The country environing Prague is rich and abounding in corn; there are likewise hops. The walls of Prague still bear the marks made by Frederic"s shot when he blockaded Prague.
PRAGUE, 7th Sept.
To-morrow I shall start for Dresden, The diligence goes off only once a week, but I have engaged a car or rather light basket waggon drawn by two horses (a vehicle very common in Germany) to convey me to Dresden in two days and half. I am to pay for half of the waggon, and another traveller will pay for the remaining half.
Before I leave Prague I must tell you that I have found out the origin of the German phrases _Jemand den Korb zu geben (to give the basket)_, which means a refusal of marriage. Thus when a young lady refuses an offer of marriage on the part of her admirer, the phrase is: _Sie hat ihm den Korb gegeben_ (_She has given him the basket_). Hitherto I have not met with any one who could explain to me satisfactorily the origin of so singular a phrase; but on reading lately a volume of the _Volksmahrchen_ (_Popular tales_) I found not only the derivation of this phrase, but also that of the name of the city of Prague. Both are connected in the same story, and both concern the history of Prague. The story is as follows.
Libussa, d.u.c.h.ess of Bohemia, had three lovers, two of whom were not remarkably intelligent, but the third possessed a great deal of talent and was her favorite. She was much importuned by the rival suitors. She appeared before them one day with a basket filled with plums in her hand; and said she would give her hand in marriage to whoever of them should guess the following arithmetical riddle. She said: "One of you shall take half the plums that are in this basket, and one over: another shall take half of what remains, and one over: the third shall take half of what still remains and three over, and then all the plums will have been taken. Now tell me how many plums there are in the basket." Her favorite was the only one who could guess the number of plums which was _thirty_. To him therefore she gave her hand and the plums, and to the other suitors the empty basket. Hence the phrase. The solution of the question is as follows:
A takes half of the plums in the basket (30) and one over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 + 1 = 16 B half of what remained (14) and one over . . . . . 7 + 1 = 8 C half of what remained (6) and three over . . . . . 3 + 3 = 6 --- Total 30
Now with regard to the origin of the city of Prague. The former residence was much too small, and Libussa directed her workmen to build a town on the spot, where they should find at midday a man making the _best use of his teeth_. They began their research and one day at that hour discovered a carpenter sawing a block of wood. It struck them that this laborious man was making a better use of his teeth (viz., teeth of his saw) than the mere feeder and they judged that this ought to be the place where the town should be built. They therefore proceeded to trace with a plough the circ.u.mference of the town. On asking the carpenter what he was about to make with the block he was sawing, he said " A threshold for a door," which is called _Prah_ or _Praha_ in the Bohemian language and Libussa gave to the city the name of _Praha_ or _Prag_.
BERLIN, 24th Sept.
Berlin has a splendid and cheerful appearance, with fine broad streets, superb white buildings and Palaces, for the most part in the Grecian taste; it has quite the appearance in short of an Italian city. Nearly all the streets are at right angles; they are kept very clean and the shops make a brilliant display. I felt so much pain in my legs, from the effect of my pedestrian journey, that I was obliged to remain in my chamber one entire day. There is a very good _table d"hote_ at my bin for twelve _Groschen_.
Wine is paid for extra, and at the rate of from 12 to 18 _Groschen_ the bottle. The sort usually drunk here is the Medoc. The prices of articles of prune necessity are dearer in Berlin than either at Dresden or Vienna; particularly the article of washing, which is dearer than in any country I have yet visited.
The next morning I began my rambles, and directed my course to the favorite and fashionable promenade of the _beau monde_, at all hours of the day, I mean in the fine street or alley _Unter den Linden_, so called from it being planted with lime trees. There is a range of elegant buildings on each side, and at the end, near the _Thier Garten_ (Park), is a superb gate called the _Brandenburger Thor_ in the shape of a triumphal arch ornamented with a statue of Peace, with an olive branch in her hand, standing on a car drawn by four horses abreast, the whole groupe being of bronze and of exquisite workmanship. The four horses are imitated from the Corinthian horses at Venice and yield to them in nothing but antiquity. Indeed they have a much more pleasing and striking effect, in being thus attached to a car, than standing by themselves, as the Venetian ones do, on the top of the facade of a church. This _Brandenburger Thor_ is constructed after the model of the Propylaeum of Athens.
