The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-07

Bern and named the city Verona in
the Teutonic tongue Another story is
that zahringen called his new town after
the first animal which he slew in the.
chase, and that animal was a bear. But
no matter from what source the city de-
rived its name, the bear is there in evil
dence at all places and times. 1t is EN-
bazoned upon the shield of Bern's coat
of arms; huge stone effgles of this ami
NAL guards its gates. figures of brun
adorn the stairs of the parliament house,
carvings OF the beast grace the choir
stalls of the cathedral and the live ami
NAL is found In numbers in the city bear
pit. The latter are said to be descend
ants of cub which Zahringen brought
back from his memorable hunting expe-
dtion but by other authorities origin is
traced to a pair of bears presented 10
the town of Rene. Duke of Lorraine,
and again to a couple of cubs which a
Swiss soldier brought home as a trophy
from the battle of Nevarre in 1913 But
as the bears of Bern were carried away
in 1898 by General Bruno very much
like bruin) and presented to the Jarda
des Plantes in Paris, the present beasts
are said to be the descendants of pair
imported from Russia. The bear pit Is
continuously surrounded by visitors who
feed the animals with bread and carrots
purchased from neighboring stalls which
are maintained for this special purpose,
and yet the brutes seem to be in a state
of perpetual hunger. When the patrons
are a trifle tardy in their bestowal of
the repast brun rears up on his hind
legs and with his fore paws actually
beclons most grotesquely for the antiei-
pated food. The cubs. after their morn
ing bath, climb to the top of a tall tree
and spreading themselves out. some hori-
zontally upon the branches, some almost
perpendicularly with the trunk, sleep for
hours at a time in the sun.
Bern is a city of almost unpronounce-
able names The principal street changes
its appellation every time it is traversed
by cross street, but it is generally
known as the Observation-Disclosures While
in the city | was a guest of the Hotel
Zum Eidg Kreuz. which was situated
upon the Zeughausgasse. The fountains
are most grotesque in design and fare no
better than the streets in their nomen-
famous, Kindlifresserbrunnen or ogre
fountain, which portrays an ogre with a
string of babies around his waist and
one infant crammed half down his throat.
Another presents bear arrayed In the
armor of knight and still another shows
bagpiper playing upon his instrument
to the intense delight of goose, which
twines it's neck caressingly around its
master.
A strange feature of the city are its
arcades or covered sidewalks which
stretch for miles. They are called TAU
ben and in their shelter one may shop
all day with no discomfort no matter how
hard 1t rains or how inclement the
weather may be. Along these arcades
the cellar doors of the respective shops
are located upon the curbstone, many
feet removed from the first story of the
houses. The innumerable shops are quite
bizarre with wood carving galore 50
that amid all the bright toys, the gro
tesque fountains, the odd thoroughfares
and the quaint sledges one feels as
though he were in the very heart of
Kris Kringle land
The curious city clock must not be
overlooked and here again comes in the
unpronouncable name as the intricate
piece of mechanism is called the Zit-
slockenthurm. Three minutes Before the
striking of each hour rooster flaps its
wings and crows; a minute later Merry
Andrew kicks out his feet and with hands
upon the clappers of two small bells an
nounces the approach of the hour while a
troop of fantastically dressed bears
emerge from the clock and perform a
circuit of no little duration; the rooster
crows again and during the sounding
of the hour a manikin reverses an hour