In the large reading room of the Salzburg University library, the librarian hanged himself from the large chandelier because, as he wrote in a suicide note, after twenty-two years of service he could no longer bear to reshelve and lend out books that were only written for the sake of wreaking havoc, and this, he said, applied to every book that had ever been written. This reminded me of my grandfather’s brother who was the huntsman in charge of the forest district of Altentann near Hennsdorf and who shot himself on the summit of the Zifanken because he could no longer bear human misery. He too left this insight of his in a note.

Unrequited Love

UNREQUITED LOVE

Pittioni, the geography teacher who was tormented by his pupils the whole time he taught in a secondary school, failed to return from a vacation. He had gone to Hüttschlag just to study the works of Humboldt and to relax, but he hanged himself in the room to which he had retired for just a few days. In his will he left everything he was possessed of to his pupils. They should not think he hated them now that he had drawn the only conclusion open to him, he wrote in his will. On the contrary. They had not accepted his love for them, no matter how much he had done for them. Whatever the reason, he hoped for their forgiveness.

Party of Tourists

PARTY OF TOURISTS

In Pontebba, twenty-two years after an avalanche that had destroyed half the town, an entire bus that had been fully occupied at the time of the avalanche was excavated. The passengers were, as the papers report, still well preserved and sitting on their seats, and every one of them had a small blue label around his or her neck with “Destination Munich” stamped on it. At the time, as was later established, an exhibition of icons had taken place in Munich at which an icon from Pontebba was displayed.

True Love

TRUE LOVE