1859.CL.
Berlin,February 23, 1859.
The great event of the season was the birth of a prince to the crown of Prussia, and the first grandchild of Queen Victoria. Demonstrations, congratulations, and addresses have been made to the royal parents by the Lord Mayor, and other dignitaries of London. The street upon which I live, leading to the Palace, was crowded with vehicles, containing the nobility, civil, and military officers in full uniform, advancing to the royal residence to inscribe and present themselves in honor of the happy event. Crowds of persons were standing upon the sidewalks for many days afterwards, gazing up at the windows and walls which inclose this precious jewel of a monarchical people. The students have since had their torchlight celebration for the occasion.
In these reverences and a thousand other ways, through titles and orders given to all persons of any distinction, wealth, or merit, is the aristocratic band so linked together, that the very children imbibe that love and respect and awe for the royal family till it seems engrafted in their very natures.
In political matters you are kept fully advised through the European journals. As I suggested in my last, things look ominous for the future. The money and commercial marts are still agitated, and uncertainty prevails. France continues steadily her military preparations; Sardinia the same. Austria is stubborn, and sends further supplies of troops into Italy. Diplomacy is hard at work to prevent a general European war, and, if the issue must come, to confine it to the Peninsula. A slight outbreak at the present moment would put all Europe in a blaze. The demand for saltpetre in the London markets, even from the smaller powers, and the prohibition of the sale of horses shows that they fear the result, and must be prepared, if not against theenemy, against their own people. Cannon foundries and manufactories of arms are in full blast in different countries.
The horrors of a European war, the destruction of life and property, the anguish of widows and orphans, the demoralization of invading armies, the cost of maintaining the same, and the entailment of debt, are not to be portrayed. Already Austria and Sardinia are in the market for loans, consequently there is a depreciation of the whole outstanding debt in the hands of the public.
Since I visited the Crimea I feel myself better able to judge of consequences. The ruined and battered fortresses and public and private edifices of Sebastopol, Kertch, and other points, the graveyards of the half million of souls of Inkerman, Alma, and the Malakoff, all testify to the melancholy results. However, the question of the whole Italian race, suffering under the bonds and chains of tyrants, cannot be longer delayed, and we shall probably soon know the decision. Either the evacuation by Austria of the Papal States, and the duchies of Modena and Parma, and abandonment of her tutelage, with a system of reform, or war, must be the result.
Some persons contend that war, like cholera, or other epidemics, in over-populated countries, is as necessary as a thunderstorm to clear a sultry and vitiated atmosphere, to sweep off a part of the redundant population, lessen competition, and give the survivors a chance to earn their bread. More humane means can be substituted in the favoring of emigration to the vast regions of unoccupied territory, not only in Europe, but in both Americas.
While all Europe is in uncertainty, America stands without anxiety, as a looker-on. In the event of a European war her breadstuffs would find a ready market. Capitalists, looking at the uncertain tenure of things here, would turn their attention to investments on the other side. Emigrants, to escape army duty and save what little they have from destruction, would take refuge in this land of liberty. Her Mexican and Cuban question could be settled without the interference of foreign powers, who would have occupation at home.
Our Treasury it seems is exhausted, and loans are made in time of peace. We pay our President twenty-five thousand dollars a year. I notice the French Senate have granted PrinceNapoleon eight hundred thousand francs, or one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, as expenses for his marriage to the daughter of Sardinia’s king, and two million francs, or four hundred thousand dollars yearly. In the event of widowhood she is to have forty thousand dollars, our currency, and a palace to her use. All that for a cousin of the Emperor. What would our honest yeomanry think of such outgoes with us, which are mostly made up by indirect taxation upon each and every article consumed by rich and poor?
Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of Washington at a splendid dinner given by our minister, at which assisted some sixty persons of both sexes—Americans residing in or passing through Berlin, naturalized Germans, Consuls and Senators from Bremen, Stettin, &c. Baron Humboldt sat vis-à-vis with Gov. Wright under the folds of the American flag. Toasts and speeches, as customary on such occasions, were made, and all passed off to the satisfaction of guests. Some fifteen or more of our states were represented, and were called upon for a sentiment or a toast, which, under the exhilarating influence of champagne, was generally well responded to, and brought forth some amusing and historical reminiscences of the American revolution. Portraits of the Father of his country, of Humboldt, Webster, and others, and the beautiful engraving of Washington crossing the Delaware, were suspended from the wall. An artist gave a toast which was rather a strong one in a monarchical government, and in a less enlightened age perhaps we would not have had the privilege of meeting together to commemorate the birthday of a republican victor; it was to “Humboldt, the King of Science, whose shoes most kings are not worthy to unloose.” The venerable old man is now in his ninetieth year; he is fond of ladies’ society, who adore him as a traveller and writer. He has remained a bachelor. His memory is fresh and vigorous; I asked him if he recollected my presentation by Gov. Vroome, some four years since, and the conversation about the island of Ceylon. “Yes,” replied he briefly, “and Singapore also,” and then recounted information derived from other sources since.
Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Germany,March 22, 1859.
I left the agreeable city of Berlin with mingled feelings of regret and pleasure. To get rid of an obstinate attack of bronchitis when all other remedies fail, my usual course is change of climate, and I put myself on the road for Dresden, the Saxon capital, as well as the business city of Leipzig, which I next touched. I had visited it before on different occasions and described it to you, and it offered but little new.
I thought I had seen the thirty-two empires, kingdoms, duchies, landgraves, and other imperial, royal, and ducal residences of Germany, but recollected an unexplored tract through the Erzhogthum of Weimar, and of Gotha and Coburg, the latter duchies celebrated as furnishing husbands for most of the Princesses of Europe, Prince Albert of England being one of the number. As I was at a loss to know what route to take for a change in such an emergency the smallest favors are thankfully received.
It is really curious and interesting to look into these little Dutch settlements, and scrutinize the efforts made by these pigmy potentates to imitate the regal residences of great sovereigns, as I once described to you, from Port au Prince, Island of Hayti, that the guards and cannon at the entrance of the Imperial gates of the black despot looked as formidable as those of the Emperor of Russia. But the people have there wrought a change, and Soulouque is a wanderer. In time similar changes will take place in Germany.
The towns of Jena and Nuremburg, and the battle-fields of 1806, with the bivouac of Napoleon upon the height called Landgrafberge, are all of much historical interest. The town of Weimar has thirteen thousand inhabitants, and lies upon the slope of a beautiful valley, through which runs a limpid stream. On the opposite side are elevated commanding grounds, upon which stands a new caserne containing an entire regiment of one thousand men. The town appears neat, is well paved, and has the air of a regal seat, without much trade or commerce, where the residents are in part dependent on the government, or persons whose means allow them to enjoy the advantages of such facilitiesas cannot be obtained in the small villages or upon the land.
The large and beautiful palace contains rooms with fresco paintings consecrated to the poets Goethe, Schiller, Herder, and Wieland, who were patronized by the then existing duke. The summer cottage of Goethe,vis-à-visto a rustic resort of the duke, in the wood, is still in the possession of the poet’s family. At twelve A.M., the band played before the palace. A Greek chapel is found here, as well as in several German courts, in consequence of Russian marriages. The mother of the present duke is sister of the ex-emperor Nicholas. So you perceive how the family alliances are calculated to divide political influences in the Fatherland. The library has one hundred and fifty thousand volumes, also a good collection of medallions and objects of art. A fine large theatre is supported. The park is prettily laid out with rich and rare plants, hot-houses, and a summer palace for the duke. All these and much more might be added from a little domain of three hundred thousand inhabitants, about one-third that of New York and Brooklyn, with a salary of two hundred and eighty thousand thalers, say two hundred and twenty thousand dollars our currency. Horses, carriages, liveried servants must be kept up, three thousand troops entertained, and—who pays? These princes have generally large land incomes in addition to salary, and in this case Russia contributes a portion.
The territory of Gotha and Coburg is smaller. The population of Gotha is one hundred and twenty thousand, Coburg forty thousand, making one hundred and sixty thousand in all. The town of Gotha has fifteen thousand inhabitants, and is beautifully situated upon a side hill, with water running through all the streets. The new part looks well, but the old dull, and not so fine as Weimar. The Schloss or palace stands upon a high hill called Hochberg, and is of quadrangular form, some four hundred feet or more in extent, with a high tower. The grounds are extensive, and the terrace is compared by some to that of Windsor in England. The view is very extensive. The alleys and public walks around the little city are strikingly beautiful. There are several other palaces and summer residences belonging to the Duchy, a library of one hundred and sixty thousand volumes, a collection of coins consisting of some forty thousand pieces, a Chinese cabinet, galleries of pictures, copperplates, etc.One naturally wonders where and how such collections and public buildings have been put together and paid for, and by whom. The theatre is a fine building, and a regular company is kept up.
