The Queen's Messenger; or, Travels on the High-ways and Bye-ways of Europe

Front matter

■■** THE QUEEN'S MESSENGER on ŒiXRbth an % pcjfi-foctRs uno §g«-foa;ns as Æurojj* Bf Major HERBERT BYNG HALL LONDON WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW [AU rights reserved.] LONDON : ROBSON AND SONS. PRINTERS, PANCRAS ROAD, N.*W. DEDICATION I dedicate the following pages to my friend, " Cornelius O'Dowd," as a feeble but sincere tribute of respect to his literary talents, and in heartiest acknowledgment of his thorough knowledge of Con tinental life, and of the duties which a Royal Messenger has to fulfil. These duties are thus referred to by him in an admirable article, entitled " A Hint to the Civil Service Examiners :" — "Let us take, by way of illustration, the Royal Messenger Service. These foreign Mercuries, who travel throughout Europe at a pace only short of the telegrams, are wonderful fellows, and must be very variously endowed.

"What capital sleepers, and yet how easily awakened ! What a deal of bumping must their heads be equal to ! — what an indifference a DEDICATION. must they be endowed with to bad dinners, bad roads, bad servants, and bad smells ! How patient they must be here, how peremptory there ! — how they* must train their stomachs to long fastings, and their skin to little soap ! What can Civil Service Exami ners discover of all or any future aptitudes ? It is neither in Allendorf that you find how many hours a man can sit in a caleche, or railway train. Will decimal fractions support his back, or strengthen his limpen vertebrae? What system of inquiry will declare whether the weary traveller will not oversleep himself, or smash the head of his postilion, or that of the railway guard, for not awakening him on the frontier, or at Hanover ?

How will y*ou test readi ness, endurance, courtesy, familiarity with Bradshaw, and Continental money exchanges ? " I think I have hit on a plan for this, suggested to me, I frankly own, by analysing upon the clinical system. "1 would lay out the Green Park as a map of Europe, marking out the boundaries of each nation, and stationing posts to represent capital cities. At certain frontiers I would station representatives of the different countries, as distinctly marked as I could DEDICATION. V procure them; that is to say, I would have a very polite Frenchman, a very rude and insolent Prussian, a sulky Belgium, a roguish Italian, and an extremely dirty Russian. Leicester-square could supply all. " All being prepared, I'd start my candidate with half-a-dozen bags, simply saying — Vienna, calling at Stuttgardt and Turin — not a word more ; and then I'd watch my man — how he'd cross the Channel ; how he'd cajole Mossoo ; and whether he made direct for the Rhine, or got entangled in Belgium railways ; I should soon see how he dealt with the embarrassment of the road, and relished the bad diet.

Chapter I

I resolve to publish my Experiences — How I was induced to do so — A visit to Eaglesthorp — My Host's recollections of the Grand Tour of Europe pp. 1 — 9

Chapter II

My note-boot — How it was made up — Life at Eaglesthorp — The reading of my journal — An incident on board a Cunard steamer — My appointment as Messenger — Ordered north — From Devonshire to .Sweden — Swedish inns and travelling — Helsingborg — Arrival in .Stockholm pp. 10—32

Chapter III

In Stockholm — First impressions of the Swedish capital — Dining in Sweden pp. 33—43

Chapter IV

A Swedish cafe — Special attraction of female waiters and bar-keepers — A Swedish bath — Mud baths for rheumatism — How Marshal Bernadotte became Crown Prince of Sweden . . . pp. 44 — 63

Chapter V

A journey eastward — Travelling to Turkey past and present — A Royal Messenger's journey in 1849 from Belgrade to Constantinople — A ride across the Balkan — Difficulties and dangers of the journey — Opinion of Lord Palmerston on the subject — Important duties of Royal Messengers — How appointed — Importance of being a good linguist pp. 64 — CONTENTS.

