The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-07-21
OUR EUROPEAN LETTER.
Interesting N0tcs OF Travel by
Rev. ID. w. Fisher, OF wheeling


SfRAsIuRd, GERMANY, June, 1870
F1lllorSoI the ratclllgencCr:
This Is the last day Of June, and ex'
pect before it closes to enter Switzerland,
ut Basic. The present week We have
been travelling through Rhenisl derma'
nv, and, although We expect to traverse
other portions Of this empire, Will now
give you some Of my Impressions OF the
country Of the Rhine.
TIE GERMANS FATHERLASD.
This is pre.emiacntly the Germans
Fatherland. It il the theme Of his song
lie world over. To have any portion Of
il flienated from the possession oil his
nation, TO every patriotic Teuton would
be sort Of personal bereavment. He IS
peculiarly happy, now that after ccntu-
ries OF separation, Alsacc and Lorraine
have been forced back into their old
place, and Germany holds both sides Of
the. Rhine, up to the boundaries oil
Switzerland. As We walk through this
city, We zee the marks OF the struggle by
which these provinces were wrested
from the possession Of France.
RHINE piLGRIMs.
And the country Of the Rhine attracts
multitudes OF visitors who are natives OF
remote lands. Why do they come? 1t
NAV be that there arc many who pass
through these scenes chiefly because II is
the fashion so to do. They travel along
tue Rhine just tor the same reason that
they wear certain cut OF coat or gown,
because this ia a Ia mode. sAnd when
they arc done they feel very much the
same cnnui in the one case as in the other.
It,is a dreadful and rather costly "bore,"
but for the sake OF keeping caste it is
endured. And what is thus true OF the
Rhine country equally applies to other
portions Of the Continent OF Europe, as
viewed by these travellers. But there
are others who are attracted hilher by
more exalted considerations, and who
are far more richly repaid.
ATTRACTIONS.
The scenery Of the Rhine is very at.
tractive, Alpine grandeur is lacking;
and he who comes in expectation OF see.
ing it will be disappointed. For my
own part, must be candid enough
TO say that was better pleased
in this particular than had antici.
pated. l have often heard it said that
The Ohio equals this German river for
beauty OF scenery. II does not so strike
me. The Ohio Is most beautiful
stream, to my eyes. Its hills and islands,
when clothed with vcrdurc, are charm
ing. There are portions OF it which cx-
eel much Of the Rhine. But at certain
points the German river, in my judg.
inent, is far enough. the.superior. Some
times It has been compared with the
Hudson, but the comparison Is not
legitimate. The scenery Is OF different
ordefs. Each stream excels in its own
sphere. Still il the Rhine had no at
fractions except its scenery l would not
advise anybody to cross the ocean for the
sake OF visiting II. Romance adds greatly
TO its charms. It is possible 10 see 10
many castles in ruins, and castles still in
habited that they become little nonoton'
Gus. Nevertheless as they crown the
mountains they give peculiar finish TO
the Landscape, especially to le eyes OF an
American, in whose country they
are UNKNOWN. oUHIe "a HSAA hV
wonderfully beautiful. And these
hills and woods through which we
pass all have their legends. There are
matter.of.fact people who care nothing
for them, and there are travellers who
profess to have seen 50 much, and really
have seen so little, that nothing interests
them. am willing to acknowledge that
for me these Rhine legends have not lost
their interest. And l am in good compa-
ny, for one four Lengtellow) has not hest.
tated to use his delightful pen to tell
them. !
And to ordinary legend poetry Is added.
Bingen, for example, Is in itself a very
commonplace German town. There is
nothing remarkable in 1t or It's surround.
ings. And yet there. are many persons
who would travel hundreds Of miles to
look upon ..sBingen on the Rhine" When
we wander here beside Il we are in the
midst Of the footprints and abOdcs otmen
whose names tho world can never al
low TO DO forgotten. In Frankfort they
will show you the, house where Goethe
was born and where he wrote. Werther,
Mayence, Frankfort and Strasburg, all
claim to have been the birthplace OF Gut.
tenberg, the inventor Of printing. Or, If
you care more for rich men than for
literati Of any sort, walk down into the
Jews quarters In Frankfort, and you will
zee the old dilapidated house, in the
midst Of old dilapidated houses, where