In order that we might enjoy an opportunity to hear the great organ at Harlem to advantage, Mr. Folsom advised us to spend a Sabbath day there, which we did, in company with his family. We took the rail to Leyden, ten miles. Here we saw the Dunes, or Sand Hills, which guard the Dutch coast, and which are from one to four miles in width, and are from thirty to fifty feet high. These immense piles would soon be scattered by the strong winds if they were not regularly sown with reed gra.s.s, the roots of which often spread from twenty to thirty feet, binding the banks, and the decayed vegetation furnishing good soil for potatoes. The existence of Holland and its population is only insured by perpetual strife maintained against the sea and winds of heaven. We could not look at Leyden and forget that the Pilgrim Fathers of New England were once exiles at this place. They called it a "goodly and pleasant city," and here they spent twelve years; and we looked at the scenery with interest as we thought of their wanderings, and how much preparation was expended in establishing the glorious foundations of our own New England. The city has about forty thousand inhabitants. Its University is still famous, and the hall of the inst.i.tution is rich in portraits of the great and good. The Museum of Natural History is very large, and is quite curious in Oriental and Egyptian relics. In j.a.panese curiosities, the Dutch museums are far more affluent than any others of Europe, as they maintain almost exclusive traffic with j.a.pan.

The history of Leyden is very interesting. In 1573-4, this town suffered an awful siege from the Spaniards for four months, and lost more than five thousand inhabitants by war and famine. At last the elements conspired in their favor, and an incursion of the sea destroyed the Spaniards and brought succor to the Dutch. Rembrandt the painter was born at Leyden, in a wind mill. By the way, there are literally thousands of wind mills in this country, and some of them are very pretty objects. The sails of these mills are immensely large, and I think I saw some that were quite one hundred feet long. Many of the best men of England have studied at Leyden; and if you read the lives of Evelyn and Goldsmith, you will find they were much attached to this place. Boerhaave, the great physician, was a professor here, and go were Arminius and his rival Gomarus. Gerard Dow or Douw, Jan Steen, and Vandervelde, the artists, were born here. Near Leyden the Rhine enters the sea, by the aid of a ca.n.a.l and sluice gates; and here are great salt works, carried on by evaporation. From Leyden we took the rail to Harlem, eighteen miles; and we found the road very good, and the first-cla.s.s cars perfectly luxurious. We noticed on our right hand the Warmond Catholic Seminary for Popish priests, and saw the young men in large numbers, walking about. The road runs through a sandy tract of country, and much of it is made land. Approaching Harlem, we found the cottages and country-houses very numerous and exceedingly pretty; and we were pointed to the castle of the unfortunate Jacqueline, whose history, you know, has been so charmingly written by our friend Mr. T.C. Grattan.

We made our home at the Golden Lion, and found the place comfortable and very thoroughly Dutch. The landlady is a brisk, bustling body, and speaks English tolerably well. Harlem has about twenty-fire thousand inhabitants. On Sunday morning we went to the Church of St. Bavon. We found a large congregation, and they sung most heartily. The dominie had a c.o.c.ked hat hanging up behind him in the pulpit; and he was, beyond doubt, a very eloquent man. The great organ, built in 1738, was long deemed _the_ organ of Europe, but is now supposed to be excelled at Friburg. We heard it during service several times, and in a voluntary.

It unquestionably is an instrument of great sweetness as well as power.

It has five thousand pipes. The church is lofty, and looks plain enough after what we have seen in Antwerp. Of course, we went to see the statue of Coster, who is said to have been the inventor of printing in 1420-28, twelve years before Guttemberg made his experiments. The Dutch are strong advocates for their inventor; but I think evidence in favor of metal type lies with the man of Mayence.

You may be sure that, when we were so fortunate as to be here early in June, we did not fail to go into the nurseries and gardens, and see the hyacinths, tulips, narcissuses, anemones, ranunculuses, &c. We went to the extensive grounds of Mr. Krelage, the first florist of Holland, No.

146 Kleine Houtweg; and here we were greatly delighted. The tulips were exceedingly fine, and under cover they receive as much attention as if they were babies. The hyacinths surpa.s.sed in beauty and variety any thing we are accustomed to. I noticed a double blue, called Gloria Mundi; Van Speyk, L'Importante, same color; Goethe, double yellow; L'Eclair, crimson; and Emicus, white, which were particularly beautiful.

