My Last Tour and First Work; or, a Visit to the Baths of Wildbad and Rippoldsau

Introduction

. T INTRODUCTIONS are so seldom read, -*- there is generally little use in writing thera ; but as this Work is written and pub lished solely for a charitable purpose, it is necessary that the Reader should be made acquainted with the object the Author has in view. Having a small property in the mountainous part ofthe County of Wicklow, the Author went to Ireland about three years ago, and passed the winter in the neighbourhood of that wild district. She will not describe the distress she witnessed there, for the poverty of the Irish is a tale which has been so often told, that the kind-hearted, generous English, may well be excused for turning from it in despair of effecting any good. But there is a class of persons in Ireland renting mountain farms, who are often in great distress, where they might be in ease and comfort, if they knew how to cultivate their land in a more profitable manner.

Their ignorance of what it is capable of producing, and the want of regular habits of industry, for making the most of what they possess, induced the Author to believe that a school, under the direction of a master who could teach them not only reading and writ ing, but the best method of cultivating their farms, would be of infinite advantage to them, and confer happiness and comfort where there is now only poverty and complaint. The tract of land to which the Author alludes, is between the Seven Churches and Holly Wood : it is nearly a waste, — the few patches of cultivated ground are like an oasis in the desert; and yet there is a numerous population of poor unemployed creatures, (capable of the greatest exertions if rightly directed,) existing upon the produce of these badly-managed scraps of land.

To teach them that they have the power V (with knowledge and industry) of obtaining all the necessaries of life within themselves, is the object of the Author in building this school, which, she proposes, should be a farming school. She would add a few acres of land to it, to be farmed by the boys, and prove to them, by experiment, that the soil is capable of producing many crops of which they have no idea. The English reader will be surprised to hear that turnips are exotics with these poor people, and they have not one enclosed garden amongst them. When the Author mentioned her wish to establish such a school, she was told it would be the greatest blessing to them, and that if it were built, one hundred and sixty children would attend it. She would have begun it immediately, but found the requi site outlay would be much beyond her indi vidual power, and being soon after obliged to leave England for her health, she deter mined to profit by the circumstance, and do as many others have done, take up the pen and write.

But as in these literary days guides are many, and travels not a few, it is VI almost impossible to say anything new of countries so trodden by the British foot, and recorded by the British pen. The Author, therefore, can only en deavour to amuse the reader by her own observations upon the countries she has passed through, and the people who dwell in them. If these prove useful or amusing to the reader, she trusts the purpose for which they are written will not be forgotten, — their want of merit not be too closely criticised ; but that he will keep in mind the ignorance and poverty of those for whom she entreats his assistance, and kindly encourage her endeavours to improve their condition, by subscribing something towards the erection of the school, for which she cannot flatter herself that the profits of this little work will be sufficient.

Any sum, however small, which he may be so chari table as to contribute, will be most thank fully received for their benefit, by Messrs. Glyn and Co. Bankers, Lombard Street, London ; and Messrs. Swann and Co. Bankers, York. Before the Author left England, she made a model of the school she intends to erect, and sent it to Ireland. She now waits with anxiety the answer of a generous Public ; and she is sure, all those who agree with her in thinking that employment and industry are the great sources of happiness to all mankind, but especially necessary to those born to earn their bread by their daily labour, will not refuse their aid to wards this school. The Author cannot conclude without expressing her warmest thanks to those who have already so nobly answered her entreaty for assistance.

But private subscriptions alone being inadequate to such an under taking, and begging so distressing, she pre fers appearing before the public through the medium of this little work. MY LAST TOUR.

Chapter I. Gentle

Reader! if you have perused the Introduction, which I hope you have, you are acquainted with my object in publishing. And however unwilling I may be to appear before the public, the impulse is, as the French say, " plus forte que moi." Having already tried the baths of Carlsbad and Toeplitz, I was induced, by Dr. Granville 's work upon the Spas of Germany, to go to Wildbad ; and embarked with my family, at Hull, for Rotterdam, in May, 1840. All the elements in violent action are awful ; but fire and water are most to be dreaded, especially in union. As several of the twenty-eight voyages that I have made across the ocean have been unfavourable, I naturally dislike the sea; and when we arrived at the quay at Hull, about six o'clock in the evening, I looked with fear at the black cloud which darkened the horizon ; and heard with a shudder the howling wind that swept over the n rising waves of the Humber : and, had I not been persuaded against it, should probably have re turned home to wait for better weather.

