Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1850-07-26
Berlin, the Capital of Prussia,


scrption of that city:
Approaching it from Paris, you pass through Brus
sells and Cologne the railroad distance OF about
800 miles From London it is forty eight hours dis
tant-all the way by steam, whether you come by
the way of Ostend or Hamburg. From Bremen and
Hamburg are railroads.&c. to Vienna and War
saw. The old difficulties in the way of travelling
are removed, and can run over tn continent
without seeing anything nearly as well as the same
thing can be done in your country. On the routes
to Hamburg, Bremen, Cologne and Leipsic there is
little beyond the historical associations to attract
your attention The same level, dry, sandy country
prevails to a wide extent.
But what about Berlin itself? 1t is city of 42O,
900 and $4,000 houses. As a great number of the
houses are for public purposes the number of those
occupied by families is reduced. so that you form
faint idea of the crowding system which prevails
here Every house is filled according to its cubit
capacity as you would pack box. There is no
caricaturing the manner of life prevailing here 1t
don't admit of caricature. The truth and nothing
but the truth would be set down as romance at
once They may talk about comfortable dwellings
here but any American family OF moderate fortune
would consider the claim as capital joke Here is
house four stories high. The rooms upon each sto
ry are made to connect with each other by doors in
the partition so that if such extraordinary ap-
partition should arise a family who go into the lux
ury of hiring whole hOor every thing Will be found
ready for them
The different strata in each house are generally
arranged with reference to the ability to pay rent
In the cellars poor coopers shoemakers bakers, tai
lors &C.. reside. On the first floor commence the
Responsibility, or those claiming that title. Here
YOU NAV have several families-al and singular, di-
verse and sundry-indicated by the different bell
handles ditto in the other stories all the way up
to the roof. The common stair case is the great
highway for this multitude and the great double
doors through the arch let you out upon the street.
The stair is the place where an extraordinary
amount of clothes cleaning boot backing and extern
pore fighting among beligerent neighbors is carried
on it is also used for the display of the family pals
tubs, sc. The different stories numbered here
as in Paris, the first corresponding to second.
1t is interesting study to observe the relative
respect for neatness manifested by various families
the different stories you ascend. For instance,
story number one keeps up a perpetual scrubbng,
obliging you to take lessons in the swimming school
before you dare return to your room. Number two
is naturally out of humor at this unnecessary neat
of her eighbor, and obstnately ignores all
quaintance with brooms and mops, so you are ex-
pected to track off with your wet feet given guam
tity of venerable dirt and dust. Number three has
weakness for sand, and sprinkes it in ample pro-
fusion over the platform Where the wealthy reside,
of the most marked cleanliness is observed in
all parts of the house; but where students room
poorer people are landlords The most laughable
confusion sometimes prevails
Scarcely any house has front door proper, as
derstood in America: but carriage way from
the street into the court and from the centre of this
commence the stairs leading into the building. The
families in the house afford porter, and in that
case you see only one bell handle-generally there
are six eight bell handles by the door, indicating
the number of families in the house They have
cOntrivance. by which the street doors be open
ed without obligng the servant to go below You
call upon Mr. Schmidt who lives in the fourth story,
ring the BELL and presto the great door springs open
by some invisible means. After toilng up four sto
res, you find the servant waiting for you the plat
form, ready for your commands. The servant above
has OnlU his foot on q and the holt IS
thrown back, allowing the door to swing open.
A porter, however, is great convenience, as he
has his room Immediately by the door, and can give
you any information about the occupants ofthe house
you may wish. You find them all in the houses of
the Weather classes, in Paris. Through the cen
tire of the main entrance, the sewer, which
ceves all the waste water of the premises and adds
to the fragrance of the building-the
undoubted intention of some physician who was in
want of practice.
When you are walking along the street. you are Ii
able any time to have span horses driven from
one of the carriage ways across the path sharp
look out is advisable to prevent the uncomfortable
sensation of being over In the new parts ofthe
CITY, the streets are regularly laid out and are often
very snowy, on account of the noble houses contain
ed in them.
The great misfortune here is that the land is almost
perfectly level-as level as a floor and the river
Spree which winds through it in every direction,
has not sufficient current to carry away the water
from the sewers The drains are above ground, I'M
covered and from the level surface, their contents
remain to stagnate and fill the air with fever and
cholera I'D l,6. Many plans have been proposed for
remedyng this crying evil. Humboldt has turned his
attention to it, and architects have written and
sketched dreamed, theorized, smoked and drunk
beer it for years but the measure has been al
| lowed to die an unnatural DEATH How could it be
otherwise If they would take the d7ice Of Amer
icans the thing would be easily accomplished
Raze every barrack to the ground sell the building
lots and what of the material necessary fol
the construction of sewers and reservoirs let the Ia
zy soldiers work, and the officers superintend; go al
it with a will; stop thinking and theorizing but
work. 1t is probable, however. that the Marine Tel
egraph and the great Oregon railroad will be finish
ed before Berlin is supplied with pure water
The houses in the city nearly all built of brick
succeed and often ornamented with figures and bas
relief with carved stair and quaint painting
on the hall windows. They usually large-fou1
stories high-roofs of brick ties-having no outside
blinds windows swung ON hinges, like doors-ofte1
with canvass curtains outside, as substitutes fo
blinds-on the windows looking glasses arranged
as to enable persons within room to witness unob
served all that passes upon the street, not com
mon here in Holland. People are not much a
frad of being to need these glasses-there
prevalent extraordinary passion for sitting in
: leaning out of windows Every window sill has
cushion placed in it for that purpose and when yol
walk through street. you row of heads from
every story like cannon from the portfolios of man
S of-war.
= Taking advantage of this custom ofsitting in win
: dows prevalent here, two of our wags went int
very funny antics for the sake of exciting tn
n wonderment of the Germans They dressed up i
the oldest coats and hats to be found in the
= and selecting particular street. could be seen ever
It evening at given hour walking through it as
s they running express This done S
ii REGULARLY and SoherIv that the neonIe were q