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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 i
 
 THE RHINE 
 
 FROM ITS SOURCE TO THE SEA
 
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 NV't\4 
 
 W^Y-"\ '^* 
 
 
 : ■^i>i^"
 
 ]6ntvance to tbe Dia /iDala, Swit^erlauD,
 
 THE RHINE 
 
 FROM ITS SOURCE TO THE SEA 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 G. C. T. BARTLEY 
 
 FROM THE GERMAN OF 
 
 KARli STIELER, H. WACHENHUSEN 
 A^D F. W. HACKLANDER 
 
 NEW EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 HENRY T. COATES & CO. 
 
 1899
 
 f S'li' 
 
 V. 
 
 Copyright, 189S, by 
 HENRY T. COAXES & CO.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory = 1 
 
 By KARL STIELER. 
 
 CHAP. I. The Source of the Rhine, 5 
 
 II. The Youth of the Rhine, 19 
 
 III. Lake Constance, 35 
 
 IV. Constance, 53 
 
 V. Schaffhausen, 73 
 
 VI. Basle, 83 
 
 VII. Breisoau, 101 
 
 VIII. The Vosges Country, Ill 
 
 IX. Strasburg, 126 
 
 X. The Convent of St. Odille, 138 
 
 XI. The Black Forest, 145 
 
 XII. Baden-Baden, 154 
 
 XIII. The Pfalz, 165 
 
 XIV. Heidelberg, 177 
 
 XV. The Bergstrasse and the Odenwald, . . . 195 
 
 XVI. Worms, 211 
 
 By HANS WACHENHUSEN. 
 
 XVII. Mayence the Golden, 224 
 
 XVIir. Biebrich, 241 
 
 XIX. Wiesbaden, 247 
 
 XX. An Excursion to the Taunus, 259 
 
 XXI. Frankfurt and Homburg, 269 
 
 XXII. The Rheingau, 282 
 
 (v)
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 » PAGE 
 
 Entrance to the Via Mala, Switzerland, . . . Frontispiece 
 
 The Via Mala, Switzerland, 16 
 
 Baths of Pfaffers, 24 
 
 The Tamina River at Ragatz, 32 
 
 The Rhine Gate, Constance, 53 
 
 The Concilium Saal (Tow'n Hall) Constance, .... 68 
 
 The Rhinefall at Schaffhausen, 80 
 
 Basle, Switzerland, 90 
 
 The Spahlenthor, Basle, 98 
 
 Market-Place and Katjfhaus, Freiburg, Germany, . 109 
 
 City Gate, Strasburg, 129 
 
 Cottage in the Black Forest, 148 
 
 Entrance to the Old Castle, Baden-Baden, 15G 
 
 Conversation House, Baden-Baden 163 
 
 The Court Yard, Heidelberg Castle, 179 
 
 Valley of the Neckar, from Heidelberg, 191 
 
 Neckarsteinach, 203 
 
 Market-Place, Mayence, 225 
 
 The Cathedral from the Market-Place, Mayence, . 235 
 
 Kurhaus Gardens, Wiesbaden 257 
 
 Cargo Boat on the Rhine, 282 
 
 Grape Arbor in the Anlagen, 293 
 
 (vii)
 
 THE RHINE. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 The great rivers of the world must have added a 
 charm to Nature even in the first era of Creation. 
 The summits of mountains are dumb, and icy repose 
 ever dwells in their heights ; but in the flowing tide 
 there is endless change, and the dashing water sug- 
 gests strength and eternity. 
 
 It was a sublime moment in the world's history 
 when man for the first time subdued the stormy 
 wave, and compelled the current to carry far and 
 wide his power and his thoughts. The rivers were 
 the original boundaries of nations, and their beds 
 were sacred ; within their depths dwelt gods, and the 
 destinies of mankind were determined on their banks. 
 Thus have rivers become, as it were, the fundamental 
 lines of the world's history, and the guides of every 
 great hero. The poet, however, looks deeper, and 
 makes the river the symbol of life. He watches it 
 as it struggles forth, the rivulet of youth, emerging 
 gradually into the broad energy of manhood, and 
 finally losing its individuality in the ocean of the 
 community. He sees in it the image of turbulent 
 Vol. I.— 1 ( 1 )
 
 2 THE RHINE. 
 
 passion, and of the thousand obstacles which bar the 
 road of life between the beginning and the end. 
 
 ' ' A life lived loveless ta its end 
 
 Is like a stream in sandy ground, 
 Spent and dried up before it found 
 The sea, that goal to which streams tend." 
 
 Foremost among rivers is the Rhine, which, even 
 two thousand years ago, was a watchword among 
 nations. Its banks were impressed with the foot- 
 prints of Caesar's legions and Attila's cavalry ; and 
 centuries later, accompanied by a rejoicing people. 
 King Conrad descended the Rhine to Mainz for his 
 coronation. 
 
 Legend also has grown as luxuriantly as History 
 on the banks of the Rhine. As the ivy clings to the 
 old castle walls, so do traditions fasten themselves to 
 actual events. On the Rhine stood the Castle of the 
 Niebelungen, and on the Rhine the Lorelei sang. 
 What country can compare in richness to that through 
 which the Rhine flows, from the snow-clad Alps down 
 to the very sea in which it is lost ? 
 
 Here lay the cities of the old empire and the great 
 seats of ecclesiastical pomp, which lavished as reck- 
 lessly as they grasped all that came within their 
 power. Both wished to proclaim afar their magnifi- 
 cence ; and to do so minsters and cathedrals were 
 built, so that when the traveller towards evening 
 dragged on his weary way, he would see from afar 
 the slender tower, and cry with joy to his companion,
 
 INTKODUCTORY. 3 
 
 " Yonder is Strasburg !" Out of the morning mist, 
 also, the marinei', who had come down the Rhine over- 
 night, would see the dark mass of the Cathedral of 
 Cologne rise before him like a ship, but built with 
 stone flanks and stone masts. 
 
 Indeed, who does not feel the wealth that lies in 
 the words " The Rhine," the wealth of Nature and 
 of Art, of History and of Legend, of old and new 
 life?
 
 THE EHLNE. 
 
 THE RHINE SONG. 
 
 " The Khine ! That little word will be 
 For aye a spell of power to me, 
 And conjure up, in care's despite, 
 A thousand visions of delight : 
 The Ehine ! Oh ! where beneath the sun 
 Doth our fair river's rival run ? 
 Where dawns the day upon a stream 
 
 Can in such changeful beauty shine. 
 Outstripping Fancy's wildest dream, 
 
 Like our green glancing, glorious Rhine ? 
 
 "Born where blooms the Alpine rose, 
 
 Cradled in the Bodensee, 
 Forth the infant river flows. 
 
 Leaping on in childish glee. 
 Coming to a riper age, 
 
 He crowns his rocky cup with wine, 
 And makes a gallant pilgrimage 
 
 To many a ruined tower and shrine. 
 Strong, and swift, and M'ild, and brave, 
 On he speeds with crested wave ; 
 And spurning aught like check or stay. 
 Fights and foams along his way 
 O'er crag and shoal until his flood 
 Boils like manhood's hasty blood." 
 
 — Planche.
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 
 
 Hark ! what is that trickling amidst the icy waste 
 that surrounds us ? We have ascended, through the 
 valley, past the last house and the last tree. Higher 
 and higher we mount, clinging close to the narrow 
 path ; but now the goal is reached, and the Rhein- 
 wald Glacier lies before vis in regal majesty. 
 
 We gaze breathless — so vast is this gigantic white 
 wall on which our eyes rest ; the clouds which pass 
 slowly over the peaks give a dignity and a depth of 
 coloring to the huge masses ; but in the midst, in the 
 wall of the glacier, is a small fissure, and from it a 
 slender thread of water breaks forth, white and foam- 
 ing, and leaps joyously to the earth. This is the 
 Rhine. Now that it has seen the warm light which 
 never penetrates to the depths of the glacier ; now 
 that it has once touched the blessed soil of Mother 
 Earth, it will stay and wander for hundreds of miles, 
 until from the recesses of the mountains it returns to 
 the bosom of the sea. 
 
 The Rhine, as is well known, is formed of two 
 principal arms, the Upper and the Lower Rhine, 
 which unite at Reichnau. A third and smaller arm.
 
 6 THE EHINE. 
 
 which rises at Lukmanier and empftes itself at Dis- 
 sentis, is described as the Middle Rhine. But this 
 branch is unimportant, so far as historic and artistic 
 interest is concerned. 
 
 We will begin with the Lower Rhine. It has its 
 source close by where we stand. What an heroic 
 future has its birth here ; what an amount of life 
 hangs on this silver thread ! This rivulet, the future 
 Rhine, has torn itself free from its lonely home. It 
 will glide farther and farther, while, in mute sUence, 
 the giant mountain gazes after it as it flows away. 
 The cleft in the glacier-side gapes like a wound in 
 its breast through which its life is ebbing. 
 
 The enigma of birth, of the pain of parting, and 
 the rapture of freedom, are embodied here on this 
 solitary plain. 
 
 The course of the Lower Rhine is altogether as 
 wonderful as its origin ; its path is, perhaps, the 
 wildest that ever led from the mountains to the 
 valley. Who does not know the sombre name of the 
 Via Mala f 
 
 In Holland, where this same river flows broad and 
 majestic, it is the custom to ask a young man who 
 is a candidate for an office, or an aspirant for a 
 maiden's hand, whether he has " sown his wild oats ;" 
 and when this question is answered in the affirma- 
 tive, it is taken as the security for an earnest, active 
 life. And thus it is with the Rhine : a wild, stormy 
 youth precedes the wonderful, active work which it
 
 THE SOUKCE OF THE RHINE. 7 
 
 accomplishes for the culture of mankind — its course 
 through the ravine of the Grisons is not a journey, 
 but a torrent, a cataract — it is " sowing its wild 
 oats." 
 
 At the very beginning of its course, scarcely half 
 a mile distant from its source, the battle of the young 
 stream with the old boulders may be seen in very 
 earnest ; the river is hurled precipitously into an 
 abyss of yawning depth 5 the rocks cover it, it has 
 vanished, it is buried — choked. It looks almost as 
 if the rocks would imprison it anew just when it has 
 escaped. The thunder of its roar echoes above as it 
 wrestles for life and for freedom. But it cuts its way 
 victoriously through ; and, as the infant Hercules 
 strangled the two snakes, so has the Rhine in its 
 cradle conquered the two great powers that en- 
 dangered its existence, namely, Ice and Rock. 
 
 Its childhood is an augur of its giant future. Even 
 the names Avhich accompany its origin have a mystic 
 grandeur, for the mountain plain which lies opposite 
 the source of the Lower Rhine is called " Paradise," 
 and the abyss into which it falls is called " Hell." 
 
 The first elevated plain through which the Rhine 
 flows is called the Rheinwald Valley, and the first vil- 
 lage we meet with bears the name of the young 
 stream. In spite of the lofty and rugged situation, 
 we are surrounded by the most beautiful woods of fir 
 and larch. The inhabitants claim to be descended 
 from the time of Barbarossa, who colonized the valley
 
 8 THE EHINE. 
 
 with Germans in order to guard the old military road 
 over the Alps. But much more remote traces of 
 human life are found, for in places where the earth 
 has been washed and worn away by the elements, 
 primitive household utensils have been discovered ; 
 and in one spot, which is more fuUy exposed, a Roman 
 temple must have stood. In fact, it is believed that 
 the glacier in the Rheinwald Valley has considerably 
 increased in the course of centuries, and that the cli- 
 mate was formerly much milder than it is now. There 
 have been found nests of birds which have not built 
 there within the memory of man. Swallows and jays 
 have migrated forever ; only the sparrow-hawk, gray 
 as the rock on which it builds its eyrie, circles in fitful 
 flight high over our heads ; only the rock-falcon pecks 
 and flits and skims shyly away when it becomes aware 
 of the presence of man. 
 
 Out of this solitude we step on to the next lower 
 plateau into the Schamser VaUey, through which the 
 celebrated Spliigen Pass leads from Chur to Chia- 
 venna. It was opened in 1822. The most remark- 
 able point in it is the ravine, which reaches from 
 Andeer to Rongella. Here the ominous words Via 
 Mala become a reality. 
 
 The powers of Nature which were active enough 
 here centuries ago to tear a yawning cleft in the close 
 waU of rock, inspire us, even at the present day, with 
 thoughts of terror. The stone walls rise precipitously 
 for two thousand feet, and sink perpendicularly an
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 9 
 
 equal dist<ance from the road ; the space between is 
 so narrow that it seems as though the rocks on either 
 side could be grasped by the hand. This gaping slit 
 reaches for miles, going straight through the moun- 
 tain mass, and is the only foot-path for those living 
 on either side. 
 
 The sky hangs heavy above, the river foams be- 
 neath. For four centui'ies men wearied themselves 
 with seeking an answer to the question as to how a 
 road was to be made through this rugged pass. The 
 rocks were blasted, the river bridged, and, wherever 
 avalanches threatened, substantial galleries were built, 
 under which, at the present time, the heavily-laden 
 mail rushes with its jingling team. 
 
 Formerly intercourse was carried on almost entirely 
 by means of pack-horses, four hundred of which often 
 came through the village of Spliigen in the course of 
 a week. Then small carts with low broad wheels 
 were built ; but more than one of these broke through 
 the slender hand-rail and were hurled into the 
 abyss. 
 
 Fancy runs riot on this dismal road, and we unwil- 
 lingly give belief to the dark fables which surround 
 it. Often, indeed, they have an historical foundation 
 in the mortal struggles with which the Grisons strove 
 for their independence. The castle ruins that look 
 down from the mountains are witnesses of this. 
 
 At the Rongella ravine we have passed Zillis, and 
 the end of the Via Mala is near. The tunnel,
 
 10 THE EHINE. 
 
 through which we pass hurriedly, is called the Ver- 
 lorenes Loch (the lost hole) ; then we look down on 
 Thusis, which lies smiling in the valley below, with 
 the Heinzenberg towering above it. As soon as we 
 have passed through the huge gate of the Via Mala 
 we reach a fresh stage of the road, lying on a lower 
 level, for the whole course of the Lower Rhine re- 
 sembles a colossal terrace of three gigantic steps : the 
 Rheinv/ald Valley, the Schamser Valley, and the Dom- 
 letscher Valley. 
 
 Through the last the road inclines downward, and 
 is rich in artistic beauty as well as in historical asso- 
 ciations ; for just here especially are crowded to- 
 gether those proud castles which were reared by ec- 
 clesiastical and worldly power for the domination of 
 the oppressed people. Here raged at its maddest 
 that struggle for possession which included not only 
 the property but also the liberty of the subject. Full 
 twenty castles crown the heights round this lovely 
 valley ; castles among Avhose ruins lies hid the history 
 of a century. 
 
 The monastery of Katzis, which stands high up on 
 the mountain, was founded as early as the year 680, 
 by a Countess of Realta, whom tradition gives as wife 
 to the Bishop of Chur. Realta itself carries its origin 
 back as far as the sixth century before Christ, when 
 it is said to have been built by the Tuscan prince 
 Rhsetus. 
 
 How boldly all these names sound in our ears :
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 11 
 
 Ortenstein and Juvalta, and, above all, Rhaezuns, 
 which rises from the bare wave-washed rock ! This 
 last was for a long time the most hated bulwark 
 against the liberty of the people ; for the lords of 
 Rhsezmis, who had been ennobled by the Emperor 
 Sigismmid, were members of the " Black League," 
 formed by the nobles in opposition to the " Gray 
 Covenant " (Grisons). 
 
 The feud between these two parties raged long, 
 until, by a bold inroad into the Schamser Valley, the 
 Covenanters overcame the nobles ; then a council of 
 the people assembled and sentenced the young Count 
 of Rhaezuns to death. The day for his execution was 
 fixed, the headsman even held his broadsword ready, 
 when an old retainer of the house stepped forth and 
 asked leave to speak. " Many of the young lord's 
 ancestors," he told the Covenanters, " had been mild 
 and humane rulers, and had often drunk jovially yviih 
 them in gay companionship. Their prisoner asked, 
 as a last favor, that this might happen now." Then 
 capacious goblets and stone jugs were brought filled 
 with wine. They valiantly pledged one another in 
 brimming cups ; and when the excitement was at its 
 height, the old retainer again began to speak, and 
 begged that they would spare his young master's life, 
 as he was willing to join the " Gray Covenant," and 
 would defend the liberty of the people. His prayer 
 was granted, and the young Lord of Rhsezuns kept 
 his word.
 
 12 THE RHINE. 
 
 At the point of the road which we have now 
 reached, the character of the landscape surrounding us 
 grows softer. The distant heights still lower over us, 
 and dark pine woods cover the mountains ; but in the 
 valley there stirs a warm air, in which the finest fruits 
 ripen, the fields are heavy with golden grain, and sub- 
 stantial white houses stand about the green meadows. 
 
 The contrast on emerging from the ravine of the 
 Via Mala is truly striking, and we become sensible 
 of a feeling of relief. There the awful solitude, the 
 sombre colors, and the barren rock oppressed us ; 
 whilst here we have a peaceful, blessed path, sublime 
 without wildness, and rich in lovely details without 
 losing itself in insignificance. 
 
 Through the midst of this verdure the Rhine flows 
 on, becoming deep and strong, though still in every 
 sense a mountain stream — for no boatman would ven- 
 ture on it — but its bed has become broader, and over 
 its youthful vigor there lies a certain repose and dig- 
 nity. It has passed through that period of struggle 
 from which no important life is exempt ; that time 
 full of storm and affliction when all the life powers 
 are whirled round in the circling eddy. What the 
 period of struggle is to the life of a great man, so is 
 the Via Mala to the course of the young Rhine. This 
 is the turning-point in its history, where it is per- 
 mitted, with superhuman effort, to bear itself over all 
 obstacles. It is the deep psychological influence 
 which holds us spell-bound before this landscape.
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 13 
 
 The course which the Lower Rhine travels from 
 its source to its junction with the Upper Rhine at 
 Reichnau does not amount to more than fifteen miles, 
 but the height through which it falls within that dis- 
 tance, over the three huge valley steps, shut in by the 
 ravine, is nearly four thousand feet. A comparison 
 of these figures will give the best idea how turbulent 
 the youth of the great stream is, and what mighty 
 powers are at work here. 
 
 The origin and course of the Upper Rhine, which 
 we will now notice, are less solemn, but still of ex- 
 quisite loveliness. Once more deep solitude sur- 
 rounds us, gray boulders are scattered about, and the 
 grass sprouts sparsely between the mighty masses. 
 No human footfall, no sound of life, no ray of sun- 
 light greets us, and only by straining the eye forward 
 and upward can the deep blue of the distant sky be 
 distinguished. 
 
 And yet there springs out of this deep, dead soli- 
 tude a life which none other equals in greatness — we 
 hear it gently murmuring — that murmur is the cradle- 
 song of the Rhine. Here, again, we stand beside its 
 source. The country in which we find ourselves is 
 the Grisons, the wildest canton of Switzerland, where, 
 even at the present time, the eagle soars and the bear 
 crawls through the clefts. We are in the midst of 
 that rocky momitain-chain over which the St. Gothard 
 towers. The glaciers are ranged around, covered 
 with eternal snow — Crispalt and Badus, and, in the
 
 14 THE EHINE. 
 
 distance, Furka. It is the original watershed be- 
 tween the stormy, dark North Sea and the smiHng 
 Mediterranean. It is one of those wonderful places 
 where Nature hides her mightiest work in solitude. 
 
 Three streamlets form the source of the Upper 
 Rhine. One comes straight down from the crag, the 
 second flows timidly along the earth, the third forces 
 its way through the impenetrable rocks. The small 
 basin where they first unite is called Lake Toma. Its 
 length is scarcely more than three hundred paces, and 
 its breadth scarcely two hundred; its depth also is in- 
 considerable ; but the dai'k mirror stands out in won- 
 drous beauty of color, and from the clefts an Alpine 
 flower peeps, here and there, among the snow. 
 
 Here the waters gather quietly, and prepare, as it 
 were, for a rush down over the stony mountains to 
 Chiamunt and Selva, until the Middle Rhine flows 
 into them at Dissentis. The village itself lies deep 
 in the valley ; the sound of the vesper bell comes 
 down from the chapel which stands up among the 
 green meadows. 
 
 The peasant of whom we ask our way looks won- 
 deringly at us. The language in which he gives us 
 information is sl patois, and only fragments of it are 
 intelligible. The countenance of this solitary man is 
 of a harsh, rough character, but still not wanting in 
 truthfulness. When we are seated in the little circle 
 of the village inn, we hear for the first time all that 
 has happened here in the olden times.
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 15 
 
 Dissentis was not always so lonely as it is at the 
 present day. For a whole century after Attila, 
 the Great Scourge of God, had been carried to his 
 grave, dispersed bands of his nomadic army hung 
 about the neighborhood, until the Rhsetians conspired 
 against them and exterminated them to the last man. 
 On the hills which surround the village the disciples 
 of St. Benedict built themselves a dwelling-place, 
 which they inhabited for more than a thousand years, 
 hidden among the peaceful mountains, far away from 
 the stream of time and history. Then time came to 
 them in the shape of the wild soldiers of the Repub- 
 lic, with their flapping tricolors, who burnt down 
 their village and destroyed their cloisters. 
 
 Although the Rhine does not always run beside us 
 on the path Avhich now leads us from Dissentis to 
 Ilanz, it is still our guide, for, even where we cannot 
 see it because of the fir woods and rocks which hide 
 it from our view, we, nevertheless, hear close beside 
 us the roar with which it beats out its foamy path. 
 On the road we meet with little villages, often com- 
 posed of only a few weather-beaten cottages — at one 
 a mountain stream rushes down from the hills, and at 
 another the beat of a forge-hammer rings through 
 the silent depths of the wood. We may mention that 
 trout-fishing is very fine here, fish weighing as much 
 as twenty pounds being caught at times. 
 
 Just before we enter the village street of Triins 
 there stands the trunk of a renowned old tree ; it was
 
 16 THE EHINE. 
 
 once a maple with rustling boughs, under which, more 
 than four hundred years ago, assembled the founders 
 of the " Gray Covenant," who gave their name to this 
 part of the country (the Grisons). The little chapel 
 which stands just above is consecrated to its memory. 
 Whatever relics of that time remain in the way of 
 records and treaties are preserved in the old court- 
 house at Ilanz, the first town on the bank of the 
 Rhine. 
 
 The road has already lost much of its former rough- 
 ness ; it leads over broad, green meadows studded 
 with thick alder-trees, and even the hamlets that lie 
 away from the road have a sweet charm that induces 
 us to loiter. The little village that stands near the 
 so-called '' Forest Houses," where the road takes a 
 wide sweep to the left, is called Flims ; on every side 
 are murmuring streams running to the Rhine. Before 
 us lies the Flimser Lake, with its pale green water — 
 a sunny idyl, where the herdsman lies dreaming in 
 the rich grass, with his charges pasturing lazily be- 
 side him. But the river lies away to the right ; we 
 can hear the sound of its ripple coming over the sum- 
 mit of the wood, whilst now and then an island cov- 
 ered with trees rises out of the stream, or the ruins 
 of a fallen castle look down on us from the heights. 
 
 Here also we meet more than once with witnesses 
 of a cruel period of oppression. Prominent among 
 them is Hohen Triins, the history of which reaches 
 back to the time of the Merovingians. The village
 
 XLbe Dia flDala, Swit5erlan&.
 
 THE SOURCE OF THE RHINE. 17 
 
 lies far below the castle, leaning as it were timidly on 
 the slope of the mountains. 
 
 And now the landscape again begins to change. 
 The broad masses of v/ood are drawn thickly together 
 on the banks of the stream, and it is veiled in sombre 
 color. We no longer wander through the open val- 
 ley, as at Ilanz, shaded by hazel and maple boughs, 
 but a dark pine wood environs us, and through the 
 side valleys which open up to right and left of us 
 runs that rugged character peculiar to the great 
 mountain-chains. Even the waves partake of this 
 character, for they rush forward with new power, 
 with fresh impetuosity, as though approaching a long- 
 desired goal, as though longing for a speedy reunion. 
 Already a strange, exciting element mixes its darker 
 waves with the light transparent green peculiar to the 
 waters of the Upper Rhine. We are near the mouth 
 of the Lower Rhine, and the back -flow of its waters 
 reaches far up the other stream. The noise of the 
 waves grows louder, and from out the surrounding 
 verdure peeps a castle with proud battlements. 
 
 Pressing on, the waters reach the two bridges of 
 Reichenau, the first of which, a quaint wooden struc- 
 ture, from Avhich wheels and footsteps echo like thun- 
 der, spans the Upper Rhine only ; whilst the second 
 lies farther down, where the two streams have already 
 joined: the one, light, green, and clear — for its course 
 was serene ; the other with a darker tide — for its 
 path, the Via Mala, was one of strife and storm. 
 Vol. I. -2
 
 18 THE EHINE. 
 
 But now it is over ; they are two brothers who, after 
 long separation, meet and recognize each other. Now 
 they will go through life united — henceforth the world 
 has but one Rhine.
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE EHINE. 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 
 
 The Bishops of Chur were once the Lords of 
 Reichenau, and it was they Avho built the old castle, 
 which afterwards became the property of the Lords 
 of Planta. If we visit the beautiful thickly-grown 
 garden, we stand opposite the junction of the two 
 arms of the Rhine. The walls of the castle have 
 offered a shelter to many renowned guests. 
 
 In the college such scholars as Benjamin Constant 
 were educated, and amongst the teachers has been 
 found even a crowned head — he who was afterwards 
 the citizen-king, Louis Philippe. His appointment 
 happened in a curious way. Herr Chabaud, to whom 
 it had been awarded by the principal of the establish- 
 ment, was unexpectedly absent ; so the young fugi- 
 tive took his name and his office, after having suc- 
 cessfully passed a difficult examination. The de- 
 partments he undertook were history, geography, 
 mathematics, and the French language. His salary 
 amounted to only four hundred francs ; but, poor as 
 this life appeared here, it was Paradise as compared 
 with France, for there the king but a few months be- 
 fore had mounted the scaftbld, and in the palace of
 
 20 THE RHINE. 
 
 Versailles, -where he had once seen only slaves bow- 
 ing before him, the bold Jacobins now kept watch. 
 
 But the firebrand of 1789 did not remain confined 
 to the hearth that kindled it ; its glare fell even over 
 the quiet, solitary valleys of Switzerland — even there 
 were felt the convulsions of that death-struggle. It 
 had exhausted itself in excess and despotism, and 
 now it gathered all its weary poAvers together for a 
 last act, for a new redemption of the human race. 
 But the act soon became powerless, and the fruit of 
 the Revolution was not the universal peace that had 
 been looked for, but universal war. 
 
 It was a fearful time : the century drew its last 
 breath weltering in blood ; even to the banks of the 
 young Rhine, where the pathway scarcely offered a 
 footing for the weary pack-horse, armies penetrated 
 — foreign armies, who knew neither the road nor the 
 language. The Russians were ranged under Suwar- 
 row, the wild darling of the Cossacks. Massena led 
 the soldiers of the Republic, with their fluttering tri- 
 colors, to the sound of the Marseillaise — " Aliens, 
 enfants de la patrie ;" and opposed to him stood the 
 Archduke Charles, with his motley array from Aus- 
 tria. This leader was greeted with cheers in varied 
 tongues as he rode down his closely-packed ranks. 
 What a whirl, what contempt of death, what lust of 
 war had the age given birth to, to bring half the 
 nations of Europe together to battle in this perilous 
 corner of the earth !
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 2 1 
 
 At Martinsloch the Russians refused to obey the 
 word of command ; it seemed impossible to penetrate 
 the huge masses of ice and snow. When Suwarrow, 
 who was in the rear with Prince Constantino, heard 
 the ominous news, he dashed forward to the head of 
 the troops. It Avas supposed he would shoot down 
 the mutineers by hundreds, but instead of that, with 
 knitted brow, he abruptly directed them to dig a deep 
 grave in the snow. The old soldiers obeyed him in 
 silence, and when the grave was ready, he tore off 
 his cloak, and in his rough way gave the following 
 order : " Throw me in — bury me on the spot. You 
 will no longer be my children, and I am no longer 
 your father. What can I do but die ?" This speech 
 acted like an electric shock on the old guard, who, 
 with a wild shout, surrounded their general, and 
 swore to follow him faithfully wherever he might 
 choose to lead. 
 
 The inhabitants of the country themselves were 
 sometimes stirred both in heart and arm by such in- 
 stances as these, and Ems, which we reach just be- 
 yond Reichenau, is associated with a somewhat rare 
 deed of heroism. In March, 1799, Massena took 
 possession of the Lucienstieg pass, which was re- 
 garded as the single stronghold of the Grisons, and 
 the exasperation at this misfortune was increased by 
 the insolence of the conquerors. The feeling of re- 
 volt spread like lightning through the whole valley 
 of the Upper Rhine, until at Ems it came to an open
 
 22 THE RHINE. 
 
 conflict. There the French had placed their guns in 
 a strong fortified position, and all idea of capturing 
 them seemed so hopeless that men shrank from the 
 attempt. 
 
 A woman, however, effected that which daunted 
 the stronger sex. Anna Maria Buhler, a girl of 
 twenty-one years of age, placed herself at the head 
 of the besiegers, advanced on the French, and took 
 the first piece. With Herculean strength she seized 
 the horses by their bridles, and with a cudgel un- 
 horsed the young officer who had command of the 
 battery. Roused by her bravery, the Grisons rushed 
 forward, and almost the whole of the French artillery 
 was destroyed. 
 
 Thus at the very source of the Rhine stands that 
 gloomy word War, and we become more and more 
 familiar with it the farther the river's course leads 
 through the broad plain ; indeed, we are reminded of 
 the fairy tale where the good fairies all surrounded 
 the cradle of the infant-king, and each laid in it her 
 gift ; but a wicked fairy also appeared, and added a 
 curse. kSo, as the course of the Rhine extends, a 
 hundred blessings of greatness and renown are pre- 
 sented to our view ; but that curse. War, which Fate 
 laid also in its cradle, is constantly appearing before 
 us as a dreadful reality. 
 
 Just beyond Ems is Chur, the capital of the canton 
 of the Grisons, a " gray " weather-beaten mountain 
 town. We see before us old Roman towers with
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 23 
 
 enigmatical names, a church that has stood for more 
 than a thousand years, narrow streets over whose 
 stony pavements the heavy mail rumbles, and, tower- 
 ing over all, is the lofty Kalanda. Foreign sounds 
 greet our ears on every side, for this is the centre 
 where all the roads of the Grisons meet : here is the 
 gathering-point of all that immense traffic Avhich goes 
 over the Spliigen and St. Bernard to the south. 
 
 The history of the town is as gloomy as its walls, 
 which in the time of the Romans bore the name of 
 Curia Bhcetoriim. The Emperor Constantine set up 
 his winter-quarters here, which first led to the enlarg- 
 ing of the city ; and here, as early as 451, Christi- 
 anity was established. The Bishop's Palace stands 
 high, and, together with the Cathedral and the build- 
 ings belonging to it, has almost the appearance of a 
 bold fortress. In the quarter of the town which sur- 
 rounds this priestly stronghold the Catholics still pre- 
 ponderate. 
 
 In the lower town— which is rich in original archi- 
 tecture, in pointed gables and dark archways — ac- 
 tive, arduous life abounds, and the houses reach far 
 into the valley, out of which the river Plessur rushes 
 to the Rhine. The population, which two hundred 
 years ago was exclusively Roman, the town being 
 called not Chur, but Quera, is now considerably 
 changed, and a large industrial trade is carried on, 
 though sometimes it may be thought that the stub- 
 bornness of the soil is reflected, as it were, in the
 
 24 THE EHINE. 
 
 character of its people. This may readily be ac- 
 counted for, for a national character which springs 
 out of free unmolested action forms itself differently 
 from one which is the outburst of oppression. 
 
 Beyond Chur we meet, as before, with witnesses 
 of the period of national tyranny ; lonely castles, 
 whose very names announce the hardness and inso- 
 lence which dwelt in them — Ki'ottenstein, Halden- 
 stein, Leichtenstein — frown on us as Ave quietly follow 
 our path along the valley, thinking here of a song, 
 there of a beautiful maiden who once looked down 
 from those balconies. 
 
 Passing on, however, we soon find ourselves in 
 quite a different scene ; we are in the midst of the 
 " vortex of fashion," the high life of the present day 
 and its busy hum. We are at the baths of Ragatz, 
 which in the summer season of the year are the 
 fashion, and they have within the last thirty years 
 attained a European reputation. 
 
 The warm spring which rises at Pfaffers, and 
 whose Avater is conveyed in iron pipes for nearly half 
 a mile to Ragatz, was discovered by a huntsman 
 about the middle of the thirteenth century. It be- 
 longed to the renowned order of Benedictines, who 
 were enthroned high up on the mountain in one of 
 the strongest and oldest abbeys in the kingdom. 
 
 For a long time the spring was enclosed in a little 
 frail hut, similar to those depicted as bath-houses of 
 the middle ages, and the sick crowded to it from all
 
 Batbs ot pfaffers.
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 25 
 
 quarters to be healed. About a hundred and fifty 
 years ago the abbot raised a new buikiing in the ex- 
 pansive style peculiar to the time, and especially popu- 
 lar with the cloister. Noav, however, that the whole 
 institution is the property of the State, gigantic pal- 
 aces stand in the usual splendor of the modern Spa, 
 and fifty thousand visitors come here annually to be 
 healed. 
 
 But there is, beside this outward comfort, a beauty 
 of Nature, which also silently exerts its healing 
 power. The Flascherbei'g, covered here and there 
 with dark woods amidst cloven rock, looks doAvn into 
 the valley through which the Rhine rushes hastily ; 
 and above the rock the snowy summit of the Falknis 
 shines with silver brightness. That deep cutting over 
 which the road leads to Bregenz, fortified with a strong 
 bulwark, opposite the imperial frontier, is the St. 
 Lucienstieg ; the two castles whose ruins peep down 
 from among the bushes are Freudenberg and Nidberg. 
 The latter is particularly rich in legends, one among 
 them being especially known by its gloomy fascina- 
 tion and the passion which it reveals. 
 
 The Knight of Nidberg was dreaded far and wide; 
 his towers seemed to be inaccessible, and his strength 
 invincible, whenever an enemy attempted to besiege 
 him. But that which valor had not been able to 
 achieve was accomplished by the treachery of a woman, 
 driven to revenge by outraged love. She Avell knew 
 his chamber and his deep slumbers ; and she led the
 
 26 THE RHINE. 
 
 foe by a secret path up the steep castle hill till they 
 stood opposite the battlements. 
 
 There they could see into the open chamber, 
 where the invincible knight lay sleeping ; the gentle 
 breeze played in at the window, and the full moon- 
 light fell on the closed lids and heaving breast. It 
 was scarcely five paces across, but neither bridge nor 
 hand stretched over the yawning abyss which parted 
 the sleeper and his foe ; but the arrow has wings, and 
 will find neither the abyss too deep nor the way too 
 long. " Fix your arrow, and aim true," whispered 
 the enraged woman in the foeman's ear. For a mo- 
 ment he stood half-terrified on the edge of the rock, 
 so powerful was the form of the sleeper ; but then 
 the whirring bolt sped through the window ; it struck 
 its aim, and the knight passed from life to death. 
 
 If Ragatz, with all its splendor, makes a delightful 
 impression on us, the grandeur which we meet with 
 in its wildest form as soon as Ave have passed Pfaffers 
 does so still more. Here the Tamina, which falls 
 into the Rhine at Ragatz, has worn itself a path 
 through an awful ravine ; and here — not outside, in 
 the smiling landscape — lies the secret of the old heal- 
 ing spring. 
 
 Dark walls of rock which rise precipitously six 
 hundred feet on either side confine the rushing tor- 
 rent, and have an inexpressibly gloomy appearance, 
 even at summer noon. The narrow overhanging 
 path, washed by the restless flood, clings painfully to
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 27 
 
 the left. In about three-quarters of an hour Ave reach 
 the bath-house which the monks erected here in 
 1704, a long dark building in whose passages the 
 rays of the sun fall but sparely. There is accommo- 
 dation here for many guests, for it was the only asy- 
 lum for strangers before Ragatz had developed into a 
 bathing-place. 
 
 But we have not yet seen the most impressive part 
 of the ravine, for heaven still casts its blue gaze down 
 on us, and though confined, we are yet in open Na- 
 ture. Behind the bath-house, however, where the 
 path continues for about five hundred steps, we pass 
 right into the interior, into the very bowels of the 
 rock. Here the ravine becomes a chasm ; and even 
 if the July sun be shining outside, it is damp and 
 dark within. On every side we are surrounded by 
 rocks, which appear to threaten us with approaching 
 .destruction. 
 
 We proceed timidly along the path, till suddenly 
 a steaming vapor rushes towards us, and it seems as 
 though it must stifle and kill if we step within the 
 forbidden circle. Not destruction, however, but 
 blessing, rises out of these obscure depths ; for here 
 lies the beneficent spring to which thousands owe 
 their restoration to health and life. 
 
 Truly, it is marvellous ! The deepest creative 
 powers of Nature have not their origin on the bright 
 sunny soil, but, as it were, in the darkness, and drag 
 themselves through to the light with supernatural
 
 28 THE EHINE. 
 
 struggle. Who does not think involuntarily of the 
 great minds of the human race ? One of them stands 
 especially near to our memory in this place, and his 
 name shall be gratefully spoken before we leave the 
 spot — it is Schelling, the philosopher, who lies buried 
 at Ragatz. His monument in the churchyard there 
 was erected by King Max II., of Bavaria, who called 
 himself a scholar of this noble master. 
 
 It is said that the devil once took up his abode in 
 this narrow ravine above Ragatz, where the hot 
 springs rise, and lying in wait for a victim he saw 
 Anna Vogtli pass. 
 
 He knew that she was a witch, and spent her 
 nights on the mountains, when the moon was full, 
 gathering herbs and weaving baneful spells. So he 
 promised her great success in finding what she needed 
 for her black art if she would only go down into the 
 little church and throw away the holy wafer that was 
 on the altar. 
 
 The girl, who had long since given up going to 
 mass, and had already sold her soul to the devil, did 
 not consider this a hard task, and started immediately 
 to obey Satan. 
 
 She stole into the church, but no sooner had she 
 laid her hand upon the sacred Host than the ground 
 shook, the thunder rolled, and the lightning gleamed, 
 until the mountains began to waken to the sounds. 
 
 Terrified, Anna Vogtli rushed out of the sacred 
 place, throwing away the holy wafer as she ran. It
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 29 
 
 fell on a thorn-bush, which immediately put out a 
 silvery rose, whose petals, closing round the wafer, 
 protected it from harm. 
 
 A flock of sheep, passing, reverently bent the 
 knee, and a wolf, springing out of a thicket to fall 
 upon the sheep, lay down like a lamb beside them. 
 
 The peasants, attracted by these miracles, plucked 
 the silvery rose, and laid it upon the altar of the 
 Church of Ettes Wyl, where it has performed many 
 miracles. 
 
 If we continue to go northwards we soon reach — 
 at Sargans — the place where, in prehistoric times, 
 there lay a diverghig point of the Rhine. For, as 
 many geologists maintain, the course of the river did 
 not originally lead it to Lake Constance, but turned 
 left to Wallenstadt and Zurich, where fewer obstacles 
 lay in its path. This opinion is founded from ob- 
 servations of numerous marks in the rocks, by which 
 the old river-bed may still be identified ; and the 
 watershed between Lake Constance and the Lake of 
 Zurich is, at the present time, so low that it is not 
 difficult to believe this supposition. In the fearful in- 
 undation of 1618, the chronicles tell us the water- 
 level of the Rhine had already risen so high that it 
 was feared that the river would break away a second 
 time to Lake Wallenstadt. 
 
 The whole valley which we now pass through, as 
 far as the huge basin of Lake Constance, is called, 
 igar excellence^ the Rhme Valley. The proud castle
 
 30 THE KHINE. 
 
 of Werdenberg reminds us of the lords who governed 
 it. The tower hangs, like an eyrie, high up on the 
 rock 5 and here lived the old counts, as quarrelsome 
 and as fond of plundering as the Montforts, from 
 whom they sprang. Now, indeed, they have slept for 
 many long years in their stone coffins, but formerly 
 their banners floated proudly on the battlements. The 
 one over Werdenberg was black, that over Sargans 
 was white, and those of Vorarlberg and Swabia were 
 red. How strange that the colors of the mightiest 
 race that ever ruled on the banks of the young Rhine 
 should compose the banner which, hundreds of years 
 later, set free the stream, and now waves from every 
 steamer that plies from the Rhine to the sea ! 
 
 But, we are reminded as our feet tread its soil, the 
 great kingdom has forgotten one little spot, and that 
 is the little land of Leichtenstein. For half a cen- 
 tury it was the Benjamin of the holy German Con- 
 federation, and now, though that good body is dead, 
 no one has adopted the blooming orphan. The five- 
 and-fifty soldiers stand at peace, the faithful subjects 
 live without a state under the Castle of Vaduz, with 
 few cares and few taxes, whilst the father of the 
 country tarries in his Austrian possessions. Vallis 
 dulcis — that is the fragrant root from which the name 
 of Vaduz springs. 
 
 As we approach Lake Constance the valley grows 
 broader •, the mountains recede noticeably, and in the 
 place of wild beauty striving against cultivation, we
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 31 
 
 have lavish fertihty. It is not improbable that, as 
 Strabo relates, in his time the whole Rhine Valley 
 was covered with marshes, between which the stream 
 ran in its deep bed. The land owes its fertility to 
 the deposit of mud which was left behind on hill and 
 valley. 
 
 Vines were planted in the Rhine Valley as early 
 as 918, and the market towns scattered at distances 
 in the valley were soon among the most charming 
 places of South Germany. It is true that fire and 
 drought, endless war and discord, intruded amongst 
 these plenteous blessings ; but they could only de- 
 stroy what was created, and not the creative power 
 which is here specially peculiar to Nature. She gave 
 her gifts wdllingly, with a full, indeed prodigal, hand; 
 the fields in the valley were covered with heavy 
 crops, and over the hills the vine clambered, until, 
 indeed, it became almost unvalued from its very 
 abundance. 
 
 The time of the vintage w^as appointed by the com- 
 mon council, and also the price of the wine, which 
 even at the beginning of our own century was re- 
 stricted to seven kreutzers the measure. The sup- 
 ply was indeed almost inexhaustible, and the prox- 
 imity of the Rhine made it impossible to dig cellars 
 which would remain free from water. A great por- 
 tion of the harvest therefore had to be disposed of 
 abroad, especially in the frontier land of Appenzell, 
 which gave in exchange the produce of its cattle.
 
 32 THE RHINE. 
 
 Boats plied to and fro over the stream, and in quite 
 early times the markets which were held by imperial 
 privilege in the Rhine Valley obtained a fine trade. 
 No ship floated more proudly over the blue surface 
 of Lake Constance than the great market-ship from 
 Rheineck, no other booty was more eagerly watched 
 for by the hunting or pirate-ship which cruised about 
 the lake filled with marauding troops* 
 
 It was natural that so much wealth and prosperity 
 should strengthen the courage and the self-conscious- 
 ness of the citizens — and indeed they needed all their 
 courage ; for at one time they had to defend them- 
 selves against a governor who cruelly oppressed the 
 people, and at another against insolent neighbors who 
 broke over their frontier in company with a foreign 
 power. 
 
 Then came the Reformation, whose mighty influ- 
 ence was felt even in the most distant valleys. In 
 the middle of the winter of 1528 the people of the 
 Rhine Valley were called upon to say which religion 
 each man would adopt ; the alarm-bells were rung, 
 and the new teaching made a triumphal entry to their 
 sound. 
 
 In the meantime the conflict became more fierce, 
 and the strife of minds became the strife of arms, 
 when the Thirty Years' War broke out in full blaze 
 even in the provinces of the Rhine VaUey. The 
 Evangelicals attacked not only the Imperialists, but 
 also their own countrymen ; the corpses which the
 
 Xlbe XTamina IRiver at IRagat.v
 
 THE YOUTH OF THE RHINE. 33 
 
 Rliine Wcashed a.shore lay iinburicd all around, food 
 for the famished and maddened dogs. The prices 
 will show to what a pitch famine, and consequently 
 usury and extortion, had risen : the ducat at that time 
 was Avorth seven florins, and a quarter of corn cost 
 five and a half florins. 
 
 In the wars of the eighteenth century also the 
 Rhine Valley suffered severely, and it was long before 
 those quiet, blessed days returned of which the river 
 Rhine is now the witness. 
 
 The last great stronghold, which stood command- 
 ingly at the exit of the valley, was Rheineck — a 
 fortress the possession of which was contested even 
 in the time of Stauff'en by the Bishop of Constance 
 and the Abbot of St. Galle. Noav, of the two cas- 
 tles, the one is levelled to the ground, and the vine 
 grows luxuriantly on the hill where it once stood ; of 
 the other, nothing but the ruins look down into the 
 valley. But below, on the Rhine — which at this 
 place first becomes navigable for large vessels — 
 the little toAvn lies strong and well built. It has a 
 fine hall of commerce for its brisk trade, espe- 
 cially in timber, which is floated down from Chur in 
 rafts. 
 
 The proximity of the mouth of the river is an- 
 nounced by the depression of the banks, which are 
 covered with thick sedge ; barely a mile more, and 
 the noblest of rivers vanishes from our sight, and the 
 blue shimmering surface of Lake Constance lies be- 
 VoL. I.— 3
 
 34 THE EHINR 
 
 fore us. The stormy history of the upheaval of this 
 lovely lake is thousands of years old, but its smiling 
 mirror ever greets us with the sparkle of eternal 
 youth.
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 
 
 Standing on the banks of Lake Constance we feel 
 that we have before us the most beautiful lake which 
 Germany possesses. The snow-capt mountains of 
 Switzerland tower around ; on one side is the mighty 
 Santis, on the other is the Kurfirsten chain, with its 
 cloven summits. Cheerfid towns stand on the shore, 
 and the breeze carries the sound of morning bells 
 over the blue surface. 
 
 What wealth of color gratifies our eyes, what a 
 delicious, refreshing air fans us as we gaze over the 
 strand where yonder boat is tossing! The water 
 glistens like an emerald with the sun shining through 
 it. Farther off it is deeper, and the strong north 
 wind raises the waves, so that the sail flaps and the 
 foam washes the sides. Hark hoAv it rustles ! — a 
 firm hand must guide that rudder, for beneath the 
 keel the lake is of an unfathomable depth. 
 
 Of all the German lakes no other offers so great a 
 variety of sounds : on its shores at times we hear the 
 tender song of the wavelets, and at another the roar- 
 ing hoAvl of the hurricane ; and the painter will find 
 from rosy twilight to stormy midnight as great a
 
 36 THE EHINE. 
 
 variety of colors and tints here as he can possibly 
 desire. In these waters marvellous beauty is joined 
 to a frightful power such as Nature only, and not 
 man, can combine, and herein lies the unknown fas- 
 cination Avhich Lake Constance, in common with all 
 great lakes, exercises over us. 
 
 Lakes are the secret Avorking-places of Nature. 
 Here, where no human eye can penetrate, inestima- 
 ble blessing and utter desolation seem to flow in a 
 way which we can neither understand nor control — 
 at times the lake rises in a glassy flood nearly a foot 
 over the banks, and then hastily recedes ; often a 
 great volume of water is pressed into the small north- 
 ern arm, till the moist south wind breaks over the 
 mountains and throAvs it back into the broad open 
 basin. Then the flood is stirred to its very depths, 
 no boat is safe upon it, and even the strongest steamer 
 scarcely dares leave the harbor ! In this way it is 
 swayed by the warm Avind which bloAvs over the 
 mountains in the spring and autumn, and Avhen win- 
 ter comes the frost lays the waves with its icy breath 
 till they remain quiet and motionless, as if they had 
 been wrapt in sleep. The effect on a wild December 
 night, when the imprisoned flood knocks at its dun- 
 geon door and forces it, so that the ice bursts from 
 one bank to the other with a deafening roar, Avhen 
 once heard is never to be forgotten. 
 
 The lower lake freezes annually, but the whole 
 surface is so rarely covered that the years when
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 37 
 
 such an event has happened are historical. An ex- 
 ample of this phenomenon occurred in 1695, when a 
 great shooting festival was held on the ice, and passed 
 off merrily. 
 
 Gustave Schwab has depicted the terrible side of 
 the picture in his well-known ballad. Who does not 
 remember the horseman who hunted for hours over 
 the snow-covered plain — the plain w^hich Avas Lake 
 Constance ! But figures only can give a correct idea 
 of its size and the scope which it offers to the ele- 
 ments. It is two hundred and seven miles in area, 
 forty miles long, seven and a half miles wdde, and, in 
 some places, eight hundred and twenty-five feet deep. 
 
 Through the midst of this mass of water the Rhine 
 flows invisibly. Nature has taken it once more into 
 her quiet, hidden sanctuary, as a mother takes her 
 wayward boy into her silent chamber, from which he 
 emerges grave and moved, M^ith his whole character 
 changed. Such an hour of quiet lies here. The 
 lake is the secret chamber where the change in its 
 inmost being is completed, and when the stream has 
 once more left the lake the Rhine has started on a 
 noble, active, dignified life, the wildness and danger 
 of youth being for ever left behind. 
 
 It is lost to sight, but though we do not see it, we 
 still feel its tide, and we are conscious of the Rhine 
 current running through the water of the lake. The 
 color of the shore is a yellow green, such as the old 
 legends describe the banks of the Rhine, and yonder,
 
 38 THE RHINE. 
 
 in the waveless tide, we feel a slight heaving motion, 
 Avhich is the heart-throb of the great stream running 
 through the depths below. 
 
 The charm which this spot possesses attracted men 
 in very early times, and they penetrated the wilder- 
 ness, sword in hand, to build their towns on the shore 
 — the strong constantly giving place to the stronger. 
 Even now, as if in remembrance of the many alter- 
 nations of conquerors, the lake is the boundary of 
 many countries — Austria, Bavaria, Wurtemburg, 
 Baden, and Switzerland, all have a share and touch 
 the water of this inland sea. It is a gem too costly 
 for the possession of a single kingdom, and five coun- 
 tries with dark wood and golden grain form the set- 
 ting for this glittering jewel. 
 