My prognostication of evil proved to be just ; for we had a most dangerous passage, and the first object we saw on the morning of our arrival was a wreck. The crew had been happily saved, but the vessel lay a melancholy memento of the terrific power of the winds and the waves. Our skilful Captain brought his good ship, the Emerald Isle, safely into port, after a passage of thirty-six hours. We were soon assailed by many commissioners with their cards, each recommending his own hotel. Having fixed upon Les Pays Bas, we en tered it, rejoicing ; most thankful to have been saved from the perils of the sea. After breakfast we proceeded to get our passports inspected by the Prussian ambassador, which must be done in person. He was surprised to see three for one family, and said it was unusual, and unnecessary.

I thought so too ; but the consul at Hull insisted that every man, of every family, must have a separate passport ; and, thinking it was a new regulation, of course we submitted ; although it appeared somewhat exorbitant upon a large family, the price of each being ten shillings. These passports being forced upon the traveller, it seems hard to make him pay for them. As there are no towns in England intersected by canals, like those in Holland, they are very striking to the stranger, with the lime trees planted along the streets, and cut according to line and rule, to keep them out of the windows, where, if left to nature, they would certainly ramble : and perhaps it might be as well if they did ; for in time, and with a little ingenuity, they would make a pretty cornice to the curtains ; and, if they grew high enough to arrive at the second story, would form a canopy over the bed, and the good people of Rotterdam might sleep (though not under the rose) under the lime, and a very sweet tree too.

This is not so impracticable as the reader may imagine ; for I have seen at Bel videre, one of the country houses of the Grand Duke of Weimar, a salon bordered with the cobia scandia, growing in the corners of the room : the effect was very pretty. And, at Weimar, a drapery of ivy grows into one of the windows of the reception rooms. Both the holly and ivy seemed exotics there, the winters are so severe. After the trees, the looking-glasses attract attention : those at Rotterdam are about the size of a common dressing glass, and placed outside of the windows, at such an angle that everything passing in the street may be seen ; so that the ladies, who gene rally sit at them, may not lose the pleasure of observing their acquaintances : and as it is the custom in Germany for the gentlemen to look up when they pass the house of a friend, and make a bow to the lady, so it may be at Rotterdam.

This enlivens the morning while they ply the needle so industriously. The bridges are a great ornament to the town ; and, upon fete days it would be easy to transform them into triumphal arches. With a few ever greens, and " Long live the King of Holland," in dahlias, or some other showy flower, they would be complete. As, however, they are drawbridges, the interruption to the public, whether equestrian, or pedestrian, is very frequent, and to a stranger might be dangerous. I was very near being thrown down by one of them, from not understand ing what was going on ; for, seeing a woman running up them, I thought I might safely walk after, but in an instant the ground rose under my feet, and I should have fallen, but for the quick eye of one of my young companions. We soon perceived, while one woman was running up the bridge at one side, another was skipping up at the other.

They met at the top, and with the quickness of lightning loosened the bolts, and ran down again : the bridge rose, and the boat passed under it. There was a toll to be paid : I was thinking how it was to be received, the boat so low, the women so high above it ; but female invention never fails. One of the women took off her shoe, hung it upon the hook attached to the long pole she held in her hand, lowered it into the boat, and the money was put into it. In another moment the bridge was put down, the women out of sight, and we were walking over it, so expert does habit make the human creature, in whatever work he undertakes, though in this case, it was a she. My most noble master, Man ! As this was not a fatiguing work, I was glad to see women employed; there are so few active employments for them, without unnatural labour.

The cathedral, in all foreign towns, is the first place visited by the stranger, and we hastened to it. There is little to see in a Protestant church, and this one, not having an altar, had hardly the appearance of a place of worship. The marriage ceremony is performed at a reading desk, which the guide particularly pointed out to us. Having two young ladies, and a young gentleman with me, I suppose he thought it would be interesting to them to know how such matters were arranged in his country. Observing nine little green bags, with nine little bells attached to as many long poles, I enquired their use ; and was told, they were to collect money for the poor every Sunday. There are no poor-rates in Holland, each sect supports its own poor, and also those who are of no sect, these are very numerous.

