UC-NRLF $B 7MS flMfl THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID ^^ ^^-^ ?. l^c^ d^C^c^^Ux. -S A/7/ HOW WE DID THEM IN SEVENTEEN DAYS! TO WJT: ISplgioin, tjp |S.I5inp, iStDifjprianb, %* J^ranrp, DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED — BY — ONE OF OURSELVES; AIDED, ASSISTED, ENCOURAGED, AND ABETTED — BY — THE OTHER! • Truro : Printed by Lake & Lake, Princes Street, PREFACE. -t- First an apology, secondly a deprecation. Is not that the correct formula for a preface ? Our apology for appearing in print is not that our friends at home are unacquainted with the countries through which we passed, but that they have been so frequently urgent in enquiring, "How we did them." Our deprecation, — that our critics (should we have any) may generously avoid our depreciation. I N 1^ R O D U C T I O N " Thou com'st in such a questionable shape." — Shakespeare. " Venientibus est dicere A\e."—OM Adage, You have not " the pleasure of our acquaintance " gentle* reader ? Then we must, perforce, Pyke and Pluck fashion, introduce ourselves, or one another, particularly as our publisher is fortunately (for him) too busily engaged to assist at the ceremony. The Captain, loquitur. — " Allow me to introduce to you my friend the Lawyer. This portly gentleman who now stands before you is one of the most tal — " The Lawyer breaking in — " And this little whipper-snapper who has just been speaking, and who is one of the most^fussy of fussy Httle men, is known by his friends at home and abroad as " The Captain." He is somewhat belligerent, but he can " Captain — " Endeavour to amuse." •^ ^ iC- % ii- -H- CritiCy (candid of course) — A fortnight hence perhaps. " And fail." :Jf * * ^ ^5 * Reader ! Gentile or other, you will not be so rude, so cruel as C. C, will you ? Note by tJie Captain.--l'vQ ever thought that, with the exception of one's own intimate friends and acquaintances, this word should be "gentile." CHAPTER I. HOW WE CAME TO DO IT. MONTH on the Continent ! And who do you imagine is to do my work while I am away, or who to overtake arrears on my return?" "That's a matter I confess which is beyond my ken to arrange " repHed the Captain. " But you are not going on pegging away at office work continually, as you have been doing for years past — without certain detriment to health and constitution. You may be going on smoothly enough at present, but without some rest, by and bye, depend upon it, the crank will break, or one of the tires wear out and suddenly fly off, or the driving wheel itself go smash, and then where will you find yourself? " '' But, my dear fellow ! look here ! If even now my attention is called elsewhere and I am compelled to leave office for a couple of days only, there is such a mass of accumulated papers on my return that I " " Don't care ! I know that you have been on the dead grind, without cessation, ever since I first met you in London, when I was getting out ' Our Cruise,' and that must be now some twenty years ago." * « * * " I've been thinking over the suggestion that you broached the other day, my dear Captain " — said the Lawyer when they next met — " and I 8 How we came to do it. fancy I might manage to spare a fortnight on such a trip as you proposed, I mean on one condition, namely, that you accompany me." "No man could be more willing, but that idea never entered my head; NHmporte I When do you propose to start ? " " About the middle of next month, if you will. You will have to take charge, you know, for you are far more conversant with the ways of those foreign fellows than I am. By the way, do you remember that French- man we picked up in Marlborough Square one evening, in — 54, and his remark to you just before we parted with him — ' Sare ! You do spik French laik a naytif ' I've often thought of that, and the vagabond life you were then leading." " Hold hard there old man ! You may possibly have some wrong notions about that. We will visit some of the scenes of my former ' vagabondism.' I'll include them in the scheme which we must draw up for our run ; and as some of the ground will be new to me, we must press our good friend, the Major, into our service, to supply us with information on the Swiss part of our trip. When shall we start ? " "Well ! Join me here next week, and on the loth of August we will leave together for London ; but remember, I must be back by the end of the month." " All right ! Eau reservoir, as the French don't say. CHAPTER II. " Well begun is half done."— C/<^ Adage. HE 1 0th of August saw us fairly started, and on the evening of that day, after a run of 300 miles by rail, we arrived in Town. The Lawyer had furnished himself with a portmanteau suffici- ently large to have accompanied him round the world, and the Captain had with him a somewhat handier vahse and a courier's leather pouch. Having deposited these at our quarters in Bury Street, S. James, we made for Piccadilly, where we were engaged to dine. Here we met some of the crime de la crhne of the legal profession-^the coming men — who with- out doubt will shortly be filling some of the highest positions in the jurisprudence of the country. A most recherche meal as man could partake of, and an opportunity of enjoying a social and intellectual treat — such as had rarely fallen to our lot ; and after this a quiet weed along the (at this time of the year) desert wilds of Piccadilly, prepared us for retirement and nature's sweet restorer. Up betimes the next morning — breakfast, and on to Charing Cross Station. Through ticket to Cologne. Morning paper. Finish breakfast^ — and then a steady run without a break (no joke implied) to Dover. Soon after getting on board the steamboat, a light, airy, sparkling conversation, such as one has so frequently noticed preceding an attack * The Captain never considers a meal "finished " without the consumption