The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-09-26 00:00:00

POVERTY AND LEARNING.

The following narrative, translated from a Leipsic paper,
gives one some idea of the poverty and misery that exist
among the learned, old and young, in Germany
. .

Some ten months ago, a rich patron of the sciences
and the arts, of Berlin, offered prizes of two hundred
thalers each for the beet essays on the history of the
middle ages, astronomy, geology, poetry, and meta-
physics ; and five hundred thalem each for the
beet romance and the best poem. A committee
formed of members of several university faculties
was to award the prizes. A short time ago
the awards were made in the " Gewandhaus "
(a large and beautiful hall in Leipsic, famous on
account of the concerts given in it). The competition
for the prizes was large, and many of the essayista
had done good work. The name of the writers
were enclosed in sealed envelopes, on the outsides of
which fictitious names were inscribed. The prize for
the essay on metaphysios was awarded to a young man
named Max Markmann, who had chosen for his theme
Kant's " Antinontotti tier reinen Vernunft," and had
sent in his essay under the name of "Hans Wilden.
stein." When Dr. Schmidt, after opening the cover,
called out the name Markmann, a pale, poorly-clad,
exceedingly wretched-looking young man stepped
forward, and was saluted with a hearty round of
applause. His hair was thin and already sprinkled
with grey, and his whole appearance excited the
sympathy of the audience. After receiving his prize,
he quietly returned to his seat. The astronomical
essay considered the movements and changes of the
Sternennebel (nebula:), with especial regard to the
grosse Nebel (great nebula) in Orion. Here, too,
the author was found to be Max Markrnann.
This announcement was received with a storm of
applause, while he came forward and received his
prize, looking more melancholy and exhausted than
before. The next essay was devoted to a review
of certain historical works. Again Markmann
was the recipient of the prize, and the spectacle was
repeated in awarding the other prizes. The excitement
among the students present knew no bounds, and a little
more and they would have borne him off in triumph. The
prize-poem was also from his pen. In the natural deli-
cacy of the language it remindei one of Roquette,
while the thoughts would have done honour to a
Shakespeare or a Goethe. The prize-romance, "The
Village Schoolmaster." Berthold Auerbach, who was
one of the committee, pronounced one of the most grace-
fully-written stories he had ever read. The author was
no other than Max Markmann. This was the last prize
awarded; but hardly had the fortunate competitor
arisen to go and receive it when he fell fainting to
the floor. A death-like stillness reigned in the hall,
while they carried the poor young man into an aljoin-
ing room, where the physicians succeeded in restoring
him to consciousness, but that was all; for four hours
afterwards he was a corpee. His death was the result
of long years of deprivation ; he literally, starved to
death. He who succumbed in the hour of Ids triumph
had lived for several years in a miserable chamber In
an out-of-the-way street. and had eked out a miserable
existence by giving lessons in the modern languages,
and nearly all the other liberal branches of learning.
His room contained unfinished models of remarkable
mechanical apparatuses, a broken chair, and piles of
manuscript, among which there were letters from some
of the most distinguished men in Europe. He had for
months been kept alive almost solely by the fire of his
genius.; and in spite of every deprivation he had
laboured on untiringly to win the prizes, which
together amounted to something more than two thou.
mud dialers. Then, when the day came, weak from
hunger, he dragged himself to the " Gewandhaus," to
receive them all, and—to die. Is there in the history
of labour and genius, and their reward, another
episode so sad?