round room, in the Gothic style, containing a number of curiously devised scriptural figures. It is used for the commemoration services of the passion, on Good Friday. In the sacristy are some very curious relics, Brabant lace, and a beautiful mantelpiece. The cupboards or presses in the upper vestry-room will interest.

The Dominican Convent, now a cotton factory, stands upon a little island, once a Roman fortification. In it is shewn the spot where Huss' stone prison, now removed to the Kaufhaus, stood. The church, chapter house, and cloisters, form very picturesque ruins.

The Hall of the Kaufhaus will be ever memorable as the place within whose portals was held the famous Council of Constance, in 1414-18, consisting of thirty princes and cardinals, four patriarchs, 20 archbishops, 150 bishops, 200 doctors of divinity,

and a host of other secular and clerical dignitaries.

The readers of history are familiar with the acts of this council, which deposed the infamous John XXIII. and Benedict XIII., electing Martin V. instead. No time can ever obliterate, nor blot out its infamy and horrible cruelty in sending to the stake Jerome of Prague and John Huss. Their unprincipled and treacherous seizure and barbarous murder, will ever remain as incentives to execrate and detest the memories and principles of the civil and ecclesiastical monsters who sent them to the faggot, an d condemned them to torture. Though centuries have rolled by since the crime was perpetrated, the murder is not forgotten, nor the memory of these heroic men less enshrined in the affectionate respect of the high-minded and just, because they were murdered for the sake of a principle.

The curiosities of the hall are the chairs in which sat the emperor and pope, Huss' bible, a model of his dungeon, the car on which he was drawn to execution, the figure of Abraham, that supported the pulpit in the minster, and other relics of the council, besides a collection of Roman and German antiquities. Parties are charged 1fl. for admission.

The house in which Huss had apartments is seen in the Paul's Strasse, near the Schnetzthor,

М

He was imprisoned first in the Franciscan, but was soon conveyed to the stone dungeon, in the Dominican convent. In the suburb of Brühl, outside the town, is the field in which he suffered death with heroic fortitude. The spot is shewn where the stake was placed, and earthen images of Huss and Jerome are offered for sale.

In Constance was negotiated the treaty of peace between the Swiss confederation and Sigismund, of Austria, and signed at Aarberg, in July, 1415. The house behind the hotel Hecht, with the beautiful Gothic window, is that where the emperor lodged. The treaty of Presburg, in 1815, transferred Constance from Austria to Baden, and, since 1802, it is no longer an Episcopal see.

The navigation of Lake Constance is accomplished by seven or eight steamers, which keep

up à communication several times a day with the

principal places upon its banks. The traffic upon

this lake has received a considerable impetus from the formation of a port at Friedrichshafen, and the southern terminus of the Würtemberg railway; and by the completion of the Barvarian railway to Lindau, by which it is brought into communication with Munich and the rest of Germany.

The northern banks of the lake are flat; but the southern side presents a series of picturesque views, having the mountains of Appenzel and St. Gall, together with those of the Tyrol, in the background.

Excursions can be made from here to Reichenau, situated in the broad part of the Rhine, and famed for its monastery, founded by Charlemagne ; and to Meinau, 4 miles north, famous as being once the seat of the commandery of the knights of the Teutonic order. It is approached by a wooden footbridge, which connects it with the shore. From the terrace of the garden surrounding the house in which the commandery dwelt, some delightful views may be had.

Railways to Zurich, to Schaffhausen, to St. Gall, to Donaueschingen, to Bâle, and to Freiburg.

Steamers to all the ports of the lake, corresponding with diligences, at Rorsrach, at Friedrichshafen with railway for Stuttgart, and at Lindau, with that to Munich and Augsberg.

162

ROUTE 32.

Freiburg to Schaffhausen.

By the Höllenthal.

Distance 57 English miles. Eilwägen dailyone direct in eleven hours; the other by Donaueschingen, follows the rail from that place.

