Foreign Correspondence

Frankfort, July 16, 1873. Fhiund Pond : Taking the rivor steanier trom Dresden we proceeded at once to Wehlen, a. very pleasant ride of about four houra and landing us amid the grand scenery whioh wg wished to visit. We started without delay up the narrow valley and ascended first the wild gorga known as the Uttewalder Grund, which tor about a mile leads between the towering sand-stone rooks whose singular formations constitute the great characteristio of this entire district. A babbling brook, with its frequent waturfalls and singular contortions tuuong the rocks - the irregular pathway leading us now up, nuw down, sornetimes beneath the overhanging ledge or a quite perfect natural bridge, and always amid the profound stillness of tho forest excepting only the voices of other travelers, make a most enjoyable ramble. Here, as also throughout our three days trip, we found those excellent paths and conveniences for reaching the best points of view tor which the stranger seldom looks in vain wherever there is aught worth seeing in tjreraiany. Our path took us next up another and somewhat wider ravine, the Zocherregrund with similar wild sceuery of' rocky perpendicular cliffs, from 400 to 500 feet high, ornamented with the hardy trees whioh grow wherever a cruvice allowod their roots to find sustenance. A gradual asoent brought us imperceptibly to the upper level, and in a ehortdistanoe further throiigh the forest we carne out upon that famous lookout and range ot splendid cliffs, known as the Bastei, which juts out in a sharp projecting point to a vertical front 720 feet above the river at its base, and to the extreme vorge of which those who fancied could go with safety. It was indeed a dizzy height from which to lean trustingly over the slender looking iron balustrade ; but what a grand prospect lay spread out before and around us, ef the beautiful country upon the opposite side of the Elbe, with its singular sahd-stone islands rising abruptly from the level plain of greater or less size, but all several hundred feet high and often covered with evergreen on the top. The Lillienstein, ovor 1,000 f eet above the Elbe, had a dwellíng upon its lofty plateau, and upon the Pabstein, 1,200 feet high, was an inn to accominodate those who with or without a " banner with the strange devico," should cliuib up so far. This point exhibits a wonderful variety of singular freaks in the formation of sand-stone, there being fractures in every oonceivable direction - those which are vertido extending quite to the bottom and leaving a pathway through whioh a small porson could walk eaeily in one direction. Sometimes mere columns a few feet only in area thus stood erect, isolated from the main body, then again vast boulders rounded by the elements, would hang suspended ready to fall with the slightest impulse. The King of Saxony hascaused the erection of a picturesque bridge of masonry over a chastn by which we could reach other positions cf similar interest in 4-Vto awmA vicinitv. and whftrfi we found a rofreshtnent room and inn and a regular " Gideon's band," for wkose charming musio in such a place we had no ear. Having exhausted our first day amid these wild haunts of Nature we descended bv a steep winding pathway, aud aometiuaes by rudely formed steps in the rock, to the quiet little village of Rathen for our nights lodging - closing our exereise with a stroll at the twilight hour, along the banks of the inuddy colored Elbe. Our next day's excursión took us up the Amsel-grund, another of those deep valleys hedged in by the percipitous rocks on either side, and picturesque with cascades, forest flowers and suuless dells intermin gled along the way. Our gradual ascent again brought us to the upper level at the long village of-Rathwold, and for a mile along the open country upon the height we were surrounded by ripened har vest aud these very short gowned peasant women plying their natural vocations in the field. Woraan has her freedom to labor, cheerfully conceeded to her in Gerrnany. We now diverged to visit the Hockstein, towering above the beautiful Polenztbal,and directly opposite theHohnstein which rises across the profound ravine, crowned by an ancientcaatle, now a prison. It is one of the striking features of this scenery in Saxon Switzorland, that one is always surprised by the wouderf ui variety presented in their differing views. Each point has beauties peeuliar to itself and never palls. Here we had our first experienee in walking through a crevioe 3 or 400 feet deep, varying from two to three feet only in width. This enabled us to shorten the descent very ïnuch. Having