ZAPFENSTREICH. The German word Zapfenstreich is said to owe its origin to General Wallenstein, who during the Thirty Years War in Germany found his unruly troopers so fond of nightly revels and drinking, that to prevent it he introduced the tattoo, or ‘last call,
’ after which every soldier had to retire to rest. To insure obedience to this call, he ordered that when it was sounded the provost of the camp should go to all the sutlers' booths, and see...
