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1980
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6
i\ I^appy F\oli^ay
-BY-
s/PQGe
eni§0n.
'Mm/MJM
TO r-! ONTO
1890.
■.;'¥-
Kiitweil ac'mrdinsr to Act ut I'urll.iment iif Canada, in tlie yem- 1890, by CJhacf. R. DKNISON,
at tlic ni'iiartmeiit of Agrlculturp.
CONTENTS
1. — The Carkvall.
2. -Antwerp Cathedral.
3. — A Day in Antweki"
4. — Little Paris
5. — The Dom City.
(J. — The Metk()1'i,is ok the Elbe.
7.— The Kaiser (Jity.
8. — A Day in Hkri-ix
9. — ClIAKLOTTKMUKl.'.
10. —The China ( ity.
11. — The City ok Hiss.
12.— The Treaty City.
13.— The Twin Cities.
14.— An Austrian Episode.
ir7.— The Tyrol.
10.— The Rainy City.
E Elbe.
17.— Mdnchen to Constance.
18. — Little Niauara.
19-— The Lantern City.
20.— The Festive City.
■-'].- By (Jas and Daylich".'.
■-'2.— With Fa(^i:s n<):.u:\VA;:i) Tt
I.MN<
i\ I\appy r^oli^iay.
"What /J happiness?" asks the awful question album. ■
And unilerneath the query some great-souled mortal has written, "Health,
Wealth, and Freedom."
With a sufficiency of these three requisites, I set forth on my Holiday, backed
by the authority of the question album — I call it "happy,"' and as such present
it to the dear five hundred friends who shall read my first edition.
The incidents are common-place, but is not the common-place too near to every
one of us t j be despised ?
And should the reading of their happenings give one hundredth part of the
pleasure the living of them did, my temerity in laying them before you will be
forgiven.
' GRACE E. DENISON.
fY\z C^j'J'y^ii
I
^;0U won't have much time to get ready, if you are going in a week, saiil
K my dear familiar fi iend, doubtfully, when for the twentieth time she had
\^^ C' ''''^^^^) " ^f^^'if^ iiit^ you going ?" and for the twentieth time I had answer-
^&i ed airily, "Oh, I don't know yet."
And then in fear and trembling, I confided to her that I was not going to get
ready at all.
"I shall not take any trunk, nor any valise, nor basket, box or bundle, said I,
solemnly. "Just only this thing I am makjug now," and further remark was
silenced by the hum of the sewing machine over the gaily striped satteen I was
fashioning into that device of some inspired " voyageiire''^ called a carryall.
"But that won't hold anything," she expv>i5tulated, as I snipped oft the last end
of binding braid, and rose from my seat vith the rjueer shaped bolster hanging
over my arm.
"Just wait and see," I retorted confideiit ly. It held three gowns, a black silk, a
cashmere, and a lace dinner gown, four ch.'uiges of clothing, boots and slippers, extra
flannels, a dressing gown, toilet articles, But why enumerate further? I never
quite gauged its capacity, so I don't ready know what one could stow away in it.
It was as elastic as a Congressman's cons cience, and as neat as a Quaker's bonnet,
and when the umbrella and parasol wt re slipped into their pockets, the carryall
rolled and buttoned, and a handsome #lrawlstrap buckled securely round over all,
I felt that my baggage would cause rue not a fear nor a frown the long summer
through, and ejaculated fervently, " If ought to be patented !" and my pretty friend
being convinced by the evidence of hor eyes, remarked suddenly, "I must work
your initials on it," which she proceeded to do, and then pronounced me "ready
to travel."
So the deck chair, the steamer trunk and the rug, for the sea voyage, were
checked to the wharf in New Yoik, and I and my carryall set forth, notliing
doubting our joint ability to return, safe and sound.
The early morning awakening in Jersey City, the hurried breakfast, the filthy
streets, the clamour and the crowding, the weeping and wailing, the chaffing and
chiding, the sudden rush of the porters with trunks and vast crates of fresh vege-
tables, ^'garden sass" of every procurable sort, the final good-byes, the saloon odor-
ous with breath of roses and carnations, floral tributes to some society darlings
who sail with us, all the well-known bustle and confusion and discomfort, and at
last the seesawing of the freighted vessel from the docks, and we are oflf.
I am located in a nice airy room, and after one little heartless thought, "How
nice not to have anyone here to say good-bye to, or cry over !" I proceed to locate
my belongings to the best advantage for myself and my fellow travellers, two of
whom demand my consideration as we room together. Who does not feel a little
excitement, be he or she ever so />/ase a traveller, as the good ship steals away
from the familiar shores, and takes her way bravely out into the wide Atlantic?
And the islands slip into a haze of distance, and the city fades into a blurred line,
and the crisp sea breeze comes chilly at first, but gradually l)racing and full of
health and strength, and the sun goes down on us, a little moving speck on the
waste of water, and one's evening prayer means more than usual.
When you can firmly plant your foot
Upon some well-secured land,
Do not forget the fun we've had
Aboard the good ship Noordland.
This exhortation in doggerel verse comes into my head whenever I think of our
voyage out. It was scribbled in a pretty girl's album just before we landed at
Antwerp, and contains a whole world of suggestive miseries and delightful larks.
"Well-secured land" is very good, after thirteen days of sinking and swelling
and all the attendant phenomena ; but that sort of thing doesn't make a happy
holiday, so we did not give way to it. Our little Belgian doctor, with his funny
little crooked smile over his little crooked teeth, says: "When the ship go up,
Madame must go up ; when the ship come down, Madame must not stay up — no,
no, come down with the ship; then, no 'ma/ de mer!'" But it took some of his
patients all their time to learn that simple recipe. W^e had many a " pnriez-vous"
about the unknown beauties of Antwerp, and he gave me lots of useful informa-
tion in his quaint precise way, for whioh I had reason to rememl)er him kindly.
To those dear people who stay at home while the other people roam, I woultl
like to tell about how time Hies on an ocean ster mer. Fancy to yourselves the
long handsome dining-room, or saloon, as they call it ; the good ship treading her
mysterious way steadily, the electric lights burning l)riglitly, the piano going mei-
rily, and every now and then a peal of laughter from the young people who cluster
round it, practising a "cantata" (save the mark !) about a "grasshopper who sat on
a green potato vine." They are all musicians, these young people, some rich and
oflf for a halcyon season in the beauty spots of Europe, some far from rich, bound
for the music schools of Leipsic or Dref len, or the painting schools of Rome ; tiiey
sing in tune and with fervour, the various choruses of the beetles and bugs and
flies who figure in this ridiculous composition. I believe they intended to produce
it some evening, but you never do what you intend to do on board ship. It must
be the sea air.
Down here, in the illumination and tlie music and the laughter, grow those
friendships which every voyage brings forth, springing up, in constant intercourse,
like unto Jonah's gourd, and unfortunately withering, nearly always, as soon.
While up on the quiet moonlit deck, more lasting and more delightful, liking
twines itself deeper and closer around those waifs of travel who need not the
doggerel in the pretty girl's album to awaken in stay-at-home Jays to come gentle
and regretful memories and kind thoughts of one another. There were all sorts
and conditions of men, and women too, round the red-clothed tables, playing
round games of cards, or square games, as the case might be, writing letters, tell-
ing stories, exchanging addresses, having a "good time." I grew very fond of
some of them (let me whisper) ))efore the good ship Noordland stood still at the
Antwerp dock. There was a charming New York mother, with her grown up son
and daughter— mademoiselle, a slight, plain, quaint looking girl, with a genius in
her fingers that impaled some of us in absurd sketches in her jealously- kept sketch
book; monsieur, just the ideal boy, with his laughing brown eyes and serious
mouth, a scamp, but such a charming scamp ! I can see him, as I write, drawling
out his nonsensical ditty of that grasshopper, and pretending to be earnestly
impressed by his misfortunes, or dancing on the deck with our "belle," or carry-
ing on a desperate flirtation with two small girls of ten who worshipped him in
an unjealous devotion.
He was that most charming specimen of young manhood, a really nice Ameri-
can, and the very soul of his mother was bound up in him. Then there was the
"Colonel," as every one soon called him. Can I give you a pen picture of him ?
Kind, shrewd, blue eyes, that twinkle with humour, and a wonderful smile that
wrinkles and creases his cheeks and eye corners in a slow network of fun, white
haired and moustached, and tall and broad and square-shouldered, with a very
gentle manner, and a slow Southern drawl ; such a tender hearted, chivalrous,
manly old man.
Don't say I go into to* many eustacies There weren't many more of my fellow
passengers wlio suited me as well as these. The Colonel had drained deep of life
and its sorrows, of war and peace, of happiness and of grief, and now in his more
than middle age he has a new experience.
For tlie soul thai quailed not before the iron rain of the Federal bullets, the
heart that fainted not over a country conquered or a home bereft, turns craven
coward before the tortures of ' ' mal de tner ! " The dear old man was awfully sea-
sick, with an abject wretchedness and rueful surrender that made me ashamed of
my uncontrollable risibility. But then, all the world might laugh at a seasick
man, Colonel or otherwise, witho''t adding one jot to his already complete misery.
Our "Colonel" is in charge of a young doctor, who orders his goings, and exacts
un(|uestioning obedience in a very amusing way. It is too funny to see the big
man dutifully obeying his small friend, though I must confess the doctor knows
Avhat he is about. He is very fond of an argument, and used to preface his i-emarks
with, "as IngersoU says," until he roused the ire and the tongue of a Puritan dame,
and we never heard again the name of his apostle.
The Doctor is very entertainin and bright, and helps us to be happy, as also
does anothi. ;tor, a Chicago Divine, with the appearance of a granger, and the
most ludicrous little voice. I wondered when I heard that he was a Chicago
clergyman, for I've known several of that ilk, and nmst say they were the pro-
perest looking specimens of the ideal parson. Not so the Doctor, in his tweed
suit and fo' and aft cap, his thick shoes and flannel shirts, his quaint sayings and
uproariously funny anecdotes, his quiet pranks and jokes on the unwary, and his
round, rosy, laughing face.
He could preach a good sermon and tell a first-class ghost story. I renienibei-
his effort in the former direction on the two little words, "Launch out," as one of
the most touching and telling discourses I ever listened to. I never heard a text
more fitly and quaintly applied. And he told us one evening a ghost story, so
ridiculous and so impossible that I rever could master its marvelous details. We
had a "candy pull" that evening, thanks to the amiability of our ship's cook, and
when we paused in our hot work and surveyed tlie cream-colored result of our
labors, and gazed ruefully on our buttered and burnt fingers, the Doctor laid aside
his book, and, rising in his quiet corner, said, in his funny, small, apologetic voice,
"If you^like — I will — tell you a — ghost story."
There was one passenger of a terril)ly matter-of-fact turn of mind, who carped
and cavilled at the Doctor's efl'ort. "How could the ghost do that?" and "Didn't
you say the other ^o%i was married?" until the Doctor paused, and was on the
verge of anger, when a woman of tact spoke sharply up, "No more interruptions,
please," and the puzzled and unbelieving carper subsided.
Another evening we had a ball on deck. The captain ordered the men to drape
the deck with flags and hang colored lamps about, which they proceeded to do
with that absorbed and abstracted air I have noticed in sailors. Then the German
band came up from the steerage, and played some funny old asthmatic waltzes
and polkas, and we danced as best we could, though sometimes the performance
partook of the alternate nature of a climb and a slide. But we enjoyed it as oidy
the lighthearted and lightfooted can.
We had an experience meeting, wlien each one had ton minutes to relate the ad-
ventures of one voyage he or she had taken. I thin); the funniest was the confes-
sion of a young husband as to a jaunt in a demootiit wagon on a Sunday morning,
in company with his nice little wife, and an amateur photographing outfit. The
pic-nic developed into a runaway, and though the history only took ten minutes,
it was very rich. Of course, they always have a concert on every voyage, Imt a
concert on board ship is even worse than a concert on shore, the only fun al^out it
Ijeing the comical introductions by the Chicago divine, who made an excruciating
chairman. Then we had bets on the rate of speed each (hiy, on the hour we shouhl
land, on the number or the pilot boat, even which foot the pilot would first put on
the ladder, when he came to pilot us safely into the muddy Scheldt.
We crowded to the side to look at his ]mv\y figure, clad in a great nor'-wester
and long boots, and watched with interest until he l)egan to clind) like a great
sprawling beetle up the rope ladder that hung alongside.
I found it very interesti.ig to liave so many difi'erent new j)eople about me (I
mean foreign people) as are (ju these lielgian steamers. We have a Belgian
stewardess, a Danish bed steward, a Flemish night watch, English and (ierman
table stewards, a Scotch liead steward, and our captain is from Heligoland, one of
those great muscidar descendants of tlie ancient sea kings, wlio are only happy on
the bosom of their mother ocean; don't understand the i<lea of a "mother Earth,"
and in short look with calm and iiappy superiority on the whole great multitude
of "laml- lubbers." A little painting of a pretty child hanga over the big sea
captain's berth, and I am told of liow tlie loud roar of this old sea lion sinks to
gentlest whisper when he speaks of that little maid, now singing lier baby songs
in Paradise.
For her sweet memoiy, perliaps, he is so kind and tender witli one of our party,
a bonny boy of two years, or perhaps it is the sailor spirit in him, that charming
patience and goodness to all children and animals whicli shows the l)est traits (;f
Jack's many sided and bewildering ciuiracter.
From whatever gracious spring his goodness flows, our captain encircles us all
with it, and nothing delights him more than to see our pranks, and, I nnist ccm-
fess, incite us by word and deed to furthei' mischief. His face was as long as to-
morrow, anil his voice as stern as the day after, wiien he iieaiil about somebody
putting a long string of taffy, sticky and sweet, in tlie priest's l)ed ; and lie said
such things nnist never occur again, or no mon; candy pulls would be allowed ; liut
some of us saw the irre})iessible smile steal over ids weather-beaten face wiienever
he met the meek and long-coated priest for days afterwarils, and the scluxd boys
who had played the prank breathed more freely, and sought for fresh mischief
to do.
It wtt8 after a long dreamy Sunday, that, just as the sun was setting, tiie hmg
dykes and red tiled houses began to close in around us, and we steamed slowly
into the Scheldt, gazing delightedly at the strange, quaint land, the tiny churches
and forts, the solemn peasants, who waved their hands and hats to us from the
walls, the forest of masts, seemingly growing out of the fields inland, but really
snugly anchored in some hidden inlet behind the green walls of the HoUandish
breastworks, a strange and charming picture to American eyes, and when the Sab-
bath evening closed in moonless and dark, we gathered for the last time in the sa-
loon for one more chat, the inevitable autograph album made its last appeal for
contributions, addresses were noted down, plans were discussed and matured, two
by two, sundry young couples disappeared up the companion way for a last walk
round the deck, lent books were inquired for, wine bills were paid, fees began to
lie heavy in the steward's pockets, and over all was the bustle and unrest that
spoke of to-morrow's flitting. I think one can hardly regret leaving the steamer
at the end of the outward passage, especially when one is landing on the continent
for the first time, though I have been sorry enough when the hours grew few on
the homeward trip, for it is then the last link in the happy chain of adventure and
novelty and interest, and the very risk and uncertainty of the sea defers that tame
flattening out which is inevitable to nine out of ten tourists at the end of their
journey.
"Speak well of the ship that carries you safely," said one of the officers to me,
when a word of delight at landing caught his ear. And so will I. The Noord-
land is clean and airy, and well equipped ; her officers are teal sailors, her servants
attentive and willing. She goes cannily and carefully, and, though slie doesn't
own a record for speed, she "gets there just the same," as the boys say, and she
is very steady. Under certain circumstances the fast boats »re a blessing, but for
one who is fond of the sea, can "go with the ship," and can spare the time, it's a
thousand fold pleasanter to go on a good, well equipped, roomy vessel, that takes
twelve days from shore to shore, than to be whisked across by an over-heated,
over-crowded, double engined "Greyhound" in little more than half that time.
On those fine fast Imats, with their crowds of passengers, one has not the solid
comfort nor the time to make much fun. It is generally three or four days before
one knows one's neighbors, and I was nearly a wee'c on a steamer once before I
exchanged a word with the nicest and the firmest of my friends in the days that
followed. Then, the servants are over-worked, and one must fee liberally for
-I
1$
good attendance (t speak whereof I know), and sometimes a great deal of discom-
fort is endured in silence, because or.a reflects, "It's only for a day or two more."
But not e\ eryone looks forward to the sea voyage with the delight that makes
it never too long, and thousands only dread it as the most grievous thorn on the
sweet roses of a summer abroad.
The last evening, however, spun out by friends loath to part, was ended, and
we were wakened next morning by the music of an internal tom-tom, beaten
vigorously by an agile ship steward, at about half past four, and in answer to
indignant enciuiries our stewardess informed us that we should land at six, and
that for those who wished it breakfast would be ready at five.
We straggled in, a demoralized set of voyagers, and had our coffee, and in due
time sidled up to the wharf at Antwerp. My trunk, rug, and chair were in the
company's care until my return, and I felt the first blessing of my carryall when,
in obedience to the captain's hearty hand shake and kind ' ' Well, here we are in
Antwerp, all safe, good-bye, go ashore and enjoy yourself," I picked up my bag-
gage, threaded my way through the medley of passengers, deck chairs, valises and
sailors, and stepped down the dock without a second's delay.
.Someone had recommended us to a hotel just ])eside the Cathedral, and our
party unpremeditatedly found themselves all in search of the omnibus bearing
its name. The Colonel gets in and takes my carryall on his knees ; the others
crowd after him, and we go rattling off to our temporary home.
"Got your baggage on top?" asks the Colonel, looking up at the roof, where
sundry trunks and satchels had come crashing as if they would surely come through
on our heads. "This is my luiggage," I say meekly, indicating the Carryall. "Oh,
I know, but your trunks, you aren't going all the way to Hungary with this thing ?"
That was the first time of several score times that this question met me. But I
bravely stood up for my despise<l "gepack," and offered to go even to St. Peters-
burg if I had time.
"Well," said the ex-member of General Lee's staff with a quiet smile, "if ever
I did bet, I'd put a ten dollar bill on it that you buy a trunk before you go back."
I scouted the idea and joined in the laugh that our conversation raised ; but the
s^sHsa
ffmm
(^.lonel was riglit, I .li.l buy a trunk before 1 returned to Antwerp, but not until
the very day before, when the ohavming shops in Paris had so loaded me with
"extras" that even my wonderful Carryall gave me warning not to drive a willing
steed to death.
f
^r*
tarn
|HE big black 'bus that is horribly suggestive of "thirty clays," and very
|p reguliu' hiibits during tiiat time, rattled us through narrow, queer look-
ing streets, and across paved squares, past groups
portei's and woikmen, standing in the
jorners, making up their minds to another
ly of toil, until it entered a sort of little
)pcr. park, known as the "green place,"
Place Verte, in the vernacular. There
is a band staml and a great many un-
happy looking linden trees, whose
dusty foliage
is the only
green thing to
account for the
name of tiie
"place," and
there is a sta-
tue of Ant-
werp's pride
and dailing,
I'etci •• ul
H iibeuH, and
piesently there
comes a jar and
.iKsciT.iirRcu. 'i pause, and
we are at our hotel, a few yards from the door of the Cathedral. Our boat party
has divided into several groups, each of which have their favorite abiding place,
or perhaps are in haste to reach some point inland, and have decided to leave
Antwerp and its interesting sights until their return.
.VNTWKKI' (ATIIKOK.U,
The Doijtor, the {^olonel, the Chicago divine, a Spanish mother and two daugh-
ters, and a young G'ernian dentist, who has been studying in Boston for Tie past
three years, are in the omnilius witli me, and we are met and welcomed by the
landlord of the hotel, a hideous little man with only one eyelid, who informs us
that there ai e only four rooms left, and they are up four flights of stairs.
"But you have an elevator?" The little man draws down a green patch over his
lidless eye, and informs us in a meek voice that he has not. At the same moment
his clerk interrupts "mon oncle," and in very pretty French assures me that the
rooms are most comfortable, and tliat we shall so(m get accustomed to thti-stairs.
(Tlien I discover that wliile we were gazing over our vessel's side at monsieur the
Pilot at Flushing, older heads than ours were sending telegrams back by the small
l)oat, and engaging the best rooms at the Antwerp hotels. Next time we shall
know better.) I booked for one of the sky parlors on his recommendation, and
was assignee! to the care of such a pretty chamber maid, who picked up my heavy
carryall and capered up the long stairs, with liei' little feet in great felt slippers,
and her head crowned with a large frilled cap. She was so pretty, with great
round eyes and rosy cheeks and a very sweet o.nile, and her voice was so soft an<l
musical, and lier round little flgure buttoned so neatly intcj lier trim print gown
that I fell a victim to her charms. She ushered me in with a timid little welcome
and then bustled about with that peculiarly motherly solicitude and friendly care
for you, that charmed my travel-tired womanhood long ago, when just such a bonny
feirale was \\\y Jeiiiiiie de cliatubre in a grand hotel in Dublin. "A Dublin chamber
maid" used to embody my idea of a ef)nifortai»le servant, but my Antwerp Katerina
was even a gem of higher price.
I sat and watched her cjuick flittings while slie unstrapped my carryall and took
'*■ my boots, and posted my letters, and made me climb up three steps and look
out of my dormer window, and chattered sweetly all tlie time about how sorry she
was that madame must have so small a :oom, but it was neat and clean truly, and
she hoped madame would content herself, and then she lingered about while I took
out my wrapper, and told me I should sleep so well now that I am ashore, and
finally after she had seen every possible thing done that she could do, she asked
me " jJoes the bed please madame?"
It was a white nest, draped from the high ceiling with white laoe-edged muslin,
m
that fell full and soft over head and foot to the carpet. A solid little red bedstead,
big aciuare frilled pillows, the very picture of cleanliness and quaintness and com-
fort. I expressed all this to my Katerina, and she laughed a little pleased happy
laugh and escorted me to the breakfast room, both of us in the highest state of
friendliness and contentment. It was so good, this first continental breakfast, de-
licious bread and butter, and coft'ee and omelette and fried sole.
The parson and I had a little table together, and as we talked and ate, came
suddenly a delicious jingle, jangle, and we heard the Cathedral chimes, so close
and so silver-sweet that as soon as the last bite was swallowed we kidnapped
the Colonel and the Doctor, and stepped across to view the interior of the grand
old Church, under whose shadow we should rest for several days to come.
"Why, yes, we'll stop— ^Antwerp has got to be seen, I suppose," said the Colonel,
in his comical way; and so we all "stopped."
The chief objects of interest in the Cathedral are the Rubens' paintings, the
stained windows, the carved pulpit, and the choir stalls. We found the pictures
covered with green screens, and were told that in due time the screens would be
rolled up and the paintings explained by a guide, but that if we had not already
done BO, we must purchase a ticket from the concierge at the door for the sum of
twenty cents (a franc) or leave the Church until after the exhibition. Anything
more apologetically polite than the manner of the young guide who explained this
to me, I cannot imagine, but one of the first things that delights an American on
the continent is this universal politeness. In the hotels it meets one on the
threshold, and never varies until the final fee is slipped into the porter's hand at
the door of the railway station.
Of course, the patience of even a hotel concierge nuiy wear out under the con-
tinual rasping of discontented or perverse travellers, but to the ordinariljr con-
siderate patron every man and boy in the house is a willing and cheerful slave.
It isn't only among the upper ten tliousand that one can learn the polish supposed
to be the result of continental associaticm. Down to the blue bloused porter who
carries your traps for two pence, or the pretty madchen who cheerfully marches
oflF with your laundry parcel after every one is in bed, and waves aside your
remorse for having gone to the theatre, and forgotten to leave it for her in early
evening, all these good creatures were a continual pleasure to me.
In the shops, where no suHpicion of nieicenary or selfish motives can prompt
this charming service, I particuhirly noticed it, with many a rueful recollection of
the "manners" of our saleswomen in tlie largei' cities.
The very continental mode of address is so pretty, and it is a pity that in oiu*
downright English we have no equivalent for the third peison, which is invariably
used in Europe. "Madame wishes," "Die Dame," or in Austria and Hungary
"the gracious lady" takes the place of the familiar " Wliat do/M/ want?" "What
can 1 do for you?" whicii is about as iiigh a degree of politeness as the most favored
need expect or hope for here. 1 saw a funny little tmn given to tiie "American
style" the other day in one of the busiest of our Toronto shops, where a frizzled
Duchess stood languidly suiveying her customers. A busy little shopper came to
hei' counter and was greeted by a long stare and the monosyllable, "WKi.r.?"
'Thank you, yes! I aw well," answered the little housewife briskly, "will yim
have the goodness to sliow me some gloves?" Not a suspici(jn of arriere pensee
hu'ked in her innocent tones, but the girl's eyes fell, she turned about, and when
she re-appeared her complexion was several tones brighter. Ridicule, ever so
innocent, could quell her, but I did so wish she could study her sister clerks
abroad so neat, so winning, so interested even to American tourists, who can speak
usually only the most fractured patois of her language, and who have frequently
mistrust of foreigners and their ways plainly printed on tlieir faces. I have often
admired the perfect courtesy and patience of a (Jernuin or Bavarian and Bohemian
girl, as she tried to come at the meaning convey t!< I by a brother or sister "Jona-
than's" unique phrasing and pronunciation, and still more at their self control,
when they half guessed, lialf understood the caution given in audible tones, "Now
you watch out, or she'll cheat you I" Invariably comes the gentle, calm voice, s'il
votis plait, monsieur, or the funny little (ierman Hit-te, and the courteous hearty
tnerci or nanke sehr, which gilds the edges of their daily conversation, liut all this
time the pictures in Antwerp Cathedral waited to be seen, and we stooil with our
tickets in our hands before the green screen of the "Elevation of the Cross."
They call it a triptych (which means three leaved, the dictionaiy says), and the
story of the painting is as follows : Rubens was asked to paint something for the
church or convent or society of Saint Christopher, naturally something to illus-
trate the wonderful experience of the 8aint in carrying the Saviour across the
stream, which is too familiar to repeat in these pages. The great painter dis-
. .*
carded the Chiistophfiuiiu legend altogether, and illustrated three parts of the
Saviour's earthly career in the t)nee paintings of the triptych, idealizing the
"bearing" of Christ, as follows: In the left hand leaf the virgin comes to the
house of Elizabeth, and the elder woman, in the shadow of her portal, holds out
wondering hands of welcome to the "mother of her Lonl. " The sweet, fail- face
of the girl, and the gentle iliguit^ of her attitude, full of the awe and mystery of
coming motherhood, touched a spot in my heart so tender as to bring tears to my
eyes.
On the right leaf stands ilie good old Simeon, with the most cunning of sweet
naked babies in his arms; from the backgrountl looks out the interested, kindly
face of Anna, with a little smile on her lips, just such as we have seen a score of
times on the face of some dear old granduK^ther, as she watched a wee baby. The
virgin mother, in her blue robe, stands holding out her arms for her precious
ourden.
Dare I say that the centre picture did not please me? It is a Hercules bf)und
on the cross, an<l being lifted on high by (Jladiators, and one low, degraded type
of humanity lays desecrating hands on the racked body, and a cunning Jewish
priest cannot conceal the eager hatred and triumph in his glittering eyes. I did
not look very long at it.
The guide, after calling our attention to several small paintings, showed us the
"Assumption," a very complacent looking virgin surrounded by soft featherbeds
of clouds and adored by numerous little cherubs of the roly-poly order.
"Fat Mrs. Rubens," said our ptirson, slightingly, which remark was explained
further on, as will, perhaps, be discovered.
The last painting shown was the "Descent from the Cross," and it took my
senses by storm and completely fascinated me.
In the centre picture droops the body of the dead Saviour, received into the
outstretched arms of the three faithful women. St. John and Joseph of Arimathea
support it from below, while St. Peter has climbed up and lowers one nerveless
arm, while he holds in his teeth the corner of the linen shroud which clings about
the corpse. On all the grief-stricken faces, in every feature of the dead Christ,
pale and worn, and infinitely sad and mournful, even with Death's seal of peace
iig !
V
upon tlieiii, rests the awful shadow of the great tragedy. No hope of that speedy
resurrection beams upon this pitiful scene. "We thought this ivas He that
should have redeemed Israel. " All the love and all the tendeiness in the various
attitudes gives only this heartliroken refrain. I thought of Dore's masterpiece,
and my memories of that fair pi'esence, spotlessly rohed in wliite, coming forth to
die from ti>e liall of judgment, seemed nearly akin to this drooping and piteous
dead. A guide escorted us about the Cathedral, and explained this picture to us
in the following words; "Dees, m'sieurs et m'danie, is Rubens' (de fameus painter
Rubens) descen' from de cross. De lady at de foot is de Virgeen Marie. She was
Rubens' first-a vife. De old man on de lef is Joseph of Ar-ma-tee-ah, Rubens'
vater-in-law. De young lady by de Virgeen is Rubens' daughter. De young man
at de right, St. -a John, is Rubens' fav'rite pupeel, VanDyke," and so on, in this
and other pictures the same extraordinary statements led us to imagine that
Rubens' expense for mc '^Is was comparatively slight.
Even when the poor "tirst-a-vife" died he kept up his economical practices for
"de Virgeen in de Assomption, m'dameet m'sieurs, is Rubens' seivn' vife !" said our
matter of fact guide. I gave him a look and he grinned and pulled his fair mous-
tache, and after a moment begtm again, "Heie in de Elevation is Rubens' dog
introduce in de painting by Rubens' fav'rite pupeel," he paused; another look
overcame his risibles and he openly giggled, giving me an appealing and reproachful
gla ce as he turned away. It was delightfully funny. Presently he recovered his
gravity and said to me, "M'dame will come wis me and I show M'dame "old man
( Jladstone. " I stared at him partly in surprise at the sudden departure, and partly
at the familiarity with which this Belgian named the ex-Premier. However, I
followed him to the chancel, and there, upon one of the choir stalls, he pointed me
out a rakish looking little carved devil, whose face was an excellent likeness of the
"Grand Old Man." "See you, M'dame," said he earnestly, "so said to me an
Englishman when he see dis diable, " 'There — old man Gladstone!' "
Directly across the chancel on the back of another stall, stands a carved Monk,
whose features greatly resemble the late Lord Beaconsfield. I wonder is this a
coincidence or a ponderous Belgian joke ? These choir stalls are wonderfully beau-
tiful, the carvings are very elaborate and each is unique, being adorned with a
figure of a saint, an angel, a monk or a devil. The first day I visited the Cathe-
dral, the caretakers were draping them in rich black silk hangings, with heavy
clieuiile fringe and gold braid, and presently they set up a hideous black screen
behind the high altar, completely covering up "fat Mrs. Rubens," on which screen
were cross bones, skulls and other cheerful designs in white, and the guide told uie
the gruesome layout was in preparation for a grand funeral, to take place on the
morrow, and which he advised me to attend.
One day he enquired if I had done so. "Yes," said I, "and 1 will ttU you who
was buried." "So?" he ejaculated with surprised interest, "afviend tom'damoV"
"No," I said, looking at him sternly, "it was Rubens' second wife !" He turned
and tied.
Really the funeral was very interesting. The coffin stood under an enormous
canopy before the altar, and priests and choristers chanted for about an hour round
it. A man with a bass viol stood at the foot of the cotiin, and a priest on either
side of him sang lustily. The sweet tones of the organ swelled plaintively in the
music of a funeral service, and the vast body of spectators, mourners and friends
crossed themselves devoutly. Tlie ushers were in evening dress, with black <d()ves
and one of them brought in a little willow basket tied with riblfons and lined with
crape, into which the friends of the family dropped their visiting cards after the
service was concluded. Two extraordinary looking lieings, with shovel hats and
square pieces of crape thrown over them, appeared with armfuls of long wax dip
candles, which they lit and distributed to the friends in attendance. The friends
then began a procession round the coffin, pausing to kiss some small article held up
by the liead priest (or bishop maybe) to tlieir lips. 'I'lien with much spreading of
liands and bows and flourishes, the ushers escorted five ladies in crape veils and
black silk dresses to their carriage, and everybody went about their business, leav-
ing the poor body alone in the draped and incense-scented chancel. I forgot to say
that there was a collection taken up, but ' ' cela va sans dire. "
I nmst not forget, in writing of Antweip Cathedral, to mention the queer look-
ing stained glass windows. '! hey caused me many a jjuzzle, until I took counsel
with my polite young guide, and lit informed me that "after the war" the
Catheilral windows lay in bits all over che building, and that, anxious to preserve
tliem, but having neither time nor skill i.o piece tiiem together properly, the good
people stuck in the fragments wherever they would tit, and hence the startling
results I had noticed, when a saint's foot would be at the top of the window and
his eyes and nose at the bottom.
A very heautiful olijoct of interest, also, is the carved pulpit, upbourne on the
heads of four female figures — Europe, Asia, Africa and America — surrounded by
the most lovely stair case, wreathed with olive and vine leaves, and full of birds,
squirrels, cherubs, and a dozen other delicate and dainty forms, and surmounted
by a wooden canopy, over which hovers a seraph, blowing the trumpet of warning.
Speaking of this pulpit reminds me of another in St. Andrew's Church. It is
even more beautiful than the one I have described, representing the calling of St.
Andrew. In an enclosure at the foot of the rocky column supporting it are the
disciples in their beached boat, listening to the call of the Savioui', who stands
beckoning to tliem from tlie shore. A fi^ihing net liangs to dry on a great boulder,
a lobster crawls over tlie net, and where tlie strands are broken every thread and
tibre is faithfully and minutely carved.
Under the canopy is suspended a fair little dove with outstretcheil wings, while
al)ove stand some sturdy little cherubs, supporting a St. Andrew's cross. This
minute and delicate wood-carving needs to be closely examined to be appreciated,
and the faitlifulness of every detail, the fairy stianda of the torn net, the rugged
faces of the listening fishermen, tiie gracious aspect of the beckoning Savioiu', are
all perfection.
After our first morning in the (-athedral, I began to feel the weariness of my
early rising, and retired for a good sleep before lunch to my sky parlor. The
Colonel and the Doctors toiled up, like tlie spider and the fly, by "a winding
stair," or ratlier by four such weary contrivances, and as I, being ahead, paused
on tlie last landing to throw back a word of encouragement, ti. dear old Colonel,
Mitii upturned face, panting lungs, and a resigned voice, mildly ejaculated,
"Nearer, my God, to Thee!" I am ashamed to say I laughed, but circumstances
are sometimes irresi8til)le. I had another laugh at my Katerina's preparations
for my repose. A gilded cream jug, holding about a pint of water, and an equally
decorated slop basin formed my washing apparatus. I fished out my soap from
the carryall, and daintily dabbed my face with a small quantity of water, then I
investigated my surroinidings once more, up the three steps to the Dormer win-
dow, looking appreciatively over at the Cathedral spire, and as the sweet chimes
sang out twelve o'clock noon, I fell asleep in a real bed, boon most grateful, after
the tliirteen nights' sojourn in the narrow confines of a berth aboard the "good
ship Noordland."
J\ bay ii\ J\i\tW^rp.
|Y triple escort, military, professional and clerical, invited me to take a
drive next morning and see some of the highways and byways of the
city. Turning north from the "Place Verte," we entered a wide
boulevard, the Avenue des Arts, where the double row of trees in the
centre of tlie street and the fine he ises on either side, gave one the idea that quaint
old Antwerp could be modern and luxurious when she pleased.
Between the Avenue Rubens and the Avenue Quinten Metsys, we found a charm-
ing little three cornered park, where I afterwards heard a good band play, as I
cooled and rested myself on a certain torrid afternoon. Then we came upon the
Zoological (hardens, which are said to be the finest on the Continent, and where
we alighted to see the animals fed. Lions, seals, and two great hippopotami in an
enormous tank, also some greedy pelicans and other water birds. These gardens
are very spacious, beautifully arranged and adorned with majestic trees and rare
flowers, anda.ll their inhal)itants seem to be healthy and in good condition Away
up at the end of the garden we found a cyclorama of the Battle of Worth, and I
persuaded the Colonel and /i/s Doctor to come in and study the picture with me.
We found the "lecturer" to l)e an extraordiuiary old Belgian without any teeth,
whose mumbling French was too funny for anything. He gave us a voluble des-
cription of the battle scene, which we did not in the least understand, and I was
much amused when on enquiring the difference between a chassepot rifle and a
needle gim, the old lecturer hopped nimbly over the railing, right down into the
battle field, and selecting two guns from the debris of plaster of paris soldiers,
horses and munitions of war, brought them to me that I might examine them and
see for myself. "Oh, do put them back," I said, with the queerest dislike to
touching them, "it seems like robbing the dead men." He did so, allotting to tlie
Prussian a chassepot, and to the Zouave a needle gun. I suppose he argued that
a dead soldier would not care and why nt Ae.
"My son was killed in this battle," he informed me, phlegmatically.
"Why," said I, "I tliought the Belgians were neutial?''
"My son was married to a Frenchwoman," he said, shrugging his shoulders,
"and he was one of the first to die for his adopted country."
It seemed a gruesome occupation for this poor old toothless Beige, forever gaz-
ing on the scene of his son's deatli, and mumbling over its sanguinary details, but
he did it with the stolid calm which characterizes the folk of these parts.
I do not know a more striking study of contemplative abstraction than an old
Belgian peasant, as lie stands with his shoulders propped against the wall, his
hands tucked, xmder his flowing blouse, deep into his voluminous breeches pockets,
his peaked cap pulled forward over his brows, his wooden shoes, in all their
iiideous bigness, squarely set on the stone pavemerit, and his long stemmed, big
bowled, painted pipe, from whicli he puft's an almost inperceptible cloud of smoke
and which seems as much a part of liimself as his fat ?i()se, or his big bristling
dun-colored moustaches.
some handsome
pleasant drive,
monument of
ativo of Belgian
think, but at all
grand and ma-
We admired
monuments in our
particularly t li e
Loos, commemor-
independence, I
events, a very
jestic group of
Lilterty and lier
four supporters.
IMUSKK l'[..\NTV.\.
I don't like very tall monuments, like the
"■'Colonve du Coni>res'" at Brussels or its fel-
lows. Bartholdi's "Liberty" and the Loos
monument in Antwerp are low enough down
to be admired by unfeathered bipeds, and to be
impressive by their nearness and Itigness, while
ever such a fine statue poised sky higli oidy gives
one an ache in tiie neck to look at. We pass..d the ohl dwelling house of Rubens,
and tried to imagine tiie muster, in liis Flemish iiat and cloak, as he stands in our
THE STKKN.
Place vette, issuing from the plain old doorway. Down near the iloeks si a really
quaint and interesting olil mansion, given by the Plantyn family to the city as
a sort of museum, and known as the '■'■ Musee Flaiitytt." It is full of nooks and
corners, carved cabinets and cliairs, rare old cliina, unexpected doors and steps
nd cubl)y-holes of all sorts, a (juaint little panelled room, with a doorway railed
lialf way up (the cliildren's sleeping voom) and cunning little bunks built in the
wall, another with a wonderful old carved four poster, decked with a terribly
green silk co\ erlid, bordered with yellow.
Down stairs leather hung room after room, of uninteresting family portraits,
oal)in6t,s, glass cases containing illuminated missals, for one of which the guardian
tells us the British Museum has offered the City of Antwerp the trifling sum of
eighty thousand pounds. It is needless to say the bid was in vain, for these
venerable articles are to all intents priceless.
Rows of glass cases full of specimens of wood and copper and steel engravings, a
library of many volumes, and above all, the first antique printing presses, set in a
row, with ink pads, type, and all tilings just ready for use. "They make me tireti"
said the Colonel quaintly, as he gazed on their cumbersome and primitive details.
There is also a rickety and wonderful old musical instiument, a sort of a pre-
Adamite piano, witli a double manual at the usual place in a grand piano, and a
single one about half way down one side This relic is enclosed in a glass case,
secure from the saci'ilegious fingers of that bete-noir of antiquities, the American
tourist. The house encloses a dear old paved courtyard, the walls whereof are
festooned with a lovely grape vine, which liides the rough grey stones with a b.ix-
uriant and delicate drapery of green. Here and there among the queer rooms stand
men in uniform, the caretakeis of this old curiosity sliop, and they tell one all sorts
of inteiestiug stori: , and incidents ot tlie museum and tlie city. After we had
seen the place thoroughly, and taken a peep at the fortifications and gotten some
money from the bank, and sent a cablegram from the telegraph oHice, and admireil
the lovely open ironwork of the "Bourse," and seen a dozen queer sights to record
which my memory refuses, my dear old Colonel and liis Doctor bade us a regretful
adieu, and left for "Amsterdam and those other dam places," as tlie Colonel in-
formed me with unintentional and unconscious profanity.
In the afternoon I did the "ancient" picture gallery and had my first experience
of what was many times repeated during my lioliday. How I longed to make a
bonfire of many of the diabolical and awful scenes and distorted anatomies of those
good old souls whose frightful paintings claim respect solely on account of their
age. A night mare of horrors are some of the religious scenes with their wooden-
leggeil saints, and distorted tientls, who slice pieces oft' the already emaciated mar-
tyrs and playfully run hot irons into their ears, or drop molten lead in their
mouths, or play other giddj practical jokes upon them.
And here I first met two or three old standbys, whom I got to know by instinct
in the days and picture galleries to come. There was poor Saint Sebastian ; how
many dozen of him I gazed upon, stuck as full of arrows as an old maid's pincushion
of pins, tied to a tree or a post, sitting like a fretful porcupine in the centie of a
group of sympathising virgins, standing triumphant with (lU'lks I mean irrows, all
pulled out of him, and just as good as new. I got quite familiar with every pos-
sible and impossible phase of his martyrdom, poor dear. And liow many plucky
little Davids with giant heads by the hair (one David had a velvet doubtlet, a lace
collar, and an ostrich feather in his hat !) and how many wanton Salomes with
heads in chargers, and how many Judiths with heads of Holofernes, not to speak
of St. Francises and St Cecilias. In the modern gallery at Antwerp are some very
beautiful effects, one in oils of a piece of gold brocade and mauve satin was the
most perfect thing I ever saw. Tlie very creases of the rich material shone and
shimmered until you coulil almost pick it up and handle it.
There was a peculiar picture the meaning of which was explained to me by a
brisk little Frenchwoman, whom I rescued from a slough of despond when her
English forsook her, in showing the "lions" to her two English aunts.
"It is so.'" she chattered, with a funny little grimace, "that when the man is
murder, the murderer do be execute! but," — and she paused impressively, "it is
now the wife, the mother, or the nearest relative, otherwise, come to the place de
justice, and comes also the murderer, en rohe de tiuit, comme ca," and she referred
me to the picture where the judge, parchment in hand, and his officers on one side,
the mourning relatives on the othei-, watch expectantly two central figures, a man
in a long penitential robe with a reed in his hand, bending forward anxiously be-
fore a tall, slight, erect young widow, who faces him with stony impassiveness.
"See you," cried my little friend, "it is the moment of suspense ; if the widow
lii!
give the kiss of forgiveness, well — if not, the head ott!" I feaied fjoni the look on
the widow's face that the head was as good as off.
In the evening of this bnsy day my German friend, the dentist, turned up to in-
vite me to go with hir. to a very charming garden, the Palais de 1' Industrie, to
hear what he assured me would be a really good symphony concert.
.We took a decidedly seedy little street car, and on the way we unexpectedly
witnessed a lively encounter with bare knuckles between two old maiket women,
in the calm evening sunset. Our driver stopped iiis horses and gazed on the tight
with much interest, the women's sabots Hew ott', their caps followed suit, and they
clawed each other until their hair stood on end and they were obliged to pause for
lack of l)reath. Then their sympathising friench* gathered them and their belong-
ings up and ran them otl' in ditferent directions. It was so funny, thougli rather
startling, that I could not remember to be shocked at them, and the other passen-
gers in the car laughed heartily and seemed thoroughly to enjoy the "mill." Talk-
ing of these Belgian women, if their husbands are phlegmatic, ///(?j'aie wide enough
awake and perfectly well a)»le to tight for tlieuiselves.
They drive their oaits of vegetables, milk, wood, oi' any s^ort of uierchandise
through the streets at early dawn, and sometimes "theu- horses are dcgs," as Pat
would say.
I saw one vegetable cart owned by a handsome young peasmit woman and j)ro-
pelled by three dogs harnessed abreast, tiie first a greyhound, the next a huge
mastiff', while ttie nigh steed was a ridiculous white shaven poodle, with ruft's of
iuiir on liis ankles, (if dogs have ankles) and a tuft tm the end of his tail. The
peasant walked behind the cart, (juietly knitting, with lier lace cap with long ear
laps and mob crown, her blue jacket and shoit skirt, her pink cotton hose and
black sabots, and her observant grey eyes taking in evei-ything, wliile hei- natty
team trotted along their familiar road to the market, (ienerally these Belgian
women marched about the streets bare-headed, their hair neatly braided and coiled
in a knot behind, in rain or shine their only headgear.
But meantime we were on our way to our concert, passing \ rather poor
streets, and out into the suburbs past tiie grand new >intinisheJ , .vtie, and halt-
ing before great open iron gates, disclosing a faiiy scene beyond of fountains,
i
flowers, colored lights, and hundreds of gaily dressed people la.ighing and chatting
, as thej' strolled about. We pay a franc apiece and enter (I am immensely amused
at my young dentist allowing me to Ituy my own ticket, but he does so without
any compunction !) "Do you like this, my friend?" he asks, falling unawares into
his native language, " ^VunJersc/ion." I heartily assure him, "If the music is as
fine as the garden, how shall I tliank you for fetching me to hear it?" "It will be
better," he simply remarks, and it really was.
Everyone kept perfectly still when the first number was being rendered, with a
beautiful sense of the fitness of things, and everyone seemed to listen appreciatively,
and piece succeeded piece, operatic, classi(;al, popular, a charming arrangement
from "Lakme," gems of Gounod, Schubert, Schumann and (iung'l, played with
finished execution and perfect expression, quite a treat of sweet things to my den-
tist and me.
Between the parts we strolled about, spying out somt' old shipmates at a far-off
beer table, and peeping into the grottos for ices, grot'./Os foi lemonade, grottos for
soda water, all kinds of outdoor ainusoments, switchbacks, slides, swings, but all
far enough away from the music not to interfere with one's perfect enjoyment of
it. The second part of the program was over at half-past ten, when we turned
homeward weary, but satisfied with the day's pleasures. I bade my good cavalier
a drowsy good night, and toiled up my four flights of stairs, cheered by the thought
of that cosy curtained nest awaiting me, and "cuddled doon" in its snowy softness
to sleep the sleep of contentment, and I wish only for more such happy days full of
interest and amusement, as I scamper over the unknoM'n parts before me, I ex-
tinguish a candle, (my sole means of illumination) about the size of my finger and
set in a preposterously high candle stick, and with a jumble of sights and sounds,
new and delightful kaleidoscoping through my brain, fall sweetly asleep to' the
musical jangle of the silvery Cathedral chimes. . '
m
We have picked up some expressions since we arrived in Antwerp, perhaps the
one we hear oftenest we shall remember longest. It is, ' ' C/it franc sPl vous plait. "
It meets one everywhere, but really everywhere one gets twenty cents worth. One
exception, to prove the rule, met me the day I left Antwerp, and it came about in
this wise. One of our ship stewards, a good natured little Beige, was taken ill
shortly before we landed, and 1 had promised myself to go and enquire for him at
the hospital before 1 left Antwerp, accordingly I interviewed mine host as to the
name and location of the " Kranken /laus,'' where the invalid wa« to be found.
" Madame requires the direction? But the name of the hospital?" said our small
Cyclops. "Ah, that I know not, which is the nearest?" "There is the old hos-
pital of St. Elizabeth, the tram will conduct Madame to the door, and then the
grand new hospital. I will fetch the direction for Madame." 1 decided on trying
tirst at the more ancient builtUug, having a curiosity to see the working of the moat
Belgian and unimproved, and h-iving been escorted to the car and instructed where
to get oft' by the little landlord's 'nephew," I soon found mys'df before the hoary
portals. I was shown into the bursiir's room, where stood a tine soldierly looking
Helgo, with a handsome beard, who requested me to be seated until he had finished
copying some letters in a letter press, when he would be pleased to attend me. I
thought of, "(7)/ franc s'i7 voiis p/ait" and smiled to myself at his urbanity. To
my recpiest to be shown the hospital, he assented with cheerful alacrity, and at 12
o'clock we commenced our grand tour of the 34 wards, walking and talking for two
solid hours, he explaining everytliing even to the most minute details in a manner
truly continental, that is to say, delightfully polite and appallingly inuiiodest.
lint I liardened my heart and on we went from room to room, men, women, child-
ren, eye and ear, maternity, accident, fever, D. T. , old age, all in turn, till I only
wanted a little encouragement to declare myself a patient from sheer fatigue.
By the way in the maternity wards \ was so amused at the babies. All of very
tender (/oj'i, they were robed in lavender print "nighties," with the most absurd
little lavender nightcaps, edged round the face with a ridiculous little white lace
frill. None but a Belgian baby could wear such things and live. .,
The motliers, poor pale things, looked all hard worked and weather beaten, one
an Englishwoman from Chester, was the proud possessor of a beady-eyed, red-
nosed son and heir, and awaite 1 witli delighted pride the return of the "fader,"
who had sailed on a two months voyage "^ ) Russia. She was so happy to show her
little lavender bundle to a lady who could express her admiration of it in English,
she said it made her homesick thougli, and while siie poured out lier story in her
native tongue, my dignitied bursar stood majestically smiling upon us, assuring me
that he was not tired, that his <linner coultl wait, and that 1 was on no account to
I
V
hurry myself. He showed nie the great stone paved kitchens, with their caldrons
full of dinner, and also a little scullery, wh. ;e sat four of the fattest old women I
ever saw peeling potatoes with tlieir little stubby knives. "There are five of
them," he said, "and they peel potatoes from the first of January to the thirty-
first of December, but wlieie is Lisa?" One old porpoise heaved a long sigh and
told hill in the very plainest spoken Fiench, and as I turned sharply away, per-
fectly horrified at her niitter of fact answer, he said to me calmlj' with a shrug of
his ..rovil slioulders, "It is necessary sometimes." Wlien I had distributed some
little dolls and fruits to the small invalids in tlie nursery, and he had made them
wave their tiny hands an<l lisp, "w'l/, iii\/ame," we found ourselves close to the
exit.
There he showed me the very ancient Churcli of .St. Elizabeth, adjoining the hos-
pital, luiilt in the year 12r)9, and the very picture of venerable age On looking at
my watch I was appalled to find that it was two o'clock, an<l mindful of my ex-
perience everywlicrc, liastily took out a five franc piece, hoping tliat it wasn't too
smiU an acknowledgement of my big bursar's long and couiteoi' i attendance; but
no, he put back my hand decidedly, " .S"// von a piaif, iion ! It has been such a pleas-
ure to escort Madame, wlio is to the sick so amialde, whose visit has given so much
delight, I would rather not take any tiling from Madame," and he had bowed me
out of tl\e gates and into a street car, l)efore I had recovered from my confusion and
amazement.
I liave given this little story of continental politeness at length, because T heard
so nuich grumbling among Americans about tlie necessity of feeing everyone before
tliey will be civil to you. My Antwerp buisai' may be a man witli a soul above
fees, but the scantness of tlie remuneration he gets from the hospital makes me sure
he is not, only lie is but one of the many to whom I own my indebtedness for in-
formation, for service, oi' for entertainment, who were not and would not be re
munerated. The ordinary feeing that one must do at the hotels and railways is so
small that it wf)uld need a churl to refuse it, that is, if one follows the rate of the
country, but the ti-ouble with Americans is, that they take their own rate of fees
with them to the Continent and give a mark or two or a couple a francs, where a
fourth jiart of that sum is all that is expected by the servants. I particularly no-
ticed this when conversing with a young New York lawyer on the subject. "Come,
now," I saiil, laughing, "just tell me what fees you paid in that hotel we've just
left?" "Well," he said, considering, "I gave that old rooster at the door a dol-
lar. He looked so venerable and confoundedly gentlemanly, I was ashamed to
offer him less, and in the restaurant I gave tlie hv°.ad waiter fifty cents, (two marks
you know) and the chamber maid another fifty, and the house servant, book-black
we'd say, a (juarter (a mark I mean), and tlie elevator boy another mark, and by
Jove, I've forgotten the rest of them, but I know it was over three dollars among
'em." I smiled, he continued quizzingly, "And now, own up yourself, it cost you
just as much, more, I'll be bound, for the way they waited on you and kow-towed
and good bye'd you must have cost a fiver?" I did not tell him, of course, as it
was none of his business, but gentle reader, I had dared to offer the venerable aris-
tocrat one mark, and he liad done a great many little things for me during my
visit, and the waiter and the chamber maid and the elevator boy (a burly Bavarian
of forty 01' thereabouts) gave me tlieir sweetest smiles and thanks for ten cents
iipiece. I had no porter's fee, for I had no baggage, nor no boot-b!ack's, for who
doesn't carry the patent, unbreakable, self-sealing shoe polish nowadays? and so
my taxes for fees were fifty-four cents, not a burden too grievous and not the out-
come of a stingy disposition, but the comely fruits of commonsense. As a German
said to me, in discussing railway fares, "Only princes and fools travel first-class
here," and certainly the American tourist comes under one of these two heads in
the hotel servant's simple mind.
In looking over a railway time-table that last morning in dear old Antwerp, I
decided to take a glance at Brussels, the lace workers, the field of Waterloo, the
carpet factories, or whatever else J could take in, in a couple of days. It was only
forty or fifty minutes by rail from Antwerp, and I knew I should be pressed for
time on the homeward route. I'lie Colonel and the Doctor were exploring the
Hague, the young tooth-puller was witli his ''mutter" in Wiesbaden, the Spanish
lady and her family in Paris, the (Chicago parson had disappeared and made no
sign, so that I was the last of the party to bid adieu to the little landlord, his
ponderous wife, and pretty winsome Katerina. " Wlien I come back from Paris
in the fall, my girl, I must bring you something, what would you like ?" "Oh,"
and her big eyes danced, "for me, m'dame will bring the " Toiver Eiffel" I pro-
mised not to forget her modest choice, and with many good wishes and "aw revoirs"
the whole staff of two waiters, clerk, bell boy, landlord, landlady and "my niece,"
as madame called the clerk's wife, saw me into the omnibus, and amid waving of
hands and sweet Cathedral chimes, I was soon lumbering away. Already I re-
gretted leaving my first abiding place, though it was not a palatial hotel, yet the
courteous kindliness of the plain good people made me very much at home, and the
charm of the pictures, and the quaintness of the cobble stoned, cafe lined streets,
the sweet memories of the ^^ Palais de T Industrie" the waking at )nidnight and
peering from my lofty window, to watch the peasant women in rows sweeping clean
the streets, while the late cabmen chaffed them till a long handled broom, swung
by the sturdy Belgian arm, made tlie Jehus retreat into discreet distanoe and si-
lence, the vision of the iron roofed, wonderfully carved Bourse, the ancient "Steen,"
the circling city walls, the nooks and corners tliat were spread before my eyes, in
realization of many a day dream, and aftei- all the rattling drive in the " Prison
van" omnibus, with the tall, polite porter legarding me watchfully thiough the
glass door, and finally depositing me and my caryall safe in the Brussels train.
IM'
II!
m i
If I
i'lif
I^ittl^ PaLti^.
(^Si«^^l,L the fiffy iniuutes from Antwerp to Brussels is through one pretty
l|' picture of .^reen tiekls, red-tiled houses, glowing in the fair afternoon
a.vn, harvest ripening, flowers smiling up, as the comfortable train
''^iJ:!^***"' rushes by." I have foi' fellow travellers in my coupe ar. American
family, of mother and three nice, dark-eyed daughters, and I feel like pausing
over them a lit'le because they were amongst the few females of my own nation-
ality who did tlieir country credit among the many, many Americans I saw abroad.