 The old Romans were the first who came to con- 
 test the dominion of the Rhsetians, and the first town 
 that adorned the shore was Bregenz. Both Strabo 
 and Pliny knew it under the name of Brigantium, by 
 which name the lake also Avas distinguished ; its pres- 
 ent designation is of much more recent date. 
 
 A Roman writer of the fourth century gives a de- 
 scription of Lake Constance which is very striking 
 in its powerful simplicity. At that time gigantic 
 forests reached down to the water's edge, and heavy 
 mists hung over the lake, so that it was with diffi- 
 culty that the axe hewed the first road to the shore. 
 But through the " lazy repose of the lake " (says the 
 narrator) there flows a river with strong current and
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 39 
 
 " foaming eddy/' which carries its waters to the out- 
 let, unmixed Avith those of the lake. In the finest 
 bay in the lake stood the old castle of Brigantium, 
 all wild and desolate, but strong and well protected, 
 and a prosperous toAvn grew up under its shelter. 
 
 But its prosperity did not last long 5 fresh races 
 came and were in their turn superseded by others, 
 until at last the first missionaries came over from Ire- 
 land and introduced gentler manners. They were St. 
 Gallus and Columba ; they also first set foot in the 
 south-eastern part of the country, where the towns 
 of Bregenz and Lindau now stand ; here lay the key 
 for the civilization of the whole district. 
 
 We too, then, will begin our description at Lindau, 
 whose youthful image presents itself to us in these 
 later days in its beautiful name. At the present 
 time, when commerce has constructed iron roads 
 everyAvhere, and made firm land even where nature 
 thought fit to place water, we scarcely remark that 
 Lindau stands in the middle of an island, for the rail- 
 way carries us into the very heart of the toAvn. But 
 at the time when our ancestors gave the place its 
 name the green island Avas AVashed all round by the 
 blue Avaters, and no bridge led over from the main- 
 land to the sunny meadoAVS (Au), Avhere the Avind 
 played among the old lindens. 
 
 The first buildings raised by German hands were 
 the church and the cloister, Avhich were erected in the 
 time of the Carlo vingians, and numerous dwellings
 
 40 THE KHINE. 
 
 were soon erected near them. Long before Rudolf 
 of Hapsburg mounted the throne the town had be 
 come a free city, and its situation being accessible, 
 commerce and traffic increased unusually fast. It 
 had close relations with the most powerful cities of 
 the kingdom, and its political influence was known 
 even with the German house in Venice. Its activity 
 manifested itself intellectually and in no small de- 
 gree when the first note of the great Reformation 
 sounded. 
 
 The Thirty Years' War was the first turning-point 
 in the fate of the town. In order to keep off war, it 
 was fortified and surrounded by strong outAvorks, but 
 these precautions only invited the attacks of the 
 enemy. The wrathful General Wrangel threw thou- 
 sands of shot into the beleaguered town, which was 
 defended by the Imperialists ; and, though he re- 
 treated, followed by the jeers of the citizens, without 
 having accomplished his aim, their welfare was im- 
 paired for centuries. 
 
 That time had gone forever when (as Achilles 
 Gasser proudly relates) more than fourteen hundred 
 vehicles, and people from thirty towns, appeared at 
 the weekly market of Lindau. The population 
 dwindled as the wealth disappeared, and want greatly 
 helped on the downfall, when the town fell into the 
 hands of the Bavarians in 1806. 
 
 After these disasters every possible effort was 
 made to raise its fortunes again ; streets and gardens
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 41 
 
 were laid out, and the varied forms of modern prog- 
 ress were quickly litted into the frame of the antique 
 picturesque bastions, part of which is still preserved. 
 The most important points of the modern town are 
 naturally the railway, which runs from the mainland 
 to the island over a massive viaduct, and the harbor, 
 which is noAv the finest on the lake. 
 
 On approaching the town by water, two prominent 
 objects are seen towering above it — the handsome 
 light-house, with its .indented top, and the old lion of 
 Wittelsbacher, which keeps its lordly Avatch on a lofty 
 pedestal. Not far from it stands the bronze monu- 
 ment of the noble Max II., who died in 1864, the 
 prince to whom Lindau specially owes its prosperity. 
 
 But the greatest increase of prosperity has been 
 in the lake traffic, for there are now many steamers 
 used in the service. Amongst them there is a ferry- 
 boat Avhich carries trains bodily over to the Swiss 
 side. The first steamboat was built by Church, an 
 American, in the year 1824. It bore the name of 
 King William of Wurtemburg, who had it built, and 
 it remained in use till 1847. 
 
 Previous to this there were vessels on Lake Con- 
 stance which were adapted for the transport of huge 
 burdens, and frequently carried one hundred to one 
 hundred and fifty tons at a time. They were fitted 
 with a gigantic sail composed of some six hundred 
 yards of canvas, which bore them , slowly over to 
 Constance.
 
 42 THE EHINE. 
 
 Lindau was for many centuries the centre for the 
 fishing as well as of the shipping trade ; the inhabi- 
 tants of the town, indeed, had a monopoly of the 
 former ; and on the " fish days/' which were ap- 
 pointed annually, it was agreed how and where the 
 productive right should be used. The lake abounds 
 in trout and in a small fish called Felchen (Avhich 
 we do not know) ', and even at the present day 
 thousands of the so-called " Gang fish " are caught in 
 the spring, and sent in large quantities throughout 
 Germany. 
 
 Lindau has long since lost all these privileges, but 
 it has exchanged them for advantages which are in- 
 finitely more valuable ; the fishery is almost free at 
 the present time, and the permission to enjoy the 
 sport is granted with praiseworthy liberality to the 
 visitors to the lake. No one complains, and the 
 fishes, who alone might off"er an objection, are dumb. 
 
 Thus everywhere we feel the action of progress, 
 but many traces remain of those old primitive days 
 when the canoes of the Alemanni crossed over from 
 the mainland. The so-called " Heathen Wall " is 
 supposed to be a fragment of the gigantic watch- 
 tower which Tiberius erected here ; the church of 
 St. Peter, Avhich is used at the present time as a 
 granary, is a memorial of the Carlovingian period ; 
 and the Town Hall illustrates the beautiful style of 
 the old imperial town. The arms of Lindau are still 
 a linden on a white field, and the most beautiful point
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 43 
 
 in the neighborhood, the Lindenhof, preserves the 
 idea of the verdant origin of its title. 
 
 Bregenz is the neighboring town to Lindau, and, 
 ahhovigh the boundary of two great empires parts 
 them, they are miited by nature, whose divisions are 
 not those of man. If Lindau is an island town, Bre- 
 genz is, in the fullest sense of the word, a gulf town ; 
 and while the one has been sometimes compared to 
 Venice, the other has been called the German Genoa 
 or Naples. 
 
 We, however, will have nothing to do with com- 
 parisons, but give ourselves up without reserve to the 
 pleasure which this beautiful piece of country awakens 
 in every sensitive soul — we will not dwell upon imagi- 
 nary pictures, for before us lies the loveliest picture 
 of reality. 
 
 The soft blue bank of the lake bends crescent-wise, 
 and the town rises towards the mountains in light 
 terraces, overshadowed by the lofty Pfanders and the 
 Gebhardsberg, with its little glistening church. Old 
 forests of beech and fir lie around, though many a 
 gap has been made by the axe. Mountain town and 
 coast town are here united. 
 
 The oldest part is that Avhich lies upon a hill sloping 
 gently on three sides. It is generally agreed that the 
 Roman castle stood here, and the extent of the former 
 town has been determined by many researches and 
 discoveries. Burial-grounds and beautiful mosaic 
 pavements, statues and metal-work have been dis-
 
 44 THE RHINE. 
 
 covered, and everywhere rusty coins, bearing the 
 images of the Csesars, have been brought to light 
 after the feet of the Huns, for thousands of years, 
 had trodden them into the earth. 
 
 Here, as on the Riviera, the oldest part of the town 
 retires as much as possible into the land, and is hud- 
 dled together on the slope of the mountain, while the 
 new parts stretch towards the shore for the sake of 
 trade. The modern busy Bregenz stands below, on 
 the harbor and on the railroad. This is a striking 
 proof how social development follows historical de- 
 velopment. Formerly the existence of the town de- 
 pended on protection ; now it depends on traffic. At 
 its first building that point had to be selected which 
 was the safest ; the present growth seeks that situa- 
 tion which seems to be the most accessible. 
 
 It is true that beauty is sometimes lost sight of, 
 and in the erection of barracks and huge store- 
 houses architecture sinks from the domain of Art to 
 an arithmetical calculation. So many square feet, 
 and so many rooms, must be provided at so much 
 rent. These considerations are rarely compatible with 
 the architectural genius of _^the present day. 
 
 Even on the coast of Bregenz, therefore, we are 
 not altogether safe from such defects, though the ob- 
 jects which disturb us are exceptions. Taken alto- 
 gether, it is not easy to find a little town which strikes 
 us so pleasantly ; for, let builders do what they may, 
 the great architect who designed the ground-plan was
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 45 
 
 Nature, and human hands can hardly help following 
 her lines. The population of the town is small, and 
 has a somewhat official air, from the fact that every 
 possible dignitary is to be found here, Bregenz being 
 the capital of Vorarlberg. But other dignitaries 
 have also established themselves in the town, whose 
 distinctions do not depend upon imperial decrees, for 
 Lake Constance has always possessed a special at- 
 traction for poets. 
 
 Gustave Schwab has sung its praises, and the great 
 poet of gloom, Hermann Ling, has often delighted in 
 his visits to its shores. Victor Scheffel, the fortunate 
 master of Ekkehart, lived in Rudolfszell, and in 
 Bregenz Alfred Meissner wrote his well-known ro- 
 mances. How the charm of a country increases, and 
 the delight of a journey through it is enhanced, when 
 we can rest beside the hospitable hearths of remark- 
 able men ! Adelaide Procter, the English poetess, 
 has sung of the Maid of Bregenz — how, three hun- 
 dred years ago, she was forced to leave her native 
 town to serve in the Swiss valleys. As the years 
 went by she became attached to her new home, and 
 her childhood in the Tyrol seemed to fade from her 
 mind ; but one day she overheard her neighbors talk- 
 ing of a plot against Bregenz, and boasting that the 
 town would be surprised and captured before the dawn 
 of another day. 
 
 Then the maid's love of country asserted itself, 
 and she stole silently away to the stable, saddled a
 
 46 THE EHINE. 
 
 fleet horse, mounted, and turned his head towards 
 Bregenz, to warn the inhabitants. On thej fly 
 through the night, horse and rider. She hears the 
 bells ring eleven while she is still far from her jour- 
 ney's end ; she urges her horse, and on they go, 
 faster ; and just as midnight strikes they reach 
 the city gate : 
 
 "And out come serf and soldier 
 To meet the news she hrings. 
 
 " Bregenz is saved ! ere daylight 
 
 Her battlements are manned ; 
 Defiance greets the army 
 
 That marches on the land. 
 And if to deeds heroic 
 
 Should endless fame be paid, 
 Bregenz does well to honor 
 
 The noble Tyrol maid. 
 
 "Three hundred years are vanished, 
 
 And yet upon the hill 
 An old stone gateway rises, 
 
 To do her honor still. 
 And there, when Bregenz women 
 
 Sit spinning in the shade, 
 They see in quaint old carving 
 
 The Charger and the Maid. 
 
 "And when, to guard old Bregenz, 
 
 By gateway, street, and tower, 
 The warder paces all night long 
 
 And calls each passing hour ; 
 'Nine,' 'ten,' 'eleven,' he cries aloud, 
 
 And then (O crown of Fame !) 
 When midnight pauses in the skies 
 
 He calls the maiden's name !"
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 47 
 
 Bregenz is at the extreme point of the long blue 
 upper lake. It is only when the air is exceptionally 
 clear that we can see the minster tower of Constance 
 looming in the far distance. That is the goal to 
 which the steamer is now bearing us, but on either 
 side, on the German bank as Avell as on the Swiss, we 
 see many agreeable halting-places and many pleasant, 
 snug retreats. 
 
 Over yonder on the left bank, Rorschach and Ro- 
 manshorn have become the centre of traffic, and be- 
 tween them the little town of Arbon lies on a narrow 
 peninsula. It was one of the most select points on 
 the lake, and was fortified by the Romans, the leader 
 of the cohorts dwelling there in a strong castle. The 
 harbor was built far out into the lake, and some of 
 its huge foundation-stones are still visible on the bot- 
 tom when the sun shines through the quiet water. 
 
 The old name, the sound of which is still partially 
 preserved in the modern one, was Arbor Felix. When 
 the Romans were exterminated or driven away, the 
 representatives of the German prince came into the 
 town, and brought in their train the young Conrad, 
 who tarried with them before taking the fatal road to 
 Italy. What a tragically beautiful form it is that 
 rises before our imagination, blue-eyed and golden- 
 haired, on the cross-road between happy youth and 
 earnest manhood ! How often the music of love-songs 
 must have sounded over the lake from the lips of him 
 in whose veins the warm blood of the Staufens flowed !
 
 48 THE RHINE. 
 
 His golden head fell beneath the axe, and the name 
 of Conrad, at the present day, stands unabsolved in 
 history. 
 
 The little village with the church which we see 
 yonder, nearly opposite Arbon, is called Wasserburg. 
 The church stands prominently on the shore, and the 
 parsonage is further inland, for the waves wash over 
 the building when the lake is exceptionally stormy. 
 On sunny days, however, the reverend inmate has 
 the advantage, for lofty green trees spread their 
 shady canopy over his garden, and though, close at 
 hand, the country people are engaged in bustling oc- 
 cupations, he strolls quietly up and down, feeling as 
 secure and proud on his land as ever did his neigh- 
 bors the Counts of Montfort. That name has an old 
 world-renowned sound, for the owners of it for many 
 centuries possessed the proud castle which rises 
 abruptly from the lake at Langenargen. 
 
 It was at first on an island which was afterwards 
 united to the mainland by a dyke. No race in the dis- 
 trict of the Rhine Valley and Lake Constance was 
 mightier than they. No castle was more stately — it 
 asserted its ancient majesty even in its ruins. Now, 
 however, it has all disappeared, in order to make way 
 for a modern artistic edifice which the rulers of Swabia 
 have erected for themselves. The new Montfort has 
 cost many thousands, but the old wave-washed walls 
 will not bear the modern burden which has been laid 
 upon them, for it is stated that from time to time the
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 49 
 
 pillars show unmistakable signs of giving way in 
 man J places. 
 
 But the real summer retreat of the Court of Wur- 
 temburg is Friedrichshafen, lying a few miles dis- 
 tant, with its fine landing-place, its lofty light-house, 
 and its broad quay, where the bustling, chattering 
 Swabian life goes on. 
 
 What confusion of men and goods ! The engine 
 of the train whistles, the bell of the boat rings. 
 Stop ! another passenger before the bridge is drawn 
 away. Now he is on board, safe but breathless, the 
 vessel is pushed off, and in a few minutes the open 
 blue water bears us on again. And now Ave first see 
 clearly the beautiful elevation of the castle, with its 
 long rows of windows and its broad terraces. Lofty 
 lime-trees shade the entrance, and the garden with 
 its fragrant flower-beds spreads round it on all sides, 
 whilst the flag on the summit of the building flaunts 
 in the breeze. 
 
 This charming town did not always bear the name 
 which it now possesses. Friedrichshafen came into 
 existence in the present century, after the old mo- 
 nastic settlement of Hofen was broken up and united 
 to the town of Buchhorn. 
 
 At Buchhorn dwelt the good knight. Sir Ulrich, 
 beloved by all his people. Then a summons came 
 and he rode off to the wars, and nothing more was 
 heard of him for many a day. At last a messenger 
 rode up to the castle, bringing the news to his sor- 
 VoL. I. -4
 
 50 THE EHTNE. 
 
 rowing wife that Sir Ulrich had fallen in battle, fight- 
 ing bravely until the last. 
 
 From that time the Lady Gertrude gave herself 
 up to working for the poor, and on the fourth anni- 
 versary of her lord's death she gathered together all 
 her people, and all those dependent upon her bounty, 
 and begged that they would pray for the soul of Sir 
 Ulrich. 
 
 Among those assembled was a pilgrim, in rags, 
 who begged that the noble lady would give him a 
 robe to replace his tatters. The Lady Gertrude 
 handed him the robe, and asked for his prayers, also, 
 for the soul of her dear lord, when, instead of thank- 
 ing her humbly, the pilgrim took her in his arms and 
 kissed her ! Throwing back his cowl he disclosed the 
 features of Sir Ulrich, who had been kept a prisoner 
 all these years, and had finally escaped and made his 
 way home to his dear wife. 
 
 At Buchhorn, as far back as the time of the Car- 
 lovingians, a council was held, called by the old Ger- 
 man term a Thingstatte. Trade also, and barter, 
 were carried on to a very large extent. The rulers 
 who dwelt there were called Counts of Linzgau. 
 
 The light from the windows of the castle, which we 
 are now approaching, is so clearly and brightly re- 
 flected on to the lake below, that even more than a 
 century ago the people of the neighborhood were 
 accustomed to say, " That glitters like Meersburg." 
 At its foot lies the little town of the same name.
 
 LAKE CONSTANCE. 51 
 
 which was founded in the reign of King Dagobert. 
 It was here that the princely ecclesiastics from Con- 
 stance dreamed away the golden summer in times of 
 peace, and entrenched themselves and their treasures 
 in times of war. 
 
 The steep position and antique coloring of Meers- 
 biirg give it the appearance of a strongly-fortified 
 little town, and this impression is naturally greatly 
 increased by the appearance of the two castles which 
 overtop the whole. Between them is an open ravine 
 which Bishop Nicholas caused to be made by blast- 
 ing, in order to defend his castle more surely. Lux- 
 uriant vines grow all over the hills, and in the dis- 
 tance the snowy peaks of the Bernese Alps are 
 visible. 
 
 Guelphs and Staufens were lords of the castle, and 
 the manuscript of a message still preserved in Meers- 
 burg tells us that once the Bavarian and the Swede 
 knocked at their doors and threatened to level their 
 walls to the ground. This message is contained in a 
 yellow, time-stained letter burnt at the four corners, 
 and written by the colonel of Horn's regiment. It 
 states that it shall fare no better with the tOAvn than 
 with the letter ; that it also shall be set fire to, at the 
 four corners, if it does not surrender. Meersburg, 
 however, did not surrender. 
 
 At the beginning of the present century the dis- 
 trict looked very waste and desolate : the walls of the 
 old castle stood dreary and dismantled ; the bishopric
 
 52 THE RHINE. 
 
 was abolished, its property secularized, and the town 
 itself passed to the government of Baden. This was 
 a period when many existing conditions Avere broken 
 up — ^justly indeed, but harshly. 
 
 Destruction would have overtaken the old castle 
 had not one of the noblest men of his country chosen 
 it for his home. The Baron von Lassberg became 
 the owner of the castle, and in the gallery where the 
 bishop's library formerly stood he arranged his intel- 
 lectual treasures, comprising manuscripts of all ages. 
 In the balcony, where his great arm-chair was placed, 
 he sat and basked in the sunshine.
 
 XI be IRbine (3ate, Constance.
 
 fe' 
 
 ■ ■■
 
 CONSTANCE. 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CONSTANCE. 
 
 We have seen that the history of Meersburg is 
 closely connected with that of Constance, and the 
 road also is near at hand which brings us wdthin 
 reach of the proud old episcopal town ; Constance 
 forms in one sense the keystone of the upper lake, for 
 here the great basin is divided into two slender arms, 
 one of which is named after the town of Ueberlingen, 
 and the other is called the Lower Lake, or the Zel- 
 lersee. 
 
 In these arras are the two beautiful islands of 
 Mainau and Reichenau, on which we will land as soon 
 as we have finished our walk through Constance. 
 The history of this town has been similar to that of 
 Lindau and many other places of the old empire ; its 
 population and its importance to the world at large 
 rapidly retrograded, and instead of fulfilling a great 
 historical mission, it was called upon simply to form 
 the centre of a narrow, modest circle. 
 
 Its nature and its merits must be measured accord- 
 ingly, though it will be acknowledged that for this 
 class of town Constance stands in the foremost rank. 
 Its inhabitants, which now number about sixteen
 
 54 THE RHINE. 
 
 thousand, have retrieved in intellectual freedom the 
 position which its forty thousand residents formerly- 
 held, for this last was its population when that re- 
 nowned council was held which crowned its deeds 
 with the death of the great Huss, instead of with the 
 purifying of the church. 
 
 The origin of the town reaches as far back as the 
 wars of the Emperor Constantino with the Alemanni, 
 and the colossal substructure of the Castle was dis- 
 covered during the Thirty Years' War, when the 
 Swedes were digging their trenches. Its prosperity, 
 and consequently its importance for the great empire 
 began early, for nearly all the German princes down 
 to the time of the Staufens passed through its gates 
 and rewarded its hospitality with rich honors. 
 
 When Charlemagne went to Rome in order to re- 
 ceive his imperial crown, he rested in Constance with 
 Hildegard, and the German kings very often spent 
 Christmas or Easter here. Brilliant regal assemblies 
 were held when the nobles of the kingdom gathered 
 round their chief. It was in Constance also that the 
 ambassadors from Milan appeared before Barbarossa 
 when he received the golden key which the Italian 
 states sent him as a token of their submission. 
 
 All the splendor, however, of this last event van- 
 ishes before the spectacle of sensual and sinful osten- 
 tation which is known by the name of the Holy Coun- 
 cil of Constance. This was held in the year 1414, 
 at a period when the wild, devastating spirit of arro-
 
 CONSTANCE. 55 
 
 gance, of indolence and immorality, had penetrated 
 the great structure of the Romish Church. Love 
 songs resounded through the cloister, and quarrels of 
 the reverend inmates "with their neighbors Avere even 
 at times fought out in the open streets. At the head 
 of these wild practices were three rival Popes — 
 namely, John XXIII., Benedict XIII., and Gregory 
 XII., who in turn made Avar upon each other. No 
 one knew any longer Avho was the real head of the 
 Church, but those who suffered most were the men 
 whose beliefs Avere honest. 
 
 The Council of Constance was summoned in order 
 to amend this state of things, and to reform the 
 Church throughout its entire constitution. In this 
 way the little toAvn became for four years the central 
 point of European history. Ulric A^on Reich entlial, 
 a contemporary Avriter, describes Avith charming 
 naivete the pageant of princes and prelates, and hoAv 
 " one after another heralds and lifers came, yvith. all 
 sorts of servants, in order to secure lodgings for their 
 masters. They bespoke food and straAA', and fixed 
 their masters' badges on the houses and doors." 
 
 The Cardinal of Ostia came in the middle of Au- 
 gust, being entrusted Avith the preparations, as Lord 
 High Chancellor of the Holy Church ; more than 
 eighty horsemen foUoAved in his train. The Arch- 
 bishop of Mayence rode into the toAvn clothed in 
 armor from head to foot. The Margrave, Frederick 
 von Meissen, came accompanied by a croAvd of nobles.
 
 56 THE KHINE. 
 
 and followed by twenty-one lieavily -laden wagons and 
 above five hundred horsemen. 
 
 The citizens looked on in alarm, for the town con- 
 tinued to fill. The delegates came even from the 
 East and from the distant North, and no one could 
 foresee what Avould be the end of all this splendor. 
 Late in the autumn, Avhen the snow had already be- 
 gun to fall among the Alps, the Pope himself ap- 
 peared. The sledge which brought him over the 
 Arlberg upset and was almost buried in the snow 
 before he reached Thurgau. Duke Frederick of 
 Austria received him there with great honor, and 
 accompanied him and his party to Constance, Avhere 
 he was to make a triumphal entry. He rode, clothed 
 in the white papal robes, under a canopy, and before 
 him there walked a horse with a bell on its neck, and 
 the Holy Sacrament on its back ; four councillors bore 
 the canopy, and the shouting mob streamed by in 
 thousands. The Emperor Sigismund alone was ab- 
 sent, though he too made his appearance on Christ- 
 mas Day, accompanied by the empress and a count- 
 less train of followers. 
 
 The influx of strangers constantly increased, their 
 number being roughly estimated at eighty thousand, 
 and at the time of the greatest pressure it must 
 have amounted to one hundred thousand men, Avho 
 had at their disposal thirty thousand horses. All 
 the curiosity, and a good deal of the vice of Eu- 
 rope flowed together here, for more than a thousand
 
 CONSTANCE. 57 
 
 women ministered to the pleasure of the worthy 
 prelates. 
 
 To turn from these considerations of outward splen- 
 dor, how did it fare with the great duties which this 
 assembly had been summoned to fulfil, and with those 
 reforms which Christendom so sorely needed ? What 
 did the Council of Constance do for the development 
 of history and for the salvation of the human race ? 
 Nothing, and less than nothing ! For when this ques- 
 tion is asked, the splendor that was paraded there 
 sinks at once into foul ignominy, and we are con- 
 fronted, not with a deed of glory, but with a ghastly 
 crime. It is true that after much trouble the three 
 rival popes were prevailed on to relinquish their dig- 
 nity in order to give place to a fourth. 
 
 Very soon after, however. Pope John broke his 
 sacred oath, fled from the Council, and having reached 
 Italy, attempted to strengthen his dominion afresh. 
 But the inquiries made in the meantime by the Council 
 as to his mode of life resulted in such an exposure 
 of vice that he was solemnly deposed, and Cardinal 
 Colonna was chosen in his stead. 
 
 This gloomy incident was soon followed by a sec- 
 ond, which is almost unequalled in horror. It was, 
 naturally, much easier to condemn heretics than to 
 endanger the safety of the existing Church ; the 
 Council found, therefore, their most pressing duty to 
 be that of vengeance. The support Avhich the doc- 
 trines of John Huss had met with in Bohemia had
 
 58 THE EHINE. 
 
 for a long time roused the hatred of the Romanists, 
 so the renowned teacher was summoned from Prague 
 to Constance, in order to defend himself before the 
 Assembly. Sigismund took the precaution of giving 
 him a guarantee of safe conduct, and had promised 
 to protect his life. The emperor, however, broke his 
 word, as the pope had done before, for he was easily 
 persuaded that no man was bound to keep faith with 
 a " heretic." The execution of this great, steadfast 
 man, who mounted the scaffold with stoical calmness, 
 is a stirring picture, and cannot be related without a 
 feeling of angry shame. 
 
 First of all his clerical clothes were torn off him 
 with horrible curses, then his long hair was cut off, 
 then a rusty chain was put round his neck, and lastly 
 a crown on which demons were painted was placed, 
 in mockery, on his head. Huss did not resist, nor 
 did he beg for mercy, but all along the road to the 
 stake he prayed aloud that God would forgive his 
 enemies ; and while the flames played round him he 
 praised God and sang till the smoke stifled his voice, 
 and hid his mutilated form. Thus died "the heretic," 
 and the Church whose edifice rests on love to one's 
 neighbor had burdened itself Avith a fresh and a hor- 
 rible crime. 
 
 As to the important question which had been placed 
 before the Council at Constance — namely, that of 
 purifying the Church — nothing was done. It was at 
 last openly determined that the performance of this
 
 CONSTANCE. 59 
 
 duty should be deferred to a " later " Assembly, and 
 the Council dispersed with a feeling of hopelessness. 
 Even worse than this, their departure was covered 
 with shame of the meanest description, for the Em- 
 peror Sigismund was so deeply in debt that the citi- 
 zens would not allow him to depart Avithout leaving 
 the whole of his baggage in pledge. It remained for 
 years in the custody of the State, and when every 
 hope of it being redeemed had vanished, and the 
 chests Avere opened, it was found to contain — not silver 
 vessels, as was supposed, but stones. 
 
 Such was the course and such was the end of the 
 celebrated " Holy Council of Constance." An em- 
 peror and a pope both proved themselves traitors to 
 their word, the town was inundated with a profligate 
 crowd, an irrecoverable debt was incurred, and, above 
 all, the scaffold of John Huss had been erected as an 
 endless blot on the fair city of Constance. Truly, 
 the smoke from the martyr's pile still pervades these 
 memories. 
 
 When we turn from the past to the present time 
 we still find in the outward appearance of the town 
 many things that remind us of the middle ages. The 
 Town Hall, erected in 1388, in which the conclave 
 was held, is especially remarkable. It is an extensive 
 building, and stands close to the water's edge. The 
 lower portion is of stone, the upper of dark, Aveather- 
 beaten wood, so that it has almost the appearance of 
 a huge shed, though at each of the four corners of the
 
 60 THE RHINE. 
 
 roof there is a little overhanging projection, which 
 gives an air of originality to what is in itself a some- 
 what clumsy structure. 
 
 On the first story is the " Council Chamber," as it 
 is called. It is a large but low room, entirely lined 
 with polished wood, the roof being supported by pil- 
 lars. The frescoes which adorn the walls represent 
 the most important events in the history of Constance. 
 They were done in 1875-85 by Philip Schworer and 
 Frederick Pecht, of Munich. 
 
 The Cathedral, which was begun in the middle of 
 the eleventh century, stands out, both historically and 
 architecturally, above the other churches of the city. 
 The style of the architecture was originally Roman, 
 but the many additions which have been made from 
 time to time are of the Gothic order. A dreadful fire 
 once occurred within the walls, which melted the en- 
 tire peal of bells and caused great destruction. In 
 spite of these disasters, however, the minster is still 
 the finest church on the lake. 
 
 Constance having become the seat of a bishopric 
 as early as 781, the city grew rich in consequence, 
 and a succession of remarkable men Avho labored there 
 added much to its renown. The greater proportion 
 of the inhabitants are Catholic. The impression left 
 from the days of the great Assembly sunk so deep 
 that the citizens at that time rushed with open arms 
 to meet the Reformation, and the bishop left the city. 
 The Lutheran opinions became daily more open and
 
 CONSTANCE. 61 
 
 decided, and when the town immediately repudiated 
 the " Interim " which Charles V. laid upon it, open 
 strife broke out. 
 
 One of those wars followed in which the self-re- 
 spect of the citizens sets itself with the courage of 
 despair in opposition to the superior strength of their 
 rulers. The soldiers of the city encountered the 
 Spanish infantry, Avhich the empei'or sent against 
 them, on the Rhine bridge ; but after a bloody fray 
 the imperial troops obtained the upper hand. It was 
 indeed a Pyrrhus-like victory, for the emperor repaid 
 with care the heroism of his enemies, and made the 
 city, which had formerly been a free town, part of 
 Austria. All Protestants were obliged to flee, and 
 their property was confiscated. 
 
 Constance had again to suffer the calamities of 
 war when the Swedes encamped before its gates. On 
 this occasion Field-Marshal Horn stormed the walls 
 three times, but the resolute defence of the inhabi- 
 tants forced him to retire. After this, quieter times 
 came. Commerce and industry began slowly to 
 flourish once more, and Nature unconcernedly brought 
 forth her golden treasures. A permanent change, 
 hoAvever, had been wrought, for the great free city 
 has become a quiet, homely, provincial town, and only 
 one thing still reminds us of the past : this is a dis- 
 position to freedom which the town proves in every 
 way, and which it especially attests in its ecclesiasti- 
 cal government. Many noble hands were held out
 
 62 THE EHINE. 
 
 to the people, with offers of assistance, in their time 
 of effort ; notably those of Joseph II. and the great 
 Wessenberg, who, when Bishop of Constance, raised 
 for himself an imperishable monument by his humanity 
 and his cultivation of art and learning. 
 
 We have still to mention the two large islands, 
 which, like Lindau, were in early times distinguished 
 as meadows or pastures. One was named, from its 
 wealth, Reichenau ; the other, from its beautiful May 
 breeze, Mainau. For a long time both belonged to 
 the same owners. 
 
 Mainau was for many generations a subordinate 
 property of the great abbey on the Lower Lake, till 
 the abbot himself gave it aAvay. It then came at 
 second-hand to the German order, who possessed it 
 till 1806. The wide, princely house of this order — 
 a mixture of castle and cloister — stood with its great 
 wings on the high plateau of the island. In the long 
 galleries and handsome rooms were hung the banners 
 of the commanders, and in the chapel the consecrated 
 bell soimded, sending its peaceful music far over 
 the lake ; while above glistened Santis, and in the 
 hazy distance the towers of Old Bregenz could be 
 distinguished. 
 
 Strangers in those days who visited the island found 
 hospitable entertainment at the farm and the inn at- 
 tached to it. In later years, Avhen the commandery 
 had long fallen away, the glory of the order and its 
 noble lords left its own peculiar impression on the
 
 CONSTANCE. 63 
 
 island. The old good-natured host would sit for hours 
 and narrate to his guests how the armed knights Von 
 Hiltpolt and Werner Hundbiss defended the island 
 against the Swedish ships, just as though he had him- 
 self been present. Now, since the reigning family 
 of Baden have fixed their summer residence here, 
 these pictures of the past have faded before the bril- 
 liancy of the present. 
 
 In the villages at the end of the Ueberlingen Lake 
 there are some dark caverns Avhich are called ^'Heathen 
 Holes." They are narrow chambers hewn in the rock, 
 and are thought by many people to have been a kind 
 of catacomb, and to have served the early Christians 
 as hiding-places. Others take them to be Roman 
 graves, dating back as far as the times of the wars 
 with the Alemanni. 
 
 The neighboring island of Reichenau, in the Lower 
 Lake, presents an entirely different picture ; its cir- 
 cumference is considerably greater, and its history is 
 much older. No spot of land round about surpasses 
 it in richness of soil or in political and historic re- 
 nown. Amongst all the monasteries that arose in the 
 middle ages, Reichenau was specially favored by for- 
 tune — four archdukes and about twenty counts were 
 its lieges ; and as Charles V. boasted that the sun 
 never set upon his dominions, so did the abbot of 
 Reichenau boast that he slept every night on his own 
 territory when he travelled to Rome to see the Pope, 
 He was a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Em-
 
 64 THE EHINE. 
 
 perors and princes sat at his table, and the noblest 
 knights from the neighboring districts served him as 
 high steward and cup-bearer when he entertained his 
 guests. 
 
 In Reichenau, however, they attended not only to 
 the fidl enjoyment of the senses, but also to the en- 
 joyment of intellectual cultivation, and the monks 
 prided themselves that no town in the southern part 
 of the empire could compare with them in culture. 
 The nobles sent their sons from all parts of the coun- 
 try to be educated here, and more than eighty bishop- 
 rics were filled by scholars of the abbey. 
 
 But Fortune had been too prodigal to be lasting ; 
 the turning-point came under the Hohenstaufens, and 
 ruin rushed in with overwhelming force. Instead of 
 giving themselves up to meditation at Shrovetide, the 
 monks Avent to Ulm for the Carnival, and danced and 
 played with the townswomen, so that, in order to ex- 
 clude them from the town, the abbot sold all the prop- 
 erty which he possessed there. 
 
 One hide of land after another went to cover debts, 
 and soon the income of the monastery had sunk from 
 fifty thousand florins to three silver marks. The dis- 
 organization increased, and at last an hour arrived 
 when it was indescribable, and the abbot, with his 
 own hands, tore ovit the eyes of five inoffensive fish- 
 ermen because they were subjects of the city of Con- 
 stance, with which he was at w^ar. 
 
 In this state of affairs the bishops of the neighbor-
 
 CONSTANCE. 65 
 
 ing city, Avho had long conceived a plan of annexing 
 Reichenau to their own possessions, saw that the mo- 
 ment had arrived when the ripe fruit might, of itself, 
 fall into their lap. Without much trouble the abbot 
 was persuaded, in consideration of a small sum, to 
 betray his trust ; and he himself, in 1540, delivered 
 the monastery over to Constance. 
 
 Such are the thoughts and memories which accom- 
 pany us as we walk through this beautiful island. 
 The effect is strange ; the old church, consecrated in 
 806, still stands. We step through the carved porch 
 among the gray pillars ; we pass the tombs, the cov- 
 erings of which are adorned with crozier and mitre, 
 but the broken light which environs us is oppressively 
 gloomy. The place seems haunted by a spirit of 
 powerlessness, which, perhaps, proceeds from the im- 
 perial grave of Charles the Fat, great-grandson of 
 Charlemagne, who died here, unthroned and un- 
 honored. The sacristy, with its rattling iron bolts, 
 contains the treasures and relics of the abbey. Here 
 are to be found the Gospels on fine parchment, chal- 
 ices, costly vestments, and ivory carvings. Here is 
 also a huge emerald, which indeed, to our eyes, looks 
 no better than green glass. 
 
 We unconsciously draw a deep breath of relief 
 when we step out of these dim, gloomy rooms into 
 the open country, which well deserves the name of 
 the " Rich Pasture." Fruit-laden trees and sunny 
 vineyards surround us, and the three villages of Ober- 
 You I.— 5
 
 Q6 THE KHINE. 
 
 zell, Mittelzell and Unterzell peep out among the 
 meadows, adding much to the beauty of the scene 
 over which the summer breeze plays so pleasantly. 
 
 On the shore are seen the ruins of the old Scopula- 
 Burg, destroyed in 1384, where the monks entrenched 
 themselves in times of danger. All along the edge 
 of the lake little white-looking towns and villages rise 
 before us, Iznang and Horn, Steckhorn to the south 
 and St. Rudolf's Cell to the north. 
 
 But presently the neighborhood changes ; a pecu- 
 liar contest between land and water begins, and the 
 bottom of the lake presses up close to the shallow 
 surface. It is preparing an outlet for the Rhine, for 
 between the mainland and Reichenau it is so shallow 
 that in the height of summer it is almost possible to 
 walk across dryshod. 
 
 We are now in Switzerland ; the great castle which 
 we see yonder, where the Rhine flows from the Upper 
 to the Lower Lake, is called Gottlieben. The poet 
 has rightly imagined that those square towers, which 
 look so gray and sad, were built by Melancholy, and 
 that they have received only sad guests. The Bishop 
 of Constance retired here, in anger, before the hatred 
 of the Emperor Frederick IL ; here Jerome of Prague 
 was a captive ; here John Huss lay imprisoned before 
 he was led to the stake ; and here the profligate Pope 
 John was kept in custody when he was captured at a 
 wrestling-match, disguised as a messenger. 
 
 Even the last hand which attempted to revive and
 
 CONSTANCE. 67 
 
 adorn the old castle was Avithout a blessing ; it Avas 
 the hand of the third Buonaparte — Louis Napoleon — 
 who wished to restore the building in the Gothic 
 style. He was living, as is well known, near at hand, 
 in Arenenberg, which Queen Hortense inherited from 
 a patrician family, and had enriched with delightful 
 pleasure-grounds. 
 
 It was from this place that he Avent to Paris as 
 President of the Republic, and the Second of Decem- 
 ber soon followed. He exchanged the quiet, retired 
 country-seat for the Tuileries, and for nearly two de- 
 cades all Europe hung anxiously on his mysterious 
 words, during which Arenenberg lay desolate and 
 forgotten. 
 
 The place where all constraint is completely thrown 
 off, and where the great stream reigns once more 
 free and independent, is called Stein on the Rhine, 
 a little town Avhich claims a Merovingian origin. 
 Formerly it had Avails and trenches, and it had need 
 to be ever Avatchful of its freedom, for not only did 
 the stronghold of the Lords of Klingen tower aboA^e 
 it, but many a quarrelsome neighbor lay ready out- 
 side its ramparts. 
 
 Once, indeed, the burgomaster himself conspired 
 with the Lord of the Castle of Hohgau to giA^e the 
 town into his hands. A night attack Avas made, but 
 the citizens kept off the enemy Avith unexpected 
 vigor, and liaA'ing seized the traitor they tied him in 
 a sack and hurled him into the Rhine.
 
 68 THE RHINE. 
 
 Hohgaii, Avhich we have just named, may without 
 doubt be considered the most important tract in the 
 whole Lake Constance district. Its name, which sig- 
 nifies " hill district," appears as early as the time of 
 Charles Martel, and it well describes the nature of the 
 country, with its numerous rocks and boulder blocks, 
 which overrun plain and forest. What a gigantic and 
 mysterious power has hurled them up from the depths 
 of the earth or down from immeasurable heights ! 
 
 Formerly more than twenty castles stood in Hohgau, 
 and the oldest families of the Empire dwelt there. 
 The most beautiful picture of the past, in which 
 rugged power is strangely mixed with gentle senti- 
 ment, is framed within this lovely landscape. Ekke- 
 hart's turret chamber was here ! Hadwig, the learned 
 Duchess of Swabia, dwelt at Hohentwiel, which looks 
 over the open blue Lake of Constance. The beauti- 
 ful ruins stand out on the rock like a high watch- 
 tower stationed there to command river and lake. 
 Close behind, and steeper still, are the ruins of 
 Hohenkrahen. What memories this rock covers ! 
 It is a monument of the histoiy of the land and of 
 its people. 
 
 The little town of Singen lies nearly at the foot of 
 Hohentwiel, and the numerous Roman antiquities 
 which have been found there lead to the inference 
 that the legions of Tiberius had found out this beau- 
 tiful spot. A guide meets visitors at the farm which 
 lies on the ascent to the castle, and conducts them
 
 Ube ConcUmm Saal (^ovvn 1f?aU), Constance.
 
 CONSTANCE. 69 
 
 silently past the old lindens and the steep rock -wall, 
 the stones of which are here and there streaked with 
 red. 
 
 In about a quarter of an hour the real fortress is 
 reached, and we are surrounded by ruined bastions, 
 ditches and walls. Though everything is broken and 
 fallen, there is still an appearance of strength which 
 neither time nor foe has been able to destroy. This 
 castle has, indeed, been associated with suffering to 
 many ; for, among the purposes which it has been 
 made to serve in the course of ages, is one which is 
 terrible enough. It has been a prison, and within its 
 walls men, such as the noble Moser, have languished. 
 Many who had entered it with golden locks have left 
 it, if they have ever again passed its portal, wdtli hair 
 white as snow. 
 
 Hohentwiel became a part of Wurtemberg, to which 
 it belongs at the present time, in the middle of the 
 fifteenth century ; though it was then, as now, a de- 
 tached or outlying territory, surrounded on all sides 
 by Baden. The waves of the Thirty Years' War 
 beat against its walls, but the brave Wiederhold, into 
 whose hands the defence of the place w^as given, re- 
 mained firm, and yielded neither to the gold nor to 
 the sword of the enemy. He deserved the inscrip- 
 tion which was formerly carved over the shattered 
 door of the stronghold : 
 
 "Der Feind hat's fiinfmal zwar geschreckt, 
 Doch hat der Herr zum Schutz erweckt
 
 70 THE EHINE. 
 
 Den Wiederhold, der fiinfzehen Jahr' 
 
 Dasselb' beschiitzt in Feindts Gefalir."* 
 
 But there was not always a Wiederhold to com- 
 mand at Hohentwiel, and impregnable though the 
 fortress seemed its hour at last came. Its star sank 
 at the opening of this century, at a time when em- 
 pires and dynasties were engulfed. Who destroyed 
 it ? The same power which at that time carried de- 
 struction throughout Europe — namely, the army of 
 Buonaparte, which invaded Hohgau to the number of 
 twenty thousand men. The officers of the garrison 
 capitulated unanimously, with the exception of one 
 lieutenant ; but the conditions on which the surrender 
 was made were broken, and the demolition and blast- 
 ing of the stronghold was the result. This work 
 lasted for nearly a year ; mines were laid, not only 
 in the building but in the rock itself, and nothing 
 more than ruins were left of the proud home of the 
 beautiful Hadwig. Five hundred inhabitants of the 
 neighboring villages were compelled to assist in this 
 disgraceful work. 
 
 That is the last sad remembrance that surrounds 
 the "Rock," but it shall not be the impression with 
 which we take our leave of it. Ruthless hands might 
 raze the walls to the ground and destroy the master- 
 
 * "Five times the din of dreadful war 
 In vain did on those ramparts roar, 
 For Wiederhold, God's trusted knight, 
 Fifteen long years maintained the fight."
 
 CONSTANCE. 71 
 
 pieces Avhich adorned its stone halls ; but one picture 
 was imperishable ; it could as little be touched by the 
 hands of the destroyer as its beauty can be expressed 
 by rapturous description. 
 
 Let us look out into the golden distance and into 
 the blue depths, for the lovely picture lies before us 
 in the clear morning air. Here we see a mountain- 
 chain that reaches from Mont Blanc to the Ortler, a 
 country which can scarce contain the fulness of its 
 blessings ; and that pearl, the sparkling jewel which 
 meets our gaze in this open treasure-house of nature, 
 the blue shining lake over the long surface of which 
 our eye lingers. In primeval times, further back 
 than the existence or the thought of man, Hohgau 
 also was a part of the lake. Teeth an inch long are 
 occasionally dug out of the gravelly ground, and are 
 supposed to have belonged to huge fish, which moved 
 under the vast waters. In the lapse ot ages the water 
 slowly retired, wrestling with the earth inch by inch, 
 till it found its limits in the huge basin which to-day 
 lies smiling before us. 
 
 What a vast horizon, what w^armth of color, what 
 harmony of sounds, when the evening bells ring over 
 the waters ! The fiery ball of the setting sun sinks 
 lower and lower ; it glows over the water like the re- 
 flection of a great conflagration ; the gray cloud draws 
 its veil over the edge of the disc, gradually covering 
 it little by little. The gold changes into purple, the 
 purple becomes violet, and now the last faint ray dis-
 
 72 THE RHINE. 
 
 appears, and the evening breeze rustles among the 
 trees. How gratefully the great sail, which still floats 
 on the lake, will catch the breeze ; but soon the sail 
 too has vanished, and is lost to us in the thick cur- 
 tain of the twilight.
 
 SCHAFFHAUSEN. 73 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SCHAFFHAUSEN. 
 
 The Rhine has left Lake Constance, and has 
 emerged once more on its course. It has still the 
 vivid, impetuous character of youth, but may be said 
 to resemble a youth earnestly striving towards a 
 great future. Such is the character of its course 
 from Stein to Basle. 
 
 Only once, not far from its outlet, there comes a 
 critical moment, an outbreak of its old passion. This 
 occurs at the Rhinefall at Schaffhausen, where a 
 gigantic bank of rock, over three hundred feet wide, 
 stretches itself right across the stream ; it is nearly 
 eighty-five feet high, and was formerly still higher, 
 as may be seen from the columns which rise out of 
 the whirlpool. 
 
 Nature has throAvn up this fortification to obstruct 
 the path of the lordly stream, and here must the 
 Rhine descend. It is a leap for life, but with a shout 
 of joy it extricates itself from the seething depths 
 into which it falls, and the liberated waters flow on 
 again gleefully through forest and mead. 
 
 The Rhinefall is seen to the greatest advantage on 
 approaching it from Neuhausen, for then the picture 
 of the splendid cataract confronts us set in a frame-
 
 74 THE EHINE. 
 
 work of green woods. On the right bank, the 
 Schweitzerhof stands like a palace, with its showy 
 fagade ; the fashionable world crowds the wide ter- 
 races, and the high windows glitter in the sun. There 
 is a short way to the shore by a steep flight of steps, 
 but the more convenient approach to it is by a grav- 
 elled path which winds through the park. The op- 
 posite bank is steep ; the rocks rise full of crevices 
 moistened with spray, and overgrown with green 
 bushes which cling to every cranny. 
 
 On the hill the Castle of LaufFen stands, with its 
 indented gables and battlements, reminding us, with 
 its straggling out-buildings, of an old fortress. It has 
 recently been converted into an inn. The magnifi- 
 cent spectacle of the waterfall presents itself before 
 us in sublime beauty ; mountains of foam are heaved 
 and tossed and torn until they are shattered into 
 myriad drops of spray. 
 
 It is, indeed, a battle ; and the last of those rocky 
 columns, which are the remains of a stony phalanx, 
 stand in the vortex, like heroes Avho have survived 
 the battle unshaken. Day and night, summer and 
 winter, for years and for centuries, tlie unruly tide 
 has stormed against them ; the foundation is already 
 undermined, and many of their companions have sunk 
 into the foaming depths. 
 
 Through how many more generations will those 
 which remain continue as they are now ? But though 
 it is a battle, and a gigantic one, it is quite devoid of
 
 SCHAFFHAUSEN. " 75 
 
 any element of gloom ; it presents no picture of de- 
 struction, but one of victory. The sparkling stream 
 casts itself down with such a shout of joy that it can 
 be heard for some leagues on a clear night ; and in 
 the morning the sun streams through the silver spray 
 till it is reflected in all the colors of the rainbow. 
 
 If we visit the place at the height of the fashion- 
 able season we see entirely different pictures — we 
 find visitors from every part of the globe, and in their 
 midst we realize the aphorism that it is but a step 
 from the sublime to the ridiculous. 
 
 A Frenchman complains that the beauty of the 
 cataract has considerably decreased since 1870, and 
 that he misses that " parfum de I'electricite," which 
 Delrieu remarks in his Rhine book. He speaks in a 
 loud voice, " pour dominer le bruit du cataracte ;" he 
 talks enough for two, and so it is no wonder if his 
 neighbor, the pale Anglo-Saxon, is inexorably silent. 
 '• Le touriste est une creature machinale," says the 
 Frenchman, again quoting his Delrieu, " il a besoin 
 d'un dada." He was right, and nowhere does this 
 cockneyism of travel work more painfully than when 
 we stand before a truly noble object of nature. 
 
 We would involuntarily see enthusiasm or rapture 
 reflected in the face of every person with whom we 
 share the delight of such a sight. Instead of this, 
 how often do we find a melancholy want of apprecia- 
 tion, and we feel alone in the midst of a chattering 
 crowd — one complains that the Rhinefall is too daz-
 
 76 THE EHINE. 
 
 zling, another that it is too noisy, a third unconcern- 
 edly reads up the chapter in his guide-book and ticks 
 off the name as if to erase a burdensome debt. He 
 has " done " the RhinefaU. 
 
 The Rhinefall and Schaffhausen are generally de- 
 scribed as one geographical object, but this is not at 
 all the case, for they lie nearly a league apart. When 
 we have sufficiently admired the Fall M^e turn our 
 gaze back to the tidy antique little town, whose 
 gabled roofs and arched doorways promise hospitable 
 entertainment. 
 
