thing for a boy is to send him to a military academy, that keeps him
in order. In the evening Oswald said: That was awful rot what Hella's
father said, for you can be expelled from a military academy just as
easily as from the Gymnasium. That's what happened to Edgar Groller.
Oswald gave himself away and Dora promptly said: Ah, so you have been
expelled, and we believed you had sprained your ankle. Then he got in
an awful wax and said: O you wretched flappers, I've gone and blabbed it
all now, and he went away slamming the door, for Mother wasn't there.

October 19th. If we could only find out what Oswald really did. It must
have been something with a girl. But we can't think what Father meant
about a married woman. Perhaps a married woman complained of him to the
head master or to the school committee and that's how it all came out. I
feel awfully sorry for him, for I think how I should have felt myself if
everything had come out about Robert and me. Of course I don't care now.
But in the summer it would have been awful. Oswald hardly says a word,
except that he has talks with Mother sometimes. He always pretends that
he wants to read, but it's absurd, for with such a love trouble one
can't really read. I have not told Berta Franke all about it, but only
that my brother has had an unhappy love affair and that is why he is
back in Vienna. Then she told us that this summer a cousin of hers shot
himself because of her. They said in the newspapers that it was because
of an actress, but really it was because of her. She is 14 already.

October 20th. We spend most of our time now with Berta Franke. She says
she has had a tremendous lot of experience, but she can't tell us yet
because we are not intimate enough. By and by she says. Perhaps she
is afraid we shall give her away. She wants to marry when she is 16 at
latest. That's in 2 years. Of course she won't have finished school by
then, but she will have left the third class. She has three admirers,
but she has not yet made up her mind which to choose. Hella says I
mustn't believe all this, that the story about the three admirers at
once is certainly a cram.

October 21st. Berta Franke says that when one is dark under the eyes one
has it and that when one gets a baby then one doesn't have it any more
until one gets another. She told us too how one gets it, but I didn't
really believe what she said, for I thought she did not know herself
exactly. Then she got very cross and said: "All right, I won't tell you
any more. If I don't know myself." But I can't believe what she said
about husband and wife. She said it must happen every night, for if not
they don't have a baby; if they miss a single night they don't have a
baby. That's why they have their beds so close together. People call
them _marriage beds!!!_ And it hurts so frightfully that one can hardly
bear it. But one has to for a husband can make his wife do it. I should
like to know how he can make her. But I didn't dare to ask for I was
afraid she would think I was making fun of her. Men have it too, but
very seldom. We see a lot of Berta Franke now, she is an awfully nice
girl, perhaps Mother will let me invite her here next Sunday.

October 23rd. Father took Oswald away to-day. Mother cried such a lot.
When Oswald was leaving I whispered to him: I know what's the matter
with you. But he did not understand me for he said: Silly duffer.
Perhaps he only said that because of Father who was looking on with a
fearful scowl.

October 27th. Everything seems to have gone wrong. Yesterday I got
unsatisfactory in history, and in arithmetic to-day I couldn't get a
single sum right. I'm frightfully worried about missing that gymnastic
lesson. It will be all right if Mother gives me the money to-morrow, for
if she goes herself she will certainly find out about it.

October 28th. To-day the head mistress was present at our French lesson
and said awfully nice things about me. She said I was good enough in
French to be in the Third and then she asked me whether I was as good in
the other subjects. I didn't want to say either Yes or No, and all the
other girls said Yes, she's good at everything. The head patted me on
the shoulder and said: I'm glad to hear that. When she had gone I cried
like anything and Madame Arnau asked: Why, what's the matter? and the
other girls said: In arithmetic she had Unsatisfactory but she can
really do her sums awfully well. Then Madame said: "You'll soon wipe off
that Unsatisfactory."

October 30th. To-day I had a frightful bother with Fraulein Vischer in
the history lesson. Yesterday when I got into the tram with Mother there
was Fraulein V. I looked the other way so that Mother shouldn't see her
and so that she should not tell Mother about me. When she came in to-day
she said: Lainer, do you know the rules? I knew directly what she meant
and said "I did bow to you in the tram but you didn't see me." "That's a
fine thing to do, first you do wrong and then try to excuse yourself by
telling a lie. Sit down!" I felt awful for all the girls looked at me.
In the 11 interval Berta Franke said to me: Don't worry, she's got her
knife into you and will always find something to complain of. She must
have spoken to Frau Doktor M., for in the German lesson the subject for
viva voce composition was Good Manners. And all the girls looked at me
again. She didn't say anything more. She's a perfect angel, my darling
E. M., her name is Elisabeth; but she does not keep her name-day because
she's a Protestant; that's an awful shame because November 19th is
coming soon.

October 31st. I've been so lucky. Nothing's come out about the gymnastic
lesson though Mother was there herself. And in mental arithmetic to-day
I got a One. Fraulein Steiner is awfully nice too and she said: Why, L.
what was the matter with you in your sums the other day, for you're so
good at arithmetic? I didn't know what to do so I said: Oh I had such a
headache the other day. Then Berta Franke nearly burst out laughing,
it was horrid of her; I don't think she's quite to be trusted; I think
she's rather a sneak. When the lesson was over she said she had laughed
because "headache" means something quite different.