n
Hochberg had already dedicated his "Country Life of the Noble" to the
landed proprietors of Upper Austria Soon after, the Count Palatine,
Franz Philipp, under the name of Florinus, wrote a similar work, "To
the Prudent Householder versed in the Law." Already, in Holstein, and
soon after in Mecklenburg, the system of double rotation was introduced
on the properties of the nobility. At the same time there was in most
of the wealthy old families an increasing interest in art and science;
it was thought becoming to have some historical and legal knowledge, to
be acquainted with family traditions, and well versed in the aids to
history, numismatics, and heraldry. The wives of the country nobles
were benefitted by the deeper earnestness of the new pietism, and also,
after 1700, from the sensible, sober character of the new culture. They
were so often told that it was praiseworthy for a lady of rank to
concern herself about her household affairs, and to bring up her
children as Christian gentlemen in the fear of God, that one may well
believe that these views entered into their daily life. About 1750, a
travelled nobleman describes with pleasure what the daily work of the
housewife ought to be. Indeed, a nobleman, in the middle of the last
century, who lived peaceably on his property, and was tolerably
wealthy, had a right to consider himself as one of the most fortunate
representatives of his time. He lived uprightly, concerned himself
about the great world no more than was necessary, lived in familiar
family intercourse with the whole nobility of the neighbourhood, was
only occasionally tipsy, reared his foals, sold his wool, and disputed
with his pastor; by moderate strictness he got on tolerably well with
his villeins, and had but rarely a suspicion how detrimental even to
himself was the servitude of his labourers. If an old family was in
danger of becoming impoverished, they were advised by the
aforementioned zealous and well-meaning coadjutor of the noble, to
marry with a rich heiress of the respectable citizen class, in case of
necessity the family of the lady might be ennobled, and provided with
ancestors on both father's and mother's side; the business, it is true,
caused a small blot on their escutcheons, but it would be folly to
regard that much.

But the old families were saved from sinking again into the people by
numerous lucrative privileges. Very large was the number of benefices
and prebends, and of sinecu