Albert left Rahel’s salon elated. Rahel was a revelation to him. In the
past two years he had met learned Professors at Bonn and Goettingen, and
had met a few charming women, but had as yet never met a person of
either sex that combined the erudition of pedants with the ease
engendered by good social breeding.
What particularly drew him towards her was her naturalness; her freedom
of sham, her uncompromising truthfulness. And what was rarest of all,
she was innocent of all prejudices. She could sympathize with those
whose opinions were diametrically opposed to her own. Inner suffering is
very often the most effective instructor of tolerance. The only thing
she despised and for which she showed no sympathy, was correct
mediocrity—Philistinism. At last Albert Zorn had found a kindred
spirit.
His experiences of the past two years had prepared him for this
friendship. He had read a great deal, thought profoundly, and suffered
no little since he left Hamburg. Embittered by his unrequited love he
had fled from the _Schacherstadt_ as from a nightmare, and at first
found Bonn very much to his liking. Not only was the atmosphere of
learning alluring after the sordid commercialism of Hamburg, but the
town on the Rhine, with its picturesque surrounding, reawakened in him
the sentiments of his boyhood. And here, too, was the friend of his
boyhood, Christian Lutz, also another old classmate. Indeed, at first it
seemed like old times. He was again sauntering along the banks of his
beloved river, dreaming fanciful dreams; he persuaded himself that he
had obliterated the rankling memories of that hateful city, the cradle
of his great sorrows.
And though already twenty-two he flung himself into the college life
with boyish ardor. He became a member of the _Burschenschaft_, joined
the Round Table of a young literary coterie, and participated in the
students’ pastimes, such as fencing and dueling, and only refrained from
smoking and drinking because of his precarious health. Save for his
narrowed dreamy eyes and peculiar restlessness, he appeared as a typical
“_flotter Bursch_”. He wore a black coat, a red cap, and across his
breast shone the colors of the _Burschenschaft_, a band of black, red
and gold.
The _Burschenschaft_ was more than a mere student fraternity, with
_camaraderie_ as its objective. It claimed idealistic aims. Its leaders
spoke of a United Germany, they prattled of Neo-Hellenism—the
Neo-Hellenism of Goethe and Winckelmann—they orated about
Romanticism—“_Die Welt wird Traum, der Traum wird Welt_.”——
But much as they indulged in fine speeches their real aims were
visionary—_Schwärmerei_—rather than practical. It was only the
Prussian Government that took them seriously. The assassination of
Kotzebue by a fanatic student had aroused the authorities to drastic
action. Students had been expelled, professors incarcerated, the members
of the _Burschenschaft_ were under police surveillance. And the open
antagonism of the Government fanned the smouldering embers of revolt in
the breasts of the young dreamers who despised Prussian tyranny.
Albert joined the _Burschenschaft_ at this critical moment, and brought
to it all the zeal of a new convert. Hitherto he had given but little
thought to political strife, his being had been immersed in romantic
sentiments of the heart, but in this league he beheld the means to a
great end. To him the _Burschenschaft_ stood for the contending force
against Prussianism. And when one night the students marched to the
Kreuzberg, back of the town, where by the glow of flaming torches and
bonfires they voiced their undying loyalty to the great cause, Albert
Zorn was one of the most fervid. It was his first taste of action. His,
innate love of liberty flared up and took the place of his erstwhile
sentimentality.
Through the carelessness of a fellow student, who had written a report
of this torch parade to an editor, the authorities learned of this march
and at once cited the offenders to appear before the
_Universitätsrichter_ (college judge). In the protocol it was charged
that not only was the _Burschenschaft_ greeted with “_Lebe hoch!_” but a
seditious speech was made which ended with the following ominous words:
“Brothers, a great burden rests upon our shoulders. We must free the
oppressed Fatherland!” And out of the 216 members of the
_Burschenschaft_ only Albert Zorn and three others were singled out for
chastisement. True, he was not severely punished but the accusation and
the proceeding of the trial were enough to deepen his hatred for
Prussian rule, and to dampen his ardor for Bonn. Moreover, this
unexpected jolt brought clarity to his vision. His temporary illusion
was gone. He saw the futility of the _Burschenschaft_; its members had
not displayed such courage at the trial as to arouse his admiration. He
saw in their endeavors nothing but sound and empty phrases. He had
mistaken the boyish circle for a manly organization.
In addition to his disillusions came the crushing disappointments as
regards Christian Lutz. Albert was grieved at the change in his boyhood
friend. The son of a Prussian official, he began to reveal his inner
self. The leopard could not change his spots. Instead of the buoyant
youngster that he had been in former years, Christian was now a stolid
young man and frowned upon all liberal views. Albert felt that Christian
was regarding him with the eyes of a Prussian official, for which
function he was preparing himself. And Christian had also lost interest
in literature. He regarded Albert’s poetic flights as mere child’s play,
unbecoming a serious minded student.
At the end of the second semester Albert again found himself alone and
aloof, walking, brooding, planning, sick at heart. Everybody and
everything had suddenly changed, only he was the same, the same dreamer,
dreaming of things that were not coming true.
Discouraged he left Bonn and went to Goettingen. However, it did not
take him long to realize the fallacy of the change. Instead of the
picturesque scenery of the former town the environments of Goettingen
were commonplace and instead of the romantic spirit of the Bonn
University the air in this “learned nest” was charged with pedantry;
everybody was bent on “grinding”, with scholarship as its shibboleth.
And what was more irritating to the democratic son of the Rhineland was
the predominant element of the Hannoverian _Junker_ aristocracy; the
superciliousness and the boorishness of these tyrannical fledglings
goaded him on to voicing his contempt for the whole breed. Always
outspoken, always blunt, always showing his likes and dislikes too
plainly, he made no secret of his opinions. As a result he had quickly
gained a reputation for wit but at the expense of popularity. The
historian Sartorius, one of Albert’s professors at Goettingen and an
ardent admirer of his talents, lauded the young poet’s verses which were
shown him, but added, “_Indessen, man wird Sie nicht lieben_.” No, they
neither loved his songs nor himself at Goettingen.
Before long he was again called before the _Universitätsrichter_. A
charge was lodged against him that he had challenged one of the
students, a nobleman, to a duel, against the rules of the University. He
admitted the charge and justified his act because his opponent had
questioned his veracity. But the college judge would not recognize such
a defense.
So after a summer of study and foot-journeys with a knapsack on his back
he came to Berlin.