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my-deer-history · 3 months

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Francis Kinloch in Müller's letters to his family: Part 2

These extracts are from Johannes von Müller: Sämmtliche Werke, volume 7 (1810).

My translations here, original German and French transcriptions below the cut. Paragraph breaks added for clarity, and descriptive passages included in full for the Vibes.

19 May 1775, to his family

My situation is the happiest that you can imagine; the view from here is, beside the one from Bessinge, the most beautiful in the area; the clear view over the lake and into Switzerland is better than from Bessinge; my house is on a hill, the banks are covered with meadows, gardens and vineyards and appear to me like a great garden;

my friend is one of the most virtuous and flawless men, and our new occupation is the mutual effort to make each other ever more perfect; our business is that which I would choose from among all the occupations of humankind; everyone, even the farmers of the town, praises our quiet and industrious life.

It is quiet without being lonely, because many of our friends visit us now and then, or we them, for lunch or supper. A few days ago we were in Bessinge, yesterday Mr Tronchin came to me, on Tuesdays we are invited to dine at his home. At the end of the month, Bonstetten will come to me for a few days.

Everyone endeavours to contribute to our pleasure, and never in my life have I enjoyed something so great, so innocent, so full of learning. Although we have only been here for 19 days and are not bored, I feel like it has been 19 weeks: we have worked so much and it seems so improbable that I would be able to do all of this in so few days.

6 June 1775, to his family

An extract of a letter from Mr Thomas Boone, Esq., Mr Kinloch’s guardian: “With infinite pleasure, I assure you that of all the deeds undertaken by my young friend since he left me (and he has not done any that displease me), none have met with so much of my approval as the attainment of your friendship. If he had sought out scenes of luxury and wastefulness, he could have obtained the acquaintance of young people of the highest rank; closeness with the man of merit, genius and learning is not so easily established: planning, a desire to learn and morals are part of this. To attain your friendship, Kinloch must have had merits. As his friend, you will be pleased to hear from me that in his entire life he never made an acquaintance that was not creditable to him. I have sincerely discovered such insight, such cleverness in him, that I have decided to let him be the master of all his future dealings. I ask that you convey this to him; he will hear it with doubled pleasure from the mouth of his friend. Wherever you may be with him, he will, I am sure, learn more with you than at any other place. When he enters onto a larger stage, I will advise him thus: at present he needs no guidance but yours. I approve of your plan entirely. You made Kinloch and me happy.”

I wrote to Mr Voltaire, who lives very close to us, a few days ago to say that K and I would like to come to him. [...] As he presented Mr Kinloch to the ladies, he said: “Here is a man, who comes from the land of savages but who does not look it!” He asked me where my tutor was? And then said to those present: “this young man with the face of a fifteen-year-old is himself a tutor; but simultaneously a historian of Switzerland; he has, like Aeneas, journeyed to the shade, that is to me.” Soon thereafter we were like old acquaintances. He has published a new text on the existence of god. The tall olive-coloured savage and the young delicate Swiss historian send their friendly greetings.

July 1775, to his parents

After a few days, according to his promise, my friend Mr v. Bonstetten came to me and also stayed with us, to our great joy. Our rooms are currently all occupied and my happiness has naturally been greatly multiplied by the union of my two friends, the white and the brown.*

[...]

My friend Kinloch and I are thinking to leave Chambeisi towards the end of August. From there to Lausanne, to Vivis, through the Bernese highlands to Thun, up along the Thun and Brienz lake to Haßli, over the mountains into the Urfern valley, out to Altdorf, overland to Unterwald, overland to Schwyz, past Gersau to Lucerne and Zurich, along the lake to Glarus, down the Rhine valley to Appenzell and St Gallen, from there to Constanz, and from there to Schaffhausen, through the four forest towns to Basel, through Pierre Petruis to Solothurn, then Neufchatel, Bern, Freiburg in Uechtland, Valeyres, back to Chambeisi through Waat, where we spend the winter with the sciences and Mr Bonnet's friendship.

*Kinloch, who appears to have had a notably darker or more tanned complexion to those around him.

A map of the route, as best as I could get it to match up. Click for better quality, or view the interactive version here.

