that we are worse than little children, and you our
teachers and guardians? You gentlemen seem to think that if it wasn't
for you I'd jump out of the window this minute and dash my brains out.
In all the main matters of life everybody must care for himself, and
every commune for itself, and not you lords and gentlemen. Lords, did I
say? Our servants you are, and we are the lords. You always think we
are here on your account, so that you may have something to give orders
about: we pay you that there may be order in the land, and not for the
purpose of being bothered by you. You are the servants of the State,
and we, the citizens, are the State itself. If we must look for our
rights, we don't mean to go to the spout, but to the well; and I will
sooner lay my head on the block and let the hangman chop it off with my
axe than give up my axe to an office-holder against my will. There!
I've done."

There was a general silence; the spectators looked on each other with
twitching eyes, which seemed to say, "There! he's got his pipe stuffed:
now let him smoke it."

Bat whispered to Beck, "He knows how to ask for a piece of bread and
butter when he wants it." "Yes," said Beck; "he doesn't carry his
tongue in his pocket."

The judge did not suffer the impression made by this speech to remain
long undisturbed. Twirling a bit of paper in his fingers, he began
calmly to dilate on the enormity of the offence which had been
committed. Many a side-thrust was levelled at Buchmaier, who only shook
his head slightly, as if he were driving flies away. At length the
judge came to speak of barrators and unquiet spirits, of conceited
gentlemen-farmers who had once drunk a stoup of wine with a lawyer, who
heard a bell ring without knowing where it was. Returning from this
digression, he entered once more on the case in hand; he spoke of some
of those present by name, and praised them as good, orderly citizens,
utterly incapable of such an action. He expressed his firm conviction
that they had been misled by Buchmaier's bad example: he conjured them,
by their conscience, by their loyalty to their king and country, by the
love of their wives and children, not to load this heavy guilt upon
themselves, but frankly to confess the seduction, and their punishment
would be lenient.

Again there was silence: some looked at each other and then cast their
eyes on the ground. Buchmaier's mien was bold and confident: he looked
them all in the face, his