122 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CITY OF VIENNA. VIENNA, the capital of the Austrian empire, and the largest city in the whole of Germany, is seated on the right bank of the Danube, at the spot where that magnificent river, no longer rolling in one rapid and impetuous mass, spreads out its waters into several smaller streams, slow and majestic in their windings, and forming, by their many channels, a number of islands, of various sizes. The Germans call it Wien,-an appellation derived from a little river of that name, a tributary to the great Danube, into which it pours its diminutive stream, after passing through the city itself; the Hungarians and the Turks style it Betsch, and the Poles, Wieden. ITS EARLY HISTORY. IN the time of the Romans, Vienna was long a military station, under the name of Castra Flaviana, and afterwards of Vindobona; and it was here that the Emperor Marcus Aurelius died, in the second century. Upon the decline of the empire, it fell successively into the hands of the Goths and Huns; and in 791 was, by Charlemagne, attached to his dominions. The origin of the modern town is commonly ascribed to Henry the First, Duke of Austria, who is said to have founded it in 1142; and towards the close of the thirteenth century, it passed, together with the duchy, into the possession of the illustrious house of Hapsburg, whose descendants still retain it, with their imperial throne of Austria. In 1477, the city was unsuccessfully besieged by the Hungarians, but captured in 1484, by their king Matthias, who resided in it till his death, after which, it was restored to Austria. The next enemies who assaulted it were the Turks; whose power had increased to a most alarming degree, since their taking of Constantinople in 1453, and whose ambitious and enterprising Sultans were now designing to carry their victorious arms into the very heart of Christian Europe. In 1529, Solyman the Magnificent encamped under the walls of Vienna, and destroyed its suburbs; but after a fruitless siege of thirty days, the advance of winter, and the dread of approaching succours, compelled him to retreat. In 1619, it was twice blockaded by the Bohemian Protestants, who, roused to rebellion by the active persecutions of their Catholic sovereign, the Archduke Ferdinand, and his equally zealous nobles, invaded Austria, and imprisoned their intolerant ruler within the walls of his own capital. But the most memorable attack that it ever sustained, is that of the Turks in 1683; and of this we shall speak more at large. SIEGE BY THE TURKS IN 1683, AND DELIVERANCE BY THE POLES. TOWARDS the close of the seventeenth century, the Archduke Leopold, who was also Emperor of Germany, and King of Hungary, had driven his Hungarian subjects to revolt by repeated oppressions and infringements on their national liberties, of which, not the least was the cruel persecution to which he had subjected those among them who were Protestants, in his earnest desire to extirpate their religion. Headed by Tekeli, one of their principal nobles, the insurgents entered into an alliance with the Turks; and the reigning Sultan, Mahomet the Fourth, demanded certain conditions of their sovereign, which were equivalent to a declaration of war. Leopold was alarmed, and anxiously besought the aid of the Poles, who were then ruled by the celebrated Sobieski, under the title of John the Third. This gallant monarch had always espoused the interests of Louis the Fourteenth of France, and, being therefore opposed to those of Austria, was, at first, disinclined to assist the proud and tyrannical emperor; but as a Christian knight and a noble Pole, he had vowed unextinguishable hostility against the Moslems, and he therefore bound himself, by treaty, to aid Leopold with 48,000 men. The imperial force was small; it amounted barely to 37,000 troops, and was commanded by the Duke of Lorraine. Early in May the Moslem army was on its march, in number 300,000 men, Turks, Hungarians, and Tartars. 300 pieces of cannon accompanied this terrible horde, and its leader was the proud and ambitious Kara Mustapha, the Grand Vizier, and son-in-law of the Sultan, whose fearful yoke he eagerly thirsted to fasten upon the Christian nations of the west. The redoubtable host advanced from Belgrade 66 For more than two months did this siege continue, and then was Vienna reduced to the last extremity. Famine, disease, and the sword, had cut off two-thirds of its garrison; and, in the quaint language of Sobieski's French biographer, "the grave continued open without ever closing its mouth." Many breaches were made in the walls; the massy bastions were crumbling in ruins, and entrenchments thrown up in haste in the streets formed the last resource of the besieged. Stahremberg, the gallant governor, he who had declared that " he would not surrender the place but with the last drop of his blood," began now to grow fearful of the result. No more time to lose, my lord, no more time to lose," was all that he could write to the Duke of Lorraine, for