rt. On the pretty green meadow opposite stood, until the time of the French Revolution, the nunnery of Stuben; the massive wall of a ruined chapel, pierced with pointed windows, still remains.

1. There is a path from the village of Eller over the hills to Cochem, only 4 m. long. The windings of the river between these two places cannot be less than 12 m., but those who avail themselves of this short cut will lose some of the prettiest scenery on the river.

1. Ediger is charmingly situated.

1. Senhals. Heinrich's Inn. Little else than vines visible hereabouts. (rt.) Senheim at a little distance from the river.

rt. Beilstein. Inn execrable. Travellers should on no account think of stopping here. One of the most picturesque ruined castles on the Moselle, surmounted by a square donjon-keep, overlooks Beilstein. It belonged to the Electors of Treves, who deputed their noble vassals, the Metternichs and Winneburgs, to hold it for them. The small village nestles at the foot of the rock, on which it stands.

1. Cochem.—Inns: H. de l'Union; Cornreichs; Römischer König. The distant view of this ancient town of 2500 inhab., guarded as it were by the 2 picturesque castles aloft upon the hills behind, is most romantic and attractive. But let the stranger be satisfied with admiring it at a distance, since, within, it surpasses in the filth and closeness of its streets all other towns on the Moselle. The Castle at the upper end was an Imperial fortress; in 1689 it held out, together with the town, for a long time against the forces of Louis XIV., but being at last, after 4 separate assaults, taken by storm, the greater portion of the garrison, consisting of 1600 Brandenburgers, and many of the citizens, were inhumanly put to the sword, and the houses and castle burnt. This atrocious act was ordered by the French Marshal Boufflers, and executed by his subordinate officer, M.

The lower castle of Winneburg is lost from view as you draw near the town, being situated some way up the glen of the Endertbach. It is the most ancient family seat of the Metternichs; the head of the house at present being the late Austrian prime Minister, Prince Metternich, who has recently repaired it, and fitted it up.

The large building seen above the spire of the church, near the lower end of the town of Cochem, was originally a Capuchin convent, and is now a school.

1. Clotten, a small village, with a church on an eminence, in the gap of a valley overlooked by a ruined castle. Monotonous hills intervene for a considerable distance between Clotten and

rt. Treis, situated within a little amphitheatre of hills, from which, at a short distance from the river, 2 castles look down: one of them, Wildburg, was won in hard fight by an Archbishop of Treves, in the 12th cent. An elegant modern church has been erected at Treis.

1. Carden (Spikerman's inn, good and clean. N. B. No good inn between this and Coblenz), is a picturesque old village, in one of the most lovely situations on the Moselle. The Church, conspicuous with its 3 towers, was built in the 12th cent., in honour of St. Castor, whose body was buried here, and afterwards removed to Coblenz. The exterior and E. end are in the Romanesque style of architecture. Within, there is a curious antique font, and a representation of the Entombment; the figures are of stone, as large as life. At the lower end of the town, by the water-side, stands a picturesque castellated building, with projecting turrets, surrounded by a red fringe-like ornament, and surmounted by peaked roofs; but of its history nothing is known. "Behind it is a Romanesque dwelling-house, of the 12th or 13th cent., free from alterations and interpolations, which has been unaccountably neglected by draughtsmen and anti

Carden to the very interesting old Castle of Elz, the beau-ideal of a feudal fortress of the middle ages; but the walk to it is still further shortened by landing at the village of

1. Müden, from which it is not more than 2 miles distant. A steep path ascends the hill, behind the village; then striking through fields and orchards to a farm-house, reaches a pretty green meadow, from which the winding vale of the Elz is visible, and out of which peer the singular peaked turrets of its castle, which no traveller should pass without visiting.

