Courts and courtiers -- Fiction; German fiction -- Translations into English; Germany -- Fiction
These were the thoughts which occupied Klaus Heinrich during the next
few days--just these three or four mental pictures. And the strange
thing is that they were amply sufficient for him, and that he did not
want any more. But all things considered, it seemed to him more than
desirable that he should get another glimpse of the pearly-white face
soon, to-day if possible.
In the evening he went to the Court Theatre, where _The Magic Flute_ was
being played. And when from his box he descried Miss Spoelmann next to
Countess Löwenjoul in the front of the circle, a tremor went right
through him. During the opera he could watch her out of the darkness
through his opera-glasses, for the light from the stage fell on her. She
laid her head on her small, ringless hand, while she rested her bare arm
on the velvet braid, and she did not look angry now. She wore a dress of
glistening sea-green silk with a light scarf on which bright flowers
were embroidered, and round her neck a long chain of sparkling diamonds.
She really was not so small as she looked, Klaus Heinrich decided, when
she stood up at the end of the act. No, the childish shape of her head
and the narrowness of her shoulders accounted for her looking such a
little thing. Her arms were well developed, and one could see that she
played games and rode. But at the wrist her arm looked like a child's.
When the passage came: "He is a prince. He is more than that," Klaus
Heinrich conceived the wish to have a talk with Doctor Ueberbein. Doctor
Ueberbein called by chance next day at the "Hermitage" in a black
frock-coat and white tie, as usual when he paid Klaus Heinrich a visit.
Klaus Heinrich asked him whether he had already heard the story of the
changing of the guard. Yes, answered Doctor Ueberbein, several times.
But would Klaus Heinrich like to relate it to him again?... "No, not if
you know it," said Klaus Heinrich, disappointed. Then Doctor Ueberbein
jumped to quite another topic. He began to talk about opera-glasses, and
remarked that opera-glasses were a wonderful invention. They brought
close what was unfortunately a long way off, did they not? They formed a
bridge to a longed-for goal. What did Klaus Heinrich think? Klaus
Heinrich was inclined to agree to a certain extent. And it seemed that
yesterday evening, so people said, he had made a free use of this grand
invention, said the doctor. Klaus Heinrich could not see the point of
this remark.
Then Doctor Ueberbein said: "No, look here, Klaus Heinrich, that won't
do. You are stared at, and little Imma is stared at, and that's enough.
If you add to it by staring at little Imma, that's too much. You must
see that, surely?"
"Oh dear, Doctor Ueberbein, I never thought of that."
"But in other cases you generally do think of that sort of thing."
"I've felt so funny for the last few days," said Klaus Heinrich.
Doctor Ueberbein leaned back, pulled at his red beard near his throat,
and nodded slowly with his head and neck.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account