at length reached the valley below we begau at once the ascent to Hohnstein, and it is hard to say which is the ruost agreeable (xercise climbiug up or clamberiug down ; both convey great satisfaction af ter they are finished. While dining about 80 students froni Dresden arrived on a day's tramp through this gion. j Our next point, took us across the open 1 fields again, upon the highway for the i most part, but delightfully shaded, till we carne near the " Brand,'' over a i sand feet high, but only a little above the i plateau we had just crossed. The scenery and view froni the Braud resembles that at the Bastici, with more of ragged wildness and lens of the cultivated plain in tho prospect. The particular suots named are but the central and prominent points of interest, the whole vicinity generally partaking of the peculiar characteristics of the place and affording many aspects of similar beauty. Once more descending we passed beneath a projecting shelf of rook extending over our path f rom 15 to 20 feet and for a distance several rods, and after a five days work arrived at the gtirring village of Seoandan, the customs station on the frontier between Saxony and Bohemia. The waters of the Elbe were of a deep copper, hue, owing to a storm which had prevailed a day or two before about its head waters and at Vienna as we wcre told. Next day we started up the beautiful Kirnitzthal, following for two miles a oharming hillside path which the citizens of Shandan have laid out and then the highway as far as the cascade at Lichtenheim. Ordinarily this is but a beautiful trickling fall of water, as a small rivulet finds its way to the valley, but its proprietors have improved(V) it by means of a dam and sluice so that for a few moments a poetess might speak of it as " a rush of waters." Our arrival waa just in time to see the exhibition whioh a grapher had gotten up to aid his camera in depioting Nature. Preceded by some boys on mules and a fat woman oarned on a sedan we wound our way upward and onward, and at length found ourselves in the presence of an upright wall of rock over 100 feet high, through which an archway 20 feet high and as many wide penetrated to a wide shelf upon the other side. ïhis singular place was called the " Kuhstall." Steps cut in the rock enabled us to clirab to the top, nearly 800 feet above the level of the Elbe, which is not visible here. It is supposed that in ages past the inhabitants may have protected themselves and their cattle by passing out upon the singular shelf referred to and barricading the arched way, and henee the name. It would be difficult to get at thera in such a place. A trio entertained all corners to this lovely nook with music on u, violin, harp, and guitar, and gracefully received gratuities for the same. We mot upon the top of the rock a young travoler whom we had saen at Berlín and had hini as companion tor the day. During the day we visitod the Kleiner and the Grosser Winterberg, the foraier a wild scène of rocky heights and lovely dales, the latter, the highest point we reached, 1771 feet and more characterized by its mountain aspect than by its preciptous character. lts top is a basaltic formation in which the columnar struoture is very distinct whether in masses or fractured. The landscape is opened on every side from the tower of ths inn and takes in a vast extent of this picturesque scenery. Just before our own arrival the Crown Prinoe with some other nobility had dined there, and in consequence we could not have cauliflower served for ourselves, at least that was the reason assigned- An hour more brought us to another wild RDot. the Prebischthor, 1,100 feet abovo the Elbe, and where the sharp rocky promontories were thrust out many rods, in ledges affording barely room for a good pathway upon the top till reaching the extremity a person stood some 300 oo 400 feet perpendicularly above the mountaiu side, which sloped rapidly down as many feet further. One of these ledges was pierced with an arched opening, 48 feet span, over whioh the natural bridge passed to one of the extreme points above noticad. There were several of these dizzy prominenoes for fool-hardy visitors like ourselves to rsk their necks upon, and nothing could exceed the wild beauty of the speotacle presented. Just befure reaching the place we carne around a mammoth boulder of nearly 100 foet diameter, and were amused by finding ourselves confronted by two harpists, an old man and -his wife, seated close together, KmUr Qvfrnitinti' nillKin. fnr 11S. It WaS ft lonely spot, yet there they lived in their bark cabin and in this way got a preoariOU8 support. We ended our