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diff --git a/43745-8.txt b/43745-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8e8ffb5..0000000 --- a/43745-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9228 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's With the World's Great Travellers, Volume IV, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: With the World's Great Travellers, Volume IV - -Author: Various - -Editor: Charles Morris - Oliver H. G. Leigh - -Release Date: September 16, 2013 [EBook #43745] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD'S GREAT TRAVELLERS *** - - - - -Produced by D Alexander, Ralph Carmichael and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: THE COLOGNE CATHEDRAL] - -PAINTING BY W. WITTHOFT - - - - - _SPECIAL EDITION_ - - WITH THE WORLD'S - GREAT TRAVELLERS - - EDITED BY CHARLES MORRIS - AND OLIVER H. G. LEIGH - - VOL. IV - - CHICAGO - UNION BOOK COMPANY - 1901 - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1896 AND 1897 - BY - J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY - - COPYRIGHT 1901 - E. R. DUMONT - - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - SUBJECT. AUTHOR. PAGE - - Paris, Amsterdam OLIVER H. G. LEIGH 5 - Florence and its Art Treasures SARAH J. LIPPINCOTT 16 - The Lake Region of Italy ROBERT A. MCLEOD 26 - A Day in Rome BAYARD TAYLOR 37 - Pompeii and its Destroyer ALFRED E. LEE 48 - Mount Etna in Eruption BAYARD TAYLOR 61 - Plebeian Life in Venice HORACE ST. JOHN 70 - Athens and its Temples J. L. T. PHILLIPS 79 - The Isles of Greece HENRY M. FIELD 89 - The Seraglio on the Golden Horn EDWARD DANIEL CLARKE 100 - Zermatt and its Scenery STANLEY HOPE 112 - Alpine Mountain Climbing EDWARD WHYMPER 121 - A Typical Dutch City EDMONDO DE AMICIS 131 - Antwerp and its People ROSE G. KINGSLEY 140 - Art Museums of Dresden ELIZABETH PEAKE 147 - The Students of Heidelberg BAYARD TAYLOR 158 - The Streets of Berlin MATTHEW WOODS 165 - A Ramble in Prussia STEPHEN POWERS 176 - The Salt-Mines of Wieliczka J. ROSS BROWNE 183 - The Jumping Procession of Echternach M. OGLE 193 - The Capital of Austria JOHN RUSSELL 201 - The Esterházy Palaces JOHN PAGET 210 - From Hamburg to Stockholm MRS. ANDREW CROSSE 221 - The Midnight Sun LANGLEY COLERIDGE 229 - In the Russian Capital SAMUEL S. COX 236 - A Visit to Finland DAVID KER 246 - Moscow in 1800 EDWARD DANIEL CLARKE 257 - A Russian Sleigh Journey FREDERICK BURNABY 267 - - - - -List of Illustrations - -VOLUME IV - - THE COLOGNE CATHEDRAL _Frontispiece_ - LOUVRE MUSEUM, APOLLO GALLERY 12 - ST. GOTTHARD RAILWAY (Viaduct and Tunnel) 28 - ARCH OF TITUS, ROME 38 - THE FAMOUS BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO, VENICE 46 - THE CHURCH OF ST. MARK, VENICE 74 - ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS, GREECE 84 - CORINTH, GREECE 96 - THE LION MONUMENT, LUCERNE 114 - KLEINE SCHEIDEGG (The Jungfrau) 124 - A TYPICAL DUTCH WINDMILL 134 - THE WATERLOO PYRAMID 144 - THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF HEIDELBERG 160 - INNSBRUCK, THERESA STREET 186 - BUDAPEST 212 - MOSCOW 258 - - - - -WITH THE WORLD'S -GREAT TRAVELLERS. - - - - -THE WORLD'S GREAT CAPITALS OF TO-DAY. - -OLIVER H. G. LEIGH. - - -PARIS, AMSTERDAM. - -Paris, pleasure capital of the world, the ideal cosmopolitan city, a -thousand different delights for a thousand different tastes, is as -fascinating to the scholar and bookworm as to the tourist and the belle -of fashion. The weary old world would die of melancholy if the light -of gay Paris were to go out. Lutetia, as the Romans called the ancient -town, is still the merry child in the family of nations. Fortune gave -it favors without stint. Emperors and kings delighted to adorn it with -a lavishness equalled by the lasting splendor of their gifts. Art and -learning, the genius of ecclesiasticism and the desire for popular -enjoyment, contributed the venerable edifices and their priceless -treasures, and dowered the modern city with the heirlooms of many -centuries. Notre Dame rose eight hundred years ago from the ruins of a -fourth-century church. A few years ago were discovered the foundations -of an amphitheatre capable of seating ten thousand people as far back -as the year 350, when the city's population must have been at least -twice that number. No wonder all the world gathers periodically at this -natural centre of everything that can make a city a miniature world -in itself, for in the Paris of to-day stand side by side monuments and -memorials of antiquity, and the grandest triumphs of latter-day genius -in a profusion that bewilders the eye and the mind. It is as though the -genii of all time and all peoples had conspired to shower their fairest -gifts upon the favored spot of earth round which the drama of the ages -has enacted its tremendous tableaux. - -A run through its history must be the first item in the programme of -the traveller who wishes to take with him his best pair of eyes. Then -he will find the old gray stones turn into glass to let him see into -the hidden glory behind. The lesser charms of the pretty city are -palpable to any child. Yet it is impossible to look at the building -or monument that first catches the eye without a flash-light of mere -newspaper lore casting a momentary shadow, or glare, over it. It is not -so long ago that the flames lit by the Commune brought the beautiful -city nearer to ruin than all the storms of centuries had effected. In -its long day Paris has suffered most of the ills that civic life is -heir to. Its people have been subject to political maladies from time -to time, that have endangered its very existence. A strange career, a -blend of demoniac fury and light-hearted gaiety, yesterday its streets -flowing with citizen and royal blood, to-day they echo with jubilant -laughter, to-morrow--? The wheel is more likely to revolve than to -stand long still. Paris alone among the great capitals of the world -prefers change to stability, which is only another expression of her -happy, mercurial temperament. France is sedate, plodding, content with -present conditions until sure they can be bettered. Paris must gallop -even if it costs a fall or two, which makes it the most interesting of -all places. - -When a city is little else than "sights" there is monotony in naming -them. Paris itself commands first attention. The grandeur of its -design, its famous boulevards, avenues and streets, and many of its -ornamental features, must be credited to the last emperor, Napoleon -III., whose dynasty came to grief at Sedan. Modern Paris owes more -to his reign, and modern travellers more of their pleasure, than is -ordinarily acknowledged. He bade Haussmann replace the old streets -with the noble avenues that give inexhaustible sensations of delight -at every turn and vista. A happy thought was that which perpetuates -the great names of France in these street names; even literature is -not forgotten, but reflects the honor it receives from tablets naming -avenues after Montaigne, Voltaire, Hugo and others. - -The three-mile walk from the Place de la Concorde to the site of -the old Bastille yields the ideal of city magnificence and personal -delight. There is no disappointment of even extravagant expectation. -This unrivalled _Place_ is in itself a grand intellectual as well -as artistic feast. The Luxor obelisk brings into mind Egypt's six -thousand years of strangest history, its Pyramids, its Sphinx, and -Napoleon. Close to it the Revolution guillotined a king and queen, -and an old aristocracy. Heroic sculptures range around the _Place_, -symbolizing eight great cities of France, that of lost Strasburg veiled -in mourning. From the _Place_ and the twelve streets radiating from the -Arc de Triomphe, it is not possible to go far without coming upon some -striking feature. - -The Church of the Madeleine is accounted the most exquisite building -in the city, though it is modelled on the art of ancient Greece. There -are many triumphs of later styles, each grand, but yielding the palm -to this Temple of Glory, as Napoleon intended it to be. It is three -hundred and thirty feet long, one hundred and thirty wide, and one -hundred high, without windows, and surrounded by Corinthian columns. - -The Arc de Triomphe is the stateliest arch ever built, perfect in every -respect. It was copied from the imperial arches of old Rome, with -grander massiveness. It commemorates the triumphs of Napoleon. - -Notre Dame is not a modern imitation. The great cathedral stands on the -little Ile de la Cité which was the beginning of Paris, inhabited two -thousand years ago by the Parisii, a Celtic tribe whose name survives. -For eight centuries it has been a Christian church. The west front is -rich in statues of the kings of France. The originals were destroyed -in the Revolution, but have been replaced. The cathedral itself was -turned into the mockery of a Temple of Reason, with a woman of the -town enthroned as its deity. Napoleon's wise statesmanship restored -the church to its rightful usages. The Commune once more made free -with the old shrine, using it as barracks. Among its relics is the -robe Archbishop Darboy wore when the Communists put him to death. The -churches of Paris have weird stories to tell. The sacred spot where -Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, was buried, in the sixth century, -was a place of worship until the Revolution changed it into a Pantheon. -It became a church once more in 1851, though in its crypt lie Voltaire, -Rousseau, and other famous writers. The tomb of Napoleon is beneath the -Dome of the Church of the Invalides, attached to the home for veterans -founded by Louis XIV. - -The famous palace of the Tuileries was built in the sixteenth century -for Catherine de' Medici. It was the home of emperors and kings, and -the shrine of precious treasures of art from that time down to the fall -of the second empire, when the Communists destroyed it beyond repair. -The politics of spite never yet inspired its votaries to create a -thing of beauty for posterity to enjoy. Opposite the blank left by this -vandal outrage stands the Louvre, perhaps the greatest jewel casket of -art in existence, certainly beyond human power to replace if destroyed. -Yet even the Louvre was, in 1870, undermined by the mob in power, who -longed to blow it into nothingness--in their pious enthusiasm for -enlightened progress. This two-hundred-year old palace is a wonder -of architectural beauty. Its museums are famous for the statuary and -paintings by the great masters. The Venus of Melos stands as the chief -feature of one gallery. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, -Titian and others of their rank are represented here among the two -thousand pictures, besides innumerable masterpieces in various arts. -The gallery of Apollo passes description as a chamber, were it empty. -Its contents have almost fabulous value. - -The Luxembourg Palace was built in 1620. It has known strange -experiences--first royal habitation, then a prison during the -Revolution, again a palace under the Directory and Consulate, and at -last the house of the Republic's Senate. The Palais Royal was built -for Cardinal Richelieu. After his death it had a king for its master, -to-day its grand arcades echo to the chatter of bargain-seeking -shoppers, despite the firebrands of the Communists. Adjoining it is -the national playhouse, the Comédie Française, which also had a narrow -escape from the caresses of the reformers. Molière managed this theatre -for a while, for which, and because he gave the world immortal plays, -he was denied Christian burial. His statue, however, makes amends. A -greater theatre as to size and gorgeousness is the Grand Opera House. -Three acres of central ground were cleared of ordinary buildings and -streets to make room for this imposing structure, which is the most -ornate of its kind in the world. The mere pictures of its staircase and -foyer are bewildering in magnificence. - -After weariness of city sights it is good to make for the Bois de -Boulogne, the main park of Paris. Its twenty-three hundred acres are -connected with the Champs-Élysées by several avenues, of which the -finest is the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, three hundred and fifteen -feet wide and forty-two hundred long. The drive round the lake is the -rendezvous of fashion every afternoon. The zoological garden, model -dairy, the avenue of acacias, the field of Longchamps, where races and -reviews take place, are among the showplaces. At the opposite, the -east, side of the city is the spacious Bois de Vincennes, a favorite -park with many attractions. The monuments of Paris are familiar to -the average reader who stays at home. The July Column replaces the -Bastille, the Vendôme Column, with its statue of Napoleon as Cæsar, was -pulled down by the Commune and has risen again. Arches, fountains and -statuary abound on all sides. Père la Chaise cemetery is the favorite -field of oratory, many eulogies of the dead being political harangues -of extreme types. Here are buried enough celebrities to immortalize -a monumentless city, Abélard and Héloïse, Chopin, Rossini, Bellini, -Cherubini, Alfred de Musset, Bernardin de St.-Pierre, Beaumarchais, -Béranger, Talma, Racine, Molière, Lafontaine, Balzac, and many national -statesmen. In Montmartre cemetery lie Heine, Murger, Halévy, Gautier, -Troyon. Lafayette and many of the old nobility who perished in the -Revolution, repose in the Picpus burial-ground. - -There are many attractive places near Paris, such as Versailles, -which must be counted among the city sights. This old town has grown -up around the palace built by Louis XIV. It has not been inhabited -by royalty since the Revolution, but is a museum devoted "to all -the glories of France." The halls are thronged with statues and -portraits of the great men of history and her victorious battles. The -bedroom of the Grand Monarch, the halls of the kings and marshals, -the Queen's Chamber, and every corner of the building are rich in -historical memories. The great park and famous fountains, the royal -coaches, the Grand Trianon villa which was the home of Madame de -Maintenon, and the Petit Trianon, the cosy country cottage of Marie -Antoinette, all have their fascinations. So might we notice St. Cloud, -the favorite residence of the last emperor, and St. Denis, with its -ancient cathedral, where the kings of France during eleven centuries -were buried. The Revolutionists dug up the royal bones and flung them -into a ditch, whence they were afterwards borne back into the crypt -of St. Denis. The region of Paris teems with associations, grown -sacred by age and sentiment, yet its citizens rarely appear to be in -the serious vein. Their mode of life conduces to rapidity of thought -and quick passing of emotions. Over a simple glass of sweetened water -grave-looking men will vivaciously enact a dialogue which a stranger to -the country might suppose was the prelude to a tragedy, when it is only -a comparison of views on last night's ballet. The outdoor gatherings -in front of the innumerable cafés is one of the charms of the gay -capital. The habit is Parisian to the core. They sit and quiz the human -menagerie as it parades for their delectation; at least this is the -complacent view taken of the moving crowd by the true Parisian. The -great streets are made for grand informal parades; there is elbow room -for hundreds of thousands and each avenue has a park-like aspect. The -French are gifted with the instinct of perfect taste in most things, -and this shows nowhere more effectively than in their planning and -using a city for artistic ends. Every street stall and lamppost is made -part of the general scheme of adornment. - -The first few explorations of Paris will fill the mind with wonder -and admiration. Then comes the irrepressible desire to know what all -its magnificence, its historic object-lessons, all its inexhaustible -resources of art and invention, will lead to. A hopeless question, yet -the past piques curiosity about the future. So stupendous a monument to -human achievement of every order surely betokens an abiding greatness. -A people capable of creating a Paris must be destined to a millennium -of happy peace and unbroken prosperity. National temperament rarely -changes, but bitter experience cannot forget the consequences of -former laxity in managing the helm of state. Paris owes it to modern -civilization and to posterity to conserve its remaining treasures, at -whatever cost. - - * * * * * - -Amsterdam after Paris may suggest water after wine. A watery city it -is and water is excellent at times, if not always. The water streets -of the Dutch capital are, sometimes, if not always, inky, and ink of -an odor best described by prefixing a couple of consonants. Yet old -Amsterdam is full of charm, though not of the Parisian kinds. Its -quaint houses have a general look of being turned end-on to the street, -their ornamental gables make a sky-line suggestive of a lady's lace -collar. Many of them have a projecting crane with rope and pulley, -giving a warehouse appearance to private dwellings. They are still used -to save dirtying the stairs when goods are delivered. Cleanliness is -the prevailing vice of Amsterdam dames. From bedroom to kitchen every -room, and everything in every room, is painfully clean. Between six and -eight in the morning every good housewife swills the front of her home -from the roof to the curbstone, whether it needs it or not. - -[Illustration: LOUVRE MUSEUM, APOLLO GALLERY] - -The capital, as Erasmus of Rotterdam once remarked, is a place where -the people dwell on the tops of trees, like birds. Amsterdam is -built on three million piles, driven deep into the swampy soil. Half -of its streets are canals. A large population lives in canal-boats -the year round. The city is divided by large and small canals into -about a hundred islands, with three hundred bridges. The inhabitants -feel secure on their timber foundation, though buildings have sunk, -occasionally. While the wood-worms are few and feeble and the piles -keep wet there is little danger. - -The river Amstel passes through the city and gives it its name from -the great system of embankments which dam the ever-threatening tide -from the arm of the Zuyder Zee on which Amstel-dam stands. This arm -is called the Y, spelled Ij in Dutch, and will form a ship-channel, -fifty miles long, to the North Sea when fully completed. A large -shipping trade is done in the spacious docks, where coffee, tobacco, -and sugar come in vast quantities from the Dutch East Indies. One of -the industries peculiar to Amsterdam is diamond-cutting. It is not -difficult to get access to one of the workshops, and the operation is -exceedingly interesting. On market-days and holidays there is a chance -to see the old-time picturesque costumes still worn in country parts. -The metal helmets, sometimes of silver and gold, with curious ear -ornaments have a fine antique air. On Sunday evenings the working folk -take their pleasures in the parks, of which swinging is with many the -favorite joy. A plump damsel or plumper matron stands facing the lover -or husband, and they can swing almost level with the treetop before -they tire, or tumble. They take no harm by a fall. - -The churches are large, cold and gloomy. The Oude Kerk dates from about -1300. The stained windows are interesting and the organ, two or three -stories high, is powerful and mellow. Instead of the pews covering -the floor, they occupy a raised platform in the centre, enclosed by -a fence with locked doors. Near by may be seen a pile of boxes like -stools, which are charcoal stoves to warm the worshippers in winter. -The psalmody is so slow that the organ fills up the intervals between -words and lines with rolling chords. Near the palace in the centre of -the city is the Niewe Kerk, a more ornate and interesting church, built -in 1408, in which the sovereigns are crowned. Its monuments to Admiral -de Ruyter and Vondel, the national poet, are fine art-works, as also -are the carved pulpit and the bronzes in the choir. - -The royal palace, on the central square called the Dam, was built in -1648. It stands on thirteen thousand piles. It was originally the -State House. Opposite is the Beurs, or Exchange. The Dutch school -of painting has qualities not excelled by the finest productions -of other nations. Its painters developed a marvellous proficiency -in detail-work, a literalness of interpretation, a realism which -is undoubtedly imitative, but in its mastery of execution compels -enthusiastic admiration. The flatness of their country afforded no -chance for painting fine landscapes. What they saw was the sky and -the sea in the distance, and people, cattle and household goods at -close range. No painters among the old masters equal the Dutchmen -in cloud-scapes and sea-pieces, in fidelity to nature and delicate -touch. Similarly, there are few, if any, portraits as strong as these -wonderful canvases of the Dutch school. No other artists had the -genius to see the possible triumphs awaiting the brush that could -counterfeit the dewdrop on a rose, the glisten of the copper stew-pan -or the satin gown, or the fluffy texture of a beggar's coat. Now that -two generations have learned these things by patient imitation of -the old Dutchmen this art has become familiar, but no copyist of our -time has approached the marvellous beauty and skill that mark the old -Dutch masterpieces. The traveller will enjoy himself to the full in -the famous galleries of Amsterdam, and the other towns that lie within -easy reach. There are four hundred paintings in the Trippenhuis museum, -of which the most famous is Rembrandt's great picture, "The Night -Watch." Still more impressive to many is the magnificent work of Vander -Helst, "The Banquet of the Civic Guard," an immense canvas, showing -a band of men in armor carousing around a table loaded with gold and -silver plate, glasses, flagons, etc., affording an opportunity for -the painter to show Dutch art at its highest. There are great treats -in these galleries for the lover of pictures and for the student of -manners. Some of the old painters either lacked poetical imagination or -indulged their whimsical humor to the verge of the shocking, in certain -subjects. They had at least the merit of being faithful to life as they -saw it, which satisfies the average man better, on the whole, than -impressionism run to seed. - -Eight hundred years ago Amsterdam was a fishing village. In the -fifteenth century it became the most important commercial city in -the Netherlands. Peter the Great learned the art of ship-building in -the little village of Zaandam near the capital. A modern building -encloses the cottage in which he lived. The people are rightly proud -of their city and its history. They have not of late had opportunities -to test their old supremacy as sea-warriors, but they exhibit all -their sturdy characteristics in fighting the sea itself, repelling its -ceaseless attempts at invasion. The women may be expected to uphold -the national reputation for energy in any emergency, to judge by the -stolid contentment with which so many of them do men's work. They act -as railway signal men, boatmen, market porters, and do not object to -being harnessed with dogs as wagon teams. Yet they seem happy if not -exactly gay. In the cities less of this is noticeable. The capital -is not behind in artistic and literary culture. Scholarship has -always distinguished its people. Its old bookstores are a delightful -temptation. The zoological garden is one of the finest anywhere. -English is spoken in all the principal stores. The public charities -are on an extensive scale. The foreigner is occasionally embarrassed -at being politely saluted by members of the Exchange if he chances to -pass as they are coming out, and in many such ways he is impressed by -the courtesies shown him on all hands. One would not rush to Amsterdam -for Parisian excitements, but for nervous systems needing the tone -best secured by moderate activity in surroundings that are novel and -uniquely interesting, a visit to Amsterdam will prove as great a -pleasure as a benefit. - - - - -FLORENCE AND ITS ART TREASURES. - -SARAH J. LIPPINCOTT. - - [Mrs. Sarah J. Lippincott ("Grace Greenwood"), in her popular - "Haps and Mishaps of a Tour in Europe," has given a well-written - and appreciative account of Florence and its objects of art and - interest, which we here reproduce. Our extract begins with a - railway journey from Leghorn.] - - -The railway, which is a very good one, runs through a pleasant country -cultivated like a garden, which grows more and more lovely till you -reach Florence. The station is near Cascine, the fashionable drive -and promenade lying just beyond the city walls, along the Arno; so -that our first lookout was upon a gay and beautiful scene,--those -noble grounds thronged with equestrians, and pedestrians, and elegant -equipages. From that moment I have been charmed with Florence beyond -all expectation and precedent. Every picturing of fancy, every dream -of romance, has been met and surpassed. It is a city of enchantment, -rich in incomparable treasures for the lover of poetry and art. In -merely driving from the station to our hotel, on the Arno, near the -Ponte Vecchio, I was struck by the noble style of architecture; uniform -in solidity, and in a sort of antique solemnity, yet not monotonously -gloomy or curiously quaint. But when we drove about in the brightness -of a lovely morning, and saw the grand and ponderous old palaces, the -noble churches, the beautiful towers, the graceful bridges,--when we -caught, at almost every turn, natural pictures which art could never -approach,--I could only express by broken sentences and exclamations, -childishly repeated, the rare and glowing pleasure I enjoyed. - -O pictures of beauty, O visions of brightness, how must ye fade under -my leaden pencil! It is strange, but I never feel so poor in expression -as when my very soul is staggering under the weight of new treasures of -thought and feeling. - -One of our first visits was to the Royal Gallery, in the Uffizi. -Through several rooms and corridors, making little pause in any, we -passed to the Tribune,--for its size, doubtless the richest room -in the world in great works of art. In the centre stands the Venus -de Medici, "the wondrous statue that enchants the world," says the -poet; but as for me, I bow not before it with any heartiness of -adoration. Exquisite, tender, and delicate beyond my fairest fancy, -I found the form; graceful to the last point of perfection seemed to -me the attitude and action; but the smallness and the insignificant -character of the head, and the simpering senselessness of the face, -place it without my Olympus. I deny its divinity _in toto_, and bear my -offerings to other shrines. Yet the Venus de Medici does not strike me -as a voluptuous figure; it certainly is not powerfully and perilously -so, wanting, as it does, all strength of passion and noble development -of _soul_; for, paradoxical as it may seem, a soul of wild depths -and passionate intensity must lie beneath the alluring warmth and -brightness of a refined and perfect sensuality. - -Of another, and a far more dangerous character, I should say, is the -Venus of Titian, which hangs near it. Here is voluptuousness, gorgeous, -undisguised, yet subtle, and in a certain sense poetic and refined. -She is neither innocent nor unconscious, yet not bold, nor coarse, nor -meretricious. She proudly and quietly revels in her own marvellous -beauties, if not like a goddess who knows herself every inch divine, -at least like a woman by character and position quite as free from the -obligations of morality and purity. For all the wonderful beauty of -this great picture, I cannot like it, cannot even tolerate it; but, -with an inexpressible feeling of relief, turn from it to the Bella -Donna and the Flora of the same artist. The latter is to me the most -fascinating and delicious picture I have ever beheld; the richness, -the fulness, the golden splendor of its beauty, flood my soul with a -strange and passionate delight. There is no high peculiar sentiment -about it, though it is grand in its pure simplicity; yet its soft, -sunny, luxurious loveliness alone brings tears to my eyes,--tears which -I dash away jealously, lest they hide for one instant the transcendent -vision. - -In the Tribune are several of the finest paintings of Raphael,--the -Fornarina, a rich, glowing picture, but a face I cannot like; the young -St. John, a glorious figure, and the Madonna del Cardellino, one of -the loveliest of his holy families. There is also a great picture by -Andrea del Sarto, which impressed me much; the Adoration of the Magi, -by Albert Dürer, the heads full of a simple grandeur peculiar to that -noble artist; and an exquisite little Virgin and Child, by Correggio. -In another room, after looking at a bewildering number of pictures, -most of which have already passed from my mind, I came upon a head of -Medusa, by Leonardo da Vinci, which I fear will haunt me to my dying -day. It is surely the most terrible painting I have ever beheld. - -In the magnificent Pitti palace, among many glorious pictures, I -saw two before which my heart bowed in most living adoration--the -Madonna della Seggiola of Raphael, and a Virgin and Child of Murillo. -The former is surely the sweetest group by the divine painter; and -the last, if not of a very elevated character, pure and tender, -and surpassingly lovely. In this gallery are Titian's Bella Donna, -Magdalene, and Marriage of St. Catharine. The first of these, which is -a portrait, seems to me far the finest. The more I see of them the more -am I impressed with the conviction that there is nothing in all his -grand and varied works displaying such profound and pre-eminent genius, -such subtle, masterly, miraculous power, as the portraits of Titian. - -In this palace we saw Canova's Venus, which I liked no better than I -expected. There is about the head, attitude, and figure an affected, -fine-ladyish air, dainty, and conscious, and passionless, which is -worse than the absolute voluptuousness which would be in character at -least with the earthly Venus. - -I am more and more convinced that there is in sculpture but one divine -mother of pure Love,--the grand and majestic Venus of Milo. - -To-day we have driven out to Fiesole, and seen the massive walls of -the ancient Etruscan city. These ramparts, which are called "Cyclopean -constructions," are said to be at least three thousand years old, and -yet look as though they might endure to the end of time. From a hill -above the town we had a large and lovely view of the beautiful valley -of the Arno, and looked down upon Florence, lapped in its midst, small, -compact, yet beautiful and stately. I never beheld a more enchanting -picture than the broad and bright one there spread before me: the blue -mountains, the gleaming river, the green and smiling valley; hills -covered with olives and myrtles; roads winding between hedges of roses -to innumerable villas, nestled in flowery nooks, or crowning breezy -heights. Oh, this was enchantment of fairy-land, no dream of poetry; it -was in very truth a paradise on earth. - -On our return we visited the house of Michael Angelo, which is -reverently kept by his descendants, as nearly as possible, in the same -state in which he left it. It is a handsome, quaint old house, quiet, -shadowy, and somewhat sombre, still pervaded with the awe-inspiring -atmosphere of the colossal genius of that Titanic artist. - -As I stood in his studio, or in the little cabinet where he used to -write, and saw before me the many objects once familiar to his eye and -hand, I felt that it was but yesterday that he was borne forth from his -beloved home, and that it was the first funereal stillness and sadness -which pervaded it now. - -We afterwards drove to "Dante's stone," a slab of marble by the side of -the way, on which he used to sit in the long summer evenings, rapt in -mournful meditations, and dreaming his immortal dreams. It is now as -sacred to his memory as the stone above his grave. - -For the past two afternoons we have driven in the Cascine, by far -the most delightful drive and place of reunion I have ever seen. It -is much smaller and, of course, less magnificent than Hyde Park, but -pleasanter, I think, in having portions more sheltered, wild, and quiet -for riders and promenaders. In the centre of the grounds, opposite the -Grand Duke's farm-house, is an open space where the band is stationed, -and the carriages come together to exchange compliments and hear music. -Here are always to be seen many splendid turnouts, open carriages -filled with elegantly-dressed ladies; gallant officers and gay dames -on horseback; flower-girls, bearing about the most delicious lilies -and roses, pinks and lilacs, mignonette and heliotrope, freighting the -golden evening air with their intoxicating fragrance and amazing you -with their paradisian profusion,--altogether a cheering and charming -scene, colored and animated by the very soul of innocent pleasure. - -This afternoon we met Charles Lever, riding with his wife and two -daughters. They are all fine riders, were well mounted, and looked a -very happy family party. Mr. Lever is much such a man as you would look -to see in the author of Charles O'Malley,--hale and hearty, careless, -merry, and a little dashing in his air. - -This evening I have spent with the Brownings, to whom I brought -letters. They live in that Casa Guidi which Mrs. Browning has already -immortalized by the grandest poem ever penned by woman.... - -Mr. and Mrs. Browning have taken up their residence in Florence, a -place in every way congenial to them. I know that thousands of her -unknown friends across the water will rejoice to hear that the health -of Mrs. Browning improves with every year spent in Italy. Yet she is -still very delicate,--but a frail flower, ceaselessly requiring all the -sheltering and fostering care, all the wealth and watchfulness of love, -which is round about her.... - -Yesterday I saw, for the first time, the grand, antique group of Niobe -and her children. Of these wonderful figures, by far the most noble and -pathetic are those of the mother and the young daughter she is seeking -to shield. Oh, the proud anguish, the wild, hopeless, maternal agony, -of that face haunts me, and will haunt me forever. - -I afterwards saw the Mercury of John of Bologna,--a marvel of beauty, -grace, and lightness. We visited the treasure-room of the Pitti palace, -and saw all the Grand Duke's plate, among which are several magnificent -articles by Benvenuto Cellini. In the evening we drove in the Cascine, -and to the Hill of Bellosguardo, from whence we had an enchanting view -of Florence and the Val d'Arno,--and so the day ended. To-day we have -made the tour of the churches. In the solemn old cathedral, whose -wonderful dome was the admiration and study of Michael Angelo, there -were extraordinary religious ceremonies, on the occasion of some great -festa. Some archbishop or other officiated in very gorgeous robes, -of course,--in capital condition, and looking indolent, proud, and -stupid, as another matter of course. The court came in great state and -pomp, with much trumpeting and beating of the drum. The Grand Duke was -accompanied by the Grand Duchess and his household, by the Guardia -Nobile, and by numerous ladies and gentlemen of high rank, all in full -dress. Those ball costumes of the courtly dames--gay silks and lace, -diamonds, flowers, and plumes--looked strange enough after the uniform -and decent sombreness of the dress prescribed for the "functions" of -St. Peter's. - -The Grand Duke is a man of ordinary size, and appears not far from -seventy years of age, though it is said he is hardly sixty. His hair -and moustaches are nearly white, and he wears the white coat of the -Austrian uniform, and so looks more miller-like than majestic. There -was a sort of sullen sadness in his air, which I confess I was rather -gratified to remark,--remembering all the treachery of the past, and -beholding all the degradation of the present. The Grand Duchess is a -dignified-looking woman enough, but the ladies in attendance on her -to-day dazzled alone with their diamonds. - -After hearing some fine music, we went to the Santa Croce, the -Westminster Abbey of Florence, where are the tombs of its most -illustrious dead. Of these, the noblest is that of Michael Angelo, and -the poorest, yet more pretentious, that of Dante. Canova has here a -monument to Alfieri, which is affected and sentimental, like nearly all -his works; and the tombs of Galileo and Machiavelli are anything but -pleasing and imposing. Infinitely better were the most simple slabs -than such pompous piles. - -At the San Lorenzo we saw that marvellous mausoleum, the Medicean -Chapel,--the richest yet plainest structure of the kind in the -world. There is here a peculiar assumption and ostentation of -simplicity,--your eye, accustomed to the crowded ornament and vivid -gorgeousness of ordinary princely chapels, is shocked and cheated at -the first glance by the sombre magnificence, the sumptuous bareness, -of this singular structure; but right soon is disappointment changed -to admiration and amazement, as you see that all those lofty walls, -from floor to roof, are composed of the most rare and beautiful marbles -and precious stones, wrought into exquisite mosaics. Then you see the -stupendous and beautiful cenotaphs, and the solemn dark statues of the -Medici, and, at length, fully realize all their royal waste of wealth -over this mausoleum, all their princely pomp of death. - -In the Sagrestia Nuova, built by Michael Angelo, are the statues of -Lorenzo and Julian de Medici, with their attendant groups, the Morn and -Night, Evening and Day, and the Virgin and Child,--surely the noblest -works of that mighty artist. I instinctively bowed in awe before the -gloomy grandeur of Lorenzo; and there was something in his still frown -which shook my soul more than the warlike air and almost startling -action of Julian. The unfinished group of the Virgin and Child has much -tenderness and sweetness with all its force and grandeur; but, as a -general thing, I must think that Michael Angelo's female figures are -far more remarkable for gigantic proportions and muscular development -than for grace, beauty, or any fine spiritual character. This Virgin -is majestic almost to sublimity, yet truly gentle, lovable, divinely -maternal.... - -In what was the refectory of an old monastery, but which was afterwards -used as a carriage-house, has been found, within a few years past, a -noble fresco by Raphael,--a Last Supper. This we went to see, and I -felt it to be one of the purest and most touching creations of that -angelic painter. In this picture, the "beloved disciple" seems to -have fallen asleep on the breast of the Master, and to have bowed his -head lower and lower, till it lies upon the table, while the hand of -Jesus is laid caressingly upon his shoulder. There is something so -exquisitely sweet and sad, so divinely pitiful, yet humanely tender, in -the action, that the very memory of it blinds my eyes with tears. - -After dinner we drove in the Cascine, where we met all the world. As -it was an exceedingly beautiful sunset, and the evening of a festa, -the band continued to play, and the brilliant crowd remained long. I -revelled in the delicious air and the cheerful scene as fully as was -possible, with the intrusive consciousness that I was breathing the one -and beholding the other for the last time--probably forever--certainly -for many years. - -Mrs. H. and I here took leave of a brace of charming young nobles, -in whom, I fear, we had become too deeply interested. These were two -beautiful Russian boys, brothers, of the ages of nine and seven, -with whom we voyaged on the Mediterranean and formed an acquaintance -which has been continued in Florence. In all my life I never saw such -enchanting little fellows,--simple, natural, frank, and free, yet -perfect gentlemen in air and expression, displaying, with the utmost -ease, grace and polish of manner, tact, wit, and _savoir-faire_ truly -astonishing. They always came to our carriage at the Cascine, and, -lounging on the steps, chatted to us in French between the pieces of -music. To-night, as the youngest was describing to me, very graphically, -the different countries through which he had travelled and the cities -which he had visited, I advised him to go next to England, and assured -him that he would be greatly interested and amused by the sights and -pleasures of London. With the slightest possible shrug, he replied, -"_Oui, madame, c'est une grande ville, sans doute; mais pour tous les -amusements il n'y a qu'une ville dans le monde,--c'est Paris._" ... - -As I looked back upon Florence for the last time, when I could -distinguish only the battlemented Palazzo Vecchio, with its fine old -tower, and that incomparable group, the Duomo, the Campanile, and the -Baptistery, and a slender, shining line, which I knew for the Arno, I -suddenly felt my sight struggling through tears,--real hearty tears. -Ah, Bella Firenze, I went from you reluctantly, almost rebelliously; I -grieved to leave those glorious galleries, through which I seemed to -have merely run; I grieved to leave the Cascine, with its delicious -drives and walks, its music and gayety; but I "sorrowed most of all" at -parting, so soon, with my friends the Brownings. _My friends_, how rich -I feel in being able to write these words! - -I think I must venture to say a little more of them, as, after writing -of my first evening at Casa Guidi, I was so happy as to enjoy much -of their society. Robert Browning is a brilliant talker, and more--a -pleasant, suggestive conversationist and a sympathetic listener. He -has a fine humor, a keen sense of the ridiculous, which he indulges, -at times, with the hearty abandon of a boy. In the gentle stream -of Elizabeth Browning's familiar talk shine deep and soft the high -thoughts and star-bright imaginations of her rare poetic nature. The -two have oneness of spirit, with distinct individuality; they are -mated, not merged together. - -In the atmosphere of so much learning and genius, you naturally -expect to perceive some mustiness of old folios, some uncomfortable -brooding of solemn thought; to feel about you somewhat of the stretch -and struggle of grand aspiration and noble effort, or the exhausted -stillness of a brief suspension of the "toil divine." But in this -household all is simple, cheerful, and reposeful; here is neither lore -nor logic to appall one; here is not enough din of mental machinery -to drown the faintest heart-throb; here one breathes freely, acts -naturally, and speaks honestly. - - - - -THE LAKE REGION OF ITALY. - -ROBERT A. McLEOD. - - [The lakes of northern Italy have a world-wide fame, alike for - their natural beauty and for the charms of architecture and scenic - art which surround them. We give here a brief description of these - renowned places of pilgrimage for lovers of the beautiful.] - - -It was towards the end of last October that I strolled away from my -occupations in the French capital to spend a fortnight on the Italian -lakes. Of the many routes which from time immemorial have served for -the invasion of Italy by the barbarian and the tourist, I chose on this -occasion the Brenner. Apart from the pleasing views it offers, this -Alpine pass is interesting as being the first over which the Romans -ventured to lead their legions, and the first upon which a railway was -constructed. I halted at Trent, and it was several days before I could -free myself from the charm of the Etruscan city and plan my departure. - -One afternoon I was making inquiries at the office of the diligence -which runs to Riva on the Lake of Garda, when a newly-married German -couple offered to share with me a private carriage which they had just -hired for the same journey. I accepted at once, and in an hour we were -off. The sober gray suit trimmed with green in which Hans was attired -contrasted oddly with the brilliant purple travelling-dress of his -fair-haired Gretchen. I wondered at first that they should have been -willing to embarrass themselves with a stranger, until I perceived -that my presence was no hinderance at all to their demonstrations of -affection. We climbed up by a steep and winding road to a narrow defile -which the impetuous Vella almost fills. One day, when St. Vigilius -was too much pressed for time to walk over the mountain, he wrenched -it apart and made this passage. The imprint of his holy hand is still -to be seen on the rock. Passing under the cyclopean eyes of scores of -Austrian cannon which now defend this important military position, we -began to descend the valley of the Sarca. It is a wild region, where -every hamlet has a ruined castle and a legend of knight or robber, -saint or fairy. The picturesque remains of the Madruzzo Castle bring -to mind the celebrated portraits which Titian painted of members of -this noble family. The artist's colors have survived the last of a long -line, and will doubtless outlive as well the crumbling stones of their -stronghold. As we skirted the little Lake of Dobling its still waters -reflected rocks and trees, sky and mountain, in an enchanting manner. - -"Lovely!" I exclaimed. - -"Lovely!" echoed Gretchen, without taking her eyes off Hans. - -"Lovely!" answered Hans, still watching the beautiful things reflected -in her eyes. - -After crossing the rapid Sarca and traversing a desolate tract where -rocks of every size, fallen from the overhanging mountain, lie strewn -about in chaotic confusion, we reached Arco. This sunny village nestles -at the foot of an immense detached boulder whose dizzy summit is -crowned by mediæval battlements and towers. Home fit only for birds of -prey, this castle was long the nest of a family of robbers. Scarcely -had we lost in the distance this greatest wonder of the valley when a -sharp turn of the road brought Riva and the Lake of Garda full in view. -It was a prospect of singular beauty. The sun had already set except -on the highest peaks, and a part of the lake was wrapped in purple -shadows. Another part, however, was as clear and light as the sky above -it, and all aglow with the images of crimson and orange-tinted clouds. -A shrill cry--of delight, I thought--burst from Gretchen's lips. I was -mistaken. Hans had pulled off too rudely a ring from her finger, and -the fair one was in tears.... - -[Illustration: ST. GOTTHARD RAILWAY (VIADUCT AND TUNNEL)] - -In the afternoon I take the famous walk to the Ponale waterfall. The -road thither ascends continually. It has been skilfully led along the -ledges of a precipitous cliff which borders the lake to the west of -Riva, and occasionally pierces the mountain by short tunnels. After -passing through the third tunnel I come to a wooden bridge, under which -the Ponale dashes just before taking its final leap into the lake. The -frail structure on which I stand trembles and is wet with spray, and -the air is full of the roar and gurgle of the waters. But for me the -main charm of the walk is not the sight of this noisy torrent, but -the superb view of Riva that I get on my way back upon issuing from -one of the tunnels. The eye, accustomed for a moment to the darkness, -is all the more sensitive to the rich soft light which bathes the -mountains and the town. A gentle breeze ripples the lake, and the -brightly-painted houses that fringe the beach are seen indistinctly -in the water, where they look like a line of waving banners. Half a -dozen steeples and bell-towers rise gracefully from among the roofs, -and their presence explains the surprising frequency with which the -hours of the night are struck. From this height I can distinguish -the low walls which surround the town and compress its four thousand -inhabitants into the area of a small quadrilateral. But Riva, though -still fortified, has a thorough look of peaceful commercial prosperity, -and has quite laid aside the warlike air she wore in the Middle Ages. -In those troubled times this town saw countless wars and sustained many -sieges; belonged now to Venice, now to Milan, now to Austria; and at -times was independent and able to defy even a bull of the pope or a -rescript of the emperor.... - -Long before daybreak the next morning the great red and green eyes -of two small steamers are looking around for passengers, and their -whistles screeching that it is time to get up. I have chosen the boat -which skirts the western bank. It starts an hour later than the other, -but it is not yet sunrise when we push off. The after-deck is thinly -peopled, chiefly by tourists, but the fore-deck, where the seats are -cheaper, is crowded. We pass by the tumbling and roaring Ponale, and -before many minutes we cross the invisible boundary-line between -Austria and Italy. The motion of the boat is hardly felt, for we are -sailing with a strong current. The high peaks to the north have -already caught the first rays of the sun: masses of white vapor which -have been sleeping in the mountain-hollows are roused up and put on a -rosy tint. The sky is without a cloud, the lake without a ripple: we -seem to be floating in mid-air. - -Limone, the first stopping-place, is quite given up to the culture of -the fruit from which it takes its name. A row of cypresses gives a -gloomy air to the village and awakens a melancholy recollection. It was -here that, in 1810, Andreas Hofer, the Tyrolese patriot, was arrested -by order of Napoleon. A boat conveyed him to the prison of Peschiera, -and he was soon afterwards shot in the citadel of Mantua. - -We next stop before Tremosine, a village perched high up on a rock, and -to which no visible road leads. On the other side of the lake, which -is here narrow, the white houses of Malcesine cluster around the base -of an imposing castle. This stronghold of the Middle Ages, one of the -few in this neighborhood which Time has not been suffered to destroy, -was built by Charlemagne, and was formerly the boundary between Austria -and the Venetian territory; but it is chiefly interesting from an -adventure which here befell Goethe. He had sat down in the court-yard, -and was sketching one of the quaint old towers, when the crowd that -had gathered around him, taking him for a spy, fell on him, tore -his drawings to pieces and sent for the authorities to arrest him. -Fortunately, there was in the village a man who had worked in Frankfort -and knew the poet by sight, and through his influence Goethe was set -free. - - [From Lake Garda the traveller proceeded to the more famous Lake - Como, passing localities where songful Catullus dwelt, and Virgil - and Dante loved to visit.] - -On the map the Lake of Como looks like an inverted and somewhat -irregular =Y=, or, still more, like a child's first attempt to draw -a man, who without arms and with unequal legs is running off to the -left. Just at the moment his picture is taken he has one foot on Lecco -and the other on the town of Como. The hilly district between the two -southern branches of the lake is known as the Brianza, and is noted for -its bracing air, its fertile soil, and the coolness of its springs. -The Brianza ends at the middle of the lake in a dolomite promontory -several hundred feet high, on whose western slope lies the village of -Bellaggio. This point commands the finest views in every direction: -it is near the most interesting of those villas which are open to the -public, and it abounds in good hotels. To visit Bellaggio is therefore -the aim of every tourist who passes this way. My journey thither it is -best to pass over in silence, for I see nothing, and what I feel is -indescribable. I am shut up during a furious storm of wind and rain -in the cabin of a little steamer which is as nervous and uneasy as if -on the Atlantic. I am told, however, that in this part of the lake -the banks are lofty and steep, and frequently barren, and that there -are marble-quarries to be seen, and cascades and houses and villages -crowning the cliffs. - -On arriving at Bellaggio, I take lodging in the Villa Serbelloni, -one of the many magnificent residences which poverty has induced the -Italian nobles to put into the hands of hotel-keepers. The house -stands high up on the very end of the promontory, and adjoining it is -an extensive park, on which the ruins of a robber's castle look down. -The panorama which on a fine day spreads itself out before one who -walks in these grounds is of singular beauty. The northern arm of the -lake, wider and more regular than the others, opens up a long vista -of headlands and bays and red-roofed villages as far as where Domaso -peeps out from a grove of giant elms. Beyond, the view is bounded by -the snow-covered Alps. Close at hand, near Varenna, the Fiume di Latte, -a milk-white waterfall, leaps down from a height of a thousand feet. -Towards Lecco huge walls of barren rock arise and wrap everything -near them in sombre shadows. Towards Como the tranquil water is shut -in by hills and low mountains, whose flowing lines blend gracefully -together. Some of these slopes are dark with pines, some are gray -with the olive, some are garlanded with vines which hang from tree to -tree, while others are clothed in a rich green foliage, amid which -glistens the golden fruit of the orange and the lemon. The banks are -lined with bright gardens and noble parks and villas, whose lawns run -down to the water's edge and are adorned with fountains, statues, -masses of brilliant flowers and clumps of tall trees. Above is a sky -of Italian blue, and below is a crystal mirror in which every charm of -the landscape is repeated. The impression made by all this loveliness -is increased by the air of happiness that pervades the spot. It is the -haunt of the rich, the gay, the newly-married: music and song, laughter -and mirthful talk, are the most familiar sounds. The smile of Nature -seems here to warm men's hearts and drive away the cares they have -brought with them. - -It is on this site that Pliny the Younger is believed to have had the -villa which he called Cothurnus or "Tragedy." The present building -is several centuries old. Tradition relates that a certain countess, -one of its first occupants, had a habit of throwing her lovers down -the cliff when she was tired of them. Making this delightful abode -my head-quarters, I spend a week, partly in agreeable sight-seeing -and partly in still more agreeable idleness. I visit villas, towers, -fossil-beds, and waterfalls,--in short, everything interesting and -accessible,--now going on foot, now borne from point to point in one of -the sharp-prowed row-boats which are in use here, and now taking the -steamer up to Colico or down to Como and back.... - -Across the lake from here is the Villa Carlotta, called after its -former owner, the princess Charlotte of Prussia. Stepping out of his -boat, the visitor ascends the marble stairs which lead up from the -shore. After a few steps across the garden he reaches the villa, passes -through a porch fragrant with jasmine, and is at once ushered into a -small room where are some of the finest works of modern sculpture. -Canova's Mars and Venus and Palamedes are here, and they are most -admirable, but they are surpassed in charm by the famous group in -which Psyche is reclining and Cupid bending fondly over her. The -best piece of the collection is the frieze that runs round the room. -It is from the chisel of Thorwaldsen, and represents Alexander the -Great's triumphal entry into Babylon. Full of the beauty of youth, -the conqueror advances in his chariot; Victory comes to meet him; -vanquished nations bring presents; while behind him follow his brave -Greeks on horse and on foot, dragging along with them the prisoners and -the booty. The subject was suggested by Napoleon, who intended the work -for the Quirinal. It is in high relief, and in general effect resembles -strongly the frieze with which Phidias encircled the Parthenon. It is a -pity that these masterpieces are shown first, for after seeing them one -does not fully enjoy the statues and paintings in the other rooms. - -Two hours may be delightfully spent in making the journey by steamboat -from Bellaggio to Como. Here the lake is so narrow and winding that -it seems to be a river. At every moment bold mountain-spurs project -into the water appearing to bar all passage, and one's curiosity is -continually excited to find the outlet. The views shift and change with -surprising quickness, for the boat stops at a dozen little towns on the -way, and for this purpose keeps crossing and recrossing from shore to -shore. - - [Passing next to Lake Maggiore, the traveller takes a row-boat - down the latter in preference to waiting for the steamer.] - -The four islands that we have passed on the way are known as the -Borromean Islands, because they belong for the most part to the rich -and powerful Borromeo family. The rare beauty of one of them makes it -the wonder of the lake. It was towards the middle of the seventeenth -century that Count Vitaliano Borromeo, finding himself the possessor of -almost the whole of this island, which was then a barren rock, resolved -to make it his residence, and to surround himself with gardens that -should rival those of Armida. For more than twenty years architects, -gardeners, sculptors, and painters labored to give material form to -the count's fancies. A spacious palace was erected on one end of the -island; on the other ten lofty terraces rose one above the other, -like the hanging-gardens of Babylon. The rock was covered with good -soil, and the choicest trees and shrubs were brought from every land. -Only evergreens, however, were admitted into this Eden, for the count -would have about him no sign of winter or death. In 1671 the work was -finished. The island was called Isabella, after the count's mother,--a -name which has since, by a happy corruption, become changed to Isola -Bella. - -It is on a sunny afternoon that I direct my bark towards the "Beautiful -Island." I look on the landing-place with respect, for it is worn by -the footsteps of six generations of travellers. The interior of the -palace, which I visit first, is fitted up with princely magnificence -and is rich in art-treasures. Mementos of kings and queens who -accepted hospitality here are shown, and a bed in which Bonaparte once -slept. There is a chapel where a priest daily says mass; a throne-room, -as in the palaces of the Spanish grandees; and a gallery with numerous -paintings. A whole suite of rooms is given up to the works of Peter -Molyn, a Dutch artist, fitly nicknamed "Sir Tempest." This erratic man, -having killed his wife to marry another woman, was condemned to death. -He escaped from prison, however, found an asylum here, and in return -for the protection of the Borromeo of that day he adorned his walls -with more than fifty landscapes and pastoral scenes. - -The garden betrays the epoch at which it was laid out. Prim parterres, -where masses of brilliant flowers bloom all the year round, are -enclosed by walks along which orange-trees and myrtles have been bent -and trimmed into whimsical patterns. There are dark and winding alleys -of cedars where at every turn some surprise is planned. Here is a -grotto made of shells,--there an obelisk, or a mosaic column, or a -horse of bronze, or a fountain of clear water in which the attendant -tritons and nymphs would doubtless disport were they not petrified -into marble. There is one lovely spot where, at the middle point of -a rotunda, a large statue of Hercules stands finely out against a -background of dark foliage. Other Olympians keep him company and calmly -eye the visitor from their painted niches. Not far from there is a -venerable laurel on which Bonaparte cut the word "Battaglia" a few days -before the battle of Marengo. The B is still plainly visible. - -Pines and firs planted thickly along the northern side of the island -defend it from cold winds. In the sunny nooks of the terraces the -delicate lemon-tree bears abundant fruit and the oleander grows to a -size which it attains nowhere else in Europe. The tea-plant from China, -the banana from Africa, and the sugar-cane from Mississippi flourish -side by side; the camphor-tree distils its aromatic essence and the -magnolia loads the air with perfume. The cactus and the aloe border -walks over which the bamboo bends and throws its grateful shade. Turf -and flowerbeds carpet each terrace, and a tapestry of ivy and flowering -vines conceals the walls of the structure. From the summit a huge stone -unicorn looks down upon his master's splendid domain. He overlooks -also a corner of the island where his master's authority is not -acknowledged. The small patch of land on which the Dolphin Hotel stands -has for many centuries descended from father to son in a plebeian -family, nor have the Borromeos ever been able to buy it. They have to -endure the inn, therefore, as Frederick endured the mill at Sans-Souci -and Napoleon the house he could not buy at Paris. - -At last the moment comes when I must quit Stresa, not, however, before -I have visited the remaining islands and other points of interest. The -steamer puts off, and soon separates me from the landscape that has -been my delight for three days,--the blue bay with its verdant banks, -the softly-shaded hills which enclose it, the snow-covered chain of -the Simplon in the background. As we approach the southern end of the -lake a colossal bronze statue of San Carlo Borromeo on the summit of a -hill near Arona comes into sight. From head to foot the saint measures -little less than eighty feet, and the pedestal on which he stands adds -to his height half as much more. His face is turned towards Arona, his -native town, and one hand is extended to bless it. With my glass I -descry a party of liliputian tourists engaged in examining this great -Gulliver. Most of them are satisfied when they have reached the top of -the pedestal and have ranged themselves in a row on one foot of the -statue. Others, more daring, climb up by a ladder to the saint's knee, -where they disappear through an aperture in the skirt of his robe. -From this point the ascent continues inside of the statue, by means of -iron bars, to the head, in which four persons can conveniently remain -at once. - -At Arona the railway-station and the wharf are near each other, and in -a few minutes after I have landed an express-train starts and bears -me away from the region of the Italian lakes. When we have passed the -last houses of Arona and gained the open plain, the statue of the great -Borromeo with his outstretched arm comes again for a few moments into -view. Perhaps the uncertain light of evening and the jolting of the -train deceive me, but I fancy that the good old saint is waving his -hand in the familiar Italian way, as much as to say, "A rivederci!" - - - - -A DAY IN ROME. - -BAYARD TAYLOR. - - [The things worth seeing in the Eternal City are so many, and - crowd so closely upon each other, that the lover of the antique - finds himself almost overwhelmed by the rapid succession of - striking objects and historic ruins. It would seem that little - could be seen in a day's walk among these marvels of the past, - yet Taylor's observing eyes managed to take in a long series of - interesting objects, his graphic account of which is given below.] - - -One day's walk through Rome,--how shall I describe it? The Capitol, the -Forum, St. Peter's, the Coliseum,--what few hours' ramble ever took in -places so hallowed by poetry, history, and art? It was a golden leaf -in my calendar of life. In thinking over it now, and drawing out the -threads of recollection from the varied woof of thought I have woven -to-day, I almost wonder how I dared so much at once; but within reach -of them all, how was it possible to wait? Let me give a sketch of our -day's ramble. - -Hearing that it was better to visit the ruins by evening or moonlight -(alas! there is no moon now) we started out to hunt St. Peter's. Going -in the direction of the Corso, we passed the ruined front of the -magnificent Temple of Antoninus, now used as the Papal Custom-House. We -turned to the right on entering the Corso, expecting to have a view of -the city from the hill at its southern end. It is a magnificent street, -lined with palaces and splendid edifices of every kind, and always -filled with crowds of carriages and people. On leaving it, however, we -became bewildered among the narrow streets, passed through a market of -vegetables, crowded with beggars and contadini, threaded many by-ways -between dark old buildings, saw one or two antique fountains and many -modern churches, and finally arrived at a hill. - -We ascended many steps, and then descending a little towards the other -side, saw