An opportunity presented itself recently at Berlin to witness this foolish and shameful spectacle, which some consider a source of amusement. They fight for fifteen minutes, unless one or the other cries enough. The weapon is a straight sword, somewhat over three feet long, with a sharp blade; the end is about three fourths of an inch wide. The duellists are clad in a leather suit, the whole body protected except the head; the neck is bound with a scarf, and the right arm heavily bandaged with cloths; it is supported by a second during a halt, while a third stands with a sword to parry side-blows. Judges give the word of command, keep the time, and decide the contest. The students of both corps sit and stand around, smoking their pipes, without manifesting any particular concern, further than regards the manner in which the work is executed. It is incumbent upon each member to pass the ordeal, and the others have no hesitation in taking a hand for amusement. A cut upon the face or head, sometimes the loss of an eye, or a broken nose, is not unfrequently the result of this barbarous relic of the days of chivalry. I am happy to say that our Americans, with two exceptions, avoid this foolish exposure; one of whom has a mark upon his face, which he will always carry. Disgusted with the whole system, I was glad to escape.
The German railroad companies are yet far behind in the comfort of their cars. In France, the coaches are heated with vessels of hot water under the carpet; going last winter from Paris to Marseilles, I found it as comfortable as in a parlor. From Berlin to this place I noticed that only the ladies’ carriages were warmed with bags of hot sand; fortunately, I obtained a seat in one of them. I learn that from hence to Cracow, and also to Vienna, in Austrian territory, they are not warmed, and shall make my arrangements accordingly. The people in these latitudes in winter accustom themselves so much to the use of furs that they don’t seem to require this precaution.
The houses, cafés, and places of amusement, are well warmed, and one suffers less from cold than in northern Italy.
Since the release of the royalists from the Swiss prisons at Neufchatel, and the anticipated call of the Prussian Landwehr to the battle-field, the war excitement has cooled off, and the community have been excited with the judgment and execution of Verger, for the murder of the Archbishop of Paris.
CXXII.
Vienna, March 15, 1857.
The movements and doings of this gay and mixed population during the Fasching, or Carnival season, may be of interest to you. I notice in the papers that in the city proper and suburban cities, there have been given in all over one thousand public and private balls during the festival season. The corners of many of the streets were provided with transparent lights, announcing the different balls, from the Citizens’, Jurists’, Lawyers’, Professors’ and Students’, to the Cab Drivers’ and Servant-girls’. It seemed as if the chief occupation was dancing, and all were disposed to employ the time until the beginning of Lent, when the famous musical Strauss and Sperl Bands could lay down their instruments, and a tired population repose their wearied limbs. It is computed that an inveterate dancer here, in the waltz gallop and dance, will travel over several English miles of surface in the course of the night. The Burger Ball, given in the Palace, was a brilliant affair; some two thousand five hundred persons present. In the absence of the Emperor in Italy, his father, the Archduke Charles, represented him. Fanny Ellsler, the danseuse of so much notoriety, who is now a resident of this city, was among the number of guests. She was bedecked with diamonds, and was in conversation with the Archduke. Prince Metternich, the renowned Austrian statesman, even at his advanced age, was present. Vienna is noted for its beautiful ladies; they belong to a variety of races, the city being a concentrating point, during the gay season, for the fair daughters of Hungary, and of the Bohemian, Polish, and Italian provinces.
The education of young ladies is more superficial here than with us. Music, dancing, and the languages, seem to be the most important branches of an education; not that all other acquirements are neglected, but that the practical is not considered so essential as in our institutions at home.
The Emperor, Empress, and suite arrived day before yesterday from Italy, and were received at the railroad depot by a large body of Italian residents, who addressed thanks for the Emperor’s acts of clemency in Lombardy. He was received by the citizens in large numbers, who formed a line of protection for the imperial cortege to the gates of the city, where the Burgermeister and authorities of the metropolis attended him.
The Italians have gained through his visit a Viceroy, in the person of his brother, who is to reside at Milan and Venice alternately, dispensing with the military government of Radetzky. Political refugees have been pardoned, and granted the privilege of returning. Confiscated property has been restored; the revolutionary events of 1848 buried in oblivion; the prisons for felons have been in many cases opened, and a sort of jubilee produced among all, except those whose national prejudices cannot submit to Austrian rule. Culprits and cut-throats in despotic and monarchical countries never divest themselves of the sheet anchor Hope, for the marriage of a Prince, the birth of a Princess, or an accession to the throne, bring amnesties frequently. These are paraded and published as acts of magnanimity; and with their consummation, not unfrequently come many breakers of the peace and pests upon society.