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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
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IMPRESSIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 GERMAN 
 
 BY 
 
 AN AM K RIO AN LADY. 
 
 ,,1 bow to Reason's dictates, but not less 
 Hold to the fair illusions of old time, 
 Illusions that shed brightness over life 
 And glory over Nature. Bryant, 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 BY B. Gr. TEUBNKK , DRESDEN. 
 
Entered according to Acl of Congress, in the year 1866, l>y 
 M. Griffin, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United Stalex 
 for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 (The right of translation is reserved.) 
 
MY CHILDREN AND FRIENDS 
 
 AS A REMEMBRANCE . 
 
 OF 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I have not ventured this volume without a pur- 
 pose. After several years' residence in Germany, I 
 returned home and was surprised to find how little 
 people in general knew of German life. A vague 
 idea of beer-drinking students , thick-headed emigrant 
 peasants , metaphysics and philosophy no one can 
 understand, with a cloud of pipe-smoke enveloping 
 the whole, seemed to me the received impression of 
 a people , who yearly have been pouring into our 
 land , bringing with them their thrift and talent. 
 That there be truth in the general conception no one 
 can deny, but that all the sweet amenities of life 
 spring up in its domestic relations, that there is a 
 charm living in a country where every rood of land 
 teems with poetry and historic lore, does not re- 
 quire me to tell. That the constancy of their affec- 
 tions and the goodness of their nature commands our 
 respect, has so impressed me, that I have ventured 
 to print my rambling thoughts. 
 
 So many of my country-women are finding their 
 way to Germany, perhaps a few remarks by one of 
 their kind may prove useful. 
 
VI 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I do not pretend to convey anything but passing 
 impressions, but such as they are, they may awaken 
 in some a wish, as one of their own writers has 
 beautifully expressed it: ,,To lift the veil that shrouds 
 this romantic land," or it may give some idea of 
 common life as they will find it. 
 
 I have earnestly written what I have seen and 
 felt, and hope I have ^Nothing extenuated, nor set 
 down aught in malice. 
 
BREMEN 
 
 AND 
 
 THE RHINEL AND. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Steamer. 
 With foam before and fire behind, 
 
 She rends the clinging sea 
 That flies before the waving wind, 
 
 Beneath her hissing- lee. 
 
 Willi clashing- wheel and lifting- keel 
 
 And smoking- torch on hig-h, 
 When winds are loud and billows reel, 
 
 She thunders foaming- by. 
 
 O. W. Holmes. 
 
 The pier was crowded to see the Bremen steamer de- 
 part. The last gun was fired and we were launched upon 
 our voyage. A shout rose from the motley throng 
 upon the shore, where the embroidered cambric and blue- 
 spotted cotton waved high their adieus in one spontaneous 
 feeling of good will. — One more farewell-cheer, and 
 we are off, 
 
 Fairly adrift, one looks about with curious eye to re- 
 connoitre what resources are afforded, not of comfort, 
 that word may be stricken from the vocabulary of them 
 ,,who go down to the sea in ships", but amusement or 
 sympathy with one's fellow - passengers. How great the 
 disappointment, who can tell? to find only a mixture 
 of strange tongues debarring social intercourse; the 
 eternal ,,Ja" jarring your head-nerves ; the peculiarly in- 
 tonated „So u . . . prolonged from mouth to mouth, while 
 yourlimitedknowledgeof German leavesyou speculating. 
 Wearisome days and still more wearisome nights were 
 ours, toiling against head-winds, fifteen mortal days upon 
 the broad Atlantic, diversified, it is true, by the more 
 
 1* 
 
4 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 lively enjoyment of two more, pitching and tossing through 
 the turbulent North -Sea, ,,01d Nick" unpropitious. 
 — The Anglo-Saxons believed this to be ,, Kicker's" 
 peculiar domain: it was he they canonized about here 
 in later times, and the shrine of St. Nicholas still hangs 
 in the cabin of many an old sailor. Resuming his former 
 pranks, he tossed us about unmercifully among the fish- 
 ing-smacks off the Texel and worried usup the very mouth 
 of theWeser, leaving us there in the lurch at sun-down, to 
 cast anchor and wait the pleasure of the commander of 
 the river- boat ; this worthy was letting off steam, pre- 
 paratory to settling for the night. He had no idea, not he, 
 of Yankee alertness, nor the longing of prisoners to be 
 free; he smoked his pipe in peace and turned quietly 
 into his bunk , leaving us to go and do likewise. That 
 last night of concentrated ship-ennui, that narrow state- 
 room, of which I knew every panel, every crevice — how 
 provokingly I remember it! I longed even for the 
 creaking sounds that had at least announced we were get- 
 ting onward, but to swing at anchor, waiting for that old 
 Dutchman to get his nap, was past endurance; yet this 
 was but preliminary to what one must expect in travel- 
 ling all through Germany. The sun sprangup at last from 
 behind the port of Bremer Haven, where it lay just in 
 front of us. How I rose , shook off the clothes redolent 
 of ship, and in a fresh suit clambered down a ladder into 
 the small steam river- craft , which had crept along side 
 of us, I need not here detail. Our Ocean-steamer lay 
 like a great black whale upon the waters, disgorgingfrom 
 its open jaws a volume of small fry in shape of pas- 
 sengers, bags, and coffers. There we all stood on the 
 deck of the river-boat, restored to our pristine form and 
 comeliness. The Polish Jew, who had flourished in a 
 battered, steeple-crowned, ci-devant white hat, greasy 
 
BREMEN AND RHINELAND. 5 
 
 coat, and woe-bogone physiognomy, had burst from his 
 chrysalis, lustrous in smiles, new beaver, and black broad- 
 cloth; patient nurse-mothers, with mewling infants, now 
 came forth twittering like sparrows in the sunshine; pale 
 faces with lack-lustre eyes and heads of hair like wea- 
 ther-beaten thatch, re-appeared redolent of perfume, 
 crowned with ,, Jenning's Spring Style" — a night 
 at anchor had produced a metamorphosis bordering on 
 
 the marvellous, and So we went our way 
 
 up the Weser. 
 
 Wending through rich farm- lands dyked from the 
 encroachments of the river, flat and undiversified, we 
 gladly hailed Bremen, the good old Hanse-town, which 
 sits peacefully smiling among ramparts converted into 
 pleasure-gardens, now wielding the pruning hook instead 
 of the sword. A day or two there. A look into the ancient 
 Rathhaus, with its rich frontal, figures of Electors and 
 Emperors encrusting it at all points; a peep into its 
 dark arched cellars, where the wines of two centuries 
 hoarded in casks, called ,,the Twelve Apostles", 
 former property of some Monastery, and we are through. 
 I was told one of our ship-mates issued forth from these 
 regions in a state of wrathful indignation, denouncing the 
 whole as an excessive humbug: he had expected to see 
 The Twelve Apostles, in full stature and equip- 
 ment, ,,a fig for your Saint Paul, Saint Jonas, and 
 Saint Judas", tho' the rusty brown casks had each 
 its name legibly painted on the end in white letters. Our 
 friend was a recreant Hebrew, who in renouncing the 
 creed of his fathers, had substituted no other in its stead, 
 and certainly quoted scripture to his purpose". — There 
 is a class of these Israelites in Germany, who in order to 
 evade the rigor of the law, renounce their religion and 
 try to persuade themselves thereby, they have cast off 
 
G 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 their nationality, but their speech bewrayeth them; these 
 are they whom Sheridan so -wittily likened to ,,the blank 
 leaf between the Old and NeAv Testament." 
 
 Threading the narrow streets of the Old Town, we 
 come upon the ramparts, the water of the AYeser filling 
 the moats, now made pleasure-ponds for swans, bordered 
 by gravel-walks and plots of flowers. Fresh new-stuccoed 
 houses look pleasantly forth facing these gardens, but 
 I like better the pointed gables and rough red-tiled roofs, 
 in the narrow lanes and down by the river- wharves, 
 with their superabundant windows crowding the fronts, 
 and their quaint weather-cocks, towering away up above 
 the seven stories, at the roof- point; and now, a tedious 
 eleven hours by rail, through a flat undiversified country, 
 and we find ourselves at Deutz, the point of the Rhine 
 opposite Cologne. Here I caught the first view of the 
 famed Colonia Agrippinensis lying almost within her an- 
 cient limits, from the southern point, the site of the Ro- 
 man Capitol, where Christianity raised the church of 
 St. Mary's, to the northern hill, where on the foundation 
 of the temple of Mars have successively arisen the church 
 of St. Peter's and the world-renowned Cathedral. But 
 Roman memories and Electoral magnificence are as things 
 of naught. It is the fashion of the day to decry Cologne, 
 its sharp paving- stones , and imperfect drainage; these 
 have been commented upon in prose and verse, until it 
 is deemed a modern Christian penance to remain within 
 its walls. Not so however with me; these grey old towns, 
 furrowed by age, tell a tale of deep interest, and such as 
 pass through the crooked narrow streets with no thought 
 above a flask of the far-famed sweet waters to hold ,, be- 
 tween the wind and their nobility 1 ' may travel on; we 
 wander by different paths. The windows of our sitting- 
 room opened on the Rhine; along the bridge and quays 
 
BREMEN AND KIIINELAND. 
 
 were floating an army of banners, emblazoned with royal 
 and princely devices. The hereditary Duke of Meek- 
 lenburg-Strelitz was in our hotel. The king of Holland 
 passed up the river in his yacht on a pleasure excursion. 
 The Princess Sophia Something passed down the river 
 ditto , and away back on the railway, we had seen the 
 private coach of the king of Hanover, capped by a golden 
 crown, glittering in the sun. There seemed a perfect 
 migration of royalty, which warmed up old memories of 
 times, when the galleys with gay floating pennons 
 and the brilliant cortege of the Prince Electors swept 
 down the current of the same mighty stream. These 
 wisely removed their state and splendor to Bonn, leav- 
 ing the narrow crooked streets and three hundred and 
 sixty five churches to the staunch Burghers of Cologne, 
 who very soon evinced their sturdy democratic spirit, 
 manfully asserting their rights against the encroach- 
 ments of their Prince Bishops. The day after our arrival 
 Cologne was alive with the Easter festival, the altars 
 were wreathed with flowers, green shrines to the Mother 
 of God were raised inside chapels, and the children, who 
 are confirmed at this season, went about, the girls in 
 white dresses, with wreaths of flowers in their hair, the 
 boys in their best attire, with a flower at their coat-breast. 
 Flowers in Germany accompany every event. The coin- 
 cidence of the northern Pagan festivals with the time 
 of ours has long since been commented upon, but the 
 primitive Germans had besides a feast of flowers. The 
 President was called ,, May -king", or ,, Flower-king"; 
 they danced around the first violet, and the image of 
 Winter, or Death, was taken to the river and there buried. 
 Nothing seizes the imagination more than these observan- 
 ces of nations in their primeval simplicity, but among 
 warriors and hunters as the old Germans were, men, as 
 
8 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 the Germans expressed it whose minds were as great as 
 their bodies" that we should find a festival of such deli- 
 cate imagining, seems the more marvellous when we know 
 that in the solitudes of their black forests, beneath the 
 shadow of their mountain-oaks, their feasts were often 
 sullied by human sacrifices. 
 
 "We went to hear grand mass celebrated in the Cathe- 
 dral, and afterwards paid our tribute at the shrine of 
 the Three Kings, whose relics, brought from Italy in the 
 12 th century by archbishop Renaud, made Cologne a resort 
 of pilgrims and strangers, which filled the coffers of the 
 church to overflowing. From the period of the establish- 
 ment of these relics date the extension and fortification 
 of the town, within whose precincts rose such numbers of 
 churches and richly endowed monasteries, the boast grew, 
 Cologne had a church for every day in the year. A 
 cluster of these remain, claiming the interest of the cu- 
 rious and the study of the architect , but on these it is 
 not in my power to dilate, general and superficial im- 
 pressions are all I pretend to describe. 
 
 "What I felt on first raising my eyes beneath the arches 
 of the great Cathedral, was the comparative insignificance 
 of Man, there, within this mighty monument of his power. 
 Xo known architect can claim this stupendous work; it 
 has been conceded that the Guilds of Free Masons carried 
 out these great Cathedral plans, from suggestions of some 
 master-spirit, founded on a preconceived idea. We 
 read, this one was begun in 785 and consecrated in 1332, 
 five cenuries intervening, during Avhich time it was richly 
 endowed by the reigning archbishops. Rising in their 
 shadowy grandeur, these great Temples of God impress 
 one with an undefined sentiment of religion, the mystery 
 of their vastness and silence subdues the soul. In vain 
 have writers endeavored to convey the impression pro- 
 
BREMEN AND RHINEEAND. 
 
 duced upon the mind by Gothic architecture, -it is unde- 
 finable. Frederic Schlegel calls it ,, frozen music" and 
 Coleridge, ,,a petrified religion". The sensation absorbs, 
 without our finding words to solve its mystery. Heine 
 in his poetic warmth has not gone too far, and I quote 
 his words, if only for the beautiful imagery they convey: 
 ,,The grand idea suggested itself to the Germans, to 
 ,,whom we owe the development of Gothic architecture, 
 ,,of expressing the sublimity of the Deity by means of 
 ,, architectural designs. Rough masses of stone became 
 ,, fraught with meaning. The loftiness and immensity 
 ,,were to fill the heart, as the God to whom the Temple 
 is raised, is great and sublime, the pillars to shoot up- 
 wards toward the light and terminate in light and pointed 
 ,, towers, like Faith aspiring to Heaven, the sublimity of 
 ,,the edifice to be veiled by a thousand beauteous orna- 
 ments, all having one principal form, as if the grand idea 
 ,, pervaded each particle. This form is the Rose in the 
 ,, windows, doors, arches, pillar-ornaments, and blossoming 
 ,,from it the Cross; by the Rose is signified the World 
 ,, — Life, by the cross, Faith — the Deity." 
 
 Architecture became symbolic, it was the reaction of 
 that religious enthusiasm which had led thousands to the 
 crusades, and which, still working in Men's hearts, ex- 
 pended itself in this mystical embodiment. I visited Saint 
 Gereon's, when the evening sunlight, playing through the 
 windows of its circular central dome, brought in view 
 therich imagery of Asiatic luxury developedin its Byzan- 
 tine architecture; twisted columns of blue and red and 
 gold, curious sarcophagi, gilt cases of Martyr skulls, 
 strange combination of undefinable magnificence, pro- 
 ducing pleasurable sensations, but far removed from the 
 religious coloring, shed upon the soul by the sombre Go- 
 thic. Byzantine architecture had less development, being 
 
10 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 stifled at its birth by the introduction of the pointed style, 
 now universally acknowledged ofTeutonic origin, sprung 
 from the vast black forests of Germany, ,, where they 
 sacrificed upon the tops of mountains and burned incense 
 upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms, because 
 the shadow thereof was good". One glance into the cha- 
 pel of St. Ursula, dedicated to her and eleven thousand 
 virgin martyrs, whose bones are mosa'iced into the walls, 
 in arabesque patterns, and whose skulls are ranged in 
 glass-cases, each one covered with a velvet-cap, embroi- 
 dered in gold or seedpearl. This one must visit and 
 speak of, as a leading curiosity among the antiquities of 
 Cologne. In the middle of the chapel stood a great glass- 
 case of relics, subject to the comments of a dull sacristan, 
 done into English this day, for our special edification, 
 somewhat with the usual intonation of a Menagerie-keep- 
 er setting forth the peculiarities of his collection. Whilst 
 this humming was going on, I caught sight through a half- 
 open door ot a scene worthy of Hogarth. Some boys wore 
 practising a chaunt, a benevolent looking old priest pre- 
 siding, a pair of black horn-spectacles on the end of his 
 nose, to which he applied every now and then an enor- 
 mous pinch of snuff, keeping his eyes meanwhile fixed 
 over his spectacles, to see that all were attentive. The 
 group in front, with open mouths, of all dimensions, piping 
 away in great seriousness, evidently intent upon doing 
 their best before the old Pater, the ridiculous overcame 
 the charm of young boys' voices, which are so peculiarly 
 touching in religious services, and the whole led me far 
 away from the drawling sacristan and must be my excuse 
 for not retailing the merits of his relics, of which I heard 
 not a word, save the last, which informed me the true cross, 
 found by St. Helena and brought from the Holy Land, 
 had the faculty of budding every year, and thence was 
 
BREMEN AND RUIN ELAN I). 
 
 11 
 
 accounted for the great quantity of this relic, all over 
 Christendom. The Electoral States had a character 
 of their own; but tho' the Electoral college is dissolved 
 and the title of Elector become extinct, yet there remains 
 enough of the odor of sanctity clinging about Cologne, 
 to render it highly tenacious of its Catholic rights, evinced 
 while I was there by a marriage among the magnates of 
 the city, where the parties were of opposite faith, and 
 where after a magnificent wedding at the church of the 
 Jesuits and entertainment at home, the bridal party were 
 compelled to travel up the Rhine, as far as Saint Goar, 
 and go through the ceremony again under the Protestant 
 form. Cologne was called „ the Holy City", ,, the Rome of 
 Germany", but with all its associations, dating from the 
 Roman conquest, it does not warm the imagination, its 
 primitive character has faded away, modern trade and 
 prosperity have cast all souvenirs of the Middle-Ages 
 into the shade. The architect and antiquarian, it is true, 
 will find there some of the oldest churches in Christen- 
 dom and specimens of every style to gratify his research, 
 but the chance-traveller cares not to dwell among them, 
 and hastens away to Bonn, about two hours 1 distance by 
 rail, where the beauties of the Rhine begin, and where the 
 Electors themselves removed and established their Resicienz. 
 
 The Electors of the old German empire were confined 
 to seven, three Episcopal: Cologne, Mayence, and 
 Treves, four secular: King of Bohemia, Duke of Saxony, 
 Count Palatine and Margrave of Brandenburg. These 
 decided the election of the emperor. 
 
 The palaces of the Elector of Cologne at Bonn were 
 ceded to the university in 1818; the German empire had 
 ceased to exist, and a new order of things was estab- 
 lished. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 II n'y a point de terie si bien moissonnee 
 qu'il n'y resle pour I'hisloire, la poesie 
 ou I'iinag-inalion, une derniere g-erhe a y 
 g-laner. Alex. Dumas. 
 
 Bonn is lovely, its site upon the Rhine, its beautifully 
 wooded parks, now become academic groves, its palaces, 
 retaining their external aspect, all remain; the only 
 change, the Drones have been ejected and Bees have 
 possession; widely different the daring conceited Bursch, 
 his cap sot defiantly forward or cast carelessly sideways, 
 to the prim ecclesiastical proprieties of former days. The 
 student-cap is a badge of fellowship with some society 
 or club; the white caps usually noblemen, the others 
 wear red, blue, green, or party-colored. In changing pro- 
 prietors, the old motto has evidently not been expunged 
 from th e town-records , , , U n t e r d e m Krumrastab 
 ist gut wohnen" (it is good living under the Crosier); 
 for the immortal Beer-Mug holds asprominent a posthere, 
 as in its pays par excellence, Bavaria, if I may 
 judge by the vociferous demands of some handsome young 
 students who frequented the gardens beneath our win- 
 dows, and whose bnrsts of song enlivened us, without being 
 offensively vulgar. These young men gave vent to gen- 
 uine hilarity of spirits, and they were men of twoorthree 
 and twenty, indulging in almost childish glee, rejoicing 
 in existence unshackled by care; with us, they would al- 
 
BREMEN AND RIIINELAND. 
 
 13 
 
 ready be in heavy harness, dragging up hill the burden 
 of life. Bonn is the chosen university to educate the 
 young princes of Germany, who associate to a certain 
 extent with their comrades. 
 
 At Bonn the splendors of the Rhine begin. From the 
 gardens along the river you watch all the beautiful chan- 
 ges which evening- sunsets cast upon the seven moun- 
 tains and the ruin - crowned Godesberg, from the hills 
 without the town, all those varieties and combinations 
 of natural beauties, which have been the theme of travel- 
 lers for ages. I remained at Bonn many weeks, exploring 
 its environs far and near, but our expedition to the Dra- 
 chenfels produced an impression indelible for life. There 
 be those who dare say the Ruins of the Rhine are a 
 hackneyed theme; such will appreciate the enthusiasm 
 of theEnglish lady who, hearing me exclaim at first sight 
 of a ruin, said: ,,Let me look upon the woman who has 
 never seen a ruin". 
 
 Coming, as we do, from a land where there are no 
 ,, far-reaching memories", no ,, birthright of a pictured 
 illuminated Past", we feel perhaps a stronger appeal to 
 the sentimental and imaginative, than Europeans reared 
 under the shadow of these old memorials. They speak 
 with the same fervor of our great virgin -forests, our 
 wide-stretching prairies, the volume of our mighty rivers, 
 and are lost in wonder at the sublime grandeur of nature 
 as it exists in the New World. A German officer of high 
 rank told me that twenty years ago he was for throwing 
 up his commission, shouldering an axe, and ,,away west- 
 ward he" from sheer enthusiasm after reading Cooper's 
 descriptions of our forest-scenery and life in the woods. 
 
CHAP. [. 
 
 It was proposed one glorious afternoon we should 
 visit the el- Berg, the highest of the seven mountains, 
 and we crossed the Rhine on a flying-bridge to the little 
 village of Koenigswinter. Passing up a straggling street, 
 we found at the end a troop of asses waiting to be hired. 
 These were furnished with seats, by courtesy called sad- 
 dles, a sort of armchair covered with cherry-color, in which 
 when once a lady has established herself, there is but 
 little visible of the animal save the four spindle-shanks 
 and the ears, his hereditary honor. Mine, named Myer, 
 was an ass unexampled among his kind, ambitious, re- 
 quiring no urging; no argument to force him on his way. 
 We ascended gradually by a pathway through a thicket. 
 Once I caught a glimpse of the glories in store for us, 
 through an opening, but only for a moment; we again turned 
 into a thickly wooded path, Myer steadily pursuing his 
 upward way, Hans, his master, following, I with my own 
 thoughts, our party having straggled from each other at 
 the outset; but I did not feel alone, there were crowds of 
 familiar friends nodding to me as I passed; wild flowers, 
 whispering pleasant tales of home, while I wondered in 
 foreign lands to meet the pied blossoms so familiar to 
 my childhood. They brought trains of thought and the 
 way did not seem long. I was surprised when a sudden 
 turn brought our party together, and we found ourselves 
 on a bit of table-land, 1453 feet above the level of the 
 river. The rich inner country lay before us, the vine- 
 clad hills around, the sun was sinking in a cloud of golden 
 crimson, in the East a great round harvest -moon, 
 not clad ,,in silver sheen " but golden too, shedding 
 yellow light. We paused all of us in deep silence. It 
 was like a sermon, as some one aptly remarked, a feeling 
 assimilating Nature with Nature's God, the same that 
 prompted the Pastor on the Alps at sunrise to raise his 
 
BREMEN AND RIIINELAND. 
 
 15 
 
 hat and say: „ Let us pray"! We felt in the glories of 
 nature a revealing of the Godhead and were silent. The 
 weather was so serene, the moon so cloudless, it was 
 proposed we should ascend the Dfachenfels that night. 
 There it lay towering before us, with a dense mass of 
 black forest filling the valley between. To me it seemed 
 an impossibility, but Onward was the word, and Myer 
 obeyed with an alacrity untold of in the annals of his 
 tribe, carrying me in ten minutes far ahead of all the 
 party. This enhanced my enjoyment. The sound of 
 merry voices on scenes like these disenchants the imagi- 
 nation and diverts the mind from contemplation; the 
 profound Cathedral solemnity of nature demanded si- 
 lence. Winding through thicket-paths, dark and dense, 
 now we came upon openings in the wood, now plunged 
 into deep ravines, again fronted amphitheatres of green 
 hills illuminated by the moon, always toiling upward, 
 hardly discerning the path before us, shadowed as it was 
 with matted copse -wood. Suddenly we came upon the 
 Steinberg, a parapet of rocks that seem to reach the 
 clouds. Large blocks of stone have been detached from 
 its sides and transported to Cologne for the repairing of 
 the Cathedral, but little do they know, those hewers of 
 stone, they leave behind a grander monument, a Cathe- 
 dral of God's own work, ,,a mockery of Man's art" tower- 
 ing in its might of architectural impossibilities. Here we 
 paused and dismounted underthe shadow of thosemighty 
 rock-masses , which recalled to my mind descriptions of 
 Petrea. In the sublimity of the solemn silent night 
 fast gathering around us, my eye rested on the meek 
 patient expression of the poor tired asses. It was no 
 transition from the sublime to the ridiculous, it was a 
 mute appeal to the heart's best feelings , and the words 
 of the poet seemed made for the time and place; 
 
16 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 „The moon sits o'er the huge oak-tree; 
 The soul of all her softest rays 
 On yonder placid creature plays 
 
 As if she wished to cheer the hardships of the oppress'd". 
 
 Again the word was given, we mounted, another 
 quarter of an hour 1 s upward toiling, and we found our- 
 selves at the base of the far-famed ,, castled crag of Dra- 
 chenfels". It was verging midnight, we looked down upon 
 the Rhine silvered by the stream of moonlight, the adja- 
 cent country veiled in that dreamy indenniteness of 
 night-vapor. One or two fishing-boats were floating on 
 the bosom of the river, with a lamp at their prow, glim- 
 mering like glowworms in the distance, the mountain 
 and the ruined tower above us, half light, half shade, 
 imagination carried back to days of shadows standing 
 under broken archways, beckoning the adventurous spec- 
 tator onward. The Dragon's Cave below, the fair Gun- 
 hilda imprisoned there, by the ruthless lord of Drachen- 
 fels rescued by Siegfried, the hero of the Niebelungen, 
 who slew the Dragon and restored the lady to her father. 
 We have to thank the Past full often for the pleasure of 
 the Present, but Nature, the great Mother, was there, and 
 memory will fondly cherish through life that glorious mid- 
 night-hour upon the Drachenfels. 
 
 Such was my initiation in the legendary lore of the 
 Rhine, and I thought of the wild forest-clad mountains of 
 my native land, of the boundless view from the Kaatskill, 
 of the noble Hudson, that rival of the Rhine diminished 
 to a silver -thread, winding through the harvest-colored 
 lands, gold and brown and green, earth's motley. I won- 
 dered whether in the world's progress there ever would 
 
BREMEN AND RTIINELAND. 
 
 17 
 
 spring up, among those rocks and bounding streams, wild 
 seedlings of Fancy, clustering and blossoming in poetic 
 legends, or shall these Chroniclers monopolize all? — Wise 
 brains have conned the genealogy of Dragons, traced 
 their history afar off among the oldest Chinese legends, 
 which delight, we know, in reproducing these green-eyed 
 monsters grinning defiance from cups and platters and 
 flower-vases. Dragons have dwelt for ever in the islands 
 of the East. Dragons were the emblems carried aloft on 
 standards before the Persian armies; aye, old Roger Bacon 
 recommends an unguent made of the flesh of the Dra- 
 gons of Ethiopia said to be efficacious in prolonging hu- 
 man life. Bronzed with antiquity, they pass current yet, 
 these Lindwurms as the German poets call them, whilst 
 the modest appropriation of a modern Yankee sea -dra- 
 gon has been laughed to scorn, „but mind ye, it argueth 
 a verie rustic wit, so to doate on worm-eaten elde '. This 
 episode of the great national epic excited my curiosity 
 to know more of its hero Siegfried. The work is full of 
 sorcery and wonders, divided into thirty eight books, cu- 
 rious as portraying the manners of the age, its author 
 unknown. The story turns upon the adventures of the 
 princess Chriemhild of Burgundy, won by Siegfried. He 
 is treacherously murdered. In order to revenge herself, 
 she weds Attila, king of the Huns (Etzel as the Ger- 
 mans call him), hoping through his power to accomplish 
 her purpose. All the kin are invited to Vienna, a dread- 
 ful battle ensues, the murderer of Siegfried is brought to 
 the queen, who cuts off his head with her own hand. 
 Hildebrand revenges him by stabbing the queen". 
 
 When Germany roused herself from her long inglo- 
 rious thraldom to foreign tastes, and began to listen to the 
 notes of her native Bards, the poetry of the Middle Ages 
 revived , and then was formed what has been called the 
 
 2 
 
1 s 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Romantic School. This poetry not only manifested itself 
 in their songs, but appertained to their painting, build- 
 ing, art, and modes of life. 
 
 The brothers Boisscree at Bonn were among the first 
 whose attention was called to the merit of the old Ger- 
 man art. From sequestrated convents and obscure pla- 
 ces they gathered that curious collection of pictures which 
 was purchased by the king of Bavaria in 1S27 and re- 
 mains one of the most splendid features of the gallery at 
 Munich. Thus while the French were transporting to Paris 
 all the well-known works of art, these men employed 
 themselves in exhuming from the dust of old convent- 
 chapels, and cobwebbed book-shelves, pictures, traditions, 
 and volumes of ancient German Sagas, which had till now 
 remained without interest. They communicated their en- 
 thusiasm to Frederic Schlegel, and through him they asked 
 the opinion of Goethe and backed by such authority, 
 they pursued their researches. Cologne was rich in these 
 treasures, and in five or six years their collection em- 
 braced a period of two hundred years. This impetus 
 being given, various other amateurs continued the same 
 researches, making collections which all tended to one 
 end, the development of art and the national pride 
 in a school of painting which had nourished simulta- 
 neously with that of Italy. 
 
 The inexplicable charm that attracts the taste toward 
 the productions of the Middle Ages is like other myste- 
 ries of the mind hard to define, but the naivete, simpli- 
 city, and childlike faith pervading the conceptions of 
 those days excites a tenderness of feeling which sup- 
 plants any idea of the ridiculous in the crude achieve- 
 ments of old art. 
 
CHAPTEk III. 
 THE KEEUZBEEG, 
 
 ,,It was a strange and fearful sight: 
 ,,The cowls upon Iheir head, 
 ,,The clinging- robe and the changing light, 
 All gathered around the dead." 
 
 We took a carriage one afternoon and driving up the 
 alley of chestnuts which forms a strait avenue from the 
 old Palace to that of Cljpmensruhe (of which more here- 
 after), we turned aside to the right and skirting the 
 walls of the enclosure passed through the little village of 
 Poppelsdorf. In spite of the beauties of nature, every- 
 where heaped in profusion, these German villages seem 
 constructed to keep out all enjoyment of its charm. Tall, 
 narrow, uncouth-looking houses, gables towards the street, 
 packed so closely together that rarely a gateway is left 
 between. If such occur, it is a wide portal, flanked by 
 stone-pillars, furrowed by time, encrusted with wall- 
 moss, forming the frame-work, not to a flower-garden but 
 a cow-stable, and all its delectable accompaniments. The 
 houses are built of beams of wood transversed fantasti- 
 cally; the interstices filled up with brownish red clay, 
 windows of the very smallest dimensions, and usually 
 a stone bench against the wall, where the good man sits 
 and smokes his pipe at evening when his work is done. 
 The impression is one of total discomfort, and the 
 
 2* 
 
20 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 only evidence there of the existence of feelings beyond 
 the toil for daily bread and the bare necessity of living, 
 are the pots of flowers that garnish the window-sills, tell- 
 ing there is a sense of the beautiful deep-rooted in the 
 human heart, which even poverty cannot eradicate. These 
 window-flowers are universal throughout Germany. We 
 were bent upon visiting the Kreuzberg a little further 
 on, where a chapel built on the site of an old convent of 
 Servites, dating from 1627, is the attraction. From the 
 point where the chapel stands, the eye Avanders over the 
 beautiful country of the Rhine, and Bonn lies just below, 
 embosomed among its groves and gardens. They chose 
 well, those old fathers, for rarely was a convent raised, 
 that did not command some beautiful scene of Nature. 
 "We entered the chapel through aside-door where crouched 
 some miserable old women mumbling prayers and asking 
 alms in the same breath. Poor old souls, how many bene- 
 dictions a few groschen bought ! ,,Neverturn thy face from 
 any poor man" is the text of the Germans. The coin is 
 insignificant, it is true, but the habit commendable, no 
 one can deny; the argument against encouraging pau- 
 pers does not hold here as with us. They are poor, want 
 bread, and so long as one has a halfpenny to give, they 
 are helped. It is only however in these country-excur- 
 sions that demands are made upon one's charity by the 
 old and decrepit ; in the cities provision is made for them 
 and no street -begging allowed. — The chapel of the 
 Kreuzberg bears now but little evidence of prosperity, 
 once a pilgrimage of some importance, now a village- 
 church with white- washed walls and naked altar, the 
 flowers and ornaments faded and covered with dust, but 
 the sorrowful image was there, Mary holding the dead 
 body of the Saviour in her arms. However coarsely wrought 
 there is always sympathy for that mother-grief — a puny 
 
THE KREUZBERG. 
 
 21 
 
 lamp burned before her. But is was not to tins shrine 
 our pilgrimage had been devoted, nor to that of the Holy- 
 Stairs in the rear of the church, said to be the facsimile 
 of the one our Saviour trod when he ascended to the judg- 
 ment-hall ; our visit was to the Dead. In front of the 
 image of the Virgin lay a trap-door leading to a vault be- 
 neath the chapel where we were to descend. The sacri- 
 stan lighted a torch at the taper on the shrine, and pre- 
 ceded us down a wooden ladder. There below, like carved 
 effigies, side by side, lay the ancient Fathers of the con- 
 vent in cowl and cassock, preserved in a mummied state 
 by some peculiarity of the soil or dryness of the air, their 
 skins and garments reduced to one uniform clay- color, 
 this very fact taking from the disagreeable effect of Death. 
 In many the features remain formed, on the clasped hands 
 the nails are still visible, and some hair remains on the 
 chin of one of them. Most have lain there three hundred 
 years, the last interment was ninety years ago. I asked 
 if exposure to the upper air would not decompose the 
 whole into dust. The sacristan told me the same idea 
 had suggested itself to a young Englishman some time 
 since, who stole a finger to test the experiment. How- 
 ever that horrible finger remained goading his conscience, 
 with the dread of hooded Monk haunting his path, to 
 claim his own; for who knows from these prolific Banks 
 of Rhine, rife with such legends, what might have hap- 
 pened, had not the rifled finger been restored. TheMonk 
 regained his own, and the Briton his peace of mind. On 
 our drive homeward we stopped at the Clemensruhe Pa- 
 lace. It has been appropriated to the museums of na- 
 tural history, and its gardens to botanical specimens. The 
 collections of minerals and fossils are considered espe- 
 cially interesting as illustrating the geology of the Rhine 
 and the volcanic deposits of the Seven Mountains. One 
 
Tl 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 grand saloon is exhibited as a relic of former grandeur, 
 the whole wall and columns encrusted with shells done 
 in mosa ic patterns and with minute detail, puerile in taste, 
 hut probably very expensive in its day. Monkeys, birds, 
 lizards all colored to the life, done in shells, represented 
 climbing the columns or sitting aloft on the architraves 
 of the doors. I saw afterwards another such room at the 
 Ked Palace at Potsdam, but no other effect is produced 
 than wonder at the labor it must have cost. 
 
 One cannot remain long in a university-town without 
 becoming interested in that peculiar institution, the stu- 
 dent-class, so marked a feature of German life. Appa- 
 rently reckless, yet restrained by a code of law pertain- 
 ing to themselves, the Burschen have, since the great ca- 
 tastrophe at Prague in the time of the Hussites, been gov- 
 erned by a fixed regulation. It was at that time the 
 new laws were made, professors were paid by govern- 
 ment and the Bursae were institutions for the mainte- 
 nance of the students. Later the Reformation introduced 
 a free spirit, and though retaining the name, the students 
 divided themselves into clubs, according to the countries 
 to which they belonged, and so remain at this day. We 
 were attracted to the window one morning by the sound 
 of music and saw a large open omnibus drawn by four 
 horses filled with musicians; then followed in succession 
 eight or ten open carriages, some with a pair, some with 
 four horses, and lounging in them two or more elegant 
 fellows with white caps, who with all their seeming in- 
 difference, did not fail to cast side-glances at the pretty 
 Frauleins who peeped out at them. I was told it was a 
 Commerce, anglice a spree. They make these parties two 
 or three times a year, drive to some pleasant country- 
 hotel and remain a day or two indulging in extraordi- 
 nary feats of beer- drinking and pipe-smoking when, 
 
THE KREUZBERO. 
 
 23 
 
 having gorged themselves, they return to their usual avo- 
 cations. I gained access to a student's-room one day 
 which gives one an idea of their prevailing habits ; but 
 so much has been written and told of the Burschen Life 
 that I shall limit myself to mere externals, and as it has 
 been said of woman ,,let me but see her usual surround- 
 ings, and I will tell you her character" so of this party- 
 capped gentry. It was a large room, carpetless of course, 
 containing a big stove, a few scattered chairs and tables, 
 and a very hard sofa which is usually a friend's refuge 
 by night if locked out of his own premises, or in the state: 
 How came ye so? — But these are secrets of the pris- 
 on-house, not to be spoken of. Look around the great 
 comfortless room and you will notice the walls are every- 
 where covered with decorations — in these consists the 
 luxury of the apartment — here and there a framed en- 
 graving, before you a photograph-sketch of his club, 
 twenty perhaps, grouped together, some standing, some 
 reclining, this one astride the beer- barrel, holding up 
 his cup, another behind supporting a standard, the colors 
 of the class, others on the floor lounging with favourite 
 dogs. Beneath this picture may hang a number of 
 photographs, likenesses of friends or comrades who have 
 left, it being not uncommon to pass the three years of 
 student -life in as many different universities. On the 
 third side of the room are the formidable duelling-swords, 
 called schlager, fastened crosswise. They are perfectly 
 unique in their formation: the blade three or four feet 
 in length and three quarters of an inch wide, blunted at 
 the end, but kept sharp as a razor at the sides, made to 
 slash not kill, the basket-hilt of large dimensions is 
 covered with cloth answering the colors of the club. But 
 the most conspicuous ornaments of the room are the pipes. 
 There may be fifteen or twenty of them of all forms and 
 
24 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 proportions, porcelain -bowls exquisitely painted, some 
 with fancy-subjects, some with tbe arms of a friend, the 
 stems of polished cherry three or four feet long. Then 
 there are the several varieties of Meerschaum from Vienna 
 or Hanover, embrowned by smoke, each possessing some 
 excellence undreamt of by the uninitiated, three or four 
 smoking-caps and walking-sticks flung about. Such sum 
 up the wordly goods in a student's den. 
 
 One day the death of one of these young men was 
 announced, and my friends advised me to witness the 
 funeral which is peculiar to their habits. About nightfall 
 they assembled, some two hundred in number, in front of 
 the house where their deceased brother lay; a torch was 
 handed to each one, and the pall -bearers , who formed a 
 sort of committee of arrangements, placed the students in 
 tw o rows, one on each side the street. The torches were 
 then lighted, shortly after the hearse advanced slowly 
 between the lines, preceded by a band of music which, 
 with muffled drums, played a solemn death-march. On 
 each side the hearse walked the pall-bearers, and behind, 
 the relatives of the deceased and principal professors. As 
 soon as the hearse reached the end of the line, the stu- 
 dents turned and followed in two regular files, holding 
 their torches above their heads. Arrived at the church- 
 yard, the clergyman took his station at the head of the 
 grave, and the students ranged themselves in a large 
 circle around it. There was a deep silence, while a 
 short address and prayer were offered. This ceremony 
 concluded, the music played a slow impressive strain, 
 known as the „Students' Requiem", which was caught up 
 by all present, the body was lowered into the grave, one 
 by one each student came forward, and throwing down his 
 
THE KRKUZBEK.G. 
 
 25 
 
 torch, took the spade and cast a portion of earth upon 
 the coffin. By the time the grave was filled, the torches 
 had blazed up into a sort of funeral pile and under the 
 uncertain glare of the flickering flame you could detect 
 the quivering emotion on those young faces , manliness 
 struggling with weakness, till feeling at length found vent 
 in the grand outburst of the German requiem, the fare- 
 well-verse. The torch-fire flickered and smouldered and 
 at length went out, as the last shadowy form walked 
 homeward in the silent night, leaving the dead alone 
 in his cold resting place. 
 
 It is in the German character to cultivate such emo- 
 tions, and the heart is all the better for it. I witnessed 
 a scene not long after of a student's parting with his 
 comrades. They had accompanied him to the station- 
 house and were to drink a farewell-glass together. As 
 the moment approached, all stood cup in hand, and sang 
 a chorus, he waved his glass, drank a farewell - cheer, 
 dashed it to the ground, grasped the hands of his fellows 
 and was off. Nature'spoetrylies deep in the human heart; 
 you may crush it, keep it down by conventionalities, call 
 it weakness, what you will, but when found in the simple 
 ingenuous daily existence of a people, its charm awakens 
 the old sealed fountain in our hearts and our feelings 
 respond to the voice of Nature. 
 
 ButI mustnot leaveBonn and its enchanting scenery 
 without one word of greeting to them, at whose lovely 
 villa of Rolandseck I was always received with the grasp 
 of kindness, and whose long-tried friendship and faithful 
 hearts are among my dearest souvenirs of the Rhine. From 
 the balcony of that villa I have dwelt on the magnificent 
 view of the Seven Mountains ; Nonnenwerth, the little 
 
26 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 low island just beneath us, and Roland's Tower looking 
 down upon it from the shore; all that well-conned poetry, 
 written there on nature's magic page; the ripple of the 
 river at the shore -edge, where the toiling patient horses 
 go, towing the river-boats against the current; the great 
 wood-rafts floating slowly past, twenty men perhaps in a 
 row with oars working them forward ; the little steam- 
 boats narrow and sharp, painted light-green, which glide 
 triumphantly by, leaving their froth -track to wash the 
 sides of the poor old slowly towed boats. I have it all be- 
 fore me, with its rich magnificent back-ground of purple- 
 mountains, and the German fancy of a colored glass- 
 window, each pane presenting a distinct shade, that one 
 may temper the view according to desire. I could not 
 help thinking how in travelling we take our views through 
 some such medium and see things jaundiced or rose-co- 
 lored, as our feelings may instigate; but thanks to my 
 first impressions, 1 took with me from that villa the genial 
 glow of the heart, which time has never faded. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ,,\Vo ich bin, wo ich g-ehe , mein Herz ist am Rhein." 
 
 I read somewhere „ Germany can never be expressed 
 by an epigram and have observed, however facetious 
 writers may be in their attempts at description on the 
 Rhine, unwittingly they imbibe its atmospheric influences. 
 — The Rhine-story has been told a thousand times, but 
 there is intrinsic interest in it; for a thousand times we 
 return and are ready to burst forth in the chorus of the 
 enthusiastic Bursch: „The Rhine, the Rhine, a blessing 
 on the Rhine". We linger heart- chained upon the 
 crumbling ruins, where the ivy of centuries sheds its 
 inexhaustible poetry, and listen to the mystic breathings 
 of the past, rising from a hundred hills. The Englishman 
 feels this deeply, but with his undemonstrative nature 
 leaves such impressions unuttered or, fearful of ridicule, 
 turns the weapon against his heart in self-destruction and 
 wendshis way amongbeautiful things, making a humorous 
 tale of them. The Frenchman with his false sentiment, 
 unappreciative of nature, sentimentalizes with an eye to 
 the effect to be produced in the Salons de Paris, whilst 
 the American, too intent upon progress, and making 
 the most of his time, which he has been brought up to 
 consider money, condensing in as short a possible space 
 as great a givennumber of objects on his onward course, 
 takes no time to pause. 
 
2S 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Sentiment is generated in repose, and it is probably 
 the physical repose of the German temperament that 
 makes it so appreciative of the holy voice of Nature. 
 It was the latter part of May when we embarked upon the 
 Rhine. „The flowers had appeared on the earth, and the 
 time of singing birds had come" — the lilacs and chest- 
 nuts, the acacias and laburnum- blossoms loaded the 
 air with perfume, the northern hordes had not begun to 
 swarm, and our light steam-craft shot through the waters 
 with only a moderate complement of passengers. Among 
 those were some charming people I had the pleasure of 
 knowing, and nothing could have been more delightful 
 had not the clouds thought fit every now and then to 
 spoil our enjoyment and drive us for shelter down into 
 the cabin. Here we underwent a scrutiny which I every- 
 where remarked in travelling through this land. The 
 people sit and stare and stare and stare, not imperti- 
 nently, but with a provokingly long searching, which 
 seems to take in, not only the fashion of your garments 
 and your peculiar features, but a sort of quiet pondering, 
 as to what might be your history past, present, and to 
 come. A genuine Yankee, would ,,guess you hadn't been 
 long in these parts", guess where you were bound, in 
 fact guess you into divulging your whereabout, but these 
 good people stare and learn nothing — but after all, what 
 are people in a journey up the Rhine? Most of the time 
 I was so absorbed with the scenery about me and its 
 rapid shifting*, I hardly knew who were in my vicinity. 
 I have travelled far and wide, I have returned many 
 times to the Rhine and say there is nothing equal to the 
 variety and interest it affords — ,, where not a mountain 
 rears its head unsung", where romantic legends meet 
 you at every turn. Here, white villages with their curious 
 old spires; there, others with fragments of old walls and 
 
THE KREUZBERG. 
 
 29 
 
 watch-towers, savoring of the Middle Ages ; pleasant gar- 
 dens and wild woodlands, vineyards bristling among 
 crumbling rocks: peasants away up on the mountain- 
 sides, toiling for their daily crust; now and then, flitting 
 beneath the shore-trees, a Catholic procession, the priest 
 at its head, chaunting from an open book, the peasant- 
 men and women following in two long lines, responding 
 to the chaunt; boys with banners, all, on pilgrimage 
 intent, to some favourite shrine, on a Wallfahrt, 
 a word derived from the old Pagan custom of vis- 
 iting a consecrated wood. Sometimes these pilgrimages 
 bring togethera vast concourse of people, whichproduces 
 like results with our camp-meetings at home, being accom- 
 panied by a host of „ outsiders" whose object is very 
 remote from that of doing penance. At Remagen a little 
 way below Rolandseck there is an abbey, now restored, 
 built on a wooded height, the Apollinarisberg, named 
 after a Saint whose head is preserved there. Many of 
 these processions are bound to this shrine, but I doubt 
 whether many of her votaries know as much as I do 
 about the principal merit of this their favourite Saint. I 
 read in an old book one day, ,, she was seized and all her 
 teeth beaten out, with threats that she should be cast into 
 the fire if she did not utter*certain impious words; where- 
 upon she leapt into the flames. From this legend St. 
 Apollonia has become the Patron Saint of people af- 
 flicted with the tooth-ache, and well may they want such a 
 Saint in this land where teeth are so terribly neglected, but 
 where ,,the grinders do not cease, because they are few." 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 My doom was the ordeal by water at Wiesbaden and 
 lingeringly I went to execution. Six weeks incarcera- 
 tion in a hotel, on a vast plain, recognized as the hottest 
 in Germany, was no small penance, but my sentence was 
 irrevocable and I endeavored to make the best of it. 
 I took up my quarters at the Black Eagle, the Post-Hotel, 
 built round a hollow square to which you gain access by 
 an arched way from the street. A fine garden in the rear, 
 highly cultivated and stored with shrubs and flowers, 
 offers a pleasant retreat, and according to the national 
 custom people breakfast there, or take their afternoon- 
 cofTee. Thedining-hall opens onto this garden and, taken 
 as a whole, I have never inhabited a more pleasant ho- 
 tel. My windows looked out on a square court which 
 proved to be the inn-yard, whence started and came in, 
 four or five times a day, the diligences and post-waggons 
 from all the smaller inner towns. The bustle and stir this 
 occasioned was rather exciting than otherwise, and to 
 an attentive observer, much of a nation's peculiarities 
 can be gathered from just such scenes. 
 
 I had curiously looked forward to my first simmering 
 in chick en -broth, as old „Bubbles u likens the Wies- 
 baden waters, and when my physician, Dr. Miiller, ordered 
 a bath prepared for me at a fixed hour, and a trim little 
 Badefrau came to conduct me to it, I went on the tiptoe 
 of expectation. Beneath the first story of the hotel, is 
 a range of corridors paved with stone, with arches on 
 either hand. These are closed in for bathing apartments, 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 31 
 
 each furnished with a sofa, glass, table, chairs and car- 
 pet, with white curtains from a window high up, near 
 the ceiling. A circular stone basin, about three feet below 
 the floor, contains the water, into which you descend by 
 three or four steps. In one of these cells the Badefrau 
 locked me — heroically I descended and immersed my- 
 self in the thick yellow fluid up to my chin — a rattling 
 at the door-key, and myjailor re-appeared. Regardless of 
 my existence, she whipped up all my under-garments and 
 vanished, leaving me to my reflections. I believe they 
 turned upon ,,1' habit fait riiomme" in spite of theFrench 
 version to the contrary, and I recalled what I once read 
 of Cimon the Athenian who, having taken many Persians 
 prisoners, stripped them of their garments, which were very 
 rich, and offered both for sale. There was an anxiety to 
 obtain the vestments, but the naked Persians no one 
 wanted. What happened to those Persians might happen 
 to many others, if their personal merits were detached 
 from what fortune has granted them. My eyes wandered 
 about the yellow precincts of my cell, rested on the floating 
 grease-bubbles of my bath and dwelt in serious reflection 
 upon the many hours of my existence I was to pass in 
 this solitude. Sol resolved day after day to keep a record 
 of my reflections. Just as I had come to this conclusion, 
 another rattling at the door-lock and enterBadefrau with 
 a thing like a gigantic salt-box. Closing the door, she 
 drew from it an immense sheet, ,,heigh'd" me (as I 
 have heard the ostlers heigh the horses when they 
 have been long enough at the well-trough drinking), held 
 the sheet in the air to form a barrier between herself 
 and me, when rushing to her embrace, I was folded in the 
 grateful smoking heat of the aforesaid sheet, which in- 
 stantly absorbed all moisture from the body. From the 
 same depository she produced my heated garments and 
 
32 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 left me at my leisure to pursue the Bad-toilette. — Wies- 
 baden was empty, the spring backward, the weather 
 lachrymary, consequently rheumatic patients confined 
 within tour Avails to seek their own resources. Hors the 
 episode of the greasy bath once a day, I ventured to dine 
 at the table d'hote, hoping thus to make a diversion in 
 the monotony of life, but the ceremonious length of time 
 those dinners last is exceedingly irksome for an invalid. 
 They are unexceptionable in all their appointments, and 
 the cooking at the Black Eagle particularly good. Later, 
 when the season opened, there were many distinguished 
 guests, and the habit of meeting everyday and sitting in 
 each other's neighbourhood establishes an acquaintance 
 for the time which is very agreeable, to be recognized 
 or not afterwards, as the parties may see fit. A peasant- 
 child with a basket filled with small fragrant nosegays 
 went regularly round at the desert-course, and the gentle- 
 men show their gallantry by presenting them to the ladies. 
 Barely or never did we leave the table without five or six. . 
 It is a privilege for the gardener's child, who daily 
 collects in this way quite a little sum. 
 
 In the ,,dolce far niente" of my bath this morning, I 
 wondered whether the old Roman Thermae, established 
 here two thousand years ago, offered any of their wonted 
 luxury, or whether like us moderns , they reposed in a 
 fish-kettle of a thing, with a wall about them colored 
 Dutch Pink, and a curtain with two transverse seams, 
 tormenting one's vision with the economy of six penny 
 cotton. Dutch Pink is the technical term for a very 
 tawny orange. That Dutch Pink has lain an unsolved 
 problem in my mind ever since infancy, when the annual 
 renovation our kitchen underwent every May, was a coat 
 of Dutch Pink, and every May came out yellow as a sun- 
 flower. Dinah never could explain the matter to me, though 
 
W IKS R ADEN. 
 
 33 
 
 slie felt perfectly satisfied lier premises were resplendent 
 in Dutch Pink, and here in my past-meridian that I should 
 be again striving to solve the enigma, was trying in the 
 extreme. It is said the linest specimens of sculpture were 
 found in the baths of the ancients, and I can understand 
 in the listlessness of inaction, how appreciative the eye 
 might become of beautiful objects. This is the third time 
 in my life I have submitted to immersion for ailments. — 
 Away off in the broad valley of the Tennessee, in that Tar- 
 tarus called ,, Avon Springs" I have passed many hours 
 of reflection in wooden boxes like horse-troughs, emerg- 
 ing thence to the luxury of two strips of coarse crash, 
 called by courtesy towels, you re-appear wrapt in hoods 
 and blanket-shawls, to crowd into a long omnibus, which 
 is waiting, hauled up under the trees — the horses 
 hitched to the fence; Jim, the driver, always in the ten 
 pin-alley. The most energetic person present screams 
 for him at the top of her voice, but Jim leaves you there 
 yelling till the game is finished; then at his leisure un- 
 hitches and drives you four-in-hand, tearing up and down, 
 hill, two miles, till you reach the hotel through a cloud 
 of dust white as powder, when you find yourself for the 
 rest of the day smelling like — Proserpine perhaps. The 
 Wiesbaden waters contain no sulphur, and yet patients 
 are sent here for the same class of diseases, gout and 
 rheumatism. The principal spring bubbles up clear and 
 hot from the ground, its temperature 156° Fahrenheit. A 
 stone basin has been constructed to receive it; here the 
 drinkers resort early in the morning, young women pre- 
 side to fill the cups, each person walks off, goblet in hand, 
 up a covered way, and when the water is sufficiently cool, 
 drinks it and recommences the same routine, to be re- 
 peated according to the number of glasses prescribed by 
 the physician, the said prescription being widely dis- 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 similar in this our day from that of the learned Gaspard 
 Hundorf in the lG th century, who ordered ,,trois bains 
 ,,par jour, 1' usage modero du vim, une joyeuse humeur, 
 ,,de la salade an souper, etune ferventepriere pour cloire 
 „saintement la journee". Wiesbaden was known to the 
 Romans, and there are yet found remains of walls and 
 ancient baths. Charlemagne also resorted here, and the 
 tame, of its healing powers has borne the test of two thou- 
 sand years 1 experience : it is the most frequented watering 
 place in Germany but by no means the most select, Ems 
 and Baden-Baden continue to be the resort of fashion 
 and display. 
 
 The Kursaal is a building which occupies one side of 
 the great square. In its rear extend the vast gardens and 
 pleasure-grounds, where the people can enjoy theluxuries 
 of cool shade and beautiful flowers; every afternoon a 
 band of music plays at the public expense, and the gar- 
 dens then become the resort of the visitors, who take 
 coffee and ices at the little tables prepared for them. The 
 vast saloons of the building, sumptuously fitted up with 
 marble columns and statuary, are open to the public 
 night and clay, and the Gambling Tables stand conspi- 
 cuous among the attractions. These are a source of 
 large revenue to the government, and the practise is ex- 
 cused upon the plea the same gambling would go on, and 
 that it is safest under public surveillance; but it is hard 
 for us, unused to such exhibitions, to excuse the alleged 
 motive, however plausible. To me it seemed a great 
 moral Lazar- House — a painful picture of human weak- 
 ness; and I have seen faces there, which have haunted 
 me ever since. Day after day might be seen the old 
 Prince Emil of Darmstadt, with gold heaped up around 
 him, absorbed in this his domineering passion. It is said 
 one day after gambling away all his available funds, he 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 35 
 
 played and lost the old orange -trees which garnished 
 his terrace. No one speaks loud in the gambling saloon, 
 a circle usually surrounds the table, and behind stand a 
 crowd of lookers on, who venture now and then a few 
 florins, but no further. As I stood watching a game 
 and the different countenances before me, my eye fell 
 upon a young man, pale and worn; his large dark eyes, 
 eager yet weary, watching the turn of the game, hazard- 
 ing perhaps his last florin Behind him stood his wife 
 in deep mourning, her hand upon his shoulder, as if she 
 would stay his movements, while large tears coursed each 
 other down her pale cheeks. What a moral lesson ! — 
 but no one heeded it, the hard -looking bankers raked 
 in their profits, or pushed indifferently their gains to 
 those who had been fortunate; every one was absorbed, 
 I turned away and left the room with impressions of the 
 most painful nature. The season was early, and yet the 
 gardens were much frequented, whether by the towns- 
 people or by strangers I could not determine, but I re- 
 marked how very little beauty one sees at these places, 
 and a long residence in Germany has convinced me, that 
 it is not only rare, but that the homeliest faces I ever 
 saw in my life came under my observation. I could not 
 help pondering on the matter why it should be so. I 
 never remember to have seen such ugly old women, and 
 yet it is said the Americans fade earlier than any other 
 nation ; certainly we do not devote as much time to pre- 
 serving our complexions as the German girls do. I was 
 attracted by a group of old dowagers who had collected 
 on some chairs near me in the Kursaal-Garten , and was 
 struck how their homeliness was enhanced by the want 
 of taste and assimilation of dress to their age. The beau- 
 tiful Marie Antoinette never wore flowers after she was 
 thirty; there was taste in that. ,,To grow old with grace", 
 
36 
 
 CHAP. TV. 
 
 has boon the favourite motto of one of our distinguished 
 women, and when I see a bonnet wreathed within with 
 field-daisies or lilies of the valley, reposing on a com- 
 plexion of the color and texture of an old winter hay- 
 stack, I feel such a bonnet has missed its vocation, to 
 say the least; but if the women be homely, the men are 
 homelier: my observations were made at table d'hote. 
 It is said, if a man be clever, no matter how ugly he is. 
 Now all these may be wise as Socrates for what I know, 
 ^,cc sage an nez epate/'; there certainly was an extraor- 
 dinary likeness to the philosopher. 
 
 An inn-yard would not seem the most desirableview 
 in the world from your drawing room-windows, but that 
 of the Black Eagle is peculiar. — Antiquated rambling 
 buildings surround it, with steep reel-tiled roofs; strange 
 bits of windows, here and there; an old trumpet-creeper 
 with a trunk like a tree, trained against one of the side- 
 walls; a perpetual stream trickles its clear water into 
 the horse-trough, and the area of the square is kept 
 sprinkled and scrupulously swept. — Beneath a range of 
 sheds stand some half dozen of those uncouth contrivan- 
 ces called Diligences, all painted a tawny red; one or 
 two of these always going through the process of packing 
 and starting, under the superintendence of a sort of ge- 
 neralissimo, a stout man with a figure und beard worthy 
 a Hei r Baron, who attends to his business with a natural 
 hauteur and magnificence of manner which would be pro- 
 foundly absurd were he conscious of it; but it is the no- 
 bility of Nature, and I doubt, whether any Prince in 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 37 
 
 the kingdom could pile luggage and brush out the inside 
 of a Diligence with the same style and grandeur. 
 
 Across the court we of the inner house are obliged 
 to pass, whenever Ave wish to leave our premises, and as 
 the kitchens are in our vicinity, toward evening the 
 gentlemen operators there come out to cool themselves, 
 white as millers, caps, clothes, apron, everything, with a 
 sheathed carving-knife hanging at their side. Here com- 
 mences that series of bows Avhich marks my progress 
 and characterizes this people. The cooks uncap, the 
 hostlers uncap, the porter and any stray waiter I may 
 meet gives the salam, and I go nodding in and out like 
 an old Chinese mandarin. I would not have this changed 
 however, it arises from genuine good feeling, I only fear 
 the constant ridicule of more cold-blooded travellers may 
 spoil the amiable bonhomie to which this hat-lifting owes 
 its origin. While we were at Bremen, one of our fellow- 
 passengers, a German gentleman, who had been for four 
 or five years a resident in the United States , went into 
 a coffee-room for a moment, and seeing it apparently 
 empty, did not remove his hat. He told me his attention 
 was called to two men, who sat in a shaded corner, by an 
 observation from one of them: ,, That man with his hat 
 on, is one of the Americans just arrived, they are only 
 half civilized" — Harken, ye legitimate descen dents 
 of the Man -hat- on Tribe, whom Diedrich Knicker- 
 bocker classed ere now. But I opine our surliness is an 
 English inheritance where a bow is a mark of superior 
 condescension, a sort of Imperial Jove -like attribute. 
 Every one knows the anecdote of the man who when Pitt 
 asked him what he could do to forward his interests, 
 simply requested the Prime Minister to bow to him in 
 public. The German people are intrinsically good and 
 affectionate — kind in their manners to all. I never hear 
 
38 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 gruff words or impatient exclamations, and yet there con- 
 gregate hour after hour beneath my eyes a mixture of 
 all classes — everything is done quietly, no one seems 
 in a hurry, no one ever seems impatient, and yet I 
 confess it, my American blood shoots up in wonder some- 
 times how people can be so slow. The Diligence-pas- 
 sengers stand and wait, the horses ditto, the post boy 
 goes and comes; then something has to be added after 
 the i oof- packing is completed and the leather buckled 
 down — a bale of hay perhaps, or an old hair-trunk, and 
 then they get the ladder and poke as I should say at 
 home; and the people look on; finally, all is completed 
 and the passengers take their places, the Postillion blows 
 his horn, always very falsely and harshly, — music about 
 equal to the Fish horn at home, during the shad-season. 
 This wonders me in Germany where the national ear for 
 music is so fine, but so it is always, and if an attempt 
 be. made at a little flourish , it becomes laughably ridicu- 
 lous. I have, had opportunity of judging, I should 
 think, in a nine weeks 1 residence in the Hotel de laPoste. 
 After the horn -blowing our people are off? — By no 
 means — they wait — first, till the Postillion climbs up 
 to a high seat in front of the carriage and there adjusts 
 his great coat and two or three brown bags. — They 
 wait, till the conductor with his little knapsack strapped 
 across his shoulder, goes in and gets his great coat and 
 sees that properly stowed, goes in again to thePost-office 
 and comes out, tries all the carriage-doors and atlast does 
 climb up and settle himself along side the driver when, 
 ,, heigh" they are off — yes — always provided some one 
 who is too late does not arrive and stop them just under 
 the arch, to get in. Nobody swears, each accommo- 
 dates himself to the circumstances of the case. They are 
 a good kind people. Just over the arch is painted the 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 39 
 
 great black two-headed eagle from which the hotel takes 
 its name. — I suppose every one knows this was once 
 the noble Roman Eagle that led the Legions on to con- 
 quest, but whose head became split a the the time of the 
 division of the empire into East and West, so that he 
 could, look two ways at once, a sort of Janus-like arrange- 
 ment, which did not succeed very well as is proved by 
 his degenerating into something very much resembling 
 a dried Bat nailed against a barn-door: a practical lesson 
 this, the moral of which I would hold up to our own 
 country. May our Eagle never be split. 
 
 Day after day I find this city of waters growing 
 hotter and hotter, and eargerly watch the sun declining 
 to make an excursion across the plain, and by rising 
 among the wooded hills that surround it, find a fresher 
 breeze and inhale long draughts of perfume exhaled from 
 the woods and fields at this season. There has been re- 
 cently erected on one of these hills a Greek Mausoleum- 
 Chapel, in honor of the late Duchess of Nassau, a Rus- 
 sian Princess. It is distinguished externally by five domes, 
 one in the centre, with four lesser ones, all richly gilded, 
 which reflecting the rays of the surrender it conspicuous 
 from a great distance, towering above the forest-trees that 
 surround it. The inside walls are encrusted with pre- 
 cious marbles and gorgeous Byzantine decorations; 
 paintings of apostles and saints on golden grounds by 
 Neff, its shape a Greek cross, one arm of which is a 
 chapel, containing the splendid marble monument of the 
 Princess, a sarcophagus richly carved. She is repre- 
 sented lying as in sleep , with a crown of roses on her 
 
40 
 
 chap. iv. 
 
 brcvsv, the very porsonification of loveliness. There are 
 those who prefer it even to Ranch's celebrated monument 
 to the Queen of Prussia. 
 
 These woods and hills that surround Wiesbaden are 
 delightful when once reached; but the contrast of return- 
 ing to the plain and rattling through the streets past the 
 long rows of square cream - colored houses and finally 
 being ensconced within the atmosphere of a hotel, requires 
 some philosophy and much previous suffering, to recon- 
 cile one to the absolute necessity of the thing. There is 
 a hunting seat of the Duke of Nassau known as ,,Die 
 Platte" built on the brow of a mountain, and conspicuous 
 to all the country round. We were told it must be vis- 
 ited from the grand view it commands. The thermo- 
 meter had ranged above ninety for three days, every one 
 was exhausted by the heat, when, about three in the 
 afternoon, the signal boomed through the air — a thun- 
 der-storm was coming. The Heavens darkened and we 
 were assailed by s storm of hail and rain which fell vio- 
 lently for about fifteen minutes, — the hail-stones the 
 largest I had ever seen. It had the usual effect of cool- 
 ing the atmosphere, so that at five, with the sunshine re- 
 flected from thousands of glittering rain-drops, we found 
 ourselves on the ascent to visit ,,Die Platte". The 
 road is cut through a forest, and the excessive neatness 
 and care, with which everything is looked after, indicates 
 there is no wild forest here, — at least as we Americans 
 know wildness. About an hour and a half brought us to 
 the hunting lodge, for so ,,DiePlatte" may be considered, 
 placed on a bald spot of land. Here the Duke comes to 
 hunt; but the deer, we learnt, were civilized folk, who 
 at evening hover round the inhabited premises, eager to 
 be fed. Two fine models of stags, done in bronze, are 
 placed on either side the great door of entrance, which 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 11 
 
 opens into a circular hall where antlers without number 
 are affixed to stag-heads of white plaster, producing a 
 most miserable effect. In fact I -was entirely disappointed 
 with all the interior arrangement. I was told it was got 
 up in a peculiar style, with furniture of stag-horn, and 
 looked for something sylvan or rustic. I found a little 
 villa with inlaid floors, flowing white draperies and bright 
 hangings and mirrors, many chairs and tables curiously 
 wrought in buck-horn, but they gave no character to the 
 place; there was no amalgamation or taste in the whole 
 thing. The Duke and a privileged few come here to 
 hunt; the rest of the world to see the view. A mist had 
 crept up from the forest, exhalations after the storm, and 
 we were disappointed in seeing the whole extent of the 
 prospect, which is very vast. To me these topographi- 
 cal chart- views possess little interest, and I returned 
 without any desire to revisit ,,Die Platte". On the roads 
 we met numbers of weather- beaten peasant women carry- 
 ing upon their heads enormous loads of faggots; children 
 toiling under armsful, and the feeling that this paltry 
 brushwood is gained by the hardest labor, that the forest- 
 laws are so rigid, no one dare under severe penalties 
 appropriate the smallest stick, made my heart ache for 
 these hard struggling patient people. Man indeed eats 
 bread by the sweat of his brow, and the conviction for- 
 ces itself upon one travelling through an old country like 
 Germany, where every inch of ground is made available 
 ancf where bodily field-labor comes constantly underone's 
 eye; where sunrise and sunset find the peasant at his 
 toil ; where the earth, in order to give forth her fruits in 
 due season, must be labored and coaxed and cherished 
 with indefatigable perseverance during the four seasons, 
 
 ,, Re-iterated as the wheels of time 
 
 ,,Kun round, still ending and beginning still" 
 
12 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 — and all this patient industry, not as with us, to reap 
 finally the fruit of their labor by competency in old age, 
 but to divide the coarse black bread, so dearly earned, 
 with their children, who in their turn, from generation to 
 generation, will have gone through the same routine, and 
 eaten the same dry crust. Of the frugality of the common 
 people in Europe we can form no idea without witnessing 
 it. It is this early habit of abstemious living that serves them 
 in their first struggles in emigrant life and leads to for- 
 tune. The proprietor of one of our wealthiest cabinet- 
 warehouses in New-York told me, he came out steerage 
 passenger, with four children and nine dollars in his 
 pocket. Black bread is a marked feature of German life. 
 You meet the peasant - woman returning home at night 
 with a basket on her head, from which protrude black 
 loaves about three feet long and four inches in diameter; 
 the color and shine on them reminding one of an old 
 oak-post polished by time: this is life's staple. I meet 
 the children going to school, with their satchels slung, 
 holding the chunk of black bread which is to stay their 
 stomachs at lunch. Our beggars at home would consi- 
 der a moment, whether they would take it, and if they 
 did, perhaps cast it slyly in some bye-corner, as I have 
 often seen them do dry white crusts. Black bread-pud- 
 dings are esteemed among the table luxuries at the best 
 houses, where even with the blandishment of wine-sauce 
 I never could do them justice. National predilections 
 evince themselves nowhere more forcibly, than in our 
 eating. The prejudice of foreigners, generally, to our 
 sweet potato amounts to repugnance; and so with many 
 other things. In one of Voltaire's sarcastic fits of ill 
 humor, perhaps some day when he and the Great Fre- 
 derick had had a domestic squabble upon the score of 
 reducing the number of wax-lights, or the cups of choco- 
 
WIESBADEN. 
 
 43 
 
 late, ho denounces Pumpernickel — the black bread par 
 excellence, that which has found its way to Kings' tables 
 — as, ,,certaine pierre dure, noire, et gluante, composee 
 a ce qu'on pretend d'une espece du seigle". The last 
 stage of this black composition is the horse-bread which 
 does answer pretty nearly Voltaire's description, but 
 which the horses eat with avidity, and which is a very 
 easy method of transporting fodder on a journey. I could 
 not keep my eyes off it, the first time I saw a pile of 
 loaves on a side -walk; and only learnt by seeing the 
 postboy slice a loaf, and the horses munch it, that there 
 was a degree coarser bread than the peasants ate. The 
 delicacy and texture of the white bread in Germany to- 
 gether with its moderate price makes it the more extra- 
 ordinary that any one can relish Pumpernickel, with 
 this at their command. But servants and common people 
 would consider themselves ill-treated, if they only had 
 white bread. In the household - arrangements they 
 are allowed so many pounds of black bread a week, and 
 in the morning to eat with their coffee, two or three 
 white rolls. 
 
 The drive to Bieberich was my favourite afternoon's 
 excursion. The palace and gardens of the Duke over- 
 looking the Rhine, are generously left open to the public. 
 The vast extent of view, bounded at the North by the 
 Taunus-ridge ; while to the South old Mayence with its 
 towers and bridge fill up the picture. The gardens 
 with their labyrinths of flowers and noble clumps of trees, 
 the red chestnuts heaped with pyramidal masses of dark 
 pink - blossoms , contrasting finely with the deep green 
 
4 1 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 of their leaves, the air loaded with perfume, such are the 
 attractions of a June evening at Bieberich, not to name 
 driving over the most perfectly macadamized road. We 
 meet the Dnke frequently, driving himself, like a private 
 gentleman, with only one or two attendants, avoiding 
 all ostentatious display, and loving to go alone among 
 his people, which strengthens their attachment to him. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 M A YE N E. 
 
 ,, I pray yon, let us satisfy our eyes 
 Willi the memorials and things of fame, 
 That do renown this city." 
 
 Two Gent, of Verona. 
 
 The Towers of old Mayence looming in the distance 
 excited my desire to go there, and the celebration of the 
 Feast of St. Boniface finally determined me. He, the first 
 missionary to Germany, came from England in the ninth 
 century and accomplished so much in the cause of Chris- 
 tianity, that he was made Bishop by Charlemagne and 
 afterwards canonized; curious this, he having been one 
 of those who strenuously denounced the admission of so 
 many new Saints into the Calendar, as also Saints 1 days, 
 founded too often upon the ignorance of the people,. It 
 is said that even within a century a hymn was chaunted 
 in the Cathedral at Mayence cn the anniversary of Saint 
 Mercurius. Having been long a Roman city, the twenty 
 second Legion which had been engaged with Titus in the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, was stationed here A. D. 70, and 
 Crescentius, one of the first preachers of the Christian faith 
 on the Ehin e, was a Centurion in this Legion. It is easy 
 thus to trace the curious incongruities that crept into 
 the early church. As a matter of expediency they chris- 
 tianized Pagan names. 
 
46 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Tradition tells us, it was near tins city the vision of 
 the Cross appeared to the Emperor Constantino, and a 
 spot in the vicinity of Mayence always has gone by the 
 name of the Field of the Holy Cross". — The prudence 
 of Boniface, his great piety, and the esteem in which he 
 was held by the Emperor, laid the foundation of that fu- 
 ture greatness, which made the Archbishops of Mayence 
 the most powerful princes of Germany. 
 
 A centennial feast has been instituted to his honor, 
 and it was my good fortune to be present on the great 
 day. — This, one of the oldest cities of Germany, has 
 undergone so many bombardments and struggled through 
 so many wars, that her battered houses and dilapidated 
 towers have gradually gone through the process of re- 
 pair and very little remains to give the character of 
 antiquity to the place. The houses are freshened up with 
 new yellow plaster, the walls, fortifications and old Ca- 
 thedral-towers have been restored in red sandstone; 
 the latter, having suffered awfully under the Prussian 
 bombardment of 1793. During the French invasion 
 it was converted into a magazine and barracks for sol- 
 diers, who, as usual, amused themselves by mutilating 
 the monuments. Mayence has always been a frontier- 
 fortress, owing its existence to the camp Drusus 
 pitched there. It soon became the most important of the 
 chain he built upon the Rhine. Here he died, and a 
 tower they call the Eichelstein is said to be his Monu- 
 ment. Up to the present day, the peasantry of lower 
 Germany swear by ,,Drus", whom they consider to be 
 something worse than the Devil. The remains of an 
 enormous acqueduct are still to" be seen, yet few traces 
 of the ancient splendor of the Romans exist in Germany, 
 except enormous foundations of Avails and the old watch- 
 towers scattered along the river, round which townshave 
 
MAYENCE. 
 
 47 
 
 gradually sprung up. Mosaics, single statues, coins, 
 etc. have been dug up all along the Rhine. Mayence is 
 the oldest Bishopric in Germany, and its Episcopal Prince 
 Elector stood first on the list. As Archchancellor of the 
 empire, he presided at Diets, in the absence of the Em- 
 peror; at coronations, the post of honor was conceded to 
 him; he anointed and placed the crown on the Emperor's 
 head, and was considered as the Pope of Germany. A 
 great number of remarkable men figure in the annals of 
 Mayence, and among them stand conspicuous these 
 Prince Electors. History has recorded their deeds. The 
 extention of their territory, the aggrandizement of their 
 families and indulgence of their own revengeful passions 
 distinguished these Prince Prelates, as it so often has 
 their brethren of Rome; among them, the name of Hatto 
 has been branded by posterity. A man of daring cour- 
 age, deep cunning and cruelty, seeking unlimited sway, 
 hated by the common people, his treacherous policy was up- 
 held by the Dukes, whose interest it was. The popular 
 disaffection vented itself in ballads, decrying hierarchical 
 lust and power; thence the legend of his death, his 
 denying in time of famine the stores of grain he had mo- 
 nopolized to the starving peasantry, and the miraculous 
 swarms of rats pursuing him even to the little Maustower 
 on the Rhine, where he had shut himself for safety, and 
 where they devoured him. These popular ballads, re- 
 viling those in power, show the spirit then reigning among 
 the people, excited by the tyranny of the petty lords, 
 exasperated by the perpetual disputes about the heavy 
 tolls exacted from the merchants on the rivers. Arnold 
 de Turn, a citizen of Mayence, gave the first impulse to 
 resist these exactions and oppose the robberies of the 
 nobles. It is to him tourists owe the picturesque memo- 
 rials that crown the Neckar and the Rheinfels, many of 
 
IS 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 the robber- chieftains being expelled at this time, and 
 their castles laid in ruins. One of the most remaikable 
 men who reigned over Mayence was Willigis, ^ie son of 
 a wheel-wright. lie rose from his humble origin to the 
 dignity of Archbishop; the continual theme of his ene- 
 mies was the lowness of his birth — a high crime against 
 Gorman prejudice. It is said, one morning in the early 
 part of his reign, he found written, not only on his house- 
 front, but upon the walls of the city, an offensive distich, 
 reminding him of his humble origin. He resolved on the 
 moment to turn this to good account, and adopted as his 
 arms a white wdieel on a red ground, to make it the more 
 conspicuous. This he joined to the arms of the State 
 appending to it the obnoxious couplet: 
 
 ,, Willigis — Willigis — 
 ,,Denk woher du kommen bist." 
 
 It is even said he caused his chamber-walls to be em- 
 bellished with wheels and beneath the motto ,,Recole 
 unde veneris 1 ', — remember thy origin, — in order to 
 keep his pride of power in subjection, — a salutary lesson 
 and which I recommend strongly to those at home to 
 whom the wheel of Fortune is sole escutcheon; with the 
 familiar motto, ,, Here we go up, up, uppy, and here we go 
 down, down, downy." There is a hidden vanity however 
 under the veil of such humility Agathocles was always 
 served in earthen vessels because his father was a potter: 
 pah ! it makes one's teeth grit to think of Falernian drank 
 from a stone pot. 
 
 We entered Mayence, as I mentioned before, on the 
 Feast of St. Bonifacius. There has been a strong effort 
 making on the part of the ultra Catholic party, within 
 a few years, to revive the old ceremonies of the church, 
 but in the enlightenment of the age, this can only be 
 
MAYENCE. 
 
 49 
 
 partial. Catholics themselves in Germany see the pueri- 
 lity of such things. The childlike belief and poetical re- 
 ligious enthusiasm, which hallowed these things during 
 the Middle Ages, has died away. Then there was a de- 
 mand for novelties, and new ceremonies were instituted 
 and relics and pilgrimages increased. One of the most 
 extraordinary of the latter I cannot forbear mentioning, 
 though perhaps out of place, but it has its bearings on a 
 religious sect of our own , part of whose worship is simi- 
 lar, I speak of the Shakers. In the year 1273 Frederick, 
 Archbishop of Treves, founded a pilgrimage to the grave 
 of St. Willibrod at Epternach, where a general dance in 
 her honor was performed by the pilgrims, who, linked 
 together, made two steps forward , one backward, and 
 then zig-zagged off to the right and left, — a custom kept 
 up till within a few years. An ass's festival would not 
 now be tolerated, but processions, pilgrimages, and saints' 
 days have been revived. 
 
 On this the feast-day of its Patron Saint the town was 
 decked with garlands festooned on every house ; rows of 
 fir-trees planted along the streets; shrines, and statues 
 of saints, embowered in flowers. From the mansions of 
 the great, down to the tiniest cobbler's stall was exhi- 
 bited something in honor of the day. In the first, gor- 
 geous paintings, and rich vases, closed up most of the 
 lower windows, with natural flowers mixed among them, 
 while in the latter, a little plaster image perhaps, and a 
 crown of blue corn-flowers, showed he did what he could. 
 Thus to passers-by everything wore a festival aspect: 
 hundreds of people had collected in their holiday clothes, 
 from the poor vine-dresser, with her hard sun-burnt face 
 to the delicate lady in her velvets and silk. The deep 
 peals of the Cathedral bells; the chaunt of the different 
 processions belonging to separate parishes, going to con- 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 CIIAP. V. 
 
 gregate beneath its roof; girls in white, holding garlands 
 suspended from banners, all gave a peculiar aspect to the 
 day, and from its novelty excited our curiosity and in- 
 terest. We followed in the crowd. The inside of the 
 of the Cathedral was a perfect jam, and we with diffi- 
 culty made our way through to the end, where a private 
 stair gave us access to the organ-loft in which we had 
 been fortunate enough to procure places. From here we 
 could look down upon the great altar in one of the choirs, 
 — this church like those of Treves, Worms and Spires, 
 having a double choir, and high altars both at the East 
 and West ends. It is more renowned for its antiquity 
 than beauty, having been built between the 10 th and 
 11 th centuries. There were no less than seventeen bish- 
 ops present, to preside at the high Mass in honor of St. 
 Boniface, whose statue was placed on an elevation above 
 the grand altar, clone in wood, well varnished, with a 
 good benevolent pink face, a gold mitre and crosier, and 
 white robes. I saw the ceremony performed by the array 
 of priestly honorables in their gorgeous robes and mitres, 
 the presiding Archbishop, prince of Schwartzenberg, one 
 of the high aristocracy of Austria, an interesting looking 
 man of seven and thirty, said to be on the upper step to 
 a Cardinars seat. After the high mass a procession 
 formed and passed through the principal streets, which 
 were lined with people, and every window filled with 
 spectators. Each parish walked by itself accompanied by 
 its Priest. Banners; figures of Saints decked with flowers, 
 carried by young men; and girls in white; the charity 
 schools with their teachers (as with us) ; the Sisters of 
 Charity; the orphans ; Ladies of the sacred Heart; Friars, 
 peasants, ladies, gentlemen, all slowly marching, chaunt- 
 ing some canticle which was accompanied by brass in- 
 struments: the figure of St. Bonifacius in all possible si- 
 
MAYENCE. 
 
 51 
 
 zcs and attitudes, and finally the great body of priests, 
 from the white robed choirmen,up to the seventeen Bish- 
 ops, in cloth of gold, and so the pageant vanished. 
 There were eight or ten Friars , Franciscans, with brown 
 frocks girt with rope, ,, sandalled shoon ", and heads, on 
 which the tonsure had drawn a bold circle, not a little round 
 spot as big as a dollar, which is the mark now-a-days set 
 upon the crowns of priests; — well, here were real Friars, 
 as nasty a set, as the eye could rest upon; dirt was of yore 
 deemed an accompaniment of piety. Wehave many records 
 of that fact, one of which I recall, where Saint Eufaxia, 
 who presided over a convent of a hundred and thirty 
 nuns, concurred with them in a vow, never to wash their 
 feet. — ,, Cleanliness next to Godliness ", an innovation 
 that crept in with the Reformation; but our Franciscans 
 had not allowed any such heresy to lead them astray, 
 judging from the color of their skins. However here was 
 a picturesque looking Friar, rosary, hood, bare sandalled 
 feet, and all; it was a picture for my journal — a sketch 
 in brown ochre. After the ceremonies of the day, we 
 returned to the Cathedral, now restored to its quiet, the 
 throng having passed elsewhere. It contains the monu- 
 ments of many of the Prince Electors, and that of the 
 Dalbergs, oldest barons of the realm. But the most in- 
 teresting is that of St. Bonifacius, a red sand stone mon- 
 ument erected in 1357. He was an English monk and left 
 his country with eleven others to preach the Gospel to the 
 barbarous nations of Germany. His labors extended from 
 the Elbe to the Rhine, and from the Alps to the Ocean, 
 and lasted upwards of thirty years. But no woman of 
 sentiment can loiter through the aisles of the cathedral 
 and not turn into the chapel that opens upon the cloisters, 
 to pay a passing tribute at the tomb of Henrich von 
 Meissen. He, surnamed Frauenlob or Lady's Love, was 
 
 4 * 
 
52 
 
 CTIAP. V. 
 
 buried on the eve of St. Andrew 1318 and his bier 
 was supported to the grave by eight ladies. Though 
 a canon of the Cathedral, he devoted his muse to the 
 praise of w oman; his was that romantic enthusiasm which 
 inspired the Minnesingers, resulting from the mystic ado- 
 ration of the Virgin, making the Mother of the Saviour 
 the ideal of beauty — the mystic Deity of every heart — 
 thence elevating the soul into Platonic rhapsodies, and 
 throwing a poetic halo about the sex. I own to a little 
 relish of Schiller's ridicule of the Minnesingers however, 
 when I think of this simple priest, who must have known 
 as much about the genuine passion of love as the gilt 
 cherubim of his Cathedral did, or as the Abbe who was 
 playing the game of definitions, and having the question 
 put to him: What is Love? (amour) answered demurely: 
 ,,Un mot qui contient trois voyelles et deux consonnes." 
 — Schiller says: ,,If the sparrows should ever think 
 ,,of writing or publishing an almanac of love, it probably 
 ,, would be composed in the same style: A garden, a 
 ,,tree, a hedge, and a sweetheart; — quite right — some- 
 ,,what such are the objects which have place in the head 
 ,,of a sparrow: and the flowers they exhale; and the fruits 
 ,,they ripen; and there is a branch on which the bird sits 
 ,,and sings in the sunshine; and the spring comes, and 
 ,,the winter goes, and nothing results but ennui." Those 
 who , like Schiller, delight in the development of strong 
 passion, can never probably abide the forced conceits of 
 the ,, dolz pleurai". But all reverence to the good ca- 
 non of Mainz, moaning like a solitary sparrow upon the 
 house-top ; though the sex since his day, have assumed 
 a new code of rights and forsworn the insipidity of 
 sucking-dove life, yet they have not neglected their cham- 
 pion, and a new monument has replaced the old one, — 
 which was destroyed by some accident, — erected by 
 
MAYENCE. 
 
 53 
 
 the ladies of Mayence in 1843, bearing Iris portrait in bas- 
 relief from the chisel of Schwanthaler. 
 
 There are two massive brazen doors opening from the 
 Cathedral into the market-place on which is inscribed 
 the Magna Charta of Mayence. These doors and the 
 privileges conferred by the charter, were the gifts of 
 Willigis to the citizens, A. D. 1000. In the various 
 chapels which are found along both sides of the church 
 many sumptuous altars are seen, but to a plain unpre- 
 tending one a miracle is attached which is a curious proof 
 of the na'ive simplicity of the people's belief in those far- 
 off ages. — ,, An Image of the Virgin stood in this chapel; 
 on her feet she wore a pair of golden slippers — the 
 votive offering of St. Crispin perhaps — be thatas it may? 
 a poor itinerant fiddler starving and miserable, after play- 
 ing unsuccessfully through the streets of Mayence, entered 
 the Cathedral und kneeling before the altar of the Virgin, 
 put up his prayer for succor; looking about him and ob- 
 serving the church was quite empty, he, in a moment of 
 devotional zeal, tuned up the old fiddle and sung a hymn 
 to the Virgin. So earnest was he, so warmed up his heart, 
 that he again threw himself upon his knees before her 
 altar. On rising, the statue of the Virgin dexterously 
 kicked out her left foot and deposited the golden slipper 
 in the ragged bosom of the fiddler. Elated by his good 
 fortune, he flew to a jeweller's shop to exchange the gift 
 for money. It was recognized; he was arrested for sa- 
 crilege, judged and condemned to be executed in the 
 Speise-Markt opposite the brazen doors of the Cathedral. 
 His judges treated his story as an impudent falsehood. 
 Arrived at the foot of the scaffold, he asked, as a dying re- 
 quest, to be permitted to offer one prayer and sing one 
 hymn at the altar of the Virgin. They could not refuse, 
 — it would have been an impiety equal to his sacrilege. 
 
