A July Holiday in Saxony, Bohemia, and Silesia

of Landscapes-Forest and River-Würzburg-Stein Wine-View from the Citadel-hi

ler in the Zeil, "that a map of Bohem

with a knowing smile: "becaus

reviously visited, and found maps in number of Switzerland, Tyrol, Thur

," he said, deprecatingly. "Supp

; but not a travelling map: an overcrowded sheet that confused the eye, and promised but litt

as the sort of encouragement I got some twenty-four hours afterw

suburb-contrasted by the modern look of the spacious quays. And of course I saw the house in which Goethe was born, and Dannecker's Ariadne, and the R?mer, that relic of the olden time, crowded with reminiscences of the Empire. You may see the whole line of Emperors in panels round the wainscot of the stately hall on the first floor; some grim war

ide, I dropped half a franc into the hand of the lady portress, and had crossed the landing, when she came

lar fee; so I complied with the lady's request, and gave the piece of silv

leasant wood; of Hanau, a dark-red town, where the dark-red sandstone station is enlivened by Virginian creeper running gracefully up the columns; and of memorable battlefields. And of a dark-red mill, in a green grassy hollow, with its dripping wheel; and in the middle of the garden a globe of fire

woodcutters, well armed with axes and wedges, enter the train, and each man lights his pipe, and they talk of their craft among themselves in a rustic dialect. And the train dashes into the forest of Spessart, and under the hills, winding hither and thither between mil

. We saw the steamer labouring upwards on her two days' trip from Frankfort to Würzburg. Then a village where the Saal falls in, and more and more vines, a

poses of the railway and post-office, and yet to preserve the architectural character. An impatient traveller might well beguile the time by admiring the

which the neighbourhood is famous, and am prepared to add my testimony as to its merits. The bottles have a jolly bacchanalian look about them, being globes somewhat flattened at the sides, and contain, when honest, a quart. The cost is from two to three florins a bottle; but a temperate guest is allowed to drink and pay for the half only, at his pleasure. With vineyards producing such wine a

onts with their profuse ornament: grotesque carvings of animals' heads, of clustering fruits in bold relief at the intersections; windows with quaint canopies and curiously-wrought gratings; fanciful door-heads and gables; in short, a variety of architectural conceits on which your eye will fondly linger. Now, at a corner, you come upon an ancient turret with conical roof

eir backs going to or from the fountains, and now and then a peasant woman with conical hat and skirts the very opposite

on the other. The Main here is about as wide as the Thames at Richmond, and is spanned by a bridge quite in keeping with the

by in a bold curve, cutting off a small suburb from the main portion of the city, which spreads, crescent-formed, on the opposite shore. An imposing scene. Thirty-one towers, spires, domes, and steeples spring from the great masses and ridges of dark-red lofty roofs, and these are everywhere do

t. Row after row of the sleepy eyes caught the ray with a momentary twinkle; the gilded weathercocks flashe

imitation of the big bell; others shrill and saucy, as if they alone had the right to record the march of the silent footsteps; a few sedate, and one irre

e when on their way to be crowned at Frankfort. And beyond the trees begin the vines, acre after acre to the tops of the whole encircling rim of hills. Broad slopes teeming with wine and gladness of heart, but looking bald in the distance from

, as I afterwards found. It would be, in my opinion, the more pleasing pict

left the whole valley in shadow. Then I went down and sauntered about the streets, while the gloom within the porticos and gateways, behind

les, and conducted me, not to the little room "up thr

hat little item

mendous and magnificent scenery which is to be seen in Switzerland and Tyrol. If, however, you are willing to accompany me to a peculiar country-one which, like Ireland, is most picturesque around its borders-rich in memorials of the past and in historical associations, fertile and industrious, we will journey lovingly toget

tic villages to Prague. Then to the Mittelgebirge; down the Elbe, to a scene of rural life and industry; away to the Riesengebirge-the mountains haunted by Rübezahl-and the wonderful rocks of Adersbach. Then over

nd you will perhaps never read the completion of that "Story of the King of Bohemia

, good