MY DEAR ----: Strassburg is a larger city than I had expected to see, and
some parts of it are very fine. The university buildings are handsome,
as are many others. The great cathedral, however, is the one particular
object of interest. We first took a look at the exterior, and many
looks, for its beauties are manifold. The carvings, statues, and
bas-reliefs are magnificent, as are also the towers, turrets, and the
spire. The west front, so called, has a rose window, and on each side of
this window is a large square tower. The entire façade is most
exquisitely sculptured. ‘But oh!’ said F., ‘do look up at the spire;
does it seem possible any object so elaborate and graceful could be made
of stone?’ The height of this spire is nearly five hundred feet. It
looks so light and airy, so like a wonderfully executed piece of
filagree work, towering towards the clouds, that I fear you cannot
imagine its beauty from a hasty description. It has been said to look
like ‘lace work,’ and the building itself, so fine are its carvings and
sculptures, said ‘to look as if it were placed behind a rich, open,
flower-like screen, or in a case of open-work stone,’ and these
comparisons will, I think, convey to you a little idea of its general
appearance, and you will be spared the lameness of neck that I suffered,
from the long stretch in looking up. Even in this land of art,
architecture, music, sculpture, and poetry, we are often reminded that
flesh, muscle, and nerves need some consideration. This church is indeed
a rare poem, an epic of the first water, and its author, the architect,
was Erwin von Steinbach, whose tomb is in one of the chapels. F.,
anxious to do the most daring things, decided to ascend the spire by way
of the spiral staircase; I declined. She ascended and descended with a
level head, and declared she would not have missed the sights, for
anything, of the closer view of the stone-work, and of the panoramic
picture from the elevation. Of the interior I shall not tell you much,
but its rich, elegant carvings, its beautiful stained-glass windows, its
clusters of pillars, its ornately sculptured pulpit, were objects of our
great enthusiasm and delight.
Of the wonderful clock I will tell you a little. This astronomical clock
is in the south transept, and tells not only the time of the day but
indicates every event connected with astronomical phenomena, like the
changes of the moon, the seasons, the church calendar, and so forth. A
child strikes the quarter of the hour, a youth the half hour, a young
man the third quarter, and an aged man, tottering slowly, comes and
touches the bell with his staff, and passes on, soon followed by the
figure of Death, who strikes the full hour with a human bone; and just
then, the figures representing the twelve Apostles march in front of a
statue of the Saviour, who bends to give each one his blessing, and a
cock crows loudly thrice, while another figure--Time--turns an
hour-glass, for running of the sand to indicate the next hour. It is
all extremely ingenious and interesting. The clock has been partly
reconstructed, as it is said the original, made in 1448, was partially
destroyed by the maker. The legend runs that the genius who invented and
made this wonderful structure of mechanism for Strassburg was urged to
make one for another town. The Strassburgers becoming jealous, sent for
the clock-maker, and requested him to give his promise that he would
never make another; but this he refused to do, which so angered them
they gave an order to have the poor man’s eyes put out. Hearing of this
terrible crime which was soon to be inflicted upon him, he offered to
make a few necessary repairs on the clock before losing his eyesight. As
soon as he had done this, his eyes were forever destroyed, but at the
same moment a crash from the clock was heard--weights, bells, and
figures fell to the ground, for the man had destroyed instead of
repairing his work. The clock just escaped being again destroyed at the
time of the bombardment by the Germans in 1870. The cathedral was
greatly damaged, but has been well repaired. One cannot wonder that the
French feel bitterly toward the Germans for taking from them, with
Alsace, this city so rich in its churches, but such is war. And long
ago, when this same place was a free German town, Louis XVI. captured it
for France, and now Germany claims it again. French and German seem to
be about equally spoken here.
We met E. W. in the street to-day, and a pleasant surprise was her face.
In this strange country, mere acquaintances seem like dear friends, and
dear friends dearer than ever before. I wish I could hear your voice
to-day, but I know you are with us in thought, and glad that these days
are so filled with brightness for us, but we must not forget that they
cannot always last; we are so apt to, just as in summer we forget that
flowers so soon wither; but the fragrance of their fallen leaves remains
with us long, as will the sweet memories of these gliding hours.