I used to wonder at them. They had been all over Europe, north, south, east
and west, but they could not take me with them in a retrospective chat. "
fectly elegant" and "real fine" did not seem enough to describe the Alps and the
Tyrol and the Bay of Naples. But I understood better the want when I had seen
some of them, with courier, maid, and every comfort to be bought with money,
or, worse still, those awful female parties of strong-minded leader and weak-
minded following, who wrangled and jangled, and sulked and chewed gum,
though the heavens were opened in an Alpine thunderstorm, or the holy brow of
".lungfrau" blushed to meet the rising sini. They would ruin the green glades
of Eden if they were turned loose within its bounds.
The avei-age loquacious American would have told me her state and city, her
husband's peculiarities, or, were she "maid,' her "par's" or her brother's, or the
nearest male relative available; would have so steeped the very air with her own
individual concerns, and her likes and dislikes, that one might as well have been
in New York or Chicago in an "elevated" train; would have made my head buzz
with her questions as to my seeings, and intendings, and thinkings, and I should
have entered "Little Paris" with a heart full of rage and a face full of frowns.
Not so these iweet girls. We talked every inch of the way, but when we parted
I knew they were from New York by the name in a novel one of them carried,
and perhaps they noticed my initials on my carryall, but they confined their
charming conversation to descriptions of a picture here, a drive there, a view
from such a place, an opera to be heard in some other, and T treasured up their
hints, and owe them many a pleasant hour. One, the eldest, with a sweet won-
dering face, like a Raphael Madonna, had been three months with friends in
Rome, and grew gently excited ovei' continental manners and customs. ''The
others got used to all the extraoriliuary ways," slie said; "but I could not. I am
glad the girls weren't with us. The Romans are so — but perhaps you'll see for
yourself," with a check to her strictures. "It's worse in Rome than anywhere
else though, I think." I laughingly assured her I was growing liardened, and
asked "mama" for information about the hotels in Brussels.
'a'
J
"There are two grand hotels on the hill, near the Palace," the mother said,
quietly, "and in the city are half a dozen very good, but not so grand. Yes, we
went out to Waterloo — the coach and four goes every afternoon from the Hotel
Bellevue on the hill. There is nothing to be seen on the battle tield but a lot of
beets and turnips, and an immense mound, with the British lion on top" — here
she gave a little quaint smile. ' ' The soldiers are underneatli it, you know. I
can show you a plioto of it in a moment," and she did so. Perhaps it was owing
to this slighting account that I did not drive out in the great coach to view the
scene of England's gloiy. I once made a trip to Bannockburn, and felt some such
flattening out as my American friend confessed to ; a plain field, perhaps being
peacefully ploughed, or diligently sewn with Swedish turnips or Scottish 'neeps,
isn't the gory similitude one fancies. "Oh, pshaw," said the other style of Am-
erican tourist, "why didn't you go, anyhow, just to say you'd />in thari" I am
sure a great many of hei- tribe take the tour of Europe and race through her
picture galleries and palaces for no other reason. ' ' Nearly all the Americans go
to the 'Bellevue,' or one of the other large swell hotels," said the youngest girl of
our party. "If you are lonely, perhaps you'd rather not be among foreigners."
I bade them a kind adieu at the station, as they were going further on, and
trusting to my mother wit to make a good selection, I followed the porter who
carried my effects, asking on the' way about the hotels in the city. He named
several, and finally one which he thought was the best, in the "Wolf's ditch"
street. Accordingly, he escorted me to the omnibus belonging to this hotel, and
we soon arrived in front of an unpretentious looking solid hostlerie, built round a
paved courtyard. A white haired, benevolent looking conoierge assigned me to a
Viry pretty room overlooking the courtyard. Peeping out, I could see a fountain,
cages of singing l)irds, grottos of ferns and Howeis, chairs and little tables — quite
a new and pretty scene — and presently 1 found my way down through a tiny
drawing-room, into the little court. Across from the tlrawing-room 1 found the
dining-room, and remembering what time it was (nearly four o'clock) and that I
had had no lunch after my protracted hospital experience in Antwerp, I ordered
a lunch, or " dejeuner," as one must call it here.
It cost fifty cents, an<l here is what they gave me; A -salad, fi'ied .sole, de/illed
kidneys and potatoes, delicious bread and butter, cheese and crackers and apricots.
A few cents more added a wee flask of German beer.
As I enjoyed it, I was mightily amused at a juvenile waiter, wlio happened to
be idle at the time — idle as far as liis tabic duties went — but he was working hard.
He had a small phrase book of French and English terms, and was apparently
striving to couniiit to memory the English names and descriptions of the food he
was in the habit of serving. At first, with intent, puzzled face, he muttered
(piietly enough, then, as he grew oblivious and interested, his voice grew louder,
and distinctly across the quiet room came sometliing like this; "G-r-r-een tea,
black tea, potatoes, boiled or fried — g-r-r-een tea, boiled or fried, black tea, boiled
oi' fried 1" A party of English people sitting near me were mightily diverted by
this unique cookery, and amid numy smiles from all of us, the head waiter went
gently and admonished the eager student, and we heard no more of tea, eitlier
boiled or fried.
I asked the concierge to get me a carriage after dejeuner, and he sent for a dainty
little Victoria, and a small boy to drive. This urchin was about ten years old,
apparently, and was gotten up exactly like a coachman — tall hat, buff breeches,
long boots and tail ooat, with Ijrass buttons.
I had to smother a smile at his comical little figure when he spread the duster
over me, chattering glibly in French, and taking my veiy meagre instructions.
"Everywhere!" I said, in answer to his entpiiry, "Where M'dame wished to
make her tour?" and he set himself to his task in grave earnest, proving a splendid
charioteer, and being full of zeal and knowledge.
"First, M'dame would see vSte Giidnle,"
said he, decidedly, and we started, I
wondering what that might l)e. Pres-
ently he pulled up beside a grand
church. "Cathedral Ste Gudule," he
announced. ' ' Descend and enter, if you
please." I descended dutifully, and was
about to enter, when a great verger,
with a long wand, remarked, ''Un
franc, s'il vous plait."
1 had no change under a hundre
franc note, and stated my case to the
small boy, who, regarding me benevol-
ently from his high seat, dived down
into his little breeches pocket and pro-
duced the inevitable franc, which he
bestowed upon me with the air of a
grandfather.
CATHEDRAL STE GUDULE.
Thereupon I lost the last remnant of free will, and was led hither ant thither
at the hand of the small boy, feeling like a savage beast in the time of Millennium.
In this Cathedral is another of those lovely carved pulpits, at the base of which
Adam and Eve are flying before the sword of the angel, who drives them without
the gates of Eden, the man despairing, the woman agonized and protesting, while
coiled up near by is a most "deceptions" looking serpent. Above the canopy the
Virgin and her babe triumph over the same serpent, thus meekly illustrating sin
entering the world through a woman, and salvation in due time coming under her
cradling love. Ste Gudule being of the female persuasion makes this design very
apropos. Near the pulpit is the throne of King Leopold, with a crimson velvet
canopy and curtains, and a great gold crown on top, and where the verger tells
me I can see the good King at two o'clock next Sunday, that being the hour of
the service he always attends. On either side of the chancel hang large Gobelin
tapestries, very red and very ugly, and down the nave are rows of laurel trees on
pedestals, part of the decorations annually put up during the fete of the Saored
Heart, which is happening just now.
After the Cathedral had been inspected, my charioteer took me to see the lace
workers. As we stopped before the door a pretty girl came out, and with great
heartiness welcomed me in, and showed me the women at work on various pieces
of black and white lace. Poor things ! They sat with their faces bent over their
lace pillows, tossing the tiny b(>bl>iiis to and fro, straining their eyes in a horrible
manner, which made mine ache in sympatliy till I could watch them no longer.
The lace niakera go blind in a very few years after working on fine patterns, and
there is an asylum near here in which three hundred victims of lace making grope
about the darkened rooms. I went in, fully determined to damage one of my
hundred franc notes by the purchase of some real lace, but, though I found lovely
fans, in black and white, for six or seven <lollars, and nice little plastrons for
three dollars, my heart turned from them with a great cry of pity for my sister
women, who barter (iod's precious gift of sight for twenty cents a day. I never
can look at the fairy, delicate leaves and Howers of a bit of Brussels lace without
feeling again the sharp, needle-like pain, and seeing the red-stained eyes of those
poor lace makers.
From the lace workers the small boy drove me up the hill to see the chamber
of the Ministers of
State, the Pare
Royale and the Pal-
ace of the King. In
the Pare, which is
very green and
pretty, and beauti-
fully kept, I could
hear a band playing,
and on driving round
it we came in view
of the King's palace,
a homely looking
I'ARC KOVALE.
white building, a stone's throw from which are the tine hotels my friend of
n
.a
KINC, S I'AI.ACK.
the journey from
' Antwerp had men-
tioned. The Water-
loo coach was just
drawing up at the
door, and we drove
slowly by and watch-
ed the tourists clind)
down, after their
long drive, is.id then
we peeped in through
tlie iron railings he-
fore" the palace of the
Count of Flanders,
heir to tlio cliildlesa old King, his l.rothci', (so///ess, I shoidd say, for there are
several daughters.)
Afterwards 1 took
a little time at th«!
" Palais de .Justice,
an enoi'iiious and
magnificent pile,
looking protectingly
down oM the pretty
city. It seems al-
most too l)ig anil too
grand for linissels,
I li is fiiu^ <l o m f d
structure, with its
spreading fliglits of iai.ah; dk comih. uk ii.anijkks.
its wide marble steps, corridor-*, and beautiful court rooms. From it one gets a
good birdseye view of busy Brussels, and that is (juite an impressive and charm-
ing sight. "Little I'aris," the Uclgians call it, and with its boulevards, its ex-
position, its French speaking inluibitunts, and its general air of gay festivity, it is
a miniature picture of the beautiful city. When the small boy had brought mu
I'ALAIS DE II'
home in safety, after one of the pleasantest drives I ever enjoyed, and had
received his modest charge of one dollar, and a franc extra for himself, I went
in to dinner, and was
placed at a table witli
three Colorado peo-
ple, a brother and two
sisters, who were yet
another type of A mer i -
can tourists.
'I'lio lirother was not
iiiucli over twenty, a
1,'rave, reserved boy,
the sisters older and
younger respectively,
anil as shy and awk-
ward as could be. 'I'liey luad just come back fiom Waterloo, and enlightened me
tlius :
"It was very nice. We drove out and saw the monunuuit ; it was real nice,
and it was such a nice day for a drive. Sister and I thought it was all just as nice
as it could be I"
"And was it not .strange to you to stand on the very site of that decisive battle
— didn't it seem mucal to .-.ee everything so calm and peai't-fulV"" I (|uerie(l, dig-
ging deep for sonic niory fitting adjective than "w/Vi?."
"Oh, no," .said "sister," placidly. "We did not think about the battle. It is
in the English History, and at .sciiool 1 never took uiiuii t(» Knglish History, but
yon might feel dirt'eient, being Caiiadian. ^'^u'd better g<> tomorrow and see it
yourself. It's a real nice drive."
Tliey told nu', in a simple matter of- '.act way, of their ages, their home, and
their father's business j)ursuits; an<l rtu'tluir, that tliey had no particular object
in travelling but that their fatlier had sent them, after their mother's death, to
"see Europe." They were filled with wonder at my contemplated tiip to Hun-
gary, which they wormed out of me by jon tinned (piesti^nings, and strongly
advised me to abandon tlie idea. "I shouldn't say to go,' said the elder sister
m
I'-
ll
"should you, Bert?" and Kert pulled up his already very high collar, and crossed
his lega with a very wise air, and said, slowly, "I should say not!" "But why
not?" I asked, in great surprise. "Well," said sister, meditatively, "/ don't
know, but I don't think it would be ntce." "It's too far," said Bert, in a conclu-
sive manner; and on that decision we said good-night. I was mightily amused
at these harmless owls, and especially at Bert's pirting shot, coming as it did
from a youngster who had crossed a continent to, as it were, get started on his
travels. I did not see them again, but I know what they will say when they
reach their little Colorada home.
One thing I must remember in their favor — the^ lidn't chew gum, but in their
staid, unreceptive Americanism they did seem to me so incongruous and unsatis-
factory.
It was a bright sunshiuing morning when I wakened to hear the singing of the
birds, and the wooden shoes of the butcher, baker, and candlestick -maker clatter-
ing through the paved courtyard ; also to execrate a youngster wlio was patiently
thumping the "iSwanee River" out of a discordant piano. I had several letters
to write, and betook myself, after breakfast, to the tiny drawing-room, where I
was not destined to long enjoy my seclusion, for the fatherly concierge came
presently to remonstrate on my neglect of the invitation of so charming a day.
" Madame can write in the evening," said he, gently. "To-day must Madame
make her tour in the train cars, up the lull, wliere go tlie tlnce liorses as Madame
saw yesterday, and the walk in the Park." I willingly forget home and friends
for a little, at the voice of this innocent tempter, and after many directions and
instructions, set out doubtfully to follow my nose, and see whither it will lead me.
Not to the Pare as I had intended, I soon found out by tlie route of the car 1
luvd ignorantly entered, but I concluded to keep my seat, and see where I should
l>e taken to, and then, if I wished, come back the same way. 1 asked the conduc-
tor to enlighten me, but to my surprise he answered me rathei- grutHy, and I sub-
sided, quite in a pout at my ill fortune. An old gentleman, wlio was poring over
a little book, took in the situation and, after putting away his reading and taking
off an enormous pair of spectacles, proceeded to mildly harangue the conductor in
thiswise, "So should you instruct, Madame," he said slowly and impressively,
"and as Madame is strange, explain and inform her of all things. Thus shall you
aid Madame to make an agreeable tour." The conductor listened with great de-
ference and apologised for his grufFness, in excuse for which he said he had not
heard me. The old gentleman mildly ejaculated "C'est bien," and went deliber-
ately back to his studies.
It was a delicious little episode, and I could not help wondering who my white-
haired champion might be, and al^o how a similar lecture would have been received
by a Toronto "knight of the road."
When the car finally stopped, away out beside a bridge, I ventured to further
impose on the ancient gentleman. " Have the kindness to tell me where I am,
and if there is anything to be seen here '!" I asked, as he tucked away his little book
and folded up his spectacles. "We are arrived at Laeken, Madame," he said po-
litely, helping me to aligiit, "where is the sunnner palace of our good King. Is
it not the destinatitm of .Madame?" "Xo, indeed I" I said laughing, "I intended
to go from my liotel up to tlie King's Palace on a high hUl, where I had a drive
last evening.
I laughed again at my mistake, tlie old gentleman laufjiied with me, and the
ormductor joined in, and then the old gentleman assured me that I had come to a
very pretty and interesting suburb, if I had ti lie to explore it, and that he would
be pleased to direct me, if I would allow him the honor. With a confidence that
was not misplaced, I surrendered myself to hie patriprchal keeping, and he con-
ducted me first through the Cemetery of Laeken, where we wandered up and
down the trim paths, and admired several handsomely carved monuments, and
saw thousands of graves with woven wire beaded memorial wreatiis, and under-
ground the queerest looking vaults, like rows of bread ovens, ana at last the great
lion of the cemetery, the tomb of the Cantatrice Ma'.ibran, adorned wi'h ler por-
trait and a hearty eulogy on her patriotic devotion aud general excolienoe as well
as her gift of song. My old gentleman next called my attention to a <jueer old
church, made of immense blorVa jf rougli-hewed stor. '. bid: was locked, but ho
soon foimd the concierge, fc»'d between thoi» they gaw ..le a sight of the interior
and the crypt, where are the coffins, overed in faded red velvet, which inclose
the bodies of Leopold, first king of Belgium, his queen and children. My anti-
quated friend related to me the story of the war of 1830, when Belgium shook ofl"
the Dutch yoke, and in the midst of his pretty French sentences stopped and
apologised for inflicting such a school l)oy story upon me.
m
m \ I
i
m
"Please go on," I begged, "I really don't know anything about it. It is so
kind of you to instruct me." He smiled in a very sceptical manner and remarked,
"The Americans seem always to know eveiything, and now, Madame will take
this shaded road, and after ten or fifteen minutes' walk will explore the Park,
which our good King has made free to the public. At present it is n»t possible to
visit the interior of the palace, as their Majesties are at home, but the beautiful
monument in the Park, to the memory of that King whose remains lie below us in
this church, must be seen and admired. Its form is nonagon— one side for each of
our nine provinces, and much thought
of by us. Adieu, Madame, no, do not
thank nie ! I am in your ilebt. I wish
you every pleasure in Biussels," and with
:i bow and smile, my good old father
Abraham trotted oflF an<l left me to take
a charming walk down green lanes and
( ountry roads, till the Park and Palace
of Lacken had been thoroughly gazed
upon and atlmired. Ah, me! as I write
comes the cablegram recording the de-
struction by tire of this bonny iiome, and
tile sacrifice of the life of one faithful
servant of the Royal House, and I know
tiiat the sunnner palace at Lacken stands
only in my memory. As I strolled back
to Brussels in the shady, scented air,
and gazed up at the graceful monument
KING'S MONUMENT. ^i^^' '*« '"'^"y '"''y ^'^''^'^^'^ "^"^ ^"8^
steeple, with the far off figure of Victory, flag in hand, on its very tip-top, I
sighed for such a lovely spot in our Canadian land. Shall we ever see it ?
A fine carriage came sweeping along the narrow road, wherein were two 'adies
and a young girl, and as they leaned luxuriously l)ack and returned my look, I
concluded I had seen some one of note, but my attention was attracted by the ar-
rival on the scene of a second carriage, which came more slowly, and was accom-
panied by several oflicers on horselmck. I Imcked up against the hedgerow, out
of the dust, and quite unpremeditatedly found myself executing a most wonderful
salaam, for it flashed upon me by instinct that now, for the first time, I looked
upon the face of a real live king ! He sat erect and soldierly in his handsome
uniform, and lifted iiis hand in a sort of salute, with a kindly smile on his good
old face, and left me with a vivid picture of his snowy hair and moustache and
his big, powerful figure, and quite pleased with myself to think I had had sense
enough to be respectful on such short notice. Not until I'd seen a good photo of
his Belgian Majesty was I quite sure that I'd not made another mistake, but one
glance assured me that on this occasion at least I'd not lost my way. My con-
cierge friend quite approved of the whole adventure, and after dejeuner and
getting one letter written, he started me off again, this time recommending me to
walk the short distance that lay between the hotel and the park. I soon recog-
nised my route of the evening before, recognised also my small driver, who
immediately accosted me with a request to be allowed to get the carriage and
drive me about again. '' But you told me last night you'd shown me everything,"
I said, severely. "Ah, but yes," he said, with an old man's shrug ; " since then,
M'dame, I have been thinking, and have remembered many more things, and,
besides, there is the Grand Exposition. " "Perhaps to-morrow," I said, menda-
ciously, knowing that to-morrow I had determined t,o leave for the City of Smells,
Cologne, and he returned to pitch coppers with some other diminutive grand-
fathers m livery, outside the mews door. It was a warm afternoon, and I was very
thirsty, so seeing a grand bunch of grapes on a china plate in a little fruit shop I
determined to buy them and eat them under the shady trees of the Pare Royal,
while T listened to the music of the military band.
" How much are the grapes ?" I asked of the rosy little fruiteress, who stood
smiling at me. "Four francs, if you please." I did not please to quench my
thirst with eighty cents worth of grapes, and found a less costly substitute in a
delicious drink of some sort of fruit syrup.
The Pare was lovely, the band played spiritedly, and I thoroughly enjoyed sit-
ting on a comfortable chair watching the crowds of strollers who passed and
repassed, chattering, laughing, and having a regular continental good time. The
numbers of diverse uniforms was a thing to be noticed. At one time eleven dif-
ferent styles were within a stone's throw of me, and some were quaint enougli for
a calithumpian procession. Groups of unmistakably English people were here
i
i
i
I.
: e
I It;
m
Ui
and there— tall, fair young women, with supercilious mouths and belted white
inuslin Oxford Ijlouses, beautiful to look at with their well-developed figiires and
wealth of golden braids, and their general appearance of healthy vigor, but better
to look at than to talk to, lor their abrupt manners and cool, indiflferent tones
were just what isn't apropos among these polite and friendly people of Brussels.
They read and made remarks in audible voices about the women and men around
them. "Amy, do see that guy !" " Why do these foreigners gesticulate so? It
really wearies one to watch them." "Aw, it's their beastly meagre lawngwage,
don-cher-know," chimed in a brother to the group. "Must work it out with
their hawnds and shoulders. Look at that fellaw — goes as if he pawstively had
wires inside of him," and the group all turned to his directing nod, and stared
their blanktst. Presently I was disturbed by noticing a queer looking poverty-
stricken individual who seemed to be eyeing me narrowly. He passed and re-
passed, every time coming a little closer, and the closer he came the less I liked
him. I was just about to move away, from foolish nervousness, when he marched
straight up to me and held out his
hand. "Que voulez-vous ?" I asked,
sharply. " If you please, Madame, to
pay ten centimes for the chair," he
said, in a most courteous voice, and
with a polite bow. I speedily took
in the situation, and paid my penny
tax, and my chair tender took himself
off and began to eye some other tired
mortal. I have often laughed since
to think how nervous he made me.
Perhaps it was because I was "Cana-
dian," as my Odorado friend had
observed, that I gazed with great in-
terest at the old "Hotel de Ville"—
the scene, as the giiidc informs travel-
lers, and as is generally believed, of
the Ball made memorable by Byron
in his lines on tlie " Eve of Water-
HOTBL DE VILLB.
loo." (I have been informed by knowing ones that the "revelry" really took
place iii a small building across the road from the Hotel de Ville.) " There was
a sound of revelry by night," ought to be inscribed in some corner of its gothic
facade, for it is the first thought that comes into many minds when the Hotel de
Ville is spoken of.
There are charmingly stylish shops in Brussels, and I have a grateful recollec-
tion of a colonnade where I bought some of the best gloves I ever wore, for the
extravagant price of seventy cents. The demoiselle who fitted them on for me
was much harder to please than I, for she pronounced the first and second she
tried on as unhappy fits, and did not rest until she found some tliat were a pleas-
ure to wear.
IJfl
Tt\^ tou\ City.
/^j^^T was hard to leave Brussels, it was not only a pretty place to see, but a
S fll| pleasant city to live in. I did not wonder at the numbers of English who
M ^§ ma^ke it their home, and I longed for a measurement of time, a la Mikado,
"^i^^' when "every minute should be an hour, and every hour a day."
But the grim old Reaper mowed down my holidays, I had made up my mind to
go to mass in Cologne Cathedral on Sunday, to-day was Saturday, Cologne was
six or seven hours away, so it behooved me to bid a kind farewell to my fatherly
concierge, and the comfortable hotel in the "Wolf's Ditch." By some too speedy
movements on the part of the porter, we readied the Luxembourg station a good
deal too early for tiie 10.0;") train to Cologne. After buying my ticket, I was
about to resign myself to half .TJi hour's waiting, when tlie porter suddenly rushed
back, exclaiming, "Tliere is yet time!" and bundling me and my carryall into a
train just ready to start, "Madame will now have ample time for lunch at Ver-
viers and a little stroll, and get into Cologne by the lO.Oo, also, change and wait at
Verviers. Merei, madame," and before I could <lraw a breath we were off, so long
lieaded was this good Beige, and so anxious for my comfort had a kind word and
a few centimes made him. Reader, a centime is on/f the fifth part of a cent.
An English lady, her children and (ierinan nurse were in the coupe when I was
so hurriedly bounced in upon them. A few laughing words of apology and a seat
was cleared beside Manui, and we had such a delightful chat. Unfortunately
there was oni' otlier passenger, an ancient, ugly (lermau frau, who insisted on
having her window shut though we sweltered and suffocated, and shed our dust-
cloaks and bonnets and gloves, and besought her in our choicest language for
gracious permission to breathe the fresh air of heaven.
We were quite relieved and happy when she alighted and was met by two
generations of her descendants, all as ugly as the original. The trip from Brussels
to Cologr.e is very pretty, and with the stop at Verviers, not too long a ride. At
the latter station, which is a very handsome one, we had lunch, delicious iced
milk, bread and fruit. The sandwich 1 ordered was a very primitive affair, simply
a small loaf cut in two, with a "chunk" of very much cooked beef between, no
butter, salt, or mustard. Here, also, I had an experience of continental manners,
which my pen bums to transcribe, but I forbear. The 10.05 from Brussels
dashed into the station ; I selected my coupe, and bidding a real English good-
bye to my late comrades, I found myself locked in with two very fat old American
ladies.
"Don't you go and put that satchel up, sister," said one, as hot and rosy ehe
flung back the bonnet strings from her many double chins.
"Why not?" panted the other, pausing in her struggles to jam the family grip-
sack into the netting overhead. "Well, said sister number one, "when you put
it in, I guess you'll want it to stay put, and you know the customs officer '11 be
along soon, and you'd just best hold it on your lap awhile." Customs! I had quite
forgotten that we were almost on the German frontier, and that the guardians of
the Vaterland would be after my carryall, and a hideous memory of the hurly-
burly in darkness, squabbling and hustling that I had witnessed In silent wrath at
Huspension Bridge, came between me and my peace of mind. Presently we ar-
rived at Herbestal, all the coupe doors were thrown open, and a squad of "Deuts-
chers" in uniform emerged from the station house and marched towards us. An
immense blonde moustache, a pair of blue eyes, and some guttural sounds blocked
up our doorway, making the old fat lady tighten her grasp on her gripsack, and
gasp out with many headshakings, "No, No! I aint bought a cent's worth since I
landed!" "Gloot," growled the big man, taking himself off out of the light, and
that was the only thing we heard of the customs. I had a little fun with myself
at the entirely satisfactory interview in English and German, and was glad, once
more, that I had no trunk to look after. Soon came the outskirts of a big city,
and the wide, dirty, swift-rushing Rhine, and the fairy steeples of Cologne Cathe-
dral, and a gaunt lanky porter who takes me and my belongings to the Dom Hotel,
which I had selected because it was directly beside the "Lion" of Cologne. From
my window I look across a little paved and tesselated square to the immense pile,
that has struggled slowly through all these decades to perfection. At Antwerp
the Cathedral is hemmed in and surrounded by little shops and buildings that
cluster almost under its portals, but here, as in" Ste (iudule, the grandeur and the
greatness have room. My first thought was "How big it is," and then "How
I^'l ~
■if i: t
■ ii
M
b^
beautiful. " One can quite forgive the time and money it cost to finish it, as it sxts
in completed love-
liness before one's
eyes. Table d'
hote was over when
I enquired for my
dinner, hungry
enough after the
light lunch at Ver-
viers ; they hold it
here at the uncon-
scionable hour of
one o'clock, but
there is always a
"■^salle a viangtr"
or "speise-saal,"
COLOGNE CATHEDRAL.
where one can quickly enjoy a delightfully served meal.
Then, the inner woman being satisfied, I took a short walk down a street where
I came upon two fine monuments, and back again to my square, and round the
Cathedral. I would not go in, as it was growing dusk, but saved the first sight
of the interior until the morrow, when I was to go to mass, like a good Catholic,
and hear what a "little bird" had told me would fill me with delight, the singing
of the choir. I remembered how my informant had dwelt upon the blending and
the swelling and the gradual dying away of the trained voices, down the vast
aisles, and I enjoyed it all in anticipation. There were three Massachusetts girls
at tiie Dom Hotel, who were setting out, as I got back, to buy Cook's tourist
tickets through Central Germany and down the Rhine. We had enjoyed our
dinner together, and were now quite "chummy," so they invited me to "come
along," and I did so. The Cook's people have an office just across the square,
and there I watched them laying down gleefully the golden ten mark pieces,
which had been so hardly earned in country school house or collegiate halls.
They were gi'eat girls, those three, and I can see them now, with their delicate,
pretty faces and quakerish travelling suits, their dainty little feet and neat Swede
►
gloves, their eager, curious, happy voices — and I didn't grudge them their holiday,
God bless them, for they had earned it.
They would have known all about the Dutch and lielgian disputations, and
they did know a wonderful lot about the ups and downs of (ierman state and
army, and they had little, precise, self-willed ways of putting things, and infal-
lible judgments on all the affairs of the universe, and I enjoyed them immensely.
"Can't we go somewhere to-night?" they asked me. "We can ask the concierge
about it," I said, strong in my faith in the power and the will of that much-
worked individual. We met the head waiter first, and I was deputed as being
married and staid, and, more important, the only one who understood French, to
elicit information from him about the sights and doings of Cologne after dark.
I assumed my most matronly air and made my request, and after a moment's
consideration he shipped us off by a tram to a '•'• garten" where he assured us we
could make our anmsement and find many fine things. I always sigh when I
think of that ^^garteti."
It was a babel of brass bands, a pandemonium of stjueaking, automatic merry-
go-rounds, cracking rifles in shooting galleries, suortings of engines, and, most
hideous of all, singing in a kind of balcony by some Tyrolese peasants in all their
bravery of national costume. I think they "yodelled," but whatever they did
it was very dreadful to listen to — my Yankee girls insisting upon my eating ice
cream with them in a pretty little grotto, very neat and clean, and decorated with
artificial stalactites and stalagmites of crystal, which gave it on this warm sum-
mer evening, a cool and refreshing appearance. When the singing began, we hur-
ried over our ices and quitted the Kaiser-garten, taking a pleasant walk on the low
level banks of the Rhine, from whence one can return to tlie city by steamer for a
few cents. When we reached the hotel we told our waiter he must never do so
any more, and watched him with great amusement as he tried to apologise. He
was what one of the school teachers called a "monkey man," light and active,
clever and polyglot, with the most extraordinary grimaces and contortions and
sudden giggles, but a very good waiter, and anxious to have us see everything that
Cologne afforded of amusement and instruction. I washed my hands of him after
his "garten," and pinned my faith on the concierge who was a fair childlike look-
ing young German, with a hideous peaked cap and a golden beard.
My Colrigne Katerina put me comfortal>ly to bed, after giving me a lesson in
hotel German, and stumping heavily round my room, like an amial)le cow for half
an hour. She was so funny and so good natured. and such an awful owl, was this
fat Dutch niadchen, but she tramped willingly oti' down the street with my clothes
to the laundry at eleven o'clock that night, and made me give her every order and
direction in German, as I had asked her to, ensuring her obedience by the promise
of "ein mark," and we had a great time of it. 'I'he Massachusetts girls are on
either side of me, and come popping in and out of my room at very early hours on
Sunday morning. They are shocked at me for going to "Mass," and so, much to
my relief, they leave me to go alone, themselves writing letters until the orthodox
hour of eleven o'clock starts them to the English Church.
The inside of the Catliedral rather disappointed me. I looked for the lovely
wood carvings of Antwerp and Brussels and found them not, but the music was
all and more than my fancy had painted it. That gradually dying away of the
mellow basses, the soaring tenors, the sweet boy altos and sopranos, and the mag-
nificent organ, was the loveliest effect I ever heard. Immense space and perfect
modulation combined to produce it. I admired the great '■'■ Suisse" who are the
vergers in the aisles, and I could have blessed one of them, in his great cloak and
baldric, who sternly sat upon two giggling tourists kneeling near me, quelling
them into red-cheeked confusion by his awful frown.
After Mass I went to the English Chapel, with an Australian clergyman and his
wife, a queer, nervous, mistrustful pair, whom I won into confidence by my in-
satiable thirst for Australian news, and my unfeigned interest in what has always
been a land of conjecture and curiosity to me. The English Chapel is a queer lit-
tle flat-roofed building, down a narrow street, just off the square ; the room was
jammed, and very warm and close ; the organ and the choir were a parody on a
backwoods meeting house, but, somehow, even that asthmatic squalling was able
to touch the heart of a lone woman many thousands of miles from home.
There was a very fat parson, with red hair and a r<3dder face, and another still
fatter, with a lisp, and the tiny chancel looked scarcely large enough to contain
them, they were so crowded and so melting hot that I quite pitied them. After
table d'hote, I and the school ma-ams foimd a cosy corner in the readmg room, and
were about to keep ourselves out of mischief by going to sleep, when the head
waiter invaded the sanctum and made for us, full of chatter. "No, no, no !" I
promptly stopped him, "We are not going out "
"Oh-h-h, but Madame will not in Cologne keep the sad English Sunday. What
a pity. My ladies will go to the Kaiser-garten, oh, no, no, no, not Kaiser-garten,
pardon ! museum or park, oh, so lots of lovely places ; Madame" (desperately)
"you must not stop in this lovely day." I translated for the benefit of my friends,
and then seeing them disposed to listen to the voice of the tempter I left them,
and securing a \ery interesting book, I deliberately went to bed, and read vmtil
tea-time. After tea we captured the Australians, who were looking very lonely
and sang some oil -fashioned hymns, and chatted decorously until ten o'clock, and
felt quite homeiike and pleased with ourselves. I am disposed to boast of this
model Sabbath, probably because it was almost the only one so well observed.
Monday morning I went to the museum, or rather as we should call it, the pic-
ture gallery, and spent nearly four hours there, sitting before some charming paint-
ings, dodging the tortures of the martyrs, or admiring the beauties of other ages.
Among the modern pictures, one attracted and impressed me by its very diablerie.
Imagine the corner of an old shed roof, in an ancient back yard, and perched
thereon the most villainous looking old Tom cat you can fancj , rakish and wicked,
and as natural as life, and this work of art bore the tenderly suggestive legend, "At
the Rendezvous !" It's a shame, I know, to select such a picture from the scores
of beautiful ones on every side, but que voulez-vous ?" The Cleopatras, the Lady
Godivas, the Venuses, in their pure or sensual loveliness, cannot be described, but
I think you can imagine the Thomas cat. There was also here the famous portrait
of the sweet young Queen Louise, the great grandmother of tha present Kaiser.
In her long white satin "Empire" gown, edged with gold embroidery, and her
short little waist tied in with narrow floating pink ribbons, her fair hair waving
back under her little crown, from her broad innocent brow, her wide blue eyes and
delicate nose and chin, her sweet rosy mouth, her tiny little satin-shod foot, step-
ping 80 daintily down the marble steps of her palace, she is "a thing of beauty
and a joy forever." She wore a wisp of tulle round her neck, jealously concealing
her goitrous throat, which seemed her only blemish.
One sees photos and chromos of this painting in all the shop windows, it is of
recent date, having been painted I think within the last fifteen years. The exact
'Kr
ii
date has escaped my memory. After dinner I thought of seeing a German hos-
pital, and und r the direction of the concierge took my way into the city, seeing
many curious things and people as I went. Every now and then I heard behind
me a clanking and clanging and a steady tramp, and had to step out of the way
of a squad of soldiers, in the handsome "tin hats" and long boots of the "Ger-
man," headed by an officer of decidedly warlike appearance, who directed the
march with a look or a gesture, as he reined in his great horse and allowed us to ad-
mire him, or else I stepped into a doorway in some narrow byway, to allow eight
youthful recruits to wheel past me a cart apparently filled with round cordwood
sticks, but really containing the long round loaves of black bread for their frugal
barrack meal. They are /torrid, these raw recruits, towheaded, sunburned, hulk-
ing fellows, with great clumsy feet and guttural voices ; I wondered would they
ever develop into the dashing moustached warriors who occasionally rattled
across the Dom square, with firm elastic tread and bonny bravery of silver chains
and gorgeous uniforms and floating horsehair plumes. I found by and bye that
the hospital I sought was too far to walk to, on so sultry an afternoon, so I found
the Tram and reached it, thereby, in a few moments.
I looked about for some fruit, but fruit here as in Brussels was scarce and dear,
and only some mammoth gooseberries rewarded my search. Armed with a large
paper bag full, I boldly marched into the hospital, and paraded about for some
time, finding all the ward doors closed, but they being half glass, I could look into
the wards. A queer looking bulky sister of Charity came down the corridor, and
I accosted her in my transatlantic German, "May I give some fruit to the little
ones?" I abked, opening my bag for her inspection. "Ja-wohl," she replied
heartily, opening the nearest door, and ushering me into a ward, where reclined
some dozen or more of unwholesome looking little boys, who immediately went
into fits of giggles, and covered up their pale little faces with the corners of the
unpleasant looking sheets. I distr'buted my gooseberries and made them each
Bay, "Thank you," and tell me what was the matter with them, I was then just
as wise as before, but I thought it looked business-like, so I continued to the last
one. I am sure Katerina wov.Ia have been proud of her German pupil could she
have heard me. A funny old ward tender who was shufUing round with a brush
and dustpan, informed me that there was a "Sister" upstairs who could speak
French, German and English, and I started in search of her. She held up her fat
M
hands and screamed with laughter, when I retailed the account I had received of
her accomplishments, assuring me that the bad man had told me a wicked lie.
Unfortunately he had only told the literal truth, for she mixed the three languages
up in indescribable confusion that fairly bewildered nie. She was very pretty and
her bright eyes were dancing with fun, and she hurried me through several large
wards of women and children, and cleverly contrived to humbug me out of visiting
the men's wards at all. "It is so late, and Madame is doubtless weary, if Ma-
dame will come to-morrow at two, then will I shew the sick men, but they won't
interest a lady like Madame, far better are the little sick ones and the women.
Au revoir, chere Madame." She was a slippery little humbug, this same polyglot
Sister, and I'd have delighted in making her take me then and there to see her
uninteresting men, only that I'd already had more than enough of the peculiar
stuffy odor of this melancholy looking place, and was glad to hurry into the streets
again. Yes, tliere are seven distinct bad sDiells in Cologne, and the smell in this
Iiospital is one of the worst. It was a horrid place, and I don't like to think
about it.
Our childlike concierge turned out to be a perfect treasure, so good and kind,
and so ready to do any and everything for us.
When I got back from the hospital, I found he had sent the lanky porter to se-
cure a berth in the sleeping cars for me, in case I decided to go up to Hamburg
that night. After tea the Darwinian waiter followed me out to suggest that I
should take a walk "over the Rhine, by the great iron bridge," and he pointed out
six great stone towers which shewed the lie of the bridge. ' ' Madame must pay
two pfennigs" (about half a cent) "to go over the bridge, for see you, the bridge
is built by private company, but presently will to the city be given, and tlien Ma-
dame (he-he-he-he) can promenade herself tluougli Dentz, on the other side of the
river, a little city very interesting, and come back to Cologne on the bridge of
boats, and so by the easy way to Hotel du Dom, Is it not so?" and lie hitclied liis
shoulders up and his ell)ows out, and wrinkled up his forehead till he looked like an
elderly chimpanzee.
I tried i. *^o laugh at him, but had no luck at all, and the more I laughed, the
more delighted iu se Mned to be. ,
Then, like John Gilpin, I cjt out, little wotting uf the rig I should run ere I saw
11
Hill
11
M'
I'S
the Dom again! It was early evening, and after paying my two pfennigs, f
strolled across the passenger way, by the immense bridge, stopping many a time
to watch the swift rushing Rhine on its race to the sea, and dawdling delightfully
along my way.
It was dusk when I reach-
up the Rhine, the lighted
of stars upon the river's
the city, and presently ar-
where was a '\<:^arten'- and a
antl crowds of people saun-
pfennigs of toll, and I was
bridge, watching tlie water,
also, with doubtful heart,
ering over Cologne (^atlie-
I were at home again, and
to get there,
bridge I raced,
pier, and plung-
of the dusky
lioinewards. It
gloomy, andsud-
of me, a swarm
blouses, poured
ed beei' house,
ing and <{uariel-
1
1
1
1
^.i.a^itfBtiwBwPMt'A^^^^B
._. Dentz, and T could see far
pontoon bridge, like a line
breast. I hurried through
lived at the bridge pier,
band playing beautifully,
tcring about. Another two
Inirrying across the pontoon
iio swift and so close, and
watching the shadows gath-
dral, and wishing very much
still more, that I knew how
Over the floating
and along the
cd into the first
streets leading
was dark and
denly, justahead
of workmen in
out from a light-
and gesticulat-
ling, l)locked up
rONTOON 11RID(.|!.
my path. I turned l)ack to the pier, and tried a street a little further from the
river, which was even darker and smelled vilely, leading me at last to a dead wall,
back again I went to the pier, and tried a third time, and had raced along a block
<)r two with pretty fair prospects of striking the Dom Square, when a window was
opened just over my head, and a warning cry made me spring into a doorway,
barely in time to avoid a drencliing too horril)le to think of, from the indisputAble
origin of one of the smells of Cologne. This contretemps finally routed my failing
courage, and rushing Imck once more to the pier, I aihlrossed the ticket taker, and
n trembling Knglish quite forgetting my German, demanded to be shown my way
home. '■^ Zwei pfennigs r he growled in reply, and actually I paid him, and started
blindly back on my previous route, over the pontoon and away round through
Dentz, shivering with disgust at those gruesome streets, and breathless with haste
and fright, and so unnerved altogether, that when just as I reached the great iron
bridge, a man stepped out and barred my way, I nearly dropped at his feet. He
oourteously demanded my toll, and must have fancied I had very urgent business
in Cologne, by the good time I made getting there. When I finally reached the
Square and cooled off, I felt the length of the race I had accomplished, and was
very well pleased to sit in the reading-room in quiet and safetj until the concierge
called me to my train. And 1 wasn't destined to quit Cologne without one last
pleasant memory ! The concierge after thanking me for my bill and his fee, pro-
duced a very wide smile, and a very small wooden box, and blushing and stam-
mering presented it me. It contained one of the pretty little glasses I had used
at table d' bote for my '■^ Rheimvein," and which I had carelessly said I was
tempted to carry away with me, on account of the engraving of the Cathedral
upon it.
And now for the sleeping cars ! All that the German people had told me about
them was true, and still not half true enough.
One enters by the end platform, as in America, and proceeds by a narrow pass-
age down one side, oft" which doors open into the compartments. Fancy to yourself —
four little red berths, spread with snow white sheets and real down pillows, cun-
ning little red blankets, and fawn-colored curtains over door and window. I was
lucky and had a compartment (for ladies) all to myself. An old porter in a sort
of military uniform showed nie in, wished me "good night and good sleep," and
that was the end of it until morning. No one bumped and bulged into me, as they
staggered by, no lantern turned upon mo its fiery eye, no lian^'a ^ame, in dead of
night, uncannily groping for possible shoes to black, no doors slammed, everything
was peaceful and quiet, and oven the deadened rumble of the wheels was only a
restful German slumber song! As the dear old Colonel would have said, "Now,
this is first class. " It wasn't all the same, but second class, though 1 thought, %8
I fell gently into .Slumborlantl, "It's good enough for anyone."
"Th^z Metropolis of t]\z £lbe.
.! r
ii!'
?T eight o'clock, on a charming Summer morning, I emerged, washed and
brushed, and very liungry, from my red boudoir in that haven of rest,
a German '■'■ Schlaf-^vagen.'''' My first glimpse of Hamburg life, after the
•^cp^' busy bustling station, was the tableau of the early fish market, my first
openeyed gaze of astcmishment was at a "flower-girl" from one of the River Is-
lands, who strode past me, as I stepped from my coupe at the door of the hotel.
The fish market was a picture for a student of low life, and I stared from the
carriage window with great amusement, as we drove (juickly through its odorifer-
ous precincts. The flower girl wore the most extraordinary costume, peculiar, I
am told, to one Island in the Elbe, from which she cajne every morning by one of
the little steamers.
Her headgear was a sort of hood or cap of black silk, perched on the top of which
was a ridiculous child's hat, in shape "a la (liinois." Her white jacket was tightly
laced into a trim bodice of purple cloth, her skirt of the same, barely reached six
inches below her knees, plainly revealing such a pair of calves and such trim feet
and ankles, and such a natty pair of black shoes, and well girt hose, and broad
silver instep buckles! The finishing touch to her costume was an enormous buck-
ram bow, witli long stiff ends, that was fastened on the back of her head. This
"flower girl" may have been forty or fifty or sixty years of age ; her grim weather-
beaten face was as expressionless as though carved in wood, and she is one of the
"sights" that open American eyes. Here and there, on the principal streets one
sees her and her sister curiosities, with great shallow trays of charming flowers, so
sweet and so cheap, they are a delight ! The Hotel St. Petersburg is one of many
that stand on the pretty boulevard facing the Inner Liike oi" Alster, a lovely little
sheet of water, artificially constructed by judiciously damming and deepening and
widening an arm of the River Elbe, which once on a time stretched itself lazily
and marshily up into Hamburg. The Inner Lake is separated by an arched stone
bridge from the Outer Lake, in which is a swan's house, and on whose shores are
numerous villas, baths, hotels, and a charming lunch and dining hall, where the
little steamers that dart peipetually across the Alster, carry many a passenger,
who prefers that indolent mode of reacliing the spot to walking round by the
shaded boulevard. From the "Ausser Alster" also branch numerous canals, eacli with
its own peculiar odor, and which wind back into the city anc'i float flat barges for
freight of various descriptions. The street cars in Hambui-g are peculiarly built
in two compartments, the forward of which separates one from the liability of
being strangled with stale tobacco smoke, and they have five wheels, the fifth being
a small steering wheel in front, connected by a brake on the right of the driver,
and used to throw the cars, or more properly omnibuses, off and on the track. It
is amusing, in a narrow street, to see the great ponderous car turn oljligingly out
of the way of a furniture wagon, that is "moving" a Hamburger's Lares and Pen-
ates, and even as another car approaches, the driver has to turn off the narrow single
track, careless of switclies, and rattle his passengers over the tiny cobble stones
until the way is clear again. It is a great contrivance this usually scouted "fifth
wheel on a coach," and it works very easily. Another "sight" in Hamburg is a
German nurse-maid. These young woman wear prmt gowns, aprons, and caps,
like any other maids, except that tlieir arms are bare to the shoulder, and such
arms for size and redness I never saw ! They wheel their queer little charges in
funny little wagons, or carry them on grand frilled and embroidered pillows, and
one sees them by the score, round the shady boulevards that encircle the Inner
Lake. After brea.kfast, acting on my usual principle of taking in the fun as it
presented itself, I embarked on a tiny steamer labelled "Bainnbeck,"and started,
as I thought, for a sail upon the Twin Lakelets. We puffed gaily off", and darting
under the stone arches of the bridge, entered alas ! a little canal ! It wasn't such
a very little or odoriferous one, but I wasn't very well pleased at having omitted
to enquire "Where?" as well as "How much?" when I realized that we were turn-
ing our backs upon the beauties of swans and grottos and green banks. W^e passed
a pretty red church, the "Gertrude Church," and finally turned back from a wharf
quite out in the country, and in due time returned to the Alster side. The charge
for any of these little half hour sails is twenty pfennigs, about five cents, and I en-
joyed the tour of the lakes later on.
On my return I paid a visit to the post office, and instituted a search for letters
which should have been there, but weren't, at least the smiling uniformed "Dent-
schers" said so ; I was unconvinced and essayed to enter into an argument with the
clerks, but found my (ierman did not liold out })oyond the simplest statements.
I was turning away, grievously disappointed, when I was accosted in excellent
English by a nice looking man, wlio ottered to explain my case to the officials. So
we went at them again, but with no better luck, (though really my letter was all
the time in ihe office), and my companion finished liy expressing sorrow for my
disappointment and handing me his card. To my surprise I found he was a man
well-known in the world's highest musical circles, and I exclaimed quite involun-
tarily with pleasure. We had a long chat as we walked back to tlie Alster, or
rather a torrent of questions and answers, and many a laugh interspersed, while I
learned that the sweet singer was rusticating for his health and intended Norway
and Sweden as his abiding place. "You should really take a week in Sweden, I
could give you addresses and rates, and it would just suit you ! The life is unique,
and the Swedes are such dear good souls. "
I left him at my hotel, and found that a German friend was waiting for me
there, and by him and his Canadian wife, I was introduced into the bosom of a
German family, where I enjoyed kindest hospitality and all the goods things of
(ierman home life — that is to say, if there is any middle class German home life —
we should exclaim against the hours sr-eut by the people in the cafes, where thjy
congregate to smoke and talk, and di ink coffee and chocolate and read the news,
as regularly as the days go by.
I have put the verb to smoke first in that sentence ; I should have put it last as
well, for the beginning and end of a Hamburger's enjoyment is wreathed in tobacco
smoke ! In a crowded coupe, at the *^ table (f hole" in the home parlor, at the con-
certs, even at some of the theatres, most of all in the cafes, the smoke fills your
lungs with second hand fragrance and your soul with loathing, till one could wish
the whole tribe of portly, easy going "Deutschers" in the predicament of the
gentleman who "off the blue Canary Isles, had smoked his last cigar !"
I shall not soon forget my indignant surprise at the ^^ table d' liote" on Sunday at
Cologne, when a voluble German on my right hand, who had been most anxiously
polite all through dinner, and a like loquacious Frenchman on my left, who had
given me many hints alK)ut shopping in Paris, coolly lit their cigars when the ice
cream came, and puffed me into cloucuand. I asked them point blank, if it were
permitted to smoke while ladies were at the table, and they innocently begged me
not to leave, as they wanted to ask all manner of things about America, if I'd be
so amiable as to answer them.
I stayed, on condition that they deferred their cigars until their curiosity was
satisfied, and tried to explain to their continental ignorance the superior eti(|uette
of my native land. They translated my remarks from French to (lerman for the
benefit of a fat German and his frau who sat opposite, and the man laughed heartily
wliile the woman scowled at me and put out her lip, with an air of the greatest
scorn, saying in a tone full of defiance: "Smoke thou!" as her fat husband fingered
a like portly cigar. These (German fraus aie awfui to me, they fiown and grunt
and put out their lips and gi-umble and growl to themselves like a small thunder-
storm in their imcouth displeasure. I answered all the questions my ac(]uaintance8
put to me as clearly as 1 could, and they translated the conversation to mein herr
and the frau, V)ut she only scowled the harder, and shook her head with an aiv of
angry unlielief, that was so rude as to be funny. Finally my school ma-am friends
rescued me from the foreigners, and we left them to smoke and chat over their
wine in peace, while the frau sat back with folded hands and digested her very
large dinner, and inhaled the smoke of all three cigars, like the veritable German
that she was ! And, as in Cologne, so I found it to be in Hamburg, whatever her
"Mann" did was just right to the faithful frau, and she sat loyally by while he
smoked, and she drank coffee or chocolate as he ordered it, and agreed with h's
fiat-footed (Jerman opinions, until she roused in me such a wicked tide of rebellion
that I longed to be in her shoes tor one half day, and treat her ponderotis "Mann'
to a taste of Canadian feminine independence, just to see what would happen !
They called me "Fraulein" because I wore my wedding ring on my left hand,
the proper place in Germany being on the right hand; one is only "beloved" or
"fiancee" otherwise.
Hamburg was very interesting to me. with its ancient scjuares, its fine boule-
vards and streets, its narrow byways, where the houses jut out further and further
on each ascending flight, until they seem to almost meet across the streets, if one
can call the dark and fearsome alleys by such a name, where the curb is only like
the border to a very narrow footpath, instead of being actually the footpath of
the street.
I took a short cut from one large street to another one day, through such a place,
where, as my frightened glances strayed from side to side, my nerves grew more
and more unstrung, and * formed a subject of remark and amused scrutiny to aw-
ful wrecks of fallen womanhood, yet beautiful and youthful, but more awful from
that very fact, or a target for the sly dives and sprawls of pale, dirty, hideous
children, who hung round the dark passages and corners of this terrible place.
When I related my terror and wonder, I was told that this street was one of the
"sights" of Hamburg, and ought to be interesting to those who wanted to put
down sin, and in fact, strange clergymen always were taken to see it, "The worst
street in Hamburg."
But there are pleasanter things to write about in "the Metropolis of the Elbe,"
and one is the picture gallery. My kind friends and I secured a private view of
its handsome halls and their adornments, and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful
paintings and statuary.
It stands near the stone bridge, and one day we had a delicious dinner in the
cafe I have mentioned, and afterwards roamed through the gallery, taking all the
comfort of the freedom and solitude of a private view. There are copies of several
famous pictures, and some re \ly fine originals. I knew less of Hamburg art then
and was less appreciative thai I am now, having since met an enthusiastic Ham-
burg artist in Switzerland, who gave me a great scolding because I did not better
remember the pictures I saw in his native city. A thrill of pity goes through me
yet though, at the memory of the "burning of a witch," portrayed graphically by
some famous artist on an immense canvas.
She stood so fair and young, straining away from the new kindled flames, her
great blue eyes dark with agony, her little feet cramped and shrinking, her round
white wrists wounded by the tightly tied cords. At her feet lay her magic books
and her charms, her cat and her philtres.
There was an exposition in full swing in Hamburg, and among other ways of
sowing gapeseed, one could witness the balloon ascension, and if one paid high
enough, could ride in the air ship too.
I felt I must have that sensation, if I never came back, and accordingly was es-
corted by my friends to the field whence the balloon ascended. One pays ten marks,
almut two dollars and a half, and climbs by a small ladder into an airy looking
basket; four men in sailor costume, who stand at the ropes, await the signal, and
meanwhile you wibble-wobble and bump the earth, with your heart in your mouth
and your breath held. In the basket were the aeronaut and a German professor,
who wished to ascend six hundred metres (about 2*200 feet), and who stared at mo
through his colored spectacles, like a placid old amiable owl, with that bland ex-
pression that professors in story books always wear. " Fertig," cried the aeronaut,
and I knowing that "fertig" was the German for "ready," took a fresh hold of
my breath and waited, wondering why they didn't go ! I looked over the side at
last, and lo ! the city lay three hundred yards below us, and still as I gazed down
seemed to fall further and further away. I was "up in a balloon !"
The only thing that spoiled it was that we could not stay up for ever, and go
higher and higher and higher, past the fleecy cloudlets that encircled us, and
higher, where the stars shone ever in the daylight. I drank in the picture of far-
off tiny Hamburg, its toy churches and houses, its ships in harbor, like specks
upon the bosom of the Elbe ; its wee lakelets, like two bright silver dollars among
the green, the river winding like a silver ribbon round the green islands that lay
like patches of moss upon its surface.
We came across a current of wind that was having a race all by itself through
these upper regions, and were whirled round in a very startling manner. But all
things have an end, and by and by the churches and houses and trees and lakes
began to come up to us (at least, one has that impression), and we began to " 'ome
down," and in due time landed safe and sound. And it was worth five times the
money.
But those pink simset clouds, that look so warm and cosy, will never deceive
me any more. They are rather cool, and decidedly uncomfortable, thougli
indeed they were lovely, when we rode over them, and they parted as if shred
asunder by invisible hands and gave us charming glimpses of the panorama below.
One other pretty thing I saw in the Exhibition, or Austellung, as they call it.
It was a cafe of fifty years ago — furniture, eatables, waiters, and all so (juaint and
interesting, and in connection therewith a killing collection of drawings, prints
and ancient fancywork, and further, a cyclorama of the burning of Hamburg, half
a century ago or thereabouts. In the foreground is the canal, blocked with scows
M':;!
and fishing boats ; tive water and the boats are all real for some distance. Into
the boats is piled a conglomeration of furniture, charmingly carved and orna-
mented in brass, an anticjue spinnet, some delightful cabinets, a copper tea urn,
an ancient parrot cage, a rakish-looking doll, a screen of bead work, some delicate
old china (hoiv I wanted to go to the rescue of one big soup tureen that was
huddled among some unsavory-looking bed quilts !) and beyond these real articles
the careful painting of the narrow fire-swept streets and the red hot tottering
walls. It was explained that ono csucrtrestively torrid corner was a storehouse full
of oils and varnishes, and tliat the firemen had emptied the contents of barrels
and cans into the canal to reduce the power of the fire, while their comrades on
the o'd fashioned liand engines busily pumped the infiamable matter all back
again. If there l)e latent insanity in every one of us, as I've been told, surely a
'■'■fire" is the thing to develop it. As in the case of Chicago, a finer and healthier
city I'.as risen Ph(Bnix-like from the ashes of the first, and every day witnesses the
demolition of some rookei y wliich the fire spared, and its replacing by the massive
columns and plate glass of the latter part of the nineteenth century. A Ham-
burgei' told me that this tearing down of old buildings and widening of streets
was being liurried on by his fellow citizens, in anticipation of the incorporation of
the city by the <ierman Government, and new public buildings on a magnificent
scale were being ere-ited, and the city otherwise beautified by these knowing
Hamburgers as fast as possible, with the fear of Prussian economy before their
eyes. However this may be, certainly many a <iueer and quaint old edifice, once
the grand home of some defunct 'burgher, bit the dust in this summer of '89, and
pulling down and building up was the order of the day.
