THE ELBE, A MOUNTAIN-STREAM. WE FISH IT. DINE ON OUR FISH IN A VILLAGE
INN. THE YOUNG TORPINDA. ARNAU. THE STATUES IN THE MARKET-PLACE. THE
FRANCISCAN CONVENT. TROUTENAU. THE WANDERING MINSTRELS. MARCH
CONTINUED. FISH THE RIVER. A VILLAGE INN, AND ACCOUNT OF THE TORPINDAS.
OUR FIRST MEETING WITH THESE FORMIDABLE PEOPLE IN A WOOD. ANOTHER
PEDESTRIAN TOURIST. ADERSPACH. EXCELLENT QUARTERS. MOST REMARKABLE
ROCKS. THE MINSTRELS AGAIN.
Our journey towards Troutenau was for a while prolific in few events,
with an account of which it is worth while to entertain my reader. In
point of scenery, each new step that we took introduced us to new and
constantly varying beauties; but on that head I have said as much,
perhaps more, than was necessary. For who, after all, can so describe
nature's handiwork, as to create in the mind of him who has never
looked upon the original, anything like a correct idea of what it is?
The painter may indeed accomplish this, though even he will accomplish
it imperfectly; but the mere narrator,--in good sooth, his words,
however appropriate, must ever fall comparatively dull upon the ear,
which is not the organ through which to convey to the mind any notion,
however incomplete, of external scenery. When, then, I have stated,
that our path carried us over hill and dale,--that we threaded deep
forests, and from time to time traversed an open plain, and that all
this while the snowy ridges of the Riesengebirgen stood up like a wall
upon our left hand, I have left myself nothing in the shape of
description to add, out of which the reader could hope to derive an
accession, either to his information or his amusement.
Of one occurrence that befel in the course of this day's pilgrimage, it
is, however, necessary that I should take notice. At the distance of
perhaps ten English miles from Starkenbach, we came upon the Elbe; how
unlike to the lordly river with which we formed our first acquaintance
at Hamburg, and which two months' residence at Schandau had latterly
made so familiar to us! A narrow mountain-stream,--so narrow, indeed,
and so shallow, that a mere rustic bridge sufficed to span it,--was all
that reminded us of that prodigious body of water, which serves as a
channel of communication between Dresden and the North Sea, and
fertilizes in its course the plains of Bohemia, Saxony, Prussia,
Mecklenburg, Hanover, and even Denmark. The fact is, as I need scarcely
pause to state, that we were now but a short day's march from its
source, which lies,--a mere fountain or well-head,--in the side of the
mountain that overhangs Hoen Elbe. As our friend the chancellor had
assured us, however, that at the well-head in question there was really
nothing to see, we determined to leave it unexplored, and to push on,
instead, as far as Aderspach, where we were given to understand that
nature had accomplished many freaks well deserving to be noted.
Though the Elbe was by no means so promising as the Iser, we yet felt
that to pass it by untried, while we had fishing-rods in our hands,
would be disgraceful to us as anglers. The implements were accordingly
screwed together, and for half-an-hour we threw our flies with all our
accustomed skill, and more than our usual patience; but we gathered
little by the exercise of these qualities. A few grayling, with a trout
or two of meagre dimensions, alone rewarded our care; and these, we
judiciously concluded, were not of sufficient value to compensate for
the loss of time that would be sustained in adding to their numbers.
Besides we found that our strange attire and gestures created much
alarm among the junior branches of one or two small communities through
which we passed. The children, wherever we came, ran from the water's
edge screaming with fright; a pretty broad hint that our company was
not desired, at least by them.
