The Aunt

Johanna Schopenhauer is probably best known for being the mother of Arthur Schopenhauer, but she was also a very prolific writer in her time and managed to complete twenty-four volumes of work in approximately thirty years.

"Die Tante Band 1" by Johanna Schopenhauer

translated into English as: "The Aunt Part 1"

FROM "THE AUNT" (PART 1)

"Yes, our jeune Demoiselle also has a wardrobe fit for a queen, je vous assure, jewelry and every accessory to complement her outfits.

But this is of little consequence. After all, Master Kleeborn has a princely fortune.

Everyone at the stock exchange respects him and he can well bear the burden.

Mais, Madame, entre nous soit dit, this was not always the case.

There was a time, not long before Mistress Kleeborn passed away,

perhaps about ten years ago, that terrible time when Europe was teetering on its stilts,

as Master Kleeborn says when he discusses those days.

There must have been a dark cloud over the commercial world, because figurez-vous,

Madame, in Amsterdam, in London, in every major commercial city the largest firms collapsed.

An atmosphere of distrust dominated every activity, plus de confiance, plus de cr?dit, nulle part.

Each day Master Kleeborn brought more bad news and he was always as pale as my handkerchief

here when he brought letters that were directed to him into Mistress Kleeborn's room.

He did this because he was afraid to open his mail at his office,

in the presence of his employees. Very likely he was afraid to betray himself

if confronted with bad news at an inopportune time. Of course,

this did not stop the bad news from coming,

and Master Kleeborn saw himself au bord d'un pr?cipice, as the saying goes.

He was not quite ruined, but he was in fact, pour le moment, in a very urgent financial difficulty

and only an infusion of ready money could rescue him if he was to avert defaulting on his payments,

the way so many others did then. Le pauvre homme! Just the thought of having to take such drastic

measures reduced him to despair. My poor mistress suffered with him of course,

because he was able to share his troubles only with her. Ah! comme elle en a pleur?!" "My poor sister hid all of this from me!" sighed the aunt.