studded at intervals with chapels or stations, such as usually line the approaches to a place of pilgrimage. Hochkreutz, erected by an Archbishop of Cologne, 1331. About one mile from this, to the right of the road, are the brown coal mines and alum The church was formerly attached to a convent of Servites. It was built, ❘ works of Friesdorf. The stratum here worked is, in fact, a forest, buried in an early period of the world's existence, and now converted into lignite, or brown coal. 'The trunks of trees are intermixed with clays and sands, and exhibit all the stages from fossil wood in which the vegetable fibre and texture are quite discernible, down to bituminous earthy coal fit for burning as fuel. Many fossil fishes and freshwater shells are found in these beds. Associated with the coal is a stratum furnishing the ingredients for extensive alum works. "The alum of commerce is a compound of sulphuric acid, potash, and aluminous earth, and all these substances are obtained on the spot, from materials found in contact with the alum clay. The sulphuric acid is formed by the action of air and 1627, on the site of a very ancient chapel; and boasts of possessing, among its curiosities, the sacred stairs which led up to Pilate's Judgment Hall, still bearing stains of the blood which fell from the wounds caused on the Saviour's brow by the Crown of Thorns. This, at least, is the Catholic tradition concerning them, even though the very same stairs are shown at Rome, under the name of Scala Santa; and no one is allowed to ascend them except on his knees. A trap-door in the pavement leads into the vaults under the church; they are remarkable for having preserved in an undecayed state, the bodies of the monks buried in them. They lie in 25 open coffins, with cowl and cassock on; the flesh in some is preserved, though shrivelled up to the consistence of a dried stockfish; ❘ moisture upon iron pyrites (sulphuret they are, in fact, natural mummies. They have been interred here at various times, from 1400 to 1713. The church is annually visited by numerous pilgrims, chiefly the rude peasants of the Eifel. The other agreeable expeditions which may be made from Bonn are to: 1. Godesberg, on the road to Coblenz, and the Alum Works at Friesdorf; -2. The Drachenfels, and Siebengebirge, with the ruins of Heisterbach on the opposite side of the Rhine, described further on; - 3. The Lower Eifel (Route XL.); -4. The valley of the Ahr (Route XXXIX.) The two last highly interesting and seldom explored. ASCENT OF THE RHINE CONTINUED. (1.) Soon after leaving Bonn * the road passes a Gothic cross called * Post-road. The road quits Bonn through an archway under the Electoral Palace, of iron), previously gently roasted, and the potash from the ashes of the brown coal used as fuel in evaporating and crystallizing the alum salt." H. "The same mine furnishes a fine potter's clay, which is used in making the conical moulds employed in refining beet-root sugar, which is extensively manufactured hereabouts."-P. At Pützburg, near Friesdorf, gigantic trunks of trees, sometimes ten or twelve feet in diameter, occur embedded in the strata. The earthy brown coal worked here affords the valuable pigment known by the name of burnt umber, or Cologne earth. (1.) About five miles from Bonn, but considerably farther inland, behind the village of Plittersdorf, is the village and ruined castle of GODESBERG. Inns: Blinzler's Hotel; - Hotel Bellevue, both very good. "The Bellevue is a very spacious hotel, having been built as a Kur Saal, by the last Elector of Cologne, who projected establishing a watering place at Godesberg, but was prevented by the French revolution. The prices at the Hotels are: Dinner at table d'hôte, 15 S. gr. in private, 1 Thaler; - Table wine (Ober-Mosler), 15 S. gr. - Breakfast and tea, 10 S. gr. - Bed, 15 S. gr."-P. Donkeys in abundance ply for hire near the hotel, to convey persons up to the castle, or on any of the other excursions in the neighbourhood. Godesberg, a village of 1000 inhabitants, on the high road, is, on account of its agreeable situation, one of the most charming places of summer residence on the Rhine. Near it is a mineral spring, called Draitscher Brunnen. Shaded paths wind round the hill to the ancient castle on its top. It was built by the warlike archbishops of Cologne, 1212, on the site of a Roman fort, and served them long as a trusty strong hold, till the Bavarians took it and blew it up, 1583, because it held out for the Protestant Archbishop Gebhard Truchsess. The tall cylindrical Donjon tower commands one of the most beautiful prospects on the Rhine. Godesberg is a little more than one mile distant from the Rhine. It is a convenient point for making excursions to - 1. The Kreutzberg, if it has not already been visited from Bonn. 2. The brown coal mines and alum works of Friesdorf, p. 236.3. The volcanic hill of Roderberg. 