's physical strength
had not yet attained its fullest development, scarcely any one could
equal him in endurance. Heretofore Margaret had only loved her son; now
she began to be proud of him and even feel a kind of respect for him,
seeing the young fellow develop so entirely without her aid, even
without her advice, which she, like most people, considered invaluable;
for that reason she could not think highly enough of the boy's
capabilities which could dispense with such a precious means of
furtherance.

In his eighteenth year Frederick had already secured for himself an
important reputation among the village youth by the successful execution
of a wager that he could carry a wild boar for a distance of more than
two miles without resting. Meanwhile participation in his glory was
about the only advantage that Margaret derived from these favorable
circumstances, since Frederick spent more and more on his external
appearance and gradually began, to take it to heart if want of money
compelled him to be second to any one in that respect. Moreover, all his
powers were directed toward making his living outside; quite in
contrast to his reputation all steady work around the house seemed
irksome to him now, and he preferred to submit to a hard but short
exertion which soon permitted him to follow his former occupation of
herding the cattle, although it was beginning to be unsuitable for his
age and at times drew upon him ridicule. That he silenced, however, by a
few blunt reprimands with his fist. So people grew accustomed to seeing
him, now dressed up and jolly as a recognized village beau and leader of
the young folks, and again as a ragged boy slinking along, lonely and
dreamily, behind his cows, or lying in a forest clearing, apparently
thoughtless, scratching the moss from the trees.

About this time, however, the slumbering laws were roused somewhat by a
band of forest thieves which, under the name of the "Blue Smocks,"
surpassed all its predecessors in cunning and boldness to such an extent
that even the most indulgent would have lost patience. Absolutely
contrary to the usual state of affairs, when the leading bucks of the
herd could always be pointed out, it had thus far been impossible, in
spite of all watchfulness, to specify even one member of this company of
thieves. Their name they derived from their uniform clothing which made
recognition more difficult if a forester happened by chance to see a few
stragglers d