The Young Carpenters of Freiberg | Page 7

wood-cutters from the
mines vied with those from the city--joiners, carpenters, wheelwrights,
and coopers--in thinning the dense masses of beautiful forest trees as
rapidly as possible. Burghers and others, aided by the gaunt-looking
mining people, with earth-stained clothes and red night-caps on their
heads, were loading the long heavy trunks upon drays that stood in
readiness, and driving them off with all speed towards the town. The
wind blew sharp and cool, yet no one complained of the cold; on the
contrary, the large drops that tell of honest toil stood out on many a
swarthy brow. The household of Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's
young widow, whose acquaintance we made in the last chapter, were
all among the workers.
'All this looks as if the Swedes were before the gates of Freiberg now,'
said Rudorf, the younger journeyman; 'whereas the fact is, there isn't a
sign to be seen of them anywhere. There does not seem to me to be any
such tremendous hurry, that we can't even stop to have our dinners.'
'"Make hay while the sun shines,"' said Hillner, the elder journeyman. 'I
can tell you Burgomaster Richzenhayn could not have done a wiser and
better thing than to have plenty of wood brought in. It is as needful for
the town as bread--indeed it is almost more needful. If it is not all

wanted for palisadoes, chevaux-de-frise, covered ways, and galleries,
we can always find a use for it in the stoves, and comfort ourselves
with the warmth it will give us.'
'Hallo, you boy!' cried Rudorf, suddenly turning to Conrad the
apprentice; 'look yonder how your step-father is enjoying his bread and
bacon. Only see, too, what a fat bottle of beer he has got standing by
him! Step across to him and ask him to give you a share of his good
things, and to lend us his bottle for a minute or two.'
Conrad, who was busy sharpening a saw, looked up and answered with
a sigh: 'I am glad enough to be out of his sight. If I went to him I should
only get a sound thrashing instead of bread and bacon.'
The two journeymen were both watching Conrad's step-father, the town
servant Jüchziger. As the lad spoke they saw the man leave his table,
the stump of a fallen tree, and go across to a little girl who was busy
picking up the scattered chips that lay about, and storing them in her
long basket.
'You little thief!' he shouted angrily, 'I'll teach you to come here
stealing wood.' He boxed the child's ears soundly, tore her basket off
her back, emptied it, and crushed it under his foot.'
The little one began to cry, not so much on account of the blows she
had received, as over her spoiled basket.
'What a burning shame!' said Conrad. 'It's our Dollie. Poor child, just
look how she trembles!'
Without saying a word, Hillner, the senior journeyman, left his work.
With his saw in his left hand, and his right fist tightly clenched, he
strode up to the town servant, his angry face showing pretty plainly
what was coming. As soon as he reached the offender, his hand
unclenched to grasp Jüchziger by the collar. 'How dare you touch the
child and destroy her basket?' he said, as he shook the astonished man
roughly. 'Will you pay for that basket on the spot, hey?'

It must not be forgotten that a town servant often thinks himself a far
greater man than even a town councillor. The bold and unexpected
attack at first took Jüchziger by surprise, but when he had had time to
take a good look at his assailant, and to see by his blue apron and
general appearance that he was only a journeyman carpenter, all his
rage came back at a bound, and he in his turn began to play the part of
the offended person. He poured out a torrent of abuse on the
journeyman, at the same time trying to collar the young man and pay
him out in kind. By way of making up for the journeyman's superior
strength, Jüchziger brought his official position into play, and called on
the bystanders to come to his assistance. This step, however, only made
matters worse for him. The deed he had been seen to do, the weeping
child, the ruined basket, and the young carpenter's indignant story, all
helped to rouse the popular anger against the offending town servant.
'What harm had the child done to you?' cried one. 'Are the sticks to lie
here and rot, or be a welcome booty for the Swedes? Pray, how much
could a child like that carry away? Does not the whole forest belong to
us Freibergers, and shall not our own children pick