The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-09

them, nine times out of ten-the tenth
being Leipzig, where they are called Prom
enaden, unsteady 1t is out 10 these Anla-
gen and beyond them TO more extensive
parks, of which the city has its share, that
the multitude betakes itself nightly, as
observed above. We wanted TO go out and
see it for ourselves this typical detail OF
present-day Regensburg. But we were isEs
women, alone, and they advised US not.
that night life, de drauzzen (thefe outs1de),
they said, was not always nice lie, led
er. In short, nocturnal and ambient Re-
gensburg is as gay in its older and smaller
way as gay Paree'' herself So through
, another long night we had to sit in our
sitting hotel room, in our sitting, narrow
street-sit first, then lie in our hot, sleep
less beds, and listen TO that ceaseless ebb
of feet, in groups and pairs ana singles, On
through the night into the dawnIng of an
other day.
The Hall of the Chosen.
1t is none of these things, however, an-
eient or modern. romantic CT typical, that
brings the comparatively few who come
here to this ancient city of Regensburg. 1t
is WalhalIa out beyond 1T, Bavarian Louis
famous Hall of the Chosen on the banks
of the beautiful blue Danube. Crazy freak
of a crazy king to put such masterpiece
of art here in comparative obscurity! 10
be sure, the River Danube, like the RIVER
Rhine, is closely interviewer with the early
German mythology-the gods and their
half-god sons Of women who went in the
end to the original Walhaila. But stun TINS
modern Walhalla is primarily a sight TO De
seen of the tourist. Why then did Ludwig
/ of Bavaria bring it here? A half hour by
boat down stream-a whole hour to an
hour and a half back, for the Danube cur
rent is a swift one heTe-this modern tenn
1 E,v.. 4 &c
| lofty site, 1923 feet above the river, and
with the seemingly endless stretches of
the Bayarian forest clothing all the dis
tance round about. The building itself,
white and magnificent, is an exact repro
| duction of the Partheuon, except for its
bas-reliefs and statues which are those OF
barbarian gods and modern men of leu
| tonic tribe. The architecture is, of course,
purest Doric; the material light grey mar
ble-it looks white as the whitest Pentelic
! against the background of Bavarian for
| est. superb flight of steps, go or more.
leads up to its stately portico. Its inte-
| rior, in one vast hail. rich with the richest
| marbles, contains the bust, statues, or in
scription of all the famous Germans from
Henry the Fowler down.
Beautiful indeed is this Walhalla- And
yet, when soberly considered, it is fairly
grotesque, bizarre mixture as 1T is of the
! classieism and the Vaterlandism, which
are the two most powerful influences
brought To bear on the German as hoy
and man. subject and also king. The king
who stands responsible for this particular
proof of it, Louis l of Bavaria. father of
the crazy Louis who drowned himself in
the StarnbergeT Sea. and who thus came
by his Magnetism honestly, as may be
seen in this Hall of the Chosen. where the
caryatides of the classic roof are val
kyrs They were art loving kings, that
father and son; but they were crazy men
both of them.
The foundation stone of this Walhalla
was laid on an 18th of October, anniver-
sary day OF the battle of Leipzig, the year
was 1880. On the same date twelve years
later It was dedicated as e completed
achievement. 1t cost S6,000,0 900 OF Baya-
ria's good money. All the leading artists
of the time had their chance at tmmortali-
ty In the work upon It. The WalkyT caTya-
tides are by Scbwanthaler; there are Vic
tories by Rauch and the hundred-odd
busts etc, OF celebrities that it contains
are by other German artists. And yet,
after all this, when King Louis himself
came 10 be gathered TO his ancestors, he
was refused a place in this his own par
ticular WalhalIa-New York Commercial
Advertiser.