Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1842-06-30

siness in the way of barter or exchange.
The buying and selling of all sorts Of
merchandise here takes place. The
rich broker, who moves about with the
haughtiness of a prince is there. The
more humble dealer In wares is also
there, endeavoring to improve his for
tune; and the ever-vigilant Jew is
there, ready to drive a good bargain
| with either, or with both, ifa good OPP
| portanlty should serve.
The narrowest streets In the old city
so narrow as scarcely to allow cart
to pass-are crowded with stores and
shops. The number Of cellars, which
are occupied either as stores or dwell
ing houses, or as both at once, is said
to be about 2,o0o, These are chiefly
in the old town, which is low, and are
liable to foundations from the Elbe,
when strong and long-contlnued west
and northwest winds prevail. This
calamity produces much suffering a.
mong the families which inhabit there
humble abodes. In December, 1892,
the water rose more than twenty feet,
causing vast destruction of property,
and an immense amount of suffering.
Hamburg was once exceedingly
well fortified. An immense rampant
surrounded the city, and protected it
! on the land side. This rampant was
I an embankment of earth elevated to a
great height, and SO wide that it was
impregnable to cannon balls. The
works erected by the French in 1904,
have been demolished. The rampant
has been partially levelled, and CONVEX
ted into delightful promenade.
There are three great gates, through
which the city is entered on the land
side. There are two others, which are
smaller and not much used. The gates
are shut at the going down of the sun;
and every one who passes the gates af~
ter the time of closing, either coming
to or going from the city, must pay
toll, which is SO graduated that it is in
creased rapidly for every additional
two hours. The revenue which the
city derives from this species of taxa
ton, is said to amount annually to
more than 100000.
There are but few public buildings
Of any note in Hamburg. The princi-
pal are the old Exchange, the Senate
house, and the Bank. The churches
are few in number, and are not celabra-
ted for architectural beauty. The f.
nest of them is St. Michael's, built Of
brick. 1t is of great dimensions, and
has a tower that rises to the height of
Of AGO feet. This tower was originally
intended for astronomical observations.
The Bank of Hamburg is the third,
in the order Of time, of all the banking
institutions in the world. The Bank
of Venice was established in the year
I'LL; that Of Amsterdam in 1909,
and thar of Hamburg, ten years
afterwards, in 1919. 1t is merely a
a bank Of deposite and transfer; it nei-
ther makes nor circulates bills Ithas,
therefore, no fixed capital. The de-
posites are almost wholly in silver bull
lion, and are transferred in business,
from one person to another, as the ex-
igencies Of trade require; or are with
drawn when the holder chooses, The
institution is managed by FIVE directors
chosen annually by the whole body of
such citizens as have right to vote for
municipal officers, They receive no
salary, and are sworn never to reveal
the amount which the bank has in it's
vaults, nor how much any individual
has in deposite. The bank, Of course,
furnishes no circulating medium, nor
does it give any facilities Of obtaining
money on loan. All loans are therefore
by private houses or individuals. tits
supposed that the average amount IN
the bank usually exceeds twenty mil
lions of dollars. This bank was plum
dered by Marshal Deyoust in 1873
Of what sum is not precisely known;
but supposed to be more than$lo, ooo,-
900.
1t is more than thousand years
since Hamburg may be said to have
had its origin. The foundation was
laid by Charlemagne in the beginning
of the ninth century. 1t was then both
a military post and missionary sta
ton. As early as the twelfth century
it was an important commercial CITY,
In the thirteeth century it was one OF
( the cities which formed the celebrated
Hanseatic League league, which
continued between Hamburg, Bremen,
and Lubec, till it was dissolved in
1910, by the conquest of Hamburg by
the French. The league has since
been revived. In the year 1913, Ham
burg was formally acknowledged a free
city of the German empire.
Thu ~F yIo~rJ,.~~r~