We dined this day in a clean tidy little ale-house, the landlady of
which cooked our trout, and supplied us with bread and butter, and
beer. She was a member of what seemed to be a remarkably happy, as well
as primitive family, where three generations dwelt together in harmony;
the oldest and the youngest being, as she informed us, dependant on the
exertions of her husband, and the profits of the inn. Neither were we
without a trifling adventure, such as it was. While we were smoking our
pipes after dinner, a gypsy, or Torpinda, entered, and we had him up to
our table forthwith, that we might reconnoitre and catechise him. He
was a mere lad, apparently not more than sixteen or seventeen years of
age, though in costume, complexion, and expression of countenance, a
perfect specimen of his tribe. His dress was a broad-brimmed low hat, a
dark brown cloak with sleeves, and a solitary under-garment, which,
woven apparently without seam, served him for vest, pantaloons, and
stockings. The only apertures in these curious looking pantoufles which
we could detect, were from the heel to about midway in the calf of the
leg, and these were carefully laced-up with brass wires.
Under his cloak the youth carried a calf's-skin pouch, which was
suspended from a leathern belt that crossed his right shoulder; and we
observed that this latter piece of dress was ornamented with exceeding
care. It was indented all over with minute lines, not very unlike the
tatooing on a South Sea islander's face; and it bore, just over the
chest, a lion's head made of brass, from a ring attached to which were
suspended about twenty or thirty brass pipe-pickers. His avowed object
in entering the beer-house was to dispose of some of these latter,
which he offered for sale at three kreutzers a-piece; and I need
scarcely add that we became purchasers. But we were not content with
the pickers. Having questioned him as to the value which he put upon
his belt, I pulled out the money, and offered to purchase that too; but
he would not part with it; and to all our questions touching the
head-quarters of his tribe he turned a deaf ear. He either could not,
or would not, understand us; and made his escape on the first lull that
took place in our conversation.
There is no denying that the whole appearance of this youth was very
picturesque, but it was a great deal more picturesque than attractive.
His long shaggy hair and dark olive complexion were alike remarkable;
but the expression of his countenance was decidedly bad, and he never
looked you straight in the face. To be sure, the treatment which, in
common with others of his class, he probably receives from the
Bohemians, is not calculated to make him fall in love with them; for
the people of the country seem to regard these wanderers with a mixture
of contempt and loathing. Yet I imagined that I read in that downcast
look, and in the stealthy air which attached to all his movements,
marks of the sort of training which may be expected to produce an
accomplished vagabond. I dare say that young fellow knew perfectly well
how to silence the cackling of a barn-door fowl in a hurry, and might
not be inexpert in the operation of removing quietly a knapsack, or
other load, from beneath a sleeping man's head. But the thews and
sinews of the boy, and I may add, of all of his tribe whom we
encountered, were not such as to impress me with any very exalted ideas
of their strength or prowess. I fancied that, with the aid of a good
stick, I should not be afraid to give any three of them the knives of
which I had heard so much, and then join battle.
When the boy was gone we proceeded to question our landlady as to the
habits of his people, and we received from her an account corresponding
in all respects with that which our first informant had given us. She
added, over and above, that there was no trusting them; that they were
deceitful to a degree unparalleled among men, and that no arts or
offices of kindness ever won their forbearance. We listened to her
statements more than half disposed to credit them, yet we adhered to
our original determination, nevertheless, of joining the first gypsy
camp on which, during the course of our tour, we might stumble.
By this time it was necessary to move; and I state the fact in
consequence of a trifling incident, illustrative, I conceive, of the
extreme honesty of this simple people. We had advanced, perhaps, a
quarter of an English mile towards Arnau, a town through which our
route lay, when we heard a female voice shouting behind us, and on
turning round saw our landlady in full pursuit. I had left behind me on
the table a penknife,--of very little value, inasmuch as one of the
blades was broken,--and this good woman would not permit me to be the
loser of it. When I add, that she was in a state during which running
must have been both inconvenient and hurtful to her, the strength of
the principle which urged her to bring me my knife will be better
understood.
