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454 TESTIMONY OF CONTEMPORARIES. [Doc. 256.
and afterwards of going to London, whence he intends to
embark for Sweden.
I shall never forget, as long as I live, the leave which he
took of me in my own house. It seemed to me as if this
truly venerable old man (it is perhaps an inherent fault of
mine, but as long as I can remember, I have felt immoderately
drawn to little, as well as to old, children), was much more
eloquent this last time, and spoke differently from what I ever
heard him speak before. He admonished me to continue in
goodness, and to acknowledge the Lord for my God. "If it
pleases God, I shall once more come to you in Amsterdam ;*
for I love you." "O my worthy Mr. Swedenborg," I interrupted
him, "this will probably not take place in this world, for I,
at least, do not attribute to myself a long life." "This you
cannot know," he continued, "we are obliged to remain as
long in the world, as the Divine Providence and Wisdom see
fit. If any one is conjoined with the Lord, he has a foretaste
of the eternal life in this world ; and if he has this, he no
longer cares so much about this transitory life. Believe me,
if I knew that the Lord would call me to Himself to-morrow,
I would summon the musicians to-day, in order to be once
more really gay in this world." In order to feel what I felt
then, you would have had to hear the old man say this in
his second childhood. This time also he looked so innocent
and so joyful out of his eyes, as I had never seen him look
before. I did not interrupt him, and was, as it were, dumb
with astonishment. He then saw a Bible lying on my desk,
while I was thus gazing quietly before me, and he could
easily see the state of my mind, he took the book, and opened
it at this passage : 1 John v, 20, 21. "Read these words,"
he said, and then closed the book again, "But that you may
not forget them, I will rather put them down for you;" and
in saying these words he dipped the pen into the ink in order
to write them on the leaf which is preserved here ; his hand,
however, trembled, as may be seen from the figure 1. This,
however, I could not bear, wherefore I asked him in a friendly
* Dr. Scheler adds here in a footnote : "Cuno added here a marginal
note to this effect, ’He was true to his word, for I have conversed with
him on change here, on September 10, 1770.’ "
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