The splendid city of Prague—The German expression, "To give the basket"—Journey from Prague to Dresden—Journey from Dresden to Berlin—A description of Berlin—The Prussian Army—Theatricals—Peasants talk about Napoleon—Prussians and French should be allies—Absurd policy of the English Tories—Journey from Berlin to Dresden—A description of Dresden—The battle of Dresden in 1813—Clubs at Dresden—Theatricals— German beds—Saxon scholars—The picture gallery—Tobacco an ally of Legitimacy—Saxon women—Meissen—Unjust policy of Europe towards the King of Saxony.
PRAGUE, 4 Sept.
Prague is a far more striking and splendid city than Vienna, without its faubourgs. The streets are broader; and it has a more cheerful and less confined appearance than the old town of Vienna. The position of Prague too is very romantic and picturesque, part of it lying on a mountain and part on a plain; and it stands on the confluent of two rivers, the Mulda and the Braun. The upper part of the city, called Oberburg, stands on a height called Ratschin, and on this height stands a most magnificent palace and other stately buildings. There is a beautiful panoramic view from this part of Prague. In this part of the city too is the cathedral of St Wenzel or Wenceslaus, who was its founder. His tomb and that of St John Nepomucene, a favorite saint of the Bohemians, is in this church. The Cathedral is of extreme solidity, but little ornamented, having been plundered by the Swedes in 1648. The canopy over the shrine of St John Nepomucene has a profusion of votive offerings appended to it. The lower part of Prague is divided into two parts by the Mulda. The bridge across the Mulda is one of the finest in Europe. It has twenty-four arches, its length is 1700 feet and its breadth 35. Among several statues on this bridge is a very remarkable one of Jesus Christ, made of bronze gilt, which cost a large sum of money to its founder, a Jew! There is a Latin inscription on it which explains the paradox. There stood on the same spot a wooden statue of Christ in the XVI century. One day an opulent Jew, on passing by, made some scoffing or contemptuous remark on it. He was overheard by some of the people, accused of blasphemy and condemned to die; but on expressing great contrition and offering to pay a fine to any amount, he was pardoned, on the condition of his promising to erect a bronze statue gilt of Jesus Christ on the same spot, at his own expense, with an inscription explaining the reason of its construction; which promise he punctually performed. Prague abounds in Jews. Two-thirds at least of its population are of that persuasion. In the lower town the most striking edifices are the palace of the Wallenstein family, descendants of the famous Wallenstein, so distinguished in the Thirty Years war. Annexed to this Palace is a spacious garden, which is open to the public as a promenade. It is well laid out. There is a large aviary. This Palace covers a vast extent of ground. The Colloredo family, who are descended from Wenceslaus, have a superb Palace in this city; and there is a stable belonging to it, partly in marble and of rich architecture, capable of containing thirty-six horses. No traveller who comes to Prague should omit visiting these two Palaces of Wallenstein and Colloredo. On the bridge over the Mulda before mentioned, is the statue in bronze of St John Nepomucene, on the spot from whence he was thrown into the river by his brother saint, King Wenceslaus, for refusing to divulge the gallantries of his (Wenceslaus') wife, to whom he was confessor. A favorite promenade on Sundays is on the FÄrber Insel or Dyers island, which is a small island on the Mulda. Here the young men of the town come to dance with the grisettes and milliner girls of Prague, who are renowned for their beauty and complaisance.
The Jewish burying ground is a curiosity for a person who has never visited the Oriental countries. The tombstones are stowed thick together. Everybody recollects the anecdote of the ingenious method adopted by Joseph II for squeezing a large sum of money from the Jews of Prague, by giving out that he intended to claim this cemetery, in order to build therein a Palace. The Jews who, like all the Orientals, have the most profound veneration for the spot where their ancestors are buried, presented a large sum of money to the Emperor, to induce him to renounce his design.
The Stadt-Haus (Hotel de Ville) is a fine building; and the Marktplatz (market square) is very spacious, and contributes much to the beauty of the town. In the centre of it stands an ancient fountain of a dodecagonal form. The basin is of red marble, and near it stands a large stone column, with a statue of the Virgin, bronze gilt, on its summit. A well supplied market, or rather fair, is carried on here every day in the week. The Theatre is a fine building and is of immense size. I witnessd the representation of a burlesque tragedy called Die Belagerung von Ypsilon (the siege of Ypsilon), but I could not at all comprehend the cream of the jest. Madame Catalani, who is here, sang at this theatre one night. The theatre was completely filled and the price of admission to the boxes and parterre a ducat. The street adjoining to the theatre was crowded by people endeavoring to catch the sweet sounds. Immense hommage has been paid to Catalani by the authorities here.
The balls of the bourgeoisie of Prague are splendid and well attended. The bourgeoisie is very opulent in this city. There are but few residents Noblesse. The expences at the inns here are rather greater than those at Vienna, wine being a foreign commodity and beer the national beverage. My daily expences here for lodging, dinner, supper and breakfast amounted to four florins Convenzions MÜnze, about nine franks nearly, French money. The country environing Prague is rich and abounding in corn; there are likewise hops. The walls of Prague still bear the marks made by Frederic's shot when he blockaded Prague.
PRAGUE, 7th Sept.
To-morrow I shall start for Dresden, The diligence goes off only once a week, but I have engaged a car or rather light basket waggon drawn by two horses (a vehicle very common in Germany) to convey me to Dresden in two days and half. I am to pay for half of the waggon, and another traveller will pay for the remaining half.
Before I leave Prague I must tell you that I have found out the origin of the German phrases Jemand den Korb zu geben (to give the basket), which means a refusal of marriage. Thus when a young lady refuses an offer of marriage on the part of her admirer, the phrase is: Sie hat ihm den Korb gegeben (She has given him the basket). Hitherto I have not met with any one who could explain to me satisfactorily the origin of so singular a phrase; but on reading lately a volume of the VolksmÄhrchen (Popular tales) I found not only the derivation of this phrase, but also that of the name of the city of Prague. Both are connected in the same story, and both concern the history of Prague. The story is as follows.
Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia, had three lovers, two of whom were not remarkably intelligent, but the third possessed a great deal of talent and was her favorite. She was much importuned by the rival suitors. She appeared before them one day with a basket filled with plums in her hand; and said she would give her hand in marriage to whoever of them should guess the following arithmetical riddle. She said: "One of you shall take half the plums that are in this basket, and one over: another shall take half of what remains, and one over: the third shall take half of what still remains and three over, and then all the plums will have been taken. Now tell me how many plums there are in the basket." Her favorite was the only one who could guess the number of plums which was thirty. To him therefore she gave her hand and the plums, and to the other suitors the empty basket. Hence the phrase. The solution of the question is as follows:
A takes half of the plums in the basket (30) and one over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 1 = 16 B half of what remained (14) and one over . . . . . 7 + 1 = 8 C half of what remained (6) and three over . . . . . 3 + 3 = 6 —- Total 30
Now with regard to the origin of the city of Prague. The former residence was much too small, and Libussa directed her workmen to build a town on the spot, where they should find at midday a man making the best use of his teeth. They began their research and one day at that hour discovered a carpenter sawing a block of wood. It struck them that this laborious man was making a better use of his teeth (viz., teeth of his saw) than the mere feeder and they judged that this ought to be the place where the town should be built. They therefore proceeded to trace with a plough the circumference of the town. On asking the carpenter what he was about to make with the block he was sawing, he said " A threshold for a door," which is called Prah or Praha in the Bohemian language and Libussa gave to the city the name of Praha or Prag.
BERLIN, 24th Sept.
Berlin has a splendid and cheerful appearance, with fine broad streets, superb white buildings and Palaces, for the most part in the Grecian taste; it has quite the appearance in short of an Italian city. Nearly all the streets are at right angles; they are kept very clean and the shops make a brilliant display. I felt so much pain in my legs, from the effect of my pedestrian journey, that I was obliged to remain in my chamber one entire day. There is a very good table d'hÔte at my bin for twelve Groschen. Wine is paid for extra, and at the rate of from 12 to 18 Groschen the bottle. The sort usually drunk here is the Medoc. The prices of articles of prune necessity are dearer in Berlin than either at Dresden or Vienna; particularly the article of washing, which is dearer than in any country I have yet visited.
The next morning I began my rambles, and directed my course to the favorite and fashionable promenade of the beau monde, at all hours of the day, I mean in the fine street or alley Unter den Linden, so called from it being planted with lime trees. There is a range of elegant buildings on each side, and at the end, near the Thier Garten (Park), is a superb gate called the Brandenburger Thor in the shape of a triumphal arch ornamented with a statue of Peace, with an olive branch in her hand, standing on a car drawn by four horses abreast, the whole groupe being of bronze and of exquisite workmanship. The four horses are imitated from the Corinthian horses at Venice and yield to them in nothing but antiquity. Indeed they have a much more pleasing and striking effect, in being thus attached to a car, than standing by themselves, as the Venetian ones do, on the top of the faÇade of a church. This Brandenburger Thor is constructed after the model of the Propylaeum of Athens.
The Opera House, a building in the Grecian taste erected by Frederic the Great with the inscription Apollini et Musis, and after that the Academy of the Fine Arts engaged my attention. Both these buildings are remarkable, and they are near the Linden. The old town is much intersected by canals communicating with the Spree which divides it. I call it the old town, to distinguish it from the quarter composed of streets of recent construction between the former enceinte of the town and the Brandenburger Thor. The Hotel of the Invalides, a ponderous building, bears the following inscription: Laesis non victis. The Bank and the Arsenal next engaged my attention, as also a Guard House of recent construction in the shape of a Doric temple. The Royal Palace is an immense building, partly in the Gothic and partly in the Grecian style. It is very heavy but imposing. The interior of this Palace is royally fitted up, except the little room occupied by the great Frederic, which is left in the same state as when he occupied it; and you know he was not fond of superfluous ornament. In the green before the Palace stands the statue of the Prince of Anhalt Dessau, the founder of the Prussian Infantry system, and at a short distance from this, on the Lange BrÜcke, stands the colossal equestrian statue in bronze of the Great Elector.
The KÖnigstrasse is the principal street and a very fine one it is; next to it in point of beauty is the FranzÖsischeStrasse. The Wilhelm Platz is adorned with the statues in marble of Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, Winterfeld, and Ziethen. But I cannot enumerate all the splendid public establishments and fine things to be seen in this beautiful city. The most striking church is that of St Hedwig. I call it the most striking from its resemblance to the Pantheon at Rome. The Cathedral is perhaps a finer building. 'Tis in this last that the Electoral and Royal remains are deposited.
The streets 'here swarm with military, and indeed the profession of arms seems to have too much sway in the Prussian dominions. The subalterns and young men of the Prussian Army are said to have republican sentiments, and they, in common with all the burghers, desire a constitution. It galls them to see one enjoyed by the Bavarians, whom they affect to look upon as inferior to them in intelligence, and that it should be refused to them. Most of the nobility and the greater part of the General and field officers are however inveterate aristocrats.
You have heard, I dare say, of the attempt made by some officers among the nobility to exclude from the service, after the peace, those officers who were not noble. When it is considered that their best and most zealous officers sprung from the burghers, and that Prussia, when abandoned by her King and nobles, was saved from permanent subjection only by the unparalleled exertions of her burghers and peasantry, one is shocked at such ingratitude and absurdity. But the officers of the Royal Guard went so far as to draw up a petition to the King, requesting him to dismiss all the officers of the corps who were not noble, and Blucher was applied to to present this petition to the King. Blucher read the paper and ordered all the officers to assemble on the parade and thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, I have received your paper and read its contents with the utmost astonishment. All the remarks that I shall permit myself to make on the subject of this petition, are, that it makes me ashamed of being myself a noble." He then tore the petition in pieces and dismissed them.
I have been once at the theatre. Lodoiska was performed. I saw a number of fine women in the boxes. Formerly gallantry and pleasure were the order of the day at Berlin; but now, the Court assuming the exterior of rigid morality and strictly exercised religious devotion, mystic cant and dullness is the order of the day. The death of the Queen of Prussia threw a great damp over the amusements of the Court. At Charlottenburg, which is a short distance from Berlin, in the grounds there, they point out to you her favourite spots. She was a most amiable Princess, and united to great personal beauty so much grace and fascination and so many good qualities that she was beloved by all, and the breath of calumny never ventured to assail her.
