eckoning the splendid
steamers, brigs, sloops, and craft. In short, I could only gaze and
wonder, for at least 900 ships lay before me.

Let any one fancy an excursion amidst 900 ships, great and small, which
lined both shores of the Elbe in tiers of three deep or more; the passing
to and fro of countless boats busily employed in loading or unloading
these vessels; these things, together with the shouting and singing of
the sailors, the rattling of anchors which are being weighed, and the
rush and swell of passing steamers, combine to constitute a picture not
to be surpassed in any city except in that metropolis of the world,
London. {12}

The reason of this unusual activity in the harbour lay in the severity of
the past winter. Such a winter had not been experienced for seventy
years: the Elbe and the Baltic lay for months in icy chains, and not a
ship could traverse the frozen river, not an anchor could be weighed or
lowered. It was only a short time before my arrival that the passage had
once more become free.

In the neighbourhood of the harbour are situated the greater number of
the so-called "yards." I had read concerning them that, viewed from the
exterior, they look like common houses; but that they constitute separate
communities, and contain alleys and streets, serving as the domicile of
innumerable families. I visited several of these places, and can assure
the reader that I saw nothing extraordinary in them. Houses with two
large wings, forming an alley of from eighty to a hundred paces in
length, are to be met with in every large town; and that a number of
families should inhabit such a house is not remarkable, considering that
they are all poor, and that each only possesses a single small apartment.

The favourite walk in the town is the "Jungfernstieg" (Maiden's Walk), a
broad alley, extending round a spacious and beautiful basin of the
Alster. On one side are splendid hotels, with which Hamburgh is richly
provided; on the other, a number of private residences of equal
pretensions. Other walks are, the "Wall," surrounding the town, and the
"Botanical Garden," which resembles a fine park. The noblest building,
distinguished alike as regards luxury, skill, tastefulness of design, and
stability, is the Bazaar. It is truly a gigantic undertaking, and the
more to be admired from the fact that it is not built upon shares, but at
the expense of a single individual, Herr Carl Sillem; the architect's