JOURNAL,

&c. &c.

On my arrival in London (26th March, 1827) I found Sir Humphry better

than I had expected, but evidently very weak. He appeared to have

altered much during the four years which had elapsed since I last saw

him, and it was evident that although his mind was still vigorous and

full of energy, his bodily infirmities pressed heavily upon him, and I

could not but perceive that he was keenly alive to his altered state. I

had hoped to have remained some little time in London, but finding that

everything was ready for our departure, I contented myself with calling

upon a few old friends, and taking my seat by Sir Humphry's side, his

servant George being on the dicky with his master's favourite pointers,

we drove from Park Street on the morning of the 29th of March. We slept

that night at Dover, which we left the next morning at half-past nine

o'clock, and arrived at Calais about twelve, after a beautiful and

calm passage. Sir Humphry wishing to be left to repose quietly on his

bed in the cabin, I took my favourite seat on the prow, and sat musing

on times past and to come, looking upon the curling waves which were

glittering with a thousand golden colours in the bright beams of the

morning sun. The weather formed a strong contrast with that of the day

before, when the only change had been from sleet and snow to hail and

rain. The difference between the English and French coasts is very

striking; and the contrast between the lofty white chalk cliffs of the

one, and the gay and verdant hills of the opposite shore, seems almost

emblematical of the national peculiarities of the two countries.

Sir Humphry was provided with a letter from Prince Polignac, the French

Ambassador at London, to the Director of the Douane, which greatly

facilitated our passing the Custom house, where otherwise we should

have had much difficulty from the variety of the luggage; among which,

to say nothing of scientific instruments, and upwards of eighty volumes

of books, were numerous implements for fishing and shooting, and the

two pointers. We went to the Hôtel Rignolle, a large and excellent inn,

where Sir Humphry's travelling carriage awaited us, and we found it in

every respect easy and commodious. After dinner I prepared and arranged

every thing for our departure on the morrow, for the servant could on

such occasions render me but little assistance, he not speaking a word

of any language but English; and then took a walk through the town and

bought a pack of cards, which Sir Humphry had begged me to bring that

he might teach me the game of _ecarté_. During my walk I was amused by

seeing both old and young dressed in their holiday clothes, playing at

battledore and shuttlecock in the open streets. I soon returned; and

after we had played a game together, I read aloud some of the "Tales of

the Genii," and we then retired to rest.

_31st._ This morning I arose with thoughts of Heidelberg, it

being dear F***'s birthday, which I knew would therefore be one of

pleasure in the happy home I had left. After breakfast we set off for

Dunkirk. The country through which we passed is exceedingly flat and

uninteresting. On arriving at Gravelines, a strongly fortified little

town, we found that the carriage had sunk, the leathers being new, so

that we were obliged to send for a smith and a saddler, who detained

us nearly two hours. We then proceeded through the same uninteresting

flat to Dunkirk. After dinner we walked out to see the town, which is

very clean, and has good broad streets. Near the market place is the

episcopal church of Cambrai, the diocese of the celebrated Fenelon. The

portico is chaste and beautiful, consisting of ten lofty corinthian

pillars supporting a frieze. The interior of the church is simple and

elegant. The harbour of Dunkirk is large, but nearly choked up with

mud; on one side of it is a large basin newly made, which is kept full

at low water by means of flood gates.

_April 1st._ We started after breakfast for Ghent, and passed first

through Bergues, a little town with very strong fortifications. At

Rousbrugge, three postes and a half from Dunkirk, we entered the

territory of the King of the Netherlands. We passed the custom house

without having any part of our baggage examined, Sir Humphry's passport

being signed by the Dutch Ambassador at London, who had added to his

signature a request to the officers on the boundary to treat _ce

celebre sçavant_ with all possible attention and respect.

The country beyond Rousbrugge becomes rather more diversified; the

hedges, which are formed of small trees, are often very prettily

interwoven, forming a fence at once useful and elegant; and we passed

the first hill, a very low one, which we had seen since we left Calais.

We drove on through Ypres and Menin, and spent the night at Courtrai.

All these towns are strongly fortified, chiefly I believe under the

direction of the celebrated Vauban, and are called the iron boundary

of Holland. They are kept very clean and neat. Ypres has a fine large

gothic town-house, with an immense number of windows in it. I read

in the evening to Sir Humphry part of the "Bravo of Venice," and he

dictated a few pages on the existence of a greater quantity of carbon

in the primary world, and on some of the phenomena of the Lago di

Solfatara, near Rome. His clear reasoning, and the proofs and facts

which he adduces in support of his theories, still show the quick and

powerful mind of his former days, when his bodily faculties were in the

fulness of their vigour, and not, as now, a weight and oppression upon

his mental powers.

_2nd._ The first _poste_ after leaving Courtrai was Vive St. Eloi,

an assemblage of a few shabby houses, hardly worthy the name of a

village; thence to Peteghen and to Ghent. The country is flat, and

anything but picturesque, and almost every field has a windmill in

it. We only stopped to dine at Ghent, and then immediately started

for Antwerp, where we arrived at about seven in the evening, passing

through Lakesen and St. Nicholas. We were ferried over the Scheldt, and

afterwards transported to the inn in a very novel manner. On arriving

at the ferry opposite the town, the post-horses were taken out of the

carriage, which was pushed into the ferry-boat by four men, who with

some difficulty dragged it out when on the other side of the river, and

then drew it with us in it through the town to the inn, more than half

a mile distant from the landing place. After tea I continued the "Bravo

of Venice," and read Voltaire's "Bababec et les Faquirs" to Sir Humphry.

_3rd._ We did not breakfast till late, and afterwards drove out to

see the town in spite of hail and snow. Our first visit was to the

cathedral, which much disappointed us both as to its internal and

external appearance. It strongly reminded me of that of Strasbourg,

which it resembles in its minuteness of architecture, and even in the

circumstance of its having its left tower in an unfinished state. The

right tower, which is complete, is neither so light, or airy, nor by

any means so beautifully sculptured as that of Strasbourg; nor does the

building, as a whole, bear any comparison with the latter in beauty and

effect. The interior is beautiful from its simplicity; and its having

been newly white-washed gave it a light and cheerful appearance. It

contains some fine pictures; the chief of which are the "Crucifixion,"

and the "Descent from the Cross," by Reubens. The pulpit, the largest

and most beautiful specimen of carved wood I ever saw, represents Adam

and Eve in the garden of Eden. We afterwards went into many of the

various churches, some of which are adorned with very fine paintings.

In that of St. Barbara are some very curious and beautifully carved

wooden confessionals, in a style similar to that of the pulpit in

the cathedral. Near this church is a celebrated Calvary,[A] which

also includes a representation of Purgatory and of Heaven, being an

assemblage of demons and saints in the most wretched taste. On one

side, through a grating, the mortal remains of our Saviour in the tomb

are presented to view; on the opposite side the Virgin Mary appears

decked out with flowers and gold lace, surrounded by a choir of angels

and saints; and on looking through a third grating one gets a peep

at purgatory, where the wicked are seen swimming about among waves

of flame in the strangest confusion imaginable. The whole of this

representation appeared to us most ridiculous; yet not so to many good

Catholics, whom we saw silently kneeling before the gratings, and

apparently devoutly praying for those souls who had been dear to them

whilst upon earth. The devotion of many, however, was not so abstract

as to render them indifferent to the presence of Sir Humphry, whose

appearance, it is true, was likely to abstract attention, even though

unknown, wrapped up as he was in a large mantle lined with white fur.

In all the churches which we visited, the priests and attendants were

busied in preparing them for the next day, (Good Friday.) Though the

subject represented, the Tomb of Christ, with its surrounding scenery,

attendants, and guards, was the same in every church, it was much more

beautifully executed in some than in others. A part of the church was

in general nearly encircled and darkened by hangings of black cloth,

and a recess was thus formed, in which, in some of the churches, a

stage of considerable depth was erected, on which was painted the

scene of the tomb, with its figures, side scenes, and distant views,

very skilfully managed. The perspective was well kept; and the whole

being very well illuminated by unseen lamps, the effect was quite

theatrical.

Leaving these scenes of papal devotion, we drove to the harbour, a

work of Napoleon's, which, like most of his other works, is remarkable

for its strength and durability. Its size is not very striking; but it

was tolerably well filled with shipping of all nations, amongst which

I observed many English, and some North-American vessels. From thence

we drove through the town; and Sir Humphry could not omit paying a

visit to the fish-market, which, luckily for his white mantle, was not

Billingsgate. The market did not appear to be very well stocked, and

he could find nothing remarkable or new to satisfy his ever active

curiosity. The town appears clean, and has some large open streets, the

principal of which is called the Mere, in which our hotel, _Le Grand

Laboureur_, is situated; it possesses no very remarkable buildings; and

the town house and the celebrated exchange, make, at least externally,

a very poor show. The picture gallery, which is said to be very

excellent, was unfortunately closed, it being a _fête_ day. Our visits

to the churches and the different parts of the town had fully occupied

our morning, and in the evening after dinner I read to Sir Humphry

Voltaire's "Histoire de la Voyage de la Raison," and finished the

"Bravo," which he much admired.

_4th._ Left Antwerp in the morning, and passing through Coutegle,

Malines, or Mechlin, we arrived at Brussels about one o'clock. The road

runs nearly the whole of the way on the bank of a large canal, and is

often bordered by a row of fine beech trees. The appearance of this

capital from a distance is rather imposing; the handsomer and more

modern part of it being situated upon a hill, at the bottom of which

lies the old town, on the banks of the river Senne. The gate through

which we entered is remarkably handsome, and the style of architecture

light and elegant. We drove to the Hôtel de Flandres, on the Place

Royale, where we were very well accommodated. Before dinner I took a

hasty run through the town, just to see the fine old gothic town-house,

with its light and lofty spire, surmounted by a colossal statue of St.

Michael and the dragon, which acts as a vane; and the parks, palaces,

and fine public walks, which latter were crowded with English. English

equipages and servants are also continually passing in the streets;

and so many of the shops are completely English, that it is difficult

to believe that one is in the capital of a foreign nation. The number

of English generally in Brussels is said to exceed twenty thousand.

At one of the English circulating libraries I procured the "Legend of

Montrose," which amused Sir Humphry for the evening.

_5th._ At nine in the evening we left Brussels by the Porte de

Louvaine, and drove on to Tervueren, through a fine forest of beech

trees; at the extremity of which is situated the summer chateau of the

Prince of Orange, which, in external appearance, hardly equals the

country residence of an English gentleman. From thence we proceeded to

Louvaine, or Löwen; where we only stopped to change horses. The Hôtel

de Ville is one of the finest specimens of gothic architecture in the

Netherlands; but we could only catch a hasty view of it as we drove by

and went on to Thirlemont, where we dined, and after dinner proceeded

to St. Troud, which we made our resting-place for the night.

_6th._ We quitted St. Troud after breakfast, in the midst of rain and

snow, for Liege, or Lüttich, where we made no stay, but passed on to

Battices. Between this last place and Aix-la-Chapelle, we crossed the

boundary of the Netherlands, and entered upon the Prussian territory.

The custom-house officers were very civil; and Count Bülow's _besonders

empfohlen_, (particularly recommended), written in his own hand on Sir

Humphry's passport, was of great utility. We entered Aix-la-Chapelle in

the evening; and passing by the new theatre and the bath rooms, which

are pretty, but small buildings, we drove to the grand hotel, which was

neither grand nor comfortable. Our book for this evening was Swift's

"Tale of a Tub."

_7th._ Left Aachen, (the German name for Aix), and passed on to Jülich,

the first Prussian fortress. From thence we proceeded to Bergheim:

after which we passed over a wide sandy flat, rendered in many parts

almost impassable, by the previous heavy rains. A league or two before

we reached Cologne, the many and gloomy steeples of the once holy

city rose to view; amongst which, the colossal mass of its splendid

but unfinished cathedral stood prominent. The fortifications before

the town are thickly planted with shrubs, so that from a distance they

have more the appearance of sloping green hills, than walls of defence.