54 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 CI >sely guarded, be was allowed to enter the church; he 
 prayed and sang as he had done before. The Virgin lifted 
 her other foot and flung the remaining slipper into his 
 bosom; all present witnessed it, none could deny the 
 miraculous interposition in his favor, and the fiddler went 
 free." — On leaving the Cathedral, we went to the open 
 space where Thorwaldsen's statue of Guttembergis placed, 
 the expense of which was defrayed by all Europe. His 
 house no longer exists, but that in which he established 
 his first printing-press was shown us ; — he was the in- 
 ventor of the moveable types as all know. With this, we 
 had exhausted what Mayence offered to interest us and we 
 returned to Wiesbaden, crossing the superb bridge which 
 unites Mayence to Castel, 1665 feet long; and driving 
 among gardens and orchards in that state of perfect cul- 
 tivation which characterizes Nassau. The precision and 
 neatness of the market - gardens must be seen to be rea- 
 lized; there is not a hand's breadth of ground that is not 
 rendered available. Many of these small proprietors de- 
 pend entirely on the produce of these little spots of earth 
 and necessity compels them to cherish them with such care. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 THE RHEINGrAU. 
 
 ,,ln heart I am a very boy, 
 Haunting- the woods, the waterfalls, 
 The ivies on gray castle walls: 
 Watching- in silent joy 
 
 When the broad sun goes down the west." 
 
 Alex. Smith. 
 
 A beautiful episode was that, when stealing for a time 
 from the monotonous routine of bath -life at Wiesbaden, 
 we went among the mountains of the Rheingau. I can 
 now appreciate the glowing enthusiasm of the Germans 
 for this, the garden paradise of their country. We landed 
 at Bingen; there was a walk, shaded by lindens, down 
 upon the shore of the Rhine; here and there, a resting 
 seat. To this I found my way the first evening. Beyond 
 lies the bleaching-ground for the city-housewives, whose 
 diligent maidens were spreading and watering, or folding 
 and piling in baskets, masses of house-linen; all was con- 
 ducted in that quiet orderly manner, so peculiarly nation- 
 al; they might have wondered why I sat and gazed so 
 intently on them. Just as the girls were giving their 
 last sprinkle, preparatory to leaving, the sun began to 
 sink behind the Falkenberg , and I hurried down to a 
 bend in the shore, to see the river in its glory before the 
 night fell. The sides of the mountains lay in deep shad- 
 
56 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 ow below, where the impetuous waters, chafing over rid- 
 ges of sunken rocks , break their way through a passage 
 called Bingen-Loch, closed in from sight by the dark pro- 
 montory of the Falkenberg. A deep grey had fallen upon 
 nature; the hush of night seemed already there, when 
 slowly the cloud-lids parted and the great golden eye 
 beamed out for a moment, revealing away back, the green 
 river-islands and the bristling vineyards of the Johannis- 
 berg, in powerful contrast with the black pools and tur- 
 bulent eddies of the Bingen-Loch whirling past the 
 Mausethurm, which rests on its little green islet — that le- 
 gendary tower where Bishop Hatto met his doom. I saun- 
 tered slowly along the river -bank till night closed in, 
 then home through the garden, on which our windows 
 opened. The damp evening -air exhaled perfume from 
 beds of mignonette and rose-trees in full flower. Among 
 the shrubberies stood white statues; there a Bacchante 
 holding up a cluster of ripe grapes; here, a long-robed 
 Ceres, with wheat-sheaf and sickle; fronting our win- 
 dow, the indolent Apollino, leaning against a tree-stump, 
 his arm negligently thrown over his head. For a moment, 
 in the still twilight there came a nightingale and perched 
 upon the uplifted arm; it warbled derisively I fancied. 
 The lazy Apollo had left his lyre no one knows where; 
 no poet was at hand to lend him one, so the beautiful in- 
 cident passed off into thin air, where many a lovely thing 
 has vanished before. It was the first time I had heard 
 a nightingale. They are so cherished in Germany, that 
 to kill one or disturb a nest, subjects the offender to a 
 severe penalty of the law. 
 
 The early morning-sun on the morrow found us float- 
 ing down the current of the Rhine in a small row-boat. 
 We were bound to Rheinstein, a proud castle of the thir- 
 teenth century, on whose walls Rudolph von Habsburg 
 
THE RHEINGAU. 
 
 57 
 
 planted the Imperial banner when he came with an armed 
 force to destroy the robber knights of the Rhine. Long 
 a ruin, it has been within a few years restored, and fitted 
 up as a summer -residence by one of the royal family of 
 Prussia. Old armor, colored glass, quaint carvings, nar- 
 row turrets and dark chambers, terraces with orange- 
 trees in bloom, ivy-covered walls, and the vast beautiful 
 view from every balcony and tower-top, allured imagina- 
 tion and compensated for the heavy toil of climbing up- 
 ward several hundred feet, which is made easy however 
 by a road cut winding up the side of the mountain. 
 
 Leaving this , we crossed over the river to the vine- 
 clad Assmannshausen. At the village I renewed my acquain- 
 tance with the donkey-tribe, but to my shame I confess 
 it, all those delicate sympathies of Drachenfels memory van- 
 ished; for a couple of as viciously wilful beasts, as were 
 Hans and Fritz, I leave for future tourists to judge. Hans 
 would grin, show his yellow teeth, lay his ears back 
 upon his neck, and look uglier than ass ever did before. 
 Fritz, every now and then, stopped stock-still, for no pur- 
 pose in the world that any one could surmise, and which 
 the peasant -woman, his mistress, explained by the very 
 wisest of apophthegms „Esel siri d Esel". So I jogged 
 on, repeating, ,,Men are but men, and asses are asses," 
 upwards through the narrow village-lane, then out upon 
 a country-road and again beneath the Niederwald, where 
 paths and vistas, cut through the forest, offer every 
 attraction for a summer-day's excursion. Our first pause 
 was at the Jagd- Schloss , where a huntsman and his fa- 
 mily reside and provide refreshments. A taste of the de- 
 licious Assinannshauser, the only red wine of the Rhine, 
 and we are off again; the old guide and the peasant-wo- 
 man trot along side, and have long patois talks together, 
 and munch black bread, of which the asses get a snack 
 
58 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 now and then, making Fritz exacting. He is constantly 
 pushing his nose into Gretchen's pocket, who isveryfond 
 of him, and puts her sun -burnt forehead against his 
 hairy one when we halt, and they two have love confe- 
 rences. I am persuaded asses are not stupid — wilful 
 I must concede since I made Fritz's acquaintance, but 
 that shows character, — and so we travel on under the 
 high oaks and beech -trees, till we reach the magic cave, 
 which unfortunately we are obliged to enter at the wrong 
 end and thereby miss the surprise. The recent heavy 
 rains had deluged the grotto, or dark arched stone pas- 
 sage so called, which leads to a circular chamber only 
 light enough to distinguish large objects. From this, three 
 arches open cn to long vistas, cut through the forest down 
 to the water's edge, producing the most charming diora- 
 mic effects. From this magic cave, a short walk carries 
 you to the Rossel - Tower where the glorious view bursts 
 full upon the eye — the grand sweep of the river, dotted 
 with its green islands, those gems of the Rhine, crowned 
 with young oaks and fringed with poplars, reflecting in 
 their calm water- mirror, their gentle loveliness. The 
 Nahe winding its yellow waters through rich inlands, 
 spanned atBingen by an arched bridge, from under which 
 it runs to greet the Rhine, then creeps beneath the shad- 
 ow of its bank, unmingled with the dark blue waters, 
 the aristocratic river condescends to no mesalliance. Mid- 
 way upon the side of the Assmannshausen mountain hangs 
 the ruin of Ehrenfels (the rock of honor) built to com- 
 mand the rapid passage of the river, through which ves- 
 sels must pass, to avoid the whirling rock-eddies that ob- 
 struct it here. This castle, with the Mausethurm oppo- 
 site, were toll-houses of the thirteenth century which toll- 
 service became so exacting, it was finally exploded by 
 the league of towns. There were no less than seven tolls 
 
THE KHEINGAU. 
 
 59 
 
 levied, between Bingen and Coblentz. The far stretch- 
 ing vineyards covering the Riidesheim, the Johannisberg 
 and the Scharlachsberg, Avith the blue line of mountains 
 edging the horizon, comprise the vast view from theRos- 
 sel-Tower. We spent an hour or two more wandering be- 
 neath the cool shade of the forest, resting in spots where 
 peasant-girls offered for sale great glorious strawberries 
 heaped in cornucopias of green leaves, and cherries strung 
 on longtwigs. Literally the cherries of this land have two 
 bites in them, we have nothing like them with us, where 
 we rarely see perfect ones. Again we came out upon the 
 open hill-side, among the vineyards. These, the most 
 valuable in Germany, are mostly owned by great landed 
 proprietors; that of Johannisberg for example, in the be- 
 ginning of the present century, belonged to the Prince 
 of Orange; then Napoleon made it over to his Marshal 
 Kellermann, and finally in 1816 it was presented by the 
 Emperor of Austria to Prince Metternich, who holds it as 
 an Imperial fief at the present time. 
 
 Here and there among these rich inheritances are 
 found small proprietors, who part with their wines to spe- 
 culators who purchase the product and stand their chance 
 whether it be good or bad. The toil of the vine-dresser 
 is unceasing; for this they are paid about nine dollars an 
 acre, by the year. The vine is a very delicate plant, and 
 hail or frost may in a few hours, ruin the hopes of the 
 cultivator who may be depending upon the crop for his 
 subsistence. Some idea may be formed of the revenue 
 by that of the Johannisberg; the vineyard contains sev- 
 enty acres, and in good seasons the estimate is, it brings 
 in eighty thousand florins. In bad years the juice of this 
 celebrated grape is not allowed to go into the cellars, but 
 is sold for what it will fetch. We descended a precipitous 
 flinty road which soon merged into the back-lanes of the 
 
60 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 the town of Riidesheim, narrow and close — so close at 
 times , that with extended arms I could touch the walls 
 on either side. In one of these passes a discussion took 
 place between Fritz and Gretchen , he having made up 
 his mind to a browse upon some grass that grew along 
 the base of the wall; she. that he should come on; I, on 
 his back, remained a passive spectator. Gretchen pulled 
 him by the bridle, and Fritz elongated his fore-legs and 
 held back. It is not my affair, thought I , and left them 
 to settle it. We were between two garden-walls, the one 
 on the right had been newly repaired; the holes in its 
 old face plastered up, a splendid rounding off of new 
 mortar at the top stuck all over with bits of sharp broken 
 black bottle. I doubt not the proprietor eyed it compla- 
 cently, little boys who steal plums, with awe. Its oppo- 
 site neighbor, an old mouldering mass, was discolored 
 with patches of brown lichen ; above, knots of long grass 
 had gathered, and crawling stone-moss clustered its dark 
 pink - blossoms over the rough brow. Thoughts of old 
 age came over me, — the newly plastered wall suggested 
 a battered beau who had mounted a smart wiry periwig 
 which did not make him a whit the younger, for all the 
 pains he took; the other, a cheerful effort to endure plea- 
 santly the remnant of existence, by gathering about him 
 what was left of the poetry of life. I had known both 
 kinds. At this point of my rumination, the argument be- 
 tween Fritz and his mistress wound up by his trotting off 
 down a stony lane, shaking me most unmercifully and 
 bringing up abruptly on the river-bank. Here we parted 
 company; Gretchen pocketed her florins, and Fritz walked 
 off after, looking as meek, as if he were the most patient 
 ass in the world. Close on the shore, just beyond the 
 town of Riidesheim, stands the Bromserberg, a massive 
 quadrangular castle of the year 1100, whose walls vary 
 
THE RIIEINGAU. 
 
 61 
 
 from eight to fourteen feet in thickness, now inhabited 
 by the Countess Ingelheim, an octogenarian. As we slowly 
 rowed across the Rhine, our guide pointed out, where 
 some of the chambers of the ruin had been repaired to 
 make it the summer-home of the old countess. I could 
 not but dwell in a musing mood upon its hoary stones, 
 the wild grass and flowers crowning them above, like 
 wreaths upon a tomb, while here and there a projecting 
 balcony, or a sash fitted in a broken arch, spoke yet of 
 life within. Eight centuries the stones of the Bromser- 
 berg have been furrowed by the summer-rains, or been 
 crisped beneath the winter -frosts of the Rhine. Eighty 
 years has the hoary head within bowed before the storms 
 and changes of life. What a world of sorrow and suffer- 
 ing to have borne ! What brave strong hearts they have, 
 who combat and live on. I have noticed the placid smile 
 of endurance petrified as it were, on such faces, and it 
 reminded me of it, — that effort of Nature's verdure, away 
 up there among the hard stones, shadowing desolation. 
 Another tower, the Bromserhof, higher up, was the resi- 
 dence of the knightly race of Bromser. To this is attached 
 the tradition of the death of the beautiful Grisela, so well 
 known in German song. Her father, in the wars of Pa- 
 lestine, beingmade prisoner by the Saracens, vows to de- 
 vote his daughter to the church if he ever is allowed to 
 return in safety to his castle at Riidesheim: he escapes 
 at last, under the guise of a pilgrim reaches home, and 
 is affectionately welcomed by his daughter, who, in the 
 mean while, had grown into a beautiful woman. She 
 listened with consternation to his vow: she had formed an 
 attachment to a young knight in the neighborhood, but nei- 
 ther tears nor entreaties could change her father's pur- 
 pose; he threatened her with his curse if she would not 
 obey. In the midst of a violent storm, she precipitated her- 
 
62 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 self into the foaming waters of the river, from the tower 
 of the castle, and her body was found the next day, by 
 some fishermen, in the whirlpool by the Mausethurm. The 
 boatmen to this day, think they hear the dying wail of 
 the beautiful Gisela , when the storm-wind comes sweep- 
 ing down the Rhine. 
 
 I stood one evening on the Rochusberg behind Bin- 
 gen , looking down , now upon the river, now upon the 
 inner country, with its long lines of white road, stretch- 
 ing off among cornfields as far as the eye could reach: 
 this one, past Ingelheim to Mayence; yonder, to Treves; 
 and away North, another, to Coblentz ; the distant wind- 
 ings of the Nahe, and the outline of the Donnerberg on 
 the horizon, all mapped before me. The chapel of St. 
 Rochus gives its name to the mountain. Here on the 
 Saint's day, in August, thousands of people assemble. It 
 was this Saint's peculiar property, to cure the plague. 
 The chapel had long since sunk into ruin; ,,the owl 
 looked out of the window, and the wild birds of the for- 
 est built their nests there", but unfortunately for the 
 lovers of the picturesque the ,, noble arch in proud de- 
 cay" has been plastered up, and the Rochus Capella re- 
 joices at this present writing, in a steep blue slate roof 
 and an uncouth steeple, — a sorry appendage to the 
 beauties of the Rheingau. Will not some votary of taste 
 from the good town of Bingen plant an ivy there? Tbey 
 who have embowered their own beautiful old church down 
 upon the Nahe in trees and vines and flowers, they who 
 have taught those white roses to clamber against the 
 rough brown stones, shadowing quaint monuments, fit 
 emblems of pale death, and the spirit exhaling upward, 
 
THE RIIEINGAU. 
 
 63 
 
 — will not the same hand train a twig of stern old ivy 
 over the naked Avails of the Rochus Capella? — ivy cling- 
 ing like strong friendship, through weal and woe, cover- 
 ing flaws and imperfections. The sun lighted up the seams 
 and furrows of the old church; it was very homely, but 
 it cast a shadow where, on a stone bench, one might rest 
 and think. So I turned my back and let my thoughts 
 wander. Away off there at Ingelheim, once rose the 
 proud residence of Charlemagne with its marble columns 
 and rich mosaics, spoils of old Italy, presented by the 
 Pope, to adorn the palace of the Emperor. Now, not one 
 stone is found upon another, every trace of its existence 
 vanished, and the crowded peasant-houses of a German 
 village all that remains of the proud memories of Ingel- 
 heim. The broad meadows there smile beneath the har- 
 vest, the same as when, a thousand years ago, the magni- 
 ficent Charlemagne, uniting the hitherto disjointed Ger- 
 man states, founded the empire. Patron of agriculture, 
 as well as of the fine arts , he carried into practice here, 
 in his farms upon the Rhine, that art of husbandry 
 hitherto so much neglected in Germany, and which in the 
 present day they have carried to the very highest pitch 
 of perfection. From his residence at Ingelheim, it is said 
 he remarked the early melting of the snow on the oppo- 
 site hills of the river, and made the experiment of trans- 
 planting thither the vine from Burgundy. The little hills 
 of Johannisberg andRiidesheim ,, rejoiced and were glad" 
 and the mountains have dropped down with new wine a 
 thousand years. Tradition whispers, that the spirit of 
 Charlemagne still hovers around these his favourite haunts, 
 to bless the vine in this the ,, Bacchanalian Paradise". 
 It is pleasant to dwell on such memories, to wander back 
 to that Christmas-eve of the year eight hundred, when 
 with a splendid retinue, Charlemagne stood in Rome, and 
 
64 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 the Pope placed on his head the crown which for one 
 thousand and six years after, represented the union and 
 supremacy of Germany; when the assembled multitude 
 shouted : ,, Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great and 
 pacific Caesar, life and victory to the Roman Emperor". 
 — Then again, the great Emperor here, in his short 
 doublet of otter-skins, overlooking his farms, or fishing 
 among the low islands of the Rhine. There is a peculiar 
 fascination in tracing historic events on the soil whence 
 they sprang, like ,, calling spirits from the vasty deep". 
 Here, particularly on the Rhine, does the memory of the 
 Imperial benefactor strike one. The reign of Charlemagne 
 is an illuminated page in the great volume of German 
 history, clear and defined; those which follow, are so 
 involved in vast intricacies, that one becomes confused, 
 though here and there, romantic incidents stand out, 
 giving life and reality to solitary places. Charlemagne 
 died as he had lived, honored and adored by his people. 
 Canonized after death, his tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle be- 
 came a shrine for devout pilgrimage. One more leaf 
 turned in the chronicles of those times offers a sad and 
 painful contrast to the rich coloring upon a golden ground 
 we have just left: a page, which the Germans would call 
 ,,grey upon grey". — On that long low island opposite 
 Ingelheim died Lewis, the son and successor of Charle- 
 magne, surnamed ,,the Pious". Controlled by priests, 
 subjected to papal power, which had been held in abey- 
 ance by the stern determination of his father, despised 
 by his people, a victim to wretched family-quarrels and 
 intrigues, deposed by rebellious sons, this miserable Em- 
 peror died, shrieking ,,hutz", ,,hutz" like the huntsmen, 
 to scare the devil from his bed-side. 
 
 ,,Gaze on that picture, and on this!" 
 
THE RHEINGAU. 
 
 65 
 
 Returning over the wooded height of the Scharlachs- 
 berg, where paths have been cut and views opened, I de- 
 scended by the road which passes the public cemetery, or 
 Court of Peace, as the Germans poetically call man's last 
 resting place. Here the hand of affection had embellished 
 with shrubs and flowers each narrow spot, marked by a 
 black cross, the sad way-marks in Death's narrow domain. 
 Groups of people had gathered along the road-side — 
 a funeral was in sight. I stood a little way apart and saw 
 it pass. First came choir boys carrying huge wax-torches 5 
 then twelve young ladies in deep black, their heads un- 
 covered, walking in two parallel lines some distance apart; 
 next little girls in white, with garlands of white flowers 
 in their hands, then others, carrying the emblems of Faith, 
 the anchor, the cup, and the cross, done in evergreen and 
 white flowers; another bore aloft a crucifix; next to these 
 followed the mourners, the chief one, a young lady, in 
 deep black, with a white veil falling to the ground, bound 
 about her head a crown of cypress. Her grief was almost 
 uncontrollable. She was supported by a female friend 
 on either side; her costume and the wild expression of 
 her countenance recalled to me a painting I once saw of 
 the Pythian priestess, crowned with bay, preceding 
 the people to a sacrifice. After these mourners, came two 
 priests in white robes, edged with deep lace, their heads 
 covered with black skull caps; then eight men, bearing, 
 by bands passed under it, a coffin which they held quite 
 low. It was of light colored wood , filagreed with silver 
 ornaments. Then followed a crowd of male friends, for 
 the deceased was evidently a young girl from the white 
 flowers and ribbons. Alford's beautiful Dirge came to 
 my mind: 
 
 5 
 
60 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 ,, Slowly and softly let the music go, 
 ,,As ye wind upwaid to the grey church-tower 
 ,, Tread lightly on the path-side daisy flower* 
 ,,For she ye carry was a gentle bud, 
 
 Loved by the unsunned drops of silver dew. 
 ,,Her voice was like the whisper of the wood 
 ,,In prime of even, when the stars are few. 
 ,,Lay her all gently in the flower-full mould; 
 ,,\Yecp with her one brief hour 
 
 Solemn and touching was this funeral cortege, so 
 characteristic too of German domestic life. For us, born 
 under other habits, we cannot understand this public de- 
 monstration of feelings which the heart everywhere holds 
 so sacred. Endurance in retirement, apart from public 
 gaze, is characteristic of our manners. But here, all events 
 of life are made matters of public sympathy. They go 
 up to the house of God in company, hang votive garlands 
 on Saints' shrines, and raise their voices in solemn can- 
 ticles together. They go forth in crowds on All Saints' 
 day, Protestants as well as Catholics, and carry grave- 
 crowns to cast upon their family tombs. They hail the 
 Pentecost together, and are rejoicing among the fields 
 and gardens. The Bridal, the Baptism, the Confirmation 
 and the Burial are all events to which friends and rela- 
 tives, dependents, all contribute their token of remem- 
 brance or respect by crowns of flowers. The Sunday 
 holyday finds troops of families and friends out upon the 
 roads and lanes for a ramble together. All this produces 
 good humor and good will to mankind, and that benevo- 
 lence of manner so marked among the German people, 
 that religion of every day life which softens so many of 
 its asperities. Perfect simplicity and integrity of pur- 
 pose is the national characteristic, I have always found 
 it in my long stay among them. I have discovered faults 
 too, which do not tally with my habits and prejudices; 
 
THE RUEINGAU. 
 
 f>7 
 
 but that there is something very lovely and respectable 
 in these customs which conduce so much to family union, 
 the most prejudiced must acknowledge, and the re- 
 sults have a more happy effect on the heart than the 
 more reserved and undemonstrative habits of their Eng- 
 lish descendants, in which we so largely participate. 
 
 Life is indeed a picture gallery if we only mark its 
 varieties as we pass along: here a dark Rembrant; there 
 a golden Claude Lorrain; sometimes a rare Raphael 
 catches the eye, but more frequently a Terriers, if one 
 would but stop to sketch it. I had gone on my way in a 
 subdued frame of mind, induced from the sad scene I had 
 just witnessed , because ,,Man goeth to his long home, 
 and the mourners go about the streets". The sunlight 
 was still lingering upon the mountain tops, and I found 
 my way down the narrow streets of Bingen on to the 
 thoroughfare along the river. The business of the day 
 was over: only here and there was seen a solitary indi- 
 vidual making his way homeward, or sauntering along for 
 amusement. Drawn up, in an advantageous position, 
 stood the stage of a puppet show, its curtains falling in 
 green folds, to the ground. Two or three puppets, like 
 decoy ducks, placed on the outside, leered comically at 
 the passers-by, hinting there were lots of fun inside. Two 
 or three venturesome little boys were dodging in and out 
 under the stage in great glee, but in constant dread of 
 being caught, which enhanced the enjoyment , of course. 
 Where was that most potent personage then, the Puppet 
 Master? I walked slowly past. — Drawn up close behind 
 the little theatre I saw one of those covered waggons, 
 
 5* 
 
68 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 which serve the double capacity, of a carriage and pair, 
 or a sylvan abode, as may be, furnished with a bed, stool, 
 table and small cooking stove. Stretched on the miserable 
 pallet lay the Man of Jests. The last rays of sun- light 
 pouring through the open door showed me his haggard 
 features and his arms thrown over his head, in the wea- 
 riest of attitudes, alone, forlorn, — altogether an object 
 of pity. My heart ached for him. I went on my way 
 thinking of the melancholy lives of Jesters; Grimaldi, 
 the famous clown, advised by a physician who did not 
 know him, to go and see Harlequin, to dissipate his mel- 
 ancholy. I dwelt long on the philosophy of these things, 
 on the strange constitution of the human mind, but in 
 spite of all my attempts at reasoning, I felt a heart load. 
 I would shake it off; I would not sleep without offering 
 some relief to the sick Jester; alas! for poor Yorick. 
 When I returned they had lighted up the little theatre; a 
 crowd of gaping children had collected in front of it; a 
 few laborers in their homespun blouses, smoking their 
 long pipes, were lounging about; Poor man! and for the 
 few copper coin such an audience can collect, you must 
 come with aching feverish head, and gibe and jest, and 
 wear life out, to earn perhaps a crust of black bread. 
 The twilight was now thickening into night; I made up 
 my mind to look into the waggon, and offer some relief. 
 A severe pock-marked, hatchet-faced woman, scowled at 
 me from the inside, as much as to say, „ and what are you 
 peering at?" She sat mending a pair of old pantaloons; 
 the ailment lay there; the audience was waiting for them. 
 With the pleasant consciousness the jest was against me, 
 I sneaked up a back-lane home, pocketing my florins and 
 sensibilities together. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The little Rhine steamer transported us the next day 
 to Bieberich, and from there, it is a short hour's drive to 
 Wiesbaden. Some wise old saw tells us to consider every- 
 day as a leaf in our history. I had just conned over two 
 very picturesque ones, but when we think there is a 
 limited number to that folio called Life, it is appalling to 
 
 Collect at evening- what the day brought forth, 
 ,, Compress the sum into its solid worth, 
 „And if it weigh th'importance of a fly, 
 ,,The scales are false, — and Algebra a lie." 
 
 Life at a watering-place, has always impressed this 
 truth most forcibly upon my mind, and particularly does 
 one feel it when bodily ailment urges one to the stupid 
 routine undergone for relief; one's whole time occupied, 
 and mind stagnant. Father Gaspard, who enjoins a 
 ,,joyeuse humeur", had an eye I suppose to the ennui 
 produced here. The dinner hour becomes an era in such 
 a life, the great event of the day. We have a band of 
 music which keeps time to the knives and forks, during 
 the grand assault. We sip our scup with an adagio so- 
 spirato; the vegetables disappear to the sound of a rustic 
 dance; fricandeau saute with a polka; pudding with 
 
70 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 sweet sauce, melts in an arietta dolce amorosa, minor 
 key; roast fowl with prune sauce, penseroso: finale, 
 toothpicks, staccato. 
 
 These dinners are always served about one o'clock 
 and there is a great deal of etiquette and propriety which, 
 however tedious, well bred people never infringe upon. 
 The afternoons are passed either in the Kursaal-Gardens 
 or in making excursions; about eight or nine in the 
 evening, parties return and order their suppers apart at 
 small tables ; there is no general evening meal as with us. 
 On some tables maybe seen the smoking tea-urn, but 
 generally more substantial food. It has been alleged that 
 the w ild imagery of the German brain is the result of 
 night-mare excursions in the regions of Fancy, produced 
 by their habit of eating salad, meat and hot potatoes at 
 night, just before they sleep. What a substratum for a 
 work of Fancy ! but they do it, and what is more, we travel- 
 lers follow suit; but I am more inclined to think the 
 Procrustean institution — German beds — is the cause. 
 They have passed into a proverb with Diogenes' tub, 
 and bear a huge resemblance to the same. Description 
 baffles belief. I had read of ,, Sleep's downy pinions," — 
 poetical, very, — the reality dreadful: — down pillows, 
 most heat- provoking to the brain, and a down bed 
 sewed in sheets as sole comforter, — worse than Job's. 
 I acknowledge to ,,the fine frenzy rolling" but how 
 imagination produces results in her combat with tem- 
 per, I do not comprehend. It has been a serious specu- 
 lation in my mind ever since I entered the land, how 
 a big German fixes himself in one for the night. Of 
 course that mystery I have never solved. My own pri- 
 vate arrangement was to haul out a great horse-hair thing 
 in the shape of a wedge; a bolster ditto; and an extra- 
 pillow four feet square, and fling them at the astonished 
 
THE RIIETNGAU. 
 
 71 
 
 chambermaid with an emphatic ,,Fort" away! Things 
 now could be brought to their proper level, and by tak- 
 ing a diagonal position you may be able to collect your 
 ,, sleep -thoughts " unless, like me, you have a travel- 
 ling companion in the next room, who in the dead of 
 night, ,,when deep sleep should fall upon man" mutters 
 curses, ,,not loud but deep" at every turn, when he is 
 obliged to gather up his downy companion from the floor, 
 not having taken the precaution I had. We are creatures 
 of habit, it is true, but to lie zig-zag, as they must do, from 
 generation to generation, and never discover there is a 
 mode of relief, is more than I can fathom. They make 
 up, however, for these short-comings in their bedsteads, 
 by the very long legs of their tables and chairs, making 
 you as uncomfortable all day as you are at night. The 
 luxury of comfort is creeping into drawing-rooms in pri- 
 vate houses, but only partially there. Germans move 
 slowly in everything. 
 
 There have been dug up at Wiesbaden votive 
 tablets dedicated by some old Romans, who experienced 
 relief from the waters. Christians do not trouble them- 
 selves about such things; here and there one maybe 
 found, who hangs up a wax leg or arm at the chapel- 
 shrine to help make a taper for the Virgin, but the rest 
 of us quit I believe with only a grateful feeling of escape 
 from Purgatory. The long siege is over, Rheumatism 
 has capitulated. The chaise and .post-horses are at the 
 door; adieu to Wiesbaden; adieu to the excellent Ma- 
 dame Schlicter of the Hotel de la Poste; adieu to the 
 assembled multitude. of Kellners, cooks and maid-servants 
 who, from our long sojourn among them, claim us as their 
 t 
 
72 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 own ; adieu to the wiry tribe of Scotch Terriers w ith whom 
 avc have made friends , and the younger son of the tribe 
 whom we have christened ,, Yankee", and who rejoices 
 in clipped ears, bright eyes, and the remnant of a tail; 
 adieu, we are off, free, ,, fleeing like birds to the 
 mountains", and there, upon the Hohe Wurzel we look 
 back upon the dear beautifulRhine, spreading like a lake, 
 as it washes Mayence, and wanders away off to where the 
 horizon meets it. And now we are among the narrow 
 valleys of the Taunus ridge; round-headed hills, crowned 
 with golden harvests close us in on every side. Brown, 
 weather-beaten peasants swarm, sickle in hand, felling 
 and laying in rows the full ripe corn; here and there a 
 field already stacked, and among the stubble, tiny bits 
 of children, gleaning scattered straws, their heads sun- 
 bleached; gaping with wonder eyes at us as we pass. 
 Within three hours, we are at the top of the steep moun- 
 tain and catch a view of Langen Schwalbach, nestling in 
 its green valley. In these little green valleys, or natural 
 basins of verdure, bubble up the far famed health-foun- 
 tains of the Taunus. The narrow place, where the town 
 of Schwalbach has contrived to assert a right of soil, is 
 hemmed in by the same kind of round-topped hills, slo- 
 ping down into a narrow strip of valley, which has been 
 converted into pleasure grounds. In these the Brunnens 
 bubbling up from the earth, have been confined in stone 
 basins, and present their miraculous waters to all condi- 
 tions of men. There beyond, rises the great sumptuous 
 bath-house with its luxurious arrangements, and its co- 
 lonade below filled with little shops, offering the same 
 wares you find in every watering place: Tyrolese with 
 their wood carvings, and doe-skin gloves and waistcoats; 
 Bohemians with their beautiful specimens of colored glass 
 and carvings in buck-horn; and lapidaries with all the 
 
THE RIIEINGAU. 
 
 73 
 
 varieties of native cornelians and agates, made up into 
 all possible objects to attract purchasers. People in Ger- 
 many of every degree flock to the baths, some for health, 
 most for amusement; but it appears a solemn tread-mill 
 life to my perceptions: a crowd pressing round the 
 balustrade that encircles the fountain, each eager for his 
 cup of cold water; then, men, women and children, trot- 
 ting after each other through the green alleys, up and 
 down, backwards and forwards, round about, up the 
 middle and down again, — a forced exercise which, as such, 
 becomes very wearisome. The waters are a strong chaly- 
 beate, and remain cold upon the stomach, unless the blood 
 be kept in action by excercise, they then produce an ex- 
 citement which stimulates the system, and are very effi- 
 cacious in many diseases. I took my seat frequently 
 under the trees to watch the moving mass; face after face 
 became familiar to me; Jews and Gentiles; Poles, Rus- 
 sians, English, French, and a stray American now and 
 then — all these marching onward, and as the last dis- 
 appeared the first came on again, reminding me forcibly 
 of those delectable pieces of mechanism attached to hand- 
 organs, where, if they grind long enough, you may view 
 and review the procession, ad libitum. The drive to 
 Schlangenbad , four miles further on, is perfectly charm- 
 ing, winding among hills, or mounting and descending 
 long slopes of mountains with richly cultivated farms fil- 
 ling the narrow valleys. A cluster of hotels and lodging- 
 houses embosomed in groves and gardens comprise the 
 little town. The road sweeps round in a horse-shoe form, 
 the hollow of which is a ravine, and the houses face this. 
 If report say true, this Fountain of Serpents is the foun- 
 tain of beauty too ; its waters are so esteemed as a cos- 
 metic, they are bottled up and sold all over Germany. 
 Whether they owe their qualities to the influeuce of the 
 
7 1 
 
 chap. vii. 
 
 tribe of small serpents which inhabit the grand reservoir, 
 or whether the promise of the fatal gift of beauty, so 
 coveted, be a device of the old serpent, as I fully suspect, 
 to decoy unwary travellers, let Saint Fechin decide, 
 St. Fechin being that saint, who makes ugly people hand- 
 some. I only wonder in my wanderings never to have 
 stumbled over his shrine. Be that as it may, I confess 
 to the fact of patronizing for my morning ablutions 
 sundry brown jugs, brought over the mountain from 
 Schlangenbad to Schwalbach by a poor peasant-woman 
 who got about four kreutzers apiece — about two cents of 
 our money; that I made her raise her old shrivelled 
 hands and eyes to heaven and pronounce a solemn bene- 
 diction over half a florin gratuitously bestowed; that I 
 removed the sun-tan from my face one day, and that I 
 was ten shades redder the next. So much for my devo- 
 tion to Saint Fechin, whose piety, by the bye, was said 
 to be so fervent that when he bathed himself in cold wa- 
 ter it became immediately boiling hot. The waters of the 
 Schwalbach, when they are permitted to escape the baths, 
 run oft' into the valley, and assuming the name of the 
 Waldbach turn some mills and go on their way rejoicing 
 in their freedom through a lovely valley, having certainly 
 performed their part well in the economy of life. Onward, 
 side by side with the Waldbach, runs a road, a turnpike, 
 kept in magnificent order, and one travels towards the 
 Rhine through a beautiful rural district; scattered along 
 are many large comfortable farm-houses. These are of 
 rare occurrence in Germany, where unceasing wars, and 
 march of troops taught the people to gather into villages 
 for mutual defence and protection. A few miles more, 
 and we reach the Rhine at Elfeld, the one town of the 
 liheingau, once a Roman station, knoAvn as the Alta Villa. 
 After it was raised to the rank of a town, it was placed 
 
THE RHEINGAU. 
 
 75 
 
 under the stewardship of the Counts of Elz. The pictu- 
 resque watch-tower on the edge of the river crowned with 
 four turrets, is the remnant of their ancient castle. We 
 stopped at Elfeld to diue, preparatory to an excursion 
 to visit the convent of Eberbach. Mine host of the Gol- 
 den Stag dined us most sumptuously in a neat garden 
 pavilion, shaded by a superb squash vine, trained with 
 its coarse broad leaves to shade one, a la Jonas, the 
 squashes, big as a man's head, resting on the trellis work, 
 recalling Esop's fable of the traveller, and his reflections 
 on Dame Nature's arrangements, which she fully pro- 
 pounded to him during his nap under the oak. Legends, 
 like mushrooms spring up everywhere in German land, 
 and gather like fungi, particularly in the damp neglect 
 of ruins. There is a tale told of this castle of Elz which 
 in the wild native metre is very effective, how it will 
 sound prosed into plain English I know not, very 
 tame perhaps. But it is my peculiar fancy to gather 
 these relics on the spots where they took form and being, 
 and transcribe them. ,,The brave knight, Ferdinand 
 of Elz, had dissipated his estate in riotous living. A great 
 tournament was proclaimed by the Emperor, and from 
 far and wide came nobles and knights to attend it, while 
 the young Count Ferdinand chafed in spirit. Having no 
 means to appear equipped beseeming his rank, he sat one 
 evening alone in his chamber gloomily meditating suicide. 
 While in this despairing state there appeared before him 
 a dwarf all clad in yellow, his complexion, eyes, hair, 
 were all to match. He addressed the Count, offering him 
 a sack of gold, for which the only return he asked was 
 a hair of his head. This was willingly granted, and they 
 entered into a compact, that each time the bell tolled 
 midnight, the dwarf should appearand a similar exchange 
 be made. The Knight appeared at the tourney, was in- 
 
76 
 
 criAP. vii. 
 
 vited to court, and passed years of extravagance, folly 
 and dissipation, till his spirits became exhausted, his body 
 prematurely old, and his limbs paralized. In the extent 
 of his anguish suicide again tempted him, but he had not 
 power left to move hand or foot to perpetrate the deed. 
 Again the yellow dwarf appears and tauntingly offers 
 him a halter, twisted from the hairs he had collected." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ,,A noble convent! I have known it long- 
 ,,By the report of travellers. 1 now see 
 Their commendations lay behind the truth." 
 
 From Elfeld we turned our horses' heads towards 
 Eberbach passing through the village of Kiedrich. Here 
 we alighted a moment to look into the church, distin- 
 guished only for some curious ancient carved wood-work; 
 but the little chapel of St. Michael, standing hard by, 
 dating from the year 1440, is a perfect gem. 
 
 Built on a mound, by which you ascend three or four 
 steps, the ruthlessness of war, time and neglect, have left 
 this beautiful chapel a mournful relic of decay ; windows 
 of stone fret-work, once glazed with colored glass of which 
 you detect a few fragments up high in the peaks; all now 
 open to the weather; great crevices in the walls; shattered 
 carved oaken doors nailed up; colored frescoes of Saints 
 washed by the storm; curiously beautiful towers moulder- 
 ing and rapidly hastening to ruin, one looks upon it 
 with an interest, that would arrest if possible its passing 
 away. But Kiedrich is dead; a few houses of quaint 
 architectural pretentions indicate what it once was, when 
 the proud Bishops of Mayence had a residence here, that 
 of Scharfenstein, of which but one remaining tower in- 
 dicates the site. 
 
78 
 
 chap. vni. 
 
 From here, we turned into a rough country-road lead- 
 ing us across cultivated fields, till we reached Eberbach, 
 once the most celebrated monastic establishment on the 
 Rhine. It was founded in 1131 by Saint Bernhard, whose 
 followers eventually counted six establishments alongthe 
 river. Emulating Peter the Hermit, St. Bernhard, abbot 
 of Clairvaux, went about preaching the third Crusade, 
 which roused the German enthusiasm and thousands fol- 
 lowed on that disastrous expedition so well known. But 
 it is not equally well known perhaps, that Hildegarde, 
 abbess of Bingen, the Velleda of her time, lent her aid, 
 by her enthusiasm and religious fervor, to excite the 
 public mind. Of an ardent temperament she had adopted 
 mysticism which admonished men to bid defiance to the 
 double spells of sense and of reason, with eyes fixed in 
 constant adoration on Heaven. Under this excitement 
 she had ecstatic visions, and became renowned for her 
 sanctity. She denounced the abuses of the church and in 
 the spirit of prophecy raised hervoice to warn her people. 
 Pope Eugene III. canonized her writings, and ordered 
 that all her revelations should be carefully noted. Saint 
 Bernhard asked her concurrence in reconciling contend- 
 ing parties and denouncing those who should neglect the 
 cry of God's people in Palestine. She proclaimed in an 
 awful prophecy the miseries that awaited Germany, which 
 prophecy is extant to this day, kept among the archives 
 of the convent atRiidesheim. She stood upon the highest 
 point of the Taunus and like the prophets of old, with 
 outstretched arms, remained in prayer to God so long for 
 the success of the enterprize, that she fell senseless to the 
 ground. Her fame grew with her age; thousands visited 
 her cell; crowned heads bowed before her and the outpour- 
 ings of her religious fervor were listened to as the voice 
 of prophecy. From flights of inspiration, we must turn 
 
THE RHEINGAU. 
 
 70 
 
 to the paltry superstitions that were mixed with the en- 
 thusiasm of these religious awakenings. Saint Bernhard is 
 represented as seeking a spot to found a new monastery, 
 and tradition tells of his meeting with a boar who led the 
 way and with his snout upturned the earth which marked 
 the foundation of the future convent of Eberbach. It is 
 certain I saw the carved effigy of the boar several times, 
 among the ornamental foliage of a chapel's decorations. 
 The massive building lies deep in a sheltered valley; a 
 towering arched gateway rises high in air before it, sur- 
 mounted by figures of the Virgin Mary, St. John, and St. 
 Bernhard himself, formerly glittering in gold and purple, 
 now faded and woe -begone. This was once the grand 
 entrance, but it is now closed, and we passed in through 
 a smaller gate a little further down, that led us under a 
 noble archway into the inner court, or garden of the con- 
 vent. All of course has been secularized long since and 
 now converted into a public prison, the monks' cells de- 
 voted to convicts, and a part of the building till lately to 
 a lunatic asylum: but a new home has been constructed 
 for these unfortunates half a mile off, where they have 
 been all removed. The wide halls of Eberbach are a 
 home for convicts, and the wide vaults too have changed 
 masters; the renowned vineyards of the Rheingau still 
 send their choicest produce to be housed beneath its roof. 
 AYe went down into what seemed a lower chapel with the 
 ,,dim religious light" shroudingit; there lay ,, the Brother- 
 hood" of wine vats and casks, 
 
 ,, Dwelling for ever under ground, 
 Silent, contemplative, round and sound", 
 
 once the property of the convent, which exported 
 the wine down the river to Cologne, then the great mart 
 of commerce, now belonging to the Duke of Nassau, 
 and become world-renowned , as Friar Claus sang : 
 
80 
 
 (MIA P. VITT. 
 
 ,,Wbat a delicious fragrance springs 
 From the deep flagon while it fills 
 As of hyacinths and daffodils." 
 
 The chapel of Eberbach is reformed, ergo white 
 washed the rust of .antiquity has been polished away, 
 some glum - looking worthies encased in black frames 
 stare at one from the refectory walls, but upon the whole 
 the impression was not such as I had expected. I turned 
 back to Schwalbach very weary with my day's excursion. 
 The evening air upon the mountains sprung up suddenly 
 with a cold chill; wrapped in a thick mantle, I sunk back 
 into a corner of the carriage, and let my thoughts go 
 wandering as the twilight settled into evening. The stars 
 came out one by one, and it was night when we reached 
 the top of the mountain that overlooks Langen Schwal- 
 bach ; every house was glittering with lights dancing like 
 fire -flies among the moving leaves of the trees. It is 
 a gem of a place so seen, certainly, but if I were to de- 
 signate a spot where ennui reigns supreme, it would be 
 Langen Schwalbach; monotony is there written upon 
 all things. 
 
 A few miles from Schwalbach stands the ruined castle 
 of Hohenstein, one of the strongholds of the lords of 
 Katzenellenbogen, destroyed during the thirty years, war. 
 Its outer walls and towers are still so well preserved one 
 gets an idea of its immense strength and extent. 
 
 It commands a magnificent view, and is a favourite 
 resort, but where the eternal German eating goes on, as 
 it does everywhere. I w r ould have given much to lounge 
 a while on the terrace topping a moss-grown wall, where 
 shrubs and creeping vines have found their way, as they 
 
THE RHEINGAU. 
 
 81 
 
 are wont, to sympathize with Ruin, but a party of eaters 
 had established a table, and a table-cloth flapping in the 
 wind , and were imbibing their greasy soup etc. just on 
 the spot were nothing beyond a shepherd's wallet and a 
 lounge upon the grey rock should be tolerated. All my 
 romance thoughts somehow have been jostled at this same 
 Schwalbach. I came with the volume of ,, Bubbles" warm 
 in my pocket and soon I began to wonder, how he had 
 extracted anything from that long straggling German 
 village, without form or comeliness in its parts and pro- 
 portions; — perhaps felt a little nettled at my own inca- 
 pacity to discover the charm of his inspiration. I did 
 hear the horn of the Schwein -General, but he of Bubble 
 fame rests with his fathers, and a small wiry, red-headed, 
 freckled-faced lad reigns in his stead , habited in a very 
 tattered nether garment ,,a world too wide," inherited 
 evidently from his elder. We heard a tintamar sounded 
 upon a horn as we were passing a wood, on our return 
 from Hohenstein, and on a turn of the road came upon 
 this worthy exercising his lungs in a stubble-field where 
 his thin flanked regiment were foraging. At sight of our 
 carriage, the General deserted his post, and was down 
 upon us, ragged cap in hand — a few Kreutzers made 
 him happy — he returns to his regiment to make merry 
 — he will have a large Stuck of black bread that night, 
 I wager. 
 
 6 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ,,Time honor'd Frankfort, free Imperial town and marl of trade." 
 
 We left Schwalbach in a post-chaise and following 
 the river -road, again enjoyed the Rhine views till wo 
 reached Bieberich, where a rail-road communicates with 
 Frankfort in less than two hours. The life and activity 
 of this place struck us at once, being the great commercial 
 mart of central Europe, and the seat of the German Diet. 
 The old fortifications which one encompassed the town 
 are levelled and laid out in gardens and public walks, on 
 which front innumerable villa- houses , built with orna- 
 mental facades, and porticos or balconies. These are 
 decorated with vines, or vases of flowers, very agreeably 
 to the eye, We drove to that of the Frankfort Rothschild,- 
 a charming residence, and one wonders he ever leaves it 
 for the Zeilstrasse. From this it is no strange transition 
 to the JVden G-asse, or Jews' quarter, though the old law 
 is no logger enforced, that the Jews keep themselves 
 within certain limits, but that narrow alley, with its cu- 
 ricuc old carved houses, is ever their peculiar domain. 
 Here the Rothschild mother would retain her home , in 
 spite of the old ciothes and second-hand boot-shops that 
 pnrrounded her. She declined her sen's offer of a palace 
 wherever she chose to fix it. I saw her portrait hanging 
 
FRANKFORT. 
 
 S3 
 
 in one of the saloons at the villa j a strongly marked 
 Jewish face. I never think of the parents of the Koth- 
 schilds without a respectful feeling for that father whose 
 last words on his death -bed were, to enforce upon his 
 sons brotherly union, the strong cement which has sus- 
 tained the enormous fabric of their fortunes. Frankfort 
 was alive with one of its annual fairs, of which three are 
 held in a year. Some reduction of duties, which is an 
 ancient privilege, induces the city housewives and those 
 from the environs, to purchase and supply themselves 
 with articles enough to last till the recurrence of the fair. 
 
 We soon escaped from the bustle and drove over the 
 splendid bridge that crosses the Main, passing the elabo- 
 rate palace of the old Knights Templar, now used as a 
 barracks. Somewhat further on, in an ancient tower, hangs 
 the alarm bell, which formerly called the citizens to arms, 
 against any depredatory robber-knight attacking the tra- 
 velling merchantmen on the river. It is now tolled to an- 
 nounce the fair, a remnant of the old custom. Goethe in his 
 Autobiography speaks of these customs stillkept up (1775) 
 in the ,, Escort Day" when the whole population was 
 in a ferment of expectation moving about. This originated 
 in the Middle Ages and times of the knight-robbers, when 
 the rich merchants and others caused their people to be 
 escorted to Frankfort by armed men. The inhabitants 
 of the city, tenacious of their rights, would not permit 
 the escort to advance beyond a certain point. A sort of 
 controversy has always been kept up and words often 
 extended to blows. This degenerated in time to a mere 
 parade; the city cavalry went out to meet the others, had 
 a carouse and returned at night-fall, when the expectant 
 crowd waited for them at the bridge, where the Nu- 
 remberg post-coach arriving at the same time with its es- 
 cort was received with shouts. „Another more singular 
 
 6* 
 
84 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 ceremony was the Pipers' Court. This commemorated 
 the attempt to abolish tolls, finally granted by privilege 
 by the Emperor but commonly only for one year, so 
 that it had to be annually renewed. These were repre- 
 sented by symbolical gifts presented to the chief magis- 
 trate before the opening of the fair; even after the to- 
 tal abolishment of tolls, the representations from Worms, 
 Nuremberg and Bamberg acknowledged the ancient fa- 
 vor and retain the custom even to this day (1775)." 
 
 ,,The Judges assemble and business commences: — 
 all at once a singular kind of music announces the 
 Three Pipers; one plays on an old shawm another on 
 a sackbut and the third a pommer or oboe. They wear 
 blue mantles trimmed with gold ; having their notes made 
 fast to the sleeve , their heads covered. These, followed 
 by their deputies and attendants, enter the town -hall. 
 The law proceedings are stayed and the Pipers and their 
 train halt before the railings or bar; the emblematic 
 presents offered, consist commonly of the staple wares 
 of each individual city. The deputy brought a hand- 
 somely turned wooden goblet filled with pepper; upon 
 it lay a pair of gloves curiously slashed, stitched and 
 tasselled with silk, — token of a favor given and received; 
 along with these a white staff and some small pieces of 
 silver money were added. The city of Worms sent an old 
 felt hat which was redeemed again and so did service 
 a number of consecutive years." 
 
 Modern Frankfort with its bustling streets and glit- 
 tering shops was not however what I sought, we have 
 enough of that at home, but I coveted impressions of„the 
 old Imperial free city" and soon found the way to the 
 neighborhood of the Cathedral where the buildings 
 with projecting upper stories, overhanging narrow streets, 
 and dingy carved fronts prepare the mind for the visit to 
 
FRANKFORT. 
 
 85 
 
 the Homer, so called town - hall which contains the vast 
 saloon formerly used for the coronation banquet and the 
 council-chamber where the Electors assembled to discuss 
 the election of the Emperor. The windows of the Kai- 
 ser- Saal, or banqueting .hall overlook the market place 
 which divides it from the Cathedral. There, in front 
 of the great altar, the Emperor was crowned. Even after 
 the power of the Empire had declined, the coronations 
 were held in great splendor at Frankfort. The Regalia 
 were brought fromNuremberg: , ,they consisted first of sacred 
 relics : a piece of the holy cross ; a thorn from the Sa- 
 viour's crown; St. Maurice's sword; a link from the chain 
 of St. Paul etc. Secondly of the insignia of the Empire 
 the massive golden crown of Charlemagne weighing 14 
 pounds, set with rough diamonds, also the golden ball, 
 sceptre and sword; the Imperial mantle and robes; the 
 priestly stole and rings. " In the election chapel, 
 called Wahlkapelle, the vote for Emperor was decided; 
 and the election over, a peal of bells ushered in the co- 
 ronation day. The Emperor and all the princes assembled 
 in the Romer, and went thence on horseback to the Ca- 
 thedral where mass was read. The Elector of Mayence, 
 as first Bishop and Archchancellor of the Empire, rose, and 
 staff in hand, demanded of the Emperor, ,,Vis s. fidem 
 ,,catholicam servare?" — to which he replied, ,Volo" and 
 took the oath on the Gospel. Mayence then asked the 
 Electors whether they recognized him as Emperor, to which 
 they with one accord replied ,,Fiat". The Emperor 
 then took his seat and was anointed by Mayence; whilst 
 Brandenburg held the vessel and assisted, after which he 
 was attired in the robes of Charlemagne and the cere- 
 mony was concluded in front of the altar, by Mayence 
 assisted by Cologne and Treves. The crowned Emperor 
 then mounted the throne ; the hymn of St. Ambrose was 
 
• 
 
 86 chap. ix. 
 
 ehaunted, and afterwards he exercised the first act of his 
 power by bestowing knighthood, with the sword of Charle- 
 magne. The procession now moved to the Romer over 
 cloths of purple spread across the market place, where 
 the fountain played wine. At the banquet which fol- 
 lowed, the Emperor sat at a table raised six feet above 
 the rest, the princes below, the Empress three feet lower 
 than the Emperor. The electoral princes now performed 
 their offices: Bohemia the Imperial cup-bearer rodeto the 
 fountain of wine, and bore the first glass to the Emperor; 
 Pfalz rode to an ox roasting whole, and carved the first 
 slice for the Emperor; Saxony rode up to his horse's belly 
 into a heap of oats and filled a measure for his lord ; and 
 lastly Brandenburg rode to a fountain and filled the silver 
 ewer". The gorgeous pageant rises before one's imagi- 
 nation in all the splendor of that half barbaric taste when 
 gold and jewels were profusely lavished but where the 
 delicate refinement of modern invention was undreamed 
 of. The hall of the Romer is decorated with portraits of 
 the Emperors painted by eminent living artists at the ex- 
 pense of the citizens of Frankfort. Francis II closes the 
 series. After him the high sounding title of Emperor of 
 Germany became extinct, and merged into Austria. ,,The 
 Title of Emperor, a vague undefined power, was backed by 
 no manifestation of its strength, no sceptre, no senate, 
 no one metropolis. TheEmperor of Germany and of the 
 Holy Roman Empire, sometimes had but small possessions 
 to fall back upon, the successors of the Caesars were 
 wanderers in their own vast domain; still there was a 
 prestige connected with the dignity of the position, 
 which more than compensated for its uncertainty." 
 
FRANKFORT. 
 
 87 
 
 Frankfort from its central position, its rail -roads 
 radiating in all directions, and its facilities for trade, lias 
 become the most bustling town in Germany. Its Zeil- 
 strasse is crowded with brilliant shops, among which the 
 jewellers are the most attractive. Our traders come here 
 to purchase, and a vast quantity of Frankfort jewelry is 
 sold for New York. 
 
 From this gay thoroughfare the traveller wanders off 
 to bye-places and finds himself perhaps in the Goethe 
 Platz, decorated by a colossal bronze statue of the „King 
 of Poets," as the Germans enthusiastically call Goethe; 
 the lofty bearing and high intellectual forehead are there 
 well defined; the imperial attitude, conscious of su- 
 periority; that innate deification of self, results of his in- 
 ordinate vanity; — the self-conscious Jove of the Ger- 
 man Parnassus; the idol of his own age, yet whose glo- 
 rious gift was expended too often upon frivolous things; 
 with no religion, no seriousness to hallow the genius with 
 which he was endowed. It is impossible for foreigners 
 to appreciate all the delicacies of a language, and they 
 pass very erroneous judgments on the productions of 
 other lands. It is not the elegance of composition or the 
 impetus given to national literature by Goethe, that I 
 pretend to understand, only the cold selfishness of the 
 man, throughout his whole career, known by his own re- 
 velations. It is the boast of Frankfort that it is his birth- 
 place. A day or two exhausted the objects of interest and 
 we determined on a flying visit to Heidelberg and Ba- 
 den-Baden. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 HEIDELBERG, 
 
 ,, Thither he hied enamored of Ihe scene 
 Where rock and woodland throw their mag-ic spell; 
 Where, lightning- scorched, or dight with ivy green 
 The Castle lords it on the mountain swell." 
 
 Beattie. 
 
 Heidelberg is beautifully placed at the eutrance of 
 the valley of the Neckar, backed by wooded hills aud 
 vineyards, which cover the rising ground as far as the 
 Heiligenberg. The town, old and gloomy, is built along 
 a main street, nearly a mile in length, and for the mere 
 traveller, offers no attraction. The famous university is 
 the oldest in Germany after Prague, and is held in the 
 highest estimation for learning and erudition. Its library 
 was pillaged to enrich the Papal one at Rome, during the 
 dark period of Heidelberg's history, but a portion was 
 restored by Pius VII. It now contains 120,000 vols, 
 besides rare and valuable manuscripts. The well known 
 Schloss or electoral palace, was sacked by the French in 
 1693, and struck by lightning in 1764, since which it 
 has remained a magnificent ruin ,, in proud decay", tended 
 with jealous care by inspectors appointed by government 
 who fine any one severely detected in appropriating even 
 a few leaves as a souvenir. It was with feelings of deep 
 interest I found myself upon the terrace of the far-famed 
 ruined castle of the Giesberg, Many years before I had 
 
HEIDELBERG. 
 
 89 
 
 stood, a young girl, looking forth upon the very scene, 
 the world before me, not a care weighing my spirit, — 
 now, a heart yearning after absent ones and thoughts 
 welling up from the far past. 
 
 I stood gazing from a well-remembered spot upon the 
 beautiful valley of the Neckar, and the far-off glimpses 
 of the Rhine, and I felt the heyday of youth passed. 
 When the shadows of life begin to lengthen, there is a 
 deeper, holier feeling coloring all things, than when at 
 its zenith, we go forth rejoicing in our strength. The 
 same picture was there, but time had mellowed it. It is 
 with nature as with poetry, we must have felt much, 
 suffered much, to appreciate the deep sentiment of either. 
 Wordsworth understood this when he said: 
 
 ,,I have learned 
 ,,To look on nature, not as in the hour 
 ,,Of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes 
 ,,The still sad music of humanity: 
 „Not rough nor grating, tho' of ample power 
 ,,To chasten and subdue." 
 
 I could now realize all the phases of feeling Elisabeth 
 Stuart must have experiened, from her brilliant happy 
 life in this Palace, to her coronation with Frederick at 
 Prague, and her subsequent flight as a refugee into Hol- 
 land, and when I gathered a few ivy -leaves clambering 
 over the ruined wall of her garden, it was a sincere tri- 
 bute to the memory of her, the loving wife and mother, 
 so sorely tried, whose beauty and sufferings are always 
 cited as among the most touching events of that Thirty 
 Years' War, which desolated Germany. One brief year 
 she reigned with her husband Frederick prince Palatine, 
 who had been elected King of Bohemia. Religious intole- 
 rance on his part excited civil war; weak and inapt to 
 govern, Calvinistic in his principles, Frederick disgusted 
 
90 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 his new subjects who were Lutherans, and the result was 
 that terrible religious war, of whichPrague was the focus. 
 One winter night brought his reign to a close; Frederick 
 and his family fled, and he thus obtained the sobriquet 
 of ,,the Winter King". He diedatMayenee, soon after 
 hearing the fate of his friend and protector Gustavus 
 Adolphus. The States of Holland offered Elizabeth a 
 home, and shelivedat the chateau of Rehen near Utrecht. 
 She mourned for her husband, her brother Charles, whose 
 head had rolled on the scaffold, and her unfortunate 
 children, of whom she had eleven, but only one re- 
 mained to console her old age, when, at the resto- 
 ration of the Stuarts, she returned to England. The 
 Queen bore her misfortunes with patience and dignity. 
 In the Low Countries, she was called the,, Queen of 
 Hearts", she never departed fiom her self-respect. Poverty 
 and distress seemed to render her the more an object of 
 admiration. She lived to see her fourth son Charles 
 restored to the Palatinate, but with his son, the family 
 became extinct. Weary was Elizabeth's pilgrimage through 
 life, and the sad tale is echoed from every crumbling 
 stone of her ruined castle, which, like herself, once stood 
 in regal grandeur, now defaced and worn, — not so much 
 by the hand of Time, as by the ruthlessness of War. I 
 never could think of the history of the Palatinate without 
 a thrill of horror. Absorbing wonder at the vindictiveness 
 of war and the wickedness of man, crowds upon the 
 mind , as you stand among the ruins and recall the past. 
 A second time did Louis XIV desolate this fine country: 
 „the flames with which Turenne fired two cities and 
 twenty villages of the Palatinate were but glimmering 
 sparks compared with the present conflagration" — Louis 
 signed an order to Louvois, ,,to make the Palatinate 
 a desert". The French generals could not but obey. 
 
HEIDELBERG. 
 
 91 
 
 An order was issued apprizing the inhabitants of the vil- 
 lages, the citizens of the nourishing towns, and theowners 
 of more than fifty castles, that all was to be delivered to 
 the flames. Men, women, children, decrepit old people, 
 all lied in haste. Thousands wandered without a home 
 in their devastated country; others found refuge in the 
 neighboring states, whilst foreign soldiers sacked and 
 pillaged their own. They began with Mannheim andHei- 
 delberg, the residences of the Electors. Their palaces 
 were destroyed ; their tombs torn open; their ashes scattered 
 to the winds. Thousands upon thousands of the wander- 
 ing Palatinates found their way to Holland and England 
 — many entire communes, headed by their preachers. It 
 was at this period that many obtained permission to settle 
 in the province of Pennsylvania, where they founded 
 Gerinantown and where their descendants to this clay 
 are accounted among our most industrious and peaceable 
 citizens. There was an attempt made to restore the castle 
 of Heidelberg, but again the thunderbolts of Heaven 
 scathed its walls, and it remains towering on the Gies- 
 berg, a seeming monument of wrath, to tell its own 
 history, — lit type of Elizabeth's sad fate. 
 
 The environs of Heidelberg are exceedingly beautiful 
 and it has become a favourite residence of strangers. All 
 the architectural adornments of former splendor have 
 vanished, as also the monuments of the Electors, before 
 five sieges and sackings, which Heidelberg has undergone, 
 now replacedby modern improvements which have entirely 
 altered the aspect of the place. After a day spent in the 
 castle we left in the railroad which in three hours brought 
 us to Baden-Baden. * 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 BADE N-B ADEN. 
 
 ,, Where dark fir woods eternal murmurs made, 
 Where o'er the cliffs the eye remote surveyed 
 Blue hills, and gentle dales, and skies in g-old arrayed." 
 
 Baden-Baden was one of those names winch called up 
 in my mind, as long ago as I can remember, associations 
 of Fashion and Folly, Gamblers and Grands - Seigneurs. 
 Its beautiful scenery had been a secondary consideration 
 hardly holding place in my mind. Consequently when I 
 approached it, I was taken by surprise at the loveliness 
 of its environs, and when the next day we took a car- 
 riage and ascended the mountain to visit the ruins of 
 the old castle, enthusiasm knew no bounds while dwell- 
 ing on the magnificent range of hill and valley, and dark 
 evergreen forest which extend as far as the eye can reach, 
 on to the distant horizon, where they point out to you 
 the beginning of the Black Forest. The ,, heaven-high 
 firs " were thick about us and shed that blackness in the 
 woods, I never saw before, and from which the name is 
 naturally inherited. A German writer has charmingly 
 described these woods of his native mountains: — ,,The 
 golden sun-beams shot lovingly through the thick green 
 of the firs. Like the eyes of a thousand maidens the 
 strange mountain flowers look up at us; the wondrously 
 broad, queerly pointed leaves stretched themselves 
 towards usj the gay sunbeams flicker here and there in 
 their play; the thoughtful little herbs tell their green tales, 
 everything seems enchanted." 
 
BADEN-BADEN. 
 
 d3 
 
 A world more of beautiful thoughts flow from the pen of 
 Heine ; pity he should have perverted his grand gift of 
 genius. The old castle rises on its blocks of granite, far 
 far above the dark green of the firs, and commands the 
 wide range of the valley, stretching onward to the faint 
 outline of the distant Vosges. For four hundred years, 
 this was the residence of the Margraves of Baden, and 
 was always habitable until the torch of incendiarism 
 lighted by Louvois, reduced it with all the Palatinate to 
 ashes. The New Schloss farther down, interesting from 
 having been built upon the foundations of ancient Ro- 
 man remains, was also desolated by the French in 
 1689, but its modern restoration exhibits the usual dis- 
 play of rich gilding and mirrors, stucco and sumptuous 
 furniture. The great object of interest in visiting it are 
 the remarkable dungeons, remnant of that gone-by day, 
 when the „Secret Tribunal" carried with itsveryname 
 a shudder of dismay. We were conducted down a wind- 
 ing stone stair at the right of the inner court, and passed 
 through a square stone chamber said to be the remains 
 of a Roman Bath. This entrance to the dungeons has 
 been made in modern times; formerly they were only 
 accessible through a shaft resembling a well, where the 
 prisoner, bound in a chair, was let down, while the judges 
 gained the trial chamber by another passage equally 
 obscure, now blocked up. In these dark mysterious vaults, 
 excavated in the solid rock, there yet remain evidences 
 of the tortures, once inflicted on their unhappy inmates. 
 The doors close by monstrous slabs of stone, turned on 
 pivots, which are said to weigh from twelve hundred to 
 two thousand pounds. As our guide revolved them , to 
 show the principle of their construction , my blood froze 
 in my veins, at the bare idea, should one resist his efforts, 
 and close us within a living tomb ! Great iron rings hang- 
 
04 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 ing from the roofs arc said to be remains of the apparatus 
 of torture. A short passage leads from these vaults to a 
 niche in the wall where stood a figure of the Virgin; the 
 prisoner was told to advance and kiss the Virgin, and in 
 obeying, a trnp-door opened beneath his feet and preci 
 pitated him into a vault below, where a great wheel armed 
 with sharp instruments terminated his existence. This 
 punishment was called ,, L e b a is er de 1 a Vi e r go " and 
 the trap-door, an oubliette. Such were the horrible 
 remains of the secret tribunal, terrible and mysterious, 
 but called forth by the urgency of the times. That which 
 was called the Secret Tribunal or Holy Vehm, was an 
 ancient Court of Justice, not an Inquisition, as has been 
 erroneously supposed. Secret Tribunal being a misren • 
 dering of the words ,, Separatum Judicium" : yet no baronial 
 castle but had its prison and ,, donjon keep." — In 
 those ages, when law there was none, when each robber- 
 chieftain carried out his own ungovernable passions, and 
 set the example of every crime, some check was required. 
 Spies were at large, any one convicted of crime was 
 arrested and brought to trial within the dungeon chambers 
 of his liege lord. Fear operated, and a species of restraint 
 was imposed on society; yet scenes of crime and cruel 
 revenge must have too often darkened their annals. The 
 judgment chamber, as I saw it, was a cold dark vault, 
 lighted up by torches; the walls reeking with damp and 
 mildew, against which stone seats were placed. Through 
 a vaulted passage, high up in the wall, now choked with 
 rubbish, the judges descended. It is said this passage is 
 connected by subterraneous windings, with the old castle 
 on the hill. Tradition tells much, but there is enough left 
 to convince the spectator she has exaggerated nothing. 
 When Engelbert, Archbishop of Cologne, was entrusted 
 by Frederick IT, then resident in Italy, with the regency 
 
BADEN-BADEN. 
 
 95 
 
 of the Empire, as we have seen before, he instituted the 
 Feme , the tribunal of which was held in the crypt of the 
 Cathedral at Bonn. Ecclesiastics were not amenable to 
 its laws. It became a fearful scourge; the criminal was 
 cited to appear before his darkly masked judges. Flight 
 was in vain; he was waylaid and hung by the mysterious 
 avenger of his crime on a tree, and a knife stuck in the 
 trunk signified he had died by the hand of a Feme. This 
 stern justice is said to have produced the most beneficial 
 results. I returned my mind wrought up with such memo- 
 ries, to plunge into the turmoil of modern life at Ba- 
 den-Baden. Like the two extremes of a Russian bath, each 
 was agreeable in its way, in spite of the violent transition : 
 a ball room, with the Grand Duchess and her circle about 
 her, occupying seats at the head of the hall, dancing, mu- 
 sic and festivity, this amused me for an hour; along side 
 the ball-room was the great gambling saloon where a 
 circle of eager faces, men and women , watched the in- 
 exorable decrees of fate, then pocketed their gains orlost 
 them with the same coolness one would transact a com- 
 mon shopping exchange at a counter. The busy throng 
 has buzzed its hour and been forgotten, but the „dark 
 firs" still shadow my memory, and the remembrance still 
 curdles my blood of the deathly damp of the dark stone 
 dungeous of Baden -Baden. 
 
FRANCONIA. 
 
 7 
 
V 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BAMBERG. 
 
 ,,And haughty Bamberg: on whose mined brow sat power imperious." 
 
 We only returned to Frankfort to take the route to 
 Bamberg through that beautiful district, the narrow fer- 
 tile valley of the Main; now skirting the bases of moun- 
 tains, now tunnelling through them, till the railroad 
 finally merges onto the vast plains of Franconia, watered 
 by streams tributary to the Main. The towns along this 
 route all present remnants of the Middle Ages : fragments 
 of walls and isolated towers, with their pointed extin- 
 guisher-shaped roofs. The villages here and there, have 
 assumed a trim air of renovation , always the result of 
 railroads, while these old sires in their bluish grey garb 
 and conical caps, stand overlooking them, thinking like 
 other grey beards , I suppose ,, Well it was not so in my 
 day." The residence of ,, Haughty Bamberg ", though 
 shorn of its beams, has enough left to mark its former 
 grandeur. 
 
 The magnificent Cathedral; the Residence; the Rath- 
 haus. — The superbly carved arch, under which you pass 
 to the bridge, rows of houses, the fronts of which are 
 richly ornamented with stone carvings ; shrines in relief 
 at the corners, elaborate armorial bearings, all go to show 
 
 7* 
 
100 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 what it once was. Here, far removed from the thorough- 
 fare of the Rhine, where commerce was operating agene- 
 ral change, these old bishoprics supported a court of ele- 
 gant leisure, encouraging the cultivation of letters. At 
 Wurtzberg the palace was called the little Versailles, but 
 Bamberg regained its old palace on the mountain, so much 
 endeared by popular feeling; the little river Regnitz, 
 flowing at its base, separates the higher from the lower 
 town; the magnificent stone bridge loaded with architec- 
 tural embellishments connects them. The Cathedral 
 rises along side the Palace, capped by four superb towers. 
 This, one of the finest in Germany, was founded by the 
 Emperor Henry II surnamed the Pious, in the year 1000. 
 He established the see of Bamberg, to the infinite discon- 
 tent of the other Prince Bishops , and more particularly 
 Wurtzberg, to whom in consequence, he made great con- 
 cessions; but he would not be deterred from his project, 
 and endowed Bamberg with the fortune of his Queen 
 Kunigunda, from whom he had given up all prospect of 
 an heir. This Emperor was moved by the pious motive of 
 extirpating the Slavic superstition which still clungto the 
 inhabitants of this region. The royal pair were eminent in 
 their day for piety; they visited Rome in 1013 when the 
 Pope placed the crow r n upon their heads. About seven 
 years after, Benedict VIII visited Bamberg for the pur- 
 pose of consecrating the new Cathedral. Thus rose the 
 magnificent monument, inscribed with the names of Henry 
 II and his Queen Kunigunda, whose statues, in gold and 
 colors, flank either side of the great altar, and whose sar- 
 cophagus is placed under the nave of the church. In 
 succeeding centuries this Cathedral was injured by fire 
 and restored, without lessening however the magnificence 
 of its structure, with its high altars at either end. Its 
 bronze monuments; its chapel of ,,the Holy Nail" where 
 
BAMBERG. 
 
 101 
 
 the Domlierreu, or canons of the church, were buried, 
 and their virtues literally ,,writ in brass"; superb bronze- 
 tablets encrusting the walls. — Until the 9 th century 
 altars were destitute of ornament. The ancient altar was 
 a table in form of a tomb or sarcophagus derived, it is 
 thought, from the primitive usages of worship in the ca- 
 tacombs — perhaps typical of the new tomb of Joseph 
 of Arimathea. It was only in the 10 th century the cru- 
 cifix was placed upon the altar. Before the 14 th neither 
 lights nor cross were stationary. When mass was about 
 to be celebrated two acolytes carried the candlesticks, 
 and the officiating priest, the crucifix, and placed them 
 upon the altar; after the service they were removed to 
 the sacristy. Lights upon the altar are probably derived 
 too from the primitive church; worship being carried on 
 in subterraneous places, catacombs etc. necessarily called 
 for the use of lamps or flambeaux. The Bishop's seat called 
 Cathedra always stood in the apsis, the semi - circular 
 domed recess at the end of the ancient churches. Perhaps 
 the curious relics of the royal pair are the things one 
 dwells upon with the most astonishment. — First, their 
 skulls, adorned with gold and jewels, grinning sarcasti- 
 cally methought upon this mockery of life; a night lamp 
 made of pieces of rock-crystal clumsily put together; 
 their fine tooth combs, by no means new; and finally 
 Kunigunda's petticoat, said to be infallible in curing 
 tooth -ache. Somehow the excessive simplicity of those 
 old superstitions and legends catches my fancy; one can 
 write ,, absurdity " on the face of them, it is true, but 
 they belong to a gone-by age, and we must dwell on 
 them as curious remnants of olden times , with the same 
 sentiment experienced in tracing the progress of any 
 branch of Christian art, or any development of the human 
 mind. It was under this Emperor and his successor the 
 
102 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 feasts of the church were established. Under Charle- 
 magne the German church was organized; the ecclesiasti- 
 cal year Was made to correspond with the natural year, 
 and thus instilled its observances in the minds of the 
 people. Christmas with all its magnificence was ushered 
 in at midnight with solemn anthems. The rejoicings lasted 
 till Twelfth Night, the Epiphany, and the people gave 
 themselves up to a frenzy of pleasure, known as the 
 Carnival: now followed the sombre Ash - Wednesday 
 when the Priest traced on the penitent's forehead the 
 sign of the cross in ashes, saying ,, Dust thou art, and unto 
 dust thou must return. " — Then might be heard the so- 
 lemn Miserere .sounding through the vaulted Cathedrals, 
 and penitence and prayer were preached from every pul- 
 pit. Now followed the solemn day of the crucifixion, when 
 the Temple was hung with black, and the gloomy silence 
 was interrupted only at intervals by a plaintive chaunt. 
 On Easter -eve the great altars were lighted up by enor- 
 mous wax tapers, and a majestic and solemn chaunt was 
 heard. When the bell tolled midnight, there rosea trium- 
 phant burst of song: ,,He is risen"! and the choir re- 
 sponded three times, ,, Hallelujah " ! In the morning the 
 people appeared in their holiday suits, and the bells an- 
 nounced the joyful Easter feast; the people went into 
 the fields for enjoyment, and the children played with 
 colored eggs. This week was particularly devoted to 
 baptism. The last feast was that of Pentecost, the reve- 
 lation of the Holy Spirit, the period chosen by the church 
 for confirmation. In the first days of May they went out 
 into the fields; it was the feast day, to ask God's bene- 
 diction on the fruits of the earth; it is the season when, 
 according to the Greek belief, beatified spirits revisit the 
 earth under the form of bees and glow-worms, to enjoy 
 the spring and its flowers. After harvest, came the time 
 
B A MB HUG. 
 
 103 
 
 for pilgrimages; and All- Souls' day finished the circle, 
 when among the falling leaves of autumn they went forth 
 to meditate on death, and hang grave-crownsupon tombs. 
 There is a poetry in the conception of the ecclesiastical 
 year, that must find its way to every heart, touching its 
 finest chords. Luther in establishing the Reformation, 
 abolisliednone of these observances, and throughout Ger- 
 many up to this day, all these festivals are retained and 
 form an integral part of daily existence, linking the 
 people's heart by sympathetic chords, which soften and 
 ameliorate human nature. Here the grand line is drawn 
 between time-honored lands and new communities. It is 
 the question between heart-feelings and selfishness. With 
 us who can deny want of reverence to be the prevailing 
 sin, and self, the great idol worshipped. Self-aggrandize- 
 ment; accumulation of property, not for any fixed pur- 
 pose, but to elevate self in public estimation ; patriotism 
 merged into self, and so on through the whole. In the 
 glory of our magnificent progress, we are apt to look 
 down with contempt on the tame quiet of life in Germany, 
 where the simplicity and faith in old institutions operate 
 and produce that repose, which many a heart craves in 
 the Great Republic, without knowing how to attain it. 
 But certainly it is not in Bamberg, whose grass -grown 
 streets indicate the absence of all vitality, that I should 
 draw the comparative contrast between the two great 
 extremes of national character. Here, one should only 
 dwell upon the historic past, and gather a legendary leaf 
 ortwo, to garland monuments which are crumbling to ruin. 
 But thought will wander in strange paths. Pascal tell us, 
 man has a secret instinct remaining from the greatness 
 of his original nature, which teaches him, that happiness 
 can only exist in repose, and when we find repose stereo- 
 typed upon a nation, we should reflect well on causes 
 
104 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 and effects, before we condemn what differs so essentially 
 from our own. The Altenberg tower crowns the moun- 
 tain in the rear of the Palace,and you climb there through 
 fields of hops and orchards, to find yourself on an ele- 
 vation which commands the vast plains and the distant 
 mountains of the Franconian Switzerland , and the pic- 
 turesque old town at your feet. Crossing a draw-bridge 
 you enter a court, where the Altenberg tower, six hun- 
 dred feet high, remains the sole remnant of the stronghold 
 of Babenberg, once the residence of the Margraves of 
 Bamberg. Below it are the usual castle dungeons, where 
 the appendages of iron rings and wooden stocks are* 
 shown you by the flickering light of a small candle. Again 
 remounting the stone steps, you enter a chapel within the 
 tower which has been restored. Above it, there are little 
 chambers, with a few relics of armor and stained glass, drink- 
 ing beakers and oaken settles; this is all that is left of a 
 stronghold once the refuge of the Bishops of Bamberg, 
 until it was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. There 
 arc many traditions attached to the Altenberg, which 
 history has endorsed. Count Adalbert, Margrave of Bam- 
 berg, had retired within it being at feud with the Empe- 
 ror. Hatto, Bishop of Mayence, came to confer with him 
 and persuade him to go to the Emperor's camp, where he 
 assured him he had authority to say he would receive his 
 pardon. Adalbert, suspicious of the crafty priest, would 
 not agree, till Hatto under the most solemn oath promised 
 to return him in safety to his castle. Under this promise, 
 Adalbert consented and proceeded with Hatto on the 
 journey. They had travelled but a little way, when Hatto 
 complained of faintness, and they returned to the castle 
 to obtain refreshment. Continuing their journey after 
 ward, they arrived at the camp, where Adalbert was im- 
 mediately seized, condemned and executed. Hatto, when 
 
BAMBERfi. 
 
 105 
 
 accused by him of base treachery, excused himself by a 
 miserable quibble ,,I did conduct you back to your castle, 
 why were you fool enough to leave it a second time". 
 — This is the same Bishop Hatto of rat-memory; 
 
 ,,So then to his palace returned he, 
 
 ,,And he sat down to supper merrily; 
 
 ,,And he slept that night like an innocent man." 
 
 Another tragic story is attached to Altenberg which 
 gives one an idea how justice was administered in the 
 Middle Ages; and it must be acknowledged the lordly 
 Bishops of thoseclays didnot always perform a very godly 
 part in the affairs of men. It was about 1200 when Phi- 
 lip, then Emperor found himself at Bamberg to celebrate 
 the marriage of his niece Beatrix with Otto, Count of 
 Meran. He had promised her hand to Otto, Count of 
 Bavaria, who having sullied his honor by a murder, the 
 Emperor withdrew his consent. This engendered an im- 
 placable hatred which Otto confided to the Bishop of 
 Bamberg. After the ceremony, the Emperor retired, 
 by invitation of the Bishop, to the castle of Altenberg, 
 meaning there to rest himself. The same day arrived in 
 Bamberg, the Count of Bavaria, armed to the teeth, with 
 a suite , as if he were about to undertake a military ex- 
 pedition. After the Emperor had retired to bed, Otto 
 appeared in the anti- chamber , followed by ten men-at- 
 arms, and asked a confidential interview with the Em- 
 peror; he was at once admitted; Philip expected some 
 pleasantry which was Otto's characteristic, but as he 
 played with his naked sword in a dangerous manner, the 
 Emperor ordered him to replace it in the scabbard. ,,This 
 is no pleasantry, my lord, cried Otto" and with that, made 
 
km; 
 
 chap. xii. 
 
 a sudden stroke at his throat, exclaiming ,,So much 
 tor thy perfidy". Philip flung himself from the bed, his 
 attendants called for help, but before it came, Otto had 
 given the death blow and fled, placing himself under the 
 protection of the bishop of Bamberg. A page or two fur- 
 ther on in history one is glad to find that this cold- 
 blooded assassin met his just reward. Philip was greatly 
 beloved and the princes of the realm resolved to avenge 
 his death. By a unanimous vote Otto of Bavaria was put 
 under the ban of the empire; he fled, and was at last 
 found in a small convent on the Danube, where the mar- 
 shal Kallinthin, who had been sent on the search, ran his 
 sword through his body. He severed the head and threw 
 it in the river; the body long remained unburied; his 
 patrimonial castle was razed to the ground and a church 
 of expiation erected on its foundation. The last of his 
 followers having wandered seventeen years in foreign 
 lands and made a pilgrimage to the HolySepulcre to ex- 
 piate his crime of participation, was at length pardoned 
 by Frederic II, and the Bishop, who had fled into Hun- 
 gary, was restored. 
 
 On the brow of another hill, rises the St. Michael's, 
 once a Benedictine convent, devoted since its sequestra- 
 tion to the use of the poor: a public pauper house, its 
 gardens thrown open to the people and its church left in 
 its original state. You reach it by a sharp acclivity and 
 find yourself in a splendid court with a carved stone 
 fountain in the centre, the architecture known as that we 
 call Louis quatorze, the facade, balustrades, and fountain 
 elaborately carved on a splendid scale, the inner decora- 
 tions to correspond, but with no historic associations. 
 The superintendent Avho showed us about, was a whole 
 souled man; earnest and gentle, he felt, the hill of St. 
 Michael's was the spot of earth we were bound to admire. 
 
BAMBERG 
 
 107 
 
 ,,It is the crown of Bamberg" said he with enthusiasm; 
 he had friends in America, but said very few good Ger- 
 mans leave home". There may be other opinions on that 
 subject. A Frenchman once expressed himself to me, 
 ,,all good Frenchmen who go to America, goby land". 
 It was an interesting day that passed in Bamberg; but 
 across that vast plain lay the world renowned Nurem- 
 berg — she ,,the Pearl of Franconia". One of my earliest 
 dreams was to be realized and I hurried off. 
 
 The wide plains of Franconia are cultivated like kit- 
 chen-gardens : they were swarming with life; here, pea- 
 sants gathering in potatoes, or other winter roots; there, 
 flocks of geese revelling in stubble-fields; cows and sheep, 
 browsing and nibbling, not at large but circumspectly, 
 under the supervision of striplings with white sun burnt 
 hair, or peasant girls, their short red petticoat^ tucked 
 up > and gay kerchiefs tied over their heads; — these 
 minded their business, % the goose- drivers particularly, 
 with their long lashed whips bringing all stray geese 
 within bounds. Imagine American geese minding any 
 body; imagine American cows being asked to work! In- 
 stead of revelling all day in green pastures or switching 
 her tail in cool brooks, the German cow is harnessed to 
 a hay-cart, and even to the plough. The ox has a quiet 
 dignified bearing and inspires sympathy by his patient 
 submission to the will of man, but cows have a coquettish 
 frisky kind of trot. I have seen them coming home be- 
 fore an empty hay-cart of an evening, driven by a couple 
 of brown merry looking peasant girls, and their toil 
 always struck me as a good joke. The author of,, Bubbles" 
 has commented on this before now and while he re- 
 marks upon the apparent injustice of making the poor 
 cows work all day, and then trot home to be milked, he 
 adds, ,,but in this respect they are no worse off than their 
 
10S 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 mistresses." The peasant woman's lot is hard; the 
 oppressive weight of labor falls upon her through the 
 whole length and breadth of the land. This feature in 
 European life strikes the American with dismay; we have 
 known heretofore nothing of standing armies, draining 
 our young men from their natural avocations, leaving their 
 wives and sisters, to become beasts of burden, besides 
 entailing crime and degradation on a large class of females 
 in other walks of life; it is the heavy, dark cloud that 
 overshadows Germany. In Bohemia I have seen women 
 in large numbers employed with wheelbarrows, trund- 
 ling earth to make embankments; and in Vienna women 
 are seen bearing hods of mortar on their shoulder, carry- 
 ing it up long ladders to the scaffoldings, where stone 
 masousare at work; — their mate, meanwhile, is dressed 
 in uniform, with sword and belt, lounging half his time 
 away in listles inactivity. — An intelligent American re- 
 marked to me, this civilization of old lands verifies the 
 adage that extremes meet. The savage chieftain marches 
 on, loaded with his paint and barbaric finery, while his 
 patient squaw trudges behind, bent under the weight of 
 all their worldly chattels including perhaps a child or two. 
 Our country must be proclaimed the woman's paradise, 
 though France, before now, has claimed that honour; but 
 she does it for her chateaux and privileged class; woman 
 with us, has a wider meaning. 
 
 The stubble-fields at this season are the scenes of the 
 great crow meetings; there they were, dodging about, 
 and sprinkled among them pert magpies in their white 
 and black garbs, looking important, and tolerated by their 
 demure associates, as some independent females at home 
 are who undertake to reorganize the world. According 
 to ,,auld wives' tales" magpies are birds of ill omen. 
 
BAMBERG. 
 
 109 
 
 The flight of many crows too, comes under the name of 
 ,,bad luck"; ,,as if the great god Jupiter had nothing else 
 to do, but to drive jack-daws in a flock together." 
 
 And so we traversed these broad level tracts, till 
 evening cast its long shadows across the plain, and the 
 setting sun revealed to us the red towers of old Nurem- 
 berg glittering in the distance. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 NUREMBERG. 
 
 Thus Nuremberg-, a wanderer from a region far away 
 As he paced thy streets and court yards, sang in thought his 
 
 careless lay, 
 
 Gathering- from the pavement crevice, as a flowret from the soil, 
 The nobility of labor, — the long- pedigree of toil. 
 
 Longfellow. 
 
 ,,Es lobe N" urn berg" as is inscribed on a scroll 
 above a curious old colored engraving that hung in my 
 grandfathers chamber, his grandfather came from there. 
 This was a souvenir of past times. My eye through this, 
 had become familiar with the little red tiled towers crown- 
 ing the town wall, those of the Cathedrals, and the Reichs- 
 veste , rising far above all , within the city of the Em- 
 perors; for the proud free city of Nuremberg made no 
 small boast of the distinction shown it by the German 
 Emperors, who, during a period of eight hundred years, 
 passed a portion of their time there, in the old castle, and 
 whose Regalia was left for several centuries under charge 
 of its wealthy burghers. 
 
 One of my earliest visions was a pilgrimage I would 
 some day make to the old town. Childhood lapsed into 
 maturity, and maturity, alas ! into something very like 
 the past meridian, ere I took my staff and scrip, to wan- 
 der forth; but my heart was still warm with enthusiasm 
 toward the quaint old home of my forefathers. 
 
