Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1908-05-27
LETTER FROM VIENNA

(COntlnueu from page One)
eat and drink, and at anytime of the
day. and often night as well, you may
see them sitting in Coffee house
reading journal or newspaper. chat
ing and slipping their 'Melange" a
most delicious drink consisting of half
black coffee and half hot milk with
sugar and whipped cream. The
Coffee house. of which there are
about six hundred in the city, is a
sort of cafe where one can 90 and read
the papers and also have something to
eat and drink in the meantime. You
can have anything from tea to brandy
but the 'melange' is a favorlte drink.
When you are ready to go you say
"zahlen" and the 'zahl-kellner"
(pay-waiter) comes to you and you
tell him what you have had to drink
and how many little cakes or rolls.
He figures up your slip and you pay
him, giving him a tip of ten heller
two centsl) and leave six heller Ia
little.more than a cent? on the table
for the "kellner' who has served
you. In warm weather tables are
put outside on the sidewalks, separ
ated from passers-by by vines growing
In long boxes and trained on trellises,
or merely by an iron railing. The
tips in Vienna are very small, but one
must tip everybody. If you accident
ally drop a coin. it never reaches the
ground You give even the street car
conductor an extra kreuntzer, or two
heller piece. That reminds me OF little
popularity of the street cars. They
either have y compartment for smok-
ers or there are two cars coupled to-
gether, one for smokers and one for the
other people.
The opera is splendid. particularly
the orchestra. and it begins very early.
at seven o'clock, so that one is at home
by half past ten, or when one Of the
longer operas is being given, between
eleven thirty and twelve O'Clock.
There are some things which American
theatres might well copy. For exam
pie, il is not allowed to wear hats ex-
cept I'm the boxes and one must leave
his wraps in the "garderobe" before
entering the""auditorinm. A charge of
twenty heller per piece is made. The
Paris opera is inferior in this respect,
and in that city you are quite liable,
if sitting in balcony to be behind a
hat which eclipses your view of the
stage.
In the Viennese opera one does not
think of talking during the perform
snce. A persistent whisperer is given
such a storm of hiss>s that he soon SUBJ
sides in humiliation. Ii is the same
way In concerts. 1t is taken for
granted that people go to-listen. In
the concerts, of which there are several
every evening, one always sees students
with music, following the performer
and so getting splendid lesson. At
ten o'clock the residences ana apart
ment houses are locked and if you come
home later than that you must ring the
bell at the door and wait until the
.'Hausmeister usually with tousled
hair and in a most depressing looking
bathrobe-comes with a lantern to un-
lock the door and admit you. He.gives
you tiny lighted taper to show you
your way upstairs and you give him,
unnecessary TO state, twenty heller
Some of the Viennese holiday GUS
toms are very Interesting. On the
evening of December 3lst known as
sylvester Abend" everyone enter
tains or is entertained until midnight
and then begins the carnival on Karth-
nerstrasse and in all the cafes which
lasts until daybreak. The street is one
crowd of laughing. jostling. singing
people calling "Prosit. New Jahr" to
one another, accompanied by the occa-
sional discordant squeal of a little live
pig. which is supposed to be great
messenger of good luck
Vienna is great Catholic strong
hold aud accordingly much importance
is attached to the Easter season. In
Holy Week | attended the Johannes
Passion by Bach, splendidly given in
the largest concert hall in the city, full
orchestra. chorus, soloists and organ and
the place was full. The ladies in the
chorus all wore black. On Good Fri
day each church has little chapel or
crypt hung in heavy black containing
wax figure of the dead Christ before
which burn different colored lights.
and before which the faithful kneel
and pray in deep devotion. 1t always
seems pathetic and rather CHASTITY to
me, especially when tinsel and Christ
mas tree ornaments are hung about to
heighten-the effect. From Friday un-
til Saturday night there is most de-
pressing atmosphere-over everything
Even the shops are closed most Of the
time. but on Sunday morning every