 Schaffhausen itself is but small, and lies straggling 
 along the bank of the Rhine, but the style of the 
 buildings, as well as the whole character of the town, 
 show the substantial independence of the citizens to 
 have reached a high stage of development. 
 
 The old citadel of Munoth frowns down from the 
 heights with its impenetrable walls, and the towers 
 of the cathedral, erected 1052-1101, have become 
 gray with age. Its bells, as is well known, bear the 
 inscription which Schiller prefixed to his incompar- 
 able poem : " Vivos voco, mortuos plango, falgara 
 frangoP The manufactures of Schaffhausen enjoy 
 a considerable reputation, and its trade is doubly 
 profitable on account of the great water-power it 
 possesses, and from the stoppage of all vessels caused 
 by the Rhinefall. In this way the venerable town 
 has added the modern power of wealth to that which 
 it possessed in bygone ages, as the "Key of Swabia,"
 
 SCHAFFHAUSEN. 77 
 
 and the same public spirit Avhich formerly animated 
 it still survives. The noblest institutions which the 
 town possesses for public use have proceeded from 
 the liberality of individual citizens, and fresh instances 
 of such liberality are constantly being given. 
 
 Legend tells us that in the earliest times only a few 
 boatmen's huts stood on the spot where SchafFhausen 
 now is, and the name itself may easily be traced back 
 to such an origin ; as early as the twelfth century, 
 however, the unpretending place received the priv- 
 ileges and honors of a town. Many a siege also was 
 sustained by the fortiiications with which the citizens 
 surrounded their home ; nor were the inhabitants, in- 
 deed, exempt from other visitations of various kinds. 
 
 In one year more than four thousand Avere carried 
 off by the plague. Fire and water vied Avith each 
 other to devastate the beautiful town, and the war 
 which brought all the arms of Europe together in 
 Switzerland, at the opening of this century, at length 
 robbed the town of one of its most remarkable orna- 
 ments. This was the old bridge over the Rhine, 
 which is here more than three hundred feet wide. 
 It stretched from one bank to the other without a 
 single support, for the one pier which stood in the 
 middle of the stream belonged to an earlier structure, 
 and in no way assisted in carrying this bridge. The 
 celebrated wit, Madame Roland, expressed the great- 
 est admiration for this remarkable viaduct in her let- 
 ters from Switzerland | but the men who set fire to
 
 78 THE EHINE. 
 
 the bridge and burnt it to the ground, in the spring 
 of 1799, were the compatriots of Madame Roland. 
 
 Leaving Schaffhausen, in a short time we enter 
 the district of the so-called " Forest Towns," which 
 for centuries belonged to the house of Hapsburg. 
 The first of them is called Waldshut, a name having 
 precisely the same signification as that of Custodia 
 Silvce, which it bore a thousand years ago. In those 
 days what is now a town consisted only of a solitary 
 forest-house standing in the pine-covered wilderness. 
 
 Near this place the Aar runs into the Rhine. It 
 is a wild mountain-stream Avhich descends nearly 
 seven thousand feet from the Grimsel, and in its 
 rapid course collects all the watery treasures of the 
 Bernese highlands in order to offer them in homage 
 to the Rhine. 
 
 The landscape through which we now pass corre- 
 sponds to the name which the four towns bear. It is 
 covered with forest, high beeches stand on either 
 side, and the lovely stream glides almost hidden 
 under the branches. The waters are as blue as the 
 sky above, and so clear that the sun pierces to the 
 gravel on the bed beneath. Only a smoking kiln or 
 a floating raft reminds us of the hand of man. Grad- 
 ually the banks widen, the beech wood becomes less 
 dense, green fields border the strand, and in the dis- 
 tance there stand the reapers, merrily bringing in the 
 harvest. 
 
 Yonder is Lauffenburg. The change in the land-
 
 SCHAFFHAUSEN. 79 
 
 scape is startling, a sharp turn of the stream, Avhich 
 brings out the full force of the current, lies suddenly 
 before our eyes — the broken rocks draw together, 
 narrow and rugged, and between them the river 
 wearily beats out its way. The water eddies and 
 splashes round the deeply-embedded boulders, the 
 white foam crests the points, and many of them are 
 already so washed away that it seems as though every 
 hour they must crash together. 
 
 This is a last relic of the river's stormy youth, it 
 is a weak echo of that great feat which the Rhine 
 performed at Schaffhausen ; and we recognize it in 
 its present name, for these rapids are called " the 
 Lauffen." At one time, if it was required for ships 
 to go farther, they were let down by ropes ; but it is 
 rarely that any one attempts this perilous journey 
 now. It was attempted, however, by young Lord 
 Montague, who was drowned in the river on the same 
 day that his ancestral home in England was destroyed 
 by fire. 
 
 Even apart from this melancholy fact, which still 
 remains indelibly fixed in the minds of the inhabit- 
 ants, Lauffenburg has a dull, almost gloomy, charac- 
 ter. The weather-beaten houses which stand high up 
 on the narrow bank look as though they had grown 
 up out of the splintered rocks. The front is turned 
 away from the stream, and the gray wall at the back 
 is enlivened with but few windows. 
 
 The town stands somewhat pecidiarly. Below it
 
 80 THE RHINE. 
 
 is the roaring whirlpool^ the gray houses are perched 
 on the rocks, and above them stretches a dark-green 
 wooded hill, on the summit of which stands the walls 
 of a castle. This castle has long been ruined and 
 tenantless, only the old tower still stands in its ancient 
 majesty ; no banner waves from its walls, but a fir- 
 tree which planted itself hundreds of years ago among 
 the battlements now stands like a symbol of the glory 
 which has past. 
 
 A narrow bridge, half composed of wood, joins the 
 towns of Great and Little LaufFenburg, and unites 
 Switzerland to the German Empire. Down on the 
 smooth-washed shingle below all kinds of fishing- 
 tackle are spread out, together with fine nets stretched 
 on pegs ; for this is one of the most important places 
 for salmon. In one part, where the water is shallow 
 and sunny, the number of young fish is sometimes so 
 great as to darken the surface. The fishery is the 
 most important trade in the whole of this district, 
 though, near at hand, we hear the iron hammer of 
 the quarry ring out from the woods, and the piled-up 
 logrs on the bank show that the timber-trade also 
 flourishes. 
 
 Soon we reach the last two of the four " forest 
 towns," Sackingen and Rheinfelden. The former, 
 which is considered to be the oldest town of the 
 neighborhood, had a religious origin, having been 
 founded by one of the missionaries who came over 
 from Ireland at the beginning of the sixth century.
 
 Z\)c iRbinetall at Scbaftbausen.
 
 SCHAFFHAUSEN. 81 
 
 " JusquTi ce temps, Satan avait exclusivement regne 
 sur le grand-duche de Bade," says one of the French 
 chroniclers Avhom we have ah'eady quoted ; the holy 
 Fridolm, m order to put an end to the heathen cus- 
 toms and disarm the arts of the devil, erected a mon- 
 astery to oppose the great enemy. 
 
 This monastery, Avhich was also a citadel, soon 
 gained worldly power as well as spiritual dominion, 
 and is said by many writers to be the oldest monas- 
 tery standing on German ground. The princely 
 splendor which it once possessed has long since passed 
 away, for Fridolin has lain for more than a thousand 
 years enshrined among his own relics, and probably 
 but few of the inhabitants of the empire would have 
 known anything of Sackingen had not the celebrated 
 " Trumpeter " spread its fame throughout the world. 
 The impression that the present toAvn makes on us is 
 that it much resembles the little municipal towns of 
 Baden. 
 
 Rheinfelden, the last of the four forest towns, lies 
 on Swiss territory. It has old weather-worn w^alls, 
 gates, and towers, and was formerly one of the out- 
 posts of the Holy Roman Empire. In the stream is 
 that whirling eddy called '' HoUenhacken," and near 
 by are the famous salt works on the Rhine. 
 
 For those who have time to remain, there are sev- 
 eral things to be learned even in Rheinfelden. A 
 dreaded stronghold once stood on the rocks which lie 
 in the middle of the stream. The name of the castle 
 Vol. I— 6
 
 82 THE KHINE. 
 
 was Stein, and many a wild conflict raged around its 
 walls before they were finally destroyed, and many 
 an anxious conference has been held by the citizens 
 in the old town hall, when the Imperialists, Swedes, 
 Swiss, or the hordes of Louis XIV., demanded ad- 
 mission through its gates.
 
 BASLE. 83 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BASLE. 
 
 But we must press on to Basle, the place which 
 for many miles around is the centre for all traffic. 
 Thither the river hastens, and thither all our present 
 interests centre, for it is the first really important 
 town on the Rhine. 
 
 We soon land beneath its walls ; in the distance we 
 see shining the dark tips of the Black Forest range, 
 as well as those of the Jura and the Vosges, and in 
 the broad valley which they enclose lies the level 
 land rich Avith golden grain and green vineyards. It 
 is here that the Rhine takes its last decided turn to 
 the north, towards Germany, to Avhich henceforth all 
 its splendor and all its renown belong. 
 
 The very first effect of Basle, as it lies on both 
 sides of the river, is striking and varied. Nature 
 and history, and not simply accident and population, 
 have formed it into a town. It could not help be- 
 coming what it has. There is every development of 
 natural power, and the charm of this impression is 
 increased by the antique historical character on which 
 its present condition is based. The prosperity of 
 Basle has been handed down for centuries. Of late
 
 84 THE RHINE. 
 
 handsome villas have been built in the suburbs ; but 
 the older parts of the town remain as they have been 
 for hundreds of years, and the old-fashioned burgher 
 character runs through the nature of the people, and 
 holds them fast to their liberties. Fischart has de- 
 servedly sung aloud the praises of the " charming 
 town " of the Rhine. 
 
 The Rhine was the great storehouse from which 
 the town drew its wealth, and became what it was. 
 It was the Rhine which carried thousands of foreign 
 guests and foreign treasures to Basle. A regular 
 water traffic was established between Basle and Stras- 
 burg as early as the sixteenth century, when long 
 caravans of merchants were still wearily dragging 
 along the high-road. The paving of the streets be- 
 gan in 1417, and the wells were so numerous that 
 ^neas Sylvius observed that whoever would count 
 them must count the houses as well. The old Rhine 
 town was always proud of its name, and the bold 
 struggles it made would vie with those of many a 
 city in which princes raised their thrones. 
 
 The Rhine is here spanned by three bridges. The 
 wooden bridge, Alte Briicke, partly supported by 
 stone piei'S, was originally built in 1225. In its 
 centre rises a chapel of the sixteenth century, also a 
 column, containing a barometer and a weathercock. 
 Above this wooden bridge the river is crossed by a 
 modern iron structure ; at each entrance of this bridge 
 stand two basilisks — the well-known standards of the
 
 . BASLE. 85 
 
 town ; they are as much feared and honored as many 
 a prmcely lion, or imperial eagle. The third bridge, 
 also modern, crosses the river still further down. 
 
 The Romans recognized the strategical value of 
 Basle for the rulers of the Upper Rhine, when they 
 settled their colony at Augst (Augusta Rauracorum), 
 the parent of the present town. It was from here 
 that the Emperors Constantino and Julian endeav- 
 ored to keep down the rising power of the Alemanni, 
 when it became but too apparent that the nations of 
 Europe were slowly gathering into a flood wherewith 
 to overwhelm the Roman countries, and to SAveep the 
 worn-out races of antiquity from the earth. 
 
 Every opposition to such a force was pow^erless, 
 and Basilea fell like other towns into that vast inher- 
 itance which the barbarians wrested from the hands 
 of the dying Romans. Golden-haired Alemanni ruled 
 here and far around in Alsace until the Franks came, 
 and the struggle for power began afresh. Burgundy 
 and Germany, bishop and burgesses (among whom 
 various families had distinguished themselves even in 
 Barbarossa's time) constantly contended for the mas- 
 tery ; and Avhenever the storm swept over Europe, 
 the great town at the bend of the Rhine bore its 
 part in it. 
 
 The zealous monk, Bernhard, of Clairvaux, preached 
 the Crusade in the cathedral at Basle. Alexander III. 
 hurled a thunderbolt of excommunication into the town 
 because it remained true to the Emperor j but the
 
 86 THE EHINE. 
 
 citizens of Basle seized the Papal legate who pro- 
 claimed the interdict, and threw him into the Rhine. 
 Civil and party contentions of all kinds have, at 
 various times, inflamed the citizens ; but their char- 
 acter for energy always led them triumphantly out of 
 their dangers and difficulties, and the town, which 
 now has a population of 90,000, remains in its flour- 
 ishing condition at the present day. In 1356 a fear- 
 ful earthquake occurred, and in 1348 a still more 
 fearful plague raged among the people. 
 
 It is vmfortunate that we cannot here enter into a 
 more detailed history of Basle, for in its firm inde- 
 pendent exclusiveness, in the Avealth of its intellect- 
 ual and political tendencies, it presents one of the 
 most attractive subjects of study. 
 
 Varnhagen von Ense, who has treated one of the 
 historical episodes of Basle in the form of a novel, 
 well draws out the peculiarities of the inhabitants in 
 powerful language. In the background of the pict- 
 ure the mighty forms of imperialism are always 
 standing out in strong relief. In the distant past we 
 find Saxon and Frankish Emperors ; later on, those 
 of the Hohenstaufen line ; and, in stiU more recent 
 times, the Counts of Hapsburg are presented to us. 
 Some are girt with the SAVord of war, whilst others 
 are conspicuous only in the bright garments of fes- 
 tivity. 
 
 Here, as in many of the imperial cities, the bish- 
 opric originaUy formed the nucleus from which the
 
 BASLE. 87 
 
 town spread, and the free men who settled here from 
 other places put themselves under the protection of 
 the Church. The ecclesiastical possessions constantly 
 increased, and so it may well be inferred tliat in the 
 infancy of the town the bishops were its popular 
 rulers. 
 
 Their power was increased by the fact that they 
 were often members of noble families, and generally 
 stood by the Emperor. Haito was the devoted friend 
 and confidant of Charlemagne ; Adalbero was the 
 same to Henry 11. ; Burchard von Hasenburg stood, 
 with unswerving fidelity and all the power of that 
 warlike time, by Henry IV., who went to Canossa to 
 do penance to the Pope. Bishop Ortlicb rode to the 
 Holy Land with Conrad III., and Bishop Henry 
 fought beside Rudolph of Hapsburg, at Ganserfeld, 
 against the powerful Ottokar. Rudolph was for a 
 long time the bitter enemy of tlie town, and had 
 striven to force its gates with fire and sword ; but his 
 election to the monarchy, which put an end to the 
 fearful '^ rulerless period," at once brought peace to 
 Basle. The feelings of all parties changed ; the gates 
 of the city, which had been resolutely closed to the 
 count, opened voluntarily to the king, and the two 
 contending parties in the town came to an arrange- 
 ment — Rudolph atoning for past injuries by lavishly 
 bestowing a double amount of favor on the citizens. 
 
 The burgesses did not extricate themselves from 
 the toils of this spiritual supremacy without a hard
 
 88 THE EHINE. 
 
 struggle, and then only by the exercise of all their 
 strength. At length, however, their hour of victory 
 came. If it might be said, during the first epoch, 
 that Basle belonged to the bishop, it might truly be 
 said, in the second, that Basle belonged to the citi- 
 zens. The city had to preserve and adapt this inde- 
 pendence through serious trials of all kinds both at 
 home and in the field ; but its historical importance 
 increased in proportion to those trials. 
 
 Its banner waved at the battle of St. Jacob, which 
 has been called the Swiss Thermopylae, and the Coun- 
 cil which sat within its walls in 1431-1448, during 
 which time Pope Felix V. returned from the Con- 
 clave, drew the eyes of Europe to Basle. That was 
 the time Avhen it was a Free City, and it was unde- 
 niably the period of its greatest prosperity. All its 
 powers, moral and physical, were in the highest state 
 of development, and were brought out by the diffi- 
 culties it had to encounter. 
 
 Out of the broad framework of political relations 
 which Basle possessed as a Free City of the Great 
 Empire, there arose gradually a closer and firmer 
 combination by its becoming related to and influ- 
 enced by its proximity to the Swiss Confedera- 
 tion. The formal and solemn completion of this 
 step of confederation followed later, in the July of 
 1501 ; but, although the boys in the streets sang 
 ^^ Hie Schweit^erhodcn,^^ the city itself remained true 
 to its German forms, and the feeling of the intellect-
 
 BASLE. , 89 
 
 ual commonalty found a neAV lever in the growth of 
 learning. 
 
 Thus the Swiss town rose out of the Free Town, 
 which in its turn had taken the place of the bishop's 
 town, and Basle entered upon a third and a new 
 epoch in that form which brings us down to modern 
 times. It is from this view, in spite of all the glory 
 of its wars and history, that the present importance 
 of the town is based. 
 
 The first road which we take through Basle leads 
 straight up to the Cathedral, which lies high up on 
 one of the two hills where the earliest settlement was 
 established. It is built of red sandstone, and, with 
 its two slender towers, is a conspicuous feature. 
 Nothing remains of the original building ; of the sec- 
 ond (which is often attributed to St. Henry, wdiile at 
 other times it is said to belong to the twelfth century) 
 there is still to be seen the choir and the centre of the 
 nave ; all the rest was destroyed by that terrible 
 earthquake that ruined castles and churches for miles 
 round. But the Minster was soon opened again for 
 worship, by the active influence of Bishop Senno of 
 Miinsingen, though the building was not completed 
 until the sixteenth century, when it exhibited that 
 ingenious combination of various styles which as- 
 suredly has a charm of its own. 
 
 The Cathedral thus restored became an edifice 
 which, even in its present form, has a great effect on 
 every unprejudiced observer. The sculptures on the
 
 90 THE EHINE. 
 
 fa9aile represent the Virgin and Child. Near the 
 principal doorway are the figures of St. George and 
 St. Martin on prancing horses, and next them the 
 Emperor Henry, with a model of the Church, and 
 the Empress Kunigunde. On the northern side is 
 the St. Gallus porch, which is rich in symbolical 
 figures. It was built in the thirteenth century, and 
 is adorned with statues of the Evangelists and John 
 the Baptist. A relief of the Wise and Foolish Vir- 
 gins is over the door. In six niches on the sides are 
 the Works of Charity ; and at the top sits Christ on 
 the Judgment seat, at the Last Day, surrounded by 
 the angels. 
 
 The eff'ect of the interior is more striking than is 
 suggested by the outside. The building is light and 
 lofty, and the eye travels unobstructedly down the 
 long space Avhich is terminated by a magnificent 
 rood-loft, built in 1381, which supports a fine organ. 
 That and the chancel, which rises gracefully, are the 
 remarkable points of the Cathedral. The side-aisles 
 are rich in monuments of various periods, many of 
 them being memorials of entire epochs. 
 
 A revieAV of the whole pomp of the Imperial power 
 in Germany, and of the prosperity of the Free Town, 
 passes before our eyes as we gaze upon the tomb 
 where Rudolph of Hapsburg laid his wife to rest. 
 And who does not think of the brilliant rise of learn- 
 ing when he reads upon the stone : " Erasmus of 
 Rotterdam !" In his time Basle reached its hijirhest
 
 JSaslc, Swit3erlanC>.
 
 BASLE. 91 
 
 intellectUcal point. All branches of learning found 
 disting'ui.slied representatives in the young colleges 
 of the town, and near at hand the art of printing had 
 its birth — an art by -which in a few generations the 
 world Avas to be almost transformed. No feeline: of 
 jealousy checked the common efforts ; in those days 
 of intellectual power ^' you might have supposed," 
 wrote Erasmus to his friend, " that all possessed but 
 one heart and one soul." 
 
 Hans Holbein, who lived in Basle from 1515 to 
 1526, did for Art what Erasmus did for Learning. 
 A great number of his finest pictures are collected in 
 the Museum of the town, which, next to the Cathe- 
 dral, is indeed its most important treasure. It was 
 established only as f^ir back as 1849, on the site of 
 the former Monastery of St. Augustine, for the pur- 
 pose of collecting everything serviceable to the study 
 of the Arts and Sciences. 
 
 We should go far beyond the limits of our space 
 were we to attempt the enumeration of the treasures 
 which are collected here, or the description of their 
 artistic and historical value ; this work has been 
 already done by abler hands. We will content our- 
 selves with saying, that every one Avho Avishes to 
 study Hans Holbein cannot omit Basle. 
 
 Holbein was born at Augsburg in 1494 ; but when 
 he was quite a boy he followed his father, Avho was a 
 painter of some note, to Basle. There he contracted 
 an intimacy with Erasmus, whose portrait he painted;
 
 92 THE RHINE. 
 
 and it was Erasmus who was responsible for his leav- 
 ing the fatherland and going to England, for Erasmus 
 gave him a letter to Sir Thomas More, who intro- 
 duced him at Court. 
 
 Henry VIII., recognizing the genius of the obscure 
 German artist, made him Court painter, and gave 
 him a liberal pension. But Holbein did not forget 
 Basle, for in painting his famous picture of the Vir- 
 gin as the Queen of Heaven, now in the Dresden 
 Gallery, he made Jacob Meyer, of Basle, with his 
 family, appear prominently in the picture. 
 
 In the Library at Basle is a fine series of pan- 
 els by Holbein, called the " Passion of Christ." 
 Hans Holbein died in London during the plague, in 
 1553. 
 
 Traces of the great master are to be found not 
 only within the walls of the Museum, but also in the 
 open streets. The Well with the Peasant's Dance, 
 designed by Holbein, still flows merrily; and, although 
 the colors may be effaced by wind and weather, the 
 houses are still pointed out which have been adorned 
 with frescoes from Hans Holbein's pencil. Had he 
 not gone to England, in 1526, Basle might perhaps 
 have maintained a school of painting of European 
 reputation. 
 
 Some fragments of his celebrated fresco painting, 
 " The Dance of Death," ai-e still to be seen. These 
 peculiar figures inspired Goethe to write the follow- 
 ing poem .
 
 BASLE. 93 
 
 " The warder looks down at the mid hour of night 
 On the tombs that? lie scattered below ; 
 The moon fills the place with her silvery light, 
 And the church-yard like day seems to glow. 
 When see ! first one grave, then another opes wide. 
 And women and men stepping forth are descried, 
 In cerements snow-white and trailing. 
 
 " In haste for the sport soon their ankles they twitch, 
 And whirl round in dances so gay ; 
 The young and the old, and the poor, and the rich, 
 
 But the cerements stand in their way ; 
 And as modesty cannot avail them aught here 
 They shake themselves all, and the shrouds soon appear, 
 Scattered over the tombs in confusion. 
 
 "Now waggles the leg and wiggles the thigh, 
 As the troops with strange gestures advance. 
 And a rattle and clatter anon rises high. 
 
 As of one beating time to the dance. 
 The sight of the warder seems monstrously queer. 
 When the villainous tempter speaks thus in his ear : 
 ' Seize one of the shrouds that lie yonder !' 
 
 "Quick as thought it was done ! and for safety he fled 
 Behind the church door with all speed ; 
 The moon still contiimes her dear light to shed 
 
 On the dance that they fearfully lead. 
 But the dancers at length disappear one by one. 
 And their shrouds, ere they vanish, they carefully don, 
 And under the turf all is quiet. 
 
 " But one of them stumbles and shuffles there still, 
 And gropes at the graves in despair, 
 Yet 'tis by no comrade he's treated so ill ; — 
 
 The shroud he soon scents in the air. 
 So he rattles the door— for the warder 'tis well 
 That 'tis blessed, and so able the foe to repel, 
 All covered with crosses in metal.
 
 94 THE RHINE. 
 
 "The shroud he must have, and no rest will allow, 
 There remains for reflection no time ; 
 On the ornaments Gothic the wight seizes now. 
 
 And from point on to point hastes to climb. 
 Alas for the warder ! his doom is decreed. 
 Like a long-legged spider, with ne'er changing speed, 
 Advances the dreaded pursuer. 
 
 " The warder he quakes, and the warder turns pale, 
 The shroud to restore fain had sought ; 
 When the end — now can nothing to save him avail ? — 
 
 In a tomb formed of iron is caught. 
 "With vanishing lustre the moon's race is run 
 When the bell thunders loudly a powerful one, 
 And the skeleton falls, crushed to atoms." 
 
 At the end of the sixteenth century a man was 
 born in Basle who, in another department of Art, 
 may be said to have gained European renown. We 
 refer to Matthew Merian, the iUustrator, engraver, 
 and pubHsher, Avho, in a set of works Avhich are still 
 much valued, set before the cultivated readers of his 
 time a description of countries and towns, much in 
 the same way that we are endeavoring to do in these 
 pages. Many other names might be given of men 
 who have distinguished themselves, but we should 
 need volumes instead of pages to describe them. 
 
 Among the specimens of architecture of past ages, 
 the Town HaU, erected 1508-1521, deserves to be 
 mentioned, with its statue of Munatius Plancus. The 
 various city gates also should be examined. These 
 old gates are often met with, and some of them are 
 very line. The reason of this may easily be seen,
 
 BASLE. 95 
 
 for in the idea of a city gate there is something more 
 than that of a spacious barrier — it involves the prin- 
 ciple of a dividing-point between the burgess who 
 rules and the peasant who serves. The whole feeling 
 of the political power of the town is embodied, as it 
 were, visibly in its gates, and this feeling has re- 
 flected itself on the artistic power ; the architect 
 would naturally, therefore, feel that such a Avork had 
 a deep ideal meaning, as well as a practical one, and 
 would enrich the rough stone with many fanciful 
 adornments over and above what was requisite for 
 the material end for which the gate was to serve. 
 
 The Spahlenthor, erected in 1400, is, without 
 doubt, the most beautiful of the gates of Basle. A 
 pointed top with colored bricks covers the middle 
 tower, which is adorned with three figures of saints, 
 objects which were for a long time venerated in all 
 Sundgau. The two side towers are round, and firmly 
 enclose the indented gateway which affords the only 
 exit. The traffic is naturally the greatest in that 
 quarter of the town lying near the Rhine, and it be- 
 comes more busy as we approach the long bridge 
 which unites the two parts of the town. Great and 
 Little Basle. 
 
 Thus we have sought to give a sketch of Basle in 
 a few lines, but the changes which the town has ex- 
 perienced within the last few years are truly aston- 
 ishing. Its whole aspect has been varied ; every- 
 where we see the effort to give unbounded dominion
 
 96 THE EHINE. 
 
 to the ideas of the present day, and on every side we 
 feel that Basle also has entered into the great compe- 
 tition of the period. 
 
 It resisted modern innovations as long as possible, 
 and even the most obvious improvements were adopted 
 very slowly. While Hanover was lighted with gas 
 as early as 1829, not a single lamp appeared here. 
 Forty years ago it seemed an impossibility that Basle 
 should ever possess a so-called " Quay," like other 
 towns situated on rivers. Now, however, each year 
 millions are spent in public works. 
 
 Art galleries, music halls and theatres have been 
 built, as well as two palatial schools, each of which 
 cost half a million of francs. The change as regards 
 the question of education is most important, for in it 
 lies the great problem of the present and the key to 
 the future. With astonishment we relate that there 
 are teachers in Basle who are millionaires. " You 
 mean, of course, individual professors, who work in 
 your colleges," we said to the learned friend who gave 
 us this information. " Not at all ; I mean ordinary 
 teachers ; for it is not everyone who can be a profes- 
 sor ! The position itself, whatever school he may 
 belong to, is so distinguished with us that no one 
 thinks himself too rich or too noble for it." Under 
 these circumstances, the old opposition which existed 
 between intellectual and material possessions has been 
 beneficially reduced — the understanding which exists 
 between the rich merchants, the patricians and the
 
 BASLE. 97 
 
 scholars is so cordial and unconstrained that we can 
 only wish it existed elsewhere. 
 
 Thus the character of the citizens has on all sides 
 changed for the better. It is true that wealth is still 
 an important and ruling element in Basle, but the 
 consciousness of its possession has long been asso- 
 ciated with the knowledge that true worth must be 
 weighed, not counted. Many of the leading young 
 merchants go through a thorough academic course, 
 and more pride is felt in performing public benefits 
 than in indulging in personal ostentation. 
 
 The domestic life of these people is generally dis- 
 tinguished by a rigorous simplicity — and it is only on 
 the occasion of a public festival or some other impor- 
 tant event that any brilliant parade is exhibited. It 
 happened that during the time we spent in the hos- 
 pitable Rhenish town a great race took place on the 
 shooting-ground, and all classes, from the beggar to 
 the millionaire, streamed out of the town to the race- 
 course. It was the right time to see the people in a 
 body, and to study their manners and customs. 
 
 It was on a Sunday afternoon, and the sky was 
 cloudless. As early as one o'clock the motley bustle 
 began ; carriage after carriage flew along the road 
 which leads through the Spahlenthor into the broad 
 meadows where the soldiers formerly were drilled ; 
 the harness of the horses was adorned with colored 
 ribbons which waved in the wind ; then came a 
 wagon drawn by four great horses decorated with 
 Vol. I.— 7.
 
 98 THE EHINE. 
 
 fir-branches and filled with soldiers in dark uniforms 
 — a dozen comrades who had joined together to enjoy 
 themselves. At last came the music playing merrily. 
 All the footpaths were covered with cheerful pedes- 
 trians in light clothing, for the air Avas of summer 
 warmth, and the pretty women smiled as gaily as 
 though it were their own special gala day. 
 
 We drove noiselessly over the smooth turf on to 
 the course, followed by itinerant vendors of pro- 
 grammes. Next to the steeplechase, which was bril- 
 Hantly carried out, the greatest interest was shown in 
 a military race in which the cavalry appeared mounted 
 on their chargers. They were mostly the sons of old 
 burgher families, who flew past on their fine horses — 
 though in coarse uniform, for only the soldiers and 
 subalterns were admitted. Nearly every competitor 
 was, naturally, known to all Basle, and each one was 
 at this critical moment looked upon as the son of the 
 whole town. The shout of delight with which the 
 townspeople greeted the smallest advantage which 
 anyone of their own men gained over a native of 
 Zurich or Schaffhausen, and the popularity of the 
 competitors, infected even strangers with a feeling of 
 sympathy — it was that local patriotism which may be 
 recognized still in the free cities — a burgher pride 
 giving itself unrestrained expression. Still more in- 
 teresting, however, than the entertainment itself were 
 the observers, the elite of whom were in the inner 
 circle of the race-course. Here the most beautiful
 
 XTbe Spablentbor, Basle.
 
 BASLE. 99 
 
 equipages were stationed carriage after carriage ; the 
 old gentleman with the white beard and delicate pro- 
 file talks earnestly with his business friend, Avhile his 
 beautiful daughters stand on the dark-blue cushions 
 and look eagerly at the course through their opera- 
 glasses. Oh, how they laugh and smile when a hand- 
 some rider flies past ! 
 
 At length the last bugle has sounded from the 
 judges' stand, and preparations are made for the re- 
 turn home, which forms no unimportant feature in the 
 amusement of the day. The whole way back is 
 thronged with a lively crowd, and every variety of 
 visitor is to be met with. First of all comes at a 
 dignified pace, and with powdered footmen, the gala 
 carriage of a rich Spaniard who lives in Basle — which 
 even reckoned a Swedish king among its citizens. 
 This is foUoAved by a dashing four-in-hand with dapple- 
 gray horses — then comes the successful gentleman 
 rider, in his jockey costume, driving an elegant phaeton, 
 and he is followed by a steady old gentleman in more 
 sober apparel. The whole form as lively a cavalcade 
 as one would wish to see, as one after another comes 
 up at a brisk trot, and dashes past with some hasty 
 greeting. 
 
 At about six o'clock in the evening the great table 
 at the Three Kings is laid for dinner. This hotel is 
 named in remembrance of the time Avhen the Empe- 
 ror Conrad II. and his son Henry met Rudolph of 
 Burgundy. The three princes possibly took up their
 
 100 THE EHINE. 
 
 abode at this place, though it must have undergone 
 great changes since that time. Now, by the light of 
 numerous wax candles, visitors from all the countries 
 of Europe assemble in the stately dining-room. All 
 sorts of curiosities and antiquities adorn the walls, 
 and a lofty drawing-room, hung with damask curtains 
 and mirrors, receives the guests when dinner is over. 
 Outside there is a broad terrace, where groups of 
 friends assemble under the starlit sky and talk of the 
 old days of the town, while the flowing river at their 
 feet catches their words and bears them away on its 
 ripples.
 
 BREISGAU. 101 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BREISGAU . 
 
 After passing Basle, the Ehine goes silently and 
 majestically for some distance northwards without 
 presenting any object Avhich specially attracts our at- 
 tention. The fortress of Hilningen, that bold sally- 
 port which Vauban built for his king, has long been 
 razed to the ground, so that our eyes can follow the 
 whole panorama without obstruction. 
 
 About three miles from here is the extensive estab- 
 lishment which, since 1852, has been replenishing 
 the neighboring Avaters with fish. Thousands of trout 
 and salmon are placed every year in the Rhine and 
 Moselle, and large quantities of smaller fish are sent 
 to the streams of Upper Alsace. 
 
 The landscape is more peaceful than beautiful, and 
 for some distance may almost be called monotonous. 
 On all sides w^e see partially-deserted river-beds, 
 which are deep and green ; moist pasture and high 
 sedge cover the banks ; and on both sides of the broad 
 plain rise blue hills. We are midway between the 
 Black Forest range and the Vosges. 
 
 The former extends far down to the south, and its 
 heights reach for twentv miles, from Siickingen to 
 
 LIBRARY 
 UniVERSlTY OF CALIFORNIA
 
 102 THE EHINE. 
 
 Pforzheim. Its breadth also is considerable, deep 
 valleys opening out from its fir-covered solitudes into 
 the broad valley of the Rhine. Neat villages and 
 homesteads are dotted here and there on the dark 
 mountains, where the carved brown wooden clocks 
 tick in the snug little dwelling-room, while the axe 
 outside rings in the forest and lays low tlie primeval 
 trunks, which are then carried down to Holland by 
 the Rhine. 
 
 How poetic are all the surroundings of the dis- 
 trict ! The mere name of the Black Forest pos- 
 sesses a peculiar charm which no other mountain- 
 range can rival. Elves and water-sprites still sport 
 among its streams. Who does not remember the 
 beautiful, though melancholy song, in which the home- 
 sick wanderer regrets his departure from his beloved 
 Black Forest ? How we have shuddered as children 
 while reading the fairy tale of the tall ghostly man 
 who sold his peace of mind for gold ! In the night 
 he broke off the most gigantic trunks as easily as if 
 they had been dry rushes, and every ship that carried 
 even one plank of his wood went hopelessly to the 
 bottom. He was called Dutch Michael, but the name 
 of the story is " The Cold Heart," and the story 
 comes, with many others like it, from the Black 
 Forest. 
 
 The blue mountain-chain which stretches along the 
 other side of the Rhine is the Vosges, the old Was- 
 gauwald, which reaches from Saverne down to Miil-
 
 BREISGAU. 103 
 
 hausen. It is covered Avitli tall beeches and firs, and 
 on tlic rocks weatherworn castles stand like eyries. 
 Their ruins still speak to us of the glory of the races 
 that dwelt here ; for, as the Black Forest Avas the 
 country of the peasants, so the Wasgau was the 
 country of the nobles. We hear in its retired valley 
 not only the Avoodraan's axe, but also the smith's iron 
 hammer fashioning the metals that are found in the 
 neighboring mines, and we see the blue smoke of fur- 
 naces rise languidly towards the deserted castles. 
 Those extensive plateaus which are so numerous 
 among the mountains of the Black Forest are met 
 with much more rarely in the Vosges ; and although 
 it must be admitted that usually mountains have a 
 greater eflFect from their massiveness than from the 
 fine arrangement of their forms, yet here the variety 
 and the grouping strikes us as being much more im- 
 pressive than that in the Black Forest ; the summits 
 rise one above another threefold and fourfold, like 
 giant forms leaning one upon the shoulder of an- 
 other. 
 
 Passing on, we come to Breisach. This was once 
 regarded as the most secure portion of the Holy Ro- 
 man Empire, for Breisach was considered the key of 
 Germany, and seemed to be so strongly fortified as to 
 be safe from every enemy. It stands two hundred 
 and forty feet above the Rhine, and, as late as the 
 tenth century, the river is said to have flowed around 
 the town. But, like so many things connected with
 
 104 THE RHINE. ; 
 
 the Holy Roman Empire, it only seemed secure. No 
 war occurred between the two countries from which 
 the town did not emerge with gaping wounds. Its 
 worst time Avas in 1793, when the ragged soldiery, 
 to the cry of the " Marseillaise," satiated with crime, 
 overran the weary empire, which shook to its very 
 centre ; even to this day the town has not quite re- 
 covered from the destruction which it then suffered. 
 Nor was this its last trial, for in 1870, on a cold No- 
 vember night, the hissing shells flew hither across the 
 Rhine, and for six days the enemy's fire continued to 
 pour into the town until the French fortress. New 
 Breisach, surrendered. 
 
 The landscape in which the two towns are situated, 
 as we have already stated, is not striking, and may, 
 indeed, be said to be somewhat melancholy and 
 mournful. The two chains of mountains, the Vosges 
 and the Black Forest, lie far apart ; the low-lying 
 land betAveen them appears as a large level plain ; 
 the sky overhead is dull, and is reflected in the river, 
 with gray rain-swollen clouds. As we pass, herons 
 rise from the stagnant waters, which are parted from 
 the river by strong embankments, and even the broad 
 handsome street that leads across into Alsace looks 
 quite deserted. Thus there seems to be a curious 
 sense of loneliness about this place which is increased 
 by a damp mist, which often fills the air, and forms 
 a suitable background for the brown weatherworn 
 town.
 
 BKEISGAU. 105 
 
 The rock on wliioli old Breisacli is perched falls 
 precipitously towards the bank of the Rhine. The 
 turrets of the Minster tower above the dark gabled 
 roofs, Avails, and fortifications, its connnanding and 
 characteristic appearance influencing the form of the 
 whole town. The church is dedicated to St. Stephen, 
 one of the great martyrs, who courageously faced his 
 persecutors even while dying under their stone mis- 
 siles. The proud temple is indeed worthy of its 
 noble patron, for, as the watch-tower of the German 
 Empire, it may also be said to have often suffered 
 martyrdom. It still stands, however, in spite of the 
 cannon of the enemy, and is now being restored. 
 
 We cannot leave the neighborhood of Breisach 
 without making an excursion inland, for at only a 
 short distance is situated Freiburg in Breisgau, one 
 of the loveliest of South German towns. 
 
 After a short drive from Breisach Ave reach the 
 mountain- chain of the Black Forest, which descends 
 in long soft lines into the A\alley ; it is the place 
 where the Dreisam emerges from the movmtains into 
 the plain, and there the old Zahringers built their 
 castle. The town extends at its feet along the hill- 
 side. The antiquated gray houses are almost out- 
 numbered by the handsome villas lying among their 
 gardens ; but high above them all, seeming as we ap- 
 proach it to overlook even the outlines of the moun- 
 tains, Ave see the huge Cathedral buildings. The 
 graceful perforated spire stands out against the back-
 
 106 THE EHINE. 
 
 ground, not clear and sharp, as elsewhere, but almost 
 as if shaded with sombre gray. 
 
 As Ave approach, the grandeur of its form increases, 
 until we stand actually before it. As the Cathedral 
 was the first object Avhich met our eyes in the dis- 
 tance, it shall be the first visited Avhen we have 
 reached the place ; for, indeed, it is one of those won- 
 derful Avorks the beauties of which increase rather 
 than diminish on a closer inspection. The Cathedral 
 of Freiburg, founded by Conrad, brother of Berthold 
 m., in 1123, is of inestimable value to the history 
 of Art, from the fact of its being the only German 
 church which the middle ages have handed down to 
 us completed, though it is true that later times have 
 made many superfluous additions. 
 
 Viewed from the outside the nave of the church 
 appears much lower and shorter than it really is on 
 account of the height and position of the spire, which 
 is placed immediately over the principal doorway. 
 This false impression, hoAvever, A^anishes as soon as 
 we are inside. Suddenly everything groAvs to ma- 
 jestic proportions, the gray pillars rise high on every 
 side, and the eye can scarcely take in the whole 
 width from the door to the choir in one glance. 
 The great transepts on each side of the Gothic 
 high-altar are adorned with paintings by the hand of 
 an old German master, and on either side are the 
 richly -carved stalls of the church dignitaries. Here, 
 as in all great cathedrals, the aisles which run
 
 BEEISGAU. 107 
 
 pai'callel with the nave are more or less the domain 
 of the dead. 
 
 Along the walls are the tombs and sculptured 
 figures of knights who have assisted to establish the 
 prosperity of the town, either by enriching it with 
 their goods or defending it Avith their swords. The 
 Minster of Freiburg has had its friends and its rich 
 donors, of whom it was proud. Their renown is 
 handed down to posterity in graceful monuments ; all 
 the little chapels Avhich adorn the outer circumfer- 
 ence of the choir are crowded with such memorials. 
 One belongs to the university, and contains the 
 tombs of the great scholars Avho have become cele- 
 brated there. The altar-piece of the university 
 chapel is by Hans Holbein, painted in 1520, and rep- 
 resents the Wise Men from the East humbly adoring 
 at the manger of the Holy Child. 
 
 In another chapel we find costly wood carvings, and 
 the light breaks with wonderful eff"ect through a 
 stained-glass window. The Byzantine crucifix of 
 heavy embossed silver was brought here from the 
 Holy Land by a Crusader, and dedicated to the ser- 
 vice of the sacred place ; for these walls were stand- 
 ing even at the time of the Crusades, when Bern- 
 hard of Clairvaux preached in the unfinished build- 
 ing, and with burning zeal called all Christendom to 
 arms. 
 
 Seven centuries have passed since that time, and 
 the battle-call has often sounded for far different aims :
 
 108 THE KHINE. 
 
 yet still, as we stroll at twilight within these massive 
 walls, when the last rays of the setting sun fall through 
 the pointed windows, it seems as though the stony 
 figures move again, and a breath of the glowing 
 spirit of that inspired monk still lingers round the 
 place. We feel unconsciously that the age in which 
 he labored was a great one. Christianity was then 
 in its youth, and in the fulness of its heroism it longed 
 to perform some deed worthy of its cause. It was 
 the lofty idealism of its teaching which then drew the 
 sword, and not the gloomy fanaticism which, five cen- 
 turies later, plunged the world into the horrors of the 
 Thirty Years' War ! 
 
 The open place or square on which the Cathedral 
 stands is spacious and handsome, its most beautifid 
 object being the ancient Town Hall, erected in the 
 fifteenth century, which stands almost immediately 
 opposite the south door. This is built of red sand- 
 stone, and is of only moderate height, but its open 
 arcade, adorned with shields, its handsome balcony 
 and Gothic windows, give it a highly-characteristic 
 and original appearance. The statues which are 
 placed between the windows are of about the same 
 period as the building itself; they represent the Em- 
 peror Max, the last of the knights, and Charles V., 
 upon whose empire the sun never set ; and between 
 them Philip I. and King Ferdinand. 
 
 As we stroll leisurely through the streets, we find 
 many relics of the time when the House of Haps-
 
 /IDaikctplacc aiiJ) Ikautoaus,

 
 BREISGAU. 109 
 
 burg ruled in Breisgcau ; many an antique gable rises 
 boldly beside the flat roof of a modern house, and the 
 fountains in the High Street still murmur in the same 
 tones that greeted the ears of the princes of the arch- 
 ducal house when they rode forth to the tournaments. 
 But the feeling of the citizens has totally changed 
 since those days ; they are no longer moved by the 
 traditions of imperial dominion, but by the magic charm 
 of Freedom, which, having been latent in the name 
 of the town, sprang to life in the hearts of the people, 
 and Freiburg became unexpectedly one of the most 
 powerful and enlightened towns of South Germany. 
 
 On the Kaiser-Strasse stands a granite pedestal 
 surmounted by a bronze figure of Victory. It is a 
 war monument, erected by the Austrian Government 
 in 1876 to the Fourteenth German Army Corps and 
 its brave leader. General von Werder. 
 
 Intellectual progress went hand in hand Avith out- 
 ward development, and the population and the extent 
 of the town increased rapidly. An observer looking 
 down upon the town from the renowned Schlossberg, 
 could hardly imagine it to be the same place in whose 
 colleges he had sat, perhaps forty years before, at the 
 feet of Rotteck and Welcker. A long avenue planted 
 with chestnut-trees leads us at last to the gate. 
 Stately houses, built in the style of the modern villa, 
 stand right and left of us, for quite a colony of dis- 
 tinguished foreigners have settled here within the 
 last few years.
 
 110 THE RHINE. 
 
 Again we catch the sound of running water, and 
 we see before us a well, with a broad basin made of 
 red sandstone. On the pillar, which rises out of the 
 water, there stands the stone figure of a monk hold- 
 ing a Bible in his right hand, while his left is thought- 
 fully supporting his chin. What ominous thoughts 
 are working beneath that overhanging brow ! It is 
 Berthold Schwarz, who was a native of Freiburg, and 
 the idea — the DanJie gift which he left behind him for 
 mankind, was — Gunpowder ! 
 
 His real name was Konstantin Anklitzen, but Ber- 
 thold was the name he took on entering the cloister, 
 and Schwarz (black) was a sobriquet given him in 
 consequence of his occult pursuits. 
 
 How he must have started up affrighted, in his 
 quiet cell, when the first report crashed unexpect- 
 edly out of the mortar ! Since then whole towns 
 have been reduced to ruins and armies stricken down ; 
 for a few grains of his magic powder suffices to shat- 
 ter the strength of the boldest body, and the power 
 of the noblest mind ! The stone monk muses, half- 
 troubled, half-wondering. How many ideas has his 
 idea destroyed !
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. Ill 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 
 
 A SHORT time only has elapsed since the Rhine, 
 flowing under the walls of Breisach, separated two 
 great nations, two noble countries, two mighty foes. 
 The Rhine was the visible type of the great political 
 gap which separated Germany from the rest of the 
 world. For two hundred years, since Louis XIV., 
 the office of the Rhine has been — to separate. Now 
 that the old communion between mother and daughter 
 has been re-established, it will assert its uniting in- 
 fluence, and the Rhine will help us, more than any 
 human instrument could do, to promote a mutual un- 
 derstanding between the races which had, unfortu- 
 nately, become strangers to one another. 
 
 We will now pass over to the other side of the 
 river, to that district which is known as Upper Alsace. 
 In olden times, when the sons of the Carlovingian 
 king divided their inheritance, it was called Sundgau. 
 
 We have already seen from a distance the broad 
 street that leads over the Rhine to Colmar. This is 
 the road along which we have now to go, between 
 the lofty poplars which stand on either side. We 
 soon come within sight of New Breisach, with its
 
 112 THE KHINE. 
 
 deserted trenches which surround the fortress. Fort 
 Mortier projecting far out commands the flat plain, 
 and we rattle through its gate. Freshly cut in the 
 sandstone is the imperial eagle, and underneath it the 
 word " Germany, 1870." 
 
 Breisach is a small and unpretending little town, 
 although it possesses its Grand Cafe, as may be seen 
 from its signboard ; the houses are seldom more than 
 one story high, and the grass grows plentifully be- 
 tween the paving-stones. There is an absence of 
 bustle in the place and its inhabitants. 
 
 The road which leads from here to Colmar goes 
 straight through the wood ; it may be seen lying for 
 a couple of miles in front of us. Sometimes we have 
 only low bushes on either side, then green firs with 
 their slender trunks, and then we have meadows and 
 pastures. Here the last load of hay is being carried, 
 and the reapers are eating their supper under an old 
 nut-tree by the roadside, and a little village peeps out 
 from among the trees. Nearly all the houses are 
 cleanly whitewashed, so that they have a very bright 
 appearance, with their pointed roofs. 
 
 The inn is distinguished by the sign of a great 
 star, and is the principal one in the place. Wagons 
 stand before the door, and the drivers are gathered 
 together in a noisy chattering crowd. All is cheerful 
 bustle ; but the time for tarrying is short. A glass 
 of beer is quickly ordered, and as soon disposed of; 
 each man exchanges a few words hurriedly with the
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 113 
 
 nearest group, and then sets off -with his powerful 
 team, making way for the next bird of passage to 
 take his place. 
 
 It is about two hours' drive from Breisach to Col- 
 mai", and then we rattle noisily through the streets of 
 the old town. Every minute we turn a corner ; all 
 the houses have gables and balconies, and in the 
 streets the idle lads stand gaping at us as we pass. 
 
 Colmar, Avith its thirty thousand inhabitants and its 
 picturesque and historical reminiscences, has become 
 a very quiet place, and appears to have stood still for 
 ages. It once had its time of prosperity, but that was 
 six centuries ago, in the days of the great Hohen- 
 staufen, when Frederick II. was Emperor of Ger- 
 many, and the old walls, which had once been only a 
 Frankish manor, w^ere elevated to the position of an 
 imperial city. The citizens have never forgotten this 
 fact, and have always prided themselves on being 
 truly imperial. At the worst time they stood by the 
 Empire with unswerving courage. 
 
 No other town in Germany showed such fidelity as 
 Colmar. In 1474 it courageously forbade Charles 
 the Bold to enter jts walls, when he attempted to en- 
 force his purchased rights with the sword ; and when 
 Louis XIV. seized upon Alsace it resisted the incor- 
 poration Avith France with an energy which bordered 
 on despair. Colmar also bore its banner aloft in the 
 intellectual struggle for Art and Learning, and men 
 whose memory is still honored by the world were at 
 Vol. I. -8
 
 114 THE KHINE. 
 
 that time proud to be its citizens. Martin Schon, the 
 greatest German artist of the fifteenth century, was 
 born and died here. 
 
 The annexation to France was a turning-point for 
 both sides — for the moral power is greatly influenced 
 by the political — the German imperial city became a 
 French provincial town, and the "Great King" Louis 
 XIV. seemed to imagine that subjugated countries 
 estimated the greatness and power of their conquer- 
 ors in proportion to the severity of the treatment 
 they received at their hands. The persecutions 
 which were soon heaped upon the Reformers were 
 received in deep dejection, and even by the French 
 it was asserted that the reconciling of Colmar to its 
 fate was retarded for nearly a century by the harsh- 
 ness with which the people were treated. 
 
