The kingdom of Bavaria, lying between the Alps and the Fichtel and Bohemian mountains, is an extensive plateau drained by the Danube and Maine rivers, with their tributaries. About a fourth of the country is covered with forests, which are chiefly found in Upper and Lower Bavaria, and the Upper Palatinate. In the south, the land is largely used for pasturage and cattle. Most of the land owners are peasant proprietors, living in villages. Many manufactures are carried on, among them extensive glass works in the Böhmerwald [Bohemian Forest]. The kingdom also includes the Bavarian Palatinate, which lies on the left bank of the Rhine.

The inhabitants are Old Bavarians who dwell in the eastern part, in Upper and Lower Bavaria, and in the Upper Palatinate; Franks, dwelling in the west; Swabians, in Swabia and Neuberg; and Rhinelanders, on the Rhine. The Old Bavarians are a strong, simple, credulous race; they show great deference to authority, both political and ecclesiastical; until recent years, the Bavarian schools have been neglected, and education there is below the average. The Swabians are large of body, and are both more easily moved and more apt to learn than the Bavarians. The Rhenish Bavarians excel the Swabians in bodily size and versatility, and distinguish themselves by the spirit of undertaking. The Lutheran is the state church of Bavaria, but the Catholic population is very large.

The peasantry of this part of Germany are, as a rule, an innocent people, meek and submissive, and considered by those who inhabit the cities as far beneath them. They are good subjects and devoid of wild theories. They live in small villages in the neighborhood of their little patches, and their homes are so divided that one part is occupied by the family and the other part by the beasts, while the high, peaked roofs are utilized for the storage of the gathered grain and hay. Among the very small farmers the family is usually large enough to manage the work, but the more extensive ones employ yearly help and extra hands during harvest. Servants engaged by the year receive an annual stipend of from $12 to $50, according to the value of their services.^[a] Board and lodging are also supplied, and on Christmas a suit of clothes or something of that character is generally added. Day laborers receive, for males from 1 to 3 marks, and females an average of about 2 marks.^[b] Beer and coffee are also furnished, but their eatables are at their own expense. The food of these people consists of vegetables, such as sauerkraut, peas, beans, potatoes, turnips, &c., together with pork or beef, the last two probably twice a week with some, but the employers who possess large estates generally supply it every day. Beer also is consumed in goodly quantities, as well as sausage and cheese; and black bread, which, by the way, is very good, appears to be a necessary of life. Some milk is also drunk, but very little, as the German sense of economy will not permit too large a consumption of an article which is so profitable and meets with such ready sale.

The women, who do as much if not more work than the men, are given largely to coffee drinking, but they do not by any means eschew beer. The coffee is, I am told, of a very inferior quality, and chicory is largely substituted for the article itself.

Their clothes are comfortable, cut after a style that has been in vogue for many generations, and they act as badges for both men and women to designate the occupation they follow.

Their amusements are very simple, and when not employed, as on holidays, they pass the time with their families at the inn, where the monotony of beer drinking is sometimes relieved by dancing, ten-pins, card playing, and other innocent pasttimes [sic].

Not being of quarrelsome disposition, they are seldom troubled with disturbances; and as they are possessed of considerable reverence for religious things, they generally attend church upon Sundays, and hold in high value the opinions of the village parson.

Around Nuremberg the most lucrative crop is hops, in the neighborhood of Bamberg fruits and vegetables, and on the banks of the Main grapes; wheat and rye are also raised, but of an inferior quality, and it is claimed that, regardless of the tariff, it is difficult to sell, as the millers much prefer the foreign grain. In fact, near the cities the straw appears to be looked upon as by far the most valuable.

Even among the better classes the manner of living is very simple, and the lavishness of entertainment so common among the English-speaking people is here almost unknown. One reason for this may be the limited size of their apartments, which are almost without exception confined to one floor, but the probable truth is that their tastes have never been educated in that direction. A home-life similar to ours nowhere exists, but the common meeting ground for friendly gossip is found in the gardens in summer and the concert-rooms in winter, where each one gratifies his appetite according to his taste, and regulates its cost by the depth of his pocket.

In mercantile pursuits the system of apprenticeship is still in vogue, and all young men desiring to enter this branch of trade must serve three years before being able to secure a clerkship, for which time in leading houses they are generally compelled to pay some compensation to the firm, and for the three years following this their recompense is so meager as to be insufficient to meet the expenses of board and lodging.

The result is that such employment is only open to those who may be fortunate enough to have some one behind them to render assistance to enable them to bridge over the first six years of their business life. From $600 to $750 per annum, with from $25 to $75 on Christmas, is a large salary, and not more than 5 per cent. receive these sums.^[a]

As a rule they marry when their income reaches $500 per year, and appear to get along comfortably.^[a] They are, however, compelled to be exceedingly economical, and but rarely lay by anything for future contingencies. In actual money the wages of artisans and laborers are low, but measured by what their efforts bring forth, I believe them to be fairly well paid. Their tools are generally crude, and in many instances not conducive to rapid work, but they permit no change, and any endeavor on the part of a progressive master to introduce new inventions or improvements is met not only with opposition but an absolute refusal to use the same. They are entirely devoid of that energy born of ambition, and the possibility of bettering their position does not appear to occur to them. If from their work they realize sufficient to put food in their months, clothes on their backs, and roofs over their heads, together with a small surplus for Sunday beer, they are therewith content. Born and educated in such a school, it is astonishing that any of the young men should be otherwise inclined, but nevertheless it is so; and being unable to gratify their laudable desires at home, they seek more congenial fields in which to cultivate and develop the genius they may have in them.

From coffee, bread, cheese, sausages, soup, potatoes, and cabbage, selections for their daily meals are made. Custom here grading these eatables, they are, by reason of their means, relegated to the lowest quality. Meat is seldom eaten more than twice a week, but frequent potations of beer are supposed to supply the lack of this nutritious food.

Of necessity their lodgings are very plain, scantily furnished, and situated in some side street or alley in an indifferent part of the city, and a lack of cleanliness, for which there is but little excuse, appears to be a characteristic. Two or more single men generally occupy one room, and a man with a family from two to three rooms; but in order to afford this luxury the wife and children must, by their labors, contribute something to the common fund, and when this work consists of sticking night candles, tying brushes, and polishing lead pencils, it is usually done at home, but many are engaged in washing and house cleaning and some in factories; but few children, however, as the Bavarian laws forbid their employment in such occupation under a certain age.

The wages of many are also increased through the practice of giving “Trinkgeld” or “tips,” which is of almost universal prevalence in this country. It appears to pervade nearly every class of business, and in many instances reduces the dignity of certain employments nearly to the level of mendicancy; and it is not optional, it is arbitrary—the unwritten law declares that you must pay. The better sentiment is, I think, undoubtedly against it, but customs which have been here rooted for ages appear as unmovable as the everlasting hills. By porters bringing bundles to your house, mechanics doing chores, servants paying your bills, or carrying your orders, or ushering your guests out of the door, the coachman on the box, the conveyer of a present, employés at the station and on the trains, those rendering service in happy events and sad ones, and innumerable other occasions, the hand is held out to receive the pittance you may have in store for it.