National Republican., 1877-03-11
Heidelberg Ca.,,e ,ruttlp, ted. =,

Heidelberg Cnstie nlumlnA rr,m thc
Very lately tho writer vas looking ,Ihero
balcony Of Prince Charles hotel, In HoiAN tbs
upon the lofty emincnco which is crowned ~
ruins OF the old oastle-genersily acknowledge
TO be more grand and impressive than any other
dilapidatsd structure Of tho kind to be seen In
Europe. II is not altogether rain; for. although
II has been stormed, aad blown up, and pulled
down, time and again, and all the interior wood.
work once destroyed by lightning, ono OF tho
great towers is still complete; the chapel, which
was seriously damaged during the Thirty Years
War, has been restored, and that portion which
Is known as the Palace with all It's rich docOra.
tlons, Ia to this day marvel Of beauty, slthough
some OF the statues have lost their heads while
others stand somewhat out of the pOrp ondlcular
line, as II they had had too free access to tho
great 2s3, 900 bottle wne-tun in the vault below.
Nearly seven hundred yoars have passed since
tho Oldest part OF the castle was built, and to
this have been successfully added one structure
after another, inolosng splendid walks, with ter.
races, grottoes, fountains orangerles and beds Of
a,wcrs arranged In rich variety everything
combined that the art Of man could devise to
give attraction and richness to tho Fcene. These
wonderful gardens arc said to have been de.
signed BY Solomon de Caus. Wo wonder II 1t
could have beon the same man that Cardinal
Rlchelicu threw into a mad.housc because he
troubled him so porsiStently with tho project OF q
steam. engine, which he said "would be the max.
ing Of any nation that would adopt IT," The
place is redolent OF historical associations. There
is the banqucilng hall, ninety feet square, where
O hundred tables were sometimes set for a single
entertainment, and the lords and ladies OF tho
Palatinate, in gorgeous array, sat and
fessted, and drank high Here stands the
triumphnl arch which the Eloetor Fred.
eric Y erected when he brought homo Eliza
beth, daughter of James 1, to be his ON.
Client tower, blown up by the French in 1889, the
wall twenty ioet Thick, and 50 strong that only
into the streets OF Heidelberg, and the other hall
left as hrm as ever, The old kitchen with It's
huge fireplace and high chimney, the bake.house
with It's colossal hearth and the slauV hter. house
with It's appurtcnances arc still 10 toicrabic pre-.
servation. The draw.well, my -four feet deep,
filled with rubhish How often in the course oi
centuries have knights and soldiers, In armed
Quer or be srain! What awful Tragedies have
been enacted herc-how many bitter groans have
broken tho silence Of these drcary duns soons,
while tho joyous peal Of ttumpets and the shouts
Of wassail were ringing in the halls abo,e!
All 10 quiet now. Tho birds make their nests
No warder's cry breaks the stiffness OF tho night;
no watch. hres CLEAN from tho old towers; no
SWORDS and sabrUs fash on the parapots; no ''red
| artillery" thunders thoro-tho PoInP and glory
and uproar have al departed.
We linger over these matters, OF which It is
easy To write, because we shrink from the effort
| to describe what we saw 10 Hciciburg on Tues.
day evening, the ID of October. 1875. We were
told that the castle was to be illuminated, and
rather congratulated ourselves upon being there
at that particular time, but did not anticipate
| anything extraordinary. Tho night was sOmb'o
| and gloomy so that the outline Uf tho great IS.
tie on the summit of tho hill could be seen only
| indstlnctly against tho sky. At last there camo
| the sound Of Il distant gun, nod there rushed up
| into th' air n torrent Of rockets and fireworks Of
| various sorts-thcn Instantly the whole castle
| flashed out Of the darkness, looking as II II had
| Just emerged from a furnace seven times heated
| the walls and towers seeming TO bo transparent,
| 40 that you could almost 500 through than.
| livery statue stood out Ia bold, ret rrlief-
| every window with Its rich tracUry, oyoTy pin
nacle, every arch, was as clear and distinct as II
| II had been ruled on the black sky with pencil
| OF ire. From the great tower on tho right there
| rose, MS from huge onuldrdn, ,lumes Of smoke
| aud name; while In exquisite contrast with the
| crimson glow above, all along tho basl Of the
| castle, the trees and shrubhcry were Iightcn up
| with pale green iircs. The machinery by which
| all this was effected being entirely concealed, II
| was dlicult to conceive that II was not the re.
suit OF magic. The display continued for some
| ten or fifteen minutes, whom the gUrge1u. spec
tacle gradually faded away, tho stone walls and
towers looking us II they wore gradually cooling
| OF, and the darkness again resumed Its sway.
| We know that We have failed to give the reader
any adequate conception of this Desutiiul exhi-
! bitiOn, and can only wish that the whole multi
tudc Of persons who delight In Bow Bells could
have been with US In Heidelberg to sec II with
! their own eyes. We were told that the castle Is
Illuminated every year, and that there Is q regu.
lar subscription to deiray expenses, which arc
! somewhat heavy.