Was occupied by Imperial troops; and, as we entered the gorge of its
rocky pass, it was curious to observe the appearances of modern mixed
with those of antient warfare; the soldiers of Francis the Second lying
at the foot of the tower of Drusus; their artillery and baggage waggons
lining the shore along the whole extent of the walls.
In this neighbourhood are three celebrated mineral springs, of which
one rises in the domain of the Carmelite monastery of Jonniesstein;
the second, called Ponterbrunnen, is so brisk and spirited, that the
labourers in the neighbouring fields declare it a remedy for fatigue as
well as thirst; and a third, called Heilbrunnen, has so much fixed air,
as to effervesce slightly when mixed with wine.
The interesting valley of Andernach has been already described. Its
scenery, viewed now from the water, was neither so beautiful, or
so striking, as from the road, by which we had before passed. The
elevation of the latter, though not great, enabled the eye to take a
wider range, and to see mountains, now screened by the nearer rocks of
the shore, which added greatly to the grandeur of the scene. The river
itself was then also a noble object, either expanding below, or winding
in the distance; but, now that we were upon its level, its appearance
lost much both in dignity and extent, and even the rocks on its margin
seemed less tremendous, when viewed from below. Something, however,
should be allowed in this last respect to our having just quitted
wilder landscapes; for, though the banks of the Rhine, in its course
from Bingen to Coblentz, are less various and beautiful, than in its
passage between Andernach and Bonn, they are more grand and sublime.
But the merits of the different situations for the view of river
scenery have been noticed and contended for by the three persons most
authorised by their taste to decide upon them; of whom GRAY has left
all his enthusiasm, and nearly all his sublimity, to his two surviving
friends; so that this opinion is to be understood only with respect
to the scenery of the Rhine, and does not presume to mingle with the
general question between them. The Rhine now passes by the village and
castle of Hammerstein, which, with those of Rheineck, were nearly laid
waste by Louis the Fourteenth, the castle of Argendorff and the towns
of Lintz and Rheinmagen, all exhibiting symptoms of decay, though Lintz
is called a commercial town.
ROLAND's Castle appears soon after, and, almost beneath it, the island,
that bears Adelaide's convent, called Rolands Werth, or the Worth of
Roland.
We were now again at the base of the Seven Mountains, whose summits had
long aspired in the distance, and, as we passed under the cliffs of
Drakenfels, hailed the delightful plain of Goodesberg, though much of
it was concealed by the high sedgy bank of the Rhine on the left. The
spreading skirts of these favourite mountains accompanied us nearly to
Bonn, and displayed all their various charms of form and colouring in
this our farewell view of them.
The town and palace of Bonn extend with much dignity along the western
bank, where the Rhine makes a very bold sweep; one wing of the former
overlooking the shore, and the want of uniformity in the front, which
is seen obliquely, being concealed by the garden groves; the many tall
spires of the great church rise over the roof of the palace, and appear
to belong to the building.
After leaving Bonn, the shores have little that is interesting,
unless in the retrospect of the Seven Mountains, with rich woodlands
undulating at their feet; and when these, at length, disappear, the
Rhine loses for the rest of its course the wild and sublime character,
which distinguishes it between Bingen and Bonn. The rich plain, which
it waters between the latter place and Cologne, is studded, at every
gentle ascent, that bounds it, with abbeys and convents, most of them
appropriated to the maintenance of noble Chapters.
Of these, the first is the Ladies Chapter of Vilich, founded in the
year 1190, by Megiegor, a Count and Prince of Guelderland, who endowed
it richly, and made his own daughter the first abbess; a lady, who had
such excellent, notions of discipline, that, when any nuns neglected
to sing in the choir, she thought a heavy blow on the cheek the best
means of restoring their voices. This Chapter is one of the richest in
Germany, and is peculiarly valuable to the nobility of this Electorate
from its neighbourhood to Bonn, where many of the ladies pass great
part of the year with their families. On the other side of the river
is the Benedictine abbey of Siegberg, appropriated also to nobles,
and lying in the midst of its own domains, of which a small town, at
the foot of its vineyards, is part. Admission into this society is
an affair of the most strict and ceremonious proof, as to the sixteen
quarterings in the arms of the candidate, each of which must be
unblemished by any plebeian symptoms. Accompanied by his genealogy,
these quarterings are exposed to view for six weeks and three days,
before the election; and, as there is an ample income to be contended
for, the candidates do not hesitate to impeach each others' claims by
every means in their power. The prelate of this abbey writes himself
Count of Guls, Strahlen and Neiderpleis, and has six provostships
within his jurisdiction.
Besides this, and similar buildings, the Rhine passes not less than
twenty villages in its course from Bonn to Cologne, a distance of
probably five-and-twenty English miles.