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;■ n
BROADWAY
TABERNACLE
LIBRARf^
N^^B^. J.:.' "r^^
Q%3
PRESENTED BV
Mrs. WILLIAM M. TAYLOR
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BUBBL^ES
FROM THE
BRUNNEN OF NASSAU
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Bubble [IdbUl, DuUh).
Anything which wants solidity and firmness.
Johnson's Dictionary.
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THK NCW YORK
prin.ir. mbhary
A.-riMU. LENOX AND
TlLliEN iroiNlUTlONS
R L
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BUBBLES
FROM THE
BRUNNEN OF NASSAU
BY AN OLD MAN
SEVENTH EDITION
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
1866
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r .
Printed by R- Clark, Edinhurgh.
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PREFACE.
The writer of this trifling Volumfe was suddenly sen-
tenced, in the cold evening of his life, to drink the
mineral waters of one of the bubbling springs, or
brunnen, of Nassau. In his own opinion, his consti-
tution was not worth so troublesome a repair; but
being outvoted, he bowed and departed.
On reaching the point of his destination, he found
not only water-bibing — ^bathing — and ambulation to
be the orders of the day, but it Avas moreover insisted
upon that the mind was to be relaxed inversely as
the body was to be strengthened. During this severe
regimen he was driven to amuse himself in his old
age by blowing, as he tottled about, a few literary
Bubbles. His hasty sketches of whatever chanced
for the moment to please either his eyes or his mind
were only made — because he had nothing else in the
world to do ; and he now offers them to that vast
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vi PREFACE.
and highly respectable class of people who read from
exactly the selfsame motive.
The critic must, of course, declare this production
to be vain — empty — light — ^hoUow — superficial ; . . .
but it is the nature of Bubbles to be so.
^' The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,
And these are of them."
Macbeth, act i. scene 3.
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CONTENTS.
Pagb
The Voyage i
The Journey 13
The Reveille 28
The Bath 40
The Dinner 49
The Promenade 58
The Schwein-General 69
The Lutheran Chapel 77
The New School 83
The Old Protestant Church 91
The Jewish Synagogue 99
The Harvest 104
The Sunset .♦ m
The Cross of St. John of Jerusalem . . .118
The Renegade 132
Schlangenbad ; or, the Serpents* Bath . -145
Nieder-Selters 187
The Monastery of Eberbach 203
Journey to Mainz 220
Excursion to the Niederwald 243
Wiesbaden 256
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
♦
Pagb
The Great Plane-Tree of Frauenstein FrontispUce
The Village of Wambach 47
The Schwein-General 69
The Village of Barstadt S2
A Nassau Cart 106
The Bad-Haus and Horse-bath at Schlangenbad . 150
The Valley and Bad-Haus of Schlangenbad . .179
Nieder-Selters 187
The Tower of Scharfenstein 204
The Village of Kiedrich 205
The Gate of the Ancient Monastery of Eberbach . 217
The Village of Neudorf, in the Duchy of Nassau . 243
Part of the New Bad - Haus and Shrubbery at
Schlangenbad 256
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BUBBLES.
THE VOYAGE.
By the time I reached the Custom-House Stairs, the paddles
of the Rotterdam steamboat were actually ia motion, and
I had scarcely hurried across a plank, when I heard it fall
splash into the muddy water which separated me farther and
farther from the wharf. Still later than myself, passengers
were now seen chasing the vessel in boats, and there was a
confusion on deck, which I gladly availed myself of, by
securing, close to the helmsman, a comer, where, muffled in
the ample folds of an old boat-cloak, I felt I might quietly
enjoy an incognito ; for, as the sole object of my expedition
was to do myself as much good and as little harm as pos-
sible, I considered it would be a pity to wear out my con-
stitution by any travelling exclamations in the Thames.
_ The hatches being now opened, the huge pile of trunks,
black portmanteaus, and gaudy carpet-bags, which had
threatened at first to obstruct my prospect, was rapidly
stowed away; and as the vessel, hissing and smoking,
glided, or rather scuffled, by Deptford, Greenwich, Wool-
wich, etc., a very motley group of fellow-passengers were all
occupied in making remarks of more or less importance.
Some justly prided themselves on being able to read aloud
inscriptions on shore, which others had declared, from their
B
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2 THE VOYAGE.
immense distance, to be illegible ; some, bending forward,
modestly asked for information ; some, standing particularly
upright, pompously imparted it At times, wondering eyes,
both male and female, were seen radiating in all directions ;
then all were concentrated on an approaching sister steam-
boat, which, steering an opposite course, soon rapidly passed
us ; the gilt figure at her head, the splashing of the paddles,
and the name written over her stem, occasioning observa-
tions which burst into existence nearly as simultaneously as
the thunder and lightning of heaven ; — handkerchiefs were
waved, and bipeds of both sexes seemed to be delighted,
save and except one mild, gloomy, inquisitive little man,
who went bleating like a lamb from one fellow-passenger to
another, without getting even firom me any answer to this
harmless question, " Whether we had or had not passed yet
the men hanging in chains ? "
As soon as we got below Gravesend, the small volume
of life which, with feelings of good-fellowship to all men, I
had thus been calmly reviewing, began to assume a graver
tone ; and as page after page presented itself to my notice,
I observed that notes of interrogation and marks of admira-
tion were types not so often to be met with as the comma,
the colon, and, above all, the full stop.
The wind, as it freshened with the sun, seemed to check
all exuberance of fancy ; and, as the puny river-wave rose,
conversation around me lulled and lulled into a dead calm.
A few people, particularly some ladies, suddenly at last
broke silence, giving utterance to a mass of heavy matter-of-
fact ejaculations, directed rather to fishes than to men.
Certain colours in the picture now began rapidly to alter —
the red rose gradually looked like the lily — brown skin
changed itself into dirty yellow, and I observed two heavy
cheeks of warm, comfortable, fat flesh gradually assume the
appearance of cold wrinkled tallow.
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THE VOYAGE. 3
Off Margate a sort of hole-and-corner system very soon
began to prevail, and one human being after another, slowly
descending heels foremost, vanished from deck into a sub-
stratum, or infernal region, where there was moaning and
groaning and gnashing of teeth; and as head after head
thus solemnly sunk from my view, I gradually threw aside
the folds of my aegis, until, finding myself alone, I hailed
and inhaled with pleasure the cool fresh breeze which had
thus caused me to be left, as I wished to be, by myself.
The gale now delightfully increased — (ages ago I had
been too often exposed to it to suffer from its effect) ; —
and as wave after wave became tipped with white, there
flitted before my mind a hundred recollections chasing one
another, which I never thought to have re-enjoyed ; — occa-
sionally they were interrupted by the salt spray, and as it
dashed into my face, I felt my lank grizzled eyebrows curl
themselves up as if they wished me once again to view the
world in the lovely prismatic colours of " auld langsyne. "
Already was my cure half-effected, and the soot of London
being thus washed from my brow, I felt a re-animation of
mind and a vigour of firame which made me long for the
moment when, like the sun bursting from behind a cloud, I
might cast aside my shadowy mantle : however, I never
moved from my nook, until, the darkness of night at last
encouraging me, without fear of observation, to walk the
deck, " I paced along upon the giddy footing of the hatches,"
till, tired of these vibrations, I stood for a few moments at
the gangway.
There was no moon — a star only here and there was to
be seen ; yet, as the fire-propelled vessel cut her way, the
paddles, by shivering in succession each wave to atoms,
produced a phosphoric sparkling resembling immense lan-
thoms at her side ; and while these beacons distinctly pro-
claimed where the vessel actually was^ a pale shining stream
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4 THE VOYAGE.
of light issuing from her keel for a ship's length or two told
fainter and fainter where she fiad been.
The ideas which rush into the mind on contemplating
by night, out of sight of land, the sea, are as dark, as
mysterious, as unfathomable, and as indescribable as the
vast ocean itself. One sees but little — yet that little, caught
here and there, so much resembles some of the attributes
of the Great Power which created us, that the mind, trem-
bling under the immensity of the conceptions it engenders, is
lost in feelings which human beings cannot impart to each
other. In the hurricane which one meets with in southero
latitudes, most of us have probably looked in vain for the
waves which have been described to be " mountain high ;" i
but though the outline haS been exaggerated, is there not a
terror in the filling-in of the picture which no human artist
can delineate ? and in the raging of the tempest — ^in the
darkness which the lightning makes visible — ^who is there
among us that has not fancied he has caught a shadow of
the wrath, and a momentary glimmering of the mercy of the
Almighty %
Impressed with these hackneyed feelings, I slowly re-
turned to my nook, and all being obscure, except just the
red, rough countenance of the helmsman, feebly illuminated
by the light in the binnacle, I laid myself down, and some-
times nodding a little, and sometimes dozing, I- enjoyed
for many hours a sort of half-sleep, of which I stood in no
little need.
As soon as we had crossed the Brill, the vessel being at
once in smooth water, the passengers successively emerged
from their graves below, until, in a couple of hours, their
ghastly countenances all were on deck.
A bell, as if in hysterics, now rang most violently, as a
signal to the town of Rotterdam. The word of command,
" STOP HER !" was loudly vociferated by a ruddy-faced, bluff
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THE VOYAGE. 5
short, Dirk-Hatteraick-looking pilot, who had come on
board oflf the Brill. ^^Stap herT was just heard faintly
echoed from below by the invisible, exhausted sallow being
who had had, during the voyage, charge of the engine.
The paddles, in obedience to the mandate, ceased — then
gave two turns— ceased — ^turned once again — ^paused —
gave one last struggle, when, our voyage being over, the
vessel's side slightly bumped against the pier.
With a noise like one of Congreve's rockets the now
useless steam was immediately exploded by the pale being
below ; and in a few seconds half the passengers were seen
on shore, hurrying in different directions about a town full
of canals and spirit-shops. •
" Compared with Greece and Italy — Holland is but a
platter-faced, cold gin-and-water country after all ! " said I
to myself as I entered the great gate of the Hotel des Pays
Bos; "and a heavy, barge-built, web-footed race are its
inhabitants," I added as I passed a huge anipliibious wench
on the stairs, who, with her stem towards me, was sluicing
the windows with water : " however, there is fresh air, and
that, with solitude, is all I here desire !'* This frail senti-
mental sentence was hardly concluded, when a Dutch
waiter (whose figure I will not misrepresent by calling him
"gar^on"') popped a long carte, or bill of fare, into my
hands, which severely reproved me for having many other
wants besides those so simply expressed in my soliloquy.
At I did not feel equal to appearing in pubhc, I had
dinner apart in my own room; and as soon as I came
to that part of the ceremony called dessert, I gradually
raised my eyes from the field of battle, until, leaning back-
wards in my chair to ruminate, I could not help first admir-
ing, for a few moments, the height and immense size of an
apartment in which there seemed to be elbow-room for a
giant
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6 THE VOYAGE.
Close before the window was the great river upon whose
glassy surface I had often and often been a traveller ; and
flowing beneath me, it occurred to me, as I sipped my
wine, that in this transit, or course of existence, it had
attained at Rotterdam, as nearly as possible, the same
period in its life as my own. Its birth, its froward infancy,
and its wayward youth, were remote distances to which
even fancy could now scarcely re-transport us. In its ftdl
vigour, the Rhine had been doomed turbulently to struggle
with difficulties and obstructions which had seemed almost
capable of arresting it in its course ; and if there was now
nothing left in its existence worth admiring — ^if its best
scenery had vanished — if its boundaries had become flat
and its banks insipid, still there was an expansion in its
broader surface, and a deep settled stillness in its course,
which seemed to offer tranquillity instead of ecstacy, and
perfect contentment instead of imperfect joy. I felt that
in the whole course of the river there was no part of it I
desired to exchange for the water slowly flowing before me;
and though it must very shortly, I knew, be lost in the
ocean, that great emblem of eternity, yet in every yard of
its existence that fate had been foretold to it
Not feeling disposed again so immediately to endure
the confinement of a vessel, I walked out, and succeeded in
hiring a carriage, which, in two days, took me to Cologne,
and the following morning I embarked, at six dclock, in
another steamboat, which promised to reach Coblenz in
eleven hours.
As everybody now-a-da)rs has been up the Rhine, I
will only say, that I started in a fog, and for a couple of
hours was very coolly enveloped in it My compagnons de
voyage were tri-coloured — Dutch, German, and French;
and, excepting always myself, there was nothing English —
nothing, at least, but a board, which sufficiently explained
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THE VOYAGE, 7
the hungry, insatiable inquisitiveness of our travellers. The
black spee'Chless thing hung near the tiller, and upon it
there was painted, in white letters, the following sentence,
which I copied literatim : —
** Enfermg any conversation with the Steersner and
Pilotes is desired to be forbom,"
On account of the fog we could see nothing, yet, once
or twice, we steered towards the tinkling invitation of a
bell, stopped for a moment, took in passengers, and pro-
ceeded. The manner in which these Rhine steam-vessels
receive and deliver passengers, carriages, and horses, is most
admirable ; at each httle village the birth of a new traveller,
or the death or departure of an old one, does not detain
the vessel ten seconds ; but the little ceremony being over,
on it instantly proceeds, worming and winding its way
towards its destination.
Formerly, and until lately, a few barges, towed by
horses, were occasionally seen toiling against the torrent
of the Rhine, while immense rafts of timber, curiously con-
nected together, floated indolently downwards to their
market j in history, therefore, this uncommercial river was
known principally for its violence, its difficulties, and its
dangers. Excepting to the painter, its points most dis-
tinguished were those where armies had succeeded in
crossing, or where soldiers had perished in vainly attempt-
ing to do so; but the power of steam, bringing its real
character into existence, has lately developed peaceful
properties which it was not known to have possessed. The
stream that once relentlessly destroyed mankind, now gives
to thousands their bread; — that which once separated
nations, now brings them together; — national prejudices,
which, it was once impiously argued, this river was wisely
intended to maintain, are by its [waters now softened and
decomposed : in short, the Rhine affords another proof that
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8 THE VOYAGE,
there is nothing really barren in creation but man's con-
ceptions — nothing defective but his own judgment, and
that what he looked upon as a barrier in Europe was .
created to become one of the great pav^s of the world.
As the vessel proceeded towards Coblenz, it continually j
paused in its fairy course to barter and traffic in the
prisoners it contained : sometimes stopping oflf one little
village, it exchanged an infirm old man for two country \
girls ; and then, as if laughing at its bargain, gaily proceed-
ing, it paused before another picturesque hamlet, to give
three Prussian soldiers of the 36th regiment for a husband,
a mother, and a child j once it delivered an old woman,
and got nothing ; — ^then, luckily, it received two carriages
for a horse, and next it stopped a second to take up a tall,
thin, itinerant poet, who, as soon as he had collected from
every passenger a small contribution for having recited two
or three little pieces, was dropped at the next village, ready
to board the steam-vessel coming down from Mainz.
In one of these cartels, or exchanges of prisoners, we j
received on board Sir and Lady , a young
fashionable English couple, who having had occasion, a
fortnight before, to go together to St. George's Church, had
(Hkje dogs suflfering from hydrophobia or tin canisters) been
running straight forwards ever since. As hard as they
could drive they had posted to Dover — hurried across to
Calais — thence to Brussels — snapped a glance at the ripe
com waving on the field of Waterloo — stared at the relics
of that great Saint^ old Charlemagne, on the high altar of
Aix-la-Chapelle, and at last sought for rest and connubial
refiige at Coin ; but the celebrated water of that town, having
in its manufacture evidently abstracted all perfume from the
atmosphere, they could not endure the dirt and smell of the
place, and therefore had proceeded by land towards Co-
blenz; but as they were changing horses at a small village,
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THE VOYAGE. 9
seeing our steamboat in view, they ordered a party of
peasants to draw their carriage to the banks of the river,
and as soon as our vessel, which came smoking alongside,
began to hiss, they, their rosy, fresh-coloured French maid,
their dark, chocolate-coloured chariot, and their brown, ill-
looking Italian courier, came on board.
As soon as this young London couple lightly stepped
on deck, I saw, at one glance, that without at all priding
themselves on their abilities, they fancied, and indeed justly
fancied, that they belonged to that class of society which
in England so modestly calls itself-— ^^^//. That it was
not healthy society — that its victims were exposed to late
hours, crowded rooms, and impure air, was evident enough
from the contrast which existed between their complexions
and that of their healthy country attendant ; however, they
seemed not only to be perfectly satisfied with themselves,
and the clique which they had left behind them, but to have
a distaste for ever5rthing else they saw. Towards some
German ladies, who had i|lightly bowed to them as they
passed, they looked with a vacant haughty stare, as if they
conceived there must be some mistake, and as if, at all
events, it would be necessary to keep such people off Yet,
after all, there was no great harm in these two young
persons. That, in the countries they were about to visit,
they would be fitted only for each other, was sadly evident ;
however, on the other hand, it was also evidently their wish
not to extend their acquaintance. Their heads were
lanterns, illuminated with no more brains than barely
sufficient to light them on their way; and so, like the
babes in the wood, they sat together, hand-in-hand, regard-
less of everything in creation but themselves.
For running their carriage down to the shore the brown
confidential courier, whose maxim was, of course, to pay
little and charge much, offered the gang of peasants some
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lo THE VOYAGE.
kreuzers, which amounted in English currency to about
sixpence. This they refused, and the captain of the party,
while arguing with the flint-skinning courier, was actually
carried oflf by our steamboat, which, like time and tide,
waited for no man. The poor fellow, finding that the
Italian was immovable, came aft to the elegant Knglish
couple, who were still leaning towards each other like the
Siamese boys. He pleaded his case, stated his services,
declared his poverty, and, in a manly voice, prayed for
redress. The dandy listened — ^looked at his boots, which
were evidently pinching him — ^listened — passed four white
fingers through the curls of his jet-black hair — showed the
point of a pink tongue gently playing with a front tooth,
and when the vulgar story was at an end, without moving a
muscle in his countenance, in a sickly tone of voice, he
pronounced his verdict as follows : — ^^AllezT^
The creditor tried again, but the debtor sat as silent
and as inanimate as a corpse. However, all this time the
steamboat dragging the poor peasant out of his way, he
protested in a few angry exclamations against the injustice
with which he had been treated (a sentiment I was very
sorry to hear more than once mildly whispered by many a
quiet-looking German), and descending the vessel's side into
a small boat which had just brought us a new captive, he
landed at a village from which he had about eight miles to
walk to join his comrades.
It is with no satirical feeling that I have related this
little occurrence. To hurt the feelings of " gay beings bom
to flutter but a day " — ^to break such a pair of young flimsy
butterflies upon the wheel, affords me neither amusement
nor delight ; but the every-day occurrence of English travel-
lers committing our well-earned national character for justice
and liberality to the base, slave-driving hand of a courier, is
a practice which, as well as the bad taste of acting the part
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THE VOYAGE. n
of a London dandy on the great theatre of Europe, ought to
be checked.
As we proceeded up the Rhine there issued from one
of the old romantic castles we were passing a party of young
English lads, whose appearance (as soon as they came on
board) did ample justice to their country ; and comparing
them, while they walked the deck, with the rest of their
fellow-prisoners, I could not help more than once fancying
that i saw a determination in their step, a latent character
in their attitudes, and a vigour in their young frames, which
being interpreted, said —
** We dare do all that doth become a man ;
He who dares more — is none ! "
Besides these young collegians, an English gentleman
came on board, who appeared quite delighted to join their
party. He was a stout man, of about fifty, tall, well-dressed,
evidently wealthy, and as ruddy as our mild wholesome air
could make him. Not only had he a high colour, but there
was a net-work of red veins in his cheeks which seemed
as if not even death could drive it away ; his face shone
from excessive cleanliness, and though his nose certainly was
not long, there was a sort of round bull-dog honesty in his
face, which it was quite delightful to gaze upon. I over-
heard this good man inform his countrymen, who had sur-
rounded him in a group, that he had never before been out
of England — and that, to tell the truth, he never wished to
quit it again ! " It's surely beautiful scenery ! " observed
one of his auditors, pointing to the outline of a ruin which,
with the rock upon which it stood, seemed flying away be-
hind us. " Yes, yes ! " replied the florid traveller. " But,
sir ! it's the dirtiness of the people I complain of. Their
cookery is dirty — ^they are dirty in their persons — dirty in
their habits — that shocking trick of smoking (pointing to a
fat German who was enjoying this pleasure close by his
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12 THE VOYAGE.
side, and who, I rather suspect, perfectly understood
English) is dirty — depend upon it, they are what we should
call, sir, a very dirty race ! " " Do you speak the lan-
guage 1 " said one of the young listeners with a smile which
was very awkwardly repressed. " Oh, no ! " replied the
well-fed gentleman, laughing good-naturedly ; '^ I know
nothing of their language. I pay for all I eat, and I find
by paying I can get anything I want * Mangez / changez r
is quite foreign language enough, sir, for me; " and having
to the first word suited his action, by pointing with his fore-
finger to his mouth, and, to explain the second, having rubbed
his thumb against the self-same finger, as if it were counting
out money, he joined the roar of laughter which his two
French words had caused, and then very good-naturedly
paced the deck by himself.
The jagged spires of Coblenz now came in sight, and
every Englishman walked to the head of the vessel to see
them, while several of the inhabitants of the city, with less
curiosity, occupied themselves -in leisurely getting together
their luggage. For a moment, as we glided by the Moselle
on our right, we looked up the course of that lovely river,
which here delivers up its waters to the Rhine ; in a few
minutes the bell on board rang, and continued to ring until
we found ourselves firmly moored to the pier of Coblenz.
Most of the passengers went into the town. I, however,
crossing the bridge of boats, took up my quarters at the
Cheval Blanc, a large hotel standing immediately beneath
that towering rock so magnificently, crowned by the cele-
brated fortress of Ehrenbreitstein.
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THE JOURNEY. 13
THE JOURNEY.
The next day, starting from Coblenz while the morning air
was still pure and fresh, I bade adieu to the picturesque
river behind me, and travelling on a capital macadamised
road which cuts across the duchy of Nassau from Coblenz
to Mainz, I immediately began to ascend the mountains,
which on all sides were beautifully covered with wood. In
about two hours, descending into a narrow valley, I passed
through Bad-Ems, a small village, which, composed of
hovels for its inhabitants, and, comparatively speaking,
palaces for its guests, is pleasantiy enough situated on the
bank of a stream of water (the Lahn), imprisoned on every
side by mountains which I should think very few of its
visitors would be disposed to scale ; and from the little I
saw of this place I must own I felt but little disposition to
remain in it Its outhne, though much admired, gives a
cramped, contracted picture of the resources and amuse-
ments of the place, and as I drove through it (my postilion,
with huge orange-coloured worsted tassels at his back,
proudly playing a discordant voluntary on his horn), I par-
ticularly remarked some stiff, formal littie walks, up and
down which many well-dressed strangers were slowly pro-
menading ; but the truth is, that Ems is a regular, fashion-
able watering-place.
Many people, I fully admit, go there to drink the waters
only because they are salutary, but a very great many more
visit it from far different motives ; and it is sad, as well as
odd enough, that young ladies who are in a consumption,
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U THE JOURNEY.
and old ladies who have a number of gaudy bonnets to dis-
play, find it equally desirable to come to Bad-Ems. This
mixture of sickness and finery — this confusion between the
hectic flush and red and white ribands — ^in short, this dance
of death, is not the particular sort of folly I am fond of;
and though I wish to deprive no human being of his hobby-
horse, yet I must repeat I was glad enough to leave dukes
and duchesses, princes and ambassadors (whose carriages I
saw standing in one single narrow street), to be cooped up
together in the hot, expensive Httle valley of Ems, — an ex-
istence, to my humble taste, not altogether unHke that which
the foul witch Sycorax inflicted upon Ariel, when, " in her
most unmitigable rage," she left him hitched in a cloven
pine.
On leaving Ems, the road, passing through the old
mouldering town of Nassau, and under the beautiful ruins
of the ducal Stamm-Schlosz in its neighbourhood, by a very
steep acclivity, continues to ascend until it mounts at last
into a sort of upper country, firom various points of which
are to be seen extensive views of the exalted duchy of Nas-
sau, the features of which are on a very large scale.
No one, I think, can breathe this dry fresh air for a
single moment, or gaze for an instant on the peculiar colour
of the sky, without both smeUing and seeing that he is in a
country very considerably above the level of the sea j yet
this upper storey, when it be once attained, is by no means
what can be termed a mountainous country. On the con-
trary, the province is composed either of flat table-land
abruptly intersected by valleys, or rather of an undulation of
hills and dales on an immense scale. In the great tract
thus displayed to view scarcely a habitation is to be seen,
and for a considerable time I could not help wondering what
had become of the people who had sown the crops (as far
as I could see they were in solitude waving around me), and
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THE JOURNEY. 15
who of course were somewhere or other lurking in ambush
for the harvest : however, their humble abodes are almost
all concealed in steep ravines or water-courses, which in
every direction intersect the whole of the region I have de-
scribed. A bird's-eye view would of course detect these
little villages, but from any one point, as the eye roams over
the surface, they are not to be seen. The duchy, which is
completely unenclosed, for there is not even a fence to the
orchards, appears like a royal park on a gigantic scale, about
one-half being in corn-fields or uncultivated lands, and the
remainder in patches of woods and forests, which in shape
and position resemble artificial plantations. The province,
as far as one can see, thus seems to declare that it has but
one lord and master, and the various views it presents are
really very grand and imposing. A considerable portion of
the wood grows among crags and rocks ; and among the
open land there is a great deal of what is evidently a mining
country, with much indicating the existence of both iron
and silver. The crops of wheat, oats, and barley, are rather
light, yet they are very much better than one would expect
from the ground firom which they grow ; but this is the
effect of the extraordinary heavy dews which, during the
whole summer, may be said, once in twenty-four hours, to
irrigate the land.
The small steep ravines I have mentioned are the most
romantic httle spots that can well be conceived. The
rugged sides of the hills which contain them are generally
clothed with oak or beech trees, feathering to the very
bottom, where a strip of green, rich, grassy land full of
springs, scarcely broader than, and very much resembling,
the moat of an old castle, is all that divides the one wooded
eminence firom the other ; and it is into these secluded gar-
dens, these smiling happy valleys, that the inhabitants of
Nassau have humbly crept for shelter. These valleys are
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i6 THE JOURNEY.
often scarcely broad enough to contain the skigle street
which forms the village, and frcxn such little abodes, look-
ing upwards, one would fancy that one were Uving in a
mountainous country ; but, climb the hill — ^break the httle
petty barrier that imprisons you, and from the height, gently
imdulating before you, is the vast, magnificent country I have
described In short, in the two prospects, one reads the
old story — one sees the common picture of human life
Beneath lies the little contracted nook in which we were
bom, studded with trifling objects, each of which we once
fancied to be highly important; every Uttle rock has its
name, and every inch of ground belongs to one man, and
therefore does not belong to another; but lying prostrate
before us is a great picture of the world, and until he has
seen it no one bom and bred below could fency how vast
are its dimensions, or how tmly insignificant are the bil-
lows of that puddle in a storm from which he has somehow
or other managed to escape. But, without metaphor, no-
thing can be more striking than the contrast which exists
between the little valleys of this duchy and the great
country which soars above them !
With respect to the climate of Nassau, without presum-
ing to dictate upon that subject, I will, while my postilion
is jolting me along, request the reader to decipher for him-
self hieroglyphics which I think sufficiently explain it. In
short, I beg leave to oj0fer him the milk of information —
warm as I suck it from the cow.
At this moment, everything, see ! is smiling ; the trees
are in full leaf; the crops in full bearing. In no part of
Devonshire or Herefordshire have I ever seen such rich
crops of apples, the trees being here surrounded with a
scaffolding of poles, which after all seem scarcely sufficient to
save the boughs from breaking under their load ; but I ask
— How comes the vine to be absent from this gay scene %
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THE JOURNEY. 17
the low country and even the lower part of Nassau, we all
know, teems with vineyards, and for some way have they
crawled up the sides of the mountains ; the reason, there-
fore, for their not appearing in the high ground is surely
one very legible character of the climate.
Again, at all the bendings of the valleys, why do the
trees appear so stunted in their growth, and why are so
many of them stagheaded ? They must sxu^ely have some
sad reason for wearing this appearance, and any one may
guess what it is that in the winter rushes by them with such
violence, that instinctively they seem more anxious to grow
beneath the soil than above it. Again, under that hot,
oppressive sun which is now hurrying every crop to ma-
turity, why do not the inhabitants look like Neapolitans and
other indolent Lazzaroni-living people ^ — how comes it that
their features are so hard ? Can the sun have beaten them
into that shape %
Why are the houses they live in huddled together in the
valleys, instead of enjoying the magnificent prospect before
me % Why do the wealthiest habitations look to the south,
and why are the roofs of the houses built or pitched so per-
pendicularly that it seems as if nothing could rest upon their
surface ? Why are the windows so small and the walls so
thick ? I might torment my reader with many other ques-
tions, such as why, in this large country, is there scarcely a
bird to be seen ? but I dare say he has already determined
for himself whether the lofty province of Nassau during the
winter be hot or cold ; in short, what must be its climate
at the moment when the Rhine and the expanse of low
country, l)dng about 1200 feet beneath it, is frozen and
covered with snow %
Yet, whatever may be the climate of the upper country
of Nassau, the duchy, taken altogether, may fairly be said
to contribute more than an average share towards the
B 2
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i8 THE JOURNEY.
luxuries and comforts of mankind. Besides fine timber-
trees of oak, beech, birch, and fir, there are crops of com
of every sort, as well as potatoes which would not be de-
spised in England ; several of the wines (for instance, those
on the estates of Hochheim, Eberbach, Rudesheim, and
Johannisburg) are the finest on the Rhine, while there are
fiiiits — such as apples, pears, cherries, apricots, strawberries,
raspberries (the two latter growing wild), etc etc — ^in the
greatest abundance.
Not only are there mines of the precious metals and of
iron, but there is also coal, which we all know will, when the
gigantic powers of steam are developed, become the nucleus
of every nation's wealth. In addition to all this, the duchy
is celebrated over the whole of Germany for its mineral
waters ; and certainly if they be at all equal to the reputa-
tion they have acquired, Nassau may be said to contribute
to mankind what is infinitely better than all wealth — ^namely,
health.
From its hills burst mineral streams of various descrip-
tions, and besides the Selters or Seltzer water, which is
drunk as a luxury in every quarter of the globe, there are
bright, sparkling remedies prescribed for almost every dis-
order under the sun : — For instance, should the reader be
consumptive, or, what is much more probable, be dyspeptic,
let him hurry to Ems ; if he wishes to instil iron into his
jaded system, and brace up his muscles, let him go to
Langen-Schwalbach ; if his brain should require calming,
his nerves soothing, and his skin softening, let him glide on-
wards to Schlangenbad — ^the serpent's bath ; but if he should
be rheumatic in his limbs, or if mercury should be running
riot in his system, let him hasten, " body and bones," to
Wiesbaden, where, they say, by being parboiled in the
Kochbrunnen (boiling spring), all his troubles will eva-
porate.
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THE JOURNEY. 19
To these different waters of Nassau flock annually
thousands and thousands of people from all parts of Ger-
many ; and so celebrated are they for the cures which they
have effected, that not only do people also come from
Russia, Poland, Denmark, etc., but a vast quantity of the
waters, in stone bottles, is annually sent to these remote
countries. Yet it is odd enough that the number of Eng-
lish who have visited the mineral springs of Nassau bears
no proportion to that of any other nation of Europe,
although Spa, and some other continental watering-places,
have been much deserted by foreigners on account of the
quantity of the British who have thronged there ; but, some-
how or other, our country people are Hke locusts, for they
not only fly in myriads to distant countries, but as they
travel they congregate in clouds, and therefore either are
they found absolutely eating up a foreign country or not
one of them is to be seen there. How many thousands and
hundreds of thousands of English, with their mouths, eyes,
and purses wide open, have followed each other, in mournful
succession, up and down the Rhine ; and yet, though Nas-
sau has stood absolutely in their path, I believe I may assert
that not twenty famihes have taken up their abode at
Langen-Schwalbach or Schlangenbad in the course of the
last twenty years ; and yet there is no country on earth that
could turn out annually more consumptive, rheumatic, and
dyspeptic patients than old England ! In process of time,
the little duchy will, no doubt, he as well known as Chel-
tenham, Malvern, etc.; however, until fashion, that painted
direction-post, points her finger towards it, it will continue
(so far as we are concerned) to exist, as it really does, in
nubibtis.
There are 56,712 human habitations in the duchy of
Nassau, and 355,815 human beings to live in them. Of
these, 188,244 are Protestants, 161,535 are Catholics;
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20 THE JOURNEY,
there are 191 Mennonites or dissenters; and scattered
among these bleak hills, just as their race is mysteriously
scattered over the face of the globe, there are 5845 Jews.
The Duke of Nassau is the cacique, king, emperor, or com-
mander-in-chief of the province ; and people here are ever-
lastingly talking of the Duke, as in England they talk of
the sun, the moon, or any other luminary of which there
exists only one in our system. He is certainly the sovereign
lord of this lofty country ; and travelling along, I have just
observed a certain little bough sticking out of every tenth
sheaf of com, the meaning of which is, no doubt, perfectly
well understood both by him and the peasant : in short, in
all the principal villages there are bams built on purpose
for receiving this tribute, with a man, paid by the Duke, for
collecting it
In approaching Langen-Schwalbach, being of course
anxious, as early as possible, to get a glimpse of a town
which I had already determined to inhabit for a few days, I
did all in my power to explain this feeling to the dull, gaudy
fellow who drove me ; but whenever I inquired for Langen-
Schwalbach, so often did the mute creature point with a
long German whip to the open country, as if it existed
directly before him ; but no, not a human habitation could
I discover ! However, as I proceeded onwards, the whip,
in reply to my repeated interrogatories to its dumb owner,
began to show a sort of magnetical dip, until at last it
pointed almost perpendicularly downwards into a ravine,
which was now immediately beneath me ; yet, though I
could see, as I thought, almost to the bottom of it, still not
a vestige of a town was to be seen. However, the whip
was quite right, for in a very few seconds, peeping up from
the very bottom of the valley, I perceived, like poplar trees,
a couple of church steeples ; then suddenly came in sight a
long narrow village of slated roofs, and in a very few
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THE JOURNEY. 21
seconds I found my carriage rattling and trumpeting along
a street, until it stopped at the Goldene Kette, or, as we
should call it, the Golden Chain. The master of this hotel
appeared to be a most civil, obliging person ; and though
his house was nearly full, yet he suddenly felt so much re-
spect either for me or for the contents of my wallet, which,
in descending from the carriage, I had placed for a moment
in his hands, that he used many arguments to persuade us
both to become noble appendages to his fine Golden Chain ;
yet there were certain noises, uncertain smells, and a degree
of bustle in his house which did not at all suit me ; and
therefore, at once mercifully annihilating his hopes by a
grave bow which could not be misinterpreted, I slowly
walked into the street to select for myself a private lodging,
and for a considerable time experienced very great diffi-
culty. With hands clasped behind me, in vain did I slowly
stroll about, looking out for anything at all like a paper or
a board in a window ; and I was beginning to fear that
there were no lodging-houses in the town, when I at last
found out that there were very few which were not I
therefore selected a clean, quiet-looking dwelling ; and
finding the inside equal to the out, I at once engaged apart-
ments.
The next morning (having been refreshed by a good
night's rest) I put a small note-book into my pocket, and
having learnt that in the whole valley there was no English
blood, except the little that was within my own black silk
waistcoat, I felt that I might go where I liked, do what I
liked, and sketch the outline of whatever either pleased my
eye or amused my fancy. My first duty, however, evidently
was to understand the geography of the town, or rather
village, of Langen-Schwalbach, which I found to be in the
shape of the letter Y, or (throwing, as I wish to do, literature
aside) of a long-handled two-pronged fork. The village is
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22 THE JOURNEY,
1500 paces in length — that is to say, the prongs are each
about 500 yards, and the lower street, or handle of the fork,
is about 1000 yards.
On the first glimpse of the buildings from the heights,
my eyes had been particularly attracted by high, irregular,
slated roofs, many of which were fantastically ornamented
with little spires about two feet high, but it now appeared
that the buildings themselves were constructed even more
irregularly than their roofs. The village is composed of
houses of all sizes, shapes, and colours ; some, having been
lately plastered, and painted yellow, white, or pale green,
have a modem appearance, while others wear a dress about
as old as the hills which surround them. Of these latter,
some are standing with their sides towards the streets, others
look at you with their gables ; some overhang the passen-
ger as if they intended to crush him ; some shrink back-
wards, as if, like misanthropes, they loathed him, or, like
maidens, they feared him ; some lean sideways, as if they
were suflfering from a painful disorder in their hips ; many,
apparently from curiosity, have advanced ; while a few, in
disgust, have retired a step or two.
All the best dwellings in the towns are "hofs,'* or
lodging-houses, having jalousies or Venetian blinds to the
windows ; and I must own I did not expect to find in so
remote a situation houses of such large dimensions. For
instance, the Alee Saal has nineteen windows in front ; the
great " Indien Hof " is three storeys high, with sixteen win-
dows in each ; the Pariser Hof has twelve, and several
others have eight and ten.
Of late years a number of the largest houses have been
plastered on the outside, but the appearance of the rest is
highly picturesque. They are built of wood and unbumt
bricks, but the immense quantity of timber which has been
consumed would clearly indicate the vicinity of a large
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THE JOURNEY. n
forest, even if one could not see its dark foliage towering
on every side above the town. Wood having been of so
little value, it has been cranuned into the houses, as if the
builder's object had been to hide away as much of it as
possible. The whole fabric is a network of timber of all
lengths, shapes, and sizes; and these limbs, sometimes
rudely sculptured, often bent into every possible contortion,
form a confused picture of rustic architecture, which amid
such wild mountain scenery one cannot refuse to admire.
The interstices between all this woodwork are filled up with
brown, unbumt bricks, so soft and porous, that in our mois^
climate they would in one winter be decomposed, while a
very few seasons would also rot the timbers which they con-
nect; however, such is evidently the diyness of mountain
air, that buildings can exist here in this rude state, and
indeed have existed, for several hundred years, with the
woodwork unpainted.
In rambling about the three streets one is surprised, at
first, at observing that apparently there is scarcely a shop in
the town ! Before three or four windows carcases of sheep,
or of young calves but a few days old, are seen hanging by
their heels ; and loaves of bread are placed for sale before
a very few doors : but, generally speaking, the dwellings are
either " hofs '' for lodgers, or they appear to be a set of
nondescript private-houses ; nevertheless, by patiently prob-
ing, the little shop is at last discovered. In one of these
secluded dens one can buy coffee, sugar, butter, nails, cot-
tons, chocolate, ribands, brandy, etc. Still, however, there
is no external display of any such articles, for the crowd of
rich people who, like the swallows, visit during the summer
weeks the sparkling water of Langen-Schwalbach, live at
" hofs," whose proprietors well enough know where to search
for what they want During so short a residence there,
fashionable visitors require no new clothes, nails, brimstone,
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34 THE JOURNEY.
or coarse linen. It is therefore useless for the little shop-
keeper to attempt to gain their custom ; and as, diuing the
rest of the year, the village exists in simplicity, quietness,
and obscurity, the inhabitants, knowing each other, require
neither signs nor inscriptions. Peasants come to Langen-
Schwalbach from other villages, inquire for the sort of shop
which will suit theni ; or if they want (as they generally do)
tobacco, oil, or some rancid commodity, their noses are
quite intelligent enough to lead them to the doors they
ought to enter ; indeed, I myself very soon found that it
was quite possible thus to hunt for my own game.
I have already stated that Langen-Schwalbach is like a
kitchen fork, the handle of which is the lower or old part
of the town : the prongs representing two streets built in
ravines, down each of which a small stream of water de-
scends. The Stahl brunnen (steel spring) is at the head of
the town, at the upper extremity of the right prong. Close
to the point of the other prong is the Wein brunnen (wine
spring), and about 600 yards up the same valley is situated
the fashionable brunnen of Pauline. Between these three
points, brunnens, or wells, the visitors at Langen-Schwal-
bach, with pjoper intervals for rest and food, are everlast-
ingly vibrating. Backwards and forwards, "down the
middle and up again,'' the strangers are seen walking, or
rather crawling, with a constancy that is really quite
astonishing. Among the number there may be here and
there a Coelebs in search of a wife, and a very few sets of
much smaller feet may, imparl passu^ be occasionally seen
pursuing nothing but their mammas; however, generally
speaking, the whole troop is chasing one and the same
game ; they are all searching for the same treasure — ^in
short, they are seeking for health : but it i^ now necessary
that the reader should be informed by what means they
hope to attain it.
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THE JOURNEY. 25
In the time of the Romans, Schwalbach, which means
literally the swallows' stream, was a forest containing an im-
mense sulphurous fountain famed for its medicinal effects.
In proportion as it rose into notice, hovels, huts, and houses
were erected ; until a small street or village was thus gra-
dually established on the north and south of the well.
There was little to oflfer to the stranger but its waters ; yet,
health being a commodity which people have always been
willing enough to purchase, the medicine was abundantly
drunk, and in the same proportion the little hamlet con-
tinued to grow, until it justly attained and claimed for itself
the appellation of Langen (long) Schwalbach.
About sixty years ago the Stahl and Wein brunnens
were discovered. These springs were found to be quite
different from the old one, inasmuch as, instead of being
only sulphurous, both were strongly impregnated with iron
and carbonic acid gas. Instead, therefore, of merely puri-
fying the blood, tiiey boldly undertook to strengthen the
human frame ; and in proportion as they attracted notice
so the old original brunnen became neglected. About
three years ago a new spring was discovered in the valley
above the Wein brunnen; this did not contain quite so
much iron as the Stahl or Wein brunnen ; but possessing
other ingredients (among them that of novelty) which were
declared to be more salutary, it was patronised by Dr.
Fenner, as being preferable to the brimstone as well as
other brunnens in the country. It was accordingly called
Pauline, after the present Duchess of Nassau, and is now the
fashionable brunnen or well of Langen-Schwalbach.
The village doctors, however, disagree on the subject ;
and Dr. Stritter, a very mild, sensible man, recommends his
patients to the strong Stahl brunnen, almost as positively as Dr.
Fenner sentences his victims to the Pauline. Which is right,
and which is wrong, is one of the mysteries of this world ;
C
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«$ THE JOURNEY.
but as the cunning Jews all go to the Stahl brunnen I
strongly suspect that they have some good reason for this
departure from the fashion.
As I observed people of all shapes, ages, and constitu-
tions swallowing the waters of Langen-Schwalbach, I felt
that, being absolutely on the brink of the brunnen, I might,
at least as an experiment, join this awkward squad — ^that it
would be quite time enough to desert if I should find reason
to do so — in short, that by trying the waters I should have
a surer proof whether they agreed with me or not, than by
listening to the conflicting opinions of all the doctors in the
universe. However, not knowing exactly in what quantities
to take them, — shaving learnt that Dr. Fenner himself had
the greatest number of patients, and that, moreover, being a
one-eyed man he was much the easiest to be found, I walked
towards the shady walk near the Allee Saal, resolving eventu-
ally to consult him; however, in turning a sharp comer,
happening almost to run against a gentleman in black, " cui
lumen ademptum,'' I gravely accosted him, and finding, as
I did in one moment, that I was right, in the middle of the
street I began to explain that he saw before him a wheel
which wanted a new tire, — a shoe which required a new
sole — a worn-out vessel seeking the hand of the tinker ; in
short, that feeling very old, I merely wanted to be made
young again.
Dr. Fenner is what would be called in England "a
regular character," and being a shrewd, clever fellow, he
evidently finds it answer, and endeavours to maintain a
singularity of manner, which with his one eye (the other
having been extinguished in a college duel) serves to bring
him into general notice. As soon as my gloomy tale was
concluded, the Doctor, who had been patiently walking at
my side, stopped dead short, and when I turned round to
look for him, there I saw him with his right arm extended,
its fore-finger and thumb clenched, as if holding snuff", while
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THE JOURNEY. 27
its other three digits horizontally extended like the hand of
a direction-post With his heels close together he stood as
lean and as erect as a ramrod, the black patch, like a hatch-
ment hung over the window of his departed eye, being
supported by a riband wound diagonally round his head
" Monsieur T' said he (for he speaks a little French)
"Monsieur!" he repeated, **a six heures du matin vous
prendrez a la Pauline trois verres ! trois verres a la Pauline !"
he repeated. " A dix heures vous prendrez un bain^-en
sortant du bain vous prendrez ... (he paused, and after
several seconds of deep thought, he added) . . . encore
deux verres, et a cinq heures du soir. Monsieur, vous
prendrez . , . (another long pause) . . . encore trois ver-
res ! Monsieur ! ces eaux vous feront beaucoup de bien ! !"
The arm of this sibyl now fell to his side, like the limb
of a telegraph which has just concluded its intelligence.
The Doctor made me a low bow, spun round upon his heel,
"and so he vanished."
I had not exactly bargained for bathing in, as well as
drinking, the waters ; however, feeling in great good-humour
with the little world I was inhabiting, I was willing to go
with (i.e. into) its stream, and as I found that almost every
visitor was daily soaked for an hour or two, I could not but
admit that what was prescribed for such geese, might also
be very good sauce for the gander ; and that at all events a
bath would at least have the advantage of drowning for me
one hour per day, in case I should find four-and-twenty of
such visitors more than I wanted.
In a very few days I got quite accustomed to what a
sailor would call the "fresh-water Hfe'* which had been
prescribed for me ; and as no clock in the universe could
be more regular than my behaviour, an account of one day's
performances, multiplied by the number I remained, will
give the reader, very nearly, the history or picture of an
existence at Langen-Schwalbach.
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28 rHE REVEILLE,
THE REVEILLR
At a quarter-past five I arose, and as soon after as possible
left the " hof/* Every house was open, the streets already
swept, the inhabitants all up, the living world appeared
broad awake, and there was nothing to denote the earliness
of the hour but the delicious freshness of the cool moan-
tain air, which as yet, unenfeebled by the sun just beaming
above the hill, was in that pure state in which it had all
night long been slumbering in the valley. The face of
Nature seemed beaming with health, and though there were
no larks at Schwalbach gently " to carol at the mom," yet
immense red German slugs were everywhere in my path,
looking wetter, colder, fatter, and happier than they or I
have words to express. They had evidently been gorging
themselves during the night, and were now crawling into
shelter to sleep away the day.
As soon as, getting from beneath the shaded walk of
the AUee Saal, I reached the green valley leading to the
Pauline brunnen, it was quite delightful to look at the grass
as it sparkled in the sun, every green blade being laden
with dew in such heavy particles that there seemed to be
quite as much water as grass ; indeed the crop was actually
bending under the weight of nourishment which, during the
deep silence of night, Nature had liberally imparted to
it ; and it was evident that the sun would have to rise high
in the heavens before it could attain strength enough to rob
the turf of this fertilising and delicious treasure.
At this early hour I found but few people on the walks
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THE REVEILLE. 29
and on reaching the bninnen the first agreeable thing I
received there was a smile from a very honest, homely,
healthy, old woman, who, having seen me approaching, had
selected from her table my glass, the handle of which she
had marked by a piece of tape.
"Guten morgen !" she muttered, and then, without at
all deranging the hospitality of her smile, stooping down,
she dashed the vessel into the brunnen beneath her feet,
and in a sort of civil hurry (lest any of its spirits should
escape) she presented me with a glass of her eau m^dicinale.
Clear as crystal, sparkling with carbonic acid gas, and effer-
vescing nearly as much as champagne, it was nevertheless
miserably cold ; and the first morning, what with the gas,
and what with the low temperature of this cold iron water,
it was about as much as I could do to swallow it ; and for
a few seconds, feeling as if it had sluiced my stomach
completely by surprise, I stood hardly knowing what was
about to happen, when, instead of my teeth chattering, as I
expected, I felt the water suddenly grow warm within my
waistcoat, and a slight intoxication, or rather exhilaration,
succeeded.
As I have always had an unconquerable aversion to
walking backwards and forwards on a formal parade, as
soon as I had drunk my first glass I at once commenced
ascending the hill which rises immediately from the brunnen.
Paths in zigzags are cut in various directions through the
wood, but so steep that very few of the water-drinkers like
to encounter them. I found the trees to be oak and beech,
the ground beneath being covered with grass and heather,
among which, growing wild, were quantities of ripe strawberries
and raspberries. The large red snails were in great abund-
ance, and immense black beetles were also in the paths,
heaving at, and pushing upwards, round balls of dung, etc.,
very much bigger than themselves ; the grass and heather
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30 THE REVEILLE.
were soaked with dew, and even the strawbeiries looked
much too wet to be eatea However, I may observe, that
while drinking mineral waters, all fruit, wet or dry, is for-
bidden. Smothered up in the wood, there was, of course,
nothing to be seen ; but as soon as I gained the summit of
the hill, a very pretty hexagonal rustic hut, built of trees with
the bark on, and thatched with heather, presented itself.
The sides were open, excepting two, which were built up
with sticks and moss. A rough circular table was in the
middle, upon which two or three young people had cut their
names ; and round the inner circumference of the hut there
was a bench, on which I was glad enough to rest while I
enjoyed the extensive prospect.
The features of this picture, so different from anything
to be seen in England, were exceedingly large, and the
round rolling clouds seemed bigger even than the distant
mountains upon which they rested. Not a fence was to be
seen, but dark patches of wood, of various shapes and sizes,
were apparently dropped down upon the cultivated surface
of the country, which, as far as the eye could reach, looked
like the fairy park of some huge giant. In the foreground,
however, small fields and little narrow strips of land denoted
the existence of a great number of poor proprietors ; and
even if Langen-Schwalbach had not been seen crouching at
the bottom of its deep valley, it would have been quite
evident that, in the immediate neighbourhood, there must
be, somewhere or other, a town ; for in many places the
divisions of land were so small, that one could plainly dis-
tinguish provender growing for the poor man's cow, — the
little patch of rye to become bread for his children, — ^and
the half-acre of potatoes which was to help through the
winter. Close to the town these divisions and sub-divisions
were exceedingly small ; but when every little family had
been provided for the fields grew larger ; and at a short
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THE REVEILLE. 31
distance from where I sat there were crops, ripe and
waving, evidently intended for a larger and more distant
market.
As soon as I had sufficiently enjoyed the freshness and
the freedom of this interesting landscape, it was curious to
look down from the hut upon the walk which leads from
the Allee Saal to the brunnen or well of Pauline ; for by
this time all ranks of people had arisen from their beds,
and the sun being now warm, the beau monde of Langen-
Schwalbach was seen slowly loitering up and down the
promenade.
At the rate of about a mile and a half an hour, I
observed several hundred quiet people crawling through
and fretting away that narrow portion of their existence
which lay between one glass of cold iron water and
another. If an individual were to be sentenced to such a
life, which in fact has all the fatigue without the pleasing
sociability of the treadmill, he would call it melancholy
beyond endurance ; yet there is no pill which fashion
cannot gild, or which habit cannot sweeten. I remarked
that the men were dressed generally in loose, ill-made,
snuff-coloured greatcoats, with awkward travelling caps
of various shapes, instead of hats. The picture, therefore,
taking it altogether, was a homely one ; but although there
were no particularly elegant or fashionable-looking people,
although their gait was by no means attractive, yet even,
from the lofty distant hut, I felt it was impossible to help
admiring the good sense and good feeling with which all
the elements of this German community appeared to be
harmonising one with the other. There was no jostling or
crowding, no apparent competition, no turning round to
stare at strangers. There was no " martial look nor lordly
stride," but real genuine g6od breeding seemed natural to
all : it is true there was nothing which bore a very Ivgh
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32 THE REVEILLE,
arist ocratic polish ; yet it was equally evident that the sub-
stance of their society was intrinsically good enough not to
require it.