of Tobacco. I o Fro?n Dover to Calais. of mal de mer — fell on our ears from the lips of, probably, parties of the Cook's excursion class, — the following : — " Say, Chahlie, 'av y'evah cwoss'd this way b'faw ? " " Crossed before ? I should think so : 'was crossed in love, for instance, before I was eighteen, and then " "Y'areamuff." "Was on that occasion — granted— but no shemale has ever used me in that capacity ever since, I guess, &c., &c." Ah youth ! happy thoughtless youth ! Enjoy the flying moments as they pass ! Soon, soon enough come care, and sorrow, and reality, stern as well as for'ard. Did I not behold thee, Charlie, only seventeen minutes later, on thy knees — I mean not making any kind of proposal, but en- gaged, actually engaged in pouring forth thy many-tinted sorrows into a b-s-n ! A lovely little boat was that which took us across — * The Foam,' of Samuda Brothers' build. Splendid weather, hardly more than a gaff-top- sail breeze from the southward, and we inade the passage to Calais in eighty-five minutes, sighting as we entered the harbour the ill-starred, though far-famed Castalia waiting for the tide. Keeping personal control over our ' baggage,' we ascended the pier steps and soon found our way to the train. Premiere Classe Fiwieurs. Sir H. S. K., Judge of the late Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, and now a Privy Councillor, and the Hon. R. D were our pleasant companions to Brussels. On either side of the rail, along our whole route, and as far as the eye could reach, scarce anything could be seen but field after field of golden grain, some already stacked, some cut, and much standing ripe (or as we thought more than ripe) for the sickle. But amid our rapturous admira- tion of nature's bounties, we are reminded in a manner none the most Arrival af Brussels. t t pleasant, that we are ourselves liable to duties at which the nature human recoils with disgust, and growls. At some petty station, which happened to lie near the frontier of France and Belgium, we turn out of the train and exhibit the contents of our valises — our brand new socks, as well as our linges salles — to the officious gaze of half a dozen dirty douaniers. At Brussels, after a dreary drag in a crazy fiacre up from the old town to r Hotel de Flandre, we found ourselves in perfect comfort, with capacious bedrooms, and a civil and obliging gar9on, qui amait beau coup, as he replied to the Captain's enquiries, 1' onion frit a 1' huile. The next day we proceeded to do the city of Brussels, visiting the Cathedral Church of S. Gudule, and admiring the splendid stained glass it contains, as well as its famous pulpit, which represents in figures as large as life, and cut out in solid oak, the ejection of Adam and Eve from Paradise. We then repaired to the newly built Halles Centrales, where we were much amused at witnessing a Dutch auction. An official, around whom were gathered some fifty or sixty people, was standing on the out- side of a kind of rostrum (within which were his clerks), and ever and anon he hoisted a chunk of meat, from 2 lbs to 6 lbs weight, on the top of a pole. Allowing some few minutes to pass in silence, that his audience might make their own estimate of the lump of flesh, he would declare its praises and name a price commonly far above its full value. Then in a plaintive monotonous sing song"^' he descends in the price, his audience still remaining silent, until some one bold individual responds, and he becomes the purchaser. This, after all, would seem to be a fairer, cooler system of conducting an auction than our own plan in England ; for here you do not run a chance of being urged on by a hired or artificial bidder, nor are you * Note by the Captain. — I have, after much enquiry, ascertained from one who is allowed to be a competent authority in musical matters, Gregorian, that this "sing song" was none other than "4th Tone, 2nd Ending, B., monotonic mediation, simple cadence." 1 2 Brussels. tempted through the excitement of competition to exceed the figure you had predetermined. The time allotted to us did not, here as elsewhere, admit of our visiting all that should be seen, consequently we were compelled to omit the little Church in Rue de la Madeleine, wherein the good Knights Templars were, in 13 12, accused of worshipping the devil, and were many of them put to death or imprisoned on the supposition. Similarly we passed by the Palace of Laeken, the nunneries and hospitals, and the loi collections of pictures to be found in Brussels. The Palais de Justice we did see, of course, and we were bound also to visit " The Manneken." Another pen than mine shall tell his story. '' There is a fountain in Brussels, indecent it is true, but of such antiquity, and with which so many legends are mixed up, that I cannot help mentioning it. I allude, of course, to "The Manneken," which has, it is said, existed since the seventh century, not indeed in bronze, for the present figure is by Dugnesnoy, who formed it on the exact model of the stone figure serving the same purpose in the year 1648. In the twelfth century it is mentioned as being of iron. Tradition declares it to be the petrified figure of Prince Godefroy, who taking liberty to turn aside for ease during a religious procession, was instantly turned into stone on the spot, as a punishment for such wickedness. More authentic writers state it to have been an ancient figure of Cupid, and in support of this argu- ment, bring forward the groupe of the " trois pucelles^^ which a few years ago stood in the Marche aux Tripes, where they were similarly repre- sented. But the Manneken, while he is the more ancient, has outlived his triple sisters, to the great joy of the good people of Brussels, who all but worship him, and certainly look upon him as the good spirit of their city. To steal him is