Wehrhahn monologue (Act 1) — The Dramatic Works of Gerhart Hauptmann, Volume I

Aha! As far as Fleischer is concerned--he interests me most of all. Take a seat, please. I confess that I didn't sleep more than half the night. This matter simply wouldn't let me sleep. The letter that you wrote me excited me to an extraordinary degree.--That is a matter of temperament, to be sure. The slumbers of my predecessor would scarcely have been disturbed.--As far as I am concerned I have made up my mind, so to speak, to go the whole way.--It is my function here to make careful tests and to exterminate undesirable elements.--Under the protection of my honourable predecessor the sphere of our activity has become a receptacle for refuse of various kinds: lives that cannot bear the light--outlawed individuals, enemies of royalty and of the realm. These people must be made to suffer.--As for yourself, Mr. Motes, you are an author?