A 
 
 SUMMER'S TRAVEL 
 
 
 ®0 iM » (^tmm Wfrnt. 
 
 PROVIDENCE, E. I. 
 SIDNEY S. RIDER & BRO., 
 17 "Westminster Street. 
 1864. 
 
INTENDED FOR A PREFACE. 
 
 "Copy for Title Pcage, Table of Contents, Preface, &c.," comes 
 imperatively written on the last " proof" from the printer! Call the 
 book this,— says one suggestion. No, not that, it is too pretentious; 
 call it thus. No, that is too common. What is the book? Simply a 
 reminiscence of a summer's travel to find a German home. Call it so, 
 then. "Written by vrhom? A world renowned cosmopohte, ^hose 
 keen vision, inquisitive research and graphic sketches have interested 
 a large circle of admiring readers? No! By a distinguished literary 
 genius, whose writings— of wide repute for brilliancy of thought, 
 beauty of language, pungency of wit— have carried him to the 
 highest pinnacle of fame? No! Written by ar-simply by a partici- 
 pator in the details of a business life, more familiar with the "journal 
 and ledger," rules for " equation of payments," and finding the mate- 
 rial to make them, laws of trade and financial calculations, than 
 rhetorical treatises or belles-lettres. Wliy pubhshed? To gratify 
 the inmates of a happy fire-side circle. To whom dedicated? To 
 no one, fearing what might be intended as a compliment, would be 
 a reproach. "Was not its publication presumptuous? Please reply 
 after perusal A first effort? Yes, and the last % Deal gently in 
 criticisms and kindly oblige 
 
 THE ATJTHOE, 
 
 Peoyidence, 1864. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 T. 
 
 Why they are in type. — Leaving home. — Cheerful hearth stone. 
 Wood fires.— Insatiable curiosity. — Unexpected tarrying's.— Humanity's 
 weakness. — " Last link broken " — Restricted quarters. — A model Skipper. 
 
 II. 
 
 Pleasures of a sailing ship.— Nautical time and bells. — Neptune's 
 . poets and songs.— Milk superfluous.— New England sansets. — The 
 ■ first "Blow Out"— The "Stars and Stripes."— A marine fight.— "Who 
 are you?" — Boys lost!— A Harmless " Sewing-Circle." 
 
 in. 
 
 Rambling mentally. — "Fourth of July." — A shrouded flag!— In- 
 subordination threatened,— A " bite" of a rope.— Sympathy misplaced. 
 A sailor's life ashore. — " Oh dear me," without deception.— Exhilara- 
 ting occupations. — A tussle with time. — A spunky brig. — Rotation 
 versus progress. — "Lancers and the German," surpassed. — Sounds not 
 always melodious. — A phrenological development. 
 
 IV. 
 
 "John Bunyan," on the ocean. — Important communications and 
 interesting facts.— New system of medical skill, &c. — A sunset at sea. 
 Genuine Havanas. — A sick doctor.— Ups and downs.— Locomotive 
 changes intelligible.— Scraping without the bowing.— Clandestine com- 
 munications.— Possession is satiety. — Marine aiiimalculae, — " A Life on 
 the Ocean Wave." • 
 
VI. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 V. 
 
 Clouds and sunshine.— Land ho!— Wonders of the hunoan mind. 
 The land of neutrality and consistency, "Old England."— Over the 
 water. — Anticipated collisions. — Pleasant recognitions. — Complications 
 of the English coast. — No progress if not retrogression. — An invaluable 
 pilot.—" Old fogyism " in the ascendant.— A marine earthquake ?— Old 
 friends and a midnight bore!— Up the Thames. — Woolwich, Greenwich^ 
 and Blackwall.— An appeal for Jack. 
 
 VI. • • 
 
 Curious walking. — Unintelligible terms.— Thames steamers.— The 
 deep green sea and inky waters.— A mechanical monster.— Great 
 Eastern. — London, by river and railway. — London's masses. — London 
 Police.— " Hansom Cabs." — Eyes and ears open. — Family quarters. 
 Railways and house tops. — News from home. — Last night of "ship" 
 board." — Yankee notions. — Traveller's friends? — Disarranged wardrobes. 
 Officious and official espionage.— The steward's kindness.— Traps, 
 trunks, cars for London.— Through the Custom House! 
 
 vn. 
 
 A married man's duties!— A family's persons and luggage.— Perilous 
 times. — Ascending weight, descending shillings. — Another "last link 
 broken."— Rolling seas and soup. — Downright falsehoods, alias courte- 
 sies?— kn extensive cradle rocking.— Byron collars and neck ties. 
 You would if you could.— Sunday chimes.— True courtesy.— What a 
 lady should expect. — Rambling from church to concert rooms. — For- 
 malities of the English church service.— English clergy and talent— Rev, 
 Mr. Spurgeon.— Reformations.— Rank not genius or worth.— London 
 time, and home time.- John Bull's solidity.— Dinner tables and their 
 contents- 
 
 VIIL 
 
 London indescribable.— Its sameness and varieties.— Humanity's 
 phasps. — Crowded thoroughfares.— Dajiight and midnight.— Westmin- 
 ster Abbey.— Murray's hand-books.— To-day's original.— Kings and 
 Queens.— Children and nurses.— A Venezuelan gentleman and close 
 observer.- Our country's future.— The monumeift to religious freedom, 
 and its author. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Paul Pry's wisdom.— New Palace of Westminster.— Houses of Lords 
 and Commons.— Satisfied curiosity.— Thames Tunnel. — St. Paul's Cathe- 
 dral. — Benjamin West'^cpulchre.— Unanimously wearied —Repulsiveness 
 of English hotels.— Memory's flowwrs. —Smoking dearly prized.— White 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 cravat and black suit not always clerical.— Boots elevated or depressed. 
 Appearances deceitful. — A pleasant chamber for retiring. — Xo accounting 
 for fancy. 
 
 X. , 
 
 Woman, loved when truthful, but if deceitful.— A visit to 
 
 Madame Tussaud's. — Exceptions to English discourtesy.— British Museum . 
 Fatigue, Relief, and Harmony.- Close driving.— Botanical beauties and 
 Zoological wonders. — Pleasures of locomotion from common causes, and 
 a contracted understanding. — Not the " Sparkling Moselle !" — A return 
 to shipboard, and substituted wardrobes. — Stray tears, and sorrowful 
 partings. — Vexation changed to sympathy in a justifiable dissatisfaction. 
 A bargain, not a bargain. — Shoals and sand bars. 
 
 XI 
 
 North Sea. — Want of affinity or adhesiveness. — Night's developments. 
 Copies from Hogarth. — Realities and varieties. — Fairy land pictured.— Sun- 
 day, but no service by fonn or creed. — Holstein and Hanover.— Stade 
 duties.— The Elbe and its beauty. — All hands " detectives."- Pistols and 
 coffee.— Time's changes.— The boy a man! 
 
 xir. 
 
 Hamburg.— The great fire of 1842. — Streit's Hotel— Juvenile tempta- 
 tion and investments. — Walking, dri-^^g, and sailing. — Jew's quarters. 
 Not always "room for another!"— Beer concerts.— Subterranean music. 
 Female participants. — A fireman's experience. — Must not smoke, boys! 
 So-called " Lager Beer."— The true subject for sympathy. — Costumes and 
 their appropriateness. — American ladies' idea of cleanliness. — German 
 burials.— Babel surpassed.— German cemeteries. — Swans.— Demand for the 
 " shears." but none for the dentist! 
 
 XIII. 
 
 German peculiarities.— Observance of Scripture rules. ^German melody 
 and music— Ideality of name realized. — Pretty " Vierlanders." — American 
 cosmojfclitanism. — Railway Stations not conducive to suavity of manner 
 or speech. — Crinolines and poodle dogs. — Five Germans and we three " 
 in a smoking coupe. — A regretted courtesy. — Live or die! — Storks and 
 cranes. — Kiel, Steamer Princess and Capt. Coke. — Summer eve at sea. 
 Danish coast. — A fellow traveller's story of the same travel. — Hotel 
 Royale. — Ideality disappointed^- Joseph Alver, " our " Commissionaire. 
 Bloodless battles, from artillery assaults. — Natures dirge. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Copenhagen. — Museum of Natural History.— An evening's pleasures. 
 The Alhambra.- Hot waffles.— Brilliant pyrotechnics. — Pleasure for the 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 masses.— True philanthropy. — Love of the beautiful. — Tho.rwalsclen. 
 An appropriate mausoleum. — The origin of genius and fame. — Museum 
 of Northern Antiquities. — Mementoes of the past. — A novel road-way. * 
 Natural instincts. — The fellow traveller once more. — A genuine matinee. 
 A struggle agairfft the current.— Refined appreciation of dress by sensible 
 women. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Danish soun.l dues. — Tribute refused by an American ship. — Elsineur. 
 Honest labor. — A comfortless ride. — Royalty's aversion to luxuries. 
 Royal Museum. — Churches and prisons —Prison discipline. — Total de- 
 pravity questionable. — Cork-screw and dragon-tail spires.— A well 
 arranged life exterminator. — Democratic admiration of Royalty. — "Run- 
 ning with the machine." — A Copenhagen fire.— Family reunion. — Official 
 courtesies.— The " Vierlanders " again.— Injudicious advice.— Unpleasant 
 reflections, the more so, because truthful! 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Frederick the Great.— Exchange no robbery. — Royalty's love of dogs. 
 No "eaves-dropping!" — Scandal mongers' Sahara. — "Twenty minutes 
 past two." — Russians in Germany. — Railway officials. — Railway luxuries. 
 •Cannot go wrong. — Time tables and registers.— Yankee curiosity crushed. 
 
 •KVIT. 
 
 More of foreign railways.— The vitiated air of American cars.— Nausea 
 .and its pains. — Want of communication. — "Fools, Aristocrats, and 
 Americans."— Orders issued and count^^rmanded. — An angry man's bless- 
 ing.— German " Alhambra,"— Royalty in domestic life.— Weight of silver 
 when pressed. — Fashionable veracities. — The Princess a wife. — A young 
 man's royalty. — A seven years war not exhaustive. — A treacherous sur- 
 face and mimicry of skating. — A mother's love — A luxurious apartment 
 in the "Rittersaal." — Royal Museum. — Berlin and its attractio;is. — Atran- 
 .quil " Spree." — Curious distortion in sculpture.— Ornaments of Berlin 
 iron —Woman's patriotism —" United we (would) stand " o^ ladies 
 union. . ^ 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Agreeable companions. — Stimulated anticipations to be realized. — Be- 
 fore and after the laundress. — Compen'^ations of a slow train. — Cavalier 
 hats, bad exponents of wrinkles and grey tresses. — Rejuvenation made 
 repulsive.— A model Englishman. — Advantages of a " slow coach."— Ex- 
 patriation of two families. — A four by six feet kitchen. — Yankee and 
 German breakfast contrasted.— Appropriatenesss of the Litany in 
 daily life. — German schools. — Dresden at 8 P. M. — Inspection of forces, 
 •&c.— Our German home!— Ascent and descent of hopes and stairs. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX.- 
 
 ** Kitchen" desecrated.— Revival of home and hope.— Caelebs surpassed. 
 English and Yankee fraternization.— Rational gratifications, or the substi- 
 lutes demanded. — " Der Freischutz." — Whose frowns? — Old and New 
 Dresden, to a traveller, no^ a sojourner. — Positive relief and reaction. 
 Blasted hopes.— The Museums, Historical and Natural.— Colt's revolvers, 
 original? — Men and musCTi of olden times.— Chivahy as it was, not trea- 
 son or traitors. 
 
 ^ XIX. 
 
 Hahnemann and Meissen.— Fashionably being out.— Homeopathy 
 versus Calomel — The " Vogel-Schiessen." — Deceptive appearances of the 
 "Sonne," (Sun.)— Enigmas " and their exponents. — The "Dom,' (or 
 Cathedral )— Porcelain manufactory. — Elastic purse strings. — The "Pot- 
 ter's clay" and wheel. — Simplicity of power and the beautiful. — Contrast 
 of the producers with their productions — Conception more agreeable than 
 description, — The " Saxon Switzerland " — Peculiarities of its beauties, &c. 
 Geology confirmed. — Bastei and the Elbe. — Beauty and boldness.— Na- 
 ture's harmony. — Writing a book of travels in a business office. — Guides, 
 donkeys, ponies, &c. — " Ai-le-o," " Ai-le-u," of Tyrolean song. — Liebe- 
 thaler. Das Thor, and the Teufels Kiiche. — Artificial water fall.— Differ- 
 ence between guide's fees and the traveller's. — A " somerset " and pluck. 
 Unpleasant reminiscence of the dinner bell. — The musical instincts of the 
 Germans. — Hotel Dampschiff of Schaudau. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Scenery on the Elbe.— Anxious regards.— Our host's excessive courtesy. 
 "World-wide " reputation. — " In honor of your ag:ival." — A jaunty straw 
 hat, and blue eyes.— The trans-Atlantic rose-bud.— Obtrusive questions 
 and inquisitiveness. — Walking sticks and umbrellas.— Honesty, versus 
 hotel customs.— Wildness and beauty.—" Bastei and Prebisch-Thor." 
 Contest for dinner.— Details of our excursion's end. — Deformities of 
 humanity amid nature's beauties. — A summer eve's sail. — Meetings in 
 " dream-land."— Konigstein andLilienstein.— An original water elevator. 
 A sail upon the Elbe.— The annihilation of fatigue and discomfort— Nor- 
 ma.— Sunday and its observance. — Kautfmann's musical wonders and 
 talents.— Music's charms to ** Friends."— Our old fellow traveller again 
 with us.— A mother's love, the wife's sacrifice-—" Home, sweet home." 
 
 XXI. 
 
 The " Florence " of Germany.— Conscious inability.— The different 
 schools of painting.— Raphael's Madonna.— Destitution of language for 
 the expression of emotion.— Romance of the " Chocolate-girl."— Music 
 at the guard house.— Woman's /rien<:?5/a/) — Precious stones in quantity. 
 Cost of a " Great Mogul."— Birthplace of the "green-eyed monster.— Dr. 
 
X. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Farance and his school of mental and physical culture.— A "sister fire." 
 Mistake of American travellers in luggage.— Characteristics of dress, for 
 intelligence and refinement.— My office window and the regard for my 
 counsels.— Ancient art. — The Japanese Palace. — The American " Prince." 
 Lcirsened parting sorrows.— An Austrian frontier.- Domestic life with 
 rats and mice.— A faithful attendant.— Magei^ and Solferino prototypes 
 of Fredericksburg, Petersburg, and our battle-fields.— Southern chivalry 
 at Sumter and its just counterpart. 
 
 Homeopathy and its trials and successes.— Vienna as yet unseen. 
 " Carrying the host." — True religion, its hopes, and consolations.— Cheat- 
 ing the doctor.— Self will, versus indisposition — Dresden once more- 
 Maternal efforts and affection.— A traveller's necessity.— Peculiar and 
 effective railway signals. — Giessen, a German home. — Salt works of 
 Saxony. — Interesting specimens of coal abroad and at home.— Cassel, 
 " Wilhelmsh<")lie," and the "Cascade of Karlsburg."— Hercules in copper. 
 A royal bauble.— Peasant women and babies —A rejected comforter. 
 Expansiveness not weight. — Suffocation dreaded but not realized. — Let- 
 ters from home, with no one there.— Frankfort, and the pretty market 
 girls.— Sensibility aroused.— Martin Luther's residence, and Rothschild's 
 birthplace. 
 
 Ostracism of the Jews.— Effects of a repudiated Christianity.—" Ariadne," 
 Zoological Garden, and " Reynard the Fox,"— Humanity satirized. — An 
 English friend and Garman circus. — " Young America " a nuisance. — An 
 eai-ly morning mass. — An unexpected encounter with a fellow passenger, 
 who was "doing up" the pleasures and luxuries of foreign travel. 
 Charitj^ required outside the pulpit.— Giessen of romance. Giessen of 
 fact — A model host, if a representative of his hotel living. — Soaring aloft, 
 in fact and fancy.— Cherished associations, versus parental remonstrance. 
 TT/iO would you have?— Liebig's school of Chemistry. — Chemical fruits, 
 fragrance and liquors. -Humanity's cupidity.— A merited reward for honest 
 labor.— Locomotive powers not always complimentary. — A divided house- 
 hold, and desperate chances for a reunion.— John B. Gough's loss of 
 John Gilpins's ride surpassed — " My Lady's maid," pet dogs, and "My 
 Lady's table."— Sudden transfers.— Strasbourg.— Live market.— Cathe- 
 dral and its wonderful clock. — Paris. 
 
 XXH. 
 
 XXHL 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Domestic life in Paris.— A Frenchman's wants and their satiety.— No 
 chance for misanthropy.— Dull cares a myth.— Yesterday, to-day, to- 
 morrow.-—" Traps to catch a sunbeam" superfluous.— American asceti- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI. 
 
 cism and nnpropitious tendencies.— English stolidity.— Adaptability of 
 national traits and character— If the " May Flower " had found a south- 
 ern landing place?— Where are we?—" John White " to see Paris by day 
 or midnight— Forbidden luxuries —Inspection of Paris—" See Paris and 
 then," live.— The routine of a married man's acquaintances.— Luxuries 
 possibly allowed at home, never in Paris.— My first entree in Paris. 
 Woodman, and that swallow-tailed blue coat.— Grapes, their delicious- 
 ness and cost. — A rare experiment with Consular courtesies. — Successful 
 results.— John White unequalled as a commissionaire.— Cab rules and 
 official espionage. — An almost perfect system for cabs, hackney coaches, 
 &c., for hire.— A personal te^t of it.— A pair of black eyes and curls. 
 John White's efficiency and indignation.— Prison van — Tour of inspec- 
 tion commenced.— Prison Mazas.— Precaution of admission. —Construc- 
 tion, (^scipline, diet and recreation. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Prison Mazas.— Chapel religious services. — Means of communication, 
 " Parloirs."— Exciting and atfecting interviews,-- Kitchen and its connec- 
 tions. — Distribution of food, library, hospital arrangements, punishment 
 for the refractory. — Officials' dress. - Historical incident at " Mazas "—The 
 coup d'etat of 1851,— The Emperor Napoleon.— An insatiable ambition. 
 The gathering storm, and restless upheaving volcano.— Hot^ de Ville 
 December 1st, 18^)1. — The brilliant throng of beauty, science and letters. 
 The gathering of st^smen and divines.™ Thefestivities of the ball room, 
 and the damp chills of Mazas.— The guest of the Hotel de Ville.— The 
 keeper and turnkey of Mazas — Moyameasing, of Philadelphia, the Mazas 
 of Paris.— A " thorn " in grapes.— An inquisitive attendant, and wonder- 
 ful candles. * 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 " Depot des Condamnes." — " Lead us not into temptation." — Disci- 
 pline modified.— Repulsive distribution of food.— Yankees outwitted. 
 Sole-less proceedings in the wet day, or " dewy eve."—" Cantines " or 
 Restaurants. — Occupation of criminals, philanthropy demands. — " Prison 
 St. Lazarre" for females.— Its divisions and discipline.— Its inmates. 
 Reformation at home demanded. — The outrage of our streets. — Woman 
 and her power. — Her influence and her responsibility. — Prison dress, ver- 
 sus crinoline, rouge, and " pearl powder."— The bill of fare at the Cafe 
 "Trois-Freres" and "St. Lazarre."— A mother's crime, and the child's dis- 
 honor.— Sisters of Charity.™ The Emperor and Empress.— The attempted 
 assasination by Pianori.— The assassin and his intended victim.—" Vive 
 r Empereur."— The Empress's tears and smiles.—Orsini, the assassin. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Paris, seen as it should be — American peculiarities in two events.— An 
 incomplete catalogue of pleasures, treasures of art, and the fascinations 
 
XII. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 of Paris and its environs.— A diseased mind and distorted vision. -^A 
 niisanthrope. — Shavint? under torture.— A simple head-rest wanting. — The 
 baker's shop from the barber's window.— What a people. — A Frenchman 
 X>rompt but once — A distressing calamity.— A widowed bride and a 
 stranger.— Where home was.— Railwav companions.— Your "passport" 
 and the franc. — English Channel, Folkestone.— Baskets, tempers, and 
 trunks ruffled.— London.— Rev. Dr. Cummings of " Crown-Court, Long- 
 Acre." — Church rules for strangers.— English courtesy. — "St. Paul's" 
 and its canon, a great bore.— Our Venezuelan friend.— Our country's 
 future.— The accursed rebellion.— A dull clay but pleasant evening from 
 Miss Mc— — 's harp.— A search for a shave, not by a Jew. — A sensitive 
 face and heart. — Sydenham. — Stoke churchyard and its sacred, hallowed 
 thoughts. — A warm heart but erring nature. — May the Ivy gi-ow for 
 my . 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 The reformatory institutions of England.— Boys' Reform School. 
 Home for fallen vromen. — Ragged School of St. Giles.— " Prevention 
 better than cure"— London by midnight.— " Search after happiness," 
 alias a fortune. — Herald's College.— The London Times office. — A varied 
 day and avocations.— Rev. Newman Hall, "of Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars 
 Road."— Ii^ndon fog.— Temple Church.— St. Barnabas, Pimlico, and 
 its Puseyite fooleries. — Tremont House, Boston.— Fields Inn Lane. 
 Ragged Schools, and night refuges for the homele^ — A fearful locality. 
 Training for experts in crime.— Not a " Fifth Avenue " Exchange.— The 
 Ragged Schools, their scholars* and training.— Another " pair of blue 
 eyes," but no "jaunty straw hat." — England's destitution of education 
 for her masse*.— The loyalty of My Lord, and the beggar boy.— How long 
 in its duration? 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Middlesex House of Correction, its capacity, arrangement and disci- 
 pline. — Occupation and dress of its inmates.— Tread mills.— Capt. Craig's 
 courtesy and efficiency. — A model institution. — As written, this chapter 
 was " No. 52."— Its appropriateness as the closing one.— A deacon's 
 coffee house.— Half a mile in the rain for a penny stamp.— A stupid cab 
 
 driver, and the blue eyes again. — Miss McC 's harp — Last night in 
 
 London.— Once more a "last link broken."— A cheerless ride, but a 
 warm welcome from a warm hearted, whole-souled lady. — Terrible 
 storms. — An English banquet hall aud guest.— The Blind School.— Old 
 Chester.— Eton Hall and My Lord's courtesy.—" Good bye," " God bless 
 you," " a safe voyage, and speedy return to us." — New mail arrange- 
 ments. — A heavy gale. — Dangerous passage. — A misstep, its pain and its 
 Christian-like endurance.— Our fellow passengers.— The voyage is over! 
 Home again— The Ivy from Stoke Churchyard.— " Tread lightly." 
 ** Speak gently." 
 
A SUMMER'S TMYEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 I.. 
 
 WHY THEY ARE IN TYPE LEAVING HOME. 
 
 A FEW years have passed in their noiseless, varied track 
 of sunlight and cloud, mirth and sorrow, hope and doubt, with 
 warm, loving, friendly greetings, and cold, selfish, heartless 
 repulses, since the mandate of impaired health, judicious 
 friends and parental yearnings, placed us on ship-board for a 
 sea voyage. And as memory runs back, through the number- 
 less incidents attendant upon leaving business, home, friends 
 and haunts, it recalls most vividly the appeal and effort for a 
 " foreign correspondent" urged upon me. A natural hesitancy 
 in occupying a too prominent position — at least in type — want 
 of opportunity in the " hurry of travel," and the fear of a 
 worse than futile effort, were considerations of sufficient mo- 
 ment to prevent at that time the fulfillment of the request. 
 But the hope of recalling, ere too late, the many pleasing inci- 
 dents of travel, alone impels my pen in its hasty progress upon 
 the fair sheet before me. 
 
 The almost annihilation of time and space, produced by the 
 rapid movements of the oceanic and sumptuous sea-residences, 
 at once foreclosed the thought of so short a " life upon the 
 ocean wave." And after examining every vessel known as a 
 
2 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 " Liner," in New York, and visiting Boston in a despairing 
 mood, the best of fortune awaited us, (my family.) in finding 
 
 the new, beautiful, staunch, comfortable ship , at her 
 
 ^harf, in Boston, advertised for London, June — , 1 8 — . An 
 examination of the vessel, an interview with her gallant cap- 
 tain, an introduction to his brother, (the owners and builders,) 
 left no time for deliberation, so strong were the inducements 
 to engage at once the three very large and comfortable state- 
 rooms upon the larboard side of the spacious after cabin. As 
 it would awaken unpleasant recollections of wearisome days 
 and nights, in taking down and packing up the innumerable 
 little souvenirs and larger accompaniments of a quarter of a 
 century's house-keeping — I was married very young, and the 
 necessity of providing for a family's comfort, in hot weather 
 and cold, wet weather and dry, sea-sick and home-sick, as 
 some might be — I shall spare the reader and myself the pain- 
 ful infliction of a tedious recapitulation. 
 
 Pleading guilty to a little stratagem, in bidding our nearest 
 friends good night," instead of " good bye," we were up 
 betimes, on Thursday morning, June — , 18 — , for an early, 
 sad, half-eaten breakfast, and the first train for Boston, in 
 answer to a telegraphic summons, that " we expect to sail 
 Thursday morning." With a few kind friends to accompany 
 us, and one no less dear to meet us, we left the station, sad 
 and sorrowful, for untried scenes and dangers to that portion 
 of my family whose experience in life had been limited to thp 
 bright, joyous hours of childhood's dreams and pleasures ; 
 tinted, I trust, with golden hues by the cheerful light of our 
 hearth-stone, and* sparkling as the embers of our pleasant hick- 
 ory wood fireside. And if it were pardonable here to digress 
 and add another sigh to our sorrow, it would be for the blight- 
 ing loss to childhood of the fond, enobling, soul-enlivening 
 influences that should cluster oround the cheerful, blazing fire- 
 light of their earlier years ; and as my eye is arrested by 
 the announcement of some newly patented, or re-arranged an- 
 
 • 
 
"wood fires." 
 
 3 
 
 nihilator of childhood's pleasantest realities of home, miscalled 
 " a pure air heating apparatus," fresh sighs escape at this 
 farther innovation of a lung-destroying, health-exterminating 
 process, as one, of the many mis-called comforts and luxuries 
 of our modern homes. And many times have I wondered, 
 that the pen that so graphically told us the story, that " he 
 hooked three dollars," should have lain still, and not aroused 
 the sensibilities of the past, and the reformation for the future ; 
 as it could so touchingly tell us of the old " settle," beside the 
 kitchen fire of four foot logs ; the roasting chestnuts and 
 apples, by the embers upon the " dining-room hearth ;" or the 
 fire place in " mother's chamber." " Oh, would I were a boy 
 again" — and to my boyhood carry back the boys and girls of 
 to-day, who in their martyrdom to " hoops and flounces, stand 
 up collars and fob-chains," are so httle conscious of a fireside's 
 pleasures, and so little know wha! it used to be, to be a hoy 
 and girl! 
 
 But the may have sailed while I am memory-roam- 
 ing over that pleasant old farm and house in ; and 
 
 fearing they may " pull in the plank," before we hurry aboard, 
 I shall leave it for others to ask our " three dollar" friend to 
 take up his pen when I lay mine down. 
 
 We arrived in Boston in " due course of mail ;" chartered 
 carriages and wagons, for friends, selves, traps, etc. With an 
 indefinite feeling of anticipated pleasure and anxiety, we tra- 
 versed the intervening streets of New England's metropolis, be- 
 tween the station and the wharf. The younger members of the 
 family eagerly availing themselves of the assistance of the crew, 
 soon were aboard, and almost as soon were missing. A search • 
 after the " hidden treasures," revealed the proclivities of child- 
 hood's curiosity and buoyant hopes. An anxiety " to know 
 how it would seem," or rather, perhaps, the half finished nap 
 of an early rising, suggested the wish to " try the berths." 
 Nicely stowed away, under coverlet and blanket, the truants 
 were found, answering our anxious search by the positive as- 
 
4 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 surance that it was " first-rate," and to know " if they couldn't 
 stay there till to-morrow morning." Our friends' examination 
 of the strength and comfort of ihe ship were highly satisfac- 
 tory ; and the prayers for our comfort and safety, so far as 
 human forethought could provide, would assuredly be ans- 
 wered. The reception by the captain was more plain than 
 Jigiirative. " Why, what are you all doing here ?" was his 
 greeting. " Getting our traps and things aboard." " But we 
 don't sail to-day." " Not to-day ?" . " No, possibly not to-mor- 
 row." " Why not ?" " Because, we are not ready." " But 
 the telegraphic message said Thursday." " So it did, the first 
 one, but the second didn't." " I know nothing of a second," 
 was the response. But crediting our hopes and wishes, rather 
 than our friends' assurances, we lingered about our future home 
 until the time for the return of those kind friends, the mem- 
 ory of whose kindness for 'years, has made bright many a 
 clouded day. With smiles and tears, prayers and blessings, 
 we parted. They, to tell of our detention at home ; we, to 
 pack up in a smaller space the necessary articles of wardrobe 
 and toilet, for an indefinite residence at the Tremont House. 
 Wearily and thankfully an early couch was sought ; and gentle 
 Morpheus never had more willing captives to his wooing 
 charms than those of whom we speak. 
 
 The next morning, nature, sympathizing in our milder sor- 
 rows, shed its rain drops as tears, and kindly initiated us in 
 the first lessons of that patience and 7^o/^-locomotion to which 
 we were so soon to become daily learners, if not practitioners. 
 A visit to the ship, a telegraphic message to and from home, a 
 pleasant family gathering in our rooms, the partaking of the 
 " good cheer" of " mine host," allowed time's movements pla- 
 cidly to pass, and we again roamed through the sweet, bright 
 visions of the past, present and future, amid the unrestricted 
 wanderings of our dreaming thoughts. A clouded sky, on 
 Saturday morning, seemed the unwelcome harbinger of a pro- 
 tracted stay. Breakfast over, the ship was our first object of 
 
humanity's weaktTess. 
 
 5 
 
 interest. In answer to the oft-repeated inquiry of " Captain, 
 shall we sail to-day ?" we received the reply given to the other 
 passengers, friends, hangers-on and sailor boarding house keep- 
 ers, " yes, at flood tide, after dinner, two o'clock." Upon 
 seeking for the stewardess, we found the female " packing up 
 her duds" to go ashore. Her ardent temperament had suffered 
 most conspicuously in contact with congenial " spirits," and as 
 it was presumed that all that was in the pantry or the passen- 
 gers' trunks were not solids or sea-clothes, a further test of 
 her power of self-denial was deemed unnecessary, and the 
 poor specimen of humanity's weakness and love for drink was 
 moved ashore. The steward, a well-proportioned, tall, athletic 
 colored man, was put upon the track of a substitute ; and two 
 or three hours before sailing, this indispensable personage 
 came aboard, sober then, but slightly suspected on the voyage, 
 more than once, of having deceived the steward more by her 
 representations, than by any certificate of her being a teeto- 
 taler or a temperance advocate. Returning to the hotel, a 
 telegraphic message home, that " we start at three ;" the- duties 
 of repacking, dinner eating and bill paying were hastily per- 
 formed. A parting kiss to those who still lingered with us in 
 our indefinite tarrying, forming the last link of home and 
 friends, was given and received ; and with tears and " God's 
 blessing" mutually invoked, we again found ourselves on board. 
 A large number of friends were assembled for a similar " good 
 bye," to our fellow passengers. The steam-tug was along-side, 
 the pilot on board, high water, and the order, " cast off — let 
 go," assured us that we were from homeward bound. The 
 active crew, all sober, (nine Ameiicans out of the whole num- 
 ber — twelve ;) the making sail, and for the first time " spread- 
 ing canvas to the breeze ;" the three cheers fi)r the noble ship 
 and her captain ; the gradually receding dome of the Capitol — 
 all too plainly convinced us of our " whereabouts," and our 
 exposure to the " danger of the seas." Outside of the lower 
 light-house the steam-tug left, taking from us all but those who 
 1* , 
 
6 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 were to be our companions. Three cheers again, and the 
 waving of hats and handkerchiefs, joyous wishes and tearful 
 responses, soon closed our communications, and sadly we found 
 "the last link was broken." A dispersion to our various 
 quarters, stowing away of bonnets and napped hats, shawls 
 and summer over-coats, more critically examining the- length, 
 breadth and depth of our rooms and berths, and the effort to 
 maintain a cheerful nonchalance, wore away the few remain- 
 ing hours of daylight and twilight. The tea-table brought us 
 all together, and we found ourselves a pleasant party of six 
 ladies, seven gentlemen and two boys, as first cabin passen- 
 gers, and one from Vermont, and a nurse, in the second cabin 
 
 list. Among the ladies, the wife of the Captain, Mrs. , 
 
 stands pre-eminent, on account of the buoyancy of her dispo- 
 sition, sweetness of her voice, and benevolence of her heart ; as 
 through our long passage of thirty-five days, I recall no one 
 hour, except at night, when our comfort and pleasure was not 
 cared for, and her hand was not administering to the sickness 
 or wants of the forecastle. Our captain was worthy of his 
 .wife. For twenty years a "whaler," his knowledge of every 
 rope and spar was complete ; his ability in command, judg- 
 ment and execution, unsurpassed. A mind well stored with 
 poetry and belles-lettVes, history and fiction ; a bearing courte- 
 ous and gentlemanly, and a liberality of heart and purpose, 
 frequently called from us expressions of friendship, and the 
 hope that our "skipper" was the type of American shipmast- 
 ers. And if this most worthy class of our fellow citizens could 
 but appreciate the effect of their presence and influence, as 
 they move about the world, representatives, it may be, for the 
 first and last time, of our noble republic, I am sure the ac- 
 knowledgment of what they can be, would be an earnest of 
 what they will be. 
 
11. 
 
 PLEASURES OF A SAILING SHIP — OUR FIRST "BLOW OUT." 
 
 Sunday morning, June 26th, found " all hands on deck" at 
 an early hour, as the first night of restraint, and vivid recol- 
 lections of a wide mattress, steady bedstead and freedom from 
 anxiety, most generally relieves one from the stupidity or 
 headache attendant upon a too sound and unbroken slumber. 
 We were out of sight of land, a light breeze from a favorable 
 point of compass, and a steady ship, with a gentle swell, a 
 bright sun and the bracing air, created a remarkable degree 
 of unanimity in the qustion of " steward, what time is break- 
 fast ?" " At eight bells," was the reply. " AVhat time is it 
 now ?" " Six bells." This was very indefinite to us, but by 
 the mate we were kindly informed that " six bells" was seven 
 o'clock, and " eight bell?" eight o'clock. So very familiar 
 were we in a few days with this division of time, and the 
 starboard and port watch," that it was a customary repjy, 
 after landing, to speak of the hours as designated on shipboard, 
 by the bells. It was a constant source of congratulation 
 during this delightful voyage, that so very favorable an oppor- 
 tunity was offered for the younger passengers to acquire a 
 knowledge of sea life. By a rigid observance of the rules of 
 the ship; a prompt and cheerful obedience to the wishes and 
 requests of our Captain and his officers, an unabated flow 
 and elasticity of spirits {ardent but not intoxicating^ and a 
 
8 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 ready talent at sketching persons and things, they soon ingra- 
 tiated themselves with the crew and all others. And the " dog 
 watch" and " grub time" furnished frequent opportunities to 
 liear " long yarns spun," learn how to tie a " bowline," and 
 catch many of the words and air of the peculiar songs of the 
 forecastle, which came with true melody aft, or which lightened 
 the strokes while " pumping ship." And when memory re- 
 calls the sights and scenes of other days, frequently the story 
 of " that gale of wind," or the cook's butchering of the sheep, 
 pigs, ducks, &c., or the fancied reveling in the steward's dough- 
 nuts and " home-made gingerbread, is interspersed by the 
 song of — 
 
 ♦ In eighteen hundred and forty- two, 
 1 bid my native land adieu, 
 To see what I could find to do, 
 In working on a railway. 
 
 ♦* In eighteen hundred forty -three, 
 I cross'd the deep and boisterous sea. 
 To find the cash 't would bring to me 
 In working on the railway. 
 
 " In eighteen hundred forty -four, 
 I firs< stood on Columbia's shore, 
 From it again to rove no more. 
 While working on the railway." &c., &c. 
 
 As the poor exile's verses were ended " In eighteen hun- 
 dred forty-nine," we cannot repeat them here. Or, perhaps it 
 was— 
 
 •* A poor old man came riding by, 
 
 Chorus — And they say so, 
 And I hope so. 
 
 ♦* This poor old man came riding by, 
 Chobus^ — Oh, poor old man,"— 
 
MILK NOT A NECESSITY. 
 
 9 
 
 And wlien the order came to " pull away on the main brace," 
 " a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether," was stimu- 
 lated and regulated by — 
 
 *' Haul on the bowline, 
 The noble ship is rolling, ^ 
 
 Chorus — Haul on the bowline, 
 The bowline — haul !" 
 
 • The negro melodies were very agreeahly accompanied by 
 two or three voices of more than ordinary capacity and sweet- 
 ness, and a full chorus of the ship's crew. The day continued 
 very fine ; dinner at one and tea at seven, served to mark its 
 progress. The evening found us in the cabin, with hymn 
 books ; and, as — 
 
 *« Softly now the light of day, 
 Pades upon my sight away, 
 Free from care, from labor free. 
 Lord, I would commune with thee." 
 
 was sung by us in unison. Our gratitude was expressed in — 
 
 ** Glory to thee, my God, this night, 
 For all the blessings of the light ; 
 Keep me, oh, keep me, King of Kings, 
 Under thine own Almighty wings." 
 
 The unbroken stillness without, atid the calm serpnity that 
 followed our evening's worship, seemed suggestive of that 
 " peace which passeth understanding," and induced an early 
 separation to our respective rooms. 
 
 Monday, June 57th, fine weather again, with light winds. 
 Breakfast without milk, Avas our first experience with coffee 
 and tea in their natural strength and color. We had upon the 
 table, (among the many luxuries supplied us so generously 
 from the ship's pantry.) preserved milk. But a good, honest 
 cow, would have bten indignant at a comparison of this drab- 
 
iO 
 
 A SU3IMKR's travel IN EUROPE. 
 
 colored, semi-fluid compound, with the action of " chemical 
 alHnit y" in nature's laboratory. I say /lOJiest coav. Our AAorthy 
 venders of milk, on shore, would greet me with a lawyer's 
 ca|)ia.s," if I should, for one moment, suppose any familiari- 
 ty exi.^ting between their can.^ and the spring water, well or 
 ])nmp. The reminiscences of " milk bills" are too many attes- 
 tations that our milk vender called his product milk — and 
 it certainly was a different article from that in the little can on 
 our ship's table, both in color and taste. But we were soon 
 accustomed to so little an annoyance ; and when we landed, 
 it was a subject for discussion : the intrinsic worth of milk 
 again. 
 
 At noon we came alongside the " Fairy Queen," of Glouces- 
 ler, Mass., from which we had a fine supply of fresh fish, and 
 in n3turn, the boat's crew carried on board a liberal acknowl- 
 edgment in pale ale. The vessel had been out two or three 
 weeks fishing. At mid-day, the log announced lat. 43 01, Ion. 
 C7 42. Tuesday was also a fine day again, with seven and 
 eight knots, and lat. 42 45, Ion. 64 57, at noon.. Wednesday, 
 another fine day, (with light winds,) was our good fortune, 
 and the monotony which we found gradually trespassing upon 
 our limited resources of reading, amusement and gOod nature, 
 was much relieved by the gambols of .the shoals of porpoises 
 and the sporting of the black fish near the ship, and distinctly 
 visible. 
 
 The sunset at night was gorgeous and beautiful. It con- 
 vinced me of the truthfulness of an assertion my English 
 friends had frequently questioned, when I asserted that " I had 
 seen in my own, native New England, as beautiful skies and 
 brilliant sunsets as those of Italy's clime." And to those 
 whose hoi-izon is always limited by a fog, and a blue sky is 
 almost an historical record, I do not wonder at the impossibil- 
 ity of their conception, or the poetry of song and sentiment in 
 Avhich the English express their inspiration, when for the first 
 time they see the reality of a Claude Lorraine's beautiful pen- 
 
A "bloav out." 
 
 11 
 
 clUngs. It is true, wc have not the " azure of an Italian sky," 
 but we have grandeur, sublimity, beauty and magnificence, in 
 the sunsets of our varied climes and seasons. 
 
 Thursday, June 30th, was a repetition of the previous live 
 days of good weather, until noon. The log announced the 
 lat. as 40 35, and Ion. 57 10. Towards night the sky became 
 overcast and cloudy, and the truthful barometer indicated 
 rather rough handling from old Neptune's attendants. The 
 rain at sunset compelled us to forego the luxury of a " fra- 
 grant Havana" on the poop deck, and made a retreat to the 
 cabin both practicable and necessary. During the night, the 
 sighing of the winds through the ropes, and the very uncourte- 
 ous contact with the sides of our berths and rooms, too plainly 
 convinced us that all of nature's elements were not harmoni- 
 ous ; and if we had not heard the full, sonorous voice of our 
 " Skipper," (above the noisy confusion of wind and water, flap- 
 ping sails and stiff ropes,) calm and steady amid the storm, I 
 confess, for one, I should have been a little anxious for the 
 result of the conflict through which our noble craft was pass- 
 ing. But in quieting the fears of others, I reassured myself 
 of but little danger. I have often thought if the progress and 
 course of our peregrinations around the cabin and state-rooms, 
 in rather a questionable costume for an official reception, dur- 
 ing that and a subsequent gale at night, could have been pho- 
 tographed, the recognition of one's self might be more amusing 
 than dignified. Morning at last dawned, and Friday was a 
 clear day with a heavy sea. A good breeze was the result of 
 the previous night's "blow-out." At noon the lat. was 43 41, 
 Ion. 53 40. At 4 P. M., exchanged signals with ship " B. S. 
 Kimball, of Boston," and the " stars and stripes" floated beau- 
 tifully from aloft. The beauty of our national banner must 
 be seen from abroad ; it is not appreciated at home. I have 
 seen the flags of many of the different nations, but never one 
 that surpassed " the red, white and blue." And as star after 
 star is added to its field, niav our progress in intelligence, vir- 
 
12 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 tue and religion be typified in the addition. The harmony of 
 its colors should be emblematical of the harmony of the 
 States ; and God forbid that a " star or stripe" should ever be 
 rent or torn from this proud emblem of a great, free, enlight- 
 ened, glorious republic. 
 
 Saturday, July 2d, we had a calm — rather too quiet a day, as 
 a reference to our log will indicate lat. 43 46, Ion. 52 30. 
 Almost unconsciously in its passage, another week had passed, 
 and a light breeze, with fine weather, greeted our meeting on 
 deck, Sunday morning, July 3d. The day would have been 
 spent with the ordinary quiet of a Sabbath on board a well 
 disciplined ship, if a marine conflict had not kept us for over 
 an hour beside the bulwarks. An unusual commotion of the 
 sea, about a mile to windward, arrested the attention of one 
 of the ship's hands ; it was at first, thought to be the sporting 
 of a whale, as his tail was elevated ten or twelve feet in the 
 air, immediately preceding a plunge below. Other objects, 
 also visible, we supposed might be the fins. After watching 
 for a little while, the first officer told us it was a fight between 
 a " thrasher," sword fish and the whale. At regular intervals 
 the " thrasher," (with a most powerful blow,) would throw him- 
 self upon the whale's back, which was very near the surface 
 of the water. The sword-fish beneath, kept him thus exposed 
 by thrusts of his sword ; the poor victim of this malevolence 
 would desperately throw himself, so as to *expose his tail, and 
 then plunge out of sight ; but his retreat was of momentary 
 duration, and the attacks of the sword fish soon forced him to 
 the surface to be again " essentially thrashed." The conflict 
 was terminated by the death of the whale. What a comment 
 upon life ! How strange, that in this animal life, as well as 
 that of humanity, there are passions of malice and vindictive- 
 ness to obscure the beauty of nature. Here, at sea, where the 
 limitless ocean, placid and calm as a mirror's surface ; bounded 
 only by the horizon ; as clear and transparent as the hopes of 
 childhood's ,e;^rliest inapulses ^ pn tljis Sabbath morning, conse- 
 
" WHO ARE YOU ? " 
 
 13 
 
 crated by God to His own especial honor and worship ; sur- 
 rounded by a stillness oppressive, where the omnipotence of 
 the Creator appeared so manifest in the grandeur of His cre- 
 ation, — here was a struggle for life ; induced alone by the in- 
 stincts of these irresponsible creatures, who, to our shame 
 be it spoken, are often distanced and surpassed by the ingenu- 
 ity and refinemen^of humanity's worst passions ai*d pleasures. 
 " Two bells" called us to dinner, and upon our return on deck, 
 " the long agony had ceased." 
 
 . Exhausted as w^e were fast becoming, in bringing out our 
 reminiscences of the last news upon shore, the predominant 
 Yankee guesssing and inquisitiveness gradually . developed 
 itself in ascertaining " who, and what are you ?" We found 
 an ex-judge from Boston, who involuntarily, or by his own 
 wish and consent, had acknowledged the principle of " rotation 
 in office." A member of the Boston bar, travelling to recover 
 his health and cheerfulness. An alumnus of Brown University^ 
 a deserter from the laboratory of that Institution, obeying na- 
 ture's highest laws of filial reverence and respect, in sacrificing 
 his own preferences, for a father's appeal for assistance in an 
 extended business. A gentleman mechanic, a specimen of 
 whose talents on shipboard received frequent commendations, 
 and the narratjon of whose adventures, by sea and land, at 
 Nicaragua or the Sandwich Islands, was interesting. An ex- 
 captain of popularity and ability, from the day line of steam.- 
 boats upon the North River. An ex-official, whose sagacity 
 was displayed in discovering the truth " that coming events 
 cast their shadows before," in the shape of a successor ; and 
 whose honesty in admitting the fact, that " a man after two 
 years in ^ce is in other people's way," might be his greatest 
 claims upon our consideration. A young gentleman from the 
 coal regions of Pennsylvania, and from a town of his family's 
 name, whose agreeable manners and social qualities made him 
 a favorite with all. Two younger men (there are no hoys 
 now !) of good spirits and equal appetites, made up the com- 
 2 
 
14 'a summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 plement of our sterner sex. But, like the best wine, the 
 
 ladies come at the last of the gathering, and Mrs. , the 
 
 wife of our Nicaraguan friend, of pleasant manners and sweet 
 
 voice ; the Misses , , • daughters of a popular clerk 
 
 and commander of the old " President," and " Ben. Fr^klin," 
 of the New York and Providence Steamboat Line, always 
 ready to promote the pleasure of others by^Jhe contribution of 
 their presence ; the wife and daughter of our sagacious po- 
 litical ex-official — whose qualities of mind and character can- 
 not be impartially delineated here — these made up our social 
 circles of ladies and gentlemen ; and candor compels me to 
 admit thai I never knew of a " sewing circle" where less harm 
 and positive injury was done to character and tranquillity, than 
 in the daily meeting of these active members. I shall not 
 risk my reputation for gallantry, or forfeit my hope of favors, 
 by asking, if it was from the fact that the members were all 
 previously strangers ? 
 
III. 
 
 "fourth of JULY." 
 
 My last wandering fully justifies the title to these hasty and 
 crude sketches, as " Rambles." • If I remember correctly, 
 after an episode upon the depravity of humanity, and a com- 
 plimentary notice of the utility of " sewing circles," I forgot 
 to return to the proper reflections for Sunday. And with an 
 humble confession for my " errings and strayings," I most 
 cheerfully acknowledge the salutary influence to which we all 
 came willing captives, as the melody of sacred song rose sweet- 
 ly upon " the stilly night." 
 
 Monday, July 4th, was pleasant and mild. Our younger 
 passengers were very indignant that so wretched a contrast 
 could be between sea and shore of this national holiday. After 
 breakfast, a self-constituted committee appointed the ex-Judge, 
 " orator of the day ;" the ex-ofiicial, reader of the Declaration 
 of Independence ; and the ladies, musical directors and per- 
 formers. But the double XX's reminiscences of the sensa- 
 tions produced by .a retirement from office, undoubtedly pre- 
 vented tliem from giving vent to any burst of enthusiasm. The 
 ladies assembled on the upper deck, and " Hail Columbia," 
 " The Star Spangled Banner," " The Red, White and Blue," 
 and " Yankee Doodle' were " done for," as well as a similar 
 amount of talent could do it. The " stars and stripes" were 
 " run up," after a most unfortunate suspension in the shrouds 
 
16 
 
 A summer's TRAVEJ. in EUROPE. 
 
 by a green liand, who, not knowing it to have been a signal of 
 distress, most manifestly proved his appreciation of labor sav- 
 ing machines, particularly as the ensign halyards were foul in 
 the block aloft. A rapid succession of pistol shots from a 
 Colt's revolver, answered for a salute by. small arms. Night 
 came upon us with a conscience void of offence, so far as that 
 we had all tried, but couldn't get up a celebration. Query, 
 was our friend of the distress signals a sf)iritualist ? Was it 
 more by design than accident that our flag was shrouded f 
 "Was it to us the forerunner of what has been ? an accursed 
 rebellion, as unholy in its conception as it has been cruel in its 
 prosecution. Was it emblematical of the distress of our be- 
 loved country for the martyred blood that has been sh6d so 
 freely and gloriously in her defence ? Of the tears of woman's 
 love, w^ailing for the noble dead ? Of childhood's guileless, feeble 
 hands, stretched in vain for the grasp of manhood's strength 
 to guide its weakness ? Thank God, the flag was not Union 
 down ! 
 
 Tuesday, July 5th, (lat. 44 43, Ion. 47 00.) was foggy and 
 chilly, plainly indicating our proximity to an iceberg region ; 
 and our never too enthusiastic impulses were somewhat chilled 
 by the reflection. Wednesday clear, with a light breeze, 
 and thfe monotony was varied in speaking the English bark 
 Ellen, from St. Stephens, lat. 44 4o, Ion. 44 21. Thursday 
 also pleasant, with a light breeze, in lat. 45 15, Ion. 41 11. 
 Friday found us in lat 45 23, Ion. 37 58, with a continuance 
 of pleasant weather. Saturday wet, rainy, and a most un- 
 comfortable day; in lat. 45 38, Ion. 36 20. Sunday was an 
 exhilarating day, with a ten knot breeze under a cloudy sky, 
 and which carried us into lat. 46 23, Ion. 34 21. 
 
 Monday, July 11th, being on the main deck, near the galley, 
 my attention was arrested by violent language from the cook. 
 I passed the galley, and saw the steward cornered and crouch- 
 ing under the threats and uplifted arm of the cook, who was 
 holding a large butcher's l^nife, as if to plunge or strike. The 
 
A NEW PHASE OP SYMPATHY. 
 
 17 
 
 Other passengers were assembled on deck for their morning's 
 inhalation of air and appetite. Fearful of a general alarm, I 
 spoke carelessly to the Captain, (who canglit my meaning,) 
 and asked him to go forward. The galley doors were closed, 
 
 but soon opened by Captain , and the cook was forcibly 
 
 expelled before his threats upon the steward had beer#executed. 
 The cook seized a large meat cleaver and refused to do duty ; 
 
 Capt. , came aft and ordered the mate to prepare the 
 
 " bite" of an inch rope, with which, when ready, he entered 
 into the galley, and orderd the cook to beg his pardon, and 
 that of the steward ; to promise never to speak a word or do 
 an act of insubordination on board his ship, or he would have 
 him put in the shrouds, and use the rope's end until submission 
 came. The cook, (like all dastards,) quailed before tlie steady 
 eye and word of the captain ; and upon his knees, with stream- 
 ing eyes, acknowledged his error and promised repentance. So 
 i%pidly had all this passed, and so energetically met, that break- * 
 fast, (somewhat delayed by the occurrence,) was partaken of, 
 and not a suspicion of the transaction occurred to the minds of 
 the other passengers. Strange as it may .seem, I was glad of 
 the occurrence. With many others, I had so often sympathized 
 with poor Jack, and was ready to prosecute and persecute 
 every sea captain for the most unheaixi of cruelties and bar- 
 barities on ship-board, that this feature of Jack's sufferings was 
 quite of a different complexion. The cook was one of the 
 worst looking men I ever saw. He was over six feet in his 
 stockings ; black, bony and muscular, and his face disfigured, 
 (as he said.) by being burnt at the great fire at San Francisco, 
 in Wells, Fargo & Co's banking house. His hair was very 
 close and gimy mottled ; he had no eyebrows. And although 
 naturally of a pleasant disposition, and courteous, yet I never 
 saw passion so vividly portrayed, as when I called the Cap- 
 tain. My wonder is, that discipline ever exists on ^hip-board. 
 We had a cre.w of twelv^e smart, active men, three-quarters 
 A-nerican, and yet only four out of the twelve but what were 
 2* 
 
18 
 
 A SUJIMER's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 shipped by those living • curses to a sailor's prosperity, sailor 
 landlords and shipping-office keepers. Their wages had been 
 advanced, not to them or their wives, mothers, children or 
 friends, but to these monsters of humanity. And when we 
 landed in dock, at London, the ship was again the harvest for 
 a similar <^ang, who with smiles and promises stood ready to 
 take poor, moneyless, friendless Jack, and keep him besotted 
 with liquor and prostitution, until another chance came for his 
 sale and transfer, like a dog, or worse than a dog. In conver- 
 sation with these young men, they one and all stated that the 
 boarding-house keepers, with these vile means, were the curse 
 of a sailor's life. The men are shipped, many times, without 
 a knowledge of where they are bound, for how long a voyage, 
 or for what pay ; and a story was told me of a peddler of 
 fruit in one of the streets of , who awoke from stupid- 
 ity to find himself a " hand before the mast," for an India 
 • voyage. A sailor on the former passage with our own caj^ 
 tain, (who was every inch a man and a philanthropist,) jumped 
 overboard and was lost. An inquiry into the ca'ise, proved 
 that the man was shipped for a longer voyage and a different 
 destination, (while intoxicated,) than he su{)po5ed, as he was 
 intending to return to his home and friends, in a foreign land. 
 
 Tuesday, July 12th, in lat. 47 52 and. Ion. 25 38, we had " 
 pleasant weather with fair breeze at noon, which however, " as 
 fickle as the wind," came round " dead-a-head" at night. The 
 monotony of our daily life was gradually developing the most 
 prominent traits of character in each. And although .courtesy 
 and good nature were never at a premium, on account of the 
 regular supply, yet the " ho-ho-ho !" of a yawn, or the " oh, 
 dear me !" from the dearer members of our ship's family, were 
 not regarded as exceptional expressions, but rather as the reg- 
 ular attendants to every seat or lounge, on deck or below. The 
 study of navigation was thought of and vigorously prosecuted 
 for two days. French grammars and phrase-books suddenly 
 rose in value and then depreciated.* German answered for a 
 
EXHILARATING OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 19 
 
 little jaw-dislocating study ; but the anxiety of proving the 
 truth of the boys' assurance of comfort, " that it will be better 
 when it is done aching," stopped that occupation. Tyeing 
 knots, splicing ropes and spun yarns, learning sea-phrases, 
 studying the ropes and spars ; trying to understand the reply 
 from the wheel, to the Captain's demand, " How do ye head ?" 
 " East by north, half north," or some other equally interest- 
 ing fact to us landsmen ; counting the hens and ducks, and 
 wondering if they would give us a bit of poultry when we 
 arrived off Gravesend ; watching the sheep and pigs, whose 
 narrow quarters at first, were growing larger every time there 
 was a murder on board ; wondering if they felt sea-sick ; lis- 
 tening to our friends' history from his second-cabin quarters ; 
 teilinf v/hat honest industry would do — as he left England 
 fifteen years a^o and landed with his wife and thirty dollars, 
 to begin again me story of life, amid new scenes and home- 
 bere^ associations ; where he went, and what he did ; and 
 that now, with a good home and a small farm in Vermont," with 
 his wife's brother for help, he was going over to see his friends, 
 (if living,) and to take his wife's mother out of the poor-house, 
 to come and^live and die with them ; indulging in a regular, 
 confirmed loaferish way of hanging around, doing nothing; 
 or rather having nothing to do, and doing- it ; — these and a 
 thousand other ways and means were resorted to, in conflict with 
 father Time. It was an earnest conflict for life, .feeling con- 
 vinced that if we did not kill him, we might ourselves, in this 
 lethargic, apoplectic course of eating, drinking sleeping and 
 gaping. 
 
 Wednesday, July 13th, wind still ahead, but luckily, being 
 a light br^rcze, did not materially vary our course as much as 
 anticipated, the lat. being 47 19, and Ion. 22 35. Thursday, 
 in lat. 47 37, Ion. 21 07, we were overhauled by the jaunty 
 little brig, St. Peter, from Demarara. A clean deck, well 
 stayed spars, a pleasant captain and his better half, looking 
 exceedingly comfortable and well cared for, made this gallant. 
 
