Wit, Wisdom, And Pathos

Excerpt from book: " Conrad von der Rosen, my fool, when I am free again what wilt thou do ?" " I shall then buy myself new bells to sew to my cap." " And how shall I reward thy fidelity ?" " Ah ! my dear master, only do not have me put to death." jprom fl)f " Sngltsf) National love of the Germans feel no need either for free- """om- dom or for equality. They are a speculative people ? ideologists ? a race of dreamers that look before and after ? that live only in the past and the future, and who have no present. Englishmen and Frenchmen have a present : to them every day brings its conflict, its resistance, and its history. The German has nothing for which to combat ; and no sooner does he begin to suspect that there may possibly be things the possession of which is desirable, than philosophical wiseacres teach him to doubt the existence of such things. It cannot be denied that even Germans love freedom, but they love it after a different fashion than do other nations. An Englishman loves freedom as he loves his lawfully wedded wife. He regards her as a possession ; and, if he does not treat her with special tenderness, yet, if need be, he knows howto defend her as a man should. A Frenchman loves freedom as he does his chosen bride. His love is ardent andfervent; he throws himself at her feet with the most exaggerated protestations; he will fight for her to the death; he will commit a thousand follies for her sake. A German loves freedom as he does his old grandmother. But the splenetic Briton, tired of his wife, is capable of some day putting a halter round her neck and leading her off to Smithfield for sale. The fickle Frenchman may perhaps become faithless to his bride, and will then desert her to go dancing and singing after the courtesans of the Palais Royal. But the German will...