We saw a funny sight one day as we strolled down to see the harbor. It was
an open air theatre. I liad read of the open air Japanese and Chinese play houses,
but had no idea that the verandah, with a door at either end, was the German
equivalent of such establishments. The "play" set forth the love troubles of an
ancient pedagogue and an e<iually elderly schoolmistress. Three wild boy pupils
and a like number of short skirted, pink stockinged, very much bedizened misses,
played pranks on their absent-minded teachers. Two enormous birch rods were
always flouiishing about, and a tin plate full of flour was in constant demand to
smother the attempted love-making of the ancient pair, or to form a convenient
cushion as they sank exhausted after administering severe chastisement to their
unruly charges.
It was too silly for anything, but the peasants and townsfolk who crowded
round seemed to thoroughly enjoy the horseplay. We stood a few moments and
laughed with tlie rest, and then inconsistently upbraided each other for being
amused at such childish nonsense.
We got a charming view of the harbor from a higli hill, where we established
ourselves in a cafe, and drank chocolate and watched the myriads of boats, red-
sailed fishing smacks, tiny custo\ns boats, great ocean steamers, flat-bottomed coal
barges, all in their turn threading the watery path to and from the sea. It gives
one some idea of the importance of Hamburg to watch her harbor for an hour or
two on a summer afternoon. She is so purely a commercial city that it is no
wonder one is a little disappointed if one expects the culture and the refinement
of the other great Europeaii cities, but she is teeming with busy workers, throb-
bing with powerful life, and rich with the tributes of sea and land. And though
the North German may not vie with his more cultured brethern of the South,
surely he enjoys his life in an easy-gomg, sensible way, that is a marvel to one
accustomed to the bustle and hurry of American ways.
I was told that sometimes they close their places of business for two hours on
hot summer afternoons, and the whole staff of clerks and principals betake them-
selves to the shady boulevards, the pretty parks, and the ever blessing Alster, to
smoke and rest and meditate, and lay up stores of strength and quiet nerves, that
shall carry them heartily into a good old age. And bethinking me of the long
hours, the overwork, and the continual strain on body and mind of our commer-
cial life, I cried out for a modicum of this ( Jerman good sense among my friends
at liome,
Talking of cultivation and education, reminds me of the pretty fashion they
have in Hamburg of distinguishing the different boy's classes in the public schools by
tlie color and ornamentation of their little peaked caps. For instance, first class, or
senior boys, proudly sport a bright red cap, with a band of gold braid ; second
class, blue and gold; third, green and gold; fourth, black and gold; fifth, red,
white and bine ; sixth, green and silver, and so on. A very small genius some-
times wears the senior red and gold, and a very tall dunce the fourth class black
and gold, and so, otle can usually guage the boy's mental capacity by the color of
his cap.
A pretty spot in Altona, a suburb of Hamburg, is the "Flora," a garden and
pleasure resort, where we went one evening to hear a concert by a large and splen-
did Viennese Orchestra. A cornet solo, arranged from the beautiful German song,
"O Schone Zeit," delighted me greatly. I always think a cornet is such a manly
instrument, and the Herr Professor who blew into it on that July evening was a
master of its most ringing and its tenderest tones. In the Flora is an artificial
pomegranate tree, the rosy fruit of which serves as burners for rose colored elec-
tric lights, while round its foot are clumps of "marguerites," whose white petals
are formed of long slender jets of gas, darting from the yellow heart, most lovely
and fairy-like in effect, among the green leaves.
I should have enjoyed myself thoroughly among all these pretty things had not
I been placed between the Scylla and Charybdis of choking to death from holding
my breath, or inhaling some yards of tobacco smoke, fresh from the lips of the
Deutscher who happened to be my next neighbor.
Either Scylla or Charybdis or both laid me low next morning, and I missed tlie
Sunday morning service, but when I made my appearance after dinner I found
that the "sad English Sunday" was over. Grandpa and gran'ma remained seri-
ously inclined until tea time, but the rest of us went wickedly off for a walk, and
"took the baby" to see the seals and bears and elephants in the Hamburg Zoo.
On our way home we came upon a typical German scene. A hurdy-gurdy
(operated by a lagged sailor) was giving forth the sweet strains of one of Strauss's
waltzes, and pairs of small girls and boys, with flaxen heads and faces of great
content, were slowly turning, in perfect time and step, on the wide flagged pave-
ment. The fair evening sun shone down on their little rotating forms, aud lit up
the groups of peasants and loungers who stood about the street. It was holiday,
not holy-day, with these innocent sinners, and somehow I could not be very much
shocked at them.
My ideas became still fu"ther confused when we reached home, and found a
housefull of relations come to tea, and we had quite an impromptu entertainment
afterwards.
A long line of grand-children, from fourteen-year-old Marta to two-year-old
Yennie, gave us recitations and dialogues, and received from grandpapa divers
small coins of the realm as reward. These cuins they straightway deposited in
their "banks" to Iniy Christmas presents for their parents, and by this arrange-
ment their German love of ^'■quid pro quo" was satisfied, and also their money or
money's worth was kept in the family.
Marta's recitation was "Excelsior" (Marta apoke English), and it was
comical to hear the sweet girlish voice parrotting off the verses. Her funny
inflexions as she calmly remarked, "Life liss und beau-tee-fool he la-a-y," made
me bite my lips to keep down a smile which would have been worse than cruel.
A brisk little "j(?m'j wife" round, smiling and unconscious, gave us the benefit
of her "English" by singing for us "Yon Byown's Bodie," which she announced
was to hang upon a "jflMf/- a/>/«/^'7«»w." Dear little fat frau, how I shrieked at
her rendering of that venerable ditty, and how merriment reigned as her German
relatives chaffed her for her audacity. I was called upon in my turn, and sang
them a ballad which would not have been "according to Hoyle" on a Sunday
evening in Canada, and created quite a laugh by dem.anding from the capacious
grospapa the customary five pfennigs. He gave it to me with a mighty laugh,
and I keep it among my ^^ souvenirs ." The whole party then sang some of the
German Moody and Sankey hymns. They were good Baptists, and chanted forth
the strange words to the well-known tunes in a bewilderingly familiar and un-
familiar way. Then the "son's wife" sang for us, "Oh, that; will be joyful,"
with many apologies for her want of "pronunciation," which she had acquired,
she told me, during nine years' residence in New York. This Sunday evening,
with the happy simple gathering of a German family, was finished by a goodnight
hymn and a sonorous and comprehensive prayer from the grospapat, after which
we all began shaking hands with our friends, with each other — I had almost
written with ourselves, there was so much of it.
I greatly admired the grosmama's stoves of iron work and tiles, which stood in
the corner of every room, six feet high, two feet deep, and a trifle more in width.
I looked upon them in silent doubt at first, wondering were they monuments to
some departed fathers, mothers or children of the house. Being in the middle of
a very hot summer, I had nothing to suggest stoves to my mind. Grandmama
was very proud of one beauty in the family dining-room, and its being pointed
*
in
II
out for my adiniration led to my discovering that it and its counterparts were
simply stoves.
Some otlier things have puzzled me since I came here, most of all, what idea of
comfort prompts these good (Jerman lousewivcs to cover their beds with nothing
more than a pair of sheets and a bag of feathers? My bag of featliera is of crim-
son satteen, and my upper sheet is ricldy eudiroidered all round, and buttoned np
over the edges of it, so that the eml)roidery isliows prettily on tin; crimson.
I have liad great triliulatior. with that bag of feathers ! Underneath one, a
feather lied in July would be bad enougli; how much less endurable its enervating
heat, when spread oi'er tired lind>s and fevered body?
(Jrandmama's cookery was another subject of interest to me, and it was worth
a little stumbling among (ierman verbs and declensions to learn how to make (ier-
man apple pie, or Hamburg steak, or (Jherkin .salad, ^^'ritingof eatal)les reminds
me to speak a good word fo»- the (ierman potatoes. Tliey were very small, not
larger than an ordinary peach, and very yellow in color, with a sweet nutty flavor
I have never tasted liefore.
Flieda, tlie good natured kitchen maid, was always ready to laud ^' Grosmaina^s"
dishes to tlie skies, and keenly appreciated my thiist after knowledge, and still
more my delight in and admiration for her dainty kitchen, with its paved floor, its
shining copper saucepans, an(i most charming of all, its range of blue and white
tiles and copper rods and knobs.
Flieda held up her plump hands and ejaculated "!Su," when I tried to explain to
lier the true inwardness of my pet washing nuichine and exclaimed with "devout
profanity" "■Lieber Gc''" when I told her of the exactions of the typical "Biddy"
in American cities.
She amazed me, in turn, by some of iier (Jerman idiosyncracies ; for instance,
her firm convictiim that it wr,* a reckless and unwholesome proceeding to eat one's
breakfast eggs liot, or even slightly warm. First she used to boil them hard, and
we always found them cold, then she grasped the idea that three minutes was the
limit we gave to their sojourn in the little shining saucepan, still they 'ere cold^
until one morning I happened to see her whipping the barely cooked eggs off" the
range, and popping them under the cold water tap! Some one recommended U8
to invest in some sealskin during our stay in Hamburg, and accor<iingly we sallied
forth to find a certain furrier who was known to the family. The result of several
visits was the acquisition of a stock of furs for each one of the party, the choosing
and the fitting of which quite tired us out. When a coat was fairly on its owner's
back, for fitting, the old furrier would summon his wife, the wife would call her
son, the sou would order in a workman or two, and an apprentice would edge him-
self into tlie last available corner to see the show ! I was so tired of the talk and
the bargahiing and the sight of the sealskin, that it will need a very cold day in-
deed to make me look back upon it with anything like patience.
The first thing to be thought of, when my visit to these kind fiiends in Ham-
burg drew to a close, was the purcliase of a round trip ticket to include the
various places I had time to visit, and which would save me a large amount of
time an(? trouble.
A fat and jolly agent on the Neuer Wall studied with me a map of ('entral
Europe, and following with a corpulent pencil my tracing finger, informed me that
he could arrange me a very nice tour to include all the places I had pointed out.
"And for how much?" I prudently enquired. •' The lady will go second class,
of course," he remarked. I demurred a little. "Is it comfortable everywhere as
here?" "Certainly, my lady. Only princes and fools travel first class in this
con tryP'
This sweeping assertion, made in the Hat-footed way the Hamburgers have,
(piite silenced my objections, and I agreed, always comforting myself with the
reflection that if I didn't like it I could pay the dift'ereuce and change.
"In taking tlio round trip ticket you save about fifteen iloUars," he informed
me, and on figuring it over to myself I found such was the case. So I became the
possessor, for the sum of 174 marks (about forty-five dollars), of a little many
leaved bov,k, on whose "open sesame" the delights of (iermany, Haxony, Bohemia,
Austria, Hungary, Bavaria, Switzerland and the Rhine should unfold themselves
l)efore me. Over 3000 kilometres (whatever is a kilometre?) by boat ami rail, the
fat man said, could I scurry about by virtue of this funny little book and its
green pages.
The first and nearest point of interest was Berlin, whither we should wen<l our
if .■:
way on the morrow. My German friend and his Canadian wife, lier father and
her son and heir a lovely boy two or three years of age, were to be my compan-
ions for at least so far on my tour. So I would enter the Kaiser City under Ger-
man chaperonage, and I indulged in great and marvelous dreams after I fell asleep
under my feather covering with my book of tickets beneath my pillow.
fl\^ Kai5^r Qity.
^ . HE trip of some five hours, from Hamburg to Berlin, was so very hot and
lltl ^ dusty, that I shall always remember it as the most unpleasant bit of
'^^^ travelling of the summer. I was separated from my friends on the to-
"^dfe/*^ bacco question, they going in a carriage where one might smoke the air
blue, unrebuked, while I established myself in a "Nicht rancher" non-smoker, or
ladies' carriage, where I eagerly scanned some Toronto papers which had arrived
almost at the hour of our departure, and varied that amusement by watching for a
glimpse of the funny looking "gate tenders," whom we passed like a flash. Once
I had a momentary picture, that lingers by me yet, of an old gate tender of the
female persuasion, massive and stolid, and sunburned and hot stood that old Dutch-
woman, with her red flag rolled on its stick, and brought to shouMer a la militaire,
her head " bandanaed" in a large blue cotton kerchief, her ample form loosely clad
in a short white cotton jacket, and a blue skirt, from under which her sturdy bare
calves and dusty feet stared unblushingly. She was left far behind in a twink-
ling, to stride slowly back among her tulips and cabbages, and put away her little
red flag on the vine-embowered window sill of her qu,' nt little cottage, until an-
other train was due.
My friend and her pretty baby paid me half an hour's visit, and tried to tempt
me back with a description of a very grand young officer, whose sword and trap-
pings had delighted the wee boy, as his gracious manners and good looks had
favorably impressed the motlier. But I asked coldly, "Did he smoke?" and being
assured tliat he did, most empliatically, his tine uniform and tiner manners had
no further attraction. On this trip I first saw those little (iernuin maidens, who,
with small racks of glasses filled to the brim, walk up and down the platform
squalling, '■^ Frisches wasser." It is delicious, the cool, clear, fresh drink, and the
small maidens hand it up inditferently, without money and without price, only it is
proper to drop a small coin in the glass when one hands it back to its owner.
They never smiled, these glum little water-wag-tails, but ejaculated *^ Danke"
and took up their discordant cry until more tumblers were emptied. One can
quite imagine their joyless faces and sturdy little forms blossoming out into such
a grim old gate tender as we had passed on the road awhile ago.
Two voluminous Sisters of Charity shared my coupe for an hour. They wore
the usual immense headgear of black veils and white frontlets, atul guarded
between them a japanned box, of which one of them never let go her hold, crook-
ing lier Hngers through the handle even while she snored contentedly in the heat
anil dust. When both these fat, placid-looking people fell fast asleep, I'd have
given a good deal to peep into their precious box, and watched with great interest
its gradual slide to the edge of the seat, as the jarring of the train and the weight
of the good sister's fat iiand gently accelerated its ilownward course. When,
finally it topp'ed over, I cauglit it just in time to avert its landing (m their toes,
and wasn't surprised when the pair decided not to continue their after-dinner nap
in my comi)any. I am sure they suspected I had tipped over the casket, and
doubtless read my curious glances aright, for they kept open eyes from henceforth
till, being arrived at their -tination, they were driven off in a country stage to
somewhere beyond my view.
This hot, dusty, unsociable trip was awfully tiresome ; no pretty frau or fraulein
came to cheer my solitude, ami when about nine o'clock we rattled into the out-
skirts of Berlin. I was thoroughly moped and tired. We had not settled on a
hotel, and stood, a typical group of strangei-s and pilgi'ims, gazing around us at
the crowds of wayfarers, the porters, the various railway officials, and guards,
an<l the piles of baggage. A burly porter exchanged a few words in CJerman with
our chaperon, and immediately began to load himself up with our various articles
of baggage, and tell us of a grand liotel whicli was just one block away. We
streamed after him, papa, mama, grandpa, baby and I, thnmgh the brilliantly
lighted station, across the cobblestoned, dark street, until we arrived l>efore the
entrance of a very fine place indeed.
"Hotel Continental," remarked grandpa, and so it was. No less than six natty
little boys in Imbtail blue jackets lifted dainty little gold-laced caps to us, with
profountl salutes, as we entered the portals. One apiece to carry our satchels and
one to lead Imby to the elevator. "Pretty nice place," said graiulpa, I assented
« earily, gazing round upon the flowering plants, palms, ferns, marble pavements
and pillars, plate glass and mirrors, which encircled and beautified the entrance
hall. Meantime our chaperon had interviewed the clerk, and judging from his
tone, wasn't in the most pacific of humors. "Come," he said, finally, "I have got
some sort of rooms ; let us go to tliem and get ready for tea. I am starving !'
(You know the voice of a not-to-be-trifled-with hungry man !) We followed meek-
ly and in silence, baby gazing with round delighted eyes at the pretty boy who
politely led him to the elevator, and presently found ourselves before some mas-
sive double doors, whicli being opened revealed to us three charming rooms. I
didn'c inspect the other two, but mine had a piano, and various '■'■articles tie luxe"
of that sort, and as the waiter ushered me in with many bows and some disjointed
English, I felt a cold chill run down into the very l)ottom of my pocket book.
The man left me to meditate on so much grandeur, while lie answered the chaper-
on's questions about prices, &c. Presently 1 caught several words of German,
which I freely translated to the eflfect that the rent of my room was two dollars a
day, a look at the price card on the door confirmed my conjecture, and I called the
waiter in as he passed and had a real English powwow with him.
"This room is more expensive than I like, and if I am to stay many days in
your beautiful hotel, I must have one not so fine !"
He bowed politely and waited for more. ' ' Have you not some room smaller
and for less money?" "Yes, my lady, a very small room on this floor for four
marks the day," (96 cents) "and yet another on the floor above, larger, and very
nice indeed, for three marks, which will madame have?" "I will go and see them
first," I said, and decided on the larger one, even tliough on the second floor, as it
was rather more roomy. It was charmingly pretty, with electric light, and such
a nice writing table, a cunning little drop ligiit at the bed's head, with a red tulip
liell for a shade, a swinging mirror, and a roomy clothes-press, everything to make
life happy, and all for 72 cents.
How glad I was to establish myself in my cosy little chamber, and forget all the
grandeur of piano and cheval glass and marble-topped tables and heavy silk bed
canopies.
My waiter delivered me over to another, who called a very stylish young lady
to fill up my pitcher and make everything comfortable. The maids are neatly
dressed in black here, with frilled caps and large aprons, and my attendant looks
i
cross enough to turn milk sojir. I am awfully afraid of her, as I timidly watch
lier whisking things about, hanging up my travelling cloak with a vicious shake,
turning down my sheets and poking up my pillows vindictively, and finally wish-
ing me an acidulated '^gutenacht."
I sigh for my pretty Katerina of Antwerp, who would have unbuttoned my
dusty shoes and sought out my slippers from the carryall, and cooed over me and
niade me smile l)ack at her, howevei' tired I was.
But Katerinas don't grow on every tree, and my Berlin housemaid may turn
out better than she looks. I run over a small, dark man presently, in my fam-
ished race down the corridor to the "■ speise-saal" and I mingle my apologies with
his and retire in confusion. It is the Prince Von Hohenlohe, who is also a guest
at the Continental, my waiter informs me and I am quite reniorseful for having
bumped his diplomatic Highness so rudely ; but he sliould have looked out better.
I saw the other day in a review that this same serenity had l)een giving voice to
liis opinions and experiences after a few hours sojourn in New York, and that the
utterances were not complimentary to (iotham. VV^ell, one can easily imagine how
that happens, in the contrast any firerman Highness would feel when the courtly
deference of his compatriots was exchanged for the independent condescension or
the inquisitive curiosity of the "voters" of America. Poor little dark man! and
peccavi! I too have sinned by treading with democrative feet on his patent
leather corns.
The dining-room is pretty full, an<l while I wait for my tea and beefsteak I
admire the pretty faces of some ladies who are having a light supper near me.
They are not natives, but unmistakably Knglish. Some one comes in to look for
tliem, a sweet looking (lerman lady and her soldier husband, and English speech
changes to (jrerman, and ([uestion and answer, reminiscence and regret tell that
the party have travelled together not long before. The visitor takes possession
of the eldest daughter and carries lier away to her (ierman home, and after her
departure three pouting faces are turned reproachfully to "mamaw," and three
injured voices proclaim, "Oh, how horrid of you I" "Really, mamaw, it seems
as if Alice gets everything. Quite too bad of you, mamaw," with a little sigh.
What that British matron had been doing to call forth this storm of reproaches
I could only guess, but Alice's fair sisters were not pleasant company for the next
five minutes, and I was amused to see the way "mamaw" ignored their displeas-
ure, calmly reading a letter, and holding up her long eyeglasses as steadily as if
she were stone deaf, or at any rate, had no such word as indignation in her dic-
tionary ! I remember gratefully the perfect service and delicious edibles at the
Continental, and iiow refreshing was a really good cup of toa in a delicate little
china cup.
Here, for the first time, under the orders of the chaperon, I paid for my supper
when I got it, and found it came rather expensive. However it had been pre-
viously decided that we should patronize the numerous cafes and restaurants during
our stay in the Kaiser City, not so much for economical reasons, as that we might
see this way of living, so new and at first so uncomfortable to our Canadian ideas ;
and our chaperon, after promising us all sorts of good things on the morrow, went
out with grandpa for a smoke and a walk " Unter den Linden" while we wearily
sought our cosey beds, and were soon in the land where no troubl mes.
II
J\ bay ii\ ^^rlii\.
I
|T began very early, when I awakened from a frightful dream of casualties
ll and catastrophies in my home circle at Toronto, which dream I have no
doubt was caused by the capsisal of the bag of feathers which adorned
my bed, and which I had stood up between myself and the wall before
retiring. These Berlin beds have their proper complement of clothing, and only
were finished off in a decorative way, with a small-sizeil feather bed over all. I
righted it, and deposited it on the floor, when my eye was caught by a small
moving object, slowly making its way up the white counterpane towards me. In
five seconds I was a remorseless murderess! Like Marta's "Excelsior," life-liss
und beau-tee-fool he la-a-ay. Happily, as far as I could discover, he was a
stranger and alone, and after assuring myself of this fact I fell asleep again, red-
handed. They did not believe me, of course, those other people, but so began
the day.
In due time my waiter came tapping to inform me that it was "eight hours,"
and immediately after a patter of little feet and a small but determined voice
demanding to be let in advised me that "baby" was up and ready for work, and
that it behooved me to follow his good example.
Baby is a famous traveller. He marches along the streets with a sturdy little
tramp that scarcely ever varies or wearies, and it is a long walk indeed that calls
forth the tired-out command, "Ca'yay me!"
His big eyes gaze about in the most observant manner, and his small voice con-
tinually calls our attention to the "Lions," and he is seldom sick and never sulky
by land or sea, though he has fits of perverseness which he carries through to the
bitter end, though that adjective is an outrage on the lifting of lovely tearwet
eyes, and quivering heart broken looking mouth and penetential sob, " IVili be
good boy," which always ends the trouble.
Just the kind of independent enterprising mannikin who is everybody's pet, who
gets flmilea ami sweeties from the shop clerks, and who is discovered after frantic
search V)y parents and guardians riding up and down in the elevator with the ele-
vator boy, both talking very happily,
though neither one understands the
language of the otiier. His advent
was always the ))eginning of smiles
and l)landisiimHnts from waiters, clerks
and concierges in shops or iiotels, and
when after sustaining a (iermau Kn^'-
lish dialogue that was notlung if not
L'omical, he gravely bid them a serious
goodliye, it was jiretty to hear tlicir
hearty tender (Jernum voices murnnii'-
iug thv endeaiing diminutives of tlieir
language, in tones of which oiu- J)al)y
was sublimely oblivious, as he marclied
off in a businesslike manner to *'see
more." At the cafes or dining tables
his invariable order was, "B'ed and
mi'k," and tliis abstemious diet was one
secret of his happiness. Of course,
anyone who lias any iileas altout I'.er-
lin, lias a fancy picture in tlieir mind
of the world-known street and prome-
nade, "Unterden Linden." I'liereis
a world of suggestion in these Sylvan
words.
m- '-''A
^^^^^^^HHi
^!*W^HH|bD^7^l
^^^^^^^^HHM|H
^^■||M'' ' '■ '-^T • ^j^^B
^^Ki^M
^HQnij
I^HCjK,' A^^^^^B^^ '■ , ^H
^^^H^^Hj^^R
^^^^^^IH
BHBHl
^^|^vj^|bHB
THK I'AIIY.
Perhaps my mind picture was too fairly painted, but I confess I was a little
"let down" when I emerged from the cross street, whereon our hotel is situated,
into the great promenade. The rows of linden trees down the centre, with the
broad asphalt or macadam walk l)etween, the busy streets on either side, lined
with splendid shops, hotels, cafes, and, further on, palaces of the "well-born,"
was all too stohy, too hard, too dusty to come up to my ideal, but yet " Unter den
Linden" is a grand old street, and a fine place to see the varied life of the " Kaiser
■ ipiii ii^^<pKn)«iBiaa|<v*iV"
iiii
If-
City." I wandered down the Linden side alone, full of my "dream fulfilled,"
and remembering how I had long wished to stand just here and watch good old
William ami his "Fritz" cantering by, as they had done so many hundred times
in the days gone past, when suddenly 1 looked up and gave a surprised stait, to see
inside a second floor window the very old Kaiser, in his well-known uniform, gaz
ing benignly down at me. Of course, he turned out to be only a wax dgure in a
sort of "Madame Tussaud's" waxwork show; but the sight of him appearing so
appropriately with my thoughts gave me quite a "turn." The window in the
Kaiser's palace, where the Emperor used to stand at noon each day and salute his
people, (who always gathered in numbers, swelled by transient visitors to Berlin
upon the square at that hour), was curtained and closed the day we drove past to
have a look at the habitation of Royalty. The palace was also practically
deserted, as the young Emperor was oft" to England at the marriage of his cousin.
Princess liouise, and the Earl of Fife, and his gentle wife was rusticating some-
where among Ithe
.s^-'f^ '- * ' '« - V ': ■ .}-^ ^ Oerman baths with
icr little family. I
wanted so much to
see the old Prince
Bismarck, t)ut he also
was away, and his
palace guarded by
the regulation sen-
tries was quiet and
retired behind its
great iron railings
and courtyard of
trees and flowers.
The stern looking soldiers stood fairly roasting in the hot noon sun, iron satellites
of their Iron Chancellor. Presently in my after-breakfast walk, I met the rest of
the party who had breai fasted in a charming resort on the Linden walk. It is
called the "Cafe Bauer," and since that day I've heard several travellers descant on
its desirability as a residence during a short stay in Berlin. "Mama" informed
me that it was pretty nice, adding, "Funny too, vhey give you your coffee in
KAISER S PALACK.
HISMARCK S PALACK.
glasses.*' After A
short discussion of
how to spend our
morning, it was de-
cided to take a drive
and look at the out-
side of the theatres,
museums, palaces and
other grand public
buildings which or-
nament the Capitol.
And right here let nie
remark, that there is
no more idiotic way of
wasting time and money than to be driven about a large city on a hot day with a
driver whose explanation of things is confined to inarticulate grunts, and who
either cannot or will not exert himself to point out and identify the various
objects of interest that must be as thick as flies on sugar. Such was our way of
spending the warm hours of that July foreno(m, and all that I remember of the
performance is that the thermometer pointed to "very warm," and that the
strong sun and rattling drive over the small stones of the streets gave me an
atrocious headache. However, it was the first and last time of doing, and the
lesson was cheaply learned.
In after walks I grew familiar with the entrance to the Linden walk, the great
"Brandenburg gate" magnificently arching the street and giving the finishing
touch to that end of the promenade, and also the bridge called the Palace bridge,
which spans a branch of the River Spree that separates some of the finest part of
the city from the main land at the other end of "Unter den Linden."
But Berlin is not pleasant in the heat of summer, the soil seems very dry and
dusty, and the level land is monotonous, and after the high and airy mountain at
Brussels, or the cool wide Rhine at Cologne, or the shady banks of the Alstet at
Hamburg, it was still more disagreeable. After our uncomfortable drive, we ad-
journed to a ca/e that looked very cool and tempting, where we entered by a deep
arched doorway, and passing through a large dining hall, emerged into a sort of
kiiiMMriiutfuiai
oourtyard covered with glass, where were little tables innumerable and where we
proceeded to camp out for luncheon. T wonder are my readers tired of hearing
about what one gets to eat in these countries ? One more German lunch I am
about to inflict upon them. Looking down the bill of fare, {*'■ speise-karte") I con-
sulted with monsieur le chapeion, and begged for something purely German. "Here
is something," he a.«(Hured me, "a kater-brotchen — now kater is Geiman foi" Ton\
cat — will you have a 'Tom cat,' so, aiul some anchovy sandwiches, you like them,
and a schnitt?" I ordered them and waited expectantly to see what kind of meat
or poison they might be, inwardly protesting against the feline edible, till assured
by my friend tliat it was only a name given "one knew not why."
" I shall want something to drink," 1 remarked, thirstily, at which my good
adviser informed me that I had ordered it, as a "schnitt" was merely a small
glass of beer, the slang term coming from the German verb "j-f//w/V/<M," to cut.
The "Tom cat" proved itself a very tempting affair indeed, consisting of a slice
of buttered bread covered with a like sized slice of cold roast veal, a couple of
sardelles, some aspic jelly, four (juarters of u hard-boiled egg, and an assortment
of pickled capers and beans, ghorkins and cauliflower. It was quite pretty, and
with the cool l)eer and sandwiches made me an excellent lunch. I opened my
eyes at the enormous mugs of (jerman or Bavarian beer which loaded several of
the neighboring tables, one in particular, at which sat a very handsome and
roguish-looking parson and liis female image in the shape of a fine-looking girl of
twenty or thereabouts. Tiie quantity of their libations caused me to imprudently
remark that I wondered how tlie pretty maid woidd manage to stow away so
much bee!'. The merest glance and twinkle of her eye betrayed that she under-
stood oi' guessed my indiscretion; she turned and made some remark to her
companion, and they both regarded us curiously. Baby returned their stares
with interest, and presently without further introduction marched over and
entered into conversation with them. Alas ! they spoke not English. But the
way that fairhaired fraulein peeped and smiled at him, and then turned her back,
and then peeped and smiled again, was too pretty for anything. She drank all
her foot high mug of lager too, like the true fraulein that she was, and seemed
mightily to enjoy it, clicking down the silver lid of her great mug in a satisfied
way after the last draught.
When we emerged cooled and rested, after our queer lunch; baby spied some
r
waxworks in the showcase of an exhibition of that sort, and remarking " Want to
see more," coolly pushed the door open and demanded to enter therein ; we fol-
lowed and paying each fifty pfennigs (about twelve cents) v>ere soon gaping and
gazing at the attractions such affairs present. A funny little incident happened
while we were in the apartment, where sit and stand representations of all the
crowned heads of Europe. An old English gentleman, very red faced and irascible
was finding fault with the wax figures of Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales.
A few tourists stood smiling at liis pettish remarks, and somehow I got a special
benefit of them, perhaps because I cannot always preserve that gravity which is so
desirable on such occasions.
"Atrocious humbug !" said this irate personage, looking angrily round, "not a
bit like the prince; a positive caricature of Her Majesty ! ought not to be per-
mitted, makes a man lose all patience T
"Aren't the rest of them good likenesses?" t asked meekly, indicating the gog-
gled eyed row of magnates from every nation under heaven. "Know nothing
about 'em, madam, and care less !" he said loftily, "a// / knoxv is, that such abomi-
nable effigies should not be tolerated ei'en here!" We entered into a remarkably
lively conversation, but unfortunately our English politics did not quite agree, and
lie hobbled away in a rage. He seemed a most fiery and peppery old party and
was not even appeased when I did violence to my loyalty, and told him the story
of the Gladstone devil in the Antwerp Cathedral. He evidently considered it
hard on the devil, and wouldn't accept my olive branch, but stumped away on his
crutches muttering terrible things, and I was just mean enough to go after him
and tell him that he would find a splendid figure of " old man Gladstone " in the
room he was about to enter. " Then I shall certainly tiot look at it !" he roared,
hurrying off in a perfect fury, at which a little Frenchwoman shrugged her shoul-
ders with the remark that "Monsieur disarranged liiinself.'" Many queer and
curious things were in this Musee, and also the inevitable little tables for wine.
Baby was perfectly delighted with the various groups and automatons, and shed
tears over a little scene of want and misery called "Nobody's children," and we
trailed about after him amused with his chihlish wonder and happiness.
I have just been thinking vi'hat a difference soldiers make in a city, how they
give tone and flavor to the doily sights and sounds, and how many of them there
n \
yl
mssBffsmBBrvF^msitmmmi
V- ■]
are in Berlin. Out in some suburb there was a great review, that first day we
were in the Capitol, and at sundown the officers came riding and driving "Unter
den Linden " home to barracks or hotel or palace by the score. How bravely tliey
shone in their magnificent uniforms, and how fierce and stern and hungry they
looked. As I sat on one of the benches and saw them clattering by, I realized
how fine a show a few thousand of them would make, and anathematized anew
the spirit of stupidity that had set us driving about the hot squares when we
might have been gazing on the flower of the Vaterland in all the panoply of mimic
war.
Talking of the hungry warriors reminds me that on this evening I made my
first break for freedom from the traditions of my youth by inarching boldly into
the Wilhelm Halle alone, and ordering my own dinner, in fear and trembling, be
it confessed, that I should do as the illiterate maiden of the American city, who,
sooner than confess that she couldn't read, paralyzed tlie waiter by ordering from
the bill of fare "dry bread" and "pay at the door."
Really I had some excuse with my hazy German for behig nervous about order-
ing anything, when the literally translated name of my delicious luncli liad been
"a little piece of 1'om cat l)read." However, I sailed boldly (mt upon this dubi-
ous sea, and secured a very well made Consommee, "Vienna baked hen," vegetables,
bread and butter and tea, for tlie sum of forty-five cents, and being suddenly
aware that livijig was mud ' ^laper in Berlin than I had expected, I figured up
my day's board and lodging ami found that it amounted in all to one doi. and
sixty seven cents, and this for lodging the most comfortable and elegant, and such
unique vir^nds as I have mentiemed. I hope my less practical minded readers will
forgive the many talks of expenses that creep into my story of the Happy Holiday.
What should I not have given for some such authentic sunnning up before I faced
the unknown life of Eu'-ope ! (irandpa and I finislied the day by a str dl and a
seat Unter den Linden, where we amused ourselves watching the lovers and otiier
prowlers until ten o'clock. The electric lights made the place as bright as day,
but did not interfere in the least with tlie love-making between Hans and
Gretchen. One practical young pj,ir had a long piece of '■^ivurst" (German
aausage) and some rolls, which the ^raulein sliced and handed to her sweethdart,
sharing evenly with him in the frugal repast.
They said not a word that I could hear, Imt devoted tliemselves to their supper,
which was sweetened by an occasional hug and kiss for Gretchen, when her **Juug-
manti's" mouth was free from sausage or tobacco smoke. Pairs and pairs of strol-
lers passed us, always the same, a natty trim young soldier and a plump ^'•madcheti"
in a cap and big white apion, the fiiadchens chattered and the tall warriors grunted
an indifferent assent, or growled a disapproval as tiieir humor went, and as I
watched them trudging along, iiolding hands, 1 adinireil tliis unsophisticated way
of conducting tlieir '■'affaires de ((vm ."
One little tragedy I saw wliicli interested nic gicatly. A pretty slight gill i:ame
slowly creeping ujj, and sank wearily into the chair next to mine, her air of utter
despondency and weakness making me look at liei- rather curiously. She watched
the broad path down the Linden with intent eagerness, more tlian once half lising
from her chair, as an unusually tall and strapping soldier came clanking under
the flickering shadows. She sat so long that I had forgotten her, when suddenly
she raised her iiead, at the same moment that a couple came slowly sauntering
down the Linden walk.
A very big, luind-
sonu! soldier and an
overdressed, laugh-
ing girl, who iiung
on his arm in a lolling
and ol)jectionable
aliaiii'lon, very dift'er-
ent from the cai'eless,
happy, hand-in-hand
swing of the capj)ed
and aproned (iret-
(!hens. They passed
us very close, as we
sat in the shade, and while I looked with disfavor on the iKJuting lips and artificial
blushes of the loud chattering girl, my little neighbor gathered he»' shawl round
her and bent down her face while they passed, then leaned forward and looked
after them with such a sad litde tear '.ned visage that I could not Iwar the
sight, and turned quickly away from he..
HOUSE OF HARLIAMIJNT.
mSSSSBnS^^^^
M»1
SBS"
m
1*1'
When I looked
again she was steal-
ing away, with a
hopeless drag in her
slow steps, and her
til in little hands
clasped together. I
can fancy I see you
smile at my senti-
mental imaginings,
but the case was too
plain not to be un-
derstood, and the
Linden walk in Berlin will ever be haunted for me, by the clasped hands, the bent
head, the little fragile woman in her dark coarse dress, the smothered "Ach," full
of chagrin and reproaeli and pain, that gave away the story of the Hckle warrior
i.nd "the girl he left V)ehind him."
!':/ ■/■". ' ;'* ^ -
.'*'■■ , , ^f.-i'
ln>
^t .«"*•»'• '\t '%'^H^^H
urn
7.- 4 1
.^i^S^^ilt.^^^
•• ' |Si»i--
i
V- -
lOWN HAI.I..
" Charlott^ixbUrg."
jK "Hlopt in" next morning, as it was nine o'clock when I opened tny
ears to Biil)y'8 vigorous assault on tlie door panels. So much for the
comfort of the Berlin beds.
' ^»rijS>" ' "Come, you've never had ))reakfast in a cafe," said mama. "Let
us all go togetlier to one this morning." Truly, I have m great objection to sally-
ing fortli unfed and looking about for a place to breakfast, but for once I joined
the party, and we found a cool garden opening oH' tiie Linden walk, with a sort
of cloister rouiul it, under tiie shadow of which were tables and chairs. Forty
minutes did we wrathfully wait for our cottee and bread and butter and Injiled
eggs, and I mentally vowed it should lie my last cafe breakfast. I got so tired of
the cloister and the court with its fountain and laurel screen, and bust aiul por-
trait of that brisk "new broom," the young Kmperor. (And I was anmsed to
read in the paj)ers, a few days back from this day I am writing, that the Kmi)eror
luis prohibited any more images, graven or ()therwisi!, of iiimself to l)e exposed
anywiiere in public without a Hpeeial permit.) I used to be so sick of that wliite
marble bust, with the ril)bon slung over the slumldei' and the star ni\ his bruast,
that presiiled over most of our pleasuies, gastronomic or otlierwise, in the City
of Berlin.
After our long delayed breakfast, 1 bullied my good friends into joining me in a
trip to Charlottenburg, a pretty little town thiee or foui' miles out of Heilin,
where is a palace, the sunmier home of tlie Royal family, and a mausoleum, winch
has l)een the Imperial burial ])lace for four generations, having been erecteil to
contain the remains of tiiat sweet little Kmj)ii!ss "Luise" and her royal Spouse.
We took a siiort rcmte car by mistake, and found it left us at tlie Zoological
(■aniens, round which is a road which answerf to Rotten Row, or the Bois de
Bouh>gne, and where we met several parties of ladies and gentlemen riding on the
soft roadway, ami enjoying the smell of the deep wood that borders one side of
the path. It was cool and shady, and when we emergotl on tlie tramway again a
mBrmBosBsssBS^
car for Cha.rlottenburg was drawing near, and, our chaperon hailing it, we pre-
pared to take our phvces. But, though the driver and conductor both saw us, the
car did not stop until it had gono (juite a distance past, and then we found out
that the cars don't stop for signalling, btit only at certain stated intervals, and
one is supposed to walk to the little sign board that marks these intervals and be
in waiting. We caught it, however, and soon came to (."harlottenburg, where, if
ever I went to lierlin again, I sliould like a boarding place.
(ireat high, two-storied street cars run in and out at short intervals, and nearly
all the way the trip is tln-ough handsomely plante«l streets, and then Charlotten-
burg is so cool and (juaiut and '■\ountry" We were told that the second story of
the car is only for men, smokers, and that ladies couldn't go up. I was awfully
tempted to try, but deferred to the wishes of the rest, and smothered patiently
l)elow. Even a harmless cubeb cigarette which one can smoke "for a cold" any
time would, I fancy, liave so parali/ed the conductor, if I had lit it in a matter-of-
fact way and proceeded up tlie stairs, that he would never have said )ne nay.
Certainly what ib a martyrdom down below, in the heat and dust, would be a very
jolly ride away up high, while the view would have been delightful, and the daring
of it just enough to make a person pleasantly excited. We rambled along the
main street, and presently came to the palace, which was bare and hot and buff
and ugly to a degree. It was built by Frederick the (ireat, and he ought to be
ashamed of it, for one who can have things as they like should have them lieauti-
ful, when they are to last as long as palaces are suppostid to do. It encircles
three sides of a ])aved courtyard, tlie fourth side being railed in with tall ii'on
railing tipped witli gold, and a pair of wiile entrance gates.
We strayed alK)ut for a little, chatting to some of the workmen who were
lunching in stray corners, tlrinking 'health to the Kit'ser" from a rickety old
pump that gave us charming icy cool spring water, until we were accosted by a
very pretty, plump little dame, who supplied us with entrance tickets and declared
herself our cicerone. We found several other tourists waiting at the entrance,
and so we men and women straggled after the little guide. Her first directions
struck us all as most comical. She pointed smilingly to a pile of the (jueerest
looking tilings lying in a corner of the entry, and informed us that we must put
them on our feet before we could tread upon the veneiable inlaid and polished
floors. They were like giant bath slippers, made of thick felt, giay in color and
unwieldy in shape. Haliy oreateil a laugh by putting both liis wee feet into one
<»f these monstrosities and standing helpless, remarking, "Can't walk in it," on
which he was allowed to patter his flat little shoes over the slippery floors un-
guarded, with the result that he was oftener sitting down than standing. "What
floors they'd be for roller skates," remarked somebody. After a few "prelimin-
ary canters" we managed to scuflle along without stumbling, and amid mucli
giggling and fun, entered the first of the state apartments. They were very grand,
very empty and so purely show looms that I <lid not get up mutli interest in them.
I think I admiri d the floors as nuicii as anything, though we saw the salon of
of mirrors, the rose salon (all rose-colored satin and gold lace from floor to ceiling),
the salon of (iobelin tapestry (1 felt like a Piiilistine because I could not admire
it, but in my uncultured heart thougiit it perfectly hideous). The nnisic room,
where a wonderful old pink and white enamelled piano gave fortli some terrible
whirring sounds, under the sacrilegious fingers of an old lady in the party, who
straightway received a stern and scathing rebuke from oiu' rosy conductress, and
was eyed wratlifully fiom hencefortli. Tiie salon, last of all, the decoration of
which was a gift from the Chinese merdiants, and is lovely.
The walls are quite covered from dado to fiieze, with little gilded shelves aiul
l>racket8, on each of which stands a specimen of valuable china, vases, bowl.H, plates,
jugs, dishes, cups, by the hundreds, all in Idue and wiiite, line the three sides of
the room, and even among the tiles of the ornamental dreplace, tiny shelves carry
their precious load, and bamboo tables, screens, "■* papier-mache''' cal^inets, (Chinese
idols, dragons and snakes, silken scarfs and cushions ai-e strewn about in rich
and delightful profusion.
Passing from this salon one enters the Chapel Royal, where I recognized shortly
fiu! recumbent statue of the pretty Empress "Luise," a little plumper and more
matronly than in her picture at Cologne.
Her shilly shally good old liusliaiid, the great-grandfather of tiie present Km-
peror lies beside iier, and the place of tiieir rest in etHgy is a (juiet pi'etty little
room, with its throne place, its organ, and a few Hue paintings. VV'e foun<l when
we had scuffled through it, that our tour was ended, very nu" h to my disappoint-
ment, for though the state apartments were very beautiful, I had hoped to see
some (if the real living rooms of the royal family, but neither smiles nor tears
would have moved our pretty cicerone to give us u peep, so we pranced out of our
seven leagued hoots and returned her uuiBical '■'^ Adieu" with the best grace we
oouUl nuister.
We wandered about the park, where is the famous mausoleum, which one can
see I fancy for miles away, and tlie doors of which have opened so many times
since it was Imilt in 1840. They are opening, even as I write, to receive the old
Kmpress Augusta, the poor old giandmother who mourned her good husband and
son so truly. She and her old Kaisei", and the iron man Bismarck always made a
Trinity in my thoughts of Berlin ; two of my Trinity are away, and it must be that
soon the sturdy old Prince will succumb to that power that will not be defied.
Kind old mystical William, and good old Cirosmama Augusta, it will be a large
contract to fill your shoes. Ah me, I pause, and that ridiculous which so often
touches the pathetic comes upper'uost now, and I grin over tiie recf)llection of our
shoes at Charlottenburg. and the contract we failed in to fill tliem.
We strolled about the garden and admired sixteen immense hydrangea trees in
luxuriant l)loom, vvhicli stand like .sentinels along the private front of the palace,
and we enjoye<l the shady lienciuis under the trees and th^ cool fresh country air.
A crowd of men were painting, grasscutting, watering and sweeping duiing the
al)sence of the illustiious inluibitants, but though the main drives and walks were
trim and formal, the rest of the place was quite wild and uncared for apparently,
though I suppose it is only judiciously left alone. It seemed a charming (juiet
home for the young people and tlieii' rapidly increasing little family, and was al-
together quite unlike what I had expected.
We shopped a little, of coui.se, in iierlin, but found things very expensive. So
far on my trip, I had tried to avoid the appearance of a towist, aV)juring field glass,
and travelling cap and little satchel, but in Berlin I weakly gave way, and pur-
chased a little satchel with a long strap to sling across the shoulder, which pro-
claimed " 77/ /.f is a female on a tour of Europe^' as loudly as a speaking trumpet.
But my book of tickets was too large for my pocket, ami my pocket was hard to
find (you know that kind of a pocket), and the little satchel was so convenient and
so neat that I bought it. But I was always ashamed of it, and it is now hidden
out of my sight. I had also a barbaric longing to buy some Rhine stones, they
were so big and so shining and prettily tinted, but an awful memory of the sar-
casm of "Max O'Rell" restraine<l me, and no gt)rgeou8 jewels flashed upon my
• ' mourning gown. ' '
A funny little happening came, while we were liewildering ourselves in a "maze
of mirrors," a sort of labyrinth in some kind of exhibition really, the most dis-
tracting and addling place imaginable. When one had arrived at the end thereof
one coidd admire the interior of a Turkish Harem, the curtains over which were
drawn aside by an immense Nubian slave. It was very pretty indeed, and as we
passed out, I don't know what prompted me to say, referring to the great Nubian,
"Well, really, you look more like a plantation nigger than a Niilnaii!" Of course,
I spoke in English in making this very peisonal remark, (juite satisfied that my
opinion was sufficiently disguise<l thereby. To my startled honor, the fixed black
eyes rolled and twinkled, the black face expanded in a grin as wide aa it was good-
natured, and the "Nubian" replied, "(ior bress you, Missie, so 1 is I a real South
Carline nigger. " In the midst of the laugh at my expense, the Nubian deserted
his post, and told mc a long story of his misfortunes, alluding with shame-faced
disgust to his masquerading costume. As this "costume" consisted of the next
door to nothing at all, I don't think I can <lescribe it, but his necklet and armlets
and anklets were very handsome imitations of Eastern jewellery, and would even
have seemed appropriate to Max O'Rell ! I think our baby's delight in him was
the richest spectacle, and the Nubian was so good to him, leading him safely
through the labyrinth before he raced back to what he had, I am sorry to say, de-
scribed as "all (lis d — d foolishness." The next city of importance on my ticket
was Dresden, and on the fourth day of our stay in lierlin I confessed to myself
that I was rather looking forward to going thither.
I can fancy I hear my German friends ejaculate, "So! four days in the capital,
and nothing to write about but the Linden walk and a waxwork show !" No one
feels more than myself that this is not nough, and it were easy to me to fill in a
great deal more with the aid of a guide-book, and no one the wiser.
But one of the idiosyncracies of which I was guilty during my happy holiday,
was not to purchase one solitary guide-book ; a time-table I did procure with my
ticket, but it proved a Chinese puzzle to me. A guide-book acts on my mental
faculties just as an elaborate bill of fare does on my appetite. The consciousness
of so much to be eaten or rejected always takes the zest off my hunger, and the
well ordered pages ot "sights," views, objects of interest, and so on, of Baedaker
or some lesser light, would liave given me a surfeit in advance. What happened
to come tiiy way in my rambles came by searching and askin^ lor myself, the
human nature that interested me could not iiave been f(nind in any guide-book,
il
Imt in the intense sympathy for and with every kind of human creature, that I
thank (»od for giving me, and that has made my life happy with this terse motto,
'■'■ People, not t/iiHi-s" "No guiile-book," said the Doctor, "why, how foolish!"
And then I told him that it was lovely to be thoroughly and imdisguisedly ig-
norant sometimes, and to have some soft voiced *^ Viennese" or portly ^^frau" or
rolicking student, or grav« Herr Professor, or liquid eyed " Italienne" or laughing
Tyrolese, or independent Swiss pour floods of information and instruction into
your benighted brain. I'dess you, they were worth all the Baedakers in Europe.
For my scanty information about Berlin, I will not try to apologise. Tb »re are
pictures and schools and libraries and theatres, (indeed there was even an opera)
Ijut the fates fought ag.iinst me and I entered not, nor saw, nor heard. But I
have a pretty uiemoiy of the Linden walk, and the gladed and lawns and grand
salons of Charlottenburg, and more, I caimot, though I would. Nay more, ■.. have
a delightful little scene, when I caught my vinegary femme de chambrt, with
smiling lips and softened eyes, gazing at our sleeping bal)y as he lay in all the
beauty of his rosy innocence ; a gentle tender woman she seemed for the moment,
when I came sxuldenly in upon her, and though she dashed out with darkened
brow, I caught her, oh / taught her! The air was suffocatingly hot when we
trotted acrf)ss oiu' corner to the station to put ourselves into the train for Dresden,
for so much further were my good friends coming. Thunder muttered of great
things to l)e done before long in the electric line, black walls of cloud rose ui> along
tlie horizon, and presently a blinding rain storm blotted out the view, as we went
scurrying over the rails.
Between the bursts of storm and rain, we caught glimpses of the country fields,
wliere patient men and women (not horses) ploughed and raked and harrow ad, the
wonien in bare feet and kerchiefed lieads, plodding about the fields or kneelinjj while
tliey picked their creels full of the good little yellow potatoes, always doii g their
share and more of the field labor ; and now and then we flashed past a quaii.t clean
little village, or caught a picture of some lovely "schloss" perched up like a dainty
lady away above the toiling masses. And as the Saxon mountains began to lift them-
selves on either side and the rain cleared off and the fair land lay soaked and cooled
and refreshed, and new views and beauty spots flashed by on right and left, I
began to shake myself free of the depression which had seemed to hang ovc; me the
last four days, and looked forward with the old zest and eagerness to the tielights
of the China City. The liotel selected hy our chaperon was in the new city, and in
our ignorance we took a carriage to go tliere, luiwotting poor pilgrims! that a
very fine and comfortal)le hostclrie was almost imder our noses, us we left tiie
train. With a fervent prayer tliat tlie happy star whicli had shone on our choice
in Berlin might still shine over Dresden, we piled ourselves up in a rather small
cab, and went rattling down a handsome street and over a bridge, and drew up at
our temporary home just as the evening shadows began to fall over the tall spire
of the Frauen Kirche, an ambitious church which I am told looks down upon us
poor folks from a point three hundred and thirty-five feet on high. I felt just a
little bit disappointed in the direction of our drive, for my cross chamljer maid had
managed to convey to my mind the fact that slie liad been for a long time em-
ployed in a certain hotel in Dresden, which she recomiuended very highly as just
as good as the Continental, and naturally I wan anxious to put lier information to
the test, but I decided to give up that noticn as it was growing late, and as I said
before earnestly hoping all would be well, I cast in myself and my carryall to remain
with my friends.
"
r^^ c^iI\a^ City.
|N a subdued and upiritlesd manner we entered the luillway of the dingy
looking hotel, which had from tlie first been on the wrong side of my ap-
proval. It was situated in what is called the "New Town," though it
looks venerable enough, that part of tiie city on the other side of the river
being known as the " Old Town " — a strangely misleading appellation. Had I Imd
my way we should never have unstrapped a satciiel in this hostelrie, but tliough I
objected and found fault and made myself in many ways disagreeable, the majority
was against me and rooms were engaged. The rain wasn't quite over either, and
even the dull lugubrious looking liouse was a refuge from the wet streets and sod-
den trees, so we took ourselves upstairs.
Arrived there, like the giant in the fairy book, I "smelled ;v smell," and pro-
ceeding to investigate, found the watei' supply cut off from the iiouse and the
sanitary arrangements all "tore up." Then we had been given the (jueerest look-
ing rooms, in shape like a corset box, so long and so narrow, and so clutteied and
littered with all kinds of furniture and odds and ends that I had to call the waiter
to carry out at least one enormous armchair into the hall, to allow me to reach the
dressing table. It has since occuned to me, what I might have been sharp
enough to urge at the time, only I wasn't, tluit the whole house was under repair,
except these few lower rooms and therefore they were used as stoiehouses for the
furniture from elsewhere. Among the "/>nV-rt-/'ra<-" that filled all bui a narrow
little path down my room, were two dingy little beds, covered with horrible
white openwork counterpanes, that showed grizzly-grey in the modest light of one
small candle, and gave me an uncomfortable feeling as I surveyed them.
But one hundred and twenty miles of railroading had made us hungry and we
charged ravenously down to the Speise .Saal, to be greeted by the most imearthly
waiter I ever looked at ; his yellow, waxy face and glassy eyes nearly took away
my quite ferocious appetite. Everything was nice on the bill of fare, and being
ted, made us once more feel alive and ready for new sights and happenings
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The rain had ceased, so Mama and I took Baby across the Augusta bridge for a
walk, penetrating under the deep portals of the city gates, past the famous Green
Vaults (please don't want a description of them, for I never entered therein) and
into the Market Square, where the Town Hall attracted our notice (these old
cities are great on town halls !) and then back past the " Bruhl Terrace," a high
promenade reached by a fliglit of steps and attached to the like named palace,
which I was told was once the residence of the favorite of one of the Emperors,
and recalled to my mind half forgotten stories about that princely Bruhl, who had
a more gorgeous train and finer table than his royal master, and who broke up the
finances of Saxony in a very reckless manner. Those were the real " boodling"
days after all !
Every step we took made me wish we were settled on this side of the river, but
by and bye we retraced our steps to the bridge and regained our hotel, to find
Papa highly amused over a wine vault he had just explored, and to beg in vain to
be allowed a peep at the interior thereof. It was a weird and extraordinary sight,
he told us, but, like German fraus, we were to be contented with his having seen
and enjoyed it, and not want to enjoy it ourselves. So we imagined the noisy
songs, and the cobwebby ceilings, and the dark faces of the jolly Saxons, and were
content !
