We were now somewhat more pleasantly lodged than before, at an inn
near the Rhine, almost opposite to the fortress, the importance of
which had, in the mean time, greatly increased by the approach of the
French armies. The strength of it was somewhat a popular topic. Being
considered as one of the keys of Germany towards France, the Governor
takes the oaths not only to the Elector of Treves, but to the Emperor
and the Empire. As it can be attacked but on one side, and that is
not towards the Rhine, a blockade is more expected than a siege; and
there are storehouses in the rock for preserving a great quantity of
provisions. The supply of water has been provided for so long since
as the fifteenth century, when three years were passed in digging,
with incredible labour, a well through the solid rock. An inscription
on a part of the castle mentions this work, and that the rock was
hewn to the depth of two hundred and eighty feet. The possession of
the fortress was confirmed to the Elector of Treves by the treaty of
Westphalia in 1650.
In the morning, our boatmen crossed the river from Coblentz, to pass
under the walls of Ehrenbreitstein, perhaps an established symptom
of submission. The river is still of noble breadth, and, after the
junction with the Moselle, which immediately fronts the old palace,
flows with great, but even rapidity. Its shores are now less romantic,
and more open; spreading on the left into the plains of Coblentz, and
swelling on the right into retiring mountains.