he had already announced the necessity of surrendering, if not relieved in three days; and the nightly signals of distress from the summits of the steeples, showed fully the extremities to which the city was reduced. But the Turkish Vizier seemed loth to storm it, and he was, besides, carelessly confident in his own strength, and in the weakness of his opponents. For when the news was brought to him that the king of Poland was advancing, the haughty Mustapha received it with contempt :-"The king of Poland!" said he, laughing, “I know, indeed, that he has sent Lubomirski with a few squadrons!" At length the long-expected aid arrived to the relief of the suffering city. "One evening," says the French writer, M. de Salvandy, "the sentinel who was on the watch at the top of the steeple of St. Stephen's, perceived a blazing flame on the summits of the Calemberg; soon after an army was seen preparing to descend the ridge. Every telescope was now turned in that direction; and from the brilliancy of their lances, and the splendour of their banners, it was easy to see that it was the hussars of Poland, so redoubtable to the Osmanlies, who were approaching. The Turks were immediately to be seen forming their vast host into divisions,-one destined to oppose this new enemy, and one to continue the assaults on the besieged." The sight which presented itself to the view of Sobieski, and the Christian army, when, from the sterile and inhospitable summit of the Calemberg hill, they looked down upon the vast and uneven plain below, was a magnificent one. Sobieski was, however, nothing daunted by the grand array. This man," said he, "is badly encamped, he knows nothing of war,--we shall certainly beat him." 66 It was on the 12th of September, 1683, that was fought the great and mighty battle which was to decide the fate of Vienna and of Austria. At eleven o'clock the Poles appeared, and took their post on the right. "The Imperial eagles," says M. de Salvandy, "saluted the squadrons of gilded cuirasses, with cries of Long live King John Sobieski!' and the sound, repeated along the Christian line, startled the Mussulman force. Sobieski charged in the centre, and directed his attack against the scarlet tent of the Sultan. He advanced, exclaiming, Non nobis, Domine, sed tibi sit gloria! (Not unto us, O Lord, but unto Thee, be all the glory!) The Tartars and the Spahis fled, when they heard the name of the Polish hero repeated, from one end to the other of the Ottoman lines. By Allah,' exclaimed Sultan Gieray, the king is with them! At this moment the moon was eclipsed, and the Mahometans beheld with dread, the crescent waning in the heavens. 66 At the same time, the hussars of Prince Alexander, who formed the leading column, broke into a charge amidst the national cry, God defend Poland! The remaining squadrons, led by all that was noblest and bravest in the country, resplendent in arms, buoyant in courage, followed at a gallop. They cleared, without drawing bridle, a ravine, at which infantry might have paused, and charged furiously up the opposite bank. The shock was so violent, that almost all the lances were splintered. The Pachas of Aleppo and Silistria were slain on the spot; four other pachas fell under the sabres of Jablonowski. At the same time, Charles of Lorraine, had routed the force of the principalities, and threatened the Ottoman camp. Kara Mustapha fell at once from the heights of confidence, to the depths of despair. Can you not aid me?' said he, to the Kara of the Crimea. I know the King of Poland,' was the answer, and I tell you, that with such an enemy, we have no chance of safety but in flight. Mustapha in vain strove to rally his troops; all, seized with a sudden panic, fled, not daring to lift their eyes to heaven. The cause of Europe,, of Christendom, of civilization, had prevailed. The wave of the Mussulman power had retired, and retired never to return.' This happy deliverance was celebrated by suitable rejoicings; and in commemoration of it, a thanksgiving festival was instituted, to be observed annually on the 12th of September. But this was laid aside on the hundredth anniversary, in 1783, a few years after the first partition of Poland, between Austria, Russia, and Prussia. ITS OCCUPATION BY THE FRENCH VIENNA, like most of the capitals of continental Europe, SITUATION AND EXTENT. VIENNA is a singular city in its form and arrangement. We have before observed that it stands on a plain, where the Danube breaks into several branches. On the southernmost of these the capital is built, forming three concentrical circles; the first, is the old city, surrounded by its wall and rampart; the next, is a plain called the glacis, which forms a complete circle of gardens and pleasuregrounds, except where the city is washed by the arm of the Danube; and the third, which encloses the other two, is the suburbs; an immense mass of houses, more open and loosely arranged than the inner city. The low level space of ground, which thus divides Vienna into two distant parts, is nearly a quarter of