proaching,
and great preparations were being made for it. Mine host of the Eagle
had made his peace with Florian and his friends; for he understood his
position too well to keep up a feud with his neighbors in the quarrel
of a customer who had left. Florian now slaughtered for Caspar a heifer
and a hog. The latter ceremony was performed in the street, so that
everybody stopped to watch the active functionary, whom it was indeed a
pleasure to see in the labor of his trade. The muscles of his bare arms
were so strong and smooth that the life and death of the poor beasts
seemed indeed to lie in his hand. With three strokes upon the steel he
whetted his knife so sharp that he could cut a hair loose at one end.
But the greatest crowd of idlers always assembled when he began to chop
the sausage-meat. He handled his cleavers as lightly as a drummer his
sticks, whistling a waltz the meanwhile to keep himself in time. A
particular flourish consisted in throwing one of the cleavers into the
air while he chopped on uninterruptedly with the other, snapping the
fingers of the empty hand, catching the cleaver again, and chopping on
without getting out of the time. At this achievement all lifted up
their hands in astonishment.

The old butcher was present also, mainly to assist in consuming the
kettle-meat, fresh from the fire; after which the renown of his son
afforded an excellent dessert. He strolled to George the blacksmith's
door, and found him in deep lamentation. "All my subjects refuse to
obey me," he said. "They leave me sitting here all alone and run to
watch Florian. I'd give three creutzers if he'd come and do his killing
here."

"Yes," added the old butcher, rubbing his hands, "the court-butcher at
Stuttgard can't come up to my Florian. He once made a bet with
his friends in Strasbourg to get four calves and two hogs into
marketing-order without bringing a speck on his clothes; and he did it,
and his apron and his shirt were as white as the driven snow."

Florian now received so many orders that he found no rest by day or
night, and when the day of the bel-wether dance came he overslept the
morning service.

Crescence had promised the geometer an interview at Eglesthal; but
Florian easily succeeded in inducing her to break her word.

The close of the afternoon service was the signal of rejoicings
throughout the village. In the yard of the manor-house a number of
stakes were put up in a ring, with a rope around them.