After writing up the day's " notes," from which this historj of a happy holiday
is taken, I wearily turned myself into my unsavory looking bed o ud slept as, cross
or amiable, I generally can, and was in the midst of a horrid nightmare, where in I
was smuggling two seal skin sacques past the eagle eyes of a New York detective,
on a broiling summer noonday, when my dream was broken by an uncomfortable
sensation. I opened my eyes. There it was again ! And after half a moment's
meditation, I leaped up with the single exclamation, " Fleas ! "
I think they came upon me in close marching order and at their usual speed, for
before I could light my lilliputi'n candles, they had supped sumptuously off my
unprotected carcase. In the inorning I gloated over a few little " deaders " in my
wash basin, but for the most part they took their " nips" and disappeared faster
than travelleis at an American refreshment bar. Oh ! that long uncomfortable
night and those ubiquitous and lively fleas, and also the variegated chromo I pre-
sented when morning dawned, to gloat over my wounds. A young German couple
in the next room, separated from me by only a pair of warped folding doora, gig-
.4
gled and gurgled over my discomfiture, but I suppose the fleas won't bite the na-
tives. We breakfasted in glum aiid gloomy silence, poor little Mama having
" made a night of it " also, and then we darkly conspired together, and went in-
nocently oflf for a drive and tiezier raine back. " Monsieur le chaperon " did though,
for our luggage .^nd to pay for our night's entertainment, and uttered some un-
righteous tarrii'iddle about our having "gone to our friends" in the oM city, and
then after having inspected the hotel of the Berlin maid's recommendation which,
for some unexplained idea, did not suit '•''Monsieur" we arrived close to the
railway station at a very
fine hotel, where I was
made happy with a pretty,
cool, roomy chamber, over-
looking a sort of courtyard,
or "garten"' (where the
everlasting little tables sug-
gested beer and tobacco)but
seeming very homelike to
me, with its wide awning
covered windows and pretty
furniture. Just the same
price as the other ! Present-
ly,wc continued our menda-
cious drive an<l enjoyed it
immensely. We forgot all
about our nigiit's warfare,
as we drove slowly tlirough
tlie " Rose garden." How
tiiii I make you see the
long avenues, lined with
thousands of <lainty blooms,
red an ' pink and creuin
an<l white, fresli from their
A NOOK AMONd TilK ROSKs rain bath, and filling the
air with heavenly fragrance, or the charming views and vistas, or the
k
asi
tmmsmmmm
sweet surprises of snowy marble, sculptured to shape of nymph, or cherub, or
goddess, gleaming purely among the green. We drew long, satisfying
breaths of perfume from the laden zephyrs, and our pleasure was not loud, but
deep, and its memory ineffacef.ble. "Roses, roses, everywhere !" as Swinburne
sings, and the words always take me back where a sudden recollection of them
found me, to that sweet spot. Our driver was a young Saxon, brim full of fun,
and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the peals of laughter that continually rose be-
hind him, as we dwelt upon o'-r night's misery and our morning's stampede, while
we bowled along the shady streets of the China City.
Occasionally, he made an excuse to tui-n lound and look at us, by pointing out
some house worthy of notice. "Prince (ieorge's liouse ; the prince is away now 1"
Just then a small school " let out," and as the little Dresdeners came scurrying
from their class, I asked : " All these his children ?" The Saxon gave a broad grin
and said comically : " Lady, Prince George is not your Brigham Young ! " I
thought him rather sharp and the possessive pronoun specially amused me.
We drove through a pretty part of the city, much affected })y Russian and Amer-
ican residents, near which are the Russian " Kirche," with its florid decorations,
and the prim American church. Thero is further on an English church, vine em-
bowered and very pretty, a wee bit like our little chapel in St. James' cemetery,
in Toronto. But all around Dresden is pretty ; tlie palm garden, the rose garden,
the country drives, the forests, the Elbe and the mountains.
After table d'hote, Papa and Grandpa went out on business and we, being left
to ourselves, planned various escapades and amusements. Attractions are only
too numerous in Dresilen ; one could take a drive where the mysteriouc forest fills
one with awe, or tlie lovely Saxon mountains shape themselves into successive pan-
oramas of beauty for miles and miles into the country, or close beside the Augusta
Bridge one can mount the many steps of the grand " Brtihl Terrasse,''' and watch the
ri jr steamers going to and from the sights and views and waterfalls up the river,
or admire the ornate ^' Zioitiffcr PavillioUy " which looks as if it had strayed here
from some land of decorative fever, or one can penetrate the dim entry of the
Green Vaults and gaze on what remains of Saxony's royal treasures in brou^e and
ivory and precious stones. Dresden is easy to see and most lovely and interesting,
and her people seemed to me more attractive than the (iermans, more alert and
quicker to catch the bright things of life, and less suggestive of over-feeding.
We sallied out into the sun that warm afternoon in search of something to amuse
us, and the first thing that attracted our notice was a oyclorama, with a sufficient-
ly gory battle scene to en-
tice us. It was, of course,
a battle in the Franco-
Prussian war. One won-
ders what the cyclorama
business would be without
those battle scenes ! It
was the taking of a small
French town by the (ier-
mans and Saxons, and
graphically portrayed the
dogged resistance of the
doomed Zouaves, to the
terrible charge of the "In-
vincibles," as they steridy
contested every foot of
vantage ground, every wall
and house and hiding place
until they liad hallowed
them with their warm life
stream. Death every
where, in 20,000 different
forms met the poor crea-
tures in that bloody little /winokr i-AviMiioN.
tight. I had a long chat witli tlie " lecturer " and found he had l)eenoneof Prince
George's soldiers, and had fought in five engagements. Tliis one in liis own cyclo-
rama being one of them, and lie pointed out, with loyal pride, the figure of his
handsome commander, leading on his men, cheering them by word and gesture to
their bloody victory. " At Sedan, " lie said (juietly, " I v/as wounded in the leg,"
and he fished out a little box from his militai y breeches pocket and exhibited to
me the leaden messenger that had carried some Frenchman's love to him.
It was most interesting to luive this unpretentious soldier point outeacli (Joneral
amttmitm
ttttmmtm
I!
and explain the different uniforms and tactics (as well as he could) to my un-Oer-
man ears. But you will see that I was getting a grip on the language, when I tell
you that he neither spoke nor understood any other. He had funny little anec-
dotes about the officers and comical little incidents about the war, which I would
I could relate to you in his inimitably quaint and sedate manner. We spent a
very interesting hour with him ! When we emerged, rather warm and tired, from
the heated atmosphere in the cyclorama, temptation awaited us, almost on the
threshold, in fact a two-stoned car was approaching and one woman sat aloft among
the smokers. She was evidently a native and was under the protection of a dashing
young fellow, in such an alarmingly tight uniform, that I wondered how he had
ever dared to risk sitting down. We hurried to the "station" and up we went, a
laugliing, handsome conductor saying heartily, " /a wo/il, " when I asked could we
mount the " winding stair. " Tlien we had a lovely time! away up high. We
trundled merrily through the city, looking down on the crowds and the shops and
here and there a gendarme standing where tlie suicides were buried in olden times,
"A place where foure rodes didde meete." They stand just in the centre of the
four streets and woe be unto tlie conveyance that transgresses the very strict
Dresden laws of the road. Presently, we turned with the river and soon were
skirting a block away from its bank, gazing our delighted fill, at the peaks of tlie
Saxon Switzerland. There was an open air fete going on in some meadows, be-
tween us and the river, and crowds of quaintly dressed masqueraders were on their
way thereto. Clowns in motley, very suspiciously masculine looking old women,
in gaudy bonnets and tri-colored sunshades, bands of music, and cargoes of eatables
and drinkables of every description.
Our conductor explained the affair to us. He called it the '■^vooel-ioeise, " said
it would last but one day more and recommended us to take it in on tlie morrow.
"But that will be Sunday," I said, momentarily olilivious of my continental sur-
roundings. " A good day," said he e(|ually oblivious of my transatlantic Sabbat-
tarianism. He presented me with a cute little map of the Dresden ^'■Pferdebahn"
or street railway, which was a very useful little guide, and at the end of our re-
turn trip carried Baby down for us and was unblushingly rewarded by an embrace
from that enchanted juvenile
Such a day in the open air, after such a distressful night, made us all willing to
go early to bed and at a most exemplary hour we tueked ourselves into our restful
looking sleeping places. Alas, for me ! about eleven o'clock I was roused by a
shout of laughter that seemed to come from the recesses of my lace draped win-
dows, which had to stand wide open, on account of the warmth of the night, and
as I sat up and listened, I became sadly aware that some kind of special " high
jinks" were commencing in the ^\^arleii." Rough men, rougher women, roughest
of all words raised a constant din until about two o'clock, when the lights being
unceremoniously turned out, the company noisily stumbled and tumbled into the
street. On enquiry of the concierge next morning, I found it had been a re-union
of '^ lalibies" and their friends, whose constant arrivals, late, later and latest, had
been greeted uproariously by the already well beered crowd within. These
" Cabbies " have the most amazing capacity for beer. I could scarcely believe
that one cf our drivers had the previous evening stowed away eighteen of those
mammoth schooners of li([Uor, at the expense of a tourist whom he had driven to and
from the vogel-weise, and who willingly paid for the beer, hoping for once to guage
a (iermau's utmost capacity. "I //a</had enough," said that individual, on recounting
his happy experience, " but I should have taken more, if '■^ der Herr" would have
paid for it." And he expressed himself willing to prove his statement to our com-
plete conviction and to go us one better (as the boys say) if we were willing to foot
the bill. We turned away in great disappi oval and I suppose he set us down as
very humdrum tourists indeed ! There were so many American and English people
walking sedately to church on Simday morning, that it gave our street quite a home-
like look. I took Baby for a stroll, but soon returned him to his parents with a
sleepy excuse that I must go and have a literal " Sabbath " and try and avert a
nervous headache which was hovering over me. A very warm bath and a tight
bandage over my forehead, soon settled the headache, and I lay drowsily half
asleep, until I really felt hungry, when a trim waiter brought me such a daintily
served lunch on a silver tray, as would have tempted a much more delicate appe-
tita. He also brought me the information that the afternoon service in the Amer-
ican church would l)egin in about an hour and that it was but a short walk. So
I arrayed myself in a cool gown and having hunted out my prayer book and
purse, I set off to my duty, cool, refreshed and in as prim a frame of mind as ever
I was at home.
Baby inveigled me in vain, with his coaxing cry, •' (io in cars more!" and I left
him in wrathy silence, puzzled poor bairnie, as to the way to employ his Sunday
in a land so demoralized, where are no '• Sunday 'Cools " for little American
"kindergarteners."
The American church is a prim little building, ])eaiitifully finished and a great
credit to the children of Uncle Sam, who support it. I wondered at the numbers
of people, looking very im-American, who were strolling in the same direction as
myself, and apparently going into tiie church enclosure. I was soon wondering anew,
when I saw they were making a short cut of it to some sort of hedged in park, in
which hundreds of Saxons w .'e enjoying the Sunday afternoon and where the
"sad English Sunday" was evidently " tahoj. " It was very queer as we devoutly
prayed for the President and the far-off American Union, to hear the band in the
park lifting up agressive harmonies from tlie latest operas, o^', as we endeavored
to follow the choir in their galloping race through tlie sweet evening chants and
hymns, to be startled by a sudden clash of cyml)als and thump of drums, that
made an indescribable discord of "Tallis" and " Morningside," and ducks and
drakes of the lovely old " Lux Benigna." It was a delightful surprise also, when
the s^ivice was over, to be pounced upon by sudden welcoming hands and to hear
happy voices whispering, "You never saw us, did you ?" and to recogni/e with great
pleasure some of the dear, good people with whom the happy days aboard ship
had been spent. We chatted and laughed down the shady street and declared it
was too charming an evening to go in, and suggested various places to go and sit
while we finished our talk. ' • The Rosegarden?" " Oh, we've been there for two
hours this morning, h/i't it lovely V I never really appreciated roses before ! "
"The Terrace?" " Well, yes, we can take the car, its quite too long a walk. "
"Oh," said I, with sudden remembrance, "have you ridden on top of the cars
out into the country ? " My pretty maiden and her mother were quite taken
with my account of this ride, and we left our prayer books with the concierge and
"encored" the performance of the day before, admiring the grand houses, the
mountains, the hospital, all the natural loveliness of evening sunset and hill and
dale, and taking particular fancy to one snowy building, pure white from chimney
to basement, and which proudly announced itself on its spotless flag, lettered in
gold, to be the " White Scliloss." I know what a fortnight I could spend among
these frowning cliffs and passes, and I could hardly help envying those parties of
tourists we occasionally spied out tramping here and there to picnic, or paint, or
gaze lazily at all the beauty spots of this beautiful part of God's Earth. But
time lacked for such a happiness, and one had to be thankful and appreciative
for even a look at the Saxon Switzerland. I often think of that Sunday in Dres-
den ; the peaceful dreamy morning and the after-service in the prim church, and
the happy ride in the late afternoon with my pleasant ship friends, and with the
memory comes the soft, rose-scented wind, blowing through my lace draped
windows, and the distant hum of the city life below, and the intermittent chatter
of the people who lunch and drink beer in the green '"garten, " with the con-
stant click, click of their beer mug lids, and the cry of a cranky, old, profane
parrot, who flings his badlanguage into the general din, and by and bye the
whistle of the train for Prague, which sends my thoughts thither a day or two in
advance. I shall be alone once more, for my friends can go no further with me,
but are going to Carlsbad and Bayreuth, " Join hands and through the middle, "
while I skirt the wider borders of Austria and the Tyrol.
The party were to leave Dresden at noon of this very Monday and after we had
breakfasted. Mama said, with just the woe begone look that her baby can put on :
"And I have never seen the Sistine Madonna ! " To heal that broken artist-heart
I'd have done more than offer to take care of the small woman and conduct her to
the shrine where she longed to bow, and accordingly we started in a great hurry,
a portentous growl following us : "Be sure and get back in time for the train ! "
We found the museum and having delivered up our umbrellas and paid our fee,
we soon discovered the object of our search, and my heart was at last satisfied with
a Madonna. No "fat Mrs. Rubens, " spread her great avoirdupois before my disap-
proving eyes, but instead, an innocent, broad-browed, brown-eyed maiden, so
sweet and pure and wondering, with her lovely baby, just the image of herself, a
creature that one could love and almost worship, only for the human nature of
her. And those blessed cherubs who lean their fat arms on the edge of the lower pic-
ture frame and gaze (such perfect child gazing) up at the fair young virgin. I al-
most felt them too real for a picture. An artist friend of mine has taken me to
task for objecting to the introduction of the venerable Pope and the female saint
on either side of the Blessed Virgin. What on earth they want there I cannot
imagine but you need not look at them and we didn't, fixing our eyes and thoughts
and memories on the pure, thoughtful, innocent face of the Virgin, or the placid
intent gaze of the cherubs, or the bright, wide-awake countenance of the holy
child Jesus. On that hurried visit I had scarcely time to appreciate the other
SiMMMMMkiCMMMH
mmM
gems of the Royal Picture Gallery. Only tliat one picture, in its room alone, re-
paid our effort to see it, but later on I found my old loves, the Correggio Magda-
lenes, and a wonderful " Ecce Homo, " of which, I am ashamed to say, I've for-
gotten the artist, and Holbein's Madonna and others, fair enough and fascinating
enough to keep me gazing all the next morning' On Tuesdays the picture gallery
is free,too, and though there are more people there than on pay days, still one
can never complain of a continental crowd.
On Monday noon when I had seen my friends off on the Carlsbad train and re-
turned for dinner to the hotel, I had a funny experience. The day was suffocat-
ingly '"3,rm, the sky overcast, and I was tired out after our race to see the Ra-
phael picture, and thence to catch the train. I was sitting on an iron rustic chair
in the handsome entry to the hotel, waiting for the elevator to take me to my
room, when suddenly the glass doors into the " ^ar/e« " slammed together, the
waiters ran from door to windows, a dense cloud of dust sped past the entrance
door and a terrible crash of thunder and blinding lightning burst overhead. I was
thoroughly unnerved (for I blush to confess a thunder storm is my " bete noir ")
and I screamed long and lustily, as this very startling disturbance made me spring
from my chair.
The concierge, feeling unequal no doubt, to managing this new and alarmmg style
of " American frau, " ran for the proprietor, who came hurrying to me, and tak-
ing hold of my shaking hands, led me into a little sort of boudoir, where after de .
positing me on the sofa, he proceeded to close up some iron shutters, thereby
rendering the room as dark aa Erebus, then he lighted a tiny taper and ran off
for a glass of ice water (that being the standing article in demand by the
American guests. ) By the time he got back, the serious air he put on and the
whole completeness of his manoeuvre had struck my funny side and I was in two
minds between laughing and crying, though the latter won the day. " Ah,
Madame, be not so affright," he said in the most soothing tones and in very
" anxious" English, "So is my poor wife in like distress with Madame, when it
makes thunderstorm ! Drink of the ice wasser and to sleep go, so ! so ! It will
soon be ofer ! To sleep go ! " The tone was so funny and protecting that I felt
very small Indeed, and meekly closed my eyes, wondering to myself if he had
his wife entombed in another vault and if "Madame" was sufficiently thankful
for a husband who took such a serious view of hysterics, instead of scowling
with disgust, or driving one nearly wild with argument as to their unreasonable-
ness, or inquiries as to their origin. Such reception do they usually receive from
the Lords of Creation. After those soothing remarks, the maitre d'hotel tip-toed
out of the room, with ludicrous and elaborate caution and left me stifling with
laughter and heat, until his wife came presently to see if I were getting better.
If she suffered from nerves of any kind, as he had informed me, her appearance
was very misleading, for a more placid and composed blonde I never saw. I just
thought it was one of those inventions which his politeness and good heartedness
had suggested as being apropos under the circumstances and calculated to make
me feel more comfortable.
Mama had whispered me (in strict confidence) that they had gone to tea Sunday
evening in a charming cafe, where a Hungarian band had played the music in
which my soul delighteth, and having received full directions from her as to loca-
tion, prices, etc., I set out after a long sleep, to find my " Souper " in the same de-
lightful place. It was only a stone's throw from the hotel and I would wish my
visiting compatriots in Dresden to explore it for themselves, when they want a
pretty place to eat a good dinner in ! The entrance coflFee house leads to a " gar-
ten, " with a bandstand opposite and the usual number of solid little green tables,
set out for dinner under the spreading trees. By the way, how soon one gets ac-
customed to the idea of eating out of doors and how very much pleasanter it is
after the first newness wears off. My ' ' garten " was the least little bit damp
under foot, after that heavy shower and my shoes being very thin, I demurred a mo-
ment, but my attendant waiter, with a sort of instinct, seemed to divine my hesi-
tation, for he whipped up one of the tables and carried it into a snug little corner
and reappeared in a moment with a footstool under his arm and smiles on his
round, plain face, and with a decisive " Now, Madame ! " settled me to his and my
own satisfaction. Then I confided to him that I was " sehr hungrig, " and indeed
my appetite was in fine order, after a long day's fast, but you should have laugh-
ed at his idea of what a hungry woman could devour. A brown soup, a pint of
chocolate, an enormous veal cutlette with two poached eggs on it, (a new dish to
me, so you may be sure it caught my fancy) and all the vegetable and other ac-
companiments did he vmload upon my little green table. I am sure he brought
enough for four meals, and when he presented his bill I was so surprised at its
diminutiveness, that I recklessly presented him with a whole mark for himself,
mmmtmmmam
thereby destroying all the effect my (German) accent and unconcerned air might
have had in persuading him that I was not an American. " Madame has nothing
eaten ! " he said reproachfully, when I beckoned him to take the service away.
" No more ! what a shame it did not please Madame ! " I assured him that I was
pleased and satisfied. " More could I not ! " and he went racing oflf with the
dishes, darting over once through the evening from a near table, to be sure that
" die Dame " had not grown hungry again. Poor little hard-worked "kellner," he
and his willing brotherhood smooth the rough edges of life for travellers, as
much as in their power lies.
The band came and played sweet '^^ Zegeuner" music and the electric lights
blazed out, and the cafe and garden filled with people, some tourists, -nany habi-
tues, a sprinkling of resident Americans and we 'idtened to the weird strains of
the Csardas, or the delicious melodies of Strauss, and were happy, at least I was,
until half-past nine, when I discreetly trotted back to my hotel, to find the bland
maitre d'hotel a little bit cross, because Papa had inadvertently carried oflf the
bedroom door key. " He will send it back ! " said 1 soothingly, in my turn, "No
— never," said he, with a little resigned shrug, " Those tourists cost me so much
in keys. Ten times already this season have they carried off their door keys, but
sent them back? alas ! not once."
I carried off on Tuesday noon, in some safe corner of my "carryall," a couple of
dear little Dresden cups and saucers, a pair of dainty little cherubs in blue "bath-
ing suits," half a dozen good photos o those pictures which I could not bear to
altogether leave behind me, and a fragrant recollection and the best of good
opinions of the China City." By the Wu they don't make the so-called Dres-
den China in Dresden, any more than they miiKe the Brussels carpets in Brussels.
The large cities have the name, but the little towns hard by have the game, in
these cases. In that of Dresden, one must go to the busy town of Meissen, fifteen
miles lower down the Elbe, where in the old castle many hundred workmen, art-
ists and potters manufacture the famous Dresden China, while in Brussels I
was informed on enquiring my way to the carpet looms : ' ' Madam must make
her voyage to Toumai ! "
f 1\^ City of 1^1155.
have said so many times that the mountains of Saxony are beautiful that
I hardly dare to tell how much I enjoyed the trip from Dresden to the an-
cient and charming city that came next on my route. It was as much the
(^^ memory of that trip, as the mere glimpses I got of them on tlie Blasewitz
car that inspired my praises, for mile after mile they formed the scenes of grand-
eur and beauty Picturesque ruins, castellateu peaks, fantastic shapes and queer
ziz-zag mountain roads, running, like a braiding pattern, down the sides of the
hoary hills, and below, the little river, narrow and svaft, suddenly twisting out of
sight, or brawling shallowly over some upjutting rocks, or curving into cool little
bays where white lillies rocked and floated. My head and eyes ached from gazing
at one pretty spot after another and I laid down my glass with a sigh of satiety,
(I had a glass too by this time) and tried to realize that the old, old city of Prague
was to sheltfr that night my modern and democratic head.
"John Hu88 at Prague," was the explanation of one of two frightful wood cuts
at which I had gazed many times in my childhood's cl^ys, and "The burning of
John Huss," was the title of its fellow. So unreasonable and prejudiced and im-
movable is a childhood impression, however wrongly put upon the mind, that it
took two guides, a coachman and an encyclopaedia to convince me that John Huss
wasn't burned at Prague.
But I am anticipating.
Only, as I neared the ancient city, I know one of the strongest con-
victions I had was that I should see the place of his martyrdom, and
I was hard to convert. Looking o> pon the Moldau, I was amused to see a sort
of swimming contest going on between two men, whose respective "fraus" stood
minding their husbands' garments and cheering them on by laugh and no doubt
word, though we couldn't hear them, while a boatload of men and girls, pre-A-
damite in their scorn of false modesty, rowed with great merry-making after them.
The current is very swift and the river very deep just there and in the boat were
iitet
iriiffilillHigffi
ri' _-:rt-3a5
SHE
crouched two or three swimmers wlio had evidently either e;otten a cramp or caved
in from fatigue and who were being rowed by the ladies to the landing-place.
It was evening when I alighted from r.y coupe, where I had travelled sole and
alone, all the way from Dresden, and I was very grateful for tlie hearty welcome,
the warm bath, ai he comfortable tea dinner, which I enjoyed at the very com-
fortable Prague hotel. It was so fine an evening that I took a carriage and a very
cute little boy for a quiet drive up and down the queer, quaint story-book looking
streets, where every lane and corner and sign and crossing showed me something
new and ye* that seemed strangely familiar, recalling old pictured scenes from
many a painting, and filling me with interest and pleasure. I don't know any-
thing more satisfactory than to come across such places as this, to be able to say :
" I've seen this !" and to realize how much more is in the living, moving reality
than even the most lovely picture. I quite exclaimed in some such fashion when
we drove into the market place and I looked up at the very windows out of which
the indignant citizens pitched their elected representatives, as a decisive and prac-
tical way of showing disapprobation of their ruling, and recognized the surround-
ing l)uildings from a photo I had long possessed. My small coachman expliiined
the whole proceeding to me and on my asking him what good, pitching the mayor
and aldermen out o' windows did, he said he didn't know, but that it had been
done. If ever I doubted him, I was destined to lie convinced in due time, for one
of the first paintings I noticed in the Paris Exposition was this identical market
square and town hall, and from the windows came tumbling the high dignitaries,
heels over headj just as the story told it. I do think, sometimes, it would be a
lovely experiment to try on some municipal boditis.
My small boy drew up in front of every large church and palace and wanted
me to "descend and enter," but I reminded him that there would be time enough
for that to-morrow and conjured him to continue the ramble through the liigh
ways and byways, for that I liked quite well enough, to see the m//^}</« of the
queer old places. So we went on, past the closed theatre, over one of the long
bridges, to the opposite side of the river, where the citadel, tlie king's palace and
numerous parks and gardens arc situated. Coming back I noticed a statue in a
f^ .tof recess on the bridge (which is of stone witli a handsome balustrade) and
enquired of my '' Garcon" "what's that?" There and then he halted (there
never was such a boy for halting, nor such a willing liorse to stand still) and told
me slowly and impressively a story known tci all in Prague. A jealous king of
Bohemia had a very beautiful queen, whom he (whether justly or not one can
leave to conjecture) suspected of flirtation. To satisfy himself waether his sus-
picions were correct, he summoned the queen's confessor and demanded the sub-
stance of the royal lady's confessions to be made known to him. The good confes-
sor, like a gentleman, refused to gratify the royal curiosity and in spite of bribes
and arguments and threats, guarded the secrets of his queen, if any there were.
The king had the holy man bound, escorted at dead of night to the bridge and
promptly chucked overboard. The citizens wondered at the disappearance of
their favorite "Father," but no light was thrown upon the mystery, until some won-
derful manifestations on the river, just beyond the bridge, set the superstitious
wondering and somehow connecting them with their vanished Confessor. The river
was dragged, the body, gagged and bound, was found. Suspicion soon became
certainty, the red fiery stars, which had floated over the water, came no more ;
the ghostly tapers flickered and went out and never appeared again. The sorrow-
ing people ))uried the plucky old priest, the Church canonized him, and the City
set up this bronze statue on the spot from whence he was thrown, with a brass
cross and five red stars let into the slab on which he stood previous to his
immersion
This grisly little history was "told in the twilight," as we halted beside the
statelv statue, and seemed all of a piece with the black-eyed little Bohemian, and
the tall spired city and the general air of strangeness and unreality that fascinated
me in Prague. And even after many months, as I write about it, it seems to me
a dream city, and the days I spent there were days of a dream. vSo we drove
back through crooked, narrow, steep streets, my small boy making up for his
numerous halts by urging his horse at full speed, occasionally nearly colliding
with a carriage ahead, or grazing breathlessly past some old woman with a great
basket of plums or peaches, or charging past a line of soldiers as if he were fairly
possessed. Once or twice I laughed outright at his narrow escapes, especially
when he careered past an unfortunate gaping youngster, nearly knocking it over,
and whooping at its indignant mother in a most jeering and triumphant manner,
as she rushed from Iter doorway and gave him a Bohemian piece of her mind.
An awful young scamp w«<« he, but a most successful cicerone and a first rate
whip, and T enjoyed his driving and him immensely, and even now I can faintly
i^i
1
grin as I recall his sudden turns and swoops on the rattling little cobblestones,
and the twinkle in his roguish black eyes.
Speaking ji^st now of soldiers reminded me that Prague was full of them. My
small boy informed me that there were ten thousand of them in the city for the
Slimmer manoeuvres, and there is one specimen that I have quite fallen in love
with ; he is all in faded blue, cap and belted tunic and trim breeches, strapped
down tightly as hosen of the olden time, and with his shoes laced up over them.
He is the trimmest and the plumpest little soldier you can imagine. His officers
lead him a hard life. Every few yards, as he steps lightly along, must his
brown little hand go up to the side of his little blue cap, and his eyes roll from
side to side as he takes his walks abroad, lest he commit the unpardonable sin
of passing some martinet, (and the ignored would be sure to be a martinet ;)
whether he is lighting his tiny cigarette or taking leave of his favorite '■'■frauUin"
he must have one eye out for officers, and when he has one on each side
of him, one overtaking him and a fourth coming towards him, he just backs up
like a stag at bay, salutes until the party have got safely by ! '
Once I saw such a "Little Boy Blue" standing near a beer house, suddenly he
saluted, I saw no just cause, until in the halt -open door way I caught sight of an
aristrocratic rear backing out, but pausing to get a light for a refractory cigar.
"Little boy blue" had to stand, quite a time, waiting for the rest of his officer to
appear. It looked so funny that I couldn't smooth down my face before the
dignified stare of the stern old grMtleman, but grinned in a most friendly manner.
My rest was broken after my first night in Prague, by a gentle tapping at my
door, half awake I murmured "go back to mamma, baby !" — and then on the
gentle tap being repeated, I awoke to consciousness that some other fingers than
Baby's were begging admittance.
I called "what is it?" as the door was locked, and received no
answer but a gentle repetition of the knock. Flinging on a wrapper,
I opened the door and was very near shrieking to find myself confront-
ed by the most extraordinary looking monk in bare feet and with clasped
hands. " What (/<7 you want?" I gasped in (J erman, and in a subdued famine
stricken voice he murmured " some little gift for the church ! " " Oh go away ! "
I said very crossly, liking neither his bare feet nor my own — and with a meek
bow he turned and glided down the stairway. Like an old time fancy, he
seemed, with his coarse brown gaberdine and lipnipen waistcord, and wan
wasted face and hands, and his uncanny visit routed sleep from my eyelids and I
had to argue witli myself whether I had dreamed him or not.
He never came any more ; I suppose my heretical Canadian conge was too much
for him, but I often hoped he would that I migiit earn hiis meek and humbb
"God bless you ! " by the gift of a penny or two. These begging monks are no
humbugs I Gue wonders impatiently how men can bear to live such unambitious,
starved, self-denying lives as theirs, or what process of self-torture, and abase-
ment reduces them to the gentle unearthly creatures they are ! Into their canvas
bags the busy house-wife tosses the bones, if she keeps no dog — ^or the dry, liard
crusts that the small Bohemians do not care to finish, and always her refuse gift
earns for her the same gentle "Bless you!" And with the "crusts the ''•ildren
will not eat, " this grown man must stifle the gnawing hunger that prayers and
vigils cannot (juite kill. I did not see an old mendicant ; all were young men,
slowly starving, and the hopelessness of the knowledge that nothing you give or
would do for tliem can alter their misuse of the (iod gift of life and manhood, de-
pressed and awed me so that 1 gazed upon their ghostly figures with great
unavailing regret for their fanaticism, with tied hands and tongue. One day, I
went for a long drive through the parks. I reinembei' I got back about half past
six, and saw the people going into the Tlieatre ! Such primitive liours do these
good Bohemians keep, and in luidsuinmer too : 1 made a visit also to the Palace
of the Prince von Waldenstein, wlio in days of yore cut something such a dash in
Prague as Bruhl did in Dresden. The old Palace is very interesting and quite
delighted me.
The first room shown is a Grotto, the roof hung with natural stalactites and
where the fountain basin used to be, the floor is paved in small square stones, in a
(juaiiit little pattern. From this entry one goes into a room where stands the
..orse Waldenstein rode in battle. Some American friends of mine once exclaimed
at the smallnesB of this animal, and opined that it nnist have shrunken consider-
ably since it carried the tall Prince on its back. But to anyone who has seen tlie
little Indian ponies and the diminutive Mustangs, and how they carry their red
men and cowboys, it ought not to seem too small for even a very tall man. At
all events, there it stands, and you can believe it or not — and there also is the
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visitor's book — in which I inscribed my name and address, and tlien came out into
the Grotto again.
A young ^'monsiemr'' of a tourist was waiting his turn to go over the paluce,
and I politely offered to amuse myself in the garden while he saw the horse and
wrote hio name, and then we could ascend the stairs together, and he could act as
a kind of linguistic buffer between me and my conductress, who rattled away in
Bohemian and French in a. perfectly bewildering manner. He, of course, agreed
most politely, and we trotted off amicably after the old lady who had the keys ;
at every doorway he stepped aside, brought his heels together with a click and
made a grand bow, and I sailed through, smothering a smile as best I could.
Galleries and dining halls and chapel, we duly noted and admired, and at last
reached the beautiful open air dining room — for summer use — over the centre of
which is spread a lovely roof, supported on pillars and painted in grand allegorical
designs. Here, friend Waldenstein gave his state tea-parties, and had five hun-
dred pages, born in the purple, and the fairest of Bohemias nolnlity, to wait
upon him and his guests. No wonder some of the present generation say the
world is degenerating, and the "King Industry" as some terrible American says,
is going out of demand.
My boy driver, and "Moossoo's" boy had evidently arranged a little fun for
themselves when we came out, for they started on a race as soon as we were seated,
and every little while took opposite streets round a block and then dashed along
side by side again. Every time "Moossoo" pasaed me he raised his hat in mute
apology for his boy's rudeness, every time I passed him, I bowed, my face red from
laughter at the tricks of these Bohemian imps ! and occasionally he would be out
of sight for a long time, and I'd just get lines of propriety into my face, when,
beside me would be Moossoo, and 'ny boy would chuckle as he saw me smiling in
spite of myself, I think I must have had the most mischievious urchins in Prague
in my employ during my stay ! One ir.orning, as I vas breakfasting, I was aware
of the presence of a very queer looking old man, who had come creeping in an
apologetic way up to the table, and stood turning his black felt hat round in his
hands, and looking intently at his shoes. "What is it?" I asked, in French,
"Madame — I am guide"— " What do you want?" I asked, going on with my
breakfast, for he wasn't so awful as the skeleton monk, and I was rather hungry.
" Madame— I am guide ! " he reiterated, bowing profoundly. " Well, go away,
please, until I am finished breakfasting, " t said loftily, and with an eager — " Cer-
tainly Madame, " he vanished noiselessly. I wondered what extraordinary
creature would accost me next, and then forgot all about him, and while I wrote a
letter, was interrupted by a tap on the door. " Come in " I called, expecting mj-
mendicant monk, but instead the old guide slipped aj ologetically in, and said,
once more — " Madame, je suis guide !"
" Its nothing to me, " I said, in annoyance, " Why do you trouble me ? " Ma-
dame je suis" " Oh, hush, I know y ju're a guide. What do you want me to
do ? " Only then, I discovered that this old creature was almost perfectly deaf,
and had not heard a word I had said. I rang the bell, or rather I started to-
wards it, but with an eager " Madame ! " the old man rang it for me. The waiter
appeared and I demanded an explanation of my persecution.
" It is true, he is guide, " said that ind" idual, in a surprised tone. " What
do I care if he is ! " I said impatiently. " I wont be followed about the house by
this guide. I don't want a guide. I wont have a guide. Now you people
know very well I've been here several days without a guide. Why didn't he
come before ? "
The waiter said eagerly, "he has been ill, he is yet weak, but think-
ing Madame would employ him, he has come out to-day. There will be no
extra charge to Madame for him to ride with the coachman, and he is the best
guide in Prague — a few Kreutzers only, just as much as Madame wishes to give
him will be enough. " Was ever anyone so cornered ? so I had to set out for my
daily drive with this old lunatic perched beside the drivei', and to hear again the
story of the staunch priest, and John Huss and every tale and tarradiddle my
boys had told me, and at last in self-defence to ask the old man if there was any
place I'd not seen to take me to it. So he took me to the hill top, where we dis-
mounted to see the " Home for poor Ladies, " established and endowed by Maria
Theresa, that stirring woman, who was clever and good enough to make the
Bohemians kiss the hand that smote them. There these poor ladies, whose
"birth is their fortune, " are housed and provided v/ith six servants each, and
three hundred " gulden " (about one hundred and twenty dollars) pin money a
year. They live in seclusion but in luxury, and are ruled by a Lady Abbess, who
must be a Princess and nothing less.
The plucky little Queen Regent, of Spain, was one time Lady Abbess of this
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charming sisterhood, and her portrait in ermine trimmed robes, hangs in the recep-
tion room along with the redoubtable Maria Theresa, the Queen of Naples, and in a
small corner, poor pretty Marie Antoinette. Tliey usually make fine matches
these pensioners of the State !
The palace of the former kings of Bohen)ia is on the same level, (alas ! there
are no King' n Bohemia now 1) The Austnan Eagle perches on its peaks, and
the nearest approacli to Royalty, is the occasional visit of the Emperor Francis
Joseph. Rudolph, of unhappy memory, brought liis bride, (good old Belgian
Leopold's daugliter) to li^e there, until after the ))irth of his only child. He
said he had a liking for the city and people aiul ■ emembered his bachelor life
there, as Colonel of his Regiment so pleasantly that he should like to make it hi?
home. ■
But the Meyerling serpent was living in Prague then, and the false husband's
first enquiry and first visit on his return from his honeymoon were for her ! so
the " best guide in Prague " tohl me, with many sighs. Tliis was the first time
I happened on the erring F'rince, but from this time out he was another St.
Sebastian ! I counted half a dozen separate theories and accounts of the Meyerl-
ing tragedy, ariiving at tlie climax away down in Bavaria, where at Aiunchen, a
clever little French lady, with whom I had made great friends, said " Who shot
the Baroness ? Pouf ! Machere, she is not very much shot ! I saw her at Thomas's,
in Paris, ordering a bonnet not three weeks since ! " Are you sure, " I asked in
amazement. " Oui, all sure !" she laughed "We were old school friends and
there are not two pair of eyes like hers ! " I give this apparently ingenuous
statement to my Canadian friends, its oft' hand matter-of-factness quite convmced
me.
I have always been so sorry that while in Pragiie I did not buy some garnets.
They are a bagatelle in prict. . "»,ry artistically set. I saw some really lovely
necklaces, condjs and bracelets, but they are so common there, that one forgets
how far away they are from home and really I never thought of buying them.
Why, my idiotic old guide, even, had a very pretty cross pinned in the tattered
frills of his carefully laundered shirt, and that alone would have turned me
against them ! There is a wonderful old Sundial clock on a tower ni Prague,
that 1 should like to describe but I can't, because I couldn't understand it myself,
though I quite appreciated the sweetness of its chimes.
There are two lovely gardens ; I visited one on the hill top and one lower
down, where the military band plays tliree times a week . And one other ancient
and uncomfortable thing I saw and heard about — thanks to my guide ; (my small
boys had been to ]>usy racing and running over people to point it out to me !) It
is the "Starving Tower" where in olden times political offenders were immured
to live a life of ease and idleness as long as they could with nothing to eat. I
wondered if they gave them a good square meal before the awful doors were fast-
ened behind them, and they were left to sob, or cry, or pray, or bravely accept
in silence the hideous grim inevitable I Ugh ! It made me shudder to look at the
round tower with the narrow slits in its massive walls, and to think of the bonny
men and true, whose brave spirits were cruslied out by the grip of hunger, into
death and decay.
I visited the Bohemian Glass Stores, and gloated over the various dainty shapes
and tints of the perishable beauties shelved there. I had to buy one tiny
shapely vase, though such things were never meant to travel in a "Carryall." I
brought it, and all my brittle "pretties, " safe to Toronto, but I smashed it, as
clumsily as any new caught Bridget in tlie land, a very few days after !
My old guide thouglit a gieat deal of John Huss's Chinch, though he did not
seem to know much a1)out .John Huss himself. He and the coachman held a
mumbling conversation about their own affairs most of the time, though, when I
poked his elderly back with my long liandled parasol, he always turned politely
enough to answer my usual (luestion. "What is that?" There is apart of Prague
culled the Jews Quarter, which is just wliat one could fancy it would be, from the
name, a busy dingy odoriferous labyrinth of sliops and narrow streets. In
looking down from the balcony of the "Ladies Home, " one gets a fair view of the
Ancient City, and over the Josepii Stadt oi' .Jews Quarters a haze of mist or smoke
seemed to hang, and one can count the more than half hundred (Catholic Churches
and feel less like giving a donation tc. the emaciated monks. In fact, they have so
many churches there, that they only use some of them occasionally, one, on a
high spur of the hill, near the "Home" is only used on Good Friday; fancy
keeping up a church that ia only opened to start a procession once in a year !
At one end of the main bridge is a little scjuare, in the centre of which is a fine
statute of King Charles of Bohemia, a monarch dear to the people of Prague, and
whose love for his native city and hereditary kingdom, my old guide dwelt upon
with great emotion.
As this pattern Home Ruler has been dead and buried over five
hundred years, I did not feel like crying over him — but admired his statue
and I ilegmatically remarked "Go on'" My old guide put up liis voluminous red
handkerchief and regained his cheerfulness, and was quite facetious when I dis-
missed him, after presenting him with half a gulden (twenty cents) and hoping he
had enjoyed h.^ drive. 1 did not wish to leave this quaint old city of other days,
but had already lingered too long, and very unwillingly inscribed my name in the
visitors book, under the admiring eyes of an old Landlord who was just as quaint
as his surroundings, adding on the impulse of the moment a doggerel line.
"Happy to come, happy to stay, sorry to go away ! "
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Tl\^ "Treaty Qity.
HE trip from Prague to Vienna is perfectly lovely, not with the stern and
^ wild loveliness of the Saxon mountains, but with beauty of fruitful fields
and clover meadows, of soft low swelling hills, and green valleys, remind-
ing one of an Knglish landscape. You have noticed the "ribbon-garden-
ing, " in which head gardeners delight, when they make mounds and harps and
Persian arabesques in crimson and green and yellow and bronze and blue? They
have what the Colonel would call a "serious time," arranging for a solid line of
even growth and good contrast, and a perfect piece of ribbon garden announces a
clever artist and a patient man. But the country fields between Prague and
Vienna are all one immense natural ribbon garden, with the most beautiful colors
and clearest outlines. For instance, one farmer had laid out his field like the sticks
of a fan; first came a broadening line of dark green, then a vivid strip of gold, then
the rich maroon of the earth new-ploughed, then green again, but of a light and
delicate tint, then a lovely pinky lilac, (clover in full bloom) then another strip of
maroon, and the dark green for a finish. Another unconscious artist had spread
his colors like an old-fashioned bed quilt — in patches large and small — another in
long parallel lines of equal width, running up the side of a soft moundlike hill,
and yet a fourth had a selection of even sized diamonds, fitting like a block puzzle
with each other. These are but a few designs where the ground showed the
complete efl"ect, but generally the farm was broken by the rising hills and one
could only catch glimpses of the fancy work. I must tell of one more, though
— on a sloping bank, commencing with a very small cresent, just at the middle of
the base, and composed of ever widening and widening half-circles, like the ripple
on a stream where a store's thrown in. I think the "August" show on these
"parterres" must be the best of the year, and was glad I happened to see it.
I had very pleasant travelling companions on this journey, a Venetian lady who
was going to her husband in Russia, and her two children. I quite endorsed the
good taste of the Russ who had stolen her from her watery home, and admired the
nMtiammmlimttlm
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beatity of her liquid eyes and oval face and sensitive mouth^all duplicated in her
baby daughter. — The hoy was a young Tartar though, rough and .selfwilled and
tidgetty, though always willing to he brought to time l)y tlie gentle voice of his
" Mutterchen, " as he patronizingly called her. "How does lie come by that
German word?" lasked when! had lieard it several times. "Oh," and she laughed.
"He has picked it up from his father, who studied in (Jermany, and is more
German than Russ, for which one is thankful. " " Vou don't like Russia then?" I
inquired, with great interest. "One nuist not say sol" slie said, smiUng in an
indescribably expressive way, and glancing at the hoy, who was at tlie moment
intent on teasing his lialf asleep l)aby sister. "Sol" J said compreliending.
"Do you go often to your home in Venice?" "I n^ust take my l)al)ies to tlieir
Grandparents when they come ! She answered, witi\ a protecting liand over her
little daughter. "Enough, my boy, do not annoy the little Kita ! You will make her
a cross child and not pleasant to play with, when she is larger ! " "I shall not play
with her, when she is larger!" announced this subject of the Czar. "Not? oh,
poor little lonely Rita I" sighed the "Mutterchen" and the full lipped little Russ
condescended to reconsider his announcement. "Well, sometimes, if she does
just as I bid her!" "Of course she will" smiled "Mutterchen" and " Foi/a!"
the whole subject in a nutshell, of the woman question in these parts: Be agree-
able, and do just as Milon'. tells you, and j(?« may play with him sometimes. I saw
the up-growing of that plain-faced young tyrant, and the up-growing was not pretty !
His full lips and fat eyelids and cold steel-blue eyes, his flattened nose and cruel
jaw, and I prayed for his speedy removal from this sublunary sphere, while yet
the voice of "Mutterchen" couhl turn him from wanton mischief, and before any
weaker life and more humble happiness was his to torment and crush !
I had such a time getting any lunch that day ! Twice my waiter just came in
sight as the train moved out of the station, and I hungrily watched him standing
plates in hand, with a distracted look on his face at the rapidly rolling carriages.
My lady companion said nothing at iirst and I laughed too, but when my second
meal was denied me, she was quite exercised. "My man will be at the next sta-
tion, and I will see that things are in time. " At the next station a great bearded
Russian was waiting and he soon brought several waiters scurrying for orders.
Then I found that my lady had a Russian man and maid in a third-class coupe,
and that she was evidently a very rich dame, though she did travel second-class and
minded her own children. Aa tactfully as I could, I pumped her, (wasn't I just
like an American?) and she told me in perfect openness that her husband was an
officer, but that officers had very little money — that she herself was "the only one"
of her parents, and heiress to their large property — and that her father allowed
her so much a year for herself and her babies, on condition that the two summer
months of her husband's camping out were spent in the old home and with the old
people.
Not very hard conditions, judging by her happy face and tender tones. Then
I noticed that at every station, where we stopped for a few moments the bearded
face of the Russ servant appeared outside the window, ready, sliould he be called
upon for drinks, or lunch,. or to lead the young Tartar up and down the platform
for a "leg-stretcher. " When we reached Vienna — at about seven in the evening,
I parted from this sweet Venetian with genuine regret— only glad that my ap-
pearance had been satisfactory enough to wairant her in treating me with such
friendly confidence, and mad enough that my French would not shape itself into
the charming compliments and regrets which she uttered as we shook hands and
bid each other an uncompromising "Farewell."
A long rattling, reckless drive brought me to the ".Schottenring" on which my
Hotel was situated and tired and sleepy I dined and after a look about me for the
curiosity of the thing and a conviction that I should like Vienna, if it was all
like my inunediate vicinity, T tumbled, Oh, so sleepily, into bed.
Just as 1 had fallen almost into unconsciousness, a peculiar sound slowly wakened
me up again; I listened, and concluded I must be still a passenger on the "good
ship Noordland, " and my continental experiences a mocking dream. But no —
there in their silver stands, stood the tall white candles, that always made me feel
as if I were laid out for a "Wake" — there Wii'j the dustcloak on the swinging
wardrobe — the Carryall on the sofa — and there was also the ^'^ dump-dump" and
grind of machinery below me.
An indignant query brought the explanation from the waiter, that my room was
over "the machinery of the lift " and with a groan, I retired once more, to try
in vain for nature's sweet restorer, of whose kind oifices my travel-tired bones
stood in such need ! Long after one o'clock the machinery stopped, leaving me to
spend the wee sma' hours in a fitful feverish doze, until at nine o'clock I descended
MmmmtlmfL
to have the life of the whiskered Frenchman, who liad thus fulfilled my request
for the "quietest room in the house!" We liad words, and I ordered my things
brought down at once and a cab called. "Dejeuner"? No! I'd dejeuner somewhere
else — where the people couhl behave kindly to lady travellers — on which spirited
remark "Moossoo" came down suddenly to penitent apologies, and finally per-
suaded me to come in to breakfast, and countermand my Carryall and my cab.
After that, I found I was quite a heroine, for the Frenchman whoiiv I had harangued
was one of the "Dukes" one meets in lowly guise, and was a terror to the travel-
ling public who made complaints. My waiter infoi-med me of this, after he had
followed the Duke and myself to select a room more suitable to such a spitfire of
an American, and I told him tliat we didn't understand being afraid of any of that
class of persons ; thus basely prevaricating, and forgetting the times and times I
have chuckled over the abject humility of the unfortunate traveller who has stood
humbly petitioning the jewelled Czar behind the counter for "permission to live, "
in his Hotel ! But when one is reduced to extremities as I was, one can only
make a very bold front indeed, and I was too thankful that a scolding had reached
Moossoo's hardened sensibilities !
He got even with me in the bill, but such a victory was cheap at half a gulden
a day. My waiter was the most comical looking fat-faced young man, with what
Brother Johnathan calls a "chin whisker, " and he had one expression that always
subdued me. It was evidently a stray from some Englisli patron, and he used it
as an alfirmative. " Course-o-course ! " he exclaimed, whenever "Yes" would
have done just as well, and it did sound so funny, and he said it with such
emphatic and pronounced pride in his acquirement, that I dared hardly ask him a
question, for fear I should laugh in his face. "Madame is now satisfied with her
^'' lodgementV enquired Moosooo, as he met me in the hall. "Thank you, it is very
nice ! " I answered indififerently, and with a deprecating smile he passed on.
Poor Duke ! he got another fright before long, (as I was emboldened by my success)
and it happened thusly :
I came from my room — and rang for the lift, no lift came — I rang again and
kept on ringing, until " Course-o course " came panting up the two long flights of
stairs to ask me what was the matter with me ncnv ! ' 'There is nothing the matter,
I am ringing for the lift, " I said, very much surprised. "Oh-h-h !" he said, with
a gasp of relief. "I though Madame was afire ! But Madame — the lift isn't for
going down—OMi_y for coming up //" and then, 1 had to make another onslaught on
the den of "Moobsoo" which ended in my having the lift for going down, as
well as for coming up by giving a certain ring, made known to me by the pro-
prietor, and whistling down a tube, which performan^.,, and the consequent wait,
was sometimes so tiresome, that, only for keeping up appearances I'd have walked
down. But I'd had to fight for my privileges, and I held on to them.
Above all other funny things, in these far-oflf Hotels, the lifts are the funniest
They take fits of getting out of order, generally when Americans are in the Hotel
and I've seen one anchored for two days, while +he boy in charge sat grimly by
on a stool, and informed intending passengers of the contretemps. Though as
I'm an observant woman, I don't believe there was a thing the matter with it !
certainly there was nothing done to it, that I could find ^ut, but as soon as those
six Yankee womon left, the machine worked just as well as ever.
I taxed the boy with his duplicity, when I fee'd him, the day of my depai'tui'e,
and he laughed till his eyes were full of tears. " Did Madame see the large ladies?
How could I take them all on one trip, and none would wait? The large ladies
yf&re terrifying!" so, these weighty dames had to walk, and I smelled n very large
joke ! At another Hotel — the lift took newly arrived lodgers to their rooms — in
charge of the Concierge, and was never used else that I could discover, in Paris
we took ourselves up, and the lift took itself down again. This was a patent that
pleased me very much — but far East on my trip, unless I struck a very tine new
Hotel — these lifts were chronically bad tempered and unacoonnnodating. ' ' The
Metropole" — in Vienna — not very far from my lodging place, was the Hotel I
should have preferred, but a trifling misun<lerstanding kept me from going there.
I had letters awaiting me at the Metropole and fully intended staying there, but
forgot the name of my choice and somehow took it into my heatl that the establish-
ment of "Moossoo" was the one selected. The Metropole is a beautiful stately
building, probably not a kreutzer more expensive than the one I stayed at, and it
runs a healthy and accommodating "lift !"
After breakfast, the first morning in Vienna, 1 went to ,e letters in the read-
ing room, and noticed a pair of disconsolate looking women, turning over the
pages of an old Illustrated London News, and Graphic. I accosted the daughter,
with a very harmless remark, and she favoured me with an appalling stare, though
I was sure she understood me, as I'd spoken in B^nglish. Not so Mama, who gave
II start forward and said heartily. "Oh, air you English ? Do just talk along a
little, don't mind Eliza! My gracious goodness sakes alive — it do seem ett'tiity
since I've heard any real sensible language — where do you live? Air you alone?
Single? Oh, and where's your husband? Home — you don't mean you come alone !
Good land I What'd you do it for— I do think Europe's dreadjitl!^'
Here was fun ! And I was enjoying it, with a wicked delight in the disgust of
"Eliza," when that silent damsel opened her mouth and spoke. "If Ed. don't
soon come to order our breakfast, I shall faint." "You see "said her mother,
with an ashamed little laugh. " We can't make out to talk to these " Johnny-
.lump-ups, " and Ed. sometimes is late, lie's a lazy kind of fellow, though he's
right smart when he </<? get started. He hustles me most to death sometimes!''
" What do you want for breakfast?" I asked, feeling sorry for the honest old
girl, though it was not bad fun to starve " Eliza". "Oh, eggs and bread and-
butter, antl jam and tea " she said, looking lunigrily at the door. I did not ask
her permission, but called a waiter, and asking him to be quick as the ladies wera
famishing, soon had a breakfast awaiting them. "Now, ain't you smart" she
sa;d, when the waiter announced that breakfast waited, and having given him
tneir room number, in case they got further entangled, I finished my letter while
they breakfasted.
"Ed." came looking for them, and 1 was agreeably surpriser^ at his nice quiet
studious face, and unobtrusive haliiliments. 1 told iiim his ladies were breakfast-
ing— apologised for forestalling his orders — and was amused at the look of relief
that overspread his countenance at my information. " What did you order?" he
said, sliding into a chair, with interest in every feature. 1 told him my simple
^^ Menu," and he sighed. " Yesterday Eliza would have ice cream " he said, with
a rueful countenance. " She was ill after, and I just made up my mind I should
let them get along by themse'ves to-day. Thank you ever so much," and he left
me quite sorry for his cares and incumbrances.
"Suppose you write out a little order, iviid give your mother — "I suggested
when M'e were longer acquainted- -and he said it was a brilliant idea. Presently
the ladies came back, and Mamma gave me more thanks, and said she'd enjoyed
her breakfast thoroughly. "You ain't a native?" She said curiously, and I
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■^-f
stated my nationality, much to her delight, as she "didn't hold by foreigners
and felt lonesome ror a real American talk. " I had a friend to visit in the
"Graben" the heart of the old inner city, and so I excused myself until lunch,
when I promised to meet them at one, and order their "dinner" if Ed. wasn't in !
That old lad was lots of fun, a good, pretty, sensible, kindhearted body as
ever lived, but Eliza — I wonder every time I think of her — how she came to be so?
I never saw her smile, I never heard her laugh, for three days she glowered and
grumbled like a half -smothered volcano, and I didn't blame "Ed." for giving her
plenty of sailing room I ,
After luncli we had a drive, and when we reached the Hotel and I was about to
pay the man, and explain the rate to my companions, Mama stepped forward with
0 very business-like air, and depositing live Guldens in the astonished Cabby's
hand shut me up with this remark : "It's my treat this time, you don't s'pose
I'm going to let joit pay!" And before I could remonstrate tlie cute Cabby was
a block away. Bless her funny old heart. She and her kind are rarely found so
far out of their "native element," but when they are. Oh, my !
The next morning I announced my intention of going to the Picture Gallery
and brother Ed. followed me, with an expressive gesture which looked plotting
and secret, and al*^ <gether mysterious. " They won't look at the pictures! " he
said. " Mother thinks they are so improper, you know, but they'd like to go for
the drive to the "Belvedere," and if you would come too, we could drop you
there very nicely. "
"But don't you enjoy paintings?" I said. "You look as if you could!"
