The House of the Templars, in the Rheingasse, | smuggling trade to the left bank of the Rhine, is used as an exchange. The Casino is close to the Theatre, and has ball and reading rooms attached to it. In the house No. 10, Struengasse, was born Rubens, in 1577, and in it died Maria de Medici, in 1642. Of the environs of Cologne Deutz (Duiz Tuitium), a station across the river, connected with the city by a viaduct, deserves particular notice. The Emperor Constantine built a castle here in the fourth century, which is described in ancient documents under the name of Montmentum Dutienza. Deutz and Cologne were at that time connected by a bridge, which was demolished by the Archbishop Bruno in the tenth century, along with the castle. The works around Deutz were, at a later period, rebuilt several times, and for the last time demolished by the Austrians in 1673. Since Deutz is in the possession of Prussia, it has been again strongly fortified. There are four large workshops of the artillery, that are worth the notice of travelling military gentlemen. The late abbey of Benedictines lies on the Rhine, and has a charming aspect. It was founded in 1001, by the elector Heribert, a count of Rothenburg. The little town prospered by carrying on a under the French dominion. Bentzberg, the lat● Palatine chateau, lies 3 leagues from Deutz. It has beautiful allegorical and mythologica. platforms, painted by eminent masters; the views from the window and the cupola are particularly charming, and the horizon extends to 18-20 German miles. The individual spots that her. present themselves to the eye, are as various as they are pleasantly arranged. A trip from Cologne to the abbey of Altenberg will be found interesting. It is 2 leagues distant from it, in the direction beyond Mueheldeim in a beautiful solitary valley, on the banks of the Duehn, a considerable mountain torrent. A pleasant excursion may also be made from Cologne to Bruehl. Express trains from Cologne to Paris, morning and night in 15 hours. Railway to Dusseldorf, Hamm, Mindel, and Berlin; to Paderborn, Cassel, &c.; to Marburg, Giessin, and Frankfort; to Bonn, Coblenz, and Mayence; to Paris, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Belgium. For information respecting the Rhine Steamers see advertisements in BRADSHAW'S Continental Guide. The description of the journey from Cologne up the Rhine is continued in Route 21. SECTION II. THE RHI RHINE. THE RHINE RIVER. There are rivers whose course is longer, and whose volume of water is greater, but none which unites almost everything that can render an earthly object magnificent and charming, in the same degree as the Rhine. As it flows down from the distant ridges of the Alps, through fertile regions into the open sea, so it comes down from remote antiquity, associated in every age with momentous events, in the history of the neighbouring nations. It is formed in the Swiss Canton of Grisons, by the junction, at Reichenau, of two streams called the Hinter and Vorder Rhein, the former having its source in the Rheinwald glacier, the latter rising on the north side of Mont St. Gothard. After passing Mayenfeld the river enters Lake Constance (also called St. Boden-see) at Reinech. It bids adieu to the lake at Stein, which stands at its western extremity. It then flows past Schaffhausen, where it produces the celebrated cataract called the Falls of Schaffhausen. After passing Basle, where the Upper Rhine terminates, it flows past Breisach, Strasbourg, Speyer, Mannheim, Worms, Mayence, Coblentz, Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Wesel, and Emmerich, where it enters the Netherlands, and reaches the North Sea by several branches. In its course it passes through the following territories, viz.:-Switzerland, Baden, Bavaria, France, Hesse, Prussia, and Holland. Its principal affluents on the right are the Kinzig, the Neckar, the Main, the Lahn, the Buhr, and the Lippe; and on the left the Up, the Thur, the Aar, the Ille, and Moselle. From the source to the mouth, allowing its windings, the distance is 600 miles; the direct distance is about 360 miles. Vessels of from 300 to 450 tons go up the river to Cologne, those of 125 to 200 to Mayence, and those of 100 to 125 as far as Strasbourg. It is navigable by steamers from Rotterdam to Basle, but at present steamers only run as far as Mannheim. The beauties of the river lie between Aemagen (a little beyond Bonn) and Bingen, on this side of Mayence. The finest part of the river is, without doubt, that between Coblentz and Bingen. Passports are still occasionally demanded in Prussia, Bavaria, and other parts of Germany, especially at fortified towns; but the visé is unnecessary, except in Austria. The passport is likewise of use in cases of identification, and perhaps, sometimes, for admission into public buildings, and the traveller is advised never to be without one. A Foreign Office passport is most desirable, and may be obtained at a trifling cost. Innkeepers are bound to submit the names, professions, age, religion, and motives for travelling, &c., of all the visitors who may arrive at or depart from their hotels. And the better to ensure attention to this rule, a strangers' book, called "das Fremden Buch," is kept at each hotel, in which the traveller is requested to enter all the necessary particulars. Money.-1 thaler 30 silver groschen 3s. Od.; 1 florin = 60 kreutzer 1s. 8d. Wines.