suddenly below us the _Roman Forum_! I knew it at once; and -those three Corinthian columns that stood near us, what could they -be but the remains of the temple of Jupiter Stator? We stood on the -Capitoline Hill; at the foot was the Arch of Septimius Severus, brown -with age and shattered; near it stood the majestic front of the Temple -of Fortune, its pillars of polished granite glistening in the sun as if -they had been erected yesterday, while on the left the rank grass was -waving from the arches and mighty walls of the palace of the Cæsars! In -front ruin upon ruin lined the way for half a mile, where the Coliseum -towered grandly through the blue morning mist, at the base of the -Esquiline Hill! - -[Illustration: ARCH OF TITUS, ROME] - -Good heavens, what a scene! Grandeur such as the world never saw once -rose through that blue atmosphere; splendor inconceivable, the spoils -of a world, the triumphs of a thousand armies had passed over that -earth; minds which for ages moved the ancient world had thought there, -and words of power and glory from the lips of immortal men had been -syllabled on that hallowed air. To call back all this on the very spot, -while the wreck of what once was rose mouldering and desolate around, -aroused a sublimity of thought and feeling too powerful for words. - -Returning at hazard through the streets, we came suddenly upon the -Column of Trajan, standing in an excavated square below the level of -the city, amid a number of broken granite columns, which formed part -of the Forum dedicated to him by Rome after the conquest of Dacia. -The column is one hundred and thirty-two feet high, and entirely -covered with bas reliefs representing his victories, winding about it -in a spiral line to the top. The number of figures is computed at two -thousand five hundred, and they were of such excellence that Raphael -used many of them for his models. They are now much defaced, and the -column is surmounted by a statue of some saint. The inscription on -the pedestal has been erased, and the name of Sixtus V. substituted. -Nothing can exceed the ridiculous vanity of the old popes in thus -mutilating the finest monuments of ancient art. You cannot look upon -any relic of antiquity in Rome but your eyes are assailed by the words -"PONTIFEX MAXIMUS," in staring modern letters. Even the magnificent -bronzes of the Pantheon were stripped to make the baldachin under the -dome of St. Peter's. - -Finding our way back again, we took a fresh start, happily in the right -direction, and after walking some time, came out on the Tiber, at the -Bridge of St. Angelo. The river rolled below in his muddy glory, and in -front, on the opposite bank, stood "the pile which Hadrian reared on -high," _now_ the Castle of St. Angelo. Knowing that St. Peter's was -to be seen from this bridge. I looked about in search of it. There was -only one dome in sight, large and of beautiful proportions. I said at -once, "Surely that cannot be St. Peter's!" On looking again, however, I -saw the top of a massive range of building near it, which corresponded -so nearly with the pictures of the Vatican, that I was unwillingly -forced to believe the mighty dome was really before me. I recognized -it as one of those we saw from the Capitol, but it appeared so much -smaller when viewed from a greater distance that I was quite deceived. -On considering that we were still three-fourths of a mile from it, -and that we could see its minutest parts distinctly, the illusion was -explained. - -Going directly down the _Borgo Vecchio_ towards it, it seemed a long -time before we arrived at the square of St. Peter's; when at length -we stood in front, with the majestic colonnade sweeping around, the -fountains on each side sending up their showers of silvery spray, -the mighty obelisk of Egyptian granite piercing the sky, and beyond, -the great front and dome of the Cathedral, I confessed my unmingled -admiration. It recalled to my mind the grandeur of ancient Rome, and -mighty as her edifices must have been, I doubt if there were many views -more overpowering than this. The facade of St. Peter's seemed close to -us, but it was a third of a mile distant, and the people ascending the -steps dwindled to pigmies. - -I passed the obelisk, went up the long ascent, crossed the portico, -pushed aside the heavy leathern curtain at the entrance, and stood in -the great nave. I need not describe my feelings at the sight, but I -will tell the dimensions, and you may then fancy what they were. Before -me was a marble plain six hundred feet long, and under the cross four -hundred and seventeen feet wide! One hundred and fifty feet above -sprang a glorious arch, dazzling with inlaid gold, and in the centre -of the cross there were four hundred feet of air between me and the top -of the dome! The sunbeam stealing through the lofty window at one end -of the transept made a bar of light on the blue air, hazy with incense, -one-tenth of a mile long before it fell on the mosaics and gilded -shrines of the other extremity. The grand cupola alone, including -lantern and cross, is two hundred and eighty-five feet high, or sixty -feet higher than the Bunker Hill Monument, and the four immense pillars -on which it rests are each one hundred and thirty-seven feet in -circumference. It seems as if human art had outdone itself in producing -this temple,--the grandest which the world ever erected for the worship -of the Living God! The awe felt in looking up at the giant arch of -marble and gold did not humble me; on the contrary, I felt exalted, -ennobled,--beings in the form I wore planned the glorious edifice, and -it seemed that in godlike power and perseverance they were indeed but -a "little lower than the angels." I felt that, if fallen, my race was -still mighty and immortal. - -The Vatican is only open twice a week, on days which are not _festas_; -most fortunately, to-day happened to be one of these, and we took a -_run_ through its endless halls. The extent and magnificence of the -gallery of sculpture is perfectly amazing. The halls, which are filled -to overflowing with the finest works of ancient art, would, if placed -side by side, make a row more than two miles in length! You enter -at once into a hall of marble, with a magnificent arched ceiling, a -third of a mile long; the sides are covered for a great distance with -inscriptions of every kind, divided into compartments according to the -era of the empire to which they refer. One which I examined appeared to -be a kind of index of the roads in Italy, with the towns on them; and -we could decipher on that time-worn block the very route I had followed -from Florence hither. - -Then came the statues, and here I am bewildered how to describe them. -Hundreds upon hundreds of figures,--statues of citizens, generals, -emperors, and gods; fauns, satyrs, and nymphs, born of the loftiest -dreams of grace; fauns on whose faces shone the very soul of humor, and -heroes and divinities with an air of majesty worthy the "land of lost -gods and godlike men!" - -I am lost in astonishment at the perfection of art attained by the -Greeks and Romans. There is scarcely a fourth of the beauty that has -ever met my eye which is not to be found in this gallery. I should -almost despair of such another blaze of glory on the world were it not -for my devout belief that what has been done may be done again, and -had I not faith that the dawn in which we live will bring another day -equally glorious. And why should not America with the experience and -added wisdom which three thousand years have slowly yielded to the old -world, joined to the giant energy of her youth and freedom, re-bestow -on the world the divine creations of art? Let Powers answer! - -But let us step on to the hemicycle of the Belvedere, and view some -works greater than any we have yet seen or even imagined. The adjoining -gallery is filled with masterpieces of sculpture, but we will keep our -eyes unwearied and merely glance along the rows. At length we reach a -circular court with a fountain flinging up its waters in the centre. -Before us is an open cabinet; there is a beautiful manly form within, -but you would not for an instant take it for the Apollo. By the Gorgon -head it holds aloft we recognize Canova's Perseus,--he has copied the -form and attitude of the Apollo, but he could not breathe into it the -same warming fire. It seemed to me particularly lifeless, and I greatly -preferred his Boxers, who stand on either side of it. One, who has -drawn back in the attitude of striking, looks as if he could fell an ox -with a single blow of his powerful arm. The other is a more lithe and -agile figure, and there is a quick fire in his countenance which might -overbalance the massive strength of his opponent. - -Another cabinet,--this is the far-famed Antinous. A countenance of -perfect Grecian beauty, with a form such as we would imagine for one of -Homer's heroes. His features are in repose, and there is something in -their calm, settled expression strikingly like life. - -Now we look on a scene of the deepest physical agony. Mark how every -muscle of old Laocoon's body is distended to the utmost in the mighty -struggle! What intensity of pain in the quivering distorted features! -Every nerve which despair can call into action is excited in one giant -effort, and a scream of anguish seems first to have quivered on those -marble lips. The serpents have rolled their strangling coils around -father and sons, but terror has taken away the strength of the latter, -and they make but feeble resistance. After looking with indifference on -the many casts of this group, I was the more moved by the magnificent -original. It deserves all the admiration that has been heaped upon it. - -I absolutely trembled on approaching the cabinet of the Apollo. I had -built up in fancy a glorious ideal, drawn from all that bards have -sung or artists have rhapsodized about its divine beauty,--I feared -disappointment,--I dreaded to have my ideal displaced and my faith in -the power of human genius overthrown by a form less perfect. However, -with a feeling of desperate excitement I entered and looked upon it. - -Now, what shall I say of it? How make you comprehend its immortal -beauty? To what shall I liken its glorious perfection of form, or the -fire that imbues the cold marble with the soul of a god? Not with -sculpture, for it stands alone and above all other works of art,--nor -with men, for it has a majesty more than human. I gazed on it, -lost in wonder and joy,--joy that I could at last take into my mind -a faultless ideal of godlike, exalted manhood. The figure appears -actually to possess a spirit, and I looked on it not as on a piece of -marble but a being of loftier mould, and half expected to see him step -forward when the arrow reached its mark. I would give worlds to feel -one moment the sculptor's mental triumph when his work was completed; -that one exulting thrill must have repaid him for every ill he might -have suffered on earth! With what divine inspiration has he wrought its -faultless lines! There is a spirit in every limb which mere toil could -not have given. It must have been caught in those lofty moments - - "When each conception was a heavenly guest-- - A ray of immortality--and stood, - Star-like, around, until they gathered to a god?" - -We ran through a series of halls, roofed with golden stars on a deep -blue midnight sky, and filled with porphyry vases, black marble gods, -and mummies. Some of the statues shone with the matchless polish they -had received from a Theban artisan before Athens was founded, and are, -apparently, as fresh and perfect as when looked upon by the vassals of -Sesostris. Notwithstanding their stiff, rough-hewn limbs, there were -some figures of great beauty, and they gave me a much higher idea of -Egyptian sculpture. In an adjoining hall, containing colossal busts of -the gods, is a vase forty-one feet in circumference, of one solid block -of red porphyry. - -The "Transfiguration" is truly called the first picture in the world. -The same glow of inspiration which created the Belvedere must have been -required to paint the Saviour's aerial form. The three figures hover -above the earth in a blaze of glory, seemingly independent of all -material laws. The terrified Apostles on the mount, and the wondering -group below, correspond in the grandeur of their expression to the awe -and majesty of the scene. The only blemish in the sublime perfection of -the picture is the introduction of the two small figures on the left -hand, who, by the bye, were Cardinals, inserted there _by command_. -Some travellers say the color is all lost, but I was agreeably -surprised to find it well preserved. It is, undoubtedly, somewhat -imperfect in this respect, as Raphael died before it was entirely -finished; but "take it all in all," you may search the world in vain to -find its equal. - - [This ended the day's tour of observation. On a succeeding day - the traveller saw as many objects of interest; among them the - graves of Shelley and Keats. These, however, we must pass by, and - describe his visit to the ruins of the great Roman amphitheatre.] - -Amid the excitement of continually changing scenes I have forgotten -to mention our first visit to the Coliseum. The day after our arrival -we set out with two English friends to see it by sunset. Passing by -the glorious fountain of Trevi, we made our way to the Forum, and from -thence took the road to the Coliseum, lined on both sides with remains -of splendid edifices. The grass-grown ruins of the palace of the Cæsars -stretched along on our right; on our left we passed in succession -the granite front of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the three -grand arches of the Temple of Peace, and the ruins of the Temple of -Venus and Rome. We went under the ruined triumphal arch of Titus, with -broken friezes representing the taking of Jerusalem, and the mighty -walls of the Coliseum gradually rose before us. They grew in grandeur -as we approached them, and when at length we stood in the centre, with -the shattered arches and grassy walls rising above and beyond one -another far around us, the red light of sunset giving them a soft and -melancholy beauty, I was fain to confess that another form of grandeur -had entered my mind of which before I knew not. - -A majesty like that of nature clothes this wonderful edifice. Walls -rise above walls, and arches above arches, from every side of the grand -arena, like a sweep of craggy pinnacled mountains around an oval lake. -The two outer circles have almost entirely disappeared, torn away by -the rapacious nobles of Rome, during the middle ages, to build their -palaces. When entire and filled with its hundred thousand spectators, -it must have exceeded any pageant which the world can now produce. No -wonder it was said,-- - - "While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; - When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; - And when Rome falls, the world!" - ---a prediction which time has not verified. The world is now going -forward prouder than ever, and though we thank Rome for the legacy -she has left us, we would not wish the dust of her ruin to cumber our -path.... - -Next to the Coliseum, the baths of Caracalla are the grandest remains -at Rome. The building is a thousand feet square, and its massive walls -look as if built by a race of giants. These Titan remains are covered -with green shrubbery, and long trailing vines sweep over the cornice -and wave down like tresses from the architrave and arch. In some of -its grand halls the mosaic pavement is yet entire. The excavations are -still carried on. From the number of statues already found, this would -seem to have been one of the most gorgeous edifices of the olden time. - -[Illustration: THE FAMOUS BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO, VENICE] - -I have been now several days loitering and sketching among the ruins, -and I feel as if I could willingly wander for months beside these -mournful relics, and draw inspiration from the lofty yet melancholy -lore they teach. There is a spirit haunting them real and undoubted. -Every shattered column, every broken arch and mouldering wall, but -calls up more vividly to mind the glory that has passed away. Each -lonely pillar stands as proudly as if it still helped to bear up a -great and glorious temple, and the air seems scarcely to have ceased -vibrating with the clarions that heralded a conqueror's triumph.... - -In Rome there is no need that the imagination be excited to call up -thrilling emotion or poetic revery; they are forced on the mind by the -sublime spirit of the scene. The roused bard might here pour forth his -thoughts in the wildest climaces, and I could believe he felt it all. -This is like the Italy of my dreams,--that golden realm whose image -has been nearly chased away by the earthly reality. I expected to -find a land of light and beauty, where every step crushed a flower or -displaced a sunbeam; where every air was poetic inspiration, and whose -every scene filled the soul with romantic feelings. Nothing is left of -my picture but the far-off mountains, robed in the sapphire veil of the -Ausonian air, and these ruins, amid whose fallen glory sits triumphant -the spirit of ancient song. - -I have seen the flush of morn and eve rest on the Coliseum; I have -seen the noonday sky framed in its broken loop-holes, like plates of -polished sapphire; and last night, as the moon has grown into the -zenith, I went to view it with her. Around the Forum all was silent and -spectral; a sentinel challenged us at the Arch of Titus, under which we -passed, and along the Cæsars' wall, which lay in shadow. Dead stillness -brooded around the Coliseum; the pale, silvery lustre streamed through -its arches and over the grassy walls, giving them a look of shadowy -grandeur which day could not bestow. The scene will remain fresh in my -memory forever. - - - - -POMPEII AND ITS DESTROYER. - -ALFRED E. LEE. - - [The ruins of Pompeii perhaps surpass in general interest any - other of the exhumed remains of man's ancient industry, and the - story of them has been very frequently told. For a good general - description we go to the "European Days and Ways" of Alfred E. - Lee, who also deals with Vesuvius as well as with its victim. He - tells us the whole history of the excavation, of which we can - but say here that up to 1860 not more than one-third of the town - was excavated, and that in 1863 the archæologist Fiorelli was - appointed to supervise the work, which has gone on steadily since.] - - -The ancient Pompeiians who gazed upon and admired the beauteous groves -and pastures which covered the symmetrical cone up to the very rim of -its smokeless, silent crater must have had but a faint idea of the real -nature of their terrible neighbor. But in the year 63 they received -a most impressive and--had it been heeded--timely warning of what -they were to expect. A fearful earthquake shook down their temples, -colonnades, and dwellings, giving awful premonition of the reawakening -of the stupendous forces of nature, which had been slumbering for -centuries. The city was a wreck, but it was immediately rebuilt, and -was greatly improved by conforming its architecture more nearly than -before to the style of imperial Rome. A reaction from the depressing -effects of disaster was at high tide, and Pompeii was doubtless more -splendid and more gay than ever, when, on the 24th of August, 79, it -was overtaken by the supreme catastrophe, the details of which, in -the absence of authentic narrative, have been supplied by the romance -of Bulwer. First came a dense shower of ashes, which covered the town -to the depth of three feet, impelling most of its inhabitants to fly -from its precincts. This was followed by a delusive lull, during which -many of the fugitives returned to seek their valuables, and perhaps -to care for the sick and infirm who could not be readily removed. But -directly the shower of ashes was succeeded by a heavy rain of red-hot -cinders and pumice, called rapilii, from which there was no escape. -This covered the town with another stratum, seven to eight feet thick, -burning the wooden upper stories from the houses, and extinguishing the -last vestige of animal life. On top of this the remorseless Cyclops -shook down more showers of ashes and then fiery rapilii, until the -superincumbent mass attained an average thickness of twenty feet, -and the beautiful city of the Sarno was literally smothered,--buried -alive, with scarcely a single trace of it above ground. For nearly -seventeen centuries Pompeii, except as a name and memory, disappeared -from history. In ancient times its ruins were ransacked, partly by -the survivors of its wreck, in recovering their valuables and the -dead bodies of their friends, and partly in the search for decorative -materials with which to embellish temples and other buildings. In this -way the city was stripped of nearly everything easily accessible which -was worth carrying away. Subsequent Vesuvian eruptions covered it still -more deeply, vegetation grew over it, and a village bearing its name -rose upon the ground which covered its ancient site. During the Middle -Ages the place was entirely unknown. In 1592 a subterranean aqueduct, -which is in use to this day, was carried under it without leading to -its discovery. In 1748 some statues and bronze utensils, discovered -by a peasant, attracted the attention of the reigning king of Naples -and Sicily, Charles III., who caused excavations to be made. At that -time the theatre, amphitheatre, and other portions of the buried town -were brought to light, discoveries which caused great surprise and -enthusiasm throughout the civilized world.... - -The excavated portion of the city, together with its museum and -library, are under the care of a corps of government guards, who, for -a European wonder, are forbidden to accept gratuities. Quite agreeably -to me, my visit fell on a holiday, when the guides were off duty, -so that I was permitted to wander at will among the silent streets, -unembarrassed by long and apocryphal verbal explanations. A previous -visit had familiarized me with the principal streets, buildings, and -localities, so that I had no difficulty in finding my way. Besides a -considerable region which had been excavated since my first visit, -eighteen months before, there were some important buildings which I had -not then been able to inspect. Among these was the Villa Diomed, so -conspicuous in Bulwer's romance. This villa--more properly speaking, -the house of M. Arrius Diomedes--was one of the largest and most -splendid of the Pompeiian residences, and, in addition to the usual -conveniences and luxuries of an elegant mansion of that day, enclosed -an interior court, or garden, one hundred and seven feet square, -open to the sky, surrounded by a colonnade, and embellished by a -central fountain. Beneath this court, on three sides, are long vaulted -chambers, reached by stair-ways, and lighted by narrow apertures in the -upper pavement. These cellars, now entirely cleared of rubbish, are -believed to have been used in the summer season as family promenades. -"In them," says Bulwer, "twenty skeletons (two of them babes, -embracing) were discovered in one spot by the door, covered by a fine -ashen dust that had evidently been slowly wafted through the apertures -until it had filled the whole space. There were jewels and coins, and -candelabra for unavailing light, and wine, hardened in the amphoræ, for -a prolongation of agonized life. The sand, consolidated by damps, had -taken the forms of the skeletons as in a cast, and the traveller may -yet see the impression of a female neck and bosom, of young and round -proportions, the trace of the fated Julia! It seems to the inquirer -as if the air had been gradually changed into a sulphurous vapor; -the inmates of the vaults had rushed to the door and found it closed -and blocked up by the scoriæ without, and in their attempts to force -it had been suffocated with the atmosphere. In the garden was found -a skeleton with a key by its bony hand, and near it a bag of coins. -This is believed to have been the master of the house, the unfortunate -Diomed, who had probably sought to escape by the garden, and been -destroyed either by the vapors or some fragment of stone. Beside some -silver vases lay another skeleton, probably a slave." The impression of -a girl's breast in the ashes, which Bulwer's fancy represents as the -sole remaining trace of one of his heroines, is still preserved in the -museum at Naples, and is as shapely and perfect as if the flesh of the -fair young victim had been moulded but yesterday instead of eighteen -hundred years ago. The bodies found in the Diomedan corridors had their -heads wrapped up, and were half covered by the fine infiltrated ashes, -in which was preserved even the imprint of the chemises worn by the -women and children. The bodies had decayed, like those embedded in -other parts of the town, but their forms had been moulded in the ashes -with wonderful precision and distinctness. - -In many cases such cavities, after the skeletons contained in them had -been carefully removed, were filled with liquid plaster, which produced -an accurate and durable image of the imprinted form. The museum at -Pompeii contains a collection of such images, which impress upon the -beholder, more vividly, perhaps, than any other objects, the horror -and consternation of those awful days when the rain of volcanic ashes -turned noon to night and overwhelmed the doomed city. One of these -figures is that of a girl with a ring on her finger; another, that of a -woman enceinte; a third, a man whose features are singularly distinct -and natural. A group of three includes father, mother, and daughter, -found lying near one another. The figure of a female shows even the -folds of her drapery and the arrangement of her hair. The attitudes are -generally those which follow a short and fierce death-struggle. Some of -the victims seem to have fallen upon their faces and died suddenly in -their flight. Others, who were perhaps asphyxiated by vapors, have the -calm attitude of sleep, as though death had been but a pleasant dream. - -Near the Great Theatre an open court with a peristyle of seventy-four -columns is surrounded by a series of detached cells. This is supposed -to have been a barrack for confinement of the gladiators who were -chosen for the contests of the arena. Sixty-three skeletons found here -are believed to have been those of soldiers who remained on duty during -the eruption. In one of the chambers, used as a prison, the skeletons -of two presumable criminals were found, together with the stocks and -irons with which they were bound for punishment. The story that the -people were assembled, in great numbers, to witness some spectacular -entertainment at the time the volcano began to belch upon them its -rain of ashes is probably a myth. The theatre had been badly wrecked -by the earthquake of 63, and its restoration was yet far from complete -when the eruption broke forth. The streets of Pompeii are generally -narrow, not over twenty-four--some of them not over fourteen--feet in -width, and are paved with blocks of lava, with high stepping-stones at -intervals, for the convenience of foot-passengers in rainy weather. -At the street corners public fountains are placed, from which the -water poured through the decorative head of a god, a mask, or some -similar ornament. Trade signs are rare, but political announcements are -frequently seen, conspicuously printed in red letters. Phallic emblems, -boldly cut in stone and built into the walls, surprise and shock us by -their frequency, notwithstanding their innocently meant purpose as a -means of protection against witchcraft. The architecture of the temples -and other public buildings is a clumsy mixture of the Greek and Roman -style, the columns being invariably laid up in brick or travertine, and -covered with stucco. The dwellings, built of the same materials, or of -travertine, have very little exterior adornment. Yet at the time of -its catastrophe Pompeii must have been a highly decorated town. Marble -was but little used architecturally, but the stucco which took its -place was admirably adapted to decorative painting, and this means of -ornamentation was lavishly employed. - -The lower halves of the columns are generally painted red, with -harmonizing colors on the capitals. Interior walls are also laid -with bright, gay coloring, usually red or yellow. But the most -attractive and striking of the mural decorations are the paintings, -the wonderful variety and delicacy of which are only surpassed by -the more astonishing wonder of their preservation. The subjects of -these pictures are generally drawn from poetry or mythology, as, for -instance, Theseus abandoning Ariadne, Ulysses relating his adventures -to Penelope, Cupid holding a mirror up to Venus, Apollo and the Muses, -Polyphemus receiving Galatea's letter from Cupid, Leda and the Swan, -Diana surprised in her bath by Actæon, Achilles and Patroclus, and -representations of Venus, Cupid, Bacchus, Silenus, Mercury, and the -fauns in endless variety. A favorite subject was the beautiful youth -Narcissus, son of the river-god Cephisus and the nymph Liriope. -According to the Greek fable, this youth, seeing his image in a -fountain, became enamoured of it, and, in punishment for his hardness -of heart towards Echo and other nymphs, pined away and was changed to a -flower. In consequence of its origin, this flower loves the borders of -streams, and, bending on its fragile stem, seems to seek its own image -in the waters, but soon fades and dies. - -The larger and finer dwellings of Pompeii have generally been named -from their supposed possessors, or from the works of art found in -them. The House of the Tragic Poet, so called from the representation -of a poet reading found in its tablinium, was one of the most elegant -in Pompeii. From the pavement of its vestibule was taken a celebrated -mosaic, now in the museum at Naples, representing a chained dog -barking, with the legend "_cave canem_"--"beware of the dog." The -periphery of the columns of the peristyle is fluted, except the lower -third of the shaft, which is smooth and painted red. The walls of -the interior are decorated with paintings, among which are Venus and -Cupid fishing, Diana with Orion, and a representation of Leda and -Tyndarus, which is very beautiful and remarkably well preserved. This -house, which figures in Bulwer's "Last Days of Pompeii" as the home -of Glaucus, was probably the dwelling of a goldsmith. One of the most -palatial residences yet brought to light is the House of Pansa,--one -hundred and twenty-four by three hundred and nineteen feet,--which -finely illustrates, in its complete and well-preserved appointments, -the plan of an aristocratic Pompeiian mansion of the imperial epoch. -Entering from the street by a vestibule, in the floor of which the -greeting, "_Salve_," was wrought in beautiful mosaic, we reach a large -interior court (atrium), which, owing to the absence of glass or -exterior openings, was necessary for the admission of light and air -to the surrounding chambers. A reservoir for rain-water (impluvium) -occupies the centre of the atrium. Passing from the atrium through a -large apartment called the tablinium, we enter, towards the rear, the -strictly domestic part of the house, which occupies more than half the -space within its walls, and is also provided with an interior court. -The family apartments open into this court, and derive from it their -light and ventilation. It encloses a garden surrounded by a peristyle, -and hence takes the name of peristylium. The front part of the house, -surrounding the atrium, was that in which the proprietor transacted his -business and held intercourse with the external world; the rear part, -surrounding the peristylium, was devoted to domestic use exclusively. -The roof, sloping inward, and open over the interior courts, discharged -the rain which fell upon it into the impluvium. The images of the -household gods usually occupied a place in the vestibule. The House of -Sallust, so named from an epigraph on its outside wall, appears from -later discoveries to have been the property of A. Cossius Libanus. -This house was finished in gay colors and embellished with mural -paintings, one of which--a representation of Actæon surprising Diana -at her bath--is singularly well preserved. Other subjects treated are -the rape of Europa (badly defaced), and Helle in the sea extending her -arm to Phryxus. Opposite to the Actæon is a dainty chamber, arbitrarily -named the venereum, surrounded by polygonal columns painted red. -The impluvium was adorned with a bronze group--now in the museum at -Palermo--representing Hercules contending with a stag. Out of the mouth -of the stag, in this group, the waters of the fountain gushed. Some of -the bedrooms of this house were floored with African marble. - -The House of Meleager takes its name from one of its mural decorations -illustrating the story of Meleager and Atalanta. Other frescos adorn -its walls, representing the judgment of Paris, Mercury presenting -a purse to Ceres, and a young satyr frightening a bacchante with a -serpent. Its peristylium, sixty by seventy-three feet, is the finest -yet found in Pompeii. The columns of the peristylium are covered with -yellow stucco and its chambers are floored with mosaic. A colonnade -rises on three sides of the dining-room, and one of twenty-four -columns, red below and white above, supports the portico. A garden to -the left of the atrium and in front of the portico is adorned by a -pretty fountain. An exquisite bronze statuette of a dancing faun, now -in the Naples museum, gave its present title to the most beautiful and -also one of the largest houses in Pompeii. The discovery of this house -was first made in 1830, in the presence of a son of the poet Goethe. A -small pedestal, on which the statuette of the faun stood, is still seen -in the marble-lined impluvium. In the mosaic floor of one of the rooms -near by three doves are represented drawing a string of pearls from a -casket. Mosaics in the dining-room represented Acratus (companion of -Bacchus) riding on a lion, a cat devouring a partridge, and a group -of crustaceans and fishes. The salutation, "_Have_," (welcome) is -wrought with colored marble in the pavement of the vestibule before the -main entrance. The walls are covered with stucco made of cement, in -imitation of colored marble. - -The atrium, thirty-five by thirty-eight feet, is finished in the Tuscan -style, but the twenty-eight columns surrounding the peristylium are -Ionic. In the rear of the mansion opens a garden, one hundred and -five by one hundred and fifteen feet, enclosed with a peristyle of -fifty-six Doric columns. Various articles in gold, silver, bronze, and -terra-cotta were found in this house, and also some skeletons, one -of which was that of a woman with a gold ring on her finger engraved -with the name Cassia. But the most important discovery of all made in -the House of the Faun was that of the magnificent mosaic of Alexander -in the battle of Issus. "This work, which is almost the only ancient -historical composition in existence, represents the battle at the -moment when Alexander, whose helmet has fallen from his head, charges -Darius with his cavalry and transfixes the general of the Persians, -who has fallen from his wounded horse. The chariot of the Persian -monarch is prepared for retreat, whilst in the foreground a Persian of -rank, in order to insure the more speedy escape of the king, who is -absorbed in thought at the sight of his expiring general, offers him -his horse."--Baedeker. - -Such are some of the principal mansions of Pompeii and the objects -found in them. All of the most precious works of art which were or -could be detached, including many exquisite little mural frescos, -have been removed and deposited in the museum at Naples. The ruins -and the museum explain each other, and taken together furnish the -most complete and vivid illustration of ancient life in the world. No -books, no pictures, can tell us so clearly and comprehensively how the -people of that day and country lived as the remains of this buried -city. Its dwellings, shops, streets, prisons, temples, theatres, and -tombs disclose with amazing fulness and accuracy the pursuits, habits, -follies, vices, and even the thoughts of its inhabitants, just as they -were living and moving when caught, overwhelmed, and forever stilled -in the full tide of their existence. Well-curbs worn by the sliding -rope, stepping-stones hollowed by the march of eager multitudes, -pavements scarred by the stamp of horses' hoofs, advertisements -painted on public walls, shops and magazines containing the symbols -and utensils of trade, fountains where the crystal torrent might have -hushed but an hour ago its rippling voice, temples whose altars bear -yet the marks of sacrificial fires, frescos whose color and outline -are bright and delicate in spite of calamity and time, mosaic floors -smooth and shining as if polished only yesterday by the dance of dainty -feet,--these and a thousand more traces of the life of that ancient -time help the imagination to re-people and restore the ruined city as -it was in the day of its pride and splendor. - -An inspection of the ruins of Pompeii deepens upon the mind its -impressions of the sublimity and terror of Vesuvius. Physically -speaking, the volcano is but a monstrous heap of ashes, stones, and -scoriæ, hollow, or partially so, in the centre, and streaked with -black, solidified lava-currents on the outside. From the crater, -whirling volumes of steam and smoke constantly issue, each rotary gush -representing an interior explosion, usually heard only on the summit. -In the varying states of the atmosphere this monstrous volume of vapor -rises in columnar form for thousands of feet, and is then borne far to -seaward, or landward, by the upper currents of the air; or it falls in -a dense, sulphurous, shapeless cloud, which envelops and conceals the -upper part of the mountain. In the latter condition of things I made my -first ascent; in the former my second. On the first occasion we went up -from Portici and down to Pompeii; on the second, the route was reversed. - -From Pompeii the summit may be made--on horseback as far as the foot of -the cone--in about three hours. The railway on the Portici side ascends -to the outside rim of the crater, within which, separated by fissured -slabs of lava, which a yard below the surface yet glow with living -fire, the main chimney or flue of the volcano rises some hundreds of -feet higher. On the eastern side, below the rim, a lava stream of -considerable magnitude had burst forth at the time of my visit, and was -issuing with a fierce hissing sound. Its course could be traced down -the slopes of the mountain for the distance of a mile. Its movement, -at first quite rapid, was soon checked by the cooling effect of the -atmosphere. The operations of the crater at this time were extremely -interesting. Near the base of the finial cone a small secondary -volcanic funnel had recently been formed, which sometimes almost -silenced with its screeching and blubber the thunderous rumbling within -the main chimney. Neither of the active craters could be approached -with safety, but they made no objections to being looked at, and so, -dismissing my guide, I remained about two hours on the summit, watching -their antics. Sometimes the smaller crater, or safety-valve, as it -seemed to be, would work itself up to a perfect frenzy of hysterical -hissing and shrieking, as though all the misery of a hundred colicky -locomotives were venting itself in one prolonged scream. During such -spells the red liquid lava would bubble over the rim for a time, like -the boiling of an overfilled pot; then suddenly some explosive interior -force would throw it into the air in a sheaf of beautiful red spray, -rising and descending in graceful parabolas all around the cone. After -this performance, the little fellow would subside and keep tolerably -quiet for ten minutes or so, when it would be seized with another -paroxysm. - -The larger crater, though also intermittent, was more progressive -and less fidgety in its action. Its behavior had the dignified air -of regular business, while the safety-valve demeaned itself more as -a transient upstart, impatient of attracting popular attention. The -masses of steam and smoke issuing from the main orifice were somewhat -irregular, both in quantity and velocity, their increase in both -respects being always accompanied by louder and more rapid interior -explosions. At the moments of greatest activity showers of stones -and lumps of red lava were hurled into the air to heights varying -from three hundred to one thousand feet, and, descending, rolled -rattling and smoking down the yellow, sulphurous sides of the cone. -The spectacle was terrifically sublime at times, particularly when the -safety-valve chimed in with its screaming accompaniment, and flung -aloft its _jet-d'eau_-like pyrotechnics. The missiles projected from -the main crater soared at an angle of about fifty degrees, and almost -uniformly in the same direction, so that they fell on territory of -which the spectator, looking on from the opposite point of the compass, -was quite willing to accord monopoly of possession, with a liberal -margin for unadjusted boundary. - -As sunset approached, and the shades of evening were beginning to add -new touches of grandeur to the sublime spectacle, I took leave of -it reluctantly, and, with Brobdingnagian strides down the volcanic -ash-heap, descended in not more than seven minutes a space which it had -once cost me a weary half-hour and the help of two guides to climb. -Three hours later the red currents of lava could be seen from my window -in Naples, glittering far away in the darkness, and streaking the black -sides of the volcano like descending streams of molten gold. - - - - -MOUNT ETNA IN ERUPTION. - -BAYARD TAYLOR. - - [It is not Etna in one of its gigantic throes of eruption that - we propose to describe. The traveller whose story of the mountain - we append was not fortunate enough to witness such a spectacle. - But he saw it in a minor phase of activity, and describes the - vision so well that his account is well worth repeating. It was - on his way from Malta to Sicily that he first caught sight of - the volcano, ninety miles away, rising in solitary state behind - the nearer mountains. He continued his course till abreast of - Syracuse, "with Etna as distant as ever."] - - -The fourth morning dawned, and--great Neptune be praised!--we were -actually within the Gulf of Catania. Etna loomed up in all his sublime -bulk, unobscured by cloud or mist, while a slender jet of smoke, rising -from his crater, was slowly curling its wreaths in the clear air, as -if happy to receive the first beam of the sun. The towers of Syracuse, -which had mocked us all the preceding day, were no longer visible; the -land-locked little port of Augusta lay behind us; and, as the wind -continued favorable, ere long we saw a faint white mark at the foot of -the mountain. This was Catania. - -The shores of the bay were enlivened with orange-groves and the gleam -of the villages, while here and there a single palm dreamed of its -brothers across the sea. Etna, of course, had the monarch's place in -the landscape, but even his large, magnificent outlines could not usurp -all my feelings. The purple peaks to the westward and farther inland -had a beauty of their own, and in the gentle curves with which they -leaned towards each other there was a promise of the flowery meadows of -Enna.... - -Catania presented a lovely picture as we drew near its harbor. Planted -at the very foot of Etna, it has a background such as neither Naples -nor Genoa can boast. The hills next the sea are covered with gardens -and orchards, sprinkled with little villages and the country-places -of the nobles,--a rich, cultured landscape, which gradually merges -into the forests of oak and chestnut that girdle the waist of the -great volcano. But all the wealth of southern vegetation cannot hide -the footsteps of that Ruin, which from time to time visits the soil. -Half-way up the mountain-side is dotted with cones of ashes and -cinders, some covered with the scanty shrubbery which centuries have -called forth, some barren and recent; while two dark, winding streams -of sterile lava descend to the very shore, where they stand congealed -in ragged needles and pyramids. Part of one of these black floods has -swept the town, and, tumbling into the sea, walls one side of the port. - - [What shall we say of Catania? It has not dwelt at the foot of - Mount Etna with impunity, but has been more than once destroyed. - During the week of Mr. Taylor's visit the centennial festival of - St. Agatha, the miracles of whose martyrdom had here their scene, - took place. This saint still performs miracles, "and her power - is equally efficacious in preventing earthquakes and eruptions - of Mount Etna." The festival was brilliant in illuminations and - pyrotechnic displays.] - -Truly, except the illumination of the Golden Horn on the Night of -Predestination, I have seen nothing equal to the spectacle presented by -Catania during the past three nights. The city, which has been built -up from her ruins more stately than ever, was in a blaze of light, -all her domes, towers, and the long lines of her beautiful palaces -revealed in the varying red and golden flames of a hundred thousand -lamps and torches. Pyramids of fire, transparencies, and illuminated -triumphal arches filled the four principal streets, and the fountain -in the cathedral square gleamed like a jet of molten silver, spinning -up from one of the pores of Etna. At ten o'clock a gorgeous display of -fireworks closed the day's festivities, but the lamps remained burning -nearly all night. - -On the second night the grand Procession of the Veil took place. I -witnessed the imposing spectacle from the balcony of Prince Gessina's -palace. Long lines of waxen torches led the way, followed by a military -band, and then a company of the highest prelates in their most -brilliant costumes, surrounding the bishop, who walked under a canopy -of silk and gold, bearing the miraculous veil of St. Agatha. I was -blessed with a distant view of it, but could see no traces of the rosy -hue left upon it by the flames of the saint's martyrdom.... - -To-night Signor Scava, the American vice-consul, took me to the palace -of Prince Biscari, overlooking the harbor, in order to behold the -grand display of fireworks from the end of the mole. The showers of -rockets and colored stars, and the temples of blue and silver fire, -were repeated in the dark, quiet bosom of the sea, producing the most -dazzling and startling effects.... - -Among the antiquities of Catania which I have visited are the -Amphitheatre, capable of holding fifteen thousand persons, the old -Greek Theatre, in which Alcibiades made his noted harangue to the -Catanians, the Odeon, and the ancient baths. The theatre, which is -in tolerable preservation, is built of lava, like many of the modern -edifices in the city. The baths proved to me, what I had supposed, that -the Oriental bath of the present day is identical with that of the -ancients. Why so admirable an institution has never been introduced -into Europe is more than I can tell. From the pavement of these baths, -which is nearly twenty feet below the surface of the earth, the lava of -later eruptions has burst up, in places, in hard black jets. The most -wonderful token of that flood which whelmed Catania two hundred years -ago is to be seen at the grand Benedictine convent of San Nicola, in -the upper part of the city. Here the stream of lava divides itself just -before the convent, and flows past on both sides, leaving the buildings -and garden untouched. The marble courts, the fountains, the splendid -galleries, and the gardens of richest Southern bloom and fragrance -stand like an epicurean island in the midst of the terrible stony -waves, whose edges bristle with the thorny aloe and cactus.... - -The noises of the festival had not ceased when I closed my eyes at -midnight. I slept soundly through the night, but was awakened before -sunrise by my Sicilian landlord. "Oh, Excellenza! have you heard the -Mountain? He is going to break out again; may the holy St. Agatha -protect us!" - -It is rather ill-timed on the part of the Mountain, was my involuntary -first thought, that he should choose for a new eruption precisely the -centennial festival of the only saint who is supposed to have any power -over him. It shows a disregard of female influence not at all suited -to the present day, and I scarcely believe that he seriously means it. -Next comes along the jabbering landlady: "I don't like his looks. It -was just so the last time. Come, Excellenza, you can see him from the -back terrace." - -The sun was not yet risen, but the east was bright with his coming, and -there was not a cloud in the sky. All the features of Etna were sharply -sculptured in the clear air. From the topmost cone a thick stream of -white smoke was slowly puffed out at short intervals, and rolled lazily -down the eastern side. It had a heavy, languid character, and I should -have thought nothing of the appearance but for the alarm of my hosts. -It was like the slow fire of earth's incense burning on that grand -mountain altar. - -I hurried off to the post-office to await the arrival of the diligence -from Palermo. The office is in the Strada Etnea, the main street of -Catania, which runs straight through the city from the sea to the base -of the mountain whose peak closes the long vista. The diligence was an -hour later than usual, and I passed the time in watching the smoke, -which continued to increase in volume, and was mingled, from time to -time, with jets of inky blackness. The postilion said he had seen fires -and heard loud noises during the night. According to his account, the -disturbances commenced about midnight. - -At last we rolled out of Catania. There were in the diligence, besides -myself, two men and a woman, Sicilians of the secondary class. The road -followed the shore, over rugged tracts of lava, the different epochs of -which could be distinctly traced in the character of their vegetation. -The last great flow (of 1679) stood piled in long ridges of terrible -sterility, barely allowing the aloe and cactus to take root in the -hollows between. The older deposits were sufficiently decomposed to -nourish the olive and vine, but even here the orchards were studded -with pyramids of the harder fragments, which are laboriously collected -by the husbandmen. In the few favored spots which have been untouched -for so many ages that a tolerable depth of soil has accumulated, the -vegetation has all the richness and brilliancy of tropical lands. -The palm, orange, and pomegranate thrive luxuriantly, and the vines -almost break under their heavy clusters. The villages are frequent and -well-built, and the hills are studded, far and near, with the villas -of rich proprietors, mostly buildings of one story, with verandas -extending their whole length. Looking up towards Etna, whose base the -road encircles, the views are gloriously rich and beautiful. On the -other hand is the blue Mediterranean and the irregular outline of the -shore, here and there sending forth promontories of lava, cooled by the -waves into the most fantastic forms. - -We had not proceeded far before a new sign called my attention to -the mountain. Not only was there a perceptible jar or vibration in -the earth, but a dull, groaning sound, like the muttering of distant -thunder, began to be heard. The smoke increased in volume, and, as we -advanced farther to the eastward, and much nearer to the great cone, -I perceived that it consisted of two jets issuing from different -mouths. A broad stream of very dense white smoke still flowed over the -lip of the topmost crater and down the eastern side. As its breadth -did not vary, and the edges were distinctly defined, it was no doubt -the sulphureous vapor rising from a river of molten lava. Perhaps a -thousand yards below a much stronger column of mingled black and white -smoke gushed up in regular beats or pants from a depression in the -mountain-side, between two small extinct cones. All this part of Etna -was scarred with deep chasms, and in the bottoms of those nearest the -opening I could see the red gleam of fire. The air was perfectly still, -and as yet there was no cloud in the sky. - -When we stopped to change horses at the town of Aci Reale, I first felt -the violence of the tremor and the awful sternness of the sound. The -smoke by this time seemed to be gathering on the side towards Catania, -and hung in a dark mass about half-way down the mountain. Groups of the -villagers were gathered in the streets which looked upward to Etna and -discussing the chances of an eruption. "Ah," said an old peasant, "the -Mountain knows how to make himself respected. When he talks, everybody -listens." The sound was the most awful that ever met my ears. It was a -hard, painful moan, now and then fluttering like a suppressed sob, and -had, at the same time, an expression of threatening and of agony. It -did not come from Etna alone. It had no fixed location; it pervaded -all space. It was in the air, in the depths of the sea, in the earth -under my feet, everywhere, in fact; and as it continued to increase in -violence I experienced a sensation of positive pain. The people looked -anxious and alarmed, although they said it was a good thing for all -Sicily; the last year they had been in constant fear from earthquakes, -and an eruption invariably left the earth quiet for several years. It -is true that during the past year parts of Sicily and Calabria have -been visited with severe shocks, occasioning much damage to property. -A merchant of this city [Messina] informed me yesterday that his whole -family had slept for two months in the vaults of his warehouse, fearing -that their residence might be shaken down in the night. - -As we rode along from Aci Reale to Taormina, all the rattling of the -diligence over the rough road could not drown the awful noise. There -was a strong smell of sulphur in the air, and the thick pants of smoke -from the lower crater continued to increase in strength. The sun was -fierce and hot, and the edges of the sulphureous clouds shone with a -dazzling whiteness. A mounted soldier overtook us, and rode beside the -diligence, talking with the postilion. He had been up to the mountain, -and was taking his report to the governor of the district. - -The heat of the day and the continued tremor of the air lulled me -into a sort of doze, when I was suddenly aroused by a cry from the -soldier and the stopping of the diligence. At the same time there was -a terrific peal of sound, followed by a jar that must have shaken the -whole island. We looked up to Etna, which was fortunately in full -view before us. An immense mass of snow-white smoke had burst up from -the crater, and was rising perpendicularly into the air, the rounded -volumes rapidly whirling one over the other, yet urged with such -impetus that they only rolled outward after they had ascended to an -immense height. It might have been one minute or five, for I was so -entranced by this wonderful spectacle that I lost the sense of time, -but it seemed instantaneous (so rapid and violent were the effects of -the explosion), when there stood in the air, based on the summit of the -mountain, a mass of smoke four or five miles high, and shaped precisely -like the Italian pine-tree. - -Words cannot paint the grandeur of this mighty tree. Its trunk of -columned smoke, one side of which was silvered by the sun, while the -other, in shadow, was lurid with red flame, rose for more than a mile -before it sent out its cloudy boughs. Then parting into a thousand -streams, each of which again threw out its branching tufts of smoke, -rolling and waving in the air, it stood in intense relief against the -dark blue of the sky. Its rounded masses of foliage were dazzlingly -white on one side, while, in the shadowy depths of the branches, there -was a constant play of brown, yellow, and crimson tints, revealing -the central shaft of fire. It was like the tree celebrated in the -Scandinavian sagas, as seen by the mother of Harold Hardrada,--that -tree whose roots pierced through the earth, whose trunk was of the -color of blood, and whose branches filled the uttermost corners of the -heavens. - -The outburst seemed to have relieved the mountain, for the tremors were -now less violent, though the terrible noise still droned in the air, -and earth, and sea. And now, from the base of the tree, three white -streams slowly crept into as many separate chasms, against the walls -of which played the flickering glow of the burning lava. The column of -smoke and flame was still hurled upward, and the tree, after standing -about ten minutes,--a new and awful revelation of the active forces of -nature,--gradually rose and spread, lost its form, and, slowly moved -by a light wind (the first that disturbed the dead calm of the day), -bent over to the eastward. - -We resumed our course. The vast belt of smoke at last arched over the -strait, here about twenty miles wide, and sank towards the distant -Calabrian shore. As we drove under it, for some miles of our way, the -sun was totally obscured, and the sky presented the singular spectacle -of two hemispheres of clear blue, with a broad belt of darkness drawn -between them. There was a hot, sulphureous vapor in the air, and -showers of white ashes fell from time to time. We were distant about -twelve miles, in a straight line, from the crater, but the air was so -clear, even under the shadow of the smoke, that I could distinctly -trace the downward movement of the rivers of lava. - -This was the eruption, at last, to which all the phenomena of the -morning had been only preparatory. For the first time in ten years the -depths of Etna had been stirred, and I thanked God for my detention at -Malta, and the singular hazard of travel which had brought me here, -to his very base, to witness a scene the impression of which I shall -never lose to my dying day. Although the eruption may continue, and the -mountain pour forth fiercer fires and broader tides of lava, I cannot -but think that the first upheaval, which lets out the long-imprisoned -forces, will not be equalled in grandeur by any later spectacle. - -After passing Taormina, our road led us under the hills of the coast, -and although I occasionally caught glimpses of Etna, and saw the -reflection of fire from the lava which was filling up his savage -ravines, the smoke at last encircled his waist, and he was then shut -out of sight by the intervening mountains. We lost a bolt in the deep -valley opening to the sea, and during our stoppage I could still hear -the groans of the mountain, though farther off and less painful to the -ear. As evening came on, the beautiful hills of Calabria, with white -towns and villages on their sides, gleamed in the purple light of the -setting sun. We drove around headland after headland, till the strait -opened, and we looked over the harbor of Messina to Cape Faro and the -distant islands of the Tyrrhene Sea. - - - - -PLEBEIAN LIFE IN VENICE. - -HORACE ST. JOHN. - - [Venice is not all made up of palaces and patricians, not all - bronze and marble, pictures and statuary. Out of the range of all - this, unseen by the ordinary traveller, lies another and humbler - Venice, where the poor pass their straitened lives, but which has - a character and attraction of its own, worthy of being seen and - described. We give St. John's story of discovery in this realm of - what he calls "vulgar Venice."] - - -It may not be a discovery, but it is a fact not often noticed, that -there is an every-day Venice which is decidedly vulgar,--which means -that it is not all Rialto, Bridge of Sighs, Grand Canal, or Doge's -Palace. But, to judge from poems, pictures, and tourists, the city is -one beautiful dream, of marble and bronze, of jasper and vermilion, of -pictures and the sculptor's breathing models. The temptation is, no -doubt, seducing to pass all your time where the great columns stand, -where the bronze horses, near St. Mark's, glow with all the colors of -the sunset, and where that strangely composed young girl shows you -through the horrible labyrinths of the state prison. - -Yet there is another Venice which artists rarely touch, as if all low -life were confined to the Low Countries, where they are eager enough -to sketch fish-stalls and kitchens by the light of "single candle" -Schendel. And this Venice has not a solitary element of romance or -beauty about it. Step into the "omnibus gondola"--the very thought is -enough to obliterate an epic of enthusiasm--and it will land you where -the Venetians lead their common lives, without any Byron to bewail -them. The songless gondoliers of these public boats are a miserable -set of folk. They never save anything; their fathers never saved -anything before them; but they keep up their spirits notwithstanding. -Thus, between Giacomo passing Beppo, "Good luck to you!" "Thanks!" "Be -hanged, you and your thanks!" Or, "Many patrons?" "Many." "You and your -patrons be hanged!" These affectionate greetings are universal. - -But the grimy gondola has stopped, and the buying and selling quarter -has been reached. No stately ladies, or very few, here "serpentining," -as Balzac says, whatever he may mean, along the pavement, and not too -many of the white-bodiced damsels, who look so graceful on canvas, as -if they were always clean and dark Madonnas into the bargain; because, -to tell the truth, these ladies are accustomed, in warm weather, to lay -aside those pretty bodices, and work in an attire at once more light -and more loose. They are exceedingly busy, and the scene is wonderfully -animated. - -Venice, providing its dinner, has been compared with a huge ship in -port, taking in provisions. Padua and Vicenza have brought their corn -and oil; the islands have sent their indescribably superb fruit; -Friuli, Istria, Illyria, and the Turkish Archipelago contribute grain, -meat, game, conserves, and pickles; Austria, Hungary, and Dalmatia -supply wine, which is diluted, by the humbler sort of consumers, with -sea water, which the "stick girls," so called from the yokes they -carry on their shoulders, bring about. They are from Friuli, whose -snow-white summits are just visible from here,--and striking enough -they are in their bright bodices, short blue or green skirts, with red -borders, and white Calabrian hats, daintily tipped on one side, in -order that the massive gold hair ornaments or polished steel pins may -be admired. But these charming water-carriers are despised; they live -apart from the other inhabitants; and not a Venetian will ever marry -one of them. Still, they often return to their mountains, tolerably -rich, and their Titian faces are quite as proud with scorn of the -Venetians as those of Venetians are for them. - -However, it is market-time, which must not be wasted upon international -antipathies. Nearly everything in Venice is sold, and nearly -everything eatable is eaten, among the inferior classes, in the open -air,--polenta, beef, mutton, fish, frying, grilling, roasting, and -perpetually passing hot into the hands of the _al fresco_ customers. -It is generally very good; but best of all is the bread made "on the -Continent" expressly for Venice, in the incomparable little district of -Piava. Armed with a "tasting order," which a few of the smallest coins -imaginable will command, you pass through the hungry throng. This is -soup, by no means bad, at two-thirds of a half-penny the basin. That is -calves'-head; these are lamb- and pork-chops, with heart and tripe, the -savor whereof is suggestive of ancient sacrifices. - -Some of the people keep stalls; others shops, without doors or windows. -It appears odd to a stranger, upon entering a wine-hall, to be offered -a plateful of highly-salted mutton, a comestible which everybody -appears to be devouring. After it a service of fish, the entire flavor -of which has been absorbed in brine. Then you are ready to drink; but -the wine is salted also! There are two delicacies, however, in which -persons of every degree delight, and which induce the denizens of the -opulent quarter to bring their nobility here. The first is a small -white biscuit, made of the most exquisite flour and fresh butter, so -speckless, light, and fragile that they crumble at a rough touch, and -will not keep longer than twelve hours. Who wants to feast upon them, -then, must come to the oven, and, tenderly