_Holland Hotel, Baden Baden, July 23d, 1888._--At four P.M. we reached
here from Strassburg. Our hotel is one of the best, and after settling
our baggage in our spacious, handsomely furnished room, we went out to
reconnoitre. The town is lovely,--beautiful streets, buildings, shops,
and grand old shade trees everywhere, and just now the place is crowded
with people, driving, walking, flirting, and sauntering through the
streets, stores, and gardens, bareheaded. This reminds me more of
Saratoga in the summer season than any place I have before seen,
although there is not the display of dress here, or the taste displayed
in what dress there is, that we see in our American watering-places. In
fact, so far, I have had to come to the conclusion that European ladies
show very little good judgment and no style in dress, with the one
exception of the Parisians. The Duchess of Baden, who is the daughter of
the good old Emperor William, lives very near our hotel, and other
members of the royal family of Germany are here, but are, of course, all
in deep mourning for the dearly loved and much-lamented late Emperor
Frederick.
After an excellent dinner we went to the ‘Conversation Haus,’ a large,
fine building in the midst of beautiful grounds, where everybody goes
evenings to hear the fine music and see the people. What else they go
for I cannot positively say, but am told that there is still some
gambling carried on somewhere within the walls of this building; but we
saw only its elegant drawing-rooms, ball and reception rooms, rich in
appearance as pictures and gilt, velvet, and silk furnishings could make
them. If any gambling is done here, or about here, in these days it is
done secretly, for when the German Government awakened to the fact that
accomplished scoundrels from all over the world met here to carry on
their nefarious practice, it suppressed all gambling, greatly to the
credit of the Government, for by so doing thousands of dollars that were
left here annually were spent in some other country than Germany. When
this was done it was feared that the prosperity of Baden was over, but
it did not prove so. The place is too lovely to be neglected by
travellers, and now, many of the wealthier and most respected Europeans
spend a portion of the summer here. There are over twenty large hotels
and more small ones, and they are now all well filled.
_July 24th._--This morning we visited the ‘Trink Halle,’ an elegant
building, which is decorated with frescoes illustrating many of the old
German legends of the Black Forest. People flock here mornings to drink
the waters as they do at Congress Spring at Saratoga. Crowds of people
were present drinking the vile stuff as if they enjoyed it, but I found
it the least palatable of any mineral water I ever tasted. The Fraülein
who, at her leisure, at last waited upon us, acted as if it were a great
condescension on her part to allow us to taste the horrid liquid, but
she did not hesitate to take our money. I observed the same spirit in
all of the female employees in the town with whom we had anything to do.
They did not seem to wish us to see anything or to buy anything; and in
one store where we looked at a garment, after hearing the price, I
remarked to my companion that it would not cost much less, if any, than
at home, if we paid duties, and the girl, understanding English, said,
‘You could probably buy it elsewhere for less,’ and continued the
reading of a book she held in her hand. With such indifferent clerks I
should not suppose sales would be very large; but all merchandise was
dear at Baden excepting the little things found at the booths out of
doors and in the two rows of stores leading to the Conversation Haus.
These were very attractive, and everything for sale in them, from
magnificent diamonds and gems of all kinds, exquisite engravings and
photographs, down to buttons and hair pins, and the gentlemanly
proprietors and clerks were very polite.
We next went to the Friedrichsbad, the finest bathing establishment in
the whole world. It is built of red and white stone, and is artistically
decorated with carvings. But the attendants there, the women, were as
disagreeable as the sex were at the Trink Halle; but as they were
remarkably good looking, they may have been placed there for ornament
instead of use, and the mistake our own in expecting them to give us any
information. We did not see the private baths, as it was not the hour to
show them, but we did succeed in seeing the magnificent round, white,
marble-lined swimming bath by waylaying the only man we saw in the
establishment and asking him to show it to us.
We took a carriage to visit the ‘Alt Schloss,’ or old castle, now a ruin
and a very picturesque one, and then to the ‘Neue Schloss,’ where the
Grand Duke of Baden lives a part of the time. This is a home fit for the
gods--a grand castle, on an eminence overlooking the town and a
beautiful country round about it. It is surrounded by magnificent
grounds, and contains many valuable paintings and a gallery of antiques.
You remember the Duke’s wife is the daughter of old Emperor William, and
now, since the Emperor Frederick’s death, she is his only child living.
As none of the royal family were in the castle all of the apartments
were shown us, all attractive and rich in furnishings and finishings,
with lovely views of the beautiful valley of Baden Baden from the
windows. We next followed our guide down, down, into the dungeons below,
made in the rock on which the castle stands. All around us were
instruments of torture, and near us a deep excavation where condemned
persons were formerly thrown alive, and from which no cry for help could
be heard. We were glad to turn our backs upon these places of old-time
cruelty and try to forget the barbarity of old margraves in admiration
of the late loved emperors of the country, William and Frederick, both
of whom have recently gone to their reward.
