"Frau Nussler," said Brasig, drawing himself up before his old sweetheart, "you have spoken a very serious word, as Rector Baldrian said, lately, when we were talking about the potato-land of the day-laborers; but one must look well to his words, in these days,--they have already turned Kurz out,--and I am really a member of the Reformverein at Rahnstadt, and have no pleasure in 'fool's play.'"

"Well, I believe you will turn me out of my own kitchen yet!" said Frau Nussler, putting her hands on her sides.

"Did I say that?" asked Brasig. "They have turned out Ludwig Philippe, they have turned out the Bavarian Ludwig, they have turned out Ludwig Kurz; is your name Ludwig? No, I came here to look after you, and if anything breaks out here, then I will come with the Reformverein, and with the Burgher-guard,--we have all got pikes, and some of us flint-locks,--and we will protect you."

"Do you think I will have people coming into my house, with pikes and muskets?" cried Frau Nussler. "You may tell your infamous pack, they must first provide themselves with an extra set of arms and legs, for those they have now would get broken here."

With that, she turned away, went into her b.u.t.tery, and locked the door behind her. Yes, it was a sad time! even between this honest old pair, the devil had sowed his weeds, and when Brasig had stood a little while before the b.u.t.tery door, as Bauschan often did, he felt very much like Bauschan when he was turned out, and he went back to the living-room with a downcast air, and said to Jochen, "Yes, these are truly bad times! And you sit there, and never stir hand nor foot? And the rebellion has broken out in your own house!"

"Yes, Brasig, I know," said Jochen. "That is on account of the geese; but what can I do about it? Brasig, help yourself to a little k.u.mmel!"--and he pointed with his foot to the lowest shelf in the cup-board,--"there is the bottle."

Brasig approved of a little k.u.mmel. Then he placed himself at the window, and looked out at the weather, and as the spring wind drove the April showers across the sky, and then the sun shone out again, so all sorts of dark stormy thoughts chased through his head: "How?" said he, "shall all that come to an end? She thrusts me away, when I would help her?" and then again the sun shone out, but with a brief and mocking glance, which gave no warmth, and he laughed: "Ha, ha! I wish I could see her fighting against the Rahnstadt Burgher-guard, with the tailor Wimmersdorf at the head, and the shrewd old dyer, with his 'Meins wegens;' how they would scatter!"

Rudolph pa.s.sed through the yard, and seeing Brasig at the window, came in, as he wished to speak to him.

"Good day. Uncle Brasig!"

"Good day, Rudolph. Well, how goes it? I mean with the day-laborers.

All quiet?"

"Oh, yes! n.o.body has made any disturbance as yet."

"You shall see, about the geese," interposed young Jochen.

"Eh, father, never mind the geese!" said Rudolph.

"What is it about the confounded geese?" inquired Brasig.

"Oh, nothing," said Rudolph. "You see, last year, I got so provoked, first with keeping them in bounds, then with their plucking the gra.s.s in the meadow, and afterward they got into the grain, so I called all the laborers together, and promised every one four thalers, at harvest, if he would give up the goose business, and they accepted the offer, and now father has got it into his head that the people consider him a tyrant, and that a rebellion will break out, on account of the old geese."

"You shall see, Rudolph, the geese----"

"Good gracious!" cried Frau Nussler, coming into the room, "always at the geese!" and, throwing herself into a chair, she put her ap.r.o.n to her face, and began to weep bitterly.

"Good heavens, mother, what is the matter?" exclaimed Rudolph, running up to her. "What has disturbed you so?"

"What shall I do about it?" asked Jochen, and he also stood up.

Brasig was going to say something, but restrained himself, for he knew better than the others what was going on in Frau Nussler's heart; he turned to the window, elevated his eyebrows, and stared out stiffly at the April weather. Frau Nussler sprang up, dried her eyes, pushed Rudolph and Jochen aside,--rather hastily,--went right up to Brasig, throw her arms about him, and said, "Brasig, I know you meant it all right; I won't break anybody's arms and legs."

"Oh, Frau Nussler!" cried Brasig, and the April showers and sunshine were reflected in his eyes, for his whole face laughed, while his eyes were dropping tears, "Tailor Wimmersdorf and the old crafty dyer, 'Meins wegens,' may get their deserts from you, for all I care."

"What does this mean?" cried Rudolph.

"I will tell you," said Brasig, gently freeing himself from Frau Nussler's arms, and taking her by the hand. "It means, that you have a real angel for a mother-in-law. Not one of the kind that you see at the b.a.l.l.s, and promenading the streets of Rahnstadt. No! but an actual angel, out of the Old Testament, such a valiant, brave old angel, who is not afraid of the devil himself, contending in a good cause, and can put you, sir, in her pocket, three times over!" and he looked at Rudolph, as if he was the cause of all Frau Nussler's distress.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed Rudolph, "I have done nothing!" and he looked at Jochen, and Jochen looked at Bauschan; but Bauschan did'nt know, and Jochen did'nt know, and Rudolph cried out, "I truly have not the least idea----"

"There is no necessity that you should," said Brasig, and turned abruptly to Jochen; "and you, young Jochen, with your confounded goose-business, you will bring your whole household into a dangerous revolution. You had better sit down, and keep quiet, and you, Rudolph, come with me, I will make a brief examination of your management, and see what you have learned with Hilgendorf."

