 dear Lotta and her dear children from my heart 
 and embrace you all with the most profound love. 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. ] 
 
 Heine's health had become decidedly worse 
 again because of a heavy cold. Inflammation of 
 the neck, accompanied by violent cramps of 
 throat and breast, made breathing difficult, and 
 moreover a swelling had come out on his back 
 which made lying down torture. It was neces- 
 sary to submit to a painful operation and the poet 
 thought he was near his end. After the opera-
 
 274 FAMILY LIFE OF H BIN RICH HEINE. 
 
 tion the condition of the sick man improved and 
 hardly had a lessening of his torments set in 
 when he commenced to work unweariedly. 
 
 Soon afterward, in the spring of 1854, my 
 sister * went to Paris in order to visit her uncle, 
 and with reference to this meeting wrote that 
 she scarcely could recognize him when she saw 
 that figure of suffering, and found him so 
 changed that tears prevented her from speaking. 
 Paralysis of his eyelids prevented him from 
 observing her sorrow. 
 
 " 'Step nearer, dear child,' he said in a weak voice 
 ' in order that I may see you ; here, close to me ! ' ' 
 And with one hand he raised his eyelid in order 
 to see whether she looked like her mother. 
 
 "I had to take a seat on the bed, and the first 
 questions he asked were about the dear ones at 
 home. 
 
 "'Alas! I shall never see my beloved mother 
 again, and my dear Lotta will she not come 
 soon?' he cried in a tone of sorrow." 
 
 My sister reported further : 
 
 * Marie, Princess della Rocca, published in 1881 " Reminiscences 
 regarding Heinrich Heine " through Hoffmann & Campe, Ham- 
 burg ; and in 1882, " Sketches relating to Heinrich Heine," 
 through A. Hartleben, Leipsic.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 275 
 
 " The evening before my departure I sat by his 
 side. He had told me of his youthful years and 
 combats with men and I was silently listening to 
 his recollections. Wearied out, he lay there 
 almost lifeless ; the sick room was badly lighted ; 
 a lamp was burning dimly behind a screen and 
 one heard the monotonous ticking of a clock. I 
 did not dare disturb his rest and sat motionless 
 on my chair. Suddenly he tried to change his 
 position, a thing the doctor had earnestly 
 warned him not to do, since it ought to be done 
 only with the assistance of the nurse. He was 
 seized with cramps and moaned and groaned in 
 the most frightful manner. 
 
 "The scene was a new one to me ; I thought it 
 was the death struggle when I saw him wrestling 
 for breath, and from the depths of my soul I prayed 
 to God to loose him from these torturing pains. 
 Pauline, his faithful caretaker, sought to quiet 
 him, and assured me that it was a passing pain 
 and that she had often seen him in this condi- 
 tion. Nothing could keep me longer in the 
 chamber; I ran sobbing away and only saw him 
 again for a few moments in order to say farewell. 
 It was for eternity ! . . ,"
 
 276 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Besides his illness Heine was saddened by the 
 disagreeable state of things with his old friend 
 Julius Campe, whose hardness as to money 
 payments gave him much trouble and bitter- 
 ness. Up to that time Campe had been 
 accustomed to buy Heine's manuscripts cheap 
 and felt himself deeply wounded because the 
 poet, crowned by fame, placed higher demands 
 for payment on his writings. Heine's pecuniary 
 condition had entirely altered since the publica- 
 tion of his works in French, which were paid for 
 in a brilliant fashion, and as the former depend- 
 ence of a needy man on his German publisher 
 had vanished, he was able to await the accept- 
 ance of his demands in the greatest quiet. 
 
 Heine was now earning a good deal of money, 
 paid off all his former debts, and as early as the 
 close of 1851 used his first surplus to payback 
 to his brother Gustav everything which he had 
 borrowed from him. 
 
 It gave him great pleasure to be unburdened of 
 his old money troubles ; this permitted him to 
 give his mother, sister and nieces presents now 
 and then, and to meet the often far-reaching 
 desires of Mathilde,
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 277 
 
 cxv 
 
 PARIS, June 26, 1854. 
 DEAR, KIND LOTTA: 
 
 My wife has enjoyed the pleasure of hunting 
 up a gown for you cut according to the 
 latest fashion and two gowns for my nieces 
 altogether uni, I assure you and I send them to 
 you by rail in a special box which is addressed to 
 your husband. I send you to-day, it is true, a 
 manuscript to Campe at the same time ; but I 
 did not want to pack the gowns in his box, 
 because he is married and women grudge each 
 other everything ! 
 
 The gown gris de perle I have assigned to 
 Nanny and the blue one to Lena, whom you ex- 
 pect back in Hamburg, as you told me. I coun- 
 sel you not to send the gown across the sea 
 even if you have the chance, because the salt 
 air will hurt the color. But if the little blonde 
 stays away too long you are authorized, if you 
 wish, to give the blue gown also to the brunette 
 who stayed at home, and hereby I tell you in 
 advance that this arrangement also will suit me. 
 
 I have bought nothing for mother, because she
 
 278 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINR1CH HEINE. 
 
 would not let anybody make her a pompous 
 gown in any case and would only screech. I 
 therefore beg you to buy a marvel of a cap for 
 her in Hamburg and tell her that it was packed 
 in your box ; buy as fine a one as possible and tell 
 me how much you have paid out for it. I have 
 carefully noted the name which you have men- 
 tioned and shall write you on the matter ; I shall 
 not forget. 
 
 Unhappily I am not getting on well this 
 summer. Day and night I suffer from cramps 
 and do not get away from bed. My wife con- 
 ducts herself admirably, and amused herself ten 
 times more with buying the dresses than if they 
 had been for her own use. But she shall have 
 her reward for it. I cannot do without her in 
 my sufferings, and am horrified by the thought 
 that I must leave her! 
 
 Farewell, dear sister. Greet for me heartily 
 Nanny and Ludwig, as well as your husband. 
 Your faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 P. S. You can have no conception how much 
 I have had to bear from the Jesuit,* and how he 
 * Julius Campe, his publisher.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 279 
 
 has done everything possible to torture me. 
 But we are the best of friends. Do you recall a 
 certain " Red Aaron " ? 
 
 CXVI 
 
 PARIS, August 31, 1854. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER : 
 
 I have a great piece of news to impart to you 
 to-day. It is this : I have entirely given up my 
 old abode in Paris and now live near the Bar- 
 riere of Paris in a house which I occupy alone 
 and to which belongs quite a big garden with 
 quite big trees, and where I can enjoy this lovely 
 season in the most delightful way. I have made 
 the greatest sacrifices of money in order to make 
 this revolution, and verily do not regret it, since 
 my health will be extraordinarily furthered 
 thereby. My present system is to do everything 
 for my health and nothing for other people, not 
 even for the squanderer, to whom in any case I 
 could not bequeath enough. My address is aux 
 Batignolles, grand rue No. $i, a Paris. 
 
 You have no conception, dear mother, how 
 greatly the fine air and sunshine which I did not 
 have in my old abode does me good. Yester-
 
 28o FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 day I sat in better health than ever under the 
 trees of my own garden and ate the fine plums 
 which fell overripe into my mug. I thought of 
 you all and made the resolve to write to you 
 to-day, although I am still in the greatest confu- 
 sion. My wife (who always calls herself, when 
 she speaks of herself, meine Frau in German, a 
 thing that comes out very comically, like a parrot) 
 asks to be heartily remembered. She tells me 
 just now to say:"Z> a ma m'ere que ' meine 
 Frau ' est trts occup/e, et que ' meine Frau ' I' em- 
 brasse mille fois" 
 
 I send hearty greetings to my Lotta, as well as 
 to the young ladies and Ludwig. 
 
 I have obtained the best news of X. from a 
 lady who is very truthful. He is said to be a 
 very good fellow, very companionable, and also 
 to possess elsewhere a little property, that is not 
 confiscated like his landed estate at home, which 
 will probably be handed back to him if he will 
 crawl to kiss the cross politically. As he now 
 has a cross in his house, he will probably soon 
 come to a peace with such thoughts, and prop- 
 erly duck his head. 
 
 I have left entirely to Campe the correcting of
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 281 
 
 the proofs for two volumes, and would rather be 
 immortal a few years less than strain my eyes too 
 much. 
 
 Keep in your love 
 
 Your faithful 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CXVII 
 
 PARIS, November 6, 1854. 
 DEAR NANNY: 
 
 I wanted to write to you long ago, but never 
 reached the point because there was such a 
 banging and bouncing round my ears ! To-day 
 also I am not in condition to say an intelligible 
 word to you. Your sweet letter amused me 
 greatly, and we laughed heartily at your drawing. 
 My wife loves you very much and sends hearty 
 greetings to you, as well as to your father, your 
 brother, Lena and of course your mother. 
 
 Herewith I send you an autograph, for which 
 your father will count you out twelve yellow 
 louis d'or. Buy with it something that pleases 
 you ; in that way you make it unnecessary for 
 me to buy it, pack it and forward it, and so do 
 me a service for which I thank you.
 
 282 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 Notify me also of the receipt of this letter. 
 As soon as I shall be at all in a pleasant mood 
 I will write you further. 
 
 Meantime farewell, and be ever lovingly 
 devoted. 
 
 Your faithful uncle, 
 
 HENRY HEINE. 
 
 CXVIII 
 
 PARIS, November 7, 1854. 
 DEAREST, GOOD MOTHER : 
 
 I did not want to write to you before I could 
 certainly notify you that I had moved ; but the 
 moving was delayed from day to day by all kinds of 
 events and it was not till yesterday that I arrived 
 safely in my new house. It was a journey of 
 about two hours, but one in which I was favored 
 by the best of weather. As you can imagine I 
 find myself in the greatest disorder ; have a 
 thousand matters on every side, and to-day must 
 limit myself to merely imparting to you my new 
 address. It reads as follows: aux Champs 
 Elystes, 3 avenue Matignon, Paris. 
 
 Just think : till this moment I have not yet 
 received a copy of my book from Campe. The
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 283 
 
 devil would learn wisdom-from the poison mixing 
 the latter is working at. I hope to get entirely 
 at rest in a few weeks. I greet my dear sister 
 and her children. I embrace you all heartily. 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Heine had forsaken the house in Batignolles, 
 which was too damp, and had moved into the 
 Champs Elyse"es. The new abode was admi- 
 rably placed and entirely in accord with Heine's 
 wishes ; it was on the third floor, without noises 
 overhead, roomy, bright and airy. It was pro- 
 vided with a balcony on to which he had him- 
 self carried on sunny, windless days, in order to 
 watch the promenaders and equipages with their 
 well dressed fares, who hurried toward the Arc 
 de Triomphe in order to push on to the Bois de 
 Boulogne. This diversion often gave the poet 
 pleasure and caused him to grow so fond of his 
 new home that he stayed there to his end. 
 
