Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad, Vol. 2 (of 3): With Tales and Miscellanies Now First CollectedJameson, Mrs. (Anna)
History
Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad, Vol. 2 (of 3): With Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected
Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
Germany -- Description and travel
We had first a grand loyal anthem, composed for the occasion by Lenz,
in which the king and queen, and their children, were separately
apostrophized. Prince Maximilian, now upon his travels, and young king
Otto, "far off upon the throne of Hellas," were not forgotten; and as
the princess Matilda has lately been _verlobt_ (betrothed) to the
hereditary prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, they put the _Futur_ into a
couplet, with great effect. It seems that this marriage has been for
some time in negociation; its course did not "run quite smooth," and the
heart of the young princess is supposed to be more deeply interested in
the affair than is usual in royal alliances. She is also very generally
beloved, so that when the chorus sang,
"Hoch lebe Ludwig und Mathilde!
Ein Herz stets Brautigam und Braut!"
all eyes were turned towards her with a smiling expression of sympathy
and kindness, which really touched me. As I sat, I could only see her
side-face, which was declined. There was also an allusion to the late
king Max-Joseph, "das beste Herz," who died about five years ago, and
who appears to have been absolutely adored by his people. All this
passed off very well, and was greatly applauded. At the conclusion the
king rose from his seat, and said something courteous and good-natured
to the orchestra, and then sat down. The other pieces were by old
Schack, (the intimate friend of Mozart,) Stuntz, Chelard, and Marschner;
a drinking song by Hayden, and one of the chorusses in the _Cosi fan
Tutte_ were also introduced. The whole concluded with the "song of the
heroes in the Valhalla," composed by Stuntz.
Between the acts there was an interval of at least half an hour, during
which the queen and the princess Matilda walked up and down in front of
the orchestra, entered into conversation with the ladies who were seated
near, and those whom the rules of etiquette allowed to approach unsummoned
and pay their respects. The king, meanwhile, walked round the room
unattended, speaking to different people, and addressing the young
bourgeoises, whose looks or whose toilette pleased him, with a bow and
a smile; while they simpered and blushed, and drew themselves up when
he had passed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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