Marienbad, Bohemia,August 29, 1858.
Karlsbad lies thirteen hundred and seventy feet above the level of the sea, in a deep narrow valley between steep projecting granite rocks and hills, upon the margin of a little serpentine stream, and from the many points of look-out reached by circuitous paths, gives enchanting views and panoramas. Upon one of the ragged jutting points stands a bronze deer, indicating the Hirschsprung. As the story goes, the discoverer of the Sprudel, or hot bubbling spring, which throws out forty-five buckets of water per minute, was the Emperor Karl the Fourth, in the year 1379, while in pursuit of a deer, which leaped over the precipice, pursued by the dogs, and when found was in a cooked condition in the boiling element.
The town has about three thousand inhabitants, and the Kurliste calls for about four thousand visitors during the season. What is called the wiese, or meadow, is formed of two long rows of houses built against the rocks fronting on the little stream Tepel, spanned by bridges, promenades bordered with shade trees, a quantity of little shops filled with wares and ornaments of every variety, offering a lounge for the ladies. Both sexes sit in the open air and take coffee and refreshments, and the parties are more thrown together, making it more like a family circle than in many other bathing places.
The different springs are so arranged with galleries as to protect from the sun and rainy weather. The walks and ascents are of the most wild and romantic character. Savage scenery and deep woods of thick forest trees, affording exercise and protecting from heat, abound. Altogether the natural attractions are almost unsurpassed on the continent. Baden-Baden and Karlsbad are two of the watering-places of Europe, where within afew minutes’ time one may escape the noise and excitement of the multitude, and find himself solitary and alone, admiring the works of nature.
The heat of the spring is 165° Fahrenheit. Objects encrusted with the deposit of this water are polished and prepared in different forms, the colors resembling the lava of Vesuvius, and are quite an article of commerce. Here is seen the crucifix upon Kreuz Berg. Now one stumbles upon a monument to the memory of a benefactor who has built a new walk, or extended balconies or iron railings; then one imagines, in a narrow defile in the rocks, he is entering a graveyard, with slabs to the memory of the deceased, but on reading the engravings in different languages, he finds they are tributes and songs of praise from invalids to the waters for restored health.
After a halt of a few days at this agreeable place, I proceeded to Marienbad. It is also a lovely spot, with newer arrangements than Karlsbad, better bath houses, and larger and better hotels. It lies one thousand nine hundred and thirty-two feet above the level of the North Sea, and contains only about one hundred and twenty private houses. Nearly six hundred thousand jugs of this water are sent out, and it finds its way to all parts of Europe. The entire spring grounds form an English park, with trout brooks running through, and are particularly adapted for those who wish to escape the bustle of the world to take care of their health while here in this quiet valley surrounded by hills and pleasant walks. Nature and art together offer everything for the recovery of the lost blessing.
The sources here, as well as at Karlsbad, are various, and the springs are built over. The Krews Brunnen has a colonnade of seventy-two Ionic columns, with a long hall connecting for bad weather. Before the same is the promenade, under the shade of lofty trees, with music morning and evening. Every guest has his vari-colored Bohemian glass, and takes his turn at the fountain of health, at intervals of a quarter of an hour, with a walk in the meantime.
A bright Sunday morning at Karlsbad announced the long expected birth of an heir to the Hapsburg dynasty. The bulletins gave the information that it was a crown prince, and accordingly a hundred and one guns were fired, all the church bells were rung, a Te Deum was performed, and the officersmilitary and civil, with their trappings and orders, paraded through the streets much to the edification of the peasants, in their picturesque costumes, who were attracted to the town by the holiday. At night the hills were illuminated with the lights representing the double-headed eagle, with the letters F. J., a twinkling star, and E., signifying Francis Joseph and Elizabeth.
The great achievement of the submarine telegraph strikes all with amazement, and the masses begin to comprehend that America is considerable of a country. The peasants have heard that grain in our country is sowed, harvested, threshed, and cleaned by machines, instead of manual labor, and the inquiry is, how is it possible?
