By+Stefan+Zweig

Even today， when I say the word “summer”， I instinctively think of the glorious July days that I spent in Baden（巴登， 维也纳附近的小镇）near Vienna that year. I had gone to stay quietly there， in the romantic little spa town that Beethoven（贝多芬）liked to visit in summer. I was planning to concentrate entirely on work for that month， and then spend the rest of the summer with my revered（受崇敬的）friend Verhaeren1 at his little house in the Belgian countryside. When you are staying in Baden， you do not have to go out of the town to enjoy the landscape. Beautiful woods， covering the gently rolling hills nearby， make their way imperceptibly（觉察不到地）in among the low-built， Biedermeier2 houses， which still have the simplicity and charm of Beethovens time. You can sit out of doors when you visit a café or restaurant， mingling（相交往，相往来）as you please with the cheerful guests relaxing at the spa resort（温泉疗养地）， promenading（散步）in the park or losing their way as they stroll along secluded（隐蔽的）woodland paths.

It was 29th June， celebrated by staunchly（忠实的）Catholic Austria as the Feast of St Peter and St Paul3， and the day before a great many visitor had arrived from Vienna. In pale summer clothes， happy and carefree， the crowd walked around the spa park to the sound of music. The day was mild， there was not a cloud in the sky above the spreading chestnu（t栗子）trees， it was a day to feel happy. Soon it would be the holiday season for these people and their children， and with this first festival of summer they were looking forward， so to speak，to the whole season with its delightful air， lush（茂盛的）green leaves， and a chance to forget all their daily anxieties. At the time I was sitting a little way off from the crowd in the spa park， reading a book with interest and close attention. I still remember what book it was—Merezhkovskys Tolstoy and Dostoevsky4. Yet the wind in the trees， the birdsong and the music wafting through（飄过）the air from the park still made their way into my mind.

So my mind was instinctively distracted from my reading when the music abruptly stopped. I did not know what musical piece the spa band had been playing， I only sensed that the music had suddenly broken off， and I automatically looked up from my book. A change also seemed to come over the crowd promenading among the trees like a single pale entity flowing along. It too stopped walking up and down. Something must have happened. I stood up and saw the musicians leaving the bandstand（演奏台）. That was strange as well， because the band usually performed for an hour or more. There must be some reason why it had stopped so abruptly. Coming closer， I saw that excited groups of people were crowding around a communiqué（公告）that had just been pinned up on the bandstand. A few minutes later I discovered that it was the text of the telegram announcing that His Imperial Highness Franz Ferdinand5， the heir to the throne（王位继承人）， and his wife， both of them in Bosnia6 to inspect military manoeuvres（演习）， had been the victims of a political assassination（刺杀）in Sarajevo（萨拉热窝，波黑首都）.

More and more people came up， thronging（蜂拥而至）around this notice. The unexpected news passed from mouth to mouth. But to be honest， there was no special shock or dismay（沮丧）to be seen on the faces of the crowd， for the heir to the throne had not by any means been popular. I still remember another day， in my earliest childhood， when Crown Prince Rudolf 7， the Emperors only son， was found shot dead at Mayerling（梅耶林）. Then， the whole city had been in emotional turmoil（混乱）， and enormous crowds had gone to see him lying in state（葬前供公众瞻仰）， expressing their overwhelming sympathy for the Emperor and their horror at the idea that his only son and heir， of whom the nation had cherished great expectations as a progressive member of the Habsburg dynasty8 who was personally unusually likable， had died in the prime of life（壮年时期）. Franz Ferdinand， however， lacked what mattered most for anyone to win true popularity in Austria—an attractive personality， natural charm and a friendly manner. I had often seen him at the theatre. He sat there in his box， a powerful， broad figure with cold， fixed eyes， never casting a single friendly glance at the audience， or encouraging the actors by applauding them warmly. You never saw him smile， no photograph showed him in a relaxed mood. He had no feeling for music and no sense of humor， and his wife looked just as unapproachable. There was a chilly aura（气氛）around the couple. It was common knowledge that they had no friends， and that the old Emperor heartily disliked his heir， who was not tactful（老练的，机智的）enough to conceal his impatience to come to the throne and begin his reign（统治时期）. And my almost eerie presentiment（可怕的预感）that this man with the bulldog neck（脖子粗如斗牛犬）and cold， staring eyes would bring some kind of misfortune on us was not peculiar to me， but widespread in the country， so that the news of his assassination did not arouse any deep sympathy. Two hours later there was no sign of real grief to be seen. People were talking and laughing， later that evening musicians performed in the cafés again. There were many in Austria who secretly breathed a sigh of relief that day， because now the old Emperors former heir had been replaced by young Archduke （大公）Karl9， a far more popular figure.

