Letter
6 Pages
Transcription: Siri Katinka Valdez
Translation: Francesca Nichols
Transcription
3
af det eneste stof, som hjælper: – nemlig adrenalin; –
jeg havde recept paa dette velsignede fluidùm
fra Brock-Martens – men den er vistnok bort-
kommet paa Förde apothek, – da der blev byttet
apotheker. Nù faar jeg bare et gram ad gangen,
og det er kùn til en spröite, – jeg lùrer ogsaa paa
om denne apothekeren ikke ogsaa fùsker med pro-
centen, – jeg troede ogsaa, at det maatte være ùlovligt at
udlevere saa sterk gift uden at procenten er opgivet
– (der staar kun "gift!!!" paa glasset; – ja staar der
er ikke engang "röd seddel", men hvid paa glasset ja endog hvidt-klart glas istedenfor brùnt,
og saa hv vidt jeg veed, er det lovbefalet at have
röd seddel paa "gift" til udvortes brùk. Nù ja,
seddelen kan være mig ligegyldig, hvad farve angaar,
bare jeg fik nok, og den rigtige procent. – Nù tænkte
jeg at spörge dig, om dù tror, det gik an at bede Dr.
Kreyberg om at udstede en recept paa adrenalin, – eller
kanske det var bedst at faa Brock-Martens til det; – det var
jo han, som ùdstedte den oprindelige recept, – der bör
ogsaa staa paa recepten, at glasset maa være brùnt; thi
adrenalin blir straks grùmset eller ùklar ùnder lysets
Kjære ven!
Ja det gaar ikke altid efter beregning, – jeg troede,
at jeg skulde faaet sendt flere træsnit nù en
af dagene eller mùligens tage dem med mig
at selv, naar jeg reiste til Bergen engang i denne
maaned, men – nogle frygtelige kvælningsanfald
har gjort mig aldeles arbeidsùdygtig i snart en ùke;
Asthmaen er kommen igjen med fuld styrke efter
mere end 3 aars fravær – (jeg har nok mærket
den, men ingen egentlige "kvælnings anfald" för nù)
Nù er anfaldene værre end för i en retning: –
för kùnde de være voldsomme, medens de stod
paa, – og det kunde vare henimod 3 dögn i det længste,
nù er de "kroniske" – slipper ikke sit tak paa
mig fra det ene anfald til det andet, – jeg har
en forbandet tùng pùst selv mellem kvælningsan-
faldene, – det kommer kanske af, at jeg samtidig
har været sterkt forkjölet, – her har nù ogsaa
været en forbandet kulde her oppe i fjeldbygden.
2
Ja Dere har vel kanske havt den samme kulde
i Bergen, – dog vel i ringere grad, – vi har fyret det, vi
orked i ovnene uden at kùnne holde kulden ude.
Zakris bander for, at vi nù snart har brugt for
100 kr. i veed siden i höst – (veden gaar frem-
deles opover her, – der forlanges nù kr. 45), – nù har jeg
faaet en hel bil-last med kul og koks, og vi fyrer,
saa ovnene er röde og nyder rigtig den tropiske hede;
men vore ovne er ikke beregnede paa kul og koks,
og de fleste af hùsets folk har ikke lært at fyre op
med kul eller koks, – saa det har sine vanskeligheder.
Jeg ved heller ikke endnù, om det lönner sig bedre
end veed (– naar bilfragten tages i betraktning). –
Det gaar altsaa skidt med "trykningen" for tiden,
da jeg næsten ikke kan röre mig, – den mindste
bevægelse fremkalder et nyt andfald, – bare det at
gaa fra det ene hùs til det andet – eller det at fyre
op i en ovn, – eller naar jeg skal skifte en sjorte
paa grùnd af den frost, som fölger efter den "angstens
sved", som ledsager anfaldene. Og nù vil de herrer
doktor og apotheker ikke lade mig faa noget videre af
4
paavirkning. Bedst var det, om jeg kùnde faaet denne
adrenalinen fra Bergen, da jeg er næsten er ræd for at
brùke denne ùklare adrenalin fra Förde apothek. –
Men jeg har alt plaget dig med saa meget, at det faar
være nok midlertidig; – nei jeg kommer nok til at
plage dig med en ting endnù: – jeg har forhandlet
med et firma i Oslo om at faa nogen gode arbeids-
briller, – det er representanten for "Zeiss"-firmaet – og
han har bedt mig henvende mig til en optikùs:
Solberg Hansen Olav Kyrres gt. 31 Bergen; – denne
optikùs skal nemlig være den bedste, og "en af de faa
virkelig fag ùdannede optikere, vi har her i landet".
