The Shadow of Great Britain

Capítulo 1259: Chapter 156: Studious Outsiders

“This is impossible!”

Doser’s words had just been spoken when Bismarck directly rejected the view of this University Steward.

“As far as I know, Mr. Schleiden hasn’t had much opportunity to go out this month since enrolling at Gottingen, besides attending classes. Even if he is a liberal, he hasn’t had the chance to interact with any Italians. After all, all the Italians in Gottingen are holed up in the City Hall Hotel…”

Bismarck felt a chill down his back just as he said this and quickly realized that Arthur was staring intently at him.

Your Excellency, the Academic Director, remained silent, simply pulling a notepad from his pocket and gently tearing off a piece of paper.

Seeing this, Bismarck, the clever chairman of the Student Union, was startled into silence, hastily stopping himself mid-sentence: “What I’m saying is well-founded, because Mr. Schleiden’s roommate is a good friend of mine, and they’ve been spending almost every day together this past few days. It was his roommate who told me about Mr. Schleiden’s information.”

“A good friend?” Arthur seamlessly took over the conversation: “A friend from your Pomeranian Sword Club?”

“No, he doesn’t like fencing,” Bismarck reminded him, “Sir, have you forgotten? You have met him, my American friend, Mr. John Motley. I just came with him; would you like to ask him yourself?”

The Doser Steward was impatient with Bismarck’s delays and directly took out a booklet from the file bag that recorded all enrolled students’ information, examining it on his own: “John Motley, a second-year student in the Philosophy College, is indeed an American exchange student.”

Arthur nodded towards Bismarck and said, “Go call him.”

Receiving the order, Bismarck hurriedly ran out to fetch his friend, while Arthur turned to Dosna and inquired: “Is there any unfavorable record of this American Mr. Motley?”

Doser shook his head slightly: “No, like most American exchange students, he is a model good student, passionate about learning, and all the professors hold him in high regard. The only time he appeared in an academic court was not as a defendant but as a witness to testify against a few kids who cut off stray dogs’ tails.”

“Cut off the tail of a stray dog?” Even though Arthur already knew how absurd Gottingen’s students could be, such actions were still beyond his expectations: “Why would they do this?”

Dosna shook his head and sighed: “If I could understand their thinking, I wouldn’t need to periodically reorganize and document their ‘glorious deeds’ once every half year. However, I guess they did it mainly to challenge the committee’s regulations. It’s well known that rabid dogs tend to tuck their tails between their legs in hot weather. If they lose their tails, no one can distinguish between normal and rabid dogs. Therefore, to ensure the safety of citizens and students, the committee has stipulated that cutting off a dog’s tail incurs a fine of three Thalers. But those damn kids evidently think it’s affordable to get famous across campus for just three Thalers.”

Arthur scratched his head in bemusement: “It seems I have pinpointed the main reason why students are rioting for liberal assemblies. If the infamy of cutting off dog tails is appealing to them, imagine what the title of Freedom Fighter could do. But there’s no other way; flamboyance is the nature of young people. Especially when they feel insignificant or, in other words, idle. And the university campus just happens to provide such a place for idleness.”

Dosna paused for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded in deep agreement: “Your words are spot on. Those truly dedicated students, like Mr. Motley, never get involved because they don’t have the time to be idle.”

“Mr. Academic Director, Mr. Steward.”

Just as Dosna finished speaking, Motley arrived in front of the two, led by Bismarck, and bowed with his hat in hand: “I heard from Otto that you both wanted to see me?”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing major, just an ordinary conversation. If you don’t mind, please find a place to sit first.”

Arthur was perhaps the clearest about whether Schleiden was involved in the student riots and the Italian revolution because, out of the thousand people in Gottingen, the person most deeply involved in these matters was the Academic Director himself.

However, to dispel Dosna’s doubts, Arthur still symbolically asked a few questions: “I have always been curious, as an American, why did you choose to study in Germany instead of in the United States?”

Hearing Arthur’s question, Motley smiled and replied: “Well… it’s certainly good to study in America, but even though I love my homeland, I still have to admit that even the best American schools, like the established Harvard University or the rising University of Virginia, cannot compare with European universities in terms of academic resources. Additionally, back home, a European university diploma is more recognized than one from an American school. When recruiting professors, even the University of Virginia, founded by President Jefferson, specifically states that applicants with a European academic background are preferred. Therefore, if there’s an opportunity, of course, studying in Europe is the way to go.”

Motley’s candid attitude lightened the conversation considerably. Whether Bismarck had previously hinted to him or he just sensed something was off in the atmosphere, the smart young American spared no words beating around the bush, giving Dosna no reason to suspect him.