19 May 1775, to his family

Meine Lage ist die glücklichste, die du dir vorsstellen kannst; die Aussicht von hier ist nebst der von Bessinge die schönste dieser Gegenden; vor der zu Bessinge hat sie den offnern Horizont den See hinauf und in die Schweiz zum Voraus; mein Haus ist auf einem Hügel, die Ufer sind mit Wiesen, Gärten und Wein bewachsen und fallen wie ein großer Garten in mein Auge; mein Freund ist einer der tugendhaftesten und vollkommensten Männer, und unsere einige Beschäftigung ist die gegenseitige Bemühung, einander immer vollkommener zu machen; unsere Geschäfte sind solche, die ich unter allen Beschäftigungen der Menschen auswählen würde; jedermann, selbst die Bauren des Dorfs, rühmt unser stilles und arbeitsames Leben. Still ist es ohne einsam zu seyn, denn viele unserer Freunde besuchen uns bisweilen zum Mittag oder Nachtessen, und wir sie. Vor einigen Tagen waren wir zu Bessinge, gestern kam Hr. Tronchin zu mir, Dienstags sind wir eingeladen bei ihm zu speisen. Am Ende des Monats wird Bonstetten auf einige Tage zu mir kommen. Jedermann bemühet sich zu unserm Vergnügen beizutragen, und in meinem Leben habe ich nie so vieles, so unschuldiges, so lehrreiches genossen. Ob wir wohl erst 19 Tage hier sind und keine Langeweile haben scheint mir diese Zeit 19 Wochen zu seyn: so viel haben wir gearbeitet und so unwahrscheinlich scheint es mir, daß ich dies in so wenigen Tagen habe thun können.

6 June 1775, to his family

Auszug eines Briefes von Hrn. Thomas Boone, Esqu. Hrn. Kinlochs Vormund: “Mit unendlichem Vergnügen versichere ich Sie, daß unter allen Handlungen meines jungen Freundes, seit er mich verlassen (und er hat keine vorgenommen, die mir mißfallen) keine bei mir soviel Beifall gefunden, als die Erlangung Ihrer Freundschaft. Wenn er sich in Scenen von Wohlleben und Verschwendung begeben hätte, so hätte er die Bekanntschaft junger Leute vom ersten Rang erhalten können; Vertraulichkeit mit dem Mann von Verdienst, Genie und Gelehrsamkeit ist nicht so leicht errichtet: Plan, Lernbegierde und Sitten gehdren hiezu. Ihre Freundschaft zu erlangen, mußte Kinloch Verdienste haben. Sie werden als sein Freund mit Vergnügen von mir vernehmen, daß er in seinem ganzen Leben keine Bekanntschaft gemacht, die ihm nicht rühmlich gewesen. Ich entdecke wirklich solche Einsichten, solche Klugheit bei ihm, daß ich beschlossen habe, ihn künftig Meister aller seiner Handlungen zu lassen. Ich bitte Sie, sagen Sie es ihm; mit doppeltem Vergnügen wird er es aus dem Munde seines Freundes vernehmen. Wo sie auch mit ihm seyn mögen, wird er, das bin ich sicher, bei Ihnen mehr lernen, als an allen andern Orten. Wenn er ein größeres Theater betritt, so will ich ihm rathen; gegenwärtig braucht er keinen Rath als den Ihrigen. Ganz und vollkommen billige ich Ihren Plan. Sie haben Kinloch und mich glücklich gemacht.”

Hrn. von Voltaire, der ganz nahe bei uns wohnt, schrieb ich vor einigen Tagen, daß ich mit K. zu ihm kommen wolle. [...] Als er den Damen Hrn. Kinloch präsentirte, sprach er: “Sehen Sie einen Mann, der aus dem Lande der Wilden kommt und dem man's nicht ausieht!” Mich fragte er, wo mein Gouverneur sey? und dann sprach er zu den Anwesenden: “dieser junge Mann mit dem Gesicht von fünfzehn Jahren ist selbst Gouverneur; aber zusgleich des Schweizerlandes Geschichtschreiber, Er hat wie Aeneas eine Reise zu den Schatten gethan, d. i. zu mir.” Bald darauf waren wir zu Ferner wie alte Bekannte. Er hat eine neue Schrift von der Existenz Gottes herausgegeben. Der große olivenfarbige amerikanische Wilde und der junge zarte Geschichtschreiber der Schweiz entbieten ihren freundlichen Gruß

July 1775, to his parents

Nach einigen Tagen kam zufolge seiner Zusage mein Freund, der Herr v. Bonstetten, zu mir und blieb zu unsrer großen Freude ebenfalls bei uns. Unsre Zimmer sind gegenwärtig alle vertheilt und meine Glückseligkeit ist durch die Vereinigung meiner beiden Freunde, des Weißen und des Braunen, natürlicherweise sehr vermehrt worden.

[...]

Mein Freund Kinloch und ich gedenken Chambeisi gegen Ende des Augusts zu verlassen. Von da nach Lausanne, nach Vivis, durchs Oberland bis Thun, den Thuner- und Brienzersee hinauf nach Haßli, über die Berge ins Thal Urfern, hervor nach Altorf, anzuländen in Unterwalden, anzuländen in Schweiz, Gersau vorbei nach Luzern und Zürich, den See herauf nach Glarus, das Rheinthal herunter nach Appenzell und St. Gallen, von da nach Constanz, und von da nach Schaffhausen, durch die vier Waldstädte nach Basel, durch Pierre Pertuis nach Solothurn, hierauf Neufchatel, Bern, Freiburg im Uechtland, Valeyres durch die Waat zurück nach Chambeisi, woselbst wir bei den Wissenschaften und Herrn Bonnets Freundschaft den Winter zubringen.

