I have said nothing about politics. The excitement in Germany has been great, but no unity of action. The Austrian papers lash Prussia for her neutral policy. The attacked journals reply that they are ready to defend the interests of the Fatherland, but unwilling to assist in the perpetuation of tyranny in Italy, and in the total want of religious toleration in Austria. The brochures, or pamphlets, in Paris, advising the conquest of the Rhine provinces, have done more to wake up the German population than anything else.
CLII.
Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Germany, April 22, 1859.
The free city of Frankfort is historically known since the eighth century. It is the seat of the Deutsche Bund, or German Confederation. In the old Roman Hall in the Rathhouse, or City Hall, where the German emperors and kings were chosen, the full length portraits, in costume, of the entire line are exhibited. In the Dom Kirche, or cathedral, is found the monument to the memory of Kaiser (or Emperor) Gunther, of Schwarzberg, dated in the year 1352; also the tombstone, under date of 1371, of the Ritter, or knight Rudolph, of Sachsenhausen, which little town lies on the opposite side of the river Maine, connected by a stone bridge twelve hundred and sixty feet long and thirty-three feet wide, resting upon fourteen arches.
Strolling through the settlement the other day I found the streets narrow, the town surrounded by a wall, the egress by the same gates through which one goes in, and the language of the people almost unintelligible and quite different from those who come in contact with the world where pure German is spoken.
Last Sunday I found myself in the Protestant, St. Paul’s, Church, consecrated in 1833, on the site of the old Roman Barfusse Kirche. It is in an elliptical form, built of square freestone blocks. While listening to the tones of the immense organ, my mind was carried back involuntarily to the events of 1848, when I had seen this edifice used for the General Assembly of nine hundred delegates, presided over by the Grand Duke Johan of Austria, whom it was proposed to elect emperor of all Germany. The torchlight and window illuminations of the city upon his arrival was a striking feature, but it was all a flash in the pan—an entire failure. The revolution was soon over. Austria had gained the battle of Novara over Sardinia, and reinstated her power. France was again quiet. The kings of Europe, who had in the presence of the enraged masses promised constitutions and all else required, soon found the people themselves disunited, and began to contract their strength and forces, and finally refused to perform any of the acts named.
The central position of this city gives it a decided advantage for trade and commerce. The activity of the eighty thousand inhabitants is striking in comparison with the ducal residence of Darmstadt, an hour’s ride by railway, with its long broad streets and population of thirty thousand, but looking dull and dreary as a village. The railroad in an hour conveys one to Wiesbaden, in a half hour to Mayence, and in an hour’s ride by omnibus and rail one arrives at Homburg.
The baths of the first and last-named places are now open for the season, but it is too early for many guests. On festival days they are full, and the sums of gold lost and won upon roulette and trente et quarante are scarcely credible. A Russian nobleman attracted the attention of the numerous bystanders recently, as he used only gold and one thousand franc bank notes, a pile of which he had before him, and won and lost equal to one thousand dollars, our currency, upon the turn of the wheel—now reducing his capital, and then increasing. The bank of Wiesbaden paid its shareholders thirty-one per cent. dividend the last year, after expending fabulous sums in the embellishment of the gardens, fountains, magnificent Kursaal, and reading rooms; and after giving semi-weekly balls, hunting parties at the close of the season, &c., &c., besides paying to the Duke of Nassau a large annual sum for the privilege of fleecing the public. It is an interesting study to see how these things are managed at Homburg and Wiesbaden. In addition to the immense expenses for laying out and beautifying the grounds with trees and flowering plants, the best restaurateur from Paris is employed to furnish a table d’hôte in the superb ornamental gilded and frescoed dining hall at a moderate price, thereby attracting strangers. The omnibus line receives a portion of the fare from the bank, making it easier accessible. The entrance to the reunions is gratis. Musicians, and even the police taxes, and other charges upon passports are paid at the expiration of the season by the company. Many families spend the winter at Homburg, where the bank is kept open the entire year, and they enjoy without charge the use of reading-rooms, with papers and periodicals in all modern languages. The managers, however, calculate adroitly upon the general average. If the father or mother do not play, the son or daughter, or friends perhaps will, and they can extricate so much gain per head on the average. Ladies are not free from the vice, large and small sums being risked by the fair sex. The bank even employs them for that purpose as a decoy. The Landgrave, or petty prince of this piece of land, about the size of one of our small counties, receives a handsome annuity.
The system is immoral and wicked, and ruins many families; but as long as Germany remains disunited, cannot be suppressed. At the close of the last business season at Wiesbaden, there were, I learn, as usual, many who had lost all, and could not get away. The bank in such cases advances the means, takes a note or draft for the same, and if not paid, the party does not return, consequently it is clear of them, and don’t incur the odium of suicides through despair.
The old town of Frankfort, with its narrow, tortuous streets, gabled-end projecting houses full of windows, is curious. Outside the walls surrounding the city are magnificent shady walks, highly ornamented with shrubbery and plants. The season is forward, and the trees in full bloom add to the beauty of the promenades. The suburbs are well laid out with broad streets and superb houses, occupied by the wealthy. It has become a favorite residence for strangers, being so central, and in connexion with so many attractive watering-places and cities.