The route is accomplished through the imposing Höllenthal (i.e., Valley of Hell), which presents the appearance, at its opening, of a flat and fertile plain, enclosed amid sloping and sylvan hills. Nearing the ascent, its original width becomes slowly contracted; and at about 42 miles from Shaffhausen, assumes a magnificently beautiful shade of romantic grandeur. Its woods, rich in foliage, cover the steep sides, from which proiect sharpened fragments of rock, rugged and naked, having running at their base the Dreisam, whose banks are verdant with turf, and studded with mills. The scenery here will impress the mind of the tourist as partaking of a majestic wildness, blended with a picturesque beauty; Steig and Hirschsprung are the spots most remarkable for the exhibition of this wild and rugged grandeur On the journey we pass

Burg, remarkable from the fact that in 1796, Moreau accomplished a retreat with his army. Ninety-four years previous to this, Marshal Villars was deterred from attempting this pass, saying that he was not dare-devil enough. enward way we meet

On our

[Route 32.

Steig, a post station, where the traveller may enjoy good accommodation, on reasonable terms. Here a steep slope of the road leads the tourist out of the Höllenthal, and leaving it, he parts with the most striking scenery. At this juncture an extra horse is required, for the ascent of the Höllesteig, for which 1fl. 12kr. must be paid. Opening in the distance is Himmelrich, or Kingdom of Heaven-called so, we presume, from the very elevated position of the country constituting it. Passing Lenzkirch and Bondorf, (19 miles from which is the magnificent Benedictine Abbey of St. Blaize), we arrive at the top of the ascent, from whence may be had a magnificent view of the Lake of Constance. Close by is the castle of Hohenlupfen; and a little further on after passing Stühlingen, we cross a stream, and journeying on a distance of 11 miles we arrive at

Schaffhausen and its Falls. See BRADSHAW'S Hand-Book to Switzerland. We now enter Switzerland, famous for her mountain strongholds.

The palaces of nature, whose vast walls,

Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalp
And throned Eternity in icy halls

Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls
The avalanche-the thunderbolt of snow!
All that expands the spirit, yet appals,
Gathers round the summit as to shew

How earth may suar to heaven, yet leave vain

man below.

[Freiburg to Schaffhausen, a pleasant two days' journey on foot.-R. S. C.]

I.

Population, 22,000. Hotels:

Hotel and Baths, The Four Seasons (Vier Jahreszeiten), is a first-class hotel, equal to any on the Rhine.

Hotel Victoria, facing the Station, comfortable and clean.

Rose Hotel and Baths, first-rate and reasonable; very respectable; Messrs. Alten and Haeffner, proprietors.

always a good company of players during the season, at which period also, concerts and exhibitions are given by artists of celebrity from other towns in Germany, or from London. Across the road is a grass enclosure, bordered by avenues of limes, and on the other side a colonnade for shops. At the extremity stands the Kursaal, an edifico which contains a magnificent saloon for balls and public assemblies, with smaller apartments for

Rhine Hotel, a large new one, opposite the Station, in a fine garden.

Adler; Poste; France; Grunerwald.

The capital of the Duchy of Nassau is encircled by low cultivated fields, behind which on the north and north-east rises the range of the Taunus mountains, clothed with pine and other trees, the dark foliage of which forms a pleasant relief to the verdure of the valley, and the white buildings of the town. Wiesbaden, through the residence of the Duke and the seat of government, is still indebted to the celebrity of its waters for its prosperity, and the influx of visitors to it, which amount annually to upwards of 15,000.

The old part of the town presents nothing particularly remarkable, but the appearance of the Wilhelm's Strasse, a handsome row of new houses fronting the promenades, is striking. It is called a city of lodging houses,' almost every house being appropriated to the accommodation of visitors.

The Kurhaus der Vier Jahreszeiten, one of the most extensive hotels on the Continent, forms a corner of the Wilhelm's Strasse and one side of a square, on the opposite side of which stands the new Theatre, a neat building, where there is

ment for the season, though the inhabitants of the town are prevented from risking their money. Gaming is carried on in the salle all day and night, and it is calculated that there is lost at these tables annually 275,000fl. The ground around the Kursaal is laid out as a public garden, adorned with shrubs, flowers, &c., and sheltered by acacias and other plants. Thither all betake themselves after dinner to sip coffee, smoke, and listen to the band; music is always in attendance during the afternoons in the season. From this pleasure ground an agreeable path is continued by the side of a streamlet up the valley of Sonnenberg as far as the ruin of the ancient castle of Miln from Wiesbaden.

