UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY Class Book Volume Ja 09-20M • J'* The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016* https://archive.org/details/germanyin183102stra * GERMANY MDCCCXXXI. i GERMANY IN MDCCCXXXI. 4 By JOHN STRANG, Author of “ Tales of Humour & Romance, from the German of Hoffmann, Langbein, Lafontaine, &c.” “ Necropolis Glasguensis,” &c. VOL. II. LONDON: JOHN MACRONE, ST. JAMES’S SQUARE. MDCCCXXXVI. 1^.3 v. z. GLASGOW: Printed bz James Heddekwich & Son. CONTENTS OF VOL. II. tc Q cl <*■ e & v> LETTER XVI. Departure from Berlin — Road to Potsdam beautiful— the Town a miniature Berlin — Palace of Sans Souci — the Monuments of the great Frederick’s favourite Dogs — the Apartments of Sans Souci — the Room in which Frederick died — the Rooms of Voltaire — the Fair Sex never admitted to this Palace — Anecdote illus- trative of this — the Picture Gallery — the Grand or New Palace — Grove of superb Trees — associated with the Celebrated Men who used to wander beneath their shade — the New Palace one of the most splendid in Europe — the Marble Palace — the Old Schloss or Castle — Potsdam very dull — the Pfaueninsel worth a visit — the Schloss and Garnison Kirche in which the Remains of Frederick the Great are deposited — visited by Alexander of Russia and Napoleon Bonaparte — a passing Reflection on the Simplicity of the Prussian Monarch’s Tomb, 1 LETTER XVII. Road from Berlin to Leipsic — Country replete with Historical Associations — Departure from Potsdam — Awkward Dilemma respecting our Luggage — Wittenberg — long the Residence of Luther — Cast-iron Monument of the Reformer in the Market- place — Wittenberg the original Fortress of Protestantism — En- ter Saxony at Taucha — this Kingdom reduced to one-half of its former Extent by a Decree of the Congress of Vienna — Com- panions in the Schnell-wagen — Antipathy of the Prussians to the French — Arrival at Leipsic — Size and Appearance of the Town — the Market-place — Appearance of the Saxon Females who congregate here — Use of Tobacco universal — View from the Schloss Thurm — Reichenbach’s Garden — Spot where Ponia- towski perished — the Bridge which the French Corporal blew up by mistake — the Ramparts — the Johannes Kirche Cemetery — the Tombs of Gellert and of Tzschirner — Difficulty of obtaining A VI CONTENTS. a European Reputation — Curious Monument of a Tinsmith — Vast Number of Political Pamphlets published at Leipsic — the chosen Arena for the Discussion of German Politics — the Cen- sorship of the Press not so strict as in Prussia — Effects of “ the Three Days” on Saxony — Committee in Favour of the Poles — their Cause for the present, Hopeless, 18 LETTER XVIII. The German Tongue first Purified by the Saxons, in consequence of which Leipsic and Dresden obtained a Literary Reputation — the Book Trade of Leipsic — its Prodigious Extent — German Universities — their Origin — the College of Prague first founded, that of Leipsic the next — Characteristics of the Old and Modern Universities — the Catholic and Protestant Stift — Government of the University — Power of Professors to revise Legal Decisions — Causes of the Peculiar Privileges attached to Universities — Lenient Code of Laws productive of Abuses — late Changes made in consequence — Circumstances out of which the Peculiar Character of German Students has arisen — the University a Literary Republic — Duelling — Causes out of which it arose and is continued — Sketch of a Burschen Duel — Affrays with Trades- men chiefly attributable to Foreigners — Small Proportion of the Students belonging to any Burschenschaft — the great Majority a Hard-working, Industrious set of Youths — High Character of German Universities in general, 39 LETTER XIX. Proposed Journey to Weimar frustrated — Chief Object to see Gothe — his great Literary Reputation — Universality of his Genius — his Writings not well understood in England — the Many-sidedness of his Mind — his Literary Life one of the most Enviable — his Want of Patriotic Feeling — Road from Leipsic to Dresden — Meissen — Arrival at Dresden — its fine Situation — the Bruhlische Garden — Handsome Bridge that spans the Elbe — Industrious, Orderly Habits of the Saxons — Healthful Appearance of the Dres- deners — Rosy Countenances and Round Figures of the Saxon Women — the Dresdeners passionately fond of Music — Grand Mass in the Hochkirclie — the King of Saxony — the Linkische Bad on a Sunday Afternoon — Ladies Knitting Stockings — Carl Maria Weber — the Enthusiasm felt in Germany for his Music — particularly for the Freischiitz, 71 CONTENTS. Vll LETTER XX. Sights of Dresden — the Palace — the Griine Gewolbe — the Riist- kammer — the Zwinger — the Japanese Palace — the National Gallery of Pictures — Works of the Dutch and Flemish Masters — of the Italian Masters — Madonna di San Sisto, by Raphael — Correggio’s celebrated Pictures — Interview with Karl Bottiger — Interview with the Hofrath Ludwig Tieck — his Chief Works, and his Peculiarities as an Author — Dresden Periodicals — People of Dresden not such Politicians as those of Berlin and Leipsic — Questionable whether Journalism be of Advantage to a State circumstanced like Saxony — Revolution of the year 1830 — Happy Condition of its general Population, 99 LETTER XXL Sudden Preparations to leave Dresden for the Saxon Switzerland — Environs of Dresden — the Annual Festival of the Vogelschiessen — Saxons realise the idea of the old German Character — Tomb of Rabener, the German Swift — the Todtentanz — Monument to Adelung, the Philologist — Departure from Dresden — Excite- ments of Nature compared with the enervating Stimuli of a City — Road to Pilnitz — the House of Theodore Korner’s Father — in a Pavilion attached to this House, Schiller wrote his Don Carlos — Jown of Pilnitz — the Palace — Regularity of the Motions of the Saxon Court — the King and his Confessor — Historical Associa- tions connected with the Palace — Village of Lohmen — Universal Use of Bread and Butter in Saxony — Peculiar Privilege of the Fe- males of Lohmen — the Ottowaldaer Grund — its Romantic Char- acter — Thunder-storm — the Bastey — Schandau — the Great and Small Winterberg — the Prebischthor — Valley of Kirnitz — Wood- cutters — Hohlenstein — the Kuhstalh — Return to Schandau — sin- gular Scenery of the Saxon Switzerland — Destitute of such Genii Loci as Sir Walter Scott has created for the Scenery of Scotland, .. 126 LETTER XXII. Departure from Schandau — Sail down the Elbe — Lilienstein and Konigstein — Bastey from the River — Inexhaustible Quarries of Freestone — Sonnenstein — Pima — Berggieshiibel — a German Bed — Enter Bohemia — Tokens of its being a Catholic Country — Peterwalde — the Nollendorfer Hbh — Culm — Monuments in Vlll CONTENTS. honour of the Victory gained by the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians over Napoleon’s Army — the Erzgebirge — Toplitz — a Day at this Watering-place similar to one at Bath or Cheltenham — the King of Prussia and the Princess Leignitz, 158 LETTER XXIII. Journey from Toplitz to Prague — Melnicker Wine indifferent — Bo- hemian Beer — Excellent Quality of Bohemian Hops — Theresien- stadt — Arrival at Prague — Striking Situation of the City — Bridge across the Moldau — Old and New Town — Prague the Focus of a great Catholic country — Number of its Religious Houses — Holy John of Nepomuk the Tutelar Saint of Bohemia — his Monument in the Dom-Kirche — the Festival of this Saint — the Country Priest-ridden and King-ridden — Begging universal — the Islands of the Moldau — the general Resort of the Populace of Prague on a Sunday Afternoon — Appearance of the Working Classes — Sprightly Look of the Bohemian Women — the Fair Sex of all Classes in Prague pretty — general Immorality of the Inhabitants Illustrated — Lying-in Hospital — Perfect Line of Demarcation be- tween the Nobility and Middle Classes — Lower Classes Servile and Ceremonious — Propensity of the Bohemians to Thieving — Principal Sights of Prague — Celebrated for its Clocks — Picture Gallery of Graff Nostitz — the Jewish Town — one of the Earliest Colonies of this Wandering Race, 174 LETTER XXIV. Nothing Remarkable about the Modern Literature of Bohemia — the Bright Days of her Intellectual History gone — Valuable Relics of Sclavonic Literature in the University Library — the Trojan Chronicle and First Bohemian Bibles — Lyrical Fragments Illustrative of the Transition State of a People Emerging from the Dark Ages — University of Prague — the People of Prague much more addicted to Amusement than Study — Printers, Booksellers, and Periodicals of Prague — the Opera-House — Performance of the Maid and the Magpie, and Fra Diavolo — the Orchestra of the Theatre associated with the finest Creations of Mozart — the Cosmopolitan Character of his Music — Visit to the Palace of the famous Duke of Friedland — associated with the Deeds of the Thirty-years’ War — Bohemia, of all the De- pendencies of Austria, most celebrated for its Manufactures — CONTENTS. IX Spinning Universal — Two Woollen Fairs established — Trade and Commerce — the Germans everywhere imitating England in her Manufacturing Improvements — Railroad from Prague to Pilsen — Environs of Prague — the City, from the absence of the No- bility, less gay in Summer than in Winter — Preparations for Departure — Office and State of Police, 202 LETTER XXV. Road from Prague to Vienna Uninteresting — Wittenow — Travelling Companions in the Post-wagen — two Excellent Samples of Aus- trian Women — Exchanged my Seat for one in the Coupee — Soli- tary Thoughts — an Evening Scene — Travelling good, Bohemian Horses among the best on the Continent — Enzensdorf— Approach to a great City apparent — Leopoldsberg and the Kahlenberg — Traveller’s Feelings on Approaching any Capital, always become more Excited as his Distance from it Diminishes — Associations on Approaching Vienna — Arrival at the Barrier — Enter the City — Russell’s Picture of it still nearly Correct — Alterations chiefly on the Ramparts and Esplanade which surround the Stadt — Saying of a French Engineer — Unfortunate Period for Visiting Vienna — Universal Fear at the rapid Approach of Cholera — Precautions of the People and the Government — Cholera Alarm cannot pre- vent the Viennese from Joking — the People know little about Continental Politics, 225 LETTER XXVI. Lively Appearance of Vienna compared with the Dulness of Ber- lin, Dresden, and Prague — Heart-stirring Scene which the Kolh- markt, the Graben, and the Karnthnerstrasse daily present — Elasticity of Spirits arising from the Purity of the Atmosphere — Sans-Souci-ism the leading Characteristic of the Inhabitants of Vienna — their Love of good Eating Conspicuous — by no means Bacchanalians — Theatres — the Hof- Theatre at the Karnthner- Gate — Fanny Elsler and Mademoiselle Baseg — the Hof- Burg Theatre — Miss Muller and Mr. Hertzfeld — Mr. Seydelmann and Miss Theresa Peche — the Theatre an der Wien — Herr Krones — Theatre in the Leopold-stadt, the principal Favourite with the Populace, and the true Temple of Momus — Herr Schuster — Despotic Governments unfavourable to the Encouragement of Tragedy — Galleries of Art numerous — Collection of Paintings X CONTENTS. belonging to Prince Lichtenstein — Engravings belonging to Arch- Duke Charles — Vienna rich in Modern Statuary — Theseus con- quering the Centaur, by Canova, in the Volksgarden — splendid Monument to the Arch-Duchess Maria Christina, in the Church of the Augustines — Equestrian Statue of Joseph II. in the Joseph’s Platz, .240 LETTER XXVII. Censorship of the Press in Austria Jealous and Oppressive — an Obstacle to the Progress of Literature in Vienna — Literary Men of the Past — Living Literati — Von Hammer and the Graff Mai- lath — Dramatic Authors, Past and Present — H. J. Von Collin — M. Von Collin — Franz Grillparzer — Baron Zedlitz and Professor Deinhardstein — Bauernfeld a Successful Writer of Comedy — Vienna Poets — Castelli — Von Braunthal and Von Auersperg — Romance-Writers — Caroline Pichler — Vienna Periodicals few in number — the General Indifference of the Viennese for Politics and Literature, not attributable to the Want of the Means of Education — Normal and Trivial Schools Numerous throughout Austria — the University of Vienna — Schools for the Dissemi- nation of the Liberal Arts — Study not in Accordance with the Character and Tastes of the Inhabitants of Vienna — Leading Characteristics of a Viennese — no City so Agreeable to a For- eigner as Vienna — Strange Effects produced by the Pleasures of Vienna on the Minds of the Discontented Inhabitants of the va- rious States of the Empire, 264 LETTER XXVIII. Excursion to Baden — Fashionable Watering-place — the Imperial Court residing here — Promiscuous Bathing — Farm-house of Doppeldorf— the Emperor Francis II. — the Empress Caroline — Prince and Princess Salerno — Prince and Princess Metternich — Wonderful Tact of Metternich — Comparative Easy Task at present to Govern the Austrian Empire — Sunday Evening’s Promenade in the St. Helena Valley — Palace of Weilburg, the Residence of the Arch-duke Charles — Appearance and Charac- ter of the Hero of Aspern — Baden Theatre — Charity Ball at- tended by the Court — Return to Vienna by the Route of St. Helena Thai — Briihl — Pleasure-Grounds of Prince Lichten- stein — the Duke of Reichstadt, 291 CONTENTS. XI LETTER XXIX. St. Stephen’s Church — Morning Mass — Gewolbe or Crypt — Burial Vault of the Imperial Family — View from St. Stephen’s Spire Magnificent — City Glacis — Suburbs, and surrounding Country — Gregorian Chaunt — House of Mozart — certain other Sights of Vienna — Nuisances of Vienna — Dust and Sawing of Fuel — Sup- per Parties after the Close of the Theatre — Streets Quiet at Night — Cheap Living in Vienna — Fidelity of Domestics Rewarded — Rapid Advance of Cholera towards Vienna — its Effects upon the People — an Encouragement to Medical Quackery — Dr. Hahne- mann’s Homeopathic System of Medicine — Animal Magnetism — Excursion to Schonbrunn — the Palace, Gloriat, and Thier- garten, 323 LETTER XXX. Departure from Vienna — St. Polter — Molk — Enns — Amstellen — Enter Upper Austria — Ebersberg — Lintz — Proverbial Beauty of the Women — Brunau — Crossed Bavarian Frontier — Hohenlinden and Mariahilf — Arrival at Munich — Appearance of the City — the Shrine of the Fine Arts in Germany — Royal Gallery of Paint- ings — Modern German School of Painting — Society for Patron- ising Modern Art — Prince Leuchtenberg’s Collection — Monu- ment to Beauharnois, by Thorwaldsen — the Glyptothek and the Pinakothek — Leo Von Klenze — the New Opera-House — Made- moiselle Scheckner, and Mademoiselle Heinefetter — Bavarians the Lovers of Good Cheer — Numerous Beer-houses in Munich — Bavarians great Beer-bibbers — Extensive Brewery of Herr Pschor — Politics more freely Discussed here than in Austria — Bavaria possesses a Free Constitution — Chamber of Deputies and Peers — Political and Literary Journals — Nymphenburgh Palace,. ..354 LETTER XXXI. Departure from Munich — Road from Munich to Augsburg — German Postilions — Augsburg and its Sights — Mr. Stegmann, Editor of the Allgemeine Zeitung — the leading Political Journal of Ger- many — Enter Wirtemberg — Ulm — Geislingen — Road to Stutt- gart passes along the Valley of the Neckar — Esslingen and Klosterweil — Arrival at Stuttgart — its Situation and Appearance — Sights of Stuttgart — Royal Library — Studio of Dannecker — Visit to Dr. Wolfgang Menzel, Editor of the Litteratur-Blatt — Xll CONTENTS. Characteristics of Menzel — his Literary and Critical Works — his Appointment to the Editorship of the Litteratur-Blatt — Personal Appearance of Dr. Menzel — Conversation with the Doctor re- lative to the Works of Sir Walter Scott, Bulwer, and Moore — Stuttgart celebrated for the Number and Character of its Lite- rary Men — Frederick Schiller — German Booksellers entitled to a first place in Society — Character of Cotta, the celebrated Publisher, 384 LETTER XXXII. Departure from Stuttgart — Intelligent Travelling Companion — Con- versation respecting German Romance and Novel-Writers — Baron and Baroness de la Motte Fouque — Tromlitz — Wilhelm Hering — Augustus La Fontaine — Kotzebue — Arrival at Carlsruhe — Clean and Regular Appearance of the City — Morning Conver- sation in the Salle-a-Manger — Baden Senate and Chamber of Deputies — Appearance of the Chamber when met — Debate on the Freedom of the Press — Leading Members of the Chamber of Deputies — Carl Von Rotteck — Hofrath Duttlinger — Professor Mittermaier — C. F. Winter — Von Itzstein — Professor Wellker — Bekh — Knapp — Rettig Von Constance — Schaaf — Herr — Rege- nauer — almost Unanimous Opinion of the Baden Chamber in favour of the Freedom of the Press, and Trial by Jury — more Sympathy entertained for Liberal Opinions in Politics in the South than in the North of Germany — Fears for the Spread of extreme Radicalism groundless — a Free Press the Watchword of all German Reformers — Advantages that would result to Ger- many from this boon being granted, provided that a Uniform Law was established — Present Political Aspect of Germany, .412 APPENDIX. Borne on the German Mania for Titles, 443 Specimen of the Style of Borne’s Political Writing 445 Turkey-red Dyeing on the Continent and in Great Britain, 450 Religious Publications in Germany, 453 Berlin and Prussian Periodicals, 454 Literary Deluge in Germany, 455 LETTER XVI. Departure from Berlin — Road to Potsdam beautiful — the Town a miniature Berlin — Palace of Sans Souci — the Monuments of the great Frederick’s favourite Dogs — the Apartments of Sans Souci — the Room in which Frederick died — the Rooms of Voltaire — the Fair Sex never admitted to this Palace — Anecdote illus- trative of this — the Picture Gallery — The Grand or New Palace — Grove of superb Trees — associated with the celebrated Men who used to wander beneath their shade — the New Palace one of the most splendid in Europe — the Marble Palace — the Old Schloss or Castle — Potsdam very dull — the Pfaueninsel worth a visit — the Schloss and Garnison Kirche in which the Remains of Frederick the Great are deposited — visited by Alexander of Russia and Napoleon Bonaparte — a passing Reflection on the simplicity of the Prussian Monarch’s Tomb. Potsdam, 1831. It is only about twenty English miles from Berlin to Potsdam; to which there are daily, be- sides the Schnell Post , six regular opportunities of comfortable transport, by what is called the jour- naliere , a light carriage conveying six passengers and little luggage. The road is one continued avenue of trees, and has more the air of a private B 2 POTSDAM. approach to some aristocratic domain than a com- mon chausee. The fact is, this favoured spot, ever since it became a royal residence, has been the hobby of the monarchs of Prussia; and all that art, wealth, and taste could accomplish has been lavished upon it. The country, watered as it is by the Havel, abounds with the finest wood and the most luxuriant shrubbery, and has afforded to the landscape-gardener points of picturesque beauty, of which he has fully availed himself. The town of Potsdam* is rich in architectural decorations, but the expense lavished upon it has obviously been more to gratify the royal taste than for any real utility; it is a sort of royal pet, which must have cost the nation at least as much money as the Chinese whim , at Brighton, of our late Sove- reign George IV. of sumptuous memory. Potsdam, however, has this superiority over the Pavilion, that it affords comfortable dwellings to thousands of loyal subjects; while the other only gives summer shelter to royalty. Through the munificence of * Potsdam contains about 25,000 inhabitants, with a garrison of nearly 10,000 men. POTSDAM. 3 Frederick the Great, the common mechanics of Potsdam live beneath porticoes and colonnades, that vie with those of Greece and Rome in their best days; while the many splendid edifices which he required for the constant exercise and the comfort of his army, which he always kept around him, give to this town the aspect of a miniature Berlin —another town of palaces. The streets, like those of Berlin, are broad and regular. Many of them are planted with trees, which are beautifully ornamental, while, as a relief from noise, and to gratify still more the love of ease, wooden railways of about thirty inches broad, are laid along all the principal avenues, leading from the old Palace in the town, to the new Palaces in the suburbs. This is certainly a luxury, but it is one which could not be transplanted to the crowded cities of Great Britain. The approach from the Park to the Palace of Sans Souci , which stands on a slight eminence, is by a broad stair, leading over a succession of flowery terraces planted with vines and melons, and ornamented in summer with orange trees, which 4 POTSDAM. in winter are preserved in an adjoining orangery. This edifice, as a whole, is devoid of architectural beauty, and possesses no redeeming feature but its double colonnade, which, after all, is not in the best keeping with the main portion of the building. From the grotesque alto relievos with which it is profusely ornamented, and from the gold letters of Sans Soaci, which, Cain- like, it bears on its fore- head, we have the conviction that the great Fred- erick, with all his talents, was, in architecture as well as in every thing else, fully imbued with the frippery of Gallic taste — a taste which, happily for Germany, he was unable, notwithstanding incredi- ble exertions, to introduce into the literature of his country. Under the terrace, in front of the Palace, are seen the sepulchral memorials of Frederick’s favour- ite companions, his Italian greyhounds, which are said to have had more of his affection than any other living creature. He fed his dogs always with his own hands, attended to them when they were sick, and buried them when they died. They were allowed innumerable liberties, and among others, POTSDAM. 5 that of tearing the damask covers of his chairs : on one occasion, when they did so, and somebody remarked it, he said, 44 It is true, my dogs destroy my chairs, but how can I help it? After all, a Marchioness of Pompadour would cost me a great deal more, and would neither be so attached nor so faithful.” Biche and Alcmena were his especial favourites; his affection for the latter was so great, that when she died, he would not allow the corpse until it had become putrid, to be taken from his apartment and buried. The apartments of Sans Souci are by no means elegant, the pictures being, for the most part, by artists of the French school; and the furniture, on the whole, more like that of a mechanic than a monarch. There is something here, however, in- finitely more interesting than what the painter and the upholsterer can produce, seeing that it was within the walls of this palace, that Frederick spent the greater part of his life, and at last gave up the ghost. In the small library, consisting solely of French books, we still see the ink-stand and the table at which he was accustomed to sit; and they 6 POTSDAM. are just as the Monarch left them. In the adjoin- ing apartment, strangers are shown the spot where the elbow-chair stood, in which he breathed his last. Upon the table of this chamber, our observation was drawn to a small French pendule ; it was a favourite of Frederick’s, and he permitted no one to touch it but himself; every day he wound it up with his own hand. On the last day of his life, amid his many troubles, it was forgotten; and as the story goes, the hands, pointing, as they do at present, twenty minutes past two o’clock, mark the precise moment when Frederick ceased to exist, — the pendule , as if by magic, stopped at the very mo- ment of the King’s death, and it has never since been put in motion. Every thing presented to us there, was of course calculated to set us a moralising: but somehow or other my reflections took a different turn; and as I gazed upon the death-couch of the great Frederick, I could not help imagining, that I saw the King sitting, as Dr. Zimmerman has described him, his head covered with his well-worn hat, ornamented with a plume of feathers, his dress consisting of a cloak of sky-blue satin, all bedaubed POTSDAM. 7 with brown Spanish snuff, and his legs incased in a pair of huge jack-boots. I fancied also, that I saw his favourite hussar standing behind him; while I imagined I heard the Doctor recommending his dan- delion juice, and secretly hinting that if the King would give up eating ten or twelve dishes at dinner, he might yet live to fight his battles over again. I need scarcely remind you, that his Majesty’s ali- mentive organ was too large to permit his attending to the counsel of the author of the Essays on Soli- tude!* There is nothing else remarkable in the apartment of Frederick, save a portrait of Gustavus Adolphus, a most appropiate ornament certainly to a warrior’s bedroom. The apartments of Voltaire, being at present occupied by the Crown Prince, could not be seen; there is nothing, however, particular about them, except the circumstance of having once been oc- cupied by the French philosopher. We have seen his bedroom at Ferney , and it is to be presumed that there is just the same Sans- Souci-ism, if we may use the expression, about the one as the * Frederick died on the 17th August, I78J3. 8 POTSDAM. other. Wise men and wits are but rarely nurtured amid the luxury and nicknackery of a chambre-a- coucher tout-a-fait comme il faut. The world has gained more information from the head that has rested on a pallet in the attics, than from the one that has lolled on the downy couch of a palace.* Close to the Palace of Sans Souci are a suite of handsome apartments, in which Frederick was in the habit of occasionally entertaining such distin- guished individuals as were not admitted within the pale of his more cherished circle of philosophers and generals. Into these apartments, the fair sex' were sometimes admitted, though never to the Palace itself. Over the hallowed threshold of Sans Souci , no lady was allowed to pass; and it is confidently asserted, that even the Queen never once entered the summer residence of her hus- band. This retreat was reserved for the Mon- * Voltaire arrived at Potsdam in June 1750, and quitted it in the Spring of 1753. Although neglected by the Court, while in Paris, the expatriation of the philosopher was never forgiven. Frederick the Great gave Voltaire, during his stay at Potsdam, about £800 a-year. He was chiefly employed in correcting the Royal literary productions. The quarrel which at last took place between them, was disgraceful to letters and philosophy. POTSDAM. 9 arch’s bosom friends, the favoured savans and litterateurs of France, and the more intelligent officers of his own army. There is an anecdote told of Frederick, which will best illustrate the fact : One day, when the small circle of the Monarch’s friends were in the height of enjoyment, Voltaire turned to the King, and said, “ Sire, there is but one thing wanting to make this at present a para- dise.” “What is that?” said Frederick. “The society of women,” said the philosopher. “Ah!” said the King, “ if women were admitted, it would no longer be Sans Souci” The Castellan who conducted us through the Palace, although no philosopher , but a plain honest Benedick , was quite of the same opinion, and seemed eager to prove it. I told him it was quite unnecessary. What Goths the King, the Castellan, and myself must be, to be- lieve that Sans Souci and women are incompatible ! The Picture Gallery belonging to this Palace, but standing apart from it, is large and valuable, being no less than 258 feet long. It contains sev- eral paintings which made the voyage to Paris after the battle of Jena, and is adorned with the statues 10 POTSDAM. of Apollo, by Lemayne — of Danse, by Vasse — and of Mars and Venus, by Coustou. The hall is of marble, and its splendid arched ceiling is supported by sixteen solid columns of white Carara, with bases of verd antique. You will be able to form some idea of the value of these pillars, when I tell you, that the transit of each column from Italy to Potsdam, cost the enormous sum of three thou- sand Frederick d’ors. The gallery boasts many splendid pictures, and among others by celebrated artists, twenty painted by Reubens, twelve by Vandyke, five by Giordano, six by Titian, and four by Guido; while the adjoining cabinet is replete with some of the finest specimens of Holbein, Van- derwerf, G. Dhou, and Breughel. The collection altogether forms an exhibition of the most interest- ing kind, and to amateurs of the pictorial art, must ever afford the highest intellectual enjoyment. The walk from Sans Souci to the Grand Palace is about half-a-mile. It is through a grove of splendid trees, among which the oak, the national tree of Germany, is most conspicuous. Here the vast trunk and wide-spreading branches of each, POTSDAM. 11 distinctly show that they have stood the blast of ages, and suggest the mortifying reflection, that they must have outlived a multitude of masters. What a multitude of events, too, do they not sur- vive, even since the days of Frederick! And how curious to think, that under their shadow did the philosophic Monarch, with Voltaire, D’Argens, D’Arnaud, Maupertuis, and D’Alembert, wander and dream of those acts and opinions which set the world agog, and finally altered the whole political systems of Europe! In vain, amid these sacred scenes of their musings, we exclaim, where is the conqueror and the philosophers? Echo only an- swers “ Where?” and as one’s eye catches the out- stretched boughs of the monarch of the wood, in all its pristine strength and beauty, he feels compelled, however reluctantly, to confess the too manifest frailty of a sovereign of nations, when compared with the sovereign of the forest! It is impossible to give you any just idea of the extent and magnificence of what is called the New Palace of Potsdam. It was built by Frederick the Great at the close of the seven year’s war, and 12 POTSDAM. is justly accounted the most splendid monument of the Monarch’s architectural taste. In extent, as well as in sumptuousness of decoration, it rivals the far-famed Palace of Louis XIV. at Versailles; and it is wonderful to think how Frederick’s ex- chequer could bear the expense. Indeed, I have heard it said, that had the Prussians been as im- patient, under the expenditure of their Sovereign, as the French were under that of Louis XIV. the consequence might have been a revolution. Of the magnificence of the lower saloon, whose walls and roof are of shells, and whose pillars are covered with the most beautiful minerals, no notion can be formed from description. I may state, however, that it is 150 feet in length, by 60 in breadth. And of the extent of the entire edifice, the best idea, perhaps, that can be given, is the simple fact, that it contains two hundred splendid apartments, and that almost every one of them boasts pictures by the first masters. At the period when the country was under French domination, the story goes, that Vandamme had packed up several of the chefs d* oeuvre , for transmission to the Louvre, POTSDAM. 13 but that Napoleon strictly forbade the removal of any one thing that had graced the private apart- ments of Frederick. How unfortunate for Prus- sia, that the conqueror had no qualms of conscience whatever in reference to other public galleries and repositories of art in Potsdam and Berlin! Had the French Emperor possessed true magnanimity, many of the matchless works of the ancient masters would not have been spoiled by the Vandal hands of Gallic cleaners , nor would they now form a satire on their spoliator, by being brought back to their original situations, bearing the indelible marks of foreign travel. Upon the banks of the Havel is another royal residence, called the Marble Palace , built by the father of the present King. The main building is not of any great extent, but it has wings in the form of a colonnade of twenty columns of the Doric order, supporting an entablature and frieze of white and grey marble. Above each window, of which there are eleven, is a bas-relief. The door-piece is composed of four Doric columns, between which are urns on pedestals of white marble. The whole 14 POTSDAM. building is surmounted by an octagon tower, on the summit of which are three gilt Cupids bearing up a basket of flowers. This Palace bears some resemblance to the Trianon at Versailles, and is the usual residence of the King’s second son. The grounds are laid out in the English style, and the whole demesne reminds an English visitor of the residence of a British nobleman. In the town of Potsdam, stands the old Schloss, or Castle, ornamented with statues. It is of con- siderable antiquity and of great extent. The rooms which Frederick the Great occupied, remain pre- cisely in the same state as when he left them. The stranger is shown his writing-desk, covered with ink and sealing-wax; the easy chair, soiled with powder and pomatum, on which he took his after- noon siesta ; and the couch at the window, whence he overlooked the manoeuvring of his troops. These are all glorious key-notes for historical association, and to him who is versant with the events of the early part of last century, cannot fail to call up chords of the most brilliant and chromatic nature! Excuse this musical simile in a POTSDAM. 15 land where every wirtzhaus and every gasthoff re- sounds with sweet sounds, and where a boor can take his part in a madrigal as easily as he can smoke his meerschaum — where coffee-houses echo the dulcet strains of Mozart, and pavilions pour forth the matchless harmonies of Weber — where, in short, music is the real pastime of the people, and never fails to prove a delicious seasoning to every entertainment, whether of the most superb or of the most simple description. After visiting the Palaces of Potsdam, there is almost nothing to be seen; and although the sur- rounding country is very beautiful, I must confess, that if I were obliged to remain many days in this town, I would be apt to reply in much the same strain as Voltaire is said to have done, when asked what he was doing in Potsdam, namely, by repeat- ing that I was conjugating the verb, u Je m’ennuye!” A visit to the Pfaueninsel , or “ Peacock’s Island,” will, however, consume a forenoon very agreeably, and besides, will more than repay the trouble; but beyond that there is nothing else. The town itself is extremely dull, and is only bearable in conse- 16 POTSDAM. quence of every corner of it breathing the spirit of the man who, for forty years, guided the des- tinies of Germany. Potsdam and the memory of Frederick the Great are indissolubly united. His ashes repose in the Schloss und Garnison Kirche , which I took care to visit. In this church, under the pulpit, which is of fine Carara marble, sup- ported by four marble columns of the Corinthian order, is to be seen Frederick’s mausoleum. Here the remains of the philosophic warrior rest, in a plain lead sarcophagus, by the side of his father, who reposes in one of marble. Over these emblems of mortality, the Emperor Alexander of Russia, moved by the anxieties of the late Queen of Prussia, made a midnight vow of friendship towards Frederick William — a vow that was, however, soon afterwards broken at Tilsit. To this shrine of death, did Na- poleon Bonaparte also repair, with his whole staff, when the fortune of war had laid Prussia at his feet. It was at least a piece of ostentatious admi- ration of his great prototype, since every noble and generous feeling was outraged by the order which he issued to remove the sword and other POTSDAM. 17 insignia of the deceased monarch, as trophies to the French capital. The last resting-place of Fred- erick the Great is as simple as his bedroom. He required not the aid of luxurious art to procure respect when living, nor the taste of the sculptor to recall his memory when in the tomb. The sim- plicity of this tomb gives it eloquence — its plain- ness is stimulating to thought. But enough of Potsdam and its palaces. 