Chapter VI

Constantinople — My impressions of it — The summer heat and winter dirt — The dearness of living and want of comfort — Steamboats on the Bosphorus — Pera — Hotels and boarding-houses — A Crimean general and a Pera hotel-keeper — Living at Therapia and Byukdere pp. 91—109

Chapter VII

Lady Craven's description of the Sea of Marmora — Great scarcity of timber around the city of the Sultan — Constantinople a compound of magnificence and meanness — Habits of the Sultan — Appearance of Turkish soldiers — Women in Turkey — Necessity of sweeping reforms — Bad supply of water — The dog nuisance— The race-course — Importance of railways to Turkey — Anecdotes of life in Turkey — The various routes by which Constantinople may be visited pp. 110 — 150

Chapter VIII

Exposition of the various routes through France and Italy to Turkey — The Mont Cenis journey via Turin, Milan, and Trieste — The Marseilles route via, Leghorn, Genoa, and Messina — Steamboat treatment on the Mediterranean — Reflections . pp. 151 — 165

Chapter IX

En route for the Crimea — A journey through the waters — Reach Marseilles and embark on a British war steamer for Malta — Change to a French corvette and at last reach Constantinople pp. 166— 1S1

Chapter X

.A journey to the city of the Czar — Bad arrangements for travelling iu Russia — Want of road-side inns and hotels — From London to Berlin — Description of the Prussian capital — Difficulties of the remainder of the route pp. 182— CONTENTS. IX

Chapter XI

Russian adventures — A sledge accident — I reach St. Pelersburgh — An enraged Russian officer — Russian brutality — The emancipation of the serfs — Law and punishment in Russia— The police — ■ Servility of the Russian lower classes .... pp. 202 — 216

Chapter XII

The emancipation of the serfs — True noblemen in Russia — The punishment of the knout — A noted murderer — Abject servility of the people pp. 217—224

Chapter XIII

In St. Petersburg — Description of the city — The Russian higher classes — Railway travelling from Berlin to St. Petersburg— Fares and refreshment charges — St. Isaac's church — The talkoulchi-rinnock, or loose market — The conflagration — Russian buyingand selling pp. 225—235

Chapter XIV

Social pleasures of St. Petersburg — Dining a la Russe — Anecdotes of dining in Russia — The English parson and the ambassador — Hotels and restaurants — The English feeding-house — General remarks for the benefit of travellers visiting St. Petersburgh pp. 236—253

Chapter XV

St. Petersburg — Palaces, picture galleries, and churches — Russian nobility — General use of French by the higher classes — State of information — The press — Low state of periodical literature pp. 254— 25S

Chapter XVI

The lower classes of St. Petersburgh — A fete day — General drunkenness of the people at the Grand Careme — General corruption of Russian officials — Illustrations of official life and situation — Bemedy for the plundering of the Tchimonicks . pp. 259 — X CONTENTS.

Chapter XVII

From Berlin to Vienna — Advantages and disadvantages of a Royi Messenger's life — Discomforts of a journey on a German railway in Winter — Arrival at the Austrian capital — The hotels — Manners of the Viennese — The gaiety of the city — Music and the opera — The lottery system — Public conveyances in Vienna— The museums, palaces, and picture galleries ... pp. 276 — 290

Chapter XVIII

From Vienna to Warsaw — Public feeling in Poland — The late attempted revolution — The atrocities of Mouravief. — De Berg, the Polish Viceroy — The route to Warsaw — Crossing the Polish frontier — Strict military supervision — State of the country — Description of Warsaw — Its ruined and depressed condition — The hotels — Zamoyski's palace— The pillage of the Russian soldiers pp. 291-303

Chapter XIX

A visit to Spain — The road by way of Bordeaux and the Pyrenees — The railway stations and towns on the route . . pp. 309 — 316

Chapter XX

The railway route from Paris to Madrid via Bayonne — Tours — Angouleme and the valley of the Charente — Bordeaux — Bayonne — The passage of the mouutains — Engineering difficulties of the line — Tolosa, Vittoria, Burgos, and Valladolid . . . pp. 317 — 328

Chapter XXI

Madrid — The railway station, and means of conveyance to the city — Spaniards' opinion of their capital — Badness of the hotels hitherto — Recent improvements — The grand Hotel de Paris — Spanish table d'hotes pp. 329—336

Chapter XXII

The Spanish capital — Mode of domestic living in Madrid— Provisions — Markets — Supplies of beef, mutton, poultry, and fish — Vegetables and fruits — Wines — Water supply — Food of the common people pp. 337—317 CONTENTS. XI

