The Boxes Are Generally Let
To The Nobility And The Parterre Is Open To Every Body On Payment.
I
witnessed the representation of Mozart's Nozze di Figaro.
The King was
present and was greeted with much affection. He has a very benignant
expression of countenance. He is much beloved by his subjects, for he has
governed them paternally. He has given to them a constitution unasked;
for they were so contented with the old Government, that they desired no
change; but he, with his usual good sense, saw the propriety of consulting
and complying with the spirit of the age. A German writer of some eminence
at the time of the French Revolution, when the aristocrats and alarmists of
all countries were crying out against it, and proposing harsh measures to
arrest its progress, said: "Sovereigns of Europe, do you wish to set bounds
to the progress of French principles? Nothing can be more simple; you have
only to govern your people like Maximilian of Bavaria and Frederick of
Saxony, and your subjects will never desire a change."
At the German (national) theatre which is a fair sized one, I saw a tragedy
performed called Der Wald bey Herman-stadt (the Forest near
Hermanstadt),[122] It was an interesting piece taken from a feudal legend.
The part of Elisene was performed by Mlle Vohs, a very good actress. I
missed very much one thing in Munich, and that is the want of cafes like
those in France and Italy, which have so brilliant an appearance. They make
coffee here at the inns; and there are two or three dull places up one pair
of stairs, where they play at billiards, and make as indifferent coffee as
is made in England. The hour of dining at Munich is in general one o'clock.
A slice of ham or sausage with beer form the gouter, usually taken at
five or six o'clock; and at nine follows a supper as solid as the dinner.
The Germans are not loungers as the French and Italians, who, for the most
part, spend all their spare time in coffee-houses. When I mentioned to a
Bavarian that I could find no cafes in Munich resembling those in France
and Italy, he said with emphasis! Gott bewahre (God forbid)! I could not
help thinking he was in the right; for those splendid cafes are very
seducing to young people and tend to encourage a life of idleness and to
keep them from their studies. The lower bourgeoisie and Stubenmaedchen
(maidservants) wear a singular head dress. It is made of stuff worked
with silver or gold and resembles two horns sticking out one at each ear.
This head dress must be costly. This class of women wear also on fete
days gold crosses, collars and earrings.
The Bavarians seem a frank, honest set of people, tho' sometimes a little
rough, in their exterior deportment. The character of Otto of Wittelsbach,
in the tragedy of that name, gives the best idea of the Bavarian character.
I have made acquaintance here with a Mr F - - -, an Austrian gentleman, and
two Polish gentlemen, the one an officer and the other a medical man. They
are brothers and had both served in the French army. We have agreed to
travel to Vienna together on board of the raft which starts every week from
Munich to Vienna. This raft brings to every day between twelve o'clock and
two near some town or village on the banks of the river, in order to allow
the passengers to dine, and anchors every evening at seven o'clock near
some town or village to sup and sleep. You have only to tell the
Flossmeister, or Master of the Raft, at what inn you mean to put up, or
if you have no preference, he will recommend you one; and at five the next
morning he goes his rounds to the different inns to collect his passengers,
and at six gets under weigh.
VIENNA, 2nd August.
I left Munich on the 25th July and arrived on the 6th day of our journey,
30th July, at Vienna, The Floss, or raft, on board of which we embarked,
is about as long as the main deck of an eighty-four gun ship and about
forty feet in breadth. It is constructed of strong spars lashed together.
On the spars is constructed a large platform and on the platform several
cabins, containing tables and chairs. Mr F - - , the Poles and myself hired
a cabin to ourselves. On the raft was a great deal of merchandize going to
Vienna. At Vienna the Flossmeister, after landing his passengers and
merchandize, sells his raft and returns on horseback to Munich. A raft is
constructed weekly at Munich from wood felled in the Tyrol and floated on
the Isar down to Munich. We arrived the first evening at Freysingen, but it
was nearly dark when we arrived; it seemed however as far as we could
observe to be a neat village; at any rate, we met with a very comfortable
inn there with good fare and good beds. We met with a very pleasant family
on board the raft, bound to Landshut; M. and Mme S. were extremely
well-informed people and their two daughters very fine girls.
We arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at Landshut, which is a very
fine town. There is an immense Gothic tower or steeple to the Church of St
Martin, about 450 feet in height. At Deckendorf, where the Isar flows into
the Danube, I saluted for the first time that noble river. We stopped the
night at Pillshofen and arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at
Passau. Passau is a large, well built and handsome city, and is situated on
the confluent of three rivers, the Inn, the Illst and the Danube; for here
the two former flow into the latter, one on each side. Each of these rivers
just before the point of juncture seem to be of different colors; for
example the Danube appears blue, the Inn white, and the Illst black.
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