198 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



the ferry, I was surprised to find myself packed 

 tightly between two or three omnibuses, carts with 

 merchandise, gigs, and other vehicles, and on arriving 

 at Hamburgh, my carriage and horses trotted me 

 away to the ' Hotel de I'Europe,' and then I dis- 

 covered that for about one franc I could have come 

 by either omnibus. But my polite acquaintance 

 had led me to believe that the best, if not the 

 sole, conveyance was in the recommended carriage, 

 for good, if dishonest reasons. He was the owner 

 of the vehicle I had hired, and In that character had 

 plundered me. 



Hamburgh is a beautiful city. The chief feature 

 of the place is the lake called the ' Grosser Alster,' 

 near the centre of the city, on three sides of which 

 runs a broad road, planted with avenues of fine 

 trees. Around this piece of water are erected the 

 public buildings, the principal hotels, banks, and 

 theatres. The avenues are thronged with people ; 

 the lake (with its flocks of swans) has a fleet of 

 small steamers crossing and recrossing, well laden 

 with passengers. The more populous parts of 

 Hamburgh are on the banks of the Elbe, which is a 

 wide deep river, enabling ships of large size to 

 discharge cargo on the extensive quays. The 

 houses in this quarter are extremely picturesque, 

 and chiefly date from the sixteenth and seventeenth 

 centuries. Some years ago a disastrous fire broke 

 out, and consumed more than half the city. Until 

 then it was the largest ever known since the 

 Great Fire of London in 1666. Amongst the most 