"Yes and perhaps if you were to say it was a good gallery, Mother would go in
for a little you see, they've seen so many galleries, and neither of them have any
taste for art. " Accordingly I praised the Belvedere us if I had a commission to
sell it and Mama was a likely purchasei', and so when we arrived at the gates she
said pleasantly. " Come on in, Eliza, I guess we can stand one more ! " Eliza
came on in, not pleasantly, at all, and seating herself on the first ftrtieul, an-
nounced that nothing would induce her to look at the pictures, but she'd wait foi-
us there. Accordingly, we three began the rounds, and surely never were such
killing comments heard on pictured treasures as Mama gave voice to that morn-
ing. How thankful I was that in her vernacular she might say anything and no
one here would be the wiser. Her simple matter of fact amazement at some of
the paintings, and her delighted interest in having them rendered comprehensible
to her, was worth more than ever a picture gallery could be, and when she an-
nounced "I've got a crick in my neck looking at them, and I guess ".Sis" is
about tired sitting there, so I'll go back. Ed. can get us a cab and we'll ride over
on the Potato Street, and past all those bushes, and you and Ed. can just stick it
out, till you get tired." I felt that the goofl old lady was my friend for life. "Ed. '
soon put them into their cab and started them for the "Prater," which was the Aus-
trian of the good woman's "Potato Street," first, however, giving them a Bill of Fare
for their dinner, in case he didn't get home on time. He was rather an intelligent
critic, as I soonfound out, and wespeuttwo very pleasant hours among the fine paint-
ings of the Belvedere. I fell in love with the "Leda " — a nude study of a girl, lying
on a bank of moss — holding up one lovely hand to a white plumed Swan. In "Leda
and the Swan " was the most perfect flesh I ever saw in a painting. The trans-
parency of the fair skin and the glow of the blood beneath was something so real
as to be marvellous. And all the tiiiie as we studied our catalogues and enjoyed
the pictures, I kept thinking comically of Mama and Eliza who had seen so many
" Galleries." My companion remarked once, " I want to see the "Albert Durer"
that is somewhere in this collection. We mustn't miss it, on any account. " So
we searched diligently for the work of that Father of (ierman Art and were direct-
ed from room to room until we found it. ,
%>Im
"Oh" said I, as we paused before it. "Why it's just like a valentine. " "I
don't like it all ! " A great ponderous artist overheard my remark and burst into
an appreciative chuckle. " Very good " he said, in English, much to my surprise.
" You have found a right word, but look you, Madame, this picture has a great
value. It is tlie old Master's attempt to break off from the old style of miniature
painting, and the beginning of the modern style of group painting, where we must
have a central thought and figure, with the rest subordinate. So -in the old style,
a number of figures were massed together, each one complete in itself, giving a
confused idea, and no central thought, and in fact, as you have aptly observed,
like the inconsequent cupids and doves and lovers and hearts and roses and gilding
of a valentine ! " We felt wiser now, but all the same, this picture is a fright,
valuable as it may be from the artists point ot view At the top — the Holy
Spirit, like a Dove; a little lower down; the Father, in a giUled robe; below again
%>«r#
the Son, sacrificed; still lower, and very important, some Popes and Saints, also
gilded and very much bedizened. • - •
The good artist, a German, but very broad and appreciative in his views gave
us the patiietic history of poor Durer's life, so full of triumph artistically and so
unhappy and unsatisfactory domestica'ly. " In Nurnberg was he born, appren-
ticed, married and buried," said the big man comprehensively. "Great honor
and great talent, and great activity were in his life, and you must go and see his
house if you go ever to Nurnberg. " We tlianked him and continued our tour,
and coulil have spent the whole day among the pictures, but man must eat and
woman also I
On consulting the clock, we found that we shouK! he far too late for Mama's
orthodox one o'clock "dinner," so we drove to a tine cafe restaurant, where I had
seen some spry looking waiters, and where I thought I should like to try the
cookery.
The ordering being put into my hands, I soon had selected a very tine dinner,
being warned by the waiter that one portion of each dish was sufficient for two
people, and therefore having a good variety. " What is that?" asked the young
American, pointing to a portentously long name among my selections. We shall
see!" I said seriously, "I always order one thing I can't read every meal. It
sometimes turns out quite delicious," aa<l I told him the story of the "Tom Cat
bread " at Berlin. He made a note of it. against his contemplated visit to the
Capital, also of the location and price of the rooms in the Continental. "'J'ele-
graph for them two or three days ahead, or write even sooner, " I suggested, and
he promised to insure possession in that way. I forget what our mysterious dish
turned out to be, but it was all very good, and prices reasonable, and my J^ung
friend praised my catering, after a hearty meal, with the greatest sincerity.
Mama and Eliza had gone driving once more, when we returned, and we ad-
journed to the "Graben " to see some curtains and rugs in which my friend was
thinking of investing. Old, sheeny, Sheiks' rugs, worn quite thin in some places,
and with a gloss on them like a well-groomed horse, in faded silver greys and dull
crimsons, and soft pale blues that made my mouth water, at the same time the pr <
made my teeth ache I There are some of the handsomest of them in that Arae.
can home to-day, and 1 only hope they are appreciated !
It took the rest of the afternoon to choose them, and to linger taniong all the
antique treasures of the shop where they were stored, in company with articles
of tremendous price from every art centre on earth. " I have much to thfink you
fori" said I gratefully as we ascended in the crochetty "lift" at the Hotel.
" I shall nf"'^'" forget the beautiful things I've seen to-day I " and Americanlike
he said ligl The shoe's on the wrong foot, Tm thinking, " and went whist-
ling away.
On our return Mama was very cordial, so I ventured to suggest another outing,
this time to a garden, or rather restaurant in the Prater, too far and too fast for
me to go to alone, hut wheie " Course-o-course " had told me I should hear very
fine Hungarian music, and see something of Vienna people. " I can't eat outdoors "
said Mama, and I told her of my prejudice and how she'd get so soon accustomed
to "alfresco" entertainments, and she was easily talked over, and announced that
she guessed " she could stantlit, if "Sis" could." Sis being quite important,
after having successfully ordered her dinner, agreed to "stand it, " and according-
ly another carriage was ordered, and we all started foi- the Prater. The Tr^ter is
a grand pleasuie park — of miles in extent — the resort of all sorts and conditions of
men, which encircles and blesses Vienna, the Prater Street leads to it after
one crosses the little river that flows just a block away from the Schottem'ing.
In the Prater are Coffee- Houses, Restaurants, Shows, Dancing Halls, Panoramas,
^'^ Bier Gartens'^ — and every sort of continental amusement — and its great extent
leaves almost wild large tracts of shaded forest and winding patiis, and noble old
trees and I know not what more, for I only drove twice in it. ■ ,
" Past the third coffee-house" said "Ed." who knew all about my Hungarian
Band and its location, and the cochei' set off at the frantic pace one learns to like,
scooting round corners like a creature possessed, and never by any chance hurting
anybody ! Presently we drove into a dim tree-embowered road, and as the
shadows closed in round me, I knew it was only too true what " (^ourse-o-course"
had said. " Madam must get those Americans to cake her to the C'sarda. It is
too far to go alone, course-o-course, it is pleasant and the music is good, but there
are a many of soldiers, and much wine is drank, course-o-course!" Our party
was all right, but a solitary woman would be a brave soul, who would venture so
far unattended, and a lucky one, if she escaped without annoyance, that is. at so
late an hour
The Band was really splendid, and played with all their Gypsy might. We in-
terviewed the first violin and he took my requests for various Toronto favorites,
took also a gulden from me, and probably more from the others, for he bowed
with deep gratitude, and the Band cast many approving glances at our corner
table. Mama took her supper of porterhouse or its Austrian equivalent, and we
all had long glasses of Pilsener beer, and the evening passed off pleasantly. Our
drive home was the fastest on record. Mama and Eliza were so nervous that
I had to beg the cocher not to go so very fast, he looked round at us with a twin-
kle in his black eyes, and informed us that he couldn't help it, as he had a pair
of new horses, but even while he was talking, he kept slyly flicking them into a
gallop. It was great fun, but really, I often felt that I'd been in many a runaway
where no such speed was reached. The further south-east we came, the better
the horses got, until, in Hungary, they went "like the wind." I took a day all
alone, after going about with my friends so steadily, and they thought I had left
Vienna without saying good-bye to them, and as they left the following day be-
fore I was out of bed my knowledge of them is limited. Doesn't it seem strange
how one can meet fellow travellers and go about with them and drift asunder
again so completely ? I do not even know the names of these good people, though
I have a hazy idea of their place of residence, and fully intended to ask how they
were called. My visit to the Grabea resulted in a disappointment, my friends'
friend being away at a watering place in the Tyrol, but I bought some very
pretty gauze painted fans, and a pair of portiees, and visited the meerschaum
pipe work rooms, and watched the manipulation of the "sea-foam," by the
skilled fingers, and dainty fairy-like chisels, and was not impressed with the
occupation from a sanitary point of view. Tlie workmen were very pale and
thin, and as I saw them continually wetting tlieir fingers at their lips to rub off
the dusty surface of the carved meerschaum, or blowing the fine white powder
mto the air they presently breathed, I did not wonder at their wan and sallow
visages. The meerschaum industry is a specialty of Vienna, so is the gauze fan
manufacture. The prices of the latter are perhaps an eighth or tenth of what one
would pay in Toronto, ami some of them are in artistic shades and daintily beauti-
ful.
One afternoon I took a long walk down the Prater Street, and found a fine foun-
tain and a tall column and statue at the end of it, where one enters the Prater.
A little walk among the shows and cafes near the entrance is very interestinf;,
and being tired from my long walk I sought a resting place, in a Cyclorama o.
the entry of Garabaldi into Rome. It was an ugly uninteresting thing enough,
but the man in charge had quite a crowd of people listening to his lecture.
Perhaps he saw I was tired, for as soon as he had finished his description he came
over with a small camp chair and offered it to me. He was very bright and
intelligentand gave his description all .er again in French to me. I rather
c:onHded in him to th? extent that I wanted to have my dinner in the Prater,
but wasn't just sure if I could tinda nice " (iarten," or cafe. He immediately
described a place quite near, which he assured me I should see, and hear there
the Lady Vienna Orchestra. "It is the specialty of Vienna, Madame. Plays
only Viennese music and is worthy of Madame's attendance." "If I can tind
it," I said, doubtfully, remembering with what remarkable facility I could
always lose my way. "If Madame would allow me, I would show the way to
the very gate, and then, should it not please Madame to enter, will conduct
again to this spot." And he actually did lock his doors and leave his Rome
to welcome Garabaldi without him, while he walked silently ami politely beside
me, a little distance, to the gate of a green-hedged "Garten." where some girls
in modest white lawn dresses, beautifully dressed fair hair, and long pale blue
shoulder knots, were tuning violins and making ready for business. It all
looked clean and nice, and with hearty thanks and a small douceur, I entered
and took my seat, at a square little green wooden table under a very large old tree.
By and by the waiters brought me " schinken und brot," that is sliced ham and
rolls, and a cup of coffee, and as the place began to fill up quickly I hurried over
my picnic dinner expecting every moment some one would have to share my table
with me.
A group of natives, girls and women were at the next table, and giggling
and eating some iiorrible sweeties out of brown paper bags; presently one of them
rose and stood beside my table, and when she thought I was not looking snatched
up a roll from my basket and handed it to lier comrades, who soon, amid general
hilarity devoured it. She was about to confiscate another, when I rose with
dignity, and taking my " bread basket " up, set it in their midst. " If you are
hungry, eat" I said sternly, " but let not the maiden steal." They hung their
heads and blushed, and the maiden incontinently fled, while the waiter who had
8een and heard, while apparently busy as a bee, elsewhere, made them pay for
the roll they had taken, and brought me a fresh supply, with many apologies for
the ignorance of the " working maidens." " I wanted them to have those other
rolls," I said, sorry for the confusion of the silly things. " No, no, Madame, so
let it not be, we do not want the girls in the garden at all, let them go, please,"
and he ^ent them out very quickly, and judging from their sidelong glances in my
directioii, by some tarradidde of which I was the subject. The Ladies had begun to
play long before this, but I must confess their music was worse than second-class.
I did not trouble to listen to it after once or twice, but studied the folk of all
classes who sat eating and chatting around me. A great giant of a man stood by
a wee table, with an appalling looking knife in his hand, and a bundle of things
like fly papers under his arm. For a long time I wondered what he might be,
until a fresh comer walked up to him and handed him some kreutzers, and the
giant produced from a box under the table an immense wedge of cheese, from
which he cut a large thin slice, and with a very polite flourish wrapped it in one
of the paper sheets and handed it to his customer, who with frau and four children
made his way to an empty table. Presently, ;; wretched looking boy with a lame
foot came limping dustily down the paths between the groups, squalling "brot
angenchm," " cigaretten, angenchm," and carrying a little basket of cigars, and
a big wooden bowl of "chunks " of brown and white bread. My friend of the
cheese said "S-s-s-t," and the desolate looking urchin made his way over to him,
when he proceeded to select " brotchens for himself and his family. Then he
ordered two enormous schooners of beer and the supper was served I He cut the
cheese evenly with a murderous looking sheath-knife, and they lunched content-
edly, once in a while moistening their lips, if they were small fry, or in the case
of " Vater und Mutter" taking a good draught of the beer. When their meal
was finished, and the small boy had ceased to squall his "agreeable" l)read and
cigars, (he had a tonic resemblance to those little North-dlerman water-wag-tails
in the " frisches wasser " business.) I regained the Prater Street and soon found
the street car (hat would take me to the Schotten ring. Vienna is easy to find
ones way about in — though the streets of the Inner City are not easily planned —
going round and round the "Graben," and diverging therefrom like the strands
of a spider's web, but once out of that aristocratic region and one comes to wide
spacious thoroughfares like the Schotten ring and the Prater, and one can scarcely
get lost. I wanted so much to go through the fine Hospital in Vienna, but left it
until my return from Pesthe as after hearing that Zegenner Band in the Csarda, I
could scarcely wait another day before setting out for the Magyar City.
^r*
f 1\^ f Wii\ Citk5-
^BOUT one hundred and fifty miles south-east of Vienna, the Danube
i' rolls between two cities, the T^in-Cities as they are called, of Buda and
Pestho or even more conscisely and connectedly " Budapest." On
Itb j^* the right bank of the River, the ground rises in a Gibraltar like rock, on
the summit of which is the Citadal of Buda, and down whose terraces are scatter-
ed the houses of the richer inhabitants. This Rock is known as the Schlossberg,
and was at one time as important a fortress in its way, as the Key of the Medit-
treanean itself. Being practically inaccessable from the river side, one is obliged
to reach its summit either by means of a cable elevator railway, or by traversing
the magnificent tunnel which pierces it from south to north, and gently wmding
one's way up by gradually ascending roads from the northern side.
The elevation is 485 feet, and gives a grand outlook in all directions, from the
ramparts, over the Danube, and low-l^ing Pesthe, and Ijack into the suburl)s of
Buda, where miles of terraced vineyards wave their graceful foliage in the soft
warm lireeze.
The impression of impregnable strength given by this rugged rook and its sum-
mit bristling with defences is perfectly overpowering.
Pesthe, lying on the flat land, south of the River, is l)uilt (as the Bohemian
farmer I have written of, laid out his field) in ever widening half circlesround one
small half moon. Buda is the fighting half, and Pesthe the business half of the
Siamesian concern, and the life band that connects the sisters is the fine Suspen-
sion Bridge, from the Quai in Pesthe to the entrance of the tunnel in B'-ia.
The oldest part of Pesthe is, naturally the river side segment, WiM .'K/r .re fine
quais and landings, for the busy water traffic, and where one sees the Mx^.^/- pure
and unadulterated. Further "inland," the streets grow widar, r/i Che cafes
more frenchified, the ladies more modernly dresaeit and the officers outnumber
the soldiers, here, close to the water, are the dim wine cellars, and the small
shops, loosely clad peasant and the " little boy blue," the narrow streets, and the
unpronounceable names, and here, my cabby deposits me, on a hot August after-
noon, open eyed and mightily interested at the strange new world I've dropped
into. How I came to locate myself in the Inner City (which is not, as in Vienna,
the aristocratic part) can be easily explained. When the train rushed into the
Station, and deposited me and my carryall, I was taken in charge by a very
brown Hungarian porter, who said words to me, in an unknown tongue, but
which I conjectured to be an enquiry as to my destination. Now, one might
invent a lingo on the spur of the moment's necessity, which would convey to the
Dutch, ('crman, or Austrian porter some ideas, but I was so taken back by the
unfamiliar sounds that issued from my swarthy friend's smiling lips, that I hadn't
a word to say. "Drosky?" he at last ventured and I answered in great relief,
'* Yes." He marched me out, and selecting a cab from the line in waiting, put me
in, showing all his white teeth in a smile and a musical "Koszoom," (thank
you) for the good handful of 'Wcreufzers" I gave him. The Hungarian cabman
spoke German in a tangled Hungarian way, and I directed him thus: "The
Hotel Hungaria, or Queen of England, the nearest." His mind seemed to grasp
only the last two words of my sentence, for he nodded his head, set ofl' at a hand
gallop, as if to catch the last train for anywhere, and in a few moments pulled up
before a quaint looking building with a name like this upon it. " SZALl.ODA
PARIS VAROSAHOZ." Before I could inform him that the widest margin
couldn't translate those fugitive uncomfortable looking words into the address I
had given him, he had handed my carryall to a garcon who ran nimbly out, and
stood, cap in hand, waiting for his fare. It was but a few cents, so I handed it
over determining to investigate before I scolded, especially as I could not scold in
Hungarian. " It is a mistake of the man," I said, trying (German on the maitre
d'hotel. To my amazement, he answered in very clear English, " Come in, lady,
from the heat, and we will make it "all right " ! "
"How did you know I was English?" I demanded ; with a smile he put his
finger on the small leather card holder, that carried my address on my carryall,
" Mrs. Denison, Hotel Queen of England, Budapest," and I stood betrayed. He
saw my involuntary laugh and said, ' ' Could you not remain in my hotel ? It is
not the finest, but it is Hungarian, and we will all try and make you comfortable."
The waiters, the bell boy, the maitre d'hotel looked kindly upon me. I was hot
and (lusty, the entrance was cool and shady ; the quaint street, the frowning
fortress facing nie ; the circumstances generally were irresistable and I said in a
gracious yielding tliereto, "I will stay," and added, " (>ive ine a room where I
can look over at Buda ! " I got the room and everytliing else I wanted, during
my stay at the " Hotel of the City of Paris," wliicli was the name I finally evolved
from the mysterious alphabetical arrangement on the outside of the building. I
was hungry, having travelled from Vienna after an early breakfast, without any
lunch on the way, and my "_i;artoii" who was "(Terman-spekkan," though a
Hungarian, took it upf)n iiiinself to advise iny remaining (juietly in the shady room
he escorted me to, until he brought me a Hungarian dinner. I could watch the
street, he said, pushing out the Venetians from the bottom like an awning, and
fastening them at a convenient angle, and he would be very quick ! and he skipped
out of the room with great speed, to carry out his promise. I have always thought
I got somebody else's dinner, he came back so soon !
It was sufiioiently interesting to " watch the street," in my unaccustomed eyes.
First came slowly striding along in noiseless moccasins, a tall Albanian, with a
bundle of canes strapped across his back, and a tray of pipes and daggers befoie
him. His crimson fez. white blouse, dark blue bloomers and leggings, tall dignified
form, and stately walk made him a very revelation to American eyes. He looked
up under my Venetian awning, and held up a pretty little dagger to me. (I hope
I had not a suicidal air, perhaps I only lookeil famishing ! ) but I shook my head,
and with a few words, in a deep mellow voice, that may have been blessings or
curses, but sounded strange and mysterious, he replaced the dagger, pidled his
long mustache and strode noiselessly away. Then came some public porters in
blue jackets and breeches, and scarlet peaked caps with a number in front, and
sat themselves on a green bench under the trees before the doors of the Hotel-
One drew from his pocket a clasp knife and what seemed to me to be a cricket
ball, but from which he proceeded to hack small pieces, and munch them
vigourously with his white teeth, sol concluded it was a " brotchon " (bun) of
unprecedented hardness and "blackness." By the way, was it because I disliked
it so heartily, that I have forgotten ever to say anything about the German black
bread with its glutinous, dark gi'ey, sourish, untemptingnesa ? It is darker and
harder, and altogether ^^ awfuller'^ in Hungary, and is the staff of life indeed, to
the peasants and the poorer citizens. One of the porters, a fat man, with very
uncertain Ineeches, drove quite a trade when tlie stiect carastoppeil at a "station '
just near, in selling some little printed slipw, wiiich my gaioon informed me were
cards with the names of the horses that were entered for the i-aces. " What
races ? " " Why, Madame, every Sunday there ai e laces in the Rakos, tine sport ! "
And then I remembered having been told of tlie j)assion for iiorse-racing these
people had, and what splendid raetjj they held, in the English fashion on this
plain which in days of yore, useil to he the scene of public gatherings and national
assemblies. And surely eveiyone has heanl of that unsophisticated and primitive
performance, when, it having become necessaiy to elect a chief ruler for the
Magyar country, all the "likely" candidates assembled on horseback on the
broad plain, and sat in silence, waiting until some one of the horses neighed, the
happy rider of that outspoken quadruped being elected without a protest.
What an anxious quaker meeting that must have been !
And as I sat in my shaded wind iw, and watched the fat perspiring porter
" hustling" round the cars, with his red hat pushed back from his forehead, and
his quick hand deft'y catching the kreutzers tossed out to him, I conjectured by
his numerous sales that these way-farers were all going to spend their Sunday in
a bold bad wicked way !
A Hungarian dandy beckoned one of tiie porters away, and presently I saw him
hurrying down the street with two enormous boquets, one of carnations, pink and
crimson, the other of dark red roses. I saw plenty more of just such boquets on
Sunday, as the wide handsome carriages rolled past me on the Andrassy street,
bearing the Hungarian ladies and their attendant cavaliers to the day's fun.
Soldiers trooped by in squads, in couples, and alone, from a great " caserne " or
barracks that lay between me and the river, and they were far neater and trimmer
than the recruits of the German cities, their slight figures, tight trowsers, neat
boots, and alert swarthy faces, made a much more pleasing ''^ensemble." Opposite
to my window, on the shady side of the street are queer looking shops with the
names wrong end to, as Hungarian names always are surname first and baptis-
mal appellations afterwards, and deep dark archways leading into wine cellars,
where in great casks, glints, and blushes the peerless Himgarian wine ! I often
got a vinous whiff from these shadowy recesses, as I took my walks abroad in the
quaint highways of the Inner City.
^-
While I looked my hardest, the waiter arrived with my dinner, and Oh ! the
pleasant bustle of laying it out, and comically anxious look on his face as I ate it.
"Jo-jo ! " I said, venturing timidly on a Hungarian adjective, and he rubbed his
hands with delight, and smiled all over his honest homely face, at my approving
comment. Then he informed me with great "empresseiHtttt" that he had for my
dessert something that I had not seen in Austria, they could not grow them ! but
only in Hungary, and liaving quite whetted my curiosity by this introduction
whipped off a napkin from a tray and disclosed about ten pounds of watermelon, so
sparkling and cold and rosy, and handsome ! and then informed me that I must
only eat the very centre, not go below where the seeds began (which was rather
an extravagant proceeding,) and that he hoped I'd find it "jo-jo " also. It was —
and as perfect a specimen as ever <»rew on Hungarian or American soil, and I
laughed and praised it all. soup, dinner, dessert and wine, until his delight ex-
pressed itself in a triumphant little skip to the door and back again, and a wish
that everything else in Budapest might win like approval. There were some
queer looking vegetables served with my dinner, which looked just like boiled
earthworms ! I did not get at the real description of them, though my waiter
nearly went into fits when I asked him were they worms. They looked suggestive-
ly like them, but were doubtless some pinky tinged vermicelli or equally harmless
compound, and another queer dish was a sort of barley boiled and served with
butter ad htfinitum ! that went famously with the peppery stewed chicken, a real
Hungarian dish, which one begins by protesting against, with smarting mouth, and
ends by taking to, most kindly. It began to strike me, as I walked back into the
city, after I had so well dined, that Budapest should be called ir "^he history of
my happy holiday, the ' ' Surprising City. " Interesting I had ever looked for-
ward to finding it, but half civilized, half built, half lighted and generally
isolated and behind the times, so that the luxury of its grand cafes, the width and
smoothness, and dainty cleanliness of its spacious streets and squares, the size and
stateliness of its buildings, the style of those two delightful Hotels, where I did
not stay, filled me with wonder. I walked down the wide and beautiful Andrassy
Street, called after that patriotic Noble, who even as I write, has passed from
earth; gazing about me, like any country peasant, and enjoying the lovely vista of
noble buildings, green trees, busy wayfarers, and all the signs of wealth and refine-
ment that one sees in the finest cities, and taking my lesson soberly to heart, that
I should have to learn a new Budapest, or be very antiquated and out of date.
So went I, past the merry cafes, where hundreds of ladies and gentlemen sat
chattering, playing dominoes, flirting and driuKing their chocolate, or Hungarian
wine. Andrassy Street runs from the " Vaczi Kort " the street of the Paris
Hotel, back into the far suburbs, and is to my taste, the most beautiful street I
saw during the varied experience of my lioliday. The rows of Oleander trees,
lifting scores of waxen pink blossoms above their mcmiids of glossy green, the
crowds of handt ome women and soldierly looking officers, the happy laughter and
the general air of good living, the profusion of flowers, roses, carnations, the
queens of parterre and hothouse in utter perfection. I even noticed the officers
(to whom I suppose, military etiquette forbids a buttonhole boquet) carrying two
or three of the most perfect roses, with the twine that fastened them together,
carelessly crooked over the little finger ; one tall stern-looking officer strolled up
from the wharf one evening with the loveliest opening Marechal Neil buds dang-
ling by a string, and 1 longed to snatch them and run for it, onlj' the little finger
from which they hung rested on the hilt of a very wicked lookin;^ sword I
There are a great many monuments each in its " Ter " or square, to various
patriots and famous men, and there are ten or more Hospitals, where different
grades and classes of sick people are most kindly treated. The American Consul
can be found at 9 Varoshaz Square, and the English one on the same street as the
Hotel de Paris, the " Vaczi-kort. " In a little one gets accustomed to the queer
language, and though it is almost unicjue and not akin in the least to French or
German, it is very pretty to listen to, and however difficult, I sliould love to
have the chance to learn it. The Bank of Austro-Hungary on Joseph Square, is
one of about a dozen where one can cl\ange marks for gulden, or florins, as they
say here, and the cleiks, as are all other officials, are most polite and kind. My
hotel master wanted me to go with him, and l)e introduced to the leading (Jazette,
but I didn't feel that I should show to advantage as a " dummy," so I declined
that honor. I have to reproach myself, that among all the queer fish I met, I
did not happen anywhere upon a newspaper man, not at least, until I was sailing
homeward, but of this in its proper place !
The " Ph<pnia " and the "Equitable," looked natural enough among the
bufliuesa cards that I saw in the windows, but I did miss one old land mark.
mi^~.
thought dare say it was to 1)e found, that was the "Bodega." In Brussels, in
almost every other city I remember visiting, that familiar -'Bodega " wine shop
was a sort of land mark that I could recognise, and that always turned my
thoughts to that dingy lane off our own King Street, where so many men are to
be "seen" , who have so many friends to visit them! Sometimes that
familiar old name would spoil my most foreign train of thought ! coming in just
as incongruously as it has done here, where not even its ubiquitousness found a
chance to issert itself as I roamed about the Budapest highways and byways.
~A feature of Budapest is the bathing facilities, for fifty Kreutzers, about twenty
cents, one can indulge in Russian, plunge, or any other kind of bath preferred.
The Margaret baths are very well managed, and are on that beauty spot of
the Danube, Margaret Island. On the Buda side of the rive'' are the elegant
"Diana baths," vapour baths, and mineral as well, for the (Jermanname of Buda,
" Of en " comes from the presence of numerous hot and mineral springs therein.
The Opera H'>vise on Andrassy Street is a very handsome building, only erected
very lately, and the box prices are about the same as in Canada, while the lowest
entrance fee that I could discover was eighty cents. But, then, Budapest is not a
democratic city, and the practical jokes, the catcalls and the covered heads which
are tolerated in Toronto would be punished most severely in the "Surprising
City," so that when Jahn and Minna want to act like hoodlums, they must at-
tend second or third-class performances, where whistling, paper dart throwing,
stamping, and hig hats are permitted by the powers that be. In the swell conti-
nental theatre a woman with any kind of a headgear is simply not admitted.
There is no question of hats small or large. Perhaps the rule is not invariable
through Germany, but in Munich and Vienna, in Budapest and several other cities
where I had a cliance to encountei- tlie theatre regulations, such was the iron rule,
and, strange to say, 1 never beard the most accomplished "kicker" from my
native land raise the slightest objection to it. One reason, of course, is, that the
Continental theatres are well built, well ventilated, ami have not a current of
ilraughts continually blowing through them, also, the audience are considerate and
kind enough to be in tlieir seiits when the Opera begins, instead of straggling in
with cool draughts after them, any time during the first act.
As I took my way back, 1 met many peasants going nverward, after their day's
»■.!»
work, cleaning and brushing and weeding the public parks and gardens. The
Hungarian peasant was a great disappointment tome. I had pictured him always
in neat trim gala costume, with a gaudy jacket and high boots, ready to dance a
Csardas on a moments notice ! Instead, I found him thusly attired : — In an
enormously wide pair of crash breeches, like a divided skirt, with a long narrow
blue apron, flippity flapping as he strides by in his bare thin brown feet, with a
ahirt that would be for the better for soap and water, and a " kalapotkis," or
little round hat, with a curling rim, a sprig of green or a tiny feather stuck in its
band, and a cigarette ! He leads a life of austere simplicity, poor Jahn, with his
hard fare and his monotonous day's labor, but there was something about him, even
with all his romance stripped off, and in the hideous commonplace of crash breeches
and blue apron, that I could not help liking. He had been a trim " Little Boy
Blue," in his day, and that accounted for his straight back and even firm stride,
and although he was shy and looked cornerwise at a foreigner like me, still on
Minna's recommendation he sometimes made friends. It was great fun to go
down on the Quai, or some wide street corner and buy fruit from Minna, as she
stood, in the blazing eun that her shadow might fall on her wee sleeping baby,
patient faced and weary footed, poor tiling ; and after bargaining for peaches and
plums, and counting up their scanty cost, to give her twice her price, and point
to the baby as an excuse, and see the lovely lighting up of her brown eyes as she
stammered her surprised *' koszoom." And sometimes to see her with empty tray
and tired bones, waiting for Jahn to come flippity flaj.ping across the city to take
her and the baby home to tea, and sucli a tea, the liard black bread, and on lucky
days an onion or two, or some over ripe fruit. " C'est tout ! "
I do believe that when I recovered from my disappointment about their cos-
tumes, I liked them the more for their sweet contented lives and the way they
could laugh and smoke and tell stories, which would l)e very silly or perhaps very
broad had I only been able to understand them ! And so far as I have known
them they are true friends and very afl"ectionate and grateful — wonderful — con-
sidering their opportunities and the scantiness of their knowledge, and their
gentle, simple, cordial ways, when one does win them, were a great deal more
agreeable to me than the phlegmatic Belgian, or the selfsatisfied (Terman, or the
politely veneered superiority of the Austrian. The pleasant goodnatured ofTliand
way they slung the empty f'uit tray on their backs and helped pocr tired Minna
to " fix " the small boy, was such a change from the indiflPerence of the good
Beige, who so long as his pipe draws well, cares not if the heavens fall, or the
bossy, aggravating, heavy lordliness of the German, or the selfassertive half sar-
castic politeness of the Austrian, that I decided if I had to be a frau, I'd sooner
be Jahn's frau than any other Continental "Mann's." But I'd not like to wear
cow hide boots up to my knees, with nails in 'em as big as peas, and go clattering
round like a cat in walnut shells, nor I wouldn't keep my money tied up in the
flowing sleeve of my jacket, nor would I like to squat on the pavement and brush
i* der Herr's" boots on the public streets, nor even to carry baskets of cabbages
and bundles of cord wood, or bales of hay on my back. No ! I'd be a peasant
woman on the Margaret Island, and brush the soft fine grass every day with a
twig broom, and listen to the gypsey band, and teach little Jatms and Minnas to
dance the csardas, that's what I should do, and my Jahn should be a sailor on the
pleasure steamers that run ))etween Pesthe and the Island, and he should wear a
red and white striped jersey and a red tuque, and very natty white sailor breeches,
as the yoimg sailors do! All very fine for the warm weather, but '■'■ der wittier
kommt ! "
I walked a great deal in Pesthe, there was so much to set, and somehow, I
seemed to get what the Yankees call "the hang of things" easily. One r^ool
morning I took a drive over the Suspension Bridge, and left my victoria tor a
while, to be whisked up to the top of the rock in the cable car, that I might look
down over lowlying Pesthe, from the vantage ground of the Ramparts. It was a
lovely outlook, wlien I had crossed the "(Jeorges Platz," and burrowed my way
to the wall, eyeing and being eye<l by the little sentries who march up and down,
and wishing so awfully that I could speak ever such crazy Hungarian, for I had a
little friend among those soldiers, could I have only been able to search him out
However, tongue tied I was, and had to remain, so I stared my harde.°l ^t erery-
body — looked through my glass over the ooiintiy, and slid down to n»y >;,;.,• fiage,
where I found my driver peacefully slumberuig, and reqv;- n.g quite severe pok-
ing with my long handled parasol, before he would r.pen his eyes. I had to
"poke," for lie would never have wakened for speaking. Then he drove me
through the grand tunnel — and by winding roads up to the high land — and I had
the view over the vine-clad fields ; and as we came back, we had a quarrel over
the rate of speed.
^T
att—
■••kHMBWtiaBt
He waa no Huzigarian, but a drowsy German, and he refused utterly to go any
faster. " Then " said I, "I shall pay you for one hour, and walk back, and find
some better driver," and I got out, and took out my purse, which seemed to con-
vince him that I wasn't a kind of frau he'd been accustomed to, for he protested,
" No, no, get in and I will faster go ! " " Until we are in fine streets come ? " I
added; "Ja-ja-ja," and he kept his word, and »/<?/-<?, tearing down the hill and
round the streets of lovely Pesthe, till I could have shaken him, so stupid and
contrary was he ! II owever, he introduced me to the monuments and told me a
good many of the thing's that I have written here, and drove me to a music store
in the "Christopher Platz," where I was fortunate enough to meet a Hungarian
composer, who lived in Buda. and spoke French, and very kindly aided me to
select some Hungarian pieces. 1 have I think mentioned that I should choose tlie
lif« of the peasant woman on the Island, to that of her sister in the city, and I
want to tell about that Island, and how its beauties became known to me.
I asked my "Garcon" one day about the Hungarian music, and where the
bands played. " Madame might goto Margit-Insel " he said, with eager inter-
est. "It is now five o'clock, Madame could have dinner at the Restauration
where the Zegeuner band plays, from seven to ten in evenings." I had a little
talk with my landlord, and he gave me the route — down to the Rudolph Quai—
by steamer to the Island, and once there, the band and restauration would be
easily found. It was necessary only to follow the crowd. He also kindly gave
me a note to the Maitre d'hotel, which he said would secure me a good Hungarian
dinner, (evidently my garcon had made his report ! ) and armed on all points
thus, I set gaily out upon my trip to the Margit-Insel.
The pretty little steamer soon called at the wharf. I bought my return ticket
from a plump little maiden in the office, the bar was raised by the policeman or
guard, and I, along witli some score more of soldiers, peasants, ladies and gentle-
men, stepped aboard, and was soon sailing merrily down the stream. VVe crossed
to Buda, re-crossed to the near end of the Island, wliere I had been warned not
to get off, then back to the Imths, then finally l)ack to tlie Island, and here, on
being assured it was all right by a lady wlio divined my doubt, I "followed
the crowd," and disembarked on to the prettiest summer resort I've ever seen !
Ah, '• Margit-Szigetre," as you are called on the funny little square grey ticket
that lies on my Davenport as I write ! When I came home from the first evening
I spent there, my landlord met me with his goodnatured smile and enquired
"Did Madame enjoy the Island ? " I had no words to describe my delight, and
after I'd exhausted my stock of superlatives, he said very much pleased at my
enjoyment. "But you have Islands at home in Toronto?" I thought of the
sand bar which we guard from wind and wave, and call " our Island," and said
nothing, what could a Toronto woman say 't I5ut I thought a great many things
that I dare not record in a book.
And now, for the Margaret Island, it stretches its wooded sides along the river
for what seemed to me a long distance, but I never remembered to enquire its
size. Nearest the city is a brilliant park and baths, and I heard of caves to be
explored, but had not time to look for them A rattling Military Band played
there, whenever we passed en route to the other landing, where was the out-
door restaurant and the (iypsey band. It was one of those gracious golden
evenings, when the sunlight and moonlight almost met in the calm warm air,
andthe cool breeze up the river was just enough to keep the atmosphere de-
lightful. I walked slowly on the neat path under the wide spread forest
trees, and felt my heart full with the l)eauty of the surroundings, the broad
beds of vivid geraniums and delicately blue plumbago, the tine velvet s'vard,
the peaceful happy quiet place, thi,t was like the fultilment of some drtam
of the "golden land." Presently I came up(m the band pagoda, and the snowy
tablecloths of an outdoor restaurant. I sent in a waiter with my letter, which
speedily brought out the maitre d'hotel, a large solemn looking bearded man, who
introduced himself to me, and smiled at my enthusiasm. He ordered me a
dinner to be ready in half an hour, and recommended me to walk about and view
the land in the interval. So I started otT again, past the handsome houses and
hotels, and watched the peasants sweeping the tine turf with twig brooms, and
carrying the short grass away in "creels" upon their backs, catching sight now
and then through tlie bushes of the unfamiliar Hungarian shores, or coming sud-
denly upon a pair strolling up from the water, he lean and brown, in flash "blazer"
and tlannels, she plump and smiling in lace and soft summer silk, with the low
evening sunlight lying on her raven braids, and blushing on her clear fair cheeks.
There was a large building, a concert hall, or theatre, or museum, (I have for-
gotten,) with tine stained windows, and there were scores of stout Mamas with
books and fancy work, and crowds of pretty maids leading brown wee mites of
f;^",w«wi"»,nwiwiigwl
children, in low-necked dresses and short clipped hair, and graceful well born
demoiselles clinging arm in arm. in brilliant red or cream gowns, so stylish, so
apropos under the deep sliade, as they flitted here and there like tropical birds.
And by and by, there was a hurrying back on my part, and a finding my dinner
awaiting me, and as I ate, signs of preparation for the music in which my soul
delighted. A consumptive man and a light footed peasant woman with a bright
yellow handkerchief on her head, cane brushing and dusting, an 1 uncovering the
instruments which lay swathed in bhuk wrappers, tiie cello, tiie l)ase viols and
the Hungarian cymbalos ; and when they were all uncl,)thed and made ready, one
by one came the parforniers. The C ippjUeineister, a p )rtly swarthy, easy-going
fellow, whose great slioulders and powerful neck looked more like tiie arena than
the concert platform. Tiiey were nearly all very dark, though the cello player
was, I think, part (Jerman ; being lighter in comparison, and when I spoke to
him afterwards, intelligible in speech. Shades of Joliann Strauss I how those
Hungarians played, waltzes, quadrilles, operas and popular songs, everything
idealized as only a Zegeuner band can idealize them. And presently, the leader
drew his bow across the strings with that peculiar wierd sound that one learns to
know, and I grinned openly at him, and said to myself " now ! " As he swayed
his great body to and fro, and played, the instruments followed gently after him,
and the tap of the cymbalos, the wliistles of the flutes, the consumptive moan of
the cello, the deep voices of the gruff bass viols upheld the wierd sighing of the
violins in that mystical, poetical, soul stirring harmony, and, my rlinner got cold!
As I sat listening, it seemed to me that he was describing the scene before him,
the quiet evening sunset, the low late gleam through the trees, and the cool
green shadows gradually mounting, mounting, — and as he played and swayed
dreamily to his playing, that poem of Hungary filled my soul, and its voice went
deeper than ever voice had gone before. And I knew, without taking thought
to know, that the pretty nurses and little brown children had gathered round,
and that the groups of bright robed maidens stood a little apart, and that the
plump busy fingers had dropped the needle, and the faces were raised from the
books, and that not a jarring sound broke the silence that listened to those subtle
harmonies, until, one long quivering, soul exhausting note floated out and caught
my breath from me, and just when the charm had worked its utmost, the capelle
meister suddenly straightened himself up, and began the most wonderful dance on
strings I ever heard ! The nursemaids clapped their hands, and pirouetted lieforo
tke excited children, who patted their tiny feet in vain effort to keep time, the
men laughed, the women cried "good," the waiters flitted about like birds let
loose, the glasses clinked and a hundred merry voices rose and chimed with that
mad dance.
It was a scene to dream of in prosaic days at home !
And when it was over, that wonderful syren song, that mad blood stirring dance,
and my portly friend came solemnly out to know if I had enjoyed my dinner and
liked the music, I think my face must have quite satisfied him, for his serious
visage widened into a responsive grin, and he bade me come again and often, and
said it was something to have a lady come all the way from America to hear the
Magyar music in the Magyar's home. I boarded the pretty little steamer at halV
past nine, and sat in a dream, as we merrily sped back to Pesthe, watching the
full August moon flooduig the rushing waters with silver glory, watching the
grand pile of the Fortress at Buda growing clearer and nearer, with the lights of
its terraced sides twinkling over many a Hungarian supper table, watching the
low lying Pesthe with its ranks of massive buildings, its churches and its
theatres, its palatial Hotels "Hungaria" and " Queen of England," its casernes
teeming with swarthy soldiers, and its wine vaults rich with nectar, all the
thousand and one strange and charming things that made it to me a "surprising
city," and here, in matter of fact Toronto, the dream is upon me as I write, and I
long for Budapest as for no other city, and the music that sweeps over the ripples
of the beautiful blue Danube woos me back with subtle syren melodies, that haunt
me ever more. " Tis a far cry to Hungary," says my Scotch gossip to me ! Ah, no !
I close my eyes and I am there, under the spreading trees, with the silvered water
rushing around me, and the music of the Csardas in my ears ! . .
r
\ ,
t
T was arranged on my round trip ticket, that I should return to Vienna by
I the same route from Budapest as had conducted me to tlie latter city.
t^^ There was the choice of boat or rail, part of the way, Init I had not time
for the long trip on the riv«r, and concluded to return as I had come.
After one last lingering drive which landed me at the station, I bade " Adieu "
to the city of my dreams, hardly daring to venture to echo the kind " au revoir,"
of the good landlord, who really seemed to share in all the pleasure I had tnjoyed
in visiting the Hungarian Capital. He presented me with an insane looking
Hungarian newspaper of the day's issue, and a German one for a souvenir, also a
map and picture of the Twin Cities, and some Hungarian postage stamps, and
little odds and ends. I tried to get some photographs of the SchlossV)crg and the
Andrassy Street, the Island and tlie Quai, the great Suspension Bridge and the
fine Theatre, })ut somehow, in that last drive, though I set out on purpose to tind
the pictures, I came foolishly home without them, and cannot give you them to
help to make you see the beauty and the strength of Pesthe and Buda. The black-
eyed porter put me into the comfortable coupe ; the train slowly hid from me, his
swarthy smiling face ; one by one the landmarks fell behind, until I sat looking
seriously out on the graceful terraced fields of grapes, where among the vines were
the women and men who plucked and bore away the ripened fruit in great baskets,
ur judiciously overlooked and tended and pruned the laden ^ ines. I could see
Minna's yellow or pink cotton head-kerchief as she moved slowly up and down the
paths, to and from the vinedresser's hut, and sometimes Jahn's little hat, and
lonesome nether-garments would flash bobbing and flapping by, and picturesque
groups were standing burdened with their luscious spoils at the railway crossings,
and here and there were little stations, where as soon as the train stopped, came
(jueer disjointed mocking strains of Magyar music, proving to be the effort of
some wondering gypsey band, that opened my heart and my purse till a gulden
would come flying from a car window in their astonished midst. It was fun to
the people in my coupe, t am sure, when 1 would bounce up anct lean out to hear
the ricketty music and beam upon the lean swarthy faces, as they rushed througli
the rattling strains of the •' Rakoczy " march, (they always played that,) and
queer little disjointed fragments of some weird and musical csardas or merry
little tune, which I had heard the city peasants whistle as they raked and cli pped
and swept the beautiful parks of Budapest.
Hunga "y did not strike me as l)eing a pretty country, it was too bare and brown,
though where things tlo grow, they seem to try and make up, by their luxuriance
for the barrenness elsewhere. " You shall come in the vineyards with me, and as
you go up the hills, shall eat the different kinds of grapes, and then come back to
the city and drink tae different kinds of wine," said a sweet Hungarian friend to
me, sketching a picnic that never took place. " Yes," said I with a long face.
" And have the different kinds of pains." I can see her round laughing eyes, and
reproachful look, as she called upon all her friends to refute my statement, as
Hungarian fruit and Hungarian wine would always " make the pains go, not
come." But, barren or fruitful, the love of the Hungarian patriot for his country
is too well known to need a mention here. His life blood waters her fruitful
plains, and his tears for her, fall on her barren rocks, and his devotion to her
shines through the ages, a beacon and a pattern to the weak backed patriots of
to-day, who say one country is as good as another, and that the wild enthusiasm
of the heroes of other days was suited to an age wlien common sense wasn't as
common as it is now. They reverence their pretty flag, and look with adoring
eyes at their leaders, dead and vanished, but living in the hearts of some who
have not forgotten "48," and yet, these same people are the ones who could
cahnly lock their king up in prison for six months, because he was not doing his
duty by the state ! They are gentle and quiet, and easy-going, until some real or
fancied wrong rouses them, to lengths to which few are capable of going safely,
and their friendships are firm and lasting, they seem to love or hate with all their
hearts. One can but hope, that a century of peace and quietness will give the
country its fair chance to develop, since the main reason of its backwardness
seems to be, that it has been a squabbling ground for the nations on every side of
it. But in the last thirty years, the " devil horse " as the Indians on the C. P.
R. line called the locomotive, has carried "light and sweetness " and travellers
(like me ! ) far into tlie land of the Magyar, and as fair experience convinced me,
Hungary haa it in her to hold her own with the loveliest and the most luxurious
of the earth !
But Hungary was fading away from me, that lovely summer afternoon, and
presently we left the Danube to continue its westerly course, and struck up in a
northerly curve to busy Pressburg, and soon after steamed into the Austro-
Hungary station at Vienna. Once more I greeted my Frencli friend Moossoo, and
was escorted by " Course-o-courae " to my comfortable room. On descending to
the dining room, I was amazed to find it full of people, men and women, young
and old, liaving barely standing room for the great crowd, and the tobacco smoke
from a lumdred cigars and cigarettes making blue the air. " What is all this," I
asked Moossoo, " and how am I to get my supper ? " " Madame ! " he said with
an accent of comic despair. '* It is Messieurs et Mesdames the Restaurateurs of
Vienna, who have a convention, a soiree, here this evening, but Madame shall
come with me to the " cafe next," and have a fine souper." Accordingly he took
me through his office into a dining hall looking upon the street, and where, feel-
ing very bold and strong minded, I ordered my supper. No one was there but
gentlemen, but they did not take the least notice of me, and I wished before I'd
finished that " Messieurs et Mesdames " had held their conversazione on the first
night of my arrival in Vienna, and so introduced me to the grand dining room, for
everything was so much brighter and fresher and cheaper than in the more private
" speise-saal " of the hotel. Moossoo was much amused at my expressions, and
assured me that I could have had all my meals there, only he was always afraid
to suggest doing so to Americans, they never liked it.
What a pity it is, that we will carry our uncomfortably secluded ideas of pro-
priety into this land of freedom and comfort ! An elderly Austrian passed me,
with a long stare, and then handed me a London Times ! I said " Koszonom"
in my surprise, and he immediately began something in Hungarian, when I ex-
plained that my knowledge of Hungarian was confined to about a dozen words.
However, he spoke French and German, and a little English, and he wanted to
know something about — fV/iai do you think ? the famous Maybrick trial of which
a long account was in the Times ! I assured him that I did not know anything
about it, not having even heard of it, and such ghastly details not being interest-
ing to me, so he gravely sat down and gave me his opinion about it. He was a
professor in some university, and seemed a sort of crank, as, when I told Moossoo
about his strange behaviour he laughed and said, " Do not think anything of it,
Madame. He did not intend to be rude, Madame liad good sense not to resent
the Herr Professor's talking to her, he is the queerest man in Vienna ! I shall
put this in our newspaper, and perhaps he will see it." And he did, making
quite an item, in a style that convinced me he had misplaced his genius when he
caged it down to the hotel business. You see what good a sound scolding had
done this polite Frenchman. I often laugh when I think of the saucy way I in-
terviewed him after my night's sojourn " over the machinery of the lift," and tlie
wonderful effect a good rating had on his manners. I really do flatter myself that
he was a little tiny bit afraid of me ! There is a great deal in being goodnatured
after giving a scolding, and I was always very polite and gracious to "Moossoo "
after he'd done as I required.
I had to leave Vienna very early in the morning, and was rather put out there-
at, expressing my dislike to going so early to the station and being quite sure that
I should miss the Salzburg train after all, and have my early start for nothing.
However, I was overheard by the night concierge, a serious looking young man,
who looked such a swell, that it was sometime before I realized that he was at my
beck and call, for "a consideration." He followed me to the elevator, and
said with the air of a Marquis, ' ' Pardon Madame, my duties take me to
the station to-morrow morning. If by going a little earlier, and accompanying
Madame I could set her mind at ease, that would give me great satisfaction. " I
decided to have my mind set at ease, by this polite young Austrian, and when I
came out from my breakfast, (which was flavoured with stale tobacco smoke) I
glanced into the little office where the Concierge always sat, with his rack of keys
beside him, and his book of bills, his railroad timetables and all the powers of set-
ting minds at ease, spread ou his gas lit table. But no natty gold-laced cap hung
on the peg, no goodlooking fellow in blue and gold uniform, sat in the leather
armchair, no one at all was to be seen, oidy a tray of coffee and rolls half consum-
ed showed where the Concierge had lately bieakfasted. *' Course-o-course"
was hurrying up with the breakfast of some less punctual traveller. Moossoo was
not out of bed, and I walked to the door to see who could get me a cab, in a very
bad humor. There to my amazement stood a gentleman in a light overcoat, with
my carryall in his hand, and before Lini a swell coupe with two horses ! " Well,
Madame ! " he remarked with a polite flourish of his hat, " You shall catch your
train, I've only been waiting five minutes." It was the concierge, with a fine
hat and cane, a red necktie, and altogether the appearance of a young person
about to embark on a wedding-trip, I was quite proud of my escort, and of the
stylish turn-out he had engaged to catch the Salzburg train ! As we drove to the
station, he asked if I wanted any money changed or tickets bought, highly ap-
proved of my "rund-riese" ticket, and congratulated me on the fine trip I'd
made, was politely admiring to my carryall, and on my informing him of my not
having known him in his unofficial garb, and paying him what I am afraid was
rather a patronizing compliment, he laid all his trials an<l troubles and affairs
generally before my eyes. He was not content, this good-looking fellow, and
what could he do ? he must support himself, and he had been seven years, ever
since twenty-one, in the hotel we had left. He got ahottt two hundred dollars a
rear and his fees, (I nearly laughed when he mentioned his munificent salary !)
"And what fees do you generally get?" I asked, in a direct and business-like
way, that really I sometimes Idush to think of. " From one voyageur," he said
calmly "from half a gulden up, from parties, at the rate of half a gidden eiich.
From Americans, sometimes nothing at all, I suppose they forget, as the salaries
are in America deducted from the profits on travellers by the host, I am told.
Sometimes the Americans are very liberal, the lady friend of Madame gave uie a
gulden, Monsieur two, I think ! ' So this simple-minded genius answered my
questions, with truth shining in his iionest brown eyes, and when I thought of
hie life afterwards, I felt sorry that ten 3'ears had been practically wasted, three
in the compulsory barrack life, and seven in the gas lit room in the hotel.
•' I should wish to marry and range myself, but I have not the chance yet," he
said presently. " I have tried for many situations, but I have no friends of in-
fluence to help me. Is it true, Madame, that in America a man like me could
live well and save money ? I speak five languages, no English, truly, but I can
understand it a little, I am good accountant, and write well. See, Ma<lame,"
and he pulled out a bundle of papers and handed me one like copperplate, in its
even exactnesss. " I have i:o bad habits, and could I find a suitable demoiselle
would be ever " bon garcon." — "
" But you wouldn't be bon garcon for an American girl," I said, shaking my
head. " You'd expect her always to do just as you ordered, and buy just what
you liked, and dress just as you pleased, and be "small girl," generally. Is it
,^.
not so?" " But, certainly !" said tliis large salaried man, with the air of an Fai-
peror. " Always comes the man first, and the Holy church says the husband is
the head!" "Chut!" said I in wicked delight at upsetting his complacency,
" In America it is not so ! There, tlie man does everything to please his wife ;
there the women are first ; the men, where they can ! I tell you, I just wish you
people over here could attend a meeting of women, in America when they as-
semble to discuss whether they have all they should have in comparison with
what they deserve. They call the American men tyrants. I wonder what they would
call the Austrians ! Why even in England, where a woman is head of all things, they
have such meetings. Oil, my good concierge you'd better not come to Ameiica ! "
He took it all as seriously us a church sermon, and said quite convinced. " No, I
do not wish to live in any such country ! " He and Max O'Rell ought to have a
little talk together, I fancy it would be worth listening to.
He got me sn\all change for a hundred gulden, and out of tlie hundred I left one
little paper on his knee, (I think if he hadn't been so anxious to ''boss" the
future Madame Concierge, I'd have given him two.) He was so pleased and
polite, that I forgave him for chaiging me his cab fare back to the hotel, which 1
was just cute enough to catch him at. But I suppose he thought "setting minds
at ease " was worth that, and I am sure the funny conversation we had was, at all
events, I think I crushed the American fever in his Austrian mind, and that he
will work more contentedly night in and night out, for two hundred dollars a
year, until his luck shall find him some l)onny Austrian girl with enough money
to stock a little shop, where he can help her sell laces and tapes when he has had
his daily sleep out !
! I|
"•Tyrol."
^AI>ZliUR(i was the only Tyrolese Town on my ticket, but the said ticket
r!W| was of that accconnnodating nature that .1 coakl lay over anywhere, and
1 make any excursion into the country I wished ; my tat friend the agent in
■^^,r Handnirg, had advised me with longheaded earnestness, to take the route
direct from Vienna to Salzburg, and from Salzburg to Munich, "for," said he
"it might be bad weather, when Madame visits the Tyrol, rainy weather, the
Tyrol is no good," and as with all other of his sage remarks, I lived to bear witness to
its truth. It was a hazy morning as we sped tlirough the mountains, and misty
curtains hid their topmost peaks, but what one could see was lovely and roman-
tic and to anyone who takes a pleasure in looking at mountains, the continual suc-
cession of towering mysterious peaks and dark foggy chasm would be very fapci-
nating. Seeing me so wrapt up in the scenery, one of my fellow travellers, a fair,
red bearded man, with a look of "artist" about him, busied himself in raising
the blind as high as he could, and then politely asked me to take his seat, next
the window, where I could see without craning my neck. That is the worst of
the English and Continental railway carriages, unless one has the " window seat,"
one can see very little. I need not say I always contrived to have a window seat,
when at all possible, but thougli my mind was at ease, my body wasn't, on *^his
early morning ride, in fact, I was so sleepy that I could scarcely keep my eyes
open. Not in the enchanted Hungarian land could I spend my Sunday dozing on
the sofa, after a hot bath, as in pretty Dresden or solid old busy Hamburg, and I
was suffering accordingly !
