Peasant Life in the Black Forest 



&43 



THE VILLAGE SMITH'S WIFE, WITH FIVE OF HER FOURTEEN CHILDREN 



him much as he is in his native land, 

 though you do not understand him, for 

 he is not insensible to the gibes of his 

 new countrymen, nor to the injury he 

 receives at the hands of unscrupulous 

 employment agencies. He is human ; 

 thinks and feels the same as those who 

 take advantage of him at every turn, and 

 in America he prospers, not entirely be- 

 cause he is in the "land of the free," but 

 because of habits of frugality and in- 

 dustry acquired in the fatherland and 

 because he lives within his means. 



Among his own native hills the chief 

 means of conveyance is the royal post 

 chaise, which contains seats for twelve 

 passengers ; but this is seldom crowded 

 and more often empty, for though a 

 mark entitles one to ride a comparatively 

 long distance, few of the inhabitants of 

 this region feel that they could afford 



to pay the price of a half day's labor 

 when the journey can be accomplished on 

 foot. The hard, macadamized roads are, 

 it is true, wearing upon the ordinary 

 smooth-soled shoe; but here shoes, as 

 all articles of wearing apparel, are made 

 entirely with a view to service. The 

 same style of costumes worn by their 

 fathers and grandfathers are still in 

 vogue, and, judging from the past, will 

 be till the race has run its course. 



The purchase of a festive garment is 

 no small event in the life of the average 

 peasant ; it becomes a milestone from 

 which he reckons the minor events of his 

 life — not merely because this addition to 

 his stock may be his wedding suit, but 

 because a tailor-made garment represents 

 ten dollars in cash. Little wonder, then, 

 that it is worn only on special occasions 

 and is often handed down from father 



