troop of cavalry. The best part of the palace, as an Irishman would say, is the gardens attached to it, which are laid out à l'Anglaise: by which expression, however, must not always be understood what is accordant with our English taste; it indicating, almost as frequently as not, what is but a caricature of it-nature divested indeed of stiff stays and hoop-petticoat, but also assuming the air of a hoyden, and indulging in all kinds of pranks and antics.

The eldest daughter of the Duchess was married to Gustavus Vasa, son of the ex-king of Sweden, who is in the Austrian service.

Perhaps of all places on the Continent none can be pointed out where travellers encounter greater difficulties in finding private furnished lodgings than at Mannheim.

We took our passage for Aix-la-Chapelle in a well-appointed steam vessel of seventy horse power, where we found the accommodations quite unexceptionable: not so the bill of regulations, for that was couched in a most outré Babel dialect, pretending to be English, yet hardly to be understood, except here and there by guessing at the meaning.

We were now upon the Rhine, which here, at least, does not by any means warrant the praises bestowed upon it by tourists, either as respects the river itself or the scenery along its banks. As far as Worms, the country was a dead and sulky-looking flat, with nothing to cheer the eye or engage attention.

Of Worms itself, we saw no more than what sufficed to convince us that an architectural antiquary might spend several days, if not weeks, there very agreeably and profitably. Unless we had chosen to give our steamer the slip, there was no time for even reconnoitring the place. Neither had we more than a mere glimpse of Oppenheim, so noted for that exceedingly fine specimen of Gothic architecture, its church, dedicated to St.

MAYENCE.

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Catherine, and of course very well known to English amateurs, that is, as well as it can be from the plates given of it by Moller, whose Denkmaler are, no doubt, in the hands of all who have any relish for a style which it pleases Ultra-Grecian Hamilton to stigmatise as a creature of meretricious combinations." And here I may remark, it is somewhat inexplicable that neither Ham nor Pug, those two antipodes in matters of taste, should have noticed each other; but each has carefully avoided making any allusion to the injurious taunts uttered by his rival.

We now regretted that we had chosen to coop ourselves up in a steam-vessel, to be conveyed passively to the place of our destination like so many bales of goods, without liberty to turn out of our course, either to the right or the left, or to stop according as inclination prompted us. Thus, what is gained on the one hand is lost on the other; and in time, locomotion by means of steamers and railroads, will probably be brought to such pitch of perfection, that in their transit from place to place people will be able to see nothing at all—perhaps not be able to find breath to talk to one another during their journey.

Even Mayence with its cathedral, a noble and spacious edifice, though now in rather a patched-up condition, did not detain us. Our only comfort was, that the scenery along the river began hereabouts to be of a more interesting character. In regard to Mayence itself the

chief piece of information we picked up was an odd anecdote related by one of the passengers, who said that the Jews of Mayence had bought up the Empress Josephine's cast-off dresses, which they afterwards sold at a very great profit, for the German ladies, even those of the highest rank, were eager to purchase them; and it once happened that at a ball where she was present the Empress recognised her "old clo's" on most of the female dancers. Those may believe this story who like: I myself do not advise them to do so, it being not of the most believable kind. In fact, I rather suspect that being cooped up in a steam-boat induces people to indemnify themselves for the constraint, by giving as much liberty as possible to their tongues and their imaginations.

From Mayence to Coblentz is one of the most delightful passages, if I may so express it, in the whole course of the Rhine; yet its beauty served only to put us more than ever out of conceit with steam vessels, as inventions adapted in every respect to put down all the poetry of travelling. Had we been crossing the Atlantic or the Pacific, the same degree of celerity would not have been at all unwelcome; but here-the only consolation we had left was to compassionate the taste of so many thousands of our countrymen who annually get steamed down the Rhine.

At the junction of the Moselle with the Rhine stands Coblentz, directly fronting the German Gibraltar, Ehrenbreitstein, which latter, an apparently impregna

ble fortress, was laid siege to four several times during the revolutionary contests. To such straits was the Prussian garrison at one time reduced, that for lack of other food, the horses were killed and eaten. To what misery will not human beings sometimes submit merely to aid the ambition or the policy of their rulers! Very different indeed was the appearance this fortress made when I beheld it in the year 1817, as it was after having been blown up by the French. At that time it presented an image of complete devastation and horror, nor did I conceive it possible that the works could be restored, as they since have been, within comparatively so short a period. Besides this very formidable citadel, there are numerous other batteries and fortifications around Coblentz, so that there are very few places better protected against an enemy.

The next land-mark of importance in this passage down the Rhine was Cologne, almost equally noted for its cathedral and its scented water, indispensable to every well-appointed toilette. It has also the reputation of possessing the bones of the "three kings" or Magi; and as if these did not confer on it sufficient honour, it also claims those of St. Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins, the precious cock-and-bull tale respecting whom is a tolerable sample of the nonsensical stuff of which popish legends are manufactured; this one resting upon no better foundation than a mere blunder in regard to the name Undecemilla. Indeed, eleven thousand and one