I looked and looked at the sullen gloomy peaks of the grand Alps, and my head
nodded v aarily now and then. The gentleman who had given me his seat watched
me with evident amusement, for some time, and then remarked : " The Fraulein
is very tired and sleepy ! " " Ja-wohl," I said. " Let me try wh. * I can do ! "
he said vaguely, and he fished out a large soft plaid from the netting overhead,
and moving one seat further away from me, folded it into a pillow and plsM^ed it
beside him. "So can yoii sleep, my fraiilein " he said and with a weary "Oh,
thank you ! " I drew my travelling cloak about me and laid down. "1 know all
the country here, it is my birth place," he said. " Close your eyes and sleep,
when we come to the fine views I will wake you ! " He had the gentlest kindest
voice, and looked so benignly at me, that I at once appointed him my guardian
angel, and sank quietly into the sleep of the unaccustomed earlj'-riser. I was
awakened by a " hungry " feeling and on opening my eyes, found that our coupe
had filled completely, since I had lain down, there being nine people in it beside
myself, and my dear artist patiently standing in the centre, loth to disturb me to
secure his place ! With a red cheeked apology, I sat dizzily up, and he secured
the plaid in the shawl strap and sat beside me. "How could you let me
sleep," I said regretfully. "It was for only a moment " he said. " Does the
Fraulein understand French ?" "A great deal better than German ! " I said in
that language, and from that out we spoke in French. " They don't understand
it," said the Tyrolese. "They are peasants and are not going far." The peas-
ant woman who sat opposite to me had a ))eculiar gi-easy-looking parcel in her
hands, in shape like a small side of bacon, and in smell very good, (I knew now
what had awakened me with the "hungry feeling,) and presently she undid it
after spreading a clean towel over her dress, and it proved to l)e provision for
"lunch" for the party. She had some nice Vienna bread, and some cakes, and
she began to carve the long piece of bacon or salt "goat" or whatever it was,
into large square slabs, with a huge clasp knife. She looked benignly over at
me, and prodding uj) a monstrous stringy chunk, handed it over. My artist came
to my rescue, " Danke sehr ! " he said diverting the chunk to liiniself. " It is
fine flesh, you have cured it well. The fraulei.; is not well enough to eat the
meat, but would thankfully have a brotchen," and he helped me himself, with the
greatest coolness, before the fat Tyrolese could bestir herself, to plunge her
greasy fingers into the basket of rolls. How I blessed him, and pretended to lie
daintily hungry, and how I tried not to see those awful peasants tearing the name-
less "creature" in shreds, as they heartily enjoyed their " mittag-essen."
Under my breath, in stealthy French, I returned him my thanks, f«)r rescuing
me from the *'gaucfterie" of offe.. ""•«? these simple kindly souls, ^^ I could never
have eaten it !"'I said. " How can you i" ' Oh, it's very good indeed " he said
bravely. "I am going to pitch it out presently," \.hich he did, in such a cute
11
way, smnggled up in a paper in which he had received it, that the simple peasants
never suspected him, but pressed more "fleisch" and "hrotchens" on him, and
\ i were all ohe best of friends !
Presently we cr,me upon some charming views and my "artist " as I persisted
in thinking him to be, pointed out and named various places of interest and
amazed me by informing me that he was a professor in the Vienna University, and
was on his way to his childhood's home, for his health, which had suffered from
over-study. *' And the home, where is it? " I asked, with great interest. " Away
south from here, at Gmunden," he said. " A spot of beauty, on a charming little
lake, Madamoiselle should not go through the Tyrol without seeing Gmunden,
and Ebensee and Ischl ! " " How do you get there ? " I asked, determined to take
advantage of the charming weather, and see what was my artist's, no, professor's
idea of beauty, if it were at all posssible to do so. "Quite easily, if Mademoiselle
has the time, one can change from this coupe at Attnung, into a through coupe to
Ischl, and have a couple hours at Ischl, if one goes so far, and still be in Salzburg
to-night," he said,- after studying my " rund-reise " in which study he was aid-
ed by the greasy fingered Tyrolese women and men. "It was a fine journey for
a young lady, this ! " He said in German, to the frau, politely presenting the
ticket for her inspection, in a corner of his handkerchief. She eyed me, with in-
creased respect. " Your sister ? No ! " she said, nodding at me. " No, a friend
only," he said, "In my charge for this little M'ay to Attnuing. The fraulein
wishes to see Gmunden and Ischl, and I tell her it is possible, and still to sleep
in the City of Salzburg to-night. " "Oh, Ja-ja-ja," said everybody at once, and
so, when the guard came round again I invested in a return ticket to Ischl, greedy
for the beauties of Tyrol's lovely dell, and anxious, like " Baby" to see more !
The Herr Professor laughingly prophesied to our humble companions, that the
Fraulein would like their country beet of all, and the Fraulein prudently kept her
mouth shut, you may be sure, while the peasants with hearty "Good-byes " saw
me and my carryall and my professor alight and enter the Ischl coupe.
A queer ci came upon my ears, when I was comfortably settled, " Ein Diner,
Bit-te!" and without a moment's thought I called out the window "Ja-hier ! "
A neat garcon ran to the coupe, carrying the neatest and cutest little dinner, on
a silver tray. " There is aot time," I said doultfuUy. " Ja-ja, eat and give the
■ '■ ' —■-■
'mt;,'.
X..
service at the next station. Ein gulden, meine dame ! danke," and we were off.
I sitting gazing at my dainty " Diner " and my professor quietly laughing at me !
'• 1 can't help it," I said, " I am so surprised. This is really the best thing yet."
Let me describe the " dinner " ! A silver cup of delicious soup, a little decanter
of wine and one of water, a fresh Vienna roll, a silver bowl, wliich being uncover-
ed disclosed a slice of stuffed veal, cauliflower and potatoes, hot and well-cooked.
The cover of the bowl, was two plates reversed on each other, and containing a
wedge of strawberry tart, made with the peculiar thick rich short-cake instead of
pastry, which is the fashion in these parts. Knife, forks and spoon, paper serviette
and the funniest little wooden salt and pepper boxes, all, Messieurs et Mesdames,
for forty cents.
And wasn't I hungry ? though I did not eat until I had poured out a glass of
wine for the good professor, who had secured some sandwiches, no doubt to share
with 1X19, not expecting me to find a " Diner" so easily. I think our dinner to-
gether, (with each one-half a serviette ! ) and our happy talk of Vienna and the
Prater and the Belvedere ; and the lovely /oz'e/y (Jmunden, and the Lake, that
looked to me like Paradise, was the most delightful episode in the whole summer !
Suddenly the Professor jumped up and seized his plaid. "lam here, farewell,
may your path be all sunshine. Dieu vous benit ! " he exclaimed, and descended
from the coupe just in time. I leaned out and waved my hand to him, as he stood
looking after the train, one of nature's gentlemen, in as fair a spot as nature could
contrive ! Soon I had finished my dinner, and after handing out my tray to a
waiter who was packing a lot of similar trays in a sort of crate, at the next station,
I fouud I had done my first careless thing, and was rewarded accordingly. As I
ate, my l"'-'o fichu had been in tlio way of my tiny tray and I liad taken the
oxidized silver brooch out that fastened it, and laid it on the tray, throwing back
the fichu out of danger of my soup ; I had moreover carelessly handed out the
tray, brooch and all, to the waiter. This did not dawn upon me, so busy was I
in gazing out upon the lovely peaceful scene of lake and mountain that spread be-
fore me, until just as I began to get ready for Ischl, I missed my brooch. It was
a unique design, the souvenir of another happy holiday, in the "Royal City" of
lower Canada ; and, so far away from tlie \- ind heart that had given it to me, with
the simple monosyllable, " 7/igrf!" as is the fashion with the "married animal," —
I felt its loss more than if it had been a mucli more costly purchase of my own.
'■♦'-"rl.
I
" Can't I get it back ! " I asked the guard earnestly. •' My mavn in Canada
gave it to me. I must not go home without it ! " Thus did I impress this good
Tyrolese with an idea of the abject submission of the o-dinary Canadian frau 1 (I
wonder something didn't happen me !) " We will get it back, certainly ! " said
he, in the most matter-of-fact tone. " Madame is sure she left it on the tray.'>
"Perfectly sure!" I said, after a nervous glance round the coupe. "Then on
the return to Attnung, where will be a rest of quarter of an hour, Madame must go
to the office of the chief, make her statement, leave her address, and in due time
receive her bijouterie I" "Are you sure?" ^^ Ahsolutement" he said, smiling
encouragingly, and the train dashed into Ischl. I left my carryall in the charge
of the Station Master, and passing the cabs and busses, trotted briskly up the
green lanes that lead from the station to the dear little village nestling at the
bottom of a "Cup " of lovely hills. 1 had determined to have a mountain walk,
if I got lost, it would be only a new excitement, and if I missed the train it would
make no difference really, whether I slept at Ischl or Salzburg, I was free to stay
where I pleased, and accordingly away I went, sure of a good two hours to ex-
plore the enchanting environs of quaint little Ischl. It was a walk to be remem-
bered, romantic and interesting, past the pretty little hotels, the old-old-fashioned
houses, the funny antiquated postoffice, where I went to enquire the address of my
Vienna friend, but failed to 6nd her ; out into the green of the lower mountains,
over the rushing waters of the Traun River, which finds a gorge to tear through
just above the town, past the Cafe Imperial, the Emperor Francis Joseph's sum-
mer residence, with its vine covered verandiilisand awninged windows, and beau-
tiful little garden, on and on, delighting in my escapade, until little Ischl lay be-
low, and the mysterious iiiountains loomed overhead. *
I found my way to tlie station by another road, and arrived rather weary and
with just five minutes to spare. The old station master was looking out for me,
with his eye-glasses on his nose, and his bristling white moustaciie standing out
like the old Crimean moustache that it was !
While he was checking my carryall, on my arrival, he had given me some direc-
tions about my walk, and informed me that he had fought and been wounded
long before 1 was Iwrn ! How nice to look younger than one is ! On the inspira-
tion of the m(mient I told him ab lut my loss, and he thoroughly entered into my
" terror ! " of going home without my little brooch. " (livc me the description "
he said, hurriedly, and I will see about it ! All this fuss had made me feel rather
impressed with the chances in favour of finding my jewellery, and I gave him all par-
ticulars of my carelessness, also even sketching him the design (an old man's hetid,
in the act of sneezing,) and then, just as the train came slowly panting up, receiv-
ing from his careful old hands my worthy carryall, and paying two cents for the
custody thereof. Perhaps it would surprise my readers to hear that two days after
my arrival in Toronto, I received my little brooch, by mail, accompanied by the
following letter, from a swiss friend who had promised to look out for it at the
Dom Hotel, Cologne (the address I had given) and who received it from the hands
of my childlike concierge with the wide smile, on my written order. — "I return
you your little man, who has made so long a journey by himself. That he is
brave man ! Is it not so ? Your good friend in Isclil searched heaven and earth
to find him, and the expense of return has been one franc. The other franc you
left with me, in case of necessity, shall it be for some poor one, or is there not
something you'd like for it ? " I answered not long ago, after receiving a second
letter from my kind Suisse, that I should like a photo of Thorwaldsen's Lion of
Lucerne, and lo ! as I write, this very day, the postman brings me my photo, and
it lies before me ! This is a little like a " coincidence," is it not ?
And, on leaving Isclil, I went back by tlie road I had come, with this advant-
age, that the clouds liad all cleared away, and the evening sun gilded the peaceful
lakes and touched with fire the distant mountain peaks, falling also, with tender
touches athwart a carven crucifix that stood on a tiny bit of rock away out in the
water. There were four Tyrolese in the coupe, an old man and his fran, and two
young fellows, the woman with her headgear of black silk l)ound across her fore-
liead and hanging down in kerchief ends behind. Siic evidently regarded me as
an intruder on the family party, and expressed herself to tliat eii'ect. I am not a
bit " meek," so I asked her if slie had liovght the coupe, and made as if to take
down my carryall, and leave ! The young men assured me that I was weUome,
and th..t they were merely passengers like myself. " Not like me ! " I said earn-
estly, "I could not be so gauche !" And witli that parthian shot I turned my
attention to the beauty of the scene. Presently tlie old man produced a surrepti-
tious pipe, filled with very rank tobacco, and took a l<mg whitf. I summoned
courage, looked at him mildly, and remarked," Here is not a smoking carriage."
"Oh Jaw," ho said indifferently and gave another good whiff. The woman
laughed, and my Irish was up ! " You are not to smoke here ! " I said sternly,
and looked at him in an awful way, my throat uncomfortably swelling, and my
eyes brimming at the full whiff he sent in my direction. Then arose a noisy discus-
sion, Madame taking the part of her lord and master, and the young Tyrolese
evidently favouring me, until one of them volunteered to go and find the guard
and leave him to settle the question That good fellow soon sat upon the whole
party, and Monsieur, finding out that he " must not do so any more " under pain
of goodness only knows what of fine and imprisonment, coiled himself up and went
to sleep, while Madame turned her back to me, rolled up her hands in her apron,
put out her lip, just for all the world like the old frau in Cologne, and soon fol-
lowed her "mann" into dreamland '
My young champion seated himself opposite me, and stared at me calmly. He
was a handsome blue-eyed laddie, with a cunning little mouth and a still cun-
ninger moustache, and he evidently wanted to make amends for the ill manners of
his compatriots. I looked at him in a friendly way, and he took off his hat and
began to smooth the curling blackcock feathers that nestled in his hat band, essay-
ing presently a monosyllabic remark to his companion which made them both
smile. " Are you Tyrolese ? " I began valiantly. " Ja-ja," he answered, with a
laugh. *' Do you live in the mountains ? " " Ja-ja," and he gave the other peas-
ant a look as much as to say, ' ' You are nowhere ! " The friend would not be
scorned thus ! and took his seat beside me, remarking " English frau ? " " No,"
I said goAclnaturedly "lam an American, Can you Ycdel?" They both burst
out laughing and said "Ja-ja. Has the American frau heard the yodelling?"
" No, but I should like to ! " I said gravely. Then they began a string of ques-
tions, leaning forward in their eagerness. " Was it far to America?" and "is
Canada in England?" and "is it like the Tyrol?" They had heard of Niagara
Falls, and when I told them I lived quite near them, and described the Cibola and
Chicora and their daily trips to Niagara, they were mightily interested. They
evidently thought that Niagara roared and thundered in the midst of a howling
wilderness. After quite an eflfort to enlighten their ignorance on matters Cana-
dian, I was prepared for the next question. " How much does it cost to go there?"
I had no idea, but told them in marks, how much my trip had cost, and was quite
dismayed at the reception of my information. They sat back and regarded me
with round eyes, and evidently made up their Tyrolese minds that they had found
d r . '^'' ^' -* °"° »' *- *" *.peri„g ^eh the other, ventu.
L„„de : le L:.rr3 r "■ ""*'" *™ "° '°"«-- ^--^ ^^ -' -
note. The, w'e T^ 'o t™' ^'°"' ""^ ""' " '""^ '^°""'' ''"" "
Tlx^ kaii\y City.
|T was after dark and raining hard, when I reached the hotel in .Salzburg,
II thoroughly worn out with my long happy day. To my surprise, I saw,
as soon as I reached the dining room that I had chosen the favourite
abiding place of the British Tourist. The hotel was full, the only room
vacant was a very grand one on the first floor, looking out over a garden,
but if it had been much grander and the lates much higher, I shouldn't have
waited to look for another ! " Only a bath and a rest " I said basely descending
to English, as I found the waiter was a Cockney. Down stairs I went about nine
o'clock for my "souper," and found as I have said, the room full of English
people, all enraged at '■'■ the weather." Now, if anything makes bad weather un-
bearable, it is to hear the British Matron's comments thereon ! The Archdeacon
was there, in his leggings and apron, and Mrs. Archdeacon and four Miss Arch-
deacons, and the way those supposed worshippers of a Divine Ruler of the Universe,
railed against the rain He had sent upon them, and the aggrieve* and badly used
tones they conversed in, spoiled my appetite. " Well, well. Mama and girls, per-
haps this abominable rain may give over in time for our drive, but if not, you had
better pack up and we will leave to-morrow." There were foreigners there too,
of course, and they sat amiably munching their frugal supper, and chatting quietly
together. There were two very callow young parsons, of the Ritualistic type, who
were employed in eating very heartily and nervously eyeing the Mistes Arch-
deacon who stared at them in that peculiarly repellant manner that developes no-
where but in the British Isles. When one young priest dropped his eyes and
crossed himself over his dinner, the Misses Archdeacon all looked at their mother
who looked at their father, who beckoned the waiter, and wrote on a slip of
paper, and sent the man to the register, I fancy, for he came back with a couple
of names written on a card, which Mr. Archdeacon handed to Mamn to read for
him, and which she read in quite audible tones, as was evident by the increased
complexion of the young parsons, and their suddenly finding something interesting
in the Bill of Fare to discuss. This beginning of friendly advances made in such
wellbred and charming considerateness, ended by the Archdeacon sending his card
to the two young parsons with the message that he would be with his party in the
drawingrooms, and I was amused at the conversation of the parsons. •' Good-
looking girls, Eh, old fellow ? " " Ya-as." «' Know the family ? " "N-a-a-w. "
•• Better hook on, they're in your county, have a pretty place. Come, coy crea-
ture ! " and I nearly laughed outright as I caught his eye, and saw him realize
that I had heard him. The parson who had attracted the Archdeacon, was a
stupid stick, but the parson who had boldly eyed all the Misses Archdeacon, was a
fair, happy-looking boy, who would have become better a suit of flannels and a
tennis hat, than his present lugubrious garb.
Beside the Misses Archdeacon and their parents there were, as I am an amused
chronicler, the two old fat Yankee ladies, who had gone through the interview
with the Custom officer at Herbestal. I puzzled for a long time over them, but
did not recognize them at first. They looked very tired, and yawned undisguised-
ly as I followed them to the drawing room, where the prettiest Miss Archdeacon
was looking over photographs with the mischievous young parson, while the "coy
creature " was being talked to by mama and papa, and was having a very serious
crossquestioning about his family connections. One might as well have been in
the Rectory drawing rooms in shire ! so I left them to worry each other, and
gladly tumbled into bed
We had " the weather " again a^ breakfast, when it was arranged very audibly
for everyones benefit, that the coy creature and the Archdeacon should go for a
tramp, Mama write letters and the scamp amuse the girls. All to drive after
the pedestrians and fetch < n home, if the afternoon were fair. One might once
more, have been in the Rectory ! so strong a flavour of " English as she is spoke" and
thought and acted did these people contrive to disseminate about them, so far from
home ! In the intervals of rain I started for a short drive through the city, and
had the satisfaction of gazing upon Mozart's birth-place and home, which one can
identify by the golden harp upon the outer wall, and of spending a short time in
tlie fine Cathedral, and hearing its delightful peal of bells. There are salt works
somewhere near, but the rain came on in torrents and I took refuge in the Cathe-
dral while my cocher drove under a sheltering arch, so that an end was put to
sightseeing for that day. The archdeacon and the coy creature came in just after
■twiUKiM
ill
I got l)fick, and somehow tlie dignitary and I had (juite a smart chat, beginning
with the weather and not awed by the presence of Mama, the scribe who listened,
and wrote not a lourd ! and ending with hearty condolences on the loss of my very
nice umbrella which must have fallen from the carriage during my drive, and was
probably keeping dry some portly Salzburger ! It is needless to a<ld that I never
got it back, for I am afraid the whole human race shares in the same moral obli-
quity on the umljrella question. My waiter expressed disgust when I toM him I
was going away the same afternoon. " Why, you 'avent seen nethink my lady ! "
he said. I had seen signs of a rainy week (which I afterwards heard weie veri-
fied) and rain and families of Archdeacons didn't make me happy, so why should
I have them forced upon me? I left in a down pour at about two o'clock, so
mightily glad that I'd had some sort of a glimpse of the Tyrol l^efore I reached
the Rainy City.
Salzburg must be a nice place in fair weather ; all ro\ind it rise lofty mountain
peaks, with old castles of venerable and picturesque appearance perched upon
them. There are lots of drives and walking tours that for little expense or fati-
gue land one in the most rugged and charming scenery, and had I remained, and
fine weather arrived, (neither of which happy events transpired,) I have no
doubt that the Archdeacon would have (after duly inspecting my family tree)
taken me for many a jolly tramp, and that I should have thoroughly enjoyed his
venerable society. But then, I should have had to buy another umbrella !
Shall I ever forget the time 1 had on that trip from Salzburg to Munich ? I
found a non-smoker coupe, tenanted by two ladies and an old gentleman, and
should the three of them read their description here, I trust they will forgive me !
The ladies were more than pretty, they were beautiful, one so fair and round and
demure, the other so stately in her petite dark-eyed beauty. I sketched her, as
she knows, but on second thoughts I won't insult her memory by exhibiting such
an unworthy attempt to produce her delicate loveliness. Suddenly, as we settled
ourselves for a quiet read, two German students bounced into the coupe, one dark
and bearded, the other immensely tall and fair and smoothfaced, with such widb
longhands, and a great square "gepack" strapped upon his shoulders. I never
saw two such crazy mischievous imps as those men !
Presently, I noticed the lovely graceful pose of my pretty neighbour, and began
slyly to sketch her in my note book. She read on unconsciously and no one would
have been the wiser, had it not been for those scamps of students. The tall one
deliberately stretched his great length across the carriage to put up his gepack
over my head, and looked down on my little picture. " (iut," he said cjuite aloud.
" Tlie beautiful fraulein,' and his friend got up too to look, as I sat trying to be
dignified and unconscious, but feeling horribly that the ladies and their cliaperon
were listening and looking suspiciously at me. Those horrible students were so
deliglited with their discovery, that they stared openly at the young girl who bit
her lip aud read studiously, while her fair companion, not so discreet peeped round
the corner of my seat inquisitively. I folded the sketch up and handed it to her,
saying gravely, " I sliould like to keep it, if Mailemoiselle has no objection." I
spoke in French, for the blonde was reading Dumas in tiie origiiuil. Siie leaned
forward after looking at the sketch, and handed it back to me, then spoke in a
low voice to the old gentleman, who smiled goodnaturedly. I was much relieved,
until the bearded German seating himself between us, accosted me in very pretty
French, begging to know my destination and whether I had been long in the
Tyrol, "Monsieur" I said, at a venture, " my destination is Heidelburg, do you
know anything of it ? " Both of tlie " Studenten " burst into a laugh, and poured
upon me a volume of information, asking how I was going ? how long to stay ?
where? and so on. Then tlie long armed hauled down his "gepack," and after
unstrapping many a l)uckle, spread out the square of oilcloth, whicli held his
spare flannels and l)ath towels, and sundry and manifold other comforts, and
fished out a small folding photograph album, with numerous fine views of the
Rhine City. " Heinrich " was his christian name, and Heidelltcrg was his Uni-
versity, as the fly leaf told me, and I passed a very pleasant half hour, hearing
the most awful stories of student life, translated in French for me by tlie obliging
fellow on my left, until a sort of smothered giggle from the fair girl beside liim
Miade him include iier also in his audience. " My friend Heinrich " he explained
"is, Madame, and Mademoiselle in a sad state, he has heart disease, and lam
anxious about him, (nay, nay Heinrich, I speak nothing but good of you ! " ) he
interpolated, in (ierman, and Heinrich amused himself by rolling a cigarette and
Immming a Studenten Lieder. " He is so large, but he is very delicate, and if the
beautiful lady opposite aud the kind gentleman beside you would not object, I
should so like to have him smoke for a few moments, " I could not see any
' **** ".»!^»««^.,,
' I
thing bmt sheer miachief in all this nonsense. "I was a little provoked'
with the others for allowing Ileinrich this privilege, which they did with many
compassionate glances. He lit liis cigarette and took one puff, when I looked at
him and began, *' My friend," but he did not wait for any more, flinging it through
the window with an impatient exclamation, and giving me a very wrathy look !
" Mada'ne is cruel " said my next door neighbour warmly, but I turned on him
very quietly and said "I am sorry the Herr Heinrich has so little politeness as to
commit such a rudeness, I don't believe he would have tried it, if you had not led
him on. Remember, Monsieur, that American ladies like at least to be asked for
a privilege." "I asked, you heard me ! " he exclaimed. " Not a bit of it, you
told a lot of stories to those young ladies and their escort, but you never asked me
if I should object to my 7iis-a-vis smoking in my face ! So I don't intend to have
him do any such thing. "
" Will you come and sit here? " said the lovely brunette, making room for me
with a smile. "I have felt sorry ever since I told the young man to smoke. I
began to suspect it was a Immbug ! " So I deserted my German Students, and
received for my trouble their frowns, and assurances that " at Heidelburg I should
see them smoke." Then they began a system of retaliation, which annoyed us
very much for a little while. Heinrich took out his pencil and sketch book, and
pretended to sketch the whole of us, then he again rolled a cigarette and standing
up (which the coupe barely allowed his great inches room to do) he opened a slit
at the top of the window and puffed the smoke cleverly out at it. Then his com-
panion tried to enter into conversation with tlie plump lady on his left, and when
she did not respond by word or look, confided to Heinrich that the poor Fraulein
was dumb ! How sad, and so young anil beautiful. Fortunately the Fraulein did
not understand him, as he soon found out, then they sang together some " Studen-
ten Lieder " and imitated the pouring of beer and the click of beer mugs in such
a natural way, that I had all I could do not to say " Bravo," but experience had
taught me that there was one kind of Continental creature, beside fleas, that I
could have too mucli of, so I mutely studied my book, and only spoke to the beauty
beside me, as an occasionally fine view broke upon us.
She also was reading a French book, and she spoke always in French, so that I
was more than surprised when she leaned across to the kind-looking gentleman
opposite and remarked in English, " Would you ask the guard if we can't have
l\
another carriage, I really cannot stand these Germans any longer," for by this
time Heinrioh and his companion liad established themselves side by side in the
opposite corner and were amusing themselves by staring at her with very cheeky re
marks, and conjectures as to her nationality. When she spoke in very refined
quiet English I was so surprised that I turned to her at once " You are Ameri-
can ! " I said, "and so am I, Do not think of leaving the coupe, they are getting
off directly." Things went swimmingly after that, and their books were put
away, as we chatted and compared notes, and my pretty compatriot told me that
they were going to Munich also, but not to remain, on, that same evening, to
Nurnberg and to-morrow to Bayreuth to hear the last presentation of " Parsifal."
•• We have not gotten seats, but we are going to have them, no matter if they
cost twenty dollars a piece," she said laughing. " We just happened to hear, in
the Tyrol, that to-morrow was the last night, and we have been travelling ever
since to get there in time. I am afraid our good guardian is quite worn out, but
he's going to bear up, just for this once ! " and with a sweet little penitent face,
she patted the old gentleman's hand. The "studenten" were completely shut
out, as they understood not English, and at the next station they bid us adieu,
that great Heinrich actually, with tourist cap and alpenstock in hand, insisting
upon shaking hands with me, and bidding me " Auf Wiedersehn " till we met at
Heidelberg ! I said, " You should apologize to Mademoiselle for your gaucherie,"
and with true German surprise he answered, " Ho, not I, how pretty she is. Eh ?
that Fraulein. Come now, tell me, is she Russ ? " I had to laugh at him, after
all, and he went off whistling a student song.
Tr-'/'j*?*!."'' "■' ' " ?■-"*'■)- ^ "-' -'^ '.*?'
;
iii.
" ?»,l
V\Ui\cl\^i\" to Coi\5tai\c^.
tHK rain did not follow us into Bavaria, or rather it left just as we arrived
iBTjiiP and the evening drive in the great Hotel Bus was not very awful,
ij^J^ though we had sixteen trunks on the roof and tiiirteen American women
-^^^ in the interior of that stront{ly Imilt equipage. I saw the '■'■ Munihetie*s"
laughing and pointing as we rattled along the streets and squares, and drew up
heavily before our hotel, and I felt like a Cook's tourist party. The "men" of
the assembly had gone on ahead to secure looms and were waiting like very seedy
concierges round the hotel entry, for the " women that owned them!" Ah, if
the American female is (^ueen over her own stoop and backyard at home, what
is she when she entices her good man across the herring pond, and drags him al)out
the continent ? "A holy terror" as a slangy friend of mine would say. These
people were all going to Bayreuth, next day, all had seats in the Opera House,
secured by one poor wretch of a man, who had been " miserable " and so, had
been shipped off to liayreuth to arrange for these jolly females and their jaw-work-
ing escorts to enjoy "Parsifal," and who was now smiling in a sickly manner
under the thanks and blandishn^vsnts and commiserations of every woman in the
party, except his wife, who took no notice of him whatever ! '
" W?//Mr. Symes, h're we all are. Why you look r^/ well. Did yow get our
seats in the hest places ! Is your dyspepsia easier? My! I think the Munich air
is the very best thing for you, you look spleiidirt." While the dyspeptic Mr.
Symes after turning to expectorate in a safe corner, and looking a wreck of every-
thing resembling a man, subsided into the back ground, and the fat ladies bustletl
off to the elevator, and crowding into it, untd the jmor boy in attendance could
barely find a scjuare foot to stand on, went chattering like Magpies in a cage, to
their flat. In the meantime, I, quite overpowered, stood waiting for a space to
open between me an<l the c<mcierge, who spying me out, and I am afraid, rightly
interpreting the twinkle of fun in my eye, came politely and escorted me to the
parlor, where I waited until I was summoned to inspect my room. As the Ameri-
can party had gone higher up, for the comfort of having rooms all in a row, I was
not the worse for their onslaught, .and soon found Tiyself established in a cosy
apartment, with a pretty chambermaid smilingly initiating me into the mysteries
of the two electric light buttons, and wanting to know if Madame was of the party
or alone. '
At dinner in the evening all the talk was of the opera, and anticipations of en-
joyment thereat, until I was almost tempted to creep under the wing of one of the
stout Americans and go myself. I cannot see now why I did not ! for the dyspep-
tic Mr. Symes said openly that he was sure it would be a " fraud ! " and offered
his five dollar seat at a discount to anybody who was " German Opera crazy, for
/ aint." I should have certainly snapped at the offer, but for the snarling voice
of Mrs. Symes, who chimed in suddenly, and reduced her recalcitrant lord to
order as follows: "Now, Henry Symes, you just shut up directly, you have
dragged me up here to listen to your Parsifal, and you are going to see it through,
so don't talk like that." Further remark from the party revealed to me that Mr.
Symes had bargained with some earlier birds for seats in a forward part of the
opera house which they had secured, at his loss of one hundred per cent, but the
ladies seemed mightily to enjoy this part of the bargain, laughing at him im-
moderately, and not a man of the party seemed to grudge ten dollars where five
would have done as well.
Here it was that I met tlie little French lady who amused herself with my ac-
counts of Prince Pudolp's death, and on the next afternoon, I told her of my
regret for not seeing Parsifal. " Yes," she said, seriously, " You should have
gone, and even if you didn't get a very good seat, no seats arc bad in Madame
Wagner's Opera House. And she won't have many more seasons of Wagner
Opera, I am afraid. The expenses are awful, and the artists are very unmanage-
able. They quarrelled so, it was dreadful, and they don't mind poor Madame
Wagner, as they would a Master. I am so sorry you didn't go. Why, we could
have gone together, for the last night, and had a day in Nurnberg ! There is a
quaint city, if you please." "Yes," I agreed. "There I was to go and see
Albert Durer's house, and that funny old restaurant where are only so many
chairs and tables, and where one can only have bread, sausages and beer! just the
same as it was hundreds of years ago." "O' nush!" said Madame, with her
little hands uplifted " It is the horrid (ierman beer and sausage ! You would
rather see the quaint old builtlings and the (jucer streets. You liked Prag. Wait
till you see Nurnl)erg, and for restaurants, you will see tliose in my city. Chut !
not going to Paris ! Oh, Madame ! and the Exposition on, and perhaps, God
knows ! the Parisians will have another war before you come again, and destroy
all the rest of the beautiful old places of Paris. The Rliine, pouf ! There it is
any time ! but Paris is not so sure ! " and she so talked to me, and upbraided me,
that I beean to waver in my determination to give Paris the go-by, — as I had
done seven years ago — and almost promised her, to make time for a few days in
her city.
The concierge told me, during the day, that there was a very good opera at the
Hof Theatre just on the next block, wliich "went in " at seven o'clock and to
which I could go alone if I wished. I commissioned him to get me a seat, stipu-
lating for a front one, and on mentioning it to my French friend at dejeuner, she
announced that she had also taken a seat and that we sliould go together. We
did so, surrendering our cloaks and hoods to a woman in the anteroom who
checked them for us, and being escorted to our seats, wliich were not near, Ma-
dame having gone in the second range, while my literal concierge liad seatc<l me
n what we call here, "the bald-headed row." The opera was V^erdis' Othello,
and the singing and acting were fine. lagf) was as clever a troubler of Love's
young dream as he could be, and Desdemona was handsome, and her liquid voice
sang sweetly all lier part, especially the Ave Maria, whicii embodies lier prayer at
the shrine before she lies down for her last sleep on earth. Tlie peculiarity of
the South-German pronunciation struck me very much in listening.' to the artists,
when they softened tlie North-German " icli " into "isl»." It destroys the char .
actor of the language a good deal.
My little friend invited me to supper in her room, and tol<l nie of her son, a
student at Zurich, and was so pretty and lady-like and entertaining that tlio
evening passed (|uickly. It was (juite an evening too, for we got home about
twenty minutes to ten from the opera. \Vliat a sensible itlea ! It ia worth a little
hurry over dinner to have the long after-chat !
• And I heaved a sigh over Heidelberg as I laid mc; down to sleep, for my French
temptress had been at me again, and this time she did not leave mo until I promis-
ed to goto Paris. "From IJiUe," she said, after a look at my " rund-reise,"
mumimmmmm
" You shall sell your tickol, if you get a good chiince, if not, you can sell it in
Paris, discreetly, you know, for it is against the law, and even at Lucerne, begin
to keep the eyes open ! It were cheaper to take a ticket from Lucerne to Paris,
than lose your chance of selling this great thing. All the way back to Hamburg,
I declare, and fourth-class from Cologne to Hamburg ! My child, you couldn't
travel like Ma/." I lauglied and explained the scheme ; it had been compulsory
to tane a ticket back to Hamburg to make the "round trip," but as I only intend-
ed going as far as Cologne, my fat agent had ma<le it fourth class for the part I
did not require. "How thej' are sharp ! those Hamburgers !" she said, laughing,
"1 wonder they did not clieat yf)u, little Canadian I" And I stood up bravely for my
good tradespeople in the Metropolis of the Elbe, little wotting of the hour to come,
when skimped sealskin, and a brazen fraud, slyly slipped in among a lot of pretty
^'' bijouterie, ^^ that was a// warranted " echte geld"— (real gold) should cause me to
remember ruefully her surprise.
Yes, they are sharp, those Hamburgers.
The second day in Munich my companion took )ne for a I g walk, and we had
an hour's slu)p{)ing; in tliis city are to be had the cheapest and the prettiest
articles in silver '■^bijoterie" I saw anywhere. I replaced my unfortunate little
brooch by a killing trio of children's faces, for a mere trifle, and I went on another
expedition after the long-sought meerschaum pipe, which had been a commission
hung about my neck by my lord and master on my departure for the Happy Holi-
day. Tliis time I found what I wanted, in quality, price and design, and decided
that Municii iiad tlie prettiest assortment of pipes of any city I had visited. A
funny little cigarette iiolder of local association, formed of a Munchen "Krug," or
beer nnig, also found its way into the Carryall. I was just a little ruffled when
the dignified concierge of our hotel, after an admiring look at the pretty pipe, re-
marked, "Madame got a good bargain for ," and named just two-thirds of
what I had paid. I hastily corrected him, and a smile stole over his quiet face.
"Ah, what a pity Madame had not asked tiie to buy it, after making her choice of
design. The price was as I said, Madame, but the wicked fellow saw you were a
stranger! Well, well, that makes us a bad name with tourists!"
In the afternoon we took a drive out on the wide clean streets, under the mag-
nificent "Victory («ate" that spans tiie spacious tluHoughfare, with its noble arches,
A
s
^
t
n
IHH
I !
and which is said to be an imitation of a triumphal arch in the Forum, past the
Glyptothek, or Gallery of Sculpture, and the other art galleries, whose names I
shall spare you. The Glyptothek is very well worth an afternoon's visit, more
lengthy than we had time for. Some stately sculptures and delightful groups and
figures by Canova, Thorwaldsen and other masters of the poetry of stone, made us
long to stay for an hour among them ; and then the various iiandsome churches,
the great cathedral, with its funny square towers, with "hats on," as an American
described them, and the monuments more numerous here than almost anywhere
else that I liave noticed, and the Hof theatre, where we went last night, with ita
vast auditorium and five or more sliallow galleries, the largest in Germany some one
told us ; at all events, an impressive sight, when, between the acts, those privileged
people in the "front row" can face about, sit on the orchestra rail, and calmly
survey the whole brilliant house. I asked my little " Fraticaise" afterwards if it
had been a very bold thing to do, thus to gaze from my vantage ground into the
faces of my neighbors. "Oh, no," she said carelessly. "All that other people do,
why (with patience?) should not you, and if you will only do as others do, who
should call you singular or bold V" Munich, although comparatively modern, (or
so it struck //ic), has numbers of galleries, nniseums, concert rooms, and all sorts
of grand buildings, for many of which it has to thank the first King Ludwig, who
spent many thousands of pounds in beautifying his royal city, and also the good
Maximilian, whoso statue adorns the street of our hotel, and in whose honor a sort
of museum has been erected at the end of the street Itearing his name, called "Maxi-
milianeum."
We walked up the Maximilian street to it, crossing the stone bridge over the
river and l(w>king down upon the raging stream which is still, as on the eve of
Hohenlinden battle, "The Iser rolling rapidly," and I was amused at my little
frien<rs indignaticm at tlie drowning of jwor daft King Ludwig the second. " He
never tried to <lrown himself,"' she said gravely. "The people would never have
had hiih put under restraint, they all loved him so, but for someone's advancement
ho must be put aside. Mark you, my dear, the poor man was put in that lake,
go!" and with, a sphinx dike nod the funny little lady turned the conversation.
Presently, however, she burst out again, "What crazy thing did the poor man
do?" she demamltxl. "Omy built palaces ! and these people — miserables! are mak-
ing showplaces of these pala ;es now, making lots of money out ot them. Tut, tut,
'Ai,
tmm
%
tut !" and I burst out laughing and said, "Why, Madame, you're half a Bavarian
yourself, I believe !" but she denied that, seriously, and went on, "and that poor
Ludwig he was such a fine, tall, handsome man, so kind of heart, see how he took
off his fur cloak and wrapped it round a poor match-seller on this very corner, how
he loved the poor. Ah, Bon Dieu ! these beer drinkers deserved not any such
man !" I had the greatest fun out of this dear little woman, she was so comical,
and I thought more than once that if all ^^ Parisiennes" were like her, I should
have a better cliance of being happy in Paris than going up the Rhine, even with
Heidelberg and Rudesheini and the students to turn the scale.
That evening our American party were back for dinner, and I enjoyed them very
much. One especially, a tall, portly Jewish-looking person, sumjituously dressed,
and the proprietress of the smallest husband in the crowd, whose name of "Horatio"
nearly upset my gravity, entertained us during dinner with an account of the Bay-
reuth experience, which will do my readers perhaps as much good as if they had
my own.
This lady was ^^hrirn full" as she informed the company, of ** semi-tones,'"
"Wagner always affects me so!" she said, putting both her elbows on the table
and her round little chin in her bejewelled hands. "I can't sleep for them, not
for two nights. Can I, Horatio? There, you see, Horatio says so! I lie down
thinking about a certain a-ar, (I suppose she meant air) and it goes sliding a semi-
tone up, or a semi-tone low, and it does nearly set me wild before it gets settled T^
I looked at her in amazement and she gave me a nod. "You know how 'tis," she
said, confidentially. "Have you been to Bayreuth? No? Well, what a pity, you
have a musical brow." Just for one little minute I had to stop, thinking what a
musical brow might be! but I added to her personalities by boldly venturing, "So
have you, I am sure ! I wish you would tell me about the opera. " And she,
backed by Horatio as a reference, and applauded by Madame and all tlie Americans
spoke as follows: "Well, when we got there it was quite early, and we had tea in
the lodging that Mr. Symes had picked on. Really, if it wasn't for that man, I
don't know what we'd do. He's just i\ father to us, and we had tlie best seats in
the house. It's the queerest opera house, no orchestra that you can see, they're
down cellar somewhere, I guess ! and we all went in and were chatting away, when
to the very second, the lights went out ! Yes, out, not down, but out. I'll bet
you a dollar, Horatio, I can't ever prove it, but you are wrong, they went l>lack
out! Then some one, some German said "Imsh-h-h," (we were laughing a little)
and then we all shut right up. / sat there and said "hush-h-h" just as loud as
anyone ! Well, we all hushed, tind the mu dc began, and the scenery, Oh, my ! it
was perfectly grsmd, and tlie actors and th'? =iir ging and everything, Oh, my! When
we came out I felt as if I'd been through a w i Jr-ging machine. My spirit was clean
gone. Just like the (^ueen of .Sliel)a, for ail (he world! I don't believe 111 ever
want to see another opera, not even in New York. It was just Diiune!"
Even in spite of her incongruous remarks, her great earnestness impressed me,
and I was anew sorry that 1 had missed so great a treat.
But while the stout Am- ican ecstacised over the perfection of operatic presen-
tation, I noticed her 1 full eyes become fixed and round, and she said to her
husband, "Horatio! for gracious sake, do you see that?" We all turned and saw
a supper party of Russians, military pajw, growing up son, and young lady daugh-
ter, as dainty and picjuante a little dame as one could wish to see, all leisurely
smoking together. Mademoiselle had a delicate little cigarette case of cream satin,
and held her cigarette in the most finished style between her first and second fin-
gers, occasionally taking a dainty little whiff that pursed up her rosy lips in a pro-
vokingly kissable manner. Tier wavy black hair was set up in the extreme of
quiet style, her handsome black silk gown was perfect in fit and garniture, her
little feet were crossed, and her tiny bronze slippers and silk stockings were too
pretty to be hidden, but she smoked, and had she been discovered at table in a state
of intoxication, or in the garb of Mother Eve, those women and men could not
have looked upon her with more utter horror and dismay. "Why, I never really
dill," said Mrs. Symes, and she turned to the "father of the party," "Mr. Symes
take me right away. I'm sure she's a bad horrid thing, I do really think so, and
to brazen us all like that. I wonder could you find out who she is. Here, waiter,
oh, he don't understand me. Do you see that girl, who is she? There, he's gone
away. Well, I am going to look at the register. She's a disgrace, anrt that horrid
old man and that foolish boy, backing her up ! " She went, and presently
came back, with a face of mystery. "I've found out," she said. "Well, go
ahead and tell us, do ! " said madame Semitones. " She's a Princess, a Russian
Princess. What do you think of that." Everyone drew a breath, even I, who
had been boiling at their impertinence was impressed. "Well," said Madame
'iiiSSi
r=w:'?*. ..a^jfig^-y^jas-
[^^'^j^gaawa^^i
Semitoiiea, " I guess we'll have to let her smoke ! " Her comical look made this
little speech very ridiculous, an<l I laughed in spite of my indignation. This was
the evening that the elevator got out of order, and the fat ladies had to trudge up-
Btaiis, and for the next day and evening, so it remained !
They were the most overpowering people I ever sojourned with, and they
crowded out into the entry and stood about and talked, and set off in three cahs
for a drive to see the Bavarian beer breweries, and the hotel seemed deserted when
they went away '. Their trunks stood open in the hall Avay, and their rich
dresses were flung over the litis, and all sorts of rare and curious, and beautiful
articles of apparel or *' />nc-a-/>ra(," picked up in Florence or Milan tumbled about
in confusion
Madame Semitones invited me to her room, and of course, I went. While she
was out for a moment, Mrs. Symes said to me impressively ; "Yon have met Mrs.
A. before I presume." " No," I sai .. " Is she a native American ? " "She is,"
said Mrs. Symes, with an exceeding decided tone. " And that lady has the most
wonderful brain power, and her facility is remarkable. You could judge so,
couldn't you ? " A wild remembrance of poor dear Martin Chuzzlewit and his
American friends, who were all " the most remarkable men in the country," gave
me an internal spasm, but I mildly replied, " Oh yes ! she is musical too ? " •* Her
musical powers are remarkaVde," said the large Mrs Symes. "She sings, at an
enormous salary, which she spends mostly in doing good, in one of the finest
churches in our city, and before she married, was intended for the stage ! But
Horatio, (he is iny brother) threatened self-destruction if she refused him, and, he
won her." She looked at me and raised her eyes, "/consider Horatio a very
unusual man, but I always acknowledge that I am blessed in a sister-in-law," she
said, and I made an excuse to get away, and have my laugh out, for I knew she
would trot out the despised Mr. Symes for my respectful admiration, if I stayed
any longer, and I felt I should get into trouble if I laughed at him, so hastily
leaving ray compliments for my hostess, I descended to my own room. I haven't
impaled Mrs. Symes more than she deserved, she was a perfect fool !
Madame and I had another supper and a tremendous laugh at the whole thing,
though the piquantc Frenchwoman allowed that the description of the Wagner
Opera performance was correct as far as it went. I tried to tell her of Horatio's
threat of Helf -destruction, and managed amid many giggles, to get it out, but
Madame set me into a roar, by remarking, " Oli, what a pity, fativre petit motuhel
Wliy laugh at honest love ? " She took it in the most serious way, hut then, she
was a Frenchwoman ! She asked me to meet her in Zuricli and she would go
straight to Paris with me, and I longed to do so, but really, wlien I was with her, she
BO absorbed my interest, that I di<ln't half lake in the siglits about me, and I was
almost glad when we somehow missed each other. And would one believe it, we
parted after all this good ^^caniaradie" without even having asked each others names !
I have been so sorry since, for I am sure she could write charming newsy foreign
letters, and my letters have been such a pleasure to me, since I came home wafting
as they do, long breaths of sweetest recollection into the plain and practical air of
stay-at-home ! and making real those fair sunmier-day's friendships, that else
would look like rain-bow visions, so far and so short, and so delightful were they !
The time I had allowed for my Munich visit had expired, even with the addi-
tional time stolen from rain dashed Salzburg, and I bid farewell to my happy
little French friend, and as I liave recorded elsewhere, judiciously insulted the
family pride of Monsieur the Concierge, and captured a cute little bell boy to ride
to the station with me, and stow my carryall into the train. This plan did not
work however, as I found no servants were allowed on the platform, unless pro-
vided with train tickets. However, "Pierre," as the little fellow was called,
carried the gradually increasing weight and bulk of the elastic machine into the
waiting room, and standing before me with his little gold laced cap in his hand,
harangued me thus : "Madame, s^il vous plait, from Munchen to SchaflFliausen
will take you about nine hours, or so, probably. You will go from here to Lindau,
by train, from Lindau to Constance by Damp schiffe, (boat of Lake Constance)
then for twenty minutes by train, to Schaffhausen. You will sleep the night at
Schaffliausen, or rather the omnibus from the "Schweitzer Hof" will meet you
at SchaflFliausen, and drive you out to the hotel. It will not be a very long drive,
and then you are at the Cataracts of the Rhine, all close by you !" "How do
you know so much about these places ? " I asked of the boy sceptically. "Because,
sHlvons plait, I am Suisse, me, and I was on the railroad four years." "You?
Why, how old are you ? " I asked, still more sceptically (the boy looked about
eighteen.) " Five and twenty last May, sUl vous plait, Madame. There is your
train, Merci bien, Madame ! " and I was racing for a non-smoker coupe, with a
blue bloused Bavarian after me for twopence, inside of ten seconds. I had gotten
so accustomed to looking ' ut for myself and my eyes were so sliarp after " Nicht
rauchen," that I was soon settled and steaming out of Munich, which held such
funny memories for me, that it's very name makes me smile even now !
From Munchen to Lindau I rode alone, and uneventfully, and on alighting
from the train at the latter station, caught my first glimpse of the tourists land
of promise, Switzerland. A pale looking hunch-back harnessed into a great strap,
ornamented with large iron hooks, swung down my heavy carryall, and having
loaded up with all the baggage he could hook on to himself, until his tiny distort*
ed body was literally covered up with valises, carryalls and shawlstraps, and his
hands full of parasols umbrellas, staggered off along the dock, at the head of a
procession of travellers, and led us to a neat little wharf, where lay a small pretty
looking steamer, rocking on the placid bosom of the fair Lake Constance.
The customs were to be passed here, and an officer put little labels on our boxes
and bags, and being duly ornamented, I paid my hunchback (in such a reckless
American way, that he carried my baggage into a safe corner, and stowed it away
for me, ) and mounted to the open upper deck securing a campchair and a good
position to gaze my utmost upon the lovely afternoon scene before me. We
glided out, between two tall towers, and floated into the deeper blue, with the
low sunlight falling pleasantly, and the peace of coming evening already in the
air and I sat in content with all the world, because the world could be so fair !
Presently, I went below for my evening meal, and found some of the tourists
ahead of me, ordering or consuming what could be ordered. A rosy little maid,
in a black gown and a preposterously large apron was standing by a table at
which sat a fine looking American and his wife and her face was intent and puz-
zled. This was what he said : "Chops for two, (holding up two fingers. ) Shops,
choaps, choops, chops for two, for two, one, two, chops for two. " The pretty
maid said once or twic»> " Monsieur ! " and " sUl votis plait" but failed to render
him any more intelligible. "Monsieur wishes contetellos," I murmured, pulling
up my chair, and looking the other way. She gave away my translation by turn-
ing at once, and pouring a torrent of French over me, and the lady said " I guess
this lady speaks French, do stop this foolishness. " I received and transmitted their
order, enquiring, under the maids hint, if they wished the " Chops" au naturel.
"Natural, why they don't make artificial ones, do they?" enquired the gentle-
man. "This is the hiamcdcat country, I <lo think, yesterday I askuil for ice
water at some fJerman hotel, wife and I were abnost melted, and lie brings me a
jug of l)oiling water, sure's you're there ! " " He thouglit you said "//«m wasser"
I suggested. Well, I didn't, "I'm no Cockney English!" he said carelessly, and
I forebore to enlighten him further !
I ordered my brotchen and butter, or rather " petit-pain " as it had to be called
here, and some meat, and then asked monsieur what he wanted to order to drink.
" What are you going to order 't " he enquired. " Wine ? well it's not so bad, the
red kind I mean. Bordsaux? Yes, that's the kind. Oh, any brand, the dearest,
then it will be fit to drink. Order what you like best yourself, and thou do us
the favour of helping us drink it." I took him at his word, and the little maid
brought us some nice red wine, aud we made merry together. His wife turned
out to be a very nice intelligent little womfvn. not above laughing at her husband's
idiosyncracies, one of which was the conviction that if he only repeated a sentence
often enough, in English, the inhabitants of foreign parts would be sure to under-
stand him in due time. " I have the greatest time getting him fed, she said, with
a mischievous glance at her hu8lK.'Hl, who was enjoying his wine, and meditating
a cigar on deck. " He took a fancy for pork and beans, away up north, and ho
would sit and look at ^lie waiter and say " Pork and beans," over and over. He
said it was their business to understand him ! " " Did he get it?" I asked curi-
ously. No, he didn't," said the gentleman, laughing at some funny memory.
"They don't grow 'em in this coxmtry, I guess," and we all went on deck. There
we came upon a scene that spoiled the sweet evening sunset on Lake Constance.
A large party, mother, three daughters, a big son, and a small one, a courier and
a maid, had gotten themselves into trouble. It appeared that the young ladies
did not like the tea the courier had brought them, and had wantonly emptied the
teapot down a funnel on the floor. The funnel was a ventilator into the smoking
room, and the scaldir'^; tea liad descended upon the bald pate of an elderly tier-
man, who was doing no harm to any body. He rushed furiously on deck, and
let loose the vials of his guttural wrath upon the prettiest of the Misses, nearly
frightening her out of her senses, and quite setting her into hysterics. The cou-
rier vanished, the maid fled, the big brother, came to the rescue, the teapot fell
overboard, the elderly German stamped off and brought up the Captain, and the
whole party were arraigned before him. The Captain spoke Swiss French, the
passenger broad, solid German, the frightened American screamed and sobbed,
the big brother held her in his arms and threatened to pitch tlic scalded Herr
professor over the side. 'J'his threat reached the (^aptain, through a mischief
loving passenger, and two burly sailors came up and escort. " the young gentle-
man below. The girl began to shriek anew. " They'll put him in />(7«.v, I know
they will ! " and I fled away from tiie turmoil, out forward among the second
cabin passengers, who eagerly demanded an explanation of the fracas.
I was followed by a foreigner and her very swell maid. " I could hardly be-
lieve she was a servant, she was so grand, but she took great care of her " Com-
tessa " and wiien she found her conversing with me, she took me also under her
wing. '• Gusta is so good, I cannot live without her !" said the little frail delicate
Italian. " I have lost all, hus])and, babies and parents. I live a life of loneliness,
and Gusta takes care of me, as you see. " (iusta came with a shawl for the Com-
tess, as the breeze came ft little fresh in the forward part of the boat, where we
sat throned on some packing cases, and when she had wrapped her up, promptly
wrapped me in another, for which I ventured on a '■^ gracia," which amused the
Comtessa very much. She was so pale and delicate and frail, this high bred little
lady, that one could scarcely wonder at the tender solicitude of Gusta, and I en-
joyed her very much. She told me of her young husband's death, and the two
little graves in the "God's acre " at Florence, and she was, I could not help think-
ing, not very far from Paradise herself. Gusta shared my opinion, confiding to
me her doctor's summer plan for the Comtessa, and asking my advice about a
route, as if I owned Switzerland, and the adjoining continent !
She was a tall plain woman, with the lightest of steps and the gentlest of hands,
and after she had wrapped us up in the great shawls, she stood a little way off, and
respectfully called our attention to the different village^ and visible mountain peaks,
and pointed out the beauties of the sunset in a superior manner. I made up my
mind that she was Swia^, from her intimate accjuaintance with the lakes and hills,
and found afterwards that she had been well educated in a Convent in the Italian
part of the Beautyland we were alrout to enjoy. " Madame agrees that tlie air of
the mountains is good for my lady ? " she asked, as the Comtessa revealed the
plan of campaign, and I hoped so, though in my inner heart, as I looked pityingly
at tlie transparent skin under which the dark veins lay plainly visible, and caught
the brilliant glitter of the great beautiful black eyea, I feared me the air of Eden
ill 111 It
11 I
ii
-11
would not long keep the feeble lungs and erratic heart working for the Comtessa!
Still I enjoyed her ! aa one does a lovely priceless sevres vase, or a cobweb of
flimsy age-rotted old lace, or anything tluit is very frail and very line! And per-
haps my admiration and lionest sympathy won her liking, for when she heard I
was going on to Schaflfhausen at once, she begged me to stay over the evening
with her, at the grand hotel at Constance, and then we should have a long talk
together, and I must tell her all about Canada,
Perhaps you think a chat with a consumptive Italian Comtessa would not be
much of a compensation for the Sohweitzerhof and the Rhine Cataracts, but I did,
and decided to be agreeable and remu!-* over. When we reached Constance the
Americans all got sulkily ashore ; the (ierman Herr Professor, once more good-
natured, and as comfortable as his burnt bald pate would allow, followed them,
the " pork and l)eans" gentleman and his wife walked briskly off to their Hotel,
while the rest of us lund)ercd ofiF in the " Huss " to the grand establishment where
we were to have our evening chat together.
Everyone of the party had telegraphed for rooms, the Courier and the maid were
in waiting for the Americans, the Herr Professor was greeted by the maitre d'hotel
as an old friend, 'Gusta and the Comtessa waited to ste me located, but alas! not
a room was vacant, and " Madame must go a little further on to the twin Hotel on
the Lake shore, whtre was one vacant room."