Our failure in commercial affairs, through extended enterprise, improvements, and fast living, made Europe feel our importance, and from which it still suffers. We retrenched, stopped buying goods, and economized in public and private outlays, which cannot be done here with their standing armies and expensive court charges; and now I remark our banks are loaded down with specie, new gold discoveries are added to the stock, and only the movement of commerce is needed to put the wheels again in motion.
What would our farmers say if every head of cattle sold, paid a tax of two dollars for slaughtering privilege, and smaller animals in proportion; and every sale of houses and land from five to ten per cent. to the crown.
Hotelkeepers and owners of private houses, for neglect in announcing to the police the harboring a friend or stranger over night, have to pay from five to ten guilders.
Copenhagen, Denmark,Sept 12, 1858.
I had not the remotest idea of revisiting this northern region when I wrote you last; but such are the extraordinary facilities of locomotion in this age, that one finds himself within a few days transported hundreds and thousands of miles. I was on my way to Swinemunde, on the Baltic, for sea bathing, when I heard that my old friend Captain Irminger, with whom I visited Caraccas, La Guayra, and Porto Cabello in Venezuela, and theIsland of Curaçoa, and who landed me on the small island of Beati, south of Hayti, many years since, from the brig-of-war Örnen, was now residing in this city as admiral of the Danish fleet, and I felt that I could not resist the desire of seeing him again.
I can scarcely realize the fact that at this time last year I had just returned home for a visit, and have since passed over so much ground in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It seems but yesterday that I was climbing the mountains of Circassia, or travelling rapidly over the steppes of Southern Russia, or wandering through the ruins of Sebastopol, passing in review within the year Arabs, Egyptians, Turks, Circassians, Georgians, Greeks, Hungarians, Moldavians, and a host of other races; but when I reflect that space is now almost annihilated, I must be reconciled to the fact, and turn my attention to the quiet and peaceful Dane, and mark the changes, if any, since I saw him for the first time.
From Marienbad I came twenty miles to Franzensbad, not remarkable for its position, but somewhat for the healing qualities of its waters, of which about two hundred thousand jugs are sent away, and about two hundred invalids visit it annually.
What struck me as most singular are the Schlambäder, or Turf Baths, charged with alkali, salt, and iron. One large bath house is adapted to this use. A number of men are employed digging and wheeling in turf, which is broken and ground in a mill, not unlike the breaking of clay for brickmaking. A steam engine of sixteen horse power is employed for this use, as also for pumping and for the heating of the water reservoirs. The bath tubs are mounted on wheels, filled with the black mixture, like thick mud, and rolled through the inner courtyard and in the outer door of the bath rooms. The patient takes his bath and then jumps into another of equally hot water, for washing and cleansing himself. The cost of such a bath is only half a dollar. They are said to be extremely strengthening after the use of other baths and water drinking, and particularly useful in rheumatic and paralytic afflictions. A couple of days was quite sufficient to familiarize one’s self with the springs, grounds, advantages, and disadvantages of the locality.
A ride of thirty-five miles by post, and one bids adieu to Bohemia, in Austria, and strikes the frontier of Saxony on therailroad to Leipzig, a city celebrated for its fairs. It has seventy thousand inhabitants, and is surrounded with pretty garden suburbs. Among the number is Gerhard’s, where is the monument to Prince Poniatowski, who lost his life in jumping his horse across the little stream Elster, which runs through the city. This was at the famous battle of Leipzig, of 1813.
I arrived on a Saturday evening. The next morning service commenced in the Protestant churches at half-past eight, and continued till half-past ten. Numerous congregations attended, and listened to earnest, faithful preaching. During the exercises all places of entertainment are closed, but opened afterwards for necessary purposes.
The beautiful walks of Rosenthal, and oak woods, that extended to the village of Gohlis where Schiller wrote his Don Carlos, were fully occupied with promenaders after dinner, and the many public gardens filled with the multitudes partaking of their coffee and lager beer, the men smoking their pipes and cigars, women embroidering and listening to the bands of music, and children with their nurses amusing themselves upon the grass. All seemed happy and quiet, and as the evening approached some wended their way to the summer theatre, in an open garden, others to their homes. Such are the customs, and such the force of education even in the land of Luther’s reformation.