NUREMBERG. Ill 
 
 It was just twilight, when I entered by the Frauen- 
 Thor, under the shadow of that great grey tower, the 
 very name of which makes one's blood curdle, ,,The 
 Tower of Torture", the home of the Iron Virgin. As the 
 custom became more common, in the Middle Ages, Tor- 
 ture, Witch, and Heretic Towers, were erected in every 
 town. 
 
 There is a world of excitement in the first step one 
 takes within the walls ; each house stands forth, a curious 
 specimen of architectural caprice; streets presenting no 
 uniformity, intersecting each other at the mostunexpected 
 points ; bridges, islands, all in the most unthought of pla- 
 ces; houses overhanging the river; enormous roofs; tier 
 above tier of dormer windows, their drooping eves of red 
 tile, like great eyes, peering down, scrutinizing your where- 
 about. I thought of Winkelmann, who on his return from 
 Italy declared ,,he never could again abide Germany, be- 
 cause of its garret windows. For a long while, these were 
 a matter of speculation to me. Often had I counted seven 
 lines of them, row after row, garnishing the high peaked 
 roofs. I had remarked at the point of the gable which 
 fronts the street a large square opening, which projecting, 
 terminated the ornamental facade of the house. I pon- 
 dered long on its use, till one day the mania seized the 
 householders in our neighborhood to get in their winter 
 fuel. Saws went screeching from sunrise to sunset for a 
 week; old fraws and young fraws, sawing, and here and 
 there a specimen of the other sex splitting. I learnt now, 
 that when ready, it was hoisted up in baskets, by means 
 of a beam and pulley, shoved miraculously for the occa- 
 sion out of the forehead of the great gable-window, and 
 thence deposited in the different garrets; each floor of 
 these immense houses being calculated to accommodate 
 one or two families, the attic woodlofts number accor- 
 
112 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 dingly. My mind was set at rest, and when there after 
 I saw a knowing- eye blink at me from the tiles, I blinked 
 back again, letting it understand, now I knew a thing 
 or two. I occupied a charming chamber in an old cranky 
 house, overlooking the Pegnitz, near where its waters 
 wash the base of the Wasser-Thurm. — Across a foot- 
 bridge thrown from the end of Schiitt-Island, you reach 
 a bit of crumbling wall; here, at the close of the day, 
 when the bustle was all stilled, I often found myself lean- 
 ing over, musing on the strange forms before me, and the 
 wonderful changes the world has undergone, — type of 
 which is this same city of Nuremberg. *The Wasser- 
 Thurm before me, that massive, grey, melancholy tower, 
 with its narrow iron-grated windows, still a dreary prison 
 house; the covered bridge connecting it mysteriously 
 with that small round tower on the opposite side, known 
 as the Henker-Thurm, the hangman's tower, where 
 the public executioner lived; the headsman's office no 
 longer as under the old German law, a priestly function 
 in the name of the Divinity, but a thing set apart, a hid- 
 eous profession, one that debarred from all social privi- 
 leges, made so by the introduction of bodily torture un- 
 der the Roman justice. ,, Thick coming fancies", cluster; 
 my eye wanders along the old jagged houses, springing 
 as it were, from the bed of the river, here with project- 
 ing wooden balconies even to the fifth story, there , with 
 interminable windows, and architectural excrescencies ; 
 carved fronts, and ornamental chimneys, iron spikes 
 capped with balls of the same, bristling like gigantic chest- 
 nut burrs, surmounting the peaks of dormer windows; 
 weathercocks, gritting their rusty old sides against the 
 wind: what a field to excite the imagination! what a 
 world of thought will arise, what speculations, upon those 
 who have lived, and felt, and suffered, beneath those 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 113 
 
 quaint old roofs, whole centuries agone. The river 
 gurgles on for ever; the same light of day illumines 
 the wide casements, the grey eves drip with the same re- 
 freshing showers, man struts out his little span of life, 
 agitated by the same passions, as when his fellows 
 breathed and hoped and mourned in those far-off days, 
 which ,, fancy conjures from the misty Past". 
 
 There be some who would not have hung over the 
 mouldy wall and watched the shadows in the sluggish 
 stream; such would have been up, and doing, among the 
 marvels- of art in Nuremberg; mine was a morbid taste, 
 a revelling in the realization of early dreamings, a „gaz 
 ing wistfully into the long burial-aisle of the Past, where 
 only winds and their harsh low moan give inarticulate 
 answer ". — I resolved nothing should hurry me away 
 from the beloved Nuremberg, home of my forefathers, 
 where, two hundred years ago, Gaspard Schwanhard took 
 lessons in the art of engraving on glass from the renowned 
 Lehmann, and so distinguished himself by his skill in 
 cutting emblems and garlands of flowers, that Princes and 
 Bishops were proud to possess samples of his skill. It was 
 an old German custom when a title of nobility was con- 
 ferred, to have a glass blown, which differed according 
 to the rank of the individual. Thus a Baron would have 
 a common tumbler, while a Prince would have a beaker 
 three feet high, their arms finely cut upon them. This 
 style of engraving was carried to the highest perfection 
 in Nuremberg and the daughters of Schwanhard inherited 
 his talent. There were links connecting that far past with 
 present musings, and the old town had an interest for 
 me, disconnected with its grand mediaeval associations, 
 yet mingled with those days when the glory of Nurem- 
 berg was at its zenith, when it was the brilliant centre of 
 commerce, learning, and the fine arts, and I could realize 
 
 8 
 
114 
 
 chap. xiii. 
 
 my far removed forefather making one of that galaxy of 
 artists, whose achievements crowned the ancient city 
 with honor. 
 
 Schiitt-Island derives its name from ,,ruhbish" here, 
 the Trbdcl-Markt, or Rag Fair, is held ; a collection of 
 sheds, where the rubbish is housed at night, and spread 
 out in the daytime, on tables with quaint bow legs , or 
 straight ones perhaps, but with such inconceivable adorn- 
 ment of knobs as would set some female friends, I wot 
 of, demented. The seeker after antiquities may pick up 
 here at times, things worth the trouble of a search, among 
 the heaps of incongruities that compose the stock in 
 trade of such brokers; where old boots, busts of Kaisers, 
 frowsy tobacco boxes, tea-cups of choice china, battered 
 kitchen utensils, clanking among old armor, antique 
 carved chairs, books, common crockery, cast off finery, 
 all in utter confusion , are the stock in trade of this rub- 
 bish market. It was here, I discovered one day an old 
 bible with clasps, and the Romau capitals on its title-page 
 announcing the year 1534, with woodcuts by Wolge- 
 muth, and an illuminated coat of arms pasted on the co- 
 ver; — what a windfall! and how sundry bibliopoles have 
 envied me the acquisition. So Schiitt-Island became a sort 
 of centre of attraction to me, with its bustling booths by 
 day, and its calm seclusion by the old wall when even- 
 ing fell, and the shops were closed, and the venders gone 
 home. I am no artist, but I bring my pencil here, and 
 sketch scraps of thought, no one travels without doing 
 something of the kind. There is Sophy at home, she 
 will read my journal; — it is proverbial, with all the 
 pains one takes, no one ever reads his own; but Sophy 
 has participated with me in the curious desire to see 
 Nuremberg, ever since we were children together and 
 made cities on the carpet, from out those toy-boxes, whose 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 115 
 
 contents of white blocks, with steep red roofs, and prim 
 fir trees, are genuine types of the old city itself. She will 
 follow me gladly in my wanderings within its walls, even 
 if I grow somewhat prosy at times. I would here ob- 
 serve in passing that the Pegnitz, dignified as it may be 
 with the name of river, would have but small pretension 
 to the title, had it risen on our side of the world; it is of 
 a green and yellow melancholy tinge, sluggishly wending 
 its way about the town, as if destined only to add to its 
 pieturesqueness, by the fourteen bridges thrown across 
 it, one of which aspires to be modelled after the Rialto 
 at Venice. 
 
 8* 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 My first exploring visit was a ramble round the town 
 walls, which rise from a deep moat one hundred feet wide, 
 now dry and planted with orchards. The Horn and castle 
 bastions are crowned with coffee gardens, here called 
 Z winger, or enclosures meaning literally the space be- 
 tween the houses and walls of the town. At the four princi- 
 pal gates of the city, rise great grey towers, erected in 
 t lie sixteenth century, at which time cannon were first 
 mounted. But the sharp red-roofed circular towers, stand- 
 ing like sentinels at short distances round the entire cir- 
 cuit, I recognized as the friends of my youth. Like other 
 old folks they have outlived their usefulness, and stand 
 looking glum and weather-beaten , but I doubt not have 
 stores of tales to tell of times , when they sent out hosts 
 of armed burghers, to battle against such robber-knights 
 as interfered with the travelling merchants of the proud 
 free city. Following the walls, one comes soon in contact 
 with the Schloss or castle, which they encompass. From 
 the deep dry moat, rises that huge mass of rock, from 
 which the castle looks down on the queer red-tiled roofs 
 that crowd about it, gathering as of yore, when some 
 chieftain first raised the stronghold, and his retainers 
 clustered beneath the protecting wing of his power. The 
 Schloss, the Reichsveste, whose roof had sheltered for so 
 many centuries the renowned and powerful. It was really 
 with a feeling of deep reverence I entered beneath its 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 117 
 
 portal into the tir.st court. The Heathen-Tower rises di- 
 rectly in front, guarding the entrance to the inner court. 
 This is so old , tradition is at fault as to the origin of its 
 name. A little beyond standsNero\s tower, the five-sided 
 one, which dates too beyond tradition, but to which the 
 name of the town owes its derivation. It was only in the 
 tenth century Nuremberg was known to exist, and though 
 by its industry it grew very rapidly into notice, time 
 was when this donjon keep was but a nucleus round 
 which a few retainers gathered. The keeper clanging his 
 bunch of keys interrupted my course of thought; with 
 many apologies, he requested me to wait a few moments, 
 he had another party above who would soon be through, 
 — a reprieve, for which I gave him heart -thanks; I 
 asked no better than to be left alone wandering about 
 these courts; so much of historic interest clings around 
 the spot, — not stirring incident alone, of battle lost and 
 won, but quiet memories of the great. I leaned over the 
 parapet wall, gazed down into the deep moat, uoav dry, 
 and planted with fruit and flower gardens; beyond, saw 
 the summer-houses and pleasure-grounds of the towns- 
 people, the bulb-shaped steeples and sharp red roofs of 
 the olden time. Across the court T noticed a mass of build- 
 ings, used as public granaries, and there, within the 
 arched gateway, beside the Heathen -Tower, the more 
 private court yard from the centre of which rises the 
 great linden tree eight hundred years old, said to have 
 been planted by Kunigunda, Empress of Henry II. I 
 sauntered towards the archway; an unbroken stillness 
 prevailed, — only the wind sweeping through the upper 
 branches of the great linden tree, that prisoner of state, 
 doomed to live in solitary grandeur within the massive 
 walls that encircle the court; not another sign of vege- 
 tation, nothing save the heavy masonry of stone -work 
 
118 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 that surrounds it, and the blue sky above; to that, it had 
 reached its wide spreading arms, and the deep melan- 
 choly sighing of the captive seemed to float on the sum- 
 mer air. The steps of the party descending the great stair, 
 which leads outside the castle into the court, roused me 
 from my dreamings; a polite signal, and I found myself 
 following the man of keys. 1 had not been apprized of 
 any modern improvements, so judge of my disappoint- 
 ment to find the long, low browed halls of the Kaisers, 
 divided up, painted, gilded, transformed into a residence 
 for his modern Majesty of Bavaria, by his loving subjects 
 the Nuremburghers. Not a vestige of the past left but 
 the ceilings with their cross-beams, and frescoes of 
 double-headed black Eagles, spread, „ thick as black- 
 berries", and the magnificent antique stoves of majolica 
 pottery. I rapidly traversed the suite of apartments to 
 hasten to the chapel in the Heathen- Tower; — that 
 too had been renovated. This tower contains the two 
 chapels of Ottmar and Marguerite, the upper for royal 
 uses, the lower for Christians of less degree. ,,And where 
 is the subterranean chapel?" I asked. The keeper assured 
 me there was nothing to see there; it was filled with rub- 
 bish, the king had not yet had it fitted up. ,,Let me go 
 among the rubbish", said I, ,,it is in that state I wish to 
 see it". The poor man looked at me, wondering what 
 crotchet had got into my brain ; however as a great favor, 
 he consented. We returned to the court, there, at the 
 base of the Heathen-Tower, found alow arched door, with 
 a rusty latch and padlock; he opened it and pushed me 
 in, as he saw another party advancing. He excused him- 
 self asking me to close the door when I left, and bowed 
 politely, I ditto. Placing the fee in his palm, and step- 
 ping down a few stone steps , I found myself in a very 
 dingy chapel, where Icould, at my leisure, through a cob- 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 119 
 
 webbed light, casser mon nez contre le moyen age". 
 The chapel is small, supported by massive Doric columns, 
 a square projection for the altar, a grim grey coloring 
 pervading the whole. Such the only architectural attrac- 
 tions; but it was a lumber room of no small interest. Rem- 
 nants of church decorations, furniture, pictures, all in 
 utter confusion, stiffportraits of Saints on golden grounds, 
 carved oak settles, wooden statues of church worthies, 
 once resplendent in gorgeous coloring and gilding, now 
 weather-beaten ; a great oak press with massive doors 
 and locks and hinges strong enough for a modern prison; 
 black figures, and finally the exploded jackass, large as 
 life, with the figure of the Saviour bestriding it, used of 
 yore in the Palm- Sunday festival. I own to sitting down 
 on a rickety oaken settle, and inhaling the musty atmo- 
 sphere with inexplicable gusto. What passed vaguely 
 through my brain is not worth communicating. At last I 
 pulled open the heavy oaken door, which creaked so- 
 lemnly on its hinges, and admitted me once more to the 
 free light of heaven within the Schloss court. Here I found 
 myself before a rough arch in the w r all which sheltered 
 the statue of a Avarrior, coarsely wrought in brown stone, 
 Gustavus Adolphus, his hand grasping the bible, on which 
 he firmly leans his weight. There was a simple sublimity 
 in the conception, which made one forget the coarseness 
 of the workmanship. The Lion of the North; The De- 
 fender of the Faith. There is a glory irradiating the me- 
 mory of Gustavus far beyond his renown as a warrior. 
 There it was, from this very spot, that he watched the 
 army of Wallcnstfein, encamped yonder upon the Alte- 
 veste near Flirth. Famine and death compelled Gustavus 
 to retreat, and Wallenstein to say of him ,,he has shewn 
 such capacity, he is a foe worthy to meet". 
 
 The enormous havoc made by famine within the walls 
 
120 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 of Nuremberg, which caused ten thousand of its inhabi- 
 tants to succumb before it, and Wallenstein to leave a 
 hundred villages around it in flames, gives some idea of 
 the devastation those terrible religious wars caused in 
 afflicted Germany. These things one reads and re-reads; 
 history with diamond pointed stylus, has engraved in- 
 delibly heroic actions and tales of suffering, — we know 
 them all, and yet with the spirit of childhood whichloves 
 to hear the same tale told and retold , we return to them 
 with renewed interest. How one feels this through all 
 the German land, I need hardly say, but particularly here, 
 pacing the solitary courts of the Reichsveste; how many 
 visions of the past rise before the mind's eye. What if 
 there should have been some musty tome found in that 
 subterranean chapel, bound in black leather, with silver- 
 bossed clasps, blackened too by time; — a house-book, 
 kept as they do in these modern days, to inscribe the 
 names of visiters, having abundant space too for volun- 
 tary embellishments. The only difficulty would be that 
 should such vellum manuscript be produced, there would 
 be no security for the authenticity of its autographs, Kings 
 and Queens, in those days, being far too exalted person- 
 ages to condescend to the accomplishment of scribes. But 
 we can imagine some good Father Bartholomew employing 
 his leisure in noting down important events as they had 
 occurred within the castle walls. Let us turn over some 
 of the black-letter pages, thrown together without method. 
 That period of eight hundred years comprises the history 
 of Emperors rilled with stirring incident and curious ro- 
 mantic detail. See! the Schloss-Book shells into a folio, 
 even with scraps gathered from the chronicles of those days. 
 
 Open we at random. — Frederick Barbarossa but just 
 crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, that deep politician and wise 
 statesman, visits Nuremberg. It was he who extended 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 121 
 
 and fortified the castle as we now find it. It was he who 
 granted privileges to the cities; and to him, Nuremberg, 
 among others, owes its complete enfranchisement, and 
 elevation to the rank of ,,free Imperial City'*. Again, in 
 1184, after his contests with the Popes, his Italian wars, 
 his reduction of Milan, his return to Germany, where he 
 quelled the feuds which had gained force in his absence, 
 he re-entered Nuremberg. lean almost hear the clattering 
 of the horses' hoofs as they ascend that steep Burgher- 
 strasse, through the Himmel-Gate; — Frederick on his 
 great black war horse, „his well-formed muscular person, 
 his perfect simplicity of attire, his high massive fore- 
 head crowned with short curled hair, blue eyes , with a 
 quick and penetrating glance 1 '. 
 
 So, the old chroniclers describe him, beard inclining 
 to red , to which he owes his sobriquet of Barbarossa. 
 Beside him rode the beautiful Beatrix; she, the heiress 
 of Burgundy, imprisoned by her uncle, to secure to him- 
 self her inheritance, delivered by the Emperor, who raised 
 her to the Imperial throne, where she was distinguished 
 as much for her virtues and talents, as for her beauty, and 
 bore the emperor five sons. 
 
 Again the folio falls open, where some thirty years 
 after, Frederic II held high revel in the old castle, pre- 
 vious this, to the crusade he led against the infidels, when 
 he placed upon his brow the crown of Jerusalem, already 
 encircled with those of Germany, Lombardy, Burgundy, 
 Sicily, Sardinia, and the Roman Empire. 
 
 The brilliant court of Sicily, threw but faint reflection 
 on the sombre Gothic hue of German habits. Frederick's 
 tastes and heart were all in beautiful Italy, but his pre- 
 sence was required in his German states, to quell the law- 
 less feuds existing between the Dukes, and to make 
 friends with the Prince Bishops , who strengthened his 
 
122 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 power. He assembled about him not only the great and 
 powerful, but gave full play to his tastes, by encouraging 
 the arts. Here in the old Schloss the Minnesingers sang 
 love, chivalry, and satirical versions too, against the 
 monks, encouraged by Frederick, whose opposition to pa- 
 pal authority called down upon him the anathemas of 
 the the church. It was at this time that Waltlier von der 
 Vogelweide, the most famous among these Minnesingers, 
 attended this court, he, whose name is typical of the 
 simplicity of his craft, ,,Vogelweid ", bird-meadow. His 
 love for the woodland Minnesingers was carried out by 
 his leaving a legacy to buy seed for them, which was to 
 be scattered about his grave. He died, and was laid un- 
 der the linden-tree near the Minster at Wiirtzburg; the 
 monks took the money and bought, not seed, but good 
 white bread, which they devoured themselves, — the old 
 black crows. 
 
 ,,Time has long effaced the inscriptions 
 ,,On the cloisters 1 funeral stones, 
 
 ,,And tradition only tells us, 
 
 Where repose the poet's bones. 
 
 ,,But around the vast cathedral 
 
 ,,By sweet echoes multiplied, 
 ,, Still the birds repeat the legend 
 
 ,,And the name of Vogelweid". 
 
 0, this German history! it is like a cluster of its own 
 Rhine grapes, hundreds cling together on one stem, and 
 as you gather them off, smaller ones appear within; so 
 full of incident is it, yet so interwoven, one's pen might 
 prove as prolific as that of Hans Sachs himself, — who 
 counted thirty two folios written in his own land. Hardly 
 do we moderns dream what a folio means, but I do, when 
 T ponder over the Schloss-Book and wish to condense for 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 123 
 
 you all it contains. But Kodolph of llapsburgh we can- 
 not pass over; lie, the inheritor of a small countship in 
 Switzerland, a robber knight, engaged in constant frays, 
 yet chosen to fill the exal ted position of German Emperor. 
 
 Years had elapsed, the degenerate successors of 
 Frederick II had dwindled away. The high Princes of 
 the realm held the power in their own hands, but the 
 ambition of Bohemia required a curb. The people were 
 reviving traditionary legends of Barbarossa; the po- 
 pular belief was that he had retired within a cave of 
 the mountain named the Kyffhauser in Thuringia, 
 where he remained hidden with his court about him, 
 waiting the appointed time, to re -appear and make the 
 happines of his people, but so long as the crows wheel 
 their flight about the summit of the mountain, so long 
 does the enchantment last. Now and then a stray pea- 
 sant had the luck to meet the Emperor by moonlight, who 
 always treated him well and sent him off with a present. 
 It is said a young shepherd, pasturing his sheep on the 
 Kyffhauser, began to play his pipe, and after executing 
 his best pieces, cried aloud, ,, Emperor Frederick it is to 
 thee I give this serenade " whereupon the Emperor ap- 
 peared unto him and bade him enter the mystic cavern ; 
 he opened an iron door and entered a great hall, where 
 warriors and courtiers-in- waiting bade him welcome; here 
 the Emperor asked him, what recompense he required, 
 the shepherd modestly replied, he wanted nothing. ,,Go 
 take one of the feet of my golden ewer", said he — he 
 was then shewn collections of curious armor, and was 
 ordered to spread the report, that with these arms, the 
 Emperor would reconquer the Holy Sepulcre. The shep- 
 herd lad sold his bit of gold for three thousand ducats 
 and was enriched for life. 
 
J21 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 I introduce another legend on the same subject. 
 
 „ A band of musicians having learnt the success of the 
 shepherd and his pipe, started one night in a body to 
 serenade the invisible Kaiser and his court. They were 
 graciously admitted into the presence chamber beneath 
 the mountain , and having performed to the best of their 
 ability, were regaled with an excellent supper. After this 
 they made their obeisance to the Emperor, hoping for a 
 gratuity, but nothing of the kind was offered. The mo- 
 narch shook his ambrosial curls and gave the nod, — but 
 no money. The princess, to allay their disappointment, 
 graciously presented each with a twig of evergreen as 
 they passed out of the hall. Once more free beneath the 
 stars, the musicians gave vent to their indignation and 
 the grumbling chorus vibrated all on the same note, with 
 the exception of Gortz the piper, who, when the rest cast 
 away their sprigs of evergreen, stuck his in his cap like 
 a merry good-natured wight as he was, saying it might 
 bring him luck. Arrived at the village they parted to 
 their several homes. Tony-Gortz's wife was waiting 
 for him to learn what luck they had had, he cast his cap 
 upon the deal table saying, ,, There take it, the sprig of 
 Live-for-Ever, that is what has come of prowling among 
 the mountains at night". Tony fetched the cottage lamp, 
 and with an exclamation of delight, sawtheLebens-Baum 
 was shooting out golden buds, and in a short while they 
 gathered a purse full of golden coin. The news new 
 through the village; the disappointed musicians one by 
 one, retraced their road to search for the despised twigs 
 they had cast so disdainfully away, but all in vain , the 
 invisible gates of the mountain were never again opened 
 to their melodious appeal. 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 125 
 
 But to return; while the people were believing in 
 these legends, the princes and the Pope united and se- 
 lected Rudolph von Hapsburg. He had been held at the 
 font by Frederic II, he was a soldier of courage, and 
 moreover promised blind submission to the Pope, Fre- 
 derick von Hohenzollern, Burgrave of Nuremberg acted 
 as mediator. He, the progenitor of Prussian royalty, thus 
 lent a hand to raise him, the founder of the illustrious 
 Austrian family, neither then dreaming of the ultimate 
 grandeur of their descendents, 
 
 ,,Le premier qui fut Roi , fut un soldat heureux 
 Qui sert bien son pays, n'a pas besoin d'ayeux". 
 
 The hereditary princedoms of Germany may, like 
 mighty rivers, be traced to very small beginnings. 
 
 The Hohenzollern were Gaugrafen, afterwards made 
 Burggrafen of Nuremberg. Here they imbibed the taste 
 for accumulating wealth and were very useful to the Em- 
 perors by loaning great sums of money. It was the Em- 
 peror Sigismund who mortgaged to the Hohenzollern 
 the Margraviate of Brandenburg, made vacant by death, 
 and not being able to redeem his pledge, the Burgrave took 
 possession of it, with consent of the Barons and assumed 
 the title of Frederick I Elector of Brandenburg 1417. 
 
 So Rudolph was elected, and Hohenzollern des- 
 patched to carry him the news , where he was warring 
 with the city of Basle, in the year 1273. Peace immedi- 
 ately ensued; Rudolph marched down to Aix-la-Chapelle, 
 was there crowned, and his three daughters given in mar- 
 riage to the three great Princes of the realm. It is related 
 that at the coronation, when before the altar, it was dis- 
 covered the sceptre of state was missing, on which the 
 nobles took their oath of allegiance. The ceremony came 
 to a stand -still, when Rudolph, seizing the crucifix and 
 
126 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 kissing it, exclaimed, ,,This cross which has saved us all 
 may well represent the sceptre 1 '. The princes taken l>y 
 surprise at his presence of mind, kissed it one after the 
 other, and swore allegiance. The lower classes were rilled 
 with dismay, they could not brook this coalition among 
 the magnates of the land, but Rudolph's policy was to 
 conciliate the cities. Their constant feuds with the lower 
 nobility, the rapine and plunder carried on by the 
 robber knights against the peaceful merchants, had be- 
 come so outrageous, it required curbing. Rudolph, the 
 soldier of fortune, now turned his arms against his for- 
 mer comrades. No district was more infested than that 
 extending through the mountainous region which sepa- 
 rates Franconia from Bohemia. One spot on the road from 
 Nuremberg to Eger had obtained the name of ,,Holle" 
 Hell, winding as it did through a mountain pass, where 
 two strongholds of freebooters, the castles of Stein and 
 Wollstein , commanded the passage. The Hapsburg laid 
 them in ruins, and the Nurembergers received the Em- 
 peror as a benefactor, when he came to hold his first Diet 
 in their city. Our chronicler goes on to state, that the 
 Emperor was distinguished for his sobriety; in war he 
 lived like a common soldier; his height of near seven feet 
 inspired respect; his pale complexion and strongly marked 
 aquiline nose expressed severity, but as soon as he opened 
 his mouth he inspired confidence. He was fifty five when 
 elected, and ever retained the simplicity of his habits, 
 went always clothed in a plain grey surcoat. Not so the 
 great dignitaries of the church; it is recorded the Bishop 
 of Basle appeared at this Diet with a magnificent suite, 
 among whom were a negro attendant clothed in Asiatic 
 splendor, and a dwarf only three feet high , named the 
 Chevalier Conrad. At this period Nuremberg aped the 
 luxury and magnificence of Venice and equalled her 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 127 
 
 in arts, wealth and commerce; but the wide difference 
 of national character, the solid thoughtfulness of the 
 German, stamped its impress from the beginning on this, 
 the free Imperial City. Turn another leaf and read the 
 yet unrivalled splendor with which Albert the successor 
 of Rudolph held his Diet in 1298. when the kiug of Bo- 
 hemia and all the Prince Electors served him at table. 
 When we read of the grandeur of the entertainments and 
 look about us at the rough low-ceilinged chambers of the 
 Reichsveste, as they then existed, we imagine the luxury 
 of those days, high vaunted as they may be, bore small 
 comparison to the refinement of the present. ,, Say not 
 ye that the former days were better then these, for ye do 
 not enquire wisely concerning them." With these words 
 of the wise man written in gold on the tablet of memory, 
 I pondered over the brilliant accounts of past splendor. 
 The sixteenth century proclaimed art at its zenith, but 
 with this were mingled strange incongruities and a gross- 
 ness in many things intolerable to our conceptions, who 
 live in the nineteenth. I have been led to this reflection 
 from having read a code of domestic laws, drawn up by 
 one Graf Hildebrand von Hardenburg, 1645, who lived 
 somewhere in the north of Germany. It rolls on that do- 
 mestic evil, servants , and is a curious document illustra- 
 tive of the existing state of society. 
 
 1° The meals are to be served in good order, with- 
 out spilling. 
 
 2° If anyone nibbles at anything, or puts his fingers, 
 or his mouth into dishes , he shall be made to eat 
 hot burning food. 
 
 3° Everyone is bound, when called upon, to step for- 
 ward, making a bow and say grace with an audible 
 voice; he who stutters or hesitates shall receive 
 six SpanischeNasenstuber (fillips upon the nose). 
 
12s 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 4° Whoever mixes with the conversation, or grins 
 at what is said, shall be made to blow till he is 
 tired. 
 
 5° Whoever laughs, shall have four raps upon the 
 fingers. 
 
 6° Whoever fills a glass too full and then sips it out 
 with his own mouth, shall have twenty lashes with 
 a whip. 
 
 7° He who hands a dirty glass, shall have his choice 
 between four boxes on the ear, or six fillips on 
 the nose. 
 
 S° After dinner, a basin of water and a clean napkin 
 
 to be handed with a reverence to each guest. 
 9° It is a scandalous and insufferable thing to be long 
 at meals; — those who are more than a quarter 
 of an hour, shall have it taken away. 
 10° If any one goes out without leave, or says any- 
 thing disrespectful of the Herr Graf, may expect 
 to be flogged, put in chains, or tied to a post, 
 according to circumstances. 
 Such is the episode in question, composed probably 
 by some antiquated butler as a code of pantry laws, offer- 
 ing to our view some of the domestic habits of those 
 times. But we have wandered very far from the Schloss 
 court, and the old vellum folio of Father Bartholomew. 
 
 A thousand curious particulars can be gleaned from 
 just such volumes, transcribed in clear round German 
 text; but for others, whose tastes maynot perhaps becon- 
 genial , it may become tedious ; clasp we then the book 
 and saunter down the Burgerstrasse home again. 
 
 Home! — a great square room with a row of windows 
 side by side, scarce any interval between them; strange 
 
NUREMBERG-. 
 
 129 
 
 architectural fancy which prevails in almost every house 
 in Nuremberg'. But there is a corner I delight in; — an J 
 Erker they call it here, a projection built out, overhang- 
 ing the street, you see such everywhere about the old 
 town, a species of overgrown pepper-box, with conical 
 extinguisher-shaped roof, topped by an iron ball, encircled 
 by windows , making a domestic tower of observation up 
 and down the street, round the corner, and into your 
 opposite neighbors premises, a favourite resort of the 
 female members of the family I have remarked. One that 
 serves my purpose too, for I have a table here, and heaps 
 of books; forbidden territory to brooms and swabs. Here 
 I shake out the pencilled scraps from my portfolio, here 
 I write to thee, my sister Sophy, or lay aside my pen at 
 pleasure, and let my thoughts wander. We who have 
 passed the heyday of youth, love retrospection. When 
 the hours come in which we say, ,, there is no pleasure in 
 them," when all is faded, the coloring of life gone, anti- 
 cipation quite died out; then retrospection casts its linger- 
 ing ray to cheer the old upon their way. I find, I begin 
 to fall into such musings. There is a charm living as I 
 now do, ensconced in a corner in listless inactivity, like 
 the wayside bench, on which the weary foot- traveller 
 casts himself to rest. My life journey has been a weary 
 one too, — no one knows better than thou, dear sister 
 Sophy, how weary; then bear with me while I prate of 
 my whereabout, or indulge in the mysterious enjoyment 
 of reviving the shadowy past. My Erker seems that cor- 
 ner which old Montaigne tells of, when he says, — ,,that 
 man in my opinion is very miserable who has not at home 
 where to be by himself, where to entertain himself alone, 
 or to conceal himself from others. " My Erker is the 
 beau ideal of corners, comprising, as I have said before, 
 so many outward advantages; while within, it has an ivy- 
 
 9 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 vine trained from wooden boxes up the window sides, 
 here, allowed to encroach and forma partial screen, there 
 to climb up to where over head the ceiling groins into an 
 arched point ; from which aBlumenLampe swings by a 
 green cord. This Blum en or flower -lamp, now becom- 
 ing familiar to us at home, is overflowing with an ever- 
 green vine, drooping its tiny fern -like leaves over the 
 edges, cheery to the eye, emblematic of endless youth, or 
 green old age , as best hits your fancy. The ivy is the 
 German household god; no cottage, no palace without 
 it, from the northern llheinland to the Oest countrie, some- 
 times encircling a tiny shrine, sometimes trained against 
 delicate trellis work as a screen. My eye wanders at times 
 down the narrow street to where a bridge spans the river; 
 there a motley throng passes and repasses, the livelong 
 day, — panorama of life. A short distance off, lies the 
 common market, and the peasant women go past trund- 
 ling barrows of vegetables and milk -cans. Then follow 
 the neat looking servant girls, without bonnet or cap, 
 their hair elaborately braided and arranged with the 
 greatest care. Then, teamsters pacing beside their cum- 
 brously loaded waggons, dressed in long tailed coats, which 
 literally touch their heels, and a display of brass buttons, 
 about the size of a fifty cent piece, thickly placed from 
 the throat to the waistband, reminding one of the man 
 who committed suicide because ,, there was so much but 
 toning and unbuttoning to do in this world." Their hor- 
 ses of huge dimensions are not behind their masters in 
 brass appendages. The enormous collars rising in a peak 
 far above their heads, the wide straps of leather compos- 
 ing their harness, are all bossed with round plates of 
 brass; they walk leisurely forward, dragging enormous 
 loads, but like their masters, and every body else I have 
 seen in Germany, taking the world slow and easy. The 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 131 
 
 peasant woman has little of the attraction of hersex, being 
 strong and gaunt, sun-dried and coarse. Here they wear 
 gay colored kerchiefs tied about their heads, and waists 
 beneath their armpits, petticoats thickly plaited over a 
 roll, and sleeves Ave used to call ,,gigot de mouton", 
 under which some hidden apparatus raises the shoulder 
 to a level with the ear. Antiquity stamps everything in 
 Nuremberg, these fashions we can trace perhaps to times 
 when Ezekiel denounced, ,,Woe to all women who sew 
 pillows to all arm holes; and make kerchiefs upon the 
 head of every stature to hunt souls." 
 
 At times my eye becomes weary gazing on the mov- 
 ing panorama, and I turn to the region of my big Ger- 
 man parlor. Its polished oaken floor is au naturel, as 
 the man said when he proposed hiring me some bedding 
 once, and asked whether I should want it in its natural 
 state, or with clothes on! I wonder now that I have been 
 enlightened, that our delicate females at home have never 
 felt the indecency of thumping naked pillows, or beating 
 the backs of stripped matrasses. However that may be, 
 the floors are naked as truth all over Germany, with the 
 exception of a worsted rug here and there, as a fig-leaf 
 appendage, maybe. Great beams cross my ceiling which 
 have been frescoed to make them look young again, very 
 much upon the principle old women wear rouge, to fill 
 up the cracks and seams. There are some prim long-leg- 
 ged chairs, and a sofa hard enough to serve for a monk's 
 pallet, where, provided he had read Cowper, he could 
 ponder, not ,,the Sofa", but ,, Faith, Hope, and Charity". 
 And the German Oven , I must describe that to you. 
 
 Oven" be it understood is the parlor stove, and all 
 others, except the kitchen one which goes by the name 
 of a ,, machine". Well, the oven is generally of white 
 porcelain, constructed very much upon the same principle 
 
 9 * 
 
132 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 you and I used once to build card castles, two for sides, 
 and one across, up, up, so high, that our castle in the air 
 toppled over, as all baseless fabrics must. So the white 
 stov erises that garnishes my room, two for sides, and one 
 across, these being air chambers where the heat circulates 
 and diffuses itself. Such stand like white monuments in 
 every German room. 
 
 The sun shines cheeringly into my Erker, it is my 
 second day in Nuremberg, I ring and order breakfast. 
 Now breakfast in Germany, Sophy, means two small jugs 
 set parallel, one about an inch taller than the other, made 
 of fayence, with covers, and little noses like pitchers, 
 from one of these spouts your complement of coffee, from 
 the other, its adjutant, boiled milk. A silver tasse about 
 as large as the hollow of your hand is piled with 
 lumps of sugar and, to complete the meal, two rolls of very 
 white bread and two Hornchens are served, the latter a 
 fine crust about the shape of Diana's crescent. From what 
 I have heard and found in my gleanings, I should not be 
 surprised when we swallow Hornchens, we are commit- 
 ting some abominable pagan rite, but where ,, ignorance 
 is bliss 'tis folly to be wise". We will return to our break- 
 fast table where some fine yellow butter without salt, 
 shredded as with a chisel, on a plate, and perhaps a 
 boiled egg comprises the meal, beyond which a German's 
 imagination never wanders. They wonder at our capa- 
 city to eat substantial at so early an hour, and we won- 
 der still more at their being able to compass five meals a 
 day. — You remember father Esop tells us, men go forth 
 on their journey through life with a double sack slung 
 across their shoulder; in the hinder compartment are 
 stowed our own faults and failings, while the front one 
 is kept conveniently open to hold the faults of others. 
 Methinks travellers always carry such a one when they 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 133 
 
 go forth to wander in strange lands : a sort of moral car- 
 pet bag; but I have learnt one thing, that what oftentimes 
 offends our prejudices at first, is the result frequently of 
 circumstances we have no time to investigate, and that 
 if we live long enough in a country, we assume its habits 
 and discover strong reason for them too. But come with 
 me over the bridge and through a long labyrinth of 
 streets, till we stand before the Lorenzkirche, one of the 
 great Cathedrals which divide the city, by giving their 
 names to their respective districts Saint Lorenz and 
 Saint Sebald's. 
 
 A step within, and one is impressed with reverential 
 feeling; tread softly along the huge dim vaulted aisles, 
 disturb not the holy silence ; here the human voice should 
 be heard alone in prayer and praise. The great stained 
 windows diffuse their glorious refulgence , each one a 
 gift , most dating back to that time when the Hallers- 
 Beheims, Tuchers and Holzschuhers evinced their munifi- 
 cence and piety, by dedicating these matchless treasures 
 of art to the church. Here the Hauslein , the fragile ele- 
 gant white pyramid constructed to hold the sacred wafer ? 
 rises in stone fret -work so delicately elaborate that one 
 ( pauses to realize the possibility of its workmanship, as it 
 shoots up, like a fair white lily, to meet the top-most arch, 
 or as Longfellow describes it, 
 
 ,,In the church of Sainted Lawrence stands a pix of sculpture rare, 
 ,,Like the foamy sheaf of fountains, rising- thro' the painted air." 
 
 This was the work of Adam Kraft, the greatest sculp- 
 tor of his nation, of whom it has been beautifully said, 
 ,,qu'il a moule sur la pierre, comme Albert Diirer a trace 
 sur la toile, l'ideal du genie de la vieille Allemagne". 
 
134 
 
 chap. xiv. 
 
 The carved wood -work known as the Salutation, " by 
 Veit Stoss, suspended in mid -air beneath the nave, 
 unique of its kind, the lofty columns, the beautiful 
 architectural design of the sacristy stair, the pictures of 
 Wohlgemuth, the remnants of antique tapestry, all pro- 
 duce their effects. But there are bye -corners, in the Lo- 
 renzkirche, possessing their own peculiar interest unhe- 
 ralded in guide books, all churches have such, though 
 it is not always that the passing tourist finds them out; 
 perhaps there is something in one's peculiar taste, but 
 infinitely more in the kind of person one hits upon to 
 accompany you. A kind of superannuated valet de place 
 undertook to be my guide. Born and bred within the 
 town walls, close upon seventy, with the propensity of 
 looking back to times when he was young, he became 
 to me a perfect treasure trove, so in keeping was he with 
 everything around. To him I owe the history of many a 
 private chapel, and the tradition of many an old usage. 
 The only point where we could not come to a clear un- 
 derstanding was , he would insist upon interlarding his 
 discourse by addressing me as Madame la Comtesse, which 
 I in vain endeavored to convince him was not my due, 
 and to which he adhered with a tenacity that made the 
 thing absurd. 
 
 The Lutherans of Nuremberg have here liberally re- 
 tained, not only the revered remains of Roman Catho- 
 lic ornament, but have not even excluded some old estab- 
 lished customs; for instance, in front of a side chapel a 
 great brass lamp is kept perpetually burning, the memento 
 of one who left a dying bequest to the church for this 
 purpose — the undying lamp of thought," hallowing 
 memories 1 '. The same heart demonstration is peculiar to 
 the piety of the Chinese, who keep an everlasting lamp 
 burning in the sepulchre of their fathers. The votivechapel 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 135 
 
 of expiation of the Haller family has too a touching in- 
 terest connected with it. The talc I heard long years 
 ago in my nursery days, but it has gone since then through 
 many versions. Here, before the chapel altar we stand, 
 and listen to the incident as it really occurred in the 
 Haller family in the fifteenth century. A valuable jewel 
 was missing, suspicion fell upon a confidential servant, 
 he denied the theft, circumstances told strongly against 
 him, he alone had handled it, he declared he had left it 
 on the toilet of a room, the key of which he had taken 
 with him. The windows were closely barred with iron, 
 on returning the jewel was gone. His tale bore impro- 
 bability upon the face of it. The man was judged, con- 
 demned and executed, declaring his innocence to the 
 last. — Years passed away; the incident was almost for- 
 gotten, when some masons were sent to repair the roof of 
 an old house; beneath an outer tile, the lost jewel was 
 found, — a magpie had been the thief. 
 
 The master was so overcome with remorse at having 
 caused the death of an innocent man, that he erected this 
 altar of expiation in the Lorenzkirche. Masses were per- 
 formed, and the bones of themartyred serving man placed 
 in a glass case over the altar, where they remain to this 
 day. Sauntering slowly down the aisle, I observed a little 
 way further on, the statue of St. Lawrence, large as life, 
 carved in wood, sitting aloft on a bracket against one of 
 the great columns. Why does the ridiculous always come, 
 mingling its antics with my most solemn moods? How 
 could I see that wooden saint with his pink varnished 
 face, tawny orange- colored hair, bright red toga, and a 
 gridiron over his shoulder, squatting in a corner of that 
 magnificent structure dedicated to his memory and not 
 feel a painful struggle between the sublime and the ri- 
 diculous. 
 
136 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 He was born in Spain but it was at Rome wben a 
 young man be attracted tbe notice of St. Sixtus , second 
 Bishop of that name, who instructed him in tbe Scriptures 
 and tbe duties of tbe church. Eventually nominated 
 one of tbe seven deacons at Rome — a post of dan- 
 ger in those days of persecution — he boldly upheld his 
 religion and finally was tortured by being broiled alive 
 on a gridiron. Tbe fathers of the church vie in eulogiums 
 of St. Lawrence, St. Augustine says ,,It is just as impos- 
 sible, that Rome should be hid, as the crown of St. Lau- 
 rence be out of sight." 
 
 It is well known the Escurial was built in the form 
 of a gridiron, and here in tbe elaborate tower of tbe church, 
 the openings divided by many mullions, are intended to 
 represent the bars. I went on my way among the monu- 
 ments that cover the great, noted their escutcheons dar- 
 kening the walls above, and relapsed into that sentiment 
 of reverence, which the figure of the Gridiron Saint had 
 for a moment disturbed. 
 
 I remarked those great oaken seats flanking tbe prin- 
 cipalentrances of the Cathedral, each having carved upon 
 its back the symbol of a trade; on the cooper's, barrels 
 and tools; on tbe tailor's, shears, smoothing board and 
 iron etc. In each of these sits on a Sunday the master 
 of a guild, with a large silver plate in front of bim, where 
 the people deposit their alms, as they leave the church, 
 and which he carries into the vestry afterwards. This is 
 a remnant of the Kunstwesen, or guild system, one of 
 the most curious features of the Middle Ages. Tbe guilds 
 comprehended every known art, each having its privi- 
 leges and courts of appeal. These multiplied and extended 
 until they comprised even the bee-masters of Nuremberg, 
 whose honey furnished the famous cake, tbe Lebk li- 
 chen, peculiar to this city, but exported all over Ger- 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 137 
 
 many and even in great request at St. Petersburgh. The 
 bee-masters were bound to produce a contingency of six 
 Arquebussiers to serve the Emperor. Remnants of these 
 institutions remain unnoticed, merging gradually into 
 modern customs. Had not the knowledge of these bee- 
 masters come in my way some long time since, I should 
 not probably have understood the peculiarities of the 
 shop where I stopped to buy some of the far-famed honey 
 cake. A gilt hive with bees swarming about it, was the 
 prominent ornament fronting me as I entered, wax pre- 
 sented itself in every known form, from the delicate gilt 
 taper, to the cake of pure virgin wax; from the great 
 church altar flambeau, painted with colored symbols, to 
 the tiny workbox specimen, arranged in glass cases, 
 while the Lebkuchen, done up in all possible forms, oc- 
 cupied the remainder of the space on shelves and coun- 
 ters. No fair is complete in German land, without one or 
 more booths , fitted up expressly for the sale of this, and 
 at every fair, every body deems it a national duty to eat 
 a piece. Has it ever struck you what an important part 
 cakes play in the history of civilization? Why I believe I 
 could collect material foralearned chapter on the subject. 
 There is no land where certain seasons of the year and 
 feastdays are not symbolized by their appearance; but 
 why we should eat hot crossed buns on Good Friday, and 
 crullers at Christmas, or kracknels in winter and pfann- 
 kuchens at Easter, is for the moment beyond my ken. I 
 only know we must search away back among the pagans 
 for the origin of many domestic customs. The wheaten 
 cake dedicated to Ceres, broken over the head of the 
 bride, is the progenitor of our wedding cake, brought into 
 England by the Romans; to say nothing of those made at 
 Whitsuntide at Sternberg in the Kuhlandchen, shaped 
 like hands and ears , commemorative of the great battle 
 
138 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 of the Tartars fought in 1241 when they filled nine sacks 
 with the ears they cut off the Christians! pleasant me- 
 morial this, but historically true. Once upon the subject 
 of guilds, I cannot here, on their own territory, avoid re- 
 ferring to that singular institution the Mastersingers. The 
 race of Minnesingers, the German Troubadours, had died 
 out with the age of Chivalry. Henry von Meissen was 
 the last. They were all noble by birth, contemporary 
 with the Troubadours of Provence. The love and prac- 
 tice of song was indigenous with the old Germans, whose 
 national ballads are genuine types of the spirit of their 
 times. The word Minnesinger means Love-singer. The 
 Mastersingers are definitely separated both in time and 
 place from the Minnesingers, and in the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century formed themselves into guilds. They 
 were clerks, schoolmasters and even mechanics. — He- 
 raldry adapted itself to the change, and we find Regen- 
 bog with hammer and tongs, as the device upon his shield. 
 ,,The society of Mastersingers offers a singular phenome- 
 non, they obtained a monopoly of verse- craft and ex- 
 tended their tuneful fraternity all over Europe. The city 
 of Nuremberg was the Athens of these incorporated poets. 
 In order to obtain the right, the candidate was examined 
 in form by four ,,Merkers," or judges, who sat behind a 
 silk curtain. Before one of them lay aversion ofLuther's 
 Bible, considered the standard of the language, his pro- 
 vince was to decide on the grammatical accuracy. The 
 others attended to the rhyme and metre and the melody 
 to which it was sung. If they united in declaring him 
 worthy, lie was decorated with a silver chain and badge; 
 which latter represented good King David playing upon 
 his harp. He was then honorably admitted a member of 
 the society. The poems were always lyrical, and set to 
 music. These poems were called Tunes or,,Weisen". The 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 139 
 
 invention of a new Weise showed a man's ability. There 
 were some hundreds of these Weisen, all named after 
 their inventor: — Hans Findeisen's ,, Rosemary Weise". 
 — Joseph Schmierers ,, Flowery Paradise Weise". ,,Hans 
 VogeFs ,, Freshweise ". Henry Frauenlob's ,, Yellow 
 Weise" and his ,, Blue Weise" and his ,, Frog Weise" and 
 his, , Looking-glass Wei.se." The stirring events of the Re- 
 formation engendered a spirit which vented itself in coarse 
 songs among the people ; ,,it was then the Mastersingers 
 first published the fact, that the art of poetry like any other 
 trade could be taught. The Poetische Trichter (poe- 
 tical funnel) professed within six lessons to pour the 
 whole of this most difficult art into the most unfurnished 
 heads" — quackery unimproved by modern invention. 
 Among these Mastersingers appeared conspicuous, Hans 
 Sachs, the cobbler, and son of a tailor at Nuremberg. In 
 a narrow street leading from the Ganse-Markt you may 
 see a yellow house, on the facade of which, in white stone 
 relief, projects the bust of Hans Sachs. Here he lived 
 with his father and wrote thirty four folios of manuscript 
 containing two hundred and eight plays; one thousand 
 and seven comic tales; and between four and five thou- 
 sand lyric poems. Of a devout nature he entered deeply 
 into the spirit of the Reformation and aided the cause by 
 the popularity of his songs. Gaiety of spirit and shrewd- 
 ness were his characteristics; his best piece is his Shrove- 
 tide Farce, called Fastnachtsspiel, der Narrenschnei- 
 der, where a doctor cures a bloated lethargic patient by 
 cutting out half a dozen fools fromhis inside. HansSachs' 
 farces were comprised in seven acts, listened to with 
 eager satisfaction by his towns people. In his seventy 
 seventh year he culled out the choice things from his col- 
 lection, and published them condensed into three folio- 
 volumes. Hans Sachs's dullness and pedantic humor were 
 
140 
 
 chap. xiv. 
 
 everywhere triumphant, but the simple ballads and po- 
 pular songs retained their pathos and lived in the hearts 
 of the people. As our American poet has beautifully ex- 
 pressed it — ,, Ballads are the Gipsy children of song, 
 born under green hedge rows, in the leafy lanes, and the 
 bye-paths of literature." They live and flourish like the 
 wild weeds that spring up in the furrows of the field. It 
 was a deep observation of human nature which instigated 
 Mazarin to say, ,,he did not care who had the making of 
 a nation's laws, so long as he had the writing of their 
 songs". It is certain at this period the ribald songs de- 
 nouncing the vices of the monks and priests, which found 
 their way among the people, did more to open their eyes 
 to the true state of things, than the denunciations from 
 the pulpit. It is a curious fact, that Satan first appears 
 with horns and tail in the legends at this period, a sort 
 of traditionary Satan. I have picked up some curious 
 things; on this subject which I do not scruple to write down 
 as I found them for those who are as ignorant as I was 
 on the subject. In the feasts of Bacchus the Greek pea- 
 sants were wont to dance with goat skins flung across 
 their shoulders; thence, in time, were symbolized Fauns 
 and Satyrs; easy transition this, from Satyrs and their 
 propensities, to the excesses practised by the monks and 
 the Devil playing his pranks among them. And so, these 
 birds of a feather flourished with horns and tails in the 
 popular songs of the day. To quote from the learned ex- 
 position of Sir Thomas Browne: ,,Holy Writ says, thou 
 shalt not offer to hairy goats, — devils — the origi- 
 nal word Se'irim meaning rough hairy goats. The 
 goat was the emblem of the sin- offering, also the emblem 
 of sinful men at the day of Judgment, thus it became a 
 received opinion the Devil always appeared in a form of 
 a goat," Faun or Satyr. Thence probably the legend 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 141 
 
 that goats are never seen for four and twenty consecu- 
 tive hours, being obliged once in that time to disappear, 
 that the devil may comb their beards Naturally the vices 
 and follies of the priesthood were the topics of the day. 
 Luther had snapped the old chain which had hitherto 
 bound the people, and in their newly found liberty of 
 thought they naturally ran riot and, of course, fell into 
 excesses. If we owe to the Reformation the invention of 
 witches and devils, we owe to paganism the legendary 
 beauties that poetize this land and shed a mysterious 
 charm which the march of civilization has notyet trodden 
 out. I am told there are districts all over Germany where 
 the old superstitions still linger. In the mining districts 
 the Kobolds are yet heard plying their tiny hammers, 
 and Elves and Gnomes have alocal habitation and a name. 
 I own to a strong love for these small people, and while 
 accounts of their tricks and mischief were the delight of 
 my infancy, so the poetry of their existence charms me 
 in my eider days; therefore, Sophy, if I write you a long 
 chapter about these our early friends, it is because they 
 make part and lot of the soil I am now treading. Our 
 Saxon forefathers brought their traditious with them to 
 America, but like transplanted flowers they soon drooped 
 and withered, our hills are desert of the ,,Fairie Folk", 
 no dwarf nestles in our mountain caverns, wolves and 
 rattle snakes are the only Kobolds that infest our soli- 
 tary forests, no sprite is indigenous in our soil, witchcraft 
 played out its dark tragedy there, it is true, but except 
 a few legends of the Red Man, there is not much to warm 
 the imagination at home. In Germany the wild Scandi- 
 navian legends from the north met and mingled with the 
 poetical mythology of Greece and Rome: these existed 
 as truths for ages. Christianity adapting itself tc preju- 
 dices and national habits, allowed certain unimportant 
 
142 
 
 chap. XIV. 
 
 things to remain, so long as they conformed to her higher 
 demands. Thence followed those strange monkish tradi- 
 tions, which inundated the land and became later, subject 
 for ridicule. The Reformation came, devilizing the old 
 deities, deriding the monkish institutions, and engender- 
 ing witchcraft, worst phase of all superstition perhaps. It 
 is the taste of modern days, to collect the old legends. 
 Village crones yet live, who can recount the wild pranks 
 of Riibezahl, (the German Puck) or the kind turns of the 
 Chirn, or domestic Kobolds. These, like their cousins 
 the Scotch Brownies, frequent, the peasants' houses. If 
 well treated, they do up at night, while the inmates sleep, 
 jobs of work left neglected by the servants; but if the 
 freak take them, become troublesome, play sly tricks, and 
 annoy the people. 
 
 ,, Either I mistake your shape and making quite, 
 ,,Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite 
 „CaH'd Robin Goodfellow." 
 
 If the pranks of the Kobolds are taken quietly, they 
 become friends and remain faithful. They appear 
 dressed in grey with a little red cap on their heads, called 
 fog-hoods and remain invisible, unless by some accident 
 their cap is knocked oft", which sometimes happens at hay 
 making or threshing seasons. Then they disappear 
 through any crack or cranny they may find. ,,Cette 
 croyance etait jadis aussi puissante que la foi de l'eglise." 
 Heine tells a story of a poor peasant whose patience be- 
 came exhausted by the pranks one of these littte demons 
 played upon him, and made up his mind to abandon his 
 cottage to the Kobold. He loaded a hand-cart with his 
 few miserable effects and started to seek a new home in 
 the neighboring village. While on the road, what 
 should he behold but the little red-cap popping out of 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 143 
 
 his churn, who hailed him cheerfully, ,,So we're flitting 
 hey"? These dwarfs are not elves or fairies, they belong 
 peculiarly to Germany, as the fairies do to England, Ire- 
 land and the north of France. The giants left Germany 
 long ago, but the dwarfs remain, particularly in the mi- 
 ning districts. They are always rich and possessed of 
 hidden treasure, peaceable folk if left alone, but necro- 
 mancers can get them in their power. ,, There lived a 
 man in this very town of Nuremberg, named Paul Creuz 
 who was a conjurer. He wanted to get some of these little 
 foxes in his meshes, and set a trap for them. He placed 
 in a certain spot a little table entirely new, a clean nap- 
 kin over it with two little dishes of milk, and two of ho- 
 ney, two small plates, and nine little knives. He then 
 took a black hen, cut her in two, cast one piece east, and 
 the other west, and began his conjuration. This over, he 
 hid himself behind a large tree. He saw two dwarfs come 
 up from the ground, seat themselves at the little table 
 and eat what he had prepared for them; he then ven- 
 tured to speak; he asked questions and they answered un- 
 til he became so familiar with them, they would come and 
 visit him whenever he made the above preparations to re- 
 ceive them. Finally he ingratiated himself so far into their 
 favor, that they brought their king to see him, dressed 
 in his scarlet mantle, under which he carried a book, 
 which he threw upon the table, and permitted the conju- 
 rer to read in it as long as he pleased, so that Paul Creuz 
 learnt much wisdom therein. " No one knows why the 
 the dwarfs abandoned the haunts of men , but it is said 
 our curiosity changed their good opinion of us, and in 
 the collection of legends, by the brothers Grimm, there 
 is one to that effect. A shepherd owned a splendid 
 cherry-tree. Three nights in succession the fruit was 
 gathered and stored under the shed, where the shepherd 
 
11 1 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 usually put it. The villagers declared it only could have 
 been done by the small people who trot all night, in long 
 mantles, with their feet shod in felt, who come and go 
 like birds; they had been watched sometimes, but no one 
 intercepted them. The shepherd's curiosity became ex- 
 cited and he pondered on the reason why the dwarfs hid 
 their foot-prints, and whether their feet were like men's. 
 The following- year when cherry -time came, he took a 
 sack of ashes, and spread it all about under the tree. At 
 daybreak he hurried to the spot, found all the fruit ga- 
 thered and stored, and all about, traces of claws like 
 goose feet. The shepherd told the story, and laughed at 
 his own cunning in discovering their secret. The enraged 
 dwarfs abandoned the village and never served a good 
 turn to any one again; the shepherd who betrayed them 
 became imbecile for the rest of his life. 
 
 Tradition says the dwarfs had a kingdom between 
 Walkenried and Neuhof in the dutchy of Holstein. A 
 peasant found his fields were robbed at night, and placed 
 himself to watch, with a wand in his hand, which he waved 
 to and fro, until it produced the intended effect of knock- 
 ing off the dwarfs caps and making them visible. The 
 trembling imps asked pardon, — there was a famine in 
 in their land, and they were forced thus to forage by 
 night. He captured them. The king of their country sent 
 to ransom them, with a promise they would all quit the 
 province, the only difficulty was they would not be seen 
 At last it was agreed they should depart over a narrow 
 bridge at Neuhof, and that every dwarf should as he 
 passed, put a certain coin in a barrel which should be 
 placed there, and so it happened. Some curious persons 
 hid under the bridge, to listen to the departure of the 
 dwarfs, and they reported, that for many hours there was 
 a sound of little trotting, as if a flock of sheep were cross- 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 145 
 
 ing. It is supposed their descendants hide in old ruins, 
 and heathen places of sacrifice, that they no longer affect 
 the society of man, but revenge themselves by playing 
 tricks upon travellers, or misleading peasants. TheLuch- 
 berg is full of them. This is a mountain in Franconia, 
 which some convulsion of nature has fractured, and the 
 rocks can be compared to nothing but an enormous ruin. 
 There exists a peculiar phosphoric appearance in the fis- 
 sures of these rocks, a light which resembles thousands, 
 of glow-worms, seen in dark crannies. The legend says 
 the Kobolds thus tantalize men with hopes of hidden gold 
 and gems. This is also known as the Fichtelgebirge, or 
 magical mountain. Just as the peasant in search of trea- 
 sure spies it, it becomes in his grasp golden moss, or 
 granite sparkles. 
 
 10 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The plan of visiting several churches a day, is a poor 
 one, you return home without any definite remembrance 
 of the peculiarities of each. I made up my mind, the two 
 great Cathedrals which rival each other at Nuremberg, 
 should have a separate existence and be photographed 
 upon my memory, so did not approach St. Sebald's to-day. 
 Strolling about, I examined the architectural peculiarities 
 of the town , and explored some of the marked houses. 
 That known as the ^Peller'sche Haus" on the Egidien 
 Plaz, built about the year 1600 is one of the richest and 
 most peculiar, with a facade carved in the Venetian style 
 on the gable fronting the street. This is the universal 
 form of old German architecture, giving such picturesque- 
 ness to the aspect of these cities, and admitting so great 
 a variety of ornament. That of the Peller'sche Haus is 
 surmounted by a Jupiter hurling thunder bolts, the eagle 
 beside him with a crown on his head, insignia of Impe- 
 rial Jove. In a lower compartment, St. Martin appears 
 in basso relievo giving away his clothes to the poor. Herr 
 Krafts who now owns it, kindly allows strangers to in- 
 spect the interior, of which I took advantage. Entering 
 a portal on a level with the street, you find yourself in a 
 low stone arched vestibule, also paved with stone. On 
 either hand doors opening into warehouses and casks 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 J IT 
 
 and cedar logs piled about, this being always the busi- 
 ness department. It would make but a sorry entrance to a 
 wealthy establishment were it not that you see beyond, 
 a court yard ornamented with grass and flowers, which 
 indicate an interior life of more repose. From this inner 
 court in one of the corners a spiral stair leads the whole 
 way up , to the different stories; but usually the stone 
 stair rises from the vestibule. This inner court is sur- 
 rounded on three sides by arches, which support galleries 
 running round, and communicating with the main house, 
 the windows of the private offices and kitchens open on 
 to these galleries, which can be closed up with glass, or 
 left open to the weather according to the season. I was 
 shown some of the principal apartments, large and bare. 
 One on the third floor was elaborately panelled in 
 carved oak extending to the ceiling, so minute and elegant 
 the workmanship, that any furniture in such a room would 
 be felt a superfluity. The windows of little square panes 
 with leaden hinges and fastenings of the most clumsy 
 workmanship, the iron locks and hinges on the doors, 
 large enough for a church: such the incongruities of the 
 luxury of the middle ages. 
 
 I had heard of a splendid specimen of silver work, 
 wrought by Wenzel Jannister, dating some three cen- 
 turies back, he was the Benvenuto Cellini of Nuremberg. 
 This is owned by the Merkel family, and on applying 
 for permission to see it, the master of the house very po- 
 litely acceded and conducted me up some three stories 
 through another of these curious old houses. There, after 
 drawing bolts and inserting ponderous keys, I was 
 ushured into a sort of curiosity shop , hung round with 
 ancestral portraits and old engravings etc., the thickwalls, 
 the little paned windows sunk in their deep recesses, the 
 massive oaken doors, all told of centuries they had served. 
 
 10* 
 
I 1 8 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Prom the leathern case the celebrated silver epergne was 
 produced. It is about three feet high, and labored with 
 that attention to minute detail, which constituted the pe- 
 culiar value of these mediaeval works of art, but I think 
 I have seen models that exceed it in the splendid pro- 
 ductions of our generation. 
 
 Another house in Nuremberg, that of the Tuchers is 
 visited by all travellers, now used as a papier-mache 
 manufactory, yet left unaltered from its original arrange- 
 ments. The carved archway, green and mouldering, the 
 dried-up fountain in the court-yard, the tumbling old build- 
 ings with frescoed balconies, once the offices, surrounding 
 this court, the spiral stone stair, encased in a round tower 
 lighted by slips in the wall like a fortress and leading to 
 the top of the house, the magnificently wainscotted room, 
 with shreds of antique tapestry still clinging to the walls, 
 all are there, but unheeded and neglected. It is true the 
 King of Bavaria has done his utmost to preserve the an- 
 cient aspect of the city, by requiring that the old style of 
 architecture should be adopted by all who erect new 
 houses, but trade has revived, its utilitarian spirit will 
 ultimately do away with the charm of past souvenirs, 
 another half century, or perhaps less, will find modern 
 improvements obliterating all remnant of some of the most 
 interesting objects in Nuremberg. The inconvenience of 
 these old houses is urged a gainst them. They are inter- 
 sected with the most inexplicable arches, crooked and in 
 queer places, light is let in on stairs through the most 
 awkward side tunnels, and corridors are open to the 
 weather. These last were imitated from the Venetian, 
 but unadapted to northern winters. The mistake is ob- 
 viated by closing them in with glass, and the erection of 
 enormous stoves of earthen ware towering in the halls, 
 huge masses of architectural incongruities. The impres- 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 149 
 
 sion one receives is that of discomfort : the great rooms 
 with bare floors, the multitude of windows, the stiff for- 
 mality of the furniture, all this in contrast with the luxu- 
 rious improvements of our day, offer some excuse for 
 the proprietor's \\ ish toseekmore comfort, at the expense 
 of depriving tourists the sight of these specimens of gone- 
 by ages. I am glad however I came in time. There was 
 one more to visit, the house of the Holtzschuher. Here 
 strangers are admittedto see the portrait of their ancestor 
 painted by Albert Diirer in 1526. It is very remarkable 
 as a work of art. An old man's head upon a plain dark 
 ground, the grey hair and beard so delicately painted, 
 each individual hair seems to stand out distinct, the calm 
 blue eye and florid complexion, the small mouth and 
 ruddy lips, be-poke the beauty of the original. Strange 
 to say, the Herr von Holtzschuher verging on to eighty, 
 who with the politeness of the old school had waited on 
 me to the room containing the picture , as he stood with 
 his patrician air, roused my astonishment by the re- 
 markable likeness he bore to this portrait of his ancestor 
 painted three hunderd years ago. We read of such things, 
 but here was living evidence of the same. I expressed to 
 him what was passing in my mind, and he evidently was 
 much flattered. In 1269, the Holtzschuher were elected 
 to the senate of Nuremberg and kept their seat there, till 
 it was dissolved by the extinction of the German Empire 
 in 1806. These munificent merchant princes, who lorded 
 with such despotic sway numbered about thirty patrician 
 families. From these were chosen the eight senators, 
 whose rule, however arbitrary, raised , for four centuries, 
 their native city to the highest consideration. Here, in 
 the person of this fragile old man of eighty, I saw the 
 last representative of that august body, who not only 
 swayed their own people, but whose judgment frequently 
 
150 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 decided important questions in arbitration for potentates 
 and princes. With the courtesy of the old school he es- 
 corted me down through the arches of his creaking oak 
 stair, each step of which was hollowed out by the tread 
 of centuries, and which terminated under the arch of the 
 paved vestibule, where, with many bows and waves of 
 the hand, we parted, and 1 found my way out into the 
 street through the barrels and boxes, carriages, and lum- 
 ber which always find their resting place in these entran- 
 ces. It was the hour for the midday meal as the Ger- 
 mans call it, and which it literally is, as the dining hour 
 is universally between twelve and one. In the great ci- 
 ties, a second table d'hote dinner is served at four, in the 
 best hotels for travellers, the German of high and low 
 degree always adhering to the old national habit. I fre- 
 quented the Baier'sche Hof at Nuremberg. The dining 
 hall is a long low room, with warm sunny windows open- 
 ing upon the river, the company motley; a few citizens, 
 who sit near the host at one end, and the chance visitors 
 placed according to the time they have frequented the 
 table d'hote. Of course the changes were frequent, andl 
 amused myself during the interminable etiquettes of a 
 German dinner table and consequent intervals, specula- 
 ting upon my neighbors. This day my opposite was a 
 lordling of eighteen, whose bashiulness was oppressive; 
 not so, however, his travelling tutor, a person rejoicing 
 in the name of Bouton, — believe it who may; a man with an 
 affable set of teeth, a very white hand and a handkerchief 
 suspected of perfume, as the French say. No one will 
 ever persuade me that man was not originally Button, — 
 Billy Button perhaps. Foreign travel had polished it down 
 to Bouton, he looked the individual to do it. I knew a 
 little Frenchman once named Barille, who, among us at 
 home, got the sobriquet of Keg, and in after-years knew 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 151 
 
 himself by no other name. Next to Monsieur Bouton sat 
 a grumpy Englishman of the class ,,Bull" decidedly, who 
 come abroad to draw comparisons with ,,home", dis- 
 gusted because Lager Beer is not London porter, and so 
 on ad infinitum. Below him sat an artist, or a poet, I was 
 at a loss to make out which, but with exquisitely chiselled 
 features, a pale brown complexion, hair curling to his 
 shoulders, and a long forked beard, bearing an undeni- 
 able likeness to the portraits of Albert Diirer, even to the 
 loose cloth garment with falling sleeves, and the melan- 
 choly expression of his features; it was a most extraor- 
 dinary resemblance perhaps designedly improved. Half 
 through dinner, there entered a young man dressed in 
 check: check trowsers, check vest, check coatie, check 
 cap; checked all over in fact, even to his gaiters, except 
 a freckled face and reddish whiskers ; this was a specimen 
 of a large class of travellers from the British Isles, who, 
 unlike Button, keep their teeth under cover, read Mur- 
 ray diligently while on the Rhine, with their backs to 
 the scenery, and never vouchsafe a syllable to any body. 
 There they were elbow to elbow, Check, Grumpy and 
 Button. Neither spoke to the other, Englishman very sel- 
 dom show the small sweet courtesies of life at a table with 
 strangers, but Mr. Bouton said something to me across 
 the table, to which I responded. Mr. Grumpy picked his 
 teeth and stared; Mr. Check looked stern and uncompro- 
 mising: there were we, of the same language, who mutu- 
 ally might have entertained each other, were not Jobn 
 Bull decidedly principled againstit. Butbehold me cram- 
 ming that Esopian travelling bag with my neighbors 
 faults, after Bouton's telling me too, he had met so many 
 American women and thought them charmingly frank 
 and unaffected, — a little too much so on the Continent 
 if they will take my advice. I have never heard of a ca- 
 
152 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 pitalcity in Europe where there were not one or more fast 
 American girls, who injured the name of our women 
 abroad, by defying foreign prejudices. They are handsomer 
 and dress better than any women out of Paris, but un- 
 fortunately have that independent manner which stands 
 out in bold relief, where women are more quiet, and tells 
 in finitely to our disadvantage. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Sunday dawned with its calm quiet. Nuremberg is 
 all Lutheran, the thoroughfares are neatly swept, the 
 shops are closed, and the citizens, dressed in their best 
 go to and fro to church. Iwandered into Saint Lorenzo's. 
 The body of this great Cathedral has been filled with 
 pews, and they were crowded. The service was conducted 
 about as our Presbyterian is at home ; much singing, and 
 the united voices of so large a congregation, with the in- 
 tuitive national musical taste, rose grandly on the ear. 
 The discourse was long and listened to with profound 
 respect and attention. I sat behind one of the great co- 
 lumns which hid the high altar from my view. The ser- 
 mon ended, the organ pealed forth, which I thought the 
 signal for dispersion; no one moved, presently the or- 
 gan ceased, and a response arose in a Cathedral chaunt 
 from the end of the church. I moved a little and saw the 
 clergyman in his black gown, his back towards the people, 
 tacing the altar, on which four great flambeau candles 
 were burning in high candlesticks. He remained in this 
 attitude some five or ten minutes responding to the 
 chaunt from the organ choir, at length he turned, blessed 
 the people, aud they retired. Lutheranism has not abo- 
 lished, it has reformed. Luther did not dream of aliena- 
 tion when he was first roused to the necessity of a refor- 
 mation, he mentally beheld the vision of a purified temple, 
 
J .VI 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 rising on the broad foundation of the Roman faith. The 
 long mooted point we will not discuss, whether Germany, 
 deluged in blood as she has been on the subject of reli- 
 gion, has gained what she sought for Ihave heard here 
 Lutheran ism defined, ,, hatred of Catholicism". Religion 
 like apparitions, is everywhere spoken of, but few have 
 sejn the purified Spirit stalking at noonday. There are 
 glaring defects in the Lutheran system, in order to reform, 
 they have reversed. For instance, the priestly influence 
 was to be reformed, they have debased it. The office of 
 clergyman is never sought by the higher classes; these 
 men are looked upon as a body belonging to the com- 
 munity who are to preach sermons, baptize, marry, con- 
 firm and administer the sacraments, all of which are mat- 
 ters of pounds, shillings, and pence. You barter whether 
 you will have a first class wedding or a common one. If 
 the former, the church produces velvet cushions; if the 
 latter, straw-bottomed chairs. Your child must be chris- 
 tened when six weeks old, this is thelaw, a dollar a week, 
 can defer it at your pleasure. At the sacrament of the 
 Lord's supper each member brings his offering and lays 
 it on the altar; this becomes the emolument of the priest, 
 who quietly pockets it during the holy office. He is ne- 
 ver expected to visit his parishioners. In fact, except in 
 small country villages, no single clergyman , as with us, 
 has a congregation he can call his own. There are, say 
 twenty, in a large city, who preach in rotation in the dif- 
 ferent churches, and of course, the most eloquent are fol- 
 lowed, and have the largest audiences as elsewhere. As 
 there is no domestic intercourse between the clergyman 
 and his people, his religious influence is confined to his 
 pulpit. This probably is in contra- distinction to the old 
 abused system of father confessors and their influence 
 in families. The confirmation of children is also a fixed 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 155 
 
 Jaw of the church, not optional as with us. Every Lu- 
 theran, to start in life, must be possessed of his certificate 
 of birth, baptism and confirmation. The confirmation day 
 as I have mentioned elsewhere, is a feast day; it is an 
 era in a child's life and a new suit of clothes is always pro- 
 vided for the ceremony. The girls are clad in white mus 
 lin, if the means of the parents can possibly compass the 
 expense; the poorer class frequently borrow the white 
 die s for the occasion, and about this period of the year 
 you often see advertized : ,, A confirmation dress for sale." 
 The one great fault that is alleged against the Lutheran 
 church is its laxity on the subject of divorce; of that I 
 can say but little when I compare the yearly records of 
 our pious New England Puritans. There is a sort of sim- 
 plicity of purpose in the German which renders divorce 
 not a disgrace but a necessary accommodation of difficulties, 
 and where there is no crime, the divorced woman never 
 loses her position. Whatever the faults of the system, — 
 and where will we find a perfect one? — we must feel a 
 reverence for that strong man, Luther. His conviction of 
 truth, his firmness in maintaining it, his bold daring and 
 inflexibility of purposecall forth all ouradmiration. What 
 can be grander than his words to those friends, who, 
 after the martyrdom of Huss , w r ould dissuade him from 
 appearing before the council of Worms: ,, Should they 
 light a fire which would blaze as high as heaven, and 
 reach from Wittemberg to Worms, I will go though there 
 were as many devils in Worms, as there are tiles upon the 
 roofs of their houses, yet will I go." — The man was 
 burning with zeal, but the sect which bears his name is 
 mostly wanting in vitality. It was Cardinal Cajetan who 
 said of him,,, he has wonderful speculations in his head". 
 He, indeed, discovered the pearl of great price, but it 
 has a wonderfully poor setting in his own land. Luther's 
 
156 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 translation of the Bible fixed the standard of the German 
 language; it is deemed an inspiration. He, by this means, 
 established freedom of thought among his countrymen ; 
 he sowed a wide field , but a full crop of tares grow up 
 with the wheat. Germany soon became inundated with 
 speculative theories, setting aside the simplicity of 
 faith; Man sought out many inventions; the powerful 
 speculative German mind searched iu the secrets of 
 nature for the proof of the Creator; there was no more 
 blind adherence to old established church doctrines; 
 new theories rose on the crumbling foundation of Gre- 
 cian philosophy, until by the multiplied efforts of mind, 
 groping in darkness, there came a crisis, where every 
 one spoke and no one understood, till modern philosophy 
 Icarus -like, fell by its own weight. A quiet revolution 
 is now going on in public opinion, slowly and surely; 
 the cultivation of the English language which has become 
 very general will produce its moral rusult. I have never 
 met a German who read English, but was enthusiastic in 
 praise of its literature. The healthy vigor of its tone, and 
 its pure morality, is working its way against the morbid 
 sentimentalism and high wrought fancies, which once pre- 
 vailed in the German works of fiction. Old prejudices 
 are dying away as the intercourse with other nations is 
 widening. The result of all this will be improvement 
 in the trains cf thought, and dispersion of fixed ideas. 
 The new generation of Germans will make a wide stride 
 in advance of their fathers. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 I felt Sunday afternoon could not be better employed 
 than in wandering to the church yard of St. John. 
 
 ,,The thought of death indulge; 
 ,,Give it its wholesome empire, 
 ,,That kind chastiser of thy soul in Joy." 
 
 Young is said to have sought inspiration, while writ- 
 ing his ,, Night Thoughts", by placing a candle in an 
 empty skull beside him, or by wandering among tombs at 
 midnight. To me there is a quieting influence in such 
 spots, a feeling totally apart from all outbursts of the 
 imagination, a sensation of rest, which one may seek in 
 vain elsewhere on the broad globe. A Hollander once 
 chose as a motto for his sign, „ Perpetual Peace" — he 
 could find no emblem for it but a tomb. — The ,, God's 
 Acre of Nuremberg is a curious place, crowded with 
 graves, many of them dating from the twelfth century. 
 The road leading to it is marked by way stones, sculp- 
 tured by Adam Kraft, placed there by a pious individual 
 named Martin Koetzel, who went a pilgrimage to the 
 Holy Land, on purpose to measure the distance between 
 Pilate's house and Golgotha. Each stone represents a 
 scene of the Saviour's Passion, and the terminus at the 
 churchyard gate is a crucifixion in stone, the figures 
 as large as life. The grave is repugnant to youth, to 
 
CHAP. XVII. 
 
 age attractive. I feel a quiet pleasure in visiting the 
 last resting- place of those whose names have become fa- 
 miliar household words; and among the huge slabs of 
 stone, covering the remains of the old patrician families, 
 there are some inscribed with names of humble origin but 
 which have become imperishable. Here lies Hans Sachs, 
 ,,a fellow of infinite mirth, of most excellent fancy" — 
 the poet of the Reformation ; and Albert Durer the gifted, 
 the good, tormented for years by a termagant wife, he 
 at length, it is to be hoped, found that repose in thegrave 
 which was denied him while living: he did not learn phi- 
 losophy in the school of Socrates, but his gentle spirit 
 broke by constant friction with such a temper, and he 
 died, leaving his memory entwined with hers, — how 
 much to her honor, let modern Xantippes proclaim. It 
 is said in his allegorical faces of Melancholy and Religion, 
 he has introduced her features, types of the sufferings of 
 his domestic life. Almost all the grave stones are laid 
 flat, raised by mason-work, about a foot from the ground; 
 they are very broad and long; on most of them, there are 
 armorial bearings executed in bronze, in high relief, and 
 of very exquisite workmanship. My attention was called 
 to one by my old attendant, who was here, as in the 
 cathedrals, a wonderful chronicler of local matters; he 
 made me remark a cross bones and skull, beautifully 
 executed in bronze, the work of Vischer. By examining 
 it closely, you observed a nail driven in the skull, per- 
 fectly imitated. The story I heard years ago, but like 
 that of the expiation chapel in St. Lorenz, its interest 
 was doubled by being on the spot. 
 
 A sexton was once digging a grave, and a medical 
 student seeking for remains, came that way; he picked 
 up a skull which had rolled from the newly turned earth, 
 examined it and detected a nail which had been driven 
 
THE GRAVE YARD. 
 
 150 
 
 through tho brain. Without further remark ho asked who 
 had been buried there; the reply was ,,an innkeeper who 
 had died suddenly one night of apoplexy". Upon fur- 
 ther enquiry, the physician discovered the wife had mar- 
 ried a paramour one week after her husband's decease, 
 and they had lived several years, prospering and unsus- 
 pected Convinced in his own mind, the physician con- 
 fronted the woman, skull in hand, who, conscience 
 stricken and appalled, directly confessed the murder. 
 
 I had lingered about some time, and had entered the 
 little Lutheran chapel used for the burial service, when 
 I heard chaunting in the open air; — a funeral was ap- 
 proaching. I had never witnessed the solemn rite of con- 
 signing man to his last resting place, dust to dust; and 
 I approached thespot. A black coffin, edged with silver, lay 
 upon a bier; the friends stood around, some in deep grief, 
 all silent in reverence for the dead. Choristers stood at 
 the head of the grave, chaunting a solemn requiem. At 
 the head and foot of the coffin wore placed huge platters, 
 piled up with flowers. The priest offered up a prayer; 
 this ended, two young females lifted the platters and the 
 coffin was gently lowered into the grave. All present then 
 came forward and taking a handful of flowers threw them 
 in. I turned to leave, I found I had tears in my eyes 
 from mere association. Just beside me, covered too with 
 flowers, lay a little infant's coffin, resting on the sarco- 
 phagus of an old tomb, waiting its turn to be embosomed 
 in its mother earth. Mr. Heman's beautiful lines flashed 
 upon my memory: 
 
 ,, Bring flowers, pale flowers, o'er the bier to shed 
 
 ,,A crown for the brow of the early dead, 
 
 ,,For this through its leaves has the white rose burst, 
 
 ,,For this, in the woods, was the violet nurst; 
 
 ,. Though they smile in vain for what once was ours, 
 
 ,,They are love's last gift, bring flowers, pale flowers." 
 
160 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Sweets to thee sweet, farewell! The sun was sinking, 
 the air calm and balmy; I made my way along the ave- 
 nue to the Thiergarten gate; hundreds of Sunday loite- 
 rers were returning from the gardens without the town, 
 but in my then mood of mind, I felt it was better to 
 go into the house of mourning than into the house of 
 feasting. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ,,A deludetl class, who think religion, like a top, cannot be kept up 
 without whipping 1 ." 
 
 One of the most interesting mornings I have spent, 
 has been to-day within the walls of the old town library. 
 It is a dark gloomy building, formerly a Dominican mo- 
 nastery. The Dominicans reformed the system of St. 
 Benedict, who in his turn had been a reformer. There is 
 so much genuine simplicity in the traditions and legends 
 connected with the old Saints, that I love to quote them. 
 Their absurdity must have struck the Fathers themselves 
 sometimes, and they account for many by telling us, that 
 before the institution of universities, when learning was 
 confined to the monasteries, to the young scholars was 
 given the Life of a Saint, to exercise their powers of 
 composition upon, and that these, being preserved, were 
 later adopted as facts.*) Whatever may have been 
 the origin , we are told that St. Benedict provoked en- 
 mity by his austerity, and left his monastery to go and 
 
 *) An intimate friend of Dumas told me that such was 
 the secret of the fecundity of his inventions; he employs young- 
 scholars by giving* them a theme and profits by their ima- 
 ginations to fill his volumes. 
 
 11 • 
 
CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 find a proper spot, to erect a new one, taking with him a 
 few monks. The tradition goes on to relate, he was at- 
 tended on his journey by two Angels, and three tame 
 crows. This is recorded )>y Pietro Damiana, a Cardinal 
 and Saint, who continues his narrationin this wise:,, With 
 this remarkable retinue he arrived at Mount Cassino, 
 where he destroyed a temple of Apollo and founded a 
 convent A. I). 543. These Benedictines were patient 
 men of letters who rescued from annihilation the know- 
 ledge of the Middle Ages. The crows in this legend are 
 what take my fancy; these birds figure in many others, 
 and they seem to have a liking for the society of man, 
 though like all people of bad reputation, one must keep 
 an eye| right and left, if they are admitted to one's intimacy, 
 as theywill break the eighth commandment whencverthey 
 have a chance. There is a tale told of them by the Ve- 
 nerable Bede which I picked up in some of my readings, 
 and which is not so irrelevant to the subject in question, 
 but that I may be excused quoting it for its quaintness. 
 ,,Some crows carried off the thatch from St. Cuthbert's 
 hut to make their nest; he reproved them for the theft, 
 and they not only brought it back and made an apology, 
 but brought him a piece of hog's lard, (which they must 
 have stolen from some one else!") 
 
 The Dominicans introduced a severe system of reli- 
 gious observances, went barefoot, fasted live days in the 
 week, and every day after dinner flogged one another. 
 
 When I entered the grey dingy building, the mildewed 
 dilapidated aspect of the interior, the cold dimly lighted 
 stone stair, the neglected cloisterheaped with refuse lum- 
 ber, seemed but a sorry road to learning. At the head 
 of the stair, a dooropened into asuiteof longlow-browed 
 rooms, dimly lighted and filled with books. This collec- 
 tion owes its origin to Jerome Baumgartner, the friend of 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 163 
 
 Luther and Melanchthon , who brought together in this 
 did building of the Dominicans the collections of various 
 ether Convents. It is said to contain 50, 000 vols, and some 
 curious manuscripts. The most valuable of the latter is 
 that called ,,Machsor" — in Hebrew. When the Jews 
 were expelled from Nuremberg in J 490 this volume was 
 taken away from them. They have in vain endeavored 
 to recover it. It is said they have offered a guinea a leaf. 
 There is only one other copy extant, at Amsterdam. It 
 contains a collection of Jewish prayers, hymns, and re- 
 ligious ceremonies, and an account of the cruelties prac- 
 tised upon the Christians. I do not know whether the 
 old manuscript or the sub-librarian, who turned its pages 
 for me, most attracted my attention. Were I to depict a 
 gentleman struggling against difficulties, I would cer- 
 tainly seek out my starved looking friend to sit for the 
 portrait. The sightly made figure, with so little flesh 
 upon it, — you felt sure if the threadbare surtout had 
 not been so tightly buttoned up to the throat, the bones 
 would have rattled one against the other; — the thin 
 brown hair, eager grey eye, the cheeks sucked in so as to 
 form two hollows, the neatly patched trowsers, the shirt 
 collar, coarse as sailcloth, and on the breast of that sur- 
 tout , once brown , but reduced by time to sober grey, 
 hanging from a bit of red ribbon, an Order! He, as 
 sub-librarian, was not entitled to fees, if his superior 
 were present. I made up my mind, however, that fee he 
 should have, and was relieved when we had got through 
 and the principal librarian had not appeared. But this 
 day was to be marked with a white stone in the life of 
 my lean friend. Four antique statuettes representing the 
 four quarters of the globe, about nine inches high, wrought 
 in wood, painted and gilded, caught my eye, standing on 
 a table in the recess of one of the windows. I asked what 
 
 11* 
 
164 
 
 crrAP. xviit. 
 
 tlioy were, and learnt they bad belonged to the thread- 
 bare assistant's grandfather, and that lie would like to sell 
 them if he could get his price, about a dollar a piece: a 
 remembrance of my skeleton friend, a vestige of old Nu- 
 remberg, I appropriated them at once. He told me he 
 had been very long trying to sell them, but no one would 
 pay what he asked; no one had thought how he could 
 furnish that poor mortal with a new pair of trowsers. 
 People in general do not think enough what decent po- 
 verty means, that there are those who never ask, and 
 whose stomachs are gnawing with hunger. This man and 
 his gentlemanly poverty made a deep impression upon 
 me; he showed us manuscripts of Hans Sachs, missals, 
 autographs, portraits of Huss and Melanchthon , and a 
 glass drinking -mug, given by Luther to his friend Doc- 
 tor Justus Jonas, with their respective portraits painted 
 upon it , and the motto : 
 
 ,,Dat vitrum vitreo Jonae vitrum ipse Lutlierus, 
 ,.l*t vitro fragili similem se noscat uterqne." 
 
