Soren Kierkegaard

erty of the deceased,” that had once belonged to her. Among the things
Kierkegaard left at his death was a package addressed to her, containing
several of his writings in light-colored bindings and with exclusive gilt-
edged pages, but she did not wish this to be sent. She notified Henrik Lund
of this latter detail, while Schlegel himself informed Mr. Maag, the attorney
who was handling the matter, of “my wife’s decision.” Schlegel concluded
his letter to Peter Christian “with the greatest of esteem,” et cetera.
Henrik Lund informed Peter Christian of various of these details on Feb-
ruary 27, noting that the letters from the period of the engagement and
several pieces of jewelry connected with Regine had been “taken out and
sent to her on the most recently departing ship.” Lund explained further
that everything else would go to auction, books and furniture and whatever
else there might be, “excepting his own wearing apparel, that is, his outer
garments, such as jackets, coats, trousers, et cetera, which could probably
most appropriately be given to his serving man and serving woman, and
perhaps to Struve [sic] (the carpenter who had been his servant).” In a post-
script attached to this letter, Lund related that his sister Sophie was in posses-
sion of “several locks of Uncle Søren’s hair.” Two small locks had been
enclosed in little frames; “the families here in town have accepted one of
them in common, since they did not want to diminish their value by multi-
plying their number.” If Peter Christian would like, the remaining “portion
is at your command.” Peter Christian apparently expressed an interest in
receiving such a special hair relic, for in a letter dated March 10, Lund
enclosed “a lock of Uncle Søren’s hair in the form of a sheaf.” Toward the
end of that month, the merchant Johan Christian Lund informed Peter
Christian that the cellar of the deceased had been found to contain “a little
supply of about thirty bottles of wine,” which he would arrange to have
sent off to Peter Christian. Furthermore, in this same shipment Peter Chris-
tian would be receiving the portion of “Søren’s wardrobe” that they did
not want to sell at the public auction of his assorted personal property, now
planned to be held in Østergade on April 2 and 3.
“List of Some Good-Quality Furniture and Personal Effects” is written
on the outside cover of the little auction catalog that was to assist in the
final dispersal of the home of the deceased. The catalog, listing almost three
hundred items, bears silent testimony to a life lived. The items listed appear
strangely random, almost seeming to want to organize themselves in accor-
dance with the spirit they once had served: seven pairs of glasses, pipe heads
with silver fittings, engagement ring, silent butler, globe on a stand, cocoa
and coffee pots, serving bowl with cover, six bunches of cigars, two bo-
beches, round coffee table with columnar legs, pine bed, mahogany chairs
upholstered in horsehair, leather traveling case, washstand, chests of draw-