red them if they
looked after the cultivation of the land, and that the new master
showed cold contempt to those who neither managed their estates nor
filled civil or military positions. Formerly lawsuits had been endless
and expensive, hardly to be carried through without bribery and
sacrifice of money. Now it was observed that the number of lawyers
decreased, so quickly came the decisions. Under the Austrians, to be
sure, the caravan trade with the East had been greater; the people of
the Bukowina and Hungary, and also the Poles, turned elsewhere and
were already looking toward Trieste; but in place of this, new
manufacturing industries arose; wool and textiles, and in the mountain
valleys a flourishing linen industry. Many found the new era
uncomfortable, many were really incommoded by its severity; but few
dared to deny that on the whole things had been greatly improved.

But another thing in the Prussian system was astonishing to the
Silesians, and soon gained a secret power over their minds. This was
the Spartan spirit of devotion on the part of the King's servants,
which appeared so frequently even among the humblest officials; for
instance, the revenue collectors, never popular even before the
introduction of the French system. In this case they were retired
subaltern officers, veteran soldiers of the King, who had won his
battles for him and grown gray in powder smoke. They sat now by the
gates smoking their pipes; with their very small pay they could
indulge in no luxuries; but they were on the spot from early morning
until late at night, doing their duty skilfully, precisely and
quickly, as old soldiers are wont to do. Their minds were always on
their service; it was their honor and their pride. For years to come
old Silesians from the time of the great King used to tell their
grandchildren how the punctuality, strictness, and honesty of the
Prussian officials had astonished them. In every district
headquarters, for instance, there was a tax collector. He lived in his
little office, which was perhaps also his bedroom, and collected in a
great wooden bowl the land taxes, which the village officials brought
into his room monthly on an appointed day. Many thousand thalers were
entered on the lists, and were delivered, to the last penny, to the
great main treasuries. The pay too of such a man was small. He sat and
collected and stowed in purses until his hair became white and his
trembling hands were no longer a