ment is occupied by the Coronation of the Virgin, a very masterly work of art, with the date 1526, and the monogram of the sculptor, Hans Leifrink, or Leychman. The left-hand shutter bears the representation of the patron saints of the town; the right-hand is occupied by St. Stephen and St. Laurence. Below the centre the 4 Evangelists are grouped, composing their gospels. The whole is surmounted by pinnacles; that in the centre reaching up to the roof. A monument to the Grand Duke of Baden, Carl Frederick, has been placed on the top of the Eggardsberge, where once stood the Citadel.]

The Baden Railway continues from Freiberg, near to the hills, to Schallstadt Stat.

Krotzingen Stat., near which are the ruins of Staufenburg. Heitersheim Stat. Krozingen Stat. Mühlheim Stat. Inn, Krone. About 3 m. E. of the railroad are the baths of Baden-weiler (Inn, Römerbad). The waters were known to the Romans, and the baths erected by them were discovered, 1748, in a very perfect state of preservation. They consist of 4 large and 8 smaller baths; and include a vapour bath, anointingroom, dressing-room, &c.: they are regarded as the most perfect out of Rome, and are 324 ft. long, by 100 broad. An inscription found on the spot proves that they were dedicated to Diana Abnoba. Excursions may be made to the castle of Bürglen 6 m., and to the top of the Blauen mountain (6 m.), 3597 ft. high, the loftiest in the district. The wine called Markgräfler, the best which Baden produces, is grown near this.

Sulzburg, to the N. E., was the birthplace of Schöpflin the Reformer.

At Neunburg, 3 m. W. of Müllheim, Duke Bernard of Saxe Weimar died, 1639, poisoned, it was supposed, by Richelieu.

Schliengen Stat. Here an action was fought between Moreau and the Archduke Charles, 1796.

Efringen Stat. Here at present (May, 1850) the railway ends, 8 m.

Germ. mile=3 Eng. miles. This railroad branches off from the Great Baden railroad at the Oos station. (Rte. 105. p. 550.) Beyond Oos the valley begins to contract, and the hills to rise on either side. On the L the old castle of Baden is seen crowning the summit of a fir-clad hill: on the rt. rises the hill of Yberg, on which another castle is perched. Both of them were, perhaps, Roman forts originally.

1 BADEN (called Baden-Baden, to distinguish it from places of the same name in Switzerland, and near Vienna)

- Inns: H. de l'Europe, opposite the Conversations Haus and Trinkhalle; splendid house, containing 100 rooms Table-d'hôte at 5, 1 fl. 12 kr.;—H. de Russie, clean and good;. -H. d Angleterre, the most fashionable, excellent house; - H. de France; Badenscher Hof (much frequented by the English), good; excellent tabled'hôte; - H. du Rhin; - Zähringer Hof; H. de Hollande. There are many other inns, and nearly of the house in the town are let as lodgings, but de not provide dinners. The Sonne an Blume are respectable establishme of this class. The price of rooms varies according to season and situation, fre 3 fl. to 12 or 14 fl. a week. A bath co 24 kr. 8d.; a bed, 48 kr. to 1 fl. pe night; breakfast, 36 kr. Some of t inns are provided with baths, but the is no building here appropriated exce

sively to bathing. There are tables-d'hôte in all the principal inns at 1 or 2, price from 48 kr. to 1 fl., and at 4 or 5, chiefly to suit the English, at 1 fl. 12 or 24 kr. The best wines of the country are Affenthaler (red), Klingelberger, and Markgräfler. A dinner in private, 2 fl. 20 kr. = 5 francs. The price of every thing is fixed by government, according to tariff, even down to washerwomen's charges.

