I have been to see the Palace and grounds of the Grosser Garten.  The garden and park, for it unites both, is of great extent, and beautifully laid out; but a number of fine trees have been knocked down and mutilated by cannon shot during the battle of Dresden in 1818, when this garden was occupied by the Allied troops and exposed to a heavy fire of fifty pieces of cannon, from a battery erected by Napoleon on the opposite side of the river, which completely commanded and enfiladed the whole range of the garden.  How the Palace itself escaped being knocked to pieces is wonderful; but I suppose Napoleon must have given orders to spare it as much as possible.  This Palace is of beautiful structure and in the style of an Italian villa; statues of the twelve Caesars and bas-reliefs adorn the exterior.  The columns and pilasters are of the Corinthian order.  As for the interior, it is unfurnished, and has been so since the Seven Years’ war, when it was plundered by the enemy, and has never since been inhabited by the Electoral family.  There is a superb rectangular basin of water in this garden.  These gardens are delightfully laid out; why they are not more frequented I cannot conceive, but I have hitherto met with very few people there, tho’ they are open to all the world.  They will form my morning’s promenade, for I prefer solitude to a crowd in a morning walk.  But one of the gardeners here tells me that on Sunday evening there is generally a good deal of company, who come to listen to the music which is played in a building fitted up for the purpose at one side of the garden.  Wine, coffee, beer and other refreshments are to be had; but beer is the favorite beverage.  Smoking is universal among the young men; the most ardent admirers of the fair sex never forget their pipe.  During the courtship the surest sign that the fair one does not intend to give her lover the basket is when she presents him with a bag to hold his tobacco.  Her consent is implied thereby.

During the battle of Dresden, the slaughter in this garden was immense, and the Allies were finally driven out of it.  The gardener related to me an affecting story of a young lady of Dresden, whose lover was killed in this battle and buried in the Grosser Garten.  She has taken it so much to heart that she comes here three or four times in the week to visit this grave and strew flowers over it.  She remains for some time absorbed in silent meditation and then withdraws.  She has a settled melancholy, but it has not yet affected her understanding.

DRESDEN, Oct. 15th.