Over the next few days， of course， the newspapers published extensive obituaries（訃告）expressing appropriate horror at the assassination. There was nothing， however， to indicate that the incident would be exploited in the cause of political action against Serbia（塞尔维亚）. Initially， the death of the Emperors heir to the throne left the Imperial House in a very different quandary（窘境）， concerning the nature of the funeral. In view of his rank as next in line to the throne， and particularly the fact that he had died while doing his duty on behalf of the monarchy（王室）， Franz Ferdinand would of course normally have been laid to rest in the Capuchin vault（天主教圣芳济教会的地下墓室）， the historical burial place of the Habsburgs. However， after a long and bitter battle with the Imperial Family， he had married a Countess（女伯爵）Chotek， who did indeed come from the upper ranks of the aristocracy（贵族）but， according to the mysterious centuries-old tradition of the Habsburgs， was not his equal by birth， and the Archduchesses（女大公）insisted that on great occasions they had the right of precedence（优先权）over the wife of the heir to the throne， whose children also had no hereditary claim to the succession（世袭继承）. In its arrogance（傲慢，自大）， the Court disowned（与……脱离关系）her even now that she was dead. Was a mere Countess Chotek to be buried in the Habsburg imperial vault？ Heaven forbid！ A tremendous intrigue（阴谋）began， with the Archduchesses up in the arms（武装起来准备打架）against the old Emperor. While deep mourning for the whole nation was officially decreed（颁发）， acrimony was rife（充满尖刻的言辞）at the Hofburg Palace， and as might have been expected the dead woman came off worst. The masters of ceremonies invented a story， to the effect that Franz Ferdinands own wish had been to be buried in the small provincial Austrian town of Artstetten， and on this pseudo-respectful pretext（伪善的借口）they were able to suppress any idea of a public lying-in-state or funeral procession， with all the quarrels over rank and precedence that would entail（带来）. The coffins of the two assassination victims were quietly taken to Artstetten and laid to rest there. Vienna， deprived of an occasion to satisfy its eternal love of a good spectacle， was already beginning to forget the whole incident. After all， the violent deaths of Empress Elisabeth and the Crown Prince10， and the scandalous defection（可耻的变节）from court of many members of the Imperial House， had long ago accustomed the Austrians to the idea that the old Emperor， alone and solid as a rock， would survive his entire family， doomed as they seemed to be like the descendants of the house of Atreus11. Another few weeks， and the name and person of Franz Ferdinand would have disappeared from history for ever.

However， about a week later a good deal of verbal sniping（口头诽谤）suddenly began to appear in the papers， all of it reaching a crescendo（高潮）too simultaneously to be entirely a matter of chance. The Serbian government was accused of collusion（勾结，共谋）in the assassination， and it was insinuated（暗示） that Austria could not let the murder of its allegedly（据称）beloved heir to the throne pass without any repercussions（反响，后果）. It was impossible not to feel that the press was preparing the country for action of some kind， but no one thought of war. No banks， businesses or private citizens changed their plans. There was skirmishing（冲突）with Serbia all the time anyway. Fundamentally， as every knew， it had started over some trade agreements concerning the export of Serbian pigs， but what did that dispute have to do with us？ My bags were packed for my journey to Belgium to visit Verhaeren， my work was going well； how could the dead Archduke in his sarcophagus（雕刻精美的石棺）affect my life？ It was a beautiful summer， and promised to get even better； we all felt carefree as we looked out at the world. I remember how a friend and I were walking through the vineyards on my last day in Baden， and an old workman there told us，“Weve not had a summer like this many a long year. Well have a great vintage（葡萄丰收季节）if the weather holds. Ah， folks will remember this summer for a long while to come！”

