Effi Briest Page #3

We ought to do something...

for you should know...

today's courtesy visit was the last.

Thank goodness!

But the mere feeling that

we can relax now is celebration enough.

You might give me a kiss, though.

But you don't even think of that.

Not a token of affection the whole journey.

You're as icy as a snowman.

Don't go on!

l shall mend my ways.

THEN CAME THElR FlRST SEPARATlON,

WHlCH LASTED ALMOST 12 HOURS.

DEAR MAMA!

Can l....

You called, ma'am?

Johanna, l'm going to bed.

lt's still early, l know.

But l feel so alone.

Please post the letter first.

When you return, it will be time for bed.

And even if it isn't....

What's she like?

She's very young.

But that's no bad thing, quite the opposite.

The young ones just stand

in front of the mirror...

titivating themselves all the time,

so they don't see or hear too much.

They don't count candle stumps...

or begrudge a person a kiss...

just because they don't

get any themselves anymore.

My previous mistress was like that...

but the present one's not.

ls he very affectionate?

Oh, yes.

You can imagine.

But he leaves her alone...

Yes, but don't forget

there's the prince, Frau Paaschen!

And he is district councillor, after all.

He may want to rise even higher.

Of course he does. And he will.

lt lies in his nature.

My husband says so, too.

He's a good judge of people.

l'm so afraid.

That'll pass, ma'am. We've all been afraid.

You've all been afraid?

What do you mean?

lf you're really afraid, ma'am,

l can make up a bed here...

and sleep here till tomorrow...

or until the master comes back.

The master shouldn't find out l'm afraid.

He doesn't like that.

He wants me to be brave.

But l can't be.

l know l have to overcome my fears...

and do as he wishes.

What's the matter with your mistress?

Kruse said you'd slept over there.

Yes, sir.

Madam rang three times quickly.

Not without reason, l thought.

And l was right.

Probably a dream, or the other thing.

What other thing?

-Oh, you know, sir--

-l know nothing.

Anyway, it must stop.

HaIf an hour Iater, Effi appeared.

She Iooked IoveIy, quite paIe,

and Ieaning on Johanna's arm.

But when she saw Innstetten...

she ran to him and hugged and kissed him...

and the tears ran down her cheeks.

You see, Effi...

l can't just go away from here...

even if one could sell the house

or exchange it for another...

it would be like a rebuff to the prince.

l can't have the people here saying:

''lnnstetten is selling his house...

''because his wife thought the picture

of a Chinaman near her bed was a ghost.''

That would be the end of me.

One would never live down...

the ridicule.

You have no idea how ambitious l am.

l married you out of ambition.

Don't pull such a serious face!

l love you.

What does one say when one plucks

a flower and pulls out the petals?

''l love you...

''with all my heart...

''with every part.''

-ls someone buried there?

-Yes, the Chinese.

-Ours?

-Yes, ours.

Then there is something to it? Some story?

You'd better tell me all about it.

The truth can't torment me

more than my imagination.

Where does one begin?

Even with stories it's difficult.

Oh, Geert, how delightful it all is...

and what a dull existence

l led in Hohen-Cremmen!

Never anything out of the ordinary!

You shouldn't talk like that.

Whatever you think about ghosts...

beware of things that are unusual...

or what people call ''unusual''!

What you find so enticing,

including the sort of life...

Miss Trippelli leads...

is usually gained at the cost of happiness.

lt arrives in Berlin at 6:50...

and an hour later...

if the wind's right,

they'll hear it in Hohen-Cremmen...

rattling past in the distance.

Would you like to be on it, Effi?

GieshuebIer was very fond

of his artist friend...

and esteemed her taIents highIy.

But his enthusiasm did not

bIind him to the fact...

that she possessed...

onIy modest sociaI accompIishments.

And these were what he cuItivated

assiduousIy himseIf.

Marietta, l have ordered

a modest supper for 8 o'clock.

We still have 45 minutes...

unless you'd prefer to sing

a cheerful song at table.

l wonder what he'll bring.

Something by Gluck, l imagine...

something highly dramatic.

lf l may say so, Miss Trippelli...

l'm surprised to hear

you're only a concert singer.

l think you'd be ideally suited...

to the stage more than most.

LuIIaby by Louis Spohr.

AII is sIumbering, sweet and deep

Come, my chiId, now you must sIeep

Outside it's the wind that sighs

Whispering ''sususu, '' its IuIIabies

SIeep, my chiId, sIeep

That's enough!

l wish l could tell you...

how grateful l am to you!

lt was all so...

lovely, so assured...

so fluent.

But most of all, l admire...

the calmness with which you perform.

l'm so impressionable.

The least mention of ghosts...

makes me tremble...

and l am unable to regain my composure.

You sing these things

so powerfully, so movingly...

yet you remain so serene yourself.

l come from an enlightened family.

When the phonograph appeared...

my father said,

''There's something to it, Marie.''

And he was right. There is something to it.

We are beset on all sides.

You will come to realize that.

Shall we go in to supper?

BARONESS lNNSTETTEN, NE BRlEST.

ARRlVED SAFEL Y. PRlNCE K. AT STATlON.

MORE ENAMOURED OF ME THAN EVER.

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR HOSPlTALlTY.

REGARDS TO THE BARON,

MARlETTA TRlPPELLl

''Three wise kings came to Christ's door.

''One among them was a blackamoor.

''Today, a Moorish purveyor brings

all kinds of spiced and dainty things.

''lnstead of myrrh and incense, though...

''he brings morsels of almond

and pistachio.''

To receive the respects of a good person...

is something special, agreeable.

Don't you think so, Geert?

l do indeed.

lt is perhaps the only true source of joy.

Or it should be at least.

But everyone is so wrapped up

in mundane things.

lncluding me.

ln the end, though...

we are what we are.

ALL WAS STlLL lN THE HOUSE.

''What I hinted at recentIy

has now been confirmed.

''Every day anew,

Innstetten expresses his joy at the news.

''I need not teII you how happy I am myseIf...

''since I shaII have new Iife

and distraction about me...

''or, as Geert puts it, 'a precious toy.'

''Those are probabIy the right words,

but he shouIdn't use them.

''They're Iike a stab in the heart...

''and remind me how young I am...

''and that I'm scarceIy out of the nursery.''

-Who was she?

-Registrar Rode's widow.

Strange...

l always imagined

registrars' widows to be poor.

So they are as a rule.

She was an exception.

She was altogether a very peculiar woman...

sickly and weak on her legs.

That's why she had a woman servant

strong enough...

to protect and carry her

if anything happened.

l've seen her.

Kind brown eyes

with a frank and honest look.

-But a bit simple.

-That's right.

To shake off her sense

of coIdness and duIIness...

she feIt the desire to go for a Ionger waIk.

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