Chapter 6

Brunswick--Its beauty--High level of culture--The Brunswick Theatre--Its excellence--Gas vs. Electricity--Primitive theatre toilets--Operatic stars in private life--Some operas unknown in London--Dramatic incidents in them--Levasseur's parody of "Robert"--Some curious details about operas--Two fiery old pan-Germans--Influence of the teaching profession on modern Germany--The "French and English Clubs"--A meeting of the "English Club" Some reflections about English reluctance to learn foreign tongues--Mental attitude of non-Prussians in 1875--Concerning various beers--A German sportsman--The silent, quinine-loving youth--The Harz Mountains--A "Kettle-drive" for hares--Dialects of German--The odious "Kaffee-Klatch"--Universal gossip--Hamburg's overpowering hospitality--Hamburg's attitude towards Britain--The city itself--Trip to British Heligoland--The island--Some peculiarities--Migrating birds--Sir Fitzhardinge Maxse--Lady Maxse--The Heligoland Theatre--Winter in Heligoland