HOW THE GERMANS SPEND

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1759, 18 June 1886, Page 6

HOW THE GERMANS SPEND

THEIR SABBATH. A Sunday or so ago I came round a corner suddenly into the old market i place, and found myself in a throng of people. High in air, on a rope j stretched from the top of the bouses, " Madamoiselle " somebody or other was dancing and walking. Clowns were scattered about below taking up collections and amusing the people with the usual antics and wretched jokes. All this to the accompaniment of a desperately noisy drum and brassy cornet. Everybody seemed perfectly delighted and contented — quite fulfilling their " being's end and j aim." Those who crave something higher drink their beer in the parks, wbile a band gives selections from Schubert, Bach, Strauss, or other worthies. But amidst everything else tbe churches must not be forgotten, although amusements play a more prominent part in the German's Sunday than his church. We are accustomed to speak of " Protestant Germany," and so perhaps overlook the fact that the body of Jews is large, and the Roman Catholics more than a third of the entire population. They are the people of the Rhine and Bavaria, with of course a scattering through all the provinces. The remainder is dubbed Protestant because not Jews or Roman Catholics, but probably their regard for Luther is more for his services to literature than his struggle against the Pope. Naturally, when everybody is in search of amusement, all such places as operas and theatres are in fuil blast. Public festivals and jubilees, too, are relegated to Sundays to ensure good displays. The great event of the season in Heidelberg is the illumination of the castle, and this is always on Sunday. This summer there were three, all of them as near fairyland sights as any glimpse we are likely to get into that region. The castle is ideally situated for an illumination. All round lie thick groves of trees aa a dark background. Far away below the Neckar tumbles along, and boats decked with Chinese lanterns float past with bands and voices chiming " Old Heidelberg." At a given signal rockets fly from the towers, and in an instant | the castle stands out in a flood of crimson light. The whole is like magic, and like a dream it fades slowly away into the darkness. From the river there is a perfect cannonade of rockets, and from every buttress of the bridge showers a golden rain. On the opposite bank of the Neckar and up the aides of the hill people are collected in crowds. Strangers have been attracted by the views, and from the adjacent towns come excursionists. Such Sundays are Heidelberg's "red letter days," In the oldest church here, and in many throughout Germany, there is a curious arrangement by which one side is occupied by the Protestants and the other by the Roman Catholics, and the parties dwell together without broils or bickerings. The one preaching service of the day is at nine or ten in I the morning, and then follow various ! minor services, but all is over before I evening, to give people an opportunity of going to the theatre ! As I have said, the attendance is usually sparse. Often the women and children form almost the entire congregation ; the men get along somehow with less attendance. The old custom of separating the men and women is still adhered to. If a family come, the wife takes the girls and goes to one place, and the man with the boys to another. Add to this that all the peasant women appear with bare heads, and it is at once seen how etrange an appearance

a German congregation presents. The minister wears a black gown not unlike a lawyer's. . His sermon is of the average length, and if I may judge by the specimens I have heard, hung on a text of many verses, and containing illustrations drawn from the FrancoGerman war. The service is all according to a prayer-book ; the people stand to oray, and sit while singing. Many of the tunes are weird sort of melodies, with a solemn ring caused by the general slow singing, and by having the last two notes of a line the same. The churches are fairly like many of our old country churches, good, but with those straight box-like seats intended to add a little penance to the worship. It is noticeable too that the Protestants have crucifixes and pictures scattered around the walls ; but a liking for such things seems to be inbred in the people j all through the country by the roadside one finds terrible-looking crucifixes enough to make the passer-by shudder.