Short Stories From Austria- Ferdinand Von Saar

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Short Stories From Austria- Ferdinand Von Saar Page 18

by Ferdinand Ludwig Adam


  So it has been, since I left Theresienstadt, for the second time carnival. Although the Paris February Revolution had shocked Europe, people in Vienna danced carelessly on a volcano whose eruption was imminent in the near future. Lodoiska, who did not show any desire for balls, nevertheless wanted to visit a redoubt, where at that time the ladies sought to shine less through their toilets, than through spirit and wit, and in the Men under the larva like to shoot the reins. Lodoiska, wrapped in a rose-red domino, made the most of the mask-free use, and was constantly swarming around some young cavaliers she seemed to know. She had moved into a country house in Hietzing last summer and had come into contact with the circles to which she belonged. At the same time, there had already been several occasions for embarrassing jealousy, which I found all the more embarrassing, as I found myself more and more humiliated by a relationship which the major, in the manner of certain husbands, favored greatly.

  Towards morning, I had come home from the redoubt very bad-tempered, and then had slept far into the day. When I had just finished dressing, my servant appeared and announced that a young lady in mourning wished to speak to me.

  It flashed like a flash: Ginevra! But even so, I had appeased this idea by assuming that the person in question might possibly be a pauvre honteuse, as they were not too infrequently used by the officers. So I told my servant to let the lady step into the next room.

  When I opened the door, still anxious, she stood-Ginevra was really standing upright in the middle of the room, her arms lowered at her hips, as was her way, her hands locked slightly together. It had become noticeably bigger, and its forms were only now fully developed. An ivory-like paleness lay over her face, and her eyes had the dark metallic splendor of excitement known to me. Her hair shimmered even more golden than before under the black crepe pout.

  “Excuse me,” she began with a slight lowering of the head, that I visited you. It would not happen if you had acknowledged the letter of my mother's answer. '

  'Your mother's letter -' I stammered in breathless confusion. And, looking at her black clothes, I continued, 'Your mother -'

  'Has died two months ago,' she said seriously.

  'My God,' I replied flatly.

  'A relapse into the disease you know about.'

  It was as if she wanted to settle in these words for me.

  'My God,' I repeated, her eyes now filling with tears. 'But please, sit down -'

  She pressed her handkerchief to her eyelashes and made a brief negative gesture. 'I will not bother you for long. I have come only to make a request that I sent to you through my mother. I ask you to put back the cross I gave you. They know the value it has for me - and hopefully it will still be in your possession. '

  'Certainly, certainly', I replied and wanted to come to my desk. But involuntarily I paused. 'And you, Ginevra - what will you do now - -'

  , I follow the call of relatives living in Graz; because in Leitmeritz I do not want to stay longer. But I will not burden anyone, but teach Italian, which should be very sought after in that city. '

  As she now stood before me, unbroken by everything that happened there, in girlish independence, in the full consciousness of her sovereignty and dignity, the whole feeling of my own wretchedness overcame me and threatened to suffocate me. Like a swamp, I looked up at her.

  'Ginevra,' cried I, 'you despise me - you must despise me deeply!'

  'I do not despise you,' she replied calmly. 'What can you do for not having loved me?'

  ,O! Not loved!

  Not as I presumed in foolish confidence-not the way I loved you. How much I suffered through this gradual realization, you will believe me without further assurance. But now I have overcome and realize that it could not be otherwise. Therefore, I have no contempt, no grudge against you; rather I am and remain grateful to you for the first beautiful deception of my youth. Despite everything, she was the happiest time of my life - and it will probably always remain in my memory. And so I tell you - she pulled off a glove halfway through these words - the ring you gave me back then, not back as I might. I will carry him to the end of my days. '

  In me, the most inexpressible feelings surged.

  Ginevra! ' I exclaimed passionately, and, clutching her hand, wanted to kneel before her.

  She took a few steps back quickly.,What shoud that?!' she cried in a harsh voice. 'It does not fit between us.'

  ,Forgive me! And yet, if you - if you could forget - - '

  She frowned. 'Well, now, go ahead!'

  'Everything could be okay,' I had said. But I could not bring out the words anymore. For I felt how hollow and void such an assurance must sound out of my mouth, and the vague idea of a reconciling compensation which had taken possession of me was lost in the consciousness of complete inefficiency. I was silent.

  She looked at me with a look of pity.,See You, you yourself do not know what to say, and feel that we are divorced forever. And now I ask: the cross. '

  Unable to answer, I went to the desk, picked it out, and handed it to her. She took it and unwrapped the paper wrapper with a trembling hand. Her face twitched painfully as her gaze fell on the dull shimmering gold. I saw her forcefully controlling herself so as not to burst into tears. A shudder went through her whole body, she had to sit down.,My God! My God!' she said quietly. Then she rested her forehead with her hand and began to cry softly.

  I did not dare to breathe.

