By plane, car, horse, camel, elephant, tractor, bicycle
and steam roller, on foot, skis,sled, crutchand pogo-
stick thetourists stormthe frontiers,demanding with
inflexibleauthorityasylumfrom the"unspeakable con-
ditionsobtaininginFreeland,"theChamberof Com-
mercestrivinginvaintostem thedebacle: "Please
to be restful. Itis onlya fewcrazies whohave from
the crazy place outbroken."
JOSELITO
AndJoselitowhowrotebad,class-conscious poetry
begantocough.TheGermandoctormade abrief ex-
amination, touching Joselito'sribs withlong, delicate
fingers. The doctor was also a concert violinist, a math-
ematician, a chess master, and a Doctorof International
Jurisprudence with license to practice inthe lavatories
of the Hague. Thedoctor flickeda hard,distant glance
acrossJoselito'sbrownchest. Helooked atCarl and
smiled -- one educated man to anothersmile --and raised
his eyebrow, saying without words:
"Alzoforthesostupid peasantwe mustavoid use
of the wordis itnot? Otherwisehe shithimself with
fear. Hoch and spit they are both nasty words I think?"
He said aloud: "It is a catarro de los pulmones."
Carltalkedtothe doctoroutside underthe narrow
arcadewithrainbouncing upfrom thestreet against
his pant legs, thinking howmany peoplehe tellit to,
andthestairs,porches,lawns,driveways, corridors
and streets of theworld therein thedoctor's eyes...
stuffyGermanalcoves,butterflytrays tothe ceiling,
silentportentoussmellofuremiaseepingunder the
door,suburbanlawnsto soundof thewater sprinkler,
incalmjungle nightunder silentwings ofthe Anoph-
elesmosquito.(Note:This isnot afigure. Anopheles
mosquitoes are silent. ) Thickly carpeted,discreet nurs-
inghomein Kensington:stiff brocadechair anda cup
oftea,theSwedishmodernlivingroomwithwater
hyacinthsinayellowbowl--outside theChina blue
Northernskyanddriftingclouds,underbadwater-
colors of the dying medical student.
"A schnaps I think Frau Underschnitt."
Thedoctorwastalkingintoaphonewitha chess
board in front of him. "Quite asevere lesionI think...
ofcoursewithout tosee theHoroscope." Hepicks up
theknightandthenreplaces itthoughtfully. "Yes...
Bothlungs...quitedefinitely."Hereplacesthere-
ceiver and turns toCarl. "Ihave observedthese people
showamazinglyquickwoundrecovery,withlowin-
cidenceofinfection.
..
stuffyGermanalcoves,butterflytrays tothe ceiling,
silentportentoussmellofuremiaseepingunder the
door,suburbanlawnsto soundof thewater sprinkler,
incalmjungle nightunder silentwings ofthe Anoph-
elesmosquito.(Note:This isnot afigure. Anopheles
mosquitoes are silent. ) Thickly carpeted,discreet nurs-
inghomein Kensington:stiff brocadechair anda cup
oftea,theSwedishmodernlivingroomwithwater
hyacinthsinayellowbowl--outside theChina blue
Northernskyanddriftingclouds,underbadwater-
colors of the dying medical student.
"A schnaps I think Frau Underschnitt."
Thedoctorwastalkingintoaphonewitha chess
board in front of him. "Quite asevere lesionI think...
ofcoursewithout tosee theHoroscope." Hepicks up
theknightandthenreplaces itthoughtfully. "Yes...
Bothlungs...quitedefinitely."Hereplacesthere-
ceiver and turns toCarl. "Ihave observedthese people
showamazinglyquickwoundrecovery,withlowin-
cidenceofinfection.Itisalways thelungs here...
pneumoniaand,ofcourse,OldFaithful."Thedoctor
grabsCarl'scock, leapinginto theair witha coarse
peasantguffaw.HisEuropeansmileignoresthemis-
behaviorof achild oran animal.He goeson smoothly
inhiseerilyunaccented,disembodiedEnglish."Our
Old Faithful Bacillus Koch." Thedoctor clickshis heels
andbowshishead."Otherwisetheywouldmultiply
their stupid peasant asshole into the sea, is itnot?" He
shrieks,thrustinghis faceinto Carl's.Carl retreats
sideways with the grey wall of rain behind him.
"Isn't there some place where he can be treated?"
"I thinkthere issome sortof sanitarium,"he drags
outthewordwithambiguousobscenity,"upatthe
District Capital. I will write for you the address."
"Chemical therapy?"
His voice falls Hat and heavy in the damp air.
"Whocansay.Theyareallstupidpeasants,and
theworstofallpeasantsaretheso-called educated.
Thesepeopleshouldnotonlybepreventedfrom learn-
ing toread, butfrom learningto talkas well.No need
to prevent them from thinking; nature has done that."
"Hereistheaddress,"thedoctorwhisperedwithout
moving his lips.
HedroppedapillofpaperintoCarl'shand.