 But what did that matter to the all-powerful ruler 
 at Versailles ; his answer to every question was, 
 " Tel est notre plaisir." So the town mourned : the 
 " Sovereign Court of Justice " which was bestowed 
 upon it was but a poor substitute for the glory of its 
 old freedom ; and Voltaire, in deep mockery, recalls 
 the fact that once the works of the great Bayle were 
 burnt in the market-place at Colmar. The proud 
 Corsican also thought no better of the town, for, 
 although two of the most brilliant leaders of the 
 French army, Bruatt and Rapp, came from here, he 
 repaid it with the deepest contempt. His merciless 
 sentence was " Colmar is a hole." Monuments to
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 115 
 
 Admiral Bruatt and Greneral Rapp, designed by Bar- 
 tholdi, now stand in Colmar. 
 
 Walking through the streets and looking up at the 
 houses, it seems as if we had plunged into the middle 
 of the old German period : the Town Hall, with its 
 slender spire and the graceful perforated stone gal- 
 lery which runs along under the roof; the Pfister 
 House, and many other buildings, are monuments of 
 architecture as fine as any to be found even in Nurem- 
 berg and Augsburg. A touch of grace is given even 
 to the police station — a building rarely associated with 
 pleasure — for over the ugly fagade there is a balcony 
 of wonderfiJ elegance. 
 
 We have only to turn to iind ourselves opposite 
 the Cathedral, which was built by Master Humbert ; 
 his monument stands under the east door. Although 
 the exterior possesses a certain crudeness, the effect 
 of the whole is imposing and harmonious ; and sim- 
 ple as the interior appears, it is not wanting in sanc- 
 tity. The broad choir, dating from 1350, is particu- 
 larly beautiful and calm, Avith its old dark-brown 
 woodwork. The carved door which leads into the 
 sacristy hides one of the noblest treasures of mediis- 
 val art — '' The Madonna Among the Roses," which 
 Martin Schon bequeathed to the town. 
 
 No one disturbed us as we made our tour of the 
 spacious aisles | here and there a blind beggar stood 
 in a corner and muttered a petition for alms, close by 
 two or three children whispered, and one old woman
 
 116 THE RHINE. 
 
 Scat nodding in a chair. Before every seat was a 
 white card bearing the name of the owner. By look- 
 ing through the rows of names it could be deter- 
 mined how far the German element still survived ; 
 the result showed it to be a large proportion of the 
 whole. It is true that many an honest citizen had 
 added an accent grave or an accent acute, but the 
 greater number of the names had German endings, 
 such as bieder, miiUer, hauscr, haiier, etc. 
 
 We now ascend a winding stairway not far from 
 the gate, and find ourselves in a little turret room ; 
 we step out on the dizzy parapet of the tower, and 
 the vast prospect stretches before us. On one side 
 we see the chain of the Vosges rise in the clear morn- 
 ing light ; villages stud the valley, and many a lordly 
 castle stands on the heights. Over yonder, where 
 the horizon almost vanishes in the haze of the dis- 
 tance, Ave can just distinguish some towers. They 
 are the walls of Schlettstadt, and they point the path 
 we are to follow. 
 
 But before we turn northward in order to continue 
 the course of the Rhine, the adjacent neighborhood 
 offers many attractions which we must not forget. 
 Here the Alsatian saying first becomes true — 
 
 " Three castles on one hill, 
 Three churches in one church yard, 
 Three cities in a row, 
 By these you may Alsatia know " 
 
 The number is still true, for not far from Egisheim
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 117 
 
 Ave see three towers on a wooded liill, which appear 
 to stand in a line, and bear the curious name of 
 " The Three Axes." Actually they stand obliquely 
 behind one another, and are the towers of one and 
 the same fortress, each of them bearing its own 
 special title, namely, Weckmund, Wahlenburg, and 
 Dagsburg, names which remind us of bygone days. 
 
 Egisheim is one of the numerous castles which 
 claim the honor of being the birthplace of Pope Leo 
 IX., who was a Count of Egisheim and Dagsburg, 
 and it was formerly well worthy of such a son, but 
 the noble walls were reduced to ruins in quite early 
 times, during a war which was stirred up by a miller 
 of Miilhausen. 
 
 The two beautiful lakes which represent the artis- 
 tic climax of the Vosges chain are best visited from 
 Colmar ; the road thither passes through Kaiserberg. 
 That name sounds familiar to our ears, for it was 
 given to the town by the great preacher John Geiler, 
 who spent his youth here. The present importance 
 of the town does not depend upon learning, or any 
 kind of curiosities ; but in that charming simplicity, 
 that picturesque originality, which brings it pleas- 
 antly before the eyes of strangers. It is conscious 
 of an active Present and a renowned Past, of which 
 we are reminded on all sides in word and form ; on 
 the Town Hall, built in 1604 ; on the fountain, on the 
 wall even round the church-yard, and, in fact, every- 
 where we find mottoes, in the form of old rhymes,
 
 118 THE RHINE. 
 
 full of meaning. Some are severe, and even coarse ; 
 some are tender and poetic, some are gay, some are 
 sad, according to the occasion and circumstances in 
 which they were first used. This town was strong 
 in its fidelity to the Emperor, to whom it belonged, 
 as its name naturally indicates ; and in the Confedera- 
 tion of the Ten Cities its voice was heard, and its 
 counsel held in considerable respect. 
 
 The road now goes farther into the green depths 
 of the Vosges ; we have left Orbey behind us, and 
 are making for the wooded ridges of the mountains, 
 sometimes following a narrow path, and sometimes 
 trampling through luxuriant heather. It is not long, 
 however, before the landscape begins gradually to 
 grow wilder, gray boulders lie scattered about, short 
 scanty Alpine grass covers the ground, and only a 
 few weather-beaten firs are visible on the distant 
 ridge. We hasten once more through the solitude, 
 and suddenly a new view opens before us — the waters 
 lie motionless between bare white rocks, which rise 
 precipitously to a considerable height, and are clearly 
 reflected in the lake below. This is the White Lake, 
 and it is a remnant of that icy period which once 
 covered the face of this country. 
 
 Its deep basin is only parted by a broad solid ridge 
 of rock from another sheet of water equally deep and 
 motionless, though much smaller. It is not surpris- 
 ing that the character of the two lakes should be 
 somewhat similar, though at one time this was not
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 119 
 
 the case, for the banks of the hist we liave referred 
 to were bordered with dark primeval iirs. Then the 
 name of " The Black Lake " was appropriate to it. 
 But the devastating axe has penetrated to this spot 
 and robbed it of the dark Avood covering, so that 
 nothing now remains but the inhospitable rock. Its 
 declivity, however, towards the bank is less steep 
 than that of the White Lake, and the form of the 
 mountains is less grotesque. 
 
 In spite of this, however, w^e still feel ourselves in 
 the true uncultivated mountain world, and only at the 
 mouth of the lake Ave are Avillingly reminded of the 
 existence of restless human ingenuity by the dam 
 which regulates the outflow of the water. In this 
 way is the stream made of service to the manufac- 
 tories in the valley below. They entice the clear 
 bright water to their noisy workshops, and when it 
 would run cheerily under them it is suddenly seized 
 upon and tortured by their jagged wheels. 
 
 The neat little toAvn which we come to on the 
 road from Colmar to Schlettstadt is called by the 
 Germans Rappoltsweiler, though it is better known 
 by its French name of Ribeauville. It is one of 
 the most cheerful little cities in all Alsace, and 
 it was here that the old Piper kings had their 
 day. 
 
 The Count of Rappoltstein w^as the " King " of all 
 the musicians and minstrels of the Upper Rhine. 
 They recognized him as the head of the brotherhood,
 
 120 THE KHINE. 
 
 and paid him an annual tax ; in return for which he 
 took them under his protection. 
 
 Every year, on the 8th of September, these wan- 
 derers assembled at Rappoltstein to celebrate a joy- 
 ous festival — and to settle their disputes. When the 
 last Count of Rappoltstein died, in 1673, this re- 
 markable jurisdiction, together with the title, " King 
 of the Pipers," was conferred upon the Counts-Pala- 
 tine of Birkenfeld, who were in the service of France, 
 and it was held by them until the French Revolution. 
 Even now, on the 8th of September, the inhabitants 
 of Rappoltsweiler celebrate a local festival in memory 
 of the old times. 
 
 The thick shady trees of the suburbs have now 
 been made into pleasure gardens, and on the hills, 
 which are overgrown with vines, the ruins of the 
 castles of the old rulers stand. The more lawless the 
 period, the higher the bold knights placed their 
 dwellings, and it was only as men became more 
 peaceable and opposition less decided, that they 
 moved slowly down into the villages and toAvns. This 
 fact is forcibly illustrated here. The highest of the 
 three castles which command the town is called Rap- 
 poltstein. It was built in the fourteenth century, and 
 is considered one of the oldest castles in Alsace ; it 
 was the ancestral seat of a renowned race. Later, 
 however, though still as early as the time of the 
 Hohenstaufens, the second castle was erected loAver 
 down on the rocks. This in its turn was soon fol-
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 121 
 
 lowed by a third, in the style of the Renaissance, and 
 named after St. Uh'ich. The middle ruin is called Girs- 
 berg, and was held by a family of the same name. 
 
 As we follow the road which leads from Rappolts- 
 weiler to Markirch we meet with another venerable 
 fortress which stands on a gray rock in one of the 
 cross valleys. The ruins now look down only on the 
 quiet country. Once when the high bay windows 
 shone in the sunlight, there stood here a renowned 
 old abbey of the name of Dusenbach, and three 
 chapels which were subject to it. 
 
 Pilgrimages were made to this shrine, for the Holy 
 Virgin, to whom it was dedicated, Avas the patroness 
 of the musicians Avho frequented the roads of merry 
 Alsace. Now all is silent, and the little stream, the 
 Dusenbach, ripples in solitude over moss-groAvn 
 stones, and without the echo of human voices, the 
 boughs of the old trees rustle, which at one time 
 formed the green arcade up to the cloister door. 
 
 We would willingly stand awhile and think of 
 those who formerly wandered here, but they and 
 their retired home fade from our minds as we ap- 
 proach the great masterpiece which noAv looks down 
 on us from the lofty summits. That is Hohkonigs- 
 berg, the noblest stronghold in Alsace. Nothing is 
 known of the origin of the castle, but as early as 1462 
 it was partly destroyed by the Archduke Sigismund 
 and the Bishop of Strasburg. It was again burned 
 by the Swedes in the seventeenth century.
 
 122 THE EHINE. 
 
 The road now goes steeply upAvards, passing a very 
 picturesque forester's house, until we see before us 
 two enormous towers and the reddish walls of the 
 fortress, which once enclosed many a comfortable 
 chamber and many a noble hall. One of the latter is 
 so well preserved that the staircase, which in olden 
 times led up to the watch-tower, appears to be still 
 accessible, and our footsteps as we approach re-echo 
 under the great " Lion Gate." 
 
 How many bold footsteps have sounded here be- 
 fore folks of the present day came with their " curi- 
 ous eyes " — how many lordly races have here meted 
 out rigid government and cheerful hospitality ! The 
 Lords of Rathsamhausen and the Counts of Dittin- 
 gen, the Sickingens and the Fuggers, have all at 
 different times called this fortress their own. Many 
 a merry feast has the Bishop of Strasburg held within 
 its walls, and many a higliAvayman has waited here 
 on a dark day, ready to fall suddenly upon the cara- 
 vans of merchants on their Avay to Basle. 
 
 But good and bad, conqueror and conquered, have 
 all long since gone to their rest, and young sapHngs 
 of fir and larch grow unmolested in the dilapidated 
 court-yard. The commune of Schlettstadt now pos- 
 sesses the venerable ruin, and is responsible for its 
 care. It fulfils its trust with commendable fidelity, 
 for Hohkonigsberg is its pride and its jewel. 
 
 The impression Avhich Schlettstadt itself makes on 
 the traveller is much the same as that of Colmar ; the
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 123 
 
 environs are flat, the streets are empty, and land ap- 
 pears to be valueless and consequently unused. In- 
 voluntarily we feel the oppression which seems to be 
 an essential part of all fortified towns, and hinders 
 the development of unrestrained prosperity. 
 
 If we approach the town from the side near the 
 railway, we see scarcely anything except a few bare 
 towers wdiich rise above the roofs, and it is not until 
 we enter the interior of the town that this confused 
 mass of houses resolves itself into its parts and we 
 see many charming details. There is the venerable 
 Cathedral of St. George, founded in the fourteenth 
 century. It is one of the finest specimens of Gothic 
 architecture in Alsace, with its clock-tower standing 
 up conspicuously among the pile of masonry. On 
 some of the houses are brown wooden balconies 
 shaded by high roofs, but the character of the whole 
 place nowhere rises above quiet mediocrity. 
 
 During our tour of the town we will pay a visit to 
 the principal hotels of the place. The two most im- 
 portant which Schlettstadt formerly possessed were 
 the Goat and the Eagle. These two have now, hoAV- 
 ever, combined (a sad mesalliance, by-the-bye, for the 
 Eagle), and though the present hostelry is but of 
 moderate pretensions, a traveller may make himself 
 very comfortable under its shelter. Schlettstadt has 
 in its time entertained many distinguished guests 
 within its walls; as early as the year 775 Charlemagne 
 celebrated the feast of Cliristmas here ; and, like
 
 124 THE EHINE. 
 
 Colmar, it was one of the most faithful cities of the 
 empire at the time Avhen France took possession of 
 it. Its fidelity was proved by many serious sacrificeSj 
 for the town, which had become attached to the Em- 
 peror in 1216, was repeatedly besieged by the Bishop 
 of Strasburg. His mercenaries, under the Hohen- 
 staufen, Frederick II., and under Louis of Bavaria, 
 stormed its walls, in order to chastise the citizens for 
 defending their town against Rome for the Emperor. 
 
 Schlettstadt held an important position in the 
 Union which was formed by the ten cities of Alsace, 
 and its alliance M^as always sought and its enmity was 
 much dreaded by each of the contending parties. 
 Sometimes, indeed, the shadows of lawless deeds 
 overclouded its history. The citizens took part in 
 the atrocious cruelties of the Jewish persecution in 
 the sixteenth century, and they also were active in 
 those disturbances which were the prelude to the 
 Great Peasant League. It was, indeed, one of the 
 former burgomasters of Schlettstadt who marched at 
 the head of the wild mob which, under the banner 
 of the Bundschuh, declared war on '' knight and 
 priest," in order to win freedom for the peasantry. 
 This righteous object, which was to be peaceably ob- 
 tained a century later, was then sought with dread- 
 ful cruelty, and the effect was accordingly unsuccess- 
 ful, the last decisive struggle taking place almost 
 under the very walls of Schlettstadt. 
 
 The real influence of the town, however, and that
 
 THE VOSGES COUNTRY. 125 
 
 which spread far beyond the Hmits of the Empire, 
 did not lie in force of warhke arms, but in the intel- 
 lectual qualities which were cultivated here. Schlett- 
 stadt possessed a college as early as the fifteenth 
 century, in which teachers of European renown 
 labored, and to Avhich scholars flocked from all the 
 countries of Europe. Their number often amounted 
 to many hundreds, and it was at this time that the 
 splendid library, which the town still possesses, was 
 founded. This is unfortunately about the only relic 
 which learning has left. 
 
 As the twilight begins to fall we take a last quiet 
 walk through the streets. Behind the Minster a lively 
 scene presents itself before us ; numbers of noisy 
 boys perched up in an empty wagon, and an audi- 
 ence of little girls, sitting on the stone steps of the 
 houses, are singing snatches of " Madame Angot," 
 and one of them, with queer harlequin jumps, shouts 
 the hackneyed couplet : 
 
 ' ' Vaut pas la peine, vaut pas la peine, 
 De changer le gouvernement." 
 
 Thoughtless childhood should not be deprived of any 
 harmless pleasure ; but when these boys have grown 
 to be men, and the little girls have become their 
 wives, they will of themselves think of other things, 
 and possibly they may have other opinions on the 
 subject of the change of government.
 
 126 THE RHINE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 STEASBURG. 
 
 Whoever would know a man thoroughly, should 
 see him under a variety of circumstances : in the sun- 
 shine of good fortune, when happiness unfolds and 
 elevates his nature, and in the depth of distress, when 
 the power of necessity lays bare his weakness. What 
 applies to individuals applies also to collective bodies 
 of men, that is, to great towns, and their true nature 
 is alone revealed by the study of that mirror of end- 
 less vicissitudes which we call History. 
 
 Three times has the writer of these pages seen 
 Strasburg, the '' fair," the celebrated in song, and 
 each time under totally different circumstances, vary- 
 ing from the highest glory to that of the deepest 
 misery. 
 
 The first time was nearly thirty years ago, when 
 she stood in the brilliant train of Paris, her queen. 
 Paris stood at that time among the Cities of the 
 Earth, fatally beautiful, like Cleopatra, fascinating all 
 the world. She had summoned the Caisars of Europe 
 to her court, for the Great Exhibition of 1867 was 
 opened. All the provincial towns surrounded their 
 mistress with homage, as noble ladies surround a 
 queen, and in their circle stood Strasburg.
 
 STRASBURG. 1 27 
 
 What a different picture was presented on the sec- 
 ond visit ! War lay on the land, and on all sides men 
 were struggling for victory. Nightly the sky was 
 red with fire, and the day was darkened with smoke, 
 in the midst of which the sacred Minster reared its 
 head. Deserted by France, cut off from Paris, Stras- 
 burg lay behind her walls on the Rhine and mourned. 
 Gradually, piece by piece, almost inch by inch, her 
 walls were worn away by shot and shell ; all the 
 agonies of hunger and thirst were borne by the in- 
 habitants ; she was unable to save herself, but she 
 woidd not capitulate. But from the camp yonder 
 the conquerors sang a song of welcome to her : 
 
 " You stand in the garb of sorrow, 
 Unhonored and full of grief, 
 But your old love will come to-morrow, 
 And his good sword shall bring relief." 
 
 It was the end of September ; the bombardment, 
 which had ceased for a few hours, began afresh, for 
 evening was not far distant. When it had become 
 quite dark we took a carriage and drove out to the 
 batteries. The night was cold, and the loose stones 
 of the viptorn streets rattled under the horses' hoofs. 
 Every now and then the animals reared and plunged 
 when a more than usually loud volley thundered 
 forth. We passed through one or two little villages 
 where the people stood and peered out of their gar- 
 ret windows. As we drove between field and forest
 
 128 THE RHINE. 
 
 single dark figures occasionally passed us on the road, 
 and all the while the lurid reflection on the other side 
 of the Rhine grcAV brighter and clearer. There was 
 fire in Strasburg — Strasburg was the torch that lighted 
 us on our dark road. Presently the driver refused to 
 proceed, and Ave descended and followed on foot a path 
 across the fields until a broad building barred the way. 
 This was a brick kiln with extensive out-buildings, 
 and from the spot wdiere we were standing to the 
 town was hardly more than half a mile in a straight 
 line. 
 
 What an awful sensation Ave experienced as we 
 stood there in the midst of tMs Avild destruction ! 
 All day the firing had been violent, now it raged. 
 Not only the poAver but the fury of the enemy blazed 
 out in every shot, and the thundering sounds seemed 
 to be Avild imprecations uttered by the wdiole force of 
 the passion which had been let loose by War ! We 
 stood, watch in hand, counting the shots as they fell. 
 They were like fearful pulse-beats, and as the fever 
 of a sick man increases towards evening, so did this 
 firing become wilder as the night dragged on. One 
 shell after another rattled against the fortress, fol- 
 lowed almost without an interval by answers dashing 
 against the German batteries ; their course could be 
 traced through the air — though it Avas a mile long, 
 they travelled it in a few seconds. Afar off was 
 heard their angry hiss under the silent canopy of 
 heaven.
 
 Cit)? (5ate, StrasbucG.
 
 STRASBURG. 129 
 
 Such is the picture that we gazed on then, at that 
 anxious time, wliich is still associated in our memory 
 with the name of Strasburg. But how completely it 
 has changed now ! 
 
 Four years elapsed, and the days of affliction liad 
 passed away on the occasion of the third visit to the 
 old town on the Rhine, to the German Strasburg. 
 Traces of many wounds, it is true, were still visible, 
 and many shadows passed over the lofty brow at the 
 recollection of bitter sorrows, but, on the whole, there 
 was a feeling of calm reconciliation and of new and 
 joyous power in the heart of the tO"\\ai. 
 
 Wliat a load has fallen from our hearts as we walk 
 through the Strasburg of to-day ! We look upon a 
 resurrection ; the rapid foot of Time, which we so 
 often deplore, has here exercised its power of healing 
 and of blessing, for incredible things have been done 
 in these last years. 
 
 The very first impression of the streets, which so 
 frequently has a lasting effect on one's mind, is ex- 
 tremely pleasant. In one place, we are struck by 
 the grandeur of the buildings ; in another, by their 
 homelike comfort. Thvis we remain equally free 
 from the oppressive effect of a great city and the 
 confined feeling of a small provincial town. It is, 
 indeed, just this which gives that peculiar charm to 
 a sojourn in Strasburg. 
 
 It is a town in which a stranger does not long feel 
 strange. This is specially the case with visitors coming 
 Vol. I.— 9
 
 130 THE EHINE. 
 
 from the other side of the Rhine ; for, in spite of all the 
 opposition which stirs the heart of Alsace, the Ger- 
 man nature of the place cannot be denied. Recol- 
 lections which the last two centuries have not washed 
 away are still extant ; whenever we have relations 
 with the people themselves we meet with German 
 manners. In the new intellectual circle, too, which 
 has been brought into Strasburg by the government, 
 and more particularly by the establishment of the 
 University, the German guest is received so kindly 
 that he feels himself at home in the best sense of the 
 word. 
 
 The University was founded in 1621 — and many 
 celebrated students were gathered within its walls. 
 Goethe was graduated here as Doctor of Laws in 
 1771. In 1794 it was suppressed by the National 
 Convention, and in 1803 it was turned into a French 
 Academy ; this lasted until the Franco-Prussian war. 
 In 1872 it was reopened as a University, and now 
 has many students. 
 
 We will therefore go on our way, disturbed by 
 scarcely another discord, and wander at our leisure 
 through the beautiful town and examine its treasures 
 and curiosities. 
 
 The noblest of these treasures, the pride and won- 
 der of Strasburg, is its Cathedral : a building whose 
 dumb stones are more eloquent than language. At 
 first the bulk of the huge masses almost overpowers 
 the eye ; but into what grace and delicacy these
 
 STRASBURG. 131 
 
 masses are developed ! how light the ponderous stone 
 becomes in the combinations and harmony of the 
 whole ! What gigantic power the spiritual has here 
 won over the material ! As we stand before the 
 Cathedral we cannot help thinking of it in connec- 
 tion with that period out of which it grew. What 
 must have been the blossom of an epoch which could 
 bear such fruit ! what the consciousness of power of 
 a town that could rear such a temple for its faith ! 
 
 The early history of the great building dates many 
 centuries back, and is, consequently, somewhat con- 
 fused. The present structure represents the labor 
 of nearly five hundred years. The first beginnings 
 of a Christian church in Strasburg were made in 
 Chlodwig's time, but they and all the decorations 
 that had been added by the Carlovingians became a 
 prey to the flames and were entirely destroyed. 
 Bishop Werner accordingly had to commence a com- 
 pletely new work when he laid the foundation of the 
 present Cathedral in 1015. He himself was of the 
 noble house of the Counts of Hapsburg, but the 
 names of those whose hands embodied his thoughts 
 and designs have been lost in the great gidf of 
 Time. 
 
 It is only in the third century after its foundation 
 that Ave meet with the name of that master whose 
 memory is now inseparably connected with the Cathe- 
 dral of Strasburg, namely, Erwin von Steinbach. 
 Whose heart does not leap at the thought of the
 
 132 THE KHINE. 
 
 glory that surrounds that name ! The stately build- 
 ing rose before his enlightened spirit and under his 
 creating hand, as the rich branches of a tree grow 
 in the light of the sun ; it became not only his tomb, 
 but also his imperishable monument. 
 
 The fagade is covered Avith delicate tracery and 
 numerous scidptures. The three portals, represent- 
 ing scenes from the Creation and the Redemption, 
 are among the finest specimens of Gothic work in 
 existence. The niches in the lower story contain 
 equestrian statues of the Emperors Clovis and Dago- 
 bert, Rudolf of Hapsburg and Louis XIII. (this last 
 erected in 1823). During the Revolution many of 
 these statuettes were thrown down, and the spire of 
 the Cathedral escaped a like fate only because it Avas 
 protected by a red republican cap made of metal, 
 which served as a protecting badge ! 
 
 As is well known, one only of the two towers has 
 been built, up which a winding staircase has been 
 placed. The site which the other tower should have 
 occupied runs out into a platform, and has been made 
 to serve the watchmen for a dwelling. More than 
 fifty times has the building been threatened to be de- 
 stroyed by lightning. Once it seemed doomed to de- 
 struction by a terrible earthquake ; and, lastly, the 
 roaring waves of the Revolution, with the shot and 
 shell which have whistled past it, rendered its fate 
 almost certain ; but stiU the old sanctuary stands firm 
 and unmoved, indifferent alike to the storms of ages
 
 STRASBUKG. 133 
 
 and to human passion, both of which have fallen 
 powerless before its silent majesty. 
 
 As the view from the Cathedral tower extends for 
 many miles, so do the memories of this place reach 
 back for hundreds of years, and include many races 
 and innumerable individuals whose names are famous. 
 The Minster tower is like a stone book in which visit- 
 ors from all parts of the world have carved their 
 names — princes, beggars, nobles, and many others 
 are included among the number ; and even Voltaire, 
 Herder, Montalembert, Goethe, Baumann, Meier, 
 Schulze have gazed upon this scene. 
 
 Not only is paper patient, as the German proverb 
 says, but stone is so also, and the swallows, quite un- 
 concerned as to who gives them shelter, settle first 
 on one pillar and then on another, and do not ask in 
 whose memory their twittering song is raised. 
 
 Everywhere we turn, whether we go outside the 
 city gates or lose ourselves in the confusion of the 
 streets, we see the Cathedral towering above all ; its 
 spire rises to a dizzy height above the roofs, and the 
 appearance of every open space is affected by it. 
 There is a curious legend concerning the laying of 
 the corner-stone of the Cathedral of Strasburg. 
 Bishop Werner, in full pontifical array, had just 
 blessed the stone and given the signal to have it low- 
 ered into place wdien two men, brothers, Avho stood in 
 the front row of spectators, accidentally jostled one 
 another. The elder, furious at what he considered
 
 134 THE RHINE. 
 
 an intentional rudeness, turned on his brother and 
 stabbed him to the heart, the blood splashing the 
 bishop and dripping down on to the corner-stone, 
 which had been put in place. 
 
 The murderer was seized and led away to be put 
 to death ; but as he passed the bishop he fell on his 
 knees, exclaiming : " My lord, my lord, I deserve 
 death — I know it — I have slain my brother, who was 
 innocent ; only let not my death be in vain ! Under 
 the stone which you have just lowered there flows a 
 spring of water which will, in time, undermine the 
 foundations of the Cathedral. Now, if you will bury 
 me — a murderer — under the stone, the spring of 
 pure water, rather than come in contact with my pol- 
 luted bones, will shrink away from me and work its 
 way to the surface elsewhere, and thus will I protect 
 this holy place and help it to endure through the 
 ages." 
 
 The murderer's request was granted, the stone 
 raised again, and he, stepping down, gave the signal 
 for it to be let down. Thus, the stone lowered upon 
 a living man, forms the foundation of the tower, and 
 popular superstition avers that the murderer's bones 
 have had the desired effect of keeping the foundation 
 firm. 
 
 Strasburg is rich in squares, which are frequently 
 adorned in the centre with a handsome monument. 
 One of these — the Kleber-Platz — is adorned with a 
 bronze statue of General Kleber, who was born in
 
 STRASBURG. 135 
 
 Strasburg, and murdered in Egypt in 1800. The 
 buildings which surround these open spaces have a 
 lofty, spacious appearance, and when this is not the 
 case they are distinguished at least by their age or 
 their artistic value. It is this that gives its original 
 character to the Pig-Market, which certainly is not in 
 a select quarter of the town ; and it is this also that 
 makes the Cathedral Square itself so charming. In 
 the latter stands the so-called " Old House," with its 
 high gables and broAvn beams ; it is a building of the 
 thirteenth century, and forms as picturesque a corner 
 as it is possible for a town to possess. 
 
 The street through Avhich we now proceed leads to 
 the Gutenbergplatz. In the midst of the hubbub of 
 the market there stands, surrounded by green trees, 
 a pedestal, and on it rests a bronze figure of a man 
 with flowing beard and lofty brow, holding in his 
 hand a sheet covered with ornamental letters. One 
 sheet ? oh, it is far more — it is the symbol of the 
 art of printing, the greatest gift which man ever 
 gave to the human race ; it is the testimony of 
 the victory of light over darkness which he holds in 
 his hand. 
 
 It was in Strasburg that John Gutenberg invented 
 the art of printing. He dwelt here for nearly twenty 
 years as a citizen of Strasburg, and whatever may 
 have been done elsewhere, it was within his own room 
 that the idea of this great discovery had birth. The 
 Gutenbergplatz stands, as it were, as a symbol of the
 
 136 THE EHINE. 
 
 intellectual power which the middle ages possessed in 
 their great free cities. 
 
 As the former German period of Strasburg history 
 has eminently a burgess character, so during the 
 French epoch did the military element gain the 
 ascendancy, as well as that pretentious, intriguing 
 policy which had its school on the polished floors of 
 Versailles. After this came the omnipotence of the 
 first Bonaparte ; and all these different periods are, 
 more or less, embodied in the outward appearance of 
 Strasburg. Even the names of places lift us into the 
 French world as we step across the Broglieplatz, or 
 the Paradeplatz, where General Kleber's monument 
 stands. 
 
 The Broglieplatz (or Brohl, as it is familiary called 
 by the townspeople) is without doubt the handsomest 
 and most frequented of all the squares. Here is the 
 fine residence of the mayor ; the great cafes under 
 the trees are in the French style, and, in fact, there 
 is everything required by the fashionable world. 
 Totally different, indeed, from these parts of the town 
 arc those old confined districts where the artificers 
 work and the poorer classes dwell ; there the odd 
 corners of the old free town have been preserved 
 with all the original peculiarities which the architects 
 of that time possessed. 
 
 Many such houses may be seen on the 111 Canal, 
 and the whole tanners' quarter near which the old 
 " Vine " stands presents that picturesque mixture of
 
 STRASBURG. 137 
 
 styles which only an old town can offer ; the eye, in- 
 deed, loses itself in rich architectural details of gables 
 and Avindows, balconies and bays. Doors with beauti- 
 ful iron-work and broad steps carved in massive oak 
 are frequently found in plain, simple houses ; and 
 even in the narrowest streets magnificent houses are 
 unexpectedly met with. These are all relics of the 
 old free-town period, and they give to the place the 
 same kind of quaintness that we meet with in Augs- 
 burg or Nuremberg. 
 
 Thus the architecture of the town possesses a 
 threefold element : palaces in the style of the Renais- 
 sance and the Rococo period ; dwellings built during 
 the old prosperity of the imperial town ; and, lastly, 
 that mass of modern buildings of no particular style 
 which sprang, as it were, out of the earth as a com- 
 pensation for those destroyed in 1870. In a Avord, 
 everywhere the Old is contrasted with the New — the 
 Past with the Future — and everything struggles, 
 either consciously or unconsciously, towards the 
 assimilation of these two opposite elements.
 
 138 THE RHINE. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CONVENT OF ST. ODILLE. 
 
 On leaving Strasburg and driving towards Barr we 
 come upon a large mountain covered with dark wood, 
 and the white building which we see near the old 
 ruins of the Heathen Walls is the Convent of St. 
 Odille. The road leading up to it is remarkably 
 beautiful and varied in its scenery. 
 
 We first come upon the little village of Ottrott, 
 with its long row of houses, where we rest before 
 ascending further ; as we go a lad clad in a blue 
 blouse passes along the street beating a drum, and 
 announcing that on the following day there will be a 
 sale by auction. Heads appear at every window, and 
 in the village inn for the next few hours, nothing but 
 the sale is spoken of. 
 
 Almost immediately behind the village we plunge 
 again into the forest, and lest we should lose our way 
 we take one of the merry boys who are playing in 
 the street for our guide. For a fcAv minutes, before 
 we enter into the depths of the wood, our way lies 
 through a cornfield. On passing this, a narrow path 
 takes us upwards, and the green boughs rustle above 
 our heads. Here and there among the luxuriant
 
 THE CONVENT OF ST. ODILLE. 139 
 
 brambles stands a half-decayed monument raised to 
 some one who has met with an accident in his work ; 
 now and again, a weary woman with a great bundle 
 on her shoulder meets us, and passes us with a pious 
 greeting, but otherwise no sound is to be heard ex- 
 cept the tapping of the crossbill in the thicket. The 
 world around us seems lost in solitary beauty. 
 
 All at once we come to an opening, and through 
 the trees we see the convent looking down on us. It 
 lies opposite and quite close to us, but the road takes 
 a circuitous route over the top of the ridge. We 
 then reach the first remains of the Heathen Walls, 
 which have come down to us like an heirloom of cen- 
 turies. The thick clambering ivy spreads itself over 
 the huge stones, as if to veil the gray sanctuary from 
 our curiosity. But the present generation has a keen 
 eye, and with its restless spirit of inquiry has pene- 
 trated here in order to unveil the mystery which sur- 
 rounds this wonderful building. All is not yet known, 
 it is true, but we have got far beyond the domain of 
 mere conjecture. 
 
 It was at first supposed that these huge walls, which 
 extend for about fifteen miles, were of Celtic origin, 
 and that their purpose was to divide the sacred dwell- 
 ing of the gods from the dwellings of the human race. 
 Who has not read of the sad blood-stained worship 
 which was performed in the obscure solitude of the 
 woods ? The altars were high as mountains, the sac- 
 rificial victim was slaughtered on a block of stone,
 
 140 THE EHINE. 
 
 and there the festivals were celebrated with wild 
 splendor. 
 
 Such was the first idea which the sight of these 
 walled heights raised in the minds of archaeologists. 
 They have, hoAvever, since descended from the world 
 of deities to the human race, and found that men 
 built this fortress for their own protection and defence. 
 These walled enclosures occur more than once on the 
 heights of the Vosges, and whole races took refuge 
 within their spacious circumference when an enemy 
 overran the land. This opinion gave rise to another, 
 namely, that the builders were the Romans. They 
 undoubtedly ruled the races which these walls availed 
 to shelter, and, taking this view, it is probable that the 
 origin of the whole immense work, including the cas- 
 tle which was joined to it, dates from the third or 
 fourth century. It seems likely, indeed, that it may 
 be put down to the time of the Emperor Valentinian, 
 who is known to have fortified the entire course of 
 the Rhine as far as Holland. 
 
 In making a circuit of the walls, which are several 
 miles in extent, the method of building can plainly be 
 seen. Oaken stakes have been used to join the stones 
 firmly to each other, but what most attracts the eye 
 and gives an appearance of originality to the whole 
 mass is the expert way in which the wall is worked 
 into the rocks, and which, as it were, indicate the 
 foundation of the building. 
 
 We mount higher and higher out of the forest into
 
 THE CONVENT OF ST. ODILLE. 141 
 
 the open country, between flat-worn stones where the 
 heath grows luxuriantly. We pass another green 
 meadow, when once more the trees form an arched 
 roof above us, and we proceed until we stop on the 
 threshold of the venerable Convent of St. Odille. 
 
 St. Odille Avas the patron saint of Alsace. Tradition 
 says that she was the daughter of Eticho, Duke of 
 Alsace, who ruled in the seventh century. She was 
 born blind, but gained her sight by being baptized. 
 She founded this nunnery, and died here in the odor 
 of sanctity. 
 
 What joy and what misery has this roof covered 
 during the course of centuries ! It has stood on its 
 lofty rock not only as a Avatch-tower looking doAvn on 
 the country at its feet, but it may also be said to have 
 been as an instrument to register the course of time. 
 Barbarossa Avas once a guest here ; and it was here 
 that the Abbess Herrad composed her religious Avork, 
 " The Garden of Delight." These old walls, it is 
 true, have been more than once reduced to ruins, but 
 they have ahvays risen again out of the Avreck, and 
 are still the fa\^orite resort, not only of the pious, but 
 of everyone for Avhom the beauty of Nature and the 
 charm of ancient association have any attraction. All 
 visitors are made equally Avelcome, and enjoy a kindly 
 hospitality which they must always remember Avith 
 gratitude. 
 
 As we pass through the convent yard Avith its old 
 lime-trees, Ave see the lady superior standing in the
 
 142 THE RHINE. 
 
 doorway. Everyone, both old and young, visitors as 
 well as the inmates of the house, call her "Mother;" 
 and, indeed, she is worthy of that expressive and 
 beautiful name — always thoughtful for others, always 
 gentle, so that the very place itself over which she 
 rules seems to be influenced by the kindliness of her 
 nature. 
 
 Fresh nosegays of wild flowers are in the simple 
 dining-room, and, indeed, every corner ; even the 
 passages and the little garden on the narrow slope 
 where the rock declines into the valley is carefidly 
 tended. The children belong to the families who are 
 spending the fine weather here, and they romp about 
 without restraint in the spacious halls. Inside we 
 see two visitors playing chess, for people come and 
 go as they will, and always find a kindly wel- 
 come. 
 
 On the occasion of our last visit it was astonishing 
 to find how great the preponderance of the German, 
 and especially the North German, element was among 
 the guests. There were, however, French visitors 
 also. Once the door flew suddenly open and a swarm 
 of twenty heads appeared in the opening. " Bonjour, 
 ma soeur ; nous avons faim, nous avons soif, nous 
 sommes enormement fatigues !" We were all some- 
 what astonished at this theatrical manner of asking 
 for supper and lodging, but the good " Mother " only 
 smiled softly, and in an hour all Avere noiselessly pro- 
 vided for.
 
 THE CONVENT OF ST. ODILLE. 143 
 
 The most precious relic on Mount Odille is the 
 chapel, which bears the name of the illustrious pa- 
 troness of the convent, and several hundred feet lower 
 is the spring of sacred water which is said to be a 
 cure for blindness. The little chapel, though it is 
 more homely than sublime, must yet raise some feel- 
 ing of reverence even in the mind of him who knows 
 little of that form of devotion which, centuries ago, 
 gave rise to such places of worship. Here are no 
 lofty stalls whence the thunder of an inspired dis- 
 course carries away the hearts of thousands of hearers. 
 It is more like a private chamber for the soul, where 
 the heart is silently overwhelmed with the knowledge 
 of itself, and can gaze into Heaven undisturbed by 
 the presence of others. We pray here free from that 
 grandeur which makes us at times half-timid and re- 
 luctant to approach the shrine of modern ecclesiasti- 
 cal structures. It is a church eminently fitted for 
 women, whose piety depends less on sense than on the 
 instinct of divine feeling. 
 
 What different influences surround us when we 
 leave the peaceful circle of the convent walls and 
 pass out into the wilderness of the mountains, over 
 the rocky plateau to Wachtstein, where the stony 
 ruins almost overhang the rock. Here let us stop and 
 gaze down upon the country lying below us — the 
 ancient Wasgau spreading before our eyes with its 
 dark woods and golden undulations of corn-laden 
 fields. Here and there old villages and towns dot the
 
 144 THE EHINE. 
 
 landscape, stretching away into the distance to where 
 the horizon is lost in blue haze. Far off we see the 
 lofty tower of Strasburg Cathedral. Then our eye 
 returns from the distant prospect to our own imme- 
 diate surroundings, and to the plateau on which we 
 stand. At its foot lie scattered ruins, a winding path 
 leads down through the bushes, and the rain-worn 
 boulders stand about, and look like huge deserted 
 altars. A pagan atmosphere seems to surround us, 
 and we are in the presence of such a wilderness that 
 we seem to feel almost as if the old creating elements 
 were at work once more. 
 
 Presently the wind begins to rise, and our eye 
 thoughtfully follows the trace of the crumbling 
 " Heathen Wall," which here stands again before us. 
 A kite with outspread wings hovers over us, and then 
 slowly descends to the summits of the woods. Not a 
 human soul is near. The genius of the Past takes 
 possession of us ; for the two great powers, namely, 
 Paganism and Christianity, which once struggled for 
 the possession of the earth, were never nearer to one 
 another than they are here — the one which, let us 
 hope, has now expired, and the other that new Chris- 
 tian faith which brandished its sword and built its 
 cloisters throughout all Germany.
 
 THE BLACK FOREST. 145 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE BLACK FOREST. 
 
 We now begin .a becautiful, quiet journey ; the 
 loftiest summits of the Black Forest range before us 
 in a long blue chain, and lovely spots, through which 
 we are to pass, are shaded by the mountains. The 
 deep defile through which the road goes is called the 
 Kappeler Valley, and here the Acher runs between 
 bare rocks to the Rhine, though in our immediate 
 neighborhood we are surrounded by meadows which 
 border the feet of the wooded slopes. 
 
 This is the land where Hebel's old German poems 
 and Auerbach's village stories had their origin, and 
 here is still found that picturesque distinctive costume 
 without which no purely national life can be imag- 
 ined. Under the long black coat is seen the brilliant 
 red waistcoat, and the blue trustworthy-looking eyes 
 are shaded by a large broad-brimmed hat. 
 
 The Black Forest, or Sch warts wold, extends for 
 eighty-five miles almost parallel with the course of 
 the Rhine, from which it is distant in places not more 
 than twenty miles. The Black Forest is about twenty- 
 five miles wide. Its highest point is near Freiburg ; 
 from there it descends steeply to the Rhine. The 
 Vol. L— 10 

 
 146 THE RHINE. 
 
 summits of the Black Forest are covered with snow 
 for eight months out of the year ; consequently, 
 agriculture is of little importance to the inhabi- 
 tants. 
 
 The Middle Ages have left many traces of their 
 history in this district, among the most notable being 
 the ruins of the Castle of Yberg, ill-famed in the 
 mouths of the people because an impious and rapa- 
 cious knight had there exhumed the bones of his an- 
 cestors to find treasure ; also the Castle of Roeteln, in 
 the vale of Wiesen, the home of the poet Hebel. 
 
 Near the foot of the mountains the villages are 
 large and handsome, and in the white house which we 
 entered we met with plain but hearty hospitality. 
 Newspapers were lying on the table, and the peasant 
 was able and willing to converse on all that was going 
 on in the world. He showed us his stables and barns, 
 and told us about his ancestors and his children, and 
 when we at length asked him to whom we were in- 
 debted for so much kindness, he said proudly, " I am 
 called Michael Kobel the Fifth !" We doubt whether 
 Charles V. was more proud of his title than our friend 
 Kobel the Fifth ! 
 
 A short cut brings us to the inn, which is the cen- 
 tre of life in every village. Nearly all the inns on 
 the Baden side of the Black Forest, and, indeed, be- 
 yond in the plain of the Rhine, bear one of the an- 
 cient signs of the Lion, the Eagle, the Black Horse, 
 or the Swan. They generally also have a picture of
 
 THE BLACK FOKEST. 147 
 
 one of these well-known creatures placed conspicu- 
 ously over the door instead of an inscription. 
 
 The host, who receives us, himself carries our lug- 
 gage into the comfortable sitting-room, where we find 
 numerous guests. The Avails are hung with tapestry, 
 and mingled with the pictures of the heroes of 1870 
 we find occasionally portraits of Schiller or Goethe. 
 From the ceiling hangs the inevitable carrier's sign, 
 for that must have its place of honor — the carrier 
 being, indeed, the embodied symbol of progress. 
 
 The guests who are seated at the host's table are 
 of various ranks and conditions, though all seem per- 
 sons of intelligence. There are wood-carvers and 
 peasants, tax-gatherers and parish officials, watchmen, 
 and other local dignitaries. At their invitation we 
 seat ourselves at the table, and find that they are just 
 discussing an official enactment ; and the way in 
 which it is criticized, the sharpness with which the 
 weak points of it are observed, surprise us not a 
 little. 
 
 The great events of the last few years still form 
 the staple of all public conversation, and they engage 
 the attention of the two carriers who sit apart from 
 our table, each clad in a blue smockfrock and carry- 
 ing his whip. They get to high words respecting the 
 fortifications on the Moselle and the Maas ; and as 
 neither will yield they ask the host for a map, which 
 he soon produces, and on which they continue their 
 endless arguments.
 
 148 THE RHINE. 
 
 Those features which we heave described as being 
 common to the large villages of the Kappeler Valley 
 are found in the large, handsome village of Otten- 
 hofen, which lies in the middle of the valley. The 
 hamlet of Seebach belongs to it, and though unim- 
 portant in itself, it is celebrated for the ruins of 
 Bosenstein, which tower above it, and for the follow- 
 ing legend which is connected with it, called " The 
 Legend of the Lady's Grave." 
 
 In consequence of a curse which a starving woman 
 had called down upon the wife of one of the knights 
 of Bosenstein, the lady bore seven sons at a birth 
 during her husband's absence in a distant land. The 
 mother, horrified at what had happened, instructed a 
 servant to drown six of the children ; but it so hap- 
 pened that just as the dreadful deed was about to be 
 perpetrated, the father accidentally returned and res- 
 cued the infants. By his order they were reared in 
 the depths of the Avoods, unknown to their mother, 
 and when they were strong, handsome knights their 
 father invited them to his castle. A splendid banquet 
 was prepared, and in the midst of it the lord of the 
 castle suddenly asked : " What punishment ought to 
 be given to a mother who, herself, doomed her chil- 
 dren to death f " She should be buried alive !" 
 cried the Lady of Bosenstein, with feigned indigna- 
 tion. She did not know that she had pronounced her 
 own sentence ; but the knight started up, and with 
 terrible mien announced to her her doom. She was
 
 Cottage in tbe Black :|forest.
 
 THE BLACK FOREST. 149 
 
 at once hurried away from the banquet, led down into 
 the valley, where the stream springs from the rock, 
 and there may be seen in the stone a deep hole which 
 appears to have been hewn out by human hands — 
 this is known as " The Lady's Grave." 
 
 The path, as we proceed, takes us still deeper into 
 the forest. Here and there a steep foot-path leads up 
 through the thicket from the broad circuitous road. 
 The masses of wood lie below, with their green sum- 
 mits swelling in dark waves like a green sea. What 
 profound rest ! what holy silence ! nothing but the 
 rustling of the wood is heard around. Such is the 
 spot where the venerable monastery of All Saints 
 stands. It is no longer, indeed, a monastery, but 
 only the ruins of one ; for the weather-beaten pil- 
 lars stand desolate, and for many years past the 
 transept with its pointed roof has lain shattered on 
 the ground. 
 
 Even in the ruins, however, there is a kind of 
 rhythmical beauty which, with such surroundings as 
 it possesses, exercises a sort of fascination on the be- 
 holder ; it is a picture of rare poetical power — a stone 
 elegy. The history of the monastery is old and in- 
 teresting. Its foundation reaches as far back as the 
 time when the great Barbarossa sank in the floods of 
 the Calycadnus, for it was at that time (1196) that Uta 
 von Schauenburg gave the rich estate to the Prsemon- 
 stratensian monks, and it was not long before their 
 institution became the most powerful of that region.
 
 150 THE KHINE. 
 
 In the seventeenth century it was raised to the 
 dignity of an abbey, and, in spite of many calamities, 
 it maintained its ancient renown till the year 1802, 
 when it shared the lot of other reUgious houses, and 
 its property was secularized. 
 
 But a worse fate than even this lay in store for the 
 sacred edifice. One year after the event above re- 
 ferred to the roof was set on fire by lightning. 
 Strange to say, this misfortune happened on the an- 
 niversary of the foundation of the church, on the day 
 of the year when the bells had formerly been accus- 
 tomed to ring out proudly to assert the glory of the 
 lordly abbey. On this occasion they sounded an 
 alarm, and clanged despairingly for help. But help 
 was of no avail ; the stately buildings which sur- 
 rounded the monastery soon lay a heap of rubbish, 
 only the blackened stone pillars of the church re- 
 mained standing. The beautiful ruin now lies among 
 the green pines like the tomb of departed splendor, 
 and we almost seem still to hear the echo of the Me- 
 mento Mori which used to be sung here ! 
 
 We pass the old monastery garden, where the wind 
 plays among the rustling limes, and soon we find the 
 valley becoming narrower as we proceed. All at once 
 it sinks to its lowest depth, and the valley has become 
 a ravine full of crevices and rocks, which lie in slabs 
 like steps, over which the river rushes angrily, as if 
 to secure possession of the path ; these are the Biit- 
 tenstein Falls, some of them fifty feet in height.
 
 THE BLACK FOREST. 151 
 
 The beauty of this woodland picture was for cen- 
 turies unknown and unseen, but the searching eye of 
 the present day has brought it to light. A secure 
 path now leads the traveller over to the seven falls, 
 and by the same route we come down the Lierbach 
 Valley to Oppenau. 
 
 Another point of interest lies near us on this 
 journey if we take the road out of Ottenhofen which 
 leads up to the Hornisgrinde. There lies the Miim- 
 mel Lake, that expanse of water which the pregnant 
 superstition of the peasantry peoples with a hundred 
 hovering sprites. It is a dark, melancholy mirror, 
 framed in fir woods, through Avhich the wind sighs 
 almost inaudibly. No fish are found in this lake, and 
 the water is black and mysterious. It is said to be 
 the abode of the Avater-god Miimmel and his seven 
 beautiful daughters, the Miimmelchen. 
 
 Tradition says that a desperate poacher once killed 
 a gamekeeper in the nearby forest, and threw the 
 body into the Miimmelsee, thinking that the black 
 water would keep his secret ; but as the murderer 
 stood watching the ripples made by the body as it 
 sank, the water-god, who would allow nothing to be 
 throAvn into his domain, rose up in wrath, caught the 
 poacher by the legs, and drew him down under the 
 water, where he was drowned. 
 
 The daughters of the old water-god rise up out 
 of the lake every moonlight night, dressed in green 
 and white, with diamonds in their hair. They dance
 
 152 THE KHINE. 
 
 all the night through on the shore. As the first glim- 
 mer of dawn appears their father rises up out of the 
 lake, beckoning them back to their native element. 
 As they touch the water they are transformed into 
 water-lilies, and they lie all day lazily rocking on the 
 bosom of the lake. 
 