handling the _bianchetti_, -dip them in the wine of Cyprus, and believe in solid ambrosia. The -second rarity--uniqueness I would say, if there were such a word--is a -little fish, fried in oil, which is sold from morning till night, all -through the season. You shall see a maiden of Venice, gloved like a -Parisian, "well knotted," elegant of costume, and in air patrician, buy -two pennyworth of these dainties,--the whitebait of Italy,--smelling -of oil, fire, and the frying-pan, wrap them in paper, take them to -a cabaret, sit down, and relish them unmistakably over a flask of -Cyprus. She is never alone, however, but accompanied by an escort, who -is stamped a gentleman by that sign infallible in Venice, whether or -not it be so elsewhere,--his dress. At the same table may be seated, -possibly, the very fisherman who provided the banquet. - -But what is the meaning of the phrase just used, "well knotted"? Let -her wear the richest silk ever spun in Italy, and the haughtiest -Hungarian hat, with its aigrette of a dove's wing, your Venetian lady -of blue blood is not distinguishable, except by what she has upon -her neck. And this is a gold chain, of apparently countless links, -beautifully brilliant, with that reddish tinge which has so often -been the perplexity of painters, though Titian mastered it, as he did -everything else; and falling from the throat is gathered in a coil -at the waist, where, the larger and heavier the knot, the higher the -patent of social splendor. - -Though I am not concerned at present with the aristocracy of the -sea-born city, still, if lofty dames will eat little fishes in a -market-place, they cannot complain of personalities, should the remark -be made that some are dark as ever Giorgione or Carpaccio painted; -while others, to borrow the ejaculation of a rapturous wanderer from -Paris, who was not really in a rapture, and who, of course, did not -mean what he was saying, might be mistaken for the daughters of Aurora, -a contrast reminding you of Adam's two wives in the Talmud. - -But madame has finished her _gouter_, and, once more taking a liberty -with my Frenchman, I remark that she "undulates always with an -appearance of perfect satisfaction." She will not be seen here again -until the same freak of appetite seizes her. For, as a rule, the lower -classes--as, indeed, they do everywhere--have their own neighborhoods -to themselves, though in Venice, naturally, owing to the peculiarity -of its position, there are subdivisions. The workmen and artificers -and traders are quite distinct from the boatmen and fishermen, upon -whom they look with contempt, and with whom they were formerly in a -state of incessant feud. The former wear red caps and belts; the belts -and caps of the latter are entirely either black or blue, the capes -having tassels of the same color, which give an Oriental character to a -Venetian crowd. - -[Illustration: THE CHURCH OF ST. MARK, VENICE] - -And here a curious point occurs. Your great lady prides herself upon -the knot in her gold chain; your fisherman or ferryman wears a scarf -round his neck, and the bigger the knot he can tie the prouder he -is of himself. Again, the gondoliers have their grades of rank. The -lords of the black "water broughams," as some one very much in want of -a smart saying termed them, are in the service of private families, -and hold themselves ready for orders like coachmen. The second degree -is composed--to carry on the analogy--of the canal cabmen, who live -upon chance, upon travellers, and upon Romeos and Juliets, whenever -these young persons are engaged in adventure. Lastly, there are the -gondoliers with fixed stations and fixed destinations, ferrymen who -float to and fro. But they are all very important to Venice. They are -the links of its life; for, singularly enough, it has not bridges -enough, and in this respect is utterly unlike Amsterdam, with which -it is so often and so absurdly compared. If, however, they swear at -one another, they swear at the railway in a chorus. It is rarely, -in these days, that any good luck befalls them. Now and then, to be -sure, a music and singing party, dizzy with the juice of the Dalmatian -grape, attempt to wake the echoes of Tasso among the lagoons, or two -fond fools, fresh from their nuptials in the north, glide over the -moonlit sea, regardless of expense, and look at life through the stars; -yet such Jessica evenings are few and far between, and the Venetian -gondoliers, seen by daylight, look like anything rather than Fenimore -Cooper's hero, or even a daub in a Canaletti canvas. Still, his -ancient art has not deserted him, and he can push his craft along at a -wonderful speed. - -There is one peculiarity about them which the stranger does not readily -understand. They speak as though their language was as limpid as the -water on which they live, and made up almost entirely of vowels. You -wish to be set ashore at the steps of the "Luna" hotel? Certainly; -your gondolier knows the "Una" hotel perfectly well. He has another -characteristic, not quite so uncommon: he is an unblushing cheat. -His Venetian customers pay him tenpence, when you, being a stranger, -must pay him half a crown, which is an Italian method of expressing -patriotism, I suppose. Yet he is continually to be found upon his knees -before the altar, and has a patron of his own, whom he invokes upon -every necessary or unnecessary occasion. - -From him I turn for a moment to another type,--the _ciceroni_,--only, -however, to mention a single example. She was a young girl who -undertook to show the visitor, fresh from the glories of the ducal -palace, through the black labyrinths of the ducal prison. She took two -wax tapers, lighted them, gave him one, keeping the other herself, and -jingled a great bunch of keys. Then the really pretty and graceful -maiden led the way down a worn, slippery, dark staircase, up another -across the Bridge of Sighs, down again, telling all the way fearful -legends of the place, and plunged deeper into the shadowy recesses at -every step. - -"Are you not afraid?" she is asked. - -"A Venetian girl feels no fear," is her answer. - -That is a terrible interior, however, with its range upon range of -hideous cells; but worst of all is a vault, without a spark of natural -light in it, which seems as if dug in the rock. Its roof is stained -by lampblack; its walls bear traces of clamps and chains. "Here the -secret executions took place; here the son of a doge was beheaded for -daring to love a foreign lady. Only great criminals--that is, great -lords--were put to death here." I wonder whether this tender turnkey, -if she had prisoners under her charge, would be pitiless to them. There -is something painful in the contrast between such a gaol and such a -gaoler. - -Leaving her, you pass across the square with its corner group of -beggars, its swarm of bare-headed children, its clusters of boys with -their hair flowing wild, and their brown necks and chests exposed, who -give you an idea that they are expecting their photographs to be taken, -but who, nevertheless, bake themselves in the sun languidly enough, and -act upon the national maxim, "_bisogna stare allegro_." There is but -a solitary influence which can rouse your true Venetian to a state of -excitement, and that is the presence of death. Rich or poor, he hates -it; rich, he rides or rows away to the farthest possible distance; -poor, he hides, if he can, until the object of his abhorrence is -removed. Somehow these vagrants of the island city never starve. They -earn, by one means or another, sufficient for the day, which signifies -sufficient for dinner,--two pennyworth of fish, ready cooked, as -already described; one pennyworth of soup, and one of bread; and it may -be suspected that women and girls do a principal part of whatever work -is done in Venice at all. - -You turn into a sequestered nook, resembling one of the smaller -courts opening upon Fleet Street, and a number of damsels, without -dulcimers, are chattering or singing. These are the pearl-threaders, -for pearl-threading is a universal occupation, just as embroidery was -at one time in England. The wealthy do it for amusement, the humbler -classes for gain, of which, as I have said, a very little goes a -long way. It is a popular saying, "You may die of love or hatred in -Venice, but not of hunger;" still, you see many ragged, hollow-eyed, -and pallid wretches, who, in former days, might have been mistaken for -lottery-hunters; but those times, happily, have passed away, though -they presented a spectacle sufficiently interesting four or five years -ago.... - -Some one has compared Venice to a page of music, with its curious -streets, palaces, museums, canals, and bridges; resembling lines, -notes, double notes, points, crotchets, pauses; its long and straight, -its short, narrow and crooked ways; its open spaces scattered up and -down; its mounting and descending of bridges. I cannot myself see the -truth of the comparison; but so much may be readily admitted,--that -the stranger can easily lose his way, and not easily find it again, in -this maze of land and water, worse than Amsterdam. Unless, however, the -wanderer has some business on hand, the very best way to see Venice -is to be lost in it; because then, instead of the regulation round of -sights, a thousand unexpected novelties strike the eye, in the narrow, -ill-paved, and generally noiseless streets that intersect the islands, -though the hoof of a horse or rumbling of a wheel is never heard in -them. - -Opening upon these dingy and tortuous thoroughfares are many of those -back entrances to the mansions of the opulent, which play so prominent -a part in romance and drama, though, as a rule, they are inhabited -by the poorest of the poor to whom an abode is a retreat, not a -home,--since their lives are habitually passed out of doors. As for -furniture, a bedstead and a huge chest or coffer, with a stool or two, -and a small but solid table, constitute the inventory,--if exception be -made of the bowls, and spoons, and bread-knives which the inmates carry -abroad when they intend to banquet beneath that sky in which Tintoretto -and Veronese exulted. - -Nothing of marble or mosaic here; nothing of gold or purple; only -squalor, such as is never seen in a town of Holland; such as is -seldom met with, indeed, anywhere out of Ireland or Italy. The water, -however, mingles so intricately with the land that it is impossible -to go many steps without coming upon a bridge and a canal,--not the -canal of the artist, all blue except where richer tints are reflected -by the architecture on either side, but narrow, crooked, overhung by -ugly houses, and rather less sweet to the nostrils than becomes a -city famous for its love of violets. Hither come the itinerants of -the public places when the last loiterers have left the square of -St. Mark's and there is no longer a chance of selling fried cakes or -fish, salt mutton or salt tripe, mock pearls or gold thread to string -them upon; and here my glimpse closes upon Venice, a thousand times -described, yet rarely, I think, from this particular point of view. - - - - -ATHENS AND ITS TEMPLES. - -J. L. T. PHILLIPS. - - [To say anything concerning the claims of Athens to the - traveller's attention would be but a waste of words. For the - student of art and architecture it will long remain a place of - pilgrimage. We reproduce here such a student's story of a visit - to the antiquities of Athens. It is the ancient city of which he - speaks; modern Athens has far less to commend it to attention.] - - -The day is a happy one to the student-traveller from the Western World -in which he first looks upon the lovely plain of Athens. Rounding the -point where Hymettus thrusts his huge length into the sea, the long, -featureless mountain-wall of Southern Attica suddenly breaks down, and -gives place to a broad expanse of fertile and well-cultivated soil, -sloping gently back with ever-narrowing bounds until it reaches the -foot-hills of lofty Pentelicus. The wooded heights of Parnes enclose it -on the north, while bald Hymettus rears an impassable barrier along the -south. In front of the gently recurved shore stretch the smooth waters -of the Gulf of Salamis, while beyond rises range upon range of lofty -mountain-peaks with strikingly varied outline, terminating on the one -hand in the towering cone of Egina, and on the other in the pyramidal, -fir-clad summit of Cithæron. - -Upon the plain, at the distance of three or four miles from the sea, -are several small rocky hills of picturesque appearance, isolated and -seemingly independent, but really parts of a low range parallel to -Hymettus. Upon one of the most considerable of these, whose precipitous -sides make it a natural fortress, stood the Acropolis, and upon the -group of lesser heights around and in the valleys between clustered the -dwellings of ancient Athens. - -It was a fitting site for the capital of a people keenly sensitive to -beauty, and destined to become the leaders of the world in matters of -taste, especially in the important department of the Fine Arts. Nowhere -are there more charming contrasts of mountain, sea, and plain,--nowhere -a more perfect harmony of picturesque effect. The sea is not a dreary -waste of waters without bounds, but a smiling gulf mirroring its -mountain-walls and winding about embosomed isles, yet ever broadening -as it recedes, and suggesting the mighty flood beyond from which it -springs. The plain is not an illimitable expanse over which the weary -eye ranges in vain in quest of some resting-place, but is so small -as to be embraced in its whole contour in a single view, while its -separate features--the broad, dense belt of olives which marks the -bed of its principal stream, the ancient Cephisus, the vineyards, the -grain-fields, and the sunny hill-side pastures--are made to produce -their full impression. The mountains are not near enough to be -obtrusive, much less oppressive; neither are they so distant as to be -indistinct or to seem insignificant. Seen through the clear air, their -naked summits are so sharply defined and so individual in appearance as -to seem almost like sculptured forms chiselled out of the hard rock.... - -So the student-pilgrim from the Western World with native ardor strains -his sight to catch the first glimpse of the Athenian plain and city. He -is fresh from his studies, and familiar with what books teach of the -geography of Greece and the topography of Athens. He needs not to be -informed which mountain-range is Parnes, and which Pentelicus,--which -island is Salamis, and which Egina. Yet much of what he sees is a -revelation to him. The mountains are higher, more varied, and more -beautiful than he had supposed, Lycabettus and the Acropolis more -imposing, Pentelicus farther away, and the plain larger, the gulf -narrower, and Egina nearer and more mountainous, than he had fancied. -He is astonished at the smallness of the harbor at Peiræus, having -insensibly formed his conception of its size from the notices of the -mighty fleets which sailed from it in the palmy days when Athens was -mistress of the seas. He is not prepared to see the southern shore -of Salamis so near to the Peiræus, though it explains the close -connection between that island and Athens, and throws some light upon -the great naval defeat of the Persians. In short, while every object -is recognized as it presents itself, yet a more correct conception is -formed of its relative position and aspect from a single glance of the -eye than had been acquired from books during years of study. - -Arrived at the city, his experience is the same. He needs no guide to -conduct him to its antiquities, nor cicerone to explain in bad French -or worse English their names and history. Still, unexpected appearances -present themselves not unfrequently. Hastening towards the Acropolis, -he will first inspect the remains of the great theatre of Dionysus, -so familiar to him as the place where, in the presence of all the -people and many strangers, were acted the plays of his favorite poets, -Æschylus and Sophocles, and where they won many prizes. Hurrying over -the eastern brow of the hill, he comes suddenly upon the spot, enters -at the summit, as many an Athenian did in the olden time, and is -smitten with amazement at the first glance, and led to question whether -this be indeed the site of the ancient theatre. He finds, it is true, -the topmost seats cut in the solid rock, row above row, stripped now -of their marble lining and weather-worn, but yet the genuine ancient -seats of the upper tier. These he expected to find. But whence are -those fresh seats which fill the lower part of the hollow, arranged as -neatly as if intended for immediate use? and whence the massive stage -beyond? He bethinks himself that he has heard of recent excavations -under the patronage of the government, and closer inspection shows that -these are actually the lower seats of the theatre in the time of the -emperor Hadrian, whose favorite residence was Athens, and who did so -much to embellish the city. The front seats consist of massive stone -chairs, each inscribed with the name of its occupant, generally the -priestess of some one of the numerous gods worshipped by that people -so given to idolatry. In the centre of the second row is an elevated -throne inscribed with the name of Hadrian. The stage is seen to be the -ancient Greek stage enlarged to the Roman size to suit the demands of a -later style of theatrical representation. - -After looking in vain for the seat occupied by the priestess of the -Unknown God, our traveller passes on and enters with a beating heart -the charmed precincts of the Acropolis itself. The Propylæa, which he -has been accustomed to regard too exclusively as a mere entrance-gate -to the glories beyond, impresses him with its size and grandeur, and -the little temple of Victory by its side with its elegance. But the -steepness of the ascent perplexes him. It seems impracticable for -horses, yet he knows by unexceptionable testimony that the Athenian -youth prided themselves upon driving their matched steeds in the -great Panathenaic procession which once every four years wound up -the hill, bearing the sacred peplus to the temple of the goddess. A -closer examination reveals the transverse creases of the pavement -designed to give a footing to the beasts, as well as the marks of the -chariot-wheels. Nevertheless, the ascent (and much more the descent) -must have been a perilous undertaking, unless the teams were better -broken than the various accounts of chariot-races furnished by the -poets would indicate. - -Entering beneath the great gate, a little distance forward to the left -may readily be found the site of the colossal bronze statue of the -warrior-goddess in complete armor, formed by Phidias out of the spoils -taken at Marathon. The square base, partly sunk in the uneven rock, -is as perfect as if just put in readiness to receive the pedestal of -that famous work. A road bending to the right and slightly hollowed out -of the rock leads to the Parthenon. The outer platform which sustains -this celebrated temple is partly cut from the rock of the hill and -partly built up of common limestone. The inner one of three courses, -as well as the whole superstructure, is formed of Pentelic marble of a -compact crystalline structure and of dazzling whiteness. Long exposure -has not availed to destroy its lustre, but only to soften its tone. -The visitor, planting himself at the western front, is in a position -to gain some adequate idea of the perfection of the noble building. -The interior and central parts suffered the principal injury from the -explosion of the Turkish powder magazine in 1687. The western front -remains nearly entire. It has been despoiled, indeed, of its movable -ornaments. The statues which filled the pediment are gone, with -the exception of a fragment or two. The sculptured slabs have been -removed from the spaces between the triglyphs, and the gilded shields -which hung beneath have been taken down. Of the magnificent frieze, -representing the procession of the great quadrennial festival, only the -portion surrounding the western vestibule is still in place. Still, as -these were strictly decorations, and wholly subordinate to the organic -parts of the structure, their presence, while it would doubtless -greatly enhance the effect of the whole, is not felt to be essential -to its completeness. The whole Doric columns still bear the massive -entablature sheltered by the covering roof. The simple greatness of the -conception, the just proportion of the several parts, together with the -elaborate finishing of the whole work, invest it with a charm such as -the works of man seldom possess,--the pure and lasting pleasure which -flows from apparent perfection. - -Entering the principal apartment of the building, traces are seen of -the stucco and pictures with which the walls were covered when it was -fitted up as a Christian church in the Byzantine period. Near the -centre of the marble pavement is a rectangular space laid with dark -stone from the Peiræus or from Eleusis. It marks the probable site of -the colossal precious statue of the goddess in gold and ivory,--one of -the most celebrated works of Phidias. The smaller apartment beyond, -accessible only from the opposite front of the temple, was used by the -state as a place of deposit and safe-keeping for bullion and other -valuables in the care of the state treasurer. - -Having examined the great temple, and tested the curvature of its -seemingly horizontal lines by sighting along the unencumbered platform, -and having stopped at several points of the grand portico to admire -the fine views of the city and surrounding country, the traveller -picks his way northward, across a thick layer of fragments of columns, -statues, and blocks of marble, towards the low-placed, irregular, but -elegant Erechtheum, the temple of the most ancient worship and statue -of the patron-goddess of the city. This building sits close by the -northern as the Parthenon does by the southern wall of the enclosure. -It has suffered equally with the other from the ravages of time, and -its ruins, though less grand, are more beautiful. Most of the graceful -Ionic columns are still standing, but large portions of the roof and -entablature have fallen. Fragments of decorated cornice strew the -ground, some of them of considerable length, and afford a near view of -that delicate ornamentation and exquisite finish so rare outside the -limits of Greece. - -[Illustration: ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS, GREECE] - -The elevated porch of the Caryatides, lately restored by the -substitution of a new figure in place of the missing statue now in -the British Museum, attracts attention as a unique specimen of Greek -art, and also as showing how far a skilful treatment will overcome the -inherent difficulties of a subject. The row of fair maidens looking out -towards the Parthenon do not seem much oppressed by the burden which -rests upon them, while their graceful forms lend a pleasing variety to -the scene. Passing out by the northern wing of the Propylæa, a survey -is had of the numerous fragments of sculpture discovered among the -ruins upon the hill, and temporarily placed in the ancient Pinacotheca. -The eye rests upon sweet infant faces and upon rugged manly ones. -Sometimes a single feature only remains, which, touched by the finger -of genius, awakens admiration. A naked arm severed from the trunk, of -feminine cast, but with muscles tightly strained and hand clinched as -in agony, will arrest attention and dwell in the memory. - -Northwest of the Acropolis, across a narrow chasm, lies the low, rocky -height of the Areopagus, accessible at the southeast angle by a narrow -flight of sixteen rudely-cut steps, which lead to a small rectangular -excavation on the summit, which faces the Acropolis, and is surrounded -upon three sides by a double tier of benches hewn out of the rock. Here -undoubtedly the most venerable court of justice at Athens had its seat -and tried its cases in the open air. Here too, without doubt, stood the -great apostle when, with bold spirit and weighty words, he declared -unto the men of Athens that God of whom they confessed their ignorance; -who was not to be represented by gold or silver or stone graven by art -and man's device; who dwelt not in temples made with hands, and needed -not to be worshipped with men's hands. In no other place can one feel -so sure that he comes upon the very footsteps of the apostle, and on no -other spot can one better appreciate his high gifts as an orator or the -noble devotion of his whole soul to the work of the Master. How poor in -comparison with his life-work appear the performances of the greatest -of the Athenian thinkers or doers! - -A little more than a quarter of a mile west of the Acropolis is another -rocky hill,--the Pnyx,--celebrated as the place where the assembly -of all the citizens met to transact the business of the state. A -large semicircular area was formed, partly by excavation, partly -by building up from beneath, the bounds of which can be distinctly -traced. Considerable remains of the terrace-wall at the foot of the -slope exist,--huge stones twelve or fourteen feet in length by eight -or ten in breadth. The chord of the semicircle is near the top of the -hill, formed by the perpendicular face of the excavated rock, and is -about four hundred feet in length by twenty in depth. Projecting from -it at the centre, and hewn out of the same rock, is the bema or stone -platform from which the great orators from the time of Themistocles and -Aristides, and perhaps of Solon, down to the age of Demosthenes and -the Attic Ten, addressed the mass of their fellow-citizens. It is a -massive cubic block, with a linear edge of eleven feet, standing upon -a graduated base of nearly equal height, and is mounted on either side -by a flight of nine stone steps. From its connection with the most -celebrated efforts of some of the greatest orators our race has yet -seen, it is one of the most interesting relics in the world, and its -solid structure will cause it to endure as long as the world itself -shall stand, unless, as there is some reason to apprehend will be -the case, it is knocked to pieces and carried off in the carpet-bags -of travellers. No traces of the Agora, which occupied the shallow -valley between the Pnyx and the Acropolis, remain. It was the heart of -the city, and was adorned with numerous public buildings, porticoes, -temples, and statues. It was often thronged with citizens gathered for -purposes of trade, discussion, or to hear and tell some new thing. - -Half a mile or more to the southeast, on the banks of the Ilissus, -stood a magnificent structure dedicated to Olympian Zeus,--one of the -four largest temples of Greece, ranking with that of Demeter at Eleusis -and that of Diana at Ephesus. Its foundations remain, and sixteen of -the huge Corinthian columns belonging to its majestic triple colonnade. -One of these is fallen. Breaking up into the numerous disks of which -it was composed,--six and a half feet in diameter by two or more in -thickness,--and stretching out to a length of over sixty feet, it gives -an impressive conception of the size of these columns, said to be the -largest standing in Europe. The level area of the temple is now used -as a training-ground for soldiers. Close by, and almost in the bed -of the stream, which is dry the larger part of the year, issues from -beneath a ledge of rock the copious fountain of sweet waters known to -the ancients as Callirrhoe. It furnished the only good drinking-water -of the city, and was used in all the sacrifices to the gods. A little -way above, on the opposite bank of the Ilissus, is the site of the -Panathenaic stadium, whose shape is perfectly preserved in the smooth -grass-grown hollow with semicircular extremity which here lies at right -angles to the stream, between parallel ridges partly artificial. - -Northward from the Acropolis, on a slight elevation, is the -best-preserved and one of the most ancient structures of Athens,--the -temple of Theseus, built under the administration of Cimon by the -generation preceding Pericles and the Parthenon. It is of the Doric -order, and shaped like the Parthenon, but considerably inferior to -it in size as well as in execution. It has been roofed with wood in -modern times, and was long used as a church, but is now a place of -deposit for the numerous statues and sculptured stones of various -kinds--mostly sepulchral monuments--which have been recently discovered -in and about the city. They are for the most part unimportant as -works of art, though many are interesting from their antiquity or -historic associations. Among these is the stone which once crowned the -burial-mound on the plain of Marathon. It bears a single figure, said -to represent the messenger who brought the tidings of victory to his -countrymen. - -Near the Theseium was the double gate (Dipylum) in the ancient wall of -the city whence issued the Sacred Way leading to Eleusis, and bordered, -like the Appian Way at Rome, with tombs, many of them cenotaphs of -persons who died in the public service and were deemed worthy of a -monument in the public burying-ground. Within a few years an excavation -has been made through an artificial mound of ashes, pottery, and other -refuse emptied out of the city, and a section of a few rods of this -celebrated road has been laid bare. The sepulchral monuments are ranged -on one side rather thickly, and crowd somewhat closely upon the narrow -pavement. They are, for the most part, simple, thick slabs of white -marble, with a triangular or pediment-shaped top, beneath which is -sculptured in low relief the closing scene of the person commemorated, -followed by a short inscription. The work is done in an artistic style -worthy of the publicity its location gave it. On one of these slabs you -recognize the familiar full-length figure of Demosthenes, standing with -two companions and clasping in a parting grasp the hand of a woman, who -is reclining upon her death-bed. The inscription is, _Collyrion, wife -of Agathon_. On another stone of larger size is a more imposing piece -of sculpture. A horseman fully armed is thrusting his spear into the -body of his fallen foe,--a hoplite. The inscription relates that the -unhappy foot-soldier fell at Corinth _by reason of those five words of -his!_--a record intelligible enough, doubtless, to his contemporaries, -but sufficiently obscure and provocative of curiosity to later -generations. - -There are other noted structures at Athens, such as the Choragic -Monument of Lysicrates--the highest type of the Corinthian order of -architecture, as the Erechtheum is of the Ionic and the Parthenon of -the Doric,--but want of space forbids any further description. - - - - -THE ISLES OF GREECE. - -HENRY M. FIELD. - - [History and poetry alike celebrate the beauty of those charming - isles, which fill with their sunny grace and rich fertility - the seas of Greece, and on which many of the poets of that - song-girdled land were born. No work on general travels can be - complete without some description of these celebrated islands, - and we select from Dr. H. M. Field's "The Greek Islands" an - appreciative account of their aspect to the modern traveller.] - - -In the old picture-books there used to be a picture of the Colossus of -Rhodes, which stood bestriding an arm of the sea with ships in full -sail passing between his mighty legs. Though it was a picture for -children, yet to some who are not children the chief association with -the island of Rhodes is the place where the Colossus stood; and there -are travellers still who come on deck, and look round inquiringly for -some fragment of a ruin which should mark the site of that majestic -figure. But not a vestige remains. Though "His Highness" lifted his -head so proudly, as if he disdained the earth on which he stood, he did -not hold it up very long. Pride must have a fall. He did not live even -to the allotted age of man. He had been standing but fifty-six when an -earthquake shook him down, and for nearly a thousand years he lay like -Dagon, prone upon the ground, with all his glory buried in the dust, -his _disjecta membra_ being trodden underfoot by the barbarous Turk, -till at last they were sold to a Jew(!), who broke them up as men break -up the hull of an old ship, and, packing them on the backs of nine -hundred camels, carried them away. Such was the ignominious end of one -of the Seven Wonders of the World. - -But though the Colossus did not stand long, the mere fact of its -standing at all--that a figure over a hundred feet high, wrought in -bronze, like the column of Trajan at Rome, should have been reared -nearly three hundred years before Christ--is a proof of the degree of -civilization attained at that early period. It was a statue to the sun, -and stood in front of the city, where its head would catch the first -rays of the sunlight as it came over the hills of Asia Minor, which lay -on the eastern horizon. - -Rhodes is second to Cyprus (if it be second) in antiquity, and its -civilization may be traced to the same sources. Its position at the -mouth of the Ægean Sea, whose waters here mingle with those of the -Mediterranean, invited immigration both from Asia and Africa. The -Phoenicians, sailing westward, landed on its shores; while from farther -south men of another race brought to it the wisdom of the Egyptians. -At the same time, as one of the islands of the Greek Archipelago, it -shared in the intellectual influences of Greece. It stood "where two -seas met," or two civilizations. Like the Channel Islands, which look -upon two kingdoms, it was joined by a chain of islands to Greece, -while it was in full sight of Asia, to which it was nearer than the -white chalk cliffs of Dover to the shores of France. Probably the -island was settled as early as the siege of Troy, though the city was -not founded until about four hundred years before Christ. - -It was in the century following that Alexander the Great conquered the -world, and Rhodes bowed to a power which it could not resist, and was -held in awe by the terror of his name, even while he was pursuing his -conquests in the heart of Asia. But as soon as he breathed his last -the spell was broken. The people rose against the Macedonian garrison, -and drove them out, and with recovered liberty came new and increased -prosperity, and the city rose to its greatest splendor. Then was reared -the mighty Colossus; and then sculptors who rivalled those of Greece -filled the city with the products of their art. It was said to contain -not less than three thousand statues. The famous group of the Farnese -Bull--the largest antique sculpture which has been preserved to us, and -which, having once adorned the baths of Caracalla at Rome, is now the -pride of the museum at Naples--was the work of two sculptors of Rhodes. -Such noble statues, adorning the public places of the city, showed that -in the cultivation of art Rhodes, if not the equal, was at least a -worthy imitator, of Athens itself. - -All this has passed away. But though despoiled of its treasures; though -the conquerors, who - - "Brought many captives home to Rome," - -brought the sculptures of Rhodes with those of Greece; yet the island -itself remains, fair as when it first rose from the bosom of the Ægean -Sea. Never was it fairer than this morning, as the sunrise, flashing -across the blue waters, lighted up the gray old town, with its walls -and towers, which stand out from a background of hills. The island -rises abruptly from the sea. Beyond the walls of the town houses are -sprinkled over the hill-sides, that are covered with olive-groves, -which at this season are fresh and green. Behind these lower hills are -others that are higher, whose steep sides and rocky crests reminded our -good Dr. Wylie of Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags. - -The chief remains of historic interest are those connected with the -Crusaders, when the island was ruled by the Knights of St. John, who -took it, however, not in the advance to the Holy Land, but in the -retreat. When they were driven out of Syria by Saladin, they fell back -upon Rhodes, which they conquered from the Saracens, and held for over -two hundred years,--from 1309 to 1522,--when Solyman the Magnificent -came against it with two hundred thousand men. Then followed a siege -in which men took courage from despair. The city had a garrison of but -six thousand men; yet for six months, in spite of repeated assaults, -it defied the besiegers,--a courage which compelled the respect of -the conqueror, who after the city fell permitted its brave defenders -to retire in safety. A few years later the Emperor Charles V. gave -them the island of Malta, which they fortified till it was one of the -strongest places in the world, and held it till the close of the last -century. - -No doubt to us, in this practical and prosaic age, there is something -fantastic and absurd in the institution of the Knights of St. John, -an order in which the profession of arms was strongly united with the -profession of religion. But was it so very absurd, in an age full of -oppression and cruelty, that manly strength and courage should be -devoted to the protection of women against brutal tyranny? For such -was the purpose of the institution of chivalry, which figures so much -in the Middle Ages, where it often supplied the place of a civilized -government. Or when the Moslem conquered Western Asia and threatened -Europe, was it strange that men devoted to arms should band together -for the defence of their faith? This order of St. John was not made up -of carpet knights. No braver men ever fought on bloody fields. Now, -indeed, their wars and battles and sieges are over. - - "The good Knights are dust, - Their armor rust, - Their souls are with the saints, we trust." - -Though the order still exists, it is not for purposes of war, but of -peace. Its only war is against human misery. This, indeed, was always -a part of its design. There are few things in history more touching -than the solemn vow of those armed knights, which they took "as the -servants of the poor and of Christ." How well that vow has been kept to -this day, the traveller may see who visits the Hospital of the Knights -of St. John in Beirut. True, the order remains, as it has always been, -a very aristocratic one, composed largely of nobles and princes. Its -Grand Master is the Emperor of Germany. But when kings and princes -care for the poor and the sick, when they found hospitals and seek -to relieve human suffering, they deserve the honor and gratitude of -mankind. - -When these gallant Knights of St. John took their sad farewell of -Rhodes, they left behind them traces of their occupation which still -remain in the long sea-wall which guards the city's front, to keep out -an enemy as it keeps out the dashing of the waves. This castellated -wall is a very picturesque object, as it not only lies along the sea, -but turns at either end, winding up the sides of the hill till it has -compassed the city round with its lines of defence, which did such -valiant service in the memorable siege. But apart from its look of a -fortified place, there is nothing warlike in the city of Rhodes. I did -not see a single sentinel keeping guard on the walls, nor see a gun -mounted, nor hear a drum beat. There was nothing to break the silence -of the sleepy old town; and over the wall, which once swarmed with -Crusaders, hurling defiance at the besieging Moslems, there are no more -formidable demonstrations than those of the windmills, which brandish -their long arms against invisible foes. - -The "port," if such it may be called, is a diminutive little loch of -water, shut in by a projecting mole, or ledge of rocks, at either end, -on which stands a round tower, a picturesque object in the landscape, -but not very formidable in case of war. One broadside from a man-of-war -would make it a heap of ruins. Indeed, when a fort is converted into a -light-house, it seems to abdicate its martial design, and to be devoted -to the purposes of peace,--all that it is good for now. - -It was tantalizing to lie but two or three hundred yards off, and not -be able to land; but there was a high sea, the waves were dashing on -the rocks, tossing their white crests in the air, and if we had gone on -shore it might be difficult to get off in time for the steamer. So we -lay broadside to the town for two or three hours, looking wistfully at -the gates we could not enter. - -But though we did not go on shore, we had visitors from the shore. The -Greek boatmen are at home in any sea, and never miss an opportunity -to visit a ship. They came on board to sell little boxes of olive-and -lemon-wood, and other small wares, which the passengers purchased as -souvenirs of Rhodes. - -Apart from these petty traffickers, there was a grand old Turk, who -sat gloomily in conversation with one who knew him. He was a pasha who -had been high in power in Constantinople, but for some cause lost the -favor of the Sultan, and was banished to Rhodes. Whether he was guilty -of any crime we knew not, nor did it matter whether he was guilty or -innocent. Perhaps he had been too inflexibly honest, and so encountered -the ill-favor of the Grand Vizier. In either case he had to suffer. The -Turkish rule knows neither justice nor mercy. However, his fate was -lighter than that of many. He was not kept a prisoner, shut up in a -fortress; there was no chain upon his hand; and yet we could not look -upon that sad face without feeling how bitter was the bread of exile. - -Leaving the city behind us, we sail along the shores of the island, -and are charmed with their picturesque beauty. The long line of -elevated coast sweeps in and out, projecting and receding, with bays -stretching inland, at the end of which one catches glimpses of soft -valleys sloping upward to the hills, behind and above which is the -mountain-ridge which forms the backbone of the island. These valleys -once supported a large population; but now, under the destructive -Turkish rule, it has dwindled till there are not forty thousand left. -A few poor villages cling to the hill-sides whose inhabitants live -on their small plantations of olives, or derive a scanty living from -the sea, from which they gather sponges and coral. But with a better -government and increased facilities for agriculture and commerce, -there is no reason why Rhodes may not recover something of its former -prosperity. Its climate is still the finest in the Mediterranean; the -sun shines brightly as ever; and the valleys, spite of all the waste -and neglect, still retain their natural fertility. With proper culture, -they would yield rich harvests, besides oranges and lemons and citrons, -with the figs and raisins, which are now exported so largely from -Smyrna; while the olive-trees, which grow abundantly, would pour forth -"rivers of oil." - -We are now in the heart of the Greek Archipelago, which has been -famed for its beauty from the days of Homer. As we stood in a group -on deck, entranced with the swiftly-changing scene, it was natural -that we should compare it with our observation in other parts of the -world. A couple of our fellow-passengers, who were on their return -from the Far East, said that it reminded them of the Inland Sea of -Japan. My thoughts turned to the Malayan Archipelago, where the islands -hang rich with tropical vegetation, and the seas flash at night with -phosphorescent splendor. But with all that is attractive in those -groups of islands, I can hardly believe anything to be equal to this -Greek Archipelago. It seems to me that no waters can be so beautiful -as those of the Ægean Sea, although there are waters of wonderful -clearness in our Western Hemisphere, notably those round the Bahamas -and the Bermudas. - -And then the Greek islands, so many in number, are of all sizes, large -and small, from the rocky islet, fit only for a sea-gull's nest, to an -island containing hundreds of square miles. All have the same general -character, rising directly from the sea. The coasts are often so rocky -that it seems as if a goat could hardly live upon them, and yet midway -between the cliffs are little hamlets and patches of cultivation. The -outlines of the higher peaks of the islands, broken and jagged, remind -us, as they stand up against the sky, of Capri and Ischia in the Bay -of Naples, or those African mountains which we saw from the Peninsula -of Sinai, on the other side of the Red Sea. Putting all these things -together, whatever may be said of the Malayan Archipelago, or of the -Inland Sea of Japan, I give my voice for the Greek Archipelago as the -most wonderful combination of land and sea, where the most picturesque -of islands rise out of the fairest of waters. - -[Illustration: CORINTH, GREECE] - -We did not touch at Patmos. There is nothing to invite a steamer to -turn aside from its course to visit it, except it were to gratify the -curiosity of travellers. It has no commerce of any kind. Indeed, its -few inhabitants have at certain seasons of the year to cross to other -islands to procure the means of subsistence. So barren is it that it -was chosen by the Roman emperors as a place of banishment, on which -prisoners could be confined as to a rock in the ocean. Yet this poor -little island has gathered about it a mighty tradition, for it was -the place of exile of the last of the Apostles. "I, John, was in the -isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony -of Jesus Christ." Here he wrote the Book of Revelation, and here was -erected in the twelfth century a monastery bearing his name. We thought -we could just discern the outline of the island and the convent rising -above it on the western horizon. - -The next morning at daylight we were off Scio, that island of sad -and bloody memories. Sixty years ago it was the scene of an event -which made the ears of the civilized world to tingle. When the Greek -Revolution broke out in 1822 it is said that the people here were -reluctant to take part in it, but were stirred up by emissaries from -Samos; and, perhaps because Scio had been one of the most prosperous of -the Greek islands, it was to be the special mark of Turkish vengeance. -A fleet anchored off the town, and without a warning of its terrible -fate, soldiers were let loose upon the inhabitants. No age or sex was -spared. Not only were men cut down in their homes, but their wives and -children with them. Twenty-two thousand were put to the sword, and -forty-seven thousand were sold into slavery. But this massacre was not -to go unavenged. The Greeks had no ships of war, but they converted old -hulks into fire-ships, in which they sailed with the utmost daring into -the centre of the Turkish fleet, and setting them on fire, escaped in -their boats. The flag-ship was burnt, and the admiral and crew perished -in the flames,--a terrible retribution for the massacre of Scio. Since -Greek independence was secured, it has partly recovered; but several -years since the town was nearly destroyed by an earthquake, so that it -seems as if the island were doomed to destruction. - -But all over this wreck and ruin shines the brightness of a name that -will ever give to it a place in history. It is the reputed birthplace -of Homer, and as such cannot be passed by without notice by the -traveller. - - [From Scio, Dr. Field sailed for Asia Minor, and spent some time - among its historic cities. On his return he passed the island - of Lesbos, which has long been famous as the home of Sappho and - others of the lyric poets of Greece.] - -As the afternoon drew on, we were approaching a large island,--the -ancient Lesbos, now Mitylene,--and as we were on its eastern side, -and the sun was sinking in the west, we were coming under its shadow, -and this softer light enabled us to see it better than we could have -done in the glare of noonday. The tops of the mountains stood out -with wonderful clearness against the sky, while the outline of the -coast winding in and out with its headlands and its bays, and the soft -green valleys rising from the shore and running upward to the slopes -of the hills, gave it an infinite variety and beauty. Clinging to the -hill-sides were pretty villages, with groves of oak cultivated for the -acorns they yield, which are used for tanning purposes and exported -to Europe, while the pine-forests on the mountains furnish timber and -pitch. - -The valleys are very fertile, and if they are not "covered over with -corn," they have large plantations of fig and other fruit-trees; while -the olive-orchards, if they do not pour out "rivers of oil," yet yield -it in such abundance as makes it the chief industry of the island, -and furnishes a source of wealth to the thrifty inhabitants. All these -varieties of vegetation were now in their perfect bloom, as it was the -middle of May, when in the East the earth rejoices in the freshness -of spring-time. As we sailed along these shores in the twilight, I -wondered if a fairer Arcadia ever rose out of the waters of this -troubled world. - -The island of Lesbos has an important place in Greek history, even at -its most remote period. As early as the siege of Troy it had a large -population, and continued to flourish for centuries. - -When Athens had its Academy, Lesbos had its schools of philosophy, -which attracted the wise men of Greece. It was even more famous as the -birthplace of a school of lyric poets,-- - - "Where burning Sappho lived and sung," - -and others whose stirring odes live in the collections of Greek poetry. - -When the Romans became masters of the East they were attracted by -the beauty of the Greek islands. Their fondness for a mild-tempered -climate, such as is found in greatest perfection in an island lying in -summer seas, where the temperature of the sea softens alike the heat -of summer and the cold of winter,--which led them to choose Ischia -and Capri, at the mouth of the Bay of Naples, as favorite abodes of -Imperial luxury,--led them, when sent to distant provinces, to choose -Lesbos, which Tacitus describes in a line as "_insula nobilis et -amoena_" [a noble and pleasant island], as one of those semi-royal -retreats in which a Roman governor might pass his splendid exile, and -almost forget his absence from the imperial city.... - -On the whole, Mitylene seems to me the most important, as well as the -most beautiful, island of the Archipelago, and this very beauty and -fertility but increase the regret that it should be under the rule of -Turkey when it ought to belong to Greece. It is nearer to Athens than -to Constantinople. It lies midway between the shores of Asia Minor and -the mainland of Greece, and its population is almost wholly Greek. It -is Greek in religion. One coming into Mitylene sees neither mosque nor -minaret. Thus it is Greek by its position, its history, and its people. -If ever there comes a time of "the restitution of all things," the -island will be taken from Turkey and restored to its natural place as -part of the young kingdom of Greece. - - - - -THE SERAGLIO ON THE GOLDEN HORN. - -EDWARD DANIEL CLARKE. - - [Dr. Clarke, in his animated descriptions of the countries of - Eastern Europe, gives picturesque accounts of what is to be seen - in Constantinople and other portions of the Sultan's domain. - Perhaps the most interesting of these is his description of a - stolen visit to the seraglio, a tabooed place only to be inspected - at imminent risk of life. Our traveller managed to see it quite - thoroughly, as will be seen from his story of the dangerous - enterprise.] - - -I eagerly sought an opportunity to examine the interior of the -seraglio; and, difficult as the undertaking may seem, soon found the -means of its accomplishment. The harmony existing between England and -the Porte at that critical juncture when Egypt was to be restored -to the Turks by the valor of our troops, greatly facilitated the -enterprise. I felt convinced that within the walls of the seraglio many -interesting antiquities were concealed from observation; and I was not -disappointed. - -The first place to which my observations were directed was the -imperial armory; and here, to my great gratification, I beheld the -weapons, shields, and military engines of the Greek emperors, exactly -corresponding with those represented on the medals and bas-reliefs of -the ancients, suspended as trophies of the capture of the city by the -Turks.... - -Soon after this some pages, belonging to the seraglio, brought -from the Sultan's apartments the fragments of a magnificent vase -of jasper-agate, which, it was said, his highness had dashed to -pieces in a moment of anger. As these fragments were cast away, and -disregarded, they came at last into the hands of a poor lapidary, who -earned a scanty livelihood by cutting and polishing stones for the -signet-rings of the Turks. In one of my mineralogical excursions, the -merchants of the _bez esten_, where jewels are sold, directed me to the -laboratory of this man, to obtain the precious stones of the country -in their natural state. He was then employed upon the fragments of -this vase, and very gladly spared the labor which he would otherwise -have bestowed by consigning, for a small sum, the whole of them to -me. It is hardly possible to conceive a more extraordinary proof of -the genius and industry of Grecian artists than was presented by -this vase. Its fragments are still in my possession; and have been -reserved for annual exhibition, during a course of public lectures in -the University of Cambridge. When it is stated that the treasury of -Mithridates contained four thousand specimens of similar manufacture, -all of which came into the hands of the Romans, and that the Turks are -unable to execute anything of the same nature, it is highly probable -this curious relique originally constituted one of the number, which, -after passing into the possession of the Turks at the conquest of the -city, had continued to adorn the palace of their sovereigns. Such a -conjecture is strengthened by the mythological figure, represented in -exquisite sculpture, on the vase itself. It consists of an entire mass -of green jasper-agate, beautifully variegated with veins and spots of -a vermilion color; so that part of it exhibits the ribbon-jasper and -part the bloodstone. The handle is formed to represent the head of -a griffin (carved in all the perfection of the finest cameo), whose -extended wings and claws cover the exterior surface. The difficulty of -working a silicious concretion of such extraordinary hardness needs not -to be specified; it may be presumed that the entire life of the ancient -lapidary, by whom it was wrought, could have been scarcely adequate to -such a performance; nor do we at all know in what manner the work was -effected. Yet there are parts of it in which the sides of the vase are -as thin as the finest porcelain. - -A second visit, which I made to the interior of the seraglio, was not -attended by any very interesting discovery; but as it enabled me to -describe with minuteness scenes hitherto impervious to European eyes, -the reader may be gratified by the observations made within those -walls. Every one is curious to know what exists within recesses which -have been long closed against the intrusion of Christians. In vain does -the eye, roaming from the towers of Galata, Pera, and Constantinople, -attempt to penetrate the thick gloom of cypresses and domes which -distinguishes the most beautiful part of Constantinople. Imagination -magnifies things unknown; and when, in addition to the curiosity -always excited by mystery, the reflection is suggested that ancient -Byzantium occupied the site of the Sultan's palace, a thirst of inquiry -is proportionably augmented. I promise to conduct my readers not only -within the retirement of the seraglio, but into the charem itself, and -the most secluded haunts of the Turkish sovereign. Would only I could -also promise a degree of satisfaction, in this respect, adequate to -their desire of information. - -It so happened that the gardener of the Grand Seignior, during our -residence in Constantinople, was a German. This person used to mix -with the society in Pera, and often joined in the evening parties -given by the different foreign ministers. In this manner we became -acquainted with him, and were invited to his apartments within the -walls of the seraglio, close to the gates of the Sultan's garden. -We were accompanied during our first visit by his intimate friend, -the secretary and chaplain of the Swedish mission, who, but a short -time before, had succeeded in obtaining a sight of the four principal -Sultanas and the Sultan mother, in consequence of his frequent visits -to the gardener. They were sitting together one morning, when the -cries of the black eunuchs, opening the door of the charem, which -communicated with the seraglio gardens, announced that these ladies -were going to take the air. In order to do this it was necessary to -pass the gates adjoining the gardener's lodge, where an _arabat_ was -stationed to receive them, in which it was usual for them to drive -round the walks of the seraglio, within the walls of the palace. - -Upon these occasions the black eunuchs examine every part of the -garden, and run before the women, calling out to all persons to avoid -approaching or beholding them, under pain of death. The gardener and -his friend the Swede instantly closed all the shutters and locked the -doors. The black eunuchs arriving soon after, and finding the lodge -shut, supposed the gardener to be absent. Presently followed the Sultan -mother, with the four principal Sultanas, who were in high glee, -romping and laughing with each other. A small scullery window of the -gardener's lodge looked directly towards the gate through which these -ladies were to pass, and was separated from it only by a few yards. -Here, through two small gimlet-holes, bored for that purpose, they -beheld very distinctly the features of the women, whom they described -as possessing extraordinary beauty. Three of the four were Georgians, -having dark complexions and very long dark hair; but the fourth was -remarkably fair, and her hair, also of singular length and thickness, -was of a flaxen color; neither were their teeth dyed black, as those of -Turkish women generally are. - -The Swedish gentleman said he was almost sure they suspected they were -seen, from the address they manifested in displaying their charms and -in loitering at the gate. This gave him and his friend no small degree -of terror, as they would have paid for their curiosity with their lives -if any such suspicion had entered the minds of the black eunuchs. He -described their dresses as rich beyond all that can be imagined. Long -spangled robes, open in front, with pantaloons embroidered in gold -and silver, and covered by a profusion of pearls and precious stones, -displayed their persons to great advantage, but were so heavy as to -actually encumber their motion and almost to impede their walking. -Their hair hung in loose and very thick tresses on each side of their -cheeks, falling quite down to the waist, and covering their shoulders -behind. Those tresses were quite powdered with diamonds, not displayed -according to any studied arrangement, but as if carelessly scattered -by handfuls among their flowing locks. On the top of their heads, and -rather leaning to one side, they wore each of them a small circular -patch or diadem. Their faces, necks, and even their breasts were quite -exposed, not one of them having any veil. - -The German gardener, who had daily access to different parts of the -seraglio, offered to conduct us not only over the gardens, but -promised, if we would come singly, during the season of the _Ramadan_, -when the guards, being up all night, would be stupefied during the day -with sleep and intoxication, to undertake the greater risk of showing -us the interior of the charem, or apartments of the women,--that is -to say, of that part which they inhabit during the summer; for they -were still in their winter chambers. We readily accepted this offer. -I only solicited the further indulgence of being accompanied by a -French artist of the name of Preaux, whose extraordinary promptitude -in design would enable him to bring away sketches of anything we might -find interesting, either in the charem or gardens of the seraglio. -The apprehensions of Monsieur Preaux were, however, so great, that it -was with the greatest difficulty I could prevail upon him to venture -into the seraglio, and he afterwards either lost or secreted the only -drawing which his fears would allow him to make while he was there. - -We left Pera, in a gondola, about seven o'clock in the morning, -embarking at Tophana, and steering towards that gate of the seraglio -which faces the Bosporus on the southeastern side, where the entrance -to the seraglio gardens and the gardener's lodge are situated. A -bostanghy, as a sort of porter, is usually seated, with his attendants, -within the portal. Upon entering the seraglio, the spectator is struck -by a wild and confused assemblage of great and interesting objects. -Among the first of these are enormous cypresses, massive and lofty -masonry, neglected and broken sarcophagi, high-rising mounds, and a -long, gloomy avenue, leading from the gates of the garden between -the double walls of the seraglio. This gate is the same by which the -Sultanas came out for the airing before alluded to, and the gardener's -lodge is on the right hand of it. The avenue extending from it towards -the west offers a broad and beautiful, although solitary, walk, to a -very considerable extent shut in by high walls on both sides. Directly -opposite this entrance of the seraglio is a very lofty mound, or bank, -covered by large trees, and traversed by terraces, over which, on the -top, are walls with turrets. On the right hand, after entering, are the -large wooden folding doors of the Grand Seignior's gardens, and near -them lie many fragments of ancient marbles, appropriated to the vilest -purposes; among others, a sarcophagus of one block of marble, covered -with a simple though unmeaning bas-relief. - -Entering the gardens by the folding doors, a pleasing _coup d'oeil_ -of trellis-work and covered walks is displayed, more after the -taste of Holland than that of any other country. Various and very -despicable _jets d'eau_, straight gravel-walks, and borders disposed -in parallelograms, with the exception of a long greenhouse filled with -orange-trees, compose all that appears in the small spot which bears -the name of the seraglio gardens. The view on entering is down the -principal gravel-walk, and all the walks meet at the central point, -beneath a dome of the same trellis-work by which they are covered. -Small fountains spout a few quarts of water into large shells, or -form parachutes over lighted bougies, by the sides of the walks. -The trellis-work is of wood, painted white, and covered by jasmine; -and this, as it does not conceal the artificial frame by which it -is supported, produces a wretched effect. On the outside of the -trellis-work appear small parterres, edged with box, containing very -common flowers, and adorned with fountains. On the right hand, after -entering the garden, appears the magnificent kiosk, which constitutes -the Sultan's summer residence; and farther on is the orangery before -mentioned, occupying the whole extent of the wall on that side. - -Exactly opposite the garden gates is the door of the charem, or palace -of the women belonging to the Grand Seignior; a building not unlike -one of the small colleges in Cambridge, and enclosing the same sort of -cloistered court. One side of this building extends across the upper -extremity of the garden, so that the windows look into it. Below these -windows are two small greenhouses, filled with very common plants, and -a number of canary-birds. Before the charem windows, on the right hand, -is a ponderous, gloomy, wooden door; and this, creaking on its massive -hinges, opens to the quadrangle, or interior court of the charem -itself.... We will keep this door shut for a short time, in order to -describe the seraglio gardens more minutely; and afterwards open it, to -gratify the reader's curiosity. - -Still facing the charem on the left hand is a paved ascent, leading, -through a handsome gilded iron gate, from the lower to the upper -garden. Here is a kiosk, which I shall presently describe. Returning -from the charem to the door by which we first entered, a lofty wall on -the right hand supports a terrace with a few small parterres: these, -at a considerable height above the lower garden, constitute what is -now called the upper part of the seraglio; and, till within these few -years, it