The Thier-Garten. A Military Review. Charlottenburg. Tausig. Berlin
in Summer. Potsdam and Babelsberg.
BERLIN, _June 5, 1870_.
We've had the vilest possible weather this spring, but Berlin looks
perfectly lovely now. There are a great many gardens attached to the
houses here. Everything is in bloom, and is laden with the scent of
lilacs and apple blossoms. The streets are planted with lindens and
horse chestnut trees, and on the fashionable street bordering on the
Thier-Garten, all the houses have little lawns in front, carpeted with
the most dazzling green grass, and rising out of it are solid banks of
flowers. The shrubs are planted according to their height, close
together, and one behind the other, and as they are all in blossom you
see these great masses of colour. It is like a gigantic bouquet growing
up before you.
The Thier-Garten is perfectly beautiful. It is so charming to come upon
this unfenced wood right in the heart of an immense city, with roads and
paths cut all through it, and each over-arched with vivid green as far
as the eye can reach. When you see the gay equipages driving swiftly
through it, and ladies and gentlemen glancing amid the trees on
horseback, it is very romantic.
Frau W.'s brother, "Uncle S." as I call him, announced the other day
that he was going to take us to Charlottenburg. I had often been told
that I must go there and see the "Mausoleum," but as you know I never
ask for explanations, this did not convey any particular idea to my
mind, and I started out on this excursion in my usual state of blissful
ignorance. We took two droschkies for our party, and meandered slowly
through the Thier-Garten and along the Charlottenburg road till we
arrived at our point of destination. This was announced from afar by an
absurd statue poised on one toe on the top of the castle which stands in
front of the park containing the Mausoleum.
The first thing we did on alighting was to go into a little beer garden
close by to take coffee. It was a perfect afternoon, and the trees and
flowers were in all their June glory. We sat down around one of those
delightful tables which they always have under the trees in Germany. The
coffee was soon served, hot and strong, and Uncle S. took out a cigar to
complete his enjoyment. Then we began to stroll. We went through a gate
into the grounds surrounding the castle, and after passing through the
orangery emerged into a garden, which soon spread into a beautiful park
filled with magnificent trees, and with beds of flowers cut in the
smooth turf for some distance along the borders of the avenues. We
turned to the right (instead of to the left, which would have brought us
directly to the Mausoleum) in order to see the flowers first, then the
river, and then come round by the pond where the carp are kept.
The Germans certainly understand laying out parks to perfection. They
are not _too_ rigidly kept, and there is an air of nature about
everything. This Charlottenburg park is a particularly fascinating one.
A dense avenue borders the River Spree, which is broad at this point,
and flows gloomily and silently along. The branches of the trees
overhang the stream, and also lock together across the walk, forming a
leafy avenue before and behind you. We met very few people, scarcely any
one, in fact, and the songs of the birds were the only sounds that broke
the all-pervading calm. The path finally left the river, and we came out
on an open spot, where was a pretty view of the castle through a little
cut in the trees. We sat down on a bench and looked about us for awhile,
and then went up on the bridge which crosses the pond where the carp are
kept. The Germans always feed these carp religiously, and that is a
regular part of the excursion. The fish are very old, many of them, and
we saw some hoary old fellows rise lazily to the surface and condescend
to swallow the morsels of cake that we threw them. They were evidently
accustomed to good living, and, like all swells, considered it only
their due!
At last we came gradually round towards the Mausoleum. An avenue of
hemlocks led to it--"Trauer-Bäume (mourning-trees)," as the Germans call
them, and it was an exquisite touch of sentiment to make _this_ avenue
of these dark funereal evergreens. At first you see nothing, for the
avenue is long, and you turn into it gay and smiling with the influence
of the birds, the trees, and the flowers fresh upon you. But the
drooping boughs of the sombre hemlocks soon begin to take effect, and
the feeling that comes over one when about half way down it is certainly
peculiar. It seems as if one were passing between a row of tall and
silent _sentinels_ watching over the abode of death!
Involuntarily you begin repeating from Edgar Poe's haunting poem:
"Then I pacified Psyche and kissed her,
And conquered her scruples and gloom,
And banished her scruples and gloom,
And we passed to the end of the vista
Till we came to the door of a tomb;
And I said, 'What is written, sweet sister,
On the door of this legended tomb?'
And she said, 'Ulalume, Ulalume,
'Tis the vault of thy lost Ulalume."
And so, too, does _your_ eye become fixed upon a door at the end of
_this_ vista, which comes nearer and nearer until finally the Mausoleum
takes form round it in the shape of a little Greek temple of polished
brown marble. A small flower garden lies in front of it, and it would
look inviting enough if one did not know what it was. Two officials
stand ready to receive you and conduct you up the steps.
