iscussed along with small glasses of _eau de vie_; and from the
ceiling and upper cornice, the old frippery attire of exploded quacks
and worm doctors, also skeletons of sharks, stuffed apes, and other
horrors, looked down goggle-eyed upon the eager disputes of the
society. Besides the city gossip, politics had already become a
favourite subject of discourse, which was carried on no longer with the
calm of mere wise maxims, but with heartfelt interest. Whether King or
Empress, whether Saxony or Prussia, were principally discussed, it
could be discovered to which party each individual present belonged. A
few years later, these kind of disputes became so vehement that they
destroyed family life and the peace of households. Meanwhile the
imaginations of the lesser citizens, the servants and children, were
filled with other ideas, for the old superstition wove its web round
their life. There was scarcely an old house that had not its haunted
room; ghosts showed themselves on the graves and within the church
doors; even the engine-house was haunted before a fire broke out; still
was the mysterious wail of lament heard, a variation of the belief in
the wild army which had entered into the souls of the people through
the great war; still were old cats considered as witches; and
apparitions, presentiments, and significant dreams were discussed with
anxious faith. Ever yet was the search after concealed treasures an
affair of importance; no city was without a credible story of a
treasure trove which had taken place in the neighbourhood, or had been
frustrated by untimely words. But the prudent father of a family
already tries earnestly to enlighten his children and servants on such
points. The enlightened man does not deny unqualifiedly the possibility
of a mysterious connexion with the other world, but he regards every
single case with distrust; he admits that behind the ruined altar of
the old church and in the ruins of the neighbouring castle something
curious may be concealed, and that it might well repay a person to dig
for it; but he holds in sovereign contempt the flames and the black
dog, and he recounts with special pleasure numerous instances where
this faith of the "olden time" had been misused by deceivers. Seldom do
the months pass without bringing a periodical containing well-written
treatises, in which the mountain sprite is entirely put out of the
question, fiery meteors are explained, and thunderbolts are consider