The little stream of the Elz, remarkable for its excessive windings almost encircles the tall bold rock on which the castle stands. A narrow isthmus of rock prevents its being an island, but this has been cut through, and over the ditch thus formed a bridge is thrown, forming the only approach. The banks of the river are thickly grown over with trees and brushwood; and a second and rival castle, rising opposite to Schloss Elz, and within bow-shot of it, contributes to the beauty of this romantic valley. The Castle of Elz is a singularly irregular building, or group of buildings, adapted to the form of the rock on which it stands. The whole pile rises so abruptly from the precipitous sides of the rock that its pedestal appears scarcely large enough to hold it. The path leading up to the main entrance is cut in the rock, and is steep and slippery. It is the cradle of one of the most ancient and noble families in this part of Germany, and is an almost solitary example of a feudal residence spared by fire, war, and time, and remaining in nearly the same condition that it was 2 or 3 centuries ago. It has lately been repaired, and is inhabited. The interior is a labyrinth of passages, turret-stairs, and chambers, many of which are of irregular shapes. Many of the apartments are hung round with family portraits, having the same degree of merit which similar subjects in English country houses usually exhibit. There are curious ornamented fire-places (not stoves),

astic-looking tiles, with patterns impressed, not coloured. In one room there are a few pieces of armour, and one or two morsels of painted glass. These relics, and old furniture, tapestry, &c., are interesting, as illustrating the mode of life of generations long passed away. The stream of the Elz is seen from the projecting turrets, flowing in its snake-like course in the depth of the wooded gorge 80 or 100 ft. below. The rival castle before alluded to, Trutz- Elz, on the opposite rock, was built to defy the Lords of Elz, by Baldwin, Bishop of Treves, who besieged them for many months, and cutting off, by this counter castle, the approaches to their stronghold, at length compelled them to surrender. They afterwards held this castle also as a fief from the Bishop, whose vassals they became.

About S m. higher up the valley stands another castle, Schloss Pyrmont, burnt by the Swedes in 1641; and near it is a cascade. About 3 m. N. of Elz lies Münster-Maifeld.

41.)

(Route

The Elz falls into the Moselle at Moselkern, about 4.m. below the Castle, but the path down the picturesque valley is very bad, fording the stream, or crossing it on stepping stones, 12 or 13 times in that short distance. The easier way to Moselkern is to cross the hill, or follow the heights along the brink of the glen, which command noble views.

1. Moselkern, (Inn enlarged,) a village at the mouth of the picturesque vale of Elz.

1. The Castle of Bischofsstein was a stronghold belonging to the Archbishops of Treves. Its tall cylindrical donjon tower is girt round with a white streak, and a ruined chapel adjoins it. It was built 1270.

meadows, vineyards, and water-mills closed up in front by a rocky height, on the summit of which, only 2 miles distant from the Moselle, stands the castle of Ehrenberg, towering above the tree tops. It is a splendid monument of old times still in a tolerable state of preservation; as it owes its decay to time and neglect, not to violence. It may be said to surpass in beauty any individual castle on the Rhine, and is well worth visiting. It now belongs to the family of Von Stein.

rt. Alken, an ancient town, connected by a chain of towers with Schloss Thuron, one of the most picturesque castles on the Moselle, on the height above. It has two circular keeps, and the green ivy creeps along its walls. It was built in 1209, and was held in 1246 by a robber knight, the Pfalzgrave Zorn. Having committed depredations in the territory of his neighbours, the Archbishops of Treves and Cologne, he was besieged for 2 years by their combined forces, who, during that time, emptied 3000 butts of wine. The garrison, having consumed all their provisions, surrendered the castle; but Zorn cut his way through the enemy.

1. The village of Catenes is said to derive its name from a chain (ca. tena) formerly stretched across the river at this point, to arrest boats and compel them to pay toll.

1. Gondorf. The conspicuous building at the upper end of this village, by the water-side, is the family mansion of the Counts Von der Leyen, another of the oldest and most noble races on the Moselle; which numbers among its members many generals in the Imperial armies, and 3 Electors of Treves and Cologne. The building was repaired in 1814, and has since passed out of the possession of the Von der Leyens.

At the lower end of the village stands a gable-faced house, connected with a tall tower of defence, built 1350, and said to have belonged to the Knights Templars.

