Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-06-19
Miscellaneous.
IN AN OLD GERMAN CASTLE.

IN AN OLD GERMAN CASTLE.
The lateness of the European supper
gives very little of what we call in America
ian evening"" The cozy after-tea call is
not known here. The supper is regarded
as part of the evening and if any one comes
at all after dark, it is to stay to tea. At
the castle it is often after eight O'Clock be-
fore the doors of the large dining-hall are
! thrown open and "Esist angerichtet' is
announced by the fine-looking dresscoated
genius of the supper-room. The first
course is tea and cake. The tea is made
and poured at the sideboard by the young
est daughter of the house, and the servant
brings the cups to the table. The rum or
a:rack decanter is indispensable to the tea
table as the cream pitcher, for it is gener-
ally the custom to inspire the quiet, cup of
tea with little of the spirits of the times,
SO that in Germany it cannot be described
as ''the cup that cheers but not inc brates. s"
After the tea is disposed of a large china
milk-pan of sour milk appears. The milk
is eaten from soup plates, with grated
bread, sugar, and cream upon it. The
.hird course is cold meats, stewed pegion,
and potatoes-the latter in their jackets
and there is pleasant little strife among
the ladies as to who shall have the honor
of preparing plateful for the two dear old
gentlemen at the head of the table. The
father sits at the head of the table, the
mother at his right, and the children fol
low according to age. The little dark-eyed
man opposite to the Baron Won R,
one of the masters of ceremonies at Berlin.
He owns neighboring estate, and has
ridden over to supper. His manner might
perhaps betray his calling; but when he
opens his lips to continual silvery ripple
of compliments, one is no longer left in
doubt 1t is only the glimpse he gives US
of the meeting of the three emperors last
summer which compensates us for listening
to his batteries. The young lady of six
| teen who sits at his right is the Countess
Won R--. She has sweet face, lady
like manners, and often lights up her sur
rounding by flash of wit. But such taste
in dress The short-waisted back falls
hopeless and detected over the rupture in
| the friendship between it and the skirt, and
! the short sleeves do their utmost to cover
| the large rufiled wristbands but fail in the
charitable attempt. 1t fires the American
| imagination to read of barons and COUNTIES
ses, but when we come to see them, how
the Republican irreverence does run riot !!
We can think of several gentlemen in GER
tain little New England villages to whom
the baron would not dare to hold his can
die if he realized what he was about, and
of many young lady whose mind is as
well stored and whose back fits better than
that of the countess. Yes, girls, "a rose
by any other name" smells just as sweet
1t need be only a genuine rose.
When supper is over we all rise from the
table and shake hands and say, "Gesegnete
Mahlzeit ~ which, being interpreted
means MAY the meal be blessed to you !"
The daughters make low courtesy and
kiss the back of their fathers hand he
bends over and kisses their forehcads.
This ceremony is performed after each
meal and when the family is large it is
quite an undertaking to steer through it
successfully, suiting ones bow and courte-
sizes to the age, sex, and standing of the
person addressed. To the uninitiated there
is something SO comical about it that it is
impossible not to have ones sleeves full of
laughter, in spite of the long rows of grave
ancestors shaking their heads at one from
the walls. The Germans think the Ameri-
cans ''must be fearfully impolite people to
rise from the table and disperse without
saying anything to each other" After
tea we gather in the study Of Herr Won
R--, the lord of the castle. In the
corner of the room stands the German
stove. 1t is built of short procelain-in
this case dazzling white, and reaching to
| the top of the room, and looks more like 4
! family monument than stove. In the
CRATE few Goals are doing what only Goals
can to make an October evening COM
pensate for the loss of the June even
ings. The room has n pleasant air, but
the American eye falls with chill o!
disappointment on the bare polished brown
floor. There is not a carpet in the castle,
and but few are to be found in Germany.
At first the newspaper is read. No
family takes a paper for itself; usually
three or four club together for a paper, and
the consequence is that it is in the house
but few hours, and whoever will read
must "strike while the iron is hot" From
the castle it goes to the village pastor, from
the parsonage to the cantor, or organist,
and who comes in for the last stale bits we
do not know. The paper is read aloud,
and we hear whether it rained yesterday
in Ems when the Kaiser took his walk,
what the color of the Empress dress was,
and with whom the Crown Prince went to
drive. These weighty items are devoured
with avidity by the loyal inmates of the
castle for all tie nobility are genuine King
worshippers. and can speak only with dis
gust of The eGualiZing tendencies Of the age.