 Besides the literary and artistic magnates of 
 France who visited Heine, it had become the 
 fashion for German authors to make a pilgrimage 
 to him as the Mohammedans journey to Mecca.
 
 284 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 After their return home all kinds of imaginary 
 things and witty speeches were often related in 
 feuilletons and articles, in order to show the 
 public the stamp of genuineness on their Paris 
 visit. 
 
 In the winter of 1855 Heine's condition grew 
 worse and brought on a return of his sufferings 
 of the year before ; this time he once more over- 
 came the passing peril, and after a short period 
 of convalescence devoted himself again to his 
 labor. 
 
 CXIX 
 
 PARIS, March 20, 1855. 
 DEAREST SISTER : 
 
 I am suffering in an extraordinary way at 
 this moment from cramps in the throat, and for 
 that reason am in no condition to write much to 
 you to-day. A few days ago I dispatched a box 
 to you on the Goosemarket, but without a street 
 number, by the Messageries Royales ; it is to be 
 hoped that the railway or postal officials in your 
 town know the address of Moritz ; if not, you 
 must send to the station in order to get news of 
 the arrival of the box. There is a hat in it for
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 285 
 
 you, and in order to make use of the occasion I 
 sent along a hat for Nanny and one for Lena 
 also. Both of the last are quite simple, and the 
 light blue hat is for the blonde and the rose- 
 colored hat for the brunette. I hope that yours, 
 likewise bluish and somewhat more serious, will 
 be very becoming to you, and that by its means 
 I shall win your patronage for the future also. 
 Unfortunately I was able to prepay the box only 
 to Brussels and you will have to pay a heathenish 
 freight for it. 
 
 My wife sends you friendly and hearty greet- 
 ings. It has given her great pleasure to under- 
 take the ordering of the hats and one can rely 
 upon her good taste. I kiss you all ; greet my 
 nephew heartily and pray greet your husband 
 likewise for me. 
 
 My French books give me a frightful lot of 
 bangand bounce. In a fortnight the " Lutetia " * 
 will be out in French. I have no news concern- 
 ing Carl and I beg you to tell me how he is and 
 where. Do keep my dear, old mother nice and 
 
 *For " Lutetia, or Reports on Politics, Art and Popular Life,' 
 see vol. ix. p. 205, and vol. x. It appeared in German in 1832. 
 ^-TR,
 
 286 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 
 
 warm. She is a very pride and joy ! God keep 
 you all ! 
 
 Your faithful brother, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 On its appearance in 1855 the " Lutetia " 
 created a great sensation, and in the preface to this 
 edition Heine, in his well known humorous way 
 of writing, laid the lash on Socialism, at that time 
 already rising with boldness. He said : 
 
 " Only with terror and shuddering do I think 
 upon that epoch in which these darksome icono- 
 clasts shall win their way to sovereignty. With 
 their horny hands they will pitilessly break to 
 pieces all the marble statues of beauty which are 
 dear to my heart. They will tear into bits all 
 those fantastic toys and tinsel of art which thepoet 
 so loves. They will fell my groves of laurel in 
 order to plant potatoes there. The lilies which 
 neither spun nor yet labored and still were as 
 magnificently clothed as was King Solomon in all 
 his glory, these shall be torn up from the garden 
 of society in case they perchance refuse to take 
 a spindle in their hands. The roses, lazy 
 brides of the nightingales, will be overtaken by
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 287 
 
 the same fate. The nightingales, those useless 
 singers, will be driven off and alas! my ' Book of 
 Songs ' will serve the peddler of spices as material 
 from which to twist cornucopias and into these 
 he will pour coffee or snuff for the old beldames 
 of the future. Alas, I see all this in advance, and 
 an inexpressible sadness creeps over me when I 
 think of the destruction which a victorious pro- 
 letariat threatens to bring upon my verses, which 
 will sink into the grave along with the entire 
 ancient, romantic world ! " 
 
 And further: "Dante says the devil is a 
 logician ! A horrible syllogism has me in its 
 embrace, and if I am not able to refute the state- 
 ment ' that all men have a right to eat,' I am 
 compelled to surrender and submit myself to all 
 the consequences thereof.* While I think of that 
 I run the risk of losing my mind ; I see all the 
 godlike powers of truth dancing triumphantly 
 about me and at last my soul seizes on a high- 
 hearted despair and I cry out : ' Long ago it was 
 judged and sentenced this old society! Let 
 that happen to it which is right !'" 
 
 * For verses on the conflict between those who have and those 
 who lack, see " Die Wanderratten," vol. iii. p. 228. TR,
 
 288 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 My mother had a great longing to see her 
 brother once more, and, disquieted by the acute 
 form which his sufferings had assumed, she wrote 
 that she wished to come to Paris to nurse him her- 
 self as soon as her household duties would permit. 
 
 cxx 
 
 PARIS, August 10, 1855. 
 DEAREST MOTHER : 
 
 Since your last letter I think of nothing else 
 save the happy seeing of my dear sister once more. 
 Everything is already arranged, so that on her 
 arrival at our house my dear Lotta shall find a 
 livable room where Lotta and one of my nieces 
 (for I should be greatly delighted if she brought 
 Anna or Lena with her) will find themselves 
 comfortable. Indeed it would be an unending 
 pleasure for me if Lotta brought with her like- 
 wise one of the dear children, Nanny or Lena, 
 never mind which, for both are equally dear to 
 me and only age decides the precedence. We 
 live here with room to our elbows, and all our 
 friends who come to see us admire the fine view 
 and the good air which we enjoy, so that we 
 find ourselves in the most brilliant center of
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 289 
 
 Paris and yet seem to be in the country. Last 
 week Laube and his wife from Vienna were in 
 town and often came to see us ; Friedland and 
 his wife from Prague also. This man, as I once 
 reported to you, has already repaid me a por- 
 tion of the damages into which I stumbled 
 through him, and as I have bills of exchange 
 and he is very wealthy, I shall lose nothing in 
 the end. 
 
 Dr. L. also, who brought me a letter of intro- 
 duction from Lotta, visited me eight days ago. 
 He seems to be an extremely charming man, has 
 a fine exterior, talks by no means like a fool, 
 and promised me to visit me soon again. He 
 will stay here five weeks more and so I told him 
 that he would see Lotta here within that time. 
 
 My wife is well and is very gay. I am still 
 suffering from my old trouble, the cramps, which 
 to be sure are not very painful, but hinder me 
 in every enjoyment of life, and particularly in 
 working. 
 
 I am still diplomatizing with Campe, and even 
 if he should stand on his head I shall not allow 
 myself any longer to be " shaved across the 
 spoon " by him, He must be secretly much en-
 
 290 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 raged with me and of course is playing me all 
 kinds of tricks behind my back. But I am tack- 
 ing, and at last I shall reach what I wish. He 
 will be furious when he learns that Lotta and 
 Gustav are coming to Paris. Schiff seems to be 
 his man of all work, and Lotta should look out 
 for herself. 
 
 My wife greets and kisses you all heartily and 
 my Insignificance does the same. I embrace you 
 tenderly, my kind, excellent mother, and with 
 profoundest love remain, 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 CXXI 
 
 PARIS, October 24, 1855. 
 DEAR, KIND MOTHER: 
 
 I have no German secretary now and can write 
 you but little with my own hand hence my de- 
 lay. Moreover I expect the family every day 
 and they must surely be on the road by this. 
 Lotta's bed is already made. I wrote lately to 
 Gustav and congratulated him on his new crea- 
 tion. He is the one to continue our line ; I have 
 brought everything to naught, I have also
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 291 
 
 thanked Gustav for the honor done me by 
 calling his boy after me. If he is still in Ham- 
 burg I beg him warmly to make peace with 
 Campe ; this quarrel has caused me great vexa- 
 tion and damage. Perhaps Lotta can work as 
 a peacemaker by asking in person of Campe 
 for any messages to Paris. Let Campe send 
 me through her the third part of Meissner's 
 novel. 
 
 Nanny will not lose much if she does not come 
 here this year, as Lotta writes and for many 
 reasons. But I hope that conjunctions will pre- 
 sent themselves in spring which will guarantee 
 a more pleasurable journey hither. Society is be- 
 ginning to move about now and the child would 
 not be prepared for that during a short stay. 
 Apropos if Lotta is still in Hamburg and by 
 chance should have my book,* "Shakespeare's 
 Maidens and Women," I beg that she may 
 bring it with her; not to be had here any 
 more. 
 
 I kiss you, precious mother. 
 
 Your faithful son, 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 * See vol. iv. of the Bibliothek Ausgabe. TR.
 
 292 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 CXXII 
 
 Monsieur, 
 
 Mr. Hermann Heine* 
 
 ct Hambourg. 
 
 PARIS, November 19, 1855. 
 DEAREST HERMANN: 
 
 I have just learned through Lotta what a loss 
 you suffered lately, and although I am very ill 
 and almost blind, still I want to condole with 
 you under my own hand. Deeply has the sor- 
 rowful news grieved me ! My dear uncle Henry 
 was an excellent, good man, sweet and kindly to 
 the verge of weakness, and for that reason all the 
 more lovable. He was courteous, decorous, pos- 
 sessed of good manners; no coarse word and 
 still less a wounding speech ever came from his 
 lips. He never told a lie, and even as with 
 subtle meanness, so with rude and insulting hate- 
 fulness, both were entirely foreign to his heart. 
 
 * The original belongs to Dr. H. Oswalt in Frankfort on the 
 Main, nephew of [the other] Henry Heine. 
 
 Henry Heine, born 1774, died 1855, married Henriette Emb- 
 den, born 1787, died 1868, and left two children : 
 
 Hermann, born 1816, died 1870. 
 
 Emilie, married to S, Oswalt in Frankfort, born 1818, died 
 1892.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINKICH HEINE. 293 
 
 But especially one had to praise this in him : 
 he was an utterly honest man ! 
 
 An utterly honest man he was, my poor, 
 blessed uncle, and I hear with pleasure, dear 
 Hermann, that you are like him in this particular. 
 Such fine traits as his are unfortunately becoming 
 very rare ; falseness and lies are in the majority, 
 and where evil has been sowed there shall 
 people reap bad luck and ruin! The tears of 
 the insulted clamor to God (whose hand lies also 
 very heavy upon me whether as a penal judg- 
 ment or a discipline I do not know). I suffer 
 greatly, but support my wretchedness with sub- 
 mission to the unfathomable will of God. 
 
 I cannot see any longer the letters I am 
 writing and hasten to greet you in the most 
 brotherly way. 
 
