Sketches of Germany and the Germans, with a glance at Poland, Hungary, & Switzerland, in 1834, 1835, and 1836 ; (Edmund Spencer) ; By an Englishman President in Germany In two volumes

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Chapter I. Paob

Introductory Observations — Hamburg — Inhabitants of the Vierlander — The late Poet Klopstock — Inveterate Smoking of the Hamburgers — Cruelty of Marshal Davoust — Heligoland— Altona — Kiel — Graves of the Huns — Lake of Ploen — Duchy of Holstein — Lubeck — Hanseatic League — Dobberan — Monument to Prince Blucher — Rostock — Stralsund— The Island of Rugen — Pomerania — The Baltic 1

CHAPTER IL

Return to Hamburg— Giistrow — Schwerin — Ratzeburg — Departure for Berlin — Roads — Lauenburg — Ludwigslust — Mecklenburg — Historical Glance — Sovereigns — Inhabitants — Aristocratic Prejudices — Nobility — Climate — Low- Grerman Language — Prussian Frontier — Mile Obelisks — Perleberg — Fehrbellen — Spandau — Galley-slaves — Charlottenburg — Mausoleum of the late Queen of Prussia — Arrival at Berlin 86

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IV CONTENTS.

Chapter III. Page

Brandenburgerthor — Unter den Linden— Palace of the King — Statue of Blucher — Royal Palace — Legend — Museum — Anecdote of an English family — General aspect of Berlin — Theatres — Condittoris — Dram-shops — The late Chancellor Hardenberg — Prussian Jurisprudence — Prison Discipline — Public Instruction — Hackney-coaches — The Police — Manufactures— Commerce — University 56

Chapter IV

Historical Glance of the House of Hohenzollern — ^Attempt to assassinate the King of Prussia — Character of the Crown Prince — Military — Political Observations — Society at Berlin — National Character — Berlin Cockneyisms — Mode of living —Military Despotism — Potsdam — Tomb of Frederick the Great — Sans Souci — Tivoli Gardens — Monument of the People— Public Promenade the Thiergarten 84

Chapter V

An unexpected Rencontre — Departure for Warsaw — Province of Neumark — Prussian Postilions — Custrin — Zomdorf — Landsberg — Prussian Poland — Posen — Table d'h6te — Russian Poland — Frontier — Custom-house — Aspect of the Country— Condition of the People — ^Warsaw — Society — State of public Feeling — Return to Posen — Some account of the malady Plica Polonica — Ophthalmia 108

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VL

PAOB

Sflesia — Battle-field of Lissa and Frederic the Great — Breslan — Kalisch — Tomb of Blacher — Zobtenberg Mountain — Schweidnitz — ^Mineral Bath of Salzbrun — Castle of Fiirsten- Btein — ^Landshut — Mountainous range of the Riesengebirge — Schmiedeberg — Decline of trade — Historical sketch of Silesia — Character of the People— Cemeteries 133

Chapter VII

Ascent of the Schneekoppe — The Ch41et of Hempelsbaute — Adersbach Labyrinth of Rocks *- English Spleen — Mineral Bath of Warmbrun — ^Mode of bathing — Ruins of the Castle of Kynast — Legend of its Lady Kunigunde — ^Visit to the Water&lls— Valley of the Elbe— Friedrichsthal — General Observations upon the Riesengebirge and its Inhabitants • • 158

CHAPTER VIIL

Ldebwerda Mineral Springs — ^Bohemia — Prague — Hradschin Palace — Charles X. and his Family — Cathedral — Monument of St. John of Nepomuc — F^te of the Saint — Queen Libussa — ^Excnnion to the Valley of Scharka — St. Ivan and the Castle of Carlstein — General Obserrations— Character of the BohemiaiM— MoraTia — Route to Vienna — Field of Austerlits 186

VI CONTENTS.