delightfnl exour3Íon at Herrenskretohen that evening. The walk down, along the sweet vale of the Biole and through the Kamuitzthal was of the most pioturesque kind, commingling all the peculiar beauties and wilduess of a narrow richly cultivated valley bordered with forest ciad hillsides and lofty walls of sandstone, which sometimes poeped out above the trees like veritable castles. Crossing the Elba just at twilight in a small sail boat formed a fitting and very pleasant incident with which to close our delightful three days among the glens and rocks of this ing district. It seemed quite like a gmue of Fortune that we should have had three days of such splendid weather for our excursión. It waa just cool enough for walking and, without raining, the clouds obscured tbe sun so that we needed no protection from its too great brightness. Neither before nor after could we have hit upon so favorable time. Being now upon the direct line of railroad for Prague we concluded to take a look at that celebrated old city, stopping off for tbe night at Tetschen, a place of 4 or 5,000 inhabitants] situaied in a deliglitful región, one of the finest on the river, surrounded by lofty hills and noble foresta. The chatean of Count Them which crowns the eminence overlooking the village has no great, beauty, beiug a long, yellow looking edifice, ïnuch resembling a monabtery with towers at one extremity. Next moruing we took the train again at Bodenbach across the river where the cuatom house formahties tor , passengers 'is undergone. At one end of the long depot is the Austrain portion ' where tickets are bought for that kingdom, and in the otheris where we must go if we are getting tickets for Saxony, an awkward arrangement which bothered us on our return, compelling us to patronize both ends of the building when our time was limited. Here also we had to dispose of our surplus Austrain uhauge which is in no favor in Prussia, At Aussig, the junetion of the lineto Teplitz, we parted with our young Germán friend. and but a short distance further on had a view of the ruined castle of Schreckentein whose extensive wfills and towers I appear in exoellent preaervation upon the ummit of a rock whioh riaea abruptly ïom the river's edge to a height of three or four hundred feet. It was destroyed luring the Hussite troubles of 1426. Up ;o this point the scenery had been very attractive as the railroad route folio ws ;he river cksely all the way, but we now entered a far less varied and interreating Listriet and the valley of the Elbe exjands into a wide inonotonous plain, upon which the poppy was cultivated in ields of considerable size. It was somewhat singular that the variety uniformly grown as a erop bore white colored petals while the adjoining fields of grass and jrain were quite red with a self sown variety. The seed of the poppy is sprinkled jrofusely over the upper surface of the read served at the tables in this región and for what other commercial purposes used we did not learn. None of the stations passed possessed any great attractions, though almost every town and village has its interesting aasoeiations and reininiscences. The first jattle of the seven years war was fought at Lobositz in 1756, in which Frederick the Great participated, and at Eaudnitz where the country had become again uiore varied, is situated the castle in whioh Rienzi " the last of the Tribunes," was confined by Charles IV„ fn 1350. The prevalence of iron in the outcrop along the hills was quite manifest, and both eoal and iron appear to forni a large business at station Kradup, on the Moldau, a river that is larger than the Elbe where we left it, which is strange, for the former is but an affluent of the latter. Prom thence to Pragne the scenery was much improved by the preciptious banks and broken ridges of huls along the Moldau, and aftor crossing a viaduct nearly a mile in length and through the lone suburb of Carolinenthal we stop at last at the venerable city of Prague. For a long distance it had been quite manifest that we had entered into a new land. At the stations a new language began to be commingled with the Germán - in fact all the notices, names of stations and even the naines of streets were generally givenin three dialects - one being nearly the pure Germán, one quite sclavonic in appearance and the third somewhat different from either. This Sclavonic element beoame still more prominent at Prague where we had a better chance to observe the papers, advertisenients and showbills and even in the names of the people and of their ocoupations aa exhibited upon the sign boards along the business streets Ever yours, J. M, WHEBLER.