Many inhabitants of Cologne are still prejudiced against the preventive inoculation for smallpox, as a result of which one continues to see many faces marked by smallpox scars, ‘usjestoche Bildcher’ [literally, ‘punched out little pictures’] from the period under discussion. To cure common illnesses, household remedies – Simpeln, as the native of Cologne says – must help. The lowlier citizen will resort to a physician only in an extreme emergency and especially when the children are concerned. For children’s cramps, ‘Bejofung’ in vernacular, one definitely still tries to make do with ‘reading over’, i.e. ecclesiastical blessing of the children. Despite the French, superstition was far from eradicated. How much was told to us about the jinxing of the children, how the feather in the little beds formed into little wreaths by the power of witches, which caused children’s cramps. How strictly was it commended to us children not to allow strange women touching us in any case, not to accept anything from them, to make the sign of the cross if an old woman spoke to or smiled at us. [ . . . ]
When a child died it was put on display for the little children, the tiny head decorated with the death wreath and the little shroud strewn with colorful paper and fake gold cuttings. That was a treat for the children of the neighborhood, for on such occasions, a piece of gingerbread or a candy heart was never missing – to us children still true tasty tidbits. [ . . . ]
The corpses of distinguished persons, especially those of parish clergy, were put on display for a few days on the bed of state, a much-frequented spectacle for young and old, and at the same time, a rich harvest for the beggars.
The first thing taught to a child once it was able to babble a few words was how to make the sign of the cross. What followed were The Creed and the emotional children’s prayers, [ . . . ] Even though in terms of children’s clothes, which incidentally were handed down over several generations, the more prosperous classes indulged in a certain degree of hefty luxury, this was not done with respect to children’s clothes in the first years. The ordinary attire for boys and girls was, up to the age of five or six, the so-called woolen, knitted ‘Jussep’ [i.e. undercoat, a doublet], which was probably knit a bit longer every year. At home, we children wore the ‘Pungl’ [i.e. dressing gown], which – because put on before going to bed – was a veritable horror to us many a time, for even in the summer we had to go to bed very early. And those laws were heeded with exceptional strictness. [ . . . ]
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