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me； and， as I caught and tickled them ， they made a great noise。 The
doctor is a formal sort of personage： he adjusts the plaits of his ruffles，
and continually settles his frill whilst he is talking to you ； and he
thought my conduct beneath the dignity of a sensible man。 I could perceive
this by his countenance。 But I did not suffer myself to be disturbed。
I allowed him to continue his wise conversation ， whilst I rebuilt the
children's card houses for them as fast as they threw them down。 He went
about the town afterward， plaining that the judge's children were
spoiled enough before ， but that now Werther was pletely ruining them。
Yes ， my dear Wilhelm， nothing on this earth affects my heart so much
as children。 When I look on at their doings ； when I mark in the little
creatures the seeds of all those virtues and qualities which they will
one day find so indispensable ； when I behold in the obstinate all the
future firmness and constancy of a noble character； in the capricious，
that levity and gaiety of temper which will carry them lightly over the
dangers and troubles of life， their whole nature simple and unpolluted，
—— then I call to mind the golden words of the Great Teacher of mankind，
〃Unless ye bee like one of these ！〃 And now ， my friend， these children，
who are our equals， whom we ought to consider as our models， we treat
them as though they were our subjects。 They are allowed no will of their
own。 And have we， then ， none ourselves ？ Whence es our exclusive
right ？ Is it because we are older and more experienced？ Great God！
from the height of thy heaven thou beholdest great children and little
children， and no others； and thy Son has long since declared which afford
thee greatest pleasure。 But they believe in him ， and hear him not ，
——that， too， is an old story； and they train their children after
their own image ， etc。 Adieu ， Wilhelm： I will not further bewilder
myself with this subject。
JULY 1。 The consolation Charlotte can bring to an invalid I experience
from my own heart ， which suffers more from her absence than many a poor
creature lingering on a bed of sickness。 She is gone to spend a few days
in the town with a very worthy woman， who is given over by the physicians，
and wishes to have Charlotte near her in her last moments。 I acpanied
her last week on a visit to the Vicar of S——， a small village in the
mountains ， about a league hence。 We arrived about four o'clock： Charlotte
had taken her little sister with her。 When we entered the vicarage court，
we found the good old man sitting on a bench before the door， under the
shade of two large walnut…trees。 At the sight of Charlotte he seemed to
gain new life ， rose ， forgot his stick ， and ventured to walk toward
her。 She ran to him ， and made him sit down again； then ， placing herself
by his side ， she gave him a number of messages from her father， and
then caught up his youngest child ， a dirty， ugly little thing， the
joy of his old age， and kissed it。 I wish you could have witnessed her
attention to this old man ，——how she raised her voice on account of
his deafness； how she told him of healthy young people ， who had been
carried off when it was least expected； praised the virtues of Carlsbad，
and mended his determination to spend the ensuing summer there ； and
assured him that he looked better and stronger than he did when she saw
him last。 I ， in the meantime， paid attention to his good lady。 The
old man seemed quite in spirits ； and as I could not help admiring the
beauty of the walnut…trees， which formed such an agreeable shade over
our heads ， he began ， though with some little difficulty ， to tell
us their history。 〃As to the oldest ，〃 said he ， 〃we do not know who
planted it，—— some say one clergyman ， and some another ： but the
younger one ， there behind us， is exactly the age of my wife， fifty
years old next October； her father planted it in the morning ， and in
the evening she came into the world。 My wife's father was my predecessor
here， and I cannot tell you how fond he was of that tree ； and it is
fully as dear to me。 Under the shade of that very tree， upon a log of
wood， my wife was seated knitting， when I ， a poor student ， came
into this court for the first time， just seven and twenty years ago。〃
Charlotte inquired for his daughter。 He said she was gone with Herr Schmidt
to the meadows， and was with the haymakers。 The old man then resumed
his story ， and told us how his predecessor had taken a fancy to him ，
as had his daughter likewise； and how he had bee first his curate ，
and subsequently his successor。 He had scarcely finished his story when
his daughter returned through the garden， acpanied by the above…mentioned
Herr Schmidt。 She weled Charlotte affectionately ， and I confess I
was much taken with her appearance。 She was a lively…looking， good…humoured
brunette， quite petent to amuse one for a short time in the country。
Her lover （for such Herr Schmidt evidently appeared to be） was a polite，
reserved personage， and would not join our conversation， notwithstanding
all Charlotte's endeavours to draw him out。 I was much annoyed at observing，
by his countenance， that his silence did not arise from want of talent，
but from caprice and ill…humour。 This subsequently became very evident，
when we set out to take a walk， and Frederica joining Charlotte， with
whom I was talking， the worthy gentleman's face， which was naturally
rather sombre ， became so dark and angry that Charlotte was obliged to
touch my arm， and remind me that I was talking too much to Frederica。
Nothing distresses me more than to see men torment each other ； particularly
when in the flower of their age ， in the very season of pleasure ， they
waste their few short days of sunshine in quarrels and disputes ， and
only perceive their error when it is too late to repair it。 This thought
dwelt upon my mind； and in the evening ， when we returned to the vicar's，
and were sitting round the table with our bread end milk， the conversation
turned on the joys and sorrows of the world ， I could not resist the
temptation to inveigh bitterly against ill…humour。 〃We are apt，〃 said
I ， 〃to plain ， but … with very little cause ， that our happy days
are few ， and our evil days many。 If our hearts were always disposed
to receive the benefits Heaven sends us ， we should acquire strength
to support evil when it es。〃 〃But，〃 observed the vicar's wife ， 〃we
cannot always mand our tempers ， so much depends upon the constitution
： when the body suffers， the mind is ill at ease。〃 〃I acknowledge that，
〃 I continued ； 〃but we must consider such a disposition in the light
of a disease， and inquire whether there is no remedy for it。〃 〃I should
be glad to hear one ，〃 said Charlotte： 〃at least， I think very much
depends upon ourselves； I know it is so with me。 When anything annoys
me， and disturbs my temper ， I hasten into the garden ， hum a couple
of country dances ， and it is all right with me directly。〃 〃That is what
I meant ，〃 I replied ； 〃ill…humour resembles indolence： it is natural
to us ； but if once we have courage to exert ourselves ， we find our
work run fresh from our hands ， and we experience in the activity from
which we shrank a real enjoyment。〃 Frederica listened very attentively
： and the young man objected ， that we were not masters of ourselves，
and still less so of our feelings。 〃The question is about a disagreeable
feeling ，〃 I added ， 〃from which every one would willingly escape ，
but none know their own power without trial。 Invalids are glad to consult
physicians， and submit to the most scrupulous regimen， the most nauseous
medicines ， in order to recover their health。〃 I observed that the good
old man inclined his head ， and exerted himself to hear our discourse
； so I raised my voice ， and addressed myself directly to him。 We preach
against a great many crimes ，〃 I observed， 〃but I never remember a sermon
delivered against ill…humour。〃 〃That may do very well for your town clergymen，
〃 said he ： 〃coun