but he would permit no building of any kind to be erected, and, as the room was in no way sufficient for us, we could only make a temporary and passing use of his support.

"We saw the precariousness of our position in its whole sharpness, but knew of no escape from it.

"In a wonderful way new prospects opened before us at a moment when we least expected it. We were sitting in a hotel near Wartensee, and conversing with the strangers who were there about our efforts. Three travelers were quite transfixed by our representations. They said they were merchants known at Willisau, and declared expressly that they were disposed to work for us and our efforts in Willisau, and to make a settlement there themselves, and carry out our plans to a greater extent. The company had traded in the cantonal government, and had for that reason moved, provisionally, into a castle-like building. About forty pupils out of the canton immediately entered, and we seemed at least to have found what we were secking. But the enraged pastors rose now with truly devilish power against us. Our lives were not safe, and we were warned several times by compassionate souls, if we thought of taking a solitary walk, or struck out into a road over the mountain. To what fearful measures the bigotry extended, the following occurrence shows:

“In Willisau, every year, a church festival takes place, in which a host spotted with blood is shown. The drops of blood, according to the popular belief, were drawn out by two gamblers, who, cursing Jesus, drew their swords upon him, and who, in consequence of this crime, were caught by the devil. When the ‘God be with us' seized the miscreant by the throat, a few drops oozed from Jesus's wounds. Now, in order that other drops should not fall in a similar manner from the miscreant, a thanksgiving festival is celebrated every year, and the host shown, for a warning, to the worshipping people, who stream in in troops from the whole country to join the procession. We were obliged to attend the festival, and, in order to have something to do, we had undertaken the musical direction of it. I anticipated a storm, and had urged my friends to keep quiet under all circumstances, and to show no trace of embarrassment. The singing was finished, and, in place of the expected clergyman, there appeared suddenly a boisterous, fanatical Capuchin monk He entered into complaint of the godlessness and wickedness of the present generation, painted in glowing colors the stripes of hell which would bit the cursed race, then turned to the terrified Willisauers and explained pointedly as one of the evil deeds of that people, that, by calling in the heretics, meaning us, of course, they had brought ruin into their midst. More and more violent were his words, more and more ghastly his curses upon us and our abettors, more and more terrific his descriptions of the stripes of hell prepared for the Willisauers for their abhorrent deed. Froebel stood benumbed, without moving a limb or withdrawing his gaze from the Capuchin just opposite to him, standing in the midst of the people; and the rest of us looked on motionless. The parents, our pupils, and many others, had already fled in the midst of this Jeremiad. expected the worst for ourselves, and had already taken precautions for our protection, and measures to overcome the brawler. But we stood

We

quietly in our places and heard the closing words of the Capuchin ‘Then, if you would earn eternal treasures in heaven, make an end to the griev ance, and suffer the wretches no longer in your midst Hunt the wolves out of the country, to the honor of God and the confusion of the devil! Then peace and blessing will return, and great joy will be with God in heaven and with those who serve Him and His holy One from their hearts! Amen!' Scarcely had he spoken the last word when he vanished through a side door, and was not seen again. But we passed quietly through the gaping and threatening crowd. No hand was raised at the moment; but mischief lowered upon us from all sides, and it was not pleasant to see the sword of Damocles already suspended over our heads. With this painful feeling of insecurity they sent me to the government of the canton, and especially to the Abbé Girard, and the justice of the peace, Edward Pfyffer, with a petition that he would protect our safety to the best of his power. On the way I was known at a tavern as one of the lately-oppressed band of heretics, by a clergyman. They whispered about me, and cast threatening and contemptuous glances at me from all sides. At last the priest became more and more audacious, and accused me aloud of being an abominable heretic. I arose slowly, advanced with a firm step toward the black-coat, and asked him: Do you know who Jesus Christ was, sir?' and, 'Do you hold anything from Him?' 'Surely; He is God-the Son, and we must honor Him and believe in Him, if we do not wish to be eternally damned!' I continued,—' You can, perhaps, tell me whether Christ was a Catholic or a Protestant?' The priest was silent; the crowd gaped and soon applauded me. The priest left, and they let me alone. The question had effected more than a whole speech would have done. In Edward Pfyffer I learned to know a man of humane and firm character, of sterling worth, and worthy of all respect. He goes upon the principle that it is not of much use to take this or that superstition from the people, but that one must work against sluggishness of thought and want of independence from the foundation through an intelligent education. For that reason he esteemed our undertaking highly. When I gave him an outline of our griefs, and the danger we incurred in our lives, he replied: "There is only one way to make yourselves secure,-you must win the hearts of the people. Work on for a long time, and then invite all the people from far and near to a public examination. If you pass through that trial and win the multitude, then, and only then, will you be secure.' I went back, and we followed his counsel. A great crowd of people from the various cantons streamed in to the examination, and delegates from Zurich, Berne, etc. Our battle with the clergy, particularly, was an occurrence that was spoken of in most of the Swiss papers, and the general attention had been directed to it. We conquered perfectly at the examination. The boys developed a happy state of mind and a warmth of zeal, indeed, they answered in such an unembarrassed and inoffensive manner that all present were delightedly surprised and gave us loud applauses. The examination lasted from seven o'clock in the morning till seven in the evening, and closed with social plays and gymnastic exercises. We rejoiced inwardly, for our cause was now to be considered established. The thing came to

