The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 12
General
The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 12
German literature -- 19th century -- Translations into English; German literature -- 20th century -- Translations into English
The next morning was as beautiful as the evening had been, and they
took coffee out of doors. Innstetten received a few letters, which had
to be attended to promptly, and so Effi decided at once to employ the
hour thus left free for her in looking for quarters. She first walked
past an inclosed meadow, then past groups of houses and fields of
oats, finally turning into a road which ran through a kind of gully to
the sea. Where this gully road struck the beach there stood an inn
shaded by tall beech trees, not so aristocratic as the "Fahrenheit," a
mere restaurant, in fact, which because of the early hour was entirely
empty. Effi sat down at a point with a good view and hardly had she
taken a sip of the sherry she had ordered when the inn-keeper stepped
up to engage her in conversation, half out of curiosity and half out
of politeness.
"We like it very well here," she said, "my husband and I. What a
splendid view of the bay! Our only worry is about a place to stay."
"Well, most gracious Lady, that will be hard."
"Why, it is already late in the season."
"In spite of that. Here in Sassnitz there is surely nothing to be
found, I can guarantee you. But farther along the shore, where the
next village begins--you can see the shining roofs from here--there
you might perhaps find something."
"What is the name of the village?"
"Crampas."
Effi thought she had misunderstood him. "Crampas," she repeated, with
an effort. "I never heard the word as the name of a place. Nothing
else in the neighborhood?"
"No, most gracious Lady, nothing around here. But farther up, toward
the north, you will come to other villages, and in the hotel near
Stubbenkammer they will surely be able to give you information.
Addresses are always left there by people who would be willing to rent
rooms."
Effi was glad to have had the conversation alone and when she reported
it a few moments later to her husband, keeping back only the name of
the village adjoining Sassnitz, he said: "Well, if there is nothing
around here the best thing will be to take a carriage, which,
incidentally, is always the way to take leave of a hotel, and without
any ado move farther up toward Stubbenkammer. We can doubtless find
there some idyllic spot with a honeysuckle arbor, and, if we find
nothing, there is still left the hotel, and they are all alike."
Effi was willing, and about noon they reached the hotel near
Stubbenkammer, of which Innstetten had just spoken, and there ordered
a lunch. "But not until half an hour from now. We intend to take a
walk first and view the Hertha Lake. I presume you have a guide?"
Following the affirmative answer a middle-aged man approached our
travelers. He looked as important and solemn as though he had been at
least an adjunct of the ancient Hertha worship.
The lake, which was only a short distance away, had a border of tall
trees and a hem of rushes, while on its quiet black surface there swam
hundreds of water lilies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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