 This cup reminded me of Luther's entertainment to 
 the principal members of the university in the year 1540, 
 where lie called for a curious old glass painted with 
 circles of different colors, which he filled to the brim and 
 drank to the health of his guests; it was then passed from 
 one to the other; each drank, wishing him health in re- 
 turn. When it came to MasterElieban, Luther presented 
 him the glass, saying, ,,Good friend, the first circle is the 
 ten commandments, the second is the creed, the third is 
 the Pater Noster, and the catechism is at the bottom." 
 Master Elieban, who was an Antinomian, drank only to 
 the first circle and set the glass down with a look of dis- 
 may ; Luther said with a smile to his guest, ,,Oh, Master 
 Elieban only drinks the ten commandments, he leaves 
 
NUREMBERG, 
 
 165 
 
 the creed, the Pater Noster and the catechism." Among 
 the most curious things to me, in this library, were a 
 bunch of yellow wax seals, each one enclosed in a coping 
 of lead with a twine attached to it; they were about the 
 size of the palm of one's hand, with an inscription stamped 
 on each; these were some of the famous indulgences sold 
 by Tetzel. An indulgence had existed in my mind an 
 incorporeal idea; I never had thought of them in a tan- 
 gible form , and here was a bunch of them looking very 
 like railroad luggage tickets. What the nature of my 
 sensations were I cannot pretend to describe; a running 
 comment perhaps, on ,,what mighty causes spring from 
 trivial things. " 
 
 There is a religio loci in libraries as well as in 
 churches, a hushed sensation which always calms me to 
 reflection. In this one were no anxious students bending 
 absorbed over the old tomes — all was deserted silence 
 — long vistas of bookshelves, surrounding galleries, over- 
 looking the cloister gardens; pondrous folios in black 
 garbs, like their predecessors, the monks, full of erudition 
 but their usefulness lost; portraits of sages, in dark oak 
 frames, frowning down from the walls, sages whosenames, 
 though writ on scrolls beneath their portraits, bring no 
 recognition to modern wanderers. Did I live in Nurem- 
 berg I would often come and pace quietly these dingy 
 halls. It mellows the spirit, calms down the fancy, brings 
 reason to bear, and leads one to reflect on the vanity of 
 all things. Here, as in some great cemetery, lie entombed, 
 thoughts, feelings, the achievements of mind, the wide 
 reach of intellect, encased in mighty tomes, forgotten or 
 laid aside. — Yet, the ever kindling mind of Man repro- 
 duces from its very nature. Thought assumes form and 
 feature according to the prejudices of the age and the 
 gradual changes in the aspect of society, and yet how 
 
166 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 often does this freshly embodied thought but lead to the 
 conviction that there is nothing new but what is for- 
 gotten. 
 
 A globe made by Martin Behaim stands in this li- 
 brary, an object of deep interest to an American; he was 
 the friend of Columbus and agreed with him in believ- 
 ing, there must be another continent in the western he- 
 misphere. There exists still another globe made by him 
 in 1492, about the time of the discovery, but before the 
 fact was known, on which is delienated a supposed island 
 of considerable magnitude called Atalanta. Behaim be- 
 longed to one of the oldest families of Nuremberg but re- 
 sided for a long time in Portugal. He constiucted this 
 globe, while on the island of Fayal to which he had been 
 named Stadtholder, an appointment he held some time. 
 He is celebrated in the Portuguese archives as a great 
 mathematician, astronomer, geographer and navigator; it 
 is said the King of Spain consulted him when Columbus' 
 proposals were first made. I picked up in an old curio- 
 sity shop a volume, describing the inventions and no- 
 tices of men of genius, born and bred in this town, illustrated 
 by plates, and found in it some things too, elucidating 
 the aphorism above quoted , about new things being the 
 offspring of forgotten sires. In this odd volume there is 
 a map of the world designed by Behaim before the dis- 
 covery, in which lie has made the most of what Terra 
 firma he had, by spreading it over the two hemispheres, 
 and joining it in the southern, by groupings of islands; 
 on the margin of this map are printed references descrip 
 tive of the marvels the Globe presents: here, is the island 
 of Amazons, there, another island, ,, inhabited by hairy 
 men", who when we approached them run away or leapt 
 into the trees. " These must have been the ourang- 
 outang, as monkeys were known to the Nurembergers, 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 167 
 
 they, like Solomon, importing ,,apes and peacocks" from 
 the East, it being one of the fashions of the Avealthy, to 
 keep an ape chained at the house -door. It was long 
 before I could make up my mind to leave the dim old 
 monastery and my lean librarian, but at last we parted, 
 he with a grim smile of skeleton pleasure, I with the con- 
 sciousness of having imparted a mine of wealth to the 
 pocket of the patched pantaloons. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Frauenkirche, or church of our Lady, is the only- 
 one in Nuremberg reserved for the use of the Roman Ca- 
 tholics, and a beautiful little church it is, built in the 
 best style of Gothic architecture in 1300 and tilled with 
 rare wood carvings. The pulpit projecting from one of 
 the columns, was wrought by Adam Kraft, whose bust 
 terminates it, where it tapers down to the base of the co- 
 lumn ; figures of Saints aslarge as life, exquisitely carved 
 in wood, emblazoned in the Byzantine style, with red, 
 blue and gilding, stand on brackets against each column; 
 old stained glass in the choir, and unique carved embel- 
 lishments, on which the Krafts, father and sons, expended 
 their talent; it is a little jewel of art. It is built over a 
 lower chapel, a part of the original building which was 
 burnt; this is hung round with armorial bearings, the 
 escutcheons of every head of family for generations. I 
 marked one, where the race had become extinct; here 
 with the last member the escutcheon was reversed and 
 framed between two inverted torches, emblems of death, 
 or extinction. This church possesses an antique clock, 
 on which in former days the figure of St. Michael used to 
 raise his sceptre, and the twelve Apostles appear in rota- 
 tion before him. One day, St. Peter rebelled, and there 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 169 
 
 was a general strike among them; since which period 
 the works have stopped, and Nuremberg could produce 
 no cunning workman , as in days of yore, to repair the 
 difficulty. There was a fashion prevailing some two cen- 
 turies back, for curious pieces of mechanism, and it is 
 said when Charles V entered Nuremberg, the celebrated 
 Regiomontanus exhibited the automata he had invented, 
 ,,an Eagle of wood, over the gate of the city, which rose 
 and flapped its wings , while the Emperor passed below, 
 and a fly made of steel walked round the table." In time, 
 the wonder was magnified until it attained the marvellous ; 
 the marvellous indeed seems to have been the inventive ge- 
 nius of the Nurembergers ; well may the old town boast of 
 what it has accomplished. The art of printing at once 
 adopted by a barber named Hans Foltz, who established a 
 private printing press in his ownhouse, andKoberger, one 
 of the first printers who opened deposits for books in 
 sixteen different towns; the cause of the Reformation 
 earnestly adopted and pushed on by the songs of Hans 
 Sachs; the engraver Wolgemuth and his pupil Albert 
 Diirer ; are enough to stamp everlasting fame on their 
 native place. Adam Kraft too, the greatest sculptor of 
 his nation, Visher the finest worker in bronze, Peter 
 Hell, the inventor of watches, Martin Behaim whose 
 name ranks with that of Columbus in the discovery of 
 America. Inventions of common life were windguns, can- 
 non, artillery, the clarionet; it would be too prolix to 
 enumerate all the inventions traced to this spot. The 
 cleverness and inventive talent developed at this period 
 were attributed by the ignorant to the occult sciences; 
 fanaticism and superstition went hand in hand and from 
 their union sprang a whole phalanx of popular delusions. 
 Princes and prelates encouraged astrology and alchemy; 
 witchery was accredited, and the priests chaunted exor- 
 
170 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 eisms. We look back with astonishment at such a period 
 and forget that the infirmity of human nature only shows 
 itself in new developments: — „tous les hommes se res- 
 semblont si fort qu'il n'y a point de peuple dont les sot- 
 tises no nous devraient faire trembler". We stand upon 
 the pinnacle of this enlightened age, we triumph in the 
 enormous strides learning and knowledge have taken, but 
 we forget there exist now as dark shadows upon the 
 world's page as ever blotted the history of supersti- 
 tion in the past; a glance toward the wild fanaticism of 
 the Salt Lake , and the humiliating wide spread infatua- 
 tion of the Rochester revealings, and we find that super- 
 stition and wickedness have not been confined to the 
 monastic institutions, nor invocations of spirits to the 
 Dark Ages. Leibnitz ;it the commencement of his career 
 went to Nuremberg, where it is told of him that, ,, hear- 
 ing asocietyof alchemists were there, pursuing the search 
 after the philosophers stone, and desiring # to make one 
 of them, though utterly ignorant even of tlic terms of the 
 art, he made up his mind to write them a letter. Shrewdly 
 surmising they might be as ignorant as himself, he filled 
 it with obsolete words, and magniloquent phraseology 
 thoroughly incomprehensible to himself. It had its effect, 
 they hailed him as one of deeper science than themselves, 
 and made him their secretary." — Leibnitz was born 
 somewhere about 1G46. In his scientific pursuits he had 
 conceived a system of hydraulics, pneumatics, and swift 
 cairiages, to go one hundred and fifty miles in twenty 
 four hours, an extravagance of imagination charged upon 
 him by one ofhistradncers. Leibnitz in his defence affirms 
 this to be too ridiculous a charge to be believed. „The 
 great Leibnitz who stood on the boundary line between 
 the old times of astrology, magic, and sympathetic in- 
 fluences, and the later times of severe scientific method, 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 171 
 
 united the warmth of life belonging to those earlier dark 
 days, with the clear light of our own. He was animated 
 by deep religious faith, but still had the full vigor of 
 thought; having faith in God was his rock; his system 
 showed nothing of the. darkly colored Cathedral twilight 
 of the ancient mystics; it stood forth in the clear white 
 light of day, like a marble temple on the mountain top." 
 So spoke of him his countryman Menzel, and the tribute 
 was too beautiful for me to resist transcribing. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 We have now to visit the second grand Cathedral, 
 the church of St. Sebald. He was a sort of local Saint, 
 as there are thousands in the calender, but his miracles 
 are not of a very high order if we may judge by those 
 represented on the bas-reliefs of the monument erected to 
 his memory by Peter Visher. It stands in the nave of 
 the Cathedral, and is considered one of the finest known 
 specimens of work in bronze. It was finished in 1519 
 after a labor of thirteen years, accomplished by Vischer 
 and his five sons. It is in the richest style of Gothic 
 architecture, a fretwork canopy, upheld by slender co- 
 lumns, on which are placed at interwals the figures of the 
 Apostles, about a foot high, but wrought with the most 
 minute attention to expression and drapery. The re- 
 mainder of the monument is filled with delicately wrought 
 leaves and flowers, Cupids and animals. The oaken coffin 
 in a sarcophaghus beneath, rests upon a base which is 
 ornamented with bas-reliefs representing the Saint's mi- 
 racles, where he lights afire with icicles, turns stones into 
 bread, and finally mends the spout of a teakettle; pro- 
 bably a demonstration of his patience, having found him- 
 self with some niggardly housewife who made every 
 excuse for not giving hiin a supper; for a female figure is 
 noticed in all these scenes, and the affair of the teakettle 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 173 
 
 appeared to me conclusive. — Later I found the legend 
 of St. Sebald which I here insert: 
 
 In the time of Constantino, there lived in Denmark 
 a God-fearing King, whose Queen was equally pious. In 
 vain they prayed lor the blessing of offspring, and made 
 a vow if ever their prayer was answered, the child should 
 be brought up as a model of virtue; and truly, when their 
 son was born, they spared no cost, nor trouble to fulfil 
 their vow. He was brought up in the famous High School 
 at Paris, and at the age of fifteen put to shame the 
 learned doctors; such was his wisdom and learning. On 
 his return home, his parents urged him to marry, and, to 
 prove that he had not forgotten the duty of obedience to 
 parents, he declared himself willing to do so; and being 
 urged to select the bride, he replied, ,, their choice would 
 Ite his". As the parents were reflecting on the subject, 
 a swallow flew over their heads, holding in his beak some 
 maiden's hair, and turning back, as is customary with 
 these birds, it dropped the lock at the feet of the young- 
 man. This incident was regarded by them all as a mes- 
 sage from Heaven, and the person to whom this hair be- 
 longed, was destined to be the wife of the prince. Now 
 as the young Sebald was as handsome and noble as he 
 was rich and good so all the damsels far and near, whose 
 hair approached the required color, claimed the lock as 
 their own. Many were the stories invented, showing how 
 the lock of hair had been lost, and many the claims of 
 superiority put forth by the various dames to be selected 
 as the bride. Among these individuals who came from 
 far and near, some of them were light-minded and giddy, 
 and to the astonishment of every one, Sebald chose the 
 most frivolous of all. She came from Paris; his parents 
 were overwhelmed with sorrow,butasthe hair was plainly 
 hers, and Sebald looked upon himself as peculiarly 
 
171 
 
 CIIA.P. XX. 
 
 happy (o bave been elected while .so young to convert 
 a sinner, they could say nothing; but it was a grievous 
 affair, and had .she not shown snch a strong inclination 
 for the prince, and by every kind of fascination clung to 
 him, it never would have ended in a marriage. Instead 
 of amusing herself by dancing and joking as at first, she 
 was always weeping., praying and fasting. Time after 
 time, she took the most solemn oaths, that she never 
 would give her love to any one hut him, and now as the 
 sinner had become a penitent saint, the day for the nup- 
 tials was chosen, and they took place; but never was 
 feast more sad. When all the guests had retired, and the 
 newly wedded pair were left alone, the holy Sebald be- 
 gan to admonish her, as was his way, made her repeat 
 her vow many times, -and he represented to her that a 
 marriage was not punishable nor wrong, but that a holy 
 marriage was the most acceptable condition on the earth 
 in the sight of God. 
 
 To this the bride could not for a long time agree, 
 but as he was not wanting in eloquent speech, she was 
 compelled to believe him. Once again he required of her 
 the usual oath, receiving which, he fled from her and was 
 never seen by her again. Then the holy Sebald gave him- 
 self up to the life of a hermit, fed on herbs and performed 
 all the acts of mercy, placed his foot on the ladder, which 
 reaches Heaven, which lie soon attained. His reputation 
 became so great , persons from all countries thronged 
 about him, and his miracles knew no bounds. At last he 
 determined to visit Rome, where he was graciously re- 
 ceived and ordered by the Pope to go and convert the. 
 heathen in Germany, on the other side of the Danube, 
 but his zeal was such, that from the hour he left Rome, 
 he commenced the work, and was believed in one place 
 and scorned in another, till one day a heretic said 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 175 
 
 he lied, and insisted that St. Sebald could no more work 
 a miracle, than he could fly. Scarcely had the wretch 
 uttered these words, than lie felt the stones on which he 
 was standing give way, his arms stretched out as though 
 lie would rise in the air, and as ho waved them, he felt 
 himself rising up and like a flame being driven by the 
 air, higher and higher; then he repented his frivolity and 
 prayed earnestly. St. Sebald prayed also, and the scof- 
 fer again returned to the ground and prayed by his side. 
 Sebald's journey lasted very long, season after season 
 passed by, and when at last he reached the Danube, the 
 breaking up of the ice had completely destroyed the 
 bridge and carried it away. The holy Wilibaldus and the 
 holy Wanibaldus his companions looked anxiously at him, 
 their guide, but he did not hesitate, he took off his cowl 
 and placing it upon the waters, passed safely over 
 scarcely wetting his feet. It was cold, but he knew how to 
 help himself, he made an old woman who had no wood 
 in her strawhut bring some icicles, with which a fire was 
 kindled, and they burnt like dry sticks. The poor wo- 
 man threw herself at the feet of the Saint and requested a 
 favor. She had lost her all — a couple of oxen which had 
 strayed in the forest, and she begged to have them back. 
 With many tears, she lamented the loss of all she pos- 
 sessed, and her complaining husband knelt by her side. 
 The holy man sent him out into the forest, directing him 
 where to find them; the man set off in the dead of night, 
 and his hand became a bright light, and he, making his 
 way to the spot, found the animals and brought them 
 home to his grateful wife. She then asked if they could 
 show their gratitude by any offering or sacrifice they 
 could make to the holy cause. ,,Be pious!" he exclaimed, 
 ,,who knows, if I may not some day ask a service of you 
 and who knows if you will grant it? This was in the 
 
17fi 
 
 CHAt*. XX. 
 
 neighborhood of Ratisbon. The Saint then took up 
 liis Btafi and journeyed towards Nuremberg. Here he set- 
 lied himself in the Lorenz forest, and his companions 
 who had been separated from him by the Danube joined 
 him. The holy men did nothing but perform miracles 
 here, but especially was St.Sebald conspicuous. Though 
 not an old man , he soon found his last hour was come, 
 and ns he lay on the bed of death, his weeping com- 
 panions requested to know his last wishes, where be de- 
 sired to be buried etc. etc. He spoke to them of the old 
 woman, whose hut he had visited at Ratisbon, near the 
 Danube, and desiring them to go to her, told them to ask 
 the loan of her oxen, to draw his funeral bier to his rest- 
 ing place, and wherever the oxen stopped, there he 
 wished to be buried. When he had breathed his last, they 
 set off to the woman and made known the Saint's request, 
 but, to their surprise, she refused to lend the animals, 
 saying: ,,she had offered to do any service to a living 
 man, not to the dead, who could never make her any re- 
 turn". But to the surprise of every one, the oxen broke 
 out of their stable, rushed past, never stopped, until they 
 reached the funeral car. The holy man returned to Nu- 
 remberg thinking where else they could borrow the ne- 
 cessary oxen, and were astonished to find those belonging 
 to the woman, standing ready and allowing themselves to be 
 harnessed, quiet as lambs. Left to themselves they started 
 and turned towards Nuremberg, and when they came 
 opposite the chapel of St. Peters, they laid themselves 
 down and would not get up again. There now rests in 
 peace the Holy Sebald. — A small wooden house was 
 erected over his grave, but as it, and the chapel of St. 
 Peter were reduced to ashes, by a storm of thunder and 
 lightning, it was discovered that he could not repose 
 happily under such a slight habitation. Such a mighty 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 177 
 
 guest required a nobler resting place. So they placed 
 his bones in a strong silver shrine, and raised over it the 
 magnificent Cathedral of St. Sebald. 
 
 This church contains fine old windows and carvings, 
 but it does not produce the effect upon the mind it should, 
 owingto the renovating effect of white wash; cleanliness, 
 next to godliness, is an aphorism, which tells better any- 
 where else than on the walls of a cathedral. 
 
 In wandering about the aisles I was told to observe a 
 flight of steps of white stone, terminating on a platform, 
 on which opened a low door seeming to lead only to a 
 space in the wall. I conjectured it was meant for a trea- 
 sury, but my old attendant Matirnbade me remark a bas- 
 relief carved on the stair. Itrepresented a rat scampering 
 off with something in his mouth. It was a strange tale, 
 but ,,ower true". Within this arched door a monk was 
 closed in the wall to die of famine; a crime of deep dye 
 had stained his vow, and he was doomed to death within 
 a living tomb, and yet the monk lived on; the affection 
 of her, who had caused his doom found a way to intro- 
 duce through an aperture the means of sustaining life. 
 Night after night, for a year, she deposited at his prison 
 what would serve to sustain him till the following day. 
 Unluckily a rat, attracted by the unusual scent, appro- 
 priated a sausage, and was caught in the fact of trailing 
 it through the sacred precincts, by some early sacristan. / 
 Curiosity was awakened and truth soon discovered. 
 Whether the brotherhood were touched by this develop- 
 ment of strong affection or whether they deemed the 
 dreadful year of trial sufficient punishment to expiate the 
 offence, the prisoner was liberated, and the rat received 
 the Egyptian honor of having his effigy in the temple. 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 on a p. xx. 
 
 I pass hoars sometimes wandering about without aim 
 or purpose, other than to feast my eyes upon the pecu- 
 liarities of the old town. Up one street, down another, then 
 across a bridge through some narrow alley and out into 
 the market places. Tn the principal one stands the 
 Schone Brunnen or city fountain, called the Beautiful; 
 a niched monument of stone tapering up to the height of 
 sixty feet. The compartments are filled with statues; the 
 most incongruous medley of heroes and saints, from Mo- 
 ses and the prophets down to Charlemagne; the seven 
 Electors, David, Godfrey of Bouillon, Clovis, Maccabeus 
 and Julius Caesar. During the commotions, and troublous 
 times, this monument of art was removed but was sub- 
 sequently discovered, repaired and restored to the place 
 where it now stands, to arrest the attention and charm 
 the eye with its elegant form and beautiful proportions. 
 Then there is the little bronze boy with a goose under each 
 arm, spouting water, who presides in the other square, 
 which takes its name from the fountain, Goose -Market. 
 The German markets are essentially different from ours 
 at home, which are fixtures, combining the sale of fish, 
 flesh, and vegetables, with their mixed effluvia. Here they 
 are exclusively an assemblage of peasants, who trundle 
 in their wheel -barrows, or dog-carts, early in the morn- 
 ing, and range their fruit, flowers and vegetables on 
 low benches, or upon thcstones before them. They remain 
 till twelve, when they must be off, the square swept, and 
 all vestiges removed. The butchers have shops in diffe- 
 rent quarters of the town. In the larger cities where 
 the market trade is more important, they are allowed the 
 use of the square later into the day, and stores of pottery, 
 wooden shoes, fruit and flowers are always to be had. 
 There is an orderly quiet demeanor about all these people, 
 very different from the vociferousness of the French mar- 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 170 
 
 kef woman, or the bustling American. No one ever seems 
 to be in hurry, or to get out of patience. The German 
 peasant is universally civil, and rarely passes you with- 
 out a „Goodday". Walking through Nuremberg, you can 
 cross the Pegnitz by fourteen different bridges, and the 
 one known as the „Butchers' Bridge", is modelled after 
 the Rialto; so intent were the old Burghers to emulate 
 Venetian taste, but I doubt whether, if not told of the fact, 
 the Rialto would ever suggest itself to the imagination, 
 in this attempt at an uncomfortable elevation. 
 
 Thestatue of Albert Diirer in bronze by Rauch, occupies 
 a conspicuous place in one of the squares, and his house 
 has been bought by a company of artists, who wish to 
 preserve it in its original form, though there, beyond all 
 other places, one dwells with the least pleasure upon the 
 memory of the artist, associated as all the domestic arrange- 
 ments must be, with the name of Agnes Frey, and his 
 domestic trials. Such are the different objects of inter- 
 est, independent of the curiously beautiful facades of the 
 houses, and the elaborate stone carvings of the churches, 
 which catch the eye at every turn and excite an in- 
 terest peculiarly their own. Day after day I renewed 
 this pleasure, till I had so identified myself with the old 
 town, it took a place in my affections, and I deferred in- 
 definitely the time of my departure. I had a passion for 
 curiosity shops and there were several here, containing 
 treasures of mediaeval art, which brought vividly to one's 
 mind the luxury of Nuremberg's brightest days. Here 
 were platters of gold and silver interwrought (such as 
 in old pictures you see Herodias bearing , with the head 
 of John the Baptist) 5 carved ivories, drinking cups of 
 every device. Venetian glass, the curious old terra cotta, 
 Flemish as well as German ; the gaudy majolica or Italian 
 pottery, the fashion of which is said to have been intro- 
 
 12* 
 
 I 
 
180 
 
 OIIAP. XX. 
 
 duced into Italy by Raphael, who, in love with a potter's 
 daughter, amused himself during his visits by sketching 
 beautiful designs upon her fathers plates and platters; 
 thence, other artists took the hint and produced an era 
 in the history of crockery, which amateurs alone can fully 
 appreciate. The art of painting on glass was carried to 
 its highest perfection in Nuremberg. Here were drinking 
 cups engraved with that delicacy of execution peculiar 
 to the artists of this place; elaborately carved oak furni- 
 ture, inlaid marquetrie; old lace savoring of convents and 
 Catholic times; gorgeous armor, the curious old watches 
 answering to the name of Nuremberg eggs; paintings, 
 enamels on copper, everything that constituted the ele- 
 gance of those days, and which in the present century 
 there is so much pleasure in collecting and comparing 
 with the new productions of art, some of which exceed, and 
 many have notimproved upon the workmanship of thepast. 
 
 Beneath the castle are arched halls, formerly the Ca- 
 sernes. An Italian has established a depot for all these 
 antique objects. I enquired where and how they were 
 got together and was told that after the sequestration of 
 convents and the long wars which desolated the land 
 and reduced families to proverty, valuable articles be- 
 came dispersed and frequently in peasants' houses su- 
 perbly carved furniture was found, the value of which 
 they did not understand, and which the cheerfully ex- 
 changed for modern wooden things which suited their 
 purpose better. These curiosity dealers have agents 
 travelling about to make such purchases. I saw myself 
 in a small wayside inn, in a part of Franconia but little 
 travelled, a magnificent mirror framed most elaborately 
 and surmounted by a crown and insignia of royalty, 
 which, had there been any means of transportation, I 
 should have bargained for. 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 181 
 
 Wood carvings were executed as early as early as 
 1379. The Germans especially devoted themselves to 
 this kind of work. LeoProner of Nuremberg 1630 carved 
 on a cherry stone, where by the assistance of a magnify- 
 ing glass, as many as a hundred heads may be counted. 
 
 Angerman of the same period excelled in the execu- 
 tion of little skeletons. TheZick family were adepts in the 
 art of carving, many specimens of their work are to be 
 seen in the Green Vaults in Dresden. 
 
 Goldsmiths were originally monks , the art was de- 
 voted to church ornament. In the beginning of the four- 
 teenth century when art emerged from the cloisters, it 
 extended and was obliged to be restricted bylaw because 
 luxury had made such rapid progress. There is an 
 anecdote told of Prince Eugene worth repeating. On one 
 occasion being at Venice, the haughty nobles boasting of 
 their superior civilization and ridiculing Germans as bar- 
 barians, he invited them to a theatrical entertainment. 
 The theatre represented night time; a single lamp glim- 
 mering in the street. The ghost of Cicero was seen wan- 
 dering up and down. A German traveller enters, finding 
 all the doors closed, he draws out his watch to see the 
 hour, then a printed book with which he amuses himself 
 some time. Growing impatient at last, he pulls out a 
 pistol and fires it off to rouse the sleeping Italians. Cice- 
 ro's ghost now advances, asks an explanation of the 
 watch, the book, and the gunpowder , expresses his asto- 
 nishment on finding these great inventions proceed from 
 thebarbarians of the North and enquires ,,What then have 
 the Italians invented if barbarians distinguish them- 
 selves so highly" — upon which, a Savoyard enters crying 
 ,, Heckles, Heckles" and the curtain drops. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ,,Man's inhumanity to Man, 
 
 Makes countless thousands mourn." 
 
 Burns. 
 
 But turn we now to one more object of deep interest, 
 the Rathhaus , that dark spot upon the escutcheon of the 
 fair royal Free City. The Rathhaus or town-hall with its 
 council chambers, frescoed by the hand of Albert Diirer, 
 where the senate held its meetings and discussed ques- 
 tions bearing upon the destinies of nations; and where 
 in the integrity of their free will they passed sentence, 
 They governed well, those haughty Burghers, and under 
 their dominion their city grew and prospered , until it 
 ranked among the first in wealth and commercial impor- 
 tance. But the dark shadow of the jurisprudence of the 
 Middle Ages rests upon the Rathhaus. Beneath the coun- 
 cil hall, lies a chamber of torture, and a series of deep 
 dark dungeons. Within the chamber of torture stood a 
 table, about which the judges and inquisitors sat; round 
 the edge of the table was inscribed: ,,Discite justitiam 
 moniti, et non temnere divos. " 
 
 At the present day it is next to impossible to obtain 
 permission to visit these subterranean prisons, but I 
 take an account of them from a person long resident in 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 183 
 
 Nuremberg, and who had the opportunity offered him to 
 investigate the whole some years ago. — „ There is an 
 entrance passed and repassed daily, now as then, by the 
 hurrying footsteps of many a passenger, who, in pursuit 
 of pleasure or daily occupation, little dreams how near 
 he has approached these regions of terror. The guide 
 opened the heavy but small doorway, which creaked sul- 
 lenly, as though unwilling to disclose the long sealed 
 secrets of the prison house; we each took a candle and 
 followed him down a narrow stone stair; here and there 
 the steps were broken, but we reached the bottom and 
 came upon a range of dungeons, some higher and larger 
 than others, but all cold and dark as the grave. Over the 
 entrances there are symbols, such as a horse, a stag, a 
 dog, a stork, a cock, a camel and a cat. No one seemed to 
 be able to explain what these hieroglyphics wereintended 
 for, but most probably they were used instead of num- 
 bers, to designate the different dungeons. Raising the 
 light over our heads we saw the beams with the iron rings 
 to which the miserable occupants were secured. A little 
 further on through a passage , we found ourselves in the 
 torture chamber; here sat the judges — die Blutri en- 
 ter, hideous name, which translated literally would be, 
 bloody judges — the horrid apparatus of torture was 
 found in this chamber, and in later days destroyed; the 
 only known one now is at Ratisbon , fully described by 
 Murray in his Guide-Book, and which I will here tran- 
 scribe in part, as belonging to the curious particulars of 
 this dark history — but many of them were too cruel 
 even for repetition. There were platforms with rollers armed 
 with spikes over which the victims were drawn, an arm- 
 chair lined with sharp spikes, on which he was forced to 
 sit with weights on his lap ; a ladder leaning against the 
 wall had some of the rounds replaced by angular pieces 
 
184 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 of wood shaped like prisms turning on their axis, the 
 criminal was hauled up by a rope over a pulley and then 
 let down again, the rapid friction grazing every vertebra 
 on his naked back as he passed over the prisms: this was 
 called the slide. Another invention called the Spanish 
 Ass, was a sharp edge on which they were to ride astride, 
 and several others too horrible to mention, the invention 
 of which was a disgrace to human nature: lighted torches 
 were held to the armpits of the victims, when suspended 
 etc. It is said this machinery surpassed in iniquity what 
 survives of the far-famed dungeons of Venice, and is the 
 only example in Europe of such an apparatus perfectly 
 preserved. The torture chamber is so constructed that 
 not a sound could escape beyond these thick and vaulted 
 boundaries — a circular opening in the inside, above the 
 entrance, marks the place, behind which in the council 
 chamber, sat the person who took down the prisoner's 
 confession, while under torture : a little further on , in 
 that of Nuremberg, is the entrance to a passage now 
 greatly obstructed by masses of fallen stone, partly cut 
 through the rock, and in parts dangerous from the crum- 
 bling masonry. This passage leads beyond the town to a 
 distance of nearly two miles, and ends in the forest of 
 Dutzendteich. It was constructed for the purpose of send- 
 ing away envoys , also as a means of escape or entrance 
 for the senate in the troublous times of the republic. We 
 continued our subterranean journey through another 
 opening in the stone work and wound through a dreary 
 way below the streets, and then by an easy ascent to the 
 castle where we emerged upon one of the bastions. From 
 here again we descended and traversed the inner side of 
 the town wall ; here and there we noticed holes in the 
 wall to admit a faint light in the darksome passages below 
 them; after a while we reached a grating which leads be- 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 185 
 
 neath one of the old towers; here again we were obliged 
 to light our candles, and passed through five massive 
 doorways into a dungeon. This was the secret prison of 
 the senate, and hither underground passages led from 
 their own tribunal and their private houses. " This 
 tower known as the F r a u e n - T h u r m was the home of 
 the well known Iron Virgin , she into whose embrace the 
 victim was led as at Baden-Baden, and whose arms open- 
 ing by a spring, encircled her prey with sharp pointed 
 blades, and precipitated him in the oubliette below, to 
 extinguish what of life remained, on a wheel likewise 
 armed. When the French armies overran Germany they 
 awakened the inhabitants to a shame that such relics of 
 barbarism should be found within their precincts and the 
 Nurembergers carted off as old iron the celebrated Virgin, 
 but whose name is still borne by the town tower. Later 
 she was bought and transported to the castle of Feistritz 
 in Styria where the owner, Baron Dietrich, has a fine 
 collection of ancient armor. 
 
 This mode of torture is not named in penal codes, but 
 used by secret societies. A common expression among 
 the lower orders formerly was, „I will give thee to the 
 Jungfrau" a threat to children. ,,To kiss the Maiden," 
 was also an expression used in England with respect to 
 various punishments. ,,To kiss the block" and ,,To kiss 
 the Duke of Exeter's daughter," were common sayings. 
 The guillotine in Scotland was called ,,the Maiden." 
 From an old German chronicle of 1533 the E is erne 
 Jungfrau is mentioned as standing in the tower opposite 
 the place called Sieben Zeilen in Nuremberg, for the pu- 
 nishment of evil-doers; this was to satisfy the public mind. 
 ,,To send poor souls to the fishes," a common saying, re- 
 telling no doubt to the stream of water which passed un- 
 der the tower and carried off all remnants. There is rea- 
 
186 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 son to suppose the Iron Maid was not invented in Ger- 
 many but introduced from Spain where more ingenuity 
 was displayed in such objects — those of Germany were 
 remarkable for their rudeness and simplicity, and some- 
 thing of the kind, known as the Mater dolorosa, is 
 known to have existed. 
 
 Nuremburg was not the only place where the Mai- 
 den's Kiss was inflicted.' Wittenberg had even two such 
 machines. From two bills found there it can be seen that 
 one of the Iron Maids required repairing even as early 
 as 1509. 
 
 — 1509 iiij gl. vor zweyn Jungfrauen in das gefenchnis wei- 
 ter zu machen und vor iiij gelencken zu machen. 
 
 I have been in the awful dungeons of Venice in for- 
 mer days, I have looked down into those deep wells 
 covered with trapdoors, where day -light never enters, 
 nor scarce air enough to breathe, and in the horror in- 
 spired by the emotions of Man's utter cruelty to his fellow 
 man, the wonder still was uppermost that life and reason 
 could be sustained under such inflictions. These fright- 
 ful revelations of the justice of the Middle Ages enter 
 deep into the soul, when we think of the awful methods 
 of revenge religious intolerance engendered, when we 
 know that even in the eighteenth century the Arch- 
 bishops of Salzburg persecuted their protestant subjects 
 without mercy, and that in the archiepiscopal palace a 
 similar torture chamber was discovered, we infer what we 
 please. Macaulay tells us that torture was abolished in 
 England in 1640. The world has improved since that 
 day, at least a portion of it, and thankful should we be, 
 whose lines are cast in pleasant places. 
 
 Withal, the deep interest inspired by this singular 
 old town, has not been lessened by this dark page of its 
 history. If cruelty was practised, it is to be presumed 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 187 
 
 injustice was not, from the firm allegiance and public 
 spirit her citizens ever evinced during the protracted 
 reign of her Burgher Senate. 
 
 Nuremberg died a natural death. Commerce took a 
 new direction, after the discovery of the passage round 
 the Cape. The riches of the East were no longer depo- 
 sited at her gates as the central point of German com- 
 merce; many other causes operated to diminish her im- 
 portance , until in the new division of the Empire in the 
 present century, she was awarded to Bavaria and lost 
 her individuality. But as old things have passed away, 
 so is she renewing to a degree her commercial relations 
 with other lands, and the King with an eye to the pictu- 
 resque not only takes up his residence in the old Schloss 
 for a portion of every year, but encourages and exhorts 
 the citizens to preserve and repair the curious relics of 
 the Middle Ages which distinguish Nuremberg above 
 every other city in Germany. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A tale of modern mystery is connected with Nurem- 
 berg which remains unsolved', and will probably take its 
 place in the chronicles, along side the Iron Mask, and a 
 few others. 
 
 About the year 1828 a citizen was walking in the fields, 
 beyond the walls. He saw coining towards him a lad, whose 
 uncertain gait led him to suppose he had been drinking. 
 This person accosted him in some unintelligible jargon, 
 extending his hand in which there was a letter. It was ad- 
 dressed to a military man , then resident in Nuremberg. Upon 
 inspection the citizen saw the boy was an object of compas- 
 sion and took the pains to conduct him to Cap 1 ***'s house. 
 The master was absent, but the servants procured food 
 which they offered him. He shoved the meat away with 
 disgust, but ate the bread with avidity, and afterwards 
 being shown to the stable , threw himself upon the hay 
 and went fast to sleep. On the captain's return, he went 
 there to look at him; the boy awoke expressing great 
 astonishment and delight at the sight of the uniform, but 
 only uttered one exclamation, ,,lieuta". The letter stated 
 the writer was a laborer with ten children, that the bearer 
 had been left at his house in October 1812 and till now 
 had never been suffered to leave it, that he had been 
 taught to read and write, and wished to become a trooper, 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 189 
 
 that the writer could not afford to keep him and had 
 therefore consigned him to the care of thecaptain. ALatin 
 postscript was added, saying he bad heen baptized. The 
 whole was evidently intended to mislead, and concluded 
 with the inhuman remark: ,,If you do not keep him, you 
 may put him in a lottery, or get rid of him in any way 
 you please." The captain very naturally did not wish to 
 burthen himself with such an encumbrance, and handed 
 both the boy and the letter over to the police. The po- 
 lice in vain endeavored to find out the mystery. The 
 boy who only uttered a few inarticulate sounds, did not 
 appear afraid or surprised at anything, but his distressed 
 face and childish tears excited the compassion of every 
 one. Writing materials were placed before him, at which 
 he seemed much pleased, and wrote in a childish hand 
 the words,, Caspar Hauser." After a time having no claim 
 upon any one, he was sent as a vagrant to the city jail. 
 His first instructor was the jailer's son, a boy about ten 
 years old, but soon through the exertions of Professor 
 Feuerbach he was removed to the house of the Burgo- 
 master for instruction, and subsequently consigned en- 
 tirely to the care of Professor Daumer. It is a long story 
 to tell of all the developments of his intellect and gra- 
 dual progress of a mind left for the first sixteen years 
 of its existence in perfect ignorance even of outward ob- 
 jects. By degrees his physical senses awakened from 
 this long torpor, and acquiring language, he was able 
 to convey his impressions and taxed his memory to re- 
 call scenes of the past. From what could be gathered he 
 had been kept in some low darkened place, alone, and 
 beaten by the man who provided him with food, if he 
 made the least noise. In this place it did not appear that 
 even in his sleep he could lie with his whole body 
 stretched out, but sat supported against the wall, his legs 
 
190 
 
 CHAP. XXTt. 
 
 extended before him. When he awoke he always found 
 a pitcher of water and a loaf of bread placed at his side. 
 He was never allowed to see his keeper's face. One day 
 the man came, put a small table over his feet, and some 
 paper upon it, then went behind him, took hold of his 
 hand put a pencil in it and moved it backward and for- 
 ward on the paper. He was very much pleased with the 
 black marks as they appeared and when left to himself 
 was never tired of drawing the figures on the paper with 
 which he was supplied. At another time the man came and 
 lifted him up and taught him to stand and to walk. During 
 all this time he never saw his keeper's face. At length 
 the man came, took him on his back and carried him out 
 into the daylight, when it appears he fainted, for he was 
 conscious of nothing, remembered no object on his jour- 
 ney, only that the man put the letter into his hand and 
 left him. It would seem it had been anticipated he would 
 be lost as a vagabond or idiot, in some public institution, 
 whereas he met with human consideration and became 
 an object of universal sympathy. The newspapers were 
 filled with accounts of him, of his development, memory, 
 and marvellous progress. It was at last reported he was 
 employed in writing a memoir of himself. At this juncture 
 an attempt was made to assassinate him, but he escaped 
 with a wound in his forehead. The Earl Stanhope be- 
 came deeply interested in him, had him removed to Ans- 
 bach and put to school. He remained there three or 
 four years, when his mysterious enemy again sought 
 him out. One morning in December 1833 a stranger 
 wrapped in acloak accosted him under pretence of having 
 an important communication to make. Caspar had an 
 f engagement, but replied he would meet him in the after- 
 noon in the palace garden. At the time apponted the 
 person was there and taking some papers from his pocket 
 
NUREMBERG. 
 
 191 
 
 presented them toHauser. While he was examining them, 
 the other stabbed him twice near the heart. The wounds 
 were not instantly fatal, lie dragged himself home but 
 could there only faintly articulate the words: , palace- 
 garden -purse-Uz-monument u The police were dispatched 
 immediately and near Uzen's Monument they found a 
 small violet silk purse, containing a scrap of paper on 
 which was written : ,,Hauser knows who lam, but to save 
 him trouble I will myself declare I come from the Bava- 
 rian frontier, on the river; my name isM. L. 0." Caspar 
 Hauser died of the wounds he had received, and was 
 buried at Ansbach in the Johanniskirchhof, his tomb 
 bearing the inscription: 
 
 ,,Aenigma sui temporis, ignota nativitas, occulta mors. 
 1833." 
 
 Lord Stanhope offered a reward of five hundred flo- 
 rins for the discovery of the murderer, but no clue could 
 then be obtained , and the dark veil of mystery was 
 allowed to enshroud the whole. But there is a page of 
 history still to be read, and the reader to draw his own 
 conclusions, though they will be based, as many a more 
 important cause has been ere now, on circumstantial evi- 
 dence. There arose strange subdued whisperings that 
 the murdered man was the heir to the Duchy of Baden, 
 son of the Duchess Stephanie de la Pagerie, niece of the 
 Empress Josephine, who had been married to the Duke 
 Charles. She had borne him two sons, and three daugh- 
 ters. The first son died very suddenly, the second son 
 died, or disappeared, no record of either was ever found. 
 Their uncle Duke Ludwig was exiled from court for a 
 long while. Suspicions of false play were rife at the time, 
 directed against Duke Ludwig. He was ambitious to suc- 
 ceed, and hated the Duchess Stephanie and her children. 
 Finally Duke Ludwig did succeed and was distinguished 
 
192 
 
 chap. xxn. 
 
 as leading a life of the wildest and most criminal cha- 
 racter. It -was during his reign Caspar Ilauser made his 
 appearance. Some considered him an impostor, some that 
 he was heir to the Baden throne. While these questions 
 were pending, he was murdered. A pamphlet war ensued 
 and it was proved that Major Hennighofer, the creature 
 and confidant of Ludwig, bought off one of these which 
 was said to contain proofs. Major Hennighofer was seen 
 at Nuremberg the evening of the day Caspar Hauser was 
 murdered, but the Duchess Stephanie who lived in Paris, 
 kept the strictest silence during the whole. The dark- 
 est, most impenetrable shadow rests upon the history of 
 Caspar Hauser. It was forbidden in Bavaria under the 
 severest penalties of the law even to pronounce his name. 
 
MUNICH 
 
 AND THEREABOUT. 
 
 This portion of my journal shared the fate of Troy. 
 My last glimpse of it was a quivering heap of tinder, 
 fretted over with sparks, that went out one by one, leav- 
 ing it in darkness for ever. Were I a bookmaker I might 
 recall enough to fit up a very tolerable chapter, but I have 
 always been of Gray's opinion, who said: ,,A line written 
 at the moment is worth a cartload of recollections." Thus 
 the manuscript vanished into thin air, where many of 
 its betters have wandered ere now. 
 
 Munich, the old Monk's town, or Miinchen, as the 
 Germans pronounce it, rose from small beginnings. In 
 the twelvth century a convent was the centre from which 
 sprung the modern sumptuous city. A salt magazine on 
 which the monks depended for their revenue, originated the 
 prosperity of the place. From the old,,Schrannen-Platz" 
 Munich started into being. Gradually reign after reign 
 it was enlarged and embellished, and now spreads itself 
 on the vast plain of Bavaria in gorgeous apparel, all glo- 
 rious within, the city which the King delighteth to honor. 
 Munich possesses peculiar attractions for foreign writers, 
 Miss Howitt's charming book, ,,The Art Student" and the 
 still more charming ,, Initials", have made it familiar to 
 most English readers. Of late too, it seems the special 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 battle-ground where foreign knights delight to cross a 
 lance. As for me, I amble off on my palfrey, and leave 
 them to fight the battle of opinion. It is to be hoped that 
 there, as elsewhere, this new Don Quixotism will prove 
 useful to somebody, but I doubt it. These old German 
 windmills will go round and round in the same identical 
 fashion they have done from the beginning, and the recent 
 exaggerated truths published by Englishmen irritate 
 without reforming. My feeling is, if I settle myself among 
 a people , I am not to show up their faults and deformi- 
 ties without one particle of allaying kindness. Why men 
 are more prone to condemn than to approve, I leave mo- 
 ralists to settle. If we condemn with a strong desire to 
 reform, so be it; but the charity that vaunteth not itself, 
 and is kind, is most frequently wanting. There is so much 
 that is beautiful in art and nature in Germany, so much 
 kind feeling among its people, so much that is excellent 
 in its instutions, that with Sterne, ,,I pity the man who 
 can travel from Dan to Beersheba and find all barren." 
 
THE DANUBE 
 
 TO 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 13* 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE DANUBE. 
 
 „An der Donau, 
 
 ,,An der schonen blauen Donau." 
 
 We reached Lintz after night-fall. Travel-wearied I 
 sought my lodging -room and soon lost all consciousness 
 of outward things in sleep. The rising sun upon my win- 
 dow first called me to my senses. I rose and mechani- 
 cally went forward and threw the casement open. The 
 Danube glided quietly beneath it — the Danube, hitherto 
 to me, only a name, but how fraught with association. 
 There it flowed in calm reality before me. I stood watch- 
 ing the ever moving waters , and the freighting of the 
 flat bottomed boats, which formerly were the only con- 
 veyance down the stream; and when I saw a few peasant 
 women embark and row slowly off, I envied them their 
 quiet voyage; mine was to be under the rush and speed 
 of steam. At the beginning, the voyage lies through 
 channels, winding among low willow islands, the shores 
 perfectly flat and devoid of interest, but the horizon is 
 bounded by the range of Styrian Alps, with here and 
 there a peak covered with snow, and the Riesengebirge 
 or Giant Mountains, of which the principal is the 
 Schneekoppe ", at whose southern base the Elbe first 
 sees light. What a thrilling interest there is particularly 
 
19S 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 to an American in the names of these ancient rivers. The 
 fascination who can solve? Old Rhine, with its thousand 
 legends and memories dating from the Roman conquest, 
 awakens a glowing enthusiasm linked with the far past. 
 The Danube, dark, turbulent and wild, fraught with his- 
 toric lore, emblazoned in a long line of centuries. The 
 Thames, the Tiber, the Nile, names rich in association 
 filling the mind with crowding fancies, and thoughts 
 wrought with the world's story. While hoary time was 
 thus hallowing the legendary fictions clinging to their 
 names, and history recording on her page, each stirring 
 scene enacted on their borders, our noble rivers rolled 
 on in silence, never broken but by some wild wood note, 
 their waters never ruffled but by some Indian bark-canoe; 
 yet romance is germinating there too, all unthought of 
 now, perhaps, by the millions who tread their borders, 
 but which time will sanctify. Thousands of pilgrims from 
 foreign lands have attested to the beauty of the Hudson, 
 (the Indian's ,, Great River of the Mountains") and the 
 wild legends of its 'primitive settlers have assumed form 
 and immortality under the potent spell of the Prospero 
 of ,, Sunny Side." But that bright brilliant illuminated 
 Past stretching off into the mist of Ages, is not ours. 
 Thoughts like these, will crowd into the mind when visit- 
 ing such scenes for the first time, wise people deem it 
 romance — be it so called then, Germany abounds in it. 
 Heinrich Heine named his book ,,Wanderbilder", a term 
 I fancy. Splendid historical pictures present themselves 
 at every turn, filled with groups of the illustrious. Here 
 upon the shores of the Danube, how many shadows rise 
 called ,,from the vasty deep"; of the Past. 
 
 This was the old Roman boundary; this the dying 
 Gladiator's last thought, 
 
THE DANUBE. 
 
 190 
 
 ,, Where his rude hut upon the Danube lay 
 ,, There were his young barbarians all at play, 
 ,,And she — their Dacian mother .... 
 
 Here the proud Attila,, the scourge of God", led his wild 
 Huns , devastating the broad lands between the Danube 
 and the Euxine finding his way at last even to the gates 
 of Rome itself. Charlemagne, Solyman the Superb, Gus- 
 tavus Adolphus, Richard Coeur de Lion, their names are 
 all graven on its shores — these are historical portraits 
 of the great Bilderland. Meanwhile we are gliding on- 
 ward, we have left behind us the low sedgy shores, the 
 heights gradually close upon the river, which becomes 
 deep and dark; mountains clad with wood in its primeval 
 wildness, slope down to the water's edge reminding one 
 forcibly of our own highland river shores. Now come 
 castellated heights, crumbling ruins and monasteries, lord- 
 ing it still over the most lovely scenes. 
 
 Deeper and darker grew the river, Iwent to the prow 
 and seated myself high upon a pile of freight, we were 
 approaching the famous passage called the ,, Strudel". 
 Stupid, patient looking peasants were smoking about me, 
 wondering probably what freak had brought me there, 
 but I saw nothing, knew nothing, but the sight of rush- 
 ing waters, and the ,,Hausstein ", a high rock rising out 
 of the river. We dashed forward through the foam, two 
 or three ruins frowned upon us from above, we cleaved 
 the breakers like a sea-bird, and for a moment calm 
 seemed restored to the troubled waters, when in a twink- 
 ling we were upon the „Wirbel", or whirlpool, eddying 
 in all directions, and dashing towards the ,, Hausstein ". 
 You clear the danger, for danger it was deemed, at least 
 in former days, when the boats of the Danube were often 
 lost here. Multitudes of little crosses on the rocks prove 
 the piety of those times. It is said, from the village of 
 
200 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 St. Nicholas, formerly a boat, with the image of the Vir- 
 gin at its prow, put out, carrying an alms box inscribed 
 ,,For your preservation". Now, swift as an arrow the 
 steam vessel speeds its way, leaving devotion behind as 
 a remnant of a gone-by age. These river mountains are 
 crested with ruins of castles the lords of which were not 
 behind their brethren of the Rhine in levying tribute. 
 There was hereabout a dangerous rapid , recently re- 
 moved by blasting the rocks, where the Devil too, amused 
 himself throwing stones at the crusaders in old times; 
 his operations have passed away too as myths, with the 
 old boats and their alms-box. The waters of the beauti- 
 ful river sweep on, but never can they wash out their le- 
 gendary lore. 
 
 There beneath an oak, close down upon the shore, is 
 the pilgrimage shrine of Maria Taferl, so named from a 
 stone table (Taferl) round which the peasants feast after 
 harvest ; in the branches above hangs a miraculous image 
 of the Virgin, and here they come to offer thanks for 
 plentiful crops. It is wonderful even to the present day 
 to what extent this practice is carried in all the Catholic 
 districts of Germany. This one shrine is visited from all 
 parts during the month of fSeptember, and the annual 
 number of pilgrims varies from fifty to a hundred and 
 thirty thousand. The church stands above, commanding 
 an extensive view; further on the rich convent of Molk 
 appears, a Benedictine monastery, founded in the tenth 
 century and boasting a magnificent library and chapel. 
 The present building occupies the site of the elder one, 
 and is not more than a hundred and fifty years old. Many 
 of the monks devote themselves to literary pursuits, many 
 have gone forth as missionaries and teachers. Whatever 
 the abuses and faults of these institutions, the same spell 
 is cast about them that enthrals everything connected with 
 
THE DANUBE. 
 
 201 
 
 the Middle Ages, I cannot refrain transcribing the de- 
 fence of monastic life, in the elegant language of Macau- 
 lay. ,, Whatever reproach at alaterperiod may have been 
 justly thrown on the indolence and luxury of religious 
 orders, is was surely good, that in an age of ignorance 
 and violence there should be quiet cloisters and gardens 
 in which the arts of peace could be safely cultivated ; in 
 which gentle and contemplative natures could find an 
 asylum, in which one Brother could employ himself in 
 transcribing the Eneid of Virgil and another in medita- 
 ting on the Analytics of Aristotle; in which he who had 
 a genius for art, might illuminate a Martyrology, or carve 
 a crucifix, and in which he who had a turn for natural phi- 
 losophy might make experiments on the properties of 
 plants and minerals. Had not such retreats been scattered 
 here and there among the huts of the miserable peasantry, 
 and the castles of the ferocious aristocracy, European so- 
 ciety would have consisted merely of beasts of burden 
 and of prey." Sq the spell of enthusiasm sheds itself 
 upon the memory of those days, when religious fervor 
 bore upon all the commonest events of life; when the 
 world was teeming with the excitement produced by pil- 
 grimages to the -Holy Land; when nature and art were 
 both called upon to demonstrate the feeling; when 
 every day had its Saint; when even the flowers of the 
 field did their part in demonstrating the religious senti- 
 ment; when the road side cross, as well as the towering 
 cathedral, had its crowd of votaries; when imagination 
 cast its embellishment even around the altars of the liv- 
 ing God. I do not pretend to discuss the spirituality of 
 all this, I only know its poetry is delightful. The dedi- 
 cation of flowers to saints was new to me. The language 
 of flowers, so called, Persian born, symbolic of the heart's 
 emotions, is not what I mean, but the significant names 
 
202 
 
 CHAP. XX11I. 
 
 which we utter without a thought of their derivation, 
 awakened new ideas. The Brotherhood who cultivated 
 these flowers, baptized them in honor of holy things. 
 Thus, the Passion flower, the Star of Bethelem, the 
 Lent Lily, Jacob's Ladder, Job's Tears, Monk's Hood, St. 
 John's Wort, and the herb Trinity (the tricolor pansy), 
 these and a host more, could be enumerated, we have 
 heard them so called all our days without an association. 
 ,, Canterbury Bells" will now have a cathedral sound 
 within my ears, and our ,, Lady's Slipper " be associated 
 with some beautiful Madonna. 
 
 It is the fashion of the present era to endeavor to dis- 
 sipate all illusion, to treat as myth all that beautiful his- 
 toric romance , the facts of which cannot be proved with 
 mathematical precision. They would reduce fancy to hard 
 labor, and imagination, like steam, be controlled for use- 
 ful purposes. I have read of late a clever article from 
 one who passed a day on the Danube, and who has 
 striven to tear down the airy fabric of romance, gathered 
 around the castle of Aggstein and encrusted with its old 
 mouldering stones since the twelfth century. I would 
 take arms against this modern Gothic invasion of one of 
 the most interesting ruins of the Danube; will there not 
 be some few who will join in the crusade? That castle 
 where the unfortunate Coeur deLionwas held in durance, 
 until he was removed to Durenstein further down the 
 river. It has been said ,, all history is an imprisoned 
 Epic." These are its episodes. I like the traditions; I 
 like to think that wretch, the Knight of Schreckenwald, 
 met his reward, that his two brothers who succeeded him, 
 known as ,, the Hounds," because they never missed their 
 prey, met with their deserts Hadmar v. Kuenring went 
 so far as to attack and seize the great seal and treasury 
 of Frederick Duke of Austria, and carry them to one of his 
 
THE DANUBE. 
 
 203 
 
 strongholds. Frederick roused by this, went forth and de- 
 stroyed all the fortress castles except Aggstein, and Dur- 
 renstein, which defied all his attempts, but finally they 
 were mastered by a ruse. A merchant named Riidiger 
 protected by the duke, richly freighted a vessel and con- 
 cealed beneath the cargo thirty men-at-arms. As soon as 
 the watchman in the tower of Aggstein saw the vessel 
 approaching, he gave the accustomed signal with his alarm- 
 horn. Hadmar and his followers threw themselves upon 
 their prey, but were surrounded, pinioned, and carried 
 off prisoners. This Hadmar had been the jailer of Richard 
 Coeur de Lion — a story not founded on tradition alone ; 
 it is an historic fact, that Richard was delivered into the 
 custody of Hadmar at Tyernstein, the old mode of spell- 
 ing Durenstein. Such are ,,auld wives' tales" some will 
 tell you, but they cling to the ruins fast as their ivy. 
 
 Durenstein is the last object of interest as you ap- 
 proach Vienna. It stands on a high granite ridge, en- 
 tirely destitute of vegetation. The ruin is so amalgamated 
 with the grey rocks , it is difficult from some points of 
 view to distinguish between nature and masonry, but on 
 looking back, after you have passed, it is clearly defined 
 against the sky, a great square donjon keep, and lines of 
 battlemented walls stretching from the top of the hill to 
 the water's edge; one's eye lingers long upon it, and the 
 remembrance of the royal knight and his prison hours. 
 This castle was reduced to ruin by the Swedes in 1645. 
 
 At the foot of the rock stands the village of Duren- 
 stein, still enclosed by walls and antique gateways, now 
 falling to ruin. It is only remarkable for a curious de- 
 fence made by its townsfolk, who in 1741 repulsed a large 
 body of French and Bavarians. 
 
 A number of water pipes were cut up and painted to 
 look like cannon, which they planted on the walls, and a 
 
204 
 
 chap, xxiii. 
 
 drum was vigorously beaten to impress the enemy that 
 the place was strongly garrisoned. The ruse produced its 
 effect, and the troops marched off in another direction. 
 Durenstein stands on the extremity of a long promon- 
 tory or chain of hills, beyond which the Danube traverses 
 a plain country until Vienna is reached; then the proud 
 river rolls on through many a romantic pass, till it finds 
 vent in the bosom of the Euxine. Its birth-place has been 
 matter of controversy. In the court of the castle of Donau- 
 Eschingen in the Black Forest, a rivulet trickles from a 
 stone basin, and making its way beyond the walls of the 
 domain, is joined by two others equally insignificant : this 
 is the cradle of the „far rolling Danube". The Swiss 
 Alps have disputed the honor for the Inn, which joins 
 the Danube, but remote antiquity has adjudged to the 
 child of the Black Forest the name of its birth right — 
 Donau. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 VIENNA. 
 
 „Life is short and art is long-, yet spare me from thus travelling 
 with the speed of thoug-ht , trotting- fiom day light until dark at the 
 heels of a cicerone, with an umbrella in one hand, and a guide-book 
 in the other." Longfellow. 
 
 Vienna stands almost two miles back from the main 
 stream of the Danube, a branch of which only passes 
 underneath its walls, and connects it with another insigni- 
 ficant stream caller! the Wien, which has the honor of 
 giving its name to the Imperial city. Traversing the ex- 
 tensive suburbs which surround Vienna , known as the 
 New Town; then the Glacis, — a wide open space planted 
 with trees and grass, — roads and walks branching off in 
 in every direction, you reach where a very few years since 
 a wall and fosse enclosed the old town. All the palaces, 
 the Imperial residence, and the museums, are found within 
 the old limits. Established in a hotel within these pre- 
 cints, I prepared for one of those ten day trials of sight- 
 seeing, which to me are perfectly atrocious; a sort of 
 goose -cramming process, which may enlarge one's liver 
 for aught I know, but certainly does not one's under- 
 standing; yet such was my doom in Vienna. I fear my 
 Impressions will savor more of weariness of the flesh, than 
 of any pleasurable sensation; however, to leave Vienna 
 
206 
 
 CHAf». XXIV. 
 
 out, is like,, the part of Hamlet 6mitted,"yet my account 
 of it will be anything but graphic. It was August, the 
 groat „Kaiserstadt," like all other capitals at mid -sum 
 mer, was shorn of its beams. The Imperial family absent, 
 the palaces deserted, open it is true to the inspection of 
 strangers, but the state apartments all muffled in brown 
 holland. The superintendent who shows you round, con- 
 descendingly lifts a corner, and discovers to wondering 
 plebeian eyes the gorgeous brocade or velvet coverings. 
 Monotonous as it' may be, one makes it a duty to see all. 
 The Imperial residences, the Lichtenstein and Ester- 
 hazy palaces etc. Vienna is not completed without. Gild- 
 ing and mirrors and frescoed walls and enormous 
 chandeliers — the same things are repeated time after 
 time, even to the heap of felt slippers in the anticham- 
 bers. These, gentlemen are requested to put on over their 
 boots, to prevent scratching the highly polished inlaid 
 floors, which are as beautiful as delicate marquetrie. We 
 traversed all these places rapidly, saw the delightful 
 Esterhazy gallery, the museums of the Belvedere, the 
 cabinets of antiquities and minerals, the Imperial coach- 
 house, where the state carriage of the Empress Maria 
 Theresa is shown. It resembles as nearly as possible in 
 form, coloring and decoration a soup tureen of genuine 
 old Dresden china, painted with devices of Cupids and 
 flowers on the panels, and filigreed with gilding. To each 
 city there seems attached one name which sheds its pe- 
 culiar interest over the whole, and Vienna certainly is 
 most strongly associated with that of the noble Maria 
 Theresa. The important sieges it has undergone, the 
 important congresses held there, all seem to dwindle be- 
 fore the recollection of this august sovereign, the idol of 
 her people. Portraits of her are multiplied, not only as 
 the young and beautiful bride of Francis of Lorraine, but 
 
VIENNA. 
 
 201 
 
 more frequently as the calm and subdued widow, with 
 her black veil falling on either side her face, a costume 
 she never altered after her husband's death, when she 
 became, ,,the Mother of her people." We went to the 
 church of the Capuchins, only remarkable as contain- 
 ing the burial vault of the Imperial family. A wide 
 circle in the pavement surrounded by an iron railing, 
 throws light down upon the tomb of Maria Theresa and 
 her husband Francis. This monument is elaborately or- 
 namented, and the Royal pair are represented reclining 
 in full costume, with emblems of state about them, not as 
 stiff, dead effigies, but in all the appearance of health 
 and life. 
 
 ,, There, so sepulchred, in such pomp doth lie 
 ,,That kings for such a tomb would wish to die." 
 
 One of the Brotherhood ushered us down a stair with a 
 torch , to visit the recesses of this Imperial vault. It is 
 a great stone chamber receiving air and light only from 
 the circular opening in the church above. The sarcophagi 
 are ranged within this space, some of metal, some of stone, 
 some elaborately ornamented, but the late Emperor Fran- 
 cis II requested a stop might be made to this useless ex- 
 penditure. Certainly the most interesting tomb there, 
 was the one he devoted to his grandson, the young Duke 
 de Reichstadt. It is a simple copper coffin with a raised 
 cross upon it, and the inscription: ,,Napoleonis Galliae 
 Imperatoris Filius." Not far from this, rest the remains 
 of Francis himself, who requested to be laid along side 
 his grandson. Such feelings serve for epitaphs. 
 
 The Empress Maria Theresa, in spite of all the pomp 
 and circumstance attendant on her elaborate monument, 
 which she erected when she was but six and twenty, in 
 the full bloom of youth, was a devoted mourner for her 
 husband, with whom she lived forty two years in the 
 
208 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 sincerest conjugal affection. After his death she repaired 
 on the eighteenth of every month to perform her devo- 
 tions at his tomb. Her grief was as sincere as all her 
 other feelings. She wore mourning till the day of her 
 death. She never afterwards inhabited the state -apart- 
 ments in which she had lived with her husband, but re- 
 mained in a suite of rooms plainly furnished and hung 
 with black. There was no affectation in this sorrow; she- 
 adhered uniformly to this mode of life for fifteen years, 
 and only appeared in public when her presence was ab- 
 solutely necessary. ,,With all her excellencies the Em- 
 press was bigoted and imperious. These imperfections 
 had their sway. One of her daughters, the Archduchess 
 Josepha, a girl of fifteen, was betrothed to the King of 
 Naples, a beautiful engaging young creature, but who 
 looked on this marriage with a sort of horror. While she 
 was suffering under extreme nervous agitation, her mo- 
 ther desired her to visit the family vault and perform her 
 devotions at the tomb of her father for the last time. The 
 young girl expressed her repugnance at the idea; the 
 Empress unused to the slightest resistence on the part of 
 her children, would not allow her authority to be disputed 
 and reiterated her commands with some severity. Jose- 
 pha submitted, descended into the fatal vault, was seized 
 with a cold shivering and nearly fainted away. She was 
 brought back to the palace, sickened the same evening 
 and the smallpox declared itself, — in a few days she 
 was no more. " In the church of the Augustines there is 
 a chapel called the Loretto, where are preserved in silver 
 urns the hearts of the Imperial family. 
 
 One morning while at breakfast, a light tap at the 
 door, and an answer to come in, brought before me 
 one of the Brothers of charity who devote themselves to 
 the cause of an hospital liberally opened to the sick of all 
 
VIENNA. 
 
 209 
 
 nations. I have more than once during my travels fallen 
 in with tbese men, who always have impressed me with 
 the beauty of charity. There can be no greater good done, 
 than this caring for the sick and helpless, and there is a 
 modesty and gratitude in the May they ask and receive 
 contributions from strangers, which adds another pleasure 
 to the giving. He urged me to visit the institution, some 
 thing prevented, but I learnt from others the order, clean- 
 liness and good management are perfect. This leads me 
 to speak of the general hospital founded by the Emperor 
 Joseph II capable of holding 3477 patients. It receives 
 annually 36,500. Connected with it is the lying-in 
 hospital, where women may be received in the most secret 
 manner, unseen by any one, obtain medical assistance, 
 and every care, and having recovered quit the house 
 perfectly undiscovered. The child can be left and placed 
 in the foundling hospital. There is something in all this 
 preparation to disguise crime, which is shocking; the ques- 
 tion remains whether the demoralizing effects be greater 
 in such a community, than where no such institutions exist 
 but where infanticide is the terrible result. Legislation 
 I believe has not yet decided. The old cities of Europe 
 contain similar institutions; experience must have taught 
 it was the necessary result of human depravity. I do not 
 pretend to give an opinion, I write Impressions, and 
 certainly the result of what I learnt, produced most re- 
 pugnant ones. A woman is admitted by paying a small 
 fee— those of the first class are permitted to remain veiled. 
 The laws are so stringent, no officer of the law can enter 
 those walls, the fact of an individual's being there, never 
 can be proved in a court of justice; the child can be re- 
 gistered in the office, and the mother receive a ticket by 
 which at any time she can reclaim her offspring. Vienna has 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 the reputation of being one of the most dissolute cities 
 in Europe; how much such an institution favors such 
 result, Heave for others to determine. Next to Paris, it is 
 the most animated, say men, but the time of my visit was 
 unfortunately mis-chosen. Except the concourse of every 
 day citizens, who offered no variety from these of all other 
 German towns, there were no attractions. The court was 
 absent, the Prater empty, the equipages of the nobility 
 dispersed in other parts , nothing left but the monotony 
 of sight seeing, recalling vividly Madame deStaeTs apho- 
 rism: „The pleasure of travelling, is to have travelled." 
 I weary of a mass of things thrust upon me to digest in 
 a hurry; following round with a troop of other people, by 
 no means sympathetic, whose cowhide boots and coarse 
 country cloth clothe an ignorant curiosity; who gape with 
 wondering eyes at what they cannot possibly understand, 
 and crowd those out who do. So it was at the ,,Schatz- 
 kammer" or Imperial Jewel Treasury. I feasted my eyes 
 however on the coronation regalia of Charlemagne, taken 
 from his tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle. Something real, tan- 
 gible, connected with my favourite hero — crown, sceptre, 
 sword, shoes, all actually worn by him. There were also 
 the numerous relics, absurd as usual, the arm bone of St. 
 Anne, and a bit of the table cloth used at the Last Supper, 
 with a long list more displayed at the time of the corona- 
 tion. This treasure chamber contains a mass of things, 
 from the almost invaluable collection of precious stones, 
 down to the swords of heroes, and the horoscope of Wal- 
 lenstein. This, a circular enamelled plate, with the figure 
 of a lion in the centre and cabalistical emblems around 
 it, mixed with the signs of the Zodiac. 
 
 Here also are preserved the coronation robes of that 
 would-be modern Charlemagne — Napoleon — used when 
 
VIENNA. 
 
 211 
 
 crowned King of Lombardy, at Milan. Imitating bis great 
 predecessor, be placed the crown upon his own head, 
 using the memorable words: ,,Dio me la diede; guai a 
 cbi la tocca! " It is a curious fact this coronation crown is 
 studded with false jewels, evidently only intended to pro- 
 duce a theatrical effect. Tbo old iron crown of Lombardy 
 still remains at Monza. 
 
 A mere cursory survey of this museum of. curiosities 
 at the tail of a crowd , and a cicerone haranguing its me- 
 rits in a sing-song style, did not satisfy me; however I 
 learnt what a portable altar meant. Mary Stuart carried 
 one to the place of execution and gave it to one of her 
 attendants, just before she laid her head upon the block. 
 I remembered the fact, but not till I saw it in this museum 
 did I understand what it was. They pretend to own the 
 identical one. 
 
 These house altars (Haus-Altarchen) are composed 
 of a frame with two wings which fold over it like a book. 
 They are of all dimensions, sometimes small enough to 
 carry in the hand, or hang up over the bed, sometimes 
 quite large and used to decorate the altars of side chapels 
 in churches, devotional pictures are enclosed in them. 
 So I left the Schatzkammer with at least a new idea to 
 add to my small store. 
 
 After loitering through the gorgeous palaces of Vienna, 
 through its richly stored museums and valuable galleries 
 of pictures, I turned my footsteps towards the great Ca- 
 thedral of St. Stephen's, which again awoke in me the 
 old reverence inspired by Gothic architecture. From the 
 glare and buzz of the outer world, I found myself in the 
 solemn gloom and silence of this great temple. The gran- 
 deur of its immense proportions, the rich glow of its an- 
 cient stained glass, its elaborate carvings, its enormous 
 
 14* 
 
212 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 columns, its monuments, its atmosphere laden with the 
 perfume of incense, all tended to produce that quiet se- 
 riousness so nearly akin to prayer. Ruskin says, speak- 
 ing of shadow in architecture ,, seriousness imposes more 
 than lyric gaiety in poetry; in riction, the depth and dif- 
 fusion of gloom tell upon those sentiments of sorrow, of 
 which life is full." So the solemnity of these huge cathe- 
 drals produces a vague dreaminess, a sensation of rest, 
 that eternal want of the human soul we are ever seeking 
 but never find. The tower of St. Stephen's is considered 
 a master-piece of Gothic architecture, 465 feet high. In 
 the north-west angle is shown the stone bench where 
 Count Stahreinberg, the brave govenor of Vienna during 
 the memorable siege by the Turks 1683, used to recon- 
 noitre their camp. The city was assaulted by the Turks 
 to the number of nearly three hundred thousand. The 
 citizens and students were all under arms , reduced to 
 bread and water, when Sobieski appeared and signals 
 from the Kahlenberg mountains announced relief. Then 
 followed that complete overthrow of the Turkish army, 
 which fled, leaving their camp a prey to their enemy. 
 Sobieski was proclaimed ,,the saviour of the city", the 
 Emperor Leopold who had tied to Linz returned and did 
 penance before the altar, a taper in his hand. 
 
 Vienna like Berlin is not the resort of foreigners who 
 take up their residence for a time abroad. It is an ex- 
 pensive place , and the climate is very unhealthy. All 
 these cities situated on rivers, are subject to typhus, but 
 Vienna has besides, an atmosphere prejudicial to the 
 lungs. I was told by a celebrated physician that the sta- 
 tistics of pulmonary disease were three quarters in Vienna, 
 whilst in other cities they were only half or one third. 
 The difficulty of gaining admission into society is another 
 
VIENNA. 2 13 
 
 objection to a residence here. Strangers maybe partially 
 admitted, bnt when among them, do not l'eel welcomed. 
 The strong rooted prejudices of birth are felt to that de- 
 gree that , for instance, if* a woman cannot prove a de- 
 scent dating four generations on each side the house, she 
 cannot be admitted at court , although her husband's po- 
 sition may be recognized there. Hedged in by such laws, 
 of course the circle is limited: so the ,, Quintessence of 
 Cream", as they call themselves, forms a small body in 
 Austria. A lady told me (she belonged to the skim milk 
 nobility, only a Baronne) that at supper she would not 
 dare to place herself at table with the Countesses ; should 
 she do so, they would soon make her feel she was not in 
 her place, and give her the cold shoulder; not in the li- 
 teral English sense however which is far the politest, 
 where if a guest stays too long, a cold shoulder of mut- 
 ton is served up for lunch, but an actual back turning. 
 
 Heave Vienna to better informed travellers, conscious 
 that my experiences there are hardly worth the writing. 
 The Prater, that scene of gaiety and excitement , was si- 
 lent and abaudoned. This formerly was reserved for the 
 use of the Imperial family and nobility, but under Joseph, 
 eldest son of Maria Theresa, it was thrown open to the 
 people. In vain did the ,, Essence of Cream" remonstrate 
 that hitherto it had been the exclusive privilege of the 
 nobility to drive there, and exhibit their august persons ; 
 this protestation was met by the Emperor with the answer: 
 ,,Were 1 only to associate with my equals, I should be 
 compelled to descend into my family vault and spend 
 my days amid the dust of my ancestors." The ,, Prater" 
 consists of a series of low wooded islands formed by arms 
 of the Danube, which wander about and rejoin the parent 
 stream farther down. Broad avenues are cut through, 
 
214 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 leading to coffee houses where you are served under the 
 trees according to the German fashion. On Easter Mon- 
 day the display at the Prater takes place, when the great 
 world appears in splendor with new equipages and dash- 
 ing liveries, and among them the humblest conveyances 
 of the citizen class. These cut in the line, in their old 
 shabby vehicles, with just as much freedom as the prin- 
 cely four-in-hand with its plumed chasseurs. The Prater 
 is divided into two parts; the first where the great world 
 exhibits ,, its fantastic tricks before high Heaven, ,, and the 
 people's Prater, behind the coffee houses, called the 
 Wiirstl Prater from the great quantity of ,,Wurstle" or 
 sausages which are consumed during the holidays, and 
 which are cooked in the open air. The holidays held here 
 are pretty much like the ,,Vogelwiese" in Dresden: mu- 
 sic, dancing, shows, and eating -booths, noise, revelry 
 and beer. The Prater is nearly four miles long. During 
 my short stay in Vienna, I saw none of the uproar, it 
 was mid-summer, I only know it as a beautiful park in- 
 terspersed with noble trees, through which, now and then, 
 you see at a distance peaceful herds of deer and glimp- 
 ses of the Danube. Joseph II lived a century too early ; 
 his leading idea was the happiness and freedom of his 
 people, but like all innovators, he wrenched up old pre- 
 judices which, like strong trees, are too deeply rooted to 
 transplant in a day. He was in consequence immensely 
 unpopular with the nobility, finally he became their mor- 
 tal enemy, by condemning one of their caste, Col. Sze- 
 kuly, to be put in the public pillory for swindling and 
 PrincePodstatsky-Lichtenstein to sweep the public streets 
 for forging bank notes. 
 
 Regardless of the power of hereditary prejudice he 
 arbitrarily upset every existing institution, convinced it 
 
VIENNA. 
 
 215 
 
 would be for the public welfare. He met with opposition 
 from every quarter — lived to see the ingratitude of his 
 people, who were not qualified to understand his motives, 
 and died discouraged, to be succeeded by his brother 
 Leopold, who restored the ancient regime, under which 
 theAustrians are living to this day, a pleasure loving in- 
 dolent, handsome race. 
 
I 
 
 t 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ,,Je sens que j'aimerais en Ame'rique les nouvelles 
 villes et les nouvelles lois. La Nature et la Liberte 
 y parlcnt assez a l'ame pour qu'on n'y ait pas besoin 
 de souvenirs: inais sur notre vieille terre il faut du 
 passe." Mad. de Stael. 
 
 I left Vienna for Prague. 
 
 What curious associations are cherished from one's 
 earliest years, almost without knowing it, till some cir- 
 cumstance bring them to light. Prague, „the Battle of 
 Prague" who that has lived forty years, but remembers that 
 tremendous ,,cheval de bataille", that grand triumph of 
 piano skill, envied by all school-girl performers. The march, 
 the trumpet call, the big guns fired, down on the bass 
 notes, cross handed, the moans of the wounded, I declare 
 for the moment, I used to imagine myself Frederick the 
 Great himself — ,. Sans pareil", as they called him. So 
 had Prague fixed itself as a word, stowed away in one of 
 those cells of memory, where old things sprout sometimes, 
 but which had never been brought to light again till now 
 that I was about to visit this, one of the most interesting 
 of the old towns of Germany. Such were my thoughts 
 as I was hurried by steam from Vienna, and landed 
 in the Grab en , at the „ Black Horse," one of the. best 
 hotels in Germany. 
 
 There are days in life when everything seems bright, 
 existence sits lightly, a bland sunshine pervades all one's 
 
220 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 being. The ancients termed these our White days". It 
 was emphatically a white day with me, the one in which 
 I went forth to visit the beautiful city of Prague. Driv- 
 ing through the Altstadt, or Old German town, with its 
 quaint houses and narrow streets, we emerged upon the 
 bridge of St. Charles, built over the Moldau, which di- 
 vides the city. It was begun in 1358 and not completed 
 till 1507. It is ornamented by twenty eight statues or 
 groupings in brown stone, among them that of St. John 
 Nepomuk, distinguished by a cross and five stars radiating 
 from it. The legend is, that he was thrown from this 
 bridge and drowned in 1381 by order of King Wences- 
 laus , because he would not divulge the Queen's confes- 
 sion. Miraculous flames were seen nickering in the water 
 over the spot where the body sank; curiosity was excited, 
 the body recovered, and John of Nepomuk became thence 
 forward the patron saint of bridges. His canonization 
 took place in 1729 by the Pope, and the most extraordi- 
 nary splendor was displayed. The festival, which lasted 
 eight days, was participated in by the whole of the Aus- 
 trian monarchy, in fact by all Catholic Christendom. 
 Vienna was the scene of unusual pomp. The interior of 
 St. Stephen's was hung with purple, the courtiers and ci- 
 tizens vied with each other in splendor. Almost the whole 
 population of Bohemia poured into Prague, more than 
 four hundred processions of townships, bearing offerings, 
 came as to a pagan sacrifice : Altbunzlau, with garnets and 
 rubies, Konigsgratz with pheasants, Chrudim with 
 crystals , Czaslau with silver, Kaurim with evergreen 
 plants , Bechin with salmon , Prachin with pearls and 
 gold .sand, Pilsen with a white lamb, Saaz with ears of 
 corn etc. The whole city and its innumerable towers 
 were splendidly illuminated; an immense procession 
 marched to Nepomuk, the birth place of the Saint, with 
 
PR AO TIE. 
 
 banners, and figures of the Virgin. Menzel calls this Pa- 
 gan, but it is rather a traditionary custom, similar to the 
 tributes paid at the Jewish Temple, when the tribes gave 
 according to their ability. ,,Let the men of his place help 
 him with silver and with gold and with goods and with 
 beasts, besides the freewill offering for the house of God 
 which is in Jerusalem." The Roman Catholic ceremonies 
 naturally grew from the original of the Jewish Temple, 
 but assuming a new signification, ,,the priests vestments, 
 the candlesticks , the tribute money and the cloths 
 of service, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the 
 garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office, the 
 anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place. ..." 
 
 From the bridge of St. Charles the eyes takes in an 
 immense range of interest. There lies the old town 
 straggling along the river, with here and there an isolated 
 tower. The black ones are those where formerly torture 
 and execution took place, gloomy remindings, ever dark- 
 ening the picture of these glorious old towns. Opposite, 
 on the rising ground, is the spot where Ziska, the blind 
 leader of the Hussites, first intrenched himself; it still re- 
 tains the name Ziskaberg. Further on to the left, are 
 seen the heights of St. Lawrence, with the church erected 
 in memory of his martyrdom by fire, believed to be ex- 
 piatory of the heathen worship there, in early days. ,,The 
 ancient Germans had no temples for the worship of their 
 gods, they kindled fires upon the lofty mountains, or 
 brought their offerings to the lonely shore, or to the re- 
 cesses of the forest and shade of their sacred oaks." Be- 
 fore us lay the ,,Hradschin", or steep hills, capped by the 
 palace of the old Bohemian Kings. Close beside it, the D o m 
 or Cathedral; further on along the hill, groups of stately 
 edifices; again beyond these, the tine old monastery of the 
 Premonstratensians of Strahow, with its lofty towers and 
 
CHAP. XXV. 
 
 dark groves, overhang the river. After passing the bridge 
 we enter the ,, Kleinseite , u where the old aristocratic 
 houses and gardens are found, the city being divided into 
 four parts. The ,,Altstadt u or nucleus of the whole, the 
 ,,Neue Stadt" which embraces it as it were. These were 
 originally divided by a wall and ditch, now filled up, mak- 
 ing what is called ,,the Graben a wide beautiful street 
 where all the hotels are situated. These compose the 
 city on one side of the river; the Kleinseite and Hrad- 
 chin on the other. We bent our steps first to the mo- 
 nastery of Strahow, its name derived from ,,WatchTower, 
 the site having formerly been occupied by one. The view 
 from here, is perfectly enchanting, comprising the exten- 
 sive panorama of the old town and the windings of the 
 river as far as the eye can reach. All was quiet repose, 
 the chapel open, but solitary. We passed silenly through 
 it and reached an inner court, on which the convent 
 buildings face. Our guide knocked at a side-door, it was 
 opened by an old Brother, dressed in a white serge frock, 
 girt about the body with a belt, from which on one side 
 hung a rosary; the whiteness of the serge upon his chest 
 diverging into a light chocolate color, from an inveterate 
 habit he had of taking snuff. Old, lame with the rheuma- 
 tism and somewhat deaf withal, he did not seem a person 
 in whom one could take much interest, and we followed 
 him slowly and in silence, as he hobbled up a long stair. 
 While we are mounting let me observe that Norbert of 
 Xanterre, converted by a stroke of lightning which struck 
 him from his horse, founded the strict Order of the Premon- 
 stratensians in the wild vale of Premontre in France. It is 
 said the monks were so poor at first, their sole property 
 was an ass who carried the wood they cut every morning 
 to Laon, where it was sold to buy them bread, that in a 
 short time they received so many contributions and built 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 223 
 
 so many monasteries, that in thirty years after the foun- 
 dation of their order, they counted above one hundred 
 abbeys in France and Germany. 
 
 Arrived at the head of the stair we found a vestibule 
 from which a large room opened ; here the old Brother 
 stopped and while fumbling in his pocket for the key, 
 looked at us and asked if Ave were English ; on our an- 
 swering we were Americans, he chuckled, laughed, patted 
 one of the young men in our company upon the cheek, 
 opened the door, took me by the hand and led me down 
 a long room lined with books. At the farther end, open- 
 ing a volume that lay upon a table, he ran hisfingerdown 
 a written list of names , and pointed out to us those of 
 two Americans, who proved to have been our fellow pas- 
 sengers across the Ocean. This seemed to interest and 
 delight him, the dear old simple soul. He ran about with 
 childish simplicity fetching us the curiosities of the li- 
 brary to look at. Among these were the autographs ofTy- 
 cho Brahe, and two globes made by him. Disappointed 
 at home, Tycho Brahe was invited by Rodolph II and 
 found a home at Prague, where he continued his astrono- 
 mical observations and died leaving his scholar, the famous 
 Kepler, to pursue his scientific researches. He was buried 
 in the Theinkirche, where afterwards I saw the monu- 
 ment erected to him. It is an effigy rudely carved in re- 
 lief, on a slab of red marble placed against the last co- 
 lumn near the altar ; it bears his motto:,, Esse potius quam 
 haberi" — ,,To be, rather than to appear". The 
 portrait of Ziska hangs in this convent library, but I 
 think I took as much interest in the old Father, as in any 
 thing I saw. The genuine simplicity and real kindness 
 of his manner led me speculating on the comparative 
 happiness of life. Surely I would not seek it in the mo- 
 nastic, as times are, but yet this chafing and collision with 
 
224 
 
 CHAP. XXV 
 
 the world, wearing away the best part of our nature, leads 
 one to pause and reflect, where and what is best for man. 
 A rest within that book -lined hall of the monastery of 
 Strahow, with its wide windows letting in light, dimmed 
 by the shadow of the high trees that rustled their leaves 
 outside, seemed to me the realization of my most earnest 
 idea of human enjoyment, the monastic luxury of rest, in 
 the solitude of a great library, and the power of commun- 
 ing with superior intellect in stillness. The Father ac- 
 companied us down to the court and we parted with a 
 feeling of interest, induced by his kind and earnest man- 
 ner. He refused the fee we proffered, but we insisted it 
 was to buy snuff, and he goodhumoredly accepted it. 
 This visit to the monastery recalled those awful times of 
 religious anarchy and confusion, civil wars, and massacres, 
 of which Prague was the scene; when Protestant and 
 Catholic each in his turn, gave way to all the savage 
 passions of human nature broken loose from reason, and 
 breathing nothing but rancor and revenge. 
 
 The Hradschin or palace of the old Bohemian Kings 
 crowns the high hill. It is more conspicuous from its 
 great extent, than from any outward beauty, said to com- 
 prise 440 apartments. It has been built at different pe- 
 riods, from the time of Charles VI, 1300, down to the 
 year 1756. The four towers now remaining are the last of 
 twenty two destroyed by time or war. Those called the 
 Black and White Towers served as state prisons, and close 
 to the White Tower is one called the ,,Daliborka" which 
 enclosed the usual tortures and horrors of the Middle 
 Ages. There is nothing particularly interesting in the 
 palace itself, but the view from it is the finest in Prague. 
 I went into a private suite of rooms to a balcony, which 
 overlooked the whole, and saw, eighty feet below me, the 
 small obelisks that mark the spot where the unpopular 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 225 
 
 members of the Imperial government fell, when uncere- 
 moniously pitched out of the window of the council cham- 
 ber, in 1618. While on the spot, I will make a digression 
 to a subject which was new to me. The apartment in 
 which I then was, belonged to one of the ,,Damen-Stifte" 
 of the Hradschin , institutions peculiar to Germany. A 
 Stift is an endowment, originally for pious uses, but ap- 
 plicable to any purposes determined by the will of the 
 founder. The earliest were the Monastic Stifte, which 
 date from the ninth century. Again those instituted under 
 royal auspices, for objects of learning etc. But in Germany 
 existwhatis called ,,Familien-Stifte" among the nobility, 
 for the support of indigent members. Where the sons are all 
 noble and cannot enter into civil employments, the re- 
 sult is a class, who are poor and must be supported; so 
 when there is wealth in a family, a Stift is instituted for 
 the education and maintenance of the younger sons. So 
 the Damen-Stift is an institution for poor ladies. That of 
 the Hradschin at Prague was established by Maria The- 
 resa and is inaccessible to any young lady who is not 
 descended from eight ancestors of equal birth on either 
 side. TheProbstin or head of the Stift on the Hradschin 
 is or was a member of the Imperial family, and has the 
 high privilege of crowning the Empress of Austria as 
 Queen of Bohemia. The laws of the Stift only oblige 
 them to remain three months of the year in the institu- 
 tion; they are free to go where they please during the 
 remainder, provided it be within the Kingdom, but they 
 require permission to travel in foreign countries. They 
 enter general society, are not distinguished by any pe- 
 culiar costume, but wear the cross of their order on the 
 left shoulder, and bear the title of,, Madame." They have 
 a suite of rooms, servants, and a carriage, at their dispo- 
 sal. There are at present thirty six ladies at the Hradschin. 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 chap. xxv. 
 
