KING。"'Towhombelongsit?'
ICH。"'TotheKriegsrathvonQuast。'
KING。"'ToWHOMbelongsit?'
ICH。"'ToKriegsrathvonQuast。'
KING。"'EYWAS[pooh,pooh]!IknownothingofKriegsraths!TowhomdoestheEstatebelong?'
ICH。"'ToHerrvonQuast。'FriedrichhadthegreatestcontemptforKriegsraths,andindeedformostotherRATHSortitularshams,labelledboxeswithnothingintheinside:onahorriblewinter
morning(sleet,thunder,&c。),marchingoffhoursbeforesunrise,hehasbeenheardtosay,'WouldonewereaKriegsrath!
KING。"'Na,thatistherightanswer。'
"HisMajestynowarrivedatGarz。ThechangingofthehorseswasmanagedbyHerrvonLuderitzofNackeln,asfirstDeputyoftheRuppinCircle。Hehadhishaton,andawhitefeatherinit。
Whentheyokingwascompleted,ourjourneyproceededagain。
KING。"'Towhombelongsthisestateonthelefthere?'
ICH。"'ToHerrvanLuderitz;itiscalledNackeln。'
KING。"'WhatLuderitzisthat?'
ICH。"'YourMajesty,hethatwasinGarzwhilethehorseswerechanging。'
KING。"'Ha,ha,theHerrwiththewhitefeather!Doyousowwheattoo?'
ICH。"'Ja,yourMajesty。'
KING。"'Howmuchhaveyousown?'
ICH。"'ThreeWISPELS12SCHEFFELS,'unknownmeasures!
KING。"'Howmuchdidyourpredecessorusetosow?'
ICH。"'Fourscheffels。'
KING。"'Howhasitcomethatyousowsomuchmorethanhe?'
ICH。"'AsIhavealreadyhadthehonortotellyourMajestythatI
keepseventyheadofcowsmorethanhe,Ihaveofcoursemoremanureformyground,andsoputitinabettercaseforbearingwheat。'
KING。"'Butwhydoyougrownohemp?'
ICH。"'Itwouldnotanswerhere。Inacoldclimateitwouldanswerbetter。OursailorscanbuyRussianhempinLubeckcheaper,andofbetterqualitythanIcouldgrowhere。'
KING。"'Whatdoyousow,then,whereyouusedtohavehemp?'
ICH。"'Wheat!'
KING。"'WhydoyousownoFarbekraut,["DYEHERB:"commonlycalled"FARBERROTHE;"yieldsacoarseRED,ondecoctionofthetwigsandbranches;fromitsrootsthefinerredcalled"KRAPP"(inFrenchGARANCE)isgot。]noKrapp?'
ICH。"'Itwillnotprosper;thegroundisn'tgoodenough。'
KING。"'Thatispeople'stalk:youshouldhavemadethetrial。'
ICH。"'Ididmakethetrial;butitfailed;andasBeamteIcannotmakemanytrials;for,letthemfailornot,therentmustbepaid。'
KING。"'Whatdoyousow,then,whereyouwouldhaveputFarbekraut?'
ICH。"'Wheat。'
KING。"'Na!Thenstandbywheat!Yourtenantsareingoodcase,Isuppose?'
ICH。"'Yes,yourMajesty。IcanshowbytheRegisterofHypothecks(HYPOTHEKENBUCH)thattheyhaveabout50thousandthalersofcapitalamongthem。'
KING。"'Thatisgood。'
ICH。"'Threeyearsagoatenantdiedwhohad11,000thalers,'say2,000pounds,'intheBank。'
KING。"'Howmuch?'
ICH。"'Eleventhousandthalers。'
KING。"'Keepthemsoalways!'
ICH。"'Ja,yourMajesty,itisverygoodthatthetenanthavemoney;buthebecomesmutinoustoo,asthetenantshereaboutsdo,whohaveseventimesovercomplainedtoyourMajestyagainstme,togetridoftheHOFDIENST,'statedworkduefromthem。
KING。"'Theywillhavehadsomecausetoo!'
ICH。"'YourMajestywillgraciouslypardon:therewasaninvestigationgoneinto,anditwasfoundthatIhadnotoppressedthetenants,buthadalwaysgoneuponmyright,andmerelyheldthemtodotheirduty。Neverthelessthematterstoodasitwas:
thetenantsarenotpunished;yourMajestyputsalwaysthetenantsintheright,thepoorBeamteisalwaysinthewrong!'
