on the golf links that extend from the extremity of the h?tel kulm, climbing and descending the whole of the hill of charnadüras, and which are so green that not even the players' feet have succeeded in making them less green, early in the afternoon the slow, strange parties of golfers kept appearing, to the wonderment of bystanders who did not understand the game, as they leaned over the little hurdles and watched with staring eyes which at last became tired and annoyed at understanding nothing. they kept appearing, to the surprise of wayfarers who stopped a moment to see a man in white shirt-sleeves or in a bright flannel waistcoat with long sleeves, advancing along the course, sometimes directly, sometimes obliquely, holding his club in his hand, stopping as he brandished it in an aimless blow, and then resuming his way, followed always by a boy who carried, by a shoulder-strap, a leather bag, which seemed like a pagan quiver; a silent, patient boy, who regulated each step to that of the player, who crouched sometimes as he did, and finally vanished in his wake. continuously from the green beneath the great tent of the golf club, where the inexpert remained to take lessons under the direction of two or three professionals, the players started whither the game and their more or less skill led them, and their rough outlines grew less and less in the far distance, till at times the links, or the horizon, became perfectly deserted, as if no players existed, as if they had been dissolved by the air or swallowed by the earth. the spectators who had come, as if on some doubtful invitation, to see a game of golf, saw the man and woman disappear without understanding the reason, and shrugging their shoulders they departed, laughing at and mocking golfers, particularly the germans, who laughed among themselves and with their wives; more especially because it was an english game the germans found it idiotic, itiote, as they pronounced it, when they wished to talk french. and the wayfarers, after a minute of contemplation and waiting, went again on their way, especially as they read on certain wooden posts the notice: "prenez garde aux balles du golf." balls? where were the balls? how? the golfers, when they made a stroke, seemed to be assailing the air as if with a sudden movement of madness, and afterwards they looked like solitary vagabonds who were walking without a fixed goal, in spite of the respectful and silent companionship, at ten paces distance, of the urchin laden with the bag of clubs.
those who played in the early afternoon were truly solitary lovers of that curious sport which obliges one to walk much in silence, in a sustained and concentrated attention, in the open country, in a peculiar search for a ball and one's opponent, in a broad horizon, neither feeling heat nor cold, exercising not only the muscles, but even a little—really a little—the intellect. they were great solitaries, who fled from society because they frequented her too much at other times of their day; great solitaries who loved contact with the open air and fields and woods, in contrast with the confined, heavy life they were forced to lead elsewhere; great solitaries who for a secret reason, sad, perhaps, or tragic, but secret and dissembled, now hated man and woman; great solitaries whose age and experience had divorced them from games of love, of vanity, and perhaps of ambition. in fact, the early golfers were the real, keen golfers, and for the most part middle-aged men and women. among such were the comte de buchner, an austrian diplomat, a pupil of metternich, who perceived but did not wish to confess the end of the diplomatic legend, the end of a policy made by ambassadors, a septuagenarian who already felt himself dead amongst his ancestors; the baron de loewy, from london, of the powerful loewy bank, who sometimes held in his hand the whole of european finance, a handsome, robust man with white moustaches, full of spirit, who passed hours out of doors at golf, and who came there to find equilibrium for his winter life as a great banker; madame lesnoy, a woman of sixty-five, who had made her fortune thirty years ago, and though une grande bourgeoise, had married her sons and daughters to the greatest names in european heraldry, and who now had nothing else to do but play golf by day and bridge by night; the marquis de cléan, whose wife had been killed two years ago with her lover in an hotel at montreux, a story which tortured his life of worldly scepticism and over which he dared not feign cynicism; the contessa di anagni, of the best society of rome, who had been loved by a king and had been unable to fix the heart of the volatile sovereign; max and ludwig freytag, for whom karl ehbehard, the great doctor, had ordered this exercise, as being excellent to stimulate their weakened temper; the comtesse fulvia gioia, who thus even better preserved her health and mature beauty, like that of sappy, ripe fruit; and so many others who at two and three o'clock deserted their rooms and hotels and directed themselves to the links and shortly afterwards disappeared in every direction—great solitaries, true golfers.
