century spread out before the eyes of millions of men its many-sided and
deceptive prosperity and created its lata morgana of comfort, security and
happinessforallandeveryoneatreasonablepricesandevenoncreditterms.But
tothisremoteBosniantownshiponlybrokenechoespenetratedofallthislifeof
thenineteenthcentury,andthoseonlytotheextentandintheforminwhichthis
backwardorientalsocietycouldreceivethemandinitsownmannerunderstand
andacceptthem.
Afterthefirstyearsofdistrust,misunderstandingandhesitation,whenthefirst
feeling of transience had passed, the town began to find its place in the new
orderofthings.Thepeoplefoundorder,workandsecurity.Thatwasenoughto
ensurethatheretoolife,outwardlifeatleast,setout'ontheroadofperfection
and progress'. Everything else was flushed away into that dark background of
consciousness where live and ferment the basic feelings and indestructible
beliefsofindividualraces,faithsandcastes,which,toallappearancesdeadand
buried, are preparing for later far-off times unsuspected changes and
catastrophes without which, it seems, peoples cannot exist and above all the
peoplesofthisland.
Thenewauthorities,afterthefirstmisunderstandingsandclashes,leftamongthe
townspeople a definite impression of firmness and of permanence (they were
themselves impregnated with this belief without which there can be no strong
andpermanentauthority).Theywereimpersonalandindirectandforthatreason more easily bearable than the former Turkish rulers. All that was cruel and
grasping was concealed by the dignity and glitter of traditional forms. The
people still feared the authorities but in much the same way as they feared
sickness and death and not as one fears malice, misery and oppression. The
representativesofthenewauthority,militaryaswellascivil,wereforthemost
part newcomers to the land and unskilful in their dealings with the people and
were themselves of little importance, but with every step they made they felt
themselvestobepartofagreatermechanismandthatbehindeachoneofthem
stoodmorepowerfulmenandgreaterorganizationsinlongrowsandcountless
gradations.Thatgavethemastandingwhichfarsurpassedtheirownpersonality
and a magic influence to which it was easier to submit. By their titles which
appeared to be great, by their calm and their European customs, they aroused
among the people, from whom they so greatly differed, feelings of confidence
and respect and did not excite envy or real criticism, even though they were
neitherpleasantnorloved.
On the other hand, after a certain time, even these newcomers were unable to
avoidcompletelytheinfluenceoftheunusualorientalmilieuinwhichtheyhad
to live. Their children introduced the children of the townspeople to strange
phrasesandforeignnames,broughtwiththemnewgamesandtoys,butequally
they easily picked up from the local children the old songs, ways of speech,
oaths and the traditional games of knucklebones, leap-frog and the like. It was
the same with the grown-ups; they too brought a new order, with unfamiliar
wordsandhabits,butatthesametimetheytooacceptedeverydaysomethingof
the speech and manner of life of the older inhabitants. It is true that the local people,especiallytheChristiansandJews,begantolookmoreandmorelikethe
newcomers in dress and behaviour, but the newcomers themselves did not
remainunchangedoruntouchedbythemilieuinwhichtheyhadtolive.Manyof
these officials, the fiery Magyar or the haughty Pole, crossed the bridge with
reluctance and entered the town with disgust and, at first, were a world apart,
likedrops of oilin water. Yeta year or solater they couldbe found sittingfor
hours on the kapia, smoking through thick amber cigarette-holders and, as if they had been born in the town, watching the smoke expand and vanish under
theclearskyinthemotionlessairofdusk;ortheywouldsitandwaitforsupper
withthelocalnotablesonsomegreenhillock,withplumbrandyandsnacksand
a little bouquet of basil before them, conversing leisurely about trivialities or
drinkingslowlyandoccasionallymunchingasnackasthetownsmenknewhow
to do so well. There were some among these newcomers, officials or artisans,
whomarriedinthetownandhaddecidednevertoleaveit.
But for none of the townspeople did the new life mean the realization of what
theyfeltdeepdownwithinthemselvesandhadalwaysdesired;onthecontrary
allofthem,MoslemsandChristiansalike,hadtakentheirplaceinitwithmany
and definite reservations, but these reservations were secret and concealed,
whereaslifewasopenandpowerfulwithnewandapparentlygreatpossibilities.
Afteralongerorshorterperiodofwavering,mostofthemfellinwiththenew
ideas,didtheirbusiness,madefreshacquisitions,andlivedaccordingtothenew
ideas and customs which offered greater scope and, it seemed, gave greater
chancestoeveryindividual.
Not that the new existence was in any way less subject to conditions or less
restricted than in Turkish times, but it was easier and more humane, and those
conditionsandrestrictionswerenowfarawayandskilfullyenforced,sothatthe
individual did not feel them directly. Therefore it seemed to everyone as if the
lifearoundhimhadsuddenlygrownwiderandclearer,morevariedandfuller.
