"You are right, this time, Jochen; the tanning must be according to the leather, but the young nobleman 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 Bräsig, "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 Bräsig, 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 Bräsig, 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 Bräsig, grinning more than ever.