RIESBECK’s TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY.

267

in the Palatinate . Would you think that the court of Manheim, which, like all theother petty courts of Germany , is ever ready to quarrel with its neighbours, notwith-ftanding every treaty and feeming appearance of amity between them, wanted to forcethe inhabitants of Mentz to come and buy their food in the Palatinate ? Before this, thefarmers carried it to the city market; but the court of Manheim eftablifhed weekly mar-kets at Oppenheim, and other places near the frontiers of Mentz. No doubt, it wouldhave been an advantage to the Palatines, had Grangers brought the money to their mar-kets, and the Elector might have fet his own prices on his commodity, provided thatMentz and the Rhinegau had been fo entirely dependant upon him as not to have thepoffibility of a fupply by any other means ; but as foon as the people of Mentz fawthemfelves compelled to pay more than they did before, they opened an immediate tradetvith the rich corn countries of the Wetterau, about Ufingen and Friedberg ; the confe-quence of which was, that the Palatines became the dupes of the caprices of their maf-ters, and were compelled to carry their commodity into France and Switzerland , withfar more trouble and far lefs profit. As, however, none of the projects of this courthave any confiftency, the markets of Mentz have, within thefe few years pail, been vi-fited again. The cutloms are no fmall hindrance to exportation.

Manheim is a very regularly built pretty little city, containing about twenty-five thou-fand inhabitants, of which, fince the court refides at Munich , it has loft about two thou-fand. The Manheimers very much want the Eleftor to refide with them, and leaveBavaria, which is at leaft fifty times as large as the Palatinate , to be governed by a de-puty. They cannot yet underftand what it is their prince fees in Munich to give it thepreference. Indeed they are fo confcious of the beauty of their own city, that theylaugh in the face of any one who tells them there are finer places in the world thanManheim ; which, after all, it is doing too much honour to, to call it a miniature ofFurin or Berlin, and other towns. Indeed, if you except the dull regularity of it, Mu-nich is a much finer city than Manheim, which has nothing worth feeing in it but thecaftle, and church of the Jefuits. Every thing elfe that is called fine here is fo little andartificial, as to infpire a knowing eye oply with difguft. But the Manheimers are alto-gether the proudeft people on earth. They have fo great an idea of the power andriches of their country, as not to fcruple to rank their prince with the greateft monarchsin the world. They allure you, with very ferious faces, that if they had not been thefriends of peace, and averfe to the fiiedding of human blood, it would have been eafyMr them to have taken polTeflion of Bavaria by force, notwithftanding all the preten-fions of the houfe of Auftria. Thefe ridiculous airs, no doubt, have arifen from theirbeing furrounded by lefler ftates, and their Eleftor being the firfit of the fmaller princes:but their univerfal motto in every thing is, “ Much buftle for little bufmefs.” The lovepleafure, too, is fo univerfal here, that a taylor’s wife looks upon it as difgraceful tobe faithful to herhufband. This diffipation, and the love of drefs, has a very ftrikinga fpe£t, when contrafted with the deep poverty that obtains throughout. The women°f this place are remarkably handfome, agreeable, and pleafing.

The government of the Palatinate is one of the mod arbitrary in Germany . Thereare no ftates, and the privileges of the communities are the jeft of the court. But here,^ore than in any other place in the world, you may be convinced that the moll defpo-tic prince in the world is the moft limited. The Elector depends on his lowed fervants,an d is the dupeof all who furround him. Every fubordinate minifter is a defpdt in the famePlanner, as far as the fphere of his power extends; fo that when a fovereign has notptrit enough to look into the details of government, or at leaft to rebuke his mmifter,--,isfure to find there is a confpiracy againft him and the country, whilil there is no-

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