Ehrenfels is synonymous to Majestic, or Noble Rock; and Fels, which is
the present term for rock in all the northern counties of England, as
well as in Germany, is among several instances of exact similarity, as
there are many of resemblance, between the present British and German
languages. A German of the southern districts, meaning to enquire
what you would have, says, "_Was woll zu haben?_" and in the north
there is a sort of Patois, called _Plat Deutsche_, which brings the
words much nearer to our own. In both parts the accent, or rather
tone, is that, which prevails in Scotland and the adjoining counties
of England. To express a temperate approbation of what they hear, the
Germans say, "So--so;" pronouncing the words slowly and long; exactly
as our brethren of Scotland would. In a printed narrative of the siege
of Mentz there is this passage, "_Funfzehn hundert menschen, meistens
weiber und kinder ... wanderten mit dem bundel under dem arm uber
die brucke_;"--Fifteen hundred persons, mostly wives and children,
wandered, with their bundles under their arms, upon the bridge. So
permanent has been the influence over our language, which the Saxons
acquired by their establishment of more than five centuries amongst
us; exiling the antient British tongue to the mountains of Scotland
and Wales; and afterwards, when incorporated with this, resisting the
persecution of the Normans; rather improving than yielding under their
endeavours to extirpate it. The injuries of the Bishop of Winchester,
who, in Henry the Second's time, was deprived of his fee for being "_an
English ideot, that could not speak French_," one would fondly imagine
had the effect due to all persecutions, that of strengthening, not
subduing their objects.
After parting with some of the friends, who had accompanied us
from Mentz, and taking in provision for the voyage, our oars were
again plyed, and we approached Bingerloch, the commencement of that
tremendous pass of rocky mountains, which enclose the Rhine nearly as
far as Coblentz. Bingerloch is one of the most dangerous parts of the
river; that, being here at once impelled by the waters of the Nahe,
compressed by the projection of its boundaries, and irritated by hidden
rocks in its current, makes an abrupt descent, frequently rendered
further dangerous by whirlpools. Several German authors assert, that
a part of the Rhine here takes a channel beneath its general bed,
from which it does not issue, till it reaches St. Goar, a distance of
probably twenty miles. The force and rapidity of the stream, the aspect
of the dark disjointed cliffs, under which we passed, and the strength
of the wind, opposing our entrance among their chasms, and uniting
with the sounding force of the waters to baffle the dexterity of the
boatmen, who struggled hard to prevent the vessel from being whirled
round, were circumstances of the true sublime, inspiring terror in some
and admiration in a high degree.
Reviewing this now, in the leisure of recollection, these nervous lines
of Thomson appear to describe much of the scene:
The rous'd up river pours along;
Resistless, roaring, dreadful, down it comes
From the rude mountain, and the mossy wild,
Tumbling thro' rocks abrupt, and sounding far,
... ... ... ... again constrain'd
Between two meeting hills, it bursts away,
Where rocks and woods o'erhang the turbid stream;
There gathering triple force, rapid, and deep,
It boils, and wheels, and foams, and thunders through.
Having doubled the sharp promontory, that alters the course of the
river, we saw in perspective sometimes perpendicular rocks, and then
mountains dark with dwarf-woods, shooting their precipices over the
margin of the water; a boundary which, for many leagues, was not
broken, on either margin, except where, by some slight receding, the
rocks embosomed villages, lying on the edge of the river, and once
guarded them by the antient castles on their points. A stormy day,
with frequent showers, obscured the scenery, making it appear dreary,
without increasing its gloomy grandeur; but we had leisure to observe
every venerable ruin, that seemed to tell the religious, or military
history of the country. The first of these beyond Bingen, is the old
castle of Bauzberg, and, next, the church of St. Clement, built in
a place once greatly infested by robbers. There are then the modern
castle of Konigstein, in which the French were besieged in 1793,
and the remains of the old one, deserted for more than two hundred
years. Opposite to these is the village of Assmans, or Hasemanshausen,
celebrated for the flavour of its wines; and near them was formerly a
warm bath, supplied by a spring, now lost from its source to the Rhine,
notwithstanding many expensive searches to regain it. About a mile
farther, is the antient castle of Falkenburg, and below it the village
of Drechsen; then the ruins of an extensive chateau, called Sonneck,
beneath which the Rhine expands, and encircles two small islands, that
conclude the district of the Rheingau.
After passing the small town of Lorrich, on the eastern bank, the Rhine
is again straightened by rocky precipices, and rolls hastily past the
antient castle of Furstenberg, which gives its name to one of the
dearest wines of the Rhine.
We now reached Bacharach, a town on the left bank of the river, forming
part of the widely scattered dominions of the Elector Palatine, who has
attended to its prosperity by permitting the Calvinists and Lutherans
to establish their forms of worship there, under equal privileges with
the Roman Catholics.
It has a considerable commerce in Rhenish wine; and its toll-house,
near which all vessels are compelled to stop, adds considerably to the
revenues of the Palatinate. For the purpose of enforcing these, the
antient castle called Stahleck, founded in 1190, was probably built;
for Bacharach is the oldest town of the Palatinate, and has scarcely
any history between the period when it was annexed to that dominion and
the departure of the Romans, who are supposed to have given it the name
of _Bacchi ara_, and to have performed some ceremonies to that deity
upon a stone, said to be still concealed in the Rhine. In the year
1654, 1695, 1719, and 1750, when the river was remarkably low, this
stone is recorded to have been seen near the opposite island of Worth,
and the country people have given it the name of the _Aelterstein_. As
this extreme lowness of the waters never happens but in the hottest
years, the sight of the Aelterstein is earnestly desired, as the
symptom of a prosperous vintage. The river was unusually low when we
passed the island, but we looked in vain for this stone, which is
said to be so large, that five-and-twenty persons may stand upon its
surface.
Bacharach is in the list of places, ruined by Louis the Fourteenth in
1689. The whole town was then so carefully and methodically plundered
that the French commander, during the last night of his stay, had
nothing to sleep on but straw; and, the next day, this bedding was
employed in assisting to set fire to the town, which was presently
reduced to ashes.