3 , 
AUG. 30 
OOHE’S BUBAL N 
-¥ OBKEB. 
145 
tie ^Traveler 
OUR EUROPEAN LETTER. 
Kinder-Carten Schools of Vienna. 
Baden, near Vienna, Austria, l 
August. 1373. \ 
The last of the month of July was a rather 
unpropitious time for visiting the Kinder-Gar¬ 
ten Schools in Vienna, as many of the schools 
were dosed and the number in those still open 
greatly diminished. However, I spent a morn¬ 
ing in seeing what was being done in one of the 
best ones open. 
The signification of Kindcr-Qarten is Chil- 
and direct the exercises, lead in the singing, 
or call for a aeries of movements of the Angers, 
hands, or arms. It was delightful to see a child 
of four or five years filling the office of leader 
in a natural, unembarrassed way. There were 
some plays in which a little dancing was intro¬ 
duced, when the boys were taught gallantry 
and the girls graciousness of manner. They 
are taught drawing l>v making the outline of 
things in paper, by pin holes. When they have 
outlined a (lower or animal well, they trace it 
with colored thread or worsted. They in alio 
paper baskets, and cut out models from paper. 
There aro stuffed animals in glass cases from 
which they arc taught natural history, the 
teacher, in a simple, story-like way, tellingthem 
all about the habits of the animals. During 
the morning t he director of t ho school came *n 
never in the world have need to speak any lan- 
, gunge but your own." As nobody knows in 
what corner of the earth fate or fortune may 
cast them, It Is best and wisest, to learn all one 
can. But especially learn French. It is no 
longer an accomplishment, but a necessity. 
All the nations of Europe meet on common 
ground in sneaking French. Nobody in this 
short, busy life, can acquire a practical knowl¬ 
edge of every civilized tongue, hut everybody 
can learn, besides his own language, another, 
and if but one, that should be French. Not 
long since at a banquet, In whtnli parsons from 
thirty or forty different nationalities partici¬ 
pated, everybody was jabbering in German, 
French or Italian, but. one gentleman who sat 
nearly opposite me; bur. bis face was very ex¬ 
pressive, and so I said to him “Do you under¬ 
stand English." 
“Yes," he replied, “ it is the only languago I 
do understand. This led to a further conver¬ 
sation, and before the banquet was finished, f 
asked bint ifriic should attend the soiree at 
was called Buda), is a new city, buildings aro 
modern, and H in pervaded by the new national 
Impulse. Its hotels are more American-like 
than any I have been In since leaving America— 
it has t.lie Nicholson uul concrete pavements, 
horse-cars, art galleries, a University of 1,000 
students, and the most magnificent and lux¬ 
urious bathing establish met ., i ever saw. The 
old Human*, themselves, would have gone wild 
with delight over such smperb bath-palaces. 
Tim city-is built, on the Danube, and I fancy 
most readers will And a amp of Europe a help 
in locating Best, in following our party from 
Vienna as we rode down I lie Danube in two 
magnificent steamers, hung with half a hun¬ 
dred National flags—the Stars and Stripes next 
the Hungarian flag, tit. the m..st-head. Tito 
steamer tired guns as wo passed the dividing- 
line and entered Hungary, and cheera went up 
in it multitude of tunges. At all the villages 
on the. river, the shore was covered with peo¬ 
ple, who were dressed in Mm bright Hungarian 
costumes itud gave o Mm In artier' of wel- 
Z/kcrs 
STREET CHARACTERS OIF VIENlNrA 
and had a long talk with the children about a 
picture that hung on the wall, and it was 
curious to see the quickness of observation 
displayed by them. It was a colored picture— 
a sort of harvest scene, with men, wagons, 
houses, trees full of fruit, a village wit.lt chore in¬ 
spires in the distance, etc. One thing in the 
picture suggested another; the wagon led to 
wood and Iron, the fruit to seasons, so that the 
children learned something each time of the 
common every-day things In Nature, which 
