n it than that. Resi told the
landlord about it and in the afternoon he and his wife called to
congratulate us.

July 20th. Oswald says he won't stay here, it's much too dull, he is
going for a walking tour through the Alps, to Grossglockner, and then to
the Karawanken. He will talk of Father as the "Old Man," and I do think
it is so vulgar. Dora says it is absolutely _flippant_.

July 24th. Hella's answer came to-day; she congratulates me most
heartily, and then goes on to write that at first she was struck dumb
and thought I'd gone crazy or was trying to take her in. But her mother
had already heard of it from her father for it had been published in the
Official Gazette. Now we are both noble, and that is awfully nice. For I
have often been annoyed that she was noble when I was not.

July 25th. Oswald left to-day. Father gave him 300 crowns for his
walking tour, because of the matriculation. I said: "In that case I
shall matriculate as soon as I can" and Oswald said: "For that one wants
rather more brains in one's head than you girls have." What cheek, Frau
Doktor M. passed the Gymnasium matriculation and Frau Doktor Steiner
passed it too as an extra. Dora said quietly: Maybe I shall show you
that your sister can matriculate too; anyhow you have always said
yourself that the chief thing you need to get through the matriculation
is cheek. Then I had a splendid idea and said: "But we girls have not
got cheek, we _study_ when we have to pass an examination!" Mother
wanted us to make it up with him, but we would not. In the evening Dora
said to me: Oswald is frantically arrogant, though he has had such a lot
of Satisfactories and has only just scraped through his exam. By the way
here's another sample of Oswald's stupidity; directly after the wire:
"Finis with Jubilation" came another which ought to have arrived first,
for it had been handed in 4 hours earlier, with nothing but the word
"Through" [Durch]. Mother was frightfully upset by it for she was afraid
it really meant _failed_ [durchgefallen], and that the other telegram
had been only an idiotic joke. Dora and I would never condescend to such
horseplay. Father always says Oswald will sow all his wild oats at the
university, but he said to-day that he was not going to the university,
but would study mining, and then perhaps law.

July 29th. It's sickeningly dull here, I simply don't know what to do;
I really can't read and swing the whole day long, and Dora has be