CXIX
Hanover, Nov. 15, 1856.
I came down the Rhine to Cologne and Dusseldorf, and took the road to Elberfeld, a large German manufacturing place, worth looking at. Its trade in woollen, cotton, and silk goods amounts annually to some twelve millions of our currency, and is well known to our importers.
The cross road took me to Dortmund, another manufacturing town, on the main road leading to this capital. Stopping at Ham, a branch road to the north conducted me to the old catholic city of Munster, which I had never seen, and gave me an opportunity of visiting some acquaintances with whom I had crossed the Atlantic. The gothic antiquated town hall of Munster, with its saloon, memorable for the Westphalian treaty in 1648, is of unusual interest, as well as its cathedral, three hundred and sixty feet long, and one hundred and twenty-five feet wide, with two towers. Upon the tower of the St. Lamberti church, two hundred feet high, were placed in three cages the corpses of the leaders of the rebellious Anabaptists. The arches and colonnades of the houses of the principal street are not unlike those of Bologna; they afford protection from sun and rain, and give the city a peculiar aspect. Munster has a population of twenty-five thousand. Many public and private literary and charitable institutions, and agreeable suburban walks, make it a pleasant residence.
A few hours ride brought me to the royal Prussian Salt Baths of Rehme, whose Director and wife I had promised on an ocean passage to call upon, should I ever find myself again in this part of Germany. The grounds are well laid out, and large improvements are in progress. The mineral salt works in the neighborhood are supplied with water from a depth of two thousand two hundred and fifty feet, sufficiently warm for the supply of the Baths. The season was about over, and most of the guests had departed.
An excursion to Minden, upon the river Weser, five hours from Bremen, with a population of twelve thousand; charming walks and drives in the vicinity, with old friends, with reminiscences of mutual dangers escaped at sea, and the occurrences and events of the interim; so a couple of days slipped by agreeably, and I found myself again on the road for this city, the residence of the King of Hanover, where I made a halt some two years since, of which I gave you some details at the time.
The deceased King Ernest, who had a great passion for horses, had one of the finest stables in Europe. The present king is blind, but he rides a horse handsomely. In company with one of his councillors, I met him a few days since in a deep wood, his steed on a gallop, and his adjutant beside him. The adjutant held a check-rein attached, and gave the signal for a salute, when the king made a graceful bow; his infirmity would scarcely be noticed by a stranger.
When last in Austria I noticed the use of horse flesh as food, and now I find its introduction here also. I have before me a newspaper advertisement, with the figure of a capering horse, and three hands, with index fingers pointing to a plate of prepared food, with the announcement that at the slaughter-house stall may be had daily tender horse-flesh, liver, and stewed meats, with warm strengthening sauces, at all hours. Of course the poor avail themselves of this supply at low prices.