These German duchies are small, very small, kingdoms. The duchy of Baden
is not as large as our State of Massachusetts, but the Grand Duke lives
in a kingly manner. He not only has his palaces here, but has one at
Carlsruhe, a short distance from here, one in Freiburg, one in
Heidelberg, and three or four others, and each one must require an
immense revenue to be cared for as they are. Now, just think of the
taxes the people must have levied upon them to keep up all this
grandeur. Supposing we had to, by being more largely taxed, pay our
governors a sum sufficient to live in such luxury, I think we should
soon rebel, and if we did not, I should fear our honest Puritan blood
had run out. From the ‘Neue Schloss’ we visited the pretty Greek church,
which is a gem, and finished our drive along the Lichtenthal Allée, the
beautiful avenue, shaded by magnificent trees and filled with carriages
of every description in which were seated lovely women, with gay
dresses and sparkling gems. Promenaders from all parts of the world
walking up and down, bands of music playing, and bright and brilliant is
the scene. Yes, Baden is delightful, and we have been cared for with
much thoughtfulness at our hotel and recommend it to all who come this
way.
_Willbad Springs, Germany, July 25th, 1888._--I do not imagine that you
ever heard of this place, but it is worth hearing about. It is a small
watering-place, with natural springs, hot and cold, these springs being
considered by many the very fountains to dip in to ensure the
everlasting duration of youth, strength, and beauty. And here we are
visiting our own relatives, who have come from Dresden to tarry a while
for the benefit of the waters. How glad we were to see them all--our own
kith and kin! Cousin E. and his pretty little ‘foreign’ niece were at
the station to meet us, and you may well believe our tongues did run
fast for a while. Aunt M. is an encyclopedia of a most charming edition,
and has delighted us with stories of her experiences in living and
travelling on this continent and with her cordiality towards us.
Hundreds of people are here, as the country about is attractive, and
then, too, the sick, lame, deaf, and blind come to be made whole. ‘Let
us bathe in these wonderful waters,’ said F. Here, as at Baden, there is
a fine building in which the baths are fitted up, with all the
conveniences, and the water brought into them from the natural springs.
What a furnace there must be here in the bowels of good mother earth,
and how well regulated to keep this water and send it to her children of
just the right temperature for a bath. I could not possibly think of any
irregularity of my body that needed doctoring, but was advised that when
‘in Rome I should do as the Romans do,’ and was told also by one of the
pleasant assistants (very different from the class at Baden) that many
American ladies had derangements of the liver, and I undoubtedly would
have some time, being an American, and these baths were a sure
preventive as well as a sure cure. I had never thought much about my
liver, as it had never called for special attention, but feeling that
here was the grand opportunity for ‘taking time by the forelock,’
plunged in. Result: stayed a day longer at Willbad than was my
intention. They make very good gruel at Willbad! I had no right to the
healing properties of Willbad waters, for there was nothing wrong with
my constitution. The waters took their own way of revenging imposition.
_July 26th, 1888._--Have been in the house all day. This evening half of
our household went to the opera and the rest of us listened to some fine
music in the Park. The band was a splendid one, and the programme
contained choice selections, such as we should have to pay a dollar or
two to hear at home. How full of music these Germans are, and how
soulfully they execute! We have just decided not to go with E. to
Bayreuth to the Wagner Festival, but to take the time to see more of
this country, for this we cannot have at home, but we can have Wagner’s
music, and, better still, our own Symphony and Gericke. We lingered in
the drawing-room of our relatives late, hating to say ‘good-night,’ for
the morning will be the beginning of a longer parting. And when shall
we all meet again. Adieus must be said, and when we thanked our friends
for the pleasant time with them they said, ‘But we have done so little!’
Ah! life is made up of little things; loving words, smiles, and kindly
acts win the heart always.
_Hotel de l’Europe, Heidelberg, Germany, July 27th, 1888._--On our way
here from Willbad we stopped for a few hours at Carlsruhe, which is one
of the residences of the Court of Baden and is the capital of the grand
duchy of Baden. We are getting tired of palaces, so, instead of visiting
the very magnificent one at Carlsruhe, spent what time we had in the
palace gardens and in the botanical garden, the orangery, and the
hothouses. The flowers are about the same as we have at similar places
at home, with a few plants and blossoms strangers to us. We reached
Heidelberg at five P.M. and were considered distinguished arrivals, I am
sure, for a carpet was spread awaiting our footsteps from the carriage
to the hotel door and several gentlemen in dress suits stood in a line
with folded arms and bowed very low to us as we passed along. Now, this
was delightful! They never do that at Parker’s or Young’s when we go
there. This hotel is fine, standing in the centre of a pretty garden. We
have a luxurious room and on the first floor. We are getting to like the
single beds, one apiece, that we have everywhere over here very much,
for if one does feel like taking the ‘spoon fashion’ position, there is
no one with coequal rights near to object. Nor are the employees as
attentive at the home hotels. Here we no sooner get settled in our rooms
than the polite portier appears, takes our names and residence; no going
to the office to register here, and the letters U. S. A. act like magic,
for are not the United States of America overrun with millionaires, and
so many of them resort to travel purposely to get rid of a portion of
their troublesome, superfluous incomes. ‘Would we like a glass of wine
brought to our room? Is our room satisfactory? Perhaps we would like a
special maid during our stay, which he hopes will be long. When it suits
us to allow him, it will give him much pleasure to tell us about the
city and what to visit and the pleasantest way to see all.’ Well,
really, these portiers are invaluable, and although there may be some
grasping ones, who impose upon strangers, we have found nearly all of
great assistance and apparently well satisfied with what we have given
them, which has never been more than we felt that they deserved for
service rendered.