I made a halt of two days at Leipzig by way of reviving my recollections, and spent a day at Halle, on the river Saale, noted for its university—a very old city, of thirty thousand inhabitants, offering nothing of particular interest. The railroad passes through Gotha, Dessau, and Wittenburg, all of which places I had formerly seen in detail before this mode of conveyance existed here. As I partook of some refreshment at Wittenburg, which I once described to you, I inquired if the old town was as much a place of pilgrimage as formerly. The reply was to the contrary, since the railroad passed through the people had no time to stop. It had once cost me a long journey to visit the houses where Luther and Melancthon lived and wrote, and where they lie buried.
I also looked in upon friends at Berlin, whom I had left eighteen months before, a picnic party in the country being the result, and made a visit to the grounds of Baron Humboldt,where the remains of the illustrious traveller’s parents are entombed.
Governor Wright drove us to Charlottenburg, the royal residence. At the opera in the evening the young crown prince of Prussia was present with his new bride, young Victoria. A sojourn of three days in a city which I had visited so repeatedly, and in which I had almost gained a residence, was brief, but I wasen routefor the salt breezes of the sea, and two days later found myself walking ashore from the good steamer Geiser in the well known port of Copenhagen.
The admiral accompanied me up the coast by steamer some thirty miles to Helsingsen, and visited the famous old castle of Kronburg and its fortifications, whose thirty-six pounders reach the Swedish coast opposite, but as the Sound dues are now compromised with all foreign powers, the neat and formerly flourishing town looks cheerless. The neighboring bathing place, Marienburg, if once brought into notice, would help to revive it.
Omitting the Dardanelles, few straits are so much used by vessels as this passage. A strong north wind was bringing in many ships, while almost an entire fleet were at anchor waiting to get out.
The settlement of this knotty Sound question is a source of gratification to all ship navigators, and the result, I trust, will be quite as advantageous for Denmark.
A ride of twenty-two miles from the city to the castle of Fredericksborg, with the visit to the beautiful grounds and the interior of the immense edifice, with its richly decorated saloons, halls, church, and picture galleries, and return, occupied a full day, even with fast horses and equipages from the royal stables.
My friend ranks as chamberlain to the king, and presented me to his majesty, whom we found with his master of ceremonies on a fishing excursion. He is passionately fond of angling, and had already caught sufficient for a good dinner, which he had served in a little summer-house, upon a small island in the lake. He received me cordially, and we had a long chat in French together, and he assured me I should always be welcome in Denmark. I enjoyed a lunch in the palace, a stroll in the flower and fruit gardens, and through the extended park, and immense and majestic BlackForest, a glance over the beautiful lakes and picturesque sheets of water, and the return drive to town, and the setting sun found me at a family dinner with one with whom I had passed through many interesting scenes nine years before.
Swinemunde, Prussia,Sept. 20, 1858.
In my last communication from Denmark, space did not permit a description of many objects of attraction in and about Copenhagen, which might afford pleasure and information to the tourists, most of whom, however, wend their way to the south of Europe.
The celebrated Danish sculptor, Thorwaldsen, left his fortune for the founding of a museum, in the court of which repose his remains, surrounded by the models and many of the originals of all his great works of art. The government collections of antiquity, from the earliest occupation of the country, when hatchets and weapons of stone were only known, marking the various periods of civilization, and improvements from wood and stone to iron and steel, are of great interest.
The visitor can form a pretty accurate idea of Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland life from the many objects of costume, boats, sledges drawn by dogs, &c., in use in those countries. The suburbs of the city abound with beautiful gardens, and places of public resort for concerts, summer theatres, and amusements for the masses, who flock thither on festival occasions. The now gay appearance of the city, and the air of comfort among the people, struck me favorably, having seen them first during the Schleswig-Holstein war, under disadvantageous circumstances.
By steamer I came to this place, from which I write, lying upon the island of Usedom, about fifty miles from Stettin, upon the river Oder. It is a harbor, bath, and garrison city of five thousand inhabitants.
