163c. Mother (Johanna Christiane Erdmuthe) Schlegel to Wilhelm Schlegel: Hannover 1796 [*]
[Hannover 1796]
Dearest Wilhelm,
Let me thank you for your childlike trust in me and for letting me know about your alliance. May God grant his blessings; I am confident you two will prove yourselves worthy of them, and if my own ardent, daily prayers can help at all, then you both will surely be happy. Give my warm regards to your Caroline. I would really like to get to know her. — —
Is your Caroline also in good health? I would also really like to hear a lot about her situation, also about her financial circumstances. What does her mother live from? It goes without saying now that you have probably completely given up your plans to go to America. [1] — —
Notes
[*] Source: Waitz (1882) 30–31. Passages Waitz did not include are indicated by “—.” Hannover is located ca. 50 km northwest of Braunschweig, though it is not always entirely certain where Wilhelm was currently to be reached (Rudolf Koch and Fritz Kredel, Deutschland und angrenzende Gebiete [Leipzig 1937]):
[1] The subject of Wilhelm and Caroline emigrating to America had been an unresolved issue in various family members’ letters; see Friedrich to Wilhelm on 20 May and 16 June 1795 (letters 150a, 150c), Mother Schlegel to Wilhelm in August 1795 (letter 152e), Friedrich to Caroline on 2 October 1795 (letter 157), Karl Schlegel to Wilhelm on 23 August 1795 (letter 154a) (John Reid, General Map of North America Drawn from the Best Surveys 1795 [1796]):
Translation © 2011 Doug Stott