Page:The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz (Volume One).djvu/26

 or between husband and wife, he would start forth with a stout stick in his hand for the seat of war. He would hear the case both for plaintiff and defendant, and after making up his mind which side was in the wrong he would pronounce judgment and deal out the punishment on the spot, which not seldom consisted in a sound thrashing. Against his verdict and its immediate execution—a somewhat patriarchal form of judgment—no one ever ventured to protest.

When the harvest-time came and the Burghalfen needed laborers for his fields, he had only to walk through the village street, and old and young flocked to his service and worked for him with zeal until the harvest was safely garnered. But the spirit of helpfulness was mutual; whoever was in distress would say, “I will go to the Burghalfen,” and he would do so, confident that no sacrifice would be too great, no service too burdensome to him, when the welfare of others was concerned. “Live and let live” was his principle and his habit. Every parish in the Rhineland had its yearly kirmess, with feasting, drinking, games and dances. These festivals lasted always three days, and were not infrequently carried over into a fourth. At such times relatives and friends visited one another, bringing along their families; so that for those who had many brothers, sisters, cousins and intimate friends, opportunities for enjoyment were not wanting throughout the summer. At every kirmess gathering that he visited the Burghalfen was the central figure. He was pleasure-loving—perhaps a little too much for his own good. There were few whom he could not “drink under the table”; and he was a terrible fighter, too, when it came to blows; but fortunately this did not happen often, for he was a man of peace by nature. I have been told that when under strong provocation he would, in his wrath, seize a chair, dash it to pieces with a mighty foot thrust, grasp one of the legs for a