Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-05-23
BERLIN.
Another Interesting Letter From
Our Special Correspondent.

1 Inc EeEhha Oh AahAAhk AOO
in Germany-PubIie Buildings OF
the LInden-In the Palace of tn
Grown Prinee-HOW Rich Idiots ar
FIeeced-Life on the BOuIevards ant
in the Gardens-OPerstIc and The
atrieaI Gossip - RubensteIn's New
Opera and WaEner's Triumph.
To the Union and American.
BERLIN, May 4, 1S75.-"While in Eu
rope l think Will take mine with sugal
in it, heard an American say a few days
ago to a friend who had asked him why hi
| did net devote more attention TO Greek
| He was right; it is best not to take it ''tOC
| straight as many American students dc
/ who come here to devour Greek and Latin
books for year or two, aud then return
home with impaired constitutions, often
landing
son that silent shore
| Where pillows never break
And tempests never roar"
| We meet two classes Of Americans here
! every day: One combines pleasure with
study; the other does nothing but study,
and can only be seen going to and from
| the university. The latter returns home
without having seen anything Of fhe city
he has lived in perhaps for year or more;
| he has seen nothing of Europe, and absO-
/ lutely has heard much less of it
than he would have done at home.
/ / may be mistaken when l say that this
! class have seen nothing of the city in which
/ they have spent year, for if, in Berlin, il
| is probable that they visited perhaps once
the Raht-haus tower, and looked down
upon the gay and fashionable city, with its
ThieIG aItsn, its Spree, its squares, and its
palaces; but TO see it thoroughly one must
be on the march for at least a month.
The public buildings on the Linden will
require a week or more; and, by the time
you have examined these, you will hear Of
so many other places Of interest in this
vast city that you will begin to think that
you can never see all il contains. The
buildings which have proven of mos inter
est to me, on the Linden, are first the
Schloss, or reception palace Of the King.
This contains GOO apartments, which are
adorned with handsome pictures, magnifi-
cent furniture, most exquisite statuaTy, and
various relics Of antiquity. Just opposite
is the ROYAL Museum, then the Opera
house, the Kaiser's Palace, the University
buildings, and little further down, though
not exactly on the Linden, the palace Of
Frederik Carl flaunts its faded gildings. This
building is about 400 yards long, and looks
more like an deliberately built village than
one house. Then comes the palace Of the
Crown Prince, which presents a more mag
nificent appearance than any Of the royal
residences, though the beauties contained
within its gilded halls must not be Judged
from its exterior.
We visited the palace Of the Crown
Prince the second time a few days ago.
The dream of Aladdin and the marvellous
power Of his "wonlerful lamp seemed re-
produced, for "gay gilded scenes arose
where e'er turned my ravished eyes"
There were the richest hangings Of Grim
son, of blue and of gold TAPESTRIES, eXqui-
site mOsaicS, doors and furniture elaborate
and polished until they reflected as mirrors,
besides chandeliers of silver and crystal,
and a thousand ObjetS de UertU that are
never seen outside a royal home. A pass
ing glance would not suffice US; we there
fore fingered long and spell-bOund amid
the pearls and velvets Of this man stO
whom is given 50 much Of earth, so much
of Heaven and thought how jolly 10 be q
king, or the heir apparent Of one far ad-
vancsd in years and ruling such a realm.
As we decended the massive stairway Of
stone, | could not avoid indUlging in the
sad reflection upon the vanities Of our race, /
and the shameful taste cultivated by all
peoples for man worship. If the Germans
but wCTshipped Christ with half the zeal
that they worship their Prince and Kaiser,
they might be Justly denOminated a nation
of saints instead of sinners. They have
yet 10 learn, that 'pOwer like a desOlating
pestileuce pollutes whatever il touches, !
and obedience, bane Of all genius, makes |
slaves Of mankind and Of the human frame
a mcdaniel autCmatOu.'
We are having glorious weather Just now.
The bOulevarts are crowded, and the influx (
of English and Americans IS enOTmOiis. |
FROM y hat l can learn, tourists are likely |
to muster stronger than ever this year. The |
are even now preparing for /
rich harvest, and their fleeing operations /
will, perhaps, be carried 10 a greater eN-
tent than during the Vienna Exposition.
Poor Americans. they fare quite badly /
The sharp European is ever |
ready to take advantage Of them ia trade. /
/ cannot, however, blame them a great deal, /
for our people by their reckless extTaya- /
gance lead them to believe that they have 4
left q mint at home. We very often see |
rich idiots here rent three rooms, when one !
would prove rs comfortable and less trOub- |
leSCme; probably they do not look inside |
their sup5Ttlu0us apartments once a week. |
Such persons must, Of course, lave their /
two Of three baskets Of champagne a week, !
and what they fail to drink they present to |
the porter when leaving. l have known /
men to purchase 50 many articles in Ber- /
lin during a weeks sOiOurn that it would 4
add two eXtra-siZed trunks TO their luggage. !
One who travels here will soon learn that |
an excess Of baggage is a most intoleTable |
and expensive nuisance.
Berlin never presented a gayer appear
ance than at present. With operas, con- /
CeTts, balls, theatres, parties, etc, etc, one
has very little time or inclination to 1
sleep. though it does seem that !
| am improving physically under it, for / /
have gained about fifteen pounds (averdu- |
pOise) since arriving in Germany. Some /
kind friend, unacqUainted with my habits /
and better acquainted with Bararian beer, |
might suggest that as the chief cause Of |
my improvement. lis said that it does /
possess some Of the qualities Of TalfOurd /
water, as it certainly ''gives a shock Of |.
pleasure to the frame more exquisite than /
when NeCtarean Juice IeneWs the life of /
Joy in happiest hours"
Since the warm weather set in, all of the
gardens have been re-Opened, and are even
more brilliant and attractive at night than
in the day. They vie with each other in the
spIendor Of their illuminatiOns, and rows
Of dazzling lights, giIandOies and grass tiers
shining through the green branches lend
additional hUes to the patterns Of flowers /
and fountain sprays.
As the theatrical trOupes will take their
holiday sometime in June, their best pieces
are now brought forth. The operas have
been especially attractive. Within the last
zen days have witnessed several master
pieces, such as Die HugenOteu, FreischWz,
(after GOethe's FausO, Die
Neise Damen, and MecabaeT.
MRcabaer is RUbenstein's new opera, and
has met with remarkable success. On the
first night Rubenstein conducted the piece
himself, and received a genuine ovation,
being called before the curtain several
lines. The royal family were cut to wit
ness it, and the Kaiser, diyesting himself
for the time Of his imperial dignity, ap-
Dlauded as loudly as the gallery gods.
We had a considerable treat in the mu-
steal line few evenings since. Wagner,
he worlds greatest musician, came 10 Ber-
lin TO have one Of his productions sung by
Nieman and the prima donna from Vienna.
The house was crowded with the elite of
he city, besides many distinguished visit
IL 49,