the surrounding hills. In the evening at sunset the view is most magnificent. This excellent site of the town is added to by the mild climate, inasmuch as the neighbouring mountains check the influx of the north-east winds, whilst the hot wells concealed in the bosom of the earth warm the soil. Baden was founded in the second cen

tury after the Christian era, and was the capital of the Decumatic Fields, and highly-favoured by Rome's Aurelian emperors. In 1389 the town was burned down by the French, like many other towns in the middle Rhine, when the residence of the Margraves was removed to Rastatt, in the flat plain of the Rhine. The Grand Duke has a villa there, which he visits at intervals, and resides at his castle at Eberstein in the summer. Queen Victoria at her visit stopped at Villa Hohenlohe. Baden-Baden is one of the most frequented watering places in Europe, and is considered by far the most beautiful of the baths of Northern Germany, even superior to the Brunnen of Nassau. The celebrated wells amount to thirteen; they differ in warmth, and the quantity of solids, from 150° down to 115° Fahrenheit. The principal spring for quantity or warmth is the Ursprung. It rises from a split rock near the hall, and yields every twenty-four hours, 7,345,440 cubic inches of water; and that it was known to and used by the Romans, appears from the remains of Roman masonry found here. Another well of 144° Fahrenheit, springs within a few yards to the left. It is used for scalding poultry, and on that account called the Bruehbrunnen, or scalding well.

Within a small distance of this issues the Höellenquell (Infernal Well), and other springs.

This part of the town is called Hölle (Hell), on account of its heat; and in cold weather snow never rests upon it, nor does any change of weather produce any alteration in the temperature of the springs. Pipes convey the water from them through the town to supply the various establishments. A kind of temple is raised over the chief spring, and in it are to be seen some Roman antiquities found in and near Baden, such as votive tablets, altars of Juno, Minerva, Mercury, and of Neptune, who appears to have been the patron of Baden and of this spring. In 1647 beneath the new castle, the remains of vapour

baths were discovered. A kind of canal conducted the water to a subterraneous chamber, 40 feet long and 20 feet broad, and from this, a large number of pipes conveyed the vapour to the bathing-room.

The Neue Trinkhalle, or Pump-room, a hall of drink, is prettily situated opposite the Ursprung, on the public walks. The superstructure is a design by Hübsch, and is certainly a very pretty building. It is formed by a long colonnade, and is ornamented by four frescoes. It offers a delightful view of the southern mountains. Pipes convey the hot water from the source, and goats' whey, &c., are sold. Visitors assemble to drink the waters at between half past six to half past seven, a.m., during which a band plays for their amusement. July and August are the season when the greatest number of visitors are at the baths.

The Promenade and

Shady

Conversationshaus, are situated on the left bank of the Oosbach. gravel walks intersect each other in all directions, and there are many spots affording rich and charming prospects. The Conversation shaus, or house intended for visitors to sit and talk in, lies in the background of a large green, bordered on either side by handsome chestnut trees. In the centre of the building rises the Hall for Conversation. It is 40 feet high, 126 long, and 87 feet broad, and is richly and tastefully decorated. Adjoining it are large rooms, for the accommodation of such as wish to refresh themselves. Here, till they were abolished, 1872, the gaming rooms were open all day. Crowds used to surround the rouge-et-noir and roulette tables, where the stakes played for were heavy, and increased as night advanced.

There is also an excellent gratuitous reading room and library, in the Conversation House, and another one, to which visitors can subscribe. In the left wing, opposite the Theatre, built 1861,

is a

Restaurant, where dinners, &c., can be procured. This building has also atached to it the library and reading rooms, where English and French papers are to be found. Visitors will have to subscribe for any length of time they may remain, in order to have access to the music rooms and balls.

The avenue leading to the Conversationshaus, is filled with stalls of traders from Switzerland and the Tyrol, and even from Paris; and in the evening, after dinner, the entire space is filled with chairs and tables, occupied by fashionable loungers, sipping coffee, ices, &c., and smoking.

As many as 50,000 persons visit Baden-Baden during the season, and the number of English

visitors is so large, that the place assumes the appearance of a settlement of our countrymen. From May to October, there is a succession of visitors from all parts of the world, who revel in all the luxuries of a capital, combined with the advantages of delightful walks, among the woods and valleys, forests and hills, around BadenBåden.

Artistes and actors of first-rate talent perform at the concerts and in the representations given at the Theatre, in the grand saloon of Louis XIV. The plays are written expressly for this theatre, and may be said to be performed before audiences of kings and princes. Tickets of admission to these performances are only given to persons specially invited by the Director of the Maison de Conversation.

The Oak Avenue, after the Promenade, is most resorted to, and the main road is crowded with carriages and horsemen through a summer's evening, and the paths on either side with pedestrians.

The Parish Church is remarkable as having within it the monuments of several of the Margraves, the most notable of which is that of Leopold William, and his Lady Francesca. The monument was supported by Turks in chains, to commemorate his feats against the infidels. Α monument of Louis William, by Pagelle; one of Margrave Frederick, who, though a bishop, is represented in armour, with a helmet instead of a mitre.

At the east end of the town is the Frauen. kirche; attached to it is a community of Nuns of the Holy Sepulchre, who have an educational institute connected with the convent, and are habited in black, a mourning to be worn until the sepulchre is rescued from the infidels. The church music is executed by the nuns, and

attracts, on Sundays and festivals, many strangers.