There can be but one opinion as to the beauty of the situation of the town of Baden, embosomed among hills forming an offset or commencement of the Black Forest range, and seated on the banks of the Oos, a stream which, though insignificant in size, once formed the boundary line between the Franks and Alemanni. The town has about 6000 permanent inhab., and is built chiefly on the slope of a hill, owing to the narrowness of the valley. The mineral springs were known to and appreciated by the Romans, who fixed a colony here, and called it Civitas Aurelia Aquensis. It was for 6 cent. the abode of the Margraves of Baden, until the incendiary devastation of the Palatinate by the French caused them to remove to Rastadt in the flat plain of the Rhine: at present the Grand Duke of Baden occasionally visits his Villa here, but resides principally during the summer at his Castle of Eberstein. Baden was once considered one of the most fashionable German watering-places (§ 41.). During the season Princes may be met with in abundance, but are usually outnumbered by blacklegs. The influx and concourse of visitors has greatly increased of late, and, in consequence, the number of new inns and other buildings has multiplied proportionately, but the place is falling of in respectable society. It has the attraction of being by far the most beautiful of the baths of North Germany in its situation; even surpassing in this respect the Brunnen of Nassau. The surrounding country, without the sublimity and grandeur of Switzerland, is distinguished by a pleasing and romantic wildness; it is, as it were, a prelude to the Alps. The

neighbourhood will afford almost endless gratification in the beauty of its prospects, and the number and variety of the rides and walks, cut for miles in every direction through the forests, and up the surrounding hills.

Whatever be the taste or disposition of the traveller, he will assuredly find something to please him here. There are saloons, promenades, balls, concerts, gaming-tables and other luxuries of a capital; and, on the other hand, 20 different paths, leading in 10 minutes into the depths of dark woods or deep valleys, where he may enjoy solitude so complete that he may fancy himself far from the haunts of men. From the number of woods and avenues around, the invalid may enjoy a shady walk at all hours, even in the height of summer. The months of July and August are the season when the baths are most frequented, but visitors are constantly coming and going from May to October, if the weather be fine. As many as 32,000 persons in the season of 1845 resorted to the baths. The number of English visitors increased so much of late that the place assumed the appearance of a settlement of our countrymen. This influx had the effect of diminishing its advantages of cheapness and retirement, as within a few years the price of every thing was raised nearly one half. Now however (1850), owing to over building, and a falling off in the number of visitors, arising from the recently disturbed state of Baden, prices have declined. After October the soil and climate are extremely damp; the grassy banks are oozing with water, which the granitic substratum will not absorb, and the hotels and lodging houses suffer greatly from moisture.

66

The Hot Springs (13 in number) burst out of the rocks at the foot of the castle terrace, called Schneckengarten, behind the parish church. That part of the town goes by the name of Hell," and in the coldest weather snow never rests upon it. summer nor winter produces any variation in the temperature of the springs. The hottest are 54° Reaum., the coldest 37°. Water from them is conveyed

Neither

through the town in pipes, to supply the different baths, and loses little of its warmth in the passage; but the supply greatly exceeds the demand, so that some of the sources are used by the townspeople to scald their pigs and poultry. A building in the form of a temple is erected over the principal spring (Ursprung), one of the hottest as well as most copious sources. The vault of masonry which encloses the spring is of Roman construction. Several fragments of ancient sculpture, dug up in Baden and its neighbourhood, are preserved in the building; among them are votive tablets and altars to Neptune, Mercury, and Juno. Neptune seems to have been the adopted patron of Baden, and of this medicinal fountain. Remains of Roman vapour baths, well preserved, were discovered in 1847 just beneath the new castle. One room is accessible. The mineral water which comes out of the rock was conducted by a canal to a subterraneous chamber of about 20 ft. in breadth and 40 in length, from which the vapour ascended to the bathing-room by a great many pipes which open all round the walls of it. The floor is supported by small columns of 3 ft. high.

The Neue Trinkhalle (i. e. Pumproom) on the public walks, and nearly on a line with the Conversations Haus, is one of the handsomest buildings in Baden. It is from Hübsch's design, and is decorated with poor frescoes, representing legends of the Black Forest. The hot water is conducted in pipes from the source: and other mineral waters, goat's whey, &c., are to be had. The company assembles here between 6 and 7 A. M. to drink the waters, and the band plays. A new building for vapour baths has recently been con structed close to the Ursprung.