Arnau is an old-fashioned town, with a wide market-place, in the centre
of which stand two colossal statues, representing two warriors in
complete armour, each armed with a sword. The people told us they were
of very ancient date, and represented the two knights, by whom, in old
times, the town was founded. There is, besides, a convent of Franciscan
monks in the immediate neighbourhood, which contains eighty brothers; a
clumsy pile, evidently of modern construction, and resembling in its
exterior a manufactory, much more than a house of religious persons.
One of the brothers we met in the town, to whom the children seemed to
pay much respect. His dress was a brown coarse frock, a bare head, with
a shaven crown, bare legs, sandals for his feet, and a rosary of black
beads fastened round his middle. I asked him the way to Troutenau, and
received a very short, and somewhat unsatisfactory answer.
We did not halt in Arnau, neither were we tempted to solicit admission
into the convent. I had been initiated into all the mysteries of such a
place of abode long ago; and my young companion appeared more anxious
to reach Aderspach and Schnee-Koppee as speedily as possible, than to
take his first lesson in monachism here. It was well, too, that,
retaining our resolution of passing that night at Troutenau, we had
self-denial enough to pass the monastery by; for a long and toilsome
way was before us, which we did not compass till past seven o'clock. No
doubt the march was prolific in objects to charm the sense of sight. As
we drew towards them, the snowy mountains assumed continually a bolder
and more striking aspect; while, several of the villages, and one
schloss, which was undergoing repair, drew forth our liveliest
admiration. But the journey proved to be, upon the whole, both tedious
and toilsome; and right glad were we, when, on gaining the summit of a
steep ascent, we beheld Troutenau at our feet. We made directly for the
inn, which was recommended as the best; and, except that the house was
full of workmen, our chamber small, and our beds detestable, we have no
right to put down the Gasthof zum Weissen Ross, as one of the bad
places of call on the march to Schnee-Koppee.
The inn was in great confusion, for unfortunately for ourselves we
arrived at a moment when bricklayers, carpenters, and plasterers were
busy in counteracting the effect of time and rough usage almost
everywhere, except in the coffee-room. This latter, however, proved to
be comfortable enough; and we enjoyed it the more that it was divided
into two compartments, one of which was allotted to the humbler classes
of travellers, while the other, which commanded a view of the square,
was assigned to gentlefolks. Moreover there occurred two circumstances,
which, by furnishing us with objects of contemplation, contributed to
make the evening pass lightly away. First, we saw from our window the
completion of a ceremony similar to that which at Eisenhammer we had so
cruelly interrupted by our fishing. A whole posse of peasants, male and
female, with crucifix and mass-book at their head, marched in
procession towards the market-cross; and, after chanting a hymn, fell
down upon their knees, one after another, and covered the hands and
feet of the stone statues that ornamented it, with kisses. This done,
the larger number dispersed, and, as it seemed, retired quietly to
their homes. But there were others who appeared to think that a work so
pious as that in which they had been engaged merited, on the part of
the body, some refreshment. These adjourned to the inn, and drank
sundry flasks of beer with great relish.
In the next place we found that the outer portion of the coffee-room
was occupied in part by a band of wandering musicians,--a sort of
calling which is in Bohemia very frequent, and which, both there and
elsewhere in Germany, holds a higher place in public estimation than
among us. These men wore a sort of uniform, namely, high-crowned white
hats, with flowers in the front, gray frocks, and half-boots; and their
performance, I am bound to add, was by no means contemptible. They
played one or two airs very sweetly under the burgomaster's window,
which, as the said window looked out into the square, enabled us, as
well as a multitude of the town's-people, to share in the treat.