The Opera House, a building in the Grecian taste erected by Frederic the Great with the inscription _Apollini et Musis_, and after that the Academy of the Fine Arts engaged my attention. Both these buildings are remarkable, and they are near the _Linden_. The old town is much intersected by ca.n.a.ls communicating with the Spree which divides it. I call it the old town, to distinguish it from the quarter composed of streets of recent construction between the former _enceinte_ of the town and the Brandenburger Thor. The Hotel of the Invalides, a ponderous building, bears the following inscription: _Laesis non victis_. The Bank and the a.r.s.enal next engaged my attention, as also a Guard House of recent construction in the shape of a Doric temple. The Royal Palace is an immense building, partly in the Gothic and partly in the Grecian style. It is very heavy but imposing. The interior of this Palace is royally fitted up, except the little room occupied by the great Frederic, which is left in the same state as when he occupied it; and you know he was not fond of superfluous ornament. In the green before the Palace stands the statue of the Prince of Anhalt Dessau, the founder of the Prussian Infantry system, and at a short distance from this, on the _Lange Brucke,_ stands the colossal equestrian statue in bronze of the Great Elector.
The _Konigstra.s.se_ is the princ.i.p.al street and a very fine one it is; next to it in point of beauty is the _Franzosische_ _Stra.s.se_. The _Wilhelm Platz_ is adorned with the statues in marble of Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, Winterfeld, and Ziethen. But I cannot enumerate all the splendid public establishments and fine things to be seen in this beautiful city. The most striking church is that of St Hedwig. I call it the most striking from its resemblance to the Pantheon at Rome. The Cathedral is perhaps a finer building. "Tis in this last that the Electoral and Royal remains are deposited.
The streets "here swarm with military, and indeed the profession of arms seems to have too much sway in the Prussian dominions. The subalterns and young men of the Prussian Army are said to have republican sentiments, and they, in common with all the burghers, desire a const.i.tution. It galls them to see one enjoyed by the Bavarians, whom they affect to look upon as inferior to them in intelligence, and that it should be refused to them.
Most of the n.o.bility and the greater part of the General and field officers are however inveterate aristocrats.
You have heard, I dare say, of the attempt made by some officers among the n.o.bility to exclude from the service, after the peace, those officers who were not n.o.ble. When it is considered that their best and most zealous officers sprung from the burghers, and that Prussia, when abandoned by her King and n.o.bles, was saved from permanent subjection only by the unparalleled exertions of her burghers and peasantry, one is shocked at such ingrat.i.tude and absurdity. But the officers of the Royal Guard went so far as to draw up a pet.i.tion to the King, requesting him to dismiss all the officers of the corps who were not n.o.ble, and Blucher was applied to to present this pet.i.tion to the King. Blucher read the paper and ordered all the officers to a.s.semble on the parade and thus addressed them: "Gentlemen, I have received your paper and read its contents with the utmost astonishment. All the remarks that I shall permit myself to make on the subject of this pet.i.tion, are, that it makes me ashamed of being myself a n.o.ble." He then tore the pet.i.tion in pieces and dismissed them.
I have been once at the theatre. _Lodoiska_ was performed. I saw a number of fine women in the boxes. Formerly gallantry and pleasure were the order of the day at Berlin; but now, the Court a.s.suming the exterior of rigid morality and strictly exercised religious devotion, mystic cant and dullness is the order of the day. The death of the Queen of Prussia threw a great damp over the amus.e.m.e.nts of the Court. At Charlottenburg, which is a short distance from Berlin, in the grounds there, they point out to you her favourite spots. She was a most amiable Princess, and united to great personal beauty so much grace and fascination and so many good qualities that she was beloved by all, and the breath of calumny never ventured to a.s.sail her.
The alley _Unter den Linden_ in the evening presents a great a.s.semblage of Cyprian nymphs, who promenade up and down; they dress well and are perfectly well behaved. There is a superb establishment of this kind at Berlin, which all strangers should visit out of curiosity. It is not indispensably necessary to sacrifice to the G.o.ddess whose worship is carried on there; but you may limit yourself to admire the temple, call for refreshments and contemplate the priestesses.
There is the utmost moral and political freedom at Berlin, and tho" the Government is despotic in form, freedom of speech is allowed. An army of 200,000 men admirably disciplined and armed, of these a garrison of 15,000 men in Berlin and as many at Potsdam, are quite sufficient to keep in check all attempts to put political theories and speculations into practice.