half the people in the world never know, be¬ 
cause they are never taught to think, to ob¬ 
serve, How many people are thero who can 
draw a straight lino, tell if a picture hangs 
straight, draw the outline of a. table, tell the 
habits of a bear or a horse, know how to use 
their hands and lingers skilfully, distinguish 
colors or the harmony of colors, or give, really, 
a creditable description of any object? 1 have 
known people who could parse iu Latin, or 
elucidate the “Problem of Lights,"—which is all 
darkness—but. who couid not, to save their souls, 
fold a letter properly, tie a. cravat, do up a paper 
of rice, or part their hair straight. A week of 
Kirtder-Garten hand and eye training, would 
have remedied all that. - 
I did not see the process of teaching the chil¬ 
dren to read, but one of the teachers said spell¬ 
ing wus^nly taught by sounds, and not as in 
America. In drawing, the method was novel, 
at. least to me. Each pupil was provided with a 
book like a copy-book, the pages covered with 
tiny dots or stars, at regular intervals, which 
served to guide the eye. In the upper left hand 
corner of the page, the teacher made u design, 
more or less complicated, which the pupil du¬ 
plicated all over the page, finishing with care 
and delicacy, so that the page when done, 
would serve as a modal for a design in tapestry, 
chintz, wall-paper, or other articles. As the 
children progress, they fmm tneir own designs, 
skill arid freedom in the use of the pencil is ac¬ 
quired, and drawing becomes for them a prac¬ 
tical accomplishment. Another feature of the 
sohooi is the general Introduction of the lead¬ 
ing languages. The children learn English, 
French and Italian, and one of the professors 
told me he spoke six different languages. 
Learn French. 
Since the war between France and Germany, 
tho French language has “ fallen from grace,*’ 
as the language of court and salon, and English 
is taking its place, so there Is a fashionable 
furor to learn English. It is a universal regret 
among Americans t at t hey, for the most part, 
are only able to speak iu their mother-tongue. 
It is t rue that wu hardly have the same facility 
at home for learning to speak European lan¬ 
guages that Europeans have; but it is also true 
that we do not make half the effort to learn. 
1 remember when poring over French and Ger¬ 
man books at home, evenings, of often hearing 
my father say, “ What nonsense, my daughter, 
to waste your time In that fashion. You will 
AUSTRIA. 
Mie house of the Prime Minister. (It; wax in 
Mioo't.vof Buda-Post, t.licUapital of Hungary.) 
He replied In the negative, that lie knew noth¬ 
ing of it. T remarked that if he had no card, it 
must have been an oversight, as all the guests 
had received one. "Oh, i have a ticket for 
something,” lie replied, diving hU hand into 
his breast pocket, r ’but. it. Is all Greek to me, 
and I concluded it was fora hotel dinner or 
something." He handed mo the card, which 
was the invitation in question, and which was 
neatly printed in French, the Hungarian Prime 
Minister knowing that few people out of Hun¬ 
gary are acquainted with tho Hungarian lan¬ 
guage. The gentleman wlm knew not a word 
of any language but his own, was ono of my 
compatriots, and an American Commissioner 
to tho Exposition all Vienna. With French and 
German newspapers ns purchasable as our own, 
in our own land, what excuse can one have for 
not being aide, at least, to read those lan¬ 
guages? In View of tho forthcoming Interna¬ 
tional Exposition In America, tiie matter of 
languages derives a new significance. If it were 
not that. Europeans learn our language, we 
would be in a tine predicament, with thousands 
of distinguished foreigners visiting us, and de¬ 
pendent upon gestures alone for the inter¬ 
change of sentiments. 
The Kinder-Cartens Again. 
A word more about the Klnder-Garten, nr 
those who may be desirous of introducing it, at 
least to a certain extent, in our primary schools. 