a mile in width; and it was originally designed for the protection of the capital, in case of attack, by rendering the city, properly so called, a separate defence, which, it was thought, might hold out with success, even when the suburbs were in the hands of an enemy. The old city itself is not more than three miles in circumference, for it may be walked round in less than an hour. Its fortifications were once complete ; it was encompassed by bastions and ditches, and used to communicate with the suburbs by twelve gates. But when the French were about to take their departure, in 1809, they began busily to destroy these defences, and before they left, had made such extensive breaches as it would have required great labour and expense to repair. The Austrians had been convinced by experience of the inutility of these ramparts for the protection of their town, and so without thinking of repairing the breaches, they wisely resolved to convert what remained into places of public recreation, and use them for promenading; a purpose for which their breadth and elevation rendered them excellently adapted. The suburbs occupy much more ground than the old city, their circuit being more than twelve miles; they are thirty-four in number, and are surrounded by a brick-wall, which travellers tell us is a mere instrument of police, to insure the detection of disaffected persons and contraband goods, by subjecting every thing, and every person, to a strict examination. The streets here are more regular and open than in the proper city, and they are interspersed with gardens and places of recreation; but the houses are less elevated, and not so well built, although most of the wealthy and distinguished have residences. The largest, highest, and best, are generally such as are built in those parts which look immediately towards the city, where many of the public buildings are situated. These suburbs are of different sizes, and they all bear different names. largest and most populous is the Leopoldstadt, which lies to the north of the city, and is the island formed between the arm of the Danube and its main stream. It contains six hundred houses, but there is another which contains only eleven. The THE STREETS AND SQUARES. THE old city numbers as many as one hundred and twenty streets, but they are mostly narrow and crooked, though Their appearance is generally well paved and clean. antiquated and irregular, and they are just what might be expected to have grown up in the course of successive centuries, on a spot that became more precious in proportion as the people who sought protection within the walls Yet there are that surrounded it became more numerous. some large squares and open spaces, and the best of them are in the most unfashionable parts of the city; but they are totally unlike our squares in London, for they are not railed off in the middle, and planted with trees and shrubs, nor are they encompassed with the splendid mansions of the noble and the wealthy. They are clean, open, wellpaved places, surrounded by the busy shops and the comfortable dwellings of the substantial citizens, and commonly ornamented with fountains, or religious monuments of some kind. Our engraving, in page 121, represents what is called the Graben, a broad space in the very heart of the town, one of its busiest thoroughfares, and yet entered at both extremities by the narrowest and most inconvenient lanes in Vienna. It is adorned with two fountains, (one The second occasion on which the French occupied Vienna, was in 1809. Early in that year, Napoleon was in Spain, whither he had moved the great mass of his armies to subdue the unexpected resistance which he there found, to his unprincipled and rapacious ambition. Austria thought the moment favourable, and commenced a fresh war in April. But in a month her dreaded enemy was at the gates of Vienna, which he summoned to surrender on the 10th of May. The summons was rejected. The Archduke Maximilian had the command in the city; and, by his presence and exertions, he animated and encouraged the citizens to defend it, as long as the imperfect nature of the fortifications and their unskilfulness in the art of war would enable them. Mortars were quickly planted by the French, and a shower of bombs fell on the city. A flag of truce soon appeared, but merely to intimate that the young Archduchess, Maria Louisa, (who shortly afterwards became Napoleon's wife,) had been left behind, through indisposition, when the Emperor Francis, and the greater part of his family, abandoned the capital, and that she was now confined in the Imperial Palace, which happened to be in the direct front of the bombardment. The palace was of course respected, and Napoleon ordered the guns to play in another direction. But the resistance did not long continue; the city capitu-only of which appears in our view,) and they are themlated on the 12th, the Archduke Maximilian having, with the troops, secured his retreat, and destroyed the bridge across the Danube, which had been won by the French, on