The Marx He Knew | Page 4

expected. He tried to laugh it off, saying that the boy
was in love and would probably settle down to work soon and come out
all right, upon top as usual.
"It was then that we learned for the first time that Karl and Jenny were
betrothed, and that the old Baron had given his blessing to his daughter
and her lover. Very soon all the gossips of the town were talking about
it. Some said that there had been quite a romance about it; that the
young folks had been secretly engaged for nearly a year, being afraid
that the Baron would object. 'Twas even said that Karl had been made
ill by the strain of keeping the secret. Then, when at last Karl wrote to
old Westphalen about it, and asked for Jenny in a manly fashion, the
old fellow laughed and said that he had always hoped it would turn out
that way. So the silly young couple had suffered a lot of pain which
they could have avoided.
"Of course, lots of folks said that it wasn't a 'good match,' that Jenny
von Westphalen could have married somebody a lot richer than Karl;
but they all had to admit that she couldn't get a handsomer or cleverer
man than Karl in all the Rhine Province.
"But things seemed to be going badly enough with Karl at the
University. Herr Heinrich Marx cried in our little shop one evening
when my father asked him how Karl was doing. He said that, instead of
studying hard to be a Doctor of Laws, as he ought to do, Karl was
wasting his time. 'He writes such foolish letters that I am ashamed of
him,' said the old man. 'Wastes his time writing silly verses and
romances and then destroying most of them; talks about becoming a
second Goethe, and says he will write the great Prussian drama that

will revive dramatic art. He spends more money than the sons of the
very rich, and I fear that he has got into bad company and formed evil
habits.'
"Then father spoke up. 'Don't be afraid,' he said. 'I'll wager that Karl is
all right, and that he will do credit to the old town yet. Some of our
greatest men have failed to pass their examinations in the universities
you know, Herr Marx, while some of the most brilliant students have
done nothing worthy of note after leaving the universities crowned with
laurels. There is nothing bad about Karl, of that you may be sure.'
"The old man could hardly speak. He took father's hand and shook it
heartily: 'May it be so, friend Wilhelm, may it be so,' he said. I never
saw the old man again, for soon after that he died.
"Karl came home that Easter, looking pale and worn and thin. I was
shocked when he came to see me, so grave and sad was he. We went
over to the old Roman ruins, and he talked about his plans. He had
given up all hopes of being a great poet then and wanted to get a
Doctor's degree and become a Professor at the University. I reminded
him of the verses he wrote about some of the boys at school, and about
the old teacher, Herr von Holst, and we laughed like two careless boys.
He stood upon a little mound and recited the verses all over as though
they had been written only the week before. Ach, he looked grand that
night in the beautiful moonlight!
"Then came his father's death, and I did not see him again, except as
the funeral passed by. He went back to Berlin to the University, and I
went soon after that away from home for my wanderjahre, and for a
long time heard nothing about Karl.
II
"Two or three years after that I was working in Cologne, where I had a
sweetheart, when I read in a paper, the Rhenische Zeitung, that there
would be a democratic meeting. I liked the democratic ideas which I
found in the paper, for they were all in the interest of poor toilers like
myself. So I made up my mind to go to the meeting.

"So that night I went to the meeting and listened to the speeches.
Presently he came in. I didn't see him at first, but heard a slight noise
back of me and heard someone near me say 'Here comes Doctor Marx.'
Then I turned and saw Karl making his way to the front, all eyes
fastened upon him. I could see in a moment that he was much beloved.
"Then Karl made a speech. He was not a great orator, but spoke clearly
and right to the point in very simple language. The speaker who spoke