New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-04-02
WINTER At HEIDELBERG,
Correspondence Of TIE N Y. Tribune.
n Y,v


birds are singing. Indeed day or tao ago, some
tedy actually found birds Desi, with three newly
hid eggs, and argued that the cold Of Winter WAS
ever. Ii must be said however. that, as a rule, it
rains the larger part of the time and IA for sun,
moon and stars, aud such like phenomena long OUT
of mind, their sudden and unl0Oked-fOr appearance
At rare intervals really produces g'eat sensauVn.
But our weeks Winter was decidedly Jo"
affair Here, in the city, sleigh-ridng ran intu-
and withal sleigh. riding OF a most e1i
And We have always maintained tpas s",Gn-
riding as il exists in normal STATE 10 :tr
riaDd especially on a bright n0onngh~ men'' VIZ
All ITS accompaniments of bells and warm ouh1o-
- "a n,e,tv fnces--n NJ least a dozen IN the
saue sleigh and merry songs and laughter-is the
hghest conception of terrestrial fun.
Rnt the ,tate of European soce allows OF no such
,ufernineng Of sexes; the sport rs consequently
not only shorn of ts glory buto the greater part oil
its humanity and instead of any OF the scenes we
have alluded TO- we have crowds Of c0rps-students
going loose in droves, up and down the streets and
through the country, making day and night hide rus
with their uprOar, and most extraordinary and ao'
snTd performances. e
In the frat place German sleigh is IN itsef
enough n raise laugh-a by no means uhoIns
pented affair, but clumsy and STOUT as ~ ocJ
al "break. downs" Its properly di"locnve fea'.
ure il cushioned plank which sticks straight out
hehnS for a seat, Here the driver sits, with BIS
feet upon the runners. HIS Office is NOT 10 nod
the reiDs. but a whip, with cluo-hande ABOUT
So6t and q half and lash about hX ieet iong.
This instrument be has pracuced uPon-setVea IA
apprepticesbip upon-untl he understands how TO
male il rrack most earfuly--realy, without using
metaphor, most stunningty
Imagine then, bearing down upon you, through
the main street, tram OF forty or bity loads OF
these corps students, with their puppet eorps.caps,
white, red, yellow, green-vined, starred or
spangled, Just stuck upon the top OF their beads,
H., hont vaho fhp 81
mig the reins in a manner iDconeeivaoly awkward
10 one who has not strong powers OF Imagination,
and another applying the whip to the backs OF the
beasts that have given up all idea Of trottlng re-
spectably under such treatment, and have broken
into COW. gallop, making their great flowing, gay
bezdered blankets, strings OF bells and fancy trap
rings perform all sorts OF fantastic hourishes, while
the whole train is accompanied by the most earful
and iDcessant cracking Of whips, like explosions Of
continuous voleys of patent percussion cannon
1aps-inagine this procession for the foreground;
for the background the open market square filled
with old women with all sorts OF vegetables and
comestbles and wares exposed for sale under the
omen sky-poOr old women standing al the while,
skivering, or the more sedentary oil them sitting
with their feet in a basket Of straw or over pan
Of Goals; for side-views, numerous professional
woOd-sawyers-the man pulling at one end OF the
saw and the wife at the other; and here and there,
going up and down the ssreets in all directions Just
looking school-boys the sun ever shOne upon, with
eloaks that come up over their heads like cowl,
and with their books and writing materials upon
their backs in a regular soldiers hair knapsack,
giving them most picturesque and mongrei APP
pearance, sort Of cross between incplent priests
and incipent soldiers leaving one IN doubt whether
they are likely TO turn out monks or drago0ns-Put
ali these incongruous clements together into the
same picture and you will have very fair idea OF
Winter scene IN Heidelberg.
But. after week or ~ o. snow and cold all on
Q sudden the scene changed. The warm, SOFT WIND
came straight from Italy, the snow oil melted away
and disappeared by magic, leaving no trace OF It
behind; tia fields are all green again, SO that we
take long srols upon the mooatains without an
pyercOat, and GENE dewa with wild flower IN
eur butten-hoe.
The Winter hitherto, the Germans say, resem-
bles the mild Winter Of 1911, which was followed
BY that never tobeforgotten wine-eroP, the traces
Of which still exist in the famous Etar
Tonight the moon pours Its pale silver hght over
everything, and we have wandering about the
castle 70 zee II the old ruin would look IN any way
spectral in the moonlight. There s strange
charm in strolling around those vacant gardens
alone amOQg the shadows Of the old trees, and IN
standing upon the terraces which overlook t0e c,ty
and that broad rich plain which spreads Itsea
.way for miles to the River Rhine, aud in drinking
10 the night air, which feels like Spring 1t is SOL
ann and fancy breeding to stand at the zoos OF the
old rent tower which casts gigantic black shadow,
and leans over and threatens TO fall npon orc,
and to stroll through the drawbrldge aud watch
tower into the empty court, and see the sculPtured
figures looking down upon you IN the pale h8nt;
GODS and goddesses aud heroes; David holding IN
his hand the head Of the giant Golisb, around
whose brow the green ivy has crept up and twlned
nself, forming living wreath for the victor; huge
IN armor, and grim old knights standing there 30
sOlemnly, upon the walls. 49,,
There is something entieing in the feeling which
sncb q scene awakens; and We determined to get
s~s,de the Hals, and explore the ruined apartments
and vaulted passage.ways, and, II possible, fnd
the staircase shat leads up the rent tower, ana,
seated under the trees that grow the top % en-
ioy our nominations. A small tree helped as into
q broken window, and, having Jumped down with
in, we CROPPED our way along through the dark pss-
sases. One Of these would end at window
where we could only put our head out among the
wv and look down upon the fosse; another would
end in fast bolted door; another would lead
dewnward into regions we didat quite care to ven.
ture into; bat none of them led into the Tower OF
old Frederick the Victorious. Failing in this, We
wander on in another direction, prudenty de-
Ginning " follow the way that leads downward TILL
we come into the great apartments and halls OF the
ruined palace of Otto Henry. The full moon
shines clearly into the rooHess rooms, and Lights up
the sculptured walls inside; and high up, towarl
the shy in the clear light, stand the figures OF "a
piter and Saturn, az if holding watch over the
rain. If one is ever to grow sentimental, ans
draw ins pirataOn FROM the moen what ~ good an
epportun,y as now. There seems to be strange
sympathy between this pale, wan moonlight aud
the grand, old ruin-a scrt OF sad and awiA sym
PATTY, 70 be sure, but vet it hos its charm. We
have now reached the further cod. The great De-
tagon tower is before Us; perhaps We can nod
eur way up that, and look down from it upon