5806 Notes of a 



very considerable, and was laid out in 1766, by the Emperor Joseph 

 II., in fine alleys stretching far away to the main stream of the 

 Danube, which constitute the Rotten Row of Vienna. In this Prater 

 fairs are held, fireworks exhibited, and the main alleys are crowded 

 with rank and fashion ; but let the naturalist diverge a little from the 

 beaten track, and he finds himself in the forest, which affords him 

 ample scope for his pursuits. This part is usually called " Der wilde 

 Prater," and even within hearing of the roll of carriages, the tramp of 

 the Imperial escort, the grinding of organs, the beating of drums, and 

 the shouts of the Jack-pudding, he may observe animals and birds in 

 a state of nature, which the English naturalist would sometimes give 

 much to catch a glimpse of. The climate of Vienna is variable in 

 the extreme, — cold in winter, hot in summer. The whole of Decem- 

 ber was colder than I have ever known it in England; January was 

 foggy throughout, a somewhat unusual circumstance there ; February 

 and March were wintry, with strong and keen east winds, and snow 

 and ice held their own till the very end of the latter month ; April 

 was delightfully fine and warm, the only drawback being the clouds 

 of dust which sometimes darkened the air; for no rain fell until May 

 during a period of nearly seven months. When I quitted the place 

 early in May, the weather was unsettled and cold. With such a cli- 

 mate Vienna is dreadfully unhealthy. On my arrival at the begin- 

 ning of November the cholera had just ceased its fatal work for the 

 season ; a severe epidemic of typhus fever raged during the dead 

 months of winter, to be succeeded, in February and March, by abun- 

 dant pneumonia, of a character as severe and with results as fatal. 



There are few places in Vienna more striking, and to a naturalist 

 more interesting, than the Wild-bret-markt, or game market ; not 

 that any very great variety of birds are seen there, but chiefly on 

 account of the vast numbers of quadrupeds which are exposed for 

 sale. It is a small and unpromising spot, but on a market day 

 it offers a surprising spectacle to the visitor. If Leadenhall market 

 carries off the palm for its regiments of geese, turkeys, poultry 

 and pheasants, then must the Wild-bret-markt of Vienna be held 

 superior for its heaps of deer and piles of wild boars. The market 

 day is thrice w r eekly, and on those days a stranger would be perfectly 

 astonished at the vast numbers of such animals which are laid out in 

 rows upon the ground. I have counted eighty roebucks spread out 

 before one little shop ; they were of all sizes, from the well-antlered 

 lord of the herd to the young fawn ; all shot with the hunter's rifle, 

 and now disembowelled. Wild boars, too, of all sizes, from the 