Chapter XXIII

My voyage to America — The Persia steamer — The comforts on board — Arrival at New York — In Washington — The President — Public buildings — Railway traveling — Hotels — Theatres — General society pp. 348—392

Chapter XXIV

A visit to Denmark — Departure during the Schleswig-Holstein war — The state of the country — How I reached it — From Berlin to Lubeck — On board a crowded steamer — A midnight alarm- Swedish beefsteaks — A night of misery — Copenhagen — The hotels — The people — The Devil's Island — The houses aud shops- Street architecture — The harbour — Danish hospitality— Sights of the Danish capital — Conclusion pp. 393 — OR, TRAVELS ON THE pgd-foans anb $jp:foa$6 of Europe

Chapter I

I RESOLVE TO PUBLISH MT EXPERIENCES — UOW I WAS INDUCED TO DO SO — A VISIT TO EAGLESTHORP — MY HOST'S RECOL- LECTIONS OF THE GRAND TOUR OF EUROPE. In these days, when the special experiences of men who have observed life under circumstances arisino* o out of peculiar professional or business pursuits con stitute so large a portion of our literature, I have thought that the adventures of a Queen's Messenger would not fail to interest the minds, and command the patronage of the reading public. How I came to this conclusion, or why I entered upon my present labours, is of little consequence to discuss. Here is the result ; and I trust that the reality as well as novelty of my narrative will recommend it to all who prefer the actualities to the romance of life. During one of the bright autumns of a past year, I snatched a brief season of pleasure and repose — as is the custom of Ministers of State, Archbishops, Archdeacons, and men of all ranks and professions — and went my way rejoicing, after a period of unusual fatigue, to visit kind friends and pleasant spots in my native land — to me, I am free to confess, ever more bright and fair than those I have met with during many years' wandering over the continent of Europe.

It was on a calm and lovely evening of late August time, just as the golden sun of summer was about to give place to the light of a brilliant harvest moon, which shone o'er the Bristol Channel so clearly, that the distant outlines of the Welsh mountains were distinctly defined, that I sat — the dinner being over — with an old friend of my father's, as of my boy hood's days, enjoying his kind presence and a cool bottle of first-rate claret, and admiring from the open window the lovely wood-clad vale peculiar to North Devon, which sloped down to the very water's edge in charming flower-clad terraces, interspersed with magnificent trees and evergreens * a home-scene of rare loveliness and order, seldom or never met with elsewhere in such variety of natural beauties. " I see you are still fond of Eaglesthorp," said my kind old friend, Mr. Seymer, " to which you are, as ever, believe me, most welcome.

But what an age it appears since you have been here ! While I have never left this, my woodland seclusion, save for a few days, VISIT TO EAGLESTHORP. 3 you have been constantly absent from Old England. Your playmates of other days, Harry and Edith, were rejoiced to know of your coming, and are longing to hear some of your adventures in foreign parts. Will y*ou believe it? the darlings, year after year, as each summer-time comes round, have been teasing their ' dear old dad,' as they call me, to take them abroad. They tell me, the chits, that every one now, even the London shopkeepers, visit Paris, the Rhine, the Nile, the city of the Sultan, and the city of the Czar, and so forth; and that what with railways and steamboats, it is quite as easy to go to the Continent as to the quarter-sessions at Taunton or Exeter.

It may be so, — yet it was altogether another affair in my time. " When I left Christ Church as a gentleman com moner, just before Peel and Stanley (now Derby), and such men, gained their double firsts, to take the grand tour with a tutor, who revelled in ragouts and cafe au lait, while I was yearning for the hunting-field or Newmarket, cursing French cookery — that is to say, bad French cookery, and thinking, as I now do, tbat there is no place like home, travelling on the Continent was anything but pleasant, I assure you, as far as I could judge, or advantageous, save in the imagination of poets and spinsters. In fact, my dear boy (dear boy I was, and hope ever to remain so to the squire), I 1—2 do not recollect in France or Italy, Germany or else where, any scene more beautiful than that which we now look upon."