20 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 trim looking craft a welcome companion for two or three days ; 
 and when we separated by " stress of weather," a feeling of 
 lonely regret was experienced by us. Friday, in lat. 47 48, 
 and Ion. 20 13, was cold, foggy and with a head wind. A 
 stron<]i: wind ahead was our misfortune all day Saturday, in lat. 
 48 15, Ion. 19 56. The wind was light on Sunday, and a rep- 
 etition of bible reading, psalm singing, and the usual restraint 
 of word and action, was our best substitute for more profitable 
 services. In lat. 48 01, Ion. 19 18. Monday, however, gave 
 us a fine, fair wind during the day, in lat. 48 23^ Ion. 16 58. 
 But at night we found a hard gale upon us, and increasing as 
 night approached. Clos% reefed top-sails and every thing snug 
 below and aloft, we stood Avatch through the long night of 
 darkness and storm. Thirteen and fourteen knots an^our 
 was the rate of ou * progress through the wikl elements of 
 strife and discord. This speed was, however, slowness in 
 comparison to that with which we found ourselves ppsing 
 arouiTd and about the sofas, table and chairs in the cabin. It 
 was no " hide and SQ^k" game, but a catch-and-hold-on-if-you^ 
 can tussle. And I have a most vivid recollection of a sudden 
 lurch, Avhich sent me, (I never knew hoiv,) from^ one side of 
 the cabin to the other, in a kind of doubled up, straightened 
 out, back-broken position. It was under the sofa and over the 
 table, and over the sofa and under the table kind of progress ; 
 and like tlie fellow whose head and hat were thoroughly 
 bricked up," it was not the length of the road I travelled, 
 but the confounded width I could'nt understand. It is many 
 years, (although I am not by any means old,) since I " tripped 
 the light, fantastic toe ;" but on that night it was the h^vy, 
 poor, bruised, black and blue toe that was more real than fan- 
 tastical in that tripping ! I have heard many an exclamation 
 over the splendid " Lancers !" and " delicious German cotil- 
 lion !" " What a love of a dance !" and "Oh, such a splendid part- 
 ner !" But the " Lancers" would be , tame, and the " Ger- 
 man" spiritless, in comparison to a dance on ship-board, with 
 
DANCING AND TABLEAUX, NOT "A LA MODE." 21 
 
 a heavy sea, in a gale of wind. It is true you " go up and 
 down the middle," " cast off right and left," " cross over," " for- 
 ward and backward," " chasse," " balance," (if you ean,) and 
 "all round!" But the Jigure is different and so is the step. 
 As to " coming to time," that depends less on the music than 
 the muscle. wish I could put down on paper, and see it 
 danced, that night's motions, costumes, and musical cadences ! 
 not instrumental altogether, but mostly vocal, as tlfe com- 
 mingled crashing and clashing of " china, glass and earthen 
 ware," with, " oh, my foot !" " my arm !" " my head !" " my 
 back !" But my courage fails me ; back again, with a rush, 
 come such sensations of pain, and aches, and bruises and 
 scratches ! I challenge any professor of the " Terpsichorean 
 art" who thinks he has not exhausted the variety of " step and 
 figure" that can be danced, to prepare as original a style as flits 
 through my memory at the recollections of the many storms 
 at sea through which I hflj^ joassed. And as to " tableaux" 
 inventors, the tameness of their productions of attitude and 
 costume, have long since prejudiced my mind in favor of old 
 Neptune's ability, whether in the tragical, comical, or painful 
 delineations, during a " gale at sea." 
 
 Tuesday, July 19th, in lat. 48 46, Ion. 16 26, we spoke the 
 ship Mercury, of New York. Our younger passengers had 
 slept soundly through the adventures of the last night, and 
 amused themselves in rolling, as logs, from one bulwark to 
 another, across the poop deck, as the ship rolled in the trough 
 of the heavy sea of the previous gale. It was "fun alive" 
 until a miscalculation brought them up, not " all standing," but 
 all in a heap, with a thumped head. I am almost ashamed to 
 announce the singular fact that several of the passengers con- 
 fessed to a total unconsciousness of " last night's muss," and 
 some had the effrontery to speak of a head ache from too 
 sound slumbers ! But as for me and mine, we didn't sleep^ 
 \)Y even keep still ! 
 
IV. 
 
 IMPORTANT NEWS AT SEA. 
 
 Wednesday, July 20th, in lat. 48 28, Ion. 14 01, we had a 
 good, favoring breeze, and made a cheering run. Passed, at 
 distance to the leeward, a st^a^jpr bound west. After tea 
 the ladies favored us with music, and the night was at hand 
 calm and starlight. Thursday,, lat. 48 33, Ion. 10 18, a light 
 breeze brought us up with a sail we had been calculating the 
 chances of meeting since early dawn. It proved to be the 
 John Bunyan," forty-two days from the West Indies, and 
 bound to Falmouth and a market. This answer to our hailing 
 explained what I did not understand before. In the marine 
 lists, I had often seen reported vessels spoken, " bound for 
 
 Cowes and a market." Captain informed us that when 
 
 the markets of the different ports were uncertain, vessels on 
 consignment were ordered to stop at Cowes, Falmouth, &c., 
 where the Captain would find orders for liis future action, 
 either from owners or consignees. This meeting of the "John 
 Bunyan," in her pilgrimage " through life's stormy sea," was as 
 cheering and pleasant as that of her sainted namesake, in assur- 
 ing humanity of the final rest and triumph over the elements 
 and passions of daily life. And as some of my readers ma}* 
 not be aware of the important information communicated at 
 
INTERESTING FACTS. 
 
 23 
 
 sea, I will, as far as possible, narrate from memory what trans- 
 pired : 
 
 « Ship ahoy !" 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir." 
 
 " What ship is that ?" 
 
 " John Bunyan." 
 
 " Where from ?" 
 
 " West Indies." 
 
 " Where bound ?" 
 
 "Falmouth." , . 
 
 " What's your cargo ?" 
 " Sugar." 
 
 " How long at sea ?" 
 
 " Forty-two days." , 
 ".Who's Captain?" 
 " Nicholson." 
 
 " I have a cousin of yours on board, Capt. Nicholson." 
 " What 's his name ?" 
 " Blanchard." 
 
 " Thank ye, Capt. G ; very definite, seeing I have 
 
 about fifty of that name." 
 " Fifty ?" 
 
 " Yes, one hundred and twenty-five, not counting the pret- 
 tiest." 
 
 " This one is W ." • 
 
 " How are ye, cousin W ?" 
 
 " Pretty well ; how are you ?" 
 
 " First rate ; how 's the folks at home ?" « 
 
 " All well." 
 
 " What are you doing aboard that craft, playing passenger ?" 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Do you want some cigars, Capt. G ?" 
 
 " Yes, and thank you, too." 
 •" Send your boat alongside, then.'* 
 " Thank ye, will you have some ale ?" 
 " No, don't use the stuff." 
 
24 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 This Blanchard was our second ofRcer when leaving port, 
 and was bound to London to join his former ship, the Bos- 
 phorus ; but as he became my patient with an attack of pleu- 
 risy, I doubted the propriety of his going off to the " Bunyan." 
 As the boat lowered, however, he was at her stern, ready for 
 the helm. Perhaps my remarks of having a patient, requires 
 explanation. I had for many years been a regular practitioner, 
 (at home,) although I confess I hardly ever saw a medical 
 book, and much less read one. And consequently every case 
 that- came under my supervision would be divested of any 
 prejudice in favor of allopathy, homeopathy, hydropathy, elec- 
 tropathy, or any other pathy. This, we know, is an age of 
 progress ; and as every notion, practice or precept that is more 
 than a month old, is "old fogyism," I see no reason why the study 
 of medical science should not be changed, and do, as I have no 
 doubt many are doing, get the practice first, and the theory 
 afterwards. And if by any chance the patient dies, or chooses 
 to grow worse during this process, this condition cannot be 
 charged to a false theory. However, my^ patient recovered so 
 far at least as to respond to the hailing and boarding the 
 " Bunyan." The result of this convalescence gave me the 
 cognomen of " Doctor," during the rest of the passage. The 
 reminiscence of this pleasant little episode awakens impres- 
 sions of beauty that must be seen to be appreciated. The 
 can^s, full spread, was flapping idly against the masts and 
 spars of both ships ; the regular swell of the ocean, marked 
 the most graceful delineations of motion in the vessels ; the 
 mirror-like surface of the sea rivaling and reflecting, if possi- 
 ble, in increased gorgeousness and splendor, the magnificent 
 sunset of our earlier passage ; the regular stroke of the oars, 
 propelling the minature model of a ship's hull, with the song 
 of the oarsmen ; the unbroken silence and serenity of the 
 scene and the hour ; the hearty greeting of those long-parted 
 friends and relatives, so far from home, with so much to ask 
 and so much to tell ; the gradually declining sunlight of hope 
 
" UPS AND DOWNS." 
 
 25 
 
 a^d promise for tike morrow ; the " good bye" and return on 
 board, — these minute, fractional parts of so simple an occur- 
 rence, formed a picture of beauty and interest, excelled only 
 by the fragrance, not of the " dew sprinkled violet," or the 
 rose, but of those " genuine Havanas" C^apt. Nicholson sent 
 
 Capt. and his passengers ! If his personal attractions, 
 
 mental ami moral worth are equal to his selection of the " gen- 
 uine," I advise that prettiest "cousin to prevent herself being 
 ever counted, except as his " better half." 
 
 During the night, I had an opportunity of making a practi- 
 cal application of the proverb, (found in Luke, 4th chapter, 
 23d verse,) referring most pointedly to my medical skill. A 
 variation and imprudence in diet, caused a relapse of my pre- 
 vious indisposition, in part. Many a time have I wondered 
 liow it was ^ssible to change the direction of action and mo- 
 tion in the cylinder of r locomotive steam engine ; but the 
 transition from fever to chills, and from chills to fever," has 
 long since proved that " some things could be done as well 
 as others," and that the locomotive or the weather were not 
 the only things liable to sudden changes. A restless night, 
 succeeded by a sick day, prevented my enjoying the fair 
 weather, or the excitement of counting the " nineteen sail in 
 sight." There were many inquiries, " how 's the Doctor ?" — 
 and as it is a fair test to judge others by one's self, I risk no 
 charge of egotism in believing the " Doctor" inquired for 
 referred to the one in the cabin, not him of the "galley," 
 judging of my antipathy and decided indifference to the sum- 
 mons for breakfast, dinner and tea, or to taking any of the 
 " messes " prepared by the " Doctor " of the cook's galley. 
 Lat. 48 48, long. 9 26 placed us, as was reported on the log, 
 " on soundings." This intelligence quickened alike the sick, 
 the well; and the scrapers of the deck, who before moved 
 rather heavily and sluggishly, except in the presence of the 
 Captain. 
 
 3 
 
2G 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 Saturday, July 23, in lat. 48 5G, long 7 43, we had a fine day, 
 with light winds, and good singing by the ladies. I had well- 
 nigh forgotten to mention "a correspondence," which was de- 
 tected as passing from one of the masculine passengers to the 
 wife of the Captain, This most exemplary lady was trapped 
 at last ; and strange as it may seem, in the place of indignation 
 at the exposure, and the cry of a " man overboard " being 
 heard, the communication was even clandestinely answered. 
 The fact of the steward having made some first-rate " raised 
 dough -nuts," and a plate of them being seen upon the cabin 
 table, through the sky -light from the upper deck, w^as the cause 
 of the occurrence. I luckily found the note, and risking the 
 consequences of exposing the parties, here you have it : 
 
 " Dear Madam : — Please give to the bearer two dou^h-nuts. 
 
 Affectionately yours, 
 
 G. B. D . 
 
 Mrs. H. D. G , ship , At"" antic Ocean." 
 
 There's tor you ! 
 
 That soft, sweet voice of melody, so often heard on our pass- 
 age, amidst the tempest and rough, stoi my sea, — awakening 
 emotions similar to the small, still voice of Divine Love ; over- 
 powering the sensations of fear, anxiety and distrust, — came 
 stealing in its sweetness from the cabin, as lazily we watched 
 the various forms of the muscular and gelatinous specimens of 
 animal life that floated by us, down in the deep, clear blue wa- 
 ters. Some of this jelly-like substance we caught in a bucket. 
 To the touch it had a disagreeable sensation, and appeared as 
 an inanimate mass of consistent matter. And like many of 
 the other fascinations of life and anticipated pleasure, it 
 perished in the handling, and its possession annihilated the 
 beauty of its natural condition. The " men of war," as the 
 sailors call the " nautilus," were beautiful ; as glistening in the 
 sun beams, upon the deep blue of the ocean, they glided by, 
 wafted by the gentlest zephyrs of a summer's day. The 
 
" A LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE." 
 
 27 
 
 brit," (as it is known to wlialers,) upon which the whale and 
 other large fish feed, we saw in wliat appeared as small fields. 
 This is a minute fish, so srnall and indistinct from the ship's 
 deck, that it resembles more a mass of dissolved gelatine than 
 life. A lazy, tub-rolling saw-fish passed so near to the ship's 
 bows, it was a question Avhether he was not in collision with 
 the stem. We had an opportunity during this pleasant pass- 
 age, of seeing almost every wonder of the ocean ; every 
 variety of wind and weather ; and of frequently testing our 
 ability " to bear and forbear." We missed the " how does she 
 head ?" — rendered superfluous by the consciousness that we 
 were turning round almost upon a pivot, in dead calms, making 
 ten knots in twenty-four hours ; but renewed again when we 
 were rushing onwards, away from our course, with the. speed 
 of the tempest, thirteen or fourteen knots an liour under clote 
 reefed topsails. Those whose experience of a sea life is 
 limited to the unvarying, systematic monotony and progress of 
 an ocean steamship, can form but a very indefinite idea of the 
 daily sources of anxiety and pleasure, which a sole dependence 
 upon the " wind and waves " create. 
 
CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. 
 
 The morning of Sunday, July 24th, was eagerly hailed for, 
 as Capt. G promised, from his previous day's reckon- 
 ing, to show lis " Lands End," if the wind was propitious and 
 the weather clear. Disappointment at first was our misfortune. 
 The morning was calm and rainy. But the horizon gradually 
 became distinct, and a favorino^ breeze broufjht " land ho !" at 
 two. and a half o'clock, P. M. A small, dim cloud appeared 
 over the port bow, hardly perceptible to our unsophisticated 
 vision, but gradually assuming form and substance, as we 
 followed the directing hand of the captain, until* the land itself 
 appeared in sight. Our Sunday hymns of thanksgiving and 
 praise were more effectively sung, and heartfelt was the prayer 
 of gratitude which arose from 07ie family gathering, at this con- 
 viction of that goodness Avhicli had thus far guided us over the 
 pathless sea. At nine o'clock in the evening the cry of " light 
 ho !" brought us on deck, and " Lizzard's Point Light" was a 
 most cheering ray of welcome and gladness, confirming us in 
 the joyousness of " land ho !" at noon. It, to me, appears as 
 the greatest triumpli of mind over matter, — this fact which we 
 are now -illustrating. AYe had loft home and a neighboring 
 port, for a voyage of three thousand miles, over a pathway 
 without a guide, or a bound ; through tempest and calm ; with 
 
" OVER THE WATER." 
 
 29 
 
 favoring and adverse winds ; through midnight darkness and 
 clouded skies ; with naught to direct us, but one little solitary 
 needle, isolated from all contact with reason or skill, yet " true 
 as the needle to the pole." The sun by day, and the north 
 star at night, the only indicators of our progress. And as un- 
 certain and conjectural as all might have been, yet, in a given 
 space of time, almost without the variation of a single hour, or 
 a point of the compass, we found ourselves at the other side of 
 the globe, surrounded by scenes and associations, as different 
 from our own as the truthfulness of our trackless voyage was 
 wonderful. I hazard but little in saying, that many eyes were 
 not overburdened with sleep, as we rallied again on deck, on 
 Monday, July 25th. Our first communication with " Old 
 England," was from a little shallop, tossing and bounding 
 about, over and through, if not under the billows, as she bore' 
 alongside. Her crew of as four hardy, weather-beaten looking 
 veterans, as I ever saw, thoroughly drenched, (or appeared so,) 
 with the spray, hailed us to know " if the captain wanted a 
 pilot ?" and also, " where from, Avhere bound ?" They were 
 Deal pilots. Upon my return home, I found the first news of 
 our whereabouts to our friends, were through the kindness of 
 these brave men, assisted by the steamer and the telegraph- 
 The pilot boat " Flora of Cowes," No. 5, also spoke us. At 
 noon we came up with a large, full-rigged ship, answering our 
 signal of the "stars and stripes " with a display of her own. 
 To our surprise it proved to* be the " Daniel Webster," a liner 
 from New York to London, and by which we had partially en- 
 gaged passages. But as her day of sailing was for the IGth 
 of June, and our time at best, hurried and short for the con- 
 templated year's absence, we left that opportunity for the 
 
 longer tarry at home the afforded us. At 6, P. M., we 
 
 made " Start Point," and at 8| P. M., were abreast of the 
 light. On coming on deck, Tuesday morning, we were in close 
 proximity with the ship " InternationaJ," for Boston. At noon 
 the " Bill of Portland " was pointed out to us, and our cap- 
 3=^ 
 
30 A SU.MMF.r's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 tain's good nature was, as is usually the case, taxed, '(not be- 
 yond its extent, however,) by answering a thousand questions 
 of thoughtless curiosity, and of but little profit. 
 
 Wednesday, 27th, Catharine Point was passed. Then the 
 tall, towering, white cliffs of Beechy Head.. Dungeness was 
 eagerly looked for, as there the pilot to Gravesend was to 
 come on board. At this time the Italian question was on the 
 " tapis." AVe came very near annihilating all our reputation 
 for courtesy and good humor, in the anticipated struggle for 
 " the papers," and in asserting what we kneiv had or hadn't 
 taken place ; then mo<i gravely discussing the consequences 
 which had ensued upon our supposed occurrence. But the 
 pilot or the papers didn't come ! and so ail our fuss ended in 
 the smoke of a " John Bunyan " cigar. I sincerely doubt if 
 the real Napoleon ever " had, can or will have," so hearty a 
 greeting as we gave a namesake of his, in the shape of a trig- 
 looking, quick and powerful steam-tug, called the " Napoleon 
 of London ;" and the pleasure was increased at the recognition. 
 
 of her Captain and Caj^^)tain G , as two years before, 
 
 nearly at the same time and place, he had towed into dock, the 
 beautiful " Laughing Water " on her first voyage from goston 
 to London, with the saitre gallant skipper. 
 
 The steam-tug " Napoleon " proved a most valuable " friend 
 in need." Off Dungeness, pilots are usually taken for Graves- 
 end, and our Ca[)tain was desiring one, to relieve him of tlie 
 anxious watching of the past forty-eight hours. Approaching 
 any coast is more or less a source of anxiety ; but the Eng- 
 lish is particularly so, not only on account of its abruptness at 
 many points,*but also from the great number of vessels, con- 
 stantly entering or leaving the channel : and it is a source of 
 Avonder that the collisions are so few, with this liability con- 
 stantly existing. Consequently, great was the disappointment, 
 as night's shades approached, to find no signs of a pilot boat. 
 The Captain of the Napoleon" rendered most efficient ser- 
 vice, in running on and olBT shore, in the hope of relieving us 
 
"old fogtism" not dead. 
 
 31 
 
 from our very awkward position. It is a singular fact, that 
 all the pilotage and light-houses upon the English coast are 
 under the control of a corporation whose existence dates back 
 to the early part of the sixteenth century. The laws and 
 regulations adopted by this odious monopoly are severe and 
 rigidly enforced. Any vessel proceeding beyond a certain 
 point of the channel, Avithout a pilot, incurs risks and penalties 
 of a serious nature. We had a fair breeze up the channel, 
 and anchorage was impracticable if not imposiblel What was 
 
 to be done ? Captain very prudently kept his course, 
 
 with the utmost caution and constant lookout. The towns on 
 shore were now distinctly seen by the gas lights of the streets 
 and houses. Folkestone was passed, and near midnight Dover 
 appeared abreast of us. The Captaiji of the steam-tug tried 
 every method for attracting the attention of a pilot. At la;t, 
 by running close in shore, a boat was hailed, and the cheering 
 news of " a pilot boat on the port bow !" was a source of con- 
 gratulation to those of us who were participating in our Cap- 
 tain's anxiety. But when the boat came alongside, a drunken 
 mass of humanity was rolled aboard, and for two hours he was 
 allowed to sleep off his debauch. The next morning our con- 
 tempt for him and his dotard employers was increased by his 
 consequential assumption of authority in the manner of using 
 his glass (telescope) and the constant orders to the man at the 
 wheel to " follow the steamer," which was leisurely moving 
 ahead of us. It is strange to m*that the commercial interests 
 o? England submit to this old fogyism and monopoly. The 
 revenues of one year to the " Trinity House " were one hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand pounds sterling ! (six hundred thousand 
 dollars.) If the gold-laced, gilt-buttoned, epauletted official, 
 who commanded one of the steamers belonging to the corpo- 
 ration, which we passed in going up the Thames, could have 
 heard our comments, we would probably have been followed 
 by a " broadside," if there was * the ability aboard his craft to 
 have given us one. This corporation has the entire charge and 
 
32 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 custody of the coast arrangements, placing all the buoys, stakes, 
 light-houses, pilotage, &c. Its charter of nearly three hundred 
 years should be repealed, and new life and vigor imparted to 
 so very important a branch of maritime service. It was a 
 beautiful sail up the channel. We were quite near the coast, 
 and passed the Downs, South and North Forelands, where we 
 were made fast to the steam-tug. The powerful engine soon 
 enabled " all hands aloft " to send down the spars and canvass 
 as is customary, preparatory to entering the Thames and the 
 docks. We dropped anclior on account of the ebb tide, over 
 the bars, at noon. At 4 P. M., the merry clink of the wind- 
 lass pawls in heaving anchor, was interrupted by a jar and 
 commotion as if an earthquake had passed near us. Our 
 noble ship was a model vessel in many respects. The wind- 
 lass was of the newest pattern. It power was increased by a 
 combination of gearing, connected by a wedge-shaped key. 
 Owing to improper adjustment, the key slipped when the an- 
 chor was half weighed, and the lightning-like rapidity of its 
 slipping and descent caused the vessel to shiver and shake 
 fearfully. The accident came near being fatal. One of the 
 crew Avas between decks stowing away the chain cable in thQ 
 chain-box, and as the anchor fell, was in great danger of being 
 entangled in the upward rushing chain. But an instinctive 
 and almost incredible jump saved him from certain death. In 
 tow of the steamer, we entered the Thames, and at sunset 
 were safely at anchor in the harbor of Gravesend, surrounded 
 by vessels of almost every size and nationality. Oar steward 
 was soon under orders for fresh meat, fish, butter, &c. In the 
 
 evening, an old friend of Capt. and Mrs. G came on 
 
 board, and we were soon posted up in the stirring events of the 
 Old World. Soon another and other fri(^nds were in the cabin, 
 and if one of them earned the appellation of being rather "a 
 bore," it was because he could not or would not take the hint 
 so repeatedly given him, that* " it was past midnight," " I'll 
 meet you to-morrow at the office," " mys'elf and passengers are 
 
"an appeal for jack." 33 
 
 very tired." Notwithstanding, however, it was after two 
 o'clock before the cabin and Captain was relieved by the 
 pleasant assurance that " he would be with us early in the 
 the morning." Two officers of the customs were put on board, 
 under whose custody the ship was placed until discharged. 
 
 Friday, July 29th, fruits and flowers were sent to the ship 
 by Mr. N , whose -courtesy and kindness to his Ameri- 
 can friends, generally, made him the welcome guest of the 
 previous evening. At 7, we were under way under the lead- * 
 ing of the " Napoleon," and a different pilot from Gravesend 
 to London. The sail up the Thames was very fine, although 
 the surrounding scenery was not as picturesque or beautiful as 
 was expected. The smoke from the steam-tug was directly in 
 our faces, and our view of the river and its surroundings was 
 at times entirely prevented by its, density. Vessels of various 
 kinds, and in great numbers, were passing and repassing, ren- 
 dering great skill and care necessary to avoid collisions in the 
 frequent sinuosities of the river. The rendezvous for the 
 men, vessels, &c., of " Trinity House " with the wharf-yards 
 filled with red buoys and other appliances of their operations, 
 gave us an idea of the extent of its jurisdiction and duties. 
 The great work shop of England, Woolwich, the Marine 
 Hospital of Greenwich, and at last Blackwall, were success- 
 ively passed, and at noon we were alongside the pier, waiting 
 for our turn to enter the East India Dock. By 3 o'clock P. M., 
 this was accomplished and we were made fast in the berth as- 
 signed to us, and thus, through the blessings of Almighty God, 
 had reached " the haven where we would^e." But poor Jack 
 had less cause for thankfulness, as 'one after another of his 
 worst enemies, but professed friends, came to the ship's side 
 enquiring after their victims. Who is responsible for this 
 wretched degradation ? Is it the ship owner who employs 
 these human vampires ? Are the laws at fault ? Where shall 
 poor Jack turn for sympathy and relief? Is there no arm to 
 save ? 
 
VI. 
 
 CURIOUS PEDESTRIANISM. 
 
 It was fortunate for us that our first attempt in Jive weeks, 
 at pedestrianism, was along the docks, and not among the busy- 
 throng of England's capital. It gave us strong reminiscences 
 of our earlier efforts. As to the " walking of a crack," we 
 might as well have tried " Blondin's rope," over the St. Law- 
 rence. The earth never appeared so rough and hard.. Its 
 steady diurnal revolutions must have been materially quick- 
 ened, for us satisfactorily to account for the semi-circular 
 movement of our feet and legs. And I have often congratu- 
 lated myself that I was beyond the reach or vision of the 
 lynx-eyed police (?) and thus protected from arrest as a 
 vagrant, or for being " indecently intoxicated." (A term by the 
 way, I never could comprehend, as I have not the ability 
 of appreciating wheji, or how, a man can be decently in 
 liquor.) It was a strange sensation truly, our first walk from 
 shipboard. At Blackwall'landing stage, the facilities for com- 
 municating with the city proper are almost momentarily, by 
 railroad or steamers. We took one of the latter up the 
 Thames, for the purpose of showing the juveniles the re- 
 markable fiicility with which these small, quick steamers are 
 managed. They literally glide in and out, from among the 
 numbers of crafts, of every variety of form and size, with 
 
A MECHANICAL MONSTER. 
 
 35 
 
 which the upper part of the Thames is crowded. The Cap- 
 tain stands upon a bridge, (extending from one paddle-box to 
 the other,) and his orders are communicated to the engineer 
 below, by a soot-colored urchin who sits across the hatchway ; 
 and as signalled, or spoken to by the Captain, cries in a most 
 patheticf, monotonous voice, " Eese-her," " starp-her," " goer- 
 ead." The water of the river was of a most peculiar color, 
 and its odor very anoying. We had read, on our arrival at 
 Gravesend, of the almost pestilential vapors rising from the 
 Thames, and of the apprehension of sanitarians, fearing a re- 
 currence of the plague. I plead guilty to a charge of indis- 
 cretion, in thus so quickly exchanging the pure, tonic atmos- 
 phere of the ocean for that of these ink-colored ^ters, con- 
 stantly stirred up by the paddles of the numberless steamers 
 plying so frequently and- rapidly up and down the river. 
 The odor was that of an immense sewerage, and more 
 powerful and pestiferous at ebb tide than at the ^ood. Not- 
 withstanding all that had been said or written, I saw no de- 
 crease in the countless mass of humanity, doing business upon, 
 or near these impure waters. 
 
 Before reaching Blackwall, we passed the large floating 
 derrick, recently built in London, (upon the principle of a 
 New York mechanic,) upon which were suspended the hulls 
 of two vessels, apparently sunken wrecks, of between two and 
 three hundred, and one Ifimdred tons burthen, elevated some 
 thirf)^ feet in the air. Above Blackwall, was the eighth won- 
 der of the World, the " Great Eastern," appearing as a huge 
 elephant beside a most humble donkey, as we compared her 
 dimensions with the shipping around. This was the fourth 
 time I had seen the monster. In 1855, before the vessel was 
 launched, I was on board, and under the hull. From below, 
 the height of her bulwarks made the paddle wheels appear 
 as buttons upon the waistband of trowsers. The length was 
 not as impressive, as the staging poles all around prevented 
 a fair observation. The wedge-shaped bows appeared sharper, 
 
36 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 in proportion to her size, than the edge of the iron wedge used 
 in splitting logs. The stern, with its opening for the screw, was 
 symmetrical. A stairway of great heighth, (and circular,) 
 conducted the workmen and visitors, to her main deck. The 
 depth of hold was appalling, and appeared as black below as 
 midnight darkness. The length of the deck very naturally 
 suggested the ability of communication, forward and aft, with 
 sufficient promptness to avert an impending danger. An im- 
 pressive, comprehensive idea, of its vastness and size was im- 
 perfect, on account of the obstructions, inside and out, of the 
 necessary platforms, staging, and machinery. But the appear- 
 ance and impression conveyed to the mind, was that of some 
 inanimat^ monster awaiting, in sullen silence, the bidding into 
 life that should move its ponderous bulk. At this time, July 
 29th, 1859, it was impossible to obtain admission through so- 
 licitation or favor, as nine hundred . workmen were employed 
 in completing the outfit for sea, within the specified time of 
 three weeks, as (by contract with forfeitures) was agreed. In 
 October of 1859, it was my intention to have visited the ship 
 off Holyhead ; but a severe storm, which came near causing 
 her destruction, washed the embankments from a portion of 
 the railway, between Liverpool and Holyhead, and rendered 
 travelling difficult, and detaining. We sympathized with our 
 fellow countrymen of Portland in their disappointment at the 
 delay and abandonment of the expected arrival of the vessel 
 at their port. But our surprise would have been much gri.'ater 
 then, if the promised voyage had been performed. It would have 
 been hazardous to have spoken 'of the enterprise as a gigantic 
 failure, when the morning papers mentioned her departure for 
 this country on the 16th of June of the next year. But we 
 can question the practicability of her construction. Who 
 would have ventured his life to make one of the ten thousand 
 passengers understood to be her complement ? Where could 
 insurance be effected upon her cargo when filled to her capacity? 
 How few are the ports to which she could find an entrance ? 
 
London's masses. 
 
 37 
 
 What are to be the expenses of her outfit of coal, stores and snp- 
 phes ? of her pay-roll, for officers and crew ? I can but think that 
 the vessel exists only as a wonder of mechanical skill, without 
 claims of high distinction either for the evidence of superior 
 mind in her power and speed, but rather for her size and pro- 
 portions. And it is passing a mild criticism, in sj)eaking of 
 her as a monument of extravagance in time, labor and capital. 
 The active sympathy in this remark of her bankrupt stock- 
 holders, would furnish a theme of sterner comments. In pass- 
 ing up the river from Blackwall to London, a much more cor- 
 rect idea is formed of the city than by railway. The various 
 bridges, the locality of the Thames Tunnel, St. Paul's, the 
 Tower, Billingsgate, Hungerford Market, Somerset House, 
 &c., are better noted. But if it is your first trip, either by rail- 
 way or by river, any impression, except that of the moving, 
 hurrying masses of humanity and means of transportation, is 
 soon obliterated and indistinct. Landing at London Bridge, — 
 over^which w^as passing a countless throng of cabs, omnibuses, 
 w^agons, carts, donkeys, horses, and almost every thing of life, — ^ 
 upon the " landing stage," (as all these stations upon the river 
 are called,) and ascending the stairs, we found ourselves cling- 
 ing to each other with a firm, nervous grasp of the hand, fearing 
 we should be overpowered and lost, in this contact with the 
 hurrying, crowding, jamming mass of the World's metropolis. 
 
 Wishing to avoid the confusion of the crowded sidewalks, 
 we addressed ourselves to a policeman in seeking for a cab, and 
 as ever before, received a prompt, courteous attention to our 
 request. The police department of London (as far as I can 
 judge by observation and personal contact) is one of the best 
 organized of any in the various cities I have visited. In Paris, 
 the organization is strictly military. There are several dis- 
 tricts in the city of London, the police of which are distin- 
 guished by difference of cuff trimmings, &c. The dress is of 
 a dark blue substantial cloth, with single-breasted body coats,- 
 military collars, silvered buttons, (indicating their avocation,) 
 4 
 
.38 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 a black fur liat, with a crown of leather, India-Rubber cape, 
 and white gloves. They are generally stout, well-formed, ro- 
 bust men, and render such services as you may require, with 
 promptness, civility, and cheerfulness. My young companions 
 having espied a " Hansom safety cab," among the numberless 
 vehicles passing us, decided our choice. These cabs, are of a 
 peculiar construction. The body is suspended very near the 
 ground ; the shafts are nearly level with the top of the high 
 front and the centre of the large wheels. The axles are upon 
 each side of the cab. The driver sits upon an elevated seat 
 behind. When you take one, you step in from the sidewalk, 
 (upon a level,) opening the small doors which serve as a pro- 
 tection from the weather. As^ you wish to speak with the 
 driver, you raise a small door, like a valve, in the top. 
 Facing the horse, you see all before you, and until " practice 
 makes perfect," you find yourselves absorbed in the apparently 
 hair-breadth escapes which are momentarily occurring. Two 
 persons are very comfortably accommodated. The price m two 
 shillings sterling (fifty cents) per hour. The safety consists 
 in the nearness of the body of the vehicle to the ground, so 
 that if the horse falls, no danger arises from having but two 
 wheel's. The novelty and excitement of that first ride will 
 never be surpassed in the memory of my young friends. And 
 the attempt which was first made to " Oh, look here," " look 
 there," " see quick," was soon abandoned, as the frequency 
 and rapidity with which new sights and scenes were met, made 
 ithe effort fatiguing and useless. 
 
 Our first destination was for " quarters." Following the 
 advice and direction of friends who had previously been in- 
 mates of her family, as boarders, Ave soon were at Miss , 
 
 j^o. 6, — Square. After a self-introduction to our hostess, 
 
 in which was detected a search for our credentials in appearance 
 and address, we were fortunate in finding rooms vacated the 
 day before by a party of Americans who had left for the con- 
 tinent. Our next movement was for news from home. And 
 
" YANKEE NOTIONS." 
 
 39 
 
 the very popular banking house of Messrs. Peabody & Co., 
 extended to us the courtesy so universally dispensed by them 
 to their many fellow countrymen, in handing us the accumula- 
 ted stock of five weeks' letters and papers ; offering us also 
 their services as necessity should require. A drive to the rail- 
 way station ; a ride in the cars over the tops of the houses, and 
 a succession of docks, warehouses, &c., brought us to the 
 East India Docks of London, at Blackwall. Our ship's berth 
 had been changed ; and after clambering over the sides and 
 deck of the ship " America," hailing from Quebec, we were 
 
 soon aboard of the , enjoying the rich treat of " news 
 
 from home." We regretted the natural anxiety expressed by 
 our friends for our safety. Not a ship had reported us. Ac- 
 counts of rough weather and ice had been, published, and for 
 five weeks had their affectionate regard and^ sympathy been 
 excited, with no alleviation of assurance of our comfort or 
 safety. Grieved were we that we had been the. cause of this 
 unhappiness, and grateful to God, that so soon this anxiety 
 was to be removed. A last gathering at the tea table, where 
 for so many days we had met, the recipients of kindness and 
 the participants of a common fate and liability, followed our 
 letter reading ; and the reception of flowers from the hosts of 
 friends of our Captain and his good wife, served to. recall " the 
 scenes of other days " and flowers three thousand miles away. 
 A staunch admirer of his country and Queen, a warm 
 personal friend of the Captain's, spent the evening with 
 us. And the volleys of his good humored sarcasms upon 
 our tjountry were followed up by broadsides against John Bull, 
 until his reference to our ability in making wash tubs and 
 clothes-pins, and his offer o^ a wager that the only specimens 
 of our skill as a people, which we had on board, were these 
 simple articles of the laundrj^, " brought down the house," as 
 it was the honest fact ! 
 
 By arrangements of the night previous, those friends of 
 every traveller upon tfie continent, the custom house officials, 
 
40 
 
 A SUM^IER's travel IX EUROPE. 
 
 were early on board to inspect our trunks and bags, prepara- 
 tory to our final departure from ship boar^. This, as might be 
 supposed, was a rather repulsive operation to our cultivated 
 sense of order, especially as the services of the laundress were 
 not visible in the formerly nicely starched folds of her handi- 
 work. Poor, shapeless " dickies " and damaged " neck ties," 
 gave no impression of " Beau Brummel's" appearance. No- 
 thing contraband was discovered, and an honest acknowledg- 
 ment of a box and a half of cigars, (the remnant of the 
 voyage's luxuries,) and a few " John Bunyan's," passed our 
 personal luggage over the bulwarks. Tiie females of America not 
 being yet compelled to the sight destroying, uselessly extrava- 
 gant labor of lace embroidery, relieved our lady friends from the 
 more thorough search among their cuffs and collars, which is 
 always attendant upon entering any frontier on the continent, 
 or England. We were next ordered with our cigars to the 
 branch of the custom-house department connected with the 
 docks, and here was experienced more official discourtesy 
 than I had met with at any previous arrival in England. The 
 half consumed box was properly counted and weighed. The 
 unbroken box was opened, counted and weighed, notwith- 
 standing the original marks, paper and number were untouched, 
 and a duty of two pounds and over, sterling, was imposed with 
 an air of authoritative, ill-assumed dignity, much befitting a 
 more extended and important transaction : and with this, a 
 delay of over an hour in waiting for, and upon, this diminutive 
 official. It is not difficult to conceive of our rather short answers 
 to common-place questions. The simple casuality, also, of'the 
 steward dropping into the dock a bundle of shawls, basquesJ 
 overcoats, caps, hoods and bookai getting all most nicely 
 sponged and soaked, interfered most materially with the flow 
 of tears we expected to have set in motion in bidding adieu to 
 our " home upon the mighty deep." Gathering up the moist- 
 ened fabrics of our wardrobe, and participating in the very 
 friendly way of thinking, when it is better not to speak ; and 
 
THROUGH THE CUSTOM HOUSE. 
 
 41 
 
 strangely forgetting to thank tlie steward for his kindness in 
 helping us ashore, (we had paid his fees and our acknowledg- 
 ments the night before,) we, for the less than twentieth time, 
 counted over our traps and trunks and took the cars for 
 London. 
 
 4* 
 
vn. 
 
 LUGGAGE AND " TUGGAGE." 
 
 When I was married, I had the charge on first leaving home 
 for a bridal tour, of four ladies, eleven trunks and only six 
 band boxes. A most vivid recollection of the inequality of 
 the pavements, and the worn-out elasticity of the springs to 
 the hackney coaches of New York, is promptly recalled when 
 any occasion reminds me of my position in one of the two 
 vehicles I employed in transporting these, as my first dis- 
 charge of a married man's duties, from the station of the 
 Providence steamboats to that of those for Philadelphia. I 
 supposed that the constantly reiterated assurances to my com- 
 panions then, that it was " mo;st certainly a pleasure, and by 
 no means a task," would have given me an honorable relief, 
 forever thereafter, from any similar duty. But my dear 
 reader, did you ever try what it was to pack up a family's sea 
 luggage on top, and the persons inside, of two London cabs ? 
 Did you ever experience more questionings, in a given^ space 
 of time and distance, as to ever reaching your destination, 
 " wrong side up ?" Did you ever as fully appreciate the 
 meaning, in the fullest extent, of " right side up with care," 
 " haste makes waste " and the like ? If you have, I can only 
 say, I ha\^', too ! and if you have not, why you cannot under- 
 stand what I might say, until you have. The perils of sea and 
 
"the last link is broken." 
 
 43 
 
 land, and contact with the cab drivers being over, we were 
 
 ushered into our rooms at No. — \ Square. Satisfied 
 
 that every additional expression of the weight and labor of 
 elevating the trunks up two or three pairs of stairs, was the 
 usual way of communicating to the en^^loyer, the expectations 
 of the miserably clothed and fed poor of England, everywhere, 
 eagerly awaiting a chance job and a shilling, to relieve the 
 stern, half-supplied demands of nature's first instincts for food 
 and shelter, we prepared our minds and purses for the fees. 
 How soon had all the associations of our ship's life terminated ! , 
 Friends and fellow companions of a common destiny, the arri- 
 val at the crowded station, the hurrying, bustling of the throng 
 arriving and departing by the cars, the admonitions to our cab 
 driver, from the vigilant police, to " move off" for others to 
 occupy their time and chance, — these, and a thousand other 
 strange, exciting, bewildering surroundings, most unceremo- 
 niously and as quickly broke the " spell that bound us 
 together." 
 
 Our seats at the table on shipboard were upon the port side, 
 near the head, on one of the stationarj^gsettees, and " ranged 
 all in a row." Every summons to meals was an occasion for 
 the exercise of no little courtesy and good nature. It is no 
 small effort when you have a nice plate of soup and a rolling 
 ship to guard against, to move from the narrow space between 
 the table and the settee, in answer to the suggestion that a 
 lady is waiting for her seat in the centre, or, " I'll thank you 
 to allow me to pass." It requires some little restraint in not 
 " thinking out loud," that people should be ready when the 
 bell rings ! " How false and yet how fair " the words are, 
 " Oh ! it is of no consequence, no trouble at all !" So, when 
 we came to the dinner table, where each of us had our own in- 
 dependent chair to move nearer or farther, and found no table 
 racks, and no necessity for holding the goblet with one hand 
 and the table with the other, we were still more forcibly im- 
 pressed that our " life upon the ocean wave" was ended. And 
 
44 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 when, at night, we surveyed the almost unlimited expanse of 
 the mattress, it seemed a most useless waste of room and ma- 
 terial. I believe it is generally impossible to sleep well the 
 first night ashore. The absence of the gentle lull-a-by of the 
 sea, suggestive of being " rocked in the cradle of the deep," 
 the sideless couch and clear space around, seem so strangely at 
 variance with desperate clutchings at the side of your berth, 
 and the expansion of limb and muscle for a brace, that you 
 cannot at first convince yourself of the inutility of these mat- 
 ters ashore. And the vigils of the nigllt were faithfully kept 
 
 * by us, in the futile attempts in enticing .a visit from Morpheus. 
 Daylight on Sunday morning, July 31st, stopped our watch- 
 ings. ^ A bath at our leisure, and choice of position, were in 
 strange contrast to the whirling, wheeling ablutions at sea. 
 Many a weary moment and bruised elbow could bear testi- 
 mony to the almost superhuman effort of catching the ship in 
 
 ^fcier centre, for a dip into the wash bowl. And then, what a 
 scene for a painter, as you stand before the swinging mirror, 
 trying to adjust a Byron collar or a neck tie ! In fact, the 
 whole toilet of a morning at sea, is a true justification of what 
 in my boyhood days was the ordinary comment on a fruitless 
 effort, that "just as you did, you didn't!" and then, too, 
 the suppressed laugh of your half aroused room-mate — isn't it 
 annoying ? 
 
 After breakfast, under the guidance of a kind friend from 
 Belgium, (who has since died, while life's brightest prospects 
 were opening before him,) we attended St. James Church, in 
 Piccadilly. The chiming of the bells, on this Sabbath morning, 
 had solemnized our feelings for the services of the Sanctuary. 
 With emotions of gratitude did we enter those holy courts, 
 anxiously desirous, by our presence at least, to express 
 our sincere, fervent thanksgiving to Almighty God, for His 
 unspeakable mercy in conducting us safely through the perils 
 of the mighty deep. The Church was simple in its construc- 
 tion. The sermon and services were acceptable, and to us 
 
TRUE COURTESY. 
 
 45 
 
 impressive. In all the English Churches, strangers are 
 assisted to seats by " pew-openers," persons especially ap- 
 pointed to that service. It is a common rule that no stranger 
 is to enter any pew unless shown to it, until after a 
 certain portion of the service has been performed. The 
 ordinary courtesy which, in this country, is so invariably ex- 
 tended to females, is not in any manner as common in England. 
 " First come, first served," is the almost invariable rule of 
 precedence. It was quite an outrage to the feelings of my 
 lady friends, at different times, to be allowed to stand, while 
 the male members of the religious or secular congregations 
 were most comfortably seated. I am not. prepared to say that 
 the English rule is not correct. If I, by an extra effort, or by 
 personal sacrifice, am earlier at any assemblage, where a 
 crowd may naturally be anticipated, and the occasion one of 
 special interest or importance to jne, w^hy should I be incom- 
 moded or perhaps compelled to forego the anticipated pleasure 
 or profit, because some other person, from thoughtlessness or 
 indifference, has allowed the opportunity for comfort or pleasure 
 to pass ? Surely, no true lady would ever presume upon the 
 gallantry due to her sex, as to demand either by look, word or ^. 
 action;, this homage, unless sustained by the consciousness that 
 the appeal was not owing to her carelessness or purpose, but 
 froni unavoidable circumstances of difficulty or delay. And 
 the audiences abroad, I might add, are more refined and cour- 
 teous than those where young America's whistling, hooting, 
 stamping and whispering have interfered with many an 
 evening's luxury of music, eloquence or intellectual entertain- 
 ment. 
 
 • My last was literally a " Ramble," and if suspicions are 
 entertained of an aberration of mind, I will cheerfully com- 
 pr^ipiise, and call it one of thoughts. To stray away from the 
 sacred associations of St. James Church, Piccadilly, London, 
 and find yourself in a concert or lecture room of a more 
 familiar audience, is most assuredly rambling. My apology 
 
46 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 for so doing is the vivid recollection of annoyance ; and my 
 return to London will be as precipitate as my departure, with 
 this simple appeal to that sense of propriety for the pleasure of 
 others, which should be inculcated at the fireside of every 
 family conversant with the ordinary courtesies of life. The 
 formalities of an English Church service are striking to an 
 American. There, the participation with the Rector, by the 
 Deacon or Clerk, in reading ; the attendance of the Sexton 
 upon the Rector ; the many prayers for Her Majesty, His 
 Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, the Royal Family, the 
 Nobility, &c., are all in strong contrast with the simplicity of 
 the similar services at home, except in those churches where 
 the corruptions of the Romish Church, are, with serpent-like 
 wiliness and stealthiness, undermining the evangelical charac- 
 teristics of the protestant faith. The mental ability of the 
 clergy of the Church of England is by no means of as high 
 a standard, as that of the dissenting denominations, generally 
 speaking. The reason is most readily explained, if perchance 
 an English newspaper is by your side, in which you find 
 among the advertisements, " church living " for sale, worth so 
 many pounds sterling, per year. And the fact of the value of 
 primogeniture as regards property, rank, and privilege ; the 
 choice of the ministry, army or navy being the only perqui- 
 sites, by purchase, available to the younger male branches of 
 the nobility. There has been much change for the better since 
 the days of the fox-hunting clergy, but there is still room for 
 reformation and improvement. An infusion of more spirit; 
 uality and less considerations of temporal prosperity, would 
 soon elevate the rtfecessary qualifications for administration of 
 the services of the established Church. The almost incredibly 
 popularity of the Rev. Mr. Spurgeon, which concentrates the 
 untiring attendance and attention of congregations counted by 
 thousands, is simply owing^ to the freshness of intellect, HISl- 
 cerity of manner, evangelical element of faith, which charac- 
 terizes his preaching and purpose. Here at home, beside a 
 
REFORMATIONS. 
 
 47 
 
 Beecher, his name would soon lose its talismanic influence. The 
 preaching of Dr. Cummings, of the Scotch Church, or the 
 Rev. Newman Hall, of a partially dissenting Church, would 
 not stand forth in such bold relief beside a Tyng and an in- 
 numerable host of others, highly talented and spiritually gifted 
 clergymen, as it does' there amid the almost " waste places of 
 Zion." One of the reformations first to be demanded by Eng- 
 land's growing intellectual greatness, must be, in my humble 
 opinion, the separation of Church and State ; the annihila- 
 tion of the custom (of the past unenlightened ages) of buying 
 and selling her clergy's stipends and ordinations ; the purchasing 
 of commissions in her army and navy for the younger sons of 
 the aristocracy, too proud to work, and unfit for the demands 
 of scientific progress, not from the lack of ability, but from 
 habits of education and estimation of the dignity of labor; 
 these, and others, no less prominent, are problems of which the 
 educational progress of England's masses are demanding the 
 solution. Happy indeed if their pr^)sition is frankly, cheer- 
 fully met, and answered : fearful and desperate the struggle 
 if refused. I recall to mind, during the Crimean war, the 
 presence in the Opera House at Malta, of a large number of 
 these young men of nineteen to twenty-one and two years of 
 age, in undress uniform, who were stationed at that post, learn- 
 ing the art and mysteries of war. Equally impressed is my 
 memory with the repulsive shrug and expression, which an- 
 sv/ered my inquiry of " who and what they were ?" as given 
 me by a grey-haired, middle-aged sergeant, of many a cam- 
 paign's momentous duties. It is not the fault of the incum- 
 bents of these commissions, but that of a system whose only 
 claim to respect is its antiquity, and whose greatest benefit 
 would be, in its immediate abolishment. But another ramble, 
 most surely. This time, it is, however, within Victoria's realms, 
 and though it was from St. James Church again to the Opera 
 House at Malta, still its straws may express the impression of 
 a foreigner, spending a brief hour on Britain's so^^ and in 
 
 m 
 
48 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROrE. 
 
 contact with perhaps a bird's-eye view of her institutions. 
 Church is over ! and as the service has been rather protracted, 
 
 we will, dear reader, return to lunch at No. — , Square, 
 
 promising, if possible, to be more of a " fixture " for the future. 
 Breakfast at 8i A. M., lunch at 1 P. M., dinner at 6 1, tea 8 1 
 are the hours of meals in summer. So that if you add the 
 difference of time between home (?) and[(||jondon, four and a 
 half hours, you can calculate what your friends may reasonably 
 be doing, while you are so soundly participating in a morning's 
 nap or enjoying an evening's pleasures. As our intention, 
 when leaving home, was to remain a year absent and locate 
 most probably at Dresden, the first subject which demanded 
 our inquiry was the most practicable way of reaching that 
 city. A search for information at the various steamboat agen- 
 cies, and the facility for the absent one of our number to reach 
 Hamburg, decided us in engaging passages upon the newest 
 ship of the line between London and Hamburg, the " Moselle.'* 
 Forgetting the wide dij^Bence between the passenger steamers 
 of the Old World and the New, in the comfort and con- 
 veniences of travel, I had fancied to myself a pleasure jaunt 
 as one would find in the " Metropolis," " Plymouth Rock," or 
 the " Connecticut." The assurance that the " Moselle " was 
 the " crack boat " hardly prepared my family for the disap- 
 pointment they experienced on the next Saturday. The Eng- 
 lish ideas of comfort are very limited, in the opinions of those 
 who have had fair opportunities of comparison. They par- 
 take more of that solid (burthensome, I might say) characterestic 
 which so readily distinguishes sturdy " John Bull " from his 
 more vivacious Brother Jonathan. In their dwellings, ware- 
 houses, carriages, wagons, drays. — in everything, whether of 
 habitation, food, clothing, &c., the impression of stability, du- 
 rability and utility is promptly in the mind. The men are stouter; 
 women more robust and matured in form ; the horses are 
 almost elephants, especially those used for draught ; the cattle, 
 cows, oxen and sheep are larger ; everything seems to have 
 
DINNER TABLES. 49 
 
 grown to maturity, and to be adapted to the purposfPHrid uses 
 to which it is applied. I never saw any where such immense 
 " rounds of beef," " saddles of mutton," and other roasting 
 pieces of meat, as you ordinarily find upon the tables of the 
 ^ better class hotels or boarding houses. An " English plum 
 pudding " awakens the most vivid impressions of a terrific 
 night-mare ; and I can think of nothing that might excite its 
 envy for size, except possibly some of those huge foreign 
 squashes, that made our better native American " crooked 
 necks," obsolete. 
 
VIII. 
 
 CANNOT DESCRIBE LONDON. 
 
 Having booked ourselves for Hamburg, on the next Satur- 
 day, the intervening time afforded an opportunity of sight 
 seeing. It is ahuost an impossibiHty ever to transport a friend, 
 in imagination, to the scenes you would have him idealize, 
 without some previous kno\^^ge on his part of a similarity 
 with your representations. IW; now, any attempt at description 
 of a particular or detailed nature, to one wholly ignorant, 
 would be ineffective. It would furnish an opportunity for the 
 exhibition of one's powers of story-telling or of elegant letter 
 writing. Either of these is beyond the present pretensions of 
 ability or inclination. All knowledge is acquired by observation 
 or study. " John Murray's hand books," so universally known 
 and generally consulted and quoted, will be the only medium 
 through which I shall acquire information, when my eyes are 
 insufficient or useless. It requires no talent to speak of 
 the general characteristics of London. The moment you 
 enter the streets, you are in contact with things new and old. 
 If you go to Pimlico or any of the other suburbs, there is a 
 uniformity of building comprehending very generally the styles 
 of houses and churches familiar to the residents of many of 
 our American cities. Returning to the squares or other parts 
 of the city, another similarity of style, material and arrange- 
 
humanity's phases. 
 
 51 
 
 ment is again arbitrarily adopted. The houses for miles are 
 of the same height, same front, depth, color and value. They 
 are a continued series of blocks of buildings, opened for the 
 streets and united again beyond. The ever abiding coal 
 smoke atmosphere of the city produces an invariably smoky 
 shade to the most luxurious palatial mansion, as well as to the 
 humble cot of the laborer. Leaving the squares for busi- 
 ness parts of the city, you meet a greater variety of form and 
 structure, adapted to the different occupatio^is of the various 
 trades and purposes, of coffee houses, reading-rooms, agencies, 
 offices, &c. Stability invariably appears everywhere. The 
 crowd in the streets, whether composed of the burly trades- 
 man ; fox-whiskered exquisite ; muscular porters and laborers, 
 (with the almost arbitrary costume of a small black cap, jacket 
 and trowsers, of corderoy velvet, originally white or brown as 
 fancy prompts,) the poor tattered, bloated, inebriate ; the well- 
 dressed, well-fed gentleman of the banking houses; profes- 
 sional men in black, especially those of the clerical, with the 
 inflexible neck-tie of starch and whiteness ; the almost " sui- 
 generis " race of omnibus drivers and conductors ; cab and 
 hackney coachmen ; the half-starved rag-monger, or old relic 
 gatherer ; the Jew, hat and old clothes pedlar ; poor, weak, 
 debauched relics of a sex, that should ever be the embodiment 
 of loveliness, purity and virtue ; children famished in looks, 
 haggard and wan in countenance, seeming the very off-scour- 
 ings of humanity, — and as if that humanity could be repre- 
 sented without a claim to immortality, — poor despised outcasts, 
 objects of God's omnipresent regard, and I trust, heirs of a 
 never ending, blissful eternity, spurned as a dog, wretchedly 
 poor ; — these, and I might say a thousand others, compose the 
 motley throng of London's thoroughfares. And if perchance 
 you would leave the crowded walk, your peril is increased in 
 crossing between the thronging mass of vehicles that <!^ncen- 
 trate, as it were, at Temple Bar, between the Strand and 
 Fleet Street. It is of hourly occurrence that in this focus of 
 
52 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 motion, the streets are as densely blocked as though arranged 
 whli mechanical skill. Two long, unbroken lines of the car- 
 riages of the nobility, with liveried attendants ; countless 
 numbers of omnibuses, cabs, wagons of incredible size and 
 weight, drawn by horses comparable with but little of fancy to 
 elephants ; dog carts, market vehicles, donkey carts, porters' 
 barro\||, — all in one moving throng, passing in one direction, 
 while a corresponding line passes in the other, forbid the pos- 
 sibility of, crossing these crowded thoroughfares except as the 
 order of the policeman stops, in its progress, this moving mass, 
 to allow the accumulated numbers of pedestrians to exchange 
 sides. These are the poorly told scenes of daylight. And at 
 night, as you traverse these same streets, relieved of their living 
 crowds, the contrast is rendered more distinct by the brilliant 
 glare of the gas lights, streaming through the windows of the 
 innumerable gin shops jnto the thick murky atmosphere with- 
 out. Amid the undiminished current of guests and customers 
 of these living, cursing depots of shame, woman, in the first 
 blush of girldliood's innocence — in contact with sin in the de- 
 veloped maturity of older years — in the broken, dejected, 
 ruined, haggish forms of a life of iniquity — the wrecked casket, 
 that once contained the highest, purest of earth's jewels — wo- 
 man adds to the throng, and with language and manner makes 
 the better nature of manhood recoil at the spectacle. And 
 yet this depth of degradation has been reached not from a 
 calm, deliberative choice, and insensibility of its horror, but 
 from a stern, harsh, despotic necessity, that raises a fervent 
 prayer to God for mercy and salvation. 
 