We retired early to bed, for we were a good deal fatigued, and the
cold,--an unusual ground of complaint with us ever since we set out
from home,--was disagreeable. The truth indeed is, that we were now at
a great elevation above the level of the sea, and that the wind
happening to blow from Schnee-Koppee, the back of which, white with the
deposit of a thousand storms, lay towards us, came keen and biting. So
sharp, indeed, was the temperature, that the landlord, whom we
consulted relative to the nature of a river which, with a broad clear
current, flows past the town, assured us that it would be vain to think
of fishing in it, because though it abounded with fine trout, the
season was not sufficiently advanced to admit of their being taken with
the rod and line. I took the liberty in this case, as in the case of
the gypsies, to credit something less than half of the intelligence
conveyed to me; and I found, on the morrow, when the question was tried
on its own merits, that I had come to the right conclusion.
It was a fine bright bracing morning, and the clocks were striking
seven when we quitted Troutenau; a very pretty clean town, well
situated, on the slope of a hill, and commanding, as I have hinted
above, a noble view of the snowy ridges of the Riesengebirgen.
Aderspach was our point for the day,--a place represented to us as well
worth visiting on account of the remarkable rocks and fells which
abound in its vicinity. As it was said, however, to be no more than
three or four stunden distant, we did not think that we were required
to make any extraordinary exertions, and the river looked so tempting,
that, in spite of the landlord's advice to the contrary, we resolved to
try it. We cannot boast much of our success. Three or four grayling,
with a trout of moderate size, were all the prizes that rewarded our
toil, till we came to a deep pool, into which, not without a hope of
better things, I threw my fly. A magnificent fish rose instantly, and I
hooked him. We had a tough battle for it, inasmuch as my tackle
happened to be light, and I was standing on an awkward sort of a weir
when he took the fly; but victory declared for me. After ten minutes'
pleasant manoeuvring, I landed a trout, which would have done no
discredit, in point of size and form, to the Iser itself.
By this time, noon was approaching, and as we had no disposition to
burden ourselves with some tons' weight of fish, we wound up, and
restored our rods to their cases. We then turned our faces steadily
towards Aderspach, and following the chaussée, found that in proportion
as we got involved among the numerous green hills which overlook it,
all ground of complaint on the score of a sharp temperature, was taken
away. The weather, in short, became intensely oppressive, and we, in
consequence, on whom the exercise of fishing had not been without its
effect, began to get excessively tired. We pushed on, however, with an
occasional halt, till we could calculate that half our journey was
accomplished; when having arrived at a comfortable-looking village inn,
we carried our fish into the tap-room, and had them cooked for dinner.
They were excellent, and sufficed not only for ourselves, but for the
landlord and the whole of his family, whose mittagsmahl, as the Germans
call it, had, by some extraordinary accident, been delayed full two
hours beyond the customary period of noon.
We found our village innkeeper, as, indeed, was the case with almost
all persons of his rank and calling, a good-humoured, obliging, and
intelligent man. He had been twice married, was the father of five
sons, from one of whom, a jager in the Austrian service, he had just
received a letter, which, as it happened to be written remarkably well,
he showed us with all a father's pride. He gave us, likewise, as much
information touching the local affairs of the neighbourhood as we
considered it worth while to require, and spoke freely about the
Torpindas, with whom he seemed to be well acquainted. The prevalent
tales of their blood-thirstiness he entirely confirmed, though he
seemed to insinuate that they were more free with the lives of one
another, than with those of strangers; and he warned us that we should
look in vain for a camp. Nothing of the kind existed, nor was permitted
by the police to exist, in this quarter of Austria. "As to the people
themselves," continued he, "they are an idle, good-for-nothing set,
exceedingly fond of money, and great hoarders of it when they can get
it. I have seen, in this room, a Torpinda produce as many as a hundred
guldens; and yet he would not disburse a single kreutzer for straw to
sleep upon." We were more mortified by this man's account of the
gypsies than by any which we had yet received; for it bore about it a
greater air of truth, and, as a necessary result, tended more than any
thing which we had yet heard, to dissipate into thin air the visions of
gypsy life which up to that moment we continued to cherish.
