Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-12-28


full Of present, living lovelipsss, sea-
scned by the sentiment of past romance
which belongs necessarily to any old cas-
tie, and pre-emineutly to this magnif-
cent ruin. 1t is ruin in a forest-the
woods throwing up fountains of foliage
to It from below and rising up the hill
behind it in beautiful growth of many
varieties. for this castle ground is the
forestry of the university. Within the
castle, in a museum, one sees old prints
of the castle garden as it was laid out
out with such immense labor and pains
IN SIXTEEN HUNDRED.
A deep valley had been filled up,
hill leveled, and a massive terrace built,
so that acree were laid all nice aud fiat
without a mound or hollow. 1t was q
celebrated French gardener who designed
this. Then all the turf had been rooted
up, every spear OF green, so that 1t was
all nice, level brown dirt. Then nature
was taught q lesson am thankful the
French gardeners could not make her
learn. Flowers were brought in In small
squadrons, formed into half squares,
circles, etc. and presided over BY prop
erly barbered evergreens. None of
your slip-shoddiness around me, Mother
Nature, - said NJ. LIE Gardiner, lyon
keep your posies inside of that right an
gle, and none of your foolishness about
those vine-tendrils. Imagine acres
and acres of stars and cresceuts aud
evergreen policemen, and maltreated
box bushes. / think the posies have
rather hard time of it now
IN MODERN GARDENS,
but seeing these old pictures makes me
thankfully realize that their emaucipa-
ton lie being gradually accomplished.
When will the lockwood go free, and the
evergreen be allowed to carry out its
own design!
We have just been off on an excursion
TO Neckarsteiuach. You must go there
when you come to Heidelberg. The
Neckar is like a miniature Rhine, q
smoothly flowing river, folded in by
wooded hills, and guarded by many fine
old strongholds. Neckarsteinach,
twenty five miles up the river by rail,
commands four OF these castles, which
all belong to one powerful family. The
quaint, half-tin bered town nesting
there on the outer edge of sharp bend
of the river, with the ruins on the hills
around it, makes
PERFECTLY CHARMING PICTURE;
but to get the finest, one must walk out
to the further castle, the "Swallow s
Nest The path leads half an hour up
hill through the woods; past the third
and Oldest castle, on the square tower of
which nine pine trees are growing; on in
fascinating, mysterious curves, up and
down hill, in and out of wood, till it
suddenly comes out at a strange and
lonely castle, with two tall round tow
ers, hanging almost over the edge of the
high sandstone bank of the river. put
down that stern and gloomy ruin and
the view from it, as the most purely
picturesque and romantic scene We have
yet come across. All around, circle Of
unduating hills, thiokly wOodsd-the
high tower of one castle ablaze with
Virginia creeper, the rosy sunset clouds,
which fioated again in the serene river,
the warm, red sandstons cliffs-it was
SURPRISINGLY BEAUTIFUL. |
In the castle of Dilsberg, opposite, the |
naughty Heidelberg students we're once |
punished by Imprisonment. Baedeckery
tells US this was so rigid that when some |
tourists wished 10 see the prisoners, the |
jailor replied: tI'd like to shcw 'em to |
you, sir. but you see the prisoners have
gone off on a little excursion into the |
forest, and have taken the keys with |
them.''
We went to see the curious suite of |
rooms in the university which is the pres
ent career of the students, and, |
among the startling impromptu frescoes
in smoke and charcoal which covers the |
white walls and ceilings, noticed several |
cieverly executed American shields and !
eagles, to which American visitors had |
attached sympathetic condolences in
pencil. But these elect Heidelberg Stu
dents have not only identified themselves
specifically by names, addresses and car
features on their prison walls, but have
stuck their
REAL PHOTOGRAPHS
into the door panels; cutting out the
wood, setting in the picture with glass
over it, and then making q frame of
putty. The attention to details shows
that amplitude of time which such gen.
tlenen of leisure are supposed to possess.
Did say anything at the beginning of
this letter about not being favorably i'm
pressed with Heidelberg That was only
the Grst day, When we saw
nothing but the dirty, narrow streets
and the housemaids washing stairs. OF
course, everyone must love this rarely
beautiful spot, and university town
exuding scholasticism overlooked by
castle fragrant with romance, makes an
atmosphere that is enchanting. As for
the university, however great q German
may be, that greatness does
certainly not consist in the buildings.
Heidelberg is not a large town. but one
has to hunt for the university, it is so
exceedingly modest in brick and stone.
The contrast between it and our
AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES
is rather amusing, for the first thing
Uncle sam does in making new educa-
tlonal center is to select the most con-
spIcuous situation and erect some huge
buildings. II is vacation time now; the
students do not return until October l6,
SO Heidelberg seems sleepy enough, es-
pecially on these dreamy, fall days,
when soft, sun-illumined mist seems to
wrap the earth in siren arms. We have
had teachers convention, however,
and an illumination of the castle with
calcium lights. This illuminating is done
by the city on special occesions--oncs or
twice year. and costs 500 each time.
1t is q magnificent show, that greaApal-
ace castle with all its towers and5fer-
races, its ranks of carved and tstted
suddenly blazing out from the
dark hillside. The whole thing 1Spked
II
We do not want to leave Heidi berg,