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CHAPTER XX.

P. on the Rhine-Passengers on board a Rhine Steamer-Cologne -Its mode of Encouraging Trade-Aix la Chapelle-Its Business and its Baths-A Mystery Explained-Elberfeld-WüpperthalHolland.

WE were once more on the Rhine, steaming our way from Coblentz to Cologne! We had stopped long enough at Coblentz to visit the celebrated Ehrenbreitstein, and watch, from its top, the waters of the blue Moselle, gradually mingling with the waters of the Rhine, and to count the thirty-two villages, that may be seen dotting the surface of the undulating country around. We had recrossed on the bridge of boats, and were again on board one of the little Rhine steamers, on a lovely day in July, fast leaving the little kingdom of Nassau in the distance. All at once, just as we had passed the Rheineck, and were in the midst of most interesting scenery, I looked around for P., one of our party, that we might enjoy it together. After hunting the deck over, it occurred to me that he might be unwell, and I went below into the saloon, and there he was, enjoying the Rhine scenery, stretched at full length on one of the benches of the cabin! "What's the

matter, down here, and such beautiful weather and beautiful scenery on deck!"—"It's all humbug," said he; "it sounds very well on paper, and looks very well in a diorama, but it is nothing after Como, and Wallenstadt, and Lucerne, and Switzerland. Take away the old, musty, crumbling castles, and it is not equal to the Hudson! But, then, I'll go up stairs, or I shall be laughed at." And so up went P., tired of the Rhine and its scenery, perfectly ennuyé, and feeling himself a martyr to the fame of this celebrated river! What a contrast he presented to the hundreds who wander up and down the Rhine. There is scarcely a school-girl that takes a summer excursion from Bingen to Cologne, that is not provided with a note-book; and every man, not covered by a blouse, is sure to write down his observations on the Rhine, and his impressions of

its scenery. The activity of the passenger, in this regard, on board a Rhine steamer, is truly amazing. Not a moment is lost. Both sides of the river must be watched at the same time, every town located, every castle examined, and maps and guide-books and works on Rhine scenery are in constant requisition. It was the only occasion that we thought we saw no anxiety about a place at the dinner-table (that was spread on deck), amongst the Germans on board. We may have been mistaken even then. We had a remarkable example of this intensity of interest and careful observation on board, a father and his two daughters. The old gentleman planted

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himself at a table on deck, took out his journal, his writing materials, and his guide-books, and, perfectly absorbed in his occupation, would, from time to time, cast his eyes ashore, read hastily and ravenously his books of reference, and down would go a remark, or a note, or a page of description. One of his daughters, a peculiarlooking figure, that seemed to me, with her gaunt person, hook nose, and curved form, like a veritable note of interrogation, stepped from out some book of questions, walked about, with her spyglass in hand, watching everything, perfectly regardless of every one about her, and wholly absorbed in the Rhine, its scenery and its castles. She, too, was provided with a note-book, and down went everything, as she caught inspiration through her spyglass, and information through her constant inquiries. The other daughter was a sitting obShe remained in one place, and seemed as if she were taking a daguerreotype view of the river banks, and was afraid to move, for fear of spoiling the picture. And thus was occupied, all the way down the Rhine to Cologne, the old man, with his active and his silent partner. A more industrious trio we never met. The last we saw of them was in the afternoon, in the celebrated Cologne Cathedral. There they all three were; the old man and his two daughters, guide-books, note-books, and telescope! What would I not have given to have seen the note of interrogation look at the Three Kings of Cologne through her tele

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scope, and to have read the old man's observations on their skulls!

The unfinished Cathedral has grown old and moss-covered in parts, while the rest of the structure is yet in course of erection! This colossal building is one of the most remarkable churches in the northern part of Europe, because of its antiquity, its interesting fate, the sacred relics it contains, and the purity of its style. It is the first object that attracts the attention of the traveller on reaching Cologne, and even to one who is just from Southern Italy, it well repays a careful examination.

It is very certain, that Cologne was not named from the celebrated water it produces! It is otherwise a pure specimen of the "lucus a non lucendo." Cologne has acquired some reputation in this respect, and is regarded as containing more vile odors than any city of the same size in Northern Europe. At the time we were there, its reputation had not diminished, and we must, in candor, bear witness to its having fully sustained the report we had heard of it. With so much eau de Cologne at hand, and with a veritable John Maria Farina, "the original distiller," in every street and at every corner, it is really surprising, how the sense of smell is disgusted at every step. It must be on the principle, that a shoemaker rests by standing up. The citizens get tired of the odor of Cologne all the time in their houses, and they determine to vary the smell when

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they go out of doors. We must admit that they succeed in carrying out their determination. Or else, it is done for the purposes of trade, and winked at by the city fathers, who may be " original distillers," also, to encourage the sale of the Eau.

The ancient town of Aix la Chapelle presents a rare combination of advantages. It is an active, busy, thriving city, at the same time that it contains the oldest and most noted baths of Europe, and has its Kur Saal, its walks, its springs, its music, and its gaming tables. Its origin dates as far back as the age of the Roman Empire, and its history is intimately associated with the life of Charlemagne. It was, in all probability, his birth-place, and was selected by him for his northern capital, for his place of burial, and for the coronation of the Roman Emperors. Remains of antiquity are to be found in various quarters of the town, and many objects of historic interest are preserved in the public buildings. Modern progress has not been deterred by its monuments of antiquity. The march of improvement has converted Aachen into a manufacturing town of considerable importance. The noise of the shuttle and the spindle is now heard in every quarter of the city. It is rich, too, in relics. There is no church in Italy that contains so many antique gems, curious shrines and crosses, and valuable reliquaries, as the treasury of the Dom Kirche, at Aix la Chapelle. Aachen is, at the same time, a city and country town, a

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