USA > Ohio > The Western Reserve of Ohio and some of its pioneers, places and women's clubs, Vol. I > Part 25
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To the extreme left lies Charleroi, where Napoleon at- tempted to surprise the Allied forces, and where he defeated the Prussians and took the town. Word was sent to Brussels, and soldiers hurried from the ball-room in their dress suits and engaged in the batle. Brussels was the depot for supplies from Ostend and Antwerp, and therefore necessary to the success of the English troops; and as Charleroi was but a few miles dis- tant, every effort was made to hold it. On that day, June 17th, 1815, the day before the great battle, the Duke of Wellington came so near being taken prisoner that he only escaped by order- ing a part of the 92nd, who were lined along a ditch, to lie down, and leaping his horse over them. The horse of Marshal Blucher was shot under him, and while lying on the ground the Marshal
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was twice charged over by the enemy's cavalry. Troops had been taken from his center to strengthen the right wing, and Napoleon seeing this, made a dash at the center, forced it and gained the victory. Rain had begun to fall, and the horses sank to their knees-often to their girths, in the soft fields, which were sown with flax, wheat and oats.
On the morning of the 18th, the day of the memorable bat- tle of history, the Duke of Wellington rode along his lines on a chestnut charger, with a field glass in his hand, seldom speaking to anyone, not even to his body guard. Napoleon, expecting help from those who were not pleased with the Alliance, had sent out this call: "To every Frenchman who has a heart, the moment has arrived to conquer or die." The French were ar- rayed with the infantry in front, in two lines sixty yards apart, and in their rear, the cuirassiers, in two lines. On the right were the lancers, in scarlet, the chasseurs, in green and with bear skin caps, and behind them were the horse grenadiers and dragoons. In the rear center were the reserves, and on the left was the light cavalry, while in the rear of the whole was the Imperial Guard, 72,000 in all. The Allied army numbered 68,000.
The reason for delay on the part of Napoleon in beginning the fatal battle, is thought by some to be that he was waiting for the ground to dry. At last, however, Prince Jerome com- menced an attack on Hugemont, the headquarters of Wellington. The German battery opened on them, making a complete road through the mass, and forced Jerome to retire. His command was again advancing through a gap in the woods, but Lord Sal- toun forced it to again retire. The French occupied the wood and open fields on both sides of Hugemont, making the latter a stumbling block to Napoleon. Marshal Ney was to cover, with the artillery, the advance, Napoleon was to force the left center,
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get possession of La Hay-Sainte and Mont St. Jean and prevent co-operation with the Prussians. As this movement was about to be made, a dust cloud in the distance showed the approach of Prussian forces that had been resting at Ligny. Napoleon consequently had to change his plan, but, keeping a large force to watch the advancing re-enforcements, he still ordered Ney to advance, and soon the French batteries, of seventy pieces, opened on the British lines, causing dreadful havoc in Picton's division. The German Legion and the 2nd Life Guards hotly pursued the French cuirassiers, and the carnage was great. Many females were found among the slain, clothed in male attire. Picton himself fell, crying, "Charge! charge! Hurrah!" He was struck in the temple by a musket ball and died at once. His command was so obliterated that Napoleon asked, the next day, "Where is Picton's division?"
The French batteries were decimating the Allied troops that were between the two roads, and Somerset ordered them to retire. Napoleon thought it was a retreat and ordered his cuir- assiers forward. They met the Germans advancing, and swords clashed in awful combat. The shock was terrific, and the cuiras- siers fled on both sides of La Hay-Sainte. On the field the British cavalry dashed upon the French batteries and sabred the gunners, and not a division except a body of infantry was in line when Napoleon retreated. In an hour all was confusion, and Waterloo was gained by the Allied forces. By a singular coincidence the battle was brought to a close by the troops that opened it-the cuirassiers. Their armor weighed heavily upon them, and was a hindrance in hand to hand fighting.
Our English guide would not admit that Victor Hugo's story was true-that the French cavalry, supposing the ground level, fell into an excavated roadway not seen till upon it. Others believe that statement, and two monuments are near the spot where that calamity is supposed to have occurred.
In the museum at Waterloo are autographs of all the gen- erals; also carbines, pistols, swords, helmets, bridle-bits and French eagles. A case containing skulls had one with three sabre cuts.