impossible. In 1584 the Manneken was seized and carried to Antwerp. He was, however, recaptured and brought back by The ' ' Manneken. " 13 a small party of Bruxellois, and replaced on his pedestal. After the battle of Fontenoy, the young gentleman was taken and conveyed away in a baggage wagon by the English troops ; retaken, however^ he was for a time allowed to delight by his presence the inhabitants of Grammont \ but, demanded by the citizens of the capital, he once more came home. In 1747 the figure was piilled down by some soldiers of Louis the Fifteenth ; but being found too heavy to convey away was dropped near the Church of Notre J)ame de Bons-Secours. Again he was taken by two English soldiers and left by them on the Chaussee de Namur. In 1820 he was for the last time disturbed, but the same good fortune at- tending him, Manneken was again recovered, when the better to guard him from similar attempts^ an iron railing*' was put up round him. The grave may smile ; but the following statements are true : Louvain and Brussels gave him two splendid dresses for gala days, and he was the first person who carried the national cockade of Brabant in 1789. The Emperor Charles the Fifth gave him a complete suit, and settled a pension on him. Duke Maxmilian in 1698, gave him not only clothes, but seriously invested him with his order. Peter the Great came to see him, and bowing before him, said, " Sir I have come to see you, since you go to see no one," and added to his pension. Louis the Fifteenth, to protect him as he said from further violence from his soldiery (though actually to please the people of Brussels), gave him a full uniform, and solemnly decorated him with the order of S. Louis ! It is a positive fact that, in addition to these gifts from Sovereigns, several people have made the little man (who is always styled the oldest citizen of Brussels) votive gifts, while others have actually remembered him in their wills, and within the last sixty years a lady left him a life annuity of 120 francs. He has a regular valet de chambre, who is paid * Homcepathically to preserve him also from ironic raillery doubtless. 14 To Braine V Alleiid, 400 francs a year for dressing him on fete days \ a treasurer, who is responsible for his disbursements, revenues, &c. j and a lawyer ! " To the Chemin de fer du Midi. Return tickets for Braine F Alleud, as being the nearest station to the centre of the field of Waterloo (we decHned the four-horsed English coach to Mont S. Jean) ; but here the Captain perpetrated a grievous error. He took third-class tickets I Vainly did he expostulate with milord the Lawyer, after the starting of the train, that if we would see anything of the inhabitants of the countries through which we intended to pass, we must associate with, or at least take opportunities of witnessing the behaviour of all classes. Vainly did he plead that to know a country you must visit the poor and less frequented districts, as well as those that are famous and well travelled over. Vainly did he go so far in support of his theory as to show that one ought to make oneself acquainted with the back alleys and slums of a city, if he would arrive at any true and real estimate of the whole. "No sir," said the Lawyer, "certainly not. Let me look on the bright side of nature." "I suppose when we get to Paris you will be for taking me to Montmartre, and La Villette, and all the unmentionable holes you know (and plenty of them you do know I'll warrant). I should not be at all surprised if you did not, for the purpose of seeing Paris, wish me to make a tour of the subsurface sewers of that city, like those poor d-— Is in Victor Hugo's ' Miserables.' No! thank'ee ! I believe the fact is you took third class tickets fancying they were first, and then to hide your bungling attempt, you try to blind me with your pseudo-philo- sophic theories. I hope it won't occur again." The Captain hereupon remained in prudent silence, content to " 'bide his time." At Braine 1' Alleud we found a four-wheel'd vehicle ready to take us to Hotel de la Mus^e, close to the foot of the huge conical mound which "les braves Beiges" threw up to commemorate that glorious victory which The Field of Waterloo. 15 they (of course) attained at Waterloo, and by means of which they have succeeded in destroying the face of the battle field. The Lawyer thought differently. He ascended the mound, and was much impressed with the view he obtained from the top, commanding as it does the whole extent of the field, and with the Belgian Lion, which crowns the edifice, nobly facing the French frontier, and with uplifted paw declaring to the whole French people — "thus far and no further." The Captain, meanwhile, re- fusing the ascent, discovered a little matter of interest, not so sentimental perhaps, but to him quite as engrossing.* It was his own signature in the visitors' book, under date September, 1847, when he was accom- panied over the field by serjeant-major Cotton himself, whose niece now keeps this hotel. Luncheon discussed, we essayed a tramp across the historic plain, visiting in the first place the monuments close at hand, and then on to the farm house of Hougomont. Save that the trees had largely grown, the place had scarcely changed, the buildings themselves seemed not much altered from what they were thirty years ago ; perhaps they have altered but little since the memorable day that first made Hougomont famous. A warm walk back to the Musee (thermometer 96° in the shade), along the paved avenues and across the fields of stubble (during which the Captain proved himself to be on the most amiable terms with the natives we happened to meet, chatting with them as if he had known them inti- mately all his life, and had only parted from them yesterday — a proceed- ing which nevertheless commonly resulted in the subtraction