第5章 The Maniac 疯子

A gentleman who had traveled in Europe, relates that he one day visited the hospital of Berlin, where he saw a man whose exterior was very striking. His figure, tall and commanding, was bending with age, but more with sorrow; the few scattered hairs which remained on his temples were white almost as the driven snow, and the deepest melancholy was depicted in his countenance.

On inquiring who he was and what brought him there, he started, as if from sleep, and after looking around him, began with slow and measured steps to stride the hall, repeating in a low but audible voice, "Once one is two; once one is two."

Now and then he would stop, and remain with his arms folded on his breast as if in contemplation, for some minutes; then again resuming his walk, he continued to repeat, "Once one is two; once one is two." His story, as our traveler understood it, is as follows:

Conrad Lange, collector of the revenues of the city of Berlin, had long been known as a man whom nothing could divert from the paths of honesty. Scrupulously exact in an his dealings, and assiduous in the discharge of all his duties, he had acquired the good will and esteem of all who knew him, and the confidence of the minister of finance, whose duty it is to inspect the accounts of all officers connected with the revenue.

On casting up his accounts at the close of a particular year, he found a deficit of ten thousand ducats. Alarmed at this discovery, he went to the minister, presented his accounts, and informed him that he did not know how it had arisen, and that he had been robbed by some person bent on his ruin.

The minister received his accounts, but thinking it a duty to secure a person who might probably be a defaulter, he caused him to be arrested, and put his accounts into the hands of one of his secretaries for inspection, who returned them the day after with the information that the deficiency arose from a miscalculation;that in multiplying, Mr. Lange had said, once one is two, instead of once one is one.

The poor man was immediately released from confinement, his accounts returned, and the mistake pointed out. During his imprisonment, which lasted two days, he had neither eaten, drunk, nor taken any repose; and when he appeared, his countenance was as pale as death. On receiving his accounts, he was a long time silent; then suddenly awaking, as if from a trance, he repeated, "Once one is two."

He appeared to be entirely insensible of his situation; would neither eat nor drink, unless solicited; and took notice of nothing that passed around him. While repeating his accustomed phrase, if anyone corrected him by saying, "Once one is one," his attention was arrested for a moment, and he said, "Ah, right, once one is one;" and then resuming his walk, he continued to repeat, "Once one is two." He died shortly after the traveler left Berlin.

This affecting story, whether true or untrue, obviously abounds with lessons of instruction. Alas! how easily is the human mind thrown off its balance; especially when it is stayed on this world only, and has no experimental knowledge of the meaning of the injunction of Scripture, to cast all our cares upon Him who careth for us, and who heareth even the young ravens when they cry.

一位在欧洲旅行的绅士谈到，有一次他参观柏林医院的时候，看见一个相貌突出的男人。他的身形高大威风，但是由于岁数的缘故，有点驼背；面色比较忧愁，太阳穴边上遗留的零散头发就如同雪一样斑白，深深的忧郁刻在了他的脸上。

在被问道他是谁，为什么来这里的时候，他开始慢慢地在大厅里挪起了小碎步，并用低沉的声音答道：“一乘以一等于二，一乘以一等于二。”

他时不时地会停下脚步，一直保持把手交叉放在胸前，就这样待个几分钟，一副若有所思的样子，然后再接着走，他会继续说道：“一乘以一等于二，一乘以一等于二。”

我们的旅行家是这样理解他的故事的，内容如下：

康拉德·兰格，柏林财政收入的验收员，一直以来都被人们看做是心地坦诚的人，总是认真地完成他的本职工作。他受到了所有人的赞誉与尊重，也获得了财政部长的信任，财政部长的工作内容就是检查这些验收员关于财政收入的款项是否有误。

在一个特殊之年邻近结束的时候，人们对他的款项进行检查之后发现了1万达克特的赤字。他发现了这个情况之后，焦急地去找财政部长，把款项展示给了财政部长，并且告知他，他也不知道怎么会发生这样的事，一定是被一些想让他出丑的人算计了。

财政部长接过他的款项，他心想，确保一个可能是拖欠款项的人的安全也是我的职责，于是他下令逮捕这个人，并把他的款项交给了他的一个秘书进行详查。几天之后，结果出来了，发现那是计算失误，人们是按照乘法算的，兰格先生曾经说过：“一乘以一等于二，不是一乘以一等于一。”

那个倒霉的兰格立刻被释放了出来，他的款项也被还了回来，并把计算错误的部分抹掉了。在他被监禁的两天里，他不吃不喝也不睡觉，脸色和死人一样苍白；当他收到款项的时候，他安静了好长一段时间，就像被下了咒一样，然后猛然惊醒，嘴里重复地叨咕道：“一乘以一等于二。”

他完全没有意识到他的处境，不吃也不喝，对他周遭的事漠不关心，除非有人求他，同时继续他的陈腔滥调“一乘以一等于二，一乘以一等于二”，然后继续向前走，在那个旅行家离开柏林不久，兰格就死了。

不管这则故事是真是假，都非常具有教育意义。一个人跌倒是多么的简单，尤其是在不知道圣经禁令的含义下，把我们所有的顾虑都揽在自己身上，甚至是乌鸦的咆哮也会去倾听。