The alley Unter den Linden in the evening presents a great assemblage of Cyprian nymphs, who promenade up and down; they dress well and are perfectly well behaved. There is a superb establishment of this kind at Berlin, which all strangers should visit out of curiosity. It is not indispensably necessary to sacrifice to the Goddess whose worship is carried on there; but you may limit yourself to admire the temple, call for refreshments and contemplate the priestesses.
There is the utmost moral and political freedom at Berlin, and tho' the Government is despotic in form, freedom of speech is allowed. An army of 200,000 men admirably disciplined and armed, of these a garrison of 15,000 men in Berlin and as many at Potsdam, are quite sufficient to keep in check all attempts to put political theories and speculations into practice. Indeed, it would be very difficult to excite a revolt; the various German governments are carried on very paternally and the government is scarcely felt; habits of obedience have taken deep root among the people, and a German peasant as long as he gets enough to eat and drink, does not conceive himself unhappy, or thinks of a change. I could not help laughing the other day, at a little village near Berlin, when I heard some peasants talking of Napoleon; one of them, who seemed to have some partiality for him, exclaimed, meaning to blame him for leaving Elba: Aber warum verliess er seine Insel? Er hatte doch zu essen und trinken so viel er wolte (Why did he leave Elba? He had surely plenty to eat and drink). This good peasant could not conceive that a man blessed with these comforts should like to change his situation or run any risks to do so.
French as well as German is commonly spoken in Berlin, and I am glad to see that the prejudice against the French is wearing off. If the French and Prussians could understand one another, and knew their own interests, or if the French had a liberal national Government, I mean, one more identified with the interests of the people than the present one is, what advantage might not rise therefrom? They are natural allies, and united they might be able effectually to humble the overbearing insolence and political coxcombry of the Czar, shake to its centre the systematic despotism and light-fearing leader of Austria, and keep in check the commercial greediness, monopolizing spirit and Tory arrogance of England. The German political writers duly appreciate the illiberal policy of England towards the continental nations, by which she invariably helps to crush liberty on the Continent in the hopes of paralysing their energies and industry, in order to compel them to buy English manufactures, and in fine to make them dependent on England for every article of consumption. England, ever since the beginning of the reign of George III to the present day, has been always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to perpetuate abuses and to rivet the fetters of monarchial, feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny.
These are facts and cannot be denied. The English people have been taxed to the last farthing to support a war of privileges against Freedom; and Europe is in consequence prostrate at the feet of an unprincipled coalition, thro' England's arms and England's gold; and then an English minister, and his vile hireling journals, tell you that the continental nations are not ripe for and do not deserve liberty. Even the Pope and Grand Turk, both so much dreaded by our pious ancestors, have been supported, caressed and subsidized, in order to help to put down all efforts made to obtain rational liberty, which the courtiers always affect to stigmatize with the name of "Jacobinism," while a number of needy individual have enriched themselves by the public plunder and byaiding and abetting the system, all novi homines, men who, had there been more to gain on the other side than by espousing Toryism, would not have been backward; men who are Jacobins in the real sense of the word, however they cloak themselves under the specious names of Church and King men; upholders of Pitt and his system, for which they affect a veneration they are far from really feeling; men, in fact, whose political scruples of whatever nature they be, would soon melt away.
DRESDEN, 5th October.
I have been fortunate in getting into very comfortable lodgings, having two rooms and as much firing as I chuse for eight Reichsthalers per month. Coffee is made for me at home in the morning, and I generally dine and sup at a restaurant close by near the bridge. The Platz in the Neustadt is close to my lodgings, and being very large and well paved and lined with trees, it affords a very agreeable promenade. Rows of elegant houses line the sides of this Plata, among which the Stadthaus is particularly remarkable. The famous Japan Palace, as it is called, is also in the Neustadt, and but a short distance from the Platz. The gardens of Count Marcolini afford also a pleasant promenade; but by far the most agreeable walk, in my opinion, is on the Zwinger, a sort of terrace on the left bank of the Elbe in the old town, adjoining the palace and gardens of Count Bruhl. From this place you have a noble view of a long reach of the Elbe. It is besides the favorite promenade of the ladies. On the Zwinger too is a building containing a fine collection of paintings. Here are cafÉs likewise and a restaurant. The evening promenades are in the gardens of the Linkischer Bad (Bath of Link) on the banks of the Elbe, where there is a summer theatre. This is the favourite resort of the bourgeoisie on Sundays and jours de fÊte; goÛters and supper parties are formed here and very good music is heard. The Elbe bridge is of beautiful structure, and there is a good regulation with respect to those who pass over this bridge; which is that one side of the bridge is reserved for those going from the new to the old town, and the other side for those going from the old to the new town, and if you attempt to go on the wrong side you are stopped by a sentry, so that there is no jostling nor lounging on this bridge. An arch of this bridge was blown up by Marshal Davoust in order to arrest the progress of the Russians, and a great deal of management was necessary to effectuate it, for the worthy Saxons have a great veneration for this bridge, and in order to inforce the execution of this resolution on the part of the Marshal, the personal order of the King and the employment of Saxon troops were necessary. It has been rebuilt since, and no one would know that the arch had ever been blown up, but from the extreme whiteness of the new arch, contrasting with the darker color of the old ones.
In the old town or Dresden proper, the finest buildings are: the Catholic church, standing near the bridge, an edifice yielding in beauty but to few in Italy and to none in other countries. Here you hear excellent music during the church service; and the King and Royal family, all of whom are Catholics, attend constantly. The Royal Palace is very near the church and not far from it is the theatre. Saxony being a Lutheran country, the public exercise of the Catholic religion was not permitted until Napoleon's time, when he proposed an arrangement to permit to the King and all other Catholics the public celebration of their religion, which proposition was acceded to with universal approbation on the part of the Protestants, and now the Host is frequently displayed in the streets. There are however but few Catholics in Dresden among the natives. So great is the respect for usages and customs in Germany, that the Electors of Saxony, on going over to Catholicism, never thought even of requesting the indulgence of exercising their religion publicly, and the granting it has produced no evil consequence, liberalism and the most unreserved toleration in matters of religion being the order of the day.
