THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W, KOFOID Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from » IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/diaryofoccurrencOOIondrich r DIARY OCCURRENCES THROUGH A PART OF BELGIUM, HOLLAND, AND UP THE RHINE TO MAYENCE, AND THENCE TO PARIS, IN THE MONTHS OF AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 1828. LONDON : J, RIDGWAY, PICCADILLY; AND W. SIMPKIN AND R. MARSHALL, STATIONERS* COURT. 1829. %A G. WOODFALL, angkl. court, skinnbr strbet, London. 36- PREFACE. In presenting this little Volume to the Public, the Writer is conscious that his Preface should be an apology ; because he is well aware it pos- sesses scarcely any information beyond that which may be obtained in the publications of the day : and the countries described are almost as well known as were formerly the counties traversed in a summer''s excursion to the watering places. But, by sending it to the press, the Author is enabled to distribute among his friends a narra- tive which to them is interesting ; and to those to whom he is a stranger, who may deign to waste an hour over its pages, he has to request that they will peruse it with that indulgence which is usually shown to a first appearance. iwSJ0023 IV PEEFACE. The Author considers it due to the Readers to apprize them, that the historical notices of the cities in Holland and Flanders are mostly com- piled from the Traveller's Guide and Blainville's Travels; the account of Robespierre's arrest and execution from Helen Maria Williams's Let- ters ; and the details respecting the execution of Sandt, and of JefFries's and Blanchard's ascent from Dover, are taken from the Gentleman's Magazine of the respective years. DIARY OCCURRENCES^ 1828, Aug. 5. — Left London at ten o'clock by the Eagle Coach, Mrs. H and Miss inside, and myself on the roof, and arrived at half-past eight in the evening at Dover, in- tending to take our night's lodging at the Castle Inn ; but the Eagle being Chaplin's coach, we were taken to his hotel, the Hotel de Londres, and although rather displeased in being in a manner forced from our object, we consented to stop, and had no reason to complain of our ac- commodation. 2 DOVER. CALAIS. 6th. Rose at six in the morning. The day looked lowering and rainy, but cleared up about seven, and I perambulated the town, which has been much improved by the erection of the Ma- rine Parade, and the Guildford and Clarence Lawns, with a line of bathing-rooms for the convenience of the visitors and residents of the eastern part of the city. At half-past nine, em- barked on board the Salamander Steam-Packet — the wind contrary, but not boisterous ; — among our fellow-passengers we had Prince Maximilian of Bavaria, since married to a Princess of the House of Austria, and Mr. George Byng, the Member for Middlesex. The tide failed us be- fore we reached Calais, and we were obliged to be landed in boats ; and, unfortunately, a shower overtook us almost immediately on our quitting the vessel, which rendered our footing on the pier wet and unpleasant. Having presented our- selves at the Custom-House, we went to Koberts's Hotel, and took possession of our apartments about four hours after we had left the port of Dover. In the afternoon the weather became quite stormy. Dr. T — arrived between eight CALAIS. DU>JKERaUE. d and nine in the evening, after experiencing an extremely rough passage from London, from whence he sailed at seven in the morning. 7th. Dr. T. and I, in our walk before break- fast, met a funeral procession, which we accom- panied to the church ; the priest headed the mourners, wearing a sort of Phrygian cap, and reminded me of the representations of Mercury, whose office it was to deliver the departed spirits to Charon. After the consecration of the Host, the back of the paten was successively presented to the salutation of the family of the deceased, who each made an oblation at the altar. Hav- ing breakfasted, we engaged a carriage to convey us to Dunkerque ; our first station was at Grave- lines ; outside of the gates we passed the ceme- tery, which forms an exemplification of the motto usually attached to the hatchments of the great, " Mors janua vitae'"; for here the mansions of the dead are literally at the gate of the living. We arrived at Dunkerque at four in the after- noon, and alighted at the Hotel de Flandre, where we met with excellent accommodation. After we had dined we sallied forth in search of b2 4 PUNKERQUE* CASSEL. adventures, and were surprised to find ourselves in so fine a city. Its principal church is dedi- cated to St. Eloi, and was built by the Spa- niards ; but a magnificent portal, supported by ten Corinthian columns, has since been added, which gives to the edifice, as viewed from the street, an imposing effect. From the church we went to the pier, stretching far over the sands, and which, I think, cannot be less than a mile and a half in length. 8th. We departed from Dunkerque, and pass- ing by Bergues arrived about noon at Cassel, and took up our quarters at Au Sauvage, Kerri- man''s. From the pavilion at the back of these premises we had a most extensive prospect, Cas- sel being considered the most commanding situa- tion in the Low Countries, an isolated mountain amid a region of plains. General Vandamme is a native of this town, and has a chateau on the brow of the hill, to which is attached a beautiful garden. Here, through vistas in the groves, he may look over Belgium as on a map, and contemplate at leisure on the scenes of his former triumphs. It was our intention to pro- CASSEL. LILLE. TOUKNAY. O ceed from Cassel to Ypres, but not meeting with a conveyance, we took places in the Dili- gence to Lille, remaining for the night with our host, 9th. After an early breakfast we arranged our- selves in the Diligence ; the two ladies were seated in the interior, in company with a couple of nuns on their way to Arras ; Dr. T. and myself took our places on the Imperiale. The road was de- void of interest ; and on our arrival at Lille, dis- liking the accommodation at the Hotel du Por- tugal, we determined after dining to pursue our route to Tournay, although with some regret, as we had previously intended to pass the Sunday in this city. At half-past seven in the evening we arrived at Tournay, and took our lodgings at the Singe d'Or. Early in the morning I was at the cathedral, almost as soon as the doors were open, and had scarcely recovered my surprise at the beauty of its structure, when my attention was arrested by the loud cries of a lad, which proceeded apparently from a cell at the bottom of the south-eastern tower in the church ; his shriek was that of desolation rather than of pain, and b TOURNAY. soon attracted a crowd of enquirers to know the cause of his detention. What that cause was, or what became of the incarcerated victim, I know not J having almost immediately quitted this temple of affliction. How dreadful is soli- tude ! especially accompanied, as this must have been, by the terrors of superstition. By what principle in human nature is it that the priests of all ages, of all countries, and of all religions, are ever cruel in their punishments, and merciless in their application ? It would seem that, in assum- ing the prerogatives of Deity, and finding the beatitudes of the Almighty unapproachable, they endeavour to imitate His thunders, and aim at inflicting wounds deeper than stripes. Let me, however, be understood as directing these ob- servations against the priesthood considered as a body, for as individuals it must be acknowledged that there always have been, and I trust always will be, many, many illustrious exceptions. Neither are the observations written in condemnation of the lad having been punished, as possibly his conduct might have required chastisement : what I deprecate is the infliction of mental agony ra- TOUKNAV. 7 ther than bodily suffering. — While the ladies were preparing for breakfast, I returned to the cathedral in company with Dr. T. ; and now all was harmony, and the music of a fine anthem was resounding through the Gothic aisles^ which added greatly to the solemnity of the service. One of the distinguishing beauties of this church is its carved pulpit ; under the desk is represented the serpent of the constellations encircling a globe, and presenting from his mouth the fatal apple to Eve; over which is the Virgin standing upon the crescent moon, and pointing to a Christ bearing the Cross ; in the centre is a triangle, on which is expressed, that as the first Eve introduced death into the world by sin, the second Eve (Mary) introduced salvation by Christ. On leaving the Church we were much amused, as we passed to our Hotel, in reading the tender invitation that the Barber of the Rue des Rats addresses to the passengers, as an inducement to permit him to take them by the nose- His in- scription is — '* Ici on rase a la papa, " Et on coupe les cheveux aux oiseaux." 8 TOURNAY. Which may be paraphrased thus : — Here tenderly we smooth the chin, And fond as doves, the locks we thin. In the evening we went to St. Brice ; it was the Fete of the Saint. The Church was crowded to excess, and the spaces between the pillars along the aisles were filled with shrubs and odoriferous plants. As soon as the service was finished, the effigy of the Saint, and all the portable orna- ments, and relics, and banners, and the Host un- der a rich canopy, were perambulated round the parish, the streets of which were strewed with rushes and scented herbs. 11th. Left Tournay, and as we traversed the winding course through its multiplied ramparts, we were from time to time saluted with the joy- ous shouts of a party accompanying a new mar- ried pair, who were proceeding to a neighbouring village to spend those nuptial days, which, in this country, among the lower classes, are usually dedicated to festivity, which sometimes lasts for a week. The first town on our road was Leuse, then Ath, a small but extremely strong fortified city ; here we dined, and then continued our BRUSSELS. route through Enghien to Hal, celebrated for its ebony Virgin, similar to the one at Loretto, and almost as renowned for her miracles and pilgrims. At seven in the evening, we reached Brussels, where we were lodged like nobles, at the Hotel de Flandre, in the Place Royale. On our way to this capital, we noticed the numerous and extensive plantations of tobacco, which ap- pears much cultivated throughout the Nether- lands; it hung in bunches, suspended at the fronts of most of the farm houses, on the road- side, or was laid layer over layer to dry, in large store-houses constructed for that purpose, where, between each layer of tobacco leaves, a due circu- lation of air was admitted. Having now arrived at the capital of Bel- gium, I must not omit to mention a peculiarity which is observed in noting the progress of the hours ; the time is announced by two sets of bells, the one small, the other great ; for example, at half past one, the little bell strikes two, and when the hour is complete, the great hell strikes two; the little bell therefore, is a divider and an anticipator, exciting the careless to prepare 10 WATERLOO. for the coming hour, but like all gratuitous ad- monishers, its admonitions are either neglected or misunderstood, for what with the continual chiming of the carillons, the monitory striking of the little, and the louder larum of the great bell, strangers are confused by the multiplicity of tinkling sounds, and even the natives are often puzzled to distinguish by sound alone, the true time of day. 12th. We hired a carriage from our hotel, and at nine o** clock in the morning set off for Waterloo, the weather proving fortunately fine, which is indispensably requisite for such an ex- pedition, as the road leads through the Forest of Soignies, which, excluding the free circulation of the air, renders the way particularly damp and dirty. After a ride of two hours, we alighted, and procured a guide, who conducted us to the field of battle. The great contest took place at Movmt St. Jean ; in its contiguous val- ley, about 4,000 combatants were buried in one grave ; a little to the right of this position, is erected a large conical mound, surmounted by a lion of granite, placed upon a pedestal of the WATERLOO. 11 same material, to which we ascended by 250 steps ; the view from thence, commands the whole lines of the respective armies. It was painful to hear the recital of the sufferings that many of the wounded experienced, who were left on the field for three days, before adequate as- sistance could be procured for their relief; we were told that, in their agonies arising from wounds and famine, they earnestly intreated the peasantry to terminate their miseries, by putting them to death. Were it allowable to hazard a conjecture respecting the causes which contri- buted to render the issue of this battle so deci- sive, I should not hesitate to say, that it was mainly attributable to the eagerness of Napoleon to surprise the Duke of Wellington, by which he outstript the movements of Grouchy ; — but if the movements of Grouchy were not sufficiently rapid to accomplish his purposes, those of Blu- cher, recovering from defeat, were beyond all imaginable calculation ; and when Buonaparte, exhausted by the conflict of the day, perceived the most determined and most vindictive of his enemies, pouring down his enraged columns of 12 WATERLOO. fresh troops, he dreaded, and perhaps justly dreaded, the result, and therefore fled the contest with precipitation and despair; and thus the allied generals partook of the supper at the Palace of Lacken, which had been prepared for the entertainment of Napoleon. Having completed our observations, the sky, which till then had been unclouded, became suddenly overcast, and a few drops of rain gave us a hint to retreat ; we stopped, on our return, to see the monuments in the church of Water- loo, to numerous English oflicers who fell in the great battle, and the various combats which pre- ceded it ; among others, I noticed one to Lieu- tenant Cairnes, who was Lieutenant Burke Cup- page''s half-brother, with an inscription, to which Lieutenant Cuppage has subscribed his name. Adjoining to the premises of the church, is the house where the Marquess of Anglesea had his leg amputated, which lies buried in the garden. The rain having soon passed off, we succeeded in getting back to our hotel without any incon- venience. In the afternoon, we took a long walk to the BRUSSELS. 13 entrance of the Allee Verte, but a heavy rain came on, which accompanied us to our lodgings, and we only escaped being wet to the skin by occasionally standing up. 13th. In the forenoon, called upon Mrs. E ; we then proceeded to the palace, and from thence to the Hotel de Ville, remarkable for its beautiful tower, 364 feet in height, sur- mounted with a statue of St. Michael, repre- sented in the act of striking the dragon, which serves for the weathercock ; in the interior, are some fine specimens of Gobelin tapestry, and what renders the building particularly interesting to the historian, is the fact that here^ in 1654, Christiana, Queen of Sweden, voluntarily re- signed her crown. 