The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1867-11-01


note that in the cart was seated a misera.
BILE looking man, with hands bound be-
hind him. A priest walked beside the
cart, and towards him the poor criminals
face was 'urned, as towards his last hope
The crowd passed on, aud following it
with my eyes, | saw it stop and gather
ar ubd an object that had esoa ped my no.
tlce, and which was no less than black
rusty Looking scaffold, surmounied by a
gu'liotine. Some strange fascination held
me to the spot, and kept my eyes fixed
upon the horrible spectacle, and in less
time than 1t takes to tell of it, I saw the
poor fellow lifted from the cart, led up
the steps of the scaifold, and tied to the
plank of the gujllotne. In another min
ute saw the great knife glitter in the sun
llsht and the executioner stepped to the
edge OF tho scaffold holding up the bleed
ing bead, while some of the assistants
tumbled the body into the cart. The
crowd seemed to take it all quietly and as
matter Of course. l guess they were
used 10 such spectacles. l was too far
of to hear any words, and the whole af.
lair had for me but lit of the horror
should have supposed it would cause if I
had had time to think about it before
hand. am not specially a cold.bloodcd
fellow, but it really did not seem very
dreadful to see mans herd chopped off,
at distance. have no doubt but that
distance lent "euchantmeut to the view"
and have no desire to repeat the experl.
ence.
am not superstitious, but 1 did feel
that there might be few things more
agreeable than waking up in strange
land, ON a summer Sabbath morning, to
behold an execution. l felt as if it might
be ominous Of i'll to come of my sojourn
there, but don't believe in omens, so I
shook off my uncomfortable feeling, went
down stairs and made my breakfast on
black coffee, brown bread, some queer
looking and queer tusted sausage, and SOME
villainously smelling cheese. didn't ca,
the cheese then, but soon learned better,
and now L can eat Dutch cheese in all it,
many odorous varieties. After breakfast
l strolled around the quaint old CITY
pseped into pum erous old churches found
my way out into the fields and along the
river returned at nigh,fall, and ended
my first night in Germany by smoking nv
pipe and going to bed as tired as any
wood. sawyer.
There is one thing about the cities of
Continental Europe that strikes the Amer
lean with its singulaiity they have no
suburbs there is no gradual thinning Of
the town no slow relapse into the open
country, but the city breaks short off and
the countr. begins. You walk along
street between rows of shops and houses,
and before you know it, Yum are ut the
city wall a great gate faces you-you
pass through and there is the open coun.
try-hill, plain, or vale, as The case may
be.
During my four years. sojourn in Ger.
many, s'rolled around every square 10
Dusseldorf and saw many Sunday sun
rise, but never saw another mans head
chopped of, though l know it was done
more than once. .....
My wande'ings were not confined to
Dusseldorf; in the course Of them l came
SOME QUEER FOLKS. .
Among all queer countries, Saxouy is
the queerest, and beautiful too withai.-
Her broad, green, fertile meadows are so
quietly, peacefully lovely, and there IS so
much of jolly, robust health, 80 much of
quiet strength and staid self-satisfacton
among her people, that | wonder not that
modern Noises have made little bustlo
there, and modern customs little inroad
upon the primitive simplicity within her
borders.
With three artist companions, once
made summer tour sfout through Sax
ony, and "vat country, vat a beeples v'
You should see real Saxon roadside inn,
away off from any city, if you wish to see
solid and consolidated comfort and conve.
nience. House, barn, stable-all under
one roof Men, horses aud cattle living in
the same house. won't tell how much
ground one Of these great hives covers, for
you would not believe me, so I leave you
to calculate how much space would be re.
f"ASo W "Soouuooato dll LUG uOTSS5,
cows, oxen, pigs, g'ats, dogs, cats, fowls,
and all the other live stock belonging to
large farm-except the sheep, which are
kept in pastures by day and in folds by
highland then consider, in addition,
that the dairy, with all its milk rooms,
cheese rooms, &C., &c., is under cover Of
the same great hippcd.roof; besides all the
room necessary for the human dwellers of
the establishment, who are not few, and
the incoming and outgoing guests.
You can see in my portfolio several
sketches of those old roau side farm house
inns, and though they look ugly aud clum-
sy there, they are very picturesque, sur
rounded by green fields, neat fences,
pretty flowers and nicely kept orchards.
A great door, wide enough to admit the
biggest hay.wagon, opens in the front side
Of the house, and in at it enter all that 20
into the house--men, horses, everything.
| A r,aa aop I'm 20 hoaI