 Your faithful cousin 
 
 H. HEINE. 
 
 Before the arrival of the preceding letters my 
 mother had reached Paris in company with her 
 brother Gustav. She sent me the following 
 with regard to the meeting with her brother 
 Heinrich :
 
 294 FAMILY LIFE OF H El N RICH HEINE. 
 
 " Mathilde stood on the threshold, embraced 
 me, and said that before I entered the house my 
 brother had called her and remarked : ' I feel 
 that Lotta is coming ; there is no need of prepar- 
 ing for her, bring her at once to me ; I shall not 
 lose a minute in seeing her!' When I stepped 
 up to his bed he clasped me long in his arms 
 with the cry : ' My darling Lotta ! ' without utter- 
 ing a word, then leaned his head on my shoulder 
 and reached out his hand to his brother. 
 
 " His delight at seeing me cannot be described, 
 and I was not permitted to leave his bedside 
 until late at night except for dinner. From the 
 previous reports which I had heard concerning 
 the illness of my brother I feared that the first 
 sight of his sufferings would have shaken me 
 profoundly, but when I saw merely the head, 
 which smiled upon me with its wonderful illu- 
 mined beauty, I was able to give myself up to 
 the first pleasure of seeing him once more. 
 
 "Yet near afternoon when the nurse carried 
 my brother in her arms to an invalid's chair in 
 order to make up the bed, and I saw the body all 
 shrunk together, from which his legs hung down 
 without signs of life, I had to gather all my
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINR1CH HEINE. 295 
 
 powers of self-control in order to support in 
 quiet that horrible sight. 
 
 " My bed was arranged close to the sick 
 chamber and during the very first night long 
 continued cramps of chest and head made their 
 appearance ; they worried me greatly. Almost 
 every night such attacks repeated themselves 
 and when I then hastened to his bedside, at 
 once the laying of my hand on the sick man's 
 brow seemed to bring him relief. My brother 
 often said that I possessed strange magnetic 
 powers which he felt at once no matter how 
 gently I crept into the room. 
 
 "At moments when he was free from pain the 
 recollections of former years in the parental 
 house or concerning relatives were able to raise 
 a laugh in him again, and if Mathilde was 
 present she would laugh aloud and only then 
 ask, since she did not understand German, what 
 it was we were laughing at so hard. 
 
 " Mathilde lived with me in the best reciprocal 
 understanding; not so with Gustav, who spoke 
 no French and could not come to an understand- 
 ing with her ; this produced a tension on both 
 sides. Besides, Gustav thought the marriage of
 
 296 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 his brother for love a great mishap ; according 
 to his opinion it was the source of his failures 
 and sufferings. Mathilde, who was accustomed 
 to a certain petting, counted Gustav's reserve 
 for discourtesy, and while translating I was often 
 at my wit's end how to preserve a superficial 
 friendship by means of little improvisations. 
 After a drive Gustav would perhaps give the 
 cabby too small a tip. The latter, thrusting it 
 into his pocket, would murmur ladre (thief !). 
 Mathilde would laugh loudly and at Gustav's 
 inquiry why she laughed so immoderately I would 
 reply : 'It's nothing ; he was merely thanking you 
 for the tip you gave him ! ' 
 
 " Scenes of this kind repeated themselves sev- 
 eral times, and when Gustav returned to Vienna, 
 leaving me behind in Paris, I was glad that no seri- 
 ous quarrel had arisen between them. Mathilde's 
 easily roused temper often occasioned outbursts 
 of wrath over matters of no importance and my 
 brother had to suffer in especial from her jealous 
 temperament. He bore this with stoical quiet 
 and knew how to soothe it quickly with a few 
 jocose remarks. 
 
 " The entire left side of my brother was par-
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 297 
 
 alyzed, the left eye blinded, arm and hand 
 powerless. Only the right side of his body pre- 
 served the power of nerve action, so that it was 
 still possible for him to write with the right hand. 
 Often did he place that hand in mine and as- 
 sure me that my presence was a great comfort ; 
 I could scarcely conceive, he said, what a pleasure 
 he found in being able to chat so confidentially ; 
 and when the subject of our recollections of 
 happy childhood was exhausted I was made to 
 tell everything about mother and my children. 
 A few months before, he said, when his secretary 
 of many years' standing, Richard Reinhold, left 
 him, he had begun to feel very much the solitude 
 of the sick chamber ; daily visitors had exhausted 
 rather than pleased him, and the writers engaged 
 on trial through advertisements in the papers had 
 afforded him no satisfactory substitute. Latterly, 
 an inspiriting person of uncommon gifts had come 
 to see him, a German woman, a lively offspring of 
 Swabia, who combined in herself French wit with 
 German heartiness. She read aloud to him in 
 a melodious voice and was so well acquainted 
 with French that he was able to leave to her the 
 correction of proofs for his works. She had
 
 298 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 been slightly under the weather, but would soon 
 come again, and he was curious to learn what 
 kind of impression she would make on me.* 
 
 " Mouche, as my brother called her because of 
 her seal, on which a fly was engraved, was in fact 
 a very charming vision of youth, who proved to 
 me also during my temporary stay extremely 
 sympathetic in character. Of middle stature, 
 attractive rather than pretty, brown ringlets 
 framed her delicate face, out of which roguish 
 eyes peeped above a little snub of a nose; she 
 had a small mouth which showed a row of pearly 
 teeth whenever she spoke or laughed. 
 
 " Notwithstanding her gayety, already she had 
 been forced to learn the bitter seriousness of 
 life. Married early to a Frenchman, she passed 
 the first year of her marriage in Paris ; but too 
 soon the butterfly husband who was squandering 
 his fortune in frivolity became weary of the 
 little German wife. To get rid of his wife he 
 devised the following scheme : He demanded of 
 her that she should accompany him on a business 
 trip to England ; and when they had reached 
 
 * For two poems addressed to " Mouche " see vol. iii. pp. 267 
 and 304. For other verses probably addressed to her, vol. iii. pp. 
 281 and 282. TR.
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEItfRICH HEINE. *99 
 
 London, he begged her to visit in his company 
 the family of a friend. The carriage stopped in 
 front of a pretty villa, where an old gentleman 
 received her in the most friendly way, and hardly 
 had they been led into an elegant drawing room 
 when her husband disappeared. 
 
 " She soon perceived that she was in an insane 
 asylum, and at her screams and tears and 
 prayers to let her go she was threatened with 
 violence in case she did not become quiet. Ter- 
 ror affected the wretched woman to such a degree 
 that she had a paralysis of the tongue which pre- 
 vented her from speaking for a long time. It 
 was not for several weeks that she became mas- 
 ter of herself physically and was able to persuade 
 the physician that she was not mentally ill, upon 
 which her return to Paris was permitted. Fur- 
 ther cohabitation with her husband was impos- 
 sible, and so she gave German lessons in order to 
 assure her own existence. 
 
 " Mouche came daily for a few hours to see my 
 brother, and his admiration for the lively little 
 woman unfortunately roused in Mathilde a de- 
 gree of jealousy amounting to disease, which at 
 last degenerated into animosity. Her husband's
 
 300 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 desire that Mouche should be allowed now and 
 then to share the midday meal was abruptly 
 refused by Mathilde ; Mouche's pleasant greeting 
 was scarcely returned, and at her appearance the 
 sick chamber was at once deserted by Mathilde. 
 
 " Indeed I was on one occasion mistaken for 
 Mouche when old Beranger was visiting my 
 brother. He found me sitting in the twilight 
 near the bed and, stepping forward, he re- 
 marked : ' My dear Heine, is madame the cele- 
 brated new reader, Mouche?' To which my 
 brother answered, laughing : ' Cher ami, you have 
 evidently a case of mouche volante (trouble of the 
 eyes). It is my sister.' 
 
 " I heard last in 1887, from dear Mouche [Mrs. 
 Camille Selden], when she informed me that she 
 had published note-worthy recollections of my 
 brother and was established in Rouen as teacher 
 of German at a boarding school for girls. 
 
 " My brother was a great lover of children and 
 was pleased if the three charming little ones of a 
 friend of Mathilde, the wife of the director of the 
 circus, made her a visit ; the youngest was his 
 little godchild. The children were given cookies 
 and my brother told them lovely fairy stories
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE1NRICH HEINE. 3l 
 
 \vhich they listened to quietly. On a visit of the 
 kind, when the glories of heaven were being 
 recited, as how cookies were to be eaten there 
 from morning till night, and how the little an- 
 gels, when they had dined, wiped their mouths 
 with their white wings instead of a napkin, the 
 little godchild cried indignantly: 'That is very 
 dirty of the little angels ! ' At the same time 
 I may remark, in contradiction of other state- 
 ments, that Heine never had an adopted child 
 as it has been of late averred. 
 
 "At the beginning of December I had news 
 of the sudden illness of one of my children, and 
 for that reason resolved to return to Hamburg. 
 Before going I asked Dr. Gruby what he thought 
 of my brother's condition ; to which I received 
 the tranquilizing assurance that he might live 
 from two to three years longer if no unexpected 
 occurrence intervened. I told my brother of my 
 near departure and made a solemn promise to 
 come back in spring. Sorrowfully he received 
 the news, and begged me, if it were in any way 
 possible, to return accompanied by my son Lud- 
 wig, to whom in his will he had assigned the ex- 
 ecution of his literary remains, and with whom
 
 302 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 he wished to have a personal talk on many 
 points reaching back in the past. At the same 
 time he made extensive explanations to me con- 
 cerning the disposal of his literary remains, and 
 begged me above all to watch Campe, who was 
 authorized to leave out of the complete works 
 whatever he wished, but was not to add anything 
 of his own motion. 
 
 " In order to make my departure easier my 
 brother wrote a lively poem the day before 
 which depicted in amusing fashion my meeting 
 with the family. On the morning of my de- 
 parture, when I thought to take it from my 
 writing desk where I had laid it down, it was 
 gone, and to my sorrow I learned that the maid- 
 servant had used it to light a fire. When I com- 
 plained of this to my brother, he said : 'Be com- 
 forted, dear sister; when you come back I will 
 write a letter which shall be much more fiery ! ' 
 
 " But there was no coming back for me while 
 he lived, for hardly two months later he entered 
 unexpectedly into eternal rest, and my good-by 
 kiss was the last which I was able to press upon 
 his pale cheek." 
 
 A few weeks after the departure of his sister
 
 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 303 
 
 the condition of Heine grew worse; difficulty of 
 breathing and cramps of the chest became more 
 frequent, often compelling him to pass whole 
 nights in a sitting position in bed. Sleeplessness 
 produced great weakness ; but notwithstanding 
 this the poet worked every day for two or three 
 hours. Cramp-like vomitings, which were not to 
 be repressed, began three days before his death, 
 and Dr. Gruby's orders to keep ice bandages on 
 his stomach were able to effect only passing 
 relief. The last night was extremely painful, his 
 weakness grew worse, and the death pangs set in.* 
 
 Up to the last moment Heine kept entire con- 
 sciousness, and died toward five o'clock in the 
 morning on the seventeenth of February 1856. 
 
