FRANKFORT AND " FAUST"
By HAMILTON FYFE IN Germany arc delightful cities by the score. One might assert that in certain ways all are delightful, even Berlin. Their streets are spacious, tree-shaded, they display a wealth of parks and gardens ; they have a clean, attractive appearance. And of all German cities Frankfort-on-the-Main is, I think, the pleasantest • all round. So much of Hamburg as lies on the banks of, the, ,Aster is unforgettable, but away from the water the streets lack distinction. Munich can give one moments; of sheer ecstasy ; parts of Nuremberg exhale the charm, of bygone times, fortunately separated from the less agreeable sensations which once went with it ; Ilanover has that dignity which we associate with perukes,. jack-boots and ruffles at the wrist. But no city offeys, the old and the new in so happy a combination its Frankfort ; no other is so gay with flowers, so green with tiTees and bushes, so close to. hills and forests, so gracefully set on a broad shining river, not less dis- tinguisla'il than the Rhine into which it flows.
Froni the busy streets, if you lift up your eyes unto la, hills, you can see the wooded slopes of the Taunus. 8(ui thwart!, in the direction of Heidelberg, is the Oden- find there endless forest wald, beloved of' hikers, who paths, :delicious tinkling streams, tidy little old villages, hilltops where there is cold foaming beer to be had as reward for a moderate climb. Nearer at hand, if you are staying in Frankfort, are shorter walks in less ambitjaii's landscapes, and to swimmers there is offered a choiec of many bathing-places, some in the river itself, others 'in large pools set , among meadows and flower-borders. At any of these, now in the water, now on the grass in the sunshine, whole days can be enjoyed ;luncheon in the restaurants attached is excellent though simple, and surprisingly cheap. The ring of gardens which surrounds the heart of Frankfort, taking the place of. the ancient walls and fortifications, would alone give Frankfort character and beauty. Within that ring, and outside it, are fine • modera 'streets and squares, broad and airy, while at the centre, clusteri ng about the sixteenth-century cathedral, is 'a fascinating tangle. of narrow alleys and closes scarcely altered in three or four centuries from what they were when built by their first owners. Here is what a German friend - poetically described to me as the -6?ildle Of the hot 'doe industry," a cook-shop )vhere'sitic'e the time of SI-il:esp eare.Frankfurter sausages have been Made and sOld-L-1-theiSb slim, dark pork-butcher delicaeleS; ''whieh are eaten all !'over the United States tinder the' riartie Of a fiot dogs."' ' Close by is a 'Spice-shop, filled":Witlt an Eastern aroiniii. it has been in the hands of the same family sinee the 'year 1619. Takb: few steps and you enter an inn-yard, with balcony running round it, where Romeo and Juliet had its earliest perform- ances out of England, before its author died. Walls covered with' paintings, still fresh, that were put on while the Holy Roman Empire yet ranked as a great poWer in Europe. Metal-work signs of vigorous and lovely design. Doorways made to withstand sieges, staircases that would bear a company of soldiers four, at least, abreast ; windows framed in exquisite carving, courtyards that seem to breathe the very spirit of mediaeval romance. Nowhere does the atmosphere of the past linger more distinctly and more magically than in this old town of Frankfort, so wisely and so lovingly preserved. 'The great square called the Romerberg (once a camp of ancient Romans) has no building in it that does not date back to days long before the Rothschild family had become rich. The most famous house of all is the house in Which the Electors met to debate their' choice of Holy Roman Emperors. Long ago in front of it were performed mystery and passion plays. A balcony high up was added then to provide seats, remote. from the vulgar, for city dignitaries. Now in these warm evenings the square has been filled with spectators of another kind of drama. On a wide stage backed by the ancient walls players front the Municipal Theatre have been performing Schiller's Wallenstein and Joan of Are tragedies, Goethe's Faust (Part I) and his chronicle play of the hero, Gotz von Bcrlichingen, with the iron hand, AU these give a producer of spectacle magnificent opportunities. In front of the stage, armies pass and re-pass on the stones of the square. Horsemen gallop in and out. Crowds of peasants, citi- zens, soldiers, ecclesiastics, sway to and fro, rush hither and thither, yell their enthusiasm or their execration. The life of the Middle Ages, colourful and adventurous, seems to be passing before one's eyes. Cardinals in scarlet, bishops in purple, kings and emperors and barons in armour, men-at-arms in steel jackets and ragged slops, pike-trailers, country-folk in rebellion with their horrible improvised weapons (scythes and hay-forks at the tops of poles), wandering friars, drunken captains of the Pistol tYpe--no figure that we associate with the Age of Faith is missing. Much of the fascination of these open-air plays is lent by their• surroundings. You feel that these tall house- fronts, seen clearly in their noble proportions when the performance begins, then gradually darkening into mys- terious loveliness as the curtains of night are drawn-- you feel that they have looked down often on realities such as those which:are being counterfeited for your enter- tainment. "The stars 'prick points of silver in the blue- black velvet of the sky. - The players-now need the lights full on them. A faint breeze stirs the banners. J From the head-dress of a court lady a long scarf streams, as a gust catches it. Men spectators turn up their coat- collars, women draw their wraps closer round them. But no one leaves until the plays are ended.. Enchanted by this re-creation of the past, they sit till nearly midnight and sigh when all is over. Even in the cold early summer, when the performances began, all . seats were taken delight in them defied the inclemency of the weather. On the opening night a thunderstorm interrupted. For half an hour the audience had to shelter in the houses, in doorways, wherever there was shelter from the rain. But as soon as the storm had passed, they went back to their places and the actors say they have never had heartier applause than was given them at the end.
The finest spectacular effort is the Coronation scene in the .1 ungfrau von Orleans : in ninny aspects Schiller's masterpiece provides the most effective blend of pageantry with drama. Gott' is more -rough-and-tumble, The Wallenstein• episodes are long-drawn-out. The Juitgfrau grips and holds. Yet to many visitors Faust is the bright- est gem in the repertory ; it kindles their imagination to see the play so near the birthplace and early home Of Goethe, where he wrote it after picking up from a book- stall a little volume that told the lurid story of thephilos6- pher and the devil. In the Goethe-house you see- rooms in which the poet lived, filled with furniture of the time and with many of his actual belongings. To pass from this to the scene on which his characters appear at a spot where he must often himself have stood, under the buildings on which his eyes rested with pleasuie, is a rare and thrilling experience. • If Goethe and Sehil]er could revisit these glimpses of the moon which silver the clouds sailing over the Romerberg while their plays arc acted, they would surely delight -in the skill and ingenuity that are shown in the own-air productions and be .proud of the rapt attention of their audiences.
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