About the work
A one-act sequence of comic scenes by Johann Nestroy, premiered on 3 May 1842 at the Theater an der Wien as a charity performance in aid of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy.
Plot
The text has not survived; only the playbill and contemporary reviews remain. These indicate the scenes were set in an inn and featured a colourful cast including peasants, coachmen, servants, and a Frenchman and an Englishman.
Cultural significance
Critics were divided: the Wiener Theaterzeitung praised Nestroy as the most gifted heir to Old Viennese folk comedy, while the Wiener Zeitschrift disagreed sharply. Coverage in any case focused more on the charitable occasion and on the performers Nestroy, Wenzel Scholz and Alois Grois than on the now-lost text itself.