^ LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA FROM THE LIBRARY OF F. VON BOSCHAN 'J' ^/ « ^//: JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE YEARS 1828— 182.Q. THROUGH STYRIA, CARNIOLA, AND ITALY, WHILST ACCOMPANYING THE LATE SIR HUMPHRY DAVY. BY J. J. TOBIN, JVI.D. LONDOiN ! W. S. ORR, 14, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1832. LONDON I BRAnHURV AM) EVANS, FRlNTUKfl, HOUVKRIK STREKT. PREFACE. The following pages were originally intended for tlie perusal only of my own family and im- mediate friends. Some of these now persuade me to lay them before the public, believing that, to it, a detail of circumstances connected, as my Journal necessarily is, with the last recreations and pursuits of the late Sir Humphry Davy, must be interesting. To have been in any degree a partaker of the hours of this great man, whose name must shed a lustre over his native land, so long as genius and science shall be admired, I IV I'KLFACE. cannot be supposed to imagine otherwise than liighly gratifying- ; and aware that my Journal through him bears an interest it could not otherwise pretend to, I do not hesitate to com- ply with their request. The state of Sir Humphry's health inducing him to seek its restoration in a tour on the Continent, he wrote to my mother, who was residing on my accoimt and that of my brothers at Heidelberg, stating his plan to her, and naming his wish to have a son of his " warmly- loved and sincerely-lamented friend," as the assist- ant and companion of his journey. My mother did not hesitate to suspend my studies during the ])eriod of the proposed tour, conscious that in the society of such a mind and acquirements as those of Sir Humphry, mine must advance. And to have been the companion of his latter days, clouded as they often were by the suf- ferings which I beheld him endure, will l)e PREFACE. V ray last pride and advantage ; and tliough the hand of death has laid low many a hope which gilded the future, it cannot deprive me of the recollection of those hours, when I marked his spirit still radiant and glowing (to use his own words) " With the uudying energy of strength (iiviue." Sir Humphry's health was in so shattered a state, that it often rendered his inclinations and feelings sensitive and variable to a painful de- gree. Frequently he preferred being left alone at his meals; and in his rides, or fishing and shoot- ing excursions, to be attended only by his ser- vant. Sometimes he would pass hours together, when travelling, without exchanging a word, and often appeared exhausted by his mental ex- ertions. When he passed through Heidelberg to see my mother, he named all this to her, and with evident feeling thanked her for her request. VI I'KEi'ACE. that he would on all occasions consider me as alone desirous to contribute to his ease and comfort. I mention this to account for my having so seldom spoken of his passing remarks, and for any apparent change wliich occurred in our arrangements, named in the Join-nal. To give any adequate idea of the beauty and grandeur of the scenes I beheld, must be well known to be impossible by those who have visited these parts of Europe, or been accus- tomed to view the changing tints and hues of the fine sky that encircles them ; but if I have imparted only a faint reflection of the pleasure such scenes bestow, even in recollection, or have given enjoyment to any of my readers, my object M'ill be fully attained, nor shall I then regret having listened to the voice of my perhaps too partial friends. J. .1. T. Hcidclherg, March 14, 1831. JOURNAL, &c. ckc. On my arrival in London (26th March, 1827) I found Sir Humphry better than I had ex- pected, but evidently very weak. He appeared to have altered much during the four years which had elapsed since I last saw him, and it was evident that although his mind was still vigorous and full of energy, his bodily infirmities pressed heavily upon him, and I could not but perceive that he was keenly alive to his altered state. I had hoped to have remained some little time in Loiidon, but finding that everything was ready for our departure, I contented myself with calling upon a few old friends, and taking my seat by Sir B 2 DEPARTURE FROM LONDON. Humpliry's side, liis servant George being on the dicky with his master's ftxvourite pointers, we drove from Park Street on the morning of the 29th of March. We slept that night at Dover, which we left the next morning at half- past nine o'clock, and arrived at Calais abont twelve, after a beautiful and calm passage. Sir Humphry wishing to be left to repose quietly on his bed in the cabin, I took my favourite seat on the prow, and sat musing on times past and to come, looking upon the cm-ling waves which were glittering with a thousand golden colours in the brioht beams of the mornhig: sun. The weather formed a strong contrast with that of the day before, when the only change had been from sleet and snow to hail and rain. The dif- ference between the Engflish and French coasts is very striking ; and^ the contrast between the lofty white chalk cliffs of the one, and tlie gay and verdant hills of the opposite shore, seems almost emblematical of the national peculiarities of the two comitries. Sir Humphry was provided with a letter from Prince Polignac, the French Ambassador at London, to the Director of the Douane, CALAIS. o which greatly facilitated our passing the Custom house, where otherwise we should have had much difficulty from the