public action, to public notice, and the most brilliant specches were made in our favor by Pfyffer, Amryn, and others. The assembly made a decree that the castle-like educational building should be given to us at a reasonable price, and that the Capuchins, who had publicly made such an uproar against us, should be showed out of the canton."

"Some time after the above-mentioned examination appeared a deputation from the canton of Berne, and invited Froebel to undertake the erection of an orphan-house in Burgdorf. Froebel proposed that the instruction in the newly-founded orphan-house should not be restricted to the orphan children, gained his object, and followed the summons.

Now I looked upon my mission as providentially closed, and I desired to go back to Keilhau, for my eldest son was already a year old, and I had never yet seen him. Middendorff, therefore, left his family and took my place; he lived four years in Willisau away from his wife an child. In Keilhau things had, in the meantime, worked more favorably, and the attendance had increased in a joyful manner. I resolved now to raise the mother institution out of its economical swamp. I set in motion an express, even if a permitted swindle, borrowed a sum here to discharge a creditor there, and covered up one debt by another. In this manner I restored the lost credit, and, as the revenues increased to our delight, I soon acquired land, and from that time have been able to support the undertaking of the others more and more, and create for the whole circle a gratifying and increasing sense of stability, and a refuge from all chances.

"In Switzerland the cause did not develop according to our wishes, in spite of the decree of the legislative assembly. The institution in Willisau enjoyed unlimited confidence, but the opposing agitation of the priesthood bloomed in secret afterwards as well as before, and drew much

animadversion upon the institution from a distance. For this reason we could not reach what, under other circumstances, with the activity and capacity of self-sacrifice of our circle, might certainly have been possible. "Ferdinand Froebel and Middendorff remained in Willisau; Froebel went to Burgdorf with his wife, and, a little after, was appointed director of the orphan-house by the government. In that capacity he had to conduct a so-called repetition-course for teachers. In that canton was the following excellent arrangement: every two years the teachers had a furlough of a quarter of a year. During this time they assembled in Burgdorf and exchanged their experiences and worked at their further cultivation. Froebel had to conduct the proceedings and associated studies. His own personal experience, and the communications of the teachers, led him anew to the conviction that school education is wanting in the correct and indispensable foundation, until the reformation of home education shall be kept in view and made preliminary. The necessity of building up wise mothers came into the foreground in his soul, and the importance of the earliest education seemed to him more significant than

ever.

He determined to employ his educational thoughts, whose intelligent working out a thousand obstacles had prevented, at least to the guidance of the earliest childhood upon all sides, and to enlist the womanworld for this idea and its efficient working. He would supplement the 'Book for Mothers' (Pestalozzi's) by a theoretico-practical guide for

women. Something occurred from without which urged him forward. His wife became very dangerously ill, and the physicians required a total change from the rough mountain air of Switzerland. Then he determined to give up his situation and go to Berlin. The institution at Willisau, which flourished outwardly, but was more and more hampered in its organic development by the bigotry of the priests, was obliged to be given up, for the government went into the hands of the Jesuits. Langethal and Ferdinand Froebel were appointed teachers of the institution in Burgdorf. Later, Langethal separated himself from the whole, and undertook the direction of a girls' school in Berne which the well-known Fröhlich now conducts; in so doing took a step which Froebel never pardoned. Ferdinand Froebel remained director of the orphan-house in Burgdorf until his sudden and unexpected death. The general mourning, which had never known its equal in Burgdorf, showed what his efforts had been and how well they had been understood there.

