ts of wretchedness as are fain to sleep on a
truckle-bed and sup meanly. Vaterchen, however, spoke of it in generous
terms. There was a certain oniony soup he had tasted there years ago
whose flavor had not yet left his memory. He had seen, besides, the most
delicious _schweine fleiseh_ hanging down from the kitchen rafters, and
it had been revealed to him in a dream that a solvent traveller might
have rashers on demand.

Poor fellow! I had not the vaguest idea of the eloquence he possessed
till he came to talk on these matters. From modest and distrustful, he
grew assured and confident; his hesitation of speech was replaced by a
fluent utterance and a rich vocabulary; and he repeatedly declared
that though the exterior was unprepossessing, and the surface generally
homely, there were substantial comforts obtainable which far surpassed
the resources of more pretentious houses. "You are served on pewter, it
is true," said he; "but pewter is a rare material to impart relish to
a savory mess." Though we should dine in the kitchen, he gave me to
understand that even in this there were advantages, and that the polite
guest of the _salon_ never knew what it was to taste that rich odor of
the "roast," or that fragrant incense that steamed up from the luscious
stew, and which were to cookery what bouquet was to wine.

"I will not say that, honored sir," continued he, "to you, in the mixed
company which frequent such humble hearths there would be matter
of interest and amusement; but, to a man like myself, these chance
companionships are delightful. Here all are stragglers, all adventurers.
Not a man that deposits his pack in the corner and draws in his chair
to the circle but is a wanderer and a pilgrim of one sort or other." He
drew me an amusing picture of one of these groups, wherein, even without
telling his story, each gave such insight into his life and travels as
to present a sort of drama.

Whether it was that my companion had drawn too freely on his
imagination, or that we had fallen on an unfortunate moment, I cannot
say; but, though we found the company at the "Balance" numerous and
varied, there was none of the sociality I looked for, still less of that
generous warmth and good greeting which he assured me was the courtesy
of such places. The men were chiefly carriers, with their mule-teams and
heavy wagons, bound for the Bavarian Tyrol. There was a sprinkling
of Jew pedlers, on their way to the Vorarlberg; a dese