HONORARY COUNSELLOR If only you knew how wretched I feel.
OLD BIACH (irritably) You keep scratching at the same open wound.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Just wait, I tell you, you’ll see, the situation—
OLD BIACH (harshly) That’s tantamount to running up the white flag — bankruptcy!
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Well how do you explain the fact that we were repulsed?
OLD BIACH The British are just playing at war.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR On the contrary, it seems they’re in deadly earnest — if you consider our present positions — we’re far from—
OLD BIACH Far from being either high-handed or fainthearted.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR But that was way back at the start! Those were the days, by God, best not think about it—!
OLD BIACH (firmly) A suit of clothes costs 2,000 roubles, a locomotive 60,000.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR What, here in Austria—? That would be cheap! But just tell me, who needs a locomotive now? We need freight trucks!
OLD BIACH Ask a silly question—
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Please don’t remind me!
OLD BIACH (implacable) Once the separate peace treaty with Russia has been signed, Lloyd George is a goner and maybe Clemenceau, too.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR And what about us?
OLD BIACH (relenting) We should put ourselves in the Entente’s shoes.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Isn’t that pretty far-fetched? Let us imagine—
OLD BIACH (self-satisfied) Let us imagine that the prisoners of war return, a million, perhaps more—
HONORARY COUNSELLOR By my reckoning it can’t be more than 15,000 all told, at most!
OLD BIACH (complacently) — mostly young fellows, hardened by the Siberian climate.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR And how! But if we stick to Lutsk for the moment — today’s report — can’t we talk straight for a change—?
OLD BIACH (feeling his way) The first thing that strikes us in the report is the little word “still”—we’re “still holding on”—it literally hits you in the eye, and you can imagine—
HONORARY COUNSELLOR As true as I’m standing here, that was the first thing I said to her this morning, she was still in bed, and she said: talk to Biach about it! You see, you’ve become a pessimist now, too. The way I see it — how can I put it — the losses at Lutsk — after all — well, what do you think?
OLD BIACH (simply) The Brodskys are one of the richest families in Kiev. (Erupts) That’s what I believe and I’ll never recant!
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Hang on a minute. I can’t see the connection?
OLD BIACH (agitated) You can’t see? You can’t see? The way the editor launched today’s editorial about panic in Russia, haven’t you—
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Oh, good Lord, yes, of course — it’s just — I didn’t quite recognize it, taken out of context — me, who knows every word by heart! — the way he captures the prevailing mood — he really goes for them, needling Wilson and flirting with Czernin. But to tell you the truth — I don’t like the news about Lutsk.
OLD BIACH (effusively) Cleopatra’s nose was one of her most beautiful features.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR I don’t see how—
OLD BIACH You can’t see? You can’t see? The way He launched yesterday’s editorial—
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Oh, good Lord, yes, of course, really fascinating — but — I don’t like the news about Lutsk! A brilliant strategic withdrawal, of course — but—
OLD BIACH (tersely) People must eat.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Naturally, but I can’t see the connection—
OLD BIACH (heatedly) You can’t see? You can’t see? The way He finished today’s—
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Oh, good Lord, yes, of course—
OLD BIACH (bitterly, but with noble dignity) It has repeatedly been the fate of the Neue Freie Presse that the personalities who are attached to it, the contributors and correspondents, are directly and personally affected by the repercussions of world affairs.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Though, of course, that always adds to the paper’s prestige. But if you look at the current situation, d’y’know what the man in the street can’t help thinking? A Bismarck is what we need!
OLD BIACH (unequivocally) We’d need a Demosthenes to bring clarity into the international situation. We hope our Foreign Ministry will protect the interests of all the peoples of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Hang on a minute. If there was still—
OLD BIACH If there was still space for a diplomat as cunning as Gentz in our present, so very altered, society, he would grin maliciously.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR Interesting. But why wouldn’t there be space?
OLD BIACH (resolutely) Talent will always create space for itself. Beethoven participated in the Congress of Vienna, too, with his Cantata — our moment of glory is no more.
HONORARY COUNSELLOR But what good is all that to us, we’re already so depressed as it is!
OLD BIACH (raising his eyes heavenward) Where is there a Fichte today, someone who could give new courage to these stricken souls, who could be both a mentor and a guide to the German people!?
HONORARY COUNSELLOR How true, how true! (Looks at his watch.) Oh my God, half past seven!
OLD BIACH (taking his leave, in a hollow tone) The Russian defences at Ivangorod are already crumbling.
(Change of Scene.)
Scene 27
Berlin, Tiergarten.
PADDE The battle — on film! The majesty of dying and death — on film! We already knew the English were an ignorant, uncultured lot; but the present case shows the extent to which envy and deceit lead to outright callousness as well.
KLADDE Shouldn’t we be screening such lifelike images of the latest events, too — for Germans on the home front? There is surely no shortage of opportunities to film suitable images. The exploits of our soldiers, projected in images, would certainly provide material for more than one film, and the people, often more attached to images than to words, would be mightily interested in such projections, even if we would happily do without the embellishments to which the English and French resort in the interest of national self-glorification.
PADDE Let’s do it. What do you say about Hias? Last night saw a performance at the Berliner Theater of Der Hias, a Field Grey play in three acts, amidst the din made by all sorts of firearms and the whoops of charging soldiers. It was advertised without mention of the author, but this is thought to be a Field Grey, and it was performed by Field Greys (officers and men from Berlin and Bavarian reserve units, among whom there were certainly some professional actors). Ladies of the aristocracy offered their services in the female roles.
KLADDE Good for them!
PADDE The play was able to present an amazingly naturalistic view of life in camp and bloody battles. The genuine soldiers on the stage acted as if they were at the front. When martial events defied the technical resources of the stage—
KLADDE —film stepped into the breach.
PADDE There, you see, we can do that too! And the projector interpolated (in the last act) a series of fitting battle scenes as a backdrop. The impression was enhanced by the noise of machine guns and hand grenades and by the wailing and groaning of the fallen.