Passing over numerous drawbridges, and under one of the ancient

gateways, we drove through many dark and narrow streets to the Cour

Imperiale.

_8th._ In the morning we left Cologne to the protection of its eleven

thousand virgins, and started for Coblentz. At Bonn, we merely changed

horses, and drove on to the little post-town of Remagen, leaving

the summits of the celebrated seven mountains, _the castled crag of

Drachenfels_, Rolandseck, and the towers of the convent of Nonnenwerth,

as yet surrounded only by bare and leafless trees, behind us. Here we

dined; and then continued our route along the banks of the Rhine, which

was very turbid and swollen, to Andernach, and from thence to Coblentz.

The scenery, which I had formerly beheld in all its summer glory, as

well as in its rich autumnal tints, was now not only shorn of its

beauty, but enveloped in mist and cloud.

_9th._ We quitted Coblentz at about eight o'clock in the morning, in

the midst of a thick fog, which in a short time cleared away, and

afforded us a most magnificent spectacle; for it came rolling down the

hills on each bank of the river like immense waves, through which the

sunbeams broke in from every side, till it was at last quite dispersed,

and unveiled to our view the numberless little towns and villages on

the banks, leaving the Rhine glittering in the rays of the sun, like

a stream of burnished gold, rushing along between its dark and rocky

mountains. We changed horses at Boppart, and from thence drove on to

St. Goar, where Sir Humphry has determined to stop till to-morrow.

After dinner he took a ride along the banks of the river, followed by

his servant. In the mean while I strolled up the hills, and amused

myself by sketching the old ruins of the castle of Rheinfels, and the

river below me in the distance. On our return, Sir Humphry told me that

he had decided to include Heidelberg in his route, which he had not at

first intended to do, passing through Mayence and Mannheim, so that I

shall in a day or two again see my home. After having read the "Old

English Baron" to Sir Humphry, we retired for the night; he to rest,

and I to my chamber, where I could not but admire the scene around me.

It was a beautiful starry night, and the lofty rocks opposite my window

rose as it were from the rolling river beneath, awful and gigantic

amid the shades of night, till their dark outlines, mingling with the

more distant mountains, were lost in the clear sky. Every sound in the

village was hushed, and it seemed as if even the air itself was lulled

to rest by the stillness of night.

"All Heaven and Earth are still--though not in sleep,

But breathless, as we grow when feeling most;

And silent, as we stand in thoughts too deep:--

All Heaven and Earth are still: from the high host

Of stars, to the lull'd lake and mountain-coast,

All is concenter'd in a life intense,

Where not a beam, nor air, nor leaf is lost,

But hath a part of being, and a sense

Of that which is of all Creator and defence."

_10th._ Our drive this morning from St. Goar to Bingen was cold and

rainy, and the Lurley rocks, and the wild and rugged banks of the

Rhine between St. Goar and Oberwesel, looked more than usually dreary,

the few vines and the little vegetation that appear upon them in

summer not having yet begun to shoot. We quitted the banks of the

Rhine at Bingen, and struck across the country through a fine rich

plain stretching almost as far as the eye can reach, and every here

and there diversified by low hills, to Mayence. Ingelheim, one of the

numerous residences of Charlemagne, and where that monarch once had

a magnificent palace, is now a little insignificant borough, and the

palace with its hundred columns from Rome or Ravenna, has vanished, or

nearly so, for the slight remains that are still standing, shew but

little of former grandeur.

At Mayence our passports were demanded at the first of the numerous

draw-bridges, and quickly _visé'd_. Sir Humphry determined upon

spending the night here, as I knew that the accommodations at the

Roman Emperor were much better than any he would find at Oppenheim

or Worms, which latter town we could not have reached till the night

had set in, and Sir Humphry does not like to travel after sunset. The

streets of this ancient town are for the most part narrow, dark, and

dirty, with the exception of the chief street running from the upper

part of the town towards the Rhine, called _die grosse bleiche_,

the great bleaching place, and which is a broad and handsome street.

The whole appearance of the town, the old _dom_ or cathedral, with

its heavy towers and light pinnacles of red stone; its brazen gates,

still bearing the marks of the balls of the celebrated siege in

1792; the many magnificent houses, often uninhabited or turned into

shops and _cafés_; the vast but ruinous palace of red sand-stone on

the Rhine; the few inhabitants one meets with in the streets,--the

officers and soldiers of the different regiments in garrison of

course excepted,--plainly tell the stranger that Mayence has no

longer any pretension to the splendour it owned under the rule of the

Ecclesiastical Princes, it being then the second ecclesiastical town

in Germany; or even during its occupation by the French, who, wherever

they went, were sure to carry with them life and spirit. As it has

changed for the worse, so may it again change for the better, and who

can say that it may not in a few lustres more again flourish as a

frontier fortress of France.

_11th._ Quitting Mayence, we drove on along the flat and sandy banks of

the Rhine, through Oppenheim to Worms, from the time of Charlemagne

and the Frankish kings, till the days of Luther, the scene of brilliant

_fêtes_, princely tourneys, and solemn diets of the empire,--now

a dismal mass of ruin and desolation. The lofty nave and the four

steeples of its ponderous gothic cathedral, when seen from a distance,

rise with an imposing grandeur in the level plain of the Rhine; but,

on a nearer survey, the church itself offers nothing of interest. We

dined at Frankenthal, a neat and clean little town in Rhenish Bavaria,

and then drove on through Oggersheim to Mannheim, where we crossed

the Rhine over a fine bridge of boats. The streets of this town are

remarkably broad and clean; the houses are lofty, and being built

in small compact squares, all the streets meet at right angles, and

generally afford at their openings a very pretty peep at the distant

country, so that one imagines the surrounding scenery to be finer than

it really is. The _Planken_, or chief street, traverses the town in a

straight line from gate to gate, and forms a fine wide walk between two

rows of acacias, which is chained in from the carriage road on each

side.

The four leagues from Mannheim to Heidelberg are through a country, not

one spot of which is uncultivated; this is backed by the finely wooded

mountains of the Odenwald, on which are still visible the remains of

some of the many castles which formerly crowned the different heights.

We reached Heidelberg towards evening, and as soon as I had seen Sir

Humphry comfortably lodged in the hotel of the Prince Carl, immediately

under the imposing ruins of its far-famed castle, he begged me to go

and see my mother, he being too fatigued to accompany me; and on my

doing so, I found that my letter, which should have informed her of my

approach, had not yet reached her.

_12th._ Sir Humphry finding himself too indisposed either to visit the

university, or to receive any of its eminent professors, some of whom

are very desirous to visit him, has determined to remain here only

till tomorrow; for it is painful to him to know that he is surrounded

by scientific men anxious to see and communicate with him, and to feel

that he is no longer able to enjoy their society, or that scientific

discussion, which, as it was formerly a source of the highest

gratification to him, "_now_," he says, "_only serves to make me feel

that I am but the shadow of what I was_." It is in vain to combat with

such feelings, but it is impossible not to regret their existence; for

could Sir Humphry be persuaded occasionally to mix more frequently in

such society, it would certainly rather be of service to him than not,

for his fine mind is still full of intellectual power and elasticity,

and he deceives himself in thinking otherwise. In the afternoon, as he

did not feel strong enough to mount the hill to the castle, he took a

short walk over the bridge along the northern banks of the Neckar, and

appeared much to enjoy the beautiful scenery that encircles this spot,

and is indeed every where to be found around Heidelberg. From this

side one sees the ancient ruin with its mouldering towers, backed by a

lofty amphitheatre of finely wooded mountains, with the town standing

immediately under it, and the broad river rushing through its light and

airy bridge, often foaming over many a rugged rock. The scene at all

times is beautiful and imposing, but when lighted up by the rays of the

setting sun, which fall with a resplendent glow upon the red-stone

walls and towers of the castle, the effect produced is very striking,

and at that hour it is impossible for the most indifferent observer

to pass the spot without admiration. The castle itself is now in a

very dilapidated state, for with the exception of the chapel, which

is merely a bare and lofty hall, there remains scarcely one entire

room; but the exterior walls of the quadrangle are nearly perfect, and

much of the sculpture that every where adorns the ruin is still in

high preservation, and some of the ruined towers, as such, are very

beautiful. The gardens too, which, from their situation, sweeping as

they do around the hill on which the castle stands, and abounding in

fine large trees, are at once commanding and beautiful, afford many a

delightful walk and striking view of the country beneath; and wandering

amid their risings and descents, one feels that here art has been

considered as she really is, the handmaid, not the mistress of nature's

works. From some of the terraces one looks directly down upon the town,

having a fine view beyond of the fertile plain between it and Mannheim,

through which the Neckar is seen winding till it joins the Rhine,

which, with the distant Vogesian mountains, bounds the view in the west.

Heidelberg contains about 12,000 inhabitants, and has of late years

become a favourite resort of strangers. The university library is

considered to be one of the richest in Europe in ancient manuscripts,

and were the sovereign of the state a more liberal patron than he is

of learning and science, doubtless the museums and public institutions

would be more liberally endowed than they are; there is, however, an

excellent anatomical museum in the school for medicine, and so long

as such names as those of Thibaut, Tiedemann, Gmelin, Schlosser, and

various others whose works evince their talent, shall be found amongst

the list of its professors, so long must Heidelberg hold a deservedly

high rank in the learned and scientific world, and open a wide field of

advantage and instruction to all young men anxious to avail themselves

of such opportunities; nor will any impartial judge deny, that amongst

its students many highly honourable examples of talent and application

are found.

_13th._ We this morning bade adieu to Heidelberg, and set off for

Neckargemünd. Sir Humphry very much admired the winding river and

its picturesque banks, though the woods were yet leafless, and the

rocks rather bare; whilst I could see no spot that did not, in one

way or another, recall to my mind the many social and happy days I

had spent in roving through the green woods, and among the mouldering

castles of the Neckar. From Neckargemünd we struck across the country

to Wiesenbach and Sinsheim, and from thence through very pretty

but not striking scenery to Fürfeld, where we entered the kingdom

of Würtemberg, and on to Heilbronn. This old town offers nothing

interesting save the old square tower in the walls on the Neckar,

formerly the prison of the celebrated Götz of the Iron Hand, who, it is

said, died within its walls. The doughty champion will probably live

in the remembrance of the good people of Heilbronn, only so long as

the old tower which bears the name of the _Götzen Thurm_ continues to

stand; but the fame of Götz von Berlichingen will never die but with

the extinction of German literature, handed down as it is to posterity

by the master-hand of Göthe. The drive from Heilbronn to Oehringen is

very beautiful, over hill and dale, and from valley to valley through

the mountains. The first little village which we passed was Weinsberg,

and above it, on a hill covered with vineyards, are the remains of

the castle of Weibertreue (Woman's faith.) This spot was the scene

of the action celebrated in Bürger's admired ballad, _Die Weiber von

Weinsberg_--The Women of Weinsberg.

"Wer sagt mir an wo Weinsberg liegt

Soll seyn ein wack'res Städtchen," &c. &c.

the story of which is founded on the following fact:--During the time

of the deadly feuds between the houses of Hohenstaufen and Guelph,

about the year 1140, Weinsberg was besieged and taken by the Emperor

Conrad. The town and castle had excited his high displeasure for having

afforded an asylum to his enemy Guelph, and he determined to destroy

them with fire and sword, and said he would only allow the women to

depart, and take any treasure with them.

At dawn of day the gates of the town were opened, and every woman

appeared carrying her husband upon her back. Many of his officers,

indignant at thus seeing the enemy's garrison escape, endeavoured to

persuade the Emperor to evade his promise, but Conrad replied, "_an

Emperor's faith once pledged was not to be broken_;" and he granted

them a free pardon, and from that time the castle of Weinsberg has

borne the name of Weibertreue.

We did not reach Oehringen till eight o'clock; and then found the only

decent inn in the town in great confusion, owing to the exhibition

of a cabinet of wax-work, which had attracted all the waiters and

chambermaids, so that it was with great difficulty I could obtain even

hot water to make our tea.

