In and Around Berlin | Page 6

however, to go out in all weathers with the head as unprotected as the
face, even for long distances. A maid follows her mistress to market,
with a basket on her arm, often covered with an embroidered cloth, in
which are placed the purchases of the careful housemother.
A huckster is frequently accompanied by a dog, both being harnessed
to the little cart which holds the wares. Often the man will be free,
while the woman and the dog side by side drag the cart to which they
are tied, the woman usually knitting even when the air is cold enough
to benumb her fingers. Women knit constantly in the streets about their
other work, whether bowed down under huge bundles of fagots on their
backs, serving milk at the houses, or doing many other things with
which we should regard knitting as incompatible.
The best society is like the court, in being exclusive. It is difficult for
strangers, in Germany as in America, easily to obtain desirable
acquaintance, except by means of letters of introduction, and the
friendship which comes with time and natural selection. Glimpses of
home-life in cultivated circles are accordingly to be highly valued.
One delightful visit with supper, to which we were invited, began about
six o'clock. That we might have more in common, the hostess, who
herself spoke English with much intelligence, had invited a German
lady who had resided in Boston to meet us. We were seated on the sofa
and shown some of the many art treasures in the way of fine engravings
which the home contained, the fancy-work of our hostess--a German
lady seems never to be without it--lying neglected as the conversation

rose in interest. Supper was served between eight and nine o'clock, at a
round table accommodating the hostess and her three guests. Delicious
tea, made from a burnished brass teakettle over an alcohol lamp on a
stand beside the hostess, with white and black bread, five kinds of
sausage, cold meat, and pickled fish, composed the first course. There
was a second, composed of little cakes and apples.
Dinner, in our experience, was almost invariably good. First course,
always soup and bread. Second, unless fish were served, some kind of
meat, a variety of vegetables, among which green beans, spinach, and
varieties of cabbage delicately cooked were prominent. This course was
usually accompanied by cooked or preserved fruit. Third course,
various puddings and cakes, all good, some delicious; never any pie.
The luxury of dessert was sometimes omitted. It is not common in
German families, except those frequented by American guests.
Radishes and cheese form an extra course at some suppers. In hotels, of
course, the simple family dinner of three or four courses is replaced by
a more elaborate feast of many courses.
The anniversaries of the death of friends are remembered by dressing in
black, burning candles before their portraits, and visiting their graves.
There is also one day in spring which is celebrated as a kind of
combination of All Saints Day and Decoration Day, when every one
visits the cemeteries, leaving flowers and wreaths in memory of the
loved and lost. Funeral services are held, both at the homes and in the
churches, and are often accompanied by very impressive and majestic
music. In at least one of the cemeteries there is a large and scientifically
arranged crematory. A recent judicial decision, however, forbids
cremation within the municipal jurisdiction.
Sundays, as is well known, are not observed in Germany as in England
and Scotland. But in the parts of Berlin which we were accustomed to
see on that day, including two miles or more between our residence and
the central part of the city, the general sobriety and orderly appearance
would compare favorably with that in the better parts of many
American cities. We were asked on our first Sunday at the dinner-table
if we would like to have seats secured for us at the opera that evening.

Operatic performances and concerts are among the better
entertainments offered on Sunday evenings. The laws are strict,
however, regarding quiet in the streets and the closing of places of
business until after Sunday morning service in the churches. In the
finest residence portions of some American cities we have been
frequently disturbed by the street-cries of hucksters during divine
service on Sunday mornings, while the ear-piercing shouts of
newspaper venders disturb all the peace of the early morning hours.
Dime museums and other places flaunt their attractions in the faces of
the crowd who gather at their doors, and many places of business seem
to be always open. It was not our experience to see or hear anything
like this in Germany. Even the law of despotic power is better than
none at all,--often far better than enlightened