The neue Schloss, or New Palace, is seen above the highest houses in the town. This palace was the residence of the Margraves for more than three centuries, but was burned by the French in 1689, and was afterwards restored to its present form. As a building it is not at all

remarkable, and is only interesting from its situation and the Dungeons under it, which will be pointed out and shewn to the tourist by the Castellan. They are horrible, hopeless dungeons, such as will strike the beholder with sickening horror. They are entered by a winding stairs under the tower, and through an ancient bath constructed by the Romans. These dungeons were not so entered by their luckless inhabitants; they were let down a perpendicular shaft running through the centre of the building, blindfolded and secured in an arm chair. The vaults in which the tribunal sat in judgment are excavated out of the solid rock. The dungeons were closed by massive slabs of stone turning on pivots; several of them still remain. They are nearly a foot thick, and weigh from one to two thousand pounds.

In a vault loftier than the rest stood the instruments of torture; a row of iron rings, formerly part of the horrid apparatus, still remain in the wall and may be seen. In this chamber was the criminal sentenced to a cruel death, called la baiser de la Vièrge; he was desired to kiss an image of the Virgin placed at the further end. To do this, he was obliged to step on the trap door, it gave way beneath his weight, and he was precipitated to a great depth upon wheels covered with knives, by which he was torn to pieces. This dungeon with the fatal trap door was called oubliette; those who entered it were lost, they were indeed "oubliés."

In the Hall of Judgment there are yet traces of the stone seats of the judges round the wall. Behind the niche where the president (Blutrichter) sat is the outlet to a subterranean passage by which the members of the court entered. It once communicated with the old castle at the top of the hill, but is now walled up. A very trivial circumstance, it is said, led to the discovery of these terrible dungeons, which were found in a search for a little dog who fell through the plank

above; this pit when searched disclosed the fragments of wheels set round with knives, fragments of bones, rags and torn garments adhering to them. Tradition would also assign the dungeons as having been used by the Vehmgericht or sacred tribunal. The Vehm of Westphalia held its meetings in the open air. The meetings of this tribunal were held in the inmost recesses of the forest at midnight. Its members, who were called the Nessende, or wise ones, were chosen from among those judged the wisest, most virtuous, and

the bravest of the community. Nothing in history can be compared with it for the influence it exerted, and the terror it occasioned, unless it was the State inquisition of Venice. The greatest and most powerful princes and nobles were anxious to enter it, either for protection from their enemies, or to secure themselves against its power. It possibly for a time worked well, suppressing offences, and bringing criminals to justice who were above the reach of the law, but it could not fail in becoming an engine of cruelty and evil, horrible in proportion to its power and mystery.

A very good view, to be obtained from the upper part of the castle, is worth notice; together with the open shaft running from the top of the building to the bottom. It is divided into two by a partition, and it is supposed that the prisoner was wound up to the top by one side of the shaft and let down into the prisons of the tribunal by the other. It is also supposed that this shaft served to convey air to these subterranean dungeons.

English Church Service, every Sunday, in the Spital Kirche. English visitors generally subscribe for the support of the minister.

Post Office in the Lichtenthalerstrasse; open from 8 to 8.

Carriages, donkeys, and riding horses are to be got here plentifully at all the inns during the season. All the charges are regulated by a tariff according to distance. The postmaster is entitled to charge 42pf. extra beyond the usual sum for every horse sent from Baden.

The Excursions.-Scarcely a path presents itself that does not conduct the visitor through some pleasant and picturesque scenes, the principal of which is the alte Schloss (Old Palace), 2 miles off, a ruin rising out of the trees on the top of

a hill overhanging the town. It is approached by a ziz-zag carriage-road, but a shorter path is open to it for the conveyance of pedestrians and riders. The path is delightfully sheltered with woodland trees, and seats placed at intervals enables the tourist to rest himself when so disposed. An excursion may also be made over the mountains to the bath-town of Wildbad (Hotel Klump; Hotel Belle Vue), charmingly situated. It is distant 18 miles from Baden-Baden, and may be reached by Eilwagen. There are several good hotels, and the living is good and the charges moderate. Wildbad may also be reached by Carlsruhe by railway.

The Alte Schloss was the residence of the Margraves for many centuries, and was only abandoned by them in the fifteenth, when the abolishment of the right of private warfare enabled them to live with safety in the town where they built the new Château. The ruins lie on the northern ridge of the mountain of the old castle: the north-western point is built upon a rock of porphyry, and was probably the work of the Romans. The vegetation in these ruins is astonishing, especially on the western side. The maple and fir grow here to an immense height and thickness, and seem to derive nurture only from the light and air. The most interesting parts are the cellar-vaults, the Knights' Hall, the galleries running round its mouldering battlements, from which you can enjoy many delightful prospects, and the high tower on the southeast side, ascended by a stone staircase; from the top you behold part of the beautiful Rhine, the fore mountains of the Black Forest, churches, mills, innumerable villages, clustering in delightful harmony around sylvan and winding streams. Some wind harps were formerly placed in the upper walls, whose magic tones produced a singular effect in the ruins, especially in the dusk of the evening.

On the left you see a path leading from the gateway of the castle to Ebersteinburg, 2 miles off, and an old castle situated at the extremity of the village of the same name, upon an insulated rock, and commanding a splendid view. Good views may also be obtained from the Jagdhaus, the Yburg, 6 miles off, and the Mercuriusberg, 5 miles off, on the top of which is a tower, and to both of which places pleasant excursions may be made.

The Lichtenthal (Inns: Bär; Ludwigsbad).