variety of the luggage; among which, to say nothing of scientific in- struments, and upwards of eighty volumes , of books, were numerous implements for fishing and shooting, and the two pointers. We went to the Hotel Rignolle, a large and excellent inn, where Sir Humphry's travelling carriage awaited us, and we found it in every respect easy and commodious. After dinner I prepared and arranged every thing for our departure on the morrow, for the servant could on such occa- sions render me but little assistance, he not speaking a word of any language but English ; and then took a walk through the town and bought a pack of cards, which .Sir Humphry had begged me to bring that he might teach me the game of ecarte. During my walk I was amused by seeing both old and young dressed in their holiday clothes, playing at battledore and shuttlecock in the open streets. I soon re- turned ; and after we had played a game to- gether, I read aloud some of the " Tales of the Genii," and we then retired to rest. b2 4 DUNKIRK. 'filsf. This morning I arose with thonghts of Heidelberg, it being- dear F***'s birthday, which I knew woukl therefore be one of pleasure in the happy home I had left. After breakfast we set off for Dunkirk. The country through which we passed is exceedingly flat and uninteresting. On arriving at Gravelines, a strongly fortified little town, we found that the carriage had sunk, the leathers being new, so that we were obliged to send for a smith and a saddler, who detained us nearly two hours. We then pro- ceeded through the stune iniinteresting flat to Dunkirk. After dinner we walked out to see the town, which is very clean, and has good broad streets. Near the market place is the episcopal church of Cambrai, the diocese of the celebrated Fenelon. The portico is chaste and beautiful, consisting of ten lofty corinthian pil- lars supporting a frieze. The interior of the church is simple and elegant. The harbom- of Dunkirk is large, but nearly choked up with mud ; on one side of it is a large basin newly made, which is kept full at low water by means of flood gates. Aj>i-il \st. We started after breakfast for Ghent, and passed first through Bergues, a little NETHERLANDS. 5 town with very strong fortifications. At Rous- brug-ge, three postes and a half from Dunkirk, we entered the territory of the King of the Netherlands. We passed the custom house without having any part of our baggage ex- amined, Sir Humphry's passport being signed by the Dutch Ambassador at London, who had added to his signature a request to the officers on the boundary to treat ce celehre scavant with all possible attention and respect. The country beyond Rousbrugge becomes rather more diversified ; the hedges, which are formed of small trees, are often very prettily in- terwoven, forming a fence at once useful and elegant ; and we passed the first hill, a very low one, which we had seen since we left Calais. We drove on through Ypres and Menin, and spent the night at Courtrai. All these towns are strongly fortified, chiefly I believe under the direction of the celebrated Vauban, and are called the iron boundary of Holland. They are kept very clean and neat. Ypres has a fine large gothic town-house, with an immense number of windows in it. I read in the evening to Sir Humphry part of the " Bravo of Venice," ^ AN'l'WEKP. and ho dictated a few pao^es on the existence of a greater qnantity of carbon in the primary worhl, and on some of tlie phenomena of the Lago di Solfatara, near Rome. His clear reasoning, and the proofs and facts which he adduces in support of his theories, still show the quick and powerful mind of liis former daj'S, when his bodily faculties were in the fulness of their vigour, and not, as now, a weight and oppression upon his mental powers. 2nd. The first poste after leaving Courtrai M'as Vive St. Eloi, an assemblage of a few shabby houses, hardly worthy the name of a village ; thence to l^eteghen and to Ghent. The country is flat, and anything but pictu- resque, and almost every field has a windmill in it. We only stopped to dine at Ghent, and then immediately started for Antwerp, where we arrived at about seven in the evening, pass- ing through Lakesen and St. Nicholas. We were ferried over the Scheldt, and afterwards transported to the inn in a very novel manner. On arriving at the ferry opposite the town, the post-horses were taken out of the carriage, which was pushed into the ferry-boat by four THE CATHEDRAL. 7 men, who with some difficulty dragged it out when on the other side of the river, and then drew it with us in it through the town to the inn, more than half a mile distant from the landing place. After tea I continued the " Bravo of Venice," and read Voltaire's " Bababec et les Faquirs" to Sir Humphry. Srd. We did not breakfast till late, and afterwards drove out to see the town in spite of hail and snow. Our first visit was to the cathedral, which much disappointed us both as to its internal and external appearance. It strongly reminded me of that of Strasbourg, which it resembles in its minuteness of archi- tecture, and even in the circumstance of its liavino; its left tower in an imfinished state. The right tower, which is complete, is neither so light, or airy, nor by any means so beautifully sculptured as that of Strasbourg; nor does the building, as a whole, bear any comparison with the latter in beauty and effect. The interior is beautiful from its simplicity ; and its having been newly