 Our sight-seeing commenced with a visit to Westminster 
 Abbey. Before proceeding with an examination of this time 
 honored structure, I must recall the remark of the similarity 
 of the church architecture with our own. It is different and 
 peculife in its style and detail. It seems to be peculiarly Eng- 
 lish, differing from that of the Continent as well as that of the 
 United States. It has been called, with propriety, " English 
 
"WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
 
 53 
 
 Gothic," — pleasing most generally, and well adapted to its 
 purposes. The Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral are considered 
 the pioneers of its introduction. The former, as memory re- 
 calls the form generally, was built in that of the Latin cross. 
 The additions upon the sides and one end, however, render it 
 difficult to trace its original design. The western front is 
 ornamented with two large square towers two hundred and 
 twenty-five feet in height, with four pointed spires on each, 
 showing a gabled centre front, with a large pointed arch win- 
 dow ; buttresses on each side (judging from those upon the 
 south) extending around the nave and transepts ; two rows of 
 short gothic windows also on each side, betvreen the buttresses. 
 Its length from east to west, not including the chapel of 
 Henry VII, is four hundred and sixteen feet ; width of tran- 
 sept, two hundred and three feet, and of the nave thirty-nine 
 feet ; height of the nave, one hundred and two feet. Its ex- 
 terior is imposing, and suggestive of its ei-ectioo and present 
 sepulchral use. In entering on the south side, between the 
 Chapter House (a fine large octagonal building with buttresses) 
 and the Abbey, you find yourself in the southeast corner of the 
 southern transept. Your guide (either man or book) informs you 
 that " this is the poet's corner." Here are monumental tablets, 
 statues, bas reliefs and a variety of appropriate and character- 
 istic designs, erected to perpetuate the name and peculiarities 
 of talented persons, some of whom are buried beneath. 
 Geoffrey Chaucer, the "father of English poetry," Edmund 
 Spencer, William Shakespeare, Michael Drayton, Ben John- 
 son, Butler, Cowley, Bryden, Addison, Thomson, and a long 
 list of other and as distinguished names, are recorded. "While 
 you are engaged in examining these tributes to the honored 
 dead, the guide is very quietly forming a party of many others 
 to examine, with you, the other parts of this venerable and 
 deeply interesting link between the past and present. In con- 
 sequence of the great number of visitors^jj^ertain number of 
 attendants are in waiting from 1 1 A. ^dj^v 3 P. M., to ex- 
 5* 
 
54 
 
 A SUiAIMER's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 plain the various parts of the Abbey and their interesting 
 contents. The fee for each person is sixpence, (twelve cents,) 
 and a large revenue must result from the constant flow of 
 strangers. 
 
 " Murray's hand book of modern London " being upon my 
 desk, betrayed me unconsciously into a more minute descrip- 
 tion of the entrance to Westminster Abbey than I intended. I 
 presume every traveller who goes abroad thinks himself com- 
 petent to write a " history of his travels and hence almost 
 every newspaper has its " foreign correspondent." The pub- 
 lic undoubtedly would compromise for a stereotyped publica- 
 tion, annually, of some of the innumerable guide books, and be 
 relieved of the serious effort of a recapitulation by so many a 
 fancied genius of letter writing pretensions. The buildings, 
 streets, localities, and associations, one meets with abroad, are 
 of the same height, length, breadth, depth, bounds and dura- 
 tion, as they have been for centuries ; and a story-teller is the 
 one, who, in giving these hackneyed descriptions, does not 
 begin and end every period with quotation marks. The peo- 
 ple alone change. The wearers of a royal diadem and the 
 rag pickers are not the standard unchanging facts of history. 
 The masses of humanity in their varied forms of age, sex, 
 rank, condition, and destiny, are the only originals for the 
 photographic pen of the traveller of to-day. I shall plead 
 freedom from the charge of this presumption and egotism, so 
 generally the result of a foreign travel. If you ask me why 
 these " Wanderings " are in print, I refer you not only to the 
 acknowledged absence of any pretensjyons, but more particu- 
 larly to the unwillingness to loose the impressions and associa- 
 tions of the sights and scenes of travel. 
 
 Shall we go through the Abbey ? There are nine or ten 
 chapels, containing statues and effigies, in marble and bro'.ize, 
 of the Kings and Queens, and others, of the nobility of Eng- 
 land. And a we^informed student of English history may 
 read again its p^Hpand its story, in these silent representatives 
 
KINGS AND CHILDREN. 
 
 55 
 
 of the living actors. In the chapel of Henry VII, among its 
 other highly interesting and ornamental objects of attraction, 
 are the chairs used at the coronation of the past and present 
 sovereigns of England. The old " scone stone," of a reddish 
 grey sandstone, (nearly two feet long and one in depth and 
 width) upon which the Scottish Kings were crowned, is here. 
 And sad are the memories of the past, to see thus far from its 
 origin and home this solid and enduring relic of Scotland's 
 nationality. Strangely contrasting with the gilded velvet 
 canopy of cost and luxury, that is now the insignia of royalty 
 in Church and Palace, it is an appropriate emblem of the no- 
 ble, heroic race of " auld lang syne," the unwilling subjects 
 of an irresistible destiny. Within the consecrated walls of 
 the Abbey, are also the effigies of mitred Bishops, Priests and 
 other dignitaries of the religious history of the past : and its 
 cumbrous doors have recently opened to receive in' honor the 
 remains of England's greatest hero of mechanical genius and 
 renown. A walk through arched passage of the " Horse 
 Guards," (a large hewn stone building, built in 1730, and so 
 called from its being the post of" duty of those of the Queen's 
 troops attached to her personal service,) separating Whitehall 
 from St. James Park ; across the Park, stopping to see the 
 simple luxury of fresh milk, warm from the cow — drawn in 
 little cups from Which the nurses literally regaled the favored 
 children of the affluent ; admiring the beautiful illustration of 
 humility and contentment, in the gentle animal's quiet masti- 
 cation of her food, conscious, it seemed, of imparting nouvish- 
 ment and strength to the feeble prototype of manhood ; passing 
 merrisome childhood's happy sports, sighing for the depriva- 
 tion of them to those at home ; ascending the stairs built by 
 William IV, to connect the Park and Carlton Palace; gazing 
 up to the bronze statue of the Duke of York, surmounting a 
 column of light red granite one hundred and fifty feet in 
 height ; the attention arrested by the " Marlborough House," 
 the city residence of the late Queen Dowager ; crossing Pall 
 
56 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 Mall ; by St. James Square to* Piccadilly ; thence tlirough 
 
 *' Regent Street " (the Broadway of London) to Square; — 
 
 this Ramble gave us an appetite which was of a threatening 
 nature to the symmetry and substantial arrangements of our 
 landlady's table. The appetite yielded its claims of insatiety, 
 as the " roast beef of old England " challenged its powers of 
 endurance. At the table of our hostess we made the very agree- 
 able acquaintance of a gentleman, Minister from Venezuela to 
 the " Court of the Tuilleries." He had studied most thoroughly 
 the various forms of national government, as his native country 
 was then emerging into a Republic. He had been sometime 
 a resident in the United States, and was the intimate friend 
 and companion of General Paez. His inquiries into the de- 
 tailed workings of our Republican institutions, the relative 
 position of the individual States with the united Confederacy 
 of all ; the sovereignty of the citizen, State and Union ; the 
 responsibilities and characteristics of the Executive, Legisla- 
 tive and Judicial Departments otf Government ; the relations 
 of our territorial possessions ; and in fact, every point of 
 observation of our country and its institutions, seemed to have 
 passed under his appreciative and suggestive review. I found 
 his apprehension for the permanency and strength of our Re- 
 public was that of many other intelligent minds. Beyond 
 question, until the conflict between capital and labor bursts 
 forth, — when our cities are crowded with an ignorant, famish- 
 ing population ; our vast plains and prairies are teeming with 
 an overburdened mass of humanity — representatives of every 
 class of society, nationality and religion — drawn together by 
 no ties of patriotic loyalty — commingled in one heterogeneous 
 strife for supremacy or existence ; when hunger, knowing no 
 law but that of necessity, shall demand its daily bread ; when 
 accumulated capital responds to no remunerative appeal from 
 the distressed artizans, seeing no alleviating remedy for the 
 wants and woes of wife and children, — then the test is to be 
 applied. And then the theory of self government, and the 
 
 # 
 
OUR country's future. 
 
 57 
 
 strength and stability of law and order, founded alone upon 
 the moral obligations of each and all to the laws of God and 
 man, is to be tested. And this experiment of a pure Republi- 
 can Government is to stand forth proudl^indicating the fame, 
 philosophy and wisdom of its foundersj|Kiall as the " baseless- 
 fabric of a vision," prostrating in its ruins the highest hopes 
 of humanity, and obliterating the anathemas and deep Availed 
 curses against oppression and despotism. Were we to meet 
 now, when the vile hand of treachery and base ingratitude is 
 stretched forth to grasp, in its blackened hold, " the proud banner 
 of freedom to trample and spurn the " bright emblem " of 
 the world's hopes to the dust ; when deep, dark and damning 
 heresy and sedition is covering our fair land with the pall of 
 mourning, and the cry of desolation and anguish comes to us "in 
 every breeze of the South, what v/ould our meeting be? One 
 of despair? God forbid it. But one of brighter hope and 
 promise, as the black curse and cause of our sorroAV is, in 
 Heaven's high destiny, to be the brightest spot in the field of our 
 nation's galaxy ! Not a star or stripe less in our flag, but its colors 
 more bright and radiant, as no dark stain is beneath them. I 
 had with me a copy of the Constitution of the United States, 
 and one of Rhode Island ; the latter I gave him. It was a source 
 of honest pride to point him to that provision for soul liberty, 
 embodied in our State's written compact. And fortunate in- 
 deed was I, in the fact of his ignorance alone not rebuking my 
 proud boasting. If he had asked what monumental pile was 
 reared to commemorate the birth, life and principles of the 
 founder of that religious freedom, — the pilgrim by whom our 
 shores were consecrated in praise and prayer to God, for his 
 deliverance from persecution and death, and for His care and 
 guidance in his conceptions and intentions, and from which 
 one of our fairest cities bears testimony of the good Providence 
 of the Almighty, in its earliest and latest prosperity, — if the 
 place, character and costliness of such a memorial was asked 
 for, what would I have answered ? 
 
IX. 
 
 PAXIL pry's sagacity. 
 
 Tuesday, July 2d, was a specimen of the uncertainties of 
 an English climate. " Fickle as the wind," is a proverb that 
 accompanied Noah's disembarkation from the ark. Substitute 
 weather for ivind and every son of John Bull will acknowl- 
 edge its propriety. The morning's sun was clear and unob- 
 scured. At breakfast, passing umbrellas assured us that the 
 foggy outside atmosphere was being concentrated into globules 
 of moisture. The man who ventures from his door without 
 an umbrella is the exception, and " Paul Pry " would have 
 forfeited his nationality, if he had not always been accompa- 
 nied, in his researches after knowledge, by that appendage. But 
 rain, or no rain, London was to be seen. Arrayed in dusters, 
 sandals and other protectives, we ventured forth and soon were 
 oppressively warm in the sunlight. Retracing our steps of 
 yesterday we came to the Houses of Parliament, or " New 
 Palace of Westminster," on the left of the river and between 
 it and the Abbey. This most beautiful specimen of Gothic 
 Architecture, (the largest most probably in Europe,) tempts a 
 reference to " John Murray " again. But forbearance will be 
 the virtue best appreciated by my readers, and with a few fig- 
 ures only, I shall leave the structure, sincerely hoping it may 
 be the good fortune of all to admire its grand and imposing 
 
A SATIATED CURIOSITY. 
 
 59 
 
 exterior. The old or former Palace was burnt October 16th, 
 1834. The first stone of the new was laid April 27th, 1840. 
 It covers eight acres of ground, has one hundred stairways, 
 eleven hundred apartments and two miles of corridors ; the 
 river front is nine hundred feet in length ; the royal entrance 
 tower is seventy-fiye feet square, three hundred and forty feet 
 in height, with an archway sixty-five feet high ; the clock 
 tower is forty feet square, three hundred and twenty feet in 
 height, and the clock dials thirty feet in diameter ; there are 
 between four and five hundred statues upon the building. 
 The Peers' Chamber is ninety-seven feet long, forty-five wide, 
 the same in height, and is lighted by gas through the ceiling. 
 The House of Commons is sixty-two feet long, forty-five feet 
 wide, the same height, and contains sittings for the four hun- 
 dred and ninety-eight members from England and Wales, one 
 hundred and five from Ireland and fifty-three from Scotland. 
 To the House of Peers, a visit is the more interesting to a 
 stranger, although the members of the House of Commons, 
 elected by a pretension to a popular vote, should be, to an 
 American, objects of greater sympathy and interest, than those 
 who are entitled by the antiquated laws of primogeniture and 
 accidental birth, to a seat among the nobility and aristocracy ; 
 not of mind or intrinsic worth, but of England's singularly 
 cherished tenacity of titles and honors. Spending but a short 
 time in the rich halls and beautiful apartments of the edifice, at 
 this our first visit, we passed around it to the landing stage, for a 
 steamer down the river from Westminster bridge. And our 
 curiosity to see again the masses was more than satisfied, in 
 contact with one of the most crowded throngs I had yet seen. 
 My companions were excessively nervous at the indiscriminate 
 pushing and crowding to get on or off" the steamer. A plunge 
 bath was nol^p any means among the improbabilities, and 
 perhaps the least evil to be anticipated. To those to whom 
 this was an hourly incident, our fears and anxieties furnished 
 the theme of an occasional jest, and undoubtedly suggested a 
 
GO 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 little extra pressure. But the gentle nature and sex of my 
 family was most violently assailed, not by insult or outrage, 
 but in gratifying my excessive utilitarian wish for them to see 
 London as if is. Our landing near the " Thames Tunnel," 
 the object of our excursion, afforded time and space for a full 
 breath, and sincere congratulations of relief and safety. I 
 never requested or attempted a repetition of that experiment. 
 " Thames Tunnel " is a most wonderful excavation, extending 
 directly across and under the river from " Wapping," on the 
 left bank, to " Rotherhithe " on the right towards the sea. It 
 is twelve hundred feet in length, and consists of two arched 
 passage ways, in the form of a horse shoe. The entrance at 
 either end is by a descent of circular stairs of one hundred 
 steps each. The effect upon reaching the bottom and looking 
 through the tunnel is very picturesque. The spaces between 
 the arched columns in the centre are occupied by stalls for the 
 sale of a great variety of fancy articles, miniature museums, 
 restaurants, &c.; and the brilliant gas lights, sounds of the 
 piano and reverberating voices of the passengers, buyers and 
 sellers, when there is a large concourse of visitors, gives a 
 good idea of fairy land and life. There is only one passage 
 way open to the public, that upon the right as you enter from 
 Wapping Station. It is remarkably tight in its freeness from 
 water dripj)ing or leaking above. The door way is of flag 
 stone and the interior is of a light, cheerful straw-colored tint, 
 either of the stone or wash. The air is of course damp and 
 slightly oppressive, and recalled the veritable dog days of July, 
 at home. It was intended for a relief to the incessantly 
 crowded thoroughfares and bridges, in affording transit for 
 carriages and foot passengers ; but it is frequented more as a 
 matter of curiosity by strangers, and the didfl||ty and enor- 
 mous expense attendant upon securing sufn^ent area for a 
 suitable entrance for vehicles, has made its construction a 
 monument of the skill, enterprise and energy of its architect. 
 Sir J. K. Brunei, rather than a source of profitable revenue to 
 
ST. Paul's. 
 
 61 
 
 its corporators. The cost was over three millions of dollarPj 
 and its receipts are nearly twenty-five thousand dollars, solely 
 from visitors. It was commenced March 2d, 1825, closed for 
 seven years by inundation, from August 12th, 1828, and 
 opened to the public March 25th, 1843, eighteen years after its 
 commencement. It wa5 built mostly by private shareholders, 
 government having loaned them about one-third of the cost. A 
 carriage conveyed us from the Tunnel to St. Paul's Cathedral. 
 And here again John Murray's compilation of facts and fig- 
 ures are a strong temptation for a little honest pilfering. With 
 my promise to avoid this, I shall simply state that this noble 
 structure, one of the largest of any in England or upon the 
 Continent, is built in the form of the Latin Cross, with a base, 
 and after the design of Sir Christopher Wren ; commenced 
 June 21st, 1675, finished in thirty-five years, at a cost of 
 £747,954, (or equal to $3,740,000,) and paid for by taxing 
 the coal consumed in the city. Its length is five hundred feet, 
 width one hundred feet, and from the ground to the top of the 
 cross four hundred and four feet. The area covered by the 
 Cathedral is nearly two and a half acres of ground. Its mas- 
 sive proportions render it a fit mausoleum for the remains of 
 England's most honored sons. Here the statutes of John 
 Howard, Dr. Johnson, Sir Josliua Reynolds, Bishop Heber, 
 Sir Astley Cooper, Lord Nelson and similar memorials to a 
 host of others, equally as renowned in philanthropy, literature, 
 the fine arts, religion, medicine, gallant bravery, and the nobler 
 qualities of miiid, life, and character, serve to perpetuate the 
 virtues and accomplishments of the honored dead, and stimu- 
 late the living to the emulation of that which can adorn, and 
 dignify humaTiity. In the crypt, is a porphyry sarcophagus 
 containing the remains of the Duke of Wellington, and one of 
 black and white marble, those of Lord Nelson: The visitor 
 treads lightly as he observes the flat stones of the floor are the 
 tablets above the graves of those, whose more elaborate me- 
 morials are in the church above. The American betrays his 
 
62 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 nationality and expresses his respect as he passes around tRat 
 upon which the name of " Benjamin West " is inscribed. The 
 whispering gallery, in the interior of the dome, is an object of 
 curiosity and interest, as the slightest whisper is rapidly and 
 distinctly heard around a circuit of one hundred feet diameter, 
 so perfect is the construction and proportion of this part of 
 the edifice. The ascent to the cross, or ball below it, is very 
 tedious but not difficult. And if an unusually clear atmos- 
 phere exists, the effort of reaching them is more than counter- 
 balanced in the view of the city and its far reaching suburbs. 
 If^ however, the dim, murky, smoky cloud is over the city, you 
 have the labor for your pains literally, and no equivalent satis- 
 faction. 
 
 The day's labor was terminated with a remarkable degree 
 of unanimity, as we seated ourselves at the dinner table of 
 
 Miss . A pleasant exhalation of a good " Havana" 
 
 mo.-t essentially contributed to obliterate the impressions of 
 fatigue, which seems to be the necessary attendant of work or 
 play. The distance one passes over, or the time appropriated, 
 is almost incredible, where the attention is so constantly 
 absorbed and interested as in sight-seeing ; and it is only 
 when we stop, that the consciousness of mental and physical 
 effort betrays itself in many a long drawn sigh or expressive 
 yawn. This consciousness is more keenly felt abroad, when 
 you are dependent upon the very few comforts of hotel life. 
 Hotel keeping out of this country is a problem not yet solved. 
 The necessary adjuncts of an American hotel, would be con- 
 sidered superfluous extravagancies in England. There you 
 find no reading, smoking, or retiring rooms for gentlemen with- 
 out ladies. Upon the first floor is the coffee room, where you 
 can get a cup of coffee, or genuine English breakfast tea, 
 crumpets, rolls, cutlets of mutton, eggs, &c., for breakfast, fi'om 
 off a small table solitary and alone. A morning paper may be 
 in the hands of your melancholy neighbor opposite, to whom 
 however you must not look or speak. After breakfast you are 
 
EXTREMELY DISCONSOLATE. 
 
 C3 
 
 expected to quit the room, although it contains perhaps the 
 only cheerful fire in the liouse, and most probably it will be a 
 raw, cold, damp morning that penetrates to your inmost sensi- 
 bility. At dinner time, G P. M., the same coffee room, with 
 its dreary aspect and solitary tables, scrv-es to remind you that 
 you are literally a stranger in a strange place." It is true, 
 your sympathies for the poor, misanthropic, pitiable individuals 
 near you, may create a little compassionate excitement, as you 
 detect the unmistaken peculiarities of the old bachelor. And 
 perhaps the memory of some " sweet boon " or of a pair of 
 bright eyes indicative of a warmer heart which has greeted 
 you, and expressed its greetings in the contact of tho;c " ru- 
 bies " symbolized by the flowers of the Dutch gardens, may 
 send a glow to break up the coldness of comfort in the coffee 
 room meal. The waiter, (wliom you first supposed to be the 
 keeper or chaplain of the hotel, in his starched v/hite neck 
 cloth and full suit of black,) approaches you. in all the for- 
 mality of the place, and in a most sepulchral tone a.-ks if 
 you will have "a cut of the joint ?" (either of the beef or 
 mutton, according to the daily routine.) You naturally order 
 the "bill of fare." "The what, sir?" requires no further 
 explanation on your part, and if you happen to like mutton, 
 very well, but if you don't — you must still eat it, as the only 
 means of sustaining nature. The accomi^animents are boiled 
 potatoes, cauliflower, &c., and the universal plum pudding. 
 Occasionally fish is ordered ; a fact you are made aware of 
 when your bill is paid. After you have finislied your mourn- 
 ful task you are again expected-to vacate the room. As to a 
 smoke, you might as well attempt it in church, except perhaps 
 after ten o'clock at night. If you have ladies, a suite of rooms 
 are very quietly appropriated to your use and purse. In your 
 drawing room you smoke if you choose, and perhaps you may 
 in your bed chamber, if you are not sufficiently impressed with 
 the smoky outside atmosphere. If you suppose these simple 
 arrangements are provided out of regard to^ your travellers' 
 
64 A.SUMMKR's travel in EUROrE. 
 
 allowance for expenses, you will find your own simplicity has 
 exceeded them, when you call for your account and find 
 charged £1 per day. You leave the hotel, impatiently await- 
 ing to reach the freer atmo.-^phere to express your thoughts and 
 relieve your suppressed list of exclamations. The same white 
 cravat and black suit opens the door with one hand, and with 
 a beseeching look and half extended other hand, wishes you a 
 most delightful voyage, or trip ; referring to his ow^n earnest 
 efforts to have made you comfortable. You acquire additional 
 stock of pent up speech, and with no very gracious air, toss 
 him the half crown. Perhaps the chambermaid most acci- 
 dentally meets you midway upon the stairs, and smiling says, 
 " good morninf^, sir," If you give her a chance to reply 
 " thank you, sir,^' the white cravat of course overhears it, and 
 steps more quickly to the door. If her smile vanishes with- 
 out the thanks, the white* cravat receives his forebodings of in- 
 gratitude from the white cap and apron leaning over the bal- 
 usters. Outside you are at last, and as you begin to think 
 aloud, you are stopped by " please not forget the boots, sir." 
 This breaks the cord that kept down the safety valve of speech, 
 and a collapse is only prevented by an extra escape of mono- 
 syllables suggestive of the elevation of the boots upon your 
 feet, or a depression of the living " boots " to the shades. The 
 club-houses are an indispensable department of London life, 
 and may account for the very limited comforts of its hotels. At 
 Zurich, in Switzerland, an enterprising proprietor has started 
 a hotel, partly on the American principle, and was most 
 grateful to me in 1857, for many suggestions which he has un- 
 doubtedly followed. Our present quarters were much Ameri- 
 canized, as it had been for some time headquarters for families 
 from the United States. The " Havana " was interrupted by 
 the juveniles reminding me that the day's programme would 
 be incomplete without a visit to the wonderful and interesting 
 exhibition of wax statuary by Madame Tussaud. An inflexi- 
 ble rule in their education had been, never to make a promise 
 
APPEARANCES DECEITFUL." 
 
 65 
 
 Without its fulfillment, and in conformity with it, we once more 
 started forth sight-seeing. This collection of Jife-like repre- 
 sentatives of royalty, nobility, and the representatives of almost 
 every department of the arts and sciences, is one of the sights 
 of London not to be omitted. It represents the coronation of 
 Geofge III, members of the present Queen's household, and 
 a very large collection of eminent persons of different times. 
 Its truthfulness may be estimated by a little anecdote of my- 
 self. A very venerable looking gentleman in black, with hat 
 and spectacles, was sitting apparently absorbed in examining 
 the royal group, — his head turned in various directions, as if 
 avoiding the interruption of his vision by visitors. A reluc- 
 tance to trespass upon the ordinary courtesy of good manners 
 by passing between him and the objects of his steady gaze, 
 kept me detained for a few moments to avoid doing this. It 
 was however a matter of necessity. In passing, I hit his foot, 
 and of course made as humble an apology as I could. The 
 very general smile that followed my actions was rather con- 
 fusing,* which was by no means lessened as I found I was ad- 
 dressing a loax figure of William Cobbett. A sleeping beauty, 
 regularly respiring, as you enter the halls, frequently causes a 
 jest, as one after another, the visitors move stealthily to avoid 
 interfering with her slumbers. The features in all cases, as 
 fai* as possible, are intended for correct likenesses. The dresses 
 or costumes are originals or " fac-similes." The nationality 
 of the foundei' and maker of this collection has betrayed itself 
 in appropriating an apartment for the preservation of the camp- 
 bed, utensils and travelling carriages of Napoleon I, with 
 many mementos of his dress, equipments, documents and mili- 
 tary papers. Another apartment fully satiates the morbid 
 sensibility that appreciates crime and its perpetrators. A life 
 size representative of nearly all the murderers, counterfeiters, 
 burglars, assassins and the like, clothed with hardly an excep- 
 tion, in the identical clothes of their originals, appropriately 
 names this apartment as the " chamber of horrors." The cast 
 6* 
 
66 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 of Robespierre's head, and those of his confederates ; Fieschi, 
 standing befor^ his infernal machine ; Pianori, the attempted 
 assassin of Louis Napoleon ; models of houses, chambers, &c., 
 where the murders have been committed ; model of the guillo- 
 tine, beheading axe, &c., all furnish opportunity for a feast of 
 the horrible, to those who luxuriate on those sensations. ^ As 
 this is generally the last one of the suit of apartments through 
 which you pass, the mind Avould be in no very somnambulic 
 frame, if the brilliantly lighted saloons through which 3^ou re- 
 pass to the door, animated by the moving crowd and inspiring 
 music, did not in a manner change the current of thought and 
 sensation. With this alleviation, enough remains to cause the 
 night lamp's dull, cheerless rays to be appreciated. We met 
 the ship's steward at this museum, who introduced us to a very 
 tall, pretty ivhite woman as his wife. No, that could not be, 
 as he had a family in Boston ! — as his friend, I think the intro- 
 duction must have been. The most earnest admirer or ablest 
 advocate of miscegenation would have been satisfied in this 
 practical exposition of his principles. The woman's fairness 
 of complexion and maturity of figure was certainly well posed 
 against the ebony colored visage and masculine form of the 
 steward. In England, however, the novelty of colored persons 
 has not as yet created that broad line of distinction in vocation 
 or association as in this country, where the contrast has made 
 its significance in its familiarity of existence. 
 
WOMAN. 
 
 It was a most fortunate circumstance in my last paper, that 
 its prescribed limits had been reached before the moral of the 
 story of the steward and his female friend was appended. I 
 might have ventured into a most dangerous, (to my gallantry,) 
 field of thought, or rather observation, in accounting for the 
 dissimilarity of birth and position, but not of congeniality, on 
 the part of this representative of the female sex. Was it 
 caprice, sympathy, benevolence, or indifference that adn|i|ted 
 of this unnatural association ? Woman's nature is a strange 
 compound ! It may embrace in its composition every virtue, 
 grace, and the concentration of loveliness, — -receiving from the 
 stei-ner sex, the n^st yielding, compromising, submissive hom- 
 age and adoration, when its sincerity and honesty are well 
 attested by its words and deeds, and the consciousness of re- 
 sponsive, unquestioned truthfulness, stimulates the woman's 
 honest, generous impulses of an ardent temperament, into no 
 measured words and actions. It may arouse the most lethargic 
 energies of the mind and affections, when its own heart beats 
 with a true impulse. But when this power and control which 
 God has placed within its reach, is used only to excite the no- 
 bler impulses of humanity, for the purpose of exulting in the 
 
68 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 conquest ; when cold, repulsive ridicule characterizes its suc- 
 cess, and false, heartless treachery dims the sunlight it had 
 created, and inflicts the pain it cannot feel, it incurs the re- 
 sponsibility of destiny to others, unmeasured by time's greatest 
 duration, and unatoned for by » life's penance of sorrow and 
 contrition. The ideal embodiment of refinement, delicacy and 
 loveliness, how can woman account for her strange caprices ? 
 Little did the steward realize the effect of his introduction; less 
 would he have had the opportunity ot appreciating our " stew- 
 ard's fees," had we known its intended appropriation. So much 
 for a visit to Madame Tussaud ! The bright glare from the gas- 
 lights of the street lamps and " gin palaces," the fresh air. and 
 stimulating walk to our quarters, recalled our associations of 
 other times, and weary with our day's work, we gladly found 
 ourselves in contact with slumber's soundest realities. After 
 breakfast, we retraced our steps of the previous day, and re- 
 turned to the Houses of Parliament. A fortunate, casual 
 meeting with a gentleman, (whose name and address were un- 
 known*to us, but if perchance this paper should meet his eye, 
 will receive our remembered indebtedness to his courtesy,) 
 carried us through the building very generally. We saw 
 mei||^)ers of the House of Peers, with their large flowing gray 
 wigs and black robes ; members of the House of Commons 
 sitting in committees on bribery election cases, in ordinary 
 civil dress ; barristers with the small curled gray wigs and 
 black robes, pleading before the bench, in cj^es of criminal or 
 civil nature ; military men in undress, and a crowd of hangers 
 on, lobby members, and runners very similar in their vocation 
 and appearance to an ordinary gathering at home. 
 
 A drive soon brought us to the British Museum. Here my 
 proclivities for a wearisome description are annihilated, so 
 worse than useless would be the attempt. After passing 
 through its numberless, almost endless halls and apartments of 
 antiquities, sculpture, paintings, mineralogy,' zoology, and de- 
 partments of the other arts and sciences, we came to the door 
 
A CONTRAST TO "SNOBBISHNESS." 
 
 69 
 
 of the reading room, and was stopped from entering by the 
 notice of a card of admission being required. We had none, 
 not knowing of the necessity. The inquiry for a gentleman, 
 upon whose office door I observed the posted information of his 
 being at the museum, and with wliom I had business, brought 
 to us another courteous person. I commenced my questions 
 of the subject matter with him, when he informed me that a 
 similarity of name had caused a mistake in our interview. 
 But askinoj if we were strann^fs, he introduced himself as an 
 official of the institution, and most attentively escorted us 
 through the parts of the building and library, which we had 
 not seen. I mention these instances of extreme courtesy and 
 kindness,, in contrast with the snobbishness I had at other times 
 encountered from those whose unfounded pretensions were 
 their only claims to good breeding or consideration. This 
 reading room is of itself a noble monument of England'g^ 
 liberality to her people, within whose reach it is available. It 
 is circular, surmounted by an elegant dome, one hundred and 
 forty feet in diameter, and one hundred and six feet high. It 
 will accommodate three hundred readers, cost £150,000, 
 ($750,000,) has 20,000 volumes, is free to all under certain 
 restrictions, and exclusive conveniences for ladies. The whole 
 cost of the Museum to 1854, was £800,000, ($4,000,000.) 
 The exploration of this immense structure, the unyielding de- 
 mand upon the mind in its varied objects of interest and in- 
 struction, the physical energy demanded in traversing its 
 measureless halls, brought to us a consciousness of effi^rt and 
 fatigue we were compelled to regard, and placed us on our 
 homeward route. Dinner at 61 P. M., as usual ; the cus- 
 tomary smohe ; tea at 8| P. M., and the sweetest music on the 
 harp by a lady guest, whose proficiency was equalled in the 
 suavity of her acquiescence to our " encores these varied 
 incidents marked the day's and evening's })rogress to the time 
 of retiring. Thursday, August 4th, after breakfast found the 
 three male members of my family in a " Hansom," bound to Pea- 
 
70 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 body & Go's for letters and funds. We were soon moving with 
 the crowding current of mortality, through the thoroughfares 
 with a snail's pace, but with more than his apprehension of 
 danger. It would have been impossible, apparently, at times to 
 have inserted the thickness of an inch between our vehicle and 
 the ponderous bulks of merchandise, which seemed towering 
 over us for our destruction. If there were no hair breadth 
 escapes, there certainly were hair breadth passes. 
 
 The silent, yet speaking messengers of affection and friend- 
 ship from home w^ere read, and congratulations exchanged 
 that Omnipresence was one of the attributes of Divine mercy. 
 The assurances of " all's well " added to the cheerfulness of 
 the morning's sunlight, and quickened our movements for a 
 visit to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, both of which 
 are located within the enclosure of Regent's Park. In the 
 Iktter were the most luxuriant growth of flowers arranged in 
 form of large baskets, vases, fountains, &c., adding a rich fra- 
 grance to the air, and causing most frequent exclamations of 
 "beautiful" and "lovely." "Within the garden is a large hot house, 
 containing a choice and extensive collection of exotic plants 
 from India, Egypt and other tropical climes. A shilling fee 
 for admission from strangers and visitors forms a fund from 
 which additions and improvements are made. The Zoological 
 Gardens are very extensive, and present a favorable opportu- 
 nity to the amateurs and students of Natural History, for a 
 study of the habits and form of a great variety of animals, 
 from almost every clime. The gambols of black bears, climb- 
 ing, dancing and jumping for the reward of the buns, cakes 
 and nuts from children of every growth and age ; monkeys 
 satirizing humanity in posture and motion ; hippopotami 
 swashing in a pool of turbid water, and in their graceless, re- 
 pulsive form, offering a strong contrast to the more beautiful of 
 the animal creation ; elephant-', giraffes, lions, tigers, panthers, 
 hyenas, Avith a hundred other varieties of animals ; birds from 
 every country, and of every variety of plumage ; reptiles of 
 
A CONTRACTED " UNDERSTANDING." 
 
 71 
 
 almost every species, and many varieties of genus; fish in aqua- 
 riums, with aquatic plants, shell-fish and the like, these altogether 
 offer attractions for a day's repeated examination. A similar 
 fee for admission sustains, in part, this attractive feature of 
 London sights, and with the annual tax upon the members of 
 the corporation, equalizes the deficiency of income. Yoronce 
 I yielded to the repeated assurance of the superiority of paper 
 soled shoes ! My companion had brought a pair of Mosley's 
 renowned summer boots from Boston, without the precaution of 
 a fair trial of size or proper regard for comfort. The discrep- 
 ancy between these preservers of the health, and nature's de- 
 velopment was so great, that every step was accompanied by a 
 sigh, and every seat a respite from suffering. Jf the boots had 
 been adapted, as I had so frequently entreated, to the pur- 
 poses to which they were intended, I am sure locomotion 
 would have been impossible, and the garden would have had a 
 ■fixture not in its programme, or to my liking or consent. 
 
 There are but very few wharves or piers on the Thames at 
 which vessels can be moored. Certain portions of the river 
 are appropriated to the various kinds of craft. Each varied 
 department has its appropriate locality below London bridge. 
 The vessels are anofcored in the centre of the stream. The 
 colliers are by far the most numerous, and that portion of the 
 river called the " Pool " is exclusively for their occupancy. 
 The " Moselle," for Hamburg, was at anchor near the left 
 bank of the Thames and could be boarded only by a small boat. 
 Properly regarding my friends' very great anxiety, and aver- 
 sion to thi>water, which five passages across the Atlantic could 
 not annihilate, or hardly ameliorate, I took the precaution on 
 Friday, August 5th, to have the luggage packed up and trans- 
 ported to the steamer preparatory to leaving London on the 
 next morning, and thus enable me to appropriate my whole 
 time and attention to others' fears and comfort. I have in a 
 previous paper expressed my opinion of the English ideas of 
 comfort or luxury, whether at home, or in transitu by land and 
 
72 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 sea. The coaling of the steamer as we went on board, was 
 not either calcuhited to dispel my former prejudice in relation 
 to the cleanliness, or assist me in disposing of my traps most 
 comfortably. The jolly -faced, rotund steward was a good har- 
 binger of the arrangements for the inner man, however. 
 Leaving our traps and " hoping for the best " we turned our 
 steps toward the station of the railway for Blackwall in Fen- 
 church Street. A short ride of twenty minutes brought us to 
 the East India Docks, and less time sufficed to place us on 
 
 board our good ship . Mrs. G. was " at home," and 
 
 the two young ladies ; all that were left of the former friends 
 and companions of our voyage. An eager wish to roam 
 through the state rooms, was annihilated at the sight of sus- 
 pended crinolines and skirts from hooks, where for many a 
 long night I had watched the oscillations of trowsers and 
 coats, — sometimes traversing with regular sweeps a well de- 
 lineated curve, and then again swinging off and against the 
 bulkhead of the state rooms with a " thwack," that told us 
 how nonsensicall}^ absurd it would be, to attempt a promenade 
 upon deck, even if midnight darkness did not prevent. Deli- 
 neate slippers in rather a neglige position, reminded me not 
 only of moi e symmetrical proportions Aan my own, but of 
 seeing sea shoes and boots chasing each other across the 
 length and breadth of the carpet, convincing one of the faith- 
 fulness of the maker, as in the morning you find them half full 
 of water, in consequence of the unsteadiness of the pitcher 
 in the wash bowk 
 
 How changed and lost were all these association^f the past. 
 " Thrashing whales," " John Bunyan cigars," " cook's fight," 
 doughnuts, gingerbread, tempests, calms, sunshines, and 
 clouds," and the thousand and one incidents of a five week's 
 sea voyage, had all become matters of history : and as we 
 passed over the bulwarks, bidding adieu to our warm hearted 
 friend and leaving our regards for Capt. G., a feeling of sad- 
 ness' checked the elasticity of our movements, and a stray tear 
 
JUSTIFIABLE DISSATISFACTION. 73 
 • 
 
 expressed the warm impulses of childhood's memories of 
 pleasures and friends parted forever. A return to quaiters, 
 arranging funds, paying bills, and a general closing up of ac- 
 counts and affairs, brought us to the dinner hour and its usual 
 subsequent events. Saturday morning, breakfast over, with 
 many good wishes for our health and pleasure, we again com- 
 menced our " Wanderings," in two cabs, for the " Moselle " and 
 Hamburg. "The cab driver understanding our movements to 
 be those of a departure from his chances of employment, be- 
 trayed the usual dissatisfiiction in receiving his regular fees. 
 As time did not press, I had the curiosity to enquire the reason 
 for the universal grumbling among persons of his occupation. 
 In all my excursions, drives, sight-seeings and the like, I do 
 not remember of ever receiving a " thank ye, sir," although I 
 universally paid more than the printed tariffs inside the car- 
 jdages. His explanation excited my sympathy rather than 
 indignation. All cabs are owned by associations. The trans- 
 portation of passengers is regulated by law, and varies accord- 
 ing to distance, time and hours. The charges from 8 P. M. 
 to 6 A. M. are increased one-third, and in some cases one half. 
 Every driver is numbered and registered, as shown by the 
 large brass.plate suspended from his neck. For the use of 
 one horse and a cab from 6 A. M. to 8 T*. M., he must pay the 
 proprietors eleven shillings (equal to $2,75) for the previous 
 day's work, before he can mount his box in the morning. For 
 the same, he must pay thirteen shillings, ($3,25,) if used from 
 8 o'clock P. M. to 6 A. M. There is no forfeiture allowed. 
 If he does not pay, he cannot have his cab. If he cannot 
 borrow, as is often dene, from his fellow drivers, he loses the 
 day. They are generally men at or past the meridian of life, 
 with large families dependent upon them. A bad day's work, 
 or no employment, has no response of sympathy from the 
 relentless employers. The very risks they incur of abuse to 
 horses and cabs, and the irresponsibility of the drivers, (who 
 must also feed the horses during the day,) may render this un- 
 7 
 
74 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 compromising demand necessary. Tlie drivers are generally 
 in infirm health, constitutions broken by disease or exposure, 
 and in fact are fitted for no other vocation. They literally 
 " know not what a day hiay bring forth." If to-day's receipts 
 are full, to-morrow's may be lacking. And hence the least in- 
 decision in paying your fare stimulates the wished for look and 
 hope of more. You refer them to the tariff,—" All right, sir, 
 but it's a bad day for me, yer 'onor, and God's blessing on ye 
 for a trifle more, yer 'onor." At the sight of a policeman, or 
 a fellow-countryman, whose calling is above his own, he gives 
 you the " tip of his hat " as he mounts his box, but not the 
 " thank ye, yer 'onor," unless he has the trifle more. And as 
 the cab men, so are all the others of a similar position in life. 
 You bargain fairly with the porters who take your traps to 
 the water's side from the cab, or from the cars to the cabs, they 
 can always make four out of three, or count some part as ^ 
 piece ; so with the boatman, so with every one. But to an 
 Englishman, or Englishwoman, there is no grumbling. John 
 Bull knows his brother, and not a farthing's generosity or 
 sympathy ever passes from his pocket, or is seldom demanded. 
 But a stranger, ^specially our fellow-countrymen, are invaria-> 
 bly recognized, and the quick-witted Yankee is 'frequently 
 over-reached by his English cousin's effrontery or necessity. 
 
 At 9 A. M. the steamer was in motion. The dark, murky 
 mass of water swayed to and fro ; the life-covered river was 
 retraced ; London bridge became a hair-lined arch ; the dome 
 of St. Paul's lost its grandeur in the distance, and the pier at 
 Blackwall was passed, leaving with it the associations which 
 were created, as we were first on its sofid earth one week 
 previous. A large steamer from Holland, freighted»tvith cattle, 
 arrested our progress. Then " Woolwich," Trinity house 
 wharves, and finally Gravesend were behind us, as we passed 
 from the Thames into the English Channel, and turned our 
 bows for the North Sea. The navigation is difficult and dan- 
 
SnOALS AND SAND BARS. 
 
 75 
 
 gerous, on account of the constantly shifting shoals and sand 
 bars. Light ships aiid beac(5Hs are numerous. But a qui(;k 
 eye, constant watch and uninterrupted attention are the best 
 guarantees of safety and progress. 
 
XI. 
 
 "north sea" and its living memories. 
 
 An early breakfast, and the sea air from a pleasant sky, made 
 us keenly sensitive to the approach of the dinner hour, at 3 P. M. 
 on t\iB " Moselle." The saloon being in the after part of the 
 vessel, was circular in form, and arranged with hair cloth, 
 seats. The tables beinof straight, made the distance at one 
 end, and the nearness of the other from the seats, rather an- 
 noying to those whose precaution had not suggested the pro- 
 priety of an early selection. A heavy roll, I should suppose, 
 would have precipitated those upon the seats under the table, 
 without incurring the risk of a libel to any one in attributing 
 such a casualty to a departure from the temperance j^latform. 
 I have generally observed that thes Aair cloth luxuries were 
 always vacated in a heavy sea. There is not the affinity of 
 attraction sufficiently strong to obviate J;he liability of a slide. 
 The dinner was very fair, but did not justify the promise 
 which the steward's rotundity had made. Soup, boiled and • 
 roast beef, roast mutton, ham, &c., with potatoes and cauli- 
 flower, succeeded by the plum pudding, made up th^ bill of 
 fare. Water free ; ale, porter, and wines as paid for. 
 
 The day continued pleasant. This North Sea must be a very 
 treacherous pfcice for a sailing ship or even steamers in a gale. 
 
REALITIES AND VARIETIES. 77 
 
 from the numberless shoals and shifting channels. Tea, at 
 7 P. M., brought all hands below ; and this, followed by the 
 Havanas," closed the first day's adventures of a sail from 
 London to Hamburg. But the night's story cannot be told, as 
 we retired to our state rooms for rest and sleep. The rooms 
 were about six feet wide and eiglit long. Two berths lengthwise 
 (one above the other) and two crosswise, left a very small 
 area for three persons to disrobe at night, or enjoy their ablu- 
 tions, or toilet in the morning. From this space is to be 
 deducted that occupied by the wash stand, and a seat perma- ^ 
 nently ; and carpet bags, shawls, hats, caps, bonnets, cloaks and 
 boots temporarily. A retreat to the saloon for quarters, was 
 no sooner thought of than taken, but on opening the doors, 
 what an atmosphere ! Ranged all round, upon and under the 
 seats, the large number of male passengers were " en desha- 
 bille ;" describing all the varieties of position, from Hogarth's 
 line of beauty to a right-angle triangle. Heads covered with 
 white knit caps, bandanna handkerchiefs, red, and blue, or wig- 
 less and bald; raven locks most essentially disheveled ; stock- 
 ings, boots, hats and caps, coats and trowsers, imitations of dis- 
 tant thunderings, or of roaring bulls and beasts, and asthmatic 
 wheezing, formed sights, scenes and souiMs that made a second 
 retreat more precipitate than the first. The report of our 
 masculine wanderings, prompted the suggestion of sending a 
 detachment from our squad to the ladies' quarters. Again a 
 door was opened, and as a stolen glance revealed female loveli- 
 ness, divested of its artificial embellishments of coiffures and 
 curls, flounces and flowers, sitting in its ghost-like apparel 
 around the miserable allotments of this " ladies' saloon," sleep- 
 less and excited by no sensations or expressions of a terres- 
 •trial paradise, a third retreat was announced, and led to a 
 parley for capitulations of peace and possession. As the foot 
 of the berths lengthwise, extended into those crosswise, it was 
 by no means a matter of indifference as to the tranquillity of 
 tUi slumbers of the different candidates for Morpheus favors. 
 
 7* 
 
78 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 However, all things have an end. And as that of the state 
 rooms, berths, and water pitcher was most correctly ascertained, 
 so was the night's duration terminated ; and daylight in 
 homoeopathic particles was dispensed through the skylight. 
 It required no morning gun to arouse us, from what we did 
 not have, slumbers; and the fresh air of the upper deck was 
 a luxury appreciated then, if never before. I believe an 
 Englishman would make his will and try to fly, if he could see 
 the arrangements of our steamers. He would believe himself 
 in fairy land, or some other beatitude of existence. 
 
 Sunday morning came, but I am sorry to add, without the 
 sacred influences which should ever characterize its presence. 
 Breakfast at 8 A. M. The sail was very monotonous. After 
 dinner, the island of Heligoland was visible through the glass, 
 and at sunset, to the eye, without. It presents a bold bluff 
 shore, belongs (since 1.807) to Great Britain, contains three 
 thousand persons, and is aj^parently strongly fortified. . At 
 night, the lighthouse of Cuxhaven was also distinctly- setn. 
 And as we approached the river Elbe, the lights from the light- 
 ships, other vessels, and from the shore, quite animated us, by 
 which, a second night's toil and trouble was anticipated and 
 endured, with more of complacency and patience. In conse- 
 quence of the intricacies of the mouth of the Elbe, we dropped 
 anchor for the night. 
 
 At daylight, with a pilot on board, we were under way up 
 the river. The western bank belongs to the Duchy of Han- 
 over, the eastern bank to the Duchy of Holstein, in Denmark. 
 At Stade, the dues imposed by the Hanoverian government, on 
 all vessels passing up and down the Elbe, are collected by the 
 small boats from • the sltop of war anchored in the stream. 
 The steamer was not stopped, as I suppose some arrangements* 
 were made to avoid this detention. But other vessels were 
 challenged and boarded for this imposition, which has been 
 yielded to and observed since 1691. The right of Hanover 
 in this matter, if questioned, has not as yet been canceled 
 annihilated. 
 
PISTOLS AND COJ'FEE." 
 
 79 
 
 The village of Gluckstadt, capital of the Duchy, witli six 
 thousand inhabitants, lies a short distance beyond Stade, upon 
 the Holstein bank. Next, the little fishing village of Blanke- 
 nese ; then Altona, (which is nearest to, but not connected with 
 Hamburg by its streets and buildings,) a Danish town with 
 twenty-seven thousand inhabitants, and next in size to Copen- 
 hagen. The eastern banks of the Elbe are hilly, with a slo- 
 ping descent to the river. There are many beautiful country 
 seats and villas belonging to, and during the summer months, 
 occupied by, the more opulent citizens of Hamburg. Booth's 
 celebrated nursery gardens ; Rainsville's Tavern and Tea- 
 gardens, (where, in a pleasant summer's afternoon and evening, 
 some of the most refined society in Hamburg is met with,) 
 and the pleasure grounds of Mr. Bauer, open Thursdays and 
 Sundays to the public, are all within a fine drive of six or 
 eight miles. Opposite the city is the village of Haarburg up- 
 on the Hanover river bank, and from which steam ferry boats 
 frequently pass and repass. The harbor of Hamburg is very 
 commodious and well protected. Shipping' of various kinds 
 with steamers at the quays, gave a favorable impression of its 
 activity and prosperity. . A parental search was upon the alert 
 to detect, in the boats passing to and from the " Moselle " and 
 the quays, with passengers, porters, hotel runners, &c., the 
 countenance and form of one, whose absence for, a year had 
 broken the happy fireside circle at home! A sudden excla- 
 mation, and the expression of affection which the lips can so 
 audibly announce ; the hearty recognition of friends loving 
 and long-parted behind me, diverted my attention from the 
 boats and raised serious questionings in my mind, whether 
 pistols and cofiee for two," would not be our first entertain- 
 ment on shore. A tall, germanized, whiskered, gentlemanly 
 looking chap, was making himself decidedly familiar with the 
 face and hands of my gentler friends and companions. In at- 
 tempting to interfere with this familiarity, I was also assaulted 
 upon one cheek and then the other, so fast and so fervently 
 
80 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 that my equilibrium was only restored by the salutation, 
 " Why, father, how are you ?" " How have you been ?" fol- 
 lowed up with such a volley of questions and answers all 
 around me, that the moistened drops of gratitude and love 
 were soon flowing freely, unchecked and unheeded. A familiar 
 relative and loved companion of a son's boyhood's warm im- 
 pulses and maturer friendship, came next in the " general 
 orders " issued, for a more than national salute. This, then, was 
 the source of my questionable misgivings and jealousies. This 
 recovered link in the heart's chain of parental affection. But 
 wa| this a son, or a pretender ? Was it possible time had made 
 such progress ? tempores mutantur ! 
 
XIL 
 
 HAMBURG. 
 
 Coffee was ordered, as was anticipated in my last, but the 
 pistols were omitted. Hamburg, as your readers may know, is 
 the principal seaport of Germany, the entrance tonnage in 
 1857 being 1,632,492 tons, and the clearance 1,G7I,265 tons. 
 There are no docks, but the city being intersected by canals 
 near the river, these furnish facilities for the receiving and 
 shipping pf goods, in the access to th^ numerous warehouses. 
 The city was the scene of a disastrous conflagration in 1842, 
 which was so great a calamity as to demand and receive active 
 sympathy from other countries. Nearly 1800 buildings were 
 destroyed, embracing sixty-one streets, and the estimate loss 
 was nearly two millions of dollars. The rubbish from this 
 conflagration was so great in quantity as to raise a swampy 
 piece of land (upon which it was deposited) four feet from 
 the natural surface, for a square mile. Terrible as was the 
 devastation at the time, the city can hardly be said to have been 
 the loser. New, large and commodious ediflces have beeh 
 erected ; squares and new streets opened. As I stood at the 
 windows of " Streits's Hotel," and observed the fine rows of 
 dwellings upon three sides of the " Binnen Alster," with wide, 
 handsome streets in front, it was difficult to call the conflagra- 
 
82 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 tion of 1842, a calamity* There are two basins of water 
 brought by the canals from the river Alster, at the mouth of 
 which the city is located. The inner one, or the " Binnen 
 Alster," is the favorite resort for the beauty and £ashion of 
 Hamburg, of a summer's afternoon and eve. The long rows 
 of trees upon the water-side of the streets ; the cool shady re- 
 treat they offer from a midsummer sun ; the public gardens, 
 although small, containing cafes and music ; and the occupancy 
 for the same, of the first floors of the handsome buildings, all 
 concentrate attractions here not afforded in other parts of the 
 city. The basin offers opportunities for the manly aquatic 
 sports of boat clubs, &c. A little steamer, no larger than a 
 ship's long boat, with its mimic smoke pipe and steam whistle, 
 was constantly plying across the w^ater, and offering a most 
 tempting inducement for the investment of small coin, which 
 my juveniles were not proof against. The northei-ly side of 
 the inner basin is bounded by a fine avenue for a drive and 
 walk; w^hich separating it from the " Grosse (or outer) Alster" 
 is also connected with what was formerly the ramparts and 
 fortifications. It is a fine course for the pedestrian, or those 
 preferring the more lux*irious ride or drive. The other parts of 
 the city, where the fire did noC extend, have a very peculiar ap- 
 pear?lnce, and remind the stranger of the old towns in Holland. 
 
 The Jews' quarter is very marked. The houses are nar- 
 row and tall, with high pointed gables, small windows, timber 
 ties intersecting at . different angles the front mason work, and 
 the roofs tiled with the pec«liar semi-circular tiles used for 
 the purpose so generally on the continent. The streets are 
 more like long lanes, in width ; and as the density of popula- 
 tion, or rather proclivity for socialistic concentration, is as 
 Strongly developed in the descendants of Moses, as it is in the 
 natives of the Emerald Isle, — and the personal habits of either 
 not strictly unexceptionable, — one can readily imagine the 
 nature of the attractions and inducements for a ramble through 
 this part of Hamburg. 
 
SUBTERRANEAN MUSIC. 
 
 83 
 
 The associations of a horse railway car, or an omnibus, 
 at noon or night of a rainy dj)^, furnish a» very fair 
 subject of comparison witli the amount of space in which 
 an individual can exist in an upright position. But hoiv such 
 numbers are arranged, when subjected to the detail of family 
 arrangement*, is, and I most fervently hope ever will be, a 
 matter of conjecture. The population in 1857 was over one 
 hundred and sixty-six thousand, ten thousand of whom are 
 Jews and two thousand "Roman Catholics. The^ popular re- 
 ligion is the Lutheran faith. There are a large number of 
 * charitable institutions of a sanitary, benevolent and educational 
 character. There are also literary institutions, and public and 
 society libraries, containing two hundred and thirty thousand 
 volumes. Museums of natural history, antiquities, the arts, an 
 academy of music, a botanical garden and an observatory, 
 furnish resources for instruction and amusement, of an eleva- 
 tino; character. I here attended a heer concert ! ReturninGf 
 one evening from a stroll, and hearing strains of music, not 
 from the elevated regions of halls, or the drawing room, but 
 from subterranean courts, my young friend and relative, with 
 whom I was walking, confiding in his knowledge of the lan- 
 guage and habits of the people, offered to be my cicerone in 
 the investigation, Avhicli my strongly developed Yankee curiosity 
 suggested. 
 
 Gradually accustoming our senses of sight and smell to the 
 impenetrable, suffocating clouds of poor tobacco smoke exhaled 
 from the immense German pipes, the color and smell of which 
 indicated their age, free from the suspicion of ever having 
 been cleansed, we descended into these lower regions. It was 
 a circular hall, filled with small tables, at which m(%n and wo- 
 men were sitting, the one smoking, and both drinking from the 
 same tall glass of " lager," Bavarian or the ordinary German 
 beer. At one side was raised a platform, with a green curtain 
 screen to hide the dressing room, from which some four or five 
 girls came out and seated themselves. They were good l<K)king, 
 
84 
 
 .A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 well favored dam?els, and tlie pretentions of one of them to 
 beauty were sufficiently well founded to receive attention. A 
 pianoforte solo, annoan.ce( fthe commencement of the evenins's 
 second part entertainment. The girls, in turn, sang a song not 
 of the most elevated sentiment, or some of their national 
 ballads, with a quality of voice and tone somewhat prepossess- 
 ing, and, at least I fear, of a higher standard than their strict 
 appreciation of the value of a reputation above suspicion. 
 Other girls ajid boys were flitting about in the dim outline, 
 with waiters and flagons of the popular beverage, administer- 
 ing to the v»'ants of customers as expressed, not in the most * 
 select terms of etiquette or elegance of diction. Our visages 
 were soon detected within this thick wrapt veil of obscurity, and 
 tp prevent an unwelcome distinction, beer was ordered. As I 
 paid the small cost in English pennies, it was soon apparent 
 that we were especial objects of regard, not only by the waiting 
 damsels upon the floor, but to those upon the platform. So 
 recently having escaped the casualty of coffee and pistols, we 
 beat a qu'ck retreat, as the prospects for beer and pistols be- 
 came distinctly appreciable, in the jealous shrugs and glances 
 of the previously fa'vored swains. Our presence added dark- 
 ness to the impending cloud. An inhalation of fresh air and a 
 bright starlight sky restored us to locomotion and life. Although 
 a veteran of more than a quarter of a century in the' fire de- 
 partment ; beginning from a torcli runner, and graduating with 
 the highest honors and commissions of the department ; sufFo- 
 'OatJid time and again by the smoke of burning lumber, cotton 
 waste, hay, and the contents of stores, stables, and dwellings, I 
 never before felt what smoke was, or of how great density, as 
 when the |)«re fresh air began its coursings through nature's 
 almost obliterated functions. The fragrance of that evening's 
 visit was a " tell-tale," not only on our return home, but for 
 days and weeks afterwards ; and a great mistake we made, in 
 not preserving a remnant of that wardrobe, as an annihilator 
 of motis, and as a proof of no ordinary curiosity in our compo- 
 
GENUINE " LAGER BEER." 
 