Indeed, it would be very difficult to excite a revolt; the various German governments are carried on very paternally and the government is scarcely felt; habits of obedience have taken deep root among the people, and a German peasant as long as he gets enough to eat and drink, does not conceive himself unhappy, or thinks of a change. I could not help laughing the other day, at a little village near Berlin, when I heard some peasants talking of Napoleon; one of them, who seemed to have some partiality for him, exclaimed, meaning to blame him for leaving Elba: _Aber warum verliess er seine Insel? Er hatte doch zu essen und trinken so viel er wolte_ (Why did he leave Elba? He had surely plenty to eat and drink). This good peasant could not conceive that a man blessed with these comforts should like to change his situation or run any risks to do so.
French as well as German is commonly spoken in Berlin, and I am glad to see that the prejudice against the French is wearing off. If the French and Prussians could understand one another, and knew their own interests, or if the French had a liberal national Government, I mean, one more identified with the interests of the people than the present one is, what advantage might not rise therefrom? They are natural allies, and united they might be able effectually to humble the overbearing insolence and political c.o.xcombry of the Czar, shake to its centre the systematic despotism and light-fearing leader of Austria, and keep in check the commercial greediness, monopolizing spirit and Tory arrogance of England. The German political writers duly appreciate the illiberal policy of England towards the continental nations, by which she invariably helps to crush liberty on the Continent in the hopes of paralysing their energies and industry, in order to compel them to buy English manufactures, and in fine to make them dependent on England for every article of consumption. England, ever since the beginning of the reign of George III to the present day, has been always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to perpetuate abuses and to rivet the fetters of monarchial, feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny.
These are facts and cannot be denied. The English people have been taxed to the last farthing to support a war of privileges against Freedom; and Europe is in consequence prostrate at the feet of an unprincipled coalition, thro" England"s arms and England"s gold; and then an English minister, and his vile hireling journals, tell you that the continental nations are not ripe for and do not deserve liberty. Even the Pope and Grand Turk, both so much dreaded by our pious ancestors, have been supported, caressed and subsidized, in order to help to put down all efforts made to obtain rational liberty, which the courtiers always affect to stigmatize with the name of "Jacobinism," while a number of needy individual have enriched themselves by the public plunder and byaiding and abetting the system, all _novi homines_, men who, had there been more to gain on the other side than by espousing Toryism, would not have been backward; men who are Jacobins in the real sense of the word, however they cloak themselves under the specious names of Church and King men; upholders of Pitt and his system, for which they affect a veneration they are far from really feeling; men, in fact, whose political scruples of whatever nature they be, would soon melt away.
DRESDEN, 5th October.
I have been fortunate in getting into very comfortable lodgings, having two rooms and as much firing as I chuse for eight _Reichsthalers_ per month.
Coffee is made for me at home in the morning, and I generally dine and sup at a _restaurant_ close by near the bridge. The _Platz_ in the Neustadt is close to my lodgings, and being very large and well paved and lined with trees, it affords a very agreeable promenade. Rows of elegant houses line the sides of this Plata, among which the _Stadthaus_ is particularly remarkable. The famous _j.a.pan Palace_, as it is called, is also in the _Neustadt_, and but a short distance from the _Platz_. The gardens of Count Marcolini afford also a pleasant promenade; but by far the most agreeable walk, in my opinion, is on the _Zwinger_, a sort of terrace on the left bank of the Elbe in the old town, adjoining the palace and gardens of Count Bruhl. From this place you have a n.o.ble view of a long reach of the Elbe.
It is besides the favorite promenade of the ladies. On the _Zwinger_ too is a building containing a fine collection of paintings. Here are _cafes_ likewise and a _restaurant_. The evening promenades are in the gardens of the _Linkischer Bad_ (Bath of Link) on the banks of the Elbe, where there is a summer theatre. This is the favourite resort of the _bourgeoisie_ on Sundays and _jours de fete; gouters_ and supper parties are formed here and very good music is heard. The Elbe bridge is of beautiful structure, and there is a good regulation with respect to those who pa.s.s over this bridge; which is that one side of the bridge is reserved for those going from the new to the old town, and the other side for those going from the old to the new town, and if you attempt to go on the wrong side you are stopped by a sentry, so that there is no jostling nor lounging on this bridge. An arch of this bridge was blown up by Marshal Davoust in order to arrest the progress of the Russians, and a great deal of management was necessary to effectuate it, for the worthy Saxons have a great veneration for this bridge, and in order to inforce the execution of this resolution on the part of the Marshal, the personal order of the King and the employment of Saxon troops were necessary. It has been rebuilt since, and no one would know that the arch had ever been blown up, but from the extreme whiteness of the new arch, contrasting with the darker color of the old ones.
