MARCH RENEWED. SCENERY MORE AND MORE GRAND. A POPULATION OF WEAVERS.
HOCHSTADT. THE ISER. MAGNIFICENT RIVER, AND CAPITAL TROUTING.
STARKENBACH. EXTREME KINDNESS OF THE INHABITANTS. CARRIED TO THE
CHANCELLOR'S HOUSE. FISH THE ISER AGAIN. THE EFFECT OF MY SPORT ON A
RELIGIOUS PROCESSION. SUPPER AT THE HIGH BAILIFF'S. GAME AT CHESS. TAKE
LEAVE OF OUR KIND HOSTS WITH MUTUAL REGRET.
Our toilet this morning was very speedily completed. A dip of the whole
head into a basin of water, and a hasty and imperfect rinse of the
hands; these, with the application of tooth-brush, hair-brush, and
razor, to their respective departments, put us in marching order; and
coffee being served without delay, by six we were _en route_. Hoen
Elbe, not far from the fountain of the mighty Elbe, was our proposed
point. But
The best laid schemes of mice and men,
Gang aft awry,
and Hoen Elbe we were destined never to behold.
Our road to-day led over a succession of hills, each of which
introduced us to scenery more wild and rugged than before; for each new
step was now bringing us nearer and nearer to the loftiest of the
Riesengebirg range. Still the population appeared not to diminish. The
villages, if poorer and meaner, were not less frequent than ever, and
each individual cottage seemed to swarm with inmates. We were, however,
greatly struck with the squalid and unhealthy appearance of these poor
people. Unlike our own mountaineers, the inhabitants of the Bohemian
hills seem to be a race every way inferior to the occupants of the
plain. The men are short, thin, and apparently feeble, with pale cheeks
and sickly complexions. The women, over and above these disadvantages,
are almost all goitred, and the children look like creatures born in
sin and brought up to misery. Probably all this is owing as much to the
sort of life which these highlanders lead, as to the severity of their
climate. They are all either weavers, or spinners and teazers of flax,
except the very few whose services are required in the cultivation of a
barren soil. Now, were you to shut up even a hardy Argyleshire
shepherd, in a heated chamber, where he should be condemned to breathe
all day long foul air, abundantly mixed with minute portions of flax
and wool, you would probably find, at the end of the year, that he was
not what he used to be ere he took to spinning. I think, then, that I
am right in concluding that the mountaineers of Bohemia would be like
the mountaineers of Scotland, were they similarly employed; and I am
quite sure that a more revolting spectacle is not to be seen anywhere
than that which a mountain district presents, of which the inhabitants
are chiefly weavers.
It is not, however, entirely to their devotion to sedentary pursuits
that we are justified in attributing the squalid and unhealthy
appearance of these highlanders. They are all manufacturers on their
own account. They do not work for any master, nor receive, as a
necessary consequence, regular wages; but they card the flax, spin the
thread, weave the web, and carry it to market, all at their own risk,
and in obedience to the spirit of speculation. If the articles take,
then are they well off for a season; if the contrary result ensue, they
must carry it home again, and sad, indeed, is their condition. I need
scarcely add, that it was by these mountaineers, and their rivals on
the Prussian side of the Riesengebirg range, that the most valuable of
the German cotton and linen goods used to be produced; and that, till
within the last quarter of a century, even our own manufacturers were
quite unable to compete with them. The case is now, however, widely
different, and they feel and mourn the result bitterly. Nor is it
surprising that there should be gendered among them a strong prejudice
against the English people. They carry this so far, in many instances,
as to believe that the Bohemian and Silesian marks are forged by the
manufacturers of Manchester and Glasgow; and that their goods are
thrown back upon their hands because an inferior article is palmed off
at the great fairs, and sold as if fabricated by themselves.
When people lose their way in other countries, it is for the lack of
roads. In Bohemia, the multiplicity of roads is quite perplexing. I am
sure that we went this day a full league, if not more, out of our way,
from repeatedly following the wrong path, and being as often compelled
to retrace our steps. Once, after climbing to the ridge of a lofty
mountain, we learned, to our horror, that the road which we ought to
have pursued, ran in the very bottom of the glen which we had quitted;
and twice the good people's directions were given in a language so
barbarous, that we could make nothing of them. But after a good deal of
fatigue, and no trifling share of enjoyment, we reached, at twelve
o'clock, the town of Hochstadt, the place at which, as it was
represented to be only three hours' march from Hoen Elbe, we had
resolved to dine. We had timed our arrival admirably; for twelve
o'clock is, in Germany, the common hour of dinner; and of the fare
which was served up in the neat little inn towards which our steps were
turned, we had no right to complain.