18 LEIPSIC. LETTER XVII. Road from Berlin to Leipsic — Country replete with Historical As- sociations — Departure from Potsdam — awkward Dilemma re- specting our Luggage — Wittenberg — long the Residence of Luther — Cast-iron Monument of the Reformer in the Market- place — Wittenberg the original Fortress of Protestantism — Enter Saxony at Taucha — this Kingdom reduced to one-half of its for- mer Extent by a Decree of the Congress of Vienna — Compan- ions in the Schnell-wagen — Antipathy of the Prussians to the French — Arrival at Leipsic — Size and Appearance of the Town — the Market-place — Appearance of the Saxon Females who congregate here — Use of Tobacco universal — View from the Schloss-Thurm — Reichenbach’s Garden — Spot w 7 here Ponia- towski perished — the Bridge which the French Corporal blew up by mistake — the Ramparts — the Johannes Kirche Cemetery — the Tombs of Gellert and of Tzschirner — Difficulty of obtaining a European Reputation — Curious Monument of a Tinsmith — Vast Number of Political Pamphlets published at Leipsic — the chosen Arena for the discussion of German Politics — the Cen- sorship of the Press not so strict as in Prussia— Effects of “the Three Days” on Saxony — Committee in Favour of the Poles — their Cause for the present, hopeless. Leipsic, 1831. Although it is only three days since I left Berlin, I have seen and taken notes of far more LEIPS1C. 19 than can be even hinted at in the compass of a letter. The district through which we have passed on our way to this city, if not remarkable for pic- turesque beauty, is one, at least, that is replete with many architectural wonders, and historical associations. The country is almost a perfect plain, in one part watered by the outspreading Havel, which in the neighbourhood of Potsdam, forms, as it were, a succession of inland lakes, beautified with trees, and adorned with buildings; while in another, it is watered by the smooth-flow- ing Elbe, whose banks, especially about the town of Wittenberg, are at present smiling with the ex- uberant fruits of high-wrought cultivation. The face of Germany, from the moment the traveller quits the Prussian capital for the south, becomes less and less sandy and arid, and puts on, as he approaches the neighbourhood of this great com- mercial mart, an aspect of fertility that is rarely to be met with about Berlin. The endless breadths of corn of every species, and every sort of vege- table, which at this moment are to be seen waving in harvest beauty on the left bank of the Elbe, 20 LEIPSIC. proclaim it the land of plenty, and convey to every beholder the most cheering proofs of the abundance and cheapness of the necessaries of existence. It is curious to reflect, however, that amid such scenes, which now only speak peace and plenty, the welfare of nations has too often been sacrificed to the vain ambition of man. From the seques- tered stillness of Sans Souci at Potsdam, has often issued the mandate that called Europe to arms, or wooed her to repose; while upon the now fruitful and placid plains of Leipsic, have been fought the most important conflicts which modern history has recorded — conflicts associated at once with the last and the present age, with Gustavus and Tilly, with Bliicher and Bonaparte. The day on which I last wrote you, we quitted Potsdam, a circumstance owing more to good for- tune than to good management. You must know, that the Post-office, under the control of which all the Schnel-wagen are placed, is exceedingly par- ticular as to the quantity of luggage to be carried by passengers. In Prussia, each individual is limited to thirty lbs.; while in Saxony, the weight is LEIPSIC. 21 reduced to twenty. As this includes the traveller’s Sac-de-Nuit , the valise must be necessarily of the smallest dimensions, to come within the prescribed limits that will free him from over-weight. But the difficulty with luggage does not rest here. The Schnell-post is only allowed to carry, even when paid for, at the utmost, fifty lbs. for each passenger, and if one’s bag and baggage should exceed that weight, it cannot be taken at all. The strict enforcement of this regulation, as you may easily suppose, occasions very considerable difficulty to foreigners who are ignorant of it ; and accordingly, we experienced it in the fullest degree, when the coach in which we had taken places previous to leaving Berlin, arrived at Potsdam. Our port- manteaus being found to exceed the prescribed limit by a few pounds, on account of the addition of some travelling books we had purchased, the postmaster refused to take them on any account whatever. Trinkgeld was attempted with the weighing-master, soft words were poured into the ear of the secretary; but the one pleaded the responsibility of his situation, the other the severity 22 LEIPSIC. of the law. There appeared to be no alternative. Our trunks must be left; and if so, we must remain along with them. This was not to be done, how- ever, without a struggle. I again remonstrated, on the plea of being yet ignorant of the laws of the country; but it was not till I had wrought upon the secretary, by feigning a mission to Vienna, and backing my tale by a well-timed heart-touching piece of gold, that we were permitted to take our luggage along with us. The eloquent ’pantomime of my companion, who on this occasion played the dumb intercessor to perfection, joined to the re- iterated appeals, at one moment in French, and at another in German, offered by your humble servant, must have appeared supremely ludicrous to the onlookers, and would afford an excellent subject for the pencil of Cruickshanks. We have deter- mined, however, for the future, never to place ourselves again in the same awkward and distress- ing dilemma. The fact is, we should have sent our luggage a few hours before to the Post-office, to be forwarded by the Pack-wagen , for which a receipt is granted. On presenting which at Leipsic, LEIPSIC. 23 we would have got our luggage without expense, if under fifty lbs. weight. There are few objects of any interest to the traveller, from Potsdam to Leipsic. In truth, the greater portion of the north of Germany possesses little to attract attention, except the principal towns; and, accordingly, the traveller, while jour- neying along the high-road, feels no other anxiety than to get from one point to another as quickly as possible. The most remarkable town on the road which leads from the summer residence of the Kings of Prussia to this commercial mart, is Wit- tenberg, not so much on account of any peculiar features of its own, as on account of its having been long the residence of Martin Luther. Here the great Reformer preached those pure doctrines, which, spreading like wildfire over Europe, occa- sioned so many disputes and so many wars. It was from the pulpit of the Schloss-Kirche in this ancient town, that he zealously laboured to instil the prin- ciples of Protestantism; and happy it is for the world, that his efforts were crowned with success. The people of Protestant, compared with Catholic 24 LEIPSIC. Germany, are as superior in intelligence and worth, as Europeans are to Asiatics. In that church, the ashes of the Reformer have been laid by the side of his brother in the faith, Melancthon. There is a portrait of each, from the pencil of Lucas Car- nach, a worthy and well-known painter in Luther’s time, now adorning this place of worship. Wittenberg, although now metamorphosed from the calm seat of a university to the noise of a for- tress, and, although having within its walls at least 9000 inhabitants and 1200 military, looks parti- cularly dull and melancholy. The rattle of the Schnell-post , and the trumpet of the post-boy, seemed to create a particular sensation, and for a nioment to awaken the town from its torpor. The fair inmates of the picturesque houses which line the narrow streets, rushed to the windows to get a passing glance of the travellers; while the girls at the fountains, turned round to offer a smile of recognition to the conductor, or to laugh at the patronising leer of the gaily attired hutscher. In the market-place, there is a splendid Gothic monument of cast-iron, with a full length figure of LEIPSIC. 25 Luther, from the hand of Schadow. The fearless Reformer is standing in the dress of his time, with an open Bible in his left hand, while he points with the finger of his right to the Sacred Volume. The head is a fac- simile of those portraits which we consider a good likeness — a round face, with a double chin; in short, the beau ideal of one who took advantage of the courage that springs from the use of that well-known drinking cup, which enabled him to wage war with the devil; and which cup is now preserved in the Town’s House, as a sacred relic of the bibacious, but honest and indo- mitable Reformer. The inscriptions which occupy the four sides of the Denkmahl , as such things are termed in Germany, are characteristic. The fol- lowing is upon one of them: Ist’s Gottes werk So wirds bestehen, Ist’s menschen werk So wirds vergehen. Notwithstanding that Wittenberg was the ori- ginal fortress of Protestantism, in other words, the place from which all the powerful diatribes against 26 EIPSIC. the 44 Man of Sin” were first fulminated, you will perhaps think it odd, that there should yet exist in the outskirts of the town, a monastery of mendi- cant monks. The fact, indeed, will to you at least, appear somewhat startling; but you may soothe your fears with the consoling idea, that the poor inmates of the convent have so far partaken of the liberality of the age, as to open the gates of their burying-ground to their Protestant countrymen. On arriving at the little town of Taucha, a de- mand for passports, and a change of armorial bear- ings above the post-house, announced that we had left the Prussian territories, and entered Saxony. Previous to the sitting of the Congress of Vienna, a great portion of the country through which we had travelled from Potsdam, belonged to the latter kingdom; but by a decree of that body, it was then made over to Prussia. I may mention, how- ever, that although the decree has altered the boundaries of the two countries, it has not been able to change the character of the inhabitants, who were so unceremoniously handed over from the one to the other. The Saxons, in fact, still LEIPSIC. 27 retain towards their now Prussian brethren, the same particular antipathies which they formerly had. Saxony at one time extended to upwards of seven hundred square miles, and boasted a popu- lation of two millions five hundred thousand; now, her territory does not exceed three hundred square miles, with about twelve hundred thousand souls. This, you will say, was a tolerable punishment for adhering so long to the cause of Bonaparte. From the moment the traveller enters Saxony, there is very little till he reaches Leipsic, that can be deemed worthy of particular observation. On this journey, therefore, we had nothing to arrest our attention, except the individuals who occupied the seats of the Schnell-wagen . The company con- sisted of two fair-haired Saxon ladies — whose rosy complexions were only surpassed in beauty by their unaffected manners — and a whiskered and mous- tached Prussian hussar. In addition to these and ourselves, there was one whose characteristic mo- desty at once amused my companion and myself, and who effectually succeeded in rousing the na- tional antipathy of the Prussian. The individual 28 LEIPSIC. I allude to, was a blustering Frenchman, with all the prejudices, and without any one of the good qualities of his nation — an individual who might well be designated the beau ideal of the class of self-sufficient and ignorant bores. The gasconader talked of all the battles which his countrymen had gained from the beginning of the Revolution till the close of the last campaign, not forgetting to lay a tolerably strong emphasis on Jena; while he, at the same time, appeared altogether unconscious of the existence of such events as Leipsic or Waterloo. While the Gaul’s egregious arrogance, and im- perturbable blindness to the misfortunes of his own nation, appeared to my companion and myself, a subject replete with ridicule; it had also the effect of rousing the ire of our Berlin companion, who did not disguise his feelings. Indeed the national antipathy to every thing French, can never, under any circumstances, be concealed. The fact is, let a Frenchman say yea, and ten to one, a Prussian will respond in the negative. The French can never forgive Bliicher, for threatening to blow up the bridge at Paris; nor the Prussians, LEIPSIC. 29 Bonaparte, for French tyranny and oppression after Jena. The town of Leipsic, to an Englishman, can have little interest but from its antiquity. Busi- ness, and the love of gain, as in Manchester and Glasgow, are the ruling passions here; every thing about the place indicates enterprise, industry, and bustle. Even although our arrival was not during one of the fairs, we found the streets more thronged than those of Berlin. But there is another way of accounting for this. The city stands on a small portion of ground, and the inhabitants, who amount to about 42,000, are all huddled together in houses of eight or nine flats, three or four of which are in the roof of the building. The number of houses in the town and suburbs, amount only to 1400. Per- haps there is no town, except Venice, that affords more picturesque subjects for the pencil of the ar- tist who delights in street views. Here a Prout, a Stanfield, or my friend Fraser, would be in ecstacy, and would find endless subjects for their easels. The market-place, famous for the meeting of the Allied Sovereigns, after the battle of Leip- 30 LEIPSIC . sic, is perhaps one of the most striking squares in Europe ; and, associated as it now is with the trans- actions of that eventful day, must ever be viewed with double interest. The spot where Napoleon decided upon retreat — the house where the King of Saxony was taken prisoner — and the place where the monarchs congratulated each other on their success, are all pointed out to the stranger; and imagination has only to set to work, to conjure up a rich historical retrospect of that spirit-stirring period. One of the most remarkable edifices among the many which surround the square, is the ancient Rathhaus , bearing on its front the pious inscrip- tion, 44 Unless the Lord keep the city, the watch- men watch in vain.” From the almost universal practice, however, which prevails here, of covering the lower windows of the warehouses with sheet- iron, it may be fairly inferred, that the inhabitants of the present day place as much confidence in bars and bolts, as in Providence. The quantity of gold in the possession of merchants during the fair, requires the greatest caution and security. At the periodical fairs, there are at least 10,000 LEIPSIC. 31 additional inhabitants in this town, attracted hither by the desire of gain, from every quarter of Europe. The variety of national costume which then prevails, gives to the streets almost the appearance of a mas- querade; while the usual bustle is prodigiously in- creased, by the activity of the immigrating popu- lation. Even at present, the Square on a market- day, and the Bruhl , the finest street in Leipsic, are, during the evening, replete with life and hilarity. The pretty Saxon countenances of the female pea- santry, shaded by no head-dress save their own fair luxuriant tresses, are the peculiar charm of both these places of resort; while the soft, though drawling intonation of their voices, form a strange contrast to the roaring, bullying phraseology of the students, who let slip no opportunity of annoying them with their attentions. The hotels here are exceedingly large, and the dining-halls splendid. During the table d’hote, a regular band of musicians serenade the party. The only drawback to such meetings, is the atmosphere of tobacco-smoke to which one is subjected. The love of the meerschaum is here even greater than 32 LEIPS1C. in Hamburgh; and whether we walk the streets, enter a coffee-house, dine at a table d’hote, listen to music, or travel in the Schnell-post , we must be prepared to breathe a tobacco atmosphere. The fact is, Leipsic smells as much of Turkish-returns and Canaster, as Naples does of onions and garlic. From the top of the Schloss Tliurm , which is 288 feet high, and which we have just visited, there is a complete view of the town and suburbs, with the surrounding country. From this commanding point we obtain perhaps a more distinct idea of the fearful conflict of 1813, than even from going over the field itself, which retains no mark whatever of that bloody day. The cicerone pointed out the spot, beyond the Grimmaer Gate , where Bonaparte sat tete-a-tete with Berthier during the engagement, and where he was at last obliged to give the order for retreat. In Reichenbach’s garden, now belonging to Gebard, who makes a show of it, we visited the spot where the intrepid Poniatowski, after having been thrice wounded during the day, leaped with his jaded steed into the Elster, and perished. LEIPS1C. 33 The stream, at the point where the Prince was drowned, cannot be more than thirty feet broad, and has more the appearance of a canal than a river. A plain monument, erected by the Polish army, marks the spot where he took the fatal leap, and bears an inscription which closes with these words, “ Popularis populari Duce Miles, Hoc mon- umentum lacrimis suis irrigatum posuit.” Not far from this garden, is the bridge which the ignorant corporal blew up, in consequence of which a large portion of the French army were taken prisoners. What great events often spring from trivial things ! The stupidity of this poor fellow not only changed the destiny of Napoleon, but altered the politics of all Europe. The ramparts of Leipsic have been lately planted, and converted into walks like those of Hamburgh. They form an agreeable promenade for the glad- some and the gay; while the extensive cemetery of Johannes Kirche, situated beyond the Grim- mische Thor , planted, as it is, with shrubs and flowers, and filled with very curious monuments, affords a place of resort for the more meditative D 34 LEIPSIC. and sentimental. I have neither time nor space to notice in detail all the celebrated men whose ashes repose here ; but I may mention, that I have stood by the tomb of Gellert — the hallowed patri- arch of German literature — of him whom Fre- derick the Great called “le plus raisonable de tous les savans allemands.”* This monument is very simple, and is shaded by four poplar trees. On visiting the tomb of Gellert, an old veteran who perceived I was a stranger, politely introduced himself, and requested me to accompany him to the grave of his late pastor. I inquired the name of the ecclesiastic, and was told that it was Tzschir- ner. I instantly hastened to pay my respects to the tomb of a theologian so pious, so enthusiastic, and so truly enlightened. You will perhaps recol- lect, that during the Liberation War, this cele- brated professor vacated for a season his theolo- gical chair at the university, to follow the army to France, in the capacity of military chaplain; during * Christian Gellert was born in 1715, and died in 1769. He com- menced his literary career so early as his eleventh year, by writing an ode for his father’s birth -day. His fables have gained him his chief celebrity. LE1PSIC. 35 which memorable campaign, he collected those ma- terials connected with the war, which he afterwards so ably and strikingly poured forth in his well known work, entitled, “ Uber den Krieg and acquired the information which enabled him to write his last work in support of the Protestant cause, entitled, “ How is it that France remains Catholic?” The old gentleman who conducted us to the grave of Tzschirner, and who could not speak of him without shedding a friendly tear, seemed surprised that my companion was so igno- rant of the popularity of the lamented clergyman; but he seemed still more confounded, when I told him, I believed that not one out of a thousand in England ever heard of his name. The talents requisite to extend the halo of one’s reputation beyond the boundaries of a district, was an idea which perhaps never once entered the head of our conductor. On this occasion, I could have con- soled the old man with Gray’s exquisite stanzas on abortive genius; but he understood no English, and I should have tried in vain to paraphrase the thoughts of our own poet in German. * Uber den Krieg, Leipsic, 1815. 36 LEIPSIC. Among the many curious monuments in this ex- tensive cemetery, there is one which has frequently been noticed by travellers; I allude to the strange inscription on the monument of F. Adam, tin- smith, which consists of an account current between the tradesman and Jesus Christ, and a bill of ex- change for the amount, drawn by the Saviour upon Heaven in favour of the sinner. The conceit is absurd and ludicrous enough, but it is, perhaps, no bad criterion of the odd religious feelings which characterised the close of the seventeenth century, the period in which this monument was erected. From the vast number of political pamphlets which the Leipsic press is constantly pouring forth, it is perhaps not going too far to say, that this city is at present the chosen arena for the discussion of German politics. The fate of Poland creates a deep and universal interest here, perhaps as much from the effects which it is expected to produce on the freedom of commercial intercourse, as on the political liberty of Europe. The censorship of the press in Saxony, is by no means so severe as in Prussia; while the cosmopolitan character of the LEIPSIC. 37 shifting inhabitants of this commercial mart, cre- ates greater freedom of speech than is permitted any where else in Germany. You are perhaps not aware, that Saxony was much more affected by the late French Revolution than Prussia. Last Sep- tember, this city was, for some days, subjected to much agitation from the rioting of the workmen. The lamps were broken, and the windows and doors of many of the houses were shattered or burst open. Disorder and mutiny became the order of the day, and the police were scarcely able to repress the mob. Similar scenes of disorder and opposition to the authorities, took place in Dresden. The streets were crowded with comba- tants — the military were called out — much blood was spilt, and many lives were lost; when at last, Prince Theodoric, the nephew of the present Sove- reign, and the favourite of the populace, stepped forward and quelled the riot, by offering to make several important concessions to the people. It was agreed that the expenses of the Royal house- hold, against which the Saxons had been so long declaiming, were to be diminished, and that the 38 LEIPSIC. numerous posse of Catholic priests, who upheld a worship hateful and contrary to the feelings of all, except the Royal Family, were to be dispensed with; while a number of other grievances were instantly to be redressed. These reforms, small though they be, have restored peace and content- ment; and, what is perhaps of still greater import- ance, they have given a more liberal tone to po- litical pamphleteering . I must not forget to mention, that there at pre- sent exists in this city, a standing committee in favour of the Polish cause, who manage all matters connected with the transmission of the sinews of war, to their patriotic brethren at Warsaw. It is lamentable to find, however, of how little avail their efforts have hitherto been. From what I can learn from even the most enthusiastic and san- guine of the friends of Poland here, I suspect that the cause of Polish freedom is for the present hope- less. The Correspondent of the London Times , who dined with us to-day at the table d’hote, you will see, is of the same opinion. LEIPSIC. 39 LETTER XVIII. The German Tongue first purified by the Saxons, in consequence of which Leipsic and Dresden obtained a Literary Reputation — the Book Trade of Leipsic — its prodigious Extent — German Universities — their Origin — the College of Prague first founded, that of Leipsic the next — Characteristics of the Old and Modern Universities — the Catholic and Protestant Stift — Government of the University — Power of Professors to revise Legal Decisions — Causes of the peculiar Privileges attached to Universities — Lenient Code of Law's productive of Abuses — late Changes made in consequence — Circumstances out of which the peculiar Character of German Students has arisen — the University a Literary Republic — Duelling — Causes out of which it arose and is continued — Sketch of a Burschen Duel — Affrays with Trades- men chiefly attributable to Foreigners — Small Proportion of the Students belonging to any Burschenschaft — the great Majority a hard-working, industrious set of Youths — High Character of German Universities in general. having first purified their native tongue, while the other inhabitants of Germany remained contented with a barbarous jargon, may be attributed the Leipsic, 1831. To the simple fact, 40 LEIPSIC. high literary status which Leipsic and Dresden have so long held in Europe. From the time that Gellert and Rabener poured forth their effusions in pure Saxon, the language became fixed; and thenceforward this particular Circle of Germany acquired a classical character, and became the fa- vourite home of innumerable litterateurs. In the commerce of Leipsic, there is nothing so extraordinary as its trade in books. The fact is, this city is the grand and sole emporium of the literature of Germany. At one period, Frankfort could boast of possessing some portion of the book trade; but it may now be justly said, that Leipsic has got the entire monopoly of it. At the two great fairs, the booksellers congregate from every quarter of Germany, each bringing along with him the books he proposes to publish to the world. Here the publications of one publisher are ex- changed or bartered for those of another; and at the close of every fair, each returns to his own particular town or city, with a selected stock of all that is new throughout the empire. To give you some idea of the extent of this LEIPS1C. 41 trade, I may mention, that, besides music and maps, there are rarely fewer than three thousand new works brought out at each fair. The wag- gons of printed paper, which enter and leave this mart of the brain, exceed in number an Indian caravan. Only think of the statement by Dr. Menzel, that there are at least ten millions of new volumes printed annually in Germany! Of the extent of authorship in this country, you may also form some notion, when I tell you, that each half- year’s Leipsic catalogue, numbers at least a thou- sand new writers; hence it may fairly be inferred, that at the present moment there cannot be fewer than fifty thousand persons living in Germany who have written a book ! If authorship goes on in a si- milarly progressive ratio to that which it has lately done, it may be fairly assumed, that in a few years the names of German authors will exceed the num- ber of living German readers. The mass of books, which increases every day, already baffles all cal- culation; and when we think of its extent, we are lost in astonishment, at this new wonder of the world, which has been conjured into existence by 42 LEIPSIC. the pen and the printing press. The German booksellers, when they do not repair to the two fairs themselves, invariably transmit their works for subscription through their agents in this city. The books thus sent for sale, remain here a twelve- month and a day, after which the remainders , which means the unsold, are sent back to their respective publishers. These remainders are emphatically denominated Krebs or Crabs; and, Heaven knows, they are well named; for every publisher can tell, to his cost, what a sad drug such shell-fish become over all Germany at the close of each Leipsic fair.* The statement I have just made, regarding the mighty mass of printed books which are exposed for sale at the fairs held in this city, naturally leads me to say something of the German Universities — * At the Michaelmas Fair of 1835, there were 3164 works, partly new, partly new editions, maps, &c., announced in the Leipsic Ca- talogue. In the Easter Catalogue, there were 3767, making to- gether 6931. Among these, there were books and pamphlets on scientific and miscellaneous subjects in the German language, 2800 ; in ancient languages, 208; in foreign living languages, 176; novels, 164; plays, 32; maps and charts, terrestrial and astronomical, 84; 176 translations from foreign languages (of which 58 were novels); and 199 periodicals . — Foreign Quarterly Review. LEIPSIC. 43 the chief productive sources of this wonderful book- manufacture. You are aware, that the ancients had no estab- lishment corresponding to our colleges or univer- sities. Among the Romans, teaching was the business of slaves, and, to the disgrace of that celebrated people, it was less respected even than it is in Scotland. Those who were desirous of prosecuting their studies, or of improving their understanding and taste beyond what could be ob- tained from the public schools and gymnasia, pro- ceeded to Athens, where they attended the lectures given by one or other of the Greek professors or philosophers. During the dark ages, also, monas- teries and convents were the only colleges; and on the revival of letters, which, you know, was chiefly owing to the emigration of the learned Greeks, who fled from conquered Constantinople into Italy, certain of these convents were enlarged, and became seats for the tuition of the higher branches of human learning. These institutions were the prototypes of what are now denominated universities. Among the first and most celebrated, 44 LEIPSIC. were those of Pavia, Bologna, and Paris. The first university founded in Germany, after the plan of those in Italy, was that of Prague. The period at which these seminaries were founded, was, of course, long anterior to the Reformation, and con- sequently the doctrines of the Catholic religion formed the basis of all instruction. The teachers were all priests, and bound to celibacy; and their whole government was under the surveillance of the Holy See. The students lived along with their instructors, in one large building, which afforded sufficient accommodation for a refectory, dormi- tories, library, and lecture -rooms. Our own Uni- versities of Oxford and Cambridge, perhaps of all others now existing, retain most of the character- istics of these early seminaries. The Bohemian University, from the moment of its foundation, became remarkable as a school of learning; but while it continued to thrive, by attracting a vast number of students from every quarter of Germany, it was, for a time, almost wholly destroyed by the effects of what were then denominated the heresies of John Huss, whose LEIPSIC. 45 early attempts to free the world from the trammels of Popery, paved the way for the future triumphs of Luther. By a decree of the Council of Prague, Huss was brought to the stake, while his followers were threatened with every species of persecution. Among these were several of the most learned pro- fessors and students of Prague, who immediately fled from the university, and took refuge in the ter- ritory of the more liberal Elector of Saxony, who permitted them, at the commencement of the 15th century, to settle at Leipsic, and granted them privileges, lands, &c. and, what was much better, allowed them perfect liberty of conscience. Leipsic may be thus considered the first truly German University in the Empire. The Bohemian extrac- tion and language of the professors, proved no impediment to their public prelections, seeing that the Latin tongue was then the medium of instruc- tion, of conversation, and of public business, in all the learned seminaries of the world. Hence, the facility with which Erasmus at Rotterdam, Oek- alampadius at Basil, Melancthon in Saxony, &c. spoke and wrote Latin; and hence, the purity of 40 LEIPSIC. diction which distinguished the writings of that period, and still constitute them the rivals of those of the Augustan age. Next in point of time to that of Leipsic, rose the Universities of Wittenberg, Halle, Heidelberg, and Helmstadt. I must here observe, however, that for a very considerable period after the Re- formation, these old universities bore the impress of Catholic seminaries. The students all resided within the walls of the college, and were subject to the jurisdiction and laws laid down by the cleri- cal heads of these otherwise independent bodies. Leipsic and Tubingen, particularly the latter, even still preserve the vestiges of the forms which char- acterise our English colleges. But in most of the others, a total change has taken place; and unlike that of Oxford, the university has absorbed the colleges. The universities more recently estab- lished in Germany, such as those of Erlangen, Kiel, Giessen, Gottingen, Berlin, and Munich, have been founded upon the modern plan. They are divested of all monastic forms, and of all illiberal, narrow-minded, or, if I may use the ex- LEIPSIC. 47 pression, one-sided opinions, and exhibit to the world a concentration of every variety of human learning. Originally, the branches taught in the German universities, were divided into seven distinct de- partments, called septem liberates artes , of which music was an essential one, and thence the degrees of Bacalaureus , and that of Master , which are still called Magister Liberalium Artium , or Doctors of Philosophy. Medicine formed no constituent part of the university curriculum. Barbers, or those having a knowledge of under -surgery, and Medi- ciners, or those having an acquaintanceship with higher medicine, were not thought entitled to rank with those who taught the seven liberal arts or sciences, but were looked upon as professors of mere empyric arts, acquired by experience and apprenticeship, altogether unconnected with the learning of a university. The monastic or collegial remains, which I have mentioned as still appertaining to Leipsic, Tubin- gen, and a few others, are denominated Stift , the meaning of which I can best explain, by referring 48 LEIPS1C. to the different religious tenets taught at the Ger- man universities. In the purely Catholic States, which have not adopted the principles of the Re- formation, such as Austria, Old Bavaria, &c., or those which have merely tolerated Protestantism, there were of course no chairs founded for the teaching and promulgation of the reformed creed; but in all the States which clung to the Protestant faith, after the religious contests that were termi- nated by the league of Schmalkalden, such as Sax- ony, Hanover, Mecklenburgh, and Brandenburgh, we find professorships of Protestant theology. In the other States, whose population consisted one- half of Protestants and the other half of Catholics, such as the subjects of the Duke of Wurtemberg, and the Margrave of Baden, there have been founded in the universities of both countries, col- leges for the teaching of both faiths. For instance, at Tubingen there is both a Catholic and a Pro- testant college, or Stift; while the theological tenets taught at Fryburg are Catholic, and those at Heidelberg are Protestant, although no student attending either university or college, is bound to LEIPS1C. 49 follow the particular faith thus taught in them. The University of Tubingen, has what is called a Catholic and Protestant Stift — two distinct estab- lishments, similar in many respects to the Colleges of Oxford, each having separate board and lodg- ings for professors and students, with separate en- dowments, and each being also placed under the superintendence of its own directors, professors, and tutors. In this city, as well as in Heidleberg, the greater number of the lecture-rooms are within the Univer- sity buildings. At the latter, the students lodge in the houses of the burghers; but here, the greater proportion of them live within the walls of the Old Paulinum, without any regard to the particular department of study which they are attending. The only qualification necessary to establish a right to this sort of bursary, is, that the student, on examination, be found worthy of the privilege. Some are allowed both board and lodging in the Paulinum ; others are only entitled to a seat at the public table, denominated, in German, Freitisch. The universities lately established in Germany, E 50 LEIPSIC. have no particular buildings, except for libraries, museums, and halls for public examinations and granting degrees. The professors lecture in their own houses, or in private school-rooms. All the branches of knowledge taught in the universities of this country, which are not com- prised under the designation of theology, jurispru- dence, and medicine, are denominated the Faculty of Philosophy, for every subdivision of which, there are several professors, as well as in the other three departments. I adverted to this circumstance when speaking of the Berlin University, and of the ad- vantages arising from the consequent competition. You must know, that every person who has been found competent at a public examination and dis- putation (both carried on still in most German uni- versities in the Latin tongue), are allowed to give lectures, under the appellation of Doctor Legens ; but the individual thus privileged, does not belong to the Senatus Academicus. The professors of the different branches of theology, science, art, philosophy, law, and medicine, are divided into or- dinary and extraordinary. The former can alone LEIPSIC. 51 legislate in the Senatus, and rule the students, who at one time enjoyed the most unbounded liberty to attend whatever classes or lectures they pleased, and for as long a period, too, as they thought pro- per; but of late, the students of most of the States to which the universities belong, have been re- stricted to a certain number of years’ attendance at the university, and to the obligation of attending certain lectures. In consequence of this, every student must establish at his examen rigorosum , made in the metropolis of the country to which he belongs, his compliance with this last regulation, previous to obtaining any public office under the patronage of the State. The academical year in Germany, has two courses or sessions, of four months and a half each. This arrangement, you must allow, is much better than six months’ labour and six months’ vacation, as existing in some other countries. Among the many important privileges belonging to German universities, is the power which they possess of acting, to a certain extent, in the capa- city of courts of justice. The German law gives, 52 LiEIPSIC. in fact, to the commissioners of universities, the power of revisal in various judicial questions, which in other countries are left to courts of appeal and of cassation. In the middle ages, when this practice was instituted, each of the several States of Ger- many were not yet so well organised as to enjoy a jurisdiction of its own; and the documentary evi- dence of proceedings being once drawn up, it was submitted to competent judges, wherever they were to be found. I understand that the larger States have successively declined this appeal to a foreign court of justice, and Prussia, so early as 1747, re- fused to submit to such a tribunal. The smaller German States alone, continue to recognise the com- petency of the university courts. It would not be difficult to substitute for this institution, superior courts of justice, the jurisdiction of which should extend over an aggregate of several small States, in the manner of the tribunals of Jena and Lubeck; but the advocates of this antiquated institution, pre- tend that it affords the professors in the universities the means of acquiring a practical knowledge of business. This, you will say, is a strange argu- LEIPSIC. 