In the old town or Dresden proper, the finest buildings are: the Catholic church, standing near the bridge, an edifice yielding in beauty but to few in Italy and to none in other countries. Here you hear excellent music during the church service; and the King and Royal family, all of whom are Catholics, attend constantly. The Royal Palace is very near the church and not far from it is the theatre. Saxony being a Lutheran country, the public exercise of the Catholic religion was not permitted until Napoleon"s time, when he proposed an arrangement to permit to the King and all other Catholics the public celebration of their religion, which proposition was acceded to with universal approbation on the part of the Protestants, and now the Host is frequently displayed in the streets. There are however but few Catholics in Dresden among the natives. So great is the respect for usages and customs in Germany, that the Electors of Saxony, on going over to Catholicism, never thought even of requesting the indulgence of exercising their religion publicly, and the granting it has produced no evil consequence, liberalism and the most unreserved toleration in matters of religion being the order of the day.
The Royal Palace is a very fine and extensive building and the interior is well worth seeing, particularly the superb _Riesen-Saal_ where Augustus II used to give his magnificent _fetes_. One of the last and most brilliant _fetes_ given here was that given by the King of Saxony to the Emperor Napoleon just before the Russian campaign, at which the Emperor and Empress of Austria and most of the Sovereigns of Germany a.s.sisted, to do hommage to the great Conqueror.
The _Schloss-ga.s.se_ or Castle Street leads from the Palace into the _Markt Platz_ where the markets and fairs are held. In this place, in the _Schloss-ga.s.se_ and in another street parallel to it, that leads from the porcelain Manufactory to the _Grosser Platz_ (_Grande Place_), are the finest shops and greatest display of wealth. On the _Grosser Platz_ stands the _Frauen-Kirche_, a superb Protestant church, and which may be considered as the cathedral church of Dresden. The _Platz_ is large. There is great cleanliness in all the streets of Dresden, and the houses are well built and uniform; but there are few other very prominent edifices except those I have mentioned. On going outside the town by the gate of Pirna stands, almost immediately on the right, on turning down a road, the Gardens and Palace of Prince Anthony. Leaving this on your right and proceeding along the _chaussee_ or high road which is nearly parallel to the river, at the distance of three-quarters mile from the Gate, stands the Palace and Gardens called _Der Grosse Garten_ (grand garden), which you leave on your right, if you continue your route on the _chaussee_ towards Pirna. I have not yet visited the _Grosse Garten_. There is likewise a fine promenade on the banks of the Elbe, but quite in an opposite direction to the Pirna gate, for to arrive at it from this gate, you must traverse the Pirna street and _Grosser Platz_; and on arrival near the bridge direct your course to the left, which will lead you out of one of the gates into an immensely long avenue of elm trees parallel to the river which forms the promenade.
DRESDEN, Oct. 10th.
I have been to see the Palace and grounds of the _Grosser Garten_. The garden and park, for it unites both, is of great extent, and beautifully laid out; but a number of fine trees have been knocked down and mutilated by cannon shot during the battle of Dresden in 1818, when this garden was occupied by the Allied troops and exposed to a heavy fire of fifty pieces of cannon, from a battery erected by Napoleon on the opposite side of the river, which completely commanded and enfiladed the whole range of the garden. How the Palace itself escaped being knocked to pieces is wonderful; but I suppose Napoleon must have given orders to spare it as much as possible. This Palace is of beautiful structure and in the style of an Italian villa; statues of the twelve Caesars and bas-reliefs adorn the exterior. The columns and pilasters are of the Corinthian order. As for the interior, it is unfurnished, and has been so since the Seven Years" war, when it was plundered by the enemy, and has never since been inhabited by the Electoral family. There is a superb rectangular basin of water in this garden. These gardens are delightfully laid out; why they are not more frequented I cannot conceive, but I have hitherto met with very few people there, tho" they are open to all the world. They will form my morning"s promenade, for I prefer solitude to a crowd in a morning walk. But one of the gardeners here tells me that on Sunday evening there is generally a good deal of company, who come to listen to the music which is played in a building fitted up for the purpose at one side of the garden. Wine, coffee, beer and other refreshments are to be had; but beer is the favorite beverage. Smoking is universal among the young men; the most ardent admirers of the fair s.e.x never forget their pipe. During the courtship the surest sign that the fair one does not intend to _give_ her lover _the basket_ is when she presents him with a bag to hold his tobacco. Her consent is implied thereby.
