Foreign Correspondence

PaBIEÍTEIBCHEIí, NEAE IUNSBBtrCK, ) August 15, L872. s J 11 my lust I guve you some account of a vísit tu the oastloswhioh lienearSoden, and ifc must have occurrcd to you thut sonio grcat ohange hiis pnsF(il over a I country where these iino ol 1 ruinK aro so t'requontly faund, as throuhout the mountain ranges nnd prcipitou rivur bunks of noarly all Gtermany. It -waa u peculiar condition of Boeioty -which led to thoir eieotion at sueh a vast expénditare of labor and arohitectaral or rather engineering skïll, in sites uiilUuult of acoesa and d pparently from tho ordinary sources of woalth. And when that oondition p.ifseil away and law beoaino stiongor than individual caprice, and order was recognized as moro valuablo to the raauy than tho equivocal protection guaran t.ju:l by robber1 bn: then the necessity for theao fortifcüs fa passcd also away. Ko longei needed fot protoctioifand clufenso, they soon beottme mi insupportublö expense r.s more plaoes of residenoo, un.l iic-noo, with ioaroely au exceptio'.i, tboy were abaudentd, and for two Oenturies past, m most cases, tho uuimpedod. work of deeay and disintsgration n going on, leaving to ourday tho ruins v.'hich t'orm BO jnoture8:juo a foafcure n Germán scenery. aud wbiofa, ai last, tho greater wealth and c.üturcd tasto ot' later times begin to think more worthy of preservation. Hat whila giving 9OU1O of the attractivo surroundiugs oí Ibis littlü village, which v.-ill forover iiil HO uniniportant placo in niemory, I must briuHy givo tho roaults of our lirt podestrian exporienoo. Fot niany daya the Feldberghaus whioh crowiirf tlio very suiuinit of the highest peak of tlio Taúnus mountain rango, had cxoitcd a deeire to pay it a vi3it. Accordingly ono pleasant Saturday morning wc gtarted, tuking the road to KoTiigutüiii, three miles, wliere we stoppod to tako a view of thocastlo and to eat onrJuucÜ at a dizzy huight upou cno of its terraces. Wo were udvieud that a guido wonld bo i . . f wu took the neareí way, by footpath across che moadows, so wo followed the wagon road round and rouud iu a gradual ascent, until at last, aí'tor a valk oí' sonio five or six iniies t'i-oui K., wo joyfully but woaríly olambcred up the final steop, and sfool iu iull viow of a líiiidsoape estending the cutiré circuit of tho distaní zon, euibniuing oiiü hundrod and flfty cities and villages, reaching to the wald on tho South and the Siobengebirgo on tho nortln;::st, west to the moantü:ns of the ilos'jile, and inst to tho Inselberg and Spcssp.rt, with tho wide valley of the Main und part of tho Bhino. Such a view, embraciug so muoh deiiaely populatod and woll oultivatod country, is not often soen in a life-time, and wo thoroughly enjoyod it, sitting with maps outspread upou a singular upheaval of quartzose rock, tlirust as it were abovo tho somewbat lcvol plateau around. This rock, by tko way, having been historically mentioned in t!jo year M: as the Branhildeugtoiii, gave au air of romaneo to the situation. Mueh as this elevation of L!,8S3 foot raisod ik ubovo ordinary daily tbiugs, we took a tolerably good dinner ut the inouutain house, left uur ñames and Amurican reaidemc on t'no Btrangera' book, with sonio original roniark?, and bogan our descent, without a guide, by the footpath leading direct to I''alktmstein. It was u son; trial to tho joints and muscles of the lower extremitiea to step down at au angle of about 45 degroee, for a fuil mile, before any chungo of tuaion could bo fait, but wo finally rcachod a moro grado, and passing through the delightful forest aroiind the gray ruius of Falkenstein and along tho slope of Alt-Koenig, in fair view of its strango doublé wall of ouoircling stonos, vu arrived at our rooms about 8 o'jlw'k L'. M., after a walkofsom ia!!. These rails upon AH-Kd'nig aro a puzzle to tha curious antiquavian. Tho High King is o. conioal niounttiin quito ijointcd and iiesvrly as hih as tlio Qreat Foldborg. A short distanco from tho summit, down the sido and completely around it, is a gigantic wall of looso stones, of all shapes and sizes, oareleasly thrown together and I in snch quatiHties thai they must, in largo part, have been transportod thither elsewhere than frora tlio summit. And to inoreaso tha wonder, a few roda lower down is Btill another himünr wall, not quito so largu nor so well preservad, but ovidently part of ono design. Tho oonstruction of theso singular wallshns boon, by some, attributed to tho Eomana, by othors to tho aboriginal iuhabitants, either as a place of worship or of refuge. Thora is no appoaranoo of masonry, yu' the labor involvt-il in amasaing suo'_ an I enonnous quantity of stonp;, in thj doublé circumfureuco of bo high n mountain, whoso sid-:s aro deo.iácdly stdp ti not precipj.tous, seums almost iuconecivaoie. Thus ended one of our foot excursious. . . We had contomxjl:: ing IIouiburg in tho name way, but oircuiastances preveated. Bxouraiona by railweremore easy, :in:l 1. will close idl lotter with a brief account of a day at llayenco and Wieebaden. títarting from Sodoa on the 7 o'clock traiu, wo madü a close conneotion ut Hcchst with tho through U-iu, and had a fino viuw of tha calt.' ■im wine district along tho road, and so:u reached Oastel, a sViongly fortified place opposite Mayenee. lakú ferry bont over tha Bhine, wo found thtoíd man collocting tickets to havo been at some time ii resident of California, v e bagan at onoo our siglit-seoing. The ! cathedral wo again iuapectud with even 1 greater curioity than two months bofore, ïho namber nud elaborato chamofer of tho monuments whiob