white-washed gave it a light and cheerful appearance. It contains some fine pic- tures ; the chief of which are the " Crucifixion," 8 A CALVARY. and the " Descent from the Cross," by Reubens. The pulpit, the hiri^est and most beautiful sj)eciinen of carved wood I ever saw, represents Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. We afterwards went into many of the various churches, some of which are adorned with very fine paintings. In that of St. Barbara are some A'ery curious and beautifully carved wooden confessionals, in a style similar to that of the pulpit in 'the cathedral. Near this church is a celebrated Calvary, * which also includes a re- presentiition of Purgatory and of Heaven, being an asseml)lage of demons and saints in the most wretched taste. On one side, througli a grating, the mortal remains of our Saviour in the tomb are presented to view ; on the op- posite side the Virgin Mary appears decked out M'ith flowers and gold lace, surrounded by a choir of angels and saints; and on looking througli a third grating one gets a peep at jiur- gatory, where tlie wicked are seen swimming * A Calvary is a representation of the Crucifixion of our Saviour, consisting of one, and often of three large crosses, with accompanying figures and ilecorations. GOOD FRIDAY. 9 about among waves of flame in the strangest confusion imaginable. The whole of this re- presentation appeared to us most ridiculous ; yet not so to many good Catholics, whom we saw silently kneeling before the gratings, and ap- parently devoutly praying for those souls who had been dear to them whilst upon earth. The devotion of many, however, was not so ab- stract as to render them indifferent to the pre- sence of Sir Humphry, whose appearance, it is true, was likely to abstract attention, even though unknown, wrapped up as he was in a large mantle lined with white fur. In all the churches which we visited, the priests and attendants were busied in preparing them for the next day, (Good Friday.) Though the subject represented, the Tomb of Christ, with its surrounding scenery, attendants, and guards, was the same in every church, it was much more beautifully executed in some than in others. A part of the church was in general nearly encircled and darkened by hangings of black cloth, and a recess was thus formed, in which, in some of the churches, a stage of con- siderable depth was erected, on which was 10 FISH-MARKET. l)aintc(l the scene of the tomb, with its figures, side scenes, and distant views, very skilfully managed. The perspective was well kept; and tlie whole being- very well illuminated by unseen lamps, the eflfect was qiute theatrical. Leaving these scenes of ])apal devotion, we ch-ove to the harbour, a \vork of Napoleon's, which, like most of his other works, is remark- able for its strength and diu-ability. Its size is not very striking ; but it was tolerably well filled with shipping of all nations, amongst which I observed many English, and some North- Ame- rican vessels. From thence we drove through the town; and Sir Humphry could not omit paying a visit to the fish-market, which, luckily for his white mantle, was not Billinsgate. The market did not appear to be very well stocked, and he could find nothing remarkal)le or new to satisfy his ever active curiosity. The town appears clean, and has some large open streets, the principal of which is called the Mere, in which our hotel, Le Grand Labour eur, is situated; it possesses no very remarkable buildings ; and the town house and the celebrated exchange, make, at least externally, a very poor show. BRUSSELS. 11 Tlie picture gallery, wliielv is said to be very excellent, was unfortunately closed, it being- a fttc day. Our \'isits to the cliurclies and the different parts of the touni had fully oc- cupied our morning-, and in the evening after dinner I read to Sir Humphry Voltaire's "His- toire de la Voyage de la Raison," and finished the " Bravo," which he much admired. Atli. Left Antwerp in the morning, and pass- ing through Coutegle, Malines, or Mechlin, we arrived at Brussels about one o'clock. The road runs nearly the whole of the way on the bank of a large canal, and is often bordered by a row of fine beech trees. The appearance of this capi- tal from a distance is rather imposing- ; the hand- somer and more modern part of it being situated upon a hill, at the bottom of which lies the old town, on the banks of the river Senne. The gate through wdiich we entered is remarkably handsome, and the style of architecture light and elegant. We drove to the Hotel de Flandres, on the Place Royale, where we were very well accomodated. Before dinner I took a hasty run through the town, just to see the fine old gothic town-house, with its light and lofty spire, sur- 12 LOUVAINE. mounted by a colossal statue of St. jVHcliael and the dragon, wliicli acts as a vane ; and the parks, palaces, and fine ])ul)lic walks, which latter were crowded with Knglish. English equipages and servants are also continually passing in the streets ; and so many of the shops are completely English, that it is difficult to believe that one is in the capital of a foreign nation. The number of English generally in Brussels is said to ex- ceed twenty thousand. At one of the English circulating libraries I procured the " Legend of Montrose," which amused Sir Elumphry for the evening. t)th. At nine in the evening we left Brussels by the Porte de Louvaine, and drove on to Ter- vueren, through a fine forest of beech trees ; at the extremity of which is situated the summer chateau of the Prince of Orange, which, in ex- ternal appearance, hardly equals the country re- sidence of an English gentleman. From thence we proceeded to Louvaine, or Lowen ; where we only stopped to change horses. The Hotel de Ville is one of the finest specimens of gothic architecture in the Netherlands ; but we could only catch a hasty view of it as we drove by and AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 13 went on to Tliirlemont, where we dined, and after dinner proceeded to St. Troud, which we made our resting-place for the night. 