And at Charlottenberg, about two miles from Berlin, there is another palace with a beautiful garden, orangery, and the choicest flowers; but the most attractive object here is the mausoleum, a beautiful structure, containing two most remarkable statues of the late King and Queen, on which the light is transmitted through richly stained windows, producing a very solemn and imposing effect, not excelled by the tomb of Napoleon recently erected at Paris, or that of Marie Louise and their son at Vienna.
From Berlin we proceeded to Hamburg, which on my former visit had suffered from an extensive conflagration. All that part of the city has been since rebuilt, and is now covered with streets of warehouses on a most magnificent scale.
There is also a very fine range of buildings along the Aster, a fine sheet of water connected with the Elbe, containing great quantities of fish and numerous swans floating on its surface.
There is also a very large Exchange, very numerously attended at high change time, presenting a very extraordinary spectacle to those in the gallery above, and leading some of us to wonder how many false statements were mingled in the sounds then produced.
We took a drive round the city, and on returning through some parts of the old town we found the streets so narrow and dirty that we thought the fire had hardly gone far enough.
As we approached nearer home our desire to arrive, like falling bodies, increased in intensity, and we engaged the first steamer to Hull.
It proved to be the "Transit," very improperly named, being one of the slowest on that station. We found it very small and the deck entirely covered with hampers of cherries and cucumbers, and the interior accommodation little better.
This, with unfavourable weather, made the three and a half days' sail appear very long and disagreeable, but at the same time rendered doubly dear, home, sweet home.
We completed the excursion in little over five weeks, and considered ourselves very amply repaid for all the trouble and expense, and do not hesitate to recommend the same trip to all persons having the three important requisites—means, time and inclination.