Art in Dresden

Our ride from Leipzig on the Rail Road was of about four hours, to Dresden, the capital of Saxony and considered beautiful, principally [72] from its environs.  It is very pleasantly situated on the Elbe, which [is] nice somewhat farther to the South—but initially, it has little or no beauty at all, the Palace perhaps the largest in Extent in Europe, and its other publick buildings, being not handsome, not to say remarkably plain.  It is however much visited by Strangers, on a/c of its galleries &c. and per the fact of the German spoken here more purely than in any other city.  Miserable weather still, which has followed us all the way from Russia. 

I think I recognize these guys...

Saint Mary Magdalen
by Pompeo Batoni
(destroyed during WWII)

Found Williams and  [Astor?] here both studying German.  Visited firstly the Gallery of Pictures considered on the whole the finest out of Italy, and really in viewing it I could almost imagine myself again in Rome or Florence.  The pictures here the most celebrated, and really magnificent, are Raphael’s “Madonna del Sisto” and Correggio’s Recumbent Magdalene.  (I never attempt describing a picture [73] from inability but there are some that I can never forget).  There was another Magdalene hanging near to Correggio’s which I must say pleased me nearly if not quite as much as his—by Pompejo Geronimeo [Girolamo] Battone [Batoni].). There were several fine Titian’s, & Spagnolettos, and the Dutch and Flemish school very well represented.  In one of the first rooms was a small painting of Hagar going into the desert, most beautiful—by whom I know not, as soft as a miniature and one other that particularly pleased me, of Eve presenting the apple to Adam.

A visit out of the general routine

Near the close of the evening the other sisters returned with the intended groom, Count Somebody, from whom [71]I obtained much information regarding our trip to Turkey and Greece he having traveled much in both countries.  Finding we could now leave consistently we made our bows, and left them to one of their last family meetings.  I notice this visit as being peculiar to the upper classes here, who are universally most hospitable to strangers, and as showing the perfect education of the ladies.  In fact almost every where out of Italy, French is universally spoken as every one is considered, strangers and others, as necessarily acquainted with that—and moreover ‘tis about the only occurrence that has happened to us of interest for a long time out of the general routine of traveling & sightseeing-------

An inapropos visit

New Market Square in Dresdenfrom the Jüdenhof - Bernardo Bellotto

After ascertaining that we were Americans, ands intended remaining some days in Dresden, they gave us their address, with a reiterated request to call upon them before we left.  So last evening we called to pay our respects, and I must say that I never spent an evening in any family that seemed more happy among themselves.  Before going there we ascertained that they were the wife and daughter of the first lawyer in Dresden.  On our entry we found the Father & Mother both occupied in a room through which we passed, with a Lawyer and the old lady after introducing us to [70] two or three of her daughters excused her own and her husband’s absence by saying that they were engaged with their lawyer in drawing up a contract of marriage for one of the daughters who was to be wedded in two days.  I began to fear our visit might prove a little inapropos, but we were compelled to wait for the appearance of our former acquaintance the daughter, and her sister l’affiancée—who were out, but were shortly to return.  They all spoke English, but as it seems always to be my lot, I seated myself next to one who prayed me to excuse her speaking that language and compelled me for the rest of the evening to converse in French.  I must say this much for them that I never saw five sisters before so thoroughly well educated as they.  

"Addressing an American in his own language"

They were evidently Ladies, and conversed very well.  After some [68] conversation the old lady having heard me speak English, addressed my companion in the same language.  I was in hopes that my correspondante would do the same, but she for a long time preferred the French, and I of course could not turn the language.  However after some time the mother speaking in English gave her an opportunity of addressing the daughter in the same, when to my surprise she spoke it much better than her mother, and I learned from her that all the young ladies here are taught English French and Italian as a part of their Education.  She preferred speaking in French however, as she told me she did not feel exactly at here ease, when conversing with an Englishman or American, but that she could not hesitate generally addressing an American in his own language, as she found them most lenient as regards mistakes being [69] made.  I really consider it as a great compliment paid to my countrymen.  For if there is any thing which is more ungentlemanly than another, it is for a stranger to laugh at another’s mistakes in addressing him in a tongue not his own.  

An interesting train ride

Left at seven o’clock the next morning for Dresden, in a RailRoad Car, which was quite a relief after having so long travelled in Diligences & Schnell Posts.  In entering our car we found that the seats were not numbered as usually and that from this cause we had our backs to the engine, in lieu of our faces or rather one of us, as there were only two other persons in the car.  The fact caused some talk between us and the man at the depot, which caused in the end a very agreeable acquaintance to be formed between [67] the other occupants of the Car and ourselves.  ‘Twas so different from any thing of the kind that could ever occur in England or with us, that I must make a note of it.  The only other occupants of the first class carriages besides ourselves were two ladies, a mother and daughter.  On our entering the young lady who was on a back seat opposite her mother and I immediately with American, not English politeness in such a case, addressed her in French requesting her to keep her seat as it made not the least difference to her.  She however insisted on the fact that she preferred to ride backwards, and thus we both left the seat unoccupied, her mother and my companion (who is made sick by riding otherwise) only remaining upon the seat.  

Dr. Faust's wine bar and a Leipzig Exposition

Entrance to Auerbach's Keller, Leipzig

Passed in our short ramble the cellar in which Göthe lays the scene of Dr. Faust’s pranks—and said also to be the one in which [66] he himself frequently shrank at the carousing of his fellow students.

There being nothing of particular interest in the town to visit we walked into an Exposition, or kind of Mechanic Fair, where we found a small but really very fine collection of the diff[erent] specimens of Saxon manufacture, for all that I could see as good as English or Yankee--.  

Leipzig--Strange Roofs

The weather was so unpleasant where we were in Berlin that we could not make one or two excursions that we should have liked to viz to Potzdam.  We passed through it in the evening on our way to Leipzig, and could gain but a passing view of its many fine palaces and other buildings.  Stopped for breakfast on our journey at Wittenberg, still a fine looking old town, and [65] interesting in being the birth-place of the great reformation, a tree is shown outside the city where Luther publicly burned the Bull of Leo, excommunicating himself from the Holy Church.

The buildings of Leipzig are most singular in their foundation, in height  almost equal to those of the old town of Eroinbró[?] – but their peculiarity consists in the shape of their roofs and thewondoes in them.  The3 roofs are built, running up to a point and often equalin height to the remainder of the building, having generall three or four tiers of windows projecting from it, and now and then a small steeple not on the summit, but coming out of the roof itself—and these stories (upper) are all let out as the other apartments of the houses.

The River Elster at Leipzig

On entering the city we crossed the great battlefield, where nearly four hundred thousand men met in [64] combat, and Napoleon received one of his first great defeats.  The house at which we stopped to have our passports arranged still bears, in the many bullets and balls in its walls, evidence of the proximity of the scene of battle.  We passed over the bridge in entering the city which by being prematurely destroyed caused the capture and death of so many of Napoleons followers.  There is a small footbridge leading near to the Elster, over which ‘tis said that Napoleon was obliged to cross, first changing his now well known cap for that of one of his soldiers.