of sundry monies, copper and others, from our persons), and then we returned to Brussels. Here the Lawyer, with a view of shewing that if it so pleased • Note by the Captain,— \ beg to state once for all that, as far as I am concerned, there are no ouns in this book. 1 6 V Exposition^ Brussels. him, he could vie even with the Captain in economy, invested a three penny-bit in fares by the tram car, in place of expending a couple of francs in a cab to the hotel. That feat accomplished, we repaired to the Exhibition, which was then in full swing. Here were deposited the English Lifeboat, the model of the Wolf Rock Lighthouse, various pieces of machinery, and specimens of ceramic art, which we had seen long ago in the International, South Kensington ; so about twenty minutes sufficed us to do FExposition, and we determined to dine. " What shall we order for dinner ? " asks the Captain. " Oh something that we can have soon, I vote," quoth the Lawyer. *' A little soup, a bit of fish, and a beefsteak. That'll be enough." Gar^on — "Un oeuf M'sieu? oui M'sieu, Un oeuf frais ou a la coq?" Captain — " Non non,Tenez. Deux potages jullienes, Deux soles frites, Epuis, Bifstik aux pommes de terre a la maitre d'hotel. Deux ! allez ! " Gar(on — " Bien M'sieu." Lawyer — " What's all that about ? " Captain — " Oh nothing. I was only just explaining to him that we had not ordered eggs." Lawyer — " Eggs ? " Captain — " No, beefsteak. We shall have such a beefsteak, I engage, as you rarely see in England." Just as we were sitting down to our repast, who should we see in the Place, outside, but L , with whom we had so lately dined in Piccadilly. He was in full form, off to Carlsbad for the waters he said, and just now in company with Lord N , of M — ^ — , who, with his two aides-de- camps, had lost their luggage in crossing by the Castalia, and were execrating her accordingly. If yesterday we suffered from the heat, to-day we were promised a Cologne. 1 7 further instalment of the same. The Lawyer had the curiosity to inspect the interior of a Church, not far from our hotel, and remained during part of the service, which he found going on ; but Mr. Captain preferred burning his incense chez lui. About noon we started for Cologne, and hot indeed it was, thermome- ter 98° in the shade. The rail route being, with the exception of a few spots, uninteresting, we will make this run as fast as the time-table permits. The -glimpses we caught of the banks of the Meuse were as beautiful as ever ; and Liege — I must say something about Liege. Im- primis, as we neared the town and for some distance on the other side of it, the passage of the train raised a cloud of the finest, sootiest dust, which we vainly endeavoured to avoid. " In at the window, and in at the door, From the right and the left, from behind and before, From within and without, and above and below, came this merciless simoom, until the occupants of our carriage presented, with ourselves, the appearance of locomotive stokers after a long drive. Closed windows and blinds malgrb the heat seemed to have no effect in allaying the nuisance. We were supported in our agonies, however, in the following manner. — At one little station where we were to stop but a moment, the Captain espied an Estaminet in the road outside the rail. He burst open the carriage door, rushed to the Estaminet, seized two small bottles of beer that were standing with a lot of others in a tub of ice, flung down a franc, and rejoined his companions. Seeing the beams of joy on their countenance, he determined, before entering the carriage on a second foray, and amid shouts of " Monsieur ! Monsieur ! prenez garde c'est dangereux," dittoed his exploit, and was well rewarded by the unfeigned gratulations of his dust-choked friends. Was ever a glass of ale so delicious as this ? No one had ever tasted anything to equal it. 1 8 To Liege. But Liege ? Well, Liege is a thriving town, situated in the middle of a plain, girt by hills at the junction of the Meuse and the Ourthe, 71^ miles from Brussels, and 34^ from Aix-la-chapelle, pop. 114,000, &c., &c., &c. ; vide Murray, Bradshaw, and a few .others. I may, how- ever, be permitted to add one or two items that are not commonly known concerning Liege. Tinning was invented at Liege. Zinc was first employed by the Liegois. The first known Almanack was published by Mathieu Laenburg, Canon of Liege. Fromain, of Liege, invented in the nth century, the musical characters of tijfie, the bar, and the period of augmentation. Some of the most important improvements in coining, and the en- graving of medals, were made by Jean de Warin, of Liege. &c., &., &c. Between this and Verviers is the prettiest bit of the line, woodland and stream greeting the eye as you get an opening through the luxuriant acacias, which border the railway on either side. By the way, the Arch- duke Albert was the first person in Europe who possessed acacias. He had them planted in his garden at Brussels. Another tedious examination of luggage, and then along the flats to Aix. I shall not say anything about Aix but this. — The sense of injustice in boys is particularly keen. I remember to this day, after an interval of more than forty years, the thrashing I got at school by an ignoramus of a master, for persisting in calling it " Aiks" whereas he would have it " Aise." I knew I was right, and was prepared with reasons and authorities. But it would not do for a schoolmaster to be supposed capable of making a mistake. So he made another, and thrashed me. I've loved that man all my life ! much ! List of Adjectives^ Epithets^ &'c. 19 At Cologne we drove to Hotel du Nord, a magnificent Hotel, with magnificent charges. The Cathedral, of course, was the first object to be visited, and as it was the time of service, we remained until the con- clusion. At the table d'hote, which