Neander labored earnestly in many ways up to a few days of his death, and when the final earthly hour of work had passed he calmly said to the sorrowing friends who gathered about him, "I am weary; I will now go to sleep ;" and, as they conducted him to his bed, the place of his last repose, he whispered, with a voice of mellowing affection, "Good-night, good-night." He slumbered for four hours, and then gently and almost imperceptibly '■ breathed himself into the silent and cold sleep of death." This occurred on July 14, 185C, In his death this good man was honored as in his life. The day of his obsequies was observed as a public holi- day in Berlin. A vast procession followed the remains to the grave, stretching the length of full two miles.
NEANDER
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NEANDER
The hearse was surrounded by students bearing liglited [ candles; in front of the body, Ncander's Bible and - (Jreek Testament were carrieil. The carriages of the , king and princess of Prussia followed in the procession ; i and at the grave a solemn choral was sung bj' a thou- sand voices, and a discourse was pronounced by his friend, the noted Dr. Krummacher.
In his outward appearance Dr. Neander was a real curiosity, especially in the lecture-room. Dr. Schaff thus described him in his "Sketches of German Di- vines," as foreign correspondent of the New York Kcun- geli.it : " Think of a man of middle size, slender frame, homely, though a good-natured and benevolent face, dark and strongly Jewish complexion, deep-seated but sparkling eyes, overshadowed with an unusually strong, bushy pair of eyebrows, black hair Howing in uncombed profusion over the forehead, an old-fashioned coat, a white cravat carelessly tied — as often behind or on one side of the neck as in front — a shabby hat set aslant, jack-boots reaching above the knees; think of him either sitting at home, surroimded by books on the shelves, the table, the few chairs, and all over the floor, or walking Unter den Linden and in the Thiergarten of Berlin, leaning on the arm of his sister Hamichen or a faithful student, his eyes shut or looking half-way up to heaven, talking theology in the midst of the noise and fashion of the city, and presenting altogether a most singular contrast to the teeming life around him, stared at, smiled at, wondered at, yet resjjcctfnlly gTccted by all who knew him ; or, iinallj-, standing on the rostrum, playing with a couple of goose-quills which his aman- uensis had always to provide, constantly crossing and recrossing his feet, bent forward, frequently sinking his head to discharge a morbid How of spittle, and then again suddenly throwing it on high, especially when roused to polemic zeal against pantheism and dead for- malism, at times fairly threatening to overturn the desk, and yet all the while pouring forth with the greatest earnestness and enthusiasm, without any other help than that of some illegible notes, an uninterrupted flow of learning and thought from the deep and i)ure fountain of the inner life, and thus, with all the oddity of the outside, at once commanding the veneration and confidence of every hearer: and you have a picture of Neander, the most original phenomenon in the literary world of this 19th century" (reprinted in his Germany — its Universities, Theology, and Religion, p. 2Ci), 270).
Neander was never married, and belonged to those exceptions where celibacy' is a necessity and duty, and a means of greater usefulness in the kingdom of God. A congenial sister kept house for Neander, and attended to his wants with the most tender care. The childlike intercourse of this original couple had something very touching. He was almost as helpless as a child in matters of dress, and the story runs that he once started off for the lecture-room in his morning-gown and suns culottes, but was happily overtaken by the watchful sister; also, that once, in trying a new pair of panta- loons, he kept on the old ones, drew the left half over the right leg, and cut the other off with a i)air of scissors as superfluous ! Si nan e vero, e ben trovato. His cloth- ing was of the most simple sort, and hardly fit for a gentleman. His moderation in eating and drinking re- minded one of the self-denial of old ascetics, like St. Anthonj' of Egypt, who ate only once every three days, anil then felt ashamed, as an immortal spirit, to be in need of earthly food. Yet Neander was extremely hos()i- table, and invited his friends often to dinner, and ^yhile they were enjoying the provisions of the table he talked to them theology and religion, or branched out occa- sionally into harmless humor and the more trifling top- ics of the da}', as far as they came to his notice. His heart was open to friendship, and his faithful memory seldom forgot one who once had made an impression upon him, though he were only a transient visitor. Every stranger with proper recommendatiims was cor- dially welcome in his stmly at the luced hour of conver-
sation (between five and seven in the evening), or at his table, and he showed himself as obliging as could possi- bly be expected from a man so unpractical and helpless as Neander. Generally he plunged at once into the deepest theological discussions, ojiening his mind most freely with little prudential regard to men or circum- stances. So he shocked many a Puritan and Presbyte- rian by inviting them to dinner on Sunday, but always won their esteem and love by the ensemble of his the- ology and character. He spoke English fluently, al- though not (juite correctly. The students he gathered around him one evening every week to a social tea and familiar conversation. There he gave free vent to all that agitated his mind, and rejoiced or trouiiled his heart, concerning the state of the Church and the move- ments of theological science.