THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY From the collection of Julius Doerner, Chicago Purchased, 1918. 9 \A FSS€ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding frorjr , University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates / \ https://archive.org/details/landvoiegleeorviOOfurn J2w r “ / d?fL-/d , &i t a % ' ■77 c LANDVOIEGLEE OR VIEWS ACROSS THE SEA. A NEW EDITION OP THE “OLD WORLD.” BY WILLIAM FUKNISS. WITH A MAP AND NUMEROUS TINTED LITHOGRAPHS. NEW-YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 200 BROADWAY. PHILADELPHIA : GEO. S. APPLETON, 164 CHESNUT-STREET. M.DCCC.L. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by WILLIAM FURNISS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York. e/p>7 IZ'NtC F?ee PREFACE. The reader must not expect from the “ Old World ” any egotistical prologue about the necessities, virtues, or occasions of the author. We wrote because we liked to ; and among the retrospects of travel we found repose and consolation after the toils of daily professional labor. That, “ labor ipse voluptas,” has brought forth the fruits of our wanderings from Eng- land a,nd across the Continent, by way of the Danube to Stamboul and Alexandria. We have sought to give raciness to the style, agreeableness to the substance. We trust that with the author, his readers, both those who are his friends, and those with whom he seeks to be acquainted in this form, may come to the conclusion of Solomon, that there is nothing new under the sun ; and, that all Americans may rest in 467066 IV PREFACE. that happy conceit, which boasts of the superior con- dition of the New World, in the three cardinal points of a nation’s glory — the general diffusion of the com- forts and conveniences of life, the diffusion of educa- tion among the people, and the universal enjoyment of civil and religious liberty. In the heartfelt desire of attaining to that happy result of the poet, “ Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile, cum dulci,” I place this book upon the broad surface of public opinion. I close by the suggestion, that these coun- tries were visited prior to the Revolutions of 1848, (an explanation due to the republican sympathies of every American) ; and that, to those events which have subsequently occurred, so as to completely change the political aspect of the world, there was found a cordial supporter, although not a personal witness, in the AUTHOR. Bloomingdale , N. Y., January 3 1850. CONTENTS ENGLAND. Liverpool Chester Warwick Castle . Stratford-on-Avon Oxford London London Sights . Dover • THE CONTINENT Holland Ostend Antwerp . BELGIUM. Brussels FRANCE. Paris St. Cloud St. Denis Fontainebleau Lyons . VI CONTENTS. Geneva . SWITZERLAND. PAGE 70 Mont Blanc . . . 72 Martigny . • • 73 Vevay . , . . 74 Berne • . • • • 80 Bernese Oberlands . . • • 83 Saint Gothard Road • • • • • 89 Righi Culm . • • • • 93 Basle . • • • • 96 Heidelburg . . • • • 97 Frankfort- on - Main ... • • 99 The Rhine . . . . 100 Cologne . . . 102 Amsterdam . HOLLAND. 104 La Haag . . • . • . 109 Rotterdam . . . 112 Saardam . • • . . 114 Brock , , . r . . . 116 Hamburg . • . 119 Copennagen . DENMARK. 123 PRUSSIA. Stettin 131 Berlin .•••••. 132 Potsdam ........ 135 SAXONY. Leipsig ....... 140 Dresden ........ 141 Saxon Switzerland . . . . . . 143 CONTENTS. Vll Prague . » BOHEMIA. PAGE 148 Ratisbon . BAVARIA. . 151 Munich . * 152 Augsburg . . 155 TYROL. Innspruch Salzburg AUSTRIA. 161 . 164 Ischl Vienna . . 169 171 VOYAGE TO CONSTANTINOPLE. Danube sail Presburg Pesth Semblin Orsova . • Gallatz . . 183 184 . 187 189 . . 192 196 TURKEY. Bosphorus Stamboul Pera Bazaars Mosque . Goksu Sights Eyoub . . 201 204 . 207 . . 211 . 213 215 . 217 218 Vlll CONTENTS. Firman ...... Gossip ..... Sorties ...... Bairaam ..... St. Stephano ..... Koran ..... Manners and Customs .... Houses ..... Baths ...... Street Life ..... VOYAGE TO EGYPT. Sail through the Archipelago Rhodes ..... TEN DAYS IN THE LAZARETTO. Quarantine ...... Motley Company ..... Officials ...... Purifications ...... Salutations •••••• Escape ..•••• PAGE . 221 232 . 234 240 . 246 251 . 253 254 . 257 260 . 265 274 . 2S0 282 . 284 286 . 288 290 %ifA nf Slliistratinus. MONT BLANC, ALPS. MER DES GLACES, MONTAVERT. LAKE LEMAN, FROM VEVAY. FALLS OF THE AAR LAKE OF THE FOUR CANTONS. LAKE OF LOWERTZ, SCHWEITZ. BASTEI, SAXON SWITZERLANDS. THE ELBE, BELOW SCHANDAU. BAVARIAN ALPS, TYROL. ACHERNSEE, BAVARIAN TYROL. BERCHTESGARTEN, NEAR KONIGSEE. HOF, IN AUSTRIAN TYROL. iEGILE, ON THE DANUBE. MOUTH OF THE BOSPHORUS. HARBOR OF RHODES. ROOM IN LAZARETTO. E UROP E furnish ad by ,J. H. COLT ON A m #6' Cedar S* New Cork. - 1849 . 25 18 STATES frc. 1 Andorra, (Spain J Belgium,. (withLuxemburg &. CJ . Cracow 4 Denmark (Ho Istein A c G. C.) " Trance ( England Great } Wales x> • r Scotland Britain / r ^ \ Ireland Greece Anhalt Jfernberg Coethen Dessau Austria (about % Get'nxan) Baden Bavaria Bremen Brunswick Frankfort Hamburg Hanover Hesse Cassel Darmstadt kj Hamburg ^ I Hohen. z.o Hern _ Hrching, ! Siamarrj ^ | Lichenstein ^ < Lipp p Beta io Id Signiaringen Schaueriberg Lxibec Mecklenburg Schwerin Str elite. Nassau (dderibui'g Prussia (about % German*} Reuss (Lobstein&Greitz) Saxony SaxeAUeriburg Coburg 8k. Gotha Meiningeiv HiZdb erghaus en Weimar Eisetxach* S clcwartzburg (Bndolstadt A jj Wnldeck (Stmdershixusen/ THE OLD WORLD • • It was high noon of Sunday, the 16th of May, when we sailed out of Boston, in the good steamer Caledonia. No day could be more propitious ; the winds were blowing free and fresh, and all our passengers were on the quarter-deck, watching the distant, now dim, and at last fading outlines of the yclept “ Athens of America/’ Outside, the sea became rough, and dark clouds passed over the hitherto serene sky of noon. The up- turned ocean sported wildly with the ship’s sides, to the worriment of our poor stomachs. Vaunting and exult- ing landsmen were soon “ sickbed o’er with pale cast of visage ,” at the bare mention of that dreaded phan- tom, sea-sickness t The most desponding grow desper- ate ; and, taking violent hold of the bannisters, plunge furiously down the gangway, and fall exhausted into 14 ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL. bed. Night closes upon a few stubborn salts on deck, who remain quietly smoking in the cuddy. Two days of damp, foggy, and heavy weather were a fit preparation for our entrance into Halifax bay. In four hours we landed, and took in our mails, and were off again to sea. No sooner out of port than the winds changed to fresh and fair, and our vessel was directed to her points for the voyage, the monotony of which was only relieved by the sight of a whale, and a view of another of the company’s steam-ships, a few days out of Liverpool. On Saturday, the 29th, the Welsh and Irish coasts were gladly watched during the whole day. Off Holy- head we took our pilot, under whose guidance we ran up the Mersey in gallant style, with a strong tide favor- ing us, and landed at the wharf about eleven o’clock, p. m., having first passed our valises under the eye of the custom-house officer. We lodged at the quiet and comfortable “ Waterloo” in Ranelagh-street, kept by Mr. Lynn, famous for his compositions of meat gravies and sauces, and were welcomed to our inn by as smart and pretty-looking bar-maids as ever graced the inside of frilled caps. There is no resisting the exorbitant bill thrust at you by one of these pretty maids ; and, as she lisps out, “ only one pound six, for the day, sir,” you have no resource but to pay up, take her “ thank ye, sir,” and ' Holyhead and Light-House / CITY OF LIVERPOOL, 15 a kiss, if you can. We stepped right gladly into those snug beds after two restless weeks at sea, and fell asleep with a confused dreaming of bar-maids and England, our overcome sea-sickness, and our homes. Next morning we rode all over the city, and down to the docks, probably the finest in the world, and so snugly constructed that all the shipping lies unobserved within their walls, and precludes an adequate idea of the vast commerce of Liverpool. The rapid rise of the tides renders them indispensable, and they afford ample shelter and protection from storm or accident. At Birkenhead we took the ferry for Wood side, and, in passing, obtained a fine outline of the city’s form. We were much amused at the numerous little low black steam-tugs which ply as ferries to various points ; such determination appeared in the puffing, spirited little monsters, which in all respects resembled our horse paddle-boats, save their bright fire-red chim- neys, which exposed their smoke and their motive power. From Woodside ferry we walked to its “Park,” a large extent of ground laid out in shrubbery and shade- trees, and figured in every variety of hill and dale, ar- tificial water and bridge, pagoda and palace, by which it is possible to convert nature into landscape garden- ing. Some poor deluded natives resort hither to enjoy this fiction of rural felicity, and get up pastorals over 16 STREET SCENES. the frog-ponds ; and, if I mistake not, we disturbed the tender hours of a groom, who was wooing his mistress’s chambermaid under a Chinese bridge. One is sur- prised at the tameness of the sparrows, which fly unmo- lested about the most frequented streets of the city and its environs. On our return, we visited those quarters of the city inhabited by the poor. What misery presented itself in every nook and corner ! Gin-shops under the omi- nous titles of “ wine vaults,” “ spirit vaults,” abound, with all their gilt and glare, amidst the squalid houses which support them. Their inhabitants are crowded into every cellar and alley-way ; the poor beset you at every step. Public inns become the prescriptive alms- right of the more hardened beggar. Strangers are sin- gled out and attacked. Vice stalks at night, and shame- lessly demands the wages of sin ; whilst lust, chained to hunger, hurry their victims to the grave. Never was misery so universal. Such scenes offer a strong contrast to the wealth of this great commercial mart. On Monday we found our fellow-passengers at the customs, undergoing strict scrutiny of baggage. These examinations are the bugbears of travellers, and you have to submit with a good grace. This mere formality is overcome by a ready delivery of keys. All tobacco and English reprints are especially forbidden ; but by a quiet fee to the porter, and another to the steward, CHESTER. 