Gargoyles

I asked my father if he had read the inscriptions on the engravings. He said he had. Young Krainer had once carefully explained to him what all these legends meant. Incidentally, he wrote over or smeared over every piece of paper that came into his hands, my father said; he had scribbled thousands of curious remarks on the scores in the chests. “A person like young Krainer can live on to be terribly old,” my father said. He was taking me with him for the sake of my studies, my father said. He repeated that again and again: “For the sake of your studies.”

The prince

It actually was a view for hundreds of miles in every direction.

Up to now I had only heard of Hochgobernitz — the castle. Now I was seeing it in reality.

Because we were expected, the gate was opened at once for us, and we were told that the prince was either on the outer or the inner wall. We saw him on the outer one.

On the way there my father explained that aside from the prince only his two sisters and two of his daughters were living in the castle. The prince’s only son was studying in England. Finally we came upon Prince Saurau on the inner castle wall, walking and talking to himself.

He greeted my father and me casually. He had been having all sorts of curious thoughts about the events of the morning, he said. When he greeted us, he had not paused in his walk; we joined him. Our presence seemed not to disturb him. From here, I thought, you probably had the finest view of the entire country.