The Duke receives one hundred and forty thousand thalers from the land yearly, say one hundred and five thousand dollars our currency. He was absent with his wife in Berlin at the christening of the infant Prince of Victoria, whose mother is his niece, the daughter of Prince Albert. He has no family, and at his death Gotha and Coburg fall to Prince Alfred, the second son of England’s sovereign, who is now in the navy. The present Duke is a soldier, and lives in a small palace, like a sensible man, and is esteemed by his people. The army contingent is sixteen hundred troops. All these things are very pretty to gaze upon, and quite attractive to travellers who look only upon the surface, but talk with the people a little and get their views.
The manufacturing of lucifer matches has become a heavy business for exportation. You can scarcely believe it that in this unhealthy occupation girls are employed at three and a half silver-groschen, or nine cents, per day, whose food consists of potatoes and rye meal cooked together, who scarcely know what it is to get a piece of meat. In Erfurt, an old city of thirty thousand inhabitants, where nothing of interest offered except the cathedral, dome, and the fortifications, I mounted the steeple for a view and to look at a bell of great weight, here considered a wonder, and called the Maria Gloriosa. I asked the girl who conducted us if she had ever heard of the Moscow bell, which is really of monstrous size. She did not even know the name. I inquired if many visitors came, and what she earned. She replied the sexton paid her twelve thalers the quarter year, or thirty-six dollars our currency, yearly. The gifts of visitors she must hand over, or they would be taken from her. One cannot but pity such objects. I then said I will pay the sexton and what we give is extra for your use. People complain of untrusty servants, of peculations and unjust reckonings in short weights, etc. I tell them it is their own fault; they have driven them to dishonesty by low wages, which makes slavery on the plantation a preferable position.
My next halting-place was Hesse Cassel, from whence the English imported troops to fight against us in the revolution. Isaw a review of the Gross Furst, or Elector. He has a passion for military. The country has nine thousand soldiers, but in case of war the number demanded by the German confederation is twelve thousand. The people are not satisfied with their elector. His salary is eight hundred thousand thalers. He has a large family, and his wife was the daughter of a hotel-keeper, consequently his children cannot occupy his place, and it is said instead of spending his money at home for the good of the people, it is sent to England, or used, in the purchase of estates in Bohemia, for the future provision of his heirs.
I have twice before visited Cassel, and described to you its position, its suburbs of Wilhelmshohe, the great artificial cascades and fountains, and other gigantic works executed with English gold received for the sale of Hessian soldiers.
I have said nothing about politics. The excitement in Germany has been great, but no unity of action. The Austrian papers lash Prussia for her neutral policy. The attacked journals reply that they are ready to defend the interests of the Fatherland, but unwilling to assist in the perpetuation of tyranny in Italy, and in the total want of religious toleration in Austria. Thebrochures, or pamphlets, in Paris, advising the conquest of the Rhine provinces, have done more to wake up the German population than anything else.
Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Germany,April 22, 1859.
The free city of Frankfort is historically known since the eighth century. It is the seat of the Deutsche Bund, or German Confederation. In the old Roman Hall in the Rathhouse, or City Hall, where the German emperors and kings were chosen, the full length portraits, in costume, of the entire line are exhibited. In the Dom Kirche, or cathedral, is found the monument to the memory of Kaiser (or Emperor) Gunther, of Schwarzberg, dated in the year 1352; also the tombstone, under date of 1371, of the Ritter, or knight Rudolph, of Sachsenhausen, which little town lies on the opposite side of the river Maine, connected by a stone bridge twelve hundred and sixty feet long and thirty-three feet wide, resting upon fourteen arches.
Strolling through the settlement the other day I found the streets narrow, the town surrounded by a wall, the egress by the same gates through which one goes in, and the language of the people almost unintelligible and quite different from those who come in contact with the world where pure German is spoken.
Last Sunday I found myself in the Protestant, St. Paul’s, Church, consecrated in 1833, on the site of the old Roman Barfusse Kirche. It is in an elliptical form, built of square freestone blocks. While listening to the tones of the immense organ, my mind was carried back involuntarily to the events of 1848, when I had seen this edifice used for the General Assembly of nine hundred delegates, presided over by the Grand Duke Johan of Austria, whom it was proposed to elect emperor of all Germany. The torchlight and window illuminations of the city upon his arrival was a striking feature, but it was all a flash in the pan—an entire failure. The revolution was soon over. Austria had gained the battle of Novara over Sardinia, and reinstated her power. France was again quiet. The kings of Europe, who had in the presence of the enraged masses promised constitutions and all else required, soon found the people themselves disunited, and began to contract their strength and forces, and finally refused to perform any of the acts named.