The old man in his blue vintners（酿造葡萄酒的人）overall had no idea how dreadfully true his words were.

1. 埃米勒·维尔哈伦（Emile Verhaeren， 1855—1916），比利时诗人、剧作家、文艺评论家。1883年发表第一部诗集《佛兰芒女人》。维尔哈伦与斯蒂芬·茨威格友谊深厚，成为“忘年之交”。也是在他的介绍下，茨威格有幸结识了雕塑家罗丹。

2. 比德迈风格的，艺术上一种介于新古典主义和浪漫主义之间过渡时期的风格。19世纪早期和中期曾在德国、奥地利、意大利北部和斯堪的那维亚各国风行。

3. 基督教于每年6月29日为了纪念耶稣的两个忠实使徒圣彼得和圣保罗的殉道而设立的一个节日。

4. 梅列日科夫斯基（1865—1941），是俄国19世纪末20世纪前半期最有影响的作家、诗人、文学评论家和思想家之一。《托尔斯泰与陀思妥耶夫斯基》（两卷）写于1900年到1902年。

5. 弗朗茨·斐迪南大公（1863—1914），奥匈帝国皇储，弗朗茨·约瑟夫一世皇帝之弟卡尔·路德维希大公之子。皇帝独子皇太子鲁道夫于1889年精神病自杀后，他成为了皇位继承人。1914年与其庶妻“霍恩贝格女公爵苏菲”在视察当时奥匈帝国波黑省的首府萨拉热窝时，被塞尔维亚民族主义者普林西普刺杀身亡。“萨拉热窝事件”成为第一次世界大战的导火线。

6. 波斯尼亚，位于原南斯拉夫中部，介于克羅地亚、塞尔维亚和黑山三个共和国之间，与黑塞哥维那一起简称“波黑”。

7. 皇太子鲁道夫（1858—1889），奥匈帝国皇帝弗朗茨·约瑟夫一世的独子，后因精神崩溃与女友一同殉情自杀。

8. 哈布斯堡王朝，是欧洲历史上统治领域最广的王室，曾统治神圣罗马帝国、奥地利帝国、奥匈帝国和西班牙帝国。哈布斯堡王朝后期繁衍甚广，因而出现奥地利哈布斯堡王朝、西班牙哈布斯堡王朝和哈布斯堡-洛林皇朝三个分支。

9. 卡尔一世（Karl I，1887—1922），是哈布斯堡王朝与奥匈帝国的末代皇帝。皇储弗朗茨·斐迪南大公的子女因为母亲身份低贱而无皇位继承权。1914年，卡尔在伯父斐迪南大公遇刺身亡后成为皇位继承人，并在 1916年11月21日弗朗茨·约瑟夫一世逝世后即位。

10. 伊丽莎白皇后（通常被家人与朋友昵称为“茜茜”）和她的儿子鲁道夫王子。

11. 阿特柔斯，希腊迈锡尼的国王，珀罗普斯的儿子，阿伽门农和斯巴达王的父亲。阿特柔斯与他兄弟堤厄斯忒斯（Thuestes）争夺王位，后者不惜勾引嫂子，为的是得到宝物金毛牡羊，因为谁拥有它谁就能当上国王；阿特柔斯胜利后放逐了堤氏，后来又故意与其和解，杀了他的两个儿子作为佳肴款待他。这个家族因血亲互相残杀的恶习而遭到众神诅咒。