14th. Went to the St. Gudule, and as Mrs. H and I were walking up the transept, unconscious of wrong, we were separated by one of the gens d''armes that preserves order during the celebration of mass, it being con- sidered indecorous for a lady to take hold of a gentleman's arm in the church. In the centre of the nave, is the famovis pulpit of oak, which 14 brussp:ls. stands pre-eminent among tlie numerous carved pulpits of the Netherlands ; it was executed by Henry Verbruggen of Antwerp, in 1699. The subject of this exquisite performance represenjts Adam and Eve being driven out of Paradise, by an angel, with a flaming sword in his hand, and Death pursuing them. These are as large as life, and from the positions in which they are placed, they appear partly to sustain the terrestrial globe, which is above them; in the cavity of this globe is the pulpit. This globe rests on a lofty tree, on the top of which, is a canopy, supported by an angel and Truth, represented under the character of a female. Above is a statue of the Holy Virgin, and the infant Jesus, holding a cross, with which he is crushing the head of the seducing serpent. The Virgin is adorned with a glory, formed by stars, and is surrounded by a number of angels. At the lower part of this pulpit, are two small staircases, and on the branches of the tree, intended to represent the tree of knowledge, are different animals ; those on Eve's side are the peacock, the paiTOt, and the ape ; and on Adam's side, the eagle and the ostrich. BRUSSELS. ANTWERP. 15 In the afternoon left Brussels for Antwerp, but, to our great mortification, the rain came down in torrents, which deprived us of the opportunity of enjoying the beauties of a most delightful ride, through a highly cultivated country. We were, however, fortunate enough to get beds for the night at La Couronne, an arrangement which we almost despaired of effect- ing, owing to the crowded state of the city, on account of the approaching fete. 15th. Called upon Mr. B — --, to whom we had a letter of recommendation from Mr. E , claiming his assistance to procure us ac- commodations until the following Monday ; he accompanied us to the Grand Laboureur and several other of the principal hotels without success. We, at length, through Mr. B 's intervention, obtained a couple of sleeping-rooms at a restorateur's called the Lands Welvaren, where we found the master and mistress unre- mittingly attentive and the apartments very clean ; but the noise, the bustle, and the smoking of the dining and the supping guests were of a description, that vmder any other circumstances 16 ANTWERP. would have rendered the house ineligible for a lodging. Nothing, however, could exceed the jovial character of our landlord; he was ever on the alert, and kindness and gaiety were imprinted on his countenance, notwithstanding his life had been replete with hardships and sorrows — for as a soldier he had contended in many a hard fought battle, and encountered many a wearisome march under the banners of Napoleon, and in the far- famed day of Waterloo was shot through the leg and otherwise dreadfully wounded, so that he lay for two days on the field numbered among the slain ; — and as a father he had, in succession, lost all his children save one infant that we left in its cradle. Our first object, after having set- tled ourselves as above described, was to bend our steps to the cathedral to see Rubens's Descent from the Cross, but which, to our disappoint- ment, though restored to the church, is not yet replaced as an altar-piece — on the contrary, it is exhibited on the naked wall of the south tran- sept, without any accompaniment to render the painting eflPective. From the transept we pro- ceeded to the nave, where the large image of the ANTWERP. 17 Virgin (it being the day of her assumption) was seated under a splendid canopy superbly dressed, with a rich crown on her head, the jewels of which, when seen illuminated by the morning sun, as you look up the grand aisle to the eastern window, sparkle with radiated prisms of uncom- mon brilliancy. Our next ramble was to the banks of the Scheldt, where we felt ourselves quite revived by the refreshing breezes from the water, as we paced the beautiful quay which extends along the whole line of shore from the citadel till it terminates at the docks and basins constructed by order of Buonaparte. The river appeared crowded with ships on the Antwerp side, and a steam-boat was in constant requisition in convey- ing passengers and goods across the stream to the opposite landing place. 16th. Attended mass in the church of St. Jaques: the service was quite celestial — and I should think the music and singing would only be exceeded by the performance during the holy week at Rome. From thence paid our respects to M. and Madame B B . Dr. T. 18 ANTWERP. and I then went to procure our passports, and were much surprised at the rigid scrutiny stran- gers undergo in obtaining them, which requires their personal appearance. Surely, in a trading city restrictions so severe cannot fail to be in- convenient, and must greatly impede its commer- cial prosperity. 17th. Went to the exhibition of the works of the modern Flemish artists. Among a number of excellent paintings, which it would be tedious to enumerate, we were highly amused by one in Wilkie's style by C. Francois, an artist resident at Brussels. The subject was that of a gentle- man who, desirous of correcting the perverseness of a spoilt son, brings him to be apprenticed to a cobbler. The story is admirably depicted. The centre groupe consists of the cobbler, his wife, and a lad, their son. The cobbler is seen falling back, ready to burst with laughter at the whimsicality of the idea ; his wife also seems to enter heartily into the scheme, but with a suppression of feeling more appertaining to the delicacy of the female character, while the sly looks of the lad, their son, gives the spectator fully to understand that AKTWEltP. 19 he has some suspicion that the whole is intended as a hoax. To the right of the group is the unfortunate youth, turning his back on the party, with downcast looks, and with all the pallid sul- lenness of a pampered offspring of ill-governed wealth. On the opposite side stands the irritated father, his countenance pale with anger ; in his right hand he holds a cane, which he seems in the act of resigning, as much as to say, " he de- serves that it should be laid across his shoulders, and I leave the strapping of him to you."" We had scarcely got again into the streets, when the running of the people to join the mar- shalling of the several districts to form the much- talked-of procession, induced us to hasten our steps to the Place de Mer, where the grand cere- monial was to be performed. Our first station was near the hotel of the Grand Labour eur, and to our left we observed a party of ladies, who were not long before they obtained seats on the first floor of a neighbouring house; and being apprehensive of the pressure of the increasing crowd, we speedily followed their example, and were much gratified; on entering the room, to discover the c 2 20 ANTWERP. ladies to have been our companions at the dinner table at Brussels, where they had acquired our respect by their agreeable conversation and kind attentions, which this unlooked for meeting gave us an opportunity of again enjoying. At length the procession advanced, which was but insigni- ficant compared with those I had seen at Rome. It was preceded by the banners of the various churches — in a line, on each side of which, walked the townspeople, carrying large burning catholic tapers — to these succeeded the magis- trates, — then the Virgin magnificently attired in robes of golden brocade and her head adorned with a crown and quantity of jewels — then came the Host, with all the clergy in grand costume, and the boys in white surplices waving the in- cense closed the march. On reaching the altar, the Host was removed from the canopy under which it had been brought, and the service com- menced by the celebration of a high mass : the spectacle was now truly imposing, particularly when, on the elevation of the sacred emblem, the majority of the immense multitude of assembled spectators knelt to receive the benediction. On ANTWERP. 21 the mass being terminated, the procession recom- menced to the Notre Dame, where the banners and the Virgin resumed their stations. In the evening the city was illuminated, and the neigh- bouring forests must have had a movement like Birnam Wood to Dunsinane, for most of the streets on each side were lined with firs, having festoons of flowers from tree to tree, to which, in addition, were appended numberless inscriptive devices, some pious and some also satirical. For example: — it is related that the magnificent tower of the cathedral of Malines having once been strongly illuminated by the moon, it gave it the appearance of being on fire, and assistance poured in from all quarters to put out the flames. On the mistake being discovered, the inhabitants were laughed at, as wishing to extinguish the moon ! And to such a length did the bantering extend, that it led to serious feuds, in which lives were lost. This anecdote was not overlooked. 18th. In the morning visited the church of the Dominicans, which has many fine paintings, particularly one by Rubens, " the Scourging of 22 ANTWERP. Christ."^ The original is preserved under a curtain, but an exceedingly good copy is suspended on the north wall of the transept. The Dominicans is equally celebrated for its church-yard, which exhibits a representation of Mount Calvary, with an entombed Christ looking like a Saracen, robed in scarlet and white, with curly headed hair and beard painted as black as jet ; this figure is seen through a grating to the right of the tomb — on the left is a view of the horrors of Purgatory, with an abundance of flames and demons. The last object of our research was the site of llubens^s dwelling : the only remaining relic of the original fabric is an elegant arcade, which se- parated the premises from the garden. We then returned to partake of an early dinner previous to our departure, which had now become indis- pensable, for the bustle occasioned by the jubilee had increased to a degree that rendered a longer residence at our hotel by no means desirable. In short, a great proportion of the lodging visitors were obliged to sleep on mattresses laid on the floor, and in fact we heard that an English fa- AK TWERP. BREDA. 23 hiily, arriving late on Sunday night by a diligence from Brussels, was absolutely compelled to re- main until five in the morning on the steps of the grand altar, in the Place de Mer, exposed to the drenching effects of a pitiless storm. We commenced our journey into Holland, with expectations the most discouraging, for the Flemings, I suspect, from feelings of jealousy, had represented the conduct of the Dutch towards strangers to be so boorish and rapacious, that we felt quite depressed at the thoughts of commit- ting ourselves to such a people, especially as their language was one with which we were not familiar. We however found, in our intercourse with the Hollanders, that they were far from meriting the ill character given of them by their rivals. We arrived in the evening at Breda, after traversing a dreary country, and without meeting any thing of interest, save that of a country-wo- man riding most manfully, with a foot in the stirrup on each side of the horse, a cap on her head, with a broad band of gold over her fore- head, and a large circumference of body, resem- 24 BHEDA^ bling what we may imagine would have been the great Astley in petticoats. We alighted at the Lion d'Or, and as soon as we had selected our apartments. Dr. T. and I engaged a guide, it being now dark, to conduct us to the office of the Diligence, that we might secure places to continue our journey on the en- suing day. 19th. After an early breakfast, we took a walk through the town, and soon discovered that we were in a Protestant state ; for we had lost the music of the carillons, and the doors of the churches were all closed, which deprived the city of those attractions that the pomp and ceremonies of the catholic service, with the ready admission at almost all hours to their places of worship, afford. It was here, however, that we saw the last of the migrating tribe of storks pluming itself on the chimney-top, possibly to join its com- panions in their flight, for as we advanced we found that they had abandoned the country. These birds take possession of their nests at the chimney-tops in March, and in August de- part to a more southern region. The individual BREDA. 26 tjsteems himself most fortunate whose chimney is selected by the stork as an asylum for the con- struction of its nest ; in short this bird is held here in as high estimation as the ibis was in Egypt, for deprived of the stork the land would swarm with frogs, like the land of Pharaoh under the inflicting rod of Moses. The attachment of the storks to their young is intense. It is related that during a fire that took place at Ley den, in which several houses were destroyed, the female storks that were unable to remove their young from their nests perished in the flames, rather than abandon their charge. And their arrangements, previous to their change of climate, exhibit a combination and intelligence, equalling, if not surpassing, hu- manity. Shaw, as quoted by Pennant, says, that before <iSLch. migration they rendezvous in amazing numbers, are for a while much in motion among themselves, and after making many short flights, as if to try their wings, all of a sudden take flight, with great silence, and with such speed, as in a moment to attain so great a height as to be 26 BRKDA- instantaneously out of sight, which is thus beau- tifully described by Thomson : Where the Rhine loses his majestic force In Belgian plains. * # # The stork-assembly meet ; for many a day Consulting deep and various, ere they take Their arduous voyage through the liquid sky. And now, their route designed, their leaders chose; Their tribes adjusted, clean'd their vigorous wings; And many a circle, many a short essay, Wheel'd round and round, in congregation full The figur*d flight ascends, and riding high The aerial billows, mixes with the clouds. But it is not the stork alone that excites our admiration, for we are lost in astonishment when we contemplate the surprising sagacity and accu- rate adaptation to circumstances which the animal world displays in its various gradations, from the beetle in the field, to the elephant of the forest. And if the animal be thus endowed, how wonder- fully does it exhibit the boundless wisdom and goodness of the Almighty, as displayed in the Divine intelligence that pervades the whole of BKEBA. 27 creation, considered in its immensity and in its infinity, of systems and of worlds ! After our return from our ramble, we prepared for our departure to Rotterdam, which was at- tended with some inconvenience^ on account of the bridge over which we had to pass being then under repair. We had therefore to accompany the attendants employed to carry the luggage by a circuitous path across ramparts, that led to a ferry over the river which surrounds the fortifications. We here embarked, and were landed near the place where the Diligence was stationed, outside of the Rotterdam Gate. This incident delayed us considerably. At length the vehicle was in motion; and when we reached Moerdyke, we embarked, carriage and all, on board a steam-boat, which conveyed us across a large branch of the JMeuse, or rather lake, described in the maps the Bies Bosch. We then proceeded to Dort, from whence, by means of a ferry-boat, we were taken to the opposite shore, and thence continued our journey to the banks of the river which separated us from Rotterdam, when we were again placed in a steam-boat, which safely landed us at our 28 ROTTEKDAM. place of destination. The hotel we had selected for our lodging was the Marechal de Turenne ; but, unluckily for us, the master of the hotel was lately deceased, leaving a widow and large family of children ill provided for ; so that we met with meagre fare, where we had anticipated the best of entertainment. The city itself, however, was very gay, it being the season of their annual fair, and the streets were crowded with booths replete with the finest toys we ever saw offered for sale. There were also quantities of beautiful lace, as well for trimmings, as made up in every variety of female attire, where such manufacture is intro- duced. But as every good has its attendant evil, so the multiplicity of booths deprived us of the view of the streets, or rather quays, parti- cularly of the fine one where we were lodged. Rotterdam being wholly a commercial city, pre- sented few objects of curiosity to such casual vi- sitors as ourselves ; but of these the most conspi- cuous were the statue of Erasmus, and the lean- ing construction of the houses. The first, not- withstanding that Erasmus was the glory of their country, the natives seem to treat with little re- ROTTERDAM. 