53 ment in favour of so defective a piece of legislation. But here, as everywhere else, nothing is too absurd for the admirers of old times and antiquated cus- toms. It is confidently anticipated, however, that this state of things, so completely at variance with the present advanced state of knowledge, will not much longer be allowed to remain. Since my arrival in this country, I have been at much pains to ascertain the truth of what the numerous detractors of German universities have so often stated, regarding the excessive license allowed to the professors or students in matters of religion, philosophy, politics, and moral discipline; and I feel bound to express my conviction, that a very great deal of exaggeration has been indulged in by those who have written upon this subject. Allow me to make a few preliminary remarks, be- fore I proceed to tell you the real state of the case. After the long night of the middle ages, when science yet shed but a glimmering ray athwart the horizon, you are aware, that feudalism reigned in all its horrid forms; that the sword decided every thing; and that hence it became absolutely 54 LEIPSIC. necessary for those monarchs who were desirous of establishing and patronising colleges, to grant to the teachers and students such privileges and immunities as might encourage individuals dis- tinguished for talent, to devote their time to what was then considered to be an inglorious, and fre- quently a most unprofitable pursuit. The mem- bers of such institutions, were, consequently, de- clared freemen, and were exempted from all vas- salage, thraldom, service, or frohndienst , and from all those feudal penalties and burdens, which pressed, even till very lately, upon the non-aristo- cratic or ignoble German community. A sort of military rank, or status similar to that held at pre- sent in Russia by the literary and professional class, was given to all belonging to such seminaries of learning — a rank which elevated the individual far above those who were engaged in trade and com- merce. This distinction, and the privileges be- longing to it, constituted the difference between the student and the citizen, and they still mark the boundary, which, in the students’ vocabulary, divides the Philisters and Burschen. LE1PSIC. 55 The German code (the Carolina) having been sullied by many statutes of middle-age barbarity, such as flogging, torture, &c., it was deemed pro- per to allow the universities to have a separate jurisdiction and code of their own; in fact, to be altogether independent of the civil power. The Senatus Academicus hence became a sort of pater- nal government, which did not chastise the tres- passes of scientific and literary probationers, with the same severity as the civil magistrate would have done ; but treated their crimes as venial errors, and punished them with extraordinary leniency. Incarceration in a separate dungeon, and relega- tion, or expulsion from the university, were the only punishments to which recourse was had by these learned tribunals. It cannot be denied, however, that while this lenient university code was at first attended with the best effects, the powers which it conferred be- came, in the progress of time, to be but too fre- quently abused; and it must also be allowed, that under the improved laws which have been adopted by the several German Governments, since society 56 LEIPSIC. assumed a different phase, the students belonging to every college, would now be much better to be placed under the jurisdiction of the civil magis- trate — a jurisdiction, where neither the fees nor the comfort of those who exercise it, are dependent on vindictive retaliation, or youthful caprice. Of late, the different German Governments, aware of the abuses arising from the present state of things, have almost universally taken away the jurisdiction of professors. At Munich, and I be- lieve at Berlin also, it does not now exist ; while in this city it has been long ago abolished, at least in so far as connected with any matter of consequence. Of late years, there appears also to be a growing inclination, on the part of the higher powers, to / transfer the small universities to large or capital towns. Accordingly, we find that Helmstadt has been amalgamated with the newly founded Georgia Augusta; Wittenberg and Erfurt with Halle or Berlin; while the Bavarian University of "Land- shut, has been transferred to Munich. The universities of Germany may be divided into large and small. Berlin, Leipsic, Gottingen, LEIPSIC. 57 Wurtzburg, Munich, &c., belonging to the first class; while Jena, Erlangen, Greisswalde, Fry- burg, &c., belong to the second. The number of students attending these, vary from two hundred to two thousand. In this city, there are at present from fifteen to sixteen hundred. With regard to the rude conduct and whimsical practices ascribed to German students, and against which so much has been written by foreigners, there is only this to be said farther, that these peculiarities, where they do exist, have arisen out of very obvious circumstances. When some hun- dreds of young men 3 just emancipated from the strict superintendence of the masters of the gym- nasia, and the control of their parents, are left to their own management, at the age of the wild- est passions, with no check upon their indulgence, save the fear of affecting their future prospects — debarred from all society, except that of youths of their own standing — shut out from the softening society of the fair sex, and holding little com- munion with any class of persons except the trades- men who depend upon them for their maintenance, 58 LEIPSIC. and who, on that account, are willing to submit to very indifferent treatment, — it is easy to conceive, that such individuals will, like soldiers in a foreign camp, naturally assume forms somewhat rough, and will sport ideas not altogether in unison with those of the community around. From what I have seen and heard, however, I believe the students of the present day, upon the whole, to be a good-natured, enthusiastic set of mortals, whose manners may be a little more coarse, but whose morals are even somewhat better than either those of Oxford, Edinburgh, or Paris. In the eyes of rigid Pro- testants, it may perhaps be deemed a sound argu- ment against their morality, to find in a Protestant land, a dozen of incipient philosophers, trolling out, amid the fumes of beer and tobacco, a heart- stirring Burschenlied on a Sabbath afternoon. But singing is the custom of the country, among all classes, on that day; and the only difference is, that the song of the student is a little more maestoso than that of the mechanic. And then, with regard to the street brawls which take place occasionally be- tween the students and the citizens, they are not a LEIPSIC. 59 whit worse than the “ Town and Gown” encounters so graphically described in Reginald Dalton. At a German university, there is no Tufto- cracy — no distinction being made between the nobleman and the commoner. It is a literary re- public, where a youngster learns to feel his own weight, and may acquire a clear knowledge of the heart and the feelings of every brother-student, whatever may be his rank in society. Duelling, you are aware, is the great bugbear held out to our youth against German universities. I am certainly no advocate for settling youthful quarrels in this way; but still, where a thousand young gentlemen are found crowded together in a small town, there must be something held up in terrorem to make the unmannerly civil, and the over-bear- ing prudent; and the only question is, whether this should be done with the sword, the bludgeon, or the fist? But, in truth, this custom is so well regulated, and the parties are put under so many restraints, that university duels are generally very harmless in their results. While I say this, however, I do not mean to 60 LEIPSIC. excuse the practice. It cannot be denied, that the duels which take place at the universities of this country, arise out of the most frivolous offences, and consume, by means of a most ridiculous feudal paraphernalia, a great deal of most valuable time. That the continuance of such relics of barbarous chivalry should have been so long tolerated, nay, should exist even at this day, can only be attri- buted to some such causes as the following. In the first place, to the military spirit which was engendered by the civil wars in which the States of Germany were so long engaged, and with which the young population, and particularly the higher classes, became so strongly imbued — a spirit which exhibited itself most prominently in all the univer- sities, immediately after the Thirty Years’ War, the Seven Years’ War, and with still greater en- thusiasm and effect, during the Liberation War. In the second place, to the existence of such so- cieties as are called Landsmannschaften , lately con- verted, in some of the universities, into Burschen- schaften (of which last, Sand, the assassin, was a crazy member), a species of Masonic associations, LEIPS1C. 61 consisting of from twelve to thirty brethren in each club. Originally the members of these societies were limited, as the name indicates, to parties be- longing to the same part of the country, who were connected by the same home sympathies, the sub- jects of the same sovereign, and united by the same laws and customs, or enjoying the same bursaries or free tables. They, in some degree, resembled the societies we yet find existing in this city, where the students are still known by such designations as the Nationes Lusati , Tliuringii , &c. Bound together, as the members were, by the ties of friendship, so naturally created in the hearts of those who are daily brought in contact with one another in early life, the individuals belonging to one association, became by degrees ready to espouse the quarrels which one or other might have had with an indi- vidual belonging to another association ; and being permitted to use arms, they adopted rules, badges, and cant terms, after the fashion of feudal chivalry, for the purpose of assisting each other in private disputes. An appeal to the broad-sword* became * The German broad-sword of the Burschen, strikingly resembles the broad-sword of the Scottish Highlander. 62 LEIPS1C. the necessary consequence of every insult offered by one Bursch to another, whether that insult was offered to himself, to the country of which he was a subject, or to the Landsmannschaften to which he belonged. But the conflicts arising out of a slur cast upon the Landsmannschaft, are occasionally not limited to single combats ; sometimes the whole members of one fraternity, turn out against those of another, each making choice of his opponent, and thus in a mass they try this question of honour. Each member of the several societies (of which there are generally half-a-dozen belonging to each university), is characterised by the peculiar hue of his cap and his pipe-tassels, by the colour of the stripe running down the sides of his trowsers, and the tint of the scarf which he invariably wears when engaged in the duello. Each Bursch has signs and a shibboleth only known to the brothers of the fraternity to which he belongs, while he always appends a peculiar mark or cipher to his signa- ture, indicative of the brotherhood. The members generally congregate in one particular garden or smoking-shop. LEIPSIC. 63 The Burschen duel, though thus pompously practised, is an affair that must appear absurd enough in the eyes of an Englishman. A slight sketch of the ceremonial observed on such occasions may amuse you. The Bursch, you must know, being the most sensitive of mortals, never permits the smallest insult or insinuation, to pass unpun- ished; and on feeling himself or his fraternity in the least degree aggrieved, he instantly despatches a coramizen , or message, to claim either an apology or a meeting; and I need scarcely add, that the latter is the general result. The meeting being fixed, the two who are bent on murderous strife, each attended by a second or witness of their own, an impartial witness belonging to some other Lands - mannschaft , and a medical student, proceed in a hackney coach to one of the small village inns, whose chief profit arises from the potations and revels of the students. At Leipsic, the common rendezvous is either at Ranstadt or Galitz; at Gottingen, the principal scenes of their chivalrous conflicts are Wehnd , the Papiermuhle , or the Ras- inmuhle. On reaching the inn appointed for the 64 LEIPSIC. fray, the seconds having taken possession of the largest apartment in the house, proceed to chalk out the mensur , or measure, as it is called; while the champions having stripped off their usual dress in an adjoining room, don themselves in the peculiar trowsers, scarfs, and badges of the Burschenschaft to which each belongs. Arrayed in this mounte- bank costume, which is most carefully padded to guard against wounds in any vital part of the body, the combatants enter the apartment, and having, with extravagant disdain, eyed each other from head to foot, they obey the summons of their seconds, by placing their left foot on the chalked line, and then grasping the basket-hilted schlager or straight broad -sword, which is presented to them, and which has been previously sharpened for the occasion, stand ready for the onslaught. The second of the injured party then proceeds, in a portentous voice, to say, bindet die klingen, or “join blades;” while the second of the other party cries out, gebunden ist , or “ agreed.” The former next exclaims, haut aus , “strike the first blow,” and immediately the first gang or onset commences, LE1PSIC. 65 and the others, proceed in a spirit commensurate with the exasperation of the combatants. The conflict is generally limited to twelve, and at most to twenty-four rounds. In fact, after the last mentioned number of onsets, the duel must termi- nate, whether blood has been drawn or not. If the offended party declares himself satisfied, after the first wound, which is never very deep, the fight ceases immediately, provided the wound is declared by his second to be an anschiss , or fairly -dealt blow. The unfortunate bleeder confides himself to the care of the surgeon-student who is in atten- dance, and retires, joking or grumbling, according to the leniency or severity of the wound, or the temper he may be in at the moment. The other individuals interested in this affair of honour , which you will naturally enough pronounce to be nothing but pure humbug , then assemble together, and, with the spectators who are present, sit down to a drinking bout. This, very probably, was one of the chief purposes of the duel; and accordingly, all parties join it in the best possible humour, and having carolled and sung to their hearts' content, F 66 LEIPSIC. they return to the city to relieve their comrades in the university from all their anxieties. With respect to the affrays which so frequently take place between the students and the Knoten, or tradesmen, I may state, that very many of these arise out of the unfair liberties which foreigners take with those for whom they can feel no sympathy. For instance, in Gottingen and Heidelberg, more than one-half of the whole students who attend the university, are foreigners, individuals from Swit- zerland, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Britain, and America. The subjects of these countries, I am told, are generally the ringleaders in every uni- versity disturbance. Aware that their uproarious conduct during a college life, can have but little in- fluence on their future prospects at home, they are much more reckless of consequences than the native collegians; while their better filled purses enable them not only to go greater lengths in every prank, but also to afford compensation for the mischief which they too often voluntarily occasion. While I thus frankly admit, that these and other disagreeables in the eyes of every quiet youth, are LEIP.Si C. 67 still existing in the universities of Germany, it must never be forgotten, that the follies of the Burschen life, have been greatly exaggerated by travellers, and, what is more important to know, that this life is not followed by one-tenth part of the body of students. From a particular friend, who studied at Gottingen, I have learned, that out of fourteen hundred students, not more than one hundred were members of any Burschenschaft; while in this city and in Berlin, the amount is even less in proportion to the whole number of students. By-the-by, I must not omit to tell you, that our friend Russell’s burlesque account of the German Burschen, produced a great sensation here, a sensation which was much increased after the ap- pearance of an article of a similar description, by Kotzebue, in the Wochenblatt. Professor Krug of this university, finding the students, and more particularly those belonging to the Landsmann- schaften, highly incensed, immediately raised the banner of war, and fiercely attacked both writers. The Burschen of Leipsic, grateful to their advo- cate, for his somewhat able and ingenious defence, 68 LEIPSIC. assembled one evening at a general place of ren- dezvous, each attired in the paraphernalia of his club, and proceeded, as is wont on such occasions, by torch-light, along the streets, till they reached the house of the Professor, situated near the Post- office, where, having stopped, and having saluted him with three rounds of applause, followed by the united exclamation of “ Vivat lioch der gelehrte Professor Krug , der Vertheidiger der deutchen Ju- gend ,” or “ Long life to the learned Professor Krug, the defender of the German youth,” their leaders proceeded up stairs to thank the Professor in pro- pria persona , for his kindness to the Burschen. The generality of the rioters at the universities, as you may well imagine, are either young gentle- men of independent fortunes, and the sycophants who live upon their liberality, or, as I have hinted above, the subjects of states foreign to that in which the university is situated. The vices of the German student are not unique, for while they, regardless of all that is due to parents, sisters, or moral principle, are seen wading into the puddle of Burschiosity, if I may coin a term, their numerous LE1PSIC. 69 prototypes in France or in England, are found plunging themselves headlong into the ocean of Babylonian prostitution, blackleggism, or sloth. The great majority of the students, here and elsewhere, however, are upon the whole, an indus- trious, hard-working, open-hearted set of youths, enthusiastically devoted to literature, science, and the arts, and who pay unbounded respect to their distinguished teachers. The treasures which are contained in every university library, are laid un- reservedly open to every student, who can have at any time to the extent of at least a hundred vo- lumes in his possession. The immense stocks of human learning, to which the scholars of this coun- try have the easiest access, afford to the German mind the materials for indulging the passion for profound inquiry by which it is characterised; and gives a stimulus to that unwearied research, which has been so beneficially applied to illustrate the classical literature, and to correct the general history of the world. Mankind owe much to the scholarship of the Germans, and though the nature of their critical labours may not correspond with 70 LEIPSIC. the toil that has been wasted on them, it must never be forgotten, that of all the universities in Europe, none so soon emancipated themselves from mean bondage and from gloomy bigotry as those of Ger- many; while few have sent forth from their walls so many men who have acquired a name in the world, or who possess higher reputations for learn- ing, genius, and virtue. DRESDEN. 71 LETTER XIX, Professed Journey to Weimar frustrated — chief Object to see Gothe — his great Literary Reputation — Universality of his Genius — his Writings not well understood in England — the Many-sidedness of his Mind — his Literary Life one of the most Enviable — his want of Patriotic Feeling — Road from Leipsic to Dresden — Meissen — Arrival at Dresden — its fine Situation — the Bruhlische Garden — handsome Bridge that spans the Elbe — Industrious, Orderly Habits of the Saxons — Healthful Appearance of the Dres- deners — Rosy Countenances and Round Figures of the Saxon Women — the Dresdeners passionately Fond of Music — Grand Mass in the Hochkirche — the King of Saxony — the Linkische Bad on a Sunday Afternoon — Ladies knitting Stockings — Carl Maria Weber — the Enthusiasm felt in Germany for his Music — particularly for the Freischiitz. Dresden, 1831. This letter, you will perceive, is dated from the capital of Saxony, where I seize the first leisure moment, since our arrival, to explain to you why we are already so far advanced on our journey. 72 DRliSDEN. You may remember that I had a letter of intro- duction to the celebrated Gothe. It was my inten- tion, therefore, to have proceeded straight from Leipsic to Weimar, where he has long resided, and which, from the influence of his genius and char- acter, has become the most classical little town in Germany. Having learned, however, that the author of Faust, on account of the state of his health, had been in the habit, of late, of peremp- torily refusing to see strangers, we abandoned the idea of proceeding thither at all, a resolution to which we were only reconciled, by being told, that at present, except Gothe himself, there is very little to be seen in what has been called the Athens of Germany. For my own part, it was with the utmost reluctance that I gave up this journey, be- cause, among all the literary men of Germany, if there was one that I was more desirous to see than another, it was Gothe. Since the first hour that I was enabled to peruse a German volume, 1 have held converse with the spirit of this man; and from my youth upwards, I have been uniformly charmed to find his name and his influence associ- DRESDEN. 73 ated with every thing that is splendid in the golden age of German Belles Lettres. Nor is this to be wondered at. Like the admirers of Rousseau, those of Gothe are all enthusiasts, and hence his pre- eminence in Germany. Appearing in a country where education had long been sedulously attended to, where thought was profound, and imagination was ever on the wing, and in an age when so many imperfect attempts had been made to establish a literature worthy of such a land and such a people, it was the fortune of Gothe to acquire, while yet little more than a boy, an ascendancy over the imagination and mind of his countrymen, such as no other writer had previously attained. Klop- stock, Wieland, and Lessing, had respectively their friends and foes, so far, at least, as the merits which they individually possessed, or the affecta- tions with which each was chargeable, were regard- ed by their countrymen; and, consequently, each ministered to the opinions of a particular literary circle. Gothe, however, possessed mightier powers, and consequently has had a loftier distinction, for he has partizans and admirers in every class of 74 DRESDEN. society, and may be said to have carried along with him the universal sympathy of Germany. Were I called upon to institute a comparison between the merits of Gothe, and those of his celebrated contemporaries, I confess, that while I would prefer Schiller, Wieland, and Schlegel, in the particular departments of literature to which they have devoted their attention, I must at the same time assign to the author of Faust the highest place in the temple of letters, on account of the universality of his genius. In every corner of the literary field, has Gothe toiled with equal ardour and enthusiasm; nor has, he in any one instance, toiled in vain. Successful not only as a dramatic, but as a pastoral and lyric poet, we find him equally conspicuous as a novelist, a biographer, a critic, a traveller, and a philosopher; and although it may be denied that he holds the highest rank in each and all of these various departments, it must at least be allowed, that none has surpassed him in the multifarious powers of intellect, industry, and learning, which he has brought to bear upon them. I should certainly say, that “ Wallenstein” DRESDEN. 75 and 44 Mary Stuart ” are superior, as dramas, to either “Gotz” or 4 4 Tasso.” I might also be in- clined to allow that Voss’s 44 Louise” is equal, if not superior to 44 Herman and Dorothea;” that Schlegel’s critical acumen is superior either to that which is indicated by the strictures on Hamlet in Wilhelm Meister, or by the general criticism which Gothe poured forth in early life, in the journal published at Weimar, to which Schiller, Herder, and Wieland contributed; or which, in later years, he inserted in the Berliner Jahrbuch. Perhaps, too, I might be inclined to admit, that as an elegiac writer he is inferior to Mathison or Salis; and as a ballad writer, to Burger. But looking to the vast extent of his literary labours, and viewing him as a universal genius, I am convinced that he has been scarcely ever equalled, and seldom rivalled by any writer in any land. Notwithstanding all that has been written and said about Gothe in England, it is very doubtful, whether the character of this Nestor of German literature be yet well understood there, or whether his writings be appreciated at their just value. 76 DRESDEN. Madame de Stael, when speaking of the works of Jean Paul Richter, somewhere remarks, that on account of that writer’s continual allusions to local prejudices and manners, “ Rien de ce qu’il a publie ne peut sortir de 1’Allemagne.” This is hyper- critical enough from so shrewd a person as the Baroness, especially after the translations which De Quincey and Carlisle have given of the works of this singular author; but it is not more unjust than many English criticisms that have been written upon Gothe, and which I can easily account for, on this principle, that the works, however cosmo- politan they may be in character and sentiment, cannot be duly estimated by any Englishman, with- out some knowledge of German philosophy. To comprehend the author of Faust, as he. ought to be, it is necessary that the reader should understand his theoretical system of nature, and the peculiari- ties of his neo- platonic doctrines; for without a knowledge of these, a large portion of Gothe’s writings will remain utterly unintelligible, while much of what the Germans regard with a species of idolatry, will appear as difficult to comprehend as % DRESDEN, 77 an Egyptian hieroglyphic. Without some acquain- tanceship also, with the religious reveries of Jacobi, the dogmas of Kant, the lifeless, godless Egios - mus of Fichte, and the transcendental Idealismus of Schelling,* German literature, especially the mighty contributions which Gothe has made to it, will, in many instances, remain an absolute riddle; since it must appear plain to all who have care- fully studied the literature of this country, that there is scarcely any portion of it in which an under-current of German philosophy is not dis- coverable. This mixing up of metaphysical spe- * The fundamental doctrines of Schelling’s philosophy are: — “The absolute God is, being and knowledge in one without di- vision, from whom all creation is produced by means of division, and into whom all returns by means of re-union (dissolution). All real being is of divine, spiritual nature, and cannot be annihilated, only dissolved. All things participate in the Divine Being ; they are separated from it, and from each other in the real — only quanti- tively. The absolute has revealed itself in time and space, by self- division. Only by the way of limitation, is a creation of the Infinite attainable. The Infinite, in its existence and appearance, is limited, circumscribed, i.e. the Real. The universe is a perfect organism, in which all things that seem opposed, are re-united without de- struction to either. The highest re-union, is the self-revelation of God. Man is the most perfect copy of this universe — a world in himself — Microcosm.” These were Gothe’s doctrines also, and illustrations of them generally pervade bis writings. 78 DRESDEN. culation, with popular subjects, you will probably think absurd, and not without reason; but the practice here is universal, and so great is the devo- tion of the Germans to mysticism, that perhaps no author would be popular who should venture wholly to discard it. There is one peculiarity about the writings of Gothe, which the Germans are ever talking about, and that is what they call here the Vielseitigkeit , or many-sidedness of his mind. It is alleged, that he possesses, of all others, the power of absolutely, and insensibly losing himself in the object, what- ever it may be, to which at any particular time his attention is directed; — of separating himself altogether from the conflicting opinions of others regarding the subject in hand; — of soaring, as it were, to some lofty and neutral spot, beyond the power of external influences; and there, free from the mist of religious prejudice, or the party- coloured medium of political partizanship, to re- gard with calmness all the events of this moving and chequered life — to discriminate their respective excellences and deficiences, always acknowdedging DRESDEN. 79 the former, and if found not to love the latter, at least striving to bear, and even to excuse them. In one word, Gothe acts upon the principle, that a real participant in the concerns of the world, whether doer or sufferer in its strife and tumult, can, by no possibility, form an accurate and im- partial estimate of his own position; that in such circumstances, the opinion of an individual must be one-sided ; that he who sails the stormy bosom of the ocean, and is fighting for existence, is neces- sarily blind to the hidden reefs and eddying whirl- pools which lure to destruction, and that he alone can grasp the mysteries of the stormy sea, who, raised above life’s noise, and dreams, and pains, looks calmly down upon the mighty scene! This quality of Gothe’s mind, may be said to be the master-key to his various works on science, litera- ture, and art. His discoveries in nature, are the result of his own unbiassed reflection — the product of a mind which, primarily eschewing the views of others, rests entirely on its own original efforts. And yet how many things has nature thus revealed to her favourite, in the silent, solitary path of men- 80 DRESDEN. tal inquiry and inward debate, which so few are capable of treading!* The literary life of Gothe, has been perhaps the most enviable that ever fell to the lot of any man of letters. I will not even except those of Gibbon, Hume, and Marmontel. He was distinguished as an author, and had obtained a German reputa- tion, before he had completed his six-and-twentieth year. He was chosen soon after to be the friend and counsellor of the Grand Duke of Weimar. He was next created a Baron, and made a Minister of State. He then became the centre of a circle of men, certainly the first in Germany for their talents, taste, and genius. He has now been ido- lised for fifty years, by a highly cultivated people — his talents and accomplishments have also been acknowledged by the leading literati of surround- ing countries; and although his occasional eccen- tricities of style, and unshrinking delineations of • The reader devoted to psychological pursuits, and who may be desirous to raise the mysterious veil vshfch shrouds the deepest and most peculiar properties of G*othe, is referred to Mrs. Sarah Aus- tin’s valuable translation of the works of Falk and Von Muller, published under the title of “ Characteristics of Gothe.” DRESDEN. 81 German manners and feelings, have subjected him to abuse from carping critics, who know little about his works, and from ignorant hacks , who are ac- quainted with his labours only through vile trans- lations; yet nothing promises to be more stable than the fame which he enjoys. His reputation, like that of Sir Walter Scott, has long been Eu- ropean; and the admirers of his genius may pre- dict with confidence, that it will not only always be associated with that of the heroes of German litera- ture, but that the tower of Weimar will ever prove like the spire of Stratford-upon-Avon, a beacon to guide the literary pilgrim to his home. In thus adverting to the character of Gothe and his works, I have perhaps gone more into detail than you and others with less enthusiasm than my- self, may deem necessary; but the literary labours of a man who has directed and swayed the minds of two generations, as if by the wand of a ma- gician, are surely not unworthy of a few passing observations. One thing, however, is certain, that Gothe requires none to trumpet his praise, none to soothe the wounds that have been inflicted by G 82 DRESDEN. the lash of cruel and carping criticism. There are none who can sear the greenness of the laurel which binds his brow — none who can possibly add to the fair and ever -freshening garland of his literary fame. In his own country, he has for half a cen- tury been seated, by common consent, above all competition, and uniformly has he shown himself fearless of failure. He has been honoured as the sage, and reverenced as the poetical high-priest of his father-land; and if there be one point upon which Germans of every denomination are agreed, and one symbol by which the children of the di- vided Empire of the “ Land of Oaks” display unanimity of sentiment, it is in being all equally alive to the unblemished fame of Gothe. While I thus re-echo the opinions of all Ger- many regarding this eminent man, I must not over- look one defect in his character, which must ever be a subject of regret with his admirers: I mean, his utter destitution of patriotic feeling. For my own part, I have always felt pain on reflecting, that with all Gothe’s literary reputation and influence, he has done so little for the political amelioration DRESDEN. 83 of his country. In the hour of German degrada- tion, and when Napoleon ruled this country with a tyrant’s rod, the muse of Gothe is found pouring forth no indignant sounds against the tyrant’s deeds — no rousing appeal to the energies of his oppressed and broken-hearted countrymen — no deathless diatribe against the despot — no encour- aging strain to nerve anew the stout arm of his father-land; and even at the moment when the Liberation .War had broken out, and when the prince and the peasant — the merchant and the student — the Jew and the Christian, felt it to be an honour to become comrades and combatants for their country, — when in every little tale or simple song of that patriotic period, can be traced the sources of a spirit which at length burst asunder the chains of foreign slavery, and gave a shock to despotic power, which was from that moment irrecoverable, — even during those momentous and stirring times, the lyre of Gothe remained silent and unstrung — the pen of Germany’s leading lit- terateur was unlifted in the cause of national and individual freedom! While Gothe, therefore, may 84 DRESDEN. be considered as one of the greatest regenerators of the literature of Germany, it cannot be denied, that as a political regenerator, and as the poetical advocate of his country’s political rights, he stands far inferior to Korner and Schultze.* I shall now proceed to give you the particulars of our journey from Leipsic. The Eil-wagen , a very light carriage, carrying four inside and one out, brought us to Dresden in twelve hours. There is little to interest the traveller on the road, until he reaches the ancient town of Meissen , most pic- turesquely situated on the left bank of the Elbe. The castle, the Gothic church, and the lofty houses, perched, as they are, high upon a rocky eminence, have a most imposing effect as you approach the town, and afford at every step in- numerable points of view for the landscape painter. The streets of Meissen are peculiarly narrow, and the town has rather a gloomy appearance, which * Gothe was born on the 28th August, 1749, and died on the 22d March, 1832. His mortal remains are deposited in the Grand Ducal Vault at Weimar, near to those of Schiller. Among his MSS. was found the second part of Faust , complete in five acts. Dr. Eckermann, of Hanover, has been appointed to edite his un- published MSS. DRESDEN. 