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Indeed, his social life could deserve a chapter of its own, for it
included people of all walks of life, from the King and Queen, other
royals, men of learning, and members of the government and the clergy, down
to commoners who sought his company because of his writings and
his character—in fact, his social sphere appears to have widened after
it became known that he had open communication with the spiritual
world. And men like Carl Robsahm, a banker of Stockholm, Sweden, and
the prosperous merchant Johan Christian Cuno of Amsterdam, Holland,
testify to his relaxed and also elegant behavior in formal company.
The testimony concerning a learned but modest gentleman with
becoming manners is well-nigh unanimous.
Says Robsahm: "He was cheerful and pleasant in company and, as
a recreation from his severe labors, he enjoyed conversation with
intelligent persons by whom he was always well received and much
respected."1 And Cuno adds to the social portrait: "It soon became known in town
that I cultivated the society of this remarkable man and everyone
tormented me to give them an opportunity of making his acquaintance." Yet
Cuno, knowing for one thing that his honored friend "never stays up longer
than seven o'clock," wanted to protect him from people driven by
curiosity. Still, he adds,
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