The Pictures of German Life Throughout History. Gustav Freytag
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that if I had got her only in her shift I ought to be content, and feel thankful that such a noble family had demeaned itself so far as to give me their child, and they would still have trouble enough to wipe off this disgrace among their friends, who would decidedly not have consented to this marriage. But as concerned the dresses and ornaments, I must know that they had other daughters to think of and provide for. It was, besides, the custom in the country to procure a dress and ornaments which might do for two or three daughters; when one of them was smartly attired, it was the duty of the others to attend to the housekeeping, or if guests arrived, to feign illness, and content themselves with bed, till it was their turn. Therefore I must be satisfied, and if I would not let my wife appear so as to be a disgrace to me, I should, out of my own means, provide her with dress and ornaments befitting a noble lady. Thus all my ready money went, especially as the wedding had cost me much, for almost the whole province, with their wives, children, servants, and horses, fastened themselves upon me for a fortnight, and I could not rid myself of them so long as anything was to be found in the kitchen and cellar. Also what I procured for my wife was never rich and costly enough to please her and her mother; they always found some deficiency, and wished to have everything more perfect.
"Nevertheless, I controlled myself, and would have minded no expense, if I had only gained the smallest thanks for it; but what most pained me, was to feel that neither my wife nor any of her friends held me in the slightest consideration. Moreover my dear mother-in-law was a thoroughly malicious, proud, false woman, and as, according to the root of the tree, so are the leaves, her daughter followed in her footsteps. And as on this account I could no longer be fond of her, my groom often met with more friendly looks than I did. I had no reason to complain of her relatives not visiting me, for they did so oftener than I liked, and they did their best to consume all that they found. They thought that the devil would take them if they called me brother-in-law or uncle; the brotherhood must be considered all allegorical, and my mother-in-law took care, that the word 'son' should not escape her lips, especially if strangers were present. Never were they so comfortably together as when I was absent at Breslau or elsewhere; then they had the best opportunity to make themselves jolly at my expense, and they did so with some wine of which I kept three or four bottles in my cellaret for myself and my wife, and I found it quite empty when I returned home. Yet even that might have passed, if they had only not taken from me the corn from the ground, nay, even the cows and calves without my knowledge, and conveyed them away secretly for their noble relatives. But he who receives four thalers, and has to spend six, has no reason to care for a purse. So that I could easily calculate that in a short time I should become as good a Krippenreiter as my neighbours.
"But it pleased God to deliver me from this danger by the death of my beloved, who died in childbirth. Even under these circumstances I had to undergo a severe storm from my vexatious noble mother-in-law. She filled heaven and earth with her lamentations over the decease of her daughter, and wished to persuade all the world that the good woman had died of grief, that she had not married suitably to her position, and that it had been her (the mother-in-law's) fault I bore with her folly for a time, in hopes that the game would some day come to an end; but at last she broke out still further, and desired to have the ornaments and dresses I had bought for her daughter, and whatever else she had in her keeping, for another daughter. I threw at her feet some rags she had brought with her, and caused the corpse to be placed in a respectable coffin in the family vault, without inviting the mother-in-law or any other relations. I then determined to sell the property at the first good opportunity and betake myself again to the city.
"Sitting one evening thoughtfully at the window, looking at the servant doing his work, I accidentally observed that some one was at the gate defending himself with naked sword against the assault of the dog. I called out to the servant to hold back the dog, whereupon I was accosted by a well-dressed man with many compliments. 'My lord uncle,' he said, 'will not take it amiss if, according to knightly fashion, I do myself the honour of calling on you for a night's lodging in order to have the honour of making your acquaintance.' 'Not in the least,' I replied, 'if the noble gentleman will please to be satisfied.' I invited him in, and as the cavalier was so free with his cousinship, I could easily perceive that he was not of the neighbourhood. He soon let me know that he was a free knight of the Empire, from Alsace, and had been so ruined by the French, that he preferred turning his back upon his burnt property to submitting to their sway; now he was going to the Imperial court to seek military service. I could perceive the emptiness of this braggadocio from his knowing none of the noble families with whom I had made acquaintance in a former residence in Alsace. Therefore I dealt cautiously with the fellow, and the good lord and brother of the Imperial nobility was obliged to be satisfied with a straw mattress and pillow for his head. When I rose the next morning, I found neither Junker nor bedclothes, and missed, besides, my sword and pistols, which I had left in the sitting-room. I forthwith ordered my servants to mount and pursue him with clubs, and if they found the rascal, to knock him down and then let him escape, but bring back my things; for I was convinced that the man was a pickpocket, and that I should gain no advantage by his capture, but an expensive penal process, and have at last to pay for his hanging. The servants found him with his booty in the nearest wood, and executed my orders thoroughly. They brought my things back, but these cost me dear in the end; for, scarcely four days after, my place was burnt over my head in the night, without doubt by this rascal, so that I could hardly save the dwelling-house, but was obliged to look on at the destruction of the barns and stables, which with corn and cattle were burnt to the ground.
"This misfortune disgusted me so with country life, that I only built a couple of stalls for the remaining cattle, and shortly afterwards sold for 4000 thalers the property for which I had given 6000. After that I betook myself to the city."
Such is the narrative of the country householder to the young Dutchman. A few days after, the stranger had an opportunity himself of observing the life of an impoverished Silesian country noble. A young Herr von K., an educated and travelled cavalier, invited him to the property of his parents, and asked him to take a ride with him from thence to a neighbouring property where a christening was to be celebrated. The Herr von K. begged our hero to consent to allow himself to be introduced as a major in the Dutch service, "For I know," he said, "that otherwise these noble peasants will have no scruple in giving you the last place, and will show you no consideration, in spite of your superior education, and although, without impoverishing yourself, you might easily buy the whole of their property put together." What the Dutchman then observed he relates as follows:--
"The entertainment was of such a nature that there was no danger of the table breaking down under the weight of the dishes: a good dish of small fish with onion sauce, calf's head and trimmings, the whole interior of a pig in as many various dishes as there were parts, a couple of geese, and two hares; besides this, such rough watery beer, that one was soon obliged to have recourse to not much better brandy. In spite of this the society, which consisted of some twenty persons, was right merry, and the ladies more lively than the affected mercantile ladies of the city nobility. When the table was removed, a portion of the cavaliers danced about merrily to a couple of fiddles, and the room was filled with the fumes of tobacco. Then Frau von K. began, 'I have taken a fancy for this foreign cavalier, and have hopes that my son, who is also an officer, will be as much loved and esteemed in other places.' Frau Ilse von der B. answered, 'I, dear and honoured sister, am quite of another opinion. I could never exercise such tyranny on those belonging to me as to thrust them among these fierce soldiers, for I hear that they sometimes fare badly enough--have no warm beds for many nights, and besides, have no one to make them a mug of warm beer or bring them a glass of brandy. If I should hear that my son had been devoured by a long-necked Tartar, such as I have lately seen painted at Kretschem, I should be choked with grief. Therefore, I have thought it better to maintain my Junker Hans Christoph as well as I can on our little property at home. I must acknowledge that he has already cost me more than enough; for when I fitted him out as became a noble, my two best cows went, and I have not been able to replace the loss. But what does that matter; I see with pleasure that he knows how to behave himself like a nobleman. Only see, dear honoured sister, does he not dance nimbly, and hasn't he got a capital knack of whirling round with the ladies; he does not refuse to drink a glass of beer or brandy with any one; tobacco is his only pleasure in life; in all societies he makes himself so agreeable, that he sometimes does not come home for three weeks, possibly