29 spect, for the bronze was painted black, and co- vered with cobwebs ; yet it still preserves an air of great dignity, and gave me an idea of the re- presentations of Cardinal Wolsey, but with a character of countenance far less sensual. The second — the impending inclination of the houses — is to a stranger quite terrific ; but as the Dutch are a calculating people, no doubt this deviation from the perpendicular is the plan best adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the country, al- though I am not mathematician enough to de- velope its principles. 20th. Went by the trekschuit to the Hague, which was our first essay by this mode of con- veyance, and we were fortunate in having very pleasant travelling companions, namely, the Eng- lish chaplain of Rotterdam and his lady. Never- theless, the tedious progress of the vessel, and the dull uniformity of the scenery, added to the perpetual entanglement of the encountering track- ing lines, although the extrication is made with great dexterity, renders this kind of travelling not the most agreeable, especially to those who do not possess the phlegmatic temperature of the Dutch. At Delft ourselves and higgage were 30 ROTTERDAM. THE HAGUE. transferred to another trekschuit ; and as this transfer is not unfrequent in canal travelling, it is an additional drawback on whatever advan- tages it may otherwise possess. It is true there are always porters ready at the landing places to convey your luggage, but then these must be paid, which subjects foreigners to imposition ; and you are obliged to pursue them all through the town to the place of embarkation on another canal, the distance of which is often considerable. On our arrival at the Hague we took up our quarters at the Vieux Doelen*, a fine hotel in the Place Royale. * As the meaning of Doelen is not generally understood by the English reader, it may not be improper to add an explanation. The Doelen were, formerly, places where parties met to practise with the cross-bow, and shoot with arrows at a butt ; and it was at these assemblies that the ancient patriots met and arranged their plans, which ter- minated in the liberation of their country from the Spa- nish yoke. It has hence passed into an appellation for hotels, and even for colleges. Shooting with the arrow is still a favourite amusement among the inhabitants of the low countries, where almost every village is furnished with an enclosure in which a high pole, or rather mast, is fixed, having an artificial bird at its top, as an object pour tirer a la fleche, to shoot at with arrows. THE HAGUE. 31 21st. We engaged a carriage and a commis- sionaire. We alighted first at the royal mu- seum and then at the palace, which, although it presents externally nothing attractive, yet the apartments, in simple grandeur and elegant deco- ration, exceed every thing we could have ima- gined ; and the interest they excite is much in- creased by learning that most of the embroidery of the satin covering the chairs was worked by members of the royal family, and some beauti- ful specimens of painting were the productions of the queen herself; in particular, a charming portrait of the Princess Maria, when an infant. This princess was now in her eighteenth year, and was to have been married, in the ensuing November, to the son of the ex- king of Swe- den ; but this union has not taken place, and re- port has given her hand to a suitor of higher distinction. Our next drive was to Scheveling, distant about two miles ; it is the great bathing- place of the Dutch noblesse. The queen has here a pavilion, and the bathing-rooms and ma- chines are certainly superior to any we have yet seen in England, and the walk on the sands is 32 THE HAGUE. delightful. It was from hence that, in May 1660, Charles II. embarked, on his restoration to royalty. From Scheveling we went to the King^s house in the wood, which may be consi- dered rather as a nobleman''s villa than the resi- dence of a monarch. It possesses, however, an octagon saloon, forming the centre of the build- ing, which, from the top of the cupola to the skirting board of the floor, is painted by the most eminent masters of the age and the country at the period of its construction, namely, Rubens, Vandyke, Jordaens, and others, and is perhaps unique in this mode of exhibiting the powers of the art. Vulcan'*s forge, by Rubens, over the chimney, is esteemed one of his chef-d''oeuvres ; and the portraits of the four principal artists that were employed are introduced as whole length figures, occupying four of the lower tier of the al- ternate panels of the octagon. Having now seen the objects most usually visited by strangers, and got our passports countersigned by the ministers of England, France, and Prussia, that we might travel uninterruptedly up the Rhine to Mentz, and thence to Paris, we went to our hotel to dine, THE HAGUE.— LKYDEN. 33 and here, I must confess, there was certainly something like an attempt at fraud. In the first place, they charged in the bill for a dinner we had previously paid for, which I should have attri- buted to accident, had it not happened that, on retiring from our repast, my Traveller's Guide, which had been a subject of reference, was inad- Tertently left on the table. Before, however, we had proceeded half a dozen steps from the dining- room. Dr. Taylor recollected the circumstance, and I returned immediately and detected the waiters endeavouring to conceal the book, which they had taken to the bar for that purpose, in- stead of following us to restore it, which it was their duty to have done. I am fully persuaded, notwithstanding, that the master of the hotel was perfectly unacquainted with the conduct of those he employed, as the house was one of two departments, a lodging one and a restaurateur's. The offending party belonged to the restau- rateur's. We arrived late in the evening by the Trek- schuit at Leyden. Our first intention was to have gone to the Golden Ball in the Broad 34 LEYDEN. Street, but the lodging-rooms were all taken. We therefore went to the Soleil d'Or, where our reception was such, that we had no reason to re- gret our previous disappointment. Having engaged a commissionaire, we accom- panied him to the Stadt House, in the Council Chamber of which are some historical paintings in commemoration of the heroic conduct of its inhabitants during the long siege the city sus- tained against the Spaniards in 1574. . And if — Illi robur et ses triplex. Circa pectus erat — Or oak or brass, with triple fold. That hardy mortal's daring breast enroll'd — be applied to the hero who first committed him- self in a fragile bark to the ocean, what language should be applied to the inflexible firmness of the Governor of Leyden, who presided over the destinies of his fellow-citizens at this memorable period, himself depicted as the representative of Famine, surrounded by haggard men and half- starved women and children, who, with bended knees and uplifted hands, are imploring a surren- der, to preserve them from annihilation ? Un- LEYDEN/ 35 shaken, notwithstanding the conflicting anguish of his feelings, and the almost hopeless situation of his circumstances, he thus undauntedly an- swered their petition : — " I have sworu that I will never surrender myself, or my fellow-citizens^ to the cruel and perfidious Spaniards; and I will die rather than violate my oath ; food, I have none, or I would give it to you ; but if my death can be of use to you, take me, tear me to pieces, and devour me ; I shall die with satisfac- tion if I know that my death will benefit you, and protract your noble defence."" His auditors gazed on each other silently and with astonish- ment, and retired to their respective posts, deter- mined rather to die of hunger, or to perish with their wives and children in the flames of the city, kindled with their own hands, than submit to the tyranny of the Spaniards. The Equinox now arrived ; and one of those storms arose, which they used to contemplate with dread and horror. The wind blew tempes- tuously on their coast, and the sea, no longer restrained by those stupendous mounds that had before held it in subjection, rushed on the land, d2 36 LEYDEN. scattering desolation and death. The forts of the besiegers were surrounded, or covered with wa- ter. The flood continued to rise, and the Spa- niards fled terror-struck from its fury, or found a watery grave. In the mean time, the little fleet of their compatriots' boats, boldly and trium- phantly advanced amidst the storm, and reached the gates of the city. The relief thus miracu- lously conveyed to them was most urgently re- quired ; for their stores of every kind were so completely exhausted, that, had the blockade continued two days longer, they must all have perished. Impressed with the combination of more than human causes that produced the sud- den and unexpected retreat of their enemies, the people of Leyden considered their deliverance as an intervention of Providence, and had a medal struck with this legend : — Sicut Sennacherib a Jerusalem. Sic Hispani a Leyda Noctu Fugati. At one period of the siege the hopes of the in- habitants were revived by the arrival of two car- rier pigeons, with notes under their wings con- taining promises of succour. These birds, after LEYDEN. 37 their death, were embalmed, and are still pre- served in the Stadt House. To commemorate the courage and fidelity dis- played by the inhabitants of Leyden in this dreadful siege, the Prince of Orange gave them their option, to be exempted for a certain period from taxes^ or to have a university founded in their town. They nobly chose the latter. Never did any seat of learning spring from a nobler cause ; and by the number of celebrated men which it has produced, it has not disgraced the lustre of its origin. From the Stadt House our guide led us to the Museum, through that quarter of the city which in 1807 was, by the explosion of a vessel laden with gunpowder, destroyed, as it were, by an earthquake, leaving an area of great extent, once covered with houses and streets, of which not a vestige now remains. From the Museum we passed to the Alteberg, which com- mands a fine view of the city and surrounding country ; we then returned to prepare for the continuance of our journey : we had in the af- ternoon some heavy rain, in the evening we ar- 38 HAARLEM. rived by the Diligence at Haarlem, and took our abode at the Golden Lion. 23d. One great object of attraction at Haarlem is its celebrated organ, which every stranger makes a point of hearing ; for this purpose it is customary, at the different hotels, to make up a party, as the performance lasts an hour, and the organist's fee is a ducat. This led me to an ac- quaintance with a fellow-countryman travelling to see the world, and " catch the living manners as they rise."' He had arrived at Rotterdam by the steam-packet from London ; and in convert sation I learned that he had been dreadfully sick during the whole of the voyage ; that he had seen nothing of Rotterdam, having left it almost immediately for Leyden ; that of Leyden also he had seen nothing, for it had rained hard all the while he was there, and therefore he did not go out. When pressed to accompany us to the Ca- thedral, he declined with regret, but said he had not time, for the Diligence was just ready to start for Amsterdam ; and thus it appeared he fled from place to place, without understanding a word of any language, but that acquired within HAARLEM. 39 le sound of Bow Bell, and without any know- dge of the cities and countries he traversed, eyond that of dining and sleeping at the various otels in his progress ; — simply to report on his eturn to England, that he had made a Continent- d tour. Having left him to take his course, we wrere the first of the party in the church ; and when they were all assembled, were placed in the pews to hear this wonderful instrument, with which we were equally surprised and delighted. In the imitation of a storm the music was the very echo of the elements, and in the passages from popular airs was very effective, although its tones are considered as more powerful than sweet ; its vox humana stop however, I believe, is esteemed transcendently melodious. From the Cathedral we proceeded to the Town-hall, where are carefully preserved, under glass cases, the earliest specimens of Coster'^s printing, the dis- covery of which is claimed for him by the natives of Haarlem. His first book was intituled Spe- culum Humanae Salvationis ; it is without date, but supposed to have been printed in 1420, a fact which, if it could be evidenced, would fairly 40 HAAKLEM. place him in advance of his competitors. Cos- ter's statue is placed opposite to the house where he was born. It has this inscription : — M. S. VIRO CONSULARI, Laurentio Costero Harlemensi, alteri Cadmo, & Artis Typographicae circa annum Domini 1430, Inventori primo, De Litteris ac toto Orbe optime merenti, banc Q. L. C. Q. Statuam quia ^Eream non habuit, pro monumento posuit Civis gratiss. Adrian. Roman. Typogr. Anno 1630. On our return wefound that Madame Godthardt, our hostess, had prepared a collation for us in her own apartment, that we might have some re- freshment previous to our departure for Amster- dam ; and, indeed, we cannot leave Haarlem without expressing our acknowledgment to our obliging hostess for her very kind attention to our comfort and accommodation while under her roof. At four in the afternoon we took our seats in the Diligence, and at six arrived at Amsterdam, and directed our luggage to be taken to the Hotel des Grandes Armes d' Amsterdam au coin du Rusland, whither we followed the porters, and AMSTERDAM. 41 succeeded in obtaining a handsome suite of rooms on the principal story, which was so far fortu- nate, as the bad water, the humid atmosphere, and unwholesome exhalations from the dikes, had begun to affect my travelling companions, leav- ing me the only one of the party that was not in- valided. On which account, on the following days, August 24 and 25, we confined ourselves to occasional strolls in the city, or from the win- dows of our apartment, in noticing the costume of the passing multitude, of which the most re- markable was the dress of those belonging to the orphan establishment. It was divided into right and left ; the one red, the other black. 