There is quite a Kinder-Garten literature, 
books containing tbc little deserigtivo songs 
employed, from which a clever reader of Ger¬ 
man could fashion songs In English. A Kinder- 
Garten school such as I saw in Vienna (tbc boat 
I am told .ire in Berlin) it transplanted to any 
American city would produce a posit ivc sensa¬ 
tion, as an entertainment for adults. It was 
delightfully interesting, and the children were 
bright, happy, wide-awake, remarkably well- 
behaved and without the slightest show of 
weariness, although It was fearfully hot. and 
sultry. There is no question In tho matter but 
that, our public schools lack In variety for 
young pupil&. The humdrum of study beyond 
the power of the child to grasp or understand, 
is a worse than useless weariness. But tho 
teacher who wilt have the enterprise to come 
to Germany to learn the system, and to intro¬ 
duce It properly in American sohools, will un¬ 
doubtedly have an obstacle to overcome In the 
resistance of old fogies who growl at the idea 
of a child being taught anything in school but 
reading, writing, arithmetic and geography. 
Hungary and the Hungarians. 
Although I have filled my allotfed space in 
gossiping about the Kindor-Garten, I cannot 
send off my letter without a word about Hun¬ 
gary. The city of Buda-Fust invited the Interna¬ 
tional Jury of the Exposition, with some other 
individuals, to the number of nearly six hun¬ 
dred, to make the Hungarian capital a visit. 
The Emperor of Austria ts King of Hungary, 
but the Hungarian-., since the Kossuth revolu¬ 
tion, have hiul their own parliament and sepa¬ 
rate representation as a nation. Kossuth, who 
was received with so much eclat in America, 
twenty years ago, was a Hungarian lawyer, not 
a general, but a revolutionist, and Held the post 
of Fresideutof the Hungarian Republic until 
exiled. Austria, in winning the ascendancy 
over Hungary, won also, tho hatred of Hunga¬ 
rians. The latter possess an undying longing 
for the political freedom of America. They 
have a marked individuality as a race—tall, 
handsome, dark-eyed, ohivalne, warm-hearted, 
social and hospitable. Iluda-Pest (It was 1.70 
years ago, partly a Turkish town, and that part 
firm's Garden. The system first, originated, I 
am told, in ( lie city of Prague, some forty years 
ago, and now prevails to a greater or less extent 
all over Germany and many adjacent provinces. 
Tho greatest difficulty attending It, is the diffi¬ 
culty in obtainiag suitable teachers. In Vienna 
as elsewhere, is a school for l.hcir special train¬ 
ing, and from which they receive a diploma 
when the required degree of efficiency is ac¬ 
quired. In addition to the fitness requisite, 
which on i may obtain by study, the Khider- 
Gartcn teacher must possess positive love for 
children, f.ycl, a little dramatic talent, b<- aide 
‘to sing, and possess a great deal of imagination 
and inventive taleat. The object of the system 
is to develop the child’s mind in he most de¬ 
lightful way possible, to cultivate and develop 
every sense, without weariness to either mind 
or body. 
The school 1 visited consisted of several 
grades, but tho lowest grade consisting of thirty 
or forty boys and girls, from three to six or 
eight years of age, Illustrated most thoroughly 
the peculiarity of the system. The teacher ia 
regarded by the little ones as a sort of relative, 
and they set off for school tho first t ime to see 
a new “ Aunt." as the teacher Is called. The 
morning session is from nine until twelve, the 
afternoon from two until four. When practi¬ 
cable the school is held in a garden uudor the 
trees. The children carry a morning lunch with 
them, and at baif-pasi ten it is given to them 
by the teacher; they meantime keeping in their 
seats until it is eaten. It is called breakfast, 
and ten minutes, perhaps, is devoted to it. 
They are taught neither to write, read, nor 
spell, and the programme of one day is quite 
uulike that of the next. They sit on long 
benches with a back rhat turns both ways; the 
desk in front of them is marked off in squares, 
checker-board fashion. Some of the exercises 
of the morning consisted in house-building. 
A small, square box, containing oblong wooden 
blocks, was placed in front of each child; the 
teacher took another, and with the blocks built 
a house which served as a model. When each 
child had perfectly imitated it, she arranged 
them in another way, and so on until she had 
given them a half dozen different models or 
so, when she put the blocks back In the box, 
and each child did the same with his; the boxes 
were gathered and each child furnished with a 
set of sticks, three or four inches long, and of 
the size of a knitting-needle. Tnese the 
teacner arranged in various forms, some so dif¬ 
ficult Mi t it required nice discrimination on 
tiic part of sOmo of thu children to imitate. 
