A Black Night on the Black Sea—A Doleful Dirge—Two Thousand Miles—Vienna—Its Architecture—Its Palace—Its Art Galleries and Museums—Through Hungary, Servia, Slavonia, and Bulgaria—Cities and Scenery along the Danube—Products of the Countries—Entering the Bosphorus amid a War of the Elements—Between Two Continents—Constantinople—Difficulty with a Turkish Official—A Babel of Tongues—The Sultan at Prayer—Twenty Thousand Soldiers on Guard—Multiplicity of Wives—Man-Slayer.
I AM now far out on the Black Sea. Night has settled down on the face of the deep, and darkness broods over the wide, wide world. This is, however, far from being a “still and pulseless world” at present. We are not having a storm, but the wind is blowing a perfect gale. I have just been pacing the deck and watching the heaving bosom of the ocean. I love the ocean; I love its vastness; I love its doleful music; I love its foam-crested waves and white-capped billows. But I had to leave the deck to-night; it is too cold and rough and dark to remain out any longer. Hence I came to the saloon; and, as there are a few thoughts floating through my mind, I take up my pen. I am tired, and would wait until morning; but memory is a treacherous creature, and the only way I can secure these thoughts is to fasten them in words, and chain them in writing. The thoughts I propose to manacle pertain to places I have visited and objects I have seen since leaving Geneva, Switzerland. During this time, I have traveled more than two thousand miles, sometimes on foot, sometimes on trains, and sometimes on the Danube river.
THE BELVIDERE, VIENNA.
Vienna, the proud capital of haughty Austria, has more than a million inhabitants, is splendidly situated, and is one of the prettiest cities in Europe. The city abounds in monuments and statues, in large parks, lovely flower gardens, and playing fountains. But Vienna’s crowning glory is her superb architecture. The Emperor’s Mansion, the Palace of Justice, and the Houses of Parliament, are especially fine. They are immense structures, and are elaborately sculptured not only from the ground to the roof, but the roof itself is covered with sculptured work. For instance, there are standing on the House of Parliament alone, eighty life-size marble statues. In addition to these, there are, on the same roof eight large gilded chariots, each drawn by four flying horses, and driven by a winged goddess. As one approaches these buildings, they present a most striking appearance.
I went through the Palace, and saw the Emperor and the crown jewels of Austria; through the royal riding-school, where the imperial family are daily instructed in the art of horsemanship; through the art galleries and Museum, which contain too many fine pictures and objects of interest to be mentioned here.