But we were all, perhaps, most pleased with the extensive beds of anemones and ranunculuses, which rarely do well in our hot climate, and here flourish in a humid atmosphere. Certainly they are the prettiest flowers I ever saw; but they lack perfume. Here we saw them by thousands. The exquisite order and condition of these large gardens pleased us much. The young gentleman who kindly devoted three hours to us spoke English well, and was very courteous and attentive. I have brought away a catalogue of the flowers, with the prices. The soil of Harlem is every where a deep sand, and every thing appears to flourish.

The vicinage of this place is very pleasant; and we rode for two hours through a n.o.ble wood, fringed with sweet villas, and made a visit to a palace built by the great banker, Hope, of Amsterdam, and which was the residence of King Louis Bonaparte. It is now a picture gallery, and contains some good historical pictures, and many fine small ones, of the best artists of Holland. I think the boys forgot to tell you that, at the Hague, we found the annual exhibition of paintings by the living artists of Holland, just opened, and the treat was very great. It is quite clear that the art is not lost here, and that rare excellence is still to be found among the Dutch painters. We were all delighted with a picture of Charles IX. of France, and his surgeon, Ambrose Pare. The time is just before the Bartholomew ma.s.sacre; and Catharine is in the room, plotting with her wretched son. Some of the portraits were remarkable productions, and evince a power rarely seen in this department. Some of the interiors of houses and churches were quite in the style of Ostade, Neefs, and Gerard Dow. A picture of the Virgin, and Jesus and John, by Schwartze, of Amsterdam, received general praise.

Of this artist I shall have more to say.

The great Lake of Harlem, which is thirty miles in circ.u.mference, is to be drained; and for several years operations have been in progress to this end. The immense works employed for this purpose are worthy of notice.

After leaving Harlem, and taking leave of our kind friend the minister at the Hague, with his amiable family, we again entered the cars, and, after riding twelve miles, reached Amsterdam. The chief feature on the way was the everlasting wind mill, employed here to grind wheat, &c. We went to the Hotel Doelen, and found it all that Mr. Folsom had said.

This is a great city, of two hundred and twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The ca.n.a.ls are immense affairs, and the ships and vessels of all sorts give it a very active appearance. All round the city is a wide fosse; and there are four great ca.n.a.ls inside, with many minor cuts. Some of these ca.n.a.ls are more than one hundred and twenty-five feet wide, and are edged with very fine houses; and the intercourse of the city is kept up by some two hundred and fifty bridges. The city is about eight miles round. Every one seems actively employed.

Yours affectionately,

J.O.C.

Letter 38.

AMSTERDAM.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

The next morning after reaching this fine, but queer city, we called on the American consul, and he gave us a very friendly reception. He is quite a young man, but seems to be full of energy. At his house we met a Mr. J. G. Schwartze, a native of Philadelphia, but who came to Holland very young, and has made this city his residence. He is highly distinguished as an artist; and we saw a fine production of his at the exhibition at the Hague. Mr. Schwartze is a charming companion--full of enthusiasm; and when he found that I was fond of pictures, he at once volunteered to be our guide to the galleries here; and in all our movements here our kind friend has been with us. The most imposing building here is the Stadhuis, or Palace. It was finished in 1655, and used to be the seat of the town councils. Louis Bonaparte used it as his residence; and the king occupies it when he comes here. The marble hall is esteemed one of the n.o.blest rooms in Europe, and is one hundred and twenty feet long, fifty-seven wide, and nearly one hundred feet high.

From the top of this building you get a capital view of the town, cut up into artificial islands by the intersection of ca.n.a.ls, &c. In this building is much fine statuary, and a few historical paintings.