I endorsed this assertion with much energy and pride, adding, " There is nothing like Old England * and I assert it boldly, though I have travelled far and wide." " I am rejoiced to hear you say so," he continued : " still your own travels must be full of interest and incident — so the girls must not be disappointed." "I have brought with me," I replied, "a journal filled with rough notes taken by the wayside, which I will gladly intrust to them ; meanwhile, may I ask of you a brief account of your journey, at least as far as Paris, at the period to which you have alluded, that we may compare the present with the past ?" "You shall have it most willing.)*, in a few* words, as far as recollection will assist me, for years have elapsed since the merry days when I was young. " Well, here are the facts : — " We started by mail for Dover, in the latter days of the month of June, with a quantity of useless and heavy luggage, including a double-barrel and its case ; very useful, you will say, in the streets of Paris.

My amiable tutor was safely ensconced inside, while I, as most young men did in those clays, secured the box seat, by the side of the driver. LA BELLE FRANCE. 5 "Arrived at Dover, after a good breakfast we went, with many others, on board a wretched sailing packet ; and the wind being foul and the sea rough, I therein suffered some six or eight hours of internal torture, the recollection of which is not effaced even at this hour. I verily believe that it caused me there after to hate France and everything French, against common sense and good feeling. At last, however, we landed at Calais, the land of La Belle France, where, I confess (probably the horrid hours of sea sickness I had endured affected my brain in some measure), I was as much astonished at hearing all the little boys and girls speaking French as was the alderman's lady, on her first trip to the Continent.

And what with the intolerable fuss at the Custom House, and the annoyance and nuisance of being hustled about by half a hundred hungry-looking fel lows, asking, nay, almost taking one by force, to the Lion d'Or, or 1' Aigle Noir, or Quillac's, or Dessein's, in, to me, a totally unknown language, I mentally vowed henceforth I would remain at home. Indeed, had not that horrid Channel, which was tossing and roaring against the pier, reminded me of that which I had so recently endured, I verily believe I should have returned at once to Eaglesthorp, which then as now was my home. To add to our discomfort, my worthy tutor, with many admirable qualities of mind and heart, had not precisely those of patience or hu mility ; he imagined, like many others, that he could speak French. Now, I need scarcely say that speaking French, as it is spoken in England, and following up and replying to the rapid pronunciation of a French man on his native soil, are matters wide apart, as verified by a lord mayor's daughter of other days, who, having been educated at some fashionable city school, wrote from Paris to her amiable mother, that the rapidity of verbiage and affected accentuation of the Parisians were totally opposed and unknown to the graceful purity of her school diction.

" ' French she spak full fair and fetiselie, After ye schoole of Stratford atte Bowe, lor Erench of Paris was to hire unknovve.' Chaucer. However, by dint of squabbling in unknown tongues, and paying an unknown amount of francs, we suc ceeded at last in getting comfortably lodged at Dessein's — I must admit in those days a most admir able hotel, whether it now exists you can probably tell me * at all events, for the time, my miseries were over, and having consoled ourselves with an excellent dinner, and slept on the softest of beds, my twenty years old courage returned, and I began to think that travelling on the Continent was not likely to prove the most disagreeable event of my life. IN PARIS. 7 " The next morning, after listening for an hour to my dear companion's praises of the excellent cafe au lait,.only to be had in France (certainly not to be had there now), and the delicious cutlets a, la something, on which we regaled ourselves, four horses were har nessed to our newly-built travelling carriage, and we started for Paris, amidst cracking of whips, bows, and adieus from landlord and waiters.

" Now, doubtless, you who are so great a traveller, will either pronounce me an ass, or unfairly prejudiced, when I tell you that throughout the long journey, which lasted three days, I do not recollect aught, even as regards the beauty of the country, the cos tume of the people, or the appearance of the towns and villages through which we passed, that caused me the slightest pleasure or excitement, save the Cathedral at Amiens, and the pigtails and ponderous boots of our postillions. I recollect having disbursed more drinks or pour boires, or whatever they term the tips to these fellows, on account of their boots and pigtails, than I ever gave to English postboys for driving me twelve miles an hour over the best of highways; whereas, the jolting of our carriage on the pave, the springs of which I felt every moment were in danger ; the muddy sides of the roads, into which at times we sank deep; the abominable espionage and constant demand for passports — as if two qaiet English gentlemen, with a valet in the rumble of a carriage, which had cost three hundred guineas, travelling for their pleasure, were hastening to set Paris on fire — I must confess, greatly cooled the ardour inspired by Des sein's comfortable hotel and good fare.

