it, which her citizens presented annually to the Emperor Wenzel.

(1.) The truncated walls of the old castle of Stahleck, the ancient seat of the Electors Palatine, now the property of the Princess Royal of Prussia, their descendant, crown the high hill behind Bacharach. Between them and the town stand the ruins of St. Werner's Church, an exquisite fragment of the florid Gothic style, built in 1428. "It was demolished by the Swedes in the thirty years' war, but still shows in its east end a lantern, rising on a rock suspended over the river, like a fairy fabric, the remains of the highest and most elegant lancet style existing.' HOPE. The lofty pointed windows still retain in a perfect condition the most delicate tracery work.

The body of the child Werner having been thrown by the Jews, his murderers, into the Rhine at Oberwesel, instead of descending with the current as all other bodies would have done, is reported to have ascended the stream as far as Bacharach, where it was taken up, interred, and afterwards canonized. To do honour to his relics, this beautiful chapel was built over them.

An hour or two should be devoted by every traveller to Bacharach, to enable him to enjoy the view from the castle of Stahleck, and to visit the chapel of Werner and the Lutheran Church, which affords one of the finest examples of the round arched, or, as the Germans call it, Byzantine style of architecture, to be found on the Rhine.

(rt.) Nollingen, ruined castle; below it Lorchausen village. Two stone gallows near this formerly marked the boundary line which divided the ancient territory of Mainz from the Palatinate.

(1.) The round tower and shattered walls of Furstenberg rise above the village of Rheindiebach. The

French in the war of the Orleans succession, 1689.

(rt.) Lorch, one of the oldest towns on the Rhine, snugly nestling in the mouth of the very picturesque valley of the Visp, whose entrance is guarded by the castles of Nollingen on the one side and Fürsteneck on the other.

The church at Lorch is one of the most ancient buildings on the Rhine, having been erected in the ninth century.

Here commences the district called the Rheingau (valley of the Rhine), which extends upwards along the right bank as far as Walluf, and is remarkable as including all the most famous vineyards in which the best Rhenish wines are produced.

(1.) The ruins of the castle of Heimberg appear above the top of the houses of Heimbach village, close on the shore; higher up is the very picturesque turreted ruin of Sonneck ; it was originally a robber-castle, and destroyed as such by the Emperor Rudolph, 1282.

The river, on approaching Bingen and Assmanshausen, is truly "the castellated Rhine; " the number of dismantled and dilapidated fortresses increases so much, that it is difficult to count them. (1.) The castles of Falkenburg, on the summit of a rocky height, and of Reichenstein and Rheinstein, niched in, or perched upon the ridge lower down, form together a group for the painter. Under them, between the high road and the river, is the interesting Gothic Church of St. Clement, restored from a state of ruin by the Princess Frederick of Prussia. Most of these residences of knightly highwaymen fell before the strong arm of the law in 1282, having been condemned as robber strongholds. The forces of the League of the Rhine carried into execution the sentence of the Diet of the empire, by storming and demo

the arbitrary exactions and predatory warfare of their owners.

The system of pillage which prevailed throughout Germany among the rulers of these almost inaccessible fortresses, until the vigorous opposition of the towns on the borders of the Rhine put an end to it, is well illustrated by the following anecdote. An archbishop of Cologne, having built a castle, appointed a seneschal to the command of it. The governor, previous to entering upon his office, applied to the bishop to know from whence he was to maintain himself, no revenue having been assigned to him for that purpose. The prelate, by way of answer, merely desired him to observe that his castle stood close to the junction of four roads. A practice very similar to the arbitrary mode of levying tolls and custom duties, adopted by these feudal tyrants, prevailed up to the last century in our own country, in the black-mail exacted by the Highland chiefs and nobles from merchants on their way to the fairs or markets of the north.