17 one manages to get off without further difficulty. Hav- ing obtained our baggage, we returned to the hotel, and made preparations for our departure for Chester. On crossing the Mersey to Birkenhead, our atten- tion was called to a singular illustration of the equality of color in England. On board was a very respectable negro, escorting an elegantly-dressed white lady, who was fondling a molasses-colored baby, their mutual off- spring. A few minutes’ walk brought us to the railroad sta- tion for Chester, and we were conveyed, in about two hours, through the darkness of the night, to the walls of this famous and curious old town. We took a fly, and were soon landed under the arcades of the Albion. Our landlady, with usual English inn civility, ushered us up to snug quarters in her attic, provided with those little comforts which so peculiarly invite on new ac- quaintance with one’s chamber ; where, after having eyed all to my satisfaction, I retained no further recol- lections of that night, from the time I mounted a small pair of stairs to a very fat bed, and was soon wrapt in a dream about some queer old gable ends of a very quaint old town, caught by moonlight, mixed up with visions of boots and hot water in the morning. By early dawn we were out, and seeing the quaint and funny town of Chester. There never was a place made up of such odds and ends. It is a curious, and 18 WALLED TOWN OF CHESTER. about the only , relic of the walled towns of “ Old Eng- land/' It is a singular patchwork of Saxon antiquity, Roman cohorts, middle-aged persecution, and modern improvements. Here a bit of railroad, there a bit of church. Now walls overtopping houses give sly winks into private bed-rooms, and crowd out bits of the town ; then pieces of town hang over the walls, where strag- gling abutments thrust out their elbows over the ditch. Here a Roman hot-bath, there a Saxo-Gothic cathe- dral. Beyond, three rows of galleries peep curiously over the street, and almost project to the opposite piaz- zas ; anon, the streets themselves lose their way among this labyrinth of crazy tenements, whilst the whole vil- lage is jumbled in such wild confusion of shapes and design, as if the ancient carpenter who built here had taken his houses and thrown them at random on the parish. To appreciate it fully, you must walk all round the lines which encompass it ; enjoy the fresh and glowing landscape of the champaign and broken country ; watch the meanderings of the river Dee ; and admire the noble freedom of that superb bridge, of a single arch, which spans its quiet waters. See how well pre- served are these mural defences ! One becomes en- thusiastic, antiquarian, in spite of himself ; and so would I, had not the cravings of appetite called me back to “ mine inn." ETON HALL. 19 Whilst breakfasting, we had rather an amusing conversation with a nice old Welsh lady, on America and its people ; in which she showed a woful degree of ignorance, besides coming to this conclusion : that my fat friend was English, because stout; and I, American, from my natural infirmity of being slender. After which, we took a cab for Eton Hall ; having first been warned of the necessity of feeing the gate- keeper, if he showed any disposition to shut us out. Into this seat, belonging to the Earl of Westminster, we entered, by its pretty new lodge. At first the porter was stern in his refusal, but was easily quieted by our prepared half-crown. You approach the man- sion by a long avenue of forest shade, and ride a mile through its beautiful park. As the house was in re- pair, we saw nothing, save the garden, but were well repaid by a look at the plan of that which is properly called Landscape Gardening, and generally adopted in all ornamental grounds attached to noble estates. The end of this art is, to unite trees of different varieties, in graceful and pleasing groups ; so as by difference of foliage, and dispositions of light and shade, to produce harmonious and pleasing general effects. A certain portion of land, near the mansion, is usually laid out in shrubbery, intermixed with shade- trees, and encircled by beds of flowers, also arranged with a view to a happy disposition of color and effect. 20 BIRMINGHAM. Beyond the “ Hall,” under a neatly constructed porch, we observed a well preserved Roman relic, which, evidently, had been an altar dedicated to the nymphs of the fountain near which it was discovered. This whole country bears indications of the presence of the “ Roman Legion.” We returned thence, and took the morning train for Birmingham, via Clewes. Our ride through the many way stations, gave us a fleeting view of the surrounding country; and, as the sunlight, flitting over hill and dale, was alternately obscured and re- lieved by passing clouds, its effects on the landscape were highly picturesque. The vivid green of velvet lawns, the rich verdure of the rolling plain, and the strict preservation of shade-trees, with the careful cul- ture of the farms, and tidy look of the neatly-trimmed hawthorn hedges, lent a peculiar charm to the aspect of that fertile district. At Birmingham, we stopped at the “ Royal,” the new hotel of the railroad company ; and thence, started out to view the sights of this mammoth manufactory. Here I first felt the influence of a dense population, and watched its movements, until lost in the wilderness of its streets ; — so absorbed was I in the contemplation of the wretched condition of its crowded and overworked inhabitants, and the dis- parity between the estate of the laborer and that of WARWICKSHIRE WARWICK CASTLE. 21 those who fatten on the fruits of his industry. An artisan only can revel in the smoke and steam of this city. Out of clatter, smoke, and monumental chimneys, and away by the cars for Leamington, England’s great Spa, the resort of fashion and blood, in the very heart of Warwickshire; then up to the doors of the * Regents,” and hire a fly, and away to the castle. I was fortunate in meeting my companions, who had preceded me to Warwick Lodge. After passing through the gate, from the road cut through solid rock, the noble form of this turreted castle burst suddenly in view ; and is by far the boldest and most pictur- esque sight one has of this antique pile, clustering with its masses of ivy. We passed through the inner gate into the hall, and were shown about by the house- keeper, who acted as cicerone for visitors. She had all the paintings, armories and furniture of the palace, properly catalogued in her memory. Although we were bored by her particularities, we feared to disturb her order, lest she might return to her beginning. From the palace, we passed to the Beauchamp Tower, whence we enjoyed a glorious panorama of the sur- rounding country. Beyond the garden, in the green- house, the famous Warwick vase was shown, and a description of its fall and damage most faithfully de- scribed by the gardener, for which an extra fee. 22 st. mary’s church. The whole aspect of the castle is imposing, and its landscapes are charming. Here is that varied beauty which harmonizes in the unison of art with nature, and fills both mind and eye with satisfaction. You are carried back to the days of English chivalry ; his- torical associations hallow this spot ; and memory reverts to the olden time, when “ king-maker War- wick ” ruled this domain, which Queen Bess thought more suited to a monarch than a subject. St Mary’s Church, belonging to the family, is an object of special interest, from its many curious relics and monuments, illustrating the history of those “ merrie days of England.” It is prized for having been Queen Anne’s private chapel, the interior decorations of which are truly curious and precious. Here, I first observed those marble sarcophagi of warriors in state ; monuments which afford such curious pictures of their day, that they may be studied, with advantage, by an- tiquary and artist. Ere this, our party was wrought to a high pitch of enthusiasm, occasioned by the novelty of these sights ; and nothing would discharge their zest, but a visit to a printman, to obtain drawings of interiors of church and castle : so anxious were we to exhaust his stock, that lots were drawn as to who should be first served. I have often thought of that scene, and of the nature of that shopkeeper’s after-thoughts. No RUINS OF KENILWORTH. 