 The funeral took place the twentieth of Feb- 
 ruary on a foggy, cold winter morning at eleven 
 o'clock, and in accordance with the wish ex- 
 pressed in his will to be buried quietly and 
 without ceremonies in the cemetery of Mont- 
 martre.f 
 
 * See Appendix for the letter of the nurse Catherine Bourlois 
 to Heine's sister. 
 
 f See Appendix for the complete legal will, after the original. 
 The German edition gives the French, not a translation into Ger- 
 man. In this edition the will is given in English translated from 
 the French. TR.
 
 34 FAMIL Y LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 The news of the death fell upon his sister with 
 crushing effect ; when she left her brother a little 
 while before she had not believed that the day 
 of deliverance from his sufferings could arrive so 
 soon, and the sorrow of his old mother who sur- 
 vived him makes description pointless. The loss 
 of her favorite and the pride of her life threw her 
 on her sick bed; but her powerful constitution 
 won the battle, and it was not till three years 
 later that she slept her last sleep, on the third of 
 September 1859; sne a "d her faithful companion 
 died on the same day of the cholera, which was 
 then raging in Hamburg in the most frightful 
 way. 
 
 Scarcely had the earth been packed on Heine's 
 grave when a profitless open quarrel broke out 
 between his brother Gustav and Mathilde as to 
 which had the right to raise a monument to the 
 poet. 
 
 Concerning this matter, I had from Mme. 
 Mathilde's side an exhaustive document, which 
 will be found in the Appendix ; for the rest I 
 limit myself to the publication of few of her 
 letters, because they were neither composed nor 
 written by her, and merely contain the signa-
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 305 
 
 ture Veuve Henri Heine written in her own 
 hand. 
 
 Another letter from Mathilde informed me 
 that she did not intend to carry out the third 
 article of my uncle's will.* 
 
 This article reads : " I desire that after my 
 death all my papers and my entire correspond- 
 ence, carefully sealed, shall be kept for the 
 action of my nephew Ludwig von Embden, to 
 whom I shall impart my further intentions con- 
 cerning them as to the use which he shall make 
 of them, without prejudice to the proprietary 
 rights of my general legatee." 
 
 Mme. Mathilde based her refusal to hand the 
 papers over to me on the ground that in the 
 past summer my uncle had wanted to make 
 another will and that she had classified and 
 examined the papers left behind without having 
 discovered the written instructions which I de- 
 manded. These statements are to be traced to 
 the counsels of Mme. Mathilde's lawyer, a cer- 
 tain Mr. Julia, and contradict the information 
 
 * Letters from Mme. Mathilde Heine in the Appendix. 
 (Translated in this edition ; the original French in the German 
 edition.)
 
 36 FA MIL V LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 given by my mother, who had canvassed this 
 matter at length with her brother two months 
 before his death. 
 
 Mr. Julia exercised an unlimited influence on 
 Mme. Mathilde and although no document 
 from Heinrich Heine justified it, and his ig- 
 norance of the German language did not make 
 him competent so to do, tried to usurp my rights 
 under the will. My feelings rejected a lawsuit 
 directed against Mme. Mathilde, since I had 
 sworn to my uncle always to grant his wife pro- 
 tection and assistance, and I limited my action 
 to urging the fulfillment of the testamentary 
 orders in the most friendly fashion. But my 
 efforts only had effect when Mme. Mathilde 
 had completely thrown Mr. Julia over for reasons 
 which must be kept from publication and which 
 prepared a lamentable close to his unauthorized 
 interference. 
 
 Mme. Mathilde placed all the papers left be- 
 hind at my command with the exception of a 
 fragmentary memoir* which I was not to receive 
 
 * For this amusing fragmentary memoir, see vol. v. p. 263. Six 
 pages were destroyed by Max Heine, whose pride seems to have 
 been shocked by his brother's allusions to family skeletons. See 
 page 316. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 307 
 
 until after her death, and which she would not 
 permit out of her own hands, because she had been 
 advised to threaten the family with its publica- 
 tion in case her pension were ever withdrawn. 
 
 After a careful examination of all the papers 
 left behind, I had the unpublished manuscripts 
 sent to my house in Hamburg, leaving in Paris 
 those of less importance. There remained in 
 Paris, carefully packed up, beside these frag- 
 ments of a memoir, several packages of odds and 
 ends of manuscripts already published and the 
 letters addressed to Heinrich Heine, the over- 
 whelming majority of which consisted of the 
 business correspondence with Julius Campe. 
 
 At the time it occurred Mme. Mathilde's death 
 was concealed from us; neither my mother nor 
 myself were notified and we only learned of 
 her burial through the newspapers. I at once 
 empowered my nephew, then domiciled in Paris, 
 to claim the papers of H. Heine left behind, but 
 received answer that it was too late, since every- 
 thing had been legally put under seal. From a 
 childish fear of death Mme. Mathilde had made 
 no will and had died suddenly of an apoplexy. 
 As heiress at law the widow Mme. Fauvet, an
 
 38 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 old cousin of Mathilde, took out papers; her 
 maiden name was Mirat and she lived in the village 
 of Vinot. The inevitable Mr. Julia had caused 
 himself to be appointed attorney for this lawful 
 heir, and in her name he seized everything, even 
 the papers of Heinrich Heine left by me in Paris. 
 
 I demanded in the most energetic way from 
 Mr. Julia, who had settled himself to housekeep- 
 ing in Mme. Mathilde's abode, the delivery of 
 the papers ; for it could hardly meet with the 
 purposes of my uncle Henry Heine, the actual 
 testator, that his papers should go into the pos- 
 session of strangers. 
 
 The correspondence led to no result and I 
 went to Paris in order to begin a suit against 
 Mr. Julia. My lawyer asserted that he could not 
 undertake an action against Mr. Julia until I had 
 won a suit in all forms against the heir at law of 
 the widow Heine, the widowed Mme. Fauvet. 
 In order not to carry on as a German a weari- 
 some and costly suit in the French courts, I 
 proposed to the heiress to pay a sum of money 
 for her supposed rights as heir to the Heine 
 papers, but stipulated that Mr. Julia must bind 
 himself by notarial act that all had been given
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 309 
 
 up which so far as he knew had been found. 
 The latter clause was the reason why I never 
 received an offer to buy the papers as Mr. Julia 
 promised, and why Mr. Julia, who had decidedly 
 denied to me the existence of a fragmentary 
 memoir, sold the few pages of which that memoir 
 consisted to Die Gartenlanbe and Mr. Julius 
 Campe for sixteen thousand francs, after a ter- 
 rible amount of advertising and through the 
 offices of a Berlin litterateur. 
 
 Mr. Julia boasted that he was the heir of 
 the Heine relics, but concealed the actual fact 
 how it w r as that the fragmentary memoir got 
 into his hands ; his statements concerning it 
 in R. Fleischer's Deutsche Revue, as well as in 
 various German and French periodicals, state- 
 ments which bore on their faces the stamp of 
 dull invention, stood in sharp contrast with the 
 well known official documents hitherto made 
 public. 
 
 In his biography of Heinrich Heine, Strodt- 
 mann says that Campe was exposed after the 
 death of the poet to the most annoying vexa- 
 tions on the part of the Heine family, that the
 
 310 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 latter declined to give assistance in the complete 
 edition of Heine's works, that they withheld 
 from him the papers left behind, together with 
 the document therein drawn up for the proper 
 arrangement of the volumes, and that they asked 
 a fabulous sum from him, first thirty thousand 
 and then twelve thousand francs. 
 
 In order to establish the facts in this particu- 
 lar, I may remark that as soon as Mr. Campe the 
 elder urged me to get him the papers, and as 
 soon as I had obtained the command of them 
 and offered them to him for fifteen thousand 
 francs, he bid twelve thousand francs for them 
 at once. Then I went personally to Paris in 
 order to recommend the sale to Mme. Ma- 
 thilde. It should be understood that, according 
 to my supposition, there was a good deal among 
 the papers which had been sold before to Campe, 
 but had been rejected by the censorship and not 
 published. In any event a lawsuit would not 
 have failed to occur had I given over the papers 
 to another publisher, for I knew old Campe 
 only too well. Upon my return I informed Mr. 
 Campe that the widowed Mrs. Heine would 
 accept his offer, whereupon he answered : " It is
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 311 
 
 now too late. The complete works are now in 
 the press, and I will only give half that sum." 
 
 Irritated by this I broke off all negotiations, 
 and after Campe's death sold the papers to his son 
 and successor for ten thousand francs, which sum 
 the widow Heine received intact. In 1869 the 
 papers left behind appeared, excellently edited 
 by Strodtmann, as a supplementary volume to 
 the great complete works; as he informed me, it 
 was of very respectable profit to the publisher. 
 
 The complete works which had appeared 
 before (1861-62) were published by the elder 
 Campe without an invitation to any member of 
 the family to aid him and were edited by Strodt- 
 mann. The orders of Heine were ignored not 
 to add anything and to leave out whatever 
 might cause hard feeling. The complete edition 
 included much that was not printed before and 
 in any event ought never to have been published, 
 as, for instance, the poerns "Schlosslegende," 
 " Die Weber " * and so forth. 
 
 In the fourth article of his will Heinrich 
 Heine ordered : 
 
 * For " Die Weber," a savage attack on Germany for her ilav- 
 ishness and apathy, see vol. ii. p. 129. TR.
 
 312 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 " If my friend Campe, the publisher of my 
 works, desires to make any alterations in the 
 way and order after which I have arranged my 
 different writings in the prospectus stated, I desire 
 that no obstacles be placed in his way in this re- 
 gard, since I have always gladly adapted myself to 
 his necessities as a publisher of books. The main 
 point is that not a line shall be thrust into my 
 writings which I have not expressly intended for 
 publication, or which has been printed without 
 the subscription of my full name. An assumed 
 initial is not enough to ascribe to me a given bit 
 of writing which has been published in one 
 journal or another, since the indication of the au- 
 thor by means of initials always depended on the 
 editors-in-chief, who never could deny themselves 
 the habit of undertaking to make changes in the 
 contents or form of an article signed with initials. 
 
 " I forbid expressly that under any excuse 
 whatever, any piece of writing whatever by an- 
 other person, be that writing as short as may be, 
 shall be added on to my works, unless it were a 
 biographical notice from the pen of one of my 
 old friends whom I had expressly intrusted with 
 such work. I am taking for granted that my
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEiNkicH HEINE. 313 
 
 desire in this particular will be carried out loyally 
 in its fullest sense, that is to say, that my works 
 shall not be used to take a stranger's writing m 
 tow or to give that writing publicity." 
 
 At the breaking down of negotiations for the 
 papers left behind Campe had offered three 
 thousand francs for the handing over of the 
 document made by Heine for the arrangement 
 of the complete works, but Mathilde Heine de- 
 clined the offer squarely in the hope that in that 
 way she would cause him to accept her demand 
 for the whole. 
 
