The Virginian

From the Utica Sentinel
Letters from Prussia.—One, wholly unacquainted with the military art, can only wonder, when he views the immense fortifications of Magdeburg, at the height of the walls, the depth of the ditches, and the strength of the towers and bastions, and sigh at the thought that human ambition, and vice, and folly, should render such works necessary. He cannot regard them with the eye of the military engineer, who sees with scientific rapture, the order and connection of the various parts, and finds them full of regularity and beauty.—On the side towards the Elbe, is simply a high wall, the city being here sufficiently defended by the river, and by a strong citadel on the opposite side, nearly opposite the centre of the town. On this part of the rampart, which is the east side of the town, is a wall commanding a fine view of the Elbe and of the country on the opposite bank of the river. On the south side are several lines of ditches and walls, (with various intersections) each rising above the other to the principal wall next the town, which is perpendicular, of a height not less than 50 feet, connected with which are a number of towers and bastions. Entrance to the city is under arches of stone or brick, which pass through the wall, though in a winding direction, and show its immense thickness and strength.—Cannons are planted here and there, and balls and bombs piled up in different places, as if in preparation for no distant combat. Access to the works on the north side is not allowed, for what reason I am unable to discover; probable as being the weakest point, and, consequently, giving the least advantageous idea of the strength of the place.

At every turn you meet a soldier, the Government having here a force of about 8000 men, equal to at least one-half of the whole male population of the place. They are generally well built, strong, fine looking men, and the Prussian soldiery is, undoubtedly, among the best in Europe. The uniform, of grey under-dress, with blue coats, faced with red, has a martial aspect, the effect of which is further aided by mustachios. The government furnishes them with clothes, a ration of bread, and sixpence a day, which must suffice for all other expenses. Prussia depends on her military alone for political influence, but whether it is wise to cripple the energies of the country, by keeping up an immense force, may well be doubted. It may be said, it is true, that it is not to provide for the uncertain contingency of war, but to give weight to present negotiations. But I can with difficulty believe it to be a bad political calculation to trust for security to the increased prosperity, and consequently increased strength, of the country, which could not but be the result of removing one-half or two-thirds of the burden of its military establishments, still leaving sufficient to provide for any emergency, and giving time to call into action, with effect, its whole disposable physical force. England has been called the natural ally of Prussia, and it is probably presumed, that in the event of war with either of the other great powers, its 'sinews' would be furnished by the former.—But this is rather a degrading dependence, which might be avoided by giving increased activity to the springs of wealth.

There is nothing in Magdeburg which excites a livelier interest than its celebrated prison. Who has not read the story of Trenck, and sympathised with the sufferings of Lafayette? This dungeon (for it can be called by no other name) is situated without the walls of the city, and its appearance supports its character, of being one of the strongest prisons in Europe. It is entirely under ground, and from the exterior, nothing is visible but a stone gate, on which are some rudely carved figures, representing guards. Even this is within an outer wall and ditch, and the passage to it is over a bridge, which would, in case the prison were in use, be formed into a draw-bridge. The entrance to this gate is through another at a little distance, where the descent begins, for all the works are entirely below the surface of the ground. My guide and myself came to this outer gate, which was locked; but at the side of it was a small path, which appeared to be occasionally used for passing round the gate, and which brought us within what may be considered the outer wall, which, however, is formed not by raising the earth, but from removing it from within. Prompted more by curiosity than prudence, we descended this path looking sharply about us, to observe if any one was in sight. Seeing no one, we concluded it could be no great harm if we advanced a little further. To our great surprise, we found the second and third gates, the latter, the main gate, which led to the second ditch, open, and not without some quicker palpitations of heart, we ventured on, still descending, till we found ourselves within the third & inner rampart, at the foot of the massive stone walls which constitutes this abode of horror for state criminals. Silence and gloom pervaded the place, since, for some years, there have been no political transgressors, whose demerits have been of so aggravated and dangerous a character, as to require confinement in this terrific dungeon. Still, as it may be at some future time, convenient again to make use of it, the Prussian Government allows no one to approach nearer than the outer wall, both to increase the terrors of the place, and to prevent such a knowledge of it from getting abroad, as to render it less secure as a place of confinement. But on the latter ground, there seems little occasion for apprehension.—Only small openings are taken up to admit the light in the principal buildings, and shore, (if I recollect right,) far above the bottom of the ditch, so that a leap from them would be dangerous, if not impracticable. We walked with hurried pace around the building in the ditch, which was dry, looking now and then at the small portion of the sky which was visible above, and again seeking a hasty glance at the prison walls, and the steep bank of earth on the opposite side of the ditch. We noticed the sluice, from which, if necessary, the ditch might be filled, also the sunken cells which are without the principal building in the opposite bank, numbered from the keeper's house, a low brick building which is partly in the ditch, and partly in the bank itself, into these cells, was an indistinct view though the passages for light and air, (for windows they cannot be called,) which are simple interstices in the wall of perhaps an inch in diameter, though there are several of them in the same cell. On the exterior of the principal building is a rough plaster; its height, as near as I can judge, 60 feet, its circumference 250 or 300. From its decay and desolate appearance, it seems well fitted to be the abode of despair. Were it not the attempt has succeeded, escape would be pronounced impracticable, without the corruption of the whole guard. When we came round again to the opening through which we had descended, we made a rapid retreat through the gates and over the bridges, almost surprised to find ourselves safe above ground, and still more surprised at our own temerity in making the descent. ---The scene was entirely new to my guide as well as to myself: he had before applied to the authorities for permission to visit the prison, with an English gentleman, but it had been refused; and his risk in making the attempt, was unquestionably much greater than mine. A man, who was at work near the spot, seemed to eye us with some scrutiny, when he saw the direction from which we came, but he said nothing, and we had no disposition to wait to be questioned. But I did not breathe quite freely till I was entirely beyond the precincts of this terrific prison.