name is Overdick. The building itself is constructed entirely of stone,
and the walls of the great room and of the hall are inlaid with marble.
A lofty cupola and an immense glazed dome cover both the great room and
the hall; the upper staircases are ornamented with beautiful statues.
When in the evening it is brilliantly lighted with gas, and further
ornamented by a tasteful display of the richest wares, the spectator can
almost fancy himself transported to a fairy palace.

Altogether the shops in Hamburgh are very luxurious. The wares lie
displayed in the most tasteful manner behind huge windows of plate-glass,
which are often from five to six feet broad, and eight or ten feet high;
a single sheet frequently costs 600 florins. This plate-glass luxury is
not confined to shops, but extends to windows generally, not only in
Hamburgh, but also in Altona, and is also seen in the handsomest
country-houses of the Hamburghers. Many a pane costs eight or ten
florins; and the glass is insured in case of breakage, like houses in
case of fire.

This display of glass is equalled by the costliness of the furniture,
which is almost universally of mahogany; a wood which is here in such
common use, that in some of the most elegant houses the very
stair-banisters are constructed of it. Even the pilots have often
mahogany furniture.

The handsomest and most frequented street is the "Neue Wall" (New Wall).
I was particularly struck with the number of shops and dwellings
underground, to which one descends by a flight of six or eight stairs; an
iron railing is generally placed before the entrance, to prevent the
passers-by from falling down.

A very practical institution is the great slaughterhouse, in which all
cattle are killed on certain days of the week.

Concerning the town of Altona, I have only to observe that it appeared to
me a continuation of Hamburgh; from which town, indeed, it is only
separated by a wooden door. A very broad, handsome street, or, more
properly speaking, an elongated square, planted with a double row of
large trees, is the most remarkable thing about Altona, which belongs to
the Danish Government, and is considered, after Copenhagen, the most
important place in the kingdom.

It is a delicious ride to the village of Blankenese, distant nine miles
from Hamburgh; the road lies among beautiful country-houses and large
park-like gardens. Blankenese itself consists of cottages, grouped in a
picturesque