The Royal Palace is a very fine and extensive building and the interior is well worth seeing, particularly the superb Riesen-Saal where Augustus II used to give his magnificent fÊtes. One of the last and most brilliant fÊtes given here was that given by the King of Saxony to the Emperor Napoleon just before the Russian campaign, at which the Emperor and Empress of Austria and most of the Sovereigns of Germany assisted, to do hommage to the great Conqueror.
The Schloss-gasse or Castle Street leads from the Palace into the Markt Platz where the markets and fairs are held. In this place, in the Schloss-gasse and in another street parallel to it, that leads from the porcelain Manufactory to the Grosser Platz (Grande Place), are the finest shops and greatest display of wealth. On the Grosser Platz stands the Frauen-Kirche, a superb Protestant church, and which may be considered as the cathedral church of Dresden. The Platz is large. There is great cleanliness in all the streets of Dresden, and the houses are well built and uniform; but there are few other very prominent edifices except those I have mentioned. On going outside the town by the gate of Pirna stands, almost immediately on the right, on turning down a road, the Gardens and Palace of Prince Anthony. Leaving this on your right and proceeding along the chaussÉe or high road which is nearly parallel to the river, at the distance of three-quarters mile from the Gate, stands the Palace and Gardens called Der Grosse Garten (grand garden), which you leave on your right, if you continue your route on the chaussÉe towards Pirna. I have not yet visited the Grosse Garten. There is likewise a fine promenade on the banks of the Elbe, but quite in an opposite direction to the Pirna gate, for to arrive at it from this gate, you must traverse the Pirna street and Grosser Platz; and on arrival near the bridge direct your course to the left, which will lead you out of one of the gates into an immensely long avenue of elm trees parallel to the river which forms the promenade.
DRESDEN, Oct. 10th.
I have been to see the Palace and grounds of the Grosser Garten. The garden and park, for it unites both, is of great extent, and beautifully laid out; but a number of fine trees have been knocked down and mutilated by cannon shot during the battle of Dresden in 1818, when this garden was occupied by the Allied troops and exposed to a heavy fire of fifty pieces of cannon, from a battery erected by Napoleon on the opposite side of the river, which completely commanded and enfiladed the whole range of the garden. How the Palace itself escaped being knocked to pieces is wonderful; but I suppose Napoleon must have given orders to spare it as much as possible. This Palace is of beautiful structure and in the style of an Italian villa; statues of the twelve Caesars and bas-reliefs adorn the exterior. The columns and pilasters are of the Corinthian order. As for the interior, it is unfurnished, and has been so since the Seven Years' war, when it was plundered by the enemy, and has never since been inhabited by the Electoral family. There is a superb rectangular basin of water in this garden. These gardens are delightfully laid out; why they are not more frequented I cannot conceive, but I have hitherto met with very few people there, tho' they are open to all the world. They will form my morning's promenade, for I prefer solitude to a crowd in a morning walk. But one of the gardeners here tells me that on Sunday evening there is generally a good deal of company, who come to listen to the music which is played in a building fitted up for the purpose at one side of the garden. Wine, coffee, beer and other refreshments are to be had; but beer is the favorite beverage. Smoking is universal among the young men; the most ardent admirers of the fair sex never forget their pipe. During the courtship the surest sign that the fair one does not intend to give her lover the basket is when she presents him with a bag to hold his tobacco. Her consent is implied thereby.
During the battle of Dresden, the slaughter in this garden was immense, and the Allies were finally driven out of it. The gardener related to me an affecting story of a young lady of Dresden, whose lover was killed in this battle and buried in the Grosser Garten. She has taken it so much to heart that she comes here three or four times in the week to visit this grave and strew flowers over it. She remains for some time absorbed in silent meditation and then withdraws. She has a settled melancholy, but it has not yet affected her understanding.
DRESDEN, Oct. 15th.
I met with my old friend, Sir W.I., who was travelling to Berlin, with the idea of passing the winter there and of proceeding in the summer to Moscow. Thro' the interests of my friends, Col. D——— and Baron de F——— I have been ballotted for and admitted a member of a club or society here called the Ressource. It is held in a large house on the Markt Platz, and is indeed a most agreeable resource to all foreigners; for 'tis in this society that they are likely to meet and form acquaintance with the noblesse, principal bourgeoisie and litterati. It is conducted on the most liberal scale and not confined to those of birth and fortune. Good character, polite behaviour and litterary requirements will ensure admittance to a candidate. This society consists of members and honorary members; among the honorary members are foreigners and others whose stay in Dresden is short; but whoever remains for more than one year must cease to be an honorary member and must be ballotted for in order to become a permanent member, and should he be blackballed he ceases to belong to the society altogether. This is a very good regulation. A year is a sufficient time of proof for the character and conduct of a person, and should he during this interval prove himself obnoxious to the members of the society, they can at its expiration exclude him for ever afterwards.