26th. Our attendant commissionaire conducted us to Broek and Saardam. In our way to the boat, we stopped to see the Palace, formerly the mag- nificent Stadthouse, in the vaults under which, it was imagined, was deposited almost the wealth of a universe. But it appeared, when the French took possession of Amsterdam, on their conquest of Holland, that like the migrating storks, these riches had silently and instantaneously flown, for on examining the golden vaults, not an ingot 42 AMSTERDAM. BROEK. was found remaining ; in short, the story of the hoarded deposits is now believed, by many, to have been as baseless as the fabric of a vision, and that whilst the bank circulated its paper on the faith of its securities, it was no less active in employing the securities themselves to its advan- tage. From the Palace, we pursued our way to the steam-boat, and it was quite refreshing to in- hale the breezes from the harbour, in our escape from the effluvia of the canals. We were con- veyed across the Y to the opposite shore, where a carriage we had hired was ready to receive us, and thence we proceeded to Broek. The road was on a causeway, between marshes, until we arrived at the village, which is one of enchantment. Its streets are neatly paved with pebbles, in mo- saique, and these are sanded over in wavy figures like the chalked floors of a ball-room ; and each year, the houses are carefully and beautifully painted, but the front door and windows are never opened except on particular occasions, such as the marriage, baptism, or funeral of one of its inmates. We were admitted into one of the gardens, where every variety of walk and device BllOEK. 43 is contrived to amuse; but the contracted situa^ tion and habits of the owner have necessarily led him into puerilities resembling those dis- played by the late Walsh Porter, at Craven Cottage, and other of his residences; for ex- ample: — amid the rushes of a little pond, you see a painted swan — on its banks, a canvas angler — seated in an alcove, a wooden Pastor— and what is most entertaining in a peasants hut, an old man and woman ; he smokes genuine tobacco, and she spins and sings, the motion and sound being produced, I conjecture, by an organ, the bellows of which puts the whole machinery in activity, and the illusion is complete. From the bowers of this Dutch Arcadian, we went to the mansion of a neighbouring gentleman, to view the kitchen arrangements* It was an exquisite specimen of culinary cleanliness; the pots and kettles were of brass or copper, and placed within glass cases, where they shone with reflective brightness; the cistern-cocks and pump-handles %vere likewise of shining brass, and lest the hand should tarnish their lustre, wooden instruments are applied to turn the one, or act as a lever to 44 BROEK. the other. Quitting the dwelling of the gentle- man, we went to that of the herdsman ; and here the same scrupulous order and neatness pre- vailed. The building formed a square, under the roof of which resided the family, and also, in winter, the cattle : the stalls for the cows were neat as parlours, with paved floors, inclining from the crib to the entrance, along which was a gutter, to carry off every thing unclean ; and lest the animal should cast about offensively with its tail, its tail is carefully suspended to the rafters. We then traversed the village, the usual tranquillity of which was in some measure dis- turbed by a fair. In the booths, we observed but few toys, although there was an abundance of gingerbread, which may naturally be ac- counted for, as gingerbread in this country answers the Poefs definition of music, "It is the food of love;" for when the amorous swain woos the object of his affections, at that lone hour when the parents are supposed to be in bed, the first question the fair one asks, on his knocking at the door, is, BROEK. SAARDAM. 45 " ^ Have you any gingerbread?' If he repliesinthe affirmative, he finds Kttle difficulty in gaining ad- mission, and a second visit insures his success.'"* After the celebration of the nuptials, instead of bride-cake, it is customary for the new-married pair to send to each acquaintance two bottles of wine, generally of the finest Hock, spiced and sugared, and decorated with a profusion of ribands. Having taken leave of this fairy domain, we returned to the place where we first met our carriage, and then were driven in a di- rection almost parallel with the one we had left, to Saardam, a town with more than 2,000 windmills ; and here it was that, in 1696, Peter the Great, that he might take advantage of every gale that blew, descended from the throne of the Czars to place himself an apprentice to a ship- wright. The cottage in which he resided is re- ligiously preserved, and, similar to the Santa Casa, at Loretto, is now enclosed by an outer building, to protect it from the weather; over * Vide S. Ireland's Picturesque Tour through Holland, Vol. I. p. 1 63, This applies, of course, to the lower classes only. 46 SAARDAM. the door of the hut is the date of its erection, 1634. Peter'^s apartment was a small room, into which you enter from the little alley, where the dwelling is ; it has one small window to the right of the entrance, and on the right side of the room is the fire-place, next to which, on the side opposite the window, is a small closet, and on the wall on that side, also, is an inscription in Russian and Dutch, intimating that « To the Great, nothing is Little." To the left of the entrance, beyond a door that opened to his workshop, is a small recess which used to contain his bed. The table upon which he took his meals, the three old triangular wooden chairs, which formed his furniture, and a ladder that led to a loft over the room, remain as relics ; and over the fire-place is a square tablet of marble, placed in the wall by the Emperor Alexander*'s hands, with this inscription : PETRO MAGNO ALEXANDER SAARDAM. — UTRECHT. '4^ There is also an adjoining tablet, placed by the magistrates, recording the transaction which oc- curred on the memorable restoration of the fa- milies of Bourbon and Nassau, after the expulsion of Napoleon. How mysterious are those hidden springs that operate on our feelings ! Who can, unmoved, seat himself by the table, on one of the Czar's old triangular chairs, without receiving, as it were, an impulse from that mortal immor- tality, (if the language be allowable,) which the impression that it was once occupied by Peter the Great conveys ? And it is with this species of posthumous ma- gic that the Romanists, who were well acquainted with the all-subduing influence of such impres- sions, have been enabled by charmed words, to consecrate old bones and tattered garments, and by their instrumentality, to establish and perpe- tuate a dominion over the minds of their enthu- siastic, but credulous and deluded votaries. 27th. We left Amsterdam for Utrecht, and right glad were we to breathe again in a pure atmosphere. Utrecht bears a conspicuous place in the Dutch history ; the famous Peace of 48 UTRECHT. Utrecht was signed in one of the halls of the university, in 1713. This city has likewise the honour of giving birth to that great and worthy character. Pope Adrian the Fourth, born in 1549. I ascended the Dom Tower, which stands apart from the remains of the cathedral ; it is said to be 464 feet in height, and that from the top may be seen fifty-one walled towns and cities ; it is considered one of the most extensive views in Europe. We lodged, for the night, at the Old Castle of Antwerp. 28th. We resumed our journey through Ziest, where Count Zinzendorff"'s Moravian brethren have extensive establishments. On our arrival at the banks of the Waal, opposite Nymeguen, we were taken across on a flying bridge, which is a platform laid over two barges linked together, and large enough to convey several carriages at one time. As it was the first we met with, it excited our curiosity, but so imperceptible was its motion, that being seated in our carriage, we were not aware that the bridge had quitted the quay until we were nearly half way over the river. The arrangement for the completion of a NYMEGUEN. 49 bridge of this clescriptioii is made by a succes- sion of boats held together by cables ; the first boat being strongly moored in the centre of the river, and the others moving from this centre, in a line down the stream, upon the last of which, being two barges united, the bridge is con- structed, and as soon as it is disengaged from the quay on either shore, it obeys the rudder, and swings over to the other side, the current preserving the tension of the line, and the steers- man directing the inclination of the ciurve to the right or to the left bank. At Nymeguen, we lodged at the Castle of Antwerp, which seems to be a favourite sign in this part of Holland ; our first inquiry, after we had selected our apart- ments, was respecting the steam-packet for Co- logne, it having been our intention to embark from hence ; but here we were similarly circum- stanced as we were at Antwerp, the tide did not suit; we determined, therefore^ to proceed to Dusseldorf by land. 29th. We amused ourselves in rambling about this ancient city, which is very irregularly built, many of the streets being steep and narrow, but E 50 NYMEGUEN. the principal one, in which is the Town Hall, is very spacious, and leads to a fine mall, termi- nated by the Belvidere or Prospect House, which commands views extending from Arnheim and Duisburg to the north, to Cleves and Geldres in the south, and towards the east over half the forests of Gelderland to those of Westphalia. In the Town Hall, which is replete with objects of interest and antiquity, is an old painting, called the Nymeguen Enigma, (Raadsel van Nijmegen,) its date is 1619. Eight figures are represented assembled in the great hall of the Stadthouse ; to the right is an old man with his head lying in the lap of a middle-aged woman, having an inscription over her, to this effect : 1. The woman speaks. Mark well, and explain how this can be; The two in the red are my father's brothers. The two in the green are my mother's brothers. The two in the white are my children, and I the mother. Of these six, the father is my husband. The relationship of which, though great, is not unlawful. NYMEGUEN. 51 2. The two in red speak. "With our consent it was accomplished. That our niece was given as wife to our father. For she was not our father's niece ^ The which no one can correctly assert. 5. The two in green speak. It is wonderful to notice these figures, For here is our father depicted. Who has married our niece, Which, nevertheless, occasions no reproach. 4. The two in white speak. Our actual father is that old man; The mother of us both is the woman there. People say, how can that be. That our brothers are uncles to our mother ? Explanation of the Enigma. Huybert, the old man, took for his first wife Anna, a widow, having, by her former marriage, a son named Gysbert; by Huybert, she had two sons, Adam and Arend, which are the two painted in red. On her death, he married Beel, his second wife, who was likewise a widow, having, by her former husband, a daughter, named Jacomyn ; by this second wife, Huybert E 2 52 CLEVES. had also the two sons^ Bartel and Barend, that are painted in green. In the course of events, it happened that the son of the first widow inter- married with the daughter of the second widow, and the fruit of this marriage was a daughter, named Charlotte, who afterwards became the third wife of the old man, by whom he had his two youngest sons, Caspar and Conrad, who are painted in white. Having terminated our ramble, we resumed our journey, but as the afternoon was sultry, and the roads sandy and heavy, it was late in the evening when we arrived at Cleves, the sur- rounding country of which appears delightful, particulatly in the approach to the city, through the beautiful park, where are the baths and mineral springs. As we passed up the main street to the King of Prussia Hotel, which was our resting place for the night, we noticed the sheep hanging at the butchers'* stalls, decorated with flowers ; an exhibition which I had not met with since I was, in 1824, in Italy, where, at Marcerata, my attention was attracted by this CLEVES. 53 species of decoration, which per bellezza is re- sorted to by the butchers on the Sundays, and which, no doubt, is a remnant of the ancient homage to the Sun, on whose day, over the doors of their dwellings, the old Romans were accus- tomed to suspend garlands, and to adorn the animals destined for sacrifice with flowers. We cannot quit Cleves without recalling to mind that Henry the Eighth obtained from hence the fourth of his wives, and the one whom, perhaps fortunately for her, he considered as a Flanders mare, and having more respect for his quadrupeds than his queens, she escaped with her head, and accepted, with the utmost tranquillity, a pension in lieu of the king, and the title of his adopted sister instead of his consort ; the only instance in which she manifested opposition, being her refusal to return to her native country after the affront she had received; she never, therefore, quitted England, but resided mostly at Hever Castle, near Penshurst, in Kent, which Henry granted to her for life, being an estate of the Earl of Wiltshire''s, who dying without male issue, the king claimed its possession in right of 54 DUSSELDOllF. his marriage with the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, the earl's eldest daughter. But it appears that the Lady Anne of Cleves had also a residence at Chelsea, where she died, on the 16th of July, 1557, and on the 3rd of August was interred with great solemnity, on the south side of the choir in Westminster Abbey. 30th. Early in the morning we continued our route ; the roads, as on the preceding day, being over deep sand; and at five in the evening we reached Dusseldorf, where we took our lodging at the Breidenbach Hotel in the Allecstrasse. Dus- seldorf has been a city of many reverses. After the destruction of the Electoral Palace at Hei- delberg, the elector Palatine established his court here, which was one of the most splendid in Germany, and the elector''s gallery of paintings was an object of attraction to all the amateurs of the art : but in an early period of the French revolutionary war, the city was bombarded, the pictures removed to Munich, and the gallery and palace were partly laid in ruins, in which state they now remain. The city is the capital of the duchy of Berg, and as such has been DUSSELDORF. 55 successively the residence of the grand dukes, Joachim Murat, and then Louis Napoleon, eldest son of the ex-king of Holland. It is now the seat of the Prussian regency : but the life and revelries of a court are extinct ; and although it possesses a magnificent public garden, and many useful establishments, yet an indescribable dullness pervades the whole, and the population appear to have no more speculation in their looks than so many moving automata ; a well-fiirnished market, however, evidenced that the citizens were inhabitants of the earth, and born to con- sume its productions, " fruges consumers nati." 31st. Being Sunday, we spent the forenoon in visiting the churches, and returned to dine at the table d'hote at our hotel, which appeared the rendezvous of the military officers, who, in these piping times of peace, seemed to have con- verted their swords, if not into pruning hooks, at least into knives and forks ; under which meta- morphosis they committed as much execution in their warfare against the two-legged animals that were winged, as ever they did as heroes against their biped opponents that were whiskered. 