on the floor, arranged
every thing to suit himself, and was lord and master and king of the
ball. But because these innovations were acceptable to the ladies, the
men did not venture to make any objections, and the nephew held firmly
to his self-appointed office.

This ball seemed to furnish great entertainment for the old gentleman;
he never once took his eyes off his nephew, wore a smiling face, and
when all the world of Gruenwiesel moved up to him to sound the praises
of the noble well-bred youth, he could no longer contain himself from
very joy, but broke out into a hearty laugh, and conducted himself
almost foolishly. The Gruenwiesel people attributed these singular
manifestations of pleasure to his great love for his nephew, and did
not think them unnatural. Still, every now and then he had to turn his
fatherly attention to his nephew, for, in the middle of an elegant
dance, the young man would leap up to the platform where the town
musicians sat, take away the bass-viol from its owner, and scrape out a
horrible medley; or for a change he would throw his heels up into the
air and dance about on his hands. At such times, the old gentleman
would take him aside, would talk to him very seriously, and tighten his
neck-tie, until he once more was tractable.

Thus did the nephew conduct himself in society. It is usually the case
with social customs, that the objectionable ones spread much more
rapidly than the good ones; and a new and striking fashion, even though
ludicrous in itself, may have something attractive in it for young
people who have not thought very deeply about themselves and the world.
Thus it was in Gruenwiesel, over the young Englishman and his singular
manners. When the young people saw how he, with his perverse
disposition, with his coarse laughs and jests, with his rude answers to
elderly people, was more praised than blamed, that all this was
considered spirited, they said to themselves, "It would be very easy
for me to become such a spirited fellow." They had formerly been
industrious and clever young people; now they thought, "Of what use is
study, when ignorance is more highly rewarded?" They let books alone,
and spent their time on the square and in the streets. Formerly they
were well-behaved and polite towards every one--had waited until they
were spoken to, and then replied modestly; but now they placed
themselves in the company of their elders, gossiped with them, gave
expression to their