The behaviour of such a motley assemblage of people,
who belonged of course to all ranks and conditions of
life, in my humble opinion, did them and their country very
great credit It was quite evident that every man on the
promenade, whatever might have been his birth, was de-
sirous to behave like a gentleman ; and that there was no
one, however exalted might be his station, who wished to
do any more.
That young lady, rathei* more quietly dressed than the
rest of her sex, is the Princess Leuenstein ; her countenance
(could it but be seen from the hut) is as unassuming as her
dress, and her manners as quiet as her bonnet Her hus-
band, one of the group of gentlemen behind her, is mild,
gentiemanlike, and (if in these days such a title may, with-
out offence, be given to a young man) I would add — ^he is
modest.
There are one or two other princes on the promenade,
with a very fair sprinkling of dukes, counts, barons, etc
** There they go, altogether in a row ! "
but though they congregate, — though like birds of a feather
they flock together, is there, I ask, anything arrogant in
their behaviour] and that respect which they meet with
from every one, does it not seem to be honestly their due 1
That uncommonly awkward, short, little couple, who walk
holding each other by the hand, and who, apropos to
nothing, occasionally break playfully into a trot, are a Jew
and Jewess lately married \ and as it is whispered that
they have some mysterious reason for drinking the waters,
the uxorious anxiety with which the little man presents the
glass of cold comfort to his herring-made partner does not
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THE RE VEILLE. 33
pass completely unobserved. That slow gentleman, with
such an immense body, who seems to be acquainted with
the most select people on the walk, is an ambassador, who
goes nowhere — ^no, not even to mineral waters, without his
French cook, — a circumstance quite enough to make every
body speak well of him — and a very honest, good-natured
man he seems to be -, but as he walks, can anything be
more evident than that his own cook is killing him, and
what possible benefit can a few glasses of cold water do to
a corporation which Falstaff 's belt would be too short to
encircle ?
Often and often have I pitied Diogenes for having lived
in a tub j but this poor ambassador is infinitely worse off ;
for the tub, it is too evident, lives in him, and carry it about
with him he must wherever he goes ; but, without smiling
at any more of my water companions, it is time I should
descend to drink my second and third glass. One would
think that this deluge of cold water would leave little room
for tea and 'sugar ; but miraculous as it may sound, by
the time I got to my " hof " there was as much stowage
in the vessel as when she sailed; besides this, the steel
created a rebellious appetite which it was very difficult
to govern.
As soon as breakfast was over I generally enjoyed the
luxury of idling about the town ; and in passing the shop of
a blacksmith, who lived opposite to the Goldene Kette, the
manner in which he tackled and shod a vicious horse always
amused me. On the outside wall of the house two rings
were firmly fixed ; to one of which the head of the patient
was lashed close to the ground ; the hind foot, to be shod,
stretched out to the utmost extent of the leg, was then
secured to the other ring about five feet high, by a cord
which passed through a cloven hitch fixed to the root of
the poor creature's tail.
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34 THE REVEILLE.
The hind foot was consequently very much higher than
the head ; indeed it was so exalted and pulled so heavily
at the tail, that the animal seemed to be quite anxious to
keep his other feet on terra firma. With one hoof in the
heavens it did not suit him to kick \ with his nose pointing
to the infernal regions he could not conveniently rear ; and
as the devil himself was apparently pulling at his tail, the
horse at last gave up the point, and quietly submitted to
be shod.
Nearly opposite to this blacksmith, sitting under the
projecting eaves of the Goldene Kette, were to be seen,
every day, a row of women with immense baskets of fruit,
which they had brought over the hills on their heads. The
cherries were of the largest and finest description, while the
quantity of their stones lying on the paved street was quite
sufficient to show at what a cheap rate they had been sold.
Plums, apricots, greengages, apples, and pears, were also in
the greatest profusion ; however, in passing these baskets,
strangers were strictly ordered to avert their eyes. In
short, whenever raw fruit and mineral water unexpectedly
meet each other in the human stomach, a sort of bubble-
and-squeak contest invariably takes place — the one always
endeavouring to turn the other out of the house.
The crowd of idle boys, who like wasps were always
hovering round these fruit-selling women, I often observed
very amusingly dispersed by the arrival of some German
grandee in his huge travelling carriage. For at least a
couple of minutes before the thing appeared, the postilion,
as he descended the mountain, was heard attempting to
notify to the town the vast importance of his cargo, by
pla)ang on his trumpet a tune which, in tone and flourish,
exactly resembled that which in London announces the
approach of Punch. There is something always particularly
harsh and discordant in the notes of a trumpet badly blown >
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THE REVEILLE. 35
but when placed to the lips of a great lumbering German
postilion, who, half-smothered in his big boots and tawdry
finery, has, besides this crooked instrument, to hold the
reins of two wheel horses as well as of two leaders, his at-
tempt in such deep affliction to be musical is comic in
the extreme ; and when the fellow at last arrived at the
Goldene Kette, playing a tune which I expected every
moment would make the head of Judy pop out of the car-
riage, one could not help feeling that if the money which
that trumpet must have cost had been spent in a pair ol
better spurs, it would have been of much more advantage
and comfort to the traveller ; but German posting always
reminds me of that well-known remark about " much cry
and little wool,'' which the Black Prince was heard to utter
as he was one day struggling with all his might to shave a
pig.
However, though I most willingly join my fellow-coun-
tr5rmen in ridiculing the tawdry heavy equipment of the
German postilion — one's nose always feeling disposed to
turn itself upwards at the sight of a horseman awkwardly
encumbered with great, unmeaning, yellow worsted tassels,
and other broad ornaments, which seem better adapted to
our four-post bedsteads than to a rider — yet I reluctantly
acknowledge that I do verily believe their horses are much
more scientifically harnessed for slow heavy draught than
ours are in England.
Many years have now elapsed since I first observed
that, somehow or other, the horses on the Continent manage
to pull a heavy carriage up a steep hill, or along a dead
level, with greater ease to themselves than our English
horses. Let any unprejudiced person attentively observe
with what little apparent fatigue three small ill-conditioned
animals will draw not only his own carriage, but very often
that huge overgrown vehicle, the French diligence, or the
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36 THE REVEILLE.
German eil-wagen, and I think he must admit that some-
where or other there exists a mystery.
But the whole equipment is so unsightly — the rope har-
ness is so rude — the horses without blinkers look so wild —
there is so much bluster and noise in the postilion — ^that, fax
from paying any compliment to the turn-out, one is very
much disposed at once to condemn the whole thing, and
not caring a straw whether such horses be fisitigued or not,
to make no other remark than that, in England, we should
have travelled at nearly twice the rate with one-tenth of the
noise.
But neither the rate nor the noise is the question which
I wish to consider, for our superiority in the former, and
our inferiority in the latter, cannot be doubted. The thing
I want, if possible, to account for is, how such small weak
horses do manage to draw one's carriage up-hill with so
much unaccountable ease to themselves.
Now, in English, French, and German harness, there
exist, as it were, three degrees of comparison in the manner
in which the head of the horse is treated j for in England
it is elevated, or borne up, by what we call the bearing-
rein ; in France it is left as nature placed it (there being to
common French harness no bearing-rein); while in Ger-
many the head is tied down to the lower extremity of the
collar, or else the collar is so made that the animal is by it
deprived of the power of raising his head.
Now it is undeniable that the English extreme and the
German extreme cannot both be right ; and passing over
for a moment the French method, which is in fact the state
of nature, let us for a moment consider which is best — to
bear a horse's head up^ as in England ; or to pull it down-
wards^ as in Germany. In my humble opinion, both are
wrong : still there is some science in the German error ;
whereas in our treatment of the poor animal we go directly
against all mechanical calculation.
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THE REVEILLE, 37
In a state of nature the wild horse (as everybody knows)
has two distinct gaits or attitudes. If man, or any still
wilder beast, come suddenly upon him, up goes his head j
and as he first stalks and then trots gently away, with ears
erect, snorting with his nose, and proudly snuffing up the
air, as if exulting in his freedom ; as each fore -leg darts
before the other, one sees before one a picture of doubt,
astonishment, and hesitation — all of which feelings seem to
rein him, like a troop-horse, on his haunches ; but attempt
to pursue him, and the moment he defies you — the moment,
determined to escape, he shakes his head and lays himself
to his work, how completely does he alter his attitude ! —
for then down goes his head, and fi-om his ears to the tip of
his tail there is. in his vertebrae an undulating action which
seems to propel him, which works him along, and which, it
is evident, you could not deprive him of without materially
diminishing his speed.
Now, in harness the horse has naturally the same two
gaits or attitudes, and it is quite true that he can start
away with a carriage either in the one or the other ; but
the means by which he succeeds in this eflfort, the physical
powers which, in each case, he calls into action, are essen-
tially diflferent : for in the one attitude he works by his
muscles, and in the other by his own dead, or rather living
weight. In order to grind com, if any man were to erect a
steam-engine over a fine, strong, running stream, we should
all say to him, " Why do you not allow your wheel to be
turned by cold water instead of by hot % Why do you not
avail yourself of the weight of the water, instead of expend-
ing your capital in converting it into the power of steam ?
In short, why do you not use the simple resource which
nature has presented ready-made to your hand ?" In the
same way, the Germans might say to us, " We acknowledge
a horse can drag a carriage by the power of his muscles, but
why do you not allow him to drag it by his we^ht V^
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38 THE REVEILLE.
In France, and particularly in Germany, horses do draw
by their weight ; and it is to encourage them to raise up
their backs and lean downwards with their heads, that the
German collars are made in the way I have described ; that,
with a certain degree of rude science, the horse's nose is
tied to the bottom of his collar, and that the postilion at
starting, speaking gently to him, allows him to get himself
into a proper attitude for his draught
The horse thuis treated leans against the resistance which
he meets with, and his weight being infinitely greater than
his draught (I mean the balance being in his favour), the
carriage follows him without much more strain or eflfort on
his part than if he were idly leaning his chest against his
manger. It is true the flesh of his shoulder may become
sore from severe pressure, but his sinews and muscles are
comparatively at rest
Now, as a contrast to this picture of the German horse,
let any one observe a pair of English post-horses dragging
a heavy weight up a hill, and he will at once see that the
poor creatures are working by their muscles, and that it is
by sinews and main strength the resistance is overcome;
but how can it be otherwise % for their heads are consider-
ably higher than nature intended them to be, even in walking,
in a state of liberty, carrying nothing but themselves. The
balance of their bodies is therefore absolutely turned
against, instead of leaning in favour of, their draught ; and
thus cruelly deprived of the mechanical advantage of weight
which everywhere else in the universe is duly appreciated,
the noble spirit of our high-fed horses induces them to strain
and drag the carriage forwards by their muscles \ and if
the reader will but pass his hands down the back sinews of
any of our stage-coach or post-chaise horses, he will soon feel
(though not so keenly as they do) what is the fatal conse-
. quence. It is true that, in ascending a very steep hill, an
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THE REVEILLE, 39
English postilion will occasionally unhook the bearing-reins
of his horses; but the poor jaded creatures, trained for
years to work in a false attitude, cannot in one moment
get themselves into the scientific position which the German
horses are habitually encouraged to adopt ; besides this, we
are so sharp with our horses — ^we keep them so constantly
on the qui vive, or, as we term it, in hand — ^that we are
always driving them from the use of their weight to the
application of their sinews.
That the figure and attitude of a horse working by his
sinews are infinitely prouder than when he is working by
his weight (there may exist, however, false pride among
horses as well as among men), I most readily admit, and
therefore, for carriages of luxury, where the weight bears
little proportion to the powers of the two noble animals, I
acknowledge that the sinews are more than sufficient for the
slight labour required ; but to bear up the head of a poor
horse at plough, or at any slow, heavy work, is, I humbly
submit, a barbarous errar, which ought not to be persisted
in.
I may be quite wrong in the way in which I have just
endeavoured to account for the fact that horses on the Con-
tinent draw heavy weights with apparently greater ease to
themselves than our horses, and I almost hope that I am
wrong; for laughing, as we all do, at the German and
French harness; sneering,^ as we do, at their ropes, and
wondering out loud, as we always do, why they do not copy
us, it would not be a Uttle provoking were we, in spite of
our fine harness, to find out that, for slow, heavy draught,
it is better to tie a horse's nose downwards, like the Ger-
man, than upwards, like the English, and that the French
way of leaving them at liberty is better than both.
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40 THE BATH.
THE BATH.
The eager step with which I always walked towards the
strong steel bath is almost indescribable. Health is such an
inestimable blessing ; it colours so highly the little picture
of life ; it sweetens so exquisitely the small cup of our ex-
istence j it is so like sunshine, in the absence of which the
world, with all its beauties, would be, as it once was,
"without form and void," that I can conceive nothing
which a man ought more eagerly to do than get between
the stones of that mill which is to grind him young again ;
particularly when, as in my case, the operation was to be
attended with no pain. When, therefore, I had once left
my " hof '* to walk to the bath, I felt as if no power on earth
could arrest my progress.
The oblong slated building which contains the famous
waters of Langen-Schwalbach is plain and unassuming 'in
its elevation, and very sensibly adapted to its purpose. The
outside walls are plastered and coloured a very light red.
There are five-and-twenty windows in front, with an arcade
or covered walk beneath them, supported by an equal
number of pilasters, connected by Saxon arches. On enter-
ing the main door, which is in the centre, the great staircase
is immediately in front \ and close to it, on the left, there
sits a man, from whom the person about to bathe purchases
his ticket, for which he pays forty-eight kreuzers — ^about
sixteen-pence.
The Pauline spring is conducted to the baths on the
upper storey ; the Wein brunnen supplies those below on the
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THE BATH. 41
left of the staircase; the strong Stahl, or steel brunnen,
those on the right ; all these baths opening into passages,
which in both storeys extend the whole length of the
building. At the commencement of each hour there was
always a great bustle between the people about to be washed
and those who had just undergone the operation. A man
and woman attend above and below, and, quite regardless
of their sex, every person was trying to prevail upon either
of these attendants to let the old water out of the bath, and
to turn the hot and cold cocks which were to replenish it.
Restlessness and anxiety were depicted in every countenance;
however, in a few minutes, a calm having ensued, the water
was heard rushing into fifteen or sixteen baths on each
floor. Soon again the poor pair were badgered and tor-
mented by various voices, firom trebles down to contra-bassos,
all calling to them to stop the cocks. With a thermometer
in one hand, a great wooden shovel in the other, and a face
as wet as if it had just emerged from the water, each servant
hurried from one bath to another, adjusting them all to
about 25° of Reaumur. Door after door was then heard
to shut, and in a few minutes the passage became once
again silent. A sort of wicker basket, containing a pan of
burning embers, was afterwards given to any person who,
for the sake of enjoying warm towels, was willing to breathe
poisonous carbonic acid gas.
As soon as the patient was ready to enter his bath the
first feeling which crossed his naked mind, as he stood
shivering on the brink, was a disinclination to dip even his
foot into a mixture which looked about as thick as a horse-
pond, and about the colour of mullagatawny soup. How-
ever, having come as far as Langen-Schwalbach, there was
nothing to say but "^ avant;'^ and so, descending the
steps, I got into stuflf so deeply coloured with the red oxide
of iron, that the body, when a couple of inches below the
C2
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42 THE BATH.
surface, was invisible. The temperature of the water felt
neither hot nor cold ; but I was no sooner immersed in it
than I felt it was evidently of a strengthening, bracing nature,
and I could almost have fancied myself lying with a set of
hides in a tan-pit The half-hour which every day I was
sentenced to spend in this red decoction was by &r die
longest in the twenty-four hours ; and I was always very
glad when my chronometer, which I regularly hung on a
nail before my eyes, pointed permission to me to extricate
myself from the mess. While the body was floating, hardly
knowing whether to sink or swim, I found it was very diffi-
cult for the mind to enjoy any sort of recreation, or to
reflect for two minutes on any one subject ; and as, half-
shivering, I lay watching the minute-hand of my dial, it
appeared the slowest traveller in existence.
These baths are said to be very apt to produce headache,
sleepiness, and other slightly apoplectic symptoms; but
surely such effects must proceed from the silly habit of not
immersing the head. The frame of man has beneficently
been made capable of existing under the line, or near either
of the poles of the earth. We know it can even live in an
oven in which meat is baking ; but surely, if it were possible
to send one-half of the body to Iceland, while the other was
reclining on the banks of Fernando Po, the trial would be
exceedingly severe ; inasmuch as nature, never having con-
templated such a vagary, has not thought it necessary to
provide against it. In a less degree, the same argument
applies to bathing, particularly in mineral waters ; for even
the common pressure of water on the portion of the body
which is immersed in it, tends mechanically to push or force
the blood towards that part (the head) enjoying a rarer
medium; but when it is taken into calculation that the
mineral mixture of Schwalbach acts on the body not only
mechanically, by pressure, but medicinally, being a very
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THE BATH. 43
strong astringent, there needs no wizard to account for the
unpleasant sensations so often complained of.
For the above reason, I resolved that my head should
fare alike with the rest of my system ; in short, that it
deserved to be strengthened as much as my limbs. It was
equally old — had accompanied them in all their little
troubles ; — and, moreover, often and often, when they had
sunk down to rest, had it been forced to contemplate and
provide for the dangers and vicissitudes of the next day. I
therefore applied no half-remedy — submitted to no partial
operation — ^but resolved that if the waters of the Langen-
Schwalbach were to make me invulnerable, the box which
held my brains should humbly, but equally, partake of the
blessing.
The way in which I bathed, with the reasons which in-
duced me to do so, were mentioned to Dr. Fenner. He
made no objection, but in silence shrugged up his shoulders.
However, the fact is, in this instance as well as in many
others, he is obliged to prescribe no more than human
nature is willing to comply with. And as Germans are not
much in the habit of washing their heads, — and even if they
were, as they would certainly refuse^to dip their skulls into
a mixture which stains the hair a deep red colour, upon
which common soap has not the slightest detergent effect,
—the doctor probably feels that he would only lose his
influence were he publicly to undergo the defeat of being
driven from a system which all his patients would agree to
abominate; indeed, one has only to look at the ladies'
flannel dresses which hang in the yard to dry ta read the
truth of the above assertion.
These gartnerits having been several times immersed in
the bath, are stained as deep a red as if they had been
rubbed with ochre or brickdust ; yet the upper part of the
flannel is quite as white, and indeed, by comparison, appears
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44 THE BATH.
infinitely whiter than ever ; in short, without asking to see
the owners, it is quite evident that at Schwalbach young
ladies, and even old ones, cannot make up their minds to
stain any part of their mysterious fabric which towers above
their evening gowns ; and though the rest of their lovely
persons are as red as the limbs of the American Indian, yet
their faces and cheeks bloom like the roses of York and
Lancaster ; but laying all flannel arguments aside, the effect
of these waters on the skin is so singular, that one has only
to witness it to understand that it would be useless for the
poor village doctor to prescribe to ladies more than a piebald
application of the remedy.
Although, of course, in coming out of the bath the
patient rubs himself dry, and apparently perfectly clean, yet
the rust, by exercise, comes out so profusely, that not only
is the linen of those people who bathe stained, but even
their sheets are similarly discoloiu-ed ; the dandy's neckcloth
becomes red ; and when the head has been immersed, the
pillow in the morning looks as if a rusty thirteen-inch shell
had been reposing on it.
To the servant who has cleaned the bath, filled it, and
supplied it with towels, it is customary to give each day six
kreuzers, amounting to twopence ; and, as another example
of the cheapness of German luxuries, I may observe, that if
a person chooses, instead of walking, to be carried in a
sedan-chair, and brought back to his " hof," the price fixed
for the two journeys is threepence.
Having now taken my bath, the next part of my daily
sentence was, " to return to the place fi-om whence I came,
and there " to drink two more glasses of water from the
Pauline. The weather having been unusually hot, in walk-
ing to the bath, I was generally very much overpowered by
the heat of the sun ; but on leaving the mixture to walk to
the Pauline, I always felt as if his rays were not as strong
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THE BATH. 45
as myself; I really fancied that they glanced from my frame
as from a polished cuirass ; and, far from suffering, I en-
joyed the walk, always remarking that the cold evaporation
proceeding from wet hair formed an additional reason for
preventing the blood from rushing upwards. The glass of
cold sparkUng water which, under the mid-day sun, I received
after quitting the bath from the healthy-looking old goddess
of the Pauline, was delicious beyond the powers of descrip-
tion. It was infinitely more refreshing than iced soda-water,
and the idea that it was doing good instead of harm — ^that
it was medicine, not luxury, added to it a flavour which the
mind, as well as the body, seemed to enjoy.
What with the iron in my skin, the rust in my hair, and
the warmth which this strengthening mixture imparted to
my waistcoat, I always felt an unconquerable inclination to
face the hill ; and selecting a different path from the one I
had taken in the morning, I seldom stopped until I had
reached the tip-top of one of the many eminences which
overhang the promenade and its beau monde.
The climate of this high table-land was always invigorat-
ing ; and although the sun was the same planet which was
scorching the saunterers in the valley beneath, yet its rays
did not take the same hold upon the rare, subtle mountain
air.
At this hour the peasants had descended into the town
to dine. The fields were consequently deserted; yet it
was pleasing to see where they had been toiling, and how
touch of the com they had cut since yesterday. I derived
pleasure from looking at the large heap of potatoes they had
been extracting, and fi*om observing that they had already
begun to plough the stubble which only two days ago had
been standing com. Though neither man, woman, nor
child were to be seen, it was, nevertheless, quite evident
that they could only just have vanished ; and though I had
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46 THE BATH.
no fellow-creature to converse with, yet I enjoyed an old-
fashioned pleasure in tracing on the ground marks where, at
least, human beings had been.
Quite by myself I was loitermg on these heights when
I heard the troop of Langen-Schwalbach cows coming
through the great wood on my left; and wanting at the
moment something to do, diving into the forest, I soon
succeeded in joining the gang. They were driven by a man
and a. woman, who received for every cow mider their care
forty-two kreuzers, or fourteenpence, for the six sunmier
months ; for this humble remuneration they drove the cows
of Schwalbach every morning into the great woods, to enjoy
air and a very little food ; three times a-day they conducted
them home to be milked, and in the evening as often re-
ascend to the forest. At the hours of assembling the man
blew a long crooked tin horn, which the cows and their
proprietors equally well understood. Everybody must be
aware that it is not a very easy job to keep a set of cows
together in a forest, as the young ones especially are always
endeavouring to go astray \ however, the two guides had
each a curious sort of instrument by which they managed to
keep them in excellent subjection. It consisted of a heavy
stick about two feet long, with six iron rings, so placed that
they could be shaken up and down; and certainly, if it
were to be exhibited at Smithfield, no being there, human or
inhuman, would ever guess that it was invented for driving
cows ; and were he even to be told so, he would not con-
ceive how it could possibly be used fon that purpose. Yet'
in Nassau it is the regular engine for propelling cattle of
all descriptions.
In driving the cows through the wood I observed that
the man and woman each kept on one flank, the herd
leisurely proceeding before them ; but if any of the cows
attempt to stray — if any of them presumed to lie down — or
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THE BATH,
47
if any one of them appeared to be in too earnest conversa^
tion with a great lumbering creature of her own species,
distinguished by a ring through his nose and a bright iron
chain round his neck, the man, and especially the woman,
gave two or three shakes with the rings, and if that lecture
was not sufficient, the stick, rings and all, flew through the
air, inflicting a blow which really appeared sufficient to
break a rib, and certainly much more than sufficient to dis-
lodge an eye.
VILLAGE OF WAMBACH.
It was easy to calculate the force of this uncouth weapon
by the fear the poor animals entertained of it; and I
observed that no sooner did the woman shake it at an
erring, disobedient cow, than the creature at once gave up
the point, and hurried forwards.
In the stillness of the forest nothing could sound wilder
than the sudden rattling of these rings, and almost could
one fancy that beings in chains were running between the
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48 THE BATH.
trees. A less severe discipline would probably not be
sufficient. However, I must record that the severity was
exercised with a considerable proportion of discretion ; for
I particularly remarked that, when cows were in a certain
interesting situation, their rude drivers, with unerring aim,
always pelted them on the hocks.
Leaving the cows, and descending the mountain's side,
I strolled through the little mountain hamlet of Wambach.
In the middle of this simple retreat there stood, overtopping
most of the other dwellings, a tall, slender hut, on the
thatched roof of which was a wooden paint-house contain-
ing a bell, which three times a-day tolled for reveille, noon-
tide, meal, and curfew. As the human tongue speaks by
the impulse of the mind, so did this humble clapper move
in obedience to the dictates of a village watch, which, when
out of order, the parish was bound to repair.
From the upper windows of the principal house I saw
suspended festoons or strings of apples cut in slices, and
exposed to the sun to dry. A lad, smoking his pipe, was
driving his mother's cow to fetch grass from the valley.
Women, with pails in their hands, were proceeding towards
the spring for water ; others were returning to their homes
heavily laden with fagots, while several of their idle children
were loitering about before their doors.
But as I had still another dose of water to drink[^from
the Pauline, I hastened to the brunnen, and having emptied
my glass (which, like the outside of a bottle of iced water,
was instantaneously covered by condensation with dew), I
found that it was time to prepare myself (as I beg leave to
prepare my reader) for that very lengthy ceremony — a Ger-
man dinner.
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THE DINNER. 49
THE DINNER.
During the fashionable season at Langen-Schwalbach the
dinner-hour at all the Saals is one o'clock. From about
noon scarcely a stranger is to be seen ; but a few minutes
before the bell strikes one the town exhibits a picture
curious enough, when it is contrasted with the simple cos-
tiune of the villagers and the wild-looking country which
su:TOunds them. From all the hofs and lodging-houses
a set of demure, quiet-looking, well-dressed people are
suddenly disgorged, who, at a sort of funeral pace, slowly ad-
vance towards the AUee Saal, the Goldene Kette, the Kaiser
Saal, and one or two other houses, ^ ron dine. The ladies
are not dressed in bonnets, but in caps, most of which are
quiet, the rest being of those indescribable shapes which are
to be seen in London or Paris. Whether the stiff stand-up
frippery of bright-red ribands was meant to represent a
house on fire, or purgatory itself — ^whether those immense
white ornaments were intended for reefs of coral or not — it
is out of my department even to guess — ladies' caps being
riddles only to be explained by themselves.
With no one to affront them — ^with no fine-powdered
footman to attend them — ^with nothing but their appetites to
direct them — and with their own quiet conduct to protect
them— old ladies, young ladies, elderly gentlemen, and
young ones, were seen slowly and silently picking their way
over the rough pavement There was no greediness in their
looks ; nor, as they proceeded, did they lick their lips, or
show other signs of possessing any appetite at all; they
D
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so THE DINNER.
looked much more as if they were coming from a meal than
going to one ; in short, they seemed to be thinking of any-
thing in the dictionary but the word dinner. And when
one contrasted or weighed the quietness of demeanour
against the enormous quantity of provisions they were
placidly about to consume, one could not help admitting
that these Germans have certainly more self-possession, and
can better muzzle their feelings, than many of the best-
behaved people in the universe.
Seated at the table of the Allee Saal, I counted a
hundred and eighty of them at dinner in one room. To
say, in a single word, whether the fare was good or bad,
would be quite impossible, it being so completely different
to anything ever met with in England.
To my simple taste the cooking is most horrid ; still
there were now and then some dishes, particularly sweet
ones, which I thought excellent With respect to the made
dishes, of which there was a great variety, I beg to offer to
the reader a formula I invented, which will teach him
(should he ever come to Germany) what to expect The
simple rule is this : — Let him taste the dish, and if it be not
sour he may be quite certain that it is greasy ; again, if it
be not greasy, let him not eat thereof, for then it is siu-e to
be sour. With regard to the order of the dishes, that, too,
is unlike anything which Mrs. Glasse ever thought of. After
soup, which all over the world is the alpha of the gourmand's
alphabet, the barren meat from which the said soup has been
extracted is produced. Of course it is dry, tasteless,
withered-looking stuff, which a Grosvenor-square cat would
not touch with its whisker j but this dish is always attended
by a couple of satellites — ^the one a quantity of cucumbers
dressed in vinegar, the other a black greasy sauce \ and if
you dare to accept a piece of this flaccid beef you are
instantly thrown between Scylla and Charybdis ; for so sure
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THE DINNER. 51
as you decline the indigestible cucumber, souse comes into
your plate a deluge of the greasy sauce ! After the com-
pany have eaten heavily of messes which it would be im-
possible to describe, in comes some nice salmon — ^then fowls
— then puddings — then meat again — then stewed fruit j and
after the English stranger has fallen back in his chair quite
beaten, a leg of mutton majestically makes its appearance !
I dined just two days at the Saals, and then bade adieu
to them for ever. Nothing which this world affords could
induce me to feed in this gross manner. The pig who
lives in his sty would have some excuse ; but it is really
quite shocking to see any other animal overpowering him-
self at mid-day with such a mixture and superabundance of
food. Yet only think what a compliment all this is to the
mineral waters of Langen-Schwalbach ; for if people who
come here, and live in this way morning, noon, and night,
can, as I really believe they do, return to their homes in
better health than they departed, how much more benefit
ought any one to derive, who, maintaining a Ufe of simiilicity
and temperance, would resolve to give them a fair trial ? In
short, if the cold iron waters of the Pauline can be of real
service to a stomach full of vinegar and grease, how much
more effectually ought they to tinker up and repair the
inside of him who has sense enough to sue them in formd
pauperis/
Dr. Fenner was told that I had given up dining in
public, as I preferred a single dish at home ; and he was
then asked, with a scrutinising look, whether eating so much
was not surely very bad for those who were drinking the
waters ? The poor doctor quietly shrugged up his shoulders
— silently looking at his shoes — and what else could he have
done? Himself an inhabitant of Langen-Schwalbach, of
coiu-se he was obliged to feel the pulse of his own fellow-
citizens as well as that of the stranger ; and into what a
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52 THE ^DINNER.
fever would he have thrown all the innkeepers — ^what con-
vukion would he have occasioned in the village itself — ^were
he to have presumed to prescribe temperance to those
wealthy visitors by whose gross intemperance the communitj
hoped to prosper ! He might as well have gone into the
fields to bum the crops as thus wickedly to blight the
golden harvest which Langen-Schwalbach had calculated on
reaping during the short visit of its consumptive guests. .
Our dinner is now over ; but I must not rise from the
table of the Allee Saal until I have made an amende
honorable to those against whose vile cooking I have been
railing, for it is only common justice to German society to
offer an humble testimony that nothing can be more credit-
able to any nation : one can scarcely imagine a more
pleasing picture of civilised life than the mode in which
society is conducted at these watering-places.
The company which comes to the brunnens for health,
and which daily assembles at dinner, is of a most hetero-
geneous description, being composed of princes, dukes,
barons, counts, etc., down to the petty shopkeeper, and
even the Jew of Frankfort, Mainz, and other neighbouring
towns j in short, all the most jarring elements of society at
the same moment enter the same room, to partake together
of the same one shilling and eight-penny dinner.
Even to a stranger like myself it was easy to perceive
that the company, as they seated themselves round the
table, had herded together in parties and coteries, neither
acquainted with each other, nor with much disposition to be
acquainted — still, all those invaluable forms of society which
connect the guests of any private [individual were most
strictly observed ; and from the natural good sense and
breeding in the country, this happy combination was ap-
parently effected without any effort No one seemed to be
■ under any restraint, yet there was no fi-eezing formality at
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THE DINNER. 53
one end of the table, nor rude boisterous mirth at the other.
l^ith as honest good appetites as could belong to any set
of people imder the sun, I particularly remarked that there
was^-no scrambling for favourite dishes ; — to be sure, here
and there an eye was seen tmnkling a little brighter than
usual, as it watched the progress of any approaching dish
ivhich appeared to be unusually sour or greasy, but there
was no greediness, no impatience, and nothing which seemed
for a single moment to interrupt the general harmony of the
scene ; and though I scarcely heard a syllable of the buzz
of conversation which smrounded me; although every
moment I felt less and less disposed to attempt to eat what
for some time had gradually been coagulating in my plate ;
yet, leaning back in my chair, I certainly did derive very
great pleasure, and I hope a very rational enjoyment, in
looking upon so pleasing a picture of civilised life.
In England we are too apt to designate, by the general
term " society," the particular class, clan, or clique in which
we oiu-selves may happen to move, and if that little speck
be sufficiently polished, people are generally quite satisfied
with what they term " the present state of society ;" yet
there exists a very important difference between this ideal
civilisation of a part or parts of a community, and the actual
civilisation of the community as a whole ; and surely no
country can justly claim for itself that title, until not only
can its various members move separately among each other,
but until, if necessary, they can all meet and act together.
Now, if this assertion be admitted, I fear it cannot be denied
that we islanders are very far from being as highly polished
as our continental neighbours, and that we but too often
mistake odd provincial habits of our own invention for the
broad, useful current manners of the world.
In England each class of society, like our different
bands of trades, is governed by its own particular rules.
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54 THE DINNER.
There is a class of society which has very gravely, and for
aught I care very properly, settled that certain food is to be
eaten with a fork — that others are to be launched into the
mouth with a spoon ; and that to act against these rules (or
whims) shows " that the man has not lived in the worlds
At the other end of society there are, as one has heard, also
rules of honour, prescribing the sum to be put into a tin
money-box so often as the pipe shall be filled with tobacco,
with various other laws of the same dark caste or com-
plexion. These conventions, however, having been firmly
established among each of the many classes into which our
country people are subdivided, a veiy considerable degree
of order is everywhere maintained ; and therefore, let a
foreigner go into any sort of society in England, and he will
find it is apparently Hving in happy obedience to its own
laws ; but if any chance or convulsion brings these various
classes of sociat}', each laden with its own laws, into general
contact, a sort of Babel confusion instantly takes place, each
class loudly calling its neighbour to order in a language it
cannot comprehend Like the followers of different reli-
gions, the one has been taught a creed which has not even
been heard of by the other ; there is no sound bond of
union — no reasonable understanding between the parties ;
in short, they resemble a set of regiments, each of which
having been drilled according to the caprice or fancy of its
colonel, appears in very high order on its own parade, yet,
when all are brought together, form an unorganised and un-
disciplined army : and in support of this theory, is it not
undeniably true that it is practically impossible for all ranks
of society to associate together in England with the same
ease and inoffensive fi*eedom which characterise similar
meetings on the Continent ? And yet a German duke or a
German baron is as proud of his rank, and rank is as much
respected m his country, as it is in oiu* country.
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THE DINNER. 55
There must, therefore, in England exist somewhere or
other a radical fault The upper classes will of course lay
the blame on the lowest — the lowest will abuse the highest
— but may not the error lie between the two ? Does it not
rather rest upon both ? and is it not caused by the laws
which regulate our small island society being odd, unmean-
ing, imaginary, and often fictitious, instead of being stamped
with those large intelligible characters which make them at
once legible to all the inhabitants of the globe ?
For instance, on the Continent, every child, almost be-
fore he learns his alphabet, before he is able even to crack
a whip, is taught what is termed in Europe civility : a
trifling example of which I witnessed this very morning.
At nearly a league from Langen-Schwalbach, I walked up to
a little boy who was flying a kite on the top of a hill, in the
middle of a field of oat stubble. T said not a word to the
child — scarcely looked at him — ^but as soon as I got close
to him, the little village clod, who had never breathed any-
thing thicker than his own mountain air, actually almost lost
string, kite, and all, in an effort, quite irresistible, which he
made to bow to me. and take off" his hat. Again, in the
middle of the forest, I saw the other day three labouring
boys laughing together, each of their mouths being, if pos-
sible, wider open than the others ; however, as they separated,
off" went their caps, and they really took leave of each other
in the very same sort of manner with which I yesterday saw
the Landgrave of Hesse Homburg return a bow to a com-
mon postilion.
It is this general, well-founded, and acknowledged
system which binds together all classes of society. It is
this useful, sensible system which enables the master of the
Allee Saal, as he walks about the room during dinner-time,
occasionally to converse with the various descriptions of
guests who have honoured his table with their presence ;
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56 THE DINNER.
for, however people in England would be shocked at such
an idea, on the Continent, so long as a person speaks and
behaves correctly, he need not fear to give any one offence.
Now, in England, as we all know, we have all sorts of
manners, and a man actually scarcely dares to say which is
the true idol to be worshipped We have very noble aris-
tocratic manners j — ^we have the short, stumpy manners of
the old-fashioned English couintry gentlemen; — ^we have
sick, dandified manners ; — ^black-stock military manners ;■ —
" your free and easy manners " (which, by the bye, on the
Continent would be translated " no manners at nir^). We
have the ledger, calf-skin manners i>f a steady man of busi-
ness; — ^the last imported monkey or ultra-Parisian man-
ners ; — ^manners not only of a school-boy, but of the
particular school to which he belongs; — ^and lastly, we
have the parti-coloured manners of the mobility, who, until
they were taught the contrary, very falsely flattered them-
selves that on the throne they would find the " ship, a-hoy !"
manners of a " true British sailor."
Now, with respect to these motley manners, these
" black spirits and white, blue spirits and gray," which are
about as different from each other as the manners of the
various beasts collected by Noah in his ark, it may at once
be observed that (however we may ourselves admire them)
there are very few of them indeed which are suited to the
Continent ; and consequently, though Russians, Prussians,
Austrians, French, and Italians, to a certain degree, can any-
where assimilate together, yet, somehow or other, our man-
ners- — (never mind whether better or worse) — ^are different.
Which, therefore, I am seriously disposed to ask of myself,
are the most likely to be right ? the manners of " the right
little, tight little island," or those of the inhabitants of the
vast continent of Europe ?
The reader will, I fear, think that my dinner reflections
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THE DINNER. 57
have partaken of the acidity of the German mess which lay
so long before me untouched in my plate ; and at my ob-
servations I fully expect he will shake his head, as I did
when, afterwards, expecting to get something sweet, I found
my mouth nearly filled with a substance very nearly related
to souf-crout. Should the old man's remarks be unpalat-
able, they are not more so than was his meal ; and he begs
to apologise for them by saying, that had he, as he much
wished, been able to eat, he would not, against his will,
have been driven to reflect
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58 THE PROMENADE.
THE PROMENADE.
A FEW minutes after the dessert had been placed on the
table of the Allee Saal, one. or two people from different
chairs rose and glided away ; then up got as many more,
until, in about a quarter of an hour, the whole company had
quietly vanished, excepting here and there, round the vast
circumference of the table, a couple who, not having yet
finished their phlegmatic, long-winded argument, sat like
pairs of oxen, with their heads yoked together.
It being only three o'clock in the day, and as people
did not begin to drink the waters again till about six, there
was a long, heavy interval, which was spent very much in
the way in which English cows pass their time when quite
full of fine red clover, — ^bending their fore-knees, they lie
down on the grass to ruminate.
As it was very hot at this hour, the ladies, in groups of
two, three, and four, with coffee before them on small
square tables, sat out together in the open air, under the
shade of the trees. Most of them commenced knitting ;
but at this plethoric hoiu* I could not help observing that
they made several hundred times as many stitches as re-
marks. A few of the young men, with cigars in their
mouths, meandered, in dandified silence, through these
parties of ladies ; but almost all the German lords of the
creation had hidden themselves in holes and comers to
enjoy smoking their pipes ; and surely nothing can be more
filthy — nothing can be a greater waste of time and intellect
than this horrid habit If tobacco were even a fragrant
perfume, instead of stinking as it does, still the habit which
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THE PROMENADE, 59
makes it necessary to a human being to cany a large bag
in one of his coat-pockets, and an unwieldy crooked pipe
in the other, would be unmanly ; inasmuch as, besides
creating an artificial want, it encumbers him with a real
burden, which, both on horseback and on foot, impedes his
activity and his progress ; but when it turns out that this
said artificial want is a nasty, vicious habit, — when it is
impossible to be clean if you indulge in it, — ^when it makes
your hair and clothes smell most loathsomely, — ^when you
absolutely pollute the fresh air as you pass through it ; —
when, besides all this, it corrodes the teeth, injures the
stomach, and fills with red inflammatory particles the
naturally cool, clear, white brain of man, it is quite aston
ishing that these Germans, who can act so sensibly during
so many hours of the day, should not have strength of mind
enough to trample their tobacco-bags under their feet —
throw their reeking, sooty pipes behind them, and learn (I
will not say from the English, but from every bird and
animal in a state of nature) to be clean : and certainly,
whatever faults there may be in our manners, our cleanliness
is a virtue which, above every nation I have ever visited,
pre-eminently distinguishes us in the world.
During the time which was spent in this stinking vice
I observed that people neither interrupted each other nor
did they very much like to be interrupted ; in short, it was
a sort of siesta with the eyes open, and with smoke coming
out of the mouth. Sometimes gazing out of the window
of his hof, I saw a German baron, in a tawdry dressing-
gown and skull-cap (with an immense ring on his fore-
finger), smoking, and pretending to be thinking; sometimes
I winded a creature, who, in a. similar attitude, was seated
on the shady benches near the Stahl brunnen ; but these
were only exceptions, to the general rule ; for most of the
males had vanished, one knew not where, to convert them-
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6o THE PROMENADE.
selves into automatons which had all the smoky nuisance
of the steam-engine — ^without its power.
At about half-past five or six o'clock " the world *
began to come to life again ; the ladies with their knitting-
needles lying in their laps, gradually began to talk to each
other, some even attempting to laugh. Group rising after
group, left the small white painted tables and empty coffee-
cups round which they had been sitting, and in a short
time, the walks to the three brunnens in general, and to
the Pauline in particular, were once again thronged with
people, and as slowly, and very slowly, they walked back-
wards and forwards, one again saw German society in its
most amiable and dehghtful point of view.
A few of the ladies, particularly these who had young
children, were occasionally accompanied through the day by
a nice, steady, healthy-looking young woman, whose dress
(being without cap or bonnet, with a plain cloth shawl
thrown over a dark cotton gown) at once denoted that she
was a servant. The distinction in her dress was marked
in the extreme, yet it was pleasing to see that there was no
necessity to carry it farther, the woman appearing to be so
well behaved that there was httle fear of her giving offence.
Whenever her mistress stopped to talk to any of her friends
this attendant became a harmless hstener to the conversa-
tion, and when a couple of famihes, seated on a bank, were
amusing each other with jokes and anecdotes, one saw by
the countenances of these quiet-looking young people, who
were also permitted to sit down, that they were enjoying the
story quite as much as the rest
In England, people would of course be shocked at the
idea of thus associating with, or rather sitting in society
with their servants, and on account of the manners of our
servants it certainly would not be agreeable : however, if
we had but one code, instead of having one hundred and
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THE PROMENADE. 6i
fifty thousand (for I quite forgot to insert in my long list
the manners of a fashionable lady's-maid), this would not
be the case ; for then English servants, like German ser-
vants, would learn to sit in the presence of their superiors
without giving any offence at all. But besides observing how
harmlessly these German menials conducted themselves, I
must own I could not help reflecting what an advantage it
was, not only to them, but to the humble hovel to which,
when they married, they would probably return — ^in short,
to society, that they should thus have had an opportunity
of witnessing the conduct, and of listening to the conversa-
tion of quiet, sensible, moral people, who had had the ad-
vantages of a good education.
Of course, if these young people were placed on high
wages — tricked out with all the cast-off finery of their
mistresses — and if, laden with these elements of corruption
and hopelessly banished fi-om the presence of their superiors,
they were day after day, and night after night, to be stewed
up together with stewards, butlers, etc., in the devil's fiying-
pan — I mean that den of narrow-minded iniquity, a house-
keeper's room — of course, these strong, bony, useful servants
would very soon dress as finely, and give themselves all
those airs for which an English lady's-maid is so celebrated
even in her own country \ but in Germany, good sense and
poverty have as yet firmly and rigidly prescribed not only
the dress which is to distinguish servants firom their masters,
but that, with every rational indulgence, with every liberal
opportunity of raising themselves in their own estimation,
they shall be fed and treated in a manner and according to
a scale which, though superior, still bears a due relation to
the humble station and habits in which they were bom and
bred. Of course, servants trained in this manner cost very
little, yet if they are not naturally ill-disposed, there is every-
thing to encourage them in good behaviour, with very Httle
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62 THE PROMENADE.
to lead them astray. They are certainly not, like our ser-
vants, clothed in satip, fine linen, and superfine cloth ; nor,
like Dives himself, do they fare sumptuously every day ; but
I believe they are all the happier, and infinitely more at
their ease, for being kept to their natural station in life,
instead of being permitted to ape an appearance for which
their education has not fitted them, or repeat fine slip-slop
sentiments which they do not understand.
However, it is not our servants who deserve to be
blamed ; they are quite right to receive high wages, wear
veils, kid gloves, superfine cloth, give themselves airs, mock
the manners of their lords and ladies, and to farcify below
stairs the ** comedy of errors " which they catch an occa-
sional glimpse of above ; in short, to do as little, consume
as much, and be as expensive and troublesome as possible.
No liberal person can blame them^ but it is, I fear, on our
heads that all their follies must rest ; we have no one but
ourselves to blame, and until a few of the principal families
in England ; for the credit and welfare of the country, agree
together to lower the style and habits of their servants, and
by a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether, to break
the horrid system which at present prevails, — the distinction
between the honest ploughman, who whistles along the
fallow, and his white-faced, powder-headed, silver-laced,
scarlet-breeched, golden-gartered brother in London, must
be as strikingly ridiculous as ever : the one must remain an
honour, the other a discredit, to the wealth of a country
which (we all say unjustly) has been called by its enemy a
"nation of shopkeepers.'*
If once the system were to be blown up, thousands of
honest, well-meaning servants would, I believe, rejoice;
and while the aristocracy and wealthier classes would in fact
be served at least as well as ever, the middle ranks, and
especially all people of small incomes, would be relieved
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THE PROMENADE, 63
beyond description from an unnatural and unnecessary
burden which but too often embitters all their little domestic
arrangements. There can be no points of contrast between
Germany and England more remarkable than that, in the
one country, people of all incomes are supported and re-
lieved in proportion to the number of their servants, while
in the other they are tormented and oppressed. Again, that
in the one country servants, humbly dressed and humbly
fed, hve in a sort of exalted and honourable intercourse with
their masters ; while in the other, servants, highly-powdered
and grossly-fed, are treated de haut en bas^ in a manner
which is not to be seen on the Continent.
The enormous wealth of England is the commercial
wonder of the world, yet every reflecting man who looks at
our debt, at the immense fortunes of individuals, and at the
levelling, unprincipled, radical spirit of the age, must see
that there exists among us elements which may possibly
some day or other furiously appear in collision. The great
country may yet Hve to see distress ; and in the storm, our
commercial integrity, like an overweighted vessel, may, for
aught we know, founder and go down, stem foremost. I
therefore most earnestly say, should this calamity ever befall
us, let not foreigners be entitled, in preaching over our
graves, to pronounce " that we were a people who did not
know how to enjoy prosperity — that our money, like our
blood, flew to our heads — ^that our riches corrupted our
minds — and that it was absolutely our enormous wealth
which sunk us."
Without sapng one other word, I will only again ask, Is
it or is it not the interest of our upper classes to countenance
this island system 1
Should it be argued that they ought not to be blamed
because vulgar, narrow-minded people are foolish enough to
ruin themselves in a vain attempt to copy them, I reply.
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64 THE PROMENADE.
that they must take human nature, good and bad, not as it
ought to be, but as it is ; and that, after all, it is no bad
compliment to the high station they hold, that the middle
and lower classes will absolutely ruin themselves in over-
feeding and overdressing their servants — ^in short, in follow-
ing any bad example which such high |iuthority may irra-
tionally decree to be fashionable. But to return to the
Promenade.
From everlastingly vibrating backwards and forwards on
this walk, one gets so well acquainted with the &ces of one's
comrades, that it is easy to note the arrival of any stranger,
who, however, after having made two or three turns, is
considered as received into, and belonging to, the ambula-
tory community.
In constantly passing the people on the promenade I
occasionally heard a party talking French. During the
military dominion of Napoleon that language, of course,
flooded the whole of the high duchy of Nassau as completely
as almost the rest of Europe: a strong ebb or reaction,
however, has of late years taken place ; and in Prussia, for
instance, the common people do not now like even to hear
the language pronounced. On the other hand, thanks to
Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, and other worn-out literary
labourers, now resting in their graves, oxu* language is be-
ginning to make an honest progress ; and even in France
it is becoming fashionable to display in society a literary
flower or two culled from the North border, the Jardin
AnglaTs.
As a passing stranger, the word I heard pronounced on
the promenade the oftenest was "Ja! Ja!" and it really
seemed to me that German ladies to all questions invariably
answer in the affirmative, for " Ja ! Ja !'* was repeated by
them, I know, from morning till night, and, for aught I
know, from night till morning.
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THE PROMENADE. 65
As almost every stranger at Langen-Schwalbach, as well
as several of its inhabitants, were at this hour on the Promen-
ade, the three brunnens were occasionally surroimded by more
open mouths than the women in attendance could supply.
The old mother at the Pauline was therefore always assisted
in the evening by her daughter, who, without being at all
handsome, was, like her parent, a picture of robust, ruddy
health ; and to poor withered people who came to them to
drink it was very satisfactory indeed to see the practical
effect which swallowing and baling out this water from
morning till night had had on these two females ; and as
they stood in the burning sun, bending downwards into the
brunnen to fill the glasses which in all directions converged
towards them, it was curious to observe the different descrip-
tion of people who from every point of Europe (except
England) had surrounded one little well. As I earnestly
looked at their various figures and faces, I could not help
feeling that it was quite impossible for the goddess Pauline
to cure them all: for I saw a tall, gaunt, brown, hard-
featured, lantern-jawed officer, b, demi solde^ the sort of
fellow that the French call " un gros maigrey^ drinking by
the side of a red-fated, stuffy, stumpy, stunted little man,
who seemed made on purpose to demonstrate that the ^
human figure, like the telescope, could be made portable.
" What in the whole world (I mumbled to myself) can be
the matter with that very nice, fi-esh, comfortable, healthy-
looking widow % Or what does that huge, unwieldy man in
the broad-brimmed hat require from the Pauline ? — Surely
he is already about as full as he can hold % And that poor
sick girl, who has just borrowed the glass from her withered,
wrinkled, skinny, little aunt? Can the same prescription
be good for them both ? A couple of nicely-dressed children
are extending their little glasses to drink the water with
milk j and see ! that gang of countrymen, who have stopped
d2
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66 THE PROMENADE.
their carts on the upper road, are racing and chasing each
other down the bank to crowd round the brunnen ! Is it not
curious to observe that in such a state of perspiration they
can drink such deadly cold water with impunity % But this
really is the case ; and whether it is burning hot or raining
a deluge, this simple medicine is always agreeable, and no
sooner is it swallowed than, like the fire in the grate, it
begins to warm its new mansion."
Such was the scene, and such was the effect, daily
witnessed round one of nature's simplest and most benificent
lemedies. All the drinkers seemed to be satisfied with the
water, which, I believe, has only one virtue, that of
strengthening the stomach; yet it is this solitary quality
which has made it cure almost every possible disorder of
body and mind : for though people with an ankle resting
on a knee sometimes mysteriously point to their toes, and
sometimes as solemnly lay their hands upon their foreheads,
yet I rather believe that almost every malady to which the
human frame is subject, is either by highways or byways
connected with the stomach ; and I must own I never see
a fashionable physician mysteriously counting the pulse of
a plethoric patient, or, with a silver spoon on his tongue,
importantly looking down his red, inflamed gullet (so properly
termed by Johnson ** the meat- pipe "), but I feel a desire to
exclaim, "Why not tell the poor gentleman at once — Sir!
yotive eaten too much, yoi^ve drunk too much, and yotive not
taken exercise enough I " That these are the main causes of
almost every one's illness, there can be no greater proof
than that those savage nations which live actively and
temperately have only one great disorder — death. The
human frame was not created imperfect — it is we ourselves
who have made it so ; there exists no donkey in creation
so overladen as our stomachs, and it is because they groan
under the weight so cruelly imposed upon them that we see
J
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THE PROMENADE. 67
people driving them before them in herds to drink at one
little brunnen.