When Frederich Froebel went back from Berlin, the idea of an institution for little children was already fully formed in him. I rented him a locality in the neighboring Blankenburg. For a long time he could not find a name for his cause. Middendorff and I walked over the mountain with him to Blankenburg. He exclaimed, repeatedly, 'If I could only find a name for my youngest child!' Suddenly he stood still, as if transfixed, and his eye took an almost transfigured expression. Then he called out to the mountain, and called again to all the four winds: Eureka! KINDERGARTEN the institution shall be named!'"

So far Barop. He is the only one who now [1861] enjoys the blossoming out of the mother institution. He has become wealthy, and has enjoyed many honors. The University of Jena bestowed upon him a doctor's diploma at its jubilee, and the Prince of Rudolstadt appointed him Councilor of Education. Froebel sleeps in Liebenstein, and Middendorff at the foot of Kirschberg in Keilhau. They sowed and did not reap; it may be, then, that the enjoyment which lies in sowing exceeds that of reaping. Certainly it was glorious that Froebel, shortly before his death, was highly honored by the Teachers' Convention in Gotha. When he appeared, the whole assembly rose like one man; and Middendorff also, shortly before his death, had the joy of hearing the same assembly at Salzungen declare the Froebel cause to be one of universal importance, and a subject for their special attention and continued experiment.

By inheritance.

The Year 1825.

KEILHAU.-OFFICIAL TESTIMONY OF SUCCESS.*

In the article called "Critical moments in the life of Frederick Fræbel," I mentioned that the "Universal German Educational Institution" nearly came to its complete ruin, in its twentieth year. In another article, , entitled "Unity of life," I have given some internal causes by which the institution, which had once been flourishing, came to the verge of ruin. But there were other causes, which perhaps in and by themselves would not have been able to bring about such disastrous effects. First, the crossfire of the enemy in the camp and outside of it had that melancholy effect. Every one well informed in history knows the demagogery of a certain Herr von Kampz, the persecutions of the Bürgenschaften, which culminated in the death of Kotsebuè, in the midst of that twenty years. Johannes Arnold Barop was especially the subject of these persecutions, and as he was already in Keilhau, even if not considered a fellowworker there, when his papers were taken into custody, yet his presence there might pass as an excuse for the suspicion entertained of Keilhau. Keilhau was represented openly and in secret as the brooding nest of dema gogism, and they stormed from Prussia, and on the day appointed for the meeting of the confederates of the Schwarzburg Rudolstadt government, they demanded the breaking up of the institution. The government sent the then Superintendent Zeh as a committee of inquiry to Keilhau, and met the oppressors with the subsequent report. The government left the institution unshorn, and only made the famous requisition that the pupils of the institution should cut their hair short. But the persecutions none the less had their intended effect. A part of the terrified parents, particularly the nobles, took their children away, and the institution was crippled on all sides by the crafty and barefaced agitation of its enemies. In 1829 the number of pupils diminished, as has already been mentioned, from sixty to five. Similar machinations against Keilhau took place at a later time, when the general reaction followed the flare up of 1848. that time there was as little occasion for enmity towards Keilhau as in any part of the twenty years.

At

It scarcely needs to be affirmed in this place that there was not the most distant trace of political agitation there. They were only trying to cultivate men in the way which is pointed out quite correctly in the following report. The old fighters for freedom, Froebel, Middendorff, and Langethal, who had learned to esteem each other more and more as Lützow's followers in the war, naturally hung with great love upon our nation, and were trying to cultivate German children. That their efforts were directed to building up men in the children, and Germans in the men, constituted their whole crime, but still more, that the spirit of 1813-15 had found a sort of refuge in Keilhau.

The devoted teachers were as far from using their efforts at education *A Public Voice in 1825 upon the efforts of Frederick Froebel, from W. Lange, Vol. I,