6th. We quitted St. Troud after breakfast, in the midst of rain and snow, for Liege, or Liittich, where we made no stay, but passed on to Battices. Between this last place and Aix- la-Chapelle, we crossed the boundary of the Ne- therlands, and entered upon the Prussian ter- ritory. The custom-house officers were very civil; and Count Billow's hesonders empfohlen, (particularly recommended), written in his own hand on Sir Humphry's passport, was of great utility. We entered ALx-la-Chapelle in the evening; and passing by the new theatre and the bath rooms, which are pretty, but small buildings, we drove to the grand hotel, which was neither grand nor comfortable. Our book for this evening was Swift's " Tale of a Tub." 1th. Left Aachen, (the German name for Aix), and passed on to Julich, the first Prussian fortress. From thence we proceeded to Berg- heim : after which we passed over a wide sandy flat, rendered in many parts almost impassable, by the previous heavy rains. A league or two before we reached Cologne, the many and 14 COBLENTZ. o-loomy steeples of tlie once holy city rose td view; amongst which, the colossal mass of its splendid hut unfinished cathedral stood promi- nent. The fortifications before the town are thickly planted with shrubs, so that from a dis- tance they have more the appearance of sloping green hills, than walls of defence. Passing over numerous drawbridges, and under one of the ancient gateways, we drove through many dark and narrow streets to the Cour Im])eriale. 8th. In the morning we left Cologne to the protection of its eleven thousand virgins, and started for Coblentz. At Bonn, we merely changed horses, and drove on to the little post- town of Remagen, leaving the summits of the celebrated seven mountains, the castled era// of Drachenfels, Rolandseck, and the towers of tlie convent of Nonnenwerth, as yet surrounded only by bare and leafless trees, behind us. Here we dined ; and then continued our route along the banks of the Rhine, which was very turbid and swollen, to Andernach, and from thence to Cob- lentz. The scenery, which I had formerly be- lield in all its summer glory, as well as in its rich autumnal tints, was now not only shorn of its beauty, but enveloped in mist and cloud. THE RHINE. 15 9th. We quitted Coblentz at about eight o'clock in the morning, in the midst of a tliick fog, which in a short time cleared away, and af- forded us a most magnificent spectacle; for it came rolling down the hills on each bank of the river like immense waves, through which the sun- beams broke in from every side, till it was at last quite dispersed, and imveiled to our view the numberless little towns and villages on the banks, leaving the Khine glittering in the rays of the sun, like a stream of burnished gold, rushing along between its dai'k and rocky mountains. We changed horses at Boppart, and from thence drove on to St. Goar, where Sir Humphry has determined to stop till to-morrow. After dinner he took a ride along the banks of the river, fol- lowed by his servant. In the mean while I strolled up the hills, and amused myself l)y sketching the old ruins of the castle of Rhein- fels, and the river below me in the distance. On our return. Sir Humphry told me that he had decided to include Heidelberg in his route, which he had not at first intended to do, passing through Mayence and Mannheim, so that I shall in a day or two again see my home. After hav- ing read the " Gld English Baron" to Sir Hum- 16 ST. GOAR. j)hry, we retired for the night; he to rest, and I to my chamber, where I could not but acbnire the scene around me. It was a beautiful starry night, and the lofty rocks opposite my window rose as it were from the rolling river beneath, awful and gigantic amid the shades of night, till their dark outlines, mingling with the more dis- tant mountains, were lost in the clear sky. Every sound in the village was hushed, and it seemed as if even the air itself was lulled to rest by the stillness of night. " All Heaven and Earth are still — though not in sleep, But breathless, as we grow when feeling most ; And silent, as we stand in thoughts too deep : — All Heaven and Earth are still : from the high host Of stars, to the lull'd lake and mountain -coast. All is concentcr'd in a life intense, Where not a beam, nor air, nor leaf is lost. But hath a part of being, and a sense Of that which is of all Creator and defence." 10th. Our drive this morning from St. Goar to Bingen was cold and rainy, and the Lurley rocks, and the wild and rugged banks of the Rhine between St. Goar and Oberwesel, looked more than usually dreary, the few vines and the little vegetation that appear upon them in sum- MAYENCE. 