A list of the strangers visiting Bad-Ems, Langen-Schwal-
bach, and Schlangenbad, is published twice-a-week, and
circulated on all the promenades. From it I find that
there are 1200 visitors at Schwalbach alone — an immense
number for so small a place. Still, the habits of the people
are so quiet that it does not at all bear the appearance of
an English watering-place, and certainly I never before
existed in a society where people are left so completely to
go their own ways. Whether I stroll up and down the
Promenade or about the town, whether I mount the hill or
ramble into distant villages, no one seems to notice me any
more than if I had been bom there ; and yet out of the
1200 strangers I happened to be the only specimen to be
seen of Old England. No one knows that I have given
up feasting in public, for it is not the custom to dine always
at the same house, but when one o'clock comes people go
to the Allee Saal, Goldene Kette, etc, just as they feel dis-
posed at the moment
There are no horses to be hired at Schwalbach, but a
profusion of donkeys and mules. It is a pretty, gaudy
sight to witness a group of these animals laden with ladies
in their parti-coloured bonnets, etc, descending one of the
hills. The saddles are covered . with coarse scarlet or
bright-blue cloth, and the donkey always wears a fine red
brow-band; nevertheless, under these brilliant colours, to
the eye of a cognoscente, it is too easy to perceive that the
poor creatures are sick in their hearts of their finery, and
that they are tired, almost imto death, of carrying one large
curious lady after another to see Hohenstein, Adolfseck,
and other lions, which without metaphor are actually con-
suming the carcases of these unhappy asses. The other
day I myself hired one, but not being allowed to have the
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68 THE PROMENADE.
animal alone, I was obliged to submit to be followed by
the owner, who, by order of the Duke, was dressed in a blue
smock-frock girded by a buff belt
I found that I could not produce the slighest effect on
the animal's pace, yet that if the man behind me only shook
his stick, down went the creature's long ears, and on we
trotted By this arrangement I was hurried by objects
which I wished to look at, and obliged to crawl before what
I was exceedingly anxious to leave behind ; and altogether
it was travelling so very much like a bag of sand that ever
since I have much preferred propelling myself.
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THE SCHWEIN-GENERAL.
Every morning, at half-past five o'clock, I hear, as I am
dressmg, the sudden blast of an immense long wooden horn,
from which always proceed the same four notes. I have
got quite accustomed to this wild reveille, and the vibration
has scarcely subsided, it is still ringing among the distant
hills, when, leisurely proceeding from jdmost every door in
the street, behold a pig ! Some, from their jaded, careworn,
dragged appearance, are evidently leaving behind them a
numerous litter ; others are great, tall, monastic, melancholy-
looking creatures, which seem to have no other object left
in this wretched world than to become bacon ; while others
are thin, tiny, light-hearted, brisk, petulant piglings, with the
world and all its loves and sorrows before them. Of their
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70 THE SCHWEIN GENERAL,
own accord these creatures proceed down the street to
join the herdsman, who occasionally continues to repeat
the sorrowful blast from his horn.
Gregarious, or naturally fond of society, with one curl
in their tails, and with their noses almost touching the
ground, the pigs trot on, grunting to themselves and to their
comrades, halting only whenever they come to anything they
can manage to swallow.
I have observed that the old ones pass all the carcases
which, trailing to the ground, are hanging before the butcheis'
shops, as if they were on a sort of parole d*ho^neur not to
touch them ; the middle-aged ones wistfully eye this meat,
yet jog on also, while the piglings, who (so like mankind)
have more appetite than judgment, can rarely resist taking a
nibble; yet no sooner does the dead calf begin again to
move, than from the window immediately above out pops
the head of a butcher, who, with his mouth full of coffee,
whip in hand, inflicts a prompt punishment, sounding quite
equal to the offence.
As I have stated, the pigs, generally speaking, proceed
of their own accord ; but shortly after they have passed, there
comes down our street a little bareheaded, barefooted,
stunted dab of a child, about eleven years old — a Flib-
bertigibbet sort of creature, which in a drawing one would
express by a couple of blots, the small one for her head,
the other for her body ; while streaming from the latter
there would be a long line ending in a flourish, to express
the immense whip which the child carries in its hand. -
This little goblin page, the whipper-in, attendant, or aid-de-
camp of the old pig-driver, facetiously called at Langen-
Schwalbach the " Schwein-general," is a being no one looks
at, and who looks at nobody. Whether the hofs of Schwal-
bach are full of strangers or empty — ^whether the promen-
ades are occupied by princes or peasants — whether the "
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THE SCHWEIN'GENERAL, 71
ireatlier be good or bad, hot, or rainy, she apparently never
itops to consider ; upon these insignificant subjects it is
jvident she never for a moment has reflected. But such a
3air of eyes for a pig have perhaps seldom beamed from
luman sockets ! The little intelligent xu"chin knows every
house from which a pig ought to have proceeded \ she can
tell t)y the door being open or shut, and even by footmarks,
Avliether the creature has joined the herd, or whether, having
overslept itself, it is still snoring in its sty — a single glance
determines whether she shall pass a yard or enter it ; and if
a pig, from indolence or greediness, be loitering on the
road., the sting of the wasp cannot be sharper or more spite-
ful than the cut she gives it. As soon as, finishing with
one street, she joins her general in the main road, the
lierd slowly proceed down the town.
On meeting them this morning they really appeared to
liave no hams at all ; their bodies were as flat as if they had
"been squeezed in a vice ; and when they turned sideways,
tlieir long sharp noses and tucked-up bellies gave to their
profile the appearance of starved greyhounds.
As I gravely followed this grunting unearthly-looking
Kerd of unclean spirits through that low part of Langen-
Schwalbach which is solely inhabited by Jews, I could not
help fancying that I observed them holding their very
breaths, as if a loathsome pestilence were passing ; for
though fat pork be a wicked luxury — a forbidden pleasure
which the Jew has been supposed occasionally in secret to
indulge in — ^yet one may easily imagine that such very lean
ugly pigs have not charms enough to lead them astray.
Besides the little girl who brought up the rear, the herd
was preceded by a boy of about fourteen, whose duty it was
not to let the foremost, the more enterprising, or, in other
words, the most empty pigs advance too fast. In the
' middle of the drove, surrounded like a shepherd by his flock,
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72 THE SCHWEIN-GENERAL,
slowly stalked the " Schwein-general," a wan, spectr<
looking old man, worn out, or nearly so, by the arduous ant
every-day duty of conducting, against their wills, a gang c
exactly the most obstinate animals in creation. A single
glance at his jaundiced, ill-natured countenance -was suffi
cient to satisfy one that his temper had been soured by the
vexatious contrarieties and " untoward events *' it had met
with. In his left hand he held a staff to help himself on-
wards, while round his right shoulder hung one of the most
terrific whips that could possibly be constructed. At the
end of a short handle, turning upon a swivel, was a lash
about nine feet long, formed like the vertebrae of a snake,
each joint being an iron ring, which, decreasing in size, was
closely connected with its neighbour by a band of hard
greasy leather. The pliability, the weight, and the force of
this iron whip rendered it an argument which the obstinacy
even of the pigs was unable to resist ; yet, as the old man
proceeded down the town he endeavoured to speak kindly
to the herd, and as the bulk of them preceded him, jostling
each other, grumbling and grunting on their way, he occa-
sionally exclaimed in a low, hollow, worn-out tone of en-
couragement, " Nina, Anina !'* (drawling of course very long
on the last syllable.)
If any little savoury morsel caused a contention, stop-
page, or constipation on the march, the old fellow slowly
unwound his dreadful whip, and by merely whirling it round
his head, like reading the Riot Act, he generally succeeded
in dispersing the crowd ; but if they neglected this solenm *
warning, if their stomachs proved stronger than their judg-
ment, and if the group of greedy pigs still continued to
stagnate — " Arriff ! " the old fellow exclaimed, and rush-
ing forwards, the lash whirling round his head, he inflicted,
with strength which no one could have fancied he possessed,
a smack that seemed absolutely to electrify the leader. As *
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THE SCHWEIN'GENERAL. jz
lightning shoots across the heavens, I observed the culprit
fly forwards, and as for many yards he continued to slide
towards the left, it was quite evident that the thorn was still
smarting in his side : and no wonder, poor fellow ! for the-
blow he received would almost have cut a piece out of a
door.
As soon as the herd got out of the town they began
gradually to ascend the rocky, barren mountain which ap-
peared towering above them ; and then the labours of the;
Schwein-general and his staff became greater than ever : for
as the animals from their solid column began to extend or
deploy themselves into line, it was necessary constantly to
ascend and descend the slippery hill, in order to outflank
them. " Arriff ! ^* vociferated the old man, striding after
one of his rebellious subjects ; ^^ Arriff f' in a shrill tone of
voice was re-echoed by the lad, as he ran after another :
however, in due time, the drove reached the ground devoted
for that day's exercise, the whole mountain being thus taken
in regular succession.
The Schwein-general now halted, and the pigs being no>
longer called upon to advance, but being left entirely to
their own notions, I became exceedingly anxious attentively
to observe them.
No wonder, poor reflecting creatures ! that they had
come unwillingly to such a spot — for there appeared to* be
literally nothing for them to eat but hot stones and dust :
however, making the best of the bargain, they all very
vigorously set themselves to work. Looking up the hill,,
they dexterously began to lift up with their snouts the
largest of the loose stones, and then grubbing their noses
into the cool ground, I watched their proceedings for a very
long time. Their tough wet snouts seemed to be sensible
of the quality of everything they touched ; and thus out of
the apparently barren ground they managed to get fibres of
E
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74 THE SCHWEIN'GENERAL.
roots, to say nothing of worms, beetles, or any other travel-
ling insects they meet with. As they slowly advanced
working up the hill, their ears most philosophically shading
their eyes from the hot sun, I could not help feeling how
little we appreciate the delicacy of several of their senses,
and the extreme acuteness of their instinct
There exists perhaps in creation no animal which has
less justice and more injustice done to him by man than the
pig. Gifted with every faculty of supplying himself, and of
providing even against the approaching storm, which no
creature is better capable of foretelling than a pig, we begin
by putting an iron ring through the cartilage of his nose,
and having thus barbarously deprived him of the power of
searching for and analysing his food, we generally condemn
him for the rest of his life to solitary confinement in a stye.
While his faculties are still his own, only observe how,
with a bark or snort, he starts if you approach him, and
mark what shrewd intelligence there is in his bright twink-
ling little eye ; but with pigs, as with mankind, idleness is
the root of all evil. The poor animal, finding that he has
absolutely nothing to do — no enjoyment — ^nothing to look
forward to but the pail which feeds him, naturally, most
eagerly, or, as we accuse him, most greedily, greets its
arrival. Having no natural business or diversion — nothing
to occupy his brain — ^the whole powers of ms system are
directed to the digestion of a superabundance of food. To
encourage this. Nature assists him with sleep, which, lulling
his better faculties, leads his stomach to become the ruling
power of his system — a tyrant that can bear no one's pre-
sence but his own. The poor pig, thus treated, gorges him-
self — sleeps — eats again — sleeps — awakens in a fright —
screams — struggles against a blue apron — screams fainter
and fainter — turns up the white of his little eyes — ^and,
.... dies !
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THE SCHWEIN-GENERAL. 75
It is probably from abhorring this picture that I know of
nothing which is more distressing to me than to witness an
indolent man eating his own home-fed pork.
There is something so horribly similar between the life
of the human being and that of his victim — their notions on
all subjects are so unnaturally contracted — there is such a
melancholy resemblance between the strutting residence in
the village and the stalking confinement of the stye — between
the sound of the dinner-bell and the rattling of the pail —
between snoring in an arm-chair and grunting in clean straw
— that, when I contrast the " pig's countenance " in the dish
with that of his lord and master, who, with outstretched
elbows, sits leaning over it, I own I always feel it is so hard
the one should have killed the other — in short, there is a
sort of " Tu quoque, Brute ! " moral in the picture, which
to my mind is most painfully distressing.
But to return to the Schwein-general, whom, with his
horn and whip, I have left on the steep side of a barren
mountain.
In this situation do the pigs remain every morning for
four hours, enjoying little else than air and exercise. At
about nine or ten o'clock they begin their march homewards,
and nothing can form a greater contrast than their entry
into their native town does to their exit from it.
Their eager anxiety to get to the dinner-trough that
awaits them is almost ungovernable ; and they no sooner
reach the first houses of the town than a sort of " sauve qui
peut " motion takes place : away each then starts towards
his dulce domum ; and it is really curious to stand still and
watch how very quickly they canter by, greedily grunting
and snuffling, as if they could smell with their stomachs, as
well as their noses, the savoury food which is awaiting
them.
At half-past four, the same four notes of the same horn
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75 THE SCHWEIN'GENERAL,
are heard again ; the pigs once more assemble — once more
tumble over the hot stones on the mountain — once more
remain there for four hours — ^and in the evening once again
return to their styes.
Such is the life of the pigs, not only of Langen-Schwal-
bach, but those of every village throughout a great part of
Germany : every day of their existence, summer and winter,
is spent in the way I have described. The squad consists
here of about a hundred and fifty, and for each pig the poor
old Schwein-general receives forty kreuzers (about 13d.) for
six months' drilling of each recruit. His income, therefore,
is about ;£^2o a-year, out of which he has to pay the board,
lodging, and clothing of his two aide-de-camps ; and when
one considers how unremittingly this poor fellow-creature
has to contend with the gross appetites, sulky tempers, and
pig-headed dispositions of the swinish multitude, surely not
even the most niggardly reformer would wish to curtail his
emoluments.
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THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL. 77
THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL.
I HAVE just come from the little Lutheran chapel, and while
the picture is fresh before my mind, I will endeavour to
describe it.
On entering the church, the service I found had begun,
and the first thing that struck me was, that the pulpit was
empty, there being no minister of any sort or kind to be seen !
The congregation were chanting a psalm to very much the
same sort of drawling tune which one hears in England ; yet
the difference in their performance of it was very remarkable.
As all were singing about as loud as th^y could, the chorus
was certainly too much for the church : indeed, the sound
had not only filled its walls, but, streaming out of the doors
and every aperture, it had rolled down the main street,
where I had met it long before I reached the church. Yet,
though it was certainly administered in too strong a dose,
it was impossible to help acknowledging that it proceeded
firom a peasantry who had a gift or natural notion of music,
•;uite superior to anything one meets with in an Enghsh
village, or even in a London church. The song was simple,
and the lungs firom which it proceeded were too stout ; yet
there was nothing to offend the ear ; in short, there were no
bad faults to eradicate — no nasal whine— no vulgar tremul-
ous mixture of two notes — no awkward attempts at musical
finery — but in every bar there was tune and melody, and,
with apparently no one to guide them, these native
musicians proceeded with their psalm in perfect harmony
and concert.
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78 THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL.
As this singing lasted nearly twenty minutes I had plenty
of time to look about me. The church, which, with its
little spire, stands on a gentle eminence above the houses
of the main street, is a small oblong building of four windows
in length by two in breadth ; the glass in these recesses
being composed of round, plain, unpainted panes, about the
size of a common tea-saucer. The inside of the building is
whitewashed, a gallery of unpainted wood, supported by
posts very rudely hewn, going nearly round three sides of
it. There were no pews, but rows of benches occupied
about three-fourths of the body of the church : the remain-
ing quarter (which was opposite to the principal entrance-
door) being elevated three steps above the rest At the
back of this little platform, leaning against the wall, was a
pulpit containing only one reading-desk, and above it a
sounding-board, surmounted by a gilt image of the sun —
the only ornament in the church. In front of the pulpit,
between it and the congregation, I observed a smaU, high,
oblong table, covered with a plain white table-cloth, and on
the right and left of the pulpit there existed an odd-looking
pew, latticed so closely that no one could see at all perfectly
through it
The three galleries were occupied by men dressed all
alike in the common blue cloth Sunday clothes of the
country. The benches beneath were filled with women ;
and as I glanced an eye from one row to another, it was
impossible to help regretting the sad progress, or rather de-
vastation, which fashion is making in the national costume
even of the little village of Langen-Schwalbach. Three
benches nearest to the door were filled with women all dressed
in the old genuine " buy-a-broom" costume of this country
— their odd little white caps, their open stays, and their
fully-plaited short petticoats seeming to have been cast in
one model ; in short, they were clad in the native livery
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THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL. 79
of their hills. Next to these were seated four rows of
women and girls, who, nibbling at novelty, had ventured to
exchange the caps of their female ancestors for plain horn
combs ; over their stays some had put cotton gowns, the
coloured patterns of which seemed to be vulgarly quarrelling
among each other for precedence. Next came a row of
women in caps, frilled and bedizened.
The Langen-Schwalbach ladies, who occupied the other
two benches, and who were seated behind a row of boys
immediately before the white table, had absolutely ventured
to put on their heads bonnets with artificial flowers, etc. ; in
short, they had rigged themselves out as fine ladies — wore
gloves — tight shoes— blew their noses with handkerchiefs,
evidently conceiving themselves (as indeed they were) fit
for London, Paris, or any other equally brilliant speck in
the fashionable world.
As soon as the singing was over a dead pause ensued,
which lasted for many seconds, and I was wondering fi*om
what part of the chapel the next human voice would pro-
ceed, when very indistinctly I saw something moving in one
of the latticed pews — slowly it ghded towards the stair of
the pulpit, until, mounting above the lattice-work, the un-
certain vision changed into a remarkably tall, portly gentle-
man in black, who was now clearly seen leisurely ascending
towards the pulpit, on the right of which hung a large black
slate, on which were written in white chalk the numbers
414 and 309.
As soon as the clergyman had very gravely glanced his
eyes round the whole church, as if to recognise his congre-
gation, he slowly, syllable by syllable, began an extempore
address ; and the first words had scarcely left his lips when
I could not help feeling that I was listening to the deepest
— r-the gravest — and the most impressive voice I ever remem-
ber to have heard. But the whole appearance and manner
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83 THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL,
of the man quite surprised me, so completely superior was
he to anything I had at all expected to have met with.
Indeed, for many minutes, I had given up all hopes of
hearing any clergyman at all; certainly not one whose
every look, word, and action seemed to proceed from the
deepest thought and reflection. Dressed in a suit of com-
mon black clothes, he had apparently nothing to distinguish
his holy vocation but the two white bands worn by our
'clerg)rmen, his only neckcloth. In a loud calm tone of
-voice, perfectly devoid of energy, directed not to the hearts
but to the understanding of his hearers, he advocated a
cause in which he evidently felt that he was triumphant ;
and the stillness of his attitude, the deep calmness of his
voice, and the icy cold deliberation with which he spoke,
proved that he was master not only of his subject, but of
Jiimself.
Every word he said was apparently visible in his eyes,
as if reflected there from his brain. He stood neither
entreating, commanding, nor forbidding ; but, like a man
mathematically demonstrating a problem, he was, step by
step, steadily laying before the judgment of his readers
'truths and arguments he well knew it was out of their power
*to deny. When he had reached his climax he suddenly
changed his voice, and, apparently conscious of the victory
he had gained, in a sort of half-deep tone he began to ask
a series of questions, each followed by a long pause ; and
in these solemn moments, when his argument had gained its
victory — ^when the fabric he had been raising was crowned
with success — there was a benignity in the triumph of his
unexpected smile which I could not but admire, as the
momentary joy seemed to rise more for the sake of others
than for his own.
Occasionally during the discourse he raised a hand
towards heaven — occasionally he firmly placed it on the
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THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL.
bosom of his own dark cloth waistcoat, and then slowly
extending it towards his congregation, it fell again lifeless
to his side ; yet these actions, trifling as they were, became
very remarkable when contrasted with the motionless at-
tention of the congregation.
At times an old woman with the knuckle of her shrivelled
finger would wipe an eye, as if the subject were stealing
from her head to her heart ; but no show of feeling was
apparent in the minister who was addressing her; with
apostolic dignity, he coldly proceeded with his argument,
and amidst the storm, the tempest of her feelings, he
calmly walked upon the wave ! Never did I before see a
human being listened to with such statue-like attention.
As soon as the discourse was concluded the psalm was
given out — a general rustling of leaves was heard, and in a
few moments the whole congregation began, with open
barn-door mouths, to sing. During this operation the
preacher did not sit up in his pulpit to be stared at, but,
his presence not being required there, he descended into
his pew, where I could just faintly trace him through the
lattice-work. Whether he sang or not I do not know ; he
was probably resting after his fatigue.
The singing lasted a long time — the tune and per-
formance were much what I have already described — and
when the psalm came to an end the same dead pause
ensued. It continued rather longer than before ; at last
the front door of the latticed pew opened, and out walked
the tall self-same clergyman in black. As he slowly ad-
vanced along the little platform there was a general rustling
of the congregation shutting their books, until he stood
directly in front of the little high table covered with the
white cloth.
With the same pale placid dignity of manner he pro-
nounced a short blessing on the congregation, who all
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82
THE LUTHERAN CHAPEL,
leant forwards, as if anxious to receive it, and then drop-
ping his two arms, which during this short ceremony had
been extended before him, he turned round, and as he
slowly walked towards his latticed cell the people aU
shuffled out the other way — ^until in a few seconds the
small Lutheran chapel of Lfangen-Schwalbach was empty.
THE VILLAGE OK BARSTADT.
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THEJSfE W SCHOOL. 83
THE NEW SCHOOL.
— ♦ —
One morning during breakfast I observed several little
cliildren passing my window in their best clothes. The
boys wore a sort of green sash of oak-leaves, which, coming
over the right shoulder, crossed the back and breast, and
then, winding once round the waist, hung in two ends on
the left side. The girls, dressed in common white frocks,
had roses in their hair, and held green garlands in their
hands. On inquiring the reason of the children being
dressed in this way, I found out, with some difficulty, that
there was to be a great festival and procession to celebrate
the taking possession of a new school, which, built by the
town, was only just completed. Accordingly, following some
of the little ones down the main street, I passed this village
seminary, whose first birthday was thus about to be com-
memorated. It was a substantial building, consisting of a
centre, with two square projecting wings, quite large enough
to be taken by any stranger for the Hotel de Ville of Lan-
gen-Schwalbach. Wreaths of oak-leaves were suspended
in front, and long verdant garlands of the same tree hung
in festoons from one wing to the other. It was impossible
to contrast the size of this building with the small houses
in its neighbourhood without feeling how creditable it was
to the inhabitants of so small a town thus to show that a
portion of the wealth they had mildly sucked fi*om the
stranger's purse was so sensibly and patriotically expended.
The scale of the building seemed to indicate that the
peasants of Langen-Schwalbach were liberal enough to
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84 THE NEW SCHOOL.
desire that their children should grow up more enlightened
than themselves ; and as I passed it I could not help re-
collecting, with feelings of deep regret, that although in
England there is no art or trade that has not made great
improvement and progress, the cramped paternoster system
of our public schools, as well as of our universities, have
too long remained almost the only pools stagnant in the
country, a fact which can scarcely be reconciled with the
rapid progress our lower orders have lately made in useful
knowledge.
After passing this new seminary, I continued descending
the main street about one hundred yards, until I reached a
small crowd of people standing before the old school, into
the door of which, creeping under the arms of the people,
child after child hurried and disappeared, hke a bee going
into its hive.
The old school of Langen-Schwalbach is one of the
most ancient buildings in the town. Its elevation is fan-
tastic, bordering on the grotesque. The gable seems to be
nodding forwards, the hump-backed roof to be sinking in.
The wooden framework of the house, composed of beams
purposely bent into almost every form, has, besides, been
very curiously hewn and carved, and on the front wall,
placed most irregularly, are several inscriptions, such as
" Ora et labora" "1552," and then again a sentence in
German, dated 1643, describing that in that year the house
was repaired. There is also a grotesque image on the wall,
of a child hugging a cornucopia, etc. etc. Nevertheless,
though all the parts of this ancient edifice are very rude,
there is " a method in the madness " with which they are
arranged, that, somehow or other, makes the tout ensemble
very pleasing ; and whether it be admitted to be good-look-
ing or not, its venerable appearance almost any one would
be disposed to respect.
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THE NEW SCHOOL, 85
I observed that no one entered this door but the children.
However, as in this simple civil country, great privileges are
granted to strangers (for here, like kings, they can hardly
do wrong), I ascended an old rattle-trap staircase, until,
coming to a landing-place, I found one large room on my
left crammed full of little boys, and one on my right
overflowing with little girls, these two chambers composing
the whole of the building.
On the landing-place I met the three masters, all dressed
very respectably in black cloth clothes. The senior was about
forty years of age, the two others quiet nice-looking young
men of about twenty-six, one of whom, to my very great asto-
nishment, addressed me in EngHsh. He spoke the language
very well, said he could read it with ease, but added that
he had great difficulty in understanding it, unless when
spoken very slowly; in short, as an enjoyment during the
long-winded evenings of winter, he had actually taught him-
self our hissing, crabbed language, which he had only heard
spoken by a solitary EngHshman whose acquaintance he
had formed last year.
He seemed not only to be well acquainted with our
EngHsh authors, but talked very sensibly about the institutions
and establishments of our country ; in short, he evidently
knew a great deal more of England than England knows
of Langen-Schwalbach, of the duchy of Nassau, or of many
much vaster portions of the globe. He informed me that
the school was composed of 150 boys and about the same
number of girls; — that of these 300 children 180 were
Protestants, 90 Catholics, and that since the year 1827 the
town having agreed to admit to the blessings and advantages
of education the children of the Jews, there were twenty
little boys of that persuasion, and one girl. Having wit-
nessed the prejudice, and indeed hatred, which Christians
and Jews in many countries mutually entertain towards
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86 THE NEW SCHOOL.
each other, I was not a little surprised at the statement
thus related to me.
After listening for some time to the tutor, he offered to
show me the children, and accordingly with some difficulty
we worked our way into the boys' room. It was a pretty
sight to witness such an assemblage of little fellows with
clean shining faces, and their native oak-leaves gave a fresh-
ness to the scene very delightful.
Among these white-haired laddies, most of whom w^ere
from four to eight years of age, it was quite unnecessary to
inquire which were the Jew boys, for there each stood as
distinctly marked as their race is all over the face of the
globe ; yet I must acknowledge they were by far the hand-
somest children in the room, looking much more like
Spaniards than Germans. The chamber full of little girls
would have pleased anybody, so nicely were they dressed,
and apparently so well-behaved. Several were exceedingly
pretty children, and the garlands they held in their hands,
the wreaths of roses which bloomed on their heads, and th^
smiles that beamed on their faces, formed as pretty a mix-
ture of the animal and vegetable creation as could well be
imagined.
In one comer stood the only Jewish girl in the room,
and Rebecca herself could not have had a handsomer nose,
a pair of brighter eyes, or a more marked expression of
countenance. She was more richly dressed than the other
village girls — wore a necklace, and I observed a thick gold
or brass ring on the forefinger of her left hand. We went
several times from one roomful of children to the other ;
and it was really pleasing to see in a state of such thought-
less innocence those who were to become the futiu-e pos-
sessors of the houses and property of Langen-Schwalbach.
All of a sudden a signal was given to the children to de-
scend, and it became then quite as much as the three masters
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THE NEW SCHOOL, 87
could do to make them go out of the room hand-in-hand.
Down scrambled first the boys, and then more quietly fol-
lowed the little girls, though not without one or two screams
proceeding from those who, in their hurry, had dropped
their garlands. One of these green hoops I picked up,
and seeing a little girl crying her heart out, I gave it to her,
and no balm of Gilead ever worked so sudden a cure, for
away she ran and joined her comrades, laughing.
As soon as the children had all left the two rooms, the
three masters descended, and we followed them into the
street, where the civil authorities of the town, and almost
all the parents of the little ones, had assembled. With
great difficulty the children were all collected together in
a group, in the open air, exactly in front of the school ;
and when this arrangement was effected, the mayor, two
Catholic ministers, two Protestant clergymen, and the three
masters, stood exactly in front of the children, facing also
the house from which they had proceeded. For some
time the masters and the four Christian ministers stood
smiling and talking to each other; however, at last the
mayor made a bow, everybody took off their hats, the
ministers' countenances stiffened, and for a few seconds a
dead silence ensued. At last the mayor with due cere-
mony took off his hat, when the youngest of the Lutheran
ministers, advancing one step in front, commenced a long
address to the children.
What he said I was not near enough to hear ; but I
saw constantly beaming in his countenance that sort of
benevolent smile which would be natural almost to any
one in addressing so very youthful a congregation. Oc-
casionally he pointed with his hand to heaven, and then
continuing his subject, smiled as if to cheer them on the
way ; but the little toads, instead of attending to him, were
all apparently eager to get to their fine new school, and,
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88 THE NEW SCHOOL.
with roses on their heads and garlands in their hands, they
seemed as if they did not feel that they stood in need of a
routing dose of good advice ; in short, not one of them
appeared to pay the slightest attention to a discourse which
could not* but have been very interesting to the parents.
However, in one respect I must own I was slightly dis-
appointed ; the burden of the discourse must have been on
the duties and futiu-e prospects of the children, and on the
honours and advantages of the new school; for I par-
ticularly remarked that not once did the clergyman point
or address himself to the old building — not a single eye
but my own was ever turned towards it, and none but my-
self seemed to feel for it any regret that it was about to
lose a village importance which for so many years it had
enjoyed. It was sentenced to be deserted, and walls which
had long been enlivened by the cheerful sound of youthful
voices were in their old age suddenly to be bereft of all !
I could not help feeling for the old institution, and
when the discourse was ended — ^when hats had returned to
people's heads, and when the procession of children, fol-
lowed by the ministers, had already begun to move — I could
not for some time take my eyes off the old fabric. The
date 1552, and the rude-looking image of the boy, par-
ticularly attracted my attention ; however, the old hive was
deserted — the bees had swarmed — had already hovered in
the air, and to their new abode had all flown away. Jostled
from my position by people who were following the pro-
cession, I proceeded onwards with the crowd, but not
without mumbling to myself —
*' Let others hail the rising sun,
I bow to him whose course is run."
As soon as the children reached their fine new abode,
a band, which had been awaiting their arrival, struck up ;
and in the open air they instantly sung a hymn. The
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THE NEW SCHOOL. 89
doors were then thrown open, and in high glee the httle
creatures scrambled up the staircase, and the mayor, clergy-
men, and schoolmasters having followed, a great rush was
made by parents and spectators. I managed to gain a
good place, but in a very few moments the room was filled,
and so jammed up with people that they could scarcely
raise their hands to wipe the perspiration which soon began
to appear very copiously on all faces. It became dread-
fully hot, and besides suffering from this cause, I felt by no
means happy at a calculation which very unwelcomely kept
forcing itself into my mind — namely, that the immense
weight of human flesh which was for the first time trying
new beams might produce a consummation by no means
" devoutly to be wished."
As soon as order was established and silence obtained,
the Catholic minister addressed the children ; and when he
had finished, the tall Lutheran clergyman, whose descrip-
tion I have already given to the reader, followed in his
deepest tone, and with his gravest demeanour ; but it was
all lost upon the children : indeed it was so hot, and we
were so little at our ease, that all were very glad indeed
to hear him conclude by the word " Amen !"
The children now sung another hymn, which, in a
cooler cUmate, would have been quite beautiful; the mayor
made a bow — the thing was at an end — and I believe every
one was as much delighted as myself to get once again into
pure fresh air.
As I had been told by the teacher that the children
would dance and eat in the evening, at four o'clock, I
went again to the school at that hour, expecting that there
would be what in England would be called " a ball and
supper;" however, the supper had come first, and the
remains of it were on two long tables. The feast which
the little ones had been enjoying had consisted of a slice of
E 2
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90 THE NEW SCHOOL.
white bread and a glass of Rhenish wine for each ; and as
soon as I entered the room two policemen bowed and
begged me to be seated. They and their friends were
evidently regaling themselves with the wine which had
been furnished for the children ; however, the little crea-
tures did not seem to want it, and I was very glad to see
it inflaming the eyes of the old party, and flushing their
cheeks, instead of having a similar effect on the young
ones.
It had been settled that the children were to dance ;
but they were much too young to care for such an amuse-
ment The little boys had got together at one end of the
room, and the girls were sitting laughing at the other, both
groups being as happily independent as it was possible to
be. Sometimes the boys amused themselves with a singing
game — one chanting a line, and all the rest bursting in with
the chorus, which, though it contained nearly as much
laughter as music, showed that the youngsters were well
enough conversant with both- The girls had also their
song. As I left the room several of the children were
singing on the stairs — all were as happy as I had desired
to see them ; and yet I firmly believe that the whole festi-
val I have described — oak-leaves, roses, garlands, festoons,
bread, wine, etc., altogether — could not have cost the town
of Langen-Schwalbach thirty shillings ! Nevertheless, in its
history, the opening of a public establishment, so useful to
future generations and so creditable to the present one,
was an event of no inconsiderable importance.
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THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH. 91
THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCR
The old Protestant Church, at the lower extremity of
Langen-Schwalbach, has not been preached in for about
three years ; and it being locked up, I had to call for ad-
mission at a house in the centre of the town. The man
was not at home, but his wife (very busily employed in
dressing, against its will, a squalling infant) pointed to the
key, which I gravely took from a nail over her head. This
venerable building stands, or rather totters, on a small
eminence close to the road — long rents in its walls, and
the ruinous, decayed state of the mortar, sufficiently denot-
ing its great antiquity. The roof and spires are still
covered with slates, which seemed fluttering as if about to
take their departure. The churchyard continues in the
valley to be the only Christian receptacle for the dead;
and within its narrow limits, Catholics, Lutherans, and
Calvinists end their worldly differences by soundly sleeping
together, side by side. Here and there a tree is seen
standing at the head of a Protestant's grave ; but, though
the twig was exclusively planted, yet its branches, like
knowledge, have gradually extended themselves, until they
now wave and droop alike over those who, thus joined in
death, had nevertheless lived in paltry opposition to each
other. The rank grass also grows with equal luxuriance
over all, as if the turf, like the trees, was anxious to level
all human animosities, and to become the winding-sheet or
covering of Christian fraternities which ought never to have
disputed.
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92 THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH.
In various parts of the cemetery I observed several
worn-out, wooden, triangular monuments on the totter;
while others were lying prostrate on the grass — the " hie
jacet" being exactly as applicable to each of themselves
as to that departed being whose life and death they had
vainly presumed to commemorate. Although the inscriptions
recorded by these frail historians were scarcely legible, yet
iroses and annual flowers, blooming 'on the grave, plainly
showed that there was still in existence some friendly hand,
some foot, some heart, that moved with kindly recollection
towards the dead. Upon several recent graves of children
were placed, instead of tombstones, the wreaths of artificial
flowers which during their funeral had either rested upon
the coffin or had been carried in the hands of parents and
friends. The sun and rain — ^the wind and storm — had
blanched the artificial bloom from the red roses, and, of
course, had sullied the purity of the white ones ; yet this
worthless finery, lying upon the newly-moved earth, had
probably witnessed unaffected feelings, to which the cold
white marble monument is often a stranger. The little
heap of perishable wreaths, so lightly piled one upon the
other, was the act, the tribute, the effusion of the moment ;
it was all the mother had had to record her feelings ; it
was what she had left behind her, as she tore herself away;
and though it could not, I own, be compared to an expen-
sive monument sculptured by an artist, yet, resting above
the coffin, it had one intrinsic value — at least, it had been
left there by a friend !
At one comer of the churchyard was a grave which was
only just completed. The living labourer had retired from
it ; the dead tenant had not yet arrived ; but the moment
I looked into it I could not help feeling how any one of
our body-snatchers would have rubbed his rough hands,
and what rude raptures he would have enjoyed at observing
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THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH. 93
that the Hd of the coffin would be deposited scarcely a foot
and a half below the sod. However, in the little duchy of
Nassau human corpses have not yet become coin-current
in the realm ; and whatever may be a man's troubles during
his life at Langen-Schwalbach he may truly say he will, at
least, find rest in the grave.
I know it is very wrong — I know that one is always
blamed for bringing before the mind of wealthy people any
truth which is at all disagreeable to them ; yet on the brink
of this grave I could not help feeling how very much one
ought to detest the polite Paris and London fashion of
smartening up us old people with the teeth and hair of the
dead ! It always seems to me so unfair for us who have
had our day — ^who have ourselves been young — to attempt,
when we grow old, to deprive the rising generation of the
advantage of that contrast which so naturally enhances their
beauties. The spring of hfe, to be justly appreciated and
admired, requires to be compared with the snow and storms
of winter, and if by chicanery you hide the latter, the sun-
shine of the former loses a great portion of its beauty. In
naked, savage life there exists no picture on which I have
so repeatedly gazed with calm pleasure as that of the
daughter supporting the trembling, dilapidated fabric of the
being to whom she owes her birth ; indeed, it is as impos-
sible for man to withhold the respect and pity which is due
to age whenever it be seen labouring under its real infirmi-
ties, as it is for him to contain his admiration of the natural
loveliness of youth. The parent and child, thus contrasted,
render to each other services of which both appear to be
insensible; for the mother does not seem aware how the
shattered outlines of her faded frame heighten the robust,
blooming beauties of her child, who, in her turn, seems
equally unconscious how beautifully and eloquently her
figure explains and pleads for the helpless decrepitude of
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94 THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH.
age ! In the Babel confusion of our fashionable world this
beautifully-arranged contrast of nature, the effect of which
no one who has ever seen it can forget, does not exist
Before the hair has grown really grey — ^before time has im-
parted to it even its autumnal tint — it is artfully replaced by
dark flowing locks obtained by every revolting contrivance.
The grave itself is attacked — our Uving dowagers of the
present day do not hesitate to borrow their youthful orna-
ments even from the dead — and to such a horrid extreme
has fashion encouraged this unnatural propensity, that even
the carcase of the soldier who has fallen in a foreign land,
and who^
*' Leaving in battle no blot on his name.
Looks proudly to heaven from the deathbed of fame," —
has not been respected !
One would think that the ribands and honours on his
breast, flapping in the wind, would have scared even the
vulture from such prey; but no ! the orders which the London
dentist has received must, he pleads, be punctually executed ;
and it is a revolting fact but too well known to " the trade,"
that many, and many, and many a set of teeth that bit the dust
at Waterloo, by an untimely resurrection, appeared again on
earth smiling lasciviously at Almack's ball ! So much for
what is termed fashion.
After rambling about the churchyard for some minutes,
occasionally spelling at an inscription, and sometimes looking
at (not picking) a sepulchral flower, I walked to the church
door, and turning round its old-fashioned key, which ever
since I had received it had been dangling in my hand, the
lock started back, and then, as if I had said " Open Sesame !"
the door opened.
On my looking before me my first impression was that
my head was swimming ! for the old gallery, hanging like
the gardens of Babylon, seemed to be writhing ; the four-
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THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH, 95
and-twenty pews were leaning sideways ; the aisle, or ap-
proach to the altar, covered with heaps of rubbish, was an
undulating line, and an immense sepulchral flag-stone had
actually been lifted up at one side as if the corpse, finding
the church deserted, had restlessly bxirst fi*om his grave, and
had wrenched himself once again into daylight. The pulpit
was out of its perpendicular ; some pictures loosely hanging
against the wall had turned away their faces ; and a couple
of planks were resting diagonally against the altar, as if they
had fallen from the roof I really rubbed my eyes, fancy-
ing that they were disordered ; however, the confusion I
witnessed was real, and as nearly as possible as I have de-
scribed it. Still, however, there was no dampness in the
church, and it was, I thought, a remarkable proof of the dry-
ness of the light mountain air of Langen-Schwalbach that
the sepulchral wreaths of artificial flowers which were hang-
ing around on the walls were as starched and stiff as on the
day they were placed there.
A piece of dingy black cloth, with narrow white fringe,
was the only ornament to the pulpit, from which both book
and minister had so long departed. The thing was alto-
gether on the totter ; yet when I reflected what httle harm
it had done in the world, and how much good, I could not
help acknowledging that respect was justly due to its old
age, and that, even by the stranger, it ought to be regarded
with sentiments of veneration. In gazing at monuments of
antiquity, one of the most natural pleasures which the mind
enjoys is being by them fancifully transported to the scenes
which they so clearly commemorate. The Roman amphi-
theatre becomes filled with gladiators and spectators ; the
streets of Pompeii are seen again thronged with people ;
the Grecian temple is ornamented with the votive offerings
of heroes and of senators ; even the putrid marsh of Mara-
thon teems with noble recollections ; while at home, on the
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96 THE OLD PROTESTANJ CHURCH.
battlements of our old English castles, we easily figure to
ourselves barons proud of their deeds, and sturdy vassals in
armour faithfully devoted to their service ; — ^in short, while
beholding such scenes, the heart glows, until, by its feverish
heat, feehngs are produced to which no one can be com-
pletely insensible : however, when we awaken firom this
deUghtful dream, it is difficult, indeed impossible, to drive
away the painful moral which, sooner or later in the day,
proves to us much too clearly that these ruins have out-
lived, and in fact commemorate, the errors, the passions,
and the prejudices which caused them to be built
But after looking up at the plain unassuming pulpit of
an old Lutheran church, one feels, long after one has left
it, that all that has proceeded from its simple desk has been
to promulgate peace, good-will, and happiness among man-
kind ; and though, in its old age, it be now deserted, yet no
one can deny that the seeds which, in various directions, it
has scattered before the wind, are not only vigorously
flourishing in the little valley in which it stands, but must
continue there and elsewhere to produce effects which time
itself can scarcely annihilate.
Turning towards the altar, I was looking at pictures of
the twelve apostles, who, like sentinels at their posts, were
in various attitudes surrounding it, when, a propos to nothing,
the great clock in the belfiy struck four, and so Httle did I
expect to hear any noise at all, that I could not help start-
ing at being thus suddenly reminded that the watch was
still ticking in the fob of the dead soldier — in short, that
that clock was still faithfiilly pointing out the progress of
time, though the church to which it belonged had already,
practically speaking, terminated its existence 1 Never did
I before listen to four vibrations of an old church dock with
more reverential attention : however, at each stroke invo-
luntarily looking upwards, I did not altogether enjoy the sight
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THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH. 97
of some loose rafters hanging over my head. I therefore
very quietly moved onwards, yet, passing a snaall door, I
could not resist clambering up an old well-staircase which
led to the belfry ; not, however, until I had calculated that,
as the building could bear the bells, my weight was not
likely to turn the scale. I did not, however, feel disposed
to reach the bells, but managed, through a rent in the wall,
to look down on the roof, and such a scene of devastation
it would be difficult to describe. The half-mouldered slates
had not only been ripped away by the wind in every direc-
tion, but the remainder appeared as if they were just ready
to follow in the flight. The roof was bending in, and
altogether it looked so completely on the totter, that the
slightest additional weight would have brought everything to
the ground. After descending, I went once more round the
church, opened some of the old lattice pews — peeped into
the marble font, half-filled with decayed mortar — took up a
bird's nest that had fallen into the chancel from the roof —
and strolling towards the altar, I found there a small board
covered with white pasteboard, and ornamented with a gar-
land of roses. On this simple tablet were inscribed, in
black letters, the names of the little band of Langen-Schwal-
bachians who had been present in the great campaign of
181 5 ; and in case the reader should like to know not only
who were the heroes of so remote a valley, but also what
sort of names they possessed, I offer him a copy of the
muster-roll of those thus distinguished for having served
their native country, which the German language emphati-
cally calls " Vaterland."
Dem. Verdientfeer _, , , „ r Ludwig Leidebach
Conrad Blies ^!:?'^^^^''^^'' Eberhard Rucker
Adam Buslach ^! 1'^^°'/''^^ Casper Schenk
Ludwig Diefenbach P^ilipp Kraus ^^^^^^ Singhoff
Martin Eschenever ^^^ T^\^ Johannes Sartor
Philipp Hoenig , Chnstop Lindle Ferdinand Wensel
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98 THE OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH,
Having carefully locked up the old church, with all the
relics it contained, descending the steps of the eminence on
which it stood, I once more found myself in the street
among fellow-creatures.
The new Protestant church, which is very shortly to be
buHt, and to which the bells of this old one, if possible, are
to be removed, will be in the centre of the town ; but this
site, though more convenient, will not, I think, be so pic-
turesque as that of the old building, which, with the Catholic
church at the other extremity of the town, seem to be the
alpha and omega — the beginning and the end of Langen-
Schwalbach. From the surrounding hills, as the eye glances
from the one of these old buildings to the other, they appear
to be the good genii of the town — two guardian angels to
watch over the welfare of its people here and hereafter.
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THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE. 99
THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.
The low part of Langen-Schwalbach, where the Jews live,
is the most ancient portion of the town, the houses they
inhabit being just above and below the great original brun-
nen or fountain, which, as I have stated, was celebrated for
its medicinal properties even in the time of the Romans.
This immense spring, which rises within a foot and a half
of the surface of the ground (being then carried away by a
subterranean drain), is two or three tinies as large as the
Stahl brunnen, the Wein brunnen, or the fashionable
Pauline. It contains very little iron, being principally
sulphureous. From the violence with which it rises from
the rock, the water is apparently constantly boiling, and
such a suffocating gas arises from it, that, as at the Grottp
del Cane, at Naples, one single inhalation would be nearly
sufficient to deprive a person of his senses. Besides being
strongly impregnated with this gas, it has also such an un-
earthly taste that one almost fancies it must flow direct
from the cellar of his Satanic majesty. Still,- however, the
Jews constantly drink, cook, and even wash with this
water; but being below the surface, it is necessary for
them- to stoop into the suffocating vapour whenever they
fill their pitchers; and as one sees Jewess after Jewess
dipping her dark greasy head into this infernal caldron,
holding her breath, and then suddenly raising her head, with
a momentary paleness and an aspiration which sufficiently
explain her sensations, one feels anything but sympathy for
a being who can voluntarily flutter in such a foetid climate.
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loo THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE,
With sentiments, I fear, not very liberal, I stood for
many minutes looking at those who came to fill their
pitchers ; at last, rather a better feeling shooting across me,
I resolved once more to make a trial of water on which so
many of my fellow-creatm-es seemed to subsist, and I ac-
cordingly dipped my hand Into a large washing-tub which
an old Jewess had half-suffocated herself in filling with her
pitcher. Althoagh the woman offered me no sign or word of
disrespect, I observed her cast a withering look at the
water, as if a cup of poison had been poured into it : she
continued, however, very quietly to fill her other tubs ; but
after I had walked away, turning suddenly round for a
moment, I saw her upset the tub from which I had drunk,
her lips muttering at the same time some short observation
to a sister Jewess standing beside her.
I could not, however, help acknowledging that her pre-
judice was not more illiberal, and certainly far more ex-
cusable, than my own 5 and as I had determined to attend
that evening the Jewish synagogue, in the meanwhile I did
what I could to bring my mind to a proper state of feeling
towards a people whose form of worship I was desirous
seriously to witness.
Never had I before chanced to enter a synagogue ; yet
when I had reflected on the singular history of the Jews,
I had often concluded that there must be some strange,
unaccountable attraction, something inexplicably mysterious
in their forms of worship, which could have induced them
to brave the persecutions that in all ages, and in so many
countries, had traced out their history in letters of blood.
Full of curiosity, I had therefore inquired at what hour
on Friday their church would assemble, and being told that
they would meet "as soon as the stars were visible," I
walked towards the synagogue, a few minutes after sunset,
and in every Jewish house I observed, as I passed it, seven
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THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE, loi
candles burning in a circle. The house of worship was a
small oblong hovel, not unlike a bam. The door was
open, but no human being appeared within, excepting a
man over whose shoulders was thrown a piece of common
brown sackcloth. This personage, wha turned out to be
the priest, stood before a sort of altar ; and, just as careless
of it as of us, he stood bowing to it incessantly. There
being not much to see in these vibrations, I walked away,
and returning in about five minutes, I found the congrega-
tion had suddenly assembled, and the service begun.
In the course of my life, like most people, I have
chanced to witness a great variety of forms of worship,
several of which it would not be very easy to describe.
For instance, it would be difficult, or rather impossible, to
delineate, by words, high mass, as performed in the great
church of St. Peter at Rome. One might, indeed, fully
describe any part of it, but the silence of one moment, the
burst of music at another, the immensity of the building,
and the assembled congregation, produce altogether sensa-
tions on the eye and ear which the goose-quill has not power
to impart. Again, to the simple homage which a Peruvian
Indian pays to the sun no man could do justice ; one might
describe his attitude as he prostrates himself before what he
conceives to be the burning ruler of the universe, but the
fleeting expressions of his supplicating countenance, as it
trembles — ^hopes — flushes — and then, with eyes dazzled to
dimness, trembles again, — ^may be witnessed, but cannot be
described. One of the wildest forms of worship I ever be-
held was, perhaps, the dance of the Dervishes at Athens ;
for there is a sort of enthusiasm in the convulsions into
which these twelve men"^ throw themselves which has a most
indescribable effect on those who witness it : it is madness
— ^in fact it is a tempest of the mind within a range of
which no man's senses can live unruffied ; — the strongest
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I02 THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.
judgment bends before the gale, and insensibly are the
feelings led astray by conduct, actions, words, grimaces,
and contortions, which, taken altogether, are indescribable.
But although these and many other forms of worship
may be original pictures which cannot be copied, yet I
think a child of about ten years of age, if he could only
hold a pen, might give a reader as good a notion of the
Langen-Schwalbach synagogue, as if he had been there
himself a thousand times; for all the poor child would
have to do would be to beg him to imagine a small dirty
bam, swarming with fleas, filled with dirty-looking men in
dirty dresses, with old hats on their heads, spitting — hal-
looing — treading — ^bowing — ^hallooing louder than ever —
scratching themselves as they leave the synagogue — and
then calmly walking home to their seven candles !
To any serious, reflecting mind, all religions, to a cer-
tain point, are worthy of respect. It is true, all cannot be
right, yet the errors are those which fellow^creatures need
not dispute among each other ; he who has the happiness
to go right has no just cause to be offended with those who
unfortunately have mistaken their course; and however
men's political opinions may radiate from each other, yet
their zeal for religion is at least one tie which ought to
connect them together. However, the Jews of Langen-
Schwalbach, so far as a spectator can judge by their be-
haviour, do not even pretend to be zealous in their cause.
There is no pretence of feeling — ^no attempt either at
humbug or effect They perform their services as if, hav-
ing made a regular bargain to receive certain blessings for
hallooing a certain time, they conceived that all they had
to do was scrupulously to perform their part of the con-
tract, that there was no occasion to exceed their agreement,
or give more than was absolutely required by the bond.
As I stood just within the door of the synagogue, listen-
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THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE. 103
ing to their rude, uncouth, noisy worship, abnost every eye
was turned upon me, and the expression of many of the
countenances was so ill-favoured that I very soon left them,
though I had even then a long way to walk before I ceased
to hear the strange wild huUabulloo they were making.
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,04 THE HARVEST.
THE HARVEST.
All this day I have been strolling about the fields watch-
ing the getting in of the harvest The crops of oats, lye,
and wheat (principally bearded), are much heavier than any
one would expect from such light and apparently poor
land ; but the heavy dews which characterise the summer
climate of this high country impart a nourishment which in
richer lands often lies dormant from drought In Nassau
the com is cut principally by women, who use a sickle so
very small and light that it seems but little labour to wield
it. They begin early in the morning, and, with short inter-
vals of rest, continue till eleven o'clock, wl^gn the various
village bells suddenly strike up a merry peal, a signal to
the labourers to come home to their dinners. It is a very
interesting scene to obser^'e, over the undulating surface
of the whole country, groups of peasants, brothers, sisters,
parents, etc., all bending to their sickles — ^to see children
playing round infants lying fast asleep on blue smock-frocks
placed under the shade of the com sheaves. It is pleasing
to remark the rapid progress which the several parties are
making ; how each little family, attacking his own patch or
property, works its way into the standing com, leaving th*e
golden crop prostrate behind them : and then, in the middle
of this simple, mral, busy scene, it is delightful indeed to
hear from the belfry of their much-revered churches a peal
of cheerful notes, which peacefully sound "lullaby" to
them all. In a very few seconds the square fields and
little oblong plots are deserted, and then the various roads
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THE HARVEST, 105
and paths of the country suddenly burst in lines upon the
attention, each being delineated by a string of peasants,
straggling one behind the other, until paths in all directions
are seen converging towards the parental village churches,
which seem to be attracting them all.