Having rested an hour in the inn, we set out again, accompanied by our
host, who volunteered to show us both a shorter and more pleasant path
than that which we had heretofore followed. This was the more
acceptable by reason of the discovery which we made, that in speaking
of Aderspach as only four hours' walk from Troutenau, our host of the
latter place had erred widely from the mark. It was still four good
hours' ahead of us. Nevertheless, we had plenty of daylight before us;
and the prospect of using it among green fields and umbrageous forests
was not without its effect on the minds of persons who had toiled
throughout the morning along a dusty and burning high-road.
Though I have, perhaps, said more respecting the scenery of this part
of Bohemia than was necessary, I cannot omit to mention, that from the
brow of a hill which we ascended soon after our host quitted us, we
obtained as glorious a view of a cultivated mountain district as the
eye of man will probably rest upon in any quarter of the world. The
abundant wood of this fine country gives, indeed, to all its
landscapes, a charm which there needs but the presence of water to
complete, and to the particular scene on which we now looked down,
water happened not to be wanting. From the bosom of the river which
flows past Troutenau, the sun's rays were reflected; and as its course
lay through groves and fells,--now hidden between overhanging rocks,
now emerging again into a wide valley,--the effect was altogether very
striking. Moreover, to a varied and picturesque extent of hill and
vale, forest and green meadow, hamlet and town,--the latter either cast
into the recess of some deep glen, or straggling upwards along the
mountain side,--the Riesengebirgen formed the back ground; bald, and
frowning in all the majesty of rocky shoulders and snow-clad summits.
It was, indeed, a glorious view, and it tempted us to linger so long in
the enjoyment of it, that we did not reach our quarters,--the
comfortable inn at Aderspach,--till near eight o'clock.
There befel nothing during our progress from this beautiful spot, till
we arrived at the place where we had resolved to pass the night, of
which I need be expected to give a detailed account. All travellers on
foot, through strange countries, must expect to lose their way
occasionally; and we formed no exception to the general rule. Moreover,
our mishaps, this day, were the more provoking, that we chanced to have
penetrated into a comparatively thinly-peopled region, the two villages
which we traversed lying far apart one from the other, and there being
no hamlets nor detached houses to keep up the communication. Nor were
we, as it seemed, the only pedestrians to whom the district was
strange. As we were passing through a deep forest, at a point admirably
suited to deeds of violence, we met a couple of Torpindas, who stopped
us to inquire the way to the nearest town; at least I conclude that
this was their object, from the peculiar gestures which they used, and
the intonation which they gave to their voices; for as to their words,
of these I could make nothing. Having just been stuffed with a tale of
their lawless habits, the sight of these persons threw me, of course,
on the alert. I grasped the butt of my gaff-stick,--an excellent
weapon, about the length and weight of a policeman's staff,--and braced
up my nerves for the melée. But when we stood face to face, all idea
that they would venture to begin the fray vanished. Though they were
young men, in the prime of life, probably not more than five or
six-and-twenty, I verily believe, that with the weapons which nature
has given me, I could have rendered them both incapable of molesting
henroosts for ever, and been but little fatigued by the exercise.
The Torpindas passed on quietly enough when they found that they could
not make themselves understood; and there followed them soon
afterwards, another foot-passenger, whose style of travel amused us not
a little. He was a stout, elderly man, arrayed in a brown frock coat,
long and loose, and descending to his ankles, and he trudged forward
with a good cudgel in his hand, as independently as need be. But he
carried no load on his back. On the contrary, there followed him a
peasant with a wheelbarrow, on which was laid the stout gentleman's
trunk, and as they happened, when we encountered them, to be descending
a hill, the strange vehicle kept up famously. How it would fare with
them after they crossed the valley beneath, I do not know. But probably
our friend had fixed stages, at each of which, instead of ordering out
fresh horses, he ordered merely a fresh wheelbarrow and trundler. I
dare say he journeyed with extreme satisfaction to himself; at least I
am quite sure that he looked as if he did.