was the only one. - -Having thus completed the tour of this small and insignificant spot -of ground, let us now enter the kiosk, which I first mentioned as -the Sultan's summer residence. It is situated on the sea-shore, and -commands one of the finest views the eye ever beheld, of Scutari and -the Asiatic coast, the mouth of the canal, and a moving picture of -ships, gondolas, dolphins, birds, with all the floating pageantry of -this vast metropolis, such as no other capital in the world can pretend -to exhibit. The kiosk itself, fashioned after the airy fantastic -style of Eastern architecture, presents a spacious chamber, covered -by a dome, from which, towards the sea, advances a raised platform -surrounded by windows, and terminated by a divan. On the right and -left are the private apartments of the Sultan and his ladies. From -the centre of the dome is suspended a large lustre presented by the -English ambassador. Above the raised platform hangs another lustre of a -smaller size, but more elegant. Immediately over the sofas constituting -the divan are mirrors engraved with Turkish inscriptions; poetry and -passages from the Korân. The sofas are of white satin beautifully -embroidered by the women of the seraglio. - - [Our traveller proceeds to describe the various apartments - visited, including the rooms devoted to the women of the - seraglio, and the charem (or harem) itself. Passing through large - dormitories, the great chamber of audience of the Sultan mother - was reached, an apartment theatrical in adornment, and giving "a - striking idea of the pomp, the seclusion, and the magnificence of - the Ottoman court."] - -Beyond the great chamber of audience is the Assembly Room of the -Sultan, when he is in the charem. Here we observed the magnificent -lustre before mentioned. The Sultan sometimes visits this chamber -during the winter, to hear music and to amuse himself with his -favorites. It is surrounded by mirrors. The other ornaments display -that strange mixture of magnificence and wretchedness which -characterize all the state chambers of Turkish grandees. Leaving the -Assembly Room by the same door through which we entered, and continuing -along the passage as before, which runs parallel to the sea-shore, we -at length reached what might be termed the _sanctum sanctorum_ of this -Paphian temple, the baths of the Sultan mother and the four principal -Sultanas. These are small, but very elegant, constructed of white -marble, and lighted by ground glass above. At the upper end is a raised -sudatory and bath for the Sultan mother, concealed by lattice-work from -the rest of the apartment. Fountains play constantly into the floor of -this bath from all its sides; and every degree of refined luxury has -been added to the work which a people, above all others best versed in -the ceremonies of the bath, have been capable of inventing or requiring. - -Leaving the bath and returning along the passage by which we came, we -entered what is called the Chamber of Repose. Nothing need be said of -it, except that it commands the finest view anywhere afforded from -this point of the seraglio. It forms a part of the building well known -to strangers, from the circumstance of its being supported, towards -the sea, by twelve columns of that beautiful and rare _breccia_, the -_viride Lacedoemonium_ of Pliny, called by Italians _Il verde antico_. -These columns are of the finest quality ever seen, and each of them -consists of one entire stone. The two interior pillars are of green -Egyptian breccia, more beautiful than any specimen of the kind existing. - - [An apartment overlooking the gardens was now reached, on - attempting to leave which for the garden, they found to their - consternation that the door had been locked since their entrance. - A slave had entered to feed some turkeys, and fortunately the - noise made by these birds enabled them to force back the lock - without being heard and escape.] - -We now quitted the lower garden of the seraglio and ascended by a paved -road towards the chamber of the Garden of Hyacinths. This promised -to be interesting, as we were told the Sultan passed almost all his -private hours in that apartment, and the view of it might make us -acquainted with occupations and amusements which characterize the man, -divested of the outward parade of the sultan. We presently turned -from the paved ascent towards the right, and entered a small garden, -laid out into very neat oblong borders, edged with porcelain or Dutch -tiles. Here no plant is suffered to grow except the hyacinth, whence -the name of this garden and the chamber it contains. We examined this -apartment by looking through a window. Nothing can be more magnificent. -Three sides of it were surrounded by a divan, the cushions and pillows -of which were of black embroidered satin. Opposite the windows of -the chamber was a fireplace, after the ordinary European fashion; -and on each side of this, a door covered with hangings of crimson -cloth. Between each of these doors and the fireplace appeared a glass -case, containing the Sultan's private library, every volume being in -manuscript, and upon shelves, one above the other, and the title of -each book written on the edges of its leaves. - -From the ceiling of the room, which was of burnished gold, opposite -each of the doors and also opposite to the fireplace, hung three gilt -cages containing small figures of artificial birds; these sung by -mechanism. In the centre of the room stood an enormous gilt brazier, -supported, in a ewer, by four massive claws, like vessels seen under -sideboards in England. Opposite to the entrance, on one side of the -apartment, was a raised bench, crossing a door, on which were placed an -embroidered napkin, a vase, and basin for washing the beard and hands. -Over this bench, upon the wall, was suspended the large embroidered -_porte-feuille_, worked with silver thread on yellow leather, which is -carried in procession when the Sultan goes to mosque or elsewhere in -public, to contain the petitions presented by his subjects. In a nook -close to the door was also a pair of yellow boots, and on the bench, by -the ewer, a pair of slippers of the same materials. These are placed at -the entrance of every apartment frequented by the Sultan. - -The floor was covered with Gobelin tapestry, and the ceiling, as before -stated, magnificently gilded and burnished. Groups of arms, such as -pistols, sabres, and poignards, were disposed with very singular taste -and effect on the different compartments of the walls, the handles -and scabbards of which were covered with diamonds of very large size; -these, as they glittered around, gave a most gorgeous effect to the -splendor of this sumptuous chamber. - -We had scarce ended our survey of this costly scene when, to our -great dismay, a bostanghy made his appearance within the apartment, -but, fortunately for us, his head was turned from the window, and we -immediately sunk below it, creeping upon our hands and knees, until we -got clear of the Garden of Hyacinths. Thence, ascending to the upper -walks, we passed an aviary of nightingales. - -The walks in the upper garden are very small, in wretched condition, -and laid out in worse taste than the fore court of a Dutchman's house -in the suburbs of the Hague. Small as they are, they constituted, -until lately, the whole of the seraglio gardens near the sea, and from -them may be seen the whole prospect of the entrance to the canal and -the opposite coast of Scutari. Here, in an old kiosk, is seen a very -ordinary marble slab, supported on iron cramps; this, nevertheless, -was a present from Charles the Twelfth of Sweden. It is precisely the -sort of sideboard seen in the lowest inns of England; and, while it may -be said no person would pay half the amount of its freight to send it -back again, it shows the nature of the presents then made to the Porte -by foreign princes. From these formal parterres we descended to the -gardener's lodge, and left the gardens by the gate through which we -entered. - -I never should have offered so copious a detail of the scenery of this -remarkable place if I did not believe that an account of the interior -of the seraglio would be satisfactory, from the secluded nature of the -objects to which it bears reference, and the little probability there -is of so favorable an opportunity being again granted to any traveller -for its investigation. - - - - -ZERMATT AND ITS SCENERY. - -STANLEY HOPE. - - [They who would see Swiss scenery at its best will not fail to - visit Zermatt, and thither went the traveller from whom we now - quote. What he saw there, and what makes Zermatt worth visiting, - we leave it to him to relate.] - - -It has been said that one may ascend the Gorner Grat a hundred times -and yet not obtain a clear view of the mountains. If this be true, -I was exceptionally fortunate in the day I selected for the ascent. -Four days of perfectly unclouded weather followed my advent in the -marvellous valley of Zermatt, and as the district is somewhat removed -from the more frequented tracks, and has, perhaps, been less often -described, I venture on a slight record of what I saw in the short time -at my disposal. - -For, in spite of the facilities of travel in these days of railways -and steamboats, in spite of all that has been written on the subject, -Switzerland is still a _terra incognita_ to the great mass of English -people. The majesty of its mountains, the fragrance of its pine -forests, the richness of its valleys, are still as a sealed book to -the multitude. A great proportion even of those who have the means are -content to live and die without gazing on these most marvellous works -of God's hand, although they may become acquainted with them for a sum -which a man would willingly pay for a quarter cask of dinner sherry, or -a woman for a new silk dress. - -Zermatt, the crowning glory of the Alps, is somewhat difficult of -access. Coming from England, it is best to go by rail straight to -Sierre, and thence by diligence or private conveyance to Visp, some -seventeen miles farther up the Rhone valley. Here it is better to -shoulder one's knapsack, for there is no carriage road for the first -twelve miles of the Visp-Thal, which leads to Zermatt, though the -mule-path is exceptionally good. - -Visp itself is an interesting spot. It is beautifully situated in the -Rhone valley at the point where the river, bearing the same name, -comes foaming down from the Gorner glacier, twenty-seven miles away. -The river flows into the Rhone near this point with a volume almost as -great as the Rhone itself. The little town was once a place of great -importance. The houses on the heights, which still bear traces of -the earthquake of 1855, were formerly the palaces of the princes of -the Valais. The church, which stands on an eminence above the river, -is a most interesting building, sadly neglected by guide-books, and, -consequently, by tourists. It is built on the remains of a Roman -temple. There is a picturesque Roman gate-way, with time-worn marble -columns, which certainly ought not to be passed over; and in the -charnel-house, exposed to the church-yard, is a ghastly array of many -hundred human skulls ranged in tiers against the inner wall. - -In company with a friend who had been my companion in many previous -mountain rambles, I trudged up to St. Nicolaus in the cool of the -afternoon. It is a walk of four and a half hours from Visp. The path -skirts the mountain-side, with the river foaming in its rocky bed -many hundred feet below. St. Nicolaus is a village, with a huge hotel -situated in the midst of pastures where the valley widens, with a -church whose metallic steeple shines miles and miles away like silver, -and whose bells jingle out the quaintest chimes it was ever my lot to -hear. We arrived at sunset, and were rejoiced to find we could get -beds, for the valley was undergoing a perfect invasion of tourists, -and the pedestrian was likely to fare badly who had not previously -telegraphed to secure quarters in advance. - -All that night the summer lightning flashed among the crags, and the -thunder boomed far down the sleeping valley; but the clouds lifted a -little in the morning, and at an early hour we were wending our way -along the excellent carriage-road which exists between St. Nicolaus and -Zermatt. Our hearts were elated with anticipation, for we knew we were -within a few miles of that most majestic, and, from association, most -melancholy, of all Swiss mountains, the Matterhorn. The turn of the -road near Zermatt was to reveal it to us, and eagerly we watched the -heavy masses of vapor as they swept down the mountain-side, shutting -out the Weisshorn on our right, and even the Bies glacier far below it, -fearing, after all, that the glorious spectacle would be denied us, for -this day at least, but little anticipating the wondrous effect under -which we subsequently obtained our first clear view of the renowned -peak. - -Denser and denser grew the vapors, and when at length the moment -arrived which we had anticipated for so many days, we were destined to -be disappointed. The driving mist only revealed to us for one brief -moment the rocks at the base of the mighty mountain, though this base -is fixed some four thousand feet above the village of Zermatt. - -[Illustration: THE LION MONUMENT, LUCERNE] - -This little village, situated in the midst of lovely green pastures, -in an amphitheatre of mighty peaks, and at an altitude of over five -thousand feet above the sea, would be one of the most attractive spots -on earth but for its dirt. Were it not for the palliatives offered -by its two excellent hotels, Monte Rosa and Monte Cervin, both kept -by the world-renowned M. Seiler, the dirt and the odors of Zermatt -would be unbearable. To our great dismay, we found on our arrival -that there was no possible accommodation at either of the hotels. The -rain was beginning to fall; we were tired and hungry. To go on to -the Riffel Hotel, three thousand one hundred and thirteen feet above -Zermatt itself, seemed an absurdity in such weather; for there, at an -elevation of over eight thousand feet, we should be enveloped in the -denser vapors above, and half frozen into the bargain. We sought the -_salle-à-manger_, and consoled ourselves with cutlets and Beaujolais. -There we held serious counsel together, and lit our pipes and sallied -forth to inspect the prospect outside. We went first to the little -church where, side by side, lie two of the victims of the Matterhorn -accident, Hudson and Hadow, and on the other side of the church the -remains of poor Michael Croz, the guide. The body of Lord Francis -Douglas, who also perished on that occasion, was never found. It is -supposed that it is still suspended among the awful and inaccessible -crags on the side of the mountain where they fell. - -We sauntered on beyond the village, and sat down in a melancholy mood -on a broken rail to consider our position. Through a rift in the -clouds we could make out the Riffel Hotel on the bare mountain-side, -high above the pine-woods on our left. "Should we go on, in spite of -wind and weather?" It would be so much gained, at least in the event -of a change for the better. We hastened back to the hotel. "Did they -think we could get accommodation at the Riffel, if we went up?" "Yes; -they were sure we should get mattresses in the salon, at all events." -So on we went, over the first bridge beyond the village, past the -little church of Winkelmatten, and then up the steep path through the -pine-woods. From the openings between the trees we soon began to look -down upon the foot of the Gorner glacier, and the fine waterfall of -the Visp rushing out from its icy cradle, which, by some strange freak -of nature, occurs at a point many hundred feet above the foot of the -glacier, the two torrents flowing side by side, the one flashing, -foaming, and leaping, with all the quick impulsiveness of life, the -other cold, silent, and irresistible as the advancing footsteps of -death. - -In due course we reached the chalets on the Augstkummenmatt, and were -clear of the pine-woods. Here the rain became sleet, and the bare -slopes of short grass around were rapidly putting on a mantle of white. -The vapors drove in thick folds over the dreary waste of the Theodule -glacier to our right, and for a moment now and then the frowning -eastern face of the Matterhorn loomed through the clouds, but only to -disappear once more behind still denser masses of vapor. - -We were glad at length to reach the broad terrace of the mountain upon -which stands the Riffel Hotel, and to receive an assurance from the -obliging proprietress--M. Seiler's sister--that she would do the best -she could for us, though bedrooms were out of the question. - -The air was intensely keen. The water, when we essayed to wash our -hands, was of an icy temperature, and we put on whatever extra clothing -we could abstract from our knapsacks. An excellent table-d'hôte, -however, soon set us right; and a brisk walk after dark up and down -the plateau in front of the hotel, in company with the newly-arrived -English clergyman, who had undertaken the duties of chaplain at the -hotel for three or four Sundays, brought the day to an agreeable close. - -The chaplain, who was anxious to obtain some information as to the -usual length and style of service, had made the acquaintance of the -King of the Riffel, as he is called, an English gentleman, who passes -several months every season in this elevated region, and considers -it the most enjoyable spot in Europe. He was somewhat emphatic in -his directions to the chaplain to make the service and sermon as -short as possible, and on no account to attempt any singing. "For," -he continued, "there being no instrument of any kind, everybody sings -a different tune, and sings out of tune as well, the effect being -disastrous. Last Sunday a man, with a perversity of judgment I never -saw equalled, produced a flute, and as he played at a pitch which no -human voice could sustain, and as everybody tried to follow, you may -imagine what the din was like." - -We had been informed that there were twenty-nine people in the house, -including ourselves, unprovided with beds, and that we were to be -accommodated _on the table in the salle-à-manger_. The prospect was -not agreeable, and we lingered in the warm salon until half-past ten, -by which time the ladies had all retired. Presently a small army of -maid-servants marched into the room with folding iron bedsteads, -mattresses, blankets, and sheets. To our huge delight, four comfortable -beds were made in as many minutes, and we were informed that two -other gentlemen and ourselves were to be the only occupants of the -room. The tables, with white cloths spread upon them, were converted -into wash-stands, and plenty of rugs were brought to do duty as -counterpanes. Nothing could be more comfortable. We went to bed in -perfect luxury, not, however, before taking a last look from the front -door in the direction of the Matterhorn, and finding, to our great -delight, that the summit of the mountain was at last clearly defined -above a line of motionless clouds, and that the stars were twinkling -brightly overhead. - -Our two companions in the salon were young Americans, who were to -depart early the next morning for the Cima di Jazi. They were astir -by daybreak, and, roused by their departure, I found it impossible to -go to sleep again. After tossing restlessly for an hour, I rose, and, -on going to the window, beheld the glorious snows of the Breithorn -flushed with the coming sunlight rising just above the shoulder of the -mountain near the hotel. Rousing my companion, and dressing as rapidly -as possible, I made for the door of the hotel, and stepped out upon -the terrace. I had looked upon many scenes of grandeur and beauty in -many parts of Switzerland, from the Rigi, from Pilatus, from Mürren, -from the Lauberhorn, but never in all my experience had I witnessed a -scene like that which lay before me. There was not a speck in all the -blue vault of heaven. The frosty air was so clear that distance was -annihilated. Right before me, separated only from the steep slope on -which I stood by the deep valley in which lie the Gorner and Furggen -glaciers, rose the majestic Matterhorn, a silent solitary pinnacle -of bare rock, five thousand feet from base to summit, enthroned upon -a pinnacle of snow and ice, which is itself ten thousand feet from -the ocean level, standing aloof, and seeming to frown defiance on its -fellows, which lay grouped around on every side. The rosy glow of -sunrise pervaded it now,--an intense liquid light, which revealed its -furrowed sides, its seams of snow, its overhanging brow, its ice-bound -feet, its treacherous chasms, its awful precipices,--and softened its -asperity into a loveliness which held us spell-bound for many minutes. - -We knew there were other wonders to be seen around, but it was -difficult to withdraw our eyes from this most remarkable of all -mountain forms. Slowly we let them wander more to the northward, -beyond the valley wherein lies the Z'Mutt glacier which separates the -Matterhorn from the Dent Blanche, and the magnificent range of peaks -stretching away towards the Rhone Valley. All these were illuminated -by the same lovely light, forming a barrier of gold on the west side -of the Visp Valley, which stretched before us as far as the distant -Bietchhorn. Opposite these, bounding the valley on the east, were -the not less majestic ranges of the Mischabel group, over which the -sunlight streamed in long level rays, and between--at least a thousand -feet below us--lay a vast, silent, undulating mass of pale gray -clouds, blotting out the valley beneath with one unbroken sea of vapor -twenty-five miles long, upon which the shadows of the eastern mountains -were distended as distinctly as upon a solid plain. "Thank heaven that -we came up!" we both ejaculated. Zermatt and all the valley below must -have been shrouded in semi-darkness, while we, far above the clouds, -seemed lifted to another sphere, where the atmosphere was so infinitely -pure, the silence so solemn and intense, that we almost feared to speak -lest we should break the spell which wrapped this mystic world of -wonder and unspeakable delight. - -Within half an hour we are _en route_ for the Gorner Grat, a rocky -point which still lay eighteen feet above us, and which we attained -after an easy walk of an hour and a half. The ground was frozen hard as -we mounted slope after slope of short grass and rock, and the miniature -lakes which lay here and there in the hollows near the path were coated -with ice to the thickness of half an inch. The August sun, however, -rising above the ridges in front of us, soon dispelled the frosty -breath of night, and before we reached the summit of the Grat we were -glad to draw down the broad brims of our hats to shield our faces from -the rays, which in the pure dry atmosphere of this altitude--over ten -thousand feet--seemed to scorch and blister the skin. - -The Gorner Grat is one of the very few spots in the Alps where one can -obtain an elevation of over ten thousand feet without the slightest -semblance of a difficulty. The path is good and well defined the whole -way, and the panorama quite unsurpassed. It is remarkable, from the -fact that there is an unbroken range of magnificent snow peaks on every -side. There is not a single break in the chain. It is an isolated rocky -peak that seems formed by nature to enable one to survey at leisure the -marvellous scene around. The huge Gorner glacier winds round its base -at a dizzy depth below; beyond, are the snows of that glorious range -beginning with Monte Rosa (which seems within a stone's throw) and -ending with the Matterhorn.... - -We lingered long in this wonderful spot. A batch of morning tourists -came and gazed around for ten minutes, and was succeeded by another -and another, but as the day wore on they grew few and far between, -and we were at length left entirely alone, wrapped in that intense -and awful stillness which at times pervades these mighty solitudes, -broken only at long intervals by the sudden rush of an avalanche on -the steep slopes of Monte Rosa or the low hum of a wild bee, attracted -to this far height by the fervid noonday beams. We wandered along the -ridge stretching towards the Stockhorn, where the gentian and other -exquisite wild flowers which flourish at this elevation grow in the -greatest profusion, peering up through patches of snow in shady nooks. -Then we returned, and found new beauties in the panorama, which in the -fierce sunlight became almost too dazzling for the eye to rest on. -At last we turned away reluctantly, with another recollection for a -lifetime,--another "joy forever" stored within the cells of memory.... - -A few days later we resolved on a closer acquaintance with the mountain -which had attracted our admiration from so many points of view in the -neighborhood. The Matterhorn seems to dominate the whole district of -Zermatt like a pervading spirit. It is difficult to lose sight of it. -Through rifts in the pine-wood, over grassy bluffs, from the depths -of dark ravines, from one's chamber window, the giant peak is seen -piercing the blue air above. The play of light and shadow upon it as -the hours roll by is in itself a study. Facing the earliest beams, as -the sun rises out of a tossing ocean of Alpine peaks, it stands proudly -up, a pinnacle of burnished gold with scarce a speck of shade to dim -its lustre. As noon approaches, the gloom gathers on the precipitous -northern face until the mid-day shadow falls with a cool blue-black -on the white upper snows of the Matterhorn glacier. By and by, when -the sun has passed to the west, the great shadowy mass rises in gloomy -grandeur against the evening sky, and still later the northwest ridges -are fringed with the lustre of sunset, ere they wrap themselves in the -dusky robe of night. - - - - -ALPINE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING. - -EDWARD WHYMPER. - - [The Matterhorn, one of the most difficult of the Alps to ascend, - defied the efforts of mountaineers until 1865, when Whymper, - with three companions and three guides, reached its summit. The - victory, however, was a tragic one, as the three companions and - one of the guides fell down a precipice and met their death. - Whymper had made various earlier efforts to ascend. We give his - story of one such effort, made at an earlier date.] - - -Three times I had essayed the ascent of this mountain, and on each -occasion had failed ignominiously. I had not advanced a yard beyond -my predecessors. Up to the height of nearly thirteen thousand feet -there were no extraordinary difficulties: the way so far might even -become "a matter of amusement." Only eighteen hundred feet remained, -but they were as yet untrodden, and might present the most formidable -obstacles. No man could expect to climb them by himself. A morsel of -rock only seven feet high might at any time defeat him if it were -perpendicular. Such a place might be possible to two, or a bagatelle to -three men. It was evident that a party should consist of three men at -least. But where could the other two men be obtained? Carrel was the -only man who exhibited any enthusiasm in the matter, and he in 1861 had -absolutely refused to go unless the party consisted of at least _four_ -persons. Want of men made the difficulty, not the mountain. - -The weather became bad again, so I went to Zermatt on the chance of -picking up a man, and remained there during a week of storms. Not one -of the good men, however, could be induced to come, and I returned to -Breuil on the 17th, hoping to combine the skill of Carrel with the -willingness of Meynet on a new attempt by the same route as before; -for the Hörnli ridge, which I had examined in the mean time, seemed -to be entirely impracticable. Both men were inclined to go, but their -ordinary occupations prevented them from starting at once. - -My tent had been left rolled up at the second platform, and whilst -waiting for the men it occurred to me that it might have been blown -away during the late stormy weather; so I started off on the 18th to -see if this were so or not. The way was by this time familiar, and -I mounted rapidly, astonishing the friendly herdsmen,--who nodded -recognition as I flitted past them and the cows,--for I was alone, -because no man was available. But more deliberation was necessary -when the pastures were passed and climbing began, for it was needful -to mark each step in case of mist or surprise by night. It is one of -the few things which can be said in favor of mountaineering alone (a -practice which has little besides to commend it) that it awakens a -man's faculties and makes him observe. When one has no arms to help -and no head to guide him except his own, he must needs take note even -of small things, for he cannot afford to throw away a chance; and so -it came to pass upon my solitary scramble, when above the snow-line -and beyond the ordinary limits of flowering plants, when peering about -noting angles and landmarks, that my eyes fell upon the tiny straggling -plants,--oftentimes a single flower on a single stalk,--pioneers of -vegetation, atoms of life in a world of desolation, which had found -their way up--who can tell how?--from far below, and were obtaining -bare sustenance from the scanty soil in protected nooks; and it gave a -new interest to the well-known rocks to see what a gallant fight the -survivors made (for many must have perished in the attempt) to ascend -the great mountain. The gentian, as one might have expected, was there, -but it was run close by saxifrages and by _Linaria alpina_, and was -beaten by _Thlaspi rotundifolium_; which latter plant was the highest -I was able to secure, although it too was overtopped by a little white -flower which I knew not and was unable to reach.... - -Time sped away unregarded, and the little birds which had built their -nests on the neighboring cliffs had begun to chirp their evening hymn -before I thought of returning. Half mechanically, I turned to the -tent, unrolled it and set it up: it contained food enough for several -days, and I resolved to stay over the night. I had started from Breuil -without provisions or telling Favre, the innkeeper, who was accustomed -to my erratic ways, where I was going. I returned to the view. The -sun was setting, and its rosy rays, blending with the snowy blue, had -thrown a pale, pure violet far as the eye could see; the valleys were -drowned in a purple gloom, while the summits shone with unnatural -brightness; and as I sat in the door of the tent and watched the -twilight change to darkness, the earth seemed to become less earthly -and almost sublime: the world seemed dead, and I its sole inhabitant. -By and by the moon, as it rose, brought the hills again into sight, -and by a judicious repression of detail rendered the view yet more -magnificent. Something in the south hung like a great glow-worm in the -air: it was too large for a star, and too steady for a meteor, and -it was long before I could realize the incredible fact that it was -the moonlight glittering on the great snow-slope on the north side of -Monte Viso, at a distance, as the crow flies, of ninety-eight miles. -Shivering, at last I entered the tent and made my coffee. The night was -passed comfortably, and the next morning, tempted by the brilliancy of -the weather, I proceeded yet higher in search of another place for a -platform.... - -The rocks of the southwest ridge are by no means difficult for some -distance above the Col du Lion. This is true of the rocks up to the -level of the Chimney, but they steepen when that is passed, and -remaining smooth and with but few fractures, and still continuing to -dip outward, present some steps of a very uncertain kind, particularly -when they are glazed with ice. At this point (just above the Chimney) -the climber is obliged to follow the southern (or Breuil) side of the -ridge, but in a few feet more one must turn over to the northern (or -Z'Mutt) side, where in most years Nature kindly provides a snow-slope. -When this is surmounted, one can again return to the crest of the -ridge, and follow it by easy rocks to the foot of the Great Tower. This -was the highest point attained by Mr. Hawkins in 1860, and it was also -our highest on the 9th of July. - -[Illustration: KLEINE SCHEIDEGG (THE JUNGFRAU)] - -This Great Tower is one of the most striking features of the ridge. -It stands out like a turret at the angle of a castle. Behind it a -battlemented wall leads upward to the citadel. Seen from the Théodule -pass, it looks only an insignificant pinnacle, but as one approaches -it (on the ridge), so it seems to rise, and when one is at its base -it completely conceals the upper parts of the mountain. I found here -a suitable place for the tent, which, although not so well protected -as the second platform, possessed the advantage of being three hundred -feet higher up; and fascinated by the wildness of the cliffs, and -enticed by the perfection of the weather, I went on to see what was -behind. - -The first step was a difficult one: the ridge became diminished to the -least possible width, it was hard to keep one's balance, and just where -it was narrowest a more than perpendicular mass barred the way. Nothing -fairly within arm's reach could be laid hold of: it was necessary to -spring up, and then to haul one's self over the sharp edge by sheer -strength. Progression directly upward was then impossible. Enormous -and appalling precipices plunged down to the Tiefenmatten glacier on -the left, but round the right-hand side it was just possible to go. -One hinderance then succeeded another, and much time was consumed in -seeking the way. I have a vivid recollection of a gully of more than -usual perplexity at the side of the Great Tower, with minute ledges -and steep walls; of the ledges dwindling down, and at last ceasing; of -finding myself, with arms and legs divergent, fixed as if crucified, -pressing against the rock, and feeling each rise and fall of my chest -as I breathed; of screwing my head round to look for a hold and not -seeing any, and of jumping sideways on to the other side.... - -[The gully] was an untrodden vestibule, which led to a scene so wild -that even the most sober description of it must seem an exaggeration. -There was a change in the quality of the rock, and there was a change -in the appearance of the ridge. The rocks (talcose gneiss) below this -spot were singularly firm,--it was rarely necessary to test one's -hold: the way led over the living rock, and not up rent-off fragments. -But here all was decay and ruin. The crest of the ridge was shattered -and cleft, and the feet sank in the chips which had drifted down; -while above, huge blocks, hacked and carved by the hand of time, -nodded to the sky, looking like the gravestones of giants. Out of -curiosity I wandered to a notch in the ridge, between two tottering -piles of immense masses which seemed to need but a few pounds on one -or the other side to make them fall, so nicely poised that they would -literally have rocked in the wind, for they were put in motion by a -touch, and based on support so frail that I wondered they did not -collapse before my eyes. In the whole range of my Alpine experience -I have seen nothing more striking than this desolate, ruined, and -shattered ridge at the back of the Great Tower. I have seen stranger -shapes,--rocks which mimic the human form, with monstrous leering -faces, and isolated pinnacles sharper and greater than any here,--but I -have never seen exhibited so impressively the tremendous effects which -may be produced by frost, and by the long-continued action of forces -whose individual effects are imperceptible. - -It is needless to say that it is impossible to climb by the crest of -the ridge at this part; still, one is compelled to keep near to it, for -there is no other way. Generally speaking, the angles on the Matterhorn -are too steep to allow the formation of considerable beds of snow, but -here there is a corner which permits it to accumulate, and it is turned -to gratefully, for by its assistance one can ascend four times as -rapidly as upon the rocks. - -The Tower was now almost out of sight, and I looked over the central -Pennine Alps to the Grand Combin and to the chain of Mont Blanc. -My neighbor, the Dent d'Hérens, still rose above me, although but -slightly, and the height which had been attained could be measured by -its help. So far, I had no doubts about my capacity to descend that -which had been ascended; but in a short time, on looking ahead, I -saw that the cliffs steepened, and I turned back (without pushing on -to them and getting into inextricable difficulties), exulting in the -thought that they would be passed when we returned together, and that I -had without assistance got nearly to the height of the Dent d'Hérens, -and considerably higher than any one had been before. My exultation was -a little premature. - -About five P.M. I left the tent again, and thought myself as good as -at Breuil. The friendly rope and claw had done good service, and had -smoothed all the difficulties. I lowered myself through the Chimney, -however, by making a fixture of the rope, which I then cut off and -left behind, as there was enough and to spare. My axe had proved a -great nuisance in coming down, and I left it in the tent. It was -not attached to the bâton, but was a separate affair,--an old navy -boarding-axe. While cutting up the different snow-beds on the ascent, -the bâton trailed behind fastened to the rope; and when climbing the -axe was carried behind, run through the rope tied round my waist, and -was sufficiently out of the way, but in descending, when coming down -face outward (as is always best where it is possible), the head or the -handle of the weapon caught frequently against the rocks, and several -times nearly upset me. So, out of laziness if you will, it was left in -the tent. I paid dearly for the imprudence. - -The Col du Lion was passed, and fifty yards more would have placed me -on the "Great Staircase," down which one can run. But on arriving at -an angle of the cliffs of the Tête du Lion, while skirting the upper -edge of the snow which abuts against them, I found that the heat of the -two past days had nearly obliterated the steps which had been cut when -coming up. The rocks happened to be impracticable just at this corner, -so nothing could be done except make the steps afresh. The snow was too -hard to beat or tread down, and at the angle it was all but ice: half a -dozen steps only were required, and then the ledges could be followed -again. So I held to the rock with my right hand, and prodded at the -snow with the point of my stick until a good step was made, and then, -leaning round the angle, did the same for the other side. So far well, -but in attempting to pass the corner (to the present moment I cannot -tell how it happened) I slipped and fell. - -The slope was steep on which this took place, and descended to the top -of a gully that led down through two subordinate buttresses towards -the Glacier du Lion, which was just seen, a thousand feet below. The -gully narrowed and narrowed until there was a mere thread of snow -lying between two walls of rock, which came to an abrupt termination -at the top of a precipice that intervened between it and the glacier. -Imagine a funnel cut in half through its length, placed at an angle -of forty-five degrees, with its point below and its concave side -uppermost, and you will have a fair idea of the place. - -The knapsack brought my head down first, and I pitched into some rocks -about a dozen feet below: they caught something, and tumbled me off -the edge, head over heels, into the gully. The bâton was dashed from -my hands, and I whirled downward in a series of bounds, each longer -than the last,--now over ice, now into rocks,--striking my head four -or five times, each time with increased force. The last bound sent me -spinning through the air, in a leap of fifty or sixty feet, from one -side of the gully to the other, and I struck the rocks, luckily, with -the whole of my left side. They caught my clothes for a moment, and I -fell back on to the snow with motion arrested: my head fortunately came -the right side up, and a few frantic catches brought me to a halt in -the neck of the gully and on the verge of the precipice. Bâton, hat, -and veil skimmed by and disappeared, and the crash of the rocks which I -had started, as they fell on to the glacier, told how narrow had been -the escape from utter destruction. As it was, I fell nearly two hundred -feet in seven or eight bounds. Ten feet more would have taken me in one -gigantic leap of eight hundred feet on to the glacier below. - -The situation was still sufficiently serious. The rocks could not be -left go for a moment, and the blood was spurting out of more than -twenty cuts. The most serious ones were in the head, and I vainly -tried to close them with one hand while holding on with the other. It -was useless: the blood jerked out in blinding jets at each pulsation. -At last, in a moment of inspiration, I kicked out a big lump of snow -and stuck it as a plaster on my head. The idea was a happy one, and -the flow of blood diminished: then, scrambling up, I got, not a -moment too soon, to a place of safety and fainted away. The sun was -setting when consciousness returned, and it was pitch dark before the -Great Staircase was descended; but by a combination of luck and care -the whole four thousand eight hundred feet of descent to Breuil was -accomplished without a slip or once missing the way. - -I slunk past the cabin of the cowherds, who were talking and laughing -inside, utterly ashamed of the state to which I had been brought by my -imbecility, and entered the inn stealthily, wishing to escape to my -room unnoticed. But Favre met me in the passage, demanded, "Who is it?" -screamed with fright when he got a light, and aroused the household. -Two dozen heads then held solemn council over mine, with more talk than -action. The natives were unanimous in recommending that hot wine (syn. -vinegar), mixed with salt, should be rubbed into the cuts. I protested, -but they insisted. It was all the doctoring they received. Whether -their rapid healing was to be attributed to that simple remedy or to a -good state of health, is a question; they closed up remarkably soon, -and in a few days I was able to move again.... - -As it seldom happens that one survives such a fall, it may be -interesting to record what my sensations were during its occurrence. I -was perfectly conscious of what was happening, and felt each blow, but, -like a patient under chloroform, experienced no pain. Each blow was, -naturally, more severe than that which preceded it, and I distinctly -remember thinking, "Well, if the next is harder still, that will be -the end!" Like persons who have been rescued from drowning, I remember -that the recollection of a multitude of things rushed through my head, -many of them trivialities or absurdities which had been forgotten long -before; and, more remarkable, this bounding through space did not -feel disagreeable. But I think that in no very great distance more -consciousness as well as sensation would have been lost, and upon that -I base my belief, improbable as it seems, that death by a fall from a -great height is as painless an end as can be experienced. - -The battering was very rough, yet no bones were broken. The most severe -cuts were, one four inches long on the top of the head, and another of -three inches on the right temple; this latter bled frightfully. There -was a formidable-looking cut, of about the same size as the last, on -the palm of the left hand, and every limb was grazed or cut more or -less seriously. The tips of the ears were taken off, and a sharp rock -cut a circular bit out of the side of the left boot, sock, and ankle at -one stroke. The loss of blood, although so great, did not seem to be -permanently injurious. The only serious effect has been the reduction -of a naturally retentive memory to a very commonplace one; and although -my recollections of more distant occurrences remain unshaken, the -events of that particular day would be clean gone but for the few notes -which were written down before the accident. - - - - -A TYPICAL DUTCH CITY. - - -EDMONDO DE AMICIS. - - [De Amicis, a traveller of Italian birth, has given us a number - of highly interesting records of travel, including works on - Algeria, Spain, Holland, Paris, Constantinople, etc. Among these, - "Holland and its People" is perhaps the most entertaining, and - as a specimen of its manner we select from it the description of - Rotterdam, as a typical example of a Dutch city. This selection - is from the translation by Caroline Tilton, published by G. P. - Putnam's Sons.] - - -When we arrived in sight of Rotterdam it rained and was foggy; we -could see, as through a veil, only an immense confusion of ships, -houses, windmills, towers, trees, and people in motion on the dykes and -bridges; there were lights everywhere; a great city with such an aspect -as I had never seen before, and which fog and darkness soon hid from me -altogether. When I had taken leave of my travelling companions, and had -put my luggage in order, it was night. "So much the better," I thought, -as I entered a carriage; "I shall see the first Dutch city by night, -which must be a strange spectacle." And, indeed, when M. Bismarck was -at Rotterdam he wrote to his wife that at night he saw spectres on the -roofs. - -It is difficult to make much of the city of Rotterdam, entering it -at night. The carriage passed almost immediately over a bridge that -resounded hollowly beneath it; and while I thought myself, and was, in -fact, within the city, I saw with amazement on my right and left two -rows of ships vanishing in the gloom. - -Leaving the bridge, we passed through a street, lighted, and full of -people, and found ourselves upon another bridge, and between two rows -of vessels as before, and so on from bridge to street, from street to -bridge, and, to increase the confusion, an illumination of lamps at -the corners of houses, lanterns on masts of ships, light-houses on the -bridges, small lights under the houses, and all these lights reflected -in the water. All at once the carriage stopped, people crowded about; -I looked out and saw a bridge in the air. In answer to my question, -some one said that a vessel was passing. We went on again, seeing a -perspective of canals and bridges crossing and recrossing each other, -until we came to a great square, sparkling with lights, and bristling -with masts of ships, and finally we reached our inn in an adjacent -street. - -My first care on entering my room was to see whether Dutch cleanliness -deserved its fame. It did, indeed, and may be called the religion of -cleanliness. The linen was snow-white, the windows transparent as the -air, the furniture shining like a crystal, the floors so clean that a -microscope could not discover a black speck. There was a basket for -waste paper, a tablet for scratching matches, a dish for cigar-ashes, a -box for cigar-stumps, a spittoon, and a boot-jack; in short, there was -no possible pretext for soiling anything. - -My room examined, I spread a map of Rotterdam upon the table, and made -some preparatory studies for the morrow. - -It is a singular thing that the great cities of Holland, although built -upon a shifting soil, and amid difficulties of every kind, have all -great regularity of form. Amsterdam is a semicircle, the Hague square, -Rotterdam an equilateral triangle. The base of the triangle is an -immense dyke, which defends the city from the Meuse, and is called the -Boompjes, signifying, in Dutch, small trees, from a row of little elms, -now very tall, that were planted when it was first constructed. - -Another great dyke forms a second bulwark against the river, which -divides the city into two almost equal parts, and from the middle of -the left side to the opposite angle. That part of Rotterdam which is -comprised between the dykes is all canals, islands, and bridges, and -is the new city; that which extends beyond the second dyke is the old -city. Two great canals extend along the other two sides of the town to -the apex, where they meet, and receive the waters of the river Rotte, -which, with the affix of _dam_, or dyke, gives its name to the city. - -Having thus fulfilled my conscientious duty as a traveller, and with -many precautions not to soil, even by a breath, the purity of that -jewel of a chamber, I abandoned myself with humility to my first Dutch -bed. - -Dutch beds--I speak of those in the hotels--are generally short and -wide, and occupied, in a great part, by an immense feather pillow in -which a giant's head would be overwhelmed. I may add that the ordinary -light is a copper candlestick, of the size of a dinner-plate, which -might sustain a torch, but holds, instead, a tiny candle about the size -of a Spanish lady's finger. - -In the morning I made haste to rise and issue forth into the strange -streets, unlike anything in Europe. The first I saw was the Hoog -Straat, a long, straight thoroughfare, running along the interior dyke. - -The unplastered houses, of every shade of brick, from the darkest -red to light rose-color, chiefly two windows wide and two stories -high, have the front wall rising above and concealing the roof, and -in the shape of a blunt triangle surmounted by a parapet. Some of -these pointed façades rise into two curves, like a long neck without -a head; some are cut into steps like the houses that children build -with blocks; some present the aspect of a conical pavilion, some of a -village church, some of theatrical cabins. The parapets are in general -surrounded by white stripes, coarse arabesques in plaster, and other -ornaments in very bad taste; the doors and windows are bordered by -broad white stripes; other white lines divide the different stories; -the spaces between the doors in front are marked by white wooden -panels, so that two colors, white and red, prevail everywhere, and -as in the distance the darker red looks black, the prospect is half -festive, half funereal, all the houses looking as if they were hung -with white linen. At first I had an inclination to laugh, for it seemed -impossible that it could have been done seriously, and that quite -sober people lived in those houses. They looked as if they had been -run up for a festival, and would presently disappear, like the paper -frame-work of a grand display of fireworks. - -While I stood looking vaguely at the street, I noticed one house that -puzzled me somewhat; and, thinking that my eyes had been deceived, -I looked more carefully at it, and compared it with its neighbors. -Turning into the next street, the same thing met my astonished gaze. -There is no doubt about it: the whole city of Rotterdam presents the -appearance of a town that has been shaken smartly by an earthquake, and -is on the point of falling into ruin. - -[Illustration: A TYPICAL DUTCH WINDMILL] - -All the houses--in any street one may count the exceptions on their -fingers--lean more or less, but the greater part of them so much that -at the roof they lean forward at least a foot beyond their neighbors, -which may be straight, or not so visibly inclined; one leans forward -as if it would fall into the street; another backward, another to the -left, another to the right; at some points six or seven contiguous -houses all lean forward together, those in the middle most, those at -the ends less, looking like a paling with the crowd pressing against -it. At another point two houses lean together as if supporting one -another. In certain streets the houses for a long distance lean all -one way, like trees beaten by a prevailing wind; and then another long -row will lean in the opposite direction, as if the wind had changed. -Sometimes there is a certain regularity of inclination that is scarcely -noticeable; and again, at crossings and in the smallest streets there -is an indescribable confusion of lines, a real architectural frolic, a -dance of houses, a disorder that seems animated. There are houses that -nod forward as if asleep, others that start backward as if frightened; -some bending towards each other, their roofs almost touching, as if in -secret conference; some falling upon one another as if they were drunk; -some leaning backward between others that lean forward like malefactors -dragged onward by their guards; rows of houses that courtesy to a -steeple, groups of small houses all inclined towards one in the middle, -like conspirators in conclave. - -Observe them attentively one by one, from top to bottom, and they are -interesting as pictures. - -In some, upon the summit of the façade, there projects from the middle -of the parapet a beam with cord and pulley to pull up baskets and -buckets. In others, jutting from a round window, is the carved head of -a deer, a sheep, or a goat. Under the head, a line of whitewashed stone -or wood cuts the whole façade in half. Under this line there are two -broad windows with projecting awnings of striped linen. Under these -again, over the upper panes, a little green curtain. Below this green -curtain two white ones, divided in the middle to show a suspended -bird-cage or a basket of flowers. And below the basket or the cage, the -lower panes are covered by a net-work of fine wire that prevents the -passer-by from seeing into the room. Within, behind the netting, there -stands a table covered with objects in porcelain, crystal, flowers, -and toys of various kinds. Outside on the stone sill is a row of small -flower-pots. From the stone sill or from one side projects an iron stem -curving upward, which sustains two small mirrors joined in the form of -a book, movable, and surmounted by another, also movable, so that those -inside the house can see, without being seen, everything that passes in -the street. - -On some of the houses there is a lamp projecting between the two -windows, and below is the door of the house or a shop door. If it is -a shop, over the door there is the carved head of a Moor with his -mouth wide open, or that of a Turk with a hideous grimace; sometimes -there is an elephant or a goose; sometimes a horse's or a bull's -head, a serpent, a half-moon, a windmill, or an arm extended, the -hand holding some object of the kind sold in the shop. If it is the -house-door,--always kept closed,--there is a brass plate with the name -of the occupant, another with a slit for letters, another with the -handle of a bell, the whole, including the locks and bolts, shining -like gold. Before the door there is a small bridge of wood, because -in many of the houses the ground-floor or basement is much lower than -the street; and before the bridge two little stone columns surmounted -by two balls; two more columns in front of these are united by iron -chains, the large links of which are in the form of crosses, stars, and -polygons; in the space between the street and the house are pots of -flowers; and at the windows of the ground-floor more flower-pots and -curtains. In the more retired streets there are bird-cages on both -sides of the windows, boxes full of green growing things, clothes hung -out to air or dry, a thousand objects and colors, like a universal fair. - -But without going out of the older town, one need only to go away from -the centre to see something new at every step. - -In some narrow, straight streets one may see the end suddenly closed -as if by a curtain concealing the view; but it disappears as it came, -and is recognized as the sail of a vessel moving in a canal. In other -streets a net-work of cordage seems to stop the way; the rigging of -vessels lying in some basin. In one direction there is a drawbridge -raised, and looking like a gigantic swing provided for the diversion of -the people who live in those preposterous houses; and in another there -is a windmill, tall as a steeple and black as an antique tower, moving -its arms like a monstrous firework. On every side, finally, among the -houses, above the roofs, between the distant trees, are seen masts -of vessels, flags, and sails and rigging, reminding us that we are -surrounded by water, and that the city is a seaport. - -Meantime, the shops were opened and the streets became full of -people. There was great animation, but no hurry, the absence of which -distinguishes the streets of Rotterdam from those of London, between -which some travellers find great resemblance, especially in the color -of the houses and the grave aspect of the inhabitants. White faces, -pallid faces, faces the color of Parmesan cheese; light hair, very -light hair, reddish, yellowish; broad beardless visages, beards under -the chin and around the neck; blue eyes, so light as to seem almost -without a pupil; women stumpy, fat, rosy, slow, with white caps and -ear-rings in the form of corkscrews,--these are the first things one -observes in the crowd. - -But for the moment it was not the people that first stimulated my -curiosity. I crossed the Hoog Street, and found myself in the new city. -Here it is impossible to say if it be port or city, if land or water -predominate, if there are more ships than houses, or _vice versa_. - -Broad and long canals divide the city into so many islands, united by -drawbridges, turning bridges, and bridges of stone. On either side of -every canal extends a street, flanked by trees on one side and houses -on the other. All these canals are deep enough to float large vessels, -and all are full of them from one end to the other, except a space in -the middle left for passage in and out,--an immense fleet imprisoned in -a city. - -When I arrived it was the busiest hour, so I planted myself upon the -highest bridge over the principal crossing. From thence were visible -four canals, four forests of ships, bordered by eight files of trees; -the streets were crammed with people and merchandise; droves of cattle -were crossing the bridges; bridges were rising in the air, or opening -in the middle, to allow vessels to pass through, and were scarcely -replaced or closed before they were inundated by a throng of people, -carts, and carriages; ships came and went in the canals, shining like -models in a museum, and with the wives and children of the sailors -on the decks; boats darted from vessel to vessel; the shops drove a -busy trade; servant-women washed the walls and windows; and all this -moving life was rendered more gay and cheerful by the reflections in -the water, the green of the trees, the red of the houses, the tall -windmills showing their dark tops and white sails against the azure of -the sky, and still more by an air of quiet simplicity not seen in any -other northern city. - -I took observations of a Dutch vessel. Almost all the ships crowded -in the canals of Rotterdam are built for the Rhine and Holland; they -have one mast only, and are broad, stout, and variously colored like -toy ships. The hull is generally of a bright grass-green, ornamented -with a red or a white stripe, or sometimes several stripes, looking -like a band of different-colored ribbons. The poop is usually gilded. -The deck and mast are varnished and shining like the cleanest of -house-floors. The outside of the hatches, the buckets, the barrels, the -yards, the planks, are all painted red, with white or blue stripes. -The cabin where the sailors' families are is colored like a Chinese -kiosk, and has its windows of clear glass, and its white muslin -curtains tied up with knots of rose-colored ribbon. In every moment of -spare time sailors, women, and children are busy washing, sweeping, -polishing every part with infinite care and pains; and when their -little vessel makes its exit from the port, all fresh and shining like -a holiday-coach, they all stand on the poop and accept with dignity the -mute compliments which they gather from the glances of the spectators -along the canals. - -From canal to canal, and from bridge to bridge, I finally reached the -dyke of the Boompjes upon the Meuse, where boils and bubbles all the -life of the great commercial city. - -On the left extends a long row of small many-colored steamboats, which -start every hour in the day for Dordrecht, Arnhem, Gouda, Schiedam, -Brilla, Zealand, and continually send forth clouds of white smoke and -the sound of their cheerful bells. To the right lie the large ships -which make the voyage to various European ports, mingled with fine -three-masted vessels bound for the East Indies, with names written -in golden letters,--Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Samarang,--carrying the -fancy to those distant and savage countries like the echoes of distant -voices. In front the Meuse, covered with boats and barks, and the -distant shore with a forest of beech-trees, windmills, and towers; and -over all the unquiet sky, full of gleams of light and gloomy clouds, -fleeting and changing in their constant movement, as if repeating the -restless labor on the earth below. - - - - -ANTWERP AND ITS PEOPLE. - - -ROSE G. KINGSLEY. - - [The traveller to whom we owe the following selection makes - it part of a paper on "The Home of Rubens," in which she - appreciatively describes that artist's works. Her account of the - city in which the greatest of these works are enshrined is more to - our purpose, and is here given.] - - -It had rained in England for a month without stopping, when, weary of -sodden gray clouds above and sodden green grass below, M---- and I -determined to seek new sketching-grounds under a more kindly sky. We -had but a fortnight to spend on our trip. Where, therefore, could we -find a richer field of work than in Flanders? for there quaint cities, -beautiful buildings, glorious pictures, and, if we were minded to go -deeper, a tangled mass of historic interest, lay within easy reach. - -Thus it came to pass that the 30th of September found us driving -through the streets of Brussels, and three days later we were steaming -out into the (to us) unknown, on our way to Antwerp. Our three days had -been chiefly spent in making closer acquaintance with Flemish art in -the museum of the capital,--a collection most valuable and typical, a -collection too often ignored or hastily glanced through by the tourist, -who, if by chance he cares for such things, hurries on to see Memling -at Bruges, Van Eyck at Ghent, or Rubens at Antwerp. He forgets, or does -not know, that, as Fromentin justly says, "Belgium is a magnificent -book of art, of which, happily for provincial glory, the chapters are -scattered everywhere, but of which the preface is at Brussels, and only -at Brussels. To all who are tempted to skip the preface in order to get -at the book, I should say they are wrong,--that they open the book too -soon and will read it ill." We therefore studied the preface with some -care, and now were about to turn the first page of the book itself.... - -Everything seemed new, pretty, and amusing, as the train cleared the -last of the suburbs of Brussels. The sun shone on the long lines of -poplars, just burnished with autumn's gold, which cast their shadows -on damp green meadows ruled off into squares with almost mathematical -precision. Here a man in a brown apron and brilliant crimson sleeves -was raking up the aftermath off a water-meadow. There a girl in a -blue frock was herding black and white cows, and we began to think of -Cuyp. Then we saw, across flat stretches of smiling country, pointed -steeples and red roofs, showing behind thick groups of trees in a -soft blue haze, while an old windmill on blackened wooden stilts, a -little donkey-cart, and a group of crimson-jacketed peasants in the -foreground made us think of some of Teniers the Younger's landscapes, -and recollect that we must be close to Drei Torren, his house at Perck. -Then came Malines, our first brown canal, with red-sailed, green-and -black-painted barges, the great cathedral rising through a screen of -trees over scarlet house-roofs, a picturesque crowd on the platform -of burly shovel-hatted priests, nuns with black shawls over their -white caps, men with blue blouses and brilliant yellow sabots,--and we -thought of Prout. It was all so absurdly like what we had expected, -with a difference,--just the difference between art and nature. - -Then came more flat country, more canals, more fields, more absurd -cocky little wheat-ricks, with hardly corn enough in them to make a -loaf of bread, more white and purple lupins on the embankments, more -red-tiled roofs, half thatch, half tile, which M---- pronounced "most -æsthetic," more sun, yes, that was perhaps the best of all. Then a -great green fort, and we were at Antwerp. - -We hardly gave ourselves time to swallow a hasty _déjeûner_, and then -set forth with the charming feeling that