The abolition of the Sound duties has proved of great advantage to Stettin, to this place, and indeed to all the Prussian ports of the Baltic. They should thank our government for the initiative measures in the matter. Denmark felt aggrieved, without doubt, at our obstinacy, but eventually it will probably be for herinterest, as the revenue fund, the respective sums contributed by different powers, will perhaps quite equal the former receipts, particularly after passing through the hands of many office-holders.
The communication daily between this place and Stettin, up the river, the departure and arrival of sailing vessels, steamers for Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, gives an additional interest to bath guests, whose numbers amount to perhaps a thousand at some periods of the season. The bath-houses for both sexes lie about a mile from the town, upon a beautiful sandy beach, and are reached by shady walks for those on foot, or by good carriage roads. The excursions are by steamer to the island of Rugen; by carriage to another bath called Herrings Dorf, prettily situated among leafy groves, with a delightful and invigorating salt atmosphere. A village of fishermen is found in the vicinity, who furnish a good supply of the eatables of the briny sea. The weather is still mild, the water sufficiently warm, and the baths are considered serviceable until the first of next month. It being however late, the majority of the guests have departed, leaving the theatre players with a light audience, and the weekly balls thinly attended. The house owners can repose for the winter upon the summer harvest, until spring, when the whitewashing, painting, and little flower gardens must be looked after, and made as attractive as possible, to the eye of the tenant.
The new fortifications here are of remarkable strength and beauty, effectually protecting the narrow entrance to the harbor. The brick lighthouse, two hundred feet in height, ascended by a spiral staircase of three hundred steps, is provided with the French Reflectors, and can be seen for many miles. A view from the top over the sea, the river, and the surrounding country, well repays the climber. Our worthy German vice-consul, Herr Krouse, and his excellent family, have offered civilities tending to make my sojourn very agreeable. The soil is sandy, the streets unpaved, and in some respects I am reminded of Cape May; but an excursion a few miles brings one to dense pine forests, then to fertile pasture fields, where fine crops of hay have been gathered; then come turf meadows, with inexhaustible quantities of fuel, which, strange to say, after being dug over a few years is found to be renewed. These belong tothe Crown, that leases them out for a term, for extracting or cutting, and derives a large revenue therefrom. Then we ascend a high hill covered with beech trees, affording an extensive and enchanting view of the neighboring country. At one point some four thousand acres of land are covered with water, or shallow lake, which is in process of being reclaimed, or pumped out, after the system of Holland. Altogether, the country has attractions for one accustomed to sights where nature is more lavish of her gifts; but those from the flat lands of the north of the kingdom, who smell salt water for the first time, are quite in raptures, and chant the praises of the baths of Prussia’s most prominent watering-place.
On inquiry I find the laboring classes are better paid here, as is the case in most sea-ports, than they are in the interior. In Denmark the condition of that class seems easier, and there are less dispositions to emigrate. The female portion of some parts of Germany are the most entitled to sympathy. They are made slaves and beasts of burden, and ill paid for their services. Even in hotels where the wirt, or master, taxes in his bill eight silben groschen (or twenty cents per day) for service, not including theporterorboots, the poor domestics get in many cases only twenty-four thalers (or eighteen dollars) per year, and where the good will of the traveller makes a donation in many cases it is extorted from them under penalty of dismissal. More would emigrate if they had the means to get away, and would be industrious and valuable citizens in any country. The tender feelings of Europe, through incendiary works and pamphlets, have been so excited that, as Americans, we are called upon to rebut the charges of inconsistency of slave-holding under our republican system, as ifweat the north were responsible for the south, and can only reply that millions on the continent might well envy the well-fed negroes upon southern plantations.
It is to be regretted that our laws are so lax in the punishment of crime, and that so many high-handed examples of public outrage occur, all of which are portrayed in glowing colors in the European journals.
Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Prussia,Oct. 15, 1858.
Having formerly seen Austrian and Russian Poland, whose capitals are Cracow and Warsaw, I was induced to make the detour on my route from Dantzic to look in upon Posen, the chief city of Prussian Poland, which by rail was soon accomplished.
