The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1878-11-21

together in one OF the castles aud
had good time all their lives
while the innocent aud much injured
faithful wife got what. comfort she
could from life passed within the
narrow walls Of the convent. II l
could have had the shaping Of this
legend I should certainly have re
warded the beautiful woman with
u first class emperor for o husband,
aid had her spend her days in both
the castles, and made Conrad carry
water on his back from the Rhine to
the castle ~ hours per day, aud
given him only cold beans aud crus Is
Of bread from the servents' table.
Towering nearly 40J feet above
~ Goar is the castle OF Rbeinfels,
the largest and most imposing ruin
on the Rhine. Opposite st. Goar
are tue lofty rocks OF tue Lurlei,
and here the Rhine is the narrow
est and most winding iu its course,
and has depth Of 10 feet. Upou
this mountain dwelt syren who up
polred with wondrous form aud
beauty and lured passing sailors to
destruction in q Whirlpool at its base
Around the first bend in tho river
q bridge Of rocks in the bed Of the
stream, visible at low water is called
the Seven Virgins. Iu the neignbor-
ing castle Of Schoneberg, long since
in ruins, lived tho seven beautiful
daughters ofa brave knight They
Played the mischief with tho hearts
Of the noble young mon in the sur.
rounding country and ended by tilt.
ing them all. Tho stony hearted
ll,rts were one day Oh the river 10 q
boat, when the god of love, enraged
ut them for their unwomanly con-
duct, wrecked their frail craft aud
sunk them in the river in order l
presume to soften their hearts. But
they seemed never to have relented
but rather to have petri.ied aud are
now sad worning to all young la
dies never to refuse au eligible
young man.
Above Caub, on ledge Of rocks
in the middle of the river is the
small and well preserved castle of
Pfalz, which has ouly one entrance,
and tnat reached by ladder. 1t
was built for the purpose Of levying
toll on passing boats.
Above Lorch rises o high aud
nearly perpendicular rock, called
tue Devils Ladder, which Knight
ls said to have scaled by means of
long ladder built by dwarfs. in order
that hc might rescue q fair lady who
bad been abducted by evil spirits.
From this point to Biugeu, O dis.
lance of some seven miles, there are
irom niue to twelve ruiuel castles
IN sight all the tine, ending with
the celebrated Mouse Tower of the
cruel Bishop Hatto, built on o lodge
Of rocks in tho bed o. the river.
Mrs. Norion's familiar poem "A SOL
der of tho legion lay dying in
hlsiers," has made Bingea fataons.
Above here the character of tho
country changes very rapidly, the
hills recede from the river, aud We
are in the finest grape aud wine
sections of the Rhine. The famous
Johannesburg vineyard, OF 40 acres,
which produces the finest vine on
the river, is just above Dingen. In
its best years it has given its owner
a revenue OF 81 900 per acre.
From Bonn to Bingen there are
ruins of u large number Of watch
towers, Of which we have made no
MENTION These were generally
built close to the river and were
usually circular. The vines culti-
vated all along the Rhine wherever
there is a southern exposure, and
the suddenness with which the vine
yards change from one side OF the
river to the other, az the stream
change from one side of the river to
the other, rs the stream changes its
directions, is very noticeable to su
American. In many place the hili-
sides are terraced up to the very
top aud planted with the vine.
This is particularly the case with the
great mountain opposite Bingen,
while the expense Of preparing the
ground, and there Iro eeveri.l hun-
dred acres OF it, must have boon
thousands OF dollars per acre.
The whole Rhine distinct shows
long continued and careful cultiva-
tion.
The American naturally institutes
o comparison between the Rhine
aud tho Hudson, and travellers are
not at all agreed in their prefer
ence. There are plain practical
men who look upon ruined castle
merely as an old stone pile, and for
whom the scenery and the legends
have no charm. They cannot Gee
prosperous city or good farm from
Bonn to Bingen, and so are loud in
their denunciations of the Rhine ~
one OF the many swindles to which
travellers arc subjected in foreign
land, aud profess they would enjoy
q ride along the Erie canal better.
such men ought not to waste their
time aud money abroad and disgrace
respectable Americans 10 the eyes of
Foreigners. From Bonn to Binsen
q ride up the river Of some eight
hours, the traveller is constantly
interastad in the eyel chanGing pic