Journey from Paris to Vienna. 45 



use cubes of wood, placed one beside another as in ordinary 

 pavements, so that the edges of the wood lie vertical. In this 

 way, a carriage passing under the gate makes no shaking or 

 harsh noise, as when the paving consists of stones. Fir is the 

 timber employed, and this sort of pavements will last for a 

 long time. 



The number of hotels with furnished lodgings, is not consi- 

 derable at Vienna, which seems rather unaccountable, con- 

 sidering the vast influx of strangers. In the very heart of the 

 city the accommodations are not the most inviting, and a stran- 

 ger feels little inclination to stop there. But in the auberges 

 of the suburbs it is otherwise, and the terms reasonable; in 

 this respect, Leopoldstadt may be recommended for a traveller 

 who means to make only a short stay. The air is salubrious, 

 and the Prater is nigh at hand, where, every day the promenade 

 is respectable, and on Sundays it is thronged with all the va- 

 rious classes of society. In most of the auberges you may 

 have your meals, either in your own apartment or at a com- 

 mon table. But these meals are regularly from twelve to two, 

 and from eight to ten ; nothing can be had in the intervals, 

 unless previously ordered. The auberges where liquor only is 

 to be had, are distinguished by a bundle of shavings, moulded 

 into the form of a bell ; those, where eating is provided, are 

 noted by a bunch of fir. Some of the traiteurs are in veiy 

 great vogue, and there are many coffee-houses ; some are 

 pretty well furnished, and here all the voluminous gazettes of 

 the German States may be read. One particular, incommoding 

 to a stranger, is, that the hackney coaches, which are pretty 

 numerous and ready at hand, either for town or country, are 

 subject to no fixed prices, so that you must agree with them 

 beforehand, or you may expect disagreeable altercations. 



Such is the general outline that I sketched of Vienna, during 

 the short time of my residence, going through and returning. 

 As to the various institutions, such as the university, the'aca- 

 demy of surgery, the gymnasia, the polytechnic school, the 

 academy of com'merce, that of the fine arts, the normal school, 

 the academy of oriental languages, the general seminary, the 

 institution for deaf and dumb, the hospitals, the establishments 

 of a benevolent description, of which there are many that do 

 great honour to the inhabitants, and some to the care of go- 

 vernment, I had no time to examine or treat of in detail, 

 inspecting some very rapidly, and others not at all. In gene- 

 ral, I may remark, that, as to the primary bases of instruction, 

 it appears less forward here than in other parts of Germany. 

 The polytechnic school has no resemblance to ours ; it is li- 

 mited to providing a certain number of young persons with 