85 is considerably increased by the smoke that is con- stantly issuing from the Porcelain manufactory. The beautiful pottery ware that goes by the name of Dresden china, is all manufactured here; and although the Meissen potteries are now rivalled by those of Berlin and Vienna, they were at one time the first, and may still be considered the most celebrated in Europe. On crossing the handsome bridge which spans the Elbe at Meissen, the country becomes more and more interesting at every step. The traveller here enters upon the loveliest portion of the valley of the Elbe, smiling with cultivation, and richly variegated with fruit- trees and vineyards. The left bank is beautifully undulating, with ever and anon a castle or a hamlet lying within the hollow of the hill; while the right bank, rising, as it does, more precipitously from the river, and having an exposure to the south, is covered with vines, and chequered with the sum- mer houses of the proprietors, and the habitations of the vine-dressers. The road, too, is delightful; all the way from Meissen it is through an avenue of trees, which only terminates when we reach the 86 DRESDEN. gate of the Saxon capital. Here, of course, our passports were demanded; while a Douanier ac- companied the Eil-wagen to the Post-office, to see our baggage examined. This, however, appeared to be a mere matter of form, for we were instantly dismissed, and in a few minutes after our arrival, we found ourselves snug and comfortable within the Hotel of Stadt- Gotha. To you who are intimately acquainted with the pages, of our modern tourists, I need scarcely speak of the lovely situation of Dresden, or of its many splendid buildings, which at once proclaim it the Turin and the Florence of Germany. From every point of view, Dresden looks beautiful; but, no- where is the stranger so much entranced with admiration and delight, as where he beholds the scene which presents itself from the Belvidere, in the Bruhlische garden. This charming spot at once overlooks the Elbe, and commands a view of the Old and New Town — of the bridge,* spanning * This handsome bridge is 1616 feet in length. During the last war, a portion of it was blown up by orders of Davoust; but it has since been restored to its former state. It is somewhat disfigured by a crucifix, which has been lately erected on the ballustrade at DRESDEN. 87 the river with its fifteen arches, ever crowded with passengers — of the environs, studded with villas and vineyards — and of the far-distant perspective, which boasts the striking heights of the Lilienstein , Konigstein , and the other mountains of the Saxon Switzerland. It is not surprising, therefore, to find this garden the general resort of the inhabitants of Dresden, and one of the most favourite scenes of their afternoon’s pastimes. Here, under the sha- dow of the chesnut and accacia , hundreds sit every evening sipping coffee, or saunter about enjoying the view, and listening to the music of a well- trained band of minstrels, who form a part of the establishment. In the evening again, and espe- cially at the close of the Opera or Theatre, which is usually about nine o’clock, the spot is crowded the centre of the bridge. On the marble slab of the crucifix, is the following inscription: “ Galli Dejecerunt Die XIX. Mart. MDCCCXIII, Alexander I. ; Restituit Die Natali XXIV. Dec. MDCCCXIII.” An excellent practice is followed by the pedestrians passing to and fro on this bridge. Those coming into the city, are limited to the one pavement; and those returning, to the other. A sentinel stationed on the bridge, sees that this law is strictly ad- hered to. This practice might be beneficially imitated in London, and other crowded cities. 88 DRESDEN. by those who indulge themselves in a light supper before going to rest. The industrious, orderly habits of the people in Saxony, are nearly proverbial. Perhaps those of the capital may be quoted as a proof of their gen- eral good character. In Dresden, almost every soul is in bed by half-past ten ; and should accident or inclination call a stranger to the streets after that hour, he will encounter nobody but the Nacht- wachter, or watchmen, going their rounds, occa- sionally blowing their harsh horns, and proclaiming that all are asleep, and that the city is in safety. While there are two excellent Casinos, one for the noblesse, and the other for the better class of citi- zens, somewhat similar to our club-houses in Lon- don, there appears to be no night clubs, to keep husbands from their wives, and bachelors from their solitary cells — no turning of night into day as in London, nor drawing on midnight for noisy and riotous pleasure as in Edinburgh. Morpheus rules paramount over the city of Dresden, by eleven; and what is still more to the honour of the Saxon capital, few of its inhabitants are ever found in his DRESDEN. 89 leaden grasp, after six in the morning. What a saving of life and wax-lights ! What a rosy-cheek- preserver to the ladies — what an effective anti- wrinkle-protector to the men! Here, one rarely meets with any of those listless forms and jaded countenances, which proclaim the dissipation of the preceding evening; nor has fashion yet introduced any of those fatal habits which with us are so de- structive, and which often, in a single winter, de- stroy the delicate complexion of the budding beauty. It is so far fortunate for the faces of the Saxon women, however, that they are not exposed to the trying ordeal of late hours, for Heaven knows, their beauty depends much on their complexion. They have all fine rosy cheeks, and good round figures, but they are, at best, a species of barn-door beauties, as you would call them in Scotland; and they are utterly destitute of those finer and more delicate lineaments of female loveliness, which at once proclaim soul, intelligence, intellect, and imagination. They are generally 4 4 of the earth, earthy;” and I may almost venture to affirm, that no poet would fall in love with a Dresden belle. 90 DRESDEN. They smack too much of good eating as well as good nature; and in certain fair proportions , bear a strong resemblance to the fair Hamburghers, of whom I formerly gave you a sketch. In' short, female beauty in Dresden, is very much akin to that which so expressively indicated the taste of George the Fourth, when he toasted his favourite nymph as — “Fair, fat , and forty!” There is no city in Germany, except perhaps Vienna, where music is more a passion with the people, than in Dresden. From the King to the boor, every individual takes delight in it; and, what is more, seems able, not merely to appreciate the pleasure which it yields, but to comprehend its highest mysteries. Their devotion to it, as you may easily conceive, is therefore intense. Sweet sounds mingle with all the affairs and business of their lives — it is the invariable accompaniment to dinner — it proves the loadstone to the numerous gardens within and without the town — its magic fills the Opera-house with crowds, and congregates thousands at the Linkische Bad — and on Sundays, it attracts even Protestants within the magnificent DRESDEN. 91 pile of the Hochkirche , although dedicated to the mummery of book and bell. Being somewhat of a devotee myself, so far as regards nones and vespers, and Kyries and Misereres , I took care not to miss either the ves- pers of Saturday, or the grand mass of Sunday. On both occasions, the King of Saxony was present, and the choir and orchestra were consequently in full strength. Not a single performer was absent. The grand mass takes place every Sunday at eleven o’clock; and by that hour every corner of the church, which is of an immense size, was crowd- ed with worshippers. Here, the women occupy the one side, and the men the other; but, as Burns so sweetly says, “ Oh love will enter in where it daurna weel be seen;” and I can assure you, from personal observation, that the sacristan and the King’s servants, who strut about with long silver staves, to preserve this becoming division, in a land where affairs of the heart are sometimes arranged in the church, have enough to do to keep the sheep from the goats. The music on this occasion was superb, and fully equalled any that I have ever 92 DRESDEN. heard at some of the best of our musical festivals in England. The members of the band are all eminent as performers, and having long practised together, there was consequently an ensemble effect, which can never be obtained from even the best musicians, when drawn accidentally from all quar- ters of the earth. There were no women in the choir; the presence of the sex in an organ gallery, being contrary to the strict rules of Catholicism. The parts usually assigned to them, w r ere sung by two Castrati , whose tones, so far as regards power, are certainly worth a hundred female voices, in music of this description. The splendid duet between the Alto and Soprano , in the Miserere in the day’s mass, I shall not soon forget. It would have melted the heart of the most rigid Calvinist, and perhaps convinced him, that when sacred music is really well executed, there are no surer wings than such seraphic sounds, to lift the soul to hea- ven. Music is the revealed employment of the saints in light, says a celebrated writer on religion ; and why should it not form part of the worship of the saints in this sphere of darkness and of death? DRESDEN. 93 The King, as I have already said, was present both at vespers and the mass; but on the latter occasion, he was accompanied by the majority of his court and household. After the religious cere- monial, we proceeded to a gallery which connects the church with the palace, and there had an op- portunity of beholding the whole of the Royal Family. His Majesty, who succeeded his brother about four years ago, is an old, frail man, dwarfish in stature, and altogether a mean-looking person- age. He appears to be upwards of seventy years of age, and has no children. He is a most rigid and devout Catholic, although nine-tenths of his subjects are Protestants. Here, the principles of Locke are better understood than in that great philosopher’s own country. The Catholicism of the monarch excites no jealousy in the minds of his subjects; and, accordingly, there is never any jarring between the Government and the people. But in religious matters, there is perhaps no coun- try on the globe, where greater liberty of con- science is enjoyed, than in Saxony. The result, as you well know, is universal contentment; and if 94 DRESDEN. our Government were wise, it would take a hint from the Saxon system. How effective a similar policy would be with us, may be conceived from the orderly conduct of the people of that happy land, and might well teach a salutary lesson, if a lesson could be given, to the restless and caballing spirits of our own Emerald Isle. If any thing were wanting to convince a stranger of the prevailing taste of the people of Saxony for music, and of the general acquaintance which they possess with all that is tasteful in this delightful art, let him only go on a Sunday summer evening to the Linkische Bad , a beautiful garden on the banks of the Elbe, about a mile from Dresden. There he will find thousands congregated under the shade of the Linden trees, whiling away the hours, and enjoying themselves at the trifling ex- pense of a cup of coffee or a flask of Cottbusser- bier , qualified with lemon and sugar, and listening to the chefs d’ oeuvre of Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, and Rossini. At this garden I heard music for a few groschen, which I could not have had in Eng- land for a crown, and from a band of performers, DRESDEN. 95 too, not one of whom received more than a couple of shillings a-night. How miserably, indeed, would some of your best British Gutscrapers exist here, if they were to depend solely on their cremona for their daily bread! I suspect their fare would be black bread and sour krout, at the best; and yet the conceited blockheads toss their heads and ima- gine themselves professors! Could the every-day orchestra of one of the Dresden Lust-gardens, be only transported to Scotland, it might, in time, give the people there a relish for scientific music. But in respect to musical matters, we can yet be considered as little better than barbarians. A few importations of that kind from the Continent, would have a wonderful effect in improving our taste, as well as in creating a more general relish for what in every age has been thought the most heavenising of pursuits, and the highest of all artificial enjoyments. “Music exalts each joy, allays each grief, Expels diseases, softens every pain, Subdues the rage of poison and the plague ; And hence the wise of ancient days adored One power of physic — Melody and Song.” 96 DRESDEN. Although the people of Dresden are exemplary in the discharge of their religious duties, they are by no means strict in the observance of the Sabbath. During the music in these pleasure-gardens, the German women are never idle; and, accordingly, although it was Sunday night when we visited the Linkische Bad , we found almost every female em- ployed knitting stockings. This will shock the prejudices of some of your strict Presbyterians. The Protestants here, however, see no sin in thus employing themselves, after divine service is over for the day; and really I am not altogether sure, whether knitting a stocking and listening to the mu- sic of Weber’s Oberon and Freischiitz, may not be as harmless in the eye of Heaven, as twirling one’s fingers and scandalising one’s neighbours. Mais chacun a son gout. True religion, I suspect, must be exemplified by something more than outward observances. Sin, in many cases, is nothing more than man’s natural propensity, which merely ex- hibits itself in various countries under different phases, and is either tolerated or proscribed, as nature, custom, or prejudice, may happen to pre- DRESDEN. 97 dominate. Perhaps our honest Scotch people ar- rogate rather too much, when they conceive them- selves better qualified than others of a less rigid persuasion, to occupy the high places in heaven. I have just now referred to the name of Weber. When that celebrated composer superintended the German opera, I am told he took a fatherly charge of the band at the Linkische Bad; accordingly, nowhere do you hear greater lamentations for his loss, or more touching expressions of regret at his fate, than in this city. It was here, you are aware, that Weber composed his opera of Der Freischutz; although, by permission of his sovereign, it was first performed in Berlin. As the production of this piece forms the most striking incident in his life, as well as an era in the dramatic music of Germany, it is not to be wondered at, that the inhabitants of Dresden should feel proud that its composition is associated with their city. But, indeed, all over Germany the admiration of Der Freischutz is intense; and the enthusiasm displayed by every German, when any part of this opera is talked of, but more particularly the overture, tells H 98 DRESDEN. a tale of esteem and affection on the part of the nation, not less honourable to their own taste than to the memory of the great composer; while it loudly proclaims, that Weber, of all other modern musicians, had touched the true chord of the Ger- man soul. The overture to Der Freischutz, when executed in the manner I have heard it in Ger- many, is at once felt to be a composition of deep and characteristic excellence. The arrangement of its inarticulate notes, in fact, seems to indicate the breathings of that abstract and metaphysical feel- ing which so universally distinguishes the mind, poetical as well as philosophical, of this country. The spirit-hushing solemnity too of the first move- ments, is in admirable unison with the expected theme, and in spite of the wildness of the romance, nothing can be conceived better calculated to bear the spirit not into Elysium, but into that sombre region of spectral awe, in which the muse of Ger- many so much delights.* * Carl Maria Von Weber died in London in the Spring of 1826, having reached only 39 years of age. DRESDEN, 99 LETTER XX. Sights of Dresden — the Palace — the Griine Gewolbe — the Riist- kammer — the Zwinger — the Japanese Palace — the National Gallery of Pictures — Works of the Dutch and Flemish Masters — of the Italian Masters — Madonna di San Sisto, by Raphael — Correggio’s celebrated Pictures — Interview, with Karl Bottiger — Interview with the Hofrath Ludwig Tieck — his chief Works, and his Peculiarities as an Author — Dresden Periodicals — People of Dresden not such Politicians as those of Berlin and Leipsic — Questionable whether Journalism be of Advantage to a State circumstanced like Saxony — Revolution of the year 1830 — Happy Condition of its general Population. Dresden, 1831. During the last few days, we have been occu- pied from morning till night, viewing the lions of this lovely city, which, although containing about sixty thousand inhabitants, chiefly of the handi- craft class, is perhaps more quiet and orderly than any other in Germany. There is a comfort and cleanliness, too, about Dresden, which forms a re- markable contrast to what we have occasionally 100 DRESDEN. seen elsewhere; while the gardens, and numerous alleys of trees which separate one portion of the town from another, afford at once delightful speci- mens of the picturesque in local scenery, and pro- mote the health of the inhabitants, by giving a peculiar freshness of the atmosphere. Among the many sights we have seen, the first in order is the Palace. We paced its various apartments with much interest, though none of them are very remarkable, except what are termed the Grune Gewolbe , or green vault, which consists of seven rooms, filled with perhaps the richest treasury of gold and silver ornaments, jewels, pre- cious stones, pearls, and articles of vertu, that is to be met with in the world. My companion, who has a great admiration for such things, stood en- tranced in the room where the diamonds are dis- played, which have been valued at no less a sum than three millions of dollars. The collection, altogether, may be pronounced unique of its kind; but considered as a mere exhibition, it is certainly far better calculated to please women than men. It was begun about the year 1516, under the Elec- DRESDEN. 101 tor Augustus, the brother of the famous Moritz. The prudence or munificence of successive Elec- tors, have contributed to swell it to its present amount. When we look back, however, and think of the German Revolutions, nothing can be more surprising than that during so many wars, and so much national difficulty, this rich fund should have remained untouched. The Rustkammer , or armoury, is another curi- osity of Dresden, where the visitor is shown every kind of armour that the most cunning artificers of antiquity and of the middle ages have executed, with every sort of implement of destruction which the brain of man has conceived best adapted for taking away the life of his brother. The Rustkam- mer may well be designated the Temple of Cain! In the Palace of the Zwinger , which is a build- ing altogether after the French taste, there is a very extensive collection of engravings, a museum of natural history, and other curiosities. The court and public walks about this palace, form one of the favourite lounges of the youth of Dresden. Both are ornamented with orange trees; and although 102 DRESDEN. these were, at the time we visited the palace, covered with fruit, it was felt by all to be as strictly forbidden as the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I suspect that few of our British youngsters could have resisted the temptation. No. Like legitimate descendants of mother Eve, they would e’en have followed her example. The Japanese Palace , surrounded by an exten- sive garden, and situated in the Neustadt , is one of the most striking buildings in Dresden. Among other things, it contains a very splendid collection of porcelain; from which circumstance it takes its name. The amateur of real china, might revel here to his heart’s content; but, in spite of all his prejudices in favour of the manufacture of the East, I suspect, that on a fair comparison, he would be constrained to allow that the porcelain of Meissen is in taste and workmanship at least equal, if not superior, to the china of Japan. Of all the sights, however, which Dresden af- fords — and no city of its size contains more — none will leave a greater impression upon my mind, than its celebrated Gallery of Pictures , certainly DRESDEN. 103 one of the finest and most valuable in Europe. Among the wonders of this collection, which con- sists of upwards of fourteen hundred pictures, the lover of art might occupy whole weeks, or even months together, and every successive visit would be attended with renewed pleasure. There are three galleries — the outer , composed of specimens of the Flemish, Dutch, French, and German schools; the inner , dedicated to Italian genius; and the Crayon gallery . To give you an adequate idea of this collection, by means of any description within the space allotted to these letters, is just as impos- sible as it would be superfluous. Suffice it to say, that of the Flemish school, I shall not soon forget either Rembrandt’s lovely likeness of his Daughter, in her dark-red dress, with her left hand resting on her bosom, and holding in her right hand a pink; or Vandyke’s splendid portrait of Charles I. with his black cloak hanging over his left arm, and his right hand resting upon his hat; or Rubens’^ magnificent Lion-hunt, in which the matchless co- louring of that great master is so conspicuous; or, in fine, the old, grey-bearded Dentist of Teniers, 104 DRESDEN. arrayed in a fur dress, and fur cap adorned with an ostrich feather. These are the more prominent land-marks, if I may use such a phrase, in this wide field of human genius; but the eye of taste finds a resting-place at every turn. The interiors of Metzu and Mieris — the smoking-shops of Ostade — the horses of Wouvermans — the satin-attired damsels of Gerard Dhou — the flesh- tints of Van- derwerf — the animals of Schnyders — the cattle of Cuyp, as seen under the effect of an evening sky, — I shall ever remember with delight; while the landscapes of Pollemberg, Ruysdael, Berghem, Both, and Breughel, pregnant as they all are with the very poetry of nature, and breathing no- thing but life and light and beauty and loveliness, will never be effaced from my recollection. Among the works of the Italian masters, there are a few gems, which it would be unpardonable wholly to overlook here. The chief of these is the famous Madonna di San Sisto , by Raphael, which I do not hesitate to pronounce the finest of all the Madonnas in the world. It is perhaps unrivalled as a production of art, and the visitor DRESDEN. 105 returns to it again and again, to gaze upon the glorious group, wherein grace, grandeur, and god- liness seem in harmony to dwell. An English lady whom I met the other day, when speaking of the gallery, said, that it was well worth making a journey from England to Dresden, were it only to see this masterpiece of Raphael. I could have expected such a sentiment from a Florentine as the result of connoisseurship, but coming from a British female, it was the natural expression of honest admiration, and the highest of all tributes to the genius of the artist. This picture, which formerly adorned the altar of a church in Placentia, cost the Saxon Elector 18,000 ducats, besides the expense of a copy by an eminent modern hand. The next great attraction for the lover of art, after this exquisite Madonna, are the six celebrated pictures of Correggio; and of these, the “Holy Night,” as it is called, is the most remarkable. It was formerly the chief gem of the collection at Mo- dena, and is said to be Correggio’s masterpiece. The new-born son of Mary is here represented as lying upon a bed of straw, clasped in the arms of 106 DRESDEN. his angelic mother, who gazes on him with an ex- pression of intense tenderness. A couple of shep- herds and a shepherdess, are seen looking with astonishment and delight upon the child, from which beams a ray that irradiates the whole scene. A group of angels float above, in joyful adora- tion, upon a cloud. In the back-ground, Joseph is observed busied with his ass; while in the ex- treme distance, is observed the first soft mellow effulgence of morning’s dawn. The great charm of this picture, lies in the manner in which the painter has managed the chiaroscuro. It is cer- tainly an original and glorious conception. The other most remarkable pictures in the Dresden Gallery, are Titian’s well-known Venus, crowned by Cupid — the Marriage in Cana, by Paul Veronese — the Magdalene , full of repenting sorrow, by Battoni — the St, Cecilias of Carlo Dolci and Julio Romano — the splendid Venus, by Guido, which was engraved by Strange — the Parnassus of Tintorretto, and, though last not least, the St. Roch giving alms, by Annibal Carracci. Of the Crayon gallery, I may merely say, that here DRESDEN. 107 one obtains some idea of the power of Raphael Mengs, and finds sufficient proof of his capability to become a critic on the Fine Arts. On visiting the Museum, I had the good fortune to be introduced to Karl Bottiger , the keeper of all the royal collections of art in this city, which are very numerous. This individual, you are aware, is one of the greatest antiquarians in Eu- rope; but to his skill in that species of connois- seurship, is joined an exquisite taste for all works of art. He is, moreover, one of the most agree- able men I have ever met with; full of anecdote, and inexhaustible in conversation. I was happy, indeed, to be allowed the privilege of listening to so eminent a man, particularly as he speaks Eng- lish with a fluency which, in a foreigner, is al- together astonishing. The merits of this splendid archaiologist, have justly raised him to distinction at Court, and he has been long an Aulic council- lor to the King of Saxony. In his writings, he is chiefly distinguished for critical acumen; but one of his publications contains some very curious and original ideas on the mythology of art. Unlike 108 DRESDEN. the generality of critics, Bottiger, I understand, is beloved by artists; a circumstance which may perhaps be chiefly attributed to the benefits which have arisen to art in general, from the estab- lishment of the famous Kimstblatt , a literary pe- riodical originally suggested by him, and which has, during many years, been the best vehicle in Germany, perhaps in the world, for the fair dis- cussion, and learned elucidation of almost every subject connected with artistical and antiquarian learning. Though a profound scholar, and one, too, who has gathered his information by the most indefatigable industry, Bottiger has nothing of the pedant about him. On the contrary, he is exceed- ingly frank and unconstrained in his manners, and appears to be of a gay and sprightly disposition. If his countenance does not belie him, I suspect, too, that he is fond of good cheer; a circumstance quite congenial with his literary tastes, as I know him to be an admirer of Horace, to whom, I may add, he has acted as another Macsenas, by writ- ing a collection of most erudite illustrative notes. Though a most laborious critic, the use of the DRESDEN. 109 midnight lamp has as yet produced no bad effects upon Bottinger’s person, which is portly in the extreme. Perhaps I should except his eyes, which appear to be very weak, a defect generally ascribed to his studious habits; his devotion to literary pursuits, having never permitted more than a few hours rest any night of his life. Yesterday afternoon, I took an opportunity of calling on the Hofrath, Ludwig Tieck , who, next to Gothe, is the most renowned litterateur in Ger- many. Having learned that he lived in the Neu- markt , I proceeded thither; and on ascending the stair of one of the corner houses of the square, soon found myself within the poet’s habitation. I had taken the precaution of sending my card of introduction, an hour or two before claiming an audience; and when I again presented it to the domestic, I was at once ushered into a handsome apartment, adorned with several very good engrav- ings, among which was a portrait of Tieck him- self. His daughter, a young lady of rather pleas- ing demeanour, received me very politely, and told me that her father would be occupied for a few DRESDEN. 110 moments, but that I should see him almost im- mediately. Whether or not this was the fair personage whom the splenetic Miillner so grossly attacked, I know not; but if so, and should it be allowable in such a case to judge physiognomically, her appearance certainly affords presumptive evi- dence of the little fellow’s utter want of conscien- tiousness. A pair of stiff-starched fraulein, the very beau- ideal of stale aristocratical virginity, occupied a sofa on one side of the room ; while I seated myself opposite to them, on the other. The conversation, which, on the part of the ladies, was conducted in terms of the coldest politeness, was fortunately soon cut short, by the appearance of the poet him- self, who, on entering the apartment, saluted me kindly, and took a seat by my side. Tieck, if I may judge from appearances, must be on the wrong side of fifty. In face as well as person he exhibits all the usual indications of that stage of life, and he does not seem to be at all in good health. His countenance is open, and his large forehead bespeaks a mind fraught with thought DRESDEN. Ill and intelligence. There is an unaffected nobleness in his speech and demeanour, which is as impres- sive as it is pleasing; while the style of his con- versation, at every turn, indicates the poet-mind, rich in imaginative conceptions, and “ soaring from earthly to ethereal things.” My remarks upon his works, naturally led him to inquire how they were appreciated in England; a question which, I con- fess, I could not well answer. I told him, however, that I had seen translations of several of his ro- mances, and also of his Marchen; and by way of fillip to his self-love as an author, I hinted that his two tales, entitled “ The Betrothed” and “ The Pictures,” had won him some celebrity among English novel-readers. He put many questions to me respecting Sir Walter Scott and his works, with all of which he appeared to be peculiarly versant; and it struck me, that he entertained the pleasing conviction, that his own fame, like Sir Walter’s, rested much on the acquaintanceship, displayed in his writings, with the manners and feelings of the past. Of all the living writers of this country, you 112 DRESDEN. are aware, that none have been so instrumental in turning public attention to the manners, feelings, and occurrences of the middle ages, as Tieck. He is, in truth, a thorough-bred enthusiastic worship- per of the times in which the troubadour trolled his simple ballad, and when, to listen to the Minne- lieder of the period, was the dearest pastime of every son of Suabia. Although Tieck, in his liter- ary life, has attempted to paint many portions of the intellectual and imaginative world, it is certain that his own peculiar province is the Marchen , or popular traditionary tale. Imbued with a rich southern fancy and downright northern sincerity, he has, as Dr. Menzel observes, caught the living spirit of that strange and mysterious period, and with a brilliant, though often gloomy pencil, has first painted the stern piety and intense religious feelings of the olden times, and then placed them with equal taste and skill in admirable contrast with modern enlightenment, and modern unbelief. He has also portrayed, in traits of matchless beauty, the pure and profound love ascribed by the troubadours to the beings of that early age; and, DRESDEN. 113 I may add, that with the exception of Shakspeare and Schiller, there is no modern writer who can be said to have pictured the everlasting object of all poetry — love, with so much pathos and effect. Tieck, in fact, has drawn man in the childhood of his guileless inexperience, and has cast over the thoughts and actions of his heroes, the misty visions of man’s future and more glorious destiny. His drama of Genoveva , is regarded as a masterpiece in Germany ; and his popular tale written after the manner of Wilhelm Meister, called Frantz Sterne- bald's Wanderungen , or the wanderings of a student of painting, is universally allowed to be the only one among the many imitations of this species of novel, which can at all compete with that of Go the. While Tieck has written several excellent comedies, and many other miscellaneous pieces in the higher departments of literature, there is nothing which has raised him so much in the estimation of his countrymen, and nothing which Germany values so highly, as his Blaubart, and other Kinder Mdr- chen , or stories for children. And why? just be- i 114 DRESDEN. cause in these he shows a naivete , and originality of illustration, which has as yet found no rival. On Tieck’s alluding to Shakspeare, I took occa- sion to thank him for the pleasure I had received from the perusal of his able preface to the works of the unfortunate Lenz, which he published about three years ago. Poor Lenz, you know, was the first in Germany who advocated the poetical and dramatic character of Shakspeare, in opposition to that of Racine; and may justly be said to have fallen a victim to the enthusiastic attempt which he made to reform the drama of his native land.* During my interview with Tieck, the ladies seemed to listen to him as an oracle; and it was not without reason. His conversation is even superior to his writings. I could not help being gratified with the manner in which he spoke of his literary contemporaries, and even of those who were his declared foes. Aware of his being one of that celebrated critical clique, of which Schlegel and Novalis were confederates, and whose admi- * Lenz wrote a number of plays; but at the age of twenty-seven he became raging mad. He recovered his reason before death, which took place three years afterwards. DRESDEN, 115 ration of Catholic mysticism, Tieck had abetted and advocated, I took care to avoid the dangerous whirlpool of polemics. His religious prejudices, like those of Dr. Johnson, are incurable. They are displayed in an obvious hostility to the spirit of Protestantism, and may be said to be consti- tutional. This is, perhaps, the only blot in his character. Among other particulars, I learned from Tieck that there are five periodicals at present pub- lished in the Saxon capital, viz. the Merkur , pub- lished six times a-week, being a selection of short literary papers, consisting of tales, poetry, anec- dotes, &c.; 2d, Der Sachsiche Stadtverordnete und Communolgardist , another literary paper, published weekly; 3d, Anzeiger Dresdener , an advertising paper, published daily; 4th, Tageblatt von Arnold ', another collection of tales, criticisms, &c.; and, 5th, Denkicurdigkeiten f ur Sachsen , which appears four times a-week, and gives an account of passing events, extracted chiefly from foreign prints, to- gether with original papers. The whole of these publications, however, are rather of a tea-table 116 DRESDEN. sort, and, according to Tieck’ s account, have very few pretensions either to learning or philosophy. Generally speaking, the society of Dresden, though composed of persons of taste devoted to music and painting, care little about literature; and, with the exception of a few well-known writers, including all who constitute what may be called the circle of Ludwig Tieck, who is regarded here as the Sir Walter Scott of the country, there are few who dream of any intellectual pursuit, except the art of the limner or the musician. From the kind and courteous manner in which Herr Tieck received me, I shall regret our early departure from Dresden. This able critic, pro- found scholar, and elegant writer, having almost every night a sort of conversazione , where those (both ladies and gentlemen) who take an interest in literature, or cultivate Belles Lettres, regularly assemble. On these occasions, Tieck generally reads a portion of one of Shakspeare’s plays, of whose works he is passionately fond. A variety of critical discussion follows this exercise; and you may easily conceive, that no one is better qualified DRESDEN. 117 for it, than the man through whose powerful pen our immortal Bard has become almost naturalised in Germany. At present, the half of the plays that are performed in Dresden and Berlin, are translations from Shakspeare. Although the people of Dresden are distin- guished lovers of the fine arts, they are not so devoted either to literature or politics as the Berliners or Leipsickers. The latter may be con- sidered, in fact, the leading politicians in this country, since the dicta of their quidnuncs almost pass for gospel over the whole land. You will perhaps be surprised to learn, that in Dresden there is no political newspaper printed; and that the good people of the Saxon capital are quite content to take the opinion of their brethren of Leipsic, on all matters touching public affairs, whether at home or abroad. In that mercantile emporium, more political information is to be ob- tained than any where else in Germany, owing, perhaps, in a great degree, to the freedom of its press; for, although there is no doubt a censor- ship there as elsewhere, still it is not so strict as 118 DRESDEN. in some other cities. It is curious enough, that the jealousy of the Governments extends only to writing or printing. Throughout both Prussia and Saxony, politics are openly and liberally discussed; and I have heard as much radicalism sported, and as much sympathy displayed for the Poles, as I have ever heard in England. The fact is, the people here may think, speak, and declaim as much as they please, but they must take care not to commit their thoughts to paper. Litera scripta manet , is an adage known over the globe; but it is, perhaps, no- where so much acknowledged in political writing as in Germany. I have heard some of the Ger- man politicians argue seriously in favour of this system. When we think, say they, of what has befallen France, it is very questionable how far Journalism brings happiness to a country. A people who are really comfortable in their cir- cumstances, who are not poor — and have a due reward for their industry — are infinitely better not to intermeddle in the unproductive and party- stirring strife of politics. The gain and the in- DRESDEN. 