Comedies Ofwords and Other Plays Author:ARTHUR SCHNITZLER General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1917 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: THE HOUR OF RECOGNITION A Comedy Of Words Persons Carl Eckold, M. D. Clara, his wife. Professor Rudolph Ormin. ) . [SCENE: Dining room in the home of Dr. Eckold, Vienna. A door in the rear conducts to an ante-room or vestibule; another pierced in the right wall opens to the waiting-room, still another on the left leads to the other living rooms. The furniture is comfortable but old- fashioned. Discovered, Dr. Carl Eckold, a man of, say 45, with a dark brown square-cut beard, inclining to baldness. He wears a pince-nez for reading purposes. Also, Clara, his wife, 40, still pretty. Both are seated at the table finishing their dessert. The servingman comes in with a card.] Servingman. The lady begs to be admitted at once, if possible. Eckold [deliberately turning the card between his fingers]. My hours, as announced, start atthree. It is scarcely half past two now. Ask the lady to be patient. Anybody else waiting? Servingman. Three patients already, sir. Eckold. H'm! I shall take them in the order of their arrival. [Servingman goes off. The maid serves the coffee, which Clara pours into the cups.] Eckold. Why, you've laid three covers, Clara. Have you forgotten that our Miss Bet- tina, or, to do her nibs justice, Mrs. Bettina Wor- mann, dines in Salzburg today? Perhaps in Zurich? Perhaps -- Heaven only knows where? Clara. No. I haven't forgotten, Carl. The extra cover was laid for Ormin. Eckold. Ah, yes. Made his apologies over the telephone, has he? Clara. No, nothing definite. Besides, I know he is coming to bid us good-bye. Eckold. Terribly busy, I suppose, with this long journey in ...« less