Page 71

The third act
takes place two days later.
Prince Kasimir lies in his father's castle.
He lies in bed with a high fever,
And a quiet melancholy lies over him.
The doctors have given up on him,
They give him just a short time,
Only a miracle could save his life.
Now - when the crisis is at its worst,
In she comes, in deep sadness - Mathilde,
And everyone yields to her, awestruck,
And she bends down over him, smiles gently
And she sings:

"What use are millions?

Page 70

With that, the group was ripped from their stillness.
The aunt, Amalie, yelled, "No, please, no!
Don't let it be the end! I have to scream!
And it's a tragedy! -
No! It's too much for my nerves!"

But the father stayed dignified and proper.
"You dumb cow!" he yelled, chagrined,
"There's still a third act,
He's got you totally hooked!"

Page 68 and 69

But I yelled, "He doesn't do either!!!

He proceeds as a man and as a knight,
His eyes explode with a flood of tears:
"Mathilde," he yells, "forgive me!"

Then he pulls a revolver forth.

And his voice clings, muffled and hollow,
And his heart melts and becomes soft as butter:

"Live well!" he yells, full of pain,"live all ye well!

Live well, beloved father! Give my best to mother!

Live well, my hard-earned fatherland,

Live well, my sweet love from the beach of the Neckar,

Live well, my l0ve,

Live well, Yellow - Green - Red!"

And then sounds a shot.

And then he is dead!

And, you see,

So ends the second act!

Pages 66 and 67

Here said the men:

The responsibility comes first
And he must, as a man, suffer for the fatherland! -

But the women responded with one voice, as in a choir:
He must choose love!

Page 65

"I cannot!" he called with undulant breast.
But the father spoke adamantly, "you must!"

And that is the climax of the play!! --

"Good God!" everyone yelled, choked up from excitement,
"That's a colossal conflict!"

"Yes indeed!" I said, proud and exalted,
"A bigger conflict does not exist!
This is the conflict between love and responsibility!
It could've been written by Shakespeare himself!"

"So what does the prince do now?" sought everyone, out of breath.
"Does he go? Or does he stay far from the fatherland?"

"Indeed," I said, "ladies and gentlemen,
What would you do in this case?"

Page 64

"Stop!" said the father with a foreboding feeling,
"Without doubt, here comes something terrible and sad
that tears the two apart!"

"Yes," I said with a strong stir, "so it is!"

And the father spoke, sunk deep in contemplation:
"It's nice, after all, when it comes out how you think!"

"Yes," I said, "in life, things come differently than expected,
but on the stage things are always so familiar." -

So, they hear the trumpet tone.
And there appears the father of the hero
And says with a tremulous tone:
In our land there's a revolution,
and you must take the throne!
The fatherland is calling you. It is your responsibility!"

With that, the blood drains from the prince's face,
He seems himself on the grave of his happiness:

Pages 62 and 63

"Surely not the mother-in-law!?"

"Naturally," I said, "the mother-in-law!
She was, you see, definitely not in America!!!"

"Hahahaha!" laughed the papa,
so that a flood of tears surged from his eyes,
"You see," he yelled with great hearty amusement,
"You see, there are still points
that are funny - without being offensive!"

"Yeah!" I said. But all this great humor
Simply prepares us, using nice contrast,
for this deeply woeful scene:

The day comes to an end. The sun fades.
The guests gradually leave.
A deep silence lies over the scene.
Only in the background do we hear quiet music.
And from the right comes Kasimir with Mathilde.
"Honey," he calls in happy jest,
"I dedicate this foamy mug to you!"
But Mathilde sighs in melancholy: "Kasimir,
An anxious thought just ran through my heart!
You are a prince from a foreign land,
I am just a common girl,
Never leave me! Promise me!"

"My darling fool!" says Peter Kasimir.

Then he speaks in a manly tone:
"That my wife would call me a liar!
As true as the stars hang in the sky,
We will never be pulled apart!"

Then suddenly, they hear the sound of trumpets,

Page 61

"Bubi, Schatzi,
Süsses Fratzi,
Kleiner Schelm und Herzensdieb!
Herz'ges Schnucker!
Zeig' die Guckerl,
God, oh God, how great is love!"

