28 Pearl • August 2019N
ow it came to pass that towards evening when the
wine and the enjoyment of a sumptuous dessert
had dispelled the whole incident from the minds of the
ladies and gentlemen, the high bailiff proposed that
they once again lie in wait for a herd of deer that had
been sighted. The whole company gladly seized on the
suggestion and, armed with rifles, hurried off in pairs
over ditches and hedges into the nearby forest, so that
the elector and Lady Heloise, who not wanting to miss
the spectacle clung to his arm, were led by a messenger
who had been assigned to them directly, to their aston-
ishment, through the courtyard of the house in which
Kohlhaas was staying with the Brandenburg troopers
escorting him.
The lady, when she heard this, said, ‘Come, gracious
sovereign, come,’ and playfully tucking away the chain
that hung from his neck inside his silk vest added, ‘let us
sneak into the farmhouse before the others get here and
have a look at the strange man who is spending the
night in there!’
The elector, blushing, grasped her hand and uttered:
‘Heloise! How dare you!’ But when, looking at him in
surprise, she replied that no one would recognise him in
the huntsman attire he was wearing and dragged him
along, and at that very moment a couple of hunting
squires who had already satisfied their curiosity
emerged from the house and assured them that in fact,
because of the precautions taken by the high bailiff,
neither the knight nor the horse dealer knew what
company was gathered in the vicinity of Dahme, the
elector pulled his hat down over his eyes and, smiling,
said, ‘Folly, you rule the world, and your seat is a beauti-
ful woman’s lips.’Kohlhaas happened to be sitting on a bundle of straw
with his back against the wall, feeding a roll and milk to
his child who had fallen ill in Herzberg, when the
eminent guests entered the dairy farmstead to pay him a
visit. When the lady, to start a conversation, asked him
who he was and what was wrong with the child, also
what crime he had committed and where he was being
taken with such an escort, Kohlhaas doffed his leather to
her and, while continuing about his business, gave sparse
but satisfactory answers to the questions. The elector,
who was standing behind the hunting squires, noticed a
small leaden locket hanging on a silk string round the
horse dealer’s neck and, for want of anything better to
say, asked him what it meant and what was in it.
Kohlhaas replied: ‘Ah yes, gracious sir, this locket’ –
and slipping it off his neck, opened it and took out a
small piece of paper sealed with a wafer – ‘there is a
strange tale about this locket! It may be some seven
months ago, on the very day after my wife's funeral,
when I had set out from Kohlhaasenbrück, as you
perhaps know, in order to lay my hands upon Squire von
Tronka, who had done me much wrong, that in Jüter-
bock, a market town that was on my way, the elector of
Saxony and the elector of Brandenburg were meeting to
discuss some matter unknown to me. When towards
evening they had reached an agreement that satisfied
their wishes, they went strolling in friendly conversation
through the streets of the town in order to have a close
look at the fair that was merrily going on there at the
time. They came upon a gypsy woman who, sitting on a
stool, was telling fortunes from an almanac to the
people crowded around her and asked her in jest
whether she might also have something pleasant toMICHAEL KOHLHAAS
HEINRICH von KLEIST
Part Seven
28 Pearl• August 2019
N
ow it came to pass that towards evening when the
wine and the enjoyment of a sumptuous dessert
had dispelled the whole incident from the minds of the
ladies and gentlemen, the high bailiff proposed that
they once again lie in wait for a herd of deer that had
been sighted. The whole company gladly seized on the
suggestion and, armed with rifles, hurried off in pairs
over ditches and hedges into the nearby forest, so that
the elector and Lady Heloise, who not wanting to miss
the spectacle clung to his arm, were led by a messenger
who had been assigned to them directly, to their aston-
ishment, through the courtyard of the house in which
Kohlhaas was staying with the Brandenburg troopers
escorting him.
The lady, when she heard this, said, ‘Come, gracious
sovereign, come,’ and playfully tucking away the chain
that hung from his neck inside his silk vest added, ‘let us
sneak into the farmhouse before the others get here and
have a look at the strange man who is spending the
night in there!’
The elector, blushing, grasped her hand and uttered:
‘Heloise! How dare you!’ But when, looking at him in
surprise, she replied that no one would recognise him in
the huntsman attire he was wearing and dragged him
along, and at that very moment a couple of hunting
squires who had already satisfied their curiosity
emerged from the house and assured them that in fact,
because of the precautions taken by the high bailiff,
neither the knight nor the horse dealer knew what
company was gathered in the vicinity of Dahme, the
elector pulled his hat down over his eyes and, smiling,
said, ‘Folly, you rule the world, and your seat is a beauti-
ful woman’s lips.’
Kohlhaas happened to be sitting on a bundle of straw
with his back against the wall, feeding a roll and milk to
his child who had fallen ill in Herzberg, when the
eminent guests entered the dairy farmstead to pay him a
visit. When the lady, to start a conversation, asked him
who he was and what was wrong with the child, also
what crime he had committed and where he was being
taken with such an escort, Kohlhaas doffed his leather to
her and, while continuing about his business, gave sparse
but satisfactory answers to the questions. The elector,
who was standing behind the hunting squires, noticed a
small leaden locket hanging on a silk string round the
horse dealer’s neck and, for want of anything better to
say, asked him what it meant and what was in it.
Kohlhaas replied: ‘Ah yes, gracious sir, this locket’ –
and slipping it off his neck, opened it and took out a
small piece of paper sealed with a wafer – ‘there is a
strange tale about this locket! It may be some seven
months ago, on the very day after my wife's funeral,
when I had set out from Kohlhaasenbrück, as you
perhaps know, in order to lay my hands upon Squire von
Tronka, who had done me much wrong, that in Jüter-
bock, a market town that was on my way, the elector of
Saxony and the elector of Brandenburg were meeting to
discuss some matter unknown to me. When towards
evening they had reached an agreement that satisfied
their wishes, they went strolling in friendly conversation
through the streets of the town in order to have a close
look at the fair that was merrily going on there at the
time. They came upon a gypsy woman who, sitting on a
stool, was telling fortunes from an almanac to the
people crowded around her and asked her in jest
whether she might also have something pleasant toMICHAEL KOHLHAAS
HEINRICH von KLEIST
Part Seven