B008AITH44 EBOK Read Online Free Page B

Schnee;
Es bläst der Wind so eisig schaurig,
Mir ist so schwer zumut, so weh!
     
    Im dunkeln Osten, fahl verschwommen,
Da dämmert jetzt ein blasser Tag,
Mit Centnerlast das Herz beklommen,
Trägst heimwärts du die bitt’re Klag’ . 17
     
    [I see you riding, sad and serious, / In the winter night, in deepest snow; / The wind is blowing so icily eerie, / I feel so heavy, so aching! / / In the dark east, pallid-lurid and blurred, / A pale day is now dawning, / Your heart weighed down by tons, / You carry homeward the bitter lament.]
     
    Fritz Pacher’s report in no way indicates, however, that he had felt any “bitter lament.” He was chiefly curious whether, as he suspected, it really had been the Empress who was concealed behind the yellow mask. Not a hint that he was pining away because of a great lost love, as Elisabeth’s poem claimed.
    Pacher’s surprise was great when, in 1885—that is, eleven years after the event—he received another letter from the lady in yellow with the request that he send his address and a photograph of himself to a post-office box. Pacher replied, “… I have become a bald, respectable, but happily married man, I have a wife who resembles you in height and stature, and an adorable little girl.” He did not enclose a photograph. Four months later, a second request arrived for a photograph of the “paternal bald head.” Pacher grew annoyed and replied with some irritation. “I am truly sorry that after eleven years you still find it necessary to play hide-and-seek with me. Unmasking after so long a time would have been a pleasant lark and a fine ending to Mardi Gras of 1874, an anonymous correspondence loses its charm after so long a time.” 18
    Elisabeth had expected quite a different outcome. Now she was so angry that the lines she wrote about Pacher held little imperial dignity. She railed at him. 
    Ein ganz gemeines Beast;
Kahl war er auch, dazu noch schiech,
Gehö rt nur auf den Mist. 19
     
    [An altogether common beast; / And bald he was, and ugly to boot, / Belonging only on the dungheap.]
     
    Of course, Pacher did not know that the lines existed. Two years later, as a coda to the Carnival adventure, he received a letter from Brazil. Lacking a return address or signature, it contained a printed poem.  
    Das Lied des gelben Domino
Long, long ago 
     
    Denkst du der Nacht noch im leuchtenden Saal?
Lang, lang ist’s her, lang ist’s her,
Wo sich zwei Seelen getroffen einmal,
Lang, lang ist’s her, lang ist’s her. *
Wo unsre seltsame Freundschaft begann.
Denkst du, mein Freund, wohl noch manchmal dcran?
Denkst du der Worte, so innig vertraut,
Die wir getauscht bei der Tanzweisen Laut?
Ein Druck der Hand noch, und ich musste fliehn,
Mein Antlitz enthüllen durft’ ich dir nicht,
Dock dafür gab ich der Seele Licht.
Freund, das war mehr, das war mehr!
Jahre vergingen und zogen vorbei,
Doch sie vereinten nie wieder uns zwei.
Forschend bei Nacht fragt die Sterne mein Blick,
Auskunft noch Antwort gibt keiner zurück.
Bald wähnt’ ich nahe dich, bald wieder fern.
Weilst du vielleicht schon auf anderem Stern?
Lebst du, so gib mir ein Zeichen bei Tag,
Das ich kaum hoffen, erwarten vermag.
So lang ist’s her, so lang ist’s her!
Lass mich warten nicht mehr,
Warten nicht mehr! 20
     
    [Do you remember the night in the glittering ballroom? / Long, long ago, long ago, / Where once two souls met, / Long long ago, long ago. / / Where our strange friendship began, / Do you, my friend, think of it at times? / Think you of the words, so deeply intimate, / That we exchanged as the dance music played? / Once more we pressed hands, and I had to fly, / Nor was I allowed to disclose my features to you, / But instead I lighted up my soul, / Friend, that was more, that was more! / Years passed and disappeared, / But never again did they unite us two. / Searching at night, my gaze questions the stars, / No answer or news comes back from any of them. / Sometimes I think you near, and