468 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



coincidence, I have been assured, 

 that in the church of St. Stephen, 

 at Vienna, where the statues of 

 the Emperors are placed in niches 

 round the walls, the present Em- 

 peror occupies the last niche. 

 And to complete the list of inci- 

 dents of ominous import to the 

 unfortunate house of Austria, a 

 lady who was present at the pre- 

 sent Emperor's coronation, as 

 Emperor of Germany, assured 

 me that the crown sat so pain- 

 fully, during the ceremony, on 

 his Imperial Majesty's head, that 

 he was obliged to relieve himself 

 by taking- it off. 



The INIichaelmas fair, during 

 which I was in Frankfort, com- 

 mences early in September ; and 

 its bustle and vivacity lasts 

 throughout the month. The 

 considerable wholesome transac- 

 tions are, however, ti'ansacted 

 within the first week, when num- 

 bers of the merchants flock to 

 the fair at Leipsic. The Ex- 

 change, a small neat quadrangle, 

 surrounded by a range of ware- 

 houses and shops, called the 

 Braunfels, is thronged during 

 the fair with a respectable cluster 

 of merchants of all nations ; per- 

 hapsa twentiethpartof the number 

 who assemble daily on our Ex- 

 change. High Change is about 

 12 o'clock, from which the mer- 

 chants return home to dinner ; 

 they generally commence business 

 at six or seven in the morning, 

 and toil till 10 or 11 at night; 

 not having, as yet, attained to 

 that methodical celerity, which 

 in London, dispatches a hundred 

 times the amo un t of affairs between 

 the commodious hours of nine and 

 six. The large rooms in the 

 Braunfels, are fitted up as show 



rooms and shops, like those of 

 Exeter Change, loaded with mer- 

 chandizes, showy and useful, from 

 all quarters of Germany, Switzer- 

 land, Hungary, Bohemia, d:c. as 

 you are apprised by boaids, with 

 the name and domicile of every 

 tradesman. Every vacant house, 

 warehouse, or single room, in 

 the busy neighbourhood of the 

 Exchange, is hired by the foreign 

 shopkeepers, for the exposition 

 of their goods. The fairs, which 

 had naturally declined during the 

 obstructions of war, are gradually 

 resuming their former alacrity. 

 Frankfort, at other times, by no 

 means lively, has, during the 

 Fair, the cheerful aspect of a 

 bustling trading city; the inns, 

 the Theatre, the Casino, the 

 Exchange, are thronged and 

 lively ; the streets present a 

 respectable number of equipages; 

 the stalls and shops are crowded 

 by well dressed and handsome 

 women ; and though there are no 

 extraordinary amusements, or 

 objects of attraction for a mere 

 spectator, there is a life and 

 variety in the scene, which gives 

 it an interest. 



The Casino at Frankfort, one 

 of the most splendid in Germany, 

 is a noble establishment, occupy- 

 ing one of the handsomest man- 

 sions in the city, and furnishing 

 all the literary or political journals 

 of Germany, besides the news- 

 papers of almost all Europe. The 

 order, luxury, and convenience 

 of the arrangements, might tempt 

 the most listless reader. Billiard 

 tables and card rooms find a place 

 in the suite of apartments, which 

 are fitted up with elegance ; and 

 present, amongst other agremens, 

 handsome carpets— luxuries con- 

 fined 



