The Old Man 419Among other things, he enjoyed the marches that were played at the chang¬
ing of the guards. Since they were passing his house, he had all the doors
opened to be better able to listen to their marches.^132
Foreign travelers were discouraged from visiting him. He no longer
took any pleasure in such encounters. His life was not altogether without
other kinds of excitement, though. Twice there were attempts to rob him.
His doors to the streets were always open. Once a woman — well dressed,
according to Kant — came in to steal from Kant, but, surprised by his ap¬
parent agility, she asked for the time of day. Kant looked at his watch and
told her the time. She left, only to return moments later, asking him to
hand the watch over to her so that she could show him precisely what time
it was. Kant got so angry that she fled in fear. Wasianski reported that Kant
bragged to him about this episode and claimed that he would have physi¬
cally defended himself. Wasianski was skeptical, saying that "victory would
have been on her side, and Kant would have been in old age defeated by a
lady for the very first time."^1 '^3 We may doubt that Kant engaged in many
fights with ladies at any time in his life. Another woman, who must have been
well aware of Kant's "weakness," tried to defraud him of money by telling
Wasianski that her husband had lent Kant a dozen silver spoons as well as
some golden rings. She was willing to take cash instead. When Wasianski
offered in turn to call the police, she begged for money instead.'s4
Toward the beginning of the fall, Kant's "weakness" increased at an ac¬
celerated rate. Wasianski enlisted Kant's sister, "after getting permission"
from Kant. This sister, for whom Kant had provided for a long time, "had
a similar facial expression and benevolent disposition as Kant." Six years
younger than Kant, she was much more healthy, "lively and fresh." Be¬
cause Kant found change unnerving, and had always been more or less alone,
she sat "behind" him. After a while, Kant got used to her. She took care
of him with "sisterly tenderness," trying never to upset him, while always
being there for him. She had the necessary "patience, good disposition,
and indulgence" for taking care of an old man with many peculiarities.^155
Altogether, she spent about six months in Kant's house. When she moved
in, Kant's mind had deteriorated so much that he hardly knew who he was.
Jachmann saw him in August of 1803, but Kant no longer recognized him.
Nor could he remember anything that had connected the two just a few
years back. When Jachmann asked him about his well-being, Kant will¬
ingly talked about his condition. Still, he could not finish many a short sen¬
tence, "so that his very old sister, who sat behind his chair and who had
perhaps heard the same conversation many a time, prompted him with the