Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-03-07

/ dance which follows, show few signs that the
days work has been weansome to them. So
prone, indeed, are the young people to over.
Indulgence in this part Of the merymaking
that several towns in Thuringia have enacted
special laws forbidding all dancing in the
community from the beginning Of August until
the close Of September.
The superstition about beginning the grain
harvest on Friday is not the only one in that
connection. The first Two stalks Of grain
must be laid In the form Of cross before they
are cut, otherwise witches will control the har.
vest bringing bad weather, mildew and various
evils in their train. These stalks, moreover,
must be cut by a child under FIVE years Of age,
and the iirst straw rope for binding up the
sheaves must be twisted by child under seven
In the first case there is tribute paid to
innocence, and in the latter case Il is believed
that all the misiouunes, associated with the
uniucky number seven, which would ensue il
the child had reached or passed that age, will
be avoided. It is especially sought to have the
first rope twisted on the evening Of the festival
to Freya, the old Scandinavian goddess Of
fuiuulness, as a further charm against the
fayages Of mice in the grain.bin.
For the ringing Of the harves, bells the
sections in the middle ages usually received a
trAing gift Of money from the landowners,
and as they were proverbially bibulous class
and soon spent the whole amount a, the beer
house, such gifts soon came to be known as
drink money, the universal and nevet.to be
evaded trinkgled Of German people Of to-day
The month Of September is devoted to the
potato harvest, and while it is a trife less
formal than the grain harvest it is held to be
quite as impouan, since potatoes are the main
food dependence 1.-THE peasantry. The digging
is done by women, who dress themselves for
their work, bare arms and feet and short skirts
being the prevailing mode. To gaibe, the
potatoes into the carts is an i'll omen. Hence
they are gathered into bags; and as one looks
over the fields towards evening these stately
rows Of erect white bags remind one forcibly
Of tombstones in a ceme,ry AT sunset troop
| Of men and boys comes to the field with hay.
rack drawn by pair of cows-cows take the
place Of oxen in Thuringia the men lean
against the cows or sit upon the grass and
calmly smoke their huge earthen pipes, while
the won en- bear the bags to the rack. The
boys meanwhile gather the potato tops and
start bonfire, the belief being tina, the vine
Tat escapes burning is sure to bring mischiev.
Gus element into the potato bin during the
| 81, a. ~
are given a vacation, that the girls way tend
the babies and the boys may watch the goats
in the fields, while the mothers are digging the
pc atoes
With all these customs there is universal
gayety. Every beer garden holds out special
attraction Toast sausage here, fried carp
there, JancykyaM and 5chweinknoekls in
another, while the most purely characteristic
and most highly priced harvest delicacy is
onion pel Imagine the crus,y foundation for
an apple pie laid upon a circular sheet-iron
baker six feet three inches in circumference,
instead Of with sliced apple, fill in this area
with sliced onion and fat pork; sprink lie
caraway seeds upon the surface. and bake
until the flavor Of the onion has permeatcd the
pork and the fat Of the pork has soaked into
the onion, and you have the genuine onion pie
OF Thuringia and South Germany dish tina,
far exceeds in point Of popular favor the trad
tonal pumpkin pie Of New England. A
Mee inch segment of the article costs two
cents On onion-pie evenings" the beer
garden that advertiscs the delcacy is sure to
be crowded The people that one meets at
this season. All me! Garlic-eating Italians
u eerireshing as compared with them Even
the refined city Of Frankfort on.the. Main
seems to prize this reeking dish more highly
than ever Boston did its brown bread and
leans.
Many ofthe fok.sp orts that follow the harves,
have come down from the middle ages. l will
mention only one. In the neighboring village
of S,ockhausen. The other day. the interesting
feature of public festival was the seizure Of
six maidens Of the village. who had been
dressed as princesses, by band Of robbers,
who Immediately galoped off with their prize
to the forest from which they had come.
company Of armored knights was soon in pur-
suit. A battle with spears and long bows fol-
lowed, on the edge of the woods, and
towards nightfall the valian, knights came sing
ing back 10 town, with the rescued princesse:
mounted on the horses of their slain cap,ors
Looking upon the returning company-th,
prancing steeds, the dancing spears, the wav
ing plumes, the glittering shields and helmet,
one might fancy ones self looking upon .
true scene in the romantic days Of knght-er
ranty; although, in poin, OF fact, the helmets
and shields were Of tin, the princesses in dres
and feature Wee anything but princely, anc
the rescue was celebrated by feast Of onior
pie and beer on the village green. Boston
CensyegafionaiiSf.