The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1885-09-02
German Customs.

"a correspondent OF tnc DrOOklyf
Eagle, travelling in Germany, writes:
1T was n warm, still, summer Sun
day-tt often seems rs though nature
was more peacefully disposed on tha
day than on othcrS-whcn VIC sallet
forth to scale tho Appolinarisbcrg
This hill is crowned with a four-tow
cred Gothic church adorned with fres
Goes. Some sort of religious feast day
was being observed on the Appolinars
berg. Pilgrims, who haunt the place
and have done so since Appolinaris'
head was buried here, were ascending
the road in Shcir best attire, and bow
ing and lincGling at the stations of the
cross placed beside tho way.
Flags lluttcrcd about the terrace that
the church stands on, and crowds were
entering the cdilicc. We stepped in
glanced at the fine frcscoes, heard the
organ, and would have attended little
OF the service if a man had not crcpt ur
to us and expressed determination to
have fees. We concluded then that the
Rhinc was better worthy Of our attcn-
ton Fees everywhere. Oh, the curse
OF them! In churches, in galleries, in
palaces, in museums, in railroad sta
tons, i'll rcStaurantS-fccs! fees! fees!
You pay them TO the army and the
navy, the clergy reach for them, no
biIity and even royalty sends its lack
cys after them; guides, portcrs, corEs,
landlords, loungcrs, train hands, DO
liccmcn, drivers, customs officers
conlound the bcggars! Peasants were
goSsiping about the terrace, looking so
picturesque and so like figures out of
the grand opera in their Sunday dress
that we half unconsciously put our
hands in our pockets to pay for that
exhibition, too, but we were not as
Sc5sCd.
On the contrary, they made way for
us beside them on the wall that pre-
vented visitors fSom rolling down tho
steep hill into towu, and then stared at
our modern clothes rs curiously rs we
looked at their quaint. unhandsomc
costumes. There was spring IN
there, too, and nobody on hand to col
lcct fees from tho drinkers, so the Un-
dauntcd who thought it Appolinaris
water, and who surmiSod that the bar
keeper in attendance had stepped in &c
hear mass and was liable to cmcroc at
any moment and charge him half q
dollar, drank himself almost into al
illness There was 4 reason, however,
for this seeming abnormal thirst. In
Europe the water is generally bad, and
ice is to be had by none except the
rich, SO that beer and wine. being good
and cheap, are common drinks, as tea
is with us; but for real thirst there is
no such palliative rs water, and beer
and wine seemed only to augment oul
drOuthy condition.
Whenever we found water that was
not green with stagnation, yellow with
drainage, or gray with mud, we i'm
bibcd it with the trcmulous cagcrncss
OF topers. There is good water in the
Scotch hills, the Wclch mountains, the
English lake district, some of the
khcnish highlands and the Alps. Wo
found it bad elsewhere, and no trouble
seems to be taken topurify the supply
OF tho towns. Among the things that
we tcndcrly dwclt upon when, far from
home and friends, we talked of Joys
that awaited our return, were ice water
and pie. Water is regarded by tho
Europcan-not every European, either
as good for washing purposes, whilo
Is to pics, he is as ignorant Of that Sc
duc,vc Wand rs he is of buckwhcat
cakes, sherry cobblers, or political lib
crtY.