One of these ruins has recently been restored as far as possible to its original condition, but only to serve the peaceful purpose of a summer residence for Prince Frederick of Prussia: it is

(1.) The Castle of Vautsberg, or NeuRheinstein. The interior has been very tastefully fitted up, in all respects after the manner of a knightly dwelling of the days of chivalry; the walls hung with ancient armour, the windows filled with painted glass, and the furniture either actually collected from ancient castles and convents, or made conformably to the fashions of former days, so that every article is in keeping with the general design. These and other curiosities which it contains have rendered Rheinstein one of the "Lions" of the Rhine, and it is most liberally thrown open to strangers, who are conducted round the castle by a do

mestic who bears the ancient title of Schlossvoght.

Wines and Vineyards of the Rhine.

Opposite to Rheinstein is the village (rt.) of Assmanshausen, which gives its name to a red wine of high reputation and price. The hills behind and around the town which produce it, are so very steep that it is only by artificial means, often by planting the vines in baskets, that any soil can be retained round their roots. The vineyards are nothing more than a succession of terraces, or steps, extending from the top to the bottom of the hills, some of which must be nearly 1000 feet high. In some places more than twenty terraces may be counted, rising one above the other. They are supported by walls of masonry from five to ten feet high, and the breadth of some of the ledges on which the vines grow, is not more than twice the height of the walls.

To reach many of these narrow plots, the vine-dressers, female as well as male, must scale the precipices, and hang as it were from the face of the rocks, while a great deal of the soil itself and every particle of manure must be carried up on their shoulders. This will give some idea of the labours and expense of such cultivation, and of the great value of every inch of ground in these narrow strips, to repay it.

The life of the Rheinland vinedresser indeed presents a rare example of industry and perseverance. Though by no means rich, they are generally the proprietors of the vineyards they cultivate; and, though their appearance does not altogether verify that which painters draw and poets describe, they at least exhibit an aspect of cheerfulness and intelligence.

Independently of the hardness of the labour of cultivating the vine, which is not confined to any one

season, but must be carried on perseveringly through the whole year, and is most severe during the heat of summer: the vine is a delicate plant, frost, rain, or hail may in a few hours annihilate the produce upon which the cultivator depends solely for subsistence. One or two successive seasons of failure will ruin even an opulent family; but when the vintage is good, few of the small proprietors are rich enough to be able to wait until they can obtain a favourable market, but must part with the wine soon after it is made, to the rich speculators, who buy up the whole produce of a district, and take the chance of its turning out good or bad.

Beyond the point on which Asmanshausen stands, the Rhine, whose course has hitherto been from S. E. to N. W., changes materially its direction, and flows from E. to W., pursuing this course as far as Mayence.

From the advantageous exposure produced by this bend in the river, arises the excellence of the wines of the district of the Rheingau, as the rays of the midday sun, instead of being received obliquely, fall full butt upon the vineyards situated on the right bank of the river, and all the best wines are confined to that side. The slaty soil of the hills seems peculiarly favourable for retaining the intense heat of the sun's rays, so necessary for bringing the grape to perfect maturity; and in addition, this favoured portion of the valley of the Rhine is sheltered from N. and E. winds to a great extent, by the intervening barrier of mountains.

The Rheingau is divided into the Upper and Lower Cantons (Gemarkung) relatively to the position of the vineyards near the summits of the hills, or on the margin of the river; the high grounds produce the strongest wines, while that of the low ground has an earthy taste; that

between the two extremes is considered the most wholesome and the best; though much depends on the season, which is sometimes favourable to the produce of the heights, sometimes to that of the inferior slopes.