17 mer not having yet begun to shoot. We quit- ted the banks of the Rhine at Bingen, and struck across the country through a fine ricli plain stretching almost as far as the eye can reach, and every here and there diversified by low hills, to Mayence. Ingelheim, one of the numerous residences of Charlemagne, and where that monarch once had a magnificent palace, is now a little insignificant borough, and the palace with its hundred columns from Rome or Ra- venna, has vanished, or nearly so, for the slight remains that are still standing, shew but little of former grandeur. At Mayence our passports were demanded at the first of the numerous draw-bridges, and quickly vise'd. Sir Humphry determined npon spending the night here, as I knew that the ac- commodations at the Roman Emperor were much better than any he would find at Oppenheim or Worms, which latter town we could not have reached till the night had set in, and Sir Hum- phry does not like to travel after sunset. The streets of this ancient town are for the most part narrow, dark, and dirty, with the exception of the chief street running from the upper part c 18 MAYENCE. of the town towards the Rhine, called die r/rosse bleiche, the great bleaching place, and which is a broad and handsome street. The whole ap- pearance of the town, the old dom or cathedral, with its heavy towers and light pirniacles of red stone ; its brazen gates, still bearing the marks of the balls of the celebrated siege in 1792; the many magnificent houses, often uninhabited or turned into shops and cafe's ; the vast but ruinous palace of red sand-stone on the Rhine ; the few inhabitants one meets with in the streets, — the officers and soldiers of the different regiments in garrisoji of course excepted, — plainly tell the stranger that Mayence has no longer any pre- tension to the splendour it owned under the rule of the Ecclesiastical Princes, it being then the second ecclesiastical town in Germjiny ; or even during its occupation by the French, who, wher- ever they went, were sure to carry with them life and spirit. As it has changed for the worse, so may it again change for the better, and who can say that it may not in a few lustres more again flourish as a frontier fortress of France. Wth. Quitting Mayence, we drove on along the flat and sandy banks of the Rhine, through MANNHEIM. 19 Oppenheim to Worms, from the time of Cliarle- magiie and the Frankish kings, till the days of Luther, the scene of hriWmiit fetes, princely tour- neys, and solemn diets of the empire, — now a dis- mal mass of ruin and desolation. The lofty nave and the four steeples of its ponderous gothic cathedral, Avhen seen from a distance, rise with an imposing grandeur in the level plain of the Rhine ; but, on a nearer survey, the church itself offers nothing of interest. We dined at Frankenthal, a neat and clean little town in Rhenish Bavaria, and then drove on through Oggersheim to Mannheim, where we crossed the Rhine over a fine bridge of boats. The streets of this town are remarkably broad and clean ; the houses are lofty, and being built in small compact squares, all the streets meet at right angles, and generally afford at their open- ings a very pretty peep at the distant country, so that one imagines the surrounding scenery to be finer than it really is. The Planken, or chief street, traverses the town in a straight line from gate to gate, and forms a fine wide walk between two roM^s of acacias, which is chained in from the carriage road on each side. c 2 20 HEIDELBERG. The four leagues from Mannlieim to Heidel- berg are through a country, not one spot of which is uncultivated ; this is backed by the finely wooded mountains of the Odenwald, on which are still visible the remains of some of the many castles which formerly crowned the different heights. We reached Heidelberg towards evening, and as soon as I had seen Sir Humphry comfortably lodged in the hotel of the Prince Carl, immediately under the im- posing ruins of its far-famed castle, he begged me to go and see my mother, he being too fatigued to accompany me ; and on my doing so, I found that my letter, which should have in- formed her of my approach, had not yet reached her. V2th. Sir Humphry finding himself too indis- posed either to visit the university, or to receive any of its eminent professors, some of whom are very desirous to visit him, has determined to remain here only till tomorrow ; for it is painful to him to know that he is surrounded by scientific men anxious to see and communicate with him, and to feel that he is no longer able to enjoy their society, or that scientific discussion, which, as it SCENERY. 21 was formerly a source of the highest gratification to him, " now" he says, " onhj serves to make me feel that I am hut the shadow of ichat I loas." It is in vain to combat with such feelings, but it is impossible not to regret their existence; for could Sir Hiunphry be persuaded occasion- ally to mix more frequently in such society, it would certainly rather be of service to him than not, for his fine mind is still full of intellectual power and elasticity, and he deceives himself in thinking otherwise. In the afternoon, as he did not feel strong enough to mount the hill to the castle, he took a short walk over the bridge along the northern banks of the Neckar, and appeared much to enjoy the beautiful scenery that en- circles this spot, and is indeed every where to be found around Heidelberg. From this side one sees the ancient ruin with its mouldering towers, backed by a lofty amphitheatre of finely M^ooded mountains, with the town standing immediately under it, and the broad river rushing