" But come, finish the bottle, while I relate the little I have still to say of my travels on the Continent. " We arrived at length before the gates of St. Denis, in those days one of the most disagreeable Saints in the calendar, I take it; and, after much palaver and exami nation of our passports, noses, and complexions, were admitted within the precincts of the French capital. " We drove, if I recollect rightly, to Beauvilliers' in the Rue de Rivoli, where the English milords were received in accordance with the appearance of their carriage, their luggage, and their lacqueys; and during the month we remained there, we saw everything and did everything save visiting gambling-houses — which sinks of iniquity then abounded in Paris — and which were visited by all men of that period, who had the com mand of time and money.

Thence we journeyed on to Italy*, passed over the Simplon and Mount Cenis, and Heaven knows where, till I found myself once more back at Eaglesthorp, just in time to prepare my horses for a month in Northamptonshire. And all I can tell you is, that the reminiscences of my grand tour were such that I very much fear they have induced me to DISCOMFORTS OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 9 be rather more cruel than is my nature to my two dear girls. " However, many of the discomforts of my foreign travel may be now erased from the memory* of men younger than I am, and an account of some of your experiences may possibly induce me, ere I die, once more to cross the salt moat which divides us from what were then termed Johnny Crapauds, but who are now our faithful friends aud allies — and I own to be one of those who believe in the sincerity of Napoleon towards England; so let us join the girls."

Chapter II

Ml* NOTE-BOOK — HOW IT WAS MADE UP — LIFE AT EAGLESTHORP — THE READING CF MY JOURNAL — AN INCIDENT ON BOARD A CUNARD STEAMER— MY APPOINTMENT AS MESSENGER — ORDERED NORTH — FROM DEVONSHIRE TO SWEDEN — SWEDISH INNS AND TRAVELLING HELSINGBORG ARRIVAL IN STOCKHOLM. My friend, the host of Eaglesthorp, knew well,not only many particulars of my past life, but also that I had kept jottings of the same in all their leading features. Before entering upon any consideration of my varied experiences, I may state, however, that throughout this record there does not occur the slightest political allusion, or a word, having reference to individuals, private or public, that can possibly cause pain or offence. The notes refer simply and truthfully to the journeys which from time to time Lhad undertaken, interspersed with anecdotes and valuable information which I can not but think must be interesting even to those who may have travelled over much of the same ground, and valuable to the generation who have still those MY NOTE

BOOK. 11

pleasures to come ; indeed, interesting to all who seek knowledge of people and places in foreign lands. No man, be he who he may, who holds the position of one of Her Majesty's Foreign Messengers, and who must, for the due performance of the constant and arduous duties entrusted to him, be acquainted with foreign languages, but must obtain much knowledge by the wayside, impracticable if not impossible to the holiday traveller. In fact, throughout the whole of his career he is day by day following up and adding to his never-ending education an increasing knowledge of people and places abroad, and, if he have his eyes and ears open, and his mouth discreetly closed, together with a courteous manner and a kind, obliging heart, opportunities must and do occur of seeing and learning what cannot be otherwise learnt, and which,. indeed, do not present themselves to the general tra veller.

I have, of course, omitted many interesting de tails of a private nature as connected with those still living and acting on the world's great theatre ; but, at the same time, I have as carefully as possible de lineated the various routes travelled over, naming even points of beauty, as also, here and there, alluded to means of conveyance and hotels, which may be useful to those who are desirous to visit the land of the stranger. To those who love not as I do the charming scenery of my fatherland, all I can say is this : — I have wandered on the banks of the Bosphorus, I have sailed down the Neva, and lingered at Peterhoff and Petersburg, I have sculled on the Danube, and bathed in the Mincio. There is no European city, and scarce a mountain that I have not visited and rambled on; the Rhine is my familiar friend; the vales of Switzerland and Italy have caused me admiration; the wood-clad mountains of Spain's northern provinces, and the dreary open lands of Castile have received my foot-prints ; Germany, Austria, Prussia, for weeks together have been my abiding place.

