by his professor of Greek, had himself translated a part of the third speech to the Athenian people, and in such a way as to excite universal admiration. This translation serves as a preface to the history of Agis, and is intended to show how in the times which preceded the Macedonian invasion, the Greeks had forsaken the old simplicity of life and the old virtues that had so long contributed to their strength and happiness. The picture of this decadence has such a striking resemblance to the state of Switzerland in the last century, that the translator, in a footnote, and with a touch of irony, reminds those readers who might fancy they had detected allusions to the present time that the Athenians only are in question, and that it is Demosthenes who is speaking.

Then follows the history of Agis, that king of Sparta, who at a time when the laws of Lycurgus had fallen into neglect, had undertaken to revive them. Although brought up in luxury and idleness, he had resisted their seductions, and now lived with severe simplicity, trying to make the rich follow his example, and endeavouring to bring about a new division of land for the purpose of restoring the old conditions of equality. The attempt, however, failed, and Agis paid for it with his life.

From beginning to end of the sketch Pestalozzi eloquently preaches the cause of the reform undertaken by Agis, and one cannot help thinking that he sought in that way to prepare a new era for his country, in which the utopian schemes that then filled the thoughts of all the most generous-minded students in Zurich might be realized. But by burning all he had written, Pestalozzi now seemed to be acknowledging that he had been moving in the wrong direction, and to be condemning the system by which he had been led away.

According to several of his biographers, it was at this period of his life that he said: "I will be a schoolmaster." But this is a mistake; for he did not find his true vocation till later, when, having become a father, he gave all his best thought and care to the education of his child.

On leaving the law Pestalozzi turned to agriculture.

To follow this new direction of his thought, and to understand how it was that he saw in this fresh sphere of activity yet another way of raising the people, we must first know something of the many utopian schemes for the

improvement of agriculture which at that time found acceptance with the younger generation in Zurich.

The cultivation of the soil was making marked progress in different countries, and was held in great honour by moralists and philosophers. Stimulated by Bodmer's teaching and Rousseau's writings, the young men of Zurich saw in the improvement of this important art the salvation of the poor and a remedy for every evil. Schulthess, of Zurich, who had seen Rousseau in Geneva, used to relate that the philosopher had said to him: "Agriculture is the best and happiest of all occupations. In countries which are not free, men are compelled to become mechanics, but in free countries it is better to be an agriculturist."

In the autumn of 1765, Bodmer wrote as follows to Sulzer at Winterthur:

"The love of the country is very strong in Füssli, and still stronger in his friend Meiss, the son of the colonel, who is anxious to be a thoroughly capable farmer, and already knows more than the peasants. It is surprising how many of our best students have taken a fancy to farm-work; they have already learned to mow, and to bear heat and rain like the peasants. I am only afraid that they have begun too late. Their young friend Van Hausen began earlier, and his skill in field-work has been much admired."

To this Sulzer replied:

"My wish for Winterthur, as well as for Zurich, would be that only a small number of the leading magistrates, merchants and manufacturers should remain in the town, and that the rest of the citizens should settle in the country on small holdings, where they would live by their work on the land and lead a life, not indeed like that of our peasants, but still simple and unpretending. I think those parents who are so perplexed to know what to do with their sons, would do well to buy for each of them a small quantity of land in the country, and let them live by cultivating it. I am sorry not to have set the example myself when I was able; I think I may safely say that in a few years I should have been in a very good position." 1

1 Were not these wild schemes suggested by a vague feeling of danger?

Such were the ideas that were current amongst the students of Zurich when Pestalozzi gave up the study of law and turned his attention to agriculture. His hope was that by setting an example of an improved method to the Swiss peasants, he would enable them not only to live in comfort, but provide for their children that intellectual and moral training which is so necessary for the citizens of a republic.

Already in the manufacturing districts, the peasants, tempted by the prospect of larger wages, were flocking to the towns and joining that large class of workers who have no direct interest in the land of the country, who have nothing to fall back upon when work is slack, and who from their rapid increase have been called the proletariat.

CHAPTER III.

PESTALOZZI THE AGRICULTURIST.

Engaged to Anna Schulthess; after studying agriculture with Tschiffeli, he buys land near Birr; during the building of his house at Birr he lives at Muligen; his marriage; birth of his son; he settles in his new house: Neuhof. Failure of his enterprise.

AT the time that Pestalozzi turned his attention to agriculture, he was engaged to be married; and it is in his correspondence with his future wife that we find the most valuable information as to the thoughts and plans that now occupied him. The reader will not have forgotten the young Anna Schulthess, who gave such good advice to Pestalozzi, when, as a child, he wanted to buy sweetmeats in the shop adjoining his mother's house. The girl had great natural intelligence, and had received an unusually good education.

When her father, J. J. Schulthess, started in business at the sign of The Plough, he had already travelled much and observed much, and had everywhere sought the society of educated people. In spite of his commercial pursuits, his devotion to art and literature remained unchanged, and his house became one of the favourite resorts of men of taste and learning. The poet Klopstock himself was his guest during his visit to Zurich.

Though Anna was only a child, all this made a lasting. impression on her, for at a very early age she had understood and enjoyed both the intellectual and emotional pleasure of the study of literature and the fine arts. Her diary, from which we shall often have occasion to quote, and which, like her father, she kept all her life, is a proof of the nobleness of her nature. She was both musician and poet, and even in her old age retained her freshness of imagination. Some verses that she wrote when quite an old woman in imitation of Wordsworth's "We are seven " have been preserved. Among the men of taste and education who frequented

Schulthess's house, there was an intimate friend of Pestalozzi's called Bluntschly, a young man of remarkable intelligence and high character. Only four years older than Pestalozzi, he was in the last stage of consumption, and knew, as everybody else knew, that he must soon die. This circumstance lent a strange seriousness and sadness to the literary friendship which had sprung up between him and the young Anna. She afterwards spoke of him as follows:

"Before I can forget him I must forget myself; I can indeed never forget the charm and energy of his conversation; I did nothing without consulting him; he was gay, gentle and kind. We were in the habit of talking over the best ways of helping the poor. One day I asked his opinion of some ribbons I had to choose from. 'They are beautiful,' he said, 'but so long as your poor neighbour has more need of a few shillings than you of those ribbons

" And at once I decided to do without the ribbons and everything that was not really necessary."

Pestalozzi and Bluntschly had the same ideas and feelings and the same projects. But Bluntschly had a better knowledge of men and things; he was more prudent, his mind was more matured, and he saw how little his friend was suited for practical life. When he felt his end drawing near, he called Pestalozzi to him and said:

"I am going and you will be left alone. Avoid any career in which you might become the victim of your own goodness and trust, and choose some quiet life in which you will run no risk. Above all, do not take part in any important undertaking without having at your side a man who, by his cool judgment, knowledge of men and things, and unshakable fidelity, may be able to protect you from the dangers to which you will be exposed.'

Bluntschly died on the 24th of May, 1767, leaving Pestalozzi and Anna in deep grief. The friend they had just lost had already taught these two young people to appreciate each other, and now their common grief brought them nearer. A warm-hearted eulogy of Bluntschly that Pestalozzi wrote and offered to Anna touched her deeply and filled her with gratitude. It was by meeting every day and comparing