News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-01-17
"UNTER DEN LINDEN.o
The shops, the Fashion, and the
Great Men of Berlin.

Inter den Linden is q very disap-
pointing street to the typical American
tourist, who does Berlin in a day. He
expects to find thoroughfare of imper-
ial magnifi cence. After driving from
the Brandenberger Thor to the palace
once or twice he l>aves the German cap
ital with vague impression of broad
street containing two fair roadways and
promenade bordered with double rows
of scrubby trees. The palace, the uni
versity, and the museums, aside from
the buildings of the National Art Gal
lery are an Indifferent looking lot of
ock-houses. The famous shops and
cafes, look ordinary enough to men
who know Broadway. The big hotels
would make poor showing beside the
Fifth Avenue or the Windsor.
To Berliner all this seems different,
however. He knows that for many
generations Inter den Linden has been
the pride of the house of Hohenzollern.
He read, when a child, how the lindens
and chestnuts there were planted and
nurtured under the care of q Prussian
Queen. He can never forget that the
Great Kurfurst and the Great Frederick
hoped to make it the finest street in
Europe. With all these "reminiscences
in his mini, he never ceases to claim for
it all the grandeur imaginable.
The real attraction of Inter den Lind
en-, however, is not the street itself. It
is the life that surges up and down its
pavements between three and five
o'clock every pleasant afternoon. The
best dressed women in Germany crowd
it's broad walks. Scores of young lieu
tenants in red and-black uniforms saunt-
er along among them. Occasionally
white haired, white bearded officer, with
broad red stripes running down the sides
Of his trousers and an iron cross on his
breast, marches straight through the
crowd as if he had the walk all to
himself. The cross generally means
that he has been very brave on the field
of battle. The big strips on his trousers
indicate his high rank. The progress
of these old officers along the walk is tho
occasion of tremendous amount of
saluting on the part of the young lieu
tenants, who are compelled temporarily
to give up ogling the pretty German
girls around them.
When Moltke appears in Inter den
Linden there is always a big crowd af-
ter him. Every one salutes him except
ing an occasional Frenchman or Ameri-
can. If man doesn't salute the old Gen
eral, however, he had better get right
out of the way, for he will be regarded
as very doubtful character by all who
saw him keep his hat on. The appearance
of coach containing Hohenzollern
electrifies Inter den Linden. It is the
signal for o general facing out toward
the curb, and lot of uncover.ng, and
bowling and scraping that the average
American rather rebels against.
The good German citizen, though not
so much of slave to royalty as is gen
orally supposed, likes to show his love
OF country by uncovering to a Hohen-
zollern every chance he gets. At the
great celebration of the birthday of En-
peror William the First, about eighteen
months ago, the promenaders in Inter
for this kind of street etiquette. Some
eighty-fve or ninety princes, princesses,
grand dukes and duchesses had come to
party. Most of them spent all
their spare time driving up and down
Inter den Linden. The street was
packed with Berliners, who wanted to
see how much handsomer the house of
Hohenzollern was than any other honse.
Whenever a coach with outriders before
md attendants behind appeared-and
the street was full of them-there was q
general bowling and saluting and facing
about that even the Gar himself couldn't
find fault with
A curious feature of the gay and ele-
CANT life in Inter den Linden of an af-
jernoon is that the dude has no place in
! Ill L, l. i
IS military town. The best-dressed
nan is, therefore, the officer. A full
1ress uniform is the only clothes that q
Berlin woman loves. Only man inside
Of such uniform can be what Ameri-
ans consider a thoroughbred masher.
These conditions make the dude super
iuous in Berlin, and virtually exclude
him from Inter den Linden.-New York |