--

As the jubilee finally quieted a little,
The father stepped up to me favorably:
"Bravo!" he said, "young man,
I certainly didn't expect that from you!
But what about," he said seriously and sternly,
"the aforementioned humor?"
"Oh," I said, "there's also plenty of that,
You'll soon see some
In the Second Act:
There is, for example, an old major!
He's always in dread of his mother-in-law.
Nevertheless, at one time, he goes to a festival,
Where the guests all ask:
"Hey, old Major,
what's going on here?
Where's your mother-in-law?"
"Haha!" he says, "she's not here!
She's all the way in America!
For once we can have some fun!"

Suddenly, there's a ring. You can hear someone bitching and screaming -
And who, do you think, comes in???

Page 60

I couldn't go any farther. The group was dancing.
Everyone swayed in a waltz,
And a cousin played - whatever he had - whatever he could -
on the grand piano. And everyone sang along,
some off-key and some on. And the brother-in-law
bellowed, thrilled, "It'll be a hit!!!"

Page 59

"What use are millions?
What use is a proud destiny?
What use is a life on the throne?
Oh, love, only love is happiness!"

Mathilde cries, but she soon composes herself:
"My love," she calls, "I must repay you,
with one of the most beautiful songs
that we sing in the forests of Vienna!"
And now they both sing in a round,
- It'll be, you see, most likely an operetta: -

"Bubi, Schatzi,
Süsses Fratzi,
Kleiner Schelm und Herzensdieb!
Herz'ges Schnucker!
Zeig' die Guckerl,
God, oh God, how great is love!"

(So, I've chosen not to translate this song. It's basically a bunch of cute pet names.)

Page 58

Icily still! - With a poisonous look
the proud Serbian pulls back.
And Mathilde and Kasimir stay, alone
And kiss each other long in the shine of the moon.

Mathilde speaks, sobbing: "Oh Kasimir,
You're sacrificing happiness, honor, and wealth for me!"
He, however, burning through with the fire of love,
Answers her with the following song:

Page 57

They've slipped in here very rudely?!"

But the prince throws his mantle back,
And his familial ornament sparkles brightly!
And he yells, booming and blaring and loud:

"Madame, I am more than an officer,
I am the Prince Peter Kasimir!

And this girl - is my bride!!!"

Page 56

And therefore, he is now incognito!!!"

"Bravo!" said the papa.
And the daughter spoke feverishly: "Oh, lord!
That is certainly an interesting setting!"

"Furthermore, we have a rich heiress,
The daughter of the neighboring country, a Serb,
She is also in love with the prince,
But she is heartless and cold in character,
And as she notices "him" and the girl,
- she doesn't recognize "him," because he is incognito -
She calls to them with a poisonous look:
"What do these two commoners want?

Pages 54 and 55

He is -

The prince, heir to the throne, Kasimir Peter,

The son of the king of a distant land!

And he loves -

A girl of the common classes!

Page 53

"As the curtain rises,
Gleam the crowns -
of seventeen - Prussian - Lieutenants!!"

With this, it suddenly became quiet in our circle.
A low voice whispered:
The opening was exciting and atmospheric!
"Seventeen lieutenants!" shouted someone, "that's enormous!
Are they all in uniform?"

"Naturally!" I explained, measured and cool,
"Except the hero of the story - he is in civvies!"

"Oh God!" yelled the daughter, "oh God, how sad!"

But I said, "That's exactly right!
He is, you see, merely - incognito!"

"Aha!" said the daughter, appeased, "I see!
So in reality, he's also in the military?"

"Pah!" I said, scoffing, "he is much more!!
That is, in the play it comes much later,
But for you, dear audience, I'll tell you now:

Page 52

At my desk, I seized upon it with great pains,
Gone was all the back-breaking haze.
I began to see with your eyes
And now, I grasp the beauty of art.

So formed this master work, scene by scene.
The play discusses seriousness and humor -
Truth, nobility, goodness, and beauty -
And when you'll allow - I'll read it to you!"

"God forbid!" said the father, indignant.
"Theater this early in the morning!"
Which made the endless row of aunts giggle,
And a publisher was also there,
He wanted to hear it least of all
and let out a giant scream.

I, however, as I simply am,
Didn't let it bother me in the least.
I just chuckled underhandedly
and began in a sharp military manner:

Pages 50 and 51

And yelled triumphantly:
"Now I've got one!!!"

"What do you have?" yelled the father, appalled.

