by Ivo Andrić
stakeandexposedonthatvery kapia.
TherewerealsoafewSarajevosecondaryschoolstudentswholistenedavidlyto
their older colleagues and their tales of life in the great cities, and with the
imagination that whips up the vanity and hidden desires of children thought of
everythingasevengreaterandmorebeautifulthanitreallywasorevercouldbe.
AmongthemwasNikolaGlasičanin,apalestiffyouthwhobecauseofpoverty,
poorhealthandlackofsuccesshadhadtoleavethesecondaryschoolafterthe
fourthclassandreturntothetownandacceptapostasclerktoaGermantimber
exporting firm. He came from a decayed landowning family at Okolište. His
grandfather,MilanGlasičanin,haddiedashorttimeaftertheoccupation,inthe
Sarajevolunaticasylum,aftergamblingawayinhisyouththegreaterpartofhis
property.Hisfather,Peter,asicklycreaturewithoutwill,forceorreputationhad
died some time ago. Now Nikola spent all day long on the river bank with the workmenwhopoledtheheavypinelogsandmadethemintorafts.Hemeasured
the cubic meterage of the wood and afterwards, in the office, entered it in the
books. This monotonous task among such people, without ideals and without
wider views, he felt as a torture and a humiliation, and the absence of any
likelihood of being able to change his social status or get on in the world had
createdofthesensitiveyouthamanoldbeforehistime,biliousandtaciturn.He
readmuchinhissparetime,butthatspiritualfooddidnothingtogivehimforce
orexalthim,foreverythinginhimtookasourturn.Hisbadluck,hisloneliness
andhissufferingopenedhiseyesandsharpenedhissensestomanythings,but
even the most beautiful thoughts and most precious knowledge could only
discourageandembitterhimthemore,fortheythrewanevenstrongerlighton
hislackofsuccessandhislackofprospectsinthetown.
TherewasalsoVladoMarić,alocksmithbytrade,amerryandgood-humoured
manwhomhiscolleaguesfromthehigherschoolslovedandinvited,asmuchfor
hisstrongandlovelybaritoneasforhissimple-heartednessandgoodness.This
vigorous young man with his locksmith's cap on his head was one of those
humble men who are always sufficient to themselves and do not think of
comparing themselves with others, but calmly and thankfully accept whatever
lifeofferstothemandgivesimplyandnaturallyalltheycan.
Therewerealsothetwolocalschoolmistresses,ZorkaandZagorka,bothbornin
thetown.Alltheyouthscompetedfortheirfavoursandaroundthemplayedthat
naïve,complicated,brilliantandtormentinggameoflove.Intheirpresencethe
discussionsragedlikeacourtofloveinearliercenturies;becauseofthemyoung
menwouldlatersitonthe kapia smokinginthedarknessandsolitudeorsinging
with others after an evening spent drinking somewhere else; because of them
there were hidden enmities between comrades, badly concealed jealousies and
open quarrels. About ten o'clock the girls would go home; but the young men
remained for long, though the mood on the kapici slackened and the rival
eloquencediminished.
Stiković,whousuallytooktheleadinthesediscussions,thateveningsatsilent,
smoking.Hewastroubledandoutofhumourwithhimself,butheconcealedit
as he always concealed all his true feelings, though he never succeeded in
concealingthemcompletely.Thatafternoonhehadhadhisfirstrendezvouswith
theschoolmistressZorka,anattractivegirlwithafullfigure,palefaceandfiery
eyes.OnStiković'sinsistence,theyhadbeenabletodothemostdifficultofall
things in a small town; that is for a youth and a girl to meet in a hidden place
where no one could see them or know anything about it. They had met in her schoolwhichwasdesertedatthattimebecauseoftheholidays.Hehadgonein
fromonestreet,throughthegarden,andshefromanotherbythemainentrance.
Theyhadmetinadimly-lit,dustyroompiledalmosttotheceilingwithbenches.
Itisthusthatthepassionofloveisoftencompelledtolookforremoteandugly
places.Theycouldneithersitnorliedown.Bothofthemwereembarrassedand
awkward.Toofullofdesire,tooimpatient,theyembracedandmingledononeof
thosebencheswhichsheknewsowell,withoutlookingatornoticinganything
aroundthem.Hewasthefirsttorecover.Abruptly,withouttransition,asyoung
men do, he stood up to arrange his clothing and go away. The girl burst into
tears.Theirdisillusionwasmutual.Whenhehadmoreorlesscalmeddownhe
wentout,almostasifescaping,byasidedoor.
At home he met the postman who had brought the youth-paper with his article
'TheBalkans,SerbiaandBosnia-Herzegovina'.Readingthearticleagainturned
histhoughtsawayfromtheincidentofafewmomentsbefore.Buteveninthat
hefoundreasonfordissatisfaction.Therewereprinters'errorsinthearticleand
someofthesentencessoundedsillytohim;now,whenitwasnolongerpossible
to make alterations, it seemed to him that many things could have been better
expressed,moreclearlyandmoreconcisely.