Hochstadt, so named from the elevated nature of its situation, stands
on the summit of a mountain, and is raised probably not less than three
thousand feet above the level of the sea. It commands a magnificent
mountain view, with a much larger scattering both of vegetation and
culture, than we had any right to expect. Bleak it doubtless must be,
in winter, for just across the valley which dips down from it on the
west, are hills whose tops retain their snowy coverings till August;
while eastward is an immense plain, undulating here and there, but
scarcely broken by the wooded cones that are scattered over it. But in
the month of June, when we beheld it, the landscape is exceedingly
interesting, and the promise of an abundant harvest was bright. There
was nothing, however, either in the town or its vicinity, to detain us
longer than the space of time that might be necessary to appease our
hunger and rest our limbs: so, between one and two, we paid our bill,
took our host's directions, and departed. He told us that if we walked
well, we might reach the Iser in an hour and a half, after which we
could not be more than an hour and a half removed from Hoen Elbe.
Who that has read Campbell's glorious ballad of _Hohenlinden_, would
not feel his imagination warmed by the thought of standing even for an
hour, on the banks of "Iser rolling rapidly?" Who, likewise, that is
acquainted with Sir Humphry Davy's exquisite _Consolations_, and has,
as the amiable philosopher had, a true relish for the gentle craft of
angling, would not begin to put his rod together as soon as Iser's
waters met his view? For my own part, I cannot undertake to say which
principle operated with me most powerfully,--whether the romantic
associations which Campbell's muse must ever call up, or the more
matter-of-fact, but hardly less animated description, which Sir Humphry
gives of the capital sport which he had in a stream of the same name;
but of this fact I am quite certain, that the hopes of discovering the
river behind every eminence, or coming suddenly upon it as I emerged
from each successive grove, served to render me, during this hour and a
half's progress, proof against the encroachments of weariness. And my
wishes were gratified at last. Just after we had obtained a glimpse of
what we knew to be the iron foundry at Eisenhammer, we beheld rolling
his waters beneath us, the Iser himself, not like the Elbe, in a
troubled and dingy stream, nor, after the fashion of most of its
tributaries, with a mere thread of silver, but roaring and chafing from
pool to pool, or else gathered in a black mass under some huge crag, as
if intervals of repose were necessary to the element itself, and it
could repose only in darkness. And then when we cast our eyes along the
banks,--the sides of magnificent mountains,--feathered from their bases
with ancient forests, out of which, from time to time, a bald rock
projected, truly we were forced to admit, that to obtain this
gratification alone, all our fatigues had been well endured, and that
here we might stand still without repining. But there was something
more to be done than to admire the fair river. Out came the
fishing-rods from their cases, down we hurried, loaded as we were, to
the river's brink, and flies being selected, such as we judged would
suit the state of the water, we set to work. Our sport was admirable.
Not a trout rose under three-quarters of a pound weight, and several
fell little short of three pounds, so that at the hour's end, all the
space which we ventured to allow ourselves, we had laid in an ample
stock of fresh fish for supper.
There was no resisting the temptation to which our excellent sport in
the Iser had subjected us. It was impossible to leave such a stream
behind; so we made up our minds to a halt at Eisenhammer for the night,
and after devoting the morrow exclusively to fishing, to add the lost
hour and a half to the march of the day following. With this view we
crossed the bridge, and entered the sort of hamlet, which consists
merely of the foundry, and of a long range of buildings, occupied
partly by the superintendents of the works, partly as a gasthof. In
this gasthof, however, no separate chamber was to be had, and, though
the reverse of fastidious, we could not quite make up our minds to
spend a second night as we had done a former one at Marchovides. But we
were happily relieved from the dilemma. One of the gentlemen whose duty
it is to direct the workmen in the foundry, informed us that we should
find at Starkenbach, about an hour's walk to the right, excellent
accommodations, and putting us under the guidance of two travelling
journeymen who were going that way, expressed his hope that he would
see us again on the morrow. To the civility and kindness of that
gentleman, we were much indebted both then and afterwards, and I am
glad, though he may never be aware of the fact, thus publicly to
acknowledge my obligations to him.