was elegantly served, we met a number of Prussian officers, in full uniform, — fine, compactly built, well educated men — who did justice to their vesture as well as to the viands. We spent the evening sitting out in the beautiful garden of the hotel, enjoying our coffee and cigars, criticizing our neighbours, debating the dangers and advantages of "picking up" with strangers on the Continent, until it was time to retire to the sumptuous apartments, which, thanks to our telegram, were provided for us on the ground floor. It has been suggested that a short list of adjectives, epithets, &c., which may be frequently heard on board Rhine steamers, or along the Swiss routes, might be useful. I therefore readily give them according to our experience, and I will add that my readers are at liberty to insert any of them, according to circumstances, throughout the ensuing pages, at their discretion. Lovely Picturesque Comprehensive Superb Rich Volcanic Magnificent Heavenly Diversified Very pretty Unique Calcareous Exceptional Interesting Venerable Unexceptional Extensive Precipitous Beautiful Incomparable Impressive Glorious Pleasing Huge Fine Delightful Inaccessible Gorgeous Rocky Perpendicular 20 Adjectives^ Epithets^ &*c. Grand Awe-inspiring Varied Fairy-like Fertile Bold Imposing Commanding Shaded Unequalled Grotesque Exposed Handsome Panoramic Remarkable &c. &c. &c. CHAPTER III. Am Rhein, Am Rhein da wachsen uns're Reben Gesegnet sei der Rhein. M. Claudius. OLOGNE owes its foundation to the Ubii, when hard-pressed by the Suevi. In the year 50 Agrippina, mother of Nero, founded m a Roman colony here. In 308 Constantine commenced the construction of a stone bridge across the Rhine, which bridge was des- troyed by the Normans in 960; and a deal more concerning Cologne may be learnt from the pages of Bradshaw, Baedeker, and others, to whom we beg to refer our readers. They will find therein mentioned the many buildings and places that will repay a visit. We took tickets on board " Deutscher Kaiser" for Mayence. The first companion that we selected from among our fellow passengers was little Alice, a lovely little thing of 6 years, who having just crossed the Atlantic with father and mother, was going to see grandfather in Stuttgart. Grand- father is upwards of 90 years old, and father has been in America for 40 years. "Won't grandfather be glad to see us ; he has never seen mother nor me, you know." Dear Httle soul, how she amused us with her innocent prattle. Other pleasant folk we met were, a young Spaniard who spoke but Spanish } his friend, an American, a young medical student, bound 22 Conversazione. for Vienna, who was equally at home in French and Spanish, and with them (though it would not appear that they had met before that day) an interesting young damsel of a certain age, whose conversational powers seemed inexhaustible. She evidently wished to be taken for German, but was undoubtedly French, and from her having facts of history, dates, and statistics at her fingers' ends, one might have supposed her to have been a governess out for her holiday. Whatever her occupation she rattled away in German, French, or English indifferently, and almost without cessation the whole day long. After passing Konigswinter, Nonnenworth, and Rolandseck, and duly quoting the inevitable lines of Byron, — " The castled crag of Drachenfels Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine." Fraulein informed us that she was going to Frankfort, but that she in- tended quitting the steamboat at Coblence. " Oh dear," cried the Captain, " Es thut mir leid. But why leave us there, just as the finest scenery of the Rhine is commencing ?" Frdulei?i: " So ! I was told that the best parts are between Cologne and Coblence." Capt. : " That is quite a mistake, excepting that bit about Siebengebirge and Rolandseck there is very little to interest till you reach Ehrenbreitstein. And 1 think you will find this to be so universally acknowledged that we shall be summoned to Mittagessen just as we pass Neuwied." . Fraulein: *' Wirklich ? im Ernste?" Capt. : " Ja wohl ! I am well acquainted with the Rhine from Basel to Koln, for besides having often gone over the lower parts of the river in the steamers I have travelled that whole distance in a small row boat. Should you change your mind and go on with us to Mainz I do not think you will regret having followed my advice, and permit me to say, it will 071 board the " Deidscher Kaiser T - 23 give me much pleasure to point out the principal objects of interest as we pass along." Frdulein : Ich danke, sehr; so will Ich mit ihnen bis nach Mainz fahren. Et ces, Messieurs ? Will you like with this gentlemans to go to Mainz ? He says 'tis moch bettare." American: "Wall, I don't think it'll make much difference to us." He conferred with his Spanish friend, and the trio agreed to form one party with ourselves, for Mayence. We had great fun throughout the day, laughing without scruple at each other's mistakes, as we tumbled about, in French, English, and German, perhaps all in one sentence. When Frau- lein and the Captain happened to continue a little longer than usual in German, the young American would break in with a remark in French or English, and if the Spaniard demanded, as he frequently did, what the earnest conversation between these two signified, Fraulein would interpret in French, and the American thence in Spanish ; the Captain, at the same moment, very likely converting the same into EngHsh for the benefit of the Lawyer. He, good man, I may mention, evinced no great love for the German tongue. He would never suffer the Captain to speak of Koln, Mainz, or Basel without remonstrance ; and when, afterwards, we got into Switzerland, the arguments for pronunciation, either French or German fashion, were perpetual. Just as we were passing Andernach the conversation happened to turn on the Franco-German War. The Captain was maintaining his opinion that the result had really been more beneficial to France, or rather to the French people, than to their conquerors. " Deutschland hat nicht viel gemacht darauf, hat nicht selbst vervolkomnet." Frduleifi : "What ! Think you so ? I differently." Capt. : " Yes, I dare say. And so do most French people also. I met a French farmer not long ago in the neighbourhood of Chateaudun. 