During the battle of Dresden, the slaughter in this garden was immense, and the Allies were finally driven out of it. The gardener related to me an affecting story of a young lady of Dresden, whose lover was killed in this battle and buried in the _Grosser Garten_. She has taken it so much to heart that she comes here three or four times in the week to visit this grave and strew flowers over it. She remains for some time absorbed in silent meditation and then withdraws. She has a settled melancholy, but it has not yet affected her understanding.
DRESDEN, Oct. 15th.
I met with my old friend, Sir W.I., who was travelling to Berlin, with the idea of pa.s.sing the winter there and of proceeding in the summer to Moscow.
Thro" the interests of my friends, Col. D------ and Baron de F------ I have been ballotted for and admitted a member of a club or society here called the _Ressource_. It is held in a large house on the _Markt Platz_, and is indeed a most agreeable resource to all foreigners; for "tis in this society that they are likely to meet and form acquaintance with the _n.o.blesse_, princ.i.p.al _bourgeoisie_ and _litterati_. It is conducted on the most liberal scale and not confined to those of birth and fortune. Good character, polite behaviour and litterary requirements will ensure admittance to a candidate. This society consists of members and honorary members; among the honorary members are foreigners and others whose stay in Dresden is short; but whoever remains for more than one year must cease to be an honorary member and must be ballotted for in order to become a permanent member, and should he be blackballed he ceases to belong to the society altogether. This is a very good regulation. A year is a sufficient time of proof for the character and conduct of a person, and should he during this interval prove himself obnoxious to the members of the society, they can at its expiration exclude him for ever afterwards.
No enquiry is made as to the character and conduct of a person who is admitted as an honorary member: it is sufficient that he be recommended by a permanent member, which is deemed a sufficient guarantee for his respectability. In this society there are dining rooms, billiard rooms, card rooms, a large reading room. Here too is a small but well chosen library and three or four newspapers in every European language; all the German newspapers and reviews and the princ.i.p.al periodical works in the German, French, English and Italian languages. The English papers taken in here are the _Times, Courier_ and _Chronicle_. Of the French, the _Moniteur, Journal des Debats, Const.i.tutionel, Journal du Commerce, Gazette de France_ and _Gazette de Lausanne_, and of the Italian the _Gazette di Milano, di Venezia, di Firenze_ and _di Lugano_. Every German newspaper is, I believe, to be found here. The Society lay in their stock of wine, which is of the best quality; good cooks and servants are kept. Dinners go forward from one to three. You dine _a la carte_ and pay the amount of what you call for to the waiters. Coffee, liqueurs and all sorts of refreshments are likewise to be had. Supper, likewise _a la carte_, goes forward between nine and eleven. The evening before supper may be employed, if you chuse, in cards, billiards, or reading. Very pleasant and useful acquaintances are made at the _Ressource_, since if a foreigner renders himself agreeable to the gentlemen who frequent this society, they generally propose taking him to their houses and introducing him to their families. After an introduction, you may go at any hour of the evening you please: but morning visits are not much in fashion, since the _toilette_ is seldom made till after dinner, which is always early in Germany. There is no getting dinner after three o"clock in any part of Dresden. Besides the _Ressource_ there are several other Clubs here, such as the _Harmonic_ and others. The public b.a.l.l.s are given at the _Hotel de Pologne_ twice a week, viz., one for the _n.o.blesse_ and one for the _Bourgeoisie_. None of the female _Bourgeoisie_ are admitted to the b.a.l.l.s and societies of the _n.o.blesse_, and only such of the males as occupy posts or employments at Court or under Government such as _Konigs-rath_, _Hof-rath_, or officers of the Army. It is therefore usual, when the Sovereign wishes to introduce a person of merit among the _Bourgeoisie_ into the