The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1886-11-27
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
A FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE.
PAPER No. A

PAPER No. 4.
The name Black Forest suggests things weird
and mysterious, hence to the romantic fancy it is
little disappointing to discover that the appea-
most black green foliage of the pine trees which
clothe the awful hills shutting in the deep but
| narrow valleys. Still may the Imagination revel
in the lore which has made every portion of this
| wild region spot of enchantment; still may the
fancy people the lofty heights of lowly dales with
| gnomes and sprites, with spectre knights and
| phantom huntsmen, with the Fri King and his
| death dealing daughters.
| At the entrance to this enchanted section of
| country lies Baden Baden, favorite resort for
generations of the wealth and rank of the world.
Once under the spell of its charm we cease to won
| der at its attractiveness. An ideal town it is,
| climbing on one side beautiful hill which is
crowned by the stately ruin of Hohenbaden; en-
bracing on the other lovely stream which glides
through its clean walled bed in the valley, clear
| and pure as mountain spring.
By the purchase of Tages Karte we are adj
mitted to the rallied precincts of the Promenade
| Grounds, containing the Observation-Disclosures
dam resort of the victims of the gambling mania
the Trinkhale, or fountain house of natural min
era waters, and the fascinating booths, with their
attractive displays, beguing the unwary soul into
| reckless expenditure of small coin.
Hohenbaden Schloss is one of the most colossal
| and impressive of the German castles, and sug-
gests in it's massiveness and structural conforma-
| tions the architecture of the Roman domination.
| The long and rather difficult ascent is made on
| donkeys with chair saddles, a unique and amusing
method of locomotion in our experience, but the
| view from the outer gallery and the round tower
! is one of the most comprehensive and variedly
| beautiful in Germany. On an opposite eminence
| stands a contrasting piece of architecture, the
| Greek Chapel-built to the memory of the Rouma-
MAN prince, Michael Stroudza, who died in Baden
"a perfect gem of beauty in effect but singular
combination of the classic and the medieval in
construction and ornamentation.
With regret we turned our backs upon this
charming town for Triberg-a resort of later days
| almost as famous Triberg, like Baden, climbs a
HILL but the resemblance goes no farther, for its
houses dull and dreary looking, its shops poor
| and mean, and instead of castle to crown itself
wthal, it is regularly content with very unro-
mantle and exceedingly high-priced hotel perched
upon its Hottest eminence. At short distance
from this establishment mouHtain torrent rushes
down a steep, six hundred feet in all, but broken
at short and frequent intervals making the famous
| Triberg Cascade beautiful to be sure, but rather
tame to Americans. Perhaps the fact that to our
hotel bill was appended rather heavy tax for
lighting up the falls at night by electricity mag
have dampened our enthusiasm, especially some
| irregularity prevented single illumination during
/ our stay.
From Triberg to Waldkirche, by post diligence
through the very heart of the Schwarzwald, is a
| journey calculated to revive limp enthusiasm
Imagine a road winding over heights, ever up and
up, until you feel that surely Apollo will soon BIZ
driving along side and inviting you to try his
| chariot; a road cut into the hillside like shell
and making in its windings a mammoth spira
lattened in its curves; a road perfect as park
| drive and kept so by men seated upon little pro-
| jecting terraces quarter of mile apart, break
ing stone to the fneness almost of gravel; q road
supported and bordered by wall having at regu
lar intervals square or arched openings to give
| vent to the mountain torrents that would other
| wise sweep the elaborate construction into ruin
and all this laid through country beautiful with
the ever varying beauty of careful cultivation, o.
softened wildness, of verdure-covered dale pine
| covered HILL and you form some faint idea of thu
| delight of such journey. And what power makes
| and keeps in such order these wonderful highway!
do you ask? They are but minor filaments in thu
web of that great political spider Bismarc. Wha
he weaves he weaves of texture durable and strong
They will not ever break, these threads, he thinks
but there is keen blade called the spirit of dem
| Ocracy that has cut through many network o
! tyranny in the pasta blade that is sharpening
| with the ages-let him beware contact with it.
edge.
Quaint homely, queer fascinating little Wald
| kirche Can it be that they are people of tn
| nineteenth century who live in it =? We found i
hard to believe so. From the mosque-like DOM
of the Kirche, that names it, in whose tower {
musical tone chimes the quarters and great boon
the hours, to the gorgeous coloring in the attire
the peasantry, the little town seems to have beer
just walked from hundred-years' sleep of enchant
ment. We almost expect to see its castle intact
with sentinel on the battlement, with knights il
armor, waiting the descent of the drawbridge o.
emerging from beneath the po-tcullis.
But practical, simple, Woodworking peopl
are the inhabitants of this Black Forest town
which is one Of the centres of the stone polishing
occupation in Germany. 1t is an almost painful
sight to see the grinders at their work. They lii
face downward on great block of wood FOLLOWED
out to fit their forms, with their heads lower thai
their bodies and pressed against cushioned board
In this attitude they continue for hours, holding
the stones to the surface of the great Wheels who's
whir must sadly daze their brains, already dis
turbed we should judge by their strained and un
natural posture. We gazed and sadly wondered
why beauty must be bought at so dear price
and we fell into mournful revery over the stan
dard of qualification in the rich and powerful o
earth that clamors for beauty in stones at the ex
pense of comfort, health, very life in men,
revery whose painful shadow threatens to lingo
with us for many day to come. M. A. G.