As soon as each field of corn is cut, it is bound into
sheaves, about the size they are in England : seven are
then made to lean towards each other, and upon all is
placed a large sheaf reversed, the ears of which, hanging
downwards, form a sort of thatch, which keeps this littie
stack dry until its owner has time to carry it to his home.
It generally remains many days in this state, and after the
harvest has been all cut, the country covered with these
stacks resembles a vast encampment.
The carts and waggons used for carrying the com are
exceedingly well adapted to the country. Their particular
characteristic is excessive lightness, and, indeed, were they
heavy, it would be quite impossible for any cattle to draw
them up and down the hills. Occasionally they are drawn
by horses — often by small active oxen; but cows more
generally perform this duty, and with quite as much patience
as their mistresses, at the same moment, are labouring before
them at the sickle. The yoke, or beam, by which these
cows are connected, is placed immediately behind their
horns ; a little leather pillow is then laid .upon their brow,
over which passes a strap that firmly lashes their heads
to the beam, and it is therefore against such soft cushions
that the animals push to advance ; and thus linked together
for life by this sort of Siamese band, it is curious to ob-
serve them eating together, then by agreement raising their
heads to swallow, then again standing motionless chewing
the cud^ which is seen passing and repassing from the
stomach to the mouth.
At first, when, standing near them, I smelt fi-om their
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THE HARVEST. 107
breath the sweet fresh milk, it seemed hard tliat they
should thus be, as it were, domestic candles lighted at both
ends ; however, verily do I believe that all animals prefer
exercise, nay, even hard work, to any sort of confinement,
and if so, they are certainly happier than our stall-fed cows,
many of which, in certain parts of Britain, may be seen
with their heads fixed economically for months between
two vertical beams of wood. The Nassau cows certainly
do not seem to suffer while working in their light carts ; as
soon as their mistress advances, they follow her, and if she
turns and whips them, then do they seem to hurry after her
more eagerly than ever.
It is true, hard labour has the effect of impoverishing
their milk, and the calf at home is consequently (so far as
it is concerned) a loser by the bargain ; however, there is
no child in the peasant's family who has not had cause to
make the same complaint ; and therefore, so long as the
labourer's wife carries her infant to the harvest, the milch
cow may very fairly be required to draw to the hovel what
has been cut by her hands.
Nothing can be better adapted to the features of the
country, nothing can better accord with the feeble resources
of its inhabitants, than the equipment of these economical
waggons and carts ; the cows and oxen can ascend any of
the hills, or descend into any of the valleys ; they can,
without slipping, go sideways along the face of the hills,
and in crossing the green swampy grassy ravines, I par-
ticularly remarked the advantage of the light waggon drawn
by animals with cloven feet, for had one of our heavy teams
attempted the passage, like a set of flies walking across a
plate of treacle, they would soon have become unable to
extricate even themselves. But in making the comparison
between the horse and the cow (as far as regards Nassau
husbandry), I may further observe, that the former has a
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io8 THE HARVEST.
very expensive appetite, and wears very expensive shoes ;
as soon as he hecomes lame he is useless, and as soon as
he is dead he is carrion. Now, a placid, patient Langen-
Schwalbach cow, in the bloom of her youth, costs only two
or three pounds; she requires neither com nor shoeing;
the leaves of the forest, drawn by herself to the village,
form her bed, which in due time she carries out to the field
as manure ; there is nothing a light cart can carry which
she is not ready to fetch, and from her work she cheerfully
returns to her home to give milk, cream, butter, and cheese
to the establishment : at her death she is still worth eleven
kreuzers a pound as beef; and when her flesh has dis-
appeared, her bones, after being ground at the mill, once
again appear upon her master*s fields, to cheer, manure,
and enrich them.
As, quite in love with cows, I was returning from the
harvest, I met the Nassau letter-cart, one of the cheapest
carriages for its purpose that can well be conceived. It
consists of a pair of high wheels connected by a short axle,
upon which are rivetted a few boards framed together in the
form of a small shallow box ; in this little coffin the letter-
bag is buried, and upon it, like a monument, sits a light
boy dressed in the uniform of a Nassau postilion, who, with
a trumpet in one hand, a long whip in the other, and the
reins sporting loose under his feet, starts as if he deliber-
ately meant mischief, intending to get well over his ground ;
and there being scarcely any weight to carry, the horse
really might proceed as a mail-coach horse ought to go ;
but that horrible Punch and Judy trumpet upsets the whole
arrangement, for as the thing is very heavy, the child soon
takes two hands to it instead of one, when down goes the
whip, and from that moment the picture, which promised
to be a good one, is spoilt
The letter-bag crawls like a reptile along the road,
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THE HARVEST. 109
while the boy, amusing himself with his plaything, reminds
one of those nursery rhymes which say —
*' And with rings on his fingers, and bells on his toes,
We shall have music wherever he goes."
It is quite provoking to see a government carriage in
its theory so simply imagined, and so cleverly adapted to
its purpose, thus completely ruined in its practice. Music
may be, and indeed is, very delightful in its way ; but a
tune is one thing — speed another ; and it always seems to
me a pity that the Duke of Nassau should allow these two
substantives to be so completely confounded in his domi-
nions.
How admirably does the long tin horn of the guard of
one of our mail-coaches perform its blunt duty ! — a single
blast is sufficient to remove the obstruction of an old
gentleman in his gig — two are generally enough for a heavy
cart — ^three* for a waggon — and half-a-dozen, slowly and
sternly applied, are always sufficient to awaken even the
snoring keeper of a turnpike-gate — in short, to
** Break his bands of sleep asunder,
And rouse him like a rattling 'peal of thunder.
Hark ! hark ! the horrid sound
Has raised up his head as awaked from the dead.
And, amazed, he stares around ! "
The gala turn-out of our mail-coaches on the king's
birthday I always think must strike foreigners more than
anything else in our country with the sterling solid inte-
grity of the English character. To see so many well-bred
horses in such magnificent condition — so many well-built
carriages — so many excellent drivers, and such a corps of
steady, quiet, resolute-looking men as guards, each wearing,
as well as every coachman, the king's own livery — all this
must silently point out, even to our most jealous enemies,
not only the wealth of the country, but the firm basis on
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no THE HARVEST,
which it stands ; in short, it must prove to them, most
undeniably, that there is no one in England which, through-
out the land, is treated with so much universal attention
and respect as the honest, speedy, and safe delivery of
the letters and commercial correspondence of the country.
Nevertheless, if our English coachmen were to be allowed,
instead of attending to their horses, to play on trumpets as
they proceeded, we should, as in the duchy of Nassau, soon
pay very dearly for their music.
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THE SUNSET m
THE SUNSET.
It had been hot all day — the roads had been dusty — the
ground, as one trod upon it, had felt warm — the air was
motionless — animal as well as vegetable life appeared weak
and exhausted — Nature herself seemed parched and thirsty
— the people on the promenade, as it got hotter and hotter,
had walked slower and slower, until they were now crawling
along as unwillingly as if they had been marching to their
graves. The world, as if from apathy, was coming to a
stand-still — Langen-Schwalbach itself appeared to be faint-
ing away, when the evening sun, having rested for a mo-
ment on the western height, gradually vanished from our
sight.
His red tyrannical rays had hardly left our pale abject
faces, when all people suddenly revived; like a herd of
fawning courtiers who had been kept trembling before their
king, they felt that, left to themselves, they could now
breathe, and think, and stamp their feet. Parasols, one
after another, were shut up — the pedestrians on the pro-
menade freshened their pace — even fat patients who had
long been at anchor on the benches began to show symp-
toms of getting under way — every leaf seemed suddenly to
be enjoying the cool gentle breeze which was now felt
stealing up the valley ; until, in a very few minutes, every-
thing in nature was restored to life and enjoyment.
It was the hour for returning to my " hof,*' but the air
as it blew into my window was so delightfully refreshing,
and so irresistibly inviting, that I and my broad-brimmed
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112 THE SUNSET.
hat went out tete-a-tete to enjoy it. As we passed the red
pond of iron water, opposite to the great " Indian Hof/'
which comes from the strong Stahl brunnen, having nothing
to do, I lingered for some time watching the horses that
were brought there. After having toiled through the
excessive heat of the day, any water would have been
agreeable to them ; but the nice, cool, strengthening effer-
vescing mixture into which they were now led, seemed to
be so exceedingly delightful, that they were scarcely up to
their knees before they made a strong attempt to drink ;
but the rule being, that they should first half-walk and half-
swim two or three times round the pond, this cleansing or
ablution was no sooner over — the reins were no sooner
loosened — ^when down went their heads into the red cool-
ing pool ; and one had then only to look at the horses'
eyes to appreciate their enjoyment. With the whole of
their mouths and nostrils immersed, they seemed as if they
fancied they could drink the pond dry ; however, the greedy
force with which they held their heads down gradually re-
laxed, until, at last, up they were raised, with an aspiration
which seemed to say, " We can hold no more !" In about
ten seconds, however, their noses again dropped to the sur-
face, but only to play with an element which seemed now
to be useless — so completely had one single draught altered
its current value ! As I stood at the edge of this pond,
leaning over the rail, mentally participating with the horses
in the .luxury they were enjoying, a violent shower of rain
came on ; yet, before I had hurried fifty yards for an
umbrella, it had ceased. These little showers are exceed-
ingly common amongst the hills of Nassau in the evenings
of very hot days. From the power of the sun, tlie valleys
during the day are filled brimful with a steam, or exhala-
tion, which no sooner loses its parent, the sun, than the
cold condenses it ; and then, like the tear on the cheek of
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THE SUNSET. 113
a child that has suddenly missed its mother, down it falls
in heavy drops, and the next instant — smiles again.
As the air was very agreeable, I wandered up the hilly
road which leads to Bad-Ems ; and then, strolUng into a field
of corn, which had that morning been cut, I continued to
cUmb the mountain, until, turning round, I found, as I ex-
pected, that I had attained just the sort of view I wanted ;
but it would be impossible to describe to the reader the
freshness of the scene. Beneath was the long scrambling
village of Langen-Schwalbach, the slates of which, absolutely
blooming from the shower they had just received, looked so
very clean and fresh that for some time my eyes quite en-
joyed rambling from one roof to the next, and then glancing
from one extremity of the town, to- the other ; they had been
looking at hot dazzling objects all day — I thought I never
should be able to raise them from the cool blue wet slates.
However, as the light rapidly faded, the landscape itself soon
became equally refreshing, for the dry parched corn-fields
assumed a richer hue, the green crops seemed bending under
dew, and the whole picture — Chills, town, and all — appeared
so newly painted, that the colours from Nature's brush were
too fresh to be dry. All of a sudden, majestically rolling
up the valley, was seen a misty vapour, which at last reachi-
ing the houses, rolled from roof to roof, until it hovered
over, or rather rested upon, the whole town ; and tiiis was
no sooner the case than the slates seemed all to have
vanished !
In vain I looked few* them, for the cloud, exactly match-
ing them in colour, had so completely disguised them, that
they formed nothing now but the base or foundation of the
misty fabric which rested upon them. Instead of a blue
village, Langen-Schwalbach now appeared to be a white one;
The roofs no longer attracting attention, the shining walls
burst into notice, and a serpentine line of glistening patches,
F 2
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114 THE SUNSET,
nearly resembling a ridge of snow, clearly marked out tiie
shape and limits of the town ; but as, in this elevate<f
country, there is little or no twilight, the features of the
picture again rapidly faded, until even this white line was
hardly to be seen ; corn-fields could now scarcely be dis-
tinguished from green crops — all became dark — and the
large forest on the south hills, as well as the small woods
which are scattered on the heights, had so completely lost
their colour, that they appeared to be immense black pits
or holes. In a short time everything beneath me was lost ;
and sitting on the ground, leaning against seven sheaves of
com piled up together, I was enjoying the sublime serenity,
the mysterious uncertainty of the scene before me, when
another very beautiful change took place !
I believe I have already told the reader that, besides
myself, there were about 1 200 strangers in the little village
of Langen-Schwalbach. Of course every " hof* was fully in-
habited, and as soon as darkness prevailed the effect pro-
duced by each house being suddenly and almost simul-
taneously lighted up, was really quite romantic. In eveiy
direction, sometimes at the top of one " hof," then at the
bottom of another, lights burst into existence; the eye,
attracted, eagerly flew from one to another, until, from the
number which burst into life, it became quite impossible to
attend to each. The bottom of the valley, like the dancing
of fire-flies, was sparkling in the most irregular succession.
In a short time this fantastic confusion vanished, and every
room (there being no shutters) having its light, Langen-
Schwalbach was once again restored to view— each house,
and every storey of each house, being now clearly defined
by a regular and very pleasing illumination ; and while,
seated in utter darkness, I gazed at the gay sparkling scene
before me, I could not help feeling that, of all the beautifiil
contrasts in nature, there can be no one more vivid than
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THE SUNSET. 115
the sudden change between darkness and light How weaiy
we should be of eternal sunshine ! — how gloomy would it
be to grope through one's life in utter darkness ! — and yet
what loveliness do each of these, by contrast, impart to the
other I On the heights above the village how magnificent
was the darkness after a hot sun-shining day ; and then,
again, how lovdy was the twinkling even of tallow candles,
when they suddenly burst upon this darkness I Yet it is
with these two ingredients that Nature works up all ho*
pictures ; and, as Paganini's tunes all come out of two
strings of eat-gut, and two of the entrails of a kitten, so do
all the varieties which please our eyes proceed from a mix-
ture in different proportions of light and shade ; and indeed,
in the moral world, it is the chiaro-oscuro, the brightness
and darkness of which form the happiness of our existence.
What would prosperity be if there was no such sorrow as
adversity % what would health be if sickness did not exist t
and what would be the smile of an approving conscience if
there was not the torment of repentance writhing under
guil't % But I will persecute the reader no longer with the
reflections which occurred to me as I sat in a wheat-field,
gazing on the lights of Langen-Scjjwalbach. Good or bad,
they managed to please me; however, after remaining in
darkness till it became much colder than was agreeable,
I wandered back to my "hof," entered my dormitory, and my
grey head having there found its pillow, as I extinguished
my candle I mumbled to myself — " There goes one of the
tallow stars of Langen-Schwalbach ! — Sic transit gloria
mundi !"
I was lying prostrate, and (there being no shutters to
the window at the foot of the bed) I was looking at some
oddly-shaped, tall, acute-angled, slated roofs, glimmering in
the light of the round full moon, hanging immediately
above them. The scene was delightfully silent and serene.
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ii6 THE SUNSET,
Occasionally I faintly heard a distant footstep approaching,
until treading heavily under the window, its sound gradually
diminished, and all again was silent Sometimes a cloud
passing slowly across the moon would veil the roofs in
darkness ; and then, again, they suddenly burst upon the
eye, in silvery light, shining brighter than ever. As, some-
what fetigued, I lay haJf-enjoying this scene, and half-dozing,
I suddenly heard, apparently close to me, the scream of a
woman, which really quite electrified me !
• On listening, it was repeated, when jumping out of bed
and opening the door, I heard it again proceeding from a
room at the distant end of the passage ; and such was the
violence of its tone that my impression was — " The room
is on fire !"
There is something in the piercing shriek of a woman
in distress which produces an irresistible effect on the
featherless biped called man ; and, in rushing to her as-
sistance, he performs no duty — ^he exercises no virtue — ^but
merely obeys an instinctive impulse which has been be-
nevolently imparted to him — not for his own good, but for
the safety and protection of a weaker and a better sex.
But although this f(^eling exists so powerfully " chez
nous," yet it has not by nature been imparted to common-
place garments ; such as coats, black-figured silk waistcoats,
rusty knee-breeches, nor even to easy shoes, blue worsted
stockings (w such like ; and therefore while, by an irresist-
ible attraction which I could not possibly counteract, obey-
ing the mysterious impulse of my nature, I rushed along
the passage, these base unchivalric garments remained
coldly dangling over the back of a chair: in short, I
followed the laws of my nature — ^they, theirs.
With some difficulty, having succeeded in bursting open
the door just as a fifth shriek was repeated, I rushed in, and
there, sitting x^x in her bed — ^her soft arms most anxiously
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THE SUNSET. 117
extended towards me — her countenance expressing an agony
of fear — sat a young lady, by no means ill-favoured, and
aged (as near as I could hastily calculate) about twenty-one !
Almost in hysterics, she began in German to tell a long
incoherent story ; and though with calm natural dignity I
did what I could to quiet her, the tears rushed into her
eyes — she then almost in convulsions began, with her
hands under the bed-clothes, to scratch her knees, then
shrieked again ; and I do confess that I was altogether at a
loss to conceive what in the sacred name of virtue could be
the matter with the young lady, when by her repeating
several times the word " Ratten ! Ratten ! " I at once com-
prehended that there were (or that the amiable young
person fancied that there were) — rats in her bed!
The dog Billy, as well as many puppies of less name,
would instantly perhaps have commenced a vigorous attack;
rats, however, are reptiles I am not in the habit either of
hunting or destroying.
The young lady's aunt, an elderly personage, now ap-
peared at the door in her night-clothes, as yellow and as
sallow as if she had just risen from the grave ; — peeping
over her shoulder, stood our landlady's blooming daughter
in her bed-gown — Leonhard, the son, cum multis aliis.
What they could all have thought of the scene, what they
could have thought of my strange, gaunt, unadorned
appearance — ^what they could have thought of the niece's
screams — and what they would have thought had I deigned
to tell them I had come to her bedside to catch rats — it
was out of my power to divine : however, the fact was, I
cared not a straw what they thought ; but seeing that my
presence was not requisite, I gravely left the poor innocent
sufferer to tell her own story. "Ratten! Ratten!*' was
its theme ; and long before her fears subsided my mind, as
well as its frail body, was placidly entranced in sleep.
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iiS THE CROSS OF
THE CROSS OF ST. JOHN OF
JERUSALEM.
To an old man one of the most delightful features in a
German watering-place is the ease with which he can
associate in the most friendly manner with all his brother
and sister water-bibbers without the fatigue of speaking one
single word.
Almost every glass of water you get from the brunnen
adds at least one to the list of your acquaintance. Merely
touching a man's elbow is sufficient to procure from him a
look of good-fellowship, which, though it does not incon-
veniently grow into a bow, or even into a smile, is yet always
afterwards displayed in his physiognomy whenever it meets
yours. If, as you are stretching out your glass, you retire
but half a stride, to allow a thirsting lady to step forward,
you clearly see, whensoever you afterwards meet her, that
the slight attention is indelibly recorded in your favour.
Even running against a German produces, as it were by
collision, a spark of kind feeling, which, like a star in the
heavens, twinkles in his serene countenance whenever you
behold it. Smile only once upon a group of children, and
the Uttle urchins bite their lips, vainly repressing their joy,
whenever afterwards you meet them.
Shrouded in this delightful taciturnity, my list of ac-
quaintances at Langen-Schwalbach daily increased, until I
found myself on just the sort of amicable terms with almost
everybody which to my present taste is the most agree-
able. In early life young people (if I recollect right) are
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5-7: JOHN OF JERUSALEM, 119
never quite happy unless they are either talking or writing
letters to their fellow-creatures. Whenever, even as
strangers, they get together, everything that happens or
passes seems to engender words; even when they have
parted there is no end to epistolary valedictions, and crea-
tion itself loses half its charms unless the young beholder
has some companion with whom the loveliness of the picture
may be shared and enjoyed.
But old age I find stiffens, first ol all, the muscles of
the tongue ; indeed, as man gradually decays, it seems
wisely provided by Nature that he should be willing to be
dumb before time sentences him to be deaf; in short, the
mind, however voraciously it might once have searched for
food, at last instinctively prefers rumination to seeking for
more.
By young people I shall be thought selfish, yet I do
confess that I enjoy silence, because my own notions now
suit me best; other people's opinions, like their shoes,
don't fit me, and however ill-constructed or old-fashioned
my own may really be, yet use has made them easy ; my
sentiments, ugly as they may seem, don't pinch ; I therefore
feel I had rather not exchange them ; the one or two
friends I have lost rank in my memory better than any one
I can ever hope to gain — in fact, I had rather not replace
them; and at Langen-Schwalbach, as there was no_necessity
for a passing stranger like myself to set up a new acquaint-
ance with people he would probably never see again, I
considered that, with my eyes and ears open, my tongue
might harmlessly enjoy natural and delightful repose.
. But there is a perverseness in human nature which it is
quite out of my power to account for, and strange as it
may sound, it is nevertheless too true, that the only person
at Langen-Schwalbach I felt desirous to address was the
only individual who seemed to shun every human being.
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I20 THE CROSS OF
He was a withered, infirm man, who appeared to be
tottering on the brink of his grave ; and I had long remarked
that, for some reason or other, he studiously avoided the
brunnen until every person had left it He spoke to no
one — looked at no one — ^but as soon as he had swallowed
off. his dose, he retired to a lone bench, on which, with
both hands leaning upon his ivory-handled cane, he was
always to be seen sitting with his eye sorrowfully fixed on
the ground. Although the weather was, to every person
but himself, oppressively hot, he was constantly muffled up
in a thick cloak, and I think I must have passed him a
hundred times before I detected, one exceedingly warm
day, that underneath it there hung upon his left breast the
Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. As, ages ago,
I had myself passed many a hot summer on the parched,
barren rock of Malta, — always, however, feeling much in-
terested in the history of its banished knights, — I at once
fully comprehended why the poor old gentleman's body
was so chilly, and why his heart felt so chilled with the
world; By many slow and scientific approaches, which it
would be only tedious to detail, I at last managed, without
driving him from his bench, most quietly to establish myself
at his side, and then by coughing when he coughed,
sighing when he sighed, and by other (I hope innocent)
artifices, I at last ventured in a sotto voce to mumble to him
something about the distant island in which apparently all
his youthful feelings lay buried. The words Valetta, Civitta
Vecchia, Floriana, Cotton era, etc., as I pronounced them,
produced, by a sort of galvanic influence, groans, ejacula-
tions, short sentences, until at last he began to show me
frankly without disguise the real colour of his mind. Poor
man ! like his eye it was jaundiced — " nullis medicabilis
herbis ! " I could not at all extract from him what rank,
title, or situation he held in the ancient order, but I could
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ST. yOHN OF JERUSALEM. 121
too clearly see that he looked upon its extinction as the
Persian would look upon the annihilation of the sun.
Creation he fancied had been robbed of its coloiU"S, —
Christianity he thought had lost its heart, and he attributed
every political ailment on the surface of the globe to the
non-existence of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of
Jerusalem !
For several hours I patiently listened to his unhappy
tale j for as lamentations of all sorts are better out of the
human heart than in it, I felt that as the vein was open, my
patient could not be encouraged to bleed too freely : without
therefore once contradicting him, I allowed his feelings to flow
uninterrupted, and by the time he had pumped himself quite
diy, I was happy to observe that he was certainly much
better for the operation. On leaving him, however, my
own pent-up view of the case, and his, continued for the
remainder of the day bubbling and quarrelUng with each
other in my mind. Therefore, to satisfy myself before I
went to bed, I drew out in black and white the following
sketch of what has always appeared to me to be a fair,
impartial history of these Knights of Malta,
The Mediterranean forms a curious and beautiful feature
in the picture of the commercial world By dint of money
and shipping we laboriously bring to England the produce
of the most distant regions, but the commerce of the whole
globe seems to have a natural or instinctive tendency to
flow, almost of its own accord, into the Mediterranean Sea.
Beginning with the great Atlantic Ocean, which connects
the old world with the new, we know that, over that vast
expanse, the prevailing wind is one which blows from
America towards Europe; and, moreover, that the waters
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122 THE CROSS OF
of the Atlantic are, without any apparent return, everlast-
ingly flowing into the narrow straits of Gibraltar. When
the produce of America, therefore, is shipped for the Medi-
terranean, in general terms it may be asserted that wind
and tide are in its favour.
Across the trackless deserts of Africa caravans from
various parts of the interior are constantly toiling through
the deep sand towards the waters of this inland sea. The
traveller who goes up the Nile is doomed to stem its torrent,
but the produce of Egypt and the triple harvest of that
luxuriant land is no sooner embarked than of its own accord
it glides majestically towards this favoured sea ; and there
is truth and nothing speculative in still further remarking,
that this very harvest is absolutely produced by the slime or
earth of Abyssinian and other most remote mountains, which
by the laws of nature has calmly floated 1200 miles through
a desert to top-dress or manure Egypt, that garden which
eventually supplies so many of the inhabitants of the Medi-
terranean with com.
Again, the Red Sea is a passage apparently created to
connect Europe with the great Eastern world; and as the
power of steam gradually increases in its stride, it is evident
that by this gulf, or natural canal, much of the produce of
India eventually will easily flow into the Mediterranean Sea.
Finally, it might likewise be shown that much of the
commerce of Asia Minor and Europe, either by great rivers
or otherwise, naturally moves towards this central point ;
but besides these sources of external wealth, the Mediter-
ranean, as we all know, is most romantically studded with
an archipelago and other beautiful islands, the inhabitants
of which have the power not only of trading on a large scale
with every quarter of the globe, but of carrying on, in small
open boats, a sort of little village commerce of their own.
Among the inhabitants of this sea are to be found at this
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ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. I23
moment the handsomest specimens of the human race; and
if a person not satisfied with the present and future tenses
of life, should prefer reflecting or rather ruminating on the
past, with antiquarian rapture he may wander over these
waters firom Carthage to Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, Rhodes, Troy,
Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, Argos, Syracuse, Rome, etc., until,
tired of his flight, he may rest upon one of the ocean-beaten
pillars of Hercules — and seated there, he may most truly
declare that the history of the Mediterranean is like the
picture of its own waves beneath him, which one after
another he sees to rise, break, and sink.
In the history of this little sea, in what melancholy
succession has nation and empire risen and fallen, flourished
and decayed; and if the magnificent architectural ruins
of these departed states mournfully offer to the traveller
any poetical moral at all, is it not that homely one which
the most common tombstone of our country churchyard
preaches to the rustic peasant who reads it % —
** As I am now, so you will be,
Therefore prepare to follow me ! "
However, fully admitting the truth of the lesson which
history and experience thus offer to us — admitting that no
one can presume to declare which of the great Mediter-
ranean powers is doomed to be the next to suffer — or what
new point is next to burst into importance ; yet, if a man
were forced to select a position which, in spite of fate or
fortune, feuds or animosities, has been, and ever must be,
the nucleus of commerce, he would find that in the Mediter-
ranean Sea that point, as nearly as possible, would be the
little island of Malta ; and the political importance of this
possession being now generally appreciated, it is curious
rapidly to run over the string of little events which have
gradually, prepared, fortified, and delivered this valuable ar-
senal and fortress to the British flag.
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124 THE CROSS OF
In the early ages of navigation, when men hardly dared
to lose sight of the shore, ignorantly trembling if they were
not absolutely hugging the very danger which we now most
strenuously avoid, it may be easily conceived that a little
barren island, scarcely twenty miles in length or twelve in
breadth, was of little use or importance. It is true that on
its north coast there was a spit or narrow tongue of land
(about a mile in length and a few hundred yards in breadth),
on each side of which were a series of connected bays, now
forming two of the most magnificent harbours in the world ;
but in the ages of which we speak this great outline was a
nautical hieroglyphic which sailors could not decipher.
Accustomed to hide their Lilliputian vessels and fleets in
bays and creeks on the same petty scale as themselves, they
did not comprehend or appreciate the importance of these
immense Brobdignag recesses, nor did they admire the great
depth of water which they contained ; and as in ancient
warfare, when warriors used javelins, arrows, and stones,
scalding each other with hot sand, the value of a position
adapted to the present ranges of our shot and shells would
not have been understood, in like manner was the import-
ance of so large a harbour equally imperceptible ; and that
Malta could have had no very great reputation is proved
by the fact, that it is even to this day among the learned a
subject of dispute whether it was upon this island, or upon
Melita in the Adriatic, that St. Paul was shipwrecked.
Now, if either had been held in any particular estimation, the
question of the shipwreck would not now be any subject of
doubt.
As navigators became more daring, and as their vessels
increasing in size, required more water and provisions, etc.,
Malta fell into the hands of various masters. At last,
when Charles V. conquered Sicily and Naples, he offered it
to those warriors of Christendom, those determined enemies
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ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM. 125
of the Turks and Corsairs — The Knights Hospitallers of
St. John of Jerusalem. This singular band of men, dis-
tinguished by their piebald vow of heroism and celibacy,
had, after a most courageous resistance, been just over-
powered by an army of 300,000 Saracens, who, under
Sol3nxian II., had driven them from the island of Rhodes,
which had been occupied by their order 213 years. Ani-
mated by the most noble blood of Europe which flowed in
their veins — ^thirsting for revenge — ^yet homeless and desti-
tute, it may easily be conceived that these brave, enthusi-
astic men would most readily have accepted any spot on
which they could once again establish their busy hive ; yet
so little was the importance of Malta, even at that time,
understood, so arid was its surface, and so burning was its
rock, that, after minutely surveying it, their commissioners
made a report to Charles V., which must ever be regarded
as a most affecting document ; for although the Knights of
Malta were certainly in their day the "bravest of the
brave," although by that chivalric oath which bound them
together they had deliberately sworn ^^ never to count the
number of their enemies^^ yet after the strong, proud position
which they had held at Rhodes, it was only hard fate and
stem necessity that could force them to seek refuge on a
rock upon which there was scarcely soil enough to plant
their standard. But though honour has been justly termed
"an empty bubble," yet to all . men's eyes its colours are
so very beautiful that they allure and encourage us to con-
tend with difficulties which no other advocate could per-
suade us to encounter ; and so it was that the Knights of
Malta, seeing they had no alternative, sternly accepted the
hot barren home that was offered to them, and in the very
teeth, and before the beard of their barbarous enemy, these
lions of the Cross landed and estabhshed themselves in
their new den.
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126 THE CROSS OF
When men have once made up their minds to stand
against adversity the scene generally brightens, for danger,
contrary to the rules of drawing, is less in the foreground
than in the perspective — difficulties of all sorts being mag-
nified by the misty space which separates us firom them ;
and accordingly the knights were no sooner established at
Malta than they began to find out the singular advantages
it possessed.
The whole island being a rock of freestone, which could
be worked with peculiar facility, materials for building palaces
and houses, suited to the dignity of the Order, existed every-
where on the spot ; and it moreover became evident that
by merely quarrying out the rock according to the rules of
military science, they would not only obtain materials for
building, but that, in fact, the more they excavated for their
town, the deeper would be the ditch of its fortress. Ani-
mated by this double reward, the knights commenced their
operations, or, in military language, they "broke ground]''
and, without detailing how often the rising fortress was
attacked by their barbarous and relentless enemies, or how
often its half-raised walls were victoriously cemented with
the blood of Christians and of Turks, it wiD be sufficient
merely to observe that before the island had been in pos-
session of the Order one century, it assumed very nearly
the astonishing appearance which it now affords — a picture
and an example, proving to the whole worid what can be
done by courage, firmness, and perseverance.
The narrow spit or tongue of barren rock which on the
north side of the island separated the two great harbours,
was scarped in every part, so as to render it inaccessible
by sea, while on the isthmus, or only side on which it could
be approached by land, demi-lunes, ravelins, counter-guards,
bastions, and cavaliers, were seen towering one above an-
other, on so gigantic a scale, that, as a single datum, it may
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ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, 127
be stated that the wall of the escarp is from ^30 to 150
feet in height, nearly five times the height of that of a regu-
lar fortress. On this narrow tongue of land, thus fortified,
arose the city of Valetta, containing a palace for its Grand
Master, and almost equally magnificent residences for its
knights, the whole forming at this day one of the finest
cities in the world. On every projecting point of the various
beautiful bays contained in the two great harbours, sepa-
rated by the town of Valetta, forts were built flanking each
other, yet all offering a concentrating fire upon any and
every part of the port ; and when a vessel labouring, heav-
ing, pitching, and tossing in a heavy gale of wind, now
suddenly enters the great harbour of Malta, the sudden lull
— the unexpected calm — the peaceful stillness which pre-
vails on its deep unruffled surface, is most strangely con-
trasted in the mind of the stranger with the innumerable
guns which, bristling in every direction from batteries one
above another, seem fearfully to announce to him that he
is in the chamber of death — ^in a slaughter-house from
which there is no escape, and that, if he should dare to
offer insult, although he has just escaped from the raging
of the elements, the silence around him is that of the
grave !
It was fi-om the city and harbour of Valetta, in the
state above described, — it was fi"om this proud citadel of
Christianity, that the Knights of Malta continued for some
time sallying forth to carry on their uncompromising hos-
tility against the Turks, and against the corsairs of Algiers
and Tripoli ; but the brilliant victories they gained, and the
bloody losses they sustained, must be passed over, as it is
already time to himy their history to a close.
The fact is, the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of
Jerusalem gradually outlived the passions and objects which
called them into existence, and their Order decayed for
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128 THE CROSS OF
want of that nourishment which, during so many ages, it
received from the sympathy, countenance, and applause of
Christendom. In short, as mankind had advanced in
civilisation, its angry, savage, intolerant passions had gradu-
ally subsided, and thus the importance of the Order un-
avoidably faded with its utility. There was nothing prema-
ture in its decay — it had lived long enough. The holy, or
rather unholy, war, with all its unchristian feelings, having
long since subsided, it would have been inconsistent in the
great nations of Europe, to have professed a general dis-
position for peace, or to have entered into any treaty with
the Turks, while at the same time they encouraged an
Order mercilessly bent on their extermination.
The vow of celibacy, once the pride of the Order, in a
more enlightened age became a millstone round its neck ;
it attracted ridicule — it created guilt — the sacred oath was
broken ; and although the head, the heart, and the pockets
of a soldier may be as light as the pure air he breathes, yet
he can never truly be reported " fit for duty " if his con-
science or his stomach be too heavily laden. In short, the
Order of St. John of Jerusalem was no longer suited to the
times; and Burke had already exclaimed — ^^The age of
chivalry has fled! '^
In the year 1798 this Order, after having existed nearly
700 years, signed its own death-warrant, and in the face of
Europe died ignominiously — ^^felo de se^ On the 9th of
June, in that year, their island was invaded by the French ;
and although, as Napoleon justly remarked, to have ex-
cluded him it would have been only necessary to have shut
the gates, Valetta was surrendered by treachery, the de-
pravity of which wiD be best explained by the following
extract from a statement made by the Maltese deputies : —
" No one is ignorant that the plan of the invasion of Malta
was projected in Paris, and confided to the principal knights
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ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, 129
of the Order resident at Malta. Letters in cyphers were
incessantly passing and repassing, without however alarming
the suspicions of the deceased Grand Master or the Grand
Master Hompesch."
As soon as the French were in possession of the city,
harbours, and impregnable fortresses of Valetta, they began
as usual to mutilate from the public buildings everything
which bore the stamp of nobility, or recalled to mind the
illustrious actions which had been performed. The arms
of the Order, as well as thosie of the principal knights, were
effaced from the palace and principal dwelling-houses ;
however, as the knights had sullied their own reputation,
and had cast an indelible blot on their own escutcheons,
they had but little right to complain that the image of
their glory was thus insulted, when they themselves had
been guilty of the murder of its spirit. The Order of St.
John of Jerusalem being now worn out and decayed, its
elements were scattered to the winds. The knights who
were not in the French interest were ordered to quit the
island in three days, and a disgracefril salary was accepted
by the Grand Master Hompesch. Those knights who had
favoured the French were permitted to remain, but exposed
to the rage of the Maltese, and unprotected by their false
friends, some fled, some absolutely perished from want, all
were despised and hated.
In the little theatre of Malta the scene is about to
change, and the British soldier now marches upon its stage 1
On the 2d of September 1798 the island was blockaded by
the English, and the fortifications being absolutely impreg-
nable, it became necessary to attempt the reduction of the
place by famine.
For two years gaUantly did the French garrison undergo
the most horrid suffering and imprisonment — steadily and
cheerfully did they submit to every possible privation —
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I30 THE CROSS OF
their stock of spirits, wine, meat, bread, etc., doled out in
the smallest possible allowances, gradually diminished until
all came to an end. Sooner than strike they then subsisted
upon the flesh of their horses, mules, and asses ; and
when these also were consumed, and when they had eaten
not only their cats, but the rats which infested the houses,
drains, etc, in great numbers — ^when from long-protracted
famine the lamp of life was absolutely expiring in the socket ;
in short, having, as one of their kings once most nobly
exclaimed, " lost all but their honour," these brave men —
with nerves unshaken, with reputation unsullied, and with
famine proudly painted in their lean, emaciated counte-
nances — on the 4th of September 1800 surrendered the
place to that nation which Napoleon has since termed
"the most powerful, the most constant, and the most
generous of his enemies."
During the long-winded game of war which France and
England lately played together, our country surely never
made any better move than when she thus laid hold of
Malta. Even if the island had been in the rude state in
which it was delivered to the Knights of Jerusalem, still to
a maritime power like England such splendid harbours in
the Mediterranean would have been a most valuable con-
quest ; but when we not only appreciate their noble outline,
but consider the gigantic and expensive manner in which this
town has been impregnably fortified, as well as furnished
with tanks, subterraneous stores, bomb-proof magazines,
magnificent barracks, palaces, etc., it is quite delightfiil to
reflect on the series of events which have led to such a
well-assorted alliance between two of the strongest harbours
in the world, and the first maritime power on the globe.
If, like the French, we had taken the island firom the
knights, however degraded, worn out, and useless their
Order might have become, yet Europe in general, and
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ST, JOHN OF JERUSALEM, 131
France in particular, might always have reproached us, and
for aught we know, our own consciences might have become
a little tender on the subject. But the delightful truth is,
that no power in Europe can breathe a word or a syllable
against our possession of the island of Malta — an honour
which, in open daylight, we fairly won, and I humbly say,
long, very long, may we wear it !
With respect to the Maltese themselves, I just at this
moment recollect a trifling story which will, I think, de-
lineate their character with tolerable accuracy.
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132 THE RENEGADE.
THE RENEGADR
Of all the little unhappy prejudices which in different parts
of the globe it has been my fortune, or rather misfortune,
to witness, I nowhere remember to have met with a deeper-
rooted hatred or a more implacable animosity than existed,
some twenty or thirty years ago, in the hearts of the Maltese
towards the Turks.
In aD warm glowing latitudes, human passions, good as
well as bad, may be said to stand at least at that degree
which on Fahrenheit's scale would be denoted "fever
heat ;" and steam itself can hardly be more different from
ice — ^the Bengal tiger springing on his prey cannot form a
greater contrast to that half-frozen fisherman the white bear,
as he sits on his iceberg sucking his paws — ^than are the
passions of hot countries when compared with the cold
torpid feelings of the inhabitants of the northern regions of
the globe.
In all parts of the Mediterranean I found passions of
all sorts very violent, but, without any exception, that which,
at the period I refer to, stood uppermost in the scale, was
bigotry. Besides the eager character which belonged to
their latitude, one might naturally expect that the Maltese,
from being islanders, would be rather more ignorant and
prejudiced than their continental neighbours ; however, in
addition to these causes, when I was among them, they
leally had good reason to dislike the Turks, who during the
time of the knights had been ex officio their constant and
most bitter enemies.
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THE RENEGADE, 133
Whether these fine valiant knights of Jerusalem con-
quered the Turks or were defeated, the Maltese on board
their galleys (like the dwarf who fought with the giant)
always suffered ; besides this, their own little trading vessels
were constantly captiured by the said Turks, the crews being
not only maltreated and tortured, but often in cold blood
cruelly massacred ; in short, if there was any bad feeling in
the heart of a Maltese which the history of his island, as
well as every bitter recollection of his life, seemed naturally
to nourish, it was an implacable hatred for the Turks \ and
that this sad theory was most fully supported by the fact
became evident the instant one observed a Maltese, on
the commonest subject, utter that hated, accursed word
" Turco^^ or Turk. The petty convulsion of the mind with
which this dissyllable was delivered was really very remark-
able, and the roll and flash of the eye — ^the little bullying
shake of the head — the slight stamp of the left foot — and
the twitch in the fingers of the right hand, reminded one for
the moment of the manner in which a French dragoon,
when describing an action, mentions that his regiment came
on " sahre b. la main ! " — words which, if you were to give
him the universe, he could not pronounce without grinding
his teeth, much less with that cold-hearted simplicity with
which one of our soldiers would calmly say "sword in
hand"
This hatred of the Maltese towards the Turks was a
sort of cat -and -dog picture which always attracted my
notice j however, I witnessed one example of it, on which
occasion I felt very strongly it was carried altogether be-
yond a joke.
One lovely morning — I remember it as if it were
yesterday — there had been a great religious festival in the
island, which, as usual, had caused a good deal of excite-
ment, noise, and fever ; and, as a nation seldom allays its
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134 THE RENEGADE.
thirst without quarrelling, as soon as the hot sun set a
great many still hotter disturbances took place. In one of
these rows a party of Turks, justly or unjustly, became
offended with the inhabitants ; an affray occurred, and a
Mahometan having stabbed a Maltese, he was of course
thrown into prison \ and in process of time, surrounded by
a strong guard, he was led into the Maltese court to be tried
{Anglice, condemned) for the offence. As he threaded his
way through the crowd which had assembled in those dirty
passages and dark chambers that led to the tribunal, the
women shrank back when the " Turco^' passed them, as if
his very breath would have infected them with the plague ;
while in the countenances of the men, as they leant forwards,
arresting him in his progress, and almost touching him with
their brown faces, it was evident that they were all animated
with but one feeling and one desire — ^that is to say, hatred
and revenge ; however, nothing was heard but a very slight
murmur or groan, and the prisoner, a little raised above the
crowd, was soon seen trembling at the bar. He was a
diminutive, mean-looking, ill-favoured little fellow, dressed
in the loose Turkish costume, with a very small dirty white
turban, the folds of which were deemed more odious to the
Christian eye than if they had been formed by the wreath-
ing body of the serpent. While the crowd were shoulder-
ing each other, head peeping over head, and before the
shuffling of moving feet could be silenced, avvocati^ or
clerks, who sat in the small space between the prisoner and
the bench, were seen eagerly mending their pens, and they
had aheady dipped them into ink, and the coarse, dirty,
rough-edged paper on which they were to write was folded
and placed ready in front of them, before it was possible to
commence the trial.
The cQiut was insufferably hot, and there was such a
stench of garlic and of clothing impregnated with the stale
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THE RENEGADE. 135
fumes of tobacco, that one longed almost as much as the
prisoner to escape into the open air, while the sallow faces
of the awocati, clerks, and every one connected with the
duties of the court, showed how unhealthy, as well as offen-
sive, was the atmosphere which they breathed. On the
bench sat what one must call the judges, but to an English
mind such a title but ill belonged to those who had only
lately been forced, most reluctantly, to expel torture from
their code. Just before Malta fell into the hands of the
French and English, my own servant, Giuseppe Mamo, had
lived in the service of one of the Maltese judges j and
among many horrors which he often very calmly described
to me (for he had witnessed them until he had become
quite accustomed to them), he told me that he had had
constantly to pass through a court in which were those who
were doomed to ride upon what was called the " cavallo di
legno," or wooden horse. With weights attached to each
foot, he used to see them sitting bolt upright on this sharp
narrow ridge, with two torches burning within a few inches
of their naked chests and backs, in order that they should
relieve themselves by a change of attitude no longer than
they could endure the pain of leaning against the flame.
But to return to the court.
The trial of the Turk now began, and every rigid form
was most regularly followed. The accusation was read —
the story was detailed — the Maltese witnesses in great
numbers one after another corroborated almost in the same
words the same statement — several times when the prisoner
was ordered to be silent, as by some ejaculation he inter-
rupted the thread of the narrative, did the eyes of every
being in court flash in anger and contempt upon him,
their countenances as suddenly returning to a smile as the
evidence of the witnesses proceeded with their criminatory
details. At last, the case being fully substantiated, the
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136 THE RENEGADE.
culprit was called upon for his defence. Although a poor,
mean, illiterate wretch, it is possible he might have in-
tended to have made a kind of a sort of a speech ; but
when he came to the point his heart failed him, and his
lips had only power to utter one single word
Regardless of the crowd, as if it had not existed, look-
ing as if he thought there was no object in creation but
the central judge on the bench, he fixed his eyes for some
moments upon his cold, sallow, immovable countenance,
until, overpowered by his feelings, almost sinking into the
ground, he clasped his hands, and in an agony of expres-
sion it is quite impossible to describe, he asked for
"Mercy!"
" Nix standy ! I dorit understand yeT said an old
English soldier one day, in the Bois de BotdognCy to a
French general, who, with much gesture and grimace, was
telling him in French that the Enghsh were acting against
the laws of nations in thus cutting down so beautiful a
forest as the said Bois de Boulogne, ^^ Nix standy T re-
peated the ruddy-faced soldier, continuing to hack with all
his might at the young tree which he had almost cut down
with his sabre. The very same answer was strongly ex-
pressed in the countenance of the judge to the petition of
the unhappy Turk, who, had he been in the desert of Africa,
might just as well have asked merely for the ocean as in
a Maltese court to have supplicated for mercy. For some
time the judge sat in awful silence — then whispered a few
words to his colleagues — ^again all was silent : at last,
when some little forms had been observed, the chief judge
pronounced a sentence on the prisoner which he might just
as well have done without his having endured the pain and
anxiety of a long trial. It is hardly worth while mention-
ing the sentence, for, of course, it was that the Turco,
guilty of the murder of the Maltese, was to be hanged by
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THE RENEGADE. i37
the neck till he was dead ; every word of which sentence
was most ravenously devoured by the audience ; and the
trial being now over, the prisoner was hurried away to his
dungeon, while the crowd eagerly rushed into the joyous
siinshine and open air.
A very considerable time elapsed between the sentence
and the day fixed for execution. Where the prisoner was
— ^what were his feelings — how he was fed — " and haw he
fared — no one knew^ and no one cared :^^ however, on the
last day of his existence, I happened to be riding along
Strada Fomi when I heard a bellowing sort of a blast from
a cow's horn, which I instantly knew to be the signal that
a fellow-creature was going to the gallows. In any country
in the world, the monotonous moan which proceeds from
this wild uncouth instrument would be considered as ex-
tremely harsh and disagreeable : but at Malta, where the
ear has been constantly accustomed to good Italian music,
and to listen to nothing more discordant th^n the lovely
and love-making notes of the guitar, this savage whoop was
indescribably offensive, particularly when accompanied by
the knowledge that it was the death-march and the dirge of
the murderer — " the knell that summoned him to heaven
or to hell 1"
As I rode towards Strada Reale, the principal street of
Valetta, down which the procession proceeded, a dismal
blast fi^om this horn was heard about every ten seconds ;
and, as it sounded louder and louder, it was evident the
procession was approaching. At last, on coming to the
comer of the street, I saw the culprit advancing on his
funeral car. The streets on both sides were lined with
spectators, and every window was filled with outstretched
figures and eager faces. In the middle of Strada Reale,
preceding the prisoner, were three or four mutes; while
several others were also begging in different parts of the
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138 THE RENEGADE,
town. These people, who belonged to some of the princi-
pal Maltese families, were covered from head to foot with
long loose robes of white linen, a couple of holes being cut
for their eyes. Their feet were bare, and to each ankle
was affixed a chain of such weight and length that it was
as much as they could do to drag one leg after the other.
In the right hand they held a tin money-box, in the shape
of a lantern, with death's head and bloody bones painted
upon it. A small slit in this box received the copper con-
tributions of the multitude ; and, as these mutes passed me
in horrid triumph, shaking the box every step they took
(the rattling of the money forming a sort of savage accom-
paniment to the deep clanking of the^ir chains), they had
altogether an unearthly appearance, which certainly seemed
less to belong to heaven than to hell. However, the male-
factor now approached, and as soon as he came up to the
comer of my street, loosening my rein, I rode for a few
moments at bis side, attracted by one of the strangest scenes
which I think I have ever beheld. The man was half-
sitting, half-reclining, on a sort of low, rattling, iron vehicle,
of an indescribable shape, which raised his head a little
above the level of the people ; and the very moment I
looked him in the face much of the secret history of what
had passed since the day of his condemnation was as legible
in his countenance as if it had been written there. He
had been existing in some dark place, for his complexion
was blanched by absence from light — ^he had evidently
been badly fed, for there was famine in his sunken features
— his nerves were gone, for he was trembling — his health
had materially been impaired, either by suffering of body
or mind, for the man was evidently extremely ill — and last,
though not least, for some mysterious reason, either from
an expectation of obtaining mercy in this world or in the
next, he had evidently abjured his religion, for his dirty
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THE RENEGADE. 139
white turban was gone, and, very ill at his ease, he sat, or
rather reclined, in the clothes of a Christian !
The car on which he proceeded was surrounded by an
immense number of priests belonging to the different
churches of Valetta, and apparently to those also of all the
casals and villages in the island. All angry feelings had
most completely subsided ; in their minds, as well as in the
minds of the people, the day was one only of triumph and
of joy ; and intoxicated with the spirit of religious enthu-
siasm, the priests were evidently beside themselves with
delight at having succeeded in the miraculous conversion
they had effected. Shouldering and pushing each other
with all their strength, with outstretched arms and earnest
countenances, they were all, in different attitudes and voices,
calling upon the malefactor to repeat the name of their own
particular saint ; some behind him were trying to attract
his notice by pulling his clothes, while those before him,
by dint of voice and gesture, were equally endeavouring
to catch his eye; and such a confused cry of "Viva
San Tommaso ! " " Viva San Giuseppe ! " " Viva San
Giovanni !" "Viva San Paolo !" I will not pretend to de-
scribe. It was of course impossible for the wretch to
comply with all their noisy demands ; yet, poor fellow ! he
did his best ; and in a low faint voice, being dreadfully
exhausted by the jolting and shaking of the carriage, he
repeated " Viva San Paolo ! " etc. etc., as he caught the
eye of the different priests. He had evidently no rule in
these exclamations which he uttered, for I observed that
the strong brawny-shouldered priests who got nearest to
him, often made him repeat the name of their saints twice
before the littie bandy-legged ones in the rear could get
him to mention theirs once. As this strange concert pro-
ceeded it was impossible to help pitying the poor culprit ; .
for if one had been travelling from one magnificent palace
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140 THE RENEGADE.
to another, to be so jolted and tormented both in body and
mind when one was ill, would by any of us have been
termed dreadfully disagreeable ; but for all this to happen
to a man just at the very moment he was going to be
hanged — at that moment of all others in which any of us
would desire to be left, at least for a few seconds, to his
own reflections, appeared at the time to be hard indeed.
After passing under the great gate and subterraneous exit
called Porte Reale, the procession wound its way across
the drawbridges, and along the deep ditches, etc., of the
fortification, until, coming out upon the great esplanade
which lies between Valetta and Floriana, an immense crowd
of people was suddenly seen waiting round the gallows — at
the sight of which I pulled up. The priests were now more
eager then ever in beseeching the criminal to call upon the
name of their saint ; the mutes, whose white robes in all
directions were seen scattered among the people, were
evidently shaking their boxes more violently than ever,
while among the crowd there was a general lifting of feet,
which showed the intense anxiety of their feelings.
