Chapter 21

January 1 5th. The girls in our class are frantically jealous. We did not say in so many words that we, alone among them all, had been invited to see her, but Hella had brought one of the sweets she had given us and in the interval she said: This must be eaten reverently, and she cut it in two to give me half. The Ehrenfelds thought it must have been given by some acquaintance made at the skating rink, and Trude said: “Doubly sweetened, by chocolate and love.” “Yes,” said I, “but not in the sense you imagine.” And since she said: “Oh, of course, I know all about that, but I don’t want to be indiscreet,” Hella said: “I may as well tell you that Frau Doktor M., or I should say the _married_ Frau Prof. Theyer, gave us this sweet and a great many more on the day she had invited us to go and see her.” Then they were all utterly kerblunxed and said: “Great Scott, what luck, but you always were Frau Doktor M.’s favourites, especially Lainer. But Lainer always courted Frau Doktor M.”

January 17th. The whole school knows about our being invited to see her, the glorious one! I’ve just been reading it over, and I see that I have left a frightful lot out, especially about her father. When we were leaving, just outside the house door we burst out crying because as I opened the door I had said, For the last time! Just then an old gentleman came up and was about to go in, and when he saw that we were crying, though we were standing quite in the shadow, he came up to us and asked what was the matter. Then Hella said: “We have lost out best friend.” Then the old gentleman looked at us for a tremendously long time and said: “I say, do you happen to be the two ardent admirers of Frau Doktor Mallburg? She is my daughter, you know. And then he said: But you really can’t go through the streets bathed in tears like that. Come upstairs again with me and my daughter will console you.” So we really did go upstairs again, and she was perfectly unique. Her father opened the door and called out: Lieserl, your admirers simply can’t part from you, and I found them being washed out to sea in a river of tears. Then she came out wearing a _rose-coloured dressing-gown!!!_ exquisite. And she led us into the room and said: “Girls, you must not look at me in this old rag, which is only fit to throw away.” I should have liked to say: “Give it to _me_ then.” But of course I could not. And when we made our final goodbye, perhaps _for ever_, she kissed each of us _twice over_ and said: Girls, I wish you all the happiness in the world!

January 18th. Hella invited me there to-day, to meet Lajos and Jeno. But I’m not going, for Jeno does not interest me in the very least. That was not a _real_ love. I don’t care for anyone in the whole world except her, my one and only! Even Hella can’t understand that, in fact she thinks it _dotty_. Father wanted me to go to Hella’s _to change the current of my thoughts_. Of course I hardly say a word about _her_ to anyone, for no one understands me. But I never could have believed that Father would be just like anyone else. It’s quite true that I’m getting thin. I’m so glad that we are not going tobogganing to-day because Dora has a chill, a _real_ chill this time. So I am going to the church in Schwindgasse and shall walk up and down in front of _her_ house; perhaps I shall meet her father or her mother. I wrote to her the day before yesterday.

January 24th. I am so happy. She wrote to me _by return!_ This is the second letter I have had from her! At dinner to-day Father said: “Hullo, Gretel, why are you looking so happy to-day? I have not seen you with such a sunny face for a long time.” So I answered in as few words as possible: “After dinner I will tell _you_ why.” For the others need not know anything about it. And when I told Father vaguely that Frau Prof. Th. had written to me, Father said: “Oh, is _that_ what has pleased you so much. But I have something up my sleeve which will also please you. February 1st and 2nd are Sunday and Monday, you have 2 days free, and if you and Hella can get a day off from school on Saturday we might make an excursion to Mariazell. How does that strike you?” It would be glorious, if only Hella is allowed to come, for her grandmother imagines that the sore throat she had before Christmas was due to the tobogganing on the Anninger, where the sole was torn off her shoe! As if _we_ could help that. Still, by good luck she may have forgotten it; she is 63 already, and one forgets a lot when one is that age.

Evening. Hella may come; it will be splendid! Perhaps we shall try a little skiing. But really Hella is a horrid pig; she said: “All right, I’ll come, if you’ll promise not to be continually talking about Frau Professor Th. I’m very fond of her too, but you are simply crazy about her.” It’s really too bad, and I shall never mention _her_ name to the others any more. I am looking forward so to the tobogganing at Mariazell. We’ve never made any such excursion in winter before. Hurrah, it will be glorious! Oh I do wish the 31st of January were here; I’m frantically excited.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Rita’s joyful expectations of tobogganing among glistening snow-clad hills, remained unfulfilled. The rude hand of fate was thrust into the lives of the two sisters. On January 29th their father, suddenly struck down with paralysis, was brought home in an ambulance, and died in a few hours without recovering consciousness.

Torn from the sheltering and affectionate atmosphere of home, separated from her most intimate friend, the young orphan had to struggle for peace of soul in the isolation of a provincial town -- -- --

End of Project Gutenberg’s A Young Girl’s Diary, by An Anonymous Young Girl