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Su&DOWLAND
Lies
By Franz Molnar
Translated by Benjamin F. Glazer
\Latc afternoon in February. A Budapest park. All day the sun lias been shining warmly, but now it is setting and a bleak wind is whistling thru the leafless branches under which a boy and girl walk arm in arm. The boy is nineteen; the girl is fifteen. A pair of skates on a strap dangle from her disengaged arm. Nearby a clock strikes once. |
The Girl :
Good gracious, it’s half past seven ! ( She tries to with
draw her arm.)
The Boy :
No, dont go yet.
The Girl :
I must, supper.
Let me go. I’ll get a scolding if I’m late for The Boy :
What time do you have supper?
The Girl:
Not all the way. Only as far as Ferencz Square.
T he Boy :
Just as you say, darling. ( They start for home.)
The Girl :
(As they walk.) Do you love me, Niklos?
The Boy :
I told you I did.
The Girl:
Say it again. I like to hear you say it. I wish you would never, never say anything else.
The Boy :
I love you ; I love you ; I love you ; I love you . . . . (He keeps on saying it until they reach V orosmarty Street. )
The Girl :
Let me go .... At eight. And it’s half past seven
now.
The Boy :
Aren’t you going to kiss me before you go?
The Girl :
(Very earnestly.) I mustn’t kiss you.
The Boy :
Then I’ll kiss you.
T he Girl :
I’m afraid I will get a scolding, it’s so late.
The Boy :
No you wont. God couldn’t let you suffer on my account.
The Girl :
Oh .... God . . . . T wonder He doesn’t get angry with us. If I were in His place, and I saw that people thought of me only when they were in trouble, I’d say: “Now you want me, dont you?” .... And I’d turn my head away and walk out into the kitchen.
The Girl :
No ... . please.
The Boy :
Hasn’t anyone ever kissed you before?
The Boy:
(Gravely.) God is just and merciful. If you have faith in Him, no harm can befall you. (He is rather pleased with himself, having successfully uttered such a high-sounding sentiment. )
The Girl:
No.
The Boy :
Then I shallbe the first.
The Girl:
No, no ... . you shan’t . . . . (But when his lips are on hers, she docs not resist.)
The Boy:
Do you love me, Paula?
The Girl:
Yes, I love you, Niklos .... I feel as if I could give my life for you, 1 love you so ... . Niklos. (They kiss again, more ardently.) Now let me go .... I really must go.
The Boy :
I’ll take you home.
T he Girl :
(Impressed.) You are so noble, Niklos.
The Boy :
(Dcprecatingly.) Not at all. It’s only that I have a good heart. I couldn’t bear to have you suffer on my account, in case they should find out you were with me. . . . Still, when you are my wife, I’ll make it up to you. You shall be the happiest woman on earth. I’ll lay the
stars at your feet the . . . .
the .... (finds he has begun too high, finishes less ecstatically) . . . everything your heart desires ... a car ... a house . . . horses . . .
The Girl:
And will you love me as much as you do now ?
(Continued on page 69)
OLD SONGS
By Ethel Hope
I
Music . . . the gleam Of candles bright . . .
Laughter . . . farewells . . .
Then . . . the hush of night.
Stars . . . mellow moonlight . . .
Footsteps ... so slow . . . Ardent words spoken . . .
A promise . . . whispered low.
Memories, slow-trailing O’er years of pain . . .
Why must the old songs Be played again?
Page Thirty-Nine