Thesameeveningtheysatonthe kapia discussinghisarticleinthepresenceof
Zorka herself. His principal adversary was the talkative and aggressive Herak
who looked at everything and criticized everything from an orthodox socialist
viewpoint.Theothersonlyintervenedinthediscussionfromtimetotime.The
twoschoolmistressesremainedsilent,preparinganunseenwreathforthevictor.
Stiković defended himself weakly, firstly because he himself now saw many
weaknesses and illogicalities in his own article, though he would never admit
thisbeforehiscolleagues;andsecondlybecausehewastroubledbythememory
oftheafternooninthedustyandstuffyclassroom,ascenewhichnowseemedto
himbothcomicanduglybut which had long been the aim of his most intense
desires and his most ardent feelings towards the pretty schoolmistress. She
herself was sitting there in the summer darkness looking at him with shining
eyes.Hefeltlikeadebtorandacriminalandwouldhavegivenmuchnottohave
been in the school that day and not to be here with her now. In such a mood,
Herakseemedtohimlikeanaggressivegadflyfromwhoseattackshecouldonly
defendhimselfwithdifficulty.Itseemedtohimthathemustanswernotonlyfor
hisarticlebutalsoforallthathadhappenedthatdayintheschool.Aboveallhe
wanted to be alone, somewhere far away, so that he could think calmly of
somethingotherthanthearticleorthegirl.Butself-lovedrovehimontodefend himself.StikovićquotedCvijićandŠtrosmajer,HerakKautskyandBabel.
'You are putting the cart before the horse,' shouted Herak, analysing Stiković's
article. 'It is not possible for the Balkan peasant, plunged in poverty and every
&nbs
p; sort of misery, to found a good and lasting state organization. Only the
preliminary economic liberation of the exploited classes, the peasants and the
workers, that is to say the greater number of the people, can create real
conditionsfortheformationofindependentstates.Thatisanaturalprocessand
the road we all must take, and in no way the other way round. Therefore both
national liberation and unification must be carried out in the spirit of socialist
liberationandrenascence.Otherwiseitwillhappenthatthepeasant,workerand
ordinarycitizenwillintroducetheirpauperismandtheirslavishmentality,likea
mortal contagion, into the new state formations and the small number of
exploiters will instil into them their parasitical, reactionary mentality and their
anti-socialinstincts.Thereforeenduringstatesorahealthysocietycannotexist.'
'All that is foreign book-learning, my good fellow,' answered Stiković, 'which
vanishes before the living impetus of awakened nationalist forces among the
SerbsandthenamongtheCroatsandSlovenesalso,thoughtendingtooneaim.
Things do not come to pass according to the forecasts of German theoreticians
butadvanceincompleteaccordwiththedeepsenseofourhistoryandourracial
destiny. From Karageorge's words: 'Let each kill his Turkish chief the social
problemintheBalkanshasalwayssolveditselfbythewayofnationalliberation
movements and wars. It all moves beautifully logically, from the less to the
great,fromtheregionalandtribaltothenationalandtheformationoftheState.
Were not our victories at Kumanovo and on the Bregalnica also the greatest
victoriesofprogressivethoughtandsocialjustice?'
'Thatremainstobeseen,'brokeinHerak.
'Whodoesnotseeitnow,willneverseeit.Webelieve...'
'Youbelieve,butwebelievenothing,butwanttobeconvincedbyactualproofs
andfacts,'answeredHerak.
'SurelythedisappearanceoftheTurksandtheweakeningofAustro-Hungaryas
the first step towards her annihilation are really the victories of small,
democraticpeoplesandenslavedclassesintheiraspirationtofindaplaceinthe
sun?'Stikovićdevelopedhisidea.
'Iftherealizationofnationalistaimsbringswithitthecreationofsocialjustice,
then in the Western European states which have for the most part achieved all theirnationalistidealsandareinthatmattersatisfied,thereshouldnolongerbe
any major social problems, or movements, or conflicts. Yet we see that that is
notso.Onthecontrary.'
'AndIkeeptellingyou,'Stikovićansweredweariedly,'thatwithoutthecreation
of independent states on the basis of national unity and modern conceptions of
personal and social liberty, there can be no talk of "social liberation". For, as someFrenchmanoncesaid,politicscomefirst....'
'Thestomachcomesfirst,'interruptedHerak.
The others too became heated and the naïve students' discussion became a
youthful squabble with everyone talking at once and interrupting one another
andwhich,atthefirstquips,degeneratedintolaughterandshouting.
That was a welcome excuse for Stiković to break off the argument and remain
silent,withouthavingtogivetheimpressionofawithdrawaloradefeat.
AfterZorkaandZagorkawhowenthomeaboutteno'clock,escortedbyVelimir
and Ranko, the others too began to disperse. At last only Stiković and Nikola
Glasičaninwereleft.
