eat walls
were riddled with shot and shell; vast breaches in them opened out a
view of even more dreadful ruin within; streets choked up with fallen
houses, and wide squares encumbered with blocks of masonry and blackened
timbers. The terrible traces of barricade struggles still remained; but
more significant than all these was the downcast, sorrow-struck look of
a population once known as the gayest and most light-hearted of Europe.

The air of suffering and poverty extended to everything. No signs of the
once luxury and wealth of that rich nobility. Not an equipage was to
be seen! The passing and repassing of troops gave the only movement
observable in the streets. Strong guards and patrols marched past, with
all the precaution and preparation of a state of war. The dragoons sat
in their saddles, carbine in hand, as if but waiting for a signal to
engage; while, in the half-defiant stare of the populace might be read
the spirit of men who had not yet resigned themselves to defeat.

Most of the shops were closed, and, even of those still open, the
display of wares was scanty and miserable; rather seeming as if the
effort were made to conciliate the favor of the Government than with
any hope of gain. The cafes were deserted, except by the military; and
they--far from indulging the jocund mirth and laughter which was their
wont--were now serious and anxious-looking, regarding the passers-by
with a distrustful glance, and seeming as though they felt that the
interval was less peace than an armistice.

Cannon were in position on the Stephan's Platz and the Graben, and the
gunners stood ready, as if on parade. Officers of the staff, too, and
orderlies rode hastily to and fro, showing that no rash reliance was
placed on the quietude of the capital, and that the hour of conflict, if
it were to come, should not find them unprepared. In vain the stranger
might have sought for that more than feudal splendor which once was the
type of this brilliant city! The gorgeous liveries of the Bohemian,
or the more tasteful grandeur of the Magyar noble were no longer to be
seen. The varied costumes of the Banat and the Wallach, which gave such
character to many a rude equipage, the barbaric finery, which recalled
the old struggles with the Crescent, which marked the rank of some
border chieftain, was gone. Vienna presented nothing but its troops of
soldiers, and its mournful, sad-looking population, moving listlessly
about, or standing in