we had nothing to do but -amuse ourselves. We had not an idea of where we were going, or what we -meant to see. All was new, therefore all to us was worth seeing. Only -a vague impression floated in our minds that we ought before long to -find our way to the cathedral. It was not hard to find; in fact, it was -impossible to miss it, for, as we sauntered down the Place de Meir, the -golden clock-face on the steeple shone before us like a beacon over the -high house-roofs, and - - "Far up, the carillon did search - The wind." - -We pushed our way past the odious touters, clamorously asking in vile -French and still viler English if we wished to see the cathedral? had -we seen it? did we know we ought to see it? finally, of course, should -they show it to us? We were in too mighty a presence to heed them. -Above us, almost painfully high, rose the great steeple, pointing up to -the clear blue sky. We stood at a corner of the old Marché and gazed -and gazed, hardly able at first to take in the idea of its real height, -foreshortened as it is when one stands so near. It grew upon us, -revealed itself to us, as we looked and wondered, and ever after, while -in the city, we seemed to feel its protecting presence, even though -it might be hidden from our eyes. And we thought how often must weary -sailors, beating up the stormy waters of the North Sea, have longed -for a glimpse of that weather-stained tower, token to them of home and -safety after some perilous voyage to bring gold and sugar from the New -World, or priceless stuffs and spices from the Indies and far Cathay! -Or as painters, after long study in the schools of Rome and Venice, -made their slow way northward once more across the Alps, to add fresh -glory to the Guild of St. Luke, how eagerly they must have watched for -the first sight of their cathedral, pointing heavenward out of the -flat misty plain, as if to lift their minds from earth into some purer -atmosphere! - -Yet, splendid as is the casket, still more precious is the treasure -it contains. Many men have built cathedrals. There has been but one -Rubens; and of all Rubens's works, the "Descent from the Cross" -enshrined in Antwerp Cathedral is, one may venture to say without -fear of criticism, unquestionably the most wonderful and beautiful. -There is a sobriety, a reticence, about it in color, in movement, in -drawing, in the exquisite balance of light and shade, in the nobility -and yet tenderness of conception, which one hardly looks for in the -painter, splendid though he be, of the Assumption of the Virgin over -the high altar close by, still less of the gorgeous but revolting -Marie de Medici series in the Louvre. To quote Fromentin once more, -"_Tout y est contenu, concis, laconique comme dans une page du texte -sacré._" Let those who judge him merely by pictures such as the last -go to Antwerp, and, casting aside all preconceived ideas, say then -whether Peter Paul Rubens shall not be pardoned all his carelessness, -his coarseness,--yes, even his horrors,--and be to them henceforth the -painter of the noble and majestic "Descent from the Cross." - -It was long before we could summon resolution to leave the cathedral. -Half a dozen times we started, as many times we turned back to the -great triptych to impress some detail more firmly on our minds; and at -last, when the door swung to behind us, and we saw the great master's -statue standing in dusty sunshine in the Place Verte, we were in no -humor for more sight-seeing. So we wandered happily and aimlessly on, -now enchanted by some _pignon espagnol_, the quaint gable running up in -a series of steps, which was introduced, some say, by the Spaniards, -now stopping to scribble down the details of a bit of costume, or to -look at a street shrine on a corner house, with its figure and lamp and -tinsel flowers, until at last we found ourselves on the quays. - -Here, where Van Noort, where Rubens, where Jordaens made studies among -the rude fishermen for their pictures of the Miraculous Draught,--here, -where generations of painters from their day down to our own have -loved to dwell upon the changing aspects of the quiet river, the -hurrying quays, the picturesque people,--here was indeed a spot where -we humble disciples of Apelles might hope to gather inspiration from -the example of the great departed. So we hunted out a pile of wood on -the very brink of the river, a quiet corner where we ran no risk of -being trampled underfoot by gigantic Flemish dray-horses or knocked -down by heavily laden wagons; and there we sat peacefully, sketching -the long reaches of the Scheldt bathed in a flood of golden haze. Up -it sailed long low boats, floating past us with full red sails, flat, -faint, wooded shores behind them, a tall smoking chimney or little -church-spire breaking the blue line of the trees here and there. The -river reaches were full of repose to eye and mind alike, and our -thoughts turned instinctively to Van de Velde, to his glassy water, -where little gleams catch the curl of some lazy ripple, and his skiffs -and schooners floating in a veil of filmy gold, which warms his usual -pearly grays, while they in turn give a sober undertone to the golden -glory. A contrast to the quiet river was the foreground of the picture, -where a steamer was lading for some distant voyage, funnels, rigging, -hull, a great mass of black and brown against the pale golden water, -and the bustling quay, where horses, men, carriages, foot-passengers, -long low trollies,--apparently on only two wheels, so minute were -the front pair,--piled high with bales and barrels, were jumbled in -inextricable confusion. - -[Illustration: THE WATERLOO PYRAMID] - -We were working away, thankful that every one was too full of his own -business to care to look at us, when suddenly a pleasant smell of -burning made us wonder whether the municipality were trying to fumigate -the town and overpower the very unsavory odors around us. Presently -blacks began to settle on our sketch-books. Then burning morsels flew -through the air, and, turning round, we saw that a quantity of bales -standing on the quay twenty yards behind us were on fire. Half a dozen -bystanders looked on with true Flemish phlegm. A woman in blue and -gray, with yellow sabots, stood watching on a fallen mast. Then others -began to arrive, and as the flames rose higher some slight interest -arose with them. The gray woman turned and ran for the pompiers. The -interest grew and spread among the gathering crowd. Soldiers just -landing from the Tête de Flandre caught sight of the crackling flames -and rushed towards them. Stevedores left the lading of their steamer, -and, leaping across masts and spars, with sacks over their heads -and their blue blouses puffed into balloons by the wind, rushed to -the scene of action. M---- and I thought it prudent to retire to a -street-corner, away from the turmoil. - -Such a street! all in warm shade, with rich reds and grays and -browns among its high-roofed houses. Out of the Fish-Market close -by poured a motley crowd,--men in blue jerseys, men in red jerkins, -men in shirt-sleeves, little lads in sailor-clothes with bright -yellow sabots, women with yellow sabots and blue stockings, or yellow -stockings and black sabots, or black shoes and pink stockings, women in -three-cornered shawls, women in long black cloaks. The tardily-awakened -interest had grown into intense excitement. Every one ran,--soldiers, -ladies, porters, priests; and as we left the Quai Vandyck to go home, -and looked up at the stone lace-work of the cathedral tower against -the bright blue sky, the pompiers raced past us with their little -hand-engine, to find that the fire had burnt itself out. - -Too tired by our long day to walk any more, but unwilling to waste the -evening in our rooms, we chartered a comfortable little carriage and -drove down to the Port just after sunset. The cathedral tower stood -stately and sombre against a pale-pink sky. Against this delicate -background, too, we caught fantastic irregular outlines of old houses -at every turn of the streets. The busy Quai Vandyck we now saw under -a completely changed aspect. The pink of the upper sky melted into -yellow, the yellow into a heavy blue-purple blending with the farther -shore of the river. The bands of color, intensified by black masts -and sails rising from yet blacker hulls lying under the bank, were -reflected in the opalescent water; while fluttering pennons on a forest -of fishing-boats looked, as M---- said, "like a shoal of minnows." - -As we drove along in the growing darkness the scene was weird and -strange. We caught glimpses of black figures, with heavy burdens on -their shoulders, rushing up and down gangways of loading steamers like -the demons of some Walpurgisnacht, lighted by oil-cans flaming from -their two spouts. Then came a street of ancient houses,--we could -see only the steps of their gables against the sky,--and, instead -of a roadway below, the street was full of water and ships, sails -half furled, lights, red, green, and yellow, repeating themselves in -long reflections amid the black boats on the smooth surface of the -canal. Across the river steamer-lights crept to and fro. Low carts, -with huge horses that brought to mind Paul Potter's etching of "The -Friesland Horse," grazed past us. Then came a black mass,--the house -of the Hanseatic League. Then great docks like the sea, stretching -away infinitely into the darkness, a mysterious confusion of masts, -spars, cordage, chimneys, lights, water, black hulls. On shore a tangle -of carts and trollies standing horseless, barrels, cotton-bales, -wool-sacks. A locomotive snorted past us in dangerous proximity, -appearing one knew not from whence, disappearing again into the gloom. -Electric lights flashed on ahead far up the line. We passed more huge -warehouses, more canals, more narrow streets. Then the Port and its -strange life, its flaming oil-cans, its murky darkness, were left -behind, and we found ourselves back in nineteenth-century civilization, -driving down the new Frenchified boulevards, with only the statue of -David Teniers and the Italian facade of Rubens's house to remind us -where we were. - - - - -ART MUSEUMS OF DRESDEN. - -ELIZABETH PEAKE. - - ["Pen Pictures of Europe," by Elizabeth Peake, is amply worth - reading by all who wish to gain a rapid acquaintance with what is - worth seeing on that continent. Its interesting descriptions are - so many and varied that choice among them is not easy to make, and - we present what our traveller saw in Dresden and at Potsdam simply - as examples of the whole.] - - -We have been to the picture-gallery. There were between two and three -thousand pictures. There were Raphael, Holbein, Correggio, Titian, -Carlo Dolce, Paul Veronese, Rubens, Rembrandt, Vandyke, Guido, -Ruysdael, Wouvermans, Claude, Poussin, and I do not know who else; -but I would give them all, and more besides, for the portraits of -Charlemagne and Sigismund by Dürer, and the historical painting of -the peace of Westphalia, with its forty-seven original portraits by -Sandrart. I do really think that I have seen a million of paintings, -and have come to the sad conclusion that I have precious little love -for pictures,--for paintings. - -The magnificent frescos I admire as much as any one. But the thousands -of Madonnas,--Raphael's "Madonna di San Sisto," which cost forty -thousand dollars, I like better than any I have yet seen, next to -that old painting of Leonardo da Vinci in the old church not far -from Milan,--all the Madonnas have pretty eyes, pretty faces, pretty -attitudes; but they do not come up to my idea of the Virgin. Then there -are so many nude Venuses, and all sorts of nudities, that the artists -who painted them ought to have been condemned to go without clothes, -even in cold weather, to see how they would like it; and when they died -they should have every bone in the human body carved as ornaments on -their tombstone as I saw somewhere in my travels. The heads of the old -men are exceedingly fine and natural; but many of the portraits have -such affected attitudes that they seem ridiculous to me. I suppose -it used to be the fashion to _take an attitude_ when they sat for a -portrait. - -Mrs. Siddons's portrait, in London, and one of Mary Queen of Scots and -her page, were the most beautiful and faultless to my taste of all I -saw in England. - -Murillo's beggar boys and girls did not know enough to assume an -attitude; and of course they please, because they are natural. - -Did you ever see persons sit where they could see themselves in a -mirror, conversing, and still looking at themselves with a sort of -half consciousness they were doing so, and thinking that you were not -noticing that they did so? I say, did you ever notice what a ridiculous -and puzzled expression it gives to their faces? Well, this is just the -expression of the greater part of these so celebrated portraits and -paintings. It is appalling to think of,--I mean my want of taste,--but -I do like to see pictures look natural. "How will madame have potatoes, -sauté or grillé, or au naturel?" The word _naturel_ sounds so -charmingly after all I have seen, that I reply joyously, "Au naturel;" -and he brought me boiled potatoes,--just what I liked. I forgot to -mention that we went again to the opera in Munich, in the small theatre -in the king's palace. The opera was "Alessandra Stradella," by Flotow. -I never heard sweeter music; and Nachbaur, who took the part of -Stradella, was not only a magnificent tenor, but a perfect Adonis in -person. He would meet with success in New York. - -Yesterday we went to the royal palace, a very ancient and -ungainly-looking building. Our object was to visit the green rooms, -or vaults, which contain all kinds of rare objects-jewels, ivory, -bronzes, and costly things,--which I suppose were intended to -show the magnificence of the Saxon kings, who once were among the -richest sovereigns in Europe. There are eight of these rooms on the -ground-floor of the palace. I wish you could have been with us to -have seen all the curiosities, and to have heard the custodian, who -spoke English, tell us all about what he showed us. It is impossible -to remember a tenth part of what one sees, so I was glad when the -custodian said, as he entered the first room, which contains the -bronzes, "Laties, here is more as a huntred fine bronzes; the best fon -Italy, I show you ze masterpieces. Zis is Antinous; here is Apollo; -dis leetle dog is curious; is of hammered iron, not cast hammered. -'Tis by Peter Vischer. You see he scratch himself,--very funny, very -curious. Zis crucifix made by John of Bologna,--a masterpiece." I kept -close to him to ask him more particularly about many things. The next -room was the ivory room. I wish you could have heard him pronounce "my -lady" in three or four different ways. There were four hundred and -eighty-four pieces of ivory wonderfully carved. "Here, melaty, one -little piece. Two drunken musicians fighting. Made by Dinglinger." "Who -was Dinglinger?" I asked. "He was yeweller of te court, melaty." After -seeing all in the room, he said, "Zis way, laties, if you please, one -leetle step down. Here are ze mosaics. Zis table Florentine mosaic; -best of ze tables." There were large life sized portraits on each side -of the windows. I asked, "Whose portrait is this?" "Christian II., -melaty. He always drink sixteen pottles of wine in one day,--sixteen -pottles, melaty." I was much pleased with a magnificent chimney-piece, -made of the different kinds of china manufactured here, and ornamented -with the various kinds of stone found in Saxony. In the fourth room I -noticed a peculiar clock, made in the form of the tower of Babel. One -gold chalice, ornamented with precious gems, made by Benvenuto Cellini, -attracted my attention. I asked about another portrait. "Augusta -ze Strong, melaty. He took a horseshoe in his hand and broke it in -two. Very strong, melaty, very strong." I had heard the story of his -stopping at a shop to have a shoe put on his horse. Selecting a shoe, -he took it in his hand, and breaking it, said it was not strong enough. -The smith, after shoeing his horse, asked for a dollar. Augustus threw -down a silver dollar. The smith took it up, and rolling it over in his -fingers in the form of a cigar, asked if the dollar was a good one. - -A little farther, the custodian took up a golden egg. "Here, laties, is -one golden egg. I will open it, and you will see it contains a golden -chicken. I will open ze chicken; it has in it ze Polish crown. I will -open ze crown, and show you one fine ring. All zese rings are for show, -for curiosity, for playthings." The next room contained the largest -pearls; one represents the body of a court dwarf, and is as large as a -hen's egg. In the seventh room we were shown the regalia used at the -coronation of Augustus Second as king of Poland, and then brought here -to be kept for the coronation of Saxon princes who might at some future -time be crowned at Cracow. There, too, were the swords of John Sobieski -and Solyman II., of Turkey. The hilts of these swords seemed one mass -of diamonds. The shoulder-knot of the queens of Poland containing six -hundred and sixty-two diamonds! Then the diamond buttons, rubies, -emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones were as wonderful on -account of their abundance as they were for their great beauty. I could -only think of Sinbad the sailor, of Aladdin and his wonderful lamp, and -all the fairy-tales of diamonds and gems I had read in my life. In the -last there were emeralds one and a half inches large, and a model of -the throne and court of the great Mogul Aurengzebe, at which Dinglinger -and eighteen men worked eight years, and were paid fifty-nine thousand -thalers! A costly plaything. All the Saxon crown jewels, collected from -the time of the Elector Maurice, 1541, were one blaze of light and -beauty. Boxes are always ready for packing them, particularly in time -of war, when they are taken to the fortress of Königstein. - -We have been over the bridge to the Japanese palace to see the -collections of porcelain from the earliest times until now. The -Portuguese were the first to bring porcelain to Europe from China -and Japan, and Saxony was the first European country in which its -manufacture was begun. Von Tzschirnhausen was making experiments in his -three glass huts when, in 1701, he was joined by John Frederic Böttger, -an alchemist, who said he had succeeded in finding the philosopher's -stone, and who, in the presence of witnesses, melted eighteen two -groschen pieces, sprinkled into the liquid mass a reddish powder, and -changed them into the finest gold. However that may have been, he -found a species of earth in the neighborhood of Meissen which suited -his purposes, and began the manufacture of porcelain, which at the -present day is carried on there in a large establishment called the -royal porcelain manufactory of Dresden china. Meissen is not far from -Dresden, but I am afraid we shall not have time to go there. - -But to return to the Japanese palace. There were costly selections of -Chinese, Japanese, East Indian, Dresden, and Sèvres porcelain. It is -really astonishing to see what improvement was made in Dresden china -in twenty years, and then from those twenty years until the present -time. There are twenty rooms in the basement of this building which are -filled with these collections. I only wish they had put them in the -story above, where ever so much old statuary is placed, for then they -could be seen to so much better advantage, and the statuary be kept in -the shade, where, in my opinion, a good lot of it should always be. -Kändler's model of a huge monument to Augustus (III. of Poland and II. -of Saxony) is entirely of porcelain, and cost twelve thousand thalers. -A camellia, thirty-eight inches high, modelled by Schiefer, in Meissen, -in 1836, is most beautiful. We were shown plates which cost three or -four hundred dollars apiece. The bust of the queen of Prussia, given by -her husband, Frederic William III., to this collection, is exquisite. -A white lace veil was carelessly thrown over the head. I looked at it, -and thought it strange that a lace veil should be thrown over a bust -of china, and spoke to the guide about it. He said the veil was china -too. I examined it closely; the work on the border was perfect, and -you could see the head and neck through the veil as plainly as if it -had been real lace. The Sèvres china given by the first Napoleon was -the handsomest of any we saw. Some majolica vases were very fine, and -cost about ten thousand dollars each. There were Chinese gods, made in -China, of the most beautiful porcelain, but as hideous in form as they -were beautiful in material. - -We went to the armory, said to be the finest collection of the -kind in Europe. In the first room we were shown many curiosities: -the work-table of "Mother Anna," made of petrified wood, which -the attendant wished me to notice particularly, because it was a -_petrifactation_. - -Then there was a clock with a bear striking the seconds on a drum; -another clock imitated a chime of bells; Luther's drinking-cup, made -of gold, and holding about a pint; and a beautiful cabinet presented -to him by his friend and protector, the Elector of Saxony, and which, -after his death, was sold to the government by his family. The next -room was filled with implements of sports and the chase, all very -curious. - -On we went, from room to room, looking at the suits of armor which -had been worn by the electors of Saxony,--their tilting suits, their -parade suits; the horses they rode on parade, stuffed and equipped; and -their masters' suits put on figures to represent those distinguished -personages; so you could fancy yourself walking among them, and seeing -them as they looked when living. Nothing could exceed the splendor -of the horses' accoutrements,--precious stones almost covered their -harness; the scabbards of one or two swords were set with jewels and -diamonds their whole length; in those times jewels and diamonds were -as plentiful as blackberries. The housing of one of the kings, when he -went sleigh-riding, was crimson velvet embroidered with gold, and two -or three hundred little bells that looked like gold fastened on all -over it. There were the cuirass of Augustus the Strong, which weighed -one hundred pounds, and his cap, that weighed twenty-five. Napoleon's -saddle, and many other saddles, had jewels set in them that many a lady -would be proud to wear. - -One great curiosity was a Turkish tent, taken at the siege of Vienna, -in 1683. It was set up in one room with all its furniture. The -ground-work was crimson embroidered with gold. I should think it was -large enough to accommodate twenty persons. There were also the armor -worn by John Sobieski at the same siege, and the pistols worn by -Charles XII. of Sweden on the day of his death. Some of the tilting -suits worn at tournaments weighed two hundred pounds. - -I never saw anything like these Germans for curious and strange things. -One of the curious and costly toys I saw when we went to the green -rooms was a bird's nest, flowers, etc., made of flour and water. I do -not know whether I told you of a painting on cobweb which we saw in the -museum at Munich. There were four or five panes of glass nearly covered -with cobwebs, which had a landscape painted on them. In some things -I do not admire the taste: two large porcelain pitchers, that would -hold two gallons, and cost thousands of dollars, had handles made to -represent large spotted adders, or snakes. - -If I did not understand German I would not know half the time what they -meant when they are trying to talk to me in English. Showing me some -china cups that were first made with handles, the man said, "You see, -zese are ze first made wiz hankles." Speaking of something being most -convenient, he said, the "commodest." - -I have said nothing of the statues in the public places: the monument -to the Elector Maurice, the oldest one in Dresden, representing Maurice -handing the electoral sword to his brother "Father August," and just -behind him their wives in widows' weeds. - -The equestrian statue of Augustus the Strong, made of brass, and -placed on a pedestal of sandstone, looks very spirited. The statue -of Frederick Augustus II. in his coronation robes is very fine; -besides others which I have not time to describe. The Roman Catholic -church which we see from our windows, built in the Italian style, and -profusely decorated, is said to have cost two million thalers. - -Seen through the fog in the early morning, its fifty-nine statues of -saints and apostles looked like ghosts, or like some pictures of the -last judgment. - -The green copper roofs of this church and of the government buildings -give Dresden a look peculiar to itself. There are two triumphant -fly-away statues on the grand bridge over the Elbe which exhilarate me -every time I see them. - -Brühl's Terrace is a very delightful promenade, and an ornament to the -city. I was asked if I had seen the statuary at the "flurs" (flight of -stairs) of this terrace. One group represents Evening, the other Night; -they are very good. The sculptor Schilling is to make two more--Morning -and Noon--for the flight on the other side. - -On Friday we went to the palace and saw a great quantity of porcelain, -some fine frescos in the throne room, particularly four large pictures -from the history of Henry the Fowler. The ball-room is painted with -subjects from mythology, mostly. I expected to find the palace more -imposing than it was,--perhaps from seeing so many millions invested in -jewels in the green rooms.... - -On Monday we went to Potsdam, about an hour's ride on the cars. Potsdam -is the Prussian Versailles. It was founded by the Great Elector of -Brandenburg, but owes all its splendor to Frederick the Great. We -first visited the New Palace, which Frederick the Great built, just -to show the world that his wars had not exhausted all his finances. -He had an eye for bright things,--the rooms were brilliant with gold -and silver, and bright-colored satin, and brocade and damask curtains. -They showed us in the folds of the curtains, where the light had not -faded them, how bright and beautiful they must have been when new. They -also showed us the rooms in which his dogs were allowed to enter; the -coverings of the sofas and chairs were terribly torn by them. One large -room in this palace was entirely covered with pearl-oyster and various -other kinds of shells, different marbles and stones,--all put together -to represent dolphins and fishes. The floor was of Italian marble, -and overhead were fresco-paintings. It was a very large room, having -windows on one side, and on the opposite side mirrors, reflecting the -beautiful grounds outside, making a very striking and fine effect. -In the library we saw the caricature of Voltaire, made by Frederick -the Great,--it is a pen-and-ink sketch. We also saw the hat, boots, -gloves, etc., which were last worn by him. We were shown places on -his writing-desk and tables where bits of the cloth were cut out and -carried away by Napoleon. A small room, in which he used to dine with -a friend or two, was so constructed that the table and food could be -raised from the room beneath; thus waiters could be dispensed with, -and he could converse with his friends confidentially. We went into -the garrison church where Frederick the Great is buried behind the -pulpit, in a plain metal sarcophagus above-ground. The sword that used -to lie upon it was carried off by Napoleon, and no one knows what has -become of it, but over the tomb, on each side of the pulpit, hang the -eagles and standards taken from Napoleon's armies by the Prussians. -His father's tomb is of marble and stands opposite his. We then rode -on to the palace of Sans Souci, built by Frederick the Great. It seems -to stand upon the top of a flight of terraces. The grounds were laid -out in French taste, when it was the fashion to have everything stiff -and formal. We saw some fine paintings and statuary, walked through the -orangery, and then through the grounds, passed the historical windmill -which Frederick the Great wanted to buy, but the miller would not sell. -Frederick sued him and lost his case. Afterwards, when the family of -the miller became poor, they offered it to the king, who bought it, -but would not have it pulled down, preferring to have it stand as a -monument of Prussian justice. - -The carriage was waiting for us at the gate, and then, crossing the -river Havel, we rode on to Babelsburg, where Emperor William lived -before he was king. This is decidedly the prettiest residence that -I have seen since I left home, and although the palace is large it -has such a homelike look, and is so cheerful throughout, I should -think the Emperor would like to spend as much time there as possible. -The girl who showed us through the palace gave an envelope from the -Emperor's writing-desk to one of our party, who gave it to me to put -among my relics. Humboldt's study is kept just as he left it. I think -I could study in that room. The night-lamp was so constructed as to -appear like stars when lighted. In the drawing-room there were some -beautifully-embroidered chairs, presented to the Empress by the court -ladies. They were of dark-blue velvet, with heads of wheat embroidered -in gold. In the apartments of the crown princess I saw the carpet -presented her on her marriage by the English ladies. The attendant -lifted the cloth that covered it, and it still looked as good as new. -We were particularly shown an English bed, because it was a double -bed, and it did seem quite a curiosity, for it was the only one we had -seen on the continent. The whole palace was cheerful throughout, and -had the appearance of the highest taste and refinement. The paintings -and statues are exquisitely beautiful. The grounds are handsome, and -the landscape quite American. The courier asked the attendant who took -us through the palace whether she kept the money that was given her -for herself. Oh, no! she had to give it to the steward. I suppose, -however, that if no fee was required the palace would be overrun with -visitors. We had to hurry to get back to Potsdam in time for the cars, -and reached Berlin about dark, pretty well tired out, and did not rise -until late the next morning. - - - - -THE STUDENTS OF HEIDELBERG. - -BAYARD TAYLOR. - - [Taylor's earliest and notable work of travel, "Views Afoot," - describing his experiences while traversing Europe with a light - purse and a sturdy heart, is full of quotable passages, of two - of which we have availed ourselves. The following is devoted to - the well-worn story of the German student, with his extraordinary - capacity for beer and his insensate taste for duels. We cannot - well get through Europe without some account of these striking - incidents of student-life, which our author very well describes.] - - -Receiving a letter from my cousin one bright December morning, the idea -of visiting him struck me, and so, within an hour, B---- and I were on -our way to Heidelberg. It was delightful weather; the air was mild as -the early days of spring, the pine-forests around wore a softer green, -and though the sun was but a hand's breadth high, even at noon, it was -quite warm on the open road. - -We stopped for the night at Bensheim; the next morning was as dark as -a cloudy day in the north can be, wearing a heavy gloom I never saw -elsewhere. The wind blew the snow down from the summits upon us, but, -being warm from walking, we did not heed it. The mountains looked -higher than in summer, and the old castles more grim and frowning. From -the hard roads and freezing wind my feet became very sore, and after -limping along in excruciating pain for a league or two, I filled my -boots with brandy, which deadened the wounds so much that I was enabled -to go on in a kind of trot, which I kept up, only stopping ten minutes -to dinner, till we reached Heidelberg. - -The same evening there was to be a general commers, or meeting of the -societies among the students, and I determined not to omit one of the -most interesting and characteristic features of student life. So, -borrowing a cap and coat, I looked the student well enough to pass for -one of them, though the former article was somewhat of the Philister -form. Baader, a young poet of some note, and president of the "Palatea" -society, having promised to take us there, we met at eight o'clock at -an inn frequented by the students, and went to the rendezvous, near the -Markt Platz. - -A confused sound of voices came from the inn, as we drew near; groups -of students were standing around the door. In the entry we saw the Red -Fisherman, one of the most conspicuous characters about the University. -He is a small, stout man, with bare neck and breast, red hair, whence -his name, and a strange mixture of roughness and benevolence in his -countenance. He had saved many persons, at the risk of his own life, -from drowning in the Neckar, and on that account is leniently dealt -with by the faculty whenever he is arrested for assisting the students -in any of their unlawful proceedings. Entering the room, I could -scarcely see at first, on account of the smoke that ascended from a -hundred pipes. All was noise and confusion. Near the door sat some -half-dozen musicians, who were getting their instruments ready for -action; and the long room was filled with tables, all of which seemed -to be full, and the students were still pressing in. The tables were -covered with great stone jugs and long beer-glasses; the students were -talking and shouting and drinking. - -One, who appeared to have the arrangement of the meeting, found seats -for us together, and, having made a slight acquaintance with those -sitting next us, we felt more at liberty to witness their proceedings. -They were all talking in a sociable, friendly way, and I saw no one -who appeared to be intoxicated. The beer was a weak mixture, which -I should think would make one fall over from its _weight_ before it -would intoxicate him. Those sitting near me drank but little, and that -principally to make or return compliments. One or two at the other -end of the table were more boisterous, and more than one glass was -overturned on the legs below it. Leaves containing the songs for the -evening lay at each seat; and at the head, where the president sat, -were two swords crossed, with which he occasionally struck upon the -table to preserve order. Our president was a fine, romantic-looking -young man, dressed in the old German costume, which is far handsomer -than the modern. I never saw in any company of young men so many -handsome, manly countenances. If their faces were any index of their -characters, there were many noble, free souls among them. - -[Illustration: THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF HEIDELBERG] - -Nearly opposite to me sat a young poet, whose dark eyes flashed with -feeling as he spoke to those near him. After some time passed in -talking and drinking together, varied by an occasional air from the -musicians, the president beat order with the sword, and the whole -company joined in one of their glorious songs, to a melody at the same -time joyous and solemn. Swelled by so many manly voices, it rose up -like a hymn of triumph; all other sounds were stilled. Three times -during the singing all rose up, clashed their glasses together around -the table, and drank to their Fatherland, a health and blessing to the -patriot, and honor to those who struggle in the cause of freedom, at -the close thundering out their motto,-- - - "Fearless in strife, to the banner still true!" - -After this song the same order as before was continued, except that -students from the different societies made short speeches accompanied -by some toast or sentiment. One spoke of Germany, predicting that all -her dissensions would be overcome, and she would rise up at last like -a phoenix among the nations of Europe; and at the close gave "Strong, -united, regenerated Germany!" Instantly all sprang to their feet, -and, clashing the glasses together, gave a thundering "Hoch!" This -enthusiasm for their country is one of the strongest characteristics -of the German students; they have ever been first in the field for her -freedom, and on them mainly depends her future redemption. - -Cloths were passed around, the tables wiped off, and preparations made -to sing the "_Landsfather_" or consecration song. This is one of the -most important and solemn of their ceremonies, since by performing it -the new students are made _burschen_, and the bands of brotherhood -continually kept fresh and sacred. All became still a moment; then they -commenced the lofty song,-- - - "Silent bending, each one lending - To the solemn tones his ear, - Hark, the song of songs is sounding, - Back from joyful choir resounding; - Hear it, German brothers, hear! - - "German, proudly raise it, loudly - Singing of your fatherland. - Fatherland! thou land of story, - To the altars of thy glory - Consecrate us, sword in hand! - - "Take the beaker, pleasure-seeker, - With thy country's drink brimmed o'er; - In thy left the sword is blinking; - Pierce it through the cap, while drinking - To thy Fatherland once more!" - -With the first line of the last stanza the presidents sitting at the -head of the table take their glasses in their right hands, and at the -third line the sword in their left, at the end striking their glasses -together and drinking. - - "In left hand gleaming, thou art beaming, - Sword from all dishonor free! - Thus I pierce the cap, while swearing, - It in honor ever wearing, - I a valiant Bursch will be!" - -They clash their swords together till the third line is sung, when each -takes his cap, and piercing the point of the sword through the crown, -draws it down to the guard. Leaving their caps on the swords, the -presidents stand behind the two next students, who go through the same -ceremony, receiving the swords at the appropriate time, and giving them -back loaded with their caps also. This ceremony is going on at every -table at the same time. These two stanzas are repeated for every pair -of students till all have gone through with it, and the presidents -have arrived at the bottom of the table, with their swords strung full -of caps. - - [While the song goes on, the president restores the caps, one - by one, a consecration verse being chanted as each student - receives his cap. When all are restored, the ceremonies end with - a concluding verse, in which the singers pledge themselves to the - service of their Fatherland.] - -The Landsfather being over, the students were less orderly; the smoking -and drinking began again, and we left, as it was already eleven -o'clock, glad to breathe the pure cold air. - -In the University I heard Gervinus, who was formerly professor -in Göttingen, but was obliged to leave on account of his liberal -principles. He is much liked by the students and his lectures are very -well attended. They had this winter a torchlight procession in honor of -him. He is a stout, round-faced man, speaks very fast, and makes them -laugh continually with his witty remarks. In the room I saw a son of -Rückert, the poet, with a face strikingly like his father's. The next -evening I went to hear Schlosser, the great historian. Among his pupils -are the two princes of Baden, who are now at the University. He came -hurriedly in, threw down his portfolio, and began instantly to speak. -He is an old, gray-headed man, but still active and full of energy. The -Germans find him exceedingly difficult to understand, as he is said to -use the English construction almost entirely; for this reason perhaps I -understand him quite easily. He lectures on the French Revolution, but -is engaged in writing a Universal History, the first numbers of which -are published. - -Two or three days after, we heard that a duel was to take place at -Neuenheim, on the opposite side of the Neckar, where the students have -a house hired for that purpose. In order to witness the spectacle, we -started immediately with two or three students. Along the road were -stationed old women, at intervals, as guards, to give notice of the -approach of the police, and from these we learned that one duel had -already been fought, and they were preparing for the other. The Red -Fisherman was busy in an outer room grinding the swords, which are made -as sharp as razors. In the large room some forty or fifty students -are walking about, while the parties were preparing. This was done by -taking off the coat and vest and binding a great thick leather garment -on, which reached from the breast to the knees, completely protecting -the body. They then put on a leather glove reaching nearly to the -shoulder, tied a thick cravat around the throat, and drew on a cap with -a large vizor. This done, they were walked about the room a short time, -the seconds holding out their arms to strengthen them; their faces all -this time betrayed considerable anxiety. - -All being ready, the seconds took their stations immediately behind -them, each armed with a sword, and gave the words, "_Ready--bind your -weapons--loose!_" They instantly sprang at each other, exchanged two or -three blows, when the seconds cried "Halt!" and struck their swords up. -Twenty-four rounds of this kind ended the duel, without either being -hurt, though the cap of one of them was cut through and his forehead -grazed. All their duels do not end so fortunately, however, as the -frightful scars on the faces of many of those present testified. It -is a gratification to know that but a small portion of the students -keep up this barbarous custom. The great body is opposed to it; in -Heidelberg, four societies, comprising more than one-half the students, -have been formed against it. A strong desire for such a reform seems -to prevail, and the custom will probably be totally discontinued in a -short time. - -This view of the student-life was very interesting to me; it appeared -in a much better light than I had been accustomed to view it. Their -peculiar customs, except duelling and drinking, of course, may be -better tolerated when we consider their effect on the liberty of -Germany. It is principally through them that a free spirit is kept -alive; they have ever been foremost to rise up for their Fatherland and -bravest in its defence. And though many of their customs have so often -been held up to ridicule, among no other class can one find warmer, -truer, or braver hearts. - - - - -THE STREETS OF BERLIN. - -MATTHEW WOODS. - - [Among the object-lessons which the cities of Europe have - for Americans there is none more evident and impressive than - the beauty and cleanliness of the streets of many of these - municipalities, as compared with those of the land beyond the - ocean. Dr. Woods, in his "Rambles of a Physician," draws a - striking picture of the aspect of the principal street of Berlin, - which we reproduce for the benefit of our readers.] - - -To-day I have been riding on tramways through wide, smooth, perfectly -clean streets, lined on each side by magnificent houses, mostly with -their fronts a complete net-work of graceful carvings. In building here -the custom is to use rough stones, and when the house is erected, carve -over it the development of some legend, the illustrations of some -classic tale, or it may be, the story of the rise and progress of the -builder, or the man for whom it is being built; or, perhaps, simply a -reproduction in stone of some Pompeiian wall decoration, so that merely -a stroll through the streets, or a ride on a car, exhibits sights that -I imagine are seldom if ever seen outside of Germany. To write down -all worthy of perpetual remembrance and praise, during a walk through -its splendid ways, would require much time, and I will therefore only -say that amid a profusion of ornamentation, you seldom see anything -meaningless or incapable of pointing a moral or adorning a tale. - -The street wherein I write, what words could record its splendors! -From the happy moment I passed the Royal National Gallery, with its -great front covered with the commanding pictures by Cornelius, with -background of gold, and crossed the handsome bridge, _Schloss Brücke_, -ornamented with colossal marble statues, full of action and life, that -spans the lovely embanked Spree, until now, with a charming park and -the Cathedral at my back, the University in front, on my left, in the -middle of the street Rauch's wonderful statue of Frederick the Great, -said to be the grandest monument in Europe, and by my side the plain -palace of the Emperor, I have been amazed; words cannot describe the -splendor of the place. The tops of the houses--cornices--are lined with -marble figures larger than life; the pediments are alive with men, -women, children, and horses, in high relief; and along the sidewalks -are sitting and standing celebrities in stone, whose very pedestals -contain enough to employ the admiration for weeks; and yet this is but -the approach to the famous street that, beginning at the castle of the -Kaiser, ends in the Brandenburg Gate,--I am merely within the Garden -of Eden, with long vistas of prospective bliss extending interminably -before. - -I stand for a few moments in front of Rauch's stupendous statue of -Fritz surrounded by his friends. I use the word "stupendous" not in -reference to its size, although it is enormous, but to its effect. It -occupies a position in the middle of the street, in front of the plain -two-story-and-a-half castle of Kaiser William, now in his ninetieth -year, and well. Where is there another avenue in the world that would -not be obstructed by this massive group? The Monuments--clustered -around a granite pedestal twenty-five feet high, on which is placed an -equestrian statue of Frederick the Great--are bronze groups, life size, -of the leading generals and statesmen during the Seven Years' War, -standing or mounted on horses as they lived, in animated discussion or -thought, forming a glorious aureole around their chief. From where I -stand I count nineteen people and four horses, all apparently endowed -with immortal life; besides these, on this side (there are three others -like it) are cannon, armor, trumpets, helmets, muskets, and trees, -which, although of metal, to say of them that they look real would be -short of the truth; they exceed reality, at least as we ordinary beings -understand that most complimented word. I would venture to say that -outside of Prussian Germany _models_ for these magnificent figures -could not be found, and that a sculptor producing such would have -to create them himself; and yet these are the men of the streets of -Frankfort, Weimar, and Berlin, as splendid-looking fellows as the sun -ever shone upon,--the very street-sweepers even exhibiting a bearing -and dignity commanding respect. - -The subject is too prolific in suggestions; I cannot proceed. It is -also too great for my limited time, especially as other attractions -are luring me on. What a street! what shops! filled with wonders in -metal and precious stones. What bronzes and jewels! Why do we never -see such exquisite productions in our palatial stores? Lingerers -around shop-windows find a paradise in this promenade; but here is an -"Arcade," the stone sides carved to the lofty cornices, arches of -glass stretching across the way from eave to eave, the street paved in -mosaic, and here and there in recesses clusters of exotics and palms. -What wares are exhibited in this virtuoso's Eden! I stand in front of -the window, lost in thought, until tired with the contemplation of -unspeakable things. - -Seeing a shrubbery and seats, I sit down by a little table for repose, -when in a moment, from some invisible source overhead, like the -orchestra in Wilhelm Meister, there bursts forth the most bewitching -music. I am in heaven. I hear the hosannas of the celestial hosts. The -shops are where the redeemed work for love of men. - -The people passing to and fro know nothing of accounts, nor the -perplexities of trade. They have ceased from their troubles--are at -home--at rest. I am brought to eat ambrosia and drink the nectar and -hear the music of the gods, and yet I am but a novice in this celestial -city, and wait for the loving hands that shall lead me to the friends -gone before.... - -I have made the tour of "Unter den Linden," and am sitting here just -long enough to collect my wandering thoughts before moving on. I feel -as if I had been the victim of one of De Quincey's dreams, and wait -the awakening that will release me from its spell. As I recline here -at my leisure, with a sandstone fountain making music at my feet, and -grapevines and beeches embowering me about, I get a good view of the -famous Brandenburg Gate and the statue of Victory, with her chariot and -four, on the top. As I look on the magnificent group from where I am on -the Thiergarten side, Victory has her back to me, her horses galloping -with full speed towards the palace of the king. I had supposed, from -pictures I had seen, that she was driving towards the park. I cannot -have been mistaken. If so, why was such a ponderous mass turned around? - -While endeavoring to explain to myself what seemed so strange, a young -man took a seat by my side. Addressing him, "How is it? Isn't Victory -reversed?" "_Ja wohl!_" he replies. How assuring the affix "_wohl_" -in the hearty German expression of assent! It is the abracadabra that -drives out fear, and fills up the great gulf between the stranger and -yourself, enabling your sympathies to run over and interchange. Long -live the noble people that always say, "Yes, well," and never, "Yes, -ill." - -"_Ja wohl!_" he replies. "Why?" "Well, you see,"--I knew by the -expression lighting up his face that he was going to tell me of -something that pleased,--"it was before the last struggle that Victory -was driving her horses in the direction of Paris. The war came. The -French were victors, and carried off our statue as a trophy to flatter -their vanity and decorate their capital at the same time. Good, but in -'70 it was our turn. The whipped became whippers. We beat the French -and brought our Victory home, replanted her on her original site, -with her back to Frankreich, her face looking proudly towards the -Fatherland, as if she were glad and happy to be at home." - - [Here we pass over pages of description of what was to be seen - in the galleries and churches, to come again to the traveller's - out-door impressions.] - -In the first place, the climate, to my surprise, is perfect. I am -sitting here at noon in August--smothering with us--in an atmosphere -exhilarating and cool; men are passing with light overcoats, as if -they were a trifle anxious to anticipate the September winds, and this -is what the weather has been since leaving Erin, where it was, to my -surprise, too dry and warm. Remember, that all I say about countries -and people is only what _I_ have felt and seen. Every evening I wear -a light overcoat, and find it about right. In the second place, -there is no dust in Berlin, simply because the streets, which are -better--all of them--than the concrete around the Philadelphia City -Hall, are never allowed to get dirty; are _flooded with water_ and -_dried_ every morning, and kept so. Nothing objectionable is permitted -to remain on them for a moment. _Clean, uniformed men_--and handsome, -gentlemanly-looking fellows they are, too--are constantly moving along -with enclosed wheelbarrows, shovels, and brooms, removing whatever may -offend; even their instruments for cleaning are designed artistically -and free from soil. I can imagine the wheelbarrows attractive as flower -receptacles at large gatherings, so graceful are they. You would tie -bows on the shovels and hang them on the wall. - -With these whatever is offensive on the streets is at once emptied into -cast-iron receptacles, in themselves ornamental, arranged along the -thoroughfares, and which are emptied before daybreak every day. The -streets, as I said before, are many of them flooded with water daily, -then dried with enormous squilgees (that's what they are called on -shipboard),--that is, a band of rubber fitted into a socket of wood, -something like what, with us, careful housewives use to dry windows, -except that these are a yard wide, and one sweep of them over a wet -street leaves a band its width as dry as a board and as clean as a -dinner plate. In order to do this, of course the streets have to be -absolutely smooth,--as they are, not the slightest indentation being -visible. Then neatly-painted and handsomely-designed water-carts -traverse _every_ street a number of times daily, ejecting showers -of _misty_ spray; a work of supererogation, you say, to prevent any -particle of dust that may be left from getting into the air. It is -actually true that a child with a cambric dress could roll in the -middle of any crowded thoroughfare with as much security from soil as -if occupying a chair in a summer boarding-house. - -The cleanliness and order exceeds even that of England or Scotland, -than which, until you come to Germany, you think nothing can exceed. -If, for example, a gentleman in lighting a cigar throws a match on the -street, it is picked up; a leaf from a tree, a bit of paper from a -store, a blade of grass, all are at once removed, and by men, too, that -are Germans; that is,--clean, respectful, reputable, and intelligent. -Even in the business avenues, and around the wholesale stores, the -pavements and streets are as clean as the white steps of the homes of -Philadelphia. Most of the streets are as wide as our Broad Street, some -wider; as, for example, Unter den Linden. - -That you may see for yourself this noble highway of the capital, allow -me to conduct you across. "When I speak of horses imagine that you -see them." Just suppose we are crossing together, and because of the -many vehicles and people on horseback, I will take you by the hand, -so. We have been admiring the trees and flowers in front of Prince -Blücher's palace, one of a series of palaces on each side of the street -near the Brandenburg Gate; they stand back from the pavements, and -have extensive flower-gardens in front, the only separation between -these and the very wide pavement being a low hedge of delicate, almost -thornless, magenta roses. You remember--or did I tell you?--with what -genial pride the old gardener, yesterday, told us that this same -was a perpetual bloomer,--summer and winter,--that it was a German -creation,--the development of its efflorescent peculiarity having -been begun away back; but that he himself it was, by crossing it -with _Rosa centifolia_, that had added the apex to the temple of its -perfection,--namely, duplication of petals, diminution of stamen, -heliotropism,--turning its face towards the sun, by which acquired -habit the winter bloom has become as profuse as that of summer. - -Well, we have been looking over this two-foot-high blooming hedge-row, -and have decided to cross to the gardens on the other side; so now hold -my hand and fear not, for life is sacred in the Fatherland, and we are -under the protection of the police. You see that the gardens in front -of the palaces used by the nobility and foreign ministers are about -as wide as Broad Street, the pavement for the public forty feet more. -We leave this and cross a strip as wide as an ordinary avenue, paved -with square blocks,--this is exclusively for wagons, drays, and all -vehicles of trade,--then a row of trees; after this we cross a band -about the same width, but as smooth and as hard as granite; this is -for pleasure-carriages only; then another row of trees; then a road -the width of an ordinary street, which is neither concrete nor Belgian -blocks, but a mixture of loam and sand, soft enough to be easy for -horses' feet, and damp enough to keep it from being converted into -clouds of dust; this is used by equestrians only, and a beautiful -sight the lady and gentleman riders present every afternoon on their -way to the park. We cross this soft way, and are in a wide promenade, -perhaps eighty feet broad, arched over with the branches of lofty oaks, -chestnuts, butternuts, lindens, beeches, and the like,--originally -lindens only, hence the name "Under the Lindens,"--with elegant seats -arranged along its entire length, on one of which we will sit down -and rest, for we are half-way across the avenue, or rather series of -avenues, which up here is flanked with lofty palaces and gardens of -delight. On one side you go to, on the other you come from, the park. -The lower part of this multiple avenue, instead of palaces and gardens, -has the most magnificent residences, shops, and hotels that I have ever -seen.... - -Germany seems one great family with no foreign help, where each member -recognizes and respects the position of the other, and are united in -the training of their children and the development of their own minds; -but not as though, like other people, they had to _resolve_ to be good; -this, as a matter of course; virtue appears to come to them by nature. -Everything they do seems a pleasure rather than a task, as if they said -that industry and thrift are essential to happiness, labor the prelude -to enjoyment; besides, they are never in a hurry. They take an hour -to drink a glass of beer, and talk of heaven, earth, and the waters -under the earth while sipping it. The gesticulating German, outside of -books, I have not yet seen; what they do they do well; they enjoy doing -it, and they do it that it may be a joy to others, and it always is. -This feeling enters into every service, from the making of a pin to -the concocting of a new system of theology, or a free-and-easy way of -getting to heaven; and then the universality of culture that prevails, -thanks to the standing army and the omnipresent public schools,--they -have private schools too, to be sure, but then these snob and -denominational affairs, unlike with us, just as the public schools, -are under strict _governmental inspection_, and their managers are not -permitted to teach what they please, unless what they please is for the -good of the pupils, the country, and the people at large. It is because -of this national surveillance that the private schools of Germany are -said to be as good as those under the direct control of the government. - -Familiarizing the pupil with music and the natural sciences is an -important part of German education, especially the study of _animal -organisms_, "birds, beasts, and reptiles," as we used to say of -Goldsmith's "Animated Nature." As an illustration at hand, since -sitting here in front of a garden near the Kaiser's palace, putting -upon record the above traits, a workman watering a lawn noticed me -looking up for a moment, just as he had enveloped the top of a lofty -spruce with spray. Of course, as the sun was shining, and each particle -of water becoming a prism, the disintegration of the white rays of -light resulted in a rainbow, curved partially around the trees. I look -at it, racking my memory at the same time for the word I need; he sees -I observe it and am pleased; he nods, and says, "_Schön_" (beautiful); -I reply, "Very." In a few moments, dragging the hose towards me, -throwing the water over a weeping birch, and making another rainbow, he -points towards it. "Our Herr Professor Helmholtz," pointing towards the -University, "says there are but three prismatic colors, and yet I can -now see seven, can't you?