A HOT-WATER CIIBE.
THE.author of this lively book appears to be a middle-aged naval or irallitary man, who for want of a change had got out of sorts. He tried .)several medical advisers : they all differed in their prescriptions, but Ore say it aside) seemed to think there was little the matter with him. His last effort was a visit to an old friend in the country—pro- bably some surgeon retired from the service ; whose table must have - -undone the effects of his laboratory. The treatment, however, agreed with our invalid the best of any : but still he was not the thing; so his medico suggested change of air ; and the patient decided upon drinking the German waters, or at least some of them.
In pursuance of this resolve, he started for Aix-la-Chapelle ; steaming Antwerp,—a route which he strongly recommends in preference to that by Ostend, on account of better boats, better lauding, and better • inns, unless the traveller wish to see the old towns of Bruges, Ghent, and Mechlin. From Antwerp he proceeded by railway to Brussels, and visited the field of Waterloo ; upon which he makes out an interesting account, by description, criticism, and anecdotes of the Duke warranted authentic, though one or two are not quite fresh. A train, but none of the fastest,
conveyed the traveller from Brussels to Aix ; where he fixed his head- Auarters, till the physician recommended a change of baths : then he ..made a trip to Wiesbaden, and several other spas ; but finally finished his " cure" at Aix-la-Chapelle. The route and the places visited are old, and limited in point of num- ber. Most books on German spas describe more waters, and are more fill of specific information, perhaps gathered from guide-books, and the " blue books " of the German spas. Nevertheless, A Hot-Water Cure ,is among the best of the volumes that have appeared on this fashionable -theme. Its very limitation is in its favour. It is all the result of actual experience ; and too much is not attempted, either in fact or description. Anybody who can manage the voyage may get to Aix-la-Chapelle with- out more inconvenience than moving about the vicinity of London ; and, for ought that appears, those venerable waters are quite as good as most of the new ones, and the town very much better. Of course we speak of a general unhinging which requires change: particular diseases require .tparticular advice, and the patient will go where he is sent. For any of the spas within easy range of Aix, the Hot-Water Core will furnish an agreeable enough guide, without its stiffne,ss and formality. But its merit lies in its manner. It is in reality, though not in form, a series of sketches by the way, done by a man of good common sense, 'which has been rendered keen and tolerant by experience, and with a _native liveliness and pleasantry of mind that years have rather ripened than subdued. No doubt, with this is mingled some of that freedom which, as youth passes off, in men of the world approaches the openness of physical philosophy without its necessity. Except, however, the ..ctzait of "foreign manners " at page 57, which had better have been -emitted, a sort of conventional indelicacy, or after-dinner freedom, such Autiarises from plainly describing gross behaviour, is the head and front ,of'the offending. Take for example one of the worst.
FOREIGN MANNERS AT TABLE.
It is amusing to -watch the conventionalities of different people at our dinner- , table. One day, a Frenchman, picking his teeth with his fork, gently reproved a young German for noisily and offensively collecting his saliva and droppmg it on the ffoor. " J'en conviens," said the other, good-humouredly, "but I really was obliged: it was either that or swallow it." A Belgian, who regards with disgust 'the conveying of peas to the mouth on the point of a knife, has no scruple in -combing his head at table, completing his toilet with a small mirror, with which he examines the state of his back-teeth. An Italian, who affects the fine gentle- man, and looks contemptuously upon the holyday clothiers of Verviers who come to spend their Sunday here, will not only spit and do worse, but help himself to :strawberries with his well-worn toothpick. A German sits at breakfast with his wife with his bat on, though out of doors he can hardly keep it on his head for bowing. Yesterday, a gentleman helping a lady to champagne, saw something in the wine, and dipped his finger into the glass to remove it; then filled up the glass, and politely presented it. .0n all sides you see the old principle of "fingers before forks " amply carried out in these days. 'Some of the ladies pick their bones with relish, and, forgetting-that napkins are liberally supplied, scrupulously -lick their fingers afterwar&-. Even the pretty young lady will persist in drag ging her millets off the dish by the bone. I believe I am the only person who gets the knife and.fork changed at every change of plate; but this affectation I mean to discontinue. The practice is, after carefully wiping and polishing the plate with a piece of bread, and swallowing it, to take another piece and wipe the .knife and fork: this, at any rate, is better than having them polished up by a common towel, which must, happen if every one sent them away with their plates. Tam sorry to observe that our guests of all countries lose all sense of restraint and decorum when there is a chance of a favourite dish escaping them. Walters are then vehemently called to; seized if possible, but wearing no coat-tails, this is .not easy ; and quietly but deeply cursed if they miss an expectant. After a man has well heaped his own plate, I have known him turn to a neighbour with an -" En voulez-vons, Monsieur? " I was much amused one day with a fat plethoric fellow who came in late and sat next to me. The bouillie was going round, but had passed him while eating his soup. However, as soon as he could get his plate changed, he helped himself to cauliflower, and looked out sharp for the meat; which came not, and was rapidly vanishing, my neighbour on the other side having just cleared one dish at his second helping. Unluckily, two waiters in succession, not noticing that he was already provided, handed him vegetables al; when he started up, and in a state of great excitement, shouted' Fleish,
1" continuing the sentence with what I should consider, from the tone and
manner, to be the heartiest curses I ever beard in my life. * *
They may call our countrymen rude and bearish—and there are some curious
=kens go abroad—but I run satisfied no person from Wapping or St. Benet og would do these things. Nay, I am equally sure that, for genuine, real politeness, that does the civil thing without any fionrishiag, they are not to be matched abroad. It is much. to be wished that they could get rid of their cold and apparently sulky manner: these I dislike, because we hate our own faults in ethers.