_14th._ We left Oehringen at eight in the morning, and arrived at

Halle, or Schöneshalle, about twelve, passing through some very pretty

mountainous country. In this part of Würtemberg there are some coal

mines, but the coal seems to be of a very inferior quality, a brown

coal.

The female peasantry dress their hair in a very singular manner,

drawing it back from the forehead, and tying it up in a bunch behind,

which gives the head a remarkably naked appearance, and increases their

altogether awkward and uncouth air. The town is small and very old,

and has some considerable remains of ancient fortifications. From Halle

we had a very long drive up-hill and down-hill for five hours, through

a fertile country well wooded and watered, to Ellwangen, another small

town, prettily situated in a valley: the hills on the one side are

surmounted by a modern chateau, belonging to the King of Würtemberg;

and on the top of those opposite stands a fine large church, to which,

at certain seasons of the year, pilgrims flock in numbers from great

distances. Before tea I strolled round the town, and afterwards read

one of the "Arabian Nights Entertainments" to Sir Humphry, after which

we played our usual game at _ecarté_.

_15th._ Leaving Ellwangen, we passed through hilly but barren country,

and over the most abominable roads possible, to Nördlingen, the first

Bavarian post-town. We were every now and then obliged to get out

of the carriage from fear of being overturned; and the postilion

frequently preferred driving over a newly ploughed field to passing

along the road. We however arrived safely at the post-house; thus

accomplishing six short leagues in about as many hours. On driving

into the town we were, as usual, asked for our passport, which was

an English one: the officer took it for French, and I suppose he

had never seen such an one before, for he copied the printed title

into a paper which he gave me, as a permission to enter Bavaria, as

follows:--"Permit to pass, &c. &c., _Lord Dudley, particulier_," and I

could hardly make the man believe that the printed name was not that

of the person travelling, but that of the minister. From Nördlingen we

drove to Donauwörth, on the Donau, or Danube; passing through Haarburg,

a small village, but one of the prettiest spots we had seen since

we left the banks of the Neckar. The church and many of the houses

are situated on the top of a lofty rock, high above the rest of the

buildings, and the whole scene is strikingly picturesque. The Danube

at Donauwörth is a small and unimposing stream. Opposite our inn were

two boats ready to start for Vienna; they were of considerable size,

but wholly built of rough deal planks. Such boats are chiefly filled

with merchandize, and rarely take passengers, as their accommodation

is very inferior. When they arrive at Vienna, they are broken up and

sold as old wood, the current of the Danube being too rapid to admit of

boats ascending. We had good accommodation at the only hotel, the Crab,

which is out of the town, on the banks of the river; and Sir Humphry

determined to remain till tomorrow, to see the fishermen cast their

nets in the morning.

_16th._ Sir Humphry did not feel well enough to-day to accompany the

fishermen, but desired them to bring him any fish they might catch;

they accordingly brought him a schill, the large perch of the Danube,

(_Perca lucioperca_, BLOCK,) of which Sir Humphry begged me

to take a drawing. We then dissected it, and afterwards had it dressed

for dinner, and both of us thought it very good, and much resembling

cod in taste. Sir Humphry now generally prefers dining alone, and at a

late hour for this part of the world, (four o'clock); and I, therefore,

where I find a _table d'hôte_, usually dine at it; for though the

business of eating in this country is not one of hasty dispatch,

or of such trivial importance as to leave all the powers awake to

conversation, yet foreigners who wish to become acquainted with the

people and manners, as well as to see them, will, at all events,

understand them much better by mixing with them, than by keeping, as is

so often the case with English travellers, to their own rooms. While

Sir Humphry dined, I took a walk up the Schellenberg, to look at the

spot from which Marlborough drove the French at the celebrated battle

of Blenheim; and sitting under an old oak, on the top of the hill, I

enjoyed the extensive view beneath me. Hardly visible in the distance

appeared the towers of Blenheim; nearer stood many a small village,

embosomed as it were in the forests; and the Danube, winding through

the woods and verdant meadows, now hidden by an interposing hill,

then again appearing in many a bending curve, with here and there a

small green island, flowed tranquilly on till it reaches the town of

Donauwörth, where it receives the tributary waters of the Wernitz, a

small river which runs through the town. I hastily took a sketch of the

view, the scene of actions which can never be forgotten by the friend

of English glory, and then returned to Sir Humphry, and in the evening

read to him some of the "Arabian Nights," and Dryden's beautiful poem

"The Flower and the Leaf."

_17th._ Crossing over to the right bank of the Danube by a small wooden

bridge, our road passed through many pleasant meadows covered with

beautiful anemones, interspersed here and there with the dark blue

gentian, and enlivened by numerous herds of cattle. The first _poste_

was Bergheim, and from thence to Neuburg and Ingolstadt. The church

steeples of all the villages by which we passed were covered with

tiles glazed with different colours, which in the sunshine have a very

brilliant and Chinese appearance. Ingolstadt is a small old town, with

dilapidated fortifications and walls. The only inn seemed in a similar

condition, and the kitchen and some of the rooms being in a state of

repair, we were obliged to continue our route. On leaving the town, we

crossed over the Danube again and drove on to Vohburg. In the distance

we thought we saw the Salzburg Alps, but we were unable to determine

with certainty, the clouds having the greatest possible resemblance to

distant snowy mountains. The Danube at Vohburg is by no means so wide

as the Rhine at Mannheim, but is much more rapid. We again recrossed

it, and drove through some marshy land, and a small forest of firs,

beautifully green, to Neustadt, where we remained for the night at a

most wretched inn.

The whole country through which we have passed appears very populous,

but the peasantry look wretchedly squalid and poor, and an English

eye is much struck by seeing the women constantly at hard work in the

fields, and apparently performing a much greater share of the laborious

part of their employment than the men.

_18th._ We left Neustadt in the morning, and drove on through pretty

and hilly country, chiefly covered with fir wood, to Postsari, where

we came down close upon the Danube, and beheld some most beautiful

rocky scenery, far superior in grandeur to that of the Rhine. Immense

perpendicular masses of grey rock, with dark fir-trees here and there

forcing themselves through the fissures and crevices, form the right

bank of the Danube at Abach, a small village at the foot of a hill, on

the top of which stands an enormous round tower, the only remaining

vestige of a large castle which formerly crowned the summit. Before

entering the village the road is hewn through the solid rock, and high

above the head of the traveller is a gigantic Latin inscription, cut

in the rock, purporting that this work was undertaken and completed by

Charles Theodor, Elector of Bavaria; two colossal lions on pedestals

mark the spot which was once solid rock. From this little village

we passed over the hill to Regensburg, or Ratisbon, which lies in

the valley beneath. The appearance of this old city from a distance

is not more imposing than when in it, for it has no high towers nor

fine prominent buildings. We entered it at about one o'clock, through

an alley of young poplars, on the right of which stands a small

modern temple, dedicated to the memory of the celebrated astronomer,

Keppler. A light pretty gateway leads into dark and narrow streets,

at the end of one of which was our inn, the Golden Cross, and the

good accommodation we here found, was not rendered the less agreeable

from its contrast with that of the wretched inn at Neustadt. In the

afternoon I walked out with Sir Humphry to see the town. The greatest,

or rather only curiosity it possesses, is the large room in which the

celebrated Diet of the Empire used to be held: the exterior has a

miserable appearance, and Sir Humphry, instead of going in, went to see

some fish in a tank, and wished me to accompany him as interpreter.

I went in the evening again to see the hall of the Diet, but it was

shut, and the man who shows it was not to be found. From the fish-tank

we went to the bridge over the Danube, which is well built of stone,

and is entirely paved with large flag stones. The river, already of

considerable breadth, rushes through it with astonishing rapidity, and

turns a number of mills below it. We then returned and took our tea,

and our evening's book was "Palamon and Arcite."

_19th._ We quitted Ratisbon at nine in the morning, leaving the banks

of the Danube to our left, and drove on to Eglofsheim, and from thence

generally through or on the borders of a thick and sombre pine forest,

through Birkheim to Ergolshausen. The cottages in this part of Bavaria

are usually built of trunks of trees, laid horizontally one upon

another, like the log-houses of America; and the roofs are covered with

shingles, on which are placed large flat stones, to prevent their being

blown off. The better ones have generally some picture, the subject of

which is taken from the Holy Writings, painted on the front; and at

Ratisbon I saw a "David and Goliath," which covered the entire front

of a large house three or four stories high. At Ergolshausen we were

detained whilst the carriage was mended; this reparation cost eighteen

kreuzers, (about sixpence,) and in France, for a similar one, we paid

five francs.

When all was put to rights we set off for Landshuth, and soon caught a

transient glimpse of the snowy Alps, rising out of the distant horizon

like clouds into the clouds. The Isar, on which Landshuth is situated,

exceeds even the Danube in rapidity, and well may Campbell call it

"Isar rolling rapidly."

We had hardly entered the inn when we were visited by a heavy

thunderstorm, accompanied by tremendous hail.

_20th._ Wishing to see something of the town, I took a hasty stroll,

early in the morning before we started, through the streets, but found

little worth seeing. The cathedral is, externally, a fine old Gothic

building, and the principal street is respectable. I was much struck

with the head-dress of the women, which seems to vary according to

their rank. The peasant girls wear large fur caps, whilst the women of

a rather higher class have upon their heads most extraordinary gauze

or muslin appendages, in all sorts of shapes, some like helmets, some

pointed, and others falling in peaks, but all more or less richly

embroidered with gold or silver thread.

On leaving Landshuth we ascended a very long and steep hill, and on

arriving at the top we saw the Austrian Alps, at a distance of seventy

or eighty miles, bounding the whole horizon with a line of shining

white, and here and there broken by a dark shade of grey; whilst some

single perfectly white and shining peaks shone high above the floating

clouds, whose white colour appeared tarnished when compared with that

of the eternal snow. We drove the greater part of the day through

pine forests, up hill and down hill; now perfectly losing sight of

the Alps, then again from the summit of the next hill catching sight

of them, apparently not more than ten miles off, so distinctly could

we trace the vallies between the different mountains. We stopped to

dine at the post-house at Neumarkt, a small village, where I could

get nothing but a pigeon dressed in garlic, and some sausage. Leaving

this village, we descended from the mountains, amid which we had been

travelling, into the plain which separates them from the Alps, and

found ourselves, as it were, in front of this colossal chain, now

brightly illuminated by the glowing sun. Towards evening I had hoped to

have seen the rosy tinge upon the Alps, caused by the reflection of the

sunbeams upon the snow of the summits, but I was disappointed, for they

faded away into the grey clouds of evening as we drove up a very steep

but short hill into Neu-Ötting, a neat little town, in the streets of

which we saw many pretty women and girls knitting before their doors;

on the whole, the people are much handsomer here than in the country

we have hitherto passed through. About two miles further on we reached

Alt-Ötting, where we were very well lodged at the post-house. Our

hostess, a young lass of only seventeen or eighteen, spoke very good

French, and seemed intelligent and active in the direction of her

household.

_21st._ In the morning, before Sir Humphry was up, I went to see a

little church on the _Platz_ or square before our inn. The arcades

surrounding it are completely covered with _votive_ pictures, or

pictures returning thanks to some favourite saint for having been

delivered from great danger; some, for example, for having broken their

legs or arms instead of their necks, others that their friends had

been killed and not they, and such like. Many of these pictures bear

dates of two or three hundred years ago, but they are almost all mere

daubs. The interior of the church is also quite covered with paintings,

and gold and silver offerings, some of the latter apparently of great

value. On my return to the inn, I asked our hostess about this church,

and she told me that it had been a celebrated place of pilgrimage for

ages past; that the image of the virgin in it bears the date of the

twelfth century, and that there also are kept embalmed the hearts of

the sovereigns of Bavaria, Charles Theodore, Maximilian Joseph, and

others. She also informed me that there was a convent of nuns, and a

Capuchin monastery in the town; some of the former I had seen in the

church.