 85 
 
 sitioii. This beer drinking continues for hours, night after 
 night ; and if I were to express my honest convictions of the 
 materiality of a German's humanity, or of his articles of 
 luxury, or diet, I should without hesitation say it was beer 
 and tobacco. I must qualify this last sentence. " Young 
 America " of ten years and upwft-ds, would make a German 
 blush, in the use of this narcotic, if any important result was 
 pending. Boys in round-abouts and short jackets offend the 
 the sight and sense of maturer years by the offensive habit of 
 smoking, mutilating life's best energies with the pipe or cigar. 
 Where are your parents, boys ? 
 
 If I have ever doubted the facility by which an American 
 is fiumbugged, Barnum's career would effectually settle the 
 point. But even his curious success is cast in the shade by 
 .that which has attended the establishment of the countless 
 " lager beer saloons," in every hamlet, town, and city of New 
 England. "Lager beer" means stored beer. It is made in 
 J^^ember ; stored in cellars with great care ; never tapped 
 for use until the following May ; six months age at least, is 
 considered indispensable for its perfecting. But in the Ameri- 
 can depots for its sale, it is brev,^ed, drawn into kegs and drank, 
 as fast as the necessary manipulations can be passed through. 
 Genuine " lager beer " is a mild tonic, free from any alcholic 
 qualities, and is considered as a specific for cases of debility, 
 from sickness, &c. But the lager beer as Americanized 
 would, I suspect, receive but few orders from a medical adviser. 
 It, however, answers as a most excellent subterfuge by which 
 liquors of every kind can be procured. The wonder is, in the 
 present apathetic indifference of tlie temperance friends and 
 prt)fessors, that any shield or disguise is adopted in the prose- 
 cution of a traffic that has filled the records of time with its 
 corrupting, devastating, . soul-destroying influences; and the 
 consequences of which, its followers must meet and answer 
 whe^ humanity's impress of God's image will be regarded; 
 where the tears of bitter anguish of the heart-broken wife and 
 8 
 
86 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 mother ; the supplications of innocence, for pity and relief from 
 starvation, and cruelty worse than death ; where the mind in- 
 tended by its Creator, for the comprehension of the mysteries 
 of Deity, has been debased to the realities of a brute's exist- 
 ence, will all demand justice. The poor unfortunate victim 
 of an unconquerable appeffte should have our outstretched 
 hand for sympathy and succor. The tempter of that appetite, — 
 he, who for paltry gain, makes a covenant with the worst 
 
 passions of humanity, deserves our 
 
 The costumes one meets with in the streets of Hamburg are 
 as peculiar as any it has been my good fortune to see. It is 
 the custom, with hardly an exception, for the nursery maids 
 and those of a similar position in society, on the continent, to 
 wear neat white caps instead of bonnets ; this latter, in fact, 
 mav be said to indicate the wearer's position in society. The 
 servant girls, in this city, all carry a light, figured scarlet shawl, 
 gracefully thrown over the arm, for the purpose of concealing 
 the contents of the small basket or package they are carr}4l|. 
 The pea-jmt girls, as they come to market with fruits, flowers 
 and vegetables, excite particular attention, with their wide^ flat, 
 round, basket-shaped bonnets on the top of the head ; a large 
 square bow-knot of wide black cambric or ribbon, the bows 
 projecting some five or six inches on each side of the hair, and 
 long streamers down the back ; a close fitting slashed waist- 
 jacket without sleeves ; worsted crimson skirts, reaching half 
 way to the ancle, developing well formed limbs, and fitted with 
 symmetrical rotundity at the waist ; thick stockings of black, 
 blue or brown yarn, winter and summer, with strong high-heeled 
 shoes. The carriage of their person is very erect", and the 
 fio-ure well matured. If our American belles should smile at 
 this description, I think " the laugh would be on the other side," 
 if these peasant girls were to see the trailing of silks and 
 skirts, through mud and dust, of a fashionably dressed lady of 
 Broadway, or the streets and thoroughfares of other^ities 
 nearer home. Whicli of these representatives of the gentler 
 
A MODERN " BABEL." 
 
 87 
 
 sex shall claim approval for a sensitive, appreciative sense of 
 cleanliness or propriety ? At funerals, the friends of the de- 
 ceased do not attend in procession. " Hired mourners, dressed 
 jn blac^ with plaited ruffs round their necks, curled and pow- 
 dered wigs, short Spanish cloaks and swords," are employed 
 as substitutes. The same persons, whose number is limited 
 to sixteen, attend marriage festivals, and form also a body- 
 guard to the magistrates. The situations were formerly pur- 
 chased at a high price, in consideration of the perquisites and 
 fees attached to them. Upon the death of a burgomaster, or 
 other personage of importance in the town, the town trumpe- 
 ter, a civil otlicer, is set to blow a dirge from one of the stee- 
 ples." A clerical personage, accompanied by four or five boys 
 of the ages of ten or twelve, occasionally stopped and chanted, 
 before the residences of (as I suppose) persons of distinction. 
 Wlietlier it was a religious ordinance they were observing, or 
 an exuberance of harmony in returning from church or 
 school, I do know. 
 
 ■ The churSParchitecture is not remarkable or attractive. One 
 of the spires is four hundred and fifty-six feet in height, and is 
 the loftiest of any church in Europe. An interesting sight is 
 the " hour of change " (one, P. M.) at the " Bourse " (Ex- 
 change.) It is a fine large structure, well adapted to its pur- 
 pose, containing reading rooms, ofiices, &c., for the Board of 
 Trade and Chamber of Commerce. Strangers are admitted 
 to these privileges, upon introduction by a member. At one 
 o'clock, the merchants crowd the floor of the great hall ; and 
 as you look from the galleries, a black, dense mass of men 
 cover the pavement, and such a "confusion worse confounded'' 
 of voices rises to your hearing, as you may never hear again. Not 
 a word can you detect, but a mass of murmuring, mumbling 
 sjunds, M'hich renders the confusion at Babel very compre- 
 hensible, satisfactorily accounting for the termination of the 
 building of that structure. The extent of these commercial 
 transactions may be estimated by tiie imports into Hamburg in 
 
88 A summer's travel in ^:urope. 
 
 • 
 
 1857, amounting to nearly 700,0.00,000 marH^banco, (equal to 
 nearly 38 cents each,) and tlic exports in 1856 to 613,433,730. 
 " The articles of import and export are princi[)ally cotton, 
 wool, woolen and wor.ried stuffs, yarn, silk, hides, h^|lware, 
 iron, coffee, sugar, wine, rum, tobacco, indigo, dyewoods, tea, 
 pepper and coals. The latter is excepted from the exports, 
 Hamburg being a distributing centre in its use." The manu- 
 facturing industi-y is directed to ship building, calico printing, 
 distilling, sugar refining, manufactories of'canvas for shipping, 
 ropes, leather, cigars, soaps, &c. There are publishing houses 
 of much celebrity, banking houses, several newspapers and 
 journals. The cemetery is not particularly attractive. It 
 struck us very singularly, to observe recorded upon the 
 monumental stones and tablets, the duration of the lease of 
 the lot upon which the interments were made. Some for a 
 longer, and others less period of time. But few were in per- 
 petuity. At the expiration of these leases, (if not renewed,) 
 the remains are exhumed and deposited with mmjk lime in a 
 common receptacle. The lots thus cleared beoIRe subject to 
 a new lease to new parties. This arrangement a23peared 
 almost sacrilegious to us, in the respect with which we have 
 been taught, by a mother's sorrowing love, for the lamented 
 dead. To others less sensitive, and to whom their last resting 
 place is a matter of almost reckless indifference, if not aversion 
 it may appear practical and suggestive. The markets are well 
 supplied with meats, vegetables and fruits. A long row of 
 common, cross-legged tables in the middle of one of the 
 streets, covered with odds and ends of iron scraps, calicoes, 
 glass ware, toys, stockings, &c., tended by men and women, 
 appeared to be the last remnants of a peasant's fair. The 
 environs of the city around the " Grosser Alster " are beautiful. 
 New Villas of stone, covered with a concrete of sand and lime, 
 of prepossessing architectural j^r^ortions and style, with 
 flower gardens of taste and variety, were occupied and being 
 built. Swans in large num-bers were adding the "poetry of 
 
GERMAN HAIR-DRESSERS. 
 
 89 
 
 motion to tlie scene," and a delegation from whose homes were 
 placed in the .Central Park of New York, by the courtesy of 
 friends. These fowls are reared as the recipients of a bequest 
 left by a lady of Hamburg for that purpose. A visit was 
 made to a professor of the " tonsorial art," whose clippings 
 from the heads of my juveniles revealed no phrenological 
 malformations, as they left his chair, literally shorn, if not 
 shaven ; and whose manipulations over my own cranium may 
 have developed that bump of audacity and presumption from 
 which the community have been spared heretofore. The 
 Germans invariably cut the hair short to the head, — whether 
 to allow the internal heat of their stimulants of beer and 
 tobacco to pass off more readily, or as an avoidance of the 
 imperative duties of the toilet, which their total aWltinence 
 from the use of a tooth brush, plainly indicates, I cannot say. 
 Beauty will lose its charms in my eyes, in Germany, unless a 
 reformation, in this respect, is almost universally instituted. 
 Ruby lips and bewitching smiles receive a terrible discount in 
 their disclosures. 
 
 8* 
 
XIII. 
 
 GERMAN PECULIARITIES. 
 
 Notwithstanding the indiffereSUce of the Germans in their 
 appreciative habits of personal attention to the details of the 
 toilet, they are exceedingly courteous in their greetings and 
 intercourse, one with another. The hat is invariably removed 
 from the head of the peasant, as well as the courtier, in the 
 most ordinary salutations. And in the more informal recogni- 
 tions by friends, after an absence or separation, it is customary 
 to exchange those " impressions " which, with us, are valued 
 only as made by the gentler sex. It is with these foreigners, 
 a'strict fulfillment of the Scripture injunction, " first on one 
 cheek, then the other." The universal stiff moustache and 
 heavy beard do not decrease the natural repulsiveness with 
 which we should regard this custom ; being another illustra- 
 tion of the truthfulness of the maxim, of there being but " one 
 step from the sublime to the ridiculous." The language is 
 expressive of the character of the Germans. There is a 
 solidity (if I may so speak) about it, which i^j^^iaracteristic 
 of the people. In strong contrast with the vivacity of the 
 French, it is peculiarly adapted to that solid harmony so 
 prominently the feature of their music. The symphonies of 
 Beethoven, the compositions of Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn 
 
AN IDEALITY REALIZED. 
 
 91 
 
 and others, require, at least, a partial knowledge of the people, 
 manners, customs and language where they were produced, to 
 be appreciated. However more agreeable, or attractive, the 
 less classic style of music of other countries may be, the true, 
 connoisseur cannot hesitate to give to the musical authors of 
 Germany the first rank,- in justification of their claims or pre- 
 tensions to an unrivalled pre-eminence. Hamburg realized, 
 in the older parts of the citp;, ray boyhood's ideality of its 
 appearance. The name, I think, impresses the idea of what 
 we conceive to be the peculiarities of foreign cities. In 
 physiognomy, there are m^ny who pretend to an infallibility in 
 judgment of the character and propensities of individuals 
 from the countenance or features. How far this principle may 
 apply to the names of cities or places, is a question. But in 
 my earlier efforts for the acquisition of geography, this city, 
 with a few others, had arrested my attention, and suggested the 
 hope that fortune might favor my seeing it. This has been 
 done. Many w^ords might be added ; many a reference to the 
 people ; a more detailed account of manners and customs, 
 costumes and character could be appended. The fear of 
 prolixity and tediousness deters me ; and with a simple refer- 
 ence to the " Vierlander," (the flower-girls,) whom I fear I 
 have most unaccountably forgotten, notw^ithstanding their 
 prettiness and bewitchery, I shall finish my sojourn in Hamburg 
 sincerely hoping the eyes of others may be gratified in * 
 seeing it. 
 
 Among the passengers by the " Moselle " to Hamburg, was 
 a gentleman from Copenhagen, who for six months of the year 
 transacts business in the West Indies, returning to Denmark 
 for the summer months. Ascertaining our nationality, and 
 knowing the cosmopolitan propensities of Americans, he very 
 kindly suggested an excursion of seventeen hours from Ham- 
 burg to Copenhagen. At dinner, Tuesday, August 9th, this 
 circumstance was mentioned, and one half hour thereafter we 
 were, three of us, in a cab, rushing for the cars from Altona to 
 
92 
 
 A sxJmmer's Travel m EtHOPE. 
 
 Kiel. The former place you will remember is the Danish 
 border town joining Hamburg. The inland division of the two 
 places is a large open field. The quays and water front are, I 
 believe, continuous. There is also a wide ditch to be used in 
 . cases of invasion. The station house is a large commodious 
 building, and from jts elevated position^ commands a fine view, 
 of the river Elbe and surrounding country. The regulations 
 for luggage, at all foreign railways, are very stringent. Your 
 first duty is to purchase tickets for the cars. The office win- 
 dow in the large hall of the station at Altona, is upon the 
 right as you enter, and a curvilineai^-aiiing, admitting persons 
 only in single file, passes to it. The positive rule . of the 
 barbers shop, not only in cities, but of " Towns,'' is adhered 
 to, " first come, first served." You may have a wife and a 
 John Rogers family to arrange for ; the first bell may have 
 rung ; or you may have a speechless jcompanion (as mine had,) 
 who cannot speak a word escept his mother English, and 
 rendered ten times more irritable because of his stupidity ; 
 forty packages or less of traps, trunks, &c , may be passing 
 from the cab to the luggage room, with your initials upon 
 them, going you know not where ; fat men and spare women, 
 or vice versa, crowd you, front and behind, betraying most 
 unmistakable symptoms of having dlYied from a varied bill of 
 fare, as your olfactories are in contact with their exhalations ; 
 ithe far-famed agricultural production of"' Old Bristol " strongly 
 ipredoroinating ; musty pipes, wretched tobacco smoke, may be 
 your unavoidable surroundings ; but your die is east, and you 
 move inch by inch to the square opening, a wiser but not I 
 \fear a better man. The tickets are bought. Now for your lug- 
 gage ! This is all to be passed through a larger window, labelled 
 .and numbered to correspond with your ticket. Here is another 
 jam. And what with porters dropping their heels, or the 
 ■ corners of heavy trunks upon your feet ; getting entangled in 
 crinolines, forever a nuisance ; iwhiQA up with a string from a 
 ladies poodle dog about your legs, begging his mistress' pardon 
 
AN ILL REQUITED COURTESY. 
 
 93 
 
 but kicking him when you can ; old women with baskets and 
 bundles ; younger ones with all the appliances of their skill 
 and intentions against the equanimity of our sex, stowed away 
 in bags and bandboxes ; a confused notion of your identity, 
 you find your patience exhausted, good humor annihilated, and 
 a charitable consignment to perpetual oblivion, of the race of 
 humanity generally. At last the Rubicon is passed, as you are 
 admitted (by showing your luggage checks and tickets) to the 
 interior of the station, where the cars are waiti.ig. The 
 . universal habit of smoking I'equires provisions for its graiiiica- 
 tion, even in the hurried railway traveh Every train of cars 
 has a certain number of smoking coupes," as they are 
 termed. A hurry from the dinner table had prevented our 
 " Havana's " annihilation, and hence our anxious seat was 
 for one in the " coupes." Five Germans and we three " filled 
 the car. With a right good will w^ puffed away ! One of our 
 fellow travellers had lost the key of his carpet bag, in which 
 he had some " superior specimens." Alas, what was to be 
 done ! I have always in my pocket, when travelling, a number 
 of small tools in a single frame, such as would justify my arrest 
 as a suspicious character. With one of these the lock was 
 .picked. Never in all my experience was a little courtesy more 
 dearly paid for. The Germans have a religious horror, I 
 believe, of a draught of air. No matter what the atmosphere 
 is, outside or in, they believe a current of air to be the one 
 thing awful ! As night approacj^ed, we were made sensible of 
 their ability to stand smoke, if not fire. " We three," one 
 after another, all gave in. Nausea, sick headache, drowsiness 
 and faintness, abstracted us from all appreciative contact with 
 every thing material but that tobacco smoke ! It was of no 
 use. They were solicited, entreated, persuaded, threatened by 
 imploring looks and beseeching words, to stop smoking or open 
 the windows. But survive if we could, w^e must wait with 
 patience till deliverance came as we arrived at Kiel, three and 
 a half hours' ride from Altona. The surface of tlie countjy is 
 
94 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 verj flat, with light soil, destitute nearly of tree?, but very 
 prolific in some places in the supply of peat. There is evidently 
 a fresh agricultural impulse given in this part of the Duchy of 
 Holstein, by the construction of the railway. The lands are 
 being reclaimed from almost barrenness ; and the quarrying 
 of the large granite boulders, so numerous in Holstein, is 
 becoming a source of merchandise and profit for building 
 purposes in Hambui-g. Many years since, in Aix-la-Chapelle, 
 we were interested in the storks at the market place, which 
 are allowed and unmolested, from*a superstitious regard. From 
 between AUona and Kiel they must have come, judging from 
 their relatives, the Cranes. They are very numerous. Their, 
 huge nests, adhering to the gables of the farm houses and barns? 
 could not have been found in the architect's recommendation 
 or fancy, as an appendage of ornament or utility. 
 
 The town of Kiel is verjf prettily situated upon a bay from 
 the Baltic Sea. It has'a fair harborage, with good depth of 
 water and is completely land-locked, except at its entrance. In 
 summer time it is becoming a favorite v/atering place for the 
 resort of fashion and military personages. The beautiful 
 wooded banks and hills of the bay offering the necessary in- 
 ducements for pic-nicks, tea parties, &c. We found two 
 steamers ready for our embarkation ; the one connecting with 
 the railway from Korsor to Copenhagen, the other, for more 
 of a sea voyage through the Baltic to Copenhagen. Our 
 tickets were for the sea rout(^; and frequently have we con- 
 giatulated ourselves upon embarking upon the screw steamer 
 Princess," with her courteous and intelligent Captain Coke. 
 He spoke English very fluently, ai)d finding '-we three " a 
 stray party of Americans, his kind attention to our questions 
 and desire for information, is most gi-atefully remembered. The 
 tea table«bi'Ought together our fellow passengers, without a 
 single lady among them, as I now remember. The five merci- 
 less individuals of our railway troubles had most fortunately 
 taken the otlier route ; being apprehensive, I suppose, of the 
 
THOUGHTS OF "HOMe" AND — 
 
 95 
 
 fulfillment of our sincere wishes for their saa-sickness and 
 discomfort, which, under no circumstancesif^ould have equalled 
 our own, under the infliction of their total depravity in the 
 courtesies of a smoking car. A cup of good 'souchong," with 
 toast and sweet butter, restored our equilibrium. The witching- 
 hours of twilight found us on deck, luxuriating in the fresh 
 tonic air of the sea, with one of the mildest summer's eve, as 
 starlight and bright against the blue canopy of the sky, as are 
 the eyes and the smiles of those I am thinking of now. The 
 cabin arrangements for sleepiiig were similar to those of the 
 " Moselle." There vv-ere three state rooms, two of two berths, 
 and One with a lounge in addition. The latter, the steward 
 gave us three ;" and weary with our day'« work and travel, 
 we were scon as unconscious of the danger of the sea," as 
 we were grateful in the morning for that watchful care and 
 protection which has so often guided and preserved us in our 
 many " Rambles from Home." In passing from the bay of 
 Kiel to the Baltic in the evening, the only objects of interest 
 were the lights upon the coast of Schleswig, and the island of 
 Femern on the right. The larger islands of Laland, Falster and 
 Moen, are upon the left. The high chalky cliffs of the latter, 
 remind you of those of Dover, and make a shudder of the 
 nerves as you fancy the con^ct of a ship against its stern 
 rocks, driven with the uncontrollable impetuosity of a gale at 
 sea. 
 
 A friend and acquaintance has given an account of this 
 same route, from Hamburg via Kiel to Copenhagen and 
 Helsingborg, in Sweden, as published in the " Transactions of 
 E. I. Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry," 
 for 1859, (see on page 82.) The same flat appearance is there 
 described of the coast of Sweden, as observable in the surface 
 of the island of Zealand, (Sjeland,) upon which Copenhagen 
 is built. At a distance of twenty English miles, in a clear 
 atmosphere, the spires of the city churches may be seen from 
 tlfe sea. There are many light houses and light ships along 
 
06 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 the coast, which, from tlie nature of the country, must be very- 
 shoal. The islancl^f Salthohn upon the right, and Amak on 
 the left are passed, before reaching the strongly fortified battery 
 of Trekoner, as you enter the harbor of Copenhagen. There 
 were several large vessels of war lying in ordinary, in the 
 naval basin inside. Many of them I should suppose worthless, 
 and all, appai'ently, out of commission for a long time. The 
 harl)or is well protected, and extends for a mile from the sea 
 into the city. Steamers of ordinary size and English models ; 
 ships and other vessels of various forms and nationalities, were 
 passing in and out, or at anchor in the port. The formalities 
 of a custom house examination of luggage and passports by 
 the police were soon over. Porter boys were employed for 
 the transportation of our valises, and M'ith anticipations of the 
 strange and wonderful, our first promenade was taken in Den- 
 mark. The " Hotel Royale," to which we were recommended, 
 (and in wdiich recommendation " we three " will cordially join,) 
 was a mile distant from the landing of the steamer. Th^re 
 w^ere " droskies," (heavy four wheeled barouches for two per- 
 sons, drawn by one horse,) but our sympathies for the poor 
 quadrupeds, and the questionable ability of their bony frames 
 to expedite our movements, induced us to travel on foot. The 
 general appearance of the city we traversed in going to the hotel, 
 was that of a neat, substantial, healthy, mercantile, prosperous 
 place. But we were disappointed in the absence of those 
 impressions of its peculiarities and strangeness which one 
 mif^'ht gather from its name. There were 1*0 strong contrasts 
 of either building or people, which our fmcy had sketched j 
 and if we had been told we were for the first time 
 in some of the older seaport towns of the Southern States* 
 we should not have been as surprised as to find so little 
 that appeared strange here. Perhaps the familiarity with 
 other cities upon the continent had been forgotten by us in our 
 imaginings of this. If we were fresh from " Down East," or 
 any place skilled in Yankee whitlings, our eyes and mouths«)f 
 
aUR " COMMISSIONAIRE." 
 
 97 
 
 wonder would have been more widely extended. Our entrance 
 to the city was through the newer part?:, and our disappoint- 
 ment at its appearance was somewhat relieved a^ip^e came to 
 the hotel, — separated by a canal from the small island upon 
 which the old Christianborg Palace is built. The first object 
 of ab>orbing interest was the provision for the " inner man," 
 and the summons to the dining hall, was the most agreeable 
 sound that reached us in the first moments of our new exist- 
 ence. A " commissionaire " (or guide of the place) was sent 
 for while we were at dinner. Joseph Alyer, an intelligent and 
 courteous person, answered the summons and our most 
 inquisitive purposes. If the repeating of his name shall be 
 the means of others availing themselves of his valuable services, 
 the object in mentioning it will have been accomplished. 
 
 Dinner over, and a two horse " droski " from the hotel, 
 with Joseph for our guide and counsellor, " we three " com-, 
 menced doing up Copenhagen in true Yankee style and 
 intensity. « Our drive was for the naval cemetery, a short 
 distance beyond the eastern gate. I should have earlier 
 said the city was enclosed by strongly fortified walls, 
 having four gates for ingress and egress. These ramparts are 
 very agreeably appropriated for a promenaded And, although 
 for many years, it has been a time of " peace and prosperity 
 within its walls," yet doubtless there have been, upon them 
 many severe conflicts between the rallyings of the lordli- 
 ness " of manhood and the " soft syren voice of the 
 charmer," attempting to bring to subjection and loyalty the 
 proud boaster of his imperviousness to all assaults save that 
 of " woman's artillery." In -this cemetery, (more particularly 
 appropriated for the burial of the heroes of the past, and the 
 officers of the present navy,) stands a tall Norwegian marble 
 obelisk, to commemorate the " noble deeds of daring " with 
 which the desperate attack of the English fleet, under the 
 command of Sir Hyde Parker and Lord Nelson, in 1801, was 
 resisted, but unsuccessfully. Denmark had at this time 
 
98 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 formed an alliance a^jrainst Endand. But the destruction of 
 her navy, then in port, severed the compact and annihilated her 
 opposition. •The price of that conquest was the commingling 
 of the life blood of Danes and Britons, . whose requiem is 
 ever sung, as the winds mournfully chant the dirges of nature's 
 melody through the branches of the oaks and pines, bending 
 with the drapery of their dark green foliage over the silent 
 dead. And although strangers as we were, yet the current of 
 our sensations were in unison with the place and memorial, 
 before which, with uncovered heads, we stood. 
 
XIV. 
 
 COPENHAGEN. 
 
 A delightful ride outside the fortifications, carried us through 
 the new and flourishing suburbs of the city, on the north. 
 There was a freshness in the streets and buildings in progress 
 of erection and completed, with the evidence of industry and 
 thrift 4P the people, that made the humble residence of our 
 guide, Joseph, appear as cheerful as the good natured linea- 
 ments^ of his face. Entering the city again at the West gate, 
 we drove to the Museum of Natural History, on the " Storm 
 Gade " (street.) This collection is very rich and extensive. 
 It contains a very large variety of shells and minerals ; and a 
 fine zoological department, including among others, speci- 
 mens of insects from Africa, South America and the East 
 Indies ; birds from Europe and America ; fish, reptiles, and 
 crocodiles, stuffed and other ways preservtid, of an endless 
 variety. Although the apartment of comparative anatomy 
 has been recently instituted, it has between two and three 
 hundred skeletons and anatomical fragments, not the least 
 interesting of which, were the different formations of the head 
 of a- sea horse, from its earliest existence to the full develop- 
 ment. The department of mineralogy is conspicuous from the 
 mass of Konigsberg silver, measuring six feet long by twg 
 
100 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 wide, and eight inches in thickness ; and also bj the specimens 
 of aniber, rock-ciystal, meteoric stones and iron from Siberia* 
 The Museum is open, (admission free,) Sundays and Wednes- 
 days, from 10 A. M., to 2 P. M. A return to the hotel, at an 
 early hour, (6 P. M.,) was not without reference to the cup 
 of refreshing beverage and its usual accompaniments. At 
 Joseph's suggestions, for the evening's pastime, we drove to 
 the "Alhambra," one of the two public places for amusement 
 with which the Danes are wise in " driving dull care away." 
 Of all the resources and variety comprehended in any one 
 arrangement for mirthfulness and pleasure, this was the most 
 complete, in its detail and success, of any I have yet witnessed. 
 The entrance way was through an iron turnstile, so constructed 
 as at each turn to indicate the number of visitors ; preventing all 
 possibility of confusion, (except, perhaps, to the wearers of 
 the ever annoying crinoline,) admitting but one person at a 
 time. Passing through, after paying your entrance fee, three 
 marks, (about 25 cents,) you find yourself surrounded by the 
 ideahties, as it were, of fairy land. Bright, sparkling^ts of 
 gas from burners of every variety of form and design, 
 illumine the walks which are crossing and reerossing^ each 
 other every few rods distance, bewildering nearly, in the light's 
 glare. At the far end of the principal avenue, opposite to the 
 entrance, is a fac-simile representation of the Moorish 
 Alhambra," which Irving has so beautifully described in his 
 volume upon that scene of luxury and beauty. The form is 
 indescribable, as I saw it at night ; but the coloring of its 
 artistic front, adorned with colonnades in the peculiar and rich 
 style of Moorish architecture, exquisitely delineated by the 
 reflection of the brilliant gas lights against the dark drapery 
 of a summer's starlight eve, presented to the mind a representa- 
 tion of materiality which had previously existed in the ideal 
 visions of a pleasant dream. The central portion of the 
 structure was approached by a range of steps leading to a 
 ^stibular platform before the principal entrance. There 
 
" THE ALIIAMBRA." 
 
 101 
 
 were doors, partly of glass, opening into a long hall of tesselated 
 floors, which tenni.iated at the spacious stairway of the beauti- 
 fully decorated and well arranged theatre, on the second story. 
 The softened mellow light, fine orchestral music, well 
 costumed performers with more than ordmary ability of 
 theatrical talent, made this part of the " Alhambra" a popular 
 resort. Under the colonnade of the right wing, was a concert 
 room for instrumental music; and the left (if memory is not 
 in error) was the saloon for ices, coffee, cakes and confectionery. 
 Passing to the right of the " Alhambra," was a theatre of 
 small, but well proportioned and airanged size, where the 
 most comic pantomimic performances were given. Still farther 
 down the paths were arbors and retreats, where a small table, 
 with one large glass of beer, separated the commentators upon 
 law, logic and beauty, as they puffed their arguments or 
 comments through the pipe bowl. Retreats for the interchange 
 of those delicate, yet significant expressions of " thought and 
 word," betweeii the loving and the loved, — which must.be left 
 to the imagination of the uniniated, but never described. 
 
 An extended ramble brought you to the " beer concert saloon," 
 where the musical talent or other attractions of the performers, 
 were not as those of Hamburg memories. Passing the entrance 
 gate, were small buildings where " hot waffles " were made 
 and baked ; tem})ting the palate by the sprinkling of powdered 
 sugar, and the accompaniments of wine, cordial, or brandy, 
 for a moderate compensation. Lesser attractions demanded their 
 proportion of your time. The termination of the various 
 performances was announced by a small number of musicif^ns, 
 whose music, followed by the throng, led from the conclusion 
 of one to the commencement of another. With true Demo- 
 cratic tendencies, the brother of the present King of Denmark, 
 (a man of the 'Uittle giant" stature) with his wife, and 
 others of the court and camp of royalty, mingled with the 
 gay throng; where the flashing eyes and neglige mode ot 
 dressing, raised the question of character ; or the perfume of 
 9* 
 
102 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 tobacco and sandy beard and moustache, betrayed in the sterner 
 sex, the similarity of the Danes and Germans. The evening's 
 entertainments were concluded by one of the most successful 
 and brilliant pyrotechnic displa}4S I ever witnessed. The 
 glare of the rockets discharged from the Tivoli gardens, (a 
 similar place of amusement, but not as attractive) would 
 occasionally stimulate the proprietors of the " Alhambra ;" and 
 it is easier to conceive of, than to describe the beautiful effect 
 that followed the simultaneous #5cplosion of a number of 
 rockets, exhibiting in mid air the brilliant stars of crimson, 
 gold and silver hue, golden rain and serpents, falling ith all 
 the poetry of motion. There was no extraordinary circumstance 
 of fete or festival that called forth this recreative amusement 
 for the mass. Regular evenings are appropriated to similar 
 exhibitions in each week. And this exhaustless source of 
 pleasure was afforded at the very reasonable price of less than 
 a quarter of an American dollar. When will the philanthropist 
 learn wisdom from experience. God has so constituted the 
 mind, it demands excitement. The embryo germ of immor- 
 tality, it must live and act. If a tithe of the money and the 
 labor of the faculties that is now spent in prosecuting some 
 individually cherished plans of legal prohibition, for the 
 suppression of crime of every grade and name, could be 
 concentrated in one earnest, honest effort for reformation ; if 
 the faculties and means of the community could be directed to 
 the conception and development of a plan, providing healthful, 
 mirthful, reputable diversion for the masses ; where the inno- 
 cent and athletic sports might interchange with the elevating 
 inspirations of music ; and the loveliness and beneficence of 
 creation might be portrayed in the flower gardens and fountains 
 of our public grounds — ( where are they?) if the study of child- 
 hood's impulses and dawning manhood's propensities were taken 
 hold of with a right good will, our misanthropic forebodings 
 would cease, and faith, in the nobler attributes of humanity, 
 would assume control over the moping, and ascetic sarca-m of 
 
THORWALSDEN. 
 
 103 
 
 those dispositions who liave pleasure in cherishing the aspects of 
 a total depravity. Memory recalls witli delight the Alhambra of 
 Copenhagen ; the Zoological and Botanical Gardens of Paris ; 
 the garden of the Tuilleries and Luxembourg, and countless 
 others in every city of repute of the old woi-ld, filled with 
 a happy, joyous throng of the noble and the lowly ; the rich 
 and the poor; the scholar and the peasant; roaming amid 
 flowers, fountains and statuary, with not a pebble disturbed or 
 a leaf plucked; wdiere courtesy is the atmosphere of contact, 
 and childhood's merry laugh and sports lighten and brighten 
 the tottering steps of old age, in its hoary pathway to the 
 tomb. 
 
 A comfortable couch, refreshing slumber, morning bath, 
 and a good breakfast put us in order for another day's work 
 and pleasure. " Thorwalsden's Museum " was our first object 
 for examination. It is a large stone structure, not of a pre- • 
 possessing exterior, in rear of the Christ ianborg Palace, on 
 the north side, in the form of a parallelogram. The exterior 
 walls are decorated with colored stucco representations of the 
 histor}' of the Museum. A large bronze statue of Fame in a 
 car drawn by four hor.-es, is over the main entrance. The 
 building is exclusively appropriated totlie collection of .-tatuary, 
 casts, sketches, (in clialk and ink,) -and collections of Roman 
 sculpture, ironzes, coin-% &c., made or collected by this 
 • renowned artist, personally ; his own productions being nearly 
 six hundred and fifty. An attempted description of these 
 works of art would be superfluous. His genius and talent are 
 as vividly depicted in the colossal eciuestrian statue of the 
 Emperor Maximilian and others, as in the exquisite concep- 
 tion and execution of his medallion casts of " day and night," 
 "the seasons," "angelic purity," or the sublimer personifica- 
 tion of Divine love and mercy, so graphically, yet so reveren- 
 tially portrayed, in his matchless statue of Christ. No one can 
 study the works of this great master, w^ithout being conscious 
 of the refinement of his ow^n sensibilities, however dormant 
 
104 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 thej may have been, until brought in contact with those 
 revealed by the work of his hands ; producing the bright 
 ideallies of an inspired mind. His mausoleum is in the centre 
 of the court yard, in the interior of the building. It is a plain 
 square enclosure raised above the pavement, covered with' the 
 ivy in its ever green foliage ; emblematical of the memory of 
 his talented genius ; and fresh as the lasting impressions of 
 his life of purity, simplicity, and cheerfulness. A leaf was 
 plucked ! Not from vandalism or outrage, but for a memento 
 of associations excited by the impressions of the hour and 
 the place, which with reluctance may be forgotten in the future 
 wild tuynult of anxiety, temptation and care. His history is 
 an exemplifieation of appreciated talent and honest worth. 
 The son of a poor ship carpenter from Iceland ; born in 
 Copenhagen 1770; unnoticed and neglected in his birthplace, 
 his genius carries him to Rome ; employment in Canova's 
 studio develops his talent where he models his statue of Jason ; 
 receiving no notice or emolument, is leaving Rome for Den- 
 mark ; his purpose defeated by an order from Mr. Hope, of 
 London, for a copy of his beautiful production in marble ; 
 fortune here beginning her favors, his progress is onward and 
 .upward. In 1838, he returns to his native city, her mo?t 
 :honored and illustrious son ; elected President of the Academy 
 ■of Arts ; occupying apartments in the Charlottentttrg Palace, 
 jie dies suddenly in 1844, in the 79tli year of his age. He 
 was never married. His last hours were spent in making a 
 .cast of Mai tin Luther ; and his studio, with the furniture, 
 remains as it was when he was translated, as it were, from the 
 imperfect conceptions of humanity to the full expansion of 
 beauty and perfection in the realms of holiness, purity and love. 
 
 Passing across the open area to the west, we next visited 
 the Museum of Northern Antiquities, in the north wing^ 
 and occupying seven rooms of the " Christianborg Palace." 
 This is one of the most interesting exhibitions that is known. 
 It contains, as its name imports, collections of the most remote 
 
A NOVEL ROAD WAY. 
 
 105 
 
 past; not only of the necessary utensils of domestic life, but 
 a number of valuable gold and silver articles of -luxury and 
 dress. It is most admirably arranged, in the classification of 
 the ditFerent specimens of ingenuity and skill in stone ; such 
 as arrow heads, axes, knives, chisels, &c., of strength and 
 adaptability, and tracing this progress to the more modern and 
 perfect productions of iron. They have been gathered from 
 the " cairns " or tombs of Noi-thern Europe, and are ttaced 
 back to the eighth century. There is a stringent law giving to 
 the Crovyn all antiquities in metal, as discovered. Their full 
 value is paid ll>e finder, and by this wise legislation many 
 valuables are being con-tantly added. A few years since, a 
 pair of very elaborately wrought and heavy gold brVii-elets 
 ware thus preserved. The institution is under the charge of 
 Professor Thomsen. He speaks English, and our acknowledg- 
 ments are dlie him for the courtesy extended to us as stranger?. 
 
 The " Round Tower (of the Trinity Church) was our 
 next destination. It is ascended very easily by a broad 
 spiral ascent, and the view from the observatory, at the top, 
 repays one amply for the time and strength expended in reach- 
 ing it. • Its greatest historical interest, I believe, arises from a 
 custom of Peter the Great, riding to the top, being on one 
 occasion attended by the Empress in a coach and four. (If in 
 the Empress' descent, any accident had occurred, as the 
 breaking of the harness, or the loss of control over her steeds, 
 she might have been seen " on her winding way," with more 
 of truth than poetry, and with the better appreciation of the 
 song of that name !) At the entrance door below, a miniature 
 figure of the clown in the pantomime at the " Alhambra" the 
 evening previous, was transfered frona the keeper's stall to our 
 pockets, not however stealthily, but in exchange tor " skil^ing-." 
 The natural instincts of the nearness to the dinner hour 
 returned us to the hotel with satisfactory results. After dinner, 
 our little party accompanied a friend in his visit to SvN cden, 
 which has been described (as before referred to) in the letter 
 
106 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 to the honored Secretary of the " Rhode Island Society, &c." 
 And I refer my readers to his com\nunication, as a part of this 
 " Ramble." One circumstance I observed, which he omitted 
 to mention. The King of Sweden had recently died ; and as 
 customary, the people of every grade and distinction wore 
 black. Custom in this instance reflecting the grief which the 
 death of a good monarch should ever call forth. 
 
 Leaving this friend's letter, as he hurries back to Copenhagen, 
 after returning to Elsinore, Friday, August 12tli, we drove 
 out to the beautiful watering place of Mairienlytz, two miles 
 from the port. A large stone hotel (formerly a summer 
 palace)^ of prepossessing appearance, with pleasant grounds 
 for recreation in front, interspersed with flowers, paths, trees 
 and arbors, under which families were breakfasting, a mili- 
 tary band performing a truly matinee concert, and the children 
 rollicking and enjoying the unrestrained hilarity of'childhood's 
 mirth, — formed a scene of cheerfulness and pleasure unknown 
 to our juveniles at home. In the rear of the hotel, a high hill, 
 commanding a lovely prospect of land and sea, offered facilities 
 for a good appetite, healthy exercise, or an excuse for the 
 comical ride upon a donkey to those who liked the sport. But 
 ray experience with donkeys in Smyrna and Cairo was too 
 vivid for a repetition here. There was one circumstance 
 connected with the ladies at this watering place and others in 
 Germany, I would especially commend to the consideration of 
 our female friends at home. I am aware I am throwing myself 
 into a current of almost irresistible force, that has overwhelmed 
 many a stouter heart and abler pen than mine, that is now 
 bearing ouAvard in its impetuous course to annihilation, the 
 possibility almost of a virtuous career for our young men. But 
 as the last ray of the sun's light is the conviction that day has 
 been, and the last twinkle of the star iii the morning sunrise 
 assures us that night has past, so this feeble remonstrance, this 
 earnest appeal may possibly reach the memories of the past, 
 and restore the high hopes of exalted and independent man- 
 
SENSIBLE WOMEN. 
 
 107 
 
 hood. These ladies, with plain white, or colored dresses of 
 muslin, or prints, for the morning toilet ; thick, seasonable shoes, 
 occupied with their sewing or knitting, conversing intelligently 
 with gentlemen upon the ordinary topics of the day, of national, 
 scientific or literary subjects of interest; appearing at dinner, 
 in a simple unostentatious dress, without any marked display 
 of oril^nents, (and which, in my humble opinion, are never 
 appropriate to the street, or church, but should be reserved for 
 the full dress of an evening's formal visit or reception,) gave 
 evidence of a home culture and strong mindeness ; with a 
 correct taste and proper appreciation of propriety. An 
 admirer {adorer, if you will.) of the sex, may I not suggest 
 the question, of a dangerous responsibility in the extravagance 
 of dress for the immorality of our own. The anticipations of 
 domestic life and felicity are annihilated at the cost of obtaining 
 them. Who will come to the rescue? 
 
XV. 
 
 DANISH SOUND DUES. 
 
 A pleasant stroll around the grounds at Marienlyfz, an 
 extended walk to Elsinore, brought us to the " Kronberg 
 Castle," from the ramparts of which there is a most beautiful 
 view of the sound between Denmark and Sweden. A 
 traveler detects a similarity in its appearance to tliat of 
 Heidelberg, both being of gothic architecture. Modern 
 fortifications enclose it, and its principal claim to notoriety may 
 arise from the control its cannon command in all directions, 
 and which have, until very recently, rendered ihe payment of 
 the Danish sound dues a matter of necessity; as the sound is 
 not more than* three miles at this point, and both shores 
 formerly belonged to Denmark. The origin of the imposts 
 upon all commercial transactions passing through the sound 
 to the Baltic sea, is of very ancient date, if known. Its 
 acknowledgment has been compulsory from other nations, and 
 resistance attempted, which, however, the guns of the Castle 
 have very promptly annihilated. If I mistake not, the first 
 successful effort in not paying this homage and tribute was 
 made by an American ehip, a few years since. In 1856, 
 Denmark relinquished her rights and abolished the dues, 
 receiving from other countries the sum of 35,000,000 rix 
 
FROM ELSINET7R TO COPENHAGEN. 109 
 
 dollars, ($19,145,000 United States currency,) as a full 
 compensation therefor. Of this amount, " Great Britain paid 
 28,90 per cent.; Russia, 27,80 ; Prussia, 12,60 ; and the 
 United States, 2,03 per cent., ($393,011)" being th(<. respective 
 proportions of their trade in the Baltic. 
 
 Elsineur is the residence of English, American, and other 
 foreign consuls and merchants. The English language is 
 very freely spoken, and excepting the severity of an extreme 
 northerly winter, the city must be a pleasant locality, being so 
 directly upon the sound. On our return to the hotel for 
 dinner, a few mementoes, as sketches, engravings, &c., were 
 purchased, and inquiries made as to the price of inferior 
 scythe handles, rakes, and other agricultural implements. A 
 very fair dinner, at a fair cost, put us in condition for a drive 
 of twenty-three or four miles to Copenhagen. In an open 
 carriage, with two horses, we started at 2 P. M. The shore 
 of the Danish Sound had attracted our attention in the sail to 
 Helsingborg, the frequency, neatness, and thrift of th^sea 
 side villages and hamlets making it attractive. A ride through 
 them confirmed these impressions, and as they were the 
 homes of the weather beaten bronzed fishermen, Ave saw them 
 and their families engaged in mending nets, truthfully depicting 
 the various toils and duties of those similarly engaged in the 
 time of St. Paul and his cotemporaries. 
 
 Enjoying the bracing sea air from a strong southwest wind, 
 we were unconscious of the power of the sun's rays. But 
 the premonitory symptoms of a severe headache by two of our 
 " three of us," followed by an intensity of pain and annoyance, 
 terminated the bright prospects of pleasure, and brought us in 
 stern contact with a sad reality. To those who can appreciate 
 the discomfort, under such circumstances, of a ride of twenty 
 miles, in an open carriage, unpro^Jjjpd from a midsummer 
 sun, against a strong wind and dust, an appeal for sympathy 
 would not be misplaced. And memory brings back my own 
 sincere sympathy, but useless effort, to relieve a near friend's 
 10 
 
110 A summer's TRAVKL in EUROPE. 
 
 suffering from this cause, on a steamer's restricted comforts. 
 To others whose ignorance is bliss," an appeal is useless. The 
 Castle of " Fredensborg " (Peace) upon the Esrom Lake ; 
 the small summer retreat of royalty, at which the King of 
 Denmark was then Hving, shunned by his royal courtiers and 
 relatives, (on account of the plebeian origin of her majesty, 
 formerly a milliner,) indulging his sensual propensities for 
 stimulating pleasures ; recreating, (if it may be called,) by 
 living in a tent; the forests connected with this 'latter courtly 
 residence, abounding in game and diversified Avith roads and 
 walks, — these and many incidental attractions of farm houses, 
 peasantry, cattle and crops, were indifferently regarded, except 
 as objects almost of aversion, serving as landmarks to mark 
 our apparently slow progress to a long wished for couch and 
 rest. I never knew the sensations of sea sickness ; but a 
 martyrdom to sick-headaclie all through boyhood, and neuralgia 
 throjjgh manhood, has led me to place a very charitable 
 estimate on this most fiishionable plea for absence from meal 
 hours on shipboard. A cup of tea was most grateful. Night's 
 long, tedious hours were counted; daylight brought relief. 
 
 Saturday, August 12th, was a beautiful day. Breakfast Avas 
 most acceptable from the previous evening's draft upon our 
 physical energies ; and with Joseph as our guide, our steps 
 were directed to the Royal Museum. This collection embraces 
 a very great variety of ancient relics from Egypt, and other 
 as renowned localities, — the enumeration of which, would be 
 a copy of the catalogue of most of the similar institutions of 
 the world. And as no one things stands prominently forth in 
 memory, amid the marbles, bronzes, ivory-carvings, clubs, 
 battle-axes, knives, armour, drinking-horns, golden crucifixeF, 
 vessels of gold, silver and glass, and mementoes of every age^ 
 clime and people, habita^lfcis and customs, I shall simply add 
 the two hours spent here, as part of the accumulated fund of 
 pleasures and treasures of foreign travel, to be draAvn upon as 
 inclination or profit may demand, A search among the shops 
 
CHURCHES AND TRISOXS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 for sometliing curious that miglit satiate the imagination of the 
 wonderful and strange in the minds of my f^imily, who, whh 
 myself, had supposed Copenliag{in lo be the very embodiment 
 of the marvelous, resulted in the purchase of some music for 
 home practice, &c. 
 
 " The Church of our Lady " contains Thorwalsden's cele- 
 brated statue of the baptismal font, a kneeling angel " in 
 marble, of exquisite beauty. Bas reliefs, suggestive of the 
 sculptor's personal history, adorn the church, representing " a 
 child walking and looking upwards to heaven for aid, while it 
 is followed by an angel whose hand is extended over the child's 
 head." Tiiis and another group called " Maternal Love " are 
 very Rasing. The church has also within its walls the 
 statues of the twelve Apostles, St. Paul being substituted for 
 that of Judas ^Iscariot. Crossing the arm of the sea basin, 
 which extends upon the southern side of the city to the fortifi- 
 cation, our next visit was to the State Prison upon the island 
 of Amak, (a part of the city,) and enclosed within the 
 fortified walls and ditch. I regret that the precaution of taking 
 notes of this institution was omitted at the time.^ In memory, 
 however, I see a long parallelogram range of buildings of 
 massive proportions ^ within which was a large court yard, 
 containing buildings of less size and strength. A ring at the 
 door of the main office entrance brought a very gentlemanly 
 official, with a niilitary dress of blue frock coat, gilt buttons, 
 glazed cap and belt, and holding in his hands a large bunch of 
 massive keys. Tlie visit of strangers I fancy was a novelty, 
 judging from the inquisitive glance our request was greeted 
 with. Representing that one of us had been somewhat officially 
 conversant with similar institutions at home, and a cdiflmendable 
 desire for information and comparison was the honest purpose 
 for our visit, we were ushered into the office, and after a few 
 moments delay, commenced our tour of inspection. A small 
 yard, enclosed with a very high picket fence, afforded 
 opportunities for limited exercise to those convicts whose term 
 
112 
 
 A SUMMER S TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 of commitment were not of a severe nature. A long corridor 
 of' one of the principal buildings contains cells upon each side, 
 eight feet by ten or twelve in size, painted green, well 
 ventilated, clean and airy. These are for the exchange of 
 confinement to prisoners of milder crimes. In one, a mild, 
 inoffensive looking man, in stocking feet, but comfortable and 
 cleanly in his dress, was pacing his narrow rounds, knitting a 
 yam stocking. Two hours per day is allowed for recreation 
 within and without. In other parts of the large establishment* 
 prisoners were three and four or eight and ten in number, in 
 rooms, working and weaving hemp, cloth of cotton, and woolen 
 for shirts, and the prison dress of heavy fabric, one li^J||^ellow 
 and the other dark gray, mixed ; in basements, cutting logwood 
 with a free use of their implements ; working at other 
 branches of mechanical trades ; manufacturing *every quality 
 and kind of articles required for the maintenance of the prison. 
 The dormitories are in the attic, and contain some thirty or 
 forty bunks under, the supervision of a keeper. The food is 
 is simple, but nutritious and freely dispensed^ ' I am sure an 
 ascetic believer in the depravity of humanity, would have his 
 faith rather tested, in the almost unrestricted conversation and 
 interviews, by day and night, allowed the convicts under this 
 mild, but as yet, successful discipline. .The Danes are a 
 peculiar people in their bad propensities, if they require no 
 harsher treatment under convictions for crime. Total depravity 
 they have either recovered from, or did not originally possess. 
 
 The " Church of Our Redeemer," upon the island near the 
 prison, has a curious spire, with a stairway upon the outside, 
 resemblino^ at a distance an inverted cork screw. There were 
 many other very interesting places and buildings that should 
 have been visited, but the time of our departure was at hand. 
 Reluctantly passing through the large open square, (as upon 
 our -first entrance to the city,) with hardly an emblem of life 
 (except the equestrian statue in the centre) to identify it with 
 the onward progress of the times and age in which we live, 
 
A WELL ARRiV^GED LIFE-DESTROYER. 
 
 113 
 
 SO deserted aud quiet was its area, although surrounded by 
 large public buildings ; passing the large market place, well 
 supplied Avith flesh, fish and fowl, and the varieties 'of garden 
 and orchard culture; leaving unnoticed and unknown the 
 Castle and Gardens of Rosanborg, and the virgin cita<!jlof 
 Frederikhaven, (as yet never having, been taken by a foreign 
 foe;) examining at a distance the " Exchange," with its 
 curiously formed spire of four twisted dragon tails, the heads 
 pointing to the four points of the compass ; we hurried to the 
 Hotel Royal for our last dinner, and appealed to Joseph's 
 generosity of feeling, in his withholding from our disappointed 
 eyes and ears the recapitulation of what we were losing in 
 leaving unseen the theatres, club-rooms, porcelain manufactory, 
 &c., &c. 
 
 . Dinner over, bills paid, Joseph generously remembered, a 
 short droski drive placed us at the railway station for Korsor, 
 the terminus of the railway from Copenhagen. A very 
 pleasant ride of three and a quarter hours brought us to the 
 southern part of Zealand, en route for Hamburg, A small 
 steamer was at the wharf in Korsor, being the regular and 
 connecting link of communication with Kiel, the terminus of 
 the Hamburg railway. The cabin appropriated to the male 
 passengers was approached by one of the best arranged 
 companion or passage ways and stairs for an annihilation of 
 humanity in case of fire, or casualty, I ever saw ; being crooked, 
 narrow and steep. . The constructor must have had his neck 
 and brain affected by that cork screw spire above referred to. 
 The bulkhead of this miserably cramped and wretchedly 
 ventilated apartment was next to the boilers. And if my 
 readers are ever again disposed to find fault with the comfort 
 and luxury of our steamers, they should be transferred to a 
 "transport" in a foreign craft. One such prescription will 
 cure them. A small state room of two berths was appropriated 
 to the senior and junior persons of " us three," where we 
 staid through the five or six hours' sail to Kiel. I believe I 
 10* 
 
114 
 
 A summer's travel EUROPE. 
 
 have committed myself somewhere in an approbation of the 
 courteous manners and greetings of these semi- Germans. The 
 experience of the villainous smoking in the car to Kiel, and 
 ib^winish manners at the supper table on board this steamer, 
 must have been matters unknown when that commendation 
 was passed. Knives and forks were as little apparently 
 regarded as was the least expression or act of courtesy 
 extended. The food was consumed, but do not ask how. We 
 recognized the brother of the King of Denmark (accompanied 
 by his wife and a few sycophantic attendants) among the 
 passengers, and found here, as elsewhere, that " titled person- 
 ages " were always the recipients of favoritism. A large 
 commodious state room was appropriated to the royal party ; 
 separate and more elaborate arrangements of the table and 
 service were made ; and upon our arrival the next morning at 
 Kiel, similar considerations were perfected for them in the 
 cars. With all our Republican boasting and Democratic 
 sympathies, there are no persons more captivated with a sight, 
 at least, of royalty, than Americans. Where true, honest, 
 intrinsic w^orth, as in England's Queen, is the characteristic of 
 eminent position, this homage is due and merited. But the 
 mere accident or circumstance in birth and association, elevates 
 many a drone in the world's busy hive of industry and well 
 earned distinction, above the more humble and worthier 
 members of society. 
 
 In leaving Copenhagen we could but regret that a fire did 
 not occur. Ever so ' trifling a cause would have satisfied us. 
 Certainly our first efforts would have been for its extinction. 
 But then the description of one was so graphic. " To run 
 with the machine " there, means an amount of excitement 
 that puts in the shade the most exuberant use of lungs and 
 muscle among us. A constant watch is kept in the church 
 towers, and the first issue of smoke or flame puts the church 
 bells in motion ; drums of the garrison beating; the watchman 
 dolefully crying fire ! fire ! and if any noise can be madt* that 
 
A FIRE IN COPENHAGEN. " 115 
 
 has not its representation in Copenhagen, at this time of 
 universal alarm, it must be of other than human origin. And 
 when the slumbers of the startled citizens are thoroughly 
 broken, and white night caps and dresses, regardless of 
 exposure, are at the windows, peering out to know " what and 
 where it is ?" you have materials for a fancy sketch or an 
 historical painting, seldom available elsewhere. A foul 
 chimney is frequently the origin of this confusion, worse 
 confounded, which simple cause instead of checking the uproar 
 at another time, seems but to increase it, as an avenger of the 
 disappointment at the alarm ending in smoke. ^ 
 
 We reached Kiel, Sunday morning at four o'clock, and 
 leaving at 7 A. M., received a warm welcome from some of 
 the inmates of " Streits Hotel, in Hamburg," at half-past 
 ten A. M. Part df the ' family were in attendance upon the 
 services of the English Mission Chapel. Their description of 
 an unfortunate " erring and straying " through the Jews' 
 quarter, was more graphic than the long walk consequent 
 * upon their lost way, could have been agreeable. A most 
 happy reunion was our return, as with fearful forebodings, and 
 grateful acknowledgments to Almighty God for their protection 
 and our common preservation for the future, we listened to the 
 sad tale of the ravages of the cholera in Hamburg, — an utter 
 ignorance of which alone justified our truant trip to Denmark, 
 dividing our household in a strange land, and under such 
 unpleasant circumstances. 
 
 My family had been the recipients of the United States 
 Consul's (J. B. Miller, E^q.) courtesies and agreeable atten- 
 tions, (including a dinner at the Consulate with the officials 
 from other countries, and a delightful drive and dinner U23on 
 the brinks of the Elbe,) during the trip to Denmark. The 
 anxiety for information as to our locality and comforts for the 
 year, away from all the endearments of home and near friends 
 and^urrounded by the great peculiarities of a foreign life, in 
 contrast with the simple but comfortable details of our own 
 fireside, made a longer stay at Hamburg impracticable. 
 
116 , 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 At 7 1 o'clock, A. M., on Monday, August 15th, we were in 
 the cars and off for Berlm per railway. In leaving the city 
 limits, the railway passes across the marshes of the Elbe? 
 through the district and homes of the beautiful " Vierlanders," 
 (flower girls.) The market and flower gardens are as 
 remarkable for their fertility as the costume of the peasantry 
 is picturesque. There are four of these villages, hence the 
 name of " Vier (four) land." The distance between Hamburg 
 and Berlin is 38 Prussian, or 178 English miles. The country 
 is very flat, and memory recalls no point of especial interest 
 to relieve the monotonous nine hours travel. You pass some . 
 twelve or fifteen stations, with villages of more or less 
 pretensions connected with them, and of the peculiar 
 stereotyped German appearance, in the architecture and 
 arrangement of the churches, houses and sireets. 
 
