Sunday on the Continent

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 174, 16 October 1886, Page 6 (Supplement)

Sunday on the Continent

In Sweden for six days all men engaged in "too building trade 'work from seven in the morning until eight in the evening.; and, **& the summer is very short, they make the beat of the few fine Sundayeat theirdieposal. ■At Stockholm the day is spent in a manner absolutely unique. At an early hour the streets are alive ■with forking men and their families on their wav to the country, for the Swedish working man ahaves his pleasures with his family. Very few persons go to church. Sunday is the day upon which all philanthropic and other pociefciee hold their demonstrations and ffites. One Sunday I accompanied the Good Templars to Upsala, the seat of one of their universities. The special train which had been provided contained Borne 400 membe>r3 and their families ; and with bands playing and banners flying, a very striking effect was produced. The hot summer's day was spent entirely in the woods. A platform had been erected in the phadiesfpart, and from this the speakers held forth for an hour or two to people who .showed no sign of impatience. Then a short sermon was delivered, and several hymns, were sung, and the devotional part of the day's proceedings waß concluded. The remainder of the day was spent in eating and drinking, in inspecting lhe treasures of the University library, and in quiet walks in woods. In the city the beautiful open-air caf«ss are crowded with all sorts and conditions of men, drinking •panch and listening to the finest music in Europe. I spent two Sundays in Stockholm, visited every pleasure garden and boarded aeveral steam9r?,buteaw no drunkenness and no rowdyism. In Antwerp, as in Brussels, the £>hop 3 ' are open the whole of Sunday. A few close In the afternoon ; but I saw the shops of clothiers, watchmakers and bakers open at eleven at night. 1 very much doubt, however, whether any business is done, for the people seem all on pleasure bent. The only tradesmen who do a roarine trade are publicans. From early morning to late evening the public houses are, as a rule, well filled Most of the drinking, however, is done outside in the street. Every publican in Antwerp is an

Ob9trnotor of the First Order. He does what he likes, and plants his chairs and tables right on the footpath, compelling people either to tafie a seat and order a drink, or make a tour round his bar furniture. The morning services at church appear to bo well attended, but the afternoon and evening are devoted 6nt ; re\y to amusemeuts. The tramcars and railway trains are crowded «o are the theatres and music halla in the evenings. Bound about the railway station are scores of caf£s handsomely furnished and "brilliantly lighted. To most of them admittance is free, but the moment a man enters the door he is pounced upon by one of the establishment for hia order, and a stranger considers himself " sold " when he is charged sixpence or a shilling for a drink. The scene which meets his eye ia very dazzling, At one end of the room is a stage tapon which are seated all the performers, singers, and dancers, dre°sed in all sorts of fancy costumes. But many of these attrac-tive-looking damsels would stand very little chance of an engagement in England. The system upon which they appear to l>e paid is decidedly objectionable. After er6ry song, whether good or bad, the singer descends from the^ftage to the floor, to take up a collection from amtng the audience. The money so collected is said to be for her own use, but I question the truth of the statement, and am inclined to believe that the proceeds are pocketed by the proprietors of the halls. The system seems a good one for them, but is a bid one for the singers, and makes this form of amusement expenuive, for everybody ia expected to give a halfpenny or a penny. The poorest of the forking classes, however, content themselves with the music of the military band "\vbicb plays every afternoon in the park. Notwithstanding tbe amount of drinking going on, I saw

No Drunkenness Anywhere • In the city. Everybody, conducted himself properly. In Holland, Sunday is spent in a similar manner. Dearcibing a fete at*the Hague, a correspondent writes : The common people from the rural districts flocked into town to keep the Queen's Fete Day, s»nd very quaintly, too, are these country people dressed ; the head-gear of the woman being a study, or rather a series of studies. Fitting close to the hair are worn broad plaits of Bilver or gold-coloured metal, to which are attached ornament of great variety, some depending after the ordinary fashion Of ear-ringe, others standing out from the side of the forehead like small eofa springs ; these ara surmounted by a white muslin cap, with giant frills and a liberal display of open needlework according to the taste or means of the wearer. The children in perambulators are adorned and early imbued with a love of finery, for bracelets eeein almost as necessary as bread and butter, oven to the children of the poor. The military display lasted not more than two houra. The Afternoon was occupied by the crowd in . seeing sights aa are common in our wakes and country fairs, roundabouts. The oldfashioned beam scales, with rope and wood, linger here to test the weight of the curious ; the vendors of pickled cucumbers fill the air with a fragrance that cannot be mistaken ; a row of yellow-faced caravans, each with a grill or bakestone in the contre and the chief cook presiding, make an alarming quantity of dirty little pancakes and sell them to the hungry loiterers. The largest crowd, by the way, is to be found congregated round the show of performing marionettes,— something like our temple of the legitimate drama, *' Punch and Judy." The performance waa accompanied'by Borne " patter," of which 1 cruld not understand a word, but at which, nevertheless, the crowd laughed consumed ly, I have once or twice spent a " Sawbaith in Glasgie," and I could not help wondering what would be thought of this in Scotland. At Hamburg, and indeed throughout Germany, Sunday is devoted to beer drinking and promenading Seer Is Advertised at a Penny a Pint. but is such weak stuff that the majority of men can drink gallons and yet walk straight - ac a Grenadier. "On Sunday," writes a friend from Hamburg, " we attended a German eervice ; heard a sermon at the English Church ; and, later, saw the crowds cf pleasure-loving Germans, 'thronging the shores of the Alßterdam, and also the many boats on its heaving bosom, ,to witness a great boat race in which the English club • competes ; ana we rather welcome than Otherwise the thunder and rain storm which ." shortly disperses all ; so repugnant to all • our. English ideas is all this hurry and < ' /wprry in the pursuit of the fleeting goddess ' Pleasure. „,,'. > - \ , '■ ~A.t rt Copenhagen, the people -spend the " afternoon at the Tivoli pleasure* gardens, ' where 4bire are semi-theatrioals^beer bars, .. in«rry-go-roundB, eleotric /railways, con: ' <jert-rppmB t into the enjoyment of which 1 the whole , population enters Switzerland, differs very little from Belgfom and GWrmany in reference to its

