Helen Worthington Gauss, Jr. - 1911-08-01

(From Mrs. William T. Gauss to her husband in Colorado Springs, Colorado).

Goettingen, Germany
August 1, 1911

My dear Will-
        Your letter of the 16th and Carl's of the day before, came yesterday, putting me in just the frame of mind in which I could most enjoy all the wonderfully delightful events of a day memorable in the Gauss family.  There is so much to tell that I hardly know where to begin, but perhaps it had better be where I left off in my letter to Theodore on Saturday, the 28th, from Hildesheim.  That afternoon, cousin Carl arrived and sent up his card and later we had supper together.  The next morning, a very hot one, by the way, under his guidance and that of his wife's nephew, we started out on our three-hours' walk, first going past the building from which the wire was stretched  to the church;  I remember that your Father said he had assisted in doing this.  We then went to the cemetery, a beautiful one, no longer used, and not so very far from the Observatory.  In it are beautiful trees without number and every grave is covered with English ivy.  It was growing thickly on Gauss' grave and I send a few leaves.  There's an iron fence and the stone is Gothic in design.  Toward the top is a bronze bas relief of the head of Gauss, a little larger than the one on our medallions, the rest of the stone being of Scotch granite.  On it is the name, also the dates of birth and death, nothing more.  From the cemetery we walked to the park and saw the statue of Gauss and Weber.  Gauss is sitting, holding between his fingers the end of a reel or long spool of wire which lies at his feet.  The statue is bronze on a pedestal of brown Scotch granite.  It's impressive, but we still like the one in Berlin better.  We then went to the Observatory and Prof. Dr. L. Ambronn, who is in charge there, received us with the greatest kindness and interest, giving Helen some pictures of Bessel, etc.  By the way, one is like the curly-headed picture we have, with the name of Gauss underneath, a mistake of the printer , for it is Bessel.  Professor Ambronn told us that the place of Gauss had never been filled, that his work had been divided into divisions, three I believe, and that a number of professors have been assigned to each division.  His work still goes on in this way.  And another professor told us yesterday that there are in his unpublished works, mines of wealth which are gradually being unearthed, for "Many of his discoveries were so far in advance of his time, that he never took the trouble to publish them, since there was no one who could understand them".  As the inscription below the Munich picture said, "He carried within himself the science of the coming centuries".  This gentleman said yesterday (he comes to Columbia to lecture on mathematics occasionally), just after the addresses had been delivered, - "the name of Gauss will live long after the German Empire is forgotten", - summing up what was said in the addresses, though it wouldn't have been a nice thing to say publicly, especially as the Emperor was a generous contributor towards the fund for the Tower.
        But to return to our visit to the Observatory; we saw in glass cases, Gauss' black silk cap, letters, manuscripts, etc., also seven or eight large cases of books, for it seems his library was bought and all returned to the Observatory, or perhaps it was never taken away.  then there are large cases of his published works and his unpublished  manuscripts.  On the wall in the room where he died is the inscription on a bronze tablet, which I send.  We got it on the Tower grounds yesterday, for hundreds of the different Gauss cards were for sale for the Tower fund.  they were carried in decorated baskets, by many young ladies.  In the Observatory, a very solid, good-looking   ?   *  , we also saw the telescope and instruments of various kinds, which are used there.  They are in the large rooms used by Gauss for observations, experiments, etc.
        We saw much of this interesting town of 35,000 inhabitants, as we walked about in the blazing sun, and still more at a distance yesterday, when we took a short automobile ride with our cousins.  We circled the town on the hills which surround it and found the shaded roads and attractive residence streets all that we could have wished.  We spent the evening with our cousins, for by that time Carl Gauss, Jr. from Freiburg, had arrived.  He's a nice fellow, full of jokes and fun, while his father is exceedingly serious, much of the time looks even melancholy, and talks little, though is very friendly.
        Yesterday dawned bright and it was cooler than any day we've had this week, for a good breeze made it comfortable, the five of us had breakfast together, as we have all our meals.  Then we walked a short distance to the Library, the University Library of course, in which is the marble bust of Gauss, of which ours in the hall is an exact copy, size and all.  It's in the original library room, and in it are many books and a dozen or more busts, but only two are of heroic size, that of Gauss just at the entrance of the room and that of Liebnitz at the other side.  the bust that interests us is very fine, much more beautiful in the marble than in our plaster replica.  We were taken through any number of rooms filled with books on every conceivable subject in some of which were busts, and we learned that the library has over half-a-million volumes (600,000), which in value outrank the books in any library in Germany.  We then took the short drive I've mentioned, came home, dressed, had a light lunch, and started by train at one o'clock for the village of Dransfeld.  It took us perhaps fifteen minutes.  Our train seemed full and a special for the occasion followed a few minutes later.  On our arrival at Dransfeld our carriages were waiting, Mary, Helen and I going in one, the men in another.  As we drove through the little village, it was literally wreathed in green, for evergreens were used to thickly frame almost all the doors and windows in sight, and thick ropes of evergreen  extended from one side of the street to the other as we drove along.  The name of the Gauss Tower was framed with evergreen here and there, and thickly scattered through all the evergreen decorations everywhere were small   ?   .  It was a delightful surprise, for we never dreamed of their so honoring the day.  we drove for perhaps   ?    through a more hilly and picturesque country than any we've seen in Germany.  In the foreground were carefully tilled fields with their crops of green and gold, the level hills framing it all.  On our arrival at Hohenhagen, the highest hill near Goettingen, we walked through a path under the thick pines to the foot of the Tower, which looked far more lofty and solid than I thought it would.  