Cochem The Winneburg Beilstein Carden Moselkern Schloss Eltz - Baldeneltz Sayn Weissenthurm Hammerstein Ehrenburg Coblentz Niederwerth - The Andernach Schloss Arenfels Rheineck - Rema THE RIVER OF THE FATHERLAND. "Chiefless castles, breathing stern farewells, From gray but leafy walls where Ruin greenly dwells." WHERE Ehrenfels looks down upon the little Mouse Tower at Bingen, begins the true castellated Rhine. Here the great river enters the majestic gorge that has given the noble stream most of its fame in weird tradition and picturesque beauty. For seventy-seven miles from Bingen northwestward to the Seven Mountains the Rhine winds through successive ravines and. chasms, breaking down the rocky ridges crossing its path. Ancient ruins replete with history and myth peer down from almost every cliff and headland; time worn towers float the German flag that tells of centuries of story and exploit. Throughout all the generations for more than a thousand years of chronicled records, this wonderful river of the Fatherland has made a most profound impression. Victor Hugo wrote that "Father Rhine is the stream of warriors and of thinkers." Longfellow, after he had explored and studied its scenic magnificence and impressive history, and the proud people along its shores, gushed forth in an expression, truly telling its inspiration: "Oh the pride of the German heart in this noble river!" We follow down the Rhine, still among the fortresscrowned heights. The current swiftly flows, bearing on its bosom all sorts of vessels, sailing and steaming, with frequent timber-rafts, bound to Holland and a market. Dykes are occasionally built to improve the channel, and so prolific are the stories told, that every cliff, town and island seems to have its tradition. Just below the ruined Ehrenfels castle is Assmannshausen, where the Rhine flows too swiftly for the village to maintain a pier. Here grow the best red wines of the Rhine, upon vines that were originally brought from Burgundy, the vineyards terraced upon the steep hill slopes facing the river. RHEINSTEIN. A little way below, on the western shore, rises the imposing Castle of Rheinstein, now one of the homes of Prince Henry of Prussia, the brother of the German Emperor William. This was long a ruin, but has recently been thoroughly restored and refurnished to again produce a fifteenth century castle, with the added adornments of old armor and pictures and modern stained glass. Prince Frederick of Prussia, who directed the restoration, is interred in the chapel. When the castle originated is unknown. It is mentioned as early as the thirteenth century, and for a long period its owners exacted a "Jew's toll," compelling every Jew who passed along the river to pay a fee, while there is also a traditon that little dogs were kept, which had been trained to single out and seize upon every Jew among the throngs of passing trav |