nner, on the other hand, Basedow
was the incarnation of a hectoring bully, as regardless of others'
feelings as he was impermeable in his own. His personal habits, also,
were a further trial, as he drank more than was good for him and lived
in an atmosphere of vile tobacco smoke. Such was the singular mortal
whose society Goethe deliberately sought and cultivated during the
next few weeks as opportunity offered.

[Footnote 180: The school was actually founded in 1774, but
subsequently, owing to quarrels with his colleagues, Basedow had to
leave it. It was closed in 1793.]

After spending some days in Frankfort, Basedow, on July 12th, set out
to join Lavater at Ems, whether at Goethe's suggestion or of his own
accord we are not told. Goethe had seen enough of Basedow to make him
wish to see more of him, and, moreover, it would be a piquant
experience to see the two incongruous apostles together. "Such a
splendid opportunity, if not of enlightenment, at least of mental
discipline," he says, "I could not, in short, let slip." Accordingly,
leaving some pressing business in the hands of his father and friends,
he followed Basedow to Ems on July 15th. Ems, then as now, was a gay
watering-place crowded with guests of all conditions, and therefore an
excellent field for the two proselytisers. Goethe did not spend his
days in the company of the two lights; while they were plying their
mission, he threw himself into the distractions of the town, as usual
making himself a conspicuous figure by his overflowing spirits and his
practical jokes. Only at night, when he did not happen to have a
dancing partner, did he snatch a moment to pay a visit to Basedow,
whom he found in a close, unventilated room, enveloped in tobacco
smoke, and dictating endlessly to his secretary from his couch; for it
was one of Basedow's peculiarities that he never went to bed. On one
occasion Goethe had an excellent opportunity of observing the
contrasted characters of the two prophets. The three had gone to
Nassau to visit the Frau von Stein, mother of the statesman, and a
numerous company had been brought together to meet them. All three had
the opportunity of displaying their special gifts; Lavater his skill
in physiognomy, Goethe the gift he had inherited from his mother of
story-telling to children; but in the end Basedow asserted himself in
his most characteristic style. With a power of reasoning and a
passionate eloquence, to which both Goethe and L