Chapter IX. Page

Departure for Carlsbad — Rail -road — Incendiarism — Carlsbad — Promenades^Discovery of the Springs — Anecdote of the King of Prussia — Toplitz — Mineral Waters — Battle-field of Culm — Adventure in the Mountains — Smugglers — Saxon Switzerland — Polish Traveller — Fortress of Konigstein — King*s palace, Pilnitz 214

Chapter X

Dresden — General aspect of the Town — ^Japan Palace — Collection of porcelain — Picture Gallery — Theatre — Baths — Amusements — Lord Findlater's Coffee-garden — General Observations — Departure for Muskau — Bautzen — Province of Lusatia — Inhabitants — Ch&teau and Park of Prince Piickler Muskau — Return to Dresden — Meissen — Leipsic — Fair — Promenades — Gipsy Prophecy of the Death of Prince Poniatowski — Book Trade — Literary Piracy — Battle of Leipsic — Its disastrous consequences to the Inhabitants 242

CHAPTER XL

A Glance at Thuringia — German Authors — Schiller — Goethe- Scene at the Inn at Boma — Chemnitz and its Manufactures — Mining District — Erzgebirge Mountains — The Madonna of Culm — Egar — ^Wallenstein — Franzbrun Mineral Springs — Valley of the Egar — ^Wunsiedel — Melancholy fate of three Englishmen — Alexanders-bad — Ascent of the Louisenberg and Ochsenkopf — Bemeck — Baireuth — Hermitage — Franconian Switzerland — Grottos • 273

CONTENTS. VU

Chapter XII, Paob

Muggendorf^Soene at the Inn— Bamberg — Miracles of Prince Hohenlohe — Erlangen — Students — Anecdote of the King of Bavaria — Nuremberg — Cathedral — Monument of St. Sebalde by Peter Fischer — An English Traveller — Anspach — ^Wildbad Mineral Springs — Werthheim Wines — Wurzburg — Legend of the Scottish Saint, Kilian — Public Institutions — Wurzburg Wines 808

Chapter XIII

Historical Sketch of Franconia — Mineral Baths — Kissingcn — Bocklet and Bruckenau — Beautiful Scenery — Departure for Cassel — Fulda — City of Cassel — Wilhelms-hohe — Anecdote of Jerome Bonaparte — Pyrmont — Character of the Hessians — Ruins at Grelnhausen — Taunus Mountains — Ascent of the Alt-Konig — Description of the Mineral Springs of Wiesbaden — Schwalbach — Schlangenbad — and Ems — Excursion to the Hartz Mountains — Marbuig — Kingdom of Hanover — Gottengen University — Students — The Brocken 336

Preparing for Publication^ by the same Author ^

SKETCHES of HUNGARY and the HUNGARIANS, induding a Tour through Transylvania, the Carpathian Mountains, and the Turkish Provinces on the Banks of the Danube to the Black Sea and Constantinople, with a Map from the latest Authorities, and numerous Illustrations taken from Drawings made expressly for this Work.

br i I

SKETCHES

OF

GERMANY AND THE GERMANS,

Chapter I

Introductory Obsenratioiu — Hambnrg — Inhabitants of the Vierlander— > Klopstock — Smoking — Marshal Da voust — Heligoland — Altona —Kiel — Grares of the Huns — Lake of Ploen — Holstein — Lubeck — Hanseatic Leigne — ^Dobberan — ^Monument to Prince Blucher — Rostock — Strahl« sand — Rugen — Pomerania — Baltic.

To delineate the features of such a country as Germany is an arduous undertaking : would that my ability to execute it were equal to my inclination ; for I mingled with her children till acquaintance matured into friendship ; I studied her language and literature, till their charms developed themselves to my admiration ; I ascended her magnificent Alps, climbed her highest mountains, traversed her dark forests, and fertile vales, penetrated her deep ravines, and romantic glens, till my

VOL. I. B

2 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS.

attachment was won for a soil which contains every element of pictorial beauty. I made my home in her most important towns, and drank the cup of hospitality at the table of the prince, the noble, the merchant, and the peasant ; yet I will not swell my pages with a bombastic catalogue of my patrician friends, nor allow party feelings to bias my representations ; I shall also studiously refrain from invading the recesses of private life, by publishing the names of those individuals, to whom 1 may have been indebted for information. The neglect of this courtesy, I need scarcely tell my readers, has been attended with serious consequences to many persons living under arbitrary governments, who in the fulness of unsuspecting confidence betrayed political sentiments which were never intended to meet the public eye. Owing to this most culpable practice, an English gentleman is now too frequently regarded, by foreigners, in the character of a domestic spy ! And I would, in all sober seriousness, counsel such of my compatriots as intend to cross the channel, when they solicit letters of introduction, to request their friends to insert the words, Mr. has not the slightest intention to write a book !

With these preliminary observations, I shall now proceed on my tour, and commence my narrative on board the Tourist, steam packet, bound for Hamburg, in which I left London in the spring of 1834, for the north of Germany. A description of my fellow-travellers would not afford either information or amusement ; suffice it to say, they were a motley group of Russians, Danes, Swedes, and— of course — English.

