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per højholt
sharply divided: English on
the islands or having gone
astray in western Sweden; the
German and French, together
with other tenacious and
intrepid flocks, further south:
in Jutland.
Many of these latter flocks,
especially the ones from
France, were made fate’s fools
to an almost tragic extent,
since if they had gone south
rather than north they could
have easily reached Spain,
which was also neutral during
the war. Of course, they would
have been subjected to a
climate that was less rainy
than they preferred, but in
return they would have
discovered in the Spanish
towns and countryside much
deeper shadows, a much more
refreshing darkness in the
cathedral lofts and remote
rural barns. Such enticements
were appreciated by the local
ears and by those who had
managed to make their way
through the south German,
French and Italian uproar, and
who with a grimace had
crossed the Pyrenees before
the night mists were
completely driven from their
southward facing slopes.
Thanks to the ears’ fraught
relationship with sunshine
a n d
Me d i t e r r a n e a n
temperatures, there are not
many accounts of Spain’s east
coast ears. What exists are
mostly rumors stemming from
a national Spanish self-
assertiveness drive, though in
one case the rumor could
actually be verified. Seven
ears, who under almost
diabolical and overwhelmingly
difficult circumstances mimed
three watercolors by Paul
Cézanne, which they had
imprinted on themselves at a
dentist’s office in Perpignan,