onfusion or fibs.

Some idiomatic and proverbial expressions, too, deserve to be noted.
Instead of saying, "The sun has set," the Holsteiners, fond as they are of
their beer, particularly in the evening after a hard day's work, say, "_De
Suenn geiht to Beer_," "The sun goes to beer." If you ask in the country
how far it is to some town or village, a peasant will answer, "_'n
Hunnblaff_," "A dog's bark," if it is quite close; or "_'n Pip Toback_,"
"A pipe of tobacco," meaning about half an hour. Of a conceited fellow
they say, "_He hoert de Flegn hosten_," "He hears the flies coughing." If a
man is full of great schemes, he is told, "_In Gedanken foert de Bur ok
in't Kutsch_." "In thought the peasant, too, drives in a coach." A man who
boasts is asked, "_Pracher! haest ok Lues, oder schuppst di man so?_"
"Braggart! have you really lice, or do you only scratch yourself as if you
had?"

"_Holstein singt nicht_," "Holstein does not sing," is a curious proverb;
and if it is meant to express the absence of popular poetry in that
country, it would be easy to convict it of falsehood by a list of poets
whose works, though unknown to fame beyond the limits of their own
country, are cherished, and deservedly cherished, by their own countrymen.
The best known among the Holstein poets is Klaus Groth, whose poems,
published under the title of "Quickborn," _i.e._ quick bourn, or living
spring, show that there is a well of true poetical feeling in that
country, and that its strains are all the more delicious and refreshing if
they bubble up in the native accent of the country. Klaus Groth was born
in 1819. He was the son of a miller; and, though he was sent to school, he
had frequently to work in the field in summer, and make himself generally
useful. Like many Schleswig-Holsteiners, he showed a decided talent for
mathematics; but, before he was sixteen, he had to earn his bread, and
work as a clerk in the office of a local magistrate. His leisure hours
were devoted to various studies: German, Danish, music, psychology,
successively engaged his attention. In his nineteenth year he went to the
seminary at Tondern to prepare himself to become a schoolmaster. There he
studied Latin, French, Swedish; and, after three years, was appointed
teacher at a girls' school. Though he had to give forty-three lessons a
week, he found time to continue his own reading, and he acquired a
knowledge of English, Dutch, Icelandic, and Italian. At last, howe