119 terest of such a warfare, are only for states like your own, where every mean must be resorted to, in order to preserve an industrious population from the shackles of a selfish, unprincipled aristocracy. Here we have no corn-laws, by which one class are enabled to tax another — no legalised stock- jobbing — no monstrous national debt. Where these curses to society and to happiness do not exist, and where comparative comfort is spread over the land, politics are of little value. The sole end of go- vernment ought to be, to make the people happy, and to preserve them free from their neighbours’ tyranny. This is just now the state of matters in Saxony; and hence politics, to the mass of the people, are of little moment. There may be some truth in these reasons, but they are not adapted for the present state of the public mind, either here or in England. Last year, as I have already hinted, a sort of bastard revolution took place in this coun- try, which ended in obtaining some slight improve- ment in the construction of the Landtag , or As- sembly of the General States, which, by the way, is still founded on feudal forms, and dependent on 120 DRESDEN. the antiquated absurdities of chivalry. This Assem- bly is composed of noblemen, priests, professors of universities, gentry, and burghers — a species of aristocratic Cortes, dependent upon the quarter- ings on a member’s escutcheon, but in which the voice of the people at large is never heard. This body, however, has gone the length of dictating to the King — particularly in two late instances, when it assumed the right, first, of controlling the power he exercised of making additions to the rich treasures of art that are in his capital; and next, of reducing the number of his Popish attendants: but it has gone no farther; for there was no other abuse complained of, except perhaps the law of imprisonment, than which there is no- thing that more requires immediate amendment. Saxony, from what I have seen and heard, may at present be proud of its condition. Over the whole face of the country through which we have travelled, we beheld innumerable evidences of pros- perity. We have nowhere, at least, seen any symp- toms of poverty — not a single individual asking alms — and no man who was not almost as well DRESDEN. 121 clothed as ourselves. Her agriculture is much improved, and her wool production is daily in- creasing. The exports of this article to Holland and England, amount annually to three millions of thalers. Her cotton manufacture and calico printing at Chemnitz, is also becoming every year more and more important. The same may be said of her linen manufacture, the establishments of Lausitz being just now in a very flourishing con- dition; while her iron mining at Freyberg, holds out still brighter prospects, and already proves an inexhaustible source of wealth. These facts speak volumes, as to the present prosperous condi- tion of the people of Saxony. The truth is, they are a hard-working, industrious, frugal race, ever mindful of the main chance; and the wealth of the country appears to be more equally divided than it is with us. Hence the universal contentment that prevails, and the absence of every thing like poverty. They possess one decided advantage over every other European government. There are here few or no overgrown aristocrats, who, in the pride of riches, look down and scowl upon 122 DRESDEN. their inferiors. The nobility, though proud of their ancient lineage, are the most paternal and best educated in Germany. It is doubtless because they are so, that their rank never begets invidious comparisons, nor creates any jealousy whatever in the people. The grades of family and intelligence are here, no doubt, sufficiently defined, in confor- mity with the rites of an existing Ritterschaft ; but the tyranny of vulgar wealth and stolid stu- pidity, is fortunately awanting. Neither do this class engross to themselves, as with us, all the offices of trust and profit in the state; and their private fortunes never form so striking a contrast with the small means of the mass, as in England, where poverty often stands in juxta-position with enormous wealth. England may have reason to be proud of her sons, when riches are talked of; but what can she say when poverty is alluded to? Is it better, think ye, for a country to have a thou- sand Croesuses, and millions who can scarcely gain a miserable pittance — than to have wealth generally diffused, and a peasantry, though asso- ciating not with their superiors, boasting all the DRESDEN. 123 comforts of their prince? The latter is actually the case here, and I gravely opine, that it is by far the happiest state. Saxony, to be sure, can boast of none of the hot-bed splendour of Britain; but then she is utterly exempt from the moral and political corruption that distinguishes our oli- garchy, and which is the cause, not only of many a withering blight in the fair garden of industry, but of that wide - spreading wretchedness which may be said emphatically to be the foul manure which supports the glaring flowers. Were I to judge from what has come under my own observation, within these few weeks, I should say, that happiness is more generally diffused over the territory of both Anthony Clemens, and Frederick William III. than it is over any other country of Europe. I will not even except our own happy land; for although we live under the banner of a comparatively free con- stitution, and can vaunt many advantages over other nations, it must not be supposed that the people are individually more happy, or have fewer hardships to complain of. When a country is in debt, and when that debt, or the interest of it, must 124 DRESDEN. be paid by the labour of the people, the nation that requires to give less of its daily labour for its li- quidation must be the least burdened, and on that account alone, is the most likely to be the happiest. Saxony has little to pay — England has upwards of eight hundred millions; and the annual interest of that enormous sum must all be drawn from the fruits of industry, and abstracted from the com- forts of her honest, hard-working population. The conclusion to be drawn from this is so obvious, that I need not add a word more. My gorge always rises, however, when I think of the system under which our vast debt accumulated to so hopeless an amount. The annals of the world do not afford another instance of so long and prosperous a career of insolent political peculation, fraud, and villany. In Venice, the same system was carried to perfection; but in point of extent, it was in comparison with ours, as a farthing candle to the sun. An honest history of all that we have en- dured under it, would not merely form the bitter- est satire that ever was written on the exercise of aristocratic power, but would finally clench the DRESDEN. 125 unanimous opinion pronounced by enlightened po- liticians of every age, that the worst of all possible governments is an oligarchy. 126 SCHANDAU. LETTER XXI. Sudden Preparations to leave Dresden for the Saxon Switzerland — Environs of Dresden — the Annual Festival of the Vogelschiessen — Saxons realise the idea of the old German Character — Tomb of Rabener, the German Swift — the Todtentanz — Monument to Adelung, the Philologist — Departure from Dresden — Excite- ments of Nature compared with the enervating Stimuli of a City — Road to Pilnitz — the House of Theodore Korner’s Father — in a Pavilion attached to this House, Schiller wrote his Don Carlos — Town of Pilnitz — the Palace — Regularity of the Motions of the Saxon Court — the King and his Confessor — Historical Associa- tions connected with the Palace — Village of Lohmen — Universal Use of Bread and Butter in Saxony — Peculiar Privilege of the Fe- males of Lohmen — the Ottowaldaer Grund — its Romantic Char- acter — Thunder-storm — the Bastey — Schandau — the Great and Small Winterberg — the Prebischthor — Valley of Kirnitz — Wood- cutters — Hohlenstein — the Kuhstahl — Return to Schandau — sin- gular Scenery of the Saxon Switzerland — Destitute of such Genii Loci as Sir Walter Scott has created for the Scenery of Scotland. Schandau, 1831. Our departure from Dresden was somewhat sudden, my companion having expressed a wish to pass a few additional days in the Saxon Switzer- land. We were therefore pressed for time, and SCHANDAU. 127 in the hurry of taking leave, I had not an opportu- nity of addressing another epistle from the Saxon capital. I have seldom left any city with greater regret. It will ever be associated in my mind with all that is exquisite in the fine arts, and all that can give a zest to existence, by means of a highly cul- tivated state of society. The day previous to our bidding adieu, was partly devoted to visiting the environs, and partly preparing for our journey. In particular, we visited the animated and exciting scene of the Vogelschiessen , a species of archery, somewhat similar to the Papingo still practised in Scotland. This annual fair, which lasts a week, is held upon a common, lying on the left bank of the Elbe, about a mile from the town. During the continuance of the festival, this common is covered with rows of gaily decked tents, filled with all the tempting luxuries, elegancies, and nicknackeries of the capital. These tents are so arranged as to form several streets of elegant shops. When we visited the ground, “ the fair was at the full,” and presented a scene of the most spirit-stirring kind, to which I should in vain attempt to do justice by 128 SCHANDAU. description. We had here a good opportunity of judging, from personal observation, of the appear- ance and characteristics of the lower and middle classes; accordingly, I have only to repeat what I have already told you, that Saxony may well be proud of her people. They vividly realise our idea of the old German character — an orderly, thought- ful, prudent, frugal, comfort-loving, sage-looking set of beings ; all keen money-makers, and anxious- ly devoted to the enjoyment of their own families, and family circles; — two features in their character that recommended them, above every thing else, to the good opinion of my fellow-traveller, who is at once a keen money-maker and the kindest head of a family that ever breathed. In short, every thing we saw at the Vogelschiessen , impressed us with respect for the Saxons as a people; and I left it, convinced that they possess more of the English agricultural character, than any other na- tion on the Continent. Indeed, their resemblance to our yeomanry is so striking, as to leave no doubt of the descent of the two nations from one common stock. SCHANDAU. 129 The Vogelschiessen, or archery, to which so vast a crowd of well-dressed people thus annually con- gregate, is under the direction of a society, whose members, with the exception of strangers, are alone permitted to draw a cross-bow. The birds which form the mark, are fixed upon three lofty poles, the Adler, or eagle, as it is called, which surmounts the centre pole 140 feet high, being about ten feet in height. Notwithstanding the goodly size of the object, it was seldom hit. The marksman who brings down the head, is entitled to five dollars; and for a wing, four. The competition seemed to cre- ate the most intense interest among the spectators. Independent of the local and personal feeling ex- cited by it, there are also historical recollections associated with this national wappenschaw ; which I find, is universally celebrated, at this season, over all Saxony. While the people of Dresden appear to enter into the festival of the Vogelschiessen with considerable enthusiasm, it is quite certain, that they are not half so much given to out-door amusements of this nature, as the Berliners, whose more lively and K 130 SCHANDAU. talkative disposition, better fit them for such pas- times. The Saxon, also, is more economical than the Prussian, both of his money and his time. Yet there is one expensive amusement, in which, I un- derstand, the better class of Dresdeners are fond of indulging, and that is private theatricals — a pastime, you will allow, particularly in unison with their taste for music and the fine arts, and their general habits, as indicated in my description of Tieck’s evening parties. In reference to the habits and feelings of the Dresdeners, I must not omit to mention, that there at present exists, and, I believe, there always has existed, a very considerable jealousy between the citizens of the capital and those of Leipsic — a jealousy not unlike that which exists between the people of Edinburgh and Glasgow — the pride of taste and aristocratic bearing versus the pride of wealth. It is really amusing, to find this spirit so deeply rooted in the character of the people of both these Saxon cities. Human nature, you perceive, is thus everywhere the same. Although I had only an hour or two to spare, SCHANDAU. 131 after my return from the Vogelschiessen , I thought I could not spend the time better, than in paying a visit to the cemetery of the Johanniskirche , which contains the ashes of Rabener, the German Swift. The memory of this amiable but caustic satirist, with whose name the improvement of Saxon litera- ture must ever be associated, is regarded with the greatest respect. His tomb-stone, which is of the simplest description, is itself a satire on the admi- ration with which his name is mentioned by his countrymen.* While upon a grave subject, I may also mention, that I have viewed the famous monument in the old German style, known by the name of the Tod- tentanz , or Dance of Death. It was finished for the palace of the Grand Duke George, about the year 1534, and removed after the burning of that edifice, to its present situation in the Pfarr-kirche . This singular piece of sculpture, which consists of twenty-seven figures of all conditions and both sexes, * Rabener was born in 1714, and died in 1771. The seventh edition of his Satiren, was printed in 1763. Among these, is an amusing paper, entitled “ Geheime Nachricht. Von D. Johnathan Swift’s letzen Witten.” 132 SCHANDAU. is one of those burlesque groups so common in that age, and the origin of which, D’ Israeli has taken so much pains to discover. If I remember right, that ingenious antiquary attributes so singular a mixture of the ludicrous and the horrible, to the reaction which took place in the public mind, after being made long familiar with terror, through the fearful atomies pictured by the monks; the effect of which was, that the people who had at one time trembled at the figure of the melancholy skeleton, became at length so accustomed to it, as to make it a subject of perpetual laughter and ridicule.* In the Pfarrkirche, there is also a monument to Adelung , the celebrated philologist, who held so long and so honourably the situation of chief libra- rian of the National Library in Dresden. The vast industry which this accomplished scholar exerted in purifying and perfecting the German tongue, coupled with the knowledge of universal language, displayed in his wonderful work entitled “ Mithri- dates,” renders his memory dear to every lover of * In D’lsraeli’s 2d volume of New Curiosities of Literature, the reader will find two most interesting papers upon this subject, under the title of “ The Book of Death” and “ The Skeleton of Death.” SCHANDAU. 133 learning; and hence, strangers of that class, are daily attracted to his last resting-place, where they worship with an enthusiasm that is honourable alike to their own taste and to the illustrious dead.* But I must now hasten to give you some ac- count of what we have seen since we quitted Dres- den. As already hinted, we were induced to leave that city sooner than we intended, and it was as well that we did so, the weather having proved ex- ceedingly favourable for undertaking the journey, which we have now in part completed — a journey which has afforded us the highest enjoyment. To the admirers of nature in all her grace and gran- deur as well as beauty, there is scarcely a country that affords greater scope for description, or more altars of adoration, than the Saxon Switzerland. Amid the lovely scenes on the banks of the Elbe, and the splendid and fantastic fastnesses on the road and in the neighbourhood of this little town, the traveller encounters an endless succession of objects at once calculated to delight the eye, to * Adelung was horn in 1732, and died in 1809. It is said that he devoted fourteen hours daily to literary labour. 134 SCHANDAU. excite the imagination, and to elevate the soul. Here we have, at one time, gently swelling hills, smiling with fruit-trees and vineyards; and at another, vast mountains, whose rocky and precipi- tous sides bespeak the storm and the deluge of an earlier world — scenery, in short, which exceeds even the description of our favourite Poet, while apostrophising the spot, where “ Oft he traced the uplands, to survey, When o’er the sky advanced the kindling dawn — The crimson cloud, blue main, and mountain grey, And lake, dim-gleaming on the smoky lawn ; Far to the west, the long, long vale withdrawn, Where twilight loves to linger for a while, And now he faintly kens the bounding fawn, And villager abroad at early toil ; But lo, the sun appears! and heaven, earth, ocean smile!” After being sometime exposed to the enervating stimuli of a noisy city, I need scarcely tell you, who are so ardent a lover of nature, how intensely one enjoys a ramble through the unshorn garniture of a sequestered dell, whose silence is only broken by the scream of the wild-fowl, or the babbling of the stream. Here it is that such enjoyment may be had in perfection, by the sentimental traveller; and SCHANDAU. 135 should he be at all imbued with the feelings of the melancholy Jacques, as my companion sometimes is, he will find, while wandering among the ever- changing scenery of this singular country, endless scope for moralising in a similar strain, since he will find at every step, “sermons in stones, tongues in trees, and books in the running brooks.” * I now return to our starting point. Having engaged a carriage, we quitted Dresden early in the morning, and crossing to the right bank of the Elbe, after passing through the Bauzener Gate, took the road to Pilnitz, the summer residence of the Saxon monarch, about ten or twelve miles up the river. Behind one of the vineyards which line the road, we observed the house which belonged to the father of Theodore Korner. It was in this mansion that the Poet spent his early days; and it was also here, that Frederick Schiller frequently resided as a friend of the family. It was, in fact, * The Saxon Switzerland, which is a succession of valleys and mountains, of which the valley of the Elbe forms the centre, is about thirty miles in length and twenty-four in breadth. This high- land country extends from Liebethal to the frontiers of Bohemia, and from Falkenberg, near Neukirch, to the valley behind the Ro- senthal. 136 SCHANDAU. in the pavilion of the garden attached to this house, that the immortal Bard wrote his Don Carlos and his Camp of Wallenstein ; the latter certainly the most characteristic portion of the well-known Tri- logie by Germany’s most celebrated dramatist. The little town of Pilnitz, with its picturesque church, is beautifully situated at the foot of one of the loveliest of the vine-covered hills, at the point which separates the more mountainous portion of the country from the valley. The Palace, which is the chief object of attrac- tion to strangers, is sweetly placed on the banks of the river; and the view from the terrace that overlooks the stream, is altogether enchanting. The edifice, which affords accommodation for the various branches of the Royal Family, is built after the Chinese fashion. The western portion is occupied by the King ; the centre, by Prince Maxi- milian; and the eastern, by Prince John; and be- hind these, in an angle, are the apartments of the Crown Prince. The strict etiquette of the Saxon Court, and the consequent regularity of its motions, are proverbial. Every subject of the kingdom can SCHANDAU. 137 tell what the King and his household are about, during every hour of the day. On the first of May, whatever kind of weather it may be, the King leaves Dresden for Pilnitz, where he resides till the end of September. His daily occupation exhibits the perfection of routine observances, and may be said to resemble clock-work itself. As an instance, we were told, when visiting the Palace, that his Majesty took his barge regularly at noon; and I can only say, that the last stroke of twelve had scarcely ceased to reverberate through the court-yard, before the King, accompanied by his confessor — a large-headed, Jesuitical-looking per- sonage, made his appearance on the terrace. His Majesty was attired in a fustian coat, black silk breeches, and black silk stockings. Two gondo- liers, in coloured liveries, were the only other at- tendants who waited on the Monarch — the con- fessor giving him his arm till they reached the barge. The object of this regular boating, is to visit a bath-house built in a small islet of the Elbe, where the King takes a daily plunge, and whence he as regularly returns to dinner, which is served precisely at half-past one. 138 SCHANDAU. There is nothing very remarkable about the in- terior of the Palace of Pilnitz. It is plainly fur- nished for the residence of a king, and the pictures are of no great value. There are associations connected with it, however, which necessarily be- get intense interest in the mind of the traveller. Whoever is versant in the history of the last fifty years, cannot but remember, that it was within the walls of this palace that the first crusade against free institutions, under the mask of a legitimate coalition to counteract the revolutionists of France, was arranged by the despots of Europe. Neither can it be forgotten, that the infamous conspiracy then formed against liberty, re -acted upon its authors, and ultimately brought down upon their heads the signal vengeance of Heaven. The very efforts which they made to crush popular rights, was the means of calling Napoleon into the politi- cal arena, to form, as it were, the instrument of retribution and punishment. In less than twenty years from the date of the Pilnitz Convention , did the French Emperor, within the very walls of this same palace, dictate to the crowned conspirators SCHANDAU. 139 the plan of his memorable Russian campaign. And was it not here he must have felt himself at the summit of his glory, waited upon, as he then was, by the Emperor of Austria, the Kings of Prussia and Saxony, and all the leading Sovereigns of the German Confederation, every one of them bitter enemies to the cause of which this extraordinary man was the child and champion? What a morti- fying sermon do these apartments, in which such kingly conferences were held, preach on the vanity of human pride, and the insecurity of human am- bition ! On leaving Pilnitz, we drove on to Lohmen , a romantic village, where we stopped for refresh- ments, and where we picked up a guide to conduct us through the intricacies of the various dells, ravines, and glens, which lie between that village and this town; which may be termed the capital of the Saxon Switzerland. The refreshment we got here, was the travelling fare common to almost all the towns of Saxony. It consisted of what is called a butterbrod , or bread and butter, with cheese and wine. Butter, indeed, is the universal kitchen , as 140 SCHANDAU. we call it in Scotland. Never did I witness so much butter daily consumed, as I have seen since I entered this kingdom. Here, in short, bread and butter is the order of the day at all hours. It is the perpetual family staple, and essential as a make-weight at every meal. You find it with equal propriety, according to custom, presented at break- fast, at lunch, at dinner, and at supper. I am not now surprised, that Gothe should have introduced his hero Werther to Charlotte, in the act of pre- paring bread and butter for the children; since every traveller in the north of Germany will soon discover, that a good housewife in that country can have little time for doing almost any thing else. A larder in Saxony, may well be called the buttery! The matrons of Lohmen, I am told, whose husbands are chiefly employed as wood- cutters or freestone quarriers, have a peculiar pri- vilege granted them, as a boon for adding to the population. After the birth of every child, they are for six weeks allowed the liberty of selling beer; and our guide slyly hinted, that there are few in the village arrived at womanhood, who have not availed themselves of the privilege. SCHANDAU. 141 From Lohmen, we took the carriage to the vil- lage of Ottowalde , whence we sent it forward to the Bastey , and then proceeded thither on foot. The rough and romantic road we made choice of, is altogether impassable, except by pedestrians; for it was here we entered upon the famous Otto- waldaer Grund — a narrow, deep, and rocky ravine, at the bottom of which meanders a small, silvery rivulet. This Grund or glen, owes its name to the circumstance of having been once the pro- perty of a Ritter , or Knight, called Otto, one among the many of those petty feudal tyrants, who at one period held over each particular district of this country an independent sway. The pathway through this deep and narrow dell, is peculiarly romantic, and it recalled to my mind, feelings somewhat akin to those I experienced when I first found myself threading the magnificent mountain gorge of the Trosachs. The rocks, which shoot up in lofty grandeur on each side of the ravine, from the dark abyss, have assumed the most singu- lar and fantastic forms; and imagination has hence affixed to them certain characteristic appellations. 142 SCHANDAU. There are, for instance, the “ Devil’s Kitchen,” and the “ Devil’s Coffee-shop” — the spirit, of all others, which the German mind has ever associated with all that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. We have also the Stein-salle , or Stone-hall, and the Schirm Grundy where masses of rock seem altogether to have blocked up the ravine; while imagination has bodied forth shapes, and applied to rocks and cliffs, the terms of every species of furniture which giant, fay, or fairy could fancy for his comfort and enjoyment! Echo too here lends its powerful aid to people the solitude; while the rustling of the surrounding forest, conveys a con- stant but hollow sound of greeting to the solitary wanderer. Never do I remember to have seen any thing in nature which so vividly realised the description of the Poet: “ Here, ’midst the changeful scenery, ever new, Fancy a thousand wondrous forms descries, More wildly great than ever pencil drew ; Rocks, torrents, gulfs, and shapes of giant size, And glittering cliffs on cliffs, and fiery ramparts rise.” While wending our way amid these wild and magnificent steeps, as good luck would have it, SCHANDAU. 143 we were saluted, when about the centre of the Ottowaldaer Grund, with the sublime music of a thunder-storm. You may well suppose, that no- where could heaven’s artillery be heard to greater advantage, or be more in harmony with the scenery around. It was nature in her grandest and most terrific mood; and as the lightning flashed, and the peals reverberated from rock to rock, I could not help repeating Tasso’s well-known lines : “ Treman le spaziose atre caverne, E l’aer cieco a quel romor rimbomba. ” How true was the music of the Italian poet at that moment, to the elemental war which rattled over our heads, and of which the hoarse and crackling sounds were echoed from the Devil’s Coffee-shops. Fortunately, at the time the storm came on, we had reached the point of the ravine, where a Res- taurateur has established himself. We were happy, under the circumstances of the moment, to obtain the shelter of his humble roof, and still happier to find after we entered, that, humble though it was, it afforded both comfort and amusement. We were presented with some good Pirna liqueur, and with 144 SCHANDAU. an album, the heroic verses of which were enough of themselves to evoke, even amid the danger of heaven’s thunder-bolts, the spirit of Momus! When the storm, which was of short duration, had abated, we proceeded forward, and soon reached, at the termination of the Grundy the stone table on which, in 1710, Augustus of Po- land, called the Stark , was obliged to breakfast; and a little farther on, we were shown the solitary lime-tree, shooting from a low hill, under which Napoleon, in 1813, stood and regulated the move- ments of his army, when encamped for six days, during the campaign subsequent to the retreat from Moscow. On issuing from the gorge of the Ottowaldaer Grund, we made the best of our way to the Bas- tey , or Bastion, as it is called — one of the chief attractions for the traveller, among the many which abound in the Saxon Switzerland. From this lofty natural terrace, upon the summit of which an excellent hotel has been built after the Swiss fashion, there is perhaps one of the finest prospects in the world. The perpendicular rock SCHANDAU. 145 on which the visitor stands, is 800 feet above the bosom of the Elbe, which flows at its base, and whose serpentine windings are all lying distinct and clear, as if delineated on a map, before the eye of the astonished beholder. As I gazed on this portion of the' landscape, I almost imagined myself transported to the wood -covered heights that overlook Tintern Abbey, and which open up to the view of the enraptured admirer of nature, the whole valley of the Wye — certainly one of the loveliest and most striking portions of romantic scenery in all England. At the celebrated station of the Bastey, when we turned our eyes to the north, the scenery sur- passed description. We stood, as it were, in an amphitheatre of split and riven rocks, shooting up into the sky in all possible shapes and forms, and conveying to the mind the idea of the ruins of some mighty giant-city; while in the various Grunds — like that of the Martyrthal — which oc- cupy the space between these majestic time-worn ramparts, are spots like those which Gothe has fancied in his Faust, and which the imagination L 1 4(3 SCIIANDAU. cannot fail to associate with the scenery of the Freischutz, and the casting of Caspar’s magic bullets. To give you any adequate idea of this scene by description, is impossible. Sir Walter Scott himself, the greatest of all painters after Nature, would fail in the attempt; and as little could Turner, the most poetical of all colourists, convey to the mind a just notion of the splendour which an evening sun throws over the singular scenery about the Bastey. Here, indeed, we may be said to have the debris of the world’s child- hood, combined with the ever -renewing verdure and foliage of the present hour; we see here the infancy and the age of earth — the past and the present time united; and when the grey riven toppling rocks, and the leaves of the broad-leafed seedling which springs from their chinks, are be- held, as I beheld them, richly coloured with the last rays of a brilliant day, it will scarcely be denied, that in that eventide effect lay the finest emblem of the future in another world! The town of Schandau, where we are now com- fortably located, lies in a fine position, at the con- SCHANDAU. 147 fluence of the Kirnitzschbach with the Elbe. It is rather a lively little place, from the great trade in wood, stone, and fruit, which it carries on with every quarter whither the river leads. The chief mercantile intercourse carried on by the inhabi- tants, is with Bohemia. Schandau is also the grand resort of all tourists through the Saxon Switzerland; and hence it is very gay during the summer months. Its mineral bath, although not one of the first-rate, is the chief attraction for in- valids, and a certain class of hypochondriacs, who swell the mass of idlers, and contribute to give a variegated complexion to society in this quarter of the country. The inn, called the Gasthof der Saschischen Schweitz , in which we are residing, is the largest house in the town; and the landlady one of the most talkative and attentive that we have met with in Germany. The daily fare, too, for so small a country town, is excellent. There is an exquisite standing dish of Forellen , or trout, which might of itself induce a gourmand to visit this mountain country. Our hostess took great pains to impress us with the important fact, of the 148 SCHANDAU. King of Prussia being in the practice of stopping at her hotel on his annual journey from Toplitz to Berlin, and accordingly led us into the royal bed- chamber, to point out the precise spot where the royal couch is placed, when pressed by the royal corpus! My companion seemed inclined to take possession of the apartment during our stay; but the landlady politely refused him, upon the plea, that the King might perhaps arrive that very evening. The conduct of our hostess, in this in- stance, recalled to my recollection a circumstance that once occurred to myself, a few years ago, in the south of France. Having arrived late at a hotel, in company with four friends, we inquired for bed-rooms, and were shown three, but were told that we could only get two of them, one apart- ment being held sacred ever since Napoleon had slept in it, on the first night after his return from Elba! I pressed hard to get this apartment; but the French landlady’s devotion and loyalty to the then ex- Emperor, was not to be shaken. She said, she was determined that no one should ever sleep in the bed or bed-room again ; and for that SCHANDAU. 149 night, at least, she kept her word, at the expense, as I well remember, of my personal comfort. At Schandau, one may spend two or three days very pleasantly, making excursions to enjoy the scenery of the neighbouring district. The lovers of the picturesque find a rich treat at the Great and Small Winterberg , and the Prebischthor ; ano- ther also in the Kirnitzschthal , and at the Kuhstahl. The visitor who ascends the Great Winterberg, is rewarded with one of the most striking prospects in nature: hill and valley, wood and water, village and hamlet, mountain and meadow, lie stretched out before him, in varied and delightful perspec- tive. The eye penetrates, at one moment, into the deep recesses of the rocky and basaltic Grand , and at the next, enjoys the pleasing relief exhibited by the smiling Elbe, as it winds its silvery stream onward to Dresden; at another, it seeks the peaks of the Erzgebirge , or hurries from summit to sum- mit, till it is arrested by the Schneeberg and Rie- sengebirge. The smaller Winterberg is chiefly re- markable for a steep precipice, and for a hunting legend connected with it, besides the usual associ- 150 SCHANDAU. ation of ghosts and goblins, common to all cloudy countries.* The Prebischthor is a great curiosity of its kind, and perhaps one of the most remarkable sights in this country. It is a natural gate of rock, which stands 1200 feet above the Elbe, measuring, as I am told, upwards of sixty feet in height, nearly one hundred in width at the bottom, while the breadth at the top is about fifty. This colossal opening is upon the Bohemian frontier, and opens up a view to the valleys of that country. The ascent to it is by means of one thousand steps, cut in the rocks; but the picturesque form of this Thor , as it is called in German, and the view to be obtained from it, richly repays the fatigue of ascending. * The following are the heights above the level of the sea, of some of the mountains and hills of the Saxon Switzerland : — The Schneeberg, 2150 Feet. — Lilienstein, 1317 do. — Giickelsberg, near Hohenstein, 1360 do. — Winterberg, 1787 do. — Konigstein, 1206 do. — Pfaffenstein, 1238 do. — Bastey, near Rathen, 972 do. SCHANDAU. 151 This morning, we bent our steps in another direction, and one equally interesting. Our day’s pilgrimage was up the valley of the Kir nit 2, the appearance of which I cannot better convey to you, than by saying, that it resembles in some degree the Pass of Lenny. It is, however, more extensive than that famous Scottish mountain gorge; while ever and anon, the landscape is enriched by a pic- turesque mill or cottage built after the Swiss style. The road leads through a most extensive forest of pine trees, which affords a regular supply of fire- wood for Dresden and Meissen. This valley is one of the chief wood-cutting sta- tions in Saxony — a trade which occupies nearly ten thousand inhabitants of the kingdom, and yields a yearly revenue of two millions of dollars. After the wood is cut, it is floated down to the several mills situated on the Kirnitz, where it is sawn by machinery, and then again floated down the stream to Schandau, where it is formed into rafts. A considerable fall of rain which had taken place during the night, added much to the beauty of the valley. It increased the mountain-streams 152 SCHANDAU. amazingly, and at every step the eye was arrested by a torrent leaping, tumbling, and dashing over one or other of the many rocky precipices, which rise almost perpendicularly from the side of the stream which runs at their base. At Hohlenstein , the point where visitors who wish to proceed to the Kuhstahl , must leave their carriage, there is a very pretty natural cascade, which, for a few groschen, can be increased by artificial means. Ladies who cannot stand the fatigue of walking, can here be accommodated with sedan-chairs, and are carried forward by two stout mountaineers, at a pretty round pace, for a dollar an hour. It is, as you may well imagine, hard enough work for the chair- men, particularly in this land, where the mass of females are anything but skeletons. To-day, I pitied the poor fellows exceedingly, when I saw them prepare to carry up the mountain at least twenty stone of female flesh, bound up in one fat form! As the ponderous dame, armed with a goodly store of bread and butter, stepped into the sedan, the mountaineers eyed their burden with an expression which seemed to say, “ Would that that SCHANDAU. 