The Bridge on the Drina - PDFDrive.com Page 28

  century spread out before the eyes of millions of men its many-sided and

  deceptive prosperity and created its lata morgana of comfort, security and

  happinessforallandeveryoneatreasonablepricesandevenoncreditterms.But

  tothisremoteBosniantownshiponlybrokenechoespenetratedofallthislifeof

  thenineteenthcentury,andthoseonlytotheextentandintheforminwhichthis

  backwardorientalsocietycouldreceivethemandinitsownmannerunderstand

  andacceptthem.

  Afterthefirstyearsofdistrust,misunderstandingandhesitation,whenthefirst

  feeling of transience had passed, the town began to find its place in the new

  orderofthings.Thepeoplefoundorder,workandsecurity.Thatwasenoughto

  ensurethatheretoolife,outwardlifeatleast,setout'ontheroadofperfection

  and progress'. Everything else was flushed away into that dark background of

  consciousness where live and ferment the basic feelings and indestructible

  beliefsofindividualraces,faithsandcastes,which,toallappearancesdeadand

  buried, are preparing for later far-off times unsuspected changes and

  catastrophes without which, it seems, peoples cannot exist and above all the

  peoplesofthisland.

  Thenewauthorities,afterthefirstmisunderstandingsandclashes,leftamongthe

  townspeople a definite impression of firmness and of permanence (they were

  themselves impregnated with this belief without which there can be no strong

  andpermanentauthority).Theywereimpersonalandindirectandforthatreason more easily bearable than the former Turkish rulers. All that was cruel and

  grasping was concealed by the dignity and glitter of traditional forms. The

  people still feared the authorities but in much the same way as they feared

  sickness and death and not as one fears malice, misery and oppression. The

  representativesofthenewauthority,militaryaswellascivil,wereforthemost

  part newcomers to the land and unskilful in their dealings with the people and

  were themselves of little importance, but with every step they made they felt

  themselvestobepartofagreatermechanismandthatbehindeachoneofthem

  stoodmorepowerfulmenandgreaterorganizationsinlongrowsandcountless

  gradations.Thatgavethemastandingwhichfarsurpassedtheirownpersonality

  and a magic influence to which it was easier to submit. By their titles which

  appeared to be great, by their calm and their European customs, they aroused

  among the people, from whom they so greatly differed, feelings of confidence

  and respect and did not excite envy or real criticism, even though they were

  neitherpleasantnorloved.

  On the other hand, after a certain time, even these newcomers were unable to

  avoidcompletelytheinfluenceoftheunusualorientalmilieuinwhichtheyhad

  to live. Their children introduced the children of the townspeople to strange

  phrasesandforeignnames,broughtwiththemnewgamesandtoys,butequally

  they easily picked up from the local children the old songs, ways of speech,

  oaths and the traditional games of knucklebones, leap-frog and the like. It was

  the same with the grown-ups; they too brought a new order, with unfamiliar

  wordsandhabits,butatthesametimetheytooacceptedeverydaysomethingof

  the speech and manner of life of the older inhabitants. It is true that the local people,especiallytheChristiansandJews,begantolookmoreandmorelikethe

  newcomers in dress and behaviour, but the newcomers themselves did not

  remainunchangedoruntouchedbythemilieuinwhichtheyhadtolive.Manyof

  these officials, the fiery Magyar or the haughty Pole, crossed the bridge with

  reluctance and entered the town with disgust and, at first, were a world apart,

  likedrops of oilin water. Yeta year or solater they couldbe found sittingfor

  hours on the kapia, smoking through thick amber cigarette-holders and, as if they had been born in the town, watching the smoke expand and vanish under

  theclearskyinthemotionlessairofdusk;ortheywouldsitandwaitforsupper

  withthelocalnotablesonsomegreenhillock,withplumbrandyandsnacksand

  a little bouquet of basil before them, conversing leisurely about trivialities or

  drinkingslowlyandoccasionallymunchingasnackasthetownsmenknewhow

  to do so well. There were some among these newcomers, officials or artisans,

  whomarriedinthetownandhaddecidednevertoleaveit.

  But for none of the townspeople did the new life mean the realization of what

  theyfeltdeepdownwithinthemselvesandhadalwaysdesired;onthecontrary

  allofthem,MoslemsandChristiansalike,hadtakentheirplaceinitwithmany

  and definite reservations, but these reservations were secret and concealed,

  whereaslifewasopenandpowerfulwithnewandapparentlygreatpossibilities.

  Afteralongerorshorterperiodofwavering,mostofthemfellinwiththenew

  ideas,didtheirbusiness,madefreshacquisitions,andlivedaccordingtothenew

  ideas and customs which offered greater scope and, it seemed, gave greater

  chancestoeveryindividual.

  Not that the new existence was in any way less subject to conditions or less

  restricted than in Turkish times, but it was easier and more humane, and those

  conditionsandrestrictionswerenowfarawayandskilfullyenforced,sothatthe

  individual did not feel them directly. Therefore it seemed to everyone as if the

  lifearoundhimhadsuddenlygrownwiderandclearer,morevariedandfuller.

