WILL. "But, as these could not always be present on account of domestic duties and the welcoming of other guests, there was always at hand a maid-servant thoroughly posted in all kinds of chaff; she alone could take up the jokes of everyone, and kept things going until the daughter came back. The mother was quite along in years." BERT. "But how about the provision? for one can't fill one's belly with stories." WILL. "Really splendid. I can't understand how they can entertain at so small a price. Then after dinner they amuse you with merry tales, so that you cannot get tired. I thought I was at home and not in a strange land." BERT. "How about the chambers?" WILL. "Always some girls about, laughing, frolicking, and playing. They asked of their own accord if we had any soiled linen, washed it, and brought it back resplendent. Need I say more? We saw everywhere only girls and women, except in the stables, and even there the maids were often bursting in. When you go away, they embrace you and dismiss you with as much affection as if you were all brothers or the nearest of relatives." BERT. "I dare say that suits the French well enough, but for my part I like better the customs of the Germans as being more suited to men." WILL. "I have never happened to be in Germany, so, if you don't mind, pray let us hear how they receive a guest." BERT. "I cannot say whether it is the same everywhere, but I will tell what I have seen. No one welcomes the newcomer, nor do they seem to want guests; for that would seem to them mean and low and unworthy the seriousness of a German. When you have been calling a long time, someone sticks his head out of the little window of the room where the stove is, like a tortoise out of its shell. They live in these rooms almost until midsummer. You have to ask him whether you may stay, and if he doesn't say 'no' you know that you are to have a place. You ask where the stables are and he shows you with a motion of his hand, and you may take care of your horse as best you can. In the larger inns a man shows you to the stables and points out a poor enough place for your horse. The better places they keep for the late-comers, especially for the nobility. If you complain, the first thing you hear is, 'If you don't like it here, go to another inn.' In the cities it is all you can do to get a little hay and you have to pay for it about as much as for grain. When you have cared for your horse you go over into the common room, riding-boots, baggage, mud, and all." WILL. "In France they show you a separate room where you can change your dress, brush up, get warm, and even take a nap if you please."