23 doubt he felt the advantage which he possessed, of being nearer than many of his brethren to the locale of that freshness and eagerness for purchase, which wears off as experience and travel increase, and the coin in one’s purse grows low. We calmed down, in that ride to Kenilworth, which led through one of those pretty, quiet bridle- paths often met with here. One is not fully sensible of the powerful impress of these ruins, until fairly within their crumbling walls. There is a poetic and ethereal fervor which electrifies the mind, when brought to the perception of the mouldering and fallen fabrics of the past, not unlike those phosphoric emis- sions which shine from the core of decaying matter. One’s sympathies are irresistibly enlisted in their favor. A sense of departed greatness, the recollections of those glorious days of pomp and tournament, the mournful lesson of human frailty ; all unite to hallow the sight of this spot, and make it difficult to remove from the contemplation of what was magic in its crea- tion, and yet still beautiful in ruin. We passed thence to Stoneleigh Abbey, so called from the present Lord Leigh, who erected his palace over the walls of an ancient monastery. The ap- proach was through a charming woodland park and garden. The cloisters of the court still remain, indi- cating their Saxon origin by the peculiar oval of that 24 LEAMINGTON STRATFORD-ON-AVON. arch ; and the new hall still retains part of the wain- scoting round the refectory formerly used by the monks. The collection of paintings and statuary is well selected ; the interior decorations and furniture of the most costly kind. Our return home, by a different road, gave us new and more pleasing views of the abundance of this fertile shire. We spent the rest of the day in strolling about the charming village of Leamington, the resort of the nobility and fashion. Its edifices are of so costly a character, that it has been termed, a city of palaces. The waters of this Spa come lukewarm from the fount, and in bitterness of taste surpass the most revolting species of horse salts. Our jaunty tilbury rattles to the door, drawn by two spirited bays, and led by a mounted postillion with red coat, jockey-cap, and “ tops then, with a snap of the whip, we are off for Stratford-on-Avon. The very horses seemed touched with the spirit of the party, and as our gay postillion rose and fell in his saddle, he jockeyed as gracefully as if for fox or steeple chase. One hour or so brings us to the “ White Lion ” of Stratford, close to the quarters of the im- mortal bard. We first drank long draughts of our landlord’s bitter ale, and then walked a few steps to the “ House of William Shakspeare,” so painted on SHAKSPEARE HOUSE. 25 its pendant sign. We took in every word which our cicerone related ; and would have fought any one who questioned the authenticity of the spot. The very air was scented with the breathings of his muse : we be- lieve that sign ; and, if any one doubts it, we took a copy of it. Few, indeed, are the relics of the poet, or his chattels within. Descendants have divided what strangers have not robbed. The walls are obscured by ten thousand names of scribblers. How few re- flect, when gratifying their own vanity under a spe- cious tribute to the dramatist, that the flies of summer may also drop their own insignificant ciphers, and burst the bubble of such ephemeral immortality. The floor and beams alone remain of what was once the bard’s. Much more satisfaction is derived from visit- ing the poet’s tomb, in that village church on the banks of the gentle Avon. The very grave-digger in the yard, performing his duties at a grave, reminded me of the churchyard scene in Hamlet ; and, when you cross the greensward, under the oriel window of the transept, to sit down on the banks of Avon, “ Where our own Shakspeare, nature’s child, Warbled his native woodnotes wild,” you almost fancy the brook to be that in which Ophelia was drowned, or the swan of Avon floating on the bosom of those waters. 26 WOODSTOCK. We hired a boat and rowed on the river, to become more familiar with its dreamy shores ; whilst the illu- sion was livelily sustained by a cup of “good old sack/’ with the host of the “ Black Swan,” near by. We re- turned to the “ Lion,” and soon after dinner ordered post-chaises ; then were off for Woodstock, forgetful of the exorbitant charges of the inn, and its want of comfort. The road thither, running through a beau- tifully undulating country, passes by villages whose thatched cottages and quiet little churches are familiar to our early reading. We were surprised to find the land so thinly settled, and missed the presence of our neat and whitewashed cottages. What few villagers we saw, were huddled together in miserable hamlets, far removed from the scenes of their daily labor. The farms are let out to general farmers, who hire these serfs to work them, and are seldom honored with the presence of their lordly proprietors ; and, again, many acres of cultivable soil lie waste and unprofitable, for rabbit warrens and preserves. About nine o’clock, p. m., we reached Woodstock, famous for its buckskin gloves, and put up at the “ Bear,” of which mention is made by Scott, in “ Ken- ilworth.” It is still no less celebrated for its larder and cheer. We were a merry party to discuss a veni- son steak, or a rabbit stew ; and, as we grew warm with wine and draught, we became patriotic ; swore BLENHEIM CITY OF OXFORD. 27 and raved about British tyranny and oppression, mo- nopoly of landed estates, and the corn laws : a proper and healthy discharge of our pent-up democracy, which had been two weeks at sea, and only three days in England. I sat up after the rest had retired, and had a long chat with my host, whom I found intelligent on all topics of interest to the poorer classes. We spoke of the Duke, of the palace, of all matters of the day ; until I had spun out all my recollections of Eng- lish history, and charmed my fancy by visions of quiet English country-life, and trout fishing in the brooks of Woodstock. Next morning we visited Blenheim Castle, built by the nation, in the reign of Anne, a gift to John, Duke of Marlborough, “ the Defender and Preserver of Great Britain/’ Its grounds and gardens are beautifully laid out ; the order of its architecture abominable ; its gallery of paintings fair, of which the “ Titians” are peculiar and apart ; the library well selected and rare : but its lord and proprietor is a drunken sot, an unwor- thy scion of his ancestor, whose whole conduct shows the absurdity of making those dukes who have not common virtues. We rode that afternoon to Oxford, and had time to visit several of its colleges, beginning with Magdalene, where, in the beautiful refitting of the old church, we 2 28 addison's walk — bodleian library. admired a specimen of sculpture in marble, round the altar screen, which rivalled the antique in finish. Among the mementos in New College, the Bishop of Wickham’s Crosier recalled the primitive simplicity and persecutions of the early English Church ; whilst “ Addison’s Walk” seemed pregnant with the spirit of that model of purity and grace in literature. There cannot be a more impressive spectacle than the “Main Street” of this classic city, amid the array of colleges on either side : no spot where such pleasing memories crowd upon the mind. Starting at the bridge, you view the river, which was once the ford of oxen, from whence its name ; and, as you pass each edifice, which seems a temple to some divinity of learn- ing, each bearing with it its own hallowed associations, and gathering around it the halo of its great and wise, you pause awhile to gaze upon the Norman features of Saint Peter’s in the East, with its curious old Saxon crypts ; and then, in turn, to wonder at “ Brazen Nose ” and the Bodleian Library, which seem familiar. You pass on to the “Hall,” where Charles convened his parliament, after retiring before the Roundheads from London ; and go beyond, to view that cross- marked pavement, where died Latimer, Cranmer, and Ridley, first martyrs to religious liberty, whose monu- mental Gothic shrine is but a cold and heartless sar- Christ’s church — London. 