their former visit in 1805. Napoleon himself again fixed his head-quarters at Schönbrunn, and, after the battle of Wagram, he resided there for some months, until a peace was concluded. selves decorated with statues of a strange and ill-chosen 112--2 appearance. We may mention, likewise, the Joseph-Platz, where is a colossal equestrian statue, in bronze, of the Emperor Joseph the Second; the Hof, which is ornamented with a statue of the Virgin, and two fountains; the Neumarkt, the Hohemarkt, the Kohlmarkt, and the Burg-Platz, on which stands the Burg, or Imperial Palace. Vienna has a gay and busy appearance, and in its bustling activity, more nearly resembles our own metropolis than does any other German capital. The streets are crowded with people, who flock in from the suburbs, and who exhibit a diversity of character, corresponding to the various political divisions of the territory under the Austrian rule. But, unfortunately for the lovers of the picturesque, there is to be found none of that diversity of costume, which might in former times have enlivened the streets of Vienna. The dresses of the persons who throng them, vary not materially from those which we observe in our own metropolis; even Greeks, Turks, and Tartars, are to be seen wearing coats and hats; and for the ladies, the Parisian fashions find favour in their eyes here as elsewhere. HOUSES, &c. THE style of building in the streets of Vienna is plain and massive; the houses are lofty, rising to four or five floors, which are occupied by different families, and all approached as in Edinburgh and Paris, by one common staircase. Their average number of occupants is about forty; but there are some individual masses of building in the very heart of the city, which are more thickly peopled, and, indeed, are as populous as large villages. The houses are generally built in the form of a square, surrounding a small court, which from their great height, and its own narrow dimensions, has much the appearance of a dark well, often communicating so little light to the staircase, as to render lamps necessary in the day-time. Every house is under the superintendence of a Hausmeister, or housemaster, who is a personage appointed by the proprietor, to watch over the building and its tenants, to preserve the cleanliness of the common-passages, and attend to the safety of the street-door. "This little despot," says Mr. Russell, in his Tour in Germany, "commonly lurks in some dark hole on the ground-floor, or still lower down; and every evening, as the clock strikes ten, he locks the street-door. After this, there is neither ingress nor egress without his permission, and his favour is only to be gained at the expense of the pocket; if you come home after ten o'clock, he expects his two-pence for hearing the bell and opening the door. It is true, that he is bound in duty to admit you at any hour, and that you are not bound to give him any thing; but if you have entered in this way once or twice, without properly greeting his itching palm, the consequence is, that on the next and all subsequent occasions, you may ring half an hour before the grumbling Hausmeister deigns to hear, and another before he condescends to answer your thankless summons. same thing at ten o'clock; the outer gate must be shut, It is the whatever revelry may be going on within. It is a police regulation, and the police is watchful." PUBLIC BUILDINGS. THE public edifices of Vienna are insignificant, for this city has hitherto made but small advances in elegant architec ture. The Burg, or palace of the Emperor, is an ill-defined irregular mass, made up of many badly-assorted patches, and exhibiting, in its successive additions, a type of the gradual steps by which its lordly masters have risen up to their present station among the rulers of the earth. The part used as the residence of the sovereign is called Schweitzerhof, and is an extensive building, forming two sides of a quadrangle; but its appearance is not very striking. It is surrounded by a number of edifices, which are devoted to various purposes, and comprises, among others, the Imperial Library, the Chancery of the Empire, the Imperial Riding-school, and the Theatre attached to the Palace. The great hall of the library is in the form of a cross. The domes and ceiling are adorned with paintings, and supported by pillars, in imitation of variegated marble. In the centre is a statue of the Emperor Charles the Sixth, the founder of the edifice; and round the walls are ranged marble statues of princes of the Austrian House, interspersed with antique busts. The number of volumes is said to exceed 300,000, besides 12,000 manuscripts, and 6000 specimens of the early printing of the fifteenth century. The collection of manuscripts is particularly valuable, and comprises several very interesting productions. Besides these buildings we may mention the palace of the Archduke Charles, and the gorgeous edifice which belongs to Prince Lichtenstein. Indeed, the private mansions of its nobles are among the most interesting