MUNICH, 23rd July.

Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is an ancient Gothic city of venerable appearance.  The houses are very solid in structure, and the streets sufficiently broad to give to the city a cheerful appearance.  There are some suburbs added to it, built in the modern taste, which embellish it greatly.  A large Place outside the old town, called the Carolinen-Platz, presents a number of villas disposed in the form of a circus.  In these suburbs the people assemble on holidays and Sundays, to smoke and drink beer, of which a great quantity is consumed, it being the favorite and national beverage.  From the lively scene of the lower class of the bourgeoisie, male and female, meeting here in the Biersschanks and Tanzsaale I was reminded of the lines in Faust: 

      Gewiss man findet hier
  Die schoensten Maedchen, und das beste Bier,

which may be thus rendered: 

  Here let us halt! ’tis here we’re sure to find
  Beer of the best and maidens fair and kind!

There are other very agreeable promenades outside the town, laid out as jardins anglais, the garden of Ostenwald for instance; and should you wish to extend your walk further, there is Nymphenburg, a royal Palace and gardens, just one league distant from the city.

The Residenz-schloss or Palace of the King is a solid building.  The interior is well worth seeing.  There is a superb saloon with a vast number of valuable miniatures appended to the wainscoating.  An enormously heavy bed, groaning with gold and silver embroidery and pearls and which is said to weigh a ton, is to be seen here.  There is a very good collection of pictures, chiefly portraits, of the Electoral, now Royal family.  There is a fine chapel too belonging to this palace; a superb staircase of marble, and some fine old tapestry representing the actions of Otto von Wittelsbach.  There is likewise a curious miniature copy of Trajan’s column in gold and incrusted with precious stones, besides a variety of other things of value.

There are two theatres in Munich; one called the Hof or Court theatre, where there is a company of comedians for tragedy and comedy, the expences of which are defrayed principally by the King.  The boxes are generally let to the nobility and the parterre is open to every body on payment.  I witnessed the representation of Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro. The King was present and was greeted with much affection.  He has a very benignant expression of countenance.  He is much beloved by his subjects, for he has governed them paternally.  He has given to them a constitution unasked; for they were so contented with the old Government, that they desired no change; but he, with his usual good sense, saw the propriety of consulting and complying with the spirit of the age.  A German writer of some eminence at the time of the French Revolution, when the aristocrats and alarmists of all countries were crying out against it, and proposing harsh measures to arrest its progress, said:  “Sovereigns of Europe, do you wish to set bounds to the progress of French principles?  Nothing can be more simple; you have only to govern your people like Maximilian of Bavaria and Frederick of Saxony, and your subjects will never desire a change.”