I have been here, I have been there, as regards Europe, where'er my fellow-man has been — looked, lingered, and ad mired to-day, and seen with distaste on the morrow, yet rarely with entire satisfaction. But a week's ramble on the moors of Scotland or amid the wood lands of western England, or a day's fishing in its mountain streams, or a day's gallop after a gallant pack of hounds, a walk across the fresh green hills of Old England, have ever left pleasant memories on my heart. During the peaceful and happy ten days I passed with my friends at Eaglesthorp, each evening I read to them the journal which had been intrusted to mv care; and the travels aud adventures it contained AN INCIDENT IN A CUKARD LINER. 13 appeared to interest them, and even the squire, so much, that I had reason to hope the girls would at last gain their desire to visit other lands, which, or I greatly err, would cause them to return more happy and eon tented to their own.

I, for one, complain of no man whose feelings tend to this belief; indeed, when cross ing to New York from Qneenstown, in one of Cunard's magnificent steamers, a little incident occurred which appeared to cause much annoyance to many on board. I own that it had not the same effect on me, untimely and vulgar as it was, however I might have appreciated the kind and courteous rebuke it called forth. The little historiette ran thus : — At the termination of the last dinner on board, it was generally the custom of one of the Yankee passengers to propose the health of the captain, justly — I may say, most justly — thanking him for his great and constant kindness and attention to all on board, without reference to country or position. For this dut}*, a New-Yorker was selected. Silence being obtained, he rose, and, through his nose, requested permission to drink a toast, which, being unanimously accorded, he stated in a very few words in the name of his countrymen, his desire to thank the captain firsthand Almighty Providence afterwards, for having brought them safely across the Atlantic to the only country on earth worth living in : he made no reference to England, not a word of the innumerable courtesies and kind nesses which had there been shown them, and which he in particular was known to have received.

America was his home ; who had the right to gainsay him? A dead silence followed — then the gallant captain stood up, and said, " I thank you and your countrymen for drinking my health, and I have only to add, in the beautiful lines of my favourite poet, Goldsmith — " ' The naked negro, panting at the line, Boasts of his golden sands and sparkling wine, Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave, And thanks the gods for all the good they gave : Such is the patriot's boast — where'er we roam, His first best country, ever is at home.' " And now, let those who will — the more the merrier — follow in the footsteps of my friend, bearing in mind that many of the journeys aud anecdotes contained in the journal occurred long years syne. It was during a bitter morning of the winter of 18 — , that I lay snug and warm between the sheets of a com fortable four-poster, in one of the pleasant watering places on the coast of South Devon.

Devonia, though it was, and, generally speaking, is, mild of climate, even in midwinter the snow lay thick on the high lands, and the frost was intense, even to the borders of the sea. It was, in fact, such a morning as disposes any one not particularly engaged to take an extra snooze, ORDERED TO STOCKHOLM. 15 when the postman brought me an ominous-lookino* letter, bearing Her Majesty's arms, which in a few words altered the whole tenor of my previous life. Having read it, I placed it under my pillow, and, if I recollect rightly, after the lapse of so many years, slept soundly for two long hours. Whether reason acted wisely during this calm repose I know not, but scarcely had I roused myself, and doused myself in a cold bath — winter though it was — than I made up my mind to answer the letter in person, and to pro ceed on the duties it proposed I should undertake, when and wheresoever they might call me.

With this determination, I started that night by mail to London ; and, for the benefit of my young friends about to commence the battle of life, and who have the good sense to believe that honourable labour in any position brings with it health, ease of mind, and independence, let me assure them this habit of taking time by the forelock has ever stood my friend during my career as a Royal Messenger. Suffice it to say, that on my arrival in London, I forthwith presented myself to the writer of the letter to which I have alluded, who courteously welcomed me to the "Agapemone," as he jocosely termed the office of which he was the noble head, and then, without preface or delay, asked me when I should be prepared to commence my duties. " At once," I replied. " That is well," he said, smiling. " I fear, then you will have to start to-morrow night for Petersburg or Stockholm.