BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
63 
cine bottle last used. Each room recalled the man so vividly, 
that I expected each moment to see him stand before me. 
The greatest simplicity and refined taste were prevalent. 
The bedroom was very small and devoid of lavish decora¬ 
tion. Some of the paintings were a trifle coarse, but these 
were exceptions to the general tone. The reception room 
held many interesting paintings and a grand piano upon 
which Mendelssohn played. I touched the keys. Portraits 
of members of Goethe’s family, of himself, and of his friends, 
Charlotte von Stein and Bettina, adorned the walls. Presents 
from famous artists of all objects were exhibited, rare medals, 
and rich golden objects. The handiwork of different mem¬ 
bers of his family were still in their accustomed places. His 
traveling-bed, and so many things mentioned in Eckermann’s 
conversations, were right before me, so that any interest I had 
ever had in Goethe returned a thousand fold. 
“ The way through the room to the balcony leading to the 
garden is as dear to the art and Goethe lover as Gethsemane 
is to the pious Christian. To look upon the garden where 
Goethe used to walk and talk was like a dream. The rain 
was pouring, and as I looked upon the very trees the good man 
had planted, I remembered the curious phenomenon that 
occurred during the earthquake of Lisbon when Goethe 
mentioned at the time that some great terrestrial convulsion 
was taking place and still not a leaf could be seen stirring in 
quiet Weimar. 
“ The Bibliothek was formerly a residence, and the room 
where Goethe danced as a young man, when he first came 
to Weimar, is now the main library room. Goethe was the 
director of the library, and began the foundation of a museum. 
“Here are collected heads of the distinguished men and 
women who once lived in Weimar. A colossal bust of Goethe, 
also Schiller. Goethe said of the bust that the forehead was 
that of Mephisto. A lovely head of Novalis held me spell¬ 
bound. I tried to obtain a photograph of it, but could not. 
The upper part of the head was very full, with large eyes, and 
the face tapered to a pointed chin. A portrait by Vandyke of 
himself was hung unframed against a bookcase. The Schröder, 