amusements ; but a Congregational minister writing from Interlaken, .says : Sunday ia observed a little better here thfatf ln'some places on the continent, butl fc»n hear two brass bands playing waltzes. There are rooms full of young men and young women dancing and singing. The billiard > rooms are all open, and I can hear the balls rolling in the rooms below. Many of the shop's are closed." • • . > Although the minister referred to frowna on Sunday amusements at home, he has no scruples about taking part in ' them abroad. His inconsistency ia on a .level with that of Lamartine, the famous French poet. For a long time he led a pet lamb by a ribbon, and went into strong fits at a hint from his mother's cook that it was tims to turn the said pet into useful purposes. The poet continued to hold the opinion that it is cruel and sinful to kill one animal in order that another may dine • but, " with a sigh for the victim, he can eat heartily of what ie killed, and even put his fcrk into the breast of lamb without compunction !" •* Last night," the minister writes, "we visited the Cureaal, which is free to everybody. A fine band plays every morning from seven till eight, afternoon from four till five, evening from eight till ten. When we went in there was a large and wellbehaved company in the garden, seated round little tables, drinking wine, beer, and coffee, and eating ices. A braes and string band was discoursing most eloquent operatic music. A large fountain was sending up a a column of water sixty feet high, which came down again like a shower of silver. "The garden ia light with ga3. Every thing looks very gay ; the people are well dressed, the female waiters and many of the female viaitora

Wearing the Swiss Peasant Costume consisting of a black velvet bodice, white stiff full sleeves, silver chains hanging from front to back on the shoulder, broad straw hat trimmed with flowers, and black silk skirt and apron. If you caw the ecene on the stage yoa would say it was a fancy picture. Everybody seemed to be enjoying himself and getting good. Certainly, the music was - moat refining ; the visitors seemed to appreciate it; nature and art were blended to elevate the people, and, Sunday though it was, I am wicked enough to believe that the people were widely employed. It is quite certain," this minister admits, "that the same class of people in England would not be doing so well." Paris is tbo gayest city in the world. Without doubt it offers the greatest variety of amusements, Nothing surprises a stranger more than the way in which Sunday ia kept. Shops and markets are open, omnibuses and trams run as on week-days ; and many men and women are at work. The streets however, are full of holiday makers in the afternoon, and everybody knows that Pans lives out of doors. lf If the lid could be taken off Paris on a fine Sunday afternon, " re« marks a resident, " the houses would be found nearly empty ; the gaily-inh&bitants would be off in wide throughf ares and parks within the walls, and beyond on grassy slopes and under trees, gathering flowers, listening to music, disporting in the water, kicking the football, and dancing."

D nlng up a Troe, forma part of the recreation of many young Parisians. " Looking on this picture of sylvan enjoyment," continues the writer, '• the guardian of their souls would say with smiling encouragement, ' Right, my children, this is a day of recreation, atuueo yourselves, for life ia shorr, and man was created to enjoy.'" His Calvinietic brother, with stern rebuke, would say, "Sinner, you are breaking the Sabbath !" The spiritual shepherds are, indeed, wide apart, and continually diverging, Meantime, Julea and Leon tine amuse themeelves to the top of their bent up in the branches of the colossal dlee, eating the good things of this world and drinking bumpers to happiness and long life. Little do they perplex themselves about where they are going after the curtain has dropped and the lights are out. They live to-day, and when questioned about the great tomorrow, they reply, " After us the deluge." Fishing forms one of the amusemonts of French workmen ; and on Sunday afternoons the banks of the Seine are crowded with the disciples of Isaac Walton. They are so fond of this pursuit that nothing seems to deter them from following it. Even when the Germans were thundering at the gates of Paris, and shot and ehell were flying about them, an English correspondent saw "sixty odd people sittiug by the river-side calmly angling."— Tit Bite.