A large quantity of potters' and pipe clay, obtained from pits 3 m. off, at

1. Cobern. The heights behind this little town are crowned by 2 ruined castles—the lower, or Niederburg, and the Oberburg. Within the enclosure of the upper castle stands the very remarkable Chapel of St. Matthia The way to it passes the new church, and the house of the pastor, who keeps the keys of the chapel, and will lend them to discreet persons. A steep footpath strikes up from a mill, through the vineyards, and behind the lower castle, which it leaves on the right. The view from the top is fine, and it takes about 20 minutes to reach it. St. Matthias's Chapel is an elegant little Gothic structure, in the form of a hexagon, supported within upon 6 clusters of columns, each formed of 5 detached marble pillars. The exact date of the building is unknown, but the style of the architecture is that of the first half of the 13th century, and its founders are supposed to have been Crusaders, who caused it to be erected on their return from the Holy Land. This may account for the somewhat Saracenic aspect of its interior. the arches are rounded, except those which support the central tower, which are pointed and slightly horse-shoed; the lower windows are in shape like the ace of clubs. The effect of the interior is extremely light and graceful, and this chapel deserves to be visited by all who interest themselves in architecture. It has been repaired by the architect von Lassaulx.

rt.

All

Diebelich (quasi Diabolich) is famous for witches, who in the middle ages were believed to haunt peculiarly this spot, and to hold meetings for midnight revelry on the top of a neighbouring mountain. At the end of the 15th century, a bishop, who had written a book upon witchcraft, caused 25 persons to be burned here for that crime ! This is a pretty spot, surrounded by orchards and walnuts, with fine wooded banks opposite,

1. Winningen is a Protestant vil- | lage, though all around are Popish. A neat modern school-house faces the river.

rt. Ley. At the breaking up of the frost in the Moselle in 1830, this village was buried nearly 30 feet deep in ice, which broke the timber framework of many of the houses, and entirely swept away several; overspreading all the lower vineyards. (See p. 277.)

1. Güls, distinguished by its modern twin spires, is surrounded by orchards, which furnish cherries and walnuts in large quantities for ex. portation to Holland. A very narrow and dangerous carriage-road has been completed along the rt. bank of the Moselle, from Moselweiss to Niederfell. When improved and extended farther upwards, it will become equally conducive to the convenience of the tourist, and to the prosperity of the valley.

1. The spire of the Church of Metternich is seen above the trees.

rt. Moselweiss, a small village supposed to be the Vicus Ambitianus of the Romans, and the spot where Agrippina gave birth to Caligula. The tower of the church is of great antiquity, and is mentioned in records of the year 1209. Above Moselweiss rise the fortifications of Fort Alexander, one of the outworks of Coblenz, situated between the Moselle and the Rhine.

rt. COBLENZ (p. 279.).

Some of the finest scenery on the Moselle may be explored in 2 days, from Coblenz, thus: Take the steamer as far as Alf, and put up at the good inn there (p. 316.); proceed thence in a post-chaise to the Baths of Bertrich, 3 m. off, where the Kurhaus affords good quarters: here dine; and if time can be spared, proceed after dinner to the Falkenlei, and return to Alf to sleep. Next morning rise early, and ascend the hill called Prinzensköpfchen; then take the descending steamer and return to Coblenz, or, if time will allow, stop at Carden, and walk or drive to Schloss Elz, and MunsterMaifeld; returning to Carden to sleep. Next morning hire a row-boat to

Alken, and walk thence in 2 hours up a side valley to the interesting castle of Ehrenburg, returning in time for the steamer to Coblenz, or proceeding thither by the carriage road down the right bank of the Moselle. A shorter excursion may be made by taking the up steamer as far as Treis, in the morning, returning by the down boat in the afternoon.

ROUTE 43.

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE TO TREVES.

20 Pruss. m. =93 Eng. m.

Schnellpost daily in 21 hrs. The only tolerable sleeping quarters are at Prüm, but they are indifferent.

This excellent macadamised road was completed in 1836, by the Prussian government, to open a communication along the Belgian frontier; its design seems rather military than commercial. It lies through a country wild and dreary in parts, in others very beautiful; in all most interesting to an English botanist, who will find in the wild heath between Treves and Montjoie, and in the latter town itself, some of the rarest plants of his own country. The accommodation for travellers is on a very low scale.

The road on leaving Aix-la-Chapelle is carried under the Cologne railway, and past the picturesque, ruined, moated castle Schönforst, near which is a very large lime tree. About 7 m. from Aix is the village of Corneli-Münster, with 750 inhab.