through its light and airy bridge, often foaming over many a rugged rock. The scene at all times is beau- tiful and imposing, but when lighted up by the rays of the setting sun, which fall with a re- •22 THE CASTLE. sploiuloiit <^lovv upon the red-stone walls and towers of the castle, the effect produced is very strikino-, and at that hour it is impossible for the most indifferent observer to pass tlie spot with- out admiration. The castle itself is now in a very dilapidated state, for with the exception of the chapel, which is merely a bare and lofty hall, there remains scarcely one entire room ; but the exterior walls of the quadrangle are nearly per- fect, and much of the sculpture that every where adorns the ruin is still in high preservation, and some of the ruined towers, as such, are very beautiful. The gardens too, which, from their situation, sweeping as they do around the hill on which the castle stands, and abounding in fine large trees, are at once commanding and beautiful, afford many a delightful M'idk and striking view of the country beneath; and wan- dering amid their risings and descents, one feels that here art has been considered as she really is, the handmaid, not the mistress of nature's works. From some of the terraces one looks directly down upon the town, having a fine view beyond of the fertile plain between it and Mannheim, through which the Neckar is seen winding till it THE UNIVERSITY. '23 joins the Rhine, which, with the distant Voge- sian mountains, bounds the view in the west. Heidelberg- contains about 12,000 inhabitants, and has of late years become a favourite resort of strangers. The university library is con- sidered to be one of the richest in Europe in ancient manuscripts, and were the sovereign ol the state a more liberal patron than he is of learning and science, doubtless the museums and public institutions would be more liberally en- dowed than they are ; there is, however, an ex- cellent anatomical museum in the school for medicine, and so long as such names as those of Thibaut, Tiedemann, Gmelin, Schlosser, and various others whose works evince their talent, shall be found amonst the list of its professors, so long must Heidelberg hold a deservedly high rank in the learned and scientific world, and open a wide field of advantage and instruction to all young men anxious to avail themselves of such opportunities ; nor will any impartial judge deny, that amongst its students many highly honourable examples of talent and application are found. ' l-ifh. We this morning bade adieu to Heidel- 24 HEILBRONN. herg, and set off for Xeckaro-emiiiul. Sir Hum- phry very much admired the winding river and its picturesque baidcs, thougli the woods were yet leafless, and the rocks rather bare ; whilst I could see no spot that did not, in one way or another, recall to my mind the many social and ha])py days I had spent in roving through the green woods, and among the movddering castles of the Neckar. From Neckargemlind we struck across the country to Wiesenbach and Sinsheim, and from thence through very pretty but not striking scenery to Fiirfeld, where we entered the kingdom of Wurtemberg, and on to Heil- bronn. This old town offers nothing interesting save the old square tower in the walls on the Neckar, formerly the prison of the celebrated Gotz of the Iron Hand, who, it is said, died within its walls. The doughty champion will probably live in the remembrance of the good people of Heilbronn, only so long as the old tower which bears the name of the Gotzen Tliurm continues to stand ; but the fame of Gotz von Berlichingen will never die but with the extinction of German literature, handed down as it is to posterity by the master-hand of Gothe. WEINSBERG. 25 The drive from Heilbromi to Oeliriiigen is very beautiful, over liill aud dale, and from valley to valley through the mountains. The first little village which we passed M^as Weinsberg-, and above it, on a hill covered with vineyards, are the remains of the castle of Weibertreue (Woman's faith.) This spot was the scene of the action celebrated in Biirger's admired ballad, Die Weiher von JVeinsben/ — The Woman of Weinsberg. " Wer sagt mir an wo Weinsberg- liegt Sollseyn ein wack'res Stadtcheu," &c. &c. the story of which is founded on the following- fact : — During the time of the deadly feuds be- tween the houses of Hohenstaufen and Guelph, about the year 1140, Weinsberg was besieged and taken by the Emperor Conrad. The town and castle had excited his high displeasure for having afforded an asylum to his enemy Guelph, and he determined to destroy them with fire and sword, and said he would only allow the women to depart, and take any treasure with them. At dawn of day the gates of the town were opened, and every woman appeared carrying her husband upon her back. Many of his officers, 26 OEHRINGEN. indignant at thus seeing the enemy's garrison escape, endeavoured to persuade the Emperor to evade Ids promise, but Conrad replied, " an Emperor'' s faith once jiledf/ed was not to he broken;" and he granted them a free pardon, and from tliat time the castle of Weinsberg has borne the name of Weibertreue. We did not reach Oehrinofen till eiffht o'clock ; and then found the only decent iim in the town in great confusion, owing to the exhibition of a cabinet of wax-work, which had attracted all the waiters and chambermaids, so that it was with great difficulty I could ol)tain even hot water to make our tea. 14^/i. We left Oehrinofen at eigfht in the morning, and arrived at Halle, or Schoneshalle, about twelve, passing through some very pretty mountainous country. In this part of WUrtem- berg there are some coal mines, but the coal seems to be of a very inferior quality, a brown coal. The female peasantry dress their hair in a very singular manner, drawing it back from the fore- head, and tying it up in a bunch behind, which gives the head a remarkably naked appearance, and increases their altogether awkward and un- ELLWANGEN. 