It was late in the evening, and our patience was well-nigh exhausted,
when, on gaining the brow of an eminence, we beheld a straggling
village at our feet; and were almost as much surprised as delighted to
find that it was Aderspach. Let nobody form a judgment of the sort of
quarters which he will find at the Trucktere-Gasthof, from the
miserable appearance which the town of Aderspach presents. To be sure,
he must pass through the town entirely, leave the schloss, a huge pile
of brickwork, behind him, and penetrate into the fells ere the
Trucktere-house becomes visible; but the first aspect of it will,
unless I much deceive myself, excite in his mind anticipations, not
only of good fare, but of clean apartments, and unpretending civility.
Nor will such anticipations be disappointed. A nicer country inn I
never inhabited, and I say this without excepting either the inn at
Dalmally, near Loch Awe, nor its rival in comfort, if not in elegance,
at Tyne-drom.
The Fells, or Felsen, at Aderspach, is justly accounted one of the most
extraordinary productions of nature's handiwork in all Bohemia. Masses
of rock, some of them two or three hundred feet in height, have, by
some strange convulsion, been so tossed about, that now they stand on
end like detached towers, or rather like the turreted walls of some
gigantic labyrinth, through which a narrow path twists and turns in the
most extraordinary manner possible. Very many of these rocks bear a
striking resemblance, some to beasts, some to men, some to musical
instruments, and others to different articles which we constantly meet
either in our walks through the populous city, or within the domestic
circle. As might be expected, the people of the country have called
each image after the name of the original which it represents. Not far
from the back door of the inn is an enormous inverted Sugar-loaf; a
little way removed from it is the Chimney, and it must be acknowledged
that the resemblance which both of them bear to the objects from which
their names are derived, is very striking.
But this is the least of the wonders attaching to the place, in order
to introduce which to the reader's acquaintance, it will be necessary
that I should take him, as it were, by the hand, and join him to our
little party as we make the tour of the labyrinth.
Suppose us, then, snugly housed in the Trucktere-house, well-fed, well
attended, supplied with clean, tidy beds, and greatly refreshed by a
sound night's sleep, such as monarchs might envy. We rise next morning
at seven, to find that here, even more keenly than at Troutenau, the
influence of an elevated situation is felt, and that over the long
inclined plane which stretches upwards from us in the direction of the
Riesengebirgen, a sharp, cold wind blows cuttingly. This circumstance,
however, interferes, in no respect, with our breakfast, which, as far
as the means furnished will allow, is eaten with great relish. After
which, about nine o'clock, we sally forth in quest of adventures, under
the guidance of a ragged youth, who is to officiate as our cicerone.
From the inn-door we look abroad upon a mountain of basalts, covered on
its summit by a forest of pines, and beautifully feathered along its
face with birch-trees. That mountain, well nigh semicircular in the
front which is turned towards us, constitutes the Felsen; and along its
base we walk, following a narrow foot-path, which is bordered by a
little stream, and leads, serpent-fashion, towards the rocks. We pass,
in this brief progress, the Sugar-loaf; and observing the ravages which
time is making on its inverted cone, we anticipate the hour, probably
not very distant, when it will topple over, and fall flat upon the
earth. But this is nothing. Our ragged guide conducts us across a
wooden bridge, up a road, hollowed out by nature, through the rocks,
till suddenly we reach what resembles the mouth of a mine, across which
a door is drawn. The sum of four groschens, or sixpence a head, applies
a key to the lock of that door, and we are immediately introduced into
the giant's dwelling. For as the term Riesengebirgen signifies "The
Giant's Mountains," so these fells are represented by tradition to have
been the abode of the monster-man, after whom the range which separates
Bohemia from Silesia has been named. Of this giant's personal history
it is needless to say more, than that he is the same Number Nip with
whose mischievous exploits we have all, from our early childhood, been
familiar. His favourite haunts were here and in one of the ravines of
Schnee-Koppee; and I must say this much for him, that in his choice of
quarters, he exhibited not only a great deal of skill, but a very
commendable share of taste into the bargain.
