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'RIESBECk’s TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY .

populous than the latter. When you fee the farmer here force his nouriffiment fromthe ahnoft bare rocks, and think of the beautiful plains in Hungary that lay wafte anduncultivated, the value of property and liberty ftrikes you in its full force. Thefecountries and Auftria are not half as large as Hungary , and yet they not only yield amuch greater revenue than that does, but there is an appearance of eafy circumftaucesthroughout, of which the Hungarians have no notion. O that governors would butfee how much the intereft of the governed is united with their own !

The chara&eriftic of the inhabitants of all this country is ftriking bigotry, united withlinking fenfuality. You need only fee what is going forwards here to be convinced,that the religion taught by the monks, is as ruinous for the morals as it is repugnant toChriflianity. The Cicilbeos accompany the married women from their beds to church,and lead them to the very confeflional. The pilgrimage to Mariazell is a ceremony halfreligious and half profane, with which the ladies of Gratz are highly delighted. Theirlovers generally accompany them there; in fliort, it is to the people of this countrywhat Bath, and the other water-drinking places, are to the reft of Europe . A friendof mine had the honour to accompany a lady who went there with her lover. As itwas expe&ed that the next day, being the feaft of the Virgin, there would be great■crowds at confeffion, the lady was afked, whether it would not be better to expeditematters over night: “ No,” anfwered (lie, “ for if I do, I ffiall have to confefs again to-morrow morning, before I can go to the facrament with a pure confcience.” She wasprefled to anticipate a confeffion, but this it feerns would not do. The women of falhionmake no more fcruple of fpeaking of their lovers in public companies than thofe of Vi-enna do. A cicijbeo is, it feems, as much the falhion as Hungary water. The womenof this place are not like the French ones, who let their lovers languilh a great while;■on the contrary, they are eafily gained. Their lovers are chiefly officers, or highchurchmen, between which orders, on this account, there is a conftant rivality andjealoufy.

The bigotry of the public in thefe parts, which, from the mixture of gallantry withIt, is ftill to be found even amongft people of rank, degenerates amongft the commonpeople into the groffeft and molt abominable buffoonery. The Windes, who are mixedwith the Germans in thefe countries, diftinguiffi themlelves by a fuperftitious cuftora,that does little honour to the human underflanding, and would be incredible, if we hadnot the moft unequivocal proofs of the fa6l before our eyes. Many years ago, they fetout, in company with fome Hungarian enthufiafts, to Cologne on the Rhine, which isabout one hundred and twenty German miles diftant, to cut off the beard of a crucifixthere. Every feven years this operation is repeated, as in this fpace of time the beardgrows again to its former length. The rich perfons of the affociation fend the poorerones as their deputies, and the magiftrates of Cologne receive them as ambaffadors froma foreign prince. They are entertained at the expence of the ftate, and a counfellorIhews them the moft remarkable things in the town. I know not whether we ought tolaugh moll at the remote town of Cologne , or at thofe poor peafants. There is, in-deed, fome excufe for the former, as the farce brings in large fum.s of money at ftatedtimes, and may therefore deferve political encouragement, but ftill, however, it is themoft miferable and meaneft way of gain that can be imagined. Thefe Windes havealone the right to (have our Saviour, and the beard grows only for them. They firmlybelieve, that if they did not do this fervice to the crucifix,. the earth would be fhut tothem for the next feven years, and there would be no harvefts. For this reafon theyare obliged to carry the hair home with them, as the proof of having fulfilled their corn-million, the returns of which are diftributed amongft the different communities, and

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