On the left bank of the Oosbach, opposite to the town, are the Promenade and the Conversations Haus, a handsome building with a Corinthian portico, surrounded by gardens and pleasure-grounds, forming the lounge and chief resort-in fact, the grand focus of attraction for the visitors at Baden. It is one of the most splendid establish

ments of the kind in Germany, and includes a very fine and large assemblyroom, where there is dancing 3 times a week; to which people repair in their morning dress, except on Saturday, when it is "bal paré.' Gaming-tables are open and occupied day and night. There is a Theatre in the right wing, and in the left a Restaurant, where dinners may be had à la carte; attached to it is the Library and Reading Room of M. Marx.

Strangers who intend to remain any time here may subscribe for a fortnight or month to the rooms and balls. In the shop of Creutzbauer the bookseller, there is a Circulating Library and reading-room, where The Times, Galig nani's Messenger, and other English papers are taken in. The shady avenue leading to the Conversations Haus is occupied by shops of traders from various parts of Europe,- Tyrol, Switzerland, Paris, all selling their national commodities, and commonly not very cheap. In the afternoon, when dinner is over, the walks and colonnades in front of the Conversations Haus be come the fashionable resort, and are crowded with people sipping coffee and ices, or smoking; the whole space is then covered with chairs and tables, and a band of music is stationed close at hand.

The rouge-et-noir and roulette tables, though opened for a forenoon course of gambling, are chiefly frequented in the evening, and stakes become higher as the night advances : females are sometimes seen at them as well as men; ladies but rarely. Players alone are allowed to be seated.

The Conversations Haus is let out by the government of Baden to a company of speculators, who pay for the exclusive privilege of opening gamb ling-tables 35,000 florins (3000l.) allnually, and agree to spend in addition 250,000 florins on the walks and buildings. Some idea may be formed from this of the vast sums of money whic must be yearly lost by the dupes wh frequent this licensed gaming-house. is understood that the same company engage the tables at Ems, Wiesbade

and other watering-places. The whole is under the direction of M. Benazet, who formerly farmed the gamblinghouses of Paris. He has fitted up the interior with much taste and great splendour. The gaming-tables draw hither much disreputable society, and must be considered as a very serious disadvantage to the place. It is chiefly through their baneful influence that Baden has sadly fallen off in respectability of late years.

Immediately above the highest houses of the town rises das Neue Schloss (new castle)—called new only by way of distinguishing it from the still older castle on the very summit of the hill above, in which the Duke's ancestors resided during the insecure times of the middle ages, down to 1471, when the present new schloss was founded. It was burnt and ruined in the fatal year 1689, by the French army that ravaged the Palatinate, but was afterwards restored in its present form. It is an ugly building, only remarkable for its situation and the curious Dungeons beneath it. Under the guidance of the castellan, the stranger is conducted into these singular vaults down a winding stair, under the tower in the right-hand corner of the inner court, through an ancient bath constructed by the Romans. This entrance has been broken through in modern times; originally the dungeons were only accessible from above, by a perpendicular shaft or chimney running through the centre of the building, and still in existence. The visitor, in passing under it, can barely discern the daylight at the top. According to tradition, prisoners, bound fast in an arm-chair and blindfolded, were let down by a windlass into these dark and mysterious vaults, excavated out of the solid rock on which the castle is founded. The dungeons were closed, not with doors of wood or iron, but with solid slabs of stone, turning upon pivots, and ingeniously fitted. Several of them still remain; they are nearly á foot thick, and weigh from 1200 to 2000 lbs. In one chamber, loftier than the rest, called the Rack Chamber (Folter-Kammer), the instruments of tor

ture stood; a row of iron rings, forming part of the fearful apparatus, still remains in the wall. In a passage adjoining, there is a well or pit in the floor, now boarded over, originally covered with a trap door. The prisoner, upon whom doom had been passed, was led into this passage, and desired to kiss an image of the Virgin placed at the opposite end; but no sooner did his feet rest on the trap-door than it gave way beneath his weight, and precipitated him to a great depth below, upon a machine composed of wheels, armed with lancets, by which he was torn to pieces. This dreadful punishment was called the "Baiser de la Vierge," and the fatal pit, with its trapdoor, an oubliette; because those who were precipitated down it were "oubliés,” never heard of more. The secret of this terrible dungeon remained unknown until, as the story goes, an attempt to rescue a little dog, which had fallen through the planking above the pit, led to the discovery, at a depth of many yards, of fragments of ponderous wheels set round with rusty knives, with portions of bones, rags, and torn garments adhering to them.

