receive the homage of the
conquered Silesia on the throne of the Emperor Matthias, when the dawn
of a new time broke over Germany, the old fencers, like shadowy figures
of a distant time, performed once more their antics over the graves of
a past generation, and then passed away.

Other popular amusements intruded themselves into the prize-shootings;
the pleasures became more noisy, more abundant, and excited; and
whoever takes a view of the shooting-ground at the end of the sixteenth
century will see, from the proceedings of spectators, that times had
altered. Formerly the marksmen, among them princes and nobles, had
taken part in the public gymnastics; the Wittelsbacher had hopped on
one leg among the citizens of the imperial town, and had hurled the
heavy stone. At the end of the sixteenth century the nobles looked on,
so also did the already genteel citizen-marksmen; but the peasant lads
came in their Sunday attire, with their lasses, and performed their
country dance for the amusement of others. There was great pleasure in
seeing the peasant maidens compete in running for a camisol or a
stomacher; high springs, fluttering dresses, and sometimes a tumble in
their haste, excited especial satisfaction, and their village demeanour
contributed to increase the enjoyment of others. It was more
particularly the princes who took pleasure in all this; there seldom
failed to be grotesque processions and dances of the country people,
when a prince made the programme of the festival. The pert waggery of
the _pritschmeister_ to the country people excited a laughter on the
shooting-ground which would be offensive to us. The dancers, in
couples, garlanded with the red berries of the mountain ash, or with
carrots, advanced on the ground; men threw themselves on unsaddled
horses, and galloped past a goose which was hung above them, and the
joke was, that they slid off their nags, and the like.

The amusement of the children, also, was provided for. There was a
jesting fool, who, armed with a shield and short leather club,
challenged any one to assail him with a lance. If the challenge was
accepted, the fool knew so well how to parry the lance, throw his
opponent on his back, and belabour him with his club, that the laugh
was always on his side. Beside him stood (as at Ratisbon, in 1586) a
wild man, who threw balls into his open mouth, nine balls for a
kreuzer. A little mannikin was set on a pony: they threw at him with a
ball, and