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Disclaimer: The opinions on these pages are those of the writers
and don't necessarily reflect my own views. More...
(From Mrs. Graham to Dr. A. K. Worthington of Denver,
Colorado).
Hotel d'Angleterre
Hildesheim, July 26, 1911
Dear Andrew --
It was a blazing hot
day when we left Berlin, at four o'clock, the 22d, and landed at Brunswick
that evening. Next morning, a gentleman presented himself to take us
around to see the Gauss memorials -- had left word at the hotel that
he would come. It seems that he interested himself to get a room
set apart in the house where Gauss was born, for such personal things
as he could gather together, which were only installed last April
We went first to the grandfather's house, a narrow little home in the
quaint old style, where he lived with wife and six children. Then
we went to the father's house, where he was born, a larger one, with
an inscription over the door, and room on the ground-floor inside, containing
relics, letters, photographs, etc. The inscription over the door
says --
"In diesem Hause wurde
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Am 30 April 1777 geboren." |
We were all very much impressed
with the place and associations. the house fronted a moat, once
filled with water, where the little Carl once fell in and rescued by
a passerby. In the room were selections from his writings, hung
on the wall, framed; all with some forcible thought. Our
guide could explain everything, and had given his best efforts to keeping
this collection of small personal things in Brunswick, where Gauss was
born, instead of sending them to Goettingen, as was proposed.
He is a man of warm heart and generous admiration of Gauss; a retired
opera singer, once prominent at the Hof-Theatre - Herr Georg Hieb.
this somebody else told us, for he said nothing about who he was, but
produced a letter from Carl Gauss in Hameln, whom he knew.
We also passed the school where Gauss first studied, and then went on
to the Gauss berg where the bronze statue stands, a fine memorial, in
front of a little hill. The pictures give but a poor impression
of it. We also saw a bronze statue of him in Berlin on the Potsdam
bridge - a seated figure in the act of telegraphing, that I think I
wrote about. On the bridge were three other figures - Siemens,
Helmholz and Roentgen, for foremost German electricians.
We took Monday for the Museum
(at Brunswick), where there is the finest collection of majolicas and
enamels in Germany. Then visited the Schloss, a new palace, as
the old one was burned. Many fine rooms, and a little park outside.
The cathedral was interesting too, and statues of Henry the Lion
with Matilda his wife, recumbent before the high altar, very fine.
a general view of the town in the afternoon ended our stay; a quaint
old city, full of picturesque houses, almost unchanged. I will enclose
a few cards selected at random. about an hour's run brought us
to Hanover, where we went out to Herrenhofen, and later saw some cousins
of the Gauss family; very nice ladies, living in a pretty house with
little garden. Helen had written them we were coming, so we had
a cordial welcome and a good long visit, with coffee and cakes.
Their sister, who was away, has a select little school for English girls,
and these two sisters live together not far away. They would have
been glad for us to stay longer, but we wanted a few days rest here
before going to Goettingen. We could not help thinking it a strange
coincidence that we would have gone there just about that time, anyway.
People say that what Nuremburg is to South Germany, Hildesheim is to
North Germany, -- as we have found it in our rambles about the town,
this morning. In the next square, a beautiful house called the
Wittekind, now a bank, attracted our attention, and next to it another,
with beautiful door and oriel window, with two towers. The Rathaus
near is a striking example of Middle Age architecture, with splendid
hall in dark wood, richly decorated, the finest in Germany. after
seeing St. Michael's Church, we were glad to get back, the sun was so
hot, and we read of great heat in Paris. You have had your share
too. It is very prostrating; I hope you have not suffered.
Our rooms are large and pretty comfortable, in the best hotel here,
but the heat continues, so we are glad to stay in until evening.
the ride over last evening in an electric car was very pleasent; green
fields and ripe grain all the way. a well-farmed country, though not
so rich as much of ours. but they have suffered for want of rain.
I thought Miss Paula Hartmann,
one of the cousins, especially attractive, with the sweetest expression
and manners. Her sister, five years younger, looked really older,
but they seemed to live very happily together. I think I mentioned
your letter of June 30; one of July 5 came before we left Berlin, with
a nice programme. glad you got a few letters - what I omit the
others can supply. Helen made too much of my bicycle knockover.
I wasn't hurt; not even scared, it was so sudden. Owing to the
heat, my hand sticks to the paper, so I can hardly write. Hope it will
modify before the ceremonies on Monday the 31st. I told Helen
Jr. she had better have a few German phrases ready, to fire off when
needed, although the men will doubtless do most of the talking.
we will probably go down on Friday and have a day or two for rest beforehand,
then a rapid tour that won't leave much spare time before we reach London.
We met some nice English ladies at the hotel in Brunswick and got some
points about places in England; they were going to Goslar in the Harz
Mountains on a tour of discovery, but we are content with travelled
highways. Have scarcely seen a paper for weeks, as they had only
German ones where we were, so will have to read up. am glad Minna
is in Colorado and only hope she will regain her health. Maybe,
like most of us, she is better at giving advice than taking it.
She surely ought to live better, for one thing. The engine has
to be fed. Margaret said the doctor told here, when Lyall was
sick, "Feed the engine, Mrs. Baker, feed the engine".
what a comfortable time you
are having with your Michelet and other histories. Leisure to
sit down and read a book seems a thing of the past -- our motto now
is: "Onward", but we can read up later. I may miss our
next, as Helen gave a wrong address in writing to forward, but we soon
rectified it, and hope to get some letters at Goettingen -- then no
more 'till London. You are really getting more music now than
we are, and Cavallo's rendering prepared me for some of the things I
have enjoyed most over here, but music and travel don't go very well
together. By the end of another month we will be getting toward
the close of our tour. I'm glad Will is all right again and had
no appendicitis. I will answer his letter as soon as I get time.
Meanwhile, hope you are well and not suffering from the heat.
I had a very nice letter from Mrs. Brown, inviting me to spend a month
with her.
Affectionately,
Mary
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Source: Location of handwritten
original unknown, typescript was probably by Anne Durfee Gauss. Transcription
to softcopy by Susan D. Chambless, 1999.
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