The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest / The writings of philosophers, poets, novelists, social reformers, and others who have voiced the struggle against social injustice; selected from twenty-five languages; covering a period of five thousand years

by Unknown

For lynch law we’d be grateful.

Stretched on the rack day after day,

Hearts sick and bodies aching,

Our heavy sighs their witness bear

To spirit slowly breaking.

(The words of the song make a strong impression on Old Baumert. Deeply agitated, he struggles against the temptation to interrupt Moritz. At last he can keep quiet no longer.)

Old Baumert (to his wife, half laughing, half crying, stammering):—“Stretched on the rack day after day.” Whoever wrote that, mother, knew the truth. You can bear witness ... eh, how does it go? “Our heavy sighs their witness bear” ... what’s the rest?

Moritz:—“To spirit slowly breaking.”

Old Baumert:—You know the way we sigh, mother, day and night, sleepin’ an’ wakin’.