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COLOGNE, WIESBADEN, BERLIN, DRESDEN, COLOGNE
The great cathedral at Cologne is near the large railroad depot and close to hotels and business places. A yard filled with flowers and plants extends along all sides of it except the front, and in the rear is a fountain with four large lions, out of whose mouths water pours for the thirsty. As we entered the cathedral on Sunday morning, the wooden seats near the pulpit were filled with attentive listeners. The priest spoke very loudly, but the echoes, together with the patter of feet on the tiled floor, seemed to drown his voice. The cathedral was begun in the 13th century and was finished in 1880, costing a million dollars. This is Christianity in Germany. The meek and lowly Jesus would never recognize his followers in the rich regalia worn in this service.
We visited the church of St. Ursula, five blocks away, which is beautiful in its interior and rich with relics of those buried there many years ago. The story of this church says that when Cologne was conquered by the Huns, St. Ursula refused to sur- render herself and followers to their lust, standing firm even when threatened with death. Consequently she and her com- panions were all slain and buried in a heap on the spot where the church now stands. When this monument to her memory was built, the bones were uncovered and those of St. Ursula placed in a gilded tomb now in the chapel. A box of teeth and other bones gathered from the same place are beside it. The assurance that a large vase to be seen was one of the waterpots that Jesus filled with wine at the marriage of Cana, led to the
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feeling that any or all of the legends might be false. Three hundred children, neatly dressed, were seated in the auditorium, which was brilliant with the morning sun falling through stained-glass windows.
We next visited the Museum. There were the invariable and ever-present plaster casts of Augustus, Demosthenes, Venus and Apollo, but we passed on to the paintings. That of Queen Louise, the mother of four boys, two of whom became kings, was attractive and beautiful; grace and sweetness was in every feature. The signing of the death warrant of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Elizabeth, gave a clear profile view of that noted queen. The Resurrection is the key to the productions in the many rooms given to sacred themes. It is easy to see where Dante got the idea that has shaped the thought of generations of men regarding our eternal future.
At nine o'clock the next morning, we went on board the Victoria for a sail down the Rhine to Wiesbaden. The day threat- ened rain, but little fell. The Rhine is wider and deeper than the Hudson, but is shut in by high hills similar to those at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In many places the banks are terraced with brick or stone and the levels given to grape culture. After we pass Bonn, the home of Beethoven, where a bronze statue is erected to his memory, the castles of the middle ages appear. Some have been restored, but they all tell of feudal times, when they were used as fortresses against invaders along the great waterway. A little book called "Legends of the Rhine," was bought by many. In it is a beautiful story of Gutenfels. In the 13th century, Guta and her brother Philip, a knight, attended a tournament at Cologne. The one who became victor fixed his eyes on Guta, and after the contest, was presented to her. She dropped her glove in her embarrassment, and he asked her for
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it, afterwards carrying it about on his helmit. Philip invited him to their home, and there Guta and the guest plighted their troth. He said he had matters to attend to, and then would return. But Guta grew pale and ill with waiting, for he did not come until three months had passed. When he did come, he was refused entrance, but sent in the glove he had kept, which Guta at once recognized, and permitted him to see her.
"Would I deserve to be Emperor of Germany if I did not profit by the liberty to keep my word?" said he.
"You Emperor!" said Guta.
"Emperor Richard of Cornwallis," answered Philip, who knew him.
The marriage ceremony was performed, and the victor of the tournament, the king, built the castle of Gutenfels on the mountain side near Chaube. It is built of stone and has a square tower; and a walled road zig-zags up the hillside. The castle is now occupied.
There are two other castles within view, Reichenstein and Ehrenfels, and between them is the church of St. Clemens. Concerning these another story runs something as follows: Cuno, the Knight of Reichenstein, loved the daughter of Sieg- fried, who lived at Castle Rheinstein, and asked Kurt, owner of Ehrenfels, to speak for him. This Kurt did, but when he saw the daughter he at once determined to make her his own wife. He told Cuno, however, to send her a costly present, and Cuno sent her his favorite horse. But Kurt was favored by the father of the girl, whose name was Gerda, and the day was set for the marriage. Gerda told her father of her love for Cuno, but he would not consent to the union.
