The last Lecture in the Deutscher Verein Course.

A large number were present in Sever 11 last evening to hear Professor A. A. Ripley lecture on "Goethe as Autobiographer." Germany, Professor Ripley said, now enjoys a national life and has a deep and dignified national literature, in which Goethe stands supreme. We must become acquainted with Goethe as a man, however, that we may know his true worth. With a view to the study of Goethe's life and works the Goethe society was organized. This society is engaged particularly in examining the manuscripts of Goethe, which, owing to the extinction of his family, have come into the possession of the German government. The light which these manuscripts have thrown on Goethe's writings and character is invaluable.

About one sixth of Goethe's works are autobiographical. Of these Professor Ripley devoted his attention to "Dichtung und Wahrheit" and "Italienische Reise." In writing the former Goethe's immediate object was to furnish to his readers a key so aid their apprehension and appreciation of the works he had already published. In this work, three volumes of which appeared in 1811, 1812 and 1813 respectively, Goethe gives a story of his early life. Many contemporary portraits also are included, among which that of Goethe's father, is especially valuable. "Truth and Fiction" is a very misleading translation of the title of this work. Wahrheit we expect to find, but Dichtung seems mysterious at first; it is evident, however, that the latter word refers to the perspective into which Goethe threw his narrative, and according to which the leading events of his early life were given prominence. In the first three volumes of "Dichtung und Wahrheit," Goethe's literary art is of a very high order; but in the fourth volume, which extends over fifteen years, the style is rambling and disjointed.

The "Italian Journey" was prepared after the first three volumes of "Dichtung und Wahrheit" had appeared. It is an easy running narrative, composed of journals and letters to various people. The work appeared in two volumes, the original manuscripts from which Goethe made up the first volume have just been published, and it is seen that he cut out the personal elements in preparing the work for the public. Goethe made a rare use of his eyes in travelling-not that he saw everything, but it is wonderful what an amount he did see. It is interesting, too, to note how the desire to inquire into the causes of things, and how the love of science had grown upon him, when he wrote the "Italian Journey." If Goethe the man is worth knowing; if he be the chief figure in modern letters, we must study the record of his life.