The central position of this city gives it a decided advantage for trade and commerce. The activity of the eighty thousand inhabitants is striking in comparison with the ducal residence of Darmstadt, an hour’s ride by railway, with its long broad streets and population of thirty thousand, but looking dull and dreary as a village. The railroad in an hour conveys one to Wiesbaden, in a half hour to Mayence, and in an hour’s ride by omnibus and rail one arrives at Homburg.
The baths of the first and last-named places are now open for the season, but it is too early for many guests. On festival days they are full, and the sums of gold lost and won upon roulette andtrente et quaranteare scarcely credible. A Russian nobleman attracted the attention of the numerous bystanders recently, as he used only gold and one thousand franc bank notes, a pile of which he had before him, and won and lost equal to one thousand dollars, our currency, upon the turn of the wheel—now reducing his capital, and then increasing. The bank of Wiesbaden paid its shareholders thirty-one per cent. dividend thelast year, after expending fabulous sums in the embellishment of the gardens, fountains, magnificent Kursaal, and reading rooms; and after giving semi-weekly balls, hunting parties at the close of the season, &c., &c., besides paying to the Duke of Nassau a large annual sum for the privilege of fleecing the public. It is an interesting study to see how these things are managed at Homburg and Wiesbaden. In addition to the immense expenses for laying out and beautifying the grounds with trees and flowering plants, the best restaurateur from Paris is employed to furnish a table d’hôte in the superb ornamental gilded and frescoed dining hall at a moderate price, thereby attracting strangers. The omnibus line receives a portion of the fare from the bank, making it easier accessible. The entrance to the reunions is gratis. Musicians, and even the police taxes, and other charges upon passports are paid at the expiration of the season by the company. Many families spend the winter at Homburg, where the bank is kept open the entire year, and they enjoy without charge the use of reading-rooms, with papers and periodicals in all modern languages. The managers, however, calculate adroitly upon the general average. If the father or mother do not play, the son or daughter, or friends perhaps will, and they can extricate so much gain per head on the average. Ladies are not free from the vice, large and small sums being risked by the fair sex. The bank even employs them for that purpose as a decoy. The Landgrave, or petty prince of this piece of land, about the size of one of our small counties, receives a handsome annuity.
The system is immoral and wicked, and ruins many families; but as long as Germany remains disunited, cannot be suppressed. At the close of the last business season at Wiesbaden, there were, I learn, as usual, many who had lost all, and could not get away. The bank in such cases advances the means, takes a note or draft for the same, and if not paid, the party does not return, consequently it is clear of them, and don’t incur the odium of suicides through despair.
The old town of Frankfort, with its narrow, tortuous streets, gabled-end projecting houses full of windows, is curious. Outside the walls surrounding the city are magnificent shady walks, highly ornamented with shrubbery and plants. The season is forward, and the trees in full bloom add to the beauty of thepromenades. The suburbs are well laid out with broad streets and superb houses, occupied by the wealthy. It has become a favorite residence for strangers, being so central, and in connexion with so many attractive watering-places and cities.
The Jews are here very numerous. Many of them are bankers, at the head of which is the original house of Rothschilds. In the same neighborhood has recently been erected an immense freestone synagogue.
In the Burger Verein, or Citizens’ Club, an institution established on an extensive scale, I find among other correspondence some of our New York papers.
Frankfort and Leipzic are celebrated in Europe for their fairs. Two are held here yearly. The Oester Messe, or Easter Fair, now exists, and lasts three weeks. The quay along the River Maine and the public squares are occupied with booths filled with wares from all parts of the country. The concourse of merchants and buyers from neighboring towns gives activity to the place. Of course amusements are provided for guests, and America comes in for a part. There is an immense circus from Berlin, in which Jas. Robinson, the most celebrated bareback rider in the world, is employed, making his summersets over star-spangled flags and ribbons, backwards and forwards, with the agility of a cat. Bands of volunteer musicians from other cities, and Tyrolese minstrels, find themselves here, who make the rounds, and whose notes are heard from morn until late in the night, and who adopt this method of picking up the crumbs. The theatre is crowded; the flying horse machines and puppet shows please the children; gaping crowds are listening to the marvellous tales of outcriers at the entrance of travelling menageries, museums, camera obscuras, and of the fat girl nineteen years old, weighing six hundred pounds; the railroads profit by freight and traffic, and lager beer, sausages, and cheese are in the ascendant.
The political situation of Europe exerts a baneful influence upon all general trade. The complaint on all hands is prostration of business. The game of chess now playing between France and Austria is discouraging to all classes. They would prefer open hostilities to indecision. The belligerent parties have gone so far that we must soon see the bloody sword of war, or the olive branch of peace.
Paris,May 24, 1859.
