THE ILLUSTRIOUS ANCESTORS OF A TAILOR.
Pollnitz offered his arm to the lovely Anna, and followed Madame
Pricker, laughing and jesting, into the next room. This was a long
hall, which had an appearance of gloom and solemnity in its
arrangements and decorations. The high walls, hung with dark tapestry,
were poorly lighted by two windows. Several divans, covered with a
heavy silken material, the same color as the tapestry, were placed
against the sides of the room, and over them hung a few oil paintings
in black frames, each representing the figure of a man with a most
solemn expression and bearing. The remarkable resemblance which these
pictures bore to each other convinced you that they must be the
portraits of one family. In each appeared the same countenance, the
same short, clumsy figure, and only the costumes served to point out by
their various styles the different periods at which they had been
painted. A figure, closely resembling the pictures, stood in the centre
of the hall; it had the same countenance, the same short, clumsy
figure, and even the same dress as that represented in one of the
pictures. You might have supposed that some galvanic experiment had
given life and motion to the painted form, and that as soon as this
power was exhausted it would become lifeless, and return to its place
among the other pictures. But this figure was certainly living, for it
greeted the grand chamberlain, without, however, leaving the round
table which stood in the centre of the room.
"I welcome you to the house of my fathers," it said, with great
dignity. Pollnitz threw a laughing, jesting glance toward Anna, who had
left his side on entering the room, and had withdrawn to one of the
windows.
"Why are you so earnest and solemn to-day, my dear Pricker?" said he,
turning to the old gentleman.
"Are you not here as the ambassador of the royal court?" he replied. "I
wished to receive you with all honor, and therefore desired you to come
into this hall, that I might hear the royal message in the midst of my
ancestors. Tell me now how can I serve the house of my sovereign."
"You can serve it, my dear Pricker," said Pollnitz, smiling, as he
displayed a large sealed paper, "by altering the sign upon your door.
In the place of 'court tailor of the queen and princess royal,' it
should read--'court tailor of the dowager and of the reigning queen.'
Here is the patent, my dear sir."
The old man quietly took the paper; not a feature of his cold, solemn
face moved.
Madame Pricker, however, could not conceal her joy. With a cry of
delight she hurried to her husband, to embrace and congratulate him on
his appointment.
Pricker waved her proudly back.
"Why do you congratulate me?" he said. "The house of Hohenzollern has
only done justice to my house, that is all. The title of court tailor
to the reigning queen has become an inheritance in my family, and it
would be a great ingratitude in the house of Hohenzollern to withhold
it from me. For more than a century the Hohenzollerns have been dressed
by my family; we have prepared their apparel for every ball and
wedding, every baptism or burial; and if they were arrayed with
elegance, it was entirely owing to our taste and dexterity. The proverb
says, 'The tailor makes the man,' and it is true. We made the
coronation dresses of both the queens; it follows that they could not
have been crowned without our assistance, for which we, of course,
deserve their gratitude."
"I assure you, however, my dear friend," said Pollnitz, "that it was
with much difficulty I obtained this appointment for you, and you owe
me some acknowledgments. All of my eloquence was necessary to induce
the queen to grant my prayer."
Pricker grew pale, and his countenance lost its calm dignity.
"Take back your patent," he said, proudly, handing the baron the sealed
paper; "I will not accept this title if it is not given willingly."
"No, no, keep it," cried Pollnitz; "you merit it; it is your right; I
only mentioned the difficulty with which I obtained it, that I might
win your heart, and incline you to grant a request which I wish to
make."
"I suppose you allude to the five hundred dollars which I lent you last
month," said Pricker, smiling, "Speak of that no more--the debt is
cancelled."
"Thank you," said Pollnitz, "but I was not thinking of that small
affair; it was quite another request I wished to make."
"Let me hear it," said the tailor, with a most gracious inclination of
the head.
"It concerns a young artist, who I would like to recommend to your
protection," returned the crafty Pollnitz, with a side glance at Anna.
"He is a young and talented musician, who desires to gain a livelihood
by giving instruction, but unfortunately he is a stranger here, and has
found but few patrons. I thought, therefore, that if you, who are so
well known, would interest yourself in him, and give him your
patronage, it would greatly benefit him, for doubtless many others
would hasten to follow your example. If you will allow him to give
singing-lessons to your daughter Anna, his fortune is assured."
"I grant your request," said Pricker, solemnly, not for an instant
doubting the motive of the baron. "I will bestow my protection upon
this young artist; he can give my daughter a daily lesson, that is, if
Anna is willing to show this kindness to the poor young man."
