As more and more scholars from other regions came to the University of Vienna, Doppler even became its chancellor, and the entire university staff grew increasingly respectful toward scholars.
The gatekeeper put on a show of examining the envelope containing the letter of recommendation, then invited Étienne Lenoir inside.
In truth, most people qualified to serve as gatekeepers at the University of Vienna were hardly ordinary. Many could read, and some had even finished middle school.
Of course, middle school here meant junior high. High school students in the nineteenth century were not ordinary people.
Spending all day at the University of Vienna—the foremost institution of learning in the Austrian Empire, and indeed all of Europe, at the time—had given these gatekeepers a degree of worldly knowledge.
Yet Étienne Lenoir's letter of recommendation was written in Latin.
"Sir, we will deliver your letter to the chancellor's secretary, but please register first."
The moment Étienne Lenoir heard the word "register," his heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be helped—he had been rejected too many times. Once, he had waited more than half a year without receiving any result. A little PTSD was inevitable.
"How long will I have to wait? I—"
In the end, Étienne Lenoir was too embarrassed to say the words, I have no money.
"Don't worry. It is not easy to see the chancellor, but the chancellor has secretaries specifically assigned to receive visitors. As long as they have time, they will come see you. You may wait in the reception room first."
Under the gatekeeper's guidance, Étienne Lenoir arrived at the reception room, which looked somewhat like a restaurant.
In fact, it had originally been the school cafeteria. But as the school expanded and its numbers grew, the old small cafeteria had been converted into a reception