Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-12-28
Reluctant Departure After a Week
at Beautiful Baden-Baden.
4 Stop at Heidelberg. Where Ones First
Impression Of the Place Is
Unpleasant.
After a'Bstter Acquaintance With the City o,
Universities, and Its People You are
10th to Depart
specisl Correspondence of the Gazette.

HElDELBERG, Oct. 5.-After week
II beautiful Baden Baden, fresh and
sweet as rose, the first impression OF
Heidelberg and its narrow, dirty streets
vas unpleasant. We took lodgings in
Baden, beautiful room looking out on
ell the loneliness of the promenedes and
parks, and thoroughly enjoyed the place
m spite of all its fashion Baden seemed
simple place, with as little artificiality
IS could well support and amuse SO much
worldliness. Natural woodland lowell
mesa Is its chief charm, and those
beautifully graded and cleaned paths
leading up hill and down through the
Black Forest, that sweeps up so close
around the town, impressed US more than
the gorgeous baths and
THE GIpDY CASINO.
Il seemed as if one could live delight
fully easy and patural life there, being
amused by the fashion and gsyety with
out taking part in it. l had expected to
see The hotels much more magnificent,
and il was rather disappointing to find
the GUNNER abodes of so many dukes
and princesses of NOVELETTE, less imposing
than the hotels Of Saratoga where plain
snd untitled Americans fput up:-'
Neither does Baden Baden seem so stiff
and conventional, so worldly and artifi-
ciRl as SarotoRa.
We did so revel in freedom from pen
zion fare during that week of lodging,
that | was ready to advise everybody to
hunt up rooms (witn breakfast attached)
Instead of submitting to boarding
house. At least we resolved to try it
again In Heidelberg, 80 on arrival we set
out TO hunt for a room that was q corner
room, with a balcony, a fine view, a
maid to coddle US and bring US flowers,
end band to play three times day in
q park near by. That was what we had
had in Baden, and We didn' see why we
ehouldn't
KEEP ON HAVING IT.
There were signs of furnished rooms up
everywhere, but the mistresses of all the
corner rooms were out, and it WIS stair
washing day in Heidelberg. The maids
showed the utmost unoonceru as TO
whether we ever found a room with q
corner, and balcony and brass band,
or not, but went on slapping their wet
brushes on the stairs as If there were
nothing in the world but hot water and
soap. Gradually we resigned the brass
band, the corner, then the view, and at
last the room itself, yneekly subsidized
into "a cab and were driven to q pension.
But this pension is so unique, we cast not
q thought OF regret back to Baden. 1t is
place Baedecker knows not of, but was
recommended TO US by friends; q Frau
Rath VINO takes q few boarders' In her
Dig old fashioned house here at the very
foot of the castle hill. We feel like
guests in this fine old family, reduced in
means, but preserving the gentle speech
ana refined courtssiss of
oLD-TIME GENTILITY.
There Is great deal of bowling and
hand shaking both before and after each
meal; if lady comes in late the two
young men, finishing their year of mill
tary service here, arise with napkin in
hand, and not only incline the head and
cav "good morning. - or ''good even
ing, - but make profound bows from the
hips. This is also done when a lady
leaves the table before the others are
through. Perhaps it is the same in every
German family; l hope so. Evidently
the mother is recognized by these pretty
formalities as queen of the household;
she Is bowed to, literally as well as fig
ur8tively, and her word is unquestioned
law TO her grown daughter, her married
daughter, aud every body else. Others
may unsuccessfully tease the young mil
itnry man TO play on the piano. or the
young lady TO sing. The mother says,
Now, Herr, play for us; and daugh-
ter, sing,'' and they go forthwith to
the piano. The dining room is hung
with blackeued
OLD FAMILY PORTRAITS,
the parlor Is full of pretty souvenirs Of
former boarders, among which is reg
ister, such as we have seen III other pri-
vate PENSIONS; one which is not merely a
record of names, but of whatever good
things the persons have to say on leay-
Ing, sometimes expressed in lengthy
verse. Our own great room has three
windows framed in Virginia cTeeper, now
scarlet, which is twisted in with grape
vines full of white clusters. (None Of
these are ripe, for l have
tried them ALL The windows look out
on d garden that a painter would love.
Il is an old fashioned garden, stately
and quaint, with three vine- covered ter
races forming a back ground for lines of
rose trees and white statuettes. The
ihickly wooded Castle-h hill rises up i'm
mediateIy back of It, hundred feet or
go, to the vacant windows of the castle
I;self; on either side trees hide il from
neghboring houses and gardens, SO,
ight here in the town, back of this
house which fronts up abreast with ali
tie others in the marrow street, is this
beautiful secret of q garden, told TO us
by our three
NISE-DRAPED WINDOWS.
And just now, at this time of year,
e hen nature is in q sweet, careless con-
fusion, IL is so especially lovely; the
poplars have shaken their yellow leaves
,ver the grass; there is the smell of ripe |
fruit, and that fragrance of dying |
caves, like q sweet ''tang' in the air. |
This afternoon we took a key SO huge |
that il made us feel like newly elected |
Tardens of q castle, aud walked up the |
.tone steps of the terraces, on up tha}
winding psth golden aud rustling with T
,hestput leaves, to a big gate where the |
,ey was applied, and we found ourselves |
n the old, paved foot-way TO the castle.
Many people were passing, for it was
Sunday, and the band was to play on the
,astle terrace. Half the delight of seess4
ng castle is the effect you get on ap-
it. Ii you are not gradually led |
Up to is, past mouldy, NOISY batteries,
and dark passages, and over moat, and
Zee the sharp teeth OF portcullis above, |
ooking as IL they loDged to drop down |