New-York tribune., 1901-04-29


American girl several Of whose letters descrip-
i've Of first impressions of European cities and
customs have been already published in The
Tribune
Vienna, April 6.
From Dresden TO Vienna the long. black lines Of
the railroad stretched across mile after mile OF
broken snow. There snow in plenty from Paris
TO Berlin. but nothing like this wide. billowy ex-
panse Of whtened plain. Whole villages were al
most buried under the heaped up drifts, that one
could hardly tell what sort of houses made the
town. The glimpses however. that we hao Oh
crooked white plaster walls red tiled roofs, with
here and there the quaint towers or a meoia'h
church. enough warm the cookies OF any
painters heart. Once In while. too, a sharpedgeo
brfstng matched roof pr;cked its way through the
snowy mounds and made fantastic shadows on the
piles below.
1t is a twelve-hour journey from Dresden to VI
emma, and tackled TO one train was what In
America call buffet car At home all our
European travelled friends had been pretty unan-
I'm piece of advice That was. always to
carry a basket luncheon a journey. According
them, trust the station restaurants or pro-
visions of any of the divisions Of the railroad
TO be pocket feeced and stomach empty. Up to
now. therefore had always augmented our IN
firnidatng array Of bags and bundles with box
filled with eatabes by the andlady leav
ing. A few samples of the various varieties of re-
freshments offered at pirate prices along routes
had proved the wisdom of this proceeding. That
ism most temptingy. We argued IL they knew
enough TO have dining they surely ought TO
know enough TO run il decently. So for once
omitted that troublesome luncheon box from the
fourteen other bags and bundles that had TO be
slowed somewhere I'm the compartment The car in
its construction surprisingly like fits American
prototype. and midday dinner therein after
experience with German gravies and boiled cab
baees and everlasting veal seemed positively home
like. 1t different at sSo We succeeded in
appropriating their last few bits of stale bread.
there was no butter. the sugar was quite departed.
and the nearest approach to an egg was quarter
of a chicken that had somehow escaped devasta-
ton The train. except in the third class, where
mothers bundles and ba bies filled the aises stand
ing all the way, was not so crowded as TO seem to
furnish sufficient excuse for such wholesale empty
ing OF the larder. / have since thought that per-
haps a mistake made in providing ratons in
Germany and that have resupplied in the DO
mains OF Francis Joseph would have cut OF too
much OF the profits.
FOOD is DEAR.
Food. as we'll every other necessary OF life, is
exorbitantly Gear in Austria. We found this out
almost reached its capital Good
pensions are few and between. and board In
them averages nearly twice high in Ger
many. 1t is wonder for taxes in Austria
higher than the mind Of an American man can well
conceive. Fer the ordinary Austrian citizen to live
at all must be more serious problem than
fercest competition and combines make it for
the smallest producer in America Everything is
taxed, and then, apparently, doubly taxed. After
paying so much all personal property. for in
stance, there comes another special pos
sessions. You taxed for each servant you
keep, you pay a yearly for the pleasure OF
owning piano. and il is said that this year
canary birds are be the subject of another
tortion. OF course. to all these expenditures
1t follows that merchants must charge for
their goods. and pension and hotel keepers
demand higher board. II If the two
classes who feel this taxation the least the
very rich and the very poor. The first of course,
can stand the demands unhurt. and the last have
little nothing TO be charged for. 1t is the
struggling, lower middle class that suffers
One indirect result of these extreme is the
present magnihcence Of Vienna. Thrty-five years
ago the city was full of very poor, old wooden
houses The Emperor caused a law to be passed
that all buildings erected within a certain length
OF time and of certain valuation should be free
from impost for. I believe, twenty years. This
such inducement that incredible num-
her Of owners pulled down their old struct-
ures and built the stately affairs that do much to
give Vienna its unusually handsome squares and
streets
Whereas in Paris we scarcely realized its size
till We had wasted hours getting from one quar-
ter TO another, i'm Vienna what impresses one first
is its tremendous distances This is not only
because the city really does extend i'm
nense territory. but also because there is so much
open space about all the principal buildings. 1t is
almost always possible get a perspective in ones
View of the more important edifces. They
built. in fact. with big squares all about them so
mat from nearly every point there is truly royal
approach TO them. The effect this of archi-
lecture is TO give a sense OF dignifed repose and
wide grandeur to the whole city. Even in the
heart of the town, also there is little of hudded
cro"oing which no other city have yet wholly
escapes This, of course does apply to the old
part OF Vienna where the gambrel roofs gable
windows, overhangfng balconies and twisting,
row streets may still be The newer part is
so strongly dominant and so much the bigger that
ones memories of Vienna must always make 1t a
rarely regal and royalty magnificent city.
WELL DRESSED CROWDS
After experience I'm Germany perhaps the
thing that struck forcfbly and at once
ABOUT the people the better dressing seen on
the streets For the first time since we left Paris
wei fitting clothes and successful attempts at
style are not uncommon. The human form divine
also seems here to be somewhat nearer what one
might suppose the original pattern. Whether the
clothes are the result OF the figures or the figures
the cause of the clothes, / don't pretend to say
fart OF our visit has been at unfortunate time
ior sightseeing None of us had realized
what happens in Roman Catholic city during
Holy Week. There is no opera at all and after
Wednesday nothing is open except the stores and
tney. too OF course, are closed all Friday and most
OF Saturday. II strikes one inst arrival frorr
frugal Germany. by the way. that these Viennes.
etorekeepers must be hatulentiy prosperous set
OF course every knows the fame of Vienna
hronzes and Vienna leather. After pretty careful
investigation Of the gorgeous shops exhibiting
specimens OF those two lines OF manufacture VIC
nave come 10 the conclusion that the cheapest
place 10 buy them is some where ont O, Austr,,
In spite OF our duties / think New-York
scarcely charges more for the articles. They
are a nigh and mighty race. too. these
Venoers OF artistic artisanship Their poteness like
that OF certain salesladies in certain big
A.