When
he appeared that large assembly rose to greet him as one man; and
Middendorff, too, who was inseparable from Froebel, so that when one
appeared the other was not far off, had before his death (in 1853) the
joy of hearing a similar congress at Salzungen declare the system of
Froebel to be of world-wide importance, and to merit on that account
their especial consideration and their most earnest examination.
A few words on Middendorff, culled from Lange's account, may be
serviceable. Middendorff was to Froebel as Aaron was to Moses. Froebel,
in truth, was "slow of speech and of a slow tongue" (Exod. iv. 10), and
Middendorff was "his spokesman unto the people" (v. 16). It was the
latter's clearness and readiness of speech which won adherents for
Froebel amongst people who neither knew him nor could understand him. In
1849 Middendorff had immense success in Hamburg; but when Froebel came,
later on, to occupy the ground thus conquered beforehand, he had to
contend against much opposition, for every one missed the easy eloquence
of Middendorff, which had been so convincing. Dr. Wichard Lange came to
know Froebel when the latter visited Hamburg in the winter of 1849-50.
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