The last and largest of these vaults is called the Hall of Judgment. Here the judges sat upon stone benches, remains of which may still be traced round the wall. Behind the niche where the president (Blutrichter) sat is the outlet to a subterranean passage, by which the members of the court entered; it is said to have communicated at one time with the Alte Schloss on the top of the hill, but is now walled up.

According to popular belief, these dungeons were the seat of a Secret Tribunal (Vehm-gericht), such as that described so well by Scott in Anne of Geierstein, and by Göthe in Götz of Berlichingen. It must be remembered, however, that the famous Vehme of Westphalia held its meetings, not in the dark, nor in dungeons, but in broad day, and in the open field. (See p. 377.)

There is little doubt that these prisons were the place of meeting of a

mysterious tribunal, over which the lord of the castle most probably presided. Similar prisons (excepting the stone doors) are to be found in almost every well-preserved baronial fortress of the middle ages; and, though sometimes appropriated to the trial of real offences committed within the seigneur's juris. diction, were not unfrequently the instruments of tyranny, and the scenes of dark crime; while at the best, from the secrecy of the proceedings, such a trial must have been but "wild justice."

The upper part of the castle is only worth notice on account of the fine view from its windows, and of the open shaft running through the building from top to bottom, within the winding staircase, which was the means of access to the dungeons below. It was divided by a partition, extending the whole way down. It is supposed that a prisoner, with his eyes blindfolded, was admitted by a door in the hall, opposite the principal entrance of the castle, was seated in an arm-chair, wound up to the top by a windlass through one side of the shaft, and let down by the other into the prisons of the secret tribunal. This shaft, at least, served to convey air into those subterranean chambers. The small garden adjoining the castle and the terrace called Schneckengarten (snail garden, because snails were once bred in it for the table) are agreeable walks, commanding fine views.

The Parish Church is noticed chiefly as being the burial-place of the Margraves of Baden, and as containing several of their monuments. The most interesting are those of Margrave Louis William, who distinguished himself against the Turks, and was considered one of the first generals of his time. He served in 26 campaigns, and in his numerous battles was never vanquished; he died 1707: Prince Eugene served under him. His monument is by Pigalle (the sculptor of that of Marshal Saxe at Strasburg), and is not in good Margrave Frederick, although Bishop of Utrecht, is represented on his tomb clad in armour, but with a mitre

taste.

An

on his head instead of a helmet. other of the family, Leopold William, also fought against the infidel, in token of which his monument (one of the best in the collection) is supported by Turks, chained. He was the colleague of Staremberg and Montecucoli, and died at Warasdein in Hungary, 1671. At the E. end of the town is a Convent of nuns of the Holy Sepulchre: their dress is black, in sign of mourning; to be worn until the Holy Sepulchre shall be again rescued from the Infidels by the Christians. The sisters conduct a female school; the service in their convent chapel, aided by the voices of a female choir, is very impressive and pleasing.

The English Church Service is performed every Sunday in the Spital Kirche, at 11. English visitors usually subscribe towards the stipend of the clergyman.

Dr. C. Frech, a resident German physician, understands the English language and practice.

Post-Office. Letters arrive from and are despatched to Strasburg twice, and to Carlsruhe once a day. A letter sent viâ Paris, will reach England in 5 days from Baden.

Extra-post. The post-master is entitled to charge 15 kr. above the usual sum for every horse sent out from Baden.

Hired carriages, donkeys, and ridinghorses are to be had in abundance during the season at all the principal inns. About 2 or 3 in the afternoon, they collect at the end of the avenue leading to the Conversations Haus, to await employers. All the charges are fixed according to distance, by a printed tariff (taxe).

Excursions. A stranger cannot be at a loss for excursions: let him follow almost any path leading out of the town, and he will find it a pleasant walk. One of the most agreeable, and usually the first taken, is that to das Alte Schloss (2 miles, an hour's walk), the conspicuous ruin which rises out of the woods on the summit of the hill above the town. A carriage-road, commencing behind das Neue Schloss, leads up the hill to it in zig-zags, but