In some words
he wrote to Herder within a fortnight after his betrothal we have a
glimpse of his state of mind. "A short time ago," he wrote, "I was
under the delusion that I was approaching the haven of domestic bliss
and a sure footing in the realities of earthly joy and sorrow, but I
am again in unhappy wise cast forth on the wide sea."[217] He was
already, in fact, contemplating the desirability of bursting his bond;
and an opportunity came to assist him in his resolve.
[Footnote 216: Frau Schoenemann is recorded to have said that the
different religion of the two families was the cause of the match
being broken off.]
[Footnote 217: _Werke, Briefe_, ii. 261-2.]
In the second week of May there came to Frankfort three youths whose
rank and personal character created a flutter in the Goethe household.
Two of them were the brothers of the Countess Stolberg,[218] with whom
Goethe had been carrying on his platonic correspondence during the
previous months, and were on their way to a tour in Switzerland. All
were enthusiastic adherents of the _Sturm und Drang_ movement, and
Goethe had long been the object of their distant adoration.
Pages:
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334