ery day, even to
drink pearls instead of your best wine, you are still citizens, will
remain citizens, and can never become equal to us.'

"Amidst such woman's prattle, laughing, shouting, dancing, and jumping,
the night wore away, and as Von K. could well anticipate, that this
entertainment would be concluded with the usual brawls and quarrels, he
gave our Dutchman a wink, and retired with him to the house of a
peasant of his acquaintance, where they passed the night on straw. The
groom of the Herr von K. awoke them the following morning, saying, if
they desired to witness a three-fold fight, in which Vogelbach would be
the most distinguished combatant, they must rise quickly and betake
themselves to a spot near the village, on the Polish frontier. Neither
of them having any desire to do so, Von K., who felt ashamed that
his countrymen were such ragamuffins, made a sign to his groom to
be silent; they then mounted, and rode away conversing together
pleasantly."

Here we conclude the narrative of Paul Winckler. About the year 1700,
the habits of the country nobles became more civilised, their life more
comfortable, and the bands of _Krippenreiters_ became rarer. Still,
however, individuals were sometimes tempted to defy the weak laws of
the country, and repeatedly did the governments exert themselves
against the cunning and violence by which unlawful possession was taken
of the property of the deceased. Still did the greater part of the
country nobles suffer from the burden of mortgages; frequent were the
complaints about the rashness with which they were given and sold; and,
as it is usually the custom to cheat in drawing up such mortgage-deeds,
they far exceeded the value of the estate. Under these circumstances,
there were everywhere legal auctions, where they were not prevented by
feudal tenure or family regulations; only too frequently were the wax
lights again seen burning, which, according to old custom, were burnt
on the morning of an auction, and the duration of their flame marked
the time during which the bidding of those who were desirous to
purchase would be accepted.[52]

In most of the districts of Germany the acquisition of a nobleman's
estate depended on the _Ritterrecht_, or laws and usages prevalent
among the nobility in that district. Undoubtedly this custom was not in
accordance with common law, but almost everywhere the noble proprietors
of the district formed a powerful corporation, which exclud