Collected works > Edinburgh edition, 1894-98 - Works of Robert Louis Stevenson > Volume 9, 1895 - Romances Volume II

IN WHICH THE PRINCE
and one beautiful and curious things that were his ;
and now he was conscious of envy for what was
another's. It was, indeed, a smiling, dilettante sort
of envy ; but yet there it was : the passion of Ahab
for the vineyard, done in little ; and he was relieved
when Mr. Killian appeared upon the scene.
' I hope, sir, that you have slept well under my
plain roof,' said the old farmer.
' I am admiring this sweet spot that you are privi-
leged to dwell in,' replied Otto, evading the inquiry.
'It is rustic,' returned Mr. Gottesheim, looking
around him with complacency, ' a very rustic corner ;
and some of the land to the west is most excellent
fat land, excellent deep soil. You should see my
wheat in the ten-acre field. There is not a farm in
Griinewald, no, nor many in Gerolstein, to match
the River Farm. Some sixty — I keep thinking when
I sow- — some sixty, and some seventy, and some an
hundredfold ; and my own place, six score ! But
that, sir, is partly the farming.'
' And the stream has fish ? ' asked Otto.
'A fish-pond,' said the farmer. 'Ay, it is a
pleasant bit. It is pleasant even here, if one had
time, with the brook drumming in that black pool,
and the green things hanging all about the rocks,
and, dear heart, to see the very pebbles ! all turned
to gold and precious stones ! But you have come to
that time of life, sir, when, if you will excuse me,
you must look to have the rheumatism set in.
Thirty to forty is, as one may say, their seed-time.
And this is a damp cold corner for the early morn-
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