Among the Rhine wines (improperly called Hock in England) the Johannisberg and Steinberg rank first, and on an equal footing, for their exquisite flavour and evanescent bouquet. Next follow Rudesheim (Berg) Markobrunner and Rothenberg, which possess much body and aroma. Hockheim (which grows on the banks of the Maine, not in the Rheingau) ranks with the best of these 2nd class wines. Of the inferior wines, those of Erbach and Hattenheim are the best. The lighter wines, however, are apt to be hard and rather acid; as table wines. The Laubenheim and Nierstein, from the Palatinate above Mayence, and the delicately-flavoured Moselles, are much preferred to them as table wines in Germany. The best red Rhine wine is the Asmanshausen. The vine chiefly cultivated on the Rhine is called Riesling; it yields a wine of fine flavour: the Orleans grape produces a strong-bodied wine.

The vintage on the Rhine used to take place in the middle of October; but, by the present system, it is delayed, in the best vineyards, to November: in fact, it is put off to the last moment the grapes will hang on the bunches. To make the best wines the grapes are sorted, and those only of the best quality employed. The riper bunches are first selected, and the rest left to hang for days or weeks longer.

The culture of the vine was introduced on the Rhine and Mosell by the Emperor Probus.

The Rossel (rt.), a little tower standing on the brink of the heights above Assmanshausen, and just discernible from the river below, is si

of Niederwald, and commands one of the most magnificent views upon the whole course of the Rhine. Assmanshausen is a good point from which to commence the ascent of the Niederwald, though Bingen or Rudesheim, where the inns are better, should be made the head-quarters.

We have now reached the upper limit of the gorge of the Rhine, commencing near Boppart, and affording so much grand scenery. Between Bingen and Boppart, the Rhine cuts across a chain of mountains running nearly at right angles to the course of its stream. There are good grounds for supposing that at one time (before human record), they entirely stopped its further progress, damming up the waters behind them into a lake which extended as far as Basle, and whose existence is further proved by numerous freshwater deposits, shells, &c., to be found in the valley of the Rhine above Mayence. Some vast convulsion, such as an earthquake, or perhaps even the force of the accumulated waters alone, must have burst through this mountain-wall, and made for the river the gorge or ravine by which it now obtains a free passage to the ocean.

A species of dyke or wall of rock, running obliquely across the river at this spot, is perhaps a remnant of this colossal barrier. It is passable for vessels only at one spot, where a channel called Binger Loch (Hole of Bingen) has been cut through it by artificial means. The impediments occasioned by it in the navigation of the river have been reduced from time to time; but the greatest improvement has been effected within two or three years, by the Prussian government, under whose direction the passage has been widened from 20 to 210 feet, by blasting the sunken rocks in the bed of the Rhine.

(1.) In commemoration of this improvement, a small monument has been set up by the road side; the

pedestal of the obelisk is formed of the stones extracted from the bed of the river.

This navigable channel, three feet deep, lies near the rt. bank, under the shattered walls of the castle of Ehrenfels, an ancient stronghold of the Archbishops of Mayence, built in

1218.

Near to the 1. bank, surrounded by the river, and not far from the spot where the waters of the Nahe unite with those of the Rhine, rises the little, square Mouse Tower, renowned for

The Tradition of Bishop Hatto. The summer and autumn had been so wet, That in winter the corn was growing yet, 'T was a piteous sight to see all around, The grain lie rotting on the ground. Every day the starving poor Crowded around Bishop Hatto's door, For he had a plentiful last year's store; And all the neighbourhood could tell His granaries were furnish'd well. At last Bishop Hatto appointed a day To quiet the poor without delay : He bade them to his great barn repair, And they should have food for the winter

there.

Rejoiced at such tidings good to hear,
The poor folk flock'd from far and near;
The great barn was full as it could hold
Of women and children, and young and old.
Then when he saw it could hold no more,
Bishop Hatto he made fast the door;
And while for mercy on Christ they call,
He set fire to the barn, and burnt them all.
"I'faith 'tis an excellent bonfire !" quoth he,
"And the country is greatly obliged to me,
For ridding it, in these times forlorn,
Of rats that only consume the corn."
So then to his palace returned he,
And he sat down to supper merrily,
And he slept that night like an innocent man,
But Bishop Hatto never slept again.

