The Secret Cellar | Ep. 19 | The Future of Our Nation
The Future of Our Nation
Letter from Adalbert Kehr to Konrad Josef
January 1881
Old Konrad,
Last night I thought of you (I was in a beer hall at the time — does that surprise you?) and I thought how long it’s been since I’ve written!
First of all I must report, with optimism tempered by caution, that Herr Dr. Zöllner has taken ill, and all work on the dimensiomanometer has, for the moment, been suspended. What a tragedy for Mankind it would be if this project (which still requires daily infusions of Herr Professor’s genius) never arrives at its destined completion — and so, we are all quite hopeful that this setback is only temporary, and that our leader will return to us soon, with full potency of mind.
Through my work with Herr Professor, I have come in contact with a most lively group of fellows, and we keep ourselves quite busy during this hiatus. Now you may wonder, what does a philologist like myself have in common with those engineers and astral physicists? Well, I can assure you that my colleagues from the laboratory are all vigorous and convivial young Germans, and in addition, I should mention that through my association with Herr Professor Z, my social world has expanded far beyond the Faculty of Sciences. When I was at University (only a few short years ago) I did nothing but study, but here in Leipzig, under the influence of Zöllner and Wagner, it seems that every student worthy of his German name is involved — actively, enthusiastically involved — in three or four clubs and societies — and these organizations, if I may hazard a prediction, constitute the future of our nation. Just this past week I attended meetings of the Vegetarian Society, the Anti-Vivisectionist Campaign, the Physical Culture Guild, and the Pure Gardening Collective. (No longer do I eat the bloody mulch that my landlady splatters on her table; instead, I belong to the New Saxon Dining Club — the menu is 100% vegetarian, and I have never felt more energetic!)
I am always surprised at how warmly everyone reacts when they learn of my philological skills — they are amazed that I can read and speak (if anyone living may be said to speak) Middle High German — the “language of Siegfried himself!” they say. Of course, I try to explain that Siegfried lived several centuries before the Nibelungen-poet, and must have spoken a far more ancient language, but by then they have already bought me another beer. “You must do more,” they say, as they raise the toast, “to promote the German Nation!”
And they are right, my old companion. I must, indeed, do more.
Konrad, you must meet my new friends. I have told them all about our skit in Gotha — how we took the piss out of old Lassalle. (Did you know that pompous Frenchie was a Jew?) No one here is opposed to socialism, of the right sort, and I’ve heard more than one person say that he’d be happy to join the SAPD, had it not been outlawed.
We are all planning to come to Bavaria this summer — perhaps we can meet in Bayreuth?
With fond memories (and a hangover),
Adalbert
Continue reading: The next episode is A Crime in the Fourth Dimension, part of The Secret Cellar, on MyWayToCanossa.com.
Originally published at www.daveomeara.com on May 23, 2018.
