The visitors at Neukuhren were in a state of great excitement, the committee of amusement had announced its sittings to be permanent; all were invited by Blanden; all wished to prove their gratitude at the betrothal by some act or attention. A concert should precede the dance under the large pear tree; there was so much young musical talent, that a large amateur orchestra was easily formed, and all private performers had brought their instruments with them, so that any one strolling along the village street of Neukuhren on a quiet summer's evening would hear, now on the right, now on the left, sounds like wonderful solos of a separated band of musicians, to which chance often lent discordant symphony. An assessor who played first upon the cornet, then the trumpet, made himself most audible; people pretended to remark that the sea then always became particularly disturbed, as though the Tritons and Nereides stormed upon the strand because they were jealous of the competition with their shell-horns. One first and one second violin, who lived in two stories of the same house, sought to arrange an impossible harmony between the "Carnival of Venice" and the second's part in a quartett by Beethoven. The flute was played every evening by one of the stoutest proprietors in the district of Labian, who blew everything that he possessed into the holes of that oldest of wooden instruments. The smallest doctor who practised which the town of pure reason could produce, played the violoncello; he found numerous patients amongst his listeners, and had to be sought for behind his instrument where he was in danger of disappearing. A lawyer, white as dough, who on account of lack of legal knowledge wished to devote himself to a diplomatic career, also played the violoncello, and indeed so well that a brilliant future was prophecied for him as such artistic performances in drawing-rooms fit people for higher diplomatic posts. A great kettle-drum was also present in Neukuhren, but in this instance it belonged to a professional not an amateur: that might be the reason why, although it had been seen to be unloaded from the carriage, its existence remained a myth, and the artist seemed to content himself with one important part of his performance, with counting the pauses in the time.