1831.] Reflections on a Ramble in Germany. 625 



thoughts by the influence of prejudice and habit ; so, enthusiasm dies 

 within him ; fiery energy and determination appear a useless struggle 

 against fate. Tranquillity becomes the result of this conviction ; and he 

 who, but a few months before, deemed himself one of the political levers 

 of the world, sinks down, without a struggle, into that place in society 

 marked out for him by nature at his birth ; even as do many of the 

 wild young gownsmen of our own island, who, after running a career of 

 fashionable dissipation at Oxford or Cambridge, sink into the narrowest 

 of all human orbits — a country curacy. So true is it, that the human 

 mind, however it may be exalted by temporary enthusiasm, will return 

 by degrees to its proper level, and will resume those passions which 

 appear to be best adapted to its present condition. 



As the ti-aveller approaches Frankfort — the ancient place of inaugura- 

 tion of the emperors, the present residence of the diet, the emporium of 

 commerce, and stock exchange of Germany — he is struck with the 

 absence of the most marked attributes of commercial cities — the forest 

 of tapering masts and bustling quays. A fleet of insignificant barks is all 

 that meets his eye ; while the quays are silent, but vast and beautiful, 

 and crowned with stately mansions — the fit abode of the race of merchant- 

 princes who, in the middle ages, first raised the standard of civil liberty, 

 and broke the spear of feudal tyranny. It was with some difficulty that 

 I succeeded in procuring quarters at the Kdmischer Kaiser ; for my 

 arrival took place during the great fair, and the city was, 'in conse- 

 quence, crowded to excess. Indeed nothing can exceed the animated 

 aspect presented by this city at this period. Every street and square is 

 covered with booths, groaning beneath the rich and varied productions 

 of nature and art. The ear is every where delighted with the sounds of 

 music, and the eye amused with feats of legei'demain and antics of jug- 

 glers and buffoons. The tables d'hote, the cassino, the places of public 

 amusement, and the beautiful gardens which surround the city, are 

 crowded with foreigners in every variety of costume, and speaking every 

 language, " from Indus to the pole." 



In spite of its disgusting filth, one of the most interesting features of 

 Frankfort is the Jewish quarter, with its dark, narrow streets, lofty 

 houses, sombre casements, and gable fronts. While these remind the tra- 

 veller of the Gothic splendour of the middle ages, the flowing beards of 

 the men, and the black eye, and olive complexions of the women — the 

 very smells even of the quarters are oriental, and lead back the mind to 

 Cairo and Damascus. There was at this period at Frankfort a financial 

 congress — the four Rothschilds, and some of the most we;ilthy bankers 

 of Germany, were assembled for the purpose of making some operation 

 in the Austrian funds. In the very city where, but a few years ago, the 

 people of their nation were obliged, as a mark of degradation, to walk 

 like beasts of burden in the middle of the streets, the Rothschilds now, 

 in the style of their equipage and the gorgeous splendour of their living, 

 eclipsed the representatives of the great powers to the German diet. The 

 days of Atilla and Alberoni are passed away. The fate of nations now- 

 a-days no longer depends on the acute combinations of the diplomatist, 

 or the more daring conceptions of the hardy soldier. Not many years 

 have elapsed since the calculations and loans of these same Jew bankers 

 crushed in the bud the spirit of liberty, which had bloomed on tlie soil 

 of the two fairest portions of the globe— Spain and Italy. 