upper circles, that he gives him the t.i.tle of _Rath_ or Counsellor; but this priviledge of being presentable at Court does not extend to their wives and daughters. All the Military officers, from whatever cla.s.s of life they spring, have introduction _de jure_ into the b.a.l.l.s and societies of the _n.o.blesse_, and are always in uniform. But when they attend the b.a.l.l.s of the _Bourgeoisie_, it is the etiquette for them to wear plain clothes: at the b.a.l.l.s of the _Bourgeoisie_, therefore, not an uniform is to be seen. I observed by far the prettiest women at the b.a.l.l.s of the _Bourgeoisie_, and very many are to be found there who in education and accomplishments fully equal those of the _n.o.blesse_, and this is no small merit, for the women in Saxony of the higher cla.s.ses are extremely well educated; most of them are proficient in music and are versed in French and Italian litterature. They seem amiable and goodnatured and by no means _minaudieres_, as Lady Mary Wortley Montague has rather unjustly termed them; for they appear to me to be the most frank, artless creatures I ever beheld, and to have no sort of _minauderie_ or _coquetterie_ about them. Beauty is the appanage of the Saxon women, hence the proverb in rhyme:
Darauf bin ich gegangen nach Sachsen, Wo die schonen Madchen auf den Baumen wachsen.
In English:
Behold me landed now on Saxon ground, Where lovely damsels on the trees are found.
A taste for litterature is indeed general throughout the whole nation; and this city is considered as the Athens of Germany.
DRESDEN, Nov. 8th.
I have been at the theatre and witnessed the representation of a tragedy called _Die Schuld_, written by Adolphus Mullner. It is a most interesting piece, and the novelty of it has made a striking impression on me. It is written in the eight-footed trochaic metre, similar to that in which the Spanish tragedies are written. It hinges on a prophecy made by a Gipsey, in which the person to whom the prophecy is made, in endeavoring to avert it, hastens its accomplishment. The piece is full of interest and the versification harmonious. I have been twice at the Italian opera, where I saw the _Gazza Ladra_ and _Il Matrimonio secreto_. I came here with the idea of giving myself up entirely to the study of the German language; but such is the beauty of the country environing Dresden that, though winter has commenced I employ the greatest part of the day in long walks. For instance I have been to Pillnitz, which is on the right bank of the Elbe about seven miles from Dresden, ascending the river. The road is on the bank of the river the whole way. The Palace at Pillnitz is vast and well built. During a part of the year the Royal family reside there. Pillnitz will remain "d.a.m.n"d to everlasting fame" as the place where the famous treaty was signed, the object of which was to put down the French Revolution, which Mr Pitt and the British ministry knew of and sanctioned, tho" they pretended ignorance of it and professed to have no desire to interfere with the affairs of France.
Every thing pleases me at Dresden except the beds. I wish it were the fashion to use blankets and _edredons_ for the upper covering instead of the _lits de plumes_; for they are too heavy and promote rather too intense a perspiration, and if you become impatient of the heat, and throw them off you catch an intense cold. You know how partial I am to the Germans, and can even put up with their eternal smoking, tho" no smoker myself, but to their beds I shall never be reconciled. A German bed is as follows: a _pailla.s.se_, over that a mattress, then a featherbed with a sheet fastened to it, and over that again another featherbed with a sheet fastened to it; and thus you lie between two featherbeds; but these are not always of sufficient length, and you are often obliged to coil up your legs or be exposed to have them frozen by their extending beyond the featherbeds; for the cold is very great during the winter.
The more I see of the people here, the more I like them. The national character of the Germans is integrity, tho" sometimes cloaked under a rough exterior as in Bavaria and Austria; but here in Saxony it is combined with a suavity of manners that is very striking, for the Saxons are the Tuscans of Germany in point of politeness, and they are far more accomplished because they take more pains in cultivating their minds.