buildings in Vienna, where those devoted to public purposes, and occupied by the various boards and chanceries, which compose the administration of the empire, are seldom worthy of the smallest notice. There are two arsenals; that of the city, and that styled the imperial one; in the former is preserved the head of Kara Mustapha, who conducted the siege of 1683, and was strangled the following year at Belgrade, by the Sultan's order; and in the latter, are to be seen memorials of many great men,the armour of the celebrated crusader, Godfrey of Bouillon, of Frederic Barbarossa, and the Emperor, Charles the Fifth; the leathern jacket, and the hat worn by the great Gustavus Adolphus, when he was killed at the battle of Lützen, with the helmet of the renowned Prince Eugene of Savoy, the friend and brother-warrior of the famous Marlborough. It also contains the balloon which was used by the French at the battle of Fleurus in 1793, and which greatly contributed to their success on that occasion. RELIGION. THE established religion of Vienna, as of the whole Austrian Empire, is the Roman Catholic; but every other form of worship is permitted. That the like toleration was not at all times practised by the rulers of this state, our readers may easily gather from what has been said of the history of the city; for we have there noticed, with what eagerness they persecuted those among their subjects, who refused to comply with the ordinances of the Romish Church, and how, more than once, they were made to tremble for the safety of their very capital, because they would oppress with goading cruelty, men too enlightened to adopt the fallacies of their creed. Bohemia, an important part of the Austrian dominions, was often conspicuously engaged in the religious struggles of Germany; and when we mention the name of this fallen kingdom, our readers will at once call to mind, that it is the country which gave birth to John Huss and Jerome of Prague,―those noble martyrs to the primitive faith, who following in the steps of Wickliffe, contributed much by their preachings and their deeds, to pave the way for the more successful efforts of Luther, who came after them. In the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Hussites and Protestants were banished by the emperors from their territories; and even the celebrated Maria Theresa, who reigned with her son, from 1740 to 1780, had the barbarity to hunt down the few that yet lurked in the fastnesses of the mountains. But in 1781, an edict of general toleration was passed by Joseph the Second, and since then the number of open dissentients from popery has become greater. Vienna has had its share of the increase, but the number of protestants it contains is small; and it would seem that they are not so much Austrians by birth, as families who have come down from the Protestant States of Germany to settle in this capital. The Viennese are strictly observant of the forms of their religion; and their devotion extends even to superstition. This is more especially the case with the lower classes, who place great reliance upon the efficacy of their pilgrimages to shrines, which their ignorant credulity regards as peculiarly sacred, because of the possession of some relic, to which tradition ascribes much holy virtue, or for any other reason equally valid. Mariazell is the spot more particularly favoured as the scene of their worship; and of their excursion to this place we shall speak below. CHURCHES. VIENNA contains fifty-seven Roman Catholic churches; one Lutheran, and one Calvinist meeting-house; four Greek chapels, and two synagogues. But only few of these edifices can boast of much architectural beauty, or richness of decoration. At the head of them is the Cathedral church of St. Stephen, a beautiful Gothic structure, with a steeple remarkable for its symmetry and height. It was begun by the first Duke of Austria, before the middle of the twelfth century; in the earlier half of the thirteenth it was twice burnt down, and then rebuilt in its present form. Such, however, was the small extent of the city at that period, that it then stood considerably without the walls, although it is now in the very centre of the space they enclose. This church is the largest in Germany; its greatest length is 355 feet, and its extreme breadth 230. The height of the roof exceeds 80 feet, and that of the tower is said to be more than 450; an elevation surpassed only by that of the Münster at Strasburgh, which is upwards of five hundred feet. The external appearance of this cathedral is sombre and | majestic, although its grandeur is somewnat impaired, by The church of the Capuchins is remarkable, but not for its beauty. In one of its low dark vaults, are the tombs of all the members of the Imperial House of Austria, beginning with Matthias. The coffins are of bronze, oblong in form, and very large; those of the earliest date quite plain and simple, others wrought with trophies and achievements. But these mausoleums do not contain the whole remains of the Imperial