44 



Jldemolrs of Gotlhdd Ephralm Lejfing* 



[Aug, 1, 



conimended to notice by her fon ; but the 

 fnft was wl'.irpered about, an I reached 

 V\i ears fir ft of the ChanctjlorPraviii, and 

 ntxt of th.ePiince. This brouphr on a 

 ful'picion of coolnefs very pr;i,if\il to 

 Leffing, and apparently incurable, pre- 

 ciiely becaufc nothing -could be faid on the 

 fubjei't, 



Lcfling w:is the more confiimed in th-; 

 rotipn that he had Iprfeitcd the favour of 

 his benef,;£for, by liftening lo offers of re. 

 movai, as a projeft had been eniertsined 

 cf advancing him to the dignity of hilto- 

 liogiapher, wi'h an incieafe of falary, and 

 a title of counfclloj'. Suggeftions even 

 had been made whether he would direii: 

 his ftudies to the illuOratijii of the Huufe 

 of Br-jnfwiclc. The additianal (alary was 

 to begin foon, the honorary diftinflion was 

 to appear the recompence of his efforts. But 

 tlitfe grants were poftp ned by the Chan- 

 cellor, and in a manner which confirjned 

 Lefiing in the impre/Tion tiiat he had no 

 longer a warm friend in tht Fnnce, In 

 March, 1775, he undertook a journey, firit 

 to Berlin, where fome offers or piac.: were 

 made to him, but declined ; and ntxt to 

 Vienna, where he married Madame 

 Konig. 



The Prince Leopold of Braunfchweig 

 had not been an mattentive oblciver of 

 Leffing's (fate of mind ; he peiceivcd that 

 his literary labours required iniei miilinn ; 

 he reccijleitc.f the defire which LtfTing had 

 often expie/Ted of feeing Rome, 'and to 

 which, in his lalf vifuatK n of low Ipirits, 

 the whole refiiiue of bis property was to 

 have been facrificed : he attributed ty na. 

 tural feelings the enquiiy made at Vienna, 

 and he determined to fliew that the heart 

 can give to the patronage of a Duke of 

 Bruntwick a higher value than can be 

 Counterfeited by the fplendour of .mptiial 

 munificence. The Piince obiamed Iruni 

 his father leave to travel, came on a fud- 

 den to Vienna, and propofed to LefTing 

 the tour of Italy i probably not aware 

 that matrimonial views had lb mu- h fhaie 

 in LtfTing's vifit. Lefiing gUdly ac- 

 cepted the offer of this cxcviifrn ; it was 

 I'peedily known at the Lnperial Couvt \ 

 theEmprels dcfircJ he might be prefcntcd 

 at Court befoie his departure. Aficr en- 

 quiring what he thought of tie ftate of 

 literature in Audria, and of the mears of 

 its encouragement, fhe faid to him, "You 

 are ^oing to Italy with the F'iince of 

 Braunfchweig — I am — Shall you prifs 

 through Milan •■ — We ftiall — Tell the 

 Prince I will give you letters of introduc- 

 tion to Count Firmian j the acquain.anct 



is adapted for him." The Prince of 

 Braunfchweig was come to Vienna in order 

 to fnatch from the Emprefs the honour of 

 attaching Leffrng, and had fucceeded : it 

 was an elegant revenge thus to make 

 Lefling the introducer of his friend. They 

 fet ' fF for their Italian tour on the 7.5th of 

 April, 1775, and, after vifiting, fome- 

 wUit liaiiily, the feats of art, they ai lived 

 in the middle of the following December 

 at Munich, where they (ieparated. During 

 their abfence Lefllng's wife died of a naif- 

 carriage. 



No fooner was it known that Ltffing 

 was definitively i'ettled with the Prince of 

 Braunfchweig, than fevcral of the German 

 Princes began to envy him his conqueft. 

 Leffing viiited Drefden taily in 1776 : the 

 EleiSlor requefted an interview, and en- 

 quired where he was born. I was born 

 a fuhj Sl of your Highnefs.— That \. 

 knew, and that you have found it eligible 

 to fettle out of your country ; but if you 

 choofe to return to it, you fhall not repent 

 the ftep, if you wiil inform me of your 

 determination. An intimation was given 

 from a fubordinate quarter, that the ap- 

 pointinent then held by Hagedorn, and 

 likely, fr. m his age and debility, to be- 

 come Vacant, would be at Lefling's com- 

 mand. 



From Manheim alfo fplendid propofals 

 were tranfmitted. It was propoied to 

 him, in the firft inftance, to accept a leat 

 of academician in a new inffitution, of 

 wh ch the inembers were to receive a htin- 

 <litd L uis yearly. Some contributions 

 to the trant'aiJfions of this learned focicty 

 were the avowed i'srvices expelled, and an 

 annual vifit at Manheim to attend the 

 fittings. But a private letter from the 

 Minllier, Vvn Himpe.'ch, intimated that 

 a national theatie w.ts about to be opened 

 there, and that his filent aid would be 

 expe.ifte i b(th to prepaie is ixcellence and 

 dilfiife its reputation. Leffing gave ad- 

 vice, and active alfiftance, in the fele6\ion 

 of aftors i he attended the opening of the 

 iheitie, vva.> introduced to the Eleflor, 

 ai.i'i had t'le c fter of being made curator 

 of the (Jniveifity of Heidelberg, which 

 would ha.e put lome petty profeflional 

 patronage, and aooo dollars a year at his 

 dii'pofal. He declined this offer, holding 

 himlilt bound to the Houfc of Brunfwick, 

 The Court of Manheim would not dif- 

 penfe with refidence, for they only want- 

 ed, under a decorous name, to engage a 

 manager and puffer of their theatre, who 

 duld provide on birth nights fomething 

 new and reputable. After Lefling got 



boiof 



