In the
ways of a foreign soldiery at free quarters the Frankforters saw a
strange contrast to their own decorous habits of life, but the French
occupation was brought more directly home to the Goethe household. To
the disgust and indignation of the father, to whom as a worshipper of
Frederick the French were objects of detestation, their chief officer,
Count Thoranc, quartered in his own house. Goethe has told in detail
the history of this invasion of the quiet household--the never-failing
courtesy and considerateness of Thoranc, the abiding ill-humour of the
father, the reconciling offices of the mother, exercised in vain to
effect a mutual understanding between her husband and his unwelcome
guest. As for Goethe himself, devoted to Frederick though he was, the
presence of the French introduced him to a new world into which he
entered with boyish delight. With the insatiable curiosity which was
his characteristic throughout life, he threw himself into the
pleasures and avocations of the novel society. Thoranc was a
connoisseur in art, and gave frequent commissions to the artists of
the town; and Goethe, already interested in art through his father's
collections, found his opportunity in these tastes of Thoranc, who was
struck by the boy's precocity and even took hints from his
suggestions.
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