Volume 3 covers Heinrich Simon's time after his first law examination as a Referendar[ a candidate for a higher civil-service post who has passed the first state examination and is undergoing in-service training] at the Königliches Land- und Stadtgericht (Royal District and Town Court) in Brandenburg. It includes material such as documents relating to his training and work at court and his spare-time activities with his colleagues, visiting and invitation cards, personal accounts, items referring to a duel which Heinrich Simon was involved in, correspondence and miscellaneous items. Documents related to the time at the court in Brandenburg are: a summons for Heinrich Simon from the Königlich Preussisches Kammergericht (Royal Prussian Supreme Court) to the first law examination at 7 Sep 1827, dated 23 Aug 1827 (5); a copy of the minutes of this examination (11); a letter from the above court informing Heinrich Simon that the Königliches Land- und Stadtgericht in Brandenburg has been instructed to employ him as Referendar and asking him to report there immediately (12); a copy of the minutes of Heinrich Simon's introduction at the court (22); the first pages of a handwritten copy made by Heinrich Simon of the general court order in force (28); statutes of the Casino-Society at Brandenburg, founded 1 Nov 1808, with a remark about Heinrich Simon's joining the society on 1 Nov 1827 (40); Official Gazette of the Royal Government of Potsdam and the City of Berlin, including a chronicle of the staff at the Kammergericht and a list of the students who passed the law examination in Potsdam on 17/18 Sep 1827 (41); verdict and reasons by Heinrich Simon, with remarks by a different hand (42); congratulations to lawyer Freiherr (Baron) Ludewig Peter Moritz von Rönne (Assessor at the Königlich Preussisches Kammergericht and Land- und Stadtrichter) and Lucie Ottilie Kuhlmeyer on the occasion of their wedding (93); a request for leave (97); a small sketch showing the Referendare from Brandenburg sitting around a table, with captions (97a); a strip of paper with 5 signatures, e.g. Kuhlmeyer and Maurer (97b); an instruction for Heinrich Simon to revise several topics (123); a copy of a letter from Friedrich Wilhelm, King of Prussia, to the court in Brandenburg concerning a case heared, dated 10 Mar 1722 (179); draft of the answer to this letter (180); a mock enforcement order for von Gärtner, dated 27 Dec 1828, being joke a amongst the Referendare including Heinrich Simon (205); a note concerning the prisons (221); a copy of the assessments of Heinrich Simon made by members of the court in answer to his request (224); an expenditure list and notes concerning parties of the Referendare (243). Related to the spare time activities are also several visiting and invitation cards, some with notes (6a, 238-242). Personal accounts include diary pages as well as calendars. Diary notes and pages (2), for Sep 1827 (8), Oct 1827 (27), Nov 1827 (39). Calendars with personal entries for 20 Sep to 26 Dec 1827 (18) and 1828 (57-60a). Occasionally, expenditure lists were part of a note which will be listed with miscellaneous items.
In September 1828 Heinrich Simon was challenged to a pistol duel by one of his colleagues, the Referendar Bode. In the duel Bode was so badly injured by Heinrich Simon's shot that he died the next day. On 14 Sep 1828 Heinrich Simon wrote a letter to his family (114) in which he told them about the incident. Bode seems to have intended to kill him and used an argument at the table as an excuse for the challenge to the duel. Heinrich Simon also wrote that it had been very likely that Bode would have killed him and that the death of his opponent was a pure chance, as he (Heinrich Simon) had never used a pistol before.
There are further documents recording the event which caused Heinrich Simon deep distress: a letter Heinrich Simon wrote and signed "In der Nacht vor meinem Tode (In the night before my death), 10/11 Sep 1828", which indicates that the duel took place on 11 Sep 1828 (109); an authority for Referendar von Gärtner concerning Heinrich Simon's affairs, also written in the night before the duel (110); an unopened letter from Heinrich Simon to von Gärtner and Schmiedicke (111a), with instructions on how to proceed with the letter (111); notes (112, 113); and several letters, e.g. piece 116, a letter from Heinrich Simon to his family, and piece 117, the reply from his father Herrmann Simon, 14 Sep 1828. At the request of Herrmann Simon, the rest of the family were told nothing for the present, and for this reason the letters (118, 119) to Heinrich Simon were written only by Herrmann Simon. Heinrich Simon's mother, brother and sisters became acquainted with the incident on 21 Sep 1828, according to the letter Auguste Simon wrote to her brother Heinrich the next day. The event features in many of the subsequent letters. In December Heinrich Simon told his family about the investigation concerning the incident, which had just been completed (192). Piece 193 was written by Simon in reply to letters from his family and includes his thoughts about the expected sentence.
