und dort wirken, sagt Diesterweg: „Die tiefe, unvertilgbare Wirkung der Eindrücke in der Jugendzeit kann man der allgemeinen Erfahrung entnehmen, daß, während dem hochbetagten Greise alle Erlebnisse seiner Mannes= jahre entschwinden, jene lebendig bleiben. Der Greis geht im Traume noch in die Schule. Die Schulzeit ist ein Lichtbild." Bei allen thatkräftigen, geweckten Men= schen sind es, außer den Erinnerungen an Schulereignisse und Erlebnisse, zumeist die an Lieder und Gedichte, welche ihr jugendliches Gemüth ergriffen und entzückten, die ju= belnde Seele mit unzerreißbaren Banden fesselten und die hervorgezauberten Bilder und Stimmungen unver= tilgbar in das kindliche Herz eingruben. Wenn dann einst in späten Jahren die wohlbekannten Liedertöne ihr Ohr treffen, oder ein Gedicht eine verwandte Saite des Herzens anschlägt, da, wie mit einem Zauberstabe berührt, verjüngt sich das alte Herz, und warm und sonnig quellen hervor aus der Tiefe der Erinnerung die seligen Zeiten der Kindheit. Aber wer die Kindheit im Herzen wiederholt und bewahrt, der befestigt und orientirt sich in der Grundveste der Menschennatur, im idyllischen und himmlischen Zeitalter seines Lebens." (Golt.) Vorstehendes möge das Erscheinen dieser Sammlung erklären. 28 Linden Str., Cleveland, D. November, 1878. L. R. K. PREFACE. INSTEAD of a preface from the pen of the compiler, the following thoughts may find a place here, which are adapted and translated from an essay in the "Erziehungs-Blätter" (No. 3, Volume 8): Classical poems and wise sayings, when memorized, serve the child as bright stars, which afterward will illumine its care strewn course through life; they are the good genii, who will prevent it from sinking into the trivialities of life; they offer comfort, strength and instruction in all situations, give encouragement for a deeper scarch among the charming treasures of literature. Goethe's maxim: "One should read at least one good poem a day," ought not to be forgotten. Beautiful precepts and truths, expressed in good poetry, will ever exercise a beneficial influence, and young and old will enjoy them, as though they were their own thoughts. “That which gives nourishment to the soul in its inmost depths, the mother's milk, so to speak, of the soul, are those deep, ever vivid recollections of youth. He who is void of these is lacking the very fountain of true devotion." (Auerbach.) Diesterweg, the great German educational reformer, says of the recollections of youth which act upon and enliven the deepest strata of man's inner life: "The powerful and indelible effect of impres 66 sions the mind gains while young, may be proven by this one general experience, that while in the memory of an old man all events of his manhood vanish, those of his childhood remain vivid and bright. A person of advanced age goes to school in his mid-day-dreams. His schooltime is a bright, sunny spot in his life." Nothing seems to take root so well in the memory of energetic persons, aside from impressions of school events and experiences, as poetry which seized upon and delighted the young soul, chained it with unbreakable fetters to its impressions, and fixed upon it indelibly images and tints which never fade. However much these may be covered by the experiences of later life, they are ever ready to be conjured up. When, in after-life, the well-known melodies of songs fall upon the ear, or now and then a familiar rhyme touches a sensitive chord of the heart, there! as if touched by the charming-rod, the old encrusted heart is rejuvenated, and warm and odorous gushes up from the lowest strata of the memory its blissful time of childhood. "He who often reviews and keeps fresh his childhood in heart, gives new strength to the very groundwork of human nature, namely, to the idyllic and divine era of his life." (Goltz.) The foregoing may serve to explain the appearance of this collection. 28 LINDEN ST., CLEVELAND, O. November, 1878. L. R. K. sions the mind gains while young, may be proven by this one general experience, that while in the memory of an old man all events of his manhood vanish, those of his childhood remain vivid and bright. A person of advanced age goes to school in his mid-day-dreams. His schooltime is a bright, sunny spot in his life." Nothing seems to take root so well in the memory of energetic persons, aside from impressions of school events and experiences, as poetry which seized upon and delighted the young soul, chained it with unbreakable fetters to its impressions, and fixed upon it indelibly images and tints which never fade. However much these may be covered by the experiences of later life, they are ever ready to be conjured up. When, in after-life, the well-known melodies of songs fall upon the ear, or now and then a familiar rhyme touches a sensitive chord of the heart, there! as if touched by the charming-rod, the old encrusted heart is rejuvenated, and warm and odorous gushes up from the lowest strata of the memory its blissful time of childhood. "He who often reviews and keeps fresh his childhood in heart, gives new strength to the very groundwork of human nature, namely, to the idyllic and divine era of his life." (Goltz.) The foregoing may serve to explain the appearance of this collection. 28 LINDEN ST., CLEVELAND, O. November, 1878. L. R. K. |