The churches are large, but look barn-like. The organ of the old church is very rich in its decorations; and here, as at Harlem, men sit in church with their hats on, if they choose. The clergy wear a short, black cloak, and deep white ruffs on the neck. The Jews are quite numerous, and have several synagogues. They live mostly in one part of the city. I do not think we shall any of us forget our visit to the picture gallery at Amsterdam. Our attention was directed by Mr. S. to the best paintings, and the particular merits of the artists were kindly explained to us. The sight of a great picture is an event; and I think that the day on which I first saw Rembrandt's Night Watch will long be regarded by me with pleasurable feelings. It is a company of archers, who are going out with their captain. The lights and shades are wonderfully introduced. The City Guards of Amsterdam, by Vanderhelst, is a large picture, with twenty-five portraits, and is esteemed as the finest portrait picture in the world. But my favorite here is a small picture called the Night School, by Gerard Dow. I would cheerfully go a hundred miles on foot to see such a picture. The management of the lights upon the interior and figures is beyond any thing I have imagined. His Hermit and Crucifix is another gem. The picture of Officers plundered by Peasants, by Wouvermans, and several landscapes of his, are still in my mind's eye; and several pictures by the two Ostades, Teniers, and Both are quite sufficient to make me understand how it is that some men have found such fascination in collecting a gallery. The best specimens of Jan Steen are in this city, and his Fete of St. Nicholas would take wonderfully well with our good old Knickerbockers at home. A Landscape, with cattle and figures, by Albert Cuyp, is strikingly beautiful; and how I wish you could see a Fat Boy, the son of a burgomaster, by Bartholomew Helst, dated 1648. Vand.y.k.e, whose portraits have never been equalled, has some of his best in this museum; and his Burgomaster of Antwerp, Vander Brocht, is as bold a picture as you could wish to gaze at.

Hondekoeter's flowers and fruits, and Snyder's game pieces, are among the best of their kind in the world. Some of the finest things I have seen in Holland, in the way of painting, are the little gems descriptive of life as it lay about the artist--interiors of domestic abodes, and out-door scenes at the roadside. These, the patient, plodding Dutchmen have worked up most elaborately. One or two of Nicholas Maes's pictures are wonderful. I saw one in a private collection, and it was a glorious thing, though only a Kitchen, with two or three figures. O, how poor are the things we often hear spoken of as fine pictures! The eye, it seems to me, obtains its education rapidly in such a gallery as this. I am sure I shall look at works of art in future with new feelings.

There was a most beautiful Jew boy, about eleven years old, that used to stand at our hotel door to sell matches, who regularly beset us with his wares. His face was as striking as any fancy picture you can meet with, and his beauty and impudence made him a pretty successful merchant.

Mr. Schwartze took us to a n.o.ble mansion belonging to a merchant prince, to see his great picture of Columbus before the Council explaining his theory. This is a first-cla.s.s execution. The coloring is very fine, and the drawing good; and we all felt pride in seeing such a picture from the easel of our countryman. I wish we had some good painting of his in America. His portraits are excellent, and one of his wife has earned him his high reputation in Holland. Through the kindness of this gentleman we were introduced to the Artists' Club, and spent our evenings there in very pleasant society. The artists belonging to it are probably about fifty, and the other gentlemen who mainly support it are about two hundred. I was much surprised to find nearly every gentleman we were introduced to speaking excellent English. We met here a very gentlemanly and accomplished lawyer, Mr. Van Lennep, whose father is a man of great wealth. His attentions were very friendly. While here, James was quite poorly with some slight attack of fever; and both our friends and the consul were unremitting in their services.

The water is very poor; rain water is valuable indeed. The best drinking water is brought from Utrecht in stone demijohns. The bad water is often used, however, flavored with Schiedam. We saw several of the floating-houses, in which whole families reside, and carry articles from place to place. The herring fishery, in its season, is a great matter in the commerce of Amsterdam. Every thing here impresses the stranger with the idea of activity, wealth, and great comfort; and I fancy that a person would very soon become attached to the city as a place of residence. To-morrow, if James is better, we resume our journey, and start for Cologne.

Yours affectionately,

WELD.

Letter 39.

COLOGNE.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

We are strangely favored with weather; every day is fine; and we begin to think that the climate has been abused, for we have had an uninterrupted spell of bright, sunny weather. We started, after breakfast, for our journey to Cologne, and took the oars for Utrecht, which is twenty-three miles from Amsterdam. Our road was not one of much interest, beyond the pretty gardens of the suburban residences.

Breukelen and Maa.r.s.en we thought pleasant little places. Utrecht is a large town, and has, I think, nearly sixty thousand inhabitants; and of these, one half are Catholics. It is rather on an ascent, and so is unlike any other place we have seen in Holland. The place is famous for the treaty of 1713. Here is a university, and some very fine private residences; and the fortifications have been laid out in fine walks. The Mall, or public walk, is a n.o.ble avenue of trees,--limes, I think,--and they are in six or eight rows. In this place is a cathedral, which we only saw. From its tower is the best view of the country; and it is said you can see more than twenty towns from it.