We took a drive about the city, which is a long, narrow place sandwiched
in between the river Neckar and the hills, on the highest one of which
stands the ruins of the old castle. We were driven through a long
avenue, with pretty trees on each side and some residences, but more
stores, and the sidewalks filled with people. This street is called the
Anlage; and is the principal boulevard of the city. We saw the ‘Helig
Geist Kirche’--Church of the Holy Ghost, into which the people of
Heidelberg were driven, crowded in like animals, so closely that they
could not move, by the French army in the time of Louis XIV., and left
there to suffer, until the steeple took fire as the town was being
burned. This old structure has had many critical changes in its history,
and is now divided by a thick wall, on one side of which the Roman
Catholics worship, and on the other the Protestants. Our driver was a
talker, and told us much we understood, and more that we did not, of the
places of interest we passed. ‘Now show us the university buildings,’ we
said, and he soon halted in front of an old, plastered or stuccoed
structure, that resembled barracks more than a renowned seat of
learning, and was a great disappointment to us. A drive over an old
stone bridge, from the farther end of which we had a charming view of
the castle perched on the mountain side, overhanging the town, with its
towers, battlements and arches, a regal ruin in truth, and back to our
hotel, ended our first sight of Heidelberg.
We had scarcely entered our room when a band of musicians stationed
themselves directly under our window and struck up the ‘Wedding March’
from Lohengrin, and it was exquisitely played too, and on fine
instruments. We came to the conclusion that we were supposed to be
brides on our wedding tour, and had commenced disciplining our ‘better
halves’ by leaving them at home, as we find it is a source of great
wonder to the Europeans, and especially to the English and the Germans,
that the American wives travel about so much without their husbands. One
lovely German lady, in Baden, in speaking on this subject, said to me,
‘And what do these husbands left alone do?’ ‘Do?’ I answered, ‘why, they
not only attend to their own business matters, but they run the house,
take care of the children, and write daily love letters to their absent
wives, and love them better than ever, if possible, when they reach home
again. You must believe,’ I said, ‘that American husbands are the best
in the world, and that with us, in all grades of life, wives are treated
with tenderness and consideration, and as equals.’ She looked a little
incredulous, and I could not wonder when I thought of the pitiable
sights of her country, that are before us daily, of women, bronze faced,
half dressed, working in the fields, digging, hoeing, pushing the
plough; in the towns breaking stone, sawing wood, and bending beneath
heavy loads of many kinds, carried on head or back, while their husbands
take their ease, at the barracks, perhaps, and when at home take the
money earned by their wives. One of the worst features, too, of this
condition of things is that the women do not rebel; if their husbands
take them into the gardens on Sunday, and drink beer with them, often
paid for with the little earnings of the overworked wives, they are
satisfied. Poor things, they have never known anything better. Amongst
the poor of Germany, matrimony was not commenced right. I think the
military laws of the country are to blame greatly for the degradation of
the women of the so-called lower classes. A man who is or has been in
the army considers it beneath him to do honest labor, but not beneath
him to allow his wife to do it.
_July 28th, 1888._--Life is a glorious gift, and a morning so bright and
lovely as this makes one thankful! Immediately after breakfast we went
to the castle, of which we have had views from a distance, and of which
all our lives we have heard so much. There it stood, massive and grand,
the most magnificent architectural ruin in the world. It is a ruin, but
there is very much more of the original building left than of
Kenilworth, that has walls only left; this has halls, rooms, and
chapels, some of which have been restored. There is a moat around it,
after crossing which we passed under and through a picturesque gateway,
from which ivy and wild vines were waving, and entered the courtyard.