On leaving Alt-Ötting, we for the first time this year saw cherry-trees

in blossom, and on the sides of the road there was abundance of the

pretty blue gentian. The next station, and the last in Bavaria, was

Marktl. From thence we drove on to Braunau, already a wide and very

rapid river. The black and yellow striped posts on the wooden bridge

announced to us the dominion of Austria; and on entering the town, we

drove to the custom-house, where, however, the officers gave us no

trouble, for a letter from Prince Esterhazy, with which Sir Humphry

was furnished, seemed to act as a talisman, producing instantaneous

civility, with bows and titles innumerable. The next _poste_ was

Altheim, where we found that every thing was to be paid for in Austrian

money, which at first promised to be no slight trouble, though we soon

found it was an easy matter to reduce it, six Bavarian kreuzers, or six

florins, being equal to five Austrian ones. It was our intention to

have reached Haag this evening, but having a very long and steep hill

to cross, the night overtook us at Ried, a little village, where we

were obliged to put up with the accommodations of a miserable inn, with

bad coffee and wretched beds, much to the discomfiture of Sir Humphry.

_22nd._ We left Ried at about nine, and drove through a fine forest of

lofty pines to Haag, and from thence to Lambach. Wood seems so abundant

in this country, that not only the inferior houses are wholly built of

it, but even the fences between the fields are formed of rough deal

planks. Lambach is a small insignificant town on the Traun, which river

we here saw for the first time: its water is beautifully clear, and

of a bluish-green colour. From Lambach we turned off to Vöcklabrück,

along the banks of the Agger, another clear mountain stream, winding

very prettily through a flat valley of the same name. On our approach

to this little place we beheld the lofty Alps, which form the shores of

the Traun Lake, at a short distance off; and Sir Humphry rejoiced that

he had at length arrived where he might enjoy his favourite amusement

of fishing, which, but for a thunderstorm, he would this very evening

have indulged in, at the expence of the poor fish in the little river

Vöckla.

_23rd._ Early this morning, Sir Humphry begged me in his name to visit

Count E----, who lives at a short distance from Vöcklabrück, and is

proprietor of the fishing right in the Agger and Vöckla, and request

his permission for him to fish in these streams; this the Count very

graciously granted, and Sir Humphry accordingly mounted a pony, and

rode down to the Vöckla, where, however, during the morning, he caught

but little fish. The afternoon was spent in the same pursuit, and we

closed the evening as usual with reading some of Dryden's poems and the

"Arabian Nights."

_24th._ In the morning Sir Humphry begged me to procure a one-horse

chaise for him, in which, with his servant, he was driven to the Kammer

Lake, about ten miles off. I, in the meanwhile, strolled about the

environs, not finding anything interesting in the town; but my walk

did not prove very agreeable, the weather being so misty that I could

gain no view of the neighbouring Alps, and I was very glad to see Sir

Humphry return in the afternoon, bringing with him a few fish, which

were dressed for his dinner. In the evening we read Prior's "Alma," but

not being pleased with it we soon changed it for Pope's "Essay on Man."

_25th._ We quitted Vöcklabrück at about ten in the morning, not at

all to my sorrow; and after a beautiful drive through fine fir woods

and lanes, where the hedges were already quite green, we arrived at

Gmünden, and beheld a scene which surpasses in magnificence any thing

I have ever yet seen. On one side of the hill down which we drove was

a wood of tall beeches, the leaves just bursting from the bud; on the

lower side, meadows of the most beautiful green sloped down to the town

of Gmünden, which seemed to rise out of the bosom of the lake of the

same name, or, as it is more generally called, the Traun Lake. Alps,

whose summits were hidden in the clouds, and on whose rocky heights

nothing was seen but the dark black pine, form the banks of this large

reservoir of water, in some places descending with precipitous and

almost perpendicular steepness into the clear lake, whilst in others

they are lost in fine meadows and orchards, with neat wooden cottages

peeping through the trees; and on an island in the lake we saw a large

chateau and church, which are joined to the main land by a long wooden

bridge. The best inn at Gmünden, the Ship, is close upon the edge of

the water, and commands a magnificent view over the whole extent of

the lake, and every window being provided with a little cushion, one

may enjoy the scene leaning on the window-sill for hours, without any

detriment to one's elbows. Gmünden itself is a pretty clean little town

at the north end of the lake, exactly on the spot where it empties

itself into the river Traun with an impetuous rush, thus dividing the

town into two distinct parts, connected by a strong wooden bridge

built on piles. On the shores of the lake are many beautiful small

villages, now and then seen through the half green trees, and at about

six miles from Gmünden, apparently at the end of the lake, is the town

of Traunkirchen, almost lost in distance and haziness. The water of

the lake is beautifully clear, and of a deep blue-green colour. After

reading to Sir Humphry in the evening, I spent an hour gazing out upon

the lake and its alpine shores, partially illuminated by the moon; the

more distant snowy summits seemed like detached clouds, resting as it

were upon the dark and gloomy masses beneath, which threw their long

broad shadows over the silvery bosom of the lake; while every here and

there on the surrounding shores, a few twinkling lights, seen between

the trees, marked the situation of a village or country house.

_26th._ On awaking this morning, I fancied myself on the sea shore, for

the first sound I heard was the surge of the waters of the lake, which

had been agitated into light waves by a fresh morning breeze. On going

to my window the scene formed a striking contrast to that of yesterday

evening; the darkness and deep silence of night had disappeared; not

a cloud was to be seen, and the brilliant beams of the young sun

shone upon numberless boats, flitting with their white sails over the

glittering waves; whilst in the street beneath stood motley groups of

peasants lounging about, or awaiting the arrival of some boat from

the other shore of the lake. Sir Humphry rose early, and immediately

after breakfast we went out to the bridge over the Traun, he to fish,

whilst I sketched; and staid the whole morning beneath the bridge, on

one of the piers close to the rushing stream. The view from this spot

is far more extensive than that from the inn windows, as from hence you

see quite to the opposite end of the lake, and can discover beyond the

promontory, on which stands the town of Traunkirchen, the houses and

spires of Ebensee, as white specks against the distant grey mountain;

and from hence also are seen to great advantage, far beyond the

mountains of the lake, the distant snow-clad summits of the Schneeberg

and other of the Styrian Alps. On my return home I found Sir Humphry

already there, and that he had caught some fine trout, which proved

excellent. In the evening we had a violent storm, and I read Green's

poem on the Spleen, which Sir Humphry does not admire.

_27th._ This morning proved rainy, and Sir Humphry was in despair, as

he had ordered a small carriage, intending to go and see the Falls of

the Traun, about ten miles down the river; it cleared up, however,

about eleven o'clock, and turning out very fine, we set off, Sir

Humphry armed with all his fishing-tackle, and I with my sketch-book.

After a fine drive along the top of the precipitous and highly

picturesque banks of the Traun, passing by many smaller falls and

rapids, we reached the inn near the great fall, the roar of which is

heard at a considerable distance. A little below the cataract a lofty

wooden bridge is thrown over the Traun, and from beneath it one beholds

a truly sublime scene. The greater part of the river here precipitates

itself from a height of nearly fifty feet, in one immense mass of

foam over the impeding rocks, which are of considerable breadth.

Thick clouds of mist are continually rising from the boiling pool,

and the spectator standing within a few feet of the descending river

is completely wetted in an instant. In the centre of the river stands

a large rock, from which three smaller falls throw themselves into

the greater pool; and again, higher up on the right is another large

cascade, where the water falls in a perpendicular sheet between two

rocks, which serve as a support to a small wooden house that has been

erected over the fall. Below the bridge the whole river is one white

stream of foam, with dark black rocks here and there jutting out of it.

The banks are formed of lofty rocks (chiefly pudding-stone,) and are

topped with woods of dark black pine. Boats descending the river avoid

the danger of this cataract by means of a small canal, which has been

cut through the right bank of the river in a sloping direction from the

fall, and again joins the river at some distance below it. This canal

is immediately filled with water by raising a sluice gate close to the

fall, and the boat keeping near the shore is very easily guided into

it, and descends quickly and safely. Sir Humphry finding the fish would

not bite, we returned home, after spending a short hour in this sublime

and romantic spot. The drive back to Gmünden is finer than the drive to

the Falls, the river presenting more beautiful openings and turnings,

and the lake gradually rising into view.

In the evening Sir Humphry determined not to remain at the baths of

Ischl, about twenty miles distant, as he had intended doing, but

to proceed to Laybach, three hundred miles off, as he thought the

snipe-shooting, which he much wished to enjoy, would not yet be over

there.

_28th._ We left Gmünden at eight, crossing over the lake in a large

boat. The view of Gmünden from the lake is beautiful, and with its

gently sloping green hills and woods in the back ground, and its neat

white houses, rising as it were out of the water, forms a strong

contrast with the rugged mountains which surround the lake on every

other side. Whilst crossing over, the scene continually changes, the

Alps presenting themselves from different sides; and on turning the

promontory on which Traunkirchen is situated, we entered as it were

upon another small lake, and discovered the town of Ebensee, about

three miles off, quite at the end of it. The Traun here flows into the

lake, and often brings with it a considerable quantity of wood, which

is collected by a long _cordon_, formed of the trunks of fir-trees

joined together, and drawn across the end of the lake. Ebensee has very

large salt-works, which afford employment to the greater number of its

inhabitants. Post-horses were here again put to the carriage, and we

drove on along the banks of the Traun through most enchanting scenery

to Ischl, and from hence to Aussee, over a very steep mountain, on the

sides of which I found, whilst walking up it, many of our prettiest

garden flowers, cyclamens, anemones, &c. &c. After ascending for an

hour and a half, we entered Styria, passing the boundary of Upper

Austria, and came to the snow, through which we pursued our way for

half an hour more, when we found ourselves on the top of the pass,

between 4000 and 5000 feet above the level of the sea, environed by

Alps clad in deep and for the most part eternal snow. Our road down was

cut through the snow, which was much deeper on this side than on the

other. Aussee is a little town, beautifully situated at the bottom of

a valley, surrounded on all sides by gigantic rocks; it also has, like

Ebensee, extensive saltworks, the salt for which is furnished from the

salt-mines in the adjacent mountains.

_29th._ We quitted Aussee this morning, and drove on through

Mitterndorf, Steinach, and Liezen, our road lying through beautiful

Alpine country, sometimes hilly, and always at a great elevation.

Between Liezen and Rothenmann we passed the first old feudal castle

that we have seen in this part of Austria; it is called Wolkenstein,

and is finely situated upon a hill, between rocks and woods. Most of

these people have large _gôitres_, the cause of which it is perhaps

difficult to ascertain with certainty. Sir Humphry seemed inclined to

attribute their presence to the calcareous earths which the waters

of these vallies may hold in solution. This opinion has been also

supported by many scientific medical men; still Sir Humphry seemed to

think there was reason in my observation, that it might rather be the

effect of climate and damp; for in a mountainous country that is also

full of streams, the inhabitants are always exposed to strong currents

of damp and chilly air at one season, and to the extreme of heat in

the summer months, when the rays of the sun are reflected from the

rocky mountains, and, as it were, concentrated upon the lower vallies;

for were it from the water, would it not, in an equal degree, affect

the upper classes, which, I have observed in the neighbourhood where

I have resided, is not the fact; for though they are subject to this

disease, they are by no means so much so as the poorer inhabitants of

the villages in the Odenwald, for instance; and the water of many of

these parts has been proved to be more than usually free from earths

and salts.