 These Stifte are grafted upon old Catholic institutions ; 
 some only for the members of noble families, some half 
 noble and half daughters of distinguished men; in this 
 respect the law is arbitrary and the institution organized 
 according to the will of the donor. 
 
 The Cathedral stands within the enclosure of the 
 Ilradschin, its beautiful Gothic side is seen to great ad- 
 vantage from the castle. It bears still the marks of the 
 devastations of the Hussites who, like the Puritans in 
 England, in their zeal to destroy Popery, demolished and 
 defaced line works of art. It is almost impossible to con- 
 ceive the horrors of those times. The Emperor Wenzel 
 suffocated in his palace, his death a signal for a general 
 outbreak, every church and monastery in Prague plun- 
 dered, pictures burnt, priests' robes made into flags. 
 
 Yet Ziska found the people too moderate. He armed 
 the peasants with flails bristling with spikes and burnt 
 the priests in tar barrels. These excesses raised a cru- 
 sade against the Hussites , who were forced to come to 
 terms, and peace for a time was restored. The cathedral 
 suffered not only from the fanatiscim of the Hussites, but 
 later again , by the bombardment during the siege under 
 Frederick the Great, when the Prussian artillery made it 
 their target. Two hundred and fifteen balls passed through 
 the roof alone, and the end of the church received 1500. 
 When I reached it the doors were closed, and the sacri- 
 stan had to be sent for. He arrived with a ponderous 
 mass of keys, four of which he applied to four different 
 locks. He told us the church treasure was too valuable 
 to remain under ordinary locks, and certainly we found 
 here the most extraordinary collection of silver extant, 
 in the form of angels as large as life, and ever burning 
 lamps, before the shrine of St. John of Nepomuk, which 
 is considered one of the most costly in the world. I could 
 
PKAGUK. 
 
 227 
 
 not help being wicked enough to think, how much better 
 it could be employed in improving the miserable Austrian 
 currency as it now exists, and I presume from the pre- 
 sence of the four keys, other people might have the same 
 idea. The entire weight of silver is stated at 37 cwt. 
 The body of the Saint is encased in a crystal coffin, and 
 this again enclosed in one of silver, which four angels of 
 life-size bear aloft. Ever burning silver lamps hang above 
 and candelabra of the same precious metal stand below, 
 while four angels seem to float in the air. Below the cof- 
 fin are bas-reliefs, representing the principal scenes in 
 his life, one of these, his torture in the Hradschin, to ex- 
 tort from him the Queen's confession. Latterly there 
 have been added to the church a set of silver lamps one 
 suspended in each of the small arches that form the upper 
 gallery; but it is said the treasure that is visible is only a 
 part of the wealth devoted to the Saint, and that the 
 church plate and mass robes are of the most valuable de- 
 scription. By applying to the Canon of the Cathedral 
 strangers can be shown all these relics. I acknowledge 
 I did not ask to see them, though tradition tells, that .there 
 I should have found the bones of Abraham, Isaac and 
 Jacob, one of the palm branches strewed in Christ's way 
 to Jerusalem, and the pocket-handkerchief of the Virgin 
 Mary. 
 
 The chapel of St. Wenzel, the patron saint of Bohe- 
 mia is a much more interesting relic to theloverof quaint 
 antiquity. It is a dark prison-like place, its walls inlaid 
 with specimens of amethyst, jasper and chrysoprase, 
 serving as a frame-work to a series of fresco paint- 
 ings, executed by order of the Emperor Charles IV, 
 curious as specimens of Bohemian art in the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 The remains are interred in this chapel, his statue 
 
 15* 
 
oriAP. xxv. 
 
 standing under a shrine, is said to have been cast from 
 the first cannon taken from John Ziska, and executed by 
 Peter Vischer of Nuremberg 1420. The brass ring on the 
 door is looked upon with great veneration. Tradition 
 says the Saint had clung fast to it when murdered by his 
 brother in 936 in the church of Alt-Bunzlau. This ring 
 is wearing away by the kisses of the faithful, like the toe 
 of St. Peter at Rome. The cathedral contains the Impe- 
 rial Mausoleum, under which are buried thirteen royal 
 personages. It is of white marble executed by the cele- 
 brated Colin of Mechlin. There are other monuments, 
 chapel shrines etc., too numerous to mention, but all pos- 
 sessing some attraction, making the oldDom a place where 
 one may pass an hour with much interest. It is dedicated 
 to St. Vitus , which name , associated as it is with a ner- 
 vous affection, has often made me wonder if religious 
 dances did not descend by right of invention from St. 
 Vitus. Adjoining the Hradschin are many old palaces of 
 the Bohemian nobility, poor melancholy looking piles; 
 that of Wallenstein remains the only one of any interest ; 
 it is of great extent and encloses a beautiful pleasure 
 ground. Tradition says that in order to make room for 
 this palace one hundred houses were pulled down. He 
 maintained here a royal splendor, his body guard con- 
 sisted of fifty soldiers. Sentinels paraded outside, sixty 
 pages of noble families were educated in his house. 
 When he went from home, fifty carriages conveyed him- 
 self and suite, fifty waggons carried his baggage and fur- 
 niture, which were followed by fifty led horses. His for- 
 tune was enormous, his revenues exceeded six millions of 
 dollars. He employed the fortune left him by his first 
 wife , in purchasing the confiscated estates of the Protes- 
 tants in Prague, after the flight of Frederick. The duke- 
 dom of Friedland was presented to him by his sovereign 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 229 
 
 Ferdinand. All his extensive possesions were managed 
 with great care and assiduity which helped him to build 
 the enormous fabric of his greatness. 
 
 Through an arched stone entrance, the portress led 
 us out into a corridor, open on one side to the gardens, 
 at the end of this is a small chamber, Wallenstein's bath, 
 left as he used it. It is constructed and arranged to re- 
 semble a grotto or cave, barely light enough to detect the 
 decorations, inform of great grey stalactites hanging from 
 the roof and projecting from the sides; about as glum and 
 tasteless an affair as could well have been invented. 
 Beyond is another small chamber where the warrior's 
 portrait still hangs. The sallow lowering countenance, the 
 high forehead, the short bristling hair, depicting that man 
 who w T as reported to be in league with the powers of 
 darkness , and who loved to encourage the idea that he 
 was invulnerable, shrouding himself in mystery and si- 
 lence. Perhaps too he himself cherished such belief, for 
 during his residence in Italy he had studied the dark 
 sciences , more especially Astrology, and had read his 
 future story in the stars. It is well known that an Italian 
 astrologer named Seni, lodged in his house. The chapel 
 for his private use remains just as he left it, a very small 
 closet, lighted by one window, furnished with two orthree 
 arm-chairs covered with striped satin, and a Turkey car- 
 pet spread before a balustrade, over which you look down 
 upon an altar below, where the service was held; religion 
 thus linking itself with superstition, the craving forsome- 
 thing beyond ourselves. It was the speech of one of his 
 contemporaries when, in his last strait, Wallenstein applied 
 for aid: ,,He who does not trust in God can never be 
 trusted by Man. " He met his death by murder counte- 
 nanced, it is said, by his sovereign , who after the deed 
 was accomplished, never being able to obtain proof of the 
 
230 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 conspiracy alleged against Wallenstein ordered three 
 thousand masses to be said for the repose of his soul. 
 
 Opposite the Czernin Palace, which has been left to 
 fall to decay unfinished, stands the,,Loretto Capclla", an 
 imitation or rather facsimile of the genuine one at St. 
 Loretto near Ancona. In former days Iliad been on that 
 pilgrimage, and well 1 remembered the black wooden 
 image of the Virgin covered with diamonds and the Child 
 Jesus playing with an enormous ,, solitaire". The legend 
 runs thus: Mary's cottage once upon a time took flight 
 from the Holy Land and settled upon the sharp acclivity 
 near St. Loretto, and still the wonder grew, till princes 
 and nobles endowed a church, which rose and sheltered 
 the wooden hut. This became its inner shrine , round 
 which pilgrims have crept upon their knees till the pave- 
 ments are deeply furrowed. The building at Prague was 
 erected at the expense of a Princess v. Lobkowitz and its 
 treasury is said to be of great value. 
 
 Returning to the Old Town, one of the most interest- 
 ing points decidedly is the University, not as a building, 
 but remarkable as the first established in Germany and 
 mother of all the rest. It was founded in 1348 by the 
 Emperor Charles IV who thus gave to the kingdom of 
 Bohemia a lustre till then unknown. The fame of its 
 teachers and the privileges granted to its scholars soon 
 attracted students from all parts of Europe. These were 
 divided into four partitions: the Bohemians including 
 Moravians and Hungarians; the Bavarians or Austrians, 
 Franco nians and Suabians; the Poles and Russians; the 
 Saxons including Danes and Swedes. The university 
 was composed of eight several colleges, of which one 
 was the ,, Carolinum". By the original constitution 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 231 
 
 of the university, each nation had an equal vote. This 
 learned body soon developed into importance and pro- 
 duced John Huss," whom she sent as the purest jewel 
 „of her crown to the Council of Constance; but the Fa- 
 thers of that council did not even return her his ashes." 
 The university incited Bohemia, of which it was the head 
 and heart, to swear the oath of Hannibal against Rome. 
 Bohemia had long been ,, infested with the poison of he- 
 resy." The doctrines of Wycliffe had been already intro- 
 duced into the university by English students. The Bo- 
 hemians, a lively people, had gained a rapid advance in 
 civilization over the rest of Germany, and a Bohemian 
 Princess having married Richard II of England, many 
 young Englishmen were led to this university. Through 
 them the new opinions of Wickliffe were promulgated, 
 and afterwards adopted by John Huss who, though a serf 
 by birth, had raised himself by his talents to a professor's 
 chair in Prague, and been chosen confessor to the Queen. 
 The quarrel between the Emperor and the Pope aided 
 his efforts. The Bohemian students became his adherents, 
 while those of Saxony, Bavaria and Poland, strongly op- 
 posed him. John Huss proposed abrogating the rights 
 of foreigners who hitherto had been received upon an 
 equal footing with Germans. The discontent that ensued 
 caused several thousands to quit the university and dis- 
 perse into their respective countries. It was then the 
 Saxons founded the university of Leipzig (1 409). The Ba- 
 varians enlarged Ingoldstadt and the Poles the university of 
 Cracow. Huss was triumphantly named Rector of Prague; 
 hence his well known career which led to his martyrdom 
 by burning at Constance. So was lighted the flame of 
 that religious war of which Bohemia was the focus. The 
 martyrdom of Huss was but the torch applied to inflam- 
 mable matter which had long been accumulating, the com- 
 
232 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 bat of religious opinions. About this period a belief had 
 taken hold of men's minds that the end of the world was 
 at hand, fanaticism exacted reformation. Then appeared 
 the formidable John Ziska. Of unknown parentage, he 
 obtained the sobriquet of Ziska, which means one-eyed, 
 being blind of one. His was however hardly religious 
 enthusiasm, more the desire for liberty of conscience and 
 action, using the ferment of men's minds to serve his pur- 
 pose. Obstinate, vindictive, cruel and invincible, he 
 seemed the incarnate anger of the Almighty. There was 
 nothing of sublime religious enthusiasm in his nature, the 
 moving motive was revenge. A monk it is said had vio- 
 lated his sister and he swore an eternal hatred to their 
 kind. He destroyed all the churches and monasteries in 
 Bohemia; five hundred and fifty of these buildings were 
 left without one stone upon the other. Catholic authors 
 have written pompous descriptions of these sanctuaries 
 of idleness and luxury, which explains the rancor of a 
 poor and laborious population, roused to feel the weight 
 of priestly imposts upon them. The monastery of the 
 royal court at Prague had seven chapels, each as large as 
 a church; on the walls of its garden were emblazoned 
 the words of the whole Bible. But nothing compared with 
 the magnificence of the Benedictines at Opatowitz, founded 
 by Wratislas I, King of Bohemia, in the ninth century, 
 where only wealthy individuals were admitted, and then 
 only on condition they would endow the convent with 
 their fortunes. It was reported to have contained an 
 enormous hidden treasure. When this monastery was 
 pillaged, its monks were put to the torture to force them 
 to confess where their treasure lay, but they went to their 
 graves in silence. No one knows to this day whether it 
 may not still lie beneath the ruin , which fire and the 
 sword spread through the length and breadth of theland. 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 233 
 
 The war of the Hussites was but one long scene of ven- 
 geance and massacres. Men, women, children, none were 
 spared, the history of that period swells into a volume. 
 
 Close to the bridge of St. Charles is the vast pile of 
 the Clementinum facing on four streets. It was originally 
 built in 1653, as a convent and seminary for the Jesuits, 
 that order having been introduced into Bohemia for the 
 purpose of putting a stop to heresy in the land. The 
 university had maintained an important influence, as the 
 rallying point of the Protestants, and the sanctuary of 
 of the Tscheski language , used in Bohemia to the pre- 
 sent day. It is one of the eleven dialects of the great 
 Slavonian language which is spoken by more than one 
 third of eastern Europe. After the fatal battle of the 
 White Hill, when Frederick, Elector Palatine and King of 
 Bohemia, fled and the Catholic Ferdinand ascended the 
 throne, the privileges and faculty of Theology were 
 transferred to the Jesuits' college, the Protestant faith abo- 
 lished, and the Carolinum converted into a school of me- 
 dicine and law. It is at the present day in good repute. 
 The epithet ,, Philistine " which students in Germany 
 apply to those not of their kind, means cockney. The name 
 originated at Prague when the Hussites called them- 
 selves ,, Children of God" and gave those who were of 
 another way of thinking the name of ,, Philistines". 
 
CHAPTER XXVL 
 
 From scenes of devastation and decay which still 
 mar the beautiful face of Prague, recalling the strange 
 unhallowed wars of religious rancor, one turns to visit a 
 spot no less branded by the intolerance of those days, 
 I mean the Jews' Quarter. The Jews of Prague are said 
 to be descendants of the oldest settlement of that perse- 
 cuted race in Germany; the community was larger and 
 more opulent than that of any other city. At the end of 
 the seventeenth century near six thousand industrious 
 men dwelt in that narrow space known as the Jews 1 Quar- 
 ter, where the law forced them to remain and be shut in 
 at night by gates. Habit retains them in their former 
 quarters, where they traffic in old frippery and refuse, 
 but where lurks behind it all, wealth and monied power. 
 Here one marks the peculiar Jewish physiognomy, and 
 as our carriage drove through the confined alley, I had 
 an opportunity to inspect them closely. The passage 
 is so narrow you nearly rub against the houses, which 
 rise many stories high, consequently darken the place. 
 The population pass their time in the street in front of 
 their shops, jabbering with their neighbors, or trafficking 
 their old trash away. I felt conscious we were trespass- 
 ing on their privileges with our carriage, and, ,,as they 
 thrust their heads into the public street, to gaze on 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 235 
 
 Christian fools with varnished faces", I questioned what 
 right we had to do so. 
 
 The old Synagogue is one of the greatest curiosities 
 in Prague. According to tradition, it has stood a thou- 
 sand years. It was dark and smoky, lighted by slits high 
 up in the wall, like the loopholes of a fortress. Lamps 
 were burning, an old Rabbi with a white beard hanging 
 on his breast, was conning over some devotional book 
 preparatory to the Sabbath eve service. Two or three very 
 gentlemanly old Jews with white hair, came in, but we 
 were left to pursue our observations quietly. Beside us 
 stood a person, also curiosity led, whose long black cloth 
 coat and peculiarly cut stock and collar indicated the 
 Jesuit order. He had a marked physiognomy, a quick 
 eye, a nose slenderly formed, inclining to a point, and 
 beneath it a sarcastic expression under compressed lips. 
 There we stood in the old temple of God, the Jew, 
 the Romanist, and the Protestant, each despising the 
 other in his heart, and yet how does St. Paul teach us? 
 — ,,I say to every man that is among you not to think 
 of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to 
 think soberly as God has dealt to every man the mea- 
 sure of his faith. " I pondered over these things as we 
 left, and took our way to the old Jewish cemetery. We 
 found nothing there to touch the feelings, but it is very 
 curious. Hundreds of large massive grave stones till a 
 narrow spot enclosed by a wall crumbling to decay. A 
 few trees, gnarled and black, almost leafless with age, 
 wave their old skeleton arms , meet emblems of death. 
 The crowded earth has upheaved the stones, which pre- 
 sent a confusion and disarray, the rank grass scarce suf- 
 fices to cover. A feeling of disgust crept into my heart 
 viewing this mere mass of human dust, without one re- 
 membrance to consecrate it. The stones are covered with 
 
236 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 Hebrew inscriptions; some are carved at the head with 
 emblems of the tribe to which the inmate belonged; many 
 were Rabbis. There is a curious custom of depositing 
 pebbles and bits of stone on and about the graves, tri- 
 butes it appears, as we bring flowers; many were heaped 
 with them. 
 
 ,,For charitable prayers 
 Schards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on them." 
 
 The origin of this custom I have not been able to dis- 
 cover, but I felt all was hard and stern even in death, to 
 this persecuted race. 
 
 ,, Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast, 
 ,,Wlien shall ye flee away and be at rest? 
 ,,The wild dove h;ith her nest, the fox his cave, 
 Mankind their country — Israel but the grave." 
 
 It has been remarked that in those countries where 
 the laws are most oppressive, there the Jews have in- 
 creased in the greatest numbers; nowhere have they 
 been treated with greater ignominy than in Germany; 
 yet under all these adverse circumstances the vital ener- 
 gies of this people triumphed." Privileged by the Em- 
 perors in former days, they were indispensable but 
 deeply hated. Holding in their power the property and 
 welfare of hundreds, yet cursed and in daily danger of 
 fire, murder or robbery, they lived and multiplied. In 
 presence of Christians, cold, stubborn, patient, and cring- 
 ing, they bowed down under the oppresssion of a thou- 
 sand years, yet all the pride of noble birth, great wealth, 
 and superior talent, the full glow of southern feeling, 
 every kindly emotion and every dark passion were to be 
 found in that race. In former days they found protectors 
 in the Imperial court, in the harem of the Sultan, in the 
 secret chambers of the Pope; with all this they bore the 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 237 
 
 mark of the dishonored stranger; in the Empire they were 
 distinguished by a yellow cockade on their coat, in Bo- 
 hemia by a stiff blue cravat, as they had been in the 
 Middle Ages by the yellow hat, and in Italy by the red 
 mantle. " Little by little in the progress of civilization 
 they are casting off the shackles of prejudice; the world 
 acknowledges at last that they are as other men. Bright 
 shining lights of science and art have appeared in every 
 variety, sprung from the despised race. Mendelsohn at 
 thirteen was a wandering Jewish beggar without health, 
 without home, almost without a language, he spoke a jar- 
 gon of broken Hebrew and provincial German. At middle 
 age he wrote his ,,Phaedon", was a man of wealth and 
 breeding, and ranked amongthe teachers of his age. ,,The 
 noble Jew Mendelsohn," as one of his countrymen has 
 called him, would that all might take him as a model in 
 one respect; he suffered from rudeness, and defended 
 himself only by a rare and happy wit. When he was 
 summoned before Frederick the Great, and the chamber- 
 lain in hussar's uniform refused to admit him, taking him 
 for a common Jew, he said: ,,Yes, I am come to chaffer". 
 This perfect moderation excited a universal admiration 
 for him. 
 
 The story of the poor little Jewess singing before the 
 coffee-house doors to earn a few pence, is a pendant to this 
 picture — the sublime, the incomparable Rachel! A long 
 list of names which have become world renowned, artists, 
 musical composers, and men of letters, may be added. 
 Rossini, Meyerbeer, Halevy, Bendemann, Boerne, Heine, 
 Auerbach and a host more, all belonging to the despised 
 race, force men to cast aside prejudices which Providence 
 seems preparing to obliterate. The sentence was passed, and 
 the voice of the prophet denounced, that the Almighty 
 would ,, deliver them to be removed into all kingdoms of 
 
238 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 the earth for their hurt, to bo a reproach and a proverb, 
 a taunt and a curse in all places whither I shall drive them." 
 
 „ Watchman, what of the night? watchman, what of the 
 night? The watchman said: The morning cometh and also 
 the night, if ye will enquire, enquire ye, return — come." 
 
 Turn ye, turn ye. Why will ye die, O house of Israel? 
 
 I left old Prague impressed that it was one of the 
 most interesting cities in Germany. Its crumbling re- 
 mains of ancient grandeur, the wide spread beauty of its 
 environs , its lovely river, and above all its long line of 
 historic association, leave a lasting remembrance. It is 
 connected now by the iron band of union that binds the 
 great cities of Europe together. The facilities of travel 
 are operating in revivifying Prague, as they are doing 
 for many another old town in Germany, and Progress, 
 ,,that fervent reformer, whose tread he that puts his ear 
 to the ground may hear at a distance, coming on every 
 road," is at their gates. 
 
 I saw the Rhine in the beauty of its early spring time, 
 afterwards the Danube in the full strength of summer, 
 but if the Rhine gladden the eye with its sunny hills, if 
 the dark Danube now sleeping among its sedges, now 
 dashing impetuously forward, fills the imagination, so the 
 Elbe comes gently forth from its source in the Schnee- 
 berg and wins quietly its meed of praise. It breaks its 
 way through a range of sandstone hills, wrought into such 
 fantastic shapes, it requires very little imagination to 
 form them into battlements and towers, fortified walls or 
 
PRAGUE. 
 
 239 
 
 ruins. Wild Virginia creepers^red tinged by autumn, were 
 climbing over the rocks, their long ends floating like 
 banners in the wind, clothing isolated peaks, and adding 
 infinitely to the delusion, that these were works of art. 
 The shores gradually merged into meadow land as we 
 approached Dresden. The full harvest moon mellowed 
 the landscape and the dark arches of the beautiful old 
 bridge were clearly defined by the gilded ripple on the 
 water. We landed there, under the Briihl Terrace, with its 
 shaded walks and gay cafes, its music aud ever mov- 
 ing crowd, the favourite summer resort of the citizens. 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 DRESDEN. 
 
 „The prosaic world is a hard nut to crack and many a kernel dries 
 up beneath the thick shell." Bettina Arnirn. 
 
 Thirty years ago , American boys and girls went to 
 school at home, got a smattering of French and ignored 
 the necessity of the German tongue. 
 
 Thirty years ago, old Dresden lay quietly girdled by 
 the Elbe , and if a stray American found his way there, 
 German children wondered why he did not wear his fea- 
 thers and blanket — Veritas ! — Now, Dresden is be- 
 coming a city of refuge to Americans , many of our mo- 
 thers gather up their delicate broods and fly hither to 
 rear them, dreading the atmospheric influences of home, 
 ,,pity 'tis, 'tis true," the cry among us is still for schools, 
 schools established on a firm basis. The Gymnasia or 
 preparatory schools of Germany are all based on one 
 system, and are the lower rungs of the ladder which leads 
 to the University. German boys ascend from the first 
 start, year after year, in gradual progression; habits of 
 study are thus fixed and a system pursued. With us, it 
 is rare that a boy from the age of eight to fifteen has not 
 changed into as many schools as the years in that space 
 counted. It has been the cry of the age, how unsatisfac- 
 
 16* 
 
244 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 tory our Institutions are, — I do not mean of course to in- 
 clude the public schools for the people. In utter despair 
 of accomplishing what we wish for our boys, we bring 
 them to Germany, and the young American without early 
 training, without preparation, is expected to fall into the 
 system at once, and that probably with a very superfi- 
 cial knowledge of the language. He revolts at it, German 
 professors do not understand children's having an opi- 
 nion of their own, our juvenile independents give a false 
 impression, they are tolerated because they pay well, but 
 the German boys do not amalgamate with them, the na- 
 tures are opposed , the one too precocious , the other too 
 retarded. The young American returns home none the 
 better for his foreign education than having been kept 
 a boy, which in our forcing hot -house system, is at all 
 events a point gained. The German educational plan is 
 thorough, but if we wish our sons to profit by it, they 
 must begin at the age of ten and pass eight years at least 
 abroad — few American parents are willing to make this 
 sacrifice, and if they are, what would be the result? Ger- 
 mans. We want our sons Americans. We must reform 
 the system at home, we must turn our serious attention 
 to the evil where it exists , at our own fire-sides. With 
 our daughters I must allow German education produces 
 excellent results. The quiet simplicity of the one, opera- 
 ting upon the quick versatility of the other, tones the 
 character and makes our girls charming. That deference 
 to their elders, that calm perseverance and concentration 
 of the German character balance the impetuosity and 
 unbridled will of ours. There is here a moral atmosphere, 
 which influences the mind, as climate does the body. Ger- 
 man habits and amusements are all tranquillizing. This 
 composure and quiet, this passiveness in fine, which de- 
 generates into monotony in the German women, works 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 245 
 
 an undefined charm, when mingled with the vivacity and 
 brilliancy of the American. I shall naturally be accused 
 of partiality, but that we are the Antipodes of one ano- 
 ther, he that runs may read. What is conclusive in my 
 mind, is the acknowledgment of Germans in favor of the 
 attractiveness of our women. When public opinion has 
 once taken its bent , there is very little use endeavoring 
 to counteract it, but long observation abroad has induced 
 me to hint at the invalidity of what is called educating 
 our lads in Germany. However, year after year the co- 
 lony of Americans increases, and a few words relative to 
 the capabilities of the place may be useful. ,,I think of 
 passing the winter in Dresden," was the vague idea float- 
 ing through my mind without further method or reason than 
 I must pass it somewhere; so I came. A winter in Dres- 
 den is the dingiest of dingy things. The shortest of days 
 and the longest of nights, not to speak of the high sharp 
 winds that come sweeping down the valley of the Elbe, 
 and the coal smoke flecks which so pervade the atmos- 
 phere you never can have clean hands or face, mark this 
 season. But Dresden in the Spring time is a feast of 
 flowers and beauty, and only at the end of May, would 
 I advise the traveller in search of pleasure, to come 
 within its borders. However for that class who come here 
 to establish themselves for a given time, I will recount 
 my experiences. I arrived towards the latter part of Sep- 
 tember. ,,01d Dresden" was a term stereotyped upon my 
 mind, and after my tour in Franconia, and luxuriating 
 in the memories of the Middle Ages, I anticipated some- 
 thing of the same kind here. But none of the poetry of 
 the olden time seems to cling about it, none of the halo 
 of the Romantic Age. It was not till the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, Dresden came at all into notice, the Saxon Princes 
 having made the fortress of Meissen their stronghold, and 
 
246 
 
 CHAP, xxvir. 
 
 a city growing up around it became the Royal Re- 
 sidence. Meissen was entirely destroyed by fire in 1222 
 and then Dresden grew into importance. The great 
 wealth accruing to Saxony from the discovery of the sil- 
 ver mines of Freiberg made their Princes very powerful. 
 Heinrich, who governed at the time of the rebuilding of 
 Meissen, was said to have towers full of money. At a tour- 
 nament given at Freiberg there appeared in the midst of 
 the forest a tree of silver chiselled with consummate art 
 and loaded with gold and silver leaves; those who broke 
 a lance with their opponent were recompensed with a 
 silver leaf; those who overthrew him, with a gold one. 
 These Princes had been strong adherents to the reformed 
 church , but at the end of the seventeenth century they 
 returned to Catholicism to secure the government of Po- 
 land. For a time Dresden seemed to gain in political im- 
 portance and in taste for the arts Then arose those edi • 
 fices built in the cofrrupt style of Italian taste mingled 
 with bizarre caprices, as Forteuil describes them, ,,les 
 palais roccoco, avec leur surcharge de fleurs, leur attirail 
 d'excroissances vermiculees qui les font ressembler aux 
 vieilles pendules de Meissen ou de Sevres." The Theatre 
 and the Catholic Court Chapel are built in this over- 
 loaded style; the Zwinger also, which was originally in- 
 tended as a court to a great palace never begun. Indepen- 
 dently of these, Dresden offers few attractions in its archi- 
 tectural embellishments. The royal palace is a vast 
 gloomy looking building divested of all outward orna- 
 ment. I do not propose speaking methodically of these 
 things, which are to be found in every guide-book, but 
 rather giving my personal experiences and impressions 
 of all I saw and heard. The first move for spending a 
 winter here, is to search for a furnished apartment, where 
 you instal yourself, hire servants, get in fuel, and have 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 217 
 
 a book at the butchers and grocers, always premising 
 that you are to set yourself on the defensive against a 
 system of pilfering which remains an established fact 
 amongst all the servants in Dresden. Their wages are- 
 very low, and they must make up the deficiency some- 
 how; openhanded liberality does not cure the evil, they 
 think you are ignorant, andpilferyou accordingly. Where 
 there exists this entire want of confidence, there is a mu- 
 tual want of respect, and thence, is naturally established 
 a tacit warfare between master and servant. The po- 
 lice regulations are very severe , enforcing them to pre- 
 sent their character-book each time they leave a place, 
 and give the reasons why they do so. As you seldom 
 detect them, you only feel you are cheated, and that in such 
 a small way, it is too niggardly to notice. At the same 
 time it is sufficiently irritating to wish to rid yourself 
 of the individual, who weakens your tea or coffee by sly 
 pinches from the portion given out, and diminishes your 
 sugar bowl by a lump or two, everytime it comes within 
 grasp. The standing armies which make every town a 
 garrison, lead to enormous evil. Where there are such 
 masses of soldiers who are prohibited from marrying, and 
 where there is such a custom as dance houses, which the 
 entire class of servant girls frequent and there meet these 
 men, the consequences may be inferred. Where you find 
 one maid servant who respects herself you meet five 
 hundred who do not. These soldiers who receive from 
 government a bare subsistence, find it very agreeable to 
 have sweethearts who supply them from their masters 1 
 stores the small sweet luxuries of life, in shape of petty 
 embezzlements, and besides these their wages, which the 
 women lavish upon their admirers in one way or another. 
 A part is spent at dance houses , where the fixed tarif is 
 wo cents for a turn in the dance. Old women hire boy 
 
248 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 soldiers to go dance with them; when I say old, I mean 
 women of fifty, without teeth , with strong brown hands 
 who scrub and wash for a livelihood. I have heard since 
 the same custom prevails in Holland only that a beau 
 with an umbrella is paid double. All these things have 
 passed over and over again under my observation, I hear 
 them from all sides among German families that I fre- 
 quent ; it is no traveller's prejudice, it is a fact. The 
 German system is, to pass as much time as possible in the 
 open air. So soon as an infant can be carried from its 
 mother's chamber, it is laid in a wicker waggon on a fea- 
 ther bed; over it, a down one, over that again, a fanci- 
 ful spread, usually of worsted knit work. By this spread 
 the luxury of the individual is recognized: sometimes it 
 is of lace, always elaborately ornamented. These waggons 
 are drawn by the nurses through the public walks and 
 gardens for hours at a time ; here these women come in 
 contact with soldiers lounging about. The quantity of 
 these wicker waggons of high and low degree exceeds be- 
 lief. They are an intolerable nuisance to pedestrians 
 who would like to enjoy the walks in the allees, which 
 extend nearly the whole circuit of the town, and which 
 by the bye were the old moat of Dresden. The city has 
 within thirty years found its way far beyond. If I were 
 asked what were my first impressions of Dresden, I 
 should say, disgust at this spectacle of nurses and small 
 children with all their wants attended to on the public 
 walks, and secondly the remarkable number of dwarfs 
 and deformed people. It is said, and I think with reason, 
 that the mode of binding infants on a feather pillow for 
 six or eight months, induces this tendency to spinal com- 
 plaints. They are very strict in bathing children and 
 sending them into the fresh air everyday, but the race is 
 bloodless 5 there is but little of that glow of ruddy health, 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 249 
 
 so exquisitely developed in the Anglo Saxon races. Among 
 the poor it might be attributed to unhealthy diet, but the 
 same tone of coloring prevails among the children of the 
 better orders. Speakiug of those people who have the 
 misfortune to be unlike their fellows, deformed or dwarfed, 
 they do not as with us. sensitively shrink from society, 
 there is in this respect an amiable benevolence which is 
 a beautiful trait in the German character; a deformed 
 person does not consider himself a Paria, but goes out 
 and enjoys himself at cafes and operas, without feeling he 
 is an object of compassion. But to return to my lodging 
 where I am established with my German servants. Dinner 
 is one of the worries of life: here it has a world of an- 
 noyance connected with it; either you must make up your 
 mind to be desperately cheated by your cook in under- 
 standing with the butcher, or you must provide yourself 
 from a Restaurant. I chose the latter, which can be ac- 
 complished in Dresden from eighteen pence a head up to 
 a dollar, and one is served accordingly, but then be it re- 
 membered , you are at the mercy of German cookery, 
 where sweet and sour appear under very different circum- 
 stances from their appointment with us. ,, Kalbfleisch " 
 and ,,E,indfleisch" mean Veal and Beef in the dictionary, 
 but concocted by German cooks lose their type and be- 
 come incomprehensible. I will not enter fully into gas- 
 tronomic dissertation, but would warn the unwary stran- 
 ger to prepare his mind, that when they propose to him 
 a ,,Bifstek" it is very possible he will find it a pulp re- 
 duced by beating into the form of sausage meat; or a 
 „Rostbif" served stewed with sugar and raisins, touched 
 up with a little vinegar. Soups made of beer or elder- 
 berries, apples or chocolate, are not unfrequent. All the 
 family of Krauts: red Kraut, frizzled Kraut, green 
 Kraut, brown Kraut, small Kraut, great Kraut, up to th.e. 
 
250 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 supreme Sour Kraut, being things of course. All the 
 preparations of meal however, are excellent: bread of 
 every variety, and plenty of fruit, so that one does, after 
 some experience, manage to find enough to satisfy one's 
 appetite, if not one's habitual tastes. You fall naturally 
 into the habits of a country, and it is wise to do so. The 
 simple roll and cup of coffee in the morning, the dinner 
 hour between one and two, the after dinner coffee at four 
 and the evening repast resembling what we call a coun- 
 try tea at home, is the routine by which animal life is 
 sustained in Dresden. During the fine autumn days we 
 employed our time in making excursions about the neigh- 
 borhood. At the Linke'sche Bad, just out of town, there 
 is a garden on the Elbe, where the most celebrated bands 
 perform, and where the citizens assemble to take their 
 coffee in the open air. This purely national custom is 
 at first somewhat repugnant to our habits , but one soon 
 falls into it; parties assemble round a table under the 
 trees, where coffee and cakes are brought to them. To a 
 stranger without acquaintances, there is a tameness in this 
 too often repeated, but to the inhabitants who meet their 
 friends there, either by accident or by agreement, it has 
 a social bearing far preferable to the exclusiveness we 
 practise. I have seen the best bred people at one table, 
 and the small artisan with his family at another beside 
 them, each respecting the rights of the other, enjoying 
 the same amusements with that quiet decorousness which 
 perhaps could not be compassed in our land, where com- 
 mon people think lawlessness is independence. 
 
 One must see the Germans at home to appreciate them 
 truly; so soon as they shake off the trammels of their own 
 laws and come to us, they hardly know how to under- 
 stand the absence of restraint, and become often boorish 
 — of course I refer to the lower orders. This manner of 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 251 
 
 living in the open air is so usual, that any house which 
 owns the smallest bit of court yard, and there are many 
 such in Dresden, is sure to have an arbor or a small pa- 
 vilion commanding the street. Here the ladies sit and 
 sew, the gentlemen smoke, and the after dinner coffee is 
 served. Climate influences habits almost altogether. I 
 do not think that sudden transitions of temperature are 
 as common as on our side of the globe, nor the heavy 
 dews which render it unhealthy, to remain sitting in the 
 open air long after sunset. Neither are they annoyed 
 here in Germany by those hosts of insects found in our 
 prolific climate. All those varieties of tree worms, and 
 caterpillars, spiders, hardbacks, gnats and mosquitoes, seem 
 to be peculiar to our land ; at all events in Germany from 
 North to South , in the course of many summers , I have 
 never seen any one inconvenienced in their out-door re- 
 pose under the trees, by any such interlopers. The mos- 
 quito does exist, I have seen him, and heard his sere- 
 nade; but his character is tame compared with that of 
 his transatlantic brethren: he is not cunning, sharp, and 
 indefatigable as a yankee mosquito, who, if he do not 
 succeed the first time, comes at you again and again, 
 till you are furious, as pious Martin Luther was with the 
 fly. The German is a quiet, drony kind of a thing, that 
 would if he could, but generally gets knocked down the 
 first slap. 'And of all those hoppers, black, brown, and 
 green, that enliven our grass and spoil our muslin dresses, 
 one does not see three in a summer. My researches 
 in Natural History are none of the most profound, evi- 
 dently, but the insect tribes, if they do exist, certainly 
 keep somewhere else, and never disturb the coffee drin- 
 kers under the trees. Who knows but tobacco smoke 
 may have its influence. As the autumn days shorten, the 
 garden seats are less in request, till at last musicians and 
 
252 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 all find themselves in a vast hall filled with chairs and 
 tables, where the company arrange themselves in the 
 same manner and remain till nine or ten at night, the 
 women knitting and sewing, the men smoking and 
 listening to the finest brass bands in the world, perform- 
 ing every variety, from a symphony of Beethoven's to 
 a polka mazurka. Such is one of the national habits, 
 and there is a simplicity and quiet in this kind of en- 
 joyment which we, who require more stimulating plea- 
 sures , must not condemn. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Travellers ne'er did lie, 
 Tho' fools at home condemn them." 
 
 A drive of three hours carries you from Dresden over 
 a splendid road winding through a valley among the 
 mountains, with the usual accompaniment of a brawling 
 stream. Turning abrupt points, that bring out lovely 
 views, you reach the tiny village which nestles at the 
 base of the Weesenstein, with its curious castle built 
 against the side of the mountain. Here the Royal family 
 of Saxony generally pass a few weeks each summer. It 
 was purchased by the late king, and is one of those cas- 
 tles of the Middle Ages dating from the twelfth century. 
 The better part of the year it is under the custody of a 
 keeper, who shows strangers the curiosities of the place. 
 Nature had here planted an enormous mass of rock, in 
 the shape of a tower, having its base at the foot of a moun- 
 tain rising straight up, but adhering to it. The architect 
 is said to have begun at the top, and built downwards, 
 excavating deep caves in the rock. By a pathway slightly 
 ascending, you enter a court, where you see the base or 
 root of the natural tower of rock; from here a stair takes 
 you to the apartments of the castle. These are compli- 
 cated mazes. Long corridors twist round and round, 
 paved and arched with stone, the intricacy of which I 
 could not fathom ; now, up a corkscrew stair, into a ves- 
 tibule , and the guide would tell you , you were at the 
 top of the castle. Then he would turn you into another 
 
254 CHAP. XXVIIT. 
 
 passage up a few steps, open a low door, and show you 
 the cellars dug out of the rock; this cellar mind ye, was 
 high up in air, on the side of the mountain. Up, up, a 
 little further, and you turn again into a stone paved cor- 
 ridor; here you are shown the Monks' Chapel and a 
 square place paved over, once used as a cemetery. Just 
 beside opens a low arched door, cut in the rock, there you 
 pass into the chamber of torture. You are now some- 
 where half way up the mountain. Yonder is the secret 
 entrance for the judges, there hang the iron rings, there 
 are the deep -arched niches where the condemned were 
 bricked up alive, all this comprised under one roof, so 
 arranged that each and every part is separated from the 
 other. The voice of revelry might ring from the banquet 
 hall, and the moan of the tortured rise from the rock pris- 
 on unheard by each ; but they have mingled there above, 
 before the throne of the Almighty Judge. The spot 
 wrought up o n my imagin ati on .That square bu rial place now 
 paved over, not a memento left, how much sin and agony 
 must have gone to its account there! I groped my way 
 into the torture chamber; a small grated aperture, deep 
 in the rock above, admitted a sort of twilight, I could 
 feel the red torch light as it must have fallen upon those 
 dark Judges, I could see the solemnity of those Monks 
 who, while shriving their victim, felt they were doing God 
 service, but I felt too a sort of veil shadowing my mind, 
 even in the realization on the spot: Could such things 
 have been? The history of Mankind is so fraught with 
 horrors, that we may in vain turn its pages to find any 
 age , where cruelty and vice have not had their proto- 
 types, even as in these torture chambers. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 And holly crowned Christmas, 
 
 With laughter and glee, 
 
 Showers plenty and pleasure 
 
 On every degree. Old Song. 
 
 Dark and gloomy comes on the winter, shorter and 
 shorter grow the days; but snow does not appear till 
 December. I opened my window one morning expecting 
 to see the same drear winter scene of leafless trees and 
 ground sheeted with snow, and was agreeably surprised 
 at sight of a perfect wood of green fir-trees, which had 
 sprung up in a night, some disposed in clumps, some in 
 lines, of all heights and dimensions. Then I remembered 
 Christmas was near, and the national custom of providing 
 for each household a Christmas tree. It really amounts to 
 a superstition. The house is hardly blessed unless the 
 blaze of the ,,Lichterbaum" lights up its Avails. 
 „Beautiful Christmas! when men become children again, 
 when they rejoice with the little ones, for surely it is the 
 child's festival. But what is the cause of all this joy? We 
 feel , to us a Child is born , to us an Heir is given , for 
 ages it was anticipated, for ages has been honored , the 
 beautiful child Jesus in his mother's arms. " So spake 
 the village pastor, and it is even so with all of us. The 
 little children rejoice, forbid them not, for of such is the 
 kingdom of Heaven. The reign of childish glee is short. 
 
256 
 
 CHAP- XXIX. 
 
 And they brought gifts those wise men of the East. I 
 have often thought whether that be the origin of the 
 custom, or must we seek it further back among the Ro- 
 mans, whose festival for the birth of the Sun was kept 
 with social feasts and mutual gifts. Also at the new year, 
 the citizens of Rome lay gifts at the feet of their protec- 
 tors and patrons : a piece of silver, a napkin, a fish, some 
 olives, ribbons, a wax figure, or the like. Between 
 friends, dates, dried figs, or honey were sent as sweet 
 wishes for the ensuing year. It is wonderful to what re- 
 mote antiquity we can trace some of our commonest cus- 
 toms. For several days there was a running to and fro 
 in Dresden of boys and girls carrying home the Christ- 
 mas trees, as if ,,Birnam wood" were again upon the 
 march. Then came the child's fair, held for the whole 
 week preceding Christmas day; booths are put up in the 
 market-places and in all the adjoining streets, tables are 
 spread out with glittering ornaments of cut paper and 
 tinsel, collections of dolls and toys, gilt walnuts, colored 
 balls, variegated paper lamps, sugar fruit, and ornaments, 
 in fact all the usual paraphernalia that go to decorate a 
 tree. The custom is so universal, and the preparations 
 so extensive, that the expense is trifling compared with 
 our attempts at home. But let me not forget ,,Pelz- 
 nickle ", who is represented under every form and size, 
 the Fur Man, whose office it is to peep into every house- 
 hold just before Christmas, to learn if the children are de- 
 serving. We have some such tradition about ,, Santa- 
 claus" with us. The sale of Pelznickles seems to be the 
 perquisite of little poor boys, who have rows of them on 
 tables and who torment the passers-by to purchase. One 
 of the Queen's ladies annually comes with a servant 
 carrying a large basket, and makes a grand sweep from 
 the Pelznickle tables, but somehow they are inexhaustible 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 257 
 
 as the hydra heads. In Germany the presents prepared 
 are not confined to the class of fancies. Christmas is con- 
 sidered more the period when children receive their new 
 clothes and young girls their ball dresses, such things com- 
 ing as a favor from their parents, not as a right. The whole 
 domestic system is founded on affection and family union. 
 So the child is more happy showing his new pair of shoes 
 because mamma gave them at the Christmas tree, than he 
 would be for half a dozen such pairs, received in the course 
 of the year. On the Sunday before Christmas, we went to 
 see the feast given for the Charity School children. An 
 immense hall had three tables spread the whole length of 
 it , covered with white cloths. At intervals stood 
 great evergreen trees loaded with lights, and, placed 
 under them, parcels of clothing etc. all numbered. The 
 spectators were ranged on benches set against the walls. 
 At one end of the room a Turkey carpet was spread and 
 some velvet armchairs placed for the Royal family. The 
 Queen came with the two elder Princesses and their 
 attendants. The children then filed in, 267 of them, made 
 their bow as they passed the Royal ladies, and took their 
 places along the tables, opposite their respective numbers. 
 A hymn was then sung; after it an address from a clergy- 
 man and at the end, when ,,Amen" was pronounced, the 
 children sang together. Then came a ,, Gloria", in which 
 all joined. The Queen after this inspected the children 
 and took special notice of a few who were presented 
 to her as particularly good, and spoke kindly to all. They 
 were then told to take their parcels marked with their 
 numbers. Their poor yellow faces lighted up with some- 
 thing like pleasure, and they again filed off, each holding 
 his gift and a large cake the size of a loaf of bread, called 
 „Stollen", and which no one who can cat , goes without 
 at Christmas time. This cake originally is said to have 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 been made in the form of a child in swaddling bands , at 
 present it is only an oval loaf, about a foot long. Christ- 
 mas Eve at length arrives, mothers have been going to 
 and fro all the past week, their pockets and velvet sacks 
 crammed and running over. Mysterious parcels are left 
 at mysterious hours. Everybody is doing something, but 
 profoundly ignores, that every other is doing likewise. 
 The children whisper together, and are wild with excite- 
 ment, they are set to pounding spice or cracking nuts, to 
 keep them busy. The mother and eldest sister are shut 
 up in the mysterious chamber, which is kept scrupulously 
 locked. At four o'clock every body must be ready; it is 
 already beginning to be dark. It grows darker and darker 
 — yet they light only one or two candles — the full blaze 
 of light must come all at once. At five uncle arrives, he 
 slips a bundle into mamma's room — every body is ready, 
 there are some neighbors perhaps who have no children, 
 or old aunts, or young girls who are away from home for 
 the winter — one always can get up a party, though every 
 household seems to have its own business at home. 
 Mamma is ready. Why don't they open the tree room? 
 A heavy hoarse sound — here comes the Pelzman — he 
 is a fur man, with a red cap upon his head, a long beard, 
 and great moustache (our Santaclaus). — He approaches 
 the children, who half afraid, half suspicious it is uncle 
 Alfred, shrink into little heaps — he questions how they 
 have behaved since last year, they hesitate confessions, he 
 threatens, or promises oranges and confections, a bell is 
 rung, and the door flies open ; then there is a rush , and 
 a hurrah, Mamma has outdone herself this year. There 
 rises the great tree, glittering with lights and gold paper 
 chains, and streamers of all colors, with innumerable 
 hanging things of all sorts; all round its base lie the 
 children's presents: toys, books, every imaginable thing, 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 250 
 
 contributions from all tlioir friends, sent in for the occasion. 
 There are side- tables for sisters, and father and mother, 
 and another for the servants. All is glitter and confusion 
 of tongues. The servants from the antichamber enjoy the 
 spectacle, but they are not forgotten, they are called in, each 
 receives a great platter filled with nuts and apples, and 
 an enormous Stollen powdered so temptingly with white 
 sugar, the raisins protruding out in all directions; they 
 have besides dresses, gloves, jackets, a variety of things 
 given them, according to the length of time they have 
 been in the service. It is the custom on engaging a ser- 
 vant, to agree they shall have so much a month and so 
 much at Christmas, paid to them in money, the other pre- 
 sents being optional and depending upon their good be- 
 ll avior. So passes the great national holiday. 
 
 17* 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 After Christmas, the gaities begin, which are closed 
 by Shrove Tuesday, going still by the name of the Car- 
 nival though all remnant of the old custom has been abo- 
 lished since the establishment of Lutheranism. Family 
 fetes are given upon every occasion. On marriage an- 
 niversaries, birthdays, baptisms, confirmations, there are 
 always presents sent, or some notice taken of the day by 
 the relations and friends. It is by these little links fa- 
 mily union is strengthened. Mamma's birthday is almost 
 as important as Christmas itself. On many occasions the 
 compliment, is passed of a ,, reveille-matin a band of 
 music at dawn of the birthday performs a choral under 
 the window. The habit of constantly exchanging presents 
 would become very onerous, were it not that useful 
 things are given. A brother will send his sister a box of 
 gloves, or pocket-handkerchiefs, which she returns in 
 kind, by presenting him with some shirts she has made 
 herself. Those who only look on the sentimental side of 
 a gift, will consider this very homely, but simplicity of 
 purpose is the national characteristic, they see nothing 
 in a ridiculous light, there seems an entire absence of ma- 
 lice and ill feeling, each appears to take the other for his 
 worth and to appreciate him accordingly. I have never 
 seen a people on whom outward show makes so little im- 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 261 
 
 pression. The women are quiet and mostly devoid of 
 coquetry; the men reserved and undemonstrative. They 
 quietly listen for hours to serious music , which with the 
 soporific effect of tobacco smoke operates I think through 
 the nerves on the character, producing mild quiet citi- 
 zens. How can the fiery spirit of the Americans amalga- 
 mate with all this V they cannot, they are too much ac- 
 customed to the wide wide world of interest. A German 
 may have a mind of deep research, he will apply himself 
 to one branch of science, in time he will never see or 
 understand anything else. If you suggest an idea out of his 
 beat he is an immense time comparing and getting at your 
 meaning, that is provided he take the trouble at all. One 
 of their own authors says: ,,Even now the greater part 
 of our scholars live like troglodytes in their book - holes, 
 and not having the light of nature lose at once the sense 
 of it. Life to them is only a dream, and dreaming is only 
 their life. Whether the slater has fallen from the roof, 
 or Napoleon from his throne, they say: So? — Indeed? 
 — and thrust their noses again into their books." It is 
 even so with those who pretend to come out of their 
 book-holes and make one in social circles. I have in vain 
 endeavored to converse with such men. A lady once said 
 to me ,, Don't try, he is a Gelehrter (learned man) he is 
 stupid." I did venture, American woman fashion, and 
 got for my pains a vacant stare of misapprehension. Per- 
 haps my subject was classic or artistic, he had been busy 
 all his life with physics or metaphysics , or solving pro- 
 blems in mathematics, nothing beyond interested him. 
 Another time a celebrity, one who has given a new fea- 
 ture to German novel writing, was presented to me. I 
 hoped to find some topic in common, he stared at me with 
 round stretched eyes, made a bow and said: ,,I will fetch 
 my wife," so Madam came and asked me what language 
 
262 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 they spoke in my country, while her relieved husband 
 retired to a corner and drew a long escape-breath. The 
 lady's question only goes to establish what I have heard 
 since, that the learned university men of Germany are 
 fully convinced we speak an Anglo-American dialect in 
 the United States. One of these, who had mastered the 
 English tongue asked very seriously if he would be un- 
 derstood if he travelled in America. I presume the wild 
 imagery used in our western districts leads these wise 
 heads astray. Humor is not indigenous in the Vater- 
 land. They would be seeking for the root of „a streak 
 of lightning through a gooseberry bush," and come off 
 with a prodigious thorn in their finger. I wonder if they 
 make out any better with the London ex-haspirated 
 haiches. The Puritans brought us some good Elizabethan 
 words which we have retained, while they have become 
 obsolete in the „ old home". Among these „pow-wow" 
 was applied by the early settlers to conferences with the 
 Indians, an Indian pow-wow became a fixed term. Eng- 
 lishmen will tell you it is a barbarism derived from the 
 original language of the Seven Nations (vide Coriolanus 
 Act 2, Scene I). 
 
 Vol. True? pow, wow. 
 
 Are our Anglo progenitors generally aware that the term 
 Yankee" is derived from the savage attempt to pronounce 
 the word ,, English", the Indian tongue mellowed it down to 
 ,,Ycngees", and thence our first settlers obtained their cogno- 
 men. There can be no more powerful contrast to the ver- 
 satility of the American mind, than the solid thoughtful- 
 ness of the German. Brilliancy and vivacity are the 
 characteristics of our people. We imbibe in every-day life, 
 full draughts of general information and without being 
 in the least learned , are accustomed to discuss freely all 
 sorts of subjects, German women, however highly edu- 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 263 
 
 cated, are hedged in by national prejudices. The German 
 girl leaving school enters into the routine of ball-room life 
 thence to her wedding and house-keeping keys. Litera- 
 ture is a tiling apart, not an ingredient of every-day life, 
 as with us. New books, reviews, and the whole train that 
 pile our drawing-room tables and are subjects of ordinary 
 comment, the Lares in fact of our domestic hearths, find 
 small space beside the stately ovens of German parlors. 
 They read no doubt in time and place , but it is not the 
 daily aliment, served at one's door; literary Periodicals, 
 along with the loaves of bread and jugs of milk. The 
 mind with us is kept constantly on the alert, and while 
 the German housewives are poring over the advertise- 
 ments in their Anzeiger of a morning, ours are rapidly 
 taking in the great events which are agitating the world, 
 forming their own opinions, while reading the political 
 discussions of the day. In Germany this is rare, a lite- 
 rary woman is a thing apart. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 ,,With forest flowers 
 Whilst summer lasts and 1 lie here Fidele, 
 I'll sweeten thy sad grave." 
 
 There stood an old chapel in a grave yard, which was 
 lent for a period for the English service. I arrived too 
 early at times, and went sauntering about, looking at the 
 stones. Some fifty years had passed since the last inter- 
 ment, it lay neglected and forlorn, a pathway zigzaging 
 through it, connecting the streets in the front and rear. 
 The city authorities put their ban upon it, it was 
 soon removed as a nuisance, the grave-stones were 
 ranged against the wall, and a broad way made 
 through it. It is a melancholy spectacle this, to see the 
 last momories of the dead crumbling to ruin, dozens of 
 beautiful monuments, elaborately carved, lying mutilated 
 on the ground. How many hearts have anxiously raised 
 these parting mementos, to worth, duty, or affection, 
 they too gone to that land from whence no traveller re- 
 turns. It is not in the trim parterres of our day, where 
 grave flowers are renewed and where gardeners are em- 
 ployed , that the thought of the grave overshadows one; 
 these tell of surviving friends who think still, and sorrow 
 for the dead; but where the coarse rank grass grows and 
 thickens around the fallen funeral urn ; where the broken 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 265 
 
 statue of a mother with her two infants alone remain to 
 tell their buried story; there, where the wind is heard 
 rattling among the dead dry branches of the poplars, 
 and the fleece of the rank nettle alone gathers in a grave 
 crown about the sunken stones, a tale of sorrow is whis- 
 pered to the stranger. These are the forgotten dead. Grey 
 lichens veil the stone work, the tributes of respect are 
 nearly obliterated, the soil has upheaved the head-stones, 
 and I could think of nothing in this vast confusion, but 
 the convulsion of that last day, when casting aside their 
 paltry monuments, all will rise to greet their Lord. 
 
 The custom of funerals in Dresden is entirely repug- 
 nant to my feelings. They use an enormous hearse 
 or rather scaffolding, covered with a velvet pall elabora- 
 tely emblazoned with gold trophies; this is drawn by two 
 or four horses, depending upon the rank and fortune of 
 the individual. On either side walk the pall-bearers, and 
 the attendants on funerals, I know not how called, but 
 dressed in black cloaks with black hats in the shape of a 
 general officer's, these cany a lemon in their hand if the 
 disease has been infectious. Preceding the coffin walks 
 the sexton or chief undertaker, in a similar costume; be- 
 side him the sick nurse dressed in black, with a white 
 lace cap and ribbons. After the coffin come the near re- 
 latives walking, followed by carriages, in number accord- 
 ing to the wealth or importance of the family. One pe- 
 culiarity I have omitted to mention. When a friend dies, 
 it is the custom, to send wreaths cf flowers as a token of 
 respect, which wreaths are made with the greatest skill, 
 by a certain class of market women who have them ready 
 daily or get them up on the shortest notice. Camelias and 
 the choicest flowers are used, bound in with myrtle, or 
 ether green leaves , producing a beautiful effect. These 
 crowns are placed about the body as it lies uncoffined, 
 
266 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 and afterwards are attached to the velvet pall. I have 
 seen one of those enormous hearses literally loaded with 
 them. At the grave, after the coffin is lowered, these 
 flowers are cast upon it by the friends. The practice of 
 strewing the corpse with flowers is derived from the 
 Greeks; the early Christians reprobated it as a Pagan 
 observance, but in course of time they too adopted.it as 
 being perfectly innocent, and it became a universal cus- 
 tom in Germany. The desire of paying a last fond tri- 
 bute of affection is deeply rooted in the heart. Among 
 the poetical traits of savage nations there is a touching 
 one recounted of the Seneca Tribe. ,,If a young maiden 
 die they imprison a young bird until it first begins to try 
 its powers in song, then loading it with kisses they loose 
 its bonds over her grave, in the belief that it will not fold 
 its wings, nor close its eyes, until it has flown to the 
 spirit land and delivered its love burden to the lost one." 
 I have witnessed several military funerals , accompanied 
 by music , the solemn death dirge of Beethoven played 
 by those perfect performers ; also funerals of Princesses, 
 and great people; but when Rauch died in Dresden and 
 his remains were sent home to Berlin , a stranger in a 
 strange place, a poor artisan's son, the line of followers 
 were the best in the land, the Royal carriages were sent 
 as a mark of respect, all felt a man of genius had passed 
 away — the name he leaves reflects its glory over Germany. 
 I had known Rauch, had seen the splendid old man at 
 work in his studio where the cast of the Queen Louisa 
 lay. As I turned to leave I could not help expressing the 
 sentiment her monument had inspired. His eyes filled 
 with tears as he said ,, Ah, Madame, il fallait la connaitre". 
 It was she who discovered his talent, when a page in her 
 antichamber, and called the King's attention to it. They 
 sent him to Italy where he studied under Thorwaldsen, 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 267 
 
 and lived to execute their likenesses reposing in their last 
 sleep. To me that darkened chapel at Charlottenburg is 
 the tenderest, most deeply impressive monument of conjugal 
 affection I have yet seen. Resting side by side, they who 
 had suffered and lived so long together, seem at last to 
 have found angelic repose. Here for years the King had 
 brought his children on each annniversary, to deposit 
 crowns upon their mother's grave; here at last, he rests 
 beside her, ,,the beautiful Louisa." 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ,,But all the soul of Music's self was heard, 
 
 Harmonious concert rung- in every part, 
 
 While simple melody poured moving on the heart. 
 
 Burns. 
 
 I have not said one word yet on the subject of mu- 
 sic, that marked element of German life. To one bred 
 under the influences of Italian taste, the scientific Ger- 
 man music is at first incomprehensible. The one dealing 
 with the imaginative passionate poetical feeling; the 
 other, searching, deep, soul-stirring, developing itself 
 slowly, but taking root. I can describe some things , but 
 the words of Bettina Arnim convey so much better the 
 idea I would give, that I must quote them. ,, Harmonious 
 discords, a host of broken sighs and love plaints, which 
 break off into the air like wandering echoes, some, which 
 tear up as it were, long buried memories in the heart." 
 Then those delicious national dances, they make every 
 nerve quiver, and old and young seem to float with them 
 in the mazy round. The children here are brought up 
 under musical influences, and you see things two feet 
 high keeping time in dancing on the gravel walks, as the 
 military bands perform, while the tiny brother or sister 
 in the nurse's arms, imbibes with its milk, harmonious 
 sounds. The ,,Lieder" or love socgs, are perfectly deli- 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 cious. In these the language seems to drop its harsh gut- 
 terals, and softened down by diminutives, expresses all 
 the tenderness of passion. I had the satisfaction of hear- 
 ing Madame Goldschmidt (Jenny Lind) who rarely now 
 treats the public, but with her usual benevolence, before 
 quitting Dresden, she gave two concerts, one for the be- 
 nefit of the poor, and one to bring forward a deserving 
 young artist. I had the good fortune to obtain a seat 
 quite near the piano. To watch Jenny Lind's counte- 
 nance is a study in itself. She is very plain, a com- 
 mon every -day looking woman; her expression not 
 only sad, but indicative of bodily suffering. She begins 
 with a scowl upon her brow, little by little she warms up, 
 her countenance irradiates, glows, till at last her whole 
 soul bursts forth in melody, and I can compare the effect 
 to nothing but setting a dry heap on fire. It catches, a 
 spark or two fly up, then a quivering light, till all at once 
 one great gust sweeps the whole into a blaze! You are 
 carried away by your enthusiasm, and when it is all over 
 you are sensible a sympathetic thrill has passed through the 
 audience, acknowledged by friendly smiles exchanged with 
 your nearest neighbors whether you know them or not. 
 
 Architectuie was honored in the Middle Ages, paint- 
 ing up to the time of the Reformation, but not till after 
 that did music assume the rank it now holds. As Pfister 
 elegantly expresses it all that was solid became aerial; 
 stone work was exchanged for harmonious sounds, and 
 the eternal spirit continued to expand itself in soft breath- 
 ings." While Germany was torn by religious wars, reli- 
 gious music was cultivated by the Italians. The old mu- 
 sic died out in Germany excepting in the church choral. 
 After the peace of Westphalia, Italian taste was intro- 
 duced, even the ,, Kapellmeisters " must be Italians. 
 Everything at that period was based on imitation of the 
 
270 
 
 OTIAP. XXXIT. 
 
 court of Louis XIV. The mon of genius in Germany saw 
 they could not do better than copy the Italians. Thus 
 Sagittarius at Dresden composed the first German opera 
 in the year 1628 after the Italian style. But the musical 
 genius of the nation could not be debased to serve court 
 taste. They felt, there was a deeper sentiment in the Ger- 
 man soul. The awakening first came from the organists 
 of the Protestant churches, hitherto so despised. Seba- 
 stian Bach reproduced the marvellously grand Cathedral 
 chaunt; he was the creator of the new school of German 
 music and is considered one of the greatest geniuses that 
 ever graced the world. Then came Handel creating his 
 immortal Oratorios; then Gliick who first introduced 
 this severe style into opera. His success reached even 
 Paris, and overruled the effeminate taste of a debauched 
 court. Haydn enriched the opera with a splendid variety, 
 till Mozart at length carried opera music to perfection. 
 Beethoven, Weber, Hummel etc., have followed in their 
 traces, making German music what it is at this day, rich, 
 powerful , soul-absorbing. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 ,,And lastly, ((uaking- for the coldo, stood winter all forlorne 
 , .Willi rug-ged head as white as dove and garment all a'torne 
 ,,Forlayden with the icycles. that dangled u|» and downe 
 ..Upon his gray and hoarie heard, and snowie frozen crowne." 
 
 G-olding. 
 
 As the winter advances and the Elbe is frozen over, 
 the season for skating begins. Ladies, gentlemen, boys, 
 girls, people of high and low degree, are seen of a fine 
 day enjoying this pastime on the ponds of water, which 
 embellish the two pnblic gardens, the Grosse Garten and 
 the Zwinger. Every arrangement is made: men are there 
 with heaps of skates to let by the hour; benches are 
 placed for spectators, and little sledges the size of an arm- 
 chair can be had pushed about by a man on skates: these 
 are for ladies who would enjoy the excitement without 
 the effort. The officers and soldiers skate upon the Elbe, 
 and men are employed to keep the surface smooth by 
 sweeping it, over night, and marking the spots where the 
 ice is weak ; however accidents will happen : a soldier 
 fell through this winter and his body was not recovered 
 for some hours. Snow does not fall enough in Dresden, 
 to make sleighing an event anticipated; so that when by 
 accident a good fall comes, it is difficult to obtain a sledge 
 for a drive. The Droschky-men put a bell round their 
 
272 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 horse's neck, so do the carters to mark their coming, but 
 very few sleds are seen. This cold winter weather while 
 I see every one wrapped up to the nose in furs, or heavy 
 cloaks, — the sparrows even, who live in the chimneys, com- 
 ing down to forage for crumbs in the balconies, or win- 
 dow sills, looking like little brown balls of fur, with their 
 rough winter- feather coats; the peasant- women with 
 thick quilted jackets and petticoats; the horses with blan- 
 kets or India rubber coverings; my sympathies are awa- 
 kened for the patient dogs, employed to drag milk carts 
 or coals. The placid bearing of these faithful creatures, 
 as they sit on the cold stones waiting, is touching; most 
 generally however, their owners take good care of them, 
 but unused as I have been to see them work at home, I 
 cannot but think it hard. The milk-cart draws up to the 
 side walk, it is filled with tin jugs, holding about a quart 
 a piece. The ,,Milchfrau" takes out as many of these 
 jugs as she has customers in that neighborhood, and leaves 
 her faithful friend to keep guard over the rest, always 
 careful to put an old rug, or something, on the cold stones 
 for him to lie on; or perhaps an old coat buttoned round 
 his neck. As some of these mastiffs are very large , the 
 coat is not a bad fit. There are, now and then, rich milk 
 dogs, who have blankets and leather harness and collars 
 all bossed with brass, like cart-horses. They keep guard 
 like some other watchman I have heard of, by taking a 
 nap, but if Gretchen stays too long, they get up, shake 
 themselves and look about, wondering what has become 
 of her. Presently she appears, then there is such a tail- 
 wagging whilst she rubs her rough hand over his ears, 
 and there seems such a friendly understanding between 
 them, it does one's heart good to see it, a fellowship even 
 in the stinted quantity of miserable food they consume 
 together. To us who are accustomed to see dogs gentle- 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 273 
 
 men of leisure, or decided Loafers, it is a new thing to 
 find them a working class, but when I look at women of 
 sixty bending under the weight of loaded baskets strapped 
 on their backs, or dragging waggons of coal or kindle 
 wood, I cannot but consider the strong mastiff at their 
 side may be used according to the strength nature has 
 given him for some good purpose. So one by one, our 
 prejudices become rubbed down, and we learn that it is 
 not because we do not do so at home, that these things are 
 not practical. Dog-carts have been prohibited in Lon- 
 don, because they interfered with the great concourse of 
 vehicles, but in a town like Dresden, where most of the 
 streets are quiet, they can trudge on their way unmolested. 
 The absence of private equipages is very remarkable in 
 this city, indicative at once of its want of wealth. Dres- 
 den whosePrinces formerly counted their silver by towers 
 full, who heaped up within their Green Vaults and Gal- 
 leries, treasures of luxury and art, howhas the city fallen ! 
 After the division of Poland and subsequent events di- 
 minished its importance and interrupted its prosperity, 
 Dresden remained stagnant. Its later Princes exhausted 
 the treasury by their extravagance, and while on the 
 one hand Leipzig monopolized trade, so on the other 
 Prussia attracted its artisans by the temptation of larger 
 emolument, and Dresden was left to quiet men of letters 
 and students of the fine arts. 
 
 While Prussia had been rising in the scale of nations, 
 Saxony was reduced to the verge of ruin. She was al- 
 ready burthened with a debt of a hundred million of 
 dollars. For two years the salaries were withheld. These 
 means proving insufficient, they sold Saxon troops to the 
 Dutch and English to defend their colonies. The deep 
 dungeons of the Konigstein and the Sonnenstein were 
 crowded with malcontents. It was during these horrors 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 that Count Zinzendorf retired in disgust, 1722, and 
 founded the institution called „ Herrnhuters ", known to 
 us as the Moravian Brethren. He was banished as a rebel, 
 but allowed to return in 1747 and continue his pious la- 
 bors. When we look back and see the wicked extrava- 
 gance of the two reigns of Augustus, surnamed the 
 Strong, and Augustus III, his successor, we cannot won- 
 der that the country became exhausted. Augustus the 
 Strong expired 1733 leaving three hundred and fifty two 
 children (verily the father of his people). Flemming, his 
 powerful minister, also died, leaving sixteen million of 
 dollars, of which he had robbed the country. His widow 
 was compelled however to return half of it. The most 
 notorious of the King's mistresses, Countess Cosel, had 
 drawn from him twenty millions. Saxony had fallen a prey 
 to the most depraved of both sexes. The fetes given to 
 the Countess Aurora von Konigsmark were samples of 
 this lavish expenditure. 
 
 ,, Mythological representations were performed on 
 an immense scale; festivals of Venus in the pleasure 
 gardens; festivals of Neptune on the Elbe; festivals 
 of Saturn in the Saxon mines; besides tournaments, 
 peasant f£tes , fairs , masquerades , fancy balls , in 
 which the army as well as the whole court sustained a 
 part. There is a description of a fire-work for which 
 eighteen thousand trunks of trees were used , and a gi- 
 gantic allegorical picture which was painted on six thou- 
 sand ells of cloth. One party of pleasure at Miihlberg 
 cost six million of dollars. " 
 
 It was merely a happy chance, that the purchase was 
 made of the Italian pictures which laid the foundation 
 of the magnificent Dresden Gallery. The Green Vaults 
 were the Electors private treasury, heaped with all 
 extravagant baubles imaginable. The cries of the people 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 275 
 
 were unheard. His successor, Augustus III, was personally 
 more moderate, but swayed entirely by bis favourite 
 Briihl, who with a salary of fifty thousand dollars, inde- 
 pendent of immense possessions lavished upon him, strove 
 to outvie his master in luxury and extravagance. He 
 erected his palace in the vicinity of the Royal one , held 
 a numerous court , and the noblest families were glad to 
 place their sons as pages in his household. He raised 
 money by the most arbitrary means, alienated crown pro- 
 perty and sold his master to the highest bidder. The 
 Seven Years' war finished the chapter, and Saxony re- 
 mained impoverished. One of the few agreeable incidents 
 of those times was the respect shown to the Gallery of 
 Dresden. Frederick the Great, after bombarding the town, 
 battering downits churches and laying its streets in ruins, 
 ordered his cannon and mortars to keep clear of the gal- 
 lery — he was imitated later by Napoleon who spared 
 Saxony the mortification of transporting its pictures to 
 Paris. Gradually new institutions have grown up in Dres- 
 den. The city has taken another bent: Saxony is teem- 
 ing with manufactories, a new life is pervading it and 
 under the energetic management of the present King, it 
 is evidently pressing onward. The easy communication 
 by railroads, all over Europe, is gradually producing its 
 effect, rousing up old places which, like Barbarossa, have 
 long lain dormant, with their courts about them, await- 
 ing their doom. Dresden has become a favourite resi- 
 dence for English and American families, whose object 
 is the education of their children , and they cannot do 
 better. It offers every facility and is wonderfully cheap ; 
 for such as seek society, they will find themselves totally 
 at a loss. There is the court where under certain re- 
 strictions you are tolerated, but the Saxon nobility keep 
 to themselves, they do not like either the freedom of 
 
 18* 
 
276 
 
 CHAP, xxxni. 
 
 thought, or freedom of manner, of the Anglo-Saxons. The 
 spectacle once enjoyed, few care the secondyear, to attend 
 court parties. Leaving these aside, there is a very limited 
 circle of gentry who entertain; small coteries exist, 
 which are multiplied ten time ten, so that a stranger who 
 does not remain long enough to form his own, may he 
 invited out many times, and never see the same people. 
 Society offers no point of union, except the subscription 
 balls, which the best of the gentry and military families 
 attend. I never lived in a city where there was so little 
 temptation for display and vanity; no one Corso or public 
 promenade devoted to fashion; people go out to walk for 
 exercise or business, not to look at one another. The 
 Queen and Princesses drive to the Grosse Garten and 
 walk about like private citizens, dressed in the plainest 
 attire, and if you did not see the footman in Royal livery 
 following, it would not enter your head who they were. 
 There is a simplicity and goodness which characterizes 
 this Royal family, inspiring respect and affection. The 
 King is a very learned man and had all his life devoted 
 himself to literature , when he was suddenly called to 
 the throne by the death of his brother, who was thrown 
 from his carriage and killed while travelling. The two 
 Queens were sisters. The widow retired to the Briihl 
 palace, and has never appeared in society since, but de- 
 votes herself to good works. The wonderful contrast 
 of the present reign with what history has told us of the 
 past, demonstrates how changed is public opinion. The 
 finances of the country are all regulated. The King in- 
 spects everything himself. He goes about dressed in an 
 old shabby suit, and you run the chance of elbowing his 
 Majesty in the street without recognizing him. However 
 the respect his conduct inspires, is genuine among the 
 people. He is an early riser, orders his carriage to be 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 277 
 
 in waiting at some unexpected hour, drives to the ca- 
 det school for example; arrives before the superintendent 
 is dressed perhaps; examines the boys and is off again, 
 on some similar inspection elsewhere. Professors have to 
 keep on the alert ; there are grumblers of course, as there 
 always will be in the world , but these can be no com- 
 plaints worth listening to, with such a King. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 ,, Scion of chiefs and monarchs, where art thou? 
 ,,Fond hope of many natious, art thou dead? 
 ,, Could not the grave forg-et thee, and lay low 
 ,,Some less majestic, less beloved head? 
 
 Byron. 
 
 Two lovely princesses have married and died within 
 the short space of three years ; Anna to the heir of the 
 Grand-Duke of Tuscany, — she at least has been spared 
 the mortification of a fugitive life with a prince exiled 
 from his dominions ; Margaret married to the Archduke 
 Charles Albert, Viceroy of Tyrol, brother of the Emperor 
 of Austria. The wedding of the Princess Margaret in- 
 terested me particularly 5 she, but seventeen, he, two or 
 three and twenty, so young and handsome, one's heart 
 went with them. We were admitted to the galleries of 
 the court chapel, cited to appear in full court costume 
 with trains etc. The Royal cortege walked from the pa- 
 lace through a gallery which connects it with the church. 
 As it passed, we formed a line standing. The different 
 members of the Royal family walked apart, followed by 
 their suites. The King and the Archduke went together, and 
 the Queen with the young bride. I was very much touched 
 by the expression of the two, both pale, and clenching as 
 it were each other's hand; the mother with that unmis- 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 279 
 
 takeable expression, ,,I must part with my darling", and 
 a real darling she was, educated by her father and the 
 pride of his heart. The bride was in white and silver, 
 the train, elaborately embroidered, held up by her sister 
 the Princess Sidonia; a Brussels' lace veil was bound on 
 by a crown of myrtle, the myrtle being the national 
 bridal crown, from the simplest village girl, up to the 
 Princesses of the realm; a superstition being attached to 
 it. After the ceremony at the altar was concluded , the 
 bridal party returned through the gallery in the same 
 order, except that the young couple walked side by side. 
 The Archduke bears a strong resemblance to his brother 
 the Emperor of Austria, not handsome but distinguished 
 and high bred. He wore the magnificent Austrian uni- 
 form: white coat and scarlet pantaloons with broad gold 
 stripes down the sides, his breast covered with the bril- 
 liant ribbons and diamond - stars of the Imperial house. 
 He is Viceroy of the Tyrol and our sweet Margaret Avent 
 to Innsbruck to live among those brave and loyal subjects 
 of Austria. 
 
 After the ceremony there was a court reception which 
 lasted three hours : first in the Royal saloon to pay our 
 devoirs of congratulation to the King and Queen, after- 
 wards in a saloon apart, where the Archduke and Duchess 
 received. The ceremony in Saxony requires the guests 
 to stand in a line, and the Royal personages pass clown 
 and say a few words to each: it is very fatiguing for 
 both parties, and it seems to me the plan adopted by 
 other courts, of the guests passing and making an obei- 
 sance, while Royalty remains stationary, is more expe- 
 ditious and much less embarrassing. We were nearly 
 five hours on our feet, but all this fatigue was compen- 
 sated by the pleasure of being witness to this well assorted 
 marriage, and I am sure there were many good wishes 
 
280 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 went up from the hearts of those present. Then followed 
 on successive days court dinners, and a ball, finally a 
 Gala at the theatre. For that night the theatre is at the 
 kings disposal, and it is only by special invitation any 
 one is admitted and then only those persons who have 
 the right to go to court. The Royal boxes are abandoned 
 for that evening, and a temporary arrangement made in 
 the centre of the front row. This space was converted into 
 a drawing room, hung with maroon colored velvet, lighted 
 by gilt chandeliers and filled with velvet armchairs, 
 reserved for the Royal party; the remainder of the first 
 circle, on either side, appropriated to the different am- 
 bassadors and their suites, as also the high functionaries 
 of state. The parterre was left exclusively for officers. 
 The second range of boxes for the military of the highest 
 grades and their families, also for foreigners introduced 
 at court. All this produced a most brilliant effect. The 
 ladies were in full dress, sitting in front; while the back 
 ground of uniforms, covered with gold lace, ribbons, stars 
 etc. made a fine framework to the whole. Everybody was 
 .seated before the Royal party arrived. When they en- 
 tered, all rose and bowed, the officers in the parterre giv- 
 ing three cheers. The young couple advanced to the 
 front and bowed their thanks. After this they ranged 
 themselves, the newly married pair in the centre, the 
 King and Queen on either hand, and the remainder ac- 
 cording to rank. Then the curtain lifted and presented 
 a tableau of Tyrol, with groups of peasants in their cos- 
 tume. The celebrated actress Bayer-Biirk declaimed an 
 epithalamium , which was followed by Gluck's opera of 
 Orpheus. It is wonderful how soon one begins to feel an 
 interest in the reigning families. In Saxony at all events 
 one cannot but respect the domestic virtues and attach- 
 ment of the Royal pair and sympathize most sincerely 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 281 
 
 in the deep griefs the last years have witnessed. Not 
 many months had passed after this auspicious marriage, 
 when the shock fell upon all, that the young and lovely 
 Margaret was dead. She rests in the Imperial vault at 
 Vienna. 
 
 ,,Elle ne commencait encore 
 ,,Qu'a s'eclore, offrant un fond d'or, 
 
 „C'est la fleur la plus parfaite. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 ,,J'aurai toujours an coeur ecrite 
 ,,Sur toutes fleurs, la Marguerite." 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 „And winter ling-cring- chills Ihe.laj) of spring-." 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 The winter creeps on very slowly, but ball going 
 people dance to their heart's content. There are concerts 
 without number, and people go to the Catholic court 
 church to listen to the music on Sundays, which is 
 esteemed veryfine. The theatre too is a never ending re- 
 source. It offers many attractions in Dresden. First you 
 have a succession of standard operas, got up with the 
 greatest care, and as fine an orchestra as can be had in 
 the world. The prima donna Biirde-Ney is considered 
 one of the greatest singers in Europe, belonging entirely 
 to the German school however. Then there are two rival 
 actors, Devrient and Dawison, who produce Shakespearian 
 parts in perfection. The genius of the German tongue 
 admits the translation of Shakspeare, and I have seen 
 numbers of these plays admirably performed. One trait 
 of the simplicity of life in Dresden is, that a lady can 
 go entirely alone to the theatre, without the smallest dan- 
 ger of being annoyed in any way. Women in twos and 
 threes go together, leave their cloaks and hoods in the 
 lobby, where a woman takes charge of them; when the 
 play is over, they are reclaimed for a small bit of money, 
 and the owners walk home as if they were in a country 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 283 
 
 village. You can go about at night if you behave quietly, 
 without the least fear of molestation. The early hours 
 observed have a good influence, the theatres begin at six, 
 and the performance is usually over before ten. The 
 prices are about as with us, a dollar for the first circle, 
 five shillings for the parterre. 
 
 The Picture Gallery is open and warmed six days in 
 the week, three are public ones, on the others you pay 
 about twelve cents entrance. Sunday is a public day, and 
 it becomes a lounge then for the young officers and la- 
 dies, who go to look at each other and walk about with 
 very little thought of the fine arts, I should opine. 
 
 One spot there however is set'apart by public feeling, 
 the Madonna di San Sisto has almost consecrated it into a 
 chapel. I have seen men take off their hats there in her 
 presence. Puritanical commentators would call this ido- 
 latry, I do not. There is a mysterious beauty and sub- 
 limity, a depth one cannot fathom, about this picture 
 which makes one forget the work of $[an , in the sensa- 
 tion of ,, Divinity stirring within us"; a realization as it 
 were of our faith, God incorporated in Man, the Virgin 
 Mother sublime in her mission, holding up to us the pro- 
 mised child. Such a picture as this explains the original 
 sentiment of respect to the mother of God, so miserably 
 perverted by altars and prayers, the mystic binding of 
 Man to his maker, made manifest, inspiring reverence, not 
 worship. There is another shrine to the Virgin in the 
 Gallery, that where Holbein's picture is placed upon a 
 gilded altar. This too is so exquisite one can never tire 
 of it, the purest type of virgin modesty. In the ,,di San 
 Sisto" one feels the young Virgin is tranquilly conscious 
 of her great destiny accomplished; and like all grand 
 emotions, there is a cast of sadness over it. In the,, Hol- 
 bein", that celestial delicacy and simplicity, characteristic 
 
284 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 of the early school of art, is developed; she appears in it 
 only as a vision. The child she holds, is not the Infant Je- 
 sus. The Bin-germeister and his family represented kneel- 
 ing at an altar, praying for the health of their sick in- 
 fant, are answered by this appearance of the Virgin, who 
 takes the little sick child in her arms. The picture re- 
 quires this explanation to understand it properly. 
 
 After the Gallery was removed to the Zwinger, that 
 curiously unique structure was completed. „Zwinger" lit- 
 erally means an enclosure, and as I have mentioned else- 
 where, it was originally intended for the entrance to a 
 great palace which one of the extravagant Augustus's pro- 
 posed building but which was never carried further. 
 Whatever may be said of the false taste and incongrui- 
 ties of the architecture, it certainly imposes upon the 
 senses, and is a most picturesque object with its four por- 
 tals opening on streets and gardens, its pavilions and 
 galleries, — a rich, splendid ornament to Dresden. The 
 Zwinger has become the treasure house of Art, containing 
 the gallery of paintings, the collection of casts, taken from 
 all the finest statues in the world, the museum of natural 
 history, the cabinet of engravings, and the collection of 
 armor known as the ,,E,ustkammer", one of the finest in 
 Europe. Besides a collection of arms of every nation and 
 period, there is a gallery filled entirely with all the pa- 
 rade of armor used in the times of tournaments. War- 
 riors clad in complete steel, bestride horses, caparisoned 
 with trappings all studded with garnets and turquoises, 
 set in enamel , and among the relics of the extravagance 
 of the past, bits and stiiTups, richly embroidered, a set 
 of harness enamelled and set with rubies, another of silver, 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 285 
 
 set with pearl. At the end of the room two knights are 
 represented on horseback dressed in their tilting suits, 
 ready for the ,, combat a outrance" — or duel — all in 
 black, even to the pall-like drapery that covers the horses. 
 The suits of armor are so massive, it was impossible in 
 them to turn the head, or wield the lance, the latter being 
 supported on a rest, screwed fast to the saddle, and the 
 combat evidently must have been a straight forward lunge, 
 without grace, more on the battering ram principle I ima- 
 gine, than the supple elegant tournament combat, that ro- 
 mance has pictured. A succession of suits of armor be- 
 longing to historical personages, occupy another gallery, 
 too numerous to repeat. There are besides other remem- 
 brances, personal eifects of kings and warriors, among 
 them a pair of old boots worn by Napoleon at the battle 
 of Dresden, which if I were a German I should throw out 
 of the window. It had been a source of wonder to me 
 how men could support a weight of armor such as those 
 of the present day have difficulty to lift, but they showed 
 me little suits to fit boys of ten or twelve, who were 
 daily trained to bear the weight. In the castle of the 
 Counts of Erbach in the Odenwald, a suit of armor is 
 shown which belonged to the dwarf of Ferdinand Arch- 
 duke of Austria. This dwarf, Thomele by name, is he 
 of historic fame, who was served up in a pie at some 
 great feast. 
 
 Thecollection of engravings is unsurpassed, offering a 
 complete history of the art by examples from its earliest 
 invention. Beside the public opportunity offered to ex- 
 amine them, an extra fee paid to a professor will secure 
 you his time for a morning, and he will explain and show 
 all that may interest one. Among other curiosities I saw 
 the original of playing cards, on which were represented 
 allegorical figures of virtues and vices, playthings for an 
 
286 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 idiot Prince, perverted from the original intention to be- 
 come a means of evil. Piquet was the first known game. 
 The celebrated ,, Green Vaults", lie on the ground floor 
 of the Royal palace, where windows double barred witli 
 iron, and doors plated with the same, secure the wonder- 
 ful treasure. The old silver is brought out from there to 
 decorate the buffets in the palace on great occasions. I 
 saw it in the supper room at the court balls. The buffets 
 rise from the floor to the ceiling covered with red velvet, 
 on these are ranged the platters, wine coolers, vases, 
 epergnes, and curious drinking cups, all of wonderful 
 workmanship, some by Benvenuto Cellini, all dating back 
 two or three centuries. 
 
 It is said the diamonds alone in the Green Vaults 
 would pay the national debt, and yet they cannot be 
 touched. They are brought out to decorate the Queen on 
 special occasions, particularly at the ,,Fete-Dieu" when 
 she walks in procession around the church. The Royal 
 family are devout Catholics, while their people remain 
 stout Lutherans. With the exception of the uses above 
 mentioned , the treasure lies quietly in its prison house, 
 only opened to the curious, by means of a golden key. 
 Parties club together and pay the three dollars required 
 by the director, who shows you round and explains. In 
 this collection may be realized some of the fantastic de- 
 scriptions in the Arabian Nights ; drinking cups of wrought 
 gold or silver, studded with jewels; ostrich eggs formed 
 into odd shapes, some with silver head, tail and legs; a 
 Nautilus shell , upheld by a stem studded with gold and 
 jewels; drinking horns of like value; pearls of great size 
 which by some freak of nature, have taken certain forms 
 and which cunning workmen have fashioned into mean- 
 ing: such as ,,the Kings Fool", a pearl forming the body 
 and thighs, while gold and precious stones have been 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 2S7 
 
 employed to fit him "with cap and bells, boots and bands. 
 Another makes a burly Fal staff. Cases are filled with 
 such things; rooms are lined with tables and cabinets in- 
 laid with precious enamels, or Florentine mosaics; ela- 
 borately carved ivories, gorgeous enamels on copper, su- 
 perb majolicas, jewels of the crown, diamonds, rubies, 
 emeralds, sapphires, in sword handles , stars, crowns and 
 necklaces. One set of pure pink cornelians set in bril- 
 liants is unique. Sucb, a few only of the contents of the 
 „ Green Vaults," so called from the color of their walls. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Christ is risen and Ihe bells 
 Catch the g-lad murmur as it swells 
 And ehaunt tog-ether in their towers." 
 
 Longfellow. 
 