The extensive remains of its ancient convent, founded 815, by Lewis the Pious, are turned into a cloth manufactory.

2 Königsberg.

2

Montjoie (pronounced Monschaw), a small town of 3000 inhab., on the Roer, manufactures much cloth. [Bauer's Inn is the best.] Its fine and nearly perfect Castle was almost entirely pulled down 1836. There are slate quarries outside the town.

The village of Kaltenherberg (1370 inhab.) lies at the foot of the mountain range called Hohe Veen (Fr. Hautes Fanges, The High Fen). Their highest summit is 2200 ft. above the

The

sea: this is a wild and sterile district, abounding in bogs and marshes. inhabitants are chiefly Walloons.

24 Bütgenbach (Inn, Poste), a village of 500 souls. A cross road hence to Spa, by Malmedy (Rte. 44.).

This stage lies over a wild dreary track, part heath, part forest, which is burnt for charcoal, to

2 Losheim, a small village. Its Church contains some relics-the cloth with which our Saviour girt himself, and dried the apostles' feet a part of his winding-sheet-fragments of the scull of St. Cornelius!! Near this, a good cross road, on the left, leads from Losheim to Hillesheim, in the Eifel (p. 325.).

Here begins the chain of hills called Schneifel, Schnee Eifel (Snow Eifel). 23 Prüm - Inn, Goldner Stern, the best sleeping quarters between Aix and Treves, but indifferent. - D. G. Cheap and dirty. Bed, 15 S. gr.; tea, 8 S. gr.; breakfast, 8 S. gr. This small town lies at the S. extremity of the Schneifel, immediately beneath a beautifully wooded hill, and has 2100 inhab. Early in the 17th cent., the Benedictine monks fixed upon this agreeable valley, sheltered by hills, and shrouded in woods, to build a monastery, which in the course of time became one of the most wealthy near the Rhine. Its abbots had the rank of princes, and their estates lay not only in the immediate neighbourhood, but in Picardy, Zutphen, Gueldres, &c. Arnheim and St. Goar were possessions of the convent. Charlemagne bestowed large grants upon it: his natural son, Pepin, became a monk here, after incurring his father's displeasure by his disobedience. The Empr. Lothaire retired hither, and also took the cowl; he converted his crown into a crucifix, which was preserved down to the time of the French Revolution, when all the property of the monastery was confiscated. A portion of the old convent alone survives, and is now converted into a school. The church near it, in the Italian style, and uninteresting, replaces the magnificent original church of the Abbey Sancti Benedicti ad

Pratum (whence the modern name Prüm), of which no vestige now remains. In the burial-ground, outside the town, a stone cross is planted, on the spot where the high altar stood; the walls of this edifice were pulled down to furnish materials for rebuilding the houses of the town, after it had been destroyed by fire in 1769. The excursion to the Upper Eifel (Rte. 45.). may be made from Prüm. There is some difficulty in obtaining a carriage here, except from the postmaster. In 1837 one with 2 horses was hired here for 3 dollars a day; the distance to Gerolstein is about 12 m.; the road is practicable only for light carriages.

Hereabouts the modern road falls in with the great Roman highway from Treves to Cologne. It is proved, by an inscription found at Marmagen, that Agrippa was the director of this, the greatest work of the Romans in their Rhenish provinces. It was carried through a country still wild and unpeopled, but in their days as little trodden as the backwoods of America are now. It appears by the Roman Itinerary, that besides numerous posthouses (mutationes, for changing horses), there were 6 mansiones along this line of road, serving at the same time as military posts, garrisoned with troops; as hotels, in which the emperors themselves were accommodated on their journeys; and as stations of relays of horses for couriers: the first of these was at Tobliacum (Zulpich, the spot where Clovis and the Franks defeated the Alemanni), the last at Bædæ Vicus (Bitburg). Accounts have been published of a vast subterraneous aqueduct, extending all the way from Cologne to Treves, nearly parallel with the high road; and it is certain that remains of such a structure are still visible at 10 or 12 different places between the 2 cities. Considering that both these cities were situated on great rivers, well furnished with water, it is difficult to comprehend the use of so extensive a conduit. The writers of the middle ages, indeed, have not scrupled to affirm, that it was intended to convey a stream of wine between them! The