, and
that is the fetching of water from the springs. These springs are simply
pumps in appearance, and were so formerly, but the flow of water is now
continuous, and to be obtained without effort. It is painful to see the
poor girls bending under the weight of their water troughs, which are
carried on the back, and shaped something like a pannier with a flat
side. They are made of wood, hooped like a barrel, and have a
close-fitting lid. The Bohemian women perform duties even more
unsuitable. They are bricklayers labourers; and sift sand, mix mortar,
and carry slates on their heads to the highest houses. In these labours
they are sometimes assisted, or set aside, by the soldiery, the more
well-behaved of whom are allowed to hire themselves as labourers and
porters. In one case, as I know, a soldier was "put in possession," as
his Imperial Majesty's representative, and provided daily with a sum of
money as an equivalent for food.

There is another class of labourers who make themselves particularly
conspicuous in the streets of Vienna, and that is the "holzhacker," or
wood-chopper. Wood is the universal fuel, and is sold in klafters, or
stacks of six cubic feet. A klafter consists of logs, each about three
feet long, and apparently the split quarters of young trees of a uniform
size. This wood, when delivered to the purchaser, is shot upon the
footpath in front of the house, or in the court-yard, if there be a porte
cochere, which is not usual. The business of the holzhacker is to chop
the logs into small pieces for the convenience of burning, and this he
does in an incredibly short space of time, but to the great inconvenience
and sometimes personal risk of the passers by. He is, however, very
independent in his way, and is treated with astonishing forbearance by
the police. He is, moreover, the street wit of Vienna.

The Viennese workmen are not merely uninformed of, but in general,
perfectly indifferent to political matters. This ignorance may in a
great measure result from the unthinking and pleasure-seeking character
of the Viennese public--which levity is encouraged by the Government, as
taverns and concert rooms are open long after private houses are
closed--but is also to be traced to the uneasy position which the
citizens hold with respect to the police. It is not alone that the
restrictions and impediments of official routine render his social
existence a matter of public legislation, but there