One night Gerda dreamed that Cuno said to her, "Why not fly and take refuge with me?"
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When Gerda awoke the next morning, she said to herself, "I will prepare for the wedding and then his horse shall carry me to the castle of the one I love." She then gave notice to her lover, and waited for the wedding day. When it arrived, she arrayed herself in fine attire, with pearls and precious stones, and upon Cuno's horse started for the church, but as she ap- proached, she suddenly spurred her horse and galloped toward Reichenstein. Kurt followed her, with curses, but Cuno opened the gate for her, closing it quickly upon Kurt. Siegfried's de- mands for entrance were of no avail, and so the marriage was celebrated at Reichenstein instead of Ehrenfels.
These stories lent a charm to the old castles, and showed love was the same in those old feudal days as at present.
We arrived in Wiesbaden at eight o'clock in the evening. It is a watering place, more patronized in May and June than in August, the time of our visit. The various stores showed fine jewelry, laces and embroideries. The hotels are built for many guests, and our full number, eighty persons, was accommodated in one of them, The Four Seasons hotel.
BERLIN
This great city, of 1,700,000 inhabitants, has its history in the buildings, monuments and statues that ornament the place. In 1640 Frederick William was made Elector of Brandenburg and at once began improvements in Berlin. He started the first newspaper, paved and lighted the streets, and did many other things to build up the city during his reign of forty-eight years. He was succeeded by his son, who built the Armory, the Acad- emy of Arts and Sciences, the castle and some of the churches, and erected a monument to his father. In 1713 Frederick William, who was called the "economical king," succeeded to the throne, reigning twenty-seven years and leaving a full treas- ury. Next came Frederick the Great, in 1740. Berlin then had but 147,000 inhabitants. Frederick the Great said that a sovereign should have no interest except to promote that of his people, and he carried out this theory by building the Royal Library, the University, the cathedral, St. Hedwig's Church, Opera House, Royal Theater, and encouraging commerce and the fine arts.
We visited the old palace, in Potsdam, sixteen miles from Berlin. It is in a court, and is gloomy in its exterior. As you enter and ascend a flight of stairs to a square hall, there is a private dining room to the left. Our attention was called to the large round table in it, the center of which was detached from the outer portion and could be made to descend as a dumb- waiter to bring up edibles from below. Under the outer portion was a place for bottles. The doors of this room were double, to prevent conversation being heard . Next came the private room of Frederick the Great, with a writing desk upon which were two hats, two brushes, and various personal effects. His statute in marble represents him sitting in a chair, haggard and
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thin. On the wall is his portrait, and beside it one of his mother and one of his wife. He had no children. Eleven dogs belong- ing to him are buried under marble slabs on the lawn before the palace, and beside them is his favorite horse. The clock stood at twenty minutes past two, the time he died.
We passed through a large audience room, in white marble, a ball-room in hardwood, and another audience room, besides the hall or gallery that contained the portraits of the different sovereigns. In the last were the portraits of the Elector of Brandenburg, William I, William II, Frederick the Great and William IV. In an annex was the potrait of Queen Louise. There was a place to stand upon with which to make the height of soldiers, who were required to be six feet high. It had a li- brary of exclusively French books, the case for which was of curly maple from America. There was also a monkey room, in white enamel with flowers, birds and animals raised on its sur- face. It is said that the king once told Voltaire, who was his friend, that he was a monkey, and made him his lasting enemy. A gold room is another feature. It has six mirrors, and several platters of gold, sent from the various duchies of the kingdom. A silver room has immense ornaments of silver on the sides and ceiling, made from the silver left over after the war.
To prove to the nation that the seven years' war did not exhaust his treasury, the Emperor built a new palace a few miles from the old one, called Sans Souci.
This palace fronts on six broad terraces, with conservatories beneath the banks. Under the cornice of the palace were un- couth human figures. As we enter there is a shell room, which is most unique-the wonder of all who visit it. Two immense serpents made of conch-shells, are at the side of each pillar, the mouths of the serpents being open, with tongue protruding. The pillars are girdled with bands of
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agates and crystals, and yards of space are covered with small white shells. The room is one hundred feet long, with four windows and numerous pillars. The grouping of the shells is beautiful, and will never be finished; as shells are now gathered by the royal family for this purpose. As we departed we went down a steep descent, which was made smooth for the rolling chair of Frederick the Great, who was afflicted with gout.