 Our arrival at Berlin, at 3| P. M., was announced to us in 
 the necessity of a custom house search of the trunks, &c. 
 There was more of rigidity in this investigation than was 
 agreeable, as we had among the packages a tin canister of old • 
 English breakfast tea. If I were to advise a traveler just 
 starting on his travels, (while the repeated annoyances of 
 examinations, cross-questionings and duty-levying reminiscences 
 are fresh in my mind,) it would be to believe nothing that 
 may be told him by others. A good-meaning friend in London 
 had insisted on our taking with us this indispensable comfort 
 of " a good cup of tea," assuring us, from personal experience, 
 of the impossibility of procuring it in any part of Germany. 
 The advice was well meant, but misapplied. We always 
 found upon opr table what was agreeable to us in this respect ; 
 and at the different custom houses, the suspicion of smuggling 
 and its* attendant annoyances followed the forgetfulness of 
 declaring beforehand this objectionable i^art of our luggage. 
 From the custom house we drove to the Hotel St. Petersburg 
 upon • the " Unter-den-Linden," a very comfortabhi^and 
 reasonable house. A wretched headache consigned one of our 
 
UNPLEASANT REFLECTIONS. 
 
 117 
 
 number to an early couch, with the usual sympathies expressed 
 and excited by years of martyrdom, while the rest of us 
 strolled through the long row of Linden trees, from which the 
 street derives its name. Quiet slumbers restored all to duty 
 next morning. An apprehension tlia^ our privacy had been 
 invaded, arose from the exceeding neglige costume- which 
 greeted the vision in the morning light. It was a reflection 
 from a large mirror unnoticed the evening previous. The 
 reflections, if truthful, were certainly not flattering. 
 
XVI. 
 
 FREDERICK THE GREAT. 
 
 August 16tli was a pleasant morning. As one of our 
 happy band was liomeAvard bound in tlie Arago, from Havre, 
 on the 23d of this month, we drove to the railway for Pottsdam ; 
 it being one of the principal objects of interest near Berlin, 
 and as yet not visited by our friend, although a rambler from 
 home for more than a year. This place is the third station on 
 the railway from Berlin to Magdeburg, and its notoriety arises 
 from its being a resort for royalty from the heat and excitement 
 of thefcapitol in the summer months. There are four palaces? 
 which, with the gardens and^pirks, can be visited in a half 
 day. The remains of Frederick the Great are contained in a 
 metal sarcophagus, under the pulpit of the " Garnison Kirche" 
 (Garrison Church.) In exchange for his sword which was 
 placed upon his coffin, but carried away by Napoleon and 
 subsequently lost, there are the eagles and^ colors of the 
 Emperor's troops, taken from them by the Prussians, and 
 suspended from the walls of the church. The Royal Palace, 
 built in 1660 and 1701, was the residence of the Prussian 
 King, and is remarkable for the associations connected with 
 him, carefully and truthfully preserved ; his writing table, 
 decorated with ink spots indicative of haste or waste ; inkstand? 
 
NO "eaves-droppings." 
 
 119 
 
 piano, music stand, upon which are copies of his own musical 
 composition ; green shade for his eyes, bookcase, and the 
 chairs and sofas of his daily use. The monarch had a singular 
 attachment for a few favorite dogs. They were his constant 
 companions by night and day. Plates were regularly placed 
 for them at the table ; and the chairs with their &ilken coverings 
 tattered and torn by their paws, prove the luxury of which 
 tliey were the recipients. A stray feather from one of the 
 cusliions was preserved, and forms one of a numberless 
 collection of souvenirs of foreign travel. His dogs fared more 
 sumptuously than their royal master, as his couch was a 
 common tru(^ bed, which has furnished many a relic to 
 insatiable wantonness in whittling, to which all travelers are 
 more or less inchned. " Eavesdroppers " are by no means a 
 modern element in society. Adjoining the monarch's bed 
 chamber is a small cabinet with double doors, containing a 
 round dining table, upon which the meals were served in the 
 apartment below, and by means of machinery passed up through 
 the fioor. After dinner the table was lowered, and the 
 aperture covered with the floor as though its solidity had never 
 been disturbed. In this manner the state secrets were kept 
 inviolate, and private feuds unknown. What " a Sahara " for 
 scandal mongers that secret apartment must have been. In 
 how many charitable gatherings must it have been the subject 
 of stern censure! Where would our thousand and one 
 benevolent operations among the different societies find attrac- 
 tions for their full me<:tings ! What a miserable suspense if 
 no overburdened, zealous, inquisitive mind could be relieved 
 of its store house of suspicions, and rumors, and conjectures 
 of what might happen, if this was so, or that was this ! The 
 gardens of the "Sans Souci Palace " are laid out with much 
 taste, the palace being situated at the top of a high, step-like 
 terrace.. The hot houses connected with the palace furnish 
 oranges, grapes and olives. At the extremity of the terrace 
 are the graves of the war horse and favorite dogs of Frederick 
 
120 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 the Great. It was the monarch's desire to have been buried 
 beside his faithful friends, but the wish was not fulfilled. In 
 the palace, a clock always wound by his own hand, stopped at 
 the hour of his death, and then, as now, points the visitor to 
 the time of the soul's exchange of its existence, " twenty 
 minutes past two." The other palaces of Charlottenhof, built 
 after the Pompeian style, and the new palace, are noteworthy 
 as residences of royalty, containing the evidences and arrange- 
 ments for the luxury and pomp of elevated birth and station, but 
 with no remarkable features for which to linger longer at Potts- 
 dam. The town contains about forty thousand inhabitants, and 
 the private houses, in their architectural arrangements, have 
 evidently been copied from the palatial mansions that stand 
 among them. A drive to the Russian colony of eleven houses 
 and a small church, and thence to the railway for Berlin" 
 terminated the excursion. I am not aware of the circumstances 
 which founded the small settlement of Russian peasantry in 
 this particular locality. The architecture of their houses 
 resembled that of the Swiss, in the large flat pointed roofs 
 and galleries round the lower stories. They were sent to 
 Prussia by the late Emperor Nicholas. A little episode in our 
 starting occurred, which gave us an opportunity of testing 
 the courtesy of the railway officials. They are very generally, 
 on the continent, men who have seen military service ; and 
 as their dress partakes more or less of a military style and 
 character, it is not surprising if they occasionally forget that 
 the imperativeness or servility in giving or receiving orders, is 
 not always adapted to ladies and gentlemen, who can better 
 appreciate courtesy and politeness than they can understand 
 roughness or incivility. The numberless attaches of a train of 
 cars, or at a railway station, with the high cost of the roads, 
 sufficiently account for the low rate of dividends. At every 
 station you must purchase tickets before you are admitted 
 within the waiting rooms. These are divided into first, second 
 and third class apartments, corresponding with the character 
 
FOREIGN RAILWAY CARRIAGES. 
 
 121 
 
 of the cars, and the price you pay for your seat. The doorg 
 next to the track are locked, and no ingress or egress 
 is permitted. When the train is in the station properly 
 arranged, the doors are opened by attendants from the railway 
 side, and you step from a long level platform into the first car 
 you can find, corresponding with the rank of your ticket. The 
 cars are called carriages and generally contain a centre 
 apartment arranged for six or eight persons of the" first class, 
 most sumptuously upholstered with plush or velvet. Two 
 other compartments, equally as comfortable and roomy, but 
 lined with drab or blue broadcloth, are for the second class. 
 Each end is termed a " coupe,'^ (cut-off) and is as if one of 
 the other compartments had been cut in two ; having three or 
 four seats, as the whole carriages may contain six or eight. A 
 third class carriage is generally a large box car, with wooden 
 seats having backs as high as the shoulders, without upholstering 
 of any kind, and capable of carrying twenty-four or thirty-two 
 passengers. Before the train starts a collector comes to the 
 door of the car and examines your ticket, to see if you are 
 rightly located and if you have not mistaken the destination of 
 the train. When all is right, a signal whistle announces the 
 fact, and the guard, as he is termed, mounts up into a small 
 box at the end of the last car, where, from the windows of his 
 cage, he commands a view of the moving train and road. He 
 has no mode of communicating with the driver of the engine. 
 As the train stops at a station, his duty is to open the doors, and 
 answer as good natu redly as he may please^ the many useful 
 and u'seless questions Avhich are addressed to him. A time- 
 keeper stands with his register to note the arrival of the train, 
 and when the time of its detention has expired, he whistles 
 as before, and as the train moves on, the time of its departure 
 is noted down. The passengers who may leave the train at 
 any station, pass into the waiting-rooms, at the doors of which 
 the tickets are collated. It may appeaf a very simple process 
 to enter a train at a way station and travel nearly the entu'C 
 
122 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 road without a ticket. So it is ; but you cannot leave the 
 railroad without detection ; you must pass the scrutiny of the 
 station door keepers. You are not allowed to cross the track 
 for any reason, except when authorized by the officials at a 
 refreshment saloon. I remember at a way station of stepping 
 upon the track to examine the rails and fastenings, when the 
 next train was not expected in some little time. The manner 
 and the matter by which I was ordered on to the platform of 
 the station, crushed my Yankee curiosity for one while. 
 
XVII. 
 
 FOREIGN RAILWAYS. 
 
 The drivers and firemen of the engines upon fbreign rail" 
 ways are without any protection whatever from the weather. 
 There are soiffetimes upon the locomotives, placed before them, 
 a board with two large circular glass lights, as eyes, through 
 which they can see the road when running against a dri- 
 ving storm offtnow or rain. The locomotives are much 
 smaller than the American style, (one-third less I think,) aifd the 
 trains are seldom as heavy with passengers or freight, as the 
 ordj^iary regulations of an American railway. The cars are 
 generally four or six wheeled. Candor compels me to add 
 that the arrangements for safety to passengers, in foreign 
 countries, are far in advance of our own system. For exclu- 
 siveness and comfort, their carriages are more luxurious than 
 ours, at a cost of one-third more for rate of travel. But for 
 sociability, seeing the country and facilities for change of posi- 
 tion, the American railway car is superior. Here my encomiums 
 stop. The memories of sick headache, nausea, and almost 
 faintness from exhaustion, come rushing to the mind, as travel 
 after travel, in cars containing fifty and sixty passengers of all 
 ages, ranks and conditions of J^fe; a close air-tight stove 
 lieated to an intense heat ; not a door or window open ; three 
 
124 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 small openings in the roof of the car, miscalled ventilators ; 
 and at night two or three lamps adding in smoke and odor to 
 the vitiated atmosphere, — these horrors of a railway ride are 
 too vivid for an extended eulogium upon our railway arrange- 
 ment. The simple cord which passes through the train for 
 communication to the engineer in case of accident or necessity ; 
 the comfortable arrangements of those whose care and prompti- 
 tude are our only safeguards ; the simplicity of arrangements 
 with our conductors, ticket officers, stations and limited num- 
 ber of employees, are all commeataries upon the formal clock- 
 work detail of similar institutions . abroad. Our first and 
 second-class cars are all that are required for the economy or 
 grades of life with us. The slur is often heard abroad^ that. 
 " none but fools, aristocrats and Americans ride first-class." But 
 the episod^to which I referred in my last, was this : In pur- 
 chasing tickets for a family of seven persons, . the number of 
 adults and juveniles was honestly given, and thf tickets paid 
 for as demanded. A sub-guard in his rounds of arrogant and 
 egotistical duty impudently peering into our faces, detected, as 
 he supposed, an attempted fraud, in cheating the railway of 
 half *a fare for one of the juveniles, on a. ride of eighteen 
 miles. .The boy' is ordered out ! He was ordered to sit still* 
 Another order of ejectment was issued; but another coi^ter- 
 mand followed. The indignant official makes a molion for 
 ejectment; but a counter motion by myself, of rather a forcible 
 nature, arrested that. The principal of the station is sum- 
 moned by the moustached dignitary. He comes — an explana- 
 tion follows. The tickets are shown ; the boy's age told ; and 
 the official retires with our blessings, and his superior's apology 
 for his insolence. 
 
 The attractions of the Alhambra at Copenhagen led us to 
 seek for similar pleasures in Berlin. And under the guidance 
 of the commissionaire who had accompanied us on oiir excur- 
 sion to Pottsdam, we drove^o the " Kroil Gardens," after tea. 
 But the fascinating scenes of the former were brilliant in 
 
A German's " alhambra." 
 
 125 
 
 comparison with the dull and listless pleasures of the latter. A 
 very fair theatrical performance in a well arranged theatre ; 
 exhibitions of the " Puach and Judy " of merry England ; 
 (tlie German manipulator having successfully acquired the 
 the strong nasal style Qf language so indispensably connected 
 with the exhibition,) shooting galleries ; singing concerts and 
 similar sources for amusements ; seiall tables with the indis- 
 pensable tall glass of the universal beverage, passing from 
 hands to lips of the two occupants of the chairs; sometimes 
 both of one sex, or one of both ; smoking, jolly-faced paternals 
 joining in the laugh and ecstacy of the maternals at the funny 
 things said and done by the pledges of their mutual affection, 
 whose early abilities and education in beer drinking were not 
 unfrequently tested ; young men from the university and 
 schools, inquisitively analyzing the claims of beauty and attract- 
 iveness in the representatives of the fair sex, in their care-for- 
 nothinor saunterinjT alon<]r the walks ; matrons and maidens with 
 and without protectors, thus establishing a claim for respecta- 
 bility, or repudiating all pretensions or necessity for it ; — these 
 and a variety of pther incidents, were the attractions which drew 
 together a concourse of people, paying a trifling fee for 
 admission at the gates of the garden. What a contrast to the 
 fairy-like scenes of the Alhambra ! 
 
 The next morning found us armed and equipped for duty, as 
 the various members of the party reported themselves for 
 inspection. Our first visit was'to the quiet*liome-like palace 
 of the young Prince, Frederick William, of Prussia, whose 
 wife, the daughter of Victoria, is also Princess Royal of 
 England. The royal pair were at their summer quarters, and 
 thtj palace was in some little confusion, under the direction of 
 artizans making repairs and improvements. A servant of the 
 youthful household being a friend of our commissionaire and 
 -not insensible to the influence a silver talisman exerts, assisted 
 us up the royal stairway, protesting at the same time against 
 our admission, as the palace was closed by orders from the 
 IP 
 
126 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 "major domo." Once inside, the hall doors were shut by him, 
 to give us more liberty in rambling through the apartments, 
 and to screen himself from observatioii in his implicit adherence 
 to positive orders. If my fair readers should question his 
 veracity, he might possibly refer for his testimonials, to some 
 of their cotemporaries, who never teach such violation of 
 integrity, in reaching over^he ballusters as the servant answers* 
 the bell at the door, and very conscientiously directing him to 
 say " Mistress, or the Misses, are not at home !" Our kind 
 • hostess in London, repeated one or two anecdotes of the young 
 Princess, (in whose apartment we were,) which were so well 
 corroborated by the little incidents around us, that I feel safe 
 in again repeating them here. It is -said that the Queen 
 mother of Prussia calling one day upon the Princess, v/as 
 much shocked at her offering her young husband a chair, say- 
 ing it was not dignified for Royalty to perform such duties." 
 " I do not know Avhy not," replies the Princess, " my mother 
 'gets a chair for my father." Again the Queen expostulated 
 when at her table, as the young wife and mother prepares the cup 
 of tea for her noble-born companion, informing her " the 
 servants should render such service." The young Princess 
 replying, says, " I cannot see the harm, my mother pours my 
 father's tea." In her private sitting-room were the remains of 
 a Christmas tree, with its decorations, &c. ; portraits of her 
 mother's family ; the bible presented to her by the young 
 ladies of London, ^nd other equally unostentatious mementoes- of 
 home, kindred and friends. Her own handiwork was on her 
 husband's writing table, being an alabaster paper weight painted 
 by herself ; a drawing, from her pencil, of their infant child was 
 pinned to the wall. And this room of the future King- of 
 Prussia, was as that of many a young man of simple habits 
 and taste. Photographs of his favorite military officers ; statu- 
 ettes of soldiers upon the mantlepiece ; his guns for hunting ; 
 upon his desk, memorandum files and hol lers, and under it a 
 round basket for his waste papers. The sim^Dlicity of his toilet 
 
A TREACHEEOUS SURFACE. 
 
 127 
 
 was expressed by the sponge, hair and tooth brush, be^des a 
 silver ev/er and basin. The more foriftal drawing room was 
 beautiful in its upholstered Avails of blue damask and silver 
 decorated picture frames. English attendants as steward and 
 ladies maids were the links of home in lano^ua^^e and associa- 
 tions to the future Queen. The royal pair were at the new 
 palace, as it is termed, two miles from Pottsdam ; the noto- 
 • riety of which consists in its having been built by Frederick 
 the Great, at the close of the seven years war^ as an assurance 
 that the treasury was not exhausted by that long campaign. 
 To us it stands prominently in memory, containing on the lower 
 floor, a most curious and elaborately decorated apartment, the 
 walls of^which were covered with almost every variety of 
 marine shells, coral and precious stones, arranged in every 
 variety of^figure and diversity of color. The floors in the 
 seventy-two apartments are of highly polished marbles and 
 wood. And while the adults of my party were constantly 
 annoyed by the fears of falling on the slippery footing, the felt 
 moccasins (which we were obliged to wear) made for us, the 
 juveniles were experimenting behind the backs of the guides, 
 in the variety of motion skating requires. I am positive I 
 would never enter the lists for a foot race, with such encum- 
 brances, upon such a treacherous surface. 
 
 Opposite the new palace near Pottsdam was the Guard and 
 Station House for the troops attached to that portion of the 
 royal family. At a certain hour every (fay, the band con- 
 nected with the regiment played in front of the building, and 
 the infant prince was exhibited by his nurse, from an open 
 window upon the fi4-st floor. The detention we submitted to in 
 being among the curious, to see this child of royalty, must be 
 attributed to the curiosity of one who has known, in all its 
 depths of tenderness and affection^ a mother's love ; and in 
 response to which, the devotional, fervent yearnings of child- 
 hood's best and warmest impulses are as fresh and as vigorous, 
 even in the strength of man and womanhood as in the earliest 
 
128 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 instir^cts and dependence of infancy. Our gazing, however, 
 was upon closed shutters and solitary windows. For some 
 reason our Yankee guessing could not fathom, the young scion 
 of a kiiigdom's destiny was not exhibited then and there. But 
 the ramble to the new palace is a digression in narrating our 
 day's programme. The old palace was next in order ; and I 
 remember nothing so at variance with the ordinary descriptions 
 repeated so often, and so threadbare, as to detain us another, 
 moment. Perhaps I might recall the " Rittersaal," (or Knight's 
 Hall,) containing the throne, and a sideboard of mammoth 
 size and dimensions, covered with massive gold and silver 
 tankards, goblets, sah ers and the like, whose greatest use might 
 be in illustrating the cost of royal luxuries, and whose gorgi:.ous 
 display were equalled by the " Whitehall ;" an apartment 
 whose sumptuous decorations required the exp^diture of 
 $600,000! The old structure had its galleries of painting 
 and statuary. 
 
 Our next visit was to the Museum. If this most valuable 
 a"hd interesting collection of Roman antiquities in bronze, iron, 
 &c., consisting of household gods, spears, armour, and imple- 
 ments of M^ar and civil life ; of the collection of nearly three 
 thousand gems, and valuable ancient coins ; the specimens of 
 the painted and glazed earthenware of the lotli and 16th 
 centuries, comprising elaborately worked and ornamental 
 devices, as well as the simpler utensils of domestic need ; the 
 Sculpture Gallery, in a large circular hall as high as the 
 building, containing statuary of the ancient and moje modern 
 studios ; a picture gallery, upon whose walls are choice paint- 
 ings of almost every school, if this collection so valuable and 
 interesting had not its representative in every city of renown 
 in the old world ; its historian in every traveller ; and was to 
 the world what it is to Bertin, it would justify a copy of its 
 entire catalogue, and our commissionaire in his contemptuous 
 shrug and denunciations at the manner in which we passed 
 through its halls, and exchanged its attractions for a comfort- 
 able chair and lunch at the hotel. 
 
BERLIN AND ITS ATTRACTIONS. 
 
 129 
 
 The very level surface of the country traversed by the 
 railway from Hamburg, prepared us somewhat for the flatness r 
 of Berlin. But the extent of this levelness was not appreciated, 
 •until we observed that the sewerage of the city was impossible. 
 In " Friedrick's strasse," (street) two miles in extent, and 
 perfectly straight, there is not a descent sufficient to relieve it 
 from the rain as it falls. Its healtlifulness must be affected 
 unfavorably in summer by this circumstance. And as the city 
 is located in the centre of a large sandy plain, the heat must 
 be almost intolerable. NotwiUistanding' these disadvantages, 
 which might be supposed sufficient to have prevented its 
 foundation, Berlin is one of the most agreeable cities in its 
 arrangement and detail, I recollect upon the continent. The 
 streets are laid out at right angles. The buildings (mostly of 
 brick and plaster) are very fine and numerous. The city is 
 built upon a most tranquil little river, completely ignoring its 
 name, " The Spree," intersected by numerous canals, which 
 on one side connect it with the Oder and the Baltic, and on 
 the other with the Elbe ; the bridges.over which are ornamented 
 with imposing groups and single statues. . The street called 
 " Unter-den-Linden," (under the Lindens) having two rows 
 of these trees, affords ajiiost agreeable promenade and retreat 
 from the summer's sun ; terminated at the east by the grand 
 square, upon which fronts the Royal Palace ; the Cathedral, 
 remarkable for its unsightly exterior, and its being the last 
 depository of Royalty; the Royal Museum, a beautiful stmcture, 
 in front of which is a higlily polished granite basin, twenty- 
 two feet in diameter, cut from a single boulder, ttirty miles 
 from the city ; the Royal Arsenal, unexceptionable in its 
 architecture, containing a hundred thousand stand of arms, and 
 with many other relics, two leather guns, and a thousand tro- 
 phies, from the French mostly, whose conquest are appropri- 
 ately and significantly expressed in more than twenty stone 
 masks above the windows outside, representing the distortions 
 of the features in the agonies of death ; the University of high 
 
130 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 repute for the superiority of its professors ; the Academy of 
 Fine Arts, and opposite to which (in the centre of the street) 
 is the noble bronze equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, 
 standing upon a granite pedestal twenty-five feet in height, 
 having upon each side bronze bas-reliefs of his favorite Gene- 
 rals, and other groups, numbering in all thirty-one life-sized 
 portraits. On the south side of the " Unter-den-Linden, and 
 opposite the statue, is the Palace of the young Prince Frede- 
 rick William, (previously referred to,) the Royal Opera 
 House and the residence of the late King of Prussia. This 
 enumeration of public edifices and the bronze statue gives you a 
 very imperfect idea of the beauty of the grand square of Berlin. 
 There are other fine buildings in different parts of the city ; but 
 as they were not visited by us, their enumeration here would 
 require a more free use of " Murray's hand book," than is 
 expedient with the large drafts already drawn upon his fund 
 of historical and traveller's notes. There was one manufactory 
 w^hich I was desirous of visiting, but memory proved treacher- 
 ous in.relaining it, and the. opportunity was lost. It was the 
 Iron Foundary, at which the chaste and delicate ornaments of 
 " Berlin iron " are made. At the Republican outbreak in 
 1848, the foundary was much injured, and works and models 
 of art destroyed. Murray narrates a patriotic incident con- 
 nected with the foundry, which may interest my fair readers. 
 " At the time when the final struggle commenced between 
 Prusski and Napoleon, the patriotism of the Prussian ladies 
 was particularly conspicuous. With the noblest ^generosity 
 they sent flieir jewels and trinkets to the royal treasury, to 
 assist in furnishing funds for the expense of the campaign. 
 Rings, crosses, and other ornaments of cast iron made in this 
 manufactory, were given in return to all those w^ho had made 
 this sacrifice. They bore the inscription, " Ich gab Gold urn 
 Eisen," (I gave gold for iron,) and such Spartan jewels are 
 at this day much treasured by the possessors and their families." 
 Dissolved amber, linseed oil, and lampblack, is the varnish 
 
A ladies' " UNION." 
 
 131 
 
 used on these fabrics. It should be a source of the greatest 
 consolation in these troublesome times of disunion, treason and 
 dishonor, to know that the American females, (without the very- 
 patriotic emotions of the Prussian dames and damsels, in dis- 
 pensing with the jewels and trinkets, which so ostentatiously 
 overlade their hands and arms, as well as the. husband's or 
 father's purse!) are yet equal to the Spartan mothers of 
 history, in their unflinching determination to stand up for the 
 Union, whenever and wherever a proper opportunity is theirs. 
 Theirs is no miserable policy of the one star destiny ! " Union 
 forever, isolation never !" is their rallying to the conflict of 
 the heart's best impulses. Capitulation here means njore than 
 conquest ; and misery to him who resists. The western end 
 of the " Unter-den-Linden " is the Brandenburg Gate ; a 
 very fine, imposing structure of three arched passage ways, 
 for •pedestrians and carriages. It is surmounted by a fine 
 bronze car of the Goddess of Victory drawn by horses of life 
 and spirit. Napoleon, in his insatiable desire to concentrate 
 every thing in Paris, making the kingdom of France a tribu- 
 tary to that city, his victorious armies every where its bene- 
 actors and contributors, carried this work of art to that capitaL 
 But the reverses of Waterloo extinguished alike his ability 
 and his hopes, and the Goddess stands again in her beauty 
 over this, the principal entrance within the walls of Berlin. 
 The fortifications which enclose the city are twelve miles in 
 circumference, and there are sixteen other gates of entrance. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 AGREEABLE COMPANIONS. 
 
 Passing through the Brandenburg Gate westwardly, you 
 enter the " Thiergarten," (Park,) a delightful retreai and 
 favorite place of resort, particularly on Sundays. It has an 
 area two miles long by one broad, with a fine growth of woods 
 and shrubbery, and containing cleared spaces for ponds, restau- 
 rants, &c. " Kroll's winter gardens " are also within its 
 limits. Not far distant is the Zoological Garden, a very well 
 arranged and quite extensive collection of animals, birds, and 
 tjie usual collections connected with those interesting and in- 
 structive institutions. The departure for home of one of our 
 happy circle being at hand, we returned to the hotel for an 
 earlier dinner. Exchanging sincere assurances of friendship 
 and regret at separation, our young friend left us, arousing the 
 delightful memories of the past, and stimulating the anticipa- 
 tions of pleasure which we knew awaited us, when again the 
 warm, fond grasp of friendship and affection should assure us 
 that our exile was finished. 
 
 Thursday, August 17th, found us bending o'er our trunks, 
 not always manifesting, I fear, that equanimity of mind •or 
 correctness of expression which proves an absence of irrita- 
 bility or annoyance. If the articles of our wardrobe could 
 
AGREEABLE COMPANIONS. ^ 133 
 
 have spoken, I fancy our sensibilities would have been com- 
 pelled to have heeded their expostulations, and to have answered 
 the very reasonable query, if we supposed it possible, after 
 having disarranged the very neat compact folds of the laundress 
 to have placed them in the same space as before ! An appeal 
 for sympathy does not come amiss from us, when made to those 
 who have had a similar experience of a family's living in 
 trunks and carpet bags. 
 
 At 11 A. M., our hotel obligations, servants' fees, commis- 
 sionaire's services having been acknowledged and cancelled, 
 we took our seats in the cars from Berlin t(^ Dresden, a 
 distance of twenty-five German, or one hundred and seventeen 
 miles, En^ish. The train proved to be the opposite of an 
 express, so far as progress w^as concerned. And to this 
 circumstance, one of the pleasantest incidents of our foreign 
 rambles owes its existence. At every station, for half the 
 distance, our curiosity had been excited by the appearance of 
 a family in the nexi compartment to the one we occupied. A 
 large, well-formed, portly gentleman, of middle age, dressed 
 as a traveller, (who knew the luxury of a proper travelling 
 outfit,) evidently a man of the world ; his wife, a lady in 
 address -and wardrobe, of medium heifjit and figure; two 
 daughters, as we supposed, with well founded pretensions to 
 good looks and attractiveness, with those jaunty gipsey hats, 
 that call forth commendations of no disagreeable nature, (when 
 the wearers have not forgotten to obscure the grey tresses or 
 wrinkled brows which they would rejuvenate in appearance if 
 possible,) the tout-ensemhle of our neighbors was evidently 
 English, except the fr^e, careless manner of the gentleman* 
 So many a repulse fiad I met in the casual interchange of 
 ordinary courtesy, from those whose ignorance of true polite- 
 nfess made them fearful of compromising the little dignity they 
 tried to assume, but did not possess, that for a long time we 
 passed and repassed our fellow-travellers without any recogni- 
 tion. A hap hazard remark by some of my party that, " the 
 12 
 
134 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 train would be a slow coacli at home," arrested the ^entleman^? 
 attention, and he very promptly addressed me, " Sir, allow the 
 inquiry if you are not English?" " No, sir, we are from the 
 northern part of the United States." " Ts it possible I am so 
 deceived ; I have taken especial pains to avoid you, for I am 
 w'ell aware of the peculiarities of my countrymen when 
 accosted by strangers. I am an Englishman, but the most of 
 my life has been spent in the East Indies. I have been in 
 your country, sir, admired the energy and prosperity of your 
 countrymen, and am delighted to find I can speak to some- 
 body, without the fear of discourtesy or misapprehension." A 
 mutual introduction of our families followed, and the three 
 weeks successive and constant intercourse is a perfect " oasis " • 
 in our German experience. This family, as my o^m, were 
 seeking a home in Dresden for a year. The reputed advantages 
 of the schools and economical expenses for housekeeping, &c., 
 together with the invaluable resources for musical, scientific 
 and artistic enjoyment and study, had attracted their attention 
 as well as ours. It may be a bold stroke of the pen," but 
 I here put my protest upon record against this supposition, and 
 pronounce it an impossibility. I was told it was possible for such 
 a family as mine (wli^e numbers counted six,) to live as com- 
 fortable at DrelRen as at home, (a private carriage included,) 
 for twenty-five hundred dollars per year. This is a most 
 egregious error. I admit, if you will live as the Germans do, 
 it is more than probable the statement may be true. For what 
 we should deem indispensable necessities, they would call 
 superfluous luxuries. And upon their admitted necessities, we 
 should pine and pass away into " thin air." The very desk 
 upon which I am w^ritmg, would contain all the necessary 
 culinary arrangements for a large family's living. A profes- 
 sional cook would (ieem it an insult to be requested to take 
 charge of a German kitchen ! Stone floors, stone ovens, stone 
 boiling places ; all stone except the water, and that is hard 
 enough to be. If I were to invite a freshly imported native 
 
GERMAN LIVING AND SCHOOLS. 
 
 135 
 
 of those parts to my breakfast, dinner or even tea table, as 
 ordinarily arranged, with plain, but substantial viands, and 
 inform him it was for a week's repast, he might question the 
 matter of taste in^roviding so much at once. But tell him to 
 take his seat and observe the very simple but decided annihila- 
 tion of the superfluity of liberality which he supposes to 
 exist, and his appreciation of our ability for consumption 
 would naturally excite in his mind the inquiry of the ability 
 in the land of production. Give him, at home, a vegetable 
 soup, sour-krout, Bologna sausage, ham, stale bread, beer and 
 the pipe, and you have satisfied his greatest idealties of good 
 living. I speak, of course, of the popular habits and wants of 
 that class from which our cook must have been taken, and for 
 whom the Litany (or a portion of it) of the*Episcop^ Church 
 has a very, significant meaning. The schools are better than 
 ours, so far as they require a mastery of the foreign languages, 
 and in their physical training. Scholars generally have one 
 hour's study in some department of learning; then fifteen 
 minutes of gymnastic exercise ; study again, succeeded by 
 exercise, until the hours for the very frugal repast or needed 
 rest are reached. So fariis regards thorough drilling in the* arts 
 and sciences, the foreign schools and colleges are more complete 
 than our own. They require longer continuance of applica- 
 tion. I was much surprised, however, to find that these had 
 been overrated. And the facilities for laboratory and philo- 
 sophical investigations are not to be compared with those of 
 the institutions at home. But I am rambling away from the 
 railway train which has given us much less annoyance, " as it 
 drags its weary length along," at a snail's pace, since our 
 pleasant interchange of courtesies with our newly found 
 friends. 
 
 At 8 P. M., we reached the "Neustadt" terminus, (new- 
 town station) in Dresden, on the right bank of the Elbe. As 
 recommended by the German branch of our family, we drove 
 to the " Hotel Bellevue " across the river, accompanied by 
 
136 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 our English friends. Spacious rooms, refreshing tea drinking, 
 and no ordinary fatigue of travel, brought a very unanimous 
 action for retirement. Conscious of the important posi- 
 tion we were placed in, iis a family's health and prosperity 
 depended upon the judiciousness of our arftngeraents for their 
 year's comfort, the morning's dawn found us ready for action. 
 An " inspection " reported all fit for duty, which was well 
 discharged at the bi'eakfast table. That duty done, with a com- 
 missionaire who knew the city, its favorile and its forbidding 
 localities for families, (through the long, " dreaiy winter of 
 discontent," we seemed instinctively to feel was approaching,) 
 and a carriage from the hotel, we began the task of house- 
 hunting. A real estate agent gave us one list of some twenty 
 localities ; the b^ffjkers another, and our English friends had 
 theirs, Afferent from our own. Agreeing to secure, if possible, 
 accommodations for thenr as well as for ourselves, and they 
 reciprocating the favor, We traversed the streets and city of 
 Dresden more thoroughly than it was ever done before for a 
 similar purpose. We ascended and»descended stairs as though 
 life's destiny was upon our investigations. And when apart- 
 ments, v;hich we were assured were most beautiful, airy, clean 
 and neat, were shown us, suite after suite, (although we ques- 
 tioned the meaning of the words clean and neat, in their 
 application to the rooms we saw,) the sight of the six inch 
 ojDenings in the stone ovens, and cooking apparatus ; the stone 
 floors, and the almost desecration of the word " kitchen," made 
 us sympathize so heartily in the misgivings of ivhat the 
 cookery must be, that we retraced our weary steps hotelward 
 with most misanthropic forebodings of what would be our 
 conclusion of the whole matter 1 
 
 The prices of rent, per year, for the various apartments 
 (adapted in size and arrangement to my family's wants,) which 
 we examined, were as expensive as those more convenient at 
 home. One very large suite we proposed to divide, and made 
 offers of that nature to the female in charge of them. These 
 
RATIONAL GRATIFICATION. 
 
 137 
 
 and other similar negotiations, are, almost without exception, 
 conducted by females. The property as a general fact belongs 
 to some titled landlord or fortune possessor, and the contact 
 between landlord and tenant is a rare occurrence. But the attend- 
 ant, judging from the revival of our home associations . which 
 these apartments had faintly delineated in memory, and which 
 lightened the dark cloud of despondency under which we were 
 moving, was inexorable. "The apartments could 15e had then 
 for one year, no less time or terms as they were, and no 
 promise to Retain them for to-morrow's decision." Our 
 petulancy at her firmness for once was well timed, as the event 
 proved, and we left for another search almost as important as 
 was that of " Celebs." As we were entering the carriage we 
 came unftkpectedly upon our English friends, who, by a sin- 
 gular coincidence, had found similar apartments upon an 
 opposite corner of the same street, and were leaving them for 
 the same cause as ourselves. The most ardent advocate for 
 fraternal emotions with our mother England's chMren, would 
 have been perfectly content with the. interchange of sympathy 
 and condolence which we exchanged with our; friends, in 
 opinions of the too active imaginations of those whose represen- 
 tations had first suggested a German home and life. Our 
 return to the hotel for dinner was a relief of no ordinary 
 nature. 
 
 After dining, we attended the opera, which commenced at 
 7 o'clock P. M. This was a novelty ! To go from the dinner 
 table to the opera ; without the detail of full dress ; to find a 
 large, well-dressed audience, so unconscious of the stiff for- 
 malities of a Royal English or French opera, as to allow of 
 the ladies taking their worsted and knitting work ; to hear 
 such combinations of harmony, with all the well-conceived 
 and well-managed adjuncts of a full opera, both in the instru- 
 mental and vocal departments, and in the dressing and scenic 
 decorations ; to retire dehghted with the performance at nine 
 •o'clock of a summer's eve ; and at the very moderate price of 
 12* 
 
138 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 " a thaler," (seventy -five cents,) for the best select seats ; this 
 experience and pleasure was in advance of that we had so 
 favorably- realized in other days and places. It fully sustains 
 our honest opinions and assertions that those who object to 
 these places of amusement, properly conducted and arranged, 
 are bound to find a substitute, the influence of which shall be 
 as salutary and edifying, or else cease their opposition. The 
 juvenile members of my family never sjDeak of this, their first 
 acquaintance with the inside of an opera house, without 
 expatiating on the beauty of " Der Freischutz," as they then 
 saw its performance ; and referring to the grandeur of the 
 harmony, which gave them their first impressions of music's 
 ennobling power. 
 
 I must begin this story over again ! Nay, my faiiOfriend, do ^ 
 not frown ! I will not inflict a single line more upon your 
 patience in so doing, but do now what 1 should first have 
 done, (if the memories of those stone kitchens did not haunt 
 my brain) and say something of Dresden, within whose limits 
 I have en(re!avored to place you in imagination ; so that we 
 may walk its streets together a little more understandingly* 
 The city is not as Berlin, enclosed within fortified wdlls, but 
 similar to it in being located upon a river. The Elbe running 
 westwardly, divides the place into two parts ; the " Neustadt," 
 (new town) being uj^on the northerly bank, and the Dresden 
 of history upon the opposite one. The former portion of the 
 city offers superior facilities for families and residences, in its 
 newer and more cheerful aspect and buildings, but for the fact 
 that all of the galleries, opera houses, gardens and places of 
 interest, (except the " Japanese Palace,") are upon the other 
 side of the Elbe, and access to them is over the old bridge, 
 the only one for carriages and pedestrians. This, in fine 
 weather, ceases to be an objection. But our crossing it in a 
 heavy storm of wind and rain, convinced us that it would be 
 an impracticable arrangement, especially in winter ; or require 
 a seclusion from the pleasures of music and art, without which 
 
DRESDEN, NEW AND OLD. 
 
 139 
 
 the shortest residence would be without gratification. The 
 new town is nearly one-third the size of the old. The streets 
 are more regular, open and airy. Crossing from the new 
 town, the bridge terminates in front of %e " Theatre Platz," 
 upon the northe^crly corner of which is the Catholic Church ; 
 southerly, and next to it, is the Royal Palace. For the base 
 of the square is the Zwinger Palace and Gardens ; upon the 
 river bank the Hotel Bellevue ; and the Theatre occupies the 
 centre. There is also another square called the "New 
 Market," upon the sides of which are the " Hotels de Saxe 
 " de Pologne," " British Hotel," the " Stadt Rome" and the 
 " Frauen Kirche/' (Church of our Lady,) while the centre is 
 occupied by the venders of meats, fish, fowl, fruits, vegetables 
 and flowers, which occupancy gives the square its name. The 
 buildings of Dresden are not by any means subjects of archi- 
 tectural comparison or pretensions with most of the other 
 German cities. The streets are narrow and generally irregular. 
 Yet the whole city gives a stranger the most agreeable and 
 cheerful impressions. To one who is a sojourner for a few 
 weeks, I know of no place where the associations of memory 
 are stronger or more pleasurable. But to those who enter 
 into the details of an examination, adapted to a more perma- 
 nent residence, their convictions would, I fancy, correspond 
 with our own. 
 
 I plead guilty to a charge of no ordinary persistency, when 
 I acknowledge that the next (Saturday), morning was devoted 
 to another hunting expedition. The hotels were inspected and 
 other quarters found. But the stern reality of there being 
 " no place like home," was constantly impressed upon us. " A 
 retreat to quarters " was issued and " general orders " pro- 
 mulgated, that annihilated without the fear of a countermand 
 all probability or intention of passing the winter away from 
 our own cheerful fire-light and happy hearth-stone. Relief to 
 all concerned was the immediate attendant upon our decision, 
 and smiles assumed the place of anxious frowns. 
 
140 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 Sunday, August 21st, was rainy part of the day, but the 
 junior members of our party attended church. In the after- 
 noon a sharp knock at the door announced a messenger from 
 the inexorable hous»agent of the day previous, who came to 
 say that " Madam had decided to accept M3^heer's proposition 
 for the apartments, as to a division of them upon his terms, and 
 that he, the messenger, had come to secure the place of valet, 
 would bring a first-rate cook and that — " His enthusiasm at 
 his imaginary good, snug, winter quarters was most coolly 
 annihilated by a rather emphatic annunciation of our determi- 
 nation of returning home ! If ever a Sunday .was a day of 
 peace and rest, that was ! Next morning we commenced 
 doing up Dresden. This was to have been our winter's 
 occupation. Now it was for a week or two, at the farthest. 
 Our English friends had come to the same conclusion, and had 
 preceded us in a visit to the Museum in the " Zwinger." This 
 building was intended as a monumental entrance to a palace 
 of magnificent pretensions, which was to have been built by 
 the Emperor Augustus in the early part of the eighteenth 
 century. It contains the Historical and Natural History 
 Museums. The former has a very interesting collection of 
 ancient and more modern armour, some of which was of 
 exquisite workmanship ; fire arms of every age, country and 
 description, among which was a short gun or heavy pistol, 
 making questionable the originality of the invention of Colt's 
 revolver ; old furniture, as chairs, cabinets, embroidery, &c. ; 
 drinking cups, goblets and horns ; and in fact almost every 
 representation of the beautiful or useful, from early^ages to 
 modern dates, enabling the student or amateur to read the 
 indications of progress more effectually than from the pages of 
 type in describing them. The men of the true chivalric age 
 and temperament, must have been more muscular than the 
 ordinary representatives of humanity, of our day and times. 
 The weight of the suits of armor shown us, belonging to 
 different persons of distinction, would puzzle many a muscle of 
 
KNIGHTS OF YORE. 
 
 141 
 
 modern manhood to lift, saying nothing of wearing it, and with 
 it doing renowned service. And the competitors of the 
 tournanient were well worthy of the boons of female beauty 
 and worth. The valiant knights of yore were no craven 
 cowards or fanatical traitors to a noble birthright. Theirs was 
 true chivalry.' Modern misapplication of terms desecrates the 
 noble sentiment, and attempts the mad task of encircling it 
 around the traitor's brow ! 
 
HAHNEMANN." 
 
 As arranged the evening previous with our English friends, 
 Thursday, August 23d, was appropriated to an excursion to 
 Meissen, where the manufactory of the beautiful Dresden 
 China is located. The sail down the river Elbe was very 
 pleasant, although the scenery is not retained in memory's 
 impressions as being particularly attractive or impressive* 
 The town is upon a hill of moderate elevation from the river? 
 which makes it picturesque, and contains about five thousand 
 inhabitants. It was an object of more interest to us than we 
 had supposed, as in passing from the steamer to the hotel, a 
 large, unostentatious stone edifice of. three stories, near the 
 outskirts, arrested our steps and attention, by a sign attached 
 to the front, informing the pas^s by, that in this humbly 
 constructed dwelling, " Hahnemann," the founder of Homeo- 
 pathy, was born. An earnest effort was made to see .the 
 interior, by solicitations to and through the blacksmith, whose 
 shop was in the southeast corner, lower room. But for our 
 numbers, the request might have been granted. As it was, 
 the family occupying the apartments were out, or some other un- 
 intelligible reason prevented — as the " being out " was evidently 
 a fashionable meaning to the words, for white heads and rosy 
 
" ArPEAHANCES DECEITFUL." 
 
 143 
 
 cheeks were visible through the windows. Hahnemann's 
 " birthplace " is no ignoble object of attraction and respect . 
 Whatever may be the popular feeling regarding his system and 
 theory, one thing is certain. Homeopathy, in its existence, has 
 reduced the quality, and quantity of doses prescribed or taken. 
 Every other system has acknowledged this in its practice and 
 progress. *j\nd if no other result attends its origin, humanity 
 will still bless its founder, for relieving the sick room of its 
 most nauseous accompaniments, and the human system from a 
 stern conflict with the powerful mineral agents formerly so 
 freely and frequently administered. 
 
 An animated, cheerful aspect characterized the streets and 
 houses of Meissen, as we came to the more compact parts of* 
 the town. Evergreens and oaken leaf wreaths, arches and 
 festoon were suspended from almost every house, and across 
 every street. Flags and banners were intermingled with them, 
 and the whole appearance of the place was that of pleasure 
 and festivities. It was the annual fete of the " Vogel-Schies- 
 sen," (or bird shooting festival,) as authorized by law. The 
 principal hotel, the " Sonne," did not promise a very tempting 
 bill of fare for dinner, in its exterior of stone masonry, pierced 
 by rows of small windows in the three stories ; its solid arched 
 door-way, the only entrance to the " accommodations for man 
 or beast ;" and the most annoying tardiness in the response to 
 the big-cracked dinner, or jointless, wired hostlers' bells. But 
 appearances were deceitful here, as elsewhere in life. The 
 brightest, clearest dawn, is not always the sure harbinger of a 
 faultless day ; or a sombre clouded morning the unfailing 
 indicator of a sunless one. The enigmas one meets with in life, 
 many times disperse to the cold chills of disappointment, the 
 warmest impulses and yearnings of the true, heartfelt anticipa- 
 tions of earnest happiness. While in the darkest hours of 
 hopelessness, a sunbeam of love and sincerity, of unrealized 
 joy or unknown integrity, is patiently and sincerely awaitmg our 
 consciousness of its presence ! But I believe we are in the 
 
144 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 Meissen for the purpose of examining the porcelain manufactory! 
 Follow then the guide who takes us first to the " Dom," (or 
 Cathedral) a fine specimen of the GHothic architecture, with its 
 open work spire of gracefulness and beauty ; painted glass win- 
 dows containing portraits of Martin Luther, his wife, and his 
 friend the Elector; well wroupjht and elaborate effif>;ies in bronzed 
 brass, of the members of the Royal and Ducal line of Saxony 
 here buried ; a stone sacramental table elaborately cut ; and a 
 door ^f large size carved in wood. The church dates back to 
 the thirteenth century. The porcelain manufactory is in the 
 old castle, (connected with the church,) built upon a high 
 precipitous rock, as we found to our sorrow, when stair after 
 stair and step after step revealed to us the fact that although 
 entering the regions of space, the weight of our humanity kept 
 increasing, and breath and muscle gave strong indications of 
 secession. The prospect from the bridge which connects the 
 castle with the town was very fine, looking westward upon a 
 well cultivated rural district ; the views North, East and South, 
 up and down the river and across the country of the opposite 
 bank, gradually dispelling the lingering sensations of our 
 fatigue in its attractiveness. The Church and Castle were 
 appropriated to the Saxon Princes of former days, for the 
 duties and details of religion and domestic life. You enter 
 the ware room of the manufactory, where sample.'? of every 
 kind and quality of porcelain are kept for exhibition and sale. 
 And if I should recount the many times my purse strings were 
 opened for the purchase of this, then another, and closed again 
 as often, until "what shall we buy?" involved a wish to 
 purchase the whole, it might prove how beautiful and exqui- 
 * site was the variety, cost and finish of the specimens around 
 us. Indecision forced us to leave all purchases until our return 
 from the manufactory, which is, I think, the oldest establishment 
 in Eur^e. Following again the guide up two large, cork- 
 screw stairways, we entered apartments whose ceiling seemed 
 as far above in associations as they were in fact, the plebeian 
 
SIMPLICITY OF PRODUCTION OF THE BEAtTTlFUL. 145 
 
 occupation of the workers of clay ; and were the last emblems 
 of royalty in the building. The room where the clay is first 
 prepared by mixture with other materials, to give it hardness 
 or brilliancy, was not shown to strangers ; but when, in the 
 form of paste, it is conveyed to workmen in the other apartments, 
 the process is open to examination. The " potter's wheel " is, I 
 suspect, the first and siniplest application of power ever known. 
 Its upper table sui'face is from eighteen to twenty-four inches in 
 diameter, and supported by the end of a vertical axle, the 
 lower end of which resta^on a plank or block. At a con- 
 ■wenient distance from the workman's foot is a second tabular 
 plfitform of a larger size corresponding to the one above. The 
 workman sits upon a short wooden bench, places the paste in a 
 moistened lump upon the round table before him, and with his 
 feet gives it a rotary motion by pushing upon the lower platform 
 or wheel. This motion is increased to an incredible speed by 
 practice, or reduced to a stationary position, as the wdll or 
 necessity of the operator requires. The mass is gathered into 
 an upright form, and by inserting the thumb of the right 
 hand into the top, is converted into a cylindrical shape ; then 
 again compacted, separated and thus alternately worked, until 
 the air is totally expelled from it. This accomplished, the 
 potter, with his hands, and a small stick, begins the develop- 
 ment of his subject. The most beautiful, artistic forms of 
 pitchers, goblets, vases, and every fanciful work of art are 
 thus simply produced, the greatest auxiHary being the rotary 
 motion of the wheel. Plates, dishes and the more ordinary 
 formed articles of luxury or utility are pressed in moulds. The 
 exquisite leaves of flowers and similar decorations are formed 
 in dies of metal or wood, according to the superiority or deli- 
 cacy required in their delineation. Forms of grace and 
 originality are made by the use of a sharp stiletto formed 
 instrument. And in the most recherche productions, the paste 
 is used, in a semi-liquid state, with camel's hair pencils. The 
 lace embroidery which is so beautiful and delicate on porce- 
 13 
 
146 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 lain, is, in truth, the fabric itself, clipped in liquid paste. 
 Paintings of fruits and flowers, or a landscape, are the work 
 of educated artists ; painted after the first baking or hardening 
 of the clay. The gold bands are burnished to brightness, by 
 means of a glass or highly polished steel instrument. The 
 process of baking in the immense ovens ; the disagreeable 
 atmosphere which pervaded the whole establishment ; the 
 artizans, male and female, appearing pale and hard worked? 
 with a limited stipend compared to our own happier class ^f 
 citizens at home ; the natural dil^pation of surprise at the 
 cost of these productions, after witnessing these various prqp 
 cesses in detail ; these and other associations of the place a^d 
 business, can be readily conceived and much more agreeably, I 
 have no doubt, than an attempted, but unsuccessful description. 
 * The day spent at Meissen was profitable as well as pleasant. 
 The fear of prolixity (or rather the inability of descriptive 
 talent) prevents as full an account of the various manipulations 
 by which the shapeless masses of clay were converted into 
 works of beauty and art, as would be either agreeable 
 or intelligible to my readers. Perhaps the greatest surprise 
 to us was in the proficiency of talent requisite for such pro- 
 ductions. Returning by the same steamer as in the morning's 
 sail, our hotel quarters were reached with almost the sensations 
 of home ! A fine sky, the next morning, confirmed our inten- 
 tions of a trip to the " Saxon Switzerland." This is a district of 
 country entirely dissimilar from its surroundings. Whoever 
 anticipates a realization of the grandeur, awe, majesty and the 
 more sublime manifestations of Omnipotence as in Switzerland 
 proper, will be disappointed, and cavil at the" propriety of the 
 name. But to a mind susceptible of the beauties and 
 loveliness of nature, the excursion will place a rich fund 
 of pleiasure in the retrospections of " by-gone days." The 
 characteristics of this section of Saxony, are boldness, wildness 
 and beauty. The very peculiar formations of the dark grey 
 rocks, standing in bold projecting cliffs, whose angles are 
 
"harmony of nature." 
 
 147 
 
 rounded with a precision almost baffling the thought of 
 nature's unaided effort ; standing tower-like, solitary and 
 alone, to the height of five and seven hundred feet ; with 
 strata and layers as regularly and correctly defined as if the 
 most skillful art had left its impress there ; furnish incon- 
 testable proofs to the truthfulness of Geology, in its theory of 
 the passage of currents of such weight and might, as to wear 
 their regularly defined channels and courses alike through the 
 massive, impenetrable rock as in the varied soils of hill and 
 dale. The laws of gravitation are most strangely developed 
 here, where the base of the rock may assume the form and 
 strength of an inverted cone, while the» ponderous top over- 
 hanging on every side, seems equally as susceptible of the 
 power of the gentlest breeze, or the wind's mad rush to disturb 
 its well poised balance. The cone-like fir-tree alone venturing, 
 in its comparative diminutiveness, to erect its height and foliage 
 ^ in contrast with^the grandeur which could not tolerate its 
 presence, only as the beauty of comparison in its freshness 
 and verdure, makes more strong the stern, sad hue of nature's 
 wildness. ^ 
 The view from the " Bastei," looking from an elevation of 
 six hundred feet, overhanging its rocky base, as you step 
 forward to its most prominent projection — clutching, with a 
 nervous grasp, the iron balustrade which securely protects 
 you, — this view, where the " Elbe " with its mirror-like surface 
 as calm and unrufiled as the slumbers of innocence, winds 
 around the base of rocks and sterile-capped hills, is more 
 'beautiful than language can describe. The railway, with its 
 serpent-like track, coursing its unbroken lines, through fields of 
 plenty and verdancy ; the stations and the artistic grouping of 
 buildings as viewed from so bold a stand point ; the barren, 
 sombre mountains of Bohemia, darker and more stern in the 
 distant horizon, against the soft blue sky ; the murmuring of the 
 summer breeze, so gentle in its melody, as if unwilling to disturb 
 the perfect harmony of nature in which you breathe ; the distant 
 
148 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 clink of the workman's hammer, as stroke after stroke displaces 
 the rock, and in regulated causeways sends it to the river for 
 the utilitarian demands of life and action ; — this quiet so felt, this 
 beauty so realized, I renew, as memory so vividly paints afresh 
 the scene from " Bastei." But the shrill screech of the steam 
 whistle broke the enchantment then ; and — the appeals for 
 charity ; comments by an Editor upon the state of the country ; 
 a dozen papers in the hands of patriots disinterestedly seeking 
 offices ; questions by a correspondent for a public journal ; pre- 
 sentation of a bill, (to an empty purse !) and similar facts 
 and faces have brought me back to reality and the conscious- 
 ness that " Saxon Switzerland " is many thousand miles 
 away ; and that the kind arrangements of an affectionate hand 
 for bodily comforts will be frustrated, by my unconscious 
 ramble and forgetfulness of the dinner hour ! " How do you 
 get there ?" " How far is it ?" These are, T confess, very 
 practical questions, and now that I can J[)ring what little 
 of practical skill I may possess out of my reverie, I will try 
 and answer them. 
 
 ^ We left the Hotel Bellevue (a party of eleven) at 8| A. M., 
 on Wednesday, August 24th ; took the cars of the Prague 
 railway for Potscha station, a ride of some twenty miles or 
 more ; crossed the Elbe in a small, open boat to " Wehlen," a 
 small village from which the tourists procure guides, donkeys, 
 ponies, and " chaises-a-porteur," (porter's chairs.) As a 
 large number of excursionists were also en route, we anticipated 
 difficulty in having our party accommodated. But patient 
 waiting has its reward, and with eight ponies and three porter's 
 chairs for the ladies, we started. Our guide was a most capital 
 fellow. I am sorry I have lost his name ; but his " ai-le-o, 
 ai-ly-u," in that pecuHar Tyrolean modulation of voice, by 
 which echoes among the hills and rocks so promptly and 
 clearly responded to his call, have impressed his face and 
 form too clearly upon the minds of all, to forget him or his 
 faithful services. The established fees for a guide are one 
 
VARIETIES OF TRAVEL AND INCIDENTS. 149 
 
 thaler (seventy -five cents,) per day ; any oth^r ^douceurs you 
 may offer, will not be repulsed. 
 
 After two or three hours of riding and walking through the 
 village of Lohmen, a poorly appearing locality ; through the 
 deep gorges called " Liebethaler and Ottowalder Grund," 
 where perpendicular rocks of great height, enclose the narrow 
 pathway between their sides, so narrow that you pass singly J 
 examining " Das Thor," ^ gateway where three masses of 
 rock in falHng have become so interlocked as to form a perfect 
 cover ; the stone house, a deep, dark recess of rocks whose 
 roof is almost a fac-simile of that of a house ; passing through 
 " Teufel's Kiiche," (Devil's Kitchen.) where our ignorance of 
 any fact connected with its name, rendered us incompetent 
 judges of its appropriateness ; stopping at the miller's house, 
 where good lager bier, with cakes, offered an opportunity to 
 retrieve any neglect or want of appreciation of breakfast ; 
 smiling at the artificial fall made by the miller's boy from the 
 little mill-dam, as he opened the sluice-ways to allow a limited 
 quantity of water to pass over the rocks and through the 
 gorge ; seeing the miller's boy frown when the guide paid his, 
 fees and not ourselves, why, we could easily guess ; mounting 
 again our ponies ; encouraging our friends whose inability for 
 locomotion has for many years proved a sore restriction on 
 their pleasure or exercise, and whose sympathy for the porters 
 exceeded the caution of fatigue or the necessity for self-regard ; 
 galloping forward to enquire if the somerset^ ^vhich the youngest 
 of our juveniles performed in the air, (as his pony reversing the 
 laws of nature, placed his heels higher than his head) " if the 
 fall hurt him ?" commending the pluck that placed him again in 
 the saddle, with the conviction that the " fellow could not do 
 that again ;" these, and a rapid succession of events, minor 
 as the particles of light perhaps, to my readers, but each 
 significant in itself to ue as they occurred, marked ou^rogress, 
 until emerging from a steep ascent most thickly woodeA||he 
 hotel at " Bastei," changed our associations .and most vivid ly 
 13* 
 
150 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 reminded us that we left Dresden many hours previous; had 
 walked and ridden many miles ; endured a large amount of 
 fatigue, and as yet had heard no dinner bell ! 
 