These two were about the same age. At one time they had gone to school
togetherandhadsharedthesamelodgingsinSarajevo.Theyknewoneanother
downtothelastdetailandjustforthatreasontheycouldneitherofthemmake
uptheirmindwhethertheyreallylikedoneanother.Withtheyearsthedistance
betweenthemnaturallybecamewiderandhardertobridge.Everyvacationthey
metagainhereinthetownandeachtooktheother'smeasureandlookedonthe
other as an inseparable enemy. Now the beautiful and wayward schoolmistress
Zorka had also come between them. In the long months of the previous winter
she had gone about with Glasičanin who had never concealed, or been able to
conceal,thathewasinlove.Hehadplungedheadoverheelsinlovewithallthe
firethatembitteredanddissatisfiedpersonscanputintosuchanemotion.
But as soon as the summer months came and the students began to appear, the
sensitive Glasičanin was unable to avoid seeing the interest that the
schoolmistress showed in Stiković. For that reason the old tension between
them,whichhadalwaysbeenkepthiddenfromothers,hadgreatlyincreased.All
thisvacationtheyhadnotoncebeenalonetogetherastheywerenow.
Now that chance had so arranged it, the first thought of each of them was to
separate as soon as possible without conversation which could only be
unpleasant for both. But some ridiculous consideration, known only to youth, prevented them from doing as they wished. But in this embarrassment chance
again helped them and lessened at least for a moment the heavy silence that
oppressedthem.
In the darkness could be heard the voices of two youths who were walking on
the bridge. They were moving slowly and just then halted by the kapia behind theangleoftheparapet,sothatStikovićandGlasičanincouldnotseethem,or
beseenbythem,fromtheirseatonthe sofa. Buttheycouldheareverywordand
thevoiceswerewellknowntothem.Theyweretwooftheiryoungercomrades.
Toma Galus and Fehim Bahtijarević. These two kept themselves a little apart
fromthegroupwhichcomprisedmostoftheotherstudentsandwhichgathered
every evening on the kapia around Stiković and Herak, for, although younger, GaluswasarivalofStikovićbothasapoetandasanationalistspeaker.Hedid
not like Stiković nor admire him, while Bahtijarević was exceptionally silent,
proudandreservedasbefittedatruegrandchildofafamilyofbegs.
Toma Galus was a tall youth with red cheeks and blue eyes. His father, Alban
vonGalus,thelastdescendantofanancientfamilyoftheBurgenland,hadcome
tothetownasacivilservantimmediatelyaftertheoccupation.Hehadbeenfor
twelveyearsaforestryinspectorandnowlivedinthetownonpension.Atthe
very beginning, he had married the daughter of one of the local landowners,
HadjiTomaStanković,arobustandfull-blownyoungwomanofdarkskinand
strong will. They had had three children, two daughters and one son, all of
whomhadbeenchristenedintotheSerbianOrthodoxChurchandhadgrownup
likerealtownsmen'schildrenandgrandchildrenofHadjiToma.
OldGalus,atallandformerlyaveryhandsomeman,withapleasantsmileand
massesofthickwhitehair,hadlongbecomearealtownsman,'MrAlbo',whom
theyoungergenerationcouldnotthinkofasaforeignerandanewcomer.He
had
two passions which harmed no one; hunting and his pipe, and had made many
oldandtruefriends,bothamongtheSerbsandamongtheMoslems,throughout
the whole district who shared his passion for the chase. He had completely
assimilated many of their customs as if he had been born and bred amongst
them, especially their habit of cheerful silence and calm conversation, so
characteristic of men who are passionate smokers and who love hunting, the
forestsandlifeintheopen.
YoungGalushadmatriculatedthatyearatSarajevoandthatautumnwasdueto
goontoViennatostudy.Butinthematterofthesestudiestherewasadivision
ofopinioninthefamily.Thefatherwantedhissontostudytechnicalsciencesor forestryandthesonwantedtostudyphilosophy.ForTomaGalusonlyresembled
his father in appearance and all his desires led him in a completely opposite
direction. He was one of those good scholars, modest and exemplary in
everything,whopassalltheirexaminationswitheaseasifplayingatthem,but
whose real and sincere interests are taken up with satisfying their somewhat
confused and disordered spiritual aspirations outside school and outside the
officialcurriculum.Thesearestudentsofsereneandsimpleheartbutofuneasy
and inquisitive spirit. Those difficult and dangerous crises of the life of the
sensesandemotionsthroughwhichsomanyotheryoungmenoftheiragepass,
are almost unknown to them, therefore they find difficulty in stilling their
spiritual anxieties and very often remain all their lives dilettantes, interesting
eccentrics without stable occupation or definite interests. As every young man
mustnotonlyfulfiltheeternalandnaturaldemandsofyouthandmaturityand
alsopaytributetothecurrentspiritualmoodsandfashionsofhistime,whichfor
themomentreignamongstyouth,Galustoohadwrittenversesandwasanactive
member of the revolutionary nationalist student organizations. He had also
studiedFrenchforfiveyearsasanoptionalsubject,takenaninterestinliterature
and, more especially, philosophy. He read passionately and indefatigably. The