The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22


in the sunlight Is at times almost be-
wildering. The yards and lawns are
exquisitely kept with a view to land
scape perfection and throughout them
are scattered innumerable little china
and metal manikins with spade. shovel
or pick typifying the gnomes and trolls
and kobolds of whom Saxony was once
the legendary habitat. These kobolds
were supposed to dwell in the bowels
OF the earth and manufacture the met
ais that were delved therefrom and 1t
is after the l1obold that our metal CO.
bali is named Thus the flowers. the
lawns and the manilkins give the place
tho resemblance to fairyland and one
can almost imagine that he can hear
the horns of elfland family blowing
when the wind sings down the chin
ney or whispers through the trees
The principal business thoroughfares
Is the Pragerstrasse, stretching from
the banhof (railway station), which Is
one of the largest in the world to the
palace and as the Saxons are extreme
ly fond of pork and sausage, along this
street, interspersed with glittering jew
eiery shops, art emporiums and china
stores are to be found inpumerable es-
tahlishments devoted to the sale of hog
and pig meat with their windows dis
playing in emphatic assertiveness the
character of their estock.
Until quite recently the usual and
only mode of public passenger traffic
along the Pragerstrasse was by. omni-
buses drawn by one horse.
Dresden Is known as the cradle OF
Rocco art. its name being given be-
fT.- he r.t.t nxsn Cd fn
the exclusion of the baroque and the
degraded styles and Augustus the
Strong. or Stark as the Saxons call him,
was the monarch that brought the art
and the city into prominence. Indeed,
this King, who was a contemporary of
Louis XIV, bore a considerable per-
sonal resemblance to the Grand Mon
argue of France and both loved to COM
pare their reigns with the golden pc
riod of Roman culture. What Ver-
sajlles was to Louis the Zwinger be-
came to Augustus. monument befit-
ting the glorious regime of its build
er The Zwinger was intended to en-
Trace all the handsome and useful fea-
tures of the Roman bath and palace
and it's style is the exponent of the
objects of rococo art, which was TO
invest even the domestic life of mon
archs with pomp and splendor and to
unveil to the eyes of the upbhc the
privacy OF the pTlHcely poudoiI anu
royal cabinet. Thus 1t has been we'll
said that the Zwinger, in harmony with
its tendencies, would have afforded an
adnira BILE scene for the "Mercerles. In
the comedies and festivities of which
the court would have acted proml-
nent part in transparent incognito.
1t was the giving of expression TO the
spirit of this style that gave rise to the
creation of Dresden china in its adapta-
bility for being moulded into, elegant.
flourishng or fantastic decorations and
to this day the rococo is regarded as the
ella assical style for porceain moulding. 10
such an extent did Augustus the Strong
carry his love for the plastic that there
may be seen in one of the Dresden
museums, superb set of vases known as
the Dragon Vases, In exchange for
which he gave william I of Prussia a
regiment of dragons.
The ruling house of Saxony is Catholic
in faith while the nation is protestant,
but there is little or no friction between
the first and third estates on account OF
religion The present King Augustus is
much more democratic than was his
father. the late King George. The old
King was never very popular, owing to
his extreme parsimony and a display of
his unpopularity I once had an occasion
to witness during sojourn in Dresden.
He had been absent at a health resort
for sometime and wished to have his
return celebrated with some eclat. Tt is
not the custom of royalty to make re-
quest of the subjects: they are command
ed and accordingly King George COM
manded 800 young women to greet him
upon the streets upon his arrival in the
city. The reception was decidedly a cold
one and for fear that his majesty might
be embarrassed by the failure Of the young
women to respond to his command officers
of the law visited house after house and
warned the female inmates that they
must appear Upon the streets. When the
King did arrive the women were there,
but there was no demonstration of Joy
nor the assembiance of welcome. Tho
men were out also, to be sure, but they
were out to see the girls. and in awkward
silence George rode down the Prayer
strasse amid rows of gaping, mute sub
jects.. ~ -siss-r
The present King moves about the city
unattended so far as an escort is con-
cerned. and is often accompanied by his
daughters. Of whom he is very fond. His
companionxis handsome greyhound, and
his majesty seems to be more pleased than
annoyed when the animal is patted by
strangers. The young Princesses are quite
fond of riding upon the Swieber balm. a
suspended railway. and most any Sab
bath afternoon they may be seen with
their father enjoying a swing upon the
single steel rope up the steep ascent to
Loschwitz. It was at Loschwitz that
Schiller wrote his Don Carlos and the
place is always visited by tourists II for
nothing else than to enjoy the strange
sensation of swinging in midair as the
car crawls up the steel rope overhead.
One of the chief attractions Of a so
5ourn of any length in Dresden Is the
visits to its charming epvirons, for the
les less than 20 miles from Bohemia,
and a section of country known as Saxon
Switzerland wherein lies some of the
most sublime scenery to be found in all