Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1878-08-29
NOTES OF EUROPEAN TRAVEL.
Interesting Extracts from Private
Letters of Miss Kate Millilkan to
her Family.

On Tuesday, July 10th, we left London
for greensboro and from there crossed to
Telushing. Here first set foot on Belgiz
um territory, and saw the national cos
tumes-wooden shoes, short stuff gowns
and white caps of the women. We took
the train on Wednesday for Antwerp,
where we arrived about u O'Clock. The
stations along the way were like flower
gardens. Plants in pots are not unfre-
quently set along the railway, and rare
shrubbery is set out around the stations.
Windmills are the characteristic feature
of that part of the country. At the sta
ton where we changed cars, was third
class train filled with peasants, in their
holiday attirea and hppy did they appear,
and very merry did they make themselves
at our expense. AS DR.. Loomis made his
appearance at our compartment window
and held out two solitary buns for our
party of nine hungry folk, they held
up their huge slices of bread and evident
ly thought they had the best of it. AT
ter breakfast, at Antwerp, we strolled
around among the numerous Cathedrals,
VI " hAOA llAAS OAu City DOdSlSs M
Notre Dame we staid two hours, study
ing Ruben's master piece, tThe Eleva-
ton and Decent from the Cross.''
In the evening we were all invited out
to concert, and took street cars, (they
have good American cars, with steel rails
for them to run ON and rode through sew
eral miles of lovely, wide streets, with
four. rows of shade trees, till we came to
the garden, which, to my eyes, was a
fairy place. On the right was an airy
music-stand with an open place around
it, with chairs, benches and tables. Back
of this was drinking cafe, and around,
on every hand, flowers the most ex-
quisite, statuary, shrubbery and trees,
with fountains, vases, walks, and settees;
everything so lovely. The walks were
sand, and the turf was hard and smooth
as velvet. The hower-beds were laid out
in patterns: red, white, blue, green, yell
low, etc., in geometrical designs. The
shrubbery is in banks and carefully clip
pied. o, it is impossible to give you an
idea of the beauty of a German concert
garden!
COLOGNE, July l2-There is one thing l
can say from experience, of Cologne,
and that is, nobody wants to see it a Sc
cond time. What with its narrow,
crooked streets, that run seven ways from
Sunday; its villanous smells; it's side
walks, on an average, nine inches wide,
you soon get tired of it. We went to the
Cathedral which has been building for
six hundred years, and is not done yet.
1t is 160 feet high from the floor to the
inside point of the arched roof. The north
window is allegorical of Winter, the
east of Spring, the south of Summer; the
west will be typical of Autumn, when it
is done. We then went to the Cathedral
which contains the bones of the IL 900
martyred virgins, and saw their skulls.
HOTEL SCHLoss, HEIDELBERG
On the boat up the Rhine we passed the
"Castled craig of Drachensfels, 91O feet
high, Bo1andreck, and many other little
villages. At Rheneck we saw the first of
the Roman remains. The watch tower
was formerly Roman fortress. There is
another watch tower at Nerrwied, built
in 1870, and at Engers, above this, Ceasar
crossed the Rhine. Stayed at Coblentz
over night, and next morning took the
boa t up the Rhine to Meyence. Coblentz
is lovely place, with its parks and cas-
tie. 1t is a walled town; the church was
founded in 836. There is communication
with Ehrenbreislein by pontoon bridge,
and there is also a magnificent stone
bridge higher up. We had passed Ehren-
breislein the preceding night in the dark
ness, but in the morning it loomed up
frOwningly from the opposite bank of the
river, and seemed impregnable; never
theless, it has been captured once. There
was a garrison of 5000 men in it for ten
months, and cat flesh sold for 25 shillings
per pound. Finally they were starved
out and surrendered. The shores on
either side for many miles are dotted with
ancient villages and ruins, but nothing
worthy of note till we came to StOlzen-
fels, built in 1850, and now the summer
residence of the Emperor of Germany
Gutenfels, 1urslenberg and Recheuslein
are all ruins of robber castles. Higher
up than all was Rheinslein castle, so old
that nobody knows when it was built. 1t
was rebuilt in 1925 by the Prince, and is
now OwEed by the royal family. While
down at dinner we passed Bingen, which
l had hoped to be able to say had, at
least, beheld. ''And down the shining
river and up the vine-clad hills" 1t was
so aggravating, we would jump up OH the
benches and stretch our necks, to see out
of the narrow loop-hole windows.
From Bingen to Meyence the Roman
towers and castles appear everywhere,
and walled towns are spread along the
river. Meyence is strong military fort
and is a walled town, full of soldiers
Here we walked to the station, and sc
many of US were there, they had to hitch
on three extra cars. Ruined castles now
appeared on every hilltop. We ran fol
miles along the border of the famous
black forest. At last the road made
sharp turn and we stopped at Heidelberg
at in the evening; we got into hack ant
started off at rattling pace through the
streets of the village. The first turn
caused us to clasp our hands and draw
deep breath; after that, we could only
look at each other, it was too beautiful fol-
words; the old, old castle frowning right
over our heads; the densely shaded
streets, with banks of flowers on eithe
side; elegant buildings, with crowds O
people rushing to doors and windows al
our procession tore around one corner ant
galloped up another inclined plane. B,
a series of sharp zizzag drives, cut in tn,
solid rock of mountain side, we made tin
ascent; sometimes we could look straigh
down into peoples chimneys. Then
long sweeping drive took us right up t.
the foot or the ruined castle, 332 it. abOv
the Necker. A sharp turn to the right
a sharper still to the left, and we wer
high up, with the castle at our feet. /
drive of nearly half mile, through