I find myself once again in the great European capital. It is now a month since you heard from me last at Frankfort, Germany. I then left for Baden-Baden soon after the opening of the season. I never saw the country look more smiling and lovely. Nature had put on her most beautiful spring attire, and indeed nothing in Europe can surpass the natural scenery of the suburbs of this renowned watering-place.
The little city was brushed up as usual, and every hotel and lodging-house awaiting anxiously the arrival of guests, but in this I fear they will be woefully disappointed this year. The anxieties and financial difficulties growing out of the war, and the bitter feeling manifested by Germany towards the French, will prevent the usual rush of visitors. Few persons were there, and the magnificent gas-lighted saloons, with their bands of music, had few occupants. The employees of the gambling tables looked wistfully at every stranger, hoping their business will soon commence.
The past month has been full of exciting events. Austria has renounced negotiation. The war decree has gone forth. Sardinia has been invaded. The French Emperor with his troops has been called upon for relief. Austria is intriguing and stimulating the German powers to unite with her in fortifying the Rhine. The German press was most violent against the French Emperor, giving him the most opprobrious names and calling it a war of conquest. Austrian securities have fallen from eighty-five to thirty-eight. Frankfort held some fifty million florins of that national paper. The war loan was rejected and Austria made an arrangement with the National Bank, which only last year resumed specie payments, to grant a loan of a hundred millions in small circulating notes, making the same a legal tender. Up went the price of specie. The bankers and commercial classes suffered, and large failures occurred. Commerce and trade were paralysed. I met two Hungarians, who were leaving for the United States, who were fortunate enough to obtain specie at a loss of thirty-five per cent, against paper. This stubborn act of Austria lost her thesympathies of Europe, excepting the small German states, Bavaria, Wirtemburg, Hesse Cassel, Baden &c., some of whom are connected by family ties. Prussia has stood and still stands firm in resisting the warlike disposition of the small states of the confederation, observing an armed neutrality until the real interests of Germany proper are attacked.
The French people who opposed the war are now almost universally in its favor. The triumphal departure of the Emperor, his reception in Piedmont, the subscription to the French loan of more than four times the amount, justifies this belief. The report of a secret alliance between Russia and France, and the advancement of a corps of observation upon the Austrian and Prussian frontier, caused great consternation on the continent. The English funds fell five or six per cent., and many dealers and brokers were ruined by the panic which ensued. The Tory cabinet was denounced by the English. The report proved untrue. Then came the declaration of neutrality by England.
War declared, the French army were transported south by rail, and then crossed the Alps, while other regiments went by steamers on the Mediterranean to Genoa. The departure of the troops, the enthusiasm of the populace, the martial display and equipage of war has kept up a lively interest. The reports of the first battle and victory of Montebello are received, and we are anxiously waiting the news of further engagements. The national guard are the protectors of the city, and few regular troops are seen, which is another evidence of the popularity of the war of Italian independence.
France is engaged in a righteous cause in effecting the liberation of Italy from the yoke of tyranny and bondage of Austria. Having passed so much time in Italy, I may be permitted to judge of the hatred of foreign domination.
Sardinia was worthy of assistance, being the only really liberal and free government in the south of Europe. The Emperor, sagacious as he is, wanted the Italian question settled; and through the proposal of Russia for a congress, in which Austria dared not show her hand, he brought the matter to a focus. The occupation of the army, the glory of France at the head of European civilization, and the confirmation of the dynasty were needed. All these things had their influence. Austria was putin a false position. The result is war, and if confined to Italy good may grow out of it. If Germany attacks France on the Rhine, then the war becomes general; but the French government and press are doing everything possible to suppress such a move. The public journals are now unanimous in favor of Italian liberty, and the war cry is, down with the Austrians, and their expulsion from the shores of the Adriatic.
Last year this time I was riding and walking over the battle-grounds and fields of Alma, Inkerman, Kamiesch, Eupatoria, and Kertsch, where half a million lie buried, and probably some curious tourists among the number.
The death of the king of Naples has delivered that beautiful land of a tyrant. Probably the neutrality of the young king may be accepted. He is a cousin of Victor Emanuel, king of Sardinia, but the queen mother is the second wife of the deceased king, and of the house of Austria. She has been intriguing for the accession to the throne of her eldest son, and troubles are expected.
Strangers are getting away by small steamers in crowds, without comfort or accommodation. The war will make it very inconvenient for travellers. The Lloyd steamers in the Levant are withdrawn to the neutral harbor of Malta. The French have already blockaded the ports of the Adriatic and taken many Austrian prizes. I am thankful I have nothing undone in that direction, and can remain a neutral spectator.