towards half-past four, in the meadow which skirts the high road from the dorf and extends beneath the terrace of the golf club house, in that meadow which was almost like a stage, the players increased in number, in couples and groups, not going far-away, always returning to the meadow, where at that evening hour there was a pretence of playing golf. it was a theatre whose pit was the dorf high road with its footpath and wall, behind which people who were passing stopped to watch, whose big and little boxes were the big and little terraces of the golf club, where tea was taken from half-past four to six. the keen and serious players had been away for two hours and perhaps had returned. the make-believe players at tea-time represented the comedy of the game under the eyes of a hundred spectators, turning continually to the terraces, greeting and smiling at a friend and beginning with an important air to hit mightily at a golf-ball which never left the ground, because they either missed it or gave it a laughable little hit.
not far-away, in the spacious tennis-courts, where from the 18th august to the 24th the engadine cup was contested in the tournament, games of tennis, singles and doubles, proceeded at every hour, from lunch-time till the evening. truly, tennis was played everywhere, at every hour, by hundreds of enthusiasts throughout the bad; in front and behind the hotels, and everywhere one went, in the beautiful broad roads of the bad, amongst the beautiful broad gardens of the h?tel du lac, around the "kurhaus," around the "victoria," appeared courts with players of both sexes, dressed in white, and the fatiguing exclamation was to be heard—"play!" but where this passion became delirious was down below at the tennis tournament grounds near the "kulm." still, the tennis-court, like the golf links, became a theatrical scene towards half-past four in the afternoon. at that hour, on the left side of the h?tel kulm, the tea-tables, already set and decorated with flowers, were placed in the broad space which borders the courts. people began to climb from the bad and to arrive from the other hotels and villas of the dorf. everywhere the crowd increased; some of the tables which had been placed together held twenty or thirty persons. the usual german element came and mingled with the great ladies and great snobs, their imitators, attired curiously, wearing rough garments and dusty boots, with a proud, mocking smile, as they talked loudly in german, and forcibly occupied the best seats, brutally turning their shoulders to the ladies, and sometimes smoking pipes. play went on, but they were show games of young maidens who wished to be seen and admired, of women who affected the pose of sport after having tried so many poses. there were games as of a theatrical performance played by actors, if we may say so, for whom tennis was a pretext and an excuse for chatting and talking at liberty, for isolating themselves, for donning a different dress, for making acquaintances, and especially for showing themselves to all the princesses, marchionesses, ladies, and serene highnesses. that day in particular there was a game of great parade, because as katinka orloff, a beautiful young russian of twenty, elegant and robust, the best player of the season, and champion of the engadine for two years in succession, was retiring after having played a great deal in practice for the tournament, an intermediary, an austrian baron, came to tell her that her imperial and royal highness, the archduchess maria vittoria, desired to play with her, naturally only to learn, for she was so much weaker. being very tired, the russian hesitated for a moment, then she accepted.
it was a great tennis rehearsal, and the tea-tables, with their half-filled cups, were deserted by the ladies, and snobs who imitated them. a crowd gathered round to watch maria vittoria, who at first played slowly and cautiously, then more rapidly, her blood coursing beneath her brownish, nobly pallid cheeks, her white skirt twisting round the long slender feet, while katinka orloff, dexterous but distrait, now and then allowed herself to be beaten, resuming the lead for a moment, only to lose it again. with heightened colour and a gleam in her dark, pensive eyes, the archduchess of austria exerted herself amidst the complacent murmurs of admiration of the true ladies, and male and female snobs, and with a happy little cry the game ended. politely katinka orloff, who knew the protocol, allowed herself to be beaten. proud and silent the archduchess stretched out her hand to the orloff.
on mountains, houses, and lake, on golf links and tennis-court the grey, purple twilight descended. the white dresses of the lady players seemed to dissolve and become fantastic, and the dark clothes of the men in the distance became shadows. the terrace of the golf club was almost deserted, with tables overturned on every side and chairs in disorder. in a corner, separated by a group of people who were just about to depart, mabel clarke and vittorio lante were saying some subdued words. nor were they looking at the links which they had never looked at. they troubled not about the company, which troubled not about them. they were unaware of the twilight hour, and did not observe the failing light around them. the sunset shadows descended upon the tennis-court. players put on their heavy, dark wraps over their whites, stuffed their rackets into cases, and left, silent, tired, but content. not far-off, in the deserted square, lucio sabini and lilian temple were taking leave of each other on the return from sils maria, without speaking, eye to eye, and hand in hand.