153 too, too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ; ” while the sigh which they gave, as they raised their load from the ground, pro- claimed how anxiously they would have wished that the “ Eternal had fixed his canon against this species of indirect self-slaughter!” As we ascended the hill, we stopped at every turn, to enjoy the ever varying landscape. The appearance of the valley below, and of the heights above, as the sun dispelled the clouds which en- compassed them, was indeed sublime. It was like the earth emerging out of chaos, under the plastic hand of Deity. The approach to the Kuhstahl is by a narrow, wooded pathway, wdiich gives a more striking effect to the prospect that opens up on reaching this rocky terrace. The Kuhstahl , or Cattle-stall , as it is called, from having afforded shelter for the cattle of the neighbouring inhabitants, during the dangers of the Thirty Years’ War, is an extensive open cavern. The entrance to it is about twenty feet broad, and as many high. The dimensions of the cavern gradually expand to about eighty feet 154 SCHANDAU. high, and seventy broad. From this rocky terrace, which stands upon the brink of a precipice nearly ninety feet deep, the stranger is apt to start back with fear, from the aspect of the abyss which yawns far below him, and which appears even more dreadful, from the split and riven rocks which sur- round it. Nature here puts on one of her wildest looks, and seems as if she had collected every stern feature, and concentrated all her energies, to render the scenery equally rugged and sublime. Mountains, woods, and waterfalls are seen mixed up in the wildest confusion. Here every feature she presents is at once eloquent and impressive, and awakens emotions far easier to conceive than describe. Here, also, I felt the force of Sir Walter Scott’s descriptive stanza, which speaks of “Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurl’d, The fragments of an earlier world;” while the light fantastic clouds, which floated be- tween the eye and the distant mountains, looked like the fairy spirits, and the goblin ghosts of the glen. The romantic character of this cavern, how- ever, is in some degree spoiled by its being appro- SCHANDAU. 155 priated to — what in fact is the constant occupation of the Germans — eating and drinking. Under its vaulted roof, the stranger can have all sorts of eatables, the excellence of which, however unsen- timental it may be to talk of such matters, will nevertheless make up for the absence of romance. A long mountain walk is indeed a sad tax-master on one’s taste! After spending a few hours in seeing the various curiosities in the neighbourhood of the Kuhstahl, we returned to Schandau, highly delighted with our excursion. While wandering through the scenes which we have visited to-day, I was constantly fancying myself in our own romantic land. Every thing here breathes externally of Scotland. It is just another land of the mountain and the flood. There is but one thing wanting, and that one thing gives to our country a mighty charm. There are here no genii loci , like those which Scott has associated with our mountain scenery: no Ellen — no Fitz James — no Rob Roy — no Bailie Nicol Jarvie. Why is it that none of the German poets have yet peopled this fairy-land with the beings 156 SCHANDAU. of imagination ? Why does not some Saxon wizard, with his enchanter’s rod, conjure up some gipsy or robber band, to harmonise with the thousand “ thunder -splintered pinnacles” which shoot up from every dell, and give to these “ airy nothings” a local habitation and a name? And why are the wild roses and the flowers of an hundred dyes, which in this mountain-land are everywhere seen floating and waving in the summer’s wind, like pennants from a battlement, not yet associated with the loves and the wanderings of such beings as a Francis Osbaldiston, and a Diana Vernon? The curious eye may indeed find in this country, spots associated with the men whom history has chroni- cled; but it searches in vain for the haunts of those ideal beings, who, created by the imagination of genius of the highest order, have had the seal of immortality set upon their shadowy existence. But a truce to digression. I find I must forth- with close this desultory epistle. The moon, whose silvery beams are now gleaming on the fountain not far distant from my window, and which fountain is now deserted by the fair girls of Schandau, who SCHANDAU. 157 congregate about it during the day, proclaim that the evening is far spent; while I hear the cry of my companion, telling me that the Florellen which were ordered for supper, are on their way from the kitchen. Adieu! — the savoury odour of the trouts arrests my pen; would that you were with me to enjoy their exquisite flavour. You would be apt to think, as I have often done since I came here, that Shenstone was not far wrong when he says — “ Whoe’er has travell’d life’s dull round, Whate’er its stages may have been, May sigh to think that he has found His warmest welcome at an Inn.” 158 TOPLITZ. LETTER XXII. Departure from Sehandau — Sail down the Elbe — Lilienstein and Konigstein — Bastey from the River — Inexhaustible Quarries of Freestone — Sonnenstein — Pima — Berggieshiibel — a German Bed — Enter Bohemia — Tokens of its being a Catholic Country — Peterwalde — the Nollendorfer Hoh — Culm — Monuments in honour of the Victory gained by the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians over Napoleon’s Army — the Erzgebirge — Topiitz — a Day at this Watering-place similar to one at Bath or Cheltenham — the King of Prussia and the Princess Leignitz. Toplitz, 1831. Since I last stole a few moments from the night to address you, I have traversed the remain- ing portion of the Saxon Switzerland, and am now in the centre of Bohemia, the land of romantic legends, as well as of picturesque beauty. On leaving Sehandau, we took a light barge, called a Gondel , and sent our carriage on to meet us at Pirna. By adopting this plan, we had the best opportunity of exploring all the beauties and TOPLITZ. 159 curiosities of the Elbethal , or valley of the Elbe, and of enjoying the thousand picturesque points of view which every reach of the river presents, as it rolls along through “ rocks, and wooded banks, and hills whose tops touch heaven.” We thus took the best method also of obtaining a correct notion of the grotesque forms of the many hills, or Steins , as they are called, which shoot up in every direction from the comparatively level ground, and which look like giant piquets stationed to guard and defend from foreign foes. And, in truth, they have on many occasions served this purpose, espe-^ * cially during the serious conflicts of which this country has been so often the theatre, within the last half century. For instance, on sailing down the river, we had a fine view of that singularly shaped hill called the Lilienstein , surmounted by a monument erected by August the Stark , of Po- land, in the year 1708. We' next had an oppor- tunity of enjoying that most striking of all land- scapes, where the little town of Konig stein, with its white church, and still whiter houses, is over- looked and defended by the maiden fort of Konig- TOPI.ITZ. 160 stein, perched high in air, which, from its situation, is certainly one of the most impregnable fortresses in the world. Upon the summit of this rock, there is accommodation for at least five hundred men, women, and children; and during the existence of war, its walls afford sure and ample protection for the archives of the kingdom. At other times, it is used as a state-prison for those who are suspected, or are found guilty of lese-mojeste. After we had satisfied our curiosity here, our attention was at- tracted to the romantic scenery about Dorfstrann , and to the split and riven rocks of the Bastey, which cast their fantastic forms over the stream, and bespeak the lineaments of a former world. The face of the rock, which shoots up, as I for- merly mentioned, at least 800 feet above the level of the Elbe, affords an inexhaustible supply of the finest stone for building and other purposes, not only to Saxony, but throughout Prussia and the neighbouring States. From this rock also, are made innumerable millstones, which are here shipped, and carried both up and down the river for the consumpt of the country; as far as Ham- TOPLITZ. 161 burgh, on the one hand; and as far as Prague, on the other. The sun was casting his ruddy beams on the Sonnenstein, as we approached the last mountain- piquet that immediately guards the town of Pirna. It is a very picturesque place, and looks peculiarly beautiful from the water. Here we dismissed our barge and our guide; and as we walked up to the hotel of “ The White Horse” we could not help pouring forth our regret, that we were called to bid adieu, perhaps for ever, to the striking scenery of the Saxon Switzerland. Pirna is one of the oldest cities of Saxony. It consists of about 500 houses, and may contain nearly 5000 inhabitants. The buildings are of stone, and, as already observed, it is altogether a handsome town. Its atmosphere, however, is nothing indebted to the smoke of a number of breweries and distilleries — this being a place pe- culiarly famous for the manufacture of beer and liqueurs. The Churches, Rathhaus , and New School -house, are among its most remarkable buildings. I have only to add, that since the close M 162 TOPLITZ. of the war, during which it suffered considerably, Pirna has greatly improved, and at present carries on a very good trade with Bohemia in corn. At Berggieshubel , where we stopped for the night, we were introduced for the first time to the stewing of a real German bed. It consists, as you must have seen described, of two large bags filled with downs, between which, without any other covering, the luckless wight of a traveller is called to repose. How this buttering on both sides may do in winter, I shall not determine; but, heaven knows, that on the occasion referred to, from the heat of the night, it was altogether insupportable. I endeavoured, of course, to obtain a couch more in unison with the atmosphere of summer; but my attempt was fruitless, and I was hence obliged, from sheer fatigue, to submit to the dissolution and thaw of this fearful hot-bath. Soon after passing the village of Hollendorf, we crossed the frontier of Saxony, and entered Bo- hemia. A small rivulet is the sole boundary which here divides Protestant from Catholic Germany; and there is nothing that indicates the change, TOPLITZ. 163 except a figure of the double-headed eagle embla- zoned over each post-house, with now and then a crucifix, or a figure of a saint, and the mummery and whispering of monks going through the char- acteristic forms of Catholic superstition. The country from Pirna to this celebrated spring, where so many personages of distinction yearly congregate, can be nowhere excelled in point of picturesque and romantic beauty. There is a continual succession of objects to interest the eye and rouse the imagination — of hill and dale — of mountain and of wood — of laughing villages, with their vine-covered fronts — of ruined castles, associated with all that is strange and wonderful in Bohemian legends; with here and there a gloomy Ritterschloss , telling of past deeds of murder and robbery — and now and then a weather-beaten chapel, speaking of Catholicism, and its long reign of ignorance and error. Before entering Peterwalde , we had to submit our passports to be vise. Though previously pre- judiced against the Austrian douaniers, we found them to be very polite. In our case, at least, the 164 TOPLITZ. prevalent idea in England of their extreme se- verity, proved to be altogether erroneous. Indeed it seldom afterwards happened that our baggage was more than partially examined — a circumstance, however, which may perhaps be accounted for, by my having touched the palm of the officer with a couple of zwanzigsters.* Peter walde is a very long, straggling town, somewhat longer even than the “ lang toun o’ Kirkaldy,” for it is nearly three English miles in length. At the pace we were going, which was by no means a gallop, I thought we should never have got through it. The Peter- walders, I am told, are most exemplary Catholics, for although the town is so long, the inhabitants at the one extremity most religiously trudge three times a-day to the church situated at the other * In Austria, and almost all the States tributary to it, the current money are kreutzers and florins, as follows : — 20 kreutzers, equal to 1 silver zwanzigster. 60 kreutzers, equal to 1 silver florin. 1 silver florin, equal to 2J paper florins. A silver florin is worth about 2s. sterling. Accounts are kept and articles are bought and sold in a depreciated paper currency, called Wiener Wahrung, and paid in Convenzions-munze — two florins, Con.-munze being equal to five Wiener Wahrung. TOPLITZ. 165 Though thus sanctimonious, poor human nature often gets the upper hand. Our coachman, who was a bit of a wag, hinted that the priests had plenty to do in the way of shriving the women; and added something about their being placed for a few weeks of probation under the immediate care of their confessors, before entering into the pure and holy bonds of matrimony! His signifi- cant leer, however, seemed to insinuate, that Mess John had generally no little work on his hands, as there are very few ugly women about Peterwalde! The view of the Toplitzer Thai , or valley of Toplitz, from the Nollendorfer Hoh , a few miles beyond Peterwalde, is one of the richest and most beautiful that can be imagined, not merely replete with all that is lovely in nature, but associated with much that is interesting in European history. In this extensive vale — smiling with fruit and all the riches of harvest, studded with villages, and hemmed in by the lofty mountains of the Bohemian Switzerland, wooded to their summits — has the fate of kingdoms and empires been decided, and deeds been done, that have secured for their 166 TOPLITZ. actors eternal renown. Among the many conflicts that have taken place in this valley, there is one which the stranger is called more particularly to remember, from two monuments, which cannot fail to attract his attention, near the village of Culm. They have both been erected in honour of the victory which the Allied Army gained over the French, on the 30th August 1813 — of that vic- tory where Marshal Colleredo Mansfield at the head of the Austrians, General Kleist command- ing the Prussians, and General Ostermann com- manding the Russian corps of 8000 (which had withstood the whole army of Vandamme for a long time, until the Austrian and Prussian succours arrived in the field), routed the imperial army of Napoleon, and took Vandamme and ten thousand of his troops prisoners, with all their cannon, bag- gage, &c. The Austrian monument is a splendid obelisk, which, in the true aristocratical spirit of that nation, is inscribed to Colleredo , the com- mander of the Austrian troops on that day, and bears upon it: — Das O ester eischische Heer , Einem seiner Fuhrer auf dem Felde seines Rahmes , “ The TOPLITZ. 167 Austrian army to one of its leaders, on the field of his fame.” The Prussian Denkmahl is a Gothic monument; and its inscription being general, not particular, is more in accordance with truth, as well as with the popular spirit which prevails in Prussia, indicative alike of confidence and good will between king and people. It is as follows: — Die gefallenen Helden ehrt dankbar Konig und Va- terland. Sie ruhen in Frieden Culm . 44 A grateful king and country honour the heroes who have fallen. They sleep in peace. — Culm.” On our journey hither, we had a distant peep of the peaks of the famous Erzgebirge , almost entirely clothed with wood to its summit. This is con- sidered a mighty mountain in Bohemia, but would be looked upon as little more than a molehill in Savoy. Its height, however, was to me of no great moment, as its forest-sides, like those of the not far distant Fiesengebirge , spoke of the dwelling of Rubezald , or Number Nip, so well illustrated in the popular tales of Musseus. The town of Tdplitz, from which I now address you, lies near the farthest end of the valley which 168 TOPLITZ. bears its name. It is sweetly situated, and may be pronounced one of the best and most fashionable watering-places among the many that are to be found in Germany. In this place there are about three hundred houses, of rather an elegant kind, for the reception and accommodation of visitors; and, accordingly, at this season of the year, there are generally about two thousand strangers lo- cated within their walls. The waters are hot, and have long been considered valuable in removing rheumatic, gouty, and cutaneous complaints. The crowds that congregate here, however, come not so much for the cure of disease, as on account of its being a fashionable resort, and more particu- larly, from the circumstance of the King of Prussia having, for some years past, made it his summer residence. The company collected in Toplitz, may consequently be pronounced the gayest and most select that can be found in the north of Germany. There is almost nothing about the town itself, to attract attention. It contains no remarkable public buildings, and none of those objects com- monly called sights or lions; a circumstance which, TOPLITZ. 169 to a traveller, who must see every curiosity, ren- ders a day or two’s residence in Toplitz particu- larly agreeable; for there is nothing half so tire- some, or half so annoying, as continued scene or sight-hunting. A day at Toplitz is, in many respects, like a day at Bath or Cheltenham. The ordinary routine is as follows: — In the morning, walking and bath- ing; at eleven o’clock, the public promenade, with music, in the Schloss Garden — a beautiful spot, laid out in walks, and beautified with large ponds, statues, and temples. At half-past twelve, the garden is deserted, and the promenaders hasten to their respective hotels, to take dinner in the various superb dining-halls that are attached to each of them. About two, some drive out in their caleches or droschkies, to the beautiful and romantic scenes that environ the town; while others make up little knots, to take a stroll to the Shooting-house, or to enjoy a view from the Schlattenberg . At six, all are again within the town, and are seen hurrying to the theatre, which is not much larger than a fashionable London drawing-room. It has only a 170 TOPLITZ. pit and a few boxes, the latter being almost exclu- sively occupied by the ladies. The King of Prussia when in Toplitz, is generally one of the audience; and one evening, we had the satisfaction of being in the row of the pit immediately behind him. There was no display whatever of court etiquette; and his Majesty was completely unattended, except by Count Wittengenstein. This town being in the dominions of another, the King lives here incog., altogether free from those trammels of state so rigidly observed in Germany; but of which he is no lover. He had no guards, and came in no state. A stranger would never have discovered either by the dress or manner of the individual who oc- cupied the front pit-seat of the Toplitz Theatre, that he was a monarch, far less, that he was the King of Prussia. He is a fine-looking man, with a tinge of melancholy in his countenance, probably the yet unremoved impress of his early misfortunes, and of the grief which he felt for the loss of the once gay and beautiful being who now sleeps in the mausoleum of Charlottenberg — the martyr of her country’s wrongs. TOPLITZ. 171 In one of the boxes, sat the Furstinn , or Prin- cess, as she is designated, the present wife of the Prussian Monarch, by what is here called a left- handed marriage, — that is to say, not being of royal blood, she has no title to the appellation of queen, nor could her children, had she any, which she has not, inherit the throne. This lady is the daughter of the Graff Hurrach, and on her mar- riage received the title of the Princess Leignitz. With the limitations just mentioned, she enjoys all the privileges and dignities of royalty. She is about twenty-four years of age, not tall, but a handsome, pretty figure — a form, in fact, which although not fat, has no sharp angles about it, and her limbs, if we may judge from the ankles, are altogether at antipodes to those of the great major- ity of the fair sisterhood of her husband’s kingdom. She has a pretty brunette countenance, with eyes that bespeak more sweetness than fire. She was attired in a plain muslin dress, with no ornaments, save a small ferroniere clasped round her brow; a beautiful ornament to an intelligent countenance, and most appropriately did it set off that of the 172 TOPLITZ. Princess. For the special information of the fair, I may tell you, that this ornament is exceedingly fashionable in Germany, and with braided hair, has a very becoming effect. I will not deny, how- ever, that I may be too partial to it, and perhaps prejudiced in its favour, from the circumstance of seeing for the first time, in this striking attire, a lovely young creature who was consulting Mr. Tieck, at Dresden, respecting her intention of treading the boards. The Princess is said to be exceedingly frank in her manner, and we were told that almost every forenoon she holds a sort of levee in the garden of Prince Clary, or, as it is termed, the Schloss-garten. This affords the utmost facility for access to the royal person, and contributes greatly to the popu- larity of the Court. But in truth, the anxiety which Frederick William and his Princess every- where manifest to keep as much as possible free from the trappings of station, coupled with an evi- dent desire to mingle with all ranks of the people, cannot but endear the King to his subjects; and there can be no doubt that it has had the effect of TOPLITZ. 173 making Prussia, which is perhaps the most intelli- gent portion of Germany, calmly submit to the sway of a pure monarchy. Bonaparte showed an example, how easily it was to gain the affections of a people, and to rule them at the same time with a rod of iron. 174 PRAGUE. LETTER XXIII. Journey from Toplitz to Prague — Melnicker Wine indifferent — Bo- hemian Beer — Excellent quality of Bohemian Hops — Theresien- stadt — Arrival at Prague — Striking Situation of the City — Bridge across the Moldau — Old and New Town — Prague the Focus of a great Catholic Country — Number of its Religious Houses — Holy John of Nepomuk the Tutelar Saint of Bohemia — his Monument in the Dom-Kirche — the Festival of this Saint — the Country Priest-ridden and King-ridden — Begging universal — the Islands of the Moldau — the general Resort of the Populace of Prague on a Sunday Afternoon — Appearance of the Working Classes — Sprightly Look of' the Bohemian Women — the Fair Sex of all Classes in Prague pretty — general Immorality of the Inhabitants Illustrated — Lying-in Hospital — Perfect Line of Demarcation be- tween the Nobility and Middle Classes — Lower Classes Servile and Ceremonious — Propensity of the Bohemians to Thieving — Principal Sights of Prague — Celebrated for its Clocks — Picture Gallery of Graff Nostitz — the Jewish Town — one of the Earliest Colonies of this Wandering Race. Prague, 1831 . Well, here we are at last, snugly settled with- in the walls of the most comfortable of all inns, in the broadest street of the capital of Bohemia, which PRAGUE. 175 is placed exactly where a capital ought to be, in the centre of the kingdom, and forming the perfect focus of all its trade, art, science, and learning. Our journey from Toplitz to Prague, was very agreeable indeed. The road passes through a hilly but picturesque country, which affords at many points the most attractive landscapes for a painter. At Milschauberg, in particular, the view is magni- ficent. We stopped en 'passant at the little town of Lobowitz, and had a bottle of Melnicker, which is said to be the best wine that the country produces. Although the landlord praised it as prime, we thought it but indifferent stuff, and in point of acidity, it was to my palate, not unlike the Faler- nian now sold near Capua, as a substitute for the famous beverage which used to cement the friend- ship of Virgil and Horace. However mild the climate, and however fruitful the valleys of Bohe- mia, and although the spot at the confluence of the Elbe and Moldau, where the wine is made, is rich beyond description, still the grape does not appear to come to that perfection which is necessary to make good wine. Bohemia therefore cannot well 176 PRAGUE. boast of her wine, but she is certainly entitled to be proud of a more humble beverage, for her beer is really excellent. This reminds me to mention, by the way, that nowhere in Germany are so good hops raised, as in the valleys of this country. Bavaria — the land most celebrated in Germany for malt liquor — draws its chief supply of hops from Bohemia. Nearly 12,000 centzners, as I have been told, have in one year been exported to that country. The most interesting place between Toplitz and Prague, is Theresienstadt , a first class fortress, and one of the strongest in Europe. The town is almost entirely composed of barracks, storehouses, arsenals, officers’ houses, and taverns. The gar- rison consists at present of about 4000; but so great and extensive are the works, that in time of war it requires at least 12,000 to defend them. This fortress is considered one of the principal bulwarks of the country, protecting it from Saxony on the one side; while that of Josephstadt , on the confines of Silesia, protects it from Prussia on the other. PRAGUE. 177 Here we spent one very happy day, having fallen in by chance, at the Goldnen Hirsch Hotel, with a very pleasant party of officers belonging to the regiment now in the garrison, and which, fortu- nately for us, turned out to be the 42d, or Wel- lington's Regiment. This corps had been with General Bianchi at Naples, and several of the officers spoke Italian with fluency; which, in this land where Bohemian or very bad German is the general medium of conversation, proved very lucky for your humble servant. From these gen- tlemen, I learned that the Austrian regiments con- sist of four battalions, three being regulars, and the other Landwehr. Of course one regiment was all the garrison, with the exception of a body of engineers and artillery. By the way, I may men- tion, that the soldiery belonging to the latter corps are chiefly drawn from this country. The Bo- hemians have a peculiar turn for mathematical science; and hence, of all the subjects of Austria, they are preferred, and selected by the Govern- ment for this particular service. The evening parade at There sienstadt , was a beautiful sight : — N 178 PRAGUE. the whole ladies resident in the town congregated under the chestnut and lime-trees of the Champ des Armes ; while an admirable band, which did honour to the taste and science of Bohemia, “ dis- coursed most eloquent music” to the promenaders. The Governor was there too — a harsh -looking aristocrat. He eyed us with attention; whether from curiosity or suspicion, I know not. But we learned, that French and English faces are at present not so much admired in Austria as they were, and nowhere less than in their military strongholds. We were also informed, that the people about the arsenals have of late been as busily occupied with preparations, as if a crisis were anticipated; and it is slyly hinted, that the Government of Austria is not a little fidgety at the result of the Three-days of Paris, and with the still later overturn in Belgium, and though last not least, at the liberal discussions connected with our own Parliamentary Reform. Whether the Despotic Powers have real grounds for alarm, I know not; but appearances indicate that they are resolved to be on their guard. A sufficient store PRAGUE. 179 of murderous weapons have been got in readiness at Theresienstadt ; and there are at least as many cannon put in order, as could afford materiel for casing another monument as high as that in the Place Vendome! The Austrian troops are less frequently moved from one station to another than ours. The officers tell me, that they will proba- bly be kept in the fortress for half-a-dozen years. What a sad imprisonment for the poor fellows! It is almost as severe as that endured by our gallant seamen in the time of war. The road, after passing Weltries , covered as it was with carriages, waggons, and horsemen, announced our near approach to a great city, and, accordingly, our speedy arrival at a hand- some gateway, proclaimed that we were about to enter the capital of Bohemia. After perambulating Prague, I must say, that I am more than sur- prised both at its grandeur and beauty. Like Berlin, it is a city of splendid buildings, but it boasts a more picturesque situation; and instead of the paltry Spree flowing lazily along its boun- dary, it is nearly cut asunder by the broad and 180 PRAGUE. rapid Moldau. Prague is surrounded by a wall, and stands upon five hills, which rise suddenly, particularly on the left bank of the river, from the side of the stream. The highest of these hills is covered with palaces, churches, and private domains, which bespeak the peculiar taste of the middle ages. Among the brightest architectural ornaments which thus, as it were, crown the city, are the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, and Archi- episcopal Palace. These gorgeous buildings stand out conspicuous among the rest, from their prodi- gious size ; while the background is richly adorned with trees and gardens. With the exception of the magnificent panoramic view which is afforded of this city and its environs from the tower of St. Veit’s Church, there is no point where Prague is seen to so much advan- tage, as from the bridge that spans the Moldau. Here, on every hand are seen to rise spires, towers, and domes, bespeaking such a number of public buildings as seems altogether disproportioned to the size of the city, which at the utmost does not contain above 116,000 inhabitants. The PRAGUE. 181 river, with its islands, reflecting the buildings on its banks, looks from this point beautiful in- deed; while a constant stream of population, and innumerable carriages passing along the bridge, give to the whole scene a degree of animation and gaiety, which is not to be met with in other parts of the town. The bridge itself is a very striking structure. It is nearly 1800 feet long, and about 35 broad. It has sixteen arches, and its balus- trade is surmounted by a variety of statues, among which stands that of the famous John of Nepomuk, of whom more anon. At each end of the bridge rise two noble antique towers, erected for its de- fence, which form a most picturesque foreground to the tout ensemble. Prague, you must know, is partly intersected by a canal, which is felt to be of the greatest consequence to the mercantile classes, since it enables them to ship and unship goods at the very doors of their counting-houses. The city is well paved, and what is not common in other German towns, it is well lighted. In the old part of the town, the streets are narrow and crooked; but in 182 PRAGUE. the new, they are broad, straight, and handsome. There are, in fact, few finer streets to be met with anywhere, than the Graben and the Neue Allee — the latter being ornamented with a double row of chestnut and lime-trees, similar to the Linden at Berlin. Prague, you are aware, has long been the centre of a great Catholic country — at once the focus of wealth, fashion, and superstition; and here, accordingly, the religious and the great have erected mementoes of their piety and benevolence. Previous to the reign of Joseph II. that most cele- brated of imperial reformers, there were upwards of one hundred cloisters within the walls of Prague. These the Emperor in a great measure broke up; but although the majority of the greasy monks were dispersed, and the nuns sent to a more useful calling than telling beads from sunrise to sunset, the houses, buildings, and churches were allowed to remain, and at this hour they strike every stranger with astonishment. Richer monuments of clerical splendour, are nowhere to be seen ; and it is easy to conceive, with what bitter reluctance PRAGUE. 183 their lazy possessors must have yielded obedience to the royal mandate for their suppression. You will be surprised to learn, however, that in con- sequence of the religious zeal of the present Em- press, some of the old rats are again collecting round the cheese-parings ; and that Prague has at this moment no less than forty-one churches, four nunneries, and seventeen monasteries. Although Bohemia may justly be said to have been the cradle of the Reformation, and the land from whence the light of truth first burst forth upon a benighted world, it is now not merely the greatest stronghold of Catholicism, but the richest field for the growth of the most pernicious fruits of that faith — bigotry and superstition. The spirit of Huss, which roused the Bohemians at one time to shed their blood in the defence of a reformed faith, is altogether quenched, or rather it is alto- gether changed. The mass of the people of this country are perhaps the most bigoted and super- stitious in Germany. In Prague, we have met with the most striking proofs of this. Whether from fear of the cholera, or some other cause, the 184 PRAGUE. churches are filled at every hour of the day with devotees; while at the corners of the streets and squares, the stranger encounters tokens of super- stition, in the extreme adoration and respect which passengers pay to the thousand and one images of saints and virgins that everywhere either adorn or disfigure the city. Among the many saints who thus evoke defe- rence from the people, there is none who obtains a tithe of the adoration that is offered to the Holy John of Nepomuk, who, you may remember, fell a sacrifice to his clerical firmness and fidelity, by refusing to disclose what was imparted to him in the confessional by the Queen. For this display of courage and integrity, the unfortunate priest’s tongue was cut out, and his body was thrown into the river. He was canonized about two hundred and fifty years ago, and has long been the tutelar saint of Bohemia. In the Dom Kirche his remains are enclosed in a glass case, which is covered by a silver sarcophagus, with figures and other adjuncts, weighing not less than four hundred pounds of pure silver. This is one of the most magnificent PRAGUE. 185 monuments in the world, and is regarded by the Bohemians with a respect infinitely greater than that which is paid to the altar of the Virgin. Whether their veneration is founded on the virtue of the man, or the holiness of the priest, I know not; but there can be no doubt that the popular regard for his memory is boundless. I myself can bear witness, that the statue of honest John of Nepomuk, upon the long bridge across the Mol- dau, receives more tokens of respect from the people of Prague, than those of St. Peter or St. Paul, or even that of the Heilige Mutter Gottes , as the Virgin Mary is emphatically designated. It is only to be wished that there was less of ignorant fanaticism in this worship of Nepomuk. Superstition goes so far here, as to believe that the tongue of this saint, after being buried for nearly three hundred years, when brought to light and cut, poured forth blood. It is preserved in a gold case, and forms the most valuable relic of the million of similar trumpery that spoil and pollute the magnificent altar-pieces of Bohemia. The legend is much akin to that of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius at Naples! 186 PRAGUE. The festival of John of Nepomuk takes place eight days before the 16th of May; and during this carnival, the city is so crowded, that thousands are obliged to follow the example of the Lazaroni at Naples, by sleeping on the streets. The bridge where the statue is placed, and which, at that season, is ornamented with flowers and illuminated with lanterns, is the great point of attraction for the faithful; and so crowded is this quarter of the city, that neither carriages nor horses can pass. Hundreds are seen kneeling and worshipping be- fore the numerous images of the holy man that are scattered over the city; while in the evening, fire- works are displayed in honour of the festival. The windows of every house are decked with flowers, and the streets are strewed with green garlands. Bands of pilgrims, from every quarter of the coun- try, parade the streets singing the praises of the Saint; while in certain quarters of the city, are displayed for sale every sort of Catholic ornament or household god. The open space near the Castle is metamorphosed into a mighty table d’hote, for the lower classes and the pilgrims. In short, the PRAGUE. 187 Bohemians keep this festival far more religiously than that of Him who first preached the Gospel. It is altogether a striking display of human weak- ness and ignorance. Superstition, in fact, can go no farther. You may easily conceive, that a country thus subject to the influence of priestcraft, will give no trouble to the Government ; and so it is. Bohemia is king -ridden, as well as priest-ridden; for al- though, from all I can learn, there is not a little dissatisfaction among the people, in consequence of poverty and taxation, still the priest can always command them; and these idle knaves are ever found on the side of aristocracy and tyranny. Of all the dependencies of Austria, none are governed with greater severity than Bohemia. The pea- santry are placed under the degrading vassalage of the feudal system in its worst form. The middle classes are subjected to heavy taxation, the hard- ship of which is aggravated by the vicious mode of collection. The tax-gatherer here, buys his office, and in the exercise of power, appears to be somewhat akin to the underlings of the Turkish 188 PRAGUE. Sultan. The noblesse, rich and highly privileged, look down upon the general mass of society as beings of almost a different species, and arrogate to themselves even a higher rank than the more modern nobility of Austria. There is in Bohemia a Landtag , or National Council, similar to that of Saxony, which occasionally meet; but the indi- viduals who compose this assembly, rather study their own interests than those of the people, whose voice is never heard in it. A small minority once made a struggle for certain ameliorations in the existing system; but the party of the Govern- ment prevailed, and reform was nipped in the bud. Among the nobility, there is no doubt a strong feeling against the general principle of absolutism on the part of the Emperor; but their own privi- leges are so much mixed up with the question, that little can be expected from them in favour of better government. The want of political infor- mation among the people, and, what is of greater consequence, the want of confidence in one an- other, are the great bars to their political improve- ment as a nation; and I do not think, from all I PRAGUE. 