Otto monologue (Act 1) — The Burgomaster of Stilemonde: A Play in Three Acts

You see the hatred! Amazing! It’s the same everywhere, all the time, wherever we go. They simply will not listen, they will not understand. I was conscious of its existence even in the heart of your father, who is the best-natured, fairest and most tranquil-minded man I know. What can we do, when they treat us like that?... But we must keep an eye on the boy. So long as he confines his offensive remarks to me, there’s no great harm done, but it would be a bad look out for him if he took it into his head to treat the Major or Lieutenant von Schaunberg in this way, for they are neither of them very patient. (_A shot is fired in the distance._) That’s a shot!