No enquiry is made as to the character and conduct of a person who is admitted as an honorary member: it is sufficient that he be recommended by a permanent member, which is deemed a sufficient guarantee for his respectability. In this society there are dining rooms, billiard rooms, card rooms, a large reading room. Here too is a small but well chosen library and three or four newspapers in every European language; all the German newspapers and reviews and the principal periodical works in the German, French, English and Italian languages. The English papers taken in here are the Times, Courier and Chronicle. Of the French, the Moniteur, Journal des DÉbats, Constitutionel, Journal du Commerce, Gazette de France and Gazette de Lausanne, and of the Italian the Gazette di Milano, di Venezia, di Firenze and di Lugano. Every German newspaper is, I believe, to be found here. The Society lay in their stock of wine, which is of the best quality; good cooks and servants are kept. Dinners go forward from one to three. You dine À la carte and pay the amount of what you call for to the waiters. Coffee, liqueurs and all sorts of refreshments are likewise to be had. Supper, likewise À la carte, goes forward between nine and eleven. The evening before supper may be employed, if you chuse, in cards, billiards, or reading. Very pleasant and useful acquaintances are made at the Ressource, since if a foreigner renders himself agreeable to the gentlemen who frequent this society, they generally propose taking him to their houses and introducing him to their families. After an introduction, you may go at any hour of the evening you please: but morning visits are not much in fashion, since the toilette is seldom made till after dinner, which is always early in Germany. There is no getting dinner after three o'clock in any part of Dresden. Besides the Ressource there are several other Clubs here, such as the Harmonic and others. The public balls are given at the HÔtel de Pologne twice a week, viz., one for the Noblesse and one for the Bourgeoisie. None of the female Bourgeoisie are admitted to the balls and societies of the Noblesse, and only such of the males as occupy posts or employments at Court or under Government such as KÖnigs-rath, Hof-rath, or officers of the Army. It is therefore usual, when the Sovereign wishes to introduce a person of merit among the Bourgeoisie into the upper circles, that he gives him the title of Rath or Counsellor; but this priviledge of being presentable at Court does not extend to their wives and daughters. All the Military officers, from whatever class of life they spring, have introduction de jure into the balls and societies of the Noblesse, and are always in uniform. But when they attend the balls of the Bourgeoisie, it is the etiquette for them to wear plain clothes: at the balls of the Bourgeoisie, therefore, not an uniform is to be seen. I observed by far the prettiest women at the balls of the Bourgeoisie, and very many are to be found there who in education and accomplishments fully equal those of the Noblesse, and this is no small merit, for the women in Saxony of the higher classes are extremely well educated; most of them are proficient in music and are versed in French and Italian litterature. They seem amiable and goodnatured and by no means minaudiÈres, as Lady Mary Wortley Montague has rather unjustly termed them; for they appear to me to be the most frank, artless creatures I ever beheld, and to have no sort of minauderie or coquetterie about them. Beauty is the appanage of the Saxon women, hence the proverb in rhyme:
Darauf bin ich gegangen nach Sachsen, Wo die schÖnen MÄdchen auf den BaÜmen wachsen.
In English:
Behold me landed now on Saxon ground, Where lovely damsels on the trees are found.
A taste for litterature is indeed general throughout the whole nation; and this city is considered as the Athens of Germany.
DRESDEN, Nov. 8th.
I have been at the theatre and witnessed the representation of a tragedy called Die Schuld, written by Adolphus MÜllner. It is a most interesting piece, and the novelty of it has made a striking impression on me. It is written in the eight-footed trochaic metre, similar to that in which the Spanish tragedies are written. It hinges on a prophecy made by a Gipsey, in which the person to whom the prophecy is made, in endeavoring to avert it, hastens its accomplishment. The piece is full of interest and the versification harmonious. I have been twice at the Italian opera, where I saw the Gazza Ladra and Il Matrimonio secreto. I came here with the idea of giving myself up entirely to the study of the German language; but such is the beauty of the country environing Dresden that, though winter has commenced I employ the greatest part of the day in long walks. For instance I have been to Pillnitz, which is on the right bank of the Elbe about seven miles from Dresden, ascending the river. The road is on the bank of the river the whole way. The Palace at Pillnitz is vast and well built. During a part of the year the Royal family reside there. Pillnitz will remain "damn'd to everlasting fame" as the place where the famous treaty was signed, the object of which was to put down the French Revolution, which Mr Pitt and the British ministry knew of and sanctioned, tho' they pretended ignorance of it and professed to have no desire to interfere with the affairs of France.
Every thing pleases me at Dresden except the beds. I wish it were the fashion to use blankets and Édredons for the upper covering instead of the lits de plumes; for they are too heavy and promote rather too intense a perspiration, and if you become impatient of the heat, and throw them off you catch an intense cold. You know how partial I am to the Germans, and can even put up with their eternal smoking, tho' no smoker myself, but to their beds I shall never be reconciled. A German bed is as follows: a paillasse, over that a mattress, then a featherbed with a sheet fastened to it, and over that again another featherbed with a sheet fastened to it; and thus you lie between two featherbeds; but these are not always of sufficient length, and you are often obliged to coil up your legs or be exposed to have them frozen by their extending beyond the featherbeds; for the cold is very great during the winter.
The more I see of the people here, the more I like them. The national character of the Germans is integrity, tho' sometimes cloaked under a rough exterior as in Bavaria and Austria; but here in Saxony it is combined with a suavity of manners that is very striking, for the Saxons are the Tuscans of Germany in point of politeness, and they are far more accomplished because they take more pains in cultivating their minds.
A savant in Italy is a man who writes a volume about a coin, filled with hypotheses, when, with all his learning forced into the service, he proves nothing; and this very man is probably ignorant in the extreme of modern political history, and that of his own times, and has more pedantry than taste. Such a man is often however in Italy termed a Portento, but in Dresden and in most of the capitals of Germany where there are so many of science and deep research, a man must not only be well read in antiquities, but also well versed in political economy and in analysis before he can venture to give a work to the public. Latin quotations, unsupported by reason and philosophical argument will avail him nothing, for the German is a terrible Erforscher and wishes to know the what, the how and the when of every thing; besides an Italian savant is seldom versed in any other tongue than his own and the Latin, with perhaps a slight knowledge of French; whereas in Germany it is not only very common to find a knowledge of French, English, Italian, Latin and Greek united in the same person, but very many add Hebrew, Arabic and even Sanscrit to their stock of Philology. As a specimen for instance of German industry, I have seen, at the club of the Ressource, odes on the Peace in thirty-six different languages, and all of them written by native Saxons. This shows to what an extent philology is cultivated in Germany; indeed, it is quite a passion and a very useful one it is. I know that many people regard it as a loss of time, and say that you acquire only new words, and no new ideas; but I deny this. I maintain that every new language learned gives you new ideas, as it puts you at once more au fait of the manners and customs of the people, which can only be thoroughly learned by reading popular authors in their original language: for there are several authors of the merit of whose style it is impossible to form an adequate idea in a translation, however correct and excellent it be. Indeed I wonder that the study of the German language is not more attended to in England, France, and Italy; but to the English, methinks, it is indispensable. All the customs and manners of Europe are taken from the German; all modern Europe bears the Teutonic stamp. We are all the descendants of the Teutonic hordes who subjugated the Roman Empire and changed the face of Europe; 'tis they who have given and laid down the grand and distinguishing feature between modern Europe and ancient Europe and Asia: I mean the respect paid to women. To what nation, I say, is due the chivalrous respect to women which is the surest sign of civilization, and which was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans, except to the Germans, who even in their most uncivilized state paid such veneration to their women as to consult them as oracles on all occasions and to admit them to their councils? Tacitus particularly mentions this; and speaking of the Germans of his time, he says, "They have an idea that there is something divine about a woman."[126] It is this feeling, handed down to us from our Teutonic ancestors, that contributes mainly to make the European so superior to all the Asiatic nations, where woman still remains a degraded being, and 'tis this feeling that gives to us the palm above all Greek and Roman glory. What are the modern European nations, the English, French, Italians, Switzers, even Spanish and Portuguese, but the descendants of these warlike Teutonic tribes who swept away the effeminate Romans from the face of the earth? and do we not see the Teutonic policy and usages, defective and degenerated as they sometimes are, the best safeguard of liberty against the insidious interpretation of the Roman law, which is founded on the pretended superiority of one nation, the inferred inferiority of all the rest?
