Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1872-01-25
OTLEY, Iowa, Jan. 20, '72.

OTLEY, Iowa, Jan. 20, ~.
Mr.. EDIToR:-The following are ex'
tracts from letter lately received from
Henry Donnel, dated Barsinghausen
Germany, Dec. 16, 1872:
FIRE PROOF.
L. observe by the papers that you
have been having an abundance OF
fire. Such thing as an accidental
fire here is what / have neither seen
nor heard Of since came. don't
think you could set fire to one of these
houses any way you could fix it; fol
there is nothing combustible about
them except the frame. Those that
are not composed entirely of brick are
walled up between the frame-work
with brick and mortar, and then plas-
tered inside and out. In all cases the
roof is Of thing. think there is not
single roof in the country.
A DUTCH WEDDING.
Our landlady's son was married
few days ago, and we gave them oui
sitting-room TO hold their festival in.
The programme was somewhat after
this order: The invited guests assem-.
bled on the evening previous to the
wedding, presented gifts to the bride,
and drank coffee and schnapps, and
smoked till midnight, and then ad.
iourned till 10 o'clock next day. On
meeting again they took schnapps till
T. and then marched to the church in
single file. A man headed the process
sion, followed BY the bride, who was
dressed i'm black silk, and had her head
adorned with green wreath. Next
came two men, and behind them the
groom. He was followed by others
in like manner. / did not witness the
marriage cerimony, az my health did
not admit of my going out that day;
but I noticed that as the bridal party
returned they marched in pairs, led
by the newly married couple, next
followed by the men, and lastly by
the women. At the door they were
met by q man with two glasses of
wine, from which each took q sip and
passed it to the next, &c. Next came
a dish of calle--or what they called
cake-and all were in like manner
treated to taste, after which they
entered the house, where dinner was
waiting. 1t was q wedding feast, and
the bill of fare was served in this order:
First, soup, next roast beef, then, each
in its order, potato salad, roast veal,
wine, boiled rice, boiled beans, stewed
plums, smoke, schnapps, wedding
cake and wine. The cake was about
the size Of half bushel measure. And
go they continued eating and drink
ing, never leaving the table till mid
night. What was left after the feast
the bride took and distributed among
the neighbors next day.
WAGES.
Now they are married, and the bride
goes out to sew for five groschen l2l
cts.) per day, and her husband to work
in a paper mill for twenty groschen
go cts.) per day. They go at S o'clock
in the morning, and work till 7 in the
evening.
MARKET PRICES.
The prices OF labor here are not equal
to the prices of provisions. The best
-four is worth IS per hundred; butter
from Is to 80 cts. per pound; beef from
IL to Is cts; fresh pork Is to 90 cts;
bacon 25 to 80 cts; mutton 10 to Il
cts; coffee 25 cts; sugar 90 cts; rice lC
cts; lard 25 cts. ;ssyrup$ .c5 per gallon;
wood from Sc to S. per cord, according
to quality; coal 8 to 7 cts. per bushel;
eggs Is to 90 cts. per dozen; milk %
cts. per gallon; good cow about $50;
good horse $3.50.
At such wages for labor, and such
prices for provisions, the poor here are
doomed to always remain so, unless
favored by some special Providence.