The Complete Works of Isaac Babel Reprint Edition by Isaac Babel, Nathalie Babel, Peter Constantine (110 page)

418. Maffi outside the closed door. He is swatting his whip against his leg. Helene comes out of her room. With superb maidenly grace, she stretches both hands out to Maffi. Her feeling of strength, youth, and beauty fills her with joy. Maffi mutters something to her, takes her by the hand, and slowly turns her around.

419. “WHAT A HORRIBLE DRESS!”

420. he says, swatting his whip harder and harder against his leg. Helene staggers back.

421. A close-up of the painting of Christ. A girl, one of the baronesss daughters, is peering carefully through a lorgnette at. . .

422. . . . Rogdai squirming in his armchair.

423. The pastor is reading with rapture. When he comes to a particularly wonderful passage, he raises his finger.

424. The velvet curtain separating the salon from the adjacent room is drawn apart. Helenes face, dazzling and pale, appears.

425. Maffi enters the salon followed by Helene, who is wearing a low-cut dress. A long sash embroidered with gold thread is trailing behind her on the floor. Rogdai jumps up. He is staring at Helene. Maffi, swatting his whip, says to Helene:

426. “HERE, STANDING BEFORE YOU, BARONESS, IS LEO ROGDAI IN PERSON, WHOSE PHENOMENAL MASTERY OF THE VIOLIN ...”

427. The young man cannot tear his dazzled eyes from Helene. He slowly kisses her hand. At that very instant, the doorman hands him Rachels picture.

428. “THE GENTLEMAN DROPPED THIS,” the doorman says with a bow. Embarrassed, Rogdai takes the picture and puts it in his pocket. Helene turns and looks at Maffi, her eyes filled with fear and adoration.

art SiX

429. A Christmas tree is standing on the table. Little ornaments are hanging on the branches.

430. In Baroness Grennier’s salon. Rogdai, Helene, and her younger sister Augusta are decorating the tree. They are pulling Christmas favors in a happy, playful mood.

431. Helene climbs onto the table, places a Santa Claus on top of the Christmas tree, and strews artificial snow over it. Rogdai is arranging the candles. He stops and gazes at laughing, rosy-cheeked Helene. His gaze is very tender.

432. The front hall of the baronesss home. The doorman is polishing his nails.

433. Little Herr Kalnischker rings the doorbell.

434. The doorman lets him in. Kalnischker asks him:

435. “IS SIGNOR MAFFI IN?”

436. The doorman is not favorably impressed with Kalnischker. Not deigning to answer, he continues polishing his nails, and mumbles offhand:

437. “SIGNOR MAFFI IS NOT RECEIVING VISITORS.”

438. Little Herr Kalnischker is not in the least discouraged by the doormans chilly reception. He bows and says meekly:

439. “I SHALL WAIT.”

440. Kalnischker unhurriedly takes off his coat, tries to hang it on the coat rack, but does not manage, as he is too short to reach the hook. He pushes a velvet footstool to the coat rack, climbs onto it, hangs his coat and his bowler hat, and sits on a high armchair that is standing to the side. His short little legs do not reach the floor. There is an expression of unflappable patience on his face.

441. The doorman turns his back on him in contempt.

442. Kalnischker s short little legs are dangling above the floor.

443. Helene and Rogdai are dressing a doll, putting stockings and fashionable garters on its legs. They step back and marvel at their work.

444. Kalnischkers short little legs are dangling above the floor.

445. The doormans demeanor is as unruffled as Kalnischkers. The doorman gets up, pulls the pocket watch out of Kalnischker s vest pocket, takes a look—“What time is it?” Kalnischker fixes him with his expressionless eyes.

446. “I SHALL WAIT,” Kalnischker says, his little legs dangling.

447. At that moment the door flies open and Maffi comes bursting into the hall. His face darkens the instant he sees Kalnischker. The little man approaches the Italian with tiny steps and bows deeply.

448. Rogdai and Helene are still dressing the doll for the Christmas tree. It is a large baby doll with puffed-up cheeks and a round belly. Laughing, they put a brassiere and bloomers on the doll, and puff up its hair.

449. Maffi peers at Kalnischker. A tic flashes across his face. He pulls Kalnischkers pocket watch out of Kalnischkers vest pocket, just as the doorman had done before, and takes a look—“What time is it?” He wonders whether he should hit him or pay his debt. Kalnischker is still standing there with his neatly combed head in a deep bow. Maffi hurries toward the staircase, and Kalnischker follows him with quick little steps.

