with all the ardour of a young heart, for the
happy day when he may tramp out of his
native town with his knapsack on his back,
and the wide world before him.

We will suppose Hans out of his time, and
declared a free journeyman by the guild.
The law of his country now has it that he
must travel— generally for three years,
perhaps four or six— before he can take up the
position of a master. He may work for a
short period in his native town as a journeyman,
but forth he must; nor is he in any way
loth. One only contingency there is, which
may serve to arrest him in his course, he
may be drawn as a conscript— and, possibly,
forget in the next two or three years, as a
soldier, all he has previously learned in four
as a mechanic. But we suppose Hans to
have escaped this peril, and to be on the eve
of his departure.

When an English gentleman, or mechanic,
or beggar, in these isles, has resolved upon
making a journey, he has but to pack up his
traps, whether it be in his portmanteau,
his deal-box, or his pocket-handkerchief; to
purchase his ticket at the railway or steam-
packet station; and without asking or
consulting with anybody about the matter, to
take his seat in the vehicle, and off he
goes. Not so Hans. He gives his master
fourteen days' notice of his intention to
wander, applies to the aldermen of his guild
for copies of the various documents concerning
himself in their possession, and obtains
from his employer a written attestation of
his past services. This document is called a
"Kundschaft;" is written in set form,
acknowledges his probity and industry, and is
countersigned by the two aldermen. He is
now in a condition to wait upon the "Herbergs-
Vater" (the landlord of the House of Call),
and request his signature also. The Vater,
seeing that Hans owes nothing to him or to
any other townsman—and all creditors know
that they have only to report their claims at
the Herberge to obtain for them a strict
attention—signs his paper, "all quit." Surely
he may start forth now! Not so; the most
important document is still wanting. He has,
as yet, no passport or wander-book.

Hans goes to the police-bureau, and as he
is poor, has to wait a long while. If Hans
were rich, or an artist, or a master's son, it is
highly probable that he would be able to
obtain a passport— and the possession of a
passport guarantees many advantages— but
as Hans is simply a workman, a "wander-
book" only is granted to him. This does
indeed cost him less money, but it thrusts him
into an unwelcome position, from which it is
not easy to escape. He is placed under
stricter rule; and, among other things, is
forced, during his wandering, to sleep at his
trade Herberge, which, from the very monopoly
it thus enjoys, is about the worst place he
could go to for a lodging.

The good magistrate of Perleberg— the
frontier town of Prussia, as you enter from
Mecklenburg— had the kindness to affix to
the passport carried by the writer of this
paper a document entitled, "Ordinance
concerning the Wandering of Working-men;"
We will briefly translate its contents;— The
"Verordnung " commences with a preamble,
to the effect, that notwithstanding the various
things that have been done and undone
with respect to the aforesaid journeymen, it
still happens that numbers of them wander
purposeless about the land, to the great
burden of their particular trades and the
public in general, and to the imminent danger
of the common safety. Therefore, be it
enacted that "passports," that is to say
"passes," in which the distinct purpose of
the journey is stated, such as a search for
employment; or " wander-books," in which
occupation by manual labour is the especial
object, are to be granted to those natives of
Prussia only who pursue a trade or art for
the perfection of which travelling may be
considered useful or necessary .—To those
only who are irreproachable in character,
and perfectly healthy in body; this latter
to be attested by a medical certificate.—To
those only who have not passed their thirtieth
year, nor have travelled for the five previous
years without intermission.—To those only
who possess a proper amount of clothing,
including linen, as well as a sum of money
not less than five dollars (about sixteen
shillings) for travelling expenses. So much
for natives. Foreigners must possess all the
above-named requisites; must be provided
with proper credentials from their home
authorities, and may not have been more
than four weeks without employment on
their arrival at the frontier. Again, every
wanderer must distinctly state in what
particular town or city he intends to seek
employment, and by what route he purposes
to get there; and any deviation from the
chosen road (which will be marked in the
wander-book) will be visited by the punishment
of expulsion from the country. A fixed
number of days will be allotted to the wanderer
in which to reach his destination, but should
he overstep that period, a similar punishment
awaits him; expulsion from the country always
meaning that the offender shall retrace his
steps, and quit the land by the way he had
entered it. This is the substance of the
"ordinance."

Hans is ready for the road. He has
only now to take his farewell. A farewell
among workmen is simply a drinking-bout,
a parting glass taken overnight. Hans has
many friends; these appoint a place of assemblage ,
and invite him thither. It is a point
of honour among them that the "wandering
boy" shall pay nothing. Imagine a large,
half-lighted room, a crowded board of bearded
faces. On the table steams a huge bowl of
punch, which the chosen head of the party,
perhaps Johann's late master, ladles into the