t "Follow your own bent, with best wishes, your
M." When we write postcards we always use a cipher which no one else can
understand, so that M. means H. It's a good thing no one can understand
it. Of course I wrote to Anneliese directly, and was most affectionate,
and I sent a postcard to Hella, in our cipher, with nothing more than:
Have done so, with best wishes, W. Not even _your_ W. I do wonder what
she will do. Hero Siegfried was lying with us to-day in the hayfield,
and what he said was lovely. But I can't agree that all fathers _without
exception_ are tyrants. I said: "_My_ Father isn't!" He rejoined: "Not
_yet_, but you will find out in time. However, anyone with a character
of his own won't allow himself to be suppressed. I simply broke with my
Old Man and left home; there are other technical schools besides the one
in Brunn. And since you say not _all_ fathers; well just look at Hulda;
whenever anyone fell in love with her the Old Man marred her chance, for
no one can stand such tutelage." "Tutelage, what do you mean," said I,
but just at that moment everyone got up to go away. To-morrow perhaps,
poor persecuted man.

August 9th. Oh dear, it's horrible if it's all really true what Hella
writes about being infected; an eruption all over the body, that is the
most horrible thing in the world. I must tear up her letter directly,
and since she could not write 8 whole pages in our cipher, I must
_absolutely destroy_ it, so that no one can get hold of a fragment of
it. Above all now that Marina is here, for you never can tell -- -- --.
But I know what I'll do; I'll copy the letter here, even if it takes 2
or 3 days. She writes:

Darling Rita, what did you say when you got yesterday's postcard. If you
were angry, you must make it up with me. Consort with whom you please
and write to whom you please; but all the _consequences_ be on your
own head. Father always says: Beware of red hair! And I insist that the
"innocent child" has _foxy red_ hair. But you can think what you like.

Now I've got something much more important to tell you. But you must
promise me dirst that you will tear up my letter directly you have read
it. Otherwise please send it back to me _un_read.

Just fancy. Here in B. there is a young married woman living with her
mother and her cousin, a girl who is studying medicine; they are Poles
and I have always had an enthusiastic admiration for the Poles. The
young wife has got a divorce from her husba