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Kaspar Hauser.
03
that affair ; and although he did not really venture to use personal
violence when he was angry, he yet showed such a bitterness of
hatred that Kaspar felt an instinctive distrust of the honesty of
his guardianship. There were many disagreeable scenes between
them, and even Meyer was obliged to own that Kaspar had some
ground for complaint, and that Hickel did not observe proper
prudence in his behaviour. Kaspar often declared that he would
not submit to such tyranny much longer, and on one occasion he
exclaimed : “I would rather die than go on in this way!” where-
upon Hickel replied, tauntingly: * You can die if you want to,
and then everybody can read on your gravestone, ‘ Here lies
Kaspar, the impostor.” ”
Hickel was constantly threatening to tell Lord Stanhope of
every act of rebellion on Kaspar’s part, and Kaspar retorted that
he should tell Lord Stanhope /4s side of the story. Finally mat-
ters reached such a pass that Hickel appealed to Herr von Feuer-
bach, and Kaspar went to him also with a counter complaint.
Feuerbach saw each party separately, and Kaspar made no
secret of the grievances he had endured in silence so long. Ac-
cording to Hickel’s account, Feuerbach was shocked and dis-
gusted at Kaspar’s violence, and expressed himself in strong terms
to Hickel and Meyer, calling Kaspar ““a serpent,” “a devil,”
etc, and saying, in reference to his own early description of the
boy’s angelic disposition : “ People will say that Feuerbach was
writing a romance in his old age !”
This account rests solely upon the testimony of Meyer and
Hickel, and they differ in their statements. Feuerbach was at
that time a nervous invalid, and he may have been prejudiced for
the moment against Kaspar. But his whole conduct shows that
he took a sincere interest in the boy’s welfare, and never ceased
to work for the elucidation of the mystery of the foundling’s
origin. On this occasion he persuaded Hickel to continue in his
position as Kaspar’s chief guardian, and the difficulty was for the
‘ime arranged.
It is probable that Stanhope kept up his correspondence with
Hickel, unknown to Kaspar, and even to Meyer; for in the