Traumulus Page #2

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You're not considering my last

payment of 14 days ago.

It totally slipped my mind, my

most expensive Klytaimestra.

But you were so kind to cash it and to

disperse it so carefully.

So, God rest his soul!

-How am I going to manage all this, Fritz?

That's your problem. I don't care.

If only you could educe as much energy

for your teacher exams.

Don't start with private matters. I don't

care about yours. Don't care about mine.

What's that supposed to mean?

-That means that the blindness of my

father is starting to give me

a mild case of the creeps.

I don't understand you. -All the

better. Anyway, I might be mistaken.

Perhaps the lady was just

wearing your hat.

The gentleman was definitely

Assessor Mollwein.

Rascal! -See, now you're becoming

the cruel mother again.

When the warriors have grouped themselves

in a painterly fashion on both sides of

the stage, then the Bengali

lights will be lit.

In the orchestra, a quiet thrum will

resonate. A sort of tr-tr-tremolo.

The Genius of Joy come onto the

stage in festive tunics, and

there follows a truly noisy finale,

which brings our poet to a nice end.

Well? Hmm? I mean, may I read this to

you, or are you gentleman a tad weary?

No, why don't you stop... -No, as long

as it isn't too strenuous for you.

I think we can tolerate a little more.

-So, as I said, Jesus is standing

on the podium. The head warrior lifts

the flag in front of him, and everyone

sings the banner song a capella.

What, is the church service over already?

Well, to make it quick, gentlemen,

now there are still delightful

verses to come.

The allegorical curtain in the

background, with the poplars with all

German branches, parts. Goddess of

Victory, rifle fire, the close, finished!

Magnificent. -What, the end?

-No, the rifle fire.

Of course! Yes, yes! -Very decent.

-Yes, it's good. The shorter, the better.

Felix Dahn didn't write anything

more poetic than that.

Oh... I'm convinced, no other city, as

far as the German tongue can be heard,

has, at the unveiling of a monument to

Kaiser Wilhelm the Great,

produced such a tour de force as

a reverential show of gratitude

for the merciful gift of a

visit from His Majesty!

Assessor, enjoy your beer!

-Major, allow me to drink it ice-cold.

Good morning, gentlemen.

-Good morning!

Nasty cold, wolf's frost, but spiffing!

If it goes on like this, there will

be a roaringly lovely hunt.

Jorg, 4/5 Jamaika, no water, then

Arosentaler. Get going!

Well, Major... -What is it? -Did you

skip the church service again, Major?

You too, you old heathen.

I'll report you. The government

bench was half-empty again.

We're supposed to be exemplars.

-Commissioner, I've been sick recently.

I mean, these unheated churches.

No, but all joking aside, you gentlemen

have not missed anything again.

Our good old dean is declining terribly.

That he will belt it out at the

unveiling's gala sermon...

I have very serious doubts.

Oh, I can't wait for the whole

rigmarole to really be over.

But it has been a big burden, councillor.

-Come off it, burden! One does one's duty.

That's why one is here. But if one spends

long days, morning to night, thinking

about nothing else but whether it will

happen, whether it will succeed...

If such God-damned messes are added...

-Why, what happened? -Oh, this

disastrous Niemeyer.

The devil should take him!

Our gala poet?!

-Yes, what's wrong?

After this morning, our headmaster

is dead to me.

You don't say!

-Tell us more!

I'm sitting with my coffee, reading a

report from our senior forestry official

that they need more land in the winter.

Suddenly, my secretary, Kruemmel, comes -

by the way, normally a totally

respectable man - and brings me the

lovely myth that last night young

Zedtlitz, Niemeyer's finest boy,

has been where?! Believe it or not!

In the green room of Golden Pheasant!

But not alone as in "coeur solo".

Not at all!

With Ms. Lydia Link from the municipal

theatre! Bottle of champagne!

My goodness!

-Oh, my!

And that just has to happen a day

before His Majesty comes.

Under these media conditions.

Just read the editorial of our

splendid People's Herald.

"Immoral conditions in the

Kannavos Kingdom", or...

"Regal high school and urban womanhood."

It can't be allowed to happen.

Bloody hell! I can empathize

with you about that.

This could cause serious problems

for poor Niemeyer.

Yes, but quite frankly,

Commissioner... forgive me,

when a young rascal is

with a young girl...

I mean, quite frankly, I can't see

anything terribly risky about it.

On the 1st of October, it will have been a

year since the old man was seconded here.

was relocated here. From Day One,

I zeroed right in on that man.

He doesn't have the faintest idea of the

heavy responsibilities of his office.

He lets his boys use his dreadful

idealism to engage in the most

disgraceful of activities.

What the man could accomplish

as a free university teacher!

That's his problem! He should have

married a proper professor's

daughter 25 years ago.

And if only he at least hadn't

fallen for this number two as well.

For this little doll, Jadwiga. -How so?

The man isn't to be pitied when he has

such a pearl at home.

Really? Well, then I wish you

their expenses for toiletries.

Incidentally, we're talking about

a sergeant's daughter.

Born Czesnowski, from Poznan.

What?

She wasn't good enough for the

immortal parents-in-law.

She is the main reason this man

was foisted upon us.

And I should allow my wife to socialize

with such a woman forever? No, gentlemen!

Well, gentlemen, it is

certainly damned unpleasant.

Well, thank God his days in

my district are numbered.

For months I have had his

students constantly watched.

Climbing rope, duplicate

keys, surmounted walls.

Outrageous how they are hoodwinking him!

The man is totally blind!

The boys are right. They couldn't name

it Romulus, so the called it Traumulus.

And of the results of your police

investigation, you have never once,

in 15 months, given Headmaster Niemeyer

a cautionary notice, Commissioner?

Oh, Solicitor Falk. I didn't notice you.

I greeted you when you came in,

Commissioner.

Pardon me, I must have

missed it totally.

The position of the headmaster, who, by

the way, is my old, esteemed teacher,

is so difficult in this city, that I am

of the opinion that the government

should at least not be

working against him.

Esteemed Mr. Falk, let me tell

you something.

Whether a royally Prussian government

makes its arrangements this way or that,

that is, well let's not be coarse,

none of your business.

But since you have partaken so

amiably in our discussion,

please, wouldn't you like to take a

seat? -No thanks. -OK.

Just so you know, in no way did I inform

your highly-regarded teacher of

my investigative research!

Of course not! -But that would have

interested Headmaster Niemeyer greatly.

Esteemed Solicitor,

Headmaster Niemeyer will no longer be

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