From Utrecht we continued, by railroad, to Arnheim, a distance of thirty-three miles; and we saw more forest-trees than we had before noticed. In the cars were several Catholic priests, who smoked incessantly. Arnheim is on the banks of the Rhine, and is a pretty little place, of about sixteen thousand inhabitants. We were, of course, reminded by Dr. C. that here Sir Philip Sidney died, in 1586, of his wound received in the battle of Zutphen. The entire vicinity seemed to us a delightful spot, and we have seen no place where the houses appear so English and American. The scenery is very attractive; and we would have liked to stay over a day, but the steamer for Ruhrort was ready to start, and we had only time to get our tickets and go on board. We found a neat, comfortable boat, and met pleasant society. The Rhine here is bounded by flat sh.o.r.es, and has no points of interest, and affords no promise of what it is so soon to be. We entered Prussia at Lobith, and had a very thorough examination of our trunks by officers who came on board. At Wesel--a town, I think, of some twelve thousand inhabitants, and having a very strong fortress--we stopped half an hour, and a crowd came round the boat. Rapin, who wrote the History of England, lived here while engaged in the task. How singular it is that all the histories of England, of any note, have been written by men not born in England! They have been French, Scotch, Irish, &c. We reached Ruhrort in the afternoon, and left the boat. This is the great central depot where the coal of the Ruhr is deposited. Here we crossed in a ferry boat, rode a mile or two in an omnibus, and then took the cars for Cologne, after waiting some hour or two, in consequence of a delay--the first we have met with on any railroad on the continent. It was dark when we pa.s.sed through Dusseldorf; and we felt sorry not to stay here and see the water-color drawings that remain in this collection, once so famous; but we were told at Paris that the best of the drawings and pictures have gone to Munich. In the cars we met a gentleman and his lady who were evidently Americans. We entered into conversation, and found they were from Nashville, Tennessee. They bad been travelling very extensively in Europe, and had been through Egypt, crossed the desert, and visited Syria and the Holy City. I quite respected a lady, Charley, who had travelled hundreds of miles upon a camel. The journey had been very beneficial to her health. We reached Cologne at about ten o'clock, after crossing over a bridge of boats fourteen hundred feet long, and went to the Hotel Holland, on the banks of the river, and found it a very good house, with a grand view of the Rhine; and the chambers are as good as can be desired. Few places are more fruitful in the reminiscences which they furnish than this old city. Cologne has a Roman origin, and was settled by a colony sent by Nero and his mother, who was born here, in her father's camp, during the war. It still retains the walls of its early fortifications, built as long ago as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In Cologne Caxton lived, in 1470, and learnt the new art of printing, which he carried to England and introduced there. Its present population is about ninety thousand, having increased latterly, and, no doubt, will rapidly increase, in consequence of its connection with Paris, Strasburg, Berlin, Antwerp, and other cities, by railroads.

We turned our steps very early to the Cathedral, and here we expected nothing less than a treat; but much as we had heard of it, and often as the doctor had described it, we found it far beyond all our antic.i.p.ations. The church was commenced in 1248, and is still far from completed. It is always thought to be one of the grandest Gothic piles in the world. The name of the architect is not known. Gerhard is the earliest builder whose name is a.s.sociated with this church, in 1252. The plan was to build the two towers five hundred feet high; but the loftiest has only attained the height of about one hundred and eighty-five feet. Much of the external work is in decay; but great pains and cost have been given to repair the stone work, and the work is going on with vigor and success. It is supposed that it will require three millions of dollars to carry out the design. The form of the church is a cross, and "the arches are supported by a quadruple row of sixty-four columns; and, including those of the portico, there are more than one hundred. The four columns in the middle are thirty feet in circ.u.mference, and each of the one hundred columns is surmounted by a chapiter different from the others." On one tower still exists the old crane which raised the stones that came from Drachenfels. The only part of the cathedral yet finished is the choir. This is one hundred and sixty-one feet high; and, whether you look at it outside, or gaze on its interior, you are lost in admiration. The stained windows are really beyond all others I have seen. All round the choir stand colossal statues of the Apostles, the Virgin, and the Savior. In a chapel not far from the altar is the renowned shrine of the Three Kings, or Magi, who came from the East with gifts to the infant Savior. These bones once rested at Milan; but Frederic Barbarossa, in 1162, gave them to an archbishop of Cologne. So here they are in a case, silver gilt, and arcades on pillars all round; and, inside the pillars, little gold prophets and apostles. The jewelry at this shrine has been formerly valued at six millions of francs; but in some of its transportations in troublous times, it has met with spoliations; but it is still radiant with gold and pearls, and gems of all descriptions. The restoration of the shrine is going on, and costly offerings are frequently made in aid of the undertaking. The skulls of these worthies are crowned with gold, and look ghastly enough, in spite of diamonds and rubies. Their names are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. We paid a heavy fee to see the rare show; but it is well enough to understand the mummery that there is in the world. We went the entire round of the little chapels, and saw some fine monuments to the great ones of church and state. I was much pleased with a bronze statue of Archbishop Conrad, of Hocksteden, who died in 1261, and some exceedingly old paintings. We also saw the library and sacristy, and the sacred vestments, some of which were splendid enough.

