hes. Parents were unappreciative and dissatisfied, demanding pay for
the labor of their children. Was there ever a more discouraging
situation than this which Pestalozzi had to confront, when people
demanded pay for accepting the philanthropic and unselfish measures
taken for the good of their children and for their own elevation?

This could not continue long, and in 1780 Pestalozzi was obliged to
close his school. He found himself badly in debt, with his wife's
property gone. But even under these overwhelming misfortunes he says,
"My failure showed me the truth of my plans," and this has long since
been verified, both in his ideas of farming and in the industrial
school.

=Authorship.=--The next eighteen years, though passed by Pestalozzi in
extreme poverty, were not unfruitful. He began to write pamphlets and
books, the first book being, "The Evening Hours of a Hermit," which
appeared in 1780. His second book, "Leonard and Gertrude,"[136] was
published the year following. It created great interest and brought
Pestalozzi immediate fame. The government of Berne presented him a gold
medal, which, however, he was obliged to sell to procure the necessities
of life for his family. In "Leonard and Gertrude" Pestalozzi gives a
homely and touching picture of life among the lowly, and shows how a
good woman uses her opportunities for uplifting and educating, first her
own family, and then her neighbors. In this work she is aided by the
village schoolmaster and the magistrate, who are inspired by her example
and leadership. Pestalozzi wrote several other books during this period,
but none to equal "Leonard and Gertrude."

=Stanz.=--In the meantime, the French Revolution broke out, and
Pestalozzi, influenced by the writings of Rousseau, became an ardent
champion of the new order of things. He seems to have acquired
considerable political influence, as the Directors of the Government of
Switzerland thought it necessary to win him to their cause by giving him
a political office. They therefore asked him what office he wanted, and
he replied, "I want to be a schoolmaster." Accordingly, when the French
had pillaged the inhabitants and burned their homes, Pestalozzi was sent
to Stanz,--the only village left in the canton of Nidwalden,--to
establish a school.[137] Now for the first time he found himself in the
calling for which his whole nature had yearned, for which he was
peculiarly suited, and in which he was destined to become f