64 Goethe's Visit to Beireis. [JAN. 



effective medicine in the extremest cases, ever in a state of readiness. 

 Now, too, he advanced into some mysterious introductions ; spoke of 

 entire exhaustion, to which, by uninterrupted, most important, yet also 

 most dangerous labours, he had seen himself reduced ; meaning us to 

 understand thereby the painful process of the Highest Science. 



In some such condition, now, was he lying senseless, at his last gasp, 

 without hope, when a young, and to him heartily devoted scholar and 

 watcher, driven by an instinct resembling inspiration, had brought to 

 his lord and master a dish of large boiled crabs, and forced him to eat 

 sufficiently of the same ; whereupon he was miraculously recalled to life, 

 and so had retained his high veneration for this nutriment. 



To believe certain waggish friends, Beireis had farther, on occasion 

 given out, that, by means of the universal^, he could change select cock- 

 chafers into young crabs, which he thenceforth, also by peculiar spa- 

 giric food, nourished up to remarkable size. This, as was fair, we took 

 for a legend, devised in the spirit and taste of the old wonder-worker ; 

 such as various others that circulated at his expense, and which he, as 

 indeed conjurors and thaumaturgists find their amount in being, was 

 nowise inclined to deny. 



Hofrath Bereis's medical repute was well established in the whole 

 district ; by the Count Veltheim Family, at Harbke, he was prized as 

 household physician ; to which family he declared himself desirous of 

 introducing us. So announced, we made appearance there. Stately 

 office-houses formed, in front of the high old Castle, a spacious court : 

 the Count bid us welcome, and rejoiced to become acquainted, in me, 

 with an old friend of his father's ; for with this nobleman the study of 

 mineralogy had for several years united us, only that his chief aim was 

 in applying such knowledge to the illustration of problematical passages 

 in ancient writers ; in which undertaking, if you blamed him for too 

 great rashness, the credit of intellectual acumen could not be denied 

 him. 



Towards the garden side, the antiquely-decorated, fine-looking Castle, 

 lay with peculiar beauty. Directly beyond this, you came upon level 

 trim spaces, to which softly-mounting hills, overshaded with bushes and 

 trees, supervened. Convenient walks then led upwards to cheerful pros- 

 pects over the neighbouring heights ; and the wide circuit of these 

 Estates, especially the flourishing woods thereof, became more and more 

 apparent. The Count's grandfather, some fifty years before, had earn- 

 estly occupied himself with forest culture ; endeavouring, among other 

 objects, to train the North American trees to our German soil. We 

 were now led into a fine wood of Weymouth pines, strong and high- 

 grown, in whose stately umbrage, as before in the forests of the Thii- 

 ringer Wald, reclining on moss, we refreshed ourselves with a hospit- 

 able breakfast, and took pleasure in looking at the special regularity of 

 the planting ; for this ancestral forest still indicated the purposed 

 manner in which it had been laid out ; the trees, placed in rows, every- 

 where exhibited themselves in quadrangles. Even so, at every division 

 of the wood, in every new species of trees, the intention of the careful 

 grandfather was discernible. * * * 



The best entertainment, the pleasantest society, instructive conversa- 

 tion, wherein the advantages of so large a Property became clearer in 

 detail, especially where so much had been done for the dependent classes, 

 awakened the silent wish to continue longer ; which also a kind, pressing 

 invitation unexpectedly met. But our dear companion, the excellent Wolf, 