One family of my dear wandering countrymen, evidently better acquainted with pounds, shillings, and pence, than Germany, had hired a French servant in London, who persuaded them that through Hamburg was the most convenient route to the mineral baths of Nassau ! A little inquiry convinced them it was somewhat circuitous, and a small portion of experience proved that even an English servant would have been more useful, as the Frenchman was entirely unacquainted with the Grerman language.

After an unusually quick passage of forty-eight hours, we arrived vrithin sight of Heligoland, from whose summit Britannia's red cross banner was proudly waving, and shortly afterwards entered the magnificent Elbe, whose monotonous shores continued most unpicturesque, till we arrived at Blankenesse, from whence the approach to the king of the Hanseatic towns is most imposing. To the left is the noble river, sweeping in a fine curve of several miles, with its many islands and sloping shores, charmingly diversified with wood and cultivated fields, and dotted with windmills, cottages, and villas. Before us we have Hamburg and Altona, apparently forming one town, whose towers, mingled with masts, appear rising out of the bosom of the mighty stream, — ^the whole sheltered by a range of wooded heights, among which we Iiave an occasional glance of the upper town, the whitewashed houses appearing like so many castellated chateaux ; while on the right bank, which is low and flat, there is an extensive prospect over the vast plains of Hanover, bounded in Uie far distance by a chain of hills.

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A stranger's first impression on landing at the old town of Hamburg is decidedly unfavourable ; the most prominent objects remind him of the worst parts of Rotterdam, narrow streets and stagnant canals, redolent of those exhalations so offensive to a sensitive nasal organ ; but on ascending the new tovm, he is a^eeably pleased by a succession of clean wide streets, with handsome well-built houses, which sufficiently indicate that they belong to a rich, populous city.

As a commercial town, Hamburg has the advantage of being situated upon three navigable rivers, the Elbe, Alster, and Bille. Antiquarians pretend it is the Marionis of the Greeks, and the Grambriviorum of the Latins, that Jupiter Ammon was adored there, and hence the origin of its name. Ammonia. Be this as it may, it is now, owing to its advantageous position, (being in a manner the gate to the whole of Northern Europe,) the first maritime and commercial city in the Germanic Empire. Of the hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants, who form the population, eight thousand are Jews : the latter I should judge to be the most despised of all the tribes of the house of Israel, for they are treated on every occasion, by their fellow citizens, with as much contumely as the negroes on the other side of the Atlantic by brother Jonathan.

Hamburg is honoured with the appellation of free ! but it would almost seem as if the epithet were bestowed in derision ; for being one of the Lilhputian members of the Germanic confederation, she is subject to the decisions of that despotic assembly, however tyrannical they may be, and in few German towns have I witnessed a more rigid enforcement of the censorship of the press. In consequence of her commercial relations, she is so entirely under foreign influence, and so foreign in her manners, feelings and attachments, that she can scarcely be called German.

The military contingent of the little republic is fourteen hundred, besides the national guards, and a corps of police, about four hundred : the latter are extremely well organized, perform the duties of firemen, and watch the rise and fall of the Elbe, whose inundations are frequent and sudden : a pillar with an inscription informs us of the height this river attained during the dreadM inundation of 1771, which laid nearly the whole town under water. In consequence of this fearful calamity, a most humane law has been enacted, making it compulsory upon those who inhabit the upper part of a house, to receive, as inmates, the sick and children of those who dwell in the cellars. I need scarcely add, that the lower part of the houses are all tenanted by the poor.

Hambmg does not contain a single public edifice of striking architectural beauty : the Exchange is an elegant building, but by no means splendid ; and the Orphan-house is merely celebrated as a benevolent institution. Among the churches, the most worthy of observation is St. Michael's, whose beautiful spire is fifty feet higher than St. Paul's of London. It is peculiary well adapted for astronomical observations, and commands a very extensive prospect, which a clear May evening afforded me an opportunity of enjoying to perfection. Altonit and Hamburg lay beneath me, around which gardens, parterres, groves, orchards, and pretty villas, were charmingly mingled. The majestic Elbe, studded with verdant islands, was seen winding its course through the inmiense plain ; it was high tide, and numerous vessels, with their broad pennons gracefully waving in the breeze, floated in and out of the harbour. On the opposite coast lay the level country of Hanover, bounded at the dim horizon by a chain of hills, and the indistinct outline of the towers of Lunebourg. Towards the Baltic the view is not less extensive, comprising part of the plains of Holstein and Lauenburg, with the town of Lubeck. The landscape is altogether so delightful, that no traveller will regret the ascent, but he must be accompanied by fine weather and a good glass.