We reached Starkenbach about six o'clock, after a pleasant walk through
green fields, and made for what had been represented as the best inn, a
gasthof in the market-place. The landlady's manner was, as usual,
somewhat repulsive at first, but the cloud soon passed from her brow.
No sooner was it made known to her that we were Englishmen, travelling
for amusement, than she bestirred herself sedulously to provide for our
comforts; and we soon found ourselves in possession of a snug
apartment, with the prospect before us of a good supper at the hour
named by ourselves. But this was not all. An Englishman had never been
seen in Starkenbach before, and as it had been at Gabel, so it was
here,--multitudes of all ranks and classes flocked to obtain a glimpse
of us. Moreover, it soon appeared that they came with more generous
intentions than to gratify an idle curiosity, however innocent in
itself. The real motive of one of them was, indeed, disguised under an
affected anxiety to discharge an irksome duty; but the delicacy which
prompted him thus to throw a temporary shade over his kindness, only
enhanced the value of the kindness itself in our eyes.
Our landlady had been all civility and attention. Not only were water
and other means of dressing supplied in abundance, but we had some
difficulty in persuading her that her proposal to wash us from top to
toe with her own hands could not be acceded to. We were thus in the
midst of our ablutions when in walked a well-dressed young man, who
began by saying, in Italian, that he understood we spoke that language,
and that he was desired by the landlord to ascertain whether our room
was to our liking. We assured him that it was, and expected, of course,
that he would leave us free to go on with our dressing operations; but
nothing of the sort took place. What were we?--Englishmen, he was
aware; but had we any business, or did we come to dispose of any goods?
We satisfied him on this head also, upon which he retired for a moment,
but soon returned again. There was a gentleman in the next room, the
head of the graff's chancery, who spoke French, and would be glad to
make our acquaintance. We begged that he might be introduced, and in he
came, followed by several others.
"You know, Messieurs," said he, "that we are obliged in this country to
act somewhat uncivilly to strangers. You have, of course, a passport?"
I produced my passport at once; it was the only time I ever had
occasion to show it in this quarter of Bohemia; but I was immediately
taught by his manner of examining it, that the question relative to
passports was a mere pretext on the part of the chancellor, for opening
with us a friendly conversation; he contented himself by glancing
hastily at the signature of the Austrian minister, and laid it down.
And now began a discussion which I was reluctantly forced to interrupt
by reminding him of the unfinished state of my toilet, and by begging
that he would have the goodness to wait for a few minutes in another
apartment till it should be completed. He withdrew at once, with
numerous apologies, and carried his train along with him.
So far we had good reason to be satisfied with the reception that was
awarded us in Starkenbach; but the kindness of its inhabitants was far
from stopping here. After loitering about for a quarter of an hour, and
receiving no renewed visit from the chancellor, we strolled out, with
the intention of taking a survey of the environs while yet daylight
lingered; but we had not proceeded far when our friend overtook us, and
offered to be our guide. Nor was this all. In the most modest yet
hospitable manner imaginable, he said that he would feel highly
honoured and flattered if we would make his house our home during our
stay in Starkenbach, and when we objected to his proposal on the ground
that such a proceeding would not be fair towards the innkeeper, he
assured us that that point was settled already. In a word, though he
consented to be our guest at supper, which having been actually cooked
could not be put aside, nothing short of the removal of our knapsacks
from the inn would satisfy him, and we found ourselves in consequence,
about ten o'clock at night, under the shadow of his hospitable roof.