Among the forty-five thousand inhabitants ten thousand are Jews. I came in on Saturday, their Sabbath day, and on a festival occasion, and thus had a good opportunity of seeing the multitude, as also the wealthier classes, upon the promenade, and the many pretty faces of the Hebrew women. They have recently erected a splendid synagogue, as is the case in Frankfort-on-the Maine, Pesth, in Hungary, and other places. The Jews, as a people, are acquiring wealth and importance, and making advances in science. Had they the same privileges enjoyed in our country, the distinction between the races would not be so marked.
Among the twenty-three churches of the city, a number of which I visited on the Sunday, the newly rebuilt Dome of the thirteenth century contains the Golden Chapel, in which are placed the bronze gilt statues of two Polish kings there interred. High mass was being celebrated in the Latin and Polish tongues when I visited it. The original Bauer, or peasant costume of the country was well represented. It is picturesque but somewhat ridiculous, fashion’s innovations not having yet reached it.
In the Stanislaus Church, which is of strict Italian architecture, with its marble statues of saints, illuminated glass windows, altars, pulpit decorations and paintings, I could fancy myself in the Pope’s dominions.
The Poles are decided Romanists, and cannot be converted readily by the Russians to the Greek faith, or by the Prussians to the Evangelical. The Prussian or German population is about one-third professing the Protestant and reformed religion. The balance are Israelites and Catholic Poles.
The city is fortified in the strongest manner, with walls, batteries, gates, and trenches, throughout the entire circumference, and contains immense barracks for the soldiery, stables andmagazines of supplies for quite an army, if required. Several thousand troops are here stationed.
One sees no prospect for the regeneration of Poland. To occupy a position under the government the young must acquire the German language, notwithstanding their prejudice and hate of their subduers. They are divided up between three powers, and get little sympathy from the great nations they looked towards for relief. Little by little their identity will be lost, and they will become part and parcel of the governments which deprived them of their liberties.
When I look upon and examine the bulwarks of defence newly erected, and in progress of erection, at Swinemunde, Stettin, Konigsberg, here, and at Custrin, I am not surprised that from one-third to one-half of the whole revenue of Prussia is employed in the army department. These are besides only a small portion. Look at the immense establishment of Ehrenbreitstein, the Gibraltar of the Rhine; at the fortress of Mayence, and the many others on the frontiers. How thankful should we be as a people that we are not obliged to tax every article of food put into our mouths, every garment we wear, and abridge all pursuits and pleasures to sustain masses of soldiers and hordes of officers for defence against our sister states, thereby employing the youngest and most active of our youth, incapacitating them for other pursuits, and demoralizing the society of wives and daughters.
Dirschau, where the road branches off for Dantzic, has one of the finest Gothic station houses which I have seen in the north of Europe. The line belongs to the government, and the iron bridges over the river Weichsel or Vistula at that place, and over the Nogat at Marienberg, in connexion with the old castle, formerly the seat of the grand masters of the German Order of Knights, altogether attract many visitors. The old town in itself, for its antiquity, is worth a visit, but the castle is of much interest to Germans. It was built in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, during the conquest of the country, and rebuilt by the government from 1819 to 1820. The saloons are beautifully arched, and one of them is sustained by a single column gracefully supporting its burden not unlike the branches of the palm tree. A cannon ball still sticks in the wall, thrown by the besieging Poles, from which the centre pillar barely escaped.
The portraits of the Knights, with their names and coats ofarms, were, for me, in some respects souvenirs of the original Knights of St. John, from which the order sprang, and of whose monuments I found so many in the islands of Rhodes and Malta. The antique figures, weapons, and coats of mail are to the people very curious.
Frankfort-on-the-Oder is in steam communication with Stettin. It is a dull city for a population of thirty thousand persons, although active during its four annual fairs, when it overflows with purchasers and sellers from all parts of Germany. Many of its warehouses are afterwards closed until the season returns, which gives it a melancholy appearance. Its suburbs and gardens, however, are pretty, as indeed they generally are in Germany, and the people have great taste for flowers and plants, as is noticed in the windows of the humblest village cottage.
