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The public buildings and houses of this city as we now see them, gives us but a faint idea of its former grandeur, and we could but distinguish one house among the entire, which might be fairly styled the representative of former architectural eminence. It is the inn Zum Ritter, situated in the Market Place, near the Church of the Holy Ghost. Its structure dates from 1592, and it is surmounted by the statue of a knight, and in its richly decorated façade, ornamented with images, heraldic devices, &c, may give the tourist some idea of the character of Heidelberg's architecture, in the days of her ancient greatness.

The Church of the Holy Ghost.-In this edifice are entombed the ashes of many of the electors and Counts Palatine of Germany. All the magnificent monuments formerly erected in it, were destroyed or mutilated by the French, in 1793. This church has also been the subject of a long contest between the Protestant and Roman Catholic sects, both claiming possession of it, for the purposes of public worship. This dispute was terminated by its being equally divided between both; and now, beneath the same roof, are celebrated the service of Rome, in all the grandeur of its mystic and ceremonial pomp, and the liturgy of the Reformed Church in the purity of its unadulterated simplicity. And by it a beautiful lesson of christian charity is taught to the factious contentionists, who, in the bitterness of their fanaticism, forget that though kneeling at different altars, and worshipping by different rites, it is but the one God they venerate, and that charity is the foundation of all religion. And it is worthy of record, that the Electoral Court was removed from Heidelberg to Mannheim by one of the electors, in consequence of a quarrel with the townspeople, who resisted his attempt to deprive the Protestants of this privilege, though he offered to build them a church of their own. Doubtless the English tourists will think it an extraordinary thing,-a strange tale-Catholics and Protestants worshipping in the same church; and yet they will meet with other instances of the same kind, both in Germany and Switzerland; and thus from that land, where Luther translated the scriptures, intolerance and bigotry have been banished.

Church of St. Peter-This fine old church

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can not fail to attract the tourist, because of its antiquity and memorable historical tradition; connected with the fact of Jerome of Prague, the companion of Huss, having attached to its door his celebrated theses-an exposition and defence of the reformed doctrines, which he preached upon and maintained to a multitude of hearers assembled in the church yard. Here, likewise we see, simple as beautiful, the tomb of that wonderful woman, Olimpia Moreta, who to the exalted grace and rich beauty of a woman, added the intellectual greatness and learning of a philosopher. Driven from her own sunny land where persecution followed her steps as a heretic she was forced to fly Italy, and together with her German husband, settled in a house at Heidelberg where she delivered brilliant courses of lectures to crowded and applauding audiences. As we look upon her grave, and recall her memory, we cannot fail to be deeply interested by the recollection of her more than earthly style of beauty; her misfortunes, literary acquirements, and early death, all of which conspire to illumine her tomb and sanctify her aches with a brightening halo of peculiar interest.

The Castle is finely situated on a rock overlooking the Neckar, and its beautiful and fertile valley. It looks an imposing ruin, exhibiting the twofold character of a fortress and a palace, and was in remote days the residence of the Electors Palatine. This venerable ruin so varied in its styles of architecture representing the tastes of several centuries, so highly interesting in the combined details of its history and chequered fortunes, and so beautifully attractive by its picturesque situation, has been thrice burnt, and devastated on ten occasions by the horrors and barbarism of war, which however did not destroy its vastness, nor the relics of its architectural grandeur. Its ultimate ruin was accomplished in 1764, when it was struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. It is now roofless and but a collection of red stone walls. It is approached by a steep and strong ascent, winding on the side of the Necker, and by a carriage road from the rise. The Electors Bardolph and Rupert are said to have been the founders of the oldest part of the building. It still exhibits the appearance of a fortress of the feudal ages, and from beneath the archway we yet see projecting

