PLAYS AND PICCADILLOES.--"HAMLET" IN GERMAN.
It is Sunday again. Soberly and sedately do we pass our morning hours.
We waken with the sweet music of bells in our ears; bells that whisper to
us of devotion; bells that thrill us with a calm delight, and raise up in
us thoughts of gentleness and charity.
There is no lack of churches; we see their tapering steeples and deep
gable roofs rising above the general level in many places, and there is a
Little Bethel down by the water's side on the Vorsetzen, for the sailors.
There are two or three Little Pandemoniums in its immediate vicinity, or
at least by that classical title are they designated by the Bethlemites
over the way; but salt-water Jack and fresh-river Jack give them much
simpler names, and like them a great deal better, more's the pity. We
have heard the little jangling bells in the church pews, and they will
not ring in tune, although they tell the deeds of charity; we have
marched staidly home, and joined in Herr Sorgenpfennig's blessing over
the midday meal;--Herr Sorgenpfennig delivers it with the presence and
intonation of an Eastern patriarch, standing among his tribe;--and the
delicacies of German cookery having fulfilled their purpose and
disappeared, with a whispered grace and a bow of humbleness, we sidle out
of the room, and leave the "Herr Meister" to his meditations and his
punch. And so ends the service of the day.
The blond-headed Bavarian begins to hum the last _Tafellied_, and our
quiet Dane smiles reservedly. "Whither, friends, shall we bend our
steps?" No! by the eternal spirit of modesty, we will not visit the
dance-houses to-day! Those vile shambles by the water-side, growing out
of the slime and filth of the river, and creeping like a noxious,
unwholesome weed, up the shaded hill, and by narrow ruts and gullies into
the open country. No! Those half-draped, yet gaping doors, have no
attractions for us; those whining notes of soulless music find no echo in
our ears or hearts. There, in their hideous blandishments, the shameless
sit, miserable in their tawdriness, their painted cheeks peeling in the
hot sun, which they cannot shut out if they would. Throughout the long
day the wearied minstrels pant over their greasy tubes of brass, or
scrape their grimy instruments with horny fingers, praying for the deep
night; and there, through the long day, does the echoing floor rebound
with the beating of vigorous feet; for salt-water Jack is there, and
fresh-river Jack is there, and while there is a copper _pfennig_ in their
pockets, or a flicker of morality in their hearts, doomed are they
equally; for what can escape spoliation or wreck among such a crowd?
Yet from such commodities as these does the merchant spirit of the Senate
of Hamburg draw huge profits; indeed, it is said that the whole expense
of police and city, and what is worse, yet better, the tending of the
sick, the feeding of the poor, and the succouring of the helpless and
desolate, are alike defrayed from the produce of the city's vice; and let
us add, the Senate's fostering care of it.
And if we wandered out beyond the walls to the right or to the left, what
do we find? On the one hand, "Peter Hund's;" on the other "Unkraut's
Pavilion;" mere dance-houses, after all, though for "the better sort."
"Peter" has a tawdry hall, smeared with the escutcheons of all nations,
where music and waltzing whirl through the dense air, hour after hour;
and what is at least of equal consequence to him, Peter holds a tavern in
the next room, where spirits, beer, or coffee are equally at the command
of the drouthy or the luxuriant. And so also if we followed the road
which passes through Stein Thor, away across the leafy fringing of trees
and shrubs which ornament the city's outline; and still on through the
shady avenues of youthful stems, when we come upon a great house with
deep overhanging eaves, square-topped chimneys, and altogether with a
Swiss air about it. There are idlers hanging about the door, for this is
"Unkraut's," and the brisk air of musical instruments streams out of the
open portal. Within all is motion and uproar. A large _salle de danse_
occupies the greater part of the ground floor, the central portion of
which is appropriated to the waltzers, while a broad slip on each side,
beneath an overhanging gallery, running round the whole of the apartment,
remains for those who drink, or take a temporary repose. Sometimes,
however, the flood of waltzers pours in upon the side-tables, amid the
clatter of chairs, the ringing of glass and china, and the laughter of
the spectators. Gentlemen are not allowed to dance with their hats on;
(where else, in Heaven's name, can they place them?) and must lay their
heavy pipes and cigars aside, as smoking is permitted only in the gallery
above. The company is of the "better sort" in the _salle_ below; that is
to say, that vice, shameless and unveiled, is not allowed to flaunt
without a check; but there is taint and gangrene among all; feeble wills
and failing hearts to bear up against the intoxicating stream of music,
and giddy heads for thought or reason amid the whirl and swimming of the
dance.
"Unkraut's" has, however, attractions apart from the ball-room. By a
quiet stair at the end of the gallery, through muffled doors that close
upon you as you enter, and shut out like walls the hum and hubbub below,
we come upon an ill-shapen apartment, where hushed, absorbed men are
seated at desks, as at a school, each with a huge frame dotted with
numbers before him. A strange contrast to the scene without. There is a
heavy quiet in the place, disturbed only by an occasional cough, a
shuffling of feet, and the silvery ringing of little plates of glass. A
monstrous game of Lotto is this. A mere child's play of gambling,
requiring neither tact, wit, nor reasoning; a simple lottery, in fact,
dependent for success upon the accidental marking (each player upon his
own board or table) of the first five numbers that may be drawn. Now we
hear a strange rattling of wooden pieces, shaken in a bag, and as each
piece is drawn, a bustling man with an obstreperous voice, calls out the
number; not in full, sonorous German, but in broad, uncouth Platt
Deutsche (low German), and eager tongues respond from distant corners
claiming the prize. A dull-headed game is this, fitted only for the most
inveterate gamblers; but it yields money to the Stadt, and that is its
recommendation.
