"You have fought and bled for the new empire," he said; "I left it
while I was in India to get on as best it could; if the others think
themselves well off, I don't see why they should not have the
satisfaction of the results of their work, just because of the sulky
temper of criticism."
Wilhelm had often taken one or other of them to his society, but
without their being much interested in the meetings. One day he
asked his friend whether he would not go with him to a social
democratic meeting. Schrotter was quite prepared, as he saw that
Wilhelm was really in earnest, and was trying to come in contact
with the realities of life. Paul abominated the social democrats,
but he sacrificed himself to spend an hour there with Wilhelm.
The meeting they were to attend was at the Tivoli. It was a
disagreeable evening in April, with gusts of wind and frequent
showers. The sky was full of clouds chasing each other in endless
succession, the flames of gas flickered and flared, and the streets
were covered with mud which splashed up under the horses' feet. The
three friends went in spite of bad weather to the Tivoli on foot. In
the Belle Alliance Strasse they came upon groups of workmen going in
the same direction as themselves, and as they reached the place in
the Lichterfelder Strasse, they were accompanied by a long stream of
people.
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