Firmaet Zeis`s representation i Oslo har da bedt denne optikùs
om at sende mig en del pröver af en bestemt sort, –
men da jeg kan tænke mig, at samme optiker ikke vil
vove at sende mig saa kostbare saker til pröve ùden
nogen slags "garanti", – saa var det altsaa dette, jeg vilde
plage dig med: om dù (ved leilighed – haster ikke!) vilde tale med optikeren eller
ringe op i telefonen og "garantere" for mig, at jeg sender sakerne
tilbake, efter at jeg har prövet dem. ––– Ja dù maa
undskylde, at jeg plager dig slig. Haaber dù og dine lever
vel, og at Hjördis nù er helt frisk igjen! – Engel og börnene
er nogenlunde friske, – og jeg haaber at bli det, naar jeg faar nok adre-
nalin. Med bedste hilsen fra os alle din Astrup
at lave en "dæmpet" "Seljekall" – finder
jeg ùmùligt – mislykkede forsök viser
det – det hele blir simpelt
Translation
3
of the only substance that helps: – which is adrenaline; –
I had a prescription for this blessed liquid solution
from Brock-Martens – but it has apparently been
misplaced at Förde pharmacy, – since the pharmacist
was replaced. Now I only get a gram at a time,
and that is only for one injection, – I also wonder
whether this pharmacist doesn’t cheat with the per-
centage, – I also thought, that it must be unlawful to
dispense such a strong toxin without specifying the percentage
– (it only says “poison!!!” on the bottle; – in fact says there isn’t
even a “red label”, with white on the glass well even a white-clear bottle instead of brown,
and as hv far as I know, it is required by law to have
a red label on “toxins” for external use. Well anyway,
the label is irrelevant for me, when it come to the colour,
as long as I get enough, and the correct percentage. – Now I thought
of asking you, whether you think, it would be possible to ask Dr.
Kreyberg to write a prescription for adrenaline, – or
perhaps it would be best to have Brock-Martens do it; – it was
in fact he, who wrote the original prescription, – it should
also state in the prescription, that the bottle must be brown; because
adrenaline becomes cloudy or unclear the minute it is exposed
Dear friend!
Well things do not always go as planned, – I thought,
that I would have sent several woodcuts one of
these days or possibly bring them along
that myself, when I travelled to Bergen some time this
month, but – some terrible choking seizures
have rendered me utterly incapable of working for almost a week now;
The asthma has returned in full force after
an absence of more than 3 years – (I have perhaps noticed
it, but no real “choking seizure” before now)
Now the seizures are worse than before in one way: –
before they could be explosive, while they
lasted, – and they might last for almost 3 days at the most,
now they are “chronic” – do not release their grip
on me from one seizure to the next, – I have
ominous heavy breathing even between the choking
seizures, – it may be because I have simultaneously
suffered from a bad cold, – it has also
been damned cold up here in the mountain village.
2
Well You may have had the same freezing weather
in Bergen, – although most likely to a lesser degree, – we have stoked the
wood-burning stoves as much as we can without being able to drive out the cold.
Zakris swears, that we will have soon consumed wood to the sum of
100 kr. since the autumn – ([the price of] wood is still going
up here, – the asking price is now kr. 45), – I have now
obtained a whole carload of coal and coke, and we stoke the fires
until the stoves turn red and truly take pleasure in the tropical heat;
but our stoves are not intended for coal and coke,
and most of the people in the house have not learned how to burn
coal or coke, – so it has its disadvantages.
I don’t yet know either, whether it is less expensive
than wood (– when the motor transport is taken into consideration). –
The work of “printing” has in other words gone to hell of late,
since I can hardly move, – the least
movement produces a new seizure, – just to
walk from one building to another – or to light a fire
in one of the stoves, – or when I am changing into a new shirt
because of the freezing, that results from the “sweat of
anxiety” that accompanies the seizures. And now the gentlemen
doctor and pharmacist will not allow me to have any more
4
to light. It would be best, if I could get this
adrenaline from Bergen, as I am almost am afraid to
take this cloudy adrenaline from Förde Pharmacy. –
But I have already bothered you with so much, that it
should suffice for the time being; – no I am going to
bother you with one more thing: – I have arranged
with a firm in Oslo to purchase some good work
glasses, – it is the representative for the “Zeiss” company – and
he has asked me to go to an optician:
Solberg Hansen Olav Kyrres st. 31 Bergen; – this
optician is supposed to be the best, and “one of the few
actually trained opticians, we have in this country”.
The Zeis company’s representative in Oslo has since asked this optician
to send me some samples of a specific type, –
but since I can imagine, that the mentioned optician would not
risk sending me such costly items for trial use without
any form of “security”, – and it was in fact this, I wished
to bother you with: if you (at your convenience – no hurry!) might speak to the optician or
ring him up on the telephone to “attest” for me, that I will return the
items, once I have tested them. ––– Well, you must
pardon me for bothering you in this way. Hope you and your family are
well, and that Hjördis has totally recovered! – Engel and the children
are more or less healthy, – and I hope to be, once I obtain enough adre-
naline. With best wishes from all of us your Astrup
to make a "muted" "Willow Goblin" – I find
to be impossible – failed attempts show
that – the whole [piece] becomes asinine