I had passed through here twice before, but now I hold up for a rest, for which this city is well adapted, where nothing remarkable demands attention. It is a mistaken notion that the tourist lives a life of pleasure and indolence; on the contrary, untiring labor, application, and energy are required to enable him to profit by his travels. One is rejoiced at times to get to some quiet spot where no obligation is felt to take advantage of the sojourn, and have time for repose and to review the ground passed over.
The government is building new salt stores here upon the river bank, that article being a monopoly. Strolling along I observed some sixty men employed driving piles for the foundation, with only two drivers. I counted thirty men, each with cord in hand, a wooden handle thereto attached, and all fastened to the main rope. At a given signal up went the hammer, and down it fell upon the head of the pile. I was so astonished at the loss of power I asked the overseer why he did not use a machine, and that with six men I could accomplish more work than with his sixty. He answered they had none. I observed he would save the cost in a few days. Then an officer remarked that machines were a great curse, as they deprived the laborer of employment. The other dissented thereto, and added that they could not get men enough even at ten silben groschen (or twenty-five cents) per day. Think of that, where coffee is from thirty to forty cents per pound, sugar fifteen cents, and meats and rents in proportion, and tell me how the poor man lives!
A few days ago I met at a station an under forester in crownemploy, with his wife and four children. He was being transferred from one domain to another. I asked him how much salary he had. He replied, ten thalers per month, or one hundred and twenty per year, equal to ninety dollars of our money. I inquired, “How can you get through the year?” The reply was, “I must; rye bread is now cheaper, and water costs nothing.” A young girl was also waiting with a free passage ticket from her brother in America, via Hamburg to New York. Her position was evidently envied.
Hamburg, Germany,Nov. 5, 1858.
In the extreme north of Germany lies the grand duchy of Mecklenberg, a country less visited by travellers than most other parts of the Vaterland, whose institutions are peculiar to itself, and which is not included in the Zollverein, or Tariff Union. As it was the last of the German States I had not seen, I was desirous of visiting it. The lines of railroad from Frankfort-on-the-Oder, where I last wrote you, conveyed me to Schwerin, the capital of the Duchy.
It has a population of twenty thousand, and can boast of one of the finest schloss, or palaces in Deutschland. Wonders never cease. I was astonished to find this new Gothic edifice, which stands upon a small island, and upon which some millions have been expended, and could only wonder how in the nineteenth century the potentate of a small territory could gather together and expend such sums in extravagant construction. The saloons, halls, and dining-rooms, as well as bed-chambers, are luxuriously finished and furnished in modern style. A spiral staircase from the first floor to the upper apartments is of black marble, and the railing of bronze gold gilt. The church, or chapel, is richly decorated, and the windows are of stained glass. Several sentinels were under arms; permission was granted, for a fee, to inspect the whole premises, with the hot-houses, and obtain a fine view over the beautiful lake, reminding one of the sheets of water in the western part of our state.
The peasants are still attached to the soil, without the privilege of obtaining title for lands. The landholders own largeestates, and are wealthy. The duties upon importations are light. This class of citizens can obtain at small cost all articles they require. The crown is possessed of an immense domain, which brings in large revenues, enabling the grand-ducal family to expend large sums without extorting from the land proprietors; but inquiry may be made, “who pays?” the answer naturally is, “the labor of the peasant.” Time will make a change. The downtrod workman, if he can raise the means, will find his way to America, and they will have to introduce hired cultivators from the neighboring countries, or abandon the system.
Rostock and Weimar are their sea-ports on the Baltic; the former has a population of twenty thousand, and is quite noted for its shipbuilding. I found many vessels lying in ordinary for want of employment, growing out of the commercial crisis, and but few on the stocks.
Mecklenberg not being a manufacturing state, and the wealthy land proprietors not being able to loan on home securities, turned their attention to interest in shipbuilding, and are groaning over their losses.
