CHAPTERXXII。
THEREADING。
ThishappysmilestillbeameduponGoethe\'sfaceashewalkedwiththedukelateintheeveningtowardBelvederetosoireeoftheDuchessAmelia，whowasinspiredwithaloveforthefinearts，andparticularlyliterature。Thetwogentlemenhadbusilyoccupiedthemselvesinpreparingthemfortheladyofhonor，FrauleinvonGochhausen，and，althoughaidedbyGoethe\'sservant，Philip，andworkmen，itwaslatewhentheyarrived。
Astheyentered，theladiesandgentlemenwereseatedinalargecirclearoundthecentre-table。AtoneendsattheDuchessesAmeliaandLouisa，themotherandwifeofCharlesAugustusandneartheformerherfriendandfavoritethepoetWieland，oncethetutorofhersontheduke。Nearthepoetsatanelderlygentlemanofcheerful，good-naturedmien，who，withtheexceptionofWieland，wastheonlyonewhodidnotpresenthimself，likethedukeandGoethe，inWerthercostume。Heworeawhite，silver-embroideredcoat，withadark-bluesatinvest，andbreechesofthesame，shoeswithbuckles，andbosomandwristrufflesoflace。
Thisgentleman，withthebright，sparklingeyes，andpleasantface，wasthepoetGleim，wholookedverycomfortableandstatelyinthecircleofpowderedperukes。HisadmirationforFredericktheGreathadinspiredhimtowritesomebeautifulmilitarysongs，andhisloveofpoetryandliteraturemadehimanenthusiasticadmirerofallthosedevotedthemselvestoliterarypursuits。Besides，hewasrichandliberal，anditwasverynaturalthatthepoets，andauthorsexertedthemselveswithmarkedassiduitytopleaseFatherGleim。Theyweregratifiedtohavehimprinttheirworksforasmallremunerationinanannualwhichheentitledthe“AlmanachoftheMuses。”Hewasjustreadingaloudattheduchess\'ssoireefromthelateeditionofthealmanach，andthesocietylistenedwithearnestandkindattention，occasionallyinterruptedwithanenthusiastic“Bravo！“or“Excellent！“fromtheduchess，followedbyamurmurofassentaroundthetable，whichcausedthepoet\'sfacetobrightenwithjoyandsatisfaction，andhimtoreadonwithincreasedenergy。