As the next day was Sunday, the party remained at Heidelberg, and attended church at the English chapel in the forenoon. In the afternoon they visited the Church of the Holy Ghost, which has a partition through the entire length of it, dividing it into two equal parts, one of which is used by the Catholics, and the other by the Protestants. Services in both take place at the same time.
On Monday morning the excursionists, including the earl's party, proceeded to Darmstadt. When Lady Feodora had taken a back seat next to the window, in a compartment of the railway carriage, she insisted that Shuffles should have the seat opposite, much to the disgust of Sir William, who usually occupied that position. In fact, he was angry, and did not take much pains to conceal his ill-will. It is doubtful whether Shuffles understood the matter, but the young lady was very strongly interested in him. She did not like the baronet, and she did like the young commander. As the latter had rendered her a signal service on Lake Constance, she felt justified in extending unusual attentions to him. Sir William was jealous, as well he may have been; for his lady-love hardly condescended to notice him, while all her smiles were bestowed upon the gallant young seaman.
There was nothing especial to be seen in Darmstadt, and after the party had walked through the principal street, and glanced at the Grand Ducal Palace, they were ready to continue their journey to Frankfurt, where they arrived in less than an hour, and repaired to the Hôtel de Russie for dinner. Mr. Drexel, one of the landlords, was especially devoted to the party, and afforded them every facility for seeing the city in the shortest possible time. The dinner was capital, and when it had been disposed of by the hungry students, they were in condition to hear Professor Mapps.
"Darmstadt, where we spent an hour this forenoon," said the professor, "is the capital of Hesse Darmstadt, which consists of two divisions of territory, separated by a strip of land belonging to Hesse Cassel and Frankfurt. It has an area of thirty-two hundred square miles,—being about two thirds of the size of Connecticut—and a population of about eight hundred and fifty thousand. It is a constitutional monarchy in its government, the Grand Duke Ludwig III. being the sovereign. The word Hesse, applied to several of the German states, indicates that they are parts of the original territory which bore that name. One of its rulers divided his country into four unequal parts, and gave them to his sons. Two of the descendants of these sons dying without children, there remained only Hesse Cassel and Hesse Darmstadt. Hesse Homburg formerly belonged to Darmstadt, but was ceded to another branch of the reigning family in 1622. It is composed of two parts; the smaller, containing forty-three square miles, and eleven thousand five hundred inhabitants, is about ten miles north of Frankfurt; the other portion, having eighty-five square miles, and fourteen thousand five hundred inhabitants, is on the other side of the Rhine.[4] ]
"Frankfurt-on-the-Maine, so called to distinguish it from Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, is a free city, and the capital of the Germanic Confederation. It is a little nationality by itself, having the right to make its own local laws, levy duties, and other powers belonging to a state. It is represented in the Federal Diet. This territory includes nine villages, besides the city proper, with a population of about seventy-five thousand. It is a very old city, and is mentioned in history in the time of Charlemagne, who had a palace here. This city is the original home of the Rothschilds, the great bankers, upon whom even princes wait—when they are short of money. The family are Jews, who form a considerable part of the population of Frankfurt. The house in which several, if not all, the prominent sons were born, is shown in the Judengasse, or Jews Street. The laws were formerly very severe upon the Israelites. They were compelled to reside in their own quarter, where the gates were closed upon them at an early hour. A regulation forbade the celebration of more than thirteen marriages among the race in the city within a year. All these stringent laws have been rescinded.
"Göthe, the German poet, was born in Frankfurt; and you will see his house, which contains some relics of him. Luther, the Reformer, also resided here for a time. The city is noted for the wealth of its merchants, and there are many magnificent private residences within its limits."
The professor finished his lecture, and the party started to see the sights to which he had alluded. The old cathedral, with its unfinished tower, was very much like many others they had seen. Within its chapel all the elected emperors were crowned in front of the high altar. The Town Hall was the scene of the festivities which followed the election of an emperor. He was feasted in the banquet hall, where the kings and princes of his empire waited upon him at table, in token of their subservience. A whole ox was roasted in the market-place,—into which the students looked from the windows,—and the emperor ate a slice, while from a fountain flowing with wine the cup-bearer filled his flagon. The room is hung with portraits of the emperors, under most of which are placed the mottoes adopted at their coronation.
Passing across to the Hirschgraben, the tourists visited the house where Göthe was born. Over the front door is the coat of arms of the poet's father, which consists of three lyres, as if to prefigure the destiny of the genius who first saw the light within its walls. Göthe's room is a garret, wherein his portrait, his autograph, and his washstand are exhibited. His statue stands near the theatre, and one of Schiller in front of the guard-house. From the house of the poet, the party went to the Städel Museum, filled with fine pictures, mostly by Dutch and German artists, which is named for its founder, a liberal banker, who gave four hundred thousand dollars to the institution, besides a collection of artistic works. From the museum, the students, after a walk of over a mile, reached the Jewish quarter, glanced at the Rothschild House, the synagogue, and other buildings, returning to the Hôtel de Russie at dark.
On the following morning the party went to Homburg, nine miles distant, where they spent the rest of the day. The town is another watering-place, and has increased in popularity till it outrivals Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, or any other fashionable resort in Germany. It has its medicinal springs, which are beneficial in a variety of diseases. The Kurhaus is the most magnificent in Europe, containing lofty halls, elegantly frescoed, for dancing, gambling, for restaurants and reading-rooms. As in Baden-Baden, the gambling monopoly is in the hands of French speculators, and the lavish expenditure upon the gardens, buildings, and other appointments is an instructive commentary on the chances which favor the visitor disposed to try his fortune.
"Commodore," said Ben Duncan, who was now the second master of the Josephine, as they met at the Hôtel Quatre Saisons in the evening, "I have lost two hundred florins."