24 Sighting Ehrenbt'eii stein. 'All, Monsieur,' said he, ' Je desespere de mon Daiivre pays !' " American : " Wall ! for my part, I can't see what Lewis Napoleon could have done if he had not gone to war. The Franchees would have it, I guess ! " Capt. : ''Or poor old Lumpyraw's head if he had refused. The fact is, France was really more in the dark as to her unfitness to go to war than he was." Frdulein: "Ja! vielleicht ! aber he was zu qvick vous-voyez. She was not rheddy, but he would go in. Apres ! ( With her shoulders shrugged up to her ears^ and her arms, hands, and fingers, exte7ided.) Leiber Gott ! Es war unerhort. That was great pity ! Sie sind wohl recht zu beklagen, aber das gehort nicht zur Sache, sprechen sie nicht weiter davon, bitte." Lawyer, joining the party : " What's all that about, Captain ? The American also had to offer explanations simultaneously to his friend the Spaniard, while Fraulein reserved her energies for another blow off. Neuwied, as everybody knows, represents a really happy family. Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics live here together in at least outward har- mony ; a fortiori, could we, who were evidently all of one mind, experience no difiiculty when the bell called us to refreshment. But German cookery, even on board a Dampschiff does not equal French or even Belgian. The good spirits of our friends and an irre- proachable bottle of Mosel Moussirender made up for the lack of flavour in the viands ; and before we had well finished our meal (according to the Captain's notion of finishing a meal) we sighted Ehrenbreitstein. Ehrenbreitstein, Honour's Broad Stone ! " Black with the miners' blast upon her height." notwithstanding the river's breadth which intervenes, seems to rise per- pendicularly from the city of Coblence itself, and with its high, dark, mas- ■ Reminiscences. 25 sive rocks to command, in their afflux to the Rhine, the crystal waters of the Moselle henceforth to change their course. The fortress itself has frequently changed masters ; particularly was this the case during the thirty years' war. But the confluence (Cob- lence) of the Moselle with the Rhine supplied the Captain with another and more peaceful theme on which to dilate. Having taken the whole party in charge as it were for the rest of the day, he felt in a manner bound to impart to them all he knew concerning the various scenes we were to pass along. But between this and Stolzenfels he took the opportunity of giving them a full, true, and particular account of his expeditions in former years, through France and Germany, in a pair-oared rowing boat — of telling them how, on his first cruise, having sent his boat by railway and steam- boat to Paris, he thence, in company with two other kindred spirits, pulled up the Seine by Montereau, Dijon, Besangon, and Mullhouse, to Bale, how he thence descended the Rhine to Cologne. How, finding that this mode of locomotion was so pleasant, so independent and inexpensive, and having time to spare, he, the following year, viz., in 1854, with his own hands, at Asnieres, near Paris, constructed a boat more especially adapted for the purpose, and in her ascended the Marne, past Epernay, Chalons, Vitry, on past Bar-le-duc and Toul to Nancy, just below which last he commenced floating down the Moselle until he reached Metz. And how (this was intended specially for the ears of Fraulein) what a vain boast it was on the part of the German army that to its prowess be- longed the glory of having been the first to conquer Metz the impreg- nable, since years before the Franco-German war, he, with his companions, had for ever dispersed the idea of "The Virgin City." For, instead of continuing his course along the river, he had chosen to carry his boat across and over the ramparts of Metz with the British flag saucily fluttering at her bows; and in committing her to the waters again below the 26 Passage up to Bingen. city, he exclaimed, with all the ardour of a victor, and amid the gratula- tions of his companions, " Metz is no more ! her glory has departed — Gone glimmering through the dream of things that were." " But here we are just under Stolzenfels, " The proud rock," with its legendary raven over the gateway, and its frescoed halls so well restored by the late King Frederick- William IV. The castle was presented to him by the town of Coblence, when he was Crown Prince of Prussia. It was just opposite this and beneath the towers of Nieder Lahnstein that we halted with The Undine for our midday siesta, preparatory to our making a respectable entry into Coblence." " Enough of this, however ; you must prepare yourselves for Marksburg, that fortress on the left, which seems likely to enjoy the protection of its patron saint for as many years to come as there have passed, for buttress and rampart, tower and wall are as perfect as the hands of the mason left them. Its site commands one of the most lovely prospects that the banks of this most lovely river can present, yet incongruously enough the castle itself now serves as a state prison, guarded by a garrison of some 20 men." In this manner did the Captain, during the whole of the passage up to Bingen, prepare his audience for each several castle, ruin, rock, or smiling town, and with the assistance of Baedeker or from memory, present them with facts historical, romance, or legendary lore, in a manner which could not fail of exciting an interest more enthusiastic in the several localities presenting themselves to our view than the mere silent gaze of admiration could possibly produce. Southey, Coleridge, Byron, Schultz and Miiller, the author of High- ways and Byeways, Mrs. Abdy, and Mr. Snowe, are all in turn liberally quoted, as if he had been reading up for the occasion. And ever and Captain getting ^'' da?te.''