family; for, in accordance with a curious custom, their hearts are deposited in one of the chapels of the barefooted Augustines, and their entrails in the cathedral of St. Stephen. Besides these edifices, we may mention the church of St. Peter, an unworthy imitation, on a poor scale, of its great namesake at Rome, and built in 1702. There is also a chapel "Des Ecossais," in which is to be seen the monument of the gallant Stahremberg, who held out so bravely against the Turks in 1683. MANNERS, &c. VIENNA has the reputation of being an extremely dissolute city; and, although some travellers are less unmeasured than others in their condemnation, all agree in representing it as one in which the public morals are much degraded. In this respect it resembles some other continental capitals, wherein similar despotic governments, and similar superstitions, necessarily exert a baneful influence upon the conduct of individuals, and upon the character of society. The Viennese are distinguished by an unbounded love of pleasure, and a strong indisposition to all exertion, either of the body or the mind. Their fondness, indeed, for amusements is sufficiently attested in the fact, that, with scarcely a fifth part of the population of London, Vienna supports five theatres, two of which are Imperial property. One curious characteristic of this people is, a most inordinate and silly love of high-sounding titles and forms of address, which, being, conceived to give dignity and con sequence to the person who assumes them, are, therefore, most scrupulously exacted. A clerk in a public office, perhaps on a salary of £40 a year, must not be styled a simple clerk, but an "Imperial and Royal Clerk," in such and such an 66 Imperial and Royal Office." The Baron Reisbeck, who travelled through Germany in the assumed character of a Frenchman, notices this practice when recounting the difficulties which he experienced, before he could provide himself with a suitable habitation. He says, "the first room I saw was up four pair of stairs; the looks of it did not displease me, but as soon as I heard that the owner was a Gnädige Herr, (Gracious Sir,) I said, in French, to my lacquais, Away, I will have nothing to do with a Gnädige Herr, who has half of his hired habitation to underlet.' The Baron did not succeed in his search until he had had a plentiful choice of titled landlords, among whom one bore the designation of your Honour, and another was styled an Excellence, or rather a Magnificence. CULTIVATION OF THE ARTS AND WHEN Mr. Russell tells us, that so long as it is granted to the Viennese, "that they can produce among their citizens, a greater number of decent performers on the violin or piano than any other capital, they have no earthly objection to have it said, that they can likewise produce a greater number of blockheads and debauchees," he enables us to form a correct estimate as to the state of the arts and sciences among them. Of all accomplishments, a proficiency in music holds the highest place in their estimation; and in the practice of this art, they are certainly as much above the other nations of Europe, (the Italians excepted,) as they are below them in all more solid and useful pursuits. Dr. Burney speaks of Vienna as the imperial seat of music in Germany, and the names of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, who have all lived within its walls, present a host of excellence unequalled in any single city of Europe. Haydn was born at a village only fifteen leagues from Vienna, and it was while acting as one of the children of the choir at St. Stephen's that he began that long course of unwearied application, which supplied the natural defects of his genius, and laid the sure foundation of his subsequent success. And after he had left the cathedral establishment, it was while engaged with two friends, in the prevalent amusement of serenading the beauties of Vienna, during the fine summer-evenings, that he first brought his talents into notice. The anecdote is curious. The young musicians had distinguished, among the ladies whom they honoured, the wife of Bernardini Curtz,-the proprietor and harlequin of one of the theatres in the capital. As they were executing a serenata, for her gratification, Curtz, struck with its originality, came out into the street, to ask who composed it. "I did," replied Haydn boldly. "How! you! at your age!" cried the astonished harlequin. "One must make a beginning some time or other," was the rejoinder. "This is droll! come up stairs!" exclaimed Curtz; and soon after this incident, Haydn rose in reputation considerably. The practice of music is very general in Vienna, and much attention is paid to it, even by children, who learn nothing else. There is a musical society consisting of nearly two thousand members, mostly amateurs; and none are admitted as active members but those who are able to take a part, vocal or instrumental, in a concert. There are besides, 175 pupils, constantly receiving instruction in this art; their establishment possesses a rich