 One night a young shepherd met with one of the 
 water-sprites, who had strayed far from her sisters. 
 They sat together on the soft moss ; they sang, they 
 embraced, and never in his life had he seen so beautiful 
 a creature. He himself was one of the handsomest 
 lads in the country round, with bright golden hair and 
 pink and white cheeks, so that the Black Forest had 
 never contained a happier or fairer pair of lovers. 
 
 One request alone she made, and that was, that if 
 by chance she should at any time not come to the 
 border of the lake, he was on no account to call her, 
 as his doing so would cause the destruction of them 
 both. For two days, during which she did not come, 
 he heeded the warning, but on the third, being driven 
 by a powerful impulse to the border of the lake, where 
 he could see the water roses blooming in the depths, 
 he called beseechingly on the name of his beloved. 
 He called ! he listened ! — suddenly darkness fell on the 
 mountains, the water of the lake began to foam, and, 
 driven by irresistible terror, he fled into the depth of 
 the woods, and was never after seen by human eye. 
 
 The immediate surroundings of the lake harmonize 
 with the gloomy legends which are associated with it.
 
 THE BLACK FOREST. 153 
 
 On the south bank, where Seebach seems to steal out 
 of the dreary Avilderness in order to hasten to the 
 cheerful valley, there stands a rough stone hut ; it is 
 uninhabited, and its bare rooms lack that charm 
 Avhich the presence of man breathes into dead walls. 
 For all this lonesomeness it has had a friendly aspect 
 to many, for it is placed where it is as a shelter for 
 stray travellers who are overtaken by storms ; it be- 
 longs to everyone and yet to no one. 
 
 The scenery becomes wilder as Ave ascend the 
 jagged footpath ; there are no more huts, but the 
 overhanging Avail of rock protects us from AA'ind and 
 rain. A AA^eather-worn finger-post nailed to one of 
 the fir-trees points us out the road, from Avhich we 
 look doAvn upon the dark lake. The ancient Romans 
 must have felt the fascination that lies in these depths 
 when they called the place Lacus Mirabilis. 
 
 We have now reached the summit of the Hornis- 
 grinde, and find it gloomy and desolate ; the keen 
 wind sweeps over the plateau, on Avhich short heath 
 and broAvn rushes grow plentifully, for the ground is 
 marshy and poor. A pointed tower on the summit, 
 in which we vainly seek a door, shows the four points 
 of the compass ; and here we see the beautiful 
 world lying beneath us for an immeasurable dis- 
 tance. We look from Hohgau on Lake Constance 
 to the Taunus — from the source of the Danube, over 
 the plain of the Rhine, as far as the summits of the 
 Vosges.
 
 154 THE BHINE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 BADEN-BADEN. 
 
 Although the renown of Baden-Baden is of 
 modern origin, a knowledge of the place existed in 
 very early times, for here, as elsewhere, the Romans 
 took possession of the warm springs and made them 
 the centre of a town called Civitas Aurelia Aquensis. 
 After the fall of the Romans the place suffered much 
 in various wars ; but when it had risen slowly out of 
 its ruins not a few abbots and knights strove for its 
 possession, until at length Barbarossa gave it in fee 
 to the Margrave Hermann, who died in the Crusades 
 in 1190. Under his family the town reached a po- 
 sition of great prosperity, and a fine new building 
 was erected in the early part of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, in addition to the old castle which stood high 
 up on the mountain. The new edifice was placed 
 lower down, almost on a level with the cheerful, busy 
 town, but it was at last destroyed by the fire of the 
 French soldiery. After lying for a long time in a 
 state of ruin, the castle was rebuilt, and now serves 
 as the summer residence of the reigning family. 
 
 A handsome road with a broad rampart leads up 
 from the town, and the outer wall is surrounded by
 
 BADEN-BADEN. 155 
 
 ancient, rustling trees. While the old building, 
 which was burnt in 1689, was so remarkable for its 
 architectural features as to be frequently compared 
 with the Castle of Heidelberg, the present structure 
 is plain and unpretending, all the rooms being de- 
 signed rather for domestic comfort than for the dis- 
 play of regal splendor. 
 
 The only relic which recalls to us the primitive 
 times of this stronghold are the mysterious dark dun- 
 geons which extend far under the castle, the precise 
 use of which have not yet been ascertained. The 
 guide descends to them with a flaming torch in his 
 hand, and we grope after him through a labyrinth of 
 passages ; on one side we hear the creaking of a 
 prison door, on the other the noise of an iron bolt. 
 If we examine closer we find that the door is com- 
 posed of a single slab of stone, and that the bolt 
 is nearly ten feet long, and runs from one chamber 
 to another. 
 
 For a long time the prevalent opinion was that this 
 was one of the centres of the ancient Vehnigericht, 
 and if this is not the true historical explanation, the 
 first impression of the place is so horrible that it is 
 easy to understand how the idea arose. What a 
 fearful and pitiless time must that have been when 
 hammer and chisel were plied to furnish such a 
 shelter for the enemies of the builder ! What is 
 imprisonment in our days compared with this entomb- 
 ment?
 
 156 THE RHINE. 
 
 The old castle stands much higher, about three 
 miles above the town itself, and consists of pictur- 
 esque ruins, which lay hidden for centuries in the 
 green depths of the wood before the curiosity of man 
 found a path to its heights. Now it is all carefully 
 arranged and made easy of access, for man soon 
 brought the luxury of Baden-Baden hither. The 
 huge masses of rock which rise in all their wild rug- 
 gedness behind the castle give an idea of what the 
 character of the place was when Hermann and Bern- 
 hard, Jacob and Christopher, dwelt at Hohenbaden. 
 From this spot we have a fine and extensive view of 
 the country below. 
 
 The town lies partly in the green valley and partly 
 on the slopes of the hills on either side ; beyond this 
 we see open meadow-land and wooded heights, and 
 through the valley the clear waters of the river ripple 
 merrily. Truly we gaze upon a little earthly Para- 
 dise. After leaving Hohenbaden we soon come upon 
 another citadel, which stands upon a steep point of 
 rock, and Avas once the castle of the Counts of Eber- 
 stein. They themselves have long ago disappeared 
 into obscurity, but legend still winds its tendrils 
 about the rugged walls, and though it is long since 
 any bold knight added to its renown, there was an 
 observant poet who many a time paid it a visit. The 
 beautiful ballad which Uhland sang to the Counts of 
 Eberstein is well known. 
 
 Not far from the castle are two great rocks, known
 
 Bntrance to tbe ©l^ Castle, 3BaDen*JBaOen.
 
 BADEN-BADEN. 157 
 
 among the peasantry as the angel's and the devil's 
 pulpits. 
 
 The legend concerning them tells how the devil, 
 getting tired of the lower regions, came up to the 
 surface of the earth one day, through the springs 
 of Baden-Baden, which have tasted of sulphur ever 
 since. 
 
 He was very much in need of new victims to 
 roast, so he stationed himself on one of these rocks 
 and began to preach. The passers-by, knights, 
 priests, and peasants, curious to hear what it Avas all 
 about, stopped to listen to his eloquence, and soon he 
 had them so fascinated that they could not tell right 
 from wrong, nor black from white, so plausible was 
 he in his arguments. 
 
 Just when it seemed that Satan would return to 
 his kingdom with a goodly number of converts, the 
 heavens opened and an angel floated down, and 
 taking his stand on a rock opposite, began to preach 
 with a still small voice, but in a very different 
 strain. 
 
 The devil, enraged, raised his voice and tried to 
 drown the low voice of the angel, but one by one 
 his hearers left him to gather round the heavenly 
 messenger and listen to his words of peace. The 
 devil, finding himself alone, began to swear and 
 tear up the grass and shrubs, and he stamped his 
 red-hot feet on the rock so hard that the prints of his 
 hoofs can be seen to this day.
 
 158 THE RHINE. 
 
 But we must now bid farewell to the reminis- 
 cences of legendary times, and descend from the 
 solitude of the woods to the active bustle of the 
 present which prevails in the valley below. The 
 large number of fugitives who fled from France 
 during the terror of the Great Revolution, and 
 who populated the German towns from Lake Con- 
 stance to Coblentz, considerably influenced the 
 whole character of Baden, and continued to do so 
 until the events of 1870 broke through these tra- 
 ditions. 
 
 Since that time the number of foreign visitors 
 has rapidly increased, for while forty years ago 
 they scarcely amounted to five thousand, at the 
 present time they reach the number of sixty thou- 
 sand a year. The establishments which are appro- 
 priated to the amusement of this avalanche of visitors 
 have obtained a degree of perfection which justifies 
 the inhabitants in considering their spa the first in 
 the world. 
 
 This is true from a social rather than from a hy- 
 gienic point of view, for the complaint for the cure 
 of which Baden-Baden is most efficacious is ennui. 
 For that old craving which goes through all humanity, 
 and appears and reappears on thousands of lips, if it 
 also dies on thousands — that craving for pleasure and 
 parade, for splendor and delight, is met with here in 
 its most concentrated form. 
 
 Busy hands have brought together almost all the
 
 BADEN-BADEN. 159 
 
 good things of this worki ; the merchant has brought 
 his stores, the gardener his flowers, the goldsmith his 
 costly treasures, and the artist his art. Music sounds 
 over the polished floor^ horses fly over the green 
 course, shots whiz through the air, and golden-haired 
 sirens crowd round the spring which once was hidden 
 in the deep recesses of the wood. Unceasingly is 
 heard the sound, echoing, roaring, singing, ringing in 
 our ears, " Live, enjoy life !" Still, as all these en- 
 joyments created only satiety and not happiness, 
 there came another holding a shining ball in his hand 
 and saying, " Here is something which is the essence 
 of happiness — try this !" Then he set the ball roll- 
 ing, and thousands of gleaming eyes folloAved it. 
 Thousands also rolled their glittering gold after it, as 
 at every throw and every fresh turn in the game, the 
 haggard croupier repeated his monotonous formula, 
 " Messieurs, faites votre jeu ; le jeu est fait, rien ne 
 va plus !" Thus Baden-Baden has become what it 
 is, and though public gambling has been abolished 
 since 1872, something seems to remain even now of 
 the feverishness of that time, and of that eager pur- 
 suit of fortune which was then a characteristic of the 
 place. 
 
 It would be unjust to look upon all this as the real 
 nature of the lovely spa, for many live there in the 
 quiet round of every-day duties, and many find their 
 enjoyment there solely in a pure sense of the beauty 
 which Nature spreads before them. But it is also
 
 160 THE EHINE. 
 
 true that thousands come to drag through their weary 
 days with the help of this copious supply of excite- 
 ment. They feel nothing of the fresh, fir-scented 
 breeze ; they appreciate nothing of the idyllic beauty 
 of a happy, sheltered home ; they seek the fever that 
 consumes, the excitement that destroys, and they 
 exhibit all their wealth in order to conceal their real 
 poverty. It is of them only that we have spoken 
 here ; the harmless guests, who also assemble from 
 all parts of the world, shall not be mentioned with 
 them, but only that community which appears, more 
 or less, in every fashionable watering-place, and 
 which has its own peculiar physiognomy. For 
 these the word Baden-Baden means something quite 
 different, and the disappearance of the gaming- 
 tables and of the French element is indeed a serious 
 loss. 
 
 The Friedrichsbad is the principal bath-house. It 
 was erected about twenty-five years ago, and rises 
 on terraces from the Stein-Strasse, quite close to the 
 springs. The internal arrangements of this estab- 
 lishment are unsurpassed. There are hot and cold 
 baths, plunge-, vapor- and sitz-baths ; large swim- 
 ming-pools, with warm and cold water ; and one 
 floor is set apart for curative gymnastics and mas- 
 sage. 
 
 Though each individual is at liberty to select that 
 part of the town which he fancies will suit his health 
 best, the social pleasui'es of the place are decidedly
 
 BADEN-BADEN. 161 
 
 centralized, and the centre is that lovely park in 
 which the Conversation House stands. The long 
 drinking-hall is shaded by handsome trees and sur- 
 rounded by gay flower-beds, and has lofty open cor- 
 ridors, which are decorated with illustrations from the 
 most interesting of the legends of the Black Forest. 
 We see the dancing nixies of the Miimmelsee, the 
 Emperor Otto encamped before Eberstein, which his 
 men are besieging in vain, and the gipsy woman 
 watching her treasures beside the splashing water- 
 fall of All Saints. Such were the forms which passed 
 over these spots when the miraculous spring, to which 
 thousands now make their pilgrimage, -was still a 
 hidden forest secret, known only to the lofty pines 
 and to the silent rocks. 
 
 So we muse. But we must leave the fascinations 
 of bygone days and step into the circle of the busy 
 exulting life of the present day, for indeed we stand 
 on the spot where the life-pulse beats loudest. Music 
 crashes out from the kiosk which lies opposite the 
 Conversation House ; the countess in her long silken 
 train bows graciously to the prince, who offers her 
 his arm. What caprices of humanity are exhibited 
 in all these garments ! What caprices of Nature in 
 all these forms, which range from the truly noble to 
 the basely criminal ! The croAvd becomes thicker 
 and thicker •, rattling equipages fly past. 
 
 It is now twiUght, and the branched candelabra are 
 lighted, and a great display of fireworks is prepared 
 Vol. I.— 11
 
 162 THE KHINE. 
 
 for the evening. As the air is mild and warm the 
 folding-doors of the rooms are thrown open, and 
 forms of fairy-like beauty stream in and out, making 
 a constant movement like the flowing of a river. 
 There also is the rustling of the ladies' dresses, the 
 noise of endless conversation, and that predominating 
 hum of life which pervades every room but one. In 
 this strict silence reigns, so much so that one can 
 hear the very breathing of the men who sit there and 
 who brood over the newspapers of all countries. It 
 is this reading-room which is decorated in the richest 
 style of the Renaissance. 
 
 Presently the shower of fireworks outside attracts 
 even the tenants of this silent apartment ; the old 
 castle is already illuminated by Bengal lights ; thou- 
 sands of rockets burst, and people from all parts 
 crowd to see the beautiful display. It is midnight 
 before the crowd on the Kurplatz begins to clear 
 away ; and then the jeweller, who comes in the season 
 from the Palais-Royal, shuts up his ebony case, and 
 the fair moths who flutter round his glittering treas- 
 ures slowly disappear. Baden-Baden retires to rest, 
 and there is silence in the houses and in the streets, 
 and no sound is heard except that of the splashing 
 waters of the Oos, which murmur through the town 
 as they pass under the gray iron bridges. 
 
 The season is, naturaUy, at its height in the au- 
 tumn, at the time of the great races, which are 
 among the most important of those on the Continent.
 
 Conversation Ibouse, JSat)en*3Ba&en.
 
 BADEN-BADEN. 163 
 
 Occasionally not less than from one to two hundred 
 horses are entered, though only about half the num- 
 ber actually go over the course ; the total value of 
 the prizes reaches nearly a hundred thousand marks. 
 The course is about eight miles distant from the town, 
 in the plain of the Rhine, near the village of Iffez- 
 heim. IfFezheim is, at this season, the most bril- 
 liant of all the brilliant spectacles that Baden has to 
 offer. 
 
 Pigeon-shooting is also practised on the same 
 course — a cruel sport, the introduction of which does 
 not add to the credit of Germany. The number of 
 live pigeons yearly required for this purpose amounts 
 to many thousands. 
 
 But the special and the greatest attraction which 
 life in Baden-Baden offers is not to be found in the 
 brilliant crowd ; we must seek it in those charming 
 retired villas which lie along the banks of the river 
 in the Lichtenthaler Allee. The gardens which sur- 
 round each house are laid out with the greatest care. 
 More than a thousand cartloads of the best forest 
 mould are often brought for a single garden, and 
 fifteen or sixteen hundred of the most costly plants 
 are used to fill one small bed. 
 
 But we must pass on, away from modern Baden- 
 Baden, back to mediaeval times. A mile and a half 
 from the town is the village of Lichtenthal. We 
 pass through it, cross the bridge, and, turning to the 
 right, find ourselves at the Nunnery of Lichtenthal.
 
 164 THE KHINE. 
 
 It was founded in 1245 by Irmingard, the grand- 
 daughter of Henry the Lyon. The convent has es- 
 caped destruction in some miraculous way, and is 
 still occupied by Cistercian Nuns. In the church 
 adjoining is the tomb of Irmingard. 
 
 In strong contrast to the mediaeval character of 
 the place, a war monument of 1870-71 rises directly 
 in front of the nunnery. 
 
 But it is growing late ; we must hasten back to 
 Baden-Baden. As we near the town the lights 
 twinkle out from the Conversation House and we hear 
 the strains of the band. Looking on this enchanted 
 scene we wonder that Ave can ever leave it ; but is 
 there any spot on earth so lovely that we could enjoy 
 it forever f
 
 THE PFALZ. 165 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE PFALZ. 
 
 A BRIGHT, sunny picture lies before us when we 
 set foot upon the soil of the Pfalz. Life surges round 
 us, like a pulse which beats more rapidly here than 
 in the other countries of Germany. The speech is 
 loud and cheerful, and there appears in labor, as well 
 as in pleasure, a sort of energy which compels our 
 sympathy. The secret of this local characteristic, 
 perhaps, exists in the fact that the vine flourishes 
 here most luxuriantly, and covers hill and dale, and 
 clambers even over the poorest cottage. 
 
 A district which proves itself so useful, and is so 
 well cultivated, cannot, perhaps, be called exactly 
 beautiful, but it bears that stamp which careful in- 
 dustry never fails to imprint. There are, however, 
 parts of the Pfalz where the hand of man has never 
 interfered with the fine, bold, natural forms, and 
 where the charm of picturesque beauty is added to 
 the fertility of the soil. It is through such a portion 
 of the Pfalz that our road leads us. 
 
 We pass through the Rockland of Dahn, with its 
 long undulations of dark pine-wood interspersed with 
 rugged red sandstone, and then through those re- 
 markable districts where from the steep mountain-
 
 166 THE EHINE. 
 
 summits scattered ruins look down into the valley be- 
 low. Those ruins are the remains of strongholds 
 within whose walls the weal or woe of the Empire 
 was once decided. 
 
 The coach carries us out of the little town of Berg- 
 zabern, with its partly ruined fortifications, towards 
 the mountains. The road continually leads us up- 
 wards, and runs between thick fir-trees ; it passes an 
 old mill, several solitary crosses, and occasionally a 
 wagon drawn by a weary team. But in spite of the 
 quiet surroundings we feel the bodily and mental ac- 
 tivity which is at work in the inhabitants, and small 
 as the place is, its people are overflowing with energy. 
 Every child can give us what information w^e require 
 concerning the road. When we ask which Avay will 
 lead us up to the steep rock called the " Maiden's 
 Leap," we obtain an intelligent answer. 
 
 In the inn parlor, where the dignitaries of the place 
 assemble to take their evening glass, every guest is 
 welcome, and we are favorably impressed by the 
 modest neatness of the room and the eloquence of 
 its inhabitants. 
 
 The following morning we ascend to the two great 
 strongholds, Trifels and Madenburg, which are united 
 by a long dark spur of rock. Nothing remains of 
 either except wild ruins, which indicate the splendor 
 of past times. Madenburg is the grandest ruin in 
 the Rhenish Palatinate, but Trifels is especially rich 
 in reminiscences ; it was not simply a princely strong-
 
 THE PFALZ. 167 
 
 hold, but an imperial castle in all its splendor. The 
 inhabitants of the Pfalz have almost forgotten its ex- 
 istence in the daily bustle of their everyday work, 
 but great, eternal Nature has laid her protecting hand 
 upon this relic. 
 
 The path leads up to the castle through a beech 
 wood with its shining branches, and when we gain 
 the summit a vast world lies before us studded with 
 meadows and streams, towns and castles. It Avas 
 here that the Emperor Henry IV. sat in the deepest 
 anguish, when the German princes vowed to renounce 
 him if he did not remove the interdict within six 
 months ; and it was to this place that the costly 
 treasures of the Empire were brought, and here they 
 remained for years in safety. 
 
 Now nothing but waste ruins are left ; princes 
 dwell here no longer ; songs no more resound and 
 echo through these walls ; gold no longer adorns its 
 chambers, except the glorious light of the setting 
 sun. Merry children now play and romp whore 
 princes wept, and the beech-trees with their rustling 
 branches alone stand in lofty pride, with dark moss 
 growing on their trunks, and birds singing over- 
 head. The imperial citadel of Trifels is now dumb 
 forever ! 
 
 During the Third Crusade Richard the Lion- 
 Hearted and Leopold of Austria were besieging 
 Acre. Both were noted for their courage, and they 
 vied with one another in performing many vaUant
 
 168 THE RHINE. 
 
 deeds of arms. Leopold, jealous of Richard's supe- 
 rior glory, finally gave up the siege and returned 
 home, vowing that he would make the English King 
 bitterly regret having overshadowed him by his supe- 
 rior prowess. 
 
 Leopold soon had the opportunity of fulfilling his 
 vow ; for Richard, returning from the Crusade, was 
 shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, and was forced to 
 make his way back to England alone and on foot. 
 He exchanged his garments for a pilgrim's robe and 
 scrip, and proceeded on his way, passing safely 
 through the greater part of Austria. 
 
 One day he found himself obliged to part with his 
 signet-ring to procure him food and shelter. This 
 ring betrayed him to his enemies. He was seized 
 and imprisoned in the Fortress of Durrenstein, and 
 kept there until Henry IV. of Germany took him 
 into custody, and transferred him to this castle of 
 Trifels. 
 
 While Richard was pining in captivity, wondering 
 why his faithful subjects made no effort to find him, 
 his brother, John Lackland, had usurped the throne 
 and was reigning in Richard's stead. The people 
 hated John, and longed for the return of their right- 
 ful king, but only one man thought of going in search 
 of him. This was Blondel, the King's minstrel ; he 
 felt sure that Richard had been taken prisoner by 
 the Emperor of Germany. So he started to find his 
 master, and wandered from town to town, and from
 
 THE PFALZ. 169 
 
 castle to castle, questioning all whom he met, and 
 singing, under the walls of every stronghold, a pecu- 
 liar air known only to the King and himself. 
 
 After months of weary wandering Blondel came to 
 Trifels, and under the tower he began to sing his 
 little song. Imagine his joy Avhen he heard the re- 
 frain taken up by the voice of his dear King ! 
 Richard, his long-lost master, was found, and his 
 weary search was ended. 
 
 But Blondel could do nothing alone to deliver his 
 King, so he hastened back to England, told the Eng- 
 lish nobles the residt of his quest, and they gladly 
 undertook Richard's release. His ransom was paid 
 and Richard came home in triumph, ousted his traitor 
 brother, and ruled over England for many years. He 
 died in 1199, and was buried at Rouen, where his 
 tomb may be seen to this day. 
 
 The present capital of the Pfalz — if one may speak 
 of the capital of a province — is Speyer. It is adapted 
 for this position neither by its size nor by its outward 
 appearance, but for this very reason its past history 
 is the more important, for it belongs in an eminent 
 degree to the historical cities of the Empire. Its 
 growth began early, like that of the other Rhenish 
 towns ; it was first fortified in the time of the Ro- 
 mans, and called Augusta Nemetum ; a bishop held 
 his court here under the Frankish king in the fourth 
 century, and two hundred years later a Carlovingian 
 emperor chose it as his favorite dwelling-place.
 
 170 THE EHINE. 
 
 Numerous imperial Diets have been held in Speyer, 
 but the most important was that of 1529, under 
 Charles V., after which those who had espoused the 
 cause of the Reformation received the name of 
 Protestants, from their protest against the hostile 
 majority. 
 
 From the sixth century Speyer is more bound up 
 with the traditions of the Empire than any other Ger- 
 man town ; and though it was often but a temporary 
 dwelling-place for the Emperors, it was an eternal 
 resting-place for many of its great rulers. It was not 
 only when their hearts longed for brilliant pageants 
 or the assembly of their vassals at the imperial Diet, 
 that their eyes turned towards Speyer, but their 
 thoughts followed the same path when those great 
 hearts Avere weary and they felt their end approach- 
 ing ; Speyer was the dying thought of the German 
 emperors. " Bring me my charger," said the Em- 
 peror Rudolf, when weary and bent under the burden 
 of his mighty life ; and he rode to Speyer to die, 
 close to the tomb which was to contain his ashes. 
 Where was this tomb ? It was the Cathedral, which 
 even from a distance may be seen, Avith massive walls 
 and towers. 
 
 This structure Conrad II. began to build as a burial- 
 place for himself and his successors, and it was con- 
 tinued by his son Henry II., and finished by his 
 grandson Henry HI. After these had been finally 
 laid to rest here, a whole line of German emperors
 
 THE PFALZ. 171 
 
 and empresses were buried in this imperial sepulchre, 
 including Henry IV., who was burdened with Pope 
 Gregory's excommunication, Henry V., Philip of 
 Swabia, Rudolf of Hapsburg, the false emperor Adolf 
 of Nassau, and Albert I. of Austria, the Empress 
 Gisela, wife of Conrad II., Bertha, wife ot Henry 
 IV., and Barbarossa's wife and daughter, Beatrix and 
 Agnes. So the solemn honor of being the burial- 
 place of emperors was added to the glory which the 
 town had already gained from its populous and re- 
 nowned character ; and it Avas not desecrated by any 
 strange hand for upwards of six centuries. 
 
 The old imperial city fell a victim to the conse- 
 quences of the disasters of the year 1689, a year 
 which set its brand so pitilessly on all the districts of 
 the beautiful Pfalz. It had suffered severely in the 
 Thirty Years' War, but through all its vicissitudes 
 its existence was preserved, and even the wild- 
 ness of those times retained some slight remnant 
 of veneration for the royal tomb and for the sacred 
 imperial name. It was reserved for the marauding 
 hosts of " His Most Christian Majesty " to efface 
 even this remnant, and to cover themselves with 
 that shame from which the serf and the Swede had 
 shrunk. 
 
 It was the soldiers of the Great King who, under 
 the leadership of Louvois, Montclar and Melac, broke 
 open the consecrated graves in the Cathedral of 
 Speyer, and there, before all the people, amused
 
 172 THE RHINE. 
 
 themselves by playing bowls with the heads of the 
 German emperors. 
 
 Not content with this, they then set fire to Speyer 
 at every point. They seemed to wish, indeed, to 
 substitute another and a still larger sepulchre for 
 those they had laid waste, and to convert the city 
 itself into a grave and the country round it into a 
 desert. One stone was not left upon another. The 
 Cathedral alone withstood their devastating rage, and 
 although they tore the ornaments from the walls, the 
 walls themselves remained firm. 
 
 The French Revolution brought fresh w^oe. The 
 soldiers of the Republic used the consecrated building 
 as a magazine in which was stored all the necessary 
 supplies which the war incessantly consumed ; and in 
 the place where the organ had pealed forth solemn 
 Te Deiims the " Marseillaise " was roared from savage 
 throats. Indeed, at one time the whole of the mate- 
 rial of the magnificent temple was about to be sold by 
 auction for a few thousand francs ! 
 
 We are often amazed when we hear how at times 
 the greatest and noblest lives have hung upon a 
 thread, and we shudder at the very thought of what 
 would have been the consequence of so irreparable a 
 loss ; so it is here, as we gaze at this wonderful 
 work, the destruction of which w^ould have been an 
 irretrievable loss to German Art. To have possessed 
 the Cathedral of Speyer, and, after preserving it 
 through all the storms of history, to have lost it for a
 
 THE PFALZ. 173 
 
 despicable sum of money, the value of the mere 
 stones and bricks, would have been an enduring 
 sorrow and disgrace for the German nation. 
 
 The merit of restoring the Cathedral to its present 
 splendor is undoubtedly due to the Bavarian kings, 
 and especially to Louis I., who combined all the arts 
 in order to make the restoration as brilliant as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 The huge size of the building is not realized from 
 without. When standing before the principal en- 
 trance, those portions which lie behind are hidden 
 from view, and on every side are seen fresh traces of 
 modern work. This may at first have a somewhat 
 disturbing effect, for age and dignity are almost in- 
 separable ideas, and the subdued weather-stained 
 coloring is always associated with the thought of the 
 great well-known cathedrals of the world. 
 
 The fagade has three portals. Over the middle one 
 is the imperial double-eagle ; over the side-entrances 
 the lion of the Palatinate. The rose-window above 
 has a gold ground, on which is the head of the 
 Saviour, crowned with thorns. The interior (which 
 is adorned with Schraudolph's beautiful frescoes) pre- 
 sents the idea of the light additions of modern work, 
 besides conveying an impression of power to the 
 whole style of the building Avith its fine propor- 
 tions. 
 
 We have, perhaps, not clearly expressed what we 
 mean, for nothing is farther from our thoughts than
 
 174 THE EHINE. 
 
 a wish to imply that its architectural oeauties are not 
 of a very high order. It is, however, not quite easy 
 to state exactly the idea we would convey. A visitor 
 we met once in the Cathedral indicated our impression 
 in one Avord, better than any long explanation could 
 have done. Looking round on walls and ceiling, he 
 said : '^ The Cathedral of Speyer pleases me better 
 than any other in the world — better than Strasburg, 
 Milan or Cologne." " Indeed !" was our astonished 
 rejoinder ; " and pray what gives it such decided 
 pre-eminence in your eyes f " ^' Oh ! it is so neat 5 
 it is the neatest cathedral in the world." 
 
 We descend to the dark crypt, and after carefully 
 inspecting it come up again to the light, and pass 
 through all the smaller chapels. The last of these is 
 dedicated to St. Afra, and here let us stop for a mo- 
 ment. This is the place where the body of the Em- 
 peror Henry IV. was laid when he died under the 
 ban of excommunication, and the priests refused to 
 loAver him into the grave of his ancestors. The 
 coffin of the man who once begged for mercy in the 
 Castle of Canossa lay unburied for five years before 
 the resting-place of his fathei's. The fate of his body 
 in death resembled that which it had experienced in 
 life. 
 
 Such are the invisible shadows of the olden time 
 which fall upon these lofty sacred walls when on the 
 holy Sabbath the choristers pass between them with 
 tapers and fragrant incense. No brilliant colors ever
 
 THE PFALZ. 175 
 
 have erased or ever can erase those shadows ; they 
 are the gloomy inheritance of these places. Henry 
 IV. at Canossa is an eternal grief in the remem- 
 brances of the German nation, the immovable shadow 
 which hangs over the old Empire at Speyer. 
 
 In 1813 Napoleon had concentrated all his forces 
 at Leipsic to overwhelm the allied powers. Then 
 Speyer was deserted, except for its women and chil- 
 dren and a few old men ; for the people of Speyer 
 were loyal, and none who were able to bear arms 
 stayed at home. 
 
 All was quiet at the ferry, for the hour was late, 
 and the old ferryman was dozing over his oars when 
 he heard a loud call from the other side of the river 
 where the city lay. He quickly rowed across, and as 
 his boat touched the landing a tall figure stepped 
 silently into it. This person was followed by others, 
 who, emerging from the shadow of the Cathedral, 
 came silently down the street, their military cloaks 
 muffling their faces. 
 
 When the last passenger had embarked the ferry- 
 man pushed the boat from the shore, but before he 
 could begin to row he felt that the boat was moving 
 swiftly through the water, apparently by itself. Shiv- 
 ering with fright, the boatman dropped his oars and 
 began crossing himself, feeling sure that the boat was 
 propelled by some supernatural power. 
 
 Soon they reached the opposite landing, and the 
 tall figures stepped ashore, revealing, as they did so,
 
 176 THE KHINE. 
 
 a glitter of armor and swords. The last passenger, 
 telling the boatman that if he watched for their re- 
 turn he should have double fare, stepped swiftlj after 
 his comrades, and they were all swallowed up by the 
 darkness. 
 
 Three days passed, and the old ferryman looked in 
 vain for the return of his mysterious passengers ; 
 but at midnight on the third day they again ap- 
 peared, and were rowed silently back to Speyer. 
 Each man as he stepped out of the boat dropped a 
 coin into the ferryman's outstretched palm, then dis- 
 appeared among the Cathedral shadows. 
 
 The old boatman marvelled much who these 
 strangers could be, and the next day he marvelled 
 more when he found that, instead of the usual penny, 
 each of his midnight passengers had given him a 
 golden coin, and on each coin was stamped a different 
 effigy and a different date. 
 
 He took the coins to the priest, who examined 
 them carefully, and declared that they bore the effi- 
 gies and dates of the emperors lying buried in the 
 Cathedral of Speyer. 
 
 On the morrow came tidings of the defeat of the 
 French at the terrible three days' battle of Leipsic. 
 Then the boatman knew that the old legend was 
 true, and that the German emperors had risen from 
 their tombs, and had gone forth to battle, to deliver 
 the beloved fatherland in its hour of need.
 
 HEIDELBERG. 177 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HEIDELBERG. 
 
 There is an idecal among places as well as among 
 persons, and favored forms exist which are beloved 
 of all ; among these, few will deny that Heidelberg 
 may claim a place. It stands bright and clear along 
 the river-side ; the mountains which suri'ound it have 
 shadows of a delicate blue tint, and on every side are 
 running springs, balmy air and happy human faces. 
 This characteristic, which is constantly interwoven 
 with intellectual work and cheerful enjoyment, is 
 now so closely bound up with the name of the town 
 that we can scarcely realize through what shame and 
 sorrow it passed before such days dawned upon it. 
 
 The heights above the Neckar were fortified as far 
 back as the time of the Romans. On them stood the 
 citadel which the Bishop of Worms built. It con- 
 sisted of rude solitary towers, which were given in 
 fee first to one noble and then to another, till at last 
 Conrad founded the little town, the city of the Counts- 
 Palatine of the Rhine. Its beginnings were tedious 
 and difficult ; all the elements conspired against it, 
 and yet its vitality was indestructible. It rose with 
 fresh glory out of the ashes to which it was reduced, 
 Vol. I.— 12
 
 178 THE EHINE. 
 
 out of the flood by which it was covered, and 
 strengthened itself with those weapons which must 
 ultimately prevail, namely, the weapons of intellect- 
 ual power. 
 
 The University of Heidelberg, which was founded 
 in 1386 by the Count-Palatine Ruprecht, is reckoned 
 one of the earliest in Germany. The effect of its 
 establishment was not long in giving a peculiar char- 
 acter to the whole town. No longer was its chief 
 source of pride the splendor of a royal court, or the 
 unapproachable beauty of its environs, but it raised 
 its head in the full consciousness of intellectual 
 superiority ; it became a Minerva among the cities 
 which stand in the broad plain on both sides of the 
 Rhine. In its heart there stirred the great idea 
 which was later to become a familiar watchword, 
 " Knowledge is power !" 
 
 And, indeed, a powerful and joyful period com- 
 menced ; the Prince-Palatine Frederick had vic- 
 toriously prevailed over all his opponents, the noblest 
 of guests were received in the great castle, the 
 noblest men of the time studied at the University ; 
 and renown, wealth, beauty, pleasure, all united to 
 adorn the life of the place. Heidelberg became the 
 pearl of German cities, and stood shining beneath 
 the banner of free thought. 
 
 A little later and all changed once more. The 
 same banner which had been the emblem of peace and 
 progress became the standard of war — a war which
 
 Zbc QonvU^av^, IbeiDelbero Castle.
 
 HEIDELBERG. 179 
 
 was contested for thirty years, and which seemed as 
 if, at any cost, it would wrest the town from the hands 
 of the Germans. 
 
 Another period began. Minds were divided, the 
 hosts stood opposed one to another, and the greatest 
 and most horrible war which the world has ever seen 
 broke forth. The prosperity and peace of the city 
 declined. The first leader that appeared before the 
 walls was the gloomy Tilly, a 'monk in soldier garb. 
 He invariably sent his messengers into each town that 
 he approached and called on the people to surrender, 
 giving them only the alternative of fire or sword. 
 Heidelberg also received such a warning. It was be- 
 leaguered, stormed and burnt ; but the literary treas- 
 ures, the splendid library of the Palatinate, was pre- 
 sented by Tilly and the Prince-Palatine Max to the 
 Holy Father, who carried away these pearls of Ger- 
 man intellect to the Vatican. About one-third of this 
 collection was returned to Heidelberg in the early 
 part of this century. The library now contains 
 nearly five hundred thousand books, manuscripts and 
 ancient documents — but that is only a small portion 
 of the treasures that were carried away to Rome and 
 are still there. 
 
 After Tilly came the Swedes, and after the Swedes 
 the Imperialists, each in their turn working further 
 destruction to the town and its inhabitants ; fire and 
 sword were the watchwords of those days. 
 
 But the worst of all the sorrow that passed over
 
 180 THE EHINE. 
 
 the town came from the hand of Louis XIV., who 
 not only conquered and laid waste the districts of the 
 Rhine, but also disgraced them. The castle was de- 
 stroyed, the tombs of princes were defiled, and the 
 inhabitants were filled Avith despair. It required 
 many years to efface these misfortunes, and the 
 following century passed silently and wearily at 
 Heidelberg. 
 
 Many calamities still befell the town, but it was like 
 a man who having gone through the heaviest and 
 most indescribable sorrows bears patiently whatever 
 else may come. Its prosperity, its glory were broken 
 down ; it Avas no longer looked on as a prize for the 
 ambition of war, and no longer a fitting stage for the 
 mailed foot of History. 
 
 It was in the beginning of our own times that the 
 town first woke out of the deep swoon of exhaustion 
 into which it had sunk, and its features acquired a 
 new living charm. The power by which it was ren- 
 ovated was again the power of knowledge. " And 
 new life blossoms out of the ruins." If ever this con- 
 soling creed of history were true it was fulfilled here ; 
 this same town which had seen all the abomination 
 of desolation became a plantation whose creative 
 blessings spread all over Europe. The greatest 
 achievements of science had their cradle here. The 
 greatest names of science found here their home. In 
 this way there reappeared in the physiognomy of 
 the inhabitants that bright cheerful character which
 
 HEIDELBERG. 181 
 
 influences our first impression as we now enter its 
 gates. 
 
 The town of to-day smiles at us like a man who 
 has never known a sorrowful hour ; but we know 
 through what anguish these walls have passed. Earth 
 and history have their martyrs, as well as Heaven, 
 and Heidelberg stands among these silent sufferers. 
 
 We rarely analyze that mysterious something 
 which constitutes the individuality of a town, or ask 
 ourselves what it is that particularly attracts us to 
 it. Heidelberg possesses nothing of what are called 
 " sights." The number of its inhabitants is moder- 
 ate, and their manner of life simple and devoid of 
 distracting pleasures ; but the deserted castle with its 
 ruins attracts us more than a thousand palaces with 
 all their treasures. 
 
 We cannot leave this labyrinth where the paths 
 are full of violets and every wall has some great as- 
 sociations. In the fragrant woods which surround it 
 the sun flecks the intricate paths with spots of light. 
 We cannot tear ourselves away from the fragrance 
 and the coolness of these woods, and from the entic- 
 ing secrets chirped to us from every bough. In the 
 cool shade there lies a pool, where the murmuring 
 streamlets rest awhile before they run down towards 
 the valley. The place is called Wolfsbrunnen (the 
 wolf's well), because it was here that a fortune-teller 
 named Jetta, who lived near this place, was torn to 
 pieces by a wolf. There lies the Devil's Hole, and
 
 182 THE EHINE. 
 
 yonder the King's Chair, and there, where the 
 wood opens, we look down on the straggling wonder- 
 ful ruins. 
 
 We leave the green foliage and return to the town 
 with its cheerful life, where the glory of intellectual 
 pre-eminence is found combined with happy careless 
 youth. We ask again, who can tear himself away 
 from all these attractions ? 
 
 Now we will ascend leisurely to the castle, for that 
 is always the first object to which a stranger is at- 
 tracted. How many times have pen and pencil 
 essayed to describe this pearl of beauty ! How many 
 thoughts full of poetry have awakened at the sight — 
 thoughts which have never found utterance, but have 
 flashed through the soul as a falling star rushes 
 through the vaults of heaven ! Thousands have 
 stood here, and still the old charm works afresh for 
 each one. The original power of these walls has long 
 ago been shattered, but the power it exercises over 
 the minds of men has constantly increased, and no 
 destroyer has been able to subdue it. 
 
 The Castle of Heidelberg, as is weU kno^vn, was 
 not the work of one hand nor of one period, but is a 
 complete square of palaces, in which the ideas of a 
 century and the supremacy of long generations are 
 embodied. It was a little town in itself, with cas- 
 tles and towers, with galleries and gardens, built as 
 a counterpart of the old palaces of the' Roman Em- 
 pire.
 
 HEIDELBEEG. 183 
 
 Imperial hands have been busy here also, and the 
 imperial eagle stood above the portal ; but the em- 
 perors Avere none of them of that effeminate yet sav- 
 age type which we have seen in Nero and Galba, 
 Heliogabalus and Caracalla — they were men of iron 
 frames and harsh names. The Emperor Ruprecht 
 built the wing which first confronts us as Ave approach 
 the court-yard by way of the bridge and gateway. 
 The building which is now named after him is by no 
 means the oldest part of the castle. This goes back 
 to the time of Rudolph, having been completed a 
 century before, and within its ruins lie the oldest 
 and gloomiest legends. 
 
 We go farther, and reach a corridor where the well 
 of the castle is ; the four syenite pillars near it are a 
 legacy of the Empire, having once stood at Ingel- 
 heim, in the territory of Charlemagne. They Avere 
 brought to Heidelberg by Count-Palatine Ludwig. 
 
 Every one of the palaces which Ave pass has its own 
 history, its OAvn beauty, its own legends ; the most 
 beautiful of them all is that which is named after 
 Otto Heinrich, built in 1556. Here Ave stand before 
 one of the finest masterpieces which the early Renais- 
 sance produced. This also bears the scars of that 
 frightful period of war, and has become a ruin ; but 
 Avhat irresistible beauty still speaks to us out of the 
 dumb lifeless limbs ! Truly a thousand palaces of the 
 present day could not outweigh this one — this torso 
 of a palace !
 
 184 THE RHINE. 
 
 It has been said that Michael Angelo designed it, 
 and whether or not this supposition has any histori- 
 cal foundation, the fact that it ever existed is the 
 most perfect testimony to the beauty of the work. 
 It Avas built at a period when the slumbering powers 
 of antiquity were again slowly awaking and pene- 
 trating every artistic production ; the Greek classics 
 were held next in esteem to the Bible, and next to 
 the youthful energy of the Reformation the inde- 
 structible beauty of the antique seemed part of the 
 very condition of the people. Princes began to feel 
 like the Olympians, and made the Olympians the 
 companions of their homes. This train of thought, 
 this tendency of the time, is to a certain extent im- 
 pressed on the fagade of this splendid palace, which is 
 like a stone mirror of those glorious days. In the 
 open niches stand the figures of Hercules and Sam- 
 son, Joshua and David, the representatives of strength 
 and courage — the foundations on which a kingly 
 house ought to stand. On the one side the Christian 
 virtues, on the other the enthroned and newly-revived 
 gods, Jupiter and Saturn, Mars and Venus. Motion- 
 less and intrepidly these figures succumbed to their 
 fate in those frightful days of war. Sometimes the 
 hand of a hero, sometimes the crown of a king or 
 the limbs of a goddess fell to the ground. They 
 were but of stone 5 but there is a soid in these shat- 
 tered stones which makes us feel even now the pain 
 of their wounds.
 
 HEIDELBERG. 185 
 
 Was all this glory then created for destruction ? 
 Who ^vere the masters that built these wondrous 
 walls f Their very names are unknown, and no man 
 any longer calls these splendors his OAvn. The wind 
 rustles through the open doorways, the swallow 
 brushes the Avindow-frames with its slender wings, 
 and the stars look down from above into the roofless 
 chambers. 
 
 The existence which these walls now lead is mourn- 
 fully silent ; passionless and actionless, everything 
 here speaks only of the past. The men of the pres- 
 ent day pass by in hundreds Avithout understanding 
 anything of its meaning. Only now and then some 
 one comes whose imagination carries him to the past, 
 and who feels some sympathy and veneration for Avhat 
 has gone before. Under the glance of such a one 
 the old red walls spring once more into life ; for him 
 the scenes of bygone ages are mysteriously re-enacted. 
 He hears the mailed footstep of princes re-echo 
 through the halls, and the ringing laugh of lovely 
 women once more enlivening these silent chambers. 
 Could he, however, awake all the forms and bring to 
 light all those whose names are associated with these 
 walls, the array would indeed be endless. 
 
 Every corner is full of images, from that of the 
 regal figure on the battlements to that of the dwarf 
 who crouches in the cellar to guard the great cask. 
 The latter is oxie of the wonders of Heidelberg which 
 no visitor omits seeing, and which many gaze on with
 
 186 THE RHINE. 
 
 more enthusiasm than on the shattered splendor of 
 kmgs. It is said to be capable of containing two 
 hundred and thirty-six thousand bottles ; but the cask 
 is empty, and is only a remnant of that time Avhen 
 princes prided themselves on the size of their be- 
 longings, and had lost that finer and more spiritual 
 charm of possession which had departed from them. 
 
 The original cask was built in 1591. When it fell 
 to pieces in 1662 it was replaced by another; that 
 lasted until 1728, and the present tun was erected by 
 the Elector Charles- PhiHp in 1751. 
 
 The dwarf Perkio, the court -jester of the Elector 
 Charles Philip, was very small in stature, but a verit- 
 able giant where drinking was concerned. The cas- 
 tle and his master's wealth were as nothing to him in 
 comparison to the mighty Heidelberg tun. He was 
 so in love with it — and what it contained — that he 
 finally refused to leave the vault where it was kept. 
 He spent all his time beside it, drawing and drinking 
 beaker after beaker of its contents. 
 
 For fifteen years he sat beside his beloved tun, 
 jealously guarding the wine which he alone had the 
 privilege of drinking. At the end of that time he 
 discovered, to his consternation, that he had emptied 
 the cask ; not a drop of wine was left within its 
 mighty bulk ! Then, proudly comparing himself to 
 David, and declaring that he had conquered a Go- 
 liath, and feeling — the cask being empty — that life 
 was no longer worth living, he laid down beside it
 
 HEIDELBERG. 187 
 
 and quietly passed away, requesting that he might be 
 buried directly beneath the faucet that he had turned 
 so diligently, and that his statue might be placed 
 where he was wont to sit. 
 
 Of all occupations and amusements none was want- 
 ing in Heidelberg. Lions' dens, orange gardens, 
 brilliant feasts abounded, to say nothing of sanguinary 
 encounters. Everything ! and of all there remains 
 now nothing ! A ruin covered with green ivy stands 
 before us — it is not the ruins of a castle, but the ruins 
 of an epoch. 
 
 Down below, at the foot of the castle, the current 
 of the gay student life runs merrily along full of vi- 
 vacity and brightness. The period when Heidelberg 
 belonged to the Counts-Palatine of the Rhine has long 
 since passed away. Now it belongs to the students, 
 and it is not the castle but the university which is the 
 centre of its glory and of its importance. 
 
 Heidelberg now has over a thousand students. In 
 1886 the five hundredth anniversary of the founding 
 of the university was celebrated with much ceremony. 
 
 Heidelberg has completed its mission in political 
 history ; its place lies henceforth in the intellectual 
 history of Europe. We have, therefore, only to de- 
 pict in a few lines the joyous, stirring description of 
 the student city, as given by an old student : 
 
 " I can picture to myself, as if it were yesterday, 
 my departure from home. The carefully-counted 
 bank-notes lying on the table with the passport, the
 
 188 THE RHINE. 
 
 good advice and good wishes from relations and 
 friends, the long journey Avith its rapidly-changing 
 scenes, and the beating of my heart when the guard 
 came to the door of the carriage and said, ' Now, 
 gentlemen, tickets for Heidelberg.' 
 
 '^ It was not without a feeling of veneration that I 
 entered this seat of the Muses. Even the road from 
 the railway is an interesting walk for a stranger. At 
 such a moment, however, as I am describing, the mind 
 is a blank sheet on which are swiftly sketched the 
 first impressions, to be afterwards slowly corrected 
 and completed. The Rhine life reigns on all sides. 
 I saw people who are accustomed to transact all their 
 affairs with open doors ; girls with brisk step and 
 bright eyes, lads who rushed romping by ; noisy fel- 
 lows in blue blouses were in every corner, and hack- 
 ney-coaches rattled by, filled with stoutly-shod stu- 
 dents. Now and then a figure passed which I felt 
 must be that of a professor." 
 
 If we compare Heidelberg with other places in 
 South Germany, and especially with Munich, we are 
 astonished that two places geographically so near to 
 one another should in point of culture be so far re- 
 moved 5 in this respect the distance between the old 
 Bavarian nature and that of the Rhenish Palatinate 
 is three times as great as the actual distance between 
 the two principal towns. 
 
 When hiring a porter at the railway station at 
 Heidelberg it would seem that all of them are sesthet-
 
 HEIDELBERG. 189 
 
 icallj inclined, and that each of them liad been to the 
 university. They speak of Bunsen and of the late 
 Vaugerow as if they were their best friends. Thus 
 there continually rises to the surface an impression 
 of the special character of the town, which naturally 
 has its root in university life. This character is an- 
 nounced not only in the popidarity of the Heidelberg 
 celebrities and the respect which even the porters 
 have for " their " professors, but also in a thousand 
 little particulars. It lies before the shop-windows 
 where colored caps and ribbons are exhibited, it is 
 met with in the bookseller's stall, and even in the 
 beer-shops. 
 
 Whatever happens to a Heidelberg student, he 
 manages to adapt himself to circumstances, Avhatever 
 they may be, or whatever they may be called ; and 
 this characteristic is stronger here than in the great 
 towns where the extent of the foreign element ob- 
 structs the natural development of the students. 
 Many, however, are said to belong to the student 
 class who pitch their tent in the coffee-house and 
 come in contact with the beadle oftener than with the 
 professor, and who spend even more time on their 
 pet dogs than on their own toilet. But there are 
 great temptations, even for such as intend to work 
 honestly, for few universities offer so enticing a field 
 for the gay enjoyment of life as Heidelberg. The 
 true German student life is developed more thor- 
 oughly here than elsewhere, and the beautiful neigh-
 
 190 THE RHINE. 
 
 borhood attracts excursionists into the open country on 
 the bright summer days ; the Httle towns of Neckarge- 
 mund and Neckarsteinach are thus especially popular. 
 
