live through a lot of nice
things over again.

WEGRAT

Indeed, those are the hardest things to bear, once they have turned
into memories.--You have been in Italy again?

JULIAN

Yes, in Italy too.

WEGRAT

It's a long time now since I was there. Since we made that walk
together through the Ampezzo Valley,[5] with the pack on our backs--to
Pieve, and then right on to Venice. Can you remember? The sun has never
again shone as brightly as it did then.

[5] One of the main routes through the Dolomites, leading from
Southern Tirol into Italy. It is in part identical with the
route outlined by Albert in "Intermezzo," but parts from it at
Cortina to run straight south.

JULIAN

That must have been almost thirty years ago.

WEGRAT

No, not quite. You were already pretty well known at the time. You had
just finished your splendid picture of Irene Herms. It was the year
before I married.

JULIAN

Yes, yes. (_Pause_)

WEGRAT

Do you still recall the summer morning when you went with me to Kirchau
for the first time?

JULIAN

Of course.

WEGRAT

How the light buggy carried us through the wide, sun-steeped valley?
And do you remember the little garden at Huegelhang, where you became
acquainted with Gabrielle and her parents?

FELIX (_with suppressed emotion_)

Father, is the house in which mother used to live still standing?

WEGRAT

No, it's gone long ago. They have built a villa on the spot. Five or
six years ago, you know, we went there for the last time to visit the
graves of your grandparents. Everything has been changed, except the
cemetery.... (_To Julian_) Can you still remember that cool, cloudy
afternoon, Julian, when we sat on the lower wall of the cemetery and
had such a remarkable talk about the future?

JULIAN

I remember the day very clearly. But I have entirely forgotten what we
were talking about.

WEGRAT

Just what we said has passed out of my mind, too, but I can still
remember what an extraordinary talk it was.... In some way the world
seemed to open up more widely. And I felt something like envy toward
you, as I often did in those days. There rose within me a feeling that
I, too, could do anything--if I only wanted. There was so much to be
seen and experienced--and the flow of life was irresistible. Nothing
would be needed but a little more nerve, a little more self-assurance,
and then to plunge in. ... Yes, that was what I felt while you were
t