musical library, and a collection of the ancient and modern instruments of all nations. Vienna has much in it to interest a lover of the fine-arts. The Imperial collection of paintings at the Belvedere Palace, consists of nearly 1400 pictures, comprising many excellent specimens of the Italian, German, and Flemish Schools. It is particularly rich in the works of Rubens, to which, nearly two whole apartments are devoted, out of the twenty-three, in which the entire collection is deposited; there are, also, many productions of Titian's pencil, and several of Vandyke's and Albert Durer's. The gallery of the Duke of Sachsen-Teschen is a noble one; it contains above 12,000 original drawings, and 129,000 engravings, among which are works by almost every artist of reputation. There are a great number of drawings by Raphael; 159 specimens by Albert Durer, and 50 sketches of Claude's, But the great value of this splendid cabinet, does not consist only in its extent, or its ricaness in the works of any particular master; the completeness of its series, renders it inestimable, as a means of illustrating the history of the arts of design and engraving. Besides these collections, there are several others belonging to the wealthy nobles, whose palaces adorn Vienna. Among them, we may particularize those of the Princes Esterhazy, Liechtenstein, and Schonborn, with that of Count Lamberg. The Imperial gallery of antiques is deposited in a part of the palace, and is worthy of notice; for though the statuary which it contains is insignificant, it can boast of an almost inimitable collection of cameos and intaglios, and an extensive cabinet of coins and medals. The whole of this collection, with that of natural history, has been three several times carried down the Danube from Vienna, into the district of Hungary called Bannat, in order to preserve it from the grasp of the French. The general state of science in Vienna is represented as far from flourishing. The number of scientific men is small, and, with the exception of a small medical society, there is no institution through the means of which they can keep up an intercourse with each other. Medicine and the various branches of natural history are the sciences most cultivated; but in the former of these pursuits, Berlin is fast rising above Vienna. The Botanical Garden is a good one, and derives encouragement from the taste of the reigning emperor for botany. The Imperial Museum of Natural History is important, and we shall speak more particularly of it. THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. THIS establishment occupies several large rooms in the emperor's palace, and embraces within it specimens illustrative of all the different branches of natural history. The Zoological portion has been collected and arranged with great care and expense, and is very extensive. A part of its riches has been derived from the menagerie of Schönbrunn, which was, at one time, much better stored with rare animals than it now is; and no opportunity has been neglected of adding to its value, by the purchase of entire collections or of individual specimens. The mineralogical specimens are deposited in cases arranged in a suite of rooms, but only the more splendid ones are displayed; they amount in number to 100,000, and comprise a great many of the most magnificent and valuable that are known to exist; but the pride of the collection is a celebrated opal, from the mines of Kaschan, which weighs seventeen ounces, and is supposed to be the largest mass of this aerolithes, or meteoric stones, some of which fell in the mineral ever found. There is also a curious series of Austrian dominions. THE trade and manufactures of Vienna are considerable; €0,000 individuals, it is calculated, find employment in different branches of productive industry. The manufactures embrace silk, gold and silver lace, ribbons, hardwaregoods, and philosophical instruments. The manufacture of iron and steel forms indeed an important one in Austria, and great progress has been made in it, especially since the war. In Vienna itself much ornamental steel-work is executed; but this branch of industry is yet far from having attained the same perfection as in England, or even Prussia; nor is the use of iron so extensive, nor is it applied to works of such importance as with us. The porcelain of Vienna is well known. The manufacture is situated in the suburb of Rossau, and employs above 600 workmen, of whom more than 100 are painters. The china is of a strong texture, but is not equal to that of Berlin, in elegance either of form or ornament. Vienna is the chief seat of the silk manufacture in Austria; but this branch of industry, once so flourishing here, has much declined of late. Previous to the French Revolution it employed, in the capital alone, 6000 looms, but before 1803 it had been reduced one-third. Many most beautiful articles of rich and embroidered silk are to be found in the palaces of the wealthy, or the Museum of the Emperor; but the looms are chiefly employed in weaving |