--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, -and violet; and I suppose a Frenchman could see seventy, for it is -said that they can see colors where other people only see shades." He -continues to water the grass, and I, having found my missing link, to -write. - - [Dr. Woods next describes what is to be seen within the - German beer-gardens,--the music, the decorum, the absence of - intoxication, the intelligence manifested in conversation. Then to - out-door life again.] - -Other traits. Houses have curtains on the outside of windows as well -as on the inside, and windows are nearly always double, with a space -of about four inches between. They open outward and inward, instead of -up and down; when closed, all noise is shut out. Indeed, there is no -noise on even the busiest streets, which are so smooth that no sounds -are heard but those of horses' feet; no screaming of papers or wares -of any sort is permitted, and no chimes! Then, again, people in the -most ordinary circumstances have fine lace curtains and beautifully -woven fabrics hanging around in graceful festoons, portières, statuary, -pictures, flowers, birds, and books; often the most beautiful things -in the way of prints are pinned frameless on the walls; there are -beautiful marquetry floors, but no carpets. - -Again, the orchards throughout the country are without protecting -walls, just as farms are. At each corner a stone marks the division, -and when ploughing, a couple of reversed furrows from stone to stone -serves both as a division and promenade, and crops are not only grown -to this line of demarcation, but grow over it, so that at a distance -there is no division at all. I have seen branches bent to the ground -with ripe fruit, and children walking under them to _buy_ from an -old woman or man across the way, never apparently even thinking of -molesting what is not theirs. This is one of the things that fill you -with wonder. In Weimar, between the Goethe House and the principal -school, a long branch _loaded with red apples_ hung over the way, -almost touching my head, and yet it was under this that hundreds of -children passed daily to and from school. - -A pleasant custom in Berlin, as in London, is window-gardening--windows -constructed so on purpose, the glass projecting a couple of feet beyond -the side of the house, forming attractive ferneries, wherein are -contained various sorts of cryptogami, as well as flowers in bloom, -needing but little attention, as the moisture evaporating from the -soil, etc., having no way of escaping, is taken up by the leaves. Also -at the entrance to houses I have noticed beautiful dwarf apple-trees, -with glossy leaves, and bearing an abundance of diminutive fruit. -On one of these little trees, yesterday, I counted fifty-three ripe -apples. These on the pavement day and night, and just the height of -a boy's hand in passing, notwithstanding what I had observed about -fenceless orchards, made me suspect them apples of Sodom, or they -certainly would have been plucked. To satisfy curiosity, I called on a -florist having some for sale, and found that they tasted as good as -they looked. I have concluded, therefore, that if Adam and Eve had been -Germans there would have been no Fall; and I know no race doing more -towards having Eden restored than these same people. - - - - -A RAMBLE IN PRUSSIA. - -STEPHEN POWERS. - - [Country life in Prussia is well delineated in the following - description of a journey on foot from Wittenberg to Potsdam. It - is not an alluring picture, and brings us into the presence of - a stolid generation such as would scarcely be looked for in the - rural districts of that active realm.] - - -Once out of Wittenberg, I journeyed on along the ancient royal highway, -between the ever-welcome colonnades of stately poplars, planted that -the royal head might never be scorched by the too ardent sun of summer. -The sun shone as brightly as it ever does in blue old Germany, but what -a weary, weary land to my eyes, on the pitiless cold May-day, was that -sandy champaign, almost utterly naked in its hopeless sterility, and -diversified only now and then by a bald-headed knoll, swelling broadly -up with a thousand acres! So indescribably blue and cold and pinched -was it, without any vegetation but a forest of cultivated pines, which, -after a quarter of a century, had struggled up with their wretched, -scraggy stems only fifteen feet! The very soil looked blue and thin -and skinny, and the rye looked blue, and so meagre and chilled that it -could not conceal the ground or the knees of the men who plucked up the -weeds. - -All the dismal immensity of this fenceless, hedgeless, houseless waste, -except an acre of rye in a thousand, was given up to the sorrel, the -lichens, and the quitches. The very air seemed poor and attenuated like -thin skimmed milk. All the houses were clustered together in little -villages far apart, where they huddled close, as if for warmth; the -dead, dull peat-fires gave forth no cheerful wreathing smoke; and in -all the desolate waste there was scarcely a soul abroad. The faces -of the yellow-haired children, who were occasionally watching some -geese, were mottled with blue and purple and goose-pimples, and if a -man ventured abroad to pluck up weeds in the stunted rye, which seemed -to shiver with a kind of rustling, starved chilliness, his hands were -bluer than the air. So utterly worn out, so bluish-wan and starved with -the lapse of untold centuries, seemed all the earth and the air of that -Germany which I looked out upon on that dismal May forenoon. - -Lamartine says the blood of the Germans is blue, but that of these -Brandenburgers must certainly be sour. - -It will readily be believed that I did not undertake a pilgrimage -through this inexpressibly bleak region in pursuit of fine landscapes. -I wished only to visit, by their own firesides and in their own fields, -that sturdy, grim, Puritanic race of Brandenburgers, to whom Prussia is -primarily indebted for all her greatness. - -It was weary hours after the middle of the day before the spires of -Wittenberg disappeared below a sand-hill. The afternoon was far spent, -and I began to cast longing glances ahead in search of an eligible -tavern, for I thoroughly agree with Dr. Johnson that "there is nothing -which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is -produced as by a good tavern." - -I had come up with a thumping lout of a young peasant, who strode along -with his "clouted shoon," measuring about a yard and a quarter at a -stride, whose voice blubbered and gurgled up out of his stomach in such -a manner that the fierce wind whisked it away, and left me nothing but -an occasional horse-laugh (whereupon I would also laugh, though I had -not the remotest notion of the matters whereof he was discoursing); and -by his advice I passed several inns, though I found afterwards, to my -sorrow, he was looking only for the cheapest. At last we came to one -which was meaner than all the others, but I was too weary to go a step -farther. It bore the pretentious name of the inn of the Green Linden. -It was a mere hovel, built of cobbles and mud-stuccoed, tawny-yellow -within, greenish-yellowish without, with an earthen floor and benches -around the walls. Above the door were twined some sprigs of Whitsuntide -birch, which I had seen during the day on the peasants' hats, wagons, -and everywhere. - -Around a pine table were eight or ten men and hobbledehoys, each with a -_Schoppen_ of terribly stiff beer before him, and most of them smoking -the long goosenecked porcelain pipe, while four of them were intent on -cards. The men were hard, gristly-faced, sour-blooded fellows, who only -muttered now and then a monosyllable, which I could seldom understand; -while the youths looked on with the most vacuous, loamy countenances -imaginable. So intent were they on the miserable game that they gave -no heed to our arrival, and when I endeavored to ascertain who was the -landlord, I received only a blank stare or a gesture of impatience. I -sat down and waited, and I confess for a few minutes my enthusiasm for -the Prussian people fell absolutely to the freezing-point. - -After about half an hour the landlord seemed to be disturbed in his -mind by a suspicion that I was a foreigner, drew near and ascertained -that fact, whereupon he brought me some vile black coffee and some good -wheaten _Semmel_, and then returned to his occupation. The players -continued at their game far into the night, and though the stakes were -of the most trifling nature, often only a half-penny, they displayed a -fierce and obstinate eagerness which was surprising. They would rise up -on their feet, lean far across the table and smite it with appalling -violence. When they at last desisted, and were preparing to disperse, -they collected about me, and, finding I was an American, listened to me -awhile with a kind of drowsy, immovable passiveness, while the smoke -lazily swirled above their heads. Unlike the lively Swabians and the -joyous drinkers of the sunny wine of Freiburg, they scarcely asked any -questions or expressed any interest beyond grunting their assent or -wonder. - -At last the host and myself were left alone, and then he proceeded to -prepare the only couch he could offer by shaking down on the floor a -bundle of rye straw. He tucked me all up, as if I were one of his young -_Buben_, shook the hand which I reached out from the straw, and left -me with a cheerful _Schlafen Sie wohl_. In the adjoining room a lusty -fellow stretched himself on a bench, pillowed his head on a portentous -loaf of rye bread, not having even inserted that useful article of diet -into a pillow-case, and there he snored--_stertitque supinus_--the -livelong night in a tone so audible that I was greatly tempted to rise -and introduce a wisp of rye straw judiciously into his windpipe. - -When I sat up on my couch next morning, pulling the straw out of my -hair, I said to myself, like Richard, "Oh, I have passed a miserable -night!" I had not had any "fearful dreams," nor, for that matter, any -sleep, that I was aware of; neither had I any "ugly sights," because it -was too dark to see them, but I felt them. They appeared to be greatly -rejoiced to be permitted, once in their lives, to extract blood out of -a man's veins instead of beer. - -The next day I passed through spectacles of the most wonderfully minute -and unceasing toil. In an artificial pine-forest, where the trees -were become too large to be ploughed, there were men on their knees -plucking the weeds between the rows; others in long sheep-skin cloaks -were weeding fields of flax; a woman was culling in a royal forest -the merest sprigs and leaf-stems for fuel; others along the roadside -snipped off the close, short fleece of grass, and carried it in mighty -bundles on their backs for the stalled cattle. Here a stalwart yeoman -lazily leans his chin on his crook, guarding three sheep as they nimbly -nibble! Peasant-women, going to the village to hawk their little -produce, shuffled along with their wooden shoes, making a prodigious -dust, chatting cheerfully with their stolid lords, though they were -bowed down nearly to the earth beneath the intolerable weight of -vegetables. And the infamous brutal tyrants trudged along beside the -poor women, never even offering to touch the burdens with so much as -one of their fingers! - -I think the Prussians will certainly never "witch the world with noble -horsemanship." The horses are splendid creatures for farm-animals, -strong and glossy and round, superb as the finest Clydesdales; but the -owners seem to have no confidence upon their backs, and little skill -in guiding them in vehicles. The Prussians are by no means a chivalric -race, in the etymologic sense. In all my travels in Prussia I have yet -to see a civilian on horseback outside of a city, and even there it -is usually only officers who prance through the streets. The immense -superiority of the Hungarian cavalry over the Prussian was abundantly -demonstrated in the Bohemian campaign until the magnificent infantry -battalions turned the scale; and the dreaded "three Uhlans" of Edmond -About were far oftener Poles than Prussians. - -It is said that the potentates of Germany, when paying a visit of -ceremony to a foreign sovereign, always take with them a favorite -charger or two to whose paces they are accustomed, that there may be -no blunders or embarrassments in the reviews through their unskilful -horsemanship. These poor peasants evince little more confidence -in their skill than do their sovereigns, and the outrageously -unprofessional and awkward manner in which they handle the noble brutes -would enrage a lover of handsome horses beyond endurance. To save toll -at the gates, they not unfrequently hitch one horse to a two-horse -wagon, so that the pole bruises and thumps his legs in a shameful -manner. And then to hitch the head of one gallant horse to the tail of -another! - -In the village of Beelitz I had an amusing adventure, resulting from my -ignorance of the customs of the country, which illustrates a certain -phase of Prussian society. Upon entering the village, I began to cast -about me for some eligible tavern wherein I might take my customary -mid-day repast. The first one I approached was the inn of the Black -Horse, but there were rather too many yellow-haired, unwashed children -and dingy geese about it; besides, the sign hung down from one corner. -The only other inn was the White Eagle, which was scarcely any better, -but it was Hobson's choice. It was an extremely small and unpretentious -edifice, though with walls nearly a man's stature in thickness, -and I could overhear the appetizing clink of knives on plates just -inside the door; so, in doubt whether it was really a public tavern -or not, I rapped. Only the clink of the dinner-knives responded. The -operation was repeated with a certain amount of vigor. There was a -kind of objurgatory remark made within, and in a moment the door was -opened about two feet, and an immense brawny arm, bared to the elbow, -was extended around the edge of the door. In the fingers there was -clutched a bunch of some substance which appeared to solicit my closer -inspection. A single glance revealed to me the interesting fact that it -was bread: it was undoubtedly bread. - -This was an unexpectedly prompt response to my desires, and presented -an opportunity for the acquisition of a limited amount of provisions -cheap, but one of which my conscience would not permit me to avail -myself. However, I scrutinized the bread with quite a lively interest. -It was manifestly good bread, but was now somewhat dry: indeed, I may -say it was altogether devoid of moisture. Presently the hand holding -this article of diet executed a sudden movement of impatience, or as -it were of beckoning or blandishment, as if I were expected to take -this bread and masticate the same. But as I still hesitated, the hand -was suddenly withdrawn into the tavern, there was a very audible -remark made inside, and then the brawny hostess owning the hand -presented herself at the door, and immediately appeared to have made an -astounding discovery. Blushes and embarrassment! Stammerings! Mutual -explanations! Ample and shamefaced apologies! A substantial dinner -of boiled beef and cabbage! _Moral:_ In a country where beggars are -numerous never knock at the tavern door. - - - - -THE SALT-MINES OF WIELICZKA.[A] - -J. ROSS BROWNE. - - [J. Ross Browne, author of "Yusef," "Crusoe's Island," "The Land - of Thor," etc., is well known for the humorous vein of many of - his productions. Such is the case with "An American Family in - Germany," from which we make the following selection. It is at - once humorous and instructive. The extract given, however, is - simply descriptive, having too much of interest in itself to need - any adventitious aid. The mine described may serve in a measure - as an artificial counterpart to our natural Mammoth Cave. Descent - into the mine was made by means of a long rope with canvas straps - for seats. There is a stairway cut in solid rock-salt, but it is - wet and slippery, and the rope is usually chosen in preference.] - -[Footnote A: From "An American Family in Germany." Copyright, Harper & -Brothers.] - - -In a few minutes we touched bottom, or rather, by something like -instinct, the machine stopped just as we reached the base of the shaft, -and allowed us to glide off gently on the firm earth. We are now at the -first stage of our journey, having descended something over two hundred -feet. The ramifications of the various tunnels are so intricate and -extensive that they may be said to resemble more the streets of a large -city than a series of excavations made in the bowels of the earth. -These subterranean passages are named after various kings and emperors, -and diverge in every direction, opening at intervals into spacious -caverns and apartments, and undermining the country for a distance of -several miles. Some of them pass entirely under the town of Wieliczka. -In general they are supported by massive beams of wood, and where the -overhanging masses of salt require a still stronger support they are -sustained by immense columns of the original stratum. In former times -almost all the passages were upheld by pillars of salt, but wherever -it has been practicable these have been removed and beams of timber -substituted. The first stratum consists of an amalgam of salt and -dark-colored clay. Deeper down come alternate strata of marl, pebbles, -sand, and blocks of crystal salt. The inferior or green salt is nearest -to the surface; the crystal, called _schilika_, lies in the deeper -parts. - -From the subordinate officer sent by the Inspector-General to accompany -us I learned many interesting particulars in reference to the manner of -procuring the salt. He also told some amusing legends of the prominent -places, and furnished me with some statistics, which, if true, are -certainly wonderful. For instance, to traverse the various passages -and chambers embraced within the four distinct stories of which the -mines consist, and see every object of interest, would require three -weeks. The aggregate length of the whole is four hundred English miles; -the greatest depth yet reached is two thousand three hundred feet. -The number of workmen employed in the various operations underground, -exclusive of those above, is upward of a thousand. The amount of salt -annually dug out is two hundred millions of pounds, which, at the -average market value, would be worth ten millions of gulden. Immense -as this yield is, it is inconsiderable, taking into view the unlimited -capacity of the mines. With proper machinery and a judicious investment -of labor the quantity of salt that might be excavated is almost beyond -conjecture. - -It is natural to suppose that the air in these vast subterranean -passages must be impure, and consequently deleterious to health. Such, -however, does not appear to be the case. It is both dry and pure, and, -so far as I could judge by breathing it, not in the least oppressive. -The miners are said to be remarkable for longevity. Several of them, -according to the guide, have worked in the mines for forty years, -and have never been sick a day. The equability of the temperature is -probably conducive to health. Only a few degrees of variation are -shown by the thermometer between summer and winter. It is true that in -some of the deepest recesses, which are not sufficiently ventilated, -hydrogen gas occasionally collects. In one instance it caught fire, and -cost the loss of many lives, but precautions have since been taken to -prevent similar accidents. - -I was greatly impressed by the profound silence of these vast caverns. -When we stood still the utter absence of sound was appalling. The -falling of a pin would have been a relief. Not even the faintest -vibration in the air was perceptible. No desert could be more silent, -no solitude more awful. I stood apart from the guides and lamp-bearers -in a separate vault, at the distance of a few hundred feet, in order -that I might fully appreciate this profound inertion, and it really -seemed as if the world were no more. - -From some of these tunnels we emerged into open caverns, where a -few workmen were employed at their dreary labors. I was surprised -that there were not more to be seen, but was informed that they are -scattered in small parties through miles of earth, so that the number -is not apparent to the casual visitor. As we approached the places -where they are at work the dull clicking of the picks and hammers -produced a singular effect through the vast solitudes, as if the -gnomes, supposed to inhabit gloomy pits, were busily engaged at their -diabolical arts. - -We came suddenly upon one group of workmen, under a shelving ledge, who -were occupied in detaching masses of crystallized salt from a cleft in -which they worked. They were naked to the middle, having nothing on but -coarse trousers and boots, and wrought with their crowbars and picks -by the light of a few grease-lamps held by grimy little boys, with -shaggy heads,--members, no doubt, of the same subterranean family. - -Some of the men were lying on their backs, punching away with -tremendous toil at the ragged masses of salt overhead, their heads, -faces, and bodies glittering with the showers of salt grit that fell -upon them, while others stood up to their armpits in dark holes delving -into the lower crevices. Seeing our lights, they stopped to gaze at -us. Was it possible they were human beings, these bearded, shaggy, -grimy-looking monsters? Surely, if so, they well represented the -infernal character of the place. Never upon earth (the surface of it I -mean) had I seen such a monstrous group,--shocks of hair all powdered -with salt, glaring eyeballs overhung by white lashes flashing in the -fitful blaze of lamps, brawny forms glittering with crystal powder, -and marked by dark currents of sweat. No wonder I stared at them with -something akin to distrust. They might be monsters in reality, and take -a sudden notion to hurl me into one of their infernal pits by way of -pastime, in which case the only consolation would be, that where there -was such an abundance of salt there would be no difficulty about the -preservation of my remains. - -After all, there was something sad in the condition of these poor -wretches, shut out from the glorious light of day, immured in deep dark -pits, hundreds of feet underground, rooting, as it were, for life in -the bowels of the earth. Surely the salt with which other men flavor -their food is gathered with infinite toil, and mingled with bitter -sweat! - -[Illustration: INNSBRUCK, THERESA STREET] - -Yet, strange as it may seem, I was informed by the guide that these -workmen are so accustomed to this kind of life that they prefer it to -any other. By the rules of the Directory they are divided into gangs, -as on board a ship. The working gang is not permitted to remain under -ground more than eight hours; it is then relieved. The current belief -that some of them live in the mines is not sustained by the facts. In -former times it is quite probable that such was the case. At present -the administration of affairs is more humane than it was in an earlier -period in the history of the mines. The operatives are free to quit -whenever they please, as in any private establishment. Plenty of others -are always ready to take their places. The pay is good, averaging from -thirty kreutzers to a florin a day. Whenever it is practicable the -work is done by the piece. Each man receives so much for a specified -result. Good workmen can make two or three hundred florins a year. The -salt is gotten out in various forms, according to the depth of the -stratum. Where it is mixed with an amalgam of hard earth it is cut into -cylindrical blocks, and exported in that form to Russia. The finer -qualities are crushed, and packed in barrels for exportation to various -parts of Prussia and Austria.... - -After a long and interesting journey through various subterranean -streets and caverns, we emerged into the chamber of Michelawic, which -is of such vast proportions that it is difficult for the eye to -penetrate its mysterious gloom. A magnificent chandelier, cut out of -the crystal salt, hangs from the ceiling. On grand occasions this is -brilliantly lighted, and rich strains of music reverberate through the -chamber. Nothing can equal the stupendous effects of a full band of -brass instruments performing in this vast cavern. The sounds are flung -back from wall to wall, and float upward, whirling from ledge to ledge, -till the ear loses them in the distance; then down they fall again with -a volume and fulness almost supernatural. It is impossible to determine -from what quarter they emanate, whether from above or below, so rich, -varied, and confusing is the reverberation. Our guide, in a fine mellow -voice, sang us a mining song, to test the effects, and I must say I -never heard such music before. Indeed, so inspiring was it that I could -not refrain from a snatch of my own favorite melody,-- - - "Oh, California! you're the land for me!" - -And when I heard it repeated by a thousand mysterious spirits of -the air, and hurled back at me from each crystallized point of the -cavern, the effect was so fine that I was struck perfectly dumb with -astonishment. Lablache never made such music in his life, and no other -singer of my acquaintance would be worthy of attempting it. - -Soon after leaving the chamber of Michelawic we passed over a series of -wooden foot-ways and corridors, extending a distance of fifteen hundred -feet, through a great variety of apartments and rugged passages, named -after the royal families of Poland and Austria. There were courts, and -imperial rooms, and obelisks; chapels, shrines, saints, and martyrs; -long rows of niches, containing statues of the old kings of Poland, -all cut out of the solid salt. The design and execution of some of -these were admirable, and the effect was gratifying, as well from the -artistic skill displayed as the peculiarity of the material. - -Descending to a second stage by means of a rough wooden stairway, -which winds around the walls of an immense cavern of irregular shape, -we wandered through a series of tunnels, opening occasionally into -chambers of prodigious height and dimensions, till our guides announced -that we were approaching the Infernal Lake. The lamp-bearers in front -held up their lamps, and, peering through the fitful gloom, I could -discern, some distance in advance, a sheet of water, the surface of -which glistened with a supernatural light. Arriving at the edge of -this mysterious lake, which might well pass for the river Styx, a boat -approached from the opposite shore, drawn by means of a rope. Numerous -dark-looking imps were at work dragging it through the water. The sides -rippled in the sluggish pool, and a hollow reverberation sounded from -the dark walls of the cavern. - -A gate-way was thrown open, and we descended some steps and entered -the boat. It was a square, flat-bottomed craft, decorated with fancy -colors, containing seats on each side, and capable of accommodating a -large party. We took our places, and at a signal from the guide the -boat moved slowly and silently over the dark depths, which seemed -almost of inky blackness in the gloom. - -As we thus floated on the infernal pool the solitude was awful. I -could not but shudder at the thought that we were nearly five hundred -feet beneath the surface of the earth. The dismal black walls, roughly -hewn from the solid stratum of salt and marl; the tremendous heights -overhead, and the apparent great depth underneath; the fitful glare of -the torches, the rough, grimy faces of the attendants, and their wild -costumes, gave a peculiarly infernal aspect to the scene. It was weird -and sombre beyond conception. - -We stopped a while in the middle of the lake to notice the strange -effect of the plashing of the waters, when disturbed by a rocking -motion of the boat, against the massive walls on either side. The -reverberation was fearfully deep, rolling and swelling from point -to point, till lost in the labyrinth of shafts and crevices far in -the distance. Around and above us were innumerable ruffed points -jutting out from the solid stratum, and archways reaching across deep -fissures, and beams of timber braced against overhanging masses of -rock. The sombre hue of the toppling canopy and rugged walls was -relieved only by the points of crystal salt upon which the lights -glistened; mysterious shadows flitted in the air; and pale, greenish -scintillations shot out of the gloom. It was, in truth, a subterranean -universe of darkness, made visible by torches of grease and stars -of salt, with an infernal sea in its midst, and inhabited by a very -doubtful set of people, half earthly and wholly Satanic in appearance. - -Continuing our voyage, after some minutes we approached a point beyond -which all was an unfathomable wilderness of jagged walls and yawning -caverns. Suddenly a blaze of blue fire burst from the gloom, throwing -a ghastly hue over the crystal pinnacles, then faded slowly away. The -guides now covered their lights, and we were left in utter darkness. -Groans and cries were heard in the air, and plashing sounds echoed from -the shores of the infernal lake. As these ceased a terrific report -broke upon the stillness, and out of the gloom arose a blaze of red -fire, gradually assuming shape till it stood before us in the form of -a magnificent triumphal arch, bearing upon its front the illuminated -motto,-- - - =Glück-Auf!= - -signifying, "Good luck to you!" or, literally, "Luck upon it!" the -famous greeting of the miners. Under this triumphal arch we passed -slowly into an immense chamber, of such vast proportions and rugged -outline that the eye failed to penetrate its profound depths. Then -from various corridors, high among the conglomerate crags, descended -mysterious voices, crying, one after another, "Glück-auf! Glück-auf! -Glück-auf!" till the reverberation united them all in a grand chorus, -so deep, so rich, varied, and powerful that mortal ears could encompass -no more. Was it real? Could these be human voices and earthly sounds, -or were they the distempered fantasy of a dream? - -At a signal from our guide the chorus ceased, and shooting fires -broke out from the toppling heights, and the whole grand chamber, in -all its majesty, was illuminated with showers of colored stars. The -inverted arches of fire in the water--the reflected images of rocks, -corridors and precipices--the sudden contrasts of light and gloom--the -scintillations of the crystal salt points--formed a scene of miraculous -and indescribable grandeur. Unable to control my enthusiasm, I shouted -at the top of my voice, "Glück-auf! Glück-auf!" The cry was caught up -by the guides and torch-bearers; it arose and was echoed from rock to -rock by the chorus singers, till, like the live thunder, it leaped - - "the rattling crags among." ... - -After visiting many chapels and shrines cut out of the solid salt, -we emerged into the Chamber of Letow, the magnificent saloon of -Entertainment, where, on grand occasions, such as the visit of the -Emperor or any member of the imperial family, the whole of this vast -chamber is brilliantly illuminated. Six splendid chandeliers, carved -from the crystal salt, hang from the ceiling. An alcove at the upper -end, approached from a series of steps, contains a throne of green and -ruby-colored salt upon which the Emperor sits. Transparent pictures -and devices are arranged in the background to give additional splendor -to the imperial boudoir, and the crystallizations with which the -walls glitter reflect the many colored lights with a dazzling effect. -The door-ways, statues, and columns are decorated with flowers and -evergreens; the floors are sprinkled with salts of various hues; the -galleries are festooned with flags; and the whole chamber is aglow with -transparencies and brilliant lights.... - -Although the mass of the stratum of which this grand chamber is -composed is of a darkish color, yet the very darkness of the -ground-work serves all the better to show by contrast the glittering -points of salt. The effect is inconceivably rich. The arched roof; the -high rugged walls, hewn out of the solid rock; the marks of the pick -and chisel visible in furrows all over, all sparkling with saline gems, -give the whole cavern the appearance of being studded with diamonds. -It reminds one of the grottoes under the sea described by Gulnare in -the Arabian Nights. When it is considered, too, that all this splendor -and these festivities--the illuminated galleries and alcoves, the -chandeliers and decorations, the vast concourse of guests, the music, -the dancing, the wild and fanciful costumes--are five hundred feet -below the surface of the earth, it is no exaggeration to say that the -spectacle is unparalleled. Nothing to equal it in a similar way can -be seen in any other part of the world. We next descended by a series -of stairways to the third story. This differs but little from those -already described, except that the deeper one goes the wilder and -more rugged become the ramifications of the mines. At one point in -our journey we entered a spacious chamber some eighty or one hundred -feet high. Here the guide paused, and in an impressive manner struck -his stick against the floor. When the reverberation had ceased he -announced the important circumstance that we now stood directly under -the Infernal Lake! "Ya! mein Herr," said he, "that wonderful lake, over -which we sailed in a boat not half an hour ago, is over our heads, and -if it should break through it would drown every one of us!" "Rather an -unpleasant pickle," I thought, but could not translate the pun into -German, and so let it pass. - -It appears that the waters of this lake found a vent at one time, and -deluged a large portion of the mines, and those of the panic-stricken -operatives who were distant from the main shafts communicating with -the surface of the earth were suffocated while attempting to escape. -Others, in their fright, fled at random, and, falling into deep pits, -were dashed to atoms. In 1644 another destructive fire took place. All -the wood-work was seized by the devouring flames, men and horses were -roasted to death, and many of the workmen who escaped subsequently died -of their injuries. This was one of the most fearful conflagrations on -record. It lasted an entire year. The chambers and tunnels, deprived -of their support, fell together in many places, causing immense -destruction to the works. Even a considerable portion of the town of -Wieliczka sank into the earth, and was engulfed in the general ruin. - - - - -THE JUMPING PROCESSION AT ECHTERNACH. - -M. OGLE. - - [The modern enlightenment of Europe is a class enlightenment - only. The mass of many populations still dwell in the shadow - of mediæval superstition. As one example of this we append the - following description of a curious religious mania, a relic from - the centuries of mediævalism. The party of travellers with whom - we have to deal had seen all there was to see in Trier (Treves), - and the suggestion was made to go see the jumping procession at - Echternach, which would come off on Whit-Tuesday. An expedition - thither was accordingly organized.] - - -Our party was to consist of three carriage loads, and our escort were -all to be _en civile_, and this last determination, I may remark, was, -to a Prussian officer, a very weighty one. A Prussian officer, be it -known, is always in uniform; the government do not hide away the army -that fights their battles, protects their soil, and upholds their -honor, for fear of wounding the susceptibilities and irritating the -nerves of the working classes; the country is proud of its army, and -the army is proud of its uniform, and, as a rule, a Prussian officer -always wears it. On this occasion, however, the uniform was to be -doffed, and the extent and style of our friends' respective possessions -_en civile_, and their appearance under the metamorphosis, became a -very important item in the general arrangements. Some gloried in the -perfection of their projected "get up;" one or two had never possessed -a suit of plain clothes since they entered the army; one had everything -but a hat; another, having come from Dusseldorf on leave, was incapable -of the transformation; still, with this one exception, all were looking -forward to appearing, for one day, as civilians. - -At a quarter to five on Whit-Tuesday we started in our carriage to seek -a "topper" for our host and relative, Herr V. Hartstein Hochstein, four -of his brother officers having generously promised him the required -article. Our first venture was an unlucky one; the borrowed hat would -not remain on Hartstein's head, and though we made every possible -effort to stretch it with feet and knees, our efforts were unavailing, -and we had to try again. The second friend acknowledged that he had -recklessly promised what he was incapable of performing; a third -passed out a hat of indifferent color, and which, on trial, at once -extinguished our friend as far as his coat collar. In fear and dread, -and with incessant reference to our watches, we drove to our fourth and -last hope. Here a hat, carefully wrapped in a number of the _Cölnische -Zeitung_, was handed to us, and with a little manoeuvring we settled -that it might do. Having "requisitioned" two colored bandanas from a -friend who was getting himself up for the expedition with the most -elaborate care, Hartstein put his head into our hands, and by dint -of wrapping, and twisting, and folding, the hat was firmly settled -in its place, without other inconvenience than the corner of a red -pocket-handkerchief occasionally falling over his nose, and another -corner permanently hanging over his left ear. - -But these were comparative trifles; we reached the fine old Moselle -Bridge, not much behind time, found our friends awaiting us, and -started. This bridge, one of the many Roman monuments with which this -strange old city abounds, was built in the reign of Augustus; only a -portion of the massive foundation, and a few of the grand original -pillars formed of enormous blocks of basalt, and fastened together by -huge iron clamps, now remain. In all probability the bridge would still -be standing in its integrity had it not been for "the most civilized -nation of modern Europe," who did their best, under their great king -Louis XIV., to destroy this magnificent memorial of old world times. -The ruined arches were restored and the bridge partially rebuilt by one -of the Prince Electors in 1717, and in spite of its restoration, it is -even now worthy of the venerable city to which it belongs. - -Crossing the bridge, we turned to the right, and passing the village -of Pallien, soon reached the foot of a spur of the Eifel range, -a mountainous tract in the Province of Lower Rhine, extending -from Coblenz, through Trier and Metz, into France. On these Eifel -mountains are many extinct volcanoes; the soil is only suited for -the pine-forests which cover their sides; and the dirty, rough, and -poverty-stricken look of the villagers among the scattered and desolate -hamlets marks them unmistakably as charcoal-burners. - -After literally winding our way through this wild scenery for more -than an hour, we suddenly came upon the lovely valley of the Sauer; so -lovely that it is said to have attracted Willibrod by its beauty to -found his Benedictine monastery on the river's banks; beautiful indeed -it is, with its wooded hills and cultivated slopes; and beautiful -it must have been so to have enthralled a worn and weary monk and -missionary in the eighth century. - -But before entering the valley I must relate a slight incident that -occurred, as it especially characterizes a social phase in Prussia. -We were anxiously toiling up a steep incline in single file, not even -daring to rest our horses, for fear they should not be able to hold up -the carriages, when a sudden turn showed us a small public-house at the -top of the hill, in front of which sat a young _Fähnrich_ (ensign). -Two large carts laden with forage stood directly across the road, -occupying its entire width, and two troopers, looking remarkably the -worse for dirt, with pipes in their mouths, hands in their pockets, and -outstretched legs in the form of a reversed V, quietly contemplated our -struggling and perilous ascent. "In God's name," shouted the driver of -the first carriage, "make room for us up there; we cannot halt, and if -we cannot get on the level we shall roll backward, and all be killed." -No answer and no movement; we were becoming desperate. One of the -officers _en civile_, forgetting his present insignificance, put out -his head and shouted, "Move your carts, pigs, or I'll know the reason -why; would you see us all roll back to perdition?" "Roll away, holiday -burghers, roll away," contemptuously drawled out one of the chivalrous -troopers, "the royal forage is not going to move for you." - -Our situation was truly frightful; at that moment our Dusseldorf -friend, in his green uniform and sword, leaped out of the carriage, -dashed up the hill, applied the flat of his sword with unsparing vigor -to the backs of the astounded troopers, used a goodly amount of strong -language to the abashed ensign, and before we had time to begin our -backward descent the "royal" forage-carts were placed close up against -"the Public" in single file, and we were safely struggling to the top -of the hill. It is just possible, only just possible, that had I been -one of a party of "holiday burghers," I might not have been alive in -this year of grace to tell this tale. - -And now we near the stone bridge which brings us over the Sauer from -Prussia into Luxembourg; we are in plenty of time, but already feel -the atmosphere of the procession. The country round is all excitement; -groups of men and women in their holiday dresses are eagerly talking; -some are kneeling and devoutly praying by the way-side, others are -counting their beads and muttering their paternosters with careless -tongues and wandering eyes; the instant our carriages cross the bridge -we are thronged. "Oh! for the love of God," says a girl, "give me a -franc, or a ten-groschen piece, I don't care which, and I'll jump for -all the sins you have committed since last Monday was a week." "My -lord," says a man to one of our party, "five francs, and I'll jump to -the very cross for you without a halt, and cut you off all this year's -sins." "Dear madam," whined an old woman, "I'll never reach the big -crucifix, but I'll do a little jumping for you for a franc." I began -now to realize that there _is_ a jumping procession at Echternach. - -We had been most kindly invited by the colonel commanding at Echternach -to breakfast with him, and see the procession from his windows, which -overlook the best part of the town, and we naturally availed ourselves -of his courteous hospitality. - - [The shrine of St. Willibrod, at Echternach, has for centuries - been a place of pilgrimage, though the origin of the jumping mania - is not definitely known. There are several traditions having to - do with the cure of a pestilence by the saint. It is now believed - that the penalty for sin is remitted in proportion to the height - and strength of the jumping.] - -Breakfast is finished, and we take our places at the windows. The -procession has formed on the Prussian side of the stone bridge, a short -address has been delivered to the excited people, and in the distance -we hear the shrill sounds of the many-voiced instruments, and the -strange measured, musical tramp of the coming thousands. Headed by the -privileged Prussian parish of Warwieler, on they come, these simple -pilgrims, in columns of parishes, four abreast, and hand in hand, each -parish with its banners waving, and headed by its own musicians, for -every man who has played for money during the year is bound to give -his services on this occasion, and woe betide the man who fails to put -in an appearance. The strange dance consists of two steps forward with -the right foot and one step backward with the left, and is danced to a -very simple melody, and not one of the many thousands is out of time. -The wise ones literally _step_ the measure, and generally accomplish -the whole pilgrimage, which lasts about two hours and a half; but under -superstitious excitement the wise ones are in the minority, and when -the procession passed our windows, though never breaking their ranks or -losing time, the majority were springing in a state of mad excitement, -and, strange to say, the men were more "fast and furious" than the -women. One man in particular was leaping to such a degree that at every -step he sprang head and shoulders above the crowd, and as he had passed -along, people rushed out of their houses and plied him with cider, -which he invariably drank without losing his place or breaking time. - -I do not recollect seeing one boy in the procession, though there -may, of course, have been many, but there were hundreds of girls, all -quiet and orderly. To watch the different moods and manners of these -people as they passed on was a study well worth the journey; though -the haggard faces and the drawn parched blue lips of many of these -benighted jumpers were sad enough to behold. After looking at them -for some time from our windows, I suggested that we adjourn to the -church, and so witness the close of the procession. This suggestion -was not received enthusiastically, and only one friend was willing -to take compassion on my English curiosity. Off we started, but were -unfortunately obliged to pass through a break in the line, which we did -as decorously as possible, and were invited with outstretched hands by -those who still had breath to speak to join the procession and so wipe -off some of our sins; this we gratefully declined, and made rapidly for -the parish church. - -The church, being on an eminence, is reached by a flight of stone -steps, and we took up our position at their base. On, on, they came, -these strange pilgrims, with their unfaltering tramp and unflagging -melody; but, oh! in what thinned numbers and with what drawn faces. -In sight of the blessed goal how many of them drop! and the man I had -watched so anxiously fell prostrate at the bottom of the steps, looking -as if his soul had been driven by this frightful pilgrimage to seek -its rest in another world. But the strong and steady ones tramp up the -steps, spring round the high altar in wild ecstasy, and passing out at -the opposite door, jump round the tall crucifix, fall on their knees, -and all is over. - -We loitered for some time about the church, listening to the very -primitive remarks of the dispersing crowd, and wondering at its strange -infatuation; and as we returned to our little inn we passed many a -prostrate and exhausted form, some of whom could never again, alas, -know a day's strong health. After a great deal of pleasant talk, a -little eager discussion, and some very indifferent refreshment, I -started on an excursion through the town, having an idea that I should -find it _morne et silencieuse_, a sort of "city of the silent," after -all the excitement of the morning. But, lo! from every Gasthof and -Wirthshaus there came a sound of revelry; fiddles, flutes, cornets, -laughing, dancing, everywhere. Could it be possible? Boldly I insisted -upon my escort accompanying me into one of these petty inns, and going -with me into an upper room, whence the gay sounds proceeded. Behold! -the tearing galopade and the whirling waltz in one room, the bumping -polka in another; and the "Queen of the Wirthshaus" ball, around whom -the partners flocked and beseeched, was a stout young woman of about -thirty, whom I had seen solemnly and deliberately footing it in the -procession, without pause or hinderance from beginning to end. And all -these devoted dancers of the many public-houses around and about had -all been resolutely hopping away their sins from the bridge to the -shrine for more than two hours. - -Now let me record this wondrous fact. I went freely about through -the town; I walked into small inns and public-houses, as I dared not -have done in my own country; I was received politely everywhere; and -in all that hilarious community, through the whole of that licensed -holiday, from eight in the morning till late in the afternoon, I did -not see one case of drunkenness. Yes, these people of the Eifel and -the Sauer Valley and their surrounding towns may, perhaps, be debased -by superstition, but at any rate they are not like some prouder -communities I could name, thoroughly brutalized by drunkenness. - -Our remaining half-hours were spent in the pleasure-gardens, where we -fortified ourselves for the home journey with the inevitable coffee -and _Mai-brank_,--Turk's-head cake,--and sandwiches of brown and white -bread and butter. We started at seven on our return to Trier, merry -as we came, not one discordant note having jarred on the universal -harmony; and to one only of our party had there been anything like -a hitch in the perfect pleasure of the day, and this hitch was -occasioned by what, at the beginning of our journey, I had so foolishly -considered "a comparative trifle,"--the ever-recurring red silk -pocket-handkerchief from under Hartstein's hat and over his nose, which -sorely disturbed the equanimity and wounded the conjugal pride of his -devoted wife. With this exception, our expedition had been a complete -success; and I was indeed pleased to add to my travelling sketches the -Jumping Procession at Echternach. - - - - - -THE CAPITAL OF AUSTRIA. - -JOHN RUSSELL. - - [It is with Vienna as it appeared in 1825 that we here propose - to deal, in the language of a traveller of that period, who has - given a graphic account of what was then and there to be seen. - Russell's "Tour in Germany" is a sprightly and interesting work, - and the Vienna which he describes, while yet in its chrysalis - state, displayed many of the characteristics of the handsome and - attractive city of to-day. Our extract begins with a distant view - of the Austrian capital.] - - -On reaching the brow of the low eminences that border to the north -the valley through which the Danube takes his course, a magnificent -prospect burst at once upon the eye. A wide plain lay below, teeming -with the productions and habitations of industrious men. On the east, -towards Hungary, it was boundless, and the eye was obstructed only by -the horizon. To the westward rose the hills which, beginning in orchard -and vineyard, and terminating in forest and precipice, form, in this -direction, the commencement of the Alps; and to the south the plain -was bounded by the loftier summits of the Styrian mountains. Nearly -in the centre of the picture lay Vienna itself, extending on all sides -its gigantic arms; and the spire of the cathedral, high above every -other object, was proudly presenting its Gothic pinnacle to the evening -sun. From this point the inequality of the ground on which Vienna -stands strikes the eye at once, and the cathedral has the advantage of -occupying the highest point of the proper city; for not only the spire, -but nearly the whole body of the edifice, was distinctly seen above all -the other buildings of the city. - -Every one of the three hundred thousand inhabitants who crowd Vienna -and its interminable suburbs seems to reckon it a duty to make his life -a commentary. They are more devoted friends of joviality, pleasure, -and good living, and more bitter enemies of everything like care -or thinking,--a more eating, drinking, good-natured, ill-educated, -hospitable, and laughing people,--than any other of Germany, or, -perhaps, of Europe. Their climate and soil, the corn and wine with -which Heaven has blessed them, exempt them from any very anxious degree -of thought about their own wants; and the government, with its spies -and police, takes most effectual care that their gayety shall not be -disturbed by thinking of the public necessities, or studying for the -public weal. In regard to themselves, they are distinguished by a love -of pleasure; in regard to strangers, by great kindness and hospitality. -It is difficult to bring an Austrian to a downright quarrel with you, -and it is almost equally difficult to prevent him from injuring your -health by good living. - -The city itself is a splendid and a bustling one; no other German -metropolis comes near it in that crowded activity which distinguishes -our own capitals. It does not stand, strictly speaking, on the Danube, -which is a mile to the northward, and is separated from it by the -largest of all the suburbs, the Leopoldstadt, as well as by the -extensive tract of ground on which the groves of the Prater have been -planted and its walks laid out. The walls, however, are washed, on this -side, by a small arm of the Danube, which rejoins the main stream a -short way below the city, and is sufficiently large for the purposes -of inland navigation. On the south, the proper city is separated from -the suburbs by a still more insignificant stream, which, however, -gives its name to the capital, the Vienna. This rivulet, instead of -serving effectually even the purposes of cleanliness, brings down -the accumulated refuse of other regions of the town, and its noisome -effluvia often render it an effort to pass the bridge across it, one of -the most crowded thoroughfares of Vienna. - -The proper city is of nearly a circular form, and cannot be more than -three miles in circumference, for I have often walked quite around -the ramparts in less than an hour. The style of building does not -pretend to much ornament, but is massive and imposing; the streets are -generally narrow, and the houses lofty, rising to four or five floors, -which are all entered by a common stair. There is much more regularity, -and there are many more cornices and pillars, in Berlin; in Dresden -there is a more frequent intermixture of showy edifices; there is more -lightness and airiness of effect in the best parts of Munich; and in -Nürnberg and Augsburg there is a greater profusion of the outward -ornaments of the olden time; but in none of these towns is there so -much of that sober and solid stateliness, without gloom, which, after -all, is perhaps the most fitting style of building for a large city. -Some individual masses of building, in the very heart of the city, are -as populous as large villages.... - -"The art of walking the streets" in London is an easy problem, -compared with the art of walking in them in Vienna. In the former, -there is some order and distinction, even in the crowd; two-legged and -four-legged animals have their allotted places, and are compelled to -keep them; in the latter, all this is otherwise. It is true that, in -the principal streets, a few feet on each side are paved with stones -somewhat larger than those in the centre, and these side slips are -intended for pedestrians; but the pedestrians have no exclusive right; -the level of the street is uniform; there is nothing to prevent horses -and carriages from encroaching on the domain, and, accordingly, they -are perpetually trespassing. - -The streets, even those in which there is the greatest bustle, the -Kärnthnerstrasse, for example, are generally narrow; carriages, -hackney-coaches, and loaded wagons, observing no order, cross each -other in all directions; and, while they hurry past each other, or -fill the street by coming from opposite quarters, the pedestrian is -every moment in danger of being run up against the wall. A provoking -circumstance is, that frequently a third part, or even a half of -the street, is rendered useless by heaps of wood, the fuel of the -inhabitants. The wood is brought into the city in large pieces, from -three to four feet long. A wagon-load of these logs is laid down on -the street, at the door of the purchaser, to be sawed and split into -smaller pieces, before being deposited in his cellar. - -When this occurs, as it often does, at every third or fourth door, -the street just loses so much of its breadth. Nothing remains but the -centre, and that is constantly swarming with carriages, and carts, -and barrows. The pedestrian must either wind himself through among -their wheels, or clamber over successive piles of wood, or patiently -wait till the centre of the street becomes passable for a few yards. -To think of doubling the wooden promontory without this precaution -is far from being safe. You have scarcely by a sudden spring saved -your shoulders from the pole of a carriage, when a wheelbarrow makes -a similar attack on your legs. You make spring the second, and in all -probability your head comes in contact with the uplifted hatchet of a -wood-cutter. The wheelbarrows seem to be best off. They fill such a -middle rank between bipeds and quadrupeds, that they lay claim to the -privileges of both, and hold on their way rejoicing, commanding respect -equally from men and horses. - -To guide a carriage through these crowded, encumbered, disorderly, -narrow streets, without either occasioning or sustaining damage, -is, perhaps, the highest achievement of the coach-driving art. Our -own knights of the whip, with all their scientific and systematic -excellencies, must here yield the palm to the practical superiority of -their Austrian brethren. Nothing can equal the dexterity with which a -Vienna coachman winds himself, and winds himself rapidly, through every -little aperture, and, above all, at the sharp turns of the streets. -People on foot, indeed, must look about them; and, from necessity, they -have learned to look about them so well, that accidents are wonderfully -rare, and very seldom, indeed, does it happen that the Jehus do not -keep clear of each other's wheels. The hackney-coachmen form as -peculiar a class as they do in London, with as much _esprit de corps_, -but more humor, full of jokes and extortion. It is said that the most -skilful coachman from any other country cannot drive in Vienna without -a regular education. A few years ago, an Hungarian nobleman brought out -a coachman from London; but Tom was under the necessity of resigning -the box, after a day's driving pregnant with danger to his master's -limbs and carriage.... - -Vienna has some very noble public squares, though no people requires -them less for purposes of recreation; for, when amusement is their -object, they hasten beyond the walls to the coffee-houses of the -glacis, or the shades of the Prater, the wine-houses and monks of -Kloster-Neuburg, or the gardens of Schönbrunn. The best of these -squares happen to be in parts of the city where the fashionable world -does not often intrude; they are not planted, but they are excellently -paved; they are not gaudy with palaces, but they are surrounded by the -busy shops and substantial and comfortable dwellings of happy citizens, -and are commonly adorned with some religious emblem or a public -fountain. Both the temples and fountains have too much work about them; -there is too much striving after finery of sculpture, a department of -art in which the Austrians are still very far behind. The consequence -is, that there are crowds of figures which have no more to do with a -basin of water than with a punch-bowl. - -The _Graben_, an open space in the most busy part of the town, and -entered at both extremities, by the narrowest and most inconvenient -lanes in Vienna (although, on Sundays and festivals, it is the great -thoroughfare of all classes, from the Emperor to the servant-girl), is -embellished with two fountains. The fountains themselves are simple and -unaffected; but it was necessary to have statues. Therefore at the one -well stands Joseph explaining to the Messiah his Hebrew genealogy, and -at the other St. Leopold holding in his hands a plan of the Monastery -of Neuburg! The artist of the fountain in the Neumarkt, or New-market, -seems to have felt the want of congruity in this union of holy saints -with cold water, and he placed on the edge of his basin four naked -figures, representing the four principal rivers of Austria, pouring -their waters into the Danube, whose genii surround the pillar that -rises from the centre. But even here comes something Austrian and -absurd. The basin is so small that half a dozen of moderately-sized -perch would feel themselves confined in it; yet these four emblematical -figures are anxiously gazing into the tiny reservoir, and brandishing -huge tridents to harpoon the invisible whales which are supposed to be -sporting in the waters.... - -Vienna is no longer a fortified city; promenading is the only purpose -to which the fortifications are now applied; and, from their breadth -and elevation, they are excellently adapted for it. In one part -they look out upon the gradually ascending suburbs; on another the -eye wanders over intervening vineyards, up to the bare ridge of the -Kahlenberg, from which Sobieski made his triumphant attack against -the besieging Turks, traces of whose intrenchments are still visible; -in another it rests on the waters of the Danube, the foliage of the -Prater, and the gay crowds who are streaming along to enjoy its shades. -The twice successful attacks of French armies having proved the -ramparts, or bastions, as they are universally called, to be useless -for the protection of the citizens, trees, benches, and coffee-houses -have taken the place of cannon, and rendered them invaluable as sources -of recreation to this pleasure-loving people. On Sundays and holidays, -so soon as the last mass has terminated (which it always does about -mid-day), they are crowded to suffocation with people of all ranks. - -Even on week-days, so long as the weather permits it, the -coffee-houses, surrounded with awnings, are the favorite resort of -persons, chiefly gentlemen, who prefer breakfasting in the open -air, and in the evening they are the favorite resort of both sexes, -especially of the middle classes. An orchestra in the open air -furnishes excellent music; as night comes on (and the crowd always -increases with the dusk) lamps are hung up among the trees, or -suspended from the awnings. The gay, unthinking crowd sits to be gazed -at, or strolls about from one alley to another to gaze,--good and bad, -virtuous and lost, mingled together, sipping coffee or keeping an -assignation, eating an ice, or making love. Till ten o'clock, when the -terrors of the _Hausmeister_ drive them home, the ramparts, and the -glacis below, form a collection of little Vauxhalls. - -The glacis itself, the low, broad and level space of ground which -stretches out immediately from the foot of the ramparts, and runs -entirely around the city, except where the walls are washed by the -arm of the Danube, is no longer the naked and cheerless stripe which -it used to be. Much of it has been formed into gardens belonging to -different branches of the imperial family; the rest has been gradually -planted and laid out into alleys, and two years ago the Emperor, in -his love for his subjects, allowed a coffee-house to be built among -the trees. Beyond the glacis, the ground in general rises, and along -these eminences stretch the thirty-four suburbs of Vienna, surrounding -the city like the outworks of some huge fortification, and finally -surrounded themselves by a brick wall, a mere instrument of police, to -insure the detection of radicals and contraband goods, by subjecting -everything and every person to a strict examination.... - -Though the suburbs, from the greater regularity of their streets, the -smaller height of their buildings, and the general elevation of the -site, are in themselves more open and airy than the city, yet, owing -to the absence of pavement and the presence of wind, they can scarcely -be said to be more healthy. Vienna, though lying in a sort of kettle, -and not at so absolute an elevation as Munich, is more pestered by high -winds than any other European capital. In the proper city the streets -are paved, and excellently well paved; but throughout the immense -suburbs they present only the bare soil. This soil is loose, dry, and -sandy, and the wind acting upon it keeps the city and suburbs enveloped -in a thick atmosphere, loaded with particles of sand, which medical men -do not pretend to deny has a perceptible influence on the health. From -the summit of the Kahlenberg, an eminence about two miles to the west, -I have seen Vienna as completely obscured by a thick cloud of dust as -ever London is by a cloud of smoke; and our smoke is, in reality, the -less disagreeable of the two. When the wind is moderate, and allows the -dust to settle, rain commonly follows, and the suburbs are converted -into a succession of alleys of mud.... - -The Prater of Vienna is the finest public park in Europe, for it has -more rural beauty than Hyde Park, and surely the more varied and -natural arrangement of its woods and waters is preferable to the -formal basin and alley of the garden of the Tuileries. It occupies the -eastern part of that broad and level tract on the north of the city, -which is formed into an island by the main stream of the Danube on -the one side, and the smaller arm that washes the walls on the other. -They unite at its extremity, and the Prater is thus surrounded on -three sides by water. The principal alley, the proper _arive_, runs -from the entrance in a long straight line for about half a mile. Rows -of trees, consisting chiefly of horse-chestnuts, divide it into five -alleys. The central one is entirely filled with an unceasing succession -of glittering carriages, moving slowly along its opposite sides in -opposite directions; the two on each side are filled with horsemen, -galloping along to try the capacity of their steeds, or provoking them -into impatient curvetings, to try the effect of their own forms and -dexterity on the beauties who adorn the open calèches. - -The two exterior alleys are consecrated to pedestrians; but those -of the Viennese who must walk, because not rich enough to hire a -hackney-coach, are never fond of walking far, and, forsaking the -alleys, scatter themselves over the verdant lawn which spreads itself -out to where the wood becomes more dense and impenetrable. The lawn -itself is plentifully strewed with coffee-houses, and the happy -hundreds seat themselves under shady awnings or on the green herbage, -beneath a clump of trees, enjoying their ices, coffee, and cigars, till -twilight calls them to the theatre, with not a thought about to-morrow, -and scarcely a reminiscence of yesterday. - -But though the extremity of this main alley be the boundary of the -excursions of the fashionable world, it is only the beginning of -the more rural and tranquil portion of the Prater. The wood becomes -thicker; there are no more straight lines of horse-chestnuts; the -numerous alleys wind their way unconstrained through the forest maze, -now leading you along in artificial twilight beneath an overarching -canopy of foliage, and now terminating in some verdant and tranquil -spot like those on which fairies delight to dance; now bringing you to -the brink of some pure rivulet, which trickles along unsuspectingly to -be lost in the mighty stream, and now stopping you on the shady banks -of the magnificent river itself. - - - - -THE ESZTERHÁZY PALACES. - -JOHN PAGET. - - [Paget's "Hungary and Transylvania" is the source of our present - selection, we having chosen, from his many pictures of Hungarian - life and people, a description of the famous Eszterházys, a family - renowned particularly for its jewels, which have been gathering - for centuries in the castle of Forchtenstein.] - - -It was at six o'clock in the morning that the smart Presburg post-boy -sounded his bugle, to express his impatience at the half-hour we had -already kept him waiting ere we started for the Neusiedler Lake, in -the neighborhood of which we intended to pass a few days. The journey -to the end of the lake might be some sixty miles, and we reckoned to -accomplish this by post within the day. - -Of all the modes of travelling in Hungary, the post is the most -expensive, and to me, at least, the most disagreeable. The supply of -horses is too scanty, and if the traveller happens to arrive before -or after the _post-wagen_, he must generally wait some time before -he can obtain the number he requires. There is an awkward rule, too, -which it is as well a stranger should know. If he arrives at any place -with post, he can oblige the postmaster to send him on with the same -number of horses he arrived with; but should he, as occurred to us on -the present occasion, feel a wish to leave the post-road, and for that -purpose hire private horses, at the next post-station they may refuse -him a supply, or oblige him to take as many as they choose. - -It was at Gschies we learned this rule, for the postmaster stoutly -refused to send us on with a pair of horses, which was all we had -previously required, and declared we should either take four or remain -where we were. Entirely ignorant as I then was of any other means of -getting forward, I at last consented, and desired him to give us the -four horses. "But I have only three in the stable at present," was his -cool reply; "and you may either take those and pay for four, or you may -remain where you are until to-morrow, when the others will come home." -Nor is this the only instance of gross imposition I could relate. The -worst of it is, there is no redress. In one case I applied to the -judge and notary of the village, and though they had the best will to -protect me, all they could do was to give me peasants' horses, and so -enable me to avoid the like treatment for the rest of the journey. - -For the matter of speed, you get on by post at the rate of five miles -an hour, with strong, large horses, and post-boys wearing huge cocked -hats, each with a plume of feathers worthy a field-marshal, and a red -coat with purple facings. But if ever the reader should have occasion -to go from Vienna to Pesth, and is an amateur at driving, I recommend -him to what is called the _bauern post_,--that is, if steamboats and -railroads have not ere this entirely destroyed it. - -The peasants between the frontiers of Hungary and Pesth, on the great -high-road from Vienna, combined to supply relays of horses at a cheaper -rate and better than the royal post; and though at first opposed by -government, they eventually succeeded so well that at present the whole -line is supplied by them almost exclusively. The pace at which these -men, with their four small horses, take on a light Vienna carriage -is something wonderful, especially when the length of some of their -stages is considered. The last stage cannot be less than forty miles -from Pesth, and, with a short pause of about a quarter of an hour to -water, they do it for the most part at full gallop, and with the same -horses, in four hours. It is glorious to see the wild-looking driver, -his long black hair floating in the wind as he turns round to ask your -admiration when his four little clean-boned nags are rattling over -hill and hollow in a style which for the first time since he left -home shakes an Englishman's blood into quicker circulation. There is -certainly a pleasure in rapid motion which has on some men almost an -intoxicating effect. - -[Illustration: BUDAPEST] - -But to return to our five miles an hour. We passed through a -well-cultivated country, chiefly inhabited by Germans, who have crept -in upon this side of Hungary from Presburg nearly to the borders of -Croatia. The Neusiedler Lake, or the Fertö Tava Hungarian, which we -soon came in sight of, is about twenty-four miles long by twelve broad, -varying in depth from nine to thirteen feet. In parts, particularly -at the north end, its shores are hilly and pretty, but on the eastern -side they are flat, and terminate in a very extensive marsh, called the -Hanság. - -It is supposed to be this lake which the Emperor Galerius drained into -the Danube, and which has been allowed to re-form by the destruction -of the Roman works. There is little doubt, I believe, as to the -practicability of draining the lake again, if it were desired; but, -as a neighboring proprietor observed, it would spoil some glorious -snipe-shooting.... - -At Eisenstadt, some short distance from the lake, is a palace of the -first of the Hungarian magnates, Prince Eszterházy. This palace, though -not remarkable for its beauty (it is in a heavy, though florid, Italian -style), is well fitted up for a princely residence. We walked through -suites of apartments innumerable; but by far the most striking of them -was the great ball-room, an elegantly-proportioned hall of great size, -and richly ornamented in white and gold. This room was last used when -the present prince was installed lord-lieutenant of the county of -Oedenburg, an office hereditary in his family; and great is still the -fame of the almost regal pomp with which he fêted the crowds of nobles -who flocked around him upon that occasion. - -The gardens, laid out in the English style, are very fine, and the -hot-houses larger than any I remember to have seen; even Alton must bow -to Eisenstadt. They contain no less than seventy thousand exotics, and -are particularly rich in New Holland specimens. One can hardly help -lamenting that so much luxury and beauty should be wasted; for, except -the inhabitants of Eisenstadt, to whom the gardens are always open, it -is rarely that the palace or its grounds receive a visitor. - -Great as is the splendor of some of our English peers, I almost -fear the suspicion of using a traveller's license when I tell of -Eszterházy's magnificence. Within a few miles of this same spot he has -three other palaces of equal size. - -Just at the southern extremity of the lake stands Eszterház, a huge -building in the most florid Italian style, built only in 1700, and -already uninhabited for sixty years. Its marble halls, brilliant with -gold and painting, are still fresh as when first built. The chamber of -Marie Theresa is unchanged since the great queen reposed there; the -whole interior is in such a state that it might be rendered habitable -to-morrow; but the gardens are already overgrown with weeds, and have -almost lost their original form; the numberless pleasure-houses are -yielding to the damp position in which they are placed, and are fast -crumbling away; while the beautiful theatre, for which an Italian -company was formerly maintained, is now stripped of its splendid -mirrors, and serves only as a dwelling for the dormant bats, which -hang in festoons from its gilded cornices. England is famous for her -noble castles and her rich mansions, yet we can have little idea of a -splendor such as Eszterház must formerly have presented. Crowded as it -was by the most beautiful women of four countries, its three hundred -and sixty strangers' rooms filled with guests, its concerts directed by -a Haydn, its opera supplied by Italian artists, its gardens ornamented -by a gay throng of visitors, hosts of richly-clothed attendants -thronging its antechambers, and its gates guarded by the grenadiers of -its princely master, its magnificence must have exceeded that of half -of the royal courts of Europe. I know of nothing but Versailles which -gives one so high a notion of the costly splendor of a past age as -Eszterház. - -Haydn was for more than thirty years _maestro di capello_ to Prince -Eszterházy; and, during that period, lived chiefly with the family. His -portrait is still preserved, and it is almost the only picture of much -interest the palace contains. Haydn was a very poor and obscure person -when he was appointed one of the prince's band; so much so, that no one -thought even of giving the necessary orders for his being admitted into -the palace. The following anecdote of his introduction to the prince is -recounted by Carpani: - -"The Maestro Friedberg, a friend and admirer of Haydn, lived with -Prince Eszterházy. Regretting that Haydn should be overlooked, he -persuaded him to compose a symphony worthy of being performed on -the birthday of his highness. Haydn consented; the day arrived; -the prince, according to custom, took his seat in the midst of his -court, and Friedberg distributed the parts of Haydn's symphony to the -performers. Scarcely had the musicians got through the first allegro, -when the prince interrupted them to ask who was the author of so -beautiful a piece. Friedberg dragged the modest, trembling Haydn from -a corner of the room into which he had crept, and presented him as -the fortunate composer. 