The most fashionable part of the town is on the banks of the Alster; here the river forms a basin, called the binnen Alster, so extensive that it occupies half an hour to complete the circuit, and on a summer's evening, when the vast lake is covered by so large an assemblage of gaily painted boats as to resemble a regatta, and the citizens in their best attire are enjoying the cool breezes on its shores, or crowding the numerous coffee-houses that surround it, my readers may easily imagine that few cities possess a more agreeable promenade than Hamburg.

To form an idea of the good things consumed by the well-fed Burghers of this flourishing city, a traveller should visit the principal market-place, and the banks of the Elbe, early in the morning: he will then see the harbour literally covered with boats, laden with such

VIERLANDER. 7

provisions as would tempt the appetite of tlie most fastidious epicure, — Elbe salmon, oysters and lobsters from the German ocean, haddocks, &c. from the Baltic, beef and mutton from the fat prairies of Holstein, game from the neighbouring forests, together with the produce of her own territory, the " Vierlander," which are said to rival the Egyptian Delta in fertility.

The inhabitants of these fortunate little islands, the " Vierlander," are most primitive in their habits and manners, and are said to be very wealthy ; they regard strangers with jealousy, and invariably intermarry with each other. The married women frequent the market, to sell the produce of the dairy and poultry-yard; while the young damsels are the flower-merchants, they are every where distinguished by their variegated costume, which is generally a violet-coloured petticoat, bordered with black ribbon, and stomachers composed of a mixture of red and green : the maidens wear their hair long and plaited, and a Turk would be in raptures on beholding them, for their good-humoured faces, shaded by broad straw hats, appear round and rosy as the full moon, — in short, whoever delights in contemplating the beauties of Rubens, may here find them in perfection. The men are as easily discoverable by their dark-* coloured tight jackets, and small-clothes of most ample dimensions, and globular form : these are confined at the knees, where they are met by tight, black boots, contrived it would seem for the purpose of exhibiting to the best advantage the spindle-like proportions of the limbs they encase. A broad hat, in the Quaker style, completes their costume.

While visiting the market, I observed a curious custom prevalent among the maid-fierrants: after depositing their purdiases in long narrow baskets, the; cover them with a printed cotton shawl of the brightest colours: thus equipped, the pretty damsels look as if each was carrying under her arms a baby in a cradle, enveloped in a gay quilt The rosy plumpness of these lasses sufficiently indicates that they feed on other viands than salad or saurekraut ; they are, I presume, somewhat fastidious, for a friend informed me some few years since they made such forcible remonstrances to the Boigomaster, that it was found necessary to pass a law, interdictiug masters from compelling their servants

KL0P8T0CK. 9

to eat salmon more than a certain number of days in the week !

The public baths, including hot, cold, and vapour, are admirably arranged: they have separate dressing-rooms, and a saloon for general accommodation, where visitors may be supplied with light refreshment : those of the " Stadt London** are of a superior description, being of marble, and fitted up with every attention to comfort : the water may be medicated according to the wish of the bather with sulphur, steel, salt, or medicinal herbs : the charges are very moderate.

Hamburg, though principally commercial, has nevertheless not been inattentive to the fine arts and literature, which are liberally patronized by many of the rich merchants. The city library contains several thousand volumes, together with many valuable autographs of eminent men, manuscripts, and rare engravings ; while few towns are more amply provided with literary institutions, to all which respectable foreigners easily gain access. Here, Archenholz, the able historian of the seven years' war; took up his abode; and at a later period, the inmiortal Klopstock, the David of the New Testament : the latter died here, sincerely regretted by the inhabitants, who vied with each other in rendering those honours to his memory so eminently his due. On the day of his funeral the shops were closed, the vessels in the port bwered their colours, a funeral dirge was sounded by trumpets from the towers of the churches, and the bells were tolled : upon his bier was placed his noblest work, the Messiah, surrounded by a wreath of laurel ; and upwards of a hundred private carriages, besides numerous equestrians and pedestrians, followed in the train. At the gate of Altona, the corpse was received by the governor and military en gratide tentcey together with the principal inhabitants of the town. This imposing ceremony was terminated by a choir of young girls, dressed in white, strewing his grave with flowers, and chaunting his own ode to Immortality.

