do, and
could have done, proved in fact to be the last he ever undertook. At
present very different cares awaited him: in 1791, a fit of sickness
overtook him; he had to exchange the inspiring labours of literature
for the disgusts and disquietudes of physical disease. His disorder,
which had its seat in the chest, was violent and threatening; and
though nature overcame it in the present instance, the blessing of
entire health never more returned to him. The cause of this severe
affliction seemed to be the unceasing toil and anxiety of mind, in
which his days had hitherto been passed: his frame, which, though
tall, had never been robust, was too weak for the vehement and
sleepless soul that dwelt within it; and the habit of nocturnal study
had, no doubt, aggravated all the other mischiefs. Ever since his
residence at Dresden, his constitution had been weakened: but this
rude shock at once shattered its remaining strength; for a time the
strictest precautions were required barely to preserve existence. A
total cessation from every intellectual effort was one of the most
peremptory laws prescribed to him. Schiller's habits and domestic
circumstances equally rebelled against this measure; with a beloved
wife depending on him for support, inaction itself could have procured
him little rest. His case seemed hard; his prospects of innocent
felicity had been too banefully obscured. Yet in this painful and
difficult position, he did not yield to despondency; and at length,
assistance, and partial deliverance, reached him from a very
unexpected quarter. Schiller had not long been sick, when the
hereditary Prince, now reigning Duke of Holstein-Augustenburg, jointly
with the Count Von Schimmelmann, conferred on him a pension of a
thousand crowns for three years.[24] No stipulation was added, but
merely that he should be careful of his health, and use every
attention to recover. This speedy and generous aid, moreover, was
presented with a delicate politeness, which, as Schiller said, touched
him more than even the gift itself. We should remember this Count and
this Duke; they deserve some admiration and some envy.

[Footnote 24: It was to Denmark likewise that Klopstock owed
the means of completing his _Messias_.]

This disorder introduced a melancholy change into Schiller's
circumstances: he had now another enemy to strive with, a secret and
fearful impediment to vanquish, in which much resolute effort must be
sunk with