450. Helene and Rogdai have finally dressed the doll. It is now wearing a dress and a coat and holding a parasol. Rogdai laughs and presses the doll to his chest. At that moment Maffi enters the salon. Helene takes another doll out of a box and rushes toward Maffi, her face radiant and happy. She stretches her arms out to him, but Maffi steps aside to make way for Kalnischker. Maffi:

451. “BARONESS HELENE, MAY I INTRODUCE HERR KALNISCHKER? HE IS EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN YOUR PORCELAIN COLLECTION.”

452. Helene turns ashen, and the doll drops from of her hands. Kalnischker picks up the doll. Helene shudders, offers Kalnischker her arm, and they leave the room. Rogdai rushes after them. Maffi stops him:

453. “AS PER OUR CONTRACT ...”

454. Maffi says, looking Rogdai in the eye.

455. Kalnischker and Helene are walking down the corridors lined with statues and palm trees. Kalnischker, still holding the doll, keeps up a playful flow of witticisms. Helene is silent. Her face is rigid and pale.

456. Maffi is speaking with Rogdai, who is pressing the dressed doll against his chest:

457. “AS PER OUR CONTRACT, MY DEAR FELLOW, YOU ARE TO LEAVE TODAY FOR A TOUR OF FRANCE AND BRITAIN, AND THEREFORE ...”

458. Kalnischker and Helene enter her private boudoir. She asks him to take a seat.

459. Rogdai is still clutching the doll. Maffi turns toward him and stands in profile. The stub of his cut-off ear is partially visible to the viewer.

460. “... AND THEREFORE, YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO LOOK AT BARONESS HELENE’S PORCELAIN COLLECTION.”

461. Maffi fully turns his grotesquely deformed cheek toward the viewer.

462. The cut-off ear. Out of it. . .

463. . . . trotting on shaky little legs, comes a tiny, shaggy, horribly grotesque, aristocratic little pooch.

464. Six dogs covered in ribbons and frills, followed by two tiny old Englishwomen, sail through the lobby of the Hotel Imperial toward the exit. The concierge rushes out from behind his counter to the revolving doors and ushers out the two Englishwomen, who are followed by one exhausted dog after another. The door revolves slowly, and the last dog disappears behind its turning panels, at which point Baulin, holding a bundle, comes staggering into the lobby with a bewildered look on his face. And right behind Baulin is Rachel. The concierge rushes up to Baulin— “What are you doing here?” Baulin hands him a letter.

465. “FROM FRAU PUTZKE ...”

466. The concierge clips his pince-nez, dangling on a silk ribbon, onto his nose. He reads the letter and eyes Baulin critically. Baulin has aged, grown weaker, and has a beard. The concierge:

467. “WE’LL HIRE YOU AS A THIRD-GRADE BOILER ROOM STOKER.”

468. Then the concierge turns to Rachel. He is pleasantly surprised by her simple, slender face. He wants to convince her that he is a man of uncommon subtlety. He rearranges his silk ribbon and, bowing and scraping, says:

469. “AH, MADEMOISELLE, IT WAS BUT A CENTURY AGO THAT MEN OF MY APPEARANCE WERE EMPERORS, BUT NOW ...”

470. The concierge shrugs his shoulders. He is displeased with the twentieth century.

471. Rogdai and Maffi enter the lobby of the hotel. Rachel is standing with her back to them. They climb the stairs. After a few steps, Rogdai stops Maffi:

472. “I DIDNT KNOW THAT BARONESS HELENE HAD A PORCELAIN COLLECTION!”

473. Maffi waves his hands scornfully and leaves, going up the stairs three steps at a time. Rogdai stays back. He cannot stop thinking about Baroness Helenes porcelain collection.

474. Rachel continues her conversation with the concierge. Suddenly she asks him:

475. “MAY I CALL DIRECTORY INQUIRIES?”

476. The concierge is surprised, but says—“Please, go ahead.” Rachel enters the telephone booth and lifts the receiver.

477. Rogdai slowly walks down the stairs. He enters the telephone booth next to the one Rachel is in.

478. Rachel on the telephone:

479. “DIRECTORY INQUIRIES? COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME THE ADDRESS OF LEV RATKOVICH, A RUSSIAN CITIZEN?”

480. The little glass panel separating the two booths. Rachels nape and Rogdais back can be seen through the glass.

481. Rogdai on the telephone.

482. Baroness Grenniers salon. The baroness walks to the telephone.

483. Rogdai on the telephone:

484. “COULD I PLEASE SPEAK TO BARONESS HELENE?”

485. The old woman nods and walks away from the telephone.

486. The directory-inquiries office. A young woman is looking for the name “Ratkovich.” Her finger stops at “Rogdai” but moves on. She cannot find “Ratkovich,” and says into the telephone:

487. “WE HAVE NO LISTING FOR A LEV RATKOVICH, IMMIGRANT FROM RUSSIA....”