Between Rothenmann and Gaishorn, at which latter village we passed

the night, we saw a peat moor, a very rare thing in this country. I

think I shall never forget the evening we spent here, in one of the

most miserable dirty little village inns in Europe. When we drove up

to the door we heard within the sound of loud and merry music, and the

noise of a number of people dancing and clapping their hands; this

all of a sudden ceased, and out rushed a whole troop of peasants of

both sexes to see the strangers. The master of the inn, a young man,

led us up a tumble-down staircase to the first and only story, where

we found three rooms in no very inviting state: the walls were dirty,

bare, and ragged; the beds almost as bad; the furniture looked as if it

had been standing there for a hundred years, and every thing smelt of

tobacco-smoke. Sir Humphry could scarcely make up his mind to remain in

such a place, yet it was too late to attempt to proceed, as he did not

like to travel after dark; so I was obliged to do my best, and arrange

our accommodation for the night, I being the only one who could make

myself understood, and this with no small difficulty, the people here

speaking the most wretched Austrian dialect. When I had at last got

dinner served, or rather supper, which we had luckily brought with

us, and had ordered chickens to be killed to take with us to-morrow,

got out sheets to be aired, &c. &c., none of which orders I could get

attended to with any regularity, as every body was running off to the

dance, which in the meanwhile had recommenced with as much noise as

before, I attempted to read the "Arabian Nights" to Sir Humphry, but

he found it impossible to hear, and was obliged soon to retire to his

bed. Before I followed his example I went to take a peep at the dance,

and asked the host what all this rout was about? He told me it was the

conclusion of a wedding fête which had been celebrated the day before,

and his house having been engaged for the purpose, he could not put an

end to their merriment. The dance which these peasants were enjoying,

the national dance of Styria, was a slow waltz, not devoid of grace,

with various tours performed by four couple, and which were always

preceded by a loud clapping of hands and stamping with the feet. Had we

arrived yesterday we should have seen the fête in its glory, and all

the guests in their gay and motley apparel, which would have been an

entertaining sight, but the bride and bridegroom not being present this

day, their friends were footing it merrily in their every-day dress.

Having partaken of some of the remains of the wedding cakes, I retired

to bed, but not to sleep, the party continuing their revels and noise

till a very late hour.

_30th._ We could not set off this morning till after nine, one of

the bolts of the carriage wanting repair, which I was obliged to

superintend, the workmen understanding nothing of the build of an

English carriage. We then set out and drove on to Krapath, where our

chickens proved very acceptable, the post-house offering nothing but

stale brown, or rather black bread and sour wine. We passed to-day

another old castle on the mountains, which latter, though still in some

parts covered with snow, already begin to lose their rocky and alpine

appearance, and have a more rounded form. The day was warm and very

dusty. From Krapath we drove on to Judenburg, a considerable town on

the top of a hill, but which we did not enter till long after sunset.

_May 1st._ From Judenburg we went on through Unzmarkt, to Neumarkt, in

Carinthia; and from thence through some beautiful vallies to Friesach,

a small town, where we passed the night at a very good inn. Upon the

hill above the town, stand the remains of an extensive old castle, but

we arrived too late to admit of my visiting it.

_2nd._ We left Friesach early, and went on to St. Veit, and from thence

to Klagenfurth, the capital of Carinthia. Before us in the distance

appeared another range of lofty snowy Alps, which form the boundary

between this country and Carniola. Between St. Veit and Klagenfurth

we met a post carriage, and the postilions insisted in spite of all

remonstrance upon changing horses, alleging as a reason that we should

find none at Klagenfurth. On driving to the post, which is a very fine

hotel, we found upon enquiry that the postilions were in the right, and

that they are permitted to change horses when they know that there are

none at the next station. Klagenfurth appears to be a very respectable

town, with broad and clean streets, and one or two fine open squares.

We stopped here to dinner, and then went on to Kirschentheur, a small

village lying at the foot of the Löbel, one of the chain of Alps which

we had seen in the morning, and over which the high road from Carinthia

to Carniola passes. We had not long left Klagenfurth when we again met

with another carriage, and were stopped and deprived of our horses,

which not a little irritated Sir Humphry, for we this time got instead

of our three only two, and neither of these having a saddle, and our

carriage being without a front dicky, the postilion was obliged to walk

to the next station. Sir Humphry had hoped to have crossed the Löbel

to-night, but on arriving at Kirschentheur, we found it was too late

to think of it; and we therefore remained at the post-house, where we

found ourselves tolerably comfortable.

_3rd._ Our preparations for departure this morning seemed to indicate a

very laborious route, for the carriage was provided with six horses,

two postilions, and two drags. We started at seven, and after a drive

of half an hour arrived at the foot of the Löbel Alp, or, to speak

more correctly, at the foot of a lesser mountain, which lies before

the Alps, to the summit of which we ascended by an excellent road,

in many places cut through the limestone rock. From the top, already

at a considerable elevation, we looked down upon the road before us,

which appeared like beautiful terraces built one above the other, and

which lay so perpendicularly under our feet, that it seemed almost

impossible to reach the lowest without imminent danger. The drags,

however, were put on, and we all arrived safely upon the last terrace,

which is formed of a noble and lofty stone arch, thrown across a very

deep ravine. We then proceeded through a beautiful valley formed of

magnificent rocks, crowned with woods of different descriptions, above

which appeared the white fields of snow. We at last reached the base

of the Löbel itself, and began the ascent of it, which occupied nearly

four hours. The road, which is everywhere excellent, and is kept in

very good order, winds upwards in a continual zig-zag till it reaches

the summit, where an opening is hewn through the solid rock, from

whence a most extensive and magnificent view presents itself to the

eye of the traveller just arrived from below; one seems to look out

upon a vast plain, but this plain is formed of the summits of lesser

mountains, all beautifully wooded, whilst nearer on each side is a long

chain of rocky Alps, whose crests are covered with snow, and the road

in front is seen winding through a deep valley till it is lost in the

woods.

Upon these Alps the varied progress of vegetation is distinctly marked;

first appears the beech now just burst into leaf, reaching to a height

of about 4000 feet; then follow the dark pine and fir, whose sombre

tints contrast finely with the beautiful green of the lower woods; and

again above these the lowly heath appears, bordering upon bare and

rugged rocks, or upon fields of eternal snow.

On the road we met with very little snow, and this only near the summit

of the pass; on arriving here our three extra horses were taken off,

and locking both the hinder wheels, we began the descent; this is much

steeper than the ascent from the other side, and from the top one sees

terrace lying below terrace, till they reach the valley. We arrived

safely at the bottom, having, however, with some difficulty avoided

running over a drunken man, who was lying fast asleep in the middle of

the road. We then drove on through the valley, always down hill, to

Neumarkt, in Carniola, into which province we had entered on the summit

of the Löbel; it is a small bourg, beautifully situated in a dell,

and completely surrounded by mountains; it is the first station after

leaving Kirschentheur, and we reached it at about two o'clock, so that

we had occupied seven hours in the passage of the Löbel. After dining

here we went on to Krainfurth, a pretty town, and of considerable size,

on the river Save or Sau. The evening being fine, Sir Humphry went out

to fish, but caught nothing.

_4th._ We left Krainfurth at eight, and arrived, after a pleasant but,

as usual, silent drive, at Laybach about twelve, and have taken up

our quarters at Detella's inn, which however is not the first, as the

Savage, and the City of Trieste, are each of them better hotels, and

are more pleasantly situated. Sir Humphry, however, chooses Detella's,

in consequence, he says, of its being the house in which he was ten

years ago, as well as in the year 1827, when he was seriously ill

there, and received great attention from some of the innkeeper's family.

_5th.-17th._ Sir Humphry generally goes out shooting the whole day,

and often brings home quails and landrails; but the snipes are rare. I

seldom accompany him on these excursions, as he is not fond of a second

gun, and I can be of no use, as he always takes a game-keeper with him

besides his servant. After dinner he usually goes out fishing for an

hour or two, and in the evening, after I have read to him, we generally

play a game at _ecarté_.

We are here in the heart of Carniola, and it seems as if we were

already at the end of Germany, for the greater part of the people are

Servians, and appear to be as different in their manners and habits

as in their language from the northern Germans; the peasants are

servile to their superiors, boorish and uncivil towards strangers, and

ignorant to an extreme. The only language which they understand is the

_Slowenian_ or _Krainerisch_, which is said to bear great affinity to

the Russian; and I am told that when the Russian troops were in this

part of Europe, they and the peasants were on very good terms, as they

mutually understood each other. The sound of this language is not hard

or unpleasant, with the exception of one or two letters, which are not

met with in most European languages; those who understand German and

Krainerisch, inform me that the latter language possesses equal compass

and power with the former. The higher and middling classes mostly speak

German, and often Italian, and are polite and friendly in their manners.

The town of Laybach, though of a considerable size, and with a

population of about 15,000 inhabitants, offers nothing interesting.

It is divided into two parts by the river Laybach, a slow and usually

turbid stream of no great breadth. Four or five wooden bridges

unite the two parts of the town; they are broad and appear like the

continuation of the streets, being shut in on both sides by rows of

shops, so that the passenger is not aware that he is crossing the

river. The streets are generally narrow and dark, and of the churches,

which are numerous, the episcopal church is the first. On a hill above

the town are the remains of the ancient citadel, now only used as a

prison. The view from hence is fine and extensive, overlooking a vast

plain, bounded on one side by the lofty chain of the Carinthian Alps,

and on the other by lesser mountains, covered with one continuous and

immense wood, the ancient Hyrcinian forest, which stretches on almost

to the frontiers of Turkey; nearer to the town are a great number of

marshes, the theatre of Sir Humphry's daily sport. The garrison is

considerable, and both the officers and soldiers are fine men, and look

very well in their white and light blue uniforms.

_18th._ We quitted Laybach this morning, and Sir Humphry intends

returning to Ischl, but by a different route to the one we formerly

followed. He would certainly have prolonged his stay in Laybach, and

have continued his shooting and fishing for some time longer, in

spite of the weather, which begins to be already very warm, had he

not received intimation from the police that he could not at present

continue to shoot, this being the breeding season. A pretty little

pony, which Sir Humphry bought a few days ago for the trifling sum

of five pounds, is tied behind the carriage, and runs after it. We

followed our old road to Krainburg, where we turned off into the

Sau-thal or Valley of the Save; along the banks of which river we drove

on to Saphnitz, a small village of only a few houses, where they seem

very rarely to see strangers, for the post-house was not even provided

with either butter or cheese. The valley between this place and Assling

becomes more and more beautiful and sublime as we advance. On one side

are barren and bleak rocks, rearing their snow-clad summits into the

clouds; and here and there the eye catches a glimpse of one of the

ancient passes over the mountains, formed by the Romans, and which have

probably been often trodden by Trajan and his legions during the wars

of that emperor in this part of Germany; on the other, or left side of

the valley, the mountains are lower, and seem to glory in the beauty

and luxuriance of their beech woods, through whose foliage rocks of

grey limestone are often seen jutting out. The clear blue waters of the

Save run through the middle of the valley, receiving in their course

many small tributary streams on both sides. Near Assling the contrast

becomes less striking; the valley seems to close, the rocks and woods

are more intermixed, and beyond them, in the distance, are discovered

the snowy peaks of the Terglon and Skerbina, two lofty mountains in the

district of Wochain. Assling is a pretty little village on the Save,

almost embosomed in wood. To the left, on entering, is a large iron

foundery, and also the remains of an unfortunate chain bridge, which

had given way upon the first trial. The post-house, where we stopped

for the night, is a very good inn, and the host remarkably civil.

[Illustration: _From nature_ _by J. J. Tobin_ VELDES LAKE]

_19th._ Sir Humphry wishing to see the lake of Veldes, the lake of

Wochain, and the source of the Save, which all lie out of the high road

in the district of Wochain, he determined to make a tour for a day or

two into this wild and remote country, a part of Austria rarely visited

by strangers. We were told at Assling, that the roads were in many

places too bad and too narrow to admit of our passing in the travelling

carriage, and Sir Humphry, therefore, hired a small calêche, in which

we set out. We crossed the Save by a very precarious bridge, built

of wood, exceedingly narrow, without any railings, and with a floor

formed of the trunks of fir-trees, cut into logs and laid parallel to

each other. We then went over a steep mountain, and drove on for about

two hours in a valley, on the sides of which the trees and rocks were

so picturesquely blended, that it would be difficult to say which of

the two contributed most to the beauty of the landscape. At the end

of the road, on driving down a hill, the lake of Veldes opened upon

us. This lake is on a much smaller scale, and totally different from

the Traun-See, and to many would perhaps appear more beautiful. At the

bottom of the hill, near the lake, lies the village of Veldes, with its

church steeple and a few of the houses peeping out from between the

trees; above the church an enormous lofty rock rises perpendicularly

out of the waters of the lake, bearing on its top an old imperial

castle, to which on the land side a pathway is seen winding up through

the wood. In the centre of the lake is a small island, completely

covered with trees of the most brilliant green, in the midst of which

and high above them is seen the steeple of a church, with the roofs

of a few houses. The length of this lake is between three and four

miles, but its breadth is considerably less; the nearer shores are

formed by noble mountains covered with fields, meadows, and fine

beech woods, behind which to the right appear the snowy peaks of

the Wochain Alps. Driving through the village and around the

lake, we entered into the beautiful valley of the Wochain-Save,

a small but beautifully clear stream, of an emerald green colour.