 Below on the river lie swift boats, the wine sparkles, 
 and the castles look down from the rocks full of mar- 
 tial memories on many a lively scene. The Neckar 
 Valley, though much smaller and more unpretending, 
 perhaps shows the most intimate relationship to the 
 Rhenish life ; and the pulse which pervades that life 
 is cheerfulness. 
 
 That yearly festival which is held in the golden 
 autumn on the banks of the Neckar is well known. 
 It is celebrated at the time when the grapes are ripe 
 on the hillsides, and when every one gathers in the 
 harvest on his own land and from his own vines. 
 
 Mannheim also is a favorite walk for the students 
 of Heidelberg, especially those who like to see the 
 ways of the world as they are represented on the 
 stage. When a novelty is announced on the theatre 
 bills, the news of such an event travels in no time for 
 miles around, and the curious come to Mannheim in 
 long caravans to see the show. But the frivolous 
 student may also learn here what is meant by hard 
 work, and what is achieved by unremitting toil ; for 
 it is to the results of work that Mannheim owes the 
 position which it holds among German towns. It 
 was work also which, within a few centuries, called 
 the neighboring town of Ludwigshafen into exist- 
 ence as if by magic.
 
 Dalle^^ ot tbe IReckar trom IbeiDclberg.
 
 HEIDELBERG. 191 
 
 But who can think of anything serious while the 
 gay-colored cap still covers the young and thought- 
 less head ? He who would flee abroad must have 
 an easy mind ; the time of care comes soon enough 
 of its own accord. Then it is no longer a question 
 of enjoyment, but one of toil. The sultry hour of 
 the examination comes nearer and nearer ; that hour 
 when we must pay toll on the thorny road of knowl- 
 edge. We only really go through an examination 
 properly when we are young, for it is only then that 
 we have the courage to fail 5 later in life we remark 
 that old Socrates was right with his theory that the 
 beginning of knowledge was to know that we know 
 nothing. 
 
 Ah ! in what a condition we were on the occasion 
 when we made our first visit to the examination- 
 room. We kept ringing the bell, and making our 
 landlord's pretty daughter run about the passage 
 even more than usual. As we went out she cast a 
 compassionate look on the victims adorned for the 
 sacrifice. She well knew what our humors signified, 
 for she had seen them very often, and understood 
 Avhat was about to happen. Such were our college 
 days at Heidelberg. 
 
 Heidelberg itself is almost like a blooming garden, 
 but if it is not sufficient to satisfy the ideas of some, 
 there is for those who prefer the addition of Art to 
 Nature another garden at Schwetzingen, the fame of 
 which reaches throughout Europe. Of the town
 
 192 THE RHINE. 
 
 itself there is little to be said ; it was formerly only 
 an appendage to the summer palace, and is at the 
 present time just a little fussy official place, as noisy 
 and lively as was once the nature of the district of 
 the Palatinate, and yet as quiet as is becoming for a 
 town of four hundred souls. It is a curious fact that 
 of the numberless strangers who visit the place, no 
 one asks for the town, that being simply an approach 
 to the castle and garden. 
 
 The view which we have here is not beautiful in 
 that free unconstrained sense in which nature presents 
 her loveliest forms. Its value rests upon the high de- 
 gree of cultivation in its exact reproduction of what 
 was at one period held for beauty. The period of 
 which we speak is embodied in the names of the later 
 Bourbons. The kings of the Maintenons, the Pom- 
 padours, and the DuBarrys were the patterns of royal 
 taste ; the castles of the nobles grew up everywhere 
 in the form which prevailed at Versailles. Not only 
 the dumb senseless stone was subject to this con- 
 straint, but also living, blooming Nature, which vainly 
 resisted the power of human hands. Gardens in the 
 style of Louis XIV. were added to the castles, and 
 such a garden do we see here. 
 
 It covers an area of nearly two hundred acres. 
 On reaching the dazzling white wing of the building 
 we look through the arched gateway and see before 
 us a flat surfjice on which not a single mound relieves 
 the monotonous level. The stiff geometric treatment
 
 HEIDELBEKG. 193 
 
 is repeated also in the long lime avenues, and in their 
 running fountains and gray statues. 
 
 We enter and Avalk slowly onward along the grav- 
 elled paths. All around us we see large flat floAver- 
 beds with thousands of fragrant buds crowded to- 
 gether in one heap, the whole having the effect of a 
 variegated nosegay on a huge table. Above the water 
 in the stone basins rise dolphins and dragons, of damp 
 stone or dark metal, bearing upon their backs gay 
 cupids. Then the path branches out on both sides 
 on to the turf, and thick avenues open right and left ; 
 the ivy clings round those trees which have been al- 
 lowed to grow wild. 
 
 There is something almost mysterious and world- 
 forgotten in these deep shadows. The stone figures 
 which we meet with share this characteristic, and 
 acquire a mystical significance. Old Pan looks down 
 from a high rock, the water drips and trickles in the 
 stony grotto, the fir boughs whisper to each other — 
 it seems almost as if we might hear the sound of the 
 instrument which the god holds to his lips, or see the 
 forms which the music from his pipe attracts, or meet 
 a nymph rising from her bath and looping together 
 the tresses of her streaming hair. Such images are 
 inexhaustible on our way through the park and gar- 
 den. We meet with temples and " ruins," artistic 
 bridges and lakes. 
 
 In all this place there seems to be but one thing 
 wanting, namely, the human beings who once took 
 Vol. I. —13
 
 194 THE RHINE. 
 
 pleasure in these splendors. All these stone me- 
 morials, these flowers, this turf, look as though they 
 stood upon a huge immeasurable grave, beneath 
 which sleeps a vanished century.
 
 THE BERGSTRASSE AND ODENWALD. 195 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE BERGSTRASSE AND THE ODENWALD. 
 
 The country between Heidelberg and Darmstadt 
 is covered for miles Avith thick forest. Beneath the 
 lofty branches the lurking deer finds shelter, and 
 within its rocky walls many olden glories have de- 
 cayed. The objects in the landscape here do not 
 raise before us anything of historic importance, nor 
 as we gaze upon them can we picture to ourselves 
 that Ave stand before a theatre of stirring deeds — it 
 is simply a national pleasure-place. 
 
 On our road a slightly-built lad passes us, and 
 gives us a pleasant greeting ; the girls who sit at the 
 cottage-doors we notice wear black coifs over their 
 fair plaits, and unconsciously the old song rings in 
 our ears : 
 
 "There stands a tree in the Odenwald 
 With many a bough so green, 
 'Neath which my own true love and I 
 A thousand joys have seen." 
 
 Yes, we are wandering through the Odenwald, a 
 district covering more than forty miles, which is 
 bounded on the south by the Neckar, and descends 
 on the west in a long, sharply-defined line towards
 
 196 THE EHINE. 
 
 the broad plain of the Rhine. In primitive times, 
 the great high-road called Platea Montana passed 
 through here, and we still find the lovely green tract 
 Avhich is now known as the Bergstrasse or mountain- 
 road. 
 
 Right and left of us appear charming little towns 
 and snug villages full of original architecture. The 
 air is soft and the soil fruitful ; but, besides this 
 abundance of the earth and the tranquillity of the 
 people, there remains something which is indescrib- 
 able, namely, the charm of poetry. Even the rail- 
 way, Avhich rushes close to the slope of the wood, has 
 not been able quite to destroy the charm. It is still 
 the old Odenwald with its green branches, its power- 
 ful forms, and its sweet melancholy song. 
 
 Such being the state of this beautiful tract of 
 country, we care but little whether the place took its 
 name originally from the silent solitude {Oede) which 
 in olden times must have hung over these woods, or 
 whether the memory of old Odin is preserved in its 
 title. We only now seek and are satisfied with en- 
 joying the dusky verdure offered by the boughs, and 
 the beauty which smiles upon us from the hills. 
 
 The most celebrated among the latter is that one 
 the summit of which bears the somewhat curious 
 name of Melibocus, the highest point of the Berg- 
 strasse. The way to it leads through lofty beech 
 woods, on emerging from which we see a great tower 
 with open battlements, and under its shadow we gaze
 
 THE BERGSTKASSE AND ODENWALD. 197 
 
 over a broad expense of country unfolding itself be- 
 fore our eyes. At our feet hamlets and villages lie 
 among rustling woods. 
 
 Among them are Alsbach, the little town of Zwin- 
 genberg, and many others. Beyond these come 
 wooded hills, the serene Taunus and the rugged 
 Spessart, which stretch far away in pleasant undu- 
 lating forms. The Schwarzwald are darkly indi- 
 cated in the distance, and farther away still are the 
 blue Vosges almost hidden in the haze of the horizon. 
 Between them lies the broad plain of the Rhine, and 
 out of it rise majestically the old cities with their 
 towers and churches whose names are the pillars of 
 German history, Speyer, Worms, and Mayence the 
 Golden ! Let us rest here in the green shade and 
 think over the memories of times long gone by, from 
 the doings of the wild race of the Chatti who once 
 dwelt here to the days when the German army passed 
 over the Vosges yonder. 
 
 A picturesque road leads from Melibocus to the 
 Felsberg ; a lonely forester's house opens its hos- 
 pitable doors to us, and when we have taken a short 
 rest we make our way to the ^' Felsenmeer." Long 
 before the end we seek is in view the path to it has 
 something mysterious and ghostlike which suggests 
 the old pagan times. On every side are shattered 
 rocks overgrown with damp moss, and only now and 
 then do we catch a glimpse of the blue sky through 
 the lofty beech-trees. Nature alone is dominant here.
 
 198 THE EHINE. 
 
 But all at once a huge square block of stone lies 
 before us. This is not the work of Nature, human 
 hands have evidently been at work here thousands of 
 years ago ; though the secret of the race and period 
 to which it belonged is not yet solved. We proceed, 
 and penetrate still farther into the forest, when our 
 steps are again suddenly arrested by a gigantic pil- 
 lar, almost grown into the earth. This also must 
 have been formed on the spot out of the rock. The 
 open forest was the workshop in which it was fash- 
 ioned — but who was its master, and what was its 
 purpose ? Was it destined for one of the old pagan 
 gods which were so soon laid low by Christian swords ; 
 was it part of a palace of a Roman prefect, or did 
 Charlemagne have it fashioned for his palace at In- 
 gelheim ? Who can tell ? The powers of those who 
 made it were either exhausted in the work, or they 
 were scared away by new times which brought other 
 riders and other altars. Be this as it may, they left 
 behind them the uncompleted pillar in its original 
 place, the forest. The luxuriant foliage soon spread 
 its protective shelter over it, and time cast round it 
 the veil of mystery till a new race arose who found 
 it out and in vain attempted to solve the problem of 
 its history as they stood before the silent stone. 
 
 Not far frorti this is the " Felsenmeer," or Rock 
 Sea, a huge plain in the midst of the forest which 
 seems to be strewn over Avith shattered rock — "frag- 
 ments whose origin is not more enigmatical than their
 
 THE BERGSTKASSE AND ODENWALD. 199 
 
 appearance is remarkable." How may the spirit of 
 the people have animated these places in the Dark 
 Ages when proud nobles lived up here in their castles, 
 and the enslaved peasants existed in the villages 
 below ! 
 
 The Odenwald, like all forest districts, is rich in 
 legends, and the groundwork of all these myths seems 
 to be the noises and the doings of imaginary and in- 
 visible Avild animals. Not far from the Felsberg itself, 
 which we have just reached, lies Schnellert and the 
 stronghold of Rodenstein ; at the foot of the latter 
 there used to stand a primitive farm-house, and the 
 owner was acquainted with all the dark secrets of the 
 mountains ; he told us the tale of the Wild Huntsman. 
 
 Centuries ago the castle was occupied by the Lord 
 of Rodenstein, a champion of the German father- 
 land ; one who swore to fight for his country against 
 all foes and to love it forever. 
 
 Wishing to give his whole life to his country, he 
 refused to marry, and lived in his castle quite alone ; 
 so there was no one to mourn for him when one day 
 he vanished and failed to reappear. 
 
 It was reported that he had been killed in battle, 
 but the peasants insist that he did not die, but with- 
 drew into the vaults of the castle, only to reappear 
 when danger threatens his beloved fatherland. They 
 declare that whenever a war has broken out a tramp 
 of mailed steeds is heard in the ruins, and at night- 
 fall a shadowy array, led by the Lord of Rodenstein,
 
 200 THE KHINE. 
 
 is seen sweeping across the sky in the direction from 
 which the danger comes. As peace is proclaimed the 
 ghostly band returns to Rodenstein, and re-enters the 
 castle, singing a hymn of victory, there to lie quiet 
 until another danger urges them forth to the defense 
 of their country. 
 
 But the peasant has yet another tale. He tells us 
 that the Lord of Rodenstein and his ghostly band are 
 not the only tenants of the castle. Deep down be- 
 low the walls there is another sleeper — the Emperor 
 Frederic Barbarossa. He sits motionless in front of 
 a huge marble table, around which his fiery beard 
 has twined itself, patiently waiting for the time when 
 his country will have need of him. 
 
 The Emperor's slumbers are broken only once in 
 a hundred years, when he bids his page go up to the 
 mountain and see if the ravens are still circling over- 
 head. 
 
 " O, dwarf, go up this hour 
 And see if still the ravens 
 Are flying round the tower. 
 And if the ancient ravens 
 Still wheel above me here, 
 
 Then must I sleep enchanted 
 For many a hundred year." 
 
 The page returns and reports that the ravens are 
 still flying, and Barbarossa, sighing because the time 
 of his release has not yet come, sinks again into the 
 slumber which must last another century. 
 
 But when the red beard shall have twined itself
 
 THE BEKGSTRASSE AND ODENWALD. 201 
 
 for the third time around the marble table the trum- 
 pet must sound, and the Emperor, rising from his en- 
 chanted sleep, will hang his shield on a withered pear- 
 tree, which will burst into bloom at his touch ; Avhile 
 the Germans will gather once more about their old 
 Emperor, and the fatherland Avill be free forevermore ! 
 
 "In some dark day when Germany 
 Hath need of warriors such as he, 
 A voice to tell of her distress 
 Shall pierce the mountain's deep recess — 
 Shall ring through the dim vaults and scare 
 The spectral ravens round his chair, 
 And from his trance the sleeper wake. 
 The solid mountain shall dispart, 
 The granite slab in splinters start 
 (Responsive to those accents weird) 
 And loose the Kaiser's shaggy beard. 
 Through all the startled air shall rise 
 The old Teutonic battle-cries ; 
 The horns of war, that once could stir 
 The wild blood of the Berserker, 
 Shall fling their blare abroad, and then 
 The champion of his own Alraain, 
 Shall Barbarossa come again !" 
 
 The castle which stood on the summit of Schnellert 
 was built in an unusual manner. It presented a 
 hexagon, of which each side measured sixty feet ; 
 within this came a strong wall, a deep ditch, and 
 another stone wall. But the walls have all fallen to 
 pieces centuries ago. 
 
 Amongst the ruins, it is said, there once dwelt 
 three sisters, who were doomed to live there by some
 
 202 THE KHINE. 
 
 fatal enchantment, and they were guarded by a wild 
 huntsman m the form of a black dog. They often 
 prayed for release ; and one day the most beautiful 
 of them appeared to a young acquaintance and told 
 him that she would come to him in the form of a snake 
 and kiss him three times ; if he remained brave and 
 steadfast it would remove the curse, and she would 
 give him her love and all her wealth. When the 
 slimy serpent appeared on the following day, and 
 coming towards him darting her forked tongue, wound 
 herself in thick coils around his body, his heart failed 
 him, he staggered back, and from his lips escaped the 
 cry, " Lord, help me !" The snake vanished, and 
 with it the lady's love and her gold. 
 
 Of the other castles in the neighborhood, Schon- 
 berg and Heiligenberg are remarkable in an historical 
 sense, but without doubt the castle of Auerbach is 
 the most noteworthy. There still remains, even in 
 the ruins of this colossal building, something of that 
 mighty power which formerly held dominion here ; 
 for fire and sword have not been able entirely to de- 
 stroy these massive towers and battlements. 
 
 The origin of the stronghold takes us back to the 
 time when the Carlovingian kings were its masters, 
 before it occurred to the spiritual power to take pos- 
 session of the lordly castle. The next banner planted 
 on these walls was that of the princely abbey of 
 Lorsch, one of the oldest in the whole empire ; then 
 came the Archbishop of Mayence, the chancellor of
 
 IRecharstetnacb.
 
 THE BERGSTRASSE AND ODENWALD. 203 
 
 the empire and Prince-Palatine, and later the lesser 
 nobility. 
 
 How often the waves of battle have surged against 
 these walls ! But the fortress held out bravely and 
 faithfully, till it surrendered to the treachery of the 
 mercenaries of Louis XIV. in 1674. The man who 
 reduced the noble castle to ruins was Marshal Tur- 
 enne, the leader of that war from whose wounds the 
 Rhine has not yet wholly recovered. 
 
 If we descend from the hills into the valley, we 
 soon find in the place of the lonely forest depths 
 active, cheerfiU movements, for the Rhenish charac- 
 ter even here affects the disposition and the whole 
 nature of the inhabitants. Every one we converse 
 with gives us friendly and cheerful answers, we con- 
 stantly hear the rushing of the mill-stream and the 
 merry whirl of the wheel, and here and there we 
 come upon little houses leaning against the rock wall, 
 with the blue smoke rising from their chimneys 
 straight into the air. 
 
 At the mouth of the Stettbacher Valley, imme- 
 diately under the Heiligenberg, lies the smiling little 
 village of Jungenheim, the name of which is widely 
 known, even as far as the Ural and the Volga, for 
 the cheerful little village in the Odenwald was a 
 favorite resort of the mighty Czar. This imperial 
 patronage attracted many strangers to the village, 
 and now handsome villas have sprung up among the 
 thick beechwood, so that Jungenheim has rapidly be-
 
 204 THE RHINE. 
 
 come a favorite and fashionable resort. The pleasant 
 habits of the people in showing kindness to strangers 
 considerably helps to attain this end. 
 
 Hitherto Odenwald has offered us little except 
 idyllic pictures, though we must not forget the attrac- 
 tive little towns which are situated along the Berg- 
 strasse. They, indeed, ai-e almost idyls themselves — 
 which is no detraction from their merits. The first 
 we meet with on the road from Heidelberg to Darm- 
 stadt is the old town of Ladenburg, the Liipodunum 
 of the Romans, who established here one of the most 
 important of their settlements on the Upper Rhine. 
 The ruins of a Roman bath and other remains bear 
 witness to the period. 
 
 The position of Ladenburg was no less important 
 in the Middle Ages, when it was the capital of the 
 district named Lobdengaus, a territory first in the 
 possession of the French king and afterwards in that 
 of the Bishops of Worms. It was in the name of the 
 town that the Counts of Lobdengaus held to the so- 
 called " Stahlbiihel " and the Gedinge or public tri- 
 bunal. 
 
 In the twelfth century the Bishops of Worms, hav- 
 ing been driven out of the episcopal city by an in- 
 surrection of the citizens, took up their residence in 
 Ladenburg and kept up a brilliant court there. The 
 street called Saalgasse recalls the palace of its former 
 protectors, the Frankish kings, for the royal palace 
 here, as elsewhere, was called the Saal or Hall. The
 
 THE BEKGSTRARSE AND ODENWALD. 205 
 
 church, Avhich is veiy old, contains monuments of the 
 Barons Metternich and Sickingen. 
 
 A convent which was built by the Barons von 
 Sickingen is still standing, and is said to have had 
 the following origin : A young lady of the family 
 once lost her Avay in the neighboring forest and wan- 
 dered about until quite late at night, when she was 
 guided home by the sound of the church bells of St. 
 Gallus. The grateful family founded the convent, in 
 order that the bell shoidd sound every night at eleven 
 o'clock, and that every week two measures of corn 
 should be baked into bread and distributed to the 
 poor. A similar story is met with in other places. 
 
 The Church of St. Gallus above referred to is said 
 to have been founded by King Dagobert. In the 
 history of Ladenburg, which is rich in sieges, we 
 meet constantly with traces of Lorsch, that renowned 
 mighty abbey which was a sort of n>agnet for all the 
 property in the neighborhood. The Spanish, the 
 French, and the Swedes lay before these gates dur- 
 ing the Thirty Years' War ; but now that the times 
 have grown more peaceful, the fragrant trees, whose 
 valuable fruit is celebrated throughout Germany, 
 bloom undisturbed. 
 
 Continuing our road a little farther, we come to 
 Weinheim, which reminds us of what Karl Simrock 
 says in his " Picturesque and Romantic Rhineland :" 
 " He who always sits in the railway carriage must 
 not boast of having seen the Bergstrasse. He must
 
 206 THE EHINE. 
 
 take a carriage of his own, and must, at least, get 
 out at Weinheim in order to paj a visit to the old 
 Windeck. Standing near the slender tower, over the 
 stables supported by pillars he must have looked down 
 into the moist valley of Gorxheimer, where the Wech- 
 nitz runs through beech-grown meadows, and have 
 raised his eager eyes to the light-blue distance of the 
 Odenwald, which opens right and left before him. 
 
 "On the Hessian frontier, at Unterlandenbach, which 
 yields the most renowned wine of the Bergstrasse, 
 he must have looked well before him and behind him, 
 and on either side of him, for here the mountain- 
 chain describes a semicircle, and the Oelberg at 
 Schrieszheim comes into view with its beautiful com- 
 binations of form. Nowhere else does Melibocus, 
 the king of the Bergstrasse, appear in such sublime 
 majesty. At Heppenheim he must have visited 
 either the ruins of Starkenburg, from which the 
 whole province is named, or the neighboring town 
 of Lorsch, to which not only the Bergstrasse but the 
 whole country round is indebted for its culture and 
 and its old historical traditions. 
 
 " He should have skimmed through a few chapters 
 of the history of the country, and have learnt at 
 least enough to know that Starkenburg was built by 
 the monks and vassals of Lorsch in 1064, in order 
 to preserve for their abbot Ulrich the possession of 
 the wealthy abbey, which the Emperor Henry IV. 
 had given away to his favorite the Archbishop Adel-
 
 THE BERGSTRASSE AND ODENWALD. 207 
 
 bert of Bremen ; he must know also that if Lorsch 
 was founded early, it also degenerated early, so that 
 Pope and Emperor gave it over to the Archbishopric 
 of Mayence for the reformation of its discipline, and, 
 if necessary, for its complete incorporation — a step 
 by which Mayence drew down upon itself the war 
 with the Palatinate. 
 
 " He must, at least, have paid a visit to Auerbach 
 in order to try to release the Meadow Maiden, for 
 who knows whether the cradle wherein he was rocked 
 might not be woven from the twigs of the tree on 
 which her deliverance depends ; for this youth who 
 is to win her must have been rocked in a cradle made 
 of the twigs of a cherry-tree beneath whose shade 
 she had been wont to linger. If he fails, the Meadow 
 Maiden must wearily wait once more until a cherry- 
 tree has grown in the meadow and a cradle has been 
 made out of its twigs, for she can only be set free by 
 a child who has first been laid in that cradle. 
 
 " He must have visited Z wingenberg and Melibocus, 
 — ^yes, even to the far-shining tower that adorns its 
 summit, and marks the highest point of the mountain- 
 chain. When he has done all this, then he will feel 
 himself monarch of the Odenwald and of the vast 
 Rhineland at his feet." 
 
 After leaving Heppenheim we come to Bensheim 
 — and, in passing, we may remark that on the Berg- 
 strasse all the names end in bach or Jieim. 
 
 Many of the finest examples of architecture in
 
 208 THE EHINE. 
 
 Bensheim were destroyed in the frightful conflagra- 
 tion of 1822, but we still find towers and gables, gal- 
 leries and gateways, Avhich will bear comparison with 
 the original buildings of the Schwarzwald. Bensheim 
 is also closely connected with the traditions of the old 
 abbey of Lorsch, which is situated hardly four miles 
 from it. In the highly-decorated little chapel there 
 Louis the German and his son found their last rest- 
 ing-place ; and Pope Leo IX. laid his hands in bene- 
 diction on the grave which the people held sacred, in 
 spite of the lawlessness of the time. 
 
 Poetry and legend twine their golden threads 
 around these spots, which have become associated 
 even with the song of the Nibelungen. It is to Lorsch 
 that Chriemhild brings the body of the noble Sig- 
 fried, and the verses of that great poem lament in 
 telling lines how the " bold hero lay in his long cof- 
 fin " before the Minster. 
 
 We wander on past the ancient town of Zwingen- 
 berg, past Seeheim and Eberstadt to Bessungen. At 
 Bessungen we leave the forest, which up to this time 
 has been on our right, and we turn out of the cele- 
 brated road bordered with fine fruit-trees, which has 
 led from Pleidelberg hither. The associations also 
 which have accompanied us now grow faint, the 
 country becomes flatter, and the moral atmosphere 
 which surrounds us is more modern. Our gaze no 
 longer rests upon green summits and fallen citadels, 
 but on the varied bustling life of the present day.
 
 THE BERGSTRASSE AND ODENWALD. 209 
 
 We are in Darmstadt, the capital of the beautiful 
 country of Hesse. 
 
 We see here the same contrasts which meet our 
 eyes in nearly all towns which have succumbed to 
 modern ideas of progress. The interior, the kernel 
 of the town, is still built in the old style which drew 
 all the houses and streets as closely together as pos- 
 sible ; but the new town which presses out beyond 
 the walls and the gates requires vast dimensions, the 
 roads are broad and straight, and the houses high 
 and handsome. The genius of the present rules 
 here, though in but few towns is this principle of 
 extension older than a few decades. 
 
 The Grand-Duke Louis I., who died in 1830, is 
 the prince to whom Darmstadt owes its growth. His 
 monument consequently very properly stands in the 
 centre of the modern quarter. Art lent its conse- 
 crating grace to the affection which erected this me- 
 morial, for the figure, which stands upon a lofty 
 pedestal, was fashioned by no less masterly a hand 
 than that of Schwanthaler. 
 
 The palace where the Grand-Dukes of Darmstadt 
 reside is called the Castle. It was begun by the old 
 Landgraves of Hesse, and every century since has 
 added something to it, according to its own taste. 
 The most important part is, without doubt, that wing 
 which belongs to the first ten years of the last century, 
 and was finished by French hands. Its fine fayade 
 looks down on to the market-place, and it contains the 
 Vol. I. -14
 
 210 THE KHINE. 
 
 noblest treasures of art and science which the country 
 possesses. The vakie of the picture gallery, of the 
 antiquities, and of the other collections is well known. 
 The theatre enjoys an honorable reputation through- 
 out Grermany, and is constantly patronized by the 
 reigning Grand-Duke, who in this respect follows the 
 example of his predecessors. In short, the little 
 capital well knows how to detain the strangers whom 
 the beautiful scenes of nature in its neighborhood have 
 attracted to it.
 
 WOKMS. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 WORMS. 
 
 The whole of the road over which we have just 
 passed runs along the right bank of the Rhine, and 
 the green forest was so enticing that it drew us far 
 into the cool shadow of its branches. But this is the 
 last time that such leafy companions accompany us in 
 our course along the great river. We now return to 
 the bank in the broad plain through which it flows, 
 and to which it has carried fertility and prosperity for 
 thousands of years. The town element naturally 
 predominates again here, and the first of the great 
 cities which we meet with on the left bank is Worms. 
 
 Worms is not beautiful in that ordinary sense which 
 considers only attractive colors and attractive forms. 
 There is another kind of beauty, however, which is 
 grave and self-contained, and almost disdains to be 
 criticized by every passing gaze. Such is the beauty 
 which is peculiar to the places in this part of the 
 country, and to the environs of the ancient town of 
 Worms. 
 
 The landscape is flat, the colors are subdued, and 
 the Rhine flows calmly, but strongly, between the 
 meadows. Thick willow-bushes stand on both sides
 
 212 THE KHINE. 
 
 of the river, where a deserted bed is separated from 
 it by a wide sandbank, on which now and then a 
 heron may be seen. Nothing interferes with the 
 broad expanse of sky which offers free play to the 
 sailing clouds, while the spires of the cathedral in 
 the distance rise in silent majesty. We shall at once 
 feel, as we look on the scene before us with observant 
 senses, the inner meaning, the historical character of 
 this landscape. The spirit which animates it is one of 
 calm energetic power, that characteristic which demands 
 great and historical figures for its consummation. 
 
 Worms is one of the most ancient of the cities of 
 the Rhenish provinces. The Rabbi of Tudela refers 
 to it as the primeval abode of emigrant Israelites. A 
 legend is connected with this ancient Jewish colony 
 which tells how, when better days had come, and 
 they were summoned back to Jerusalem by the high- 
 priest, they were loath to go, and lingered in the 
 blessed land of the green Rhine, saying, in reply to 
 the call : " We live in the promised land ; Worms is 
 our Jerusalem, our Synagogue, our Temple !" 
 
 They felt justified in giving this reply by the cir- 
 cumstance that when they were driven forth from the 
 Holy City they carried with them some of the con- 
 secrated soil, and intermixed it with the earth of 
 their burying-ground, and with the soil in which the 
 foundation of their new Synagogue was laid. So this 
 became to them the land of promise, where they prayed 
 and where their bones were finally laid to rest.
 
 WORMS. 213 
 
 It is a well-known fact that in the persecutions of 
 the Middle Ages the Jews of Worms were often 
 spared when other colonies were persecuted. This 
 was owing to the fact that the members of the Syna- 
 gogue at Worms spread the report — incredible as it 
 may seem to us — that when the Saviour was about to 
 be crucified, and the other Jewish communities of the 
 world had assented to it, the Worms Synagogue alone 
 withheld its consent ! 
 
 Another explanation of how the Jews came to 
 Worms is given in the family chronicle of the Dal- 
 berg family, whom we find mentioned in old deeds 
 as " Chamberlains of Worms." The chronicle relates 
 how their primitive ancestor was a " cousin of the 
 Virgin Mary and, at the same time, a centurion in 
 the twenty-second Roman Legion." 
 
 He, when this Legion was stationed on the Rhine, 
 brought Jews with him to Worms from Jerusalem 
 after its capture and destruction by Titus — and, in- 
 deed, in the capacity of slaves : then, with true Chris- 
 tian magnanimity, he gave them their freedom, and 
 by them the Synagogue was founded. 
 
 It was in the old fallen Camba here that the Ger- 
 man princes used to assemble to choose a king, and 
 it was also in the same place that the quarrel between 
 the two Conrads was ended : 
 
 "And as the throng stood waiting all around, 
 And the great hum of men was so allayed 
 That the Rhine's quiet flow could be observed,
 
 214 THE RHINE. 
 
 They saw how suddenly the two great knights 
 Grasped one another's hands with hearty grip, 
 While cheeks and lips met with a brother's kiss. 
 Then did they know no jealousy remained, 
 And each to other willingly gave place." 
 
 Thus may be rendered the description given by 
 Uhland, in his " Duke Ernest of Swabia," of the 
 election of a king in the year 1024. Concord hav- 
 ing gained the day, the princely train and the re- 
 joicing people proceeded to Mayence for the corona- 
 tion. 
 
 All these are pictures of events which have long 
 since passed away, but the landscape, the ground on 
 which they were enacted, still lives, and the actors 
 in them re-awake for him who looks deeply into the 
 features of the place. Such a one hears still the 
 noisy hum of the people, and sees the gigantic form 
 of the mighty king towering over the shoulders of 
 the rest. This force of historical association, this in- 
 visible reanimation of historical figures in a certain 
 spot, is the sign of an historical landscape. 
 
 In Worms we can dispense with that which is, but 
 no one would willingly be without the stirring thoughts 
 of what has been. Here is the spot where the great 
 Caesar once stood ; it was here that Attila, the gloomy 
 hero of devastation, drove his cavalry across the 
 Rhine. Before the Cathedral of Worms we are in- 
 flamed by the quarrel of the two queens Brunhild 
 and Chriemhilda, and it was over this same Cathedral
 
 WORMS. 215 
 
 that that mighty cloud arose whose lightning gleams 
 for ever for us in the song of the " Nibelungen." 
 Indeed, the southern side of the Cathedral is richly 
 decorated with statues of the fourteenth century, 
 representing the characters of the Nibelungenlied. 
 
 The Cathedral is still the greatest of all the monu- 
 ments of the city ; it is one of those splendid stone 
 giants which the church has stationed along the Rhine 
 as guardians of its power. There is apparent through- 
 out the building, with its round towers and pinnacles, 
 a sort of defensive character ; the stately edifice pre- 
 sents itself to us as it were fully armed. The entire 
 style is Romanesque. The ground-plan is that of a 
 Roman basilica, but enriched with every decoration 
 which a creative lavish period possessed. The unity 
 of the whole is nowhere destroyed by an inconsist- 
 ency. 
 
 " Being built in the early years of the ninth cen- 
 tury," says Simrock, " it is one of the oldest and 
 finest monuments of the rounded arch style. From 
 the eastern choir, and the northern side of the nave, 
 hideous masks and grim beasts look down on us, 
 the production of dark paganism which the Chris- 
 tian church of the eleventh century had not yet been 
 able completely to get rid of or suppress. The west- 
 ern choir shows somewhat later forms, and a tran- 
 sition to the pointed arch. This is explained by a 
 necessity having arisen in the fifteenth century for 
 the rebuilding of the one western tOAver. But a west-
 
 216 THE RHINE. 
 
 ern choir hardly lay within the plan of the first 
 architect. According to fixed law, the principal en- 
 trance should have stood opposite the eastern choir. 
 The present beautiful entrance on the south side, 
 which is pure Gothic, must have been added three 
 hundred years later." 
 
 These rough walls look down on us, mighty as the 
 times from which they sprang, and the impression 
 they make is not weakened when we step with 
 muffled tread within the sacred walls. There are 
 the stone tombs of the old ecclesiastical princes of 
 Worms, and over the altars pictures with golden 
 backgrounds. In one of the chapels is the great 
 stone font, and in another the last resting-place of 
 queens. We stand within the magic circle of a mas- 
 terpiece, and our consciousness tells us at every step 
 we take that the air we are breathing is historical. 
 
 How many assemblies, imperial diets, and other 
 councils weighty with the fate of Germany, have 
 been held within reach of these walls ! In the year 
 772 war was declared here against the Saxons. In 
 1122, at an imperial diet here, a treaty was made 
 between the Emperor Henry V. and Pope Calixtus 
 II. respecting the investiture of the bishops with 
 sceptre, ring, and staff. 
 
 In the year 1495 a great diet was held, under 
 Maximilian I,, at which club-law was abolished and 
 public peace established. Later still came that most 
 famous diet, — the Diet of Worms — when a bold, de-
 
 WOKMS. 217 
 
 termined man, the " world-sliaking monk of Witten- 
 berg/' stood before the walls of the sacred old Min- 
 ster, and tore that great cleft in the globe which 
 divides two eras, and created those two spiritual 
 hemispheres into which the world is divided — " Here 
 I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me !" 
 Such was the effect of these words that men wept, 
 men Avho scarcely knew what a tear was, and paved 
 the way for the Gospel. 
 
 The legend of the Luther-tree at Worms dates 
 from these days. It is a huge cork-elm, which has 
 been noted for centuries. As Luther, seated in an 
 open carriage, neared the town he was surrounded 
 by the townspeople and nobles, who had come out to 
 meet him. 
 
 Near the carriage rode the knightly Captain von 
 Frundsberg, talking to the honored guest. As they 
 neared the city gates he said : " Little monk, dost 
 thou verily believe that thy teaching will prevail !" 
 Luther pointed to a weak sapling of cork-elm which 
 grcAv by the road-side, and filled with exultation and 
 trust in God, answered : " Yea, Sir Knight, so truly 
 as yonder sapling may become a mighty tree and vie 
 in height with the towers of the city !" 
 
 And the mighty cork-elm which withstood the 
 storms of centuries is the Luther-tree of Worms. 
 
 But the period when Worms was the centre of 
 historical events, when the mighty Charles V. and 
 all the princes came into the imperial city, is long
 
 218 THE EHINE. 
 
 since past ; and deep degradation has followed the 
 days of prosperity. The Thirty Years' War visited 
 it with desolation, but in the marauding wars of Louis 
 XIV. it was not only desolated but destroyed. When 
 the regiments of the enemy had lain long enough 
 within these walls, the citizens were informed that it 
 was the will of " the most Christian king " that 
 Worms should be burned to the ground. Only a 
 short respite was granted them, and then the con- 
 suming flames mounted towards heaven. It was a 
 gigantic struggle between the two great elements. 
 The earth and its stone would not yield, and the rest- 
 less flames would not quench themselves till they had 
 destroyed the last house. 
 
 At that time Worms was populous and powerful, 
 as became an old imperial town. A double wall ran 
 round the city ; it had seven gates, and the Rhine 
 tower was so strong that thirty mines had to be laid 
 under it before it coidd be overthrown. Piece by 
 piece the old magnificence fell into ashes, and while 
 the people outside were wringing their hands, the 
 town was levelled with the ground on which it had 
 stood. 
 
 AU was dead and silent : only the walls of the 
 Cathedral remained amid this burnt wilderness. Every 
 human possession perished : God only had preserved 
 His house ! 
 
 Men built again ; walls can be replaced, but no 
 future race can supply the spirit of the great past,
 
 WORMS. 219 
 
 that was destroyed with the ancient battlements. A 
 quiet, dull time began ; grass grew in the streets, and 
 the new race grew up depressed and weary. The 
 population hardly numbered a third of what it had 
 once been ; and they lived on the remembrances of 
 the past more than on any belief in a great future. 
 
 This meaningless and objectless life lasted for some 
 time, and even in the middle of the last century a 
 chronicler tells of the many "barren places and wastes" 
 which were to be found in the interior of the town. 
 Even as late as 1840, Victor Hugo calls Worms "une 
 ville qui meurt," and depicts, with gloomy eloquence, 
 the impression of agony which he had received when 
 visiting it. 
 
 In our own days, life has all at once re-appeared. 
 It is not the old powers which have awakened after 
 long slumber, but the spirit of the present, the modern 
 ideas, which on being circulated through the old pet- 
 rified limbs, has brought into existence thousands of 
 busy arms who fill the great factories and thousands 
 of laden wagons which fly over the railroads, up and 
 down the Rhine as far as Holland. 
 
 In the Luther-Platz we see an imposing monument 
 to the great Reformer, erected in 1868. A bronze 
 statue of Luther stands high on a pedestal, sur- 
 rounded, lower down, by the four precursors of the 
 Reformation, Savonarola, Huss, WyclifFe, and Petrus 
 Waldus. Lower still are allegorical figures of the 
 towns, Magdeburg (mourning), Augsburg (making
 
 220 THE RHINE, 
 
 confession), and Speyer (protesting). Between these 
 are the arms of the twenty -four German towns which 
 first embraced the Reformed faith. 
 
 We enter a handsome house on the Lindenplatz ; 
 green vines clamber over the porch, and within there 
 reigns that cheerfid hospitality which is the preroga- 
 tive of the Rhine. Everything is comfortable and 
 handsome. The father sits in his broad arm-chair at 
 the table and tells of the old times ; the amiable smile 
 which now and then flits over his countenance evi- 
 dently comes from his heart. He gazes on his be- 
 loved and ever-cheerful wife with as much pleasure 
 and affection as he did five-and-twenty years ago. A 
 thousand recollections are revived for the youthful 
 guest, while the golden wine, which is found only at 
 Worms, sparkles in the great green glasses. 
 
 In the background there moves the sweet daughter 
 of the house, quietly occupied with the business of 
 the table ; prudent and lovable she is as Elsie in the 
 fairy-tale, and as every true child of the beautiful old 
 city ever has been. She understands her work thor- 
 oughly, and stiU remains always modest. Her brown 
 hair droops over her smiling face, and she performs 
 the duties of the house unknown and unembarrassed, 
 so that in watching her we do not wonder that the 
 district in which Worms is situated was once, in the 
 splendid days of old, named Wonnegau, or " the dis- 
 trict of delight." 
 
 Worms appears to us in more than one respect to
 
 WORMS. 221 
 
 be the first town on the Rhine which exhibits purely 
 Rhenish life. This characteristic of the inhabitants 
 seems to us to increase as w^e go farther down the 
 river, until we reach Cologne. And this life is not 
 Avanting in that lovely characteristic of female beauty : 
 pure amiability and pure modesty meet us here. 
 There is a complete world of local customs, ideas, 
 even of names ; and in every heart there flows 
 Rhenish blood. We recall with gratitude the hos- 
 pitable day Ave spent in Worms, in the powerful 
 old imperial city of the past, in the quiet city of 
 to-day. 
 
 We meet with no large tOAvn between Worms and 
 Mayence, for which reason the country is all the more 
 rich and blooming. It is covered with fruitful vine- 
 yards, and is full of that gladness which seems to be 
 inseparable from the vine. Such is the picture upon 
 which we gaze as we glide down the blue stream. In 
 the midst of this smiling country w^e are free from 
 all the sadness which is, more or less, always associated 
 wdth the walls of towns, and from all those fierce strug- 
 gles whose gloomy memories make the Rhine the 
 stream of history. 
 
 We first stop in Oppenheim, and here we recog- 
 nize once more the signs of stormy days gone by, for 
 above the expanse of vine gardens there stands a 
 bold and commanding stronghold. This, in its time, 
 has seen many an Emperor Avithin its chambers, and 
 many an enemy within its w^alls, for it Avas an im-
 
 222 THE EHINE. 
 
 perial fortress, and was worthy of the proud name 
 which described it as the " crown of the country." 
 
 The little town which crouches at its feet is much 
 older, and Avas built upon the ruins of what is sup- 
 posed to have been a Roman settlement. Though 
 unpretending and modest, it once possessed the finest 
 church which the Gothic style ever created in Ger- 
 many, and it required all the vandalism of the war 
 of the Palatinate to give up this masterpiece as a 
 prey to the flames. More than half of the renowned 
 Church of St. Catherine was destroyed in 1689, but 
 in 1878-89 it was entirely restored from the designs 
 of the Ijvte architect Schmidt, of Vienna. Not only 
 is it a monument of faith, but we feel that the grandeur 
 of ancient times and the history of past races lie cov- 
 ered by its stones. We feel this deeply when, walk- 
 ing quietly along its aisles, we come upon the great 
 names which are written on these tombs. They are 
 not names of individuals only, but they bring before 
 us whole pages of history. The corner-stone of St. 
 Catherine's is said to have been laid with great pomp 
 and rejoicing in 1262 by King Richard. 
 
 Outside, in the quiet churchyard which surrounds 
 the building, rest thousands whose names and fate 
 are known to none ; and, according to ancient cus- 
 tom, a charnel-house has been built in which are col- 
 lected the skulls that have been dug up from time to 
 time. What horror would thrill through us at the 
 picture, if while staring through the grating at these
 
 WORMS. 223 
 
 bleached bones, the thoughts wliieh once beat be- 
 neath these brows were suddenly to become embodied 
 — thoughts which were untold, unfulfilled, and lost 
 for ever ! 
 
 Even here we find traces of war, which several 
 times visited the cheerful little town, for many of the 
 bleached heads are splintered at the temple and bear 
 the mark of a bullet. Who has sent him to his 
 death ? was it a Swedish knight, who lay before the 
 town during the Thirty Years' War, a mercenary of 
 the French army which Turenne brought to the 
 Rhine, or a Spaniard from the Basque Mountains ? 
 
 But who thinks now of such forgotten woes ? On 
 the hills that once drank in the blood of warriors, the 
 vines are waving and the clear wine sparkles in the 
 green ringing glass. It is here that we first meet 
 with the name of " Rhine wine," and all that lies 
 yonder towards the Pfalz belongs no longer to the 
 map, but to the wine chart. " Niersteiner " and the 
 wine of Laubheim and Bodenheim have attained, far 
 and wide, a well-deserved reputation, and with them 
 we will fill our beaker to the brim while the boat 
 bears us over the blue Rhine to Mayence. Already 
 we see the Cathedral towering over the broad roofs 
 of the city, and seem to hear the sound of the church 
 bells of the old royal city on the Rhine. So we once 
 more fill our glass in honor of " Mayence the Golden!"
 
 224 THE KHINE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 
 
 Now let US continue our way along the " Priestly 
 Highway of the German Empire/' as it has been 
 called from the number and the celebrity of the eccle- 
 siastical sees which we shall pass. We are now at 
 " Mayence the Golden," and we shall go as far as 
 " Cologne the Holy/' along the lovely banks with 
 which God has blessed the great German river. 
 
 This town, so often sadly memorable in history, 
 and yet so indestructible, was once situated farther 
 up on the softly-sloping hills. In the course of time 
 it has sunk down to the river-banks. It has also 
 simk from the height of its classic origin, when the 
 Romans built their stone bridges here, and made a 
 yoke for our German forefathers ; and also it has 
 descended from its ecclesiastical height, when the 
 bishops turned the crozier into a temporal sceptre. 
 But in spite of all, though power and Avealth have 
 been lost under a thousand calamities, it still remains 
 "the Golden." 
 
 The inhabitants of Mayence have also preserved 
 their character for pleasantness and good humor, and 
 wherever the traveller wanders in this romantic val-
 
 /KjarKetplacCt /IDa^ence,
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 225 
 
 ley, up stream or down, along the fine silver surface 
 as far as the Mouse Tower, he finds the men of May- 
 ence to be " Father Rhine's " happiest and pleasant- 
 est children. 
 
 The situation of Mayence, if not the most beau- 
 tiful, is at all events most open and pleasant. From 
 the heights of the Kiistrich or the " Anlagen " (at 
 the feet of which is the handsome railway bridge), 
 the eye sweeps over the river Maine and over 
 the many-tinted spurs of the Odenwald and the 
 Taunus. 
 
 The airy fragrant heights of Hochheim and its 
 vineyards overlook the confluence of the Mair.e and 
 the Rhine, and from the high bank on the other side 
 rise the massive contours of the red-brick Backstein 
 barracks, now the Prussian cadet school of Bibrich. 
 The little local steamers pass briskly backwards and 
 forwards past the low island 5 the tugs of the Rhine 
 Boat Company go panting through the clear waters 
 at the head of a whole flotilla ; the express boats 
 move majestically along, like the traditional stately 
 swan — in the style of the Mississippi floating palaces; 
 and between the steaming passenger-boats filled Avith 
 people the Rhine stream floAvs lazily on. 
 
 On the other side we see dimly rising out of the 
 mist of the horizon, or shining in a direct ray of the 
 sun, the faint outline of the Platte, the hunting castle 
 of the Duke of Nassau 5 the white temple of Nero- 
 berg, like a great forest mushroom ; and the gilded 
 Vol. I.— 15
 
 226 THE EHINE. 
 
 pinnacles of the Byzantine Greek chapel shining be- 
 tween the trees. 
 
 Farther down the stream we see the Niederwald 
 springing high above the terraces of Rudesheim. It 
 is still of the same capricious yet soft gradations of 
 stone color, and forms a kind of gate to a bend in the 
 Rhine, shutting it in so as to open out an entirely 
 new panorama on the other side. 
 
 If the sunlight is favorable the observer may see 
 from the hills of Mayence a little piece of the pearly 
 track of the Rheingau spread in the fragrant little 
 Eden, where God has so favored men that He has 
 caused the seltzer spring to issue from the earth close 
 to the vineyards. Here everything sings " Glory to 
 God in the highest " — the crosses and crucifixes be- 
 tween the vine gardens, the juicy golden grapes, the 
 swelling chestnut-tree, the villas and cottages scat- 
 tered among the dark-green foliage, the little town 
 which bathes its feet in the sparkling river, and, 
 finally, the glad and grateful hearts of men. 
 
 But beautiful as the scenery is all round us, history 
 has harshly visited this part of the Rhine Valley, 
 particularly the left bank, and Mayence especially 
 has felt its heavy hand. 
 
 The origin of the first warlike disturbances are lost 
 among childish legends. It is said that there lived 
 in Trier, fourteen years before the Christian era, a 
 sorcerer named Nequam, whom the people of Trier 
 drove out of their town on account of his evil arts.
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 227 
 
 Nequani swore to be revenged on them by building 
 another town, and he came to the place on which 
 Mayence now stands, and raised a town out of the 
 earth by magic. 
 
 Another legend ascribes the building of the city to 
 a fugitive from the siege of Troy named Moguntius. 
 This might, perhaps, account for the name of the 
 town, but the authority is hardly to be relied on. 
 Authentic history begins with the fortified Roman 
 station which stood here, and although it seems un- 
 likely that no German settlement should have been 
 formed before that time in so particularly favorable a 
 situation at the confluence of two great rivers, yet 
 absolutely no trace of any such previous settlement 
 is to be found. 
 
 The two great epochs of Mayence were the Roman 
 period and the ecclesiastical period. The stone annals 
 which yet remain tell us of both of these epochs. 
 The oldest of them informs us that Agrippina caused 
 a fortified Avinter camp to be formed at Moguntiacum 
 in the year 38 B.C., and Caius Sertorius was at that 
 time named Curator civium romanorum Mog. 
 
 The real fortifier of the place appears to have been 
 Caius Drusus, who, in 14 B.C., also built a camp on 
 the other side of the river at Castellum — the present 
 Castel — and erected a stone bridge across the Rhine 
 in order to enable his legions the more conveniently 
 to cross over to their German families who dwelt in 
 the woods.
 
 228 THE KHINE. 
 
 We are reminded of him at the present day by the 
 " Eichelstein," which stands above the " Anlagen," 
 or gardens, and was once a handsome building erected 
 for him by his legions, but is now a ruin, as are also 
 the aqueduct which he made, and the Roman bridge, 
 of which the stone pillars remain only to be used as 
 anchoring-posts for the well-known floating water- 
 mills, which may be seen here in some considerable 
 numbers. The value of the culture which the Romans 
 brought into the country is inestimable ; when the 
 twenty-second legion came, on their return from 
 Jerusalem, they also brought Christianity and Bishop 
 Crescentius with them ; both Avcre objects of hatred. 
 