Is it not a glorious triumph for Christianity, thus to iritness the spontaneous tribute of a whole people in facmour of a bard, who drew his stream of inspiration from her sacred source? Klopstock, the moral, the Christian author, of humble extraction, \\ithout connexions, without fortune, was respected and beloved by the members of every religious denomination during his earthly career, and his passage to a better world more resembled a triumph, than the last mournful scene of frail mortality ; whilst the writings of the immoral and the sceptic, though they may win a little evanescent notoriety, yet confer not enduring renown, and only find readers among the foolish herd, who thirst after every vdld theory, however absurd, so it is but novel, and the lapse of time invariably consigns the author and his works to the shades of oblivion. It is much to be regretted that our language does not possess a good translation of the ^' Messiah." ^' Faust" has had hundreds ; but the beautiful, the holy verses of the inspired Klopstock have had but one ; and that is not only ftdl of errors, but entirely destitute of the spirit, the energy, and the beauty of the sublime original.

The majority of the inhabitants of Hamburg arc members of the reformed Church, but exhibit as strong an attachment to Sunday amusements as the most

SMOKING. 1 1

pious Catholic; and, although this is the grand day of public diversion, yet let not my readers suppose that the citizens are altogether neglectful of their sabbath duties, as the churches are well attended in the morning, it being in the afternoon that the pursuit after amusement is so actively carried on : then indeed the environs are filled with the gay citizens, the river covered with pleasure-boats, and the roads teem in every direction with persons of all ranks hastening to enjoy their various sylvan and rural recreations, while the soimd of music and dancing is heard in all the houses of public entertainment. To a native of sober England, the aspect of such a gay scene is absolutely confounding; but here the prospect of the Sunday's recreation is anticipated with pleasure, alike by the merchant, the mechanic, and the labourer. And to tho stranger, who mixes among the gay throng, an admirable opportunity is afforded of studying the character of the people ; and I am inclined to think, the conclusion upon the whole would be favourable. The only draw-* back to my enjoyment was the universal habit of smoking tobacco, — the coffee-houses, the ball-rooms, the marquees, villas, cabarets, and promenades, in short, every place in which human beings were congregated was filled with a dense mass of this disagreeable vapour. The whole of the male population were armed either with a pipe or a segar, even boys of eight or ten years of age were to be seen indulging in this disgusting practice. The fair enemy of tobacco-smoke, Mrs. Trollope, would here have been completely horrified, for even some of the women are addicted to this most unfeminine indulgence; and I have not unfrequently seen a handsome well-dressed girl receive from her inamorato, not a glass of lemonade, but a genuine Havanuahy which she instantly commenced reducing to ashes with a gout as keen as that of a Spanish dandy in a coffee-house at Madrid.

"The universal prevalence of this mania through the whole of Germany," says an intelligent German writer, " has created an entire revolution in the diseases of the inhabitants, and through it the duration of life has been considerably abridged. The descendants of the ancient Germans, who were remarkable for their robust frames, broad shoulders, and expansive chests, have degenerated, by the too early use of tobacco, principally because it is inhaled before the constitution is formed, and capable of supporting its debilitating influence. I do not pretend to deny that its use may be beneficial to some constitutions ; but to the tender plant of youth its effects are most certainly pernicious. In short, I have met with several instances of persons whose health has been entirely restored by refraining from its enervating indulgence."

But to quit this vapoury subject, the higher classes and merchants are very hospitable to strangers, particularly the English, whom they imitate in their manners, dress, and domestic arrangements; and owing, I presume, to this predilection, and the increasing trade with us and the United States, the English language is universally spoken, and its literature as universally cultivated. The tradespeople are much inferior to ours in intelligence, obliging manners, and honest dealing : they also

MARSHAL DAVOUST. 13

Tery generally speak English, but this class acquire it solely for the purpose of cheating our unsuspecting countrymen. This propensity in the Hamburgers is, however, very foreign to the general character of the natives of Grermany.

The charitable institutions are numerous, and well regulated ; the hand of benevolence is extended even to those whose lives are forfeited to the law, for during the period that elapses between condemnation and execution their palates are permitted unlimited gratification : this strange custom no doubt originates in a merciful intention, still I cannot avoid considering it a misplaced exertion of benevolence, thus to pamper the appetites of those who have so deeply outraged the laws of society that they are condemned to be sacrificed to its vengeance.