27 couth air. The town is small and very old, and has some considerable remains of ancient fortifi- cations. From Halle we had a very long- drive up-hill and down-hill for five hours, through a fertile country well wooded and watered, to Ell- wangen, another small town, prettily situated in a valley: the hills on the one side are sur- mounted by a modern chateau, belonging to the King of Wih-temberg ; and on the top of those opposite stands a fine large church, to which, at certain seasons of the year, pilgrims flock in numbers from great distances. Before tea I strolled round the town, and afterwards read one of the " Arabian Nights Entertainments" to Sir Humphry, after which we phiyed our visual game at ecarte. 1 otJi. Leaving EUwangen, we passed through hilly but barren country, and over the most abo- minable roads possible, to Nordlingen, the first Bavarian post-town. AVe were every now and then obliged to get out of the carriage from fear of being overturned; and the postilion fre- quently preferred driving over a newly ploughed field to passing along the road. We however arrived safely at the post-house; thus accom- 28 DONAUWORTII. plisliiiio- six short Icag-ues in about as many hours. On driving into the town we were, as usual, asked for our passport, which was an English one : the officer took it for French, and I suppose he had never seen such an one be- fore, for he copied the printed title into a paper whicli he gave me, as a permission to enter Ba- varia, as follows : — " Permit to pass, &c. &c., Lord Dudley^ particulier,'' and I could hardly make the man believe that the printed name was not that of the person travelling, but that of the minister. From Niirdlingen we drove to Do- nauA\-orth, on the Donau, or Danube; passing through Haarburg, a small A'illage, l)ut one of the prettiest spots we had seen since we left the banks of the Neckar. The chm-ch and many of the houses are situated on the top of a lofty rock, high above the rest of the buildings, and the whole scene is strikingly picturesque. The Danube at Donauworth is a small and uninipo- sing stream. Opposite our inn were two boats ready to start for Vienna; they were of consi- derable size, but wholly built of rough deal planks. Such boats are chiefly filled with mer- chandize, and rarely take passengers, as their ac- THE DANUBE. 29 comodation is very inferior. When tliey arrive at Vienna, they are broken up and sokl as old wood, the current of the Daiuibe being too rapid to admit of boats ascending. We had good ac- comodation at the only hotel, the Crab, which is out of the town, on the banks of the river ; and Sir Humphry determined to remain till tomor- row, to see the fishermen cast their nets in the mornnig. 16///. Sir Humphry did not feel well enough to-day to accompany the fishermen, but desired them to bring him any fish they might catch; they accordingly brought him a schill, the large perch of the Danube, {Perea lucioperca., Block,) of which Sir Humphry begged me to take a drawino-. We then dissected it, and afterwards had it dressed for dinner, and both of us thought it very good, and much resembling cod in taste. Sir Humphry now generally prefers dining alone, and at a late hour for this part of the world, (four o'clock); and I, therefore, where I find a table '^ THE RIVER SAVE. pretty little pony, which Sir Huin|)hry bought a few days ago for the trifling- sum of five pounds, is tied behind the carriage, and runs after it. We followed our old road to Krainburg, where we turned off into the Sau-thal or \'alley of the Save ; along the banks of which river we drove on to 8aphnitz, a small village of only a few houses, where they seem very rarely to see strangers, for the post-house was not even pro- vided with either butter or cheese. The valley between this place and Assling becomes more and more beautiful and sublime as we adv^ance. On one side are barren and bleak rocks, rearing their snow-clad summits into the clouds ; and here and there the eye catches a glimpse of one of the ancient passes over the mountains, formed by the Romans, and which have probably been often trodden by Trajan and his legions during the wars of that emperor in this part of Ger- many; on the other, or left side of the valley, the mountains are lower, and seem to glory in the beauty and luxuriance of their beech woods, through whose foliage rooks of grey limestone are often seen jutting out. The clear blue waters of the Save run through the middle of WOCHAIN. 