A horticultural, agricultural, and mechanical exhibition was being held, which was of interest. The farm implements were of a heavy character, and capable of much improvement. As in most German towns, the walks and promenades have received much attention. The old fortifications and ramparts have been planted with shade trees and flowers, and afford a delightful stroll for the inhabitants.
The Blucher square, or place, contains the bronze monument erected to the memory of the marshal, celebrated at Waterloo, who was born in Rostock, in 1743. The parks, grounds, and lakes in and about Schwerin are as lovely as could be desired; but the residence city, notwithstanding its arsenal, port, and other public buildings, has the air of a forced growth.
An hour’s ride by railroad brought me to this great commercial, free trade city, with its population of one hundred and sixty-five thousand.
The great fire of 1842, which burnt over seventy-one streets and squares, and destroyed nearly two thousand houses, was the cause of making the new city as beautiful as it now is, and one sees no traces of the great conflagration; but, on the contrarymagnificent rows of tall, solidly constructed houses, public buildings, churches, exchange, immense hotels, of American internal arrangements, a number of which are situated upon the Alster Basin—a fine sheet of water, with broad avenues and sidewalks surrounding it. The streets of the old city are narrow, and paved with round cobble stones, dirty and dreary, making the contrast more striking. Almost continuous walks upon the site of the old walls surround the city, and are planted with shade trees and shrubbery. The view of the harbor and the Elbe, with its shipping, and the forests of masts, obtained from a height, is truly grand.
Hamburg being strictly a commercial city, and divested of the military parade, titles, orders, and the pomp of a court of monarchical cities, strikes an American coming from other parts of the continent, as being more like a Republican metropolis. The peculiar costume of the women water-carriers would be exceptional. Altona, in Holstein, belonging to Denmark, has almost grown into the city.
The gates are closed at night, and toll must be paid by every person passing, according to the lateness of the hour. The currency of the city is its peculiar kind—shilling, and mark Banco; the former worthtwo cents, and sixteen for mark. The traveller in Germany, in passing from one frontier to another, must dispose of the small coin of the country, which may be of no value after a few hours’ ride by the railway. A gentleman bound for Russia, whom I lately met in the cars, wished to purchase some fruit for his wife. He was on his way from Paris, did not speak German, and pulled out a handful of coin which he had received in change along the road, none of which would pass. The train was almost moving, and he was giving up in despair, when I came to the rescue. Mecklenberg, Denmark, and even Bremen change, is of little value here, although only separated by the frontier. A story is told of a Frenchman, who, starting on a tour through Germany and Italy, as an experiment put a twenty-franc gold piece in his vest pocket, changing the same into the currency of each country as he passed, and on his return found the entire sum had gone into the hands of the money-changers.
Hanover, Germany,Nov. 29, 1858.
I thought I had quite finished up my peregrinations in the north of Germany, but I found I had left unvisited parts of Schleswig Holstein, which, since the war of 1848, has occupied so much of the attention of German and Danish diplomats.
This country is populated mostly by Germans, and that language is generally spoken, but it is governed by Danish officers and the military, in as mild a form as possible; the ill-will and hatred of the inhabitants, however, is so great, that little social intercourse is kept up between them. The currency is Danish, but German coin passes for nearly its value, as the trade with Hamburg, and the direct communication by railroad with Kiel and Schleswig, keeps up the German influence, to the detriment of Copenhagen. After long delay, and bitter recriminations and threats, the Danish king has granted many concessions, and a constitution for self-representation. The people hope, and, with Germany, desire its union with the Vaterland; but the balance of power is such a delicate question in Europe, and the jealousy of governments towards each other so great, that the matter may be put off until, perhaps, a revolution brings a change. The quickest and easiest communication with Copenhagen is, via Kiel, by rail, a distance of seventy miles from Hamburg, where steamers are found in readiness for embarkation.
Every stranger that visits Hamburg, if time permits, should make an excursion in Holstein, if only to get a passing view of nature’s beauties, of picturesque lakes, meadows, and fields, with their hedges.
Were it not for the three gates, one would scarcely know he had left Hamburg in driving through the city of Altona, in Danish territory, to take the railroad for Kiel, as the two cities are nearly grown together.
