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‘William Tell,’ which I was very glad to find could be played so well here, as I feel sure now that I shall see what I did not see at all in Germany before,—the principal dramas of Schiller and Goethe properly represented.
The theatre in both its parts is certainly excellent, and the old King and the Court are almost always there.
We have, of course, made a good many acquaintance this week, though I wish to be slow about it. . . . . One person I was quite glad to meet at M. de Zeschau's the other evening; I mean Sonntag, who had been often at our house in Boston.
He is the Secretary of the French Legation here, as he was of that in the United States.
December 21.—We went to the picture-gallery to-day for the first time. . . . We had not been earlier to see it because we have been much occupied, and because, as it is not regularly open in the winter, . . . . we did not wish to visit it until we could have leave to visit it freely.
This I obtained about a week ago from Baron Lindenau. . . . . To-day we could only walk through it and get the most general impression of its contents.
It is certainly a magnificent gallery, and greatly improved since I saw it in 1816. . . .
December 24.—Dresden has been entirely full for the last three days; its streets swarming with picturesque crowds from the country, and the fair in the Alte Markt overflowing.
It has been altogether a beautiful sight to see. . .. . It was almost confusing to walk about, and in the evening, when the whole was lighted up,. . . . it glittered as if it were only arranged for exhibition and stage effect. . . .
In the evening we witnessed some of the results of this very peculiar national feeling and custom; that, I mean, of the children giving presents to the parents and the parents to the children on Christmas eve.
We were invited to witness it at Baron Ungern Sternberg's. At first, in the saloon, we saw the Baron and his wife, whom I had met at Tieck's, people of a good deal of taste and cultivation, and we amused ourselves with looking over some of the drawings and curiosities which the Baron's intimate friend, the Count Stackelberg, brought from Greece, a remarkable collection,. . . . constituting the materials for the beautiful work which Stackelberg is now publishing.
As we were in the midst of looking them over a little bell rang, and we went into the room where the presents which the children had secretly prepared for the elder members of the family were placed under the tree.
They were all prepared by two little girls of twelve and fourteen,. . . . and though there was nothing very valuable or beautiful in what was given, yet it was all received
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Boston, J. R. Osgood and company, 1876.
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