If he's to be
overseer and have the responsibility, he wants order too; he won't let
'em all do as they please. Then there'll be a fuss; it will all come
back on him, and if you don't back him up he'll run off. Let me say
frankly: I told him that if he couldn't stand it here any longer, he was
to come back to me, that I'd always have room for him. We're sorry
enough to lose him, and the wife cried when I went off with him, as if
it was her own child."
That seemed very lovely to the old mother and she wiped her own eyes
just from hearing about it, and said, "Have no fear, Cousin Johannes, he
shan't have a hard time with us; we know how to look after him, too. I
am sure that if we've only found some one at last that we can trust and
that takes an interest in things, no pay will seem too high."
"Cousin," said Johannes, "pay isn't everything; you must back Uli up and
you must trust him. We've treated him almost like our own child, and
he'd feel very strange if he was to be nothing but a servant."
"Oh," said the mother, "don't be anxious, Johannes, we'll do all we can.
When we make coffee for ourselves in between meals, it can't be but he
shall have a cup of it. And we have our piece of meat every day, but the
servants only on Sunday. What would become of us if we gave 'em meat
every day? But if you think best we'll see to it that Uli gets a piece
of meat every now and then.
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