29 casm on that parent University, who educated her children only to burn them at the stake. Christ’s Church is the school for divinity ; hence emanated the famous “ Oxford Tracts.” It is a curious relic of the ancient architecture of the town. We entered as the choristers were chanting the daily morning service, and were deeply impressed by the sweet solemnity of their well-attuned responses. In the chapel are some beautiful sarcophagi of worthies lying in state, and some rare old Saxon tiles imbedded in the pavement of the lecturn. To crown our visit, Dr. Pusey appeared, as we were leaving ; he seemed a part of the antiquity of that church ; and as he flitted mysteriously by, wrapped in his own musings or devo- tions, it was naturally suggested, how easily association with antiquity and a life in cloisters might surround a Roman with the religious goblins of the past, and in- duce new maniacs to wander among old tombs. The quiet seclusion of the University has been lost in the din and noise of the steam-cars, which took us that afternoon to London, driven along the last fifty miles at the rate of one mile a minute. We caught but a bird’s-eye view of the noble pile of Windsor. One is dropped so suddenly into the bustle and noise of this great metropolis, that your first impressions are almost snatched away in the excitement of each suc- cessive scene. From the moment you arrive at Pad- 30 TRAFALGAR SQUARE. dington until you reach the door of your hotel, one continuous, dense, and active population crowds upon the sight ; and as you pass over Temple Bar into the narrower limits of the city, it swells into a tide of liv- ing heads. I was first struck with those walking signs, moving around on two pair of protruding boots. The dense and crowded confusion of the Strand led me to seek new quarters at Morley’s, in Trafalgar Square. The situation of this hotel is not surpassed in London. From my windows I view the Nelson Monument, with the statues, fountains, and the fine portico of the Na- tional Gallery ; in front, Northumberland House, with its drooping escutcheon (emblem of its lord’s demise) ; and, afar off, Charing-Cross, with its fine equestrian statue. My first sight and constant landmark was “ Saint Paul’s/’ with its ever conspicuous cupola domi- nating London : — mausoleum of lost centuries, and second only of earth’s monuments, which ranks Chris- topher Wren next to Michael Angelo. Such vast pro- portions and magnitude seize upon the soul, and lead our thoughts to heaven. The impress of Divinity is potent under such sublimity of form. The English are a church-going people : on Sun- day the whole town is afloat, and the Strand, so full on week-days, is crowded and thronged on the Sab- bath. At Saint-Martin’s-in-the-Fields, I listened to a HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT. 31 sermon by Archdeacon Robinson. I observed no peculiarity in the forms of worship, other than those representatives of royalty in the persons of two portly beadles, with their uniforms of red, supporting their maces with dignity. We strolled, after church, to the New Houses of Parliament, still in progress, which, when finished, will present a fine front on the Thames. Parliament-street contains, with Lombard, most of the government build- ings. Westminster Bridge, which is the nearest to the House of Commons, gives a pleasing view of life on the Thames, and a grand diorama of the distant city. Passing thence through Regent’s to Hyde Park, we come to the Hyde Park Corner and Apsley House, nearly opposite which, is that celebrated equestrian statue of the Duke, so cleverly and justly caricatured by Punch. Next morning we attended the review of the Horse Guards, commanded by Lord Londonderry, which is one of the best equipped bodies in England, and made up of picked men. The presence of the Grand Duke Constantine, of Russia, lent some interest to the occa- sion. We were somewhat amused at his Highness’s indifference, as his mien indicated that such reviews were matters of course at home. Thence we went to Kensington Palace and Gar- dens. These grounds, which lie close to the Serpen- 32 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. tine River (the resort of fashionable suicides, who are kindly provided by the Humane Society with a boat), are prettily laid out in walks and flower beds, and much frequented by ladies, who stroll here awhile in the morning. Passing out, by the lower gate of the Park, we stopped a moment to view the lancers at their morning drill, and there took the omnibus. In a few minutes we were at the Poet’s Corner, on our way to Westminster Abbey. The secluded nook of the poets’ monuments first claims notice on entering, and our poetic associations make us familiar with the bust of the great within. The next object of interest is the superb Chapel of Henry the Seventh. Too many have already done justice to the beauties of this hallowed spot. Those silent and powerful feelings which arise spontaneously, and are suggested by a contact with things sacred, are the meetest tribute which can be paid by the scholar or the traveller. From “ grave to lively,” I was led to visit Madame Tussaud’s collection of wax-figures in the evening. In doing this I was guided more by a taste for the absurd than any hope of improvement in art. It is sometimes well to watch the trivial springs of our minor actions, which account for the successful workings of humbug. I was curious to observe its relation with English cha- racter, and was satisfied to learn that the type of Mrs. LONDON SIGHTS TOWER. 33 Jarley, in London, stood no less marked than its anti- type, the mermaid, at Barnum’s, in New-York. Who goes for the jolly life of London, let him walk to Hungerford landing, and jump aboard one of the halfpenny or twopenny ferries which ply the river in all directions. It is a constant scene of diversion, to drop indifferently on any one, and go wherever it may please. You get a glimpse of all the buildings by the water’s edge, and as you run under the bridges, your steam-tub most respectfully doffs his pipe, as if in reverence to the Queen’s authority. Besides, it is- the nearest way of going to the Tower ; or you may stop at London Bridge, and walk through Lower Thames-street, to view the shipping and docks, with the wine-vaults. At the Tower, you take a yeoman guide, equipped in his proper dress and halberd, who shows you the Armory and Sir Walter Raleigh’s prison. The collec- tion is interesting, so far as it presents a historical view of the use, abuse, and discontinuance of all arms and weapons of war, from earliest times to the period of Charles the Second ; and you may see there some curious instruments for the torture of poor prisoners, or for the extortion of evidence under the rack. The regalia in the jewel-room are worthy of notice merely from their association with the wearers. My sym- pathies were most enlisted for the head which once 34 WAPPING TUNNEL ST. PAUL’S. rested in the crown of Anne Bullen. Passing thence across the court-yard, that dark stain on the pavement marks the spot where queens were beheaded. The old Tower Church beyond tells of the burial of those victims who died here under confinement ; and that gloomy recess in the wall within, shows marks of a scaffolding where males were executed. As you ap- proach the outer gate, your guide whispers that two little princes were murdered in that room ; and, just above, he points his staff' at the little grated window, where Queen Elizabeth was only once confined. What a memorial of murder, tyranny, and blood is that Tower ! A walk through Wapping soon brought me to the Tunnel. It is a very damp walk for a stranger, under the oozing bed of the Thames ; whilst one has visions of sea-weed, soft-shelled clams, and of drowning, for you are literally over your head in water. In the alcoves of the arches are little shops for the sale of trinkets and “ Dioramas of the Tunnel.” Their women shopkeepers told me their abodes were rather moist, and sales very slow. I returned again to London Bridge, and walked into Saint Paul’s, for an interior. There is a disgraceful charge of four shillings and sixpence for visiting all parts of this church, and no one should pay it for try- ing to catch a panorama of London from the Ball, NATIONAL GALLERY. 35 through a fog ; but stay down stairs, pay twopence to the saucy gruff sexton or beadle, and study the noble proportions of the interior, the perfect curvature of the dome, and the many grand monuments which adorn the walls and niches ; but do not forget the tomb of the builder. I met a friend as I stepped out of Saint Paul’s ; we went quietly together round the corner, into the “Black Swan,” famous for its porter, and regaled our- selves with “heavy wet,” and “half-and-half.” You want a friend to tell you where to get beefsteaks in London, especially if you are lodging at your inn. We went afterwards to the National Gallery, in Traf- algar Square, not to hurry over the water colors, but to admire that collection of paintings which has some choice gems of the Old Masters that often haunt you, even among the galleries of Italy. Grisi sang at Covent Garden in the evening. The company this winter was far better selected than that of the Opera, although Jenny Lind was there. Grisi never was surpassed in Norma, for she has that rare combination of physique and voice necessary to per- fect a singer. Her acting was inimitable and epic, and Casta Diva was uttered in the fulness of her powers. The house was so crowded that we were obliged to stand during the whole evening ; but our fatigue was forgotten, under the spell of her warblings. 