Within these walls a royal pair lie buried--King Friedrich Wilhelm III.
and his beautiful wife, Luisa, who so calmly withstood the bullying of
Napoleon I. and for whom the Prussians cherish such a chivalrous
affection. They are entombed under the front portion of the temple, and
two slabs in the pavement mark their resting places. These are lit from
above by a window in the roof filled with blue glass, which throws a
subdued and solemn light into the marble chamber. You walk past them to
the other end of the temple, which is cruciform in shape, go up one step
between pillars, and there, in the little white transept, lie upon two
snowy marble couches the sculptured forms of the dead king and queen
side by side. Though this apartment is lit by side windows of plain
glass high up on the walls, so that it is full of the white daylight,
yet the blueish light from the outer room is reflected into it just
enough to heighten the delicacy of the marble and to bestow on
everything an unearthly aspect.
Queen Luisa was celebrated for her beauty, and the sculptor Rauch, who
knew and adored her, has breathed it all into the stone. There she lay,
as if asleep, her head easily pressing the pillow, her feet crossed and
the outlines of her exquisite form veiled but not concealed by the thin
tissue-like drapery. It covered even the little feet, but they seemed to
define themselves all the more daintily through the muslin. There is no
look of death about her face. She seems more like a bonny "Queen o' the
May," reclining with closed eyes upon her flowery bed. The statue has
been criticised by some on account of this entire absence of the
"_beauté de la mort_." There is no transfigured or glorified look to it.
It is simply that of a beautiful woman in deep repose. But it seems to
me that this is a matter of taste, and that the artist had a perfect
right to represent her as he most felt she was. The king's statue is
clothed in full uniform, and he looks very striking, too, lying there
in all the dignity of manhood and of kingship, with the drapery of his
military cloak falling about him. His features are delicate and regular,
and he is a fit counterpart to his lovely consort. Against the back wall
an altar is elevated on some steps, and there is an endless fascination
in leaning against it and gazing down on those two august forms
stretched out so still before you. On either side of the statues are
magnificent tall candelabra of white marble of very rich and beautiful
design, and appropriate inscriptions from the German Bible run round the
carved and diapered marble walls. Altogether, this garden-park, with its
river, its Mausoleum, its avenue of hemlocks, and its glorious statues
of the king and queen, is one of the most exquisite and ideal
conceptions imaginable. As we returned it was toward sunset. The evening
wind was sighing through the tall trees and the waving grasses. An
indefinable influence hovered in the air. The supernatural seemed to
envelop us, and instinctively we hastened a little as we retraced our
steps.
When we emerged from the hemlock avenue Uncle S., I thought, seemed
rather relieved, for the contemplation of a future life is not
particularly sympathetic to him! After he had asked me if I did not
think the Mausoleum "_sehr schön_ (very beautiful)," and had ascertained
that I _did_ think so, he restored his equilibrium by taking out another
cigar, which he lighted, and we leisurely made our way through the
garden to our droschkies and drove home. It was quite dark as we were
coming through the Thier-Garten, and it seemed like a forest. The stars
were shining through the branches overhead, and their soothing light
gave the last poetic touch to a lovely day.
* * *
BERLIN, _June 26, 1870_.
Last week the Emperor of Austria was here, and they had a parade in his
honour. The B.'s took me in their carriage to see it. We drove to a
large plain outside the city, and there we saw a mock battle, and all
the manoeuvers of an army--how they advance and retreat, and how they
form and deploy. There was a continual fire of musketry and artillery,
and it was very exciting. The enemy was only imaginary, but the
attacking party acted just as if there were one, and at last it ended
with the taking by storm, which was done by the attacking party rushing
on with one continued cheer, or rather yell, from one end of the lines
to the other. Then they all broke up, the bands played the Russian Hymn,
the King and the Emperor mounted horses and led off a great body of
cavalry, and away we all clattered home--carriages and horses all
together. It was a great sight, and I enjoyed it very much.
I am going to play before Tausig next Monday, and have been studying
very hard. He praised me very much the last time, and said he would soon
take me into his regular class; but he is such a whimsical creature that
one can't rely on him much. Two of the girls have almost finished their
studies with him, and soon are going to give concerts. I am playing
Scarlatti, which he is _awfully_ particular with, and expect to have my
head taken off. Two of his scholars are playing the same pieces that I
am, and he told one of them that she played "like a nut-cracker." He is
very funny sometimes. The other day one of the young men played the
Pastoral Sonata to him. Tausig gave a sigh, and said, "This _should_ be
a garden of roses, but, as you play it, I see only potato plants."
Scarlatti is charming music. He writes _en suite_ like Bach, and is
still more quaint and full of humour.
