things_. I wonder _whether she will have a baby_? Oh, it would be
horrible. Of course she may have entered into a _marriage_ contract,
that would have been the best way. However, Hella thinks that the
professor would not have agreed to anything of the kind. But surely if
he was frantically in love with her . . .

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 -- -- --