The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837Various
History
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837
Various
Periodicals
LEIPSIC, SEPTEMBER 10.--Here am I, in the very heart of Germany, in
the centre of Europe, within ten hours' ride of Dresden, one day of
Berlin, two of Prague, three of Munich, four of Warsaw, ten of St.
Petersburgh, and a few more of Rome, Constantinople, and Jerusalem,
all of which I would fain honor with a visit, did time and the
'needful' permit; at present, however, this will be my ultimatum,
and to-morrow I shall commence what the Frenchman said Napoleon did,
after the memorable battle of this same Leipsic, not a retreat, but a
_mouvement retrograde_ toward home. My journeyings will now be toward
the setting instead of the rising sun.
The ride to this city proved, as I expected, extremely tedious and
disagreeable. We left Frankfort at half past nine, P. M., and were
forty-one hours, including two nights, on the way; the distance being
two hundred and twenty miles. I was again doomed to the _interieur_,
amid five smokers, as usual, neither of whom could speak English
or French; and the idea of the mistakes and vexations to which my
solitary ignorance exposed me, was any thing but comfortable. I
escaped, however, with nothing worse than the loss of a cloak in the
Frankfort diligence; for on coming to the Prussian dominions, we were
transferred to a respectable vehicle, on which was inscribed:
'Konig. Preuss,
Schnell Post.'
(Query, mail or snail? It does not merit the latter appellation so
well as some of the French, to say the least.) The public conveyances
on the continent are all driven by a postillion, in a kind of
livery, with 'seven league boots,' a trumpet with tawdry tassels,
and a leathern hat: he always rides the 'nigh' horse, and never goes
more than one post, as each 'team' has its own postillion. Every
diligence is superintended by a _conducteur_, who has the best seat
in the coupé, but does nothing himself, except delivering the mails
and small parcels on the way. The French and Swiss conducteurs are
often surly and uncivil, but those in Prussia are very attentive,
good-looking, and even well-educated. The most learned doctors of the
university will converse with them on familiar terms, with deference
and respect.
There is evidently much less exclusiveness in grades, and less show
of haughty superiority in the wealthy, and even the noble, in these
_despotic_ countries, than in _liberal_ and enlightened England.
From the Grand Duke downward, it is usual to give a bow and a '_bon
jour_,' or '_adieu_,' to the meanest servant in return for the
same salutations: and these courtesies certainly do not seem to be
misconstrued into that familiarity which breeds contempt, but rather
to strengthen respect and attachment to the superior.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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