"
"Not even to be near me again?" asked Schrotter.
"Ah, yes," answered Wilhelm quickly, and looked him affectionately
in the deep-set blue eyes.
"You see now. This wandering life is no good for you. You must see
about getting back to Berlin."
"Yes, but you know--"
"Of course I know. But something must be done. You must apply to the
authorities to withdraw your sentence of banishment."
"And you advise me to do this?"
"Unwillingly, as you may well suppose. But I see nothing else for
you."
"And how should I word such a petition? I could neither acknowledge
a transgression in the past, nor promise amendment in the future."
"No, it would be of no use going into details. It would have to be a
bald petition for pardon." And seeing Wilhelm recoil involuntarily,
he added: "It does not do to be too proud in such a case. In the
preposterously unequal struggle between the individual and the
organized power of the State, it is no disgrace to declare yourself
beaten and ask for quarter."
"A petition without any gush or protestations of loyalty, in which I
would simply say: 'Please allow me to come back to Berlin, because I
prefer it to any other place of residence,' would certainly be
ineffectual, and I should only have humiliated myself for nothing.
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