nt promenade; but by far the most agreeable
walk, in my opinion, is on the _Zwinger_, a sort of terrace on the left
bank of the Elbe in the old town, adjoining the palace and gardens of Count
Bruhl. From this place you have a noble view of a long reach of the Elbe.
It is besides the favorite promenade of the ladies. On the _Zwinger_ too is
a building containing a fine collection of paintings. Here are _cafes_
likewise and a _restaurant_. The evening promenades are in the gardens of
the _Linkischer Bad_ (Bath of Link) on the banks of the Elbe, where there
is a summer theatre. This is the favourite resort of the _bourgeoisie_ on
Sundays and _jours de fete; gouters_ and supper parties are formed here and
very good music is heard. The Elbe bridge is of beautiful structure, and
there is a good regulation with respect to those who pass over this bridge;
which is that one side of the bridge is reserved for those going from the
new to the old town, and the other side for those going from the old to the
new town, and if you attempt to go on the wrong side you are stopped by a
sentry, so that there is no jostling nor lounging on this bridge. An arch
of this bridge was blown up by Marshal Davoust in order to arrest the
progress of the Russians, and a great deal of management was necessary to
effectuate it, for the worthy Saxons have a great veneration for this
bridge, and in order to inforce the execution of this resolution on the
part of the Marshal, the personal order of the King and the employment of
Saxon troops were necessary. It has been rebuilt since, and no one would
know that the arch had ever been blown up, but from the extreme whiteness
of the new arch, contrasting with the darker color of the old ones.

In the old town or Dresden proper, the finest buildings are: the Catholic
church, standing near the bridge, an edifice yielding in beauty but to few
in Italy and to none in other countries. Here you hear excellent music
during the church service; and the King and Royal family, all of whom are
Catholics, attend constantly. The Royal Palace is very near the church and
not far from it is the theatre. Saxony being a Lutheran country, the public
exercise of the Catholic religion was not permitted until Napoleon's time,
when he proposed an arrangement to permit to the King and all other
Catholics the public celebration of their religion, which proposition was
acceded to with universal approbation on the part of the Protestants,