Then it was a pretty sight to see the Italian lady, as with pleading voice and
little liands folded, like an Infant Samuel, she stated pathetically the harrowing
case in which we were placed ! After my goodness in i ining over for her
pleasure, we must be separated so cruelly ! However, nothing could be done, but
to promise to forward me, "without charge," to the other Hotel, which after all,
said the good host, was the finer of the two. Accordingly, he telephoned for the
room, and in due time I was lumbereil away to as boautifu' an abiding-place as
mortal coulil desire, witli the most charming garden, and, just beyond, the placid
lake, gleaming in the starlight. It was very late ind !ed, but my host was ex-
pecting me, and kindly lioping that I would be happy away from <"y (friends?) by
whose rank ttn<l wealth I was for the nonce rated and treated with every defer-
ence. "Would my lady take souper in the dining-room or privately ?" I thouglit
at such a late liour the dunng-room would probably l)e private enough, Init found
WNi
several couples straying in from the charming garden, even at that eerie hour, for
a glass of wine or a cup of cocoa before bed-time.
The landlord came to the door with me, and I was soon enjoying a delicious
supper, (very grateful after a long day's travel, and not the best of fare) and also
admiring the "salle a manger, which w&b immensely lofty, with wide glass doors
opening on a broad verandah, all along two sides. This Constance Hotel was the
ideal summer sojourning place to please me, every fitting and furnishing was chaste
and costly, and the rooms so very comfortable and the surroundings so romantic
and beautiful. In the morning I got resolutely out of bed, and after a glass of
milk and a biscuit, took a long early walk before breakfast. Shall I ever forget
the scene of silent dewy loveliness that charmed my vision — tlie scent of flowers,
the smell of new mown hay, and the most jolly ride back with a party of Swiss
farm people, who were coming into Constance with vegetables and milk and but-
ter, fts it was Market day. They wouldn't take any money, even for the morsel
of "edelweiss" one of the young men gave me from his hat band. I could scarcely
believe that this was the snow flower of the Alps, when the canton flannelly piece
of vegetation was handed to me. I liad always fancied a starry snowdrop-like
flower, and wondered at its hardihood, but wcmdered no longer when I beheld the
reality. It points are star shaped, and its petals arc thick and dusty looking, and
it is not snow white l)y many a shade ! and it is rather larger than a " quarter " in
circumference. One climbs after it at risk of life or limb, because it is the "proper
caper" as my American friends expressed it, ani the men tourists fasten it in their
hats, and tlie women buy boc^uets of it, and after a little it dries up and looks like
an old seedy artificial decoration. And the guides teU one hideous stories of the
daring little childre!i of the mountain chalets, who climb and hang over precipices
to pluck the Edelweiss for sale, and land tlien.selves in small pieces in the fathom-
less abysses whence "no traveller returns !"
We jogged along, the farmeress and I, in the cart, and tlie father and
tall sons nuvrched beside, guiding the slow-moving oxen down the smooth road,
and then after hearty thanks and good-byes and lifting of hats by these simply
polite children of nature, I hurried round tlie road to the Lakeside, and through
the odourouH garden and into the pretty salle a manger for the breakfast ^ was in
such good shape to appreciate. Here I saw for the first time those cute li' Swiss
CiOcks, in black walnut carved wood, with white hands and tigureu, and long da ^-
■Ml
iMSMMHMti
ling chain and weight, and was made the happy possessor of one done up in a neat
box, for the price of five marks. What fumy jumps one makes socially in travel-
ling, from my Italian Comtessa to my big Swiss farmeress in her oxcart I I don't
know which I enjoyed the more, but for a repetition, I should choose the oxcart
and the Swiss peasants, and the early morning air, and the glorious summer sun
drinking up the dew from roses and mignonette in the lovely garden by the fair
Lakebide !
Sll !i
;'|: '
l^ittl^ R^iagara.
jgWii^WENTY minutes' run from Constance landed us at Schaffhauscn, whence
wl IC '^'"**'''*^''' little journey l)rought us to Neuliausen, and the ('ataracts of the
raT*vTC) Kliine. It was a day as liot and chisty as need be, and I and my coni-
'^^^j'*' panions, two (ierman ladies, aunt ami niece respectively, plunged imme-
diately into the cool shady patii that led from the station down a steep hill, and hy
various little tlights of st(»ne steps, tf) a sort of lookout, similar to that on the
American side of the Niagara Falls. Here, "Tante Anna" and niece fJertrude and
I held a consultation, and decided on making ourselves into a "party" with "Tante
Anna" as the leader, to explore the pretty woods and finally the Waterfall. Aftei-
a rest and a look at the tumhling green water, we tramped up again to the road,
which ran ahmg the high hank and was shadcdess and scorching as a desert. There
we were met by a cabman, who offered to drive us to the Falls for ten francs.
That is a great deal of money for a (Jciinan lady to spend on a cab, an<l 'I'aute
Anna's face was stern as she informed iiim that we could walk, but my iieart sank
lower and lower, just in proportion as my temj)erature rose, under the bhi/.iug
morning sun. However, there was no gainsaying the determined voice, and im-
passive face of Tante Anna, who wore a neat navy blue travellin/^ gown and hat,
and a cool looking dustcolored veil, and whose neat shod feet nuide very long strides
in the yellow dust, so I took off my ulster aiul meekly trotted after her, patient
but melting, and encouraged by the conviction tiuit if I fared badly, niece (!ert-
rude was faring worse behind me. Along the dusty highway, followed at an ag-
gravating distance by the cali, we trudged into the little village, where all tlie
cows were pastured in the front yard, and the chiekuna were tethered by the lug
and a long string to a large stone.
Hcfoie one open door Tante Anna halted, and accosting a small boy, who was
"minding" a little fat (ierman baby, demanded his services to show us the way
through the wood to the " l.aufen Schloss" a picturesciue ruin, from the courtyard
of which is the entrance to the various "views" of the Catarurt.
'Sliiii
I !
1!
^! :i
!
i^
The small boy was ba. ily deserting the baby ff)r possible filthy lucre, when his
"mutter" called him stenny back, and set his duty plainly before him.
Tante Anna turned away with an " Ach!" and was again accosted by the cabman
who took two francs off his charge, and I begged our leader to reconsider it. But
Tante Anna stood firm. "We shall walk through the wood," she eaid, with that
peculiar square-jawed look about her that stops the coaxingest coaxing, and he
flourished his whip and kicked up as much dust as he could, and drove smartly
back to inveigle some less iron-female. The demure niece cast a comical look at
me, of mingled awe and resignation, and we were just about to "try again" for a
small boy, when a little, square, bare lieaded, freckle-faced girl came up and
volunteered her services. She had a humorous little face and shrewd grey eyes,
and her hair was tightly "platted" in two little straw-colored tails, and Tante
Anna paused to consider, remarking, " You are too small." " Ney, ney," said the
mite, holding out her hands for my ulster, which she proceeded to spread out on
the grass in a clean spot, and having received the jacket of Tante Anna, and the
shawl of niece (lertrude, she wrajjped them neatly together, and summoned her
brother to hoist them upon lier head. The business way she thus captured her
prey was very amusing, and amid smiles and approval, the wee " Madchen "
marched off, her little petticoats and bare feet being all that was visible, while
we trailed after her, consumed with mirth.
On she tramped, Tante Anna resigning the leadership without a murmur, and
we followed her through shady paths and sweet valleys and over a rustic bridge,
and we conversed with tlie people we met, who laughed unreservedly at our little
" Captain," and we gave " Tag ! " f-o the peasants who sat eating their " Mittai^-
essen " under the trees, while the frau or the daughter knelt beside them and held
their boer nnigs, and we smiled at the little (ierman cliildren who scamjjered up the
banks and occasionally threw us little boquets of faint-tinted wild flowers, pink
and mauve and yellow and white, which we arranged in frames of ivy leaves and
placed in our hats or brooches. Presently, we came to a bridge above the Catar-
act, over which a dummy v^ngine takes passengers from Neuhausen to the foot
of the (^astle Hill, and which would doubtless have been my unromatic route, had
I not fallen in with the (Jerman ladies. We crossed the bridge, and passing the
dirty looking tunnel, stood aside to see the sooty dummy go by with its load of
tourists, then climlied by a winding path, cool and flower bedecked, to the Castle
..-;-.lMI.|».f >H.
courtyard, passing under massive stone arches, iind leaving behind us the Hotel
restaurant, found ourselves in a queer little curiosity shop of carved paper knives,
canes and the usual assortinent of photographs and other rubbish.
One pays a trifling fee to the concierge, and descends by rugged rocky steps
with occasional landing places to the lowest plattorm, where are waterproofs and the
guide ,to take one under the Falls. A party came up as we reached the
landing, and by their drenched and bedraggled appearance deterred me from trust-
ing my neat gown to the shelter of the waterproofs, not for worlds would I have
ridden from Schaffliausen to Lucerne, with what attractiveness I could have of
neatness and well-dressed locks, made rakish and crushed and bedraggled by
Rhine water. Beside, going under the Rhine falls was a second-rate sensation
after our own noble Niagara, so I declined the trip under water, and returned to the
landing where the wee girl waited with the sweat of iionest toil upon her freckled
little brow, and her great bundle of wrappings beside her. Solid little matter of
fact child she was, but sturdy and strong and full of energy, eight years old, she
confessed to l)eing, but she didn't look it ! She made me go into a sort of little
octagon house with glass swinging windows, into which were set diff'ereiu colored
panes of glass, and she made me see green falls and amber falls and rose color and
blue falls, with a great deal of pride in the various astonished cries I gave voice to,
for the fun of seeing her eyes twinkle with satisfaction at being able so to enter-
tain " (//V (/<7w^. " " Very beautiful, but Katerina. I'm hungry," I said presently.
• '^^ie dame can in the Schloss eat ! " she said pron\ptly hoisting her bundle, and
beginning to mount the stairs. I followed the small grunting maiden to the
Schloss courtyard, and she deposited me under a tree, yelled " Kelhier ! " and
scooted ])ack with lier bundle to her post. I waited a long time, hungry and oh,
so thirsty, and at last a fat man witli his hat on, and three dogs after him, came
ovei tome. "Is here no waiter ? " I said, a little, no, z'^ry warndy. ".la-ja,"
he said, returning slowly to the house, and presently, a girl came and took my
order for meat and drink, witii an injunction as to haste, for I did not want to
keep Tante Anna and niece (iertrudc waiting.
In about five minutes I heard her leisurely calling d -wn the stair for a glass of
boer and some sandwiches for a lady, and just ther my friends and tlie small girl
came up in a hurry, that we should get back to the hotel restaurant by the station
and liavo our lunch. I sneakeil aw ay, and left my leisurely friends to nietlitate
on the deeeptiosness of tourists, and on the way down the wooiUand path lis-
tened to a voice from under a mountain of wraps, and the property of the " cap-
tain," dilating on the beauty of the Rhine fall at night, when the lime liglits were
thrown upon it from the Schweitzer-liof. It is beautiful any time, a perfect
minature Niagara, only wiih an arch of rocii standing full in the way of the fall,
aver and tlirough which the green water daslics and foams. It is not deafening,
but with quite a respectable "roar," audi liked it inunensely, though of course its
comparatively siiort leap of seventy feet has not the mighty grandeur of the
Niagara, which is more than twice that depth.
(lUests at the Schwcitzer-hof must liave a beautiful view of the cataract, as the
hotel stands at right angles to the fall, and at a great height, and truly, as
Katerina avowed, it were a rare sight on a dark night to see the rush of water,
blood red, or blue like uncanny sulphiu', or ambei like streams of gold, as is the
whim of the Herr who manipulates the iron shovel of precipitate before the stn^ng
reflector.
Back through the woods our staunch mite led us, our party being now aug-
mented by two big, scampish -looking boys, at wiiom Katerina put out her lips
with evil portent. Being safely arrived at the station, we presented the small
girl with a franc and a half, making her little face flusjj with pleased surpiise,
and were about seating ourselves at our lunch, when Xante Amia suddenly seized
her umbrella and tlashed out into the road, followed by niece (iertrude, myself
and some soldici-s and maids and peasants who were in the ''s/>e/se saa//' Cries
of distress guided us round a corner, where we found our poor little captain
valiantly defending her hard-earned ten cent pieces from the greed of tlie two
good-for-nothing big brothers, and yelling for " mutter''' at the pitch of her very
strong voice. Tante Anna, witli a mnscidar power for which I had not given her
credit, seized on the boys, and after generously whacking them with her umbi-ella
and belaltoring them with epithets, whicli were the reverse of complimentary,
stood watching the flying feet of the little caj)tain until she reached the arms of
her indignant "mutter," when we leturncd to oui' interrupted luncheon.
Another funny diversity in travelling one linds in the place and style one
"feeds" in. Tliat morning T !ui<l breakfasted in an atmosphere of luxury and
retineiiient, attended by an attentive Fienclunan in full drowH, and .supplied witli
every dainty— rich damask, thin china, and handsome silver. At noon I lunched
off bread and meat, and drank Cuhnhachcr beer out of a mighty lietr mug in
company with five peasants, three soldieris, some nondescript girls, and my two
(lierman ladies, in a small establishment on the side of the road. " Variety is the
spice of life," and how liighly spiced I was! 'i'ante Anna, wlio was nothing if
noL proper, ratlier icscnted at first my dcliglit in hci" onslauglit on viie little
"ca])tain's" persecutors, and said, in very dignified (lerman, witli very long
woi'ds, that she thought I migiit have better rendered her some assistance. I
apologised with real dismay, for I particularly wanted to keep friends with the
nice pair of ladies I'd had the good fortune to attract. Were we not all going to
Lucerne together, and was not 'I'ante Anna familiar with every incli of tlie town,
and had promised to take me and niece Ciertrude round witli lier and show us the
Lions? -no, the Lion, for there is but one Lion hi tint particular locality, and yon
sluill hear al)out and see him presently. So 1 sliared my best petit-pain (bun)
witii the ofl"en<lcd lady, and, by means of an Lisii "way I liave with me," man-
aged to ilivert her indignation. Tlie soldiers were lost in admiration of the
•* scrapping match " they had witnessed, and regarded the denuire (ierman lady
with open approval, while the peasants seemed to tliink she was rather interfer-
ing to chastise the youth of the village in so high-handed a manner. Presently,
as Tante Anna raised her glass, the soldiers all said *' Frauleiii I" and drank her
health. I noticed then tliat she liad her ring on the " beloved " finger, and won-
jlered wl\at green-goggled professor had set his affections upon iier. Tante Anna
bowed gravely, niece (Jertrude smiled, and I giggleil over my beer, wliile the
soldiers hioked at niece (Jertrudc, said again '■'■ Frauleinr and took another drink.
My turn was coining, but I said "1 am ynj^," and not a bit of it wouhl they
drink mine, nor care whether the property of some far-od' Herr had health or
had not. * •
The train came in while we waited, we paid our ridiculous reckoning, bid the
company good-liye, and got into liie train, wliile the soldiers leaned on the window
sills and watched the new arrivals; tlie peasants went liack to their work, and
the fat madchcns, lolling about, plaited their long, abundant, fair hair, and sat
smiling after us. with their mouths full of hairpins. 1 was glad I'd sat with my
l)ack to them during lunch.
'^MikmmWi^attua
BS
I i
ri\? l.ai\t^ri\ City.
|HEN we reached the pretty Swiss Town, on the Lake of the four Can-
tons, Tante Anna took one handle of iny carryall, in the most matter
of course way, and marching up to a porter witli tlie name of some
hotel blazoned on his hat, asked could we "go through tlie garden?"
" Oui-oui," said lie, motioning to a sort of rustic gate outside the station, through
which we8([ueezed ouiselves, thereby taking a mean advantage of our caravanserie,
by assaulting it in the rear. Presently, however, Tante Anna, who evidently
" knew the ropes,", led us round to the portico of a promising looking hotel, and
we duly announced ourselves, l)eing met by the porter, to whom we had entrust-
ed the carryall, and by him escorted to register our names and secure rooms.
" Mesdames are unfortunate, we have every room engaged," said the concierge.
" Yes, I telegraphed this morning," said Tanta Anna, (piietly. '• Oh, art, then a
room is reserved, but only one" Not another was to be had until ten o'clock at
night, he informed me, with polite regret. Who cared for a room before that,
with tlie wide, busy promenades teeming with tourists, the music of half a dozen
bands sounding through the town, and the thermometer somewhere very near
the eighties ? I made myself neat, in Tante Anna's tine apartment, was promised
the next one at ten o'clock, and having heard the (ierman ladies remark that
they were tired and were going at once to bed after supper, I strolled out on the
busy streets, hungry and in search of some nice place to dine, but almost too much
interested in the crowds of passersby to feel like leaving them, and longing for
some Hungarian or Austrian Cafe, encroaching on tlie street, where I might use
my eyes and ears and enjoy my dinner to the fullest advantage.
As I walked under the dense shadow of the fine rows of horsechestnuts which
lieautify the Lakesitle promenade. I came upon the brilliantly illuminated
" .St'hweitzer-hof," the finest hotel in Lucerne, where a band was gaily rattling out
the marches and gallops of the day, and not seeing anywhere the sort of Cafe I
was in search of, I was just about returning homewards to patronize our own
pretty hostelrie, when suddenly came a little strain of well rememl)cred Hungar-
ian music, from round a corner on a side street, not the ricketty squealing of the
vagrant orchestras of the railway stations, hut a clear, sweet, well-timed and
"well-tuned cymbal," audits fellows. It took but a little time to locate the
gypsey band, behind a screen ot greenery, and I stood in three minutes before the
entrance where an unmistakaVdy Hungarian person of the male persuasion politely
admitted me, on payment of a franc, to a garden where I could hear the concert
and dine sumptuously. It was a very fine concert, and a very good dinner, and
only for the crowd, which was mainly composed of tourists, and cared more for
their own fim than the music, it wouhl have been better still, but 1 had come to
the land of the festive American, and the bloom was rubbed oft' my peach ! They
swarmed through the handsome Schweitzer-liof, and all the otlier good hotels, they
rowed on the Lake and talked very loudly under thecliestnut sliade, they invaded
the quietest nooks, and dispelled the most delightful illusions, and why should they
not ? They lay their money down royally, an I destroy what no money can pay
for, but they are no more conscious of " the mischief they have done," than the
little dog of Sir Isaiic Newton's reminisence.
I came to Lucerne at the very worst time possible, when the returning tide of
American travel had set in Paris-ward or homeward, ai\d I look back upon my
Swiss sojourn with a sort o" rueful mirth. For instance, as we (Tante Anna,
niece Gertrude and I) journeyed down the well-travelled zig zag on the railroad
from Schaffhausen to Lucerne, my sight of the Alps, and my impression of them
was becloiuled in the following manner : A party of American ladies, five young
girls, under the charge of a lady of forty odd, one of those old stagers, who " con-
duct " Continental parties, were the occupants of the coupe we entered. These
Swiss carriages are on the American plan, passages down the centre, entrance at
either end, and plenty of " window seats. " The chaperone stood in tlie centre
of the car, with a guide book, from which she proclaimed the "siglits," loud and
constant, as a foghorn in a spring thaw, and we endured our torments dund)ly,
though the nasal intonation and the pointing finger were enough to drive one dis-
tracted. Who wanted such an accompaniment as this to the first good look at the
Aipine peaks that staiul about the independent Swiss, in protecting and magni-
ficent grandeur ? " Young ladies, you will now perceive the peaks of (oli airi't he
just a V)eauty, Oh you dear love ! Oh don't talk to me, I just want to gaze on the
sweet old thing !) And, just behind rises the most distant visible, (Oh, girls, I'm
so hot, I just would give a dollar for a good ice cream.) You are now about to
see the grand (Ice cream, Oh, pshaw, I'd rather have a cup of br.ttermdk, I just
adore buttermilk." "So do I, and Prussian officers — buttermilk and Prussian
officers divide my devotions!" "'Hush, do, those ladies are laugliing at you."
"Pshaw, they don't understand English." I looked around over the arm of my
seat and all my forbearance could not prevent my remarking with a regretful
sigh. " Unfortunately, young ladies, we a'io.'" . .
The only effect my remark had was to bring the prettiest of them into my seat,
where she wheedled and coaxed the rage out of my heart, and made the prettiest
apologies, calling me "just wonderfully clever and lovely," to be able to speak ar.y
language but her native patois, which she was pleased to call Enql/s/i, desirinij to
know "who I was and whitlier tending," and laying l)efore me delicious propitia-
tory offerings <>f chocolates and jujubes. I utterly refused to listen to the voice
of the " sweeties," but yielded to the sweet girl graduate, whose lovely eyes
were fixed upon me, and whose penitence was so pretty. .She unloaded her
abominable ciiaperoiie on me too, but I rebelled at that, and, turning to my win-
dow, sulkily stared at the Alps, that were all besmirched with American slang
and jujube paste, and were no Alps to me. I can forgive those girls their uncon-
scious vulgarity, tlieir hideous candy gnawing and gum chewing, their inane
chatter and their profane mention of the Matterhorn and Jang-frau and Pilatus,
as " dear old daisies, " or "cunning old things," Init I shall never forgive that
little wheedling fiend the innate " cussedness " tliat made her trot up her thin and
spectacled cUaperone, with the remark, " This lady is so clever, dear. She (|uite
awes me, and so I'm just going to leave you two awfully clever people to have a
real good time together. Have a jujube, do."
It was with rather different feelings that, as I was returning from the delightful
Hungarian concert (where, after having unwarily told a young Hungaiian who
had collected the tickets that I was lately from Biulapest, I was nearly "mobbed "
by the band), I heard a well-known, pleasant American voice saying just in front
of me, in the dark, " I wonder where Mrs. Denison is nouV
It was delightful to step quietly up and say "Just here!" and laugh, and
shake IuukIh, and talk, and look kindly into the faces of Home very pleasant ship-
mates, wlio iiad heen on another route, and thus so happily encountered nio.
Unfortunately their plans were made to leave in an hour or so, and we only had
a glimpse of each other, but nothing proves how friendsiiips grow at sea better
than tlie pleasure we had in being tf)gether. I slu)ul(l not have been half so glad
to see any land accpiaintance. "And it was yoit the musicians went down to
speak to," said the "beau" of the party. " You told us on tlie Noordland, I
remember, about how you loved Hungarian music." And would you credit that
I restrained myself, nor raved a single rave about the land of beauty where the
Danube flows ? The swarthy bandsmen had come in twos and threes and asked
eager ([uestions about the island, the people and the capital, and I'd done my
raving in appreciative ears.
Wo all trooped up to the Schweitzer-hof, my friend's abiding place, and after-
wards ilown to iiiy less pretentious hotel, where Xante Anna and niece (Jertrmle
slept the sleep of Teutonic indifference, and I should have done likewise only for
the fleas. When 1 showed my Katerina the little black fiends, dead and drowned
in a basin of water, next morning, she snapped her black eyes at me, and said,
with dignity, " Non, non, nuulame, it is not possible; no fleas in this hotel.
Tliey are the little ' black flies ' that come in the night through the jalousies."
" Hut these flies have no wings," I said, sarcastically, fishing one up in my warm
hands. " Sec, my girl." \nd as she looked askance at him, that miserable flea
came to life, and witii one leap was gone. " So he flies without wings," she said,
in indescribable tones, and I sent her away unconvinced. 1 think I minded that
maiden's ironical tone worse than any legion of fleas — Swiss or Saxon.
Sunday ilawned hot and close over the pretty town, and, rather later than
usual, I descended to the breakfast that was nothing if not good. I ate cheese for
my breakfast, and went warily, expecting awful results, but one can eat Swiss
cheese any time. It is so good, so good.
The Germans had coffee and rolls brought up to them, and afterwards we all
set out, as I think I mentioned before, to see the Lion of Lucerne. Past the post
oHice (where the peasants were spending a Sabbath hour in writhig letters,
standing at desks, carrying their too burdensome coats over one shoulder, and
with hats pushed back from perspiring foreheads and wonderful facial contortions
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were laboriously forming llieir sentences), over the hot stone bridge, whereunder
the water shone and glittered, through the "avenue of chestnuts" that made a
blessed deep shade from the hot morning sun, past the glaring Schweitzer-hof,
and round a corner, and then up the ascending stieet to a sort of grove, where
mountain springs made spongy footing, and a great high wall of rock shut out the
sky Jind water. Half way up this cliff, as we saw in sudden admiration and won-
der, slept the Lion of Lucerne. He is the memorial designed by Tliorwaldsen to
perpetuate the memory of those staunch giants, tlie " Swiss (hiard," who loyally
laid down their lives under tlie mad rule of the Reign of Terror, in the dark days
at the close of the reign of Louis Seize, and whose Royal Master, even in his own
imminent peril, had a woful cry of pity for "my guards, my brave guards. "
Magnificent in death sleeps the Lion of Lucerne, type of those brave men, with
his royal heart pierced by the spear, but his paw still shielding the " Lilies of
France." I did admire him so heartily. He is hewn out of the solid rock, and
lies in a sort of rough recess, so strong and leal and faithful in his mighty pro-
portions, and withal a fitting memorial in tlie eyes of the descendants of the old
Swiss guard. We looked at him for a long, long time before we explored further
the glacier gardens and the wondeiful " pots " formed by the friction of the stones
during the glacial period. Then we came back to the city, and, under Tante
Anna's guidance, passed by the stone bridge, and walked on to a curious-looking
covered way over the river, which contains in the triangle lormed by each arch
of its roof two pictures, dos a dos, and which is called the bridge of 'lie " Dance
of Death." My friends who have travelled in Europe are familiar with this
gruesome subject, i <' doubt, as it crops up here and there on convents or church
walls, or even on palaces ; but here I first saw it on a bridge. I think the design
is by Holbein, but at all events Death dances with all sorts aiul conditions of
men and women in these fantastic old paintings, from the tiny babe in its white
wrapper to the totteiing old man -merchant, sailor, soldier, king or priest — and
gome of them look decidedly uncomfortable. On the shady l)ridge I encountered
some sonsy Swiss lassies in all the bravery of iioliday costume — white blouses,
black velvet peasant bodices, hung with numerous silver chains, and wide-
brimmed, yellow straw hats, dark skirts and neat-buckled shoes. Each damsel
carried her prayer l)ook, and was on her way to church, which suggested to us
the propriety of finding our way to a place of worship. A large church just near
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was crowding up with people — nearly .all men, and a few female tourists. We
found ourselves soon inside, but the place looked very little like a place of wor-
ship, for the men wore standing about chatting, some of them with their hats on,
and where tlie altar should be was a kind of stage, a green baize-covered table
and three armchairs " Take your places, messieurs," called a tall man, ringing
a small bell ; and the men crowded up to the front, and filled the pews. " What
do they mean?" I asked an intelligent dooking Swiss, who was qj'eing us. " They
elect officers to-day for the Council ; these are the voters," he said, pointing to
the crowd of men. " Come away," said Tante Anna ; "I remember, tliis is tiie
Jesuit church. They are holding an election," and she marched us out, just as
the tall man began to read a circular, and the various officials tilled the dais. "I
am afraid we shall be late for the English church, where you would prefer wor-
sliipping," said Tante Anna. " Suppose we go home, and have a good sleep."
That seemed a good idea, so hot and tired were we, and we soon found our cool
apartments, locked ourselves in, and were sound asleep. A rapping on my door
aroused me, and the voice of the ^^fonitne cie c/taiiil^e" witli a message from tlie
concierge that " if Madame wished to go up very high, away from all the Aujeri-
cans, now was her chance, for that the steamer for Al[)nach would start in half
an hour, and lunch was ready in five minutes. Shouhl lie tcdcphone for a 'oom
for Madame to stay over night ? "
" Where. ^" I asked, completely my.stified, "Very high up, madame, on tlie
top of 'I'ilatus.' The great Pilatus out there," and she drew aside the l)linds
and showed me the hoary Alp that I had been a<lmiring all tlie morning. " How
can I go? Tell him ^ yes,'' send for a room and come back to lielp me dress!"
I said all in a fiutter, not comprelieiuling anytliing, but that I was going to the
top of Pilatus ! by balloon, by telephone, by any way at all, so long as I could get
bruslicd and dressed and fed in twenty minutes ! Katerina entered into my ex-
citement, put on my skirts and bundled up my ulster aii<l fur cape in a parcel,
while I twisted up my hair r.nd sculllcd into my slippers, and when I Hai<l "stop,
what in the world are you touching my furs for?" She smiled gaily and said
" Madame is going to Pilatus Kulni, it inakcK cold there. Madame 1 " llefore I
could think of anything, she had whipped the strajjn oiT my carryall, and neatly
Vmiidled u'l my toilet artioles with my wraps, and strapjied all firm, and with a
final "I will take care of everything for Madame until her return," she fairly
l)ushod me out of the room, and gave me in charge to the maitre d'hotel, who was
laugl-ing at the idea of Madame l)eing routed out of bed to go up the Alps, and
quite deliglited at tlie celerity with which I had robed myself decently. The
lunch was ready in the dining room, and in very little time I was on my way to
the boat, panting under the weight cf my small gepack, and melting in the warm
gown and jacket wherein Katerina had clothed me, but fairly wild with the fun
of the unexpected rise in the world that threatened me !
The boat rocked at the wharf, on the bosom of the Lac des Quatre-Cantons and
1 deposited my bundle in a safe corner, and sat down to watch the heated mass of
tourists who were hurrying down the wharf. We soon sailed off to Alpnacli, and
by and by bought our tickets for tlic ascent of mount Tilatus by tlie new cog
wheel railway that
clind)S and bur-
rows and creeps
over hair raising
viaducts an d
gruesome tunnels
and awful grades
till it deposits the
unnerved traveller
near enough to the
summit to com-
plete the ascent
by a not too toil-
some climb. I sat
in a coupe with a
lawyer from Al-
giers, and his
nude ; a railroad
engineer from
Vienna, with his
friend, aii "ober-
lie\Uenant" from
the same delight-
THE KOAD.
mt-
■
|.:
fill city; an artist from Hamburg, and his fat frau. Could one have selected a
more delightfully diverse company ? The engineer talked French to nic, and
enlightened me as to the true inwardness of this marvellous railroad, which was
only opened a few weeks l>efore. (An engineer might happen to read this volume,
and want to liear what he said, so, here goes.)
The road took some three years to build, and the road bed is solid masonry
throughout, faced with granite blocks ; the mountain streams, gorges, &c., are
traversed by stone bridges. Seven tunnels occur on the ascent, and are from
nine to ninety-seven metres in length. (I can answer for the ninety-seven metre
one being full length, for what with the heat, and the coal gas, and the darkness,
and the paralyzing thud-thud of the cog-wheels, I should not have been a bit
surprised to have heard it was a mile long, so awful and exhausting was it ! ) The
Algerian lawyer, who was Frencli, and named " Etienne," remarked "Monsieur
the devil inhabits there ! " as we emerged from and looked back upon its smoky
sulphurous mouth, on our return trip.
The engineer explained the centre rack rail to me, it lies midway between, and
somewhat higher than the track, is of wrought steel, and has a double row of
vertical steel cogs, milled out of solid steel bars. The carriage contains thirty
two seats, in four compartments, each a grade higher than its preceding one, like
steps of a stair, tlie locomotive is always do'vn, of course, and seems to push the
train up, and unwillingly let it slide back on the return trip. The length of the
road is four thousand six hundred and eighteen metres, and the height above the
sea, of the upper station is two thousand and seventy metres, (a metre is about
one yard four inches. ) The trip occupies about an hour and a quarter, but no one
dares to say "go faster ! " Every few moments the awful thought would come
tome, " If one cog should slip," or really sometimes "If we should topple over!"
as my scared eyes searched down the cruel abysses over which we seemed to be
tight-rope walking. Tlie viaduct over the Wolfort torrent, just before one enters
tlie tunnel is tlie most exciting piece of road I ever travelled over, not excepting
a few yards I once had the pleasure of doing altogether off the track, on a well
known Ameriem line.
Then I was fiighteucd and sluiken, but that was nothing to the cold Jiorror of
awful possibilities that raised each individual hair, going up Pilatus ! In due time
lo be
liters
king
I well
)T of
Itime
we reached the landing, and struck a bevy of Americans, alpenstocks in hand and
chewing gum in mouth, making ready to descend. Pilatus was not so attractive
to them as the shortened Continental Sabbath afternoon below, where the "drums
did beat and the trumpets blow," and where their summer gowns would l)e more
wearable and l)earable. We found a small hostelrie nestled in a little square,
guarded on either side by towering iieights, zig-zagged in a tortuous path of steps
to the summit, and my room being engaged, I calmly surveyed the scene, while
the rest of the party rushed to the Register. Tlie engineer and tlie obcr-lieuten-
ant were disgusted to find that there was no room for ///em. Kvcry tiny sleeping
place was full, every seat at table d'hote engaged, but there was a sort of base-
ment eating room l)ehind, where they got their tea, and were afterwards started
off by the host to find another hotel, away round on anotlier mountain, which
wasn't there! At least so they avowed, when about ten o'clock they came back,
worn out and raging. However, urged by some of us, and persuaded by gifts of
our spare bed-clothes and mattresses, they petitioned the landlord for permission to
sleep on the basement floor, and afterwards made soipe arrangement with two of
the servants, securuig their hammocks and having sucii weary l)ones that they
slept like tops.
The Hamburg Artist held forth to me, alxmt the gems in the Han\burg (lallery
and took a sketch of the sunset, his failiiful frau lioldiiig an umbiella beside him
to keep the breeze off him as he sketched, until she was livid and frozen.
T was glad of my ulster and furs and warm cap, ))efore we could tear ourselves
away from the summit, where the lime light fiends were making the mountain top
red and green and blue in turn, for the edification of tlie far-far-ofT tourists in the
streets of Lucerne, and doing their best to destroy what of lieauty and majesty
remains to the tourist-cursed Alps. I am afraid I am liitter and un-American
whenever I think of .Switzerland, but I cannot help it. ..• .
We wanted a good long sleep, for everyone was anxious to see the sun rise, and
now comes the hardest part of this truthful narrative that has met me yet. For
after being routed out by the waiter at four o'clock, and blindly huddling on all
the clothes I could carry and struggling shivering and miserable to the mountain
top, and crouching for nearly an hour in the searching early air, and wiping the
tears from my eyes, as the breeze blew into them, and saying "Oh !" when a
'i
sickly crimson stain or two appeared, and really trying hard not to be cross, when
the crimson stain faded to pink and the deceptions clouds turned pale tmce more, it
7c;as disgusting to be obliged to own up that the sun hadn't risen, so far as we
could see, and to go trooping back to bed. HoM-ever, hot cofTee awaited us, and
we were soon asleep again, the warm beds and iron shuttered wee bedrooms feel-
ing like heaven, after the airy hour we had spent in being made fools of, by the
God of Day ! I remember realizing the utter unsophisticated truthfulness of Mark
Twain's narrated experience, as I gazed upon the hideous group of swathed and
shivering voyageurs, only they did not take the blankets to keep them warm, for
in the Hotel Pilatus such a proceeding is strictly forbidden.
The first thing that caught my eye was a notice to that efTect.
They are building a fine hotel on the same level as IMlatus Kulm, and we heard
the dull boom of the blasting powder now and then (Max O'Rell would dub me
the typical American, wouldn't he ? for talking so much about hotels, which he
avers take the place of scenery with brother and sister "Jonathan.") But hotels
are a serious considei-ation, and a great deal of the happiness of a summer holiday
rests on their being comfortable or the reverse, as anyone is willing to acknow-
ledge. \Mien we had made our descent on Monday, the engineer and the ol)er-
lieutenant presented me with their cards — promised to send me some views of
Vienna, and politely took their leave, and their way further down the "lac" to
Fluellen. And so, should the kind fates send me Eastward ever again, I shall
find two good friends, Herr Ludwig and Herr Lieutenant, more tlian ready to
show the American frau the beauties of their Capital. They were very gently
mannered, well read young fellows, and muscular pedestrians to boot, as their
long venturesome two hours tramp after the mythical hotel proved. The host
complimented them on their prowess, when they recounted the landmarks they
had passed, and filled them with rage by telling them that if they had only kept
on five moments longer, the hotel would have blocked their path !
I can see them now, with their soft grey "rowdy" hats, pointed brown beards
and tall slight figures, as they jnarched off, knapsacks on shoulder and sticks in
hand, to hunt f o ■ the hotel that wasn't there !
We saw some ugly mountain goats and cattle, and we had a heavenly view of
the "Lac des Quatre Cantons" or Lake Lucerne, and the four cantons that bor-
der its placid waters, — weary, and resting after their mad race down the rocks
, I
ill
lill"
K
o
H
H
K
a
of
lor-
bks
iitim-iM^-imti^imm
:
ami crags of Nouhausen — and we had the satisfaction of spending twenty-fonr
hours on fine old I'ilatus, the weathercock of the boatmen on Lake Lucerne If
Pihitus has liis " cap of cloud " on, though Lucerne lies panting below, no boat-
man will take his tourist i)arty for the charming row across the lake point, for
well /le knows that the devil takes very few moments to emerge from liis sulphur-
ous tunnel and make a tine drowning on pretty Lake Lucerne. The rapidity and
strength of a real Alpine thunderstorm, and the sudden fury of Lucerne's peace-
ful waters, should be seen to be believed. I did >uj( see : but heard a piteous tale
from a young Englishman in scant costume, who rowed an outrigger to and fro on
the placid lake, one morning — of the drowning of his young brother, and the
peasant who was rowing him home, but who lingered too late, when Pilatus had
his cap on ! of the blackness of the water, and the Ijlinding flashes of lightning
that played in wild deviltry down Pilatus sides, and dashed across the inky sky.
Hearing was enough, 1 felt happy that seeing was denied me, for I should have
surely died of nervous terror !
I have rather a peaceful memory of the Lantern City ! th'j good Hungarian
music, the Swiss maidens in gala dress, the noble Lion on the Cliff, the peasants
at Alpnach, who brought us twig rustic baskets lined with vine-leaves, and filled
with Alpine fruit, the prim Tante Anna and the neat niece Gertrude, and on
Monday, the train for Bale, en route to Paris ! I made no mountain excursion,
for one cannot do that alone, and I am too lazy and too easily wearied to go
scrambling and sprawling over loose stones and down slippery grades t'lnd bravely
call it fun ! I admired the many windowed chalets, which recalled memories of
cherished toys of my very juvenile days (a Swiss chalet, away up in a crevice of
the Cliff, looks just like child's toy put up out of the way ! ) and I distrustfully
viewed the big brigandish looking guides, and would not have trusted my pre-
cious neck to any one of them ! though I dare say they were good honest citizens,
and I went "through the garden" to the train, after a little kind good-bye to
Tante Anna and niece Gertrude, and found an immense crowd at the station,
mainly composed of , I need not say, I am sure !
Two young persons, in tall hats and high collars, who seemed in distress about
something attracted my attention, and I gathered from their few words that the
guard couldn't understand that they had lost their hat-boxes, containing brand
new hats, intended for Parisian wear ! Any one who has "big-brothers" at home
could not coldly pass by such a dilemma as this, and I boldly ottered to find the
missing hat-boxes, and did it too ! " The gratitude of these young men was confin-
ed to rather spasmodic exclamations, for the train started at once, and I had for-
gotten all about them when I saw them looking for !ne at Bale, and presently
coming impulsively up to know if there wasn't anything they could do for me.
" If you can tell me where to engage a sleeping car berth I'd be obliged," I said,
with a comical idea of the blind leading the blind. "Just down here," said one
of them. "Its not far, I've been there before," and sure enough, he piloted me
safely to the "Bureau," where we were alike dismayed to find that not a
berth was to be had. This was Monday at six p.m. The steamer by which I was
to return to New York sailed on the next Saturday. Paris was so near and yet,
so far, and we consulted together whether we could not sit up all night for once,
and so save one day of the precious four, in the beautiful city. "Of course we
can," was the verdict, " you can always do that once in a season ! " and so we
pocketed our cash and left the " Bureau " in search of a supper or dinner.
The train did not leave until nine, the evening was of the fairest, and my
countrymen begged me to accompany them in a drive aliout Bale while dinner was
being prepared for the three of us, in a pretty vine-covered cafe attached to the
leading hotel. " We didn't have a chance to say much about those hats," they
said when we were comfortably seated in a cab, and bowling along tlie quiet Swiss
thoroughfare. " But you just got there in time ! We had decided they must go
amongst the "lost baggage," and our old tiles disgrace us in the fashion city."
Then they explained to me with earnest interest, the peculiar nattiness and
stylishness of those new hats, and how much they iiad paid for them and I listen-
ed with becoming gravity, as befitted the subject, and as one learns to do, who
has "big brothers" at home, for it is another popular illusion of the iminitiated
that the male animal doesn't care about discussing his clothes and their cost and
style, just as much, or even more than his female relatives. Some day, just set
them at it and you will be convinced ! And in this one peculiarity all nations are
verily alike, proving conclusively the universal brotherhood, as all great things
are best proved, by very small matters ! However, we had more to discuss than
"hats" on our pleasant drive. There was a very pretty park, and the bridge
over the omnipresent Rhine, which comes along here to divide the Town into
fl ^
tVmSiS
s^pm
,^^l
Great and Little Bale, and the quaintest old Churches and Cathedral, the Univer-
sity and the (jrand Library. Bale is eminently a protestant city, in fact its pro-
testantism was ever of the Rampant order, and the opinions expressed regarding
the head of the church of Rome which have emanated from Bale, on occasion of
public councils or assemblies have been enough to make the long line of "St.
Peter's successors " turn in their graves. Baelites are, like all the Swiss, an out-
spoken, independent, fearless lot of people, and impressed me much with tlieir
peculiar amount of back-bone. I like them so much, and I do think the most
perfect specimen of a parish clergyman is the Swiss " pas(eur." I iiad the plea-
sure of travelling or rambling several times in company with the good pasteur, '
or his gentle mannered helpmeet, and I have seen them reading a scrap of the
Psalms of David, bareheaded, among the "hills, from whence cometh my help "
with that simple loving belief and heartfelt reverence that so few know how to
offer to the inspired Word. A Scottish mother, or father, in a "hielan' shielin',"
used to be to my mind a pict '•e of simple reverential worship, but I got a L ter type,
(perhaps they may thank their "Alps" for my opinion) when I saw the dear
good men and women with reverent voices and overflowing hearts, on ihat Sun-
day trip of mine, repeating those grand psalms, wherein the mountains and the
hills, and the thousand and one voices of nature are made to help and beautify
man's tribute of praise to God. So the hundred and twenty-first psalm will al-
ways bring before me the exquisitely clear summer morning, the everlasting hills,
and the group of Alpine men and women, with their pasteur in their midst ro-
peating the verses of David's trusting poetry, and with closed eyes and reverend
white head bent down, softly leading his little flock in the Lord's prayer. And
if there is a purer christian on God's earth than the Swiss pasteur, or his gentle
meek womanly wife, I should much delight in seeing them !
. I
III :i
t*i\^ r^5tiV^ City."
to
'^■flfinS^-^ " '^'K brothers" and I had a merry dinner together, for which I
I found it quite impossible to get a oliance to pay, in spite of my earn-
est request to be allowed to be independent. " Why those hats and
f:
"" " "^9*) boxes cost twenty dollars, and we should never have gotten them, but
for you ! " said American number one, and I was thus compelled to accept a very
small quid for a very evident quo, nor was my dinner and my drive the end of
their kindness. They secured a tirst-class coupe to themselves, by judicious
francs, and fetched me and my carryall from the abominable society of four
French tradesmen bound to Paris and who insisted upon invading my solitude,
and were moreover armed with flasks of ^^ eau-de-vie" and boxes of cigars. On
finding my remonstrances only politely laughed at, I was about to descend and
run the risk of being left behind when one of those shiny hats came in the door-
way, a long arm gripped the carryall, a strong hand helped me down, and a do-
lighted voice chuckled "That was a nice kind of ladies carriage. You'd rather
be with us than the Moosoos, wouldn't you ? No use in saying anything to the
guard. Every other carriages is chuckfull, and he just told them to get in there.
We've got this one reserved." And they had a good laugh at me, and my in-
dependence, for I had selected the only ladies coupe, and declined to share their
superior carriage, on the idea that perhaps I should be a bother to them, I sup-
pose the guard either did not see me, (so he assured me) or did not know what to
do with his over plus of excursionists, when he turned in those abominable crea-
tures on me, with their netted sacks of fruit and bread and clofhes all jaivimed in
togther, and their appalling cases of brandy and cigars. After I was comfortably
settled in my new quarters, I had the delightful satisfaction of seeing the " gang '
ejected from the coupe, on the tardy arrival of my Alpine girl graduates and tliei^
chaperone. I was really glad to see them, even the thin spectacled visage I had
refused to face on the way from Neuhausen to Lucerne, and gloated over the
dancing furious excited Frenchmen, who were forced to spend the night here or
tliere, where a place could be found. They actually made a rush at the door of
our coupe, to the dismay of the " boys," but the guard stepped up on the plat-
form and remarked ^^ pas de place " and we saw no more of them. It was a good
riddance ! We bivouaced on the wide lounges, and when I was comfortably set-
tled, the young cavaliers asked if I thought I could let them have a little smoke,
but that if I objected to "speak right out."
I spoke as follows : — " I never refuse any one to smoke, if they have bought
the coupe" and I told them my little Tyrolese story, and they told me lots of
funny incidents anent the smoking question, and I remember one remark just as
I was going to sleep, that amused me, "Hay, did you ever see so much smoking
without any spittoons, or any necessity for them." (Wherein lies perhaps the
secret of the different effect smoking seems to have on the American male animal's
constitution, from other nationalities.) Certainly, I hadn't noticed it, not having
ever looked upon the operation of smoking with friendly or interested eyes, but
as the question was not addressed to me, I fell into dreamlond, unheeding the
answer thereto. And along toward two o'clock, I awoke, and had a great scare !
We were just leaving the station when I saw a dark face, with gleaming eyes,
and a look indescribable of hunted alertness, peering in through the window and
as I looked, the door swung open, and a cadaverous looking object slipped in and
closed the door after him. My two American l)oys slept peacefully, one at my
feet, opposite the " sliape " that iiad suddenly slipped into our midst, and the
other on the same seat with him, and my heart beat rapidly, as I lay watchful and
still, my eyes half closed, but ready at the slightest movement on the intruder's
part to shriek, and my hand ready to press the button of the guards's electric
bell. He sat still enough, poor hungry-looking wretch, and I noticed that he
drew his grimy coat close around him, to avoid touching the superfine melton
that lay across the limbs of the slumbering traveller beside him. And somehow,
as I lay watching him, my terror vanished and my sympathy grew, and I quite
calmly raised myself up and en<iuired, "Are you French ?" "Oui," he answered,
and nodded his head. " You should not come into this coupe ; let me see your
ticket," I said, with a bravery that I was afterwards surprised at, but who could
be afraid of this poor, humble, shrinking ol)ject 1 "/ij tCen at pas !" he said, with
an upward motion of his hands. "Only a little way I go, madam;" and bo I
calmly sat down before him and decided to wait a "little while" before I siini-
nioned the guard. (Sure enough, as we neared a station he slipped out and away
as quickly as he had come, and you may be sure I had the guard lock that coupe
door before we went once more to sleep. The Americans took the adventure very
coolly, remarking that it was a good thing I was awake or he might liave made
off with the precious hat boxes after all.
The flat country gradually grew into sight in the lifting of the nigiit, and the
grey gleams of morninj . There were the rows of tall poplars, the flat fields and
the winding river, the early stations, where we rushed past groups of tired-look-
ing excursionists with no room to accommodate them, for all our second and third
class compartments appeared to be overflowing. The boys raced off" once or twice,
returning witli bottles of milk and lemonade, which we drank accord'ug to pref-
erence^ out of the dainty china cups from Dresden, which happened to be come-
atable in the carryall. And I decided tliat it behooved me to arrange my hair
and bonnet a little from tlie rakish air they liad acciuired during the night, and
had great laughter over my shaky attempts at the operation. However, I was
cheered by the apjjrox al of the boys, who declared I didn't look a bit as if I had
sat up all niglit, and so I entered Paris as prim and composed as was possible
under the circumstances. I had telegraphed from Lucerne for a room, and was
tolerably sure of it, but it was a relief to find it really at my disposal, if I would
wait until tlie gentleman wlio occui)ied it was up and dressed This (juite accoiil-
ing with my own ideas of propriety (!) I waited the arising and robing of mon-
sieur, saw him safely out to his cab, and tlien discovered that the " Ijoys " were
homeless, foi- that not another apartment in the grand hotel would be vacant for
another twenty-four hours. In fact, two telegrams ha<l come simultaneously with
mine for a room, but, as the concierge explained, " they were from gentlemen,
and madame's was preferred." I was sorry to say "An revoir " to my good
young men, but we arranged a great expedition to buy presents for the sisters in
America, wherein my superior knowledge and taste would be of service to them,
and they promised to call at seven (table d'liote time) and see how I had spent
the day, and make arrangements for our sliopping morning.
I presently found my room, redolent of the lately arisen's good cigar, and fling-
ing wide the window, freshened myself up by a bath for a Parisian dejeuner.
mmmmtmim
•^»"<-. ■ w,._^^,^_._
1
"Nothing but coffee and rolls " said I to myself, as I descended in search of the
dining-room; "that is what one may expect in Paris." But lo! a table full of
dainties, with meat, fish and pancakes for su])stantials, greeted my astonished
eyes. I seated myself beside a tall, unmistakably Scotch gentleman, and said,
pleasantly, "Good morning." "Ah— er — er — what?'" he stammered, so startled
that I felt quite sorry for him, and regretted my continental manners extremely ;
but I was not going to be discouraged, and said, (juietly, "I beg your pardon; 1
only said good morning." "Oh — ah — er — good morning — I'm sure — yes — fine
day — certainly — to be sure," he said, nervously, and, with an impatient sigh,
lifted his right hand with his left, and disclosed a very inflamed member indeed.
"You have a bad hand," I ventured presently; "let me cut up that chop for
you while I am waiting — no, don't mind at all letting me ; I can't sit and see you
trying, and do nothing. How did you hurt your hand?" and in a quiet way I
soothed his nervous, startled, British reserve, and soon had him chatting in a way
that showed he was only shy and not disagreeable. "My lister would attend to
that, only she's late this morning, and I was so precious near starved that I
couldn't wait any longer," he said, between his mouthfuls, and I fed him with
chops and potatoes and toast and butter until my own breakfast arrived, and with
it a like tall and sandy haired lady, who gazed at us in utter surprise, and who
was greeted airily with, "Oh, I've done waiting iov you, and if you don't come in
time you lose your place." I realized that I was the cuckoo, and quietly moved a
seat further away, looking up at the amazed lassie with as demure a face as ever
you saw, and keeping my mouth shut, as it is l)est sometimes to do.
She seated herself stiffly, and lilushing with annoyance, in my vacated place,
and I waited for her too to "get over it," and when I thouglit she liad done so, I
ventured a remark on some marmalade, and soon had her as friendly as her
brother, apologising for taking my seat, which she did to look after her "cripple,"
but soon found the animal was fe<l and ready to go out for a cigar. "Will you
show me that hand after breakfast?" I asked. "I think it's going to give you
trouble if you don't mind," and he stared very hard, but promised, and left us to
improve our acfjuaintance, which, having acquitted herself in tlie ordinary repel-
lant British manner to begin with, the lassie was now quite willing to do. We
had a great talk, and agreed to go for a walk to the Madeleine after breakfast, the
!!'
lassie being "wecl acquainted" with the immediate vicinity of the hotel. I in-
spected the wounded hand first tliough, and after a little voyage for linseed meal
to the chemists^ and a small chat vvith a garcon, who told me I must not make
"potage" in the bedrooms, and was immensely amused when I told him it was
for the .Scotch gentleman, who hadn't enough at breakfast, I succeeded in coaxing
him to bring me a little boiling water, and made my potage in a soap dish, and
scientifically poult' ^ed the angry hand.
We had great subsequent fun with that hand, and a triumphant healing up,
and a genuine Scotch gratitude that made me two firm and useful f.iends.
"Jessie," as the lassie was called, chaperoned me to the Madeleine, which was all
draped over the wide doois with black, and from whence the music of funeral
services proceeded, and afterwards we drove out to the Exposition, the Scotch
genileman having secured another brother Scot from Edinburgh to make up the
party. We took in the building of the Pantheon on our way, and descended to
the vaults, where lie the bodies of that prince of French story tellers, Victor
Hugo, and many older and more famous men. I had grown to love Victor Hugo
through his stories, and I looked long at the site of his last rest, with the heavy,
stiff wreaths of inmortelles hung about it, and tlien we followed the guide who
escorted us '■'■en />as" to a dark, gloomy-locking corridor to hear the subterranean
echo, which is a stock show of the visit. We ranged ourselves along the wall, in
a row, under his directions, and he laughed. All the spirits of tlie dead sages and
heros seemed to be "struck comical," and peals of laughter rang tlirough the silent
avenues of the crypt, startling and distinct, and gradually dying away into
silence. Then he gave us a short sketch of the building and its dedication to tho
great men of France, and every sentence echoed faitlif uUy from some eerie corner,
the two voices seeming almost like one, and reminding me of the "calling off" in
a bank or commercial establishment, wliich perhaps lias l)een heard by some of
my l)usy readers. Then he asked us to listen for the tap of the drum, and the
march past of the regiment, and suddenly arose a tumult of footfalls, rolling
drums and general pandemonium, which M'as notliing less than deafening. It was
a fine effect to be produced by one or two taps on a gong and a couple of stamps
of the foot, and we expressed ourselves accordingly.
From the Pantheon we drove to the Exposition, that giand holiday ground of
HH
1
'la
the gay city, where the " Tour Eiffel" reared its iron framework — tliree hundred
metres above our dwarfed and diminished heads. It took our friends from one
o'clock till six to make the ascent and descent in the slow-going elevators, so
great was the crowd on the summit, and it bein^ necessary to wait one's turn by
numbered ticket to reach the ground again. There was a buffet on the landings,
that one need not starve to death upon the tour, but I utterly refused to spend
five hours going up and coming down "(io, you," I said, "and I will have a
chair and be wheeled aliout the principal sights, for I am weary, and want to be
rested for the real Paris, which is to be seen only by gaslight." I waited until a
bright-looking chairman appeared, for I needed p good cicerone for such a length-
ened tour, and finally settled on one, who was all my fancy painted him, probably
because I stated my requirement thus: "So many francs for the wliole afternoon?
Well, I will give you two more if I have a pleasant tour." That was a bargain,
and the good man was indefatigable ; he knew where everything was and the best
point to see it from, and thoucrh exhibitions we all a great sameness, there were
some new things here that took my fancy. One was a street, down one side of
which ran what was called "The History of Habitations," and embraced all styles
of abiding places, from the first three unhewn stones set in a sheltering angle
against the winds of the earliest known ages, and not even roofed in, to the luxur-
ious mansions of the Eastern Monarch of the ages of prodigal splendor. A spot-
less Hindoo house took my fancy greatly, and a queer square etruscan one also
pleased my eyes. There was the flat-roofed Jewish home, of which the Bible
often speaks, and the giddy Cliinese pagoda, and the curtained Persian or Moorish
building, in which odalisques, with sequin chains in their hair, sold perfumery
and carved knick-nacks. The raised dwelling of the tree people (in which sat
grotesque creatures), reached by a slat ladder of interlaced, tough vines, and the
nuid villa of the aboriginie, the wigwam and the tent, the thatched cottage and
tlie tiled mansion, all in proper sequence, formed a vista of surpassing interest,
bringing really l)ef()re one's eyes things read of and imagined. It was worth
going to the Exposition only to see tliis one street ; one brought away a queer,
uncanny memory of gaunt creatures in the "stone age," huddled under a faded
canopy of leaves and upright slabs of stone, almost naked, in their wranpings of
leather and hair, with unshaven beards and unkempt locks. If they .' 're Paris-
ians gotten up for the occasion, it was a splendid disguise, for they onlj looked
half human, (but some Parisians are not even that!)
