View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository [Seach terms: Princesses, Eduard von Keyserling, novel, German, Baltic aristocracy, Altesses, Schlossroman, 1917, Fürstinnen, Roman, translation, Novella] Princesses A Novella by E[duard] von Keyserling [Translated by John B. Rutledge] [Index of Persons: Princess Adelheid of Neustatt-Birkenstein Prince Ernst of Birkenstein, deceased husband of Adelheid Roxane, oldest daughter of Adelheid Eleonore, middle daughter of Adelheid Marie, youngest daughter of Adelheid Major Bützow, Adelheid's financial advisor Prince Konrad of Birkenstein, brother of Ernst Prince Joachim von Neustatt-Birkenstein, heir to the throne Baron Fürwit, retired major-domo, seneschal to the Neustatt-Birkensteins Count Donalt Streith, friend of the family Böttinger, a valet Oskar, Streith's manservant Dimitri, a Grand Duke from Russia, engaged to Roxane Mademoiselle Laure de Bouttancourt, a tutor Fräulein von Dietheim, a tutor Fräulein v. Dachsberg, a tutor Professor Wirth, private teacher to the three sisters at Gutheiden Count and Countess von Dühnen, a neighboring family the three Dühnen sons: Felix, Bruno and Coco Baron Üchtlitz, owner of a neighboring country home Baroness Üchtlitz, the three Üchtlitz daughters, Henriette, Marga, and Hilda Captain von Keck, assistant to Prince Joachim Baroness Dünhof, friend and lady companion to the Princess von Neustatt-Birkenstein Princess Agnes, unmarried sister-in-law of Adelheid Fräulein von Reckhausen, assistant to Princess Agnes Alwine, a chambermaid Emilie, lady's maid Barnitz, officer cousin to Hilda Üchtlitz Frau von Syrman, divorced wife of a banker Britta, her daughter Frau Buche, Count Streith's cook and housekeeper Annlise, poor woman in the neighborhood Dr. Ruck, physician to Count Streith] Chapter 1. Around noon on a hot summer day the widowed Princess1 Adelheid of Neustatt-Birkenstein went over to the office of retired Major Bützow, who managed her property, to talk about her finances. Prince Ernst of Birkenstein had died in his prime. An insidious lung disease him carried off quickly. Since the prince left no male heir, his younger brother, Prince Konrad, succeeded him in governing the principality. The widowed Princess, for her part, chose to retire with her three daughters to Gutheiden, a property she owned in the east of the empire. The late Prince was a high-spirited man, and at his death the family's fortune was in a fairly depleted condition. Her widow's state pension itself was meager enough, so the noble lady decided to educate their daughters in rustic tranquility. But even so, much prudence was required to secure an income commensurate with their position in society. These visits to the Major Bützow's office and the long talks about money always made the Princess tired and sad. She sat in the wicker chair in front of his large desk, which was covered with account books. Opposite her sat the Major in a gray linen suit, very overheated; his little round face was flushed, and his scalp shone red through the threads of thin, gray hair; the ends of his gray mustache hung limply over the corner of his mouth. He quietly rattled off his report. Sometimes he stopped and directed his protruding blue eyes towards the Princess, to see what kind of impression his report was making. The Princess, however, sat motionless in her chair and looked out through the open window into the courtyard, which during the break in the workday lay quite still in the sunshine. The only activity was over in the stables where a groom wearing a be-ribboned cap washed a large shiny automobile. There could be nothing more discouraging than the Major's voice, the Princess thought. And how hostile it sounds with its series of numbers, all those debits and credits and balances! A large buzzing fly had strayed into the room and began to hum loudly and angrily, as if to drown out the mournful ratcheting of the Major's voice. The Princess was still a beautiful woman; she sat there motionless in a white piqué dress, her hair very dark beneath the black lace veil. The brownish pallor of her narrow face had something like a matte bronzing; the features of her face were of wonderful quiet regularity, and her large brown eyes suggested the languid pathos of Byzantine Madonnas. Her petite hands, heavy with rings, rested in her lap. Finally the report was finished. The Major paused, 1 Princess Adelheid of Neustatt-Birkenstein is the widow of a deceased head of state, a Fürst. Her title in German is Fürstin, the feminine form of Fürst. In this translation she is referred