 The instinctive love of music, with the Germans, is one of 
 the most agreeable traits of their character. And " a native 
 to the manor born " may well question his ancestry's nation- 
 ality should he be insensible of this passion, or unable to 
 develop it by a proficiency upon oift instrument or another. 
 The characteristic feature of their festivities is music. And 
 hence we were not surprised, but gratified to find a very 
 respectable band of musicians, as to numbers and talent, con- 
 tributing to the delights of " Bastei." • 
 
 After dinner we returned to the beautiful pro§pect ; and the 
 strong defiant lines of " Lilienstein " and " Konigstein," rising 
 in sterility and majesty, with perpendicular sides above the 
 pyramidical base ; looking down into the dense foliage of the 
 fir trees so thickly growing beneath us ; across to the pin- 
 nacled rocks, whose pointed peaks and precipitous and craggy 
 outlines, rendered the story of the robbers' retreats among 
 them, more than fabulous, although an historical reaUty ; con- 
 trasting the simple form of the arched passage ways of masonry, 
 from one to the other, with the bold delineations of Omnipo- 
 tence, we reluctantly answered the summons of our guide, and 
 descending by a different route from that we came, sunset 
 found us at the very comfortable hotel " Dampschiff," upon 
 the Elbe, in the quiet village of Schandau. 
 
XX- 
 
 SCENERY ON THE ELBE. 
 
 The location of our quarters in the hotel at Schandau^pe- 
 minded us of those at Lucerne two years previous, although 
 differing in the water view both presented, the one being that 
 of Swiss lake scenery^ the other that of the Elbe with steamers 
 passing up and down, and the railway track, engines and cars 
 upon the western bank. After a refreshing cold bath, (the 
 luxury of many years' enjoyment, in its daily reality,) we 
 appreciated the beauties around us from the window bal- 
 cony, scanning with all the assured rights of an earlier 
 arrival at the hotel, passengers from the steamboats or cars 
 opposite, who T^re beginning the tour of the Swiss scenery 
 from the point where we should leave it ; tracing the beautiful 
 bold outline of the hill opposite, as its dark rough summit 
 threw its shadows and shades from the soft pure light of the 
 setting sun ; criticising with a home-born curiosity the guests 
 of the neighboring hotels ; wondering if the proprietor or 
 cook knew what objects of our most anxious regard they were, 
 and had been for the past hours ; and answering most promptly 
 the welcome tones of the tea bell, we were soon again in trim 
 for the next subject of interest, fate or fortune. 
 
 m 
 
152 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 At tea, with one of those most obsequious smiles which the 
 proprietor of a continental hotel always dispenses to his foreign 
 guest, (especially if he has ladies with him,) our landlord 
 came to us asking "if it would be agreeable for the ladies to 
 remain below, for an exhibition of fireworks in the evening^ 
 to be discharged in honor of your arrival ?" Was it possible 
 that the fame of a limited official station could have reached 
 these far remote banks of the Elbe ! In honor of your arri- 
 val !" The master of the house certainly said so ! Modesty, 
 (that so frequently mantles my cheeks of alabaster tint, with 
 the cruel red rush from nature's reservoir !) suggested " per- 
 haps your gentlemanly friend and most agreeable companion 
 
 V may excel you in rank, as he does in his portly 
 
 physical developments ?" No, the host looked at me, " in 
 honor of your arrival!" So, with all the remains of the 
 litUb dignity ever possessed, I replied, we wjU have the fire- 
 works ! They were a most successful sham ! No, not that; 
 fer when my bill was settled the next morning, the fireworks, 
 " in honor of your arrival," was charged at a sum which would 
 have called forth protracted expressions of indignant surprise 
 
 if friend V had not claimed an equal share of the 
 
 distinction and the bill. If that jaunty straw hat which 
 covered a pair of blue' eyes, flaxen tresses, pleasing features 
 and an agreeable naivete, was as near me now as when in the 
 flower garden I asked for but did not get " a rose bud," I would 
 assure her that the one which did come in a note from her 
 father, from beyond the seas, with his assurance that " it 
 was not a gage d'amour," was not so received by me. I am 
 sure the man was mistaken. Some poor misanthrope would 
 ask the young lady's age ? if I was alone ? ever married ? and 
 a thousand other most singidar and obtrusive questions ! True, 
 there was some disparity of years, and my ivife, daughter and 
 sons were with me ; but never mind, the rose bud came, 
 and 
 
 In carriages our party left next morning, after a little occur, 
 rence which came in most appropos to obliterate the fireworks. 
 
WILDNESS AND BEAUTY. 
 
 153 
 
 Our walking sticks and nice French umbrellas, strapped 
 together, could not be found as the carriages were starting. As 
 I had taken them myself to the rooms the evening previous, I 
 returned for them, but " presto change," they had gone. 
 Chambermaids, servants, waiters, porters were all summoned 
 to account for this abstraction. They all denied our ever 
 having them, one took this parcel, another took that, &c., and 
 so on. But an honest, unsophisticated girl came running down 
 stairs with the stray traps, and said she found them outside the 
 window, behind the balcony blinds. 
 
 The drive up the beautiful valley of the "Kirnitch" to the 
 " Haidemuhle " was very delightful. We here mounted other 
 ponies, (as the day previous,) and soon arrived at the 
 ^'.Kuhstall " (CowstalL) This is a natural arch forty feet in 
 width, thirty in height and nearly one thousand feet above the 
 sea letel. Passing under the arcff, you are upon a terrace-formed 
 . rock, commanding f most beautiful view of the valley at your 
 feet. It was not as lovely as that of " Bastei," possibly because 
 the latter gave us our first impressions, but still the scene was 
 beautiful and varied. The arched rock has its name from the 
 habit of the peasantry, during the Thirty Years War, in driving 
 their cattle here for protection. There are c'aves of historical 
 interest, as retreats for the females in time of persecution. A 
 strange, wild place in its associations and existence. A deep 
 path, burdened with sand and rock, descends from here and as 
 abruptly ascends to the " Lesser Winterberg," a platform 
 rock from which you seej as a diminutive gateway, the 
 " Kuhstall," and look upon a scejie of wildness, ruggedness 
 and grandeur, far down among the rocks and the evergreen, 
 tenacious fir tree. Mounting in the saddle again, youf^ascend 
 to the " Greater Winterberg," from whose summit the 
 prospect has been increased by an observatory upon the top of 
 a very fair house for refreshment and rest, to those who would 
 enjoy the beauty of a sunrise among the Bohemian Moun- 
 tains. A heavy, misty cloud was passing during our stay here, 
 
154 
 
 I 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 and our disappointment was the greater, as this point embraced 
 the most extended view of Bohemia and Saxony. 
 
 Mounting again, after reaching the bottom of the descent 
 our progress was onward to the " Prebisch Thor," another 
 natural archway, more grand and remarkable than the 
 " Kuhstall," being nearly seventy feet in height, one hundred 
 in breadth and over fourteen hundred feet above the sea. Could 
 I retrace my steps to Dresden, and approach Saxon Switzer- 
 land from the south, this view from the " Prebisch-Thor " 
 would be described as the most wild, grand, beautiful, and 
 impressive of all. I know not if loveliness is a term appli- 
 cable to scenery. If it is, " Bastei " surpasses all others in 
 that. " Prebisch-Thor " in all except that. 
 
 A comfortable dinner awaited us, so far as preparation and 
 cost, but not so in the active conflict with the wasps ! Watch- 
 ing the descending of the horses and guides as pigmies in 
 appearance, they slipped, jumped and fel^ in descending the 
 sandy pathway, through the cleft riven rocks, to the base of 
 the precipitous summit from which we gazed, and to leave 
 which the constant appeals of our guides were necessary, so 
 reluctant were we to lose forever the contact of wonder, 
 admiration and awe with these most rude, rough, wild, develop- 
 ments of nature's God. 
 
 Mounting again as soon as we came to the carriage road, 
 an hour's ride brought us to the village of " Hirniskretschen," 
 in Bohemia, upon the eastern bank of the Elbe. Here we 
 were to. take an open row boat down the Elbe to Schandau 
 again, for the night's rest. Passports were examined prepara- 
 tory to leaving the Austrian dominions and entering Saxony. 
 Guidesf^orters, pony owners were to be paid and discharged ; 
 a detail of circumstances rendered m-ore annoying by the 
 presence and importunities of the most wretched deformities 
 of humanity I ever saw, but who foreclosed all sympathy by 
 stealipg a pair of travelling gloves, while the owner was 
 establishing his identity with his passport at the police station. 
 
A SUMMER eve's SAIL. 155 
 / 
 
 Taking our seats in the boat, with all the caution and con- 
 sideration which the fears of our lady friends rendered courteous 
 and imperl(||^, we were soon afloat on the broad, placid stream. 
 Th,e bold mountains of Bohemia were behind us ; " Lilien- 
 stein " and " Konigstein " before us ; the high rocky hills on 
 either side, with the deep shades of their earlier twilight at 
 the base, and the setting stm's rays capping their summits ; the 
 unruffled surface of the river, hardly disturbed in the leisqre 
 oar strokes from the boatmen ; following the returning ponies 
 and guides i!f their winding homeward paths, leaving the 
 juveniles comparing the respective qualities of " Fritz " 
 and " Bether " with aH the earnestness attendant upon 
 their first act of horsemanship ; recounting the weary steps 
 followed by exquisite gratification ; listening to our friend 
 
 V 's narrative of his varied life, as one of the largest 
 
 coffee -planters of the East Indies; his official position and 
 duties there ; regarding his estimable .lady with increasing 
 interest and pleasure, as her husband detailed the events of 
 domestic life with a family of ten children, sometimes sur- 
 rounded by foes, whose plans of destruction of life and 
 property were defeated by the cool, steady purpose of a clear 
 English head and stout heart ; story after story annihilated 
 the time and distance, until " Schandau " was again our 
 " locum tenens," without the pyrotechnical cheat or lost traps 
 of the evening and morning previous. At peace with all the 
 world, Morpheus led us captive in dreams, where we met in 
 imagination the dear friends at home, dearer even, because the 
 dream, but not the joy was there. 
 
 Crossing the Elbe, next morning, in a flat bottomed ferry 
 boat, with carriages from the hotel at Schandau, and landing 
 at " Kr'ppen," our destination was for the impregnable fortress 
 of " Konigstein," upon the summit of a rock nearly eight hun- 
 dred feet above the river and nine hundred above the sea level. 
 The ascent was tedious but singular, the roadway being cut in 
 the face of the rock, not circuitously, but with a direct ascent. 
 
156 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 Approaching the gateway, a ravine crossed by a bridge renders 
 access impossible upon the removal of the bridge the other 
 sides of the fortress being perpendicular rockslRh clefts of 
 ragged fronts. Opposite to this fortress (which like that of 
 Frederikhaven, of Denmark, has never been taken,) rises in 
 majesty, the " Lilienstein " rock, twelve thousand feet distant, 
 higher than the fortress, and undoubtedly commanding it with 
 th^ more modern heavy ordnance of shot or shell. Napoleon 
 ascending " Lilienstein " with two or three light cannon, after 
 the most laborious toil, found the fortress beyonfT range. But 
 twelve and twenty-four pound shot have been thrown from the 
 latter, reaching without difficulty tTie former. The area or 
 table surface of the rock occupied by it contains about six 
 or seven acres, affording space and soil for a garden of fruits 
 and flowers. A well, nearly seven hundred feet in depth, sup- 
 plies the garrison with water. The mode of raising it was 
 certainly primitive, — by means of a large wheel some twenty 
 feet in diameter, four feet wide, and with an inside lining, up . 
 which three or four half-grown boys trotted. Their weight 
 gave motion to the wheel, and the two buckets, one ascending 
 full and the other empty descending, were changed by these 
 revolutions of the wheel shaft. " The Page's Bed," a narrow 
 projecting rock, has its name and interest from the stupid 
 daring of a drunken page, who slept there during his inebria- 
 tions, with a hair's breadth between life and death, far above 
 the sharp points of the projecting cliffs below. 
 
 In 1848, a chimney sweep scaled the fortress, and the 
 astonishment at the successful effort which saved his being a 
 head shorter from the sentinel's sabre, whom he surprised if 
 not frightened, did not compensate him from the exhaustion 
 which his attempt produced. The railway between Dresden 
 and Prague passes upon the river side close under the fortress; 
 the masonry of the track of which is purposely connected by 
 a wooden bridge, to be destroyed when necessary by a field 
 piece always kept in position. The river is entirely within 
 
A day's sail rPON THE ELBE. 
 
 157 
 
 control of the fortress. The variety of landscape (with the 
 
 small village of — , with its warm baths, nestling in the 
 
 valley,) the river, railroad, " Lilienstein," cars in motion, 
 steamers, produce— boats, rafts, cattle, crops, farm buildings and 
 fields ; for softness, beauty and grandeur, the view from 
 " Konigstein " outranks the other points of interest, all save 
 the loveliness of " Bastei." 
 
 The sail down the Elbe was very agreeable. Pleading 
 fatigue, although it exists only in memory, (yet anticipating 
 the ready response from my readers Avhich would greet my 
 appeal,) I shall hurry to our quarters at the hotel, simplj^^» 
 ing, that as we approached Dresden, the banks of the 
 became more interesting, from the residences of royalty and 
 aristocracy surrounded by the externals of luxury and tasjj, 
 and the swimming school and gardens, where instructions in 
 that most important art is scientifically given, and the grounds 
 connected with the school afford relaxation and recreation 
 from the heat and toil of summer's occupations. 
 
 Since the determination, to which we had so wisely deferred, 
 of returning home had been formed, a feeling of elasticity had 
 been ever present with us. The fatigue, annoyances and 
 discomforts of travelling in the summer solstice were cheer- 
 fully borne ; knowing that the sparkling embers of that hickory 
 wood fire would furnish ample materials for seeking again, in 
 their everclianging form, the representative palace, castle, 
 tower and river ; hoping that even our threadbare stories of 
 Ifereign travel would brighten the eyes and smiles of our dear 
 friends, whose absence we mourned and whose presence we 
 truly longed for. 
 
 The intense heat of August 27th, made us captives at 
 home, with the occasional reference by one of our number to 
 the homeopathic remedies in our well stored travelling 
 case. The beautiful opera of " Norma " was enjoyed by us 
 at evening, serving to cancel the disappointment we experienced 
 in having no letters from home. 
 14 
 
158 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 Sunday, August 28th, at 11 A. M., found us in attendance 
 upon the English Church service. A larger congregation 
 than is customary in these foreign churches was present. 
 "Dresden (as I have before observed) has a reputation for 
 comfort and economy which, in winter, gives it a large popula- 
 tion comparatively of English and American residents. These 
 families vacate the city in summer, returning in November. 
 
 Our commissionaire showed us, the next morning, the exhibi- 
 tion of Kauffrnann's most wonderful musical instruments, from 
 the diminutive warbling of a little bird, enclosed in a snufF box, 
 ^111^ imitation of a full orchestra, complete in all its partsj 
 e!liP that of the stringed instruments. There was the 
 original of " Maelzel's Trumpeter," which, if I mistake not, is 
 a figure familiar to many friends. Another instrument repre- 
 s^ting a most peculiar quality of tone^ produced by the 
 friction of a rotating buff wheel, (with resin sprinkled upon 
 its suiface,) against strings like those of an upright piano, 
 played upon by keys in the same manner, was very pleasing, as 
 it combined the tones of musical glasses and the violoncello, 
 singularly soft and sweet. A mechanical combination of 
 trumpets and drums, with the shrill blast and inspiring tones 
 of the battle charge ; harmoniums of powerful and softened 
 tones, and the powers of which were artistically displayed 
 by the sister of the maker, as agreeable in her person and 
 address as in the music of her skill and proficien'cy. Other 
 varieties and combinations of musical tone and power an- 
 swered our highest anticipations in this most wonderfii|j|| 
 repository^of genius and talent, receiving as they did, warm 
 encomiums from him of the white broad brimmed hat, and her 
 of tlie plain drab bonnet, (our fellow countryman and his 
 wife,) whose curiosity away from home, proved their suscepti- 
 bility to music's charms. 
 
 The senior Kaufmann (now deceased) inherited' this sin- 
 gular power of mechanical combination of musical talent, and 
 as strongly has transmitted it to his children, the brother and 
 
" NO HOME THERE !" 
 
 159 
 
 sister, whose cabinet drew me away from other sights for a 
 repetition of the pleasure found there. A fee of a thaler, 
 each, (seventy-five cents,) relieves you from any apprehension 
 of intrusion. A ramble through the old armory and old 
 palace brought us too ne£^ the hotel to resist a lunch. 
 
 By a combination of circumstances, which might perhaps be 
 explained, I found my old friend of Sweden's memory in the 
 cars, for a visit to the " Agricultural College at Tharand." • 
 And to avoid intruding upon his letter relative to that institu- 
 tion, (in the Society's Transactions before alluded to,) I shall 
 refer to that for what I might otherwise say of that pleasant 
 little trip, avoiding thus a desire for comparative effort, or 
 uncharitable criticism. (I saw his "block of dogs," a few 
 days since in the hands of a friend, who was to show his fire- 
 side circle how to make a dog. Was it done as well as the 
 pattern ?") 
 
 At breakfast, August 30th, my attention was arrested by a 
 lone lady-like American woman, whose appearance and man- 
 ners warranted my offering, her my sympathies or assistance, 
 without presuming upon that courtesy or propriety, which is 
 characteristic of refinement and education. Her story was a 
 most singular commentary upon my investigations of Dres- 
 den's advantages. A true southern matron had followed her 
 three boys across the ocean, where they were residing for a^ 
 education : this mother came to establish a home for them in 
 Dresden. Her researches for comfort and satisfaction had 
 resulted as our own ; and with a heavy heart and tearful 
 eye she said, " she could not make it home there." The 
 sacrifice was too much. A husband and another son in the 
 United States were willing and anxious for her voluntary 
 e:sile, but " there was no home there V 
 
 At a subsequent call upon our Consul, I repeated to him 
 my impressions confirmed by this lady's sincere effort to find 
 what is not there, a home, true home in Dresden. It is the 
 best place for those of mature age and experience to learn 
 
160 
 
 A SmrMER's TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 self-denial, notliiiig more or less. If others tell a different 
 story, and question my faith and experience, so be it. " There's 
 no place like home " to me. Certainly, not in any foreign 
 city I have yet seen. England tempts me in qualifying my 
 assertion, but " there's no place like home " to me ! 
 
THE "FLORENCE" OF GERMANY. 
 
 Circumstances beyond my control have carried me across 
 the Atlantic at diffierent times, and at each visit it has been 
 my purpose to profit to the utmost, by these most favored 
 opportunities for seeing the highest productions of art. I 
 have tried to catch a breath of inspiration from the atmos- 
 phere of beauty encu'cling the collections of the finest works 
 by the best masters of the old or modern schools. Yet I 
 never enter a picture gallery without the consciousness of an 
 utter inability of criticism, arising not from the want of any 
 keen, appreciative sense of the beautiful, but because the active 
 pursuits of a business life, followed by an untiring industry 
 and almost insatiable perseverance, have led me so far away 
 from the cultivation of the proper qualifications, that I 
 honestly confess my incompetency^ and with undisguised 
 frankness acknowledge the presumption in making the attempt. 
 
 Such were my sensations in entering the picture gallery of 
 
 Di esden. The city is appropriately styled the " Florence of 
 
 Germany." And so it is in the richness of its art treasures. 
 
 In entering the building where the picture gallery is 
 
 located, you pass through galleries of the different schools of 
 
 paintings, the Italian, Spanish, Neapolitan, Dutch and Ger- 
 14# 
 
162 A summer's travel in EUROPE.* 
 
 man. But the gem of all is " Raphael's Madonna di San 
 Sisto." A female figure in an erect position, holding upon her 
 right arm the infant Saviour ; midway between earth and 
 heaven she ascends to Paradise. The venerable Pope Sixtus, 
 gazing at the Virgin with piety and awe, is upon one side, 
 while in contrast with the veneration of look and mien of the 
 venerable old man, upon the opposite, is the figure of female 
 loveliness, personified in the youthful saint Barbara. Looking 
 upward with all the innocent fervency of childhood's earliest, 
 purest impulses, are two angelic children. The indescribable 
 expression of the youthful Christ, in its intensity of benevo- 
 lence, purity and love, excites a feeling of irrepressible grati- 
 tude gushing from your inmost soul, as you look and look 
 again, trying* to fathom "the depths of the unsearchable 
 riches " of that salvation, whose founder, in the simplest attri- 
 butes of infancy, is thus before you. Gazing with holiest 
 emotions from mother to child, from child to mother ; weary 
 in the fixed concentration of soul and mind, you vainly tempt 
 the energies of both to comprehend what you cannot tell, but 
 know you feel. Standing till nature's unheeded resources fail 
 with fatigue ; sitting entirely unconscious of time's flight, 
 duties or responsibilities ; trying again and again to satisfy the 
 cravings of a dissatisfied, insatiate conception of the depth of 
 the meaning of that infant face, you allow yourself to move 
 onward, yielding to the anxieties of those around you, in 
 wishing to share your favored chance of looking upon the 
 God-like child! 
 
 My criticisms upon this malchless collection of gems in 
 painting must terminate with this ^ humble effort to convey im- 
 pressions which " Raphael's Madonna " created, and still live. 
 It would be difficult to find a name illustrious in the annals of 
 art, whose representative production was not upon these walls. 
 A copy of " La-Belle-ChocolatiereJ' with her romantic his- 
 tory of being a waiteress in a coffee house in Vienna, capti- 
 vating, even unto marriage, a member of the Austrian 
 
woman's friendship. 
 
 163 
 
 nobility," by her celebrated beauty;^ a crayon sketch by 
 " Liotard," — these copies upon our sitting room walls are the 
 refreshing mementoes toSaiy family, of the pleasures enjoyed 
 in the repeated visits to the Dresden gallery. The collection 
 of engravings is extensive, (being nearly three hundred thou- 
 sand,) and is of corresponding value, marking the progress of 
 art from the middle of the fifteenth century to the present time. 
 Leaving the picture gallery, we loitered by the guard house 
 for the changing of the guard, (every morning at 11 o'clock,) 
 at which time the music of the band attracts a crowd o^ 
 listeners. 
 
 Propriety prevents a particular reference to a class of 
 females who join the throng of attendants at these street con- 
 certs and other places of public resort, except, perhaps, with a * 
 general remark upon their youthfulness and confident assu- 
 rance ; their education and condition in life, preventing the 
 readier conception of what we of the sterner sex most highly 
 appreciate, the exclusiveness we would ever attach to female 
 loveliness. The richest gem owes its value only to its rarity. 
 The brightest jewel is only brilliant, when in comparison with 
 obscurer light. Woman little conceives the height from which 
 she falls in her degradation, or can comprehend that a general 
 distribution of her friendship essentially deprives it of any 
 value, or worth the keeping. 
 
 Upon the lower floor of the Royal Palace, (which was at 
 the end of the old bridge over the Elbe,) is the " Green 
 Vault," so called, (why, I cannot tell, except, perhaps, from 
 its original decorations,) and is one of the» richest collections of 
 diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, topaz, opals, garnets, and 
 other (if there are any) precious stones, I ever saw. The^ 
 most exquisite carvings in ivory and pearl ; objects in bronze ; 
 Florentine mosaics ; paintings in enamel ; gold and silver 
 plate ; vessels from rock crystal ; agates ; Lapis-lazuli and 
 cameo cuttings ; the regalia used at the coronation of one of 
 the Polish Kings ; a representation in gold and enamel of one 
 
164 
 
 A SUMMER S TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 hundred and tliirty-^ht figures of men, horses, elephants, 
 courtiers and carriers of the " Court of the Great Mogul," 
 costing $58,000, and requiring eigh^^^ears to make it ; a mass 
 of native silver from the mines near Freiberg ; a sardonyx, 
 the largest in the world, over six inches long and four broad ; 
 these and countless other gems, relics, curiosities, the recapitula- 
 tion of which overtasks memory and pen holding, are here 
 collected in one vast storehouse. An aggregate of many 
 millions in value, they are preserved with utmost rigidity of 
 responsibility ; and in case of danger or tumult are most care- 
 fully carried to the fortress of Konigstein for preservation, to 
 be returned when security will justify ; replaced with historical 
 accuracy and care ; wonderful as works of art, beautiful as 
 brilliancy or coloring can create, kept again by custodians day 
 and night from century to century. Could the green-eyed 
 monster have caught the depth and intensity of its piercing 
 stare from the " green brilliant " of one hundred and sixty 
 grains weight ? Would that the monster's form and presence 
 was as rare as this priceless gem ! This collection was first 
 opened in the early part of the eighteenth century. 
 
 Returning to the hotel for lunch, and with my own card for 
 an introduction, I visited the somewhat far-famed school of Dr. 
 Farance. The Doctor was very courteous ; every department 
 was freely shown me ; ever^ question answered, and my im- 
 pression of its advantages are of the most favorable nature, as 
 .1 have also expressed in relation to the schools at Vevay, 
 (Switzerland,) which I visited two years before. A simple 
 incident illustrates the efficiency of their physical culture. 
 • A curly-headed boy of seven or eight years of age was in ai 
 small gymnasium attached to the school. The Doctor told him 
 to climb a smooth, upright pole some twenty feet high, and 
 about six inches in diameter at the bottom, and four at the top. 
 I protested against the effort as an overtask of his physical 
 ability. But the boy, (of English parentage,) hearing my 
 remark, smiled, and reached the top, by clinging with his lega 
 
A CONTEMPTIBLE FIRE ! 
 
 165 
 
 and climbing with his hands. I have no doubt I could beat 
 the boy coming down, but how far up could I climb ? I most 
 cheerfully respond to the Doctor's very natural request, and 
 recommend his " family boarding school " for all boys who 
 require to be taught the value of home comforts and home 
 influences, by a deprivation of them. 
 
 The " Frauenkirche," (Clmrch of our Lady,) has a most 
 singular interior arrangement similar to that of a theatre, with 
 boxes, pit, &c. The exterior of stone is of imposing and 
 attractive appearance ; bearing marks from the batteries of 
 Frederick the Great against it, in the Seven Years' Wartjfcbut 
 which were as unimpressive as upon the solid rock, so firmly 
 and compactly is the edifice constructed. An unusual hubbub 
 with the ringing of the church bells hastened Ln^locomotive 
 powers to see what was the matter. Following the upward 
 gaze of the excited crowds, I observed a flag extended in a 
 particular direction from the church tower. Following that 
 direction, I saw smoke ascending, and soon guessed the cause of 
 fire. Hiring as I ran, a cab, I had leisure to watch the gradual 
 working up of excitement in the stoical, phlegmatic German. 
 Men, women, boys and girls, cavalry and infantry, all rushed 
 onward for the fire ! Engines (literally tubs) on plank wheels, 
 (drawn by cavalry horses) of most antique form and capacity, 
 which one of our young America's croiud w^ould spurn to use 
 or draw ; messengers from the cavalry rushing past, some 
 going to, others coming from, the burning of the King's brick 
 barn upon the outskirts of the city ; the Lilliputian streams 
 and efforts to put the fire out, (which however 5z«m^ out ) made 
 me more than ever regret the superior excitement of a fire as 
 described in Copenhagen. The whole affair (except the fire) 
 was farcical and antiquarian. Even the youngest of my 
 juveniles, who also saw the event, said it was a " sister fire," 
 the strongest expression of boyhood's contempt. 
 
 The morning of August 31st was devoted to packing in 
 boxes, " the odds and ends of travel," directing them as 
 
166 
 
 A summer's travel IX EUROPE. 
 
 freight homeward, to save the exorbitant charges of transporta- 
 tion which exists on every railroad upon the continent. There 
 is a regular baggage tariff, varying in liberality from thirty to 
 fifty pounds for each passenger of the first and second class 
 tickets. All weight over this allowance is paid for extra. 
 And my family's trunks and traps have cost me the full price 
 of an adult's seat in every foreign travel. There is such an 
 unrestrained liberty in this respect allowed to travellers by 
 railroad, stage and steamboat, in this country, that there is no 
 grader annoyance to an American family than this irritating 
 charge. Whatever you can keep in your hand without injury 
 to the railway carriages, or inconvenience to fellow travellers, 
 you are permitted to take free, as hand baskets, &c. This 
 restriction is not v/ithout its practical bearings. It prevents 
 at least by the expense of transportation to foreigners, the 
 gratification of -the misconceived idea of wealth and social 
 position, — erroneously supposed to be established by a foolishly 
 extravagant display of silks, satins and laces, numbers and 
 varieties of dress, equal to, if not exceeding, the days in num- 
 ber, which are intended as the period of absence from home. 
 An encroachment not only upon the purse, but of those higher* 
 gratifications and faculties of the mind, making our female 
 friends victims of luxury and extravagance. 
 
 The character of a lady's dress (always to myself at least,) 
 prefigures her intelligence and refinement. No matter whether 
 at home or abroad ; rusticating in the simple recreations of a 
 retired summer retreat in the country, or in the throng of 
 visitors at the most fashionable watering places. A lady 
 never appears more fascinating than in an appropriate, simple 
 dress, wdth the assurance that the luxury of a minute detail of 
 the morning toilet was faithfully appreciated. At dinner, a 
 modest silk or stuff dress ; and this for the evening also, if no 
 extraordinary circumstance requires a change. The style, 
 material and color of the dress, changing in its adaptability to 
 climate, season and occasion. I know remonstrance is of but 
 
MODERN DRESSING — ANCIENT ART. 167 
 
 little avail. But perhaps the assertion that to appropriateness 
 of color to complexion ; of form to figure ; of propriety to 
 position, are the French females alone indebted for their supre- 
 macy of taste and economy in dress. 
 
 From my window a graceful figure passing by arrests my 
 
 pen, my sermon, my pleading for- it is a friend/ and 
 
 the application of ray preaching is most curtly rebuked, in the 
 long dress that the obstinate dressmaker loould make to trail ! 
 If I was sure the compositor would not "cry for copy "before 
 I can find time to put as many words (I know there's n^ense 
 in them !) on paper as there are here, I wonld soon display my 
 agility' in making gas lighters of this sheet, or else use it for 
 wrapping paper in that box we were packing in our room at 
 the hotel Bellevue, and a counterpart of which I shall have 
 upon my ears, if I am ever caught. 
 
 What^^|^amble from Dresden to my office window in 
 
 street. The Japanese Palace upon the easterly side of the 
 Elbe, near the railway station, is another museum of antiqui- 
 ties, porcelain and terra-cotta. These are collections of bronze 
 casts, of old and modern schools ; marble busts and statues 
 from Pompeii) Herculaneum and other older cities; dilapidated 
 fragmentary parts of the same in porphyry, forming very inter- 
 esting links with the buried past, and marking art's progress 
 or decay. The lower (basement) floor is appropriated exclu- 
 sively to the collection of porcelain. There are twenty rooms, 
 ninety thousand pieces ; showing the Chinese porcelain from 
 the 13th to the 19th century ; Saxon from the 17th ; speci- 
 mens of French, English, Prussian, Austrian and American 
 manufacture, of almost every form, finish and figure, from a 
 vase three feet high and four feet in diameter to a tiny tea 
 cup ; a highly finished, beautiful model of a Boodhist temple to 
 a toy dog; stands of flowers, rivalling nature in the exactness 
 of the copy, to the simplest form of a saucer. The founder of 
 the Saxon manufacture, the guide informed me, was Johannes 
 Frederick Bottscher, in 1704. Specimens of the earliest pro- 
 
168 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 ductions are choicely kept. A saucer one thousand years old 
 was shown us. 
 
 Returning to the hotel for lunch, my steps were directed to 
 the Consulate, where a pleasant, courteous reception and inter- 
 view was enjoyed ; its pleasure being increased by the presence 
 of the only American who bears the title of royalty, Prince 
 
 John . An evening at the opera, witnessing and keenly 
 
 enjoying the performance of " Massaniello," well cast and 
 artis|j|^lly arranged, we retired at its close for our last night 
 at Dresden. 
 
 September 1st, after finishing packing, calling at the bankers, 
 spending the last hour of leisure at the picture gallery, at 
 12| P. M. we were en route for Vienna. Our English friends 
 had left us, homeward bound, a day or two 'previous. The 
 regret at their absence and the sorrow of parting with them, 
 the anticipations of home with the mgtual congralBations of 
 our decision not to tarry longer at Dresden, made our exit 
 from its limits more joyous than our entrance. Our future 
 movements were for Vienna, stopping a day at Prague, thence 
 to Munich, Nuremburg, Frankfort, Paris, London, Liverpool, 
 home ! 
 
 A singular combination of circumstances had prevented my 
 visiting Vienna in my former European travels, and it is still 
 an unknown city to me, except by reputation. At the principal 
 station between Dresden and Prague, " Bodenbach," an incau- 
 tious lunch of half cooked veal, proved a source of subsequent 
 disappointment and no inconsiderable anxiety. At this station 
 the Austrian frontier is crossed, and the usual espionnge of 
 passports and baggage was performed by officials in strict 
 military costume and manner. They were the first of that 
 nationality the juveniles had seen, and I shall accuse them of 
 no lack of courage or boldness, in. detecting a closer adhesion 
 to our steps and person, as these stern-looking, uncompromising 
 individuals made their appearance and demands. And what 
 with apprehensions for the unfortunate detection of any 
 
INNUMERABLE VARIETIES. 
 
 169 
 
 suspicious traps we might have, and the unchecked license of 
 the mice and rats in their rambles among the ladies' skirts and 
 chairs, and the exorbitant demand for these annoying discomforts, 
 it is not strange if " Bodenbach" has become a "household 
 word " full of meaning in expressing what is disagreeable or 
 repulsive in the family's daily experience. 
 ^ The location of this station is very picturesque, being upon 
 the left bank of the Elbe, upon the side of a high hill, 
 commanding a beautiful view of the river, with its animated 
 mirror-like surface, over which steamboats, rafts, peasant 
 craft and freight barges were constantly in motion. 'Upon 
 the opposite bank is the small town of " Tetschen," in 
 which is tjie handsome chateau of Count Thun. The vil- 
 lage cathedral formed an attractive, graceful point in the 
 beautiful scenery around it. The country through which the 
 railway passes is productive and interesting. A very singular 
 coal (principally bituminous) is found in large deposits in this 
 vicinity. The woody fibres are as perfectly retained in the 
 specimen I have as if no geological action had taken place. 
 Droves of geese attended by the farmer's wives and children, 
 gave a novelty to the scenes around us, and the' apnounce- 
 ment at 7, P. M., that we were in Prague, was not greeted as 
 cordially as when passing through less interesting districts, or 
 of longer confinement in the cars. Our intention was to 
 remain here until the next .day's afternoon train for Vienna. 
 During the night, premonitory symptoms of indisposition sug- 
 gested a possible interruption of our plans. 
 
 After breakfast, my family, at my urgent request, under 
 the guidance of a commissionaire with a carriage, visited the 
 most interesting objects of this quaint old city, whose attrac- 
 tions are so frequently passed by, in the hurry of destination, 
 to and from Dresden and Vienna. I at home, a recipient of 
 good nursing by an attached member of my family, (whose 
 faithful and acceptable services of' fourteen years, are most 
 cheerfully here recorded.) 
 15 
 
170 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 The Hotel d'Angleterre near the railway station, at which 
 we stopped, was directly opposite the military hospital. My 
 occupation, when not prostrated, was in watching the detach- 
 ments of wounded men and worn out horses, as they were 
 forwarded from the sanguinary fields of Magenta and Solfe- 
 rino. It was a melancholy sight to see young men in the full 
 prime of life and vigor of manhood, mutilated and maimed, 
 pale with sickness and pain; wan and thin from suffering priv^ 
 tion and fatigue^ of different sectionalities of country, gathered 
 into this large receptacle of disease and death ; away from all the 
 hallo^i^ed associations of home ; unconscious of the pressure of 
 that hand, of more than maternal love or sisterly affection, 
 whose soft gentleness seems the link between the calm, placid 
 bliss of heaven and earth's richest joys ; conquerors and the 
 conquered ; brothers in arms sympathizing with their prison- 
 ers of war ; Austrian soldiers with an almost comical mixture 
 of French and their own regular service uniforms ; French 
 soldiers awaiting their exchange as prisoners, with their pecu- 
 liar care-for-nothing cap and gait, contrasting the more 
 strangely in the incongruous costume from their conquerors' 
 fragmentary outfit ; — these formed a singular compound of the 
 grave and the gay, the serious and the ludicrous. Our south- 
 ern chivalry were very wise in leaving Major Anderson so 
 long solitary and alone, until it required one hundred to one to 
 match him. Not more so, however, than was a certain valiant 
 
 man of war, from one of the'northern towns in State, who 
 
 in 1842 brought forth his valiant band to aid a ^''people's 
 cause," and, when the attack upon the arsenal was being 
 made, most valiantly retreated in more than " double-quick- 
 time," saying " ne came to do* military escort, not to become a 
 military corpse !" 
 
XXII. 
 
 HOMEOPATHY. 
 
 Upon my family's return from sight-seeing, a disagreeable 
 duty devolved on our German member in being dispatched 
 for a physician, as symptoms of a choleratic nature made me 
 a decided invahd. In prompt response came Dr. Seegen, a 
 most excellent Homeopathic practitioner ; an educated man 
 and a skillful physician. Despondingly a couch was my retreat 
 and quarters for that and three or four succeeding days. I 
 found the German practice differs only from that of home, in 
 the milder dilutions and triturations. Dr. Seegen's account of 
 the hostility which this peculiar practice encountered in its 
 introduction, from the followers of the old school, differed from 
 that to which I had previously referred in this respect ; that 
 with us, popular favor alone was summoned to its extinction 
 and abuse ; while in Germany, the full force and rigor of legal 
 enactment was brought to bear upon it. Yet, notwithstanding 
 this array of power against it, it has so triumphantly succeeded 
 as to have the confidence and patronage of royalty, and its 
 professors and practitioners are acknowledged to be in the 
 ranks of educated and scientific minds. As convalescence 
 returned, the last hope of seeing Vienna was most cheerfully 
 abandoned, and one of the most delightful efforts at corres- 
 
172 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 pondence, was that of writing to the very gentlemanly agent 
 of the Cunard steamers at Liverpool, (Mr. George Burgess,) 
 for passages for home, by the steamer for Boston, at the 
 earliest possible moment after the middle of October. 
 
 A low, murmuring chanting of voices in the street drew me 
 to the window, as the " carrying the host," by Roman Catholic 
 priests and attendants, passed by. This is the customary 
 service upon the sick. And while sympathy for a fellow 
 sufferer was excited, gratitude to God was the more active for 
 the consolations and hopes of a religion that comes silently, but 
 with power, to the couch of the sick or the bed of the depart- 
 ing ; whether that be upon the cold earth, surrounded by the 
 dead and dying, amid the execrations of agony, or shrieks of 
 the wounded victims of war's bloody carnage, or on the pillow 
 of down, whose .softness is surpassed in the pressure of the 
 hand of a mother, wife or friend, whispering its assurances of 
 love and affection to the soul's last listenings ; and cheering its 
 flight to Heaven, as it realizes that the sorrows of earth may 
 be the sure guarantees of unending joys, and the affections so 
 imperfectly conceived here are matured there ! A fresh delega- 
 tion of wounded soldiers and worn out horses came next, as 
 an appropriate commentary x)n life's ills. A cold, homeless, 
 cheerless day was a bad restorer of health, and the good Doctor 
 was hardly conscious how narrowly his impressions of progress 
 were analyzed, as he shook his head and conversed with my 
 most kind and attentive interpreter. If he had known, too, 
 the effort of next morning in appearing so m.uch improved, he 
 might have seen treason and rebellion decidedly rampant in 
 attempting the disguise of improvement. His hopes of a 
 homeward start " in a loeek or two " most suddenly collapsed, 
 as the next morning, at ten, (which was the hour of his first 
 daily visit,) he found trunks and traps all below, and his 
 patient attired for a return to Dresden ! Very delicately pre- 
 senting his bill, the poor man hardly thought himself awake- 
 And as he met us on the way to the cars to leave at 11, A. M.' 
 
VALUABLE RAILWAY SIGNALS. 
 
 173 
 
 I could not tell whether he ever before came in contact with 
 quite as much self-will and resolution, or if he was calculating 
 the protracted time we should continue under his care in con- 
 sequence of such inconceivable rashness. The only yielding 
 to uneasiness was on the return approach to " Bodendach," 
 which if we had never seen a wedik previous, my readers 
 would have been kept out of a sick room at Prague. 
 
 Dresden, {lovely spot it appeared on this return,) was 
 reached at 9 P. M. Our good host must have tested the 
 strength of his optic nerve, as he tried to convince himself of 
 our identity. He certainly had consigned our being to his 
 memory and the pages of his hotel register and ledger. A 
 gentle restorer in a comfortable night's drest, put us in trim for 
 another day's journey to Cassel. Dresden was left Jinally at 
 9 1 A. M., after Icindly salutations with our lady friend, whose 
 maternal affection was being most sorely tried, in trying to be 
 contented in Dresden for her sons' sake ; inditing a letter to 
 an esteemed friend, (an ex-Judge at home ;) purchasing as 
 farther mementoes, some of the peculiar wax shades for win- 
 dows, resembling the porcelain screens for gas and candle 
 light ; and sending to the bankers for that very convenient 
 facility for either home or foreign travel, fundsM Our rail- 
 jvay travel was over a very level, highly cultivated district of 
 country, interesting from its agricultural developments more ^ 
 than any other prominent feature of scenery. There was one 
 peculiarity of railway signals differing from any seen before. 
 Near the track and ground, .a wire passes the length of the 
 road, communicating with small brick stations, upon the top of 
 which are arranged a number of bells. As the train 
 approached the larger travellers' stations the bells struck some 
 dozen times, indicating the arrival of the train and communi- 
 cating this fact to the station next beyond, through the wire 
 connection. A responsive signal came back to the train that 
 all was right, after which the train moved on. And this com- 
 munication existed throughout the entire length of the road. It 
 15* 
 
174 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 seemed, as far as human agency could operate, to be as success- 
 ful a precaution against accident as could be adopted. 
 
 The detention and its cause at Praf^ue, chanf^ed the entire * 
 programme of our movements. Our stay upon the continent 
 was dependent wholly upon the ability of procuring home 
 passages. During this %ncertainty, a trip to Giessen, (the 
 home for more than a year of one of our hearthstone's circle,) 
 was decided upon. And our departure from Dresden was for this 
 purpose, visiting Cassel on the route. The railway passes 
 through Leipsic, (the only portion of which we saw, was the 
 very tine station house, and the streets upon the outskirts of 
 the city connecting the railway stations,) AYeimar, Eisenach> 
 and other places of leaser importance. 
 
 The country after leaving Leipsic was very interesting in 
 presenting a great variety of soils. An hour's ride from this 
 place, very extensive salt works were passed, from which and 
 others in this vicinity. Saxony derives her supply. There are 
 springs and wells of highly impregnated salt water. The 
 liquid is pumped by steam and other kinds of power into 
 troughs placed upon a timber frame work, thirty and forty 
 feet in height, four or six feet wide at the top, and the support- 
 ers or brae* twenty feet or more apart at the bottom. The 
 space between the braces and uprights is filled with brushwood 
 in longitudinal layers, two-thirds of the whole height. The 
 water trickles from the troughs, down the sides, over the 
 brushwood. The evaporation from contact with the air, crystal- 
 lizes the pure salt upon the wicker work, and as such is col- 
 lected and prepared for use. At a little distance these frame 
 works resemble the aqueducts of historic times, and are of 
 different lengths and numbers as required by the abundant or 
 limited supply of the springs and wells. A very peculiar 
 brown coal is found in this locality, differing from any I had 
 previously seen. At " Bodenbach " the coal referred to was 
 remaikable in its resemblance to charcoal, tlie fil^rous nature 
 of the wood being so distinctly retained ; but the brown coal 
 
CASSEL, AND THE WATER-WORKS. 175 
 
 • 
 
 has the impression of leaves, fruits and flowers equally as 
 perfect in its geological change. It is brought to the stations # 
 in lumps from the mines, and is ol' very general use for all 
 the ordinary purposes of fuel. When the lumps are broken 
 and more or less wasted to dust, this is mixed with water and 
 formed by moulds into cakes, (as bHcks,) for consumption. 
 Samples of both these coals, black and brown, I have seen at 
 the office of the Secretary of the R. I. Society, proving that 
 its correspondent had traversed the same ground as myself A 
 peculiar custom of harnessing the horses singly to a pole 
 instead of in shafts, exists here. Wh'ere the road is mountain- 
 ous and rough, but one track for the horse is made, and that 
 the one formed by the wh-eels, in advance of which and 
 directly in front, the horse travels. This application of muscu- 
 lar power is at least a one-sided affair, and would of necessity 
 contract the animal's powers of draught and locomotion. 
 
 Our arrival at Cassel at 10 o'clock, P. M., was a source of 
 great relief, as one of our number was suffering intensely with 
 the usual attendant upon any excitement, a severe sick head' 
 •ache. To those ignorant of this liability, it may seem a frivo- 
 lous matter of record ; but where every pleasure is met by 
 its presence and alloy, the effort for its mastery is worthy of 
 commendation. Our object in being at Cassel was to examine 
 the artificial waterfalls and fountains, which had been repre- 
 sented as equal to those of Versailles. 
 
 The next morning, with a fine sky and light hearts, seated in 
 two open carriages with good steeds and a courteous commis- 
 sionaire, our drive was for the " Wilhelmshohe " and the 
 " Cascade of Karlsburg." The former is the summer palace 
 of the Elector, and from its court the Cascade is best seen, 
 w^hen the waters are in motion. Viewed from the palace, 
 there appears a succession of steps ascending a gentle rise, 
 upon each side are basins which are so arranged in. distance 
 apart and form, as to appear from the palace one continuous 
 sheet of water for the distance of nine hundred feet. Half- 
 
176 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 way in the ascent a rough representation of a giant's form 
 breaks the monotony of the perspective. At the top of the 
 cascade, upon an octagonal building, stands the colossal figure 
 of Hercules, in copper. From the palace the figure appears 
 the size of life, but in reality it is thirty-one feet in height, and 
 the club of proportionate dimensions, so large as to have room 
 for eight persons at one time. An ascent to the head of the 
 figure is not desirable, except to younger muscles and more 
 aspiring hopes than mine. The view is not superior to the 
 one from the roof of the reservoir, for which the building was 
 constructed. A running flowering vine, taken in its dwarf-like 
 growth from the crevices^of mould and dust at the base of the 
 Hercules, is now in a window at home, as green and flourish- 
 ing as are the associations of a pleasant day in the place of its 
 ■birth. The court of Neptune under the roof, in its semi- 
 circular form, with statues and "jets d'eau," are perhaps the 
 brightest point in the juvenile's memory, as the guide opened 
 the supply to the jets of water, which came around them in 
 forms of beauty, without the more serious annoyance of a wet 
 jacket. Cones from the pine trees ; seeds from the wild ros^ 
 and thorn ; leaves for an herbarium, were gathered as souve- 
 nirs. The latter only remain as the seeds died after being 
 planted. Midway between the palace and Cassel is one of 
 those toy structures Royalty sometimes builds, "as mementos of 
 the old feudal times of lord and vassal. The small " Castle of 
 Lowenburg," with its miniature towers, battlements, draw- 
 bridges and ditches, excites in the mind of the stranger pity 
 for the weakness of intellect that could expend so much time, 
 talent and cost in such a bauble. And although its small 
 cabinet of old armor, its few paintings and ducal apartments . 
 may remind you of the luxuries of " power and purse," yet 
 the actual progress in science and art the same ability would 
 have created, is a question too practical to remain unasked or 
 unanswered. 
 
 A rainy hour dampened our spirits, garments and the walks? 
 causing a " retreat to quarters " within the walls of " Schir- 
 
A REJECTED COMFORTER. 
 
 177 
 
 mer's Hotel," upon the Grand Square of Cassel. Looking 
 from onr windows, the short, black skirt, printed muslin bodice, 
 peculiar bonnets and well-formed limbs of the female peasants; 
 the curious manner of carrying babies, on a pillow ; the 
 melancholy cortege of a funeral, made the day's duration pass 
 unobserved, and nightfall brought us to the welcome occupancy 
 of the characteristic beds of the Germans. Never shall I 
 forget my experience with '• down comforters." When first 
 retiring I was expostulating with the attendant upon the insuffi- 
 ciency of clothing. But overpowered by the persuasive manner 
 more than by the unintelligible jargon of this personage, I 
 resigned myself to the cold anticipations of a relentless fate. 
 Soothing sensations of warmth came gradually on, and sleep 
 followed in their train. But awakening with feelings' of oppres- 
 siveness, my first impulses were to cry fo^help, rescue, relief 
 from the overtowering mass above me. The cold moon was 
 distinctly before me when I retired, but now all I could see was 
 a miniature mountain of sombre aspect. Not a window was 
 visible, not a piece of furniture could I trace, nothing but this 
 immense yet weightless mass. I would have compromised for 
 a place under the wheels of th^ " Juggernaut," it seemed as 
 though some nightmare's fancy had become a reality ; and 
 with an effort of muscle and will, ^s needless as to remove a 
 feather's weight, the monster like object rolled upon the floor. 
 The moon returned through the windows, the furniture was 
 all right, but — I was shivering in the cold, and upon the floor 
 lay a small, thin square of silk and chintz, occupying the 
 place of my terrible annoyance. I put the silk and chintz on 
 the bed again, and have never since been annoyed by an 
 eider down comforter." 
 
 In passing from Cassel to Frankfort, by raihvay, the brown 
 coal to which reference has been m ide seemed ,to exist in 
 greater quantities. Passing through Giessen, to which we 
 intended returning, our German member was made most happy 
 by the receipt of letters, which had accumulated during his 
 
178 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 response to paternal summons from his studies, and by which 
 he had met us at Hamburg, and had continued as our guide 
 and protector. In reply to the questions, " where were the 
 letters from ?" and " how can they come from home when w^e 
 arc. all here ?" w^e soon suspected that there was another link 
 in memory's chain, which probably created greater attractions 
 filial affection. A magnet of the heart, as irresistible in 
 its power as it is indescribable in its being. So here was a 
 discovery. Well, all I can hope for is, that every other may 
 be as agreeable and valuable in its possession. A faithful 
 friend of the hotel's comforts and a confidante brought the 
 letters, and spoke German enough to bring a blush at his 
 impetuous friendship. 
 
 Our arrival at Frankfort at 11 o'clock, P. M., on Friday, 
 Sept. 9th, w as a b<|ght ei a in our rambles, as the circum- 
 stances of my recent indisposition made this haven a point of 
 anticipation, more for the future than for so prompt a reality. 
 The next morning's bright sun w^as as cheerful as the mingling 
 • of voices, of every note and tone, chaffering in the streets 
 below us. Our windows wer^ upon the market place. The 
 sidew^alk w^as covered with a tempting display of flowers, fruits 
 and vegetables. And why after breakfast I strolled among the 
 pretty market girls, compromising for their laughter at my 
 attempt in speaking German, by the opportunity it afforded me 
 of examining more particularly the different kinds of vegeta- 
 bles, or admiring their fresh rosy cheeks and honest features, 
 I shall not explain, but let the imagination of my readers 
 guess ! I brought home, among other seeds, a fine variety of 
 pear shaped onions. But my efforts in this and other instances 
 to add to our varieties of vegetables were unsuccessful, as the 
 seeds did not germinate in planting. Here, too, my sensibili- 
 ties for the gentler sex w^ere excited, in seeing a stout, burly 
 built fellow load a basket with his purchases, and very coolly assist 
 his wife in placing it upon her head, the customary mode of 
 carrying them by the females. 
 
MARTIN LUTHER*S AND THE ROTHCHILD'S HOME. 179 
 
 The hotel keeper brought to us Commissionaire Freeze, a 
 very courteous, middle-aged, intelligent man, under whose 
 guidance we took up the " route step " for sight-seeing. The 
 old town hall is more interesting to the student of history than 
 it would be in any attempted description, as its objects of 
 attractions to us were portraits of the Emperors ; as is the 
 Senate Chamber, an old historic apartment of oak ceiHngs and 
 decorations. The meat market, through which we passed, was 
 extensive and well supplied with the ordinary varieties of fish, 
 flesh and fowl, and at priced more liberal than our own at 
 home. It was the season of one of the^vo annual fairs. But 
 unfortunately most of the square wooden booths, forming intri- 
 cate highways and by-ways in the large squares appropriated 
 to their locality, were closed. The few open exhibited the 
 most ordinary varieties of cloths and garments, while by far 
 the most numerous were for the sale of toys and fancy articles. 
 As the principal transactions in money or business in this city 
 are those of banking and its connections, these incursions of 
 the peasantry and lower class of trades-people, may fill the 
 otherwise necessity of supply for the wants of more humble 
 life and avocations. The house occupied by Martin Luther 
 is pointed out, and a tall, narrow house in the Jews' quarter 
 (" Judengasse ") is shown as the one in which the family was 
 born, who have held kings and empires at their bidding, in 
 the unlimited power which has ever been- attached to the 
 wealth and treasures of the Rothchilds. 
 
XXIII. 
 
 OSTRACISM OF THE JEWS. 
 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main (a rfver of that name) is one of the 
 most cheerful and Americanized cities upon the continent. The 
 newer part of the city contains fine buildings, wide streets and 
 a fresh aspect, although to a business man's eye, the lack of 
 activity, bustle and energy soon develop the fact'of its limited 
 mercantile transactions or extensive negotiations. In the older 
 parts, the houses are narrow, sombre-looking, tall edifices, with 
 narrow streets and the necessary neglect of the more sanitary 
 regulations. The Jews' quarter is strikingly of this character. 
 And this peculiarity is a strong line of distinction in every 
 foreign city as I now recall them. For centuries they have been 
 a proscribed people. Subjected by severe penalties to certain 
 limits for either residence or business ; compelled to pay 
 tribute as taxes far beyond a just proportion of their responsi- 
 bilities as citizens ; controlled in their domestic relations by 
 the most rigid legal enactments ; cut off from social contact 
 with the other residents, except in the most limited manner ; 
 their continuance, increase and prosperity may well be con- 
 sidered as wonderful, and reflective of no ordinary perseverance 
 and energetic industry. The penalty for repudiating the 
 Messiah has been fearfully realized. . But Christianity in its 
 
ARIADNE AND REYNARD THE FOX. 
 
 181 
 
 proper exercise of charity, is alleviating the burdens of past 
 ages ; and, in its progressive beneficence, has ameliorated the 
 sorrows, and offered its hopes and consolations to this peculiar 
 people of antiquity. The public buildings of Frankfort do 
 not justify an elaborate description. The most attractive object of 
 interest is the statue of Ariadne, by Dannecker, an artist of 
 Wurtemburg. It is in a very tasteful building, appropriated 
 by its liberal proprietor exclusively for its exhibition. Being 
 lighted from the top, placed on a revolving pedestal, surrounded 
 with scarlet drapery, its exhibition is highly satisfactory inde- 
 pendent of its high claims as an artistic production. There 
 are busts in plaster of eminent personages, and bas reliefs in 
 the rotunda of the exhibition, as auxiliaries of attraction. A 
 cast of the face of Prince Lichnowsky with the sabre gash 
 across the forehead, taken after his death in the Republican 
 CjMest of 1848, is an intrusive object of sympathy, in collision 
 •^m the very agreeable emotions the statu e^f female loveliness 
 excites. The city is making a most coifflifndable effort for 
 the establishment of a Zoological Garden. But a limited 
 collection of animals, and fresh details of the arrangements 
 were more iifteresting to others interested in their locality than 
 to ourselves, familiar with more extensive and matured institu- 
 tions. 
 
 A visit to Leven's Zooplastiches Cabinets would prove 
 exceedingly agreeable to my juvenile readers. The story of 
 " Reynard the Fox " is portrayed from life. A more amusing 
 exhibition of stuffed animals and birds, arrayed with all the 
 minute details of dress appropriate to the sex of the wearers 
 (or those of humanity they intend to satirize,) with all the para- 
 phernalia of drugs, medicines and nostrums," adapted to the 
 cure of "all the ills flesl^is heir to," or the prosecution of 
 almost any scientific pursuit ; the most comical expressions of 
 suffering, or ecstacy of mirth and sorrow in birds and beasts, 
 *iade our stay here prolonged, although our juveniles protested 
 to the last " that we had not been five minutes," a discrepancy 
 
182 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 of more than an hour between their assurance and the watch 
 dial. 
 