 This refusal may have been the reason why 
 Campe thenceforward did not consider himself 
 bound by the foregoing orders of the will, es- 
 pecially as the public urgently called for an edi- 
 tion augmented in all its parts. It must be re- 
 corded of Adolf Strodtmann, the editor, that he 
 accomplished this task with skill, but that by too 
 great zeal in the endeavor to omit nothing from 
 the complete works he went too far. 
 
 In 1864 the differences between Mme. Mathilde 
 and the French publishers were arranged by 
 me, differences arising because the former be-
 
 3H FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HELVE. 
 
 lieved that she had been deprived of some of her 
 royalties. I had no misgivings in fulfilling her 
 wish to exchange her royalty of twenty-five cen- 
 times per volume for a single payment of capital, 
 since her annual pension from Carl Heine (five 
 thousand francs) and that from Julius Campe 
 (about three thousand four hundred francs) suf- 
 ficed to assure her a support for the term of her 
 life. I sold the royalty rights of Mme. Mathilde 
 to the Messrs. Levy Freres for the sum of 
 17,500 francs, and after my departure from Paris 
 she was paid that sum in full. 
 
 But new quarrels arose when the letters of 
 Heinrich Heine appeared (1866) in French ; Mme. 
 Heine believed that she could demand from the 
 Messrs. LeVy Freres an extra sum, which the 
 latter refused.* 
 
 The lawsuit which followed turned against the 
 claims of the widow Heine, despite the fact that 
 the famous lawyer Jules Favre employed his 
 whole powers of persuasion to defend her claims. 
 
 The mistaken notion that there exist unprinted 
 manuscripts of Heinrich Heine, which has held 
 
 * See Appendix for letters of Mathilde Heine the French 
 original in the German edition, a translation in this. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 315 
 
 its own down to the present, was openly met 
 during her lifetime by Mme. Mathilde by the 
 declaration : " that no one in rightful fashion 
 owns any, and whoever does possess any is 
 called upon to make it known." Furthermore 
 the widow of Heinrich Heine declared in 1869 in 
 the contract of sale for the remaining manuscripts 
 with the Messrs. Hoffmann & Campe* "that all 
 the manuscripts in the literary remains of Hein- 
 rich Heine are in the hands of Mr. von Embden, 
 that she (Mme. Heine) does not own any other 
 poems or written works with the exception of a 
 fragmentary memoir, which is not to be pub- 
 lished for the present, and that she authorizes 
 the Messrs. Hoffman & Campe to attack any- 
 body, whoever it might be, who should publish 
 anything not yet printed." 
 
 Strodtmann made the mistake of believing that 
 all the manuscripts which Heine mentioned in 
 his correspondence from 1823 on were in exist- 
 ence, forgetting that much was destroyed in the 
 fire at Hamburg ; and later biographies repeat 
 the same thing with a mysterious solemnity, re- 
 
 * See Appendix for the contract of sale made with Hoffmann 
 & Campe.
 
 3i FAMILY LIFE OF HEItfRICtf HEINE. 
 
 lying on untrustworthy persons without offering 
 any practical grounds for their assertions. 
 
 With respect to the memoir I would like to 
 call to mind once more that in 1833 and 1842 a 
 considerable amount of manuscript was lost by 
 conflagrations, and that the poet himself destroyed 
 them in part voluntarily after his reconciliation 
 with Carl Heine. And even before that, in 
 consequence of financial troubles, he had wedged 
 in various bits from the memoirs into different 
 works piece by piece; for instance, into his 
 " Confessions " and the book about Borne. 
 Throughout his life down to his death Heine 
 wrote at his memoirs and cherished the pur- 
 pose of publishing the parts already issued along 
 with the newly added as a rounded work. A 
 good part of the fragment published in 1884 
 was destroyed in the most unauthorized way by 
 Heine's brother Max* in 1867, when he visited 
 the Exposition in Paris and when Mme. 
 Mathilde permitted him in a friendly spirit to 
 look it through. Mme. Mathilde was naturally 
 very much excited at this, called me to Paris, and 
 when I demanded of my uncle an explanation 
 * See vol. v. p. 266. TR.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 31? 
 
 for this act of violence, he answered : " It 
 was necessary for the fame of his brother to 
 destroy the last pages of a memoir written in the 
 heat of fever in order to make the fragmentary 
 memoir left in Mathilde's hands innocuous." 
 
 Mme. Mathilde was unfortunately counseled 
 badly only too often, and the remains, before 
 they came into my hands, were offered to the 
 French Government under Napoleon III for sale 
 at thirty thousand francs, which was refused 
 after a little negotiation. The talk, lately 
 revamped, that the memoirs of Heine exist in 
 the secret archives of the Austrian Government 
 may have sprung up at the time from this fact, 
 that Mr. von Friedland, a friend of Heine for 
 many years, persuaded the readily excited 
 Mme. Mathilde to lend him the memoir manu- 
 scripts in order to offer them for sale to the Aus- 
 trian Government through the instrumentality of 
 Prince Metternich. When I came to Paris and 
 to my astonishment heard of it, I caused Mme. 
 Mathilde to demand the fragmentary memoir 
 back in energetic fashion, and after they had 
 made sure of its harmless contents it was re- 
 turned to her with thanks. There are no manu-
 
 31 8 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 scripts of Heine in the hands of the Austrian 
 Government except a few pages of writing 
 autographs which were graciously accepted by 
 her Majesty the Empress in 1887 as a great 
 admirer of Heine, on the occasion of her visit 
 to my mother in Hamburg. 
 
 That exalted lady cherishes an outspoken 
 partiality for Heinrich Heine based upon the 
 finest understanding of him, and when the proj- 
 ect of a memorial in Diisseldorf, patronized by 
 her, came to nothing, she raised to the poet a 
 monument glorious and full of sentiment in her 
 marble fairy-palace Achilleion on the island of 
 Corfu, such a monument as could hardly have 
 been his in the fatherland.* A stairway of white 
 marble of more than a hundred steps leads up 
 from the seashore by the slope of a wooded hill, 
 and high above on a piece that juts off from the 
 stair there rises a six-columned temple of white 
 marble open on all sides, with a rounded roof. 
 In the center of this graceful building, shaded by 
 enormous silvery gray olive trees, is the life size 
 portrait of Heinrich Heine in marble, a creation 
 of the Danish sculptor Hasselriis, who lives in 
 * Sec the cut after a photograph of this statue. TR.
 
 THE MARBLE STATUE HY HASSELRIIS, ERECTED AT CORFU 
 BY THE EMPRESS OK AUSTRIA.
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 319 
 
 Rome. The serious statue, full of sentiment, 
 looks out on that sea which the poet has sung 
 so truly and with such touching beauty, and 
 represents him sitting in the last stage of his in- 
 curable sickness, with head hanging forward and 
 closed eyes from which the tears are oozing. 
 One hand holds a pencil, the other a piece of 
 paper with the words of the song: 
 
 Whence, with a blur of vision, 
 
 Com'st thou, O lonely tear? 
 Mine eyes have kept thee hidden 
 
 This many a long past year. 
 
 Mine. Mathilde lived for a long period in 
 an unpretending, very comfortable dwelling aux 
 Batignolles rue I'Ecluse, the back of which per- 
 mitted of a view upon gardens full of flowers. 
 In that house there ruled the most perfect order 
 and cleanliness, to which the industrious Pauline 
 attended with never a break. Mme. Mathilde's 
 recreations consisted of a visit to the circus or 
 the little theater on the boulevard when amusing 
 pieces were played there, or else of a walk with 
 Pauline to the Champs Elysees.* Besides this 
 a weighty role was played in her case by the 
 
 1 For Heine's forecast of his wife's behavior after his death, see 
 the amusing verses "Gedachtnissfeier," vol. iii. p. 118. TR,
 
 320 FAMILY LIFE OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 
 pleasures of the table, and if I was her guest she 
 had the favorite dish of her pauvre Henri pre- 
 pared and in accordance with her childlike 
 character thought in that way to honor his 
 memory very specially. It was touching with 
 what pious affection she talked about him and 
 confided to me that people had often asked for 
 her hand in marriage, but that she could never 
 make up her mind to forget her Henri and lay 
 aside his famous name. 
 
 When her pauvre Henri was very angry indeed 
 because she had spent too much money, or 
 sorrowfully thought about his mother and sister 
 in Germany, a single caress had ever been suffi- 
 cient to turn his mood to gayety and gladness. 
 
 Here comes, as lovely as the dawn to-morrow, 
 My wife, and smiles away my German sorrow ! 
 
 Mathilde was a great lover of animals ; besides 
 Cocotte she had an aviary with fifty or sixty 
 canaries, and three white Bologna dogs. When 
 the whole menagerie began to scream, twitter 
 and bark the noise was unbearable, and when I 
 made as if to run away in a hurry, she would say 
 in a surprised tone: C'est drole ; vous etes comme 
 votre oncle, qui naimait pas
 
 FAMILY LIFE OF HE1NRICH HEINE. 321 
 
 During the siege Mathilde remained in Paris, 
 and later complained to me of what she had to 
 stand during that time; she had to give two 
 hundred francs for a chicken. Then when I ex- 
 pressed my astonishment that she could have paid 
 such a price, she would answer, smiling : Que 
 faire, si cetait le prix ? She never learned to 
 value the worth of money and always remained 
 the big, harmless child she had been ! She gen- 
 erally passed the summer months in the country, 
 and about two years before her death I visited 
 her for the last time in Longjumeau, where she 
 was then staying ; it was in an airy, roomy dwell- 
 ing and she showed me with childlike joy the 
 fruit trees and shady arbors in the big garden. 
 
 Since my last meeting with her Mathilde's 
 exterior had greatly" changed ; her hair had 
 whitened, her corpulency had increased in a 
 frightful degree, and complaints of rheumatic 
 troubles fell from the mouth which formerly 
 only laughed. After a copious breakfast the 
 usual pleasant mood returned to her once more, 
 and after a few hours of happy conference when 
 she embraced me for good-by she little imagined 
 that there would be no further meeting between us.
 
 322 FAMILY LIFE OF HE IN RICH HEINE. 
 
 On the seventeenth of February 1883, on the 
 day that her husband died, Mathilde stood at 
 the window of her house in Passy, and though 
 but a little before she had been talking with 
 Pauline, fell suddenly to the floor dead, struck 
 by an apoplexy. 
 
 After twenty-seven years the grave reunited 
 her once more with her beloved husband, whose 
 life she had brightened with her loveliness and 
 gay spirits and whose heavy sufferings during 
 so many hours she had driven from his mind ! 
 
 May the publication of the foregoing family let- 
 ters of Heinrich Heine, knit together with a brief 
 glance at his earlier life, serve as a guard against 
 further misleading statements concerning the 
 poet, as well as concerning his relations to his 
 family ! and at the same time may it serve the 
 dead as a permanent work of reminiscence and 
 of admiration. 
 
