Miss Goldwick-Baramine’s guests were late. She
wandered around her apartment, checking that every object was in its
place…She slid open the glass door in the hall, which gave onto the
underground River Menseck; not long ago it was unknown, but she owned half
its course. Menseck! Miss Bara had been a great sportswoman in her youth,
and she had a passion for speleology… The “Fifth Club” of which she was a
member, was inquiring into the childhood of its members, to pass the time
at their evening meetings. When Miss Bara began her story one day,
everyone’s attention was riveted. Obviously, a tale that begins: “I was
born on a dunghill in Krasnodar. My mother was probably a Georgian. My
father, who was a descendant of Valerius Flaccus, had abandoned her in
Pomerania,,,” is bound to arouse interest. Miss Baramine never tried to
make an impression, no, never. She was simple and straightforward. Her
confession, which she disclosed the way one peels an orange, gradually
revealed a dramatic existence.
(from Baramine)