44

THE  SOCIALISM  OF  TO-DAY.

where  at  that  time  all  the  new  ideas  took  their  rise,  in  1845  he
visited  Paris.
He  was  cordially  received  by  Heine,  who  was  greatly
drawn  to  him  from  the  similarity  of  their  origin,  their  thoughts,
and  the  turn  of  their  minds.  Nevertheless  the  poet,  whose
sharp  penetration  went  to  the  bottom  of  all  characters,  perfectly
judged  his  brilliant  countryman  in  a  letter  of  introduction  to
Varnhagen  von  Ense  :  “  My  friend,  Herr  Lassalle,  who  is  the
bearer  of  this  letter,  is  a  young  man  of  the  most  remarkable
intellettual  gifts.  He  joins  a  strength  of  will  and  a  dexterity
of  action  which  are  fairly  astonishing,  to  the  profoundest  learning, ­
  the  widest  knowledge,  and  the  quickest  penetration  I  have
ever  met  with.  He  is  a  true  child  of  thq  new  era,  knowing
nothing  of  that  modesty  and  self-abnegation  which  we  of  the
old  school  affect  with  more  or  less  hypocrisy.  He  belongs  to
a  new  generation  who  desire  to  enjoy  and  to  rule."  Heine
compares  Varnhagen  and  himself  to  grave-diggers  charged
with  the  burial  of  the  past,  and  to  poor  hens  who,  having
hatched  duck’s  eggs,  are  amazed  to  see  their  ducklings  take
to  the  water  with  such  joy.
At  Berlin,‘*where  Lassalle  wished  to  establish  himself  as
a  privat  docent^  he  became  acquainted  with  all  the  literary  and
scientific  world,  which  received  him  most  cordially.  Humboldt
in  particular  took  him  into  especial  friendship,  calling  him
the  “Youthful  Prodigy”  (^Das  Wunderkind).  He  recommended ­
  him  to  his  colleagues  of  the  Institute  of  France,  when
Lassalle  made  his  second  journey  to  Paris,  Meantime,  Lassalle
continued  his  book  on  Heraclitus,  which,  however,  did  not
appear  until  nine  years  later.
About  this  time,  towards  the  end  of  1845,  he  met  at  Berlin
a  person  who  exercised  a  decided  influence  over  his  fate.  The
Countess  Sophie  von  Hatzfeld,  n'ee  Princess  von  Hatzfeld,  was
engaged  in  a  lawsuit  with  her  husband.  After  some  years
passed  quietly  in  their  hereditary  chateau  on  the  banks  of  the
Sieg,  or  in  their  house  in  Dusseldorf,  the  incompatibility  of
their  tempers  had  brought  about  a  separation  between  them,
and  the  countess  was  suing  for  a  pension  proportional  to  her
rank  and  fortune.  She  was  extremely  quick-witted  and  elo-