 Crescentius is described in local history as a pupil 
 of St. Peter. He is said to have suffered martyrdom 
 in the reign of Trajan about 103 A.D. Mayence 
 seems to have been one of the most Christian cities 
 of the Roman Empire of that time ; and Alexander 
 Severus was murdered here by his soldiers for the 
 new faith. 
 
 The prosperity of the town again declined until 
 Rando fell upon it and mercilessly destroyed it and 
 both its Roman and Christian inhabitants. After it was 
 rebuilt, Mayence fell a prey to the Vandals and their 
 allies on Christmas Eve of 406, and was totally de- 
 stroyed by fire. Attila destroyed it again in 451, 
 and it was only after the expulsion of the Romans in 
 622 that the permanent rebuilding was begun again 
 under Theodobert and Dagobert.
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 229 
 
 Mayence was the seat of the East Frankish duchy. 
 It was, however, not till the time of Charlemagne, 
 when he built his palace in Lower Ingelheim and in- 
 troduced the cultivation of the vine, and when St. 
 Boniface became archbishop of Mayence, that the 
 town rose to importance and was well known through- 
 out Germany. This continued until 893, when the 
 Emperor Arnulf conquered the town. 
 
 But from the time when the bishops, those pious 
 servants of the church, constituted themselves coun- 
 sellors of the German Emperor and temporal rulers, 
 an endless period of dissension began which it would 
 be impossible to relate fully here. Monasteries over- 
 ran the country, and the church was dominant under 
 the protection of the Pope. 
 
 A man like Bishop Hatto seemed a necessary re- 
 sult of the state of things, and he gave the world a 
 specimen of the basest misuse of power in the cruelty 
 which Avas imputed to him. Even the archbishop 
 Willigis, a son of the house of Wagner, who was 
 about the best of all the bishops, had the ambition to 
 be chosen Elector, and introduced into the arms of 
 the town the well-known wheel with the legend: 
 
 "Willigis, Willigis, 
 Forget not this, 
 That thy father a wheelwright is !" 
 
 thus modestly denoting his origin. 
 
 The Cathedral, the Church of the Holy Virgin,
 
 230 THE RHINE. 
 
 was commenced by Willigis, and under him harmony 
 at length reigned among the citizens. This soon 
 ended, however, under his successors, and Henry 
 IV., the penitent of Canossa, set a Hmit to the power 
 of the bishops and protected the constantly contested 
 privileges of the citizens, until, in 1104, the Diet of 
 Mayence declared him to have forfeited his throne. 
 
 During the life of Archbishop Ruthard — and ap- 
 parently encouraged by him — the persecution and 
 massacre of the Jews took place, the wealth of these 
 people having long roused envy and vexation. The 
 public pawning-houses, which were in the hands of 
 the Italian Jews (whence the present name of " Lom- 
 bards ") did a large business. This brought great 
 wealth to the owners of these establishments and the 
 banking-houses, who provoked the anger of the people 
 by the ostentatious display of their luxury. At last 
 the smouldering fire broke out in massacre and spoli- 
 ation ; and even the bishop himself shared the booty 
 with the robbers — an act which he had to expiate by 
 seven years' banishment to a Thuringian monastery. 
 
 It would, as we have already said, take us too long 
 to follow the long succession of archbishops, with all 
 the good and evil with which they are associated, and 
 which culminated with Arnold, who was robbed, mur- 
 dered, and horribly mutilated by the citizens, whom 
 he called " dogs." 
 
 Before this, however, the lawlessness of the people 
 and of the clergy had reached a critical height.
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 231 
 
 Frederick 11. himself incited tlie people of Mayence 
 against their archbishop Siegfried III., whom they 
 drove ont of the town. Siegfried collected an army 
 and besieged Mayence, which was forced by hunger 
 to open its gates. The citizens in revenge attacked 
 him one night while asleep in his castle of Eltville, 
 and forced him, with the knife at his breast, to sign 
 a fresh charter. They sent him again into banish- 
 ment, drove all the clergy out of the town, and de- 
 termined to do Avithout religion, so that for several 
 years no religious services whatever were held. 
 However, friendship Avith the archbishop was re- 
 stored under Matthias ; who, nevertheless, eventu- 
 ally died by poison. 
 
 Avarice and a marauding nature were usually the 
 causes of the misfortunes of the archbishops, who 
 but too often preferred making war or carrying on 
 some lucrative trade, to concerning themselves about 
 the spiritual welfare of the people. 
 
 In the year 1254 the citizen Arnold Walpoden, of 
 Mayence, founded the League of Rhenish Towns. 
 Mayence became the leader of this powerful associa- 
 tion, and was soon strengthened by more than a 
 hundred neighboring toAvns, from Basle on the south 
 to Bremen on the north. Mayence, as the centre of 
 the Rhenish towns, received the flattering name of 
 " the Golden." About this time the Robber Knights 
 became a menace to safety. 
 
 In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries May-
 
 232 THE EHINE. 
 
 ence became the favorite resort of the Minnesanger, 
 or Troubadours. In 1318 the most celebrated of 
 them, Heinrich Fraunlob, the pious minstrel who 
 sang the praises of the Holy Virgin and of female 
 virtue, died here and was buried in the Cathedral. 
 
 In the year 1462, Adolf of Nassau took the town 
 by treachery, plundered it, killed five hundred of its 
 citizens, and deprived it of its civic freedom. In 
 1552 it fell into the hands of Albert of Brandenburg. 
 Then came the Swedes, under Gustavus Adolphus, 
 Avho laid under contribution the monasteries to which 
 the clergy had fled. Later, in 1644, the town was 
 occupied by the French, who left it in 1648, after 
 the Treaty of Westphalia. They returned in 1792, 
 under Custine, to whom Mayence surrendered through 
 treachery and cowardice. It Avas retaken by the 
 Prussians, under Kalkreuth, in 1793. The French 
 again blockaded the fortress a year later, and it was 
 recovered by the Austrian Marshal Clerfayt. 
 
 By the Treaty of Luneville, Mayence passed into 
 the hands of the French in 1797, and remained in 
 their possession until the fall of Napoleon. In 1814 
 the Vienna Congress gave the town, Avhose fortifica- 
 tions had gained greatly in importance during all 
 these varied fortunes of war, to the Grand-Duke of 
 Hesse. This duke held it as a fortress of the League 
 until, in 1866, the League itself became a thing of 
 the past. 
 
 Such are the main points in the history of the old
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 233 
 
 Electoral city — a continual struggle Avith conquerors 
 and oppressors from without, and with priestly polit- 
 ical supremacy from within. 
 
 None of the spirit of that old oppressive period 
 remains among the present population, though traces 
 of French character are still to be met with in the 
 people of Mayence. French regiments, French fash- 
 ions, the frivolity of the French colony so long estab- 
 lished in the neighboring town of Coblentz, left be- 
 hind much light blood in Mayence. It could not be 
 expected that French nature and French chic should 
 be readily eradicated, and the trace of it remains at 
 the present day in the gracefid women of Mayence. 
 
 It is difficult now to believe, when we meet the 
 splendid religious processions in the streets, that there 
 were many years during which no public worship was 
 held ; though it is true that to-morrow we may meet 
 in the very same street Prince Carnival and all his 
 motley court. 
 
 With such a history as that indicated above, May- 
 ence is necessarily rich in antiquities, and especially 
 such as are of Roman origin. Much also that is in- 
 teresting, belonging to a later period, has survived 
 the destruction and calamities that have visited the 
 town. 
 
 The Cathedral, the great Avork of Willigis, the best 
 of the bishops, which was begun in 978, was six times 
 destroyed or partially destroyed by fire, and in war it 
 has seen wild hordes break into its interior. It was
 
 234 THE KHINE. 
 
 totally destroyed by fire in the year 1009, but was 
 rebuilt, and had approached so near completion in 
 1024 that Conrad II. was able to be crowned there. 
 In 1024, in 1137, and 1191 it was again a prey to 
 the flames. 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus, on one occasion, even com- 
 manded it to be blown up. During the bombard- 
 ment of the town in 1793 it again suffered by fire, 
 and in 1813 it was turned into a French forage maga- 
 zine. Modern times have done their best to restore 
 and complete the beautiful church. 
 
 It does not lie within our province to act as cice- 
 rone I but we would rather refer our readers for all 
 details to Heyl's book of " The Rhine Countries." 
 We will only mention the numerous tombs and monu- 
 ments in this Cathedral, and especially the marble 
 tablet inscribed with the year 794, just at the en- 
 trance of the church. There is no doubt that this 
 was the tomb of the beautiful Fastrada, the ardently- 
 loved wife of Charlemagne. The monument is not 
 at all destroyed, nor is the above-mentioned stone, 
 which is the original one. 
 
 The objects of greatest interest are the chapter- 
 house with the Chapel of St. ^gidius, and opposite 
 it the bishop's throne and two rows of stalls j behind 
 these are the cloisters and the garden. Among the 
 monuments is a modern one to the minstrel Count 
 Henry of Meissen, called Heinrich Frauenlob. Ac- 
 cording to the inscription, it was raised to the pious
 
 Ube Catbe^ral tvom tbe /iDavhetplacCt nDa\?encc.
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 235 
 
 songster by the women of Mayence, in the year 1842. 
 The sculpture on it is by Schwanthaler. 
 
 " In Mentz 'tis hushed and lonely, the streets are waste and drear, 
 And none but forms of sorrow, clad in mourning garbs, appear ; 
 And only from the steeple sounds the death-bell's sullen boom ; 
 One street alone is crowded, and it leads but to the tomb. 
 
 "And as the echo from the tower grows faint and dies away, 
 Unto the Minster comes a still and sorrowful array,— 
 The old man and the young, the child, and many a maiden fair ; 
 And every eye is dim with tears, in every heart is care. 
 
 "Six virgins in tlie centre bear a coffin and a bier, 
 And to the rich high-altar steps with deadened chant draw near, 
 Where all around for saintly forms are dark escutcheons found. 
 With a cross of simple white displayed upon a raven ground. 
 
 "And, placed the raven pall above, a laurel-garland green, 
 The minstrel's verdant coronet, his meed of song, is seen ; 
 His golden harp, beside it laid, a feeble murmur flings. 
 As the evening wind sweeps sadly through its now forsaken 
 strings. 
 
 "Who rests within his coffin there ? For whom this general wail ? 
 Is some beloved monarch gone, that old and young look pale ? 
 A king, in truth, — a king of song ! and Frauenlob his name ; 
 And thus in death his fatherland must celebrate his fame. 
 
 "Unto the fairest flowers of Heaven that bloom this earth along, 
 To women's worth, did he on earth, devote his deathless song ; 
 And though the minstrel has grown old, and faded be his fame, 
 They yet requite what he in life hath done for love of them." 
 
 The Church of St. Stephen is also said to have 
 been founded by Willigis in 990. Within it is the
 
 236 THE BHINE. 
 
 tomb of the good man, with his skiill and his mass 
 vestments. 
 
 The image of the Virgin in the Cathedral is said 
 to work miracles. A story is told of an aged musician 
 who, finding that no one would listen to his old-fash- 
 ioned tunes, stole into the Cathedral, and, after pray- 
 ing for aid, stood before her shrine and played a 
 hymn upon his violin in honor of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 The Holy Mother, touched by the old man's pov- 
 erty, raised her jewelled robe and deftly kicked one 
 of her golden slippers into his hat, which was lying 
 on the floor in front of her. Falling on his knees, 
 the old musician humbly thanked the Virgin for her 
 charity, then hurried off to a neighboring goldsmith 
 to sell the shoe in order to buy bread. 
 
 The goldsmith questioned the old man as to where 
 he got the shoe, and not believing the miraculous 
 story that the minstrel told, he had him arrested. It 
 did not take long for the court to find him guilty of 
 sacrilegious theft, and to condemn him to death. 
 
 As he was dragged past the Cathedral door on his 
 way to the place of execution, he begged permission 
 to say a last prayer before the Virgin. He was per- 
 mitted to kneel before the shrine, with his hat and 
 violin beside him. Tremblingly the old violinist 
 begged Mary to open the gates of Heaven for him. 
 And when he had ended his prayer he again played 
 a little hymn, declaring that his last music on earth 
 should be in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 237 
 
 While he was ])layiiig, the Virgin, in the presence 
 of the multitude that had followed the old musician 
 into the Cathedral, deliberately lifted her gown, for 
 the second time, and kicked off her other golden shoe 
 into the tattered hat of the old man. 
 
 This second miracle convinced the people that the 
 old minstrel had been unjustly condemned, so the 
 priests stepped forward and offered him a pension for 
 life if he would return to the church the two golden 
 shoes. The old violinist accepted the offer, and the 
 priests made haste to lock up the golden shoes in a 
 safe place for fear that the Virgin should again be 
 tempted to bestow them upon some other poor sup- 
 pliant at her shrine. 
 
 In the course of the Franco-Prussian war, Mayence 
 was one of the principal depots for the French pris- 
 oners, whose great camp formed a splendid spectacle. 
 Mayence was at the same time the embarking-place 
 for the transports and commissariat ships. Time, 
 which levels all things, has left here little that is 
 characteristic. Life and its business in Mayence is 
 exceedingly brisk, active, and prosperous. 
 
 At every season of the year the traffic on the 
 banks of the Rhine is very great, as well as over the 
 bridge at Castel, which forms a favorite rendezvous 
 in the fine summer evenings for the lively people of 
 Mayence. The beautiful " Anlagen " is another 
 favorite resort. This was the case especially at the 
 time when Mayence was still a fortress of the League,
 
 238 THE KHINE. 
 
 and when the alternate performances of the Prussian 
 and Austrian bands collected the fashionable inhabit- 
 ants for miles round. In winter the ice in the trenches 
 attracts a great many of the nimble young Mayencers. 
 
 We leave Mayence with a few rapid glances at 
 some of the points of interest in the interior. The 
 only historical interest which is attached to the citadel 
 is that the Eichelstein was within it. The Eichelstein 
 was a monument said by tradition to have been erected 
 in the year 9 B.C. by the Roman legions, in honor 
 of Drusus, Avho was killed by a fall from his horse. 
 
 Thorwaldsen's statue of Gutenberg announces that 
 a new light rose upon the world from Mayence. The 
 inscription on it informs us that this monument was 
 erected to Johann Gensfleisch of Guten by his fellow- 
 citizens, aided by subscriptions from all Europe. 
 Gutenberg sprang from a patrician family of May- 
 ence. The whole world knows what it owes to his 
 discovery, but the year of his birth and the house 
 where that event occurred are unknown. 
 
 He was a goldsmith by trade, and he threw him- 
 self blindly into the mania for gold-making, and spent 
 long months in hunting for the " philosopher's stone." 
 He spent enormous sums of money in his vain ex- 
 periments, and at last was forced to some practical 
 work to earn his bread. He chose wood carving, 
 and through the cutting of separate letters, and ar- 
 ranging them into words, came the idea that later led 
 to the art of printing.
 
 MAYENCE THE GOLDEN. 239 
 
 The Elector's palace, on the Paradeplatz, was built 
 from 1627 to 1678. In the year 1792 it was the 
 residence of the Electors ; in the time of the revo- 
 lution it was the meeting-place of the members of 
 the Mayence clubs. The bishop's palace dates from 
 the year 1666. In its neighborhood is the convent 
 for EngUsh girls, where Ida Hahn meditated over 
 the vanity of the world and her own folly. 
 
 The monument of the immortal Schiller stands in 
 the Schillerplatz. It is said that the syenite pillar of 
 the fountain, which was built in this square in 1760, 
 came from Charlemagne's palace at Ingelheim. The 
 German House which lies opposite the castle is worthy 
 of notice. It was erected in 1716, and was formerly 
 the house of the German Order ; it is now the occa- 
 sional residence of the Grand-Duke. 
 
 The numerous strangers who visit the town in 
 summer congregate chiefly by the shore in the Rhein- 
 strasse, where there are a large number of hotels 
 facing the railway, which is uncomfortably squeezed 
 in between the shore and the street. All day long 
 we hear the clanging of the railway bell and the 
 shriek of the engine, as much as to warn us that we 
 have not a minute to spare. Owing to the constant 
 movement of the engines and the shunting of the 
 carriages, we are so detained as to have but a few 
 moments to reach the landing-stage, from whence we 
 embark on board the local steamer ; which, ploughing 
 through the water and scattering the spray, sparkling
 
 240 THE EHINE. 
 
 like myriads of diamonds, bears us between the green 
 islands dotting the river, to Biebrich — to the land of 
 Nassau, which is one of the finest jewels of the Ger- 
 man Empire.
 
 BIEBKICH. 241 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BIEBRICH. 
 
 The Castle of Biebrich rises on the right bank of 
 the Rhine. It is built of red sandstone, and has a 
 light and open situation. It is still the property of 
 the prince who governed the most beautifid little 
 country of Germany, but who, in an anxious, critical 
 hour staked this crown, this diadem of all Germany, 
 upon a doubtful throw, and lost it, as so many have 
 lost their all at the fatal gaming-table. Its fine situ- 
 ation makes it one of the most beautiful of castles. 
 
 In front of it, immediately on the bank of the 
 river, is a shady avenue which, like the Villa Reale 
 of Naples, is frequented by the lazzaroni of the shore, 
 the so-called " Rheinschnaken," or " loafers," who 
 hang about here waiting for the arrival of the steam- 
 ers in order to offer their services at a cheap rate to 
 passengers. 
 
 In the distance, behind the castle, rise the woody 
 heights of the Odenwald and Taunus, forming a chain 
 — a green screen — round the valley lying at its feet, 
 and breaking off abruptly towards the river, as if 
 frightened back by the Rhine, and falling almost pre- 
 cipitously towards the shore in steep terraces oppo- 
 site Bingen. 
 
 Vol. I. —16
 
 242 THE KHINE. 
 
 From the windows the eye travels far from the flat 
 roof of the castle out into the beautiful Rheingau, 
 from whose heights the Johannisberg peers over the 
 dark ruins of Rudesheim and all the celebrated little 
 wine towns, while on the farther side of the bank the 
 heaped-up clouds shine in the dark-blue distance. 
 
 It is a wonderful scene : the banks on both sides 
 of the river apparently closing in under the Nieder- 
 wald ; on this side there are sloping vineyards with 
 their little houses, villas, and shady parks, which 
 form a girdle round the bank ; on the other the citadel 
 of Klopp, the chapel of St. Roch, commanding the 
 valley from the heights — the old Ingelheim of the 
 great Frankish emperor — Ehrenfels, and the retired 
 Mouse Tower. In the river between are scattered 
 the green islands, towards which the busy steamer 
 hurries, to vanish behind the lofty rock of Rude- 
 sheimer. 
 
 In the .distance, again, are the towers of Mayence 
 and Hochheim, and between them the light arch of 
 the railway bridge and the perforated casemates of 
 Castel. Finally, there is the varied active human 
 life on both banks, the lading and unlading of the 
 bulky Dutch trading-ships, the Rhine skiffs, the lofty 
 uiinaret-like chimneys of the factories which pour 
 out their smoke in clouds into the blue ether. There 
 can hardly be a pleasanter, brighter picture than this 
 place offers to the eye, although the bank opposite 
 the castle is so insipid and monotonous.
 
 BIEBRICH. 243 
 
 Many things unite to produce the charm which it 
 exercises : there is the distant view on all sides, the 
 wonderful reflections of the green wooded hills in 
 the golden mirror of the river, the poetic force of the 
 ever-moving water, the sunlit poetry which rests upon 
 it all, and, lastly, the unresting, pulsating life ever 
 pursuing either business or pleasure. 
 
 Although Biebrich is not important — Mayence on 
 the opposite bank seeming to have grown at its ex- 
 pense — it is a busy little place, with numerous iron, 
 cloth, and glass manufactories, and a population of 
 eleven thousand souls. 
 
 Near Biebrich lies the island of Peters- Aue. Here 
 centuries ago the Emperor Louis the Pious, son and 
 successor of Charlemagne, died at his summer palace 
 on the island. 
 
 There seems to be no doubt that Biebrich owes its 
 name to the number of beavers that formerly used 
 to find a suitable situation for their buildings in the 
 islands which lie opposite the town. At the present 
 time proofs are not wanting that these animals were 
 once very numerous in the Rhine. Since the begin- 
 ning of the last century they have been greatly de- 
 stroyed and driven away by thoughtless trapping, 
 and more especially by the increasing population of 
 the banks, so that at the present day the name of the 
 place is nearly all that remains of them. 
 
 Formerly the flesh, bones, and skin of the beaver 
 caused him to be eagerly hunted by the inhabitants
 
 244 THE EHINE. 
 
 of the Rhine banks. But as the forests along the 
 river were cut down the beaver became more and 
 more scarce 5 yet even in the beginning of the present 
 century the animal was occasionally seen on the banks 
 of the Rhine. 
 
 In 1720 there was such danger of the beaver be- 
 coming extinct in the north that Frederick William 
 of Prussia passed stringent laws for his preservation. 
 Beavers are still found, though rarely, in the Elbe, 
 the Weser, and other rivers ; and in the province of 
 Magdeburg they are said still to have a quiet resting- 
 place, where they are protected and preserved. 
 
 There is a legend that a beaver was discovered in 
 the foundations of the palace of Biebrich, but for 
 that I cannot vouch. 
 
 The castle, which is built in the style of the Renais- 
 sance, was finished in 1706 by George Augustus of 
 Nassau. The sandstone figures which adorn the roof, 
 otherwise valueless, have a somewhat mournful ap- 
 pearance, for they were very harshly treated in 1793, 
 at the siege of Mayence, when the French planted 
 their guns on the Peters-Aue. 
 
 A large and beautiful park with fine trees is situ- 
 ated behind the castle. Did^e Adolf of Nassau culti- 
 vated this with the greatest care, until his country 
 fell to the share of Prussia. At the last hour he 
 could not save that country, when the choice was 
 placed before him after the battle of Koniggratz. 
 He decided for Austria, less perhaps from his own
 
 BIEBRICH. 245 
 
 inclination than from that of a blind counsellor. The 
 obligation which was imposed on him to maintain a 
 public road through the park, his private property, 
 and the numerous abuses of this privilege, cooled the 
 interest of the absent prince for his favorite spot. 
 He sold the splendid palm-house to the town of 
 Frankfort, which replaced its palm-garden by a rare 
 orangery. The park is still beautiful, for its fine 
 shady trees are uninjured, but its former cultivation 
 has vanished since the castle lost the princely house- 
 hold. 
 
 Deep in the park lie the ruins of old Biburk, also 
 called Moosburg. It stands on other ruins which 
 formed the castle of Louis the German in 874. Its 
 history is obscure and lost in conjecture. The statues 
 at the entrance came from the tombs of the Counts 
 Katzenellenbogen, in the abbey of Eberbach. The 
 sculptor, E. Hopfgarten, formerly made himself a 
 studio in the interior of this castle, and had a com- 
 mission from the duke to carve a sarcophagus for the 
 Greek chapel at Wiesbaden. Hopfgarten died in 
 1856. Some of his works, among them a model of a 
 Lorelei, were preserved in this studio till 1874, when 
 they w^ere sold by his heirs and carried away. 
 
 Since Biebrich has lost its interest as the residence 
 of the Duke of Nassau, its commercial importance, 
 as well as that of the parish of Moosbach, has de- 
 clined. The State established a military cadet school 
 in the barracks built by the duke, but the court w^as
 
 246 THE EHINE. 
 
 wanting. Mayence, lying opposite, absorbs all the 
 business, and that jealousy of its neighbors which is 
 found in small towns still exists. It was once great 
 enough to induce an attempt to frustrate the inten- 
 tion of building a harbor at Biebrich by sinking a 
 whole fleet (of which Heine has sung) with stones.
 
 WIESBADEN. 247 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WIESBADEN. 
 
 Leaving the river and passing the Mosbach rail- 
 way station, the road, which is shaded by a double 
 avenue of trees, rises gently to Adolf's Hill. On 
 one side we get a charming glimpse of the islands 
 and a part of the Rheingau ; on the other, quite as 
 attractive, of Mayence, Castel, and the mountain- 
 chain. 
 
 Before us lies the Taunus, from the plateau of 
 which the hunting-castle, the Platte, and the chapel 
 look down through a break in the woods ; whilst 
 to the left the forester's house on the forest-road 
 to Schlangenbad peeps through the rising Avood, and 
 to the right, on the ridge of hills, the watchtower of 
 Bierstadt commands the whole of the Rhine Valley. 
 
 Even before we reach Mosbach, we meet with 
 the fii'st of those country houses which are, as it 
 were, the outposts of that community that has souglit 
 comfortable seclusion in the loveliest of the Rhine 
 valleys, in the " city of idlers," Wiesbaden. On 
 both sides stretch the pastures of fertile green inter- 
 sected by the Taunus and Nassau Railway. 
 
 In a few minutes we reach the plateau, and at our
 
 248 THE EHINE. 
 
 feet lies the little paradise which was once the resi- 
 dence of the Dukes of Nassau, the " Mecca " of all 
 those who make a pilgrimage to its warm springs, 
 and the " Nice " of Germany. It is protected from 
 the north-east wind, and is a favorite resort of those 
 who, tired of the whirl of the great towns, wish to 
 end their days under the Rhenish sun and in the 
 mildest climate. Indeed, it is difficult to find another 
 place so highly favored by heaven as this. 
 
 Up the slope of the valley, surrounded by wooded 
 hills, are country houses scattered among luxuriant 
 gardens, and parks environing the town, where the 
 warm vapor of the medicinal spring — like the gey- 
 sers of Iceland — always emits from the peculiar 
 " Kochbrunnen " a thick column of steam to invigor- 
 ate and shower its benefits on all who come within 
 its range. Everything here speaks of comfort, 
 wealth, and contentment. A tall chimney, here and 
 there, ventures to creep in between the villas ; and 
 the numerous golden-tipped flagstaffs on the roofs 
 announce the readiness of the inmates to avail them- 
 selves of every occasion for a holiday. 
 
 In the last few years the rage for building has 
 brought the country houses even as far as Adolf's 
 Hohe. They are on each side of us as we stroll down 
 the Adolf Avenue into the neatest and most elegant of 
 German towns, which, fifty years ago, was little more 
 than a village, but has now attained a population, good 
 and bad, of more than sixty-five thousand souls.
 
 WIESBADEN. 249 
 
 We say of good and bad, for, like Baden, Wies- 
 baden originally OAved its pleasure-gardens to the 
 gaming-table, and it was only when gambling was 
 prohibited by the government that private families 
 began permanently to take up their residence here. 
 What therefore the evil spirit of play commenced has 
 been finished by the good genius of enterprise, and 
 scarcely did the Wiesbadeners perceive that they 
 could get on better without the former, than specula- 
 tions in houses and land began. The Electoral town 
 became a miniature cosmopolitan city, its society be- 
 came a mixture of all nations, a neutral settlement 
 of people from all parts of the world, in which every 
 language is understood, and every coinage is current. 
 
 The history of Wiesbaden, about which the present 
 mixed society troubles itself but little, begins Avith the 
 time of the Romans, Avho built the old 3Iaftiacum, and 
 it was the existence of the warm spring which led to 
 its erection. Pliny speaks of it, and the remains 
 which have been found on Heidenberg and Romer- 
 berg are said to date from the time when the four- 
 teenth legion, which was afterwards relieved by the 
 twenty-second, was stationed in these parts. 
 
 The name Wisibad, Wisibadun, appears in records 
 of 843. The Rhenish " Robber-Knights " ran riot 
 here, and once completely laid the city waste. In 
 1815 Wiesbaden was the capital of the Duchy of 
 Nassau. In 1866 it was occupied by a Prussian 
 militia company, who met with no opposition, and
 
 250 THE EHINE. 
 
 since then it has been the seat of a Prussian govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The Kurhaus, finished in 1810, with its beautiful 
 gardens, naturally forms the centre of the town. The 
 ascent from the railway-station through the Wilhelm- 
 strasse is quite imposing, bordered as it is on one side 
 by lofty plane-trees, and that part of the Kurgarten 
 named the " warm bank," with its beautiful lawns, 
 ponds, and music tents, which are seen between the 
 trunks of the plane-trees. Next to the open place 
 before the theatre is the garden of the Kurhaus, 
 richly and artistically arranged with flower-beds, and 
 between them are cascades which are illuminated in 
 the evening. Right and left are repeated the avenues 
 of great plane-trees, which lead the fashionable world 
 into the private gardens behind the assembly-rooms. 
 Opposite to these avenues are two rows of very beau- 
 tiful red-thorns, and behind them again colonnades of 
 shops. This open place presents a gay and busy 
 scene, particularly in the afternoon and evening, 
 when the beginning of the concert summons every- 
 body to the back of the Kurhaus under the shady 
 red chestnuts. 
 
 The company sit closely packed together under the 
 trees, or wander at will by the banks of the fish-pond, 
 on which a flotilla of white swans swim round and 
 round, though much disturbed at times by the gon- 
 dolas with their gay-colored streamers, which move 
 over the still surface with more ease and greater
 
 WIESBADEN. 251 
 
 speed than the limited space would seem to warrant. 
 This place has a wonderful effect when, during the 
 concert, the fish-pond is illuminated with Bengal 
 lights, and the fountain is made to throw its column 
 of water higher than the tops of the trees. Bengal 
 lights are in great force at Wiesbaden ; with them 
 and fireworks and music, the energetic director keeps 
 his patrons amused and in constant circulation. 
 
 The rooms in the Kurhaus are imposing and richly 
 decorated, especially the great assembly-room, with 
 the little conversation-room and refreshment-room. 
 In four of the saloons at the left side of the house 
 might once be heard the chink of gold and silver and 
 the rustle of bank-notes on the fatal green cloth. 
 The intermittent " rouge gagne et la couleur " and 
 the clear click of the roulette ball has here made 
 many hearts beat anxiously or joyously. All this, 
 however, has long since ended. No one thinks of it 
 now, and the hangers-on who used to gather about 
 the gaming-tables have departed to Saxony and 
 Monaco. 
 
 Wiesbaden has become a steady town. We own 
 ourselves to have been in error when we said else- 
 where that the demon of play was like a wall-fungus, 
 and could not be destroyed, for even if — which 
 Heaven forbid — Wiesbaden should be swallowed up 
 by an earthquake, the words " faites le jeu !" would 
 only sound from the depths like the bells of the buried 
 city of Vineta from beneath the waves of the Baltic.
 
 252 THE RHINE. 
 
 The Wiesbaden Gardens extend for a considerable 
 distance, reaching to the village and ruins of Sonnen- 
 berg and to the Dietenmiihle, the much-frequented 
 hydropathic establishment. On one side of the gar- 
 dens is the Sonnenbergstrasse and on the other the 
 Parkstrasse, both of which are bordered Avith villas. 
 
 These gardens possess great attractions on account 
 of the shade they offer, especially in the spring, as 
 the sheltered situation of the place, protected as it is 
 from keen winds, allows the most delicate vegetation 
 to flourish luxuriantly. The abundance of the JBig- 
 nonia catalpa and the trumpet-tree, with its candela- 
 brum-shaped white blossoms, give the pleasure-gar- 
 dens a peculiar charm. The effect of the gay flower- 
 beds in the neighborhood of the private houses is also 
 very agreeable. 
 
 At the end of the Wilhelmstrasse, past the Kvir- 
 haus and Theaterplatz, we come upon the Taunus 
 road, and at the same time the Trinkhalle. On the 
 right of it, at the beginning of the Sonnenberger 
 road, the Pauline Palace may be seen on the heights 
 of the " Schonen Aussicht." The palace is the 
 property of the duke, and was formerly the dwell- 
 ing-place of the widowed duchess. It crowns the 
 summit of a somewhat steep ridge, which is covered 
 with park-like trees and flowers, and was built in 
 1841—43, in a quasi-Alhambra style. 
 
 At the end of the Trinkhalle the road leads on the 
 right to the Geisberg, which, with the Agricultural
 
 WIESBADEN. 253 
 
 Academy and numerous villas, forms one part of the 
 town. Going straight on, there is a shady avenue 
 of limes, and the Elizabethstrasse, bordered with 
 country houses, after a short distance opens on to the 
 beautiful Nero Valley. 
 
 Here, in this valley, we are confronted with that 
 great forest on the Neroberg, on Avhose slopes, which 
 are dotted with vine-dressers' cabins, grows the noble 
 Neroberger, Avith which the increasing houses seem 
 to contest the costly ground. 
 
 From the Kapellenstrasse, which passes over this 
 mountain, the villas on the edge of the forest look 
 down into the valley. This is the road to the Greek 
 chapel, which may also be reached by a footpath that 
 winds between the vineyards and hop-gardens. 
 
 This chapel is built in the form of a Greek cross, 
 and has a curious effect with its five gilded pinnacles, 
 the highest one hundred and ninety feet from the 
 ground, to each of which a double cross is attached 
 by chains. In dull weather it has almost the effect of 
 a ray of sunshine on the valley. It is built of bright 
 sandstone, and was completed in 1855, and dedicated 
 by the Duke Adolf to the memory of his early-lost 
 consort, the Princess Elizabeth Michaelovna of Russia. 
 The interior is built entirely of marble. A magnifi- 
 cent altar screen, with figures of saints on a gold 
 ground, separates the body of the chapel from the choir. 
 An exquisite monument to the Duchess Elizabeth is 
 in a recess on the north side of the chapel.
 
 254 THE RHINE. 
 
 The road leads farther up the mountain, through a 
 strong and thicklj-grown beech wood, to the plateau 
 of the Neroberg, eight hundred feet above the sea. 
 Here stands the Belvidere, a temple from which may 
 be obtained a splendid view over the Rhine, includ- 
 ing Biebrich, Mayence, Darmstadt, and the moun- 
 tain-chains. Beautiful walks and promenades lead 
 through this wood, which is a mile in extent. The 
 hunting-castle, "the Platte," built in 1824, and be- 
 longing to the Duke of Luxemburg, lies still higher 
 and more exposed, being nearly fifteen hundred feet 
 above the sea. It commands the Neroberg and has 
 an extensive view over the Rhine Valley. 
 
 The Wiesbaden spring, the most precious posses- 
 sion of the town, supplies about a dozen bath-houses. 
 The waters are drunk in the morning at the hall and 
 in its innnediate neighborhood, the inhabitants being 
 roused early by a concert of choral music. After 
 that the visitors retire to their baths, and profound 
 silence reigns on the promenades, which is only dis- 
 turbed by the children and their nurses, and the 
 melancholy wheel-chairs of those invalids who have 
 escaped early from their bath. 
 
 The Kurgarten is also quiet in the forenoon. At 
 the pond the children feed the swans who come wad- 
 dling clumsily up to them. Among the trees sit a 
 few visitors reading novels, and under the shady 
 chestnuts the waiters loll idly against the trunks, 
 dozing, with their napkins on their knees, and iso-
 
 WIESBADEN. 255 
 
 lated groups of chess-players sit silently round the 
 tables. The morning is claimed entirely by the 
 waters, the afternoon and evening are given up to 
 pleasure and diversion, which are sought, not only in 
 the concerts and festivities of the Kurgarten, but also 
 by making excursions into the beautifid environs. 
 
 The favorite resorts of visitors to Wiesbaden are 
 Schlangenbad, to which the road leads through the 
 shade of the thick beech wood, and Schwalbach, two 
 bathing-places lying in the cool valley-side between 
 wood and meadow, in which ladies who are disposed 
 to nervousness often attempt to seek restoration to 
 health. 
 
 Schlangenbad especially was, about twenty-five 
 years ago, quite a little female Republic, in which the 
 occasional visit of a husband to his wife caused almost 
 a sensation. But there was another period much far- 
 ther back when the little valley used to collect within 
 the walls of the one building which had been erected 
 and embellished for the purpose a pretty lively assem- 
 bly of both sexes. The higher clergy and a number 
 of canonesses looked upon Schlangenbad as their own 
 peculiar domain. About the same time also the little 
 place received the noble Prince Eugene (1708) as a 
 guest. The baths of Schlangenbad have been known 
 for centuries, the old Kurhaus having been erected 
 as early as 1629. 
 
 The very simple history of Schlangenbad relates 
 that shortly after the discovery of the spring it was
 
 256 THE EHINE. 
 
 sold to a doctor of Worms for a puncheon of wine. 
 It lately passed from the possession of Nassau, to 
 which it had belonged since 1816, into the hands of 
 Prussia. There is no doubt that the place owes its 
 name to the great number of snakes which abound 
 in the woods, and are caught by the boys of the 
 neighborhood and exhibited to the visitors. 
 
 One of the most charming and easy excursions is 
 to the Greorgenhorn Hill, over which the road from 
 Wiesbaden passes. It presents to the observer a 
 vast panorama of the Rhine, with a distant view of 
 Frankfort and the environs of Worms. The advan- 
 tages of the situation have induced several enthu- 
 siastic lovers of nature to establish themselves in the 
 villas here which command a view of the broad Rhine 
 Valley. 
 
 The pleasantest point in Schlangenbad itself is the 
 gallery of the Nassau Hotel, from which we look over 
 the little splashing fountain to the valley yonder. On 
 the left is the Kurgarten, rising in terraces, where a 
 very modest choir is performing its afternoon concert, 
 and a band of jugglers turn their somersaults. 
 
 Before us lies the promenade, constantly enlivened 
 by the most elegant toilettes ; behind and near us, 
 steps hewn in the rock lead to romantic shady spots, 
 for almost everywhere arbors and clear springs offer 
 such poetic resting-places to the nervous visitors. A 
 pleasant stillness hovers continually over wood and 
 valley, and this is only broken occasionally by a
 
 ikurbaus GarOens, TllHiesbaOen.
 
 WIESBADEN. 257 
 
 merry party mounted on donkeys who approach near 
 us, or by the arrival of a coach from Wiesbaden 
 loaded with merrymaking tourists. 
 
 The discomfort of this place, when the whole 
 valley is covered with snow and everything is 
 wrapped in its winter sleep, is amply atoned for 
 when spring unchains the ice-bound springs in the 
 woods and strews the meadows with tender blossoms, 
 adorns the beech and oak trees with fresh green 
 tints, and attunes the lays of the feathered songsters 
 to soft melody. But none of all its annual visitors 
 sees all this, for the air is keen and can only be faced 
 by the robust ; even when the place is officially 
 opened in the height of summer, there sometimes 
 breaks out a " sauve qui pent " among the earliest 
 guests, which only the boldest can withstand. 
 
 The neighboring Langen-Schwalbach, or familiarly 
 Schwalbach, has a similar reputation as a health re- 
 sort. It was known as early as 300, and was a fash- 
 ionable watering-place in the seventeenth and eigh- 
 teenth centuries. Its steel springs, and the air which 
 is impregnated by them, attract all those whose com- 
 plaints require such a tonic. 
 
 The company at Schwalbach are indeed at times 
 reminded of the saying of the French writer, who 
 thought that if a servant were engaged to go through 
 all that a nervous lady voluntarily went through in a 
 single winter season, he would sink under the at- 
 tempt. The place itself lies in a pastoral valley, and 
 Vol. I. -17
 
 258 THE KHINE. 
 
 makes its appearance in history in 1352 as the vil- 
 lage of Swalhorn. Amongst the historical notabilities 
 who have taken the waters here is Tilly, who stayed 
 in the place in 1628. In later times the ex-Em- 
 press Eugenie arrived here and took up her abode in 
 the boarding-house now called the "Villa Eugenie." 
 
 The most interesting points in the neighborhood 
 are the Castles of Schwalbach, with their watch- 
 tower Adolfseck, which was reduced to ruins during 
 the Thirty Years' War. These were once the dwell- 
 ing-places of the favorite of the Emperor Adolf. The 
 castles of Hohenstein and Hohlenfels should also be 
 mentioned, the one situated on a lofty rock and the 
 other on a chalk cliff.
 
 AN EXCUKSION TO THE TAUNUS. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 AN EXCURSION TO THE TAUNUS. 
 
 As there is no other way to Castel, Ave must re- 
 trace our steps and go back past Mosbach. The 
 engine-sheds immediately on the banks of the Rhine 
 have an inhospitable appearance, and the loopholes of 
 the fortifications frown sullenly down upon us as we 
 drive to the railway station along the outworks by 
 the houses and hotels. But at length the fortifications 
 lie behind us, and stretching out to our view stands 
 the vine-clad hill of Hochheim. The church may be 
 seen from a distance in all directions, as also its fac- 
 tory for the manufacture of sparkling Avine, whilst its 
 vineyards extend beyond the railway and slope down 
 to the bank of the Main. 
 
 It is a noble fruit which grows up there on that 
 yellow, sandy-looking hill, especially that on the piece 
 beneath the church, the Hochheim Deanery. It 
 glows through many a man's veins, and those who 
 have quarrelled Avith it have done so only to become 
 still more firmly attached to it again before long. A 
 monument might indeed be raised here to England, 
 for " sparkling hock," the Hochheim champagne, 
 AA^hich is specially prepared for British palates, is sent 
 across the Channel in enormous quantities.
 
 260 THE KHINE. 
 
 The majestic proportions of the Taimiis become 
 more and more clearly defined before us as we ap- 
 proach. On the left yonder lies the modest Kurhaus 
 of Weilbach, also called Lange-Weilbach, on account 
 of the poetic repose which is met with there, even in 
 the height of the season. It is well known for its 
 sulphur springs, and for a newly-discovered mineral 
 spring. 
 
 Shortly before we reach Frankfurt, at the Hochst 
 station, the guard invites passengers for Soden to 
 alight, while a swarm of children surround the car- 
 riages, crying " Bubeschenkel ! Bubeschenkel !" a 
 local kind of pastry, supposed to be in the shape of 
 a leg, in which an active imagination may possibly 
 trace a resemblance to the intended form. A little 
 group of passengers respond to the cry of the guard 
 by alighting. These being individuals either with 
 pale faces, on which are written a longing for the 
 healing Avaters of Sodon, or else persons in robust 
 health, Avith an enterprising, travelling air, carrying 
 thick plaids in strong hand-straps, wearing stout 
 nailed shoes, and holding solid alpenstocks. 
 
 The remainder of the passengers, warding off the 
 " Bubeschenkel," indulge in speculations as to whether 
 they will go up to the interesting Church of St. Jus- 
 tinus, erected in 1090. They decide, however, that 
 they have not the time. 
 
 In an hour we reach Soden, and with it the south- 
 ern spur of the Taunus. Many invalids are annually
 
 AN EXCURSION TO THE TAUNUS, 261 
 
 attracted here by the mild climate, the tasteful gar- 
 dens, and the springs containing salt, carbonic acid, 
 and iron, a healing fountain for various ailments. 
 They gaze with longing eyes after the mountain 
 tourists who start from this place on foot, on horse- 
 back, and on donkeys. The usual tour is over 
 Cronthal, Cronberg, Falkenstein, and Pfaffenstein to 
 Konigstein, Avhere the first night is spent ; then over 
 the Fuchstanz, from which place two hours more 
 brings them to the great Feldberg. They then go 
 down over the Altkonig, in Oberursel, and reach the 
 table-land of Horaburg. 
 
 The Taunus has been adopted by the Taunus Club 
 of Frankfurt, who regularly celebrate their festival 
 at the most interesting points. It is covered by 
 thick woods, and stretches between the Rhine, the 
 Main, and the Lahn, for about a hundred miles, de- 
 clining on the southwest, as the Rheingau chain forms 
 the boundary between North and South Germany. 
 Feldberg is its highest point, and is nearly three 
 thousand feet above the sea-level ; from it may be 
 seen a splendid panorama extending over hundreds 
 of miles in all directions. 
 
 The metallic wealth of these mountains once in- 
 duced speculators to attempt the working of the 
 mines, as the so-called " Goldgrube " at Homburg 
 still testifies. They were, however, not productive 
 enough to repay the trouble and outlay, for only peat 
 and clay were found to be plentiful. It is not until
 
 262 THE KHINE. 
 
 the Lahn district is reached that the soil yields iron 
 and manganese. The mountain district, which re- 
 ceived its name from the Romans, who called it mons 
 taunus, is, as is well known, very rich in mineral 
 springs. 
 
 The Celtic race appear as the first inhabitants of 
 the Taunus ; they were succeeded by the Helvetii, 
 especially between the Rhine and the Main; then 
 came the Chatti ; and lastly, the Alemanni and the 
 Franks, who freed these mountains from the Romans 
 in the fifth century after Christ. At the present 
 day we may judge of the warlike nature of the 
 Roman period from the Ring or Heathen Walls of 
 the plateau, the entrances and exits of which formed 
 the so-called ^' Rennwege," or courses, whilst the 
 boundaries of the Roman domain are still to be 
 recognized in the ditches fortified with stakes. 
 
 In the Middle Ages, which swept away the Old 
 German districts, the land was divided among the 
 noble families of Eppstein, Niiringen, Falkenstein, 
 Miinzenberg, and the Archbishop of Mayence, till in 
 the course of time the Taunus (with the exception of 
 Homburg and the Wetterau) passed into the hands 
 of Nassau, and lastly, in 1866, into those of Prussia. 
 
 The road takes us uphill over Cronthal — a charm- 
 ing little bathing-place among green pastures — to 
 Cronberg, whose bold inhabitants, supported by the 
 banner of a knight of the Palatinate, once victoriously 
 gave battle to the men of Frankfurt.
 
 AN EXCURSION TO THE TAUNUS. 263 
 
 We then continue our way to the Castle of the 
 Knight of Cronberg, built in the thirteenth century. 
 Part of the Castle is still occupied, and the old chapel 
 contains tombstones that were there before the castle 
 was erected. 
 
 Lower down on the hill stands the stronghold of 
 Falkenstein on a wooded rock. Kuno, of Sayn, 
 whose castle on the Rhine now lies in ruins, fell in 
 love with Irmingarde, the daughter of the surly Lord 
 of Falkenstein. His love was returned, and he pre- 
 sented himself before her father, asking his consent 
 to the marriage. The old Lord of Falkenstein 
 smiled grimly, and told the impetuous lover that he 
 would consider his proposal — on one condition. Kuno, 
 delighted at what he considered so ready an assent, 
 promised to do amjtliing. Imagine his despair when 
 Falkenstein told him that he could wed his daughter 
 if he would build a road from the castle to the valley 
 beloWj and ride up it on his war-horse before sunrise 
 the next morning ! 
 
 Kuno, of Sayn, went sadly away, for the castle of 
 Falkenstein was perched high on a rock, and only a 
 tortuous path led down to the valley, and he knew 
 that it would take many men many months of hard 
 labor to blast and cut out a road, and he had but 
 one night in which to accomplish the impossible. 
 
 Suddenly he was roused from his gloomy thoughts 
 by hearing a little voice call his name. He looked 
 down and saw the King of the Gnomes, who told
 
 264 THE EHINE. 
 
 him not to despair, but to go to his inn, and have his 
 war-horse ready for the morning, and he and his 
 subjects would accomplish the work. 
 
 Kuno was incredulous, but knowing that he could 
 effect nothing unaided, he obeyed the gnome, went to 
 his inn, and waited, with what patience he could 
 for the dawn. Meanwhile the gnome had waved 
 his hand, and a mist rose and shrouded valley and 
 hill in its dense vapor. Out of it came thousands of 
 dwarf-like creatures, who began to use axes, picks, 
 and spades with right good will. 
 
 All night long Kuno, of Sayn, lay awake and 
 heard the crashing of forest trees, the breaking of 
 stones, and occasionally a long rumbling sound like 
 thunder. At dawn he emerged from the inn, and 
 was met by the innkeeper, who told him that a ter- 
 rible storm must have raged over the valley in the 
 night. Kuno stayed not to listen to the man's tale, 
 but called for his horse, and rode to the foot of the 
 eminence upon which rose the castle of Falkenstein. 
 There he was met by the King of the Gnomes, who 
 showed him a broad highway leading from the shore 
 to the very door of the castle. Kuno thanked him, 
 and galloped bravely up, greeted on all sides by the 
 smiling gnomes. As he rode over the bridge they 
 were just finishing, he looked up and saw Irmingarde 
 standing on the ramparts and waving him a greet- 
 ing. 
 
 The Lord of Falkenstein could no longer withhold
 
 AN EXCUESION TO THE TAUNUS. 265 
 
 his consent to their marriage | and as the triumphant 
 lover cLasped Irmingarde to liis heart, the sun rose 
 over the horizon and flooded them with its golden 
 rays. 
 
 Heinrich von Ofterdingen, the troubadour, it is 
 saidj plays here every night upon his harp, and wan- 
 ders down the bank of the Liederbach to the Rhine 5 
 whilst on the great cone of rock yonder, the Alt- 
 konig, tradition asserts that a gray mountain manikin 
 sits and watches some treasure that lies hidden,winding 
 at the same time his ever-growing beard on a reel. 
 
 On the heights of Altkonig are still visible the 
 Giant Rings, or the Devil's Walls, which consist of 
 two massive walls formed of rough stones loosely 
 piled together, the exterior of which is two thousand 
 paces in circumference. Three entrances lead into 
 this stony circle, which is apparently of German 
 work, for here formerly stood the Royal Seat of the 
 " Gau-gericht," or district tribunal. According to 
 tradition, Ariovistus and Rando, the sons of the 
 Alemanni, were once enthroned here. 
 
 Feldberg is the King of the Taunus ; it commands 
 the country round for a vast distance, reaching to 
 Thuringia, to Inselsberg, to Hunsriick, and to the 
 Wasgau. It was from this mountain that Queen 
 Brunhilda, waking at daybreak, used to survey her 
 beautiful empire, and on this account the precipitous 
 northern side is called by the people of the locality 
 "Brunhilda's bed."
 
 266 THE KHINE. 
 
 Tradition asserts that it was to the summit of the 
 Feldberg that Hermann der Cherusker summoned 
 the German heroes, in order to form a League against 
 the Roman yoke. Feldberg House, which was com- 
 pleted in 1860, annually entertains the athletic socie- 
 ties of the Main and Rhine districts, who meet here 
 in July. 
 
 The fortress of Konigstein rears itself proudly on 
 its rocky height. At the foot of its throne lies the 
 town of the same name, the gathering-place of all 
 travellers to the Taunus, and especially of Frankfurt 
 society. The Lords of Niiringen first governed 
 here, then the Miinzenbergs, and lastly the Falken- 
 steiners and Stolzbergers, from whom it was wrested 
 by Mayence. 
 
