| Show t GOING TO AUSTRIA An Ancient City and Its Strange History A COMPOSERS ANNIVERSARY tj Two Neighborlnz Nations Widely Dillbren I I in Every Particular Even to the Looks of the People Special Correspondence SUNDAY HERALD IV LL over Germany 4 Meyerbeers one > r hundredth anniversary I + 1 anni-versary is being tJ celebrated Many people are visiting t visit-ing his tomb in 1il I Berlin carrying = t laurels of every 1 iJ design Hiy operas are being put upon the stage I this week in their original form and much attention is given to rendering them in the most artistic way even the minor parts being sung by stars This way of celebrating the masters birthday deserves imitating The enthusiasm of the hearers is so high that it is n real comfort to nervous people to know that no theatre in Germany is without an attending physician This week I was driving through the city of Dresden the favorite of many Americans There is a colony of about five thousand Americans here many of whom enjoy life in palatial homes Americans are justified in preferring Dresden to many other cities in Europe The art gallery though not by any means the largest in Germany is a real jewel of its kind There is to be seen RAPHAELS MADONNA probably the greatest painting ever produced pro-duced Although the room it is in is always al-ways full of admirers one can always hear E pin fall so deeply does it impress one with its grandeur Among the museums the green vault contains the rarest collection collec-tion in all Germany comprisiug artistic and valuable work in amber ivory glass china and precious metals and jewels The crown jewels aro especially resplendent and each stone has an electric bell by it BE well as a troop of uniformed guards on watch so that it would not be very safe to touch one The collection of china is the most valuable valua-ble in the world much of it of Chinese origin Tho painting and coloring of the collection of old Meissen is now a lost art It well paid us to make a visit to Kauf manns uccouetical cabinet where four A Ii b a generations of inventors have stored every style of music box and automatic instru ments from the warbling bird to the doll baby work boxes clowns etc In one corner stood the figure of a man who played the trumpet exquisitely also the piano by electricity and another figure to wind up tho machinery like a handorgan Just think you who study music so diligently what an easy way to play Wagner Beethoven and many other masters There are many cases looking very much like a wardrobe or sideboard but the doors fly open and you soon hear the pipe organ the combination of piano and llute the harp flute violin and piano the small orchestra and the large orchestra which is equal to seventyfive pieces One of the attractions of Dresden is the large and wonderfully beautiful Grosse Garten and also the Zoo and last but not least the Kind polite and goodlookine population In visiting Dresden do not miss a ride up upTHE THE ELBE RIVER where you have one of the grandest views you can ever get anywhere upon Saxon Switzerland as It is called The mountainous mountain-ous rocks tower above you in all directions and fantastic shapes on either side of tho river Here a natural bridge and there a waterfall and oh so many times were we in doubt whether a castle was built by the hand of man or whether it was the natural formation of sandstone Full of pleasant thoughts we crossed the frontier at Bodenbach and entered Austria Toe appearance of the country although different In character was not the less beautiful yet the nearer we approached Prag the more conspicuous was the diller ence in the looks of the people and their villages We had le t the altogether clean ly and courteous German people and en tered the land of the Bohemians who on the border speak German and in the Interior in-terior Slavic Americans as a rule cannot form a correct cor-rect idea what AustriaHungary is AUSTRIAHUNGARY is a dual monarchy Austria being the western west-ern and Hungary the eastern part of it with two separate governments but united through the person of the Emperor Each again consists of a number of prov inces and kingdoms inhabited by different I t differ-ent nationalities which are in constant I quarrels and political and even physical lights Especially is this the case in Bohemia Bo-hemia the richest and most beautiful of the provinces of Austria There the Czechs rebel against tho national superiority and influence of the Germans and since both nationalities have their culture center in the ancient capital Prague the fight there is the strongest and bitterest Just now an exposition is going on in I Prague on tho beautiful grounds of the Baumgarten one of the citys beautiful parks and even that has been made an I object of national dispute in consequence of which the Germans entirely withdrew I yet it is the first time that the Bohemians