As the procession slowly approached the gallows I could
not hear what was gbing on ; but in a very short time, from
the distance at which I stood, I saw the man led up the
ladder by the executioner, who continued always a step or
two above him : the rope was round his neck, and resting
loosely on the culprit's head there was something like a
round wooden plate, through a hole in the centre of which
the rope passed. As soon as the poor creature got high up
on the ladder the vociferations of the priests suddenly
ceased ; for a few seconds a dead silence ensued, when all
of a sudden there was a simultaneous biu-st or shriek of
exclamation from priests and populace, echoing and re-
echoing the words "VIVA LA CHRISTIANITA !"
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THE RENEGADE. 141
which the man, in a low tone of voice, had just been per-
suaded to utter. All caps waved— every human being
seemed to be congratulating each other on the delightful
conversion ; and no person seemed to pay the slightest
possible attention to the poor wretch, who, with the last
syllable on his lips, had been pushed off the ladder, and
was now calmly swinging in the air, the executioner stand-
ing on the loose wooden plate above his head, holding by
the rope, and with many antics stamping with all his force
to break the neck, while the people, in groups, were already
bending their steps homewards. Not wishing to encounter
such a crowd, I turned my horse in another direction, and
passed a number of mules and asses belonging to many of
the people who had come from the most remote casals to
see the execution. The animals were all standing half-
asleep, nodding their heads in the sun — a herd of goats
were as quietly grazing near the ramparts ; and when I
contrasted the tranquillity which these animals were enjoy-
ing with the scene I had just witnessed, I could not help
feeling that I had more cause than Virgil to exclaim — " Sic
vos non vobis T'*
In returning from my ride I had to cross the esplanade,
and as there was then no one at the gallows, I rode close
by it. The figure, still hanging, was turning round very
slowly, as if it were roasting before the sun ; the neck was
so completely disjointed that the head almost hung down-
wards, and as I rode by it I was much struck in observing
that the tongue was out of the mouth half-bitten off — z.
dreadful emblem, thought I, of a renegade to his religion !
Whether or not the poor wretch had been induced to utter
his last exclamation from a hollow promise that it would
save his life, is a mystery which will probably never on this
earth be explained to us ; however, whatever was his creed.
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142 THE RENEGADE.
it is impossible to deny that when he swung from this world
to eternity he had but little reason to admire the practical
part of a Roman Catholic's mercy, however beautifully
and unanswerably its theory might have been explained
to him.
As soon as I got to Valetta I put up my horse, and,
strolling about the streets, soon found myself in tjie im-
mense church of St John, which, in point of size and mag-
nificence, is only second in the world to St Peter's at
Rome. The congregation was almost exclusively composed
of the people who had attended the execution, and quan-
tities of men, as well as women, semi-shrouded in their
black silk faldettes, were listening to a tall, strong-looking
Capuchin friar, who, with great emphasis, was preaching
from a high pulpit, placed at a projecting angle of one of
the many chapels, which ramified from the aisle or great
body of the church. He was a remarkably handsome man,
of about thirty, and though his face was pale, or rather
brown, yet his eye and features were strikingly vivid and
intellectual ; a rim or band of jet-black curly hair encircled
his head, the rest of his hair by a double tonsure having
been shaved at the top and fi-om ear to ear ; his throat was
completely uncovered, and as he suddenly turned fi-om one
part of his congregation to another, its earnest attitudes
were very beautiful. His brown sackcloth cowl rested in
folds upon his shoulders, and the loose negligent manner in
which a cloak of the same coarse material hung upon his
body, being apparently merely kept together by the white
rope, or whip of knots, which encircled his waist, displayed
a series of lines which any painter might well have copied ;
indeed, the whole dress of the Capuchin has been admir-
ably well imagined, and above all others it is calculated to
impress upon the mind of the spectator that its wearer is a
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THE RENEGADE. 143
man doomed to abstinence and mortification, seeking no
enjoyment on this side of the grave, and never lowering his
eyes from heaven, but fervently to exclaim —
** Vain pomp and glory of the world, I hate ye !"
The subject of the sermon was, of course, the execution
which we had all witnessed. The hard-hearted infidelity of
the Turks was very richly painted and described, and the
crime which they had just seen expiated was clearly proved
to be the efiect, and the natural effect, of a Mahometan's
anger. The happy conversion of the infidel then became
a subject which was listened to with the most remarkable
stillness, and every eye was rivetted upon the mouth of the
Capuchin as he minutely detailed the triumph and the con-
quest which had been made of the sheep which had that
day, before their eyes, been added to the flock. He then
explained, or endeavoured to explain (for it was no very
easy task), that the money which had that morning been
collected for the purchase of masses proved to be just suf-
ficient to purify the soul of the departed sinner ; but this,
he very eloquently demonstrated, was only to be effected
through the mediation of one whose image nailed to the
cross was actually erected in the pulpit on his right hand.
After expatiating on this subject at considerable length, work-
ing himself and his hearers into a state of very great excite-
ment, with both his arms stretched out, with his eyes up-
lifted, he fervently addressed the figure, exclaiming in a
most emphatic tone of voice — " Si ; mio caro Signore / Si I "
etc. The effect instantly produced in the hearts of his
hearers was very evident, and the fine melodious voice,
together with the strong, nervous, muscular attitude of the
preacher, contrasted with the drooping, exhausted, lifeless
image above him, would have worked its effect upon the
mind of any Christian spectator.
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144. THE RENEGADE.
As soon as the sermon wa^ over the congregation dis-
persed The day ended in universal joy and festivity ; no
revengeful recollections — ^no unkind feelings were enter-
tained towards him who had been the principal actor of
that day ; on the contrary, the Maltese seemed rather to
feel that it was to him they were especially indebted for the
pleasurable performances they had witnessed, and thus —
" In peaceful merriment ran down the sun*s declining ray."
-■^
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THE SERPENTS' BATH. 145
SCHLANGENBAD ; OR, THE SERPENTS'
BATH.
Time had glided along so agreeably ever since my arrival
at Langen-Schwalbach, my body had enjoyed such per-
petual motion, my mind such absolute rest, that I had
almost forgotten, though my holiday was nearly over, I had
not yet reached the intended ne plus ultra of my travels —
namely, Schlangenbad, or the Serpents* Bath. On the spur
of the moment, therefore, I ordered a carriage ; and, with
niy wallet lying by my side, having bidden adieu to a
simple-hearted village, which, for the short remainder of my
days, I believe I shall remember with regard, I continued
for some time gradually to ascend its eastern boundary,
until I arrived nearly at the summit or pinnacle of the
Taunus hills. The view from this point was very extensive
indeed, and the park-like appearance of the whole of the
lofty region or upper storey of Nassau formed a prospect at
once noble and pleasing. The Langen-Schwalbach band
of wind instruments was playing deep beneath me in the
valley, but, hidden by the fog, its sound was so driven about
by the wind, that had I not recognised the tunes I but
faintly heard, I should not have been able to determine
from what point of the compass they proceeded. Some-
times they seemed to rise, like the mist, from one valley —
sometimes from another — occasionally I fancied, like the
. hurricane, they were sweeping across the surface of the
country, and once I could almost have declared that the
JEolian band was calmly seated above me in the air.
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146 SCHLANGENBAD; OR,
The numberless ravines which intersect Nassau were
not discernible from the spot where my carriage had halted,
and Langen-Schwalbach was so muffled in its peaceful re-
treat that a stranger could scarcely have guessed it existed
From this elevated point the Taunus hills began
gradually to fall towards Wiesbaden and Frankfurt ; but
a branch road, suddenly turning to the right, rapidly de-
scended, or rather meandered, down a long, rocky, narrow
ravine, clothed with beech and oak trees to its summit
With a wheel of the carriage dragged, as I glided fast
down this romantic valley, the scenery, compared with what
I had just left, was on a very confined, contracted scale —
in short, nothing was to be seen but a trickling stream run-
ning down the grassy bottom of a valley, and hills which
appeared to environ it on both sides ; besides this, the road
writhed and bent so continually that I could seldom see a
quarter of a mile of it at once.
After descending about three-quarters of a league, I
came to a new turn, and here Schlangenbad, the Serpents'
Bath, dressed in its magic mantle of tranquillity, suddenly
appeared not only before, but within less than a hundred
yards of me.
This secluded spot, to which such a number of people
annually retreat, consists of nothing but an inamense old
building, or " Bad-Haus," a new one, with two or three
little mills, which, fed, as it were, by the crumbs that fall
from the rich man's table, are turned by the famous spring
of water, after great, fine, fashionable ladies have done
washing themselves in it
When the carriage stopped, my first impression (which
through life but too often, I regret to say, has been an
erroneous one) was not in favour of the place ; for though
its colours were certainly very beautiful, yet, from being so
completely surrounded by hills, it seemed to wear some of
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THE SERPENTS* BA TH, 147
the features of a prison ; and when, on my vehicle driving
away, I was first left by myself, I felt for a moment that
the little band of music playing upon the terrace above my
head was not quite competent to enliven the scene.
However, after I had walked in various directions about
this sequestered spot, sufficiently not only to become
acquainted with its locale^ but to discover that it possessed
a number of modest beauties, completely veiled from the
passing gaze of the stranger, I went to the old " Bad-Haus"
to obtain rooms fi'om the bath-master (appointed by the
Duke), who has charge of both these great establishments.
I found the little man seated in his office, in the agony
of calculating upon a slate the amount of seven times nine ;
perceiving, however, that instead of multiplying the two
figiu'es together, he had reared up a ladder of seven nines,
which step by step he was slowly ascending, I felt unwilling
to interrupt him j and as his wife appeared to be gifted
with all or many of the abilities in which he might have
been deficient, I gladly availed myself of her obliging offer
to show me over the two buildings, in order that I might
select some apartments.
The old " Bad-Haus " and Hotel de Nassau, which,
united together, form one of the two great buildings I have
mentioned, are situated on the side of the hill, close to the
macadamised road which leads to Mainz ; and to give some
idea of the gigantic scale on which these sort of German
bathing establishments are constructed, I will state, that in
this rambling " Bad-Haus " I counted 443 windows, and
that, without ever twice going over the same ground, I
found the passages measured 409 paces, or, as nearly as
possible, a quarter of a mile ! *
Below this immense barrack, and on the opposite side
* The Hotel de Nassau has, I understand, been just pulled down,
and IS to be rebuilt on a new plan.
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148 SCHLANGENBADj OR,
of the road, is the new . " Bad-Haus," or bathing-house,
pleasantly situated in a shrubbery. This building (which
contains 172 windows) is of a modem construction, and
straddling across the bottom of the valley, the celebrated
water, which rises milk-warm from the rock, after supplying
the baths on the lower storey, runs from beneath it. No
sooner, however, does the fluid escape from the building
than a group of poor washerwomen, standing up to their
knees on a sheet stretched upon the ground, humbly make
use of it before it has time to get to the two little mills
which are patiently waiting for it about a couple of hundred
yards below.
After having passed, in the two establishments, an im-
mense number of rooms, each furnished by the Duke with
white window-curtains, a walnut-tree bed with bedding, a
chesnut-tree table, an elastic spring sofa, and three or four
walnut-tree chairs, the price of each room (on an average
from lod. to 2s, a-day) being painted on the door, I com-
plimented the good, or, to give her her proper title, the
** bad " lady who attended me^ on the plain but useful or-
der in which they appeared : in return for which she very
obligingly offered to show me the source of the famous
water, for the sake of which two such enormous establish-
ments had been erected.
In the history of the little duchy of Nassau the discovery
of this spring forms a story full of innocence and simplicity.
Once upon a time there was a heifer with which everything
in nature seemed to disagree. The more she ate, the thin-
ner she grew — the more her mother licked her hide, the
rougher and the more staring was her coat Not a fly in
the forest would bite her — never was she seen to chew the
cud, but, hide-bound and^melancholy, her hips seemed ac-
tually to be protruding from her skin. What was the matter
with her no one knew — ^what would cure her no one could
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THE SERPENTS' BATH, 149
divine ; — in short, deserted by her master and her species,
she was, as the faculty would term it, " given over."
In a few weeks, however, she suddenly re-appeared
among the herd with ribs covered with flesh— eyes like a
deer — skin sleek as a mole's — breath sweetly smelling of
tnilk— saliva hanging in ringlets from her jaw 1 Every day
seemed to re-estabUsh her health ; and the phenomenon
was so striking that the herdsman, feeling induced to watch
her, discovered that regularly every evening she wormed her
way, in secret, into the forest, until she reached an unknown
spring of water, from which, having refreshed herself, she
quietly returned to the valley.
The trifling circumstance, scarcely known, was almost
forgotten by the peasant, when a young Nassau lady began
decidedly to show exactly the same incomprehensible symp-
toms as the heifer. Mother, sisters, friends, father, all tried
to cure her, but in vain, and the physician had actually
** Taken his leave with sighs and sorrow,
Despairing of his fee to-morrow ; "
when the herdsman, happening to hear of her case, pre-
vailed upon her at last to try the heifer's secret remedy :
she did so, and in a very short time, to the utter astonish
ment of her friends, she became one of the stoutest and
roundest young women in the duchy.
What had suddenly cured one sick lady was soon deemed
a proper prescription for others, and all cases meeting with
success, the spring, gradually rising into notice, received its
name from a circumstance which I shall shortly explain. In
the meanwhile I will. observe that even to this day horses
are brought by the peasants to be bathed, and i have good
authority for believing that in cases of slight consumption
of the lungs (a disorder common enough among horses), the
animal recovers his flesh with surprising rapidity — nay, I
have seen even the pigs bathed, though I must own that
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SCHLANGENBADj OR,
they appeared to have no other disorder except hunger.
But to return to the " bad " lady.
After following her through a labyrinth of passages (one
of which not only leant sideways, but had an ascent like a
hill), she at last unlocked a door, which was no sooRer
opened than I saw glide along the floor, close by me, a
couple of small serpents ! As the lady was talking very
BAD-HAUS AND HORSE-BATH AT SCHLANGENBAD.
earnestly at the time, I merely flinched aside as they passed,
without making any observation ; but after I had crossed
a small garden, she pointed to a door which she said was
that of the source, and while she stopped to speak to one of
the servants, I advanced alone, and opening the gate, saw
beneath me a sort of brunnen with three serpents about the
size of vipers swimming about in it ! Unable to contain
my surprise, I made a signal to the lady \Ath my staff", and
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THE SERPENTS' BA TH, 151
as she hurried towards me, I still pointed with it to the rep-
tiles, as if to demand why, in the name of iEsculapius, they
were allowed thus to contaminate the source of the baths ?
In the calmest manner possible, my conductress (who
se^tned perfectly to comprehend my sensations) replied,
''*' Au caniraire^ c^est ce qui donne la qualite d ces eaux/'^ '
The quantity of these reptiles, or Schlangen, that exist
in the woods surrounding the spring is very great ; and they
of course have given their name to the place. When full
grown, they are about five feet long, and in hot weather are
constantly seen gliding across the paths, or rustling under
the dead leaves of the forest.
As soon as the lady had shown me the whole establish-
ment she strongly recommended me to take up my abode
in the old " Bad-Haus ; " however, on my first arrival, in
crossing the promenade in front of it, I had caught a
glimpse of some talkative old ladies, whose tongues and
, knitting-needles seemed to be racing against each other,
which made it very advisable to decline the polite invita-
tion ; and I accordingly selected apartments at one extre-
mity of the new Bad-Haus, my windows 01:1 the north
looking into the shrubbery, those on the east upon the two
little water-mills revolving. in the green lonely valley of
Schlangenbadi
The cell of the hermit can hardly be more peaceful than
this abode, although it was not only completely inhabited
(there being no more rooms unoccupied), but was teeming
with people, many of whom are known in the great world.
For instance, among its inmates were the Princess Roma-
now, first wife of the late Grand Duke Constantine of
Russia — the Duke of Saxe-Coburg — the Prince of Hesse
Homburg (whose brother, the late Landgrave, married the
Princess Elizabeth of England), a Prussian Minister from
Berlin, and occasionally the Princess Royal of Prussia,
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152 SCHLANGENBADj ORy
married to the son of King Frederic William. ' No portion
of the building was exclusively occupied by these royal
guests ; but paying for their rooms no more than the prices
marked upon the doors, they ascended the same staircase
and walked along the same passages with the humblest
inmsttes of the place. Yet within the narrow dominion ot
their own chambers visitors were received with every atten-
tion due to form and etiquette. The silence and apparent
solitude which reigned, however, in this new " Bad-Haus"
were to me always a subject of astonishment and admira-
tion. Sometimes a person would be seen carefully locking
his door, and then, with the key in his pocket, quietly steal-
ing along the passage ; at other times a lady might be
caught on tip-toes softly ascending the stairs ; but neither
steps nor voices were to be heard ; and far from witnessing
anything like ostentation, it seemed to me that concealment
was rather the order of the day. As soon as it grew dark
a single wick floating in a small glass lamp, open at the top,
yras placed at the two great entrance-doors ; and another at
each extremity of the long passages into which the rooms
on every floor communicated, giving the visitors just light
enough to avoid running against the walls; in obscure
weather there was also a lamp here and there in the shrub-
bery, but as long as the pale moon shone in the heavens
its lovely light was deemed sufficient.
A table d'hote dinner, at a florin .for each person, was
daily prepared for all, or any, who might choose to attend
it; and for about the same price a dinner, with knives,
forks, table-cloth, napkins, etc., would be forwarded to any
guest who, like myself, was fond of the luxury of solitude :
coffee and tea were cheap in proportion.
I have dwelt long upon these apparently trifling details,
because, humble as they may sound, I conceive that they
contain a very important moral. How many of our country
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THE SERPENTS' BATH, 153
people are always raving about the cheapness of the Con-
tinent, and how many every year break up their establish-
ments in England to go in search of it ; yet, if we had but
sense, or rather courage enough, to live at home as economi-
cally and as rationally as princes and people of all ranks
live throughout the rest of Europe, how unnecessary would
be the sacrifice, and how mych real happiness would be the
result !
The baths at Schlangenbad are the most harmless and
delicious luxuries of the sort I have ever enjoyed, and I
Teally quite looked forward to the morning for the pleasure
with which I paid my addresses to this delightful element
The effect the water produces on the skin is very singular :
it is about as warm as milk, but infinitely softer ; and after
dipping the hand into it, if the thumb be rubbed against
the fingers, it is said by many to resemble satin. Never-
theless, whatever may be its sensation, when the reader
reflects that people not only come to these baths fi*om
Russia, but that the water in stone bottles, merely as a
cosmetic, is sent to St. Petersburg and other distant parts
of Europe, he will admit that it must be soft indeed to have
gained for itself such an extraordinary degree of celebrity :
for there is no town at Schlangenbad, not even a village —
nothing therefore but the real or fancied charm of the water
could attract people into a little sequestered valley, which
in every sense of the word is out of sight of the civilised
world ; and yet I must say that I never remember to have
existed in a place which possessed such fascinating beauties;
besides which (to say nothing of breathing pure, dry air), it
is no small pleasure to live in a skin which puts all people
in good humour — at least with themselves. But besides
the cosmetic charms of this water, it is declared to possess
virtues of more substantial value : it is said to tranquillise
the nerves, to soothe all inflammation ; and from this latter
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154 SCHLANGENBAD : OR,
property the cures of consumption which are reported to
have been effected among human beings and cattle may
have proceeded. Yet, whatever good effect the water may
have upon this insidious disorder, its first operation most
certainly must be to neutralise the bad effect of the climate,
which to consumptive patients must decidedly be a very
severe trial ; for, delightful as it is to people in robust health,
yet the keenness of the mountain air, together with the sud-
den alternations of temperatiu-e to which the valley of
Schlangenbad is exposed, must, I think, be anything but a
remedy for weak lungs.
The effect produced upon 'the skin by lying about
twenty minutes in the bath I one day happened to over-
hear a short, fat Frenchman describe to his friend in the
following words : — " Monsieur^ dans ces bains on devient ab-
solument amoureux de soimeme/" I cannot exactly corro-
borate this Gallic statement, yet I must admit that limbs,
even old ones, gradually do appear as if they were con-
verted into white marble. The skin assumes a sort of
glittering, phosphoric brightness, resembling very much
white objects, which, having been thrown overboard in
calm weather within the tropics, many of my readers have
probably watched sinking in the ocean, which seems to
blanch and illuminate them as they descend. The effect i&
very extraordinary, and I know not how to account for it,.
unless it be produced by some prismatic refraction caused
by the peculiar particles with which the fluid is impregnated.
The Schlangenbad water contains the muriates and
carbonates of lime, soda, and magnesia, with a slight excess
of carbonic acid, which holds the carbonates in solution.
The celebrated embellishment which it produces on the
skin is, in my opinion, a sort of corrosion, which removes
tan, or any other artificial covering that the surface may
have attained from exposure and ill-treatment by the sun
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THE SERPENTS BATH. 15S
and wind. In short, the body is cleaned by it just as a
kitchen-maid scours her copper saucepan ; and the effect
being evident, ladies modestly approach it from the most
distant parts of Europe. I am by no means certain, how-
ever, that they receive any permanent benefit ; indeed, on
the contrary, I should think that their skins would eventually
become, if anything, coarser, from the removal of a slight
veil or covering intended by Natiu-e as a protection to the
cuticle.
But whether this water be permanently beneficial to
ladies or not, the softness it gives to the whole body is quite
delightful; and with two elements, air and water, in per-
fection, I found that I grew every hour more and more
attached to the place.
On the cellar-floor, or lower storey of my abode (" the
New Bad-Haus,") where the baths are situated, there lived
an old man and his wife, whose duty it was to prepare the
baths, and to give towels, etc. I do not know whether the
Schlangenbad waters corrode the temper as well as the skin,
yet certainly this old couple appeared to me continually
quarrelling ; and every little trifle I required for my bath,
though given to me with the greatest good-will, seemed to
form a subject of jealous dispute between this subterranean
pair. The old woman, however, invariably got the be»t of
the argument — a triumph which I suspect proceeded more
from physical than moral powers : in short, as is occasionally
the case, the old gentleman was afraid of his companion ;
and I observed that his attitude, as he argued, very much
resembled that of a cat in a comer when spitting in the
face of a terrier dog. Finding that they did not work hap-
pily together, I always managed to prevent both of them
coming to me at once. The old woman, however, insisted
on preparing my bath ; and, with a great pole in one hand,
stirring up the water — a thermometer in the other, and a
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156 .SCHLANGENBADj OR,
pair of spectacles blinded with steam on her nose, she veiy
good-naturedly brought the temperature of the water to the
proper degree, which is said to be twenty-seven of Reaumur.
After I had had my bath, the old wife being out of the
way, I one day paid a visit of compliment to her husband,
who had shown, by many little attempted attentions, that he
was, had he dared, as anxious as his partner to serve me.
With great delight, he showed me several bottles full ot
serpents ; and then, opening a wooden box, he took out, as
a fisherwoman would handle eels, some very long ones —
one of which (first looking over his shoulder to see that a
certain personage was away), he put upon a hne she had
stretchied across the room for drying clothes. In order, I
suppose, to demonstrate to me that the reptile was harm-
less, he took it off the rope, along which it was moving very
quickly ; and, without submitting his project for my appro-
bation, he suddenly placed it on my breast, along which it
crawled, until, stretching its long neck with half its body
into the air, it held on, in a most singular manner, by a
single fold in the cloth, which, by a sort of contortion of the
vertebrae, it firmly grasped.
The old man, apparently highly satisfied with this first
act of his entertainment, gravely proceeded to. show living
serpents of all colours and sizes — stuffed serpents, and ser-
pents' skins — all of which seemed very proper hobbies to
amuse the long winter evenings of the aged servant of
Schlangenbad, or the Serpents' Bath. At last, however, the
fellow's dr}^, blanched, wrinkled face began to smile. Grin-
ning, as he slowly mounted on a chair, he took fi-om a high
shelf a broad-mouthed, white glass bottle, and then in a sort
of savage ecstacy, pronouncing the word " Baromet ! " he
placed it in my hands.
The bottle was about half-full of dirty water — ^a few dead
flies and crumbs of bread were at the bottom — and near the
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THE SERPENTS' BATH. 157
top there floated a small piece of thin wood which went
about half-across the phial. Upon this slender scaflfolding,
its fishy eyes staring upwards at a piece of coarse Hnen,
which, being tied round the mouth, served as a cork— the
shrivelled skin of its under-jaw moving at every sweltering
breath it took — there sat a large, speckled, living toad !
Like Sterne's captive, he had not by his side " a bundle
of sticks, notched with all the dismal days and nights he
had passed there ; " yet* their sum-total was as clearly ex-
pressed in the unhealthy colour of the poor creature's skin ;
and certainly, in my lifetime, I never before had seen what
might truly be called — z. sick toad.
It was quite impossible to help pitying any living being
confined by itself in so miserable a dungeon. However,
the old man's eyes were beaming with pride and delight at
what he conceived to be his own ingenuity ; and exclaiming
" Schones wetter 1 " (fine weather !) he pointed to the wood-
work on which the poor creature was sitting, and then he
exultingly explained that, so soon as it should be going to
rain, the toad would clamber down into the water. " Bi^RO-
MET ! " repeated the old fellow, grinning from ear to ear, as,
mounting on the chair, he replaced his prisoner on the
shelf
My first impression was " coi^te qui coiite^' to buy this
barometer — carry its poor captive to the largest marsh I
could find — and then, breaking the bottle into shivers, to
give him, what toads appreciate so much better than man-
kind — liberty; but on reflecting a moment, I felt quite
sure that the old inquisitor would soon procure another
subject for torture ; and, as with toads as with ourselves^
" c^est le premier pas qui coilte^^ I thought it better that this
poor heart-broken, imprisoned creature, to a certain degree
accustomed to his misery, should exist in it, than that a
fresh toad should suffer. It also occurred to me, that if I
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158 SCHLANGENBAD; OR,
should dare to purchase his rude instrament, the ingenious,
unfeeling old wretch of a philosopher might be encouraged
to make others far sale.
The old bath or "bad" man had vipers' nests, their
eggs, and many other Caliban curiosities, which he was
desirous to show me; but having seen quite enough for
one morning's visit, and, besides, hearing his wife's tongue
coming along the subterranean passage, I left him — ^her —
toad — ^reptiles, etc., to fret away their existence, while I rose
into far brighter regions above them.
After ascending a couple of flights of stairs, I strolled
for some time on the httle parade close to the entrance of
the old " Bad-Haus ; " but the benches being all occupied
by people listening to the band of music, and, besides, not
liking the artificial passages of hedges cut, without metaphor,
to the quick, I bade adieu to the scene ; and entering the
great forest, with which the hills in every direction were
clothed to their summits, I ascended a steep, broad road
(across which a couple of schlangens glided close by me),
until I came to a hut, from which there is a very pleasing
home-view of the little valley of Schlangenbad. It certainly
is a most romantic spot, and that it had appeared so to
others was evident from a marble pillar and inscription
which stood on the edge of a precipice before me. The
tale it commemorated is simply beautiful. The Count de
Grunne, the Dutch Ambassador at Frankfin-t, having in the
healthy autumn of his life come to Schlangenbad with his
young wife, was so enchanted with the loveliness of the
country, the mildness of the air, and the exquisite softness
of the water, that, quite unable to contain himself, on a
black marble column he caused to be sculptured, as em-
blems of himself and his companion, two crested schlangens
playfully eating leaves (apparently a salad) out of the same
bowl — with tiie following pathetic inscription : —
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THE SERPENTS' BA TH,
159
PeV Hell C 1 e
E1
Leaving this quiet sentimental bower, and descending
the hill, I entered the great pile of buildings of the old Bad-
Haus, or Nassauer-Hof, and advancing along one of its
endless passages, I passed an open door from which a busy
hum proceeded, which clearly proclaimed it to be a school.
My grave Mentor-like figure was no sooner observed silently
standing at its portal, than its master, a short, slight, hectic-
looking lad, scarcely twenty, seemed to feel an unaccount-
able desire to form my acquaintance. Begging me to enter
his small literary dominion, he very modestly requested
leave to be permitted to explain to me the nature of the
studies he was imparting to his subjects — the little creatures,
from their benches, looking at me all the time with the same
sort of fear with which mice look into the face of a bull-
dog, or frogs at the terrific bill and outline of a stork.
Having by a slight inclination accepted this offer, the
young dominie commenced by stating that all the children
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j6o SCHLANGENBADj ORy
in Nassau are obliged^ by order of the duke, to go to school,
from six to fourteen years of age ; that the parents of a
child who has intentionally missed are forced to pay two
kreuzers the first time, four the second, six the third, and
that if they are too poor to pay these fines, they are obliged
to work them out in hard labour, or are otherwise punished
for their children's neglect; that the inhabitants of each
village pay the schoolmaster among themselves, in pro-
portions var}nng according to their means, but that the
duke prescribes what the children are to learn — namely,
religion, singing, reading, writing, Scripture history, the
German language, natural history, geography, and accounts ;
and that the mode of imparting :diis education is grounded
upon the system of Pestalozzi.
This introductory explanation being • concluded, the
young master now displayed to me specimens of his scholars'
writing ; showed me their slates covered with sums in the
first rules of arithmetic; and then calling up several girls
and boys, he placed his wand in the hand of each trembling
little urchin, who one by one was desired to point out upon
maps, which hung against the walls, the great oceans, seas,
mountains, and capitals of our globe. Having expressed
my unqualified approbation of the zeal and attention with
which this excellent young man had evidently been labour-
ing at the arduous, " never-ending, still beginning " duties
of his life, I was about to depart, when, as a last favour,
he anxiously entreated me to hear his children, for one
moment, sing ; and striking the table with his wand, it in-
stantly, as if it had been a tuning-fork, called them to at-
tention ; at a second blow on the table they pushed aside
their slates and books ; at a third, opening their- eyes as
wide as they could, they inflated their tiny lungs brimful ;
and at a fourth blow, in full cry, they all opened, to my no
small astonishment, mouths which, in blackness of inside.
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THE SERPENTS* BATH. l6i
exactly resembled a pack of King Charles' spaniels ! Had
the children been drinking ink, their tongues and palates
could not have been darker; and though, accompanied by
their master, the psalm they were singing was simply beau-
tiful, and though their infantine voices, streaming along the
endless passages, produced a reverberation exceedingly
pleasing, yet there was something so irresistibly comic in
their appearance that any countenance but my own would
have smiled.
The cause of the odd-looking phenomenon suddenly
occurred to me, in consequence of my having in the morn-
ing observed several peasants whose trousers at the knees
were stained perfectly black by their having knelt down to
pick bilberries, which grow on the forest-covered hills of
Nassau in the greatest profusion. The children had evi-
dently been grazing on the same* ground, and as soon as
the idea flashed into my mind, I observed by the tips of
their little black fingers that my solution of the dark prob-
lem was correct
Returning to my residence, the new Bad-Haiis, the
sun, though much less weary than myself, having sunk to
rest, I sat alone for some time in one of the bowers of the
shruBbery belonging to the building. Occasionally a human
figure, scarcely visible from the deep shades of the trees
glided slowly by me, but whether that of a prince or a
peasant I neither knew nor cared. What interested me
infinitely more was to observe the fire-flies, which, with
small lanterns in their tails, were either soaring close above
me or sparkling among the bushes. The bright emerald-
green light they possessed was lovely beyond description,
yet apparently they had only received permission to display
it so long as they remained on the wing — ^and as two young
ones, gliding before me, rested for a moment on a rose-
leaf at my side, the instant they closed their wings they
H 2
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l62 . SCHLANGENBADj ORy
were left tbgether in total darkness. Some (probably old
ones) steadily sailing passed me as if on business, while
others, dancing in the air, had evidently no object except
pleasure ; yet, whether flying in a circle or in a line, each
little creature as it proceeded gaily illuminated its- own way,
and like a pure, cheerful, well-conditioned mind, it also shed
a trifling lustre on whatever it approached.
As I sat here alone in the dark I could not drive from
my mind the interesting picture I had just been witnessing
in the little village school of Schlangenbad.
We are all in England sq devotedly attached to that
odd, easily-pronounced, but difiicult-to-be-defined word —
liberty, that there is perhaps nothing we should all at once
set our biacks, our faces, and our heads against more than a
national compulsory system of education, similar to that pre-
scribed in Nassau ; and yet, if law has the power to punish
crime, there seems at first to exist no very strong reason
why it should not also be permitted by education to prevent
it. Every respectable parent in our country will be ready
to admit that the most fcertain recipe for making his son a
useful, a happy, and a valuable member of society, is care-
fully to attend to the cultivation of his mind. We all
believe that good seeds can be sown there, that bad ones
can be eradicated — that ignorance leads a child to error and
crime — that his mental darkness, like a town, can be illu-
minated — that the judgment (his only weapon against his
passions) can, like the blacksmith's arm, by use be strength-
ened ; and if it be as universally admitted that education
is one of the most valuable properties a rational being can
bequeath to his own child, it would seem to follow that a
parental government might claim (at least before Heaven)
nearly as much right to sentence a child to education as a
criminal to the gallows. Nevertheless, as a curious example
of the difference in national taste, it may be observed, that
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THE SERPENTS' BATH. 163
though in England judges and juries can anywhere be
found to condemn the body, they would everywhere be
obsetVed to shrink at the very idea of chastening the mind ;
they see no moral or religious objection to imprison the
former, but they all agree that it would be a political offence
to liberate the latter. Although our poor laws oblige
every parish to feed, house, and clothe its destitute off-
spring, yet in England it is thought wrong to enforce any
national ' provision for the mind ; and yet the Duke of
Nassau might argue that in a civilised community children
have no more natural right to be brought up ignorant than
naked ; in short, that if the mildest government be justified
in forcing a man, for decency's sake, to envelop his body,
it might equally claim the power of obliging him, for the
welfare, prosperity, and advancement of the community —
to develop his mind.
Into so complicated an argument I feel myself quite
incompetent to enter, yet were I at this moment to be
leaving this world, there is no one assertion I think I could
more solemnly maintain — there is no important fact I am
more seriously convinced of — ^and there is no evidence
which, from the observation of my whole life, I could more
conscientiously deliver, than that, as far as I have been
capable of judging, our system of education in England has
produced, does produce, and, so long as it be persisted in,
must produce, the most lamentable political effects.
Strange as it may sound, I believe few people will, on
reflection, deny what a most remarkable difference exists
between a man and what is termed mankind — in fact, be-
tween the intelligence of the human being and that of the
species to which he belongs.
If a man of common or of the commonest abilities be
watched throughout a day, it is quite delightful to remark
how cleverly he adapts his conduct to the various trifling
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1 64 SCHLANGENBAD; OR,
unforeseen circumstances which occur— how shrewdly, as
through a labyrinth, he pursues his own interests, and with
what nimbleness he can alter his plans, or, as it is vulgarly
termed, change his mind, the instant it becomes advisable
for him to do so. Appeal to him on any plain subject, and
you find him gifted with quick perception, possessed with
ready judgment, and with his mind sparkling with intelli-
gence. Now, mix a dozen such men together, and intellect
instantly begins to coagulate; in short, by addition you
have produced subtraction. One. man means what he cannot
clearly explain — another ably expresses what he did not ex-
actly mean — one, while disputing his neighbour's judgment,
neglects his own — another indolently reclines his head upon
his neighbour's brain — one does not care to see — ^another
forgets to foresee ;^-in short, though any one pilot could
steer the vessel into port, with twelve at the helm she in-
evitably runs upon the rocks. Now, instead of a dozen
men, if anything be committed to the care, judgment, or
honour of a large body, or, as it is not improperly termed,
a " corporation " of men, their torpor, apathy, and sloth are
infinitely increased ; and when, instead of a corporation, it
be left to .that nonentity, a whole nation — the total neglect
it meets with is beyond all remedy. In short, the indi-
viduals of a community, compared with the community
itself, are like a swarm of bees, compared with bees that
have swarmed or clung together in a lump ; and as the
countryman stands shaking the dull mass from the bough
one can scarcely believe that it is composed of little, active,
intelligent, busy creatures, each armed with a sting as well
as with knowledge and arrangements which one can hardly
sufficiently admire. If this theory be correct it will account
at once for our unfortunate system of education in England,
which, being everybody's duty, is therefore nobody's duty,
and which, like
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THE SERPENTS* BA TH. \ 65
" The child whom many fathers share,
Has never known a father*s care."
In the evening of a long, toilsome life, if a man were to
l>e obliged solemnly to declare what, without any exception,
l^as been the most lovely thing which on the surface of this
earth it has been his good fortune to witness, I conceive
tliat, without hesitation, he might reply — The mind of a
young child. Indeed, if we believe that creation, with all its
charms, was beneficently made for man, it seems almost to
follow that his mind, that mirror in which every minute ob-
ject is to be reflected, must be gifted with a polish sufficiently
high to enable it to receive the lovely and delicate images
created for its enjoyment. Accordingly, we observe with
what delight a child beholds light — colours — ^flowers — fruit
— and every new object that meets his eye; and we all
know that before his judgment be permitted to interfere, for
many years he feels, or rather suffers, a thirst for information
which is almost insatiable.
He desires, and very naturally desires, to know what
the moon is ? — what are the stars ] — where the rain, wind,
and storm come from ? With innocent simplicity he asks
what becomes of the light of a candle when it is blown out 1
Any story or any history he greedily devours; and so
strongly does his youthful mind retain every sort of image
impressed upon it, that it is well known his after-life is
often incapable of obliterating the terror depicted there by
an old nurse's tale of ghosts and hobgoblins of darkness.
Now, with their minds in this pure, healthy, voracious
state, the sons of all our noblest families, and of the most
estimable people of the country, are, after certain prepara-
tions, eventually sent to those slaughter-houses of the under-
standing, our public schools, where, weaned from the charms
of the living world, they are nailed to the study of two dead
languages ; like galley-slaves, they are chained to these oars,
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IJS6 SCHLANGENBADj OR,
and are actually flogged if they neglect to liabour. Instead
of imbibing knowledge suited to their youthful age, they are
made to learn the names of Actaeon's hounds — ^to study the
life of Alexander's horse — to know the fate of Alcibiades'
dog ; — in short, it is too well known that Dr. Lempri^re
made ;^3ooo a-year by the sale of a dictionary in which he
had amassed, " for the use of schools,** tales and rubbish of
this description. The poor boy at last "gets," as it is.
termed, " into Ovid," where he is made to study everything
which human ingenuity could invent to sully, degrade, and
ruin the mind of a young person. The Almighty Creator
of the Universe is caricatured by a set of grotesque person-
ages termed gods and goddesses, so grossly sensual, so in-
ordinately licentious, that were they to-day to 'appear in
London, before sunset they would probably be every one of
them where they ought to be — at the tread-mill. The poor
boy, however, must pore over all their amours, natural and
unnatural ; he must learn by heart the birth, parentage,
and education of each, with the biography of their numerous
offspring, earthly as well as unearthly. He must study love-
letters from the heavens to the earth, and metamorphoses
which have almost all some low, impure object. The only
geography he learns is " the world known to the ancients*"
Although a member of the first maritime nation on the globe,
he learns no nautical science but that possessed by people
who scarcely dared to leave their shores ; all his knowledge
of military life is that childish picture of it which might-
fairly be entitled " war without gunpowder." But even the
little which on these subjects he does learn, is so mixed up
with fable that his mind gets puzzled and debilitated to such
a degree that he becomes actually unable to distinguish truth
from falsehood ; and thus, when he reads that Hannibal
melted the Alps with vinegar, he does not know whether it.
be really true or not.
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THE SERPENTS' BATH, 167
In this degraded state, with the energy and curiosity of
their young minds blunted — actually nauseating the intellec-
tual food which they had once so naturally desired, a whole
batch of boys at the age of about fourteen* are released
from their schools to go on board men-of-war, where they
are to strive to become the heroes of their day. They sail
from their country ignorant of almost everything that has
happened to it since the days of the Romans ; having been
obliged to look upon all the phenomena of nature, as well
as the mysteries of art, witliout explanation, their curiosity
for information on such subjects has subsided. They lean
against the capstan, but know nothing of its power ; they
are surrounded by mechanical contrivances of every sort,
but understand them no more than they do the stars in the
firmament They steer from one country to another, ig-
norant of the customs, manners, prejudiceSj or languages of
any ; they know nothing of the effect of climate ; it re-
quires almost a fever to drive them from the sun ; — ^in fact,
they possess no practical knowledge. The first lesson they
learn from adversity is their o^^ti guiltless ignorance, and
no sooner are they in real danger than they discover how
ill-spent has been the time they have devoted to the religion
of the heathen — how vain it is in aflfliction to patter over
the names of Actaeon and his hounds !
That in spite of all these disadvantages, a set of high-
bred, noble-spirited young men eventually become, as they
really do, an honour to their country, is no proof that
their early education has not done all in its power to pre-
* At this age I myself left my classical school, scarcely knowing the
name of a single river in the new world — tired almost to death of the
history of the Ilissus. In after-life I entered a river of America more
than five times as broad as from Dover to Calais — and with respect to
the Ilissus, which had received in my mind such distorted importance,
I will only say that I have repeatedly walked across it in about twenty
seconds, without wetting my ankles.
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i68 SCHLANGENBADj OR,
vent them. IBut, to return to those we left at our public
schools.
As these boys rise, they become, as we all know, more
and more conversant in the dead languages, until the fatal
period arrives when, proudly laden with these two panniers,
they proceed to one of our universities. Arriving, for in-
stance, at Oxford, they find a splendid High Street, magni-
ficently illuminated with gas, filled with handsome shops,
traversed by the mail, macadamised, and, like every other
part of our great commercial country, beaming with modem
intelligence. In this street, however, they are not per-
mitted to reside, but, conducted to the right and left, they
meander among mouldering monastic-looking buildings,
until they reach the cloisters of the particular college to
which they are sentenced to belong. By an ill-judged nus-
nomer, they are fi^om this moment encouraged, even by
their preceptors, to call each other men; and a man of
seventeen (too tall for school) talks of another man of
eighteen as gravely as I always mention the name of my
prototype Methusalem. What their studies are will sufl5-
ciently appear from what is required of them when they
come before the public as candidates for their degrees. At
this examination — ^which is to give them throughout their
country the rank of finished scholars — ^these self-entitled
men are gravely examined first of all in divinity, and then,
as if in scorn of it, almost in the same breath they descant
about the God of this vice and the God of that ; in short,
they are obliged to translate any two heathen authors in
Latin, and any other two in Greek, they them*selves may
select They are next examined in Aristotle's moral philo-
sophy, and their examination, like their education, being
now concluded, their minds being now decreed to be brim-
ful, they are launched into their respective grades of society,
as accomplished, polished men, who have reaped the ines-
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THE SERPENTS'' BATH. 169
timable advantages of a good classical edtuaiion. But it is
not these gentlemen that I presume to ridicule; on the
contrary, I firmly believe that the 1200 students, who at one
time are generally at Oxford, are as high-minded, as highly-
talented, as anxious to improve themselves, as handsome,
and, in every sense of the word, as fine a set of lads as can
anywhere be met with in a body on the face of the globe.
I also know that all our most estimable characters, all the
most enlightened men our country has ever produced, have,
generally speaking, been members of one of our universities;
but, in spite of all this, will any reasonable being seriously
maintain that the workmanship has been equal to the
materials ? I mean, that their education has been equal to
themselves ?
Let any one weigh what they have not learned against
what they have, and he will find that the difference is
exactly that which exists between creation itself and a
satchel of musty books. I own they are skilfully conver-
sant in the latter; I own that they have even deserved
prizes for having made verses in imitation of Sappho, odes
in imitation of Horace, epigrams after the model of the
Anthologia, as well as after the model of Martial ; but what
has the university taught them of the former ] Has it even
informed them of the discovery of America ] Has it given
them the power of conversing with the peasant of any one
nation in Europe ] Has it explained to^ them any one of
the wonderfiil works of creation 1 Has it taught them a
single invention of art 1 Has it shown the young landed
proprietor how to measure the smallest field on his estate ?
Has it taught him even the first rudiments of economy ?
Has it explained to him the principle of a common pump ?
Has it fitted him in any way to stand in that distinguished
situation which by birth and. fortune he is honestly entitled
to hold % Has it given him any agricultural information.
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I70 SCHLANGENBAD J ORy
any commercial knowledge, any acquaintance with mankind,
or with business of any sort or kind; and, lastly, has it made
him modestly sensible of his own ignorance % — or has it, on
the contrary, done all in its power to make him feel not only
perfectly satisfied with his own acquirements, but contempt
for those whose minds are only, filled with plain usefiil
knowledge %
But it will be proudly argued, " The University has
TAUGHT HIM DIVINITY." In theory, I admit it may have
done so ; but, in all his terms, has the student practically
learnt as much of Omnipotence as the hurricane could ex-
plain to him in five minutes? To teach young lads the
simple doctrines of Christianity, is it advisable to hide from
their minds creation 1 Is it advisable to allow them to re-
main out of their colleges till midnight ? But taking leave
of the university, let us for a moment consider the political
effects of its cramped, short-sighted, narrow-minded system.
On quitting their colleges, our young men, instead of
being sensible that, although they have read much that is
ornamental, their education has scrupulously avoided all that
is useful — instead of modestly feeling tliat they have to make
up for lost time, and to fight their way firom nothing to dis-
tinction, like subaltern officers in our army, or hke midship-
men in the navy — they have very great reason to consider
that, far from being literary vessels, nidely put together, they
are launched into society as perfect as a frigate from its
dock !
With respect to the drudgery of gaining honours, they
feel that they already possess them, can produce them ; and
true enough, they show ist class, 2d class, and 3d class
honours, which are as current in the country as the coin of
the realm ; and with respect to their education being imper-
fect, by universal consent it has for centmes been coupled
with the most, flattering adjectives. It is termed poUte,
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THE SERPENTS' BA TH, 171
elegant, accomplished, good, complete, excellent, regular,
classical, etc. etc. In literary creation these young men
conceive that they are luminaries, not specks — ornaments,
not blemishes ! not merely in their own opinions, but by
universal consent and acclamation. Their political place is
undeniably, therefore, the helm, not before the mast ; they
are to guide, conduct, steer the vessel of the state, not
ignobly labour at its oar !
Accordingly, when they take their places in both houses
of Parliament, plunging at once into their own native ele-
ment, they rise up in the immediate presence of noblemen
and gentlemen who not only boast of having received
exactly the same education as themselves, but who, as
youths, have proudly won the self-same honours which they
enjoy ; and I here very humbly beg leave again to repeat,
that because our Parliament maintains, and always has
maintained, a front rank of men of undaunted resolution,
transcendent abilities, brilliant natural genius,- and clear,
comprehensive, enlightened minds, it does not follow that
the system of our public schools and universities must
necessarily be practically good. On the contrary, it only
proves that human institutions can no more extinguish the
native virtue, talent, and integrity .of a country, than they
can hide from the world the light of the sun ; but education
can misdirect, though it cannot annihilate ; it can give the
national mind a hankering for unwholesome instead of
wholesome food; it can encourage a passion for useless
instead of useful information. On its course high-bred lads
may be trained to race against each other, until the vain
object they have striven for can never in after-life reappear,
but their blood warms within them.
Now, supposing for a single moment that English
education be admitted to be as useless and dangerous as
I have endeavoured to describe it, let us consider what
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172 SCHLANGENBAD ; OR,
might naturally be expected to be its practical political
effects.
In our two houses of Parliament classical eloquence
would unavoidably become the order of the day, and clas-
sical allusions, when neatly expressed, would always receive
that heartfelt cheer which even the oldest among us are
unable to withhold from what reminds us of the pleasures
and attachments of our early days. Thus encouraged,
young statesmen would feel their power rather than their
inexperience ; and, with their minds stored with knowledge
declared to possess intrinsic value, they would not be very
backward in displaying it. Language, rather than matter,
would thus become the object of emulation — speeches
would swell into orations — and in this contention and con-
flict of genius, men of cleverness, ready wit, brilliant ima-
gination, retentive memory, caustic reply, and last, though
not least, soundness of constitution, would rise to the sur-
face, far above those who, with much deeper reflection,
much heavier sense, more sterling knowledge, and more
powerful judgment, were yet found to be wanting in "activity
in their parts of speech. Baffled, therefore, in their laconic
attempts to expound their uninteresting, ledger-like, un-
fashionable opinions, this useful class of men would pro-
bably, by silence or otherwise, retire from the unequal
contest, which would become more and more of an art,
until extraordinary talent was required to carry political
questions so plain and simple, that were votes mutely to be
given by any set of humdrum men there would scarcely be
a difference in their opinions.
In the midst of this civil war, a young man, scarcely one-
and-twenty, would be very likely rapidly to rise to be the
Prime Minister of our great commercial country ! for al-
though, if this world teaches us any one moral, it is, that ,
youth and inexperience are synonymous ; yet when talent
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THE SERPENTS* BATH, 173
only be the palm, surely none have better right to contend
for it than the young !
Seated on the exalted pinnacle which he has most fairly
arid honourably attained, if not by general acclamation, at
least by the applauding voice of the majority, he must, of
course, stand against the intellectual tempest which has un-
naturally brought a person of his age to the surface. Ac-
cordingly, by the main strength of his youthful genius, by
liis admitted superiority of talent, this beardless pilot would
probably triumphantly maintain his place at the helm — re-
quiring, however, support from those of his admirers most
approaching in eloquence to himself. To obtain the ser-
vices of some great orator, he would (copying the system of
liis opponents) be induced to appoint a man, for instance,
Secretary for the Colonies who on this earth had never
reached the limits even of its temperate zone ; another, who
had not heard a shot fired or even seen a shell in the air,
would perhaps be created Master-General of our Ordnance ;
in short, talent being the weapon or single-stick of Parlia-
ment, he would, like others before him, arm himself with it
at any cost, and thus reign triumphant.
However, without supposing such an extreme case, let us
fearlessly recall to mind a miserable fact almost of yesterday.
In the fatal year 1825 the British government conceived
the purely classical and highly poetical idea of " bringing a
new world into existence ! " Most people will remember
with what flowery eloquence the elegant project was laid
before Parliament, and how loudly and generally it was
cheered — the blind were led by the blind — ^all our senators
being equally charmed at the splendid possibility of their
thus politically dabbling in creation. The truth or moral,
however, came upon us at last, like the simoom upon the
traveller who ignorantly ventures on the deserts of Africa.
The country almost foundered, and though she has, to a
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174 SCHLANGENBAD ; OR,
certain degree, recovered from the shock, yet thousands of
widows, orphans, and people of small incomes, are to this
day, in indigence and sorrow, secretly lamenting the hour
in which the high-flown but ignorant parliamentary project
was disseminated.
The charity, paternoster system of education pursued to
this day at our universities and public schools has produced
other historical facts, which it is now equally out of our
power to obliterate, atone for, or deny. For instance, we
all know that in five years Charles II. touched 23,601 of
his subjects for the evil; that our bishops invented (just
as Ovid wrote his " Metamorphoses ") a sort of heathen
service for the occasion ; — ^that the unchristianlike, super-
stitious ceremony was performed in public; and that as
soon as prayers were ended, we are told, " The Duke of
Buckingham brought a tou*el, and the Earl of Pembroke a
basin and eiver, who, after they had made obeisance to his
Majesty, kneeled down till his Majesty had washed^
Again, everybody knows that Amy Drury and her
daughter, eleven years of age, were tried before " the great
and good Sir Matthew Hale," then Lord Chief Baron, for
witchcraft, and were convicted and executed at Bury St.
Edmund's, principally on the evidence of Sir Thomas Brown,
one of the first physicians and scholars of his day : also that
Dr. Wiseman, an eminent surgeon of that period, in writing
on scrofula, says — " However, I must needs profess that his
Majesty (Charles IL) cureth more in any one year than all
the chirurgeons of London have done in an age!'
