Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-09-12

the proper equilibrium between these
two main outlets to the sea. Eter-
nal vigilance is the price of freedom
from drowning in Holland.
The Prussian boundary begins
quite close to the point last describ-
ed. and where the Rhine still runs in
one channel. Holland occupies
merely the Delta of the Rhine, and
adjoining districts wrested from the
ocean. The railroad leads along up
the right bank of the Rhine to Co
logne, where nearly all tourists leave
it and take the steamer to Mayence,
at the junction of the Main with the
Rhine. From the Prussian frontier
to Mayenee, the country is uninter-
esting and destitute of scenery; but
the land seems to be fertile and pro-
ductive. The surface is generally
level; but, in places, there are hills
and ridges covered with trees, which
break the monotony. At the town
of Wesel are extensive Notifications,
forming the bulwark of Prussia on.
the Holland frontier. Twenty miles
farther up the Rhine, the traveller
comes to
THE GREAT COAL PORT,
called Ruhrort, situated at the juno
ton of the River Rhur with the
Rhine. This little stream extends
away up among the hills of West
phalia, which are underlaid with
coal, it being one of the largest coal
fields in Europe. Four to five mil
lions of tons are annually brought
down to Ruhrort in barges and by
rail for expectation to various coun-
tries and provinces. Holland gets
half her supply of coal from this
point by boats on the Rhine. Large
quantities go up the river to Cologne,
Bonn, Coblenz, Mayence, and Frank
fort, and considerable portion of
North Germany is also supplied
from there. Near the railroad station
are the vast Phoenix Company Iron
Works, which operate nine blast and
l2O pudding furnaces. The whole
vicinity glows with furnace fires, and
the tower is enveloped in dense
cloud of coal smoke. The place con-.
tains perhaps $4,000 inhabitants, who
are supported by the coal and iron
business.
Thirty miles further up the Rhine
is Dusseldorf, the Capital of the
Rhenish Provinces of Prussia, con-
tanning 65, 900 inhabitants. Although
it is the headquarters of an extern
s've school of painters, many of
them are artists of considerable celeb
rity in Germany; few tourists tarry
there since its famous gallery Of
paintings were removed to Munich.
An hours run of the train through
well cultivated and fertile plains
brings the traveller to the famous
city OF 4 - aid ~ lHsimaiogqa Z
RI. le aai- COLOGNE, a>.Hr
the largest and wealthicst city on
the Rhine, containing now l75,oOO
inhabitants, of whom only $4,000
are Protestants. As the railway
passes along in front of the city on
the opposite bank of the river, a fine
view is presented of Cologne with
its many towers and steeples; but
conspicuous above all else is the vast
Cathedral (caIled Domkirche by the
natives) which, at that distance, re-
sembles a great rock or small noun
tain, dwarfing everything else around
it by contrast.
The origin of Cologne dates away
back to the period of the Roman oc-
cupation of this portion of Germany.
A legion was quartered here for two
or three centuries. Agrippina, the
mother of Nero, was born here, in
the camp of her father Germanicus;
and, half a century later, she sent
hither colony of Roman veterans,
and gave the place her own name,
calling it COlOaaid, Aggrippina; the
first part of the name is still retain
ed, but slightly altered IN the SPELL
ing. The inhabitants claim to be
descendants of those italian colo
nists, and are very proud of their
Roman blood; and, while the com
mon languageis German, the French
tongue is spoken by perhaps half
the population. The city has al
ways been noted for the devotion of
the inhabitants to the Church, and
their reverence for holy relics. I'm |
these respects they are more like.the
French and Spaniards than the Ger
man Catholics, who, while devoted
to the Church and its creed, have
long since discarded belief in mod
ern miracles and faith in medieval
impositions.IN so. Esy GT
Between 4. D. 1860 and 1869 Co. |
logne was one of the - .rg,
MOST IMPORTANT CITIES 81
in Europe. At one time it could
send forth $4,000 fighting men.
When the Reformation swept over
Central Europe, it gained a strong
foothold in COlogne-nearly one
third of the population adopting the
Protestant faith. Then came cruel
and relentless prosecutions, in which
the Jews suffered as badly as the
Protestants. The latter were finally
massacred or expelled in 1913, and
the city was given over to the sway
of bigoted ecclesiastical rulers. But,
while the city was thus purified of
Professionalism, its business prosperi-
ty was ruined, and its population
dwindled to less than half of what
it had been before the prosecutions
began. From that period until the
French Revolution, $50 years, the
city was completely dominated by
the ecclesiastics, in every relation of |
life, and few besides them could Ell
ther read or write; but churches and
converts, monks and beggars, multi
piled. The number of buildings de-
voted to religious purposes exceeded
200, and it was boasted that Cologne
had as many steeples as there were
days in the year,-many of the |
churches having pinnaeles at each |
corner. When the French Republi-
cans captured the city, about 1898,
they found 1880 priests and monks
and 5000 professional beggars in
Noloo,na and-not q School honsa for