 In the barren wilderness of social enjoyments, with which 
 our German member had been surrounded for more than a 
 year, there were two or three friends whose commoq sympathy 
 of nationality and language were the " oasis " in the daily 
 life. A young English fellow-student and friend joined us at 
 dinner, and formed one of our happy group during our stay at 
 Frankfort. The occasion of the fair had introduced into the city, 
 with other festivities, one of the best conducted Circus establish- 
 ments I ever saw. The riding, vaulting and tractability of the 
 horses were very superior. This was our first contact with a 
 popular German audience. And notwithstanding the ad-lihitum 
 enjoyment generally characteristic of these exhibitions, the 
 decorum was far in advance of that which is so excessively 
 annoying in every exhibition where " Young America ^Ms 
 without parental^j^traint, or freed from apprehension of nre 
 police. 
 
 September 11th, an early call from the commissionaire broke 
 the spell of our slumbers, and conducted us to the Cathedral 
 for early morning mass. Its great attraction wa^the 23resence 
 of the peasantry (attending the fairs) in varied picturesque 
 costumes peculiar to the section of the country from whence 
 they came in crowds, to the recreations and higher religious 
 privileges the occasion afforded. 
 
 Returning to breakfast, most unexpectedly we encountered a 
 fellow-ship-passenger of the voyage from home. With "John 
 Murray " under his arm, he was v\iending his way sight-seeing 
 and exploring, with a rush that n^e but a Yankee can under- 
 stand. Our questions were thick and fast ; inquiries after our 
 gallant skipper and his good wife, #ir other passenger friends, 
 " where he was from ? where going ? where staying ? how 
 long?" &c., &c. And what, my dear reader, were his 
 responses. " Camef^this morning ; going this afternoon ; cani 
 stop ; where is the Cathedral !" I remember of hearing of 
 
LIEBIG AND GIESSEN. 
 
 183 
 
 oie American who "did up" Rome in twenty-four hours, 
 visiting St. Peters and its other three hundred and sixty-five 
 churches, temples, ruins, galleries and all ! AVeil, if our friend, 
 the ex-Judge, is going yet at the same rate as when he left us, 
 he must be on his third voyage on foot round the world ! 
 
 After breakfast we attended the English Episcopal service at 
 the chapel. The Rev. Mr. Cuthale officiated, being the mission- 
 ary stationed there ; and charity passes without comment, his 
 manner, ijaatter and sympathy in the holy service through 
 which he conducted us. The day was exceedingly disagreeable, 
 being cold, windy and dusfy, reminding us all of the annoy- 
 ances from the same cause so familiar to the citizens of . 
 
 We all w«ere reluctantly but unmistakably identified with " free 
 soil " particles if not principles. The usual family duties of 
 Scripture reading and its attendant exercises gave us pleasura- 
 ble retrospections of a Sunday at home. 
 
 Bright and early the next morning, we were en route for 
 Giessen, our German member's home, when a commendable 
 energy determined the future career of scientific pursuits to 
 one of* our fireside circle. Giessen, containing the chemical 
 school founded by Liebig; with its detailed associations of 
 feudal times ; ^ narrow streets, irregular houses, picturesque 
 locality upon the river Lahn ; surrounding scenery of wildness 
 and mountain was so vividly described to us previous to our 
 leaving home, that our feelings of disappointment were active 
 and unanimous, as we emerged from the railway station and 
 found ourselves in regjilar streets a^nd a modern aspect and fresh- 
 ness in the building and surroundings, strangely in contrast with 
 the past year's conceptions of our foreign member's life being so 
 dark and gloomy in a sombre old town of mould and ruin. 
 
 Arriving at the " Einhorn," our paternal, sensations might 
 have been sadly ruffled at the eager, hearty greeting the stray 
 guest received from the hale, corpulent, gentlemanly host, 
 ^'Herr Muller," and his family and attendants. The best 
 rooms were at our command. And the apartments, dinner 
 
184 
 
 A SUMMER S TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 and service, we were assured, were the same as that arranged 
 for the Russian Princes ! The townspeople stared at the 
 rarely opened blinds, and many a " fraulein's " fair face and 
 bright eyes were detected peering through the blinds opposite 
 and around at the unwonted spectacle of the guest-chamber's 
 occupancy. Upon the extreme attic floor, looking over roofs, 
 tiles and chimney tops ; away from all sympathy and contact 
 with the world and German life ; as isolated in fact as he was 
 in feeling, from every association around him ; rivalling in this 
 isolation the sternest recluse from the world's life and toil ; 
 elevating himself as far above as possible every object that 
 might interrupt his homeward glances and memories ; here, 
 from such a home as he left, our expatriated member had spent 
 a year of study, toil and suffering. Rebellion (and revolution 
 subsequently) followed our introduction to his parlor and bed- 
 room. And in wonder and expostulation at our remonstrances 
 against his choice and arrangement, he met our objection, as 
 this to him was his happiest retreat ! " Here was the lamp stand 
 from this friend, candlesticks from a second, a bronze dog from 
 a third, cigar case of liberal size, well filled, Irom a fourth," 
 and so on the enumeration followed, clothing every nook with 
 a joke, and every guest with a story, until the nappy list con- 
 tained a description of tea drinking, dinner eatings, breakfast 
 coohings, hours of chat and social sonsr, sufilcient to have filled 
 
 in imagination Hall. And, dear reader what do you 
 
 really guess was the secret of this aspiring isolation ? Simply 
 this, that he could be alone at pleasure, and wish (as I do now) 
 that " he was, and he knew where, and he knew who was with 
 him there !" 
 
 Our liost's aristocratic looking equipage was at our service 
 (and in the bill) for a drive around the environs of Giessen> 
 after which, my steps were directed to the University build- 
 ings, which I supposed to be extensive and costly. It is not 
 here as at home ; the students study at their rooms and meet 
 the Professors at the residences of the latter, in classes. The 
 
CHEMICAL FRUITS, FRAGRANCE, AND LIQUORS. 185 
 
 laboratory was a source of disappointment in its size and arrange- 
 ments, not in any manner comparing with those of our American 
 Universities. The superiority of a course of studies upon the 
 continent (as previously remarked) is in the thoroughness (I 
 may almost call it specialite) with which any subject is com- 
 menced and pursued. Five years there are no more4han three 
 here. Whether this difference is owing to the impressibility 
 of mind, or the measured progress in locomotion or mental 
 pursuits I cannot say. If not sul)jecting myself to the charge 
 of partiality and unfairness, I should attribute it to the prompt, 
 rapid comprehension and progress of the American mind. 
 ^ Professor Will, to whom our member had letters, and with 
 whom his studies brought more immediate contact, was absent? 
 it being vacation. Professor Engelbach, however, most kindly 
 offered his intelligent assistance in explaining the course of 
 instruction and the institution. Upon my desk is a sample of 
 sugar extracted by him from starch. And his renumeration 
 of the many and varied substances from which this universal 
 article can be produced, was interesting, particularly as the list 
 included an organ of the human frame, from whose torpidity I 
 had suffered long and severely. The flavor of every variety 
 of fruit, and the fragrance of almost every flower was shown 
 by the Professor, with the assurance that not a particle of the 
 genuine fruit or flower formed the least portion of the com- 
 pound. They were the combination of acids and chemical 
 preparations, so successfully an imitation that you questioned 
 your own convictions. Another case contained specimens of 
 wine, brandy, cordials, &c., which never had been imported or 
 grown, but equally sustained the Professor's claims as a most 
 successful fabricator of false liquors. An examination of some 
 of the ingredients excited the wonder, not at the effects as sure 
 but protracted to those who used them, but that humanity had 
 reached to so low a depth of abasement as to intentionally 
 tempt the resistless appetite of the victims of intemperance 
 with such powerfully vitiating elements, making death's release 
 16* 
 
18G A sum:mer's travel in europe. 
 
 the greatest boon.. There is one abuse of reputation of which 
 the German Universities are guilty. Any student can buy 
 himself a Doctor of Philosophy's degree ; and unless where 
 honestly earned by unremitted application, it is not worth the 
 parchment upon which it is written. The contemplated absence 
 from home necessary to acquire honorably this distinction, 
 made the time of our family's disunion uncertain. The assurance 
 from his instructors that three years would acquire it, with his 
 previous advantages and the usual application, but that it was 
 possible to reach it in two, was sufficient stimulus to our mem- 
 ber ; and in three months over the two years from the date of 
 his departure, that testimonial of his toil and ability was, ^ 
 
 now, suspended in his room, at No. — , street, in the 
 
 pleasant town of . 
 
 September 13, we were again en route homeward. As an 
 indispensable auxiliary to our movements, a call upon Messrs. 
 Gogel, Koch & Co., bankers, was necessary. Strange as it 
 may seem, our intentions for the day came near being frustrated 
 by having to wait for them to procure the gold coin to answer 
 my small draft. I believe my powers of locomotion are not 
 insignificant, if I place any confidence in the repeated inquiry 
 from my fair friends, as they, in remonstrating against my long 
 and rapid strides, ask, " if my haste is in reality as great as it 
 seems ?" or, " if with another companion my anxiety to be at 
 the end of the promenade would not be lessened ?" The poor 
 fellow, the commissionaire, not having been paid f5r his time 
 and service, succeeded, I believe, in keeping sight of the skirts 
 of my coat around the corners. At the hotel, such a volley of 
 words and deeds met my innocent delay !" " The baggage and 
 part of the family have been gone nearly an hour ! the train is 
 off in five minutes ! it's full a mile to the station !" and per- 
 haps, dear reader, you can guess what you would do, with a 
 divided household ; straying baggage ; unpaid hotel bills ; por- 
 ters, waiters, chambermaids and the exhausted commissionaire 
 gasping upon the curb stone, all vociferating in high, low, 
 
"my lady's maid." 
 
 187 
 
 miclclle Dutch and German ; a train of cars one mile off ancl 
 five minutes only from the time of their leaving to get there ! 
 What would you have done ? I can't tell you what I did ; but 
 the cars were in motion when my foot was upon the step ! Did 
 you ever hear John B. Gough describe " John Gilpin's 
 journey ?" It is a lucky thing for me he was not a witness to 
 a certain departure from the Hotel d'Angleterre in Frankfort, 
 and the transit therefrom to the railway station of the cars for 
 Strasbourg ! 
 
 In the carriage with my family (the only place left for us) 
 was a lady's waiting maid and her Italian courier or travelling 
 servant ; and such a wretched mimicry of what my lady said 
 and did and how she dressed and lived was another surfeit. 
 The party to whom these subordinates were attached consisted 
 
 of Lady and her two daughters, all highly educated 
 
 and refinedl adies, occupying exclusively a coupe for themselves. 
 It seems the young ladies had each a pet dog accompanying 
 them to Baden-Baden where the party were to remain. If the 
 canine followers received the same treatment from their gentle 
 mistresses as that with which they were threatened by their 
 attendants, their midnight bowlings would be excusable. In 
 travelHng upon the continent, unless you possess a thorough 
 knowledge of the language and customs in different places, these 
 couriers (as they call themselves) are indispensable. They 
 assure you of the economy of their services as it costs only 
 their transportation. But if your hotel bills are not increased 
 more than one-third, you get off cheaply. " My Lady's maid " 
 offered from her satchel some very choice wine to her friend, 
 assuring him that " it came from my lady's table !" 
 
 At Oos you leave the cars from Frankfort in going to Baden- 
 Baden, for those running there, upon the short branch railway 
 of three miles. " My lady's maid " and her friend were so 
 exclusively engaged in their tete-a-tete that they forgot this 
 arrangement, and the way "my Lady "and her daughters, 
 boxes, bundles and dogs were transfered at the last moment, 
 
188 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 was a caution to any party travelling with a versatile lady's 
 maid, suscepticle courier and two dogs ! 
 
 The railway from Frankfort to Strasbourg passes through 
 Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Radstadt, Carlsruhe, Kehl, besides 
 many places of lesser importance. At this later place the 
 river Rhine, separating France from Germany, is crossed upon 
 a bridge • of boats. Passports and baggage are subjected to 
 a strict scrutiny ; but once again in France, it seemed nearer 
 home in the elasticity of speech and action, strangely con- 
 trasting with the dull, heavy phlegmatic German. It is true 
 Strasbourg retains much identity with its former Teutonic 
 nationality, in custom and language. Still the French impress 
 has been sufficient to make a strong contrast between its past 
 and present associations. 
 
 Pleasant quarters at the Hotel de Paris (one of the best 
 upon the continent) and refreshing slumbers, relieved us from 
 the fatigues of travel. Bright and early the next morning, the 
 youngest of the family, with the oldest, rambled through the 
 well supplied markets, finding live rabbits, geese, ducks, 
 chickens, fruit and flowers in the variety of edibles from the 
 animal and vegetable kingdoms. Under the guidance of a 
 gray-haired commissionaire, we visited the world renowned 
 Cathedral, with its spire nearly five hundred feet in height, 
 the tallest of any in the old world or the new. As the attempt 
 of minute descriptions of similar structures has been wisely 
 avoided in these rambling, hasty sketches, " (on account of the 
 impossibility of conveying satisfactory impressions to the mind 
 of any one, not familiar with the elaborate architecture of 
 these monuments of the past,) we pass directly to the clock, as 
 of equal repute with the Cathedral. It is a wonderful piece 
 of mechanism, embracing a correct representation of the move- 
 ments of the solar system, with ordinary changes of time in 
 minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. The extraordi- 
 nary representation of the twelve Apostles passes in front of the 
 Saviour, bending in homage before Him as they pass ; miniature 
 
EN ROUTE FOR PARIS. 
 
 189 
 
 child-like figures strike the quarters, half and each hour ; and 
 upon its top, at the side, a well imitated " chanticleer," flaps his 
 wings and crows every day at 12 M. 
 
 A ramble f^rough the house formerly occupied by the 
 architect of the Cathedral, to the Church of St. Thomas, (con- 
 taining a singular monument in marble to Marshal Saxe, repre- 
 senting him entering an open grave,) to the cannon foundry 
 and thence to the hotel, consumed the time allotted to Strasbourg. 
 
 At one o'clock P. M., we were again en route for Paris. A 
 cold, rainy, uncomfortable ride of twelve hours brought us, past 
 midnight, within the walls of this queen-like city. Driving to 
 the Hotel du Louvre, thankful for rest anywhere, we forgot the 
 toils of the past in the bright anticipations of the future, so 
 near home were we ! The " Hotel du Louvre " is an abortive 
 attempt of a hotel upon the American plan. It is too large and 
 cumbersome for comfort. A world in miniature, it is better 
 adapted for single guests than families. 
 
 The next morning with a severe headache and chilling 
 storm,. we started out for quarters. After a research nearly as 
 extensive as that of Dresden, (but far more satisfactory,) it 
 resulted in our having a very pleasant suite of rooms upon the 
 Rue Kivoli, fronting the new Louvre, in the new hotel " Des 
 Trois Empereurs." Our engagements were for a month. And 
 that month is a bright spot in memory's delight. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 A frenchman's domestic life. 
 
 In recalling, by the pleasures of mempry. the delightful time 
 of our sojourn in Paris, my first impulse, (if governed by the 
 sensations characteristic of the many times of my arriving in this 
 beautiful city,) would be to change the title of my papers and call 
 them then, "Memories of Home," so homelike are the associations 
 in comparison with those of any other European city : the 
 gay, cheerful vivacity and sprightliness of manner in contact 
 and conversation, is in such strong contrast with the stoical, 
 solidified, measured motion of thought and action elsewhere. 
 The Frenchman lives for the life he is conscious of having. 
 Literally he appears to comprehend and express the scripture 
 maxim of " taking no thought of to-morrow." His domestic 
 cares sit lightly upon him, so few are they in detail in com- 
 parison with our own New England homes. 
 
 Living in a suite of apartments, perhaps on the upper floor 
 of a large house, where every landing place of the stairs is the * 
 dividing line of dominion to those above or below ; his laundry 
 arrangements consisting of a large wicker basket, which con- 
 tains the family's wardrobe of a week's wear, taken from his 
 room and returned again, with no care save the register of 
 pieces; his culinary establishment, the spirit-coffee-urn or 
 
"begone dull care." 
 
 191 
 
 tea-pot for his breakfast cups, and the few dishes necessary for 
 the frugal meal of eoifee, a roll of bread and occasionally the 
 luxury of an egg, or perhaps the simpler articles required for 
 a breakfast of ordinary wine (claret) and bread, his own 
 and family's dinner sent from or taken at a neighboring restau- 
 rant ; commencing his business at ten, A. M., and closing it at 
 three, P. M. ; strolling amid all the luxuries of art and beauty 
 in the gardens of the palaces in the summer, or lounging at 
 the cafes in ^e winter ; enjoying with his family th^pleasures 
 of music, pantomimes, tragedy or comedy at the innumerable 
 places of resort, all respectable, from the franc concert room to 
 the Italian opera ; conscious of his religion, the returning Sun- 
 day brings him at ten in the morning to mass, and that over 
 the day's recreations are before him ; indifferent to the exist- 
 ence of empire, republic or kingdom, except as the espionage of 
 the gend'-armerie are more or less severe ; his wants few ; his 
 means limited ; his courtesy and affability to a countryman 
 never lost, (although to a stranger he sometimes, but rarely? 
 trespasses unless provoked ;) singing the favorite catch of the 
 last new opera ; twirling his cane with a perfect nonchalance; 
 twisting his moustache a I'Empereur ; always ready for a 
 laugh or story, rarely for a blow or insult ; the same yesterday, 
 to-day and to-morrow ; the very atmosphere around him is 
 redolent with animation ; and the misanthrope would fin^ 
 society, mirth and sympathy with the rocks and caves of a 
 wilderness, in comparison to that isolation and individuality 
 which would make him a marked man and an object of almost 
 rehgious- horror in the gardens, streets or cafes of a French 
 city or society. 
 
 " La belle France " is and can be comprehended only by 
 the French. Our American stoicism and ascetic tendencies, 
 as we trace to a greater or less degree the influence and con- 
 nections of the Puritans, the matter of fact rule, in our pleas- 
 ures and pursuits ; the loss of time and intellect we attribute 
 to almost every recreative pastiilie ; and the hurry and bustle 
 
192 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 which so characterizes the avenues of riches, power or place, 
 are as ui^^ompromisingly opposed to the characteristics of the 
 French, as are the phlegmatic, ponderous, gravitating motions 
 of mind and body of the EngUsh. And yet it is universally 
 conspicuous, the adaptability of our national peculiarities to 
 the language, manners and customs of a French metropolis in 
 contrast with the stiff assumption of them by those whose 
 birthright and home is separated merely by a channel of 
 twenty-t^'\^p or three miles in width, rather than an ocean of 
 three thousand miles expanse. I have not a^yet had the 
 opportunities of personal impressions, but from the varied 
 origin of our national birth and being I should expect to find 
 within the dominion of cur country, the ideality if not reality 
 of every country, clime and story. The variety of tempera- 
 ture must of necessity leave its impress upon its subjects. And 
 although beneath the stern winter's blast and the dismal echo- 
 ings of our rock bound coasts, you find the warm, true hearts 
 of love and sincerity, yet the very contact of nature must give 
 its impress. I have frequently questioned in my mind, the 
 probable effect upon the passengers of the " May Flower," if 
 God's Providence had landed them upon our Southern coasts, 
 rather than in the midst of stern realities of a New England 
 winter 
 
 . But where are we ? In Paris, France, or Plymouth, Mass ? 
 Who doubts the propriety of the cognomen of these crude 
 papers as Rambles ! If any of your friends ever wish to see 
 Paris, by daylight or midnight, in the highest recherche refine- 
 ments, or its more general details of gaiety, dissipation and 
 pleasure, let them by all means secure the services of John 
 White, at Hotel de L'Isle d' Albion, No. 211 Rue St. Honore. 
 An Englishman by birth ; a resident of over thirty years in 
 Paris ; an honest, reliable man, in whose care you may entrust 
 your wife, daughters, juveniles or purse ; and through whom 
 you can acquire any information, of a particular or general 
 character. 
 
FORBIDDEN LUXURI^. 193 
 
 Under his guidance my family were for four weeks occupied 
 in seeing in and out of Paris ; and if I would place my pen 
 at the disposal of the juveniles and John White, I am quite 
 positive there is not a point, part or pinnacle of that city whose 
 locality was not known if not actually inspected. But favored 
 as my readers may have been with the rambles or wanderings 
 of others, I shall keep my pen off of the paper in this particular, 
 although I am well aware of the loss to them in so doing. 
 " See Paris and then die," some one is reported to have said, 
 Mf advice would be, " see Paris and then — try to see it 
 again !" In which hope I am still expectant, although the 
 chances are growing, not beautifully, but decidedly less. 
 
 The usual routine of tailors, hatters, bootmakers, dress 
 makers, milliners, gaiter makers, glove makers and the rest o 
 the catalogue was passed through and arranged for, and then 
 all was bright and cheery as the summer's sky. Perhaps some 
 of my masculine readers may thiiH: this enumeration of our 
 first acts misplaced and unnecessary ! All right, friend, if you are 
 a single man. But catch you within the borders of Paris with 
 two or three very near friends of the gentler sex, and tell me 
 which you have first learned, the way to the " Yille de Paris,'* 
 
 " Madame G s," " Madame s,'^r the Louvre I 
 
 Have you a comfortable, easy habiliment whose geniaUjolds 
 you covet, and which you have come to regard with a reeling 
 of identity with yourself and comforts ? have you a hat that 
 allows the heated brow to grow cool, and the temples never ^ 
 chafed, with the brain never fevered by carrying a reser- 
 voir of heated air above it ; or a pair of boots that makes you * 
 regard the itinerant corn doctor as a humbug, and enables you 
 to accept without a crouch, cringe or exclamation of — the 
 apology for treading, accidentally or in a crowd, upon your 
 lower projectives ? (is there such a word ?) Do you own such 
 luxuries ? If you do, keep them at home. You can never 
 wear them in the " Boulevards/' " Champs Elysees," or in the 
 gardens ! Should you venture to do so, yo^u will find the oppo* 
 
 17 
 
194 A super's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 site side of the street much more comfortable, than to be seen 
 with ladies in such a coat, shocking hat and large boots ! 
 
 My first appearance in the streets of Paris, some nineteen 
 or twenty years ago, was with a blue (my favorite color) coat 
 and gilt buttons, turn over shirt collar, bran new hat, and the 
 latest cut trowsers, &c., all new and fresh from the tailors as 
 packed at home for use in Paris ! My first morning's walk was in 
 full confidence of my rig and turn out. Most eagerly I sought 
 the " Boulevards," having bought me a new cane ! I wore 
 those clothes just one weeh, that being the soonest possible time 
 that *" Woodman " could make my metamorphose. If there 
 was any back street or lane that couldn't testify to that " blue 
 coat and brass buttons " passing through them, it was because 
 they were out of the direct line between the bankers and the 
 hotel. But the great increase of strangers, and especially 
 Americans, since that time, allows " Jonathan " to wear any- 
 thing he may fancy, hut " aiiewallow-tailed blue coat with brass 
 buttons!" (Perhaps I had better give the boys the pen, they 
 certainly could not ramble worse than I have done.) 
 
 We were very fortunate in the season at Paris, on many 
 accounts, but especially because of the supply of the finest 
 grapes. They were left regularly every day by a market man, 
 andjtvere enjoyed by us without a stint. I never saw better 
 friHf and the very reasonable price at which they were 
 afforded placed them within the reach of all. In fact the 
 fruit market of Paris was always most tempting. But the cost 
 
 * of pears, peaches, apples, &c., made the grapes the most avail- 
 
 • able and delicious to the masses. 
 
 Pledging myself as I have done, most stoically, (as my 
 direct descent from the early founders and martyrs of our 
 State would require me to do,) I shall avoid all refei'ence to 
 the bright, gay, festive sights and scenes of Paris, and ask 
 your companionship in thought, while I call upon our Consul 
 General, Henry W. Spencer, Esq., for his assistance in an 
 experimental effort to visit the prisons ! This was an unusual 
 
PRISONS OF PARIS. 
 
 195 
 
 request. One of no little embarrassment, as the prison disci- 
 pline and surveilfaace was very rigid. If merely to gratify a 
 morbid curiosity was my impulse of action, tlie attenii)t Lad 
 better remain passive. But conscious of a sincere interest to 
 benefit humanity, — poor, weak, fallen humanity, overcome and 
 overpowered by temptation ; feeling my own strength to be as 
 weakness, except so far as God's mercy shall " lead me not into 
 temptation, but deliver me from evil ;" 'interested at home in 
 the discipline and results of our own institutions, I ventured to 
 ask from the Consul a letter of introduction to the Prefecture de 
 Police, and with John White for an interpreter and guide, 
 commenced my tftsk. 
 
 I was courteously received at the headquarters, and after a 
 personal scrutiny of my physiognomy, address and real inten- 
 tion by the Chief of the Department, (into whose presence I 
 was ushered with much formality) while he was engaged in 
 conversation with my attendant, inquiring about me, my posi- 
 tion in Paris, residence, family, &c., I received a card of 
 admission to every institution within the jurisdiction of the 
 department. It was an unusual favor; and I may safely add, a 
 complimentary response to Mr.. Spencer's introductory note. 
 The formality of procuring this card had required so much 
 time that the ramble through the prison walls was postponed 
 to another day. 
 
 A suggestion from John White to examine the operation and 
 espionage over the cab-letting system of Paris was immediately 
 acted upon, as the office and officials were close at hand. 
 Whenever you enter a cab or public carriage at any one of 
 the innumerable stands, the driver hands you a small printed 
 card, containing the tariff list of prices per course or hour, 
 from sunrise to sunset, and from sunset to sunrise, and his 
 number. Every cab and driver is registered by his number 
 and the stand or place assigned him, a clock and time-keeper 
 being stationed at each. The time of departure of each cab, 
 whether by course or hour ; the time of its return ; the time 
 
196 
 
 A SU-M:MER's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 of its arrival for duty, and the time of its leaving for the night 
 is rigidly kept, so that the owners or corpor^rs of cabs and 
 horses can at any moment trace its course, length ©f absence 
 and the amount that should have been received. If there is 
 any quarrel between the employer and the employed, and dis- 
 satisfaction of service, or attempted imposition, or pretended 
 misunderstanding, it is immediately inquired into by the 
 " gens d'arme," every whefe present, or always near. He takes the 
 number of the cab and your own locahty, and if anything more 
 than a mere casual misapprehension exists, both complainer 
 and complained of are summarily brought before a magisterial 
 investigation. But the greatest advantage, perhaps, of the cab- 
 driver ticket system, is the unfailing facility for the recovery 
 of packages or valuables accidentally lost or left in the cab. A 
 handsome reward is given at the end of the municipal year, to 
 the- driver who shall have brought to the office of this depart- 
 ment the largest amount and value of such articles. Any 
 neglect or concealment of lost parcels subjects the driver to 
 punishment and loss of service. At the expiration of the 
 proper time for reclamation, all articles remaining on hand are 
 sold at auction, and the proceeds divided among the finders. 
 
 A personal test of the efficacy of the system was afforded 
 for the recovery of a nice umbrella. During a shopping 
 excursion, this indispensable part of an out door outfit was laid 
 upon the counter. When leaving the shop it was missed and 
 returned for. But like the magic of Schaudan, "it was not, or 
 ever had been there." Notwithstanding the exact spot of 
 deposit was most confidently pointed out, we had the most posi- 
 tive assurance by forty or less clerks, that " they one and all 
 observed my fair friend when entering the shop, and not the 
 semblance of the lost article was in her possession !" 
 
 Honest John White's indignation at the story of the mystery 
 expended itself upon the proprietors and attachees of the 
 establishment ; the effisct of which, however, was made known 
 to us by the appearance of the owner of a pretty pair of black 
 
PRISON VAN THE PRISON MAZAS. 
 
 197 
 
 eyes and curls, whose tearful assurance of the impossibility of 
 such an occurrence, was too convincing (or, perhaps, the 
 wa^z^ra^ sympathy at such honest grief, which was excited in 
 those of tRe sterner sex, assisted her pleadings,) and with 
 apologies for such a monstrous supposition, the black eyes and 
 curls were waited on to the door. Having the ticket of the 
 cab accidentally in my pocket, the inquiry at the office of 
 registration, &c., was made, if, perchance, the cause of the 
 tears and the expostulations of the curls might not have been 
 4^ left in the cab. An investigation was commenced. The request 
 for the certificate, which 1 had not, of the registration of our lost 
 article, and which must in all cases be promptly and particularly 
 made, cut off our progress. (If no one but yourself, dear reader, 
 was looking over my pen's progress, I might say I was glad of 
 it, because Jolj|| White's second edition of wrath might have 
 produced another impression of the teaijp and curls !) 
 
 In the yard of the Police Department buildings, stood the 
 prison van or transport wagon, a square box-like vehicle, 
 built of sheet iron, with two doors in the rear ; divided length- 
 wise through the centre, by a portion of the same metal cross- 
 wise into small cells not more than a foot and a half square ; 
 the doors of each opening outward toward the rear ; fastened 
 when closed by a seat, which folds up for the opening of the 
 door but when entered closes it ; a small aperture in the top 
 for the admission of light and air ; and the cells so arranged 
 that no sight or connection is possible from the one to the other . 
 This transport is used for conveying criminals, when first 
 arrested, to or from trial, to and from sentence of conviction ; 
 and its passage is always under the guard and surveillance of 
 an armed mounted escort. 
 
 October 11th, Tuesday, my first visit of inspection began 
 with the new prison, constructed as a model for similar institu- 
 tions, upon the Boulevard Mazas, and known as the " Prison 
 Mazas." The exterior f||alls appear to be about twenty-five 
 or thirty feet in height ; from two to three feet in thickness ; 
 
 m 
 
198 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 built solid of stonej with openings for defence by musketry 
 upon the side facing the street. Passing the guard and gate 
 of the exterior wall, we presented the card of admission to the 
 officials in the office, who were evidently iiot a little "Surprised 
 at the circumstance and consent of our visit. The registry of 
 the card in a book, and the time of its presentment being en- 
 dorsed on the back of it, we were, with much caution in locking 
 and unlocking the heavy, impenetrable doors • intervening, 
 admitted into a central office within the prison walls. This 
 office was circular, in the centre of a».rotunda, lighted with 
 glass upon every side, and from which the six long corridors, 
 radiating from this common centre were most distinctly visible 
 in every story, by means of a large window at the extremity 
 of each. The corridors are of three stories in height, con- 
 taining thirty-five cells on a side, making tya^ hundred and 
 ten in each wing. T^e cells are six feet wide, twelve long, 
 and nine in height ; lighted by a long, narrow window through 
 the outer wall at the top ; and ventilated by means of a com- 
 munication with the chimney from the basement ; with brick 
 floors, ^nd each having a chair, table, good mattress, (which is 
 suspended at night across the cells from hooks at a convenient 
 height on each side, and in the morning detached and neatly 
 folded upon a shelf in a recess beside the door ;) wash bowl, 
 water pail, spittoon, night cabinet and a gas burner. Two blankets 
 are allowed each prisoner in winter. The temperature being 
 regulated in the corridors renders this covering sufficient m 
 the coldest weather. The walls of the cells are painted a 
 light straw color, and with the faultless cleanliness, made these 
 narrow limits as cheerful as circumstances would admit. The 
 hours of wakefulness are from 6 A. M. to 8 P. M. in summer, 
 and 7 A. M. to 7 P. M., in winter. The first morning duty is 
 that of cleansing the cells ; reading until breakfast at 8, which 
 consists of broth and coarse white bread ; dinner at 3, P. M., 
 of bread and vegetables every day e|pept Sundays and Thurs- 
 days, when boiled beef is added in an allowance of one-fifth of 
 
PEISON MAZAS. 
 
 199 
 
 a pound. The daily allowance of bread is one and a half 
 pounds, and water freely. This prison is one for detention of 
 persons awaiting trial, or after trial awaiting sentence, and no 
 labor is required. It has cells for more than twelve hundred 
 and the daily number of inmates is from one thousand to eleven 
 hundred. Between each of the wings within the outer Walls, 
 is an arrangement somewhat similar to the interior for exercise. 
 A small, central circular building of one story, from which 
 radiates twenty small yards in the form of a half open fan, 
 enclifeed by high, brick walls, and overlooked at a glance from 
 windows near the top of each one of the compartments. A 
 guard is stationed above and below. There is no possible 
 communication between the prisoners either by sight or sound. 
 At the expiration of the hour, the time alloted for recreation? 
 the occupant of the yard passes solitary and alone to his cell, 
 his place being supplied by another, and so on until the whole 
 number have had similar opportunities for air and exercise. 
 
XXV. 
 
 PRISON MAZAS — PRISON DISCIPLINE AND DETAILS. 
 
 In front of the cells upon each side of the corridors, and in 
 each story, are galleries about three feet in width, with an iron 
 balustrade and hand-rail upon the outer side, and connected in 
 the centre by bridges with the one opposite, or by stair- 
 ways with those above or below. Above the ofRce in the 
 rotunda is the chapel, where religious services are regularly 
 held. From the altar, the officiating priest can see, through the 
 half-open door, the inmates of every cell, they hearing distinctly 
 the service. "Whenever communication from the cell is 
 desired to the guard always on duty, the inmate pulls a small 
 iron knob, which lets fall, at right angles to the outer wall, a 
 projecting piece of iron, similar to the blade of a dinner knife. 
 The summons are promptly answered. The prisoners have 
 the privilege of communicating with their friends in what are 
 termed " parloirs," (speaking places.) These are divided into 
 cells, only wide enough for a single person, and face a passage 
 way three or four feet wide, on the opnosite of wWch are 
 similar compartments, or in some cases a small room facing the 
 cells. The front of each is protected by iron bars (similar to 
 the cages in a menagerie,) and by a fine wire netting, also, in 
 the more rigid prisons. 
 
PRISON MAZAS. 
 
 201 
 
 A guard is constantly on duty in the passage between the 
 
 parloirs," to hear all that is communicated, and to prevent the 
 giving and receiving of any articles whatever. The family or 
 friends of the prisoners are first admitted into the places 
 assigned them, and the prisoner conducted to his position, under 
 the escort of a guard.* I forget now in which, but in one of the 
 prisons I visited, I counted ten or twelve of these sad inter- 
 views at t\w, same time. And the nature of these interchanges 
 of pity or reproof, sympathy or censure, love or aversion, 
 can be imagined when the voice is raised so as to be audible 
 and distinguishable over some twenty others, talking at the 
 same time, separated by iron bars, and under the rigid scrutiny 
 of a re^ntless guard. 
 
 The kitchen and culinary arrangement are as neat and com- 
 plete as the scientific processes in this department allowed, and 
 many a modern housewife might, with much profit to mind and 
 purse, imitate this peculiarity of all French culinary details. I 
 am well aware the first step in advance must be to order to the 
 rear and the cashiering of every brawny arm and broguish 
 tongue, so' unmistakably identified with those who rule supreme 
 in the disp^ensation of waste, neglect and uncleanliness in the 
 indisputable sway of our domestic discomforts ! 
 
 The food of the prison, after being prepared, is placed in tin 
 pans,. eighteen of which fill an iron tray. Twelve trays are 
 wheeled on railways, which traverse the basement to an open- 
 ing up which they are drawn by pullies to the difierent stories, 
 again placed on cars reaching across the balustrades of the 
 corridors, and are thus distributed, through a small opening in 
 the door, to the inmates of the cells, their allowance for break- 
 fast or dinner. The basement contains, also, the complete 
 arrangements for ventilation and calefaction. Six large stoves 
 provide the heat in winter, and in summer create a current 
 of hot air in the chimney, by which the impure air of 
 the cells is removed through the openings previously re- 
 ferred to. 
 
202 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 There is a well arranged library, sick ward, medical dis- 
 pensary and laboratory connected with the prison, and a " can- 
 tine," where the prisoners can buy such articles of food as 
 their purse or inclination admits. There are, in addition to 
 the cells mentioned, others in the basement, for the punishment 
 of the refractory, from which the light ia^totally excluded, and 
 with straw and a severe diet give ample time and suggestions 
 for reformation and penitence. In speaking of tli& facility of 
 communicating from the cells to the guard, I should have 
 mentioned his ability, by turning a smaller knob, to inspect at 
 will the condition and occupation of the inmate and his quar- 
 ters. Communication to and from the office from every gallery, 
 is by means of speaking tubes. The officials all wear*a mili- 
 tary costume of blue trowsers^ coat and cap, and from their bear- 
 ing and austerity of manner and look would be supposed to have 
 seen service. 
 
 There is an historical incident connected with this Prison 
 Mazas of peculiar interest, as told me, while passing through 
 its courts and corridors, by honest John White, who saw the 
 closing night of the Republic of France and the dawn of 
 the French Empire, at the time of the coup d'etat of the 
 present Em'peror, Napoleon III. My readers are un- 
 doubtedly familiar with the history of this remarkable man 
 from his youth, through the singular, romantic changes of 
 time, fortune and place, until his election as President of the 
 new Republic of France in 1848. One v/ould have supposed 
 this strange success, and arrival at a point of elevation and 
 distinction far above what would seem the possibility of acquisi- 
 tion, would have satisfied the youthful inheritor of a name 
 almost unequalled in the annals of history. But the signifi- 
 cance of that name is forward, upward. And the French 
 President saw a pinnacle higher than his stand point. For 
 nearly three years this pinnacle was the cause of disquiet 
 and almost reckless ambition. 
 
 The ministers of the Republic, statesmen, politicians, theolo- 
 gians, military officers, philos'ophers and the literary minds of 
 
HISTORICAL INCIDENT. 203 
 
 France, all seemed to feel the inevitable destiny of change, but 
 none could tell when, where, how or what that change would 
 be. Suspicions, anxiety and care were the engrossing calcula- 
 tions of the body politic, while the still, deep current of plan 
 and purpose in the mind of the President gave no indication 
 of the coming event. His popularity wavered, was threatened, . 
 .and his humiliation resolved upon. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville, one of the most beautiful and renowned 
 edifices of Paris, was m scene of a gay throng of wit, fashion, 
 beauty, mirth and festivity on the evening of Monday, Decern 
 ber 1st, 1851. The President with his cabinet and counsellors 
 were present. The ministerial, judicial, clerical and literary 
 dignitaries mingled in the gay throng. The latter passing and 
 repassing the President in the exchange of courtly salutations, 
 and blandishing words and deeds, wondering at the chilling, 
 withering, annihilating effect of their arranged deposition of 
 the recipient of their smiles and congratulations, as the mor- 
 row's sun should usher in the day for the execution of their 
 determined acts of humiliation, disgrace and banishment. The 
 President with all the naivete of the French courtier, receives 
 these congratulations with the most unaffected suavity of man- 
 ner, and retires from the festivities at midnight. Before three 
 o'clock the next morning, less than three hours after these 
 friends of freedom and the Republic had so heartlessly bowed 
 their opponent out of their presence, the cold, cheerless, stem 
 walls of the Prison Mazas contained e^-y one of them ; the 
 empire was proclaimed. 
 
 The Republic of France was blotted out from the records 
 of the world, and the coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon greeted 
 the dawning light of another day, with its dark drapery of lost 
 liberty, freedom and progress, veiling the pure light of heaven, 
 a^t shed its rays on this new page of the world's story. The 
 unblemished whiteness of the faultless linen of the former 
 supl^ters of the Republic had no strong contrast with the 
 pal^Wof the cheek ; the full dress suit of black was in harmony 
 
204 A SUMIIER's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 with the sad reality of their destiny ; the light, lustrous slipper 
 of the ball room did not prevent the penetration of the damp- 
 ness and chill of cell floors, (heretofore tenantless,) but which 
 met, in its upward coursings, the cold, damp sweat of the fore- 
 head, as it trickled its chilling findings of the heart's warm 
 * blood ; the insignia of the Republic in tlje looped button hole, 
 swelled its diminutive form into a monster, as it reminded the 
 tt^earer of the strange vicissitudes of ^^our; and recalled the 
 bewildering thought of its meaning anaintentions when placed 
 there, and the consequence of its being there when the guest 
 of the brilliant and festive dancing hall should pass through 
 his rounds as the keeper of Mazas ! 
 
 This institution is entitled to its appellation as the " model 
 prison." And it was subsequently a source of national pride, 
 to learn it was indebted for its success in a great degree, to the 
 Moyamensing Prison of Philadelphia. I think I have omitted 
 the sanitary precautions observed in the admission of every 
 prisoner. He is subjected to cleansing by a warm bath, and 
 his clothes fumigated with sulphur, to expel any infectious dis- 
 ease. If an invalid he goes directly to the sick ward. 
 
 Returning from " Mazas " my entrance to our hotel was 
 suggestive of that or some other place of " durance vile," either 
 for my host or myself. I have referred to the great luxury of 
 the grapes, in having them left daily at our rooms. But as 
 " every rose has a 'th^|." so had the grapes ! When you hire 
 rooms in a hotel that mis a restaurant and table d'hote in it, you 
 incur a risk of ejectment or annoyance you little dreamt of. 
 You are at liberty to take your breakfast or dinner in or out 
 of the house, as you choose. But woe to the man, woman or 
 boy that brings anything edible to your rooms. You* are con- 
 sidered a fair subject for the most contemptible annoyances and 
 extortions. Candles you must buy from your hotel keeperj^t 
 a franc (twenty cents) each. I know that I found our " femme- 
 de-chambre " more than once peering his inquisitive gla^Band 
 scrutiny into cupboard and closet,, trying to explain t^^on- 
 
HOUSE OF CORRECTION. 205 
 
 derful duration of our illuminating material. Ever^^orning 
 there were the same untouched bougies of the day previous. If 
 •he had (do not forget that all chamhermaids in France are 
 men !) looked up our loose coMt sleeves regularly once a week 
 in returning from a promenade, he might have found the cause 
 in a couple of long packages, in a blue paper, containing No. 1 
 Spermacetis. But if he had forced the room door lock, and 
 seen us every night around a table with a real genuine cup of 
 best " Souchong," with cups, pitchers and plates, there would 
 have been less grape but more shot, I fancy, so far as a " rough 
 and tumble " of French and Yankee verhs could make. 
 
 October 1 3th found John White and myself in the interior 
 of a large building in the Eue de la Roquette, resembling 
 externally far more a feudal castle of the olden time than a 
 palace of punishment and servitude. It was the " INJ^son 
 Centrale d' Education Correctionnelle," or House of Correc- 
 tion for juvenile offenders. The interior arrangement at once 
 reminded the visitor of " Mazas," there being six wings con- 
 verging to a central tower. If I remember correctly, there 
 are nearly one hundred cells in each story, and capable of 
 containing five hundred prisoners. The cells have each a 
 common sized window secured by iron gratings, and are seven 
 and a half feet square by eight and a half in height. The * 
 furniture consists of a chair, table, iron bedstead, mattress, the 
 necessary articles for washing, water, &c., and a shelf for 
 books. 
 
 ♦This prison is intended for boys pronounced by the tribu- 
 nals as being incapable of judgment, under sixteen years of age, 
 and are here subjected to restraint and discipline until their 
 twentieth year. They are never allowed to leave their cells, ex- 
 cept for an hour's exercise each day, in the open courts between 
 the wings, and under the inspection of a keeper, or when atterrd- 
 ing'mass in the chapel. His cell is all the inmate knows of life. 
 He sees no on^jjjiears no one, speaks to no one except the 
 keeper, from the time of his commitment to his discharge. His 
 18 
 
206 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 recreatidft are only in imagination and the hour's cheerless, 
 noiseless play. Alone from all but God, the boy exists, he 
 cannot live. He may have been the cliild of shame, whose • 
 birth and being has been in the lowest dregs of infamy and 
 crime, without childhood, old in wrong doing, but an infant 
 almost in years ; an excresence of society, upon whom the 
 warm genial rays of sunlight never shone, but to caution him 
 to hide his crimes ; the pure, soft moonlight of beauty to him 
 was hateful, as it forced him to greater deeds of daring and 
 deceit ; the bright, twinkling starlight never suggested th^ 
 thought of angels' eyes and sparkling gems of purity; no 
 mother ever owned him ; he never had one since his being ; 
 there has been no home for him ; nothing bright or beautiful ; 
 an outcast; a form of humanity without its affections, and here 
 yoU|pige him up, solitary and alone ; because in following his 
 instincts of life and existence he has been trapped and 
 caught. 
 
 Such were my thoughts as I parsed from cell to cell, and 
 saw these boys solitary and alone, working wood and iron, 
 tailoring, shoe making, button making, and other similar pur- 
 suits. They are called at 6 A. M., wash themselves, say their 
 prayers and cleanse their rooms ; at seven begin work ; at nine, 
 * breakfast of bread and soup is brought ; at ten they work again 
 until three, and then have dinner of bread and vegetables ; 
 work again from four to six P. M., and from six until 
 eight are taught to write and read by a monitor, standing 
 in the long, still corridors, dictating the lessons, wl ich ^e 
 clearly heard through open, grated holes in the doors. 
 Their wants are made known in the same manner as in the 
 Mazas Prison. They are allowed certain wages for work, and 
 when they leave prison the amount is faithfully paid to them, 
 although they know nothing of it until their discharge. The 
 name or place of their birth is never told. The keeper knows 
 them only by their number. I saw one t^pidling a hoop in 
 one of the court yards, and upon the gateway of his limited 
 
MERCILESS ISOLATION. 207 
 
 pastime was his brass number, which follows him wherever he 
 goes. 
 
 The arrangement of the chapel was ingenious and fully 
 successful in maintaining, without the possibility of evasion, 
 the isolation in which the boy " lives, moves and has his being." 
 There are four passage ways, one on each side ; and two in the 
 centre, separated by a high board partition. Four boys thus 
 enter at once. The stalls are square, and only of sufficient 
 size to admit one boy in a standing position. As the boys 
 enter these stalls, the door (opening outward) is closed, and 
 this makes one of the sides of that adjoining. Another occu- 
 pant enters, the door of his compartment is closed upon him, 
 and so one after another is literally boxed in. The size of the 
 stall prevents the possibility of the door communicating to the 
 other being opened when it is occupied. They are arranged 
 in the form of an amphitheatre, the rear higher than those 
 before, so that the priest sees every upturned face, but nothing 
 of the figure except the shoulders, and the boy has no possible 
 chance of any change of position but the relief of standing on 
 
 •one or both legs. 
 
 I took the position of the priest at the altar, and allowed ray 
 imagination to fill those coffined boxes with those they weekly 
 or daily hold. I saw the stern, unyielding inflexibility of 
 muscle and nerve in those who have been so sadly taught 
 " tlidr hands to be against every man, and every man's hand 
 agamst them," in the exclusion of all the illuminating h||pes 
 of life and happiness, which never come to them ; the mild, 
 blue eye, indicative of a heart that would melt with sensibility 
 
 ^nd affection, had there been a mother's hand to have touched 
 the spring of their existence ; the vacant stare of indifference, 
 if not mockery, as the appeals for virtue and holiness might 
 have reached Ihe strange, untutored, uncultivated hearing, 
 wondering if any being of earth ever was or could be holy, 
 pure and good ! I could conceive of no more powerful emo- 
 tions of mind or heart than would exist at meeting the gaze of 
 
203 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 so many eyes, under such circumstances, where the ^Yhole 
 asceticism of religion was not softened by the least particle of 
 sympathy or communion. I asked the stern Director who 
 accompanied me in my rounds, if this unbi oken isolation did 
 not tend to insanity, so entirely antagonistical and repugnant 
 to the warm, quick impulses of youth? I spoke of the responsi- 
 bility its author must have incurred in its introduction and 
 persistence ; almost pleaded for its abolishment, at least sug- 
 gested its amelioration. But the cold, calculating answer of 
 my morbid sympathies, as he expressed by his manner mSfe 
 than words, satisfied me that were I a suppliant for his mercy, 
 my impulsive warmth of feeling would sink under his stoical 
 indifference and harsh government. He assured me insanity 
 was a thing unknown since the adoption of the present system ; 
 heretofore it had existed, but now, never. That the boys 
 made greater progress in mental and moi'al reformation ; they 
 were more contented ; there were less murmurings and repi- 
 nings, and upon no account would the change be made from 
 the present isolation to that of former associations. I leave it 
 for the philanthropist to decide. As far as my knowledge 
 extends, the system in our Houses of Reformation has not 
 been tried. My readers can reflect ujDon my imperfect 
 account of this institution and its workings, and as christians 
 and humanists, act accordingly, in their efforts for the elevation 
 or reformation of early fallen humanity. 
 
 ^ne 0^ the boys whose cell was opened for me, an^^svho 
 was occupied with a foot lathe in working iron, had copied 
 very creditably a portrait of J. Fennimore Cooper, from one of 
 the cheap illustrated publications of Paris. He was verv 
 much interested in ascertaining my being a countryman oT 
 this renowned author. I was the first American he had ever 
 seen. Our conversation would have been protracted and n -- 
 doubt mutually interesting, but our guide was apprehensiv 
 that this breach of discipline would be observed. The eel 
 are warmed by porcelain stoves, the heat from which is fa» 
 
APPALLING INCREASE OF CRIME. 209 
 
 more agreeable than those of iron. They are very commoij 
 upon the 'European continent, and I have frequently wondered 
 at their not being introduced in this country. 
 
 The increase of crime, or number of convictions of young 
 offenders in France, has been almost incredible during the 
 past ten years. I have not the statistics since 1854, but from 
 those, if at all in comparison with the preceding ten or 
 twelve years, it must be very great. In 1837 there were 
 thirteen hundred and thirty -four young prisoners. In 1847, 
 four thousand, two hundred and seventy-six. And in 1854 
 the number had increased to nine thousand, three hundred and 
 sixty-four. If the increase in adult crime bears any propor- 
 tion to this fearful progress of juvenile delinquency and sin, 
 that country is in a terrible state of depravity. Whether this 
 increase is the natural cause and effect of the ages of progress, 
 or if the system of recognition of youthful derelictions from 
 virtue and morality has been the more widely extended, are 
 questions referred to those who have made this very interesting 
 subject a m^ter of scientific investigation or philanthropic 
 study. 
 
 The department of the Seine (which includes the city of 
 Paris) furnishes twelve hundred and nineteen youthful delin- 
 quents and some of the others only five and six. The expense 
 of supporting an adult prisoner, in the French prisons, is 
 generally estimated to. cost about sixty centimes (twelve cents) 
 per day ; but those of the House of Correction cost between 
 eighty and ninety centimes per day, owing to the increased 
 expenses of the establishment. 
 
 The Reform Schools in our country, with whose arrange- 
 ments and discipline I have had opportunities of becoming 
 more familiar, diflj|i' in every essential particular from those I 
 visited in France and England. In the latter institutions 
 females are never admitted as convicts. Children of more 
 tender years of infancy are excluded, and the discipline is more 
 *18 
 
210 
 
 A summer's travel IX EUROPE. 
 
 ^J|)arental. And while the intercourse allowed among the in- 
 mates of the English, is under strict surveillance, and may be 
 limited, though extensive enough to allow of imparting the 
 most corrupt and pernicious communications, yet even under 
 these disadvantages the system is less repulsive than the 
 chilling isolations of the French, while the young heart's 
 blood flows warmly in the impulses and energies of the spring 
 time of life. 
 
XXVI. 
 
 "depot des condamnes." 
 
 ■ Directly opposite to the House of Correction, in Rue de la 
 Roquette, is the Depot des Condamnes, ((jj^rison for the 
 Condemned.) It is a large structure of three stories in height, 
 having a spacious quadrangular court in the centre. The first 
 story is appropriated to workshops, in which book-binding, 
 shoe-making and leather-making are principally prosecuted. 
 The second and third floors are divided into cells' for prisoners. 
 The western wing, however, is occupied by those intrusted with 
 the administration of the institution, store rooms, guard's and 
 porter's room. 
 
 A smaller court on the eastern side is bounded by the 
 large chapel and infirmary. There are, upon the lower floor,' 
 cells without light, for the punishment of the refractory, and 
 three of a similar gloomy character for the retention of crimi- 
 nals condemned to death. As the guide passed one of these, 
 he pointed significantly to the door, and in a whisper informed 
 me that the occupant in a fe\^ays more would leave the cell 
 forever. It made a shudder pass through me to think that so 
 near eternity was a fellow creature, whose days were num- 
 bered. The thought was present with me in a moment, why was 
 I a listener to his doom, and not the participator of it. " Lead 
 
212 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 US not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," was my only 
 response to the guide's information. 
 
 This prison is not what its name would indicate. It is more 
 especially a place of temporary confinement, (scarcely ever 
 exceeding terms of six months,) for criminals condensed to 
 the Galleys at Rochefort, Toulon, &c., and for thos^^hose 
 sentence is death. A prisoner sentenced to a mild punishment, 
 may, by paying twelve sous per day, fulfill his term^" con- 
 finement within its walls. All convicts are required as far as 
 .possible, to work at some trade, but these are so very limited 
 in variety, that a new trade is necessarily learned. The work 
 is paid for at a certain price, one-quarter of which is for the 
 convict every Saturday, one-quarter on his discharge, and the 
 remaining one-half government retains for the expenses of the 
 prison. Ten hours per day for labor and two for exercise are 
 the rules. Th^llowance for each convict is one and a half 
 pounds of coarS, but nutritious bread per day, a broth soup 
 for breakfast, and one of vegetables for dinner, with a meat 
 dinner two days in a week. 
 
 Each one is called by name at the door of the work-rooms, 
 and bringing his tin dish in his hand, receives his allowance 
 from a large vessel brought to the different wards. It was 
 dinner time during my visit, and I never saw humanity so 
 revoltingly fed. The men came directly from their work, un- 
 shaven and rough in their prison garb and toilet ; without 
 ..knives, forks or spoons, (in some instances,) the bread absorbed 
 the soup and was eaten with a rush, if not with a relish. Each 
 convict occupies a single cell at night, and is locked in. The 
 cells are simply dormitories, without furniture except iron bed- 
 steads ; the ablutions of the prisoners being in a general wash- 
 room. The whole arrangement(^cept the distribution of food 
 was very commendable, and the regard for cleanliness and 
 sanitary regulations well observed. The average number of 
 convicts is about four hundred. Friends are admitted to the 
 parloirs on Thursday and Sundays. The buildings are 
 ij^armed by a general heating apparatus, not by stoves. 
 
YANKEES OUTWITTED. 
 
 213 
 
 • I am almost tempted in these days of duplicity and deceit, 
 to pass over the account of leather-making by which the sole 
 of a sHpper upon my desk before me had its form and sub- 
 stance. I had supposed Yankee ingenuity and shrewdness had 
 exhausted all tricks and contrivances for the production of 
 every kind of material. •But the heaps of " cobbler's scraps " 
 prove that something can be taught a Yankee yet. These 
 scraps from the shoe and harness-makers, and other \^'kers in 
 leather are collected and washed, then placed perfectly smooth 
 in a shallow tin pan about eighteen inches broad by twenty- 
 four wide, and one deep. A coat of thick adhesive paste is 
 passed over the first layer. Another layer of leather scraps, 
 t-ien paste, and thus alternately leather and paste, until a -lieet 
 of the material about three-quarters of an inch in thickness is 
 produced. This is then taken from the pan, placed upon 
 boards under a powerful hydraulic press until it has acquired 
 sufficient compactness and firmness, and being dried by heat, 
 you have a miniature side of sole leather, which well challenges 
 any suspicions of its ingenious production. It cuts and works 
 as other leather, and is used for soles to slippers and the pecu- 
 liar woolen shoes of the French peasantry and laborers. For 
 dry weather it does very w^ell, but the beautiful hymn of 
 " Peace troubled soul " would find its " parody " or rather its 
 literal meaning, if the wearer of this new " French patent 
 leather" should incautiously venture out in a rain storm, or 
 stroll amidst flowers at " dewy eve !" 
 
 The very few branches of mechanical pursuits in this prison 
 subject the inmates to a restricted ability for their comfort or 
 advantage. Without an exception, (as I now remember.) the 
 labor of all convicts is remunerated by ^i^rnment to a cer-^ 
 tain standard price. At almost every ^Rtitution there are 
 cantineSy or depots for the sale of the simpler luxuries of food 
 or diet. When the labor is in daily demand, the abiKty for 
 purchase of these articles from the cantine is of no small con- 
 sideration. But it is no uncommon sight in the warmer sea- 
 
214 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 sons of the year, to see one or two hundred convicts lazily- 
 sauntering, idly lying in the court-yard, or around the fountain 
 in the centre. In winter, the large heated apartment called 
 the " chauffoir " is the rendezvous for them, when the work- 
 shops are still or over occupied. Philanthropy in every case 
 of convicted crime should furnish useful occupation, to prevent 
 a morbid loss of humanity's impress and destiny ; to create, 
 perhapHfor the first time, the consciousness of obscured talent, 
 and especially if the reformation follows detection and punish- 
 ment, and that a respectable means of livelihood may be at 
 hand, obviating the proneness or necessity of crime in sustain- 
 ing the imperative laws of nature for food and being. 
 