56 COLOGNE. In the evening we walked in the Botanic Gar- den, which is well arranged for the students ; all the medicinal and rare plants have sticks by them, with their names affixed ; also on pedestals are placed the busts of Linnaeus and other emi- nent botanists. Sept. 1st. In the afternoon we left Dusseldorf, and arrived between seven and eight in the even- ing at Cologne, where we selected the Grossen Rheinberg as our hotel ; it being in the neigh- bourhood from whence the steam packet took its departure, on board of which it was our inten- tion to proceed up the Rhine. After we had taken our tea, we sallied forth to purchase some of the genuine eau de Cologne, which, having effected, we returned, and almost immediately retired to bed ; but scarcely were we in our first sleep, when Dr. T. and I were alarmed by an unusual noise in the street. I got out of bed, and on going to the window, perceived it was occasioned by a fire, which had broken out at a house within three doors of us ; the immediate contact of the premises was, however, inter- rupted by a small alley which separated our hotel COLOGNE. 57 from the line of houses where the fire com- menced. Fortunately we had a night lamp, which afforded instant facility to our equipment; I then went to rouse the ladies, whom I met half vmdressed at their door. By this time all became confusion, every bell to the numerous apartments was in full ring, and the travellers were rushing out of their respective chambers almost in a state of nudity. We hastily packed up our clothes, and descended the staircase, which, although wide, was thronged like the outlets of a church after the termination of the service. Our first place of assembling was in a large covered coach yard, by the side of the house ; we then went into the street, with the hope of getting our portmanteaus on board the steam vessel, but the avenues to the quay were closed. We continued, therefore, some time in the street, until the force of the flames was subdued ; we then returned to the hotel, and placed ourselves the remainder of the night in the grand saloon. It was a fortunate circumstance that the fire did not extend beyond the house where it commenced, as it was conti- guous to great warehouses which served as a 58 COLOGNE. depot for goods landed from the river ; for if the conflagration had reached them, it might have been the destruction of that quarter of the city : as it was, the goods were partially injured, and their safety was with great difficulty secured. 2d. At six in the morning we commenced our voyage on the Rhine, the weather most propi- tious, and the views delightful, while the adven- tures of the past night of fire and apprehension furnished abundant topic for conversation. Among our company was the pastor of Neuwied ; in the confusion he said he had been obliged to make his toilet on the stairs, which, having completed, he went and sat in the saloon, ready to start in the event of the magazines taking fire. He was a man whose countenance was indicative of sim- plicity and benevolence, and when he quitted us to land at Neuwied, we parted with more than one hearty shake by the hand, while all the pas- sengers crowded round to bid him farewell, and as he reached the shore the eager salutations of his flock evidenced how much their pastor was an object of their respect and regard. In short, a minister of the gospel acting up to the princi- COBLENTZ. 59 pies that he professes to teach, surrounded by those who, from their earliest years, have looked upon him with veneration, whose admonitions have been tempered with the tenderness of a parent, whose language has been that of encou- ragement to the weak, and of soothing to the broken hearted, and whose funds have been em- ployed in the relief of the distressed, presents a being inspired with that Divinity, whose mercy and goodness, by his sacred calling, he is bound to imitate. At six in the evening we arrived at Coblentz, the approach to which is particularly fine ; — the great expanse of water formed by the confluence of the Moselle with the Rhine ; the magnificent fortress of Ehrenbreitstein towering to the skies, and illuminated by the setting sun, with the numerous towers and spires of the city of Co- blentz, presented a grandeur of scenery seldom surpassed. But here we began to experience some of the inconveniences attached to travelling by water. The steam packet takes many passengers who are all anxious to obtain lodgings for the night, so that the hotels are crowded near the 60 COBLENTZ. river, and the poor traveller in a strange country, among a people talking to him, probably, in a strange language, is exposed to every kind of imposition, and as it is late in the evening before the vessel arrives, it hardly admits of his main- taining his independence by seeking for better accommodation. On landing, we went first to the Three Swiss, where we could not obtain apartments to suit us, and were obliged, there- fore, to go to the Trierischen Hof, (Hotel of Treves,) which, although distant, was in every other respect to be preferred, as many of our companions told us when we got on board the packet, that they regretted they had not followed our example. 3d. We assembled, by appointment, at six in the morning, the hour named for resuming our navigation; but a dense fog, which lasted for two hours, occasioned not only considerable de- lay in the departure of the vessel, but also in its progress when in motion ; at length the fog dis- persed, and the banks of the river presented scenery even more romantic than on the pre- ceding day. On each side were steep mountains, MENTZ, OR MAYENCE. 61 covered almost to the summit with vineyards^ and interspersed with numberless ruins of castles, to each of which some legendary tale of love and murder is attached ; in which sequestered dam- sels, as it were, in very spite, are sure to become enamoured at first sight with heroes, whom their cross-grained fathers and mothers, and uncles and aunts, are most determined they shall never obtain. On a small island, in the middle of the stream, is the celebrated Mouse Tower, where tradition relates that Hatton, second archbishop of Mentz^ was devoured by rats, as a judgment for his avarice and cruelty. The time we had lost in the morning made it nine at night before we arrived at Mentz, and again we had to contend with those disagreeables I before alluded to, for the Three Crowns, where we intended to take up our abode, was too full to give us the requi-- site number of beds, and it required all my per- severance to extricate us from the dilemma of Dr. T. and myself having to sleep on the floor, with the additional misery of having the ladies separated from us, amid a labyrinth of distant 62 MENTZ^ OR MAYENCE. rooms, with the terrors of the Cologne confla- gration so recently on their minds. However, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, and the lateness of the hour, I obtained accommoda- tion at the Romischen Kaiser, (the Roman Em- peror,) to the great mortification of the landlord of the Three Crowns. How short sighted are we in our calculations ! The Three Crowns is, perhaps, the most ancient establishment of its kind in Europe ; it dates its origin so far back as the year 1360, it had then for its sign der Wilden Mann (the Savage) ; in I7IO the house was rebuilt, since which it has been known as the Three Crowns, maintaining, through five cen- turies, all its original renown. I therefore fondly anticipated much gratification in the idea of sleeping under the roof of this inn of many ages, weaving in my imagination the thousand possible adventures of past times, and had I been inspired by Chaucer''s Muse, might have given the world another sample of the Canter- bury Tales. 4th. We commenced as early as possible our tour of the far-famed city of Mentz, or Mayence, MENTZ, OR MAYENCE. 63 which possesses numerous objects interesting to the antiquary and traveller^ and vies with Haar- lem and Strasburg in its claims of giving birth to the inventor of the art of printing, the name of John Fust, or Faust, being no less celebrated than that of Lawrence Coster. We first visited the cathedral, which, notwithstanding that it was exposed to great hazard of destruction in the various sieges of the city, particularly in the early part of the French Revolution, when a bomb penetrated the roof, and exploded within its walls, yet still retains many traces of its pristine grandeur, and divine service is regularly performed at its altars ; and several monumental statues of saints and heroes of olden times pre- serve their footing on pedestals along its sombre aisles. In the Museum is a beautiful model of SL military bridge that Napoleon intended to con- struct across the Rhine to Cassel, by means of which the soldiers could traverse the river under cover, so as to escape not only the attack, but even the observation, of a besieging army. Hav- ing finished our cursory survey, we hired a carriage to convey us to Frankfort ; the greatest 64 FRANKFORT. part of the road was through a region of vine- yards. As we approached this emporium of Germany, we passed two lofty towers, a few miles distant from each other, standing like giant wardens amid the plains, to announce the com- ing stranger. At five in the afternoon, after a four hours' ride, we reached the city, with many doubts as to our fate, the great fair having just com- menced. On our arrival at the Swan (Au Cygne), they at once told us the house was full, but that apartments at a private dwelling, which they had engaged, were at our disposal ; and after having inspected them, we gladly accepted the arrange- ment, and were very comfortably lodged, having a suit of three snug rooms on the first floor, communicating with each other, and each also with doors opening to the landing place, thus making them either public or private apartments. In the evening we strolled about the streets of this superb city, where the hotels, owing to the concourse of foreigners at the annual fairs, are built on the scale of palaces, presenting a front- age of a hundred windows, and furnished with FRANKFORT. 65 all the facilities of administering to the conve- nience, and even luxury, of the multitude of visiters. As we traversed the spacious streets, we were highly deiighted with the gaiety of all around us, for music and singing resounded in every direction. 5th. We visited the ancient Stadt House, in which is the Kaiser Saal, the hall where the elec- tion of the German emperors takes place, and the banquetting room, where, after the corona- tion, the imperial feast is given. On which occa- sion, in the square fronting the building, the fountain flows with wine, and from the window at which the newly elected emperor presents himself, medals and coins are thrown to the po- pulace. Here also is kept one of the three ori- ginals of the famous Golden Bull, the charter which prescribes the form of election. We next went to St. Bartholomew's church, to which the elected emperor is conducted, to be crowned by the elector of Mentz. It is situated in the old- est and worst built part of the city ; and although it would be hardly fair to say that it has become, like the Temple of Jerusalem, " a den of thieves,"" F 66 FRAKKFORT. yet it is certain that its eastern end is wholly surrounded with butchers'' shambles ; and as this quarter is mostly inhabited by descendants of the children of Israel, these shambles are of the dir- tiest description. In our walks this afternoon we met the celebrated Rothschild, who has an esta* blishment here. We likewise learned that, not- withstanding all the gaiety that prevailed in the streets, the annual fair languished under the fiscal impositions of the Prussian government, and that a meeting was held on the opposite shore of the Mayn, to make representations to the allied sovereigns, soliciting their interven- tion to preserve the interests of the merchants. 6th. We directed our course in the morning along the banks of the Mayn, to view the mag- nificent range of buildings facing the river, and at twelve at noon took our places in the Diligence to Heidelberg and Manheim. Among our fellow-passengers was a young man in the tra* veiling costume of this part of Germany, namely, a blue smock frock similar to those worn by our journeymen butchers, a covering extremely use- ful on these dusty roads, but which makes the FRANKFOKT. &J gentleman scarcely distinguishable from the clown. We, however, found that our young friend was any thing but a clown in behaviour, his efforts being directed to entertain and oblige us to the utmost of his ability ; yet, in spite of the smiles that played on his lips, I noticed that a sigh would occasionally escape from his breast, and he confessed that his mercantile transactions at the fair had disappointed his hopes ; and as no- thing unites individuals so much as reciprocity of feeling, so the relation of his misfortunes ren- dered him an object of still greater interest ; for who has not felt the pressure of affliction ? In fact, a man unacquainted with suffering is des- titute of humanity ; for it is the kindred feelings of disappointed hopes, and oft experienced an- guish, which vibrate in our own bosoms at the recital of another'^s woe, and awaken all the wor- thiest sensibilities of our nature. And this is a principle acknowledged and interwoven in the very texture of our religion ; the Divine Au- thor of our salvation being described as a " man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." On entering the territories of Hesse Darmstadt 'f2 68 HEIDELBERG MA>3HEIM. our luggage underwent a severe examination, but we met with no other interruption. It was, how- ever, quite night before we got to Heidelberg, where we alighted at the King of Portugal Ho- tel. After we had supped, our entertaining com- panion took his leave in the kindest manner, he having to travel through the remainder of the night on his way to join his relations in Switzer- land. 7tlL Early in the morning we departed for Man- heim, at which place we arrived at seven o'^clock, and took our quarters at the Three Kings, where we breakfasted, and I then went to pay my respects to my friend A — — , and to obtain from him in- formation to assist our further operations. He took upon himself to be our cicerone through his native city, and we accompanied him to the Jesuits'* Church, one of the richest of the order, and from the Church to the Observatory, from whence we had a most extensive prospect ; and here, while contemplating the range of country on the left bank of the Rhine, which had for some years, and until the expulsion of Napoleon, formed the boundaries of the French empire, I learned. MANHEIM. 