among a fairly wide circle of friends at Leipzig.

On a trip to Jena, during which he and a companion seem to have
found their way into various musical and oratorical associations,
he paid a visit to Schiller. With this object in view, he had
come armed with a request from the management of the Leipzig
Theatre, who wanted to secure the rights of Wallenstein, which
was just finished. He told me later of the magic impression made
upon him by Schiller, with his tall slight figure and
irresistibly attractive blue eyes. His only complaint was that,
owing to a well-meant trick played on him by his friend, he had
been placed in a most trying position; for the latter had managed
to send Schiller a small volume of Adolph Wagner's poems in
advance.

The young poet was much embarrassed to hear Schiller address him
in flattering terms on the subject of his poetry, but was
convinced that the great man was merely encouraging him out of
kindness. Afterwards he devoted himself entirely to philological
studios--one of his best-known publications in that department
being his Parnasso Italiano, which he dedicated to Goethe in an
Italian poem. True, I have heard experts say that the latter was
written in unusually pompous Italian; but Goethe sent him a
letter full of praise, as well as a silver cup from his own
household plate. The impression that I, as a boy of eight,
conceived of Adolph Wagner, amid the surroundings of his own
home, was that he was a peculiarly puzzling character.

I soon had to leave the influence of this environment and was
brought back to my people at Dresden. Meanwhile my family, under