-The best wines of the Rheingau are those called Johannisberg, Steinberg, Rüdesheimer, Assmannshauser, Marcobrunner, Gräfenberger, Hocheimer, Geisenheimer, Hattenheimer, Razzenthaler, Winkel, and Bodenthaler; those of Rhenish Bavaria are Rupertsberger, Deidesheimer, Forst, Ung steiner, and Königsbach. Those of Rhenish Prussia include Engehöller and Steeg; those of Rhenish Hessen, Scharbachberger, Aiersteiner, Laubenheimer, and Liebfraumilch. The valley of the Ahr gives Ahrbliechert and Walporzheimer, and at Ehrenbreitstein is a good wine called Kreutzberger. Inns. In Germany the innkeepers are of a superior class in life, and generally of obliging and kind manners. They preside at their own tables d'hôte, and their conversation is almost invariably found intelligent and agreeable. Travellers intending to remain a week or longer at an hotel, should make an agreement beforehand with the landlord, who will generally abate one-third of the charge. Table d'hôte tickets can also be purchased much cheaper when taken by the score or dozen. In Germany, apartments in hotels are charged for according to size, accommodation, and the storey in which they are situated. AVERAGE CHARGES MADE AT HOTELS IN PRUSSIA. Thaler. Silver gros. Bed-rooms, varying according to size and situation, from 1 to 10 or 12 Frankfort, Nassau, Baden, &c. from 1 f. 12 kr. to 36 kr. to 1 f. 48 kr. TABLES D'HÔTE. 1 f. 1 f. 24 kr. to 2 f. 20 kr. 24 kr. to 30 kr. These prices do not apply to Austria and Southern Germany. 36 kr. to 48 kr. 18 kr. Average expenses of living for a party of six, not including wine, in Nassau, Würtemberg, and Baden: Breakfast, not less than......... ................. 4 florins' Dinner at Table d'Hôte, rarely less than I fl.; often 1 fl. 15 kr., or 1 fl. 20 kr. 6 19 florins a .... 3 day for six. 6 (1fl.=18.8d.) Servants can exact no fee, except the head waiter, who usually receives 5s. g.(=6d.) a day. Tables dHôte.-Hours of Dining 1 o'clock; in Germany 2 or 3 o'clock, and in Southern Germany as early as 12 o'clock. Supper is a family meal in Germany. Travellers on the Rhine should ask for Maitrink, a delicious spiced wine in great vogue during May. London to the Rhine, via Rotterdam. The Packets from London are now mostly new vessels of a very superior class, combining great speed-absence of vibration-and unexceptionable accommodation for passengers, including private state cabins for families. Places can be taken at the London offices of the companies from London for any towns on the Rhine, as far as Basle, at very moderate fares; and in booking throughout passengers have the advantage of being permitted to stop at any place they please on the Rhine, and of proceeding on their journey without the least additional charge. London to Rotterdam.-The General Steam Navigation Company's steamers leave St. Katharine's Steam Wharf every Wednesday and Saturday. Average passage twenty-two hours. Fares, 20s. and 15s. Return tickets, available for a month, 30s. and 22s. 6d. London to Rotterdam.-Fares, 35s., 25s., and 15s. Return tickets, a fare and a half, available all the season. The Batavier from Blackwall, every Saturday, at 11 mrn.; the Maasstroom, from Blackwall, every Wednesday, at 8 mrn.; and the Fyenoord, from off the Tower, every Thursday morning early. The Aurora, from off the Tower, every Saturday Morning. The Olga, every Wednesday. London to Rotterdam, via Harwich.From Bishopsgate Station, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Average passage 20 hours. Fares, first-class and saloon, 25s.; second-class and saloon, 20s.; third-class and fore cabin, 15s. Return tickets, 37s. 6d.; 30s.; 22s. 6d. Single tickets available one week; return tickets, two months. Hull to Rotterdam.-Fares, 20s. and 10s. Return Tickets, 30s. Every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Grimsby to Rotterdam (average passage, thirty hours).--Fares, annual tickets £2.; return, 30s. Single tickets, 20s. and 15s. Every Wednesday and Saturday. In the maritime provinces of Holland, there are neither mountains nor hills to relieve the eye from the monotony of one flat surface; and when viewed from the top of a tower or steeple the country appears like a vast marshy plain, intersected in all directions by an infinity of canals and ditches. The prospect is not however altogether uninteresting, though wanting in what we deem the first features of picturesque beauty, as it exhibits vast meadows of the freshest verdure, covered with numerous herds of cattle. The numerous barks passing in every direction also tend to enliven the scene, and the close succession of farms, villages, and towns, shew at once the industry and wealth of the country. The Maas (French, Meuse), is the estuary which conducts the greater portion of the waters of the Rhine and Meuse into the sea. At its mouth there is a bar which causes vessels much difficulty to pass especially in a low tide, when there is only seven feet of water to sail in. Entering the Maas, we see to the left the Hock van Holland, a sandy bank stretching into the sea. To the left we see Brielle, a fortified town of small dimensions, situated on the right bank of the river as we ascend the stream. It is. celebrated as being the birth-place of Admirals Tromp and de Witt. At this point the vessel is boarded by the officers of customs, who examine the ship's papers, and close the hold of the vessel. At the outbreak of the Dutch war of liberation, it was taken from the Spaniards by the Dutch in 1572, William de la Marck commanding the Water Gueusen at the attack; the tercentenary of which event was celebrated 1872. It was one of the cautionary towns delivered to the English in 1585, in whose hands it remained until 1616. At this point we find a ferry across the Maas. We arrive at the entrance of the New canal, which is 5 miles further up than Brielle. This canal has proved an