KING。"'Ja:thatyou,myson,willcontrivetogetjustice,you,I
cannotbutbelieve!YouwillsendyourDepartmentsrath[Judgeoftheseaffairs]suchprettygiftsofbutter,capons,poults!'
ICH。"'No,yourMajesty,wecannot。Cornbringsnoprice:ifonedidnotturnapennywithotherthings,howcouldoneraisetherentatall?'
KING。"'Wheredoyousendyourbutter,caponsandpoults(PUTER)
forsale?'
ICH。"'ToBerlin。'
KING。"'WhynottoRuppin?'
ICH。"'MostoftheRuppinpeoplekeepcows,asmanyasareneededfortheirownuses。Thesoldiereatsnothingbutold[salt]butter,hecannotbuyfresh。'
KING。"'WhatdoyougetforyourbutterinBerlin?'
ICH。"'Fourgroschenthepound;nowthesoldieratRuppinbuyshissaltbutterattwo。'
KING。"'Butyourcaponsandpoults,youcouldbringthesetoRuppin?'
ICH。"'IntheregimenttherearejustfourStaffOfficers;theycanusebutlittle:theburghersdon'tlivedelicately;theythankGodwhentheycangetabitofporkorbacon。'
KING。"'Yes,thereyouareintheright!TheBerliners,again,liketoeatsomedaintyarticle。Na!dowhatyouwillwiththetenants[UNTERTHANEN,notquiteADSCRIPTSatthattimeontheRoyalDemesnes,buttiedtomanyservices,andbymanyshackles,fromwhichFriedrichallhisdayswasgraduallydeliveringthem];
onlydon'toppressthem。'
ICH。"'YourMajesty,thatwouldneverbemynotion,noranyreasonableBeamte's。'
KING。"'Tellme,then,wheredoesStollenlie?'
ICH。"'StollenyourMajestycannotseejusthere。ThosebighillsthereontheleftarethehillsatStollen;thereyourMajestywillhaveaviewofalltheColonies。'
KING。"'So?Thatiswell。Thenrideyouwithusthither。'
"NowhisMajestycameuponaquantityofpeasantswhoweremowingrye;theyhadformedthemselvesintotworows,werewipingtheirscythes,andsolethisMajestydrivethroughthem。
KING。"'WhattheDevil,thesepeoplewillbewantingmoneyfromme,Isuppose?'
ICH。"'Ohno,yourMajesty!Theyarefullofjoythatyouaresograciousastovisitthisdistrict。'
KING。"'I'llgivethemnothing,though。Whatvillageisthat,thereaheadofus?'
ICH。"'Barsekow。'
KING。"'Towhombelongsit?'
ICH。"'ToHerrvonMitschepfal。'
KING。"'WhatMitschepfalisthat?'
ICH。"'HewasMajorintheregimentwhichyourMajestyhadwhenCrownPrince。'[Supra,vii。403。]
KING。"'MeinGott!Ishestillalive?'
ICH。"'No,HEisdead;hisdaughterhastheestate。'
"WenowcameintothevillageofBarsekow,wheretheManorhouseisinruins。
KING。"'Hear!Isthatthemanorhouse(EDELHOF)?'
ICH。"'Ja。'
KING。"'Thatdoeslookmiserable。'HereMitschepfal'sdaughter,whohasmarriedabaronialHerrvonKriegsheimfromMecklenburg,cameforwardwhilethehorseswerechanging。Kriegsheimcameonaccountofherintothiscountry:theKinghasgiventhemaColonyof200
MORGEN(acres)。Comingtothecarriage,FrauvonKriegsheimhandedsomefruittohisMajesty。HisMajestydeclinedwiththanks;
asked,whoherfatherwas,whenhedied,&c。Onasudden,shepresentedherhusband;begantothankforthe200MORGEN;
mountedonthecoachstep;wishedtokiss,ifnothisMajesty'shand,atleasthiscoat。HisMajestyshiftedquitetotheothersideofthecarriage,andcried"goodoldFritz!"'Letbe,mydaughter,letbe!Itisallwell!Amtmann,letusgetalong(MACHT
DASSWIRFORTKOMMEN)!'
KING。"'Hearnow:thesepeoplearenotprosperinghere?'
ICH。"'Farfromit,yourMajesty;theyareinthegreatestpoverty。'