the town of unpatriotic elements, especially of those who spread the plague of lèse-majesté. With his many connections Diederich discovered the offenders, while Jadassohn led them to the slaughter. When the Song to Ægir appeared their activities proved especially fruitful. In Diederich's own house the piano-teacher, with whom Guste practised, spoke disrespectfully of the Song to Ægir and endured appropriate punishment. … Even Wolfgang Buck, who had latterly come to live in Netzig again, declared that the punishment was quite just, for it satisfied monarchial sentiment. "People would not have understood a pardon," he said at the Stamtntisch. "The monarchy is in politics what the exigent and energetic women are in love. Whoever is built that way will insist on something being done and cannot be satisfied with half measures." Diederich blushed at this. … Unfortunately, Buck confessed to such sentiments only so long as he was sober. Later on he gave sufficient grounds for being excluded from all decent society by his well-known way of dragging the most sacred things in the dust. It was Diederich who saved him from that fate. He defended his friend. "You must remember, gentlemen, that he has an hereditary taint, for the family shows signs of already advanced degeneracy. On the other hand, a proof of the healthy kernel in him is the fact that he was not satisfied with an actor's existence and has resumed his profession as a lawyer." The reply was that it looked suspicious that Buck should preserve such absolute silence concerning his experiences of almost three years on the stage. Was he, after all, still a man of honour? Diederich could not answer this question. A profound impulse, indefensible in logic, always drove him to the son of old Buck. Every time he eagerly renewed a discussion which abruptly terminated on each occasion, after having revealed irreconcilable divergencies of opinion. But if Buck came at first merely for the sake of a particularly good glass of cognac, he was sooii coming obviously on account of Emma. They both understood one
