Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1857-08-07
Letter from Bayard Taylor.
NUMBER XVI.
SUMMER GOSSIP, FIsOM ENGLAND.
Correspondence of the N. " Tribune.


Of accompanying my brother and sisters as
far as Southampton, on their voyage home.
Leaving Gotha on the 9th of June, we went
by rail to Bremen, by way Of Cassel and
Hanover. The only thing In the former
city which we had timo to visit was tho eel
brated Rathskeller, or crypt of the old
Hall of Council. This is renowned through |
all Germany for its tuns of Rhenish wine,
of tho most undoubted antiquity. They
are kept in great vaults distinguished by
different titles. That Of the "Twelvo Apos- |
ties" has been immortalized by Hauf and
Heine, but the apostolical wines are not so
fine as those authors would have us believe.
Each cask bears tho name of one of the
Apostles; they contain wine Of the vintage
lof l7lS, which has now, was informed, n
punrent acid flavor. That Of Judas, alone
retains pleasant aroma, and the sinner,
Therefore, is in greater demand than all the
saints together In the Rose Cellar are
enormous casks, yet filed with Hochheimcr
(Hock) of the vintage of 1924. For a
lcouple of centuries it was carefully treasur-
ed, but tho City Fathers of Bremen finally
discovered that the longer it was kept the
worse it grew, and now sell it to visitors in
small bottles, at moderate price.
We sat down in one of the stalls in the
outer cellar, and had bottle uncorked.-
Think of drinking wine which grew when
the Plymouth Colony was but four years
old-of the same vintage which Arioato
might have drunk, and Milton, and Crom-
well and Wallestcin, and Gustavus Adol-
phus Shakespeare had been dead but
eight years when the grapes were trodden
in the vats; and Ben johnson may have
sung his "DrinB to me only with thine
eyes" over goblet of the golden juice
We filled the glasses with great solemnity,
as these thoughts passed through our mind
admired its dark smoky color, shifted up
reverently its musky, mummy-like odor, and
and then tasted. Fancy mixture of oil
and vinegar, favored with small drop Of
kreosoteI This, as afterwards recognized
was the impression made upon the palate
though my Imagination was too busy at the
time to be aware of it. We all said, at is
not as bad as expected" and keeping the
fact of its age constantly before our eyes
succeeded in emptying the bottle. So pun
gent however, was the smoky, oily, acidu
lous flavor, that it affected my palate for full
Itwenty-four hours afterwards, and every
thing 1 ate or drank in that time seemed tc
be of the vintage Of 1924.
A small steamer took us to Dremerhaven
where the Hermann and North Star wcrc
lying. We had taken passage in the lat
ter vessel, on account of her being the frs
of n new line, with fares reduced to rea
sonable rate, but if she is fair sample o
tho new enterprise, would advise every
body to take the old lines in preference, ant
pay the old rates exorbitant as they are.
have never seen, on any ocean steamer, 81
slovenly and careless management. Tht
lazy negro stewards seem to have everything
in their own hands, as far as the cabin il
concerned, and they neglect their dutie
with great assiduity. The fare is like tha
of second or third class river steamer il
America, everything badly cooked an(
thrown upon the table in heap. VIII,
cannot steamer be reasonably cheap, with
out being "chcap and nasty?" I SHOULD
like to see an enterprise Of this kind sue
ceed, because the return fare from Europe i
unreasonably high on all the old established
lines; but the reform will never be accom-
plished by such careless, niggardly polio,
as is practiced on board the North Star
Having said this much, must admit tha
found Capt. Lefevre most kind an,
amiable gentleman, and that tho vesse
proved herself very fast sailer, making tn
run from Bremcrhaven to Southampton
(under the most favorable circumstances
in little under thirty-six hours.
We spent day in visiting Stonehenge
the ancient Temple of tho Sun, on Sails
bury Plain, and the singular ruins of tn
town Of Old Sarum. For full and clea
account of these interesting spots must re
fer you to Emcrson's "English Traits"
book which | have read with great relish
Zone is always glad of an excuse for no
writing about that which has been writte
about so much already.l When the Nortl
Star had left with my three passengers 70
New York, and Braisted and were ono
more alone, we went down to Portsmouth
to see some former shipmates on board tn,
Niagra. She was lying in the Dock, whicl
in ordinary times can only be entered b.
an order from the Admiralty; but, will
great courtesy, we are allowed instant ad
mission, on stating that we had friends OF
board of her. 1t was q pleasure TO fine
those 365 feet of American ground in sucl
a place. One of my shipmates in Japal
had the deck; companion on the explor
ing trip in Loo-C Choo was in the ward-room
and found two or three familiar faces else
where. Workmen had been busy day anC
night preparing the great frigratc to take
tho International cable on board, and il
three moro days she would be ready. The
cable will be wound in two immense conica
coils, the forward one containing $50, anC
the after one $50 miles. TO allow this, tho
centre stanchions have been cut away to The
extent of the diameter of the coil and the
decks braced with powerful iron straps
which pass through tho planking, and art
kept taut by the screws on the ends, The
vessel will, therefore, receive no damage
from the alterations which have been made
and it will not be her fault nor that of hel
officers if her part of the cable is not sue
a. cessfully laid.
reached London in season TO hear the
last of Handeps oratorios Israel IN -Eqypl
i'm tho Palace at Sydenham. l doubt
whether any composer, dead or alive, has
ever received such an ovation. Two thou.
sand singers and nearly three hundred in
strumental performers, interpreted his cho-