The new state, with its good administrative apparatus, had succeeded in a
painless manner, without brutality or commotion, to extract taxes and
contributionsfromthelocalpeoplewhichtheTurkishauthoritieshadextracted
by crude and irrational methods or by simple plunder; and, moreover, it got as
muchormore,evenmoreswiftlyandsurely.
Evenasthegendarmes,intheirowntime,hadreplacedthesoldiersandafterthe
soldiershadcometheofficials,sonow,aftertheofficials,camethemerchants.
Felling began in the forests and brought with it foreign contractors, engineers
and workers, and provided varied sources of gain for the ordinary people and
traders,withchangesindressandspeech.Thefirsthotelwasbuilt,ofwhichwe
shallhavemuchtosaylater.Canteensandworkshopssprangupwhichhadnot
beenknownhitherto.BesidestheSpanishspeakingJews,theSephardi,whohad
been living in the town for hundreds of years, for they had first settled there
about the time when the bridge had been built, there now came the Galician
Jews,theAshkenazi.
Likefreshblood,moneybegantocirculateinhithertounknownquantitiesand,
which was the main thing, publicly, boldly and openly. In that exciting
circulationofgold,silverandnegotiablepap
er,everymancouldwarmhishands
or at least 'gladden his eyes', for it created even for the poorest of men the
illusion that his own bad luck was only temporary and therefore the more
bearable.
Earlier too there had been money and rich people, but these last had been rare and had concealed their money like a snake its legs and had revealed their
superiorityonlyasaformofpowerandprotection,difficultbothforthemselves
and for those about them. Now wealth, or what passed as such and was so
named,wasopenlydisplayedintheformofpleasureandpersonalsatisfaction,
therefore the mass of the people could see something of its glitter and its
gleanings.
So it was with all else. Pleasures which up till then had been stolen and
concealed,couldnowbepurchasedandopenlydisplayed,whichincreasedtheir
attraction and the number of those who sought them. What had earlier been
unattainable, far off and expensive (forbidden by law or all-powerful custom)
nowbecame,inmanycases,possibleandattainabletoallwhohadorwhoknew.
Manypassions,appetitesanddemandswhichtillthenhadbeenhiddeninremote
placesorleftcompletelyunsatisfiedcouldnowbeboldlyandopenlysoughtand
fully or at least partially satisfied. In fact even in that there was greater
restriction,orderandlegalhindrance;viceswerepunishedandenjoymentspaid
for even more heavily and dearly than before, but the laws and methods were
different and allowed the people, in this as in all else, the illusion that life had suddenlybecomewider,moreluxuriousandfreer.
There were not many more real pleasures nor, certainly, more happiness but it
wasundoubtedlyeasiertocomebysuchpleasuresanditseemedthattherewas
room for everyone's happiness. The old inborn partiality of the people of
Višegradforacarefreelifeofenjoymentfoundboths'upportandpossibilitiesof
realizationinthenewcustomsandthenewformsoftradingandprofitbrought
bythenewcomers.ImmigrantPolishJewswiththeirnumerousfamiliesbasedall
theirbusinessonthat.Schreiberopenedwhat
he called a 'general store', Gutenplan a canteen for the soldiers, Zahler ran a
hotel, the Sperling brothers set up a soda-water factory and a photographer's
'atelier'andZvekerajeweller'sandwatchmaker'sshop.
After the barracks which had replaced the Stone Han, Municipal Offices were
built of the stone that remained, with local administrative offices and courts.
Afterthese,thelargestbuildinginthetownwastheZahlerhotel.Itwasbuilton
theriverbankjustbesidethebridge.Thatrightbankhadbeensupportedbyan
ancientretainingwallwhichshoredupthebankonbothsidesofthebridgeand
hadbeenbuiltatthesametime.Soithappenedthatbothtoleftandrightofthe
bridge stretched two level spaces, like two terraces above the water. On these
openspaces,whichwerecalledracecoursesbythepeopleofthetown,children
had played from generation to generation. Now the local authorities took over the left-hand 'racecourse', put a fence round it and made a sort of municipal
botanicalgarden.Ontheright-handonethehotelwasbuilt.Untilthenthefirst
buildingattheentrytothemarketplacehadbeenZarije'sinn.Itwas'intheright
place', for the tired and thirty traveller on entering the town from across the
bridgemustfirstlightonit.Nowitwasovershadowedbythegreatbuildingof
thenewhotel;thelowoldinnseemedeverydaylowerandmorehumiliatedasif
ithadsunkintotheearth.