2 * 36 TEMPLE CHURCH JENNY LIND. Next day was set apart for the Museum— the most noble institution, devoted to the pursuit of science, in Europe. Besides the collections in botany, zoology, and mineralogy, those of antiquities and Elgin marbles are the most remarkable and interesting in the world. One could spend weeks in the examination of its curi- osities, without entering within the treasures of the library. Within Temple Bar stands Temple Church, a relic of the Crusaders, built after their return, from the ori- ginal of the Holy Cross, at Jerusalem, which, with its modern additions, completes a perfect structure. We whiled away most of the morning in viewing its monuments, which, during the recent renovation of the edifice, were restored and set aside in the outer gallery of the vestibule. In cleaning the pillars which support the roof, they were discovered to be of Pur- beck marble, which had been whitewashed during the Rebellion, to prevent their destruction, and the ruin of some beautifully sculptured effigies of the knights on the floor. In the evening of that day I attended the Royal Opera, and heard Jenny Lind in “ Roberto il Diavolo.” She sang charmingly ; her voice was of the purest tone ; and she so chaste, so classic in her style. The house was crowded to excess, and even many women stood during the whole opera, often supporting them SATURDAY NIGHT. 37 selves on the backs of the chairs, or hanging barely by a precarious foothold. Never was an audience so enthusiastic, or in such a furor. I had never a con- ception before of the susceptibility of the human voice, and in some passages her warblings approached to the voluptuous richness of the nightingale. There were some notes of such poetic beauty, that they seemed to flow from the recesses of her heart, not unlike rays through an oriel window, on which a thought might wing its way to heaven. Castellan sang in company, but was lost between the Queen and Jenny ; so great were the fascina- tions of this songstress, that even the ballet could not retain those who were contented to retire with the opera. The Queen was a constant attendant during the entire season, and on all occasions, excepting the state visits, keeps herself somewhat withdrawn from the audience : at such stated times, her presence is noticed by the National Anthem, and her maids then have to stand during the entire evening. Saturday night is that which displays the outpour- ing of the overteeming population of the town ; gin shops become splendidly illuminated palaces, pouring out of their windows the blaze of that hell which rages with destruction and ruim to the victims within. The Strand is filled to overflowing with innumerable 2 * 38 HYDE PARK. wretches, of both sexes, and crowds of honest laborers returning homeward with their hard-earned wages. The shops are brilliant with the display of goods under rich gas-lights, and industry is active in supplying the increased demand. All is bustle, confusion, din, and noise ; and increases until the first hours of the Sab- bath, when it becomes not unlike darkness itself, more confused and obscure just previous to the very opening of the approaching day. Contrasted with the confusion of the “ City,” Hyde Park displays its array of equipages, about five o’clock in the afternoon, when attention is divided between the horsemanship of the riders and the idea of wealth and luxury expressed by the crowds of vehicles which slowly roll through the avenues of the Park. There appeared an air of general indifference and satiety in the faces of all the women of rank ; but very little of beauty in the countenances of those pussy dowagers and listlessly pouting young ladies. I must say the flunkies and the footmen were the only correct things, and under the magnificence of the occasion, there was a good smattering of Vanity Fair. Get tickets of admission from your banker, spend an hour waiting in the anteroom, and you may pass a profitable evening until midnight, listening to the de- bates of the Commons. There is a free and easy man- ner in the House, and cosiness of discussion, which HOUSE OF COMMONS HAMPTON COURT. 39 suits the character of an old established form. Most of the members have their hats on ; some one or two lovingly embrace the Speaker, and are tapping him quietly on the shoulder : — a few uncouth postures es- tablish the dignity of the order. Loud talking and “ hear him ” interrupt the sentences of the orator on the stand. The Portuguese question is on, whilst Lord John Manners is sawing the air, and pendulating his body over the table before which he swings. A whin- ing schoolboy of our village might equal his powers of declamation. Lord George Bentinck followed, with as few graces of oratory or diction ; and Macaulay alone was listened to with attention, for his words were earnest, and his ideas were the easy offspring of a well- stored mind. That House of Commons was by no means as dignified as our Lower House, and little less can be said. A day or two afterwards, we took the cars at Nine Elms, for Richmond ; and thence by omnibus, passing by Strawberry Hill, to Hampton Court. This palace was built by Cardinal Wolsey, and presented by him to Henry VIII. Many of its paintings are excellent ; but are chiefly portraits of the royal families, and dis- tinguished nobles. Raphael's cartoons are hung, in ragged outline, round the walls of its beautiful chapel. The grounds are prettily laid out, and embrace an ex- tent of miles, but they are seldom frequented by the 40 HOTEL FEES DOVER. royal family. You can return by another route to Nine Elms, and thence to London by the river, passing by Chelsea, Vauxhall Garden, and Lambeth Palace. Having nearly exhausted London, we made prepa- rations for our departure. In settling your hotel bill, in England, you avoid much annoyance by ordering the service to be included. This charge, though trifling, after the exorbitant prices of first-class lodgings, is unjust, because the servants receive no portion of it. Pay it therefore with a good grace, or you will be beset by the waiter, chambermaid, “boots'' and porter. At Surryside you take the cars for Dover. You will be charmed with the regularity and police of all the English railroads : no one can take any other than first class in England, who wishes to travel with ease. The second have no cushions, your baggage goes over your seat ; and you are impelled at the rate of forty, or more miles, the hour. This road passes through a very pretty section of the country, and gives frequent opportunities of view- ing the chalk formations. There are no less than five tunnels on the way to Dover, which could only have been excavated in chalk. We reached Dover before sunset, and caught a glimpse of its position, as it is nestled between the castle, which crowns its pro- montory on the east, and the Shakspeare cliff which limits its western aspect. We can commend the CROSSING TO OSTEND. 41 “Clarendon,” though small, as comfortable and good; for we spent the night in it, before we took leave of “ merrie England a term which we have never seen applied with propriety by any other writer but Shaks- peare; and which we deem inappropriate since the middle ages. THE CONTINENT. THE CHANNEL. The incontinent and fickle North Sea was evi- dently intended, by Nature, as a compensation for that want of rock-bound coast which characterizes the frontiers of Belgium and Holland. That formidable barrier of waves, rolling in long deep furrows to the land, swells from the magnitude of a continent ; and breaks the monotony of those ideas which have been fostered amid the comforts and strict economy of English life. Those four hours of crossing, from Dover to Ostend, were pregnant with merriment and mishaps, which made us forget the horrors ' of the “ Manche;” and opened our minds for the perception of new pleasures, and fresh joys. In fact, the sea was very calm ; and only one angry swell, at the haven, caused us to wish for the light-house, and to welcome the flats of Flanders. We were besieged, on landing, by a crowd of animated Flemings, who, no doubt, Landing at the Haven of Ostend. OSTEND TO ANTWERP. 43 mistook us for Englishmen ; but soon found they had a cargo of live Yankees. Here, indeed, the interest of foreign travel commences, the manners and customs of the people become peculiar, and every object no- ticeable. Their women wear very high caps and sabots ; and their blouse gowns, overhung by tidy spencers, with ruffled tucks skirting their waists, under the folds of a small shawl, gave them a very marine and washer- woman aspect. From infancy, they are accustomed to those heavy wooden shoes, in which they trot over their pebble-paved ways that are all street, and no side- walk. Their neatly built houses, with high gables and tiny tiled roofs, indicate a Flemish landscape ; and their language is such a gibberish of patois, as if Ger- many and France had flown across the country, and melted down into Flanders. We soon walked through their little territory ; and whilst waiting the inspection of our baggage, partook of a rare dinner of Kraut and Paprica, which is a singular conglomerate of all the kingdoms, fish, flesh and fowl. We hurried away to the railroad, but not a word could we speak of that unknown tongue, to these sub- marines. So we held out both hands when we took our tickets, and bid them take their pay. They weighed our baggage, when they learned us a lesson, that made us all resolve to travel with less in future. 