 We may fairly suit his own words to these 
 letters : 
 
 All my torture and lamentings, 
 Lo, within this book I pour you, 
 
 And when you have raised the cover 
 Open lies my heart before you.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. Letter of the nurse, Mrs. Catherine Bourlois, as to the 
 
 passing hour of Heinrich Heine. 
 
 II. Will of Heinrich Heine recorded in Paris, February 20, 
 1856. 
 
 III. Letters from Mrs. Mathilde Heine. 
 
 IV. Answer of the French publishers, the Messrs. M. LeVy. 
 V. Contract of sale of Heinrich Heine's literary remains to 
 
 Messrs. Hoffmann & Campe.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 i 
 
 LETTER FROM THE NURSE CATHERINE BOUR- 
 LOIS TO MRS. CHARLOTTE EMBDEN IN HAM- 
 BURG. 
 
 ( Translated from the French?) 
 
 PARIS, March II, 1858. 
 MADAME : 
 
 I have just sent to your honored brother very 
 long details which he asked for concerning 
 the death of Mr. Heine. Mme. Mathilde, your 
 sister-in-law, left the house of the dead one hour 
 and a half before the interment; she has not yet 
 returned to the house on Avenue Montaigne, 
 but Miss Pauline comes every day to get her let- 
 ters from the janitor. I do not know Mme. 
 Heine's address. 
 
 The day preceding his death my poor mas- 
 ter said : " I am glad my family has come, for I
 
 326 APPENDIX. 
 
 shall never see them more." He regretted very 
 much not to have written on Wednesday, be- 
 cause later he was no longer able to. During the 
 last night he kept repeating, as he had repeated 
 on Friday : " I am done for ! " during that 
 fatal night I had a watcher with me and I went 
 to wake Miss Pauline when I saw the end ap- 
 proaching I could have easily called Madame,but 
 the least noise might have made his last moments 
 more painful, and I feared the effect that the 
 death of a husband ought to produce on his 
 wife, nevertheless Miss Pauline ran to Madame's 
 room just before the final moment, and I only 
 had time t<3 tell her on the threshold of the 
 door: " All is over !" 
 
 A quarter of an hour before dying, Mr. Heine 
 had complete consciousness. I encouraged him 
 and consoled him as well as I could every 
 moment, but he saw as we did that the medi. 
 cines produced no relief whatever. The at- 
 tachment he had for you and the demand you 
 made on me when leaving made it my duty to 
 write to you ; I have done so without notifying 
 Mme. Heine, will you therefore please, Madame, 
 avoid speaking to her of my letters? and if you
 
 APPENDIX. 327 
 
 have new commands to lay on me, please add to 
 my address : Commune de Passy, Rue du bel air, 
 barriere de 1'Etoile, Paris. 
 
 Not having been correctly addressed, your 
 letter did not arrive till the Qth. 
 
 I am, Madame, your very humble servant, 
 CATHERINE BOURLOIS. 
 
 I should add that on Saturday at four or five 
 in the afternoon Master called me three times in 
 succession he told me to write . . . but not 
 understanding the meaning of his words and 
 not wishing to force him to repeat them, I 
 answered Yes. I said to him a little later : 
 when your vomiting ceases you must write 
 yourself ; he answered, I am going to die.
 
 II 
 
 WILL OF HEINRICH HEINE. 
 ( Translated from the French?) 
 
 Before Mr. Ferdinand Le"on Ducloux and Mr. 
 Charles Emile Rousse, notaries of Paris sub- 
 scribing, 
 
 And in the presence of : 
 
 1. Mr. Michel Jacob, merchant baker, living in 
 Paris at No. 60 Rue d'Amsterdam, 
 
 2. And Mr. Eugene Grouchy, merchant grocer, 
 living in Paris at No. 52 Rue d'Amsterdam, 
 Both the witnesses being clothed with the 
 
 conditions demanded by law according as they 
 have made declaration to the notaries subscribed 
 in the examination which has been made of each 
 of them separately, 
 
 And in the bedchamber of Mr. Heine, herein- 
 after mentioned, situate on the second story of 
 No. 50, a house on the Rue d'Amsterdam, in 
 which bedchamber, lighted by a window on the 
 courtyard, the notaries and the witnesses chosen
 
 APPENDIX. 329 
 
 by the testator came together at the express 
 demand of the latter 
 
 Appeared 
 
 Mr. Henri Heine, man of letters and doctor of 
 laws, living in Paris at No. 50 Rue d'Amsterdam. 
 
 The same being sick of body, but well in mind, 
 memory and hearing, according as it appeared 
 to the said notaries and witnesses after convers- 
 ing with him, has, in consideration of his death, 
 dictate, to the said Mr. Ducloux, in presence of 
 Mr. Rousse and the witnesses, his will and testa- 
 ment in the following manner : 
 
 i. I constitute for my universal legatee Mme. 
 Mathilde Crescense Heine, born Mirat, my legal 
 spouse, with whom for many long years I have 
 passed my good seasons and bad, and who has 
 cared for me during the long and cruel continu- 
 ance of my malady. I leave to her in full and 
 complete ownership, and without any conditions 
 or restrictions, everything that I possess and 
 that I may possess at my death, and all my 
 rights and dues under any form soever. 
 
 2. At a time when I looked forward to a 
 wealthy future, I parted with all my literary 
 property on very modest terms ; unfortunate
 
 33 APPENDIX. 
 
 events have the rather swallowed up the little 
 means I owned and my disease does not allow 
 me to relieve my fortunes a little for the benefit 
 of my wife. The pension which I enjoy from 
 my uncle, the late Salomon Heine, and which 
 was always the foundation of my estimate of 
 income, has been assured to my wife in part only. 
 I myself desired that it should be so. At the 
 present moment I feel the greatest regret at 
 having failed to arrange better for the comfort 
 of my wife after my death. The said pension 
 from my uncle represented in the beginning the 
 interest on a sum of money which that paternal 
 benefactor did not care to place in the hands of 
 one like myself, a poet unused to business, in 
 order to assure to me a lasting enjoyment 
 thereof. I was counting on that annuity when 
 I joined to my own lot a person whom my uncle 
 honored greatly and to whom he gave many a 
 sign of affection though he has done nothing 
 for her of an official sort in the arrangements for 
 his will. It is no less to be presumed that this 
 forgetfulness was due to a fatal chance rather 
 than the sentiments of the deceased. He whose 
 generosity has enriched and dowered so many
 
 APPENDIX. 331 
 
 persons who are strangers to his family and his 
 heart cannot be accused of a shabby stinginess 
 when the matter at issue was the lot of the wife 
 of a nephew who has made his name glorious. 
 The slightest gestures and words of a man who 
 was generosity itself ought to be interpreted as 
 generous. A son worthy of his father, my 
 cousin Charles Heine has agreed with me in 
 these opinions, and with a noble eagerness he 
 acceded to my request when I begged him to 
 take a formal engagement to pay to my wife 
 after my death, as an annuity, one-half of the 
 yearly pension which dated from his late 
 father ; that stipulation was entered into the 
 twenty-fifth of February 1847 > an ^ I am still 
 agitated at memory of the noble reproaches 
 which, notwithstanding our differences of that 
 period, my cousin made me on the score of my 
 lack of confidence in his feelings with regard to 
 my wife. When he offered me his hand as a 
 guarantee of his promise, I pressed it against my 
 poor, sick eyes and bedewed it with my tears. 
 Since then my position has grown worse and my 
 illness has put an end to many of the sources of 
 income which I might have left to my wife ;
 
 33 2 APPENDIX. 
 
 these unexpected vicissitudes and ofcher grave 
 causes compel me to apply again to the worthy and 
 rightful feelings of my cousin ; I beseech him not 
 to lessen my said pension by one-half, but continue 
 it to my wife after my death, and to pay it to her 
 in full just as I received it during my uncle's life. 
 I say intentionally "just as I received it during 
 my uncle's life," because for almost five years, 
 since my illness has increased in seriousness, my 
 cousin, Charles Heine, has more than doubled the 
 amount of my pension, a generous attention for 
 which I cherish for him a great gratitude. It is 
 more than likely that I shall not need to make 
 this appeal to the liberality of my cousin, because 
 I am certain that with the first bit of earth which 
 he shall toss upon my tomb, according to his 
 right as my nearest of kin, if he should be in Paris 
 at the time of my death, he will forget all the 
 wretched grievances which I have so greatly re- 
 gretted and expiated by a long agony. Surely 
 he will then remember the great friendship of 
 long ago, the affinity and similarity of feelings 
 which united us from the time of our tender 
 youth ; and he will vow an entirely fraternal sen- 
 timent of protection for the widow of his friend ;
 
 APPENDIX. 333 
 
 but it is not useless for the quiet of all concerned 
 that the living should know what it is that the 
 dead ask at their hands. 
 
 3. I desire that after my death all my papers 
 and all my letters shall be scrupulously locked up 
 and held at the command of my nephew Ludwig 
 von Embden, to whom I shall give my final in- 
 structions as to the use he shall make of them, 
 without prejudice to the proprietary rights of my 
 universal legatee. 
 
 4. If I die before the complete edition of my 
 works shall have appeared and I shall not have 
 been able to preside at the management of that 
 edition, or if my death shall have taken place be- 
 fore it is finished, I beg my relative Dr. Rudolph 
 Christiani to take my place in the management of 
 said publication while confining himself strictly 
 to the prospectus which I shall have left for that 
 purpose. If my friend Mr. Campe, the editor of 
 my works, desires to make any changes in the 
 method whereby I have ordered my various writ- 
 ings in the said prospectus, I desire that no diffi- 
 culties be placed in his way in this respect, seeing 
 that I have always been glad to accommodate my- 
 self to his necessities as a publisher. The main
 
 334 APPENDIX. 
 
 thing is that there shall not be intercalated in my 
 writings any line which I did not expressly de- 
 sign for publicity or which has been printed with- 
 out the signature of my name in full. A con- 
 ventional initial is not enough to attribute to 
 me a writing published by some paper, seeing 
 that the indication of an author by initials 
 always depended on the editors-in-chief, who 
 moreover have never forbidden themselves the 
 custom of making radical changes or alterations 
 in form in an article signed only by initials ; I 
 expressly forbid that under any pretext any 
 writing by another, let it be as insignificant as 
 it may, shall be fastened on to my works, un- 
 less it should be a biographical notice coming 
 from the pen of one of my old friends to whom I 
 have made an express demand for such a task. I 
 expect that in this respect, that is to say, that my 
 works shall not be used to take in tow, nor to 
 propagate, any alien work, my desires shall be 
 loyally carried out in all their length and 
 breadth. 
 
 5. I forbid that my body after death shall be 
 submitted to an autopsy ; only as my illness often 
 resembles a case of catalepsy I think that the
 
 APPENDIX. 335 
 
 precaution should be taken to open a vein before 
 my burial. 
 
