fels, we see to the left, and on the opposite shore, the ruins of the Mouse, which we have just past ; and farther up the river, at the head of a broad expansive opening, is the Cat* (die Katz,) another fortress in decay.

Now imagine all these-mountains, river, town, castles, rocks, and steeps, clothed with tangled brushwood, and the shattered pinnacles blazing with the glory of the majesty of the noon-tide sun. They presented to our gratified gaze a picture of surpassing excellence. Our vessel ploughed past the scene, but never will it be erased from a cherished remembrance.

Much as the tourist may have been led to expect, he cannot but feel surprised at the vast number of castles which continually meet his eye during the voyage of the Rhine. At every turn of the stream a ruin appears, and so profuse are they in several places, that, as at St. Goar, three may be seen at once. As the river sweeps round the promontories, the eye, at length expects, as a matter of course, a new object of the kind, and the delighted traveller cries with Macbeth,

"What! will the line stretch out to the crack o'doom!"

Now Rheinfels was the most powerful nest of the

*The hills in the neighbourhood of the Cat produce excellent wine.

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HISTORICAL MEMS.

Rhenish banditti; for nothing superior were the lords of the Rhine in the olden days. Every chief got what he could without troubling his conscience about the means; and while the Cat pounced upon all prey within his reach, the Mouse was not a whit behind him in seizing smaller fry. At length matters reached such a height that Count Thierry, of Katzenellenbogen, the occupier of Rheinfels, took it into his head to compel all vessels ascending or descending the river, to pay him toll. Sixty of the towns of the Rhine opposed this act of violence, and besieged the castle, without effect, during fifteen months. Baulked in reducing so strong a fortress, they formed an alliance with other more powerful towns and princes; and this was the celebrated "First Confederation of the Rhine."

Then commenced a general demolition of the smaller castles, whose lords had hitherto lived by open robbery and plunder. I believe, however, that the Rheinfels was never subdued by this powerful league; which itself, at last, fell in the unequal struggle against the territorial lords, who invaded the independence of the towns.

At the bend of the river, at the base of the Katzberg, the channel becomes contracted between high cliffs; and here the scenery is wild and savage. The river, rushing against a bank, is driven over a concealed ledge of rocks, and forms an

LURLEI-BERG-SEVEN SISTERS.

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agitated series of rapids; in the midst of which is a whirlpool, dangerous to boats, but more so to rafts. Both rafts and vessels are sometimes dashed to pieces by being driven in the direction of the old town of St. Goarshausen, which is perched upon a rugged bank at the foot of the rapids. Rafts are generally preserved by the following precaution. A large trunk of a tree, called the Dog, is attached to the left side of the raft, and, on approaching the gulf, is loosened in such a manner as only to remain connected with the prow. The trunk is soon swallowed up by the whirlpool, which draws it with so much force, that the raft is gradually attracted to the left bank, and thus kept in the proper direction. Above this dangerous pass is the Lurlei-berg, a huge misshapen mass of basalt, which, connected with the foaming waters, forms one of the wildest scenes in the day's tour. There is a remarkable echo here, which repeats fifteen times; and, while we were passing, a man on shore fired a gun, but from the noise of the steamer's paddles, and the turbulence of the contracted river, we could not distinctly hear the reverberations.

There are seven rocks visible above the water at this place, called the Seven Sisters, or Virgins, (die sieben Jungfrauen.) The peasantry believe that seven sisters, who inhabited the castle of

Stromberg, were, for their prudery, transformed into these stones, as a punishment; where they must remain until some powerful enchantment shall dissolve the spell and the stones together. This legend forms also one of Planchée's collection. The scenery in this neighbourhood is of the same character as that between Tintern Abbey and Windcliff, on the Wye. The town of Oberwesel, with its singular tower and fine old Gothic church, was now revealed to us. Above, on a rugged mountain, were the ruins of Stromberg castle. The name is familiar to English ears, as its brave possessor, Freidrich, of Schomberg, died fighting for our religion, at the battle of the Boyne, in 1690.

The Rhine at Oberwesel presented one of the finest scenes we saw-the river hemmed in by rugged mountains-the town, with its beautiful church, built by Baldwin, Archbishop of Tréves -the height of Martinsberg, groaning under crops of vines-and, above all, the castle of Schomberg, on its isolated hill, throwing broad masses of shadow upon the water.

In addition to these interesting details, we commanded a view of the fortress of Guttenfels, the town of Kaub, and the Pfalz tower, at the head of the expanse ; and a few minutes brought us among all these objects. Were I not weary of using su

perlatives, I should aver, without fear of contradiction, that the eye of man could scarcely look upon a more superb assemblage of beautiful parts forming one magnificent whole, than that witnessed from the Rhine at Kaub.

The castle of Guttenfels can only be reached by a number of small flights of steps. Its demolition occurred in 1807. It derives its name from Guttenfels (Rock of Guda) from the Countess of Guda, whose beauty rendered her a favourite with the Emperor Richard. William of Hesse Cassel besieged it in vain in 1504. A point of rock at one corner of the castle is shewn as the place where Gustavus Adolphus gave his orders, during the thirty years' war, to attack the Spaniards, who had taken up a position there.

Kaub contains 1350 inhabitants, who are fully occupied in commerce. When we were there, several large vessels were lying at the shore. The wine made at Kaub is ranked among the best of Rhenish wines. Blucher passed over the Russian and Prussian armies here, January 1, 1814.

The most singular thing at Kaub is the castle of Pfalz, built on a rock in the middle of the river. Its architecture is very peculiar and striking. There is little doubt but that it was once a gloomy prison, as a number of dark dungeons are shewn in it. There is a well in the rock beneath the