 The visit (Oct. 13th,) to the prison St. Lazarre, (Rue du Fau- 
 borg St. Denis,) where I saw the greater portion of several 
 hundred females, was perhaps the most interesting of any, 
 (except the House of Correction for boys,) on account of the 
 peculiar treatment necessary to the sex, and the severity or 
 mildness of its administration. The buildings were formerly 
 the convent of St. Lazarre, a place of much celebrity in the 
 early French history. It is appropriated to female convicts 
 exclusively ; for those whose sentence of imprisonment does 
 not exceed one year, and for the detention of others on whom 
 a severer penalty has been imposed. 
 
 The prison is divided into three sections, entirely distinct 
 from each other. The first is for prisoners awaiting their trial ; 
 the second for others undergoing punishment on sentence ; and 
 . the third for children under sixteen years of age. An infirmary 
 is connected with each division. The children are kept at 
 night in separate cells, opening upon galleries, protected by 
 iron bars and la^kes at the windows. They are taught to 
 read and write in^iasses, and an exclusion from these exercises 
 is sufficient punishment for any misdemeanor. They meet in 
 large lialls, as recitation rooms, and the arrangements for their 
 mental and moral improvement are commendable, and I should 
 suppose, from their appearance, successful. 
 
A REFORMATION DEMANDED, 
 
 215 
 
 The inmates of the second division are nearly exclusively 
 females of disreputable character, and are very numerous. The 
 police regulations in regard to this class of inhabitants of the 
 larger cities are very severe. They are not allowed to accost 
 any one in the streets, or to loiter or stop ' for the least time* 
 Any lewdness of conduct or language is immediately arrested* 
 any peculiarity of dress or deportment is pron\ptly checked. And 
 the|e regulations are in such strong contrast with the unchecked 
 an^uniimited abandonment of modesty and propriety in our 
 own streets, as to call forth the recognition and highest approval 
 of strangers, particularly Americans. ^ 
 
 Unless this crying shame is rebuked by those in authority, 
 and in response to the demands of public sentiment, the time 
 is not far distant (if not now) w^hen every husband, father and 
 brother will object to the contact of the unblushing effrontery 
 and shameless modesty seen in our public streets and places of 
 resort. If ever the field of christian philanthropy was exten- 
 sive, here is one of its most prominent localities. I speak not 
 of any particular place, although the existence of the evil 
 
 in is appalling, and far outreacliing in its magnitude 
 
 the widest apprehensions of the reformers and advocates of 
 purity, morality and religion. Woman, the last at the cross of 
 a crucified Saviour, the first at the grave of a risen Redeeix^, 
 the centre of earth's love and highest hope, for whom life has 
 no sacrifice too dear rather than her loss, should remember the 
 power of her influence, impelling man heavenward, or to the 
 degradation of the depraved, w^hen that influence is from the 
 corrupting source of lost virtue and chastity. (H 
 
 In the second section of the prison St. Lazarre is an in- 
 firmary of seventeen wards, containing beds for three hundred 
 and forty patients,-^none to many for the accommodation of 
 those requiring medical treatment, judging from the occupancy 
 of the wards as I passed through them. The convicts are 
 employed principally in sewinj^, in large apartments, ranged 
 upon elevated seats, one above the other, under the teaching and 
 
 # 
 
216 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 surveillance of a Sister of St. Joseph, (forty of whom are in 
 attendance in this prison,) who presides at a desk' command- 
 ing the apartment, and maintaining silence and attention to 
 work. 
 
 The prisoners of the second section wear a loose, grey woolen 
 dress, gathered at the waist by a belt of the same, white aprons 
 and caps, and generally in this simple attire maintaining the 
 reputation of their country-women for neatness and cleanlb^ss 
 of face and figure. Those of the other section wear a similar 
 dress of brown color. The same allowance of a quarter, 
 weekly, of their eaf^iings, (and the same on their discharge,) is 
 allowed them, as at the other institutions. The fare is similar 
 to that mentioned, bread and vegetable soup, with meat on 
 Sundays and Thursdays. There is a cantine also here, and 
 a chapel accommodating nine hundred persons. The whole 
 number of convicts aimually averages nearly ten thousand, 
 there being one thousand inmates at a time, ^nd the prison 
 capable of providing for twelve hundred. 
 
 The dormitories are on the attic floor, and are open, well- 
 ventilated apartments. But the arrangement for ablutions, &c., 
 were very objectionable, if sanitary. The inmates are allowed 
 one hour's recreation daily out of doors. Their ages vary 
 ^m sixteen to sixty. The difference between the simple 
 prison garb and the crinoline and flounces of the Boulevards, 
 between the pale, wan features of excess and dissipation and 
 the fair, faultless face of the blond and the rose, is most striking 
 and disheartening. But the " cantine " does not supply the 
 " roug^or pearl powder." 
 
 The plain bread and soup with the regular hours and work 
 of discipline and restraint, are not generally as stimulating, as an 
 unreserved selection from the bill of fare ^f the " Cafe Trois 
 Freres," or the latter's suppers of game and wine, when the opera 
 is finished. Friends are regularly admitted to the " parloirs." 
 
 sympathies were most vividly excited by the arrival of the 
 prison van, before described, and the entrance into the ofiice of a 
 
THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS. 
 
 217 
 
 well-dressed young woman accompanied by an interesting girl 
 of three or four years of age, who from necessity was to be a 
 participator of her mother's imprisonment and dishonor. Truly 
 the sins of the parent accompany the child. The prison is 
 guarded by soldiers on the outside, and, excepting the neces- 
 sary attaches of the sterner sex, its interior administration is 
 intrusted to the Sisters of Charity, who are ever present and 
 active in all works of self denial and forbearance, as if in 
 compliance to that stern appreciation of religious duty, which, 
 as they suppose, demands the annihilation of almost every 
 instinct of nature and domestic life and duty. 
 
 Returning homeward, a large collection of the cosmopolitan 
 pojpulation of Paris in the spacious square between the Louvre 
 and Palais Royal, indicated the existence of an unusual cir- 
 cumstance of note or importance. A glance to the court of 
 the Palais Royal explained the gathertng, as an anxious crowd 
 waiting to see the Emperor, whose unostentatinus equipage 
 was just within the gateway. Alittle delay favored my family 
 with a near and satisfactory view of the Emperor and Empress, 
 on their return from their weekly call upon his relative, 
 Prince Napoleon. 
 
 The appearance of the Empress, whom I had seen beforcj 
 was that of a delicate, refined lady, without the first effort of 
 conspicuous personality in her manner or simple wardrobe. 
 Neatly attired, her tout-ensemhle indicated the highest appre- 
 ciation of an intelligent, edi^ated woman. (Would I could 
 venture, only for once mol^pto expostulate with my fair 
 friends against silks, satins, laces, jewelry and an impropriety 
 of dress, in form and figure, for the street or church — so incon- 
 sistent with a well educated, appreciative, refined mind !) Her 
 face was expressive of pensive gentleness and amiability. 
 
 The Emperor, in a light suit of grey, had nothing to distin- 
 guish him from a well dressed, polished gentleman. There 
 are so many correct portraitures of him in almost every print 
 and book shop, that the farther ramble of my pen over his 
 19 
 
218 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 physiognomy is unnecessary. In his general appearance no 
 one would suppose him to be what he is. Of medium stature 
 and form ; with mild but firmly expressive blue eyes ; as he 
 walks leisurely along the walks of the Bois-de-Boulogne, in 
 conversation with a friend, upon whose arm in unafiected con- 
 fidence he leans, you would suppose him to be a man of literary 
 or scientific destination, whose works and words were of value 
 upon some favored subject upon which his mental energies had 
 been concentrated. But never would the ideality of one of 
 the most remarkable men of the age select him as the Emperor, 
 or as the personification or identity of his peculiarities of mind 
 or character. A single event gave me in an instant", better 
 appreciations of this wonderful man than all I had ever read 
 of him. 
 
 Returning, one afternoon, from the Hippodrome in Paris with 
 a friend, in the autumn of 1854, not far from the Arc-de-Triom- 
 phe, we saw tw^o gentlemen on horseback approaching us very 
 slowly. As they came nearer, we recognized the Emperor and 
 a friend riding. There were but very few persons upon this 
 upper end of the Champs Elysees, and our attention was of 
 course directed to the horsemen. When directly opposite to 
 us, our hats were raised in respectful salutation, which was 
 promptly and courteously responded to. Immediately the 
 report of a pistol was heard, and I exclaimed that the Emperor 
 had been shot at. Rapidly turning to look across the avenue, 
 we saw, a little in advanceg|^he Emperor, but obscured 
 partly by his horse, the figur^W a man, and a second report 
 and smoke from a pistol shot followed. 
 
 Rushing forward to his assistance, or to the securing of the 
 assassin, I found the letter closely pinned and held by two 
 workmen in the ordinary blue blouse worn by their craft. Im- 
 mediately, as if by magic, the avenue was alive with gens- 
 d'armes and people, (for it seemed as if they came from the 
 ground, so rapidly they gathered,) and Pianori (which was the 
 assassin's name) -was soon placed beyond the possibility of 
 
LOUIS NAPOLEON. 
 
 219 
 
 hope or rescue. The story spread with the rapidity of thought, 
 and where, five n^Rites previous, you could have counted the 
 persons within siglit and hearing, now there were hundreds 
 if not thousands rushing from every direction to the spot^ 
 anxious and excited to know the result. 
 
 During this commotion I was very near the Emperor, and 
 finding the murderer secured, T watched most closely the for- 
 mer's manner and composure. After the second shot,%e moved 
 forward as before, perhaps twenty or thirty paces, then turned 
 his horse about and came close to the sidewalk, where, upon 
 one of the wooden benches, laid half prostrate, was the assassin, 
 pale, death-like and haggard ; his arms extended each side by 
 the firm, lion-like grasp of his custodians ; his legs also sepa- 
 rated and firmly held apart ; his breast bared in the struggle, 
 and his appearance that of a young man of twenty-three or 
 five years of age. He was well dressed, with black eyes, hair 
 and heavy beard, an Italian cast of features, and would have 
 been supposed to be an artist in music or painting. 
 
 The Emperor fixed an intense, searching gaze at his prostrate 
 foe, scanning most critically every feature and form, as if it 
 might be possible to identify some time or place of contact ; to 
 read the motive for the act, or, perhaps, in that cold, stern, 
 withering stare, to prove himself insensible to fear, and forever 
 annihilate in the mind of his assailant the least ray of hope for 
 mercy. Not a musc^or lineament of his face moved. But 
 into the innermost rWhes of consciousness, that steady, un- 
 wavering, piercing^ glance was thrown. And then, quietly 
 guiding his horse away the same leisure pace, apparently 
 the same conversation was resumed. 
 
 The afternoon's recreation and ride was as uninterruptedly 
 continued, and an observer, ignorant of the Emperor's person, 
 might have justly supposed him ignorant of t^ attempt at 
 murder, so little moved was he in the excited throng. The 
 Empress had preceded him in her afternoon's drive, and when 
 returning she firs#knew of the. occurrence, it seemed as if 
 
220 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 reason miglit falter in its sway. Her cari^ge drove down the 
 avenue at a rapid rate. She was in tears^nd most nervously 
 excited, while the cries of " Vive I'Empereur " drew forth her 
 gracious smiles, and her appearance and manner would have 
 roused the activity of the whole population in avenging her grief 
 if the arrest of her persecutor had not been known simulta- 
 neously )yith his mad assault. 
 
 The Emperor returned as he went. A close cab, with 
 gens-d'armes inside and out guarding the assassin, drove across 
 the river to the prison. A few short weeks was all that 
 remained of time to Pianori, before the sharp edge of the 
 blade of the guillotine had rendered his form a headless mass, 
 and the event became 'the historian's perquisite. Perhaps the 
 attack of Orsini, with grenades, upon the Emperor and Em- 
 press in their carriage, at the doors of the Italian Opera, was 
 more desperate ; but even then, among the excited mass, the 
 Emperor alone was cool, and gave directions for the disposal 
 of the killed and wounded previous to taking his seat in his 
 box at the opera,, where he remained to the close of the 
 performance. 
 
xxvn. 
 
 PARIS, SEEN AS IT SHOULD BE. 
 
 The last paper might with propriety be the one of leave- 
 taking from Paris. But the pleasures of memory are here so 
 prolific that my pen falters in writing farewell ! Not that I 
 would recall the sad events of the two preceding weeks ; the 
 first, the one in which the Hon. J. Y. Mason, (late Minister 
 from the United States to the Court of St. Cloud,) died and 
 was buried, or the last week, in which the public meeting of 
 sympathy by all the Americans in Paris, at the American 
 Chapel, was held. Would that memory might obliterate as 
 easily in fact as in retrospection, the circumstances connected 
 with these two events. No other public ceremony has been? 
 in my opinion, so derogating and unsatisfactory as these two 
 services in the French Capital. To whom the responsibility 
 attaches itself I know not. Rather would I bring before you 
 the beautiful flowers and gardens of the " Tuilleries," " Lux- 
 embourg," " Palais Royal," " Champs Elysees," " Jardin des 
 
 Plants," " Jardin Mabile ," the catalogue even then 
 
 half Qomplete ; music of the most recherche talent, in orches- 
 tral, martial or concert arrangements, free as the air of heaven, 
 that sustains or distributes its harmony ; or if paid for, by the 
 demand of so small a consideration in pecuniary amount, that 
 19* 
 
222 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 it is almost nominal in many of • the entertainments, and 
 always at a cost within the reach of all, whose appreciative 
 enjoyment cl^j^uUy submits to the sacrifice of other luxuries 
 less elevating and satisfying ; or the rich treasures of art in 
 the Louvre, and the other almost numberless galleries and 
 cabinets of churches and palaces ; the beautiful drives and 
 gardens of the Bois-de-Bologne, St.» Cloud, Versailles and 
 Fontainebleau ; the invaluable researches of science in every 
 department of medicine or metaphysics ; the well dressed, well 
 mannered population, — the whole of Paris, by daylight or gas- 
 light, so far as propriety can carry your readers, all is fascina- 
 ting and enchanting, if your own sympathies and cultivated 
 associations are with the bright and beautiful. All is misan- 
 thropic, gloomy, sour and sad, if, with tortured mind and nerve, 
 you look through a diseased vision, finding cause for jealousy 
 and suspicion in every word, way and work regulated by cir- 
 cumstances as unavoidable as they may be to you iinintelligihle. 
 
 If, with such a mind and temper, you go through Paris or 
 anywhere, with friends whose warm, gushing emotions of love 
 and affection for you, are chilled and blasted by the very 
 atmosphere of contact with your suspicious misanthropy ; or 
 live and move on solitary and alone, a recreant to all of happi- 
 ness, friendship or pleasure God has thrown around you ; if, 
 with such emotions, you exist, then throw away my travel- 
 ler's story, for you never can appreciate the disappointment of 
 inclination and reality, when, with honest reluctance, I have said 
 to Paris, farewell ! 
 
 Visiting for the last time a Professor of the Tonsorial Art, 
 whose arrangement for shaving was an ordinary low-back chair? 
 without a head rest ; and while in which, undergoing the 
 operation of a shave, (figuratively and literally,) you bend 
 your head back till the tendons of your neck cry for mercy 
 and preservation ; then forward for the indispensable combing, 
 tangling, pulling, temper losing, shampooing operation ; while 
 in this mai'tyrdom, I counted the number of persons calling at 
 
REVERIE IN A BARBER'S SHOP. 223 
 
 the baker's shop opposite, for the morning breakfast roll of 
 bread. It has passed into oblivion, the count I made ; but 
 there was the artist and cantonnier ; maids from the milliners 
 and grisettes from the stores, students and laborers ; the broken 
 down lord and the aspiring boy, numberless in throng and 
 variety each with the simple purchase of a penny's worth of 
 bread, necessary to sustain nature, but forming no part of a 
 Yankee's idea of breakfast ; all happy ! 
 
 .What a people ! Without the thought for the morrow or 
 a care for the present ; happy here, anticipating happiness 
 hei;eafter ! Careless ^ the opinions of those who^would cavil j 
 answering the smile, no matter from whom or where ; indiffe- 
 rent to the occupancy of the Tuilleries, while the opera, gar- 
 dens and cafes are open ; unconscious of the glittering livery 
 of aristocracy, so long as the cab charges but one And a half 
 franc the hour. What a people ! 
 
 From this place of reverie (pray why can't the French 
 barbers adopt the simple, easy chair of Yankee land? one 
 
 shave in — is worth a dozen in that city ; but the reverie 
 
 over,) my steps were directed to Mr. Lowes, the very gentle- 
 manly agent of the Cunard line, (No. 12 Rue de la Bourse,) 
 and then a search in good earnest for the traps and the treas- 
 ures of a month's stay and purchase in Paris. I honestly 
 believe a Frenchman is prompt but once in his life, or ever 
 keeps an appointment, and that is at life's close. Memory just 
 now is too active in recalling what was said and done in look- 
 ing up the odds and ends of the thousand things to be cared 
 for in this last half day's stay in Paris, There were some 
 hard thoughts, not always silent ones either. But it is all past 
 now. 
 
 Our hotel was the- scene of one of those terrible, mysterious 
 dispensations of God's providence. A fine, gentlemanly, in- 
 telligent man, a brother of the late gallant Colonel May, 
 retired at night, apparently in perfect health, and at four the 
 next morning, his bride of a few months was a distressed, com- 
 
224 A summer's travel in europe. 
 
 fortless widow, " a stranger in a strange place," amid sorrow 
 and sighing. Her bridal tour was bright and beautiful in its 
 beginning, but dark, gloomy and sad in its shock like close I 
 God grant me to die within the consciousness of the presence 
 of those I love ! And if the dreary hour comes first to them, 
 may the trace upon the clock dial leave no space ofttime to 
 tell how much the Jirst they went before me ! I had rather 
 know not the anguish of the heart's bereavment ! " I ask not 
 to stay," when my sunlight of earth has faded away.! 
 
 At 6i o'clock, A. M., October 15 th, Saturday, all of Paris 
 had become history to us, as the railv|j|r trains for Boulogne 
 •carried us beyond its walls. Francoise Auguste Joseph (the 
 
 chambermaid !) and , the porter had all given us a 
 
 " prosperous voyage " in acknowledgment of the gratitudes ; 
 John WMte's honest face and plump hand belonged to the past, 
 as we settled away each in a corner of our family's coupe. The 
 juveniles' tears and the fast falling cold rain were in harmony 
 with our feelings and appearance. The rest of us began to 
 count the days before, with God's blessings, our seats would be 
 in the cars from to , the end where home was! 
 
 " Forty-two and a half francs for extra luggage from Paris 
 to London " some one said, which brought me back to France, 
 Room was made for two very agreeable companions, (a Mr» 
 Edward Russell and Miss Harris, from Dublin) and the 
 pleasant route from Paris to Amiens and Boulogne was trav- 
 ersed with a sad pleasure. It was as necessary to have your 
 passport with your Consul's visee goingoiit of France as entering 
 it. At the railway station at Boulogne, the passport agent does 
 the needful. As the train reaches the station, the knowing ones 
 hand theirs (with a franc / don't forget the franc !) to the waiter 
 in attendance, and then go for dinner. But the unwise and 
 unlearned (perhaps seeing no necessity for the franc's expendi- 
 ture) stand crowded and annoyed in a row, waiting for a turn 
 to be registered among those who are to depart from (not 
 exactly life) but France. 
 
# 
 
 ENGLISH COURTESY. 225 
 
 The waiter (honest soul) very quietly goes hehind the rail- 
 ing and places one after another of his armful of passpor^ 
 before the disintefested agents. " You may break, you may 
 ruin your face if you will," but the touch of that franc will 
 bother you still 1 And as the well dined owners of passports 
 come out and receive the document, you can easier fancy the 
 " phelinks " of the dinnerless and wearied ones than I can 
 describe them. Two hours in a smart, spunky steamer, carries 
 you to Folkestone, across the channel. Here you are ruffled 
 in temper, trunks and baskets, at the custom house in this 
 quaint old town, where the 'tide rises and falls so much as to 
 expose in the vessels what was intended to be covei-ed by 
 water ! Three and a half hours' ride brings you to London. 
 And if you had been of our party, you would have found 
 yourself again at quarters in No. 6, Square, London. 
 
 London, Sunday, October 16, a cold, rainy morning, with as 
 dreary a prospect, dear reader, as I suppose you have in 
 imagination of ever seeing the end of these travels. Well, for 
 a comproE^e, then. We cannot go sight-seeing to-day. But 
 as Dr. Cudiing, the celebrated divine, pastor of the Scotch 
 Presbyterian Church, has his usual services, we will go there, 
 to " Crown Court, Long Acre." A large audience has gath- 
 ered, although very early and an inclement day. 
 
 Iwfc the English rule for all strangers attending different 
 churches, to remain standing in the aisle until after the first 
 prayer ; then the vacant seats by courtesy, are accessible to 
 them. The sexton is assisted in his duties by " pew-openers " 
 who find seats in the different parts of the church. On this 
 morning, however, the sexton says, " yourself and ladies may 
 take places in this pew. No. — , for the family reside a long 
 distance and I do not expect them in the storm." Acknowledg- 
 ing the civility, we seated ourselves. Rising in prayer, I was 
 accosted by a tall, portly gentleman (?) with, " What are you 
 doing here ? Come out. What business have you to take my 
 family's seats ? Why didn't you wait until after prayers ? 
 
226 
 
 A SmiMER's TRAVEL IN Eq§OPE. 
 
 Come out !" Such was Mr. S 's salutation. (I have his 
 
 #ame vocation and residence.) I replied, " I was placed there 
 by the sexton, who, I presumed was giving me the seat of a 
 gentleman /" I immediately called my wife and daughter out. 
 " Your ladies can remain !" " No, sir, never. They are 
 ladies and not accustomed to such rude incivility." The confu- 
 sion this little episode produced recalled the sexton, and other 
 separate seats were found. 
 
 The Doctor's appearance is striking, and his physiognomy 
 characteristic of intellect. His voice and manner, pleasing 
 and peculiar. His mode of explanation of the Bible lesson 
 was so minute and protracted, I supposed it to be the substitute 
 for the sermon. A second prayer and singing of a hymn pre- 
 ceded a most interesting and instructive discourse, from 
 
 John . I recall more of the peculiarity of tune and 
 
 verse in the hymns in the Scotch Church at Malta, than those 
 in use by this congregation. 
 
 In the afternoon, the two juveniles, with the patriarch of the 
 family, attended service at St. Paul's. And if were not 
 more in the " land of dreams," than in appreo(P)n of the 
 service and sermon, it was not the fault of one of the canons 
 (this one was of very large bore,) who officiated, but to the 
 current of cold, damp air which came over the top of the screen 
 where we were sitting, and which separates the choir fr^ the 
 other parts of the Cathedral. 
 
 At the dinner table we met a young man from Webster? 
 Massachusetts, and our former valued friend of honorary 
 appointment, fix)m Venezuela. I found my friend's views of 
 Republican institutions and government materially changed. 
 His own country, which at the time of our previous stay in Lon- 
 don, was passing through the ordeal of revolution to hoped for 
 Republicanism, was still distracted and torn with anarchy and 
 confusion. Our discussions were earnest and warm, and when 
 his position was strengthened and reinforced by the severe 
 criticisms and arguments of our hostess, I confess my supply of 
 
OUR Cd^NTRY'S FUTURE. 
 
 227 
 
 mental ammunition was well tested, if sustained. Wliat could 
 I say now ? 
 
 Again, at that dinner table, where the incongruity of parts, 
 the incompatability of a country's progress, power and being, 
 guided, governed and controlled alone by the respect for law 
 and order which each citizen may possess ; with an institution 
 as corrupting if not debasing in its influence as the higher 
 attributes of humanity ever was in contact with ; that which 
 could so powerfully appeal to and satisfy the lower instincts of 
 its nature ; a country bounjjlless in extent ; a population as 
 heterogeneous as the world's divisions ; of every form and grade 
 of character, birth, education or association ; could such a state of 
 society, organization ^nd government continue and end in per- 
 petuity, prosperity and peace ? God defend us in this porten* 
 tons crisis, in which these questions of a careless hour were dis- 
 cussed and are now being so strangely and so sternly answered. 
 May He sustain us in attempting to maintain our noble countpy, 
 the Heaven destined beacon-light of liberty, religion, civilization, 
 power, prosperity and intelligence to an anxious world ! May 
 His wisdom and power deliver us from anarchy, strife, sedition 
 and rebellion, and roll back the mad waves x)f disunion, till 
 the peaceful, gentle influences of christian sympathy, fellow- 
 ship and brotherhood shall again unite us in the " bonds of 
 peace," and we become a happy free people, and our country 
 the glory of the world. 
 
 But for the compromise there was to be in these crude sto 
 ries' length ! Monday|pnDorning came and here we begin it. 
 Were I to follow memory with ray pen, I should record a 
 violent headache ; a dark, (l(lerless, rainy morning ; a call a 
 the bankers for letters ; to the rooms of the Royal Agricultura 
 
 Society ; home ! dinner ; Miss Mc 's melody from the 
 
 harp, and the cheerful {i(tsence of a near friend and relative 
 from home ! 
 
 October 17th, would be the record of an early morning's 
 search for a barber's shop. " Pray, why don't you shave your - 
 
228 A summer's trave#in Europe. 
 
 self?" you ask. I do, my dear friend, when necessity requires. 
 But as my face is almost as sensitive as my heart (!) which 
 some of my readers well know, I prefer other manipulations 
 over it than my own. And if all were as rough and repulsive 
 as those at the end of ray labors, I should either look savagely 
 fierce, with face covered with hair, or try for a patent extermi- 
 nator of it as an unnecessary discomfort. 
 
 Then came Sydenham with its crystal palace, wonderful 
 exhibition, beautiful grounds and fountains ; representations of 
 antediluvian animals and almost ^heard races of men, of more 
 or less Afjican descent or affinities, one in particular, whose 
 hideous custom of slitting the lower lip, and inserting a round 
 piece of wood, making it to project horizontally, has been the 
 reality of every dream of re[)ulsiveness ; its finely graveled 
 walks," over which the juveniles impelled the velocipedes kept 
 for hire, and from which, in giving them a start, I unfortunately 
 caused a closer contact with " mother earth " than was agree- 
 able ; its concert rooms for instrumental and vocal concerts ; 
 rival corps of " bell ringers, mammoth sized organ ; its beauti- 
 ful, airy-like structure of glass and iron ; the whole forming 
 one of the most agreeable excursions out of London. 
 
 Windsor Castle Avith its historic associations, the attractive 
 abode of royalty, Virginia Waters, Cumberland Lodge, with 
 its noble grape vines, out-rivalling that of Hampton Court? 
 Eton College, the students at foot-ball, Kunnymeade, Harrow 
 Hill, and a drive to Stoke Churchyard," where Grey wrote 
 his Elegy, and within whose halloWjl grounds I have been 
 three several times, years interring at each return. Of all 
 spots on earth where the soul clP commune with its mysterious 
 history of life, and its future of awful reahty or highest per- 
 fection of bliss, never as here have I experienced such emo- 
 tions of perfect submission to God's'^ill, of inward peace, and 
 could almost covet the thought of that last deep sleep " that 
 knows no waking," and hope that my footsteps may never pass 
 from its hallowed Yew tree shade. 
 
A WARM HEART, AN ERRING NATURE. 
 
 229 
 
 Never, in all the hours of suffering and delight, sorrow or 
 smiles, pain or pleasure, has the thought of a life's story told been 
 so near, and I could well add, so dear. Would that those im- 
 pressions had been reality ! Near and dear friends I have? 
 and I know I most dearly love and am loved, but yet the 
 temptation to err, the weakness that yields, the sympathy 
 that bears no restraint, the response powerful and impul- 
 sive to every expression of affection, the warm life's blood 
 pursing around nerves that vibrate with the slightest 
 touch of kindness, how often, never failing are these indelible 
 lines of character, impulse and passion, the causes of sincere 
 sorrow demanding atonement in earnest supplication to the 
 source of all purity, power and mercy, rising to fall again ! 
 How often have the impressions of the closet been lost at its 
 thresholiS, and the resolutions of conviction been obliterated by 
 the contact of the passing hour. The old church, covered with 
 ivy, its curious, quaint old architecture, simplicity and loveli- 
 ness, is a fit companion to the moss-covered tomb stones and 
 dilapidated graves. If there is one spot on earth to me more 
 suggestive of Heaven than another, it is Stoke Churchyard. 
 And the slip of ivy the old female attendant gave me, lives as 
 a memento of its sad beauty, and I hope may yet entwine its 
 tendrils around the stone that shall tell where all I was of 
 earth has been laid ! 
 
 20 
 
XXVIII. 
 
 England's REFORMATORY institutions.* 
 
 The reference in my last to " Stoke Churchjard " brings 
 with it reminiscences of a pleasant nature (which I most 
 sincerely hope may remain) connected with a companion 
 chance brought to us, — a captain of cavalry in the United 
 States service, an intelligent, agreeable officer, visiting the 
 continent upon a furlough. An evening at the " Alhambra and 
 Circus," a heavy, spiritless entertainment, closed the day's 
 reverie and labor. 
 
 October 21st, in company with our very pleasant friend of 
 Venezuela, our ramble carried us to the Boy's Reform School, 
 of 237 Eustc)n Road. The buildings were in process of repa- 
 ration, and the institution was consequently seen under dis- 
 advantages. The boys appeared contented and generally well 
 cared for, although the dense and damp, smoky atmosphere of 
 London gave to a stranger, in their dress and personal appear- 
 ance, impressions of neglect. They are instructed in the 
 various branches of wood and iron working ; taught the first 
 and more progressive rudiments of a substantial education ; 
 required to observe their religious duties j receive wholesome 
 
PREVENTION OF CRIME AND DISHONOR. 
 
 231 
 
 food, and in general offer no strong points of contrast to the 
 ordinary routine of labor, confinement and discipline connected 
 with similar institutions home. A model oven connected 
 with the culinary department is commended to the investiga- 
 tion" of others more immediately interested. 
 
 At No. 200 Euston Road, is a reformatory home for fallen 
 women. There were twenty-one inmates of different ages and 
 attractiveness, all neatly dressed in blue calico dresses, white 
 aprons and caps ; and expressing by their modesty of deport- 
 ment, a sensitiveness of observation, which excited the earnest 
 prayer for their success, in trying to replace in its casket (as 
 far as possible) the priceless. gem of female purity and virtue. 
 
 A visit to the " Ragged School Preventive, of St. Giles," 
 appropriately came next in turn. Girls from twelve to sixteen 
 years of age are gathered in^here from the highways and by- 
 ways of sin and shame, and when properly cared i|^r, mentally 
 and physically, are sent out to service, and thus rescued from 
 a dishonored life and a premature grave. They are dressed 
 in the customary blue calico dresses and shaker-fornled bonnets. 
 Their home is neatly kept. They are well fed with simple, 
 nutritious food, and well repay, in their appearance and deport- 
 ment, the efforts for their redemption from misery and de^ada- 
 tion. God speed their safety and progress. 
 
 A call at the office of the Inspectors of Police in Old Smith- 
 field, placed us in contact with a courteous member of that depart- 
 I ment. Arrangements were made for a midnight ramble imder 
 London, where vice and crime with its remnant of humanity's 
 emotions shrinks from contact with daylight. Where knives, 
 fd^ks and plates of worthless value, are secured to the tables 
 from which the food that nature demands is distributed. A 
 severe rain storm on the evening appointed prevented our 
 ^ intended reci'eation / Since then, others have informed me 
 that these events are now matters of history. 
 
 Returning home, the fourth or fifth call was made at the 
 office of Messrs. R. Chambers & Sou, 111 Fleet Street, in 
 
232 
 
 A SUJniER's TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 connection with inquiries and investigations for property seek- 
 ing ownership from American branches of famihes. The sole 
 business of these gentlemen is coi^j^ted with such matters. 
 An " office for heirs next of kin " and for " claims, searches, 
 and confidential inquiries, established 1825." The attention 
 to the request of a valued friend and relative at home, brought 
 me in contact with the scrupulous exactness with which all 
 matters of family heraldry, title and blood are kept. Mr. 
 George W. Collen, of the Herald's College, has a private 
 reference of over fifty-three thousand names. Where the 
 laws of property are of the peculiar character as those in Eng- 
 land, this exactness is of vital importance. I visited other 
 offices in this connection. And although unsuccessful in 
 securing for my friend his tangible interest in a comfortable 
 little fortune of two or three millions sterling, the opportunity 
 gave me aftnsight into the routine of similar inquiries. 
 
 At dinner, our agreeable companion of " Stoke Churchyard " 
 reveries gave us his presence. In the evening, accompanied 
 by a personal friend of our hostess, we visited the mammoth 
 printing establishment of the "London Times," where ten 
 impressions of the monster sheet are struck off' at once upon 
 an ^Applegaith " press. One of Hoe's largest cylindrical 
 presses was standing idle in an adjoining apartment ; and it 
 is no severity of judgment in attributing its motionless condi- 
 tion to the same aversion of commendation of every thing 
 American, which characterizes the columns of that journal in { 
 our present national crisis. 
 
 October 22d, a last straying through the dead meat market 
 of London, between Newgate Street and Paternoster Row, tife 
 intricacies of whose windings it w^^s much easier to enter than 
 leave ; a call upon the celebrated Dr. Wilson, whose reputation 
 for cutaneous troubles is in both hemispheres ; a return for my ^ 
 own pedigree to Herald's College, in Doctor's Commons ; re- 
 ceiving a caution against using a seal with the family coat of 
 arms upon it, as the Baronet who claimed it was living ; visit- 
 
REV. NEWMAN HALL. 
 
 233 
 
 ing Guildhall, where " Gog and Magog " still preside ; forming 
 one of the crowd around the arrest of a crazy woman ; dining 
 and subsequently ^rollin^ out to find myself surrounded by a 
 throng of fallen humanity's impress in the gentler sex around 
 Haymarket ; the day's occupation passed almost as unprofitably 
 as its record here. 
 
 Sunday morning came and with it one of those cold, chilling, 
 dense fogs for which London is as renowned as uncomfortable. 
 The light was peculiar, having a pale, straw-colored tint as you 
 looked from the windows. The gas-lights were not required, 
 but the fog was impenetrable to the eye sight beyond a very 
 short distance. My family had arranged to hear the Rev. 
 Newman Hall, preaching in Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars road, 
 and placing them in a cab, in company with two American 
 gentlemen recently from home, I ventured on foot to meet 
 them at the church. It was difficult " wending one's way," and 
 the quiet, unattractive appearance of the shop windows was 
 undoubtedly the cause of much less " erring and straying " than 
 there would have been where one's head might easily have 
 been turned, and to follow after one's nose would have been 
 right wrong ! 
 
 The chapel was built for the Rev. Rowland Hill, and by 
 him occupied for many years. The reputation of the present 
 popular incumbent is of enviable renown and well merited. In 
 the pew occupied by my family was a venerable old gentle- 
 man. The remark to him of the pleasure and profit derived 
 from the preacher's faithfulness in teaching, and attractiveness 
 of manner and person, was met by his response, "I am glad 
 to hear your approval, for I am his father." The appearance 
 of the wretched population in many parts of our walk was a 
 strong appeal to sympathy. 
 
 Returning over Blackfriars Bridge, through Fleet Street, we 
 entered the old Temple Church, a fine specimen of the early 
 English architecture, built near the close of the 1 2th century. 
 This church is attended by the Barristers and students of law. 
 20* 
 
234 
 
 A Summer's travel in europe. 
 
 The oak carvings cf the stalls and benches are well wrought 
 and elaborate. A few curious effigies and tombs of the Crusa- 
 ders, indicate its original appropriation as^gfie church of the 
 Knights Templars. The musical service on Sundays is said to 
 be superior in character and execution. 
 
 After lunch, with the same companions, St. Barnabas, 
 Pimlico, was attended, and we witnessed with aversion the 
 almost irreverent services of this exponent of Puseyism. The 
 prayers and creed were intoned, as the polite expresion has 
 it. That is, they were repeated in a half singing, drawling 
 voice, and the whole service was of a character most highly 
 satisfactory to the adherents of Dr. Pusey's faith, or the high 
 church ; -but to ourselves it was the farthest removed from 
 even the semblance of spirituality or sincerity. The new 
 suburbs of Belgravia contain fine residences and churches, and 
 have a freshness strongly in contrast with the smoked tint and 
 dirt of the city proper. 
 
 After dinner, by some strange circumstance, in preparing a 
 paper to light a cigar, a " bill of fare " from the " Tremont 
 House, Boston," fell to the floor. As there were several 
 persons in the room, strangers to the luxuries of our first-class 
 hotels, its long list of variety and delicacies seemed to arouse 
 the dormant energies for another dinner. And the anxiety for 
 this gratifieation was not lessened by the observation, that 
 breakfast was almost equal to dinner, and with a night supper, 
 good room, gas-light and " ice water," the bill then would be 
 only ten shillings sterling, per day. 
 
 Of all the efforts of that philanthropist. Lord Shaftsbury, 
 there is no one more commendatory than the establishment of 
 the Ragged Schools of Field's Inn Lane." Tl^ere is no 
 locality in all London more interesting. It was the very hot 
 bed of crime. Traversed by narrow, dirty, dark streets, where 
 the houses were so dense that they were connected by subter- 
 ranean passages in every direction and distance, the detection 
 of criminals or the suppression of vice baffled the most persis- 
 
EXPERTS IN CRIME. 
 
 235 
 
 tent eflforts of the police, and the whole district was torn down 
 and leveled, as the only possible way of annihilating the 
 dark deeds of infamy and murder which characterized the 
 place. 
 
 When the process of demolition was in progress, several 
 skeletons were found whose histories are shrouded in mystery. 
 It was told me that many a stranger and police detective was 
 known to enter its mysterious labyrinths, but never seen to 
 leave them. Above ground were the schools for vice of every 
 name and grade, but more especially for the training of " pick- 
 pockets." *A figure, the size of ordinary life, was arranged 
 with springs and bells, and the customary garments of daily 
 wear ; every pocket had its spring communicating to the ^ 
 bell, and no boy or girl was considered an adept or expert for 
 the public streets and thoroughfares, who could not clear each 
 pocket without a touch of the spring or bell. 
 
 I regret my readers cannot stand upon this interesting spot 
 and listen to the story of police officer Mobs, (one of the oldest 
 and most successful of the London detectives,) and have him 
 point out the location of the most prominent places of rendez- 
 vous, designating them as they were known by the most singular 
 and expressive names. Now all is changed. A crowd of 
 seedy clothed men, broken merchants, ruined lawyers, impover- 
 ished brokers and bankrupt bankers, Jews and Gentiles, here 
 congregate for betting on everything that admits of a question, 
 not excepting the weather. You can bet, and find stake and 
 bottle holder for any amount in cash that shall not be in excess 
 in proportion or comparison with the quantity and quality o^ 
 the liquor with which you give or take the wagers. 
 
 Here, in this strange yet appropriate place, are the first 
 ragged schools of London. In an upper room of some thirty 
 or forty feet square, with a male and two female teachers, were 
 gathered some three hundred children of diiferent ages, from 
 six to twelve ; half clothed, thin, pale and emaciated ; the off- 
 spring of debauchery and drunkenness ; of parents whose only 
 
236 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 link to humanity was in its form but not of its attributes, the 
 first rudiments of learning are taught, from the alphabet to the 
 simple rules of arithmetic, spelling and writing. After the 
 children have been regular in their attendance for two weeks? 
 they are clothed in such suitable garments as friends have 
 charitably piovided. It wag found that this arrangement of 
 attendance was imperatively demanded, to prevent the parent 
 from stripping the clothes from their children and selling them 
 for intoxicating liquor, which was frequently done when 
 better garments were distributed upon the first attendance at 
 the school. • • 
 
 Mr. Frazer, the master, pointed out several very interesting 
 cases of progress and improvement. Children, in one year, 
 have advanced from the darkest ignorance to an ability of read- 
 ing in the Testament. Many write fair copy hands, and the 
 anxiety for knowledge in some cases is very interesting. The 
 average attendance is greater in the afternoon than morning) 
 (as the scholars are sent out for beggary or small jobs in the 
 earlier part of the day, by their parents or custodians,) and 
 ranges about four hundred daily. " The highest number in 
 attendance at one time was five hundred and thirty-eight." 
 After suitable progress and proof of their reliability, the 
 scholars ^e placed in situations found for them by their 
 patrons, and the su(jcess thus far has been highly satisfactory, 
 " Out of one hundred and sixty employers, not one complaint 
 has been preferred against them." They came from the 
 ^' highways and by-ways " of the daylight, and boxes, barrels, 
 ^sh-heaps and old carts for their nightly retreats. 
 
 I shall never forget the mild blue eye, flaxen curls and 
 transparent complexion of a little girl five or six years of age, 
 with rags and filth about her, except so far as it had been 
 necessarily removed for sight and contact, awaiting the term 
 of her probation to have passed, and her constant attendance 
 would entitle her to farther favors of clothing and recognition. 
 Her face and features were of angelic form and mould. Her 
 
NIGHT REFUGES FOR THE HOMELESS. 237 
 
 history could have been of no ordinary origin and association. 
 No degradation could remove from her the impress of the 
 gentle, refined nature of a mother's loveliness and delicacy of 
 birth and education. The revelations of ef^rnity will reveal a 
 story of shame, corrupted associations, abused confidence, and 
 misplaced affection, which, in eternal justice, shall demand its 
 redress, and consign to the lower depths of retributive remorse 
 the cause of such a fall an.d ruin. 
 
 In the rooms below the school were the " Night refuges for 
 the Homeless." Eanged in rows, as wooden cradles, without 
 rockers, foot or top ; the head elevated to dispense with pillows, 
 were a hundred or more wooden box-like bunks of different 
 lengths and sizes, occupied at night by the houseless and shel- 
 terless children and adults ; not both sexes promiscuously, but 
 by either the one or the other as the separate arrangements 
 require. Every occupant of a bunk is furnished with a loaf 
 of bread at niofht and mornino-, must wash himself before 
 retiring and on rising, and once « week receive a warm bath. 
 The apartment is warmed in winter by a large stove, well 
 ventilated in summer, and thoroughly cleansed every morning. 
 Places of employment are found for those whose regularity of 
 deportment and .attendance gives assurance of no misplaced 
 confidence. H 
 
 The Seventeenth Annual Report says, " 30,302 lodgings 
 have been supplied during the year to 6,785 men and boys, who 
 have received 101,192 either six or eight ounce loaves of 
 bread. Situations obtained for 239 ; sent to refuges and 
 reforraatq^'ies, 113 ; restored to friends, 54; gone to sea, 6^; 
 enlisted, 43 ; 73 had slept in the streets from 1 to 21 nights, 
 &c., &c." ♦ 
 
 Simple, indeed, were the requisitions for so much good. It 
 would be interesting to follow the report of the Ragged Schools 
 and Night Refuges farther. Its inexpediency her^my read- 
 ers will appreciate. • 
 
 I hope I am mistaken, but if not, England has no system of 
 public instruction. Each parish is required to sustain a school 
 
238 
 
 A SUMMER^S TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 limited to one hundred scholars. Beyond this, the State or 
 Church has no thought for the ignorant masses, except in her 
 Houses of Correction and Prisons, built as if in mockery of 
 humanity's weakness and temptations. The calculation for 
 the m^itenance of royalty, the nobility and the aristocracy, is 
 appalling in its array of figures and amounts. The rich and 
 noble are very rich ; the poor and degraded are very poor. 
 
 There is a wide contrast in society, which to us, in this free, 
 favored country, is incomprehensible and unintelligible. And 
 yet " My Lord's " hat is far below, in its elevation from the 
 head, the crownless cap of the ragged beggar boy's shout and 
 the "hurrah," as her majesty "rolls by" with livery and 
 luxury. " Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise." 
 And the duration of the ignorance and degradation of Eng- 
 land's poor will be commensurate with the incubus of neglected 
 care and provision on the part of the Church and State. Well 
 may " God bless the Queen " burst from every lip, as the 
 memory of her past and present most exemplary history 
 remains vivid. A model sovereign, a true wife and mother, a 
 noble woman in her sympathies and philanthropies, " God 
 bless the Queen," say we. But how long the glittering coro- 
 net may satisfy the cravings of insatiate hunger, and the 
 barren Avaste of mi^d, when it is placed upon another brow, is 
 a question pregnant with meaning and power. Would that 
 English loyalty had its rival here ! and that the rich inherit- 
 ance from our noble sires had found as worthy inheritors, and 
 that no foul blot of disunion ever had disfigured and disgraced 
 our country's records. ' 
 
XXIX. 
 
 MIDDLESEX HOtJSE OF CORRECTION. 
 
 • 
 
 Memory, seldom at fault, locates the Middlesex House of 
 Correction on " Hogarth Hill," while the guide books place it 
 on " Cold Bath Fields." The two designations may be synony- 
 mous. It is an institution somewhat peculiar in its character, 
 as it has two classes of convicts, those sentenced to a severe 
 term of service and labor and others to a milder restraint and 
 discipline. It can accommodate twelve hundred prisoners, who 
 work in classes and shops together, but sleep alone. The cells 
 are six feet by eight, well ventilated, lighted and warmed, con- 
 taining a hammock, mattress, blanket and the necessary arti- 
 cles for washing, &c. They are not lighted at night except 
 from the corridors. 
 
 They are called at 6| A. M., commence work at 7, breakfast 
 at 8|, dinner at 2, and tea at 5| P. M. The first class, of the 
 lighter sentences, are allowed one pint of cocoa and six 
 ounces of bread at breakfast, meat four times a week, soup 
 and potatoes for dinner and bread and gruel at night. The 
 second class, or those of severer punishment, receive gruel 
 at breakfast instead of cocoa, and similar rations at the other 
 hours. The term of sentenceis from five days to three years. 
 
240 
 
 A SUMRIEI^ TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 The convicts work in making grass mats and picking oakum, 
 and in the milder discipline, are taught to read and write in good 
 schools, and the more advanced pass an hour in the chapel in 
 reading. There is a large dormitory for the accommodation 
 of one hundred of the most quiet and submissive, under the 
 charge of two keepers. Gas-light is used all night, .and the 
 hammocks upon iron rods are very comfortable. The apart- 
 ment is warmed by stoves, and three blankets are allowed 
 each convict in winter. The prison dress for those committed 
 for ^Jony is gray, for those for misdemeanor, blue. Their 
 ages are from seventeen years upwards. 
 
 In addition to other duties is that of rope-making, plumbing, 
 carpentering, tailoring, shoe-making, assisting in the kitchen, 
 washing, &c. They are allowed a clean shirt, towel, handker- 
 flliief and socks, once a week. In this institution I saw for the 
 first time the labor of the tread-mills." These are large wooden 
 wheels, I should suppose of a diameter of ten orlwelve feet, and 
 are constructed as a straight float water wheel. Directly in front 
 of, and close to the outside of the wheels are partitions some eight- 
 een inches apart, in every other one of which there is a seat, 
 across the other a bar of wood. The convicts are brought from 
 the prisons to the enclosures containing the tread-mills, (pro- 
 tected from the weather in large, shed-like buildings,) and 
 placed in squads on the galleries in front of the wheels. 
 
 At a given signal, part of them mount the wheel, and their 
 weight causes a rotary motion, which is continuous from the 
 constant tread from one float to the other. The stepping of 
 the others allows no one to rest, even if the keen eye of the 
 •keeper was removed. The other convicts, who were seated, 
 exchanged places with those who had been at work, when the 
 time' assigned had expired, — fifteen minutes I should think. 
 Unbroken silence is maintained ; and this alternation of work 
 and rest is continued day after day, if not for months and^ 
 years. Four pair of mill stones for grinding grain, and other 
 power is run by these twenty or thirty tread-mills. How 
 
LIFE ON A TREAD-MILL. 
 
 241 
 
 many times have I heard the exclamation of a "tread-mill life." 
 Never was its force felt before. Step after step upward, but 
 not onward ; not a whisper of sympathy or a cheer of encour- 
 agement ; not a word to break the awful monotony, but sighs 
 to burden its weight ; not a particle of progress ; not a change 
 of a single object ; step after step upward, each heavier than 
 the other ; the rolling wheel, bewildering the brain, constant 
 in its rotation ; step after step, at the rate of forty a minute, — 
 who shall ever speak in idle weariness of a " tread-mill life I" 
 
 Captain N. Craig, the gentlemanly Superintendent of the 
 new Government Prison of the city of London, responded 
 most courteously to our informal request to examine its detail 
 and arrangements. A kind reception and introduction to his 
 family at lunch, was succeeded by his personal explanation of 
 the institution over which he so ably presides. The cells are 
 nine by fourteen feet in size, containing a hammock, table, 
 stool, wash-bowl, closet, gas-burner, bell, books, and well man- 
 aged ventilation and window at the top. The floors are of 
 asphaltum and brick. The convicts are called at a quarter of 
 six in the morning, cleanse their rooms and remain on duty as 
 required until breakfast at 7| o'clock. 
 
 From 8 to 9 A. M., they attend service in the Chapel, 9 to 
 10 exercise out of doors, 10 to 12 attend school or work accord- 
 ing to their abiHty or qualifications, 12 to 1 P. M., work or 
 exercise as may be demanded, 1 to 2 dinner, 2 to 4 work or 
 school, 4 to 7 again school or work, tea, and at 8| in their 
 cells, and all in bed at a quarter of nine, as at nine the gas is 
 turned off. Breakfast consists of three-quarters of a pint of 
 cocoa and ten ounces of bread ; dinner, four ounces of meat, 
 half a pint of soup, one pound of potatoes ; and for tea, a pint 
 of gruel and five ounces of bread. 
 
 This institution is a model one. Captain C. and his amiable 
 companion had been connected with the British army in 
 Canada, and were consequently well posted in American affairs. 
 Their courtesy is not forgotten, and was and is appreciated. An 
 21 
 
242 
 
 A SUMMER S TRAVEL IN EUROPE. 
 
 account of the "Model Prison at Pentonville" would be 
 almost a recapitulation of the " Prison Mazas," in Paris, and 
 both admit the acknowledged superiority of Moyamensing 
 Prison in Philadelphia, from which they are copied. 
 
 The number of this paper is peculiarly suggestive of its 
 appropriateness as the closing one. The suggestion is adopted, 
 and from henceforth the industry by which the types have 
 been kept in service, and my readers submissive to their use, 
 will be no longer required, but may be extended more profit- 
 ably (if not agreeably) to oUiers. Should any philanthropist 
 or friend desire further information of the Correctional or 
 Reformatory Institutions of London, I can refer them with 
 confidence to the very gentlemanly Secretary of the " Reforma- 
 tory and Refuge Union of London," Mr. Charles Gwillim, 108 
 Pall Mall, S. W. 
 
 The oven for baking bread, to which reference was made in 
 connection with the Boy's Reform School, was Capt. Grant's 
 patent, capable of baking 500 pounds per hour, at a cost of 
 eighteen pence, and with cooking furniture complete, is fur- 
 nished for £150, ($600.) 
 
 October 24th was another of those cold, chilly days, with 
 rain, which is peculiar to London. A last call at " Herald's 
 ♦ College," " Deacon's Coffee House," &c., for the final effort of 
 
 hearing of the property ; at the bankers for funds ; 
 
 excessively annoyed in getting wet to buy a stamp from a 
 licensed dealer, to put on the bank note from the bankers before 
 it would be cashed ; hon^e for lunch and dry clothes ; search- 
 ing, almost hopelessly, through the ignorance and stupidity of 
 our cab driver, for the residence of our delightful friends of 
 Dresden and Bastei memories, and the fair donor of the rose 
 bud from across the Atlantic ; home again for dinner, with our 
 
 friend and relative from B ; listening for the last time 
 
 to the sweet melody of Miss McC 's harp ; securing the 
 
 services of a friend of our hostess. Major J , in the 
 
 matter of family records, from Cardiganshire, South Wales ; 
 
GENUINE HOSPITALITY. 
 
 243 
 
 retiring (after an exchange of kind expressions of friendship 
 and regret) to our rooms for that most unsentimental duty of 
 
 packing up ;" the clock told us midnight had passed, and 
 weary and worn we sought our last couch in London. 
 
 A repetition of the previous day's discomfort in the weather 
 greeted us, as we early left a sleepless bed, and, hurriedly 
 breakfasting, left, to history, London and its associations of 
 August and October, in 18 — . The kindness of our valued 
 friend of delightful memories (from South America) made 
 hift, in the farewell at the raihyay station, the "last link" to 
 be broken. 
 
 TY^ ride to Liverpool was very cold and uncomfortable, 
 {snow coverii ig the ground as with us at winter,) yet in the cheer- 
 ful; hospitable greeting from Mrs. B , 153 Duke Street, 
 
 (and to enjoy whose hospitality and delightful society, we had 
 arranged to remain until our leaving for home, November 
 • 5th) our discomforts were soon forgotten. Her house is the 
 " American headquarters," and never was there a more genial 
 one. The faithful inmate of my family, whose kind nursing 
 at Prague is in these papers a matter of record, left us for a 
 short visit ho^e to Tipperary. But the weather had increased 
 to a gale and a day's delay was her misfortune. 
 
 The week spent at Liverpool was uncomfortable out of 
 dSors, as the weather was very inclement and rough. In fact 
 there was a daily record of disasters at sea. During this time 
 (October 27th) the Australian steamed.* " Royal Charter," with 
 four hundred lives and half a million sterling, was lost in the 
 channel. In the absence of the United States Consul at Liver- 
 pool, I Was very fortunate (through the kindness of H. Wild- 
 ing, Esq., Vice Consul) in receiving a gallery ticket of admis- 
 sion to the great banquet given to the Earl of Derby by his 
 admirers and friends, as complimentary to his administra- 
 tion as Cabinet Minister. It was probably one of the 
 greatest ovations and festivals ever given in England. The 
 large floor of the Philharmonic Hall was filled with tables 
 
244 
 
 A summer's travel in EUROPE. 
 
 and guests of every position in society, from the army, navy 
 and civil life. There were present many of the nobihty and 
 aristocracy ; and the long list of titled guests and a more 
 detailed account of the speakers, sentiments, speeches, guests^ 
 expressions of enthusiastic approbation and the peculiarities of 
 an English banquet would prove interesting to my readers as 
 well as myself, but its inexpediency prevents. 
 
 A visit to the Blind School, and an attendance upon their 
 service on Sunday, October 30th ; a trip to Chester, one of the 
 most ancient and peculiar towns of England, where the houses 
 are of such proximity and style of architecture, that you can 
 traverse the length of the streets under the porticos ^f the 
 second story ; an excursion to the beautiful buildings and 
 grounds of Eaton Hall, upon whose inhospitable steps we stood 
 for an hour in a heavy rain storm ; purchasing mementoes for 
 home, and necessaries for the sea voyage in contemplation ; 
 listening at night to the long yarns of a half score of " skip- 
 pers," around the blazing coal fire of the smoking room ; en- 
 joying most .heartily the good cheer of our liberal hostess, the 
 days passed by, and on Saturday, November 5th, at 4 P. M., 
 the signal gun was fired from the " Canada,'* and we were 
 steaming out of the port and over the bar of Liverpool. 
 
 For the first time our steamer was to stop at Queenstowij 
 to receive the latest possible news by telegraph and mails from 
 the continent and London. We were due there at 12 . M., on 
 Sunday, but a violent gale delayed us until Monday at noon. 
 The bay is beautiful and entirely land-locked. Cork, of which 
 this is the seaport, is twelve miles distant. At 2 P. M., we 
 were again at sea, and in the many passages across the Atlantic, 
 I recall none as dangerous or as uncomfortable. A misstep 
 by the object of my family's highest affections, the second day 
 out, added the severe pain and annoyance of a sprained ankle 
 to the existing ills of a winter's sea voyage. Patient and 
 cheerful under the affliction, the demand u\)on our sympathy 
 was cordially responded to. ^ 
 
" HOME AGAIN." 
 
 245 
 
 Our list of passengers included the Patroon (Gen. Van 
 Rensselaer) and his family from Albany, Hon. Messrs. Charles 
 • Sumner and George S. Hilliard, of Boston, and a host of 
 •friends, — strangers as we met them, but friends as we left them. 
 A pleasant reunion of the two young lady passengers, and . 
 
 • Capti G and Mr. P , of pleasant " Leaping 
 
 Water " memories, was our good fortune. But the voyage is 
 over ! God's unfailing mercy and goodness has again placed 
 in our hands the warm grasp of affection and kindness ; nearest 
 and dearest friends have again greeted us ; new emotions of 
 love and friendship have been created in the cordia^ welcome 
 home. And we are home again, to give as free, frank, generous 
 friendship as ever flowed from a warm heart. Home again, to 
 reheve my kind readers from this tax^ upon their forbearance, 
 and to solicit their leniency in the criticism of these nameless 
 wanderings. Home again, to ask that when the green mound 
 shall have been raised, over which the Ivy from Stoke Church- 
 yard may grow, the world shall speak gently, and tread lightly 
 around it, remembering that " to err was human, to forgive 
 divine !" 
 
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