^ 27 anon the narratives would be embellished with snatches from a host ol German ballads which the Captain called up from the remoter depths of memory. " Juch heirassassa ! Und die Pfalzer sind da Die Pfiilzer sind lustig Sie rufen — Hurrah !" Or, Again — Zu Bacharah am Rhein Zu Klingenberg am Main Und Wurzberg an dem Stein Wachsen die beste Wein." Mein Lebens Lauf ist Lieb und Lust Und lauter Lieder klang ! " &c., &c., &c, To anyone who does not know the Rhine I cannot do better than recommend him Baedeker's guide book, the information and descriptions therein given are concise and correct. The heat continued as intense as ever, but with a good awning over- head, a pleasant air as we moved up stream, and with frequent recourse to various sodas, seltzers, and siphons — qualified, we were happy. Soon after leaving Bingen the day began to close in ; and when we could no longer for the darkness admire the river banks, the man at the helm provided us a prolonged view of a mid-stream island, having just below Bieberich nearly succeeded in landing the steamer on a gravel bank. We reached Mayence about 10 o'clock, but the day's unwonted exertion and the extreme heat had begun to tell upon the Captain. He himself was getting " done," and on arriving at Rheinischer Hof thought good to send for a doctor, who when he came simply endorsed the Lawyer's pre- vious diagnosis. Quoth he, " Ah ! I see you are fatigue, nothing more. I give you nothing this night. You are, I do not know how to say it, leetle body, leetle mind (complimentary, thought the Captain). Also ! I 28 Cathedral at Maymce. come to see you morgens. Ja !" So '' Morgens" he came. "Ah! ah ! Beddter, I see, yes ; nevermind, I give you to-day somethings. Pray sit down (meaning sit up, for the Captain was lying in bed). Let me see your tongs. Yes ! So !" And then he entered upon a long disquisition to shew that by the state of the tongue he could ascertain the whole (or unsound) condition of the patient's alimentary canal. Then, after a very sirQple prescription he said, " No ! Be quiet. You must rest. Go to Heidelberg to-day and then you must rest there again ! No ! no ! rest here and morgens will be all right. Ja morgens. Ade !" So there was nothing for it but to rest a day in Mayence. The Lawyer was in conse- quence less easy in mind than the Captain. " Why don't you run over to Frankfort and pay a visit to your wine merchants. I'm sure their invita- tion you shewed me before we left England was hearty enough. Messrs. W. have an agency here still, I know, but if I remember rightly the establishment itself has been removed to Frankfort. Then you could run down to Wiesbaden, and join me again in the evening." " No, my dear Captain, I can't go and leave you here moaning and groaning all day by yourself. I'll just go out and look about the place a bit and come in and report." On his return he reported that there was nothing whatever to be seen in Mayence. He had been to the Cathedral.* He was much im- pressed with the appearance and behaviour of the Bishop as he sat in the Choir in gorgeous vestments and jewelled gloves and slippers. He much desired to make the acquaintance of his right reverence. Fortunately for both perhaps there was no opportunity afforded him. Throughout the day the Lawyer mooned about, in and out, declarmg the whole place unfit for * Note by the Captaiti. Hitherto I had supposed that professors of the law were not so fond of gospel ceremonies as to induce them to attend Church on every available opportunity. I heard one once, who hail'd from the " City," remark that he did not know how it was that whenever he went to Church in the country he always heard that same Chapter, Dan. iii, read as Lesson. An unsparing Parson, who was present, explained to him that perhaps that occurred by reason of his attending a Church Service onge ja the year, about the time th^t that Lesson would be read ! ■Heidelberg Castle. 29 human habitation, while the Captain, recruiting his exhausted energies, looked out from his window upon the railway below, on the broad ex- panse of river and the bridge of boats, the steamers and other water craft, being enlivened throughout the hot and dreary hours by the regular and irregular whistlings and rumblings of the trains on both sides of the river, by the steamboat bells, the rolling cabs and other vehicles, by squads of soldiers marching to the music of their own voices, by the firing of guns at intervals of 5 minutes, and by the tones of a sharp and lively brass band giving out with a vivacity unequalled, — *' Mann ! Mann ! Mann ! Was hast in deinem Koberchen." On the morning of the i6th, the Captain declared himself "perfectly fit;" and the Doctor having granted his "exeat," and the Lawyer's spirits also being revived by unexpectedly meeting in the Salle k Manger an old friend, now a Chief Clerk of a Vice-Chancellor, — we breakfasted serenely. Took rail for Hiedelberg via Darmstadt, leaving which latter town with its broad streets and handsome houses, we ran along under the wooded mountain range of Odenwald for about 40 miles, during which time we spotted Melibocus the best known summit of these hills, and marked also Weinheim, whence the peculiar beauties of this district are seen to best advantage — saw tobacco growing by the acre all along the Bergstrasse, crossed the bridge over the Neckar at Ladenberg, where the Captain had such mighty tugs against