Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1856-12-26
FREMONT, SANDUSKY COUNTY, OHIO, DT
Letters from Bayarrd Taylor.
NUMBER ".
LIFE IN THE Ti9URTNGIAN FOREST.
Correspondence Of the Ny. Tribune
Com, Germany, Nov. II. 1s56.

GOTTA, Germany, Nov. II, 1856.
There are some aspects of German life
which wholly escape the notice Of most trav
elers, and which can only be reached through
an intimate familiarity with. the domesti,
life of the country. The festivals, no les.
than the costume and manners Of the Mid
die Ages, have already disappeared from
many parts of Germany, but fragments o
them still linger in the more secluded dis
tricts-in the little villages hidden in noun
tain valleys which no. post7road traverses
and in all those corners. of the land whicl
are not represented IN the guide books
Here, one who speaks the language anC
understands the character Of the people
and .fraternizes with them as travele
should, will find his life enriched with man,
a quaint and picturesque experience. TIL,
Thuringian Forest well known to Germans
but rarely visited by foreigners, is one o
these regions, and my visits to its valley.
have furnished me with few pictures o
peasant-life, which 1 propose to sketch fo
American eyes. e flldzk III
My acquaintance with the Forest date.
from four years back, when, in company
with my friend, Il spent eight or ten DAYS ii ii
exploring it from end to end. On that oc.
easion 1 first met the Forester. It was al
twilight, high on the mountain, at a hunt
ing lodge in the woods, called the Kings
House. How we kindled fire of fir logs,
how we sat till past midnight in the open
air, telling stories and roasting potatoes in
the ashes, and how We slept side by side on
a bundle of straw, are things which We keep
in choicest memory, and you need not ex-
Pect me to reveal them, Suffice it to say,
that night the Forester rand BECAME friends,
and when, the next morning, his gray mus
taehe brushed my cleek. at parting, I prom
ised to return toihe Kings House after few
years and spend another night with him BY
the camp fire. t,esarli - IT, ssrs.
"A fortnight ago, whenthe mornings were
bright and frosty, and the days bracing
and cleudless,, we set out fora-the For
esters home in the little village of Thal.---
The old man was on the lookout for US, aud
long before we reached the patriarchal lin
den which stands at the entrance of the
village, we, saw his sunbarnt face, his thick
gray mustaehe and his green hunting-coat
on the way. to meet US. HAhT' he cried, as
he welcomed US with a Teutonie embrace,
q have been on burning Goals for the last
two hours, for fear you would not come; the
wood IS all ready for our fire, up yonder.-
Schmidt has gone ahead with the beer and
potatoes, and if you have brought your ei-
gars, there is nothing more wanting.n But
first we must 90 into his house, distinguish
I'd above all others in the village BY the
head of an antlered buck nailed upon its
font. The little room had an air Of com
ort and elegance: pots of flowers filed the
auda glossy ivy-plant was trained
o run along the joists of the ceiling. A
.ase with glass doors contained his armory,
which was in thorough order; chintz sofa,
broad enough for Turkish divan, occupied
he other end of the room, and stove, big
IS the tower of Babel, stood between. His
laughter had coffee in readiness, and while
We were enjoying it after our walk, the
louse maid, Katarina, was despatched into
he forest, with the remainder of our pro-
isions and eqmpmentsupon her sturdy back.
We shortly followed up little dell be-
ween the two hills which guard The village;
he Sehlossberg, with its rocky caverns, and
he Scharfehberg, with the tower of Castle
on its summit The meadows
7ere still fresh as in the Summer, the tall
lders shading the brook were dark green,
nut the woods of oak and beech on the Hill
7ore the dark purple-brown hues Of Ger
nan Autumn. Our path led upward,
trough alternate forests and mountain
meadow, for nearly three miles to the Kings
Iouse, which we reached as the broad land
cape, stretching away for forty or fifty
niles to the northward, began to grow dus-
y in the twilight Schmidt had Just kin
led his fire under the lee of a high bank, |
nd a great pile of split logs. at his back
ave cheering promise for the night. A
uge Jug of beer, with turnip for stop
err leaned against the house, a loaf of
rown bread, bag of potatoes and pot of
UTTER lay upon the rude liable before the
oor and the sight Of these preparations
ave an additional whet to our appetite al
lady sharpened by the keen mountain air.
God knows" said the Forester (than whom
lere is no man less profane,) 'this is what
have been wanting to see for the last four
ears. This is sight to be remembered"
We piled on the logs till the flames rose
igh and red, and snapped in the frosty
ind. Schmidt, at the Forester's order,
ent into the woods for green fr-boughs,
hich cracked resinously, and sentup clouds
brilliant sparks. But it was long dark
efore our potatoes were boiled and the sau-
lges done sputtering upon the gridiron.-
Te ate in the open air, with the thermom-
er below freezing point. The meal was
,yal; but how long it lasted is secret not
be revealed, except among the freema-
,nry of hunters and trappers. "Now,"
i'd my friend, as the last potato disappear
!, "let us turn to. nobler indulgences. y
our faded, antique chairs were brought
ON the lodge, the Forester, my friend, sal
r and self took our seats around the fire,
Id Schmidt, with the pipe hanging from
IS teeth, picking up burning stick and
ointed out the way that we should CO.
he wind had fallen, and the roaring logs
fused a warm atmosphere around the
ouse; beams of light streamed between
le tree trunks, and turned the yellow leaves
ruddy gold; the stars looked down as
leir turns came, and twinkled with good | s
,,oor Tn sbort neace was rnon the aartb