Wichita eagle., 1889-11-21
LIFE IN THE RHlNElAND.

LIFE IN THE RHlNELAND.
S'Kjrmess" in n German Vlf1age-HOnne
Life in the Old Country.
The German "Kirmess" analogous to our
yearly village fairs, or ''feasts," as they are
called In the north of England, originated
In long past years-in the celebration Of the
anniversary Of the church dedication But
now it has gradually lost all its religious
meaning, and has come to be looked upon as
q general holiday-a day for feasting and
dancing.
Indeed, the little village in which we at
tended writes correspondent from Rhine
landl the "kirmessn couldn't boast OF 6.
church at ali; for the church goers, if there
were any, had to walk two miles to the next
town On our arrival we were confronted
by crowd opposite the principal 'wirths-
haus,"a young man deciaiming to the vii
layers from an inverted tub. We couldns
catch all of what he was saying, but he seemed
to be telling every ONE to be happy and e.
enjoy themselves, aud he drank at interval
glass of white wine, with a slice of lemoc
in it, to the health Of the community amid
general cheering. Presently he got down
from his tub, and then the Addlers struck up.
D.
pole, decorated gayly with pine trees, Gags
and flowers. They danced in perfect time
and rhythm, even reversing to perfection.
After the inaugurating dance round the
maypole they all adjourned to the inn, where
the fun was long carried on, with alterna-
tions of beer drinking in the neighboring
garden Presently the chief bauer" Tor
small farmer Of the village came up to ua
nd Salv a h<,yx Tod
Ladies' to do him the honor of dance We
accordingly each in turn joined the whirling
couples, and had hardly sat down and recov-
cred our pristine GOODNESS when the young
man who had held forth on the tub the vii
lage shoemaker's son, we afterwards learned
approached us, with a conlrade. He bowed,
and asked us to join village lottery, for
splendid shawl" We all signed our names
to tho lottery list, and then-won by our
generoSty-he offered to repeat again his in
augurating speech for our benefit, as we had
been such late arrivals.
Mounting on to a chair, be got through
some fifty lines of doggerel, of which he
modestly disclaimed the authorship ut is
an old poem." be said, "and has been repeat
ed for many anniversaries, but | Will not say
that have not added to it and improved it."
peasant, he told US, contributed so much to-
wards the entertainment. This arrangement
Is surely better than that adopted at similar
feasts in Northumberland, where the vii
layers pay fourpence each to the fiddler for
each partner, SO that the mean members Of
the community stick to only one partner for
the evening, and the plain or otherwise I'M
interesting damsels perhaps feel that they
are not even worth fourpence The wire
and lemon was given to US all around to
taste, and our healths were drunk, and
''new," said the young man, ''we must be
going, or the girls will be complaining that
we have not danced with them The girls
of our party seemed to think this last remark
hardly chivslrous
Our friends departed continues our CORE
spondent, and we, too, soon followed suit,
for our old milkwoman who lived in the
village, had invited us all to tea and we must
not keep her waiting We found her cottage,
and climbed up the steep chicken ladder &c
her neat little room, where q table covered
with snowy cloth groaned under the cakes
the good woman had baked for us. Q4ife in
Germany, it must be confessed, consists,
among the well-to-do at least, of an unceas-
ing series OF ''mahlzeitenn times)
The milkwoman was a neat, trim old lady,
over 60, with cheeks like rosy apples. She
would not be induced to join us al the table,
but brought her coffee cup TO a modest dis
lance.
She lived all alone, and at her advanced
age carried milk twice daily to and from the
town, a distance of four miles She had five
COWS in a stable near and her only conlpan-
fon was a mongrel dog, TO which she had
taught a surprising number of tricks. On
the old oak chest III the corner was portrait
-hoE~.ed by a frame-of good looking
yo-.n in evening dress That Is nv son."
she said proudly; ''he is a waiter at Darn
stadt; he comes to see me once in every two
years.
One Of my companions, a fun loving, ro-
mantle German girl, said He has such
beautiful eyes, [ should like to marry him.
Win you be my uother-in-law!' The old
woman took the matter seriously, and said
with rather digniied air, Ny son does not
think of marrying Vet And he must not
have fine lady wife, who would not work"
''Ohr' cried the young lady, THAT does not
matter. You shall live with Us and 90 the
cooking and | vii make the room pretty
with curtains, etc" The old woman frowned;
she evidently was in deep inward cogitaJion.
"But he has no money TO marry with" she
at length objected; 'Hhe sends his savings TO
me twice year; hes good son TO his old
mother" "Oh," said the young woman, Il
don't need money. l have enough OF my
own; l only want kind hearr.a The mother
made no answer 10 this, but an hour later.
rs we were departing. she called nv young
friend aside and whispered: See here! If
you are really in earnest about my son,
viii speak 10 him about you at the next
kirmess; be has promised to visit me then.
and we VIII see what he says Geltrr-Pau
Mall (yayeffe