Basia, Fanden, Holger And Valeria

We will be away from Lancaster, and I will be away from this computer, from early on Saturday, 23 May, until late on Wednesday 27 May. That will be a welcome break.

Blogwise, the discussion of a single phrase, "strange dimensions," has diverted us from Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword into several multidimensional narratives. But that is what happens when we follow lines of enquiry on the blog. As Le Matelot says in Trader To The Stars, "We are on our way." (But we don't know where we're going.)

Combining this with our interest in languages, we find that, in the Old Phoenix, a woman says:

"'Da mi basia mille.'"

-Poul Anderson, A Midsummer Tempest (London, 1975), xi. p. 94.

She means: "Give me a thousand kisses."

The man whom she addresses responds:

"'Det var som Fanden!'" (ibid.)

He means: "It was like damn" or "I'll be damned."

He continues:

"'I've forgotten practically all the Latin I ever had, except for church.' Slowly: 'However, is language required?'" (ibid.)

However, another woman with whom he has been conversing reminds him that they have serious matters to discuss. He addresses her as "Valeria" and she has already addressed him as "Holger." Thus, they have identified themselves as characters from other novels by Poul Anderson.

The plot thickens.