Wilmington journal., 1872-08-02
OarzBaItimore Correspondence.
THE GERMAN sCHUETXENFEST-
IKAIZEEe FRANZ GRENADIER
A GUARDS BAND-TIIE BRE.
MEN LINES-TIEE PEA
- BODY INSTITUTE.
BALTIMORE. july %, 1872,


trouble of crossing The ocean. Last week,
any one visiting the Delar Park might
well have faIcied himself i'll E'V aterland"
baltimore is said to contain aspopulation
of SO, 300 Germans, and 4 large proportion
of them fhrOnged the park, drawn by the
attractions of the Schuet zenfest, and the
music of the EKaizer Franz Grenadier
Guard's' band, Of Berlin. The Park,
which is quite extensive, is owned by the
Schuetzen association, Which lave Orna-
mented it very tastefully, and have erected
handsome and spacious buildings, among
which is very large banque. hall, dane
ing hall, ar1nory, music, paviiions, SC. On
the present occusiOn, numerous booths had
been erected for the sale of refreshments
and as the custom is to ring ben on the
opening of every fresh key Of lager, the
consequence was Z perpetual chime from
morning I ilt midnight.
The band, which vas the chef attrac-
tion, numbers, it is said, tifLy-One members,
but only fOrty-five were present for duty
Their uniform is very plain, though it pre-
sents neat and soldier-like appearance.
1t consists of a dark blue tune with one
row Of smooth brass buttons, bearing no
device, not even the number of the regi-
ment. The cuffs and collar are relieved ly
facings of red cloth with Il strip of gold
lace, and the shoulders are ornamented
with Gold lace and fringe, instead
of cpaulets. Each man wears Z short ar
tillery sword suspended from white waist
belt; bIIt what contributes InOIe than any
thing else to their martial appearance is
the beautiful helmet of highly polished
black patent leather, with spread gilt
eagle i'll the front, a gilt spike OH the top,
and gilt scale chin strap and other orna-
mcnts. The effect Of these helmets in
groups is exceedingly picturesque. Herr
SarO, the leader of the band, is certainly an
accomplished musician ; some pieces of his
composition are very brilliant and bcauti-
full. lie wields his baton without any
score before him, and seems to know every
note that is coming. In appearance he is
very much like our live and irrepressible
friend Hcinsberger, except that lie has light
hair and beard, and wears a moustacle in
addition to the siIc-whiskers. The band
were selected evidently for their talents,
not their looks not that any Of them are
Unlocking at all, but they differ extremely
in size. Some are bearded ''like the pard,"
and many look like beardlcSs boys. Tie
best looking Of them is named Albert Fiel-
rig, giant of some six feet six, and broad
i'll proportion, with laughing blue eyes, au-
burn hair, Whisllers and mOuStache, a COM
! pleNiOn which any lady might envy. and
real jolly English face. His good humOred
appearance seems to make him favorite,
and the moment he entered the grounds,
| he was seized upon by some Teutonic
friends and carried to beer stand where
he Immediately put him outside of an
! immense quart-glass of Weiss-beer mov-
| ing on few steps further, lie repeated
this evolution, or rather inVOlutiOn, and
this excited my curiosity, SO that follow
ed him from stand to stand.
Within five minutes more he nd absorb
nlt ho 1aH
! become greatly Americanize l., for 1 am
! sure he had never seen them iii Berlin.
J They were yellowish in appearance, with
/ what seemed to be greens on the top, and
he sucked them in through a straw. Per
! haps you may guess what they we're
/ Thence from stand to stand, alternaticely,
! now beer, then spirits, almost al il!tilitt,Dt.
I Yet, short time after, he was a. bis post
! in the orchestra, and | am sure that in
| spite of his lihations, his head was level.
! 4 very courteous German called my atteu-
| ton TO the fact that all the uniforms Of the
! band fitted very loosely, and said that on
! leaving ccIlin they were as tight rs the
skin, but that The great heat which tie
men had encountered since their departure
! from Germany had diminished greatly
! their cOrpOreal dimensions.
! | wish l had the time TO describe, at
! length, the animated and picturesque APP
with thousands Of colored lanterns among
! the trees, rockets and DengallightS, iiIumina-
! ting the scene and revealing the happy
! group Of delighted spectators. ] cannot,
| too highly, praise the genuine good hItnOr,
! the qUietness, order and courtesy that
! characterize the Germans in all their social
! cnjOymentS. Not d loud or bOsterous
word was heard, not an oath, nor distur-
! bauce. The men, neatly al Of whom be-
! long to the working classes, were there
with their wives and Children, amusing
! themselves together reasonably, and in
moderation, and | could not help lament
! ing the difference between thcm and other
races whose habit is to leave their wives
/ to NOPE at home, to assemble to drink
! WhiskCy and break up III a row. In fact
! the only loud words, curSng aud threats
. Of bodily violence that heard were in the
! purcst English, and proceeded from some
! unmistallahly American youths who had
! ev:d 'ntly 1mbibed 10 much corn juice. |
| need HoL add that Il e final and supreme ell
/ jOyment was the dance, especially the waltz
! danced rs Germans only can dance. Young
men and maidens crowded the floor ct
! the dining room III which the Thermometer
! must have been ut least 100 degrees, ana
! 1t made me pcrSpirc merely to look at them
! from the outside Of the windows.
/ The performance of the band was mag
! nIfiCent. NOt being Il dIcijtQtIc, but merely
a lover OF music, l cannot 90 into q techni-
cal criticism, but ! can say that tie execu-
| ton was splendid, aud the music delight
| ful. Among the airs that pleased me most
were the celebrated " Wacht um Rhein,"
| Strauss, Waltz, g Blue Danube" overture
| to "Tannhauser " and SarO's own Tri-
umphal march, composed for the entrance
! into Paris. There was also 4 charming
echo piece, whose name | forget. \ portion
OF the band was sent To some distance and
sent back rs IN echo the strains ofllle others,
which produced delightful effect. l may
add also tAatI never heard EIIail Columbia
, and especially 6 Star SpangIed Banner"
rendered in slicl perfect style by any band
! in this country. Last, but not least of the
pleasant recol!eGtiOns Of .he Schuetzenfest,
is the splendid lager, cold as ice, abundant
and almost as cheap as water, and better
than ever tasted before. L only wish that
+, our excellent German fellOw-citizens of
! Wilmington could have enjoyed the treat
afforded by the baltimore Schurtzepfcst of
| 1872.
While speaking of Germans, let me men
tion here the esplcndid lines of steamers ply
ing between this port and Bremen. | had
the pleasure on yesterday of visiting the
! I" Leipsic," q magnificent steamship pro-
vided with the most luxurious accOnlmo-
| datiOns, and otficcred and manned entirely
/ by Germans. One OF these steamers az
rives and another sails each week. Freight
comes here from ST. Louis without trar sfer
Of cars, and is shipped direct TO Europe
! May we not hope that when our railroads
are finished and our bar is improved, we
+, will see something Of the same enterprise
| and prosperity in Wilmington.
\