The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-08-01
A Vivid Picture of the Scene
Ho1 the Sabbath Is Keptin Germany.
WIEsBADEN, June &c, 1867

the Nam, and you nave n locality
of this capital of the Duchy of Mas
sau. The State is a petty piece of
patchwork, made up by the Vienna
Quilting party, in 1915. from all the
odds and ends of territory lying
round loose-twenty-three bits taken
altogether making a Sovereignty
about as large as Worcester County,
with a population of 100000. This
city has p 900 inhabitants. 1t is To-
Gated at the foot of the southern
slope of the Taurus hills-which are
very much like those of Vermont
rounded and green with verdure. AS
cend them and look southwark you
behold the Rhine winding far away
through fertile meadows, the Main
coming in from the east with a more
turbulent tide-Frankfort, the city of
banking houses, the home Of the
Rothchilds, and then west of the
Rhine the town of Mayence, with
strong Notifications, tall towers and
spires, old churches, quaint architec-
ture dating back to the eleventh cen
fury.
At your feet is Wiesbaden, a city
of hot springs, hotels, boarding
houses, public parks, bread avenues,
fish ponds, shady groves, delightful
walks, one Of the chief watering
places of Germany. A few miles
east is Homberg, IN the Duchy of
Hesse Homberg, and farther up the
Rhine is Baden-Baden, so called to
distinguish it from another Baden in
Switzerland. These three towns are
noted as places where public eaming
tables are established by the GRAND
Dukes of the several, States. As
there is an effort being made to intro
duce the German method of keeping
the Sabbath into the United States, it
may be interesting to see how it is
kept in the capital Of Nassau. Gus
tave Dore, the greatest Of living
French artists, has reproduced a
Scene at Weisbaden p" in a great
picture now on exhibition at Paris,
attracting much attention by It's won
derful portrayal of characteristic
play of conflicting passions under the
excitement OF the gaming table. [
shall only aim to give an outline pen
and ink picture of the same scene.
THE KURsAAL.
1t is Saturday evening calm aud
quiet night. Thousands Of pleasure
seekers are walking in the grounds
around the kursool, or public gaming
house. We steal across the square,
planted with magnificent lindens,
where are fountains playing, and enter
the building beneath an imposing
portico. If we wish to play at hazard
there are men in gorgeous livery
ready to take our hat and cane. We
enter a spacious, lofty hall, its roof
supported by futed columns, its cell
ing ornate with stucco, in golden pan
nels, with frescoed walls, darnask di-
vans, oaken floors. waxed and polish
ed. This is the great dancing saloon,
where, from nine O'Clock this Satur-
day evening till the break of day on
Sunday morning, the waltz and the
quadrille will be kept up. There are
coffee rooms and restaurants, and two
or three thousand persons are sitting
beneath the trees in the park, listen
ing to the music of the band. slipping
coffee and eating ices, supplied from
these rooms.
Turning to our right hand we enter
the gaming rooms-four in number
large and lofty. Pendant from the
gilded ceiling in each room are five
great chandeliers-their thousand
prisms of clear cut glass sparkling
with rainbow hues. The walls are
hung with damask. There are luxu-
rious lounges, and in the corridors
we find coy retreats for conversation.
while reaching from floor to ceiling
are pier glasses in gilded frames. re-
fectiDg all the scene. In the centre
OF the room is a roulette table, around
which are thirty or more chairs. |
know nothing Of the game, only that
in the centre of the table a horizontal
wheel, shaped like a dish, is slowly
turning, and that a marble IS set
spinning in an opposite direction in
side the wheel, and that when the
~projectile force of the marble is gone,
1t will settle in one of the many cells
at the bottom of the wheel-may be
In No. Z, or II, or 29-just as it hap
pens. The table; IS covered with green
cloth, which is divided into SQUARES
as il 1t was q multiplication tabIe-as
II is to the managers of the concern
buta table of subtraction to most of
those who try their luck at.the wheel.
Besides the squares which are num-
bered there are diamond shaped
figures, triangles and lines. bu, what
they all mean | DO not know, except
that risks and chances are greater In
some places than in others. Eight
men are required to manage the oank
that is to keep the wheel and ball
in motion-rake in the money, and
pay ii out when the bank happens 10
lose. They have little rakes with
ebony handles, and before them are
piles Of bank notes and heapsof silver
and gold.
They are very bland and courteous