This Month's Installment
As always, what's italicized is what I'm unsure about.
He doesn't preach a word that he doesn't believe and, what is probably the main thing, on which he doesn't act. Your brother Hans knows, which is why he admires him so much. And I know too. But the grandmother had to go away. So much misery and bloodshed in close vicinity would be unbearable for her, not to mention any danger... but we are talking about the war, even if it had broken out around us already, and so it has, to God be praise and thanks, here in the midst of the most beautiful peace. You really set one alight every time. I didn't know at all that you are such a pessimist."On the next evening, Fritz rode over to Reckenstein, he wanted to say goodbye to Edith and to the old man. He met them both still at dinner and sat down with them."Well, what do you say, captain?" the old man askt."It will start, Major!" He never called him by anything other than his military rank, he knew that the old man liked it."Thank God that once once again hears a masculine word! With the woman it is---111---not tolerable now, they are still scared of going.""Hey, Father, I have never had fear," Edith objected, laughing."No, no, not fear, that's not quite it. But even you always act as if it were a disaster when we [draufschlügen] now, while I hope, confidently hope. It is the highest time.""I just spoke with my uncle. But he wants to know nothing of my suggestion to go to Berlin with his brother in case the war breaks out.""To Berlin? Why? What should he do there?""Only on account of the uneasiness that such a close war would bring with it. And after all, it would not be impossible that we would receive a little Russian visit.""Is it impossible, captain, are you joking? Should the Sulphur Band come this far? Well, we will really tell it what's what! Our East Prussians - nothing of it! That would suit them so well!""We are not too far from the border.""If this far, why not also to Berlin? Your uncle is right: he is as safe here as in Abraham's bosom.""Major, you are, of course, also staying here peacefully?"Then the old man jumpt up from his chair. His bushy eyebrows contracted, his eyes shot lightning: "Stay here... I? What do you mean by that, captain?""Do you want to return to Rodenburg?""I? In that crazy dump? I'm going along, that goes without saying, captain."---112---"He says that every day now," Edith threw in and directed a glance to Fritz, looking for help, "it's not for him to drive out."
Grammatical Minutiae/Commentary
I translated "Losgehen" in the clause "die haben immer noch Angst vor dem Losgehen" as "going" ("they are still scared of going"). According to my dictionary, however, it can also have the sense of a gun firing: "die Pistole ist nicht losgegangen the gun didn't fire." In the context here (talking about war), this could also be a suitable translation, but because this sense wasn't listed under "losgehen" in the German-to-English section of my dictionary, I went with the more general "going."
The expression "as safe here as in Abraham's bosom" ("sicher wie in Abrahams Schoß") refers to Luke 16:22: "The poor man [Lazarus] died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side" ("Es begab sich aber, daß der Arme starb, und er wurde von den Engeln getragen in Abrahams Schoß").
I'm not sure if "contracted" is the best translation for "zogen sich zusammen" in this context (the Major's eyebrows), but it's the best I could come up with.
This is the end of chapter twenty and the beginning of chapter twenty-one.