invaluable aid in the navigation of the river. It bisects the Island of Voorn, and enables vessels of large burden to avoid the risk incurred by entering at the mouth of the Maas, from which place they can pass into the large and commodious port of Helvoetsluys, where we see a royal dock and arsenal. It was from here William III. set sail for England in 1688. It is the chief naval port for the Dutch in the south, and may be looked upon in reference to Rotterdam and the mouth of the Rhine and Meuse, in the same light as the Helder is to Amsterdam and the Zuyder Zee. Vlaardingen is seen on the right higher up, and is the chief station for the herring fishery of Holland, in which a hundred or more vessels are engaged annually. The fishery season lasts from the 2nd of June to the 1st of November. The chartering of the herring fleet is an interesting affair; some time about the middle of June the officers to be employed assemble at the Stadhuis, or Town Hall, and take an oath of fidelity to the laws of the fishery convention. After this they raise their flags, generally on the 14th of June, and proceed to the church to assist at the service specially celebrated for the occasion, with the object of praying for a fruitful season. The 15th of June, on which day they weigh anchor, is generally kept as a gala day devoted to amusement and feasting. The first fruits of the expedi tion are looked for with much anxious expectation, watchmen being placed on the Vlaardingen steeple to keep a look out for the vessel which is despatched home with the first fish taken. A cargo of herrings realises about 800 florins, and the King and his Ministers are presented with the first kegs. Closer to Rotterdam, situated at a distance from from the river side, is Schiedam, with 12,000 inhabitants. This place is famous for its distilleries, with the refuse of which upwards of 30,000 pigs are fed annually. It has the appearance of a huge forge, which vomits, every minute, volumes of smoke that covers the town in a black mist. Rotterdam is next seen at a turn of the river. The Maas, facing the town, is from 40 to 45 feet deep, thus enabling vessels of the largest tonnage to moor close to the houses. The steamers land their passengers on the quay, near the railway station, at the Boompjes. The latter is singularly picturesque, in consequence of the large avenue of beautiful elms which stretch along its banks offering a delightful shade. These trees give the quay its name-Boompjes which means little trees. On this quay is situated the Custom House, to which the passengers' luggage is conveyed for examination. It also serves as a favourite promenade for the inhabitants, and on or near it are some excellent houses, and many of the best hotels. ROTTERDAM.-Hotels: Adler's Hotel des Pays Bas, newly fitted up, can be highly recommended. Victoria Hotel.-Newly opened in the centre of the New Town (West End), opposite the landing place, on the most fashionable promenade of Rotterdam. Stads Herberg.-Proprietor, H. Leygraaff. An exceedingly comfortable and good house. New Bath Hotel. Hotel Verhaaren (Spaanshe Kade); good. Conveyances.-Railways to Hague, Leyden, Haarlem, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Arnheim, Emmerich, and Oberhausen (for all parts of Germany), see BRADSHAW's Continental Guide. Railway to Breda and Antwerp. Screw steamers on the canal to Delft and the Hague. Rotterdam is situated on the right bank of the Maas, with a population of 119,000. The form of the town is that of a triangle, made up of about an equal proportion of streets and canals, the principal of the latter being the Leuve, Oude, and Nieuve, which discharge themselves into the Maas, and serve as a medium of communication between that and the several other canals by which the town is intersected. The visitor to Rotterdam, for the first time, will be surprised at the large number of draw-bridges keeping up a communication. The canals, crowded with vessels discharging cargoes at the very doors of the shops and warehouses, will appear quite as singular. Thus the easy communication with the sea has contributed largely to swell the tide of prosperity for Rotterdam. It has constantly employed in the service of its foreign commerce over eighty merchant ships, which make the voyage to and from India in nine months. Its chief foreign trade is with Batavia, but a good traffic is also maintained in the productions of the East. Its corn and provision trades are also very great, whilst its dockyards supplied with timber from the upper parts of Germany contiguous to the Rhine, make it the seat of a busy industry in shipbuilding. The appearance of the town, its novel and attractive combination of trees, bridges, water, and vessels; its old houses, overhanging their foundation, as if about falling in ruins; its shops and the semi-barbarous images in their front, together with its many other peculiar scenes and customs, will serve to amuse the visitor who enters it for the first time, much better than any lengthened description we can give of its buildings and institutions. The high street, called Hoogstraat, is built upon a broad, low dyke, or dam, which stands at the junction of the Rotte stream, from whence is derived the name Rotterdam, and Maas. The town is intersected by this dyke, between which and the Quay Boompjes, the most modern part of the town is built, on ground gained from the Maas. The chief object of attraction in Rotterdam is the bronze statue of Erasmus, standing on a bridge of considerable width, which spans a canal, and on which is held a market. The house in which Erasmus was born, in 1467, is now a gin shop, |