The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-07-08
SAXONS LOVERS OF SPORT
HUNDREDS OF CARRIIGES TOOK PART IT THE FLORAL DISPLAY.

tainments.
 Dresden, June Ii, 1895. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND CouRIRE;
 When Louis the Fourteenth of France, the famous Grand Monarque," passed so much of his life in likeness, or rather in killing time" by means of pleasure and voluptuous ease, the like of which was at that time unknown in Europe, he was setting an example which bore evil fruit years after that powerful ruler had passed away and had been forgotten. No one mourned the death of Louis 14th, and his rela- tives and friends fled from his dead body, which was cared for by village priest, and when the corpse of the great pleasure-loving king, who had lorded 1t over France for over seventy years, was on it's way to its last resting place, hor- rible imprecations were hurled at 1t, and peasants on the roadsldes toasted it with curses, and the citizens were filled with hate when they thought of millions squandered on royal mistresses while the people starved
 Waller truly wrote:
 "So life we praise that does excel
 Not in much time, but acting we'll"
 Louis 14th had a rare opportunity to do something grand for the people of Fro roa tb,,c Iaaxyi q yIorio,,S m oepoo. rial behind him; his long life was a failure, yet more than that, 1t was a crime, and what calamities befell his successors in consequence of the perni- cious example of the vain-glorious man (for after all he was but man) who in the extremity of his selflshness delight ed to exclaim "L'etat c'est Moir'
 "Calamities sent by heaven," so runs an eastern proverb, "may be avoided. but from those We bring on ourselves there is no escape" Louis 14th did, however, escape vengeance at the hands of an outraged people, but his tory ever will record the direful calam- ities of his descendants, and that fear full civil war into which France was plunged, chiefly due to the selfshness and evil idleness of Louis 14th.
 Many rulers in various European states took their cue from the great French idler, and millions were spent in devising sports and pageants which lasted but for moment, while the .'bone and muscle of the nation were taxed to death, and the highways were literally crowded with starving men, women and children while the king and his court almost drove over their very bodies, so intent were they upon pleas ure and vain sports which at last pro- duced misery and death.
 Next to Louis 14th in point of idle ness and pleasure rode the Man of Sin," Augustus the Strong of Saxony; to read of his sports and jests, his pal aces and play houses built for his fe- male favorites, to peruse the account of his reign of pleasure, even down to the night when he drank himself to death at Warsaw, with the crown of Poland upon his unworthy head, reminds one of the wonderful tales related by Schcheragade in the Arabian Nights" There are to this day many buildings, terraces, parks and gardens in and near Dresden which survive to tell of the wonderful pastimes of Augustus and his pleasure-loving court.
 The Saxons are great lovers of sport and pleasure, and lately a whole week has been devoted to races, dog shows, horse shows and d "Blumen corso," CT Flower parade, in which nearly three hundred carriages dressed in flowers passed before the eyes of admiring thousands of spectators; then there were special performances at the opera house, balls and concerts at the favor ite Belvidere on the BruhI Terrace One would verily think that "Vanity Fair" which John Bunyan wrote about so vividly, had been really set up in Dresden.
 Schiller, who once lived in Dresden wrote 1.-The moments we forego eternity itself cannot retrieve" but Dresdeners do not seem to believe in any such thing. A little music, little dancing Gnterspersed of course with their ever. lelDIiIE DCCIJy dllu they CIy out C't llle races, they are off, and off indeed they are in good earnest, entirely de. voted to pleasure and never cease ol cry hold, enough, till nature herself seems wearied out and can stand the strain no longer. The past week has been a perfect Sport -Feste-Woche" A whole week devoted to sport and fiesta pleasures. Horse races in Germany are usually held on the Sabbath (the Ger. man Sabbath) so true to their colors they began the week with great horse race out at Neider Sedlitz, suburb of Dresden, where there has been a ia nous race course for more than two hundred years. Many thousands at tended this race, which of course was run on Sunday, other races were run or Tuesday and Friday. The prizes amounted to ninety thousand marks ol a little over twenty-two thousand dol lars. There was also a. grand gather ing of the forces" at the opera house where "Mignon" was superbly repre- scented. A fine horse show also tool place, and a dog show, to which very many were attracted.
 A magnificent concert in which nc less than six great bands of music par ticipated, with a ball which was attend ed by a large number of people, was held at the Belvidere on the Bruhl Ter race. The exhibition of fireworks from