The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-04-02
Mutter Schn1itt-A Short StOrV
By MARTIN ANDERSEN NEXOE

! The house ! am living in consists
of front, middle and a rear build
ing connected on both sides by lateral
barracks making of the whole a sep
arate world, a small provincial town
with all kinds of workshops in the
back yard, modest society people in
the front house, and stolid working
people in the middle building and a
ragged proletariat in the rear Here
the most intimate tales of fates and
events are discussed, and stern justice
is maintained.
At the gate sits Mutter Schmitt,
the village witch, the evil spirit of
the little society. The woman with
the serpent s tongue. She knows ev-
erything that happens and vigorously
represents public opinion, law and
judgment. A laying out by her tooth
less mouth is the worst form of tort
ure a human being is ever submitted
TO. Nobody thinks of disputing her
authority. much less as her husband
is the janitor and she has son who
is a policeman.
AS foreigners, we naturally came in
for a special share of her interest and
she Immediately swooped down on us.
We naturally did not feel much in
clned to tell our private affairs to
this person whose vulture eyes were
always spying for prey and as I hate
all authorities, even German, | vigor-
ously beat off all her attacks, greatly
TO the establishment of the whole
building.
At last she left us in peace, but |
plainly read in her eyes, that she did
not intend to let us off We made a
certain reputation for ourselves in the
building as people who dared brave
Mutter Schmidt and she hated us with
all her heart because of our temper.
airy victory She was going to get
even with us as her tongue had mark
ed us with a black cross and now she
was waiting. Her naked vulture like
head was always spying through the
little window at the entrance gate and
every time happened to pass. she
grinned at me as if to say: Your turn
will come some time"
Not If can help it," said to my
self and carefully watched every step
made that she might have nothing to
talk about. She would have to make
up a lie herself. Every day expected
to hear some piece of malicious Cos
Like all genuine gossip mongers she
despised lies pure and simple and en-
joyed only real scandals.
Well at last she triumphed. | really
surrendered to her bag and baggage.
II happened on night when | wanted TO
attend a workingmen's meeting in Alt
Moabit About seven o'clock | passed
throuS Hallesches Thor into the low
er part of Freierichsstrasse. had
plenty of time and decided to walk, a
thing | should never have done.
1t was one of those evenings when
the arc lamps were singing amid their
blue sulphurous fumes: heavy-winged
moths and strangely coiored drag flies
made the air unsafe. and from the in.
terror of the wine caves far below. the
sound OF laughter and bacchantiC
song arose. was sauntering along
leisurely listening to all this and Won
dering at the many mysteries the day
hides in a great city-mysteries which
come to life again during the night
Very slowly l must have walked, for
| when reached the other end of Fried
erichsstrasse ii was two o'clock and
the street cars had stopped running
Now Friederichsstrasse is very long
over two miles, but this does not eX
plain that it took me seven hours tC
walk through it. Still l have no other
explanation. all | remember is tina,
my head was heavy. SO | hailed taxi