Lotte in Weimar

Wolfgang! Wolfgang!

Lottchen! Dearest Lottchen!

Keep - those - feet - moving.

Into battle, my hero, my Fingal!

[Ossian:
Fingal in Lochlin]

Mama, wake up!

Don't dream so shamelessly.

I can't stand it,

listening to your moaning.

Where are we, my child?

On the Weimar chausse.

Lotte in Weimar

(The Beloved Returns)

Through all the Transoxonians' blare and clashings hollow,

Our song grows bold and still will dare thy steps to follow!

Living in thee, no wrong our spirits can whelm;

Prince, may thy life be long,

endless thy realm !

[West-Eastern Divan, book 4, transl. E. Dowden]

A good day, my friend.

- We need rooms for three.

- Very well.

Our hotel is, as usual, well occupied,

but we will spare no pains to satisfy the ladies' needs.

If you please...

... among the abilities ...

you see, sir ...

I beg your pardon?

Never mind.

How do you like Weimar?

Oh, excellent. It's nice.

Frau Elmenreich, the proprietress,

will be pleased to receive you.

Room 27.

But I cannot oblige with a single room.

The Mamsell will have to share her room

with the maid of the Countess of Larisch from Erfurt.

We have at the moment many guests

who bring their own servants.

I'm sure they'll get along.

So, shall we go?

- Presently, Madame.

In Heaven's name pray write us a few lines.

It seems as though laws and rules kept on

propagating themselves like a disease.

Would the lady be so gracious?

I see.

He's an intellectual.

Well-read and knows his literary quotations.

Yes, I've just come from Vienna.

Oh, Wien! Is that so?

That's it.

How clumsy.

If you please.

I most humbly beg your pardon if my question

- it is not actuated by unseemly curiosity,

but - have we the honour to be entertaining

Frau Councillor Kestner, Madame Charlotte Kestner,

ne Buff, of Wetzlar ... ?

- The same.

- Certainly, certainly.

But I mean - of course it cannot - I mean - it cannot be the same Charlotte -

or Lotte for short - Kestner,

ne Buff, from the house

of the Teutonic Order at Wetzlar, the former -

The very same, my friend.

But I am not "former" at all,

I am present in the flesh and want to be shown ...

This very instant!

Goodness - gracious me!

Frau Councillor! Then our house has the honour and distinction

of entertaining the actual original - if I may so express myself -

in short:
Werther's Lotte?

Indeed, my friend, but

that should be a reason more

for showing us tired ladies to our room ...

- This very instant! Only...

Room 27. Good gracious, that's two stairs up.

But we never dreamed ...

Frau Councillor, you must forgive me.

As you can see, all the walls have a fresh coat of paint.

Since the visit of the Don Cossacks in 1813

we've had to renovate completely.

Yet I should not give the Cossacks

all the credit for our improvements.

We had Prussian and Hungarian hussars in the house as well

- to say nothing of the French who came before them!

Here we are!

Frau Councillor, if you please.

Allow me to lead the way.

Very nice.

The bell-pull.

Of course I shall see to it personally

that you'll get hot water.

My friend, we are unspoilt people

with simple tastes, we're well provided for ...

- and we'd like to have some rest ...

- Good Heavens, Frau Councillor!

Such an event!

Worthy to be put down in a book.

Frau Councillor must be used to her situation

and cannot guess

at the emotions that must animate the soul of a man,

literary from youth up, to whom now, all undreamt of

- to whom is vouchsafed acquaintance with -

is vouchsafed the sight of

a being so surrounded with the effulgence of poesy and,

as it were,

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