Here we saw a bone of St. Matthew some saint's shrine in silver, and the state cross of the archbishop, with several of the very finest ivory carvings that we have fallen in with. A look at the vast workshop where the stone carvings for restoration are made was quite interesting.

While wandering through the aisles of the Cathedral, we met with a very pleasant family from New York; and, after introduction, we agreed to make the pa.s.sage of the Rhine together; and, as there are young people in the party, this will be very agreeable to us. We have rather a limited time to pa.s.s here, and so have concluded to neglect the Virgin's bones, at St. Ursula's Church, of which we have read all the legends.

Men and women trained up to worship these odds and ends are the people who are flocking by thousands to our country; and there is a great deal for such folks to learn before they will value and understand our privileges. We next turned our steps to St. Peter's Church, where Rubens was baptized; and we saw the bra.s.s font, which is still there, and also his father's tomb. It was to this church that the great painter presented his famous Crucifixion of Peter, which he thought the best he ever painted; but artists differ with him in this estimate. The picture now exposed to view is only a copy, which was made in Paris when the original was in the Louvre; but the man in charge turns the picture, which is on a pivot, and you have the original before you. Peter's head is very fine, and much more striking than the rest of the body. The little garden in the cloisters of this church is very sweet, and there are some good bits of sculpture. The beautiful Church of the Apostles we could not see, excepting outside, and its appearance is quite singular.

The styles of architecture I thought strangely mixed up. Of course, we got some cologne water at the genuine fountain head in Julich's Place; and in the evening we made an examination of a curiosity shop, where we found a fine old engraving of Rubens's head, and two excellent engravings of Ostades's interiors. They are gems in their way, and, though very old, are perfect. We saw the house where the unfortunate Queen of France died, in 1644, respecting whose last days so interesting a fiction has been written; and we were told that it was also the very house in which Rubens was born. At all events, it is a very plain establishment for such celebrity as it possesses. We have also seen a military review here; but the discipline was poor, and only the music good.

A gentleman here from America, engaged in the wine trade, has amused us all by his facts in relation to champagne, which is here manufactured in large quant.i.ties, and is fabricated from a mixture of some ten or twelve different wines. A very superior brand is the result, which the good people of America will pay well for, with an appropriate brand duly furnished to order.

On the roof of our hotel is a sort of room, or garden, called the Belvedere. In it are a variety of fine plants, in healthy condition. The roses were very fragrant. The view across the river from this place is charming; and the village of Deutz looks prettily, with its large hotel and plenty of smaller houses of resort. To-morrow we go up the Rhine; and we are all hoping for a fine day, and then we expect a pleasant one.

Yours truly,

JAMES.

Letter 40.

FRANKFORT.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

It was on the Rhine that we all wanted you with us, and other friends, too, who were far away. This is no common, every-day stream, but one whose name and renown have been a.s.sociated with ten thousand pages of history, song, and legend. We have read of the Rhine, listened to its songs, drank its wines, dreamed of its craggy, castled banks,--and at last we found ourselves upon its waters, rushing down from their homes in Alpine steeps and regions of eternal snow. The deposits of this river have made Holland what she is; and the rich plains of the Low Countries have been formed by the alluvial deposits of this n.o.ble river. The enthusiasm of the Germans towards this stream is well known. They call it Father Rhine, and King Rhine; and well may they be proud of its beauty and its historic fame. We took our pa.s.sage in a fine steamer, on a lovely morning, and it took us about eight hours to reach Coblentz.