#francis kinloch #johannes von müller #18th century history #queer history #the german version of the voltaire story was much clearer #god i love a map

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carnivalcarriondiscarded · 8 months

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if you would all allow me to be delusional for a moment - so i went back to staring Very Hard at the neighborhood map and. um. well. im chucking my marbles out the window! as always take all of this with a Hefty grain of salt!

i thought i saw a weird pixel in Frank's window so i zoomed in. then i took a screenshot, and fucked with the contrast/brightness settings. and uhhhhhh

UHHHHHH

FRANK??? HELLO???? HE'S IN THERE? i'm pretty sure im Not seeing things bc that is definitely a vague gray tube-outline with a yellow spot in the shape of Frank's nose. hidden in the dark. and i might be seeing things but in the pane next to his face it kinda looks like his hand is on the window? but! Frank's in there! what the fuck!

so naturally i slowly scrolled through the neighborhood Zoomed The Fuck In. obvi there's nothing in Home's eyes, and Barnaby's & Sally's single visible windows(?) are closed. I couldn't find any out-of-place pixels in Julie's or Poppy's.

but! Eddie's kinda freaked me out a little! look at this shit!

on the top left pane... are those fingerprints pressing into the glass? and in the lower left, is that a fucking Face peering out? a creepy ass face that almost looks like some sort of mask? there seems to be another Shape in the upper right... another face perhaps?

and then there's the weird window shine in the lower right (along with maybe Another face...). it almost looks like a string of letters. there isn't a single pattern/design like that anywhere else in the neighborhood. what's up with that....

oh and also, just went back to double check the post office's display window

there seems to be another face - all the way to the right in the darkness. judging by the shape of the paler (yellowish?) pixels between what must be eyes, i think that's Eddie. and i think i see ears and a hat... not sure though. this one is really tough to see but it's There

(side note: Eddie is totally fucked, isn't he? between the faces(?) and hands behind his door, Home sitting in his display, and the hyacinths by his building, the emphasis on his memory (or lack-thereof) in a project that is, in a sense, About memory... i'm concerned! and eating it tf up! hell yeah lets get funky!)

now i couldn't see any, like, concrete Faces or anything in Howdy's store. but! you can kinda see inside! observe~

in the big open window, you can kinda make out some sort of container on a counter and what might be shelves or a kind of brick pattern. and then above the 100% sign... hold on are those fuckign Eyes? lets take a look zoomed in & without the image adjustments!

yeah those uh. i think those are eyes. Wally-esque eyes peering out of the darkness. though they also mildly remind me of eyespots on insect wings. butterfly eyespots, perhaps. inch resting indeed...

WAIT I LIED!!! there DOES seem to be another string of letter-like symbols in the neighborhood, not just the post office's window shine. now it could be just a wild coincidence, but at the same time it seems kind of... purposeful. like that's not normal shading/coloring.

check out the blue window border on Howdy's Place, next to the apples. the lighter blue pixels seem Arranged. i think i see a clear N, and either an R or a P... along with some other symbols that i don't recognize as anything. the lower ones look kinda like faces? what could the top one be? is any of it anything or am i looking too hard?

in short: they're watching us watch them and there's way more to the map than initially meets the eye....

(edit: i've added a reblog w/ the images outlined! badly outlined but a clearer View of what i see nonetheless! + some notes on more little things outlining helped me notice)

#throttling my laptop WHAT DOES IT MEAN??? WHAT DOES IT MEANNNNNNN #got a little spooked there ngl....#noticing the faces(?) in eddie's gave me a lil startle. got a little chill up my spine #I LOVE IT!#im gonna be reeling over this all night....#the implications! the arising questions!! the Choices!!!#frank and eddie being the only ones with their faces in their windows (plus a couple extra)#eddie and howdy having letters/symbols(?) on their buildings #THE EYES IN HOWDY'S STORE!!!#i feel like these are important misplaced pieces of a puzzle i havent even opened yet #god and like. tiny home in eddie's window yeah but that With the eyes in howdy's store?#both buildings - both Stores! - seeming to have hidden letters on them??? WHAT DOES IT MEANNNN #of course i could be just plain insane and seeing things #but some of it.... ough i dont think i am fellas #welcome home speculation #wh speculation #homebogging #ive been meaning to Examine the updated map.... not much Changed or caught my attention but a few things did #why does barnaby have a carton of milk outside his house? something to do with the phrase 'no use crying over spilled milk'?#the flower patch behind julie's house is Oddly green.... kinda reminds me of a body dump #that plus the red thing next to the bowling ball (a ribbon? scissors? something else?) makes me Suspicious #along with a mildly delusional Theory i've had since my first good Examining Of The Map (before the update!)#but thats not what this post is about #theres just. theres interesting things in there!#thank you for reading! i need to go Think about this all....#im feeling the urge to up the contrast/brightness of Every Single Slightly Dark image on the site <3

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