4. The Seven Mountains. The nearest way to them is to cross the Rhine by the ferry-boat to Königs-winter, at the foot of the Drachenfels, where the traveller will always find guides to conduct, and donkeys to carry him, if required, to the summit. This excursion may be lengthened profitably, by ascending the left bank of the Rhine as far as Rolandseck, p. 239, and, after exploring its ruined castle, crossing in a boat to Nonnenwerth, and then dropping down the river to Königs-winter. This excursion will not take up more than a day, and is decidedly a very interesting one. 5. The short tour up the valley of the Ahr, p. 249, may be made from Godesberg, as well as from Bonn. - 6. "A visit to the Abbey of Heisterbach may be combined with the tour of the Seven Mountains, but is better made separately - crossing the Rhine at Rüngsdorf (1 mile from Godesberg), by the ferry (rt.), to Neider-Dollendorf. The Abbey is distant between 2 and 3 miles from the Rhine. A carriage-road leads to it. The pedestrian, after passing Ober-Dollendorf, will proceed by a wooded path into the Petersthal, a secluded valley at the base of the Petersberg, one of the Seven Mountains, in which the Abbey lies. A fragment of the choir alone remains to attest its ancient magnificence. The building was sold for the materials by the French in 1806, and the greater part has been pulled down and removed. It was built between 1210 and 1233. The beautiful fragment which still exists is carefully preserved from further decay by the Count Von der Lippe, its present owner, and well deserves the stranger's attention. As no conveyances are to be had at Dollendorf, those who cannot walk must take donkeys from Godesberg." - P. (rt.) THE SEVEN MOUNTAINS, Siebengebirge. The group of hills so called, though in reality more than seven in number, forms a grand commencement to the beautiful scenery of the Rhine. They are the highest and wildest on its banks, entirely of volcanic origin, and consist of lava, trachyte, and basalt, ejected through the rocks, which form the basement of the surrounding country, by subterraneous eruptions which took place previous to the existence of any human record or tradition. The names and heights of the seven principal summits are as follows : - Stromberg, 1053 feet; Niederstromberg, 1066 feet; Oelberg, 1473 feet (the highest); Wolkenberg, 1055 feet; Drachenfels, 1056 feet; Lowenberg, 1414 feet (commanding a view considered by some superior to that from the Drachenfels); and Hemmerich. They are almost all crowned with the ruin of some ancient tower, chapel, or hermit's cell, which add much to their picturesque features. The trachyte rock of the Wolkenberg is quarried to a considerable extent as building stone; it abounds in the mineral called glassy felspar. The most interesting of the whole group, from its shape and position, but more than all from the verses of Byron, is the famed DRACHENFELS (Dragon Rock), whose precipices rise abruptly from the river side, crowned with a ruin. "The castled crag of Drachenfels (named), killed, as it is reported, by the horned Siegfried, a hero of the Niebelunglied. Near the top is a monument to the soldiers of the Prussian Landwehr, belonging to the town of Königs-winter, who fell on the spot, during the passage of the Rhine in 1814; and a tolerable Inn, where parties may dine, and those who wish to enjoy the sunrise from the summit, find comfortable sleeping accommodation. The ruined fragment on the summit is of remote origin, and was once the seat of a noble race long since extinct, named after the mountain on which they dwelt. They were dependent upon the Archbishop of Cologne as feudal superior, and seem to have chosen this situation for their castle from the Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine, facilities it afforded them for spying, Whose breast of waters broadly swells at a distance, the merchant's laden boat, or labouring waggon, and for sallying down to pillage or exact tribute. "And peasant girls, with deep blue eyes, The view hence extends down the river as far as Cologne, twenty miles off; upwards, the Rhine is shut in by rocks, which, however, are very grand, while Bonn and its Univer Through green leaves lift their walls of sity, with old castles, villages, and farm-houses almost beyond number, fill up the foreground of the landscape. The ruins on several other summits gray, And many a rock which steeply lowers, But one thing want these banks of Rhine,- of the Seven Mountains are remains of castles of the archbishops of Cologne. In that which crowned the Löwenberg, the reformers Melanc thon and Bucer passed some time with the Archbishop Herman Von Wied, who afterwards adopted the reformed faith; and his successor, the Protestant archbishop, Gebbard Truchsess, took refuge here, with his beautiful wife, Agnes von Mansfeldt, 1585. (1.) In the neighbourhood of Mehlem is the Roderberg, one of the most interesting extinct volcanoes on the Rhine. Its crater is circular, nearly a quarter of a mile in diameter, and 100 feet deep. It is now covered with fields of corn, The sides are composed in many places of tufa and ❘ phine with Napoleon, on their behalf, scoriæ, exactly similar to that found on Vesuvius. This crater is connected with the ridge on which stand the ivy-mantled arch and turrets of (1.) the Castle of Rolandseck, This ruin receives its name from a tradition, that the famous nephew of Charlemagne chose this spot because it commanded a view of the Convent of Nonnenwerth, within whose walls his betrothed bride was immured. He lived here a lonely hermit for many years, according to the story which has furnished the subject of one of Schiller's most beautiful ballads, "The Knight of Toggenburg." The scene, however, has been changed by him from the Rhine to Switzerland. It is somewhat unfavourable to the truth of this story, that the castle is called, in the oldest records where it is mentioned, Rulcheseck. It was originally a nest of robbers, whose depredations rendered them the terror of the vicinity. The Tower of Roland is recommended as an admirable point of view for surveying the Rhine. The bold and precipitous rock of Rolandseck, composed of prismatic basalt, with its scanty and mouldering baronial fortress, is a most striking object from the river, and taken together with the Drachenfels on the opposite bank, serves as a fit portal to the grand scenery which lies above it. It projects so far forward, that the high road has barely room to pass between its foot and the brink of the Rhine. There is an inn at the foot of the rock of