With regard to theatricals, I have witnessed the representation of a tragedy, lately published, called Sappho, by a young poet of the name of Grillparzer. This tragedy is strictly on the Greek model. Its versification in iambics is so beautiful that it is regarded as the triumph of the Classics over the Romantics; and by this piece Grillparzer has proved the universality of his genius; for he wrote a short time ago a dramatic piece in the romantic style and in the eight rhymed trochaic metre called die Anhfrau (the ancestress) where supernatural agency is introduced. This I have read; it is a piece full of interest; still it was thought too outrÉ by the Classiker. It was supposed that this was the peculiar style of the author, and that he adopted it from inability to compose in the classic taste, when behold! by way of proving the contrary, he has given us a drama simple in its plot, where all the unities are preserved, and where the subject one would think was too well known to produce much interest; he has given, I say, to this piece (Sappho), from the extreme harmony of its versification and the pathos of the sentiments expressed therein, an effect which I doubt any tragedy of Euripides or Sophocles surpasses. The character of Sappho and her passion for Phaon; his indifference to her and attachment to the young Melitta, an attendant and slave of Sappho's, and Sappho throwing herself into the sea after uniting Phaon and Melitta, constitute the plot of the drama. But simple as the plot, and old as the story is, it excites the greatest interest, and never fails to draw tears from the audience. What can be more artless and pathetic, for instance, than these lines of the young Melitta when she regrets her expatriatioa:
Kein Busen schlÄgt mlr bier in diesem Lande, Und meine Freunden wohnen weit von hier.
In English:
No bosom beats for me in this strange land, And far from here my friends and parents dwell.
I have no doubt that some of these days Sappho will be translated into the idiom of modern Greece and acted in that country. The actress, who did the part of Sappho, gave it full effect, and the part of the young Melitta was fairly performed; but I did not approve of the acting of the performer who played Phaon. He overstepped the modesty of nature and the intention of the author; for he was in his gesture and manner grossly rude and insolent to poor Sappho, whereas, tho' his love to Melitta was paramount, he ought to have shown no ordinary struggle in stifling his gratitude to his benefactress Sappho.
I admire the German word Gebieterinn (mistress). It is majestic and harmonious, and the only word, in any modern language that I know of, poetic enough to render aptly the Greek word [Greek: Despoina].
DRESDEN, Decr. 1st.
I have been to visit the famous Gallery of paintings here; but you must not expect from me a description. I shall send you a catalogue. It would be endless to describe the various chefs-d'oeuvre which are contained in this valuable collection. Dresden has always been considered as the Florence of Germany and has always been renowned for its Gallery of paintings; hence the almost innate taste of the Saxons for the Beaux Arts and the great encouragement given to them at all tunes by this Government. It is here and at Meissen that the best German is thought to be spoken, tho' Hanover disputes this prerogative with Dresden.
I have been to see the antiquities and curiosities of the Japanischer Palast (Palace of Japan), as it is called. In this Palace is a quantity of ancient armour and the most superb collection of porcelain I believe in Europe. The collection of precious stones is also immense; and I never in my life saw such a profusion of diamonds, emeralds, turquoises, sapphirs, amethysts and topazes. In this Museum are three statues found in Herculaneum on its first discovery or excavation, viz., an Athlete, an Esculapius, and a Venus. Here too, and from this circumstance, the Palace takes its name, is a collection of Japanese antiquities and ornaments, lacker work in gold and silver, which is unique in the world. From the Royal Library, a foreigner, on being recommended, may have at his own house all such books to read as can be replaced if lost or spoiled; but the manuscripts and scarce and valuable editions are not permitted to be taken out of the Library. Any person once admitted on recommendation may go to read in this Library at stated hours and may consult any book or manuscript he pleases on applying to the librarian.
A person fond of music will be in a continual state of enjoyment at Dresden. Besides the fine music in the Royal Chapel, the band of the King's Guard is composed of first rate musicians, who attend regularly at Guard mounting and play for an hour together. There is also a band of music every evening during the summer months that plays in the gardens of the Linkischer Bad. Then there are various other places of recreation and amusement, at all of which musicians are in attendance; for a Saxon cannot enjoy his repast or his pipe without music and good music too to facilitate his digestion. There is a custom in Dresden that on the occasion of the death of a person the young choristers of the Cathedral are sent for to sing hymns, standing in a semi-circle round the door of the house of the defunct. These choristers are all dressed in black and their style of singing is melodious, solemn and impressive.