  The new state, with its good administrative apparatus, had succeeded in a

  painless manner, without brutality or commotion, to extract taxes and

  contributionsfromthelocalpeoplewhichtheTurkishauthoritieshadextracted

  by crude and irrational methods or by simple plunder; and, moreover, it got as

  muchormore,evenmoreswiftlyandsurely.

  Evenasthegendarmes,intheirowntime,hadreplacedthesoldiersandafterthe

  soldiershadcometheofficials,sonow,aftertheofficials,camethemerchants.

  Felling began in the forests and brought with it foreign contractors, engineers

  and workers, and provided varied sources of gain for the ordinary people and

  traders,withchangesindressandspeech.Thefirsthotelwasbuilt,ofwhichwe

  shallhavemuchtosaylater.Canteensandworkshopssprangupwhichhadnot

  beenknownhitherto.BesidestheSpanishspeakingJews,theSephardi,whohad

  been living in the town for hundreds of years, for they had first settled there

  about the time when the bridge had been built, there now came the Galician

  Jews,theAshkenazi.

  Likefreshblood,moneybegantocirculateinhithertounknownquantitiesand,

  which was the main thing, publicly, boldly and openly. In that exciting

  circulationofgold,silverandnegotiablepap
er,everymancouldwarmhishands

  or at least 'gladden his eyes', for it created even for the poorest of men the

  illusion that his own bad luck was only temporary and therefore the more

  bearable.

  Earlier too there had been money and rich people, but these last had been rare and had concealed their money like a snake its legs and had revealed their

  superiorityonlyasaformofpowerandprotection,difficultbothforthemselves

  and for those about them. Now wealth, or what passed as such and was so

  named,wasopenlydisplayedintheformofpleasureandpersonalsatisfaction,

  therefore the mass of the people could see something of its glitter and its

  gleanings.

  So it was with all else. Pleasures which up till then had been stolen and

  concealed,couldnowbepurchasedandopenlydisplayed,whichincreasedtheir

  attraction and the number of those who sought them. What had earlier been

  unattainable, far off and expensive (forbidden by law or all-powerful custom)

  nowbecame,inmanycases,possibleandattainabletoallwhohadorwhoknew.

  Manypassions,appetitesanddemandswhichtillthenhadbeenhiddeninremote

  placesorleftcompletelyunsatisfiedcouldnowbeboldlyandopenlysoughtand

  fully or at least partially satisfied. In fact even in that there was greater

  restriction,orderandlegalhindrance;viceswerepunishedandenjoymentspaid

  for even more heavily and dearly than before, but the laws and methods were

  different and allowed the people, in this as in all else, the illusion that life had suddenlybecomewider,moreluxuriousandfreer.

  There were not many more real pleasures nor, certainly, more happiness but it

  wasundoubtedlyeasiertocomebysuchpleasuresanditseemedthattherewas

  room for everyone's happiness. The old inborn partiality of the people of

  Višegradforacarefreelifeofenjoymentfoundboths'upportandpossibilitiesof

  realizationinthenewcustomsandthenewformsoftradingandprofitbrought

  bythenewcomers.ImmigrantPolishJewswiththeirnumerousfamiliesbasedall

  theirbusinessonthat.Schreiberopenedwhat

  he called a 'general store', Gutenplan a canteen for the soldiers, Zahler ran a

  hotel, the Sperling brothers set up a soda-water factory and a photographer's

  'atelier'andZvekerajeweller'sandwatchmaker'sshop.

  After the barracks which had replaced the Stone Han, Municipal Offices were

  built of the stone that remained, with local administrative offices and courts.

  Afterthese,thelargestbuildinginthetownwastheZahlerhotel.Itwasbuilton

  theriverbankjustbesidethebridge.Thatrightbankhadbeensupportedbyan

  ancientretainingwallwhichshoredupthebankonbothsidesofthebridgeand

  hadbeenbuiltatthesametime.Soithappenedthatbothtoleftandrightofthe

  bridge stretched two level spaces, like two terraces above the water. On these

  openspaces,whichwerecalledracecoursesbythepeopleofthetown,children

  had played from generation to generation. Now the local authorities took over the left-hand 'racecourse', put a fence round it and made a sort of municipal

  botanicalgarden.Ontheright-handonethehotelwasbuilt.Untilthenthefirst

  buildingattheentrytothemarketplacehadbeenZarije'sinn.Itwas'intheright

  place', for the tired and thirty traveller on entering the town from across the

  bridgemustfirstlightonit.Nowitwasovershadowedbythegreatbuildingof

  thenewhotel;thelowoldinnseemedeverydaylowerandmorehumiliatedasif

  ithadsunkintotheearth.