488. Rachel puts the receiver back on its hook and comes out of the booth.

489. The concierge says to Rachel:

490. “WE WILL HIRE YOU AS A FIRST-GRADE WASHERWOMAN. ...”

491. The concierge has an attendant take Rachel to the maids’ quarters. Rachel, Baulin, and the attendant leave.

492. Rogdai is waiting on the telephone.

493. The matte glass door to Helenes room. The old baroness walks up to the door, wants to knock, but at that moment the light in Helenes room goes out.

494. Rogdai is waiting on the telephone.

495. The old baroness walks back to the telephone:

496. “I AM SORRY, HELENE IS HAVING HER ENGLISH LESSON RIGHT NOW.”

497. Rogdai slowly lowers the telephone, forgetting to hang up.

498. The receiver dangling against the wall.

499. The attendant and Rachel are going down into the cellar. The marble flight of stairs, covered by a carpet, changes into cement stairs, which then change into slimy, dark, crumbling steps littered with junk of every kind. Rachel and the attendant cross the cellar and go to a dilapidated door nailed together with planks. The attendant opens the door. A cloud of steam comes pouring out of the room. Rachel staggers back.

500. “WHAT IS THIS?” she asks the attendant.

501. “IT’S THE LAUNDRY,” he answers. He takes her by the hand

502. ... and leads her into a thick, reeking curtain of smoke and steam. Wavering outlines of hunched-up forms can be seen through the immense cellar’s powerful, all-engulfing pillars of steam. In the distance, the moving silhouettes of Rachel and the attendant, barely visible in the impenetrable fog.

503. The attendant takes Rachel to a large ironing table. Next to it is the gaping aperture of the tube through which the dirty linen is conveyed to the laundry. Nightshirts and soiled sheets come tumbling out. Rachel steps back.

504. “I WILL NOT WORK IN THIS HELL!” she cries.

505. The attendant laughs.

506. “WELL, MADAME, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD TAKE A LUXURY SUITE INSTEAD.”

507. Delighted with his witticism, he laughs louder and louder. One after another Chinese men, their torsos bare, their arms steaming and covered in suds, emerge from the billowing fog. They approach Rachel and stand very close to her, the dim lines of their yellow bodies wavering in the puffs of steam. They stare at the laughing attendant, slowly stretch their mouths wide, and begin to grin. At that instant, a large pile of linen comes tumbling out of the tube, burying Rachel under it.

508. The movie screen is shrouded with steam. Two fiery beams penetrate this shroud, move, and grow.

509. A car is rushing along the dazzling Friedrichstrasse. There is a pile of luggage next to the driver s seat. Maffi and Rogdai are in the car. They are heading for the railroad station.

1

Individuals without a residence permit that allows them to reside in Moscow.

Alphonse Daudet, 1840-1897, French author and short story writer.

510. AFTER A TRIUMPHANT TOUR OF THE CAPITALS OF EUROPE, ROGDAI RETURNS TO BERLIN AND GIVES HIS FIRST CONCERT THERE.

511. Berlin. Night. The square in front of the theater. The theaters massive facade is illuminated. The crowd is storming the main entrance.

512. The ushers are keeping the jostling crowds back from the locked doors.There are posters announcing Leo Rogdais concert on pillars on both sides of the entrance. Street urchins have gathered by these pillars. They are waiting for a chance to plunge into the crowd and steal their way into the theater.

513. The urchins clambering up the billboards. The date on the poster announcing Leo Rogdai s concert: March 9, 1914.

514. The entrance to the theater. A chain of green gas lamps. High society is arriving.

515. A row of cars and carriages outside the entrance.

516. The ticket office. The line outside the ticket office. The clerk sells the last ticket, hangs up a sign saying “Sold Out,” and pulls the ticket window shut.

517. The surging crowds in front of the entrance. Mounted policemen cut into the crowd.

518. Rogdai is sitting in the corner of his dressing room. Low lights. A table lamp with a lampshade. Rogdai is sitting with his back to the viewer. His long legs are stretched out, his head is hanging. Rogdai slowly turns his face toward the viewer: spectral, passionate, thin— it has become almost unrecognizable in the space of a year.

519. THE RESULT OF A YEAR OF FAME, AND A YEAR OF FRIENDSHIP WITH SIGNOR MAFFI.

520. Rogdai reaches for a bottle of wine. Next to the bottle lie his violin and bow. He is wearing a coat and tails and elegant shoes. He studies the label on the bottle, and his face twitches. He makes a sign to the attendant, who comes hurrying over to him:

521. “TAKE AWAY THIS WATERY STUFF AND BRING ME SOME ABSINTHE!”

522. The attendant takes away the wine.

523. The violin, the bow. Rogdais fingers flit over the strings.