Baths of Ems, Duchy of Nassau, Aug. 20, 1854.
In the little village of Graefrath, a few leagues from Dusseldorf, in the kingdom of Prussia, lives an oculist, who is celebrated throughout Holland and Germany, and whose address was given me at Aix-la-Chapelle. Requiring his services, I went in pursuit of him, and found, to my surprise, from two hundred to two hundred and fifty patients, who make a sort of pilgrimage there from all quarters. His success with royalty has given him several badges of honor, which he wears, and has made the village a place of sojourn for the afflicted, who are its chief resource. The doctor is kind and liberal in his treatment of the poor, and no respecter of persons. Each takes his turn, and I considered myself fortunate on my first interview, in meeting with the rank and file; it gave a fair opportunity of witnessing the sufferings of the partially blind, young and old, in the different conditions of life, and studying the hopes and fears of this pitiful class of invalids, and of thanking Heaven that my difficulties were small in comparison with those of many others present. Obtaining the necessary remedies for treatment, I was advised to proceed to this place, and make use of the waters.
Dusseldorf, which I had just left, is renowned for its school of modern paintings, and has three galleries now open, which contain many gems of art. It is also the residence of some three hundred artists. The gallery in New York, which bears its name, as we all know, contains a good collection of pictures.
I shall say little of the city so famous for its Cologne water, its vast, unfinished cathedral, its church with the bones of the eleven thousand virgins, which I have described on former occasions, but simply say I took there the steamer to ascend the much-vaunted Rhine, so full of interest, with its thickly settled villages, the rich vegetation of its banks, whose amphitheatred walls are covered with the vine which has given such celebrity to the Johannisberger, Rudesheimer, and other choice wines, its old castles upon the verge of the mountain crags, with its many legends, all of which are calculated to call forth the enthusiasm of the tourist. The day was fine; the long but narrow and tolerably fleet iron steamers made rapid exchanges of passengers at the principal villages, adding to the interest of the trip. The awning was spread as a protection from an August sun, and dinner served on deck to a numerous party of different races and tongues, who seemed to enjoy exceedingly not only the charming panorama but the light and delicious beverage produced from such clustering vines as covered the mountain side. This being the fourth time that I had navigated this stream, I could gaze upon its beauties with less emotion than formerly, and, must add, for the grand and majestic, the scenery of the noble Hudson surpasses the Rhine, although the former is deficient in variety of detail. The frowning castle of Ehrenbreitstein (the Gibraltar of the Rhine), and the smiling banks of the Moselle, which here discharges its waters, denote our arrival at Coblentz; and a two hours’ ride brings us to the village of Ems, deservedly noted for its picturesque and charming site, lying in the valley, upon the margin of the little river called the Lahn, skirted by mountains on both sides. I find myself somewhat at home here, being lodged in the same quarters in which I spent a month in the summer of 1848.
The discovery of the thermal waters of Ems dates from an early period of antiquity. When the Roman legions, under Augustus and Tiberius, occupied these mountains, they erected baths in honor of the nymphs, protectresses of the mineral waters, whose fountains mysteriously came from the earth. After the decline of the Roman power, they were lost sight of until the twelfth century, when Ems passed under the domination of the Counts of Nassau. It was not until 1803 that the house of Nassau erected the convenient and commodious buildings now forming part of this establishment. Since my last visit the improvements have been considerable to accommodate the great number of invalids who come here in search of health. Ems being a village with no other attractions than its beautiful rides and walks, everything has been done to render it agreeable; large and fine hotels have been erected, where every comfort may be obtained. The band plays morning and evening; the Kursaäl is a fine architectural structure for concerts, plays, and general reunions. The gardens are agreeable. The walks and romantic sites are covered with pavilions, accessible for pedestrians and donkeys—which latter abound, with red side-saddles with cushioned backs for ladies, and it is amusing to see the competition among the drivers: groups of both sexes, young and old, are seen winding up the serpentine ascents, presenting a droll appearance. The waters of Ems are celebrated for the relief of bronchial, pulmonary, and nervous diseases; more than one half of the visitors are ladies. Here one meets princes, dukes, counts, senators, merchants, etc., with their wives, daughters, and friends; Russians, Poles, Germans, Hollanders, Danes, and Frankfort Jews, whose object is certainly the restoration of health. The usual term for employing the waters for bathing and drinking is four weeks, and the hours from six until eight A.M.; you see at the hot sparkling fountains of the Kesselbrunnen and Kruenchin from six hundred to eight hundred persons, with fancy-colored Bohemian glasses in their hands, sipping the not unpleasant bi-carbonate fluid, and after a promenade at intervals of from a quarter to half an hour, returning to the same, the band playing all the while inspiring airs. At one P.M., there is a table d’hôte in all the hotels, and parties who occupy lodgings change, if desirable, from day to day, and are more generally thrown together, and seem to become more acquainted, than at many watering places. At six P.M. all congregate at the springs, and after imbibing and strolling through the grounds, to the sound of a march or waltz, disperse; at eight, all is quiet, and the trees, plants, and flowers are left alone in their glory. Such as choose to sup at the Kursaäl, and repair to the concert and gambling saloons, do so.
The waters of Nassau are renowned, and are a source of wealth to the Duke, who is commander-in-chief of this little province, which contains only three hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants. Large quantities of Seltzer water are exported over Europe.
In the history of this little duchy of Nassau, the discovery of one of its springs, as told by a traveller, is so full of simplicity that I cannot refrain from repeating it. It seems there was once a heifer with which everything in nature seemed to disagree; the more she ate the thinner she grew; the more her mother licked her hide the rougher it became; the flies of the forest would not bite her; she was never known to chew her cud; but, hide-bound and melancholy, her hips nearly protruded through her skin; no one knew what the matter was, and no one could cure her. At last, deserted by her owner, she was abandoned for lost. A few weeks after, she appeared among the herd with ribs covered with flesh, eyes like a deer’s, and skin as sleek as a snail’s; her breath smelling sweetly with milk; every day seemed to re-establish her health. The incident was so striking that the herdsman was induced to watch her; he perceived that every evening she wended her way to an unknown spring of water, from which she refreshed herself and returned to the valley.
This circumstance was nearly forgotten by the peasant when a young Nassau lady began to show the same symptoms as this heifer. The herdsman heard of her case and advised her to try the waters, which she did, and became one of the plumpest girls in the duchy.
Deaths never occur here, at least they are not known, for the poor patient is quietly disposed of at an hour when none but the undertaker is on duty. The sympathies of the living are not thereby excited, and the bright side of the picture is the only one gazed upon.
This water-drinking, bathing regimen and daily routine becomes monotonous where necessity demands it, and one is rejoiced at the approach of the period when he is exempted by the physicians. The latter are found invariably in the morning promenades, to consult with their clients. But for fear you will be gorged and saturated with mineral waters let us change the subject.