44 CITY OF ANTWERP. This railroad passes through Bruges, by Ghent ; and is conducted with all the regularity of the English roads, although at less speed. You pass along the banks of the Ostend and Bruges Canal, through a very flat country, in a high state of cultivation, and full of evidences of the industry and neatness of the Flemish. At Malines or Mechlin, famous for its lace, the road branches off to Antwerp, at which town we arrived about ten o’clock at night outside the walls. We had no sooner entered the gates, than our vehicle was stopped ; and an official, surveying us by the light of his lantern, asked us, “ Messieurs, avez vous quelque chose a declarer ?” when finding we had not, he let us pass unmolested into the city to the “ Hotel du Parc,” kept by M. Lapre. A few scattered galleons on the Scheldt, were but a poor representation of its former commercial impor- tance, in the sixteenth century, when Antwerp had 200,000 inhabitants. On the opposite shore of the river is the famous “ tete de Flandre.” Many of its houses show the presence of its ancient lords, the Spaniards ; and its fine quays are among the traces of Napoleon’s greatness. The fortifications, which once encircled the city, have been partially destroyed ; al- though they still bear the marks of the gallant defence of Lasses, whose bravery and chivalry enlisted the noble sympathies of his conqueror Gerhard. CATHEDRAL MUSEUM. 45 The Cathedral of our Lady is one of the noblest constructions in northern Europe, and its tower is remarkable for its easy grace. It is so surrounded by low and crazy tenements, that much of the effect of its beautiful portal is obscured. Its interior is simply ornate, and needs the picturesque costumes of worship- pers at high mass, to fill up the nakedness of its lofty walls. Rubens' Descent from the Cross is the main ornament of the church, its chef d’ouvre. Its cele- brated pulpit, “ The Seat of Truth," is an admirable specimen of that art of sculpture in wood, which has been brought to perfection by the native artists of Antwerp, whose chief was Quentire Matys. The Museum, which has a numerous collection of the Flemish school, and abounds with Vandykes and Rubens, is of much value from its use by the School of Design attached : a large portion of its walls are hung with paintings of the earlier periods, which are historical of the progress of art in this country. As Rubens is the sole pride of Antwerp, his works abound in all its churches ; and, in Rubens-street, his family residence still remains. The most beautiful in its interior, and richest in art, is the church of Saint Jacques; whilst there are few in Europe, which possess such costly objects and splendid monuments. Here is the celebrated “ Chapeau de Faille," a painting in which Rubens’ family is intro 46 CHURCHES LIFE AND MANNERS. duced, and beyond it his unfinished monument. The marble carvings in this church are extremely elab- orate ; and the Altar of the Holy Sacrament is of rare beauty in the design of the marble balustrade, sculp- tured in graceful combinations of the vine and grape, entwining some exquisitely finished cherubs. Saint Barromeo, which was built chiefly at Ru- bens 7 expense, has many rich and finished designs in wood ; and is especially worthy of notice for the panels of the gallery, which are carved wfith scenes from the life of our Saviour. Saint Paul’s has a curiously wrought Calvary attached to the church. Its interior has little remark- able after a look into the other churches : whilst view- ing its paintings we watched an exposition of relics, and were favored by a sight of the Apostle's jaw-bone, which was held out for the adoration and kisses of the devout, at the moderate tax of a centime. One is struck at the frequency of the shrines which are hung at the corners of the streets. You meet many pictu- resque groups of people scattered about the market- places and the cafes. The complexion of the women is fair, and of a softer hue and expression than is generally observed among the Dutch. Their out-door habits fit them peculiarly for the study of the artists ; and it requires little effort to make them happy and fit GENERAL VIEW 47 subjects for the sketch-book, who are naturally so adaptive and easy in the walks of their daily life. Outside the walls are the Gardens of the Musical Society, whither the inhabitants resort for their after- noon stroll. A fine band of music was discoursing popular overtures and waltzes under the porches of the Pavilion, whilst many groups were scattered over the grounds, engaged at coffee and the enlivening dance. A visit to the dance-house in the city will well repay the lover of those merry interiors, in which Te- niers is so happy, and of which Flanders alone fur- nishes the originals. On the whole, no one fails to be pleased wfith Ant- werp : a city which unites all the peculiarities and raciness of Flemish life. That striking impression which takes possession of your senses, is not one of mere novelty. The noble simplicity of the Dome, the magnificence of its temples, the charming naivete of boorish nature, the picturesque groupings of its people, the quaint character of its edifices and perfection of its school of art, unite to form a new and harmonizing whole, and stamp their images in such pleasing combi- nations on the memory, that one recurs to that first vision, even amid the brighter skies and more brilliant display of art in sunny Italy. With regret, therefore, the stranger quits Flanders ; for there is satisfaction in the study of a people, whose 48 GENERAL VIEW. characteristic features are those of industry and con- tentment. I saw no beggars in Antwerp, save the priests, and a few superannuated cripples who sat at the “ beautiful gate of the temple/’ You return to Mechlin to get a view of its pretty cathedral, and proceed on the direct road to Brussels. The aspect of the country was less pleasing than that observed around Antwerp ; still there was the same prospect of neatness and industry. BELGIUM. BRUSSELS. Belgium’s royal seat has a little too much similarity to Paris to claim any individual existence. In its event- ful history, it has survived the terrors of famine, pesti- lence, siege, and a revolution which severed it from the Netherlands. It has subsided into a population of about 120,000, and become a lounging place for the English, who seem to favor it from its neighborhood to Blucher and Wa- terloo. We took a coach, the morning after our arrival, and rode out to Waterloo, by the Boulevards de Na- murs, and were soon rattling over the highway con- structed by Napoleon. We hurried by the Forest of Soignes, on to the site of Mount St. Jean, until we reached the famous cockpit of Europe. Sergeant Cotton is a right proper person to show you the ground ; and, as a living eye-witness, grows 50 WATERLOO. eloquent while discoursing of the Duke. He knoweth well the positions and actions of the different armies at various turns of the bloody day ; and he will take you the 197 steps up, panting and blowing, to picture the deployment of the Allies and the French, on that field spread out as a chart beneath, and stretching over the undulatory and broken champaign, from the farm of Hugomont, Belle Alliance, and that hill behind which Blucher hove in sight to change the sinking fortunes of the day. Your very hair stands up at ends, at his bloody story of that battle ; and your tender soul would sicken on your ride homewards, but for the ludicrous grimaces and rapid somersets of those little begging, velocipede imps, who beset your carriage, and force you to laugh outright, in spite of your sense of outraged decency, as you moralize on this unseemly display of legs on high- ways, and give your stivers for the support of a nation- al establishment of paupers on the public roads. We lodged at the Hotel de France, in town; whence our windows overlooked the park and the palace beyond. In our morning walk we visited the Chamber of Deputies near by, and found the members very comfortably housed, with excellent accommoda- tions for their committee and reading rooms. In an upper chamber we found an excellent painting of the battle of Waterloo. We saw nothing peculiar in the Cathedral of St. LACE MANUFACTORY HOTEL DE VILLE. 