In the morning as he enter'd the hall
Where his picture hung against the wall,
A sweat like death all o'er him came,
For the rats had eaten it out of the frame.
As he look'd there came a man from his
farm,

He had a countenance white with alarm.
"My Lord, I open'd your granaries this
morn,

And the rats had eaten all your corn."
Another came running presently,
And he was pale as pale could be;
"Fly! my lord bishop, fly," quoth he,
"Ten thousand rats are coming this way,
The Lord forgive you for yesterday!"

"I'll go to my tower on the Rhine," replied he,

"'Tis the safest place in Germany;

The walls are high and the shores are steep, And the stream is strong and the water deep."

Bishop Hatto fearfully hasten'd away,
And he crossed the Rhine without delay,
And reach'd his tower, and barr'd with care,
All the windows, doors, and loop-holes there.
He laid him down, and closed his eyes ;-
But soon a scream made him arise,
He started, and saw two eyes of flame
On his pillow, from whence the screaming

came.

He listen'd and look'd; it was only the cat ; But the bishop he grew more fearful for that,

For she sat screaming, mad with fear

At the army of rats that were drawing near.

For they have swam over the river so deep,
And they have climb'd the shores so steep,
And now by thousands up they crawl
To the holes and windows in the wall.

Down on his knees the bishop fell,
And faster and faster his beads did he tell,
As louder and louder, drawing near,
The saw of their teeth without he could
hear.

And in at the windows, and in at the door,

pour,

And through the walls by thousands they And down through the ceiling and up through the floor,

From the right and the left, from behind and before,

From within and without, from above and below;

And all at once to the bishop they go.

They have whetted their teeth against the stones,

And now they pick the bishop's bones; They gnaw'd the flesh from every limb, For they were sent to do judgment on him. SOUTHEY.

Having given the romantic tradition, it is proper to add the prosaic and matter-of-fact history of the little tower. It appears to have been built in the thirteenth century, by a Bishop Siegfried (full 200 years after the death of Bishop Hatto), along with the opposite castle of Ehrenfels, as a watch-tower and toll-house for collecting the duties upon all goods which passed the spot. The word maus is probably only an older form of mauth, duty, or toll, and this name, taken in combination with the very unpopular object for which the tower was erected, perhaps gave rise to the dolorous story of Bishop Hatto and

(1.) The confluence of the Nahe and the Rhine.-Tacitus mentions the bridge of Drusus over the Nahe: the existing structure, erected 1011, and many times renewed, perhaps rests on Roman foundations. The Nahe divides the territory of Prussia from that of Hesse Darmstadt; but as the two states are now united under the same system of customs there is no longer any visitation of baggage by douaniers for those who pass from one into the other.

2. (1.) Bingen. Inns: Weisse Ross (White Horse), facing the river; the Post is not so well situated, but it is at least as good. The very interesting scenery in this neighbourhood is entirely lost to those who content themselves with merely passing up and down the river in a steam-boat.

Two days may be well spent between Bingen and Rudesheim, though an active pedestrian would easily explore the three most interesting spots, the Rochusburg, Rheinstein, and the Niederwald, in one day. A very pleasant excursion may be made up the Nahe from Bingen to Kreuznach and Oberstein (Route C).

seen.

Bingen has 4000 inhabitants, and considerable trade for its size. In the town itself, there is not much to be The ruin called Klopp, or Drusus' Castle, above it, is said to have been built by the Roman general whose name it still bears, B.C. 13. [?] The view from it is fine, but not equal to that from

(1.) The white Chapel of St. Roch (Rochus Capelle), on the summit of the hill above Bingen, directly opposite Rudesheim. The ascent to it takes half an hour-it may be made in a light carriage. The terrace behind the chapel almost overhangs the Rhine, and commands a prospect not only up, but down the river. 16th of August is St. Roch's day, when many thousand pilgrims assemble from all parts to pay their vows, and offer their prayers to him.

The