Chapter I. - THE ACTORS IN HALLE.
His excellency, Gotshilf Augustus Franke, president of the university at Halle, bore unmistakable marks of anger and excitement upon his usually calm countenance, as, seated at his study-table, he glanced from time to time at a paper spread out before him.
The entrance of two of his friends and colleagues seemed scarcely to interrupt his disagreeable train of thought, as he bade them good morning and thanked them for coming to him so promptly.
„I have requested your presence, my friends,“ he continued, „to inform you of the receipt of the answer to the petition which we presented to the General Directory.“
„Ah, then,“ cried Professor Bierman, „our troubles are at an end!“
„Not so,“ said Professor Franke, gloomily; „the wishes of the servants of the Lord do not always meet with the approbation of kings. King Frederick the Second has refused our petition which was presented to him by the General Directory.“
„Refused it?“ exclaimed the two professors.
„Yes, refused it; he declares that he will not allow the actors to be expelled from Halle, until it can be satisfactorily proved that they have occasioned public disturbances in our midst.“
„This is unheard-of injustice,“ exclaimed Professor Bierman.
„It is a new proof of the king's utter godliness,“ said Professor Heinrich. „He has already gone so far as to declare that these actors shall receive Christian burial.“
„Astounding!“ cried the president. „This is a sacrilege, which will assuredly meet a just punishment. But,“ he continued after a pause, glancing anxiously around, „let us not forget that we are speaking of our king.“
„He seems to forget that even kings are but the servants of the Lord. His acts show a determination to destroy the church and its supporters.“
„Your remark is, I fear, too true,“ answered Professor Franke; „but the object of our meeting was not to discuss the king, but to discover, if possible, some means of extricating ourselves from the disagreeable position in which we have been placed by the unexpected refusal of our petition. We were so confident of a different answer to our just demand, and have expressed this confidence so publicly, that, when the result is known, we shall be ridiculed by both citizens and students.“
While the worthy professors were still deep in their discussion, they were interrupted by the entrance of a servant, who announced that there was a gentleman at the door, who called himself Eckhof, and who desired to be admitted to President Franke.
„Eckhof!“ exclaimed all three, and the two friends looked mistrustfully at Franke.
„Eckhof! Do you receive Eckhof?“
„Does this actor dare to cross your threshold?“
„It appears so,“ cried Franke, angrily. „He has the boldness to force himself into my presence.--Let him enter; we will then hear how he justifies this intrusion.“
As Eckhof entered the room, the three professors remained seated, as if awaiting the approach of a criminal.
Apparently unmoved by this want of courtesy, Eckhof advanced to the president, and, after making a respectful bow, offered him his hand.
Franke, ignoring this movement, asked, without changing his position, to what singular accident he might attribute the honor of this visit.
Eckhof appeared grieved and astonished at the reception, but replied, „I came, your excellency, to ask a favor. My friends have determined to give me a benefit to-night, and we have selected Voltaire's wonderful tragedy, 'Britannicus,' for our performance. The tickets are all sold, two hundred of them to the students. There is, however, one thing wanting to make the evening all I would wish, and that is the presence of your excellency and some of the professors at the representation. Therefore I am here, and have taken the liberty of bringing these tickets, which I beg you will accept for the use of yourself and your brother professors,“ and, bowing once more, he placed the tickets upon the table before which he was standing.
„Are you so lost, sir, to all sense of propriety,“ cried Franke, „as to believe that I, the president of the university, a professor of theology, and a doctor of philosophy, would enter your unholy, God- forsaken theatre? No, sir, even in this degenerate age. we have not fallen so low that the men of God are to be found in such places.“
„These are very hard and unchristian words, your excellency, Professor and Doctor Franke, words which no Christian, no man of learning, no gentleman should employ. But I, although a poor actor, bearing no distinguished title, will only remember what is becoming for a Christian, and will say, in the words of our Lord, 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.'„
„Those holy words become a blasphemy on your lips,“ said Professor Heinrich, solemnly.
„And still I repeat them. 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.' Do you not know that in judging me, you condemn yourselves? I came into your presence, hoping to reconcile the difficulties and misunderstanding which I heard had been occasioned by the theatre between the professors and the students; but you have treated me with scorn and declined my assistance, and nothing remains for me but to bid you farewell, most learned and worthy men.“
He bowed ceremoniously, and passed out, without again glancing at the indignant professors, and joined Joseph Fredersdorf, who awaited him below.
