who were the other
inhabitants of the village, called him "your Lordship," although, like
themselves, he went about with his hair badly combed, and it was only
on Sundays when he went to the neighbouring country town to church,
with his lady and his two children (whose names were Felix and
Christlieb)--that he substituted for the coarse cloth jacket, which he
wore at other times, a fine green coat and a scarlet waistcoat with
gold braid, which became him well. The same rustic neighbours, when any
one chanced to ask, "How shall I find my way to the Baron von
Brakel's?" were wont to reply: "Go straight on through the village, and
up the hill where those birches are; his Lordship's castle is there."
Now everybody knows that a castle is a great and lofty building, with a
number of windows and doors, to say nothing of towers and glittering
weathercocks; but nothing of this sort could be discovered on the hill
where the birches were, all that was to be seen there being a
commonplace little ordinary house, with a few small windows, which you
could hardly see anything of, till you were close upon it. Now it is
often the case that, at the portal of a grand castle, one suddenly
halts, and--being breathed upon by the icy air which streams out of it,
and glared at by the lifeless eyes of the strange sculptured figures
which are fixed, like fearful warders, on the walls--loses all desires
to go in, preferring to turn away. But this was by no means the case,
as regarded Baron von Brakel's abode. For, first of all, the beautiful
graceful birches, when one came to them, would bend their leafy
branches like arms stretched out, to greet him, their rustling leaves
whispering a "Welcome, welcome among us!" And when one reached the
house, it seemed as if charming voices were calling, in dulcet tones,
out of the bright, windows, and everywhere from among the thick dark
leafage of the vine which covered the walls up to the roof: "Come,
come, and rest, thou dear weary wanderer; here all is comfort and
hospitality." This was also confirmed by the swallows, twittering
merrily in and out of their nests; and the stately old stork looked
down, gravely and wisely, from the chimney, and said: "I have passed my
summers in this place now for many and many a year, and I know no
better lodging in all the world; if it weren't for my inborn love of
travel, which I can't control--if it weren't so very cold here in the
winter, and wood so dear--I should neve