As the day wears on, its attractions increase. The Elb Pavilion offers a
rare treat; exquisite music, executed with vigour, delicacy, and
precision. Moreover, its frequenters are decidedly of a respectable
class. But we will not be moved; we have set our hearts upon witnessing
a play of Shakespeare's, announced for this night at the Stadt Theatre,
and that no less a one than "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark."
The Stadt Theatre in Hamburg enjoys a strange monopoly; for by the
Senate's will it is declared that no other theatre shall exist within the
city walls. Yet, curiously enough, a wonderful old woman, by some
unaccountable freak, has the privilege, or hereditary right, of licensing
or directing a theatrical establishment within the boundaries, and thus a
second theatre contends for the favours of the public; and in order to
define its position and state of existence, it is entitled simply Das
Zweite Theatre (The Second Theatre). It is an especially favourite place
of amusement with the Hamburgers, although they play an incomprehensible
jumble of unconnected scenes, called "possen," adapted solely to display
the peculiar talents of certain actors. One odd fellow there reaps
showers of applause for no other exhibition of ability than that of
looking intensely stupid, for he seldom utters a word; but assumes an
appearance of unfathomable vacuity that is inimitable. There are still
two theatres outside the city walls: the one, the Tivoli, devoted to
farces and vaudevilles; the other consecrated to the portrayal of the
deeply sentimental, and the fearfully tragic--with poison, dagger-blades,
convulsions and heavy-stamping ever at command.
But our play! Here we are in the gallery of a splendid edifice, equal in
extent to our Covent Garden Theatre at home, having come to this part of
the house in anticipation of a feeble audience in preference to the
parterre or pit. Note also, that here we pay eight _schillinge_ only,
while a place below would cost us twenty. But the house is crammed, for
Shakespeare draws as well in Germany as in England, perhaps for the
simple reason that in no other country are his works so well translated.
We find ourselves in the midst of a dense cluster of earnest Danes, who
say the most impressive things in the quietest way in the world. They
are strongly interested in the coming performance, for "Hamlet the Dane"
has taken deep hold upon the Danish affections; and in Elsinore, so great
is the consideration entertained for this all but fabulous prince, that
they will point you out the garden wherein his royal father suffered
murder
--most foul, strange, and unnatural,
and the grave where the "gentle prince" himself lies buried. The play
begins; with the deepest earnestness the audience listen, and, crowded as
they are, preserve the utmost quiet. The glorious drama scene by scene
unfolds itself, and passage by passage we recognise the beauties of our
great poet. Herr Carr, starring it from Vienna, is no unworthy
representative of the noble-hearted Dane, although unequal, we think, to
the finer traits, and more delicate emotions of the character. The
dresses are admirable, sometimes gorgeous, and the groupings most
effective. The scenery alone is unsatisfactory; indecisive and
colourless as it is, without depth or tone, it strikes you as the first
effort in perspective of a feeble-handed amateur. As the play proceeds,
the action grows upon us, and the rapt spectators resent with anger the
least outcry or disturbance. The first scene with the players is
omitted, but the concluding portion is a triumph; for as _Hamlet_,
arriving at the climax of his sarcasm, and bursting for a moment into
rage, flings the flute away, with the exclamation: "S'blood, do you think
I am easier to be played on than a pipe?" the whole theatre rings with
the applause.
Presently, however, we are aware of a gap, a huge hiatus in the
performance; a grave, and yet no grave, for the whole churchyard scene,
with its quaint and exquisite philosophy, the rude wit of the
gravediggers, and the pointed moralising of the prince, are all
wanting--all swept away by the ruthless hand of the critic; skulls and
bones, picks and mattocks, wit and drollery, diggers, waistcoats and all!
Not even _Yorick_, with his "gibes" and "flashes of merriment"--not even
he is spared. On the other hand, a portion of a scene is represented
which, until lately, was always omitted on the English stage. It is that
in which the guilty king, overcome by remorse, thus soliloquises:--
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven!
_Hamlet_, coming upon his murderous uncle in his prayers, exclaims:--
Now might I do it, pat, while he is praying;
And now I'll do 't--and so he goes to heaven:
And so am I revenged?
The omission or retention of this scene might well be a matter of
dispute, for while it represents the guilty Claudius miserable and
contrite, even in the height of his success, it also portrays the
anticipated revenge of _Hamlet_ in so fearful a light, that he stands
there, not the human instrument of divine retribution, but with all the
diabolical cravings of Satan himself. I leave this question to abler
critics, and, in the meantime, our play is finished, amid shouts of
delight and calls before the curtain. It is but half-past nine, yet this
is a late hour for a German theatre, where they rarely perform more than
one piece, and that seldom exceeding two hours in duration. Descending
to the street, wrapped in the recollections of the gorgeous poem whose
beauties still echo in our ears, we are vulgar enough to relish hot
sausages and Bavarian beer.
An hour later we pace our half-lighted Johannis Strasse, seeking the
portal of our house amid the gloom. Suddenly we are startled by the
tramp of a heavy foot, and the clang and rattle of a steel weapon as it
strikes upon the ground. A burly voice assails us: "Whither are you
going?"
Is this Bernardo, wandered from the ramparts in search of the ghost of
Hamlet's father?
Not so: it is but one of the night-watch, armed with an enormous halbert
which might have done good service in the thirty years' war. The
faithful _nachtwachter_ strikes it upon the ground with the butt-end at
regular intervals, so that sinful depredators may have timely notice of
his approach. As it has a large hook at the back it is said to be
admirably adapted for catching thieves by the leg, if its opportune
clattering does not keep them out of its reach.
We render a good account of ourselves, and are duly escorted to our home.