Nothing has been left undone to render this town the most frequented watering place in Germany the walks and drives are pleasing and varied, and from the rising grounds the Rhine, with Mayence and other towns on its banks, is seen to advantage. From five to six and eight in the morning, and again in the evening from about six to seven, visitors assemble to drink the waters. They re ceive their draught at the well in 'boiling hot state,' and promenade, glass in hand, a long avenue of acacias, until it is cool enough to drink, after which those so disposed usually bathe.

Its tem

when the Promenade is cleared at about eight o'clock. This boiling spring is called Kochbrunnen, and presents all the appearance of a boiling cauldron, in a state of angry ebullition. perature ranges at 56° of Réaum, equal to about 156° of Fahrenheit. Besides this there are thirteen other springs in the town, all of which are of a very high temperature. These waters are now carried off to the Rhine, and so powerful is their heat that they keep warm, and never permit to freeze that portion of the river with which they first mingle.

The heat of the weather in July and August is at times very oppressive, and thunder storms are not unfrequent, but the evenings are generally fine and pleasant, and the air on the hills light, agreeable, bracing, and well calculated to remove the oppression caused by the atmosphere of the valley, from its sheltered position. Wiesbaden possesses a good winter climate for Germany, and is drier than that of Baden.

The Schlosschen (or Little Palace) has an excellent public library, containing 60,000 vols., and a museum or cabinet of antiquities, among which is a curiously carved altar piece, the bronze top of the standard of a cohort of the 22nd Legion, and a bas-relief representing the young god, Mythras, in a Phrygian bonnet, sacrificing a bull, surrounded by mythological figures, and surmounted by the signs of the zodiac.

The Theatre opens at 6 p.m.

Strangers are admitted to the Casino on being introduced by a member.

English Church Service is celebrated twice every Sunday.

Conveyance: Eilwägen daily, to Schlangenbad, Schwalbach, and Ems (see below); to Ems and Homburg by rail.

A Ducal Hunting Lodge-Die Platte-stands in a conspicuous position, on an elevated ridge of the Taunus, and usually forms a pleasant excursion for strangers. The apartments are tastefully fitted up with furniture, chiefly made of stags' horns, and several fine pairs of antlers hang around the hall, as trophies of the late Duke's achievements in the chase. From the roof a splendid prospect is obtained of an extensive tract of variegated country, including the course of the river for

several miles, and the chain of the Bergstrasse mountains, with the woods of the Taunus and Wiesbaden lying immediately beneath.

The Convent of Klarenthal and the Fasanerie (Pheasantry), a little to the left of the road, will repay a visit.

At Biebrich is the duke's château. See Route 22, where all the interesting places on the Rheingau, between Biebrich and Rudesheim, will be found described.

Railway from Wiesdaden to Mayence in 16 minutes, thence in one hour to Frankfort-on-theMain station.

EMS, in Nassau.

A Station near Nassau, on the line from Coblenz
and Oberlahnstein. Population, 4,000.
Hotels: Hotel d'Angleterre; Four Seasons; and
Hotel de Russie.

Ems, or Bad-Ems, is beautifully situated on the right bank of the Lahn. It consists chiefly of a long range of houses built against hills, which rise steeply behind it to a considerable height. The side of the valley is so narrow that there is barely space for the road and public promenade between the houses and the river. The situation of Ems is eminently beautiful, and the neighbourhood possesses several objects of interest, to which excursions are usually made on donkeys, which are here numerous and well conditioned, and without which many of thevisitors would be unable to ascend the steep hills by which the valley is enclosed.

From this narrowness of the valley there is a want of free ventilation, the air is exceedingly oppressive and relaxing in July and August. The donkeys are posted close by the bridge of boats, and are hired for 40kr. an hour. Ems, though not able at all to compete with Wiesbaden. yet boasts a magnificent Kursaal, situated on the verge of the Lahn, and erected by the Grand Duke. It contains a café and gaming halls, and a ball-room. All the gambling tables are to be suppressed.

The King of Prussia was here taking the waters when pressed by M. Benedetti, the French ambassador, for his ultimatum about Prince Leopold and the throne of Spain, which preceded the declaration of war, 15th July, 1870.

The Kurhaus stands in the centre of the town; on the ground floor, which is a large vaulted and