 And so the time is passed through Lent to Easter. 
 Through the solemnity of Good Friday to the eve of the 
 resurrection, and as the sun rises on Easter Sunday, one 
 grand peal of cannon is heard, reverberating through the 
 length and breadth of Germany, followed instantaneously 
 by the loud voice of the bells from the towers of every 
 church throughout the land. It is magnificent. I cannot 
 express the grandeur of the sensation experienced by this 
 outburst, hailing the day of our Lord's triumph. This is 
 the season appointed by the church for confirmation. The 
 children in Germany are obliged to go through this cere- 
 mony between the age of thirteen and fifteen. There is 
 much pains taken by their pastors for a long time pre- 
 vious, instructing the children in their duties, preparing 
 them by Bible classes, cathechisms etc. When the day 
 for the ceremony arrives, the children dressed in their 
 best and decorated with flowers, appear in the church, 
 accompanied by their friends and relations. The clergy 
 man in the chancel calls each one by name, places his 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 289 
 
 hand upon its head and pronounces the words of consecra- 
 tion. This is an era in a young girl's life, and classed 
 I fear among the sentimental observances of other do- 
 mestic fete. days. They are admitted to the holy com- 
 munion on the following Sunday, when they must be 
 dressed in black. Like the investment of the toga vi- 
 rilis, this blacksilk is their first privilege of womanhood, 
 and esteemed accordingly. All this is commemorated by 
 a family feast. The young aspirant after Christian ho- 
 nors is congratulated by her friends, receives presents 
 and is the heroine of the day. 
 
 The question of sentimentalism in religion is one 
 of deep import, not alone confined to the gala -dresses 
 and rose wreathed brows of German girls. Sentiment 
 is as misplaced here, as were the paint and gilding in- 
 troduced in the corrupt taste of classic Rome, on the 
 pure marble of its statues. I do not know where ori- 
 ginated the pious literature of the present day, that 
 new fangled idea of administering religion in sentimental 
 doses, disguising its severe truths under a veil of spun 
 sugar. I like better the rough scuffles old Luther tells 
 about , between himself and the devil , with his shaggy 
 mane, horns and tail, than this disguising his existence, 
 or at least softening the fact down into ,, a fallen star, 
 Lucifer, son of the morning." It puts me in mind of what 
 was said of Erasmus," he had all the mind in the world 
 to build a church to God , and at the same time would 
 have a neat little chapel fitted up for the devil close by 
 for quiet household devotion." So seems to me this 
 mingling the most serious of religious ceremonies, in 
 which we promise to renounce the world, the flesh and 
 the devil, with feasting and the varieties of dress. All 
 who can compass the expense , get a white dress for the 
 occasion of confirmation, and for a week or two pre- 
 
 19 
 
290 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 viously, it is not uncommon to see advertisements in the 
 family newspaper of ,,A confirmation dress to be sold 
 cheap " or a boy's coat, ditto; boys having the manly 
 privilege accorded them of wearing a tail to their coat 
 when they are confirmed. Seeing is believing, I cut out 
 two advertizements and insert the translation word for 
 word: ,,To Candidates for Confirmation. — A well dis- 
 posed woman will dress hair cheaply and in the newest 
 style. She is to be found in the Louisenstrasse No. 67, 
 second floor. 4 ' — „To Candidates for Confirmation. — A 
 choice of chenille nets and hair rosettes can be had cheap 
 at the thread and needle shop, No.l, Wallstrasse." Com- 
 mon newspaper advertizements contain more of theactual 
 life of a people than elaborated volumes. Ours in Ame- 
 rica teem with monied transactions, lots, houses, expen- 
 sive goods for sale, all savoring of the immortal Dollar, 
 but this is counterbalanced by the innumerable publishers' 
 lists of new books proving we are universally a reading- 
 people. The daily advertizer of Dresden is full of notices 
 of amusements and eating; dance houses (of these I have 
 counted nineteen in a row), concerts, restaurants, and 
 ,, Schlachtfeste the which formidable word means lite- 
 rally a pig-killing. The public are politely requested to 
 come and partake of Schweinsknochel not to speak of 
 sausages, under every form, color, and size: Blutwurst, 
 Leberwurst, Charlottenwurst, Cervelatwurst, Knackwurst 
 and Bratwurst, till old Germany has obtained the so- 
 briquet of ,,Hanswurst" from the multitude of its sau- 
 sage complications in her land. There is another series 
 of advertizements which afford me much entertainment, 
 where umbrellas and old cats figure, both articles deemed 
 of little account by us, at home, where stealing an um- 
 brella is not called petty larceny, and losing an old cat 
 rather a subject of congratulation than otherwise. Cats 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 2<)1 
 
 in Dresden are a rarity, I wondered why, till one day* 
 examining a beantifui mosaic fur foot-carpet, I detected 
 the well known tiger stripes and motley yellow of Gri- 
 malkin's coat in the pattern. Cat poaching is not then so 
 great an absurdity after all, particularly in a land of 
 sausages. 
 
 The Easter season is marked here as it is in all lands 
 by the appearance of colored eggs. I remember Stephens 
 in his „Incidentsof Travel" mentioning when in Palestine 
 being accosted by a boy with an Easter egg and the ju- 
 venile invitation ,,to crack." The origin of this so gene- 
 ral custom of Easter eggs is well known as typical of the 
 resurrection, the germ of life enclosed in the shell, as the 
 body in the tomb, and thence to rise into new life. They 
 are seen under every form, from the dark blue plebeian, co- 
 lored with a bit of logwood, sold at the street hucksters', 
 to the aristocratic gilded specimen in the confectioner's 
 window. They are exchanged as presents, and some- 
 times very valuable objects are conveyed enclosed in form 
 of an egg: a diamond ring, or a bracelet. Some of the 
 prettiest are of porcelain, painted exquisitely; these are 
 perforated, a ribbon passed through, and so hung where- 
 ever one may fancy. 
 
 Now, we begin to look for spring, but it is capricious 
 here as with us, and it is generally cold and rainy ail the 
 month of April. The breaking up of the ice is eagerly 
 watched, this is the spring signal. There is an old cannon 
 whose duty it has been from time immemorial to proclaim 
 the fact, I saw it driven down to the shore, with a troop 
 of boys following, shouting and hurraing. 
 
 When the ice has started, the river rushes onward re- 
 joicing to be free, and the combat at the bridge arches, 
 between the water and the masses of ice endeavoring to 
 escape, is very interesting. I have actually seen crowds 
 
 19* 
 
292 
 
 chap, xxxvr. 
 
 of people loitering on the bridge and contiguous shores, 
 watching it for hours. 
 
 The first of May now asserts its privilege of out- 
 door enjoyments, which the people claim as an established 
 right. These Germans are worshippers of Nature, as their 
 rough forefathers were, and a pilgrimage to see the 
 cherry-trees in blossom at Plauen, is an annual excursion. 
 From the number of fruit-trees planted in the environs 
 of Dresden, it is really an exquisite picture to sail up the 
 Elbe and see the little hills clad in one sheet of blossom, 
 rose-colored and white. At length the day of Pentecost 
 arrives and the whole population is on the move. It is a 
 universal holiday lasting three days, and every one who 
 can , makes an excursion from home. The rail carriages 
 and steam -boats are filled, the townspeople go to the 
 country, and the country-people come to the town, troops 
 of school boys are off on picnic excursions, the gardens 
 and pleasure grounds are crowded with guests. The 
 ,,Maitrank" supersedes for the moment the Beer mug. 
 This is a kind of mild julep, made aromatic by the infu- 
 sion of herbs. The ,,Maiblumen" are for sale in huge 
 bunches (our lily of the valley), actually found here in 
 their native wild nooks, by the peasant -girls, who bring 
 them to market, hyacinths too in great profusion; quan- 
 tities of these latter are brought from the neighborhood 
 of Berlin, where whole fields of them grow wild; the 
 single hyacinth is not so beautiful to the eye, as its culti- 
 vated double cousin, but sweeter by far. 
 
 The festival of Pentecost or ,,Pfingsten" as they call 
 it here, belongs to that old institution of the church, a 
 spring thank-offering for the renewal of the season, and 
 prayer for the success of the crops. There seems a far 
 deeper reason, and I wonder it has not been made a fes- 
 tival of greater solemnity: our Lord's promise fully ac 
 
DRESDEN. 293 
 
 complished; the descent of the Holy Ghost; the procla- 
 mation to Man, of the Eternal Three in One. As it is, no 
 one considers it in any other light than one of the pe- 
 riodical holidays — Pfingstcn, in fact. 
 
 Come with me to the new bridge about May time, and 
 stand just where it touches the shore of the ,,Neustadt u . 
 Here lie the gardens of the Japanese Palace, with their 
 wilderness of lilac trees in full blossom, loading the air 
 withperfume. Thesetoo are among the oldest inhabitants, 
 and to go and see the lilacs in bloom, is another of the 
 early spring pilgrimages of the Dresdeners. From where 
 we stand, on the left beyond, lies the Old Town. You 
 catch the picturesque view of its cluster of buildings, com- 
 prising the palace or ,,Schloss", as we usually call it, 
 the theatre, and the Briihl Terrace; the beautiful arches 
 of the old bridge , and the spires and domes of the city, 
 with the girdle of mountains for a background. Turn- 
 ing to the right, the vine-clatl hills on the road to Meis- 
 sen, dotted with villas; the picturesque craft coming up 
 t he river, furling sail, preparatory to levelling their masts, 
 as they pass under the bridge. Beyond there , a broad 
 plain, with an avenue of fine old trees, where reviews 
 take place and where one may find a tranquil country 
 walk. The picture is ever new, ever beautiful. But I 
 have passed over the ,, Japanese Palace" which sits upon 
 a terrace amidst its garden of lilacs , solitary and quiet, 
 one facade fronting the river, the othei^upon an extensive 
 square where you enter. A single sentinel paces his 
 weary round. The copper roof in its green old age, re- 
 
20 1 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 minds one of any thing but the fine arts, more perhaps 
 ol an anscoured kettle. Yet here is the great ,, Royal lib- 
 rary", and the museums. Beneath also, the famous col- 
 lection of porcelain worth untold gold, or what is more, 
 the bodies and souls of men, who were trafficked away 
 for a portion of it. ,, Earthen vessels exchanged", should 
 have been the Royal traders signboard. This traffic in 
 men by which many of the petty sovereigns of Germany 
 enriched themselves in the, last century, was carried so 
 far, that it was said of them, a couple of thousand years 
 ago, it was said of theTyrians, that ,, their merchants were 
 Princes," we can now say with equal truth, ,, our Princes 
 are merchants. " Little more than a century has passed 
 since the great Frederick struck the first blow in that 
 Seven Year s war, which devastated Saxony and reft her 
 of the finest portion of her domain ; the china vases of 
 the Japanese Palace, recalling his father, and his giant 
 grenadiers to our minds, bring him also before us. And 
 yonder, the Bruhl Terrace overhanging the river, one 
 of the most attractive spots in the Old Town , rivets the 
 name of that minister, who built a palace beside it with 
 the intention of outvying royality itself, and whose ra- 
 pacity and avarice were only equalled by his ambition, 
 lie was tempted by foreign gold. Prussia proposed, and 
 he listened; the offer was made that his master should 
 have the heritage of Poland and part of Bohemia , while 
 Briihl himself was to be endowed with a princedom. Bruhl 
 not only listened, but induced his master to join with 
 Russia and Austria against Prussia. However secret the 
 design , it reached Frederick's ears ; Bruhl by means 
 of false keys, opened the portfolio of the Prussian mi- 
 nister at Dresden^ and made himself master of its con- 
 tents. In return, Frederick did not think it below his dig- 
 nity to furnish Menzel, his Saxon secretary, with falsekeys 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 205 
 
 to examine the archives of Dresden, and obtain a copy 
 of the negotiations. Frederick invaded Saxony with sixty 
 thousand men. This was an infraction of the treaty. ,,Si 
 ces faits ne parlent pas assez, la mine de ce beau pays, 
 devenu le champ de bataille de TEurope, dira hautement 
 a la posterite les suites de cette division funeste." The 
 Seven Years' war caused the death of one million of men, 
 of which seven hundred thousand were Germans; and 
 Saxony became encumbered with a national debt of forty 
 millions, to a population of a million and a half. The 
 fortunes of a hundred thousand families were entirely ex- 
 tinguished. Saxony was the longest in recovering, not 
 only because it had been the theatre of war, but from the 
 rapacity of Bruhl and the reckless extravagance of its 
 King Augustus the Strong. 
 
 The ,, Japanese Palace" lies in theNewTown. It was 
 originally intended for a summer residence, but it is now 
 surrounded by streets and buildings: theNewTown being 
 the quarter where all the casernes and arsenals are si- 
 tuated, and where the military families are obliged to 
 live. It is laid cut with great taste , intersected by a 
 broad allee or promenade planted on either side with 
 trees and terminating at each extremity in an open 
 square. Some of the residences are beautiful, surrounded 
 by gardens and parterres of flowers. The northern rail- 
 way terminus lies here and brings with it life and ani- 
 mation in consequence. Yet few people choose the New 
 Town from preference; crossing the bridge is a serious 
 objection in winter, when the high winds almost carry 
 you off your feet, and though droschky hire is very 
 cheap, yet it does not entirely obviate the difficulty, and 
 the opposite sides of the river seem to be divided by a 
 tacit acknowledgment. The theatre and all the winter 
 amusements are naturally concentrated in the Old Town, 
 
296 
 
 chap, xxxvi. 
 
 whose narrow streets and sickening odors may be over- 
 looked during cold weather. 
 
 Dresden however is putting forth new shoots in its 
 suburbs. Whole streets, as well as fine private dwellings 
 have sprung up towards the south; the vicinity of the 
 Grosse Garten to this quarter of the city is the great 
 attraction, and the English generally congregate there, 
 forming quite a large community. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 ,,For all shall stay 
 „This little one shall make it holiday" 
 
 ,,You must be seeing- christening-s ? Do you 
 look for cake and ale here?" 
 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 I was invited to a baptism, and as I was curious to 
 learn the habits and customs of domestic life in Germany, 
 I accepted with interest. According to the Lutheran 
 church regulations, all children must be baptized by the 
 time they reach six weeks old. Should circumstances 
 prevent, a weekly tax must be paid of one thaler. Rarely 
 is a child of good parentage taken to the church. It is 
 rather considered a day of rejoicing for the family, and 
 every relative is invited, besides as many intimate friends 
 as one may fancy. It takes place sometimes in the eve- 
 ning, sometimes in the morning. If in the morning, a 
 breakfast is given, if in the evening, a supper. I was in- 
 vited at eleven in the morning. The drawing-room was 
 decorated with green-house plants, which are to be hired 
 here for such occasions. In the centre stood, a circular 
 table, covered with a damask table-cloth, round this, was 
 hung in loops, a garland of natural flowers. These are pre- 
 pared and sold at so much an ell, according to the season 
 of the year. This daily demand for flowers, from the 
 established usages, has led to a regular business, and the 
 
298 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 consequent competition among gardeners, results in their 
 being sold very cheap. In February when camelias are 
 in bloom, a superb crown, containing nine white came- 
 lias, upon a ground-work of myrtle in blossom, costs about 
 a dollar and a half of our money. A bouquet of large 
 dimensions, composed of the most beautiful flowers, in 
 mid-winter, costs from two to three dollars, and in the 
 spring when flowers are plentiful, ten or twelve cents buys 
 you a bouquet, arranged with exquisite skill, shaded with 
 the nicest taste, done by the women who sit in the market. 
 At a baptism, there are from six to eight sponsors, equal 
 numbers of ladies and gentlemen, who are paired according 
 totheirages oraccording to intimacy, eachgentleman is ex- 
 pected to present a bouquet to the lady appointed to him. 
 When the clergyman enters, the sponsors range themselves 
 round the table in pairs ; an attendant, who accompanies the 
 clergyman, places a silver ewer and basin on the table; 
 these belong generally to the church. The priest takes 
 his place and begins with a discourse addressed to the 
 parents and sponsors, the monthly nurse enters with the 
 infant in her arms, lying on a cushion — for this occasion 
 dressed in sweeping long robes. Usually the German 
 infants for the first six months, are encased in what they 
 term a ,, Win del," which is not the old swaddling bands, 
 but a pillow, on which it is laid; a flap turning up, meets 
 its waist, and this is generally tied by tapes, but on dress 
 occasions the pillow covers are all frilled with lace and 
 tied with bows of gay ribbons. 
 
 While, the address is going on, the infant is passed in 
 rotation to each sponsor, who holds it a minute or two, 
 long enough to feel the weight of their responsibility I 
 suppose. After this, the priest takes it and very cle- 
 verly tucks the cushion under his arm , holding the head 
 over the ewer; the attendant pours the water in the priest's 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 291) 
 
 hand three times , and he baptizes in the three names 
 of the Holy Trinity, as with us, and signs it with the 
 sign of the cross. It is only now that the assembled 
 party know the name of the child. Some old superstition 
 is attached to the idea that it must not be pronounced 
 familiarly until consecrated by baptism. The father and 
 mother agree together respecting the name, it is then 
 written on a slip of paper and at the time handed to the 
 clergyman, who when he repeats it, surprises often some 
 of those present, who did not anticipate the honor of 
 being thought of. As soon as the child is christened, a 
 veil is thrown entirely over it (the mother's marriage 
 veil usually) each sponsor holds it by the edge, the cler- 
 gyman pronounces a blessing, and repeats the Lord's 
 Prayer; the veil is raised, and the infant has become a 
 member of the visible church. 
 
 The white veil is a custom derived from the primitive 
 church — an emblem of purification accomplished, (as 
 also the swaddling spoken of in Ezekiel). At Catholic 
 baptisms they retain still another part of the primitive 
 ceremony, that of giving infants milk, honey and salt, 
 all typical, — ,, Butter and honey shall he eat that he 
 may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." 
 (Isaiah.) 
 
 The ceremony over, everybody kisses or shakes hands 
 with the mother, and everybody of course lauds and ad- 
 mires the infant, who sleeps placidly on its down pillow 
 quite unconscious of its surroundings. No presents are 
 made by the sponsors at this time, except a dollar or two 
 each gives to the nurse. But at its first birthday, each 
 sponsor sends a remembrance, the usual silver mugs, 
 forks and spoons prevailing. A christening entertainment 
 as well as all others on festive occasions, is particularly 
 gay and animated in Germany where there is an over- 
 
300 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 flow of good feeling and people are not restrained by the 
 false idea that excitement is vulgar. The elder member 
 of the family, grandfather if there is one, stands up and 
 drinks the first toast — generally good wishes to the pa- 
 rents — all rise, every body touches every other body's 
 glass, they go jingling round the table and then come 
 back to their places again; after a while, another friend 
 rises. I was surprised to find so much of the comic ele- 
 ment in the German character, some of the most inge- 
 niously funny things are said upon these occasions, which 
 heightens the good humour, and you return from a 
 family christening with the impression of its being a 
 very genial happy meeting. 
 
 We certainly do not know how to enjoy ourselves as 
 these people do; there is more to be extracted from these 
 small sweet courtesies of life, than we give heed to. The 
 sum of existence is made up of small things, and the mind 
 that can turn them to enjoyment has learned the secret 
 of happiness. All through Germany the family link is 
 strong , and it must be attributed to the social habit of 
 parents, grand-parents, children, all meeting at these 
 numerous family festivities; remembering each other's 
 birthdays, which are never passed over or forgotten — if 
 absent, noticed by letters; excursions, parties of plea- 
 sure, are devised, from which they do not dream of ex- 
 cluding the elders; all go off together, each minding the 
 other's wants, young men attentive to old aunts, or grand- 
 mothers. They do not cast off from the family stem as 
 soon as they married, it is only an extension of the fa 
 mily circle, affection is the genuine element of the Ger- 
 man character. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 ,,You saw ihe ceremony ? 
 ,,How was it? — well worth the seeing? 
 ,,Good, so speak it to us." 
 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 The weddings in Germany are, from beginning to end, 
 more sensible than ours. The betrothal is formally an- 
 nounced by the parents of the bride who send a printed 
 note to all their friends. The young people exchange 
 betrothal rings , and the fact is established. After this, 
 those who wish to entertain them, give parties; the gaiety 
 lasts two or three months; it is not all crowded in with the 
 excitement of the wedding. Afterwards comes the ,,Hoch- 
 zeit", high time, so called in the old German dialect, from 
 its being the best time in a man's life. The night before 
 all the presents are sent in. This evening is called the 
 Polteraben d — from the verb ,,poltern" to make a noise, 
 romp etc., it being an old custom to admit then the friends 
 of the family, who are allowed to make all kinds of jokes 
 and travesties; however this is optional, the custom is 
 dying out, and the parents have substituted an invited 
 party which is considered a ,, farewell". The origin of 
 the Polterabend came from the village, where the eve 
 before the nuptials, the neighbors, boys and old women, 
 serenaded the bride, by thumping on old cracked crockery 
 and kitchen utensils, making as much noise as possible, 
 and were then invited in to a treat. How such a custom 
 
302 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 introduced itself among the better classes, it is hard to 
 say; but the origin is forgotten, and those who cannot be 
 present on the wedding day, take this opportunity to 
 bring a gift or keepsake, introduced with some pleasantry, 
 and destined for the bride. All sorts of masques come; 
 generally there is a shoe-boy bringing the renowned slip- 
 pers, elegantly embroidered for the bride; holding the 
 power in wedded life is expressed in German by, „he 
 lives under the slipper." 
 
 The religious ceremony is always performed in church 
 before twelve o'clock; exceptions are made now and then 
 for an evening wedding, if particularly requested. If you 
 wish a real,, high time", you announce it to thesexton, who 
 covers the stone floor of the chancel with straw mats and 
 places his best chairs in a semicircle round the interior 
 of the railing. A gardener is appointed to bring the 
 choicest exotics in pots, which are ranged pyramidically 
 each side the altar. Just in front is spread a carpet; 
 usually this carpet is a gift from the bridegroom's mother, of 
 velvet or embroidery, about eight feet square, and fringed 
 all around; — on this are placed two stools covered with 
 velvet; on the first step of the altar, two embroidered 
 cushions, also the gift of a sister or a bride's maid, em- 
 broidered by themselves. At a given hour, the party as 
 semble in the vestry room and wait the appearance of the 
 bride and bride-groom who after receiving greetings, pro- 
 ceed to the altar; the bride and bridegroom first, only 
 preceded by two little children, the younger and pret- 
 tier the better, who carry baskets of leaves and flowers, 
 and scatter them in the bride's path ; these represent the 
 good angels, according to the poetical imagination of the 
 Germans. The relatives follow with the invited guests; 
 the young couple seat themselves on the two stools, 
 the others range themselves on the chairs within the 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 303 
 
 chancel; the priest stands on the first step of the- altar, 
 dressed in a black serge gown, and black sknll-cap upon 
 his head. The church is open to all, therefore there ge- 
 nerally is a mixed multitude of spectators; if the parties 
 are well known , it is esteemed a compliment to go and 
 see them married. The priest offers up prayer, then an 
 exhortation which is long and prosy to my mind; it is 
 even said that they often take advantage of this time to 
 point out certain qualifications wanting in the young 
 people, and reminding them of their duties generally, 
 which seems to me very misplaced. After this a hymn 
 is sung by the choir, rings are exchanged, a blessing, and 
 they are married. Again they go into the vestry, where 
 the kissings and congratulations customary upon these 
 occasions, take place. In proceeding through the aisle to 
 leave the church, the bride finds it lined with acquain- 
 tances, who exchange a word or two, as she passes on to 
 her carriage. A large family dinner is then given at the 
 bride's parents if they have room enough; if not, it is not 
 uncommon to orderan entertainment at some distinguished 
 hotel in private apartments, after which the young couple 
 start off on their wedding tour. One of the genuine na- 
 tional customs is, at the dinner table, to unpin the bride's 
 veil and place on her head a little cap ornamented with 
 ribbons and flowers , symbolic of her enlistment among 
 matrons. A young German lady counts very much upon 
 her wedding tour, which is prolonged one or two months 
 according to circumstances. The women here are very 
 fond of locomotion, instance of which is their propensity 
 to throng the watering places. During the young people's 
 absence, the bride's mother prepares a lodging for them, 
 and they go to it immediately, never by any chance re- 
 turn to stay beneath their parents' roof; there seems to 
 be some prejudice against this. And now the young Ger- 
 
304 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIII. 
 
 man lady is installed, and having been well trained before 
 marriage, enters upon her domestic details knowingly. 
 
 Many girls go through a regular course of instruc- 
 tion in cookery, and it is no mean accomplishment either; 
 servants then respect your superior knowledge. The wants 
 of the kitchen, if left in the hands of Dresden cooks, 
 double the necessary household expenses. A young 
 American of an enquiring mind lost his way, purposely, 
 one day, in the lower story of the ,, Harmony ", and got 
 a glimpse of the witches of Dresden surrounding a caul- 
 dron. ,, Bubble bubble toil and trouble." The^y were con- 
 cocting Heaven knows what , but he relates they were in 
 form of trim little maidens with white aprons and sleeves 
 tucked up, displaying the whitest of arms, all under in- 
 spection of a chef who was instilling cooking information. 
 ,,The Harmony" above mentioned, is a club house, the 
 members of which give public balls and concerts, during 
 the winter, and the great rooms can be hired for like oc- 
 casions; the best cook in Dresden presides there. Suppers 
 and dinners can be ordered either in private rooms, or to 
 be sent to one's house. 
 
 The markets of Dresden present very little of that 
 luxury we are accustomed to at home. They have phea- 
 sants and Rhine salmon as their rarities, partridges are 
 common, but that wide range of wild fowl, oysters, 
 fish etc. that we have at command , are naturally want- 
 ing. Carp has to me a flavor of mud, and trout, no 
 flavor at all; oysters are transported from Hamburg, and 
 in the shell are about the size and thickness of a silver 
 dollar, the inhabitant of course in proportion. So when 
 you have a little yellow thing as big as a copper in your 
 mouth, with the flavor of one, you must ,,make believe 
 very hard", to have it taste like an oyster, as ,,the Mar- 
 chioness" invented wine with her orange peel and water. 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 305 
 
 When I tell the people about our common oysters, they 
 make a wry face and exclaim: ,,How disgusting they must 
 be!" So much are we creatures of habit, and here upon 
 the Danube there is a district where snails exist in im- 
 mense quantities which are barrelled up and sent to 
 Vienna by millions, particularly during the Lent season, 
 and esteemed a great delicacy. I have come to the con- 
 clusion that all tastes in eating are the result of early 
 habit and do not proceed from any niceties of percep- 
 tion. Ida Pfeiffer ate monkey and boa constrictor iu 
 her travels and found them excellent. Europeans revolt 
 at our sweet potato and Indian corn, while we in return, 
 cannot endure frogs or Sauerkraut, snails, or beer soup. 
 
 20 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 The Bolls themselves are Ihe best of preachers, 
 Their brazen lips are learned teachers; 
 I'rom their pulpits of stone in the upper air, 
 Sounding aloft without crack, or Haw, 
 Shriller than trumpets under the law, 
 Now a sermon , and now a prayer." 
 
 Longfellow. 
 
 The garrison church in the New Town was completed 
 after more or less years 1 waiting for the spire, which at 
 length came to a point, and nothing was wanting but the 
 great hell. This was cast and lay silently slumbering at 
 the arsenal foundry, waiting the day of its inauguration. 
 The ceremony of installing a bell in office is of very re- 
 mote origin. In primitive times, they were baptized and 
 named after some Saint, but that old Catholic custom has 
 been modified and only retained in part among the Lu- 
 therans. The great avenue of the New Town was alive 
 with preparations, three days before. White columns 
 were planted at regular distances with wreaths of green 
 leaves wound round them, and festooned from one to the 
 other, the summit of each crowned with a vase filled 
 with flowering plants; high masts with flags flying, were 
 p laed here and there. A platform raised, with a read- 
 ing desk upon it, stood covered with a carpet, and decorated 
 with plants in pots, its corners flanked with the statues 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 307 
 
 of the four Evangelists, which were later to be placed at 
 the corners of the church tower. At length the appointed 
 day arrived. The sun shone out gloriously, the ,,lFaupt- 
 Allee" was crowded with citizens in their holiday suits, 
 and soldiers in their best uniforms; a line of guards was 
 posted, everything was quiet and decorous. Opposite the 
 platform a place was assigned to the officers, who came 
 in great numbers in full dress. Then arrived the clergy, 
 and the committee of arrangements; these took their 
 places on the platform. Everything now became expec- 
 tation. The windows were lined with ladies, and every 
 nook below was crowded. Finally we heard music com- 
 ing over thebridge. There appeared a military brass band, 
 accompanying the first bell , drawn by four horses , then 
 came the great bell, crowned with a wreath of green 
 and flowers — twenty strings of flowers hanging from it, 
 the end of each held by a young lady dressed in white 
 muslin , her hair ornamented with green ribbons floating 
 from the back of the head, and green ribbon sashes. 
 Green and white are the national colors of Saxony. Some 
 of these girls were beautiful, some very distinguished, all 
 well looking, well made and well dressed, daughters of 
 Dresden citizens. Nothing can be more charming than 
 a bouquet of girls in their fresh youth; one only felt 
 sorry to see them so exposed to the sunheat, unprotected, 
 but that also seems to be a peculiarity in Europe, people- 
 do not cover themselves from the heat and light as we do. 
 Our first idea would be a sunstroke; but servant girls 
 and peasants are out in the hottest days without any 
 protection to their heads. 
 
 The great bell stopped before the platform, the 
 eldest clergyman rose and made an address, the purport 
 of which was the solemnity of the occasion, but I was too 
 far removed to hear it. After this there rose on the air 
 
 20* 
 
308 
 
 cnAP. xxxix. 
 
 one of those grand German chorals, which are so fine 
 from the national intuitive musical ear. The benediction 
 was pronounced, and the bells and their train passed 
 on up the avenue and stopped in front of the church. 
 Here the ceremony ended. That afternoon they were 
 raised, and a thrill ran through the community, when the 
 voice of the great bell pealed through the air for the first 
 time, like the wail of a new-born, proclaiming the fact 
 of its existence. 
 
 ,,Es klinget so herrlich, es klinget so schon." 
 
 Thus passed this little ceremony, a true picture of the 
 simplicity of German life, unsophisticated, interested in 
 what to others might seem only worthy of a village 
 festival. 
 
 The bells remind me of fires. Here they are announced 
 by the braying of horns , loud enough to bring down the 
 walls of Jericho themselves. This sound of braying is 
 soon caught up by the iron tongues of the bells , tolling 
 out in solemn concert, the whole population is now 
 roused, the army is under arms, the officers must hurry 
 to the casernes, equipped for duty, horses are galloped 
 up to the engine-houses, hooked on and galloped off 
 again to the scene of action, the engine rattling after with 
 two or three men sitting on it, and a troop of boys of 
 course in company. Men, women and children rush after 
 them, the soldiers are ranged in line to protect the pre- 
 mises and keep off the crowd , or pass buckets of water 
 if necessary; people hurry up to the top of their houses 
 to look out, the excitement is „Prodigious". I was 
 deemed eminently courageous because the first time a 
 fire occurred in the night during my residence in Dres- 
 den, I did not immediately rise, dress myself and pre- 
 pare for action. I was too old a New-Yorker to trouble 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 309 
 
 myself much about a cobbler's .stall burning in the next 
 street; besides I had faith in stone houses, with stone 
 stairs. There was not much to be apprehended, and as 
 to the part women play on such occasions, it may be ge- 
 nerally comprehended in the mandate of the sterner sex, 
 ,,to stand out of the way". So I turned over and went 
 to sleep. But eventually I saw all the hubbub by day- 
 light, and accustomed to the magnificent displays of 
 the kind at home , I looked upon the whole as a very 
 poor attempt, literally ,,much ado about nothing". I was 
 not in Dresden when the Great Brewery — known as 
 the Waldschlosschen — burned, which must have been 
 something worth looking at. It has been rebuilt, enlarged 
 and is so profitable an investment, that the proprietors 
 have gained more than they lost by the fire. It stands on 
 an elevation near a wood overlooking the Elbe, and is 
 an afternoon's resort for pedestrians, independently of 
 the celebrity and demand for its beer, far and wide. 
 
 One of the peculiar customs of Dresden is equivalent 
 to what w T e call in the country at home a ,, house raising". 
 When the frame is completed, a green bush is set up aloft 
 at the point of the gable and men say a bottle of rum is 
 broken over it. Frequently one sees a man going through 
 the street, carrying a green fir-tree loaded with streamers, 
 which usually are colored pocket-handkerchiefs, it is 
 going to the celebration ,, Hebeschmaus " of some new 
 house. On this occasion the proprietor is in duty bound 
 to give the workmen a feast. This is the old usage but 
 sometimes he only pays them a gratuity all round. The 
 celebration I witnessed was at a country villa house, a 
 little way out of Dresden. The master builder ascended 
 the scaffolding and made a speech, then filling a glass he 
 hank to the health of the proprietor who was present; 
 after quaffing it, he flung the glass to the ground; if it 
 
310 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 arrive without breaking, it portends the best luck in the 
 world to the owner of the house. This ceremony over, all 
 the workpeople formed themselves into a procession and 
 marched through the village, headed by the man who 
 carried the tree, bringing up before the public house. 
 Here a dinner had been ordered, and the house owner 
 expected to preside with his family if possible; every- 
 thing was conducted in the most decorous manner, like 
 a dinner of tenantry in England. After the Master re- 
 tired there was more freedom and noise, the tree and its 
 streamers were set up in a lottery, and the entertainment 
 wound up with a dance at which all the villagers were 
 invited. All this is done at the owner's expense. In the 
 city naturally the arrangements are not so extensive, 
 where new houses are an every-day event, but they are 
 always dressed with garlands and a treat of some kind is 
 expected by the workmen. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 
 
 The German housewife hurries lo the fair, 
 
 To higgle for the price of some small ware ; 
 
 Perhaps a broomstick, or ai^ earthen pot, 
 
 She knows that pennies saved, are pennies g-ot — 
 
 An aolag-e laug-ht in every tong-ue, I wot. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 The fairs which are held at stated intervals, are a 
 peculiar feature of German cities. The custom is of 
 Saxon growth and was by them introduced into England. 
 There are five held yearly in Dresden, granted by privi- 
 lege, not to be extended beyond three days, no person 
 is allowed to sell any goods after the term of the fair is 
 expired. These still retain among the people the name 
 of ,,Messe" the origin of which is very peculiar. In the 
 early centuries of Christianity when commerce was re- 
 stricted, the habit grew, on the anniversaries of great 
 festivals of the church, when the people assembled in 
 throngs, to bring for sale such articles as were required 
 for the uses of the sanctuary. These wares were exhi- 
 bited in the churchyards, and after service, the traffic 
 began. At first it was confined to wax, oil, incense, car- 
 pets, precious stuffs ; all sold on Sunday and for church 
 purposes, whence the custom of calling it a ,,Messe". 
 These were times, „when religion spread its broad shield 
 over commerce and literature r over earnest and sport; 
 and her presence was not deemed* intrusive." These cus- 
 toms were the same in England. An edict in Queen 
 
312 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 Elizabeth's time, enjoins, that in all fairs and common 
 markets falling upon Sunday, there be no shewing of 
 wares till the service be done." Fosbrooke in liis ,, Brit- 
 ish Mon'achism", tell us, ,,much righting and quarrelling 
 sometimes attended the monastic fairs, so that when one 
 was held within the precincts of a cathedral or mona- 
 stery, it was not uncommon to oblige every man to take 
 an oath at the gate before he was admitted, that he 
 would neither lie, steal, nor cheat, while he continued 
 at the fair." This rernjnds me of what is told of very 
 honest Chinese shopkeepers, who put up a sign, ,,No 
 cheating done here". Before flourishing towns were 
 established, and want of roads rendered means of inter- 
 course difficult, these fairs were held periodically ; by de- 
 grees commodities of every description were sold, and 
 the people came, to supply their wants till the ensuing 
 year. This habit has been so firmly established that 
 even to the present day the thrifty German housewives 
 always wait the advent of the fair, to supply themselves 
 with linen or woollen goods , which the manufacturers 
 send themselves, and which are bought a fraction cheaper 
 than they are found in the shops. Such fairs are entirely 
 confined to traffic, and are distinguished from the wakes 
 or fairs in another sense of the word. In Dresden the 
 great annual wake takes place in August, probably 
 coeval with the old Saint Bartholomew Fair, of which a 
 history has lately appeared. „The visiter will here find 
 all uproar, shouts, drums, trumpets, organs; the roaring 
 of beasts assails the ear, while the blaze of torches and 
 glare of candles confuse the sight." This lasts a week. 
 In its palmy days St. Bartholomew was the resort of 
 people of fashion; in Dresden it retains yet its mixed 
 character; shooting at a popinjay being one of its fixed 
 peculiarities. This wake is known as the „Vogel- 
 
DRESDEN. 313 
 
 wiese" Bird-Meadow". The privilege of shooting 
 at the popinjay is reserved for those who are members of 
 a society, the King and Royal family all belonging to it. 
 Three poles are erected high as masts, at the summit of 
 each is a gorgeously painted wooden bird, in shape of 
 a wide spread two-headed Eagle, with feathers white, 
 red, green, yellow, black and blue; each feather a little 
 block of wood, loosely hung on. At these, the archer 
 aims with an arrow shot from an old German crossbow. 
 On a fixed day the Royal family visit the Vogelwiese and 
 take their turn in shooting at the popinjay. A tent is 
 erected for them near the poles, and if any one hits a 
 feather, it is carefully laid as a trophy on a table. After 
 this, all the members of the society try their skill; little 
 by little the body of the bird is deprived of all form and 
 comeliness, and generally remains so all the week until 
 finally some lucky shot brings it down. The victor is 
 crowned amidst the shouts of the populace, and carried 
 in triumph up and down the fair, preceded by a band of 
 music. This fair is held on a plain on the outskirts of 
 the toAvn, appropriated annually to that purpose, and the 
 proprietors of tents pay for the space they occupy, so 
 much a foot. All the cafes in Dresden are there repre- 
 sented, all the great breweries have arbors erected, booths 
 covered with evergreens , under which tables and chairs 
 are placed; they are extensive enough to accommodate 
 from seventy to a hundred persons; always crowded. One 
 street is devoted to these, another to booths of shows; 
 the circus, small theatres, menageries, puppets, remark- 
 able calves, porcupines, and two-headed things in gene- 
 ral. (To these were added, ,,An American photogra- 
 pher, this year.) Here Harlequin and Columbine, Punch 
 and Judy, Zany, Pantaloon, and all of that kin are seen, 
 grimacing and chattering before their respective domi- 
 
314 CHAP. XL. 
 
 ciles; marvellizing the open mouthed peasants and their 
 wives and children, who stand gaping at them in groups. 
 These when the time of performance arrives, crowd in to 
 see promised wonders. Here the braying of trumpets and 
 banging of kettledrums becomes intense, and one is 
 glad to escape to the more calm retreats of sugarplum 
 and gingerbread stalls, which form another avenue. Most 
 of these latter have a lottery, where by payingafew cop- 
 pers, you are allowed to throw the dice, and receive more 
 or less, according to your luck, but never a blank. This 
 fair lasts a week, beginning usually on Sunday, which in 
 Lutheran, as well as Catholic lands, is considered the 
 great holiday. On Sundays the shops are shut in Dres- 
 den, and the churches are opened. In the morning from 
 nine till eleven, they go to church, the remainder of the 
 day is devoted to amusement; all the dance houses are 
 crowded by the common people; the better order of citi- 
 zens give dinners and balls athome; no wonder then that 
 the Vogelwiese is crowded on Sunday. During the day 
 the respectable part of the community are found there, 
 with troops of children who enjoy the cake -stalls and 
 Merry-go-rounds, but as day fades, the Saturn alia are com- 
 pleted by crowds of servant girls and soldiers, who come 
 to have a frolic; the favourite dance houses being a 
 marked appendage. On the last night there is a superb 
 exhibition of fireworks, and the mass of spectators exceeds 
 belief. Often from twenty to twenty five thousand is 
 computed. The wild excitement, the noise, the uproar 
 must be heard to be believed. Till the dawn of day they 
 dance, the musicians play,., fast and furious", they drink, 
 they carouse, they never tire. The effect of all this may be 
 imagined, but it is an old established privilege, and the 
 people would rebel at any attempt to abolish it, those 
 who profit by selling, and those who come from far and 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 315 
 
 near to attend the Vogelwiese. Blind men and organ 
 grinders travel from remote places to be present, and 
 perform, like ,,the bagpiper of Bujalanee, who asked a 
 maravedi for playing, and ten for leaving off." Some 
 pawn their effects to raise the money to enjoy themselves. 
 Servant-maids whose masters are severe and do not ap- 
 prove of midnight dances, make their escape after the 
 family are asleep , and go dance till daybreak. Here and 
 there they are detected , as mine were for example , who, 
 at three in the morning, returning with flounced dresses 
 and crinolines, declared, callingHeaven and Earth to wit- 
 ness, they had only been down bathing in the Elbe. The 
 people seem to go wild with excitement ; this too among 
 the slow quiet Germans, who nevertheless when they do 
 mingle in a party of pleasure, of whatever nature, always 
 seem to draw more actual enjoyment from it than any 
 people I have ever seen. 
 
 The image of Bedfordshire fairs is said to have im- 
 pressed the mind of JohnBunyan, and became the after- 
 type of ,, Vanity Fair." ,, There is scarcely any subject 
 which may not be made to serve as a centre to other sub- 
 jects. Speaking of fairs leads to the mention of another 
 very old custom entirely novel to an inhabitant of the 
 New World, that of servants assembling at peculiar spots 
 waiting to be hired. At Dresden this custom is becoming 
 almost obsolete, however you do find such at New Years 
 Day on the great square near the Catholic court chapel. 
 England derived this custom from her Saxon forefathers, 
 and in London formerly the places assigned to them were 
 Cheapside or Charing Cross. In ancient Rome there were 
 also particular spots where servants were found to hire. 
 Dr. Plott says that at Bloxham the carters stood waiting 
 with their whips in their hands, and the shepherds with 
 their crooks. He adds, this custom was as old as the time of 
 
316 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 our Saviour: instance the parable of the householder who 
 went out to hire laborers for his vineyard whom he found 
 ,, standing idle in the market-place," and who on being 
 questioned, answered: ,,No man hath hired us". In Scot- 
 land they have their hiring days. The young men who 
 want employment have a bit of paper, or a leaf stuck in 
 their hat , and the girls who have come down for dairy 
 maids give giddy answers to the farmers. 
 
 At the present day in Dresden , it is only farm ser- 
 vants who can be found in the market-place, others are 
 obtained at Intelligence Offices as with us. From the 
 Wendish region, Dresden is chiefly supplied with her 
 ,,Ammen" or wetnurses, it being the almost universal 
 custom here, as well as in France, to employ them, whe- 
 ther from constitutional incapacity in the mothers, or old 
 custom , I have not been able to determine. Here again 
 the stigma rests upon these women, they are rarely 
 married. The wages they receive being comparatively 
 high, a baby is considered a good investment, and they 
 have two or three, sometimes consecutively. The Wen- 
 dish peasants are esteemed for their capacity. One of 
 these women, brought from a retired district where she 
 has never seen or heard anything but what takes place 
 in her native village, will after two or three months, as- 
 sume a new tone, wake up as it were, employ her facul- 
 ties, modify her costume, and readily learn what she sees 
 other servants do. 
 
 The transition from home to a gentleman's house must 
 be a sort of magical transformation I should think. Se- 
 veral instances among my acquaintances I might cite, 
 which appear almost incredible. One woman had never 
 slept in a bed before; in her house they had a universal 
 sleeping place of straw, where the whole family reposed 
 together, in the style of our ,, Porkers" at home. With 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 317 
 
 all this, they are cleanly about their persons. The Wen- 
 dish costume is a short red petticoat, a colored jacket 
 with long sleeves , blue woollen stockings, and wooden 
 soled shoes, a broad black ribbon which is pinned round 
 a little embroidered crown, set on the back of the head, 
 the ends hanging very far down the back. They never 
 seem to hanker after their infant at home, they know the 
 old folks will take care of it, and as they leave it when 
 three or four weeks old, they seem to transfor all the na- 
 tural affection of the mother to their adopted nurslings. 
 The last one I remember, came from a solitary cottage 
 in Wendish Prussia; there we found her in a low cei- 
 linged peasant kitchen, with rafters across. From one of 
 these swung by ropes a basket; in the basket, a rosy 
 lump of a baby six weeks old; just under it, along the 
 wall, stood two or three baskets covered with nets, in 
 these were settled old geese with a brood of goslings a piece, 
 the spring being yet too backward, to allow them to ven- 
 ture out; just beside the stove sat „ Pussy-cat" rejoicing 
 over a new batch of kittens. An old woman bowed to- 
 gether probably by toil and hard labor, rather than by 
 age, one or two sisters and the father, a hale fine looking 
 peasant, composed the family. The excitement was great 
 when it was known the young Amme was to leave home 
 for a residence in Dresden to receive the highest wages, 
 six thalers a month, making four and half of our dollars. 
 While she went off into another room to get ready, I 
 asked how they would do with the infant, when it lost 
 its mother? „Oh they had a cow", and then taking a dirty 
 bit of rag which was lying on the window-sill, with some 
 bread crumb tied up in it, the old grandfather moistened 
 it a little, and inserting it in the child's mouth, made me 
 observe how it enjoyed it. Such children live on, while 
 wealthy parents lose theirs. 
 
318 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 This want of chastity which is the crying evil of the 
 land, has been animadverted upon by one of my country 
 women in her ,, Peasant Life in Germany", and been met 
 by indignant denial; yet the stranger within its gates 
 cannot but mark so glaring a feature, brought about, not 
 from any peculiar vice in its people —a people distinguished 
 and extolled by the Romans peculiarly for their chastity — 
 but from a vice in its laws, restricting marriage by hedg- 
 ing it about with a heap of absurd requisitions. 'Finding 
 it next to impossible to fulfil the requirements of the law, 
 in order to obtain their marriage tickets, they live openly 
 together, against which there is no law: the natural re- 
 sult of the Police Regulations, and which they consider 
 no sin. Should it happen that all things adjust them- 
 selves, before the marriage license can be obtained, they 
 must prove they have been vaccinated , then bring testi- 
 mony they have attended school; the law enforces that 
 every child who has attained the age of six be sent to 
 school. Again, another certificate, that they have been 
 under religious instruction, another, of confirmation; 
 then, a conduct certificate, a service book, a Wander- 
 Buch, an apprentice ticket, a statement as to pro- 
 perty — should this not prove satisfactory, the whole 
 thing is destroyed; the permission of parents on both 
 sides, a certificate of militia duties, an examination ticket 
 etc. etc. So are raised impediments of every description, 
 and well may their governments take upon themselves 
 the shame. National censures become personal affronts, 
 we wince before deserved reproach, but „the traveller 
 who passes through our borders, may well become our 
 schoolmaster. " 
 
 The district still retaining the name of the Wendish 
 district is the remnant of the great immigrating tribe called 
 Vandals or Wends, from the Teutonic term, ,,wen- 
 
DRESDEN. 
 
 319 
 
 den" to wander. Goths and Vandals, supreme idea 
 of ancient Barbarism! They were the same people, spoke 
 the same language, but while the name of Goth has be- 
 come extinct, merged into that of the lands they overan, 
 the Wendish, like the Saxon name , still clings to a little 
 portion of that territory, once the vast domain of these 
 barbarian hordes. Barbarians! a name applied by the 
 Greeks to all nations but their own , adopted afterwards 
 by the Romans, but its original signification meaning no 
 more than ,, F o reign ers The Wends retain their 
 dialect , which is distinct from that of the Tschechs or 
 Bohemians ; also their superstitions and distinctive 
 costume. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 MEISSEN. 
 
 ,, Where Charles the Great having- subdued the Saxons. 
 ,, There left behind and settled certain French: 
 Established there this law, to wit, no female 
 ,, Should be inheretrix in Salique land, 
 ,, Which Salique, as I said, twixt Elbe and Sala 
 ,,ls at this day in Germany called Meissen." 
 
 King- Henry V, Scene 2. 
 
 The old town of Meissen lies about fourteen miles 
 from Dresden towards the north. The carriage road runs 
 between the river bank and a range of hills, where the 
 vine is cultivated , and where you see among the vine- 
 yards those lodges scattered here and there, used for the 
 winepress or agricultural implements, formerly as a watch- 
 house against purloiners, the „ cottage in a vineyard 
 and a lodge in a garden of cucumbers " of Holy Writ. 
 While I am quoting, another peculiarity presents itself, 
 elucidating a part of the parable of the sower, who went 
 out to sow his seed, ,,and as he sowed, some fell by the 
 way side, and it was trodden down" etc. The fields, 
 wherever I have travelled on the continent, are not fenced 
 off from the road they edge. This must have ever been 
 the old custom, and consequently in scattering the seed 
 while sowing, some must have fallen on the highway and 
 been trodden down. The wine produced on the Meissen 
 
MEISSEN. 
 
 321 
 
 hills is of the sourest description, but by dint of sugai 
 and fixed air, is made into tolerable champagne, sold of 
 course much cheaper than the genuine French article. 
 Paradise lies in this region, among the hills, but it is 
 an unsettled question, whether this be the district where 
 the legend describes Satan, as clasping the new sprung 
 vine, exl aiming: ,, Lovely plantlwill cherish thee." Then 
 taking three animals, a lamb, a lion and a hog, he slew 
 them at the root, and their blood has been imbibed in the 
 fruit even to this day. If you take one goblet, you are 
 cheered and are mild and docile as a lamb, if you take 
 two, you rave and bellow and become furious like a 
 lion, if you drink a third goblet, your reason sinks, and 
 like the hog you wallow in the mire. Upon a query from 
 me to the above effect, no one seemed certain, but all 
 were unanimous in pronouncing the wine ,, devilish bad" 
 and so we fixed the legend. 
 
 Meissen, once the stronghold of Saxon Royalty, was 
 originally a fortress, built on the frontier at the confluence 
 of the Elbe and Meisse, and intended to defend the 
 country from the inroads of the neighboring tribes. It 
 was definitely established a town, in the year 968, by 
 Otto the Great, who named a Bishop, a Margrave and 
 a Burgrave to administer it. The Margrave administered 
 over the whole province and was charged with the 
 suppression of the Slavonians ; the Burgrave superintended 
 the fortress , as also several others , and the Bishop held 
 feudal privileges. These three high dignitaries lived to- 
 gether in the castle , near the church , in the upper part 
 of the town, which extended itself at their feet. Accord- 
 ing to the chronicles, Meissen was completely destroyed 
 by fire in the year 1222. The church was rebuilt twice 
 as large as before , but in the meantime the prince had 
 erected the citadel of Dresden , where he established his 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 court and which eventually became the Royal residence. 
 This was the period of Saxony's greatest wealth, from the 
 newly discovered silver mines, and its prince Heinrich, left 
 many monuments of his liberality and taste. The cathe- 
 dral of Meissen is considered by architects as one of the 
 very finest specimens of Gothic art. Later, at the end of 
 the fifteenth century, the Saxon princes evinced great 
 devotion for this church and established a particular li- 
 turgy, and a sufficient number of clerks to continue the 
 chant night and day, without interruption, then a unique 
 instance in all Christendom. The embellishments were 
 executed by the most distinguished artists of the period. 
 Lucas Cranach and Albert Diirer contributed pictures, 
 and most probably Adam Kraft himself executed the holy 
 wafer monument, which bears the impress of the old Ger- 
 man style. Meissen , once, the stronghold of Saxon 
 Royalty, is only known in modern times as the town 
 where the celebrated china is manufactured. The old pa- 
 lace, deserted by itsBurgraves and Margraves, eventually 
 became the porcelain manufactory, but within a few 
 years, a building has been erected in the town expressly 
 for this purpose, and the ancient palace is now under 
 process of restoration , as a residence it is said , for one 
 of the Saxon Princes. 
 
 You are permitted to see the whole art of china mak- 
 ing from the very commencement of the white paste for- 
 mation, till grade by grade, it receives form and come- 
 liness under the plastic hands of the artisan. The far- 
 famed flower decorations are made on the same principle 
 as any other artificial flower ornament: petal after petal, 
 shaped and adjusted to each other, by small steel prin- 
 cers while the paste is soft and pliable, is disposed with 
 taste upon the vase or basket, in garlands or bunches; 
 then follows the coloring, done by artists, and finally the 
 
MEISSEN. 
 
 323 
 
 great ordeal by tire. Below in the cellars are tlie furnaces, 
 I think there is one for every day in the week. The 
 china is placed in it on shelves. The fires lighted, the 
 heat reaches a certain point, and then the furnace is left 
 to cool for a long while. The china remains in, till all is 
 cold. The beautiful porcelain is put in, perfect, but must 
 stand its chance, as many other fair things do in life, of 
 coming out warped and unseemly, when the ordeal is 
 passed. From the great losses sustained in the baking, 
 many things are expensive beyond their real value , cer- 
 tain forms of vases particularly. The porcelain of Meis- 
 sen has spread its name through all civilized Europe, and 
 has done for Saxony what its Royal patron had proposed 
 under another form. 
 
 Belief in alchymy still held fast its power in the se- 
 venteenth century; Bottcher one of its votaries, obtained 
 great influence over Augustus of Saxony, who supplied 
 him with gold to pursue the search after the philosopher's 
 stone. During an experiment, a red earth was precipi- 
 tated, its qualities analyzed, other experiments followed, 
 and resulted in discovering the clay, from which the de- 
 licate china was formed, and thus the problem of the phi- 
 losopher's stone was solved for Saxony. 
 
 21* 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 ,,The beautiful stork above 
 ,,0n the chimney top with its large round nest, 
 
 ,,By (iod in heaven 
 ,,As a blessing the dear white stork is g-iven." 
 
 Longfellow. 
 
 I too caught the mania of driving out into the 
 country in the holiday season. It was a pleasant thing to 
 see all in their best suits, boys and girls wandering about 
 in troops , the girls in groups by themselves , sobriety in 
 their demeanor, but the happy glow of childish pleasure 
 on their faces , happy because it was a holiday. On one 
 of these excursions I observed on the roof of a farmhouse 
 a stork's nest, and its proprietor standing on his long 
 yellow legs, with his head settled a little on one side, 
 reconnoitring the world below him. They have a propen- 
 sity to build on chimneys, attracted probably by the 
 heat. As the litter they make, inconveniences the in- 
 mates below, and as it is deemed the best luck in the 
 world to have a stork settle on your house, the peasant 
 places a cart-wheel on the roof near the chimney, and the 
 stork, finding himself thus welcomed , builds his nest on 
 it and returns year after year to occupy the same. Storks 
 play an important part in German domestic life. It is 
 the popular belief among children that the stork brings 
 them a new brother or sister, and about the time the 
 event is anticipated, a window is always left open for the 
 
STORKS. 
 
 325 
 
 satisfaction of children to give him a chance of getting 
 in. It is a favourite subject for toys, and in china, pa- 
 pier mache, or confectionary sugar, you will find the 
 German stork, either with a tiny Win del baby in his 
 bill, or bestrode by some young Cupid in search of 
 a mamma. The sight of the stork's nest recalled a very 
 curious story once related to me by an American gentle- 
 man as having happened to him, and which he published 
 some years ago in one of the journals of the day. It is 
 worth reviving, if only to prove the old adage of ,, truth 
 being stranger than fiction", sometimes. He was at 
 Smyrna, sitting after dinner in a verandah with a party 
 of gentlemen; theynoticed a little way off a flock of storks 
 slowly sailing through the air, one among them seemed 
 to be falling, and in spite of the cheers of his comrades, 
 encouraging him to proceed, he sank slowly to theground. 
 One of the gentlemen directed a servant to go in search 
 of the fallen stork and relieve it. It had landed in the 
 garden of a wealthy Asiatic. When found , it had a rib- 
 bon tied about its neck, to which was attached a gold 
 locket, in the locket a scrap of paper, on which a few 
 words were written in French. As the finder could not 
 read it, he sent by the servant to ask, if either of 
 the strange gentlemen could. My friend who related 
 the circumstance did so; the purport of it ran thus. 
 ,,This old stork fell in my garden one day. I now 
 send him on his journey with a request to the chari- 
 table if he fall again, he may be taken care of for 
 the sake of — ,,here was subscribed a name, I have for- 
 gotten , but she was a German lady of rank, and un- 
 married. The Asiatic fully convinced she was his ,, Des- 
 tiny", despatched a messenger forthwith to ask her in 
 marriage, which however the lady declined, as we shall 
 see afterwards , our traveller not remaining long enough 
 
326 
 
 CHAP. XLII. 
 
 at Smyrna to hear the result there. Stranger than that. 
 After a year or two passed in foreign travel, he returned 
 to the United States and while on a visit in Philadelphia 
 paid a call one morning on a lady. Something in the 
 course of conversation led him to relate this story. There 
 was a young person present who had not joined in the 
 conversation , but as he went on, she showed a lively in- 
 terest, and when he reached the point where he left the 
 adventure in Smyrna, she took it up saying: „I was in 
 the garden with the young Countess when she tied the 
 locket round the stork's neck; I was governess to the 
 young lady who conceived the whim, and I was with her 
 when she received the offer of marriage, so like the ro- 
 mance of an eastern tale." If I had picked this story up 
 here it might well pass for the coinage of a German brain, 
 but it was vouched for by one of my own countrymen 
 and recounted to me personally by him. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 
 LEIPZIG. 
 
 ,,Ay, now I am in Arden: The more fool £. — When I was at 
 home, I was in a better place. But travellers must be content" — 
 
 As you like it. 
 
 I went from Dresden to Leipzig on the occasion of 
 one of the great fairs, three of which are held annually, 
 now, as formerly, the mart of nations. Every house, 
 every street, seemed rilled with merchandise; wooden 
 stalls erected through the centre of the streets, market- 
 places and squares: cloths, furs, wooden ware, glass, 
 cottons, trinkets, everything appertaining to German 
 manufactory from the uncouth wooden toys, made by the 
 peasantry in the long winter evenings, to the rich colored 
 glass of Bohemia ; from pins and buttons, up to the deli- 
 cate damask of Silesian looms. I saw nothing of foreign 
 produce, but there were Greek and Turk and Armenian 
 merchants, Jews with long beards and dirty robes, who 
 I am told are here for barter and trade; that within frowsy 
 looking old houses, in dark backrooms, may be found 
 heaps of the finest specimens of the shawls of Cashmere 
 and noble brocades from the Turkish Bazars, furs from 
 
328 
 
 CHAP. XLIII. 
 
 our north-west territory and Russia sold here infinitely 
 cheaper than in New -York. These good burghers of 
 Leipzig would never believe, had I asserted it, that our 
 great commercial marts offer almost every day of the 
 year a like turmoil — going and coming and buzzing 
 about, selling and buying, loading and unloading, cart- 
 ing off and hoisting in cargoes, the crowd of busy faces 
 etc. The Germans have a polite way of putting you down 
 with ,,it may be so, gnadige Frau" and then a long puff 
 of smoke finishes the sentence perhaps, producing the 
 same effect on your sensitiveness a prolonged whistle 
 might. Every one understands what that means. So, I 
 leave them there with their pipes. One difference how- 
 ever is sensibly felt. With us the seventh day is a day 
 of rest, but during the fair, they have no time for that, 
 there was a perpetual hum of traffic, and the enormous 
 wains lumbered along, dragged slowly by those great 
 cart horses, which never seemed to dream they belonged 
 to the cattle in the fourth Commandment, and were at 
 work night and day. I endeavored to concentrate my 
 thoughts in the retirement of an upper chamber, but the 
 noise and babbling of the crowd reached me even there, 
 and I must confess, I, the stranger within the gates, did 
 not rest either. I was thankful to have obtained a lodg- 
 ing up, up, I cannot pretend to guess how many pairs of 
 stairs, six perhaps, some fifth or sixth story in the air, 
 everything else was full to overflowing. I had neglected 
 to secure rooms, and they put us in the first empty place. 
 These long stairs from top to bottom were crowded with 
 a current of men passing up and down; the bed-chambers 
 resounded to the chink of specie; the great dining room 
 embowered in fir-trees was dressed as I have seen country- 
 taverns at home on the fourth of July. Hundreds of 
 little tables were filling and emptying from early morning 
 
LEIPZIG. 
 
 329 
 
 till past midnight and no resource from all this noise, but 
 that nook up under the eaves, where I sometimes crept to 
 rest an hour. To lodge in an attic, in an old town, was 
 however a new phase of existence. Looking down into 
 the street below, it seemed a deep pit, where men ap- 
 peared „ scarce so gross as beetles," tugging and work- 
 ing and toiling, the livelong day; infinite in faculties, 
 but reduced for the nonce pretty much to the level of a 
 tribe of black ants foraging for winter stores. Through 
 a side window just above the eaves, one took in a range 
 of the queer red tiled roofs, that make all old German 
 towns so peculiar. Low dormer windows stared at me 
 from under their leaden eyelids; notches and projections 
 and openings in the roofs sent the imagination wildly 
 speculating as to their probable uses. Le Philosophe 
 sous les toits, Souvestre, says: , ; IIe who has only led the 
 aristocratic life of a first floor, does not even suspect the 
 picturesque variety of this elevated horizon, this wavy 
 outline of red tile, the long shadows which evening casts 
 on the sloping roofs, where Flora deposits her mosses 
 and clinging lichens, where the sun produces a thousand 
 dazzling effects, in fact where one can receive travelling 
 impressions which more opulent tourists look for else- 
 where." I prefer however, seeking the poetry of life in 
 other places, and never could discover in the region of 
 dormer windows, setting aside the sparrows and pigeons, 
 anything but some ,,Gretchen," or,, Tina", staring out with 
 big unmeaning eyes, or an old tailor with a blue cotton 
 nightcap, watering china asters growing in a box. In- 
 dependently of its fairs Leipzig is famous for its uni- 
 versity, its music and its wealth. Leipzig represents the 
 moneyed aristocracy of Saxony, and its merchants rival 
 those of Hamburg and New- York in lavish expenditure. 
 The feeling of prejudice is very strong between the Dres- 
 
330 
 
 CHAP. XLIll. 
 
 deners and Leipzigers. The former boast of some of the 
 oldest names in Europe, but who have hardly fortune 
 enough to keep up the dignity of their birth; so the Leip- 
 zigers are called parvenus, and the Dresdeners proud 
 and poor. It amounts to the same feeling precisely that 
 existed in Paris between the Faubourg St. Germain and 
 the nouveaux riches, and recalls to me the saying of the 
 old Marquise de Crequi, who could not conquer her pre- 
 judices against merchant princes, and contempt of every- 
 thing appertaining to trade. „They may say what they 
 please about the benefit of commerce, I know nothing 
 lower, the first commercial traffic on record was Joseph 
 sold by his brethren." She anticipated Napoleon's speech 
 that the English were a nation of shopkeepers, by say- 
 ing in her indignation that, the English dare retain the 
 fleurs de lis on their national shield , ,, the lilies of 
 the field toil not neither do they spin." So while the 
 Vitzthums can reckon a pedigree extending to Charle- 
 magne and the De Rouvrois date back till their pedigree 
 is lost beyond the twelfth century, so the Leipziger 
 Herr Kaufmann emblazons his modern shield in or, 
 upon a field argent, as some of us have done in the 
 model republic at home. They tell a very piquante 
 anecdote of an old Marechale deNoailles who was a little 
 crazy on religious subjects, but it goes to illustrate the 
 deep-rooted pride of rank. She conceived the devout 
 idea of corresponding with the Virgin and deposited her 
 letters in an old pigeon-house on the top of a tower; she 
 always found an answer (supposed to be written by her 
 almoner, the famous abbe Griselet) however she was some- 
 times shocked at the familiarity of the Virgin Mary. ,,Ma 
 chere Marechale". ,,11 faut convenir que le formulaire 
 est un peu familier d'une petite bourgeoise de Naza- 
 reth." This is untranslatable, only the French can give 
 
LEIPZIG. 
 
 331 
 
 it the turn; the poor old Marechale consoled herself 
 later however, by the reflection Joseph the husband of 
 the Virgin Mary had descended from the Royal house 
 of David. 
 
 Leipzig like most of the old towns has levelled its 
 ramparts and laid them out in beautiful walks. A wood 
 they call theRosenthal is really lovely. There are beauti- 
 ful dwellings now built as at Frankfort, facing them. 
 One cannot be at Leipzig, without recalling the ,, Battle 
 of Nations," as the Germans call it, which shattered Na- 
 poleon's fortunes, where the Allies brought 230,000 men 
 into the field, to oppose the French army of 136,000 : a 
 conflict that lasted four days. The elements seemed to 
 have combined with the great moral effort of the nations, 
 to overthrow their ambitious enemy. From August to 
 October there had been a succession of bloody battles, 
 soldiers perished in the boggy soil, or were carried away 
 in the swollen rivers. Germany was roused. On the 
 evening of the 14 th October 1813 a hurricane raged 
 in the neighborhood of Leipzig, where the French 
 lay; it carried away the roofs, and uprooted trees, whilst 
 during the whole night rain fell in torrents. On the 
 16 th the Austrians were compelled to retire before the 
 French cavalry, Napoleon had already ordered the bells 
 of Leipzig to be rung, and a despatch was sent to Paris 
 to proclaim his victory. ,,Le monde tourne pour nous," 
 exclaimed he joyfully. The victory was however only 
 partial. On the 16 th the battle raged around Leipzig. 
 The French beat the Austrians, but were in turn 
 beaten by the Prussians, Napoleon found himself com- 
 pletely surrounded by the Allied Powers. On the 
 18 th a murderous conflict began. The evening of this 
 terrible day the French were driven close upon the walls 
 of Leipzig. When the certainty of victory was announced 
 
332 
 
 CHAP. XLIII. 
 
 to the three Monarchs, who had watched the progress of the 
 battle, they knelt in the open field and returned thanks 
 to God. On the 19 th Napoleon gave orders for full 
 retreat; he sacrificed however a part of his corps 
 darmee in order to save the remainder. But one bridge 
 over the Elster was left open, the retreat was retarded, 
 Leipzig was stormed by the Prussians, the French rear- 
 guard remained battling on that side the bridge, Napo- 
 leon left the city by the gate of St. Peter, took his course 
 along the western rampart , and arrived at last through 
 all obstacles at the mill of Lindenau. Here he stopped 
 and dictated his orders to his officers. Exhausted by fa- 
 tigue he went to sleep, amidst the sound of cannon rever- 
 berating from all quarters; all at once a terrible explo- 
 sion was heard, Murat announced to the Emperor the 
 great bridge was blown up and twenty thousand of his 
 troops thus entirely cut off. These yielded to the most 
 awful despair, some laid down their arms, some seeing 
 all resistance vain, precipitated themselves into the Pleisse 
 and Elster, these shallow rivers but served as abed of mud 
 where these miserable men stuck and were smothered; 
 a few swam across , Macdonald was saved, but Dumoutier 
 was drowned. Since the morning, Poniatowski had shown 
 prodigies of valor; learning all hope was over, he said to 
 his officers : ,,Here we must die with honor". With these 
 words he rushed forward, followed by a few, through the 
 enemy; wounded, surrounded on all sides, he at last 
 leapt his horse into the river, where he met his death. A 
 small stone marks the spot. The French left twenty three 
 thousand wounded and dying. The hospitals of Leipzig 
 were insufficient and most met a miserable death in the 
 battle-field. It requires more courage it is said, to visit 
 the scene of action the day after a battle, than to be 
 there in the thickest of the fight. However Napoleon was 
 
LEIPZIG. 
 
 333 
 
 great enough to conquer himself on this particular. It is 
 said he prohibited the use of white uniforms in the 
 French army, from the dreadful effect produced upon 
 him by seeing such blood stained vestments after one of 
 his earlier victories. How true this may be, as applied 
 to him, I know not, but it is not incompatible with heroic 
 courage. 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 
 SAXON SWITZERLAND. 
 
 ,, Wildly here without control 
 Nature reigns and rules the whole 
 In that sober pensive mood, 
 Dearest to the feeling- soul." 
 
 Burns. 
 
 When the ice has taken its final leave, and the warm 
 spring sun comes out , then the Elbe begins to vivify. 
 The little green and white steamboats freshly painted, 
 pipe forth, the bath-houses are put afloat, the river craft 
 spread their sails, and all is alive again. Then the plea- 
 sure parties begin. The decks of the little steamers are 
 crowded with people rejoicing that outdoor life has be- 
 gun again. Every afternoon crowds are off making ex- 
 cursions to the villages along the shores. Loschwitz about 
 an hour from Dresden is a favourite locality, where there 
 are numerous villas and cottages to be let for the sum- 
 mer. The Queen dowager's park and villa stand there, 
 a little way back from the river, and the grounds are li- 
 berally left open for the public. Up a narrow lane near 
 Findlaters vineyard, stands the pavilion consecrated to 
 the name of Schiller. Within it he used to retire and 
 write, and it is said here ,,Don Carlos" first saw light. 
 
SAXON SWITZERLAND. 
 
 335 
 
 Here, on his birth day, the Dresdeners come and hang 
 votive crowns. Schiller ever has been and remains the 
 people's Idol, his mild beautiful character assimilates with 
 the national one. They are proud of Goethe, but they 
 adore Schiller. It has been said of him, ,,that original 
 and inexplicable charm, the heavenly magic, the reflected 
 splendor of a higher world, which belong to the faces of 
 Raphael, belong also to the characters of Schiller; he felt 
 the power of literature and its influence upon mankind, 
 and used his genius as a sacred trust." The honors of 
 late awarded to his memory, „the Schiller Feste", 
 tell how strong a hold he had on every German heart. A 
 century had elapsed since he was born ; on that anniver- 
 sary a universal ovation was paid to his genius and good- 
 ness. A three days festival was proclaimed, his chefs- 
 d'oeuvre were performed at the theatres, illuminations, 
 torchlight processions, concerts, feasts of every description 
 were given. In Dresden that portion of the Elbe road, from 
 the Linke'sche Bad to the pavilion at Loschwitz, gar- 
 landed and arched with flowers , was baptized with the 
 name of Schiller. The thrill of enthusiasm was responded 
 to by Germans scattered in other lands. Unfortunately I 
 was absent in Paris at the time, but even there, in the 
 vortex of that ,, great caravansary of nations", the Ger- 
 man demonstration was heard. Meyerbeer composed a 
 piece for the occasion ; enough was known to elicit the 
 remark of a French lady to me ,,Mais qu'est ce done que 
 ce Schiller"? — and I set her mind at rest by answering 
 ,,he was a kind of relation of Shakespeare's". Later, . I 
 found the following curious particulais of the fact of the 
 French republicans giving Schiller the citizen's rights. 
 Mons. Regnier in his recent Life of Schiller thus recounts 
 it: „The legislative assembly accepted a decree at 
 the proposal of Gardet, 26 ,h August 1792, bestowing 
 
336 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 French citizen's rights on seventeen foreigners of widely 
 different importance and merits. Among them were Wil- 
 berforce, Campe, Klopstock and Anarcharsis Coots. A 
 member called to mind having read a few days before in 
 the Moniteur, 15 th February 1792, that the tragedy 
 ,,Fiesco", of a man of genius, was nothing else than a 
 conspiracy of republicanism against monarchical prin- 
 ciples put in action, the most complete triumph of the 
 republic in theory as well as in practice; this member 
 proposed the name of ,,Herr Schiller," a German author, 
 should be added to those of the friends of liberty and 
 general fraternity ; the assembly agreed , and in the pro- 
 tocol of the session the secretary wrote down ,,Giller". 
 The Moniteur did not think the name looked foreign 
 enough and altered it into ,,Gilleers u . It was after- 
 wards shortened into „Gille", and on the 10 th October 
 Mons. Roland, Minister of the Interior, addressed a docu- 
 ment provided with the seal of state and countersigned 
 Danton : ,, A Monsieur Gille, publiciste allemand, en Alle- 
 magne". This diploma accompanied by a very nattering 
 letter, put all the post-offices in Germany in a flutter, 
 and it was only after five years that it reached Schiller, 
 and then, through M. Campe — five eventful years 
 during which Schiller's ideas became greatly modified." 
 
 On the occasion of theSchillerfest a fund was founded 
 for the relief of poor authors and artists ; crowned heads and 
 princes contributed. It was put in the form of a universal 
 lottery; everybody who was in a state to contribute did so, 
 the tickets were put atone thaler a piece (about seventy five 
 
SAXON SWITZERLAND. 
 
 337 
 
 cents of our money) there was a grand public exhibition 
 in Dresden, where every imaginable article from silver 
 vases and tea-sets, grand pianos and inlaid tables, down 
 to cotton umbrellas, woollen socks etc. represented the 
 probable success of the thaler investment. There were 
 to be no blanks, and it became a universal fashion to buy 
 tickets for the joke of the thing. Authors and artists — a 
 class of men for whom no one as yet bad thought of supply- 
 ing a maintenance in case of misfortune. ,, Poverty has 
 hitherto been the epidemic plague in the republic of let- 
 ters and no effectual vaccination has ever yet been pro- 
 vided against it." Let us hope the Schiller fund will 
 answer its end. 
 
 After passingLoschwitz, further up the Elbe lies Pill- 
 nitz, where the Royal summer palace stands and which 
 the Court occupy fromMay till October. The palace is a 
 low curious looking building, edging the river, of mongrel 
 architectural breed, a cross between Egyptian and Ja- 
 panese, I could not make up my mind what, but ugly, 
 cream colored, with an architrave painted in fresco, 
 and eaves shelving over it. This is the palace where the 
 crowned heads of Europe met, to form the coalition 
 against Napoleon. Pillnitz is the fashionable summer 
 resort, a pleasant two hours' drive fromDresden. On the 
 opposite side of the river runs the rail-road which now 
 connects Prague and Vienna, and the southern sections 
 of Germany, with the north. The embankments are a 
 magnificent work. The sudden rise of the river in the 
 spring renders these necessary, and the great quarries of 
 yellow sandstone which the hills furnish on either side, 
 give abundant and beautiful material for the work of 
 arches and embankments required for a long distance; 
 these I saw to great advantage, as I went up in the steam- 
 boat on an excursion to the Saxon Switzerland. 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 We landed at the little village of Rathen, which pro- 
 vides means for the lazy and infirm to makethe excursion 
 through the Uttewald to the „Bastei u , that imaginary 
 ,, Bastion" which nature has fashioned, among her other 
 caprices, in the sandstone of the Saxon Switzerland. 'We 
 had a happy party of laughing girls and their attendant 
 preux chevaliers ; hut we of an earlier generation, unable to 
 compete with them in a scramble up the mountain, were 
 obliged to have recourse to ,,Porteurs u , who carry the 
 halt and maimed in chairs, and others too, who are dis- 
 posed to pay the fees. It was my first essay of the kind 
 and I felt an awful repugnance at making my fellow 
 beings beasts of burden, but was overcome by the argu- 
 ment if they were not carrying me, they would be some 
 one else, and that the store of thalers laid up by their 
 summers attendance upon strangers, made them comfor- 
 table for the winter, and so with such benevolent and vir- 
 tuous excuses, I salved over conscience and enjoyed the 
 luxury of bearers. After leaving the shore and mounting 
 the hill -side, we entered the narrow valley of Wehlen, 
 so called from its brook which, like all of its kind, is a 
 roaring torrent in the springtime, rolling impetuously 
 over masses of rocks and pebbles, and in summer tamed 
 down to a tiny stream, ,, tinkling as it goes' 4 ; running and 
 hiding under them, it freshens the ferns and mosses along 
 its borders, causing them to exhale that peculiar damp 
 odor so deliciously refreshing in these narrow stream 
 glens, where trees springing from high rocks on either 
 side, bend forward and arch out the sun, leaving all green 
 twilight. Soon we found ourselves in the midst of the 
 fantastic rock -work. Here, an archway they call ,,das 
 Thor" the gate, formed by a monstrous fragment, fallen 
 across from above; there, ,,the Devil's Kitchen", where 
 an assemblage of detached rocks seem to have clustered, 
 
SAXON SWITZERLAND. 339 
 
 forming a cave and an outlet resembling a chimney. Again 
 we passed through darkened spots, where on either 
 hand the wall of rock is almost perpendicular, the sharp 
 pinnacles coated with curious gold colored moss. Finally 
 we reached the „Bastei", a platform overlookingtheElbe, 
 six hundred feet above it. This is the resting place, where 
 there is an inn and every accommodation for tourists. 
 Walking to the edge of the platform, which is guarded 
 by an iron railing, you gain the stupendous view, unlike 
 anything I had conceived, or had ever betore witnessed. 
 "What shall I call them? A host of natural obelisks, 
 masses of rocks detached by fissures from one another, 
 such as Giants might have heaved when they piled up moun- 
 tains on Olympus, to scale the walls of Heaven. To de- 
 scend adegree, they were perhaps more like colossalnine- 
 pins, in that form, licked into shape by the elements, 
 — wonderfully strange formations. Amongthesecrags it is 
 said many poor persecuted souls found shelter during the 
 Thirty Years' War. Near here is the Hockstein, four hun- 
 dred feet high, overhanging a deep dark gulf, called Wolfs- 
 schlucht, which is supposed, from the slits cut below, to 
 bean outwork of the castle of Hohenstein, whose dungeons 
 were once state prisons. In modern times a bridge has 
 been thrown, to connectthese strange natural strongholds, 
 and over it one finds one's way, down a path of steps cut 
 in the rock, to the river side. The ,,Bastei" is a favou- 
 rite resort of the Dresdeners , who make parties, come 
 up, either in the rail - road , or steamboat, climb 
 up the mountain and spend the day among the rocks 
 near the platform, or wander off into the woods. On 
 feast days a band of music is stationed near the ,, Gast- 
 House"asthey call it, and there is much regaling and fro- 
 licking going on, but always with the same propriety 
 which prevents these things from being vulgar. 
 
 22* 
 
340 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 On the opposite side of the river the country pre- 
 sents an undulating, cultivated aspect, entirely free 
 from anything resembling the great ninepin formation, 
 only here and there abrupt mounds, detached from one 
 another. 
 
 The isolated mounds of Lilienstein and Konigstein 
 rise each about twelve hundred feet above the level of 
 the river, standing out prominently upon the landscape. 
 The Konigstein is the great impregnable fortress, the 
 only one that yet can boast in Europe that she has never 
 succumbed The approach to it is through a slanting way 
 cut in the living rock, which rises on either side like a 
 Avail, and over a wooden draw-bridge which when raised, 
 leaves the gate-way high up on the face of the cliff. The 
 platform on which the fortress is built, is several acres 
 in extent; there you find, besides ramparts and outworks, 
 gardens and pleasant walks under forest trees, and one 
 of the grandest views on the Elbe. It is to this fortress all 
 the Saxon treasure is removed during wartimes. Cases for 
 every article of value in the Green Vaults are kept ready 
 to pack them against necessity. The Royal family too 
 take refuge there. I visited Konigstein on another occa- 
 sion. The officers and their families who are forced to 
 spend a year of probation there, in turn, find it very hard 
 in winter; in summer time it isa perfect jewel of a place. 
 There is a state prison up there and one solitary prisoner : 
 an officer who took part in the revolution of 1849 and 
 who is condemned for life. In former days he would 
 have been drawn and quartered, his traitor head nailed 
 over the portal, but times are changed and traitors are 
 left to reflect on their sins. The other old Saxon state- 
 prison ,,the Sonnenstein", at Pirna on the Elbe, has been 
 turned into a lunatic asylum. The Lilienstein, the high- 
 est of these isolated mountains, is only accessible by 
 
SAXON SWITZERLAND. 
 
 34J 
 
 narrow paths cut in the rock and scaling ladders placed 
 against the precipices. Napoleon attempted to bombard 
 the Konigstein fortress by placing cannon on the Lilien- 
 stein, but. the distance was too great, the calibre of the 
 cannon was insufficient and their balls fell short of the 
 mark. Konigstein remained unscathed , a virgin fortess, 
 and the Gnomes and Spirits of the Lilienstein regained 
 their solitary places. The Nixes or river nymphs, belong 
 particularly to the Elbe. Praetorius in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury tell us, the nymphs sit on the banks of the river, 
 combing their golden hair. They are beautiful and fair, 
 but deluders, inevitable death awaits him who allows 
 himself to be seduced by their charms. They seize and 
 drown the swirnmer, entice the child, then glide gaily 
 darting over the water. The German water nymphs are 
 always wicked. I wish they would frighten off into more 
 retired regions those lines of bipeds that stand along the 
 river edge, waiting for the steamboat to pass, that they 
 may plunge , like so many flesh colored circus folk, with 
 apologies for nether garments. 
 
 The belief in Kobolds is as old as the Saxon tribes, 
 before they left their forests. In the castle of Eilenberg 
 somewhere about here, a story is related of them. Their 
 habits and amusements being a novelty to me, I gathered 
 with avidity the legend of the tiny folk. It appears these 
 dwarfs wishing to celebrate a wedding, chose for their 
 revellings the sleeping chamber of the Graf von Eilen- 
 berg, who lay in deep slumber within an alcove, he awoke 
 however by the noise they made and became a witness 
 of their frolic. This, being seen by mortal eye, was an 
 unpardonable offence, unless he by compact joined in the 
 revel , to which he consented. But the Countess in an 
 adjoining room was also awakened and peeped through 
 a crevice. Instinctively the Kobolds knew that a mortal 
 
342 
 
 CHAP. xliv. 
 
 eye was upon them unhidden , the lady was discovered 
 and the curse pronounced upon her, that never should 
 seven of her race he alive at one time, so that as soon 
 as one is born, another of the family is sure to die. This 
 curse holds good up to the present day, if I may believe 
 the words of the heir of the family from whose lips the 
 fact was recently told to a friend of mine. 
 
THURINGI A 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 WEIMAR. 
 
 ,,Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have 
 greatness thrust upon them." 
 
 The German land is very beautiful, if we except the 
 vast monotonous plains of the north. All kSaxony and 
 Bohemia are rich in varieties of natural scenery and the 
 mountains and valleys of Thuringia are in themselves 
 a poem, which he that runs may read. Literally, it ought 
 to be a pedestrian excursion. A longing desire to visit 
 this land of romance had seized me, incapacity to enjoy 
 it in full, did not deter me, part was better than none; 
 so I started one bright June day in the railroad for Eise- 
 nach, taking "Weimar on my way, where I passed a couple 
 of days: Weimar — to Germans, consecrated ground. 
 Though not roused to fever heat on the subject, I went 
 there with very commendable respect for the Grand Duke 
 Charles Augustus, patron of men of letters, and all due 
 reverence for those geniuses who had graced his court. 
 
 The first object that presents itself on entering the 
 town is Rietschel's colossal group of ,,The Two Poets of 
 the Vaterland", placed on a pedestal fronting the 
 theatre, Schiller yielding the crown of bays to Goethe; 
 each countenance is inspired with lofty emotion — the 
 conception a fine one, the ideal of the heads grand. 
 
346 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 But Weimar has lost its prestige. Since its Charles 
 August ean era, it has sunk to the level of all other 
 small German principalities, a tame monotonous place, 
 where, even a temporary sojourner feels the quiet and 
 inaction fall, like a leaden weight, upon the spirit. 
 
 The former homes of the poets are designated by their 
 names inscribed over the doorway: ,,Hier wohnte Wie- 
 land", ,,Hier wohnte Schiller/' These are low yellow 
 plastered houses on the thoroughfares, places where one 
 would never dream inspiration had found its way, but 
 beautiful ideas reach the poet's brain through strange 
 mediums at times. I read a striking illustration of this, 
 in reference to Goethe. It is said, he was once a few 
 days stationary in a country place, where lived a poor 
 sick child, afflicted with a malady for which no cure had 
 yet been found. The father learnt that in a town beyond, 
 resided an eminent physician, who possibly might give 
 relief. He undertook the journey on horseback, carrying 
 the child, and passed thus by Goethe's windows. A day 
 or two elapsed and the father was seen returning still 
 bearing the child in his arms, but — ,, das Kind war todt". 
 
 Such is said to have been the origin of the Elf King 
 ,,Erlkonig" one of the most popular of Goethe's bal- 
 lads. Here at Weimar lived in peaceful meditation the 
 great genuises of Germany, even while the roar of wai 
 and the turmoil of battle was raging through their devoted 
 land. It appeared an enchanted region which the misery 
 of the times did not seem to touch. ,, Where," as an ele- 
 gant writer has said, ,, Goethe reigned with the depotism 
 of genius, where Wieland and Herder wrote in calm 
 serenity, seemingly unconscious of what was passing in 
 the world; where Schiller alone aware of the excitement 
 of the period, betrayed his anxiety, the vision of a great 
 disaster exalting his genius, while his contemporaries 
 
WEIMAR. 
 
 347 
 
 cast it at him as a reproach". They were at length 
 awakened from their trance, the trumpet note was sounded, 
 Germany was roused from her slumber and the,, Song of 
 the Sword" rang through the land. 
 
 It was at "Weimar thearrogance of'Napoleon amounted 
 to brutality. Mounting the stair of the Ducal palace, the 
 old Duchess advanced to meet him; he roughly asked who 
 she was and when informed, said: There is no longer 
 any Duchess here". And this is the man to whom Goethe 
 bent the knee. Without one thought for the boasted Va- 
 terland, he wrote in praise of Napoleon: 
 
 Doubts that have baffled thousands 
 He has solved." 
 
 ., Ideas, o'er which whole centuries have brooded, 
 His great mind intuitively compassed.'' 
 
 In the Ducal palace, a plain building occupying three 
 sides of a square, a suite of rooms is open for inspection 
 to the public, ornamented with frescoes most delicately 
 executed. These were ordered by the late Duchess, di- 
 sirous to consecrate the memory of those who had ren- 
 dered her house illustrious. For this purpose, she called 
 to her aid the first artists of Germany. Neher who had 
 already distinguished himself at Munich, executed here, 
 what is known as ,, the Schiller Chamber " , considered 
 one of the most complete and distinguished productions 
 of German art. The composition is in seven principal 
 frescoes, encircled by accessories in Rafaelesque arabes- 
 ques , very delightfully imagined. The subject of each 
 panel is a scene chosen from the dramas of the poet. 
 Don Carlos at the feet of the Queen, whom he is leav- 
 ing. Thecla preferring the honor of her lover to the 
 fortunes of her father. The bride of Messina between 
 
348 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 the two rival brothers. Mary Stuart kneeling before 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 ,,The Chamber of Goethe" is by the same hand; it 
 contains the designs from Faust. 
 
 ,,The Chamber of Wieland", is a work of Mons. Si- 
 mon , where the fairy scenes of Oberon are represented, 
 in the most ingenious and delicate tracery of flowers and 
 vines. Iwent over thewhole with great interest, although 
 under the auspices of a superintendent, but like all Ger- 
 mans, he had Schiller and Goethe at his tongue's end: 
 the only marvel to me was, that in the dry daily routine 
 of repeating these things, he should retain one spark of 
 enthusiasm. In the anti- chamber he pointed out to me 
 the bust of Lucas Cranach, copied from a monument that 
 stood originally in the Schloss-Kirche yard, now removed 
 to preserve it. The head is beautiful, small and well pro- 
 portioned, with features of a softened Roman cast, mus- 
 tachios and a forked beard, more like a bedight cour- 
 tier, than what my imagination had pictured of ,,old 
 Cranach", the friend of Luther, the painter of such 
 holy pictures, his crucifixions so inimitable; I have 
 seen none whose effect upon the feelings were equal 
 to them. 
 