189 can learn, that the “ Three-days of Paris,” or the Revolution in Belgium, have extended their influ- ence to this country. It will require something still more exciting to stir up the Bohemian to better his condition. How changed the character of the in- habitants since the days of Huss and his followers ! Like most of the Catholic countries which I have visited, Bohemia is infested with beggars. In fact, begging is here universal; they literally swarm. While journeying on the road, we found children eternally capriolling round our carriage, beseech- ing us for alms; and even in Prague itself, you find the mendicants as sturdy and indefatigable as they are at Loretto, where, heaven knows, I was once nearly torn to pieces by a band of hungry tatter- demalions, compared with whom, Swift’s Yahoos might be said to have been well-behaved, civilised beings ! I have noticed the beauty of the river and its islands, as seen from the bridge. These islands form the chief points of attraction for the people of Prague on a Sunday, because there they can obtain, at a cheap rate, every sort of refreshment 190 PRAGUE. and amusement. On the Gross-Venedig , or Great Venice, for instance, which is the principal resort of the lower classes, the scene is a perfect carnival. At one corner, you have music and dancing; at another, eating and beer-drinking; both under the wide-spreading canopy of the lime and chestnut- tree. Here the stranger finds a pretty fair sample of the Prague populace, whose appearance and habits are very different indeed from those of their neighbours in Saxony/ Instead of the grenadier figure and staid expression of the Dresdeners, you find the generality of the men about the middle- size, active, and nervous, with long black hair, hanging about a face whose chief characteristic is derived from a cock-nose and a projecting chin. Their countenances, upon the whole, rather indi- cate a careless, roving disposition, and certainly bespeak none of that calm, prudent cast of thought which belongs to the Saxon. On these Sunday festivals, their whole soul seems to be occupied with music and dancing. The women, too, are not less lively, and then they have eyes which tell a tale still more passionate and touching than that PRAGUE. 191 which is poured forth through the blue orbs of the fair-haired Saxon. Their figures are also cast in a mould much more nearly allied to the beau ideal of beauty ; for while a Bohemian girl generally boasts all the elegance of contour which distinguishes the finest of female forms, she is altogether free from the fat and heavy characteristics of the maids of the Elbe. In the villages and remote parts of the country, no doubt, they spoil their appearance by a clumsy pillow, which encloses their bust; but in Prague, this peculiar portion of the national cos- tume is generally dispensed with. There are very few places, in fact, where I have met with a greater portion of female beauty than in Prague. The generality have dark and glossy hair, and very fine complexions. They dress more neatly than gaudily, and trip along the trottoir with a light and airy step, that indicates health and elasticity in every limb. They excel, of course, in the ball-room ; and to see a Prague lady waltz- ing, is certainly the very elegance of motion. Thus youth, beauty, and grace, combine to make the maids of this city irresistible; but charming as 192 PRAGUE. they are, they seem to be not over -cruel to their suitors. Their morality, indeed, if we are to pay any attention to the statistics of the town, is really at a very low ebb. Only think of the astounding fact, that, out of 3955 births which occurred in Prague, during the year 1828, there were 1404 illegitimate ! * It will naturally be asked, whence arises this striking disproportion, and whether there exists here, more than in other European cities, any pe- culiar cause to which so very extraordinary a state * The following table exhibits an accurate statement of the births, marriages, and deaths in Prague, for the year 1828: Births, 3955. — Legitimate, 1291 boys, 1260 girls; illegiti- mate, 731 boys, and 673 girls. Still-born, 107 boy3, and 97 girls. Marriages, ..661. Deaths, 4096. — Under, and not exceeding one year old, 1133; from one till four, 836; from four to twenty, 405; from twenty to forty, 521; from forty to sixty, 517; from sixty to eighty, 544; from eighty to one hundred, 132 ; above one hundred, 8. Among these were 6 who committed suicide, 1 mur- dered, 2 executed, 26 drowned, 4046 died of disease, and 1 5 were shot. Of the 4096, 3773 were Catholics, 67 Protestants, and 256 Jews. PRAGUE. 193 of matters can be assigned? The only satisfactory answer I can give, is simply to mention the cir- cumstances connected with the Lying-in Hospital of Prague, and which, perhaps, you will agree with me, afford a sufficient explanation of this wide-spread immorality. You must know, then, that the Gebarhaus of Prague has, on an average of eight years, afforded shelter to nearly 1000 women annually, of all ranks and conditions; and in 1827, there were no less than 1125 children born within its walls. You must also know, that those who are willing to pay are admitted to this hospital, upon principles that are admirably adapt- ed to prevent discovery. The first and second class of payers, are not obliged to give their names, but are merely required to put their ad- dress into a sealed letter, which is not opened unless the patient dies; and when that does not happen, it is returned to her unopened on leaving the establishment. Ladies belonging to the first class of payers, are also admitted in masks, and are attended in separate apartments. The children are afterwards attended to, and brought up under o 194 PRAGUE. the care of the managers of the institution, on be- ing paid a competent allowance. You may easily imagine the effects of such a system; and when it is recollected that illegitimacy is regarded in Bo- hemia as no great dishonour, the problem of female immorality in Prague is perhaps in some degree solved. There is another peculiarity connected with the manners of the people here, which I must not omit to mention. Perhaps there is no city where so perfect a line of demarcation is kept up between the nobility and the middle classes. They never intermix or associate, except where necessity com- pels them. Each class has its own assemblies, balls, and concerts. I am told that the dancing-parties of the former, are among the most gay and ele- gant in the world. The middle classes have no precise point of re-union like the nobility, but are cut up into the various circles which friendship or relationship may form. Activity seems to be the peculiar characteristic of the middle, when com- pared with the higher and lower classes. The latter are polite and courteous to excess, and use PRAGUE. 195 terms almost as ceremonious as those poured forth at Rome, where, you know, superlatives must al- ways be taken at a discount. There is something about the lower classes, and particularly about the boor of this country, that bespeaks the feelings of the slave. Like the Russian serf, he calmly sub- mits to every species of contumely from his master, and actually kisses the hand that strikes. From what I have already seen of the Bohemian boors, I would say, that, compared with their Saxon neigh- bours, they are very sluggish and inactive. They doze away their mornings, and do only half work even after they commence their labours. The fact is, superstition and sloth, idleness and Catholi- cism, monks and mendicity, seem ever to be united; and Bohemia may be quoted as affording still more melancholy proofs of their pernicious effects, than either Italy or Ireland. If there be any truth in Phrenology, I am cer- tain that the organ of conscientiousness must be exceedingly small in Bohemia. I was long ago aware of what in Scotland is called the lifting propensities, of the people of this land; but since 196 PRAGUE. our residence amongst them, we have experienced, from the greater lightness of our portmanteaus, the strongest possible evidence of its truth. But, in truth, the Bohemians are proverbial for a pro- pensity to thieving; and the fact has been proved to demonstration, by the statistics of the national army, where more are punished for the crime of theft, than in all the Austrian, Hungarian, Italian, and Polish armies put together. It is not less sin- gular than true, that the infamous financial scheme which the Austrian Government adopted in 1811, by which they filled the coffers of the State at the expense of beggaring the widow and orphan, whose funds were in Government paper, actually sprung from the brain of a Bohemian nobleman ! Among the numerous sights by which the tra- veller is attracted at Prague, I may mention the following as the most interesting : — the Hradschin , or site of the Royal Palace, which is assuredly one of the most extensive in the world, and is still more important as a national monument, since it is associated with the heroes of many a by- gone age; the Cathedral , founded in 1344, with PRAGUE. 197 its many monuments, and its fine altar-piece, painted by Hans Holbein when in London, with the Chapel of St. Wenzel, the walls of which are of agate and gold, and enclose the sepulchres of five emperors, who, along with their imperial consorts, here lie buried;* the Tkein-kirche , with its memento of Tycho Brache; the St. Jacob' s- kirche , with its magnificent marble monument to Wenzel Wratislaw; and, in fine, the numerous other religious houses which one encounters at every turn in this church-thronged city. If the good people of Prague be thus kept in constant recollection of eternity, they have no reason to complain that they are not equally well admonished of the progress of time. Nowhere does one meet with more curious and valuable clocks. Almost every street presents you with one or more of these monitors; and some of them are no less curious than tasteful in their construc- tion. The one at the Rathhaus, is perhaps the most singular of the whole, being ornamented with * Bonaparte carried off twenty-seven quintals of silver-plate from this Cathedral. 198 PRAGUE. two figures — one representing the skeleton of Time, who at every hour is seen pulling the bell- string $ while the other figure holds a pendulum, which swings minute-time, as if to enforce, with still greater effect, the advice which a great mora- list thus impresses with equal truth and feeling: “Catch, oh catch the transient hour, Improve each moment as it flies ; Life’s a short summer, man a flower — He dies, alas! how soon he dies!” There are several excellent galleries of paint- ings in Prague, belonging to the Bohemian no- blesse. Among these, the most distinguished is that of the Graff Nostitz. It is rich in cabinet pictures of the Dutch and Flemish masters; and could it be seen by some of our would-be collectors at home, it might teach them a lesson which, you know, they stand much in need of. No trash here; all rich sterling ore. I saw a Paul Potter in this collection, which I will never forget. Count Nostitz besides being an amateur of painting, is also ar- dently devoted to music, and has taken great pains to encourage and perpetuate the national melodies. PRAGUE. 199 This forenoon, we paid a visit to one of the most curious corners of the city, I mean the parti- cular quarter which goes under the name of the Jews’ Town . What a singular contrast do the in- habitants of this district present, when compared with those who reside in other portions of Prague ! This is peculiarly observable in the Tandel-markt , which is crowded with dealers in small wares. The never-tiring zeal with which these indefatigable worshippers of Mammon pursue their calling, and their boring efforts to palm their wares on all who pass through the market-place, are truly astonish- ing, though quite characteristic of that money- making propensity which has been wrought into their nature by centuries of intolerance and perse- cution. It was with the utmost difficulty that we escaped out of their hands with a florin in our pockets. Their flattering tongues, and the tempt- ing things that were offered to us, in fact emptied our purses in a twinkling. There are about eight thousand Jews in Prague; but the portion of the town which has been so long set apart for this peculiar race, is comparatively small. Accordingly, 200 PRAGUE. the poor creatures are sadly huddled together, and the narrow streets and habitations in which they dwell, are not surpassed, for filth and abomination, by the dirtiest corner of Lisbon. I am told that the Prague Jews pride themselves on the purity of their creed. How far they are entitled to do so, I shall not pretend to determine; but in one respect it is wholly at variance with fact — since a stranger has only to visit the Jews’ Town of this city, to be convinced that they utterly contemn the first law of Moses — cleanliness. There are nine Syna- gogues, an Infirmary, and an Orphan Hospital, belonging to this singular race. The structure in the JRabbinergasse , is a fine specimen of the ancient Gothic style of architecture. It is about seven hundred years old. I may here add, that the Jews of Prague are considered the most ancient colony of these wan- derers that exists in Germany. It is said that they took up their abode in this city, about the year 1098; but, indeed, from the antique grave- stones which are to be seen in the old Jewish Friedhof, might be gathered proofs, if these were PRAGUE. 201 wanted, which would show incontrovertibly, that this Hebrew colony must have been planted here at a very early age. 202 PRAGUE, LETTER XXIV. Nothing Remarkable about the Modern Literature of Bohemia— the Bright Days of her Intellectual History gone — Valuable Relics of Sclavonic Literature in the University Library — the Trojan Chronicle and first Bohemian Bibles — Lyrical Fragments illustrative of the Transition State of a People emerging from the Dark Ages — University of Prague — the People of Prague much more addicted to Amusement than Study — Printers, Booksellers, and Periodicals of Prague — the Opera-House — Performance of the Maid and the Magpie, and Fra Diavolo — the Orchestra of the Theatre associated with the finest Creations of Mozart — the Cosmopolitan Character of his Music — Visit to the Palace of the famous Duke of Friedland — associated with the Deeds of the Thirty-years’ War — Bohemia, of all the De- pendencies of Austria, most celebrated for its Manufactures — Spinning Universal — Two Woollen Fairs established — Trade and Commerce — the Germans everywhere imitating England in her Manufacturing Improvements — Railroad from Prague to Pilsen — Environs of Prague — the City, from the absence of the No- bility, less gay in Summer than in Winter — Preparations for Departure — Office and State of Police. Prague, 1831. After what I formerly stated to you touching the general character of the people, you can expect me to have but very little to say respecting the PRAGUE. 203 modern literature of Bohemia. The bright days of her intellectual history seem indeed to have been closed after the conflict of the White Mountain, which was the triumph of Catholic bigotry in its most persecuting form, compelling, as it did, the greater portion of her nobles, the whole of the re- forming clergy, with her Protestant students and artists, to leave their native land, from a regard to their religion. The Bohemian language, in which the learned men of that period wrote, and which may be called the Tuscan dialect of the Sclavonic, was thenceforward gradually neglected ; and it is well known, that at least sixty thousand valuable works, chiefly manuscripts written in that tongue, were destroyed by the Catholic conquer- ors, on the plea that they contained heretical doc- trines. The Jesuits who then acquired the ascen- dancy, being Germans, Italians, or Spaniards, en- couraged, of course, the language of the empire, rather than that in which the creeds of Protes- tantism were embodied; and it was not till the reforming spirit of the Emperor Joseph granted toleration to the Protestants, that the pure Scla- 204 PRAGUE. vonic dialect of Bohemia, which is the written language of at least fourteen millions of the sub- jects of Austria, was again used as the vehicle of thought, imagination, and knowledge. In the University Library of Prague, there is happily preserved a collection of much that is re- markable in Bohemian literature. You are here shown the first book that was printed in this country, and which bears the date of 1468. This work, which is entitled The Trojan Chronicle , is one of the oldest and most remarkable printed books in the world. Here is to be found the first Bohemian Bible, printed at Prague in 1488; the second, printed at Kuttenberg in 1489; and the third, printed at Venice in 1506. Few libraries are richer in objects of bibliomaniac research than this. Are you aware, that the Bohemians had published seven editions of the Scriptures, before Luther began his great German Bible? In the room devoted to manuscripts, we were shown a very remarkable work, which was dis- covered by Herr Hanka , the keeper of the Na- tional Museum, amid some neglected papers in PRAGUE. 205 the church at Koniginhof, and which appears to have been written about the close of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century. It is a collection of lyrics, illustrative of the national manners and feelings, and is one of the few relics which escaped the fire which was kindled by the fanatics for the destruction of Bohemian literature. The anti- quary finds in the fragments of this manuscript which have been saved from ruin, the traces of that transition state which marked the age when the mind, so long shackled by monkish mummery, began to awaken from its torpor, and to manifest those incipient struggles after light and liberty, which were destined at a more favourable period to emancipate the world from the slavery of igno- rance and superstition. The University of Prague, as I formerly men- tioned, is one of the most ancient in Germany. It was founded by Charles IV. as early as the year 1347. The building in which a portion of the lectures are delivered, is very old, and was, accord- ing to the public records, purchased from a burgher by King Wenzel, in 1383. The glory of this Uni- 206 PRAGUE. versity, however, like that of Bohemian literature, is in some degree passed away. In the days of Huss, the crowd of students was prodigious. At the present moment, they amount to about eleven hundred; and I understand that the average rarely exceeds that number. The literary statistics of Prague, convey indeed but a poor impression of its intellectual character. But the truth is, that the generality of the people are far fonder of music, dancing, painting, and good living, than of reading. The march of in- tellect in Bohemia, although the schoolmaster be abroad, is in very slow time, and what is worse, it is but little aided by the national pen, or the national printing-press. As a proof of this I may mention, that there are only ten printers and ten booksellers in Prague; while for the political quidnuncs, there are merely published a couple of very small, stupid newspapers in the German tongue, with other two no less stupid, in the dialect of Bohemia. The literary periodicals, again, are confined to a small paper, called the Bohemia , in German, published thrice a -week; and the Ahendunterhaltungen , in PRAGUE. 207 Bohemian, printed twice a-week. For the lovers of science, art, manufactures, and agriculture, a journal devoted to these matters, is published twice a-year; while the religious world remains quite satisfied with one quarterly journal. This short list of Prague periodicals, will afford you a suffi- ciently instructive key to the limited extent of the demand for political, literary, and religious infor- mation throughout Bohemia. It is the necessary result of the joint tyranny of Church and State. What a sad incubus Catholicism ever has been on the progress of the mental faculties of mankind! Since my arrival here, I have been a very regu- lar visitor of the Opera-house. The Bohemian’s love of good music, and his capability to produce it, are alike proverbial. Accordingly, the theatrical music of Prague is about the best that is to be heard in Germany. The interior of the Opera- house is very light and handsome. It has three tiers of boxes, and a parquet; also a pit, the seats of which are only opened upon paying an additional sum of thirty kreutzers, Wiener Wahrung , to the entrance-money, which is a paper florin of about 208 PRAGUE. tenpence sterling. I have already heard the operas of Die diebische Elster , or “ The Maid and the Magpie,” and Fra Diavolo. The former of these was performed in a style that I scarcely ever heard equalled. The overture was played in a manner altogether con amove ; and the effect of the wind instruments, which were admirably in tune, was quite electrical. I remember being present in Italy, on the first representation of this opera, and of joining, not only in the universal burst of appro- bation that was given to it at the fall of the curtain, but in the triple call for Rossini to appear on the stage, to receive the meed of public approbation; yet, at this moment, I am at a loss to say, whether the performance of this opera in Italy or in Prague was most to be admired. Of this, however, I am certain, that the Bohemian orchestra, in point of wind instruments, was far superior to the Italian. “ Di placer” was sung by Miss L. Gned in a very brilliant and sprightly manner; while Herr Siebert , a star from the Opera at Vienna, filled the part of the Podesta with much ability. His voice is an excellent basso. The beautiful duet with the PRAGUE. 209 father and daughter, was given with great taste and effect. The amateur in music, on entering the Prague Opera-house, can never forget that within its walls Mozart, that most glorious of the sons of harmony, won his richest laurels. It was in the orchestra of the Prague Opera-house, that “ Le Nozze di Figaro” (an opera unrivalled for tenderness and melancholy) was first performed; and it was there, too, that the splendid music of “ Don Giovanni” first fell on the ears of an astonished and electrified audience — an audience which, on that occasion, boasted, amid its host of musicians, the presence of the immortal Haydn. As I looked into the orchestra, and beheld the harpsichord at which Mozart himself had so frequently sat, I could not help imagining the enthusiasm which, in this land of music, must have been felt and expressed, when the brilliant and soul-enkindling themes in “ Figaro” and “ Don Juan” were first poured forth from the voices on the stage, and accom- panied with all the correctness, taste, and power of a Bohemian hand. What a flood of thrilling p 210 PRAGUE. sensations have these themes universally excited since that memorable night; and how enduring will be their sway over the passions and feelings of all future generations ! The music of Mozart belongs, not to a passing age, but to eternity. It speaks to the changeless sympathies of the human heart — the unaltering pleasurable harmonies of the human ear! When I think of the wayward, sensi- tive Mozart, and the universal feeling of sympathy and delight which his productions excite in every quarter of the world, I am forced to confess the power of music over poetry; for where is the poetic genius to be found, that can be said to have fallen on a course so certain to touch for ever the heart- strings of the majority of mankind, as the soul- speaking author of the Zauberflote ? Besides, the field of fame which it is the fortune of the mu- sician to enter upon, is far more extensive than that of the poet. The genius of the former is not restricted to that of the great, the learned, and the refined, but extorts approbation alike from the savage and the sage. This forenoon, we paid a visit to the Palace PRAGUE. 211 and Garden of the famous Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, a favourite resort of the inhabitants of Prague on Sundays and red-letter days. There is nothing very remarkable about the Palace itself. Its chief interest is derived from the historical associations connected with its once celebrated owner, whose real and ideal history have been so well and so powerfully portrayed by Schiller. This renders the spot highly interesting, and is calcu- lated to excite many reflections. As I wandered through the apartments of the building, which now belongs to a distant relative of him whose ambi- tion and superstition were as remarkable as his valour, I felt my spirit borne away amid the fear- ful realities of the Thirty-years’ War, of which he was unquestionably a leading hero — a war, whether considered in reference to its cause or its effects on Germany, or its consequences to the world at large, must be allowed to be one of the most im- portant in the annals of mankind. It was a war excited by the differences of religious belief, and hence its fanatical phrensy; — it was a war of ag- grandizing ambition, and consequently the bonds 212 PRAGUE, of social order were dissolved. Rectitude of morals and the dictates of religion, the rights of man and obedience to the laws, were alike for- gotten when all was ruled by the iron sceptre of military power. It was a war in which parties were almost equally balanced, and it was therefore pro- ductive of the most disgusting political chicanery. It was a war which forced the once amiable and just Ferdinand II. to become the oppressor of man- kind, an enemy to peace, and the scourge of his subjects; which elicited the military capabilities of Mansfield and Tilly; which afforded scope for the intriguing spirit of Richelieu; which forced the King of Denmark, from the calm and luxury of a palace, to the bustle and privations of a camp; which called into unwearied activity the powerful mind and dauntless courage of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden — and, in fine, gave birth to the heroic, mysterious, and wonderful character of Wallenstein. In the apartments of this Prague Palace, one feels indeed how difficult it is to separate history from fiction — reality from romance — the real from the ideal character of the Duke of Friedland, as both PRAGUE. 213 are given by Germany’s most famous historian and dramatic bard; or the fancied loves and misfortunes of Max Picolomini and Thekla, from the nameless actual sufferings of that terrific time. The advantages of peace are strikingly exem- plified in the progress of industry of late years. From all I can learn, it appears that not only this city, but the whole of the other towns of Bohemia, have been regularly increasing and improving since the conclusion of the war. Bohemia, of all the dependencies of Austria, has long been the most celebrated for its manufactures, and at this mo- ment it produces perhaps the finest linen yarn and linen cloth in Europe. Spinning is the universal and favourite employment of the women through- out this corner of Germany. In every quarter, each female, from the maid-servant to the mistress, has a spinning-wheel; and there is no good house- wife in Bohemia, who would not consider herself disgraced, if she did not spin within her estab- lishment all the linen articles necessary for her household. Two annual woollen fairs have been recently 214 PRAGUE. established; one at Prague, which takes place in June, and lasts a week; and the other, which is held in Pilsen, fourteen days afterwards. These regular markets, which were instituted only two years ago, have proved eminently successful. Buy- ers have congregated to them from all quarters, and accordingly they have given a decided stimu- lus to this department of national industry. The excellence of Bohemian glass is proverbial; and you may gather some notion of the extent of the manufacture, when I tell you, that the export of this article, during the year 1828, from Bohemia to foreign countries, amounted to upwards of 35,500 centzners. Mining and wood-cutting are likewise two of the great staple trades of this country. The annual value of the former, in- cluding the gold and silver mines, amounts to upwards of two and a-half millions of florins; while the extent of the wood trade may be estimated from the fact, that there was exported from Bohemia, in the year 1828, nearly 515,700 centzners. From a table of commercial statistics now before me, I find that the trade in the Elbe alone, connected PRAGUE. 215 with Bohemia, amounted to no less than 898,164 centzners: — viz. 726,700 from Bohemia to foreign countries; 73,059 from foreign countries to Bo- hemia; and 98,405 in Bohemia itself, between Melnick and the frontiers. The merchants and traders of Prague are computed at five hundred and sixty, which includes nearly two hundred Jews. Were it not that I am unwilling to tire your patience with statistical details, I could give you many more proofs, from papers now before me, of the progress of industry in Bohemia, and that the people, though egregiously priest and king-ridden, are sufficiently alive to the benefits to be derived from commerce. One thing, in particular, which I cannot avoid mentioning, is the rapidity with which the Germans are following England in some of her latest improvements. A striking instance of this is afforded in the railroad which has lately been formed from Prague to Pilsen. This im- portant undertaking, when completed, will extend about eighty English miles. It was begun in 1825, under the auspices of the Austrian Government, 216 PRAGUE. Its formation and management were committed to the Chevalier Von Gerstner, who, I understand, spent some weeks at Darlington, a few years ago, to make himself master of our English system of road-making. You may judge of its importance, when I inform you, that it connects the Moldau with the Danube, and may be justly said to unite the trade of the north with the south of Germany. Originally, the principal object of the railroad was the transport of salt, of which article no less than 4,773,400 centzners have, during six years, been carried in waggons, or about 800,000 per annum. The charge for carrying the salt along the whole line, is only about fourteenpence the centner. At present, however, the trade in other articles has far outstripped that of salt. The transport of wood alone along the road, has been prodigious. It is a remarkable fact, that in the formation of this railway, the individuals employed were chiefly females, each of whose wages amounted to about sixpence a -day. There were upwards of two thousand regularly engaged as labourers, in form- ing the embankments, excavating the soil, &c. PRAGUE. 217 During the first two years, namely, from August 1825 to December 1827, the Chevalier was en- abled, in the course of forty and a-half English miles, to cut no less than 696,464 cubic yards, and to construct 807,844 cubic yards of embank- ments, besides laying the way with malleable rails. He erected also during those two years, 73 bridges, from three to eighteen yards each, with 133 cul- verts; and he also made 236 waggons. The whole cost of the railway during that period, amounted only to about £75,200 sterling. When we look to the struggles which are thus making in all the commercial countries of Europe, to rival us in every thing connected with trade and manufac- tures, it is consolatory to think, that in spite of even the commercial blindness of our own Govern- ment, the chief objects which are calculated to support and continue our commercial superiority, are still unceasingly attended to by the nation at large, and that the ever-wakeful and enterprising spirit of our countrymen will be able to keep Great Britain at least half a century in advance of her continental competitors. There can be no 218 PRAGUE. doubt that it is to the untiring energies and adven- turous spirit of the British people, and not to the patronage of her governors, that she is indebted for her superiority. This is not the case on the Continent; for while both France and Germany are now imitating our improvements, it must never be forgotten, that almost all of them have been either originated or fostered by their respective Governments. In Great Britain, we have a very different order of things. To individual enter- prise alone, we owe every mechanical invention and improvement, and all those efforts of industry, ingenuity, and skill, which have enabled us to manufacture, under all the disadvantages of heavy taxation and dear corn, the finest and cheapest commodities in the world. Perhaps, after all, this is the secret of our success, and therefore we must not complain: upon individual exertion and spirit we must still depend for sustaining our commer- cial superiority. The environs of Prague, particularly those on the banks of the river, and which you can best reach by water, are very beautiful^ while they are PRAGUE. 219 not the less interesting, that many of them are associated with much that is memorable in history, and mystical in tradition. Among other remark- able objects, we have seen the White Mountain, where the sad fate of Bohemia was sealed, and we have also visited the many fields of fight which surround the city. Prague and its vicinity are rich in recollections of Frederick the Great, in conse- quence of his memorable siege — a siege which carried destruction to the greater part of the New Town, the devastations of which were aggravated by the horrors of a famine so severe, that a po- pulation of 80,000 persons were at length com- pelled to subsist entirely upon horse-flesh. It must not be forgotten, however, that the miseries inflicted by Frederick upon Prague, was followed by severe retribution. Shortly afterwards, he suf- fered a signal defeat, the first serious military dis- aster which befell him. It was after this defeat, you may remember, that Frederick wrote his characteristic epistle to Lord Marischal, in which, among other things, he says, “ Fortune has this day turned her back upon me. I ought to have 220 PRAGUE. expected it. She is a female, and I am not gallant. She has declared herself on the side of the ladies, with whom I am at war.” In spite of all that Prague has endured from the effects of war, and considering that she has withstood more sieges than any other city, she still looks gay and sprightly. While some of her buildings doubtless bear the marks of the enemies’ cannon, certain streets have risen with renewed beauty from the shell -fired ashes of their prede- cessors. Prague, in this beautiful weather, is indeed so smiling a city, and is inhabited by so light-hearted a set of mortals, that I regret ex- ceedingly the near prospect I have of bidding it adieu. During the summer, to be sure, in con- sequence of the general absence of the nobility, who, like our English grandees, reside at this season on their estates, there is much less gaiety than in winter and spring; yet still, in spite of the absence of the aristocratic equipages, it is by no means destitute of life and animation. Of course, no small portion of the lively, spirit-stirring ap- pearance of the streets and promenades, is to be PRAGUE. 221 ascribed to the presence of the numerous bands of gladsome idlers which are to be found in a garrison of twelve thousand soldiers. Prague, in short, does honour to its fair founder Libussa; and has long realised the fairy dream of that cele- brated Princess, who, you know, made choice of the precise spot upon which this city has been built, from following out what she imagined a heavenly hint, communicated to her during a noc- turnal vision! We have this forenoon been making the ne- cessary preparations for continuing our journey. Among other essential duties, we had to make a call at the office of the Police. In Bohemia, as well as in all the other Austrian dependencies, this is indispensable, the police regulations being of the strictest kind, and enforced with peculiar severity against travellers. The system is indeed so strict, that it is almost impossible for any one to escape its prying vigilance, or screen himself from its observation. In this city, the general plan of surveillance and detection is perfect. The town is divided into three quarters: — namely, the Alt- 222 PRAGUE. stadt , the Neustadt , and the Kleinseite ; and the houses in each of these quarters are consecutively numbered. For instance, the numbers in the Altstadt run from 1 to 957, the precise number of buildings in this district; while in the Neustadt and Kleinseite, they run, in the former, from 1 to 1273, and in the latter, from 1 to 525. The name of every householder stands opposite to one or other of these numbers in the books of the police, . together with the names of all the individuals that reside in the tenement. The police can, in this way, pounce in an instant upon any one they want. The business done in the Passport -office is im- mense. But this is the necessary consequence of the system, for no individual is allowed to travel three miles from Prague, without first ob- taining a passport! Such is the stern jealousy of despotism. Notwithstanding these harsh features in the character of the Austrian police, truth compels me to admit, that we ourselves experienced nothing but civility from every official with whom we came in contact. This has partly cured me of a strong PRAGUE. 