I find Berlin very pleasant, even in summer. Most of the better houses
are made with balconies or bow windows, and around each one they will
have a little frame full of earth in which is planted mignonette,
nasturtiums, geraniums, etc., which trail over the edge, and as you look
up from the street it seems as if the houses were festooned with
flowers. On many of them woodbine is trained so that every window is set
in a deep green frame. All the nice streets have pretty little front
yards in which roses are planted, and I never saw anything like them.
The branches are cut to one thick, straight stem, which is tied to a
stick. They grow very tall, and each one is crowned with a top-knot of
superb roses. Every yard looks like a little orchard of roses, and they
are of every imaginable shade of colour. Every American who comes here
must be struck with the want of beauty in the cities he has left at
home; and it is really shameful, that when our people are so much better
off, and when such immense numbers of them see this European culture
every year, still they do not introduce the same things into our
country. Take Fifth Avenue or Beacon Street, for example, and one won't
see anything the whole length of them but a little green grass and an
occasional woodbine, whereas here they would be adorned with flowers and
all sorts of contrivances to make them beautiful.
On Thursday a little party of three, including myself, was made up to
take me out to Potsdam. The Museum, Charlottenburg and Potsdam, are, as
Mr. T. B. says, "the three sights of Berlin." I have written you of the
first two, and you shall now have the third. Potsdam is sixteen miles
from here, and it took about as long to go there by train as it does
from Boston to Lynn. It is the royal summer residence. On arriving we
bought a large quantity of cherries and then seated ourselves in a
carriage to drive through the city to Charlottenhof. Here we got out and
walked into a superb park, filled with splendid old trees. The first
thing we saw was a beautiful little building in the Pompeian style. This
was where Humboldt used to stay with the last king and queen in summer.
We went into it and found it the sweetest little place you can imagine.
When we opened the door, instead of a hall was a little court with a
fountain in it and two low, broad staircases (of marble, I think)
sweeping up to the main story. The walls were delicately tinted and
frescoed all round the borders with Pompeian devices. The windows were
of some sort of thin transparent stained glass, through which the light
could penetrate easily, and were also in the Pompeian fashion, with
chariots, and horses, and goddesses, etc. The rooms all opened into
each other, but we were obliged to go through them so hastily that I
could not look at them much in detail. The walls were covered with
lovely pictures, and there were tables inlaid with precious marbles and
all sorts of beautiful things. We saw the table and chair where the king
always sat, just as he had left it, with his papers and drawings; and
the queen's boudoir, with her writing materials and her sewing
arrangements. From her window one looked out on a fountain at the right,
and on the left was a long arcade covered with vines which led to a
garden of roses.
We opened a door and passed through this arcade, and, after looking at
the flowers, went on through the park until we came to another house,
which was Pompeian, also, or Greek, I couldn't exactly tell which. It
was built only to bathe in. The floors were all of stone, and it was as
cool and fresh as could be. The bath itself was a large semi-circular
place into which one went down by steps. It was large enough to swim in.
Those old peoples understood pretty well how to make themselves
comfortable, didn't they? There was an ancient bath-tub there, set upon
a pedestal, made of some precious stone, which Humboldt had appraised at
half a million of thalers. Outside was a lovely little garden, of
course, and one of the prettiest things I saw was a quantity of those
flowers which only grow in cool, moist places, sheltered under an
awning. The awning was circular, and stretched down to the ground on
three sides, so that one could only see the flowers by standing just in
front. There were any number of lady-slippers of every shade, each
mottled exquisitely with a different colour, and behind them rose other
flowers in regular gradation, and all of brilliant tints. It seemed as
if they were all nestling under a great shaker bonnet, and they looked
as coy and bewitching as possible. I thought it was a charming idea.
After we left this place we went on until we came to Sans Souci, which
was built simply for the benefit of the orange trees--to give them a
shelter in winter. At least, this was the pretext. It has a most
dazzling effect in the sunshine as you look at it from below. Terrace
rises above terrace, and at the top is this airy white building rising
lightly into the sky, with galleries and towers, groups of statuary,
colonnades, fountains, flowers, and every device one can imagine to make
it look as much like a fairy palace as possible. The great burly orange
trees stand in rows in the gardens in large green pots. Many of them
were in blossom, and cast their heavy perfume on the air. You couldn't
turn your eyes any where that _something_ was not arranged to arrest and
surprise them. Here I saw another way of training roses. Running along
on the green turf was a certain low growing variety, the branches of
which they pin to the earth with a kind of wooden hair-pin, so that it
does not show. They thus lie perfectly flat, and the grass is
_literally_ "carpeted" with them. It was lovely. After we had
sufficiently admired the exterior of the palace, we ascended the flights
of steps which lead up the terraces, and went into it. Outside were the
long galleries where the orange trees stand, and then we passed into
the large and noble rooms. First came the one which is devoted to
Raphael's pictures. Copies of them all hang upon the walls. After we had
gazed at them a long time, we looked at the other apartments, all of
which were furnished in some extraordinary way, but I glanced at them
too hastily to retain any recollection of them. I only remember that one
was all of malachite and gold.