69 with astonishment, that the inhabitants atdently desire to be reincorporated under the dominion of France, a desire arising, in all probability, from the vexatious impositions to which they are exposed under their present rulers, added to that perpetual love of change which seems inherent in mankind, ever dissatisfied with the present, and looking forward to promised enjoyment, verifying the language of Pope, " Man never is, but always to be blest" We then took a survey of the exterior of the Grand Duke's Palace, a vast structure, but mournful as the Mausoleums of the Pharaohs, if such be the designation of the Pyramids of the Desert* About one-third of the building is in ruins, in the state it was left after the bombard- ment of the city by the French ; and it is con- sidered as a miracle that, although the palace had been abandoned for a length of time to the fury of the flames, their progress was arrested on their approach to the chapel, where, without the aid of man, the fire was extinguished. Had this occurred to a Protestant temple, our good old ladies would have had no doubts upon the 70 MANHKIM. subject ; but as the establishment was Catholic, I dare not assert that the cause was supernatural. We now seated ourselves in a carriage, and were driven to the Gardens of Schwetzingen. As we passed the city barriers, my friend pointed to a meadow on the left of us, where the wild enthu- siast Sandt was beheaded for having assassinated the pensioned Kotzebue, who prostituted his fine talents in defaming the German character, and acted as a spy to betray to Alexander his coun- trymen's secret aspirations for liberty. Charles Sandt was a student at Jena, and son of a counsellor of justice at Wunsiedel. This fanatic presented himself about five o'clock in the even- ing of the 3rd of March, 1819, at Kotzebue's resi- dence at Manheim, and having gained admit- tance, immediately, on being left alone with Kot- zebue, stabbed him to the heart with a poniard, after which, in the presence of those who had rushed towards the room on the alarm being given, the assassin rose up with a composed air, and flourishing the bloody poniard, descended the door-steps exclaiming, " The traitor is dead ! The country is saved ! Long live Germany ! '' On MANHEIM^ 71 being surrounded by the crowd that had assem- bled in front of the house, he cast a wild look towards them, and lifting up the poniard with one hand and a piece of paper in the other, ex- claimed, " Yes ! I am the murderer ! It is thus that all traitors ought to perish ! " On the paper was written, '^ The death blow of Augustus von Kotzebue in the name of Virtue."" He then knelt down amidst the assemblage, and raising his hands and eyes to heaven, said, " God ! I thank Thee for having permitted me to accom- plish this act!"" After this he plunged the poniard to his heart, and fell without any signs of life. Having recovered the use of his senses in the hospital to which he was conveyed, he only spoke of the assassination with a kind of ecstasy, " He is dead then !— That Russian spy ! '^ Sandt remained for fifteen months in the hospital, where his life was preserved by the most strengthening regimen, and every effort made to prevent his sinking under the effects of the wounds which he had inflicted on himself. At length, being so far recovered as to undergo the punishment due to his crime, he was, at five 72 MANHEIM. o'clock in the morning of the 20th of May, 1820, executed agreeably to his sentence. So early as half-past three, the infantry and cavalry, and almost the whole population of Manheim, were in motion. Sandt was brought from the prison in an open carriage. His countenance, which was very pale, had in it great expression, a smile was on his lips, and he went to meet death as he should go to a fete. He bowed with much grace to some ladies at a window, and who returned his salute with very evident marks of interest. When he reached the place of execution he mounted the scaffold immediately, supported on the shoulders of two assistants, his bodily powers being so weak, which made the intrepidity he displayed the more extraordinary. His sentence was then read to him, after which he made a short address, speaking with energy, and at its termination raised one of his hands to heaven, exclaiming that he " died for his country ! *" He did not accept the assistance of a minister of re- ligion. He was dressed in the German costume, with a black great-coat, his shirt collar turned down, and his hair in ringlets on his shoul- MANHEIM. 73 ders. The executioner took hold of him and made him sit down on a chair fastened to a small post ; he tied his hands, cut off some of his hair, and put a bandage over his eyes. In two minutes after, he was no more. He was beheaded with a sabre, and the executioner being obliged to make a second stroke, a general cry arose. A great number of students from Heidelberg, who tra- velled with all speed to be present at the execu- tion, only arrived at the moment when the exe- cutioner was exhibiting the severed head. Several steeped their handkerchiefs in his blood. Thus justly died, amid the commiseration of the students and the multitude, this deluded victim of a heated imagination. Ardent and undaunted, he sought to avenge what he conceived to be his country ''s wrongs ; but pursued his object by means the most abhorrent, for hardly any circum- stance can sanction assassination. Even Marcus Brutus, on the Ides of March, with his blood- stained dagger, appears to me as a monster of treachery and ingratitude, for I cannot help be- lieving that the liberties of Rome were destroyed, rather by the luxurv of the Romans and the 74 MANHEIM. base degeneracy of the senate, than by the am- bition of Caesar. Not far from the meadow where Sandt was executed, is a house of entertainment called the Kaiser Stuhl, (the emperor's seat,) from the fol- lowing circumstance : Joseph the Second was accustomed to travel incognito, and with few at- tendants. In this style he visited the elector at Manheim, but arriving late in the evening, the gates of the city were shut, and the emperor was obliged to procure lodgings at a dwelling, on the site of which the Kaiser Stuhl is now built. The host, though unacquainted with the rank of his visitor, paid him so much attention that Jo- seph, to express his satisfaction, gave him a written promise, observing that the house was so situated, that in the event of hostilities it would most likely be destroyed, that in case such a ca- lamity should be occasioned by the Austrian ar- mies, on peace being restored, the house should be rebuilt at the expense of the emperor or of his successors. It so happened, that during the war which led to the overthrow of Buonaparte this house was destroyed, and after the peace, the MANHEIM. 75 Emperor Francis being at Manheim, the pro- prietor presented his claims; his plea was ad- mitted, and promise of restitution made. But, as much delay occurred, and the application was several times renewed without success, he was advised to pursue his object by going to Vienna, and to obtain a personal interview with the em- peror. This was done, and Francis graciously forwarded his suit, and the Kaiser Stuhl was erected accordingly, a monument which redounds to the credit of all the parties concerned. After a pleasant ride, we alighted at the Gar- dens of Schwetzingen, which constitute a sort of German Paradise, and certainly, in elegant va- riety of embellishment, may be considered un- rivalled. The palace attached to them is simply a hunting seat ; before the garden front of which, is a wide parterre, disposed in the French style, adorned with five fountains. Taking a direction to the right, we passed several beauti- ful temples until we came to that of Apollo, erected on a mount, from whence a cascade flows over a succession of rocks, and then forms a running »stream at the foot of this new Parnassus. 76 MANHEIM. We then visited the Baths, which combine uti- lity with ornament. Our attention was next transferred to the jet dVau of the spouting birds, who direct the fury of their streams against an owl placed in the middle of an oval of flowering shrubs, around which these mischievous inmates of the grove are stationed, and so sudden and unexpected is the sprinkling they diffuse, that the unwary spectator stands a good chance of partaking of their watery sports. This portion of the grounds has also the English garden, and a large sheet of water, abounding with silver swans, gliding on the liquid element in all the majesty of comeliness, while, through vistas in the opening glades, rich and extensive views are repeatedly presented. From hence, we bent our way to the left, passing the imitation of a Roman aqueduct, and the artificial ruins of the temple of Mercury. We then arrived at one of the most interesting of the buildings, an exact model, on a reduced scale, of a Turkish mosque ; as we crossed the threshold of this sacred edifice, we were impressed with the chaste simplicity of its structure. The whole of the ground floor is MANHEIM. 77 paved with marble inlaid, and the panels of the walls are stuccoed, having transcripts, in golden letters, of moral sentences from the Alcoran, in- scribed in Arabic characters, with translations in German, conveying instruction not unworthy of Christian observance. I have, therefore, at- tempted to give them in an English version, the which, accompanied with the German, is ar- ranged and numbered as the sentences appear in the German copy of the description of the Schwetzingen Gardens. On the wall, outside the fore-court. No. 1. In den sommertagen sey der ameise gleich. — In summer imitate the ants. No. 2. Wegen der rose begiesst man die dornen. — For the sake of the rose man waters the thorns. On the wall within the fore-court. No. 3. Einsamkeit ist besser ais bdse gesellschaft. — So- litude is better than evil society. No. 4. Reden ist silber, schweigen gold. — Speech is silver, silence gold. • No. 5. Ein laster des weisen gilt flir tausend. — One crime of the wise is accounted for a thousand. No. 6. Wechsel in der freundschaft bringt verderben. — Change in friendship bringeth ruin. 78 MANHEIM. Within the mosque. No. 7. Der thor hat das herz in miinde; der weise die zung' im herzen. — The fool hath his heart in his mouth ; the wise, the tongue in his heart. No. 8. Wissenschaft ist eine krone, verstand eine gol- dene halszierde. — Wisdom is a crown, understanding a necklace of gold. No. 9. Reichthum und die welt vergehen, gute hand- lungen bleiben ewig. — Riches and the world pass away; rectitude endureth for ever. No. 10. Erwirb dir gold so viel du brauchst, und weisheit so viel du kannst. — Acquire gold for thy neces- sities, but wisdom as much as thou canst. Within the cupola. No. 11. Der thor halt warnung fiir feindschaft. — The fool mistaketh admonition for enmity. No. 12. Wer alles begehrt, gehet leer aus. — He who desireth all, goeth empty away. No. 13. Der neid ruhet niemals. — Envy hath no re- pose. No. 14. — Ohne hoiFnung gelingt kein werk.- - Without hope no work prospers. No. 15. Fliehe die faulheit, sie bringt schaden.— Shun idleness, it bringeth shame. No. 16. Hore den rath des klugen. — Hearken to the counsel of the prudent. MANHEIM. 79 No. 17. Versehwiegenheit erwirbt liebe. — Silence ac- quires love. No. 18. Liebe den fleiss, er ist ein grosser schatz.— Love industry, it is a great treasure. Over the portal. No. 19. Er ist nur ein einziger wahrer Gott. — There is only one true God. On each side of the same. No. 20. Lobe den Herrn deinen Gott, und bitte ihn um verzeihung deiner sunde, denn er ist gnadig. — Praise the Lord thy God, and pray to Him to forgive thee thy sins, for He is gracious. No. 21. Gebet almosen vor der ankunft des todes. — Give alms before the arrival of death. No. 22. Dir seiLob, O Gott ! und rait deinen Lobe sei dein name gebenedeiet, weil ausser dir kein anderer Gott ist. — Praise be to thee, O God ! and with thy praises may thy name be blessed ! for besides Thee there is none other God. No. 23, Gott ist ein einzeger, allmachtiger, nicht ge- bohren, und hat seines gleichen nicht. — God is one, al- mighty, uncreated, and without similitude. From the interior of the mosque there is a small staircase which leads to two latticed cabi- nets, (like boxes in a theatre,) placed on the op- 80 MANHEIM. — HEIDELBERG. posite sides of the cupola where the mufti sit and survey the assembled devotees beneath. Here Dr. T^ and I left the ladies, and then as- cended one of the minarets, and were highly gratified with the beautiful prospect it afforded. Having rejoined our company, we departed through the arabesque colonnade which extends on each side of the principal entrance. We now pursued our way to the inn in the village, where our kind friend had provided a handsome dinner. After dining we drove to Heidelberg, which we had left in the morning with many a wistful look at its castle, and which had we quitted Germany without having seen, would have been a subject of lasting regret. After we had alighted from the carriage, we paced on foot the winding ascent to what I imagine had been the barbican of this castellated palace ; we then traversed the outer ballium, (or space between the outer and the in- ner walls.) On our left hand was a wide and deep ditch, in front of a line of walls and towers, one of which had been mined by gunpowder ; the explosion had rent the tower in two without having shivered it. The one half standing up- HEIDELBERG. 81 right on its foundations, and the other half lean- ing over the ditch, one entire mass, all the ma- terials of stone and mortar being consolidated together, presenting an object as surprising as the Leaning Tower at Pisa. Beyond the build- ings, we arrived at a terrace in the gardens of the castle, commanding a prospect that might win an angel to contemplate. Beneath, was seen the city of Heidelberg, with its bridge over the Neckar, decorated on each side with statues ; — to the right, a range of mountains covered with vineyards ; — to the left an interminable plain, richly cultivated, and studded with towns ; while through the centre, meandered the Neckar, and completed the landscape. The gardens were crowded with students, those far-famed college Burschen, the untamed sons of wild desires, who were flitting about like perturbed spirits, and be- guiling the wandering nymphs who listened to their addresses. Descending from this terrestrial Elysium, we passed the gate flanked with towers, into the inner ballium, when the grand portal of the castle presented itself, before which were placed two colossal figures ; nevertheless, we ad- G 82 HEIDELBERG. vanced unawed, and in spite of magic spells, crossed the Hall of the Knights, which led to a lower terrace, along the front of which was an elegant balustrade, the terrace itself being placed before the principal apartments of the castle, the fa9ade of which was adorned with statues, surmounting the top of the building, and also along each of its stories. Never had I before beheld anything so truly picturesque; it was all enchantment, and required a pinch to question our flesh, whether the scenery were real or one of exalted imagination revelling in poetic dreams of ancient chivalry. From hence, after some delay in seeking for the cellarman, we visited the famous Tun, which was filled with wine, for the last time, in I78I. On such occasions, a dance was given in a gal- lery on its top. We had but just time to con- clude our survey before the setting sun had thrown the veil of obscurity over this realm of romance. We now proceeded to the Carlsberg Hotel, where our indefatigable friend A had or- dered tea, without which, he considered an MANHEIM. 83 Englishman would reckon the refreshments of the day incomplete. It was ten o'clock at night before we got back again to Manheim. This city has many attractions for persons of moderate fortunes ; it is situated in a plentiful country, where all the necessaries of life are cheap, and in the easy communication with several capitals resorted to for commerce or pleasure. The society is also good, and the duchess dowager of Baden keeps her court here, diffusing every charm that highly cultivated talents and unaffected manners can impart, to those whose rank entitle them to have access to her coteries. This amiable woman was Ste- phanie Louise, a daughter of count Beauharnais, and was married on the 7th of April, 1806, to the late grand duke of Baden, who, to comply with the ambitious views of Napoleon^ took her as a bride, but never gave her his affections, for the duke being a descendant of one of the most ancient families in Europe, disdained an alliance with one whose pedigree, though noble, could not boast the enumeration of a line of princely progenitors. In December, 1818, she became g2 84 MANHEIM. his widow ; yet notwithstanding that the grand duchess lived neglected as a wife, and was left a widow in the bloom of life, and in the midst of admirers, she is still universally esteemed, nor has the breath of slander ever sullied her good fame. In short, there appears to be something peculiarly beneficent and dignified attached to the whole of the Beauharnais. Eminently placed as they were, they seem to have been se- lected to mitigate the horrors of revolution, and to administer consolation to those who were cast down during the period of those political convul- sions which shook kingdoms, and principalities, and powers, to their foundations. It must not be omitted, that among the other residents, is the count Leon, the acknowledged natural son of Napoleon, by the countess of N , and as such, his name is placed on the Grand Book of France, with a suitable pension. He had just attained his majority ; in his early youth he had been a little wild, which his good understanding has corrected; he is exceedingly studious, reserved, and thoughtful, but no less pplite and attentive when he is brought in con- MAKHKIM. 