h cheerful, contented faces, and in holiday attire. Who are these
grave gentlemen? This little troop in sable trappings; buskins, cloaks,
silken hose, hats and feathers, and shoes with large rosettes--all black
and sombre, like so many middle aged Hamlets? Can they be masqueraders
on the Sabbath? Possibly some of the senators in their official costume?
No! Oh, human vanity! A passer-by informs us that they are only
undertakers' men--paid mourners. They are to swell the funeral
procession, and are the mere mimics of woe. The undertakers of Hamburg
vie with each other in the dressing of their men, and indeed, one
indispensable part of their "stock-in-trade" are some half-dozen
dress-suits of black, it matters not of what age or country, the stranger
the better, so that the "effect" be good.

* * * * *

We will take a stroll about the beautiful Alster this Sunday afternoon.
It is late autumn, and the early budding trees have already shed their
leaves. But rich, floating masses of foliage are still there--the
deepening hues of autumn, and here and there broad patches of bright
summer green. There are two Alsters, the "inner" and "outer," each of
them a broad expanse of water; they are connected by flood-gates,
surrounded by verdure, and studded with pleasure-boats; while on the city
side several elegant pavilions hang on the water's edge, where coffee and
beverages of every kind can be obtained, and the seldom omitted and
never-to-be-forgotten music of the Germans may be heard thrilling in the
evening air.

It is already growing dusk; let us enter the _Alster Halle_. This is the
most important of these pavilions. It is not large; there is but the
ground-floor. It has much the appearance of a French _cafe_, the whole
space being filled with small, round, white marble tables, and
innumerable chairs. Here all the lighter articles of refreshment are to
be obtained; tea, coffee, wines, spirits and pastry in numberless shapes.
There is an inner room where the more quietly disposed can read his
newspaper in comparative silence; here are German, Danish, French, and
English journals, and a little sprinkling of literary periodicals.
Another room is set apart for billiards, where silent, absorbed
individuals may be seen playing eternally at poule. In the evening a
little band of skilled musicians, in the pay of the proprietor, perform
choice morsels of beautiful music, and all this can