of literature which flourishes on the banks of
the Rhine:

"A young man, evangelical, the possessor
of a considerable wholesale business, is desirous
of marrying a young lady of from twenty to thirty
years of age, who possesses property to the
amount of five thousand to ten thousand dollars.
A taste for domestic life, an amiable and kind
disposition, are indispensable conditions. No
agents need apply. Ladies who answer this
advertisement may rely upon confidence and
secresy, with the assurance that the advertiser is
in earnest. A carte de visite would be desirable."

Here is another:

"An excellent man of business (ein tüchtiger
Geschäftsmann), of twenty-nine years of age, is
looking out for a partner through life; a little
ready money. Ladies who will reflect upon this
offer are requested to send a reply to F. P.,
with their photographs, to the office of the
journal. If requested, the letters will be
returned."

Another runs thus:

"A young merchant of very good family, in
the possession of some thousand guldens,
wishes for a companion through life, with a
disposable property of eight thousand or ten
thousand dollars. The matrimonial, enviable
happiness of a friend who married through
the same medium, is the cause of this
advertisement."

The next is from a lady:

"An educated man of property, mixing in
good society, may, under circumstances, find
a good match with a young lady. Family
affairs have induced the young lady to take
this step. The offer is bonâ fide, and it is
therefore only those who are in earnest and
can give satisfactory explanations that need
apply."

The next wife-advertiser is not particular
about widows:

"An educated young man, evangelical, thirty
years of age, proprietor of a good business,
wishes, as he has free time on his hands, to
find a cultivated, amiable, also domestic girl
or a young widow without children and
with circa five thousand to ten thousand dollars
ready money, as a life-companion. Letters,
post free.

We now come to an enticing one:

"A young man, heir to a fine baronial
property, with an old nobility name (of noble
descent), is desirous of finding a wife with
property to correspond. As the state of his family
affairs are most accurately given and authenticated
by documents, no proposals of an
ambiguous nature will be attended to. The most
honourable confidence will be given by word of
mouth and shake of hand (durch Wort und
Handschlag). Ladies who will reflect upon this
must address their letters post paid," &c.

"A young merchant, of the evangelical confession,
residing in a manufacturing town in a
Rhine province, is desirous of a life-companion.
Money is not a consideration; a gentle mind
(ein sanftes Gemüth) and a loving heart (ein
liebreiches Herz) and a pleasing exterior (ein
angenehmes Aeussere) are, on the other hand,
indispensable. Letters, with photographs, post
paid," &c.

"A shy young landwirth, who has not lady-
acquaintances, wants a wife. He is of good
property. The lady must have twenty thousand
dollars of her own. Strict secresy may be
relied upon."

"A young man, eager of marriage (ein junger
heirathslustiger Mann), of a very good
family, who has a certain income, advertises for
a partner through life. Education and domestic
virtues are the chief points. Carte de visite,
and letter post paid."

We might quote many more. It must not be
supposed that these appeals are " hoaxes."
They are really meant in earnest, and often
result in matrimony. It may seem odd to us that
a well-doing young man should be driven to
advertise for a wife, that he could not find a
single girl amongst his own acquaintances to be
a partner through life. Yet we do occasionally
hear of a young lady of good family marrying
her groom, and of respectable old gentlemen
marrying their housekeeper or their cook.
Proh pudor! we may exclaim; but it is
nevertheless a melancholy fact. We might even
mention a step beyond.

We now enter the last region, with that
respectful feeling for the departed which is their
due. The Todes-anzeige, or "deaths," are
generally written in language of deep feeling. We
give one as an example, omitting both name and
place. It is the departure of a fair girl, who
died broken-hearted three months after the news
of the death of her brother, killed in the battle
of Königgratz. It is put in by her surviving
brother, also in the army:

"My only and beloved sister has softly left
this world for a better one, after long anguish,
in her twenty-fifth year. The death of her
brother, who found a hero's grave on the
battlefield of Königgratz, she bore in silent submission
to the will of the Almighty. She died on
the same couch where her father died eighteen
months before, and she has now joined them both
in eternity."

We place a wreath of our own upon that fair
girl's grave. There is a curious custom in
Germany as regards the dead. Let us take
Munich for instance. In the churchyard, or,
as it is there termed, "God's acre," there is a
dead-house, where the bodies may be inspected
by any one, the coffins being left open.
Galvanic wires are attached to every pulse, so that
the slightest evidence of life would cause a bell
to ring in the room of the guardian of the place,
who dwells above. It is not a pleasant abode,
but more than one life has been saved.

To return to our advertisements. A German
local paper is the medium for ventilating
all the more prominent passions or feelings
of the heart.

In the papers before us we have not
discovered any desperate declarations of desponding