In 1827 Berlin was lighted with gas, and in 1838 the first railway to Potsdam was built. When King Frederick William IV succeeded to the throne, in 1840, Berlin had a population of 500,000. It was this king who erected the statue of Frederick the Great, and built the Column of Victory and the New Mu- seum. His brother, who succeeded him in 1861, put in telegraph lines, built new depots and caused many modern improvements. He was the first to be called emperor. The Column of Victory, with its gilded statue, towers above all the high buildings. Near it is the Parliament, or Reichstag, Building, with gilded dome. The Avenue of Victory is through a park, and is ornamented with many statues, some of which are placed upon a crescent- shaped base of marble with a seat encircling one side, giving an appearance of hospitality. In a carriage ride we passed the City Hall, a magnificent structure in red brick, and miles of resi- dences of light-brown color. Our party was delighted with Berlin.
On the way from Wiesbaden to Berlin, we saw fruit trees along both sides of the road. They were mostly apple trees, although a few pear and plum trees were to be seen. While in Berlin our guide told us that these trees were planted and owned by the government, which leased them to the inhabitants at ten cents each per year, not more than forty to one person. The government owns the land and rents the right of way to the railroad companies. As we went from Berlin to Dresden, the trees along the way were nut trees, and did not give the home-like look and promise that the fruit trees had done. Young America might adopt the plan of plant- ing fruit trees.
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DRESDEN
The Royal Picture Gallery of Dresden was founded by the Prince of Saxony, afterwards called the King of Poland. It would be a lesson to American art lovers to know with what painstaking and care some of these pictures were obtained in Italy many years ago, and were preserved until the erection of this building. The Italian, German and Spanish artists have contributed their best works to the collection.
Among the paintings first seen is a large canvas called "Columbus Before the Monks." "The Three Sisters," by Kess- ling, represents three blondes with regular features, blue eyes, and with modest dress in shades of pink; a lovely picture. "The Ruin of the Family," also by Kessling, shows two men playing cards for money; a woman, presumably the wife of one, on her knees pleading; a younger woman with a child in her arms, and other persons entering the room. "The Desert Robber," shows two lions on high rocks, their lair in view, gazing down upon a camp of travelers with camels on the plain below. Another pic- ture shows a shepherd lying asleep with his arm thrown over his faithful dog, while the sheep stand wistfully at the door of the fold. "Reading the News" is an eager throng listening to a reader of news from the outside world; "A Light in the Win- dow" is for the sailors on the water, and "Anannias' Visit to Paul" shows Paul behind prison bars.
Our party hurried on to view the marvellous "Sistine Ma- donna," by Raphael. This picture was a study. Mary was represented as standing on clouds, with eyes intent on distance, as if beholding the future that had been promised the Messiah.
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The Christ-child's eyes have a glow seemingly caught from the mother's inspiration, as she holds him by the hand close to her side, and two little angels are gazing upward as if seeing in- visible things. Pope Sixtus appears in kneeling posture. After all the sad and horrible pictures, one's eyes are glad to rest upon one that is all beautiful.
In the next room were heads of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In "Peter at the Cock-crowing," Peter is given with face contorted as though dreading the misery before him for his denial of Christ. "Jesus in the Temple" represents Christ as a quiet-faced boy asking for information. With a previous knowledge of art and plenty of time to devote to the study, a person might be able to give some adequate idea of this wonderful collection; but on a tour such as ours, where other renowned places were waiting, it is impossible to give anything but the impression caught at the moment.
At our hotel, Rev. De Witt Talmadge was introduced, and it was hoped he would make a few remarks to our party, but he declined, saying he had come for rest. It was here I met my son and his wife, from New York City, who made the tour of the continent from the south toward the north.
