w the word for
undenominational and so had to say that we were "heathen." My sister was
asked in a rasping official voice, filled with the large contempt for
women which a certain type of German official always reeks with, "_Sind
Sie ledig?_" She, poor dear, had never heard "_ledig_" before, and
stammered "_Was?_" The question was rapped out again, and she said,
"_Ich--weiss nicht._" When she got home and looked up _ledig_, she found
the man had been asking if she were married or single. What he made of
her answer we never knew.

All these little things are very amusing in Germany. The way everything
seems _verboten_, at first is annoying, but later amusing. The paths in
the Tiergarten in Berlin always used to tempt me to be bad. I always
wanted to walk on the path reserved for bicyclists, or horses, or sit on
the benches reserved for children only. The letter boxes say to you,
"_Aufschrift und Marke nicht vergessen!_" ("Address and stamp not to be
forgotten!") The door mat shrieks at you, "_Bitte, Fuesse Reinigen!_"
("Please wipe your feet.") Towels, brushes, etc., all say "_Bitte_" at
you. I believe one could travel all through Germany with just "_Bitte_,"
and get an insight into the different phases of German character through
the intonations of this word.

A rather annoying custom in Darmstadt was the way the bakers
over-celebrated every holiday. They had usually the "_Erster, Zweiter,
und Dritter Feiertag_"--first, second and third holiday, and they toiled
not on those three days. All the bread you could get, if you had
neglected to provide enough, was square pretzels, baked exceptionally
large and hard. This may have been a Darmstadt custom only, as they
vary so all over Germany, that what holds good in the north may be quite
unknown in the south. For instance, cream is _Sahne_ in Berlin, _Rahm_
in Darmstadt, and has even a third name in other parts of Germany, which
I have forgotten. You can get a wonderful _Sandtorte_--a firm, delicious
cake, in Berlin, but I never succeeded in getting it just right in
Southern or Middle Germany.

A quaint old custom in Darmstadt was always observed on the first Sunday
in Advent. The Grand Duke always did his shopping for Christmas on that
day, and the country people thronged into the town. A band used to play
before the shop in which the Grand Duke was, and move as he moved. We
gave an extra long performance at the opera, "Goetterdaemmerung," or
some such serious business, b