Anna could scarcely restrain her laughter, as she replied:
"You have commanded it, and I will obey, as a daughter should do."
"Very well," said her father, majestically; "that matter is arranged.
And now, baron, I beg you will inform me at what time the coronation
will take place, that I may make my preparations, and not be the cause
of any delay on that solemn occasion."
"The day of the coronation has not been decided, but it will certainly
not be fixed before the first of August. You will have time to make all
your preparations. Later we will hold a consultation with her majesty
the queen, and decide the style, color, and material of the costumes. I
will only give you a single word of counsel, my dear friend.
Accommodate yourself to the new era. Remember that we have a new king,
who is the counterpart of his father. The father hated and despised
elegance and fashion--the son adores them; the father was the sworn
enemy of French manners--the son has a perfect passion for them; and if
you would please the son, you must lay aside your old German habits and
customs, as we have all done, and walk in the new path. I tell you a
new era is approaching, a period of glory and splendor. Every thing
will be altered, but, above all, we will have new fashions. In the
first place, you must rid yourself of your German apprentices, and
replace them as quickly as possible with French workmen from Paris.
That is the only means of retaining the court favor."
Pricker listened to all this with horror and astonishment. His cheeks
were white, and his voice trembled with anger, as he cried:
"Never shall that happen! Never will I adopt the innovations which are
now the fashion. Shall I lay aside my respectable dress, to replace it
with a monkey-jacket, and become a laughing-stock to all honest men?
Shall I so far forget my God, my forefathers, and my native land, as to
call French workmen into my German work-room? Shame on me if I ever
conduct myself in such a godless and unchristian manner! Never shall a
French foot cross the threshold of my dwelling! never shall a French
word be spoken there! I was born a German, and I will die a German.
True to my fathers, and to the commands of my sainted sovereign, who
hated and despised these frivolous French fashions, it shall be my
pride to retain the good old German customs, and never shall a dress
cut in the French style be made in my work-room."
"If you act in this manner, the time of your good fortune is past,"
said Pollnitz.
Pricker paid no attention to him, but looking at the pictures which
hung on the wall, he bowed respectfully before one of them.
"Look!" he said, pointing to one of the portraits, "that is my
great-great-grandfather. He was a German, and the best and ablest of
men. With him began the connection between the houses of Hohenzollern
and Pricker. For him the Prince George William created the title of
court tailor, and he would wear no garment that was not made by his
favorite. He remembered him in his will, and from that time began the
importance of the Prickers.
"Then look at the next picture. It is the portrait of his son, who was
the court tailor of Frederick William, the great elector. He made the
suit worn by the elector at the battle of Fehrbellin; it was, however,
the unhappy duty of his son to make the burial-dress of this great man.
"But with this portrait begins a new era for Prussia; this was the
tailor of Frederick the Third, and he made the robe and mantle which
Frederick wore on the day of his coronation. His son succeeded him, and
now began a new era for the Prickers.
"The son did not follow the example of his father; he was of a softer,
a more poetical nature. He loved flowers and poetry, and adored beauty;
he therefore became a lady's tailor. The princess royal, Sophia
Dorothea, appointed him her tailor. He made the coronation robe of the
queen, and the wedding-dress of the Margravine of Baireuth.
"When he died he was succeeded by his son, the now living Pricker. I
made the wedding-dress of the Duchess of Brunswick, and the mourning of
the present dowager-queen. And now, in the very presence of my
ancestors, you tempt me to become a traitor to them and to their
customs. No, I am a German, and I remain a German, even should it cause
my ruin!"
He bowed to the amused and astonished baron, and walked proudly through
the hall to his work-room. His wife followed him with folded hands and
heavy sighs.
Pollnitz and the lovely Anna were again alone.
"What an absurd man!" said Pollnitz, laughing. "If Moliere had known
him he would have worked his character into a charming farce."
"You forget that this absurd man may soon be your father-in-law," said
Anna, sternly, as she left his side.
"That is true," said Pollnitz, smiling; "we will spare him. Come, one
last kiss, my beautiful Anna--one kiss as a reward for my successful
acting. To-morrow you will have a singing-master, who is no poor
wretch, but a celebrated and influential musician, who has undertaken
to instruct you out of pure kindness for me, for he is not a teacher
but a composer. Graun himself will be your instructor, and it rests
with you to crown our love with the happiest results."