THE National Miscellany. A TRIP TO LEIPSIC FAIR. GREAT is the difference between modern and mediæval shopping. In modern times the customers go to the shops, in old days the shops came to the customers. First of all there were the pedlars, with their little shops upon their backs, wandering from castle to castle, the newspapers of the day, and carrying on a brisk retail trade in gossip, which added considerably to the value of their other wares. Then there were the fairs, to which companies of traders and merchants, in wholesome dread of freebooters, flocked together for the disposal of their goods, and which formed one of the principal modes of ancient traffic. But fairs are like other things, mortal; and the march of science and intellect is fast diminishing their number and importance. Some cattle, wool, and cheese fairs are all that now remain, except where a few sleepy country towns are still periodically awakened by an influx of shows and gingerbread-the mere ghost and shadow, into which the ancient fair has degenerated. On the continent, however, where the march of improvement has not been so rapid as in our own country, many more ancient customs remain, among which the Leipsic fair shines with all its pristine glory and greatness undimmed. It stands alone in the trading world, and as centuries ago it was the central market of Europe, so at the present day merchants and traders from all parts come with all kinds of goods, and form a scene quite unlike any other in the altered world. With respect to the town of Leipsic itself, though endowed with much historical interest, we confess that it presents few existing remains of art or antiquity to arrest the traveller; its appearance is like any other German town, its streets rather narrow, its roofs rather high, and dotted here and there with numerous garret windows. The architecture for the most part is of modern date, and very ordinary, though now and then a house of the seventeenth century displays fine specimens of a mongrel renaissance style of carving, or perhaps more often of plastering. Pavements are gradually creeping into the principal streets, but the pavé is still the most popular; and the stranger pursuing his way is much impeded by the frequent occurrence of entrances to cellars, which lying some twenty feet or more below the level of the street, are descended to by means of extremely precipitous stone steps: in these low regions beer and other refreshments are usually served, though at this busy time many are used entirely as warehouses. One cellar above all is remarkable, namely, " Auerbach's keller." Those who know Goethe's Faust will descend with beating heart to this deep and magic cave, but will now in vain bore holes in the tables. It may have struck Goethe as more poetical to extract wine from the marks of the gimlet, but we believe that on the very spot which he introduces as a scene in his grand tragedy, he oftentimes found the more practical way to be to demand the bottle from the landlord. Tradition at any rate fixes this cellar as belonging to that magician whose wonderful feats are so warmly cherished by German youth, the celebrated Dr. Faustus. The waiter who serves the beverage in this lower region will probably place into the hands of the stranger, if he be an Englishman, the following document, which we think to be so characteristic of German ideas, as to be worthy to be transcribed, with all its idiomatic errors : HOW D. FAUSTUS AT LEIPSIC BROUGHT WITH LITTLE TROUBLE A CASK FULL OF WINE OUT THERE studied at that time at Wittenberg some Polish noblemen, who kept much company with D. Faustus, and were good customers of his. There was just now the Leipsic foir, and they desired very much to go once to see it, partly, as they had heard often of it, partly as some amongst them thought of raising some money from their countrymen, or to borrow for some time, to go thither. They communicated therefore their wishes to D. Faustus, that he might, as they were well aware, that he could, bring about and procure so much by his art, that they could go and arrive yonder. D. Faustus would not let them beg in vain, and consented henceforth; procured by his art, that a peasant's vehicle and four stood the other day outside the town, which they mounted of good cheer and drove on rapidly. But they were scarcely so far advanced as a quarter of an hour, as they saw, all of them a hare, running across the fields, which induced them to conceive timorous thoughts, and that it might be a bad sign for their journey, and so they spent some hours with such and other conversation, that they arrived to their great astonishment before sunset in Leipsic. The day following they took a view of the town, gazed at the valuables of Commerce, and performed partly their business; and as they came near the inn, they stopped, they observed, that in a wine-cellar, opposite to it, the wine or beer porters (generally called shooters,) were going to roll or to get out of the cellar, a cask full of wine, containing seven till eight buckets, but they could not execute it, for all the trouble they took, until there might come some more men, to assist them. In the meanwhile D. Faustus and his men stood still, and looked on, now D. Faustus (who would likewise be known by his art at that place) said nearly sneering to the shooters: How do you set so awkwardly about it, yours are so many, and you can not force such a cask out of the cellar? yet an only one might do it, if he managed it properly. The shooters, like useless knaves, were very angry at such a language, used foul words, as they did not know him; amongst other things if he then knew better than they to lift up such a cask, and to bring it out of the cellar, he should do it in all the devil's name; what he had much to vex them? This going on, the master of the wine-cellar appears, and soon hears the cause, and particularly that the one (Faustus) had said; an only one might bring the cask out of the cellar, he says therefore half angry to him: Well as you are such strong giants, whosoever amongst you will bring the cask alone out of the cellar, his it shall be. D. Faustus was not idle, and as some students just approached, he calls them up for witnesses, to what was promised by the master. He forthwith descended into the cellar, and put himself right upon the cask, like on a buck and rode it, properly to say, not without every one's wondering, upwards; whereof the master much aghast, and though he objected, that such was not done naturally, he was still obliged to keep his word and promise, would he not have otherwise the mockery with the loss along. Thus he let deliver the cask with the wine to D. Faustus, who gave it up to his men, as well as to the students, his witnesses, who soon aided the cask to be brought into the inn, whither they invited some more friends, and rejoiced of it several days, as long as a drop of wine has been in the cellar. The artist will look in vain in Leipsic for picturesque houses; the amateur in vain for galleries of paintings; the antiquary in vain for old buildings: but when he ascends the lofty tower, and beholds the plain beneath him, rendered so celebrated for that fierce and bloody struggle, which, arresting the haughty steps of the victorious emperor, in all probability decided the fate of the rest of Europe, he will gaze and still gaze on and find interest in every spot; he will see that small and narrow rivulet, and will picture to himself its waters changed to red, its stream fighting with the bodies of the dead and dying; he will see the bridge destroyed, and brave Poniatowski, with his few men, thus cut off from the main army, plunge into the water, his wounded horse struggling with the crimson stream, but alas in vain a small stone monument, with a short inscription, alone stands to mark the spot where the body of the brave man was found. And now for the fair. During this congregation assemble together merchants from all parts. Into that one square mile are squeezed manufacturers from every imaginable place. In the street one sees Greeks, Russians, Turks, Tyrolese, Jews, Dutch, and men from many other nations: the first with their bright red jacket; the second with their large warm coats, lined and bound with fur; the next with their white turbans and long robes; the Tyrolese with his high tapering black hat; the Jew with his long black satin cloak, or rather gown; and the Dutch, with their enormous boots, their dirty appearance, and sleepy heavy counte nances. The stalls are as variegated as their owners. Here is one containing some hundreds of truly German pipes, with ladies' figures brightly painted on their white bowls. Next to it is a depot for "travelling pouches," we mean that little leather bag which suspended by means of a strap to the side of the wearer, proclaims him "a traveller," and which the German considers as necessary an accompaniment to his voyage as an Englishman his umbrella; here branching to the left we perceive a complete street formed by the stalls on each side; on the one perhaps naught meets the eye but crockery of all descriptions, on the other naught but sticks and parasols. Pass on farther and we stand before a shop well stocked with the new leather purses and cigar cases (the latter clearly predominant); here is a stall filled with cheap jewellery, there one for the sale of stationery, with many tastefully arranged boxes of steel pens, which on examination expose the word "Birmingham" stamped in plain let ters on their surface. Neither in this large market are the children entirely forgotten. The toy-stalls, though comparatively few in number, are not wanting, and the "sweet" stall oftentimes presents a goodly array of sugar transformed into every shape and of every colour. All kinds All kinds may be seen there; and it is curious to observe the same "barley sugar," the same " drops," the same "sugar-plums," attracting diminutive Germans as cause gazing children to open their mouths in our own land. But we must still pass on. We see stall after stall, avenue after avenue. We have now arrived at the outskirts. Here is a large square devoted entirely to the exposure for sale of pots and pans of all sizes; probably not all belonging to the same proprietor, but to some six or seven, who find it to their interest to be together in one quarter, that their customers may know where to find them. In the same manner we enter upon a large plot of ground bedecked with baskets of as many shapes as the art of man can design. Next to the basket possibly we find the furniture market, and the gay sofas, with their luxurious springs, meet one's gaze in every direction. That sofa whereon the deputy store-keeper and his friend are now lounging and pouring forth from their respective pipes volumes of tobacco smoke, may before many hours grace some nobleman's drawing-room. It is now time to return, and passing a corner of the fair, where a few children's games and some half-dozen shows are arranged, we again find ourselves entering the midst, and again we are surrounded by booths on every side. Here are piles of handkerchiefs, there of shawls; farther on caps and lace in abundance; here gloves, shoes, leather and skins of all sorts, oftentimes too forcibly demanding attention by their odour; scissors, knives, kettles, pots, ladles, lanthorns, spoons, glasses, bottles, mirrors, silks, furs, umbrellas, sticks, musical instruments, lamps, stockings, socks, clocks, watches, candlesticks, matches, cakes, fruit, carpets, rugs, hearth-brooms, brushes, stocks of readymade clothing, which would do credit to Moses and Son, and many other articles of all kinds. And when we are asked "Where are all these goods stowed away in comparatively so small a town as Leipsic ?" we answer "everywhere." There is not a square that is |