THE OCTOBER FEST THE PEASANTS AND THE KINGOn the 11th of October the sun came out, after a retirement of nearly two weeks.The cause of the appearance was the close of the October Fest.This great popular carnival has the same effect upon the weather in Bavaria that the Yearly Meeting of Friends is known to produce in Philadelphia, and the Great National Horse Fair in New England.It always rains during the October Fest.Having found this out, I do not know why they do not change the time of it; but Ipresume they are wise enough to feel that it would be useless.Asimilar attempt on the part of the Pennsylvania Quakers merely disturbed the operations of nature, but did not save the drab bonnets from the annual wetting.There is a subtle connection between such gatherings and the gathering of what are called the elements,--a sympathetic connection, which we shall, no doubt, one day understand, when we have collected facts enough on the subject to make a comprehensive generalization, after Mr.Buckle's method.
This fair, which is just concluded, is a true Folks-Fest, a season especially for the Bavarian people, an agricultural fair and cattle show, but a time of general jollity and amusement as well.Indeed, the main object of a German fair seems to be to have a good time and in this it is in marked contrast with American fairs.The October Fest was instituted for the people by the old Ludwig I.on the occasion of his marriage; and it has ever since retained its position as the great festival of the Bavarian people, and particularly of the peasants.It offers a rare opportunity to the stranger to study the costumes of the peasants, and to see how they amuse themselves.One can judge a good deal of the progress of a people by the sort of amusements that satisfy them.I am not about to draw any philosophical inferences,--I am a mere looker-on in Munich; but Ihave never anywhere else seen puppet-shows afford so much delight, nor have I ever seen anybody get more satisfaction out of a sausage and a mug of beer, with the tum-tum of a band near, by, than a Bavarian peasant.
The Fest was held on the Theresien Wiese, a vast meadow on the outskirts of the city.The ground rises on one side of this by an abrupt step, some thirty or forty feet high, like the "bench" of a Western river.This bank is terraced for seats the whole length, or as far down as the statue of Bavaria; so that there are turf seats, Ishould judge, for three quarters of a mile, for a great many thousands of people, who can look down upon the race-course, the tents, houses, and booths of the fair-ground, and upon the roof and spires of the city beyond.The statue is, as you know, the famous bronze Bavaria of Schwanthaler, a colossal female figure fifty feet high, and with its pedestal a hundred feet high, which stands in front of the Hall of Fame, a Doric edifice, in the open colonnades of which are displayed the busts of the most celebrated Bavarians, together with those of a few poets and scholars who were so unfortunate as not to be born here.The Bavaria stands with the right hand upon the sheathed sword, and the left raised in the act of bestowing a wreath of victory; and the lion of the kingdom is beside her.This representative being is, of course, hollow.There is room for eight people in her head, which I can testify is a warm place on a sunny day; and one can peep out through loopholes and get a good view of the Alps of the Tyrol.To say that this statue is graceful or altogether successful would be an error; but it is rather impressive, from its size, if for no other reason.In the cast of the hand exhibited at the bronze foundry, the forefinger measures over three feet long.
Although the Fest did not officially begin until Friday, October 12, yet the essential part of it, the amusements, was well under way on the Sunday before.The town began to be filled with country people, and the holiday might be said to have commenced; for the city gives itself up to the occasion.The new art galleries are closed for some days; but the collections and museums of various sorts are daily open, gratis; the theaters redouble their efforts; the concert-halls are in full blast; there are dances nightly, and masked balls in the Folks' Theater; country relatives are entertained; the peasants go about the streets in droves, in a simple and happy frame of mind, wholly unconscious that they are the oddest-looking guys that have come down from the Middle Ages; there is music in all the gardens, singing in the cafes, beer flowing in rivers, and a mighty smell of cheese, that goes up to heaven.If the eating of cheese were a religious act, and its odor an incense, I could not say enough of the devoutness of the Bavarians.
