Viewing page 107 of 130

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[[page number]] 105 [[/page number]]

There are the lovliest polished floors I ever saw. They did not make us get into big carpet shoes as we did at San Souci in the art gallery there. There were endless cabinets with all sorts of precious things--not beautiful in themselves, but made of gold and jewels. In the throne room there was a vast baldichan of[[insert space]]fat gold angels and cupids defying the laws of gravitation by sticking to the ceiling. They were mixed up with sun bursts and garlands of flowers and fruits. The guide said this affair was made of solid silver, gold plated. He gave the weight--I'm not good at me mental arithmetic, but it was about 2 tons, as I figured it out. I wondered why the Germans did not pull the thing down and use it for money to keep the mark from falling. All those gold caskets and things in the cabinets would yield a good bit of gold bullion, too, I should think. The jewels could be sold to American war-profiteers and pay for food. And I suppose the Germans would starve before they would touch this stuff. If it had any beauty I could appreciate their keeping it--but it has nothing to make it worth keeping, except that it is a symbol of prestige, as Veblen might say. I suppose if the Germans did use this stuff and probably as much more at Potsdam,they would be called Bolschvic-----------After making disparaging remarks about Fedde what do you suppose he has done? He came marching in yesterday with a big pile of Repertoriums and shouted "Geschenk!" He had gone through his files from the beginning and taken out all issues with grass papers. He said something about doing that and I had tried to say we had all to date, now that I had bought hand 17. Either he did not understand or wanted to make the Geschenk anyway. He repeated "Geschenk fur Sie!" I did not spoil it by telling him again we had them--I thanked him with all the German thank words I know, We probably need some, and it will be convenient to have them all together, from Band I down. Today, Dr. Schuster the lib-