LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 73 



third centennial festival of Durer. Every- 

 thing was so arranged as to make it very bril- 

 liant, and the weather was most favorable. I 

 doubt if ever before were collected so many 

 painters in the same place. They gathered, 

 as if to vie with each other, from all nations, 

 Russians, Italians, French, Germans, etc. Be- 

 side the pupils of the Academy of Fine Arts 

 at Munich, I think that every soul who could 

 paint, were it only the smallest sketch, was 

 there to pay homage to the great master. All 

 went in procession to the place where the 

 monument is to be raised, and the magistrates 

 of the city laid the first stones of the pedestal. 

 To my amusement they cemented these first 

 stones with a mortar which was served in 

 great silver platters, and made of fine pounded 

 porcelain mixed with champagne. In the 

 evening all the streets were illuminated ; there 

 were balls, concerts, and plays, so that we 

 must have been doubled or quadrupled to see 

 everything. We stayed some days longer at 

 Nuremberg to visit the other curiosities of 

 the city, especially its beautiful churches, its 

 manufactories, etc., and then started on our 

 return to Ratisbon. 



