Bingen On The Rhine

F.H.i.s of the Riiixe, July 29, !S!)5. We we re nearing Binden wlien I closed ray last letter. Bingen on tlie Kliine, of whieh song and poetry have toldsoniuch, was a bitter disappointment. Tlie river. to be sme, makes a beautiful curve l.ere but tlie town is a dirty, evilsmelling place with oíd, decaved buikfings not even picturesquely antique. Everything is awry and the people all have relatives in America - at least everyone we talked with or asked a qnestion asaured us of that fact firdt. I think myself that it is a good place to èmigrate irom. We left the town and the Rhine because the road makes an air line for Mayence. For a mile, we toiled up a hill at whose summit we gained a grand view of the Rhine valley. Such an expanse of country - beautiful scenery too - I never saw at one time' At least 20 villages and cities were in sight and all the rest unbroken farming land with the silvery Rhine threading its center. Tlie wind was behind us and away we sped on tliis table-land to wliich we had climbed. All went well until we saw a tree loaded with black cherries and that caüsed an unavoidable deiay. The obstruction having been partly removed we went on and soon coasted three miles into MAYEKCE. Here our travel wora appearance i cited mufh inirtlior else the inhabitánts are very pleasant and laughter loving. Every place ot interest which we visited tost its attraction for others and we becaine the object of comment. The Cathedral and Citadel was interesting. The latter especially because it was foünded in the year 9 B. 0. Bat what we saw was, ou the whole, not of interest to you in far off America and 1 must basten to teil our experience when we left Mayence. WE PAID THE FINE. As we passed through the first town, called Hocheheim, we chatted happily and rejoieed that we were in a couple of hours to be a,t rest in Frankfurt where friends were to entertain us for several days. Tiie very cobble stones which are always on the main streets of towns, seeined to jolt less than usual. 'e passed thein and were just spurting along on good roada when a huge officer in blue clothes, brass buttons, and met, hailed us. This minion of the law was actually seven feet tall and he looked ten feet as lie stood stern and solid before us. "Sie haben ke in nummer" - "You have no number," lie said We said, "No, "but why should we?" "Come with me," he said, and we carne. ' I put on niy American nerve and told him who we were and what doing and after giviug him good proot, informed him that we could not talk much Germán. II' went unyieldingly along, reached the burgmeister'a office and motioned us to enter. When inside lie motioned us to remove our bats. We did. He told our awful siu to hia chief and this imtnoible stupid drew from bis desk á monster book, began at the be gining and slowly turned the pajjes until he reached the 87Oth, and asked me if I could read. i said "Yes" and proceeded to my first lesson in Germán law. I finally discovered th.it, sinfully and criininally, we had ridden bicycles through the town witliont numbers. Six niarks was the fine au as I knew that I might as well remonstrate with a i steam engine I paid up at once. Alas, not all. He motioned ns to wair, drew out a multitude of papers wrote upon six for iny case nul six for iiavry's and kept five and gave one. They were receipts and evidences of our deprfvity and shame. We had lost two liours, six raarks and were inforiued fchat we must walk through all towns or jret a number eaeh time. One and one-half marks for each license. Crestfallen and weary we rode between towns and walked through until at last we reaehed PRANKFURT. There we walked the whole length of the townand bitterly watched the Biniles of the pólice. Bnt our haven of restrepaid the toil we endured. Good Gemían hospïtality, the best cookiug we had ever known and hearty sympathy made ns optomistic again and we declaredthat the world was not all bad after all. We saw the town and delighted in ita antiquity. There are reminders of the Romans and of Charlemagne, of Gutenberg and Goethe. The latter's birthplace is a very interesting oíd mansión. There is the old bridge at whose center is the cock, put there, as legend has it, mse the arcitect vowed to sacrifico the first living creature which passed and the unfortunate rooster made the first trip. The Romer or town hall is the scène of the choice oL niany an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.. Then, the original house of the Kothchilds in the Jewi-1) quarter. We entered the ohl cathedral while the morning services wére in progress. The odorous incensé, the low, solemn chant, the reverent tiptoing of the worshipers nnd the organ tones soimdiiiK through the vast nave and transept united with our knowledge of the awe inspiring history of the church to impress us cleeply. We remembered the crowning of the emperors there and imagination reproduced tlie ceremony for us. Xo one can go to Frank furt without seeing the marvelous work of the sculptor Dannecker. "Ariadne and the Panther." One afternoon we went to the Palm Garden, pride of the Frankfurter, and then were persunded to drink apfelwein and eat pretzels. Apfelwein is simply eider, case hardened. We were dizzy after one glass and gave lip in disgrace for it. is a weakness in Frankfort mot to drink apfelwein is freely as water. We could not ride onr wheels while in Frankfurt without a lícense and we found tliat to the Kast a bicycle was a curse. In every sinall town, we must get a Méense or walk. Then, too, we must have a bel!, alantern, and abrake. Our plan was to ride to Dresden, Prague and Munich and then through Switzerland hut these facts CUANGED OUK PLANS and we resolved to ride sotuta and get out out of the land where to ride a wheel was the mark of Cain. A Germán bicycle ready for use is a thing to marvel at. It looks like a eo;ich and four. First the wheels are lieavy, tlicn loaded with a large luntern and a brake, i bulky cyclometer, and a huge bell, a steel mud guard for both front and rear wheels and a tin projecting with a number. Besides this, a Germán wheelman out of town always has a large packet strapped to his back and goes along at the rate of a horse-car. Needless to say thatladies don't ride in this land, at least we have notseen one since we entered Gerinany. There are so inany sliarp stones in these otherwise really good roads that our tires are badlv cut. My rear wheel has been patclied on the outer tube until it looks like a buzzsaw as I ride. The patches are curiosities, rags, pieces of leather and jraments of old trees. But we shall still go marching on.