a matter of fact the appearances were
of no significance. For it was a common thing for them, whenever they
got together, to disagree about this and similar matters. But in spite
of these controversies they always remained good friends. The Collector,
who, in order to follow up his hobbies, even begrudged himself bread,
was in the habit all the year round of feeding himself for weeks at a
time out of the full meat-pots of the Oberhof, and in return for it he
helped along his host's business by doing all kinds of writing for him.
For the Collector had formerly been, by profession, a sworn and
matriculated Imperial Notary.

Finally, after a great deal of fruitless argument on both sides, the
Justice said: "I won't wrangle with you over the battlefield, although I
still persist in my belief that Hermann defeated Varus somewhere around
this neighborhood. As a matter of fact it doesn't make any particular
difference to me where it happened--the question is one for the
scholars. For if the other Roman general, six years afterwards, as you
have often told me, marched into this region with another army, then the
whole battle had but little significance."

"You don't know anything about it!" exclaimed the Collector. "The
present existence and position of Germany rests entirely upon the battle
won by Hermann. If it had not been for Hermann 'the liberator,' you
would not be occupying these extensive premises now, marked off by your
hedges and stakes. But you people simply live along from one day to the
next, and have no use for history and antiquity."

"Oho, Mr. Schmitz, you do me great injustice there," replied the old
peasant proudly. "God knows what pleasure it gives me to sit down of a
winter evening and read the chronicles and histories, and you yourself
know that I treat the sword of Carolus Magnus (the old man pronounced
the second syllable long), which has now for a thousand years and more
been in the possession of the Oberhof, as I do the apple of my eye, and
consequently--"

"The sword of Charles the Great!" exclaimed the Collector scornfully.
"Friend, is it impossible to get these notions out of your head?
Listen--"

"I say and maintain that it is the genuine and actual sword of Carolus
Magnus with which he here at the Oberhof located and established the
'Freemen's Tribunal.' And even today the sword still performs and
fulfils its office, although nothing further may be said about it." The
old man uttered these wo