  'It's over,' she said finally, getting up and drying her eyes.,Good luck for the future!'

  Once again, it was as if I should not let go of the hand that she handed me now, should draw the glorious figure to me as it once did. She seemed to feel it, and quickly snatching away from me, she walked to the door.

  Ginevra! ' I blurted and tried to hold her back. But she waved me fiercely and vanished. I sank into the chair she had taken and remained motionless.....

  Soon after, those March days followed, the stormy events of which overtook me beyond myself. Certainly in a different sense than those who at that time unfolded the banner of freedom. We were soldiers and fulfilled our duty. I myself was still standing with the troops who besieged Vienna. Then came the Hungarian campaign with its changeable destinies and bloody battlefields - and as later years spread so much of the veil of oblivion, the grass had grown over my youthful heart struggles.”

  * * *

  “And have you heard nothing more about Ginevra?” They asked after a while.

  “Indeed; I was able to make inquiries. In Graz she met a young Triesteer, who in the course of time has become a very brilliant person in Egypt. She married him. Also, I think I have them - and passed during the Vienna World Fair in an open car with her husband and an already grown daughter. It is possible, however, that I am wrong.”

  “She will have been fine,” said the housewife thoughtfully. “And so you at least have the consciousness that they have become happy.”

  “I never doubted that. Because she was a strong nature; Only the weak are unhappy.”

  “And the Pole?” Asked another lady.

  “That would be a story in itself,” the Colonel replied, getting up and throwing the rest of his cigar into the ashtray. “Maybe I'll tell you next. But now I have to go back to the city; I'm expected. “He said goodbye and left.

  The others watched him until his tall figure disappeared into the dusk among the trees. Then the landlord turned to the lady who had asked for the Polish woman. “You should know, dear friend, that he is still in relationship with that woman. Although she is ten years older than him - so already an old woman - but he could not get away. Pity about him! He has always dragged himself along with women, and there, as Goethe says, one is finally weaned off like waving.”

  HISTORY OF A VIENNA CHILD

  FOREWORD BY THE PUBLISHER.

  The novel was written in 1890/91 in Blansko and in Raitz, completed the manuscript in Raitz on 15 March 1891. It is a fair copy with such strong corrections that the text has repeatedly become almost illegible and has
therefore been written off again by the publisher. Even the “Wienerkind” on the title page is above an illegible word and even during the printing the poet has not only made numerous minor changes, but has let follow the manuscript an instruction for three major variants, which has also taken into account. After the editorial board of the magazine “From the Rock to the Sea” had sent the novel back in May 1891 as very inappropriate for a family paper, the first print seems to be in book form, in the fourth novella collection “Images of Women” in the fall of 1891 (1892, page 83-211) to have come about. Here the novella has 10 sections; for after the dinner in Hietzing the narrative poet is invited by the wife of Ramberg (whose name is Nathan's wife) to stay, and there follows a long conversation with the heroine, in which she informs him that she and Rober he was not married, and that he wanted to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loved him boundlessly, and the remorse that she felt for her husband and her children in atonement for her blind and submissive love hinnehme. The poet who reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of his epic thread was in that version Page 83-211). Here the novella has 10 sections; for after the dinner in Hietzing the narrative poet is invited by the wife of Ramberg (whose name is Nathan's wife) to stay, and there follows a long conversation with the heroine, in which she informs him that she and Rober he was not married, and that he wanted to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loved him boundlessly, and the remorse that she felt for her husband and her children in atonement for her blind and submissive love hinnehme. The poet, who also reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of the epic thread, was in that version Page 83-211). Here the novella has 10 sections; for after the dinner in Hietzing the narrative poet is invited by the wife of Ramberg (whose name is Nathan's wife) to stay, and there follows a long conversation with the heroine, in which she informs him that she and Rober he was not married, and that he wanted to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loved him boundlessly, and the remorse that she felt for her husband and her children in atonement for her blind and submissive love hinnehme. The poet, who also reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of the epic thread, was in that version for after the dinner in Hietzing the narrative poet is invited by the wife of Ramberg (whose name is Nathan's wife) to stay, and there follows a long conversation with the heroine, in which she informs him that she and Rober he was not married, and that he wanted to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loved him boundlessly, and the remorse that she felt for her husband and her children in atonement for her blind and submissive love hinnehme. The poet, who also reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of the epic thread, was in that version for after the dinner in Hietzing the narrative poet is invited by the wife of Ramberg (whose name is Nathan's wife) to stay, and there follows a long conversation with the heroine, in which she informs him that she and Rober he was not married, and that he wanted to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loved him boundlessly, and the remorse that she felt for her husband and her children in atonement for her blind and submissive love hinnehme. The poet who reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of his epic thread was in that version in which she tells him that she is not married to Röber, and that he wants to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loves him boundlessly and the remorse that she has in mind for her husband and her children feel atoned for their blind and submissive love. The poet, who also reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of the epic thread, was in that version in which she tells him that she is not married to Röber, and that he wants to get rid of her after many infidelities with a sum of money, but that she nevertheless loves him boundlessly and the remorse that she has in mind for her husband and her children feel atoned for their blind and submissive love. The poet who reproaches our novella in a letter to Necker for having halfway out of his epic thread was in that version not satisfied on 3 April 1896, he asked the publisher a copy for improvements to any second edition, which then the two-volume edition of the “novellas from Austria” 1897 (second volume, page 233-307) benefited, Here the last conversation between the poet and the Viennese child has been canceled; the novella, therefore, has only nine sections, and the poet has also helped in every detail and made Count X, Prince B... (page 270 of our edition). As early as January 31, 1898, he again asked for the sheets of the last edition, and the second edition of the novellas of 1904 (aa O.) brought except the resolution of the transparent ciphers D... in Döbling, N... in Nußdorf and Hotel V... in Hotel Viktoria some new stylistic changes.