'There are a good many more sketches of manners, not displaying con- duct so gross as this, but touched with an equal -leaning to British ideas of things, though always pleasant-tempered even in the satire. Our other Specimen of the Hot-Water Cure will relate to more practical matter.
THE PRUSSIAN TROOPS.
'-ist to takemymorning dose, I saw a Prussian regiment in close column •
e -Theatre. The sight of troops under arms is always an irresistible
attraction to me, --and .I went to make my small criticism ou their appearance. The men are all young, of -course; as the serving army of Prussia must be re- cruited as it is withmen from eighteen to twenty-five; who, after three years' service, are dismissed to the.army of reserve; which last are assembled once A-year for a month. Lumpish, awkward, round-shouldered, ill -set-up youths they.are; and if .I had not seen the Belgians, I should have pronounced them the most slovenly troops I ever encountered. I have not seen the Pope's Guards, certainly but most of other troops of Europe I am acquainted with. By the-word slovenly, I make no allusion to their dress or general turn-out; the character of the first is excellent, though ill-made, and they are clean on parade; but their slovenliness in moving, whether on sentry or in the ranks, is unpardonable. Lam quite satisfied that a good English adjutant (and I have my eye upon one) would, from so many rustics fresh from the, plough-tail, turn out in six weeks a better. drilled, better set-up, and in every respect, a more military and efficient body-ot men than any regiment I have ever yet seen in this country. Having made-up my mind on this point, and heard a pretty tune on the band, I was about to depart to my douche, when the troops commenced moving off in sections from the right of companies. Knowing how difficult it is in our own two-deep formations to keep the distances on a line of march in a column of small sections, I was curious to observe the way in which they managed it in the cumbrous and absurd forma- tion of three-deep: so, falling in among the crowd of small boys, young nursery maids, and town blackguards that usually accompany a band, I proceeded with the column through the Port St. Adelber, to the road leading by the cemetery; before coming to which they halted. In the short space of half a mile their column had stretched to at least three times its proper distance. Here they halted and formed two deep,—a complicated movement, effected by extracting one rank and forming more divisions. From thence they marched m an open column of subdivision, but as loosely as before. There is only one way of moving along a road with ease to the soldier, and without losing distance—our own four-deep formation. How the Continental Powers can. persist in the three-deep formation, is wonderful. I will defy a man of the rear-rank to fire with effect, with-two ranks in marching order before him, unless the enemy are posted on a hill: he must fire over their heads; to say nothing of the steadiness of thefront men Nino- considerably disturbed by the discharge of firelocks, the muzzles of which bare clear their ears. The stuff these regiments are composed of is good: the men are from the. Polish frontier, and are fresh-coloured and healthy. Their dress is good; a plain blue jacket with red facings and white cross-belts, and made loose and easy. There is no padding, as was formerly the custom in this army. They have a good, sensible, becoming cap, like ours before the Albert improvement. Their firelocks seem efficient and well finished, and are detonators. f hey wear swords, which are of questionable use. The of appear on parade in a strange variety of costume; some in surtouts, some in coatees, some in great-coats; hut all well- made.
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