least I do
not know what I could have been conceited about. What I feel about my
learning at school is that it was entirely passive. I acquired
knowledge such as it was presented to me. I did not doubt whatever my
teachers taught me, I did not, as far as I can recollect, work up any
subject by myself. I find only one paper of mine of that early time,
and, curiously enough, it was on mythology; but it contains no inkling
of comparative mythology, but simply a chronological arrangement of
the sources from which we draw our knowledge of Greek mythology. I see
also from some old papers, that I began to write poetry, and that
twice or thrice I was chosen at great festivities to recite poems
written by myself. In the year 1839 three hundred years had passed
since Luther preached at Leipzig in the Church of St. Nicolai, and the
tercentenary of this event was celebrated all over Germany. My poem
was selected for recitation at a large meeting of the friends of our
school and the notables of the town, and I had to recite it, not
without fear and trembling. I was then but sixteen years of age.

In the next year, 1840, Leipzig celebrated the invention of printing
in 1440. It was on this occasion that Mendelssohn wrote his famous
_Hymn of Praise_. I formed part of the chorus, and I well remember the
magnificent effect which the music produced in the Church of St.
Thomas. Again a poem of mine was selected, and I had to recite it at a
large gathering in the Nicolai-Schule on July 18, 1840.

On December 23 another celebration took place at our school, at which
I had to recite a Latin poem of mine, _In Schillerum_. Lastly, there
was my valedictory poem when I left the school in 1841, and a Latin
poem "Ad Nobbium," our head master.

I have found among my mother's treasures the far too often flattering
testimonial addressed to her by Professor Nobbe on that occasion,
which ends thus: "I rejoice at seeing him leave this school with
testimonials of moral excellence not often found in one of his
years--and possessed of knowledge in more than one point, first-rate,
and of intellectual capacities excellent throughout. May his young
mind develop more and more, may the fruits of his labours hereafter be
a comfort to his mother for the sorrows and cares of the past."

It was rather hard on me that I had to pass my examination for
admission to the University (_Abiturienten-Examen_) not at my own
school, but at Zerbst in Anhalt. This was neces