156 MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS. 



more abundant in the chamber where the family was than in any of the 

 others. The result of the search did not, however, remove all stigma from 

 the character of the Badgers. The story is mentioned as one instance of the 

 means by which the characters of animals come to be misrepresented. They 

 have one or two traits of appearance or habit which do not suit the popular 

 taste, and by means of loose analogies, often drawn from subjects of a totally 

 different character, others are added, till the truth is completely buried 

 under a mass of exaggeration Partington's Natural Histonj. 



Austrian Music and Daxcing. — The darling passion of the Austrian 

 Mountainers, is for music and the dance. They appear born with a taste for 

 music. A violin or guitar is a part of the furniture of every cottage, and not 

 unfrequently a piano — each valley has its own peculiar airs, full of sweet- 

 ness and melody. They are similar to those which the Tyrolese ]Minstrels 

 made so popular in England a few years ago, and which are nothing more than 

 the ordinary songs of the shepherds and dairy -maids on the mountains. They 

 carol forth these lays with a peculiar intonation of the voice within the 

 throat, making the echoes ring with their wild notes. The talent of impro- 

 vising is not uncommon among the peasants of Tyrol and Styria; but it may 

 be supposed their verses have little claim to polish or harmony. They ge- 

 nerally assume the form of a dialogue ; the verses of one being taken up and 

 answered by another : they are mostly satirical, and the chief merits of the 

 composer seem to consist in a quickness of repartee; one party striving by 

 jests to render the other ridiculous. Sometimes the verses assume the more 

 tender shape of a lover's address to his mistress, and his eloquence and skill 

 are exerted in attempting to soften her heart — her wit being directed to re- 

 pel his ardour and to laugh at his passion. In some parts of Tyrol, the pea- 

 sants compose entire plays, of which they themselves are the actors. The 

 subjects are usually taken from the well-known legend of a saint, or from 

 some incident in Holy AVril ; and, in this resjiect, they are not unlike the 

 ancient " ^Miracles and -Mysteries" — the first theatrical performances known 

 in England. Their pretensions to plot and elegant versification are very 

 humble. The performers, in some instances, are girls, who represent both 

 the male and female characters. It is in the villages around Inspruck that 

 these plays are most in fashion. The visitor will be amused there by such a 

 homely effort of the tragic muse. 



No fete-day, holiday, or man-iage passes off without a rustic ball. Such 

 entertainments aftbrd the traveller insight into the manners and customs of 

 the people, and an opportunity of observing the varieties of costume and 

 amusement : those, however, who have formed their notion of a Tyrolese 

 dance from a ballet at the Opera, will be much disappointed. The^v will 

 find the dancers assembled in the close low room of an inn, so thronged that 

 it would appear impossible to move, much less to dance, among the crowd : 

 yet no sooner does thj music strike up than the whole is in a whirL No jos- 

 tling or confusion occurs, and the time of the waltz is kept with most unerr- 

 ing precision. Instead of the elegant costume of the theatre — short petti- 

 coats and H^nng ribands — they will find the lasses decked out in pointed hats 

 or round fur or woollen caps, or in handkerchiefs tied under their chin, and 

 with waists reaching up near to their necks. The men often wear Hessian 

 boots, which they strike together with great clatter by way of beating time, 

 every now and then uttering a shrill cry and leaping round in the air exactly 



