THE REMINISCENCES OF CARL SCHURZ
of Germany; and they, especially the North-Germans, had something superior and deliberate in their ways that greatly impressed me.
My irregular standing at the university did not permit me to be received as a full member into the Franconia, but I was admitted as a guest to their convivial meetings. For a long time I sat a mute spectator at the jovial gatherings of my friends, but finally my hour came. One of the principal events of the convivial evenings was the reading aloud of the Kneipzeitung, a humorous paper, written and read in turn by different members. To write a good Kneipzeitung was the object of general ambition, and those papers not seldom possessed decided literary merit. As I sat or moved, a quiet observer among my friends, abundant opportunity was afforded me to study the peculiarities of my new companions. My observation finally took form in a parody of the “Auerbach cellar scene” in “Faust,” in which I made the leading members of the Franconia the dramatis personæ. The satire was pointed, though of course not ill-natured. When I had finished the composition I showed it in confidence to Petrasch. He shouted with delight, and was certain that nothing better had ever been written by any member of the society. This of course I refused to believe, but yielded to his entreaties that I turn it into a Kneipzeitung and that he should be the one to read it aloud at the next reunion. I insisted that he keep its authorship strictly secret, which he promised. When finally the evening came for its presentation my heart was in my throat, and my face red with blushes, as the assembled company burst into repeated laughter and applause. The success of the paper was complete. Petrasch declared that the writer wished to remain unknown, but with this the audience would not rest content. Of course nobody suspected me. My friend, as proud of the
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