After stopping for some time for Sir Humphry to fish, we drove on to

Wochain-Villach, a wretched little village, where we dined upon the

produce of Sir Humphry's sport. Not a soul in the place spoke a word

of German or any other language except their _Slowenian_, so I was

e'en obliged to make use of our Assling coachman as interpreter. After

dinner we went on through the same magnificent valley along the banks

of the Wochain-Save to Feistritz, a large village, chiefly belonging

to Baron Z----, of Laybach, who also possesses very large iron and

steel-hammers near the village. We were received very politely at his

Schloss or country house, by his steward, to whom the innkeeper of

Assling had given us a letter, the Baron himself, with whom Sir Humphry

was personally acquainted, and on whom I had called in his name whilst

at Laybach, being absent. The Schloss is old and in bad repair, but we

were very comfortably lodged, and contrived to sleep in spite of the

noise of the hammers which were at work the whole night, and caused the

surrounding ground and houses to tremble as if shaken by an earthquake.

_20th._ We set out early this morning for the Wochain lake, and as

we drove along the banks of the Save, the country became at every

mile more and more romantic; and upon arriving at the spot where the

river issues from the lake, it seems to have reached the highest

pitch of wild grandeur. Barren rocks, from four to six thousand feet

high, rise up to the clouds, in which they hide their lofty snow-clad

peaks. The highest of all, visible from this side of the lake, is the

Skerbina.[B] The south side of the lake, round which the road runs,

is finely wooded, and here and there noble masses of light grey rock

rise abruptly out of the blue water, contrasting finely with the dark

pines which crown their summits. The shores of the north side are

formed of sloping meadows and hills, beyond which rise those enormous

walls of rock seen on approaching the lake. Sir Humphry crossed over

the lake in a boat, in order to visit the _Savitza_, or the source of

the Wochain-Save, a lofty cascade, just seen at the western end of the

lake like a glittering silver thread among the grey rocks. I drove

round the banks as far as was practicable in the carriage, and then

walked on and met Sir Humphry at the end of the lake, George following

with the pony for him to mount on leaving the boat. We then proceeded

for about three miles through fields, over rocks and stones, and the

dry beds of mountain torrents, till the road became too bad for the

pony. Sir Humphry then dismounted, and taking my arm, proceeded, with

the boatman as a guide, for about a mile further, when we reached a

frail wooden bridge cast over the foaming Save. Here Sir Humphry said

he would go no further, but wait with George, who led the pony, till

I returned from the source. I and the guide, therefore, went on up

the mountain, climbing over rocks and fallen trees, where no vestige

of a path was to be traced, till we came to the foot of a high and

mouldering scaffold, which the guide told me, in as good German as he

could, had been erected some years ago to enable the Archduke John to

gain a fine view of the fall. Having mounted it by a tottering ladder,

I found myself in full front of the cascade, which gushed some hundred

feet above, out of the side of one of those enormous mountains of rock

which we had seen from the other end of the lake, and rushed with a

deafening roar into an abyss below, invisible from the spot on which

I stood; I made signs to the guide that I wished to get down to the

foot of the fall, but he shook his head, and appeared never to have

been there, nor to like to go. The noise was so tremendous, that it

was impossible to hear any thing he said; but wishing, if possible,

to reach the bottom, I determined to trust to my own hand and foot,

and after a dangerous descent over the wet and slippery rocks, I found

myself close to the pool, into which the descending, but often-broken

column of water precipitates itself. The height of the fall must be

nearly four hundred feet, and from the transparency and icy coldness of

the water, and its gushing out of the middle of a perpendicular wall of

rock, which exhibits no trace of vegetation, except here and there a

stunted fir-tree thrusting itself through a crevice, it is probably the

exit of a subterraneous lake, confined in the interior of the mountain,

and supplied from the snows of the still loftier summits. In spite

of the clouds of spray and foam, which fell like a continual rain, I

took a rapid sketch of the scene before me, and then returned to the

guide, whom I had left upon the scaffolding, and who told me that he

had descended a part of the way, shouting after me, till he was afraid

to go any farther, nor had he ever been at the foot of the fall. In

the rock above the scaffolding is engraved a short Latin inscription,

by Baron Z----, in honour of Prince John. The view from this spot,

looking towards the lake, is exceedingly beautiful and picturesque,

presenting to the eye a scene very different from the one we beheld

at the opposite end of the lake. The immense mountains of rock, from

which the Save takes its rise, extend on each side in a wide and lofty

amphitheatre, till they gradually lose their wildly sublime character,

giving place to mountains of lesser height, and of a softer and more

undulating form, beautifully covered with fine green beech woods, now

and then relieved by a dark forest of pines, or by the lighter shades

of the bare limestone rocks. Far below the spectator lies the tranquil

lake, with its varied shores, partly wooded, partly fields and meadows,

through which the Save, after having pursued its foaming course through

the woods below the _Savitza_, is seen to wind, till it mixes its clear

waters with those of the deeper coloured lake. The only traces of human

habitations are two deserted huts, at some little distance from the

lake, for the village of Althammer, the only one in the vicinity of

this lake, is situated quite at the extremity of it, and is not visible

from this point. Upon returning to the little bridge, I found that Sir

Humphry had left it, and on reaching the lake, the boatman who had

conducted him across it told me he had gone round the lake to Althammer

in the carriage. I accordingly was rowed over to the village, and met

him just arrived, after having fished for half an hour in the lake. He

seemed pleased by the account I gave him of the Savitza, and though he

regretted he had not seen it, he was well satisfied in having given up

the attempt; and he said he was convinced he could not have borne the

fatigue. Althammer is merely a collection of iron and steelworks, with

the requisite habitations of the workmen, and is also the property of

Baron Z----. We dined with the directors, who treated us very civilly,

and afterwards drove back to Feistritz, where we did not arrive till

almost night, Sir Humphry often stopping on the road to fish.

_21st._ We quitted Feistritz early this morning, and returned by the

same beautiful valley through which we had before passed. Sir Humphry

caught fish enough upon our way to furnish us with another dinner at

Wochain-Villach, and between this village and the lake of Veldes we

witnessed a most beautiful atmospheric phenomenon. It commenced with a

fine rainbow, which in a few minutes concentrated itself upon one of

the finely wooded mountains in the valley, and here displayed the most

beautiful prismatic colours possible; at the base blue, then red, then

green, never extending beyond the outline of the mountain, and through

these colours we could still plainly descry the dark green of the

trees. It was on the whole the most splendid kind of rainbow I had ever

beheld, and Sir Humphry said he had never seen such an one before. It

lasted for about five minutes, then gradually disappeared, and proved

the forerunner of a very heavy rain, which began to fall just as we

entered Assling.

_22nd._ The morning was exceedingly cloudy, and upon leaving Assling

we did not expect to see much of the country before us, but about ten

o'clock it cleared up, and afforded us a view of the same kind of

beautiful scenery as that below Assling, though growing wilder and more

romantic as we ascended the valley. Kronau is a small bourg between

Assling and Wurzen, and the glen, at the entrance of which it is

situated, seems to be the finest in the whole valley, although the tops

of the higher mountains were obscured by huge masses of cloud. We here

met many hundreds of pilgrims, of both sexes, travelling in companies;

some returning, some going to Mount Lushari, a lofty mountain about six

leagues beyond Wurzen, where there is a famous shrine of the Virgin.

Those who were returning were all singing hymns of joy at having

been absolved from their sins; whilst those who were going walked in

silence, many bearing serious and often mournful countenances.

Wurzen is a wretched little village, a collection of a few dozen of

wooden huts, situated about two thousand feet above the level of the

sea, at the foot of a pass which leads from Carniola into Carinthia,

similar to that of the Löbel, but by no means so elevated. The

post-house is tolerable, and the view from the windows magnificent, so

much so, that Sir Humphry requested me to take a sketch of it for Lady

Davy. The master of this inn is so remarkably civil that Sir Humphry

has determined to stay for a day or two, and to make an excursion to

the source of the Isonzo, which we are told is about twenty miles from

Wurzen. In the afternoon Sir Humphry went out to fish, and I to examine

the source of the Wurzen-Save, which rises about two miles above the

village, and is of a character very different from the Savitza, or

source of the Wochain-Save. The river here flows from a large pond,

which appears perfectly insulated, lying in the midst of fields, at the

end of a dry water-channel coming from one of the lateral vallies. The

water in the pond is exceedingly clear, and at the bottom towards the

centre, one discovers a number of very large holes, through which the

water rises mixed with a great quantity of air, producing a constant

ebullition on the surface of the middle of the pond, the water of which

is perfectly cold.[C] After leaving the pond, the Wurzen-Save winds

through the valley as a beautiful clear mountain stream, passing by

Kronau, Assling, and Radmansdorf, where it receives the Wochain-Save,

flowing from the lake of Wochain. These united branches are then called

the Save, and the river flows on through the valley of the same name

to Krainburg; it afterwards passes near Laybach, where it receives

the river of that name with many other smaller streams, and rolls

on, already a considerable river, through Carniola, passes by Agram,

traverses Croatia, and then forms the boundary between Austria and

Turkey till it reaches Belgrade, where it mixes its mighty and rapid

waters, swollen to a great size by a hundred tributary streams, with

those of the Danube, and rolls with it into the Black Sea.

_23rd._ Sir Humphry going out to-day to shoot in the marshes near the

river, I went to see the lake of Weisenfels, about six miles off, and

had a famous mountain ramble. This lake is not large, but beautifully

clear and highly picturesque; it lies at the foot of the Mannhardt, a

stupendous mountain covered with eternal snow. I took a slight sketch

of the lake, and after spending an hour or two upon its beautiful and

sunny banks, I returned to Wurzen. After recounting what I had seen in

my ramble to Sir Humphry, we spent our evening as usual with cards and

reading.

_24th._ We left Wurzen this morning in a little carriage, and drove

over very bad roads up the valley to Tarvis, a small and old town,

through which the high road from Italy to Carinthia and Vienna passes.

The only manufactures of the town appear to be of iron and steel. We

here took another road to the left, up the valley of Raibl, along

the banks of a foaming mountain torrent, till we reached the little

village of the same name, where we arrived about twelve o'clock. Raibl

lies at the foot of the Königsberg, a lofty mountain containing very

productive lead mines, and is only inhabited by miners. There is a

small but very decent inn in the village; immediately in the front of

it rises a lofty Alp of very singular form, its rocky and barren summit

being split into five rounded peaks or cones. Whilst Sir Humphry took

a luncheon, I drew a sketch of the place, and we then set out for the

source of the Isonzo, which the postmaster of Wurzen, who accompanied

us as a guide, assured us was at a short distance up the mountain,

and that the road to it was very good. Sir Humphry proceeded in this

carriage whilst I walked up the mountain with the postmaster, and a

friend of his from Raibl, neither of whom seemed to know much about the

Isonzo or its source, for after a long walk they conducted us to a

valley in the middle of which ran a small stream, which the postmaster

declared was the Isonzo. This, however, both to Sir Humphry and me,

appeared impossible on comparing its situation and direction with that

of the Isonzo, as traced on our maps, and after a long discussion with

the postmaster and his friend, the latter admitted they were wrong,

and that it was the Pless, or Fletzbach, a little mountain river, a

tributary stream of the Isonzo, whose source, from all the information

we could gain, lies in a very different direction, at least ten miles

off, and in a very wild and barren country.

