Erstes Kapitel des Buches "Richard und Samuel"

Two contrasting companions set out on a spring rail trip across Central Europe, each intent on recording the experience in a diary. Samuel, a cultured art‑society secretary, approaches life with scholarly curiosity but never pedantry, while Richard, a modest bank clerk, is driven by vague emotions and a restless need for routine. Their school‑yard friendship is now tested as they spend the long journey together alone, hinting at a joint artistic venture ahead.

The opening leg from Prague to Zurich passes through a crowded carriage where farmers' wives, sleepy passengers, and the clatter of the locomotive become fodder for their notes. Samuel records a half‑asleep woman's smile as a whimsical “Delphic Sibyl,” while Richard frets over the propriety of such encounters. Their banter over heavy black notebooks and the odd ritual of ordering coffee on green slips reveals humor and an undercurrent of tension as the scenery rushes by.