The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1867-09-05
!, I Or! THE Rhine.

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! CQI; .Forneyl,, in his last letter. to the
FWsal.hin(g'on Chronicle, expresses him.
self eopcerping that. much, writt,n-ot
country in terms somewhat different
from those which are 80 familiar to
most readers :: :>',aq ia,ja>2Gi~, .s.s5 az,
The Rhine, like great many other
things earthly, and especially like, a
great many things European, suffers
from being over=praised. The reality
tails so very. far short of the, extrava-
giant anticipation that you arc little
annoyed'lat the deception. - Take away
Ethe history, 1(the best part of it tradi-
tional) and the splendid efforts Of Art,
aided by the mu,,i6cence Of princes and
capitalists, to adorn ever, village, valley,
peak, hamlet, island, railroad station
Land tunnel, and I, can, name twenty
American streams, all Of. them surrass-
ling it in length anu breadth, and every
one OF them equalling it in natural
beauty, The Juniata, with a dozen
such pictures az THAT which fascinates
the traveller as he approaches Lewis
town on the Pennsylvania railroad
the Susquchanna, with its superb
Wyoming seenerys---tLe Delaware, with
its endless. panorama of loyelincss-
Lake George and its islands not to
speak Of the rivers OF the South, from
the Potomac to the Pedee,> and. from
Chesapeake Bay TO- the Gulf Of Mexico
ARE finer studies for, the painter and
more perfect combinations Of unassisted
nature. Very interesting and even
beautifulis the Rhine, and SO it.. ought
TO- BE-, for never was any river at once
So bedizeped and eulogized.. D. Indeed,
if genius can ever spoil anything it
touches, it has spoiled the Rhine Y GU
can lcoks No where without seeing some
evidences Of tho, architect or the gar
dener., The waterfront Of every village
seems to be like the fresh scene in q.
new play. Every farmhouse is placed
atsthe. exact point to harmonize. with
the general outline. Several: grand
old ruins, like Rolandseck and Thurn-
berg, are allowed to stand, but nearly
all the other ancient castles haze: been;
put in repair for temporary residence
and permanent exhibition-some Of:
them occupied by the most prosaic Of
spectators! aud others held by kings
% mobiles; as if to show how: millions
'oti money can be spent. that. might be
devoted to far better purposes.
He says that Immediately upon. your
arrival you are pestered to buy photo
graphs, Legends and books about the
country; and that prices are very high.
But the: writer makes some amends in
the following. =.
With all these drawbacks, however,
tho Rhine is an. object Of uncom mon
interest; and, it one may judge from
the crowded steamers, cars, and hotels,
tits destined to remain SO at least as
long as SO many interests unite to pre-
sent it in such attractive colors. The
towns along its shores are full Of
objects of curiosity to tue stranger;
and whether; he stops, as at Wiesbaden,
TO- see the operations Of the gaming
tables, or at Bfcperffvh; to roam over'the
deserted grounds and palace OF the late
Duke of Nassau, confscated by the
eonquering Prusslap because the Duke
yentured to invoke the protection; Of
Louis Napoleon,;5 or at Johannisberg,
is drink theafamous wine of that name,
Only: tonbe had in its .dellcate purity in
thel district where i. IS grown or at
,Rudesheim, to ascend its glorious bills:
and imbi be its historic grape juice or
at lovely ':Bingen, so worthy Of the
.uorld:remembered poems. Or at st.
.Gpars, to- roam; through the ruins Of
Rheinfels, more than six hundred years
old, with all the enhancing beauty Of
the legendary rocks, 'sthe Seven; Sis
:ters,"I and the; surrounding. villages;
or lat 'Stolgenfels,, to; see: the gorgeous
residence of King. William, with its
portculIis, draw-bridge, moat, and cas-
fellan, and with all the regal state and
forms of Mingled absolatism and :fcudal;:
ism at Coblcntz,: TO- exlmipe the old
and new fortress that stand like grin
wv;aurdcrss' Of IF TIE adjacent 4fontier, and
Seem to SLY to France, as the gladiator
says. to: hisfoes, ,:'Go1ne ON, am9readyP
sor at, Cologn, where the CATHOLIC, faith
boasts some sef ita ggrandest; and most
ancient monuments, and where even
the Protestant stands awe.strieken be-
tore these :formsaable relics Of the past,
some of which, Hike the massive cathe-
sdkil; are 20, Old 7thdt tho RANG. Of the
|;orig anal designer has faded: out Of, hu-
man, metnory --at5 each sand Z all the
strangerw1l find something to. instruct,
to elevate, and to,shrprise.:ss o.: ,':.v
||'7':A3 DAY was spent azCoblcntz, exanin'-
ing the;fori6oat'ens - :ssas >.isl:.-
|.'':*The- Notifications q arouado :Coblentz
are a tre sn 4 maki6g or own vast
eaosts!r during /, :the:, 1ebsslioh, near
wv ashiugtenyand Richuend, look s. tria'
ing in comparison. The: i CASTLE Of
| Ehreubreitsteip, seated on: 90 ipaccessa:
Fila, rocky mountaio;s and t<over}ookiog
iihe; tow,e apid VALLEY, ;2is' thed chief Of
these 81 rsm no apd is moi. more Than eight
! hundred Years :old.i5. Tt Is III Perfect re.
speir, and I found i 't ~ With troops
and armed. e, The euteef' iA = ;z,: has
cost the Prusaian government over live
millions of dollars, and can acc5mmo-
date one hUndred thousand men. II
f;i s5ttladuidds Four handrcd eject. aboxe> tho
}ltvef ofthe Rhine, and'lis defended by
flour Hundred cannon. taAsI stood on
thetopmost battlementthegu;de pointed
out several other immense Notifications
instha same range, of recent construc
/ tion, and eyerywhere I noticed troops
] Thrilling and heard ths sound Of drum:
i and .trumpcts. q Not only were the sol
diers being trained 10 squads, but b.
+ lie single man, and there was as mucl
| activity as if the hostile tri-color hat