the Poor in Bavaria. 291 



and converse freely with those about them upon indif- 

 ferent subjects, without interrupting or embarrassing 

 the regular motion of the wheel, then, and not till 

 then, they were furnished with hemp or flax, and were 

 taught to spin. 



When they had arrived at a certain degree of dex- 

 terity in spinning hemp and flax, they were put to the 

 spinning of wool ; and this was always represented to 

 them, and considered by them, as an honourable pro- 

 motion. Upon this occasion they commonly received 

 some public reward, a new shirt, a pair of shoes, or per- 

 haps the uniform of the establishment, as an encourage- 

 ment to them to persevere in their industrious habits. 



As constant application to any occupation for too 

 great a length of time is apt to produce disgust, and in 

 children might even be detrimental to health, beside 

 the hour of dinner, an hour of relaxation from work 

 (from eight o'clock till nine) in the forenoon, and 

 another hour (from three o'clock till four) in the after- 

 noon, were allowed them ; and these two hours were 

 spent in a school, which, for want of room elsewhere in 

 the house, was kept in the dining-hall, where they were 

 taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, by a school- 

 master engaged and paid for that purpose.* Into this 

 school, other persons who worked in the house, of a 



* As these children were not shut up and confined like prisoners in the 

 House of Industry, but all lodged in the town, with their parents or friends, they 

 had many opportunities to recreate themselves, and take exercise in the open 

 air ; not only on holidays, of which there are a very large number indeed kept in 

 Bavaria, but also on working-days, in coming and going to and from the House 

 of Industry. Had not this been the case, a reasonable time would certainly 

 have been allowed them for play and recreation. The cadets belonging to the 

 Military Academy at Munich are allowed no less than three hours a day for 

 exercise and relaxation; viz., one hour immediately after dinner, which is 

 devoted to music, and two hours, later in the afternoon, for walking in the coun- 

 try, or playing in the open fields near the town. 