 My admiration of Cranach had been a growing one 
 and I went with interest to the churchyard of St. James 
 to look at his grave. All trace of it has been removed, 
 only a plain gravel surface left, under which his coffin re- 
 mains buried, close up by the church wall: a tablet had 
 been affixed above, which the elements had partially 
 effaced, the rabble were doing their best to complete 
 the disfigurement, when it was removed to a place of 
 safety, to be preserved as a relic. 
 
 The honor of aRoyal interment was conferred by the 
 Duke their patron, upon the two great poets. 
 
WEIMAR. 
 
 349 
 
 He bequeathed them a corner in his family mau- 
 soleum. 
 
 I was curious to see these graves and was conducted 
 to the free cemetery just without the town, situated on 
 a hill-side planted with trees and flowers. In the midst 
 stands the Ducal resting place, a square chapel of the 
 plainest description. Under a portico, supported by 
 four Doric columns, all of common stone, a door opens 
 into a plain square whitewashed chapel, paved with red 
 brick, the light admitted from a dome in the roof. An 
 altar fronts the entrance, covered with a velvet cloth, on 
 it stand two candlesticks and a crucifix of silver bronze, 
 presented by the King of Prussia. Under the dome, a 
 circular opening in the floor, is surrounded by a very 
 ordinary iron railing; made to be removed in case of a 
 funeral, the coffin being here let down into the chamber 
 beneath. In one corner of the chapel a narrowstone stair 
 leads to the sepulchral chamber. The keeper preceded 
 us, ,,to light up." When I descended I found the ,, light- 
 ing up", consisted of three ends of candle as big as my 
 thumb, stuck in iron sconces against the Avail and a 
 fourth in an iron candlestick, which was held sideways 
 dripping, to allow me to see the names ,, Schiller and 
 Goethe" writ in gold it is true, on the ends of two large 
 black lacquered cases, lying side by side, near the foot 
 of the stair. The Royal Duke reposes in the centre of 
 the chamber, encased in a stone sarcophagus carved with 
 the armorial bearings of his family: the coffins of his 
 mother, wife and others, ornamented with covers of red 
 velvet and gold, lie around him. The sickly odor drove 
 me back, I hurried up to the fresh air. Why were not 
 ,,the two poets" laid in the beautiful ,, God's acre", above 
 with roses and shrubs, and the light of day playing about 
 their names, where the German people could come and 
 
CTIAP. XLV. 
 
 cast crowns in the pride and affection of their hearts, in- 
 stead of paying a few groschens to that old man and his 
 hits of candle. A few hideous withered crowns rest upon 
 the forlorn looking black cases, making them appear even 
 more hideous. Then hy way of contrast, they open you 
 a case standing at the head of Schiller's coffin, containing 
 a laurel crown of chaste silver, a tribute to his memory, 
 sent by a Hamburg lady on the occasion of his centennial 
 birthday fete. And another in needle work, by a second 
 lady who wrought this labor of love to be viewed in a 
 better light than that which the farthing rushlight shed 
 upon it. Wandering about the cemetery I came upon the 
 little obelisk inscribed with the name of Eckermann, 
 Goethe's friend, he at least is surrounded by beds of 
 flowers. The contrast never struck me so forcibly before 
 between sepulchral vaults with their gloomy surroundings 
 and the tender associations called forth by a simple grave 
 stone. It chanced not long after leaving Weimar I read 
 an article in Mac Millan's Magazine for August 1863 
 bearing upon the subject in question, which strangely 
 thrilled my feelings. It is entitled ,,The Remains of 
 Schiller" and I deem it not inopportune to transcribe 
 the greater part of it here. — It is terribly graphic in 
 parts, but too long to be fully inserted however inter- 
 esting. 
 
THE 
 
 STORY OF SCHILLER'S REMAINS 
 
 BY 
 
 ANDREW HAMILTON. 
 
 Extracted from Mac Millans Magazine for Aug-ust 1SG3. 
 
 „Owing to his long illness and that of his wife, Schil- 
 ler's finances were brought to their lowest ebb. Unequal 
 to mental toil and dependent upon that toil for his daily 
 bread, the source of supplies for him was stopped, while 
 expenditure increased. At the time of his death, he left 
 his widow and children almost penniless, and for the mo- 
 ment, almost friendless too, even in the Muses' favourite 
 city, Weimar. The Duke and Duchess were absent, 
 Goethe lay ill, even Schiller's brother-in-law, Wolzogen, 
 was away from home; Heinrich Voss was the only friend 
 admitted into the sick room, and when all was over, it 
 was he who went to the joiner's and knowing the. need 
 of economy, ordered a plain deal coffin. It cost ten 
 shillings our money. The house in which Schiller spent 
 his last years, its lowly roof familiar to many, who have 
 stopped at Weimar, was, at that time a sort of appendage 
 to a larger house, with which it was connected by a gar- 
 den, ,, no bigger than a tea-tray. The poet was much in 
 this garden and whenever any of the inmates of the ad- 
 joining house passed that way, he was sure to say some- 
 thing kind to them over the railing. One of the daugh- 
 ters at that time was betrothed to Carl Leber echtSchwabe, 
 
352 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 who had boon a student at Jena and one of that enthu- 
 siastic band of Schiller's admirers, who used to march to 
 Weimar of a summer afternoon, to witness the perfor- 
 mance of a new tragedy and return to Jena over night. 
 Having returned to his native town and obtained a clerk- 
 ship, Schwabe found the opportunity of making Schiller's 
 acquaintance, who though reserved and dignified, but 
 good and mild, left an indelible trace on all who came in 
 contact with him. In the early summer of 1805 Schwabe 
 left Weimar on business. Returning the li th of the fol- 
 lowing May, his first visit was to his betrothed, who met 
 him not so cheerfully as he expected. The reason was 
 soon told ; Schiller was dead. Two days already he had 
 lain a corpse. That night he was to be buried. Schwabe 
 stood aghast when he learnt there was to be no public 
 funeral, hardly a decent private one. The family had 
 made arrangements according to their means. The fune- 
 ral was to take place at midnight, in the utmost stillness, 
 no display, no religious rite, no convoy of friends. Bearers 
 had been hired to carry the remains to the churchyard. 
 The young clerk was overcome by excitement, indigna- 
 tion prevailing. There were but eight hours left, the ar- 
 rangements were all completed; however he went straight 
 to the house of death and requested an interview with 
 the wife, she declined seeing a stranger and referred him 
 to the Rev. Herr Gunther who had volunteered to super- 
 intend, whatever he decided she w r ould approve of. 
 Schwabe went immediately to Gunther, told him his 
 blood boiled at the idea that Schiller should be borne to 
 his grave by hirelings, he was sure that throughout Ger- 
 many the hearts of all who had revered the national poet 
 would beat indignant at the news, he was sure that in 
 Weimar itself, there was not one who had known and 
 loved the departed, who would not willingly render him 
 
WEIMAR. 
 
 353 
 
 this office of affection , Schwabe was hurried and excited. 
 Giinther shook his head, saying ,,It is too late." Schwabe 
 rushed from house to house, he obtained a ready assent, 
 he requested them to meet at his lodgings at half past 
 twelve that night. They were requested to be dressed in 
 black, but mourning hats, crapes and mantles he had 
 already provided. Late in the evening he placed a 
 list of twenty in Gunther's hands and the hirelings were 
 dismissed. Between midnight and one o'clock the little 
 band proceeded to Schiller's house; the coffin was carried 
 down and placed on the shoulders of the friends in wait- 
 ing. No one else was to be seen before the house, or in 
 the streets, unbroken silence and stillness lay all around. 
 The procession moved through the sleeping city to the 
 church-yard of St. James, they placed their burden on 
 the ground at the door of the so called Kassenge- 
 wolbe, where the grave-digger and his assistants 
 took it up. 
 
 The Kassengewolbe was a public vault belonging to 
 the province of Weimar, in which it was usual to inter 
 persons of the highest classes, who owned no burying 
 ground of their own; the fee demanded for each was a 
 louisd'or. As Schiller had no place of his own, it was 
 natural to bring him here. It was a grim old building 
 standing against the wall of the church-yard, with a steep 
 narrow roof and no opening but the doorway, which was 
 filled up by a grating. The interior was a gloomy space 
 about fourteen feet either way ; in the centre a trap- 
 door, which gave access to a hollow space beneath. They 
 carried him in, they opened the trapdoor, they let. him 
 down by ropes into the darkness, then they closed the 
 vault and the outer grating. Nothing was spoken nor 
 sung. Thus, we cannot say rested, but thus were at least 
 put out of sight for many years, the remains of Schiller. 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 The dust of strangers had gone before him into the vault, 
 and the dust of strangers followed him. When travellers 
 came to "Weimar and asked to see Schiller's grave, they 
 were taken to the Jakobs -Kirchhof and shown the grim 
 Kassengewolbe. In 1814 the King of Bavaria was there 
 and wanted to see the coffin, he was told it could no lon- 
 ger be distinguished from the rest. 
 
 At the time, the newspapers raised a shriek and much 
 indignation was poured out on Weimar. Schiller was per- 
 sonally beloved, but there was a want of zeal and energy 
 in higher quarters, thus to leave it to a young man of no 
 high standing to take upon his shoulders the redeeming 
 his country from a great reproach. The truth seems to 
 be, that the constituted leaders of Weimar society, being 
 absent, the citizens dared not take the initiative. Goethe 
 lay so ill, no one dared to mention Schiller's name in his 
 presence. The theatre was closed till after the funeral, 
 this was the only sign of public sorrow. On Sunday 
 afternoon at three o'clock, the usual burial services were 
 held in the church, before a numerous congregation, part 
 of Mozart's requiem was performed, and an oration pro- 
 nounced by superintendent Vogt. 
 
 Twenty one years elapsed and among other changes, 
 Carl Schwabe became Mayor of Weimar. Under his 
 government in 1826 we must take another look at the 
 Kassengewolbe. It was the custom when it became in- 
 conveniently crowded, to clear out its vault. When the 
 order came they dug a hole in the corner of the church- 
 yard and then brought up en masse the contents of the 
 Kassengewolbe and deposited them therein. In March 
 1820 Schwabe was dismayed at hearing that an order 
 was issued by the authorities , to that effect. His old 
 prompt way of acting had not left him; he applied to his 
 riend Weyland, the president, and implored that the 
 
WEIMAR. 
 
 355 
 
 dust of Schiller should not be tossed up to the light of 
 day and indignantly flung into that hideous hole. ,,Let 
 me at least search the vault and if we find Schiller's cof- 
 fin, have it interred in a fitting manner in the new ceme- 
 tery". The president made no difficulty. All men in 
 1826 were willing to undo the ignominy of 1805." Here 
 follows a long circumstantial account of days and nights 
 spent, endeavoring to identify, from a mass of decay, the 
 skeleton of Schiller. The disappointments, the perseve- 
 rance and the final success — it is a long story graphi- 
 cally told, but very disagreeably exciting. At length 
 the skeleton of Schiller reposed in a new coffin ", lined 
 with blue merino". Meanwhile his skull had been de- 
 posited by consent of his family and by the advice of 
 Goethe, in the colossal bust by Dannecker which stood 
 in the Duke's library: a ceremony performed with reve- 
 rence. But again the press throughout Germany gave a 
 shriek, and the skull was restored to the body. Both re- 
 mained in the new coffin, lying in the public library. 
 Finally one night in December 1827 the remains of 
 Schiller were again privately carried through the park, 
 with a few friends w r ith lanterns, to the Ducal vault, * 
 where the Mayor and some others met it, saw it laid and 
 sent the key to the care of Goethe. The Grand Duke pro- 
 jected a mausoleum to be built in honor of the two poets, 
 but it was never begun and they rest side by side as I 
 have described them. 
 
 We were refused entrance to Goethe's house, once 
 one of the greatest objects of interest at Weimar. It be- 
 came a serious inconvenience to the inhabitants, this ad- 
 mitting strangers at all hours, so they appointed Friday 
 
 23* 
 
356 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 as a day for visitors. If wanderers like myself do not 
 chance to be there on that day, they miss the opportu- 
 nity. I consoled myself upon hearing it was only the 
 drawing rooms, filled with sketches and copies from the 
 antique, that I missed, the study is no longer shown. 
 
 If any one has taken the trouble to read my „ Im- 
 pressions" thus far, they will have discovered the musty 
 odor of the past has a strange fascination to my senses 
 and that I would be led far to enjoy it. Some one had 
 said to me I must by no means miss seeing the old cha- 
 teau of Tieffurth, which belonged to the mother of the 
 late Duke and which was a treasure house of rococo: so 
 I turned, my back on the beautiful Belvedere and its park 
 of goodly trees, to travel off on a three mile excursion 
 to the village of Tieffurth on purpose to see a frouzy old 
 building odorous of mould. A little turn Up a lane, from 
 the village, bronght me within a gateway, near which 
 stood a plain square house very weather-beaten, with 
 small windows and a front door once green, now well 
 washed out by the storms. The whole looked like an old 
 Grange. I alighted and walking round the corner found 
 acourt, on two sides of which the building faced; still no 
 entrance but an insignificant little door in a corner. On 
 pulling the bell an old housekeeper appeared and invited 
 me to enter. She showed me into a low ceilinged hall, 
 with a stair flanked by broad wooden balusters, painted 
 pea-green, for all the world like the dear old fashioned 
 farm houses on Long Island, and smelling too like them 
 of musty boards. Up we went to a hall, graced by two 
 or three plaster gentlemen on pedestals, whose pedigree 
 
WEIMAR. 
 
 357 
 
 I was unable to trace — fancy divinities, with grape leaves 
 branching all over their bodies. The old woman put the 
 key in a lock, throwing open a suite of rooms, eyeing me 
 meanwhile keenly, to decide whether I was one of the 
 appreciative kind. I returned her glance with confidence. 
 I felt I was upon the threshold of a second ,, Hotel 
 Cluny", where once upon a time I was complimented by 
 the superintendent on the extent of my knowledge; with 
 such a certificate of connoisseurship , who was afraid! I 
 entered with due reverence for the arts of the Middle 
 Ages. My wonderment was stretched to its greatest power 
 of extension, not at what I saw, but that any one could 
 live with such a mess about them! There was not an ar- 
 ticle of furniture anterior to the spindle legged style of 
 the last century, except here and there a piece, known 
 as, ,,du terns de I'empire", when Napoleonic eagles and 
 sphinxes divided the honor of supporting the arms of 
 your elbow chair, or stiffened themselves under your pier 
 tables. The walls were literally crammed with engra- 
 vings in black frames, from the ceiling downwards, some 
 of merit, some very trashy, in fact the whole place was 
 curious from the industry displayed in settling together 
 such a medly. Little biscuit figures and tea- cups innu- 
 merable were crowded on every table, buffet or shelf, the 
 passion for old china always dominant among collectors. 
 It reminded me of a lady in England I had read of, who 
 at her decease left a legacy of three hundred and odd 
 china tea-pots. Here were specimens of embroidery too, 
 coeval with the tea-cups. One little room was hung with 
 glass cases in which fans were spread, relics of times when 
 artists vied together in painting these luxuries of the toilet. 
 Small rooms, little corners, alcoves, all stuffed in like man- 
 ner — a prodigious baby house. A catalogue in quarto would 
 hardly tell the whole. To pleasure the old housekeeper 
 
358 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 I tried to keep up an interest in the matter, but fairly 
 gave a sigli of relief to find myself in the pea-green hall 
 again, with the vine clad Adonises. But to my horror she 
 waved her hand toward the attic stair, I was bound to 
 obey and above the two crammed stories I had just es- 
 caped, another collection was packed: shelf upon shelf, 
 dormer windows, every space filled in with Chinese curio- 
 sities, and about the floors were seated those cross legged 
 personages, nodding their heads over a rotundity not 
 pleasant to behold. If any one asks my advice about vis- 
 iting Tieffurth, I shall answer him as Punch did on being 
 consulted about matrimony — ,, Don't." 
 
CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 ,,For many a tale 
 Traditionary round the mountains hang-, 
 And many a leg-end, peopling- the dark woods, 
 Nourishes Imagination in her growth 
 And gives the mind that apprehensive power 
 By which she is made quick lo recognize 
 The moral properties and scope of thing-s " 
 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 The next clay found me on my way to the land of ro- 
 mance. The ,,Drei Gleichen" rose upon the view as we 
 approached Gotha, the three sister mountains, so called 
 from their resemblance to each other. One alone claims 
 the castle of the Graf von Gleichen, enthroned on an 
 isolated wooded ,,Bergkegel ", this term impossible to 
 render into English, but very expressive, ,,Berg w ', moun- 
 tain, and ,, Kegel", a ninepin. The legend connected with 
 it is well attested, and one has but to read the history 
 of the Middle Ages, to believe in the most improbable 
 events. When the enthusiasm of the holy wars broke 
 out, and men rushed off to the East, to be captured per- 
 haps and held in durance for years, while their territory 
 at home became the prey of rapacious chieftains, raid 
 their wives and daughters left behind, were subjected to 
 strange vicissitudes; when murder and poisoning, and 
 
360 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 deeds of arms and chivalry and poetic fervor, were mingled 
 in such inextricable tangle, that history seems but one 
 wild tissue of improbabilities, it was to these days the 
 story of the Gleichen belongs. The Count Ernest had 
 married the beautiful lady von Orlamiinde, but carried 
 away by the excitement of the times left her and went 
 off to war against the Turks. He was taken prisoner, 
 with the chance of remaining so for life, had not the 
 Sultan's daughter by some means seen him, and given 
 her heart to the stranger slave. Opportunity was not 
 wanting for her to declare her affection, with an offer, if 
 he would wed her, she would find means to make their 
 escape. He had not forgotten the lady of Orlamiinde, 
 but liberty was sweet, and the mode of obtaining it not 
 disagreeable; so he was not backward in giving his con- 
 sent. By the help of attendants a vessel was provided, 
 which the princess heaped with treasure and in which 
 they escaped and landed in Venice. From thence they 
 travelled to Rome, where the thing was explained to the 
 Pope and a sanction was obtained by the Graf von Glei- 
 chen to retain his wife and marry the maiden. The 
 beautiful Saracen received baptism, and the lovers 
 went on their way to Thuringia without delay. 
 Within two days of the castle, the Graf hastened in ad- 
 vance to prepare his wife, who gave him a tender wel- 
 come. He related all: his imprisonment, his cruel sla- 
 very, the love of the Royal maiden; how for his .sake she 
 had followed him with all her jewels and treasure, how 
 she had embraced the Christian faith and received bap- 
 tism at Rome; all of which so moved the heart of the 
 noble lady, that she assured her husband she would wil- 
 lingly and joyfully receive her for his sake. A valley at 
 the foot of the mountain goes by the name of the 
 ,, Frauenthal" to this day, where the two wives met 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 361 
 
 and embraced. The chronicler goes on to say: „ the three 
 lived lovingly all their lives together, and slept in one 
 bed. '* They were buried in the same tomb together in 
 the cathedral at Erfurt, and the stone effigy of the Graf 
 represents him between his two wives. Many proofs remain 
 of the Grafs double marriage in pictures, wood carvings 
 and other relics. Long was the double bedstead shown 
 in the caste of Gleichen in the Junker chamber, until the 
 French burnt it in one of their bivouacs. A tapestry is 
 still in existence, which used to hang in the castle, on 
 which is woven the story of the double wived Graf, and 
 at Erfurt are a crown, jewels and other remains of the 
 Saracen's ornaments, given at her baptism by the Pope. 
 In time the truth of the story was doubted, and in mo- 
 dern days the tomb was examined. The Asiatic form of 
 the skull of one of the females went to prove the authen- 
 ticity of this long contested tale. I passed by Gotha 
 without stopping, and about two hours more brought us 
 to the old town of Eisenach. Erfurt was considered the 
 capital of Thuringia, but Eisenach its principal city, 
 having for centuries been the residence of the Landgraves. 
 Thuringia was made an independent territory in 1055 by 
 the Emperor Henry III as a counterpoise to Saxony, at 
 that period becoming too powerful and independent. This 
 district was often an object of contention, and since 1810 
 it has been merged, part into Saxony and part into Prus- 
 sia, but its individual interest remains the same, and its 
 poetry is indelibly graven on its mountains and deep 
 rocky valleys, over which part of the old Thuringian 
 Forest still throws its shadow. 
 
 About the year 1114 under the Emperor Henry V, 
 Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia, joined with the other 
 nobles in war against the Emperor; he was defeated and 
 obliged, barefooted and in beggarly attire, to sue for 
 
CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 mercy at the Emperor's feet. He was thrown into prison 
 at Giebiclienstein, from which place he contrived to make 
 his escape by a wonderful leap across the river Saale, 
 whence he derived the sobriquet ,, cler Springer " ,,the 
 leaper" a name he ever after retained. It is to this 
 Landgrave Thuringia owes the castle of the Wartburg, 
 as the Germans express it, ,,the central star of her his- 
 tory". Hunting one day, upon thelnselberg and follow- 
 ing his game in haste to the foot of theHorselberg, thence 
 through the lower town of Eisenach, he w T ent up the 
 mountain on which the Wartburg now stands. Here he 
 rested and waited till the chamois should again issue 
 from the forest. Meanwhile he stood alone upon a rocky 
 height deep in thought; the beauty of the scene and the 
 far extended view impressed him and he exclaimed: 
 „Wart, Berg, du sollst mir eine Burg werden", ,,wait 
 mountain, thou shalt become a stronghold." However 
 this ,,Berg" belonged to the Lord of Frankenstein, who 
 was not likely to yield it up for such a purpose. Now 
 ,,the Springer" had twelve knights, and with them he 
 took council how he should obtain possession of the 
 ,,Berg". It was agreed that baskets full of earth should 
 be brought by night from the Schaumberg, which be- 
 longed to theLandgrave, and strown upon the Wartburg. 
 The Landgrave then made a stringent covenant with the 
 citizens of Eisenach, behind which he could screen himself. 
 Then came the Lord of Ealkenstein, but not being able to 
 seize the Graf on his rocky stronghold, he appealed to the 
 Elector, saying his own had been taken from him by 
 power and deceit. Whereupon the Graf Louis being 
 summoned and questioned before all the nobles, said: 
 „ He had gained the land by his power, and by 
 right of antiquity would hold his own." After this, 
 the Graf created the twelve knights his body guard, 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 363 
 
 and with them ascended the mountain, where they all 
 thrust their swords into the earth and swore that the 
 Landgrave stood upon his own , and that of ancient time 
 this earth had belonged to the Lordship of Thuringia, 
 and therewith he took possession of the Berg. A sample 
 of justice classed under the category of ,, might makes 
 right." So rose the castle of the Wartburg on the moun- 
 tain behind the town , which slopes down even to its 
 gates. The Wartburg — ,,like a chronicle engraven on 
 stone, or an old tome full of noble illustrations, it lies 
 upon this mountain altar; the gay Eisenach like a many 
 colored carpet at its threshold. Muchis there to peruse in 
 that volume, and many a marvellous arabesque is woven 
 in that tapestry; every rock and cave around whispers 
 with legendary voice in the ear of the wanderer, as well 
 springs gush from the forest lands.' 4 
 
 I saw it first in perspective from Eichel's Garden 
 on the Pflugensberg, a park laid out in the very best 
 taste, and liberally opened to strangers. The proprietor 
 has chosen one of the beautiful hills which surround 
 Eisenach and put it under a high state of cultivation. 
 It was formerly the site of a Carthusian monastery. A 
 succession of winding walks, bordering sloping lawns, or 
 losing themselves under the forest shade, are the main 
 features of the place. These lawns of fine cropped grass 
 lie like sheets of satin without a flaw, dotted here and 
 there perhaps with gigantic leaved foreign plants or trees 
 artistically distributed; then great beds of flowers of 
 every hue, rich exotics in rustic baskets, ferns, wild 
 flowers and mosses in their appropriate territories, some 
 springing out of rocks, some hid beneath the forest shade, 
 art aiding nature in the very best taste, tufts of wild 
 flowers flourishing with as good a grace, as their more 
 aristocratic neighbors. Seats are placed at every point 
 
364 
 
 CHAT. XLVI. 
 
 where the views open most advantageously. It was here 
 I came upon the vista of tlie Wartburg, crowning the 
 opposite mountain, deep valleys intervening. It must be 
 seen to be understood; no artist, no description, can 
 approach the effect. The puny skill of man fails here, 
 before one of the loveliest of God's works. Rich tufted 
 forests, wide carpets of cultivation, deep ravines, villages 
 creeping up the sides of steep hills, half embosomed in 
 trees, there the castle commanding the whole with its ro- 
 mantic associations, above all, a great brown desolate 
 looking mountain, where the sun-light strikes, as it were, 
 to contrast with the glorious effects of forest, mountain 
 and man's labor too, clothing the little hills with plenty, 
 so that they rejoice and are glad. One cannot convey 
 the whole by description , the atmospheric halo is want- 
 ing, the aroma escapes. There it stood out grandly against 
 the sky, the old Wartburg, the home of the Saint Eli- 
 zabeth, the scene of the Minstrel War, the prison house 
 of Luther. Seated there in Eichel's Garden, Avitb the 
 grand view spread out before me, and the visions of the 
 past floating by like summer clouds, I longed for the 
 morrow, to realize my dreamings. 
 
 The ascent to the castle is just behind the town; nu- 
 merous footpaths intersect the woodlands that cover it, 
 and a carriage road reaches two thirds of the way up. Ten 
 minutes walk then brings you to the portal through which 
 you enter the court. On the right stands the old ,,Vor- 
 haus" where Luther lodged, left in its original state; on 
 the left, the residence of the Landgrave with its appur- 
 tinant halls and towers. 
 
WAltTBURO. 
 
 365 
 
 Renovation is doing its best to regild and renew the 
 classic halls of the palace, professing, it is true , to rein- 
 state all in color and design, after the old model; but the 
 freshness of modern fresco does away much of the feel- 
 ing of association with the days of the Minnesingers, as 
 also the deeper shadowings of after times, when Luther 
 preached in the castle chapel. This is now new furnished 
 with red velvet, and modern carvings. An altar cloth 
 was presented by the late Duchess of Orleans, who made 
 Eisenach her residence during her exile. 
 
 In the great hall, with its high arched windows com- 
 manding the wide view of the Thuringer Wald, the great 
 trial of musical skill took place in the thirteenth century. 
 Wagner has made it familiar in his opera of ,,Tannhauser". 
 It is detailed in a fresco covering one side of the wall. 
 At the end of the hall the raised platform behind three 
 arches remains, as it then Avas, and above it, on tablets 
 of dark stone, are engraved verses from some of the 
 most celebrated lyrics of the Minnesanger. This fete 
 took place in 1207 under Hermann of Thuringia, a man 
 more addicted to the arts of peace than to the clatter of 
 arms, though it is said he was not behind his age in po- 
 litical intrigue. In the peaceful life of the Wartburg he 
 watched keenly the movements of the times. This ,, Min- 
 strel War" as it is termed, is a curious exposition of the 
 manners of that age, and I cannot do better than give a 
 translation from the old German, extracted by a friend 
 of mine, from a work on the Wartburg. 
 
 ,, At the court of the Landgrave Hermann of Thu- 
 ringia, were assembled six noble and virtuous men, cun- 
 
360 
 
 chap. xlvi. 
 
 ning in the art of song and verse. There they met with 
 other singers and with these battled and strove together 
 in rivalry, so that this strife was ever after called the 
 ,, Music War of the Wartburg". The first poet, named 
 Heinrich Schreiber, was a good knight and brave; the 
 second was Walther von der Vogelweide; the third, 
 Reinhart von Switzer; the fourth, Wolfram vcn Eschen- 
 bach. These were all chivalrous and well armed. The 
 fifth, Biederolf, was one of the attendants of the Land- 
 gravine Sophia, and the sixth was Heinrich von Ofter- 
 dingen, also a burgher of Eisenach, and of a high and 
 noble race. In this assembly the knights loudly sounded 
 forth the praises of princes and especially those of the 
 hospitable and highly gifted Hermann of Thuringia. 
 Ofterdingen stood forth alone and opposed them all, 
 lauding greatly in his song the Duke of Austria, indeed 
 setting him above all princes; whereupon the poets arose 
 and became so warm and the strife so serious, that it was 
 resolved that the defeated should lose his head on the 
 spot, by the hand of the common executioner, Master 
 Stempel, or be hung on the nearest tree. To this the 
 Landgrave consented, though this had never happened 
 before in his court, owing to the wonderful wit in choos- 
 ing their songs. Now all used the whole force of their 
 art against Ofterdingen, for they hated him and were 
 very jealous of his learning, and would willingly have 
 turned him out of the Court. Ofterdingen compared his 
 hero to the sun, and would only allow to other princes 
 the light of planets; whereas the rest of the singers raised 
 the lords of Thuringia above all nobles and likened 
 Ofterdingen to the day, which follows and depends on 
 the sun. The terms and illustrations of which the sin- 
 gers availed themselves, were neither choice nor saint, 
 but rather coarse and wounding and full ;>f passion. 
 
WARTBURG. 
 
 367 
 
 At length five scorned to be winning, when Ofter- 
 dingen exclaimed, that ,, False due was played before 
 him in ThuringiaJ lt and longingly cried: ,,Oh Klinsor 
 of Hungary! I summon thee hither! Come over the sea, 
 I call upon thee Klinsor, I demand thee! Thy mastery 
 is acknowledged by all, shouldst thou number the sands 
 of the sea, or call the stars by their names, help thou, and I 
 shall be saved. He must be summoned, by him is the noble 
 Austria known" . Five of the singers desired his instant 
 death; Master Stempel was called to hold himself in 
 readiness, already were they about to seize their rival, 
 when he flew for protection to the lady Sophia, who with 
 her courtly dames was present at this festival , and hid 
 himself in the folds of her mantle. Then the Landgra- 
 vine arose extended her noble hand protectingly over 
 the head of Ofterdingen and spoke thus: ,,If I have ever 
 had any share, in causing you, my people, trouble or 
 affliction, now let your scorn fall upon me; let those 
 show it to whom I have never stretched forth a hand!" 
 Upon this the combatants immediately cried out with 
 loud voices: ,,Her will be accomplished. Let the Klin- 
 sor be brought, it will be long before he is found, but we 
 wall hear him willingly." Now the respite was fixed for 
 one year. In that time Ofterdingen must find Klinsor, 
 by whose decision all would abide, for his renown was 
 great in Hungary. And so Ofterdingen obtained leave 
 to quit the service of the Landgravine and betook him- 
 self to the court of Austria, to the Duke Leopold, 
 whose praises he had so highly vaunted and from whom 
 in former days he had obtained many benefits. Again 
 he was well received and hospitably treated, and with 
 letters and rich gifts forthwith proceeded further into 
 Hungary, where the great Master and poet Klinsor was 
 at that time living. 
 
308 
 
 CHAP. XLVT. 
 
 Now Meister Klin s or Avas accomplisliod in the seven 
 liberal arts and was held in great esteem by the King of 
 Hungary, Andreas by name, who retained him in his 
 council and gave him yearly five thousand marks of sil- 
 ver, with rich garments also and sumptuous living, for 
 the Meister Mas everywhere renowned. He was not only 
 experienced in miningand cunningin discovering hidden 
 treasure but was also the first of Minnesingers; moreover 
 he possessed the power of foretelling by the stars, and 
 understood the art of magic excellently well, strong and 
 mighty spirits being serviceable to his will.*) To this 
 Meister came then Heinrich von Ofterdingen and told 
 all that had happened at the Wartburg, and presented 
 the letter of the Duke of Austria. When Klinsor had 
 read and heard all, he consoled Heinrich with friendli- 
 ness saying: ,,Be comforted, we will soon turn this mis- 
 fortune away from thee, I will myself travel thither with 
 thee, listen to the singers and appease their strife; but 
 first let me hear thy songs and verses. Then Heinrich 
 sang to the great Meister all his songs, wherewith Klin- 
 sor was well pleased Then must Heinrich relate much 
 concerning his enemies, so they continued together and 
 amused themselves with many a pastime, and unremarked 
 the year slipped away, ere the great Meister made ready 
 for his journey to Thuringia, yea, he delayed their de- 
 parture even till the time of respite was at an end. Ofter 
 dingen must needs be in Eisenach on the following day! 
 
 *) Be it remembered in the Middle Ages knowledge and 
 particularly that of the natural sciences was rare; men attri- 
 buted to supernatural agency what in modern days is clearly 
 undei stood: probably learned men encouraged the belief, in- 
 as-much as it secured their own importance. The art of print- 
 ing was at first attributed to infernal agency etc. 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 369 
 
 whereat lie was sorely troubled and lamented that he 
 would be cursed throughout the land as a word-breaker 
 and nevermore be able to enter the lists of the art-singers. 
 ,,Ah! dearMeister, he cried, let me not go from here in this 
 trouble, I cannot, will not believe, thou canst permit me 
 to withdraw from thee without some help." Klinsor gently 
 consoled him, and said: ,, Trouble not thyself my son, we 
 can well reach Eisenach, we shall not be long travelling 
 thither, having strong horses and a light chariot; and he 
 bid Ofterdingen eat with him that night. So after he 
 had drunk, he fell into a deep sleep. Then the Meister 
 caused him to he laid upon acoverlet of leather, stretched 
 himself beside him , wrapped it around them both, and 
 called up his spirits to bear them to Eisenach to the inn. 
 Easily and safely they came that same night into ,,Hein- 
 rich Hellgrafen Hof," which lay near to St. George's 
 gate, on the left hand as you quit the town. 
 
 Ofterdingen awoke as the bells toned forth at break 
 of day and was astonished to hear the summons to mass 
 in St. George's church. He exclaimed: ,,HaveInot heard 
 those bells before! it seems as if I were again in Eise- 
 nach." ,, Perchance thou dreamest my friend," smilingly 
 answered Klinsor. Ofterdingen, amazed, knew not what 
 had happened to him; he saw the old houses in the little 
 streets and again cried out in astonishment: ,,I see the 
 gate of St. George and the people passing out into the 
 fields; praise be to God that we are. here once more, and 
 this is the Hellgrafenhaus ! And now the rumor soon 
 reached the Wartburg that the ,, Ofterdingen " had re- 
 turned and the great Meister with him. Then w r ent the 
 Minnesingers down from the castle to greet the Meister 
 with all honor and to offer him precious gifts; then en- 
 quired they where he had passed the night before and 
 how they had taken their rest. Ofterdingen spoke and 
 
 24 
 
370 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 said: „We fell to sleep at Liebenburgen, and by matins 
 we were here: how this happened I do not know, and is 
 truly impossible to explain". Then all ascended the 
 Wartburg to the Landgrave Hermann, and were re- 
 ceived with much honor by the noble guests, strangers, 
 princes and courtly retinue." 
 
 It happened a few days after he came to Eisenach 
 (before the postponed musical strife had been renewed), 
 that Meister Klinsor was sitting one fine evening in the 
 garden of the Hostellerie, surrounded by nobles from the 
 court of the Prince and many wealthy burghers out of 
 the city, and as they drank together at the table, they 
 begged him to tell them something strange and new, as 
 was his custom, which made them ever like to have him 
 in their company. He arose, stepped back from them 
 and gazed long and earnestly at the stars, then said: 
 „This night I tell you a new and joyful wonder, a 
 daughter shall be born to my Lord of Hungary and she 
 shall be a Saint, and shall be betrothed to the son of the 
 Prince of Thuringia, and from her holy life she shall be 
 the joy and comfort of all Christendom." This news 
 spread itself to the Wartburg. Next day, a great feast 
 was made, with many rejoicings and the fame of the pro- 
 phecy went all over the Thuringian land. Now Klinsor 
 entreated the Landgrave Hermann to arrange for the re- 
 newal of the singers' contest, upon account of which he 
 had come there. And so that happened in the Eitter- 
 haus, at the Wartburg; and the Meister said, there in the 
 midst of princes, nobles and knights (of whom many were 
 
TUB WAUTHUHi; 
 
 371 
 
 at that time come to this court), that the Day proceeded from 
 the Sun; that if the Sun did not lighten the earth, there 
 would be no Day, and with many beautiful and witty 
 sayings he put aside the singers 1 strife and maintained 
 that Ofterdingen held the right, and so blessedly con- 
 cluded the contest. Wolfram von Eschenbach however 
 remained unsatisfied, (for he had sung most in opposition 
 to Ofterdingen). So then Klinsor finding all his argu- 
 ments fail to convince him, stepped out of the Rittersaal 
 and summoned one of his spirits, which appeared in the 
 form of a youth, and Klinsor presented him to Wolfram 
 in presence of the nobles and princes, saying: ,, Wolfram, 
 lam weary, this my Knight shall, speak further with thee; 
 now talk freely of all things, from the beginning, to the 
 time of grace, when Christ was born. Then began Wolf- 
 ram to discourse of the Eternal Word, how that proceeded 
 forth from the bosom of the Father and became flesh, as 
 was given in the holy communion. And when he spoke 
 of the marvellous changing of the bread into the flesh of 
 Christ, then would the spirit no more answer but became 
 dumb. Klinsor wondered at the singer's lofty words and 
 gave the spirit command to prove Wolfram still further, 
 to see whether he were a scholar or a Laie. Now Wolf- 
 ram lived with a burgher of Eisenach by name Titzel 
 Gottschalk, in the Bread -Market, at the ,,Sulzenhorn u . 
 As he lay beside his serving man, in a little stone cham- 
 ber without window, in the middle of the night, the same 
 spirit appeared to him with a face so fierce and fiery, 
 that the serving man was nearly out of his head for fear. 
 Then Wolfram spoke again to the spirit, of the nature of 
 the heavens; of the course of the stars; of the motions 
 of the seven planets through the space of the firmament, 
 of their power and influence on man, and why they were 
 sometimes near the sun and sometimes stood far off. 
 
 24* 
 
372 
 
 CHAP. XI.VI. 
 
 To all this the Knight Wolfram could get no answer. 
 The spirit with contemptuous bursts of laughter, wrote 
 with his fiery finger upon the stone wall ,,Thou art a 
 Laie! Snipper Snap !" and then vanished. Many flocked 
 to see the flaming writing, till the host caused the stone 
 to be pulled out of the wall and thrown into the ,, Hor- 
 sel", that he might again be left in peace. Now after all 
 this was done by the great Meister (besides the other 
 wonders and marvels in divers places), he took his leave 
 of the court of Hermann and withdrew richly recom- 
 pensed with gold and jewels and vanished, no one knew 
 how, or where." 
 
 From the windows of the Rittersaal the Venus- 
 Berg was pointed out to me in the distance, the scene 
 of Tannhauser's temptation. In the old legends it is 
 known as the Horselberg and it is one of the wonder- 
 tales of Thuringia. I cannot refrain giving the transla- 
 tion of the same — it is a part andlot of the district. Rich 
 valleys teeming with golden harvests, mountains clothed 
 in dark forests, are everywhere to be found in the land 
 of Germany, but nowhere is the wild poetry of the ro- 
 mantic age so vividly impressed upon the fancy, as here 
 in its favored region. 
 
 „High and bare, bold and uncultivated, as though a 
 curse rested upon it, out of the bright valley between 
 Eisenach and Gotha rises the Horselberg, seen from afar 
 
THE WARTBURG. 
 
 373 
 
 like a great stone coffin. In this coffin lie buried in a 
 charmed sleep till the last day, a legendary world of won- 
 ders: more sayings are there of this wild spot, than of any 
 other land, and there is much to be read of it in many an 
 old volume. High aloft on the northeast side of this 
 bare moutaiu, in a wall of rock, hard to penetrate, is a 
 gieat crevice or entrance, called by the people in those 
 regions the ,, Horselloch ". From hence proceeds conti- 
 nually a low dull rumbling sound, as of a subterranean 
 storm, or the roar and rush of water, dashing round the 
 wheels of a mill. Imyself, standing once upon the rocky 
 height, seeking the cavern entrance, but in vain, a mighty 
 rushing of wind and water tumbling over rugged sharp 
 cliffs seemed to commence beneath my feet, endeavoring 
 to find some means to escape. In olden times, so says the 
 Chronicle, loud laments and terrible howliugs proceeded 
 from this place at night, plainly heard in the stillness, so 
 that the dwellers about there, were frightened aud the 
 saying went forth that these cries and shrieks must come 
 from martyrized souls repenting there for their sins in 
 hell fires; whereupon it was called Horseelberg and so it 
 continues to this day. As the simple folk thought it Pur- 
 gatory and its entrance the gate of Hell, so every lover 
 of magic, led by the devil, went up from the Wartburg 
 to see how it fared with the soul of the,, Iron Landgrave", 
 and had not far to travel before they came to the place. 
 Here also it is believed, is that wild lord, who flew roar- 
 ing through the Thiiringer Wald, during twelve dismal 
 nights. And certainly is this Horselberg the Venusberg 
 of ancient renown, in whose caverns that heathen goddess, 
 transformed into a sorceress, holds her subterranean 
 court with all pomp and pleasure. Hither she entices all 
 who pass that way, with the sound of sweetsingingvoices 
 and nods and winks of charmed maidens. All that can 
 
374 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 rejoice the heart, she offers. Wherefore many from far 
 off-lands, have been enticed to enter there, from whence 
 no soul has ever yet returned. Still is the Horselberg 
 called by some the Venusberg; still sound forth the old 
 legends of that enchanted court, a sure sign that this 
 Thuringian rock was traditionally known and entitled 
 the true enchanted mountain. In Latin it is written 
 ,,MonsHorrisonus" meaning the wailing mountain. Now 
 gay, now gloomy, now dark, are the legends of the Hor- 
 selberg. That rock, outwardly so bare, so unfruitful and 
 barren to behold, has left to modern times the poetry of 
 a rich and hidden life. In its bosom are concealed won- 
 ders and secrets, but since the upper world regards them 
 no more, all is hidden now within its dark caverns, within 
 its charmed depths. A storm conductor is the Horsel- 
 berg, its high front kisses the meteors of heaven. In the 
 year 1398 three great globes of fire appeared at Eisenach, 
 blazed for a time in the air, mingled themselves together, 
 then parted and disappeared in the Horselbergloch." 
 
 Above the Rittersaal, is the banqueting hall, an im- 
 mense apartment with three large yawning fire-places, 
 and a dais, or platform, at one end raised about two feet 
 from the flocr. As I viewed it now, standing on the plat- 
 form, with its new bright decorations, in Byzantine color- 
 ing, I could hardly realize it belonged to those days the 
 legends tell of. From this we were conducted to the 
 Fiirstensaal remarkable only for its frescoes, depicting the 
 scenes in the lives of the Landgraves. Of course the first 
 is that of Louis the Springer, hunting-horn in hand, his 
 fo roster and two or three dogs, climbing to the rock of the 
 
THE WARTBURG. 
 
 275 
 
 Wartburg. In the second series, the adventure of the 
 ,,Iron Landgrave" with the Blacksmith. He obtained 
 the title by the following incident. — ,,This Landgrave 
 (the Springer's son) was good and patient in his youth 
 towards his vassals, but so soft and indolent that no one 
 feared him. Malcontents arose among the peasantry, who 
 cheated and were insolent to the burghers, and did great 
 injury to the land. His vassals cursed him and thought 
 how they might do him evil; whereupon they armed 
 themselves against his patient indolence and indifference. 
 The nobles saw and knew this well, but were silent and 
 would not permit the peasants to approach him. Many 
 said it was a pity he ever was made lord of the land, as 
 he was not worthy of it. The burghers also were in great 
 trouble from unjust judgments, hard services, cruel treat- 
 ment, robberies by their enemies and falsity from their 
 friends. Now it happened one day, that the Landgrave 
 was out hunting with his nobles, as his custom was from 
 time to time; and as he rode fast and far into the forest, 
 he got separated from his companions. Attracted by a 
 light, which glimmered in the distance afar off through 
 the darkness, he proceeded onwards and found it was 
 the fire of a blacksmith. Here he entered, clad in a suit 
 of grey with his hunting horn; he begged hospitality and 
 repose. The smith asked roughly who and what his 
 visitor was. He answered: ,,I am one of the hnntsmen 
 of the Landgrave Ludwig. Then cries the smith: ,,Pfui, 
 pfui, the mole-cat, wipe thy mouth after that", thou shalt 
 be lodged but not for his sake, take thine horse into the 
 hovel, there thou wilt find straw to serve thee for the 
 night, for no other couches have we, here in the forest. 
 So the Landgrave did as he was desired and the smith 
 worked on lustily at the forge. The iron hissed and 
 smoked as it was heated red in the furnace, and he banged 
 
37G 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 and thumped thereon with the huge hammer, and the sparks 
 arose in a cloud and flew over the Landgrave. The smith 
 kept humming at his work, ,,So will it go hard with thee 
 LordLudwig, thou unrighteous idle Lord, thy nobles flat- 
 ter, thy people groan, one injures thee, another robs thee, 
 they make themselves rich whilst thou becomest poor. 
 Aha! Lord Ludwig, it will go hard with thee! it will go 
 hard with thee! u and so the smith hummed and cursed 
 the Landgrave loudly. So Ludwig heard and slept not 
 much that night. But now he felt as brave as before he 
 had been weak, and in the early morning he rode away 
 into the forest. The hint had not been thrown away. 
 Ludwig soon added to his own power by freeing the pea- 
 santry from the heavy yoke imposed by the nobles. These 
 rose in defiance, and made a brave defence at the battle 
 of Naumburg, but were finally defeated. They were yoked 
 in turn by fours in a plough, which the Landgrave guided 
 with his own hand, and with which he ploughed up a 
 field still known as the ,,Adelacker" (the nobles' acre) in 
 the vicinity of Freiberg. Louis was ever after called the 
 ,,Iron Landgrave" and henceforward there was a saying 
 in Thuringia of any brave hard man, ,,he has been har- 
 dened in the Ludwig smithy at Kuhla. " 
 
 The place is still shown where the blacksmith dwelt, 
 near the waterfall in Walchen's garden. 
 
 In order to reach the chapel of the castle you pass 
 through an open gallery, which, together with the three 
 story facade, was added to the building in the seven- 
 teenth century. The gallery has been lately renewed and 
 embellished by frescoes done in medallions, representing 
 
THE WARTBURO. 
 
 377 
 
 the different scenes in the life of Saint Elizabeth, whose 
 story is so interwoven with that of the Wartburg and so 
 touchingly beautiful in itself, it cannot be passed over, 
 however well known. 
 
 The prophecy of Klinsor made a strong impression on 
 the Landgrave Hermann , so much so that after three 
 years had passed away, he wrote letters to Andreas, King 
 Hungary, demanding therein, for his son, the King's little 
 daughter Elizabeth, and despatched them by a superb 
 embassy of ladies and nobles, among them the proud and 
 eloquent knights , Reinhard von Miihlberg and Walther 
 Schenk von Bargula; also Frau Bertha, the charming and 
 virtuous widow of the Knight Egeholf von Bendeleben ; also 
 three noble and beautiful youngmaidens, andserving wo- 
 men, besides other lords, cavaliers and serving men. 
 There were four waggons and from thirty to forty horses. 
 Great honor was shown them in all places through which 
 they passed, and so they travelled to Hungary andstopped 
 at Presburg, where the King was then holding court: 
 they found him with his Queen and the infant Princess. 
 On the following day, with much pomp and ceremony, 
 they astonished all the court by delivering their message 
 and the letters. The King smiled graciously and said: 
 ,,I will consult with the Queen and councillors, then give 
 answer". Then sent he for Meister Klinsor, who spoke 
 much in praise of the Landgrave Hermann , of the num- 
 bers and renown of the nobles, of the fruitfulness of the 
 land, that it abounded in corn, vineyards, steel, iron, 
 copper and salt, was rich in game and fish, had great 
 forests and waters, good villages and populous towns, 
 also twelve Landgrave states, many barons, besides 
 knights, gentlemen and vassals. He said moreover, that 
 the land was plain in the centre, but was surrounded with 
 mountains andhad manystrong fortresses, that the Prince 
 
378 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 was manly and handsome, that his son was wise as^might 
 be expected, from his early years, viz. eleven. ,, Therefore 
 is it my counsel that you affiance your daughter to him." 
 
 Now the King pondered over this judgment of Klin- 
 sor, and it pleased him well, and he forthwith gave 
 the ambassadors a gracious reply, and immediately a 
 magnificent feast was prepared with gifts of gold and 
 silver stuffs, ornaments and weapons. Now the young 
 Princess was only four years old and she was to take 
 great treasures with her, as presents to her future father- 
 in-law. Gold drinking cups, crosses and crowns, and for 
 the child herself, a silver bath and cradle with silk hang- 
 ings and a velvet coverlet. Moreover the ambassadors 
 were desired to tell the Landgrave, that the King would 
 himself bring his little daughters portion and treasures, 
 when he came to attend the marriage in person. Never 
 before in Thuringia, was anything seen so magnificent 
 as this procession. Whereas the messengers had arrived 
 witli only four waggons, they travelled back with thirteen. 
 Each knight, beside his own horse, had a steed with 
 costly trappings, and there was none that had not re- 
 ceived a new mantle. Nine horses drew the waggons, 
 which contained the garments and treasures of the King's 
 little daughter. Late was it ere the long procession 
 reached Eisenach, and entered the Hellgrafenhof, the 
 best inn of that period, where the host treated all well. 
 The Landgrave and his lady praised God and went down 
 into the town to receive their noble guests and the em- 
 bassy. The Landgravine and her ladies remained with 
 the noble child that night, who slept beside her nurse in 
 peace. Early next morning the procession moved slowly 
 up to the Wartburg, whither all the best and noblest of 
 Eisenach were come to see the Princess. There, for the 
 entertainment of the company, a mock marriage was gone 
 
THE WARTIJURCi 
 
 370 
 
 through, with many other pastimes, and those messengers 
 could never enough relate how well they were treated, 
 nor of all that the King and Queen of Hungary pro- 
 mised to do when the children grew up, for Elizabeth 
 was then but four and Ludwig eleven years of age. So 
 Elizabeth was brought up at the Wartburg, like a sister 
 to the Landgrave's son." 
 
 Her youth was influenced by her confessor Conrad 
 of Marburg, a stern Dominican monk, who ruled with 
 great power the minds of the people and enforced the 
 most rigid observances. Elizabeth, gifted from her birth 
 with religious fervor, practised the strictest and severest 
 rules of the church, gave all her wealth to the poor, ab- 
 stained from all superfluous food, rose at midnight to 
 pray and tended the sick afflicted with the most repul- 
 sive disorders. Her story is exquisitely told in Count 
 Montalembert's ,,Histoire de Ste. Elizabeth". A bride at 
 fourteen, the life of the beautiful young couple, their love, 
 their parting and her subsequent misfortunes, form a long 
 interesting story. The marked scenes of it are depicted 
 in frescoes on the walls of the open arcade that leads to 
 the chapel. In the first her arrival, as described in the 
 chronicle above; in the second the miracle of the Roses; 
 the third, her parting with her husband, who followed in 
 the crusade of Barbarossa to the Holy Land and never 
 returned; the fourth, her being driven from the Castle 
 of the Wartburg by her brother-in-law Henry Raspe, 
 who took possession after the Landgrave's death, to the 
 exclusion of his infant son. Reduced to beggary, she 
 wandered about the streets of Eisenach, whose inha- 
 bitants, under penalty of death, were forbidden to house 
 her. She took refuge in churches, with her four little 
 children. Finallyit reached the ears of her relatives, who 
 sent for her. The indignation of the people had been 
 
380 
 
 CHAP. XL VI. 
 
 roused, and it is said that Rudolf von Schenk presented 
 himself before the Landgrave reproaching himboldlyand 
 compelling him to treat his brother's widow with all due 
 honor. Henry, ashamed of his conduct, reinstated Eliza- 
 beth in her rights, but she chose to retire as a nun in the 
 convent at Marburg. Later he found ample revenge for 
 the coercion, by ridding himself of her son, the young 
 Hermann, by poison. Her death and burial form the 
 subjects of the remainder of the frescoes. 
 
 The church of Saint Elizabeth at Marburg was only 
 completed in forty eight years. It is described by modern 
 writers as a very elegant interesting Gothic edifice, a 
 specimen of the early purity of that style of architecture, 
 at the same time in the mostperfect state of preservation. 
 In one arm of the transept, is the richly ornamented cha- 
 pel of Saint Elizabeth. She was canonized for the sanc- 
 tity of her life. The stone steps around it are worn hol- 
 low by the knees of pilgrims, who resorted to it for many 
 centuries. Within is a carved tablet, representing the 
 Saint, lying in her coffin surrounded by cripples and sick 
 folk, the objects of her bounty. Her soul is seen hover- 
 ing above her head, on its way to Heaven where Christ 
 extends to her His hand. The shrine which contained her 
 body is now placed in the sacristy. It is oak, covered 
 with plates of copper gilt, and ornamented with bas-re- 
 liefs of solid silver gilt. It was originally inlaid with 
 pearls, antique cameos, and costly gems, but the greater 
 part of these were stolen in 1810 by the French, who 
 removed the shrine to Cassel. 
 
 We must here leave St. Elizabeth and the old chro- 
 nicles of the Wartburg. Truly has the German writer said, 
 it is a volume of deep interest. Many another tale of 
 woe have its old walls been privy to. After the death of 
 Henry Raspe, Sophia, the daughter of Saint Elizabeth 
 
THE WARTBURG. 
 
 381 
 
 and widow of Honry Duke of Brabant, brought her infant 
 son to Marburg where fealty was sworn to the ,, Child of 
 Brabant", the descendant of their beloved Saint. The 
 Wartburg and the country were entrusted by Sophia to 
 the protection of her neighbor, Henry Margrave von 
 Meissen; he was faithless to his trust: Sophia hearing the 
 the same, hastened to Eisenach. Its gates were closed 
 against her; they had paid homage to Henry von Meis- 
 sen. Sophia seized with indignation took up an axe and 
 with her own hand dealt a furious blow against the gate, 
 which was instantly opened by the astonished citizens. 
 Negotiations ensued, but treachery and superior power 
 prevailed. The long contest ended by leaving Henry von 
 Meissen in possession of Thuringia, and Henry of Bra- 
 bant reduced to accept the province of Hesse, where he 
 became founder of the present reigning family. 
 
 And now we take leave of the palace of the Land- 
 graves in the Wartburg, to turn to a later and deeper 
 subject of interest. The old ,,Vorhaus", a building on 
 the opposite side of the court, is an appendage of the 
 castle. Here Luther spent so many months, and his cham- 
 ber is still shown in the same state as when he occupied 
 it. It is a dark brown wainscoted room, with a high 
 narrow window overlooking the rocky heights of Mittel- 
 stein , and its two colossal stones known as ,,the Monk 
 and Nun". Tradition tells that these had broken their 
 vows, met here, and were by the wrath of Heaven turned 
 into stone, as a warning to future sinners. — Luther did 
 not profit much by the lesson as it happened! 
 
 InLuthers room, still stands the old table, where the 
 Reformer translated the Scriptures, bound with iron , to 
 prevent visitors from chipping off relics, which they did 
 to that extent that his chair went all to pieces. There 
 hangs Luther's portrait, done by Cranach, unfortunately 
 
382 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 homely. On either side, hang his father's and mothers, 
 that worthy couple, who brought their son up well, and 
 who, though of lowly condition, were very remarkable 
 for judgment and strength of mind. Above the door is 
 suspended a head and breastpiece of plain steel, worn 
 by Luther when hiding in the castle, in the character of 
 Junker George. A green porcelain stove and two or 
 three old carved chests, form the furniture of a room so 
 Avell known in all histories of Luther's life. Here tradi- 
 tion tells, he threw his inkstand against the wall, in a 
 fit of passion, being tormented by the devil in the shape 
 of a big blue-bottle-fly. Every remnant of the ink daub 
 has been removed by pilgrims to the shrine, and a great 
 raw place in the plaster of the wainscot is left as evi- 
 dence of the same. I have always had my little private 
 opinion that Luther's familiar devil was his own bad 
 temper. If he fought that and conquered be deserved a 
 world of credit. It is easier to put our faults off on the 
 devil however than to father them ourselves. At all 
 events here in the Wartburg, he had much trouble with 
 infernal spirits it seems, who interrupted his writing at 
 night, by clanking iron chains up and down the stairs, 
 and shaking bags of hazelnuts. 
 
 Luther was bred at Eisenach; his father, a poor miner 
 who worked in the mines of Mansfeld, went to Eisleben 
 to attend the fair with his wife. The night they arrived 
 she gave birth to a son. It was the eve of St. Martin's 
 day, and they gave the child that name. So Eisleben is 
 honored as the birthplace of Martin Luther, but he was 
 educated at Eisenach, at one of the free schools, and a 
 plain old house is shown where his parents resided. In 
 the beginning of the sixteenth century scholastic learning 
 was gradually giving way before the Humanities, as they 
 were called. The Latin language which appeared to the 
 
THE WARTHURU. 
 
 383 
 
 Germans like a new discovery, was industriously studied 
 in the classical schools, and disseminated through the 
 means of Manuals. Learning divided itself between the 
 two sets known as Scholastics and Humanitarians. The 
 latter opened new views to the people, and developed 
 the corruptions of the church of Rome and ,,the Rbymsters 
 of the cities were never weary of propagating the witti- 
 cisms and bitter attacks of the Humanitarians, in the 
 form of proverbs, jocose stories and plays. ,,The desire 
 of learning became poAverful among the people: children 
 and half grown boys rushed from the most distant valleys 
 into the unknown world, to seek for knowledge. Where- 
 ever there was a Latin school established, there the 
 children of the people congregated, often undergoing the 
 greatest hardships, for though the founders and managers 
 of the schools, or the burghers of the cities, gave these 
 strangers a roof over their heads, and a bed to lie on, 
 they were obliged to beg for their daily maintenance". 
 A knoAvledge of these facts goes to explain the trials of 
 Luther's boyhood and the influences under which he was 
 educated. He, with other scholars as poor as himself, 
 wandered about the streets of Eisenach endeavoring to 
 procure bread by singing under the windows of wealthy 
 houses. Sometimes Luther sang ballads of his own com- 
 position, sometimes chaunts of the sufferings of the mar- 
 tyrs. This he called ,, Bread Music. " The memory of 
 our Lord's promise, ,, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
 one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me re- 
 vives, when we think through that child, begging for his 
 crust of bread, what mighty things were brought to pass. 
 A word explanatory will account for this peculiar custom 
 in Eisenach. The present gymnasium, one of the public 
 schools, is formed upon the basis of the old St. George's 
 school, founded by the Franciscan monks in the thirteenth 
 
384 
 
 OIIAP. XLVI. 
 
 con tiny. At this Luther studied while a „Currend boy" 
 in Eisenach. The Currend school still exists, and the 
 scholars to this day, chaunt their hymns in the streets 
 early every Sabbath morning. The little boys in their 
 long cloaks and big old fashioned hats, which make them 
 look like little old men, still rattle their tin padlocked 
 money boxes and intone their cry of, ,,Coo-or-orend" in 
 the entrances of the houses, hoping to receive a few 
 pfennings in return for their singing. These Currend 
 scholars form part of the church choir and are educated 
 for this purpose. After divine service the younger boys 
 assemble in the market-place under the Biirger-Schule, 
 with their little tin money boxes in their hands. The 
 institution derives its name from these circular tin 
 boxes about the size of a child's mug, with a slit in 
 the cover, a padlock in front, and a handle at the 
 back; painted brown just as they were in Luther's time, 
 whose Currend box is preserved to this day in his room 
 at the Wartburg. The origin of the foundation of the 
 Currend schools is unknown, but evidently a charity. 
 ,,Let no one, says Martin Luther speak contemptuouly 
 in my presence of the poor fellows who go singing through 
 the streets, and begging from door to door, „a little bread 
 for the love of God, " (panem propter Deum) — such 
 having been the cry of the Mendicant Friars, as they 
 stood with their sacks on their backs at the thresholds of 
 the houses in Luther's time, who says ,,1 myself too was 
 such a screaming beggar-boy — I was once one of those 
 mendicant lads seeking my bread at Eisenach, my own 
 dearEisenach." The warm-hearted Reformer loved Eise- 
 nach. There he had been housed and fed in his extreme 
 misery by the good dame Cotta. There, he had been 
 sheltered at the Wartburg from persecution. Near Lie- 
 benstein the old beech tree still stands, beneath which 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 385 
 
 Luther was resting when seized by an armed band of 
 knights in masks — friends in disguise — who carried 
 him off to the castle of the Wartburg. 
 
 It was in the year 1501 , Martin Luther, a thin poor 
 youth, stood before the gates of the university at Erfurt 
 asking admittance. When questioned if he were quali- 
 fied, his answer was, ,,He who prays as he ought, has 
 already accomplished half his labor." His testimonials 
 were satisfactory and he was admitted. It was here in 
 the old convent library, Luther found the Bible — a 
 book, which even the learned men of that day were un- 
 acquainted with; satisfied with the portions read to them 
 in church, they inquired no further. Like Hilkiah the 
 high priest, he had found the book of the Law: and like 
 the good king Josiah, in whose hands it was delivered, 
 he could proclaim, ,, Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me 
 and for the people and for all Judah, concerning the 
 words of this book which is found, for great is the wrath 
 of the Lord that is kindled agaiust us, because our fathers 
 have not hearkened unto the words of this Book to do 
 according unto all that which is written concerning us." 
 Deeply engaged in studying the Bible, we can easily 
 imagine these very same feelings reviving in the heart 
 of Luther. About this time too his intimate friend Alexius 
 was killed by lightning falling by his side; the religious 
 tendency of Luther's mind thus received its bias, and he 
 made a vow to devote himself to Heaven. Now we be- 
 come acquainted with that stern old man, his father, from 
 whom Luther inherited his strength of will. The in- 
 fluence of the old Hans Luther on his son was powerful, 
 and lasted till his death. When he learnt that Martin had 
 
 25 
 
386 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 taken the monastic vows, he was violently angry, he had 
 other views for him. After a while, through the inter- 
 vention of friends, a reconcilation was effected, but not 
 till years after, when residing at the Wartburg, and Lu- 
 ther wrote to him, ,, Behold God has with drawn me from 
 the thraldom of the monastery," the old man felt his 
 son was in a manner restored to him. Hans always had 
 a desire Luther should marry and he admonished him 
 earnestly on that subject, his persuasions had influence 
 later. At Erfurt Luther found no sympathy in the bro- 
 therhood, and though he obtained a high character for 
 sanctity and piety, yet, as he expresses it himself, his 
 heart was cold and dead. When John Staupitz, vicar 
 general of the Augustine monks in Germany, a noble- 
 man of high rank and the friend of the Elector Frederic 
 the Wise, visited the convent, Luther confessed to him 
 his state of mind, and it was through his influence and 
 good sense, the young monk was withdrawn from Erfurt 
 and sent as professor of theology to Wittenberg. 
 Travelling within the region and visiting spots so fraught 
 with the memory of Luther, the story of his life naturally 
 presents itself. His name is enshrined in the Wartburg, 
 over which a double halo glitters. The old glory of the 
 sainted Elizabeth and the remembrance of her virtues 
 shed their tender influence overall that surround it, while 
 the memory of the sturdy Reformer intermingles, present- 
 ing the anomaly of a double shrine, that of the rich old le- 
 gendary Romish faith, and the simple truth of the re- 
 formed religion. 
 
 The Germans go wild with enthusiasm in their rhap- 
 sodies over the Wartburg. Each year from early spring- 
 to late autumn , people flock there from every province 
 in the wide land. A rich, magnificent nature of dark 
 woodlands, golden meadows and calm valleys, surround 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 387 
 
 it, and the simplicity of the people who still believe in 
 the traditions of eld, adds to the interest. Treading the 
 mountain paths, among the rocks and woods of the Wart- 
 burg, you are constantly reminded of the actual lives of 
 those whose names have consecrated the ground. Here 
 is the spring where the sainted Elizabeth washed with 
 herown hands the garments, or persons of those miserable 
 objects, whom all the world rejected, infected with loath- 
 some diseases. There stood the hospital she endowed; 
 here the chapel where she prayed, and yonder the path, 
 down which one cold stormy day in the month of March, 
 Martin Luther made his way escorted by two friends, 
 wearing the disguise of a Cavalier, his locks well 
 grown, his beard trimmed into mustaches, he could not 
 be recognized as the Saxon monk. For nine months he 
 had occupied that chamber in the castle, under the title 
 of Junker George, he led a retired studious life. His pro- 
 tector the Elector, kept him there, fearing his impetuo- 
 sity and imprudence. The name of his retreat was un- 
 known even to his dearest friends. He dated his letters 
 from ,,Patmos" or „the castle in the air" etc. Luther 
 bore his seclusion in the castle uneasily. His was an 
 active soul and body. He felt cruelly the disturbances 
 Avhich were taking place in Wittenberg; fanaticism and 
 intemperate zeal had taken possession even of the mild 
 Melanchthon, his friend. Earnestly he longed to be on 
 the spot, but the Elector constantly wrote to him to re- 
 main where he was. Luther writhed under what he called 
 a life of idleness, yet he had been constantly busy with 
 his pen, wrote various books and gave to the German 
 people that translation of the New Testament which not 
 only enlightened their understanding, but established 
 the standard of the German tongue. He fixed upon the 
 first of March and on that day left the Wartburg un- 
 
 25* 
 
388 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 known to the Elector. At Eisenach lie dismissed his 
 attendants and went on his way alone. It was on this 
 journey to Wittenberg he met the young student John 
 Kessler whose narrative is well known among Germans 
 but which I insert here, believing it is not so familiar 
 to us at home. 
 
 The simplicity of the diction, and the light it throws 
 on the manners of the times, renders it highly inter- 
 esting. 
 
 The exterior of the man who was riding down from 
 the Wartburg to Wittenberg is thus described by a young 
 student travelling with a friend from Switzerland to 
 Saxony. This, his narrative is well known: 
 
 ,,When we were travelling to Wittenberg to study 
 the Holy Scriptures , we arrived at Jena in Thuringia, 
 in God knows how wild a storm, and after many inquiries 
 in the city for a lodging wherein we might pass the night, 
 could not find any; everywhere lodging was denied us, 
 because it was Shrove-tide , when pilgrims and strangers 
 were little cared for; so we determined to leave the town 
 and endeavor to reach a village that would shelter us. 
 In the meanwhile we met at the gate an honest man, who 
 spoke kindly to us and asked where we were going so 
 late, as there was neither farm nor house that we could 
 reach before night, and the road was very difficult to find. 
 We answered: ,, Dear father, we have tried all the inns 
 to which we have been directed and having everywhere 
 been refused a lodging, we are obliged to proceed far- 
 ther/' Then he asked, whether we had made inquiry at 
 the ,, Black Bear u and we replied : ,,It has never been 
 
EISENACH* 
 
 389 
 
 mentioned to us, tell us, dear father, where we shall find 
 it." He then showed us a little way out of the town and 
 when we came to the ,, Black Bear" behold the landlord 
 instead of refusing us as all the others had done, came 
 to meet us at the door, kindly told us to lodge there, and 
 took us into a room. There we found a man sitting alone 
 at a table, and before him a book. He greeted us kindly 
 and bade us come and sit by him at the table, for we 
 were seating ourselves quietly on a bench by the door, 
 as our shoes were so covered with mud and dirt, we 
 were ashamed to enter the room on account of the dirty 
 foot prints. He invited us to drink, which we could 
 not refuse, and as we found him so kind and cordial, we 
 seated ourselves by his table as he had asked us, and 
 called for a quart of wine, that we might return his civi- 
 lity and ask him to drink. We supposed him however to 
 be a knight, as he was dressed in hose and jerkin, with 
 a red leather cap, without armour, and sat, according to 
 the custom of his country, with a sword at his side, one 
 hand resting on the pommel , and the other clasping the 
 hilt. His eyes were black and deep set, flashing and 
 sparkling like stars, so that one could hardly bear to 
 look at them. 
 
 Shortly after, he asked us where we were born, but 
 answered himself, ,,You are Swiss; from what part of 
 Switzerland do you come?" We replied from St. Gallen. 
 He then said, ,,if you are going as I hear to Wittenberg, 
 you will find there some good countrymen of yours, Dr. 
 Jerome Schurf and his brother Dr. Augustin. We said: 
 ,,Wehave letters to them," we proceeded to inquire ,,Can 
 you inform us Sir whether Martin Luther is now in Wit- 
 tenberg, or if not, where he is." He answered: ,,I know 
 for certain, Luther is not now in Wittenberg, but will re- 
 turn soon. Philip Melanchthon is however there, who 
 
390 
 
 CHAP. XL VI. 
 
 teaches Greek and others who teach Hebrew. In truth I 
 would advise you to study both, as they are needful for 
 the right understanding of the Holy Scriptures. We re- 
 plied: ,,So help us God as long as he grants us life, we 
 will not desist till we have seen and heard this man, for on 
 his account have we undertaken this journey, as we learn 
 that he will overthrow the priesthood, together with the 
 Mass, that being a service founded in error. As we have 
 been brought up by our parents, and destined sinceyouth 
 to become priests, we are anxious to hear what his teach- 
 ing is and what authority he can bring forward for such 
 propositions. 1 ' After we had thus spoken he inquired: 
 ,, Where have you studied hitherto? — Answer: ,,At 
 Basle". — Then he said: ,,How are things going on at 
 Basle, is Erasmus of Rotterdam .still there, and what is he 
 doing? We replied: ,,We only know Sir, that all is going 
 on well, and that Erasmus is there, but what he is about 
 is unknown and concealed from every one, as he keeps 
 himself quite quiet and private". This manner of talk 
 appeared very strange to us in the Knight; how could 
 he know everything relative to the two Schurfs, of Phi- 
 lip and Erasmus, and also be aware of the necessity of 
 learning Greek and Hebrew. He introduced too, Latin 
 words , so that we bethought us he must be more than a 
 common Knight. 
 
 ,,Dear sons" he said ,,what do they think in Switzer- 
 land about Luther?" We answered: ,, Sir, there, as well 
 as everywhere else opinions vary. Many cannot exalt 
 him sufficiently and thank God who has manifested His 
 truth through him, and exposed error, but many condemn 
 him as a cursed heretic, especially all the ecclesiastics. 
 He answered: ,, I can well imagine it of the priests." 
 Thus holding converse , we became quite at home with 
 him, so that my companion took up the book that was 
 
KISKNACII. 
 
 lying before him and opened it. It was the Hebrew 
 Psalter. He put it down quickly and the Knight drew it 
 towards him. Then my companion said: ,,I would give 
 one of my fingers to be able to understand this language". 
 He answered: ,,You will have no difficulty in compre- 
 hending it provided you devote yourself to it indus- 
 triously, I also desire to know more of it, and study 
 it daily." 
 
 In the meanwhile evening drew on, and it became 
 quite dark. The landlord came to the table, and when 
 he learnt our longing disire to know Martin Luther he 
 said: ,, Dear comrades if you had been here two days 
 ago, you would have succeeded, for he was here, and sat 
 at this table and pointing with his finger, in that very 
 place. We were much vexed and provoked that we had 
 missed him, and laid it all to the muddy bad road which 
 had delayed us; but we said: „We rejoice however that 
 we are in the same house, and sitting at the same table 
 at which he sat," At this the landlord laughed and 
 went away. After a little while the landlord called to 
 me to come to him outside the door of the room. I was 
 frightened and thought that perhaps without intending 
 it, I had done something that was unbecoming. Then he 
 said to me," as I know you wish to see and hear Luther, 
 it is he who sits by you. " I took this for a joke and 
 said: ,,I see indeed, good Sir, that you wish to banter me 
 by imposing upon me a false Luther". He answered: 
 „It is he most assuredly, but do not show that you think 
 so, or that you recognize him. I assented, but did not 
 believe him. I went again into the room and placed my- 
 self at table, anxious to tell my companion what the 
 landlord had said. At last I turned to him and whis- 
 pered secretly: ,,The landlord has told me that this is 
 Luther." He would not believe it any more than I, and 
 
392 
 
 CHAP. XLVl. 
 
 said: He perhaps told youit wasHutten and you did not 
 rightly understand him. As the dress and bearing re- 
 minded me more of Hutten, than of a monk like Luther, 
 I was persuaded he had said it was Hutten, as the be- 
 ginning of both names sounded so much alike. What I 
 further said was spoken as if to the Knight, Herr Ulrich 
 von Hutten. In the meanwhile there arrived two mer- 
 chants, who intended to remain there all night. After 
 they had taken off their travelling dresses and spurs, one 
 of them laid down near him an unbound book. Then 
 Martinus asked what kind of book it was. He answered: 
 ,,It is Dr. Luther s exposition of some of the Gospels and 
 Epistles, just printed and published, have you not seen 
 it? Martinus answered: ,,I shall soon get it". ,,The host 
 now desired us to range ourselves at table, as it was time 
 to eat. We begged of him to have consideration for us, 
 and give us something apart, but he replied: ,,Dear com- 
 rades place yourselves by these gentlemen at table, I 
 will charge you moderately." When Martinus heard this, 
 he said: ,, Come here, I will settle for you with the 
 landlord." 
 
 During the meal Martinus spoke many kind and godly 
 words, so that the merchants, as well as ourselves, were 
 mute before him, attending more to his words than to the 
 viands before us. Amongst other things he lamented with 
 a sigh, that the Princes and Lords just then assembled 
 at the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg on account of the 
 troubles of the German nation, and for the sake of the 
 pending proceedings concerning God's word, were only 
 inclined to waste their time in costly tournaments, sledge- 
 drives, vanity and dissipation, when fear of God and 
 Christian prayer would be of more avail; but such are 
 our Christian Princes! He further said: ,, There was hope 
 that evangelical truth would bear more fruit among their 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 393 
 
 children and descendants who were not poisonnd by pa- 
 pal errors; that they might be grounded in pure truth 
 and the word of God, while among the parents error was 
 so deeply rooted, it could hardly be eradicated. 
 
 Then the merchants gave their opinion freely and one 
 of them said: ,,I am a simple layman and undersland 
 little of these disputes, but I must speak of things as I 
 find them, Luther must either be an angel from Heaven, 
 or a devil out of Hell. I would gladly however give ten 
 gulden to confess to him, for I believe he could and would 
 give me good instruction. Then the landlord came to 
 us secretly and said: Martinus has paid for your 
 supper. That gave us much pleasure, not for the sake 
 of the money and food, but for the hospitality shown us 
 by this man. After supper the merchants rose and went 
 to the stable to look after their horses. In the meanwhile 
 Martinus remained alone with us in the room. We 
 thanked him for the honor he had done us, as well as for 
 the gift, and as we did so, we showed him that we took him 
 for the Knight Ulrich von Hutten, but he said: ,,I am not 
 Hutten ". Then the landlord coming in, Martinus said: 
 ,,I have become a nobleman to-night, for these Swiss 
 have taken me for Ulrich von Hutten. The landlord re- 
 plied ,,you are not he but Martinus Luther." Then Mar- 
 tinus laughing as if it, were a joke said: ,, These take me 
 for Hutten, you for Luther, soon I shall become a Mar- 
 kolfus (a spirit supposed to haunt Germany in these 
 days). After this talk he took a long glass of beer and 
 said, according to the custom of the country: ,, Drink a 
 friendly glass with me with God's blessing." When I 
 was going to take the glass from him, he changed it and 
 offered instead a glass of wine saying:,, The beer is foreign 
 to you, and you are unaccustomed to it, drink the wine." 
 Meanwhile he rose and threw his tabard over his shoul- 
 
394 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 ders and took leave. He held out his hand to us and 
 said : ,,If you go to Wittenberg greet Dr. Jerome Schurf 
 for me". We replied: „We will do that with pleasure, 
 but how must we designate you that he may understand 
 your greeting." He answered : „Say nothing further than 
 that, he who is coming sends you greeting, he will under- 
 stand these words. So he departed from us and we went 
 to bed. 
 
 Afterwards the merchants returned into the room and 
 called the landlord and had much talk with him about 
 the guest and wondered, who he could be. The land- 
 lord declared he was Luther, and the merchants were 
 soon convinced of it, and regretted they had spoken so 
 unbecomingly before him. They would rise at an early 
 hour in the morning that they might see him before he 
 started, and would beg of him not to be angry with them, 
 as they had not known who he was. This they did and 
 found him the next morning in the stable, but Martinus 
 said: ,,You said last night you would give ten gulden to 
 confess yourself to Martin Luther, when you do so, you 
 will discover whether I am he. He did not make him- 
 self further know T n, but mounted his horse and rode to- 
 ward Wittenberg. 
 
 On the the following Saturday, the day before the 
 first Sunday in Lent, we presented ourselves at Dr. Je- 
 rome Schurf s house to deliver our letters. When we 
 entered the room, we found there the Knight Martinus 
 just as we had seen him at Jena, and with him were Philip- 
 pus Melanchthon, Justus Jodocus Jonas, Nicholas Amsdorf 
 and Dr. Augustin Schurf, who were telling him what had 
 had happened during his absence from Wittenberg. He 
 greeted us, and laughing, pointed with his finger and said 
 ,,This is the Philip Melanchthon of whom I told you." 
 
EISENACH. 
 
 395 
 
 Eisenach is a central spot which one may make head 
 quarters, diverging thence in every direction to places of 
 interest. Coburg is within two hours by rail, and the 
 way thither leads through a variety of beautiful spots: 
 the baths of Liebenstein , with a background of roman- 
 tic glens and charming excursions; the valley of the 
 Werra, dividing two of the boldest mountain ridges in 
 central Germany; Meiningen, where stands the Duke's 
 summer chateau and in its park, the rock from which tra- 
 dition says St. Boniface, the apostle of Germany, preached 
 to the pagan inhabitants. Further cn , in the woodland, 
 Luther's beech-tree, where the men in masks captured 
 him and carried him off to the Wartburg. The country 
 between Eisenach and Coburg is one succession of rich 
 meadow lands highly cultivated and bounded by moun- 
 tains; this is the land of which even six centuries ago the 
 Emperor Henry II said: ,,It was an earthly paradise 
 strewn with flowers , and overcharged with abundance.' 4 
 It was now the hay making season; the peasant women 
 all were out, with their queer coal scuttle shaped straw 
 hats on, and the weather was divine. Coburg rose upon 
 us as if from a garden. Remnants of tower gates and old 
 walls remain on its outskirts, but within, it presents that 
 orderly, neat, unused look, peculiar to the towns of 
 these little principalities, where everything is stagnant, 
 the inhabitants in a trance as it were, hardly a human 
 being moving about the streets. The monotony was in- 
 terrupted however in one instance, by my meeting a tall 
 fine looking negro man, whose dress and bearing indi- 
 cated something superior. My instinct told me he was 
 an American, and I addressed him. He was a Phila- 
 delphian by birth named Philips, and had been five and 
 twenty years in the service of the Duke. I spoke purposely 
 of the struggle then going on at home, he had evidently 
 
396 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 thought, he answered me: ,,Give the black man education 
 before you set him free, what are those poor ignorant 
 people to do who have been taken care of like children? 
 The emancipator calls out, let them go free, but not one 
 of the lot would give a dollar to support the unfortunate 
 negro." Here are the very words of a free educated 
 colored man, and they will meet response in many a re- 
 flecting mind. 
 
 The market-place in Coburg has been fixed upon as 
 the spot where to erect the monument in memory of 
 Prince Albert. On one side of it faces the Stadthaus; 
 opposite, stands the hall of records, a fine old building, as 
 also the university, or city gymnasium, founded by Duke 
 John Casimir. His statue adorns its corner, wrought 
 in brown stone, habited in doublet and hose. The Ducal 
 palace stands upon a fine extensive open space. In 1550 
 it was a cloister of Carmelite monks. After the battle of 
 Muhlberg when Charles V. lodged there , he called the 
 castle by the name it now bears ,, Ehrenberg". In 1626 
 Duke Casimir enlarged it; sixty years after, it was con- 
 sumed by fire, and later, it was rebuilt by the great 
 grandfather of the present Duke, in the English Gothic 
 style. But the principal object of interest in Coburg is 
 the oldSchloss on the hill — the Coburger Veste — Veste 
 meaning stronghold. This dates from the year 1057. In 
 the Middle Ages this castle came by marriage to the 
 House of Saxe- Coburg, from the family of Henne- 
 berg, so that this increase of territory added much to the 
 Saxon wealth, whence the saying of the Elector Frederic 
 the Wise to Cranach, who was then painter to the court 
 at Wittenberg, ,,Come my friend paint me now, fine and 
 neatly, this pretty hen (Henne) that has laid so great an 
 egg for Saxony". At the period of the Augsburg Diet, 
 Luther found a refuge here in the old Schloss, and em- 
 
COBURG. 
 
 397 
 
 ployed his time translating the Psalms into German from 
 the Latin. It was here he composed his immortal hymn : 
 ,,Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott". On the wall of his 
 room he inscribed : ,,Non moriarsed vivam et narrabo opera 
 Domini. " The old Schloss had been left to go to ruin, 
 and was converted into a house of correction, but Queen 
 Victoria laid her fostering hand upon it; the reigning 
 Duke was not wealthy enough to renovate it, the Queen 
 came forward, bought up all theland about the hill, which 
 belonged to small proprietors, and presented it to the 
 Duke. Now, a magnificent chaussee conducts you in a 
 carriage to the very court of the castle. The drive up is 
 perfectly lovely, through woods, with glimpses here and 
 there of the grand panoramic view beyond. The whole 
 castle has been restored in its original style — bastions, 
 and look-out tower, moat and drawbridge. It enjoys the 
 renown of having resisted a siege by Wallenstein. As 
 we descended from our carriage the castellan appeared, 
 keys in hand. He conducted us first to two rooms on the 
 ground floor, old low ceilinged places with latticed win- 
 dows, looking out upon the wide extent of country 
 which the castle commands. These rooms contain a col- 
 lection of harness, sledges, and state carriages, these last 
 used when John Casimir was Duke in 1500. They, are 
 unique. The carriages are long narrow platforms with a 
 seat at each end for a single person, the sides done in 
 carved open work gilt; four thin poles support a flat 
 roof, encircled by a cornice, also carved and gilded. The 
 driver's seat in front is flanked on either side by a grif- 
 fin, or lion rampant two feet high, these also gilt except 
 a scarlet tongue, which protrudes defiantly —evidently the 
 family crest. There were two of these carriages, each used 
 at the separate marriages of Duke Casimir. The second 
 room contains sledges, all about the size of what we call 
 
398 
 
 CHAP. XLVT. 
 
 a „pung" at home, for a single person with a very small 
 velvet seat, and just room for the legs within. The foot 
 board is carried very high up in front and presents a 
 carved image about half the size of life, gaily painted and 
 gilt; Neptune with his trident, or a Triton blowing a horn 
 and other mythological naked figures, inappropriate, but 
 very gay and gorgeous. Half were of this description, 
 the other half animals, eagles, pelicans etc. probably the 
 family crests. The horse collars were enormous, shaped 
 to reach above their heads in a peak; painted in gay 
 colors and the harness studded with brass arabesque 
 ornaments. 
 
 From these rooms we walked into a gallery where a 
 fresco has been restored, representing the marriage pro- 
 cession in which these carriages figured. The Duke sits 
 on the back seat dressed in a sort of Spanish costume, 
 and his bride fronting him, in coif and flowing sleeves. 
 Close behind the carriage follow on foot the court fool, 
 in his suit of motley, and the favourite dwarf beside him. 
 Then the three architects (who had modelled the 
 plan of the gymnasium) represented with the plan in 
 their hands, conning over it, meant to be comical figures: 
 they have their rules, compasses etc. protruding from 
 their pockets. Further behind, walks the master builder, 
 with his workmen, bearing on their shoulders the model 
 of the building. The rest of the procession is filled up 
 with citizens in their holiday garb, caps, plumes and 
 slashed sleeves, the Spanish fashions having been intro- 
 duced into Germany after the accession of Charles V. to 
 the Imperial dignity. From this gallery we mounted an 
 oak stair and entered a suite of rooms all renovated, but 
 preserving the original coloring and decoration. Several 
 of these are devoted to a valuable collection of arms, all 
 arranged against the walls in artistic style. Among them 
 
COBURG. 
 
 399 
 
 were pointed out to us some of tlie original flail weapons 
 used in the Hussite and peasant wars, a scythe fixed to 
 a long staff. The largest of these rooms was formerly the 
 banqueting hall, with a great stove in one corner, about 
 twelve feet square and flat on the top. In the anticham- 
 ber a fresco covers a large space on the wall and re- 
 presents a scene enacted here in former days. Two bears 
 kept chained in the court below T , got loose and, attracted 
 by ihe smell of food, found their way to the banquet- 
 hall; the servants leapt on the stove, the guests defended 
 themselves with chairs and stools, all in dismay, when 
 the lady of the castle with great presence of mind seized 
 a dish of fruit from the table and advanced offering it to 
 one of the bears , who politely waited for her, while the 
 other more bearish, had climbed up on the table to help 
 himself. The host is seen, having seized a rifle, in the 
 act of shooting. The window of the antichamber looks 
 down into a court, and we there saw the living images of 
 the bears, but whether descendants of the same, remained 
 untold. Bears were kept for the purpose of sport, bear- 
 baiting then an aristocratic amusement. In these armory 
 chambers hang portraits which are interesting. There I 
 saw Duke Casimir who resembles greatly the like- 
 ness of Charles V., Gustavus Adolphus, a dark Jewish 
 looking man, and Tilly a mean , diminutive, pale-faced, 
 red-haired man, elaborately dressed in slashed doublet, 
 high boots and peaked hat, with a long feather, many 
 trappings, sashes, scarf etc. in divers colors, all of 
 which only made him look the meaner. If I despised him 
 before, it was only augmented by this delineation of (as 
 Gustavus Adolphus called him) „that devil, Tilly. 1 ' In 
 the picture one may have imagined the artist indulging 
 his own taste in contrasting colors, but not so; at the 
 sacking of Magdeburg the historian thus describes him. 
 