„Well, did they accept your invitation?“
„No, my friend, all happened as you predicted; they refused it with scorn and indignation.“
„Now you will agree with me that we can hope to do nothing in Halle.“
„Yes, you were right, I fear, Joseph; but let us dismiss so painful a subject. We will now go to our rehearsal, and we must perform our tragedy with such care and in such a manner that the thunders of applause which we receive will reach the ears of our enemies.“
The three professors were still in the room of the president, in earnest consultation.
„So this miserable Eckhof is to have what he calls a benefit to- night?“ said the president.
„Two hundred students will be present,“ groaned Professor Heinrich.
„And our lecture halls will be empty.“
„We must exert our energies and put a stop to these proceedings; it is scandalous that our students have forsaken their studies to run after these actors.“
„Truly something must be done, for not only our fame but our purses are at stake.“
„This evil cannot continue; we must take prompt measures to root it out,“ said the president. „The General Directory decided that the actors should not be expelled from Halle, unless it could be proved that they had been the occasion of some public difficulty. It is therefore necessary that such a difficulty should arise. According to Eckhof's account, there will be two hundred students at the theatre to-night. There are still, however, nearly one hundred who will not be present at his performance. Among these there must be some brave, determined, devout young men, who, in the name of God, of science, and of their teachers, would willingly enter the lists against these actors, and create a disturbance. We must employ some of these young men to visit the theatre to-night, and to groan and hiss when the other students applaud. This will be all-sufficient to raise a riot amongst these hot-blooded young men. After that, our course is plain; we have but to send in our account of the affair to the General Directory, and there will be no danger of a second refusal to our petition.“
„An excellent idea!“
„I am afraid, however, it will be difficult to find any students who will put their lives in such jeopardy.“
„We must seek them among those to whose advantage it is to stand well with the president.“
„There are some who receive a yearly stipend through me, and others who live only for science, and never visit the theatre. I name, for example, the industrious young student Lupinus. I shall speak to him, and I am sure he will not refuse to assist us; he is small and not very strong, it is true, but he stands well with the students, and will carry others with him. I know five others upon whom I can count, and that is enough for our purpose. I will give them these tickets which Eckhof left here. He desired that we should make use of them, and we will do so, but to serve our own purpose, and not his.“
Having arrived at this happy conclusion, the three professors separated.
The entrance of two of his friends and colleagues seemed scarcely to interrupt his disagreeable train of thought, as he bade them good morning and thanked them for coming to him so promptly.
„I have requested your presence, my friends,“ he continued, „to inform you of the receipt of the answer to the petition which we presented to the General Directory.“
„Ah, then,“ cried Professor Bierman, „our troubles are at an end!“
„Not so,“ said Professor Franke, gloomily; „the wishes of the servants of the Lord do not always meet with the approbation of kings. King Frederick the Second has refused our petition which was presented to him by the General Directory.“
„Refused it?“ exclaimed the two professors.
„Yes, refused it; he declares that he will not allow the actors to be expelled from Halle, until it can be satisfactorily proved that they have occasioned public disturbances in our midst.“
„This is unheard-of injustice,“ exclaimed Professor Bierman.
„It is a new proof of the king's utter godliness,“ said Professor Heinrich. „He has already gone so far as to declare that these actors shall receive Christian burial.“
„Astounding!“ cried the president. „This is a sacrilege, which will assuredly meet a just punishment. But,“ he continued after a pause, glancing anxiously around, „let us not forget that we are speaking of our king.“
„He seems to forget that even kings are but the servants of the Lord. His acts show a determination to destroy the church and its supporters.“
„Your remark is, I fear, too true,“ answered Professor Franke; „but the object of our meeting was not to discuss the king, but to discover, if possible, some means of extricating ourselves from the disagreeable position in which we have been placed by the unexpected refusal of our petition. We were so confident of a different answer to our just demand, and have expressed this confidence so publicly, that, when the result is known, we shall be ridiculed by both citizens and students.“
While the worthy professors were still deep in their discussion, they were interrupted by the entrance of a servant, who announced that there was a gentleman at the door, who called himself Eckhof, and who desired to be admitted to President Franke.
„Eckhof!“ exclaimed all three, and the two friends looked mistrustfully at Franke.
„Eckhof! Do you receive Eckhof?“
„Does this actor dare to cross your threshold?“
„It appears so,“ cried Franke, angrily. „He has the boldness to force himself into my presence.--Let him enter; we will then hear how he justifies this intrusion.“
As Eckhof entered the room, the three professors remained seated, as if awaiting the approach of a criminal.
