inning of
their work all seemed simple and easy, but they soon came upon
difficulties both as regards the teaching and the training of the
children entrusted to them. As our former conversations had so often
turned upon these very subjects they now came to me to consult me,
especially about mathematical teaching and arithmetic, and we set apart
two hours a week, in which I gave them instruction on these matters.
From this moment our mutual interchange of thought again became animated
and continuous.

* * * * *

Here the autobiography breaks off abruptly. Herr Wichard Lange had some
trouble in deciphering it from Froebel's almost unreadable rough draft,
and here and there he had even to guess at a word or so. Froebel had
intended to present this letter to the Duke of Meiningen at the close of
1827, when the negotiations began to be held about a proposed National
Educational Institution at Helba, to be maintained by the duke, after
the similar proposal made to the Prince of Rudolstadt for Quittelsdorf
earlier in the year had broken down. It is not known whether the present
draft was ever finished, properly corrected, and polished into permanent
form, nor whether it was ever delivered to the duke. It is highly
probable that we have here all that Froebel accomplished towards it. It
may be added that soon after Froebel's repeated plans and drafts for the
Helba Institution had culminated in the final extensive well-known plan
of the spring of 1829, the whole scheme fell through, from the jealousy
of the prince's advisers, who feared Froebel's influence too much to
allow him ever to get a footing amongst them.

Another fragment of autobiography, going on to a further period of his
life, occurs in a long letter to the philosopher Krause,[85] dated
Keilhau, 24th March, 1828, in reply to an article written by Krause five
years before (1823) in Oken's journal, the well-known _Isis_[86] in
which article Krause had found fault with Froebel's two explanatory
essays on Keilhau, written in 1822, separately published, and appearing
also in the _Isis_, because Keilhau was there put forward as "an
educational institution for all Germany" (Allgemeine Deutsche
Erziehungs-Anstalt), whereas Krause desired it should rather style
itself "a German institution for universal culture" (Deutsche Anstalt
fuer Allgemeine menschliche Bildung). The rapid growth of Keilhau gave
Froebel at the time no leisure for controve