eresting, but now
it is simply an enterprise, speculation kept alive by travelers and
sight-seers. As a representation it is impressive in a way, but your
illusions are dimmed by the prosaic manner in which everything is
done. I felt a little queer when I met Jesus Christ smoking and wiping
his muddy sandals with a dirty handkerchief, and saw Mary Magdalene
flirting with the chauffeurs. When we sat at a _cafe_, enjoying a mug
of beer and a sausage, we were surrounded by St. Joseph and a brood of
angels, all drinking beer. People may rave about the _Stimmung_, the
poetry, and the romance of it, but I saw beauty neither in the acting
nor in the play. I do not speak of the music, there was so little of
it. Physical comfort goes a long way with yours lovingly. To sleep in
a narrow bed having a piece of flannel buttoned between two coarse
pieces of linen, to eat bad food, to sit on hard benches for hours
under an open heaven which lets down occasionally a mild shower--this
is what the Germans call _Stimmung_ and others call "local color" and
what I call discomfort. Still, it is one of the things one must do
once in ten years. For a European to say, "I have not been to
Oberammergau," is like an American saying, "I have never been to
Niagara."

Whoever has been to see the crazy King Ludwig's _chateaux_ knows more
about them than I do, for I hated to go inside them. I gazed at the
magnificent view and wondered how any but a crazy person could have
furnished the interiors.

What a life the King led his faithful subjects! They are still taxing
all they can tax in order to pay his debts. Poor things! They won't
finish for a long time yet!

BERLIN.

Dear L.,--The visit to the Berlin court by King Edward and Queen
Alexandra is already a thing of the past, but I must tell you about it
while it is still fresh in my mind. We, as _legation de famille_, went
to the Lehrter station to meet them on their arrival. When the train
steamed in the Emperor and the Empress went forward to the door of the
carriage, and as the King and the Queen descended they all embraced
affectionately. The Empress led the Queen to the waiting-room, where
she presented all the ladies who were there. There was music inside
and outside of the station. In fact, everything was so exactly like
the reception of our King and Queen, which I have described before,
that I will not repeat myself.

King Edward looked tired and coughed constantly. The Queen, whom I h