The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1873-09-12
OUR GERMAN LETTER.

d there is something charming in Il
!, word "sea-side.' To those who 10,
y to breathe pure, sweet Sir, who 10,
e to bathe in the ever commingling blr
! water, charming-is the seaside. I
/ those, like myself, who love not onl
pure air and bathing, but walking o
The beach, or sitting alone, to let tn
music of the waves Iull into a drear
Of the future, on. how charming
the sea side. As new objec:s briu.
new thoughts, so there are certan
thoughts come to our minds here
which otherwise would never hay,
taken shape, but would have remained
a vogue feeling. LAST night I sal
upon the beach and watched the wave,
close following each other, beat upor
the shore, again and again, never
ceasipg beat A long while 1 sa;
there. The sun was low, and round,
ard large and glorious The rays
cclored the nimbus until they were
clouds Of fire. Soon this passed away ;
the sun sought his ocean caves dark.
ness approached from the east; few
last rays light up the heavens, bat
night had robed the island, the coast
and the sea with her sable garments.
Oh! what place that was to muse |.
| looked into the wondrous beauty of
heaven and thought OF the dark,
moaning waves below. All 1 thought
L cannot tell you, my dear friends.
But please pardon me, I forgot myself;
musing is common to every one.
There is a chain oil islands along
the German coast, most of which are
bathing places. 1 presume they have
been washed up by the sea according
to the common philosophy. There is
little vegetation except that which
has been cultivated, which, however,
is very nice. The inhabitants (exoept
the summer visitors) are of the low
German stock. You would laugh at
their costume But they make a good
photograph. I'll bring one. The
character of those who are bathing
are ike those at all bathing placessof
course, various. There are few
invalids who come for pure air and
water; then, there are great many
who come Tor pleasure. There are
here, too, as indeed, everywhere, the
curious, who do not themselves know
what they come for. There are here
many young men and women, and
young married people. There are, Of
course, all kinds of amusements, cro-
quet, bowling, billiards, fishing, riding,
dancing, and good music. Now, if
these wicked German girls should
flirt a little, it would not be strange,
a practice which 1 must denounce in
the bitterest terms, principally because
1 cannot enter into it myself on account
of not speaking the language suflic1-
emily 1uently.
The Germans are called the greatest
dancers in the world. They all dance.
There are dances especially tor tire
children, and these dear little folks
dance ike fairies. l have seen little
boys and girls go accomplished in
dancing that / almost envied them.
1t is a peculiarity OF this people that
they train their children to dancing,
to drink wine and beer. How you,
who are of the strict sect OF moral
philosophers, viii dispose Of this ques-
tion, / do not know. / only write
this to you as what see.
In one letter wrote something
about hotels. It Is very difficult to
describe hotel life in Germany, It is
SO varied and the Germans eat
whenever they are hungry. Not long
aco heard an American say they
were always eating and drinking.
However, ali Germans have coffee il
the morning and a dinner between ouC
and four o'clock. At the hotels here
they have two dinners. The FIRST, at
/ ! o'clock, is not so fine, and does not
cost quite so much At O'Clock, the
best dinner. I will describe dinner
which is called here very good. First,
soup; second, veal fricassed, po;a-
toes; third, roast chicken; fourth,
roast beef, potatoes; fifth, mutton,
veal or pork, with saGces; sixth, pud-
ding; seventh, butter and cheese.
Wine Is served between "soup' and
| the first course of meals. If any one
wishes coffee or tea it Is always taken
after the dinner. Most persons take
? little exercise before their coffee or
tea. Dinner without coffee occupies
/ from cue hour and fifteen minutes 20
one hcar and halt, though many ea:,
drink aad talk for two or three hours
After dinner, and while yet at the
table, some call tor coffee, some for
CIGARS or cigarettes To ask lady
If smoking is offensive to her would
be very foolish. Such thing is never
thought Of. The servants in the
hotels dress very well. Except the
jewelry, I have seen many servants
dressed better than many guests
OF course, they are very polite, more
polite than those who occupy similar
positions in America. There is more
competition IN the business, and the
setv wants always expect little "trink-
elt,:' a thing Unknown in America
J
.s TriukeIt' Is little money from the
quests. know servants who receive
nothing at all from the master. These
depend entirely upon "trjnkelt." This
must be some stimulus to politeness-
II thew were not polite they would
receive very little. l have heard in
three different States Of the United
States Of America a story about
IEa-hiusrt or-I r-,lt+anaag