Meanwhile the three old men had gone in, and, as they were sitting in the twilight, Bräsig asked:
"Karl, is the book a story-book, to read in the winter evenings?"
"Eh, Zachary, I don't know. I will light a candle, and we can see."
When it was light, Habermann was going to look at the title; but Bräsig took the book out of his hand:
"No, Karl, we have a scholar here, let Strull read it."
Strull began to read, all in a breath, as if he were reading the Sunday's lesson out of the Gospels, stopping only for a strange word: "'Printed by Friedrich Vieweg and Son in Brunswick Chemistry in its Relation to Agriculture and Phy-si-o-logy.'"
"Hold!" cried Bräsig, "that word isn't right, it should be 'fisionomy.'"
"No," said Strull, "it is spelled 'physiology.'"
"For all I care, Strull," said Bräsig; "let them spell their outlandish words as they please, at one time this way, another time another way. Go ahead!"
"'By Justus Liebig, Doctor of Medicine and Philosophy, Professor of Chemistry at the Ludwig's University at Giessen, Knight of the Grand Ducal Hessian Ludwig's Order, and of the Imperial Russian St. Annen, Order of the Third Class, Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Science at Stockholm,'--now comes some Latin which I cannot read,--'Honorary Member of the Royal Academy at Dublin----'"