Lotte in Weimar Page #5

Where does your ward originate from?

He's a jurist from Breslau,

the son of a Swedish fur trader.

- So not a nobleman?

- No, not at all.

And you're spoiling him with fancy foods.

Does he know something about poetry?

One doesn't have to,

when one incarnates it.

That's Mager. Don't come in!

Mager!

Mager, we don't want any coffee.

Who could drink coffee now?

Has one ...

Each day we visited our foundling,

the dear Ferdinand

Such confusion of hearts,

oh, such confusion!

Good day, Ferdinand.

Good day.

Good day, Ferdinand.

Good day.

Even cranberries.

For my mother's son.

And his corpus delicti.

Good Heavens, the milk.

The milk.

Cranberries without milk.

A bit more.

Open your mouth.

Like a good boy.

# with bow and arrow across mountains and valleys

# the rifleman comes along,

in the early morning light

# la la la

# la la la

My heart beats with joy when I see you,

Ferdinand.

I confess.

A sense of liberty and patriotism,

you epitomize it.

Did I already tell you how Germany's greatest poet

admonished me because of it?

Tell us, Dr. Passow.

Regarding a love of liberty and patriotism,

opposing the French oppression,

Goethe said to me,

in an angry voice,

"it is not enough to have pure and noble intentions."

"one must also consider the consequences

of one's actions"

"and I dread what'll happen here,

Herr Dr. Passow"

"because your nationalism

is just the noble, innocent precursor

"of something horrible

that one day will manifest itself among the Germans

and lead them to extremes of foolishness."

"and if you yourself saw it,

it would make you turn over in your grave"

Cheers.

Cheerio.

I know why that Dr. Passow

venerates your German war hero.

Passow is half queer anyway.

As is everybody in the corps ???

Remember the Spartans.

An early breed.

Nationalistic early breed.

1813, the saddest year of all.

He's gone, my ladies,

he's rejoined his battalion.

Deep down, I know my fate.

August.

May the Heavens protect you, beloved.

What's this?

What noise!

Finally they're kicking the French swine

out of our beautiful Weimar.

Cossacks,

Don Cossacks all over town.

Our allies have arrived.

Now we'll strike.

The Cossacks rode up to the palace yard

and dismounted.

Now even the Grand Duke knew

that the hour had come.

???

???

???

Napoleon has been defeated at Leipzig.

You Saxon devils.

Again, endless billetings.

The Grand Duke made an appeal

for volunteers.

Almost all of our young gentlemen enlisted.

But August didn't.

Our dear Ferdinand is again with his regiment.

Today the Privy Councillor Goethe

has returned to our battered city of Weimar.

You dared to enlist after all!

As a volunteer!

As 50th?

Without my consent!

But I was forced to join them.

It's the done thing these days, father.

Idiotic and neglectful of your duty.

I'll write letters.

I'll write to the Minister Vogt.

You won't join them!

That would be the ultimate ...

I'll throw in my whole weight ...

I refuse to give in to the insane ...

to expose my home and my correspondence

to the curiosity of strangers

to abandon your post in such a way

I refuse to join them

I refuse to join them!

I won't think of it!

I won't think of it!

How long have you been in the service

of the great smart-ass of Weimar?

If the rumours are true,

Paris has been conquered and the campaign won.

No! no!

and ... and ...

and if there won't happen a miracle,

if Heaven won't help us,

then the court and the town can expect

the engagement at Christmas,

or on New Year's Eve.

First,

there's Frau Chamberlain Riedel's maid.

The lunch has gone cold.

I've tried in vain to explain

that the arrival of the illustrious guest at the Esplanade no. 6

will be delayed by an important visitor.

Very well, Mager. I am not a private person,

and I have higher claims to satisfy than a spoilt lunch.

Tell the Mamsell that I've had my portrait taken,

and then discussed important matters with Herr Dr. Riemer.

- And right now I'm receiving the demoiselle Schopenhauer.

- Very well.

I proceed with my novella

and I'll be brief.

And who do you think appeared

suddenly in Weimar again?

Our foundling.

Ferdinand.

He came back from France

and went straight to Ottilie.

- Who is it?

- Ferdinand.

Ferdinand.

Ferdinand.

It would take more than that to finish me off!

Here I am.

- Come in.

- Passing through Weimar on my way back to Silesia.

Belgian lard.

Ferdinand!

Lard from Belgium.

Ferdinand.

I'll fetch mama.

Mama.

Me, the friend,

you never invite me,

when you celebrate reunion with your Teutonic oaf.

or have coffee.

or sing songs.

I love to sing too.

Very much.

This is a betrayal of our friendship.

a betrayal of my person.

Committed with a strapping fool and Teutonic oaf.

Yes, I still love Napoleon!

And all that German nationalistic ado ...

disgusts me.

And I abhor that scourge of humanity

whose name I won't even utter,

and I'm a fervent admirer of the youth

and its glorious uprising against him.

yes yes yes

Say it again.

And I abhor that scourge of humanity.

Yes, absolutely.

You Schopenhauer ...

It's all over.

It's all over between you and me.

As far as I'm concerned,

you don't exist anymore.

All over.

He's running after low women now.

It's only 5 o'clock.

And he'll get drunk again,

till the cock crows.

There he is.

Hey!

- Can you give evidence.

- No. - Come along.

Forward march.

His latest mistress is the wife of a hussar

who tolerates the affair.

The wench is a tall drink of water

and a slut.

He calls her "his life's delight".

- No way!

- But he did "You're my life's delight"

Out of vanity she herself spread it around.

I could kill the wench.

And I'd like to inform you all of a little surprise.

Right before Christmas

Ferdinand will definitely buzz off.

Home to Breslau.

- Really?

- Really.

In Prussian Silesia a beloved bride awaits me.

I intend to marry her.

Congratulations, my friend.

Thank you.

My heartfelt congratulations.

Our heartfelt congratulations,

with regrets.

We have a bridegroom among us.

Heartfelt, with regrets.

What's the matter, dearest?

Tillemuse?

Could you now resist

if August von Goethe tried a new approach?

A few days ago I met August von Goethe.

He talked about our future union

as if it had already been decided,

dearest Adelmuse.

And besides, Herr Chamberlain von Goethe is here.

The son. The son.

Lupus in fabula.

Mager, I must not meet the Herr Chamberlain.

You will have to smuggle me past him somehow.

I know the delicacy of the social relations

and how you can never tell what may happen.

I've asked the Herr Chamberlain

to wait in the tap-room downstairs.

He is having a glass of Madeira

and I've set the bottle at his elbow.

So I am in a position to conduct

the demoiselle safely through the hall.

My dear Frau Councillor,

save Ottilie.

You might use your influence,

might presume to do so.

You might be August's mother.

Ottilie might be your daughter.

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