AT THE UNIVERSITY 33 



seems to have enjoyed very much the American game 

 of base-ball, and became a member of the club. He was 

 intimate with several American students and with Dr. 

 Remsen, the assistant (afterwards the well-known pro- 

 fessor), with whom he kept up a friendly correspondence 

 to the end of his life. His chemical studies in 1871-2 

 evidently did not occupy him exclusively, for beside 

 his constant practice of German, to which there are 

 several references in the letters, he studied Italian with 

 a lady, always spoken of as the Grafin, who appears to 

 have lost her husband toward the end of the year. He 

 also joined some of his (American ?) friends in arranging 

 to get dancing lessons once a week on Thursday after- 

 noons, " when we have nothing else to do. It will 

 probably be great fun and costs almost nothing here." 

 He also mentions that he speaks French " a good deal 

 with the Ma'mselle. She speaks very fluently, though 

 not with a very good accent." Then he goes on 

 to say : 



" Papa speaks of your possibly coming out in June or July. 

 Do rub up a little German so as to be able to converse with the 

 Frau. I'm quite sure that you could get up enough to make 

 yourself understood in a month or two. It is so stupid to be 

 with people and not able to say a word. Be able to say der, die, 

 das, etc., and know about fifty words. There will be only three 

 left of us English-speaking people in summer." 



This free and easy method of learning to speak German 

 was of course suggested by his own linguistic readiness, 

 but to others who have struggled all their lives with 