  Officiallythenewhotelhadbeengiventhenameofthebridgebesidewhichit

  had been built. But the townspeople named everything according to their own

  special logic and according to the real significance it had for them. Over the

  entranceoftheZahlerHoteltheinscription'HotelzurBriicke',whichasoldier

  skilledinthetradehadpaintedinlargeletters,quicklyfaded.Thepeoplecalled

  it 'Lotte's Hotel' and the name stuck. For the hotel was run by the fat and

  phlegmatic Jew, Zahler, who had a sickly wife, Deborah, and two little girls,

  Mina and Irene, but the real proprietress was Zahler's sister-in-law Lotte, a

  youngandveryprettywidowwithafreetongueandamasculineenergy.

  Onthetopfloorofthehotelweresixcleanandwellfurnishedguestroomsand

  on the ground floor two public rooms, one large and one small. The large one

  was patronized by the humbler clients, ordinary citizens, non-commissioned

  officers and artisans. The smaller one was separated from the larger by large

  frosted-glass doors on one of which was written EXTRA and on the other

  ZIMMER. That was the social centre for officials, officers and the richer

  townspeople. One drank and played cards, sang, danced, held serious

  conversationsandclosedbusinessdeals,atewellandsleptwellincleansheetsat

  Lotte's. It often happened that the same group of begs, merchants and officials

  would sit from dusk until dawn and still go on until they collapsed from drink

  and lack of sleep or grew so tired over their cards that they could no longer

  distinguishthem(theynolongerplayedhiddenawaysecretlyinthatdarkstuffy

  cubby-hole at Ustamujić's inn). Those who had drunk too much or had lost all

  they had Lotte would see off the premises and then turn to welcome fresh and

  soberguestseagerfordrinkandplay.Nooneknewandnooneeveraskedwhen

  thatwomanrested,whenshesleptorateandwhenshefoundtimetodressand

  freshen herself up. For she was always there (or at least so it seemed) at

  everyone'sbeckandcall,alwaysamiable,alwaysthesameandalwaysboldand

  discreet. Well built, plump, with ivory-white skin, black hair and smouldering

  eyes, she had a perfectly assured manner of dealing with guests, who would

  spendfreelybutwereoftenaggressiveandcrudewhenovercomebydrink.She

  would talk sweetly, boldly, wittily, sharply, flatteringly with all of them,

  smoothingthemdown.Hervoicewashoarseandunevenbutcouldatmoments

  becomeasortofdeepandsoothingcooing.Shespokeincorrectly,forshenever

  learnt Serbian well, in her own piquant and picturesque language in which the

  caseswereneverrightandthegendersuncertain,butwhichintoneandmeaning

  wasentirelyinkeepingwiththelocalwayofexpression.Everyclienthadherat

  hisdisposaltolistentoallhistroublesanddesiresinrecompenseforthemoney

  he spent and the time he wasted. But these two things, spending money and

  wasting time, were all he could be sure of; everyone thought there would be

  more to it, whereas in fact there was not. For two generations of the rich

  spendthrifts of the town Lotte was a glittering, expensive and cold lata

  morgana who played with their senses. Th
ose rare individuals who had

  supposedlygotsomethingoutofher,butwhowerequiteunabletosaywhator

  howmuch,werethesubjectoflocalstories.

  Itwasnosimplemattertoknowhowtodealwiththerichanddrunktownsmen

  in whom unsuspected and coarse desires were often roused. But Lotte, that

  untiring and cold woman of chilled passions, quick intelligence and masculine

  heart tamed every fury, silenced every demand of uncontrolled men by the

  inexplicable play of her perfect body, her great cunning and her no less great

  daring, and always succeeded in maintaining the necessary distance between

  herself and them, which only served to inflame their desires and increase her

  own value. She played with these uncontrolled men in their coarsest and most

  dangerous moments of drunkenness and rage, like a torero with a bull, for she

  quicklygottoknowthepeoplewithwhomshehadtodealandeasilyfoundthe

  keytotheirapparentlycomplexdemandsandalltheweakpointsofthosecruel

  and sensual sentimentalists. She offered them everything, promised much and

  gave little, or rather nothing at all. For their desires were, of their very nature, such as never could be satisfied and in the end they had to content themselves

  with little. With most of her guests she behaved as if they were sick men who

  fromtimetotimehadpassingcrisesandhallucinations.Infactitcouldbesaid

  that despite her trade, which of its nature was neither pleasant nor particularly

  chaste,shewasanunderstandingwomanofkindnatureandcompassionateheart

  whocouldhelpandconsolewhoeverhadspentmorethanheshouldondrinksor

  had lost more than he should at cards. She sent them all mad, for they were

  naturally mad, deceived them for they wanted to be deceived and, finally, took

  fromthemonlywhattheyhadalreadybeendeterminedtothrowawayandlose.

  Infactsheearnedverymuch,tookgoodcareofhermoneyandinthefirstfew

  years had already managed to accumulate a considerable fortune, but she also knew how to 'write off' a debt magnanimously and to forget a loss without a