Seed-time and Harvest

te. The property was divided into eleven fields; and eleven years had passed since that time. The inspector came ou

isible blessing of God on what in human hope, but also in human uncertainty, his hands have sown. He was not enriched by the blessing,--that belonged to his master; but the joy was his, and it made his heart light and his mind

n over that field, and the worst is over; yet once m

esn't look much as it did eleven years ago, when I let them mow it. This is something like! This time we have had a better year. What will the old Herr say? Between now and harvest, there is some time yet, but the rape is now as good as sure. If he only hasn't sold it all beforehand, again!" sighed he. "The cuckoo knows!" and he recalled the sums which had been borrowed during these eleven long years. "The old Herr will

ffect. "It was proper to do so," Habermann had said. "Yes," said he once more, and seated himself in the cool shade, "he

and all the world, and knotted at the ends, and so managed that they lie sometimes quite slack, and whatever is fastened to them--and that is for our people almost the whole c

nd the old crazy yellow coach out of the carriage-house; and in their place he had a meerschaum pipe adorned with silver, and a mahogany secretary, and an immense creature of a divan, in the living-room, and in the carriage-house

nally, after almost twenty years, he had given him in writing the desired permi

d hummed daily in his ears; when the minister's meadow should be rented again, it would bring as good as double. And as Moses, at the close of the last year, added up his sum-total,

stick there, or get tangled and run wildly together, as when a sack full of peas is shaken about,--a single human being has as much volition on these threads as the chafer has on his, when the children play with it; it can buzz about, here and there. Another thread, however, governs the world: it reaches from the highest to the lowes

ved from the Herr Count, granting him permission to marry and a pension, and then Br?sig would be angry, terribly angry, and would say, "Now just think, brother, in what an outrageous dilemma that paper of the gracious Count places me! If I want to marry, then says my gracious Count I am too young to need a pension, and if I ask for the pension, then I must say to myself, I am too old to marry! Oh! my gracious Count is not much better after all than a regu

me to the house, and the two little twin-apples did everything to please him, and young Jochen himself invited the guest in, and said it was all as true as leather, and did his duty as the head of the family. He continued to be monosyllabic, to be sure, and desired no other tobacco than Fleigen Markur, and did not trouble himself about the oversight of the farm. For, after the death of the old people, Habermann and Br?sig had taken the charge of out-door affair

long been repressed by the avarice of the old people, became evident; and, if he was a little rough about the head, it was no

friendly wife who stood behind him, always with her dusting cloth, and polished away at his arm-chair, and asked whether he would have the perch fried or boiled; and if his sermon happened to be about Peter's wonderful draught of fishes, or the evangelist's story of the meal of fish on the shore, then all sorts of foolish, unc

n shoot springing out of the earth, with no sign of a flower-bud, and it is but a plant, and not a human life, and yet how I rejoice over its sprouting and growth and greenness! And the pastor had received also a beautiful lily-bulb from his friend the Gardener, the Lord in heaven, and he and his little wife had tended and watched it, and now a flower-bud was growing, a human flower-bud, and the warm May sun shone upon it, and the Frau Pastorin ran to her darling the first thing in the

her a prop at her side, and bound her to it that she might grow right up toward heaven, and kept away all weeds and nox

glee, she was a living spring of joy to the whole house; and when she sat still beside her foster-father, and learned, and looked at him with her great eyes, as if there must be something still more beautiful to come, and at last with a deep sigh closed the book, as if it were a pity that it was all done, and yet at the same time good that it was all done, because the little heart could hold no more,--t

his child, one could read in her eyes a sort of festal joy, as if she thought to discharge all the debt of gratitude which she owed her good foster-parents, by bringing to them her father. She was just entering her thirteenth year and her young heart took no reckoning of her feelings and actions, never in her life had she asked herself why her father was so dear to her. It was otherwise with the Pastor and his wife, there she was daily conscious how kind and good were their intentions toward

nd thousands of slain lay in rows and heaps, who knew nothing of bloody misery, however, and were a pleasure to mankind: the hay-harvest had begun, and Habermann sat on the hill in the cool arbor, and overlooked the fields, far and near. How beautiful is such a region, where the fields in a thousand green and yellow stripes and bands stretch to the summits of the hills, and shine far around like a many-colored garment which industry has woven for the earth! But it seems restless and anxious, when we tear the turf and the soil with digging and scratching, and every one has his own task, and troubles himself solely about the miserable profits he is to dig from his own little piece of earth,--and all these green and yellow bands and stripes only bear witness to o

e best footing. His intercourse with him was almost confidential, for, although the Kammerrath was not at all in the habit of discussing his private affairs with every body, Habermann's behavior was so perfectly sure, he knew so ex

uple of carriages drive up before the door. "Good heavens, they a

he country air. "Dear Herr Habermann," said he, "we have come upon you a little sooner than you expected, but my business