51 Gudule, but some beautifully stained glass, and its fine pulpit, representing the “ Expulsion of our First Pa- rents from Paradise/’ You can spend a pleasant hour in visiting the lace factories, where you will see a number of homely women working this fabric, in all its stages, from the thread to the flower. Had they been any thing other than Dutch, I might have raised some poetry or sympathy on the spinning out of their thread of life into the patterns before them ; but as it was, I found the lace inferior to that of Antwerp, and learnt that they made a point in Mechlin which was well understood at Brussels. A terrible shower falling at the moment, called our attention to the want of side-walks in town ; but that defect was compensated by the breadth of the over- hanging eaves, as we picked our way through the mid- dle of the gutters, to the picturesque stands of the mar- ket women, in the “ Place ” before the “ Stadthaus.” One has a melancholy feeling for the poor architect of this Hotel de Ville, a rare and quaint old building of the Spanish style ; for the luckless wight hung himself, when, in the height of exultation over his work, he was informed that the spire was not placed exactly in the middle of the edifice. Doubtless he fell a victim to his over-scrupulous observance of the “ unities.” Its fine old hall, in which Charles the Fifth abdi- cated in favor of Philip, has been converted into a 3 52 MANNIKIN-PIS. registry for marriages. Some curious old tapestries hang on its walls, commemorative of the life of Clovis and Clotilda. As you look out upon the square, you mark the scaffold on which Counts Horn and Egmont were beheaded, whilst cruel Alba surveyed the atrocity from his window opposite. Crossing over to the Court of Cassation, we looked in to see two modern paint- ings of great merit, representing “ The Abdication of Charles the Fifth,” and “ The Convention of Nobles protesting the Acts of Duke Alba/' Thence we walked to pay our tribute of respect to the Mannikin-Pis, presiding divinity of Brussels. This curious little figure stands on the corner of the Rue de l’Etuve and the Rue du Chene. The story goes, that a certain Godfrey, son of a Count of Brabant, was lost one day, much to the grief of his royal parent ; and, after great hue and cry had been raised, and much ado, was found in a peculiar position in this corner. The Brusselites call him their oldest Burgher, look upon him as a sort of Palladium, and dread, should any ill luck happen him, some evil might befall their city. A fountain was hit upon, to commemorate his memory whose life was deemed a public blessing, and that purl- ing, tiny stream, issuing from below, yields a twin sug- gestion of a dilemma and discovery. Such is the Man- nikin which kings have honored and emperors have crowned ; a curious instance among many of the su- MALIBRAN LAACHEN. 53 perstitious crotchets of a people, ever enslaved to an unnatural connection of their own happiness with some mystical influence, and a link in that chain of juggling legerdemain, by which royalty manages to delude its subjects into a forgetfulness of their liberties. One is shocked, in Brussels, with their peculiar mode of trimming trees in the shapes of globes, pyramids, and rhomboids ; a perversion of the true intent of na- ture, much akin to that fashion which once affected the form of English poetry, when verses were written with a greater regard to the shape than to the sense or metre. The absence of this fashion renders the Allee Vert6 one of the most delightful walks in the city. In walking through the city, you do not fail to ob- serve that every house is hung with a pair of reflectors, so disposed that all that passes in the streets is observed without the trouble of looking out. A ride to Laachen is one of the few and pleasant excursions out of town — where one is more attracted by the reputation of Malibran, whose monument so ap- propriately suits the merits of that charming songstress, than by a sight of the king’s summer palace. Brussels, on the whole, has little to attract, because there is so little of nationality or of character peculiar to herself, and one is too much impressed with an idea of the neighborhood of Paris to dwell long on the man- ners or customs of its inhabitants. 54 MONS aUIVERAINE. The next morning after our visit to Laachen, we took the cars for Paris, having secured a saloon car for the party. Speed in travel is economy of one’s plea- sures, and permits you to hurry over that uninteresting ground which lies on the frontiers of France. In fact there is little to strike attention on this route, save the curious and fortified town of Mons. We were ex- empted from the usual frontier investigation, at Qui- veraine, by the edict of the fifteenth of the present month. Beyond this, the appearance of the country is flat, and of a boggy soil. For the last sixty miles the land is better cultivated; and, as you approach the city, you remark that usual abundance and richness of cultivation which notifies you of the presence of a capital. The Mannikin. FRANCE. PARIS. You enter Paris under those recently erected forti- fications designed by Louis Philippe as defences against foreign aggression, but actually intended to keep his own rebellious subjects in subjection. How plausible this sophistry, and how fallacious his plans, subsequent events have proved. On entering Paris from the north, one scarcely fails to be disappointed. Those narrow streets, low shop windows, blouse-clad ouvriers, and meagre fiacres, which flutter by your carriage as you are driven to the hotel, are a pitiful substitute for those exalted ideas of Paris which can only be filled by a long residence, ripe acquaintance with the capital, and a domiciliation in your quiet and snug little lodgment au troisieme . Your view changes when you become somewhat ha- bitue to the life on the Boulevards, discuss “ La Presse ” at your cafe, and your awkward and formal parlance 56 VALET DE PLACE. wears away, from your ease and intercourse among the French. To enjoy the French capital, one must frequent some of the popular cafes on the Italiennes, throw off the Anglais, laugh over “ Charivari,” attend the Gar- dens, visit the Spectacle , dance the cancan, douceur some member’s lorette, and you will do the correct thing, if you have plenty of money. One who makes a short visit only should employ a valet-de-place ; and a proper one was Rodolph, who was with us in ourTounds about Paris : he is up to all the “passant” of the day, and will make your little purchases, charge only a round commission, buy every thing “ en conjiance after which you will be satisfied with his politeness, and return home amused to find yourself moderately cheated, while you esteem him only a little less rogue than valet. Doubtless a traveller led round by a “ commissionaire ” becomes a mere au- tomaton, and sight-seeing one of the greatest bores that ever tired the intellect of a stranger, whilst it wo- fully disturbs the dreams of one who has hitherto sup- posed himself a mere man of leisure. But some things must be done for the pleasure of the action undergone ; and the quicker done, the more room for solid and ma- ture reflection. We began with the Bourse, or the Exchange : the exterior is imposing, and the interior is opened to the SIGHTS AND ROUNDS. 57 daily concourse of brokers and stockjobbers. A novel scene presents itself to those who look down from the gallery, whilst one doubts, until instructed, whether he is present at a bear-baiting or a universal auction ; such is the din, clatter, hurry, and animation of these excitable Frenchmen. The history of Paris is that of France, and a walk through her streets, recalls some of the most stirring incidents of her revolutions. We passed from the Exchange, to view the recently erected statue of Louis the Fourteenth, replacing that destroyed in the last “ &meute ;” then crossed the market-place, threading our way through the crazy irregularities of ancient houses, to the spot where Henry Quatre fell, under the knife of Ravaillac ; we came out by the “ Place des Cha- teuets,” with its column erected to the victims of July, near which, a fountain pours forth refreshing waters over the monuments of the innocents, massacred on St. Bartholomew’s Eve. Then over to the “ Isle of France,” where fresh flowers display their charms, and smile in the market- place, under the frowning walls of the Conci^rgerie, seeming like garlands strewn over the graves of the guillotined; and mournfully, opposite stands the “ Morgue,” gloomy mansion of the drowned. What a sad evidence of human depravity is found in the fact, that men are sometimes pushed into the Seine, 58 LOUVRE ST. CLOUD. that the paltry pittance of ten francs for a recovery may be gained. To change the scene, one should visit the Goblins, mount the Barriere de TEtoile, see the Hippodrome, laugh at Franconi, and play with the little children frolicking with their nice tidy bonnes , in the Allees of the Tuilleries. The collections at the Louvre are a never failing resource of a rainy day, of which there is no lack in Paris. But if the sun is out and the air bright, take a Sunday for St. Cloud, or Versailles, a day when all the town is there a merry-making, and the “grands eaux ” are played. These are rare occasions to observe the manners and customs of the people. It happened a fete, when we visited St. Cloud, and the grounds were filled with animated and happy people, waiting, and eager to see the display of the fountains, which were to be let off at five o’clock. In the meantime, walk about among the temporary booths, erected on the green lawn, and by the foot- paths, and look in, and see the devices for gaining a sous from a passer. Here, you may shoot at a swing- ing little jackanapes, who turns furious somersets when you hit him ; there again, you may be weighed ; and near by,* look at those theatrical women in shorts, tumbling, in ground and lofty, whilst they announce to you ; “ viola ! le chat , le double chat , le grand souris NOTRE DAME THE INVALIDES. 