r-nothing fellow, who even
at that time had been destined for the gallows, and, as already
stated, had only been saved by the edict issued by the Elector. In
consequence of this letter the Prince appeased Kohlhaas' displeasure
at the suspicion which, of necessity, they had been obliged to express
in this hearing; he went on to declare that, while he remained in
Dresden, the amnesty granted him should not be violated in any way;
then, after presenting to the boys some fruit that was on his table,
he shook hands with them once more, saluted Kohlhaas, and dismissed
him.

The Lord High Chancellor, who nevertheless recognized the danger that
was threatening the horse-dealer, did his utmost to bring his lawsuit
to an end before it should be complicated and confused by new
developments; this, however, was exactly what the diplomatic knights
desired and aimed at. Instead of silently acknowledging their guilt,
as at first, and obtaining merely a less severe sentence, they now
began with pettifogging and crafty subterfuges to deny this guilt
itself entirely. Sometimes they pretended that the black horses
belonging to Kohlhaas had been detained at Tronka Castle on the
arbitrary authority of the castellan and the steward, and that the
Squire had known little, if anything, of their actions. At other times
they declared that, even on their arrival at the castle, the animals
had been suffering from a violent and dangerous cough, and, in
confirmation of the fact, they referred to witnesses whom they pledged
themselves to produce. Forced to withdraw these arguments after many
long-drawn-out investigations and explanations, they even cited an
electoral edict of twelve years before, in which the importation of
horses from Brandenburg into Saxony had actually been forbidden, on
account of a plague among the cattle. This circumstance, according to
them, made it as clear as day that the Squire not only had the
authority, but also was under obligation, to hold up the horses that
Kohlhaas had brought across the border. Kohlhaas, meanwhile, had
bought back his farm at Kohlhaasenbrueck from the honest bailiff, in
return for a small compensation for the loss sustained. He wished,
apparently in connection with the legal settlement of this business,
to leave Dresden for some days and return to his home, in which
determination, however, the above-mentioned matter of business,
imperative as it may actually have been on account of sowing the
winter