The family had been very proud of Kaethe's distinguished young husband;
"a genius" they would always say impressively to less fortunate friends
when speaking of him, and dwell delightedly on Kaethe's relations with
the University and with certain distinguished people who visited Vienna
when the Kaiserstadt was a font of wisdom. Her husband was indeed
well-embarked on a brilliant career, any and all honours were possible;
Privy Counselor certainly, and later perhaps a "von" to his name. When
scientific Congresses met in Vienna, he was always called on to read
papers, and colleagues from other cities were eager to confer with
him. He often used to bring one or the other home with him for coffee,
proud of his smiling, soft-eyed, bright-cheeked wife, of his lovely
babies, his comfortable house. When things began to get bad, Kaethe
would tell the children what she used to have for the "Jause," that
extraordinary, incredible meal that came in the afternoon, _between_
other meals,--coffee and chocolate, with thick whipped cream, (the
now quite legendary "Schlagobers"), apple tarts with butter dough,
the fresh coffee cake, and certain little crescents that would fairly
melt in the mouth. The children were in the habit of asking their
exact color, shape and taste, they seemed quite unrelated to the War
and Peace bread that alone they were acquainted with, and certainly
they never could have sprung from the same harvest field. The real
difference between milk and cream, too, was an absorbing topic, and
they all loved Resl's joke that if it rained milk instead of water she
would be out all the time looking up with her mouth open, though Maxy
invariably reminded her that it would be better to take a pail and
bring a lot home and then everybody could have some. When Lilli learned
at school about the milky way, she taught them a game called living at
number 1 Milk Street. But lately they hadn't talked much of the "Jause"
of the old days, nor made so many little jokes. They were tired when
they got home from school and only errands connected with food had any
interest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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