A savant in Italy is a man who writes a volume about a coin, filled with hypotheses, when, with all his learning forced into the service, he proves nothing; and this very man is probably ignorant in the extreme of modern political history, and that of his own times, and has more pedantry than taste. Such a man is often however in Italy termed a _Portento_, but in Dresden and in most of the capitals of Germany where there are so many of science and deep research, a man must not only be well read in antiquities, but also well versed in political economy and in a.n.a.lysis before he can venture to give a work to the public. Latin quotations, unsupported by reason and philosophical argument will avail him nothing, for the German is a terrible _Erforscher_ and wishes to know the _what_, the _how_ and the _when_ of every thing; besides an Italian _savant_ is seldom versed in any other tongue than his own and the Latin, with perhaps a slight knowledge of French; whereas in Germany it is not only very common to find a knowledge of French, English, Italian, Latin and Greek united in the same person, but very many add Hebrew, Arabic and even Sanscrit to their stock of Philology.
As a specimen for instance of German industry, I have seen, at the club of the _Ressource_, odes on the Peace in thirty-six different languages, and all of them written by native Saxons. This shows to what an extent philology is cultivated in Germany; indeed, it is quite a pa.s.sion and a very useful one it is. I know that many people regard it as a loss of time, and say that you acquire only new words, and no new ideas; but I deny this.
I maintain that every new language learned gives you new ideas, as it puts you at once more _au fait_ of the manners and customs of the people, which can only be thoroughly learned by reading popular authors in their original language: for there are several authors of the merit of whose style it is impossible to form an adequate idea in a translation, however correct and excellent it be. Indeed I wonder that the study of the German language is not more attended to in England, France, and Italy; but to the English, methinks, it is indispensable. All the customs and manners of Europe are taken from the German; all modern Europe bears the Teutonic stamp. We are all the descendants of the Teutonic hordes who subjugated the Roman Empire and changed the face of Europe; "tis they who have given and laid down the grand and distinguishing feature between modern Europe and ancient Europe and Asia: I mean the respect paid to women. To what nation, I say, is due the chivalrous respect to women which is the surest sign of civilization, and which was unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans, except to the Germans, who even in their most uncivilized state paid such veneration to their women as to consult them as oracles on all occasions and to admit them to their councils? Tacitus particularly mentions this; and speaking of the Germans of his time, he says, "They have an idea that there is something divine about a woman."[126] It is this feeling, handed down to us from our Teutonic ancestors, that contributes mainly to make the European so superior to all the Asiatic nations, where woman still remains a degraded being, and "tis this feeling that gives to us the palm above all Greek and Roman glory. What are the modern European nations, the English, French, Italians, Switzers, even Spanish and Portuguese, but the descendants of these warlike Teutonic tribes who swept away the effeminate Romans from the face of the earth? and do we not see the Teutonic policy and usages, defective and degenerated as they sometimes are, the best safeguard of liberty against the insidious interpretation of the Roman law, which is founded on the pretended superiority of one nation, the inferred inferiority of all the rest?
With regard to theatricals, I have witnessed the representation of a tragedy, lately published, called _Sappho_, by a young poet of the name of Grillparzer. This tragedy is strictly on the Greek model. Its versification in iambics is so beautiful that it is regarded as the triumph of the _Cla.s.sics_ over the _Romantics_; and by this piece Grillparzer has proved the universality of his genius; for he wrote a short time ago a dramatic piece in the _romantic_ style and in the eight rhymed trochaic metre called _die Anhfrau_ (the ancestress) where supernatural agency is introduced.
This I have read; it is a piece full of interest; still it was thought too _outre_ by the _Cla.s.siker_. It was supposed that this was the peculiar style of the author, and that he adopted it from inability to compose in the cla.s.sic taste, when behold! by way of proving the contrary, he has given us a drama simple in its plot, where all the unities are preserved, and where the subject one would think was too well known to produce much interest; he has given, I say, to this piece (Sappho), from the extreme harmony of its versification and the pathos of the sentiments expressed therein, an effect which I doubt any tragedy of Euripides or Sophocles surpa.s.ses. The character of Sappho and her pa.s.sion for Phaon; his indifference to her and attachment to the young Melitta, an attendant and slave of Sappho"s, and Sappho throwing herself into the sea after uniting Phaon and Melitta, const.i.tute the plot of the drama. But simple as the plot, and old as the story is, it excites the greatest interest, and never fails to draw tears from the audience. What can be more artless and pathetic, for instance, than these lines of the young Melitta when she regrets her expatriatioa:
Kein Busen schlagt mlr bier in diesem Lande, Und meine Freunden wohnen weit von hier.
In English:
No bosom beats for me in this strange land, And far from here my friends and parents dwell.