The next thing we did was to go over the palace originally named "Sans
Souci," where Frederick the Great lived. We saw the benches--ledges
rather--on which his poor pages had to sit in the corridor, and which
were purposely made so narrow in order to prevent their falling asleep
while on duty. The armchair in which he died is there, and the bust of
Charles XII still stands on the floor at the foot of the statue of
Venus, where Frederick placed it in derision, because Charles was a
woman-hater. I think it was a very small piece of malice on Frederick's
part, and in fact he had such a bad heart that none of his relics
interested me in the least.
After we had seen everything we went to a little restaurant at the foot
of Sans Souci, where we drank beer and coffee and ate cake seated round
a little table under the trees. This fashion that the Germans have of
eating out of doors in summer is perfectly delightful, I think. I laid
in a fresh stock of cherries, though I had already eaten an immense
quantity, but they looked so nice, piled in little pyramids upon a vine
leaf, like the cannon balls at the Cambridge arsenal, that there was no
resisting them. I've thought of you ever since the cherry season began.
They are so extremely cheap here, that two groschens (about six cents)
will buy as many as two persons can eat at one time. We drove from Sans
Souci to Fingstenberg, which is only a place to see a view of the
country. The landscape was perfectly flat, but it had the charm of quiet
cultivation. It was green with beautiful trees, and the river wound
along dotted with white sails, and there were wind-mills turning in
every direction. After we left Fingstenberg we drove down to an inn
where we ordered dinner, and this also was served out of doors. It was
about six o'clock in the evening, and we were all very hungry, so we
enjoyed this part of the programme very much.
When we had finished our cutlet and green peas we got into the carriage
again, and drove to Babelsberg. This is a little retreat which belongs
to the queen, and where the royal family sometimes passes a few weeks in
summer. We walked through a noble park where the ground swelled upward
on our left and sloped downward on our right. After following the
windings of the road for a long distance, we at last arrived at the
little castle, perched upon a hill-side and embowered in trees. A smart
looking maid showed us through it, and I was more impressed here than by
all I had previously seen. As Balzac says, "People who talk about a
house 'being like a palace' should see one first,"--although, as Herr J.
observed, "Babelsberg is not a palace, but is more like the home of an
English nobleman." It is just a quiet little retreat, but the beauty
with which everything is arranged is quite indescribable. Every window
is planned so that you cannot look out without having something
exquisite before you. Here it will be a little mosaic of rare flowers;
there a fountain, etc. And then the bronzes, the pictures, the rare old
pieces of glass and china, the thousand curious and beautiful objects of
art that one must see over and over again to be able really to take in.
In these castles, too, there are no end of little nooks and crannies
where two or three persons, only, can sit and talk. Dainty little
recesses made for enjoyment.
I walked into the grand salon and imagined an elegant assemblage of
people in it, with all the means of entertainment at hand. It was a
circular room, and large enough to dance the German in very comfortably.
We went up stairs and through the different apartments. I went into the
Princess Royal's room, and "surveyed my queenly form" in the superb
mirror, and arranged my veil by her toilette glass--which I envied her,
I assure you, for it shone like silver. We saw the cane of Frederick the
Great, with a lion couchant on it--the one which he shook on some
occasion and frightened somebody--(now you know, don't you?) Last of all
we went up into the tower, and after climbing the dizzy staircase, we
stood on the balconies for a long time, and looked over the splendid
park about the country. Altogether, I was enchanted with Babelsberg, and
nothing will suit me now but to have it for the retreat of my old age. I
think I shall apply to be a servant there, for it must be a delightful
situation. The royal family is only a short time there, and the servants
have this exquisite habitation, which is always kept in perfect order,
all the rest of the year, and have nothing to do but show visitors over
it and take in half thalers!
After we left Babelsberg we took a carriage and drove to the station,
where we got into the cars about half-past nine, and went back to
Berlin. Herr J. had made himself extremely agreeable, and had exerted
himself the whole day on our behalf. We had a most perfect time of its
kind, and I enjoyed every minute of it, but came back in the worst of
spirits, as I generally do. It seems so hard that one can never get
together _all_ the elements of perfect happiness! Here in Babelsberg
everything was so lovely that one could scarcely believe that there had
ever been a "Fall." It seemed as if people _must_ be happy there, and
yet I'm told that the queen is very unhappy. I suppose because she has
such a faithless old husband.