ivat the people, vivat all classes!" With a
thousand voices, one health thundered after another.

Buchmann alone did not deign to share in the general joy; he praised the
project, but would have preferred to change it slightly, and first of all
to appoint a legal commission, which should--but the shortness of the time
prevented them from adopting Buchmann's advice, for in the yard of the
castle the officers and ladies, the privates and the village girls were
already standing in couples: "the polonaise!" they all shouted with one
breath. The officers were bringing up the army musicians, but the Judge
whispered in the General's ear:--

"Pray give orders for the band to restrain itself for a while longer. You
know that to-day sees the betrothal of my nephew, and it is the ancient
custom of our family to celebrate betrothals and marriages with village
music. Look, there stand the player of the dulcimer, the fiddler, and the
bagpiper, all worthy musicians--already the fiddler is making mouths, and
the bagpiper is bowing and begging with his eyes that I will have them
begin--the poor fellows will weep. The common folk will not know how to
skip to other music; so let them begin and let the folk have their fun;
afterwards we will listen to your excellent band."

He made a sign. The fiddler tucked up the sleeve of his coat, squeezed
tightly the finger board, rested his chin on the tailpiece, and sent his
bow over the fiddle like a race horse. At this signal, the bagpipers, who
were standing close by, blew into their sacks and filled their cheeks with
breath, making a quick motion with their arms as though flapping their
wings; you might have thought that the pair would fly off on the breeze,
like the chubby children of Boreas. But there was no dulcimer.

There were many players of the dulcimer, but none of them dared to perform
in Jankiel's presence. (Jankiel had been spending the whole winter no one
knows where; now he had suddenly made his appearance along with the
General Staff.) Everybody knew that no one could compare with him in
playing that instrument, either in skill, taste, or talent. They begged
him to play and offered him the dulcimer; the Jew refused, saying that his
hands had grown stiff, that he was out of practice, that he did not dare
to, that he was embarrassed by the men of high station; with many a bow he
was stealing away. When Zosia saw this, she ran up, and with one white
hand proffered him the hammers wi