too, Heine became acquainted with Hegel. In his
lately published "Gestandnisse" (Confessions) he throws on Hegel's
influence over him the blue light of demoniacal wit, and confounds us by
the most bewildering double-edged sarcasms; but that influence seems to
have been at least more wholesome than the one which produced the mocking
retractations of the "Gestandnisse." Through all his self-satire, we
discern that in those days he had something like real earnestness and
enthusiasm, which are certainly not apparent in his present theistic
confession of faith.

"On the whole, I never felt a strong enthusiasm for this philosophy,
and conviction on the subject was out of question. I never was an
abstract thinker, and I accepted the synthesis of the Hegelian
doctrine without demanding any proof; since its consequences
flattered my vanity. I was young and proud, and it pleased my
vainglory when I learned from Hegel that the true God was not, as my
grandmother believed, the God who lives in heaven, but myself here
upon earth. This foolish pride had not in the least a pernicious
influence on my feelings; on the contrary, it heightened these to the
pitch of heroism. I was at that time so lavish in generosity and
self-sacrifice that I must assuredly have eclipsed the most brilliant
deeds of those good _bourgeois_ of virtue who acted merely from a
sense of duty, and simply obeyed the laws of morality."

His sketch of Hegel is irresistibly amusing; but we must warn the reader
that Heine's anecdotes are often mere devices of style by which he
conveys his satire or opinions. The reader will see that he does not
neglect an opportunity of giving a sarcastic lash or two, in passing, to
Meyerbeer, for whose music he has a great contempt. The sarcasm conveyed
in the substitution of _reputation_ for _music_ and _journalists_ for
_musicians_, might perhaps escape any one unfamiliar with the sly and
unexpected turns of Heine's ridicule.

"To speak frankly, I seldom understood him, and only arrived at the
meaning of his words by subsequent reflection. I believe he wished
not to be understood; and hence his practice of sprinkling his
discourse with modifying parentheses; hence, perhaps, his preference
for persons of whom he knew that they did not understand him, and to
whom he all the more willingly granted the honor of his familiar
acquaintance. Thus eve