The above degrading facts are moral tragedies which
were not acted in a dark comer by a few obscure strolling
individuals — not even by any great political faction — but
the audience was the British nation — the performers the
king on his throne — the bishops, the nobility, the judges,
the physicians, the philosophers of the day. In short,
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THE SERPENTS' BATH. 175
theory and practice, hand-in-hand, both prove to the whole
world the double error in our system of education. Says
theory — if young people, instead of being taught to look at
the ground under their feet, at the heavens above their
head, or at creation around them, are forced by the rod to
study events that never happened, speeches that never were
made, metamorphoses that never took place, forms of wor-
ship and creeds ridiculous and impious, such a nation must
inevitably grow up narrow-minded, ignorant, superstitious,
and cruel. Says practice — this prophecy has been most
fatally fulfilled. In England people have believed in
witchcraft — have put savage faith in the King's touch —
and under the name of a mild and merciful religion they
have burnt each other to ashes at the stake !
The mute steadiness of British troops under fire — the
total want of bluster or bravado in our naval actions — ^where,
as all know —
** There is silence deep as death,
And the boldest holds his breath
For a time," —
the laconic manner in which business all over England is
transacted (millions being exchanged with little more than
a nod of assent) — in short, our national respect for silent
conduct — form a most extraordinary contrast with the
flatulent eloquence of our parliamentary debates.
But to return to our houses of Parliament. Shall we
now proceed to calculate what would be the cost of such a
system of government or misgovemment as that which has
just been shown to have proceeded, not from the imbecility
of individuals, but fi-om the system of false education main-
tained by our public schools and universities 1 No ! no !
for the history of our country has already solved this great
problem, and at this moment does it record to our posterity,
as well as promulgate to the whole world, that the expense
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176 SCHLANGENBAD J OR,
oi a great mercantile nation, looking behind it instead of
before it — the price of its statesmen studying ancient poets
instead of modem discoveries — of mistaking the "orbis
veteribus cognitus " for the figure of the earth, amounts to
neither more nor less than a national debt of eight
HUNDRED MILLIONS of English pounds sterling ! In short,
economy having fatally been classed at our universities
among the vulgar arts, the current expenses of our states-
men have naturally enough been ordered to be put down
to their children, just as their college bills were carelessly
ordered to be forwarded to their fathers.
However, so long as a nation is willing to purchase at
the above enormous, or at any still greater price, the luxury
of reading Greek and Latin poetry, the misfortune at first
may appear to be only pecuniary; and it might almost
further be argued that a nation, like an individual, ought to
be allowed to squander its money according to its own
whim or fancy ; but though this may or may not be true
so far as our money be concerned, yet there is an event
which must arrive, and in England this event has just
ARRIVED, when a continuance of such a mode of education
must inevitably destroy our church, aristocracy, funds ; in
short, everything which a well-disposed mind loves, vene-
rates, and is desirous to uphold.
The fearful event to which I allude is that of the lower
classes of people becoming enlightened.
In spite of all that party spirit angrily asserts to the
contrary, most firmly do I believe that there does not exist
in England any revolutionary spirit worth being afraid of.
In a rich commercial country the idle, the profligate, and
the worthless will always be anxious to level the well-earned
honours, as well as plunder the wealth amassed by the
brave, intelligent, and industrious; but every respectable
member of society, with the coolness of judgment natural
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THE SERPENTS* BATH. 177
to our country, must feel that he possesses a stake and
enjoys advantages which I believe he is highly desirous to
maintain; in fact, not only the good feeling but the good
sense of the country support the fabric of our society, which
we all know, like the army, derives its spirit from possessing
various honours (never mind whether they be of intrinsic
value or not) which we are all more or less desirous to
obtain.
But if those who wear these honours degrade themselves
— ^if our upper classes culpably desert their own standards
— ^if they shall continue to insist on giving to their children
an elegant useless education, while the tradesman is filling
his son with sterling useful knowledge — if our aristocracy,
with the ghoul's horrid taste, will obstinately feed itself on
dead languages while the lower classes are greedily digesting
fresh wholesome food — if writing, arithmetic, modem geo-
graphy, arts, sciences, and discoveries of all sorts are to
continue (as they hitherto have continued) to be most bar-
barously disregarded at our public schools and universities,
while they are carefully attended to and studied by the
poor — ^the moment must arrive when the dense population
of our country will declare that they can no longer afford
to be governed by classical statesmen; and with an equally
honest feeling they will further declare they begin to find
it difficult to look up to people who have ceased to be
morally their superiors. That the lower orders of people in
England are rising not only in their own estimation but in
the honest opinion of the world, is proved by the singular
fact that the woodcuts of our Fenny Magazine (so rapidly
printed by one of Clowes's great steam-presses) are sent in
stereotype to Germany, France, and Belgium, where they
are published, as with us, for the instruction of the lower
classes. The same magazine is also sent to America (page
for page) stereotyped. The common people of England
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178 SCHLANGENBAD ; ORy
axe thus proudly disseminating their knowledge over the
surface of the globe ; while our upper classes, by an infatu-
ation which, without any exception, is the greatest pheno-
menon in the civiUsed world, are still sentencing their
children to heathen, obscene, and useless instruction ; and
though it has beneficently been decreed " Let there be
LIGHT !" our universities seriously maintain that the reUgious
as well as moral welfare of this noble commercial country
depends upon its continuing in intellectual darkness.
It is now much too late in the day to argue whether the
education of the lower classes be a political advantage or
not. One might as well stand on the Manchester railroad
to stop its train as to endeavour to prevent that The
people, whether we Uke it or not, will be enlightened ; and
therefore, without bewailing the disorder, our simple and
only remedy is by resolutely breaking up the system of our
public schools and universities, to show the people that we
have nobly determined to become enlightened too.
The English gentleman (a name which, in the army,
navy, hunting-field, or in any other strife or contention, has
always shown itself able to beat men of low birth) will then
hold his ground in the estimation of his tenants, and con-
tinue to inhabit his estate. The EngUsh nobleman and the
noble Englishman will continue to be synonymous — a well-
educated clergy will continue to be revered — the throne, as
it hitherto has been, will be loyally supported — oiu" mercan-
tile honour will be saved — the hopes of the radical
WILL BE irretrievably RUINED — and when the misty
danger at which we now tremble has brightened into intel-
lectual sunshine, remaining, as we must do (so long as we
continue to be the most industrious), the wealthiest and
first commercial nation on the globe, we shall remember,
and history will transmit to our children, that old-fashioned
prophecy of Faulconbridge, which so truly says —
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THE SERPENTS' BATH. 179
** Nought shall make us rue,
If England to itself do rest but true."
1 had retired to rest much pleased with Schlangenbad
Lxxd all that belonged to it, when about midnight I was
i.^wakened by a general slamming of doors, windows, and
sin-utters, occasioned by a most violent gale of wind, and on
op>ening my eyes, the bright moonlight scene, which, without
VALLEY AND BAD-HAUS OF SCHLANGBNBAD.
even moving my head, I beheld, was mysteriously grand and
imposing. Although the moon, which had just risen, was,
as I lay, not discernible through my windows, yet its silvery
light beamed so strongly that the two little whitewashed
mill-cottages in the valley seemed to be even brighter than
I had observed them during the day. But what particularly
attracted my attention was the apparent writhing of those
great hills which, as if they had only just been rent asunder,
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i8o SCHLANGENBADj OR,
hemmed me in. Every tree on them was bending and
waving from the violence of the squall, and as cloud after
cloud rapidly hurried across the moon, sometimes obscuring
and then suddenly restoring to my view the strange prospect,
the uncertainty of this undulating movement gave a super-
natural appearance to the scene, which more resembled the
fiction of a dream, or of a romance, than any possible effect
of wind on trees. The clean, glistening foliage seemed
scarcely able to stand against the gale, which still continued
to increase, until a loud peal of thunder, followed by a few
heavy drops, announced a calm, no sooner established, than
the light of the moon appeared to be converted by nature
into a heavy deluge of rain. For some few moments I lis-
tened, I believe, to the refreshing sound, and to the rushing
of the stream beneath me, but as the darkness around me
increased, my eyes closed, and I again dropped off to sleep.
The little society of Schlangenbad, like that of most of
the towns and villages in this part of Germany, is composed
of Lutherans, Catholics, and Jews. The two former sects
have each a place of worship allotted to them in the Old.
Bad-Haus or Nassauer-Hof, and their two chambers, stand-
ing nearly opposite to each other, remind me very strongly
of those twin-roads which in England often lead from one
little country town to another.
On each is the stranger invited to travel — one boasts
that it is the nearest by half-a -quarter of a mile, the other
brags that " it avoids the hill." Such is the distinction be-
tween the two Christian sects at Schlangenbad ; — ^both start
from the same point — ^both strain for the same goal, and yet
they querulously refuse to travel together !
After having spent two or three days in rambling up and
down the valley, searching for and admiring its sequestered
beauties, like Rasselas, I felt anxious to scale the mountains
which surrounded me, and accordingly inquired for a path.
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THE SERPENTS* BATH. i8i
which, I had been told, would extricate me from my happy
valley; however, after I had continued on it some way,
fancying I could attain the summit by a shorter cut, I at-
tempted to ascend the mountain by a straight course. For
some time I appeared to succeed pretty well, feeling every
moment encouraged at observing how high I had risen
above the grassy valley beneath ; however, the mountain
grew steeper, and the trees thicker and larger, until I began
to find that I had a much heavier job on my hands than I
had bargained for; nevertheless, upwards I proceeded,
winding my way through some magnificent oak timber, until
at last I attained actually the top of the mountain ; yet so
surrounded was I by trees, that, very much to my disap-
pointment, I found it impossible to see ten yards before me.
For a considerable distance I walked along the ridge, hop-
ing to find some gap or open spot which would enable me
to get a glimpse of the country beneath me, but in vain ;
for, go where I would, I was like a reptile crawling through
a field of standing com ; in short, nothing could I see but
trees, and even they appeared to be of no value, as a great
number of stately oaks were in every direction rotting just
as if they were beyond the reach and ken of mankind. As
I was winding between these timber trees, hoping at least
to see deer or wild game of some sort, it began to rain, and
though I had no disposition, on that account, to abandon
my object, yet absolutely not knowing where to seek it, I
was almost in despair, when it suddenly occurred to me to
climb one of the trees ; and the idea had no sooner entered
my head than I felt quite angry with myself for not having
thought of it before. I was some little time before I could
find one to suit, for to swarm up the huge body of any of
the great oaks would have been quite impossible. However,
as soon as I found a tree adapted to my purpose and my
powers, I climbed it in spite of the rain, and I was no sooner
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1 82 SCHLANGENBADj OR,
in the position of King Charles the Second than I witnessed
one of the most splendid views that can be well conceived.
Beneath me was the Rhine, glistening and meandering
in its course, while nearly opposite and also beneath me lay
Bingen, apparently basking on the banks of a lake. Almost
every one who has travelled on the Rhine has spoken in
raptures of this part of it, yet the view I enjoyed, seated on
the limb of my tree, was altogether superior to what they
could have witnessed, because at one view I beheld the
beauties which they had only successively admired. The
hills on which I was located were clothed to their summits
with foliage, feathering down to the very water's edge ; and
instead of the little portion of the river, which, as one niggles
along, is seen bit by bit from the steamboat, its whole
course seemed to be displa)nng itself to my view. The op-
posite shore was comparatively flat, and as far as I could
see a boundless fertile wine country appeared to extend
there. The shower, still falling in heavy drops upon my
tree, only belonged to the mountain on which it stood, for
the whole country and river beneath were basking in sun-
shine. It was really delightful to enjoy at once the sight of
so many beautiful objects, and I hardly knew whether to ad-
mire most the lovely little islands which seemed floating at
anchor in the Rhine, or the vast expanse of continent which
was prostrate before me ; but without continuing the descrip-
tion, any one who will only look in his map for Bingen, and
then imagine an old man seated in the clouds above it, will
perceive what a saHent angle I occupied, and what a mag-
nificent prospect I enjoyed.
As soon as I had imbjbed a sufficient dose of it, I com-
menced my descent, which was of course easy enough
when compared with the fatigue I had suffered in attaining
my *object The trees were dripping, and the mossy surface
of the ground made my feet equally wet ; however, rapidly
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THE SERPENTS' BA TH. 1 83
descending, I soon got first a glimpse of my own window in
the New Bad-Haus, then a peep of the little quiet mills
whose wheels I saw slowly turning under the clear bright
water that sparkled above them ; and really when I at last
got down to the green secluded valley of Schlangenbad, I
felt that I would not exchange its peaceful tranquillity for
the possession of all the splendid objects I had just wit-
nessed.
Yet in viewing this humble scene, as well as in revel-
ing over that magnificent prospect where space and wood
seemed to be infinite, the very air smelling of health and
freedom, there was a small feature in the picture which often
gave me very painful reflections. There are, perhaps, many
who will say that two or three peasants' roofs are specks,
which (whatever sad secrets may he hidden beneath them)
ought not to disturb the mind of the spectator, being objects
much too insignificant to be worthy of his notice ; yet the
more I admired the splendour of the mountain scenery — the
more the verdant valley seemed to rejoice — the more the
wild deer dashing by me appeared to enjoy the rich gifts of
creation — the more difficult did I find it to forget the abject
poverty of the two or three poor famiUes who were inhabiting
this smiling valley ; and (on the principle of not muzzling the
ox that treadeth out the com) it certainly did seem to me
hard that, surrounded as these poor people are by an almost
boundless forest of timber trees, quantities of which, stag-
headed, are actually returning to the dust from which they
sprung, they should, by the laws of their country, be rigidly
forbidden to collect fuel to cheer the inclemency of the
winter, or even with their fingers to tear up a little wild
grass beneath the trees for their cow.
Considering that the storm, like the wind, cometh where
it Hsteth, afflicting the poor man even more than the well-
sheltered rich one, it seems hard, ii; districts so nearly
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1 84 SCHLANGENBADj OR,
uninhabited, that when the oak-tree is levelled with the
ground the mountain peasant who has weathered the gale
should be prevented from plundering this wreck of the de-
solate forest in which he has been bom. Nevertheless, that
such is the case will be but too evident from the following
short extracts from a very long list of forest penalties
rigidly enforced by the Duke of Nassau : —
Forest Penalties.
Fine.
•n. 1 J r J ( ^ ^^^ 34 kreuzers. *
For a load of sear wood < '^^
\ grown-up person . . . 54 do.
If it be green wood the fine is doubled.
^ 1 J r J J 1 (a child 26 to 28 kreuzers.
For a load of dead leaves \ , « ,
( grown-up person . . 46 to 48 do.
For a load of green grass C a child . ..... 30 do.
torn up by the hand ( grown-up person . . . .50 do..
Should a sickle or scythe be used, the fine then becomes doubled ;
likewise for a second trespass ; for a third, imprisonment ensues.
It is against the Duke's laws to take birds' nests ; even those of
birds of prey cannot be taken without the permission of the keeper of
the forests.
For a nest taken of common singing-birds, 5 florins.
For nightingales 15 do.
Should the nest be taken out of a pleasure-ground, the fine then be-
comes doubled.
It may appear to many people quite impossible that
these penalties can be enforced in desolate districts so
nearly uninhabited : nevertheless, by a sort of diamond-
cut-diamond system, the Duke's forest-officers have various
cunning ways of detecting those who infringe them ; and
the fact is, that fuel and wild grass are very often wanting
in a solitary hovel absolutely environed by both. I myself
was one day told that I had become liable to be fined
eighteen kreuzers, because in a reverie I had allowed a
* Three kreuzers make one penny English; sixty kreuzers (or
IS. 8d.) make one florin.
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THE SERPENTS' BA TH. 1 85
rough pony I was riding to bend his head down and eat a
few mouthfuls of grass ; and another day, seeing a man who
was driving the ass I was riding rub with mud the end of a
switch he had just cut, I was told by him, in answer to my
inquiry, that he did so that it might not be proved he had
cut it However, lest these trifling data should not be
deemed sufficient proo^ I will at once add that I have
myself seen the peasants lying in the Duke's prison for
having offended against these petty laws.
I took some pains to inquire what possible objection
there could be to the poor people collecting a few dead
leaves or the rank wild grass which grows here and there
all over the forest, and I was told that both of these by
rotting are supposed to manure the trees, although, as I
have already stated, quantities of the largest timber are to
be seen decaying in every direction.
In a crowded, populous country, all descriptions of
property must be clearly distinguished and most sternly
protected, but in a state of nature, or in districts so nearly
approaching to it as many parts of Nassau, the same rule
is not applicable — the same necessity does not exist ; and
under such circumstances the punishment inflicted upon a
child for tearing up wild grass with his hands for his
mother's cow most certainly is (and who can deny it ?)
greater than the offence.
It is with no hostile or unkind feeling towards the Duke
of Nassau that I mention these details : he is a personage
much beloved in his duchy, and I believe with great reason
is he respected there, yet his forest laws no one surely can
admire ; and though custom certainly has sanctioned them
— though the humble voice of those who have suffered
under them has hitherto been too feeble to reach his ears
— and though those about his court and person are but
little disposed to awaken his attention to such mean com-
I 2
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i86 SCHLANGENBAD.
plaints — ^yet no one can calmly see and foresee the state ot
political feeling in Germany without admitting that the
most humble traveller (and why not an English one ?) may
render the Duke of Nassau a friendly service by bringing
into daylight, unveiled by flattery, an act of oppression in
his government, which, while it has most probably escaped
his attention, is seditiously hoarded up by his political ene-
mies to form part of that fulcrum which they are secretly
working at, in order to effect by it if possible his downfall.
A grievance, like a wound, oflen only requires to be laid
open to be cured; whereas, if deeply seated, it be concealed
from view, like gunpowder imbedded in a rock, when once
the spark does reach it, it explodes with a violence pro-
portionate to the power which would vainly have attempted
to smother it in the earth.
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NIEDER'SELTERS. 187
NIEDER-SELTERS.
Having in various countries drunk so much and heard so
much of the celebrated refreshing Selters or Selzer water, I
determined one lovely morning to exchange the pleasure of
rambling about the woods of Schlangenbad for the self-
imposed duty of visiting the brunnen of Nieder-Selters :
accordingly, I managed to procure a carriage, and with
three post-horses away I trotted, sitting as upright and as
full of exuberant enjoyment as our great departed lexico-
grapher in his hack chaise. The macadamised road on
which I travelled, with the sight of men and boys sitting by
its side, spitefully cracking with slight hammers little stones
upon flat big ones, might easily have reminded me of Old
England ; but five women, each carrying on her head six-
teen large stone bottles of Schlangenbad water to wash the
faces of the ladies of Schwalbach — the dress of three
peasants with long pipes in their mouths — a little cart
drawn by two cows — ^the Prince of Saxe-Coburg in a rough
carriage pulled by horses without blinkers and in rope
harness — ^an immense mastiff, driving before him to be
slaughtered a calf not a week old, and scarcely as high as
himself — ^all these trifling incidents, combined with the
magnificent outline of wooded hills which towered above
the road, constantly reminded me that I was still under the
political roof and in the dominions of "The Duke/*
On arriving at Schwalbach I learned that the remainder
of the journey, which was to occupy six hours, was to be
performed on roads which, in the English language, are
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i88 NIEDER-SELTERS,
termed so very properly "cross." Accordingly, passing
under the great barren hill appropriated to the Schwein-
General of Langen-Schwalbach, we followed for some time
the course of a green grassy valley, the herbage of which
had just been cut for the second time ; and then getting
into a country much afflicted with hills, the horses were
either straining to ascend them or suffering equally severely
in the descent In many places the road was hardly as
broad as the carriage, and as there was generally a preci-
pice on one side, I might occasionally have felt a little
nervous had it not been for sundry jolts happily just
violent enough to prevent the mind thinking of anything
else.
Passing the Misenhammer, a water-mill lifting an
immense hammer which forges iron by its fall (a lion
which the water-drinkers of Schwalbach generally visit), I
proceeded through the village of Neuhof to Wiirges, where
we changed horses, and, what was still more important,
bartered an old postilion for a young one. For a con-
siderable time our xoad ascended, passing through woods
and park-like plantations belonging to the Duke of Nassau's
hunting-seat "Die Platte;" at last, breaking away from
these coverts which had environed us, we traversed a vast,
undulating, unenclosed country, furrowed by ravines and
deep valleys, many of which we descended and ascended.
The principal crops were potatoes, barley, oats, rye, and
wheat — the three former being perfectly green, the two
latter completely ripe ; and as it happened, from some
reason or other, that these sets of crops were generaUy
sown on the same sort of land, it constantly occurred that
the entire produce of some hills wore the green dress of
spring, while other eminences were as wholly clothed in
the rich dusky garments of autumn. The harvest, how-
ever, not having commenced, and the villages being,
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NIEDER'SELTERS. 189
generally speaking, hidden in the ravines, the crops often
seemed to be without owners. Descending into valleys,
we occasionally passed through several very large villages,
generally paved, or rather studded with paving- stones ; and
as the carriage- wheels hopped from one to another, the
sensation (being still too fresh in my memory) I had rather
decline to describe : suffice it to say that the painful excita-
tion vividly expressed in my countenance must have formed
an odd contrast with the dull, heavy, half-asleep faces,
which, as if raised from the grave by the rattling of my
springs as well as joints, just showed themselves at the
windows, as if to scare me as I passed. From poverty,
thin mountain air, and meagre food, the inhabitants of all
these villages looked dreadfully wan; and really there was
a want of animation among the young people, as well as
the old, which it was quite distressing to witness ; the
streets seemed nearly deserted, while the mud houses, with
their unpainted windows, appeared to be as dry and cheer-
less as their inmates : here and there were to be seen
children, with hair resembling in colour and disorder a
bunch of flax — but no youthful merriment, no playfulness
— in short, they were evidently sapless chips of the old
wooden blocks which were still listlessly gaping at me from
the window-frames.
At one of these solemn villages the postilion stopped at
a " gast-haus" to bait his horses. Odd as it may sound,
it is nevertheless true, that German post-horses have seldom
what we should term bridles. Snaffle-bits, ending with T's
instead of rings, are hooked (by these T's) to iron billets
in the head-pieces of common stable-halters, by which
arrangement, to feed the animals, it is only necessary,
without taking them from the carriage, to unhook one end
of the bits, which immediately fall from their mouths ; a
slight trough, on four legs, is then placed before them, and
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I90 NIEDER'SELTERS.
the traveller generally continues, as I did, to sit in his
carriage, watching the horses voraciously eating up slices
of black rye-bread.
In England there is no surer recipe known for making
a pair of horses suddenly run away with one's carriage
than by taking oflf their blinkers to allow them to see it ;
but though our method decidedly suits us the best, yet in
Germany the whole system of managing horses from begin-
ning to end is completely different from ours. Whether
there is most of the horse in a German, or of the German
in a horse, is a nice point on which people might argue a
great deal ; but the broad fact really is, that Germans live
on more amicable terms with their horses, and understand
their dispositions infinitely better, than the English:- in
short, they treat them as horses, while we act towards them,
and drill them, as if they were men ; and in case any one
should doubt that Germans are better horse-masters than
we are, I beg to remind them of what is perfectly well
known to the British army — namely, that in the Peninsular
war the cavalry horses of the German legion were abso-
lutely fat, while those of our regiments were skin and bone.
In a former chapter I have already endeavoured to
explain that instead of reining a horse's head up^ as we
do, for draught, the Germans encourage the animal to keep
it down ; but besides this, in all their other arrangements
they invariably attend to the temper, character, and instinct
of the beast For instance, in harness they intrust these
sensible animals (who are never known to forget what they
have once seen) with the free use of their eyes. Their
horses see the wheel strike a stone, and they avoid the next
one ; if they drag the carriage against a post, again they
observe the effect ; and seeing at all times what is behind
them, they know that by kicking they would hurt them-
selves ; when passengers and postilion dismount, from
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NIEDER'SELTERS. 191
attentive observation they are as sensible as we are that
the draught will suddenly become less, and consequently,
rejoicing at being thus left to themselves, instead of wishing
to run away, they invariably are .rather disposed to stand
still.
As soon as, getting tired, or, as we are often too apt to
term it, " lazy," they see the postilion threaten them with
his whip, they know perfectly well the limits of his patience,
and that after eight, ten, or twelve threats, there will come
a blow. As they travel along, one eye is always shrewdly
watching the driver — ^the moment he begins the heavy
operation of lighting his pipe, they immediately slacken
their pace, knowing, as well as Archimedes could have
proved, that he cannot strike fire and them at the same
time : every movement in the carriage they remark ; and
to any accurate observer who meets a German vehicle it
must often be perfectly evident that the poor horses know
and feel, even better than himself, that they are drawing a
coachman and three heavy baronesses with their maid,
and that to do that on a hot summer's day is — no joke.
When their driver urges them to proceed, he does it by
degrees ; and they are stopped, not as bipeds, but in the
manner quadrupeds would stop themselves.
Now, though we all like our own way best, let us for a
moment (merely while the horses are feeding) contrast with
the above description our English mode of treating a horse.
In order to break in the animal to draught, we put a
collar round his neck, a crupper under his tail, a pad on
his back, a strap round his belly, with traces at his sides,
and lest he should see that, though these things tickle and
pinch, they have not power to do more, the poor intelligent
creature is blinded with blinkers : and in this fearful state
of ignorance, with a groom or two at his head, and another
at his side, he is, without his knowledge, fixed to the pole
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192 NIEDER-SELTERS.
and splinter-bar of a carriage. If he kicks, even at a fly,
he suddenly receives a heavy punishment, which he does
not comprehend — something has struck him, and has hurt
him severely; but as fear magnifies all danger, so, for
aught we know or care, he may fancy that the splinter-bar,
which has cut him, is some hostile animal, and expect,
when the pole bumps against his legs, to be again assailed
by it in that direction.
Admitting that in time he gets accustomed to these
phenomena, becoming what we term steady in harness,
still, to the last hour of his existence, he does not clearly
understand what it is that is hampering him, or what creates
that ratthng noise which is always at his heels : the sudden
sting of the whip is a pain with which he gets but too well
acquainted, yet the " unde derivatur *' of the sensation he
cannot explain — he neither knows when it is coming nor
where it comes from. If any trifling accident, or even ir-
regularity occurs — if any little harmless strap, which ought
to rest upon his back, happens to fall to his side — the poor,
noble, intelligent animal, deprived of his eyesight, the
natural lanterns of the mind, is instantly alarmed; and
though, from constant heavy draught, he may literally, with-
out metaphor, be on his last legs, yet if his blinkers should
happen to fall off", the sight of his own master— of his very
own pimple-faced mistress — and of his own fine yellow
carriage in motion — ^would scare him so dreadfully that ofl'
he would probably start, and the more they all pursued him
the faster would he fly !
I am aware that many of my readers, especially those
of the fairer sex, will feel disposed to exclaim, " Why ad-
mire German horses ? Can there be any in creation better
fed or warmer clothed than our own ? In black and silver
harness are they not ornamented nearly as highly as our-
selves? Is there any amusement in town which they do
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NIEDER-SELTERS. 193
not attend ? Do we not take them to the Italian Opera,
to balls, plays, to hear Paganini, etc. ; and don't they often
go to two or three routs of a night ? Are our horses ever
seen standing before vulgar shops 1 And do they not drive
to church every Sunday as regularly as ourselves ? "
Most humbly do I admit the force of these observa-
tions ; all I persist in asserting is, that horses are foolishly
fond of their eyesight — ^like to wear their heads awkwardly,
as Natiure has placed them ; and that they have bad taste
enough to prefer dull German grooms and coachmen to our
sharp English ones.
As soon as my horses had finished their black bread,
all my idle speculations concerning them vanished; the
snaffle-bits were put into their mouths — the trough re-
moved — ^and on we proceeded to a village, where we again
changed.
The features of the country now began to grow larger
than ever ; and though crops, green and brown, were, as
far as the eye could reach, gently waving around me, yet
the want of habitations, plantations, and fences, gave to the
extensive prospect an air of desolation : the picture was,
perhaps, grand, but it wanted foreground : however, this de-
ficiency was soon most delightfully supplied by the identical
object I was in search of — ^namely, the brunnen and estab-
lishment of Nieder-Selters, which suddenly appeared on the
road-side close before me, scarcely a quarter-of-a-mile from
its village.
The moment I entered the great gate of the enclosure
which, surrounded by a high stone wall, occupies about
eight acres of ground, so strange a scene presented itself
suddenly to my view, that my first impression was, I had
discovered a new world inhabited by brown stone bottles !
for in all directions were they to be seen rapidly moving
from one part of the estabUshment to another — standing
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194 NIEDER-SELTERS.
actually in armies on the ground, or piled in immense layers
or strata one above another. Such a profusion and such a
confusion of bottles it had never entered human imagination
to conceive ; and before I could bring my eyes to stoop to
detail, with uplifted hands I stood for several seconds in
utter amazement.
On approaching a large circular shed, covered with a
slated roof, supported by posts, but open on all sides, I
found the single brunnen or well from which this highly-
celebrated water is forwarded to almost every quarter of the
globe — to India, the West Indies, the Mediterranean, Paris,
London, and to almost every city in Germany. The hole,
which was about five feet square, was bounded by a frame-
work of four strong beams mortised together ; and the bot-
tom of the shed being boarded, it very much resembled,
both in shape and dimensions, one of the hatches in the
deck of a ship. A small crane with three arms, to each of
which there was suspended a square iron crate or basket, a
little smaller than the brunnen, stood about ten feet oflP:
and while peasant girls, with a stone bottle (holding three
pints) dangling on every finger of each hand, were rapidly
filling two of these crates, which contained seventy bottles,
a man turned the third by a winch, until it hung imme-
diately over the brunnen, into which it then rapidly de-
scended. The air in these seventy bottles being immediately
displaced by the water, a great bubbling of course ensued ;
but in about twenty seconds, this having subsided, the crate
was raised; and, while seventy more bottles descended
from another arm of the crane, a fresh set of girls curiously
carried off these full bottles, one on each finger of each
hand, ranging them in several long rows upon a large table
or dresser, also beneath the shed. No sooner were they
there, than two men, with surprising activity, put a cork
into each ; while two drummers, with a long stick in each
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NIEDER'SELTERS. 195
of their hands hammering them down, appeared as if they
were playing upon musical glasses.
Another set of young women now instantly carried them
off, four and five in each hand, to men who, with sharp
knives, sliced off the projecting part of the cork ; and this
operation being over, the poor jaded bottles were delivered
over to women, each of whom actually covered 3000 of
them a-day with white leather, which they firmly bound with
packthread round the corks ; and then, without placing the
bottles on the ground, they delivered them over to a man
seated beside them, who, without any apology, dipped each
of their noses into boihng hot rosin ; and before they had
recovered from this unexpected operation, the Duke of
Nassau's seal was stamped upon them by another man,
when off they were hurried, sixteen and twenty at a time,
by girls to magazines, where they peacefully remained ready
for exportation.
Although this series of operations, when related one
after another, may sound simple enough, yet it must be kept
in mind that all were performed at once ; and when it is
considered that a three-armed crane was drawing up seventy
bottles at a time, from three o'clock in the morning till
seven o'clock at night (meal-hours excepted), it is evident
that, without very excellent arrangement, some of the squads
either would be glutted with more work than they could
perform, or would stand idle with nothing to do. No one,
therefore, dares to hurry or stop; the machinery, in full
motion, has the singular appearance which I have endea-
voured to describe ; and certainly the motto of the place
might be that of old Goethe's ring —
** ^Ijiw Ijaijt, fll)ne raiSt/*
Having followed a set of bottles from the brunnen to
the store, where I left them resting from their labours, I
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196 NIEDER-SELTERS,
strolled to another part of the establishment, .where were
empty bottles calmly waiting for their turn to be filled. I
here counted twenty-five bins of bottles, each four yards
broad, six yards deep, and eight feet high. A number of
young girls were carrpng thirty-four of them at a time on
their heads to an immense trough, which was kept constantly
full by a large fountain-pipe of beautiful clear fresh water.
The bottles on arriving here were brimful (as I conceived
for the purpose of being washed), and were then ranged in
ranks, or rather solid columns, of seven hundred each, there
being ten rows of seventy bottles.
It being now seven o'clock, a bell rang as a signal for
giving over work, when the whole process came suddenly
to an end. For a few seconds the busy labourers (as in a
disturbed ant-heap) were seen irregularly hurrying in every
direction ; but in a very short time all had vanished. Dur-
ing some minutes I ruminated in solitude about the premises,
and then set out to take up my abode for the night at the
village, or rather town, of Nieder-Selters ; however, I had
no sooner, as I vainly thought, bidden adieu to bottles, than
I saw, like Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane, bottles
approaching me in every possible variety of attitude. It
appears that all the inhabitants of Nieder-Selters are in the
habit of drinking in their houses this refreshing water ; but,
as the brunnen is in requisition by the Duke all day long,
it is only before or after work that a private supply can be
obtained. No sooner, therefore, does the evening bell ring,
than every child in the village is driven out of its house to
take empty bottles to the brunnen; and it was this singular-
looking legion that was now approaching me. The children
really looked as if they were made of bottles -, some wore a
pyramid of them in baskets on their heads, some were laden
with them hanging over their shoulders before and behind,
some carried them strapped round their middle, all had their
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NIEDER'SELTERS, 197
hands full ; and little urchins that could scarcely walk were
advancing, each hugging in its arms one single bottle. In
fact, at Nieder-Selters an "infant" means a being totally
unable to carry a bottle. Puberty and manhood are proved
by bottles, a strong man brags of the number he can carry,
and superannuation means being no longer able in this
world to bear — ^bottles.
The road to the brunnen is actually strewed with frag-
ments, and so are the ditches ; and when the reader is
informed that, besides all he has so patiently heard, bottles
are not only expended, filled, and exported, but actually are
made at Nieder-Selters, he must admit that no writer can
possibly do justice to that place unless every line of his
description contains at least once the word — ^bottle. The
moralists of Nieder-Selters preach on bottles. Life, they
say, is a sound bottle, and death a cracked one; thoughtless
men are empty bottles ; drunken men leaky ones ; and a
man highly educated, fit to appear in any country and in
any society, is, of course, a bottle corked, rosined, and
stamped with the seal of the Duke of Nassau.
As soon as I reached the village inn I found there all
the slight accommodation I required : a tolerable dinner
soon smoked on the table before me ; and feeling that I
had seen quite enough for one day of brown stone bottles,
I ventured to order (merely for a change) a long-necked
glass one of a vegetable fluid superior to all the mineral
water in the world.
The following morning, previous to returning to the
brunnen, I strolled for some time about the village \ and
the best analysis I can offer of the Selters water is the plain
fact, that the inhabitants of the village, who have drunk it
all their lives, are certainly by many degrees the healthiest
and ruddiest-looking peasants I have anywhere met with in
the dominions of the Duke of Nassau.
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198 NIEDER-SELTERS.
This day being a festival, on reaching the brunnen at
eleven o'clock I found it entirely deserted — ^no human
being was to be seen ; all had been working from three
o'clock in the morning till nine, but they were now in
church, and were not to return to their labour till twelve.
I had therefore the whole establishment to myself; and
going to the famous brunnen, my first object was to taste
its water. On drinking it fresh from the soiu*ce, I observed
that it possessed a strong chalybeate taste, which I had
never perceived in receiving it from the bottle. The three
iron crates suspended to the arms of the crane were empty,
and there was nothing at all upon the wooden dressers
which, the evening before, I had seen so busily crowded
and surrounded : in the middle of the great square were
the stools on which the cork-covering women had sat;
while at some distance to the left were the solid columns
or regiments of uncorked bottles, which I had seen filled
brimful with pure crystal water the evening before. On
approaching this brown-looking army, I was exceedingly
surprised at observing from a distance that several of the
bottles were noseless, and I was wondering why such
should ever have been filled, when, on getting close to
these troops, I perceived, to my utter astonishment, that
not only about one-third of them were in the same muti-
lated state, but that their noses were calmly lying by their
sides, supported by the adjoining bottles ! What could
possibly have been the cause of the fatal disaster which in
one single night had so dreadfully disfigured them, I was
totally at a loss to imagine : the devastation which had
taken place resembled the riddling of an infantry regiment
uoder a heavy fire ; yet few of our troops, even at Water-
loo, lost so great a proportion of their men as had fallen in
twelve hours amoag these immovable phalanxes of bottles.
Had they been corked, one might have supposed that they
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NIEDER'SELTERS, 199
had exploded, but why nothing but their noses had suflfered
I really felt quite incompetent to explain.
As it is always better honestly to confess one's ignor-
ance, rather than exist under its torture, with a firm step
I walked to the door of the governor of the brunnen ; and
sending up to him a card, bearing the name under which I
travelled, he instantly appeared, politely assuring me that
he should have much pleasure in affording any information
I desired.
Instantly pointing to the noseless soldiers, my instructor
was good enough to inform me that bottles in vast numbers
being suppHed to the Duke from various manufactories, in
order to prove them they are filled brimfiil (as I had seen
them) with water, and being left in that state for the night,
they are the next morning visited by an officer of the Duke,
whose wand of office, a thin, long-handled little hammer,
happened at the moment to be. lying before us on the
ground.
It appears that the two prevailing sins to which stone
bottles are prone are having cracks and being porous, in
either of which cases they, of coiu*se, in twelve hours, leak
a Uttle.
The Duke's officer, who is judge and jury in his own
iXfuri-ysid, carries his own sentences into execution with a
rapidity which even our Lord Chancellor himself can only
hope eventually to imitate. Glancing his hawk-like eye
along each line, the instant he sees a bottle not brimful,
without listening to long-winded arguments, he at once
decides " that there can be no mistake — that there shall
be no mistake ;" and thus at one blow or tap of the ham-
mer, off goes the culprit's nose. " So much for Bucking-
ham!"
Feeling quite relieved by this solution of the mystery,
I troubled the governor with a few questions, in reply to
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200
NIEDER-SELTERS.
which he very kindly conducted me to his counting-house,
where, in the most liberal and gentleman-like manner, he
gave me all the data I required.
The following, which I extracted from the day-book, is
a statement showing the number of bottles which were
filled for exportation during the year 1832, with the pro-
portionate number filled during each month : —
January 1832
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October .
November
December
Large.
Small.
301
.25
9,235
2,100
304,529
95,714
207,887
49,562
167,706
61,589
155,688
14,063
76,086
16,388
58,848
9,159
27,216
9,555
23,512
3,297
2,523
25
151
44
1,033,662 261,521
Besides the above, there is a private consumption,
amounting, on an average, to very nearly half-a-million of
bottles per annum.
It will, I hope, be recollected, that by the time a bottle
is sealed, it has undergone fifteen operations, all performed
by different people. The Duke, in his payments, does not
enter into these details, but, delivering his own bottles, he
gives 17 J kreuzers (nearly sixpence) for every hundred,
large or small, which are placed, filled, in his magazines.
The peasants, therefore, either share their labour and profits
among themselves, or the whole of the operations are occa-
sionally performed by the different members of one family;
but so much activity is required in constantly stopping and
carrying off the bottles, that this work is principally per-
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NIEDER-SELTERS. 201
fonned by young women of eighteen or nineteen, assembled
from all the neighbouring villages, who, by working from
three in the morning till seven at night, can gain a florin a-
day, or 30 florins a-month, Sunday (excepting during
prayers) not being, I am sorry to say, at Nieder-Selters, a
day of rest.
For the bottles themselves the Duke pays 4 J florins
per cent for the large ones, and three florins per cent for
the small ones. The large bottles, when full, he sells at
the brunnen for 13 florins a-hundred.
His profit last year, deducting all expenses, appeared
to be, as nearly as possible, 50,000. florins; and yet thrs
brunnen was originally sold to the Duke's ancestor for a
single butt of wine !
On coming out of the office, the establishment .was all
alive again, and the peasants being in their Sunday clothes,
the picture was highly coloured. Young women in groups
of four and five, with little white or red caps perched on
the tops of their heads, from which streamed three or four
broad ribbons of difierent colours, denoting the villages
they proceeded from, in various directions, singing as they
went, were walking together, heavily laden with bottles.
They were dressed in blue petticoats, clean white shifts
tucked above the elbows, with coloiu*ed stays laced, or
rather half-unlaced, in front. Old women, covering the
corks with leather, in similar costume, but in colours less
gaudy, were displaying an activity much more vigorous
than their period of life. Across this parti-coloured, well-
arranged system, as regular in its movements as the planets
in their orbits, an officer of the Duke, like a comet, occa-
sionally darted from the office to the brunnen, or from the
tiers of empty bottles which had not yet been proved to
the magazine of fiill ones ready to embark on their travels.
In quitting the premises, as I passed the regiments of
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202 NIEDER-SELTERS.
bottles, an operation was proceeding which I had not
before witnessed. Women in wooden shoes were reversing
the full bottles ; in fact, without driving these brown sol-
diers from their position, they were making them stand
upon their heads instead of upon their heels— the object of
this military somerset being to empty them ; however, every
noseless bottle, water and all, was hurled over a wall, into
a bin prepared on purpose to receive them ; and the
smashing sound of devastation which proceeded from this
odd-looking operation it would be very difficult to describe.
Having now witnessed about as much as I desired of
the lively brunnen of Nieder-Selters, I bade adieu to this
well-regulated establishment, feeling certain that its portrait
would in future reappear before my mind, in all its vivid
coloiurs, whensoever and wheresoever I might drink the
refreshing wholesome beverage obtained from its, bright,
sparkling source. My carriage had long been waiting at the
gate : however, having aroused my lumbering and slumbering
driver, retracing my steps, I slowly re-jolted homeward, and
it was late before I reached my peaceful abode in the gay,
green little valley of Schlangenbad.
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH. 203
THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
Exactly at the appointed moment, Luy with his favourite
ass, Katherinchen, appeared at the door of the New Bad-
Haus ; the day, overcast with clouds, was quite cool, and,
under such favourable auspices, starting at twelve o'clock,
in less than a hundred yards we were hidden in the immense
forest which encircles that portion of the duchy of Nassau
which looks down upon the Maine and the Rhine. For
about an hour the ass, who after the second turn seemed to
be perfectly sensible where she was carrying me, patiently
threaded her way along narrow paths, which, constantly
crossing each other at various angles, seemed sufficient to
puzzle even the brain of a philosopher ; however, although
human intellect is said to be always on the march, yet we
often find brute instinct far before it ; and certainly it did
appear that Katherinchen' s knowledge of the carte du pays
of Nassau was equal almost to that of " The Duke " him-
self. Sometimes we suddenly came to tracks of wheels
which seemed to have been formed by carriages that had
not only dropped from, but had returned back to, the
clouds, foif they began h propos to nothing, and vanished in
an equally unaccountable manner. Sometimes we came to
patches bare of timber, except here and there an old oak
left on purpose to supply acorns for the swine ; then again
we followed a path which seemed only to belong to deer,
being so narrow that we were occasionally obliged to force
our way through the bushes ; at last, all of a sudden, I un-
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204
THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
expectedly found myself on the very brink of a most pic-
turesque and precipitous valley.
Close above me, standing proudly on its rock, and
pointing to a heavy white cloud which happened at the mo-
ment to be passing over it, was the great pillar or tower of
Scharfenstein, a castle formerly the residence of the bishops
of Mainz. The village of Kiedrich lay crouching at a con-
siderable depth beneath, the precipitous bank which con-
TOWER OF SCHARFENSTEIN.
nected us with it being a vineyard, in which every here and
there were seen flights of rough stone steps, to enable the
peasants to climb to their work. By a rocky path, about a
foot or nine inches broad, Katherinchen, with Luy following
as if tied to her tail, diagonally descended through this
grape garden, until we at last reached the village-mill, the
wheel of which I had long observed indolently turning under
a stream of water scarcely hea\7 enough for its purpose.
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
205
The little village of Kiedrich, as I rode by it, appeared to
be a confused congregation of brown hovels and green gar-
dens, subservient to a large slated mansion of the Baron
von Ritter, whose tower of Scharfenstein now seemed in
the clouds, as if to draw the lightning from the village ; and
after almost breaking my neck to look up to it, I could
not help feeling, as I turned towards the east, how proud its
laird must be at seeing every morning its gigantic shadow
VILLAGE OF KIEDRICH.
lying across the valley, then paying its diurnal visit to every
habitation, thus eclipsing for a few moments from each
vassal even the sun in the heavens.
After passing Kiedrich, I again entered the forest, and
for above an hour there was little to be seen except the noble
trees which encompassed me \ but the mind soon gets
accustomed to ever so short a tether, and though I could
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2o6 THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH,
seldom see fifty yards, yet within that distance there existed
always plenty of minute objects to interest me. The fo-
liage of the beeches shone beautifully clear and brilliant, with
new shoots, which, being lighter in colour than the old, had
much the appearance of the autumnal tint, yet when the
error was discovered, one gladly acknowledged that youth
had been mistaken for age. The forest now suddenly
changed from beech-trees into an army of oaks, which
seemed to be, generally speaking, about fifty years of age :
among them, however, there stood here and there a few
weather-beaten veterans, who had survived the race of com-
rades with whom they had once flourished; but we must
drop the military metaphor, for their hearts were gone, their
bodies had mouldered away ; nothing but one side was left ;
in fact, they were more like sentry-boxes than sentinels,
and yet, in this decayed state, they were decked with leaves,
as cheerfully as the rest. In this verdant picture existed
one pale object which, for a few moments, as I passed it,
particularly attracted my attention ; it was an immense oak,
struck dead by lightning ; it had been, and indeed still was,
the tallest to be seen in the forest, and pride and presump-
tion had apparently drawn upon it its fate. Every leaf,
every twig, every small branch was gone ; barkless, blasted,
and blanched, its limbs seemed stretched into the harsh-
est outlines ; a human corpse could not form a greater
contrast with a living man, than this tree did with the soft
green foliage waving around it ; it stood stark — stiff — ^jagged
as the lightning itself; and as its forked, sapless branches
pointed towards the sky, it seemed as if no one could dare
pass it without secretly feeling that there exists a power
which can annihilate as well as create, and that what the
fool said in his heart — was wrong ! I, however, had not
much time for this sort of reflection, for whenever Katherin-
chen, coming to two paths, selected the right one, Luy from
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH. 207
behind was heard loudly applauding her sagacity, which he
had previously declared to be superior to that of all the
asses in Nassau ; and yet, in his more humble department,
Luy deserved quite as much praise as Katherinchen herself.
He was a slender, intelligent, active man, of about
thirty, dressed in a blue smock-frock, girded round the
middle by the buff Nassau belt ; and though, from some
cause or other which he could never satisfactorily account
for, his mouth always smelt of rum, yet he was never at a
loss — always ready for an expedition, and, foot-sore or not,
the day seemed never long enough to tire him. The fellow
was naturally of an enterprising disposition, and the winters
in Nassau being long and cheerless, it occurred to Luy on
his march with me, that were he with Katherinchen and
his other two asses to go to England (of which he had only
heard that it was the richest country under the sun), they
would no doubt there be constantly employed for the whole
twelvemonth, instead of only finding lady and gentleman
riders at Schlangenbad for a couple of months in the year.
His project appeared to himself a most brilliant one, and
though I could not enter into it quite as warmly as he did
(indeed I almost ruined his hopes by merely hinting that
our sea, which he had never heard of, might possibly object
to his driving asses from Schlangenbad to London), yet I
inwardly felt that poor Luy's speculation had quite as sound
a foundation, displayed quite as much knowledge of the
world, and had infinitely less roguery in it, than the bubble
projects of more civiUsed countries, which have too often
eventually turned out to be nothing more nor less than
ass-driving with a vengeance.
After winding my way through the trees for a consider-
able time, inclining gently to the left, I suddenly saw close
before me, at the bottom of a most sequestered valley, the
object of my journey — namely the very ancient monastery
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208 THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
of Eberbach. The sylvan loveliness and the peaceful re-
tirement of this spot I strongly feel it is quite impossible
to describe. Almost surrounded by hills, or rather moun-
tains, clothed with forest-trees, one does not expect to find
at the bottom of such a valley an immense solitary building,
which in size and magnificence not only corresponds with
the bold features of the country, but seems worthy of a
place in any of the largest capitals of Europe.
The irregular buildings with its dome, spires, statues,
and high-slated roofs, looks like the palace of some powerful
king j and yet the monarch has apparently no subjects but
the forest-trees, which on all sides almost touch the archi-
tecture, and even closely environ the garden walls.
A spot better suited to any being, or race of beings, who
wished to say to the world " Fare thee well; and if for ever^
still for ever fare thee well I ^^ could scarcely be met with on
its vast circumference ; and certainly, if it were possible for
the vegetable creation to compensate a man for losing the
society of his fellow-creatures, the woods of Eberbach would,
in a high degree, afford him that consolation. A more
lovely and romantic situation for a monastery could not
have existed; yet I should have wondered how it could
possibly have been "discovered, had not its history most
clearly explained that marvel.
In the year 1131, St. Bemhard, the famous preacher of
the crusade (whose followers eventually possessed, merely
in the Rhine-gau, six monastic establishments — namely,
Tiefenthal, Gottesthal, Eberbach, Eibinger, Nothgottes, and
Marienhausen), was attacked by a holy itch, or irresistible
determination to erect a monastery ; but not knowing where
to drop the foundation-stone, he consulted, it is said, a wild
boar on this important subject The sagacious creature
shrewdly listened to the human being who addressed it ;
and a mysterious meeting being agreed upon, he silently
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THE MONASTER Y OF EBERBA CH. 209
grubbed with his snout, in the valley of Eberbach, lines
marking out the foundation of the building ; and certainly
such a lovely sty, for idle men basking in sunshine, to snore
away their existence, no animal but a pig would ever have
thought of!
St Bemhard, highly approving of the boar's taste, em-
ployed the best architects to carry his plan into execution ;
and sparing no expense, a magnificent cathedral — a large
palace with a monastery connected together by colonnades,
as well as ornamented in various places with the image of
the pig, its founder — were quickly reared upon the spot ;
and when all was completed, monks were brought to the
abode, and the holy hive, for many centuries, was heard
buzzing in the wild mountains which surrounded it. How-
ever, in the year 1803, the Duke of Nassau took violent
possession of its honey, and its inmates were thus rudely
shaken from their cells. Three or four of the monks of
this once wealthy establishment are all that now remain in
existence, and their abode has ever since been used partly
as a government prison and partly as a public asylum for
lunatics.
Before entering the great gate, which was surmounted
by colossal figures of the Virgin Mary, St. John, and the
great St. Bernhard himself, I was advised by my cicerone,
Luy, to go to some grotto he kept raving about ; and as
Katherinchen's nose also seemed placidly to point the same
way, I left the monastery, and through a plantation of very
fine oaks, growing about twenty feet asunder, we ascended,
by zigzags, a hill surmounted by a beautiful plantation of
firs ; and the moment I reached the summit there suddenly
flashed upon me a view of the Rhine, which, without any
exception, I should say, is the finest I have witnessed in
this country. Uninterrupted by anything but its own long,
narrow islands, I beheld the course of the river, from Johan-
K 2
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2 lo THE MONASTER V OF EBERBA CH.
nisbuig to Mainz, which two points formed, from the grotto
where I stood, an angle of about 120 degrees. Between
me and the water lay, basking in sunshine, the Rhine-gau,
covered with vineyards, or surrounded by large patches of
com, evidently just ready for the sickle ; but the harvest
not having actually commenced, the only moving objects
in the picture were young women with white handkerchiefs
on their heads, busily pruning the vines ; and the Coin, or,
as it might more properly be termed, the English steam-
boat, which, immediately before me, was gliding against the
stream towards Mainz. On the opposite side of the Rhine
an immense country, highly cultivated, but without a fence,
was to be seen.
Turning my back upon this noble prospect, the monas-
tery lay immediately beneath me, so completely surrounded
by the forest that it looked as if, ready-built, it had been
dropped from heaven upon its site.
