he has acquired over
less educated mechanics in this necessary knowledge; and should he come
to England, he will discover that his skill as a draughtsman will place
him at once in a position superior to that of the chance-taught workmen
about him. He completes his apprenticeship without attempting to run
away. That is practically impossible; but he yearns, with all the ardour
of a young heart, for the happy day when he may tramp out of his native
town with his knapsack on his back, and the wide world before him.

We will suppose Hans out of his time, and declared a free journeyman by
the guild. The law of his country now has it that he must
travel--generally for three years, perhaps four or six--before he can
take up the position of a master. He may work for a short period in his
native town as a journeyman, but forth he must; nor is he in any way
loth. One only contingency there is, which may serve to arrest him in
his course,--he may be drawn as a conscript--and, possibly, forget in the
next two or three years, as a soldier, all he has previously learned in
four as a mechanic. But we suppose Hans to have escaped this peril, and
to be on the eve of his departure.

When an English gentleman, or mechanic, or beggar, in these isles, has
resolved upon making a journey, he has but to pack up his traps, whether
it be in his portmanteau, his deal-box, or his pocket-handkerchief; to
purchase his ticket at the railway or steam-packet station; and without
asking or consulting with anybody about the matter, to take his seat in
the vehicle, and off he goes. Not so Hans. He gives his master fourteen
days' notice of his intention to wander; applies to the aldermen of his
guild for copies of the various documents concerning himself in their
possession; and obtains from his employer a written attestation of his
past services. This document is called a "Kundschaft;" is written in set
form, acknowledges his probity and industry, and is countersigned by the
two aldermen. He is now in a condition to wait upon the
"Herberges-Vater" (the landlord of the House of Call), and request his
signature also. The Vater, seeing that Hans owes nothing to him or to
any other townsman--and all creditors know that they have only to report
their claims at the Herberge to obtain for them a strict attention--signs
his paper, "all quit." Surely he may start forth now! Not so; the most
important document is still wanting. He has, as yet, no pass