The Indianapolis journal., 1896-09-20
WAYS OF GERMANS.
They Pursue Pleasure but Find 1t All
Very Inexpensive.

Berlin Letter in London Mail.
One of the chief reasons why the Germans
are able to live more frugally than the in
habitantS OF any other northern nation IS
that necessary relaxation of VERY
pensive kind is provided for them on al
sides. They are pleasure loving race. and
take their pleasures seriously, yet simply;
mon accusation against them runs-but yotf
will not notice, at the opera house or thea
ter, the half-concealed yawn and way-of
look of abstraction which is feature of a
London audience. The phlegmatic tempera-
ment surely does not tend TO suicide; the
statistics of the last thirteen years. just
published in the 'AllgemeineS StatiStischeS
Archiv" show that the incl ease OF suicide
during that period is from s,9S7 TO LIE
very much larger than the corresponding
increase in population. l have already men
toned the great influence of music upon
more purely educational than emotional.
The plays of Shakespeare are better
known to the lower classes than in the land
of their origin; the translation is an almost
epic work. A well-known professional joke
is to the effect that one cannot really know
Shakespeare until one has read the German
version. Ibsen. too, was known and appre-
ciated some time ago. OF native play
wrghts; Schiller remains the master. put
Sudermann--the latter a dramatist of sure
and fine instinct. as all who have seen
are immensely popular throughout the en-
pire. Owing to the fact that State subsidi-
sation. or. in some towns, Grand Ducal pa
tronage. controls the personnel of the thea
ter. the bright particular star does not
put the entire performance out of persepc-
tive. Stage management and the marshall
ing many 'SuperS is fine art in Ger
many witness the simultaneous out
stretching OF arms in the Sake Meiningen
companys s rendering of Julius Caesar
Light opera is very popular, though very
dresses with us. people won't look at a
piece of this sort unless the scenery and
costumes are more than lavish. All over
Germany the operettas of Johann Strauss,
as also Audran's La Maseotte" and Sir.
Arthur Suliivans 'Mikado,' are perennial
to popnIar tbar athoagh dh With ,v few exeep-
of the Private Secretary order is a dis
tinctive German growth, and assuredly
goes to prove that German humor is not
necessarily heavy, as is frequently al
legged by people who cannot understand the
land is generally beneath contempt The
French chansonnette singer is not so much
appreciated as the portly ..Sangerin', from
Vienna or Buda-Pesth. Vienna plays the
same part in relation to German life as
Paris does to ours. In ladies' hat shops
and have frequently seen the very weird
est neckties advertised as being the latest
smart thing from Vienna.
Glee clubs abound and the maIe-voice
tional festivity the whole population ioirs
in the singing Of the "Lieder" of the coun-
try or 'one of those majestic old Gregorian N
chants that. wherever you may hear them.
seem to build up cathedral walls q ronnj
you" At Frankfort my room in the botei
looked out upon the playground of one OF
the national schools. Every afternoon.
boy voices singing for an hour at time
songs and "chorales" with rare perfection
of unison. And / could see through tbe
half-opened windows, the schoolrnaster
standing in front of his desk violin i'm
hand, and the children watching him. as
they sang with the very JOY of life. while
he set the key and led the time.
Sport. at present. does not make much
headway in Germany; the bicycle. especiaI-
ly in the big cities, is much in evidence
but rather from the utilitarian standpoint
than from that of pleasure. But. foreseeinc
hs.-
coming universal the German manufacture
ers have been. as usual, equal to the emer-
gency. The light wood-frame American
machines are suitable to the German roads.
and many firms turn out cheap re-
plica of these-almost Identical in constrilc-
ton. but with just sufficient difference to
avoid actions for infringement of patent
Horse racing. and especially steeplechases
lowing to the influence of the officers Of
cavalry regiments), is. as everywhere else
mainly controlled by English trainers jock
eys and touts: here. again. the paternaI
government steps in. and, IL you are deslr-
Gus of betting, YOU must do II through the
means of the officially controlled ''pari-mu-
tuel." totaliser.