The door being opened, we find ourselves in a narrow passage, open to
the heavens, perhaps a couple of hundred feet over-head, but walled in
on either hand by rocks, perpendicular as the drop of the plummet. The
passage being exceedingly tortuous, does not permit any extensive view
to the front; but at each new turn some new wonder presents itself,
either in the formation of some particular rock, or in the grotesque
and striking combinations of masses. Here the guide stops us to point
out a chimney most distinctly defined; by-and-by two enormous
kettle-drums are exhibited; then comes a barrel-organ on one hand, and
a pulpit on the other, beyond which lies the chancel of a church. Above
our heads, meanwhile, on the very summits of detached peaks, stand the
Burgomaster, in his full-bottomed wig, the Emperor Leopold,--an exact
resemblance,--and John the Baptist preaching in the desert. This last
is really a very curious specimen of what Dame Nature can sometimes
accomplish, when she takes it into her head to become sculptor. On a
lofty cone, yet little elevated above the surrounding masses, the very
emblems of desolation, stands the image of a man, with a shaggy mantle
thrown across his shoulders, and one arm raised as if in the act of
speaking,--no inappropriate monument to him who, though the greatest of
the prophets that lived under the Law, was in his day of mortality less
than the least of those to whom the Gospel dispensation has been
communicated.
After pausing awhile to examine these, as well as the form of a dog in
a recumbent position, not far removed from them, we passed on; first,
into the Giant's Mouth,--an enormous arch, armed, as it seems, with
teeth,--and then into the Frauen Zimmer, or Giantess's Apartment. It
must have been but a sorry lodging for a lady of so much personal
weight in the world, and supposing her proportions to have resembled
those of her husband, would not fail to cramp her exceedingly; for it
is nothing more than a hole in the rock, measuring perhaps twenty feet
in length, by six or eight in width. But giants and giantesses lived,
it is presumed, chiefly in the open air, and this which is called her
chamber, may have been, after all, nothing more than her couch. If such
were the case, she must have had no taste for down mattresses and
feather-bed coverings.
We were advanced by this time, many hundred yards into the bowels of
the mountain, and stood at length on a fair open platform, surrounded
as heretofore, by enormous cliffs, yet having room enough, and to
spare. Here a small rustic arbour has been formed with rough-hewn pine
logs, and close by is a sort of pantry, composed of similar materials,
while facing them a little rivulet pours its water from a ledge of
rock, causing the air around to reverberate with its ceaseless and most
refreshing music. Our guide described the spot merely as the lesser
waterfall, while he invited us to drink from a fountain which bubbled
up close to the stream. I do not think that I ever tasted water more
deliciously cool and limpid.
The phrase "Lesser Waterfall" naturally associated itself in our minds
with something more wonderful, and we questioned the guide on the
subject, who, instead of answering directly, invited us to follow him.
We did so, winding round the corner of a huge column; but no cataract
met our inquiring gaze. "Wait you here," said the boy, "or rather go on
into that recess, while I run up the face of the cliff, and lift the
sluice." The idea of a sluice, as connected with one of the most
sublime of nature's productions, was too ludicrous. It reminded us of a
miserable little affair, not far from Schandau, on the road to the
Kuhstall, which the delighted Saxons exhibit to you as one of the
wonders of their land, and for the display of which you are charged one
groschen. For this Saxon cataract consists of a stream of water, a size
or too more voluminous than that which may, at any time, be seen
winding its way along the groved outsides of the streets in one of our
fifth-rate boroughs in England. Yet the Saxons make the most of it. By
means of a deal fence they dam it up on the top of a rock, perhaps
twelve feet high, and so keep it till some pleasure-seeking stranger
happens to approach the spot. Then, after exciting his curiosity to the
utmost, an old man leaves the wanderer in the road to gaze about in
vain, not only for the cataract, but for any place where a cataract
might be expected to exist. Yet the stranger must not begin to murmur
too speedily. All at once a cracked voice bids him attend. He turns
round; the sluice is raised, and out comes a volume of water, of all
things in creation most resembling that which in the old town of
Edinburgh follows on the exclamation, "Garde loo!" I advise the
astonished traveller not to indulge his admiration too long. If, in the
intensity of his ardour, he keep the sluice open more than ten minutes,
not only does the waterfall fade and disappear before his own eyes, but
a month may elapse ere it shall be in a fit state to be exhibited
again.