A more noble-looking residence could hardly be imagined,
and the zigzag walks and plantations of fir imparted to it a
gentleman-like appearance which I could not sufficiently
admire ; yet, notwithstanding the rural beauty of the place,
I felt within me a strong emotion of pity for those poor,
forlorn, misguided beings, whose existence had been use-
lessly squandered in such mistaken seclusion ; and I could
not help fancying how acutely, from the spot on which I
stood, they might have compared the moral loneliness of
their mansion with the natural joy and loveliness of that
river scenery from which their relentless mountain had
severed them : indeed, I hope my reader will not think an
old man too Anacreontic for saying, that if anything in this
world could penetrate the sackcloth garment of a monk,
" and wring his bosom," it would be the sight of what I
had just turned my back upon — namely, a vineyard full of
women ! That the fermentation of the grape was intended
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH, 211
to cheer decrepitude, and that< the aflfections of a softer sex
were made to brighten the zenith of mid-day life, are truths
which, within the walls of a convent or a monastery, it must
have been most exquisite torture to reflect upon.
As I descended from the grotto, I saw beneath me,
entering the great gate of the building, half-a-dozen carts
laden with wood, each drawn by six prisoners. None
being in irons, and the whole gang being escorted by a
single soldier in the Nassau uniform, I was at first surprised,
— ^why, when they penetrated the forest, they did not all
run away ! However, fear of punishment held them
together : there being no large cities in the duchy, they
had nowhere to run but to their own homes, where they
would instantly have been recaptured; and though, to a
stranger like myself, the forest seemed to offer them pro-
tection, yet it was certain death by starvation to remain
in it.
On entering the great square, I found it would be ne-
cessary to apply to the commandant of the establishment
for permission to view it. I accordingly waited upon him,
and was agreeably surprised at being politely informed by
him, in English, that he would be proud and most happy
to attend me. He was a fine, erect, soldier-like looking
man, of about forty, seventeen years of which he had
reigned in this valley over prisoners and lunatics ; the
average number of the former being 250, and of the latter
about 100.
As I was following him along some very handsome
cloisters, I observed, hanging against a wall, twenty-five
pictures in oil, of monks, all dressed in the same austere
costume, and in features as in dress so much resembling
each other, that the only apparent distinction between them
was the name of each individual, whose barren, useless
existence was thus intended to be commemorated beyond
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212 THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
the narrow grave which, contained him. Ascending a stone
staircase, I now came to the lower division of the prison,
one-half being appropriated to women, and the other to
men
Although I had been for the whole day enjoying pure
fresh air, yet the establishment was so exceedingly clean
that there was no smell of any sort to offend me. The
monks' cells had in many places been thrown by threes
into large rooms for tailors, weavers, carpenters, shoe-
makers, etc. etc — each of these trades working separately,
under the direction of one overseer. In all these chambers
every window was wide open, the walls were whitewashed,
the blanched floors without a stain ; indeed, this excessive
cleanliness, although highly praised by me, and exceedingly
attractive to any English traveller, probably forms no small
part of the punishment of the prison ; there being nothing
that practically teases dirty people more than to inflict
upon them foreign habits of cleanliness. The women's
rooms were similarly arranged, and the same cleanliness
and industry insisted upon ; while, for younger culprits,
there was an excellent school, where they were daily taught
religious singing, reading, writing, arithmetic, and weaving.
Having finished with this floor, I mounted to the upper
storey, where, in solitary cells, were confined patients who
had relapsed, or, in plainer terms, culprits who had been
convicted a second time of the same offence.
Many of these unfortunate people were undergoing a
sentence of three, four, and five years' imprisonment ; and
to visit them, as I did, in their cells was, I can assiu-e my
reader, anything but pleasing. On the outside of each
door hung a small black board, upon which was laconically
inscribed, in four words, the name and surname of the
captive, his or her offence, and the sentence. I found
that their crimes, generally speaking, were what we should
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH. 213
call petty thefts, such as killing the Duke's game, stealing
his wood, his grass, etc. etc.
As I paid my melancholy visits, one after another, to
these poor people, I particularly observed that they seemed
at least to be in the enjoyment (if, without liberty, it may
be so termed) of good health ; the natural effect of the
cool, temperate lives they were obliged to lead, and of the
pure fresh air which came to each of them through a small
open window; yet so soon as their doors were opened
there was an eagerness in their countenances, and a pecu-
liar anxiety in their manner of fixing their eyes upon mine,
which seemed to curdle into despondency as the door was
rapidly closed between us. Each individual had some
work to perform — one man had just finished a coffin for a
poor maniac who had lately ended his melancholy career ;
the lid, instead of flat, being a four-sided prism, on the upper
slab of which was painted in black a cross very nearly the
length of the coffin.
So long as the soldier, in his buff belt, who attended
the commandant, continued to unlock for me and lock the
dungeons of the male prisoners, so long* did I feel myself
capable of witnessing their contents ; for to see men suffer
is what we are all, more or less, accustomed to; but as
soon as he came to the women's cells I felt, certainly for
the first time in my existence, that I should be obliged to
abandon my colours, and cease to be of the scene before
me — a "reviewer."
In the countenance of the very first female captive I
beheld I could not but remark a want of firmness, for the
possession of which I had not given to the other sex suffi-
cient credit — the poor woman (to be sure she might have
been a mother) showed an anxiety for her release almost
hysterical ; and hurrying towards me, she got so close to
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2 14 THE MONASTER V OF EBERBA CH.
the door that it was absolutely forcibly slammed by the
soldier almost in her face.
In the third cell that I came to there stood up before
me, with a distaflf in her hand, a yoimg sHght-made peasant
girl of about eighteen ; her Jiair was black, and her coun-
tenance seemed to be beaming with innocence and exces-
sive health. She was the only prisoner who did not
immediately fix her eyes upon mine ; but, neither advancing
nor retiring, she stood, looking downwards, with an expres-
sion of grief which I expected every moment, somewhere
or other, would burst into tears. Such a living picture of
youthful unhappiness I felt myself incapable of gazing
upon ; and the door being closed upon her, was no sooner
locked than I thanked the commandant for his civility,
adding, that I would not trouble the soldier to open any
more of the cells, observing, as an excuse, that I perceived
they were all aUke.
After standing for some time listening to the rules and
discipline of the prison, I inquired of the commandant
whether he had any prisoners confined for any greater
crimes than those which I have already mentioned, to
which he replied in the negative; and he was going to
descend the staircase, when I asked him, as coldly as I
could, to be so good as to state for what offence the yoimg
person I had just left was suffering so severely. The com-
mandant, with silent dignity, instantly referred me to the
little black board, on which was written the girl's name (I
need not repeat it) and her crime, which, to my very great
astonishment, turned out to be " dissolute ; " and it was
because she had been convicted a second time of this
offence that she was imprisoned, as I saw her, in a cell
which, like all the others, had only one small window in
the roof, fi*om which nothing was to be seen but what she,
perhaps, least dared to look at — the heavens ! I certainly,
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH. 215
from her appearance, did not judge rightly of her character :
however, upon such points I neither outwardly profess nor
inwardly do I believe myself to be what is vulgarly termed
— ^knowing. Had I looked into the poor girl's countenance
for guilt, it is most probable I should not have searched
there in vain, but, at her youthful age, one sought for fe^
ings of a better cast ; and notwithstanding what was written
on the black board, those feelings most certainly did «xist, as
I have very faintly described them.
I now accompanied the commandant (going along, I
may just observe that he had learned English from his
father, who had served as an officer in our German Legion)
to another part of the monastery, which had long been
fitted up as an asylum for lunatics, most of whom were
provided for by the Nassau government, the rest being
people of family, supplied with every requisite by their
friends.
There was but little here which particularly attracted my
attention. In clean, airy rooms, formed out of three cells,
as in the prison, there lived together from eight to ten
lunatics, many of whom appeared to be harmless and even
happy, although, in the comer of the room, there certainly
was a large iron cage for refractory or dangerous patients.
In one of these groups stood a madman who had been a
medical student. He was about thirty years of age, ex-
tremely dark, exceedingly powerfully made — and no sooner
did I enter the room than, raising his eyes from a book
which he was reading, he fixed them (folding his arms at the
time) upon me, with a ferocity of countenance which formed
a very striking contrast to the expression of imbecility which
characterised the rest of his companions. The longer he
looked at me the deeper and the darker was his frown ; and
though I steadily returned it, yet, from the flashing of his
eyes, I really believe that, hke a wild beast, he would have
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2i6 THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
sprung upon me, had I not followed the soldier to the next
room.
Having inspected the great apartments, I next visited
the cells in which were confined those who were not fitted
for intercourse with others; they were generally of a gloomy
temperament. Some were lying on their beds, apparently
asleep; while some, particularly women, actually tried to
escape, but were mildly repressed by the commandant, whose
manner towards them seemed to be an admirable mixture,
in about equal parts, of mildness and immovable firmness.
I should have continued along the passage which con-
nected these cells, but the poor creature whose coffin I had
seen was lying there ; I therefore left the building, and weijt
into a great garden of the monastery, filled with standard
fruit-trees, which had been planted there by the monks. In
this secluded spot there was a sort of summer-house, where
the worst lunatic cases were in confinement ; none, however,
appeared in chains ; though some were so violent that the
commandant made a sign to the soldier not to disturb
them.
Having now very gratefully taken leave of the deserving
officer in charge of this singular estabhshment for crime and
lunacy, the whole of which was admirably kept in complete
subjection by a garrison of eight soldiers, for a considerable
time I strolled alone about the premises. Sometimes I
looked at ancient figures of a boar, which I found in more
than one place rudely carved both on wood and stone ;
then I wandered into the old cathedral, now strangely
altered from the days of its splendour, for while the glass in
its Gothic windows, having been broken, had been plastered
up with mud, upon the tombs of bishops and of abbots
there were lying corn in sheaves — Cheaps of chaff — bundles
of green grass.
My attention was now very particularly attracted by the
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH,
217
venerable entxance-gate of the monastery, which, on turn-
ing a comer, suddenly appeared before me, surmounted by
colossal statues of the great St Bemhard with his crosier,
of St. John, holding a long thin cross, at the foot of which
was seated a lamb, and of the Virgin Mary, who, with a
glory round her head, and an olive-branch in her hand,
stood in the centre, considerably exalted above both.
GATE OF ANCIENT MONASTERY OF EBEKBACH.
The sun had long ago set, and I was no sooner imme-
diately under the great arched gateway than, leaning on my
staff, I stood as it were rivetted to the ground at the sight of
the moon, which, having risen above the great hill, was
shining directly upon the picturesque pile and images above
my head.
As in silence and solitude I gazed upon the lovely
planet which majestically rose before me, growing brighter
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2i8 THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH.
and brighter as the daylight decayed, I could not help feel-
ing what strange changes she had witnessed in the little
valley of Eberbach ! Before the recorded meeting of the
" sus atque sacerdos," she had seen it for ages and ages ex-
isting alone in peaceful retirement — one generation of oaks
and beech-trees had been succeeded by another, while no
human being had felt disposed either to flourish or to decay
among this vegetable community. After his solemn inter-
view with the pig, she had seen the great St. Bernhard col-
lecting workmen and materials, and as in the midst of them
he stood waving his cross, she had observed a monastery
rise as if by magic from the earth, rapidly over-topping the
highest of the trees which surrounded it In the days of its
splendour she had witnessed provisions and revenues of all
sorts entering its lofty walls, but though processions glittered
in its interior, nothing was known by her to have been ex-
ported save a matin and vesper moan, which, accompanying
the wind as it swept along the valley, was heard gradually
dying, until in a few moments it had either ceased to exist,
or had lost itself among the calm, gentle rustling of the
leaves. Lastly, she had seen the monks of St. Bernhard
driven from their fastness. And from their holy cells, as
with full splendour she had since periodically gazed at mid-
night upon the convent, too often had she heard — first, the
scream of the poor maniac, uttered, as her round gentle light
shone mildly upon his brain; and then his wild laugh as,
starting from a distefnpered sleep, he forced his burning
forehead against the barred window of his cell, as if, like
Henri Quatre —
** Pour prendre la lune avec ses dents."
As she proceeded in her silent course, shining succes-
sively into each window of the monastery, how often did she
now see the criminal lying on the couch of the bigot — and
the prostitute immured in the cell of celibacy ! The mad-
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THE MONASTERY OF EBERBACH. 219
man is soundly sleeping where the fanatic had in vain
sought for repose — and the knave unwillingly suffering for
theft where the hypocrite had voluntarily confined himself !
From a crowd of these reflections, which, like mush-
rooms, rapidly grew up by the light of the moon, I was
aroused by Katherinchen and her satellite Luy, whose heads
(scarcely visible from the shadow of the great gateway),
pointing homewards, mildly hinted that it was time I should
return there ; but on my entering the convent rather an odd
scene presented itself. The supper of the lunatics, distri-
buted in separate plates, being ready in the great kitchen,
like a pack of hounds they were all of a sudden let loose,
and their appetites sufficientiy governing their judgments,
each was deemed perfectly competent to hunt for his own
food, which was no sooner obtained than, like an ant, he
busily carried it off* to his cell. The prisoners were also fed
from another kitchen at the same hour; and as certain
cravings, which with considerable dignity I had long re-
pressed, were painfully irritated by the very savoury smells
which assailed me, stopping for a moment, I most gladly
partook of the madman's fare, and then, full of soup and
of the odd scenes I had witnessed, leisurely seating myself
in my saddle, guided by Katherinchen, and followed by
Luy, we retraced our intricate paths through the forest,
until, late at night, we found ourselves once again in sight of
the little lamps which light up the garden and bowers of
my resting-place, or caravanserai — the New Bad-Haus of
Schlangenbad.
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220 JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
Having occasion to go to Mainz, I sent over-night to ap-
prise the ass, Katherinchen, and the groom of her bed-
chamber, Luy, that I should require the one to carry, the
other to follow me to that place. Accordingly, when seven
o'clock, the hour for my departure, arrived, on descending
the staircase of the great Bad-Haus, I found Luy in light
marching order, leaning against one of the plane-trees m
the shrubbery, but no quadruped ! In the man's dejected
countenance it was at once legible that his Katherinchen
neither was nor would be forthcoming ; and he began to
ejaculate a very long-winded lamentation, in which I heard
various times repeated something about sacks of flour and
Langen-Schwalbach : however, Luy*s sighs smelt so strongly
of rum that, not feeling as sentimental on the subject as
himself, I at once prevailed upon him to hire for me from
a peasant a little long-tailed pony, which he accordingly
very soon brought to the door. The wretched creatiure,
the property of a poor man, had been employed for several
months in the driest of all worldly occupations — ^namely,
canying hard stone bottles to the great brunnen of Nieder-
Selters, and had only the evening before returned home
from that uninteresting job. It was evident she had had
allotted to her much more work than food, and as she stood
before me with a drooping head, she shut her eyes as if she
were going to sleep. I at first determined on sending the
poor animal back, but being assured by Luy that, in that
case, she would have much harder work to perform, I re-
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 221
luctantly mounted her, and at a little jog-trot, which seemed
to be her best — her worst — in fact her only pace, we both,
in very humble spirits, placidly proceeded towards Mainz.
Luy, who besides what he had swallowed, had naturally
a great deal of spirit of his own, by no means, however, liked
being left behind ; and though I had formally bidden him
adieu, and was greatly rejoiced that I had done so, yet, while
I was ascending the mountain, happening to look behind me,
I saw the fellow following me at a distance like a wolf* I
therefore immediately pulled at my rein, a hint which the
pony most readily understood, and as soon as Luy came up, I
told him very positively he must return. Seeing that he
was detected, he at once gave up the point ; yet the faithftil
vassal, still having a hankering to perform for me some little
parting service, humbly craved permission to see if the
pony's shoes were, to use the English expression, "all
right." The two fore ones were declared by him (with a
hiccup) to be exactly as they should be ; but no sooner did
he proceed to make his tipsy reflections on the hind ones,
than in one second the pony seemed by magic to be con-
verted into a mad creature ! Luy fell, as if struck by
lightning, to the ground, while the tiny thing, with its head
between its legs (for the rein had been Ijdng loose on its
neck), commenced a series of most violent kicks, which I
seriously thought never would come to an end.
As good-luck would have it, I happened, during the
operation, to cleave pretty closely to my saddle, but what
thunder-clap had so suddenly soured the mild disposition of
my palfrey I was totally unable to conceive 1 It turned
out, however, that the poor thing^s paroxysm had been
caused by an unholy alliance that had taken place between
the root of her tail and the bowl of Luy's pipe, which, on
his reeling against her, had become firmly entangled in the
hair, and it was because it remained there for about half-a-
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222 JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
minute, burning her very violently, that she had kicked, or,
as a lawyer would term it, had protested in the violent man-
ner and form I have described.
After I had left Luy, it took some time before the poor
frightened creature could forget the strange mysterious sen-
sation she had experienced ; however, her mind, like her
tail, gradually becoming easy, her head drooped, the rein
again hung on her neck, and in a mile or two we continued
to jog on together in as good and sober fellowship as if no
such eccentric calamity had befallen us.
As we were thus ascending the mountain by a narrow
path, we came suddenly to a tree laden with most beautiful
black cherries, evidently dead ripe. The poor idiot of
Schlangenbad had escaped from the hovel in which he had
passed so many years of his vacant existence, and I here
found him literally gorging himself with the fruit For a
moment he stopped short in his meal, wildly rolling his
eyes, and looking at me as if his treacherous, faithless
brain could not clearly tell him whether I was a friend or
an enemy ; however, his craving stomach being much more
violent than any reflections the poor creature had power to
entertain, he suddenly seemed to abandon all thought, and
again greedily returned to his work. He was a man of
about thirty, with features, separately taken, remarkably
handsome : he had fine hazel eyes, an aquiline nose, and a
good mouth ; yet there was a horrid twist in the arrange-
ment, in which not only his features, but his whole frame
was put together, which, at a single glance, pointed him out
to me as one of those poor beings who, here and there, are
mysteriously sent to make their appearance on this earth, as
if practically to explain to mankind, and negatively to prove
to them, the inestimable blessing of reason, which is but too
often thanklessly enjoyed by them.
The cherries, hanging in immense clusters around us,
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 223
were plucked five or six at a time by the poor lame crea-
ture before me ; but his thumb and two fore-fingers being
apparently paralysed, he was obliged to grasp the fruit with
the two smallest, and thus, by a very iawkward turn of his
elbow, he seemed apparently to be eating the cherries out
of the palm of his hand, which was raised completely above
his head.
Not a cherry did he bite, but, with canine voracity, he
continued to swallow them, stones and all ; however, there
was evidently a sharp angle or tender comer in his. throat?
for I particularly remarked that whenever the round fruit
passed a certain point it caused the idiot's eyes to roll, and
a slight convulsion in his frame continued until the cherry
had reached the place of its destination.
The enormous quantity of ripe fruit which I saw this
poor creature swallow in the way I have described quite
astonished me ; however, it was useless to r.ttempt to offer
him advice, so, instead, I gave him what all people like so
much better — a little money — partly to enable him to buy
himself richer food, and partly because I wished to see
whether he had sense enough to attach any value to it.
The silver was no sooner in his hand than, putting it
most rationally into the loose pocket of his ragged, coarse
cloth trousers, he instantly returned to his work with as
much avidity as ever. Seeing that there was to be no end
to his meal, I left him hard at it, and continued to ascend
the hill, until the path, suddenly turning to the right, took
me by a level track into the great forest.
The sun had hitherto been very unpleasantly hot, but I
was now sheltered from its rays, while the pure mountain
air gave to the foliage a brightness which, in the Schlangen-
bad woods, I have so often stopped to admire. Although
it was midsummer, the old brown beech-leaves of the last
year still covered the surface of the ground ; yet they were
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224 JOURNEY TO MAINZ,
so perfectly dry, that fkr from there being an)rthing un-
healthy or gloomy in their appearance, they formed a very
beautiful contrast with the bright, clean, polished leaves, as
well as with the white, shining bark of the beech-trees out
of which they had only a year ago sprung into existence.
This russet covering of the ground was, generally speaking,
in shade, but every here and there were bright sparkling
patches of sunshine, which, having penetrated the foliage,
shone like gaudy patterns in a dark carpet
As the breeze gently stole among the trees, their
branches in silence bowing as it passed them, these brown
leaves, being crisp and dry, occasionally moved ; occasion-
ally they were more violently turned over by small fallow-
deer, which sometimes darted suddenly across my path,
their skin clean as the foliage on which they slept — ^their
eye darker than the night, yet brighter than the pure stream
from which they drank.
Enjoying the variety of this placid scene, I took every
opportunity, in search of novelty, to change my track ; still,
from the position of the sun, always knowing whereabouts I
was, I contrived ultimately to proceed in the direction I
desired, and after having been for a considerable time com-
pletely enveloped in the forest, I suddenly burst into hot
sunshine close to Georgenbom, a little village hanging most
romantically on the mountain's side.
The Rhine, and the immense country beyond it, now
flashed upon my view, and as I trotted along the unassum-
ing street, it was impossible to help admiring the magni-
ficent prospect which these humble villagers constantly
enjoyed ; however, the mind, like the eye, soon becomes
careless of the beauties of creation, and as my lean pony
jogged onwards in his course I found that the cottagers
looked upon us both with much greater interest than upon
that everlasting traveller the Rhine. Every woman we met,
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 225
with great civility grunted " Guten Morgen 1" as we passed
her, while each mountain-peasant standing at a door, or
even at a window, made obeisance to us as we crossed his
meridian, all people's eyes following us as far as they could
reach.
From Georgenbom, descending a little, we crossed a
piece of table or level land, on which there stood a rock
of a very striking appearance. Where it had come from,
Heaven (from whence apparently it had fallen) probably
only knows. As if from the force with which it had been
dropped upon its site, it had split into two pieces, separated
by a yawning crevice, yet small trees or bushes had grown
upon each summit, while the same beech foliage appeared
in the forest which smrounded them.
Passing close beneath this rock, I continued trotting
towards the east for about a league, when, gradually descend-
ing into a milder climate, I was hailed by the vineyards
which luxuriously surround the sequestered little village of
Frauenstein.
Upon a rock overhanging the hamlet there stood
solemnly before me the remains of the old castle of Frau-
enstein, or Frankenstein, supposed to have been built in
the thirteenth century. In the year 1300 it was sold to the
Archbishop Gerhardt, of Mainz, but soon afterwards, being
ruined by the Emperor Albrecht I. in a tithe war which he
waged against the prelate, it was restored to its original
possessors.
But what more than its castle attracted my attention in
the village of Frauenstein was an immense plane-tree, the
limbs of which had originally been trained almost hori-
zontally, until, unable to support their own weight, they
were now maintained by a scaffolding of stout props.
Under the parental shadow of this venerable tree the
children of the village were sitting in every sort of group
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226 JOURNEY TO MAINZ,
and attitude ; one or two of their mothers, in loose, easy
dishabile, were spinning, many people were leaning against
the upright scaffolding, and a couple of asses were enjoying
the cool shade of the beautiful foliage, while their drivers
were getting hot and tipsy in a wine-shop, the usual sign of
which is in Germany the branch of a tree affixed to the
door-post.
. As I had often heard of the celebrated tree of Frauen-
stein, before which I now stood, I resolved not to quit it
until I had informed myself of its history, for which I well
knew I had only to apply to the proper authorities ; for in
Germany, in every little village there exists a huge volume,
either deposited in the church, or in charge of an officer
called the Schuldheisz, in which the history of every castle,
town, or object of importance is carefully preserved. The
young peasant reads it with enthusiastic delight, the old
man reflects upon it with silent pride, and to afny traveller
searching for antiquarian lore its venerable pages are most
liberally opened, and the simple information they contain
generously and gratuitously bestowed.
On inquiring for the history of this beautiful tree, I was
introduced to a sort of doomsday-book about as large as a
church Bible ; and when I compared this volume with a
little secluded spot so totally unknown to the world as the
valley or glen of Frauenstein, I was surprised to find that
the autobiography of the latter could be so bulky — in short,
that it had so much to say of itself But it is the common
weakness of man, and particularly, I must acknowledge,
of an old man, to fancy that all his thoughts, as well as
actions, are of vast importance to the world ; why, there-
fore, should not the humble Frauenstein be pardoned for an
offence which we are all in the habit of committing 1
In this ancient volume the rigmarole history of the tree
was told with so much eccentric German genius, it displayed
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ, 227
such a graphic description of highborn sentiments and
homely life, and altogether it formed so curious a specimen
of the contents of these strange sentimental village histories,
that I venture to submit the following literal translation, in
which the German idiom is faithfully preserved at the ex-
pense of our English phraseology.
Legend of the Great Pj-ane-Tree of Frauenstein.
The old Count Kuno seized with a trembling hand the
pilgrim's staff — ^he wished to seek peace for' his soul, for
long repentance consumed his life. Years ago he had
banished from his presence his blooming son, because he
loved a maiden of ignoble race. The son, marrying her,
secretly withdrew.. For some time the Count remained in
his castle in good spirits — looked cheerfully down the valley
— heard the stream rush under his windows — thought Httle
of perishable life. His tender wife watched over him, and
her lovely daughter renovated his sinking life ; but he who
lives in too great security is marked in the end by the hand
of God, and while it takes from him what is most beloved,
it warns him that here is not our place of abode.
The "Haus-frau" (wife) died, and the Count buried the
companion of his days ; his daughter was solicited by the
most noble of the land, and because he wished to ingraft
this last shoot on a noble stem, he allowed her to depart,
and then, solitary and alone, he remained in his fortress.
So stands deserted upon the summit of the mountain, with
withered top, an oak ! — ^moss is its last ornament — ^the
storm sports with its last few dry leaves.
A gay circle no longer fills the vaulted chambers of the
castle — no longer through them does the cheerful goblet's
" clang" resound. The Count's nightly footsteps echo back
to him, and by the glimmer of the chandeliers the accoutred
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228 JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
images of his ancestors appear to writhe and move on the
wall as if they wished to speak to him. His armour, sullied
by the web of the vigilant spider, he could not look at with-
out sorrowful emotion. Its gentle creaking against the
wall made him shudder.
" Where art thou," he mournfully exclaimed, " thou who
art banished % O my son, wilt thou think of thy father, as he
of thee thinks — or .... art thou dead 1 and is that thy
flitting spirit which rustles in my armour, and so feebly
moves it ? Did I but know where to find thee, willingly to
the world's end would I in repentant wandering journey —
so heavily it oppresses me what I have done to thee ! I
can no longer remain — ^forth will I go to the God of Mercy,
in order, before the image of Christ, in the Garden of
Olives, to expiate my sins ! "
So spoke the aged man — enveloped his trembling
limbs in the garb of repentance — ^took the cockle-hat —
and seized with the right hand (that formerly was accus- ^
tomed to the heavy war-sword) the light long pilgrim's staff.
Quietly he stole out of the castle, the steep path descending
while the porter looked after him astounded, without de-
manding " Whither 1"
For many days the old man's feet bore him wide away ;
at last he reached a small village, in the middle of which,
opposite to a ruined castle, there stands a very ancient
plane-tree. Five arms, each resembling a stem, bend
towards the earth, and almost touch it. The old men of
former times were sitting imdemeath it, in the still evening,
just as the Count went by ; he was greeted by them, and
invited to repose. As he seated himself by their side,
" You have a beautiful plane-tree, neighbours," he said, t
" Yes," replied the oldest of the men, pleased with the
praise bestowed by the pilgrim on the tree ; it was never-
theless PLANTED IN BLOOD !"
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 229
" How is that?" said the Count
" That will I also relate," said the old man. " Many
years ago there came a young man here in knightly garb,
who had a young woman with him, beautiful and deUcate,
but, apparently from their long joiuney, worn out Pale
were her cheeks, and her head, covered with beautiful
golden locks, hung upon her conductor's shoulder. Timidly
he looked round — ^for, from some reason, he appeared to
fear all men ; yet, in compassion for his feeble companion,
he wished to conduct her to some secure hut, where her
tender feet might repose. There, under that ivy-grown
tower, stands a lonely house belonging to the old lord of
the castle; thither staggered the unhappy man with his
dear burden, but scarcely had he entered the dwelling than
he was seized by the Prince, with whose niece he was
clandestinely eloping. Then was the noble youth brought
bound, and where this plane-tree now spreads its roots
flowed his young blood ! The maiden went into a convent ;
but before she disappeared she had this plane-tree planted
on the spot where the blood of her lover flowed ; since
then it is as if a spirit life were in the tree that cannot die,
and no one likes a httle twig to cut off, or pluck a cluster
of blossom, because he fears it would bleed."
"God's will be done!" exclaimed suddenly the old
Count, and departed.
" That is an odd man," said the most venerable of the
peasants, eyeing the stranger who was hastening away ; " he •
must have something that heavily oppresses his soul, for he
speaks not, and hastens away ; but, neighbours, the evening
draws on apace, and the evenings in spring are not warm ;
I think in the white clouds yonder, towards the Rhine, are
still concealed some snow-storms — let us come to the warm,
hearth."
The neighbours went their way, while the aged Count,
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230 JOURNEY TO MAINZ,
in deep thought, passed up through the village, at the end
of which he found himself before the churchyard. Terrific
black crosses looked upon the traveller — the graves were
netted over with brambles and wild roses — ^no foot tore
asunder the entwinement On the right hand of the road
there stands a crucifix, hewn with rude art From a recess
in its pedestal a flame rises towards the bloody feet of the
image, from a lamp nourished by the hand of devotion.
"Man of sorrow," thus ascended the prayer of the
traveller, " give me my son again — by thy wounds and suf-
ferings, give me peace — ^peace !"
He spoke, and turning round towards the mountain, he
followed a narrow path, which conducted him to a brook,
close under the flinty, pebbly grape hill. The soft mur-
murs of its waves rippling here and there over clear bright
stones harmonised with his deep devotion. Here the
Count found a boy and a girl, who, having picked flowers,
were watching them carried away as they threw them into
the current.
When these children saw the pilgrim's reverend attire,
they arose — looked up — seized the old man's hand, and
kissed it. "God bless thee, children!" said the pilgrim,
whom the touch of their little hands pleased. Seating him-
self on the ground, he said, " Children, give me to drink
out of your pitcher."
" You will find it taste good out of it, stranger-man,"
said the little girl ; " it is our father's pitcher in which we
carry him to drink upon the vine-hill. Look, yonder he
works upon the burning rocks — alas ! ever since the break
of day ; our mother often takes out food to him."
" Is that your father," said the Count, " who with the
heavy pickaxe is tearing up the ground so manfully, as if
he would crush the rocks beneath 1"
"Yes," said the boy, "our father must sweat a good
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 231
deal before the mountain will bring forth grapes ; but when
the vintage comes, then how gay is the scene ! '*
" Where does thy father dwell, boy T'
" There in the valley beneath, where the white gable-
end peeps between the trees ; come with us, stranger-man,
our mother will most gladly receive you, for it is her greatest
joy when a tired wanderer calls in upon us."
" Yes," said the little girl ; " then we always have the
best dishes : therefore do come — I will conduct thee."
So saying, the little girl seized the old Count's hand,
and drew him forth — the boy, on the other side, keeping
up with them, sprang backwards and forwards, continually
looking kindly at the stranger j and thus slowly advancing,
they arrived at the hut.
The Haus-frau (wife) was occupied in blowing the light
ashes to awaken a slumbering spark as the pilgrim entered ;
at the voices of her children she looked up, saw the
stranger, and raised herself immediately ; advancing towards
him with a cheerful countenance, she said —
" Welcome, reverend pilgrim, in this poor hut — if you
stand in need of refreshment after your toilsome pilgrimage,
seek it from us ; do not carry the blessing which you bring
with you farther.
Having thus spoken, she conducted the old man into
the small but clean room. When he had sat down he said —
" Woman, thou hast pretty and animated children ; I
wish I had such a boy as that !"
" Yes ! " said the Haus-frau, " he resembles his father —
free and courageously he often goes alone upon the moun-
tain, and speaks of castles he will build there. Ah ! sir, if
you knew how heavy that weighs upon my heart !" — (the
woman concealed a tear).
" Counsel may here be had,*' said the Count ; " I have
no son, and will of yours, if you will give him me, make a
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232 JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
knight — my castle will some of these days be empty — no
robust son bears my arms."
"Dear mother!" said the boy, "if the castle of the
aged man is empty, I can surely, when I am big, go
thither?"
" And leave me here alone ? " said the mother.
" No, you will also go ! " said the boy warmly ; " how
beautiful is it to look from the height of a castle into the
valley beneath ! "
" He has a true knightly mind," said the count ; " is he
bom here in the valley % "
" Prayer and labour," said the mother, " is God's com-
mand, and they are better than all the knightly honours that
you can promise the boy \ he will, like his father, cultivate
the vine, and trust to the blessing of God, who rain and
sunshine gives : knights sit in their castles and know not
how much labour, yet how much blessing and peace, can
dwell in a poor man's hut ! My husband was oppressed
with heavy sorrow : alas ! on my account was his heartfelt
grief; but since he found this hut, and works here, he is
much more cheerful than formerly; from the tempest of
life he has entered the harbour of peace — patiently he bears
the heat of the day, and when I pity him, he says, * Wife,
I am indeed now happy;' yet frequently a troubled thought
appears to pierce his soul. I watch him narrowly — a tear
then steals down his brown cheeks. Ah ! surely he thinks
of the place of his birth — of a now very aged grey father —
and whilst I see you, a tear also comes to me — so is per-
haps now" —
At this minute the little girl interrupted her, pulled her
gently by the gown, and spoke —
" Mother ! come into the kitchen ; our father will soon
be home."
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 233
" You are right," said the mother, leaving the room ;
" in conversation I forgot myself.**
In deep meditation the aged Count sat and thought,
" Where may, then, this night my son sleep T' , • /
Suddenly he was roused from his deep melancholy by
the lively boy, who had taken an old hunting-spear from
the comer of the room, and placing himself before the
Count, said —
" See ! thus my father kills the wild boar on the moun-
tains — ^there runs one along ! my father cries * Huy 1 ' and
immediately the wild boar throws himself upon the hunter's
spear j the spear sticks deep into the brain ! it is hard
enough to draw it out ! ** The boy made actions as if the
boar was there.
" Right so, my boy!** said the aged man ; but does thy
father, then, often hunt upon these mountains 1 **
" Yes ! that he does, and the neighbours praise him
highly, and call him the valiant extirpator, because he kills
the boars which destroy the com ! *'
In the midst of this conversation the father entered ;
his wife ran towards him, pressed his sinewy hand, and
spoke —
"You have had again a hot labouring day ! *'
" Yes,** said the man, " but I find the heavy pickaxe
light in hand when I think of you. God is gracious to the
industrious and honest labourer, and that he feels truly when
he has sweated through a long day.'*
" Our father is without ! ** cried suddenly the boy, threw
the hunter's spear into the middle of the room, and ran for-
wards. The little girl was already hanging at his knees.
" Good evening, father,** cried the boy ; " come quick
into the room — there sits a stranger-man — a pilgrim whom
I have brought to you I '*
" Ah ! there you have done well," said the father ; ^ one
L 2
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234 JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
must not allow one tired to pass one's gate without inviting
him in. Dear wife," continued he, " does not labour well
reward itself, when one can receive and refresh a wanderer ?
Bring ift a glass of our best home-grown wine — I do not
know why I am so gay to-day, and why I do not experience
the slightest fatigue "
Thus spoke the husband — ^went into the room — pressed
the hand of the stranger, and spoke —
" Welcome, pious pilgrim ! your object is so praise-
worthy ; a draught taken with so brave a man must taste
doubly good ! ''
They sat down opposite to each other in a room half
dark : the children sat uj^on their father's knees.
" Relate to us something, father, as usual ! " said the
boy.
"That won't do to-day," replied the father; "for we
have a guest here — but what does my hunter's spear do
there ? have you been again playing with it 1 carry it away
into the comer."
" You have there," said the pilgrim, " a young knight
who knows already how to kill boars — ^also you are, I hear,
a renowned huntsman in this valley ; therefore you have
something of the spirit of a knight in you."
" Yes 1 " said the vine-labourer, " old love rusts not,
neither does the love of arms ; so often as I look upon that
spear, I wish it were there for some use . . . formerly . . .
but, aged sir, we will not think of the past. Wife ! bring
to the revered "
At this minute the Haus-frau entered, placed a jug and
goblets on the table, and said —
" May it refresh and do thee good 1 "
" That it does already," said the pilgrim, " presented by
so fair a hand, and with such a friendly countenance ! "
The Haus-frau poured out, and the men drank, striking
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ, 235
their glasses with a gbod clank ; the little girl slipped down
from her father's knee, arid ran with the mother into the
kitchen; the boy looked wistfully into his father's eyes
smilingly, and then towards the pitcher — the father under-
stood him, and gave him some wine ; he became more and
more lively, and again smiled at the pitcher.
" This boy will never be a peaceful vine-labourer, as I
am," said the father ; " he has something of the nature of
his grandfather in him ; hot and hasty, but in other respects
a good-hearted boy — brave and honourable. Alas ! the re-
membrance of what is painful is most apt to assail one by
a cheerful glass. If he did but see thee — thee — child of
the best and most affectionate mother, on thy account he
would not any longer be offended with thy father and
mother ; thy innocent gambols would rejoice his old age ;
in thee would he see the fire of his youth revived again ;
but"
"What dost thou say there ?" said the pilgrim, stopping
him abruptly ; " explain that more fully to me."
" Perhaps I have already said too much, reverend father,
but ascribe it to the wine which makes one talkative ; I will
no more afflict thee with my unfortunate history."
" Speak ! " said the pilgrim, vehemently and beseech-
ingly ; " Speak ! who art thou 1 "
" What connection hast thou with the world, pious pil-
grim, that you can still trouble yourself about one who has
suffered much, and who has now arrived at the port of
peace?"
" Speak !" said the pilgrim ; " I must know thy history."
" Well ! " replied he, " let it be ! — I was not bom a vine-
labourer — a noble stem has engendered me, but love for a
maiden drove me from my home."
"Love 1" cried the pilgrim, moved.
" Yes ! I loved a maiden, quite a child of nature, not of
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236 JOURNEY TO MAINZ.
greatness ; my father was displeased — in a sudden burst of
passion he drove me from him — ^wicked relations, who, he
being childless, would inherit, inflamed his wrath against
me, and he, whom I yet honour, and who also surely still
cherishes me in his heart — ^he "
The pilgrim suddenly rose, and went to the door.
"What is the matter with theel" said the astonished
vine-labourer ; "has this affected thee too much 1"
The boy sprang after the aged man, and held him by
the hand. "Thou wilt not depart, pilgrim 1" said he.
At this minute the Haus-frau entered with a light. At
one glance into the countenance of the vine-labourer the
aged Count exclaimed, " My Son ! " and fell motionless into
his arms. As his senses returned, the father and son re-
cognised each other. Adelaide, the noble, faithful wife,
weeping, held the hands of the aged man, while the chil-
dren knelt before him.
" Pardon, father ! " said the son.
" Grant it to me !" replied the pilgrim, " and grant to
your father a spot in your quiet harbour of peace, where he
may end his days. Son ! thou art of a noble nature, and
thy lovely wife is worthy of thee — thy children will resemble
thee— no ignoble blood runs in their veins. Henceforth
bear my arms ; but, as an honourable remembrance for
posterity, add to them a pilgrim and the pickaxe, that hence-
forth no man of high birth may conceive that labour de-
grades man, or despise the peasant who in fact nourishes
and protects the nobleman."
Oii leaving Frauenstein, which lies low in the range of
the Taunus hill, I found that every trot my pony took in-
troduced me to a more genial climate and to more luxuriant
crops. But vegetation did not seem alone to rejoice in the
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ, 237
change. The human face became softer and softer as I
proceeded, and the stringy, weather-beaten features of the
mountain-peasant were changed for countenances pulpy,
fleshy, and evidently better fed. As I continued to descend,
the cows became larger and fatter, the horses higher as well
as stouter, and a few pigs I met had more lard in their
composition than could have been extracted from the whole
Langen-Schwalbach drove, with their old driver, the Schwein-
General, to boot. Jogging onwards, I began at last to fancy
that my very own mind was becoming enervated ; for several
times, after passing well-dressed people, did I catch myself
smoothing with my long staff the rough, shaggy mane of my
pony, or else brushing from my sleeve some rusty hairs,
which a short half-hour ago I should have felt were just as
well sticking upon my coat as on his.
Instead of keen, light mountain-air, I now felt myself
overpowered by a burning sun ; but in compensation, nature
displayed crops which were very luxuriant of their sorts.
The following is a list of those I passed in merely riding
from Frauenstein to Mainz ; it will give, some idea of the
produce of that highly-favoured belt or district of Nassau
(known by the name of the Rhein-gau) which lies between
the bottom of the Taunus hills and the Rhine : —
Vineyards
Barley
Hop-gardens
Oats
Fields of kidney-beans
Rye
Tobacco
Rape
Hemp
Potatoes
Flax
Carrots
Buck-wheat
Turnips
Kohl-rabi
Clover of various sorts
Mangel-wurzel
Grass
Fields of beans and peas
Lucerne
Indian com
Tares
Wheat of various sorts
Plum-trees of several sorts
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238 JOURNEY TO MAINZ,
Standard apricots Figs
Peaches Wild raspberries
Nectarines Wild gooseberries
Walnuts Wild strawberries
Pears ) ^ . ^^ .„ Currants
^ , > of vanous sorts
Apples 3 uoosebernes
Spanish chestnuts Whortleberries
Horse chestnuts Rhubarb
Almonds Cabbages of all sorts
Quinces Garlick
Medlars Tomatos
To any one who has been living in secluded retirement,
even for a short time, a visit to a populous city is a dram,
causing an excitement of the mind too often mistaken for
its refreshment Accordingly, on my arrival at Mainz I
must own for a few minutes I was gratified with every
human being or animal that I met — at all the articles dis-
played in the shops — and for some time in mental delirium
I revelled in the bustling scene before me. However,
having business of some little importance to transact which
obliged me more than once to walk from one part of the
town to another, getting leg-weary, I began to feel that I
was not suited to the scene before me ; in short, that the
crutches made by Nature for declining life are quietness
and retirement ; I therefore longed to leave the sunshiny
scene before me, and to ascend once again to the clouds of
Schlangenbad, firom which I had so lately fallen.
With this object I had mounted my pony, who, much
less sentimental than myself, would probably most willingly
have expended the remainder of his existence in a city
which, in less than three hours, had miraculously poured
into his manger three feeds of heavy oats; and I was
actually on the bridge of boats which crosses the Rhine,
when, finding that the saddle was pressing upon his withers,
I inquired where I could purchase any sort of substance to
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ, 239
place between them, and being directed ta a tailor cele-
brated for supplying all the government postilions with
leather breeches, I soon succeeded in reaching a door
which corresponded with the street and number that had
been given to me ; however, on entering I found nothing
but a well-staircase, pitch dark, with a rope instead of a
hand-rail.
At every landing-place, inquiring for the artist I was
seeking, I w^s always told to go up higher ; at last, when I
reached the uppermost stratum of the building, I entered a
room which seemed to be made of yellow leather, for on
two sides buckskins were piled up to the ceiling; and
while leather breeches, trousers, drawers, gloves, etc., were
hanging on the other walls, the great table in the middle of
the room was covered with skinny fragments of all shapes
and sizes. In this new world which I had discovered the
only inhabitants consisted of a master and his son. The
former was a mild tall man of about fifty, but a human
being so very thin I think I never before beheld ! He
wore neither coat, waistcoat, neckcloth, nor shirt, but
merely an elastic worsted dress (in fact a Guernsey frock),
which fitted him like his skin, the rest of his lean figure
being concealed by a large, loose, coarse linen apron. The
son, who was about twenty-two, was not bad-looking, but
" talis pater y talis filius^^ he was just as thin as his father,
and though I was anxious hastily to explain what I wanted,
yet my eyes could not help wandering from father to son,
and from son to father, perfectly unable to determine which
was the thinnest, for though one does not expect to find
very much power of body or mind among tailors of any
country (nor indeed do they require it), yet really this pair
of them seemed as if they had not strength enough united
to make a pair of knee-breeches for a skeleton.
Haying gravely explained and obtained the simple
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240 JOURNEY TO MAINZ,
object of my visit, I managed to grope my way down and
round, and round and down the well-staircase, stopping
only occasionally to feel my way, and to reflect with several
degrees of pity on th6 poor thin beings I had left above
me ; and even when I got down to my pony (she had been
waiting for me very patiently), I am sure we trotted nearly
a couple of hundred yards before I could shake out of my
head the wan, spectre-like appearance of the old man, or
the weak, slight, hectic-looking figure of the young one ;
and I finished by sentimentally settling in my own mind
that the father was consumptive — that the son was a chip
from die same block — and that they were both galloping,
neck and neck, from their breeches-board to their graves,
as hard as they could go.
These gloomy reflections were scarcely a quarter of a
mile long, when I discovered that I had left my memoran-
dum-book behind me, and so, instantly returning, I groped
my way to the top of the identical staircase I had so lately
descended. I was there told that the old gentleman and his
son were at dinner, but, determining not to lose my notes, in
I went — and I cannot describe one-hundredth part of the
feelings which came over me when I saw the two creatures
upon whom I had wasted so much pity and fine sentiment,
for there they sat before me on their shop-board, with an
immense wash-hand basin, that had been full of common
blue Orleans plums, which they were still munching with
extraordinary avidity. A very small piece of bread was in
each of their left hands, but the immense number of plum-
stones on both sides of them betrayed the voracity with
which they had been proceeding with their meal.
" Thin ! — ^no wonder you are thin !" I muttered to
myself; " no wonder that your chests and back-bones seem
to touch each other !"
Never before had I, among rational beings, witnessed
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JOURNEY TO MAINZ. 241
such a repast, and it really seemed as if nothing could in-
terrupt it, for all the time I was asking for what I wanted,
both father and son were silently devouring these infernal
plums; however, after remounting my pony, I could not
help admitting that the picture was not without its tiny
moral. Two German tailors had been cheerfully eating a
vegetable dinner : so does the Italian who lives on maca-
roni ; — so does the Irish labourer who lives on potatoes ; —
so do the French peasants who eat little but bread ; so do
the millions who subsist in India on rice — in Africa on
dates — in the South-Sea Islands and West Indies on the
bread-tree and on yams ; — in fact, only a very small propor-
tion of the inhabitants of this globe are carnivorous ; yet
in England we are so accustomed to the gouty luxury of
meat, that it is now almost looked upon as a necessary ;
and though our poor, we must all confess, generally speak-
ing, are religiously patient, yet so soon as the middle classes
are driven from animal to vegetable diet, they camivorously
both believe and argue that they are in the world remark-
able objects of distress — that their country is in distress —
that " things cannot last ;*' in short, pointing to an artificial
scale of luxury which they themselves have hung up in their
own minds, or rather in their stomachs, they persist that
vegetable diet is low diet — that being without roast beef is
living below zero, and that molares, or teeth for grinding
the roots and fruits of the earth, must have been given to
mankind in general, and to the English nation in particular
— ^by mistake.
After recrossing the Rhine by the bridge of boats, the
sun being oppressively hot, I joyfully bade adieu to the
sultry dry city and garrison of Mainz.
As I gradually ascended towards my home, I found the
air becoming cooler and fresher, the herbage greener and
M
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242 JOURNEY TO MAINZ. !
greener, the foliage of the beech-trees brighter and cleaner ;
everything in the valley seemed in peaceful silence to be
welcoming my return ; and when I came actually in sight
of the hermitage of Schlangenbad, I could not help mut-
tering in triumph to myself, " Hard features — hard life —
lean pigs^ and lovely nature, for ever r
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VILLAGE OP NEUDORF.
EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD.
Wishing to see Rudesheim and its neighbourhood, I one
morning left Schlangenbad very early, in a hired open car-
riage, drawn by a pair of small punchy horses.
We were to get first to the Rhine at the village of EU-
feld, and we accordingly proceeded about a league on the
great macadamised road towards Mainz, when, turning to
the right, we passed under the celebrated hill of Rauenthal,
and then very shortly came in sight of the retired peaceful
little village of Neudorf. The simple outline of this remote
hamlet, as well as the costume and attitudes of a row of
peasants, who, seated on a grassy bank at the road-side,
were resting from their labour, formed the subject of an in-
teresting sketch which the Paneidolon presented to me in a
very few minutes.
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244 EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD,
This exceedingly clever, newly-invented instrument, the
most silent — ^the most faithful — and one of the most enter-
taining compagnons de voyage which any traveller can desire,
consists of a small box, in which can be packed anything it
is capable of holding. On being emptied for use, all that
is necessary is to'put one's head into one side, and then trace
with a pencil the objects which are instantly seen most
beautifully delineated at the other.
Whether the perspective be complicated or simple —
whether the figures be human or inhuman, it is all the same,
for they are traced with equal facility, rain not even retard-
ing the operation. The Paneidolon also possesses an ad-
vantage which all very modest people will, I think, appre-
ciate; for the operator's face being (like Jack's) *'in a
box," no person can stare at it or the drawing ; whereas,
while sketching with the camera lucida, everybody must
have observed that the village peasants in crowds, not only
watch every line of the pencil, but laugh outright at the
contortion of countenance with which the poor Syntax in
search of the picturesque, having one optic closed, squints
with the other through a hole scarcely bigger than the head
of a pin, standing all the time in the inquisitive attitude of
a young magpie looking into a marrow-bone.
On leaving Neudorf, getting into a cross country road
or chemin de terre, we began, with the carriage-wheel dragged,
an uninterrupted descent, which was to lead us to the banks
of the Rhine. The horses (which had no blinkers) having
neither to pull nor to hold back, were trotting merrily along,
occasionally looking at me — occasionally biting at each
other : everything was delightful, save ahd except a whiff of
tobacco, which, about six times a minute, like a sort of pul-
sation, proved that my torpid driver was not really, as he
appeared to be — a corpse ; when, all of a sudden, as we
were jolting down a narrow ravine, surmounted by vine-
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EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD. 245
yards, I. saw, about a hundred yards before us, a cart heavily
laden, drawn by two little cows. There happened at the
moment to be a small road at right angles on our left, into
which we ought to have turned to let our opponent pass ;
but either the driver did not see, or would not see, the
humble vehicle, and sO" onwards he recklessly drove, until,
our horses' heads and the cows* horns being nearly close
together, the dull, heavy lord of the creation pulled at his
reins and stopped.
The road was so narrow, and the banks of the ravine
so precipitous, that there was scarcely room on either side
of the vehicle for a human being to pass ; and the cows and
horses being vis-k-vis, or " at issue," the legal question now
arose, which of the two carriages was to retrograde.
As, without metaphor, I sat on my woolsack, or cushion
stuffed with wool, my first judgment was, that the odds were
not in favour of the defendant, the poor old woman^ — ^for
she had not only to contend with the plaintiff (my stupid
driver), his yellow carriage, and two bay horses, but the hill
itself was sadly against her ; her opponent loudly exclaim-
ing that she and her cows could retire easier than he could.
The toothless old woman did not attempt to plead for her-
self ; but what was infinitely better,' having first proved, by
pushing at her cows' heads with all her force, that they
actually did not know how to back, she leant against the
bank, showing us a face which had every appearance of
going to sleep. Seeing affairs in this state, I got out of the
carriage, and quietly walked on : however, I afterwards
learned, with great pleasure, that the old woman gained her
cause, and that the squabble had ended by the yellow car-
riage retreating to the point where its stupid, inanimate
driver ought to have stopped it.
On arriving at the bottom of the lane, we reached that
noble road, running parallel with and close to the Rhine,
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246 EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD.
which was brought into its present excellent state in the time
of Napoleon. Along it, with considerable noise, we trotted
steadily, stopping only about once every half-hour to pay a
few kreuzers at what was called the Barrt^re, No barrier,
however, existed, there being nothing to mark the fatal spot
save an inanimate, parti-coloured post, exhibiting, in stripes
of blue and orange, the government colours of Nassau.
On the horses stopping, which they seemed most loyally
to do of their own accord, the person whose office it was to
collect this road-money, or chaussk^di^ in process of time
appeared at a window with a heavy pipe hanging in his
mouth, and in his hand an immense long stick, to the end
of which there was affixed a small box containing a ticket,
in exchange for which I silently dropped my money into
this till. Not a word was spoken, but, with the gravity of
an angler, the man, having drawn in his rod, a whifFof
tobacco was vomited from his mouth, and then the window,
like the transaction— closed.