 6. If I am in Paris at the time of my death 
 and am dwelling not too far away from Mont- 
 martre, I desire to be buried in the cemetery 
 so named, since I have a predilection for that 
 quarter, where I resided for many years. 
 
 7. I ask that my burial procession shall be 
 as modest as possible, and that the cost of my 
 burial shall not exceed the ordinary amount for 
 that of the simplest citizen. Although I belong 
 by virtue of baptism to the Lutheran confession, 
 I do not wish that the clergy of that Church shall 
 be summoned to my burial ; I decline the minis- 
 tration indeed of every other priesthood for the 
 celebration of my obsequies; this wish is not 
 dictated by any feeble boast of a freethinker's 
 position. For four years past I have abdicated 
 every sort of philosophical pride and have re- 
 turned to religious ideas and feelings. I die 
 believing in the One and Eternal God, Creator of 
 the world, whose mercy I beseech for my immor- 
 tal soul. I regret having sometimes spoken in 
 my writings of Sacred Things without the rever- 
 ence which is their due, but I was drawn aside
 
 336 APPENDIX. 
 
 rather by the spirit of my epoch than by my in- 
 dividual leaning. If, unknown to me, I have 
 offended against righteous custom and morality, 
 which is the true essence of all monotheistic 
 beliefs, I ask pardon therefor of God and man- 
 kind.* I forbid that any discourse, either in Ger- 
 man or French, shaJl be held at my grave. At 
 the same time I state the wish, however happy 
 the lot of our country shall become, that my 
 compatriots shall abstain from transferring my 
 ashes to Germany; I have never liked to lend my 
 person to political mummeries. The grand busi- 
 ness of my life has been to labor for a cordial 
 understanding between Germany and France, 
 and to defeat the strategems of the enemies 
 of democracy, who for their own gain exploit 
 international prejudices and animosities. I be- 
 lieve that I have done well by my compatriots 
 as by the French people also, and the titles 
 to their gratitude which I have earned are un- 
 doubtedly the most precious legacy which I have 
 to leave to my universal legatee. 
 
 8. I nominate as executor of my will Mr. 
 Maxime Joubert, counselor at the Court of Ap- 
 *For Heine's Apology see vol. xii. p. 194. TR.
 
 APPENDIX. 337 
 
 peals, and I thank him for being so good as to 
 take the charge of this office. 
 
 The above will was dictated in these terms by 
 Mr. Henri Heine and written in its entirety by 
 the hand of Mr. Ducloux, one of the subscribing 
 notaries, just as it was dictated to him by the 
 testator, all in presence of the said notaries and 
 witnesses, the same, being questioned on that 
 matter, having declared that they were not the 
 relatives of the legatee. 
 
 And the same being read to the testator in 
 the presence of the same persons, the testator 
 declared that it contained the expression of his 
 wishes. 
 
 Made and concluded at Paris in the bed- 
 chamber of Mr. Heine here below inscribed. 
 
 Year 1851, Thursday, thirteenth of November, 
 about six o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 And after a re-reading from beginning to end, 
 the testator and witnesses have signed along 
 with the notaries. 
 
 Registered at Paris in Third Bureau 
 the twentieth of February 1856.
 
 Ill 
 
 LETTERS FROM MRS. MATHILDE HEINE, WIDOW. 
 ( Translated from the French.} 
 
 PARIS, March 25, 1856. 
 MY DEAR NEPHEW : 
 
 I received your two letters, and thank you for 
 the kind words which they contain. Your father 
 also honored me by sending me a touching letter 
 which has given me great pleasure. Be kind 
 enough to tell him, I beg you, that for a long 
 while I have cherished for him a great esteem, 
 and that I make it a duty in the present instance 
 to send him, with my most lively thanks, an 
 assurance of my most affectionately distin- 
 guished sentiments. 
 
 I did hope, this I confess, to find the same 
 actions on the part of all the members of my 
 husband's family; my hopes in this respect have 
 not been fulfilled. Doubtless you have not been 
 without news of the very serious offense which 
 I have received from my brother-in-law, Mr. Gus- 
 338
 
 APPENDIX 339 
 
 tave Heine of Vienna. He was not content with 
 giving no sign of life in my regard, although I 
 had begged Dr. Gruby, my husband's physician, 
 to announce to him the death of his brother, as 
 to the other members of the family. After hav- 
 ing abandoned me to my own resources in the 
 accomplishment of the first and indispensable 
 duties, those which are effected without noise 
 and such as are not put in the newspapers, with 
 the result that I was obliged to have recourse to 
 strangers, he caused to be published in a Ger- 
 man paper and reproduced in the French jour- 
 nals, the following note: 
 
 " Mr. Gustave Heine, brother of the famous 
 Henri Heine, who died recently in Paris, will 
 raise a monument to his brother at a cost of ten 
 thousand francs. Mr. Gustave Heine, who lives 
 in Vienna, has had the design of the monument 
 made here ; it was forwarded to Paris yester- 
 day." 
 
 This paragraph was in itself an offense quite 
 serious enough ; for after all, without having an- 
 nounced it to me, a notification was given to the 
 public of a purpose which affected me more than 
 any other person, and one to which Mr. Gustave
 
 34 APPENDIX. 
 
 Heine could only give effect with my own con- 
 sent. 
 
 And indeed at first I considered this paragraph 
 to be one of those rumors which newspapers cir- 
 culate, and which have nothing exact in them. 
 What caused me to think that was, not alone my 
 own rights ignored and propriety trampled under 
 foot, but also, and particularly, the cost of the 
 monument so proudly placarded in a newspaper 
 article. I could not imagine that my brother-in- 
 law, in a matter so sad and in connection with an 
 act so elevated in character, so sacred, so veritably 
 religious, would wish to put himself in the way 
 of appearing to yield to a motive purely ostenta- 
 tious. My first care, therefore, was to answer 
 this paragraph with the following letter: 
 
 " PARIS, March ro, 1856. 
 " DEAR SIR : 
 
 " I learn that you have reproduced the para- 
 graph issued by the Augsburg Gazette relating 
 to an alleged monument which Mr. Gustave 
 Heine of Vienna was proposing to erect to the 
 memory of the late Henri Heine, my husband. 
 
 " Permit me to state here, sir, that I have bought
 
 APPENDIX. 341 
 
 in the cemetery of Montmartre a lot of land in 
 order to establish there the perpetual sepulcher 
 of my husband, and that no one may undertake 
 to raise a monument there without having made 
 a preliminary arrangement with me. Up to this 
 moment having received no notification of the 
 proceeding mentioned by the Augsburg Gazette, 
 it is certainly allowable for me to add that this 
 action, to which the German papers have given 
 some circulation, should be for the present con- 
 sidered by the public of no effect. 
 " I have the honor etc., 
 
 " (signed) WIDOW HENRI HEINE." 
 
 After he read that letter Mr. Gustave Heine 
 might have repaired everything; he ought to 
 have tried. He ought to have written to the 
 papers to say that in fact he did have the inten- 
 tion of raising a monument to the memory of 
 his brother but he meant to act in no wise out- 
 side me and without me. Far from that, he has 
 addressed the following letter to the Journal 
 des Dtbats:
 
 342 APPENDIX. 
 
 "SIR: 
 
 " The papers have announced that I have 
 the intention of causing a monument to be 
 erected to the memory of my brother Henri 
 Heine and that the designs for said monument 
 have been sent on to Paris to be carried out. 
 
 " In my quality of elder brother of the deceased 
 and at the expressed wish of my venerable 
 mother I shall fulfill the sacred duty to mark for 
 posterity in a worthy fashion the place where 
 those famous remains, dear to my affection, lie 
 buried. To that end I have commissioned two 
 celebrated artists of Vienna to compose two 
 different designs for monuments in marble and 
 granite ; but before having them carried out, 
 moved by a feeling of filial piety, I have con- 
 sidered it my duty to send the designs in question 
 to Hamburg in order to obtain the advice of my 
 mother and to regulate accordingly my final choice. 
 
 "GUSTAVE HEINE, 
 "Editor-in-Chief of the Fremdenblatt. 
 
 " VIENNA, March 14, 1856." 
 
 This time, while having the air of trampling all 
 my rights under foot, while speaking as if I had
 
 APPENDIX. 343 
 
 no existence or as if I had deserved that the 
 family of my husband should put me to one 
 side in so important a matter, Mr. Gustave 
 Heine himself has done me a very grave injury. 
 I therefore have been forced to come to a de- 
 cision. That decision is that no one save my- 
 self shall continue to take charge of the beloved 
 and sacred remains of my poor husband. Con- 
 sequently I have answered the Journal des ZV- 
 bats : 
 
 "PARIS, March 21, 1856. 
 " SIR : 
 
 " In my letter of the tenth of this month which 
 you have had the kindness to publish I had 
 the honor of letting you know that, having bought 
 a piece of land in order to establish on it the per- 
 petual sepulcher of Henri Heine, my husband, no 
 person has the right to elevate a mausoleum on 
 that grave without my consent. 
 
 " To-day, after the appearance of the letter from 
 Vienna which you inserted in your number of 
 day before yesterday, I consider that I ought to 
 go further, and I declare that I shall permit no 
 one to share with me in the care to arrange a
 
 344 APPENDIX. 
 
 final and pious abode for a man of genius who 
 did me the honor of associating his life with 
 mine and who besides kept for me down to his 
 last day his finest and his most affectionate re- 
 gards. 
 
 " Accept, etc., 
 
 WIDOW HENRI HEINE." 
 
 At any rate I have had the consolation of find- 
 ing here among the newspapers the most lively 
 and complete sympathy. I have seen no one who 
 has not seemed indignant that anyone should 
 profit by a moment when I had just been over- 
 whelmed by a frightful disaster in order to make 
 me suffer through attempts at persecution. Peo- 
 ple were particularly astonished at the fact that the 
 act emanated from my brother-in-law and was di- 
 rected against a woman. People knew the way 
 in which my husband adored me, and considered 
 evil acts airrxed at his widow in the light of an 
 outrage to his memory. There was nothing in 
 the letter of my brother-in-law, even to the part 
 relating to my mother-in-law, which did not give 
 occasion for the severest blame. People gener- 
 ally found that it in no wise lessened the insult
 
 APPENDIX. 345 
 
 which he gave me to put it under the cloak of 
 the worthy desires of my venerated mother-in- 
 law, whom I learned from my husband to esteem 
 and love. Finally, some people went so far as to 
 say that the purpose of my brother-in-law was 
 simply a desire to call attention to himself and 
 in no respect to do what he announced. They 
 furnish proof for this reasoning by saying that 
 the man who desires to carry a thing to comple- 
 tion does not voluntarily place himself in the ab- 
 solute impossibility of accomplishing it, by doing 
 outrage without any sort of necessity to the only 
 person who has the power to grant him the right. 
 As to myself, my dear nephew, I have allowed 
 all this to be said without aiding it with my own 
 reflections. Plunged in grief, living in retire- 
 ment, I have only left for a moment and to my 
 great regret the profound silence which I have 
 imposed upon myself in order to defend my 
 dignity and my ignored rights. I was absolutely 
 bound to do so, not merely with regard to 
 myself, but also with regard to my poor husband, 
 to whose wishes and to whose memory I would 
 think myself but little faithful if I permitted 
 anyone, whoever he might be, under whatsoever
 
 346 APPENDIX. 
 
 pretext, to aim a blow at the rights which I hold 
 through his act, and should I degrade in my per- 
 son the dignity of the individual whom he has 
 loved the most. 
 
