In his "Memorien," Heinrich Heine says
that his French friends (Heine spent the last years of his life in
Paris) couldn't pronounce his name correctly. Most of them called him "Mr.
Enri Enn," many shortened this to "Enrienne" and some, to Mr. Un rien ("Mr.
Nothing"). On the other hand, in the beginning of Heine's other prose work,
"Ludvig Boerne. The Memorial Book," the author speaks of "a secret grandeur that
can be discovered on the face of a king or a genius who incognito mixes
himself with the crowd." A mere coincidence, no doubt, but I thought it was
amusing.
Alexey Sklyarenko