Every quarter or half hour they sang, usually 
something like a small opera, which they acted. 
The songs wore all descriptive, and the children 
went through In motion the work of the 
kitchen, the farm-jard, the grain fields, the 
entertainments of tho salon, etc. Now and 
then one would take the place of the teacher 
comes. The whole voyage was a series of ova¬ 
tion.--. There was everything good imaginable 
to eat and drink, music all tbc way, a Hunga¬ 
rian band playing all national airs and whero 
one hears his country’s hymn Jive thousand 
miles from home, ids heart feci* it ns well as 
Ids ear?.. Before reaching Buda-Post, which 
happened just after a magnificent sunset, an 
envoy from the city came up to moot us—a 
steamer filled with the Budtt-Pesters—and the 
three steamers rode into the city in a storm of 
cheers. On hoard was Mtc fatuous German 
traveler, Ysohuih, a kiurlly-faccd, white-haired 
man, who has been all through Africa, and was 
the first European to cross the Pacific railroad, 
who. wit,It all his wanderings, had never made 
an excursion like unto that, the whole world 
giving in to Pest. Japanese, Greeks, Turks, 
Russians,Spanish, Italians, English, North and 
.South Americans, Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, 
Swiss, Germans, Holavorduus, Scotch, Irish, 
Walachian*, Austrians, etc., etc. 
Well, tho Maytir and oil y authorities Iu arand, 
tmue , gave us welcome, ind kept u* two days 
showing us their gardens and parks, public 
buildings, giving magnificent banquets, placing 
hundreds of carriages at our disposal, illumi¬ 
nating tho city until it looked like a fulry-scene, 
and sent us all homo in a special train, and at 
not a penny's expense to any guest. It. was 
magnificent. Tho Hungarians have a groat 
liking for America, and heinglntrodm . d to the 
Mayor ns a “ rcpre&utativo American woman,” 
by two gentlemen—one Greek the ather Ital¬ 
ian—f was only too glad to toll him that our 
love for liberty made us all Hungarians, and if 
the pimply of Undo-Pest were representative 
Hungarians, they were the most royal-1 1 carted 
people In the world. I dare say l talked like an 
Idiot , lor, notwithstanding the fact that we do 
things inAmerlcalna princely way, I had never 
experienced anything »u .superbits the reception 
given us try the city of Pest, and like every¬ 
body else was greatly touched by it- But the 
Mayor, who Was so popular with tire people 
that they carried him on their shoulders, 
showed his recognition of my appreciation in a, 
fashion that, overwhelmed me more than any¬ 
thing had. He seized my hand, covered it with 
kisses ami slipped into it his photograph, which 
will form for me un eternal souvenir of Miobril- 
liant capital of Hungary and its warm-hearted 
Burgometster. 
The Great Hog-Fattening Establishment. 
AxnoDgthe Buda-Pest. institutions we visited 
was one which specially interested the mascu¬ 
line portion of the parly —the bog-fattening 
establishment. It. whs immense, covering sev¬ 
eral acres of ground. It was fitted up with 
sheds, corn troughs, large burins of water for 
“wallowing" ana fountains which showered 
the hogs. Boys perched a bom in various places, 
directed hose and gave the hog?, shower baths. 
The animals were divided off in sections, ac¬ 
cording to the ciUVrOM. degrees of fatness they 
dlaeujoyed monstrous hogs, bat looked like 
bears, acme of them. Pamphlets were dis¬ 
tributed. printed in Hungarian and German, 
furnishing facta and figures abo | l he Society, 
whose establishment entertained during tiie 
year 1871, oWjttO hogs, and during 1873. 179,170. 
They' are fattened on maize. We also saw a 
great many Hungarian cattle, which have the 
long, wide-spreading horns of Texan cattle. 
Hungary Is a great, wheat and wine country, and 
the Hungarians have one feature which espe- 
clally distinguishes them from ihe Germans— 
they arc not et ernally smoking the pipe, which 
is the universal companion of the German, be¬ 
ing exceptional than otherwise in Hungary, and 
I tlked that. Mary A, E, WAGES. 