That was a suitable employment for Jochen, and Rudolph obtained a fine opportunity to urge Uncle Brasig's a.s.sistance in his plans for a speedy marriage. It is possible that both of these reflections had occurred to Brasig.

In the afternoon, Fritz Triddelsitz came riding up the yard. This time, he was mounted on a dapple-gray, which had a most singular gait, in front, he stepped out like a man, and as a general thing, went on only three legs; from which one may perceive, that nature, in her intelligent way, often creates superfluities; for instance, the tail of a piuscher,[10] the ears of a mastiff, and the left hind-leg of a schreiber koppel. Fritz's dapple-gray was not handsome to look at, particularly when he was in motion; but he was a courteous beast, he bowed all along the street, and he harmonized with Fritz, for _he_ had grown very courteous, with his n.o.bleman, and when some of his comrades joked him about his dapple-gray, he laughed in his sleeve: "You blockheads! I have profited finely by my trading, with the chestnut mare for the black, the black for the brown, and the brown for the dapple-gray; I have made money every time by the bargain." The dapple-gray came very courteously up the Rexow yard, Fritz dismounted courteously, entered the house courteously, and courteously said, "Good day!"

"Mother," said young Jochen, "help Herr Triddelsitz,"--for they were just sitting down to coffee.

"G.o.d preserve us!" thought Brasig, "and is he called 'Herr' already?"

Fritz took off his overcoat, pulled something out of his pocket, and sat down to the table, laying down by his coffee-cup a pair of revolvers, which were just coming into use.

"Herr," cried Brasig, "are you possessed with a devil? What are you doing with those infernal shooting-machines among the coffee-cups?"

Frau Nussler got up quietly, took the two pistols in one hand, and the tea-kettle in the other, poured hot water into the barrels, and said, very considerately:

"So! they won't go off, now!"

"For G.o.d's sake!" cried Fritz, "the only protection that we have----"

"Herr," interposed Brasig, "do you think you are in a den of robbers, here at young Jochen's?"

"The whole world is a den of robbers now," said Fritz, "the Herr von Rambow said that very distinctly yesterday, in his speech to the day-laborers; and therefore I have been obliged to go to Rahnstadt, and buy these two revolvers,--one is for him,--we will defend ourselves to the last drop of our blood."

Frau Nussler looked at Brasig, and laughed a little bashfully; Brasig laughed heartily: "And with these things, and with a speech from Herr von Rambow, you expect to stop the mouths of the day-laborers, and turn them to other thoughts?"

"Yes, we mean to do it; my gracious Herr has spoken well to the people; he will govern them mildly, but firmly, they may rely upon that."

"Well, it is all as true as leather," interrupted Jochen.

"You are right, this time, Jochen; the tanning must be according to the leather, but the young n.o.bleman is not the man, you shall see, to treat the timid with mildness, and the fainthearted with firmness."

"And he has made another speech?" asked young Jochen.

"A capital one!" cried Fritz. "How in the world he does it, I cannot imagine."

"That is of no consequence," said Brasig, "but what do the day-laborers say to their expectations?"

"That pack," said Fritz, who had learned something besides politeness from his master, "are not worth their salt, for, as I was crossing the yard afterwards, they were standing in groups together, and I heard them talking about 'flatterers,' and 'gee and haw management'----"

"They meant that for you," said Brasig, grinning.

"Yes, only think of it!" said Fritz innocently. "And in the afternoon; five of them came to the Herr, just the ones I had thought the most reasonable of all, and old Flegel, the wheelwright, was the spokesman, and said they had been informed that Herr Pomuchelskopp had given his people an advance, and had promised them more potato-land, and other things besides, but they would say nothing about that, for they had never been so badly off as the Gurlitz people, and they were contented with what they got: but they were not contented with the way they were treated, for they were blamed unjustly, and scolded when they did not deserve it, and they were driven back and forth, from the yard to the fields, so that they had no idea what they were to do, and it would be the best thing for the Herr von Rambow to let me go, for I did not understand how to manage the farm or superintend the people, I was too young. And if they might make a request, it was this, that they might have their old Inspector Habermann back again. Now, just think of it, such a set!"

"Hm!" said Brasig, grinning all over his face. "Well, what did the young Herr say?"

"Oh, he blew them a fine blast, and told them if _he_ were contented with me,--and then he motioned toward me, whereupon I made a courteous bow,--then his masters the day-laborers might very well be contented also. You see, that old fellow, Johann Egel, stepped up,--you know him, he is one of the oldest, with the white hair,--and said they were not _masters_, no one knew that better than they, and in coming to him as their master, they had acted from good intentions, and not because they wished to use hard words. The Herr von Rambow was master, and he could do it or not, as he pleased."

"He is a devilish cunning old fellow," said Brasig, grinning more than ever.

"Yes, only think of it! But that was not all, by a long way; the b.u.t.t end came afterwards. Towards evening, I noticed one after another of the day-laborers going to the riding-stables, and as I knew that Krischan Dasel, our groom, had a pique against me, I thought, 'What can be going on there?' and I went into the stables, and there is a hole between the riding-stable and the other stables, and I could hear Krischan Dasel exciting the others."