Memoirs of Bertha von Suttner: The Records of an Eventful Life (Vol. 2 of 2)Suttner, Bertha von
History
Memoirs of Bertha von Suttner: The Records of an Eventful Life (Vol. 2 of 2)
Suttner, Bertha von
Peace; Suttner, Bertha von, 1843-1914; Women -- Austria -- Biography
I must confess I could not take an unqualified joy in doing this, for I
had been a witness to the opposition, open and secret, which had been
directed at The Hague against the realization of the “warless age.” But
all the more strenuous was the obligation to put to the service of the
cause all the new facts and supports which the present state of the
movement afforded its defenders.
Something else was rising full of threat on the horizon. The war party
in England seemed to be getting the upper hand; the Outlander crisis in
the Transvaal was growing more and more acute. What if it broke into
war? That would discredit the peace work that had been begun and would
decidedly put it back. Can it be that between the two forces of Might
and Right, Might is again to carry the day?
Another object of my thought and anxiety was found in our domestic
circumstances. The losses in the quarries, in the failure of crops, and
in unfortunate speculations had increased to such an extent that it was
now almost impossible to keep our beloved Harmannsdorf above water much
longer. And what then? What a grief for the poor old mother, for the
sisters, and also for My Own, if the home nest were to be sacrificed!
The third field of my feelings and moods lay within our married
happiness. In this was my peculiar inalienable home, my refuge for all
possible conditions of life,—something beyond Harmannsdorf and the
Transvaal, beyond everything, come what might,—and so the leaves of my
diary are full not only of political and domestic records of all kinds,
but also of memoranda of our gay little jokes, our confidential,
enjoyable walks, our uplifting reading, our hours of music together, and
our evening games of chess. To us personally nothing could happen. We
had each other,—that was everything.
The thought that we might be torn apart by the all-destroyer Death we
put out of our minds. And yet at that time I was not very strong and I
believe My Own felt some alarm about my condition. I had suddenly become
so languid; it was hard for me to walk; after a few steps I became so
dizzy that I could scarcely stand. My Own dragged me off to a physician;
I say “dragged,” because all my life long I have been strenuously
opposed to medical treatment. This physician gave me an examination and
asked me all manner of questions and ordered—what do you suppose?
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