Habermann, "but I fear the d

who stood at his side, a stately young man, in handsome uniform, "you can take your mother and sisters into the garden,

--" said the son,

in a friendly tone. "Come, Herr Habermann,

ed to weigh upon him, he seemed oppressed by some other burden. As he caught sight of his wheat, he became a

use he was laughing inwardly, he scratched his head and said, "If we can make sure of this on the hill, and

t you have given me to-day, dear Herr Inspector. Ah," added he, after a little while, "why

erious disposition, was gone, and he looked anxiously at his master. They had come to the b

d as ours, however; that is the Gurlitz Pastor'

,000 thalers. Farms are rising, isn't it so, Habermann, farms are rising considerably. If Gurlitz is worth 173,000

for you; by contract, the Pastor's field falls out of the estate, upon its sal

about, and went slowly back, as if he might not look at the beautiful piece of

f you will give me authority, I will ar

to hold him up, and could scarcely get him into the arbor. Here, in the cool shade, he soon recovered from his attack; but his appearance was so altered that the inspector in this weak-spirited, broken man could hardly recognize his tranquil, decided friend of former years. The man became talkative, it seemed as if he must unburden his heart. "Dear Habermann," said he, and grasped his hand, "

far as in him lay it should not fail; he had known th

it comes, now it comes, my old friend, we have got into debt, deeper than I can tell, for I see by his oppressed and shy manner, that he has not confessed all to me. If he would only do

ter. "It will not be so bad as that," he said, for he must say something, "and then the Herr wi

ll wound up, as I said to you before my family; I have taken a debt for one of my sons-in-law, of seven thousand thalers, and cannot raise the money in Rostock, and in three days it must be paid. The money is promised to the purchaser of Gurlitz, and he is to pay the purch

on, and he had failed for a couple of hun

purchaser of Gurlitz?" he

d I told him the plain tr

ermann. "But I can imagine, he was

and when he noticed my embarrassment his offers were too crafty, so that I broke off the negotiation, because I

ource," said Habermann, "you mus

rld!" cried he. "I could not bear to feel myself in such hands

bermann, as if a

e speaking," said the Kammerrath, and stared a

the region on the Peene, short

id the Ka

most bear me witness that I have never made mention, for good or for evil, of the man who has ruined me; but now that you are in danger, now I hold it my duty,--this man is the cause of my misfo

at man has heaped all sorts of tormenting anxieties upon me and my poor wife, and

be disregarded by the Kammerrath

bermann placed himself before him, and said still more impressively, "Herr Kammerrath, Moses

the inspector. For a quiet man, when he is once aroused from his repose, exercises a great influence upon another human being, even if he be not

of cuirassiers looked as if he had lost himself in a calculation of compound interest, and could not find the way out; and if the gracious mama had not mounted her high horse a little, and talked of the vis

nd must stoop to pick it out with his clean hands. A musty odor met them, at the entrance, for a "produce business" does not smell like otto of roses, and the wool, when it has just left the mother-sheep

counter with a cow's head and a heap of mutton-bones; for Moses said shortly, that belonged to the business, and David was constantly bringing in new treasures a

, with his grip at his left coat-pocket, sprang up and ran toward the Kammerrath,--"O heavens! the Herr Kammerrath! the honor!" and shouted to David, who was improving the Sunday-afternoon quiet in the "produce business" by napping a little on the sofa, "David, where are you sitting? Where are

h he let him do a good deal in the produce business, he did not consider him quite ripe, at six and thirty years, for the money business,--and when the air was free,--that is to say, of David,--he exclaimed once and again, what a great honor it was for him to have deali

elskopp!' But these young people,--David bought some wool of him. 'Well!' said I; 'you will see,' I told him. And what had he done? There he had smuggled in with the washed wool the tangles, the wool from dead animals, he had smuggled in dirty wool from slaughtered sheep, he had smuggled in two great field-stones. Two great field-stones had he smuggled in for me! When he came to get his money--'Good!' said I--I paid him in Prussian treasury notes, and I made little packets of a hundred thalers, and in the middle of each packet I smuggled in some that were no longer in circulation, or counterfeit, and in the last packet I laid in two played-out lottery-tickets--'Those are the two great field-stones,' said I. Oh, but didn't he make an uproar? When he came with the Notary Slusuhr,--he is such an one to look at,"--here he again threw the bit of tainted meat over his shoulder,--"like one of David's rats,-

e not significant bills of exchange, and his money affairs had usually been arranged by writing, or through the medium of lawyers or merchants; he was now for the first time not in a situation to raise money easily, in the old way, he had been obliged to go himself to a money-Jew--for so he called this sort of people; the repulsion which he felt

little drop of wine, I can have half a pi

avid,--for David had been listening a little to the money business, in order that he m

and they seemed quite as clean as before; and as he got into the carriage, and looked back from it into Moses' entry, it seemed to him as if among Moses' pelts and mutton bones, there was a g

ector, you are an honest man; when I agreed to this business, I did not know the man was so sick. You must promise me tha

a few days later, again mentioned the renting of the Pastor's field, he listened, and gave Habermann permission to talk with Pastor Behrens. He did so, and during

e rent must be raised; times are better, but there will be no

s to me that the flowers at the end

he Pastorin, and bustled ou

are so many little differences which spring from such immediate neighborhood, and make such a relation so doubtful and annoying, as it ought not to be between landlo

offer you the half more. If I wished to rent the l

r Habermann," said the Pastor,

business all settled, and the dear little Louise hung around her father's neck: "Ah, father, father, that is so good!" Why should she hang about her father's neck? What h

ilosophical, as generally happened when his troubles were over. "Good-day, Karl," said he, "I have been in your quarters a while waiting for you. But the time seem

grown very old and weak, and he for his part feared

human life? See here, Karl, turn it over and over, li

other people think about it, but it seems to

ut Karl, it don't agree, it goes against the Bible. The Bible tells about the lilies of the field; they toil not, and they spin not, and yet our Heavenly Father cares for them. And if our Lord takes care of them, then they live, and they don't labor, and when I have this infamous gout and do nothing,--nothing at all but hunt away the cursed, tormenting flies from my face,--is that labor? and yet I live under the

Habermann; "they are coming in this dire

s, and you may observe that with me from my confounded gout, and in the case of the Fr?ulein by the rape-stubble and her thin shoes. But what I was going to say, Karl--you have had your best time here, for when the Herr K

lking about?" said Habermann, hast

n once more! She goes right on her way too, but through the rape-stubble. Karl----" But the young peopl

ow, as they came up. "My sister and I are bound on two different expeditions; she i

interrupted himself, "how this infamous stubble has ruined your pretty dress, all the flounces t

wing back a little, "it is an old dr

near Gurlitz, corn-flowers, and scarlet-runners, and white

I beg Herr Habermann to accompany me to see the colts. For, do you know," said he to Habermann, "my good old papa was in su

pleasure," said Habermann, "there

to the Fr?ulein Fidelia he was very glad to make her acquaintance, because he had

had known him from childhood,--but the man had learned nothing about them, all his views were too far beyond, and none of his questions were to the point, so that Habermann said

colts, the lieutenant placed himself before Habermann

n," said

e black. Look at the beau

ead and neck, you ride on back and legs; you want a hor

be English blo

in the brown, and it is a shame that one should let that go,--that one should not

n our regiment my comrades have only

right before the door, as if he had spared himself to the last moment--the lieutenant held back the inspector, and with a deep sigh, as if he would shake off a burden from his h

age makes itself respected; he looked the young man of three-and-twent

mann, I have such pres

ust tell yo

y paid debts for me, and now he i

ust not be done with strange people, it s

so beseechingly and affectionately in the e

me. Anything that I could do for you, I would do quickly. The matter itself is a little thing, and if I could not do it alone, my

her," said Axel, pluc

ively as he could. "He suspects that you have

oken to yo

e of his own great embarrass

has pumped. Well, what my father does, I can do also," adde

beseech you, for heaven's sake, not to take this course; it wil

id not

us money-bags; but Moses held firmly to the decision: "Really and truly, Herr Baron, I can not. Now, why not, then? Why should I not? I can still serve you, I can still serve you well in the business. See, Herr Baron, there stands David. David where are you, what are you staring a

three things in and about himself which stood him in good stead; in the first place he had a particularly gorgeous Jew-lubber face, and as he stood there before the lieutenant, and chewed cinnamon-bark, which he stole out of his mother's pantry, on account of the evil odor of the business, and with his head askew, and his hands in his pockets, stared at him, he looked as impudent as if the spirits of all t

, out of the door; and David was so rejoiced over his own style and manners, that he became really compassionate, and he g

he room; "David, have you a conscience? I will tell you some news; you

is a soldier, he is a cut-throat himself. If the notary cuts his throat

and shook his head, "I sa

f; "when you are doing business, you drive me aw

, "you are still too youn

fully, "I shall always be too young; but

d went the same way that the lieutena

mpelhagen, wrote a number of letters, and sealed up money in them; and that when he had finished, he sighed deeply, as if he had thrown