(2 of 2)
The miracle came: a fleet of silver bombers .that left part of Regensburg in flames. Next day, the Gauleiter was buried —as one of the victims of the raid—and the Fischers breathed again. The bishop generously attended the funeral service—"The mass was at its beginning. He climbed the circular stone steps to the choir, sat down at the organ, and pulled all the stops. Through the immense structure surged a storm of music, a roar as wild as the sound of the Danube." But the people of Regensburg only hung their heads, and "it was evident that if, in the long night in which they lived, any light would come to them, it had to come from outside—for those within the walls who had courage and spirit were too few, too old, and much too sentimental."
Wand & Club. Readers who expect The Blue Danube to be a replica of Author Bemelmans' earlier, inimitable works, My War with the United States (TIME, July 5, 1937), The Donkey Inside (TIME, Jan. 20, 1941) and I Love You, I Love You, I Love You (TIME, Sept. 14, 1942), will be disappointed. In its 153 pages they will find the usual bitter-sweet taste and tragicomic personalities—freakish but heartwarming outcasts; birds and animals with the attractiveness of charming children; the waiters scurrying to & fro with black bread, liverwurst and seidels of foaming beer; chestnut and willow trees; nostalgia, trouble and human patience. But at the heart of these things is a brood of despicable Nazis; and when he comes down to earth to describe their piggish, ruthless natures, Bemelmans drops his magic wand for an unwieldy club. The art and appeal .of The Blue Danube are mostly in the trimmings—and particularly in Author-Artist Bemelmans' 14 admirable, full-color illustrations.