HE MARCH RESUMED. SUPERSTITIONS OF THE BOHEMIANS NOT IDOLATRY. STATE
OF PROPERTY. OF THE AGRICULTURAL POPULATION. KAMNITZ. THE COW-HERDS.
STEIN JENA. HAYDE.

We had quitted home not unprepared for the suspicious looks which
innkeepers might be expected to cast upon us, strangely equipped as we
were, rude of speech, and so very humble in the style of our travel. We
were, therefore, nothing daunted by the somewhat cold reception which
our host of the Golden Crown vouchsafed; and boldly questioned him
relative to his means of supplying our wants, namely, supper, a bottle
of wine, and a good bed-room. The confidence of our tone seemed to
restore his; for he forthwith conducted us upstairs; and we were
ushered into a snug little apartment, in which stood two beds, a table,
a chest of drawers, and four or five chairs. This was all, in the way
of lodging, of which we were desirous; and the next point to be settled
was supper. What could they produce? Had they any mutton? No. Beef?
None. Poultry? Nothing of the sort. What then? Veal, or, as it is
elegantly termed, calf's-flesh, which could be served up within the
space of an hour and a-half, either gokocht,--that is, boiled, or
grebraten,--_i.e._, roasted. And here let me observe once for all, that
he whose taste or whose stomach cannot be satisfied with veal, had
better not travel in Germany. For veal is to the Germans what beef is
to us,--the everyday diet of such as devour animal food at all; whereas
beef they seem to use only at large hotels as materials for soup-making,
while mutton is a luxury. Neither is it difficult to account for this.
There are no extensive pasturages, even in the mountain districts of
Germany, as there are in the Highlands of Scotland, and in the fens of
Lincolnshire and Kent. Wherever the land has been cleared of wood, it
is laid under the plough; wherever the wood continues, the utmost care
is taken to prevent cattle and sheep from breaking in, and so destroying
what is the principal fuel of the country. The consequence is, that
people cannot afford to rear more cattle than is absolutely necessary
for working the land, and supplying the dairies,--nor, indeed, if they
could afford it, would the means of doing so be attainable. Hence the
poor little calves, while yet in that state of innocence which entitles
them among the Irish to the generic appellation of staggering bobs, are
in nine cases out of ten transferred to the butcher, whose stall, if it