The name is absent

early experiences in Canada had brought him into close touch
with one of the worst features of British foreign policy. It is to
Seume’s great credit that he tries to be fair even in his account of
those days. His opinion of the English can certainly be taken to
have been that of the majority of intelligent observers on the
continent at the turn of the century. Therefore it should be worth-
while to study Seume’s experiences with the English in North
America, insofar as these have not been investigated previously,
to review Seume’s meetings with Britons on his other travels, and
to learn of his observations and opinions on English life and politics.

I

Seume’s experiences as a Hessian conscript during the Revolu-
tionary War have been treated in some none too recent articles,⁸
all based on his own account of these years in the unfinished Mein
Leben (W, I, 57-98). This study will attempt to throw some light
on his experiences with Englishmen throughout his life, and will
therefore also dwell on his stay in Nova Scotia. However, since all
of Seume’s writings and other sources shall be used, it should be
possible in this first section to enlarge on previous investigations
of his American adventures, although our main attention is to be
directed to his meetings with and observations on Englishmen.

In his posthumously published autobiography Seume narrates
that, when he attended the Nicolaischule in Leipzig, he bought at
the age of sixteen (1779), “a history or geography in nineteen
volumes written by some old codger whose name I have forgotten,
for one thaler. Schafer [Seume’s classmate] was glad to be rid
of the pigskin so as to have more room ; yet I studied hugely in the
old opuscule to make up for my deficiencies, so that I really be-
lieve I learned more from it than from many a wearying and costly
lecture. When I was able to appraise the book, I got rid of it with
little loss and much gain” (W, I, 46). This anonymous old book
may well have started turning the wheels that made Seume one of
the famous travelers of the period. One year after this episode,
when he was enrolled at Leipzig University for the study of
theology, he decided to leave for Paris without telling anyone of
his plans. He promptly fell into the hands of a Hessian press gang
and was eventually sent to Canada. After the Peace of Versailles
he was returned to Germany and, escaping from the Hessians, fell
into the clutches of the Prussians. Twice having attempted escape
from them and always being recaptured, Seume finally succeeded

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