Travellers often get very incorrect information about the countries they pass through, from the difference of language, and the incapacity of those who guide them. If experience had not made me suspicious as to this matter, we might have left Rotterdam in great ignorance of it ; for the guide said there was a sale of furniture by auction every Sunday in the market-place ; he spoke little French. Upon enquiry, we found it was on Monday this convenient sale took place. We should also have had an erroneous opinion of the prices of provisions; for upon expressing surprise at the high charges at the hotel, the landlord said, meat was so very dear — veal, for example, was fourteen pence a pound. This did seem a high price, and out of England too; but upon investigation, we found that the Dutch pound weighed two of the English.

Potatoes were also excessively dear and scarce, from the quantity used in making brandy; and coals were three times the price of London : two francs were charged for a fire for three hours. Rotterdam is therefore pretty secure from the influx of strangers as residents. The great feature in a bird's eye view of Holland, is the windmills. In coming up the river, I counted twenty-five within a quarter of a mile ; and heard that there were three hundred and sixty-five in Amsterdam, and a still greater number in a little village a few miles from it ; in short, a village of windmills. When they are all going together, they must have a lively appearance, with the whirling above, and the grinding below. A great deal of madder is grown in Holland, which is sent to England ; it is a very profitable crop : could we not raise it in our own country, and also grow poppies for oil ?

A great propor tion of the oil used in France is from poppies ; and as they grow well upon light land, they would be profitable to the English farmer, who wants a greater variety of crops than he sows at present. The tax upon sugar from beet-root is cruel to the agricultural population, and the prohibition of the growth of tobacco equally so. It is heart rending to see a starving population, where, with employment, there might be plenty and happiness. The waste land, even within a few miles of London, would, if divided into small allotments, with cottages built upon them, and let to the wretched inhabitants of the unhealthy rooms in the neighbourhood of many great streets in London, produce a greater quantity of food, health, and comfort, than many are aware of. The mechanic would do his work much better in his cottage, where he could look out upon his little garden, and think of the pleasure he anticipated in the exercise of cultivating it, after sitting so many hours at his trade.

His children would be healthy, and his wife employed in a more agreeable and profitable work than nursing them in typhus fever, — too often the unhappy lot of mothers pent up in unwholesome rooms, crowded with human creatures, sickly and sad for want of air, and the light of the sun. Rotterdam does not appear to be a literary place; and there being nothing more to interest us, we went to choose our places in the steam-boat, which sets out every morning at six o'clock, and goes as far as Mayence. I had been cautioned, by a friend, not to take the saloon ; the expense, he said, was much greater, and quite useless, as very few went into it ; but they will try to make you take it. The first word the man said at the packet office was, "In the salon, Madam?" " Oh no!" The account was made out, and I paid about eleven pounds for four persons, two servants, and a carriage, in the Gottenburg, a Prussian boat.

We entered it at six o'clock the next morning, and set off soon after. The Dutch boat leaves Rotterdam at seven, but it soon overtook and passed us : we then heard the Gottenburg was the slowest boat on the Rhine, but that we should change it at Dusseldorf for the Victoria, a new iron one built in England, and the quickest on the river : this made up for the disappointment of seeing our Dutch opponent pass us in such triumph. I enquired, why not go all the way in the Victoria ? I was told there was such jealousy of the English ship, that the Dutch take advan tage of an old law, which prevents ships built in England navigating their part of the Rhine, as they found no one would go in their vessels, as long as there was a place in the Victoria. Now we are upon " the Rhine, the Rhine, the imperial Rhine !"

As yet there is not much to be said of its beauty ; but we are still in Holland, a low, flat, and, as far as we can see, an unin teresting country. It is surprising, and a strong illustration, amid the thousands of beautiful ar rangements of Providence, that, however ugly, unhealthy, barren, or miserable a country may be, the inhabitants love it. There seems a natural attachment to the place where we first saw the light; our earliest and happiest associations are there ; those we first knew and loved dwell there ; and, however far our destiny may lead us from it, still " the heart turns like the needle true, though turning, trembles too." How often has it hap pened, after a long absence from home and country, we find many, sometimes all, we loved, are gone ! the old dead, the young married, or scattered abroad, seeking riches or fame in a far distant land !

