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I was born September 6tfr, 1814 ab Schwerln, Meklenburg
and. received. at my Chrtstenlng the naues Christoph Sauuel
Dantelr BS the flrst born of my parents Johann Got}leb Schond-orf
and. Caroline, nee StapefeJ-d.. f got the most careful upbrlnglng
untl1 about three years of age. A long'suffer1ng started..
lly d.ear mother who had. a good. schoollng, gave me, on try third.
blrthd.ayr 8n A.B.C. Book, and started. to.teach me school lessons,
so that f got on Ey fourth birthd.ay a book i^rith Bible stories
(as they were used. in school at that time). Out of thls book I
had. to read. to my father every day, as good. as I could-, and. as.i
it had. to be d.one at its very best, I got strlct teachlng from'
my mother; and. to encourage iner r[X father used to glve me some
Inoney to buy frui-t or cake.
At five years f could. not only read. fairly rrell, but'got
to knovl'the lnside of a book and. could. give account of it, to
the pleasure of my parents, especially my uother, They could
not teII what lIorry lay ahead. of them. In that year I began
to look cross-eyed. r^iith one eyar which began to geb r^rorse from
week to r'ieek. I'ty parents vrere very sad. about it anct kept telling
me to look straight, rrhich r was not abre to d.o. Tiren there
cane people and- ad.vised- my parents to band-age Ey good. eye up
and. the cross-eye woulcl straighten itserf agaln. My mother oid-
this and. thought with good. results. 
She nas bad.ly shocked- uheu
she took off the band.age to find. the goocl eye luore eross-eyed.
than the first. 
Then there was nothlng else to d.o but to takc
me to a Doctor. l,Ihen he examined me he asked. my nother about
ny llfe etc., anc he started. to blame ny mother bttterly for
being so cruer to me her child.. she at frrst could not und.er-
stand- as she only thought to give me her rove and. goodwlIl.
I'lhereupon the Doctor told. her that by thls strict teaching she
had. brought this ohr and. I may be unhappy for the rest of my
1lfe. 
child.rencs eyes vrere like chlld.ren,s mtnds and. should.
cone to maturlty flrst. 
The Doctor then started. worklng on mJ-
eyes with electrlc treatment. He gave my rnother advice to bring
me to him a couple of tlmes a week for electric treatuent.
After a couple of months rrraiting the'Doctor told. my mother that
he was unable to d-o any good. to my eyes; in fact it seemed. to
him the cross-1ook was gettlng worse, but as I vras not born viith
It, it may get ?{orse untl1 I reaeh roy seventh birthd.ay; after
that lt may rlght ltse1f again. TheDoctor!s saylng came true
as the cross-eye got trorser so that (I was told. Iater) people
ivho lookcd- at me said it l.ras nerve-raching, After uy seventh
birthd.ay, it began, although very s1ow1y to cone true, ayD. I.
can remember my father as saying on my twentyflrst blrthd.ay (he
had. not seen ule for tlro years) that he could. not see anythlng
of my earlier cross-eyes and. ue have to thank God. for that.
Therefore as this ?reary one did. not knoir how bo ask, the Lord-
helped. him out of all his d.lfficulttes;
i'Iy d.ear mother, through being spoken to by the Doctor,
found that she could. no longer continue teachlng ue. Shetook
me to school 'rrith a Song Book, Blble and. Catechlsm, to hanC ne
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