A MARTYR'S CROWN 85348 days which Weitling had spent in prison (from June 8, 1843,
to May 21, 1844), was written in London during the author's first
brief sojourn there, probably after August, 1844, and before Feb
ruary, 1846. It was intended to be a piece of accurate reporting of
the author's prison experiences, reconstructed from a rather re
markable memory, in the form of day by day entries. Weitling
labeled his account "pictures of reality," and the editor of Gerech¬
tigkeit believes that he was successful to a remarkable degree in
reconstructing accurately the story of his imprisonment in Zurich.
It is significant that he left in the manuscript passages which might
well have been deleted because they reflected unfavorably upon
the author, and that letters which he could not have seen for at
least a year were quoted with remarkable accuracy.^12
Whatever its origin, the Gerechtigkeit is a most important
source for the months which its author spent in prison. The manu
script reveals that Weitling studied English from a grammar sent
to the jail by a friend, and that in about two months he was able
to read the language fairly well. One reason for his studiousness
was the fact that he was preparing to migrate upon his release
either to England or to the United States. The Gerechtigkeit in
dicates that he spent much time going through the Bible again with
a fine-tooth comb, and that he discovered new pearls of wisdom.
A considerable portion of the manuscript deals with a recapitula
tion of the main events of his life to the time of his arrival in Zurich.
But its most valuable features are the character analysis of the
author which it provides and its alarming revelations of a psycho
logical deterioration so serious that it brought Weitling to the
brink of insanity.
Throughout his life, Weitling never had a real sense of security.
The forces that make for security in the lives of most people had
passed him by from the earliest years of his childhood. An illegiti
mate son and an emigree from his fatherland, he easily became
suspicious of others and was always on the watch for intrigues
against him. Perhaps it was equally natural under such circum-
(^12) Barnikol, Weitling der Gefangene, passim.