Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-08-05
EUROPEAN LETTER.
LoNDos, July 18th. 1873,

very glad of it too, for after spending hVe
weeks on the Continent at constant sight
seeing in six foreign countries-France, Italy,
Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Holland
we are pretty tired of it and shall be as
: pleased to get back to America as we were to
come away, if not more so. We have seen
enough of old buildings, churches, paintings,
sculptures, monuments, tonhs. antiquities ana
novelties generally. to last US for some time.
Our greatest regret is, that being pressed for
time we were compelled to hurry through the
last Of our route, after leaving Italy, about as
fast as we could travel.
Leaving Basel at 3 40 Oh the mOrlng vi
the 10Th, we arrived at Bingcn on the Rhine,
about o'clock in the evening, via lleidel-
burg, Baden Baden and Mayence. at all of
which places we wanted to lie over, but had
not time to spare. At BnCen We stopped
over night and saw some of the steamers
plying the Rhine. The finest and largest are
called American steamers, because they re
semhle our eastern river boats to a consider
able extent in model and size, but none OF
them are as fine as our Sound or Hudson
River steamers. Bngen is q small place and
more famous for its name than anything else.
though it has a considerable wine trade.
eled down the LETT bank of the Rhine as far rs
Cologne, the finest part of the river scenery
being between these two points, or rather
between Bingen and Bonn. The principal
steamers run between MaycncC and Cologne,
and are usually taken by tourists, as they
afford much finer view than can be got from
| the contracted car windows. We took the
railroad, eonsoling ourselves with the hope
that on our rext visit to Europe we should
have more time to devote to this noble river
and country. We will not attempt any des
cription, leaving that also for the doubtful
future. There are two railroads, one follow
ing the left and the other the right bank with
an occasional short cut across the country
from one bend to another, where the land
will admit. At Bonn, the bold mountain
banks settle down, and between there and
Cologne, (about an hours ride on the cars),
they are quite level. Most of the Rhine steam
ers small and unpretentious i'll appearance.
The current of the river is very rapid, and
steamers which make the distance q lG miles)
between Msyence and Cologne down the river
in about nine hours, consume thirteen or
fourteen hours on the return trip, up the
river. The commerce on the Rhine is confined
almost entirely to steamers, which are con-
{ stantly seen passing up and down. AT Cologne
we changed cars, and turned westward into
Belgium, which we found the most prosperous
9 appearing country we had seen since leaving
D England, which it rivals in its coal and iron
mines and great manufactures. We passed
through Liege, one of the greatest manufac-
/ turing towns in the world. Arriving at Ant
werp about o'clock p. NJ, we found that we
were too late for the Harwich steamer, which
had sailed just two hours before Nothing
remained for us but to stay in Antwerp over
night and take the steamer from Rotterdam
the next afternoon. We were quite disap-
pointed at this our first failure Gas good luck
would have it) to make our connections, de-
string to get to London on Saturday instead
OF Sunday morning; but it gave us some
novel sights which we would otherwise have
lost, and we are very glad we saw them.
Antwerp is a city of l26, 900 people, the chief
commercial town of Belgium; but it seemed
very dull as compared with Rotterdam, a
place of less inhabitants but presenting one
of the busiest commercial sights we ever saw.
In the evening, after wandering around the
streets of Antwerp, we bought tickets for the
Alhambra, an unprepossessing wooden struc-
ture apparently erected for temporary occupa-
ton in one of the principal squares. Not
knowing what sort of place it was or what
sort of seat we should get, we followed our
usual custom where we could not speak the
language, and ''went it blind" However,
we were fortunate in both our entertainment
and our seats; for though from outside and
inside appearances we thought it must be a
sort of third class variety theatre, we were
agreeably surprised to hear and see some of the
best of singing and performing by Germans,
French, Dutch and Americans, each in their
own peculiar manner and tongue. 1t was a
cosmopolitan entertainment, well fitted for
one of the most if not the most cosmopolitan
city of its size in the world, for its inhabitants
are about equally divided between French,
Flemish, Dutch and English. Now fiery
little black-eyed French woman brought
down the sympathizing part of the audience,
with patriotic French song and tragic mein
and gesture then came German Amazon.
with a voice of tremendous power and excited
her sympathizing countrymen to the highest
pitch by her song and manner, which carried
everything before it by storm. She reap. |
peared amid the tremendous encoring of the |
Germans and the Kisses of the Frenchmen, |
and sang another stirring verse. Then came
a comic fellow, who by his queer gestures and
German, pleased the audience mightly,-half
talking, half singing with the orchestra ac-
BY very clever DISCUSSES and
acting he rapidly personated Dutchman, an
Napoleon l, and Napoleon III,
etc, bringing down the house every time. A
short, little man with comic dress and i'm
mense cmeter. intended, we suppose. to
burlesque the Shah OF Persia, then put in an |
and danced breakdown at the end of each
verse. +.
The American part of the performance con-
sisted of dancing and singing hy "cork"
artist, woman in tights and little girl, the /
woman taking the leading part clog
dancer. We judged them to he family OF
American travelling actors. The music of
the orchestra was ex ,ellent, and the women,
half dozen or more, all sang finely, as did
also the four or five men, so that we were not
tired when at IL o'clock the curtain dropped
at the conclusion of another patriotic song by
the French woman attired in the national
colors. The audience presented to an Ameri.
can novel sight Men and women, old and
young, Frenchmen, Germans, Dutchmen,
Belgians, English and American, sitting to-
gether, part of the men with their hats on,
and many ofthem smoking during the per-
Torrance.
While we like the industry and thrift among
the Germans and Dutch, we cannot but admit
that we prefer the Gus toms and manners, both
IN dress and demeanor, of the French and
Italians. The great mass of the German and |
Dutch women seem to be almost devoid of |