The Friedrichsbau,

the teeth of the Portcullis. built in the early part of the seventeenth century, and probably named after the Elector Frederick who erected it, is richly decorated, and the façade to the south of the inner couri of the building is adorned with statues, finished as exquisitely as though the artist had to work from Carrara marble instead of the red stone (keuper) of the mountains of Germany. This part of the building of the Elizabethan style, overhangs the river, and extends along the east side of the quadrangle built by Otho Henry in 1556. The English traveller must be deeply interested by the round tower, in which were the apartments of Elizabeth of England, daughter of James I., and grand daughter of Mary Queen of Scots. It is the most complete ruin in the vast edifice, and the ivy yet climbs over the portion of the mossy wall which at present remains. The wallflower and the briar are in its innermost recesses, and the ivory turned pillars of the triumphal arch, erected in honour of her marriage by her husband Frederick V., Count Palatine, afterwards king of Bohemia. The garden attached to it was laid out for her pleasure, and is yet called Elizabethen Pforte. The council room in which her unfortunate husband consulted his nobles about accepting the crown of Bohemia is still pointed out. Elizabeth remained outside the door in an adjoining chamber. She demanded to know the decision, and when he hesitated to accept the crown, this ambitious woman exclaimed, "If you refuse to be a king, you are not worthy of having married the daughter of a king. Let me rather eat dry bread at a king's table than feast at the board of an Elector;" and it would appear as if the spirit of destiny hovered near her in the air as she uttered these words, and recorded them as to be verified in the book of human fate, for she lived not only to eat, but even to beg the bread of charity with her children, "but she would be a queen!" In the cellar of this castle is the celebrated Heidelberg Tun. Its demensions are 36 feet by 24 feet, and it is the largest wine cask in the world It is now long since it was used, and longer since the merry waltz went round in triumph on its broad summit. It is capable of containing 800 hogsheads, and is said never to have been filed but once. It has been out of use aitogether since 1769, or very close on a century,

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The tower called Der Gesprengte Thurm, which served as one of the defences of the castle, though undermined and blown up by the French, did not fall to pieces, but fell or slid into the ditch, where it yet remains in a compact mass.

The Gardens and shrubberies surrounding the castle, and originally planned by the engineer, Solomon de Caus, are delightful in the extreme, whilst the terraces and elevations afford avariety, of most interesting views. In the remote dis. tance may be traced many a brilliant winding of the Rhine, sparkling like a golden stream in glorious sunshine, as it is joined by the Neckar issuing out of its vine clad valley, and winding through a plain of the greatest fertility. Towers and spires proclaim the haunts of busy men in many cities and villages lying out in repose before you, whilst the landscape itself is bound by the bosges mountains lining the distant horizon.

However it is from the extreme point of the terrace projecting over the Neckar, that we obtain the best general view of the castle. But a view from one point would ill repay the tourists visit when we consider the imposing magnificence of the old ruins, and the grand, yet soft sweet beauty of the surrounding country, The heights on the right bank of the Neckar, approached from the end of the bridge by a steep path, or from Neuenheim by a more gradual ascent, should be ascended by the tourist. The hill fronting the town reached by the path called the Philosophers' Walk will afford a good view, as will also, in a more extensive way the Heiligenberg, a hill between the valley of the Rhine and the Neckar. This was the point chosen by Tilly to open his trenches in the thirty years war, and on its top we see the ruins of a castle.

A lovely inn called Hirschgasse, standing fifty yards or so above the bridge is the spot where the students duels are fought, sometimes at the rate of four or five a day.

The Königsthul is the loftiest hill in the district standing to the rise of the town and castle. A very extensive view may be had from its summit, which may be ascended in an hour or two's walk, or by carriage. A high tower has been erected on the spot, and the visitor would do well to ascend it and enjoy the grand prospect it commands. Beautiful indeed is the panorama, including the Rhine and the Neckar, the Odenwald and Haardt mountains on the west, the Taunus,

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the ridge of the Black Forest, the Castle of Eberstein, and the spire of Strasburg Cathedral ninety miles distant. The sun rising as witnessed from this hili is decidedly magnificent, conveying to the spectator an exhibition of celestial grandeur well worth contemplation. Never can he forget the golden ocean, irradiated by thousands of spiral shades of starlike brilliancy from which the monarch of the day emerges on wings of fire illumining up the entire extent of his eastern territories. Persons anxious to witness this glorious spectacle should pass the previous night at the inn near the top called Kohlhof.