85 tact, and has to display the amenities of society. His resemblance to Buonaparte is considered as remarkably striking, indeed so much so, that during his residence at Paris, while casually visiting the Hotel des Invalides, he was thus accosted by an old veteran, who had steadfastly eyed him : — " Mon brave jeune homme, excusez un vieux soldat — mais il faut que vous soyez ou le fils de I'empereur, ou le fils du diable.'*'' ^^ My brave youth, excuse an old soldier — but you must either be the emperor^s son, or the son of the devil.""' The count laughed at his blunt saluta- tion, and gave him some drink money. This anecdote came to the knowledge of the Bourbons, who were not so well pleased with such recol- lections, and therefore preferred that Count Leon should reside in some foreign state, and he quit- ted Paris accordingly. 8th. As soon as we had taken an early break- fast, a carriage was in readiness, by appointment, to convey us in three days to Metz, we having given up our intention of going to Strasbourg, in consequence of the French king being there, and the expectation that the great proportion of fflK DURCHHEIM. the population of the adjoining departments would also be present, as festivities of all de- scriptions were in preparation, in honour of the event ; we therefore declined the chance of en- countering much inconvenience, from the city being over crowded. Our sortie from Manheim was somewhat im- peded by a multitude of pilgrims and devotees, which rendered the passage of the bridge over the Rhine impassable until they had all gone over. Some were carrying banners, others sing- ing hymns, while many had a store of provisions, intending to make their repast in the meadows surrounding Oggersheim, where the sainted vir- gin, whose name I have forgotten, had her effi- gies, and performed her miracles. We dined at Durchheim, where the accommo- dation was excellent ; there is likewise a lodging house kept by the landlord of the inn, and which is admirably adapted to a private family who wish to make a few months'* residence in this part of the continent. We proceeded from hence to Kairserslautern, and passed the night there, at the Donnersberg Inn. SAAEBRUCK — -FORBACH. 87 9th. We resumed our journey, and dined at Homburg. Our coachman told us we should sleep at Forbach, but by the time we had ar- rived at Saarbruck, the horses were sufficiently exhausted, and we stopped there for the night, with many misgivings that our four-legged ani- mals would not be equal to carry us to Metz the following evening. 10th. We left Saarbruck on the 10th at an early hour, the upper town of which appears to have been magnificent. On our arrival at For- bach, the frontier town of the French territories, our luggage underwent a visitation ; but to the honour of the officers, with that discrimination that whilst they performed their duty, it was evi- dently not their wish to annoy, and we were de- tained as short a time as the service would ad- mit, which was, I suspect, rather to the disap- pointment of the comptroller of our steeds, who, if he could have had any feasible apology for breaking the contract, would, I am persuaded, have taken the opportunity of fleecing us. At a small inn on the road, between St. Avoid and Foligny, we dined, which, notwithstanding its B8 METZ. rude and unpromising aj^pearance, afforded far from despicable entertainment ; but it now re- quired all my importunity to induce our driver to proceed, who, at every station, seemed more inclined to linger. As we approached Metz, the sky became charged with menacing clouds, the horizon was illumined with repeated and vi- vid flashes of lightning, and loud peals of dis- tant thunder rolled at intervals, with occasional drops of rain, making circles large as half-crowns. In the mean time, our carriage was ill provided to contend with a storm, and we had the double apprehension of being drenched with rain and excluded the city, the gates of which are shut at eight in the evening. We were lucky enough to escape both, for we had but the skirtings of a shower, and reached the ramparts about a quar- ter of an hour before the closing of the gates, al- though it began to be quite dark, and our sch wager had to enquire for the German entrance, as it was among his countrymen (he being unac- quainted with the French language) that we had to take our lodgings for the night. This hotel was the Loup, a house that appeared to have ^lETz. 89: been erected in the days of Charlemagne. An ancient oaken staircase led us to a gallery, from whence we overlooked the kitchen with an enor- mous chimney, under which a whole family might assemble. Metz is a city of remote anti- quity, and in the Roman ages had its nauma- chia, to supply which an aqueduct was construct- ed during the consulate of Drusus to convey the waters from Gorse, which were esteemed for their purity and lightness. 11th. We visited the magnificent Gothic ca- thedral ; and as I sat contemplating the repre- sentations of saints and kings depicted on its ce- lebrated painted windows, I could not help re- flecting how many generations must have disap- peared who once gazed as I did at those tinted media of transmitting light and imagery ; gene- rations that had undergone all the changes from youth to manhood, and from manhood to decre- pitude and death : and although the Latin adage, " tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis" — " the times are changed, and. we are changed in them,'^ may be recited by every school-boy ; it is only by those who have passed the meridian of 90 METZ. life that the "nos mutamur**' can be duly felt, who are conscious of the mutations they are daily un- dergoing, and feel that these are preparatory to their throwing off the exuviae of mortality. Not being altogether satisfied with the slow mode of travelling in a hired carriage with a pair of horses, we determined to proceed to Chalons sur Marne by the Diligence, and at four in the afternoon left Metz by that conveyance. Pre- vious to which, in perambulating the streets, we bought a box of Mirabelles de Metz, a sort of preserve, for which this city has a reputation un- equalled. We travelled all the night ; but in the darkest period of our course, wide from every possible assistance, our heavy machine stuck fast in a deep rut ; the whole of the passengers, save those in the coupe, were compelled to alight, and after nearly an hour's delay, with many efforts, at length by a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether, the Diligence was extricated. But whatever might have happened, the inmates in the coupe, of which I was one, could not have escaped ; for as these carriages only open on one side, and as that was the side on which the ve- CHALONS SUR MARNE. PARIS. 91 hide was thrown, the wheel came against the door, and rendered all egress impracticable. 12th. At three in the afternoon of the 12th we were set down at the hotel La Ville de Nancy at Chalons sur Marne, where, having dined, we commenced our accustomed tour of the city, which did not quite equal my expectations. In fact, it appears greatly the worse for wear, which I have observed, in my traversing the French empire in various directions, to be the case with most of their cities. The houses have not that smirking air which, by perpetual white- washings and paintings, our primitive dwellings present even in the most ancient of our towns. The first resembles an old beau in the faded dra- pery of worn-out nobility, whilst the other looks smug as a patriarch in the garb of a quaker. 13th. At nine in the morning we again placed ourselves for a day and a night in the Diligence, and at seven in the morning of the 14th were driven into the court-yard of the Messageries^ Royales, Rue Notre Dame des Victoires at Paris. 14th. On our arrival at the Barrieres, an officer 92 PARIS. of the customs mounted the Diligence, and accom- panied us to the Messagerie ; but the visitation of our goods and chattels occasioned us no trouble, and, without further delay, we went to the Hotel Lillois in the Rue Richelieu, where we engaged our lodgings during our stay in the French ca- pital. Our journey from Metz had been one of little interest, with the exception of a few histo- rical recollections as we passed in the neighbour- hood of Varennes, where the unfortunate Louis XVI. was detained by Drouet, the famous post- master of St. Menehould ; and at Montmirail, and the line of road to Paris, which in 1814 had been the theatre of many sanguinary conflicts during the progress of the allies, that ended in the treaty of Fontainebleau and the exile of Buo- naparte to Elba. Monday the 15th. Having in part recovered from the effects of the cramps and pains arising from our long confinement in the treble bodied conveyances that brought us to the banks of the Seine, we engaged a fiacre and drove to Pere la Chaise, " that great garden of human vanity, where, amid chaplets and flowers, the conqueror PARIS. 93 and the conquered, the saint and the sinner, are indiscriminately laid, while their mortal remains are silently returning to that element, out of which as living bodies their transitory frames were modelled. Among these sepulchral memo- randa, exhibiting the mutability of Fortune, is a humble stone, with an inscription in ill spelt English, to the late William Chinnery, Esq. whom the last time I saw was at the Treasury Chambers, in full possession of active health and envied prosperity, and from me he flew to receive the salutation of a nobleman ! Tuesday the 16th. We took advantage of the weather being favourable, and went to Versailles. Of this splendid monument of Louis the Four- teenth'^s magnificence it is unnecessary to give any description, the details forming materials for every itinerary. We also saw the Grand and the Petit Trianon as we crossed the park, to which the military band were rehearsing their martial airs ; and the horns and bugles echoing among the thickets of the wood had a fine effect. Wednesday the l7th. In the forenoon we took our ride across the Place de Greve to the 94 PARIS. Hotel de Ville. It was here that the Commune of Paris held tlieir sittings, and where Robes- pierre was arrested. The canoneers, on hearing of the decree of the Convention of " hors la loi" against Robespierre and his coadjutors, aban- doned the cannon which had been brought out to defend the Commune ; and the carriages of the artillery served as ladders to enable the multi- tude to ascend to the windows of the Hotel de Ville, and enjoy the spectacle of the confusion of their fallen tyrants. We were shewn the room where Robespierre was found; he had armed himself with a knife for self-destruction, but had not the courage to use it. A gen-d'arme fired at him with a pistol, which broke his jaw-bone, and he fell without uttering a word. His brother threw himself out of a window, and broke his thigh by his fall. Coifinhal, a judge of the re- volutionary tribunal, when he saw that all was lost, poured forth the bitterest invectives against Henriot, the commander of the military force, for having deceived them ; and at length seizing him in a fit of rage and despair, threw him out pf a window. Henriot concealed himself a short PARIS. 95 time in a common sewer, from whence he was dragged, after having lost an eye. These cri- minals, with their accomplices, were brought, some on biers and others on foot, to the Con- vention, from whence they were all sent to the Conciergerie, except Robespierre, who was car- ried into the ante-chamber of the Committee of Public Safety, where he lay stretched motion- less on a table, four hours, with his head bound up, and his eyes shut, making no answers to the taunting questions that were put to him, but pinching his thighs with convulsive agony, and sometimes looking round when he imagined no one near. He underwent the operation of dress- ing his wounds, after which he was sent, with the rest of his associates, to the tribunal. The identification of their persons was all that was necessary, since they were hors la loi (outlawed), and the sentence of execution against them was demanded by their former friend, Fouquier Tainville, On the evening of the 10th Thermidor, (the 28th of July, 1794,) these criminals were led to the scaffold. The frantic joy which the 96 PARIS. Parisians discovered on this occasion, was equal to the pusillanimous stupor into which they had been hitherto plunged. Miss Williams, in her letters, gives many re- lations illustrating the paralysing effects of the -reign of terror, and the ingenious devices re- sorted to for communicating information and con- solation, even in the gloomiest periods of the re- volutionary horrors. For example : it was per- mitted that the relations of the unfortunate in- mates of the prisons might, on returning their linen which had been washed, write in a few words, on the cover of the parcel, the state of their health. The wife of an officer, who was confined in the prison of the Abbaye, used, on such occasions, to write to her husband, *"' je me porte bien ; '' the day Robespierre fell, she wrote " que je me porte bien ! "' The addition conveyed transport, for he fully comprehended that some- thing very important and exhilirating was com- municated by the added monosyllable, and the note of admiration. During many hours, the fall of the tyrant was repeated with cautious timidity, through the dreary mansions of confinement, PARIS. 97 and the prisoners related to each other the event- ful tale, as if they feared that " More than echoes talked along the walls." Even the minds of those who were at liberty, were too strongly fettered by terror to bear the sudden expansion of joy ; and Miss Williams adds, that the gentleman who first brought the tidings to her family that Robespierre was ar- rested, after being blamed for his imprudence in mentioning such a circumstance before some strangers who were present, said in a tone of re- sentment, '^ This is the fourth family which I have endeavoured to make happy by this news ; and instead of being thanked for the intelligence, all are afraid to hear it.'