Smoking is so prevalent here and in all parts of Germany that if you wish to denote one of the male sex, smoker would be quite a synonymous word. Such is the passion for this enjoyment that even at the balls the young men, the moment they have finished the waltz, quit the hands of their partners and rush into another room in order to smoke; nor would the beauty of Venus nor the wit of Minerva be powerful enough to restrain the young German from giving way to his darling practise. Smoking tobacco has I think this visible effect, that it serves to calm all tumultuous passions, and what confirms me in this idea is, that most young Germans, in commencing life as adults, are full of enthusiastic and even exaggerated notions of liberty and equality. They are romantic to a degree that is difficult to be conceived, and seem to be restrained by no selfish or worldly ideas. This you would suppose would tend to render them rather turbulent subjects, under an autocratical government; but all this SchwÄrmerey evaporates literally in smoke: they take to their pipe, and by degrees the fumes of tobacco cause all these lofty ideas to dissipate: the pipe becomes more and more necessary to their existence, and consoles them for their wrongs real or imaginary; and in three or four years they sit down contentedly to their several occupations, as strait-forward, painstaking, plodding men, quite satisfied to follow the routine chalked out for them, and either totally forget all ambitious views, or become too indolent to make any sacrifice to obtain them, and this virtue comes from tobacco!! The German Hippogriff becomes an Ox, dull and domestic, and treads out the corn placed before him, content to have his share thereof in peace and quietness.
The German Governments, which are mild and paternal, are fully aware of this and allow the utmost liberty of speech; well knowing that, thanks to that friend and ally of Legitimacy, tobacco, the romantic visionary and somewhat refractory youth will subside into a tranquil ganz alltÄglicher Mann and become totally averse to any innovation which demands the sacrifice of repose.
The pipe which has this sedative effect on political effervescence, has a still stronger similar effect, it is said, on the passion of love; hence the German husbands are proverbially sluggish. But the ladies, none of whom smoke, preserve their romanticity during their whole lives, and would, if they had their choice, give their hands to foreigners, who are more attentive to them than their own countrymen.
The young ladies here are, 'tis said, extremely romantic in their ideas of love and capable of the strongest attachment. They think that any thing should be pardoned to sincere passion. It has been related to me that some time ago a young man, who was devotedly attached to a girl, on the father refusing his consent to the marriage, stabbed the girl and then himself. An immense number of young ladies attended their funeral, to throw flowers over the grave of the two lovers. Assuredly the young man was only a noviciate in smoking.
Everybody must, I think, admire the Saxon women. They are in general handsome and have fine shapes; they are warm hearted and affectionate; and they are almost universally well educated. Indeed the whole Saxon people are so amiable that foreigners find themselves so happy here that they are unwilling to quit the country. Very many form matrimonial attachments. In short, this people fully merit the epithet a celebrated English traveller (Sherlock)[127] has bestowed on them when he called them a herrliches Volk.
DRESDEN, Jan. 8d, 1819.
I have made an excursion to Meissen which lies on the same bank of the river with the old town of Dresden at a distance of twelve miles. As there is no road on the left bank of the river to Meissen, you must cross the river twice to arrive at it, viz., once at Neustadt and once at Meissen, the road being on the right bank. I put up at the Hirsch (Stag), a very comfortable inn. I went to Meissen with a view of seeing the Russian contingent pass the Elbe on their return from France, which has been evacuated in consequence of the arrangement at Aix-la-Chapelle. They appeared a fine body of men, clothed À la franÇaise and seemed in high spirits. They seem to have imbibed liberal ideas during their residence in France, for some of the officers who dined at the inn at Meissen spoke very freely on passing events.
The return of the Saxon contingent is expected in Dresden in a day or two, and there will no doubt be a great deal of rejoicing among the military and their relations to meet their old comrades and friends; and potent libations of Doppel Bier will no doubt be made. Meissen is said to be famous for the beauty of its women and the few that I saw in the streets did not contradict this reputation.
DRESDEN, Jany. 5th, 1819.
We have had several balls here. Waltzing is the only sort of dance in fashion at Dresden, excepting now and then a Polonaise.
I have witnessed an interesting spectacle in the Grosser Garten. The pond or basin is completely frozen over, and a Russian Prince, Gallitzin, who is here, has fitted up a sort of Montagnes Russes as they are called. Blocks of ice are placed on an inclined plane to the top of which you mount by means of a staircase; and then, seating yourself in a sort of sledge, you slide down the inclined plane with immense velocity. The Prince often persuades a lady to sit on this sleigh on his lap and descend together; and this no doubt serves to break the ice of many an amorous intrigue. This construction of the Prince Gallitzin has contributed to fill the Grosser Garten with the beau monde, every day from twelve to two o'clock; so that you see we are in no want of amusements at Dresden.
The King frequently attends the theatre; he is a tall, fine looking man, and is usually dressed in the uniform of his Foot-Guards, which is scarlet faced with yellow. The poor King has taken much to heart the injustice with which he has been treated by the coalition, and no doubt will not easily forget the ill-bred and insolent letter of Castlereagh to the Congress, wherein he said that the King of Saxony deserved to lose his dominions for adhering to Napoleon. But how the King of Saxony could act otherwise I am at a loss to find: so little could he possibly deserve this treatment for adhering to Napoleon, that had his advice been taken in the year 1805, the French would never have been able to extend their conquests so far, nor to dictate laws to Germany. But Lord Castlereagh seems to have either never known or wilfully forgotten the anterior political conduct of Saxony. Had he been more versed in German affairs, or had studied with more accuracy the events passing before his eyes, it would have been a check upon his arrogance; but here was a genuine disciple of the Pitt school (that school of ignorance and insolence), who sets himself up as the moral regenerator of nations and as a distributor of provinces, while he is grossly ignorant of the political system of the country on whose destinies he pretends to decide so peremptorily. Had Castlereagh paid attention to what was going forward in Germany in 1805, he would have seen too that of all powers Prussia was the very last who with any shadow of justice could pretend to an indemnification at the expense of Saxony. In the year 1805, the King, then Elector of Saxony, strongly advised the Prussian Cabinet to forget its ancient rivalry and jealousy of Austria and to coalesce with the latter power, in resisting the encroachments of Napoleon, in order to prevent the latter from attempting the overthrow of the whole fabric of the constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, with the intricacy and fragility of which no prince in Germany was better acquainted than the Elector of Saxony. Prussia however was still reluctant to engage in the contest and gave no support whatever to Austria. Napoleon defeats