Mein Kampf
questioned the soundness of Feder’s reasoning, and then, after an excellent reply from Feder, suddenly took his stand on the “basis of facts,” strongly urging the young party to adopt the struggle for the “separation” of Bavaria from “Prussia” as an especially important point in its program. The man brazenly maintained that in that case German Austria, in particular, would immediately unite with Bavaria, that the peace would then be much better, and more nonsense of the same sort. At this I could not refrain from asking for the floor in my turn, and telling the learned gentlemen my opinion on the subject—with such success that even before I had finished, my predecessor on the floor left the hall with his tail between his legs. People’s faces looked astonished as they listened to me talk, and not until I was saying goodnight to the gathering, and starting to leave, did a man come running after me to introduce himself (I did not catch his name at all) and hand me a little booklet, evidently a political pamphlet, with the urgent request that I would please read it.
This I thought very convenient, for now I might hope to become acquainted with the tiresome society without having to attend any more such interesting meetings. In general the man, obviously a workman, left a favorable impression on me. And so I departed.
At that time I was still living in the barracks of the Second Infantry Regiment, in a little room which showed very plainly the traces of the Revolution. I was away all day, usually with the 41st Rifles, or at meetings, lectures before some other part of the troops, etc. I merely slept at night in my quarters. Being in the habit of waking up at 5 o’clock every morning, I was accustomed to amuse myself by putting a few hard bread scraps or crusts on the floor for the tiny mice that played about the room, and watching the comical little animals scramble for these tidbits. I had had enough starvation in my life so that I could imagine all too well the hunger and hence also the delight of the little creatures.
On the morning after the meeting, as usual, I was lying awake in bed at five o’clock, watching the activity and the whisking about. Not being able to get to sleep again, I suddenly remem-
216