63 the valley, receiving in tlieir course many small tributary streams on both sides. Near Asslinpf the contrast becomes less striking ; the valley seems to close, the rocks and woods are more intermixed, and beyond them, in the distance, are discovered the snowy peaks of the Terglon and Skerbina, two lofty mountains in the district of Wochain. Assling is a pretty little village on the Save, almost embosomed in wood. To the left, on entering, is a large iron foundery, and also the remains of an unfortunate chain bridge, which had gi\'en way ujion the first trial. The post-house, where we stopped for the night, is a very good inn, and the host remarkably civil. I9th. Sir Humphry wishing to see the lake of Veldes, the lake of Wochain, and the source of the Save, which all lie out of the hioh road in the district of Wochain, he determined to make a tour for a day or two into this wild and remote country, a part of Austria rarely visited by strangers. We were told at Assling, that the roads were in many places too bad and too narrow to admit of our passing in the travelling carriage, and Sir Humphry, therefore, hired a small caleche, in which we set out. We crossed C)4 LAKE OF VELDES. tlie Save by a very jirecarious bridge, built ot ^\'ood, exceedingly narrow, without any railings, and with a floor formed of the trunks of fir-trees, cut into logs and laid parallel to each other. We then went over a steep mountain, and drove on for about two hours in a valley, on the sides of M'hich the trees and rocks were so picturesquely blended, that it would be difficult to say which of the two contributed most to the beauty of the landscape. At the end of the road, on driving down a hill, the lake of Veldes opened upon us. This lake is on a much smaller scale, and totally different from the Traun-See, and to many would perhaps appear more beautiful. At the bottom of the hill, near the lake, lies the village of Veldes, with its church steeple and a few of the houses peeping out from between the trees ; above the church an enormous lofty rock rises perpendicularly out of the waters of the lake, bearing on its top an old imperial castle, to which on the land side a pathway is seen wind- ing up through the wood. In the centre of the lake is a small island, completely covered with trees of the most brilliant green, in the midst of Avhich and liigh above them is seen the steeple x/ '/. a FEISTRITZ. 65 of a church, with the roofs of a few houses. Tlie length of this lake is between three and four miles, but its breadth is considerably less; the nearer shores are formed by noble mountains covered with fields, meadows, and fine beech woods, behind which to the right a])pear the snowy peaks of the Wochain Alps. Driving through the village and around the lake, we entered into the beautiful valley of the Wochain- Save, a small but beautifully clear stream, of an emerald green colour. After stopping for some time for Sir Humphry to fish, M^e drove on to Wo- chain- Villach, a wretched little village, where we dined upon the produce of Sir Humphry's sport. Not a soul in the place spoke a word of German or any other language except their Slowenian, so I was e'en obliged to make use of our Assling coachman as interpreter. After dinner we went on through the same magnificent valley along the banks of the Wochain- Save to Feistritz, a large village, chiefly belonging to Baron Z , of Laybach, who also possesses very large iron and steel-hammers near the village. We were received very politely at his Schloss or country house, l^y his stcM^ard, to whom the F 66 WOCHAIN LAKE. innkeeper of As^slinjj- liad given us a letter, the Baron liimself, with whom Sir Ilumpliry was personally acquainted, and on whom I had called in his name whilst at Laybach, beinj^ absent. The Schloss is old and in bad repair, but we were very comfortably lodged, and con- trived to sleep in spite of the noise of the ham- mers which were at work the whole night, and caused the surrounding ground and houses to tremble as if shaken by an earthquake. lOth. We set out early this morning for the Wochain lake, and as we drove along the banks of tlie Save, the country became at every iiiile more and more romantic ; and upon arriving at the spot where the river issues from the lake, it seems to have reached the highest pitch of wild grandeur. Barren rocks, from four to six thousand feet high, rise up to the clouds, in which they hide their lofty snow-clad peaks. The highest of all, visible from this side of the lake, is the Skerbina.* The south side of the lake, round which the road runs, is finely wooded, and here * This word means in Krainerisch, a rotten or broken tootli, and is applied in this sense to tlie jagged summits of the mountain. SOURCE OF THE WOCHAIN-SAVE. 67 and there noble masses of light grey rock rise abruptly out of the blue water, contrasting finely with the dark pines which crown their summits. The shores of the north side are formed of sloping meadows and hills, beyond which rise those enormous walls of rock seen on approaching the lake. Sir Humphry crossed over the lake in a boat, in order to visit the Savifza, or the source of the Wochain-Save, a lofty cascade, just seen at the western end of the lake like a glittering- silver thread among the grey rocks. I drove round the banks as far as was practicable in the carriage, and then walked on and met Sir Hum- phry at the end of the lake, George following with the pony for him to mount on leaving the boat. M'^e then proceeded for about three miles through fields, over rocks and stones, and the dry beds of mountain torrents, till the road b'i- came too bad for the pony. Sir Humphry then dismounted, and taking my arm, proceeded, with the boatman as a guide, for about a mile further, when we reached a frail wooden bridjje cast over the foaming Save. Here Sir Humphry said he would go no further, but wait with George, who led the pony, till I returned from f2 68 SPLENDID CASCADE. the source. 1 and the