Sir Humphry was sadly disappointed and very angry with the postmaster,

who had assured us at Wurzen that he was well acquainted with the

source. We had however enjoyed some very fine wild scenery, and had

seen many beautiful small cascades leaping from the mountains. On our

road we passed a knoll of ground where the grass grew more luxuriantly

than any where else, and we learnt that this spot had been the grave

of some hundred Austrians, who had bravely defended a small fort which

stood here, against the French; of the whole garrison three or four

only escaped the slaughter. At that time the French had possession of

the whole surrounding country, and had thrice sent to the Austrians a

flag of truce, assuring them that resistance was vain. The inhabitants

of Raibl still speak with horror of this action, in which the Austrians

fought with desperate enthusiasm, led on by their commander, Major

Hermann, who, it is said, wished for death, and if so he could scarcely

have found a more wildly romantic spot in which to have parted with

life.

On our return we made a slight detour to see the Raibl-See, a small,

wild and highly romantic lake, from out of which flows the Raibl-bach,

the stream which runs through the valley of Raibl. Sir Humphry began

to fish in the lake whilst I attempted to sketch, but the clouds of

evening, which had already begun to overspread the summits of the Alps,

gathered so fast around us, as soon to compel us to return to our inn

at Raibl.

_25th._ Quitting Raibl we returned to Wurzen, and on the following

morning left it for Villach, a considerable town on the other side of

the mountains. The road winds up hill for some hours, but the ascent

is by no means so steep as that of the Löbel. From the top one has a

very fine view of the mountains and vallies of Carinthia. Villach is

seen at the foot of the mountain, and a league or two beyond it lies

the Ossiacher lake, a considerable expanse of water, whose banks on

one side are formed by low hills, prettily wooded, while on the other

side fine corn fields slope down to the water's edge. To the left is

seen the mountain of Bleiberg, which contains the most extensive and

productive lead mines in Austria. It being Whit-Monday, we found the

town very gay and full of peasants from the surrounding villages, who

were come to a fair which is held there; we only stopped to change

horses, and then drove on up the valley of the Drave to Paternian, a

wretched little village, where scarcely any thing was to be had at the

post-house. We have now left the limestone Alps and come to mountains

of a different character, formed chiefly of _micaceous schist_.

Their outlines are less wild and rugged than those of the limestone

mountains, to which, however, they are not at all inferior in height,

and the beautiful forests of beech and fir which skirt their bases,

appear, if possible, of a more brilliant verdure than the woods which

clothe the Alpine chains that we have left behind us. From Paternian we

continued our road to Spital, a small and dirty town, with which the

post-house fitly corresponded, but where we were obliged to sleep, it

being the only inn in the place.

_27th._ Sir Humphry to-day determined to try the fishing in the

Millstädter-See, a small lake about a league distant from the town;

he accordingly rode there on the pony, and I walked by his side.

This lake is of a very different character from those which we have

as yet visited. Its banks are quite pastoral; the mountains, covered

with woods or green fields, rise with a gradual slope from the lake,

and although of considerable elevation, for their summits were still

covered with snow, present no where the rocky and wild appearance of

those of the Wochain, or of the Valley of the Save. The lake itself is

between two or three miles in length, and on its shores, embosomed in

wood, lie the town of Millstadt and some pretty villages. After Sir

Humphry had caught a few trout, we returned to Spital, which we soon

after left for Gemünd. We had a beautiful drive of some hours through

the valley of the Drave, and arrived about five, but found the hotel

occupied by peasants, who were giving a grand ball. We were, however,

accommodated with very good rooms, and Sir Humphry passed the night

very comfortably, in spite of the music and bustle.

_28th._ We could not leave Gemünd till ten o'clock, there being no

horses left at the poste. It is a neat little town with an immense

square modern Schloss, the country residence of Count L----, of Vienna,

and which is almost as extensive as the whole town. As soon as horses

arrived, we proceeded to the village of Reinweg, and came to more lofty

Alps of _mica schist_ than those we have seen the two last days, and

which form the extensive chain of the Tauern. The Katzberg, one of

this chain, lies immediately above Reinweg, and we were here obliged

to take a _Vorspann_, consisting of an additional horse and two oxen,

who with no small difficulty dragged the carriage up to the top of the

Katzberg, though the road is excellent; the view from the summit is

very extensive and grand. The descent into the valley of the Murr is

very precipitous, and this valley is by no means so beautiful as that

of the Drave, though the Alps are higher and their summits more thickly

clothed in snow; the fine woods around their bases are wanting, so that

the valley seems cold and barren. We passed the night at St. Michael, a

large village at the foot of the Katzberg, and on the banks of the Murr.

_29th._ Leaving St. Michael this morning, we turned out of the valley

of the Murr into another lateral one, which, though narrower, is

more beautiful; and here some of the Alps present a variety of very

remarkable forms. The first poste is Tweng, a few houses collected

together at the foot of the Radstädter Tauern, so called from the town

of Radstadt, which lies on the other side of this Alp, to distinguish

it from one or two other chains, which also bear the name of the Tauern

Alps. We were here again furnished with six horses in order to reach

the summit of the pass, which is six thousand feet above the level of

the sea. We were a long while crawling up this steep ascent, but were

fully recompensed by the magnificent views which we every now and then

caught a glimpse of. As we ascended higher and higher, these views

grew more and more wild, and every ten minutes we passed by beautiful

cascades formed by the melting of the snows of the cold regions into

which we were penetrating. Upon reaching the highest point of the pass,

perhaps four thousand feet above the valley below, we entered as it

were upon a frozen world, where we could see nothing around us but

immense fields of white and dazzling snow, beyond which rose still more

elevated mountains, whose summits were crested with a long and jagged

wall of semi-transparent crested snow, whilst here and there a dark

and rocky peak, seemingly indignant of its load of snows, had shaken

them off, and elevated its head far above the surrounding whiteness,

forming the most magnificent image of wild sublimity that can well

be conceived. Having sent back our three extra horses, we began the

descent, which, in spite of our two drags, was not without danger, the

road being very slippery and steep; but we soon arrived at a little

village, aptly called _auf dem Tauern_ (on the Tauern). The few huts

which form this hamlet were still surrounded with snow, which, however,

was beginning to melt quickly, and here and there a little brownish

green plot of grass appeared, which a few days before was covered with

snow. The road both ascending and descending is excellent, but it is

not built with so much art as that of the Löbel. The views descending

on the Radstadt side are, if possible, more beautiful than those which

we saw during our ascent from Tweng.

The mountains are more thickly wooded, and the springs of the various

turnings of the road present a view of the distant Styrian Alps, one

of which, called the _Bischoff's Mütze_, or the Mitre, is of a very

singular form, consisting of two peaks exactly resembling gigantic

termites, (anthills,) rising out of vast fields of snow. Along the side

of the road runs a mountain torrent, clear as crystal, forming at every

hundred yards fine cascades, some of which, increased considerably by

lateral streams, are beautiful and picturesque to a high degree. The

road then winds through a narrow valley, closed in on all sides by

stupendous masses of dark blue-limestone, (for we are again travelling

over a calcareous chain,) till upon turning suddenly round a corner,

we looked down with surprise upon an open, wide, extended, and fertile

valley, with hamlets and villages peeping through the trees, and

bounded at a great distance by another chain of snowy Alps. Before

arriving at Unter-Tauern, (below the Tauern,) the first village in

this valley, situated at the foot of the Alps, we passed on our left a

noble cascade, bounding in many a broken column from an amazing height;

the last of these columns falls more than five hundred feet, and is

dispersed into a light white foam before it reaches the pool which

receives it below. From Unter-Tauern to Radstadt is a short poste. This

latter is a small town, still surrounded by its old wall and towers,

and appears to possess nothing remarkable. The poste where we passed

the night is a very indifferent inn.

_30th._ We left Radstadt this morning in the rain, the first wet

weather we have had for some time, and drove on through the fertile

and beautiful valley of the Enns to Schladming. The country in many

parts resembles a flower garden, for the narcissus, the cyclamen, and

many other of our garden flowers flourish here as the common weeds of

the fields and mountains. From Schladming we proceeded to Gröbming,

the next poste; it is a small village, picturesquely situated at the

foot of high rocky mountains. About noon the weather cleared up, and

on arriving here Sir Humphry determined to spend the afternoon in

this place, and to see if he could find any thing to shoot in the

fields. We accordingly went out after dinner, but could not see a bird,

and returned in the evening to our inn, where I continued to read

Shakspeare, which has been our book for the last six or seven evenings.

_31st._ We quitted Gröbming early this morning, where Sir Humphry

had to pay dear for very bad accommodations, the only instance of

exorbitant charges which we have as yet met with. To remonstrate

with the landlord, however, was in vain; nor did it appear to us

extraordinary that a being who had been rendered by illness unable

to move, but by the help of a broad wooden bowl, in which he sat and

shoved himself about, his legs being shrivelled up and quite useless

to him, should be churlish and discontented. From Gröbming we went

to Sternach, where we entered upon our former road, and from thence

through Mitterndorf to Aussee, where we arrived in the afternoon, just

as it began to rain hard.

_June 1st.-7th._ We have spent the whole of this week at Aussee, at a

very good country hotel near the poste, which is not, in this little

town, an inn, as is generally the case in this part of the country. Sir

Humphry has been fishing every day from eight in the morning till three

or four, about which time he usually dines, and our evenings have been

spent as usual. I generally accompany him in all his excursions, being

needed as an interpreter, and whilst he is fishing I take a sketch,

or ramble about the lakes and through the woods, thus fully enjoying

the beautiful alpine scenery with which we are surrounded. Our first

trip was to the Gründtl-See, an exceedingly beautiful lake, about four

miles from Aussee. The drive to it is chiefly along the banks of the

Traun, and though over a very bad road, which is only passable for a

one-horse cabriolet, is very picturesque, and the lake is seen peeping

out at intervals through dark green firs. The Traun, which is here only

a small mountain stream, but beautifully clear, rushes foaming out of

the lake at its southern end; a small covered bridge is thrown across

it at this spot, beneath which are sluice gates, by means of which the

exit of the waters can be partially hindered. Close to the bridge is a

cottage inhabited by the fisherman, who alone has the right of fishing

in the lake, which privilege he rents from the crown. A few zwanzigers

(an eightpenny coin) easily procured for Sir Humphry every possible

facility in his favourite pursuit from this man. He rowed us over to

the other end of the lake, where the Traun enters, which he told us

was the best spot for fishing. The view of the lake from the southern

end is finer than that from the northern extremity. In the centre of

the scene at the latter end, some beautiful white cliffs rise to a

great height, topped with bright green beech woods. On the right hand

appear rugged mountains, covered with dark forests of pine, whilst

those to the left are covered with woods of a lighter and more vivid

green. Beyond the lake, mountain rises over mountain, the nearer ones

finely wooded, whilst those in the distance are rocky and barren, and

surmounted by a white crest of snow.

Leaving Sir Humphry occupied with fishing, I followed the course of

the Traun for about a mile and a half up a fine narrow valley to the

Töplitz Lake, from which issues no longer a broad and deep river, such

as it flows from the Traun-See, but a little brawling brook eight to

ten yards wide. The Töplitz-See is a small lake, of a wild and gloomy

character; its banks are so precipitous that it is impossible to go

round it, as I was told by the fishermen of the Gründtl-See, and above

these banks nothing is to be seen but vast and sombre pine forests.

