Before the changes on the Friesenmoor could be brought about one fell into pools, one's feet got fast in boggy earth, and the only inhabitants at present were waterfowl, frogs and toads.

He did not even take Malvine to his property but lived in Hamburg, going to Harburg every morning and returning in the evening.
In a short time the neighborhood between the Seeve and the Suderelbe wore a different appearance.

Hundreds of laborers were to be seen on the moor, which hitherto had reflected only the sky in its silent pools.

Dams were thrown up, trenches dug, a dwelling house was raised on piles, numbers of business offices, and quite a village for workmen, all mounted and secure on piles of wood, stakes, and stone foundations.
Flatboats floated on the pools, the houses were roofed in, windmills flapped their sails, and Paul, who had ordered and built everything, came every day to see how the workmen were getting on.

In the autumn he took Malvine for the first time to Harburg, and leaving the carriage at the office brought her by boat to the border of the Friesenmoor, to show her the picture all at once.