How desolate the spot appears we once thought so gay, so joyous ! But to enter the house, the very room, in which we were accustomed to see that one so loved, so revered, and find it empty ! that dear one gone, and gone for ever ! none, but those who have felt it, know the shock it gives, the sudden revulsion of blood to the heart, the sickness of death that comes over the whole frame ; better never return. The vessel stopped at Emerick, and we were obliged to go on shore for the night. This is the frontier town in the Rhenish Prussian provinces ; and the custom-house officers refused to allow any thing to be taken out of the ship, not even our nightcaps. Some gentlemen might think they look better without a nightcap, and they are quite right ; some do not wear one, so for them it did not signify so much ; one, luckily for him, had his in his pocket, which the officers examined, and were much amused to find nothing else in it.

Many a young man has more in his brain than his purse : it is sad the brain cannot always fill it. How often does talent go unrewarded ! If the rich knew the pleasure of drawing for ward retiring merit, brightening the eye dulled by sore anxiety and unrequited labour, they would not lose a day in seeking it; and adding so large a portion of happiness and improvement to their own lives. No one can encourage talent without being in some measure benefited by it : if in the fine arts, the taste is improved ; if in science, the mind is enlarged, and the knowledge of the works of an Almighty Creator increased ; a much more satisfactory way of spending money than in eating it, racing it, or gambling it away ; which may well be said to be a sickening mode of disposing of it, — for as the one makes the body sick, so does the other the mind.

But now, I must return to the officers, who were loud and violent in their opposition to the nightcaps. At last, after much argument, it was proposed that the sacks should be examined and passed ; but this reasonable request was also refused : nothing should go out of " the ship !" and they would not allow any passenger to remain in it. In all our travels we had never met with any thing like this, but, on the contrary, great civility in every country. My maid came up with a look of astonishment that amused us : " I think, my lady, I had better take your night things under my cloak." I was considering this knotty point, when a gentleman from the Hague, we afterwards found was a judge and a man of authority, flew to the rescue, and with thundering words and vio lent gestures, succeeded in delivering the nightcaps from " durance vile."

Never were sacks brought forward with more delight, or examined, after all, more lightly. After this storm on board, we were glad to go on shore, and to find a clean little inn. At five o'clock the next morning the baggage was searched ; and upon inquiring into the cause of so much strictness the night before, I was told the ship had a bad name; much smuggling had been practised in it — a dangerous thing to be in bad company ; but who would have thought a ship's having a bad character would have prevented the passengers from going to bed in their nightcaps ! or that there could be any connexion between a ship and a nightcap ! We left Emerick at seven o'clock, and found our pavilion all to ourselves, most comfortable : it is very prettily fitted up, the only complaint we make is, the number of looking-glasses in it ; there are in this small room five large mirrors, and we see ourselves and our friends at every turn ; you see them before and behind ; if you look up, you find an eye fixed upon you, if you look sideways, another again ; and it is sometimes so ridiculous, as to cause much merriment.

We rejoice now at having taken this said pa vilion; which we owe to the mistake my friend made in calling it the saloon ; and I would advise all families, having an invalid with them, to take it ; it adds so much to their comfort, particularly the night you are obliged to stay on board. This is an easy way of travelling, though rather tedious, and you may have society or not as you please ; there is an excellent dinner in the saloon, where you may dine, if you like the appearance of the company : we were very fortunate, there were only ten persons on board, and as it is very unwise to come to a country, and not to know any thing of the inhabitants, it is well sometimes to dine with them ; and to those who like studying character in the human face, it is very amusing. We lose a great deal of pleasure and instruction by shutting ourselves up.

If that is the object, stay at home ; it is less expensive and fatiguing, and in a national point of view would be better. The English character for pride is so universal, that few dare speak to them, unless they make the first advance, and this their shyness prevents. Shyness has been described as a mixture of pride, awkwardness, and humility, a strange compound, and yet I can understand it. Their pride arises from the high political position of their country : it is impossible not to feel a satisfaction at be longing to that nation which sets an example of so much that is good and great to every other upon earth. Wherever an English gentleman is seen, he looks and feels one of the lords of the earth. Their awkwardness proceeds from their isolated situa tion ; and the retired life of an English country gentleman, the education he receives, which, though excellent as a foundation, is like a well built pedestal without the superstructure ; and the want of that light but pleasing addition, places it in a corner, when it ought to be in the centre.