cover tho columns flll the uiohea, adorn tho waile, constitute altur uieoee, stand beforo the shrines and )■ oven th pavetnant of this imUy wouderíul, ana luany of theru are works of exquisito art in sculpture or carvmg, datod all tho way from 1357 to tl, day. AVo looked with curions interest npon. tho tablet to tho wemory of Fastrada, third wifu of leuiagno. who died. at Frankfort in ad this tablet bcing preservod from ! the c.huroh deatroyed by fin was replacnd huro in this oathedral. "VV'o 'obtuined pormission to viuit thu Cliapter houss and cloi.storH adjoining, und here again were fllled with amazement at tha wonderful richness of tho oathedral in its monuI'. Araong those whiuh lined tho three nidos of the arcado, enclosing the oi oourt, wad that exeouttd by Schwunthalor to (Jonnt von Meissen, who, a labora in behali'of the Virgin and ot' fciualc yirtue, was suruamed Frauespraise." Ita design, a bea'utif ui fomalo figuro of life eizo, dooorating a uüffiü with wreaths, is a most fitting exjirossion of that sentiment Tvhioh the ladioB ■ , souyht to exprees tor tho momory of Pranenlob. Tho monument to tho printur'a saint, Gutontyrg (in a plata oi' s:ime narao), who onco liveil ut ila. ■■ deiigned by ïhorwoldson, and ia, of course, above criticism. Uut to a person standing a few ::. front, it appearsas if tho bronzo wroath had somehow got glipped down over liis pyi s, giving a very oarelesa apio tha head. : tho city and through tho Gauthor gate, we lookod, with mingl '1 fselingg of romantic interest and a s-uae of the ridiculous, upon the repreti nis of two skulls carved in etono t in the solid masonry of tho city wiill. Thü logend they porpatuate is oneny use tins: In 14('J a dirhculty ■ iho Pope and Dethior, then bishop of Mayenoe, and tlio city was iged. Walderer, tho flaherman, was inelined to botray the city, wbilo tho dy ing wife and bis fair daughter Gertrudo sought to prevent it. A monk who canie 'o con ■ rife, joinod the conspiracy, and (ilao formad nefarious desigus upon the daughter, from sueoeeding in whicb, 'air girl's' lover rescaed her and offimed the monk. Tho lover, howover, was alsofaithless to the city, and .) plaaned that tho father Wal■ -houldbo tho watohman at thia ga te, vhilo f lio lover was to conduct the encmy m. Cúrtrudo happened to overhear enough to convince her of thia treaohery, and Khe resolved to savo tho city. Sho wout to tho iTionk to besc-ech bis aid, but he only sought to cavry out his personal designs upon her virtuo. Hho tore ■ rt U of (.'. vushüig into the dark street with tho cry " to arms ' tho enemy I tho cnomy ! but ül in vnin, the gato had been enterad and tho floree combat bogan. Womea fought as iiorcely ns the men, and tho bravo Gertrude feil pierced by an enemy 's lance. Treason had met with present success, but the punishmont of tho father and the over was soon sent by a highor power, i'he fathor went mad, tho lover preoipiatcd hirnself with the lifeless body of the uoblo Gertrude into tho Ehine. It was to oommemorate tho brave pntiiotism f the maiden and the trt'iichory of her over that tho two singular looking skcleton hoads wcro inserted iu the vuil - lookiug, ia ono of our party seriouely ini i. i, like two wasp nestu about ifty feot distunt froni ui We visited tho citadel, making a long circuit in tho hot suri, to reaeh thopartkïlar entranco prescribed by military rule. t i.s a formidable looking fortress, as indood tho walls aud alltha dofeuses of this city are. Tho moro especial object wc ïad in view, was to sec tho cclebratcd tein whiuh stands within the citaleL It is a singuhirly nncouth looking, rrogular monument of masonry, formed of mortar ii--.il Bmall stones and gravel, with an occasioaal block of the cuts tone, vhich onco iormcd the outsido, still adïoring to tho admirablo cement. The nterior is lined with cut stono nnd has a piral stinru-ay of stone ascending to the op. D'eprived of its outer casiug of gianitt, evidently for a very long period, he presorvation even oí' its present imit condition seeras remarkable. It vas erocted just beforo tho Ohristian ora, is described by Lentonius, by tho 2d and 14th Roman legiona when ststioned here, in honor of their general, Drusus. It stands upon a considerable natural elevation and is itsolf 45 fuot high, aflording a very tine view from ite top of the entire city aud a wido oxtent of tho surrounding country. As we sat thci oonversing with the intelligent offioer who had accompanied us with a light, inroply totho questions we propounded ho remarked, pointing in tho direction of Paris over tho liilli, that in epitü of all her defenses it would have gono hard with Mayenco had ihc Fronch been ablo to Becuro o ig upon thoso distan t huls, such are now the iuiproved methods of attack. ermana aro iiew making 3Ietü thcir future stronghold. In tho aftcruoon, recrossing tho Rhine upon the long bridge of boat.s, and a fiao one it is, wo visitod Woisbaden, a 9o min; ido from ■ AV. is a boautiful city of hotels nud boarding 1: upon the most comprehensiva pealo. Uut it Í3 doubt ful whether she gaming tables do nut constitute its great attraction. We epent two houra in the gorgoous rooms dovoted to this purpo ie infataation of ir:nost strikingly displuyed in tbo interest and terrible i id mon and women, young men and maïdens, romained for houra at these tables risking their gold and silver upon the fatal b card, whichevery two minutes made win oi underotand tho droadful passion of play, who bas not witnessed the SCeues ot' gauibling huil at a Germán Sm. All this is to end, uowever, with ■ Evor vours,