circle as an
official of the city--a fact shown by the use of the word _Aemter_
("offices") to designate the guilds. Hence the strong municipal
patriotism which animated these burghers and which compensates in some
degree for the absence of that great political enthusiasm which is
derived from the consciousness of a united country. A quaint genre
picture of the time, preserved at Bremen, represents a native of the
latter city and another from Lubeck sitting together in a tavern and
disputing as to the comparative merits of their respective towns. The
controversy reaches its climax by one of the disputants declaring
stolidly that he too might "master such words" and taking a long and
mighty draught.

The separate towns, usually upon a request of the Lubeck council,
would send their deputies to confer jointly upon matters affecting the
league, these conferences or diets usually being held in some Wendish
city. On no occasion, however, were all the towns of the league
represented at these conferences. Their constitution was absolutely
free from all theoretical or rigid forms or ordinances. Whoever found
that his interests were especially affected by the subject under
discussion sent representatives to the diet of the league, and these
usually discharged their duties faithfully, without shirking the long
and arduous trip even during the winter season. The conferences held
in this way were probably wider in their scope than those of any other
power of the time. Usually, however, not political, but commercial,
matters were discussed. There was no common treasury. Whenever money
was required an export duty was levied, with which absolute compliance
was demanded. An infraction of the laws of the league was punishable
by a fine, and in extreme cases by exclusion from the Hansa--a
sentence necessarily involving the commercial isolation and eventual
bankruptcy of the delinquent city. Bremen, it is true, once withstood
the consequences of the Hanseatic ban for more than fifty years, but
this was before the extraordinary extension of Hanseatic power
consequent upon the Danish war. From all this it appears that the
constitution of the Hansa was a very slack but elastic one, which
easily adapted itself to the exigencies of the moment. A charter of a
Hanseatic constitution has never existed--proof in itself of the
desire to afford as much latitude as possible in the construction of
the laws. Theory is regarded as valueless; immediate