saffron, to colour
with; beautifully ornamented show dishes were highly prized, sometimes
even eatable dishes were gilt, and at tables of pretension the most
distinguished confection was marchpane.

The citizens eagerly sought every opportunity for social enjoyment. The
carnival mummeries were general in Northern Germany, when masks swarmed
through the streets; the favourite costumes were those of Turks, Moors,
and Indians. When during the war the Council of Leipzig prohibited
masks, they made their appearance armed with spears and pistols, and
there were tumults with the city watchers. Sledge parties were not less
popular, and sometimes they also were in costume. Public dances were
less frequent than now, even at the marriage and artisan feasts they
were looked upon with mistrust, as it was difficult to restrain the
recklessness of wild boys. They wished to dance without mantles; they
lifted up, swung, and twirled about their partners, which was strictly
forbidden, and the thronging of the gaping domestics into the saloon
was displeasing to the authorities. At twilight all dancing amusements
were to cease.

The larger cities had lists where the sons of the patricians held their
knightly exercise and ran at the ring, also shooting galleries, and
trenches for crossbow and rifle practice. The shooting festivities were
a great source of enjoyment throughout the country, and on these
occasions booths, tents, and cook-shops were erected. The people also
took a lively interest in the festivals of particular guilds, and
almost every town had its own public feast; for example, Erfurt had
yearly prize races for the poorer classes; the men ran for stockings
and the women for fur cloaks. Tennis was a favourite game of the young
citizens, which unfortunately in the troubles of the century almost
disappeared. There were special tennis courts, and a tennis-court
master, of the town. If any gentlemen of distinction came into the
town, a place in the market was strewed with sand, and a playground
marked off with pegs and cords. There these distinguished persons
played, and the citizens watched with pleasure from the windows, to see
how a young Prince of Hesse threw the ball, and how one of Anhalt did
his best. At the great yearly markets, for more than a century,
Fortune's urn was a favourite game. Sometimes it was undertaken by the
town itself, but generally it was granted to some speculator. How much
the people were interested in t