His interest in his nephew led him to make friendly advances to the
father as well as to the daughters, and he spent many pleasant hours
with them. On rare occasions he assumed his old air of happy boisterous
humor, when young people were about. He greatly enjoyed singing Goethe's
"Song of the Flea," calling out as the flea is killed: "Now he'll be
smashed! Now he'll be smashed!" (_jetzt wird er gegnaxt!_) making a
crash on the instrument at the word "smashed."
He came to them once after Karl had been placed in another school and
wept as he told them that his nephew had left him and gone to his
mother. The lad was recovered by the assistance of the police, and was
then placed with this family again. He once wrote a sharp letter to the
father criticising his methods in the teaching of Karl, but, on
reconsidering the matter sent word to the daughter asking her not to
show it to her father, as it was written in a blind rage, which he now
regretted. All this shows how carefully he looked after the young man's
welfare.
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