After proceeding for some hours, passing through Er-
bach and Hattenheim, we drove through the village of Jo-
hannisberg, which lies crouching at the foot of the hill so
remarkable on the Rhine for being crowned with the white,
shining habitation of Prince Mettemich. The celebrated
vineyards on this estate were swarming with labourers, male
and female, who were seen busily lopping off the exuberant
heads of the vines, an operation which, with arms lifted
above their heads, was not inelegantly performed with a
common sicjcle.
The Rhine Jiad now assumed the appearance of a lake,
for which, at this spot, it is so remarkable, and Rudesheim,
to which I was proceeding, appeared to be situated at its
extremity ; the chasm which the river has there burst for
itself through the lofty range of the Taunus mountains not
being perceptible.
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EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD, 247
On arriving at Rudesheim, I most joyfully extricated
myself from the carriage, and instantly hiring a guide and a
mule, I contentedly told the former to drive me before him
to whatever point in his neighbourhood was generally con-
sidered to be the best worth seeing ; and perfectly uncon-
scious where he would propel me, the man began to beat
the mule — :the mule began to trot along — and, little black
memorandum-book in hand, I began to make my notes.
After ascending a very narrow path, passing through
vineyards, the sun, as I became exposed to it, feeling hotter
and hotter, I entered a wild, low, stunted plantation of oak
shrubs, which was soon exchanged for a noble wood of oak
and beech trees, between which I had room enough to ride
in any direction. The shade was exceedingly agreeable;
the view, however, was totally concealed, until I suddenly
came to a projecting point, on which was a small temple,
commanding a most splendid prospect.
After resting here for a few minutes, my mule and his
burden again entered the forest ; and, continuing to ascend
to a considerable height, we both at last approached a large
stone building like a barrack, part of which was in ruins ;
and no sooner had we reached its southern extremity than
my guide, with a look of vast importance, arrested the pro*
gress of the beast. As I beheld nothing at all worth the
jolting I had had in the carriage, I felt most grievously dis-
appointed ; and though I had no one's bad taste to accuse
but my own, in having committed myself to the barbarous
biped who stood before me, yet I felt, if possible, still more
out of sorts at the fellow desiring me to halloo as loud as I
could, he informing me, with a look of indescribable self-
satisfaction, that as soon as I should do so, an echo would
repeat all my exclamations three times ! ! !
The man seeing that I did not at all enjoy his noisy
miracle, made a sign to me to follow him, and he accord-
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248 EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD.
ingly led me to what appeared to my eyes to be nothing but
a large heap of stones held together by brambles. At one
side, however, of this confused mass, there appeared to be
a hole which looked very much as if it had been intended
as an ice-house : however, on entering it, I found it to be a
long, dark, subterranean passage, cut out of the solid rock ;
and here, groping my way, I followed my guide until, com-
ing to a wooden partition or door, he opened it, when, to
my great astonishment and delight, I found myself in an
octagonal chamber, most deservedly called Bezauberte Hohle
— ^the enchanted cave !
It was a cavern or cavity in the rock, with three fissures
or embrasures radiating at a small angle ; yet each looking
down upon the Rhine, which, pent within its narrow rocky
channel, was, at a great depth, struggling immediately
beneath us. The sudden burst into daylight, and the
brightness of the gay, sunshiny scenes which through the
three rude windows had come so suddenly to view (for I
really did not know that I was on the brink of the precipice
of the Rhine), was exceedingly enchanting, and I was most
fully enjoying it, as well as the reflection that there was no
one to interrupt me, when I suddenly fancied that I certainly
heard, somewhere or other within the bowels of the Jiving
rock in which I was embedded, a faint sound like the
melody of female voices, which, in marked measures, seemed
to swell stronger and stronger, until I decidedly and plainly
heard them in full chorus chanting the following well-known
national air of this country : —
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EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD, 249
SCHLANGENBADER VOLKSLIED.
National Air of Schlangenbad,
^^^m^^
Moderato.
JfcSi
m^
still und still und im - mer still
^^^^^^m
^^m-
m
-i-r
rji
3^i^i!^
well mein mSdchen schla - fen will, atil - le I
ate
i
i^^.
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250 EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD,
From time to time the earthly or unearthly sounds died
away, — lost in the intricate turns of the subterraneous pas-
sage ; at last, they were heard as if craving permission to
enter, and my guide running to the wooden door, no sooner
threw it wide open, than the music, at once rushing in like
a flood, filled the vaulted chamber in which I stood, and in
a few seconds, to my very great surprise, there marched in,
two by two, a youthful bridal party ! The heads of eight
or ten young girls (following a bride and a bridegroom)
were encircled with wreaths of bright green leaves, forming
a pleasing contrast with their brown hair of various shades,
and most particularly with the raven-black tresses of the
bride, which were plaited round her pleasing, modest-looking
face very gracefully.
The whole party (the bridegroom, the only representa-
tive of his sex, of course included), had left Mainz that
morning, to spend a happy day in the magic cave ; and
certainly their unexpected appearance gave a fairy en-
chantment to the scene.
After continuing their patriotic song for some time, sud-
denly letting go each other's hands, they flew to the three
fissures or windows in the rock, and I heard them, with great
emphasis, point out to each other Bingenloch, Rheinstein,
and other romantic points equally celebrated for their
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EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD, 251
beauty. These youthful people then minutely scanned over
the interior of the vaulted grave in which we were all so
delightfully buried alive ; at last, so like young travellers,
they all felt an irresistible desire to scrawl their names upon
the wall ; and, seeing a weather-beaten old man reclining
in one corner of the chamber, with about an inch of pencil
in his lean, withered hand, the bride, bowing with pleasing
modesty and diffidence, asked me to lend it to her.
Her name, and that of her partner, were accordingly
inscribed, and others would, with equal bursts of joy, have
been added to the list, but observing that my poor pencil,
which would still have lived in my service many a year, and
which, in fact, was all I had, was, from its violent rencontres
with the hard, gritty wall, actually gasping for life in the
illiterate clutches of a great bony bridesmaid, I very civilly
managed, under pretence of cutting it, to extract it from
her grasp ; and the attention of the youthful party flitting
of its own accord to some other object, the stump of my
poor crayon was miraculously spared to continue its humble
notes of the day's proceedings.
On leaving the enchanted cave, we ascended through a
noble oak wood, until, reaching a most celebrated pinnacle
of the Taunus mountains, we arrived at the Rossel, an old
ruined castle, which, standing on the Niederwald like a
weather-beaten sentinel at his post, seemed to be faithfully
guarding the entrance of that strange mysterious chasm,
through which, at an immense depth beneath, the river was
triumphantly and majestically flowing.
Although the view from the ruined top of this castle
was very extensive and magnificent, yet the dark struggling
river was so remarkable an object that it at first completely
engrossed my attention. While the great mass of water
continued to flow on its course, a sort of civil war was
raging between various particles of the element. . In some
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252 EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD,
places an eddy seemed to be rebelliously trying to stem the
stream, in others the water was slowly revolving in a circle ;
here it was seen tumbling and breaking over a sunken rock
— there as smooth as glass. In the middle of these frac-
tious scenes there lay, as it were, calmly at anchor, two or
three islands covered with poplars and willows, upon one
of which stood the ruins of the Mausethurm^ or tower of
that stingy bishop of Mainz, famous, or rather infamous, in
the history of the Rhine, for having been gnawed to death
by. rats. On the opposite side of the river were to be seen
the Rochus Cqpelle, a tower built to commemorate the cessa-
tion of the plague, the beautiful castle of Rheinstein, the resi-
dence of Prince Frederick of Prussia, the blue-slated town of
Bingen, with its bridge crossing the Nahe, which, running at
right angles, here delivers up its waters to the Rhine.
The difference in caste or colour between the two rivers
at their point of meeting is very remarkable — ^the Rhine
being clear and green, the Nahe a deep muddy brown ;
however, they no sooner enter the chasm in the Taunus
hills than the distinction is annihilated in the violent
hubble-bubble commotions which ensue.
The view beyond these home objects now attracted my
attention. The Prussian hills opposite were richly clothed
with wood, while on their left lay prostrate the province of
Darmstadt, a large brown flat space, studded, as far as the
eye could reach, with villages, which, though distinctly re-
markable in the foreground, were yet scarcely perceptible
in the perspective. Behind my back was the Duchy of
Nassau, with several old ruined castles perched on the pin-
nacles of the wood-covered hills of the Niederwald.
During the whole time I was placidly enjoying this
beautiful picture around and beneath me, the bridal party
of young people, equally happy in their way, were singing,
laughing, or waltzing j and their cheerful accents, echoing
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EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD. 253
from one old ruin to another, seemed for the moment to
restore to. these deserted walls that joy to which they had
so long been a stranger.
Having at last mounted my mule, I attempted to bid
my companions farewell ; however, they insisted on accom-
panying me and my guide through the forest, singing their
national airs in chorus as they went Their footsteps kept
pace with their tunes, and, as they advanced, their young
voices thrilled among the trees with great effect : sometimes
the wild melody, like a stop-waltz, suddenly ceasing, they
proceeded several paces in silence ; then, again, it as unex-
pectedly burst upon the ear, — in short, like the children of
all German schools, they had evidently been taught time
and the complete management of their voices, a natural and
pleasing accomplishment, which can scarcely be sufficiently
admired.
From these young people themselves I did not attempt
to extract their little history ; but I learnt from my guide
in a whisper (for which I thought there was no great occa-
sion), that the young couple who, hand-in-hand before me,
were leading the procession through the wood, were ver-
LOBT (affianced) — that is to say, they were under sentence
eventually to be married.
This quiet, jog-trot, half-and-half connubial arrangement
is very common indeed all over Germany ; and no sooner
is" it settled and approved of, than the young people are
permitted to associate together at almost all times, notwith-
standing it is often decreed to be prudent that many years
should elapse before their marriage can possibly take place ;
in short, they are often obliged to wait until either their
income rises sufficiently, or until butter, meat, bread, coffee,
tobacco, and candles, sufficiently fall
As seated on my mule I followed these steady, well-
behaved, and apparently well-educated yoimg people through
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254 EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD.
the forest, listening to their cheerful choruses, I could not,
during one short interval of silence, help reflecting how
diflferently such unions are managed in diflferent countries
on the globe.
A quarter of a century has nearly elapsed since I
chanced to be crossing from the island of Salamis to Athens,
with a young Athenian of rank, who was also, in his way,
affianced. We spent, I remember, the night together in an
open boat, and certainly never did I before or since witness
the aching of a lad's heart produce effects so closely re-
sembling the aching of his stomach. My friend lay at the
bottom of the trabacolo absolutely groaning with love ; his
moans were piteous beyond description, and nothing seemed
to afford his affliction any relief but the following stanza,
which over and over again he continued most romantically
singing to the moon : —
** Quando la notte viene,
Non ho riposo, O Nice,
Son misero e infelice
Esser Ionian da te ! "
On his arrival at Athens he earnestly entreated me to
call for him on the object of his affiection, for he himself,
by the custom of his country, was not allowed to see her,
precisely from the very same reason which permitted the
young German couple to stroll together through the lonely,
lovely forest of the Niederwald — namely, because they were
" verlohtr
The bridal party now separated themselves from my
guide, my mule, and myself; they, waving their handker-
chiefs to us, descended a path on the right \ we continuing
the old track, which led us at last to the village of Rudes-
heim.
As soon as the horses could be put to my carriage, it
being quite late, I set out by moonlight to return. Al-
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EXCURSION TO THE NIEDERWALD^ 255
though vineyards, orchards, and harvest were now veiled
from my view, the castle of Prince Mettemich, the solitary
tower of Scharfenstein, and the dark range of the Taunus
mountains had assumed a strange, obscure, and supernatural
appearance, magnificently contrasted with the long, bright,
serpentine course of the Rhine, which, shining fi-om Bingen
to Mainz, glided joyfully along, as if it knew it had attracted
to itself the light which the landscape had lost.
• On leaving the great chaus^e, which runs along the
banks of the river, like the towing-path of a canal, we
ascended the cross-road, down which we had trundled so
merrily in the morning, and without meeting carts, cows,
toothless old women, or any other obstruction, I reached
about midnight the Bad-Haus of Schlangenbad. On
ascending the staircase, I found that the two little lamps in
the passage had expired ; however, the key of my apart-
ments was in my pocket I found the moon shining through
the window upon my table, and so, before one short hour
had elapsed, Rudesheim — the niggardly Bishop of Mainz,
with his tower and rats— the bridal party — the enchanted
cave — the lofty Rossel — and the magnificent range of the
Niederwald, were all tumbling head over heels in my mind,
while I lay humbly and quietly beneath them — asleep.
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'V i;mi ^.
PART OF THE NEW BAD-HAUS AND SHRUBBERY AT SCHLANGENBAD.
WIESBADEN.
The day at last arrived for my departure from the green,
happy little valley of Schlangenbad. Whether or not its
viper baths really possess the effect ascribed to them, of
tranquillising the nerves, I will not presume to declare ; but
that the loneliness and loveliness of the place can fascinate
as well as tranquillise the mind, I believe as firmly as I
know that the Schlangenbad water rubs from the body the
red rust of Langen-Schwalbach.
Those who, on the tiny surface of this little world,
please themselves with playing what they call "the great
game of life, " would of course abhor a spot in which they
could neither be envied nor admired ; but to any grovel
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WIESBADEN. 257
ling-minded person, who thinks himself happy when he is
quiet and clean, I can recommend this humble valley as a
retreat exquisitely suited to his taste.
AftQr casting a farewell glance round apartments to
which I felt myself most unaccountably attached, descend-
ing the long staircase of the New Bad-Haus, I walked across
the shrubbery to my carriage, around which had assembled
a few people, who, I was very much surprised to find, were
witnessing my departure with regret !
Luy, who had followed my (I mean Katherinchen's)
footsteps so many a weary hour, strange as it may sound
(and so contrary to what the poor ass must have felt), was
evidently sorry I was going. The old " Bad" man's counte-
nance looked as serious and as wrinkled on the subject as
the throat of his toad — ^his wan, sallow-faced Jezebel of a wife
stood before the carriage-steps waving her lean hand in sor-
row ; and the young maid of the Bad-Haus who had made
my bed, merely because I had troubled her to do so for
a longer period than any other visitor, actually began to
shed some tears. The whole group begged permission to
kiss my hand, and there was so much kind feeling evinced
that I felt quite relieved when I found that the postilion
and his horses had roughly spoiled the picture : in short,
that they were trotting and trumpeting me along the broad
macadamised road which leads to Wiesbaden.
As I had determined on visiting the Duke of Nassau's
hunting-seat "Die Platte" in my way to Wiesbaden, after
proceeding about four miles, I left the carriage in the high
road, and walking through the woods towards my object, I
passed several very large plantations of fir-trees sown so
unusually thick that they were completely impervious, even
to a wild boar ; for not only were the trees themselves
merely a few inches asunder, but their branches, which fea-
thered to the ground, interlaced one with another until they
M 2
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258 WIESBADEN.
formed altogether an impenetrable jungle. Through this
mass of vegetation, narrow paths, about three feet broad,
were cut in various directions to enable the deer to traverse
the country.
In passing through the beech forest, I observed that the
roads or cuts were often as much as forty or fifty feet in
breadth, and every here and there the boughs and foliage
were artificially entwined in a very ingenious manner, leav-
ing small loop-holes, through which the Duke, his visitors,
or his huntsmen, might shoot at the game as they wildly
darted by. A single one of these verdant batteries might
possibly be observed and avoided by the cautious, deep-
searching eye of the deer, but they exist all over the woods
in such numbers, that the animals, accustomed to them
from their birth, can fear nothing fi-om them, until the fatal
moment arrives, when experience, so dearly bought, arrives
too late.
After advancing for about an hour through these green
streets, I came suddenly upon the Duke*s hunting-seat, the
Platte, a plain white stone cubic building, which, as if
disdaining gardens, flower-beds, or any artificial embellish-
ment, stands alone, on a prominent edge of the Taunus
hills, looking down upon Wiesbaden^' Mainz, Frankfiirt, and
over the immense flat, continental-looking country which I
have already described. Its situation is very striking ; and
though, of course, it is dreadfully exposed to the winter's
blast, yet, as a sporting residence during the summer or
autumn months, nothing, I think, can surpass the beauty
and unrestrained magnificence of its view.
Before the entrance-door, in attitudes of great freedom,
stand two immense bronze statues of stags, most beautifully
executed; and on entering the apartments, which are lofty
and grand, every article of furniture, as well as every orna-
ment, is ingeniously composed of pieces, larger -or smaller.
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WIESBADEN, 259
of buck-horn. Immense antlers, one above another, are
ranged in the hall, as well as on the walls of the great stair-
case ; and certainly, when a sportsman comes to the Platte
on a visit to the Duke of Nassau, everything his eyes can
rest on not only reminds him of his favourite pursuit, but
seems also to promise him as much of it as the keenest
hunter can desire ; in short, without the slightest pretension,
the Platte is nobly adapted to its purpose, and with great
liberality it is open at almost all times to the inspection of
" gentlemen sportsmen" and travellers from all quarters of
the globe. About twelve hundred feet beneath it, in a
comparatively flat country, bounded on two sides by the
Rhine and the Main, lies Wiesbaden, the capital of the
Duchy of Nassau, the present seat of its government, and
the spot by far the most numerously attended as a watering-
place.
Looking down upon it from the Platte, this town or city
is apparently about three-quarters of an English mile square,
one-quarter of this area being covered with a rubbishy old,
the remainder with a staring, formal new town, composed
of streets of white stone houses, running at right angles to
each other. As I first approached it, it appeared to me to
be as hot, as formal, and as uninteresting a place as I ever
beheld ; however, as soon as I entered it, I very soon found
out that its inhabitants, and indeed its visitors, entertain a
very different opinion of the place, they pronouncing it to
be one of the most fashionable, and consequently most
agreeable, watering-places in all Germany.
In searching for a lodging, I at once went to most of
the principal hotels, several of which I found to be griev-
ously afflicted with smells, which (though I most politely
bowed to every person I met in the passage) it did not at
all suit me to encounter. At one place, as an excuse for
not taking the unsavoury suite of apartments which were
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26o WIESBADEN,
oflfered to me, I ventured quietly to remark that they were
very much dearer than those I had just left. The master
at once admitted the fact, but craning himself up into the
proudest attitude his large stomach would admit of, he
observed — ^^ Mais . . . Monsieur I savez-vous que vous
aurez d Wiesbaden plus d' amusement dans une heure^ que
vous riaufiez d Schlangehbad dans un anV^ . . . .
In the horrid atmosphere in which I stood, I had no
inclination to argue on happiness or any subject ; so hasten-
ing into the open air, I continued my search, until finding
the landlord at the Englischen Hof civil, obliging, and ex-
ceedingly anxious to humour all my old-fashioned English
whims and oddities, I accepted the rooms he oflfered me,
and thus for a few days dropped my anchor in the capital
of the Duchy of Nassau.
About twelve thousand strangers are supposed annually
to visit this gay watering-place, and consequently, to pen
up all this fashionable flock within the limits of so small a
town, requires no little ramming, cramming, and good
arrangement The dinner-hour, or time of the tables-d'hote,
as at Langen-Schwalbach, Schlaiigenbad, and indeed all
other places in Germany, was one o'clock, and the crowds
of well-dressed hungry people who, at that hour, following
their appetites, were in different directions seen slowly but
resolutely advancing to their food, was very remarkable.
Voluntarily enlisting into one of these marching regiments,
I allowed myself to be carried along with it, I knew not
where, until I found myself, with a veiy empty stomach
and a napkin on my knees, quietly seated at one of three
immense long tables, in a room with above 250 people, all
secretly as hungry as myself.
The quantity of food and attention bestowed upon me
for one florin filled me with astonishment, " and certainly,"
said I to myself, " a man may travel very far indeed before
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WIESBADEN, 261
he will find provisions and civility cheaper than in the
Duchy of Nassau !" The meat alone which was oflfered to
me, if it had been thrown at my head raw, would have been
not only a most excellent bargain, but much more than any
one could possibly have expected for the money ; but when
it was presented to me, cooked up with sauces of various
flavours, attended with omelettes, fruits, tarts, puddings,
preserves, fish, etc. etc., and served with a quantity of polite-
ness and civility which seemed to be infinite, I own I felt
that in the scene around me there existed quite as much
refreshment and food for the mind as for the body.
It is seldom or ever that I anywhere pay the slightest
attention to dinner conversation — the dishes, ninety-nine
times out of a hundred, being, in my opinion, so very much
better ; however, much against my will, I overheard some
people talking of a duel, which I will mention, hoping it
may tend to show by what disgusting, fiend-like sentiments
this practice can be disgraced.
A couple of Germans, having quarrelled about some
beautiful lady, met with sabres in their hands to fight a
duel. The ugly one, who was of course the most violent of
the two, after many attempts to deprive his hated adversary
of life, at last aimed a desperate blow at his head, which,
though it missed its object, yet fell upon, and actually cut
off, the good-looking man's nose. It had scarcely reached
the ground, when its owner, feeling that his beauty was
gone, instantly threw away his sword, and with both arms
extended, eagerly bent forwards with the intention to pick
up his property and replace it ; but the ugly German no
sooner observed the intention, than darting forwards with
the malice of the devil himself, he jumped upon the nose,
and before its master's face crushed it and ground it to
atoms !
In strolling very slowly about the town after dinner, the
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262 WIESBADEN,
first object which aroused my curiosity was a steam I ob-
served rising through the iron gratings, which, at the comers
of the streets, covered the main drains or common sewers
of the town. At first I thought it proceeded from washer-
women, pig-scalders, or some such artificial cause ; but I
no sooner reached the great Koch-brunnen (boiling spring),
than I learnt it was the natural temperature of the Wies-
baden waters that had thus attracted my attention.
As I stood before this immense cauldron, with eyes
staring at the volume of steam which was arising from it,
and with ears listening to a civil person who was voluntarily
explaining to me that there were fifteen other springs in the
town, their temperature being at all times of the year about
140° of Fahrenheit, I could not help feeling a sort of un-
pleasant sensation, similar to what I had experienced on
the edges of Etna and Vesuvius ; in short, I had been so
little accustomed to live in a town heated by subterranean
fire, that it just crossed my mind, whether, in case the
engineer below, from laziness, should put on too many coals
at once, or, from carelessness, should neglect to keep open
his proper valves, an explosion might not take place, which
would suddenly send me, Koch-brunnen, Wiesbaden, and
Co., on a shooting excursion to the Duke's lofty hunting-
seat, the Platte. The ground in the vicinity of these
springs is so warm that in winter the snow does not remain
upon it ; and formerly, when these waters used to flow from
the town into a small lake, from not freezing, it became in
hard weather the resort of birds of all descriptions : indeed,
even now, they say that that part of the Rhine into which
the Wiesbaden waters eventually flow is observed to be
always remarkably free from ice.
Wiesbaden, inhabited by people called Mattiaci, was
not only known to the Romans, but fortified by the twenty-
second legion, who also built baths, the remains of which
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WIESBADEN, 263
exist to the present day. Even in such remote ages it was
observed that these waters retained their heat longer than
common water, or salt water of the same specific gravity,
heated to the same degree ; indeed, Pliny remarked-—
" Sunt et Maitiaci in Germania fontes calidi, quorum haustus
triduo fervet^'
The town of Wiesbaden is evidently one which does
not appreciate the luxury of " home, sweet home ! " for it
is built, not for itself, but for strangers ; and though most
people loudly admire the size of the buildings, yet, to my
mind, there is something very melancholy in seeing houses
so much too fine for the style of inhabitants to whom they
belong. A city of lodging-houses, like an army of merce-
naries, may to each individual be a profitable speculation ;
but no brilliant uniform, or external show, can secretly com-
pensate for the want of national self-pride which glows in the
heart of a soldier standing under his country's colours, or in
the mind of a man living consistently in his own little home.
About twenty years ago the inhabitants of Wiesbaden
were pent up in narrow, dirty streets, surrounded by
swampy ditches and an old Roman wall. A complete new
town has since been erected, and accommodation has thus
been afforded for upwards of 1 2,000 strangers, the popula-
tion of the place, men, women, and children included,
scarcely amounting to 8000 souls.
During the gay season of course all is bustle and
delight ; but I can conceive nothing less cheerfiil than such
a place must become when, all its motley visitors having
flown away, winter begins to look it in the face ; however,
certainly the inhabitants of Wiesbaden do not seem to view
the subject at all in this point of view, for they all talk
with great pride of their fine new town, and strut about
their large houses like children wearing men's shoes ten
times too big for their feet
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264 WIESBADEN.
The most striking object at Wiesbaden is a large square,
bounded on one side by% handsome theatre, on two others
by a colonnade of shops, and on a fourth by a very hand-
some building called the Cursaal, an edifice 430 feet in
length, having, in front, a portico supported by six Ionic
columns, above which is inscribed in gold letters —
FONTIBUS MATTIACIS, MDCCCX.
On entering the great door I found myself at once in
a saloon, or ball-room, 130 feet in length, 60 in breadth,
and 50 in height, in which is a gallery supported by 32
marble pillars of the Corinthian order; lustres are sus-
pended from the ceiling, and in niches in the wall are
twelve white marble statues, originally intended for Letitia
Bonaparte, and which the Wiesbaden citizens extol by
sajdng that they cost about ;^i2oo.
Branching from this great assembly-room are several
smaller apartments, which in England would be called hells,
or gambUng-rooms.
The back of the Cursaal looks into a sort of parade,
upon which, after dinner, hundreds of visitors sit in groups,
to drink cheap coflfee, listen to a band of most excellent
cheap music, and admire, instead of swans, an immense
number of snail-gobbling ducks and ducklings, which,
swimming about a pond, shaded by weeping willows and
acacias, come when they are called, and, duck-like, of
course eat whatever is thrown to them.
Beyond this pond, which is within fifty yards of the
Cursaal, there is a nice shrubbery, particularly pleasing to
the stranger from the reflection that, at very great trouble,
and at considerable expense, it has been planted, furnished
with benches, and tastefully adorned by the inhabitants of
Wiesbaden for the gratification of their guests. From it a
long shady walk, running by the side of a stream of water.
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WIESBADEN. 265
extends for about two miles, to the ruins of the ancient
castle of Sonneburg.
Among the buildings of Wiesbaden, the principal ones,
after the Cursaal and theatre, are the Schlosschen, contain-
ing a public library and museum, the hotels of the Four
Seasons, the Eagle, the Englischen Hof, the Rose, and the
Schiitzenhof.
The churches are small, and seem adapted in size to
the old rather than to the new town. By far the greatest
proportion of the inhabitants are Protestants, and their
place of worship is scarcely big enough to hold them. At
the southern extremity of the town there exists a huge pile
of rubbish, with several high modem walls in ruins.
It appears that, a few years ago, the Catholics at Wies-
baden determined on building a church, which was to vie
in magnificence with the Cursaal and other gaudy speci-
mens of the new town.
Eighty thousand florins were accordingly raised by sub-
scription, and the huge edifice was actually finished, the
priests were shaved, and everything was ready for the cele-
bration of mass, when, Apropos to nothing, ^^occidii una
domus /" down it came thundering to the ground !
Whether it was blown up by subterranean heat, or burst
by the action of frost, — whether it was the foundation or
the fine arched roof which gave way, are points which at
Wiesbaden are still argued with acrimony and eagerness ;
and, to this day, men's mouths are seen quite full of jagged
consonants, as they condemn or defend the architect of the
building — poor unfortunate Mr. Scrumpf ! '
After having made myself acquainted with the geo-
graphy of Wiesbaden, I arose one morning at half-past five
o'clock to see the visitors drinking the waters. The scene
was really an odd one. The long parade, at one extremity
of which stood smoking and fuming the great Koch-brun-
N
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266 WIESBADEN.
nen, was crowded with respectably-dressed people, of both
sexes, all walking (like so many watchmen carrying lan-
terns) with glasses in their hands, filled, half-filled, or quarter-
filled with the medicine which had been delivered to them
from the brunnen, so scalding hot, that they dared not even
sip it, as they walked, until they had carried it for a con-
siderable time.
It requires no little dexterity to advance in this way,
without spilling one's medicine, to say nothing of scalding
or slopping it over one's fellow-patients. Every person's
eye, therefore, whatever might be the theme of his conver-
sation, was intently fixed upon his glass ; some few carried
the thing along with elegance, but I could not help remark-
ing that the greater proportion of people walked with their
backs up, evidently very little at their ease. A band of
wind-instruments was playing, and an author, a native of
Wiesbaden, in describing this scene, has sentimentally
exclaimed — " Thousands of glasses are drunk by the sound of
muskr^
Four or five young people, protected by a railing, are
employed the whole morning in filling, as fast as they can
stoop down to the brunnen to do so, the quantities of
glasses which, firom hands in all directions, are extending
towards them ; but so excessively hot is the cauldron, that
the greater proportion of these glasses had, I observed, been
cracked by it, and several I saw fall to pieces when delivered
to their owners. Not wishing to appear eccentric, which,
in this amphibious picture, any one is who walks about the
parade without a glass of scalding hot water in his hand,
I purchased a goblet, and the first dip it got cracked it
from top to bottom.
In describing the taste of the mineral water of Wies-
baden, were I to say that, while drinking it, one hears in
one's ears the cackling of hens, and that one sees feathers
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WIESBADEN. 267
fl)dng before one's eyes, I should certainly grossly exagge-
rate ; but when I declare that it exactly resembles very hot
chicken-broth, I only say what Dr. Granville said, and what
in fact everybody says, and must say, respecting it ; and
certainly I do wonder why the common people* should be
at the inconvenience of making bad soup when they can
get much better from Nature's great stock-pot — the Koch-
brunnen of Wiesbaden. At all periods of the year, summer
or winter, the temperature of this broth remains the same ;
and when one reflects that it has been bubbling out of the
ground, and boiling over, in the very same state, certainly
from the time of the Romans, and probably from the time
of the flood, it is really astonishing to think what a most
wonderful apparatus there must exist below, what an inex-
haustible stock of provisions to ensure such an everlasting
supply of broth, always formed of exactly the same eight or
ten ingredients — always salted to exactly the same degree,
and always served up at exactly the same heat
One would think that some of the particles in the recipe
would be exhausted; in short, to speak metaphorically,
that the chickens would at last be boiled to rags, or that
the fire would go out for want of coals ; but the often er
one reflects on these sort of subjects, the oftener is the old-
fashioned observation forced upon his mind, that let a man
go where he will, Omnipotence is never from his view.
As, leaning against one of the columns of the arcade
under which the band was playing, I stood with my medi-
cine in my hand, gazing upon the strange group of people,
who with extended glasses were crowding and huddling
round the Koch-brunnen, each eagerly trying to catch the
eye of the young water-dippers, I could not h^lp feeling, as
I had felt at Langen-Schwalbach, whether it could be pos-
sible for any prescription to be equally beneficial to such
diflferently-made patients. To repeat all the disorders
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268 WIESBADEN.
which it is said most especially to cure, would be very
nearly to copy the sad list of ailments to which our creaky
frames are subject. The inhabitants of Wiesbaden rant,
the hotel-keepers rave, about the virtues of this medicine.
Stories are most gravely related of people crawling to Wies-
baden and running home. In most of the great lodging-
houses crutches are triumphantly displayed as having be-
longed to people who left them behind
It is good, they say, for the stomach — good for the
skin — ^good for ladies of all possible shapes and ages— ^for
all sorts and conditions of men. It lulls pain — ^therefore it
is good, they say, for people going out of this wretched
world, yet equally good is it, they declare, for those whose
kind, fond parents earnestly wish them to come in. For a
headache, drink, the innkeepers exclaim, at the Kocii-
brunnen ! For gout in the heels, soak the body, the doctors
say, in the chicken-broth ! — in short, the valetudinarian,
reclining in his carriage, has scarcely entered the town than,
say what he will of himself, the inhabitants all seem to agree
with Moli^re in repeating, " Bene, bene respondere, dignus
es intrare in nostro docto corpore !"
However, there would be no end in stating what the
Wiesbaden water is said to be good for ; a much simpler
course is to explain that doctors do agree in sapng that it
is not good for complaints where there is any disposition to
inflammation or regular fever, and that it changes consump-
tion into — death.
By gibout seven o'clock, the vast concourse of people
who had visited the Koch-brunnen had imbibed about as
much of the medicine as they could hold, and accordingly,
like swallows, almost simultaneously departing, the parade
was deserted ; the young water-dippers had also retired to
rest, and every feature in the picture had vanished, except
the smoking, misty fumes of the water, which now, no
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WIESBADEN. 269
longer in request, boiled and bubbled by itself, as it -over-
flowed into the drains by which it eventually reached the
Rhine.
The first act of the entertainment being thus over, in
about a quarter of an hour the second commenced : in short,
so soon as the visitors, retiring to their rooms, could divest
or denude themselves of their garments, I saw stalking down
the long passage of my lodging-house one heavy German
gentleman after another, whose skull-cap, dressing-gown, and
slippers plainly indicated that he was proceeding to the
bath. In a short time, lady after lady, in similar dishabille,
was seen following the same course. Silence, gravity, and
incognito, were the order of the day ; and though I bowed
as usual in meeting these undressed people, yet the polite
rule isj not, as at other moments, to accompany the inclina-
tion with a gentle smile, but to dilute it with a look which
cannot be too solemn or too sad.
There was something to my mind so very novel in
* bathing in broth, that I resolved to try the experiment,
particularly as it was the only means I had of following the
crowd. Accordingly, retiring to my room, in a minute or
two I also, in my slippers and black dressing-gown, was to
be seen, staff in hand, mournfully walking down the long
passage, as slowly and as gravely as if I had been in such
a procession all my life. An infirm elderly lady was just
before me — ^^some lighter-sounding footsteps were behind
me ; but without raising our eyes fi-om the ground, we all
moved on just as if we had been corpses gliding or migrating
from one churchyard to another.
After descending a long well-staircase, I came to a door,
which I no sooner opened, than, of its own accord, it
slammed after me exactly as, five seconds before, it had
closed upon the old lady who had preceded me, and I now
found myself in an immense building, half-filled with steam.
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270 WIESBADEN.
A narrow passage or aisle conducted me down the
middle, on each side of me there being a series of doors
opening into the baths, which, to my very great astonish-
ment, I observed, were all open at top, being separated
from each other by merely a half-inch boarded partition,
not seven feet high I
Into several of these cells there was literally nothing
but the steam to prevent people in the houses of the op-
posite side of the street from looking — a very tall man in
one bath could hardly help peeping into the next, and in
the roof or loft above the ceiling were several loop-holes,
through which any one might have had a bird's-eye view of
the whole unfledged scene. The arrangement, or rather
want of arrangement, was altogether most astonishing ; and
as I walked down the passage, my first exclamation to
myself was, " Well, thank Heaven, this would not do in
England !" To this remark the Germans would of course
say, that low, half-inch scantling is quite sufficient among
well-bred people, whatever coarser protection might be re-
quisite among us rude English ; but though this argument
may sound triumphant, yet delicacy is a subject which is
not fit for noisy discussion. Like the bloom on fruit, it
does not bear touching ; and if people of their own accord
do not feel that the scene I have described is indelicate, it
is quite impossible to prove it to them, and therefore " the
less said is the soonest mended.*'
As I was standing in the long passage, occupjdng my-
self with the above reflections, a nice healthy old woman,
opening a door, beckoned to me to advance, and accord-
ingly with her I entered the little cell. Seeing I was rather
infirm, and a stranger, she gave me, with two towels, a few
necessary instructions, — such as that I was to remain in
the mixture about thirty-five minutes, and beneath the fluid
to strike with my arms and legs as strenuously as possible.
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WIESBADEN. 271
The door was now closed, and my dressing-gown being
carefully hung upon a peg (a situation I much envied it),
I proceeded, considerably against my inclination, to intro-
duce myself to my new acquaintance, whose face or surface
was certainly very revolting ; for a white, thick, dirty, greasy
scum, exactly resembling what would be on broth, covered
the top of the bath. But all this they say, is exactly as it
should be, and indeed the bathers at Wiesbaden actually
insist on its appearance, as it proves, they argue, that the
bath has not been used by any one else. In most places,
in ordering a warm bath, it is necessary to wait till the
water be heated, but at Wiesbaden the springs are so ex-
ceedingly hot that the baths are obliged to be filled over-
night, in order to be cool enough in the morning ; and the
dirty scum I have mentioned is the required proof that the
water has, during that time, been undisturbed.
Resolving not to be bullied by the ugly face of my
antagonist, I entered my bath, and in a few seconds I lay
horizontally, calmly soaking, like my neighbours. Generally
speaking, a dead silence prevailed ; occasionally an old man
was heard to cough — sometimes a young woman was heard
gently to sneeze — and two or three times there was a
sudden heavy splash in the cell adjoining mine, proceeding
from the leg of a great awkward German Frau, kicking
by mistake, above, instead of (as I was vigorously doing)
beneath the fluid. Every sigh that escaped was heard, and
whenever a patient extricated him or herself from die mess,
one could hear puffing and rubbing as clearly as if one had
been assisting at the operation.
In the same mournful succession in which they had
arrived, the bathers, in due time, ascended, one after an-
other, to their rooms, where they were now permitted to
eat — ^what they had certainly well enough earned — their
breakfast As soon as mine was concluded, I voted it
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272 . WIESBADEN.
necessary to clean my head, for from certain white particles
which float throughout the bath, as thickly as, and indeed
very much resembling, the mica in granite, I found that my
hair was in a sticky state, in which I did not feel disposed
it should remain. I ought, however, most explicitly to
state that the operation I here imposed upon myself was
an act of eccentricity, forming no part of the regular system
of the Wiesbaden bathers ; indeed, I should say that the
art of cleaning the hair is not anywhere much encouraged
among the Germans, who, perhaps with reason, rather pride
themselves in despising any sort of occupation or accom-
plishment which can at all be called — superficial.
Before I quit the subject of bathing, I may as well at
once observe that one of my principal reasons for selecting
the apartments I occupied at the Englischen Hof was that
the window of my sitting-room looked into the horse-bath,
which was immediately beneath them. Three or four times
a-day horses, lame or chest-foundered, were brought to this
spot. As the water was hot, the animals, on first being led
into it, seemed much frightened, splashing, and violently
pawing with their fore-feet as if to cool it, until, becoming
at last nijjre accustomed to the strange sensation, they very
quickly seemed exceedingly to enjoy it On their bodies
being entirely immersed, the halter was tied to a post, aiid
they were then lef^ to soak for half or three-quarters of an
hour. The heat seemed to heighten the circulation of their
blood, and nothing could look more animated than their
heads, as, peeping out of the hot fluid, they shook their
dripping manes and snorted at every carriage and horse they
heard passing.
The price paid for each bathing of each horse is eighteen
kreuzers, and this trifling fact always appeared to me to be
the most satisfactory proof I could meet with of the cura-
tive properties of the Wiesbaden baths : for though it is, of
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WIESBADEN. 273
course, the interest of the inhabitants to insist on their
efficacy, yet the poor peasant would never, I think, continue
for a fortnight to pay sixpence a-day, unless he knew, by
experience of some sort or other, that his animal would
really derive benefit.
One must not, however, carry the moral too far, for even
if it be admitted that these baths cure horses' strains and
other effects of over-work, it does not follow that they are
to be equally beneficial in gout and other human complaints,
which we all know are the effects of under-work, or want of
exercise.
For more than half-an-hour I had been indolently watch-
ing this amphibious scene, when the landlord, entering my
room, said that the Russian Prince wished to speak
to me on some business ; and the information was scarcely
communicated when I perceived his Highness standing at
the threshold of my door. With the attention due to his
rank, I instantly begged he would do me the honour to walk
in ; and, after we had sufficiently bowed to each other, and
I had prevailed upon my guest to sit down, I gravely re-
quested him, as I stood before him, to be so good as to state
in what way I could have the good fortune to render him
any service. The Prince very briefly replied that he had
called upon me, considering that I was the person in the
hotel best capable (he politely inclined his head) of in-
forming him by what route it would be most advisable for
him to proceed to London, it being his wish to visit my
country.
In order at once to solve this very simple problem, I
silently unfolded and spread out upon the table my map of
Eiux)pe ; and each of us, as we leant over it, placing a fore-
finger on or near Wiesbaden — (our eyes being fixed upon
Dover) — ^we remained in this reflecting attitude for some
seconds, until the Prince's finger first solemnly began to
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274 WIESBADEN,
trace its route. In doing this I observed that his Highness's
hand kept swerving far into the Netherlands ; so, gently
pulling it by the thumb towards Paris, I used as much force
as I thought decorous to induce it to advance in a straight
line ; however, finding my efforts ineffectual, suddenly letting
it go, I ventured, with respectful astonishment, to ask, " Why
travel by so uninteresting a route ?"
The Prince at once acknowledged that the road I had
recommended would, by visiting Paris, afford him the
greatest pleasiu-e ; but he fi:ankly told me that no Russian,
not even a personage of his rank, could enter that capi-
tal without first obtaining a written permission firom the
emperor ! ! !
These words were no sooner uttered than I felt my
fluent civility suddenly begin to coagulate ; the attention I
paid my guest became forced and unnatural — I was no
longer at my ease ; and though I bowed, strained, and en-
deavoured to be, if possible, more respectful than ever, yet
I really could hardly prevent my lips from muttering aloud
that I had sooner die a homely English peasant than live to
be a Russian prince ! In short, his Highness's words acted
upon my mind like thunder upon beer; and, moreover, I
could almost have sworn that I was an old lean wolf, con-
temptuously observing a bald ring rubbed by the collar upon
the neck of a sleek, well-fed mastiff dog ; however, recovering
myself, I managed to give as much information as it was in
my humble power to afford, and my noble guest then taking
his departure, I returned to my open window, to give vent
in solitude (as I gazed upon the horse-bath) to my own re-
flections upon the subject.
Although the petty rule of my life has been never to
trouble myself about what the world calls " politics " — (a
fine word, by-the-by, much easier expressed than understood)
— ^yet, I must own, I am always happy when I see a nation
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WIESBADEN. 275
enjoying itself, and melancholy when I observe any large
body of people suffering pain or imprisonment. But of all
sorts of imprisonment^ that of the niiind is, to my taste, the
most cruel ; and therefore, when I consider over what im-
mense dominions the Emperor of Russia presides, and how
he governs, I cannot help sympathising most sincerely with
those innocent sufferers who have the misfortune to be bom
his subjects ; for if a Russian Prince be riot freely permitted
to go to Paris, in what a melancholy state of slavery and
debasement must exist the minds of what we call the lower
classes !
As a sovereign remedy for this lamentable political dis-
order, many very sensible people in England prescribe, I
know, that we ought to have recourse to arms. I must
confess, however, it seems to me that one of the greatest
political errors England could commit would be to declare,
or to join in declaring, war against Russia ; in short, that an
appeal to brute force would, at this moment, be at once
most unscientifically to stop an immense moral engine,
which, if left to its work, is quite powerful enough, without
bloodshed, to gain for humanity, at no expense at all, its
object. The individual who is, I conceive, to overthrow
the emperor of Russia — who is to direct his own legions
against himself — ^who is to do what Napoleon at the head
of his Great Army failed to effect, is the little child, who,
lighted by the single wick of a small lamp, sits at this mo-
ment perched above the great steam-press of our " Penny
Magazine," feeding it, from morning till night, with blank
paper, which, at almost every pulsation of the engine, comes
out stamped on both sides with engravings, and with pages
of plain, useful, harmless knowledge, which, by making the
lower orders acquainted with foreign lands, foreign produc-
tions — various states of society, etc., tend practically to in-
culcate " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.
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276 WIESBADEN,
good-will towards men." It has already been stated that
what proceeds from this press is now greedily devoured by
the people of Europe ; indeed, even at Berlin we know it
can hardly be reprinted fast enough.
This child, then, " this sweet little cherub that sits up
aloft," is the only army that an enlightened country like
ours should, I humbly think, deign to oppose to one who
reigns in darkness, who trembles at daylight, and whose
throne rests upon ignorance and despotism. Compare this
mild, peaceful, intellectual policy, with the dreadful, savage
alternative of going to war, and the difference must surely
be evident to every one. In the former case we calmly
enjoy, first of all, the pleasing reflection, that our country is
generously imparting to the nations of Europe the blessings
she is tranquilly deriving from the purification and civilisa-
tion of her own mind ; — ^far from wishing to exterminate,
we are gradually illuminating, the Russian peasant — ^we are
mildly throwing a gleam of , light upon the fetters of the
Russian Prince ; and- surely every well-disposed person
must see, that if we will only have patience, the result of
this noble, temperate conduct must produce all that reason-
able beings can desire. But, on the other hand, if we appeal
to arms — ^if, losing our temper and our head, we-endeavour
(as the bear is taught to dance) to civilise the Emperor of
Russia by hard blows, we instantly consolidate all the totter-
ing elements of his dominions; we give life, energy, and
loyalty to his army ; we avert the thoughts of his princes
from their own dishonoxu- ; we inflame the passions, instead
of awakening the sober judgment of his subjects : and thus,
throwing away both our fulcrum and our lever, by resorting
to main strength, we raise the savage not only to a level
with ourselves, but actually make ourselves decidedly his
inferior ; for Napoleon's history ought surely sufficiently to
instruct us, that the weapons of this northern Prince of
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WIESBADEN. 277
Darkness (his climate and his legions), even if we had an
anny, we ought not in prudence to attack ; but the fact is, our
pacific policy has been to try to exist without an army. In
the opinion of all military men we have even disarmed our-
selves too much ; and, in this situation, suddenly to change
our system, and without arms or armour to attack one who
is almost invulnerable, would be most irrationally to paralyse
our own political machinery.
If, by its moral assistance, we wisely intend, under the
blessings of Heaven, to govern and be governed, we surely
ought not from anger to desert its standard ; and, on the
other hand, it must be equally evident, that before we de-
termine on civilising the Emperor of Russia, by trying the
barbarous experiment of whether his troops or ours can,
without shrinking, eat most lead, it would be prudent to
create an army, as well as funds able to maintain it ; for —
** Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel ; but, being in,
Bear it, that the opposer may beware of thee!"
Being desirous to observe the way in which a Sunday
evening was passed in Germany, at seven o'clock on that
day I followed a crowd of people into the theatre, and
found the house so full that I had great difficulty in ob-
taining a seat The performance was a complete surprise
to me, for though ages ago, when I was young, I had been
in the habit of regularly attending, for years together, an
Italian theatre, yet never having before witnessed a Ger-
man opera, I did not know it was possible so completely to
adapt the sounds of music to every varying thought and
sentiment in a play : in short, the words of the play, and
the notes of the orchestra, were as nearly as possible fac-
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278 WIESBADEN,
similes of each other; demi-semiquavers, crotchets, and
minims being made most ingeniously to mimic, not only
exclamations, but marks of admiration, notes of interroga-
tion, colons, and full stops.
The musical emphasis which accompanied every line
throughout the piece, while it merely astonished me, seemed
to be most scientifically appreciated by the audience, whose
countenances of severe attention were very remarkable;
no interruption, however, of any sort took place, their feel-
ings of approbation or censure being equally mute In the
various departments of the performance a great deal of
natural talent was displayed, and whether one attended to
the music — to the style of acting — to the scenery— or even
to a dish of devils, which made their appearance, most
strangely garnished with toads, bats, serpents, and nonde-
script beings, one could not help admitting that, in spite of
its torpor, there must exist a considerable quantity of latent
genius, imagination, and taste in the audience itself: in-
deed, there can be no fairer criterion of the mental charac-
ter of any country than its own national spectacles, which
are, of course, and must be, made to correspond with and
suit the palates of those who support them. It is true that
that mimic Fashion will occasionally introduce into a coun-
try foreign habits not suited to its climate. For instance,
of our own fine London opera, Italians say, that without
calling upon the English audience itself to sing, their beha-
viour quite clearly proves that they have no real taste for —
that they are not capable of relishing — the foreign musical
luxury which by the power of money they have purchased :
in short, they accuse us of listening when we ought to be
coughing — of talking to each other when we ought to be
breathless from attention — and of most barbarously throw-
ing the light of the theatre upon ourselves instead of on the
performers — thus showing that we prefer looking at tiers of
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WIESBADEN. 279
red soft cheeks and rows of white pearly teeth, to listening
to the chaste, simple melody of music. But whether these
foreign remarks respecting- an Italian performance be true
or not, in our own element, in our own English theatres,
the accusation of want of taste does not hold good. The
admirers of Shakspeare, Siddons, Kemble, Kean, O'Neil,
etc., cannot complain that the writings of the one or the
acting of the others have not reached the hearts of those
to whom they have been directed ; in short, without sym-
pathetic talent throughout the country, those names could
never have reached the respective eminences on which they
stand, and thus, though they do honour to the country, the
country can also claim honour from them.
Remarking to a person who sat next me that the Duke
of Nassau's box in the theatre was empty, he informed me,
to my very great astonishment, that his Highness had just
left his own dominions, and had gone to Hanover, to bathe
IN THE SEA ! ! ! In short, while all the world was flocking
to swallow and wallow in the waters of Nassau, its noble
prince was wandering for the same purpose towards the
distant briny waves of the ocean ; but, as Mathews says —
'* Such is life, and such is man I like the lobster in boiling
water — restless and never satisfied?"
When the pleasing performance I had been witnessing
was at an end, on coming into the qpen air I found it was
raining. Like myself, most people were without umbrellas ;
the rain, however, seemed to have no effect upon the tide
of human bodies that flowed en masse towards the Cursaal,
which, ready lighted up, was waiting for the disgorging of the
theatre. On entering the great door each person was
required to pay a florin, and as the large room was rapidly
very nearly filled, the band struck up, and dancing most
vigorously began. I could now scarcely believe my eyes,
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28o WIESBADEN,
that the performers, so awkwardly attempting to be active
before me, were the identical people whose passive good
taste and genius I had, with so much pleasure, been ad-
miring ; for with a more awkward, clumsy, inelegant set of
dancers I certainly never before had found myself in society.
Not only was the execution of their steps violently bad,
but their whole style of dancing was of a texture as coarse
as dowlas, and most especially in their mode of waltzing
there was a repetition of sharp, vulgar jerks which it was
painfiilly disagreeable to witness- Leaving, therefore, these
dull, heavy teetotums to spin out the evening in their own
way, I quitted the great room ; but ho sooner did I enter
the smaller dens, than I found that I had fallen from the
fr)dng-pan into the fire, for these "hells" were literally
swarming with inhabitants. In each chamber an immense
solitary lamp (having a circular reflector) hung over the
green doth table, round which male and female gamesters,
of all ages, were bending, with horrid features of anxiety ;
and as the powerful rancid oil light shone upon their ill-
favoured countenances, I could not help with abhorrence
leaning backwards at seeing a group of fellow-creatures
huddled together for such a base, low-minded object. In
passing through the chambers of this infernal region I
found one worse, if possible, than the other. Under each
lamp were, here and there, contrasted with young nibblers,
individual countenances of habitual gamesters, which, as*
objects of detestation, many a painter, or rather scene-
painter, would have been exceedingly anxious to sketch ;
but I was so completely disgusted with the whole thing,
that, as quickly as my staff and two legs would carry me,
swinging the other arm, I took my departure.
In hastily worming my way through the ball-room, I
saw there no reason for changing my opinion ; and when I
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WIESBADEN, 281
got into the fresh, cool, open air, though I was fully sen-
sible I had not spent my Sunday evening exactly as I ought
to have done, yet, in the course of my very long life, I
think I never felt more practically disposed to repeat, as in
England we are, thank Heaven, still taught to do —
<* 3aememBer f^zX f^nyx ite^ |)oIp tt^e JhalbBatlb'^as*''
THE END.
Printed by R. Clark, Edinburgh.
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