"My God,do not withdraw Thy hand either from him or from me,since we are both fighting like men!Judge only by our two causes,and give the victory to that which is the more just.If Thou shouldst call me before Thy supreme tribunal,I know very well that I should appear burdened with an eternal malediction;and indeed it is not upon myself that I reckon but upon the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
"Come what may,be praised and blessed,O my God!
"My dear parents,brothers,and friends,I commend you to the protection of God."Sand waited in vain for two hours next day:his adversary did not come to the meeting place.
The loss of Dittmar,however,by no means produced the result upon Sand that might have been expected,and that he himself seems to indicate in the regrets he expressed for him.Deprived of that strong soul upon which he rested,Sand understood that it was his task by redoubled energy to make the death of Dittmar less fatal to his party.And indeed he continued singly the work of drawing in recruits which they had been carrying on together,and the patriotic conspiracy was not for a moment impeded.
The holidays came,and Sand left Erlangen to return no more.From Wonsiedel he was to proceed to Jena,in order to complete his theological studies there.After some days spent with his family,and indicated in his journal as happy,Sand went to his new place of abode,where he arrived some time before the festival of the Wartburg.This festival,established to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of Leipzig,was regarded as a solemnity throughout Germany,and although the princes well knew that it was a centre for the annual renewal of affiliation to the various societies,they dared not forbid it.Indeed,the manifesto of the Teutonic Association was exhibited at this festival and signed by more than two thousand deputies from different universities in Germany.This was a day of joy for Sand;for he found in the midst of new friends a great number of old ones.
The Government,however,which had not 'dared to attack the Association by force,resolved to undermine it by opinion.M.de Stauren published a terrible document,attacking the societies,and founded,it was said,upon information furnished by Kotzebue.This publication made a great stir,not only at Jena,but throughout all Germany.Here is the trace of this event that we find in Sand's journal:--24th November "Today,after working with much ease and assiduity,I went out about four with E.As we crossed the market-place we heard Kotzebue's new and venomous insult read.By what a fury that man is possessed against the Burschen and against all who love Germany!"Thus far the first time and in these terms Sand's journal presents the name of the man who,eighteen months later,he was to slay.
The Government,however,which had not 'dared to attack the Association by force,resolved to undermine it by opinion.M.de Stauren published a terrible document,attacking the societies,and founded,it was said,upon information furnished by Kotzebue.This publication made a great stir,not only at Jena,but throughout all Germany.Here is the trace of this event that we find in Sand's journal:
24th November "To-day,after working with much ease and assiduity,I went out about four with E.As we crossed the market-place we heard Kotzebue's new and venomous insult read.By what a fury that man is possessed against the Burschen and against all who love Germany!"Thus for the first time and in these terms Sand's journal presents the name of the man who,eighteen months later,he was to slay.
On the 29th,in the evening,Sand writes again:
"To-morrow I shall set out courageously and joyfully from this place for a pilgrimage to Wonsiedel;there I shall find my large-hearted mother and my tender sister Julia;there I shall cool my head and warm my heart.Probably I shall be present at my good Fritz's marriage with Louisa,and at the baptism of my very dear Durchmith's first-born.God,O my Father,as Thou hast been with me during my sad course,be with me still on my happy road."This journey did in fact greatly cheer Sand.Since Dittmar's death his attacks of hypochondria had disappeared.While Dittmar lived he might die;Dittmar being dead,it was his part to live.
On the 11th of December he left Wonsiedel,to return to Jena,and on the 31st of the same month he wrote this prayer in his journal.
"O merciful Saviour!I began this year with prayer,and in these last days I have been subject to distraction and ill-disposed.When I look backward,I find,alas!that I have not become better;but Ihave entered more profoundly into life,and,should occasion present,I now feel strength to act.
"It is because Thou hast always been with me,Lord,even when I was not with Thee."If our readers have followed with some attention the different extracts from the journal that we have placed before them,they must have seen Sand's resolution gradually growing stronger and his brain becoming excited.From the beginning of the year 1818,one feels his view,which long was timid and wandering,taking in a wider horizon and fixing itself on a nobler aim.He is no longer ambitious of the pastor's simple life or of the narrow influence which he might gain in a little community,and which,in his juvenile modesty,had seemed the height of good fortune and happiness;it is now his native land,his German people,nay,all humanity,which he embraces in his gigantic plans of political regeneration.