223 prejudice against them, originally created by what I once saw practised by the Austrian authorities on their subjects in the Lombard -Venetian territory. My new and more favourable impressions have not been diminished by our visit of to-day. We were treated with the greatest possible courtesy, and obtained, with the greatest facility and de- spatch, the various papers, which the present unfortunate circumstances connected with the near approach of the cholera, are supposed to require. I must not omit to mention, that the very best place to learn whether or not a stranger has ar- rived in Prague, is the Police-office. There, every arrival and departure is noted; and if your friend is in the city, you will even there learn the exact number of the room in the hotel in which he may have taken up his abode. Nay, more; I believe they can mention every visitor he receives, whether male or female. Only think of that, Master Brook ! I had much more to tell you about Prague, with its relic-filled churches, and its palace with eight hundred and ten rooms; but the Schnell-post, with which we this afternoon proceed to Vienna, is 224 PRAGUE. getting' ready, and I must needs close this epistle. Accordingly, till my arrival in the imperial city, 1 must bid you farewell ! * * The number of travelling passports which passed through the Police-office of Prague, during the year 1829, amounted to 51,333; of which 16,074 belonged to foreign merchants and tourists, 17,059 to mechanics, and 18,200 to Jew's. VIENNA. 225 LETTER XXV. Road from Prague to Vienna Uninteresting — Wittenow — Travelling Companions in the Post-wagen — two Excellent Samples of Aus- trian Women — Exchanged my Seat for one in the Coupee — Soli- tary Thoughts — an Evening Scene — Travelling good, Bohemian Horses among the best on the Continent — Enzensdorf — Approach to a great City apparent — Leopoldsberg and the Kahlenberg — Traveller’s Feelings on Approaching any Capital, always become more Excited as his Distance from it Diminishes — Associations on Approaching Vienna — Arrival at the Barrier — Enter the City — Russell’s Picture of it still nearly Correct — Alterations chiefly on the Ramparts and Esplanade which surround the Stadt — Saying of a French Engineer — Unfortunate Period for Visiting Vienna — Universal Fear at the rapid Approach of Cholera — Precautions of the People and the Government — Cholera Alarm cannot pre- vent the Viennese from Joking — the People know little about Continental Politics. Vienna, 1831. When I last addressed you, I was on the eve of leaving Prague ; and here I am, safely landed in the capital of the Austrian empire. The country from Prague to Vienna, with the exception of some dozen miles in the neighbourhood of each city, is Q 2 26 VIENNA. altogether uninteresting. The road itself is ex- ceedingly smooth and good, but it unfortunately passes through scenery which, for the most part, is characterised by tracks of dreary forests, occa- sionally broken by wide-spreading ponds or lakes. The towns and villages lying upon the line of road by which we travelled, are remarkable for nothing but their uniform dulness; and with the exception of Wittenow , which has a fine square market-place surrounded by a piazza, have left no impression whatever on my mind. When a traveller finds nothing either to instruct or amuse him on his route, he must needs look to his travelling companions for excitement; and for- tunately on this occasion they were of such a char- acter as to afford abundance of materials wherewith to banish the demon of ennui. In the interior of the Schnell-wagen , there were two unique specimens of the German fair sex; for, while they were both equally loquacious, they might have sat to a painter as the worthy representatives of Pharaoh’s fat and lean kine. Madame Falstaff, who must have weighed at least twenty stone, was of the true VIENNA. 227 Austrian breed ; since, in spite of her fat and flesh, she was as light as a lark and as gay as a cricket. She talked and joked with your humble servant, alternately in Italian and German, as if we had been acquainted from our infancy, while she carried on the most eloquent of all playful pantomimes with my companion. I could scarcely have con- ceived that so much life, spirit, and vivacity, were capable of being linked with such a mountain of flesh. But so it was ; and in this respect, at least, I found her to be an excellent sample of her coun- try-women, who, of all the German race, are the most spirituelle and light-hearted. Wearied at length with the eternal clack of our female companions, I seized the opportunity, at the close of our second day’s journey, to exchange my seat in the interior for one in the coupee. When I took possession of my solitary place, it was, as Dante so well expresses it, — “ Gia l’ora che volge il desio, A’ naviganti e’ntenerisce il cuore, Lo di ch’han detto a’dolci amici a dio ; E che lo nuovo peregrin d’amore Punge se ode squilla di lontano, Chi paia’l giorno pianger che si muore.” 228 VIENNA. And certainly a foreigner may feel as intensely the beauties of eventide, passing through a Bohemian or Austrian woodland in the coupee of the Schnell- wagen , as when reclining upon the flowery bank of a rivulet, even though the stream should happen to flow through the woods of Vallambrosa itself. One thing I am quite sure of, and it is this, that the Italian poet’s description of evening will be far better realised by a traveller in the former situation, unsentimental though it may seem, than it can be by him who has never left his native valley, nor bade a long farewell to the fascinations of home; while as far as Byron’s rifacciamento of the above quoted passage from the Purgatorio is concerned, you will at once allow that its force must be better felt in a country where there are convents and evening chimes, than in a land where bells are never tinkled save on Sundays! “ Ave Maria! Bless’d be the hour, The time, the clime, when I so oft Have felt that moment in its fullest power Sink o’er the earth so beautiful and soft, While swung the deep bell in the distant tower, Or the faint dying day-hymn stole aloft, And not a breath crept through the rosy air, And yet the forest leaves seem’d stirr’d with prayer.” VIENNA. 229 When you read this, you will probably say that I am growing mystical like the Germans. Be it so. I shall willingly stand a little raillery on this head; but I can honestly assure you, that while those in the interior of the carriage were dozing over the value of the supper they had got at Horn , and none seemed awake but the postilion and the horses, my eyes, happily, were not blind to the ever-changing beauties of an evening in Austria. In a flat country, such as this portion of Austria, the sun sinks, as it does in the ocean, at once, and is lost. There is no lofty object to catch its rays, and reflect them athwart the horizon, as a soft precursor to twilight — no mountain -peak to beacon “ day’s decease,” or giant Alp to telegraph the coming gloom of the quiet night. But if there was nothing on earth to catch for a moment the dazzling brilliancy of its departing gleams, there were thin clouds hanging over heaven’s wide ex- panse, whose chameleon tints and Protean forms gave token of the ceaseless progress of the glori- ous orb. Indeed, I never remember to have seen a sky so tinged with brilliant colouring, as on the 230 VIENNA. evening when I occupied alone the coupee of the Prague Post -wag en. The glittering lights and deep brown glowing shadows of the foreground, I beheld meeting the outstretching breadths of corn, whose red and yellow radiance, mingled finely with the bright purple of the distant forest through which the golden gleams of the horizon streamed; and when my eyes glanced upwards, through the endless shades of rosy pink merging into silvery grey, which, in its turn, was lost mid deep and deeper tints of bluish black, I felt that there was a charm in the harmony of nature’s colouring, which nature alone can produce. For awhile, the brilliancy of the tout ensemble monopolised my senses; but soon the things of earth “Flung half an image on the strained eye,” and the scene became more the province of ima- gination than reality. Twilight was now ushering itself in with the sound of the convent bell, and in fancy I heard the echo of the vesper hymn stealing aloft. And when “ Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, In rayless majesty, had stretched forth Her leaden sceptre o’er a slumbering world,” VIENNA. 231 I felt that there was nought that spoke of life, or destroyed the busy dream of imagination, save the bark of the watch-dog, the music of the pos- tilion’s horn, the trample of the horses, and the flickering light which occasionally gleamed, like an ignis fatnus , from some passing or distant vil- lage. Excuse me for thus attempting to describe the impressions which I experienced on one of the evenings of my journey hither, but which I find words can but very feebly convey. The travelling from Prague to Vienna, is upon the whole tolerably good. There is, at least, no loss of time from the quality of the cattle; for the Bohemian horses are about the very best that are bred on the Continent. It is from that country and from Hungary, that the cavalry horses of the Austrian army are chiefly obtained. Compared with the prices of our English cattle, they are very cheap; and hence they are generally found in the possession of all classes. The annual tax for in- dulging the luxury of a private carriage and pair, in Bohemia, is twelve florins, Conventions Munze , or about 24s. sterling. So you see, they under- 232 VIENNA. stand how to raise money on the comforts of life in Germany, as well as in England. On arriving at Enzensdorf everything announced our approach to a great capital. The road, which was before but thinly covered either with vehicles or pedestrians, became crowded with chariots, cabriolets, caleches, carts, waggons, and equestri- ans. The scene increased in interest and anima- tion every step we advanced. Indeed the whole route from this village to Vienna, is in the highest degree picturesque and striking. On one hand, we have the vine -covered hill of Leopoldsberg, crowned with a church and palace, beyond which rises the Kahlenberg, with its ancient monastery; on the other, we have a rich undulating country, covered with plantations and villages; while before us, is seen in all its grandeur, the wide stream of “the dark rolling Danube.” The heights stand here like giant sentinels, stationed to guard and defend Vienna, which we soon discovered lying in imperial state amid the resplendent smiles of a morning’s sun. Among the towers and domes of the city, the spire of St. Stephen’s was seen to VIENNA. 233 rear its lofty head far above the rest. Like St. Paul’s in London, it is everywhere a landmark; and while we beheld it in the distance, its glitter- ing summit seemed to beckon us to the delights and fascinations of the capital. The traveller’s feelings on approaching any capital for the first time, always become more ex- cited as the distance from it diminishes. The first glimpse of a city dome makes the heart eager with delight; while its suburbs and its gateway produce emotions of equal wonder and curiosity, till the mind becomes almost feverish by anticipation. On approaching Vienna, I experienced this in the high- est degree; and if there ever was a situation more calculated than another to produce such an effect, it is that in which a stranger finds himself, when he is about to cross the barrier of the Austrian capital. There he feels that he is about to gaze, for the first time, upon one of the most important cities in the world — to see the men who direct the policy of Europe, as if it were a game at draughts, and thereby keep together the discordant materials of a divided empire ; a city associated with all that 234 VIENNA. is terrible in war and pleasureable in peace — with ancient not less than with modern renown — and with all the sad and singular vicissitudes that mark the history of diplomacy and war in former times — with the fierce conflicts of the Ottoman and the glories of Sobieski, and more recently with the for- tune and the fate of him whose name will ever be a monitor to kings — of him, who, in the plenitude of his power, played at football with crowns and sceptres; and who, though humbled in the dust, “Yet left a name at which the world grew pale, To point a moral, or adorn a tale.” Not far distant lie the fields of Aspern, Wagram, and Essling; and it was easy for fancy to people the out-stretching plain with the mighty army, at whose head the once humble Corsican stood, in the attitude of a conqueror demanding from a haughty people the surrender of their capital, and from the proudest family in Europe, a favourite daughter to be his wife! In the midst of many associations, mingled with feelings of curiosity, the Sclinell-wagen , after hav- ing passed along the wooden bridge which spans VIENNA. 235 the Danube, and rattled over about a mile of a broad carriage-crowded road, at length arrived at the barrier. Our passports having been taken from us by the officer on guard, and our bills of health carefully examined, we were presented with a card, which required us to parade ourselves at the Police- office within twenty-four hours. This over, we im- mediately began to thread the Faubourg ; we next trotted through the Leopold-stadt , crossed the Fer- dinand's Bruche , entered the Rothethurm Gate, and were at length happily landed at the Custom- house, where we had the first sample of that noise and bustle so characteristic of this crowded and busy capital. Our clothes and books, particu- larly the latter, were soon overhauled by the proper officer; we then called a fiacre , and in a twinkling found ourselves comfortably located in the hotel to which we had been recommended. Although it is only a few hours since we arrived, we have already visited St. Stephen’s Church, sunned ourselves on the Graben , and strolled through the shady walks of the Prater , which, however, at this season of the year, is almost de- 236 VIENNA. serted. When I have made a general tour of in- spection, and got rid of the excitement consequent on first impressions, I will write you at greater length; meanwhile, I may mention for your satis- faction, that though there have been many changes and improvements of late about the Old Town, yet appearances in other quarters indicate that the picture of Vienna, as given by our school-fellow Russell, is in the main very correct. Apropos of the ingenious little man; — is he as lively, witty, and conversational as ever? How does he get on at the bar? I hope to see him some day or other a Lord of Session. The principal alterations which have taken place of late, have been made on the esplanade and ram- parts which encircle the Stadt; and, even at this moment, there are some thousands employed in improving the extensive glacis. You are aware, that when the French were here in 1809, they took care to blow up a great portion of the battlements. This circumstance was perhaps not altogether un- fortunate, as it thus enabled the Government to improve them prodigiously. I have been told a VIENNA. 237 characteristic anecdote on the subject. While the French engineers were employed in making the necessary preparations for blowing up the works, a citizen, it is said, having stepped forward and inquired what they were about, one of the soldiers archly replied, “Nous irons embellir votre ville ! ” Although the Frenchman meant this merely as a joke, it has turned out a reality! The walks round— the ramparts, are about three miles and a-half. The ditches have been planted with trees, and the glacis has been laid out as gardens, open at all times to the public, and constituting a real benefit to every individual in Vienna. A walk on the ram- parts of the Stadt, is one of the most agreeable of pastimes, because it affords the finest prospect, not only of the wide extended suburbs, which are thus severed from the Old Town, but likewise opens up a view of the picturesque and romantic & ^0 country which surrounds the city. Perhaps we could not have chosen a more un- fortunate time to visit Vienna than the present. Cholera is said to be rapidly approaching, and as you may well believe, there is a universal dread of 238 VIENNA. its effects. In fact, every man, woman, and child, seem to be frightened out of their wits. But there is little wonder, for it has actually broken out within forty English miles of the city, and is said to be carrying off hundreds at the short notice of nine or ten hours! So great are the fears of the people, and so vigilant the precautions taken by the Government, that for every five houses there is a person appointed as a health-visitor; and when the cholera does arrive, as certainly it will, in spite of the strict cordon of troops which at present surround Vienna on every hand, every house in which the disease does appear, is immediately to be locked up and put under strict quarantine. Under these circumstances, we think it prudent to shorten our stay, not from the fear of danger to ourselves, but from the certainty of being subjected to a land quarantine in the adjoining States. In the midst of all the alarm which prevails, it happens curiously enough that the people of Vienna cannot give up their propensity for joking. Only think of a musician here having the other day published a set of Cholera Gallopades ! The VIENNA. 239 King of Holland’s declaration of war against Bel- gium, too, has given birth to a thousand witticisms. Quips, quiddities, and puns without number, have been levelled at his Majesty of Saur Crout, and his mock heroics have excited a universal titter over the town. Surely this piece of absurdity will not lead England into war. While touching on politics, I may mention, that here very little is known respecting the real state of Poland. Your quidnuncs in England, in fact, know far more about continental affairs than the good people of Vienna, whose inhabitants, although certainly sympathising with the sufferings of the Poles, are obliged to remain content with the news which the “ Beobachter” or “ Austrian Observer,” tells them, and which as the mere mouth-piece of Metternich, you may easily conceive, communi- cates as little political information to the people as possible. 240 VIENNA. LETTER XXVI. Lively Appearance of Vienna compared with the Dulness of Ber- lin, Dresden, and Prague — Heart-stirring Scene which the Kolh- markt, the Graben, and the Karnthnerstrasse daily present — Elasticity of Spirits arising from the Purity of the Atmosphere — Sans-Souci-ism the leading Characteristic of the Inhabitants of Vienna — their Love of good Eating Conspicuous — by no means Bacchanalians — Theatres — the Hof-Theatre at the Karnthner- Gate — Fanny Elsler and Mademoiselle Baseg — the Hof- Burg Theatre — Miss Muller and Mr. Hertzfeld — Mr. Seydelmann and Miss Theresa Peche — the Theatre an der Wien — Herr Krones — Theatre in the Leopold-stadt, the principal Favourite with the Populace, and the true Temple of Momus — Herr Schuster — Despotic Governments unfavourable to the Encouragement of Tragedy — Galleries of Art numerous — Collection of Paintings belonging to Prince Lichtenstein — Engravings belonging to Arch- Duke Charles — Vienna rich in Modern Statuary — Theseus con- quering the Centaur, by Canova, in the Volksgarden — splendid Monument to the Arch- Duchess Maria Christina, in the Church of the Augustines — Equestrian Statue of Joseph II. in the Joseph’s Platz. Vienna, 1831. I have now been some weeks amid the noise, the bustle, and the wonders of this lively and crowded capital, which, of all the cities of Germany, is ad- VIENNA. 241 mitted to bear the nearest resemblance to Paris and London. Berlin has its broad streets and splen- did palaces — Dresden its magnificent saloons of art, and its enchanting gardens — Prague its superb cloisters, and romantic position ; but over each and all of them the demon of dulness reigns paramount, and hence the never-failing satiety and ennui which speedily press upon such of their visitors as love to dwell amidst the busy haunts of men. What a contrast is presented by every thing here! If those cities want the cheerful and exciting bustle so common in Britain, Vienna has it to overflow- ing. Throughout her numerous streets and more numerous thoroughfares, the lower flat of many houses being pierced by a passage that connects one street with another, you encounter an endless stream of population, the extent and variety of which are only equalled by what you may have seen in London. As the crowd passes to and fro, you are struck with the resemblance, while, at every turn, you run the risk of being overturned by a carriage, a waggon, or a wheelbarrow , the last being the most annoying of all the street nuisances of this it 242 VIENNA. city. You may easily imagine the risk and danger which one runs from the confusion of carriages on the streets, which in the Stadt are for the most part crooked and narrow, when I tell you, that there are at least three thousand private chariots, and seven hundred hackney-coaches, constantly flying about, besides a countless host of eques- trians. The coachmen’s loud and continuous shout of “ Hoho!” is quite deafening. It is a thousand times worse than the “ Garde ” of the Prussian cabriolet-driver. Nothing can be more grating or offensive; and it is wonderful that such discordant notes do not put the fine musical ears of the in- habitants out of tune. You can scarcely conceive any scene more live- ly and heart -stirring than that presented by the j Kohlmarkt, the Graben, and the Karntnerstrasse , teeming, as they are, with all the rich, various, and peculiar characteristics of this busiest and most populous of capitals. The former may be called the Strand or Regent- Street of London.* * The population of Vienna in 1830, amounted to nearly 306,000 souls; about 54,000 live in the Stadt, and the rest in the Suburbs. VIENNA. 243 You have in these streets the most handsome and best filled shops, decked out with painted signs and insignia, many of which, for drawing and colouring, would not disgrace the walls of a British exhibition- room. You have there the best frequented and most splendid coffee-houses of a city, where the first coffee-house in Europe was established, and in front of which, the Turk, the Greek, the Armenian, the Jew, and the Gentile, are constantly to be seen amusing themselves, and realising, in respect to the variety of tongues spoken, no imperfect idea of Babel.* You have there also some of the largest and loftiest of those mansions, with their green jalousies and their flower-filled balconies, for which Vienna is so celebrated — houses containing, as one of them is known actually to do, upwards of two thousand inhabitants, and affording a yearly rent The annual births amount to about 10,000 or 12,000; the marriages to 3,000; and the deaths to about 4 per cent, of the population, or about 12,300. Nicolai has given the deaths in Vienna at 1 in 19 or 20. But this must be overrated. * The first coffee-house was established in Vienna, by a Pole called Koltschisky, so early as 1683. There are about sixty of these in the city, and some of them very elegant. 244 VIENNA. to its proprietors of not less than 170,000 florins! You there behold the fairest of Austria’s lovely daughters — who, I need hardly tell you, are the most sprightly of the Germans — either gratifying, like the women of other countries, their natural passion for dress and ornament, by visiting the various magazines of Nouveautes that are scattered over those fashionable resorts, or receiving the guerdon of admiration due to their beauty, from the hundreds of handsome military cavaliers who lounge there to court their smiles and their admi- ration. There, too, you find specimens of the costume, not only of all the dependencies of Aus- tria, but of every other country in the world; — the Hungarian in contrast with the Tyrolese — the Milanese with the Croat — the Turcoman with the Greek — the Pole with the Venetian, — all and each of them forming the most striking and variegated contrasts, in point of manners, language, and opin- ions. There, likewise, you experience the first visible tokens of your approach to the East — the first whispers of the voice which tells that you are nearing the land of Alla and the Giaour. In VIENNA. 245 short, you have there a scene of many-coloured life, of gaiety and enjoyment, which few cities present, and the effect of which on the mind and spirits of the beholder, is heightened in a tenfold degree by the clearness of the atmosphere, the balmy temperature of the air, and a serene and cloudless sky. A French author, whose name I forget, gravely ascribes the melancholy temperament and low spirits of the English, to the clouds of coal-smoke that constantly hover above their towns and cities. This profound genius must certainly have lived for some time at Vienna, where the total absence of coal-smoke has also been gravely said to be the cause of that elasticity of spirits for which the peo- ple are distinguished. But in truth, there are far more palpable causes for the joyous disposition of the Viennese. Their city possesses, among other exciting peculiarities, the atmosphere of a rich aris- tocratic court. It contains vast wealth, with every luxury under the sun; and, accordingly, whether in the Stadt , or in the widely extended Suburbs, one feels with irresistible force, the hilarity which 246 VIENNA. the combination of country air and city agremens produces; and such powerful stimuli, when daily swallowed, as they are here, can scarcely fail to beget good spirits. This is at least one of the causes which makes Vienna the happiest, the gay- est, and the most contented city in Europe. If it were possible for Aristippus to revisit the earth, I am persuaded that the merry old Grecian would make this capital his head-quarters. The leading characteristic of every inhabitant is, in fact, perfect Sans- Souci-ism — if we may use such a phrase — a sort of determination to enjoy the present moment in every possible way which the gratifica- tion of the senses can suggest, without a thought of the past, or a dream of the future. There is not, perhaps, another race in the world who make a greater god of their belly, or dedicate more time and thought to the science of Apicius, than the Viennese. At all hours of the day they are seen eating and gormandising. I have, for instance, observed a person, after having done justice to a dozen of dishes at three o’clock, and taken his coffee at four, sit down at nine, and make a repast VIENNA. 247 as if he had dined with Duke Humphrey for a fortnight! Then, what earnest and indefatigable worshippers they are of the Cyprian goddess ! If the business of the cook be their daily thought, the power of beauty is their nightly dream. But eating — everlasting eating — forms with them the chief charm of existence. It is here pursued in a most determined manner. I was not a little sur- prised to find, the first day I took my seat in the dining-room of our hotel, that the whole group of gourmands, previous to taking their places at the table, cast off their coats, as if they were going to have a regular set-to in the Fives Court! On inquiry, I learned that this cool, systematic mode of stuffing, is very generally practised throughout the city at this hot season of the year; and, what is worse, that so un-English a habit is not con- fined to the dining-rooms of hotels and restaura- teurs, but is even practised in the houses of some of the nobility. If a Viennese, however, indulge thus largely in the quantity as well as the quality of his food, he is by no means a Bacchanalian. Among the lower classes, a bottle of March beer , 248 VIENNA. and among the middle classes, a small bottle of prime Austrian , or a few glasses of Hungarian wine , are generally the sole accompaniments to the heaviest repast; the use of ardent spirits on such occasions, being quite unknown. Brandy-drinkers would here perish of inanition; they would find it impossible to obtain a drop of Cognac for love or money. The article known by the name of Brantwein throughout Austria, is a liquor so sweet in itself, that it would require an equal portion of Glenlivet to qualify it. We have in vain attempted to procure a drop of French Eau-de-vie; though considered an excellent safeguard against cholera, it is not permitted to be sold in the hotels, and we have not yet had impudence enough to enter an apothecary’s shop to inquire for it. If the Viennese may thus be accused of being belly -gods to excess, they are by no means inat- tentive to the gratification of the more refined senses. There are five theatres here, that nightly minister to the pleasure of the ear and the eye. In the Hof- Theatre at the Kamthnerthor , where operas are regularly performed, no music can be VIENNA. 249 better. There the amateur will find an orchestra, which in point of ensemble is unrivalled, and for choruses cannot be surpassed in Europe. Last night, I heard the opera of Masaniello performed in a style of excellence which defies any attempt at description. Frequently have I listened to the music of this masterpiece of Auber, in England; but I must honestly confess, that I never had a just idea of its power and its beauty, till I heard it in Vienna. The machinery, the decorations, and the dresses, were all that could be desired by the most fastidious and critical connoisseur. You could have fancied yourself within sight of Vesuvius, — in the gardens of the Chiaja on a festa, or in the Strada dei Pescatori of Naples itself. The Hof- Theatre is a very large house, having six complete rows of boxes, and a half cir- cle next the pit. The orchestra consists of sixty performers. And then the ballet! it is at once the delight and wonder of every beholder; what elegance ! what grace ! what splendid, speaking pan- tomime! Who that has ever seen Fanny Elsler , can imagine any thing more beautiful in nature? 250 VIENNA. —the sweetest of faces, with an angelic form, and the lightness of a fawn ! As a mere solo-dancer, Taglioni, no doubt, is more agile and astonishing; but for the expressive and soft-speaking pantomime, such as is given in Bluebeard, Fanny Elsler is greatly her superior. There the latter shines a constellation among lesser stars. Grace is indeed in all her steps, heaven in her eye. And then is there not the pretty little Mademoiselle Baseg , who plays the Dumb Girl of Portici, to the admiration of every male amateur in Vienna? and, assuredly, they have not the worst taste in the world. The little charmer is enough to turn even a cynic’s head. Who would be a Benedict, if such a fairy form would consent to be one’s companion through this gloomy world? But, in good sooth, companions of this caste are only for the eye; and here, per- haps, they too easily catch the youthful heart. Vienna is the plaee for a man to fall in love, if he be at all susceptible, twenty times in a day; and at night, thank heaven, to sleep as sound and peaceful, provided always that music does not break his rest, as though he were inspired with a VIENNA. 251 couple of pipes of opium! The fair damsels of Vienna have so little cruelty about them, that I suspect the truth of Korner’s lines are nowhere more strikingly exemplified than in this city: “ Love’s burning passion slumbereth never. Love’s burning passion waketh ever.” But enough of this badinage. The Hof-burg Theatre, which is dedicated to the performance of German tragedy and comedy, if not the largest, is by far the finest in Vienna. It resembles in some degree our Drury- Lane. It is both very clean and very well lighted, which are not generally characteristic of German theatres. The establishment of a national drama in Vienna, is but of modern date; and in some respects, this higher walk of dramatic performances is not quite so well patronised as in other towns of the north. The actors, however, are first-rate, and enjoy en- dowments and privileges which enable them to get through life more prosperously than most of our British heroes of “the sock and buskin.” The performers at this theatre have, after ten years’ service, a handsome pension settled upon them for 252 VIENNA. life; and if married, their widow is entitled to an annuity. Among the performers on this stage, I was particularly pleased with Miss Muller , per- haps the cleverest actress in genteel comedy on the German boards. I chanced to he present on her first appearance after a long illness, and I can scarcely give you any idea of the enthusiasm with which her entrance was hailed by a crowded and admiring audience. This performer is a very lady-like and interesting person; but her delicate appearance bespeaks, I fear, a decided tendency to the too common disease of this city — consumption. Mr. Herzfeld (whom you may remember I encoun- tered accidentally in the Hamburgh and Berlin post -wag en , and whom I have frequently met in private since I came here,) is also an excellent comedian — combining the talents of our English Matthews with those of Elliston and Emery. He is, as I formerly hinted, a most gentlemanly, well educated person, and talks English with the ease and purity of a native. Herr Sydelmann , who, as a tragedian, is considered next to Devrient at Berlin, is at present unfortunately absent from VIENNA. 253 Vienna, and accordingly I have not had an oppor- tunity of judging of his talents; and what is still more unfortunate, I have been prevented from see- ing the much-talked of Miss Theresa Peche , from that lady being upon the sick list. I am told that this young person plays Emilia Galotti, and char- acters of a similar kind, to admiration. They talk here of her powers as if she were another Miss O’Neil — the perfect child of nature, and pathetic beyond description. The Theatre an der Wien, as it is called, I vis- ited the other night, but was by no means pleased either with the performance or the performers. The pieces played here, are chiefly spectacles, in which horses are introduced; and although the one I saw was called in the play-bill a play of en- chantment, it had very little title to the appellation. It certainly did not enchant the spectators. This theatre, however, is the largest in Vienna, and is generally well attended. A Herr Krones appeared to me to be the best actor of the company, and it was easy to perceive that he was a particular fa- vourite with the audience. 254 VIENNA. The most popular theatre here, is that of the Leopold-stadt, which owes the decided preference it receives, simply to its being conducted in strict accordance with the taste of the great mass of the people. The plays, or rather farces, performed here, are in the Vienna dialect, and they breathe the very spirit and life of the Vienna populace. This theatre is the true temple of Momus — the arena on which the national character for broad humour is painted in colours so lively and natural, as to prove a never-failing source of irrepressible mirth. Within the walls of this shrine of Casperl, every mouth is on the gape for a guffaw ; and scarce a sentence is uttered, from the rise to the fall of the curtain, which is not greeted with roars of laughter. One circumstance must be noticed, as indicative of the power of “the million” even in Austria. The police, though exceedingly strict in the regular theatres, are said to wink hard at the political jokes that are frequently cracked on this stage; while the pulse of the public is not unfrequently felt here, by somewhat the same means as the old Council of Ten used to adopt VIENNA. 255 at Venice, through the tricks and colloquies of Punchinello. Herr Schuster is the Magnus Apollo of this popular establishment. You may easily imagine, that under so jealous a despotism as that of Austria, the legitimate drama does not flourish in proportion to farce and spec- tacle. The reason is obvious. It lies in the dread of liberal opinions, which find no place in the latter, while the former is filled with them to repletion. Thus, the themes of Mozart, Weber, and Rossini, because they excite no jealousy, are freely pa- tronised by the Government; but it is altogether different with the productions of Schiller and Shakspeare, which speak to the intellectual sym- pathies of human nature, and teach the glorious lesson to be free. Until, therefore, there be a less strict censorship of the press in Austria, the stage of Vienna will rather injure than improve the regu- lar drama of Germany. Of the thousand and one sights in Vienna, which a stranger necessarily visits, there are, per- haps, none so interesting as the galleries of art. T o the lover of painting, of sculpture, and engrav- *256 VIENNA. ing, there is here an inexhaustible field of pleasure and amusement. In the Palace of Prince Lichten- stein, for instance, there are no fewer than twenty - five splendid apartments filled with exquisite origi- nals of the Italian, Flemish, French, and Dutch masters. The collection amounts to 1,648 pictures. Here an amateur might revel for months together, and after he had finished his survey, find no end to his admiration and enjoyment. It is, perhaps, the richest private collection in the world. You may judge of its magnificence, when I state, that it contains chefs