RIESBECk’s TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY.

* 7 $

my {laying dinner the next day at a gentleman’s houfe, for whom I had letters of re-commendation from Drefden, at my return he made his remarks upon it; and the dayafter took it in ferious dudgeon, that I would not leave a fine garden and good com-pany, I had drolled to, and walk three miles home to add another item to his reckon-ing. We were however reconciled ; but as he perceived I was one of thofe who didnot hold long converfation with inn keepers, he came into my room, and would readme the Berlin newfpapers, w r hich for lies and nonfenfe are not behind hand with theFrench ones. As he was going on with the weighty and important intelligence, thata Pruffian general had died of the gout; that his Royal Highnefs Prince Henry wasgone a journey to Rhinfberg ; that a perfon in the New?nark, who was a man of let-ters, was afflicted with the cholic-; and that the wife of a general officer in Silefia wasfafely delivered of a daughter, I fnatched the paper out of his hands. He took this af-front fo civilly, that I was on the point of forgiving the infolence of the night before,when he gave me to underhand, that he would provide me with a companion to deepwith, as well as with my board, if I chofe it; upon this I immediately went out to look fora private houfe, it being a maxim with me, that every inn keeper who is a bawd, is ofcourfe a cheat. In general the inn-keepers of this place feem to be a peculiar kind ofpeople ; they are all outrageoufly civil at firft, but extremely furly when they meetwith any one who does not choofe to be impofed on by them ; there is likewife no. endof their impertinent queftions, and when they have no girls in the houfe, they make itno fecret, that this is an article which they undertake to provide ftrangers with. Theyhave lifts in which the ladies of the neighbourhood are forted according to their prices,and a fervant is always ready to fetch the wares which the ftranger bargains for. Mylandlord, the privy-counfellor, allured me, that there was hardly one landlord in twen-ty who did not deal in this trade.

A traveller who conies out of Bohemia into Saxony , is apt to be {truck with thedearnefs of provifions in the latter; but it is nothing to wffiat he meets with when heconies from Saxony hither. Several caufes contribute to this ; among which may beenumerated the natural poverty of the country in feveral commodities, the high cuf-tonis, and many monopolies. To give you a fniall idea of the latter, the meafure ofwood, which you know cofts a trifle at Paris, here conies to a guinea and a half, not-withftanding that Brandenburg is full of woods of all forts. Indeed the fmall quantityof money in circulation, and the price of every necelfary of life, forms a ftrong con-traft betwixt this place and Vienna. At Vienna you are amazed that, with fuch a cir-culation of money, every thing can be fo cheap, and here can hardly conceive how,with fo fmall a proportion of cafli, every thing can be fo dear. Conceive that you payfix or feven livres here for a bottle of Burgundy which has nothing but the name ofBurgundy; our common wines of Orleancis, Iile de France, Guyenne, &c. fell forthree or four livres a bottle. Indeed the King is a little too hard upon the drinkers ofwine.

_ In all the private houfes I have hitherto feen, there prevails a rigid oeconomy in thekitchen, cellar, and indeed in every part: the only article of expence is drefs ; butyou fee that the belly has been pinched for the fake of powder and ruffles. The la-dies drefs in the faihion, and I faw fome ornaments in very great tafte, and veryrich.

m There is no town in Europe , except Conftantinople, which has fo numerous a gas-rifon as Berlin has : it confifts of twenty-fix thoufand men. For a little money youmay have every thing done for you by a foldier j they clean your Ihoes, wafli, mend,

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