Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold - Plough

Sannerz 22were a matter of course. One boy showed him how to fill a pig bladder withblood and stuff it down the seat of your pants, so that when the cane struck,blood would run down your legs.Not that any of the Arnold children was in danger of being caned—theirsocial standing made that unthinkable to the teacher. But the same privilegethat saved them from punishment netted them the resentment of their classmates,and after a few days of being held up as shining examples, Heiner andHardy stopped going to school. When the school bell rang, they went downto the village stream to make boats and dams and watermills. Eberhard foundout soon enough, and sternly demanded an explanation. When the boys toldhim their reasons, he arranged for a friend to tutor them at home.To Heiner, it was heaven: lessons were irregular, and for most of the dayhe could do as he liked. Before long he was going in and out of neighbors’homes as freely as his own and chattering in the local dialect as easily as hispeers. Their friendly mothers were quick to serve him cake or sausage—andalso quick to set him to chores. But even that was fun. In the city, you wentto a confectioner for preserves. Here in Sannerz, people made their own. Jammaking,a social event that lasted a whole day (the traditional recipe called forfifteen to twenty hours on the fire) meant gathering around a huge copper vatto watch the plums or pears boil down. While the old women and mothers toldstories or sang hymns, the strongest boys took turns with the stirring paddle.While Heiner explored Sannerz, Emmy kept house, and Eberhard workedwith Tata in the new publishing house. The work swallowed hours of theirtime: reading through prospective manuscripts and acquiring or rejectingthem; working with authors, printers, and postmasters; finding a bookkeeperand a proofreader—and composing countless fundraising letters to bring insorely needed capital. On sunny days the two would sit outside under the treesas Eberhard dictated and his sister-in-law filled one blank sheet after the next.Then there was the future of the planned settlement to attend to. If it wereever going to take off, they must find the money to buy the two-story yellowHomage to a Broken Man