400 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 ,, A haggard looking man dressed in a short slashed green 
 satin doublet with a long red feather in his high crowned 
 hat, his large bright eyes peering from under a deeply 
 furrowed brow; a stiff mustache under his pointed nose; 
 ghastly hollow cheeks, and with a seeming affectation of 
 wildness, sitting on a bony charger amid the ruins of 
 Magdeburg, proudly looking down upon the thirty thou- 
 sand of its brave citizens now stiffening in death, which 
 at his command were cast into the Elbe; the river was 
 choked up with the mass. 4 ' Another of Tilly's atrocities, 
 though of a different nature, but which mark the man, 
 was the destruction of the famous Palatine Library at 
 Heidelberg a considerable portion of which he caused to 
 be used as litter for his horses in lieu of straw. From 
 the armory, we were conducted into the room once oc- 
 cupied by Luther. It has not been altered, and remains 
 wainscoted in dark oak, with two deep latticed windows. 
 It contains his bedstead, a mean common wooden one 
 with four posts, and a chair, both eaten away by those 
 worst of woodAvorms, travellers, who have carried away 
 small shreds of both, to their utter disfigurement, but a 
 stop has now been put to that. The only ornament of 
 this room is a plain table, on which is placed a bust of 
 Luther with a large Bible laid open before it, and that 
 Beer-Mug! No spot where Luther has left traces of his 
 life, but is marked by some special Beer-Mug. In mu- 
 seums you will find it, on the Wartburg you will find it, 
 go to Wittenberg, it is there; John Kessler's Narrative 
 ends by saying: ,, After this talk, he took a long glass 
 of beer and said according to the custom of his country: 
 ,, Drink with me a friendly glass with God's blessing". This 
 was Martin Luther. It was here at Coburg Luther re- 
 ceived the letter telling him of his father's death, the 
 staunch old Hans. He spoke only these words : ,, God's will 
 
COBURG. 
 
 401 
 
 be done", arose, took his Psalter and went into his room 
 where he wept and prayed and returned with a composed 
 mind. The same day he wrote to Melanchthon with deep 
 emotion of the heartfelt love of his father, and of the 
 entire confidence that existed between them. After leav- 
 ing Luther's room, we were shown two smaller ones, the 
 first fitted up as a catholic oratory, the walls encrusted 
 with carvings of Scripture subjects and a statue of the 
 Virgin and Infant Jesus, colored and gilded. The second 
 room is ornamented with panels, on which are depicted 
 likenesses of Luther and his friends; also Catherine von 
 Bora in a nun's dress. All are done on gold grounds 
 half life-size. Melanchthon, Luther, Jonas etc. in their 
 black robes, but with faces delicately painted, too much 
 idealized, but beautiful works of art. The last chamber 
 shown us, was entirely made up of ancient marquetrie 
 work, for which Coburg is celebrated even to this day. 
 
 This room is fashioned with beams across the ceiling, 
 these, together with the cornice and architraves, are de- 
 licately inlaid. A succesion of alto-relievo carvings in 
 white wood, are framed with arabesque patterns, and the 
 doors and pilasters, elaborate and elegant, are finished in 
 the same style. The panellings of the walls repiesent 
 scenes of the chase, or agricultural pursuits, in fine black 
 and yellow inlaid woods. This completed the objects of 
 interest within the castle, and we betook ourselves to the 
 ramparts to enjoy the vast and varied view, which ex- 
 tends to the Franconian Switzerland. Here grows the 
 famous Lindentree beneath which Luther refreshed him- 
 self, and where travellers continue to refresh themselves, 
 with the immortal Beer -Mug even unto this day. From 
 the castle we drove about four miles to Rosenau , a 
 summer residence, so called from rose and meadow, 
 derived from the abundance of these flowers on its slop- 
 
 26 
 
402 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 ing terrace. This, the favourite retreat of the Queen of 
 England, was the birthplace of the Prince consort. Its 
 aspect is that of a gentleman's quiet country seat, with 
 a tower, but no pretension to be a castle, sitting in its 
 stillness among groves of forest trees, extending away 
 into park and green lawns, where the repose of nature 
 constitutes its great charm. We walked about and ga- 
 thered a few wild flowers as mementos of the place 
 where a good man was born, then dined at a little Gast- 
 haus, just beyond the domain, and went afterwards 
 to Kalemberg, the ducal summer residence, erected 
 in 1838. Coming one day from Heideker, the Duke 
 gazed at the remains of the old castle of Kalemberg 
 crumbling away on its hill top, and resolved that a new 
 phenix should spring from its dust; he declared, another 
 Wartburg should rise, to equal its rival, ,,and now it has 
 become a little bit of universal history, " as a German 
 quaintly remarked. So the Kalemberg bore a stately 
 castle on a high pinnacle, overlooking the region all 
 about. The ducal family were there, consequently we 
 were only admitted to see the grounds and the terraces 
 under the windows, which are laid out with the most ela- 
 borate art. It would seem that nature having appro- 
 priated everything that was beautiful, the gardeners of 
 Kalemberg resolved not to be outdone, and set their in- 
 vention to work with the material left them , to outna- 
 ture Nature. The space on the terrace below the win- 
 dows is ornamented with a fountain, the water falling in 
 a sheet over a bronze tazza. From this centre, radiate 
 beds of flowers, divided by strips of orange colored sand, 
 the borders green box, the earth within the borders, ink 
 black, the flowers divided according to color, forming 
 ridges of white, blue, scarlet, or pink. The exterior of the 
 
COBURG. 
 
 403 
 
 circle is encased by a border of bright red artificial coral, 
 a kaleidoscope might have served for the pattern. 
 ,,A.ll the fine things in rockwork and crockery, 
 That make of poor Nature a solemn old mockery." 
 
 One looks at such things as among the petty wonders of 
 art, but with no sentiment for the beauty of flowers, and one 
 turns to the wild wood path by which you descend from the 
 Kalemberg and enjoy the cool green ferns and little blue 
 hare-bells of Nature's domain. A German who accompanied 
 us, handed me a butter-cup and a field-daisy, saying: 
 ,, These are world inhabitants, they grow everywhere, we 
 call them ,, home -keepers Our drive back to Coburg 
 was through a country in the highest state of cultivation; 
 great fields of grain and pasture land, spreading far and 
 wide, with the proud castle of Kalemberg overlooking us 
 from above. These two summer residences, so dissimilar 
 in their aspect and influence upon the feelings, are 
 known in the present time at Coburg by the terms ,,Ich 
 bin" and ,,Ich war", the Present and the Past. Tired 
 out by the day's excursion, I was fully prepared to enjoy 
 a night's rest; everything promised it in that very quiet 
 town of Coburg, and I betook myself to that contrivance 
 known as a bed in Germany, in which you curl yourself 
 as in a soup-spoon; passe pour cela. The hush of night 
 fell, but soon the town-clocks, which in German land are 
 not content to strike the hours, but must thump away at 
 all the quarters, began their preparatory flourish of four 
 strokes, to be followed by ten, eleven or twelve, as the 
 chance might be. Now that over, quiet must come, one 
 thinks — not so; the watchman is heard approaching, 
 sounding a horn, from which he produces a noise akin 
 to the subdued snort of a steam-engine. There it ends — 
 Not at all, he chaunts the two lines of a distich, informing 
 you, all is well, and wishes you repose. A comforting 
 
 26* 
 
404 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 termination enough, if by this time, the clocks were not 
 all ready to begin striking the first quarter, and before 
 the hour comes round, again the watchman is there, too- 
 tooing his horn, and singing another four lines, in which 
 he blesses your slumbers, and you bless him, as you 
 would a ,,dog that bays the moon!" and so they con- 
 tinue in concord, those clocks and that watchman, the 
 live-long night, persevering till day-break: a nice ar- 
 rangement for thieves, methinks, if any such be about. 
 
 Dogberry This is your charge; 
 
 you shall comprehend all vagiom men; you are to bid 
 any man stand in the prince's name. 
 
 2. Watch. How if he will not stand? 
 
 Dogberry. Why then, take no note of him, but 
 let him go; and presently call the rest of the watch 
 together, and thank God you are rid of a knave. 
 
 Actually at Hof there were three town clocks close 
 by the hotel ! I learnt after a while to lump the matter, 
 calculating at midnight I was in for 48 strokes, including 
 quarters, and naturally gave up counting, one of the few 
 pleasures by-the-bye of lying awake. 
 
 On our departure from Coburg, we met the Duke in 
 an open carriage, a fine looking man and deservedly po- 
 pular in Germany, where he has been the leading advo- 
 cate of liberal opinions. 
 
CHAPTER XL VII. 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 From Coburg we travelled by rail four bours to Hof, 
 an uninteresting manufacturing town built on an eleva- 
 tion, the climate said to be so bleak, that only the har- 
 dier fruits will grow there. According to its annals, it 
 has been burnt down ten times, and offers no object to 
 detain the traveller. Hardly a town in Germany however, 
 but has some recollection clinging to it, something to 
 awaken imagination, or to interest the feelings. Here in 
 one of those low obscure tenements lived Jean Paul 
 (Richter); unable to hold his ground in the university of 
 Leipzig in the hard battle between poverty and debt, he 
 fled in disguise to his mother, who then lived in Hof with 
 her other children, in a poor small lodging containing 
 one apartment, where the cooking, washing, cleaning* 
 spinning and all the labor of domestic life went on to- 
 gether. Here he brought his twelve volumes of extracts; 
 too poor to own books, he had thus converted those he 
 had borrowed into a library of his own. Under these 
 adverse circumstances, he set about to become famous. 
 The full consciousness of his own powers sustained him, 
 and he realized his hopes. ,, Jean Paul came forth from 
 that humble dwelling, his mother's noisy kitchen, to go 
 among the great, the wealthy, and the renowned. Beauti- 
 ful women courted his society and were enthusiastic about 
 
406 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 him; he learnt much, he enjoyed much, but he never lost 
 the balance of his mind. He finally made his home in re- 
 tirement, and still found in unimpeded labor his prime- 
 val joy." 
 
 At Hof it was necessary to take a carriage to carry us 
 into the centre of Bohemia, that kettle-land as the Ger- 
 mans call it, surrounded as it is, in all its circumference 
 with mountains. Our object was to visit Carlsbad, about 
 twelve hours distance from Hof. The way led us through 
 Franzensbad, one of the innumerable fountains of health, 
 springing up from the soil of Germany and frequented 
 as they all are by people from every part of the earth. 
 It is duller, lam told, than most of them, which is saying 
 a great deal. We only remained to dine and rest our- 
 selves. These waters are sent to all parts of the world 
 bearing the name of Eger water, an alkalo-saline chaly- 
 beate. The New Well differs in quality, but the pleasant 
 feature of the place is , its mud baths. A great peat bog 
 lies in the neighborhood nearly two miles long and in 
 some places nearly ten feet thick, composed of decayed 
 vegetable matter mixed with black earth all teeming with 
 gas. This peat earth is dug out, and dissolved in tubs, 
 to the consistency of mud, by mixing with it the mineral 
 waters. It is black as ink. Thus prepared, it is heated to 
 about eighty Fahrenheit, and the patient is immersed. It 
 exhales at the same time an odor of sulphur and vinegar, 
 very like one's preconceived idea of a bath in the black 
 Styx. From Franzensbad we travelled on through that 
 beautiful land of Bohemia, so full of fertile valleys and 
 wooded hills, passing to the town of Eger, once a fron- 
 tier fortress , built upon a rock on the right bank of 
 the river Eger. Its walls are very steep and like all 
 these old towns, its streets are narrow, and irregularly 
 built with common houses. The Imperial castle standing 
 
BOHEMIA. 
 
 407 
 
 on an angle of the fortifiation is now falling to ruin. 
 Within it, rises a singular black tower, said to be a 
 work of the Romans, and a double chapel, similar to the 
 one in the castle at Nuremberg. Eger is marked in the 
 annals of Germany as the spot where Wallenstein was 
 murdered. Envy and jealousy of his power, his own 
 presumption , and the machinations of the Jesuits , all 
 tended to inflame the Emperor's wrath against him. He 
 was accused of treason. His assassination was deter- 
 mined on by the Emperor, who treacherously wrote him 
 friendly letters during twenty days after having signed 
 his death warrant. Wallenstein, suddenly abandoned by 
 Piccolomini and the other foreign generals in whom he 
 reposed confidence, fled to Eger with the few regiments 
 which still adhered to him. But his hour was come. Col. 
 Butler, Leslie and a Scotchman named Gordon, conspired 
 against the life of iheir great leader and common bene- 
 factor. The soldiers used by Butler, to carry out his pur- 
 pose, were Irishmen, Scotchmen and Italians; Germans 
 are free from that stain, at least. At the east end of the 
 market-place at Eger, stands the Biirgermeister's house 
 where the terrible scene was enacted in the year 1634. 
 The apartment has been modernized, but the backdoor 
 by which the murderers entered, the gallery along which 
 they crept, and the low door of his bed room which they 
 burst open, are still to be seen. Wallenstein had just 
 retired to bed after consulting the stars, which, it is said, 
 boded him ill luck. Awakened by the noise outside, he 
 sprang from his couch and confronted Devereux, who 
 cried out: ,,Are you the villain who would sell the army 
 and tear the crown from the Emperors head?" Wallen- 
 stein, without replying, received a mortal wound in his 
 breast and fell lifeless on the floor. Meantime the four 
 friends who accompanied him to Eger, were invited to 
 
408 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 sup with Gordon, the governor of the castle; he, with 
 Leslie and some others, had sworn upon their naked 
 swords to put them to death. As soon as the goblets be- 
 gan to fill, and men's hearts to warm within them, Leslie 
 ordered the drawbridge of the castle to be raised, and 
 having received the keys into his custody, gave the signal 
 and the room was filled with armed men. The guests 
 started up, suspicious of treachery, and were all cut down 
 after a brave resistance. This bloody deed accomplished, 
 the perpetrators all received absolution in the chapel of 
 the castle. 
 
 After this foul deed within its walls, the castle 
 was abandoned and allowed to fall to decay, the popular 
 belief being, that it was haunted. Butler and Leslie 
 were created counts, and rewarded by the Emperor. 
 Wallenstein's property was divided among his betrayers, 
 and his treasure given as largesse to the soldiers. The 
 officers who had adhered to him, were banished, twenty 
 four were beheaded and their places given to foreigners. 
 
 The road from Eger to Carlsbad, winding through a 
 lovely country, constantly presents objects of interest and 
 romantic incident. The chapel and convent of Maria 
 Culm which you pass is said to have been in ancient 
 times the resort of a band of robbers and murderers, who, 
 by disguising themselves as knights and ecclesiastics, 
 remained long undiscovered, until a peasant girl, con- 
 cealed by an accident in the chapel, was witness to their 
 foul deeds and disclosed the secret. The bones of the 
 victims they had destroyed, are still shown in a vault 
 beneath the chapel. Pursuing our route, we came upon 
 the sudden bend of the river Eger, where the town of 
 Ellenbogen, built on a rocky promontory, presents to the 
 eye its picturesque old castle. A modern chainbridge 
 is now thrown across the valley, the river meandering be- 
 
BOHEMIA. 
 
 400 
 
 low, by this you reach the entrance of the town. For- 
 merly it was through a narrow portal, with a wicket gate 
 beside it for foot passengers, now, through an open space, 
 a number of old houses having been pulled down to ac- 
 complish it. It is a poor looking town of about two thou- 
 sand inhabitants, but the castle is one of the oldest in 
 Bohemia, often inhabited by its ancient Kings. 
 
 It stands on a perpendicular rock projecting over the 
 the river, which here at its base, takes a sharp sudden 
 bend whence the town receives its name Elbow (Ellen- 
 bogen.) The castle is now a prisonhouse and there is 
 nothing within the precincts of the town to detain one, 
 except a visit to the Rathhaus, to look at a great meteoric 
 stone which fell in these regions at so remote a period, 
 that it ever remained an object of superstition. The cur- 
 rent tradition was, that a bad Burgermeister who had 
 tyranized over the people, had been turned into stone, a 
 favourite mode of proceeding in these parts some ages 
 since, it would seem. This aerolite weighed originally 192 
 lbb. but part has been removed to the mineral cabinet of 
 Vienna. 
 
 I own to looking with a sort of awe, at an aero- 
 lite with all its hidden mystery ,,moon stones", things 
 hurled from other worlds, wanderers through space. The 
 mystery of their origin has never been satisfactorily ex- 
 plained. They have attracted attention in all ages. The 
 oldest one on record is that which fell at Crete 1478 
 B. C. The priests of Cybele kept it in the temple as the 
 personification of the „Great Mother of the Earth." No 
 country has been exempt from these phenomena, every- 
 where have they excited curiosity and been embellished 
 by credulity. The famous ,, Black Stone" worshipped at 
 Heliopolis is described as ,, large, black and round below, 
 terminating above in a point. This was the famous He- 
 
410 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 liogabalus, tlie Phoenician deity, ,,the stone fallen from 
 the sun " at whose shrine even barbarian kings sent tri- 
 butes. Everywhere the people preserve the tradition 
 they have fallen from heaven. The Chinese had observed 
 and written records of them long before our era. The 
 largest one known is in Siberia at the mouth of the Yel- 
 low River and is called by the Moguls ,,The Rock of the 
 North", fifteen metres high. ,, About 1802 the attention 
 of learned men was attracted by an abundant fall of 
 aerolites near Laigle. The most able chemists analyzed 
 their substance, all found the same properties in them. 
 Thereupon were formed systems.' Some said they were 
 stones projected from the volcanoes of the moon , other, 
 that they were fragments of worlds destroyed. The con- 
 clusion of the observations of men of science is based on 
 hypothesis. They can prove nothing, only it has sug- 
 gested that the enormous velocity of these stones through 
 the air, heats them to that degree, that when they come 
 in contact with our atmosphere they radiate in flame and 
 rushing as a meteor through space, fall a black fused 
 mass on the earth. One deduction has been made, if 
 they be wandering portions of another planet, they go to 
 prove the worlds about us are composed of similar material 
 with ours, and so the big black Burgermeister of Ellen- 
 bogen remains a monument of superstitious awe to the 
 little world about him, as did other transformed moon 
 stones play their part, in the great Temple of the Sun at 
 Heliopolis, and at the solemn festival of the Megalesia 
 at Rome. 
 
 I have travelled far away in my researches after 
 aerolites, and now return to drive round the bend of the 
 river and ascend the steep hill beyond, from whence 
 one takes in the magnificent view. The whole scene is 
 never to be forgotten, and I score it down among the 
 
BOHEMIA. 
 
 411 
 
 many lovely features of the old Bohemian land. With a 
 feeling of regret I turned my back upon it, to travel on 
 a very prosaic, good, straight road, to Carlsbad, about six 
 miles farther on. 
 
 We reached Carlsbad about sunset. A sudden bend 
 of the road presents to you the little narrow valley where 
 the town nestles, surrounded by high wooded hills. 
 Through the foliage every here and there, pavilions, or 
 look-out towers, are perceived, perched on elevations, 
 shrines, where health-pilgrims climb, to worship Nature. 
 A stream called the Tepel divides the town, crossed by 
 many bridges which connect the streets on either side. 
 A hundred years ago, Carlsbad was barely accessible 
 over break -neck roads, and frequented only by such as 
 could be dragged in a great family coach by horses and 
 oxen , over the rough places. The meadow then spread 
 through the valley, and up and down over its green 
 sward, the visitors lounged, while they drank the steam- 
 ing waters of its spouting rock. Now, the meadow has 
 been built over, and the ,,Sprudel" spouts from a great 
 bronze basin. The Tepel is confined within high stone 
 walls, and two streets have grown up on either side; one 
 retains the name, ,,Alte Wiese", eld meadow," and still 
 continues to be the fashionable lounge. The houses are 
 constructed to accommodate lodgers above, and on the 
 ground floors , either cafes or shops. One must travel 
 the whole length of the town, to reach the beautifully 
 shaded walks, laid out in every direction among the hills 
 and glens, and kept with the most scrupulous care. The 
 part of the valley where the town is built, is so narrow, 
 that there is no space allowed behind the houses, and 
 
412 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 flights of steps are often constructed to facilitate the 
 access to the hills behind. A friend of mine who occupied 
 a second story, had but to step out from her bed room- 
 window to be half way up the hill. Once upon those 
 hills, one looks down with a feeling of deep repose upon 
 the varied scene presented. There the stream, rippling 
 a'nd winding, as such streams always do, among little 
 valleys and glens, is backed by heights covered with 
 wood, all cool and calm. Pleasant nooks, where one sits 
 enjoying nature, with ferns and wild-flowers shedding 
 their peculiar odor around. Nothing to disturb the equa- 
 nimity of existence, heedless of the fact, that beneath 
 one's feet the most terrible agents of nature are at work. 
 The following description by a French engineer gives one 
 a thrilling and lucid account of Carlsbad. ,, Imagine a' 
 city built on the cover of a huge caldron of boiling 
 water, such is Carlsbad. Among the masses of granite 
 which compose the substrata of the country, the valley of 
 the Tepel forms a Assure, the sides of which are in peaks; 
 volcanic convulsions have thrown together masses of 
 granite which present, as it were , great caverns formed 
 by the interstices. The herbage of the valley is spread 
 over all this, hiding it like a great carpet. The waters 
 are engulfed in these great cavities, whose depth, pro- 
 bably reaching the central heat of the globe, send them 
 boiling upwards, charged with carbonic acid gas and 
 mineral substances; so they rise modified to the surface. 
 The gas then separtes itself and the calcareous substance 
 which had remained in a liquid state, forms a deposit 
 encrusting all the sides of the gulf. These extending little 
 by little, increased in thickness, until the whole has been 
 covered and it is on this part that (Jarlsbad is built, what 
 1 term the lid of the kettle. This cover is naturally 
 heated by the temperature of the water beneath, conse- 
 
BOHEMIA. 
 
 413 
 
 quently no snow lies long in Carlsbad, though much falls 
 there. As the cover is not strong enough to resist much, 
 it happens sometimes the violence of the water and the 
 escape of the gas produce fissures, and then a new spring 
 of water comes to life amid clouds of vapor. In some 
 places where the cover is most threatened, as that near 
 the river which is always in danger, they have been 
 obliged to patch it up like an old cracked pot, with iron 
 bands, or masses of granite. In 1711 and 1727 ruptures 
 to a considerable extent having caused alarm, it was de- 
 cided to dig down deeper than had yet been done, and 
 it is to those works, we owe the little knowledge we have 
 of the interior constitution of the caldron. There 
 exist many cavities separated by irregular encrustations, 
 forming a sort of vaulting, from one to the other of two 
 or three stories, and below all, the gulf of boiling water, 
 which cannot be sounded, and which extends towards 
 the valley. The water escaped at the time of the experi- 
 ment, with such violence and awful noise, that it inspired 
 fear and the investigation was concluded." 
 
 It is said in early times the inhabitants of the valley 
 approached the spot with dismay, and gave it the name 
 of ,, Hell's Mouth", but time and civilization have done 
 away with all that ; the people are now seen filling their 
 tubs at the rock where the infernal stream bubbles over, 
 and the same, finding its way to the bronze basin, within 
 an arcade not far off, is thronged hour after hour by 
 people of all degrees, who come to Carlsbad to be re- 
 lieved. These waters are efficacious in all diseases of the li- 
 ver and digestive organs, obesity also, and the consequence 
 is an assemblage of huge ungainly figures are seen here. It 
 is one of the most fashionable resorts in Europe, and the 
 promenade of the ,,Alte Wiese" presents to the eye that 
 mixed crowd which one sits and speculates upon as they 
 
414 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 pass, with something of wonder at times. Here a Greek 
 archbishop in robe, cross and and waistband; there a 
 King in citizen's clothes walking about with a single 
 companion; now a beautiful stately dame, her robes 
 sweeping the ground, wrapped in her own importance; 
 there a peasant girl with her thick mass of petticoats 
 high up under her shoulder blades, and jacket sleeves 
 stuffed out to meet her ears; thick soled peasants and 
 lacquered booted exquisites. From five in the morning 
 till nightfall, the walks are crowded, exercise being an 
 important feature in the routine of health seeking; diet 
 may be added, for that is so strictly enforced that the 
 use of certain condiments are entirely prohibited in the 
 eating saloons, and the person who visits Carlsbad merely 
 for amusement, must submit to the regimen enforced. 
 One naturally escapes from the monotony of the pro- 
 menade upon all possible opportunities and the country 
 around offers excursions of every variety. We were told 
 we must visit the Hans Heiliuger Rocks, in the Eger val- 
 ley; Spies and Korner have sung them in verse, Marsch- 
 ner in music, all founded upon an old legend connected 
 with the spot. Elsbeth was the village beauty and lived 
 with her father, Arnold inhabited the cottage by the 
 river, they were playmates in infancy and became lovers 
 in youth. Her father refused his consent to their mar- 
 riage, because Arnold was poor, who, in consequence, 
 went off to seek his fortune. One day there arrived from 
 a distant land a man almost forgotten in the village, 
 named Hans Heiling; he had amassed a great treasure; 
 marvellous things were told of him and people looked 
 upon him w T ith suspicion, but he managed to ingratiate 
 himself in the favor of old Veit, Elsbeth's father, and fi- 
 nally asked the hand of his daugther. Elsbeth refused 
 him indignantly, and he fled from her presence at sight 
 
BOHEMIA. 
 
 415 
 
 of a gold cross which hung about her neck. Three years 
 had nearly expired and yet her lover Arnold had not re- 
 turned. Old Veit pressed his daughter more and more to 
 give her hand to Hans Heiling — at last he insisted. It 
 wanted but three days for the time to expire when Arnold 
 should return. She was in the depths of despair, when 
 there came riding into the village a troop of gentlemen 
 with Arnold at their head, who sprang from his horse, 
 embraced his betrothed , and satisfied her father that he 
 could lay a fortune at her feet. Nothing now lay in the 
 lover's way, consequently great preparations were made 
 for their marriage. On the day appointed, the happy 
 couple with their wedding guests came down into the 
 Eger valley, where Veit had a tent spread and a festive 
 supper prepared. Amidst singing, dancing and shouts of 
 joy, the time sped till midnight, the hour struck, when 
 all at once a terrible storm of Y\ r ind burst over them, and 
 Hans Heiling appeared in the midst, frightfully distorted, 
 surrounded by a legion of devils shrieking blasphemies, 
 then vanishing clown into the river, but the company all 
 remained transfixed, the devilish spell had turned them 
 all to stone. The loving couple had embraced each other 
 and now look down with melancholy faces upon the pas- 
 sers-by. Such is the legend of the Heilinger Kecks and 
 one fine afternoon we ventured forth to see them. An 
 hour's drive through a lovely country, then a halt upon 
 a bit of wild land, and we alighted, to pursue our way 
 on foot through the forest to the romantic bank of the 
 Eger, which here cuts its way through hills wooded down 
 to the water's edge, twisting itself about along their ba- 
 ses. A footpath leads along the margin and you reach 
 in half an hour a rustic cottage with seats and tables 
 under the trees; it is placed just in view of the far famed 
 rocks, which stand out bold, single and upright, on the 
 
416 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 opposite side of the river. The fancied wedding proces- 
 sion is hard to define, even for a vivid imagination. That 
 yonder peak, with a fir-tree growing from its summit, was 
 once a cavalier in cap and plume; that yonder two, in- 
 terlaced with wild vines and tufts of fern, were bride and 
 groom;, and that, a lot more of jumbled stones were the 
 village musicians, with sackbut and pipe, requires the 
 illuminating medium of poetry to detect, which, like the 
 genius of Michael Angelo, can see the living breathing 
 form, even through the rough mass that enshrouds it. It 
 is a sweet rural quiet spot, and no hour that I remember 
 was more pleasantly spent than that when we went wan- 
 dering along those lovely banks of the Eger to see the 
 Hans Heilinger Rocks. 
 
CHAPTER XL VIII. 
 WITTENBERG. 
 
 And thou, old Wittenberg ! 
 
 Nor time, nor desolalion can efface 
 
 Thy name, inscribed on Fame's immortal scroll. 
 
 The whim seized me one day, to start off alone, on 
 a pilgrimage to Wittenberg, the so called Protestant 
 Mecca. Arriving at a little quiet station, only one person 
 besides myself descended, and a one horse chaise stood 
 ready to convey passengers to the town a short distance 
 back. I found my companion had already esconced him- 
 self in the vehicle, carpet bag and all, and only waited 
 for me to come and do likewise; there was no alternative 
 and I found myself jolting over a country road with a 
 French ,,commis voyageur" of rather the shabby sort. 
 
 ,,Mais que venait-il faire dans cette galere. " My 
 Anglo- Saxon reserve stood me in good need, it imposed 
 on his national volubility. We drove into the Elster gate, 
 and then through a long street paved with sharp flint 
 stones, making the old cbaise rattle enough to drown 
 even a Frenchman's jabber. At the extreme end, we 
 drew up in front of the Gasthaus or inn , — Wittenberg 
 of the present day aspiring not to the dignity of a hotel. 
 Mine host appeared, and conducting me through a stone- 
 
 27 
 
418 
 
 CHAP. XLVITI. 
 
 flagged passage, and up a stair, introduced me into the 
 best chamber, lighted by five windows, through which the 
 summer sun warmly welcomed me. In a position com- 
 manding these five windows, three to the left and two to 
 the right, stood the wooden trough bed, wherein you had 
 the advantage like the sun flower, of 
 
 ,, Turning to its god when it rests, 
 
 The same look that it gave when he rose." 
 
 Well, I was treated to the very best the house afforded, 
 yellow spindle legged bedstead, hard sofa, and all; dined 
 off my sofa table, and asked for a guide, to conduct me 
 about the town. 
 
 Wittenberg has suffered severely from sieges. In 1760, 
 the chief public buildings and one third of the town 
 were destroyed by the Austrian bombardment. In 1814, it 
 went through a siege of ten months by the Prussians, who 
 took it from the French; during this siege the suburbs 
 were laid in ruins. In consequence of all this, it is re- 
 duced at the present day to very small dimensions. Its 
 university too, was removed in 1815 and joined to that 
 at Halle , consequently all life and animation is extinct 
 in the town. The windows of my room looked out on a 
 small paved square, and directly opposite stood the 
 Schlosskirche. This church has been preserved when 
 hardly a remnant of the palace remains. On its iron 
 gates, Luther hung his ninety five theses, or arguments, 
 condemning the doctrine of papal indulgences, which 
 after the fashion of the times he offered to defend against 
 all comers. 
 
 My guide now appeared. Who, and what he was, I 
 could not surmise, but evidently a citizen of credit and 
 renown ; he took me in hand without comment, and with 
 an air of authority. Crossing the small open space front- 
 
WITTENBERG. 
 
 410 
 
 ing the inn, he stopped before the church, and inserted 
 the key. The interior is very plain at the present time, 
 plain as white wash , a wooden gallery and wooden 
 benches, can make it. An effort at ornamentation of the 
 Temple arose probably in later days, for the chancel has 
 been backed by four great wooden columns painted to 
 imitate the brightest specimen of green marble and from 
 between these, protrudes a pulpit got up in white and 
 gold. In front of the chancel, in the stone floor, lie two 
 bronze slabs, covered over with oaken cases, which are 
 kept carefully locked. These mark the tombs of Luther 
 and Melanchthon , inscribed with their names, dates of 
 birth and death. My conductor opened the oaken lids 
 with all the fussiness of business, detracting thus from 
 any emotion one might experience. But when I actually 
 realized I was looking down upon the resting places of 
 these two remarkable men, a rush of recollections 
 crowded into my mind; these, with like passions and 
 failings as ourselves, had been the chosen instruments in 
 God's hands to bring such mighty things to pass. After 
 a little, the oaken cases were shut down again, leaving 
 me ruminating. I hardly heeded the only two works of 
 art left in the church, the statues of the Electors John 
 and Frederick, Luther's friends and protectors of the Re- 
 formation. These are done in line bronze, the work of 
 Peter Vischer. I cannot help thinking this church would 
 be the fitting place for that great Indulgence case which 
 they show at the little Wendish town Jiiterbogk, not far 
 from here, in the church of St. Nicholas. The story runs 
 that Tetzel was waylaid, and robbed by the Knight Hans 
 von Hacke, as he was returning with his Ablasskasten, or 
 Indulgence box, filled with gold, the produce of the par- 
 dons he had sold. Tetzel had previously granted to the 
 knight an indemnity for any sins he might commit ! It 
 
 27* 
 
420 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 is a large wooden coffer, hooped with iron having a nar- 
 row slit in the top. In that collection of old documents 
 recently published by Freytag, he gives the narrative of 
 Frederick Myconius, a pious, earnest student, who had 
 listened to the harrangues of Tetzel. He entered a con- 
 vent in 1510, but eventually became a convert to the 
 reformed religion. The picture is so striking, that here, 
 on the very spot where Luther defied the world on the 
 subject of indulgences, I am tempted to transcribe it. 
 ,, Tetzel, a haughty Dominican, rode into the city with his 
 box of indulgences accompanied by a large body of 
 monks and priests. The bells were rung, ecclesiastics 
 and laymen met him and reverentially conducted him to 
 the church; his great crucifix, with the holes of the nails 
 and the crown of thorns, was erected in the nave, and 
 sometimes believers were allowed to see the blood of the 
 crucified one, trickling down the cross. Church banners 
 on which were the arms of the Pope with the triple 
 crown, were placed beside the cross. In front of it the 
 Indulgence box, strongly clamped with iron. Near this, 
 on one side, a pulpit, from which the monk set forth the 
 wonderful powers of his indulgences, and showed a large 
 parchment of the Pope's with many seals appended. Op- 
 posite was the pay table, with indulgence tickets, writing 
 materials, and money baskets. Here I could relate 
 wonder upon wonder, and many incredible things which 
 I heard preached by Tetzel at Annaberg. At last about 
 Whitsuntide, 1510, he threatened to take down the red 
 cross, close the door of Heaven, and extinguish the sun, 
 that we should never more have the opportunity of ob- 
 taining remission of sins and eternal life, for so little 
 money, as it could not be hoped the benevolent mission 
 of the Pope would return again, as long as the world 
 lasted." 
 
WITTENBERG. 
 
 121 
 
 Now return we to Wittenberg, where I am passing 
 out from between those iron church gratings, on which 
 hung the renowned theses, denouncing all that I have 
 just been quoting, as described by an eye witness. 
 
 Once more in the street, my conductor led me on 
 through the town, and turned into a little back lane 
 where he stopped before a small house, saying: ,, Come 
 in, I will introduce you to my daughters who speak 
 English and will be pleased to accompany you to Luther's 
 abode". I was glad for the change, as my taciturn friend 
 had enlightened me but moderately. Mounting the stair I 
 was ushered into a little drawing room, where he left 
 me to go and apprize his daughters. This room did not 
 present the usual bare, cold aspect of German parlors, 
 but was decorated with all manner of foreign productions; 
 shells, brauches of coral, tropical seaweeds, Chinese 
 monstrosities, and other things from the islands of the 
 sea. Its walls were hung with likenesses of missionaries 
 in all quarters of the globe. I learnt later, that at Wit- 
 tenberg there remain theological seminary students and 
 these young ladies I found perfectly posted up to the 
 same, probably ready for Timbuctoo, or the Fijii islands, 
 as the case might happen. At all events on acquaintance 
 I discovered they had imbibed the preparatory inflection 
 of voice, that minor-key intonation of miserable sinners, 
 used while speaking of the ordinary things of life. Why 
 people must drawl, to prove their goodness, is to me in- 
 explicable, and why brother Brown, or brother Smith, 
 who are having a pretty good time of it upon the whole 
 must be chap-fallen, is a part of the business I do not 
 pretend to understand. Well, the two sisters who were 
 presented to me, were o'that kin. They led me to the 
 end of the town by which I had entered. This it seems 
 was the celebrated Elsterthor, the gate through which 
 
422 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 Luther, followed by the students and professors of the 
 university, proceeded to light the bonfire, to which was 
 committed the Bull of the Pope, with the volumes of the 
 Decretals, and Canon Law. The spot was in that day 
 marked by an old oak-tree, which has mouldered away, 
 but a descendant, acorned from him, now reigns in 
 its stead. 
 
 ,,Oh! couldst thou speak, as in Dodona once 
 ,,Thy kindred trees, oracular, 
 
 „I would not, curious, ask the future, (best unknown), 
 ,,I3ut at thy mouth, inquisitive, the less ambiguous past." 
 
 On the left of this gate as you enter Wittenberg, 
 stands the great building formerly the Augustine con- 
 vent. The brotherhood of this convent were the first to 
 adopt the new doctrines of Luther. They abolished pri- 
 vate masses, both for the living and for the dead, and in- 
 vited all religious persons to partake of the sacrament, 
 but not according to the Roman belief of its being ex- 
 piatory sacrifice. Later, when monkish institutions were 
 abolished, the buildings of this convent remained in the 
 Elector's possession, who used them for his newly founded 
 university. Luther had long been professor of theology 
 and philosophy, in Wittenberg, but after this arrange- 
 ment left his humble house and garden, to take up his 
 abode in the great gloomy lodging in this building, which 
 is shown at the present day. 
 
 We ascended the dark old oak stair case and reached 
 a hall on which several doors faced, one of these intro- 
 duced us into a large square wainscoted room, lighted 
 by two high arched windows; the wainscot and ceiling 
 painted a tawny orange, and on the panels of the walls a 
 coarse attempt at colored arabesque, now nearly faded 
 out. In one corner stands a large stove of colored pot- 
 
WITTKNP.ERC}. 
 
 423 
 
 tery, designed it is said by Luther himself, the table and 
 two wooden settles in the opposite corner, are remnants 
 of his furniture. A bench built against the wall , sur- 
 rounds two sides of the chamber. A door opens from 
 this into a smaller inner one, where are kept a few re- 
 lics, such as a bit of embroidery done by Mistress Mar- 
 tin Luther, nee Catherine von Bora, (Herr Kate) as the 
 Reformer was wont facetiously to call her in his domes- 
 tic letters. Over the door of this little chamber is a 
 curious autograph roughly struck in chalk, by Peter the 
 Great, who left it as an evidence of his visit. Two or 
 three portraits by Cranach, and a crucifixion half life- 
 size hang upon the walls. This latter is of surpassing 
 interest, the intense agony of suffering is so feelingly 
 veiled under the meek expression of resignation, I could 
 not leave gazing upon it, it seemed to convey so fully 
 the great sacrifice for sin. Had I been alone, I would 
 have remained long dwelling upon this realization of the 
 terrible scene, but the two missionary girls attacked me 
 right and left, as to how far my convictions had been 
 carried, and as I did not feel inclined then and there, to 
 satisfy their curiosity, I made the move to return, and 
 we descended the broad old stair into the court. Here 
 my companions pointed out an enclosure known as Lu- 
 ther's garden; he, a true German was a lover of nature 
 and out-door life. In all biographies of the Reformer, we 
 read of him in his garden. ,,How much rather" said he 
 upon one occasion" would I live among the wonders of 
 God, the trees, the flowers, the grass, the birds; this 
 enjoyment and leisure would be mine if I did not re- 
 quire the discipline of labor, sometimes important, some- 
 times useless, " It required very little stretch of imagi- 
 nation then, to see him sitting before the arbor -table, 
 beer tankard in hand, holding converse with Cranach 
 
424 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 perhaps, then made Biirgermeister of Wittenberg, or may 
 be with the pale melancholy Melanchthon, these, his two 
 intimate friends; reproving the one perchance for cari- 
 catures, somewhat too gross, in which he delighted to 
 ridicule the monks and the pope. ,, Whatever you may 
 do," said Luther to him one day, ,, respect women, leave 
 them out entirely from your caricatures. " This was Lu- 
 cas Crauach the elder, friend of the Elector Frederick, 
 whom he accompanied to the Holy Land as court painter, 
 and there sketched many remarkable places. It is pre- 
 sumed also that Cranach followed in the expedition 
 against the Venetians. It was a short time before this 
 war that Luther gave the signal for the Reformation. 
 After the Elector's death, Cranach attached himself to 
 his successor John, with such devotion, that at the battle 
 of Miihlberg when this Elector was made prisoner, he 
 voluntarily shared his captivity for years. Almost im- 
 mediately after his release, Cranach died at Weimar, 
 which had become the capital of his Master's diminished 
 estates. There can be no doubt that Luther, declaiming 
 against the luxury of the Roman church, condemned re- 
 ligious paintings, where the Virgin and Saints are ever 
 prominent objects, classing such as idolatrous. Thus the 
 art received a check, and church music a development 
 which took its place- 
 Luther's love of music and religious fervor led him 
 to cultivate this means of praise and thanksgiving in the 
 new form of worship. 
 
 He collected numerous songs borrowed from the Hus- 
 sites, translated from the Latin, and many wild ballads 
 of infinite pathos and harmony, sung by the travelling 
 students and soldiers. To these he added compositions 
 of his own, which became general as the Reformation 
 advanced, and as the school of the Mastersingers gradu- 
 
WITTENBERG. 
 
 425 
 
 ally died away. Meanwhile Lucas Cranach employed his 
 pencil in depicting, by means of caricature, moral lessons. 
 
 There is extant a volume of his, in which each alter- 
 nate page represents a scene in the Passion of our Lord, 
 and on the opposite page a scene in the lives of the Po- 
 pes, contrasting what ought to be with what was. These 
 popular caricatures, with the ribald ballads of the day, 
 did perhaps more to impress men's minds with the ne- 
 cessity of reformation, than sermons or religious writings: 
 this art of caricature which consoles the people in its 
 sorrows, avenges it on its tyrants, and reproduces with 
 its satirical pencil the thoughts of the multitude." There 
 is a subject connected with caricatures, which, as it has 
 come under my personal observation, I do not deem ir- 
 relevant to the present writing. Unlearned in the history 
 of Gothic architecture, it strikes one with amazement to 
 see what strange incongruities exist, and how frequently 
 the ridiculous is combined with the sublime. In the ca- 
 thedral at Magdeburg, the interior of which was all burnt 
 out during the Thirty Years' War, remnants of the old de- 
 corations which escaped, were worked into the walls at 
 its restoration. Among these I noticed under a cornice, 
 a fresco representing a group of Jews distinguished by 
 their peculiar national physiognomy, and dressed in a 
 marked costume. One is kneeling, milking a sow, the 
 others waiting with cups in their hands, for a supply. 
 In the „Dom" at Brandenberg, which I did not see, 
 I am told that at the principal entrance there are re- 
 lievi satirizing the monks, a fox preaching to a congre- 
 gation of geese. The luxury of the ecclesiastics, and the 
 stupidity and licence of the monks, so glaringly opposed 
 to the principles they professed, were unsparingly ridi- 
 culed by both pen and pencil before the twelfth century. 
 The spirit of satire gained increased force at a later pe- 
 
426 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 riod, encouraged at the court of the Emperor Frederick 
 II. and introduced into the songs of he Minnesingers. 
 Art then admitted some of those burlesques which are 
 found among the sublimest efforts of architecture. On 
 the cathedral at Strasburg was found a group sculptured 
 in the stone, representing a boar carrying the holy water 
 and sprinkling brush; a wolf the cross, a hare the taper, 
 a pig and goat the box of relics in which lies a sleeping 
 fox. An ass is reading the mass, while a cat acts as a 
 reading desk. This impious caricature has been erased 
 in modern days, it is said. In a recent work on this sub- 
 ject, the author observes, ,,The classic Greek grotesque 
 had gradually lost its elegance, as it became merged 
 during the decay of Art into the dark ages; and that 
 monstrous style, termed the ecclesiastical grotesque, 
 which produced all those strange incongruities in Gothic 
 edifices , we can trace to times when fear of evil spirits 
 prevailed, and ridiculing the devil and his imps became 
 a mode of relief. Thence those strange distorted faces 
 protruding among the gargoyles of an old edifice; and 
 scattered up and down, those offensive debauches of art, 
 not always detected, but lurking among the elaborate 
 adornments of Gothic skill." Our author continues the 
 subject by saying: ,,This church decoration was calcu- 
 lated to produce its effect upon the lower classes, and 
 mediaeval art was more than anything else suited to me- 
 diaeval society, for it belongs to the mass, not. to the 
 individual; the ludicrous is the spirit that usually pre- 
 vails, it provokes a smile, but no horror. AsUante could 
 intermingle his unique conceptions of supernatural gran- 
 deur with minute descriptions of the farcical proceedings 
 of the vulgarest possible fiends with their pitchforks , so 
 the same artists who ornamented our cathedrals with 
 their glorious expressions of thought, sublimed at once 
 
WITTENBERG. 
 
 427 
 
 by their love of beauty and the love of Heaven, could 
 furnish them out with the strangest, meanest, and often 
 filthiest images, which a debased imagination could 
 suggest." 
 
 From the sculptured and religious grotesque of the 
 Middle Ages, to the Dutch and German woodcut lite- 
 rature of the Reformation, the transition is not a very 
 wide one. 
 
 ,,Some chronicle of fiends 
 Profuse in garniture of wooden cuts 
 Strange and uncouth; dire faces, figures dire, 
 Sharp kneed, sharp elbowed, and lean anckled too, 
 With long and ghastly shanks; forms which once seen 
 Conld never be forgotten." 
 
 In imaginative minds, the sudden transitions from 
 pathos to mirth rapidly alternate — a fact stamped by 
 the name of more than one genius in the fields of litera- 
 ture : the exuberance of fancy seeking some mode of de- 
 volopingthe good and evil element combating within. At 
 one period this evinced itself in art, at another, satisfied 
 its cravings through the new offered outlet of the print- 
 ing press. Erasmus, contemporary with Luther, without 
 deviating from the dogmas of the Roman church, taught 
 his students to read the Bible in the original text, and 
 to investigate its meaning, whilst his satirical poems, the 
 wittiest of those times , spread through civilized Europe 
 and accustomed the reader to laugh at many things 
 hitherto regarded with reverential awe. This diffu- 
 sion of satirical works, first demonstrated to the people 
 the power of the weapon Guttenberg had placed in 
 their hands. Sarcasm and ridicule were the only 
 means by which elevated minds could attack the general 
 depravity. Sebastian Brand described all the follies of 
 
428 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 public and private life in his ,,Ship of Fools" and Eras- 
 mus published his ,, Praise of Folly". Later satirical 
 writing merged into coarseness, till gradually it became 
 obscene and disgusting, and as usual a reaction took 
 place. 
 
 At the gate of the old university building I took leave 
 of the two sisters, they to return to their seashell bower, 
 I to mine inn, deferring further exploration till the fol- 
 lowing day. Evening was lowering, and I saw the wis- 
 dom of employing the dark hours with that invention 
 Sancho Panza calls sleep. It was making the most of 
 time. I had witnessed various sun -risings in my life, at 
 sea, on the Righi, Guido's Aurora and others, but the 
 anticipation of a sunrise over the red tiled roofs of Wit- 
 tenberg, illuminating at three in the morning the white- 
 washed walls of my chamber, through five shutterless 
 windows, was anything but glorious! 
 
 Reality exceeded expectation. These might in truth 
 be classed among the sunny hours of my existence. 1 
 waited impatiently for the stirring of the household. Pro- 
 found silence reigned ; no cock crew, no sparrow twit- 
 tered on the housetop , no dog cart pattered over the 
 stones. I recalled the wise aphorism ,,One must learn to 
 wait", and while I waited, I thought if any one desires 
 to drill himself in the exercise of this virtue, he had bet- 
 ter live awhile in Germany. At the last moment, when 
 you are in a fever of impatience to be off for fear of mis- 
 sing the train, the carriage not yet at the door, and you 
 appeal to the houseporter,he calmly tells you „Es kommt 
 gleich." If you are starving for your dinner, and impa- 
 tiently ask why it does not come, the waiter blandly an- 
 swers ,,Es kommt gleich." If he is somewhat sprightly, 
 he may say ,,In einem Augenblick", which means ,,in 
 the wink of an eye". In all seasons of desperate impa- 
 
WITT F.N BE HO. 
 
 429 
 
 tience you are thus cooled down. A lady friend of mine 
 ordered some tea, it was served. A thin straw colored 
 fluid issued from the teapot, she harangued the waiter, 
 he complacently answered ,, Es kommt gleich " in other 
 words ,,if faut savoir attendre". All things come to pass 
 if you will only wait long enough, tea brews and diplo- 
 macy develops. So mused I until the clap -bang of 
 heavy wooden shutters below stairs, and the growling of 
 the housedoor turning on its rusty hinges gave evi- 
 dence that the world was astir. Never before had the 
 shrieks of chairs and tables drawn across a bare floor 
 been music to my ears. The servants were setting to 
 rights, and contentment pervaded my whole being. In 
 process of time the morning coffee arrived in the snubby 
 little jugs I have described elsewhere, with the identical 
 accompaniments. These prevail from north to south in 
 Germany, and are usually served in your sleeping room. 
 Finding the train did not pass till ten o'clock, I equipped 
 mysef for a walk, to wander about and find the remainder 
 of the objects of interest which the guide-book indicated. 
 My chamber door opened on to a great square hall, and 
 as I came out who should I meet but the Frenchman, my 
 chaise companion of the preceding day, got up , as the 
 washerwomen say, in the highest degree of elegance. 
 The last Parisian cut of fine broad cloth, a shirt bosom 
 beruffled and bestudded, unexceptionable gloves, and a 
 beaver, the lustre of which was only exceeded by his pa- 
 tent leather boots. As I advanced he saluted me with a 
 bow quite in keeping with the rest and said ,,he had 
 purposed doing himself the honor of calling upon me." 
 I regretted of course, with the usual sincerity of society, 
 but I was going out. I have been sorry ever since, that 
 elaborate toilet was not better appreciated. Whether he 
 wished to impress me with his importance, or whether he 
 
430 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 was impressed with mine, I never could exactly decide, 
 ,,mais que venait-il faire dans cette galere." 
 
 The great book in which strangers inscribe their 
 names, was handed to me on arriving; I wrote my name 
 and residence, summing up my titles and pretentions 
 under that word ,,Privat" (which an American friend of 
 mine pronounces Privateer.) I never thought of looking 
 for my Frenchman's name, he may have been the Mar- 
 quis de Carrabas himself, for all that I know, but I would 
 venture a wager, he discovered I was no dealer in small 
 wares. I never saw him again, nor do I expect like aunt 
 Charity, to ,,die of a Frenchman". 
 
 I walked down the main street to the market-place, 
 (as the city squares are usually called), where I was first 
 attracted by a bronze statue of Luther standing upon a 
 pedestal, beneath a Gothic canopy of cast iron. This 
 statue by Schadow was erected in 1822. On one side of 
 the pedestal is inscribed his text: „ If it be the work of 
 God it will endure." On the other side, that line of Lu- 
 ther's hymn which has become the Lutheran watchword, 
 
 ,,Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott." 
 
 This is the most agreeable likeness of the great Re- 
 former I have yet seen, the artist has idealized some- 
 what the expression; it looks as Luther might have done 
 in some great moment of religious fervor, you lose the 
 massive heaviness of the countenance. He is dressed in 
 the serge robe, and flat cap, which he adopted after cast- 
 ing off the monk's cowl and frock, and holds the Bible 
 in his hand. 
 
 The Rathhaus fronts this market-place. It is the only 
 building left in Wittenberg of any pretension. It stands 
 out, surmounted by Attic arches, five on each side, and a 
 portico totally out of keeping, looking as if made of frag- 
 
WITTENBERG. 
 
 431 
 
 ments picked up at random and intended for an entirely 
 different purpose. Four slender Ionic columns support 
 a slab of stone, on which rest four small Corinthian ones; 
 these are surmounted by a gutter, with grotesque Gothic 
 gargoyles at each end, to pour oft" the water, while an 
 angel with extended wings, flanks either corner. What 
 it all means, I am at a loss to discover, but an inscription 
 in old German gold letters on a black ground partly de- 
 faced, may enlighten archaeologists. The Rathliaus con- 
 tains few objects of interest at present; I consoled myself 
 with this thought , as I could find no one to show me into 
 its precincts. Formerly they kept here the sword of 
 Gustavus Adolphus, which he left as a memento of his 
 visit to Wittenberg. On the opposite side of the square, 
 stands the house of Melanchthon, a large massive build- 
 ing with a high pointed gable toward the street, present- 
 ing innumerable windows still filled with those little oc- 
 tagonal shaped glass panes set in lead. This house 
 possesses one other interest, it became the home of the 
 fugitive nun , Catherine von Bora. She belonged to the 
 Nymphal cloister under the patronage of the Elector. 
 She was of noble birth, and theElector was present when 
 she took the veil. In bidding her farewell he said: ,, Re- 
 member my daughter, in meyouwill always find a friend." 
 At that moment neither dreamt what was to follow. Year 
 after year the reformed principles spread, they crept 
 within the convent walls, Catherine became a convert, 
 and one day appeared before the gate of the Electoral 
 palace and asked admission. The Elector questioned 
 her, was satisfied and bespoke her a home with Melanch- 
 thon and his wife. Circumstances brought her and Lu- 
 ther into intimate companionship, and the result is well 
 known. However honorable their after-lives, I have 
 always felt that Luther would have been grander had he, 
 
432 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 like Saint Paul, stood aloiie wedded to his great work. 
 From the market-place I found my way to the retired 
 nook where stands the Stadt-Kirche, with an open space 
 about it. Between two perfectly plain towers, the great 
 door of entrance opens, and on the side, another. About 
 the lower parts of the outer walls, masoned in to pre- 
 serve them as best they may, are many decayed old mo- 
 numents, bearing the date 1500. Further down, I found 
 a low door opening into a small conical capped tower, 
 probably the belfry, and through this I entered the 
 church. Here Luther preached, and from its bronze bap- 
 tismal font, he and Melanchthon administered the rite. 
 
 The altar is divided from the body of the church by 
 a low railing, the altar piece, painted by Lucas Cranach, 
 represents the four sacraments. Imbued with the new 
 principles, Cranach foresaw that the liturgy and mar- 
 tyrology, from which the old masters had selected their 
 subjects, would be interdicted by the spirit of the re- 
 formed religion and he seized upon the moral of Chris- 
 tianity, as containing the element of a new style of art. 
 This altar piece presents in the centre the Lord's supper 
 in which Cranach himself figures as a servant. On the 
 two sides, are painted the rite of baptism, administered 
 by Melanchthon, and confession as given by Bugenhagen. 
 Below these, under the altar piece, is a small narrow 
 painting representing ,,the word". Luther is seen preach- 
 ing from a pulpit on the right, in the midst, a crucified 
 Saviour, and on the left, an assemblage of people kneel- 
 ing. Those in the foreground are Luthers wife, with 
 her little son by her side, dressed in scarlet; Catherine 
 and the women that surround her, in a short nun's co- 
 stume, a white coif, and band, which covers the lower 
 part of the face. Luther's preaching was persuasive and 
 calculated to interest all classes, he set aside scholastic 
 
WITTENBERG 
 
 433 
 
 ignorant, his manner was simple, energetic and affec- 
 tionate, he used to say: ,,I would not have preachers 
 torment their hearers; when I am in the pulpit I regard 
 neither magistrates nor doctors, of whom there are above- 
 forty here in the church, but I have an eye to the multi- 
 tude of young people, children and servants of whom 
 there are more than two thousand." In the apsis behind 
 the altar, hung four pictures of very great interest. One 
 by Lucas Cranach the younger, who followed his father 
 in all the diversities of his styles, and helped him in 
 many of his pictures. This one: ,,The Conversion of 
 St. Paul," is distinguished by the naivete of that early 
 school. The group of mounted soldiers surrounding St. 
 Paul, are in Roman helmets, while he is represented in 
 the costume of a German burgher; a black overcoat, 
 brown hose pulled up over the knee, and the flat black 
 cloth cap, known as a barret in 1500. St. Paul is seen 
 falling from his horse, caught round the waist by an 
 attendant. This forms the central group. In the glory 
 from on high , the Holy Father is represented. The ex- 
 pression of the horse turning his head away from the 
 dazzling light, is so curious as to excite a smile, yet the 
 artist's idea is correct, brute instinct, overawed by the 
 supernatural appearance. In the foreground the subject 
 is continued in a sort of second chapter as it were. St. 
 Paul is on foot, sustained by his followers after having 
 lost his sight and making his way towards Damascus. 
 In the crowd of lookers-on, the two Electors of Saxony, 
 patrons cf the Reformation, are represented, dressed like- 
 wise as burghers. 
 
 The second picture was a crucifixion, with the two 
 thieves on either side, and kneeling figures in the fore- 
 ground, dressed in the costume of the sixteenth century. 
 The expression of the thieves tells the whole story. The 
 
 28 
 
434 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 penitent one is pale and contemplates the Saviour 
 with a deep melancholy and repentant expression; his 
 lank black hair hangs contrasting with his lived com- 
 plexion. The other one, a robust vigorous man, turns 
 his head away from the Lord , writhing under the agony 
 of bodily punishment, no thought but that of physical 
 pain, ,,What is he to me?" the whole conception of this 
 picture is heart searching. A small instance of the nicety 
 of invention peculiar to that old school, is evinced by 
 putting a vicious looking bee in the act of stinging the 
 leg of the remorseless thief, and the contortion of the 
 limb under pain. There is a life-like interest in such 
 works of art, that impress them indelibly on the memory. 
 
 The third picture was a Nativity. The swaddled in- 
 fant lying in the foreground, Mary and Joseph behind, 
 various other figures introduced, and the rest of the can- 
 vass filled up with innumerable infant angels, bearing 
 scrolls, on which are inscribed, „ Glory to God on high, 
 on earth Peace, Good will towards men;" the coloring 
 admirable. 
 
 The fourth painting was by an unknown artist, bear- 
 ing the date 1565, the purification of Mary intheTemple, 
 a lovely little picture. It presents an exquisite perspective 
 of pointed arches, in the foreground an altar, the high 
 priest fronting you; Saint Anne is on the right, and the 
 Virgin, a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, kneeling, pre- 
 senting her two white doves in a little cage, the very 
 impersonation of innocence and purity. 
 
 The beautiful simplicity of early German art yielded 
 at length to the pressure of the times. The universities 
 had gradually cast off the old scholastic shackles and 
 revived the classics; thence, art driven from the reformed 
 churches, sought in mythology a new field of develop- 
 ment, and we find meretricious Venuses and unchaste 
 
WITTENBERG. 
 
 435 
 
 Dianas taking the place of the exquisitely modest and 
 pure conceptions of the old mediaeval school. Cranach 
 with the others, lapsed later into this style of painting, 
 as did also Albrecht Diirer, and both into that compro- 
 mise between classical nudity and allegorical virtue, 
 which made but sad havoc with the art. I had rather be 
 the painter of that meek young girl kneeling before the 
 high priest, with her offering of two white doves, than 
 obtain the most elaborate triumph by limning Virginius 
 sacrificing his daughter, or that model of Roman chastity, 
 Lucretia, committing suicide. One must be essentially 
 religious I think, to depict scripture subjects with feeling. 
 Pagan virtue can never touch the same chord in the 
 heart. 
 
 I had enjoyed these paintings alone, in the deep 
 church silence, when the sudden apparition of a sexton 
 startled me from my reveries, and awoke me to the fact 
 that time and steam wait for no man ; so I crossed his 
 palm with silver, in gratitude for a few golden moments 
 of quiet enjoyment, and bade farewell to old Wittenberg. 
 
 28* 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 
 TEPLITZ. 
 
 Teplitz — All the world's a stage — and all the men and women 
 merely players. Ag you it- 
 
 My German experiences began at a watering place 
 on the Rhine, and I shall wind them up by my sum- 
 mer passed at Teplitz, which is about three hours dis- 
 tance from Dresden by rail, one of the loveliest jour- 
 neys one can take, the road skirting the Elbe through its 
 most romantic passes. Teplitz has long been historic, 
 and has again of late lent its name to a convention of 
 crowned heads, so that perhaps a particular account of 
 it may have some interest, as it is almost exclusively a 
 German watering place. Now and then a wandering 
 Englishman finds his way there, or an American, but a 
 proof of how few foreigners do , is that no language but 
 the German is spoken, either in the shops, or lodging 
 houses, and very rarely at the hotels. Teplitz lies in a 
 valley in Bohemia within the range of the Erzgebirge or 
 Ore Mountains, the mining district, belonging to Saxony. 
 The, ,Joachimsthal" among these mountains, is the oldest 
 silvermine in Europe; here the first dollars were coined 
 called „ Thaler" from the word Thai, valley, literally, 
 ,, valley piece", a name still retained in Saxony and 
 
TEPLITZ. 
 
 437 
 
 Prussia. Teplitzis a Slavonic word, signifying warm bath, 
 the Avaters belong to the class alkalo-saline, and range in 
 temperature from 95 to 120 Fahrenheit. The original 
 spring lies in the town, but within twenty years, an- 
 other has been discovered in a marshy spot a little 
 distance off. About this, there soon grew up a settlement, 
 now known by the name of Schonau, the most fashionable 
 and frequented part of Teplitz. The whole domain be- 
 longs to the Fiirst Clary, of the Aldringer family, whose 
 ancient castle, now in ruins, caps the Schlossberg and is 
 the favourite excursion for pedestrians. The modern 
 castle is in the centre of the town, surrounded by a spa- 
 cious park, which is left open for the use of every one, 
 a very small flower-garden only being fenced off with 
 wire screenings, round the palace. Prince Clary counts 
 seventeen villages on his domain, and is one of the 
 wealthiest noblemen in Bohemia. The bathing establish- 
 ments are all his, but leased to the highest bidder, who 
 however is restained by a code of laws and regulations 
 which he is bound to obey. The building erected over 
 the ,,New Spring" at Schonau, known as the ,,Neue 
 Bad", contains upon its ground-floor the bathing esta- 
 blishment, and above, fine suites of rooms, occupied for 
 many seasons by the Eoyal family of Prussia, who lived 
 there quite unostentatiously. Schonau is one continuous 
 row of lodging-houses, overlooking grounds laid out with 
 trees, shrubs and flowers, kept with the neatest care. 
 Benches are placed everywhere. A band of music plays 
 two or three times a week, in an open spot where the vi- 
 sitors lounge upon seats, or pace up and down the gra- 
 vel walks. A small tax is imposed on each person visit- 
 ing the baths, to pay for these luxuries. Teplitz is ex- 
 clusively German, national in all its habits; foreigners 
 are rare, except Russians, who arrive from the most re- 
 
438 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 mote parts of the Empire; but take these Brunnens as 
 you may, ,,on s'amuse moult tristement", as old Frois- 
 sart said of England. Under the windows, along the 
 walls of the houses, are placed long wooden seats, with 
 tables in front of them, where the lodgers place them- 
 selves and take their coffee in the morning. Once appro- 
 priated, it is civilly conceded as your right, and the next 
 comer looks about and chooses a shady spot to instal his 
 own table. The physicians prescribe, that all patients 
 remain as much as possible in the open air, and it was 
 during my mornings on a bench, I made most of my ob- 
 servations on men and things. The Schlossberg road 
 sloped down just beside us; there are several villages 
 beyond, and the peasant- women came trudging past, 
 with baskets on their backs, supported by a strap passing 
 under each arm. In these they carry every imaginable 
 thing, from a cabbage to a child two years old; sometimes 
 weights that bend them nearly to the ground. Children 
 have little baskets fitted to their size. Usually these are 
 loaded with poultry, vegetables, or cans of milk; now 
 and then a small live porker betrayed himself from under 
 a white cloth closely tied down, or a couple of geese pro- 
 truded their heads, to take a view of things as they 
 passed. 
 
 The peasanty of Bohemia are the finest race I have 
 seen in Germany. They do not look exhausted and worn 
 down by hard work, in fact have the reputation of being 
 lazy; and unthrift and slovenliness of all the villages 
 seems evidence of the fact. Agriculture is in a high state 
 of perfection in Bohemia, as it is everywhere else in Ger- 
 many; fruit orchards are cultivated with great care, quan- 
 tities being sent down the Elbe to the Dresden market, 
 but it is in the villages, about the doors of the peasant- 
 houses, that one remarks their want of thrift; unseemly 
 
TEPLITZ. 
 
 439 
 
 heaps of stone and rubbish appear to have been heir- 
 looms from their fathers, held as a sacred trust. 
 
 The usual costume of the women is a thick red striped 
 linsey woolsey petticoat, made very full and short, a 
 calico jacket, and a gay colored handkerchief tied three 
 cornered-wise over the head. This lattergeneration how- 
 ever have begun to substitute common prints with deep 
 flounces, and so by degrees the old costumes die out. In 
 the progress of the times and commercial exchange, the 
 modern article is obtained for less than the cost of their 
 domestic woollens, and so improvement diffuses itself 
 everywhere. But there is one little spot yet remaining 
 on the face of the earth where innovation has not crept 
 in, and where it is a pity it does not, I mean Altenburg, 
 near Leipsic. One of these women passed here, and it is 
 impossible not to follow them as far as the eye can reach. 
 Seeing is believing! A body, always stout, is covered 
 with a tight thing of ribbed worsted, like the leg of a 
 sock, of course taking the form of said body, in all its 
 contours, from the waist to the knees. Above, appears a 
 bodice and shift sleeves; below, a pair of colored stock- 
 ings with flowing ribbon garters and leather shoes. Be- 
 tween the stocking and the knit garment, there always 
 is a slight deviation when they walk, which shows the 
 skin. This curious costume is finished off by a long nar- 
 row apron, and a cap fitted close to the head, with a 
 square flap hanging down the back. The effect in the 
 rear of such a person, is decidedly that of a pair of ker- 
 sey small clothes. When I saw an Altenburg woman for 
 the first time crossing the square at a distance, I never 
 dreamt of her being a female. Habit makes them uncon- 
 scious of the ridicule they inspire out of their own pecu- 
 liar domain, and I never was more amused in my life than 
 by a young Altenburg girl fresh fiom her village, who 
 
440 CPIAP. XLIX. 
 
 was lounging about the square under my window, one 
 morning in Dresden, who nudged her companion, and 
 both shouted out laughing at a young lady who had 
 adopted the fashion just then introduced, of a tight fit- 
 ting cloth coatie and round hat. 
 
 O wad some Power the giftie gie us 
 
 To see oursels as others see us! 
 
 It wad frae monie a blunder free us 
 
 An' foolish notion; 
 What airs in dress an'gait wad lea'e us, 
 
 And ev'n devotion! 
 
 These Altenburg women are much in request as 
 children's nurses, and esteemed for their faithfulness. 
 
 An outdoor panorama at a watering-place is generally 
 every-day men and women pacing backwards and forwards; 
 but here the eye is constantlylighting upon some new object. 
 Away yonder under the trees glide two sisters of charity, 
 with their black serge robes, close coifs, black veils , and 
 rosaries; they have just arrived, probably at the call of 
 some sick person , it being customary to apply to them 
 in serious cases; calm, patient and enduring, trained to 
 be so, as few mortals are, — I should choose just such wo- 
 men to smooth my dying-bed. It is now eight o'clock, 
 the scene becomes animated, people are returning from 
 their morning Avalk, the little tables spring up like mush- 
 rooms under the trees. Here and there, servants in li- 
 very are running to and fro, with coffee equipages, or 
 plates of rolls and fruit, every one is going to breakfast 
 in the open air. Somehow on the continent, one can do 
 so, without having an ear-wig drop in one's cup. So the 
 Countess D . . . sweeps by, leaning on the arm of her 
 son, a young officer in the Austrian uniform, these be- 
 long to the ,, haute volee ". The two daughters arrive 
 somewhat later, floating past in elegant neglige -toilets 
 
TEPLITZ. 
 
 441 
 
 and that peculiar toss of the head, with half closed eyes, 
 superciliously overlooking inferior mortals. An officer 
 or two, join them at the breakfast table, it is just far 
 enough removed from the common path for the peasant- 
 girls to stop with fruit and flowers; or the nice neat Frau 
 Bertha, who comes every morning, her basket covered 
 with a white napkin, under which lie the thin delicate 
 brittle wafer -cakes, for which she is sure of customers. 
 Little Wenzel too, withher brown gipsey face, peering out 
 from a scarlet handkerchief tied under her chin , there 
 she is, with her bare brown feet and hands, and her old 
 basket, out of which come so many lovely nosegays 
 of roses and mignonette. Further off, on my left, sits a 
 lean Bavarian, always dressed in grey, from hat to 
 gaiters, always smoking a pipe; he has two nice daugh- 
 ters, light blondes, with clear blue eyes and fresh lips, 
 they also have their coterie, sew interminable worsted 
 work all day and every day out of doors, not excepting 
 Sunday. Above, in the balconies, lounge some of the 
 exclusives sipping their coffee. The one on my immediate 
 left, a Princess of Wallachia, whose daughter married a 
 young military man and brought him as a marriage por- 
 tion, 30,000 swine! I heard it from the gentleman him- 
 self. On the floor above me lives a Russian Minister of 
 State and his family. I may say here that I have univer- 
 sally found the Russians more affable in their manners 
 to entire strangers, than any people I have met. On the 
 further balcony, lives a Consul from Astrakhan , whose 
 wife's toilet varies between the sublime and the ridicu- 
 lous. Away on again, three dames of high degree, 
 Viennese, who come out now and then of an afternoon to 
 hear the music and honor the gravel with their august 
 tread; sweeping to and fro wrapped in gorgeously em- 
 broidered canton crape shawls, the like of which, they 
 
442 CHAP. XL1X. 
 
 feel, can never adorn dames of less nobility than ten 
 quarterings on both sides of the house! I laugh in my 
 sleeve, and think, what a bore some of our ladies at 
 home consider it to wear those shawls. I turn for better 
 amusement to another view of the panorama. I see a 
 strange wild looking human being, with hair hanging 
 about his shoulders, a wide flapped hat slouched over his 
 face; a coat flung hussar fashion over his shoulder, 
 breeches and leggings of leather; the latter fastened up 
 the calf with innumerable little silver buttous, a shirt 
 thrown open at the collar, all brown — brown of every 
 shade, from that of the woollen coat, to the sun burned 
 face; from the leather leggings to the shirt of coarse texture. 
 Over his shoulder is cast a coil of iron wire, and a few 
 mousetraps strung on a twine. He is a wandering Slavo- 
 nian, — this his stock in trade. They gather a scanty living 
 by tinkering. They donotbeg,on the contrary I saw nothing 
 grovelling about them, rather a spirit of independence. 
 One is tempted to volunteer a small coin now and then, 
 which they do not fail to accept , but rather haughtily. 
 These are just such figures asMurillo or Rembrandt would 
 choose to paint, dark expressive faces, with keen eyes. 
 Those people go by the name of Slavonian, why specially 
 I could not trace. Among the descendants of the Slavo- 
 nian race may be enumerated, Russians, Poles, Bohe- 
 mians and Moravians; be this as it may, the Bohemians 
 universally call these travelling tinkers, Slavonians. 
 
 It is a curious fact that all writers agree in the de- 
 scription of their peculiarities." The Slavonian was dark, 
 short, and with small black eyes, and very diffident in 
 personal cleanliness." So writes Tacitus in the first cen- 
 tury, and nearly eighteen hundred years later, this people 
 retain their national features and the last peculiarity 
 particularly. 
 
TEPLITZ. 
 
 443 
 
 And there is little Nickel too, she shows herself at 
 times, her v height that of a child three years old, her age 
 forty seven; she comes from one of the mountain mining 
 districts, where her mother rejoices in five more like her; 
 what a nest it would have been for Barn una ! These must 
 be genuine Kobolds. There go four Polish J e ws, they wear 
 long black surcoats to their feet, made of shiny alpaca; 
 they have long beards and greasy locks, and the crouch- 
 ing, poor, degenerate look of a despised race — Parias. 
 „The Jews that in the 28 th Chap, of Deuteronomy were 
 cursed in a certain contingency with a sublimer curse 
 than ever rang through the passionate wrath of Prophecy, 
 and that afterwards in Jerusalem cursed themselves, vo- 
 luntarily taking on their own heads and on the heads of 
 their children's children, for ever and for ever, the guilt 
 of innocent blood: they are Parias to this hour; yet 
 for them there has always shone a sullen light of hope", 
 with what peculiar interest I always dwell upon these 
 people, so especially marked, living witnesses of the 
 w T ord of God. ,,And thou shalt become an astonishment, 
 a proverb and a byword, among all nations." 
 
 Next appears on the scene Mademoiselle * * * one of 
 the habituees of Teplitz, a lady of an uncertain age, still 
 retaining hopes of an establisment, and known as an in- 
 defatigable Tuft hunter. This fact is so well established, 
 she furnishes amusement to an observing public. Her 
 success is marvellous. However determined an Austrian 
 countess may be, she will none of her, however freezing 
 a Russian princess may appear, she manages in a very 
 short time to control the whole, get her seat in their car- 
 riage, and accompany them in their w T alks. An accom- 
 plished parasite was as novel an object to me, as a 
 Hungarian tinker, only I thought the mousetrap trade the 
 more respectable of the two. I wonder if she ever dreamt 
 
444 
 
 CIIAP. XLIX. 
 
 of appearing in such goodly company! But she so often 
 passed before me, during my mornings on a bench, that 
 I could not but note her and her manoeuvres. 
 
 One morninglwas joined by aRussian gentleman, with 
 whom I had formed an acquaintance; while we were con- 
 versing, we were interrupted by the approach of an old wo- 
 man slightly deformed. She was clad in a narrow skirt of 
 faded calicoe, here and there patched, a calico jacket 
 quite as poor, a red kerchief tied about her head, the 
 ends flapping down her back, and an elflock or two, of 
 coarse grizzled hair, escaping from beneath it, skinny 
 arms and hands, bare feet to match; her complexion of 
 a dark mulatto shade, and a pair of coal black fiery eyes, 
 the vivacity of which age had not extinguished. She was 
 a gipsey, a genuine Bohemian , one of that race which 
 two hundred years ago, migrated hither, no one knew 
 from whence, and dispersed over the European continent 
 without a fixed home ; they, whom the French call Bo- 
 hemians, the English Egyptians, gipsies, no matter 
 whence their origin, here was one, upon the very soil 
 attracting our attention by her age and poverty. She 
 insisted on telling the Russian's fortune. He crossed her 
 hand with silver, and their confab was long and appa- 
 rently serious. She finished off her communications by 
 giving him a specific for long life. He told me she had 
 used the common jargon of fortune tellers, and had di- 
 rected the substance she gave should be burnt on a chaf- 
 ing dish with a small portion of bread and salt, the in- 
 haling of which would ensure him long life. On inspec- 
 tion we found it was a bit of dried toadstool, the witch's 
 heritage. 
 
 There is another class of persons I have omitted to 
 mention, who are an intolerable nuisance. These are 
 the ,,Spitzen-Frauen", and occasionally their helpmates. 
 
TEPLITZ. 
 
 445 
 
 These people flock to the watering places during the 
 season; they carry a wooden box in which is deposited 
 the lace made by a whole village, one being appointed 
 to sell it, who is absent often several months, travelling 
 far and wide in different parts of the country. I had the 
 misfortune when I first arrived, to be assailed by a pale 
 worn -down looking man, who opened his case forme, 
 and displayed an array of common things, such as I 
 could not make up my mind to buy, but as his eyes were 
 big with hope, and as he humbly told me he had not sold 
 enough to keep him in bread that day; I gave him a trifle to 
 get rid of him. Ignoramus that I was; you lend a man money 
 to get rid of him, but give ! I had all the ,,Spitzen-Frauen" 
 in Teplitz round me, like wasps about a honey-pot, every 
 time I took a seat out of doors. It became not only a 
 nuisance, but a cause of nervous irritation at last. It 
 seemed to me they had leagued together to torment me. 
 I never opened my window at six in the morning, that I 
 did not see a couple nodding at me, to know if I wanted 
 lacecollars or undersleeves. I never was deep in a book, 
 or writing a letter in my room, that I was not interrupted 
 by a tap at the door, and the,,Spitzen-Frau" and her box 
 meeting my vision. One day I was about to answer the 
 tap, the verb ,,enrager", ready conjugated upon my lips, 
 when I was agreeably disappointed to see one of my old 
 friends, the Brothers of Charity, whom I have spoken of 
 before; an excellent sweet tempered man, who collects 
 for the strangers' hospital. 
 
 Teplitz is the great hospital of Germany, each 
 state has an establishment here for its army. That 
 of Austria, the most imposing, situated in the midst 
 of Schonau, with cultivated grounds and walks around 
 it, where the invalid soldiers lounge under the trees. 
 These waters are specific in rheumatic affections to 
 
446 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 whicli soldiers are peculiarly exposed. So seemingly 
 simple are the component parts of these waters, yet so 
 severe in their effects upon the nerves , that an ordinary 
 patient will find after five or six baths he is obliged to 
 desist for a day or two, they produce the same uneasy 
 sleeplessness at night, which the strong stimulants of 
 coffee or tea do upon delicate organizations. For a time, 
 perhaps two months after going through the cure, the pa- 
 tient is not sensible of much amelioration, but the fact 
 then presses forcibly upon him, that he is partially re- 
 lieved. If the case be an old chronic one, it will require 
 three or four seasons in succession to cast it off, but that 
 the results are marvellous I have full reason to know. 
 Exercise in the open air is strongly enforced, and for 
 those who cannot use their limbs freely, there are bath- 
 chairs to be hired, and plenty of men ready for a small 
 compensation to push you about for hours at a time. 
 Thus lame people gain all the advantages of excursions 
 in the valley and among the pleasant hill woodlands 
 about Teplitz. These bath-chairs are in such general use, 
 a person does not feel conspicuous when reduced to that 
 method of locomotion, and is wheeled up under the trees 
 of the promenades, or where the band performs, and left 
 sitting, while the crowd walk about, or stand in groups 
 listening. 
 
 In these afternoon promenades one sees many young 
 Austrian officers who come down to Teplitz for a 
 day or two, from the neighboring fortress of ,,Theresien- 
 stadt". Among them I remarked one day two in hussar 
 uniform, rather supercilious in their manners, looking 
 down upon the crowd with a very indifferent air. One 
 of them was a fine specimen of an Austrian, who are re- 
 markably handsome men, wellformed, with florid com- 
 plexions like the English. His companion was a „ black 
 
TEPLTTZ. 
 
 447 
 
 man", dark as a full ripe chestnut, not a mulatto. It was 
 the first time in my lite I had seen the colored man as 
 a gentleman. The effect of early educational prejudice 
 and association produced a most singular excitement in 
 my mind. The uniform and colored face combined re- 
 called the militia bands and black musicians, who flou- 
 rished in primitive times in New-York. I could not keep 
 my eyes off him. I watched him" as he paced up and 
 down, I felt some misgivings, I could not reconcile the 
 idea that he could be a gentleman. They met an officer 
 of rank, both stopped, Othello threw himself negligently 
 back, leaning on the hilt of his sword, he was perfectly 
 at his ease. There was now no question, he was not the 
 big drummer, nor the cymbal-player. He had a beautiful 
 mouth, and a set of teeth glistening like pearls set in 
 black enamel. His hair, that proof of blood, I could not 
 detect, it was cropped close to the head behind in mili- 
 tary fashion, and the zchako covered the rest. The pe- 
 culiar style of the hussar uniform is not pleasing to the 
 eye, there is such a superfluity of cords and loops and 
 what-nots, as it is now represented. It originated in Po- 
 land and Hungary. ,, Fitted for hasty enterprize, these 
 soldiers were oddly clothed, having skins of tigers and 
 other wild beasts, hanging on their backs against bad 
 weather, with furcaps and cocks' tails". Such was the 
 original dress, now refined into the velvet trimmed with 
 rare furs, and strewed over with diamond and precious 
 stones, which adorn the persons of Esterhazy and his 
 compeers, when they appear at the court levees of their 
 Emperor. 
 
 For three days, Teplitz departed from the even tenor 
 of its way. The Emperor had announced he would 
 be there. The Prince - Regent of Prussia was to meet 
 him, Saxony and Bavaria were invited to the conference, 
 
448 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 Jill Europe had their eyes turned Teplitz- wise, and the 
 little town produced more glazed calico on the occasion 
 than had entered into my imagination to conceive. Ban- 
 ners floated from every point, from every attic window, 
 every garden post, every accessible height; even from 
 the airholes in the old churchtower there waved Austria's 
 black and yellow, Saxony's green and white, old Bohe- 
 mia's national red and white, and Prussia's white and 
 black. Festoons of flowers, wreaths, arches, decorated 
 balconies, all that evergreens and muslin could do, to get 
 up a demonstration they did, and yet in spite of a dense 
 crowd from the railway station to the hotel, where the 
 Emperor's rooms were prepared, there was no heartiness 
 in the cheers that greeted his arrival. ,,Some one or two 
 threw up their .caps and cried long live King Richard", 
 but the remainder cheered with an effort, the machinery 
 creaked, that was all. (This occurred previously to the 
 concessions made later to the people, which have not 
 rendered them a whit more enthusiastic), but we have 
 nothing to do with politics, only impressions. The bells 
 rang, the cannon boomed, and the Emperor arrived in the 
 midst of a crowd. The next day came Prussia. The 
 Emperor went to the station to meet him, and there was 
 more noise at least, how much heart. Heaven knows, but 
 the bell, and the cannon and the red, black, yellow and 
 white calico, all did their duty, and no one inquired 
 further. The conference lasted only two days. The Em- 
 peror went about quietly in a low open carriage, accom- 
 panied by one aide-de-camp, visiting the hospitals and 
 some spots of interest. Turning down a narrow street 
 one day, I heard a carriage coming round the corner, 
 and ranged myself against the wall to let it pass, it was 
 the Emperor, who politely lifted his hat. He is a blond 
 delicate looking young man, with no force of expression. 
 
TKPLITZ. 
 
 Prussia I saw later, a big, burly, but handsome man. How 
 very little one cares for these Royal personages when 
 one has lived long in Europe. We learn very soon, the 
 ,, highborn" and ,, noble" are only given terms. The in- 
 dividuals rarely come up to our preconceived ideas of 
 what they ought to be. I find myself a better republican 
 in feeling abroad, than I was at home, and treasure the 
 nobility of intellect and talent above all hereditary ho- 
 nors. One night the miners got up a torchlight proces- 
 sion in honor of the Royal guests. The peculiarity of 
 the miner's costume consists in a rounded leather apron 
 worn not before, but behind, a singular appendage, which 
 even the King of Saxony is obliged to assume as chief of 
 the miners, when he visits the district. This leather 
 apron passes under the coat-tail and as all is black, it is 
 not so very conspicuous after all, and the eye becomes 
 reconciled to the young men so accoutred, knowing 
 thereby they belong to the school of miners. So passed 
 the mighty conference at Teplitz with what result, let 
 newspapers discuss. I know, the wreaths faded and the 
 flags became weather-stained, prophetic perhaps of faded 
 hopes and false colors. 
 
 The excursions about Teplitz are interesting. On 
 the Dresden road lies the battle-field of Kulm, where in 
 1813, the allied forces, commanded by Count Colloredo 
 Mansfeld, defeated the French under Vandamme; the 
 remnant of the whole army escaped through the woods and 
 across the mountains to Dresden, then Napoleon's head- 
 quarters. The Prussian, Austrian and Russian sovereigns 
 have each erected a monument on the field. The Prus- 
 sian is of cast iron and bears the inscription: ,,A grateful 
 King and Country honor the Heroes who fell." 
 
 That of Austria is a copy of the beautiful bronze 
 figure found under the Temple of Hercules at Brescia, 
 
 29 
 
450 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 and is dedicated to the memory of Prince Colloredo 
 Mansfeld who was wounded in the battle. 
 
 The Eussian monument is an obelisk, surmounted 
 by a figure of Fame, the base guarded by two lions. 
 
 The shrine of ,, Mariaschein " a cloister- chapel , for- 
 merly celebrated for its miracles, and still a pilgrimage 
 church, is a pleasant drive from Teplitz. The adjacent 
 country is lovely, and for those who have strength to 
 drive about, there is enough to be seen and enjoyed. 
 However to me the routine of coffee-gardens and a very 
 indifferent band of music, became monotonous, as it always 
 does. We Americans have not the faculty of passive 
 enjoyment, and I rejoiced when ,,the cure", as it is called, 
 was completed, and I could take my leave. Farewell 
 then to the long rows of lodging houses, distinguished 
 by the names of Kings and Emperors, Archdukes and 
 Trinces. I think some of these worthies would look 
 aghast at the pretensions of their namesakes, could they 
 see them, for often the poorest and meanest, in the dir- 
 tiest quarters of the old town, bear the most sonorous 
 titles. No house above a cowshed, but has emblazoned 
 on its front some splendid name. Cities, States, nil be- 
 came exhausted. Then men returned to the Bears, the 
 Boars and the Horses, blue, black and red, whom sign- 
 painters have delighted to honor for centuries; Angels 
 too, white ones, and blue ones, and golden ones; Mor- 
 ning Stars, Evening Stars, Suns and Moons, until finally 
 the astronomical effort terminated in a fresco over the 
 door of a little yellow house in my vicinity where a bla- 
 zing comet with a fiery tail, is illuminating the physiogno- 
 mies of a little lady and gentleman who stand admiring 
 it. Stars, Angels and Comets , however have been out- 
 done in originality by two insignificant houses a little 
 way down the street, one of which rejoices in the name 
 
TEPLITZ. 
 
 151 
 
 of „Tbe Red Apple", and its next door neighbor, n The 
 River Jordan", the whicli sets one speculating on the 
 question: ,, What's in a name "J? 
 
 And now farewell to the dear old Vaterland. When 
 I look about me and mark how simple, how free from 
 guile and criticism life is here, how divested of that su- 
 perciliousness and ridicule, which can be felt, if not 
 heard, in other lands; where the deformed, the absurd, 
 the beautiful, the common and the wellbred, all meet 
 in one common community, where the young men loung- 
 ing about, smoking together, are never saucy nor impo- 
 lite, where military men do not become puppies, not only 
 from restraint of discipline, but because they have in- 
 herited a better feeling, lam sure that goodness lies dee}) 
 down in the foundation of the national character. 
 
 The solitary exceptions I have seen were among the 
 university students, whose rudeness and follies are more 
 an assumed privilege of their order (,, dummer Junge "), 
 than a natural emanation of character, they could not be 
 Germans otherwise. 
 
 May the land never lose this beautiful trait, may the 
 quiet valley of Teplitz long remain in its present simpli- 
 city unspoiled by migrations from foreign lands; and 
 while the German people wake to progress, may they 
 never change their national characteristic of genuine 
 goodness. 
 
 FAREWELL. 
 
NOTICE. 
 
 Had I been aware of the difficulty of printing an English 
 manuscript in a foreign press I never would have undertaken 
 it. In spite of the unwearied efforts and perseverance of my 
 proof-reader, the text contains many typographical errors I 
 shall make no note of errata, they are obvious, and only ask 
 the friends for whom this volume is intended, that they 
 
 „Be to its faults a little kind, 
 And to iis misprints very blind."