 Accept, my dear nephew, etc., 
 
 WIDOW HENRI HEINE. 
 
 PARIS, March, 1856. 
 MY DEAR NEPHEW : 
 
 In special answer to your letter you seem as- 
 tonished because Mr. Joubert has not written 
 to you and because I have not myself sent you 
 the papers and the few remaining letters which 
 my husband had preserved. Allow me to observe 
 to you that the honorable Mr. Joubert had no 
 reason to write; he was merely to send you a 
 copy of the will if one was asked from him, and 
 that is what he did. Moreover he was waiting 
 for you to send him, or for you to forward to me 
 in person the instructions which my husband 
 wished to send you when he made his will, 
 instructions without which the orders which he 
 gives you are entirely impossible to carry out 
 and in consequence become of no effect, now it 
 appears from your letter that you have not
 
 APPENDIX. 347 
 
 received those instructions, you therefore beg 
 me to send them to you, believing in error that 
 I have them. I have nothing of the kind and 
 have never had them, nay more, while classify- 
 ing my husband's papers I went over them one by 
 one and found nothing which resembled instruc- 
 tions. After all, that does not surprise me. I 
 knew that my husband had changed his mind 
 after his will, especially since last summer; he 
 had decided to leave to me myself the liberty of 
 disposing of all manuscripts as I thought fit. 
 He told me that very often, and it is proved 
 moreover by a will which he had begun a few 
 days before dying and which death, alas ! inter- 
 rupted. In that draft, written with his own 
 hand, my poor husband is not content with insti- 
 tuting me once more his universal legatee with- 
 out condition or restriction ; he goes so far as 
 to give me, by the public homage which he 
 renders me, a fresh mark of that lofty esteem 
 and that steady and unchangeable sympathy 
 which united us so closely for so long a term of 
 years. It is a sweet consolation and a very 
 lively happiness for my heart to think that up to 
 his last moment I was the most active and
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 almost sole preoccupation of a great man and of 
 a great man whom I loved. 
 
 There only remains for me, dear nephew, to 
 express well to you the feelings of gratitude 
 with which I am filled when thinking over the 
 words of devotion and love which your letter 
 contains. Be well assured that I in my turn 
 remember with pleasure my nephew Ludwig, and 
 that I hope to hear good news from him when- 
 ever the occasion serves. 
 
 Accept, I pray you, my dear nephew, and be 
 so good as to offer to all Your family assurances 
 of my most distinguished sentiments. 
 
 WIDOW HENRI HEINE. 
 
 PARIS, February 20, 1867. 
 To Mr. Jules Claretie, 
 SIR: The Figaro. 
 
 How do you know of the lawsuit which I have 
 begun against Mr. Michel Lvy? I live in great 
 retirement and make no noise concerning the 
 sentiment which has impelled me to avenge the 
 memory of my husband hatefully outraged. 
 
 So it is my adversary who has plead his case
 
 APPENDIX. 349 
 
 before you, and his arguments with none to 
 answer have caused you to write these 
 words : 
 
 " I am fain to believe that Mme. Heine, per- 
 ceiving that she has been ill counseled, will not 
 push the matter farther. . . " 
 
 You are mistaken, sir in a suit of this kind 
 counselors are only of use to point out my 
 path ; I act spontaneously, strong in my own 
 conscience, not for a matter of money, but for a 
 question of honor. For your personal instruc- 
 tion here are the facts : 
 
 Men of letters, I have often heard it said, are 
 little boys in business matters in comparison with 
 Messieurs the publishers. Consider then my in- 
 experience as a mere woman when I negotiated 
 with Mr. Michel Le"vy ! 
 
 But he was so kind, so thoughtful that I did 
 not dream of being on my guard. One day, 
 touched by his solicitude, I told him that people 
 were publishing my husband's letters in foreign 
 parts, letters pretending to be private but rather 
 fabricated. I was sorrowful enough ; but how 
 can one enter suit in Germany ! Get those 
 books for me, answered Mr. Le>y, and I will go
 
 35 APPENDIX. 
 
 and ask one hundred thousand francs of damages 
 from the publisher for you. 
 
 I mention these figures in order to be the 
 more exact : I only wanted one thing, to stop 
 the publication, and I had the good luck to 
 meet a protector in order to reach my ends ! 
 Having made inquiry I bought seven volumes in 
 German which I gave to him. 
 
 Months, years passed. I asked Mr. Michel 
 LeVy for the books which I had intrusted to him, 
 since he did nothing in defense of my rights, 
 but he was always so much occupied and the 
 pamphlets were so far off on the shelves that I 
 had patience and waited still longer, when I heard 
 very indirectly that Mr. Michel Levy was pub- 
 lishing these letters, fabricated and translated, 
 which excited his anger at an earlier period. 
 Whence a suit, and without saying anything bad 
 of the judges in Berlin, I shall find my judges 
 this time in Paris : the aim seems to me less diffi- 
 cult of attainment. 
 
 Do you know of these facts, sir? I am sure 
 in advance that you do not, and nevertheless 
 they are mentioned in my summons. 
 
 You shall no longer have the right to laugh at
 
 APPENDIX. 351 
 
 me. In your turn you played the game of Mr. 
 Michel LeVy. You thought he was relating to 
 you a singular suit, and he only desired ten lines 
 in your newspaper, knowing well that, written 
 by you, they would be a recommendation which 
 would cause a quantity of books to be sold for him 
 before the verdict of the court. I beg you, 
 sir, to insert this letter in your next number. 
 I do not speak to you of my rights : it is a 
 prayer I address to you with an expression of my 
 
 best sentiments. 
 
 WIDOW HENRI HEINE.
 
 IV 
 
 PARIS, February 22, 1867. 
 To Mr. Jules Claretie, 
 
 Editor of the Figaro. 
 SIR: 
 
 The reflections which the lawsuit instituted 
 against us by Mme. Widow Heine has inspired 
 in you, with respect to the Correspondence of 
 her husband, the first two volumes of which we 
 recently published, have brought forth a pre- 
 tended rectification signed by that lady ; she 
 accuses you of having made yourself my com- 
 plaisant advocate with an aim at a mercantile 
 advertisement. 
 
 In so far as touches the accusation of com- 
 plaisance, you know, sir, how gratuitous the sup- 
 position of Mme. Heine is, and whether I have 
 the honor of knowing you sufficiently to be 
 justified in asking a service from you. 
 
 As to the grounds of debate it is not in a news- 
 paper that it is proper to consider them in de- 
 tail. This is what I shall confine myself to say-
 
 APPENDIX. 353 
 
 ing for sole justification. Article I. of the con- 
 tract which I concluded with Mme. Heine the 
 twenty-eighth of January 1865 reads as follows: 
 
 " i. The full and entire ownership of all the 
 works of Henri Heine appeared or still to appear. 
 
 " 2. The exclusive right of translation into 
 French of all the works of Henri Heine pub- 
 lished in the German language. 
 
 " 3. The right of translation into French of all 
 the works of Henri Heine, posthumous and un- 
 published, which have just appeared." 
 
 By virtue of the rights which this article in- 
 trusts so explicitly to me, I caused to be translated 
 the "Correspondence of Henri Heine," which 
 forms the volumes xix, xx, and xxi, of the 
 original edition of the complete works of Henri 
 Heine, published at Hamburg by Hoffmann & 
 Campe, grantees from Mme. Widow Heine by 
 the same right as myself and the German pub- 
 lishers of her husband for more than forty years, 
 just as I am myself his French publisher since 
 about fourteen years. This origin of my transla- 
 tion is a concrete fact, easy to corroborate, and 
 one which apparently Mme. Heine or rather the 
 persons who advise her have not taken the trouble
 
 354 APPENDIX. 
 
 to verify, but one which the wisdom of the bench 
 will not fail to examine into. 
 
 An unauthorized edition of certain works of 
 Henri Heine was published in seven volumes at 
 Amsterdam by Binger Brothers. This edition 
 was in truth called to my attention by Mme. 
 Heine two or three years ago, who placed in my 
 hands a copy as a document to produce, in case 
 I judged it proper to attack the publishers at 
 law. But I have borrowed absolutely nothing 
 from that edition, I never caused a single line to 
 be translated, and this I should have proved to 
 Mme. Heine if she, before sending me a sum- 
 mons, had been so kind as to come and see me, 
 as perhaps my pleasant relations with her might 
 have urged her to do. 
 
 I still hope that, convinced of my good faith 
 from the palpable proofs with which I confront 
 her, Mme. Heine will withdraw the complaint 
 which certain awkward givers of advice have 
 caused her to enter so lightly against me. 
 
 Receive, sir, assurance of my most distin- 
 guished consideration. 
 
 MICHEL LEVY,
 
 APPENDIX. 355 
 
 P. S. Mme. Heine speaks of her inexperience 
 and gives to understand that I got the better of 
 her at the time of the conclusion of our contract. 
 Now it was not with her personally that I ne- 
 gotiated the matter ; it was with Mr. von Embden 
 of Hamburg, nephew and friend of Henri Heine, 
 whom she had intrusted with her interests and 
 who came to Paris expressly to reach an under- 
 standing with me. Mme. Heine only had the 
 trouble of placing her signature at the foot of 
 the contract, just as doubtless happened with the 
 letters which she wrote you.
 
 V 
 CONTRACT WITH MESSRS. HOFFMANN & CAMPE 
 
 in re THE LITERARY REMAINS OF HENRI 
 
 HEINE. 
 
 (Translated from the French.) 
 
 1. For the sum of ten thousand francs, the 
 posthumous works of Henri Heine, which are 
 at present in the hands of Mr. von Embden. 
 
 2. Mme. H. Heine Widow declares that she 
 possesses nothing more in the way of poems or 
 other literary product of H. Heine, except a 
 fragment of memoirs, and (this) she will not 
 publish for the present. 
 
 3. She also authorizes Messrs. Hoffmann & 
 Campe to call to account whomsoever it may be 
 who shall publish still other unpublished matter, 
 naturally at the cost and expense of Messrs. 
 Hoffmann & Campe. 
 
 HAMBURG, August 16, 1869.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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