59 V elephant and all this, for two sous ; then laugh with these simple people, and observe how easily they are pleased ; the great secret of their amusement, which demands little effort and less outlay. Gayety is the dominant instinct of the mass, and the pursuit of pleasure engrosses all classes, peasant, sans-culotte, fop, and sovereign. Saunderson, in his “ American in Paris/’ gives their picture to the very life ; truly, says he, “ who can describe a people who call their mothers, mares , and horses, shovels ?” One cannot stay long away from a sight of Notre Dame ; so grand in its own architectural proportions and its associations with the greatness of the Emperor. Here was the scene of his coronation ; on which occasion he presented those magnificent robes and vessels, which are shown you in the sacristy, and have survived the ravages of the Revolutionists. In fact, most of the noted spots of the cijty are associated with the history of its many revolutions, or the life of Na- poleon, as witness the July column ; that of the Place Venddme, the most imposing in Europe ; the expia- tory chapel over the bodies of Maria Antoinette, and Louis, and their faithful Swiss ; the Invalides and the Magdalene. Next to Notre Dame, and a model Insti- tution, is that of the Hospital of the Hotel Dieu. As you walk through its various departments, you are struck with the perfect order and regularity which 60 HOTEL D1EU THE PANTHEON. prevails in every department, from the pharmacy to the kitchen. From the hospital to the church, there seemed a natural connection with the cemetery of “Pere la Chaise.” I must confess, I was disappointed with its aspect ; and despite the memory of great names, wdiich meet you among its many monuments, there seemed too much levity in the garb of these tomb- stones, as if the very dead were tinged with nation- ality. Those wreaths of perpetuals, which deck the monuments, are fresh tokens of friendship, and evidence touchingly those attentions which affection nourished ; and they yield the only striking sentiment which that sepulchre calls forth. From death to immortality, one passes from “ la Chaise” to the Pantheon, for relief and comfort ; that sublime temple of Immortality, whose every aspect and proportion is grand, and presence lofty. You need not those signal letters, “ aux grandshommes de la patrie reconnaissante” over the portal, to remind you of its object. You feel it is a mausoleum. Its inte- rior is no less grand ; and as you stand beneath the dome and look up to view’ the frescoes, high aloft, the spirit soars into the intent of its depictions, and elevation of thought bears you to those Elysian fields ; and when you mount the top and watch the capital at your feet, that vast city stretched out and around, your whole soul becomes catholic, and you catch a ken universal. HOTEL DE CLUNY. 61 In that same quarter of the Cite is the H6tel de Cluny, a curious hospital of old furniture and meubles, gathered from the earliest periods of French civiliza- tion. No true lover of the antique will fail to be amused at some of those social implements and bijoux, which quietly tell out the history of their times. In the interior upper rooms, many relics of the age of the Renaissance and the middle ages are spread forth, with models of old cabinets, porcelain, Sevres ware, and tapestry in its early art. The collection is well preserved, and presents a pleasant study of the domestic life of early France, whilst not one relic only, but several, hint at the menage of the gallants of Louis the Fourteenth’s Court. Adjoining this curious old building, which is still retained in its primitive style and order, are the remains of some Roman Thermae. Few, who are given to sight-seeing, fail to rest the day with a dinner ; which leads one to speak of the restaurants. Epicures grieve for those days, when princes drove to the “ Rocher des Cancales.” Phillipe, in our experience, has supplied its fall, and equals the more noted and dearer of the Boulevards, or the Palais Royal. Besides, one does not wish to be bored by English, but seeks the resort of quiet, full-fed citizens, who have made the reputation of this volup- tuous resort in the Rue Mont-Martre, near the passage Saumon. 62 RESTAURANT CAFES. We quote, only, the rich tastes of his “Sole ala Normande" and his “ Soupe a la Bisque/' No restau- rant life would suit that man who counts his mouth- fuls as he eats, and sighs as if each forkful ripped up the lining of his pocket. We would recommend the “ Europe" to him, where he can get dog steaks and horse chops for twenty sous. A glorious appetite might ruin such a youth, and make his very stomach spend- thrift. He is cross-grained by instinct, who cannot be pleased in his daily walks in Paris. Your sobriety must be checked here, rather than your vices, where, with a share of good-nature and humor about you, you fall into excellent keeping with those thousand petits riens and absurdities, which hourly amuse you. Our daily habit was to hire a chair before the Cafe of the Trois Freres, where we picked up many little frag- ments of joy, and used to laugh at the coquetry of the garden, and at the roar of our waiter, whose “ bon" for coffee made the reputation of that little glazed shop which protrudes into the court before the fountain. The correct thing is to take your cigar at another caf6, or sip your mocha on the “ Italiennes," whilst some one of your acquaintances is passing along, and you won- der “ who is that pretty woman on his arm :" you may be sure she is only his cousin. Or for novelty, you may stroll to the quarter of the Faubourg St. Martin, and Dinner at the Caf6 Empoisoneur. ■ -< % ' ' SAINT DENIS. 63 watch the ouvriers with their grisettes tripping along so light, with their frilled caps fluttering in the wind. There are no grisettes at the Court End, for they be- come converted into lorettes when they pass the chapel where they worship. A pleasant excursion was that to Saint Denis, to view the old church so desecrated by the Revolution- ists in their destruction of the Royal Tombs. The monuments under the crypt are of an elegant and costly construction. That urn which contains the ashes of Francis the First, is the chastest specimen of art in bas-relief extant ; its design is a representation of the renaissance of art, to which this monarch chiefly contributed, and, from the beauty of its execution, has been attributed to some of the early artists, even to Da "Vinci. The hot days of July made a longer sojourn in Paris uncomfortable. The next morning we packed up, and having booked our names for Fontainebleau, took our seats in the omnibus, at 22 Rue de Boulox, and set off for the station of the Orleans railroad, on the way to our destination. We passed along the banks of the Seine, through many pretty villages, until we stopped at Corbeille, where we had our first trial of that lum- bering vehicle, miscalled a diligence. A moderately high ladder introduces you into the banquette, but your better view of the country repays your fatigue in 64 PALACE OP FONTAINEBLEAU. clambering there. Our companion was an intelligent gentleman, attached to one of the Bureaus in Paris, and at his suggestion, we put up at the Hotel de Paris in Fontainebleau. We had no sooner entered its court, than our attention was drawn to a graceful nymph or- namenting the niche of its portal, a happy omen of the good keeping within, and of the taste of its host, who did his best to make us at our ease. After breakfast we visited the royal palace and gar- dens, and were much pleased with the ensemble of the parterres, gardens, and parks. Fontainebleau was the favorite resort of Bonaparte. We were also much in- terested in the secretary, on which a copy of his abdi- cation was displayed, and all that part of the palace which he inhabited. The great stairway on the court is that from which he parted so touchingly with his of- ficers. The forest of Fontainebleau is first in attraction after the palace. We were carried thither in a sort of covered cart, to visit its most noted points and sights, which are variously designated as Mount Calvary, the Fountain, &c., &c. From many of these elevated landmarks you catch a view of the village lying far off in the distant landscape below. At the Fount of St. Sauveur we met an old hag , who seemed the presiding genius of the grove, ready to deal out lemonade and diluted eau-de-vie. Her whole life was centered in FOREST AND ENVIRONS. 65 this solitude. , That little well, springing up under the rocks of the woodland, afforded her support ; whilst her little all, besides a few dirty tumblers and a bottle, was a miserably sad donkey tied to a tree beyond her, the very picture of patience and resignation. Leaving the old crone to her vocations, we passed on to view the more prominent points in the region of these forests, once famed for the bold robberies com- mitted, and then took a return route to the village by the way of some of the largest trees which exist in France. After dinner we paid a visit to M. Billet de Creury, our companion in the diligence, and were regaled with a sight of a very valuable collection of paintings and Sevres which we had accumulated in occasional visits to the neighboring provinces, where, by a proper use of opportunities, he had succeeded in rescuing from oblivion many gems of art, which otherwise would have lain neglected in the garrets and lumber-rooms of the peasants and farmers. During the troubled days of terror and revolution many of the choicest works of the French school were removed from the capital for preservation. It was midnight before we resumed our seats which had been secured in Paris, and we were snugly lodged in our banquets in good fellowship with our conductor, as jolly and rollicking a gar