they went to receive their brides, they found only the portraits of them. A loud laugh was heard from the river, whither the faithless countesses had fled. Tradition says that the god of the river was so angry at their wicked conduct, that he capsized the boat, and metamorphosed them into seven rocks, which bear the name of the Seven Maidens to this day.

Soon we pass Oberwesel, with the picturesque ruins of Schönburg, the birthplace of Marshal Schomberg; and then the little town of Caub; and arrive at Bacharach. When the water is low, a large stone may be seen, called the 'Altar of Bacchus.'

As we approach Bingen, old castles become more numerous, and remind us of those hard iron times when might was right, and the strong oppressed the weak. The one we are now supposed to be looking at is the Rheinstein. It was fitted up as a summer residence for Prince Teck of Prussia; it is pleasantly situated on a rock, rising nearly perpendicularly out of the water to a height of 264 feet. Opposite is the village of Assmanshausen, so famous for its red wines.

The wines of the Rhine provinces are of worldwide celebrity. For scores of miles we travelled through a country literally laden with vines. On the slopes of the mountains, in terraces one above another, and as far as the eye could reach on either bank of the river, vineyards abounded. Every foot of ground seemed carefully cultivated, even to what appeared to be inaccessible heights. In fact, at this place, where some of the terraced ridges were more than a thousand feet above the river, the rich clusters could only be gathered in baskets hung over the tops of the cliffs. It was the great Charlemagne who, in his castle not far from here,

noticed that the snow always melted first on a certain mountain, and therefore caused vines to be brought from France and planted there.

But whilst we have been talking, our boat has all but reached Bingen. It has also passed out of the Rhine-gorge. The channel we are now in is called the Bingerloch, and for centuries obstructed the navigation of the river, the narrowness of the rocky channel producing a rapid. The Prussians, between 1830 and 1832, widened the passage from 21 feet to 210 feet; and the rock, that was taken from the river-bed by blasting, forms the memorial (which you may see on the road-side) erected to King William III. of Prussia, who caused the operation to be performed. There is some little skill even yet required in piloting a vessel, especially in piloting a raft, of which more by and by. But we are safely through, and there is the beautiful little town of Bingen.

Bingen is known to most young people in connection with the charming ballad by the Hon. Mrs. Norton. But, first, you may want to know what that tower is which you see standing on a quartzrock in the middle of the river. That is the celebrated Mouse Tower, which derives its name from the legend which the poet Southey has so cleverly put into rhyme, and which you may read in the next lesson (p. 298). At present we will have the story briefly in prose. It is said that Hatto II., archbishop of Mayence, having refused to give to his starving people any corn from his well-stocked granaries, shut a number of them up in a barn, and set fire to it, mocking their agony, and calling their cries 'the whistling of mice;' immediately legions of mice infested his palace, and tormented him day and night; to escape them he built a

tower on this island, but the mice followed him and devoured him alive.

You observe that the river now makes a considerable curve to the east. The scenery around is attractive in the highest degree. The country between here and Mayence is called the Rhinegau, and is thought by geologists to have once been a lake. The two places we pass on our left, Rudesheim and Geisenheim, have curious legends attached, but space forbids our dwelling on them. That lovely spot, with its stately castle situated on a vine-clad eminence, is the Schloss Fohannisberg, the residence of the late Prince Metternich. The vines cover an area of sixty-five acres, producing a wine highly esteemed in these parts.

About four miles from Mayence the boat stops at a little place called Biebrich, to give passengers the opportunity of visiting Wiesbaden. Here again let me recommend the arrangements of these German boats. You are allowed to break your journey at any station where they stop, on the condition that you resume it within a certain number of days. This enables you to go off at various points, and visit objects of interest, with very little additional expense. The mile's ride from Biebrich to Wiesbaden is a very pleasant one, being through an avenue of chestnut trees.

Wiesbaden is one of the oldest watering-places in Germany; it has many handsome buildings, and fine streets lined with trees. The hot springs are the chief attraction; the Kochbrunnen (boiling spring) is the principal. The chloride of sodium in the water is considered good for people suffering from rheumatism or gout. We visited the spring early in the morning (five o'clock), and found hundreds of people promenading to the enlivening strains

of an excellent band, and sipping the waters from vessels of every size, pattern, and material. The chief resort of visitors is the Kursaal, with its fountains, gardens, and arcades. Its gambling saloons, which gained for it an unenviable notoriety, were closed years ago by royal command. Two other places attracted our attention, the costly ducal palace of the Duke of Nassau, and a new Jewish synagogue.

The next day we took the steamer, and in less than an hour were at Mayence. It was rather singular, but until then we had not seen one of those large floating rafts which are often met with on the Rhine. We had passed a large number of small ones on our way, but the only one of considerable size we saw was at the close of our journey. This raft was about a thousand feet long, nearly half as wide, and several feet thick. It was composed of thousands and thousands of trees, lashed together in smaller rafts. Some forty or fifty people were on it, and six or seven wooden houses built for their accommodation. The children were running about in a half-naked state, regardless of the danger of drowning or of being crushed between the floating logs. We were told that some families pass their whole existence in this semi-aquatic fashion. The trees are cut down in the forests, and tumbled into the nearest stream. When sufficient small rafts arrive at the river, they are then lashed together; these people then take charge of them, and pilot them to their destination.

Mayence, or Mainz (as the Germans call it), is a strongly fortified town of 50,000 inhabitants. Soldiers seemed everywhere, 10,000 being at that time in the garrison on the opposite side of the river. Like Cologne, it has many beautiful churches,