Officiallythenewhotelhadbeengiventhenameofthebridgebesidewhichit
had been built. But the townspeople named everything according to their own
special logic and according to the real significance it had for them. Over the
entranceoftheZahlerHoteltheinscription'HotelzurBriicke',whichasoldier
skilledinthetradehadpaintedinlargeletters,quicklyfaded.Thepeoplecalled
it 'Lotte's Hotel' and the name stuck. For the hotel was run by the fat and
phlegmatic Jew, Zahler, who had a sickly wife, Deborah, and two little girls,
Mina and Irene, but the real proprietress was Zahler's sister-in-law Lotte, a
youngandveryprettywidowwithafreetongueandamasculineenergy.
Onthetopfloorofthehotelweresixcleanandwellfurnishedguestroomsand
on the ground floor two public rooms, one large and one small. The large one
was patronized by the humbler clients, ordinary citizens, non-commissioned
officers and artisans. The smaller one was separated from the larger by large
frosted-glass doors on one of which was written EXTRA and on the other
ZIMMER. That was the social centre for officials, officers and the richer
townspeople. One drank and played cards, sang, danced, held serious
conversationsandclosedbusinessdeals,atewellandsleptwellincleansheetsat
Lotte's. It often happened that the same group of begs, merchants and officials
and lack of sleep or grew so tired over their cards that they could no longer
distinguishthem(theynolongerplayedhiddenawaysecretlyinthatdarkstuffy
cubby-hole at Ustamujić's inn). Those who had drunk too much or had lost all
they had Lotte would see off the premises and then turn to welcome fresh and
soberguestseagerfordrinkandplay.Nooneknewandnooneeveraskedwhen
thatwomanrested,whenshesleptorateandwhenshefoundtimetodressand
freshen herself up. For she was always there (or at least so it seemed) at
everyone'sbeckandcall,alwaysamiable,alwaysthesameandalwaysboldand
discreet. Well built, plump, with ivory-white skin, black hair and smouldering
eyes, she had a perfectly assured manner of dealing with guests, who would
spendfreelybutwereoftenaggressiveandcrudewhenovercomebydrink.She
would talk sweetly, boldly, wittily, sharply, flatteringly with all of them,
smoothingthemdown.Hervoicewashoarseandunevenbutcouldatmoments
becomeasortofdeepandsoothingcooing.Shespokeincorrectly,forshenever
learnt Serbian well, in her own piquant and picturesque language in which the
caseswereneverrightandthegendersuncertain,butwhichintoneandmeaning
wasentirelyinkeepingwiththelocalwayofexpression.Everyclienthadherat
hisdisposaltolistentoallhistroublesanddesiresinrecompenseforthemoney
he spent and the time he wasted. But these two things, spending money and
wasting time, were all he could be sure of; everyone thought there would be
more to it, whereas in fact there was not. For two generations of the rich
spendthrifts of the town Lotte was a glittering, expensive and cold lata
morgana who played with their senses. Th
ose rare individuals who had
supposedlygotsomethingoutofher,butwhowerequiteunabletosaywhator
howmuch,werethesubjectoflocalstories.
Itwasnosimplemattertoknowhowtodealwiththerichanddrunktownsmen
in whom unsuspected and coarse desires were often roused. But Lotte, that
untiring and cold woman of chilled passions, quick intelligence and masculine
heart tamed every fury, silenced every demand of uncontrolled men by the
inexplicable play of her perfect body, her great cunning and her no less great
daring, and always succeeded in maintaining the necessary distance between
herself and them, which only served to inflame their desires and increase her
own value. She played with these uncontrolled men in their coarsest and most
dangerous moments of drunkenness and rage, like a torero with a bull, for she
quicklygottoknowthepeoplewithwhomshehadtodealandeasilyfoundthe
keytotheirapparentlycomplexdemandsandalltheweakpointsofthosecruel
and sensual sentimentalists. She offered them everything, promised much and
gave little, or rather nothing at all. For their desires were, of their very nature, such as never could be satisfied and in the end they had to content themselves
with little. With most of her guests she behaved as if they were sick men who
fromtimetotimehadpassingcrisesandhallucinations.Infactitcouldbesaid
that despite her trade, which of its nature was neither pleasant nor particularly
chaste,shewasanunderstandingwomanofkindnatureandcompassionateheart
whocouldhelpandconsolewhoeverhadspentmorethanheshouldondrinksor
had lost more than he should at cards. She sent them all mad, for they were
naturally mad, deceived them for they wanted to be deceived and, finally, took
fromthemonlywhattheyhadalreadybeendeterminedtothrowawayandlose.
Infactsheearnedverymuch,tookgoodcareofhermoneyandinthefirstfew
years had already managed to accumulate a considerable fortune, but she also knew how to 'write off' a debt magnanimously and to forget a loss without a