head to be swathed in wet towels,
and afterwards caused me to be put to bed, where I soon fell asleep, and
awoke in the evening perfectly recovered and in the best spirits
possible. This morning, Sunday, I called on the British Consul, Mr. H.
Canning, to whom I had a letter of recommendation. He received me with
great civility, and honoured me with an invitation to dine with him
to-morrow, which I of course accepted. He is a highly intelligent man,
and resembles strikingly in person his illustrious relative, the late
George Canning. Since visiting him I have been to one of the five tall
churches which tower up above the tall houses; I thought its interior
very venerable and solemn, but the service seemed to be nothing more than
a low-muttered chanting, from which it was impossible to derive much
spiritual edification. There was no sermon, and not more than twenty
persons were present, though the edifice would contain thousands
conveniently. Hamburg is a huge place, and the eastern part of it is
intersected by wide canals communicating with the Elbe, so that vessels
find their way into most parts of the city; the bridges are consequently
very numerous, and are mostly of wood. Some of the streets are planted
with trees, which have a pretty appearance, though upon the whole it has
certainly no claim to the appellation of a handsome town. But no
observer can fail to be struck with the liveliness and bustle which reign
in this emporium of continental Europe, worthy to be compared with Tyre
of old or our own Liverpool. Another city adjoins it called Altona, the
park of which and the environs are the favourite Sunday lounge of the
Hamburgers. Altona is in Holstein, which belongs to the Danish
Government. It is separated from the Hanseatic town merely by a small
gateway, so that it may truly be said here that there is but one step
from a republic to a monarchy. Little can be said in commendation of the
moral state of this part of the world, for rope-dancers were displaying
their agility in the park to-day, and the dancing-saloons, which I am
informed are most infamous places, are open to the public this evening.
England with all her faults has still some regard to decency, and will
not tolerate such a shameless display of vice on so sacred a season, when
a decent cheerfulness is the freest form in which the mind or countenance
ought to invest themselves. I shall depart for Lubeck on the sixth
(Tuesday), and shall pr