ce's visit, he had perceived the thing clearly. With a look of
modest condescension, that plainly signified his regret at being
obliged to exhibit his shrewdness before these people, he let out his
words as if such folks could not appreciate what he had to say; Joseph
alone, if he had been there, could have bestowed upon him suitable
praise. The remaining servants, however, had an ill will against the
self-asserting and pretentious head gardener. No one answered him. The
big cook, who sat down to table very seldom, for she maintained that
she ate hardly anything at all, now ventured to take Bertram's place,
so that she could get up at any moment. She said that she had served
with the nobility her whole life, and now it was going to be so again.
Now the thing was out; and all felt as if a load had been taken off
their hearts, since they were at liberty to speak of the matter. The
second coachman turned up the skirts of his long waistcoat a little,
and contemplated them with a searching look.

"Now then, buttons with coats-of-arms are coming," he said at last;
"and our carriage will be new varnished, and a crest will be put on the
coach-door; no more of the bare, solitary 'S'. Let Herr von Endlich's
coachman say again that the S looks like an interrogation point, for no
one really knows who Herr Sonnenkamp is."

One of the grooms was glad that on the horse-blankets a five-pointed
coronet would stare everybody in the face.

The laundress complained of the great trouble it would be to mark all
the linen anew, and the maid who took care of the silver was glad that
she was going to have new spoons and forks, for everything would have
to be melted over again and engraved anew.

"And the collars of the hounds will be renewed," exclaimed a hoarse
voice.

Everybody laughed at the boy, who had charge of the dogs, who was
grinning slyly at the idea of his having said something funny.

The old kitchen maid, who persisted in sitting on her stool and holding
her plate in her lap, called over to the second cook:--

"We shall soon have a Frau Lootz. The master will now consent to the
marriage."

"Has he given you his consent?"

"God be praised, I don't need it any more. But now he will remain here
forever, and never go away any more. Now you can all marry."

The second gardener, the so-called Squirrel, declared with unction:--

"I should not have said a word, but if I were such a rich man I would
never have had myself ennob