nity was
naturally overjoyed; but their joy did not last very long. A man of
high station in Meiningen who was accustomed to exercise a sort of
dictatorship in educational matters, as he was the right-hand man of the
prince in such things, a man also who had earned an honourable place in
literature (of which no one surely would seek to deprive him), feared
much lest the elevation of Froebel should injure his own influence. We
were therefore, all of a sudden, once again assailed with the meanest
and most detestable charges, to which our unfortunate position at
Keilhau lent a convenient handle. The duke received secret warnings
against us. He began to waver, and in a temporising way sent again to
Froebel, proposing that he should first try a provisional establishment
of twenty pupils as an experiment. Froebel saw the intention in the
duke's mind, and was thrown out of humour at once; for when he suspected
mistrust he lost all hope, and immediately cast from his mind what a
few hours before had so warmly encouraged him. Therefore Froebel at
once broke off all negotiations, and set out for Frankfurt, to discuss
the work at Keilhau with his friends; since after so many troubles he
had almost begun to lose faith in himself. Here by chance he met the
well-known musical composer Schnyder, from Wartensee. He told this
gentleman of the events which had just occurred, talked to him of
his plans and of our work at Keilhau, and exercised upon him that
overpowering influence which is the peculiar property of creative
minds. Schnyder saw the value of his efforts, and begged him to set
up an educational establishment in his castle on the Wartensee, in
Switzerland.[132] Froebel hurriedly seized with joy the hand thus held
out to him, and at once set off for Wartensee with his nephew, my
brother-in-law Ferdinand.

There Friedrich and Ferdinand Froebel had already been living and
working some little time when I was asked by the rest of the community
who still remained at Keilhau to go and see for myself exactly how they
were getting on in Switzerland. With ten thalers[133] in my pocket, and
in possession of one old summer coat, which I wore, and a threadbare
frock-coat, which I carried over my arm, I set off on "Shanks's
mare"[134] to travel the whole way. If I were to go into details as to
what I went through on that journey, I should probably run the risk of
being charged with gross exaggeration. Enough, I got to my destination,
and wh