accorded by the general government, but because they can thus secure a
more perfect administration of the minor details of government--a view
on which I had touched in my report.

I was not a little astonished when he told me, in the strictest
confidence, that I had been mentioned at Court with special approval.
He assured me that he knew this, for he had lots of relatives there. He
had indeed once been called upon to furnish information in regard to
myself and my family; and he felt assured that his report had reached
the ears of the Prince. He felt convinced that, with the next decided
turn in affairs, it would not be my son Richard, but myself, to whom an
exalted position would be offered. He said that he intended to report
my behavior of that very day, in a quarter where the courage which can
face popular disfavor would be appreciated. He treated me more
cordially than ever, and plainly signified that he felt assured of my
good-will.

I had never given him an occasion to joke with me, and when I replied
that what he had told me was so great a surprise that I did not know
how to answer him, he said that he fully appreciated my feelings. He
furnished me with another bit of information, which was a much greater
surprise. He told me that my son Ernst had, but a short time before
that, applied at the office of the kreis-director[3] for permission to
emigrate to America, and had requested them to furnish him with the
requisite documents, at the earliest possible moment.

Ernst still owed two years of military service, and his release could
only be effected as an act of grace on the part of the government.
This, the director added, presented no difficulty, if I chose to exert
my influence. The whole affair seemed a riddle to me.

Ernst had, in all likelihood, committed this hasty action during a
sudden fit of impatience, and I determined to reprove him at the first
opportunity. It seemed very strange that he should be so careful to
prevent me from knowing of an undertaking which he would be unable to
accomplish without my assistance.

I must have looked very serious, for several old friends of mine
approached me and assured me that in spite of the popular opposition
they still were true and faithful to me.

I feel tempted to give the names of a large number of wealthy
farmers and magistrates, who are of much more consequence than
Schweitzer-Schmalz, and who represent the very backbone of our country
life. But when I