Apparently unmoved by this want of courtesy, Eckhof advanced to the president, and, after making a respectful bow, offered him his hand.
Franke, ignoring this movement, asked, without changing his position, to what singular accident he might attribute the honor of this visit.
Eckhof appeared grieved and astonished at the reception, but replied, „I came, your excellency, to ask a favor. My friends have determined to give me a benefit to-night, and we have selected Voltaire's wonderful tragedy, 'Britannicus,' for our performance. The tickets are all sold, two hundred of them to the students. There is, however, one thing wanting to make the evening all I would wish, and that is the presence of your excellency and some of the professors at the representation. Therefore I am here, and have taken the liberty of bringing these tickets, which I beg you will accept for the use of yourself and your brother professors,“ and, bowing once more, he placed the tickets upon the table before which he was standing.
„Are you so lost, sir, to all sense of propriety,“ cried Franke, „as to believe that I, the president of the university, a professor of theology, and a doctor of philosophy, would enter your unholy, God- forsaken theatre? No, sir, even in this degenerate age. we have not fallen so low that the men of God are to be found in such places.“
„These are very hard and unchristian words, your excellency, Professor and Doctor Franke, words which no Christian, no man of learning, no gentleman should employ. But I, although a poor actor, bearing no distinguished title, will only remember what is becoming for a Christian, and will say, in the words of our Lord, 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.'„
„Those holy words become a blasphemy on your lips,“ said Professor Heinrich, solemnly.
„And still I repeat them. 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.' Do you not know that in judging me, you condemn yourselves? I came into your presence, hoping to reconcile the difficulties and misunderstanding which I heard had been occasioned by the theatre between the professors and the students; but you have treated me with scorn and declined my assistance, and nothing remains for me but to bid you farewell, most learned and worthy men.“
He bowed ceremoniously, and passed out, without again glancing at the indignant professors, and joined Joseph Fredersdorf, who awaited him below.
„Well, did they accept your invitation?“
„No, my friend, all happened as you predicted; they refused it with scorn and indignation.“
„Now you will agree with me that we can hope to do nothing in Halle.“
„Yes, you were right, I fear, Joseph; but let us dismiss so painful a subject. We will now go to our rehearsal, and we must perform our tragedy with such care and in such a manner that the thunders of applause which we receive will reach the ears of our enemies.“
The three professors were still in the room of the president, in earnest consultation.
„So this miserable Eckhof is to have what he calls a benefit to- night?“ said the president.
„Two hundred students will be present,“ groaned Professor Heinrich.
„And our lecture halls will be empty.“
„We must exert our energies and put a stop to these proceedings; it is scandalous that our students have forsaken their studies to run after these actors.“
„Truly something must be done, for not only our fame but our purses are at stake.“
„This evil cannot continue; we must take prompt measures to root it out,“ said the president. „The General Directory decided that the actors should not be expelled from Halle, unless it could be proved that they had been the occasion of some public difficulty. It is therefore necessary that such a difficulty should arise. According to Eckhof's account, there will be two hundred students at the theatre to-night. There are still, however, nearly one hundred who will not be present at his performance. Among these there must be some brave, determined, devout young men, who, in the name of God, of science, and of their teachers, would willingly enter the lists against these actors, and create a disturbance. We must employ some of these young men to visit the theatre to-night, and to groan and hiss when the other students applaud. This will be all-sufficient to raise a riot amongst these hot-blooded young men. After that, our course is plain; we have but to send in our account of the affair to the General Directory, and there will be no danger of a second refusal to our petition.“
„An excellent idea!“
„I am afraid, however, it will be difficult to find any students who will put their lives in such jeopardy.“
„We must seek them among those to whose advantage it is to stand well with the president.“
„There are some who receive a yearly stipend through me, and others who live only for science, and never visit the theatre. I name, for example, the industrious young student Lupinus. I shall speak to him, and I am sure he will not refuse to assist us; he is small and not very strong, it is true, but he stands well with the students, and will carry others with him. I know five others upon whom I can count, and that is enough for our purpose. I will give them these tickets which Eckhof left here. He desired that we should make use of them, and we will do so, but to serve our own purpose, and not his.“
Having arrived at this happy conclusion, the three professors separated.
Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches Berlin and Sans-Souci; or, Frederick the Great and his friends. Book III.