22 
Kaspar Hauser. 
thin down covered his lips and chin. There were no signs of hig 
« wisdom teeth,” which did not appear till 1831, three years later, 
His hair was light brown, curly, and very fine; his skin extremely 
fair and delicate; his colour pale, but not sickly; his limbs 
slender ; his hands small and beautifully shaped; his feet also 
very small, and as tender as though they had never before worn 
shoes. The soles were as soft as those of a baby, and covered 
with blisters from the recent fatigue of walking. 
Both arms showed scars of vaccination, and upon one arm was 
a wound not entirely healed. His countenance was stupid and 
brutish, the lower part of the face protruded, and his eyes, though 
clear and bright, were void of expression. When he wept, he 
puckered his face in an ugly fashion; but when pleased, a sweet 
smile made his features very attractive: it was the smile of an 
innocent child. He did not know how to use his fingers, but 
spread them out in an awkward way and grasped objects with his 
whole hand. His gait was that of a child just learning to walk, 
and the least obstacle made him lose his balance and fall 
down. 
Kaspar Hauser remained nearly two months in the Vestner 
Tower. His fellow-prisoner, for the first day, was disgusted at his 
apparent stupidity, and said he was “an ox,” but recompensed 
himself by eating Kaspar’s portion of food as well as his own, the 
boy persisting in his refusal of every kind of nourishment except- 
ing bread and water. The jailer became deeply interested in the 
strange prisoner, and, finding that he was not likely to be released, 
zave him a small room in his own suite of apartments, where he 
could be watched through a secret opening in the door not visible 
to anyone inside the room. The jailer's name was Hiltel ; he 
was a very respectable man, and thoroughly experienced in the 
iricks of rogues and criminals through his long employment in a 
police prison. After a few days’ careful observation of Kaspar 
Hauser, Hiltel declared that he was neither an impostor, nor a 
fool, nor a wild man: he was a child, and some great mystery 
must lie underneath so unnatural a condition. By day the boy 
sat still, gazing straight before him into vacancy; by night he