Perhaps no other town in Germany suffered more ^verely during the late war than Hamburg. Prior to its commencement, her prosperity was at its zenith, her merchantmen floated on every sea and rode in every harbour ; but the destructive influence of this curse of humanity had weU nigh consumniated her ruin, for Marshal Davoust, one of the most inexorable ministers of the rapacity and vengeanceof Napoleon, plundered and massacred the unfortunate citizens withoutmercy. In the midst of thecamage and pillage of the infuriated soldiery, a deputation of the most influential inhabitants waited upon the Marshal, praying that he would terminate their sufferings; when the barbarian angrily replied, •* Votis rioKDez rien en propre, rebeUes ! que vous ^tes, voire peau nUme ofpartieni d VEmpereur r A gentleman of this city informed me, that, from 1806 to 1814 the visits of their French friends cost them one hundred and forty millions of marcs banco, partly by the robbery of the bank and partly by forced contributions.

Since the peace, Hamburg has gradually retrieved her former flourishing condition, and now welcomes to her port the ships of every nation, while her own vessels continue increasing both in number and importance. — Still her situation is precarious : the influence of Prussia extends to her very gates, for it controls the decisions of her neighbour Mecklenburg by means of the ' Erbverbriiderung established between the two powers ; and is not the prize too valuable to render it probable that Prussian cupidity will resist the temptation of taking forcible possession, when a favourable opportunity presents itself? for it is a possession that would secure to her immense importance in the north of Europe, as her territories would then be bounded at once by the German Occian and the Baltic. Against the rapacity of Denmark, Hamburg contended for centuries; but she was then ably supported by the powerful Hanseatic League : what barrier has she now to place against any aggression which Prussia may at some future time meditate ? Is there not, then, reasonable grounds for apprehending that her prosperous condition will be transitory in its duration, and that futurity may be fraught with perils to the devoted city ?

With respect to the Prussian commercial league the opinions of the Hamburgers are divided, and, as may

*■ Compact of inheritance, by which two powers mutually agree that the surviver shall inherit the possessions of the other.

HELIGOLAND. 16

naturally be expected, are much modified by their individual interests ; but the general impression seemed to be, that smuggling would increase to an extent most injurious to the Prussian revenue ; indeed I was credibly assured that a company of contraband traders had been already formed : and this system will continue so long as Hamburg remains a free port, or England holds possession of Heligoland ; and when we remember the powerful temptation to illicit traffic in the shape of protecting duties, can we feel surprised ? — ^for instance, the duties upon cotton goods, are from eighty to a hundred per cent ! and on calico for printing, a hundred and twenty-five per cent !

I shall now introduce my readers to Heligoland (insula sancta), which is only a few hours^ voyage from Cuxhaven. It was taken by the British from Denmark during the late war, and confirmed to them at the peace of 1814, most probably because they would not give it up. The impression produced on a near approach is not agreeable, as the whole island, with its cluster of sand banks and rocks, presents an appearance of the most arid sterility, scarcely afibrding sufiicient nourishment for a few sheep : however, with the aid of imported provisions, it maintains a population of 3,400. The women perform the agricultural labour ; and the men, a fine athletic hardy people of the genuine Friesland race, are principally engaged in maritime occupations* such as fishing, piloting, and, if the truth must be told, in smuggling, and exhibit no small degree of selfcomplacency when they call themselves subjects of " Gross Britannien.** The construction of the light-house

16 ALTON A.

is worthy of the great despot of the seas, strong and massive : the stair-case and gallery are of iron, and the colossal lamp sheds a lustre so bright, that the distant mariner might almost deem it a brilliant meteor. It is the beacon to those ships which are about to enter the Elbe, the Weser, and the Eider ; and it is scarcely necessary to add, that Heligoland is a possession of great importance to England, not alone in a commercial point of view, but in the event of a war with the Northem Potentates, for by commanding the entrance) to these navigable rivers, together with the Holstein canal, which unites the Baltic with the German Ocean, she may be said without exaggeration to hold the key to the whole of north Germany. During the late war, it was the depot from whence our colonial produce and manufactures were surreptitiously introduced into Germany, malgrS Napoleon's prohibitory laws, edicts, and proclamations, as it now is, notwithstanding his most potent Majesty of Prussia's laws, edicts, and proclamations, and ever will be as long as it remains in the hands of England, and Englishmen manufacture cheaper and better goods than their neighbours.