AUSTEIA ON THE DANUBE. 



37 



to those of Paris in delicacy and harmony of colour, they are probably more 

 i;howy and solid. 



Formerly, it is said, Vienna was intellectually an idle city. Men of science, 

 authors, and poets of eminence were rare, and thought was sluggish. Only its 

 musicians had achieved a world-wide fame. There are writers who blame the 

 climate for this intellectual apathy. The sudden changes of temperature and the 

 hot winds of the Adriatic, which find their way through breaches in the Alps, are 

 said to have an enervating influence upon the inhabitants, and, whilst rendering 

 them unfit for intellectual work, predispose them towards sensual enjoyment. 

 But this is libelling the climate,* for since the Austrian Government has 

 relaxed its " paternal " rule there has taken place an intellectual revival in 



Fie;. 23. — The Rectification of the Danube at Vienna. 



14° 5\Long, E.ofP 



LaW48°l3' 



Lat. 4a''l5' 



l6°25'Lon&. E.ofG. 



|:|30 000 



Proposed Quarters 



public, scientific, and literary life. The publications issued by the scientific 

 societies of the city are of a high order, and in its educational institutions it 

 need not fear comparison with its northern rival, the " City of Intelligence." Its 

 university is the most frequented in all Germany. Its museums, libraries, and 

 picture galleries abound in treasures, and form centres of attraction to every 

 student. The gallery of paintings, for the present in the Belvedere, contains 

 1,700 paintings, all the gi'eat masters being represented. The Imperial Library 

 consists of more than 300,000 volumes, including 12,000 incunables and 20,000 

 manuscripts. There are several other libraries (among them that of the university, 

 with 220,000 volumes), a geological museum, a museum of natural history, and 

 other collections. 



* Mean temperature, 50° F. ; mean of January, 29° F. ; mean of July, C8° F. 



