for he had not paid his share; he was a man
who drank away his gains, and he received
no pity.

Then after supper there came toasts. The
president was on his legs, all glasses were
filled; men ready. "Long live the guild of
carpenters! Vivat h——o! "The ho! was a
howl; the glasses clashed. "Long live all
carpenters! Vivat ho——o! "At ten o'clock
there was a bustle and confusion at the door,
and a long string of lads marched, two and
two, cap in hand, into the room. These were
all the carpenters' apprentices in Ludwigslust.
Every quarterly night the hospitable
carpenters have them in after supper to be
regaled with beer and cordials, and initiated
into the mysteries of jollity that are connected
with the existence of a master carpenter.
"Long live all carpenters' apprentices! Vivat
ho——o——o! "The apprentices having
revelled in as much beer and spirit as could
be got through, shouting included, in a quarter
of an hour, formed double line again and
marched out under a fire of lusty cheers into
the street. Some jolly carpenters still lingered
in the supper room, smoking or singing
chorusses, or making partners of each other
for mad waltzes round the table to the music
of their tongues.

Longing for bed I was obliged to wait
until the landlord was at leisure to attend to
me. After I rose next morning, I waited for
three hours impatiently enough until the
sleepy host had risen, for until I had received
my ticket back from him I was unable to get
my passport and go on. At length, however,
I got out of the brick walls of Ludwigslust,
and marched forward under a clear sky on
the way to Perleberg, my next stage, distant
about fifteen English miles.

Having passed through two dirty, ill-paved
towns, and being in some uncertainty about
the road, I asked my way of a short red-faced
man who, being himself bound for the frontier
station, favoured me so far with his company.
He was a postboy whose vocation was
destroyed, but who was nevertheless blessed
with philosophy enough to recognise the
merits of the railway system, and to point
out the posts marking the destined line
between Berlin and Hamburgh, with the
comment that "the world must move." It
seemed to be enough for him that he lived in
the recollection of the people on his old roadside,
and that he could stop with me outside
a tollgate, the first I had seen in Germany,
sure of the production of a bottle for a social
dram, in which I cordially joined. Then
presently we came to a small newly built
village, the Prussian military station. A
sentinel standing silent and alone by his
sentry box striped with the Prussian colours,
black and white, marked where the road
crossed the Prussian frontier. We passed
unchallenged, and found dinner upon the territory
of the Black Eagle, in a very modest
house of entertainment.

Travelling alone onward to Perleberg, I
stopped once more for refreshment at a
melancholy, dirty place, having one common room,
of which the chairs and tables contained as
much heavy timber as would build a house.
I wanted an hour's rest, for my knapsack had
become a burden to me, and the handles of the
few tools I was obliged to carry dug
themselves relentlessly into my back. "White or
brown beer?" asked the attendant. Dolt
that I was to answer Brown! They brought
me a vile treacley compound that I could not
drink; whereas the Berlin white beer is a
famous effervescing liquor, so good, says a
Berliner, that you cannot distinguish it from
champagne if you drink it rapidly with closed
eyes, and at the same time press your nose
between your fingers. In the evening I got
to Perleberg, and walking wearily up the old,
irregular High Street, established myself at
the Londoner Schenke—the London Tavern.
I found the parlour pleasant and almost
private, the hostess quiet and lady-like.
While she was getting coffee ready for me, I
paid my call of duty upon the police, for
though my passport had been visé'd to Berlin
in half a dozen places, the law required that
I should not sleep in a new kingdom without
first announcing my arrival.

At the upper end of the market place I
found a red brick building with a gloomy
door, opening upon a broad stone staircase,
by which I mounted to the magistrate's room.
That was a lofty hall, badly lighted by two
little windows, scantily furnished with a few
seats. Behind a railing sat the magistrate in
a velvet skull cap and black robe, a short fat
man with a satisfied face, but unsatisfied and
restless eyes. Two armed soldiers shared
with him the space beyond the rail. Two
townsmen, hat in hand, were patiently waiting
for their passes. Having mentioned my business
I was told that I might wait; standing,
of course. The heavy quiet of the room was
broken presently by the entrance of two
young workmen in clean blouses, bound upon
an errand like my own, who hovered in a
tremulous condition near the doorway.

The magistrate of Perleberg, after a while,
looked at my passport, and asked " Have you
the requisite amount of travelling money to
show?" I had not expected such a question,
but the two gold ducats were still in my fob,
and I produced them with the air of a fine
gentleman. One of the soldiers took them in
his hand, examined them and passed them to
his comrade, who passed them to the
townspeople. "They are good," said the soldier,
as he put them back into my hand. "Is that
enough?" I asked, as though there had been
thousands of such things about other parts of
my person, for I saw that I had made an
impression. "That will do," said the magistrate,
"you may sit down." O miserable
homage before wealth! They would not keep
me standing.

It had grown dark, and a lighted candle