in, I proposed to leave Leipzig, and
to enter the musical school of Schneider at Dessau. But nothing came
of that, and I think on the whole it was as well.

While at school at Leipzig I had but little opportunity of travelling,
for my mother was always anxious to have me home during the holidays,
and I was equally anxious to be with her and to see my relations at
Dessau. Generally I went in a wretched carriage from Leipzig to
Dessau. It was only seven German miles (about thirty-five English
miles), but it took a whole day to get there; and during part of the
journey, when we had to cross the deep and desert-like sands, walking
on foot was much more expeditious than sitting inside the carriage.
But then we paid only one thaler for the whole journey, and sometimes,
in order to save that, I walked on foot the whole way. That also took
me a whole day; but when I tried it the first time, being then quite
young and rather delicate in health, I had to give in about an hour
before I came to Dessau, my legs refusing to go further, and my
muscles being cramped and stiff from exertion, I had to sit down by
the road. During one vacation I remember exploring the valley of the
Mulde with some other boys. We travelled for about a fortnight from
village to village, and lived in the simplest way. A more ambitious
journey I took in 1841 with a friend of mine, Baron von Hagedorn. He
was a curious and somewhat mysterious character. He had been brought
up by a great-aunt of mine, to whom he was entrusted as a baby. No one
knew his parents, but they must have been rich, for he possessed a
large fortune. He had a country place near Munich, and he spent the
greater part of the year in travelling about, and amusing himself. He
had been brought up with my mother and other members of our family,
and he took a very kind interest in me. I see from my letters that in
1841 he took me from Dessau to Coethen, Brunswick, and Magdeburg. At
Brunswick we saw the picture gallery, the churches, and the tomb of
Schill, one of the German volunteers in the War of Independence
against France. We also explored Hildesheim, saw the rose-tree
planted, as we were told, by Charlemagne; then proceeded to Goettingen,
and saw its famous library. We passed through Minden, where the Fulda
and Werra join, and arrived late at Cassel. From Cassel we explored
Wilhelmshoehe, the beautiful park where thirty years later Napoleon III
was kept as a prisoner.

Hagedorn, with all h