By the way, the Bismarck Memorial Tower is also far-distant from the town, on a hill which can be reached only by a walk of an hour or more or by driving.  As I've indicated, our Tower looks as solid as the foundations of the earth, and is six stories in height.  A covered piazza, all stone, of course, is on two sides, on another is another entrance, the main one below a round tower effect.  But you can form your own impression better from the picture.  The speakers stood on the top of the steps in the foreground.  We met Mr. Giesecke, his two brothers and their families, first, all as nice to us as it's possible to be. They stood among the throng of frock-coated, silk-hatted men at the foot of the Tower, for all the men were dressed in that way, and the silk hats, I'm sure, covered finer brains than those in any assemblage in which I've ever been.  something in the very air told us that we were among picked men, the best that the German Empire could produce.  As I've said, they were there in large numbers, the ability to guess how many is not mine, however.  then there were great numbers of ladies, old and young, among them a number who spoke English to me.  The top of the hill, near the steps, where one enters the Tower, was covered with people, still we didn't feel lost in the great number around us.  Mr. Giesecke and others introduced more fine-looking men to us than I could count, not to mention the ladies, who were so lovely to us, and lovely women.  among the men who were introduced was the head ("Präsident") of the Electrical Department of the German Government, and at the same time the representative of the Postal Department of the Government - Mr. Giesecke's successor.  He had come from Berlin for the occasion.  then we liked very much the President of the University of Goettingen, who made the third address; but the learned men, with charming, friendly manners, who were presented are now like the colors of a kaleidoscope, all a confused mass for the most part, even their names forgotten.  All this meeting of people occupied almost an hour I should think, and I mustn't forget to say that we liked both the architect of the Tower and the sculptor who made the new bust of Gauss (we have a picture) which is in it's chief room, where are also copies of the electrical apparatus used by Gauss in telegraphing, a copy of the Heliotrope, the instrument he invented for measuring distance, etc.  By the way,. the two other angles of the triangle (Hohenhagen being one) are from 30 to 50 miles distant.
        Mr. Giesecke made the first address and he has a delightful personality, is evidently warmhearted and genial.  A speaker for the State followed and the President of the University came next.  All the addresses were fine, they (Helen and Mary) say, though they didn't seem to care so much for the speaker for the State; during his address he called for cheers for the Emperor, the band that had been playing taking the initiative.  It was after this address that the professor who sometimes lectures at Columbia University made the remark I've repeated, saying, "He should have said that the name of Gauss will live" etc. etc.  After the addresses, Cousin Carl Gauss walked to the top of the steps from which the other addresses had been given.  He looked handsome, even distinguished, and evidently had no thought of self, as in an easy, natural manner and with feeling, he spoke for the descendants of Gauss, both in Europe and America, thanking those who had thus honored their great ancestor.  when he told of his question to Gauss when six years old, and of Gauss' reply "I already am something" - there was a little outburst of smiles and laughing appreciation of its truth from all.  We were then the first to enter the Tower, which was then first thrown open, Mr. Giesecke and a few others going in at the same time.  Later, the assemblage entered sixty at a time.  The Gauss bust on it's pedestal was the first thing that met our eyes, at it's foot an immense wreath of laurel tied with wide ribbon.  the bust is white marble and very different from any we've seen.  Helen likes it best, I don't.  In it Gauss looks much older than he does in any bust or full length figure in bronze that we have seen of him, unlike any portrait of him also.  the face is thinner, more careworn, sadder, there being great sweetness in it's expression.  On the head is the cap.  they have given us two photographs (one we send to Cousin Robert).  Many were shown and the sculptor was given high praise.  On the walls of this room were pictures of the "Gauss" which sailed to the Antarctic, and the "Gauss Berg" or island in that sea; there's nothing else on the walls and in the room, only the bust and copies of the apparatus Gauss invented.  We then climbed endless stairs and finally reached the highest point of observation, which is a broad porch extending all around the Tower, just inside the stone railing, which you see in the picture. the view is very extended and beautiful, and often, they say, the other points of the famous triangle are visible.  after all this we were asked to go to a large covered booth, a permanent one, for they say it will be much used by visitors, where coffee, tea, etc. were served, all very nice, and we had much friendly chat there with many people.  It was then time to return and we were asked to take tea with Mr. Giesecke's brother and his wife in Dransfeld.  This brother is the pastor of the church there and lives in a very comfortable, plain house.  When we entered it, the first thing we saw was a long table in the diningroom, covered with all the nice things you can think of, meats, salads, cheese, jellies, cakes, coffee, tea, etc. etc.  Many other people came, most of them were men, perhaps two-dozen in all.  Among them was Herr Geheimrat Giesecke, friendlier than ever.  He sent you his kindest regards more than once, as did Cousin Carl and his son - they left an hour ago.   This kindness in the matter of the "spread" was fully appreciated by us, as it deserved to be, for I'm sure the pastor's wife had herself prepared many of the nice things.  We could only thank them.  We reached our hotel about nine, after a wonderful day, brimful fo pleasure, heaped up, pressed down, and running over, from first to last.  It was a noble, soul-uplifting joy that we felt in seeing a simple life, well-lived, so honored and reverenced.  One speaker said, "The name of Gauss will live as long as the mind of man with the aid of electricity masters space", and that "the places which a good man has trod are consecrated - after a hundred years his word and work ring down the ages", - the latter from Goethe closed the address of Mr. Giesecke.  ..........................................

Helen.             

* handwriting of good appearance, but hard to read.