Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker. In Three Volumes. Vol. III.Auerbach, Berthold
General
Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker. In Three Volumes. Vol. III.
Auerbach, Berthold
German fiction -- Translations into English
At the farm where Kathrine lived, Pilgrim was obliged to stop to feed
his horse, but--there is no perfect joy on this earth--Kathrine, alas!
was not at home. As she had no children of her own, she was constantly
taking charge of those of her neighbours; and she was now nursing one
of them in her confinement. Franzl, however, sent her a minute account
of all that had happened, through the sempstress who was sewing in the
house; and she repeated every word twice over, that she might not
forget it.
When she got into the sledge again, she first fully enjoyed her
happiness. "Now," said she, "I feel so much better. It is like sleeping
soundly, but waking up for a moment in the night, and saying to one's
self: Oh! this is famous,--and going sound asleep again."
Pilgrim, however, had nearly destroyed all her delight by a foolish
joke of his.
"Franzl," said he, "you will have but a meagre portion now, I fear, up
yonder."
"Up where?"
"I mean in the other world. You will henceforth live in Paradise; and
those who fare so well in this world, cannot expect to be equally happy
in the next--both would be too much."
"Stop! stop! let me out, I must go home," cried Franzl. "I will have
nothing to do with you; I will not give up my happy life hereafter, for
any thing this world can offer. Stop, or I will jump out."
With a degree of strength no one could have believed she possessed,
Franzl seized the reins and tried to snatch them from Pilgrim's hand,
who had the greatest difficulty in pacifying her, saying, that he saw
she could no longer take a joke. But Franzl said she could make no
allowance for people jesting on such sacred subjects. Pilgrim tried to
persuade her, with the aid of the holy Haspucius--whose words he first
repeated in Greek, and then kindly translated into German, and even
into the Black Forest dialect, for her benefit--that he had distinctly
written, an exception would be made in favour of household servants,
for, however comfortable they may be in this world, their life is hard
enough at best!
Franzl became more composed, and seemed to think that what was said
about servants was true enough. Presently she resumed: "I shall have
such pleasure in seeing my good Lenz's children--for I never saw them;
the boy's name is Wilhelm, is it not? and what is the name of the
little girl?"
"Marie."
"Of course; for that was her grandmother's name."
"I am glad you reminded me of that word grandmother; I had quite
forgotten to say, that the children believe that I have gone to fetch
their grandmother, and that she is to arrive in a sledge. The children
are to remain awake till we arrive, so your Highness of Knuslingen must
be so condescending as to allow the children to call you grandmother."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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