H. Adler - Panorama

That, of course, is Josef, and he looks much more reasonable than the poet from Oberleutensdorf by Bruex, where the foxes say good night, which is why the twerp had such beady little eyes, but Irwin can already see that Josef is ready to be good friends. Josef says he also hopes to be friends, but he asks Irwin not to be so hard on Herr Liebrecht, as it runs the risk of making Josef feel that he could also be judged just as quickly, and he would at least like to look at Liebrecht’s poems, and then see how he feels. Irwin thinks that if Josef reads the stupid stuff he will see what garbage it is, but Josef is in favor of suspending judgment, which prompts Irwin to ask whether perhaps Josef also writes poetry. No, but he likes good poems, Irwin countering that he finds them useless, unless they are funny like those of Wilhelm Busch, especially “Plisch und Plum,” though Josef has to agree that poetry is not natural, Father often having said that to Mother when she swooned over it, and he is certainly bright. Josef replies that one can be very bright yet have no sense for poetry. Irwin maintains that what one cannot understand is nonsense, to which Josef asks whether Irwin, for example, understands anything of medicine. No, but for that we have doctors. Josef means, however, whether Irwin himself understands anything about it. No, there’s no need to, but he could learn it if he wished. Then Josef asks whether you have to learn about anything before you understand it, to which Irwin has no answer.

For a moment it’s quiet, then there’s a knock at the door, Irwin calling out “Come in!” at which a man dressed in livery enters with a large tray, this being Anton. Josef stands up, introduces himself, and considers for a moment whether he should extend his hand to the servant, then quickly stretches it out, the surprised Anton grasping it and begging his pardon, he had brought only tea and didn’t know if perhaps Herr Doctor might want coffee. No, thank you, tea will be just fine, yet Lutz says, “Josef, you can order what you want. Here you can order anything!” Josef says thank you but everything is fine, as Anton sets everything on the table — tea, milk, lemon, sugar, a small basket with rolls and croissants, butter, marmalade, honey, a bowl with sweet cookies — and then Anton is off, Josef criticizing the boys for not having said thank you. Lutz explains that Anton is always there and is not used to being thanked all the time, though Josef hopes that in the future they will thank him, this seeming to disturb Irwin, for Anton should only worry about his job, which is what he’s paid to do, and he might start to think he was performing some courtesy when he brings tea or does his work, whereas in school you don’t thank the teachers, they are paid money to teach, and no one expects that at the end of the period the class should stand and say thank you as one, especially if it seemed as if they were kissing up to some stupid teachers. Then Irwin comes back to the question of tea or coffee, saying that it was unforgivable that Anton had not come before the snack to ask what Josef wanted, but since Josef found none of this to be worthwhile talk Irwin wonders about such indifference, he would not want to let anyone think he was so inconsiderate.

Josef asks if Irwin is always considerate, but he replies that if he were a servant he would certainly practice consideration to one’s master, yet in general people aren’t as considerate as Josef seems to think, even at school the teachers and the students aren’t considerate of one another, and that’s the way it is everywhere. Lutz believes, however, that it would be nice to be a bit more considerate now and then, Mother also wanting others to be nice to her when she has a headache or her stupid neuralgia, while Mother herself is considerate when Lutz and Irwin are sick, she does anything she can for them. Irwin finds it bothersome that Mother is always there when you’re sick, waking you up and asking you how you feel, why you ate so little, whether you want some soda, lemonade, or raspberry juice, Irwin sometimes getting mad and not answering, but pretending to be asleep until Mother is gone, though she’s back again five minutes later, looking through the cracked open door to ask in a half whisper, are you asleep? Lutz meanwhile doesn’t think it’s very nice of Irwin to talk about their mother like a fool when she does so much to take care of them, but Irwin responds angrily that he doesn’t think anyone is a fool, he just wants his peace and quiet, because when Father is sick Mother is not allowed in, for he locks himself in and will not stand for messing with his pillows or taking his temperature, there being no need for Mother to make a scene, all he wants is two aspirin and no doctor, Lutz adding, “You see, Josef, that’s why I don’t want to be a doctor. You can’t help the sick. If it has to do with nerves, then most medicines don’t work. And when it’s something else …”—“Quiet!” yells Irwin, it’s not at all considerate to interrupt your brother, and Josef can see for himself that Lutz is talking like that only because he doesn’t want to be a doctor. Lutz is romantic, but that can change, for when he was fourteen Irwin hadn’t yet thought of being a lawyer, but rather only about soccer, which he played a lot of back then, though he gave it up because it’s more interesting to watch, and in order to make a living at it you’d have to play on a championship team, and that’s possible only if you’re incredibly good, there also always being a great risk in sports of your getting hurt, be it a stupid pulled tendon or whatever, and suddenly your whole career is over, after which you can become a beggar or a trainer or a gym teacher, but none of that interests Irwin, he wants to get rich fast in order to be independent, sport being something to watch and talk about, it’s all fantastic, especially the league championships, which are really exciting, he going to matches often on Sundays, though Lutz doesn’t want to, he is a limp noodle always bent over his books and his butterfly collections, or who wants to be going on outings, indeed, the nature buff wanting to be in nature.

Then Lutz asks whether Josef might want to come along on an outing with him, for Lutz isn’t allowed to go alone, though he wanted to join the scouts, who often go hiking and have a lily as their insignia, but Mother wouldn’t allow it, for among the scouts there could be disreputable people, but because Lutz was so deeply disappointed Mother promised him a microscope as compensation, though he had not yet received it, because Father had said that Lutz could strain his eyes in using it, and the eyes are irreplaceable and cannot be bought with money, Lutz still hopeful that this year he’ll get a microscope for his birthday, it being wonderful when you can look at cells, one next to another, Lutz having already observed algae in his natural-history lab and cut microscopic samples with a scalpel that satisfied Papa Wutzl. Lutz talks passionately about the microscope, as it is much more beautiful than the theater and movies, only a telescope is as beautiful, the macrocosm and the microcosm, these the most wonderful things to study, though Lutz wants to devote himself to the microcosm, there are great mysteries there, and it’s marvelous what you can see through a pair of polished lenses, even a strong magnifying glass is terrific, though it’s nothing compared with a microscope, the difference much greater than between opera glasses and a telescope, which Lutz saw at the planetarium, everything magnified so that you see how different it is and what it’s really like. In fact, it’s hard to know what’s more real, what you see with your own two eyes or in the microscope, but the microscope is more mysterious, the image round and more clear or less clear when you turn the knob, while you can also shove the object around, which is like going on a hiking trip. Lutz asks Josef to say something to his parents so that he will get a microscope for his birthday, and Josef promises that he’ll speak with Frau Director.