  I.

  In the spring of 1870, a festive wedding took place in the Vienna suburbs, where I had resided at the time. Dainty printed advertisements had been sent to almost the entire population, and anyone who could do without was able to attend the solemn wedding ceremony in the spacious parish church on the appointed day. I also could not help appearing, for I was personally acquainted with the bridegroom, if not closer, than these tend to involve frequent encounters in public places. He was a young man in his early thirties and so quite the image of a Viennese citizen's son from an older age. Not too tall, but easily prone to physical overabundance, he had a pretty, freshly colored face and extremely good-natured blue eyes, who beamed in constant cheerfulness. He dressed in the newest style and had a penchant for colored neck-bands, but he did not look delicately or disgustingly; rather, a pleasing, somewhat carefree naturalness appeared in his whole being. His father, a wealthy man, had brought it from small beginnings out to the city room master and built at the entrance of the village a handsome family house, which closed a large workplace and spacious wood storage, which properties in the course of time extended brickworks in the next Surrounding joined. When the old Stadler died, two sons split into the well-founded estate, so that the older man, who was already married, continued to run the carpentry, but the younger took over the wood business and the administration of the brickworks, but at the same time a comfortable one continuing bachelor bachelor life. But now, as it turned out, he had become tired of it; There was room in the ancestral home for a second family-and so he had only had to choose the bride.

  The church, through whose gothic arched windows the light of a sunny May day, was overcrowded; as of course, the female sex was predominantly represented and awaited the arrival of the bride and groom. And when this finally took place and the young couple entered the church with a large number of pendants, there was a perceptible murmur of admiration in the silent room, and all eyes followed the bride, who indeed presented a delightful sight. Standing tall, towering above the bridegroom, she marched on his arm, pale with inner agitation, with lowered head to the altar. The flowing veil, the myrtle decoration in the dark blond hair, the dull white of the wedding dress, gave the slender figure something softly transfigured, and when she looked up, her eyes shone bright as gold. One was astonished and hardly breathed; so many, so immaculate charms had not expected to be seen. I too was surprised - doubly surprised. For I had known the beautiful creature, who was now standing in front of the altar in mature mischievousness, in almost budding development, and while the priest was addressing himself, the bridal couple spoke the words with ringing voices, and the rings were exchanged, I remembered to the following.

  It was the beginning of the sixties. I had not long since taken off my soldier's coat and spun myself with my literary hopes and designs in a quiet suburban apartment, which I usually left during the first afternoon in order to have my meal at a nearby inn. Along the way I passed a stately home, one of those new buildings that had been growing up everywhere, and which gave the suburban street a more distinguished appearance. It belonged, as I learned later, to the widow of a master builder who had
started manufacturing for his own account, but had since left with death. At a window of the first floor, in which the owner lived, I now often saw the lovely profile of a girl, that sat behind a row of well-kept flowerpots. Of course, the still very youthful beauty turned her head to the street at times, and so it happened that one day our eyes met, and I especially noticed her bright golden eyes. Since then a kind of silent agreement had come between us, so that she now always seemed to be waiting for me and, when she saw me coming, rose behind the flowers, thus giving me the sight of her delicate bust. Although I harbored no intentions, I nevertheless continued the thread of the little novel in graceful dreams, leaving it to a certain extent to fate, whether it might perhaps bring me closer to the good creature without my help. It was a joyous shock when I saw her one day, As I was just on the way home, very daintily dressed to step out of the front door and saw in the next, only a few steps away side street turn. For a moment I had stopped as if rooted; but then I followed her. She was wearing a light summer dress with a blue stripe and a brown straw hat adorned with artificial wildflowers. For the first time, I could see her tall, slender figure in full view, and admired the harmonious movements of her limbs, her strong feet, and the dense fullness of her hair, which, according to the fashion of that time, was half-loosened in a fine silk net far above her neck hung down. She must have noticed me earlier, too, because she turned her head more often, as if to peer, if I had followed her and was near her.

 

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