the Austrians at Austerlitz and dictates peace. Six months after the Prussian Cabinet, excited by a patriotic but rash and ill-calculating party, has recourse to arms, not from any generous policy, but because she sees herself outwitted by Napoleon, who refuses to cede to her Hanover in perpetuity. Prussia begins the war and calls on Saxony, who always moved in her orbit, to join her. To the Elector of Saxony this war (in 1806) appeared then ill-timed and too late; but with that good faith, nevertheless, which invariably characterized him, he remained faithful to his engagement and furnished his quota of troops to Prussia. The Saxon troops fought nobly at the battle of Jena. This battle annihilates all the power of Prussia, and lays Saxony entirely at the mercy of the Conqueror; but Napoleon not only treats Saxony with moderation, but with rare generosity; he does not take from her a single village, but aggrandizes her and gives to her the Duchy of Warsaw and to her Sovereign the title of King. Saxony becomes in consequence a member of the confederation of the Rhine and is bound to support the Protector in all his wars offensive and defensive. The Russian war in 1812 begins: every German state, Austria and Prussia in the number, furnishes its contingent of troops. The campaign is unsuccessful, the climate of Russia having annihilated the French Army, and Napoleon returns to Paris. Saxony is now exposed to invasion and harassed by the incursions of the Cossacks. The King of Saxony is perplexed in what manner to act, so as to ensure to his subjects that protection which was ever uppermost in his thoughts; feeling however with his usual sagacity that every thing would ultimately depend on the dispositions of Austria, he repairs himself to Prague, in order to have an interview with one of the Austrian ministers, and to sound that Cabinet. Austria however still vacillates and declines stating what her intentions are. Napoleon returns from Paris, defeats the Prussians and Russians at Bautzen and re-occupies all Saxony. He then writes to the King of Saxony to desire him to return immediately to his dominions and to fulfil his engagements. What was the King to do? Austria still refusing to declare herself, was he to sacrifice his crown and dominions uselessly to the vengeance of Napoleon, to please the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia, who for aught he knew might patch up a peace the next day? and this was the more probable from their having been beaten at Bautzen, which circumstance also might with equal probability induce Austria to coalesce with, instead of against France. All the other members of the Confederation of the Rhine remained staunch to Napoleon and poured their contingents into Saxony; was he to be the only unfaithful ally and towards a Monarch who had always treated him with the strongest marks of attachment and regard? and when neither Russia nor Prussia were likely to give him the least assistance? He therefore returned to Dresden; and Napoleon took up his grand position the whole length of the Elbe, from the mountains of Bohemia to Hamburgh, thus covering the whole of Saxony with his army. Austria however at last comes forward to join the coalition. Fortune changes; the Saxon troops, tired of beholding their country the perpetual theatre of war and trusting to the generosity of the Allies, go over to them in the middle of a battle, and decide, thereby, the fate of the day at Leipzig. The King of Saxony is made a prisoner, and then he is punished for what he could not help. Why was he to be punished more than any other member of the Confederation of the Rhine? One would think that the seasonable defection of his troops at Leipzig should have induced the Allies to treat him with moderation. The other States of the Confederation did not abandon Napoleon until after he was completely beaten at Leipzig; and Austria refused to accede to the coalition until a carte blanche was given her to help herself in Italy.
Let every impartial man therefore review the whole of this proceeding and then say whether the King of Saxony, so proverbial for his probity, so adored by his subjects, deserved to be insulted by such an unfeeling letter as that of Castlereagh. No! the King of Saxony better deserves to reign than any King of them all. Would they had even a small share of his virtues! Another proof and a still stronger one of the great integrity and honor of this excellent Prince, is, that when Napoleon offered to mediatize in his favor the various ducal Houses in Saxony, such as Weimar, Gotha, Cobourg, etc., and to annex these countries to his dominions, he declined the offer. Would Prussia, Austria, or Hanover have been so scrupulous?
The young ladies here, tho' well versed and delighting in various branches of litterature, cannot overcome that strong national propensity to tales and romances wherein the terrific and supernatural abounds; in all their romances accordingly this taste prevails strongly; nay, even in some of the romances, where the scene is laid in later times, there is some such anachronism as the story of a spectre.
I recollect reading a novel, the scene of which is laid in Italy about the time of the battle of Marengo, wherein a ghost is introduced who contributes mainly to the unravelling of the piece. A young lady here of considerable talent and of general information confessed to me, when I asked her, what subjects pleased her most in the way of reading, that nothing gave her so much delight as "Geistergeschichten." Lewis' romance of "The Monk" is a great favorite in Germany.[128] By the bye, his poetical tale of Alonzo and Imogen is evidently taken from a similar subject in the Volks-mÄhrchen.
The weather has set in very cold and the Elbe is nearly frozen over. It is impossible to go out of the house without a Pelz or cloak lined with fur; for otherwise, on leaving a room heated by a stove, the effect of the cold is almost instantaneous and brings on an ague fit. This I attribute to the excessive heat kept up in the rooms and houses by the stoves. As smoking is so prevalent here, this contributes much also to keeping the body in a praeternatural heat and rendering it still more obnoxious to cold on removal from a room to the open air. It has been remarked by a medical author, in the Russian campaign in 1812, that the soldiers of the southern nations and provinces, viz., ProvenÇaux, Gascons, Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese, endured the cold much better and suffered less from it than the Germans and Hollanders. The reason is sufficiently obvious: the former live in the open air even in the middle of winter and seldom make use of a fire to warm themselves; whereas the Germans and Dutch live in an atmosphere of stove-heat and smoke and seldom like to stir abroad in the open air during winter, unless necessity obliges them. Hence they become half-baked, as it were; their nerves are unstrung, their flesh flabby and they become so chilly, as to suffer from the smallest exposure to the atmosphere. In the houses in Germany, on account of the stoves, the cold is never felt, whereas it is very severely in Italy and Spain where many of the houses have no fireplaces. On this account I prefer Germany as a winter residence, for I think there is no sensation so disagreeable as to feel cold in the house. In the open air I do not care a fig for it, for my cloak lined with bearskin protects me amply. The climate here in winter is a dry cold, which is much more salubrious and agreeable to me than the changeable, humid climate of Great Britain, where, though the cold is not so great, it is much more severely felt.
[126] Tacitus, Germania, C, VIII.—ED.
[127] Martin Sherlock (d. 1797), author of Lettres d'un voyageur anglais, which were published in Paris 1779 and, the year after, in London.
[128] Matthew Gregory Lewis, 1775-1818, published Ambrosio or the Monk in 1795.—ED.