The want of living languages is a terrible draw back to every young Englishman the first time he travels ; it deprives him of the best society of the country, and leads him into expense, by throwing him into the hands of those interested in imposing upon him. Their humility proceeds from the want of knowledge of their own powers to please. My mind has been more especially called to this subject just now, from the circumstance of having met a well-informed gentleman at din ner in the packet : he lives at the Hague, and was going with his sister to Switzerland : he happened to sit opposite to me, and with the polite ness of a man of the world, and the kindness of a Christian, he spoke to me in very good English. It is always delightful to hear one's own lan guage in a foreign land, and I think even more so when spoken by a stranger ; he had travelled much, had been in England, and valued it as it deserved.

I have gained much information from him upon the improving state of Christianity in Switzerland. At Geneva, where there was much infidelity, there are now many excellent Christians, and a general revival of religion. It is a beautiful country. Strange, that where God has formed so lovely a landscape, man should not see the Hand that made it. In no country that I have seen are the lights so lovely as in Switzerland : the setting sun there, " rosy red" upon the mountains, is far more beautiful than in Italy. In the latter it is a magnificent flood of light ; but in Switzerland, every mountain top is painted with the glow of the sun ; every shade and every shadow speaks beauty ; and yet, notwithstanding all this, Switzerland, after Italy, does not please so much. There is a sweetness in the air of Italy, an atmospheric hue, that bewitches the eye, and fascinates the senses to such a degree, that the heart sinks to leave it to brave once more the chill blast of the " cold pale North."

And yet sometimes there is a lovely setting sun in England: the black dismal cloud in the foreground reminds one of the darkness of our present state ; the brightness beyond of what we hope to be, children of that light the reflecting mind so ardently longs for. And now mine is wandering so far, how shall I call it back again, and shut it up in the little pavilion in the steam-boat on the Rhine ? How strange is thought ! there is a rapidity, a sort of ubiquity in it incomprehensible. How is it that we are, in thought, everywhere at once ? distance and time seem nothing. If, in a future state, we can move our bodies as rapidly as we now move our minds, we shall indeed be travellers ; and we have high authority for supposing it may be so. What happiness in the idea of throwing off our load of clay, to be no longer the crawling caterpillar, doing little but eat, eat, drink, and drink again ! How many live for only this, and early die from having lived so !

Chapter II. Sunday

on board, which we regretted, but our pavilion gave us the power of passing it in a Christian manner : and having, in the course of conversation, discovered that our Dutch acquaintance and his sister harmonised with us in religious feeling, we asked them to join in our service ; and we formed a little congregation of persons, I hope, and believe, grateful to the Almighty for all the blessings He bestows upon us. At eight o'clock in the evening, we parted with our new-made friends ; they were going the rest of their journey by land ; the lady gave my daughter a book, as a token of remembrance : we may never meet again in this world, but these little occurrences are pleasing in life, and worthy of record : there is a sort of freemasonry in Christianity, which none but those who acknowledge Christ, as their Head, can know.

My friend, who I found was a judge, the youngest I ever saw, for he told me he was only thirty-four, related an anecdote of a lady of his acquaintance, which proves the truth of my theory. She was going to Coloo-ne, in the steam-boat, and, liking the study of the " human face divine," she scanned the countenances of her fellow passengers ; but none pleased her : there was a restlessness, a look of dissatisfaction and want of internal peace in them all ; at last, she turned to the one next to her, and there found what she sought. She took a Bible out of her sack, and shewed it to him : he shook his head, it was not in his lan guage ; but he took his own out of his pocket, and pointed to a verse : she looked at hers, and so they conversed during the voyage. At last, when near Cologne, where she had a house, she pointed to the verse, " Come into my house."

He accepted the invitation. Would that all ours were given in the same spirit, and received with the same satis faction ! At Dusseldorf we changed our boat, and while they were putting the carriage on board, we went to look at the town, which is handsome. But of it I shall say little ; every one that opens a guide book, will learn more than I can tell them. We walked down a long avenue of trees (which was the promenade of the town) to the palace. Much like other palaces in Germany, with a large piece of water in front, it seemed a low damp situation. The nightingale sang sweetly, and that was the only harmony in the place ; for, on our return to the town, we saw with true regret all the shops open, even at nine o'clock at night; the streets full of people, with long pipes in their mouths, arm c in arm, singing, roaring, and staggering— and this was Sunday ; it was a painful sight, and we were glad to return to our new abode for the night. ' Those anxious to see the industry of the country, should make an excursion from Dusseldorf to the Grand Duchy of Berg, one of the most industrious parts of Germany.