 History mentions Konigstein as early as 1225. 
 Since then many calamities have visited it, and 
 among them that in 1793, when its gloomy walls 
 were made to serve as a prison for the clubbists of 
 Mayence. The interest in maintaining this splendid 
 place is enhanced by the fact that Konigstein has 
 become, on account of its fine air, a much-frequented 
 health resort. 
 
 The Duchess Adelaide of Nassau materially as- 
 sisted in the embellishment of the town by building a 
 large country residence in the immediate neighbor- 
 hood. It must be somewhat melancholy for the ducal 
 family to look down upon the beautifid land which 
 they have lost ; but still the bonds of home-love loosen
 
 AN EXCURSION TO THE TAUNUS. 267 
 
 but slowly, and tliey consequently appear at their old 
 home every year in the early summer. 
 
 Every one Avho is afraid to attempt the Feldberg 
 ascends Rossert, of which there is nothing to be said 
 except that it is a great imposing group of rocks, to 
 which the name of the " Teufelschloss/' or Devil's 
 Castle, has been given, on account of its weird ap- 
 pearance . 
 
 From here we have a splendid view of Konigstein, 
 Falkenstein, and the ruins which recall to us that 
 mighty race renowned in history, the Eppsteiners. 
 These airy strongholds are fortified by deep abysses 
 and massive walls to withstand all attacks, save that 
 of the unwearying enemy Time. Ruins now stand 
 on the rock overhanging the town, which are clasped 
 round by ivy, plantain, sloe-bushes, and brambles. 
 Shattered towers and a broken chapel are all that 
 remains of the once-proud citadel, which for four cen- 
 turies kept the whole neighborhood under its sway, 
 and maintained a bitter feud with the Counts of 
 Nassau. At last, the race of its lowly rulers dying 
 out, it passed to the dominion of the Counts of Stol- 
 berg, from w^hom it was handed over to the electoral 
 city of Mayence. 
 
 Many ghastly remembrances are associated by the 
 people with the name of the Eppsteiners. Within 
 the arch of the gateway once hung a colossal skeleton 
 in chains, supposed, in those days, to be that of a 
 giant. It is now exhibited in the Museum at Wies-
 
 268 THE EHINE. 
 
 baden as that of an antediluvian animal. There is 
 another legend abovit a giant, namely, that of the 
 Great and the Little Mannstein, two rocks which some 
 people fancy, when seen from a distance, resemble 
 two human forms. One of them is supposed to be a 
 knight of Falkenstein, who is fighting with a giant 
 for the possession of his stolen bride.
 
 FEANKFURT AND HOMBUEG. 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 FEANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 
 
 Frankfort-on-the-Maen owes its name to Charle- 
 magne, who one day wandered far into the Teutonic 
 forests to wage war against the Saxons. In the bat- 
 tle that followed he was defeated, and forced to beat 
 a hasty retreat Avith his beloved Franks. The coun- 
 try was unknown to Charlemagne — the enemy was 
 in close pursuit — and, to make matters worse, a thick 
 fog shut down, so that they could not see where they 
 were going. 
 
 At last they reached the banks of the Main, and 
 knowing that his small force would be destroyed by 
 the enemy if they lingered where they were, yet not 
 daring to cross the unknown river, Charlemagne in 
 his perplexity had recourse to prayer. Immediately 
 the fog lifted, and the Emperor saw a doe, followed 
 by her young, crossing the river. Charlemagne bade 
 his men keep close behind him, took the same way, 
 and brought his little army safely over. As they 
 reached the opposite bank the fog closed in behind 
 them, concealing them from the pursuing Saxons, 
 who declared, not seeing them, that the Franks must 
 have perished in the Main. Charlemagne called the
 
 270 THE RHINE. 
 
 place Franconofurd (ford of the Franks), in com- 
 memoration of his deliverance. 
 
 We now step out of that legendary time into the 
 battle-field of the Holy Roman Empire of the Ger- 
 man nation. It was at Frankfurt that most of the 
 German Emperors were chosen, from the time of 
 Barbarossa. It was here that, by reason of the 
 privileges of the Hohenstaufens, and on the authority 
 of the golden bull of Charles IV., those powerful 
 rulers were crowned whose portraits hang in the 
 banquet-room of the Town Hall, which is called the 
 " Romer." These same anointed heads also showed 
 themselves to the shouting and excited people on the 
 balcony, surrounded by the electoral princes. 
 
 Time has since passed both joyfully and sorrow- 
 fully over the town. It lost and regained its privi- 
 leges several times over, until at length, after the 
 Vienna Congress of 1816, it was chosen as the 
 seat of the German Diet, and the powdered diplo- 
 matists of great and little States strutted through the 
 streets. 
 
 The Revolution of 1848 brought the dawn of a new 
 era over Frankfurt — a stormy, ominous era which 
 preceded evil. The National Assembly sat in the 
 Church of St. Paul, and this body, in a most melan- 
 choly manner, lost two of its most illustrious mem- 
 bers, namely, Prince Felix von Lichnowsky and H. 
 von Auerswald. 
 
 In 1863 the Emperor of Austria fruitlessly sum-
 
 FKANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 271 
 
 moned bis Congress of Princes hither. In 1866, the 
 great and iinal change took place ; General Vogel von 
 Falkenstein occupied Frankfurt with his army of the 
 Main, and thus it was incorporated with Prussia. 
 
 The political importance of the former Free Town, 
 as regards its historical prerogatives as well as its 
 geographical situation, was lost with the centraliza- 
 tion of the German imperial interests in the North 
 German capital, and those who at first advocated the 
 preservation of the old traditional privileges Avere 
 obliged to adapt themselves to moderating circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Another sun rose over Frankfurt in the year 1749, 
 with the birth of Goethe ; and Ludwig Borne claimed 
 this as his native city. Poetry and the belles-lettres 
 were also represented in Frankfurt by Clement Bren- 
 tano, Bettina von Arnim, Fr. M. von Klinger, and 
 others ; science by A. von Feuerbach, Savigny, J. 
 G. Schlosser, and a host of kindred spirits. 
 
 The particularly favorable situation of the city 
 caused material interests to be even more in request, 
 and the desire for them more deeply rooted than in- 
 tellectual claims. The city became the great em- 
 porium of trade for South-west Germany. Its Ex- 
 change became a power even at that time, when the 
 news of its transactions was carried northwards from 
 Frankfurt and Paris by pigeon post, and the greedy 
 stock-jobbers in Berlin strove to ascertain from the 
 foam on the steaming horse left standing by the
 
 272 THE EHINE. 
 
 courier before one of the great banking-houses, 
 whether the rate of exchange was likely to be high 
 or low in Frankfurt. 
 
 The name of the town is inseparably connected 
 with those of Rothschild, Bethmann, and others ; and 
 even at the present day there are not wanting signs 
 that Frankfurt will not be long before she restores 
 herself to her ancient rights in the monetary market 
 of the world. 
 
 The most ancient memorial in Frankfurt is the 
 " Romer," the town hall of the former free imperial 
 city. It was erected in the early part of the fifteenth 
 century, but has been altered many times since then. 
 The " Romerberg," on which tournaments used to be 
 held, is an open square in front of the Roraer. 
 Down to the end of the last century no Jew was 
 allowed to enter it. 
 
 The old bridge over the Main is a most picturesque 
 structure of red sandstone. It was built in 1342. 
 On the middle of the bridge stands a statue of Charle- 
 magne holding the imperial orb ; though this, indeed, 
 belongs to a later period. It was this monument 
 which gave the honest Sachsenhausers the idea that 
 Charlemagne was the man who " invented Aeppel- 
 wei," a drink specially in favor in Frankfurt. 
 
 The gilded vane, which consists of a cock on an 
 iron rod, has a legendary signification. The devil, 
 it is said, did not approve of the building of the 
 bridge, and claimed of the builder the first living be-
 
 FRANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 273 
 
 ing that should pass over it. This had to be granted, 
 and as it is always a satisfaction in local tradition to 
 outwit the devil, a poor, half-starved cock was driven 
 over the bridge directly it was completed. In mock- 
 ery of his Satanic Majesty, the poor creature w^as 
 afterwards immortalized in the form of a gilded 
 weathercock. 
 
 Pepin, the father of Charlemagne, is said to have 
 been the founder of the Cathedral at Frankfurt. The 
 building was not completed until 1512. Part of the 
 tower and of the church itself was destroyed by a 
 great fire in 1867, but has since been restored. At 
 the time of the restoration the cloisters were com- 
 pleted from old plans, and the tower, which had been 
 unfinished since 1512, was finished from the designs 
 of the architect, Hans von Ingelnheim, which had 
 been lying among the municipal archives for five 
 hundred years. 
 
 Next it, in antiquity, are the churches of St. Leon- 
 ard, of the Holy Virgin, and of St. Nicholas. St. 
 Leonard's, begun in 1219, contains a Last Supper by 
 Holbein the Elder, and on the north tower is seen 
 the imperial eagle, bestowed on the abbey by Lewis 
 the Bavarian for services rendered to him when he 
 was under the papal ban. The celebrated church of 
 St. Paul was not built until 1782. 
 
 The first objects that attract the eye of a stranger 
 in -walking through the town are the monuments of 
 Gutenberg, Goethe, and Schiller. He will also visit 
 Vol. I.— 18
 
 274 THE RHINE. 
 
 Goethe's house, with its marble tablet; Luther's house, 
 from which the Reformer addressed the people on his 
 journey to Worms; the Bethmann Museum, with 
 Dannecker's incomparable Ariadne ; the Stadel'sche 
 Art Institute ; Rothschild's oi'iginal house, at the 
 entrance of the Jews' Street ; the grave of " Frau 
 Rath," Goethe's mother, in the old churchyard ; the 
 Eschenheim Tower, six hundred years old, the last 
 relic of the ancient fortifications ; the theatre ; the 
 Exchange ; the Zoological Garden ; and lastly, the 
 splendid Palm Garden, with its wealth of leaf and 
 blossom. 
 
 Sachsenhausen, said to have been founded by 
 Charlemagne, and connected with Frankfurt by five 
 bridges, forms a populous world of itself; the only 
 particular point of interest it possesses is the house 
 of the German Order which stands there. The same 
 may also be said of Bornheim Heath, on which Lich- 
 nowsky was murdered. As in most large towns, 
 modern times have added a new quarter, which gives 
 the place quite a diff'erent appearance. 
 
 Frankfurt has one hundred and eighty thousand 
 inhabitants, and the people are of a merry, active 
 disposition. Strangers are constantly passing through 
 their town, especially in summer. The river Main, 
 with its clear stream, offers to the Frankfurt societies 
 a fine opportunity for Avater sports, such as regattas, 
 boating, etc. The woods, in which the annual spring 
 festival is held, the Taunus, the Bergstrasse, and the
 
 FRANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 275 
 
 neighboring towns with their various kinds of baths, 
 are all visited by swarms of excursionists. This is 
 especially the case with Homburg, which lies on a 
 table-land within half an hour's ride, and is the favor- 
 ite resort of the Frankfurt people. 
 
 Two dynasties have fallen in the course of a 
 few years in this much-frequented town, the one 
 favored by Heaven, the other by the powers below ; 
 the one expiring with the last Landgrave of Hesse- 
 Homburg, who acted, as it were, the prelude of the 
 Prussian war policy by dying in March, 1866, and 
 giving up the government to Darmstadt, only to be 
 readjusted later in the year ; the other ruling accord- 
 ing to the caprice of four kings, and in vain protest- 
 ing, while packing up its rakes and cards, against the 
 Parliament's decree of banishment. 
 
 The latter was the dynasty of Blanc the Gambler, 
 who was really the Landgrave here, and who bore on 
 his arms, according to a tradition of thirty years ago, 
 the device : " Ici ne gagne ni rouge ni noir, mais 
 toujours Slanc" 
 
 The Landgrave Ferdinand Henry Frederick wished 
 his capital to be described as " vor der Hohe ;" the 
 Bohemian population of the town called it " sur 
 I'abyme." It did not matter which name it bore ; 
 but the former has been preserved. 
 
 In Goethe's time the Court of Homburg was a 
 centre of intellectual life. Goethe's " Lila " was the 
 Fraulein von Ziegler, a lady belonging to the Court.
 
 276 THE KHINE. 
 
 Among the scholars who assembled there were Von 
 Sinclair, Jung-Stilling, and Lavater, all of whom cer- 
 tainly visited the Court of Homburg. The unfor- 
 tunate poet Holderlin also lived here after his sepa- 
 ration from his beloved Diotima. 
 
 The French Revolution drove a large number of 
 the Waldenses to Homburg, and their descendants 
 still live in the neighborhood. The town was in- 
 debted for many undesirable fugitives and guests to 
 the closing of the Parisian gaming hells, and the 
 cleansing of the Palais-Royal, in 1837. 
 
 The proprietors of the gaming-tables at this period, 
 with Benazet at their head, crossed the frontier. 
 Many of the West German Princes lent a willing ear 
 to their offers, and thus roulette and trente et quarante 
 were established in Germany. Benazet, and after 
 him his nephew Dupressoir, ruled in Baden-Baden, 
 and Blanc in Homburg. Both knew how to entice 
 so-called society to their tables. They also loaded 
 the French journalists with benefits, placing money 
 and carriages at their disposal, well knowing that the 
 former would in all probability return the same even- 
 ing to their coffers. Things went on more respect- 
 ably at Wiesbaden and Ems, whose united undertak- 
 ing was at least under one control. 
 
 The surroundings of the Kurhaus are brilliantly 
 arranged, and were formerly visited at every season 
 of the year by a very cosmopolitan society, for the 
 gambling went on all the year round. At the present
 
 FRANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 277 
 
 time the season is very short on account of the cHmate, 
 and the pLace is empty for the greater part of the 
 twelve months. 
 
 The effect from the terrace of the Kurhaus with 
 its glass roof is very magnificent, and there is a truly 
 lovely view of the pleasure-gardens lying at its foot ; 
 these are bounded on both sides by villas and board- 
 ing-houses, and crowned by the verdure of the woods 
 in the background. The orange-trees which adorn 
 the banks under the terrace are of rare beauty. 
 
 The theatre is an elegant building ; the Darmstadt 
 company give performances there occasionally during 
 the season. The castle, which used to be the resi- 
 dence of the Landgrave's family, and is now reserved 
 for the occasional visit of the Prussian royal family, 
 lies on a hill, surrounded by a green park. Many 
 families of rank reside in the numerous villas and 
 houses round about. 
 
 The environs of Homburg are particularly attrac- 
 tive, with fine promenades and places for recreation 
 running out in various directions. The air is pure 
 and invigorating, and is always fresh and clear owing 
 to the proximity of the mountains and forests. The 
 mineral springs, as well as the advantages of climate 
 which Homburg })Ossesses, has attracted an aristo- 
 cratic society to the place now that the gaming-tables 
 have been removed. 
 
 It was, it is true, difficult before the year 1872, 
 which proved fatal to the gambling, to judge of the
 
 278 THE EHINE. 
 
 society by the luxury of their equipages, cand the 
 amount of show and wealth that was paraded. Ad- 
 venture and immorality hid themselves here more 
 than in the other watering-places, where society, in- 
 deed, often exhibited itself under false colors, be- 
 neath a luxury which covered its inner corruption 
 and hid its social insignificance. That eventful year 
 brought another stamp of visitors ; the parvenus of 
 the Exchange, the gilded mushrooms of a night's 
 growth, who naturally could not show themselves 
 without lackeys and carriages, disappeared — they 
 vanished at the first touch of misfortune, to be seen 
 no more. The thunderstorm cleared the air of Hom- 
 burg society. 
 
 The town itself is of inconsiderable extent, with 
 about nine thousand inhabitants, whose industry and 
 occupations are principally carried on for the advan- 
 tage of the visitors. Passing over the bridge from 
 the railway station we enter the principal artery of 
 the town, the Louisenstrasse. Here we see one 
 hotel after another, while the buildings which are 
 private houses are erected in the villa style and are 
 beautifidly adorned with gardens. These offer a re- 
 treat to strangers who have settled here, or who have 
 come to use the waters. 
 
 It is curious to be here at the opening of the sea- 
 son, after the long winter sleep, when the earliest 
 visitors arrive. The first cab which rolls over the 
 Louisenstrasse laden with luggage makes quite a sen-
 
 FRANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 279 
 
 sation. Heads are counted as yet individually ; the 
 musicians who throughout the winter have played to 
 a small select society, sit ready in the music tent, 
 and gain new spirit as they see foreign faces appear- 
 ing which are unknown to them either as residents or 
 as occasional visitors. Everything breathes once 
 more ; the hotels fill, slowly perhaps at first, till the 
 height of the season approaches and the Spa bursts 
 into full blossom. 
 
 Of the numerous interesting places in the neigh- 
 borhood, Ave will here select the little town of Obe- 
 rursel, with its Gothic church, built in the fifteenth 
 century. This place had also, at one time, an intel- 
 lectual prominence, for printing was carried on here 
 as early as 1462. Nicodemus Frischlin's printing- 
 press, which was raised here in 1590, was an im- 
 portant object in the history of literature. 
 
 In the neighborhood of Homburg also we come 
 upon important Roman remains — indeed, upon one 
 of the most important relics on the Rhine and Main, 
 the so-called Saalburg. As early as 1830, some fine 
 discoveries were made at Heddernheim, among others 
 the foundation- walls of a Mithras temple, the finely- 
 preserved relief of which is in the Museum at Wies- 
 baden. Many other mutilated relics were brought to 
 light at that time, and prove the residence of the 
 Roman legions here. 
 
 A Roman military road, which is clearly recogniz- 
 able, leads almost directly to the ruins of the Roman
 
 280 THE EHINE. 
 
 citadel, the Saalbiirg, where a little Pompeii might 
 long ago have been laid bare, if only the public had 
 taken sufficient interest in the matter to provide the 
 necessary funds. Imperfect as the excavations have 
 necessarily been vmder the circumstances, having 
 only been made by degrees by a private association 
 formed for the purpose, this stronghold has been un- 
 covered for an extent of more than twenty acres ; 
 the surrounding fortifications of walls and trenches 
 have, for the most part, been brought to light ; four 
 gates with square towers, and behind them the build- 
 ings surrounding the citadel, which are tolerably 
 well preserved, have also been disclosed. Among 
 the former are the porta prcetoria and the porta decu- 
 mana. 
 
 We also find a prsetorium 153 feet long and 132 
 feet broad, wells, bath-rooms, mosaic and other floor- 
 ing, cellarage, all half ruined, and bearing here and 
 there indications of the mortar which was on the 
 walls. Urns and pitchers have been found at the 
 place where the bodies used to be burnt. Weapons 
 and coins have also been dug up plentifully, and on 
 one occasion an urn containing 550 silver pieces was 
 discovered. 
 
 Of especial interest is the grave-house which was 
 erected on one of the old foundations, at a recent pe- 
 riod, to cover the graves which were laid open; 
 whilst two years ago the foundation-stone of a real 
 columbarium was laid. The staked ditches which
 
 FRANKFURT AND HOMBURG. 281 
 
 lie a few hundred paces off are also extremely in- 
 teresting. It is supposed that this fortress was built 
 by N. C. Drusus in the year 10 B.C., and that after 
 being destroyed from the Germanic side in the year 
 15, it was rebuilt by his son Germanicus. Further 
 excavations would no doubt supply a more definite so- 
 lution of the history, but up to the present time they 
 clearly testify to the residence in this place of the 
 eighth and twenty-second legions.
 
 282 THE RHINE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE EHEINGAU. 
 
 The Rhine ! tlie Rhine ! Thereon our vines are growing — 
 
 For ever bless the Rhine ! 
 Along its shores the sunny grapes are glowing, 
 
 That weep this racy wine. 
 
 We now enter the splendid expanse of the river, 
 which here lies before us like a polished lake, its sur- 
 face dotted with islands. The green heights of the 
 Bingerwald and Niederwald tower above it and en- 
 close it in the background. Its waves dance upon 
 the shore of the most favored and beautiful of the 
 German districts. The sun's rays sparkle in the 
 waters 5 their reflections kiss, as it were, the cheeks 
 of the maidens who stand on the balconies and in the 
 shady arbors, merrily greeting with waving handker- 
 chiefs the steamer which is passing the bend in the 
 river, leaving behind it a foamy track. Yonder, in 
 softly ascending lines, are the golden-veined vine- 
 gardens on that hill so blessed by heaven, and from 
 which the rich produce goes forth yearly in such 
 abundance. 
 
 On the right bank one little town stretches itself 
 out almost to the next, the whole looking like a string
 
 (Targo IBoat on tbe IRbine.
 
 THE RHEINGAU. 283 
 
 of pearls, penetrated by the fragrance of tlie vines 
 and interspersed -with gardens and villas, Avitli churches 
 and chapels. In the background the vine-watchers' 
 houses seem to frown down on the scene, whilst the 
 grave-looking, Aveather-stained crucifixes smile benefi- 
 cently upon the gardens, like St. Januarius on the 
 coast of the Bay of Naples. 
 
 The little townlets of the Rheingau, with smiHng 
 aspect, bathe their feet in the bright stream, and 
 cheerfid human beings stroll along the banks. In 
 the snug summer-houses overhung with trailing vines 
 the glass filled with the golden wine sparkles, while 
 the humming of the bees announces hoAv the grapes 
 are ripening once more to replenish the store of that 
 good wine, which for thousands of years has been a 
 joy and a blessing to those who know how to enjoy 
 its use without abusing it. 
 
 A gay and varied company are assembled on 
 board the steamer which carries us. On every face 
 we read the poet's words, " Wem Gott will rechte 
 Gunst erweisen, den schickt er in die weite Welt." 
 It would be difficult, indeed, to find a spot more truly 
 lovely than this ; we never tire of its beauty. Every 
 visitor to these parts, besides admiring the beauties 
 of nature, should watch the vine-dresser at his heavy, 
 ceaseless work, which the autumn does not, however, 
 always repay. He should also see these slopes when 
 the fair bloom lies on the first half-open leaves ; he 
 should mount through the vineyards when the grapes
 
 284 THE RHINE. 
 
 are swelling, and when autumn tints the landscape. 
 He would then, perhaps, better comprehend the en- 
 thusiasm of this honest, cheerful people ; whose 
 blood, it is true, is sometimes rather too hot and their 
 actions rather too wild, as it has been since the old 
 days of the Rheingau " Gebiicks," when the club and 
 the javelin had too great a license here. 
 
 Shadows, however, are not wanting in this sunny 
 valley, and sometimes the vine-dresser has a heavy 
 and careworn look, when, in spite of all his care, the 
 bitter northeast wind has penetrated to his hill, and 
 the frost of a single spring night has destroyed all 
 the bloom which foretold for him so luxuriant a 
 harvest. The fruit in this case, which should have 
 been a source of pleasure to countless numbers, 
 being nipped in the bud, hangs black and shriv- 
 elled on the stems that have been so carefully 
 tended. 
 
 It is evening. The sun declines slowly towards 
 the west and casts its rays obliquely over the Rhine, 
 the shore, the villas, the vine-dressers' huts, the cas- 
 tles and the fortresses — lighting up the most delicate 
 soft tints in the green wooded mountains and on the 
 gray earth of the gardens, until it vanishes in the 
 haze of the distant hills. 
 
 Yonder, on the left, a train is just steaming past 
 the village of Budenheim, behind the Rhein-Au or 
 Rettsbergs-Au. On the right lies Schierstein, the 
 outer threshold of the Rheingau, surrounded by fruit-
 
 THE KHEINGAU. 285 
 
 fill vineyards and orchards. The buildings which 
 crown the hill on the land side are those of the Niirn- 
 berger Hof, on whose slopes the vine of the same 
 name grows. Near it is a place frequented by 
 Goethe in 1814, and at its feet is the Hof Armada. 
 The left bank is uninteresting and bare, whilst, on 
 the contrary, the right bank unfolds before us a pan- 
 orama in which every minute shows a fresh picture. 
 
 Lower Walliif lies on the Waldava, a stream which 
 once formed the boundary of the '^ Gebilcks," a line 
 of demarcation, protected by ditches, which at one 
 time reached as far as Lorch, and by means of which 
 the Rheingau fortresses, towns and villages sought to 
 protect themselves against attack from without. The 
 men of the Rheingau, as is well known, held fast to 
 their own independence and acknowledged allegiance 
 to no one, so that even the great lords were careful 
 to keep on good terms with them. 
 
 The little town of Lower Walluf stretches itself 
 invitingly under its vine-clad hills right along to the 
 shore, facing which are the hospitable and much-fre- 
 quented shady gardens of the burgomaster and Prince 
 Wittgenstein. The town retains a mediaeval look. 
 Li 1840 it is mentioned as a small village, presented 
 by the Emperor Ludwig to Adalbert, who added con- 
 siderably to his estate. Later it was held by the 
 abbey of Fulda. Though the space is small the little 
 dockyard is always full of life ; and so is the boat- 
 man's inn, with its barrack-like appearance.
 
 286 THE RHINE. 
 
 On summer afternoons the shore is always crowded 
 with visitors eager to sail about on the river, or to 
 make a journey up the Rhine. A large number also 
 hang about the steamers as they land their passen- 
 gers, either in small boats or at the pier, while in 
 the shady arbors of the garden the burgomaster 
 himself may be seen. 
 
 Up yonder, in the background above Walluf, where 
 the mountains seem to beckon us, and the spires of 
 the churches peep out at us from among the trees, 
 lies Rauenthal — so called because it stands upon the 
 mountain. Its vineyards stretch down towards the 
 Rhine, receiving the full glow of the sun that ripens 
 for us those priceless grapes which yield the wine 
 that was crowned Queen of the Rhine at the Paris 
 Exhibition. 
 
 This distinction is, however, not acknowledged by 
 those proud lords, the princely Abbot of Johannis- 
 berg, the Master of Riidesheim, the Knight of Stein, 
 and the Dean of Hochheim. Since 1867 many a 
 one has made a pilgrimage to Rauenthal in order to 
 solve for himself the critical question. In doing this 
 he has to mount to the splendid plateau of the 
 " Schonen Aussicht," and look over that wonderful 
 district — over that country on the other side of the 
 Rhine, and over that which lies near him stretching 
 far away to the Wasgau. 
 
 He enters the village and sits in the comfortable 
 garden of the Nassau Hof, where he orders a bottle
 
 THE EHEINGAU. 287 
 
 of the " best/' and for which, even at the fountain- 
 headj he has to pay two thalers at least. However 
 low he may have doffed his hat to the newly-anointed 
 queen, on his return to the Rhine, the chances are 
 that he again drinks eternal brotherhood with the 
 Lord of Riidesheim, and that he is equally fickle 
 when the princely Abbot of Johannisberg tries to 
 convert him as to his claim to rule alone among the 
 priceless products of the grape. 
 
 We pass on, along the foaming river ; the vine- 
 hills become higher and closer together as we proceed, 
 for since passing Walluf we are in the " Gau " 
 proper. Before us, on the left, lies the Eltville-Au, 
 once the capital of the Rheingau. Before the town, 
 on the right, extends the most beautiful park, with 
 the usual little castles and pavilions, the estate of 
 Jidienheim, and the Castle of Rheinberg, which was 
 once called also Christoffelsberg, from a figure of the 
 saint on its tower. Until a few years ago this was 
 the property of the Counts Griinne, but is now a 
 public garden. 
 
 The name of the place has been said to be derived 
 from the Roman alta villa, which time has corrupted 
 into " Eltville ;" but traces of the Romans have been 
 sought for in vain. It is more probable that Bod- 
 mann is right when he traces the name from alter 
 Weikr. The origin of the town must, at any rate^ 
 be sought for in the Frankish period. 
 
 During the residence of Charlemagne, Eltville
 
 288 THE RHINE. 
 
 boasted a magistrate's court, whose jurisdiction ex- 
 tended over a wide circuit. 
 
 From a small beginning it became the principal 
 place in the Mayence part of the Rheingau, and was 
 a favorite resort and refuge to the archbishops when 
 Mayence became too hot for them. In consequence 
 of this the terrible Baldwin of Luxemburg erected 
 the citadel in 1330, and Louis IV., on account of its 
 fortifications, granted to the place the privileges of a 
 town. 
 
 The castle and a portion of the walls are still pre- 
 served, as well as the watch-tower, although the 
 Swedes and the French have greatly destroyed the 
 fortress. One chronicle relates that Giinther von 
 Schwarzburg was poisoned here, bvit it is more cor- 
 rect to say that he had the fatal poison in his body 
 when, seeing his end approach, he signed a peace 
 with his opponent, Charles IV. 
 
 Eltville became a favorite resort for pilgrims when, 
 in 1402, the miraculous Host was brought here from 
 Gladbach. This raised the town to a state of great 
 prosperity, for much more was ventured at that time 
 in the way of pilgrimages and penances than now. 
 The church of Eltville, which is built in the style 
 of the fourteenth century, contains the tomb of 
 Agnes of Hoppenstein, the wife of Frederick von 
 Stockheim. 
 
 The place is indebted for one bright spot in its 
 history to Gutenberg's pupil, Henry Bechtermiinz
 
 THE KHEINGAU. 289 
 
 (also called Bechtelmiinze), who, with the assistance 
 of his brother Nicholas and of Wigaiid Spiesz of 
 Ortenburg, set up a printing-press here in the middle 
 of the fifteenth century. A few specimens of its 
 work have been preserved. Simrock, indeed, ex- 
 presses an opinion that Gutenberg, towards the end 
 of his life, settled here with his relatives, but noth- 
 ing certain is known on the subject except that the 
 neglected grave of one of his relatives, Jacob von 
 Sorgenloch, may be seen in the churchyard. 
 
 Eltville at the present day is a favorite resort of 
 the wealthy on account of its villas and parks. The 
 gardens of the houses join one another and form a 
 beautifol border to the shore, and although no wine 
 of Eltville figures in the list of the favorites of the 
 Rheingau, it has its factory of sparkling wine which 
 competes closely with champagne both at home and 
 abroad. 
 
 As we continue on our way, on the right the island 
 of Rheinau rises before us like a dark shady spot out 
 of the glittering surface of the river. On the shore 
 lies Erbach, which, as early as 954, formed a part of 
 the parish of Eltville ; here we see the pointed 
 towers of the Gothic church peeping out of the chain 
 of villas, surrounded by the parsonage, the schools 
 and a little garden. These were all built in 1866, 
 and given to the people by the benefactress and 
 patroness of the place, the Princess Marianne of the 
 Netherlands, who resided here in her Castle of Rein- 
 VoL. I.— 19
 
 290 THE RHINE. 
 
 hardshausen. Her castle contains an interesting col- 
 lection of paintings and coins, and is open to the 
 public on certain days. 
 
 Marcobrunnen, which belongs to the same prov- 
 ince, is hardly distinguishable among the other vine- 
 yards, for we seek in vain for a monumental sign to 
 indicate to us the wine-famed spot of the Strahlen- 
 berg. Only a well of red sandstone, called the 
 " Marktbrunnen," or market-well, by the country 
 people, stands by the highway 5 though it is probable 
 that this rather represents a boundary-mark, for the 
 vineyards here were, and still are, divided between 
 ecclesiastical foundations and private persons. 
 
 The celebrated Steinberger also grows here, with 
 similar modesty, on a slight declivity surrounded by 
 a wall. The traveller in vain seeks the " Rose Gar- 
 den." He shall not, however, be denied one glass of 
 the liery " golden beaker," but Heaven preserve him 
 from some that bears the noble name of Steinberger. 
 It is impossible that all so-called can be grown on 
 this field of hardly eight acres in extent. The same 
 may be said of the Griifenberger yonder, which is a 
 noble wine, but cannot be compared with the Stein- 
 berger. 
 
 The village of Kiedrich, and further inland the 
 ruins of Scharfenstein with its round towers, have 
 just come in sight, and with them the Eichberg lu- 
 natic asylum, established in 1843. A great number 
 of historic associations are crowded together here.
 
 THE EHEINGAU. 291 
 
 and from yonder Lower Ingelheim peers at us, while 
 above us already towers the Johannisberg. 
 
 We must next mention Kiedrich and Scharfen- 
 stein, and the long-decayed family of Lowentrotz, 
 the most powerful noble house of the Rheingau, rich 
 in strongholds, with their different family branches, 
 all of which have perished. Kiedrich appears as 
 early as the tenth century, under the name of Cher- 
 dercho, while Scharfenstein, on the right bank of the 
 Rhine, may be named as the oldest of the castles. 
 
 It was decidedly the largest if, as tradition tells us, 
 it sheltered the whole of the tribe, whose common in- 
 terests demanded their cohesion. The family of the 
 Scharfenstein must have been one of the most 
 wealthy, and consequently one of the most powerful, 
 since it possessed the greatest number of castles and 
 fiefs. 
 
 It seems that either the Scharfensteins began with 
 the decline of the lords of Kiedrich, or that the latter 
 merged into the Counts of Scharfenstein when this 
 stronghold was given in fee to them by the Arch- 
 bishop of Mayence, whose most trusty servants they 
 became. The chronicle names as different branches 
 of this family, the Greens, the Browns, the Blacks, 
 the Gennens, the Eselwecks, the Steins, and the 
 Crazzes von Scharfenstein. Their principal strong- 
 hold seems to have been specially destined to be a 
 refuge for the archbishops, and under their protec- 
 tion there were often great doings within the walls
 
 292 THE EHINE. 
 
 of Scharfenstein, till Albert of Austria appeared be- 
 fore it in 1301, in order to besiege it. He retreated, 
 after storming it in vain for thirty days. 
 
 The " Lion of Luxemburg," also, the bold Arch- 
 bishop Baldwin of Treves — who was better acquainted 
 with the sword than with the Cross — in vain laid siege 
 to Scharfenstein. Albert of Brandenburg succeeded no 
 better, and it Avas not until the Swedes came that the 
 stubborn walls fell before an enemy on whom they 
 had not reckoned, namely. Gunpowder. Melac's 
 French incendiaries laid waste what was left by the 
 Swedes, and now nothing is to be found of the mighty 
 Scharfenstein but a ruin. 
 
 Every one Avho has ever read a Avine-card knows 
 Hattenheimer. The place derives its name from 
 Hatto IL, who built it. The district itself is only an 
 unimportant link in the chain which stretches, ring 
 after ring, along the bank of the river. 
 
 More important to us is the Cistercian Abbey of 
 Eberbach, lying inland in its idyllic green valley half 
 enclosed by wooded hills, and the golden wine, the Stein- 
 berger Cabinet, which is hidden in its cellars. It once 
 had a great and a splendid history, but it has experi- 
 enced many changes, until at length it became an 
 asylum for the insane, who were afterwards removed 
 to the Eichberg. Last of all it was used as a prison. 
 
 Above it lies the Hallgart rampart, with the little 
 village of Hallgarten, on the slopes of which the 
 wine of the same name flourishes. A German,
 
 ©rape Hrbor in tbe Hnlaaen, Coblent^.
 
 THE RHEINGAU. 293 
 
 named Adam von Itzstein, lies buried here : " a 
 brave heart/' says his gravestone, " Aveary of the 
 youthful struggle for German freedom ;" and here on 
 his property, surrounded by his friends, he planned 
 out and prophesied the existence of the German 
 parliament. 
 
 It is said that when the pious Bernard of Clair- 
 vaux came here under the protection of Adalbert of 
 Mayence, to seek a spot for a house in which to es- 
 tablish his order, a boar came out of the thicket, and 
 rooting up the earth with his tusks, marked out the 
 area which the saint destined for his monastery. 
 Further than this, the boar also rolled hither the 
 great stones for the foundation, and angels brought 
 the smaller stones for the walls. In this way the 
 building for the pious foundation was completed in 
 the year 1116, under circumstances which, at the 
 present day, we should consider somewhat excep- 
 tional and favorable, but which do not appear to have 
 been so very remarkable in those periods. 
 
 When finished, the Archbishop Adalbert summoned 
 the Augustine monks into the monastery, but the 
 order of monks often changed ; for the walls seem at 
 first to have been somewhat deserted, indicating not 
 a little ingratitude to the angels. The monks, how- 
 ever, soon took to wine-growing. It was they who 
 had the finest Marcobrunner and who tended the 
 Steinberger, so that the great cask in the cellar of 
 the monastery of Eberbach had a world-wide repu-
 
 294 THE EHINE. 
 
 tation. It was capable of containing 12,000 gallons, 
 and the entire harvest of the Steinberg Avas poured 
 into it if there was room. 
 
 But in the Peasant War of 1525, the Rheingau 
 insurrectionists drank to the very bottom of the great 
 cask and sacked the interior of the monastery. The 
 industrious monks, as soon as peace was restored, set 
 to work again and repaired the damage that had been 
 done, and worked on undisturbed until Albert of 
 Brandenburg fell upon the abbey with equally insa- 
 tiable thirst. 
 
 In the year 1803 the abbey was disestablished, 
 and the property given to the domains whose noblest 
 wines the monastery has since that time hidden in its 
 cellars. The former refectory, now the press-house, 
 dates from the twelfth century, and still reminds us, 
 with its pillars and capitals, of the shrewd, industri- 
 ous monks to whom vine-culture is so greatly in- 
 debted — wise men of business, who knew well how 
 to obtain from emperors and princes free passage for 
 their casks along the Rhine, till the stress of war de- 
 stroyed all their blessings. 
 
 The ruins are still worth a visit : the church, dated 
 1186, with its monuments; the Cabinet cellar, with 
 its true Rhine gold, and the magic names of Stein- 
 berg, Marcobrunner, Riidesheim, Grafenberg, and 
 Hallenheim ! Even at the present day, the annual 
 sale by auction of the wine which has been rejected 
 as being unworthy of the " Cabinet " is an important
 
 THE EHEINGAU. 295 
 
 event in the life of the Rheingau. Whoever comes 
 to it, be he buyer or tourist, is invited to a " wine 
 meal," and at the end there is handed to him a sam- 
 ple of the finest Avino, Avhich does honor to Eber- 
 bach's cellar and to its hospitality. 
 
 Only speak to a native of the Rheingau of " wine- 
 testing," and his heart wdll rejoice. He may not, 
 indeed, be able to take part in the proceedings at 
 Eberbach, Hochheim, or any of the finest sources ; 
 but he will do so probably at a peasant's, at a vine- 
 grower's, at the steward's of the castle, or at a rich 
 wine-grower's, who sets before us thirty different 
 sorts of his produce. 
 
 Wine-testing is, to the man of the Rhine, an act 
 of love — we might almost say of faith or religion — 
 which he performs with all his attention and devo- 
 tion ; and in one way or another a good deal is tested 
 on the Rhine, not only at the auctions, but, indeed, 
 whenever it is necessary or agreeable to look into 
 the goblet's golden depths. 
 
 Johannisberg ! the pride, the King of the Rhein- 
 gau ! The castle stands on its vine-garlanded 
 heights, having the Mummische Schloss for its ped- 
 estaL At its feet lie stretched Oestrich, Winkel, 
 and Mittelheim, belonging, as it were, to one another. 
 To the right, above the last-named place, is the Cas- 
 tle of VoUrath ; and yonder, on the left bank, on the 
 other side of the Au, basking in the sunshine, lies 
 Lower Ingelheim, Avhich a thousand years ago was
 
 296 THE RHINE. 
 
 the soiil of the holy Roman Empire — Charlemagne's 
 beautiful palace. 
 
 It was here, in these halls adorned with the art- 
 treasures of the world, that the mighty emperor sum- 
 moned the princes of his empire to assemble in order 
 to determine the fate of nations, if not of Europe. 
 It was also here that his own paternal heart had to 
 bear the heaviest of all trials. 
 
 The glory is faded which once streamed from the 
 mighty imperial crown of Ingelheim, where, perhaps, 
 also the cradle of the noblest of men once rocked. 
 The pillars are broken and decayed which supported 
 the most magnificent, the most imposing of palaces. 
 All the splendor has mouldered and perished to the 
 last trace, and only a voice from the Thirty Years' 
 War tells us, on a fragment of crumbling sandstone, 
 that the hundred pillars which once adorned the 
 "Saal" (so this place is still called, on which the 
 palace stood) were conveyed hither from Ravenna by 
 the Emperor Charlemagne. 
 
 It woidd be well if other stony records could tell 
 us of those mighty bygone days ; but all such wit- 
 nesses have been destroyed by the rough events 
 which have passed over these spots during the course 
 of centuries. Ingelheim was, next to that of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, the most splendid of the imperial palaces, 
 from which the great monarch looked over the love- 
 liest of German river valleys to the Paradise on the 
 farther bank.
 
 THE RHEINGAU. 297 
 
 At Ingelheim he promoted the planting and cul- 
 ture of the vine, which the Romans had already 
 brought hither with the chestnut-tree. He also did 
 a great deal for the cultivation of fruit in general. 
 
 A chronicler of the reign of Ludwig the Pious de- 
 scribes the castle as built of square blocks of hewn 
 stone. It was of immense size, and in the form of a 
 quadrangle enclosing a court -yard. Numerous apart- 
 ments were contained within its walls. 
 
 He speaks especially of the principal hall. It must 
 have been here that he assembled the diet of 788, at 
 which Duke Thassilo of Bavaria was deposed from 
 his dignity. The Danish king Harold fled hither in 
 826, with his Avife and faithful followers, and was 
 baptized by St. Alban. It Avas here that Charle- 
 magne received ambassadors, whose arrival was 
 celebrated Avith the most brilliant pageants. 
 
 It Avas at Ingelheim that Ernest of SAvabia Avas 
 condemned to excommunication and outlaAA^ry ; and 
 here also Henry V. summoned the diet in order 
 to declare the deposition of his father Henry IV. — 
 who AA'as under the excommunication of the Pope — 
 and to order him to be imprisoned at Bingen. 
 
 The palace, however, was allowed to fall to pieces ; 
 but Frederick I. restored it, and made it his faA'orite 
 residence. Being again destroyed, it AA'as rebuilt in 
 1354 by Charles IV., but only to be mortgaged to 
 the Elector-Palatine. The people of Mayence set 
 fire to it durinar the AA'ar between Fredei'ick the Vic-
 
 298 THE RHINE. 
 
 torious and the Archbishop Adolf of Mayence. The 
 Spaniards and the Swedes finished the work of de- 
 struction, and in 1689 the French cooled their cour- 
 age on the empty ruins, so that now nothing remains 
 of the former magnificent edifice but the fragments 
 of a few pillars scattered about the spot. 
 
 Not even a breath of the spirit of its great past 
 hovers now over the gardens to which we owe the 
 dark juice of Ingelheim's grapes, and the traveller 
 in vain seeks for a trace of it. From the Oestrich- 
 Winkel shore, however, he will look up with a sen- 
 sation of pleasure at the majestic hill, the foremost 
 elevation of the " Rabenkopfe," where the renowned 
 vineyards, the darlings of the sun, slope down with 
 soft undulations. They look, indeed, like a carpet 
 surrounding the cloister-castle of Johannisberg and 
 its surrounding buildings. 
 
 The Archbishop, Hrabanus Maurus lived from 850 
 to 856 in the gray house in Winkel, which lies just 
 below. With all his learning he must have found 
 time to re-establish the old Roman wine-store. 
 Goethe stayed at this place in the house of his friends, 
 the Brentano family, which still shows some remem- 
 brances of him. It was here that Bettina wrote her 
 letters to him, and it was from the river-bank at this 
 place in 1806 that the unhappy poetess, Caroline 
 von Giinderode, sought death in the waters of the 
 Rhine because of an unrequited attachment for the 
 philologist Creuzer.
 
 THE RHEINGAU. 299 
 
 III a retired little house, almost hidden among vines 
 and orchards, Robert von Hornstein, the composer, 
 spent his summers. Many of his popular songs have 
 been heard for the first time from that garden-ter- 
 race overlooking the Rhine. No traveller scans the 
 heights of Johannisberg without being tempted to 
 ascend them, although the place is not so rich in his- 
 torical associations as Ingelheim. It presents to us 
 in the main, as compared with its pious neighbor 
 Eberbach, only the allegory of the idle and the in- 
 dustrious monks. 
 
 The extent of the prospect from here, over to 
 Mayence and Donnersberg, to the peaks of the Eifel, 
 and especially over the great river-bed and its luxu- 
 riant green pastures, is almost overpowering. It is 
 a well-known fact that wherever the neighborhood is 
 most beautiful, there stands a convent or an inn, or 
 indeed usually both. The beauty of Johannisberg 
 can only be compared with that of Caraaldoli at 
 Naples. 
 
 Perhaps, next to Charlemagne, we owe the culture 
 of the divine grape of Johannisberg to the Bishop 
 Hrabanus, for the hill was at first called the " Bishop's 
 Mountain." After the well-known persecution of the 
 Jews the Archbishop Ruthard built a monastery on 
 the mountain, and placed it under the Abbot of St. 
 Alban. He dedicated it to St. John the Baptist, per- 
 haps as an atonement for the massacre of the children 
 of Israel.
 
 300 THE RHINE. 
 
 The Archbishop Adalbert gave over Eberbach also 
 to Johannisberg, on account of the recklessness and 
 extravagance of the monks in that establishment ; 
 and it is curious that in the course of time they 
 should so completely have turned over a new leaf 
 that Eberbach became a model of industry. Johan- 
 nisberg then became independent of St. Alban, and 
 was a free Benedictine abbey, in which the monks 
 very soon had little else to do than to eat and drink 
 and grow fat, whilst in Eberbach moderation and in- 
 dustry were more characteristic features 
 
 The crimes of the Abbey of Johannisberg in- 
 creased ; even the finding of a number of relics, 
 which were exhibited, did not suffice to fill the empty 
 coffers, and the scandal became so loud that Arch- 
 bishop Dietrich commanded an examination of the 
 monastery to be made, which resulted in the monks, 
 who had not promised penance, being driven out, and 
 others sent in from St. Jacobsberg to take their place. 
 The revolted peasants plundered Johannisberg, and 
 the casks of the monks were emptied and their mon- 
 astery laid waste. What little prosperity was re- 
 gained in later years soon again departed, and they 
 were then obliged to sell some of their land. 
 
 Thirty years more had not passed over the coun- 
 try before Albert von Brandenburg and his wild host 
 laid Johannisberg under contribution — that was in 
 1552. The monks were insulted, ill-treated and 
 driven away, their wine drunk, their church plundered
 
 THE RHEINGAU. 301 
 
 and the monastery set on fire. The spearmen then 
 retired, but the monastery was a ruin. 
 
 The Abbot Valentine Horn was too indolent a man 
 to set to work to repair the misfortune, but for the 
 sake of his creature comforts he sold more land and 
 mortgaged the slender rents, until the Archbishop 
 Daniel of Mayence, in order to rescue the monastery 
 again for the Benedictines, expelled both the monks 
 and their abbot. Daniel himself undertook the man- 
 agement, but he also absorbed the revenues. 
 
 The Swedes then came and left the monastery be- 
 hind them in ruins. At this period the distress was 
 greater than ever, until Hubert von Bleymann came 
 forward and took the property and the revenues on a 
 mortgage of thirty thousand florins. The building rose 
 from its ruins, and the cultivation of the vine Avas in- 
 creased. When von Bleymann died the Abbot of 
 Fulda paid off the mortgage, and, in 1716, took posses- 
 sion of the Johannisberg. But even then, there were 
 merry days after the old fashion in the monastery. 
 Alexander Kaufmann tells us, in his well-known 
 poem, how the bold Abbot of Fulda came to Johan- 
 nisberg, not to see if the faith prospered, but to as- 
 certain, personally and experimentally, whether the 
 vines were flourishing. 
 
 The princely Abbot Adalbert in the meantime 
 erected a castle on the ruins, near the church which 
 still stands. In 1803 the abbey passed into the hands 
 of WiUiam of Orange. Napoleon presented it in 1807
 
 302 THE EHINE. 
 
 to Marshal Kellermann in a moment of good-humor, 
 the latter having cried out, on seeing it, " Oh ! how 
 beautiful it is !" " Would you like it f asked Na- 
 poleon ; " well, take it." 
 
 In the year 1815 it came into the possession of 
 Austria, while Frederick William III. would gladly 
 have had the beautiful castle for General Blucher. 
 When the qixestion arose among the Allies as to 
 whom it should be given, the Emperor Alexander 
 proposed that it should be presented to the brave 
 Stein. The latter, however, is said to have re- 
 marked, " No, I thank your Majesty ; the receiver is 
 always as bad as the thief!" It was accordingly 
 given in fee to Metternich, who gained by the trans- 
 action about sixty acres of the most incomparable 
 vine land, and about a thousand acres of forest and 
 arable land. 
 
 In the place where the monks neglected their du- 
 ties, and themselves drank the best of the wine in 
 copious draughts, and led so disorderly a life that no 
 blessing or prosperity could enter their dweUing, 
 careful accounts are now kept of the produce of the 
 harvest, which was formerly recklessly sold, or 
 pledged to the honor of Bacchus. The prince's man- 
 agers supply strangers wath samples for ready money 
 at from three to fourteen florins the bottle. The 
 stranger may, indeed, well depart satisfied with his 
 draught and with a glance over the splendid pano- 
 rama before him.
 
 THE RHEINGAU. 303 
 
 The interior of the castle presents nothing specially 
 interesting, and in the chapel the only thing that de- 
 serves mention is the tomb of the Rhenish historian, 
 Nicholas Vogt, who died in 1836. It was raised by 
 his " friend and grateful pupil," Prince Metternich. 
 His heart rests, according to his own Avish, in the 
 quartz rock in the Rhine at Bingen, in a silver case ; 
 a small iron cross marks the spot. A statue of St. 
 John the Baptist stands in the open space before the 
 church. 
 
 The whole of this fine property at present belongs 
 to Richard von Metternich, who was formerly the 
 Austrian ambassador in Paris, and he and his wife re- 
 side here in the summer. It may seem out of place 
 to speak here — and to him whom we have just sup- 
 posed to have drained a cup of the glowing " sixty- 
 eight " at the castle — of the cold-water establishment 
 in the village below ; it may as well be mentioned, 
 however, particularly as many may have need of such 
 an institution.
 
 
 Date Due 
 
 
 Fa^fUHe^ 
 
 
 
 
 0^^-^^=^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 IICR MAR 
 
 31198» 
 
 
 
 FEB 1 
 
 3 ]'-:m 
 
 
 
 '■' ■;* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Library Bureau Cat. No. 1137 
 
 3 1210 00220 9011 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 001357 213 6 
 
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