frequent masquerades, to realize that the people of that day
appreciated the good things of life. On the occasion of baptisms,
weddings, and other domestic events, great feasts were frequently
arranged in the house of the guilds or even in the town hall; and many
princely visitors were here also entertained at the expense of the
municipal budget. The administration of the cellarage of the municipal
council was also then considered a far more respectable post than now.
All these facts attest the prosperity of the Hanseatic towns. Fortunes
of one hundred thousand marks were by no means exceptional, and were
often invested in neighboring knightly estates (feofs), thereby
sometimes securing to the owner an eventual admission to the ranks of
the nobility. At one time--_i.e._, after the great Hanseatic war--the
city of Lubeck owned the entire dukedom of Lauenburg.

The constitution of these municipalities provided for a council
consisting of from twelve to twenty-four members who, though elected
for life, alternated in terms of office ranging from two to three
years. These members had the privilege of appointing their successors
from among the eligible families of the Hanse town. The heads of the
council consisted of from two to four burgomasters, who presided at
the meetings. The position of member of the council was a purely
honorary one. The duties comprised the administration of municipal
affairs; of military and judicial affairs; of the archives; the
exercise of police supervision over the market, the marine service,
and the guilds; and, most important of all, the administration of the
finances. They fixed the taxes, for which frequently no receipt was
given or demanded; the money on such occasions being deposited
unnoticed in a box set apart for the purpose--a proof that the payment
of taxes at that time was regarded as a point of honor by the burgher
and without suspicion by the magistrate.