The habitation of which we had thus unexpectedly become the inmates,
consisted of a suite of apartments in one of the numerous outbuildings
attached to the schloss of Graff Horach, the lord of the manor. Though
not very commodious, it was both clean and comfortable; and served to
satisfy the wishes of its occupant; whose family consisted only of a
young wife, and two female servants. For a German of the class to which
our friend belongs is not ambitious of living in a style above either
his means or his pretensions, and the ideas of Germans, generally,
relative to what is essential to the comforts of home, are far more
humble than ours. This gentleman and his bride, for example, (and a
bride she might be termed, having been married only half a year,) were
content to eat and sleep in the same apartment, the elegance of which
was little, if at all, broken in upon by the couple of neat box beds
with silk coverings, which occupied one of the corners. In like manner
the chamber which was assigned to us, at once more capacious and better
furnished, led through theirs; a circumstance which not only appeared
in no wise to disturb or annoy them, but of which they took advantage
to press their good offices upon us. For, as our host would hardly
leave us at night till we were ready to step into bed, so, no sooner
were we astir in the morning, than in he came, anxious to know how we
had rested, as well as to offer his services in supplying any want of
which we might experience the pressure. I really never saw, in any
country, or among any class of people, such incessant and genuine
hospitality.
We had barely time, over-night, to be introduced to the lady of the
mansion. In the morning we met her at breakfast, and her first act was
to add her entreaties to those of her husband, that we would not think
of leaving them that day. What need was there for so much haste? We had
been pleased with the scenery of the Iser; why not visit it again? Or
if that were not agreeable to us, there were various points in the
immediate vicinity of the town, which it might be worth our while to
inspect. We could not hold out against such arguments, more especially
as they happened to accord exactly with our own wishes; so we agreed to
fish the Iser once more, and return to sup and sleep at the
chancellor's.
This point being settled to the satisfaction of all the parties
concerned, we proceeded to equip ourselves in our travelling costume,
and, rod in hand, bent our steps towards Eisenhammer. A more
unpropitious day for the angler can scarcely be imagined; for a cold
east wind blew, and from time to time a thin drizzling rain beat in our
faces. Still we determined to make the attempt, and truly we had no
cause to repent of our resolution. In the course of four hours, which
we devoted to the sport, we caught upwards of ten pounds of trout; the
number of fish killed being at the same time only eleven,--a clear
proof that the Bohemian Iser deserves just as much praise as Sir
Humphry Davy, in his charming little book, has bestowed upon its
namesake near Munich. But killing the trout constituted by no means the
sole amusement which we that day enjoyed. An English fishing-rod and
English tackle were objects quite as novel to the good folks of
Eisenhammer, as they had been to the citizens of Gabel; and the
consequence was, that we had the entire population of the village and
hamlets round, in our train. And the astonishment of these simple
people, first at the machinery, and then at our mode of using it, I
have no language to describe. When first I hooked a trout, there was a
general rush to the river-side,--the movement being produced,
manifestly enough, by alarm lest the line should break; and though the
animal was floundering and springing about in twelve feet of water at
least, two or three young men could scarcely be restrained from jumping
in. But when they saw the monster, and a very large fellow he was,
after running away with some fathoms of line, and bending the rod like
a willow-wand, gradually lose his strength, and sail reluctantly
towards the shore, I really thought they would have gone crazy with
delight. They jumped about, swore, and shouted like mad people, and
made such a plunge into the shallows, to bring him out, that we had
well-nigh lost him. The scene was altogether quite irresistible.
There was no work performed that day in the iron foundry. Every soul
belonging to it, from the superintendent down to the errand-boy, came
forth to swell our train; and we walked up the Iser, attended as never
Highland chief was, even in the good old times of heritable
jurisdictions. Nor was this all. A religious procession, that is to
say, a numerous body of peasants from some of the villages near, bound
on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in Starkenbach, happened to
descend the hill just as I was playing a fish, and the effect produced
upon them was quite as miraculous as could have been brought about by
the saint himself. The sound of their psalmody ceased. The crucifix was
lowered, and man and woman, boy and maiden, breaking loose from their
ranks, flocked down, _en masse_, to ascertain the cause of so strange a
phenomenon. I suspect that St. James received but a scanty allowance of
worship that evening; at least, I am sure that the number of his
votaries became sadly diminished; for when the chant rose again, and
the crucifix was uplifted as a signal for moving, the retinue that
attended it, came short by at least one-half of that which had
followed, with all imaginable decorum, as far as the banks of the Iser.
It was now getting on towards three o'clock, and as the weather,
instead of improving, became every moment more boisterous, we
determined to abandon our fishing. We accordingly adjourned to the
gasthof, where a roasted fowl had been prepared for us, and made a
hearty dinner, in the midst of the same crowd which had watched our
mode of operations on the river. To them we were obliged to explain the
whole process by which rods are unscrewed and put together again, reels
turned round, and flies attached to casting lines; and I dare say that
to this hour, they have not ceased to talk about the whole affair as an
invention, second in point of ingenuity, only to the steam-engine.