Leaving Cologne, we pa.s.sed an old tower on the edge of the river, and, for some miles, the prospect was every day enough; and it was not till we approached Bonn that we were much impressed with the banks. We pa.s.sed several villages, which appeared to have pleasant localities. I name only Surdt, Urfel, Lulsdorf, and Alfter. Bonn is an old city, of Roman date, and has figured largely in the wars of the Rhine. Its population is about sixteen thousand. Bonn has a minster, which shows itself finely to the voyager on the river, and is a Gothic structure of the twelfth century. The University here is famous for its library, and the great names formerly a.s.sociated with this inst.i.tution--Schlegel and Niebuhr.

Both filled chairs in the college. Prince Albert was educated at this place. Beethoven was born here. If we could have spent a day at the Seven Mountains, I should have been glad; but we were only able to look at them. They vary in height from one thousand and fifty to fourteen hundred and fifty-three feet. The most picturesque of the group is Drachenfels; and the beautiful lines of Byron you will recollect, where he speaks of "the castled crag of Drachenfels." From this place the stone was taken for the Cathedral at Cologne. The summits of these seven mountains are crested with ruined castles. Their sides are well wooded, and around them are spread fruitful vineyards. You know how famous they are in the legendary lore of the Rhine. The view from Drachenfels is said to be one of the finest on the river. After leaving Bonn and the ruins of G.o.desberg, we soon came to Rolandseck, a lofty eminence, where are the remains of a baronial fortress and a celebrated ruin of an arch.

I should judge that the access to this place was by a charming road. The ruins of Rolandseck are immortalized by the ballad of Schiller.

Tradition relates that the castle was destroyed by the Emperor Henry V., in the twelfth century. At the foot of the mountain is the sweet little Island of Nonnenworth, of about one hundred acres, and the ruins of a convent. The rock here is basaltic, and the production of volcanic action. Never did Nature present a fairer picture than we gazed upon at this spot. The villages around are pictures of happiness and content, and the scenery such as only the Rhine can exhibit. Pa.s.sing by the charming, rural-looking Oberwinter, we soon came upon a woody height, where stands the Gothic Church of St. Apollinarisberg. Here is, or was, the saint's head; and it was formerly a shrine of great resort. Close by is the little tower Of Remagen, and opposite are basaltic rocky heights of six or eight hundred feet, on the sides of which are vineyards--the vines growing in baskets filled with earth and placed in the crevices of the rocks. No square foot of soil seems to be wasted; and, to improve the ground, you will find the plots for vines laid out like potato patches,--some running this way, and others that,--making the sides of the hills and banks look very much like basket work.

We now came, on our left hand, to the ruins of Okenfels and the pretty town of Linz. The ruins are very dark, and look as if they were past redemption; whereas, some of these castles retain fine outlines. The red roofs of the town are in pleasing contrast with the green woods. This town seemed quite a business place; and I noticed several sloops and queer-looking vessels at the piers. On the opposite side the Aar falls into the Rhine. Just back is a town called Sinzig, and story tells that here Constantine and Maxentius fought the battle which resulted in the downfall of paganism. Here it was that, the evening previous, Constantine saw in the heavens the figure of a cross, with the inscription, "_?? t??t? ???a_." [Greek: "_En touto nika_."] But other legends give the battle place on the banks of the Tiber.

We were all pleased with a beautiful, modern, castellated building, erected out of the ruins of an ancient castle, of which a single venerable tower remains at a small distance. The name is the Castle of Reineck. It was built for Professor Bethman Holweg, of Bonn, and he reads his lines in pleasant places. It must have cost much money to rear such an edifice. Nearly opposite are the ruins of Hammerstein Castle, where, in 1105, Henry IV. found an asylum. We next came to Andernach.

This is an ancient city, and here you see towers and ruins standing amidst a wide amphitheatre of basaltic mountains. The place is spoken of by various old historians, and under several names. The great trade of the place is in millstones, which find their way even to America. Here is a celebrated Roman arched gate; but the lancet form would indicate a later date. On our left, we came to a pleasantly-situated town, called Neuwied, with some five thousand inhabitants. The streets lie wide; the houses looked bright, and very much like those in an American town. Here is a Moravian settlement. On our right is a cheerful little place, called Weisenthurm, and an ancient tower stands near it. It is said that here the Romans first made the crossing of this river. This was the spot where General Hoch pa.s.sed in 1797; and on a height, at this village, is a monument to celebrate Hoch's achievement. Here we met with an enormous raft; and I a.s.sure you, Charley, it was a sight. We had seen two or three small ones before, but here was a monster. These rafts come from the woods on the tributary rivers--the Moselle, Neckar, Maine, &c. These prodigious flotillas are bound to Dordrecht, and are there broken up.