There was a small canoe, hollowed out of the trunk of a fir-tree, lying

at the water's edge, but there being no oar or paddle in it I could

make no use of it, and accordingly returned to Sir Humphry. On a second

visit to the Gründtl-See, I again went on to the Töplitz Lake, having

been told by the fisherman that beyond it, and only a few hundred yards

distant from it, lay another lake, the Kammer-See, from which the

Traun took its rise, but that to reach this lake it was necessary to

row across the Töplitz-See; I therefore took an oar with me, but upon

arriving at the lake, I was sadly disappointed at finding the canoe no

longer there, nor could I imagine who could have taken it away, for

there was not in the surrounding scene the slightest vestige of a human

being. I however climbed up the rocks, and attempted to pass round the

lake, but was soon obliged to desist, having twice nearly slipped over

the edge of the rock, a precipice of many hundred feet above the lake,

into the water, upwards of a thousand feet in depth. When I returned

with my unused oar to the fisherman, he told me that the canoe had

probably been taken by some peasants, who lived in a summer hut at

the other end of the Töplitz-See. This fisherman appeared to be a man

of considerable information; he was well acquainted with the various

fish which inhabit the alpine waters, and amongst other things he told

us that the _Ombre Chevalier_, a fish of rare occurrence, was to be

met in the Lambach-See and in the Upper Oden-See, two small lakes in

the middle of the snowy Alps, at a very great elevation above the

Gründtl-See. Sir Humphry much wished to visit these lakes, but was

immediately deterred by the account which the fisherman gave us of the

roads to them. The Gründtl Lake is famous for its trout and fine char,

immense quantities of which are yearly sent to Vienna, potted.

Another of our trips was to the Lower Oden-See, about four miles on the

other side of Aussee. This is a small lake, very different in character

from the Gründtl-See and Töplitz-See: the shores, though not exactly

flat, are formed of slightly varied hills covered with wood. Sir

Humphry had excellent sport, and caught a great many small trout in the

little stream which flows from this lake.

[Illustration: From nature _by J. J. Tobin_ ISCHL]

_8th._ Having paid another visit to the Gründtl-See this morning, we

left Aussee and crossed over the mountain which we had passed on our

former route to Ischl, and found the road now perfectly clear from

snow. Sir Humphry intends to spend some time here, and to make use of

the salt baths, which attract much company to this little place during

the season.

_9th.-21st._ Sir Humphry has now given the baths a fair trial, and

has found great benefit from them, although upon our arrival here,

after taking his first bath, he was for giving them up in despair, and

determined immediately to quit Ischl. This determination, however, was

caused by the imprudent haste in which he had taken that bath, for no

sooner were we arrived than he ordered a bath to go into instantly

after his dinner. I could not help urging him not to do so, but in

vain; he went into it, and was in consequence afterwards very unwell,

and passed a most restless night.

In the morning he begged me to order horses to leave Ischl, but

consented to my looking at some of the lodgings before we set off. I

found one which, from its convenience and pleasant situation, I thought

would suit him, and on his going with me to see it he was so pleased

with it, that he relinquished his intention of leaving Ischl, and took

it for a week, and we entered into it the same afternoon, causing a

great bustle to its inmates, who were not accustomed to prepare so

quickly for their lodgers. It is a very good large house, standing

quite alone on the top of a grassy mound, with a large garden in

front and fields behind, at a short distance from the baths, and

within a few steps of the little town. The only persons who inhabit

it are the owner, an elderly man, formerly bailiff of the district,

with his housekeeper and a servant, so that Sir Humphry is certain of

enjoying the quiet and tranquillity which are so necessary to him.

Ischl is a small clean town,--if it may be so denominated, for I should

think it scarcely contains two thousand inhabitants,--delightfully

situated in a valley watered by the river Traun, which flows through

it, and is crossed by a wooden bridge. On every side are beautiful

walks, some into the woods, some along the river, others again up into

the mountains; and even these the invalid may enjoy, as he is sure at

every short distance of finding a comfortable seat on which to repose.

These benches generally bear the name of some prince or princess, whose

favorite spot it marks, and they are always so placed as to command

a fine view of the town, the valley and river, or the mountains. On

the right bank of the town there is a sort of public garden, which is

called the Prater, and is said to be a _very humble_ imitation of the

celebrated park of the same name at Vienna. Here are various amusements

for the people, the principal ones shooting at the target with the

rifle and the cross-bow; behind these gardens rises a little wooded

hill, on the top of which is a seat called the Umbrella-seat, from the

awning over it, which is spread in the shape of an umbrella. From this

spot one enjoys a most beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding

scenery. To the west lies the delightful valley that leads to Salzburg,

on each side of which, mountain rises over mountain, all richly covered

with wood. On the east one sees Ischl, with its steaming saltworks, and

beyond it the valley of the Traun, seemingly closed in by the wild and

rocky Alps which form the shores of the Traun-See. On the northern side

a mighty wall of rocks, many thousand feet high, rises out of dark pine

forests, and beyond these appears, in hoary whiteness and surrounded by

glaciers and eternal snows, the summit of the Dachstein or Schneeberg,

the loftiest of the Styrian Alps, which we often beheld in the evening

from our windows, glowing with the ruddy beams of the setting sun

long after all light had departed from the nearer and less elevated

mountains. A fine range of wooded hills, at whose feet runs the Ischl,

a small mountain stream that falls into the Traun, forms the southern

boundary of this scene. The chief street in Ischl runs parallel with

the river, and at its end is situated the _Pfannhaus_ or boiling house,

with its adjacent works. This is a large circular building, containing

an enormous iron boiler or pan, between thirty and forty feet in

diameter and a foot and a half in depth, in which the solution of salt,

conveyed there in pipes from the mines, is evaporated.

Ischl has but one church, which is Catholic. A small theatre is being

erected, and is to be finished by the middle of the season, which

will be in July. The houses are all arranged for lodgers, and rooms

may be had on any scale, from those adapted to the habits of the most

simple and retired individual, to those of the prince and his suite.

The lodgings are dear, but living, on the contrary, is very cheap. An

excellent dinner at the _table d'hôte_, where I usually dine, costs

from one to two _paper_, or _schein_ florins (ninepence-halfpenny

to twenty-pence English;) but a person may dine at what expence he

pleases, as the dinner is always served _à la carte_, and a good plate

of soup costs not more than one penny. A few days after our arrival, I

met at the _table d'hôte_ Mr. B----, a most agreeable and well-informed

man, with whom I enjoyed many a walk in the neighbourhood during his

stay, which was unfortunately of short duration.

Sir Humphry is now engaged in composing a new work, which he intends

to call _A Vision_; this usually occupies our mornings, he dictates to

me for an hour or two, then reads over what has been written, which

I afterwards copy off fair, and at 12 o'clock he takes a bath. These

baths are made with the _mother-water_, or residue which remains

after the greater part of the salt has been crystallized out of the

salt water by evaporation, and is an intensely strong solution of

chloride of sodium and some other salts. This is diluted according

to prescription for the various patients, so many gallons to so

much common water. The same solution of salt is also employed for

_douche_ and shower baths, which are much used, and said to be very

efficacious. The situation and arrangement of the vapour baths are

rather extraordinary. Above the large boiler in the panhouse, on

the scaffolding which supports the roof, and from which the boiler

is suspended, a number of small closets are erected, in which the

person taking the bath is seated, so that he is not only completely

surrounded by the vapour of the boiling salt water, but breathes an air

impregnated with many volatile particles. These baths are used twice

a day, and the patient usually remains in his cabinet, or walks along

the gallery suspended over the pan from one to two hours at a time,

which proves in a variety of cases of the greatest utility. Sir Humphry

generally dines at three, and afterwards goes out fishing, with his

servant, and often does not return till nine o'clock, when I read to

him. There are a great number of visitors here, who come during the

summer months to use the baths and to enjoy themselves, but Sir Humphry

sees no one, and appears to wish to avoid all society, and of course I

see none but those I chance to meet at the _table d'hôte_, or in a walk.

_21st._ Having agreed yesterday with the apothecary of the place (to

whose shop I go almost daily with some prescription or other from Sir

Humphry, who often varies his medicines) to ascend one of the nearer

Alps, we started for the summit of the Zimitz early this morning: we

crossed over hills and dales, through woods and fields, till we came

to the foot of the mountain, on the top of which we proposed eating

our dinner, which we carried in our pockets. My companion had told me

before that he had already ascended this Alp, and was well acquainted

with the road; but when we began the ascent he confessed that he was

at a loss, and our only alternative was to turn back, or find our way

as we could. We chose the latter, and confiding in our own eyes and

limbs, we followed the course of a mountain torrent, which came rushing

down the rocks. Stepping from rock to rock, we in a short time came to

the entrance of a snow-cave, through which this little stream flowed.

Close to the snow we found many rare plants, and amongst others the

yellow violet of the Alps. Before entering into this cave, which had

been formed in a fallen avalanche, I slipped on the rock, and was

obliged to jump into the icy cold water, which was fortunately not

deep. The cave, however, repaid me for my cold bath. Entering through

an opening in its roof of snow, the rays of the sun illuminated its

dark and rocky sides, and were reflected upon the water that flowed

through the middle. On looking towards the opposite end of the cave,

through a lofty arch of snow, we beheld a distant waterfall, whilst the

rocks and bushes, finely lighted by the rays of the sun, contrasted

strongly with the darkness of the cave, whose fretted roof seemed as

if hewn out of the finest white marble into large descending points,

from which the melting snow was continually dropping. Having made a

slight sketch of this fairy scene, we left the cave, and, following the

rivulet, soon reached the waterfall which we had seen in the distance

through the arch of snow. An immense barrier of rock here put an end

to our progress in this direction, and we were obliged to turn to the

right, where the ascent appeared more possible. My companion made a

considerable detour whilst I attempted to climb up the rocks; but I had

not ascended more than twenty feet, when, on catching hold of a small

fir-tree, it snapped off, and I rolled down the rocks into the rivulet

below. In spite of my fall I reascended, and with some difficulty

reached the uppermost rock, and found myself in a situation whence

I could no longer ascend nor descend. At last my companion appeared

above, and reaching down to me his long alpine pole, I clung to it, and

with his assistance thus extricated myself from my most unpleasant and

perilous situation; I was, however, so exhausted, that we were obliged

to wait a full half hour before we could proceed on our ascent. Our

road then lay for a long time through a forest of pine and beech, till

we came to a brook, whose course we followed to its rise, which was in

a large snow. We passed quickly over this, and then saw that we only

had about a fourth part of the ascent to accomplish. We journeyed on

merrily, although we were obliged, for upwards of an hour, to climb

with the help of hands and feet over the rocks, till we came to the

last, though not easiest part of the journey. This was a wood of dwarf

firs, which an avalanche of the last winter in its descent had laid

flat upon the ground, though their roots generally remained fixed. We

scrambled over and through these, and, after all difficulties, I found

myself, about two o'clock, on the snow-clad ridge of the mountain. My

companion was still battling with the prostrate firs, but arrived about

a quarter of an hour afterwards, and we then went on to the highest of

the five peaks which form the summit of the Zimitz, between seven and

eight thousand feet above the sea. The view from this spot amply repaid

us for the toil and danger we had encountered in reaching it. Many

thousand feet below us we beheld four large lakes surrounded by green

mountains and vallies glowing in the sun; beyond these lay the wide

extended plains of Bavaria, clothed with glittering towns and villages,

over which the eye wandered to a far distant horizon, bounded only by

the clear blue sky.

Looking back we saw down into many a dark valley, out of which rose

numberless snow peaks, and high above the rest the majestic Schneeberg,

with its eternal glaciers, and at a yet greater distance the still more

lofty peaks of the Salzburg chain; but the reflection of the sun from

the vast and glaring fields of snow was so strong that the eye could

scarcely bear to look at them, and turned with delight to the green

woods and lakes below. Having spent an hour in the pure air of these

upper regions, we began to descend by a very different road to the one

we had chosen in ascending, which, though better and not so rocky, was

in many parts so steep, that we were in continual danger of pitching

forwards, and were therefore obliged to seat ourselves each upon a

stout branch of a fir-tree, and thus ride down. Having traversed two

snow fields, we came to some as yet uninhabited huts, about half-way

down the mountain, from whence a good sheep path conducted us into a

valley. Here we got some milk in one of the dairy huts, and then made

the best of our way towards Ischl, as a thunderstorm, which we had for

some time seen approaching, was now fast gathering round us, and the

peasants advised us to hasten as quickly as possible, but long before

we could reach home it burst over us with tremendous violence. The rain

came down in such torrents, that in five minutes the road was more than

ankle deep in water, but it soon changed into hail, like a shower of

nuts, accompanied by the loudest thunder and most vivid lightning.

Thus, soaked but much refreshed, we reached Ischl about eight o'clock

in the evening.