The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-06-02

INDIANA STATE UNIvERsITY.
BLooMINGToN. Indiana, May 18th, 1870.
Editors Journal:
After the descent from the Seem
inerinG Pass, nothing especially wor-
thy of note occurred until our arrival
in
VIENNA.
Although this city, tho capital of
Austria, has the reputation Of being
brilliant, full Of attractions and much
given to dissipation, it did not strike
us as particularly meritiDg any of these
characters. After spending several
weeks in London, amid the unequaled
facilities of the British Museum, the
Geological and Kew Gardens, the
Crystal Palace and many other places
of information, or after visiting the
Jarden des Plantes, the Bots de Bou-
longe, the Louvre and other attrac-
tions of Paris, Vienna, must, think,
seem to most persons, as it did to US,
rather inferior: especially when we
found the attempt to form a Zoolcg-
zeal Garden had been abandoned and
that the limited grounds and shrub
berry we're scarcely kept in respectable
order. The animals, we understood,
were transferred to the regal palace at
Sehoenbrunn and there we afterwards
saw a pretty good menagerie. Judg
ing from tie prints exhibited in shop
windows, there seemed, however. more
regard for public morality than in
Paris.
The government buildings of vi
emma did not strike US as remarka-
bly, imposing, and although some, as
at Paris, are built of soft, yelloWish,
Tertiary limestone, many, even pala-
tial residences, are covered with plas-
ter, stucco and paint. And although
also, there is considerable amount
of statuary on bridges, churches, &C..
mostly representing Saints, it seldom
EQUALS the seuipturlng seen In Paris /;
while the sight of numerous vehicles.
made with a pole as if for two horses,
and yet having only one, (the single
horse being on one side OF the pole,
and drawing from a central double
tree), betokened semi-barbarism in
some things: which impression was
confirmed by seeing men yoked in
heavy dog carts, and women carrying
enormous burdens II knapsacks-
shaped pRniers, while others OF that
sex were performing the duties of
shoe-blacks, AID wood sawyers. 1t is
true we observed In some cases, the
saw suspended at Its extreme end, by a
lever, from a kind of gallows frame,
while the other end swung freely in the
hand, betokenlng some labor saving
ingenuity and skill; but many other
customs, such as having women work
on the roads. bleeding and barberiRg
by one and the same man. carried US
back several centuries. They bring
water in glass bottles, drink coffee
out of glass tumblers, have usually
double windows. with a cushion be-
tween them. usages which, although
unlike ours, do not object to. Near
st. Stephens Church, on a corner
formed by two streets, is still to be
seen the noted tree stump, now re-
duced to a mere post, into which ev-
cry apprentice, posing through on
the journeys prescribed In Germany,
considered it a duty to drive nail
the whole mass now so bristles with
nail heads, that there is no room for
apy more. The Prater and Augarten,
as public promenades, are worthy of a
visit. Before giving a description of
the Emperor's palace at Schoenb runn,
/ mast not omit to mention that, as
we drove back in an omnibus, we were
stopped at the city gates and examined
Il IL h01 nhT nb
or other articles of merchandise for
the market, upon which tax is levied
by the municipal authorities. Al
though this seemed a curious ques-
ton to be asking travelling strangers
who had no market baskets or the like,
vet it did not astonish me so much as
to find that in entering the empire
with a Tribune Almanac, carried
chiefly because it gives a link Of our
Ministers, Consuls, &c., l had rem
dered myself liable to pay fne for
Introducing a contraband article. |
suppose Vienna desires that all coun-
tries should be of her latitude and
longitude, as st. Petersburg requires
Poland to conform to her time of day.
We had seen somewhat of the moral
Procrustus bed, requiring all opinions
to conform to one pattern; but this
astronomical edict that the sun and
moon should rise and eliminate on
several distant parts of the globe al
the same moment was rather novel, il
not refreshing. IT'S well we purchas-
ed Alaska, or Russia might have re
duired it to be high noon there, at the
hour when midnight darkness yelled
its frozen regions In profound sleep
because forsooth its masters on the
opposite side Of the globe were bask.
ing in noontide sunshine.
sCHoENBRUNN.
Here, as in the Capital, palatial
residences are plastered and painted
yet the general effect of the architec.
ture is good, and some of the statuary
and ornamental grounds are In very
excellent taste. There they have
some magnificent hedges made BIZ
planting the linden lime tree) OF
other suitable tree at such distances
that the branches unite and are
trained and trimmed to form dense
enclosure. often forty or fifty feet
high and impossible. In these, al
intervals, inches have been cut, and
fine statuary is placed.
The fountain, from which the pal
ace derives its name, is picturesque
and the old Roman ruin near by i.
very fine. The obelisk, erected II
1777, and resting on the backs of four
turtles, is worthy of a visit. The
base spans an arch constructed Of
roughly hewn rocks; and finely cary.
ed groups of water plants are seer
close by, besides figures of boys trail