'What,' cried the prince, as he came forward, -'that Blackymoor!' (Haydn's complexion was none of those which mock -the lily's whiteness.) 'Well, blacky, from henceforth you shall be in -my service; what's your name?' 'Joseph Haydn.' 'But you are already -one of my band; how is it I never saw you here before?' The modesty -of the young composer closed his lips, but the prince soon put him -at his ease. 'Go and get some clothes suitable to your rank,--don't -let me see you any more in such a guise; you are too small; you look -miserable, sir; get some new clothes, a fine wig with flowing curls, -a lace collar, and red heels to your shoes. But mind, let your heels -be high, that the elevation of your person may harmonize with that of -your music. Go, and my attendants will supply you with all you want.' -... The next day Haydn was travestied into a gentleman. Friedberg -often told me of the awkwardness of the poor Maestrino in his new -habiliments. He had such a gawky look that everybody burst into a laugh -at his appearance. His reputation, however, as his genius had room to -manifest itself, grew daily, and he soon obtained so completely the -good-will of his master, that the extraordinary favor of wearing his -own hair and his simple clothes was granted to his entreaties. The -surname of the Blackymoor, however, which the prince had bestowed upon -him, stuck to him for years after." - -The only part of Eszterház at present occupied is the stables, which -had just received an importation of twelve beautiful thoroughbred -horses from England, with some very promising young stock. An old -English groom had been sent out with them, and bitterly did he complain -of the difficulties he had to encounter before he could convince the -_beamters_--a race of hungry stewards by whom the estates of the nobles -are mismanaged and the revenues plundered--of the many little wants and -luxuries requisite for English race-horses. - -The estates of Prince Eszterházy are said to equal the kingdom of -Würtemberg in size; it is certain they contain one hundred and thirty -villages, forty towns, and thirty-four castles! The annual revenue -from such vast possessions is said, however, not to amount to one -hundred and fifty thousand pounds per annum, though it is capable -of considerable increase. The incumbrances at the present time are -greater than with most other Hungarian magnates, few of whom are -indebted to a less amount than half their incomes. - -I remember some years since an anecdote going the rounds of the papers -to the effect that Prince Eszterházy had astonished one of our great -agriculturists who had shown him his flock of two thousand sheep, -and asked him with some little pride if he could show as many, by -telling him that he had more shepherds than the other had sheep! By a -reckoning made upon the spot, with one well acquainted, we found the -saying literally true. The winter flock of Merinos is maintained at -two hundred and fifty thousand, to every hundred of which one shepherd -is allowed, thus making the number of shepherds two thousand five -hundred! But, as a _spirituelle_ of the neighborhood observed when we -were discussing these matters, "Les Eszterházys font tout en grand: -le feu prince a doté deux cents maîtresses, et pensionné cent enfans -illégitimes!" - -It is not right to leave Eszterház without mention of Hánystock, or the -wild man of the Hanság. The Hanság is a bog about twenty miles long, -on the borders of which Eszterház is built. About eighty years since, -in some part of this bog, an extraordinary creature is said to have -been found, possessing something of the human form, but with scarcely -any other quality that could entitle it to a place among our species. -It was three feet high, apparently of about the middle age, strongly -built, and said to have webbed feet and hands. It was unable to utter -any articulate sounds, lived entirely on fish and frogs, showed no -signs of any passion or feeling, except fear and anger, and was in -every respect in the lowest state of brutality. The most curious part -of its history is that no one ever heard of it till accidentally found -by a peasant in the bog, when it was brought to Eszterház, where, after -remaining fourteen months, it escaped, and was never heard of again. I -believe there is some reason to suspect an imposition, for an Italian -adventurer appeared and disappeared about the same time with Hánystock, -and though unable to cite name or place, I feel pretty certain that a -similar occurrence took place in another part of Europe soon after. - -A few miles from Eisenstadt, and just on the confines of Austria, is a -yet more interesting monument of what we should call feudal greatness, -belonging to the Eszterházy family. The castle of Forchtenstein, built -by a Count Eszterházy, is still in a perfect state of preservation. -It is placed on a bold rock, and commands a view of the whole country -to the northeast and south. It is now used as a prison for Prince -Eszterházy's peasantry,--for he is one of the few who retain the right -of life and death, the _jus gladii_, on his own estates,--and is -consequently guarded by a small detachment of very venerable-looking -grenadiers. - -The castle is sufficiently modern to have been laid out for the -employment of artillery, as may be seen by the heavy bastions and -long curtains, and is still sufficiently old to bear marks of the -Gothic architect about it, of which the high watch-tower is not the -least elegant. The interior has all the inconvenient straightness of -a walled-in castle, and the apartments are for the most part small -and simple. The most interesting object after the well, which is one -hundred and seventy yards deep, and said to have been worked in the -solid rock by Turkish prisoners, is the collection of arms. Besides -arms sufficient for a regiment of foot and another of horse, which ere -this an Eszterházy has equipped and maintained at his own cost, there -is the gala equipment of a troop of cavalry which attended one of the -princesses on her wedding-day, thirty pieces of artillery, suits of -plain black armor for several hundred men, many curious specimens of -early German matchlocks, and a quantity of Turkish arms of almost -every description. - -One suit of armor is interesting from the tale of rude courtesy -attached to it. It formerly belonged to a Count Eszterházy who fell in -a battle against the old enemies of Hungary, the Turks. A ball from -the Pasha's own pistol had already pierced the Count's cuirass, but, -anxious to make more certain of his death, the Moslem leaped from his -horse and beat the helmet of the Christian till he broke open his -visor, when he discovered in the fallen foe an old friend by whom he -had been most kindly treated when a prisoner in Hungary. Faithful to -his friendship, the Turk made the only reparation in his power, for, -after treating the body of Eszterházy with every possible mark of -respect, he collected the armor in which he had died, and sent it, with -the arms which had caused his death, as a present to his family. - -A great number of banners, as well those taken from the enemy as those -under which the followers of Eszterházy fought, are hung round the -walls. It is characteristic of the times that most of the Hungarian -flags bear a painting of the cross, with a figure of Christ as large as -life. - -In one room we noticed the genealogical tree of all the Eszterházys, -in which it is made out, as clearly as possible, that, beginning with -Adam, who reclines in a very graceful attitude at the bottom of the -tree, they pass through every great name, Jewish as well as heathen, -from Moses to Attila, till they find themselves what they are now, -magnates of Hungary. What is still more extraordinary, there is a long -series of portraits of these worthies from Attila inclusive, with their -wives and families dressed in the most approved fashion, and continued -down to the present century. - -It is a pity the noble owner of Forchtenstein does not imbibe a little -of that Gothic mania so often ill-directed in England, and restore -this castle to its former state. As a national monument of the taste -of the Middle Ages in Hungary its restoration would be very desirable, -and it would possess peculiar attractions, not merely from being the -only castle of the kind here, but as a specimen of that mixture of the -Asiatic and Gothic which, in those days, so strongly characterized the -habits and customs of the Magyars, and the remains of which even yet -distinguish them from the rest of Europe. - -The only purpose for which it is at present used, except as a prison, -is to contain the treasures of the prince. Of these I can only speak -from report, for previously to my visit I did not know that in order -to see them it is necessary to have two persons present who live at a -distance, each of whom has a key, without which the other is of no use, -and therefore had not provided against the difficulty. - -The splendor of the Eszterházy jewels is no secret in England, and it -is in this good castle those heaps of treasure, which so tempted her -majesty's fair lieges at her coronation, are commonly preserved. It -is said that each prince is obliged to add something to these jewels, -and that they can never be sold except to ransom their possessors -from captivity among the Turks. When the French entered Hungary, a -small party presented themselves before Forchtenstein and demanded its -surrender. The grenadiers, however, shut the gates, cut the bridge, -and set them at defiance; and, as the enemy had no means of enforcing -obedience, Prince Eszterházy saved his jewels. Besides the jewels there -is an extensive collection of ancient Hungarian costumes; among others, -if I recollect rightly, one worn by King Mathias Corvinus. - - - - -FROM HAMBURG TO STOCKHOLM. - -MRS. ANDREW CROSSE. - - [It is a journey in Sweden which our traveller proposes to - describe in the work from which we quote, but we find the story - of her journey to Sweden more interesting, and give her graphic - account of the German cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, and the - picturesque water route along the Swedish coast, ending with an - account of what she saw of interest in Sweden's capital city.] - - -Our route to Sweden was by Hamburg and Lübeck, for at the latter -place we were to pick up some of our party; and, indeed, under any -circumstances, it is the best route for a first visit to the country, -for then you approach Stockholm by the Baltic. The average passage from -London to Hamburg by steamer direct occupies forty hours, but the waves -and winds were favorable, and we accomplished the distance in four -hours less. However, calm as the seas were, every tourist's soul felt -more in sympathy with Nature when we were actually in the river Elbe. -By daybreak we were steaming up towards Hamburg, past the pleasant -suburb of Blankensee, which reminds one very much of Richmond. It is a -collection of magnificent villas--indeed, one might say palaces--built -among the hanging woods of the river-bank. - -Hamburg was more worth seeing than I expected; in the older parts -there are very picturesque bits, consisting of tall, ancient houses, -leaning at different angles over the dark and busy waters of the -canal,--indeed, both streets and canals are crowded with the world's -commerce. Everything nowadays comes from Hamburg. Chemistry competes -with the vineyards of Spain in producing what we innocently drink as -sherry. We survive it, so we must be grateful to Chemistry for her -wonderful adaptations. - -The modern portion of Hamburg has been entirely rebuilt since the -memorable fire of 1842. What a useful renovator a great fire is to -an old city; there is nothing like it for a great clearing out of -nuisances! The new quarter here is extremely handsome and imposing. -The greater part of the houses built around the artificially-formed -lake called the Binnen Alster are the residences of the great citizens, -for whom nothing seems too luxurious. The Binnen Alster communicates -with the Grosse Alster, and here we saw for the first time the little -fidgety steamboat-omnibuses which later on became so familiar to us at -Stockholm. - -Time did not permit us to see the Zoological Gardens, which are said to -be almost the best in Europe; for the hour for starting for Lübeck had -arrived, and we were obliged to leave the wealthy city of Hamburg but -half explored. - -During our pleasant railway drive of two hours we were struck with the -immense number of birds that we saw; the whole air seemed alive with -them. Every homestead has its stork's nest,--indeed, it forms part of -the building, which is considered incomplete without it. The stork is -held in great reverence among all the northern people, and any stranger -who is wicked or foolish enough to molest one of these birds is sure to -be severely punished. In Whitelocke's "Memorials," the author mentions -that, in returning by this route from his embassy to Sweden, in the -time of the Commonwealth, one of his suite killed a stork in this very -district, and that he was with difficulty rescued by the ambassador -himself from being seriously maltreated by the natives. - -Arriving at Lübeck, when the evening light was red upon the beautiful -Holstein Thor, and upon the many spires and towers of the quaint old -town, it seemed almost as if we had been dropped into the Middle Ages. -It impressed me more strongly with a sense of Old-World life than -Nürnberg, Regensburg, or any other of the German towns that I have -visited dating from about that time. - -The environs of Lübeck are very pleasant in summer, for the whole -country round is so densely wooded, and there are drives in all -directions to quaint little villages that look like pictures out of the -past.... - -I shall never forget our first night on the Baltic. It was a veritable -poem of beauty. The sea was so tranquil that it reflected all the hues -of the gorgeous sunset, and our ship seemed as though in a translucent -medium of colored light, which came from below, around, above us. We -watched and watched till the tremulous yellow and crimson horizon had -paled in intensity, giving place to an exquisite golden green, which -lingered on till the silvery moonlight made its path across the sea, -and then we knew it must be night, though darkness there was none. If -going to bed was not a sort of respectable duty enforced by the habits -of the animal, I don't think we should any of us have gone below. - -We did not sleep late, for six o'clock found us all reassembled again -on deck, enjoying the crisp freshness of the morning air, and the sight -of the waves dancing in the sunlight. The arrangements on board these -steamers are excellent; everything is clean and comfortable, and the -food well cooked. At six o'clock coffee and rolls are served on deck, -at nine o'clock there is a serious breakfast in the saloon, where you -have your choice of tea, coffee, or light claret, and a taste, if you -like, of the national strong waters, which every Swede partakes of -before a meal. Eggs, hot cutlets, with vegetables, are interspersed -with a variety of savory cold dishes, such as dried salmon, reindeer -tongue, or ham of bear, which is very good. The favorite breadstuff -is a sort of biscuit made with seeds; it seems strange at first, but -after a time one gets to like it very much. After this substantial -breakfast you may very well subsist till two o'clock dinner,--a meal -which occupies an hour and a half nearly. The cuisine is excellent, and -there is nothing to do particularly on deck in the middle of the day -except to select an easy seat under the shady awning, so you submit to -the table-d'hôte with admirable patience. - -After dinner the Swedes regale themselves with a glass of sherry or -cognac, with a cigar, and an hour later you will see every coterie with -their glasses of seltzer water and fruit syrup. At seven o'clock supper -is served, and then "may good digestion wait on appetite," if happily -you have any of the latter left. Before bedtime a seductive beverage -called Swedish punch is produced, which is stronger than it seems, and -should be sipped with caution. It is a noteworthy fact that the charge -for all these good things was extremely moderate, as, indeed, prices -are throughout Sweden. It seems the only cheap place for touring left -in Europe. Norway is quite a third dearer,--thanks, I suppose, to the -English invasion.... - -There is a peculiarity about the coast of Sweden; it is said to have -two coasts, an inner and an outer one, the latter being a fringe -of islets, so numerous that no map or chart can mark them. It is -marvellous how vessels make their way through this labyrinth. If you -leave Calmar in the evening, you find yourself the next morning in the -thick of this _Skargard_, or reef defence. At first the scene is very -desolate; the rocks are barren, and the only sign of life the lonely -house of a pilot, round which the sea-birds were screaming in their -whirling flight. - -When about five hours' distance from Stockholm the scene changes; the -barren desolation gives place to wooded islets clothed with the most -exquisite vegetation. The beauty of a veritable fairy-land surrounds -you. You are in the midst of floating groves and gardens. It is quite -unlike any other scenery that I know in Europe; it is not like a lake -or river, for there is no expanse of water. The steamer threads its -way among a crowd of islands; you could sometimes touch land with a -boat-hook. The character of the islets is most varied; at one moment -you pass a tiny floating meadow enamelled with flowers, whose sweet -scent is wafted in every zephyr; on the other side is a grotesque -grotto, or the semblance of a ruin, shaded by the graceful birch-trees -that group themselves together. Another time you pass a longer island, -with its belt of dark firs, intersected with miniature fjords and -little sanded bays. No pencil could do justice to the loveliness of -this changing scene. - -Approaching the capital, the islands are more extensive and numerous; -pretty villas are dotted about the woods, and you see terraced gardens -and well-kept lawns. It was market-day when we arrived, and it was very -picturesque to see the boats laden with fruit, vegetables, and other -necessaries of life proceeding on their way. Each house, or cottage, -sent out its messenger boat to make purchases at the floating market, -and the scene was very animated and amusing. In another half-hour we -were passing the superb deer park of Stockholm, and then we were under -the sentinel forts of the capital, and directly afterwards by the -side of the busy quay. The first sight of the "Venice of the North" -pleased us more than the far-famed Queen of the Adriatic, that city of -souvenirs that can hardly be seen by the "light of common day." - -Seen from the Kungsholmen, Stockholm looks like a city floating on the -sea, especially when the image of all this crowd of churches, palaces, -and towers is reflected in the blue mirror of the calm, tideless waters. - -It is the fashion to admire the Royal Palace, built on the highest of -the three islands of Stockholm, but it has too much the appearance -of a vast barrack. It was completed in 1753, from a design of Count -Tessin, a Swedish architect of renown. It seems to want towers, or -irregularities of some sort, to break the painfully straight lines of -this mass of building. - -The interior bears a strong family likeness to every other palace in -Europe. The upholsterer is decidedly the presiding genius in Royal -apartments, where dazzling chandeliers, rich brocades, and oppressive -gilding are more or less the properties of all alike. In Paris they -vary the scene by turning the royal or imperial upholstery out of -the window, from time to time, and making a bonfire of the same for -patriotic reasons. - -However, in the Royal Palace of Stockholm we did light upon some -individual belongings,--some instances of characteristic taste. In the -picture-gallery there was, at the time of our visit, an unfinished -painting, from the pencil of the late King Carl. It stands on the -easel, just as the master's hand had left it, a few months only before -he passed away, in the prime of life and of popularity. The scene -selected by the royal artist is one of those forest-fringed lakes -of Dalecarlia, with a lovely and enticing vista of green valley and -distant waterfall. The solemn aspect of the pine-woods, bathed in the -after-glow of the delicious northern sunset, is well given in this -picture, breathing forth something of that mingling of mystery, beauty, -and gloom which characterizes the ancient mythology of the land. One -might quote the king's own lines: - - "Everywhere we found in Nature - Spirits fitted to interpret - Saga tales of Sweden's childhood." - - [Our traveller here describes her visits to the scientific and - educational institutions of Stockholm, and gives some statistics - which we may safely omit.] - -However, this is not quite the place for tabulating facts; for are we -not on a holiday trip? We English have an almost incurable habit of -trying to acquire useful information while _en voyage_. If a man goes -up a mountain, instead of enjoying the fresh air and exercise, he must -needs go armed with scientific apparatus enough to start a government -laboratory. Now, in Stockholm you may really enjoy yourself thoroughly -if you only keep clear of museums and learned institutes, those traps -for the unsuspecting holiday-maker, who, before he is aware, finds -himself suffering from a surfeit of useful knowledge. Don't look at -"Murray" or "Baedeker," but just allow yourself to go with the tide in -this pleasure-loving city. In the forenoon one must eat ices in the -delicious little café called the Strömparterre. It is a garden by the -water-side, and, though quite in the centre of the town, bright with a -profusion of flowers and waving trees. Here you may sit and watch the -little steamers coming and going every few minutes from the Djurgárd -Park. The waters are alive with these boats, and with other craft, for -the locomotion of the city is mostly conducted by water. One can go -anywhere and everywhere, it would seem, for a few ocre, and remember -there are a hundred ocre in a riksdollar, and a riksdollar is about -thirteen pence of our money. - -One of the first of many pleasant excursions that we made was to -Mariefred and the royal castle of Gripsholm. This interesting place is -on the south side of the Mälar Lake. The steamer from Stockholm takes -about three hours, and the voyage gives one an opportunity of seeing -some of the prettiest scenery in the environs of the capital. The -deep fjords, the fairy islands, the well-wooded banks of the Mälar -Lake, present an ever-changing combination of picturesque objects. -Conspicuous among the rest is the high rock of Kungshatt, where stands -a pole with a hat, to keep alive the story of some king of old, who -jumped on horseback from this giddy summit into the water below, when -pursued by enemies, and only suffered the inconvenience of losing his -hat. What a habit this must have been in the old times! for one hardly -ever sees a nasty bit of rock with an ugly chasm yawning beneath, that -you don't hear of some ill-advised persons taking the leap either for -love or hate.... - -The Castle of Gripsholm was erected in the twelfth century by Bo -Jonsson Grip, a certain Croesus of those days; in fact, he was the -most powerful noble in the land, and was selected by Alberta of -Mecklenburg to be his "all-powerful helper," for then as now the Swedes -hated the Germans. The Rhyming Chronicler of the time says that Bo -Jonsson "ruled the land with a glance of his eye." He had a bad habit, -however, of using his sword as well as his eye, for history tells us -how he followed his foe, knight Karl Nilsson, into the church of the -Franciscans at Stockholm, and hacked him to pieces before the high -altar! - -When Gustavus Vasa became king, after his romantic wanderings and -hair-breadth escapes in Dalecarlia, he rebuilt Gripsholm, and it became -the favorite residence of royalty. These castle walls have witnessed -many dismal scenes, quite out of harmony with the lovely and natural -surroundings, for there are few fairer spots in all Sweden. - -In one of the towers Eric XIV. kept his brother John a prisoner for -several years. The latter had married a Polish princess, and was -concerned in a war against Sweden, but, falling prisoner, was sent by -the king to the castle of Gripsholm. This Eric was one of our Queen -Elizabeth's suitors, and history records that by way of making himself -acceptable he sent ambassadors to the English court with costly gifts, -among which were eighteen piebald horses and several chests of uncoined -bars of gold and silver, strings of Oriental pearls, and many valuable -furs. Queen Elizabeth accepted the gifts, but declined the alliance. It -was a way she had. - -The interior of Gripsholm is a perfect museum of curiosities: there -are nearly two thousand historical portraits, and a vast quantity of -antique furniture, old tapestry, and curious silver vessels, which had -served their time at royal banquets. - - - - -THE MIDNIGHT SUN. - -LANGLEY COLERIDGE. - - [The midnight sun, as visible at the summer solstice from the - North Cape of Norway, is becoming one of the necessary spectacles - of modern travel. Alike for those who cannot and for those who - hope to go there we give the following description of what a - former traveller saw from this cape and on the way thither.] - - -I really cannot tell what is the great charm of Norway, nor do I think -the nameless charm is the same for each. Perhaps those who are old -travellers enjoy Norway most. It is well known that in order to do the -Whole Duty of Travel an apprenticeship must be served, by no means an -irksome one; on the contrary, full of delight; nevertheless, it is an -apprenticeship, and, until it has been served, no man can pass as a -member of the travelled community. The curriculum includes a knowledge -of Paris, of the Rhine, of Switzerland, and a dozen regular rounds. -When these have all been "done," then comes Norway as a land of pure -delight to the traveller. - -There are no picture-galleries to make one's neck ache; no museum -to make the weary feet throb; no promenades; no sherry-cobblers to -sip while bands play in the gardens; no continuations of London and -Brighton. There are no crowds; you may see a magnificent waterfall all -by yourself, or ascend a hundred Rigis without meeting a soul. There -are no loafers; and you may get into boats and out of boats, into -carrioles and out of carrioles, without one humpbacked beggar-boy or -man with his eye in a sling to whine at you, or one officious person -getting in the way in order to be paid for it. There are no mammoth -hotels, where you have to climb a dozen flights of stairs before you -can reach your bed; no billiards when once you have left the three -chief towns; no stuffy railways to whizz you past the best scenery; no -dressing for dinner. - -Now, all these things, to one who has been over and over again to the -most civilized places in the world, are very refreshing; and yet these -are perhaps but minor points, and do not explain the secret of the -great charm of Norway. Rip Van Winkle's was a wonderful sleep; he woke -and found the world had gone forward a hundred years; but the traveller -who sleeps on the North Sea and wakes up in the morning in Norway has -had a more wonderful sleep. He wakes and finds the world has gone back -half a millennium! Southward the countries of Europe have struggled and -slaved in the race for the perfection of civilization, while Norway is -as it was in the beginning. Southward the countries have obeyed the -watchword, "Forward!" Norway has obeyed the signal, "As you were!" - -Now, fancy yourself--you, who have done as the Southerners do--arriving -at a little village in an out-of-the-way place in Norway. Nobody -flutters about your carriole to escort you to a hotel, but you enter -the "station," a low, rambling wooden structure, with diffidence. You -see the lady of the house and shake hands with her; you ask her to be -good enough to let you stay there the night; you enter a bedroom, where -everything is plain as a deal box, but clean as a Dutch tulip. Then -you sit down with the family in the general room to your meal. It will -assuredly consist of either trout and salmon, or salmon and trout, with -perhaps an egg, perhaps potatoes, perhaps black bread. No Bass, but -perhaps some Norsk Öl, a very pleasant beverage. After supper you will -smoke a pipe with your landlord, who will probably invite you to see -the pigs, or will lend you a hand to splice up any broken harness of -your carriole. - -About nine or ten o'clock you will go to bed, in the broad daylight if -it be summer-time, and in the morning you will wake up, finding the -landlady's daughter at your bedside, with a delicious cup of hot coffee -and a natty little roll, or perchance a biscuit. And then, still early -in the morning, you will bid farewell as to old friends, you will shake -hands all round, and away in your carriole to drive through romantic -scenery, and to feel as though Norway had been made specially for you. - -Before you have been two days in the country you will love the quaint, -unsophisticated people, so hearty in their kindness, so ungrudging -in their hospitality, and their Old-World manners and customs, so -genuine in an age of sham, so solid in an age of veneer. One great -charm of Norway, then, is its people; another, and perhaps more to be -appreciated by some, is its scenery. - -"Is it like Switzerland?" No; Norway is only like Norway. It is not -so grand as regards the height of its mountains, yet its grandeur is -far more solemn. It has a dozen fjords more startling than the Lake -of Lucerne; in a day's journey you will pass waterfalls and cascades -which would make a fortune to "proprietors" in Switzerland, and are -not so much as mentioned in the Norwegian guide-books. Switzerland -is grand beyond compare, but it must be confessed it is a monotonous -grandeur. Not so with Norway: its charms of scenery are varied as they -are unique. A coast wild and rugged; mighty pine-forests, interminable; -lakes beautiful as Windermere; fjords awful in their grandeur; valleys -rich in their fertility; fjelds bare and barren; sport with the gun, -sport with the rod; these and a hundred other charms may be entered in -the catalogue. - -But all these are outweighed by the strange, weird beauty and grandeur -of the neighborhood of the North Cape. I know of nothing that comes -within the range of tourist experiences that will make a more lasting -impression on the memory than a day or two in the region of the -midnight sun. - -For the student, the professional man, the overworked generally, and -especially those whose brains are overworked, there is no tour that -will be more beneficial than the one I propose briefly to sketch. - -Go to Christiansand. Then, if you have never been to Norway, proceed to -Christiania, and, after staying a day or two in that interesting town -and neighborhood, continue your journey either to Trondhjem or Bergen, -it matters not which, or, better still, if you can, do both. The trip -to one, the other, or both, will give you a good idea of scenery in -Norway. At either Bergen or Trondhjem take the steamer for Hammerfest. -And then will commence one of the most delightful voyages it is -possible to make. - -The steamer keeps close to the shore, and the shore is the most curious -in the world; you have but to look at a map to see its wonderful -indentations; you cannot realize them until you find yourself now in -a bay or a cove, now among groups of islands, then in the midst of a -fjord, with sheer rocks rising perpendicularly from the sea, and anon -in the harbor of a little town, with groups of wondering peasantry -around you. You will see some parts of the coast so wild that you -cannot credit the fact that human beings can be found there, and you -will find verdant nooks so peaceful and pretty that you will be tempted -to think that there, away from the world, you would like to build your -house and finish up your days. At one time you will come to the haunts -of water-fowl innumerable; at another a shoal of whales will be around -you. - -The towns and villages at which you will halt will have a special -charm. The curious costumes of the people; the antique architecture of -their houses and churches; the good, but old-fashioned, contrivances -connected with their fishing avocations,--all these will be novel. - -Among the red-letter days of the trip will be a sail among the Loffoden -Islands, "jagged as the jaws of a shark," and swarming with sea-fowl; -a glimpse at the neighborhood of the Maelström, so celebrated in -fable; a visit to a Lapp encampment, and an occasional stroll through -some of the towns at which the steamer stays. Tromsö is one of these -halting-places: it is a modern town, which has grown rapidly. It was -only founded in 1794, and in 1816 had but three hundred inhabitants; -now, owing to the success of its herring-fishery, it has grown -strangely for Norway, and has a population of over five thousand. It is -charmingly situated on an island, and its rich fertility contrasts most -singularly with the wildness of the surrounding mountains. Hammerfest, -too, is interesting, not only because it is the most northerly -town in the world, and because "in the season" it is crowded with -representatives of all nations, who come here to trade, but because -here you are within the limits of the region of the Midnight Sun, and -from here you will take your boat (unless you continue by the Vadsö -steamer) for the North Cape. - -The effect of the midnight sun has been variously described. Carlyle -revels in the idea that while all the nations of the earth are -sleeping, you here stand in the presence of that great power which -will wake them all; Bayard Taylor delights in the gorgeous coloring; -and each traveller has some new poetic thought to register. For myself -the midnight sun has a solemnity which nothing else in nature has. -Midnight is solemn in the darkness; it is a hundredfold more solemn in -the glare of sunlight, richer than ever is sun under tropical skies. -It is "silence, as of death;" not the hum of a bird, not the buzz of -an insect, not the distant voice of a human being. Silence palpable. -You do not feel drowsy, though it is midnight; you feel a strange fear -creep over you as if in a nightmare, and dare not speak; you think what -if it should be true that the world is in its last sleep, and you are -the last living ones, yourselves on the verge of the Eternal Ocean? - -It is amusing, afterwards, to think of the way in which you landed -on your excursion to the North Cape; how every one seemed impressed -with the same idea that it was a sacrilege to break the silence, and -the party that set forth in high spirits had settled down into the -gravity of a funeral cortége. And it is strange how the stillness and -awfulness, felt while in the little boat upon the silent sea, held you -spellbound and entranced; and the spell could not be broken until you -set to work on the difficult climb to the head of the North Cape. And -when you reached the top you felt--well, I don't know how. - -To some standing on the highest part of the plateau, a thousand feet -above the sea, and looking away to that great unknown Arctic Ocean, it -has seemed as if they had come to the end of the earth; that they were -gazing upon the confines of the eternal regions; that they saw in the -distance the outlines of the land of which it is said, "There is no -night there." - -Every tourist mind has its own particular magnet. I do not know what -event in the history of a tourist life most attracts my memory. No one -can ever forget the day when he first gazes upon Jerusalem from the -Mount of Olives; or Damascus seen from the Mount of Mohammed; or the -sunny morning when he rounds the Golden Horn, and Constantinople bursts -on the view. - -These are memories which never grow dim; and I am inclined to think -that when a tourist finds himself in a small boat at midnight, drawing -near to the North Cape in the midst of the most gorgeous sunlight ever -seen, he has found a sensation which will be green in his memory to the -day of his death. - -In this brief paper I have not found time to be practical. The trip to -the North Cape should be made in June or July; it may be made in August -or September, and in the latter month there is a chance of seeing the -first blushes of the Aurora Borealis. I am much inclined to think that -a winter excursion to the North Cape would be one of the grandest -sensations that the tourist's heart could wish, but of this I am not in -a position to judge. - -If my readers are like myself, they never bring one summer trip to a -close before they have arranged in their own minds for the next; and so -I throw out the hint that ere the North Cape shall be scribbled over -with the names of Smith and Jones; ere excursion boats, with Ethiopian -serenaders on board, shall put forth from Hammerfest; ere a big hotel -shall stand upon the summit, and a man shall blow a horn to announce -when "the sun is at its best," it will be well to consider whether a -trip to the North Cape is not worth serious consideration. - - - - -IN THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL - -SAMUEL S. COX. - - ["Arctic Sunbeams," by Hon. S. S. Cox, is full of matter of - interest, the author seeing well and telling ably. We give some of - his impressions of St. Petersburg, beginning his journey at the - fortress and city of Cronstadt, the strongly-defended port of the - capital of Russia.] - - -Leaving the arsenals, dock-yards, wharves, batteries, and ships of -this Gibraltar of the Czar,--and but for which St. Petersburg might -have been burned, like another Moscow, by its own hands, rather than -it should have fallen into those of an invader,--our steamer glides on -what becomes a summer sea of smoothness. The few passengers begin to -appear on deck and stretch their vision for the first glance at the -imperial city. Upon the right, snug amidst its royal greenery, lies the -town of Peterhoff and its domes, minarets, and imperial palace, with -its splendid woods and waters. Our time is opportune for a glorious -sight, for it is sunset, and the sun goes down here at a discreet -hour. Bright dots of burnished gold begin faintly to spangle the sky -in front. They are domes, half hidden by the mist and the distance. -Then a tall spire, also gilded, brilliant and needle-like, pierces -the heavens! It is the Admiralty spire, or perhaps that of the Church -of the Fortress, the Westminster of Russia, the mausoleum of its dead -kings. A few moments, and St. Isaac's Church, the St. Peter's of -Russia, looms up in majestic and stupendous proportions. Its copper -dome is surrounded by four others, all ablaze, like burnished gold, -and surmounted by the gilded Greek cross which towers aloft, above the -bronze saints and angels which people its architraves and its corners, -its roofs and its pillared granite cupola! Beneath it is a city whose -roofs of varied hue cover almost a million of people; a city the -outgrowth from a swamp in less than two hundred years. - -We enter the Neva, whose divided waters flow in canals and lagoons -between grand pavements and superb palaces. At length we are -moored--alas! how soon the beatific vision vanishes!--amidst the -traffic and troubles of trade. We are to undergo a search, the first -yet made with rigor since our journey began. Nor can I complain of -this rigor. Recent events make police regulations here necessarily -stringent. But was it not a little humorous to see the long-robed -customs officers scrutinize the heterogeneous matters in our trunks? -Nothing was found contraband but--what think you?--New York journals! - -We had received a mail at Stockholm, and expected to read up fully -in St. Petersburg. Some dozen of these journals lay in a pile in my -wife's trunk. It would have done you good to see the leonine voracity -with which these papers were seized. Who was it that talked of the -thousand tongues of the press, clearer far than the silver trumpet of -the jubilee,--louder than the voice of the herald at the games? These -tongues had not a word of protest; the music of their trumpet was -frozen like that of the veracious traveller. Out of the bundle tumbled -an engraving of Charles XII., the old enemy of Russia! Did I tremble -for the ominous spectre of this dead madcap of Sweden? The courteous -officer handed it back with a gracious smile to my wife, who reached -for the rest of the bundle, while her face flushed at the indignity to -and the confusion of her domestic arrangements. But, with a hasty push -and an impetuous "Niebt! Niebt!" (No! no!) our papers were confiscated -to the state. The _Sun_ would not go down in this land; the _Tribune_ -was a voiceless oracle; the _World_ ceased to "move after all;" the -_Times_ were out of joint, and the _Express_ came to a dead halt! But -all this had its compensations; for soon we cross the great bridge, and -are housed in the Hôtel d'Angleterre, where though no papers were found -in our expected mail, plenty of news as to the President, and the land -we love, were found in letters, and these twelve days only from New -York. - -There shine into my windows, in dazzling glitter, the copper domes of -that marvel of cathedrals, St. Isaac's, which we saw from afar, upon -whose sides and pedestals, encamping night and day about us, are the -angels of this edifice of beauty! The guns of the citadel thunder out -the memory of this, the birthday of the Empress of this vast empire; -and, in spite of all ominous auguries to the contrary, we sojourn -in peace and safety in this city of beauty and bazaars, palaces and -pigeons, monuments and minarets, domes and deviltry, ceremonies and -cemeteries, armies and assassinations! - -Why does everybody, except the Russians, call this city St. Petersburg? -It was not named after St. Peter, but Peter the Great. It is a -magnificent city of palaces and wide avenues. Its very hospitals and -barracks are palatial, and there is no narrowness to any thoroughfare. -Its domes, where not painted blue with golden stars, or green, are -gilded, and make the city seem like a Constantinople new-risen upon the -North. In fact, with its canals and rivers, its streets, columns, and -palaces, its churches, and their outside and inside decorations, St. -Petersburg combines in itself and in its vistas, in its plan and its -magnificence, Venice, Amsterdam, Paris, and Constantinople. If it were -not stucco on the yellow houses, if it were only solid stone, how much -more impressive would be its mighty and superb aspect! Only one palace -is of granite, and but one church, St. Isaac's, of marble. - -The energy which has reared such a city out of a bog in less than two -centuries betokens the one-man energy which its founder inspired and -illustrated. Still, St. Petersburg, as a look from an elevation will -show, unless it be approached as we approached it, by the gulf and -river, is a vast plain, if not a swamp. The Neva saves it. It is a -splendid river, and makes its delta where the city stands. It is a city -of islands, connected by beautiful bridges. Red granite faces the banks -and makes the quays solid structures. Everything is colossal like the -empire. The informing genius of the male gender is Peter the Great, and -of the other gender Catherine II. If these sovereigns were insane, and -they were very peculiar for Russia, more insanity is desirable among -the princes of the earth. Peter opened this city, as he said, for a -window for Russia to look out of into civilized Europe. Peter was a -useful emperor for Russia and his time, although he did many diabolical -things. - - [Mr. Cox ventured upon a witticism, in consequence of which he - was mistaken for Mark Twain, whose peculiar vein of humor seems - to have made its mark on the Russian guide. He proceeds to give - his opinion of Russian humor.] - -The Russian humor is like that of Byron, which Edgar Poe said was too -savage to be laughed at. Some one calls it grotesque savagery; and -illustrates it by the freaks of Russian princes and czars. John the -Terrible thought there was no church like that of St. Basil, and put -out the architect's eyes to end any future work of that gifted artist. -Peter the Great proposed to hang the lawyers in his realm. He thought -one was too much. There is a story of the Empress Anne, who married -off her favorite dwarf or fool in an ice palace and gave them an icy -marriage-bed, where they froze to death. This I have seen pictured in -fine color and delineation. It was a Russian pleasantry. Catherine II. -slaughtered many of the men whom she did not love--out of a vagary of -fun. Most of the people here hold their revels in graveyards. Peter -stuffed the skin of one of his favorite servants--a tall fellow--and -put him in a museum. Paul issued a ukase against shoestrings and round -hats. He was fond of colors, and had fantastic hues painted on bridges -and gates. It is hardly mirthful to make an eagle out of gun-flints -and swords, or portray a group in heaven of Russians looking down on -Jews, Germans, and negroes. But this is Muscovite merriment. In the -Moscow markets the slaughtered animals are stuffed with sawdust and -look odd. It is said of the Emperor Paul that he dug up the bones of -those who murdered his father to pulverize them and blow them to the -winds. He arrested an Englishman for not taking off his hat to Royalty, -and ordered him to wear magnifying-glasses. This was jolly but not -exceptional, for the Russian is not adept in making genial fun. The -climate is not genial. - - [After seeing something of St. Petersburg on foot, he took a - carriage,--whose characteristics he thus describes:] - -The drosky is an odd-looking fleet sort of cab, which barely seats -two. It is near the ground, and if it upsets, it is safer than when it -is going. Its speed over the boulders is immense. Its driver is good, -and good-humored. The carts, wagons, drays, as well as droskies, have -a peculiar harness for the horse. The eminent characteristic of the -establishment is a sort of harness or yoke, about four or five feet -above the animal's shoulders. This is not peculiar to Russia, but it -is here developed in a higher degree. It rests on the shafts, and -somehow, as I believe (_loquor non inexpertus_), the horse has freer -motion and an easier draught under this yoke. It does not strain him -about the vitalities like our harness. He seems to run loosely as under -a canopy of green, though many of the yokes are thus painted with -emblems and owners' names on them. - -While watching a caravan of these yokes which do not oppress, I -had occasion to look through a long line of them, fifty in number, -carrying the rye-flour in sacks across the city, and discovered another -peculiarity. There is a stout rope from the horse's shoulders to the -front axle, which extends some two feet out of the hub to hold these -extra traces. The strain seemed to be upon these traces as much as -upon the shafts; and just as I was driving in a hurried way--for our -driver was dashing at the usual pace--one of our wheels came off and -rolled a rod, and down we were! Thanks to the good gray team and some -promptitude, we escaped harm; while sympathies all about from the -gathered crowd showed that there was much kindness upon the street.... - -What sights to our unaccustomed eyes are on every side as we drive! -Little Tartar children dressed in green; the soldiers with heavy coats -and long spears, from the tribes of the Don, the Cossack of history; -hussars of red, gay uniform; Caucasian soldiers, with dresses as gay -as the Spahis of Algiers,--with the various large-breeched natives, in -top-boots, or with red shirts only covered by a dark vest,--add to the -spectacle. - -The avenues are wide, and lined with high yellow buildings, palaces, -and government edifices, all proportionate to the immense empire of the -two continents. The signs look quaint with their peculiar lettering, -and the houses, which rarely have doors in front, are unusual in their -aspect. The sheet-iron roofs painted green and red; the police in -their green uniform and sword; the rivers and canals, full of strange -craft darting about in active business, some from far inland, laden -with grain, and some bearing passengers over the Neva and under its -bridges,--all these odd pictures contribute to keep us on the alert. We -drive along the Neva, whose splendid avenues and quays are one. They -are lined by the same yellow buildings, where the families of the royal -house reside. Then we cross the Neva on a pontoon bridge, called the -Troutsen, from which a splendid view is had of the spreading waters of -the river,--bounded at one end by the elegant edifice of the Commercial -Exchange. In winter the river is used for races upon the ice. - -Then we turn into Alexandria Park, and admire the villas of the -merchant princes upon the lagoons into which the Neva is divided. -From the rounding point we perceive the Finland Gulf, Cronstadt, and -Peterhoff, and all the points which we passed on our route hither. -Then we turn into the Zoological Gardens, where white bears and young -cubs, wolves, and walruses, along with thousands of pleasure-seekers, -together enjoy the brilliant mimic scenes till midnight. There we found -(for fifteen cents only) a splendid theatre, out-doors, and famous dogs -and monkeys performing, followed by a ballet in pantomime, in which -Greeks and Turks play parts, and in which the heroes and heroines of -the former are lifted through a gorgeous display of many-colored lights -into clouds of glory, amidst the cheers of the populace, which never -forgets that Turkey is its natural foe, and that Constantinople is its -natural if not national capital.... - -Upon our drive we notice some fine triumphal arches--copied after the -classic models and those of other countries--and other monuments, but -none equals the superb Alexander column, erected in 1832. It is a -solid shaft of red granite, the greatest monolith of the world. It is -based on an enormous block of red granite. There is an angel on the -summit. The monument is one hundred and fifty-four feet high, and has -a noble and inspiring grace and grandeur. Other statues to Peter and -Catherine, besides statues to soldiers and poets, make every square -of this grand city monumental. There is also an equestrian statue of -Nicholas. The horse is like that of General Jackson's in Lafayette -Square, Washington, and stands upon his hind legs only. It is so much -more elegantly and gracefully posed that I could not but compare it to -the disadvantage of our own favorite charger. - -On no day have we failed to find something about Peter the Great! In -"the summer gardens" there is an old palace, where are sacred relics -of his handiwork, such as chairs, cabinets, and Chinese designs. The -kitchen and bathroom have tiles of the old Dutch style, which he -greatly affected. The chimney is as huge as the room. Within is a -prison, where he is said to have kept his personal enemies, without -benefit of habeas corpus or clergy. It looks gloomy, and the grating -seems to be peculiarly adapted to a jail; but it is not very likely -that Peter would have enjoyed such society in his own favorite home.... - -The drives in the parks are beautiful. Therein is a lovely palace where -lived the Princess Dagmar before she became empress. The armory here -forms a museum of wonderful interest, for it has gifts of untold value -from Spain to Persia and beyond. Every kind of gun, sword, and dagger -is here; and those from the conquered sheiks and khans of Asia shine -resplendent in jewels by the mass. The saddle-cloths from the Orient, -and especially the presents from the Shah of Persia, are the richest -known to any collection in the world. Among the manifold things here -to be seen are the lock and key found near the site of the temple of -Jerusalem; the jewelry of the harem of the Khan of Khiva,--a wonderful -collection for female adornment; Chevalier Bayard's cuirass; a spear -which opens after it enters the body; an alarm clock which shoots -off a gun to awaken the sleeper; the flags taken in the Hungarian -insurrection of 1849; the baton of Schamyl, the Circassian chief, who -fought Russia so many years; the emeralds, by the quantity, which the -Shah of Persia sent to the Czar; the "horse furniture" of the Indian -sheiks, and a circular knife which they used to hurl, which cut your -head off before you could say your little prayer; and as a proper -apex to this collection of curious gifts and gems, worth alone sixty -millions of rubles, the sword of Mazeppa, the brave hetman of the -Poles, who will never cease to ride through histrionic and historic -dangers on that fierce untamed charger of the desert!... - -If you would find in full perfection the richest in all respects of -all the palaces in the world, I suppose the Winter Palace would be -that superlative edifice. Since the attempt to blow it up as the royal -people were about to dine it has been closed. I made an effort, through -Colonel Hoffman, our chargé d'affaires, to obtain an entrance for the -Americans now stopping here, but vainly. Recent events forbade. The -Czar himself will not go into it again. It is shut for two years. This -was a disappointment, but it was partly compensated for by admission to -the "Hermitage," which is a part or a neighbor to the Winter Palace. -But the Hermitage seems to be enough for all our time. - -All the "masters," old and young, native and foreign, are in profusion -here, as well as specimens of the exhaustless mineral glories of Russia -and Siberia in every form of carved beauty and tasteful grace. Museums -of ancient statuary, coins, jewels, and intaglios, illustrating every -age and phase of history, and, as a climax of interest, the relics -of the city of Kertch and other palaces in the Greek colonies of two -thousand years ago,--now in southern Russia,--are here. This exhibition -supplements General Cesnola's Cyprian antiquities, and would add fresh -interest to our home museum. Upon these Greek relics are found such -dresses, worn by the ancient Scythians, as our drosky-drivers now wear, -and bas-reliefs on these old vases show horses managed exactly as my -former Ohio constituent, Rarey, used to quell the worst "Cruisers" of -the equestrian world. - -But, as a small American boy remarked at the end of our six hours' -promenade through these corridors, "We feel two thousand years old -ourselves, we have travelled so much and so far." - -Do you ask, is Peter the Great to be found at the Hermitage? Surely, he -is everywhere. Here are his lathes, tools and knives, and _plaques_, -or disks of copper and ivory, cut by his own hand. Here, too, is his -measuring-staff, which was a foot taller than any one in our party, and -that of his valet, a foot taller than Peter! How could he be such a -warrior, statesman, mechanic, and architect, ruling such an immense and -incongruous people so well, and make so many knick-knacks with his own -hand and out of his own mechanical contrivance? This conundrum puzzles -the brain. We are curious to know the secret of Peter's power, and of -the glamour of grandeur around this giant of Muscovite history and -modern civilization.... - -The staircase of this palace of the Hermitage has no equal in its size -and proportion. Outside, there are immense black colossal porphyry -figures bearing up the portico, each an Atlas itself. They are emblems -of the eighty millions of subjects, which from every rank uphold this -extended empire. With its sixty millions of farmers, now free; its -seven millions of villagers, its one million of gentry, nobles, and -officers, and its four millions of military men and their families, it -would seem that the vast edifice of the Russian power would be stable, -supported by such Atlantean shoulders. Is it really so? Time will tell. -For the welfare of all it is to be wished that there was more comfort -and elevation among these vast masses of men. - - - - -A VISIT TO FINLAND. - -DAVID KER. - - [Finland is now Northern Russia, and the Finns are classed as - Russians; but it is so only in autocratic decrees and tax-lists. - The Finns cannot, by any governmental metamorphosis, be - transformed into Russians, and their land will still retain its - individuality. In winter it lies deep within the domain of the - ice-king. How it appears in summer is described in the following - record of travel.] - - -"Why don't you go to Imatra?" asks my friend P---- as we lean over -the side of the Peterhof steamer and watch the golden domes of St. -Petersburg rising slowly from the dull gray level of the Gulf of -Finland. "Now that you've seen a bit of Central Russia, that's the next -thing for you to do. Go to Imatra, and I'll go too." - -"And where on earth is Imatra?" ask I, innocently. - -"Oh, come! you don't mean to say you've never heard of Imatra? Why, -everybody knows it. Let's go there next week." - -Nevertheless, it so happens that I have _not_ heard of Imatra,--an -ignorance probably shared by most people out of Russia, and perhaps not -a few in it. But I am destined to a speedier acquaintance than I had -anticipated with the famous waterfall (or "foss," as the natives call -it), which, lying forty miles due north of the Finnish port of Viborg, -close to the renowned "Saima Lake," attracts the amateur fishermen of -St. Petersburg by scores every summer.... - -Accordingly, behold all our preparations made,--knapsacks packed, -tear-and-wear garments put in requisition, many-colored Russian notes -exchanged (at a fearful discount) for dingy Finnish silver,--and at -half-past ten on a not particularly bright July morning we stand on the -deck of the anything but "good ship" "Konstantin," bound for Viborg. - -Despite her tortoise qualities as a steamer, however (which prolong -our voyage to nearly nine hours), the vessel is really luxurious in -her accommodations; and were her progress even slower, the motley -groups around us (groups such as only Dickens could describe or Leech -portray) would sufficiently beguile the time,--jaunty boy-officers -in brand-new uniforms, gallantly puffing their _papirossi_ (paper -cigarettes) in defiance of coming nausea, and discussing the merits -of the new opera loud enough to assure every one within earshot that -they know nothing whatever about it; squat Finnish peasants, whose -round, puffy faces and thick yellow hair are irresistibly suggestive -of over-boiled apple-dumplings; gray-coated Russian soldiers, with -the dogged endurance of their race written in every line of their -patient, stolid, unyielding faces; a lanky Swede, whose huge cork hat -and broad collar give him the look of an exaggerated medicine-bottle; -the inevitable tourist in the inevitable plaid suit, struggling with -endless convolutions of fishing-tackle and hooking himself in a fresh -place at every turn; three or four pale-faced clerks on leave, looking -very much as if their "overwork" had been in some way connected with -cigars and bad brandy; a German tradesman from Vasili-Ostroff (with the -short turnip-colored moustache characteristic of Wilhelm in his normal -state), in dutiful attendance on his wife, who is just completing her -preparations for being comfortably ill as soon as the vessel starts; -and a fine specimen of the real British merchant, talking vehemently -(in a miraculous dialect of his own invention) to a Russian official, -whose air of studied politeness shows plainly that he does not -understand a word of his neighbor's discourse. - -Directly we go off the rain comes on, with that singular fatality -characteristic of pleasure-trips in general, arising, doubtless, -from the mysterious law which ordains that a man shall step into a -puddle the instant he has had his boots blacked, and that a piece of -bread-and-butter shall fall (how would Sir Isaac Newton have accounted -for it?) with the buttered side downward. In a trice the deck is -deserted by all save two or three self-devoted martyrs in mackintosh, -who "pace the plank" with that air of stern resolution worn by an -Englishman when dancing a quadrille or discharging any other painful -duty. The scenery throughout the entire voyage consists chiefly of -fog, relieved by occasional patches of sand-bank; and small wonder if -the superior attractions of the well-spread dinner-table detain most -of our fellow-sufferers below. What is this first dish that they offer -us? _Raw salmon_, by the shade of Soyer! sliced thin and loaded with -pepper. Then follow soup, fried trout, roast beef, boiled ditto, slices -of German sausage, neck of veal and bacon, fried potatoes and cabbage. -Surely, now, "Hold, enough!" Not a bit of it: enter an enormous -plum-pudding, which might do duty for a globe at any provincial school; -next, a dish of rice and preserve, followed by some of the strongest -conceivable cheese; finally, strawberries and bilberries, with cream -and sugar _ad libitum_. Involuntarily I recall the famous old American -story of the "boss" at a railway refreshment-room who demanded fifty -cents extra from a passenger who stuck to the table after all the -rest had dined and gone away. "Your board says, 'Dinner, three dollars -and fifty cents!'" remonstrated the victim.