*'' As if it were intended that the Hotel de Ville should ever be devoted to revolutionary recol- lections, the ceiling of the ball-room is decorated with painted compartments, representing the duke of Angouleme restoring Ferdinand the Seventh to the possession of his regal authority ; the centre represents the public entry of the duke and the king into Madrid, when under the aus- PAETS. pices of France, Ferdinand receives the allegiance of his subjects. From the Place de Greve, we directed our steps to the Notre Dame ; from thence we hired a fiacre, and drove to the Jardin des Plantes ; here we were highly pleased with the Menagerie, especially by the sight of the giraffe (came- leopard) ; this astonishing animal is kept in an in- closure, with some of the oxen tribe, who appear quite diminutive by his side. His character is that of dignity and mildness ; he occasionally deigned to stoop to pick up some hay from off the ground, and then he rose his long neck to all its altitude, and looked around him most ma- jestically* On Thursday the 18th, our visit was to the Louvre. The Gallery of Antiques still pos- sesses great interest ; but that of Paintings, with the exception of the unexampled length and beauty of the gallery itself, presents but a wreck of its former attractions when it was enriched with the spoils of Europe. Having quitted the gallery, we crossed the Seine to visit a friend in PARIS. 99 the Rue de Bourbon, and then drove to the Luxembourg, and got back to our hotel just in time to escape the rain, which now set in for the evening. Friday, the 19th. In our rambles this fore- noon. Dr. T and I, passing La Morgue, went into that receptacle of unknown murders, and of the sad victims of despair ; the bodies on being found, are immediately stript, and that they may be owned by relations or friends, they are exposed on an inclined platform, the immediate approach to which is prevented by a barrier of upright bars. We saw three bodies thus left, two of whom appeared to have been much beaten about the head; the other was without any apparent marks of violence, and we may, therefore, conjecture had been accidentally drowned in the river. What an epitome of the world is Paris ! As a city, exceeded by none in gaiety and luxury ; on the other hand, nothing can be more frightful than La Morgue. We then returned to make preparations for our departure on the following morning, before which, we repeated a visit to H 2 100 BOULOGNE. the Exchange, (La Bourse,) one of the most ele- gant structures of which the Parisians can boast, resembling a temple of the gods rather than a mart for speculation and gambling. On Saturday the 20th, we took leave of Ma- dame Pacquot and her daughter, the mistresses of the Hotel Lillois, who had been kind and at- tentive during our abode with them, and whose lodgings, from their thorough knowledge of the English, must be highly desirable to persons un- acquainted with any language but that spoken at London. At a quarter before eight in the morn- ing precisely, we started from the Rue de Vic- toires ; at four in the afternoon, we dined at Beauvais ; at half past two in the morning, took a cup of coffee at Abbeville, the night air quite mild, and the moon at its full, shining most splen- didly ; at eight in the morning, we breakfasted at Montreuil, and reached Boulogne between twelve and one at noon, unaccompanied by that fatigue we had anticipated by travelling through the night ; in truth, the Diligence was a very comfortable one, and we had abundance of room, there being in the interior only ourselves and a CALAIS. 101 young American gentleman. On our arrival, we took apartments for the night at the Hotel du Nord, and after we had shaken off the dust from our journey, and taken an early dinner, we walked to the port, where I went on board the unfortunate Columbine, which had been liberated from the reef of rocks off Ambleteuse, and brought into this harbour, but it was not until our arrival at Dover, that I obtained a correct history of her disastrous and mismanaged voy- age. From the port, we turned off to the right, crossing the Downs till we came to the base of the Imperial Column, which, by the bye, was completed, and is now inscribed to the Bourbons. Monday, the 22nd. At nine in the morning, went by the Telegraph Coach to Calais, and between twelve and one, took possession of the same apartments, at Roberts's Hotel, that we had left seven weeks before. Without going back into the annals of history, and repeating the vicissitudes of Calais, from its acquisition by Edward the Third until its loss by Queen Mary, I cannot leave it without adverting to Blanchard's balloon, which is de- 102 CALAIS. posited over the staircase of the Town Hall ; and as this aerial passage across the channel was the only, and was certainly the most daring enter- prize of the kind, it may not be uninteresting to relate from the periodicals of those days, the particulars of the voyage, as given by the aero- nauts themselves. Messrs. Blanchard and Jeffries, to effect their object, waited at Dover from the 25th of De- cember, 1734, until the 7th of January, ^^85, on which day, the sky being clear, the weather moderate, with the wind at n.n.w. at eight in the morning, the signal gun was fired, and the flag hoisted at the castle, to announce their in- tended purpose, and expresses were accordingly dispatched in all directions for the company to assemble. Soon after twelve the balloon was sufficiently inflated for the experiment, the gas for which was supplied from thirty butts. The inflamma- ble air was conveyed in tin pipes from each butt, which terminated in two receivers at the lower part of the balloon. The cords, from the net- work, were held by ten or a dozen men, till the CALAIS. 103 boat, which was seven and a half feet long, three and a half feet wide, and two feet, nine inches deep, was placed in its proper situation to be suspended. Dr. Jeffries then seated himself at the head, taking with him a barometer and a flag, and, pulling off his coat, put on a flannel jacket. The active and ingenious little French- man, who had on a great coat and flannel trow- sers fastened to his shoes, soon followed him, and taking up the hoop, which was fastened to the boat by eight or ten sash lines, about eighteen inches long, began to take in the cords from each person who held them, and made them fast, at equal distances, around the hoop, tying every knot himself, and observing, with the greatest care and precision, that every string bore alike on the body of the balloon, that the boat might be equally balanced. Some few articles of pro- vision were taken in, with a pocket bottle of spirits, two large parcels of bladders inflated, and two cork jackets, intended for assistance in case of distress. Just at their departure a paper, the purport of which was to certify to the court of France, that these gentlemen were launched with 104 CALAIS. a balloon from Dover Cliffs on that day, at seven minutes past one o'^clock, signed by upwards of sixty spectators, was put into Blanchard's hands. And now the awful moment came, every remaining cord was loosened, and this large stupendous body seemed struggling to get free to float in purer climes. The particular friends of our two aerial heroes on each side of the boat, kept it gently gliding on the ground, till it came to the utmost verge of the cliff. From this precipice let the admiring world be told that these two men were launched to swim in air. The sight was truly sublime, the spectators were all eyes, and their hearts all feeling. The serenity and composure visible on the countenances of these two extraordinary charac- ters, the display of two beautiful flags, the red en- sign of England, and the royalstandard of France, the elegance of the little wherry that sustained the passengers, the expansion of the silken oars, and the stupendous magnificence of the balloon itself, with the sun-beams full upon them, was a sight which leaves all description at a distance, and requires, indeed, a thousand witnesses to es- CALAIS* 105 tablish the truth of this most wonderful spectacle ta the absent public. The salutations from the castle, the beach, the forts, and the town, were general, and gracefully returned by the two aero- nauts moving their hats and waving their flags. This was repeated again and again, whilst by an almost imperceptible transition, they gradually lessened to the eye. At the distance of about half the way across they descended so rapidly, that the spectators were exceedingly alarmed, appre- hensive that some accident had befallen them ; but in a few minutes they were relieved from their apprehension, by their re-ascending higher than before, though the elevation of the balloon at no time appeared more than half a mile, or three quarters, from the surface of the sea. The wind at the time of their crossing was favourable, and the sky was so clear that the French land and town of Calais were plainly discernible, and the eye scarcely lost sight of the voyagers for near an hour and a half, and with good glasses they were seen till safe within the opposite coast. 106 CALAIS. Dr. Jeffries'' letter was as following r "Calais, Jan. 8th, 1785. " Heaven has crowned my utmost wishes with success ! I cannot describe to you the magnifi- cence and beauty of our voyage. When about mid-channel, and at high elevation, we had such a prospect of the country as surpasses my de- scriptive faculties. When two-thirds over, we had expended the whole of the ballast. At about five or six miles from the French coast, we were again falling rapidly towards the sea, on which occasion my noble little captain gave orders, and set the example, by beginning to strip our aerial car, first of our silk and finery. This not giving us sufficient release, we cast one wing, then the other ; after which I was obliged to unscrew and cast away our moulinet ; yet still approaching the sea very fast, and the boats being much alarmed for us, we cast away first one anchor, then another, after which my little hero stripped and threw away his great coat. On this I was compelled to follow his example. He next cast away his trowsers. We put on our cork jackets, and luckily at this instant, we found the mercury CALAIS. 107 beginning to fall in the barometer, and we soon ascended much higher than ever before, and made a most beautiful and lofty entre into France, exactly at three o'^clock. We entered rising, and to such a height, that the arc we de- scribed brought us down just twelve miles into the country, when we descended most tranquilly into the midst of the forest De Felmores, almost as naked as the trees, not an inch of cord, or rope left, no anchor or any thing to help us, nor a being within several miles. My good little captain begged for all my exertion to stop at the top of the first tree I could reach. I succeeded beyond my comprehension, and you would have laughed to see us, even without a coat of any sort, M. Blanchard assisting at the valve, and I holding at the top of a lofty tree, and the balloon playing to and fro over us, holding al- most too severe a contest for my arms. It took exactly twenty-eight minutes to let out air enough to relieve the balloon without injury. We soon heard the wood surrounded by footmen^ horsemen, &c. and received every possible assist- ance from them. I was soon well mounted, and 108 CALAIS. had a fine gallop of seven miles. We were in- vited to the chateau, or seat, of Monsieur de Sandrouin, where we received every polite at- tention, and were led through a noble suite of apartments, to partake of an elegant refresh- ment, &c., and at nine sent away in an elegant chariot and six horses, but under a promise that we would call at the chateau of M. Brounot at Ardingham, where we stayed about an hour, and then set off again as before towards Calais, where we arrived between one and two this morning. I was surprised to find the difficulties of access ; five very strong gates, bridges, &c., the guards very vigilant, but had all orders to let us pass, the commandant having set up for us. We vi- sited him, and were very politely received ; but the attentions of M. Mouron and his family ex« ceeded all description. This morning, the mayor, governor, commandant and officers, in a body, the king's attorney-general, &c. have been to pay us a congratulatory visit, and we have been com- plimented, as they compliment the king alone, by sending us the wine of the city. A patent is making out to make my captain a citizen of Ca- CALAIS. 109 lais. We are receiving honours and attentions much above our merit.'"* It appears from another article on this sub- ject, that the corporation of Calais came to a re- solution to erect a monument to perpetuate the memory of the two intrepid aeronauts ; and Blanchard received a thousand Louis d'ors in consequence of his accomplishing his attempt to cross the Channel in his balloon. This was the promised reward of the French king. M. Blanchard's letter from Calais. " We arrived here safe and well, and are at this moment with M. Mouron, to whose house we came last night. At the instant of my writ- ing to you, the magistrates are' busy in preparing me a patent to make me a citizen of Calais. To this singular honour, they have added that of sending me the wine of the city, a compliment paid only to royalty, and inviting me to a public dinner. I cannot express my feelings on these marks of favour, which honour me far more highly than my feeble efforts have deserved. " Monsieur le Commandant, who had so po- 110 CALAIS. litely attended our arrival, and made the gates of the city to be opened to us, has behaved in a manner no less flattering. They drew out the cannon to salute us, immediately on our appear- ing above the French coast ; and I can scarcely finish this billet, so eager are they to felicitate me on an event which has doubtless been at- tended with much danger ; for we were two hours on the sea, and had never reached hither but by stripping ourselves of all our clothes. By the next post I will give you a more exact and cir- cumstantial detail. I am, &c. " Blanchard."' The spot from whence this celebrated ascent was made, was on the Castle-hill, and close by the large gun well known as Queen Anne's pocket pistol. 23d. We were up early this morning to get on board the steam-vessel, an extra packet called the Medusa, which was announced to leave the har- bour at eight o'clock ; but, in fact, this oldest and heaviest constructed vessel of the kind, did not quit the pier till near nine, and with a little CALAIS. Ill manoeuvring of the captain's to retard its pro- gress, did not reach Dover until three in the after- noon, just in time to lose the tide, by which means we had to pay four shillings a head for landing, although the distance was but a stone**s throw from the beach, with an additional sixpence for cross- ing a plank laid from the boat over the shingles, to prevent our being ankle deep in the flowing or retiring surge. As soon as we had stepped on shore, we were overwhelmed with touters of every descrip- tion ; we accepted the invitation of the waiter of the Hotel de Londres, where we had slept on the night previous to our embarkation for the conti- nent ; but finding that all the principal apart- ments were occupied, we transferred ourselves and luggage to the Castle Inn, where we remained, receiving every possible attention jfrom Mr. and Mrs. Diver, the master and mistress of the ho- tel, until the 25th, when we left Dover by the Phoenix coach at half-past nine, and about eight that night terminated our travels, which, during the winter evenings, have furnished us with to- pics of conversation ; and the various little pri- vations we occasionally experienced, have ren- 112 CALAIS. DOVER. dered us more grateful for the blessings and com- forts that we at present enjoy. And that these feelings may not be entirely effaced, has induced me to place them on record, agreeably to the well known passage of the Roman poet, " forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit f" and these, perhaps, to have remembered, will afford plea- sure hereafter. THE END. G. Wocdfall, Printer, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London. jvi350023