My own father was a man of means, but he
was so angry at my joining the Froebel community at Keilhau[125] that he
refused me any assistance whatever. Mistrust surrounded us on all sides
in these early years of our work; open and concealed enmities assailed
us both from near and far, and sought to embitter our lot and to nip our
efforts in the bud. None the less for this, the institution blossomed
quick and fair; but later on, through the well-known persecution
directed against associations of students, it was brought to the verge
of ruin, for the spirit of 1815 was incarnate within it, and it was this
spirit which at the time (about 1827) was the object of the extremest
irritation.[126] It would carry me too far were I to attempt to give a
complete account of these things. At times it really seemed as if the
devil himself must be let loose against us. The number of our pupils
sank to five or six, and as the small receipts dwindled more and more,
so did the burden of debt rise higher and higher till it reached a giddy
height. Creditors stormed at us from every side, urged on by lawyers who
imbrued their hands in our misery. Froebel would run out at the back
door and escape amongst the hills whenever dunning creditors appeared.
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