"I discovered my character!!"
I explained with a beaming, excited face:
"Herr Advisor and Frau Counsel, I thank you!
Listen: Yesterday, I sat alone
until late in the night and tore at my hair.
Then your superb speech came to my mind,
And then it occurred - something miraculous!

Page 49

We say principally, in fact, that not particulars,
but, rather ideals, are above everything else on earth -

And therefore, nothing can come of this thing!"

With that I was broken. But I got collected myself:
"Herr Advisor and Frau Counsel!" I stammered,
"I know that I'm a miserable creature,
But don't dismiss me because of it!
You can see for yourselves, I'm still so young -
I promise you great improvement!
I will strive to fervently exert myself
and put right your discomfort -
And especially the thing with the character
will be finished in the promptest manner
to your full satisfaction!
Until today, you see, I had none,
But for a long time
I've been in negotiation for one -
and when you wish, good sir - by tomorrow
I can definitely obtain one!

--

The next morning I made a visit.
I only wore my third-best hat
and a pasty tie.
I also had a tiny fleck on my collar
as an outer sign of my good heart -
And under my arm, a blue book.
I swayed in the brightness of an aura

Page 48

But I don't like what you've got inside!
Your perspectives are too realistic,
To me, your writings are too materialistic.
You depend on the banal and trivial,
You lack totally for ideals!
You have a cool and frosty nature,
That never glows for the noble or beautiful,
In short - you have no character -
I read that in the newspaper.

We ourselves are only adore the beautiful
and the noble! Isn't that right, Helene?"

"Definitely," said the mother, "we're for the Ideal,

Page 47

And asked the father for his blessing -

But he spoke with a strange smile: "Oho!
You are Herr Rideamus?! You don't say?!"

And then he told me - he was against it!

"You are, namely," he said with a stern face
and looked at me piercingly,
"An outwardly passable young man -

Page 46

She had also told me, whispering,
She'd read several of my works.

Here she became exceedingly likable.

Later she assured me emphatically,
That she buys everything I write
and hadn't heard of it third-hand,

Here I began to glow with tempestuous love.

And as she finally admitted, blushing,
Her brother was a critic, and her father
Took part in a Berlin theater,
I couldn't control myself any longer,

I rushed double-quick to her parents

Pages 43 and 45

The Character

My dinner partner had been very nice -
She had peeled me a pear -

Page 42

I kissed her red mouth,
in trembling wait of hellish penalties.
Then, with great apprehension, I went to bed -
And the next morning - I was healthy!!!

---

Yes! I had completely recovered
and been enlivened thanks to the damsel.
But, sadly, she's gotten married since then.
She'd already been in love, after all.

I met her again after a year's time,
As she'd already been married a long while,
And next to her, enthroned as spouse,
In proud dignity - my specialist!

There, I excused him for all my pains.
We began to congratulate each other.
I didn't share everything, so that
next time, I could consult him again.

(End of Chaper Two.)

Page 41

we have, you see, a little stomach ache!!!"

The waiter laughed - the staff laughed,
Who the devil knows what they thought!
They attended us, at least, while
we drank, we ate!
Yes, we drank, we ate,
The air was moist and the night became late,
It was an orgy of excess,
A mockery of every sound diet!

"It was an orgy of excess!"
So I yelled, and pulled the damsel very close,
"But we've forgotten one thing!"

The damsel didn't say no and didn't say yes.
But then she yelled, "We're going to free ourselves
from the peril of fate - even if it costs our lives!"

In that hour, we two gave
the ape the killing blow!"

Pages 39 and 40

"Waiter!" - I yelled - "first eel in jelly,
Then goose liver with truffle puree,
Then three plates of highly stored lobster,
Then ice cream and sweet meats - all smoked!
To drink, bring champagne and Tokayer*,
And after every course, three hard-boiled eggs!
Yes! Three eggs after every course!

(*A pinot gris from German Switzerland.)

Page 38

I exploded with rage: "Damn you,
you sinister creature!" I screamed with an abrupt blast.
"I'd like to take you by the throat!
Do we have to lose all our happiness to you?!"
"No!" yelled the damsel, "we mustn't!
There's a dull, lank word,
A solace for the frail, and we call it: pity!
But there's also a powerful word,
a refreshment for the strong, and we call it: now!"

And a nameless anger
bubbled up in us - as did a hot desire.
And in this anger, and this desire
we both went - to Hiller.

And our eyes blitzed and burned,
And our hearts stood in flames,

And from the thousand banned foods,
we ordered supper together: