Das landhaus am Rhein. English

by Berthold Auerbach

  CHAPTER X.

  DOWN BELOW.

  At the servants' table in the basement there was a big gap; the seat atthe head, which belonged to Bertram, was not occupied by any one;Joseph and Lootz were also wanting, for they had gone with the old andthe young master to the capital. The men and women at the table werewhispering in a low tone; at last the head gardener said that theaffair was no longer a secret; he maintained that, at the time of thePrince's visit, he had perceived the thing clearly. With a look ofmodest condescension, that plainly signified his regret at beingobliged to exhibit his shrewdness before these people, he let out hiswords as if such folks could not appreciate what he had to say; Josephalone, if he had been there, could have bestowed upon him suitablepraise. The remaining servants, however, had an ill will against theself-asserting and pretentious head gardener. No one answered him. Thebig cook, who sat down to table very seldom, for she maintained thatshe ate hardly anything at all, now ventured to take Bertram's place,so that she could get up at any moment. She said that she had servedwith the nobility her whole life, and now it was going to be so again.Now the thing was out; and all felt as if a load had been taken offtheir hearts, since they were at liberty to speak of the matter. Thesecond coachman turned up the skirts of his long waistcoat a little,and contemplated them with a searching look.

  "Now then, buttons with coats-of-arms are coming," he said at last;"and our carriage will be new varnished, and a crest will be put on thecoach-door; no more of the bare, solitary 'S'. Let Herr von Endlich'scoachman say again that the S looks like an interrogation point, for noone really knows who Herr Sonnenkamp is."

  One of the grooms was glad that on the horse-blankets a five-pointedcoronet would stare everybody in the face.

  The laundress complained of the great trouble it would be to mark allthe linen anew, and the maid who took care of the silver was glad thatshe was going to have new spoons and forks, for everything would haveto be melted over again and engraved anew.

  "And the collars of the hounds will be renewed," exclaimed a hoarsevoice.

  Everybody laughed at the boy, who had charge of the dogs, who wasgrinning slyly at the idea of his having said something funny.

  The old kitchen maid, who persisted in sitting on her stool and holdingher plate in her lap, called over to the second cook:--

  "We shall soon have a Frau Lootz. The master will now consent to themarriage."

  "Has he given you his consent?"

  "God be praised, I don't need it any more. But now he will remain hereforever, and never go away any more. Now you can all marry."

  The second gardener, the so-called Squirrel, declared with unction:--

  "I should not have said a word, but if I were such a rich man I wouldnever have had myself ennobled; no, I had rather be the richestcommoner all up and down the Rhine, than the newest noble. I wouldn'tflatter the nobility so much. If one has money, he is noble enough."

  Everybody sneered at the forward fellow, and the head gardener lookedat him with a patronizing air, nodding, his features saying at the sametime, "I would never have given the simpleton credit for such an idea."

  They now began to discuss what sort of livery the master would adopt,and whether he would have a "_von_" before his old name, or whether hewould take an entirely new name. Finally the conversation turned uponPranken's marriage. The fat cook reminded them that when Eric firstcame to the house, the old kitchen maid had prophesied that Eric wouldbe the son of the house; now the reputation she had as a prophetess wasgone, for the marriage was a fixed thing, and they were only delayingthe announcement of it till the Fraeulein was ennobled. Old Ursel made awry face, looked about her and winked, pressed her apron against hermouth, and nodded triumphantly; at length she began to make herexplanation:--

  "I don't believe yet, that she will marry the light, twisted moustache.Remember what I say."

  The laundress told the fat cook in confidence, that Joseph, thevalet--she had observed it the whole winter through--was making love tothe daughter of the landlord of the Victoria.

  The conference in the basement lasted a long while; it was not brokenup until a voice from overhead fell upon their ear with the message,that the horses would have to be harnessed again, night as it was, forthe gracious Frau wished to drive out.

  Where? No one knew.