succeeded in such an undertaking without tho aid of the Germans and therefore their enthusiasm knows no bounds One feature of the exposition is an Eiffel tower on a small scale erected on a ridge commanding com-manding a fine view of the city and country coun-try for miles which is not easily surpassed PRAGUE is one of the most beautifully located cities and was called by Alexander von Hum boldt the fourth city in beauty of location in the world It is generally called liThe City of a Hundred Towers Wo went up to the imitation Eiffel by means of a cable o1kL I cl road built on a grade of one foot to three After reaching the tower we went to the top in an elevator It seems a pity to see the ruins of the old bridge over the Moldau which withstood the power of the waves as well as many battles fought around and upon it until it gave way in the late flood It was over five centuries old and built by Charles IV The thirty years war began in the old castlo near the bridge and ended on the bridge There is a clock in the city on the city hall less known in America than other things in Europe but none the less remarkable remark-able When it strikes the twelve apostles lifesize pass by an open door above the last being St Peter who bows his head Death represented by a skeleton beckons to the miser who holding his money bags shakes his head no and other emblematical figures move and after tho hour strikes the cock crows THIS OLD CLOCK shows the seasons of the year In astronomical astronomi-cal signs months days as well as the hours Its origin is mythical The city is very old having been quite a largo placo in the Eighth century It now has a population of 250000 The Jewish cemetery contains a grave dug in 606 Prag is a city of churches some of which are very fine In one of these the Tein church lies th body of the great astronomer Tycho do Brahe The old Jewish church is a great curiosity erected in the Sixth century and was 900 years under ground built in a hill so as not to be discovered as tho Jews were not allowed al-lowed to worship God in those days Visiting Visit-ing the old Jewish quarter and seeing how they were compelled to live and to provide hidden entrances so as to escape in times of danger or to hido valuables as they were not considered human and not even their own belonged to them makes one shudder to think of how much has been dono in the name of Christianity Formerly there were large gates enclosing enclos-ing tho Jewish quarter and tho poor creatures crea-tures were not allowed to leave these gates without wearing a yellow sign or dress so as to be known and exposed to the insults of their tormentors These gates are torn down now but wires remain to show us where they have been Killing a Jew was not a crime and seldom punished and they were not allowed to marry without permission per-mission which generally required so many years and so much money that many people peo-ple becdmo too old and gray to car to marry Everywhere throughout tho city and country may be seen crosses crucifixes and images of tho Virgin before whom THE DEVOUT PEOPLE kneel in silent worship Many of the crosses are planted on high elevations us it was thought perhaps analogically that God would hear the supplicants better if they took some trouble to get to him The of Christ and the statues Virgin Mary are often richly adorned and surrounded by candles and to some of them the people repair of nights for song and prayer Yesterday was annunciation of the blessed Virgin and processions were moving mov-ing through the streets with the image decked with bridal veils Here is one of the oldest universities in Europe once tho most famous in which JOHN BUSS hold a chair On the Bethlehem square is the church in which he preached but no monument marks the site of his greatest labors Huss was a Protestant long before I Luther was born and the movement i which he led caused some of the most JSf = > 1 I savage wars in history mostly in the vicinity vi-cinity of Prag as the names of the surrounding sur-rounding hills given after the battles testify tes-tify The terrible Ziska and the two Prokops were the military leaders in this movement which was utterly crushed out Huss was burnt at the stake and his chiefs killed in battle Tho Bohemians as well as the great majority of people in tho dual monarchy are Catholics and the Emperor bears the name of his apostolic majesty and King of Jerusalem but in the newly acquired territories ter-ritories of Bosnia and Herzegovina there are many Mohamedans who practice polygamy poly-gamy with the sanction of the government as part of their religious belief There are great preparations being made for the reception of the Emperor who is too > to-o hero to visit the exposition and if the Germans and Bohemians keep their usual hatred we expect to have some pretty lively times VERONA E POLLOCK PKAG Sept 14 ISm |