Above Heidelberg the banks of the Neckar afford many delightful excursions; the one to Neckar-gemünd six miles off, from whence the tourist may prolong his route to Neckar-Steinach (Inn Die Harfe.) Two miles from the castle and approached by a road overhanging the Neckar, is seen the Wolf's well, a pretty secluded spet. Here the enchantress Jetta who first foretold the greatness of the house of the Counts of the Palatinate, was torn in pieces by a wolf. Close by is a good inn, celebrated for its trout and beer. The road along the margin of the road leads hence to Heidelberg, Two miles on the road to Darmstadt we meet with the little village of Handschuhsheim on the Bergstrasse, where there is a famous collection of Mexican antiquities. Dossenheim, two miles from this last village, is famous for its cherries.

On the right bank of the Neckar we see Neuenheim, a small village. Opposite, on the railway station, is a house in which Luther lodged on his way to Heidelberg, in 1518. Droskies can be hired for excursions through the town and suburbs.

Eilwägen to Heilbronn in 7 hours;to Stuttgard in 12 hours; and to Wurzburg in 15 hours Daily Railways to Mannheim, stopping at Friedrichsfeld, the junction of the Frankfort and Darmstadt railway. The Baden railway, Heidelberg to Bâle, branches to Baden-Baden and Kehl (opposite Strasburg,) trains to Carlsruhe in 1 hours; Baden 3 hours; Kehl 5 hours; to Freiburg in 7 hours; to Haltringen, 4 miles from Bâle, in 9 hours. Tourists will find the 2nd class carriages comfortable and respectable.

Steamboats on the Neckar to Heilbronn in 13 or 14 hours, descending in 7 or 8.

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ST. ILGEN Station-Quitting this station, the railroad is carried through a flat plain, bounded eastwards by a range of hills, and the country through which it passes south of Heidelberg has none of the beauty of the Bergstrasse.

WIESLOCH Station: here is a mineral spring and a state prison called Kisslau, formerly a ducal palace.

LANGENBRUCKEN Station: (Inn: Post.) A small place with 1,300 inhabitants. The mineral springs here range in temperature between 50° and 60° Fahrenheit, and are strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen gas and sulphur. The sulphur baths are well constructed. There is a table d'hôte and music. BRUCHSAL.-Inns:

Poste.

Bradischer Hof. Zahringer Hof.

Has a population of 7,500, and was formerly the residence and property of the prince-bishops of Spires. It chief curiosities are the episcopal palace near the gate leading to Frankfort, and the church of St. Peter, with the tombs of the last bishops. Travellers for Munich and the Tyrol leave the railway here. Railway from Bruschal to Ludwigsburg in progress. The line from Bruschal to Stuttgart is joined at Illengen by the line from Carlsome to Stuttgart.

UNTERGROMBACH Station.

WEINGARTEN Station.-A beatiful village, with, a population of 3,000 souls, where we yet see the ruins of the castle of the lords of Schmalenstein. Not far from this village lies the ancient Schloss-Buehl, or the place where justice was publicly administered in the middle ages.

DURLACH Station, with a population of 5,000, was once the capital of Baden-Durlach, ana the residence of the Margraves of that branch of the reigning family since 1771, when the Baden-Baden line became extinct.

In the palace gardens are many Roman autiquities, such as altars, milestones, obliterated bas-reliefs. The ruins of the palace or château is now used as a cavalry barracks.

Eilwägen from here to Wildbad in 6 hours. Passing GOTTESAU to the right, a castle built in the ancient style, which at present serves for an artillery and cavalry barracks, we arrive at the Carlsruhe Station.-Inns :

Golden Cross, reasonable, highly recommended.