anecdotes, which he
indulges extensively in some of his writings, particularly the
autobiographical works and books of travel. The problem of making both
ends meet seems to have occupied the father less than the
gratification of his "noble passions," chief among which was card
playing. He gambled away so much money that in eight years he was
forced to sell his business and move to other parts. He purposely
continued the search for a new business as long as possible, but
finally bought an apothecary's shop in Swinemuende.

His young wife was passionate and independent, energetic and
practical, but unselfish. To her husband's democratic tendency she
opposed a strong aristocratic leaning. Their ill fortune in Neu-Ruppin
affected her nerves so seriously that she went to Berlin for treatment
while the family was moving.

In Swinemuende the father put the children in the public school, but
when the aristocratic mother arrived from Berlin she took them out,
and for a time the little ones were taught at home. The unindustrious
father was prevailed upon to divide with the mother the burden of
teaching them and undertook the task with a mild protest, employing
what he humorously designated the "Socratic method." He taught
geography and history together, chiefly by means of anecdotes, with
little regard for accuracy or thoroughness. Though his method was far
from Socratic, it interested young Theodor and left an impression on
him for life. His mother confined her efforts mainly to the
cultivation of a good appearance and gentle manners, for, as one might
perhaps expect of the daughter of a French silk merchant, she valued
outward graces above inward culture, and she avowedly had little
respect for the authority of scholars and books.

After a while an arrangement was made whereby Theodor shared for two
years the private lessons given by a Dr. Lau to the children of a
neighbor, and "whatever backbone his knowledge possessed" he owed to
this instruction. A similar arrangement was made with the private
tutor who succeeded Dr. Lau. He had the children learn the most of
Schiller's ballads by heart. Fontane always remained grateful for
this, probably because it was as a writer of ballads that he first won
recognition. If we look upon the ballad as a poetically heightened
form of anecdote we discover an element of unity in his early
education, and that will help us to understand why the technique of
his novels shows such a marked in