stream in his pair oars years ago, and at length reached Heidelberg. Here the Lawyer made off at once for the Castle, where, as he relates, he danced on the famous Tun, paraded the terraces, gazed on the ruins and the blown up tower, meditated on his surroundings, the rapid Neckar and the peaceful valley beneath him and made various reflections suitable to the moment. Meanwhile, his friend was content to abide at Hotel 30 Train for Bale. Schroder preparing himself for the further fatigues of the day, and suffering himself to be clipped out of all recognition by a sanguinary barber. There must have been something in the state of the atmosphere conducive to meditation, for he also after his mid-day meal allowed himself to fall into a reverie as he looked along the Anlage, or upwards to Molkenkur and Konigstuhl, or again across the river Philosophenweg and Heiligenberg. How often had he wandered along those wooded heights in company with many a dear and youthful companion ! How often had those hills resounded at all hours of day and night to their merry voices and their gladsome song ! "Of the gay and hearty thirty," thought he, " who nightly met Wirth Pfisterer at the " Schliissel, how many do I now call friend — one ! but one ! ah — " Denkt oft ihr Briider An unser jugendfrohlichkeit Sie kehrt nicht wieder Die goldne zeit ! " "Think oft ye brothers all, On our youth's freedom time Ne'er comes it back again, The golden prime." At 3.30 p.m., we again took train for Basel (my dear Lawyer, I really beg pardon, I mean) Bale. " Now you have seen one of my ' vagabond ' haunts " observed the Captain, when we had cleared out of the station, " I hope you think this one respectable." " Magnificent 1 But tell me, what did you do with yourself all the while you were there ? " "I lived pretty much the life of a German student to be sure, with some few of their occupations omitted, and some few of my own put in their place. For instance, although I have been present at 100 and more, I was never myself engaged in a "duell auf Vagabondism. 3 1 Schlager," but I had a boat in which I came hither by Marne and Moselle from Paris, and I built another here on the banks of the Neckar. Then I was mit hieiper of the Vandal corps, and I established a Verbindung or club among the Philistines or non-corps students, which figured for many a day as Anglosaxonia. I excursed up river to Heilbron, and down to Mannheim, roamed over Odenwald, and explored the vallies of Schwartzwald, consumed many grapes, took my share of lager bier, smoked much Varinas, and lived otherwise principally upon Kase und Schinken." "Vagabondism, Sir" cried the Lawyer, "mere vagabondism." " If that were so " said the Captain, " may I ask with all due sub- mission, what is our occupation 'on the present occasion' ? — Thank you." No, mine was not 'mere vagabondism.' In the first place please remember that it was on the score of faiUng health that T was at Heidelberg at all. And while there the time was not altogether spent in idleness. There was an opportunity afforded, and one which I gladly seized, of comparing the German student life with that of our own University men, and I found that the former, while they do not so much affect the " man " as our youngsters do, are mostly as honorable and worthy of respect as any of our " students." Then I went in for the language also, which you see one has not quite forgotten after a lapse of 20 years. I hope we may reap as much from our present vagabondism. I assure you my recollections of those pleasant days have often served me a good turn in the comparatively lonely life I have led of late years. It was only two winters ago I set myself to translate a number of our old favorite songs into English, taking care to preserve the metre and endeavouring to render word for word as nearly as possible. It does not require an intimate knowledge of German to say whether the attempt was successful or not. I will just give you one specimen." 32 Der Wirthin Tdchterkin. DER WIRTHIN TOCHTERLEIN. 1. — Es zogen drei Bursche wohl iiber den Rhein, bei einer Frau Wirthin, da kehrten sie ein. 2. — " Frau Wirthin, hat sie gut Bier und Wein? Wo hat sie ihr schones Tochterlein?" 3. — " Mein Bier und Wein ist frisch und Klar, Mein Tochterlein liegt auf der Todtenbahr." 4.— Und als sie traten zur Kammer hinein, da lag sie In einem schwarzen schrein 5.— Der Erste, der schlug den Schleier Zuruck, und schautesiean mit traurigem Blick. 6. — " Ach ! lebtestdu noch, du schune Maid ich wiirde dich lleben von dieser Zeit ! " 7. — Der zweite decke den Schleier zu. und kehrte sich ab, und weinte dazu : 8. — "Ach ! dass du liegst auf der Todtenbahr ! Ich hab'dich geliebet so manches Jahr ! " 9. — Der dritte hob ihn wieder sogleich, und kiiste sie an den Mund so bleich : 10.—" Dich liebt'Ich immer, dich lleb'ich noch heut' dich werd'ich lieben in Ewigkeit ! " THE HOSTESS' DAUGHTER. —There wander'd three students along l^y the Rhine, At a Wirthaus they tarried demanding good wine. — " Hola Hostess ! Now hast thou good beer and wine ? And where is that sweet little daughter of thine ?" — " My beer it is fresh, my wine it is clear, But my daughter she lies on her funeral bier." — And when they trod on her chamber's pine. There lay she still in her darksome shrine. — The first then rais'd her kerchief on high And gazing upon her with sorrowful eye — — "Ah! Hads't thou but lived, thou beautiful maid. My heart from this hour at thy feet I'd have laid." — The second replaced her veil where it lay And, weeping, lamenting he turn'd him away — — "Alas! That thou llest on thy funeral bier. And thee I have lov'd for so many a year ! " —The youngest came tripping with foot-fall light And kissing her there on her lips so white — , — " Thee lov'd I ever ! I love thee this day, And thee will I love for ever alway I " e^-t/o QyXnAMAA^ -{t