Rigadoon by Louis-ferdinand & Manheim Celine Page B
Authors: Louis-ferdinand & Manheim Celine
Ads: Link
better cheer him up, no good his moping like that . . .
"This avenue is magnificent, do you know why? . . . it's magnificent because there's nobody in sight . . . put in people, it'll stink . . . as soon as people come around . . . not because of anything they do, just because they're there . . . makes you sick to look . . . takes death to clean it up . . ."
Usually he liked that kind of applesauce, vistas, pseudo-profundities . . . lines for a melancholy Scandinavian . . . a dimestore Hamlet . . .
But this time, no soap!
"You pleased with yourself?"
The only effect . . .
I forgot to describe the scene for you, I must have lost some pages, I'd put it all down . . . we weren't in the station proper . . . but on the peristyle, at the head of the stairs . . . from there we can see the whole avenue, as wide as the Champs-Elysées, bordered by sumptuous trees . . . the air was certainly pure in Ulm . . . no factories, no cars . . . and nobody around, neither in the station nor on the sidewalks, not a soul I . . . buildings on both sides, but empty, it looked like . . . ah yes! . . . somebody! not at the windows, right next to us! sitting there . . . this creep must have heard us . . . an old-timer with a goatee . . . who is he? I dive in . . .
"Guten tag!"
I can't claim that he answered me . . . he grunts . . . I try again . . .
"Es geht? you doing all right?"
"Nein! no!"
Off to a bad start . . . no use describing my costume, but him . . . some kind of uniform . . . army? . . . police? . . . funny-looking outfit, never seen it before, though I've seen all sorts . . . every possible insignia . . . since Baden-Baden . . . and Moors-burg . . . I'd better ask him . . . He answers . . .
"Feuermann! . . . fireman . . . Hauptmann . . . captain! . . ."
Another captain . . . this fire captain only talks Kraut . . . not a word of French! . . . must have come up from the ranks . . . the ones who've been around some, who've been to some kind of school, even something like our Saint-Maixent, want only one thing: to be at home in Paris, voluble, conversative, blablative, with a bevy of midinettes spellbound at their feet, fireside with the big names and namesses . . . stage and screen . . . and socialites . . . ah, Sainte-Catherine!" ah, the magazine section! . . . Stalingrad? not bad! but wined and dined by the N.R.F.? they'll swoon! our love to Gaston! choir boy at Mauriac's mass, black . . . now you're cooking with gas! but this character with the goatee! Enough idle talk . . . got to find out where he's out of . . . I ask him.
"I'm too old, I don't remember . . . but you? where are you from?"
This old-timer claims all the privilege.
"I'm a doctor, my friend here is an actor . . ."
Ah, a doctor, now he's interested . . . a real doctor? . . . he doubts me . . . he wants proof . . . no problem! . . . in one of my sixteen wallets . . . all you want! . . . and official! . . . four five layers of pockets . . . proofs! . . . and in German! from their ministry . . . Erlaubnis! I had quite a struggle . . . here! . . . he takes out his glasses . . . he looks at me . . . he reads . . .
"That's you? . . ."
"Who else would it be?"
This skeptical fire captain is getting on my nerves!
Well . . . in that case he wants me to examine him! just like that, he demands it! . . . and palpate his abdomen! . . . certainly! . . . but where? . . . not here on the steps! . . . he's got a place he knows! . . . up in the station! . . . now where's he taking us? . . . he shows me . . . a window . . . he stands up . . . well, almost . . . not all the way, only half . . . with grimaces . . . we try to help him . . . he refuses, he wants to climb up on his own . . . I offer him my cane . . . both my canes! no! now we can see his fireman's uniform . . . he sits down again . . . I get it, he's going to climb on all fours, one step at a time . . . that window is on the third floor, at least . . . one step at a time, we won't be there in a hurry! . . .
"This avenue is magnificent, do you know why? . . . it's magnificent because there's nobody in sight . . . put in people, it'll stink . . . as soon as people come around . . . not because of anything they do, just because they're there . . . makes you sick to look . . . takes death to clean it up . . ."
Usually he liked that kind of applesauce, vistas, pseudo-profundities . . . lines for a melancholy Scandinavian . . . a dimestore Hamlet . . .
But this time, no soap!
"You pleased with yourself?"
The only effect . . .
I forgot to describe the scene for you, I must have lost some pages, I'd put it all down . . . we weren't in the station proper . . . but on the peristyle, at the head of the stairs . . . from there we can see the whole avenue, as wide as the Champs-Elysées, bordered by sumptuous trees . . . the air was certainly pure in Ulm . . . no factories, no cars . . . and nobody around, neither in the station nor on the sidewalks, not a soul I . . . buildings on both sides, but empty, it looked like . . . ah yes! . . . somebody! not at the windows, right next to us! sitting there . . . this creep must have heard us . . . an old-timer with a goatee . . . who is he? I dive in . . .
"Guten tag!"
I can't claim that he answered me . . . he grunts . . . I try again . . .
"Es geht? you doing all right?"
"Nein! no!"
Off to a bad start . . . no use describing my costume, but him . . . some kind of uniform . . . army? . . . police? . . . funny-looking outfit, never seen it before, though I've seen all sorts . . . every possible insignia . . . since Baden-Baden . . . and Moors-burg . . . I'd better ask him . . . He answers . . .
"Feuermann! . . . fireman . . . Hauptmann . . . captain! . . ."
Another captain . . . this fire captain only talks Kraut . . . not a word of French! . . . must have come up from the ranks . . . the ones who've been around some, who've been to some kind of school, even something like our Saint-Maixent, want only one thing: to be at home in Paris, voluble, conversative, blablative, with a bevy of midinettes spellbound at their feet, fireside with the big names and namesses . . . stage and screen . . . and socialites . . . ah, Sainte-Catherine!" ah, the magazine section! . . . Stalingrad? not bad! but wined and dined by the N.R.F.? they'll swoon! our love to Gaston! choir boy at Mauriac's mass, black . . . now you're cooking with gas! but this character with the goatee! Enough idle talk . . . got to find out where he's out of . . . I ask him.
"I'm too old, I don't remember . . . but you? where are you from?"
This old-timer claims all the privilege.
"I'm a doctor, my friend here is an actor . . ."
Ah, a doctor, now he's interested . . . a real doctor? . . . he doubts me . . . he wants proof . . . no problem! . . . in one of my sixteen wallets . . . all you want! . . . and official! . . . four five layers of pockets . . . proofs! . . . and in German! from their ministry . . . Erlaubnis! I had quite a struggle . . . here! . . . he takes out his glasses . . . he looks at me . . . he reads . . .
"That's you? . . ."
"Who else would it be?"
This skeptical fire captain is getting on my nerves!
Well . . . in that case he wants me to examine him! just like that, he demands it! . . . and palpate his abdomen! . . . certainly! . . . but where? . . . not here on the steps! . . . he's got a place he knows! . . . up in the station! . . . now where's he taking us? . . . he shows me . . . a window . . . he stands up . . . well, almost . . . not all the way, only half . . . with grimaces . . . we try to help him . . . he refuses, he wants to climb up on his own . . . I offer him my cane . . . both my canes! no! now we can see his fireman's uniform . . . he sits down again . . . I get it, he's going to climb on all fours, one step at a time . . . that window is on the third floor, at least . . . one step at a time, we won't be there in a hurry! . . .
Similar Books