The façade is of three stories, and on it are allegorical figures,
statues, medallions, and stone carvings. Tradition gives Michael Angelo
as the architect of this façade. Ball-rooms and banquet-halls were shown
to us, some containing paintings in a fairly good state of preservation,
which seems more remarkable when we consider that they have been there
since long before America was discovered. Of the woman who acted as our
guide we asked many questions, for one feels so much more interest in
the history of a place when on the spots talked of. She was well
informed, and told us what we had often read, that the castle was built
in the thirteenth century, and that for several hundred years the Counts
Palatine lived here in royal magnificence, and that at one period
eighteen hundred persons formed the family, or the Court, of the
Elector. No wonder they needed fireplaces large enough to roast oxen
whole. The building was several times partly destroyed by armies, but
was rendered useless to live in by lightning, at last.
What jolly times the high in power and the old sprigs of royalty in
those days meant to have! One would have surely a dull imagination, or
no imagination at all, who could here wander from room to room and not
see with the mind’s eye the revellings of the long ago. The big tun in
the cellar is hogshead-shaped, and really will hold forty-nine thousand
gallons, and has been twelve times filled with the best wines. Can you
comprehend such an amount, and a receptacle huge enough to contain it?
The ‘Elizabethan Bau’ still shows that Frederick V. brought his bride,
Elizabeth of England, to a princely home. But the silence and the decay
of these ‘banquet halls deserted’ remind us forcibly of the brevity of
the power and glory of this life, and should be a lesson to us to
prepare for the life to come, which only is lasting. The wonderful
beauty of the castle itself, the romantic situation, and the exquisite
landscape views from its rich stone terrace, will be choice pictures in
our memories for many a day.
There are but few attractive shops in Heidelberg; plenty of bologna
sausages and pretzels; portraits and photographs of the two dead
emperors everywhere, and many of the new Emperor William. ‘The king is
dead. Long live the king.’ The city seems full of soldiers, all with
black crape on their arms, and the citizens--men, women, and
children--wear it also. Everything shows to us that we are indeed in
Germany.
In our walks and drives in the town we have looked for the university
students, and we have seen them--plenty of them, with faces cut and
scarred, court-plastered and bandaged. What an abominable custom is
this: to allow these naturally fine looking young men to make each other
so hideous and repulsive in appearance for the rest of their lives. The
American students here have nothing whatever to do with this disgraceful
custom, and yet the Germans know well they are no cowards. A student
from New York gave evidence of his willingness to risk his life, in a
really noble act, by jumping into the River Neckar and saving the life
of a child who had fallen from the bridge here, a short time ago. These
German students are formed into five sections, or corps, and the members
of each corps wear caps alike, so that it may be known by all who see
them to which corps they belong. The colors are white, yellow, red,
blue, and green, and the members of one corps never allow themselves to
be in the least friendly with members of any other corps, for they may
have to haggle them with swords within the next twenty-four hours. These
corps students, we are told, belong to the most aristocratic families of
Germany, and yet at the slightest provocation, and indeed with no
provocation at all, they fight each other like wild cats. Very recently
one of the red caps, by mistake, took a book belonging to a white cap,
was challenged for so doing, and was slashed with his opponent’s sword
unmercifully. I tell you this, as told to us, to show you how little it
takes to cause a duel. If the members of the corps do not challenge each
other, the president of a corps challenges for them--fight they must, or
be forever branded as cowards, and to show the slightest sign of being
afraid to do so would make life in Heidelberg unbearable for them
forever after. In the duel, no matter how seriously one is hurt--his ear
may be cut off, or his nose split--he must not wince or show a sign of
the ‘white feather.’ Now is not this disgusting? Brave they say it makes
them! Thank God, our young men show their bravery in nobler directions!
Seeing students everywhere in our strolls about town, I wondered when
they studied, and asked many questions in regard to the rules of the
university. It seems rules are few. Heidelberg University gives to all
who choose to hear, at a very small charge, lectures on all the sciences
and arts, delivered by men of great wisdom; so if students wish to
learn, they have great opportunities. If they are indifferent, everybody
else is in regard to them; they can do as they please. We heard a great
deal of their capacity for, and indulgence in, beer drinking, but saw
little of it.
In the old castle there is a banquet-room where they congregate for
their revels often. This grand old ruin now belongs to the Duke of
Baden.
We have made some purchases of leather goods here--pocket-books,
card-cases, and so forth, extremely pretty and cheap--and they all bear
the impress of the castle; so you shall see many views of it when we get
home. At our hotel to-day a young American girl heard of the sudden
death of her father, and refused to be comforted. Poor dear child, how
our hearts went out in sympathy for her. And how hard it is for us all,
amid the sorrows and griefs of this life, to keep always God’s love for
us in view.
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