This done, we became, in our turn, the querists. We begged to be
conducted over the foundry, and our wishes were immediately attended
to. It is on a small scale, but apparently very complete, with one
furnace and numerous models; and it was stated to supply very many of
the manufacturies both in Bohemia and Austria Proper, with the
iron-work required for their machinery. As to the ore itself, that is
found in abundance among the hills hard by, and is said to be of
excellent quality. I need scarcely add, that, though they have pit-coal
at their command, they use only coke and charcoal for smelting, because
everybody knows that for such purposes charcoal is the most approved
species of fuel.
We had had a capital day's sport, and the rain having at length ceased,
we turned our faces towards Starkenbach. The fish, with which we loaded
a countryman, and conveyed by his means to our host's dwelling, caused
almost as much astonishment there, as our mode of catching them had
occasioned at Eisenhammer. Not only our hosts, but their domestics, and
not they alone, but the people in the streets as we passed, shouted and
clapped their hands at the spectacle. But the chancellor had other and
more agreeable occupation chalked out for us, than listening to the
exclamations of his clients. He led us through the town, took us to
call upon the priest,--a respectable-looking old man, who had expressed
a wish to be introduced to us,--and informed us that he had ventured to
accept in our name an invitation from the grand bailiff, to sup in his
apartments. It may be necessary, perhaps, to add, that the grand
bailiff is the graff's representative, who not only manages his private
affairs, but superintends the proceedings of the chancery, and who is,
therefore, in the absence of the graff himself, by far the most
important personage in the herschafte.
The grand bailiff's apartments, which formed part of the schloss
itself, were both large and well furnished. There were no carpets on
the floors, of course,--the Germans make very little use of carpets
anywhere,--but his dining-room was amply stocked with chairs, sofas,
tables, cabinets, and mirrors, and his cuisine, though plain, was
excellent. We were so fortunate, moreover, as to meet at his table, not
only the whole of the chancery, but the commissary of the circle, who
happened to be going his rounds, and who proved a very agreeable
addition to our party.
The supper was good, and the Hungarian wine of excellent flavour. The
attentions of the bailiff and his lady were likewise unremitting;
indeed, the latter was almost too kind, for she seemed anxious that we
should eat of every dish, and drink out of every flask and bottle. We
had a little music too,--for she played the piano; and the commissary,
likewise a performer, paid us the compliment to dash off in very good
style, "God save the King." But the circumstance which amused me most
of all remains to be stated. I was asked if I played chess; and I
replied in the affirmative, adding, however, as the facts of the case
required, that I was no master of the game. Immediately a petition was
brought forward, that I would play one game with the bailiff. He had
heard much of the extraordinary skill of Englishmen in this noble game,
and being a little of an amateur himself, it had long been his ambition
to measure his strength with that of an Islander. Alas for my country!
she had but a sorry champion to sustain her honour; for, if the truth
must be spoken, though I get very much interested in chess after the
game has fairly begun, I always sit down to it as Dr. Johnson says he
did to _Paradise Lost_, as to a task. And the consequence is, that,
avoiding it wherever I can, I have not yet entitled myself to pass
muster in the first class of bunglers. But it would have been cruel to
thwart the hospitable bailiff in his humours, so to it we fell. I don't
think that he and his friends gave me quite fair play. With one accord
they ranged themselves on the side of their countryman, and, complimenting
my adroitness all the while, they assisted him in every difficulty with
their counsels. However, the result would have been, I make no doubt,
the same, had they remained silent. I was soundly beaten, and my worthy
host rose up as much pleased as if he had conquered a province. I
learned from the chancellor next day, that to have lost the game would
have seriously affected his peace of mind. I am therefore heartily glad
that fortune declared in his favour.
My tale of Starkenbach is told. We returned to the chancellor's to
sleep, breakfasted with him and his interesting young wife next
morning, and at seven o'clock took the road to Troutenau, which he
recommended as a good halting-place. His last words at parting were,
"Nous sons beaucoup triste," and when I added "Et nous aussi," I spoke
but as I felt.