But they did not come yet; first came Kurz and the rector, each with his good old advocate at his side, and when they had been presented, and had crowded about, for a while, in the room with the Nüssler family, old Uncle Luting Nüssler came up to Kurz, in a pompous, overbearing way, and said, in a deep voice, "You can congratulate yourself upon being connected afresh with such a rich and noble relationship. Do you see," and he pointed to Uncle Krischan, who had just thrown himself upon the sofa, "there tumbles a hundred thousand thalers."
"I don't do it for that," said Uncle Krischan.
Well, that made Kurz angry, but he restrained himself; but when Uncle Luting went on to ask, "Have you ever in your life seen so many rich people together in one company?" then Kurz's wrath broke out, and he replied, "No! nor ever in my life so many blockheads!"
He turned away, and his wife, who had heard it, followed him and said, "Kurz, I beg you, for God's sake, don't begin again with your democracy! It would be much better for you to go to bed at once."
He would not do that, but he was placed under the ban, for the whole evening, by all the Nüssler family.
And Pastor Gottlieb came with Lining, and they were treated with great respect by their elders, because they were to perform the marriage ceremony. Don't misunderstand me! Not that Lining herself was to marry them, not at all! but, for once in her life, she had interfered in Gottlieb's professional affairs, and had altered his marriage ceremony a little, so that Gottlieb said it was not like a Christian minister's speech, it was more like a family speech; but she remained firm in her position that as Mining's twin she ought to know what would go most to her heart, and Gottlieb had to yield to her.
And now came Habermann, with the Frau Pastorin and Louise and the little assessor, driving up in a glass coach, for the Frau Pastorin had said, "So, and in no other way!" She had once been compelled to decline a wedding invitation from Frau Nüssler, in her great sorrow, and now she would make up for it in her great pleasure at this second wedding, and then she pressed the hands of Habermann and Louise and the little assessor, saying, "Isn't it so? We are all happy to-day." So they came to Rexow, and when they arrived Habermann saw Bräsig's sister, whom he had known years ago, and it was not long before they sat together, talking of old times, and every other word was "Zachary," and Louise and the little assessor had Lotting between them, and every other word was "Uncle Bräsig."
Then came a great harvest wagon, with flowers and wreaths, Krischan the coachman driving the four horses, in the saddle, in his new yellow buckskins, his whip ornamented with red and blue ribbons, and he himself with a wreath of roses around his hat, which looked uncommonly as if the old hat were celebrating its fiftieth golden wedding, upon this occasion, and on the front seat, sat David Berger, the town-musician, playing on his clarionet:
"Wer niemals sinen Rausch gehabt,
Das ist kein braver Mann,"
and behind him sat his companions, blowing the same tune, though not in the same time, for since they sat on the second, third and fourth seats they could not possibly keep it, since he was always three ahead of them; and when he turned round angrily, or Krischan would go faster and used his whip, he always got his hair pulled, for one of his mischievous companions had fastened the handle of the whip to his back hair, and when Krischan touched the whip, or when he stirred himself, he was in constant torment.