Kiel has some fifteen thousand inhabitants. Its environs may be called beautiful. The forests of beech and other trees along the water’s edge, with bathing places, and some elevated points of view, make it a desirable summer residence. It evidently has much improved of late. The country mansions and gardensbear testimony of the fact. The fish market is abundantly supplied, and what is better, there is no duty, as is the case the moment the German frontier is crossed in the interior. Among the delicacies, in smoked articles, are the “Schnebel,” and large sized eels, which are exported in great quantities to the interior. The oysters used in Germany are mostly from the North Sea. They are much smaller than ours, and have not unfrequently a coppery flavor. Salmon and lobsters come mostly from Norway. Hamburg is celebrated for its basement rooms, or Kellers, where are found all the dainties that land and water furnish.
Kiel has its monuments, public buildings, and attractions, but nothing very striking to the general traveller. Its harbor is fine and deep, and here lay at anchor, near the shore, the entire fleet, at one period during the war with Russia.
The terminus of the railroad which leads to this city is at Harburg, the new rival of Hamburg, upon the Elbe, and only eight miles from the last-named place. When I was last there, in 1855, the inundation of the river had flooded the island of Wilhelmsburg, carrying away houses, cattle, and crops, and destroying millions of property in the lower part of the metropolis. Hundreds of persons were shelterless. We were aroused at midnight in the midst of a terrific rain storm, by the alarm guns warning the occupants of basements and one story dwellings, to save themselves from drowning. When we took the steamer for Harburg, in passing the island we saw only the tops of trees where now I pass in an omnibus, over a well cultivated country, with dusty roads, and the people complaining for want of rain.
A few miles below lies Stade, a small town of six thousand inhabitants, which gives the name to the Stade Zol, or imposition of the River Elbe dues, which our government is trying to induce the Hanoverian authorities to renounce.
Harburg has made much progress, and grown to be quite a city under the protection of the Hanoverian government, and favors in the way of duties and manufactures.
The route to this place is an uninteresting one, tying in part over the Luneburger Haide or Heath, which is without cultivation. I perceive, however, that advances are made in the way of irrigation, and it is pleasant to see entire waste lands, by the use of water, made to produce bountifully. It called to mind anexperiment of a rice garden, and olive and almond trees, which Mehemet Ali produced upon the white sand of the Egyptian desert, by the use of the Persian wheel, driven by oxen; and it struck me that the Arabs regarded him little less than Deity.
Having formerly described what was of most interest in this city when I made it a temporary residence, I can only add that the population has increased, the city limits extended, and many new improvements have been made. The large cotton and carpet factories flourish in consequence of the great protection in the tariff. Rents and living expenses, as well as taxation, are increasing, but workmen are better paid than formerly, as the country was chiefly agricultural and there is now more demand for labor, growing out of the manufacturing.
The King, although blind, is building a new palace, and has just called upon the Stande or Chambers, for an appropriation ofsix hundred thousand thalersfor the work, as far as completed.
A fair has been recently held here, which for a stranger is well worth seeing. One day only is allowed for the furniture sale, and it is held in a different part of the city. Every variety of household article is exposed for sale, brought in from small neighboring villages, which gives the poor a chance to buy cheap. It is curious to see the stream of wagons and carts, drawn not only by horses, oxen, and donkeys, but single cows and spaniel dogs in harness, the drivers cracking their whips. Now comes a load of countrywomen, in fancy colored short corsets and jupes, then the Bauer, or peasant, with his high-topped boots, long-tailed coat, and big bright buttons. The market-places were filled with booths and venders from other cities, with every variety of articles, attractive and for use; jewelry, wearing apparel, and pumpernickel, or honey cake, in great quantities, an indispensable article for the multitude. The good-natured country people, with their Platt Deutsch, or land dialect, seemed to have a good time of it, and the national dishes of sausage and saur kraut, with light beer and pipes, were in great demand.
Here in Hanover, and also in Celle, a town of ten thousand population, which I lately visited, the language spoken by the upper classes is the most pure in all Germany.