Miscellaneous items comprise: notes (71, 87, 89, 91, 138, 218); notes and a small expenditure list (155); a piece of newspaper (15a); puzzles and games (82, 83); "Einige Gedanken über das Mittelalter" (Some Thoughts about the Middle Ages), written by Heinrich Simon (85); a pedigree of the Electors of Brandenburg and the Kings of Prussia (86); a poem "Jette, ein Stillleben nach der Natur gezeichnet" (Jette, a still-life drawn from nature), presumably composed by Heinrich Simon (90); a handwritten obituary of Adolph Lüttke from his school and university friends (174); a letter also relating to the death of Lüttke (161); "Wilhelm Tell", translated by Heinrich Simon (199); a note concerning clothes belonging to Heinrich Simon, dated 29 Dec 1828 (203); and greetings to him from von der Thiede with 5 cartoons on the back (204).
The majority of documents belong to the correspondence, in which several people are represented, e.g. Heinrich Simon and his parents, brother and sisters, his uncle Heinrich Simon in Berlin and other relatives, colleagues and friends. Heinrich Simon wrote numerous letters to his family (3, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 20, 29, 31, 32, 49, 51, 56, 61, 63, 67, 70, 74, 76, 78, 80, 81, 94, 100, 101, 106, 114, 116, 121, 130, 131, 135, 136, 141, 144, 147, 153, 162, 165, 166, 172, 178, 186, 187, 192, 194, 195, 202, 211, 214, 219, 220, 225); piece 7 contains lines written by uncle Heinrich Simon and more by a third person; piece 15 includes a copy of the minutes of his first law examination; only the last page of piece 136 survives; and piece 186 has a plan of his room drawn by Simon.
The following letters were to sent to Heinrich Simon by his close family: (4, 13, 34, 50, 52, 53, 66, 72, 98, 102, 108, 120, 125, 127, 129, 133, 137, 150, 151, 154, 160, 177, 182, 185/185b, 189, 193, 196, 207, 210, 213, 222, 223). The following letters were written to him by only one member of his family: from his father Herrmann Simon (117, 118, 119, 143a, 236); from his mother Minna Simon (157); from Gustav Simon (33, 65, 104, 158, 159, 184); from Julie Simon (35, 46, 55, 75, 107, 126, 139, 167, 176, 197); from Auguste Simon (16, 26, 36, 45, 54, 69, 73, 79, 143, 146, 149, 168, 200, 206, 233); and from Hermine Simon (37, 64, 169, 175, 198). Piece 98 contains an inscribed dried leaf. With letter (160) Herrmann Simon sent a note to Referendar Schmiedicke asking him to tell Heinrich Simon in a cautious manner of a bereavement which had recently occurred (161): Heinrich Simon's cousin, Adolph Lüttke, had fallen ill while on a journey on foot with two friends and died unexpectedly soon afterwards.
Letters were received by Heinrich Simon from his uncle Heinrich Simon in Berlin (19, 25, 77, 99, 134, 142, 145, 152, 163, 188, 201, 209, 226-229, 231) and from von Rönne (17, 21, 30, 47, 48, 68). Miscellaneous letters: from Kuhlmeyer to uncle Heinrich Simon (1); from Scholz to uncle Heinrich Simon, telling him about the successful ("with much applause") examination of his nephew (9); from Heinrich Simon (23); to Heinrich Simon (24); from Ohlen in Glogau to Heinrich Simon (43, 44); from Minna Simon to Julie Simon (62); from cousin Rudolph Simon in Wittenberg to Heinrich Simon (88); to Heinrich Simon, asking him to hand over two books (92); from Heinrich Simon (105); to Simon (128); from cousin Ferdinand Fischer to Heinrich Simon (132); from Röder to Simon (148); from cousin Franziska, congratulating Heinrich Simon on his birthday (170); to Herrmann Simon from his brother Heinrich (190, 191, 230); from von Gärtner to Heinrich Simon concerning a meeting for the signing of a paper (208); to Heinrich Simon asking for books (215); to Heinrich Simon (216); receipt for money borrowed by Heinrich Simon (235); acknowledgement of the repayment (234); and additional letters (84, 95, 96, 103, 115, 122, 124, 140, 156, 164, 173, 181, 183, 212, 217 and 237).