Rolandseck. Exactly opposite, and in the middle of the stream, is the island of Nonnenwerth (Nuns' Island), so called from the large building upon it, embowered in trees, once a nunnery, and the asylum of the bride of the unfortunate Roland, now a very good hotel. It is only with in a few years that the nuns have departed from this establishment. The amiable intercession of Jose is said to have preserved to them the possession of their ancient retreat, at the time when the other religious establishments on the Rhine were secularized by the French. The nunnery has been converted into an inn, but still remains in the condition in which is was left by its former inmates, the cells of the nuns forming the bed-rooms of the guests. Those who seek an agreeable retirement in the midst of the most beautiful scenery, under the shadow of the Drachenfels and Rolandseck, will find here good accommodation and reasonable charges, with gardens occupying a large extent of the island; and fish dinners of tench, carp, and eels, not a little renowned, together with the convenience of setting out either up or down the river by means of steamers every day in the week. (1.) Oberwinter, a village through which the road passes. The greater part of the road from Rolandseck to Remagen may be said to be literally quarried in the rock. It was begun by the Bavarians, continued by the French, and completed by the Prussians. The Romans, however, have the credit of laying the foundations of this noble highway, as was proved by remains turned up by the modern road-makers, such as coffins, coins, and a Roman milestone, the inscription of which proved, that under Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, A. D. 161-180, a road had been already formed here. (1.) Opposite the village of Unkel is the Unkelstein, a hill composed of basaltic columns, resembling those of the Giant's Causeway. They are found both in a horizontal and vertical position, and extend far into the bed of the Rhine, where they formed an obstacle to the passage of timber rafts, until the rock was blown up by the French. As it is, the current of the Rhine rushes with tremendous force and with loud roaring past the Unkelstein. The basalt affords the ments, on which account it is extensively quarried. Sect. IV. best material for roads and pave- | behind commands a fine view; it (1.) Apollinarisberg, a wooded height, surmounted by a church and convent, conspicuous for its white walls. It is named after a Saint, whose head is preserved here as a relic. The lower part of the interesting Gothic church dates from 1121. At the foot of the hill lies (1.) 24 Remagen. Inn: König von Preussen. The Rigomagum of the Romans is a town of 1400 inhabitants; it has nothing of interest to detain the traveller, except a curious carved gateway leading to the Pfarhof, close to the church, executed, probably, at the end of the xi. century, which may be seen while the horses are changing. During the construction of the high road, many Roman antiquities were dug up here. (rt.) Opposite Remagen rise the black basaltic precipices, 700 feet high, called Erpeler Lei. The ingenuity of man has converted these rocks, which would otherwise be barren, and are almost inaccessible from their steepness, into a productive vineyard. The vines are planted in baskets filled with mould, and inserted in crevices of the basalt. By this means alone is it possible to retain about their roots the earth, which would be washed away by every shower, were this precaution not taken. (rt.) The blackened walls of the ruined castle of Ockenfels. Below it lies (rt.) Linz; an ancient fortified town, surrounded by walls of basalt, part of which are still standing; it has 2200 inhabitants. An Archbishop of Cologne built the tower still standing near the Rhine gate, to enforce the payment of tolls on the river, and to defend the place Irom the burghers of Andernach, who were engaged in almost perpetual feuds with him and the townspeople of Linz. The church on the height contains some curious monuments of the noble families of the neighbourhood, and one or two ancient pictures of the German school. (1.) The river Ahr issues into the Rhine opposite Linz. The very in. teresting excursion from Remagen, up the valley of the Ahr, is described in Route XXXIX. (1.) 1 Sinzig. Inn: Die Krone. At the distance of about a mile from the Rhine, but traversed by the high road, was the Sentiacum of the Romans. The parish church is an interesting Gothic building, in the style which marks the transition from the round to the pointed Gothic, dating probably from the beginning of the xiii. century. According to an obscure transition, it was near this spot, that the cross appeared in the sky to Constantine, on his march from Britain to Rome, and assured him of a victory, whose consequences were no less important than the establishment of Christianity and downfall of Paganism. There is a rude painting representing this event in the church; and in an adjoining chapel, a natural mummy, called the Holy Voght, carried to Paris by the French. (rt.) The château of Argenfels, the Stammhouse, or cradle of the family von der Ley, is seen in the distance behind the ancient village of Hönningen. (1.) The village of Niederbreisig (1.) The castle of Rheineck, consistingof a watch-tower and a castellated residence adjoining, has lately been rebuilt, at a lavish expense, by Professor Bethman Hollweg of Bonn. The design of the original edifice has been followed as far as possible in the restoration by the eminent architect Von Lassaulx, (1.) Brohl, a small village, with an inn affording tolerable accommodation, at the mouth of the stream and valley of Brohl. It possesses a papermill, and several others moved by the |