All these brilliant images took possession of our fancies as soon as
the boy had uttered the unlucky word "sluice;" and smiling to one
another, we made up our minds to rest contentedly where we were. But we
did not adhere to this determination. In a few minutes there came upon
us a noise like the growling of distant thunder; by-and-by the fall of
water was loudly and fiercely distinct, and we knew, to our extreme
surprise, that this was a very different affair from the cataract in
Saxon Switzerland. We therefore hurried round the angle of the rock,
and guided by the sound, came at last to behold what really was a very
fine sight. From a ledge, perhaps thirty or forty feet high, a rivulet
discharged a considerable body of water into a cavern, beneath the
foundations of which, though it was impossible to say in what
direction, the current held its course. I must confess that we stood
and gazed upon the scene for some moments in great admiration,--a
feeling which was probably heightened in consequence of the
unlooked-for issue to an adventure, of the commencement of which we had
augured so unfavourably.
Having thus witnessed the effect, we naturally enough desired to look
upon the cause also; in other words, nothing would content us, except
to ascend the cliff and watch the whole process of lifting and
replacing the sluice. I am not sure that the sight recompensed us for
the labour that was necessary to obtain it. The stream, to be sure,
looked dark and deep, hemmed in as it was, between walls of rock, and
to watch the descent of the mass of water from above, was quite as fine
as to look up to it from below; but the process of climbing was both
toilsome and hazardous, and I do not therefore advise others to undergo
it, unless they be both strong of head and sure of foot.
The waterfall, like the general discharge of fire-works at Vauxhall, or
the blowing-up of the beleaguered fortress in a melo-drama, was the
last and greatest wonder which our guide had to show us, and the
termination of the play was marked by the usual application for a
little drinkgelt. This we gave, of course; but having heard something
of a wonderful echo, we begged him at the same time to conduct us to
the spot where it was to be heard. We were drawing, in this instance,
too much either upon his goodnature or his powers. The echo was not in
his department. A separate functionary called that forth at will, and
to his care we were transferred. He was an old man, who played
wretchedly on the French horn and clarionet, both of which, as well as
a double-barrelled gun, were called into operation, and there is no
denying that the effect was fine. Four reverberations followed each
blast; all of them clear and distinct, as if four separate instruments
had spoken. The last sounded like the voice of a trumpet, issuing from
some dark woods, perhaps five or six miles distant.
Such were the wonders which we saw and heard at Aderspach,--a mighty
show-place, as it appears, to Poles, Prussians, Bohemians, and even
Saxons; yet strange to say, not often visited by our own more restless
countrymen. Yet our adventures in the Trucktere-house did not end here.
There arrived, soon after we came in, the identical travelling band
which had delighted us with their music in Troutenau; and partly to
conciliate us, partly to ensure for themselves a supper free of
expense, they played some airs very sweetly in the passage. One of
these took my fancy so much, that I begged to have a copy of the notes,
and sent out a florin as the price of my purchase. But in thus paying
for the goods before I got them, I had over-calculated the honesty even
of Bohemian minstrels. The master of the band pronounced that the air
should be ready for me next morning, but it never came; and when I
inquired for the performers, they were gone. So much for paying
beforehand for matters so light as the notes of music.