NUREMBURG, OBERAMMERGAU, ZURICH NUREMBURG
This city was founded in 1050 and has many very curious buildings. The high roofs have rows of dormer windows too close together to show separate stories, but which must give plenty of light. The walls are many of them well preserved. The old castle is now kept as a museum. The towers are cannon-shaped, to memorize the art of making implements of war, which is one of the industries of the place. As a sample of the architecture of the middle ages, Nuremburg is worth a visit, yet we saw residences on one street that would com- pare favorably with those in Berlin. The castle tower con- tains the instruments of torture used by the Inquisition. We noticed cradles with sharp spikes which cut and tore the flesh; a closet, the door of which had spikes so placed that when the victim was put into the closet three would pierce each eye and also the bowels, and there was also a wheel, which, in turning, would cut the body into small pieces. These, to- gether with the rack, upon which bodies were broken and disjointed; hot lead, to be poured into the ears; and red-hot pincers, with which to grasp the nose, ears or fingers of the victim, are some of the instruments used by beings called human, upon others who were unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. At first thought, the intelligent tourist wonders why these evidences of unparalleled ferocity have not long since been destroyed, but further reflection convinces that they serve a better purpose in showing, by comparison, the advance of civilization in Germany since their use. The story of the robber knight Apollonius, who leaped his horse over the city wall near the castle and escaped, but was recaptured and put to death by torture in the closet before referred to, would hardly be credited by a visitor to the Nuremburg of today. The wall is still there, but its gates have been open for many years.
Other places and things of interest are St. Sebald's church, which has a magnificent shrine sixty-four feet high; the Schone Brunner and the Bag-Pipe Fountain, which are beau- tiful; the works of Albrecht Durer, the artist; the monument to Hans Sachs, the poet, and the National Museum. The city schools are trade schools, and it is said, "Nuremburg's hand goes through every land."
NUREMBURG
SHELL ROOM AT POTSDAM, GERMANY
OBERAMMERGAU
This little mountain town in upper Bavaria, noted as the home of the Passion Play, is five hours' ride from Munich. Extra trains were being run to accommodate the throngs eager to see the performance, but even then our party was much crowded. We made room, however, for two young ladies from Boston, but not of our party, who told us they came on from Naples to Munich the night before, and although they had lost their trunks and could not find them, nobody at the station being able to speak either English or French, they were still not dismayed.
"We had each a hand-bag, fortunately," said the elder, "and were determined not to miss the play."
They were Catholics, they told us, and knew that great care had been taken to make the performance perfect in every detail.
The suburbs of Munich presented a more modern appear- ance than those of many other cities we had visited, and as we passed over the country towards Oberammergau we came to a fine summer resort, which, with its gay yachts and large hotels, convinced us that the people were not so far from modern civilization as not to have caught its spirit. As we approached the town of Oberammergau, there was a gradual ascent; the pine trees became more numerous and the grass was greener, while many barns were to be seen, showing that provision had been made for the storing of feed. Just here it may be mentioned that the farmers of this section of country live in villages, which is found to be much to their advantage in many ways.
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Having left Munich at 9:30 a. m. we arrived at Oberam- mergau at 2:30 p. m. quite ready for luncheon. Consequently we were shown to a large restaurant, and on entering, saw two long tables already laid and with a big bottle of beer at each plate. This seemed to the ladies, among whom, by the way, we espied Mrs. Mary Wright Sewall, of Indiana, to be a slight overdoing of hospitality, but all apparently felt that protest would be useless. We called for water, however, as many were very thirsty, and after some trouble our guide suc- ceeded i ngetting one single glass full. Everybody wanted that, but he could get no more. We then called for lemonade, which we were told was for sale in bottles, but when procured it turned out to be ginger ale. We had the usual "meat luncheon" with plenty of food, well salted, but neither tea nor coffee- only beer, unlimited beer.
Luncheon over, we sought our boarding house. Every cottage is an inn during the Passion Play, but our stopping place proved to be a two-story white building, situated not far from the residence of Anna Flunger, who was to personate Mary, the mother of Jesus. The rooms on the first floor gave out a peculiar odor as we entered, and nobody wanted them. So the writer and a companion went higher and found a room, very simply furnished and with only one window, but as that looked out on the main street, and also gave us a view of the great cross on a hill, erected to mark the deliverance from the plague, and shining like gold in the sun, we were content. At this time a part of our company started for the palace of Lud- wig, the "crazy king," which is but fifteen miles from Oberam- mergau. They returned about nine o'clock the same evening highly pleased with the trip, reporting that the palace was the most perfect they had yet seen. The king was at a sanitarium near Munich, and the rooms were all open to visitors. Those
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