I went back twice to this interesting uiuter, and still could not Hx it on my
mind strongly enough to satisfy myself. Then my chair »vent sliding easily along
to "Spiers & Pond's" famous restaurant, where I got very little to eat and paid
a great deal for it. (English lestaurants and English waiters are ho.rid, after the
delightful service of the continent, but I must say their English patrons were just
as bad). "Twenty minutes I've wyted for that styke, " said an irate Cockney, as
I timidly slid into a seat beside him ; " and ten maw for tliis bloomin' coffee. I'd
have ordered pylo eyle, only you nyver know what you may be drinkin' in this
bloomin' plyce. '
"How long are you going to be over your lunch V" I asked, good-naturedly.
"Oh, arf an hour, just to pye them for keepin' me wyetin'," he said, viciously.
"Then," said I, getting up, "I'll be back for my lunch in twenty minutes; just
you look after it for me, like a good man, when it comes. I've ordered steak and
coffee too." And he actually did, while I rode round the statuary gallery and had
a feast of beauty and grotesqueries and every other thing, and returned to find
my lunch guarded vigilantly by this awful individual, who greeted me with, "Ere
you are, Miss; styke done to a turn, and pipin' 'ot, which is maw than mine was.
Charge the 'ighest and give the lowest, is their motto." This Mas accompanied
by a vicious sneer at the waiter, who received it with a scowl, and took the gen-
tleman's (?) change like a cross dog, doing evcrytiiing but snap at him. I was
presently left in peace by his growling "good dye," and enjoyed a very excellent
lunch, and paid a very teriible price for it ; but I'd have paid it cheerfully for a
smile or a gentle "Hitte," or insinuating "S'il vous plait," instead of the glum,
unmitigated sourness or the cocknosed familiarity that were the Scylla and
Charybdis of this charmiiij restauration I When I handed the change to the
waiter, with the small tip I'd been accustomed to, he handed me back the extra
money, as he said he could not take it. " Do you smoke?" I asketl. He stared
at me, and said, "I do. Miss." "Then take that money and pick me (mt a good
cigar," I said, gravely. He did so, and I made my exit in a hurry in my chair,
saying, as he hastened after me, "Smoke it, and try and ot pleasant." He di<l
actually smile as he tucked it behind his belt, and I thought ten cents was cheap
to get that smile to the surface — it was such a treat.
\
I invested in a little picture of a very good group I saw while I waileil for my
,
GROUP IN PARIS EXPOSITION.
lunch in the statuary gallery. The vikings are fine, I think, in their attitude of
intent and eager watching. Another group that struck me was a pair of gladia-
tors in the exciting contest of the net and trident, whicli Whyte Melville so
graphically describes in his grand story, "The fJladiators." The victim lies on
bis back, bound and nelpless in the clinging meshes that all his fleetness was not
able to evade, and tlie victor stands over him with trident raised, and cruel, un-
pitying eyes searching the vital spot wherein to Iniry it; the doomed man raises
his head from the ground with liissing hatred, and the awful grimness of death
hovering over him. I felt a terrible fascination in gazing at this life-like grot i,
and the spell was over me for a long time.
l']dison was in his pavillion that afternoon, and he was quite a man among men
in the Exposition, with his improved phonograph and various other clever de-
vices ; and sundry other old Canadian and American friends I came across, among
the machines and cute things, and I found that Canada is " looking up" among the
nations, who sometimes think of and look at her, as the old (German thought of
his young Kaiser. " Waiting to see wliat he would do ! " There are still m.iny
well informed old stat^ers who tliink that bears are found in the subm bs of
Toronto, and buffalo roam on the plains of Abraham, but the new generation
don't often ask, with the unsophisticated Tyrolese peasant, "Is Canada in F.ng-
land," nor think the Canadian Pacific Railway is an overland route from British
Columbia to China ! as I was informed in a very far village during my hcappy
holiday. Let Miss Canada only be true to herself and remember the good train-
ing of her mother, and there is no doubt she will do herself credit in time.
After table d'hote that warm evening, we three new-made friends, who were
quite int'.mate and happy, were reinforced by the yoinig Edinburgher and started
on a round of gaping. We had chocolate on the lioulevard at the Cafe de la Paix,
and by and by a glass of lemonade at some other grand resort, and by and by
again a water-ice at a third, and we drove to the head of L' Avenue de I'Alma to
see the electric illumination of the "Tour Eiffel," and heard the clapping of hands
in the great hippodrome, and made plans to enter therein on the morrow, and
finally at twelve o'clock got back thoroughly tired of the gaslight and the crowds,
and ready for the soundest kind of sleep. My kind lassie said as she bade me
"gude night," "To-morrow morn we must go to the shops, and after lunch to
Versailles. You will like that,yf««;" and with this programme on hand we parted.
As arranged, my lassie and I started for the shops in the morning, not, however,
before we had seen the "Cook's tourist party " go away to Verseilles in a 'bus,
four horses and very uncomfortable looking seats, not at all like the smart, dash-
ing, four-seated wagonette of the advertisements. The chaperone was there, and
the school girls, and they went rattling off in the clumsy covered van, and I was
glad not to go with them. The very climbing in and ont of the concern was a
day's hard work, but it is a great convenience to ladies — alone, or who cannot
speak the language — and gives them a day of unworried sightseeing.
We made a straight line for the Bon Marclie, that great shop of all sorts, which
has its hundreds of clerks, its free lunch counter, its hoards of precious bales of
every imaginable fabric in every conceivable line. Here we began a delightful
search for some little trifling matters, and ended by investing more heavily than
we at all intended, or rather I did, egged on by my Scotch lassie, who seemed
determined I should buy a trunk and fill it beside. She had her way, for who
could withstand the fascinations of a Paris shop when seen for the first time ? So
the trunk was bought, and the silks and the velvet and the knick-nacks, and I
felt ashamed to look my honest carryall in the face ! It was tiresome work after
all, and when I suggested that we should go and have lunch and so be in time for
the Versailles trip, which we were to take in company with the two Scotch gen-
tlemen, Jessie was quite willing. \^'e gained the street after many admiring
lingerings, and I said, " My watcli has stopped ; look at yours, please." She
looked, started, and looked again. " What does yours say?" she said, faintly.
"Oh, mine has stopped; it says half-past five." "So does mine," she said,
solemnly, and our weariness and hunger did not prevent us from laughing as we
realized tliat we had spent the whole day in that tempting shop. I could scarcely
believe it, but the anxious faces that waited for us on our hurried return to the
hotel quite convinced us, and we made a clean breast of our ill doings, much to
the Scotchmen's amusement.
fey Day ai\6L (^a^liglxt.
^S I came to breakfast on the morrow's morn, my Scotch friends accosted
'* me thus: *' Do you feel able for a long day?" and I answered heartily,
" Yes, indeed ; I've slept so soundly and so long that I am only half
}x<^- awake yet."
"Well, we've been wanting a good day, and we'll just take advantage of this
fine one, and start a nurse's party," (holding up the bandaged hand) "instead of
a ' Cook's ' party, and we'll go to Sevres and St. Cloud by the Bois de Bovtlogue,
and have luncheon in some real old French place, and then Jock and I will ^o and
pay our calls, and you two can have the carriage until seven o'clock, but don'v be
later, for we are going to take in the hippodrome this evening. " "And you'll
have that man?" said Jessie, with a coaxing voice. " I don't care to go else !"
"Here we is!" the invalid answered, with a laugh, and as we came along the
entry I looked out and saw " that man," the cheekiest looking English cocher you
could imagine, attired in a suit of large brown and white plaid, with buff gaiters
over his natty shoes, a red necktie and tan gloves, and a Marshall Niel rosebud in
his buttonhole, the crowning touch being a dandy tall hat over one of the most
humorous faces I ever looked at, the very stiff' erectness and impassive look of an
English " William," with the air of thinking Paris and Parisians a huge joke, but
otherwise beneath his notice. What a fund of anecdote and instruction that
Englishmpu was, and how he made us "see Paris" 1 am about to relate. He
scrambled down lightly from his higli seat, and touched his hat and respectfully
listened to Jessie's harangue. " Ye are to show us all those places over again
that we went before, and see we get in this time to the Sevres workrooms, and
that ye get in time back for dinner." "Certainly, mem ; start directly, I sup-
pose." Here the gentlemen interposed, and sent us luirrying for our bonnets,
(Jessie's bonnet was a hat of black straw, of the mushroom shape, British and
hideous!) and presently we set out, surely as happy and contented a party of
tourists as ever chummed together on short notice. First we drove to the
Trocadero, the entrance to the Exposition, then past the busy ^' Place" to the Bois
de Boulogne, glancing at the Egyptian obelisk and the Arc dc Triomphc on the
route. In the Bois de Boulogne one sees comical moossoos " acting Eiiglisli" with
dog carts and hangtailed horses, and once in a very long time a man with enough
of dignity not to make one laugh. But really, the general run of Frenchmen
were to me purely and unadulteratedly funny, and my risibles were always on
the qui vive. Even in my most serious moments a moossoo with terribly fierce
moustachios, and terribly groggy legs, or evidently padded frock coat, or excru-
ciatingly narrow boots, would make me smile — funny man ! The way they ride
is simply execrable, but I hope the horses' mouths are hard and their nervous
system under full control, for the erratic checkings and spurrings and whippings
and parlez vousings would drive an English high-strung steed into a fury. Our
William was delighted on overhearing my remarks, and turned with a " Beg
pardon, mem," to coincide in my views. "The 'orses of Paree are much to be
pitied; h'even the quality, h'unless they get a h'English coachman, 'as their
h'animals h'abused like that. Look Koiit now, will yer ?" to a French cabby who
was in his way. Jessie was perfectly delighted whenever "yon coachman'*
talked to us, and safely giggled under her broad hat, while poor I, in pitiless little
cap-bonnet, had to watch her and "still be grave."
In our drive through the Bois, William pointed out the staunch little fort from
whence the French poured shot and shell upon their own fair palaces, to dislodge
the Prussian soldiery, and presently, after a happy drive, we arrived at the scene
of the shelling, the ruined chateau of St. Cloud, heading off the Cook's tourists
party just in time. As we left they came, in four great vans, scrambling out and
straggling up the hill to the pretty garden and the ruined castle, in the great ball-
room of which grow trees ten feet or more in height, making one realize that it is
nearly twenty years since the Franco-Prussian war.
"William" knew every vendor of bric-a-brac and photos and ale and cognac,
and gravely answered their grinning salutes, or, if they ventured audible com-
ment, promptly shut them up in the most superior manner. "A h'ignorant lot o'
beastes," he said, scornfully, in answer to a jeering enquiry as to the date of his
costume. Then he took us to see the Sevres potteries, and explained that he had
arranged with the workman to give us a private view of the potter's magic skill,
and we were shown down into a basement, where a very tall, broad Frenchman
was waiting, attired in a suit of white linen and tall cap, with a mass of white
clay on the tray beside him, and his potter's wheel before him.
He seated hhnself with a polite '■'■ Boujoiir, mesdames et ;«tfWiV«rj," and began
working his feet as on a sewing machine. The circular board on a stand before
him spun rapidly round, and he cut off a portion of clay — a "gob," as our William
expressed it — and slapped it down on the little rotating board. Then with
moistened hands he formed and coaxed the yielding mass until a dainty jar spun
round before our eyes ; then his broad palm flattened it all down, and he coaxed
it up into a graceful vase ; down again, and there grew a water flask, and a ipieer
etruscan bowl, and a flower-pot holder, and a pitcher. We were perfectly
amazed and delighted at his magical skill, and finally he formed a cup, the begin-
ning of one of the delicate lace-like wonders up stairs in the cabinets, and set it,
hardening and complete, before our round and wondering eyes. A lady who had
come down with our party impulsively seized it, and lo ! it fell apart in her grasp-
ing hands. The ^^onvrier" laughed and rose. '■'■Cest finiT he said, very
politely, and, undeterred by the frowns of William, I gave him a franc, with very
awed expressions of wonder at his skill. "Beg pardon, mem, but h'it won't do," said
William, confidentially, as we remounted the stairs, after viewing the furnaces
and the ware in every stage, from the frail, fresh moulded to the glazed and
painted beauty. "These 'ere fellers don't h'expect nothink. H'its only the
h'Americans throws money round h'unnecessary. Just you 'ave your 'arf franc
'andy, and look h'at me when to tip. H^Pll see you h'aren't h'imposed h'on by
these beggars. H'only just look to me — you'll be victimised h'otherwise."
On emerging we found the tourist party prowling about outside, their itinerary
only embracing an outside view of the handsome specimens and museum. Inside
are the tiny lace-covered cups and saucers, the delicate openwork surface of
which is done by women, who with tiny chisels pick out the scraps that are
between the interstices, and leave the fine pattern on the outer layer of porcelain ;
then it is glazed, gilded and baked, and for from seven to twenty dollars one may
carry away a specimen. It is the china of the millionaire, and was too frail and
too dear to find a place among my curiosities. Exquisite painted vases, tall gray
and white jars, with dainty draped figures and pure looking medallion faces,
went away up into th e hundreds and thousands, but one realizes that they are
beyond one's reach, and just admires. It is only very little people who long for
possession, as the chiUlrcn cry for that "shiny round thing up there," on a clear
moonlit night. We dropped our Scotclinicn at the first oninilms line to the
Madeleine, and continued our tour. I had to call at the Bon Marclic and order
a robe wliich I luid not decided on tlie day before, and with the precaution of
leaving Jessie behind I rushed up the stairs almost with my eyes sliut, ordered
my robe and came down, making one little pause, liowever, wliere a box of very
pretty felt travelling hats, of the style known as " mountaineei," were selling off
at about ten cents apiece. I hastily picked out one, of finest felt and first-class
finish, and descended with it in my hand to find Jessie and the coaclnnan discuss-
ing the best thoroughly French place to take luncheon in. " / 'ave h'only o;/tf
place," said William, M'ith a "that settles it" tone, "where I li'always recom-
mend my ladies. The waiters know nie, h'and you're sure of h'everytliink served
proper." Accordingly, after a few moments at "Les Invalids," where Napoleon's
magnificent tomb and his very wrecks of old soldiers "divided my devotions"
(and where I had the doubtful pleasure of shaking the palsied hand of the oldest
living veteran), we drove through the old real Paris to a low, clean-looking
restaurant, wherein our WMlliam disported himself like a Lord of the Admin' Ity
at the very least, patronizing the waiters, and, I shrewdly suspect, getting his
dinner for nothing in the outer cafe, while we paid the piper within. They gave
us all sorts of queer little things for lunch — a salad that I woidd not have eaten
for twenty francs, it looKed so very suspicious, and a capital bottle of wine,
which Jessie drank sparingly, as if it had lieen old port instead of innocent
"native" at two francs the bottle, and a perfectly delicious chicken with maca-
roni. We lunched royally for very small money, and William demanded to know
the amount from me before we left the place. When I told him, he said, " Ham,
chicken and I'ltalian, bottle of wine, bread an<i cheese. Did you have potage
and salad? Didn't eat the salad? I'm sorry, mt.n, for the salads are a M ?'<?/■ a'ij
over of my good people here !" Finally he signified his satisfaction at the charge,
and begged pardon for appearing inquisitive. " But ladies 'ave no h'idea of
values, H'I'm bound they sharn't h'impose h'on you." I was awfully afraid he
would ask me how much I gave the waiter, and was prepared to get another
lecture, but he did not, and I was amused to see the way he feed his waiter,
handing him a cigar with a lordly "'Ere's a smoke, John," and not apparently
seeing the twinkle of fun in the demure Frenchman's eye. He took us next
r"'iii iiMnrrrn
ige
do
of
Ihe
ler
er.
tiy
through the gardens of the Tuilcries, past the ruins of the palace, and in answer
to my enquiry, "What do you think of tliis result of the Commune?" he raised
his eyebrows, pursed his lips, shook his head, and remarked, emphatically,
"Nothink, mem. Ws purely Parisian — 'Louvre' — not to-day, mem. We shall
just 'ave time, as h'l think, to do Not-a-Dame and Saint Chapelle, and wasn't it
a Hospital, you said?" and so we drove past the Louvre, and turned away to the
"Island of the City," and suddenly William remarked to himself, "Oh, by the
way !" and turn . down a side street, and stopped before a building into which
people seemed to be going in at one end and presently coming out at the other;
"H'enter by this door, pass h'along and h'out h'of the far door, where you will
find me waiting," said William, and we stepped down and "h'entered" — what do
you think? — the Morgue! Innocently wondering, we followed the crowd, and
presently I saw Jessie stop, and exclaim, "For mercy's sake!" I pushed past
her, and can.o face to face with — a corpse ! The poor man was perched behind a
glass refrigerator door, in a sitting posture, his hands folded on his lap, and his
poor white head propped back against a rest. Next to him, in another little com-
partment, sat a young, handsome fellow, with a cruel wound over his temple, his
little felt hat set rakishly on his clustering curls, and a sad sort of smile on his
white face. There were no more, thank heaven, and we hurried past the row of
glazed compartments with .shrinking horror, and emerged to find our carriage
with white cheeks and faint hearts. Jessie seated herself silently, and W^illiam
remarked, " H'I'm sorry tiiis goo 1 feller tells me there's h'only two h'in to-day;
yesterday there was h'eight, five h'of 'em females." I was too much overcome to
speak to him, and he drove away from the awful place, probably fearing that
"h'only two" had not pleased us, and hence our silence.
Over the bridge and across the square to the grand old cathedral of Notre Dame
we proceeded, and after an admiring tour round ifs vast interior, and an exam-
ination of the great doorway with its wise and foolish virgins standing on each
other's heads up and down the side frames, and a hoard of dates and guide book
items from William, and a distinct memory of the lovely old rose windows, and
others more modern, a)id the evidence of the dripping square and William's natty
green silk umbrella to make us believe that a shower had taken place during our
tour, which only seemed to us to have occupied five minutes, but must have been
C»s,
M . i.
a half hour at the least, we drove across to the Hotel Dieu, the oldest and largest,
and I fancied the one which would interest nie most, of all the Paris hospitals.
But a different rule prevails here, and we were refused admittance, much to
William's chagrin, who hated to be "done" in the presence of strangers. "If
madame will go to the office of the 'chef aes c/iarites,'" said the white-capped
concierge, " and receive an admission, I shall be most happy to show everything
that can interest, but without, it is contrary to the rule." "tulive me the
address," I said, "and I will see what I can do." So he wrote on a slip of paper,
"Avenue Victoria, 3, Assistance publique," and I drove off to try what I could
do in the way of persuading Moossoo.
William knew the place perfectly, and presently deposited me before the doors
of a massive old place, where I crossed a courtyard and rambled up several flights
of stairs to a little office, where the legend on the door told me I was at my
destination. A concierge sat on a little oak bench, and him I took into my con-
fidence. "I am American, and have only one day more in Paris," I said, in my
most winning manner. ' ' I wish to spe monsieur the directeur, to get an admis-
sion to Hotel Dieu, no, I am not ill, my friend, in very good health, but I am
interested in hospitals and I wish so much to see & french one." "Madame is a
nurse?" "Not by profession." "But a nu'se?" "Yes, I'm a good nurse," I
said laughing. " At least my patients say so '" "And Madame has attended
lectures?" "On nursing, oh yes!" "Well! allow me to present the case to
Monsieur the Directeur, say not a word, understand not, if it be possible, and
Madame shall have the admission. " He was bright and pleasant, and evidently
a favorite with the awfully tall military looking Moossoo, in the grey tweed suit
and lengthy white mustache, who rose deliberately from his chair and stood with
his hands spread out upon his desk and his steel grey eyes blazing at me from
under their thatch of white hair, waiting for the purport ot my visit. As I did
not speak, according to orders, he turned quickly to the concierge " what does
the lady want?" he asked, and my hair raised up at the glib little lies with which
monsieur the concierge stated my case. Madame was famous nurse ffom America,
Canada and United States, she was abroad to visit various hospitals, desired to
learn something also in Paris, had but a few hours to stay, and came to beg of
the kindness of Monsieur the Directeur permission to go over the French hospit-
als, creches and institutions that she might study certain new methods." "To-
Ith
km
Ics
Ito
lof
lit-
day it is late !" said the generalissimo, with an awful frown, " Madame can visit
but one or two at most." " Hotel Dieu, then, monsieur," 1 said quickly, and he
glowered at me and sat down at his desk. The concierge withdrew and the
director went on writing, and I thought I'd put my foot in it now, surely. But,
no ! in another anxious moment he had 6nished filling out a card of admission to
all the public charities of Paris under control of the department, and he handed
it to me with a sudden spasmodic smile. "It needs you to hurry," he said, as I
began to thank him. " There is yet time for gratitude, monsieur," I said, laugh-
ing. " I thank you very much. You are the first Paris gentleman I've had the
pleasure of meeting. I shall hold you in happy memory." " But the Canadians
can speak well,' he said, coming out of his corner. " I fancied madame did not
understand and Antoine interpreted." " Non, non," I said, quickly. "1 w,s
too much afraid of monsieur, who looked like a fierce warrior to speak to him. '
He laughed heartily. " Very well said. Now, can I do any more for yov
Stay, take my own card, give it to your cicerone, and you will be well attendee.
Adieu, no thanks, adieu," and he opened the door for me himself, like a flattered
old gentleman as he was. So I rushed back to patient Jessie with my permit to
\\9At forty-otte different hospitals, charities, and establishments in the city, and
William had the satisfaction of seeing his ladies received with great politeness
and escorted out of his sight. I guarded carefully my permit, and it, lies before
me as I write, filled in with Monsieur the Director's own cramped foreign hand-
writing. If all Frenchmen were like him, now !
We went all over that hospital, Jessie occasionally looking at her watch, and
warning me, only an hour, only forty minutes, and in the men's accident wards,
giving up the case as hopeless. "A hundred accidents in a day," I said, doubt-
ingly. "Oh, not so many, surely." "Yes, madame, quite as many," said the
strapping "ouvrier," who was chatting to me, the very picture of comfort, with
the boat-shaped " bonnet " on his head, his case of cigarettes on his bedside table,
and his decanter of red wine in easy reach. " Moi, I have the leg broken — yes,
it hurts, but one must expect that," and he laughed a jolly little laugh. The
name of Hotel Dieu always gives me back the face of this big workman, with his
great merry eyes and tine powerful frame, and the interested but uncomprehend-
ing Scotch lassie, whose blue eyes travelled from his face to mine and back as we
talked. I had quite a crowd of beaux to open the door, and many a happy smile
Mi
^ i :
and hearty "Au revoir" from tlieae Frenchmen, who had as good and pleasant a
time as illness would permit, and who were so neat and clean. It would weary
you to go over all the interesting creatures, from whom Jessie ruthlessly dragged
me away, and I am sorry to say I stayed so late that William was quite dispkased
with me. "No time for anythink vow but .Sainte Chapelle," he said, in nn injured
tone, as if we had been iwiv/iers, and drove crossly away, wliile 1 sat in a vision of
sisters of charity, jolly patients, ghastly wounds, and emaciated men and women
and children, and suddenly appearing now and then the grandest bath on wheels,
with a hose for hot and cold water and a thermometer and a douche, and alto-
gether the completest and most convenient thing, which I don't think we have in
our hospitals in Canada — at least I've never seen one.
The Sainte Chapelle ia a very old church indeed, restored lately, and originally
built by Louis IX. in the middle of the thirteenth century to receive the relics of
the Holy Land, which were placed in a little shrine. It is a queer, gaudy little
church, with a pointed arched ceiling of blue studded with gold stars, and long
stained glass windows forming nearly tlie whole of the walls, and one gets up to
it from the ground floor l)y a breakneck stone stairs. There must be some other
entrance, as the roya' marriages were once celebrated there, but so we came into
it. "Over six hundred years old, eh, and what good ia it?" asked an American
lady who joined us at the entrance. "Just fancy having to climb up here to say
one's prayers ! My, but it's bright and pretty though." And so it is, in blue
and gold and fleur de lys and stained glass, and its glittering spire shines golden
bright over the dingy roof-tops, while under foot, as one walks up the ^^ Haute
Chapelle " to the shrine where were once the thorny crown and the other relics
which the king brought, back from Palestine, one treads upon the most beautiful
designs in marble mosaic, or, rather, one is conjured not to tread upon them, but
to walk upon the strips of carpet spread down either side of the chapel. Statues
of the twelve Apostles (I think) stand on pedeatala down either side, and it is
more a memorial of the pious king who built it, and was deemed worthy of canon-
ization by a certain pope, than anything else. We hurried over the guide's
descripcion of the various things about, and returned to the hotel very late and
very penitent, though, as Wiiliam aententiously remarked to the Scotchmen,
•' H'it wasn't ahopa this time, but a hospital."
Jeasie was quite excited and eloquent during the table d'hote to her two friends
■*■*-'■'-• •■■'MTr-1
over the Hotel Dieu. "It I could only make them uiulerixtand me I'd go again
l)efore I leave," she said, heartily. " How would you get in?" I asked, mischiev-
ously. "Oh, I'd go on an open day. Yon driver found out that to-day was a
closed day, but somt days are open days," said Jessie, knowingly, and I srppose
she was right. "You can go in Aberdeen when you get home. There are sick
men there too." "I will that," she said, earnestly, and when Jessie said it I
knew she meant it. My other neighbor at table was very interesting — a young
Turk, who was with some diplomats in Paris on some secret mission, and always
wore his fez. We had sundry and manifold talks together, and got (juite friendly,
ojd Scotch Jessie and her brother teased me about my impolite admirer, saying
they would not be civil to a young man who sat with his hat on. They dared me
to ask him why he did it, and I innnediately l)egged for enlightenment. "It is
my religion," he said, smiling away my apologies for the question. " Musselmen
must not go with the head uncovered. IJ I wished to express my contempt for
you I should raise my hat in your presence." I translated his explanation to
Jessie, and she looked hard at him. " Do you believe ii't" she said, incredulous-
ly. "Yes, indeed I do, and I'm glad you speak English, for my small friend
would be enraged if he fancied you dou1)ted him." " Puir daft boddy !" she said,
in such serious compassion that I laughed heartily, only glad that she did not
realize the very small opinion held of her and me and all females by this quiet
effendi. He was such a gentle, grave, j)olite fellow that I liked him very much,
ind once in a while forgot he was a Turk ; once I was again reminded of it
thougli, wlien, on the last dinner before 1 left, Jessie's brother ordered a bottle of
choice wine as a sort of farewell "cup," and asked me to pour a glass for my
"bashaw" as well. He looked at me smilingly and put back my hand stretched
out for his glass. "I may not," he said, gently. " Your religi(m ?" I asked in a
like low tone. " Yes, madame guesses," and he lauglied ami made some remark
to his friend, the head diplomat, who was also the head of the table. I saw their
names in "(ialignani," the great Knglish jjajier there, but forget who they were,
though their dignified, grave, quiet manners impressed me very much indeed. One
of my nice American boys called while I was chatting with the young Musselm-'n.
and I caught sight of him peeping from the door of the dining-room, and hurried
out to greet him with effusion. " Why didn't you leave word as we asked, when
we could find you in?" he enquired. "I've never heard anything more of you,
I
' •-k:
and thought you'd forgotten me," I said. " What, didn't you get our cards or
the note?" "Not a thing," I assured him. " Well, we called and you were at
dinner, and 1 found some friends evidently, so we left a note asking you to
drive out rsailles or somewhere, or go to the shops. My sister wanted a si//:
petticoat, a liow the mischief could I go and ask for it? Besides I wouldn't
know if I'd got it, anyway. And we did so want you — you said you'd come, you
know." "And so I would. How did it happen I never had your note?" Be-
cause, it turned out, I had not as/:ed for it, for it lay in the box numbered for my
room ; but how can one know when notes come to go and ask for them ? I was
so sorry, for those young people had a long claim on my grateful services, but one
had already crossed the channel to catch his ship and return home, and the other,
feeling lonely, had turned in at the hotel to try and find a friend, and fortunately
I caught sight of him. He was leaving in a few hours, and though I offered to
remain over and take a night train to Antwerp to catch my boat, sooner than
that sister should lack a sii/i petticoat (I can hear the disgusted tone the boy spoke
those words with), it was all of no avail. Fortunately, I could even then put
him on the track of "pretties," which I knew would please an American girl, and
which he eagerly loaded himself with. "And you will stay with us this evening;
we're going to the hippodrome," I asked, after we had taken our race to the shop
of Exposition knick-nacks, and regained our iriends. "Well, no, I am going
somewhere else until it's train time. In fact (I hope you'll not be shocked) I am
going to the student's ball, at the J'^rdin Afahi/ie^" (His air of deprecation was
too funny as he produced his ticket for this very larky resort, and informed me of
his desperate intentions. ) "Oh, y^u shocking bad boy. Well, I think you can
take care of yourself," and with a hearty liandshake I left as nice an American as
ever travelled over the continent with his native language and a hat box !
Jessie was eager to be gone to her circus, and we drove quickly ofiF through the
merry boulevards to Alma Avenue, where we were disgusted to find "no place."
"Can one not stand?" I asked, ruefully regarding the tickets which we had pur-
chased. "Come to-morrow," said the gentleman in the box, shortly. "It's all
very fine for you to say 'come to-morrow,'" I said, laughing. "To-morrow I
shall be on my way back to America," and then I tried my old plan. " Do you
think we could not get in, just to see the place — it is so fine a circus ?" For
answer he pointed with a smile up the stairs. " Entrcz," he said, simply, and we
did, and stood gazing our fill at the ten thousand excited spectators of a miserable
silly circus as ever you saw, and rending the air with their plaudits of the female
riders, who were like pigmies, so immense was the distance between them and us.
My friends pressed forward along the front of the gallery, and were greeted with
cries of " Sit down," which being fired at them in French they neither heard nor
heeded. A smart gendarme came up and promptly turned us all out, they
remonstrating and indignant and I nearly convulsed with laughter. My elderly
friend in the box gravely received back our tickets, and I explained the joke to
the three uncomprehending Scots, and after duly turning it over in their minds,
as is the Claelic habit, they enjoyed it immensely. But we had not come to the
end of our fun yet. A party of French people, two men and two women, evidently
a pair of provincials in charge of their Parisian friends, seeing us mount the stairs
to the gallery, had boldly pushed their way in some other way, and as was
evident by the noises and pretty language which we heard behind the swinging
doors, were being incontinently "fired" by some guardian of the place. They
came protesting and sputtering out from the swinging doors, and attacked the
ticket agent for selling them tickets when he knew there was no room. "No
harm done, monsieur," said the man, politely. " Here is your money back, or,
better, I will give you tickets, good place, for to-morrow. "I want not the
money; I thus treat your wretched tickets," roared the infuriated Frenchman,
his face as white as death, and his eyes gleaming, "thus and thus!" and he rent
the unoffending tickets into bits, and flinging them on the pavement, danced on
them. "I will have satisfaction for this insult," he screamed, while we got out
of his way, and thought the circus outside was far ahead of the ring performance.
"Monsieur, no insult was given," said the box keeper, calmly, but with an appre-
ciative look in our direction. "You make me liar, do you, a-h-h-h?" and the
little spitfire rushed from the building, leaving us to finish our laugh in almost
hysterics, but in another minute came tearing back, and began all over again, this
time calm and terrible, wanting the name and address of his insulter, not to fight,
oh, no, but to have him arrested !
Then seeing om* imrestrained and aggravated hilarity, he raised his hat in
white sarcasm, and suddenly losing control of himself once more dashed it on the
ground and danced on //. Absinthe may have been at the bottom of his speech-
I'
less rage, but awful as it was to see a liuinan creature so possessed, I lauyhed till
my sides ached.
When we had finally summoned up sufficient decorum among us to venture
again upon the boulevard, we decided not to try any more amusements, but to
wander about among the brilliantly lighted cafes, and watch the streets, which
were always an interesting study ti me. As we sat outside the Cafe de la Paix,
on its grand boulevard, I was attracted by an awful looking figuie, in a ragged
surtout, with unkempt hair and glittering eyes, and as evil a look as one fancies
one of Victor Hugo's terrible story people might wear. "A sewer rat," said the
Scot, and I watched him with a great interest as he crept along in the gutter, his
frowsy head covered with the tattered remains of a black fur cap, and in his claw-
like fingers a long stick, with a little hook at the end. He paused near me, and
his practised ey^ saw something shining under a little table near us. He came
creeping nearer, and M'ith his stick sent the wee coin flying into the street, where
he picked it up and put it directly into his cavernous mouth. Ugh ! a horrible,
horrible sight, this more than half savage creature, who had no home, and no
friend but the Death that would some day end his hideous existence. We went
to a music hall, proper enough, but a noisy place, where we stood to hear a
popular song of the boulevards, in which the Parisiar s all joined as the band
played. There was one note which they did not play, t ut instead all the people
gave one loud hand-clap, or rapped once on the little tables with great precision
and violence, and which perfectly delighted me. It was so French. Then we
strolled round to see the new Cirand Hotel of Paris — a sumptuous and spacious
edifice indeed, where "princes and fools," to quote my Hamburgher, can spend
an awful amount of money in a very short time. The entrance wjis lovely, with
its garden and wide plate glass partitions, and we felt very small fry indeed as
we bravely promenaded along its corridor. It was now nearly eleven o'clock, and
I suddenly remembered that I had neglected one thing, which was a luxury I had
promised myself in Paris. I confided to Jessie that I had not had a "shampoo,"
and bemoaned my treacherous memory and my dusty hair. "Oh, come on then;
you can have one now." she said, and led me to a little barber's shop near the
Grand Opera House, where we were received with the coolness of perfect pre-
paration, which made it seem the most natural thing in the world for a lady to
arrive at eleven o'clock at night and have a yard or more of hair shampooed.
The Scot being informed that the business would take twenty minutes, at which
I sceptically smiled, the hairdresser got ready his lather, his basins, his brushes,
and his drying apparatus. It took less than fifteen minutes with the splendid
contrivance for drying heavy locks, which the Parisians have, and we were all in
waiting, clean and smooth and shiny, when our escort returned. We ended this
long, busy, interesting day by inspecting my purchases and having our suppers
sent up to my room, where we made merry in very uncomfortable confusion, but
with the kindliest of feelings to one another. We laughed over the Frenchman at
the hippodiome, and had a good chat until twelve o'clock, when we bid good-
night for the last time. One more thing I lacked, but I was almost afraid to
demand it at so late an hour. However, I took courage, and ringing for " Marie,"
asked her could I not have a hot bath. "Certainly," she said, politely. **In
five minutes I will show madame the way — the bath will then be ready." She
was as good as her word, and showed me to a handsome bathroom, where I found
a snowy bath robe and soft slippers waiting for me, and where I had a delightful
bath, while Marie carried off my clothes and neatly folded them up, and arranged
my disorderly room. "I wish I'd remembered to give those things to the wash,"
I said, as I came hurrying in and found her folding up sundry tossed and tumbled
garments. " W^ould madame send them to-night?" she said. "Oh, I'm afraid to
risk it," I said, hesitatingly. "I should want them before noon to-morrow."
"Madame can have them," Marie said, confidently. " Shall I do them up?" and
she did, and had them back in time, too.
V'
lie
\ \
^^.
" Witl\ face I^onx^War^L f Uri\ii\3."
^N1) SO the time came to bid adieu to the iiieri y boulevards, the bright
cafes, tlie ligl\thearted, careless holiday makers in the wide Rue de
Rivoli or the crowded ways of the Exposition. By the way, I should
have written of the pictures 1 saw there one other day when I had
three hours to spare; of the hideous "Question l)y fire," with its tortured wretch
bound on the grate, under which the flames slowly grew and crept ; of the sad
awfulness of the execution of the Spanish rebels, bound and waiting in abject
terror or scornful contempt the hail of lead that should blot them from the land
of the living. One tall, handsome, darhig fellow, with flashing eyes and red
sailor's cap, I can see as I write, so speaking and so strongly diawn was his
pictured face, and Death was no foe to him and Fear wasn't in ins dictionary.
And the wonderful "Aurora," rising nude and pink and pure with upstretched
arms and little feet clinging together, a startling sight enougli in her umlisguised
loveliness to many an American eye (I wonder what my Vienna friend would
have thought of her'^) and the sweet face of the painter's love picture, "My wife,"
and Courtois' lovely dark-eyed Madonna pressing her black-eyed, merry baby's
cheek to hers, with the foreshadowing on her serious face of the legend written
underneath, "A sword shall pierce thine own heart also," and again Deschanip's
touching "FoUe," where the vacant-eyed idiot sits huddling up her pet rabbit,
dressed in dolly's discarded garments, and a wise, solesun-looking nanny-goat
ragards her almost with human pity in her soft brown eyes One picture which
has been extensively engraved through America and which I longed to see was
Bougereau's " First Grief," where swarthy, gigantic Adam holds ^%\c dead body of
the youth Abel across his knees, jjressing one powerful hand on his aching father
heart, and kissing comfortingly the golden locks of the weeping Eve, who kneels
beside him and hides her face against his l)reast. It is such a wonderful creation,
even in the meagre black and white of the engraving, that I looked forward to
seeing it with great pleasure, but somehow I missed it.
There is such a wonderful realism in all the French pictures, sometimes delight-
iL-.
-Ul-i,
Ihich
was
ily of
Ithev
lieels
tion,
la to
ght-
fully pleasing an<l sometimes repulsive, but I had a grand morning among them,
and have kept some beautiful, and I confess some very uncomfortable, memories
of tliem. Of the portraits M. Carnot, the president of the Republic, took .ny
fancy, in his plain evening dress, with the star decoration half hidden by his coat
flap, and the ribbon crossed modestly between his low waistcoat and plain shirt
front. He is a dignified, bearded, good-looking foreigner, with a fine forehead
and heavy lidded but intelligent eyes. "Lunch hour" was the funniest little
study of a dozen little scliool boys. And I had also to see the last (thank good-
ness) of "Tour Eiffel," that bete-noir of my existence, which was thrust under my
nose in every street and shop and restaurant, modelled in cake, in jelly, in candy,
in iron, in wood, in gold and in silver — yea, verily, and even in macaroni paste,
and floated into the clear consommee as you unsuspectingly spooned it into your
liungry maw. I never was so sick of anything as of the Eiffel Tower, and yet I
had to buy one, for had I not promiseil my blue-eyed Katerina at Antwerp weeks
and weeks ago that I should fetch her one on my return ? And not for worlds
would I have missed her stammering, blushing delight at her present. One sight
more, on the "seamy side" of the gay city, will I tell about before I leave it.
One sees it in a small square in early morning, and it's a s'<'' t ! Certain thrifty
people, of the respectable poorer classes, make it their mess to go about to
green grocers, restaurants, butcher shops, and abbatoirs, and for a few sous, here
and there, after the shops are closed to the public, purchase such scraps of meat,
portions of vegetables as will not be fresh enough for the market on the morrow's
morn, and odds and ends of provisions cooked or raw, suitable for potage, half a
roast chicken here, a ham or marrow bone there, and to fetch them carefully and
cleanly to a certain part of the city, where are hung immense iron kettles over
charcoal ovens, and into which are poured the various contributions of meat or
vegetal)les, and the whole slowly simmered for two or three hours, tended by
practical cooks and carefully seasoned. In the early dawn queer shapes come
stealing into the dim square, and crouch upon the benches, and hungrily eye the
iron kettles and their attendant cooks. Gaunt, hungry, famished wretches, the
very lowest of those sixty thousand criminals known to the police, who lurk in
tlie dark places of the merry city — creatures whose only thought is for food for
their marred and abject licdies; whose souls — God knows where they are — give
no sign of their inhabiting these hideous frames, and whose wretched, wolfish eyes
iimiinB
^ ■•]
!3
gleam from caverns of grimy misery that breaks one's heart, powerless to aid or
succor them. Monsieur, the gendarme, keeps his watchful eye u))on them, even
as they crouch quietly, and presently the covers are lifted from the kettles, and
the good hungry smell reaches the dilating nostrils and '"^Messieurs ct tue do/iies,'^
the army of the homeless, gather round. " In your turn, if you pleate," suys the
brawny cook, handing the cover to his satellite, and one famished wretch, with a
great iron pronged fork, hands over his ten centimes and plunges the folk into
the pot. As with the priest's servant and the seething sacrifice in the old Jewish
dispensation, all that he can take up on it is his, and he retires jubilant, with half
a good chicken, dripping savory sauce into his outstretched hand. Madame tishes
next, and receives a large loaf of bread soaked in gravy, which she carries on her
iron platter to a bench where a wretch, more gaunt and sick and weary than her-
self, awaits her coming. ''No meat" he says, whiningly. "No, but blessed
strong soup, and a great large loaf," and the two set at it with their fingers, like
wild beasts.
When all the larger portions are fished out, and ten centimes (a penny) are
dwindled to five, and five to one, then co)ne the loafers with their metal cans,
and the good steaming soup is ladled out in quarts or pints, as the finances are
high or low, and finally " C'est fini," and the crowd melts slowly away, some
lingering yet to gnaw the bones thrown aside by the wealthy creatures or lucky
ones who fished more than they wanted, and were too utterly shiftless and reck-
less to think of where the next meal should come from. Truly the merry city is
fair, if one only looks on the fair side, but there is another side, and nowhere is
the contrast more awful, nowhere is the dark side more dark, than in the gayest
of all gay cities, Paris. When William was gently taken to task by the Scot for
showing us the morgue, he defended himself thus : "Well, sir, you 'ad told me to
try h'and give my ladies a good h'idear of Paree, h'and no one can 'ave that h'un
less they see somethink 'orrible. Why, sir, Paree is the wonderfulest city h'on
h'earth, for that very reason one sees the 'ole h'of life, good h'ami bad, so to
speak — the living h'or the dying, h'all h'in public. The ladies must be h'up
h'early to see the bummers breakfast. " And it's this queer Parisian sight I've
tried to describe to you. I promised ^^^illiam when he left me at the train, and
in English style saluted my departing figure, that I'd recommend him to my
•American friends, but as he forgot to give me his name ajul I forgot to take his
J
h'on
|so to
h'up
I've
, and
iny
3hi8
address, I'm afraid my promise was vain. He was as queer a character in his
impudent, self-satisfied, respectful, knowing absurdity as ever I met in my lifei
and I only hope he will pilot many a compatriot as cleverly and as zealously as he
did Miss Jessie and me ! I wonder if the very comical law which he said existed
in Paris, to the effect that a person run over in the streets, and making complaint,
is promptly fined for getting in the horses way, was a creation of his own coach-
man's brain or a fact? Certainly the cabbies drive as if it were the latter, and
the way they belabour their horses is a feature of their driving certain to strike
a foreigner. Coming home from the Hippodrome that evening I spoke of, I was
really quite miserable to hear the savage way our cocher lashed his tired horses,
and when I mentioned it to Jessie, in "William's" observant hearing, he said
with indignation, " miserable lot o h'asses the cochers 'ere !" and chirruped to his
brisk nag, and flourished his long stiff whip in the air, in a startling manner,
passing with scornfully elevated chin half a dozen portly cochers, with blue
shaven chins and white glazed hats, lustily beating their horses, and turning up-
on him faces that made one quite understand the progress of the Commune.
"Uod knows," as my clever little French friend in Munich said, "how long
they will leave their city alone," and the day I left, I heard prophesies that the
coming elections would paint Paris red, with the awful paint that flows so freely
and cannot be washed out ! But nothing terrible happened after all. It never
does when Paris says it will !
And I pondered over all these things, as I rode up to Antwerp, with one of the
pleasantest of women, a Swiss pasteur's wife, who naively told me of her good
husband in Neuchatel, her kind son, the watchmaker in Brussels, whom she was
going to visit, and her prodigal over whom she prayed night and day, a musician
in a military band, in a town away out in the Western States ! She has written
to me several times, that sweet mother, and her letters, in their dainty french are
the very echoes of her pure and womanly nature, and I know she hopes that her
Canadian friend who has travelled so far, may yet travel westward, with her lov-
ing message to the prodigal, how I should enjoy doing it, too !
At Brussels she left me, with blessings and prayers for my safe keeping on the
stormy ocean, and I came back soberly, over my first trip of all, l)etween Brussels
and Antwerp, mightily amused to find "my nephew" a travelling companion,
mm
fuid to receive the news that some of my friends were ahe.uly at the Hotel await-
ing me. Tlie long, black 'bns was at the station, tlie giunt porter, the rattling
drive, the Place Verte, the statue of Peter Paul Rubens, and last, not least. Baby,
who met me with the exciting information that we were "going home on the big
boat to-morrow." And surely to-morrow it was a farewell to the dear, quaint
Belgian city, and a hurrying to the " good ship Noordland," and a n)erry greeting
from tlie great captain, and a little
V.'-VVV'V,
■r-.-.y,'--
triatigular smile and warm handsliake
from the Doctor, and the fading of
the busy wharf and the blue-blouscd
peasants, and the red tiled houses and
the green dykes, into the beautiful
lands of memory. And once wrench-
ed away from it all, and knowing
that only twelve days of holiday time
remained, what fun we had, that
voyage home !
That much-maligned Lady who once
was nominated for the office of chief
magistrate in the neighl)oring repub-
lic was one of our passengers, and
perhaps the one I most admired. So
(luaint, so kind-hearted to the sick
women, and so patient with the vilest
FARKWELL. squalling babies, who ever kept un-
happy passengers awake in the wee small hours, when sleep is so sweet ; so strong
minded, wlien minds and bodies were alike limp and demoralized ; so strong, in
other ways, we will say, when weaker sisters dare not risk the effects of seeing
other's misery, and basely left them to suffer alone, only for that kindly woman's
care. Calm and serene, she used to sit, with her pretty little curls on her fore-
head, and her glasses on her nose (while round her on the sofas ghastly wretches
wished only for death to end their internal miseries), and write out some lectures
she was pledged to deliver as soon as she landed. Fancy thinking and writing in
that stuffy cabin, after a disturbed night, when two hours' squalline only brought
from her the mild remark, "You'd better give me that girl, and see if / can't
(luiot her." And I, who had been hammering with my slipper, in impotent rage
on tlie otlier side of the wall, lay down rebuked and ashamed, and quite sure that
the woman who could rule her tongue and her temper under such circumstances
was ail too good for the presidential (hair. Then we had again our comical Doc-
tor from Chicago, and several others of the outgoing party whom I have not
introduced you to, and a sweet piqiumte Neapolitan, and a ruddy, happy, musical
young Swede, who played the song of the boulevards, while I and Baby clapped
our hands on that
stray note, and en-
joyed it infinitely.
One day as I sat
dreamily in my deck
chair, living over
again the pleasant
days and scenes and
people I have tried
to bring before you,
I heard from three
females, who I pre-
sume were me<lical
students, the follow-
ing conversation:
"Well, I did enjoy
the vivisection
classes more than
anything. I think
they were fine. Do
you remember the
day the Professor
showed us the cat's
MITTAO-ESSEN. brain? Wasn't it
lovely ? And that day we had the dog?" " Ye-e-s," saif' a lazy-looking blonde.
"His heart beat fi-ve times, plainly, I saw it." " I think that rabbit was good,
too; his — " but here my nerves gave Wtay and I bounced upon the group witli
sudden wrath.
"If you must talk about such disgusting things," I said, hotly, " please don't
do it where less hardened people can hear you. You have put me nearly into a
fit with your cat's brains and dog's hearts. " They all glared at me till a quaint
"hear, hear," from a wise old Professor, who was the admired of all three, made
them subside and presently take themselves and their gruesome reminiscences
afar off. I don't know whether it was more masculine and repulsive and sad to
see the fair little Russ of Munich smoke her cigarette than to hear these young
girls calmly talking like second year medical students, but I think not.
Among other kinds of fun, I had a good deal of fun listening to two parrots,
one in the steerage and one in the second cabin, who were bitter foes, though as
far as I know they had never seen each other. Il was too comical to hear our
nearest neighbor, who happened to be the second cabin bird, call in its nasal
twang, "Johan//a/«," and straightway to hear the steerage bird scream back
defiantly, "Emwa//," and after several repetitions of these remarks, increasing in
loudness and shrillness, to watch for the disgusted idtimatum of our bird (as we
called it, because we could hear it the most distinctly), which was always as fol-
lows, "Oh, damn!" And then it would subside into mutterings and croakings,
until in a moment of absent mindedness it would scream for its far away mistress
and be jeered at anew by the steerage parrot, until it relapsed once more into
profanity and subsequent sulks. I enjoyed on both trips the sail along the
English Channel, where one could see, with sudden remembrance of happy holi-
days in other years, the white cliffs of Dover and the higli banks of Devon, and
the rocky points of Cornwall ; and many were the travellers' tales told those Sun-
days, going and coming, while we sat and gazed upon those green and grey banks,
the sandy strip of the Isle of Wight, or the landing and tiny buildings of Folk-
stone. And we had a laugh at the disapprobation of our sailors wlien they saw
the Sunday services posted up "There will be dirty weather to-morrow," they
growled, and the queerest thing was that the dirty weather came, witli rain and
cold. When I found my room mates were two Vassar College teachers, I grew
pale in anticipation of the way I should be laid low in my grammar and humiliated
in my terms of speech. But they were music teachers, and one had a fair voice,
and sang with sweetness and power ; and thougli she had occasionally to make a
bolt from the piano to her room, and lie (juiet for some time after, she came
gamely out some other time and sang her sweet songs again. And we had also
that never-failing object of interest, a "gentleman," among the steerage passen-
gers, who crept miserably about until he grew hardened, and marched boldly up
and down before our curious eyes, and whose cognomen of "Jones" was very
plainly assumed, as he never seemed to recognize it. And we had a French
peasant who sat in the midst of her friends and sang sweet songs of Normandy—
80 sweet that the signorina and I went over to hear her more than once — and the
French peasants had a wheezy accordion and a flute, while the German peasants
had a clarionette ; and one evening they had a national falling out, which gave us
no end of amusement Our first intimation of it was hearing the young French-
woman lead off in a very loud voice the "Marsellaise," accompanied by the
accordeon and flute. This was interrupted by a blast from the clarionette and
two large German "Herr's" droning out "Die VVacht am Rhein," in the chorus
of which a goodly number of emigrants joined solidly Presently by some
bribery and corruption the accordion player was enticed over to the German side,
and in spite of the Normandy girl's unfailing lung power the combine was too
much foi her, and she descended sulkily to bed. We had our own little music
parties on deck, and sang the song of the lioulevards and another French song, a
sort of catch on the name of tlie latest Lion of Paris, our worthy friend "Buffalo
Bill."' "Boeuf a'l'eau, boeuf a'l'eau, boeuf a'l'huile," sang tlie ^^cfianteurs" in the
cafes, and we had some of us aecured a copy of it, and startled the flying fish
with it. And while we lingered gratefully in the balmy atmosphere above the
gulf stream a timid new moon rose upon us, and the scene was perfect. It was
a wonderfully calm passage all througli, and I fancy more than I will look back
upon it with happy memories and subtle regret. " lyeren't yow glad to get home?"
aisked of me a scandalized acquaintance, as I remarked, "It was such a lovely
voyage, only it was too short !" And yet, had it been one day longer, no doubt
we should have grumbled and anathematized the fog. Hut there was no fog, and
we began presently to watch for the little pilot boats that lie along the track of
incoming steamers and capture them if they can. Our first fellow steered wide
on his final tack, and we left him far behind, to be more canny another time.
And we took our last evening walk together, in a group, in threes, and at last in
pairs, for even in such short days one has a preferred friend to whom one dedi-
cates the last and moat unwilling farewell !
"I do think," writes my friend the Neapolitan to me, "that one meets the
loveliest people travelling. Is it not because when one is free from the ties and
cares of home association? one has a chance to develop and show one's true self?"
Yea, verily ! Tlie mean man at home is tlie meanest man on the ship, but the
merry heart that cannot burst its leading strings amid the cares and convention-
alities of liome laughs and carols like any bird in the bracing salt sea breezes.
"But the seasickness?" Nonsense ; be seasick, if you must, in private, prithee,
that you offend not a fellow man or woman wlio has done you no harm, and get
gamely well again, and learn tlie beauty and the poetry of those wide wastes of
water that lie in the Almighty palm. For the land nuiy grow tame and tlie
scenery tiresome and the days slow, but on the sea is evar mystery, variety, pos-
sible tragedy, and never ceasing interest, and it is wise to learn to love it. How
happy I was, lounging on the lee side, in the golden sunlight, while the sweet
foreign pccents of my Neapolitan friend told me tales of the flower land and the
peerless Bay of Naples, and gently hinted of what might be if I could venture
back with her, to see and enjoy for myself. Or when the fresh breezes blew
deeper red into the ruddy cheeks of the young Swede, careering about with Baby
on his shoulder, and putting that interesting yoi, ^ster up to deeds of daring con-
genial to his fearless Canadian-( Jerman mind, I joined in the fun, and aided and
abetted the climbing and the laughing and the scampering, and felt ten years
younger find half a lifetime stronger. And it was lovely to watch a growing
flirtation between the exquisite of the ship and the daughter of "a certain rich
man," who was more generous than Dives and the model of a good father, and
on that last balmy evening, to take wicked cognizance of the fact, that away in a
secluded corner of the deck the flirtation had progressed to dec ided love-making,
and that the white Tarn O'Shanter and the brown one were confidentially inter-
mingling, while unsuspected and unseen, three yards away, papa sat calmly
biding his time ! And what papa said and what mademoiselle answered, very
subsequently, is it not the property of the whole grinning boat full of passengers
before long ? Thtsa things will happen, and happy the maiden who has such a
kind and watchful paterfamilias to guard her from the wiles of sea-going adven-
turers, and with hard, practical Yankee common sense, to dispel the glamour that
youth and inexperience cast over a handsome face and well-cut clothes. Perhaps
the funniest of all funny episodes was the preparation, on the part of the cou-
I 11
science-smitten passengers, to face the ordeal of the New York customs. Wliat
stowing away of silk and sealskin, what wrapping up of knick-nacks and plan-
ning and contriving, and what awful tales by hoary headed prevaricators, who
shoidd have been ashamed of themselves, about scenes of pillage and discovery
and dismay and ruin, that fairly drove distracted the unwary. One woman I
shall never cease to laugh at. She had invested in a mammoth inkstand in
imitation of the everlasting Eifi'el Tower. It was heavy and vulgar and ugly,
and good for nothing but to chuck overboard, and disgust the small fish of the
liarbor, but she did it up in a box, and tied a rope roimd it and anchored it
under her skirts, and went limping uneasily about with it for hours before we
landed, its great undisguisable bulk thumping her unmercifully and bulging out
in unexpected angles all over her. Oh, she was a perfect sight ! Nine custom
houses passed in triumph with the carryall had made me almost oblivious of the
little Paris trunk, but it and the steamer box got safely through, the little gentle
female who searched them being very easily convinced that there lurked neither
brandy nor cigars among my pretty Ijelongings,
And so ended the Happy Holiday, with a kiss for the swert Neapolitan who
stood smiling on her Americanized brother, and snuifing the spray of charming
roses with which he had not forgotten to M'elcome her, with a hearty "Good-bye
— you're a good sailor — come over again," from the hale big Heligolander, whose
kind heart had entered into all our happiness ; with many laughing f irewells and
pretty reunions, and scenes that cannot be described, and last of all, at the foot
of the "elevated" road stair at Courtlaud street, a regretful Swedish good-bye
from the merry yellow-haired laddie, an! the last link in the chain fell apart.
But into the fair Memory Land, where flowers never fade and clouds never lower,
I go sometimes, from the pk in, dear, homely, practical life of every day, and
hear anew the clatter of the " wooden shoon," the wide German vowels, and the
click of the beer-mug lids, the yodel of the laughing Tyrolese, the chanson of the
boulevards, the tinkle of tlie bells on the kine, in Alpine valleys, and sweeter
and softer and farthest off, alas I of all, the enchanted music of the Magyar songs,
as they floated on the balmy moonlit breeze.
THE END.