--"Ah! that's all very well -for reasonable human bein's with one stomach apiece," retorted the -Inexorable; "but when a feller eats _as if there were no hereafter_, -we've got to pile it on!" - -As we pass Cronstadt the fog "lifts" slightly, giving us a momentary -glimpse of the huge forts that guard the passage,--the locked door -which bars out Western Europe. There is nothing showy or pretentious -about these squat, round-shouldered, narrow-eyed sentinels of the -channel; but they have a grim air of reserved strength, as though -they could be terribly effective in time of need. Two huge forts now -command the "southern channel," in addition to the four which guarded -it at the time of the Baltic expedition during the Crimean war; and the -land-batteries (into which no outsider is now admitted without special -permission) are being strengthened by movable shields of iron and other -appliances of the kind, for which nearly one million roubles (one -hundred and fifty thousand pounds) have been set apart. The seaward -approaches are commanded by numerous guns of formidable calibre, and -far away on the long, level promontory of the North Spit we can just -descry a dark excrescence,--the battery recently constructed for -the defence of the "northern passage." Thus, from the Finnish coast -to Oranienbaum a bristling line of unbroken fortification proclaims -Russia's aversion to war, and the gaping mouths of innumerable cannon -announce to all who approach, with silent eloquence, that "L'empire -c'est la paix." It is a fine political parable that the Western -traveller's first glimpse of Russian civilization should assume the -form of a line of batteries, reminding one of poor Mungo Park's -splendid unconscious sarcasm, when, while wandering helplessly in the -desert, he came suddenly upon a gibbet with a man hanging in chains -upon it; "Whereupon," says he, "I kneeled down and gave hearty thanks -to Almighty God, who had been pleased to conduct me once more into a -Christian and civilized country." - - [The steamboat journey ended at the Finnish port of Viborg, - eighty miles by land from St. Petersburg, and now accessible - by rail.] - -"We must breakfast early to-morrow, mind," says P----, as we settle -into our respective beds, "for a march in the sun here is no joke, you -bet!" - -"Worse than in Arabia or South America?" ask I with calm scorn. - -"You'll find the north of Russia a pretty fair match for both at this -season. Do you happen to know that one of the hottest places in the -world is Archangelsk on the White Sea? In summer the pitch melts off -the vessels like butter, and the mosquitoes are so thick that the men -on board the grain-ships fairly burrow into the corn for shelter. -Good-night! Sharp six to-morrow, mind!" - -Accordingly, the early daylight finds us tramping along the edge of -the picturesque little creek (dappled here and there with wood-crowned -islets) in order to get well into our work before the sun is high -in the sky, for a forty-mile march, knapsack on shoulder, across a -difficult country, in the heat of a real Russian summer, is not a thing -to be trifled with, even by men who have seen Turkey and Syria. A -sudden turn of the road soon blots out the sea, and we plunge at once -into the green silent depths of the northern forest. - -It is characteristic of the country that, barely out of sight of one -of the principal ports of Finland, we are in the midst of a loneliness -as utter as if it had never been broken by man. The only tokens of -his presence are the narrow swath of road running between the dim, -unending files of the shadowy pine-trees, and the tall wooden posts, -striped black and white like a zebra, which mark the distance in versts -from Viborg, the verst being two-thirds of a mile. - -To an unpractised eye the marvellous smoothness and hardness of this -forest highway (unsurpassed by any macadamized road in England) might -suggest a better opinion of the local civilization than it deserves; -for in this case it is the soil, not the administration, that merits -all the credit. In granite-paved Finland, as in limestone-paved -Barbadoes, Nature has already laid down your road in a way that no -human engineering can rival, and all you have to do is to smooth it to -your own liking. - -And now the great panorama of the far North--a noble change from the -flat unending monotony of the Russian steppes--begins in all its -splendor. At one moment we are buried in a dark depth of forest, -shadowy and spectral as those which haunt us in the weird outlines -of Retzsch; the next minute we burst upon an open valley, bright -with fresh grass, and with a still, shining lake slumbering in the -centre, the whole picture framed in a background of sombre woods. Here -rise giant boulders of granite, crested with spreading pines,--own -brothers, perhaps, of the block dragged hence eighty years ago from -which the greatest of Russian rulers still looks down upon the city -that bears his name; there, bluffs of wooded hill rear themselves -above the surrounding sea of foliage, and at times the roadside is -dotted with the little wooden huts of the natives, whence wooden-faced -women, turbaned with colored handkerchiefs, and white-headed children, -in nothing but a short night-gown with a warm lining of dirt, stare -wonderingly at us as we go striding past. And over all hangs the clear, -pearly-gray northern sky. - -One hour is past, and still the air keeps moderately fresh, although -the increasing glare warns us that it will be what I once heard a -British tourist call "more hotterer" by and by. So far, however, we -have not turned a hair, and the second hour's work matches the first -to an inch. As we pass through the little hamlet which marks the first -quarter of our allotted distance we instinctively pull out our watches: -"Ten miles in two hours! Not so bad, but we must keep it up." - -So we set ourselves to the third hour, and out comes the sun--bright -and beautiful and destroying as Homer's Achilles: - - "Bright are his rays, but evil fate they send, - And to sad man destroying heat portend." - -Hitherto, despite the severity of our pace, we have contrived to keep -up a kind of flying conversation, but now grim silence settles on our -way. There is a point in every match against time when the innate -ferocity of man, called forth by the exercises which civilization has -borrowed from the brute creation, comes to the front in earnest,--when -your best friend becomes your deadly enemy, and the fact of his being -one stride in advance of you is an injury only to be atoned by blood. -Such is the precise point that we have reached now; and when we -turn from exchanging malignant looks with each other, it is only to -watch with ominous eagerness for the coming in sight of the painted -verst-posts, which somehow appear to succeed one another far more -slowly than they did an hour ago. - -By the middle of the fourth hour we are marching with coats off and -sleeves rolled up, like amateur butchers; and although our "pace" is -as good as ever, the elastic swing of our first start is now replaced -by that dogged, "hard-and-heavy" tramp which marks the point where -the flesh and the spirit begin to pull in opposite directions. Were -either of us alone, the pace would probably slacken at once, and each -may safely say in his heart, as Condorcet said of the dying D'Alembert, -"Had I not been there he _must_ have flinched!" - -But just as the fourth hour comes to an end (during which we have -looked at our watches as often as Wellington during the terrible -mid-day hours that preceded the distant boom of the Prussian cannon) -we come round a sharp bend in the road, and there before us lies -the quaint little log-built post-house (the "half-way house" in -very truth), with its projecting roof and painted front and striped -doorposts; just at which auspicious moment I stumble and twist my foot. - -"You were right to reserve _that_ performance to the last," remarks -P----, with a grin, helping me to the door; and we order a _samovar_ -(tea-urn) to be heated, while we ourselves indulge in a scrambling wash -of the rudest kind, but very refreshing nevertheless. - -Reader, did you ever walk five miles an hour for four hours together -over a hilly country, with the thermometer at eighty-three degrees in -the shade? If so, then will you appreciate our satisfaction as we throw -aside our heavy boots, plunge our swollen feet into cold water, and, -with coats off and collars thrown open, sit over our tea and black -bread in that quaint little cross-beamed room, with an appetite never -excited by the best _plats_ of the Erz-Herzog Karl or the Trois Frères -Provençaux. Two things, at least, one may always be sure of finding in -perfection at a Russian post-station: tea is the one; the other I need -not particularize, as its presence does not usually become apparent -till you retire to rest" (?). - -Our meal being over and my foot still unfit for active service, we -order a _telyayga_ (cart) and start anew for Imatra Foss. Our vehicle -is simply a wooden tray on wheels, with a bag of hay in it, on which we -do our best to recline, while our driver perches himself on the edge of -the cart, thereby doubtless realizing vividly the sensation of rowing -hard in a pair of thin unmentionables. Thanks to the perpetual gaps in -the road formed by the great thaw two months ago (the Finnish winter -ending about the beginning of May), during the greater part of the ride -we play an animated though involuntary game of cup-and-ball, being -thrown up and caught again incessantly. At length a dull roar, growing -ever louder and louder, breaks the dreamy stillness of the forest, and -before long we come to a little chalet-like inn embosomed in trees, -where we alight, for this is the "Imatra Hotel." - -Let us cast one glance out of the back window before sitting down to -supper (in a long, bare, chilly chamber like a third-class waiting -room), for such a view is not seen every day. We are on the very brink -of a deep narrow gorge, the upper part of which is so thickly clad with -pines as to resemble the crest of some gigantic helmet, but beneath -the naked granite stands out in all its grim barrenness, lashed by the -spray of the mighty torrent that roars between its projecting rocks. -Just below us, the river, forced back by a huge boulder in the centre -of its course, literally piles itself up into a kind of liquid mound, -foaming, flashing, and trembling incessantly, the ceaseless motion -and tremendous din of the rapids having an indescribably bewildering -effect.... - -But the lake itself is, if possible, even more picturesque than the -river. It is one of those long, straggling bodies of water so common -in the far North, resembling not so much one great lake as an endless -series of small ones. Just at the sortie of the river a succession of -rapids, scarcely less magnificent than those of the "Foss" itself, -rush between the wooded shores, their unresting whirl and fury -contrasting gloriously with the vast expanse of glassy water above, -crested with leafy islets and mirroring the green boughs that droop -over it along the shore. Here did we spend many a night fishing and -"spinning yarns," in both of which accomplishments the ex-chasseur -was pre-eminent; and strange enough it seemed, lying in the depths -of that northern forest, to listen to descriptions of the treeless -sands of Egypt and the burning wastes of the Sahara. Our midnight -camp, on a little promontory just above the rapids, was a study for -Rembrandt,--the slender pine-stems reddened by the blaze of our -camp-fire; the group of bearded faces coming and going as the light -waxed and waned; beyond the circle of light a gloom all the blacker -for the contrast; the ghostly white of the foam shimmering through the -leaves, and the clear moonlit sky overhanging all. - -When a wet day came upon us the inexhaustible ex-chasseur (who, like -Frederick the Great, could "do everything but keep still") amused -himself and us with various experiments in cookery, of which art he -was a perfect master. His versatility in sauces might have aroused the -envy of Soyer himself, and the party having brought with them a large -stock of provisions, he was never at a loss for materials. Our ordinary -dinner consisted of trout sauced with red wine, mutton, veal, duck, -cheese, fresh strawberries, and coffee; after which every man took his -tumbler of tea, with a slice of lemon in it, from the stove, and the -evening began. - -_The_ sight of the country, however, is undoubtedly the natives -themselves. Their tawny skins, rough yellow hair, and coarse flat faces -would look uninviting enough to those who have never seen a Kalmuck -or a Samoyede, but, despite their diet of dried fish and bread mixed -with sawdust both men and women are remarkably healthy and capable of -surprising feats of strength and endurance. They make great use of bark -for caps, shoes, plates, etc., in the making of which they are very -skilful. As to their dress, it baffles description, and the horror of -my friend the ex-chasseur at his first glimpse of it was as good as a -play.... - -But there needs only a short journey here to show the folly of further -annexations on the part of Russia while those already made are so -lamentably undeveloped. Finland, which, rightly handled, might be one -of the Czar's richest possessions, is now, after nearly seventy years' -occupation, as unprofitable as ever. Throughout the whole province -there are only three hundred and ninety-eight miles of railway. Post -roads, scarce enough in the South, are absolutely wanting in the North. -Steam navigation on the Gulf of Bothnia extends only to Uleaborg, and -is, so far as I can learn, actually non-existent on the great lakes, -except between Tanasthuus and Tammerfors. Such is the state of a land -containing boundless water-power, countless acres of fine timber, -countless ship-loads of splendid granite. But what can be expected of -an untaught population under two millions left to themselves in an -unreclaimed country nearly as large as France? - -But better days are now dawning on the afflicted land. Roads and -railways are being pushed forward into the interior, and the ill-judged -attempts formerly made to Russianize the population have given place -to a more conciliatory policy. A Russian from Helsingfors tells me -that lectures are being delivered there, and extracts from native -works read, in the aboriginal tongue; that it is being treated with -special attention in the great schools of Southern Finland; that there -has even been some talk of dramatic representations in Finnish at the -Helsingfors theatre. - - - - -MOSCOW IN 1800. - -EDWARD DANIEL CLARKE. - - [Of the English travellers of the latter part of the last - century, none acquired greater distinction than Dr. Clarke. Born - in Sussex in 1769, in 1790 he made a tour of Great Britain, in - 1792 visited France, Switzerland, and Italy, and in 1799 started - on a three-years' tour of Northern Europe, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, - etc., publishing, in 1810, "Travels in Various Parts of Europe, - Asia, and Africa," one of the most delightful and popular works of - travel ever issued, and which has given him a durable celebrity. - He died in 1822. We give below a portion of his animated - description of Moscow, which he visited in 1800, years before the - invasion of Napoleon and the burning of this celebrated Russian - capital.] - - -There is nothing more extraordinary in this country than the transition -of the seasons. The people of Moscow have no spring: winter _vanishes_, -and summer _is_. This is not the work of a week, or a day, but of one -instant, and the manner of it exceeds belief. We came from Petersburg -to Moscow on sledges. The next day snow was gone. On the 8th of April, -at mid-day, snow beat in at our carriage windows. On the same day, at -sunset, arriving in Moscow, we had difficulty in being dragged through -the mud to the commandant's. The next morning the streets were dry, the -double windows had been removed from the houses, the casements thrown -open, all the carriages were upon wheels, and the balconies filled with -spectators. Another day brought with it twenty-three degrees of heat of -Celsius, when the thermometer was placed in the shade at noon. - -We arrived at the season of the year in which this city is most -interesting to strangers. Moscow is in everything extraordinary, as -well in disappointing expectation as in surpassing it; in causing -wonder and derision, pleasure and regret. Let me conduct the reader -back with me again to the gate by which we entered, and thence through -the streets. Numerous spires, glittering with gold, amidst burnished -domes and painted palaces, appear in the midst of an open plain for -several versts before you reach this gate. Having passed, you look -about, and wonder what has become of the city, or where you are, and -are ready to ask, once more, "How far is it to Moscow?" They will tell -you, "This is Moscow!" and you behold nothing but a wide and scattered -suburb,--houses, gardens, pigsties, brick walls, churches, dung-hills, -palaces, timber-yards, warehouses, and a refuse, as it were, of -materials, sufficient to stock an empire with miserable towns and -miserable villages. - -One might imagine all the states of Europe and Asia had sent a -building, by way of representative, to Moscow, and, under this -impression, the eye is presented with deputies from all countries, -holding congress: timber huts from regions beyond the Arctic; plastered -palaces from Sweden and Denmark, not whitewashed since their arrival; -painted walls from the Tyrol; mosques from Constantinople; Tartar -temples from Bucharia; pagodas, pavilions, and verandas from China; -cabarets from Spain; dungeons, prisons, and public offices from France; -architectural ruins from Rome; terraces and trellises from Naples, and -warehouses from Wapping. - -[Illustration: MOSCOW] - -Having heard accounts of its immense population, you wander through -deserted streets. Passing suddenly towards the quarter where the shops -are situated, you might walk upon the heads of thousands. The daily -throng is there so immense that, unable to force a passage through it, -or assign any motive that might convene such a multitude, you ask the -cause, and are told that it is always the same. Nor is the costume -less various than the aspect of the buildings. Greeks, Turks, Tartars, -Cossacks, Chinese, Muscovites, English, French, Italians, Poles, -Germans, all parade in the habits of their respective countries. - -We were in a Russian inn, a complete epitome of the city itself. -The next room to ours was filled by ambassadors from Persia. In a -chamber beyond the Persians lodged a party of Kirghisians, a people -yet unknown, and any one of whom might be exhibited in a cage as some -newly-discovered species. They had bald heads, covered by conical -embroidered caps, and wore sheep's hides. Beyond the Kirghisians lodged -a _nidus_ of Bucharians, wild as the asses of Numidia. All these were -ambassadors from their respective districts, extremely jealous of each -other, who had been to Petersburg to treat of commerce, peace, and war. - -The doors of all our chambers opened into one gloomy passage, so that -sometimes we all encountered, and formed a curious masquerade. The -Kirghisians and Bucharians were best at arm's length; but the worthy -old Persian, whose name was Orazai, often exchanged visits with us. -He brought us presents, according to the custom of his country, and -was much pleased with an English pocketknife we had given him, with -which he said he should shave his head. At his devotions he stood -silent for an hour together, on two small carpets, barefooted, with his -face towards Mecca, holding, as he said, intellectual converse with -Mohammed.... - -Ambassadors of other more Oriental hordes drove into the court-yard of -the inn from Petersburg. The Emperor had presented each of them with a -barouche. Never was anything more ludicrous than their appearance. Out -of respect to the sovereign they had maintained a painful struggle to -preserve their seat, sitting cross-legged, like Turks. The snow having -melted, they had been jolted in this manner over the trunks of trees, -which form a timber causeway between Petersburg and Moscow; so that, -when taken from their fine new carriages, they could hardly crawl, and -made the most pitiable grimaces imaginable. A few days after coming to -Moscow they ordered all the carriages to be sold for whatever sum any -person would offer. - - [Immediately after Mr. Clarke's arrival at Moscow the Easter - ceremonies were celebrated with great pomp and display. Of - these he gives an animated description, of which we select the - concluding portion.] - -The third and most magnificent ceremony of all is celebrated two hours -after midnight, in the morning of Easter Sunday. It is called the -ceremony of the Resurrection, and certainly exceeded everything of the -kind celebrated at Rome, or anywhere else. I have not seen so splendid -a sight in any Roman Catholic country, not even that of the benediction -by the Pope during the Holy Week. - -At midnight the great bell of the cathedral tolled. Its vibrations -seemed the rolling of distant thunder, and they were instantly -accompanied by the noise of all the bells in Moscow. Every inhabitant -was stirring, and the rattling of carriages in the streets was greater -than at noonday. The whole city was in a blaze, for lights were seen -in all the windows, and innumerable torches in the streets. The tower -of the cathedral was illuminated from its foundation to its cross. -The same ceremony takes place in all the churches; and, what is truly -surprising, considering their number, it is said they are all equally -crowded. - -We hastened to the cathedral, which was filled with a prodigious -assembly of all ranks and sexes, bearing lighted wax tapers, to -be afterwards heaped as vows on the different shrines. The walls, -ceilings, and every part of this building are covered by the pictures -of saints and martyrs. In the moment of our arrival the doors were -shut, and on the outside appeared Reato, the archbishop, preceded by -banners and torches, and followed by all his train of priests, with -crucifixes and censers, who were making three times, in procession, the -tour of the cathedral, chanting with loud voices, and glittering in -sumptuous vestments, covered by gold, silver, and precious stones. The -snow had not melted so rapidly in the Kremlin as in the streets of the -city, and this magnificent procession was therefore constrained to move -upon planks over the deep mud which surrounded the cathedral. - -After completing the third circuit they all halted opposite the great -doors, which were shut; and the archbishop, with a censer, scattered -incense against the doors and over the priests. Suddenly these doors -were opened, and the effect was beyond description great. The immense -throng of spectators within, bearing innumerable tapers, formed two -lines, through which the archbishop entered, advancing with his train -to a throne near the centre. The profusion of lights in all parts of -the cathedral, and, among others, of the enormous chandelier which -hung from the centre, the richness of the dresses, and the vastness -of the assembly, filled us with astonishment. Having joined the suite -of the archbishop, we accompanied the procession, and passed even -to the throne, on which the police officers permitted us to stand, -among the priests, near an embroidered stool of satin, placed for -the archbishop. The loud chorus which burst forth at the entrance to -the church continued as the procession moved towards the throne, and -after the archbishop had taken his seat, when my attention was for a -moment called off by seeing one of the Russians earnestly crossing -himself with his right hand, while his left was employed in picking my -companion's pocket of his handkerchief. - -Soon after the archbishop descended, and went all round the cathedral, -first offering incense to the priests, and then to the people, as he -passed along. When he had returned to his seat the priests, two by two, -performed the same ceremony, beginning with the archbishop, who rose -and made obeisance with a lighted taper in his hand. From the moment -the church doors were opened the spectators had continued bowing their -heads and crossing themselves, insomuch that some of the people seemed -really exhausted by the constant motion of the head and hands. - -I had now leisure to examine the dresses and figures of the priests, -which were certainly the most striking I ever saw. Their long dark -hair, without powder, fell down in ringlets, or straight and thick, -far over their rich robes and shoulders. Their dark thick beards, -also, entirely covered their breasts. On the heads of the archbishop -and bishops were high caps, covered with gems and adorned by miniature -paintings, set in jewels, of the crucifixion, the Virgin, and the -saints. Their robes of various-colored satin were of the most costly -embroidery, and even on these were miniature pictures set with precious -stones.... - -After two hours had been spent in various ceremonies, the archbishop -advanced, holding forth a cross, which all the people crowded to -embrace, squeezing each other nearly to suffocation. As soon, however, -as their eagerness had been somewhat satisfied, he retired to the -sacristy, where, putting on a plain purple robe, he again advanced, -exclaiming three times in a very loud voice, "Christ is risen!" - -The most remarkable part of the solemnity now followed. The archbishop, -descending into the body of the church, concluded the whole ceremony -by crawling round the pavement on his hands and knees, kissing the -consecrated pictures, whether on the pillars, the walls, the altars, -or the tombs, the priests and all the people imitating his example. -Sepulchres were opened and all the mummied bodies of incorruptible -saints exhibited, all of which underwent the same general kissing. - -Thus was Easter proclaimed, and riot and debauchery instantly broke -loose. The inn in which we lodged became a pandemonium. Drinking, -dancing, and singing continued through the night and day. But in the -midst of all these excesses quarrels hardly ever took place. The wild, -rude riot of a Russian populace is full of humanity. Few disputes are -heard; no blows are given; no lives endangered, but by drinking. No -meetings take place of any kind without repeating the expressions of -peace and joy, _Christos voscress!_ "Christ is risen!" to which the -answer always is the same, _Vo isteney voscress!_ "He is risen indeed!" - -On Easter Monday begins the presentation of the paschal eggs: lovers to -their mistresses, relatives to each other, servants to their masters, -all bring ornamented eggs. Every offering at this season is called a -paschal egg. The meanest pauper in the street, presenting an egg, and -repeating the words, _Christos voscress_, may demand a salute, even of -the Empress. All business is laid aside; the upper ranks are engaged in -visiting, balls, dinners, suppers, and masquerades, while boors fill -the air with their songs or roll drunk about the streets. Servants -appear in new and tawdry liveries, and carriages in the most sumptuous -parade.... - -After London and Constantinople, Moscow is, doubtless, the most -remarkable city in Europe. A stranger, passing rapidly through, might -pronounce it the dullest, dirtiest, and most uninteresting city in -the world, while another, having resided there, would affirm that it -had rather the character of a great commercial and wealthy metropolis -of a vast and powerful empire. If the grandeur and riches of the -inhabitants are to be estimated by the number of equipages, and the -number of horses attached to each, Moscow would excel in splendor all -the cities of the globe. There is hardly an individual, above the rank -of plebeian, who would be seen without four horses to his carriage, -and the generality have six. But the manner in which this pomp is -displayed is a perfect burlesque upon stateliness. A couple of ragged -boys are placed as postilions, before a coachman in such sheep's hides -as are worn by the peasants in the woods, and behind the carriage are -stationed a couple of lackeys, more tawdry but not less ludicrous -than their drivers. To give all this greater effect, the traces of -the horses are so long that it requires considerable management to -preserve the horses from being entangled whenever they turn the corner -of a street or make a halt. Notwithstanding this, no stranger, however -he may deride its absurdity, will venture to visit the nobles, if -he wishes for their notice, without four horses to his chariot, a -ragged coachman and postilion, and a parade of equipage that must -excite his laughter in proportion as it insures their countenance and -approbation.... - -The numberless bells of Moscow continue to ring during the whole of -Easter week, tinkling and tolling without any kind of harmony or order. -The large bell near the cathedral is only used on important occasions, -and yields the finest and most solemn tone I ever heard. When it -sounds, a deep and hollow murmur vibrates all over Moscow, like the -fullest and lowest tones of a vast organ, or the rolling of distant -thunder. This bell is suspended in a tower called the Belfry of St. -Ivan, beneath others which, though of less size, are enormous. It is -forty feet nine inches in circumference, sixteen inches and a half -thick, and it weighs more than fifty-seven tons. - -The Kremlin is, above all other places, most worthy a traveller's -notice. It was our evening walk, whenever we could escape the -engagements of society. The view it affords of the city surpasses every -other, both in singularity and splendor, especially from St. Ivan's -tower. This fortress is surrounded on all sides by walls, towers, -and ramparts, and stuffed full of domes and steeples. The appearance -differs in every point of view, on account of the strange irregularity -in the edifices it contains.... - -The great bell of Moscow, known to be the largest ever founded, is in -a deep pit in the midst of the Kremlin. The history of its fall is a -fable, and, as writers are accustomed to copy each other, the story -continues to be propagated. The fact is, the bell remains in the place -where it was originally cast. It never was suspended. The Russians -might as well attempt to suspend a first-rate line-of-battle ship with -all its guns and stores. A fire took place in the Kremlin, the flames -of which caught the building erected over the pit in which the bell -yet remained, in consequence of which the metal became hot, and water -thrown to extinguish the fire fell upon the bell, causing the fracture -which has taken place. - -The entrance is by a trap-door placed even with the surface of the -earth. We found the steps very dangerous. Some of them were wanting, -and others broken, which occasioned me a severe fall down the whole -extent of the first flight and a narrow escape for my life in not being -dashed upon the bell. In consequence of this accident a sentinel was -stationed afterwards at the trap-door to prevent people from becoming -victims to their curiosity. He might have been as well employed in -mending the steps as in waiting all day to say that they were broken. - -The bell is truly a mountain of metal. They relate that it contains -a very large proportion of gold and silver, for that, while it was -in fusion, the people cast in, as votive offerings, their plate and -money. It is permitted to doubt the truth of traditionary tales, -particularly in Russia, where people are much disposed to relate -what they have heard without once reflecting on its probability. I -endeavored in vain to assay a small part. The natives regard it with -superstitious veneration, and they would not allow even a grain to be -filed off; at the same time it may be said the compound has a white, -shining appearance, unlike bell-metal in general, and perhaps its -silvery appearance has strengthened, if not given rise to, a conjecture -respecting the richness of its materials. - - [The bell, two feet above its lower part,--which was buried in - the earth,--measured in circumference sixty-seven feet four - inches; its height was twenty-one feet four and a half inches; in - its thickest part it measured twenty-three inches. The estimated - weight is four hundred and forty-three thousand seven hundred and - seventy-two pounds.] - -The architecture exhibited in different parts of the Kremlin, in -its palaces and churches, is like nothing seen in Europe. It is -difficult to say from what country it has been principally derived. -The architects were generally Italians; but the style is Tartarian, -Indian, Chinese, and Gothic. Here a pagoda, there an arcade! In some -parts richness and even elegance; in others, barbarity and decay. Taken -altogether, it is a jumble of magnificence and ruin. Old buildings -repaired and modern structures not completed. Half-open vaults and -mouldering walls and empty caves, amidst whitewashed brick buildings -and towers and churches, with glittering, gilded, or painted domes. -In the midst of it some devotees are seen entering a little, mean -structure, more like a stable than a church. This, they tell you, is -the first place of Christian worship erected in Moscow.... - -The view of Moscow from the terrace in the Kremlin, near the spot where -the artillery is preserved, would afford a fine subject for a panorama. -The number of magnificent buildings, the domes, the towers, the spires, -which fill all the prospect, make it, perhaps, the most novel and -interesting sight in Europe. All the wretched hovels and miserable -wooden buildings, which appear in passing through the streets, are -lost in the vast assemblage of magnificent edifices, among which the -Foundling Hospital is particularly conspicuous. Below the walls of -the Kremlin the Moscva, already become a river of importance, is seen -flowing towards the Volga. The new promenade forming on its banks, -immediately below the fortress, is a superb work, and promises to rival -the famous quay at Petersburg. - - - - -A RUSSIAN SLEIGH JOURNEY. - -FREDERICK BURNABY. - - [Those who would like to obtain a lively picture of life in - Russia and on the Asiatic steppes should read Captain Burnaby's - "A Ride to Khiva" (1875), which is one of the most sprightly works - of travel extant. We have elsewhere made a selection illustrative - of the traveller's adventures in Asia, and present here some of - his experiences in Russia. We take him up at the railroad terminus - at Sizeran, whence he proposes to make his way by sleigh to - Orenburg, _via_ Samara.] - - -"You had better put on plenty of clothes," was the friendly caution I -received from my companion as I entered the dressing-room, "for the -thermometer marks twenty degrees below zero, Reaumur, and there is a -wind." - -People in this country who have never experienced a Russian winter -have little idea of the difference even a slight breeze makes when the -mercury stands low in the thermometer, for the wind then cuts through -you, furs and all, and penetrates to the very bones. Determined to -be on my guard against the frost, I dressed myself, as I thought, as -warmly as possible, and so as to be utterly impervious to the elements. - -First came three pairs of the thickest stockings, drawn high up above -the knee, and over them a pair of fur-lined low shoes, which in their -turn were inserted into leather galoches, my limbs being finally -deposited in a pair of enormous cloth boots, the latter reaching up -to the thigh. Previously I had put on some extra thick drawers and a -pair of trousers, the astonishment of the foreman of Messrs. Kino's -establishment, "Lord love you, sir," being his remark when I tried them -on, "no cold could get through them trousers, anyhow." - -I must confess that I rather chuckled as my legs assumed herculean -proportions, and I thought that I should have a good laugh at the wind, -no matter how cutting it might be; but Æolus had the laugh on his side -before the journey was over. A heavy flannel undershirt, and shirt -covered by a thick wadded waistcoat and coat, encased my body, which -was further enveloped in a huge _shuba_, or fur pelisse, reaching to -the heels, while my head was protected by a fur cap and _vashlik_, a -sort of cloth head-piece of a conical shape, made to cover the cap, and -having two long ends which tie round the throat. - -Being thus accoutred in all my armor, I sallied forth to join my -companion, who, an enormous man naturally, now seemed a very Colossus -of Rhodes in his own winter attire. "I think you will do," said my -friend, scanning me well over; "but you will find your feet get very -cold, for all that. It takes a day or so to get used to this sleigh -travelling; and, though I am only going a little beyond Samara, I shall -be uncommonly glad when my journey is over." - -He was buckling on his revolver; and as we were informed that there -were a great many wolves in the neighborhood, I tried to do the same; -but this was an impossibility; the man who made the belt had never -foreseen the gigantic proportions my waist would assume when clad -in this Russian garb. I was obliged to give it up in despair, and -contented myself by strapping the weapon outside my saddle-bags.... - -Three horses abreast, their coats white with pendent icicles and -hoar-frost, were harnessed to the sleigh; the centre animal was in the -shafts, and had his head fastened to a huge wooden head-collar, bright -with various colors. From the summit of the head-collar was suspended -a belt, while the two outside horses were harnessed by cord-traces to -splinter-bars attached to the sides of the sleigh. The object of all -this is to make the animal in the middle trot at a brisk pace, while -his two companions gallop, their necks arched round in a direction -opposite to the horse in the centre, this poor beast's head being -tightly reined up to the head-collar. - -A well-turned-out troika, with three really good horses, which get over -the ground at the rate of twelve miles an hour, is a pretty sight to -witness, particularly if the team has been properly trained, and the -outside animals never attempt to break into a trot, while the one in -the shafts steps forward with high action; but the constrained position -in which the horses are kept must be highly uncomfortable to them, and -one not calculated to enable a driver to get as much pace out of his -animals as they could give him if harnessed in another manner. - -Off we went at a brisk pace, the bell dangling from our horse's -head-collar and jingling merrily at every stride of the team. - -The sun rose high in the heavens; it was a bright and glorious morning, -in spite of the intense cold, and the amount of oxygen we inhaled -was enough to elevate the spirits of the most dyspeptic of mankind. -Presently, after descending a slight declivity, our Jehu turned sharply -to the right; then came a scramble and succession of jolts and jerks -as we slid down a steep bank, and we found ourselves on what appeared -to be a broad high-road. Here the sight of many masts and shipping, -which, bound in by the icy fetters of a relentless winter, would remain -embedded in the ice till the ensuing spring, showed me that we were on -the Volga. - -It was an animated spectacle, this frozen highway, thronged with -peasants who strode beside their sledges which were bringing cotton and -other goods from Orenburg to the railway. Now a smart troika would dash -by us, its driver shouting as he passed, when our Jehu, stimulating -his steeds by loud cries and frequent applications of the whip, would -vainly strive to overtake his brother coachman. Old and young alike -seemed octogenarians, their short, thick beards and moustaches being -white as hoar-frost from the congealed breath.... An iron bridge was -being constructed a little farther down the Volga. Here the railroad -was to pass, and it was said that in two years' time there would be -railway communication, not only between Samara and the capital, but -even as far as Orenburg. Presently the scenery became very picturesque -as we raced over the glistening surface, which flashed like a burnished -cuirass beneath the rays of the rising sun. Now we approach a spot -where seemingly the waters from some violent blast or other had been in -a state of foam and commotion, when a stern frost transformed them into -a solid mass. Pillars and blocks of the shining and hardened element -were seen modelled into a thousand quaint and grotesque patterns. -Here a fountain, perfectly formed with Ionic and Doric columns, was -reflecting a thousand prismatic hues from the diamond-like stalactites -which had attached themselves to its crest. There a huge obelisk, -which, if of stone, might have come from ancient Thebes, lay half -buried beneath a pile of fleecy snow. Farther on we came to what might -have been a Roman temple or vast hall in the palace of a Cæsar, where -many half-hidden pillars and monuments erected their tapering summits -above the piles of the débris. The wind had done in that northern -latitude what has been performed by some violent preadamite agency in -the Berber desert. Take away the ebon blackness of the stony masses -which have been there cast forth from the bowels of the earth, and -replace them on a smaller scale by the crystal forms I have faintly -attempted to describe, and the resemblance would be striking.... - -The road now changed its course, and our driver directed his steeds -towards the bank. Suddenly we discovered that immediately in front of -us the ice had broken beneath a horse and sleigh, and that the animal -was struggling in the water. The river here was fortunately only about -four feet deep, so there would not be much difficulty in extracting -the quadruped; but what to ourselves seemed far more important was to -solve the knotty problem of how to get to land, for between our sleigh -and the shore was a wide gulf, and there seemed to be no possibility -of driving through it without a wetting. "Pleasant," muttered my -companion, "pleasant, very! Let us get out and have a good look round, -to see if we cannot find a place where we can get across in safety." - -"I will pull you through," observed our Jehu, with a broad grin on his -lobster-colored countenance, and apparently much amused with the state -of affairs. - -"No, oh, son of an animal," retorted my companion; "stay here till we -return." - -After considerable search we found a spot where the water-channel was -certainly not much more than twelve feet across, and some peasants who -were fishing in the river came up and volunteered their assistance. One -of them produced a pole about eight feet long, with which, he said, -we could jump the chasm. My companion looked at me with a melancholy -smile, in which resolution and caution struggled for the mastery. -"It is very awful," he said, "very awful, but there is no other -alternative, and I much fear that we must." - -With these words he seized the pole, and carefully inserted one end -of it in the muddy bottom. "If the ice gives way when I land on the -other side!" he suddenly observed, releasing his hold of the leaping -bar. "Why, if it does, you will get a ducking," was my remark: "but be -quick; the longer you look at it the less you will like it; and it is -very cold standing here: now, then, jump over." - - [The corpulent Russian, however, could not bring himself to face - the chasm, and preferred the risk of a wetting in being dragged - through in the sleigh. Burnaby's turn came, and he chose the pole, - piqued thereto by the chaffing remarks of the grinning peasants.] - - -"How fat they are!" said one. "No, it's their furs," observed another. -"How awkward he is!" continued a third; "why, I could jump it -myself."--"I tell you what it is, my friend," I at length observed, "if -you continue this conversation, I think it very likely you will jump -either over or in, for I want to find out the exact distance, and am -thinking of throwing you over first, in order to satisfy my mind as to -how wide it is, and how deep." - -This remark, uttered in rather a sharp tone, had the desired effect, -and, seizing the pole convulsively, I prepared for the leap, which, -nothing to a man not clad in furs, was by no means a contemptible one -in my sleigh attire. One, two, three! a bound, a sensation of flying -through the air, a slip, a scramble, and I found myself on the other -side, having got over with no more damage than one wet leg, the boot -itself being instantly covered with a shining case of ice. - -"Come along quick!" cried my friend, who by this time had been dragged -through; "let us get on as quickly as possible." And without giving -me time to see if my cartridges or other baggage on the bottom of the -sleigh had suffered from the ducking, we rattled off once more in the -direction of Samara. - - [Soon after they reached a stopping-place, changed horses, and - were off again, now in a howling wind and falling snow.] - -Very soon that so-called "pins-and-needles" sensation, recalling some -snow-balling episodes of my boyish days, began once more to make itself -felt, and I found myself commencing a sort of double-shuffle against -the boards of the vehicle. The snow was falling in thick flakes, and -with great difficulty our driver could keep the track, his jaded horses -sinking sometimes up to the traces in the rapidly forming drifts, and -floundering heavily along the now thoroughly hidden road. The cracks -of his whip sounded like pistol-shots against their jaded flanks, and -volleys of invectives issued from his lips. - -"Oh, sons of animals!" (Whack.) - -"Oh, spoiled one!" (Whack.) This to a brute which looked as if he had -never eaten a good feed of corn in his life. "Oh, woolly ones!" (Whack! -whack! whack!) - -"Oh, Lord God!" This, as we were all upset into a snowdrift, the -sleigh being three parts overturned, and our Jehu precipitated in the -opposite direction. - -"How far are we from the next halting-place?" suddenly inquired my -companion, with an ejaculation which showed that even his good temper -had given way under the cold and our situation. - -"Only four versts, one of noble birth," replied the struggling Jehu, -who was busily engaged endeavoring to right the half-overturned sleigh. -A Russian verst about nightfall, and under such conditions as I have -endeavored to point out to the reader, is an unknown quantity. A Scotch -mile and a bit, an Irish league, a Spanish legua, or the German stunde, -are at all times calculated to call forth the wrath of the traveller, -but in no way equal to the first-named division of distance. For the -verst is barely two-thirds of an English mile, and when, after driving -yet for an hour, we were told there were still two versts more before -we could arrive at our halting-place, it began fully to dawn upon my -friend that either our driver's knowledge of distance, or otherwise his -veracity, was at fault. - -At last we reached a long, straggling village, where our horses stopped -before a detached cottage. The proprietor came out to meet us at the -threshold. "Samovar, samovar!" (urn) said my companion. "Quick, quick! -samovar!" and hurrying by him and hastily throwing off our furs, -we endeavored to regain our lost circulation beside the walls of a -well-heated stove. - -In a few minutes, and when the blood had begun once more to flow in its -proper channels, I began to look round and observe the other occupants -of the room. These were for the most part Jews, as could easily be seen -by that peculiarity of the nose which unfailingly denotes any member of -the tribe of Israel. Some half-open boxes of wares in the corner also -showed their trade. The men were hawkers of fancy jewelry and other -finery calculated to please the wives of the farmers or better-to-do -peasants in the neighborhood. - -The smell was anything but agreeable, and the stench of sheep-skins, -unwashed humanity, and some oily cooking going on in a very dirty -frying-pan at last caused my companion to inquire if there was no other -room vacant. We were shown into a small adjoining apartment, where the -smell, though very pungent, was not quite so disagreeable as in the one -inhabited by the family. - -"This is a little better," muttered my companion, unpacking his -portmanteau and taking out a teapot, with two small metal cases -containing tea and sugar. "Quick, Tëtka, Aunt!" he cried (this to -the old woman of the house), "quick with the samovar!" when an aged -female, who might have been any age from eighty to a hundred, for she -was almost bent double by decrepitude, carried in a large copper urn, -the steam hissing merrily under the influence of the red-hot charcoal -embers. - -By this time I had unstrapped the mess tins, and was extracting their -contents. "Let me be the carver," said my friend, at the same time -trying to cut one of the cutlets with a knife; but he might as well -have tried to pierce an ironclad with a pea-shooter, for the meat was -turned into a solid lump of ice. It was as hard as a brick-bat, and -when we tried the bread it was equally impenetrable; in fact, it was -only after our provisions had been placed within the stove for about -ten minutes that they became in any way eatable. - -In the mean time my companion had concocted a most delicious brew, -and with a large glass of pale or rather amber-colored tea, with a -thin slice of lemon floating on the top, I was beginning to realize -how pleasant it is to have been made thoroughly uncomfortable, for it -is only after having arrived at this point of misery that you can -thoroughly appreciate what real enjoyment is. "What is pleasure?" asked -a pupil of his master. "Absence of pain," was the philosopher's answer; -and let any one who doubts that a feeling of intense enjoyment can be -obtained from drinking a mere glass of tea, try a sleighing journey -through Russia with the thermometer at 20° Reaumur and a wind. [20° -Reaumur below zero equals -13° Fahrenheit.] - -In almost an hour's time we were ready to start, but not so our driver, -and to the expostulations of my companion he replied, "No, little -father, there is a snow-storm; we might be lost, and I might be frozen. -Oh, Lord God! there are wolves; they might eat me; the ice in the river -might give way and we might all be drowned. For the sake of God, let us -stop here!" - -"You shall have a good tea-present" [tip], I observed, "if you will -drive us." - -"Oh, one of noble birth," was his answer, "we will stop here to-night, -and Batooshka, little father, also," pointing to my companion; "but -to-morrow we will have beautiful horses, and go like birds to the next -station." - -It was useless attempting to persuade him. Resigning ourselves to our -fate, my companion and self lay down on the planks to obtain what sleep -could be found, notwithstanding the noise that was going on in the next -room, the Jew peddlers being occupied in trying to sell some of their -wares and drive a bargain with the antique mistress of the house. - - [We cannot undertake to relate the adventures of our traveller in - full, and it will suffice to say that, what with being overturned, - lost, and frozen, his whole journey was the reverse of agreeable. - He relates an amusing instance of his dealing with the Russians.] - -Fortunately, there was a vacant room in the inn, and here I was at once -supplied with the smallest of basins and a table napkin. In the mean -time I despatched Nazar [his Tartar servant] to the post to desire the -inspector to send me three horses immediately. There was no time to -lose, and I wanted to hurry forward that afternoon. - -Presently my man returned with a joyous countenance, which betokened -something disagreeable. In fact, in all countries where I have hitherto -travelled human nature, as typified in domestics, is much the same; -they invariably look pleased when they have a piece of bad news to -impart to their masters. - -"What is it?" I asked. "Sleigh broken?" - -"No, sir. No horses to be had; that is all. General Kauffmann went -through early this morning and took them all. The inspector says you -must wait till to-morrow, and that then he will have a team ready for -you. It is nice and warm," continued Nazar, looking at the stove. "We -will sleep here, little father; eat till we fill our clothes, and -continue our journey to-morrow." - -"Nazar," I replied, giving my countenance the sternest expression it -could assume, "I command; you obey. We leave in an hour's time. Go and -hire some horses as far as the next stage. If you find it impossible to -obtain any at the station, try and get some from a private dealer; but -horses I must have." - -In a few minutes my servant returned with a still more joyous -countenance than before. The inspector would not send any horses, and -no one could be found in the town who was inclined to let his animals -out on hire. - -There was nothing to be done but to search myself. Nazar had evidently -made up his mind to sleep at Orsk. However, I had made up mine to -continue the journey. - -Leaving the inn, I hailed a passing sleigh, the driver appearing to me -to have a more intelligent expression than his fellows. Getting into -the vehicle, I inquired if he knew of any one who had horses to hire. - -"Yes," was the answer. One of his relatives had some; but the house -to which I was driven was shut up, and no one was at home. I began to -despair, and think that I should have as much difficulty in obtaining -horses at Orsk as I had in procuring a servant at Orenburg. - -I now determined to try what gold, or rather silver, would do, and said -to the driver, "If you will take me to any one who has horses for hire, -I will give you a ruble for yourself." - -"A whole ruble!" cried the man, with a broad grin of delight; and, -jumping off his seat, he ran to a little knot of Tartars, one of whom -was bargaining with the others for a basket of frozen fish, and began -to ply them with questions. In a minute he returned, "Let us go," he -said; and with a "Burr" (the sound which is used by the Russians to -urge on their horses) and a loud crack with his lash, he drove rapidly -in another direction. - -I had arrived at the outskirts of the town, and we stopped before a -dirty-looking wooden cottage. - -A tall man, dressed in a long coat reaching to his heels, bright yellow -trousers, which were stuffed into a pair of red leather boots, while an -enormous black sheep-skin cap covered his head, came out and asked my -business. I said that I wanted three horses to go to the next stage, -and asked him what he would drive me there for, the regular postal -tariff being about two rubles. - -"One of noble birth," replied the fellow, "the roads are bad, but my -horses will gallop the whole way. They are excellent horses; all the -people in the town look at them and envy me. They say, how fat they -are! look, how round! The governor has not got any horses like mine in -his stable. I spoil them; I cherish them; and they gallop like the -wind. The people look, wonder, and admire. Come and see the dear little -animals." - -"I have no doubt about it. They are excellent horses," I replied; "but -what will you take me for?" - -"Let us say four rubles, your excellency, and give me one on account. -One little whole silver ruble; for the sake of God, let me put it in my -pocket, and we will bless you." - -"All right," was my answer. "Send the horses to the Tzarskoe Selo Inn -immediately." - -Presently the fellow rushed into my room, and, bowing to the ground, -took off his cap with a grandiose air; then, drawing out the money I -had given him from some hidden recess in the neighborhood of his skin, -he thrust the ruble into my hand, and exclaimed, "Little father, my -uncle owns one of the horses; he is very angry. He says that he was not -consulted in the matter, and that he loves the animal like a brother. -My uncle will not let his horse leave the stable for less than five -rubles. What is to be done? I told him that I had agreed to take you, -and even showed him the money, but he is hard-hearted and stern." - -"Very well," I said; "bring round the horses." - -In a few minutes the fellow returned, and exclaimed, "One of noble -birth. I am ashamed." - -"Quite right," I said; "you have every reason to be so. But go on; is -your uncle's horse dead?" - -"No, one of noble birth, not so bad as that; but my brother is vexed. -He has a share in one of the animals; he will not let me drive him to -the next station for less than six rubles;" and the man, putting on -an expression in which cunning, avarice, and pretended sorrow were -blended, rubbed his forehead and added, "What shall we do?" - -I said, "You have a grandmother?" - -"Yes," he replied, much surprised. "How did you know that? I have; a -very old grandmother." - -"Well," I continued, "go and tell her that, fearing lest she should be -annoyed if any accident were to happen during our journey,--for you -know misfortunes occur sometimes; God sends them," I added, piously. - -"Yes, he does," interrupted the man; "we are simple people, your -excellency." - -"And, not wishing to hurt the old lady's feelings, should the fore leg -of your uncle's horse, or the hind leg of your brother's, suffer on the -road, I have changed my mind, and shall not go with you to-day, but -take post-horses to-morrow." - -The man now became alarmed, thinking that he was about to lose his -fare. He rubbed his forehead violently, and then exclaimed, "I will -take your excellency for five rubles." - -"But your brother?" - -"Never mind; he is an animal; let us go." - -"No," I answered. "I shall wait; the post-horses are beautiful horses. -I am told that they gallop like the wind; all the people in the town -look at them, and the inspector loves them." - -"Let us say four rubles, your excellency." - -"But your uncle might beat you. I should not like you to be hurt." - -"No," was the answer; "we will go;" and the knotty point being thus -settled, we drove off, much to the dissatisfaction of my little -servant, Nazar, a blue-eyed siren in Orsk having, as the Orientals say, -made roast meat of his heart, in spite of his being a married man. - - - - -INDEX. - PAGE - - Alpine Mountain Climbing EDWARD WHYMPER 121 - Amsterdam, Paris OLIVER H. G. LEIGH 5 - Antwerp and Its People ROSE G. KINGSLEY 140 - Athens and Its Temples J. L. T. PHILLIPS 79 - Austria, The Capital of JOHN RUSSELL 201 - - Berlin, The Streets of MATTHEW WOODS 165 - BROWNE, J. ROSS The Salt-Mines of Wieliczka 183 - BURNABY, FREDERICK A Russian Sleigh Journey 267 - - CLARKE, EDWARD D., The Seraglio on the Golden Horn 100 - " " ", Moscow In 1800 257 - COLERIDGE, LANGLEY The Midnight Sun 229 - COX, SAMUEL S. In the Russian Capital 236 - CROSSE, MRS. ANDREW From Hamburg to Stockholm 221 - - Day in Rome, A BAYARD TAYLOR 37 - DE AMICIS, EDMONDO A Typical Dutch City 131 - Dresden, Art Museums of ELIZABETH PEAKE 147 - Dutch City, A Typical EDMONDO DE AMICIS 131 - - Echternach, The Jumping Procession - at M. OGLE 193 - Eszterhazy Palaces, The JOHN PAGET 210 - Etna in Eruption, Mount BAYARD TAYLOR 61 - - FIELD, HENRY M. The Isles of Greece 89 - Finland, A Visit to DAVID KER 246 - Florence and Its Art Treasures LIPPINCOTT, SARAH J. 16 - - Golden Horn, The Seraglio on the EDWARD D. CLARKE 100 - Greece, The Isles of HENRY M. FIELD 89 - - Hamburg to Stockholm, From MRS. ANDREW CROSSE 221 - Heidelberg, The Students of BAYARD TAYLOR 158 - HOPE, STANLEY Zermatt and Its Scenery 112 - - Isles of Greece, The HENRY M. FIELD 89 - Italy, The Lake Region of ROBERT A. MCLEOD 26 - - Jumping Procession at Echternach, - The M. OGLE 193 - - - KER, DAVID A Visit to Finland 246 - KINGSLEY, ROSE G. Antwerp and Its People 140 - - Lake Region of Italy ROBERT A. MCLEOD 26 - LEE, ALFRED E. Pompeii and Its Destroyer 48 - LEIGH, OLIVER H. G. Paris, Amsterdam 5 - LIPPINCOTT, SARAH J. Florence and Its Art Treasures 16 - - MCLEOD, ROBERT A. The Lake Region of Italy 26 - Midnight Sun, The LANGLEY COLERIDGE 229 - Moscow in 1800 EDWARD D. CLARKE 257 - - OGLE, M. The Jumping Procession at - Echternach 193 - - PAGET, JOHN The Eszterhazy Palaces 210 - Paris, Amsterdam OLIVER H. G. LEIGH 5 - PEAKE, ELIZABETH Art Museums of Dresden 147 - PHILLIPS, J. L. T. Athens and Its Temples 79 - Plebeian Life in Venice HORACE ST. JOHN 70 - Pompeii and Its Destroyer ALFRED E. LEE 48 - POWERS, STEPHEN A Ramble in Prussia 176 - Prussia, A Ramble in STEPHEN POWERS 176 - - Rome, A Day in BAYARD TAYLOR 37 - Rotterdam EDMONDO DE AMICIS 131 - RUSSELL, JOHN The Capital of Austria 201 - Russian Capital, In the SAMUEL S. COX 236 - Russian Sleigh Journey, A FREDERICK BURNABY 267 - - ST. JOHN, HORACE Plebeian Life in Venice 70 - Salt-Mines of Wieliczka J. ROSS BROWNE 183 - Seraglio on the Golden Horn EDWARD D. CLARKE 100 - Sleigh Journey, A Russian FREDERICK BURNABY 267 - Stockholm, From Hamburg to MRS. ANDREW CROSSE 221 - - TAYLOR, BAYARD A Day in Rome 37 - " " Mount Etna in Eruption 61 - " " The Students of Heidelberg 158 - - Venice, Plebeian Life in HORACE ST. JOHN 70 - Vienna, The Capital of Austria JOHN RUSSELL 201 - - WHYMPER, EDWARD Alpine Mountain Climbing 121 - WOODS, MATTHEW The Streets of Berlin 165 - - Zermatt and Its Scenery STANLEY HOPE 112 - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: - -Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors; otherwise, -every effort has been made to remain true to the words and intent of the -authors, even if the spelling and punctuation do not conform to modern -standards. - -Some words, such as stair-way, spell-bound, out-door, appear in both -hyphenated and non-hyphenated form. This may be attributed to the fact -that this is an anthology of numerous authors with individual styles. - -Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by -=equal signs=. 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