to as the Princess or Princess Adelheid. Other princesses are referred to by name when necessary to distinguish them from Adelheid. pushed up the white tufts of his eyebrows, and looked at his client expectantly. The Princess was still looking out at the courtyard, as if in her thoughts she was far away, but she began to speak, spoke slowly and somewhat plaintively: "None of this is encouraging, but nothing can be done about the large expenses that we have recently had, nor about the ones yet to come. During the winter I had to travel with the princesses to Birkenstein to participate in social events; and then we had the betrothal of Princess Roxane. The furniture in the great hall and in the green and blue rooms had to be re- upholstered before the young Grand Prince came to visit. And then we have her dowry, and even if the wedding takes place at my brother's, the Grand Duke's, estate, there will still be significant expenses. There cannot be the slightest change in any of this. When it is over, so we can try again to rest for a while and try to save a bit." There was a knock on the door, and the door opened without anyone's saying "Come in." Count Donalt Streith entered the room, tall and thin, in a white flannel suit. "You're just in time, my dear Count," said the Princess, without looking round, and stretched out her hand, "we had just gotten to our deficits." The Count kissed the proffered hand and said: "Well, well! Our Major once again has a pocketful of worries." The Major shrugged his shoulders, and the Princess complained. "Oh, it's that terrible brick factory again." The Count seated himself in an armchair away from the desk, stretched out his legs and gently rubbed his fingertips together, his small, oblong head covered with curly, slightly graying hair. His gray-blue eyes lay strangely close together on his tanned face. But what completely dominated the face was the powerful, bold aquiline nose. The beard “commas” on his upper lip and chin were black as coal. His whole appearance had something of an elegant Don Quixote about it. The Count had been chamberlain to Prince Ernst Birkenstein while the Prince lived. Now he had a forested property near Gutheiden and lived alone in his hunting lodge. His main job was to advise the Princess in the management of her estate. At any time of day one could see his small automobile or his dun 2 horse standing in courtyard of Gutheiden castle courtyard, and everyone on the estate knew that the real master of the estate, the one who made the decisions, was Count Streith. “Well,” the Count began, “if the brick factory can't support us, then the forest will have to.” “Do you think it can?” said the Princess and looked hopefully at the Count. “I knew you would come up with something.” The Major had closed his account books, and now rose: “May I return to my work now?” he murmured. “Certainly,” replied the Princess, “Thank you, my dear Major,” and she extended her hand to him and he kissed it. “You see, some kind of solution can always be found.” But the Major's face retained its expression of concern as he bowed to the Count and left the room. The Princess stared pensively out the window again, and the Count rubbed his fingertips together. Both were silent for a while as they listened to a quiet sound that wafted through the mid-day air. Finally, the Princess said, as if she were talking to herself, “When the Major starts speaking about all those unpleasant things, I hear a tone of reproach in his voice. But it's not my fault that the brick factory isn't earning any money and I certainly don't intend to hide my daughters out here in the country. We have to go to social events in Birkenstein and in Karlstadt, for, after all, they do need to get married. An unmarried princess is at home nowhere. They remind me of those bead-work pieces that 2 Dun: bark-colored; red- or yellow-brown. governesses give as birthday presents, or doilies, or feather dusters—you just don't know where to put things like that.” The Count's sonorous laugher startled the Princess and she looked at him with surprise for a moment, then she too began to laugh. Quickly, though, she turned serious again and sighed, “No, no, I'm not in the mood for laughter.” “Our princesses will get married,” the Count offered as consolation. “We're already off to a good start.” “Well, yes,” the Princess said with some hesitation, “I am happy enough with Roxane's engagement. I do like the young man, but those people from over there, you know how strange it all is. And to send one's child off to a distant place is difficult.