The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-05-17
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENCE.
Interesting Letter from Dr.. S.L
Jepson OF wheeling.
vienna, April "a.

COneSp0u4tlcae q Tie InteihseneE.
FIapkiort-on-ths-Main my first stop.
ping place after leaving the Rhine, Is q
city ofgreat wealth and commercial I'm.
poftance. Like all these very old Cont
mental Towns, 1t has an old and new dis,
trict, aud here as in the Others, the old Is
in the center, where the houses are
ancient and dingy, crowded together in
all sorts Of shapes, 90 that the streets are
narrow, dark and crooked, and appear
as II designed to confuse 4 stranger by
their mighty mars which seems all with
out a plan. OF course there are here
situated q number Of churches which,
from their age and ugliness, are Guppos.
ed TO posses sufficient interest to demand
4 visit from the tourist, who may con.
graduate himself II he escapes without
contributing to their restoration" II
am fortunate enough to get back to
America in safety, and any man says
"old church" TO me, I'll shoot him on
the spot" In London, by the way,
the demands Of the money getters are
gradually demolishing the interesting
old churches OF the 18th century, and a
society has been formed "for the protec.
ton Of ancient buildings" Many Of the
finest Of these were the works Of Sir
Christopher Wren, the architect Of St,
Pauls Cathedral, and several Of them
form islands, as It were, in the centre oil
one or two Of the busiest streets, thus in.
terfsring with traffic. At the same time
they have been almost deserted by the
congregations, the people having been
drawn to less busy streets by the en-.
c~roachments Of trade. There, however,
as in these Continental cities, many oil
these churches are preserved for their
historic interest, and some Of them for
their architectural beauty. But as places
Of worship, my observation Is that many
Of them are dark, cold and dismal,
and better calculated to excite an
attack Of rheumatism, than to engender
any special religious fervor. l I'M suf-
fciently ~unpoetical to prefer the brightly
irescoed walls, the softly carpete.. aoors,
and the genial warmth OF the fine modern
places Of worship, to the richly colored
windows, the paintings and statues, the
gray columns, and cold stone walls and
payements OF these ancient edifces. The
new Frankfort, which spreads out in
every direction around the dismal old
central town, II 1t have not any grand
modern church OF which to feel proud,
can at least boast OF elegant residences, Of
magnificent public buildings, Of broad
streets lined on either side with fine
trees, and Of public parks and gardens Of
great extent and beauty. Here was the
birth place Of the RothSchilds, and the
present home OF at least part oil that we'll
known family, only one OF very many Of
the same religious faith who have their
homes in this city. In the old town, is a
narrow, dark street called ~Judengasse,
Jews street, now being demolished by
the march OF modern progress. Here the
Jews formerly found their almost exclu.
sive place Of residence, and suffered much
persecution at the hands of the people. II
IL said they were compelled to reside in
this street, and that In the evenings, and
on Sundays and holidays, the street was
closed with gates and bars, beyond which
none OF the residents dared to venture. A
slight change has transpired since those
days and instead Of being compelled to
liyeehut up in a narrow, dirty, gloomy
lane, these thrifty people must now be
looked for within the walls Of elegant
stone mansions, or in the beautiful
grounds surrounding them; and in no
city OF Europe have l seen any more
beautiful than here.
Among the objects Of chief interest 10
be here seen may be named the Roemer,
or Town Hall, which dates back from
the 18th century, and in which the ies-
t%ivities connected with the coronation Of
the old German emperors used to take
place. In the principal hall, q very fine
room, are portraits in oil OF these emper.
ors, the last OF whom was Franz H., who
reigned until 1906, when the German
empire, which had lasted over a thousand
years, was dissolved.
Here also Is pointed out q house In
which Luther lodged while on his way
to Worms; and the house in which
Goethe was born in 1749. In one OF the
streets a colossal bronze statue OF this
distinguished poet is erected; also one OF
Schiller; and q third consists Of q group
Of the three early printers, Gutenberg,
Faust and Schoeffer. To lovers Of art
the greatest attraction in Frankfort Is
the marble statue OF Ariadne, by OAR
maker. AS / was not permitted 10 see
II, 1 can only give the opinions Of others,
that 1t Is Of surprising beauty.
A comfortable ride OF twelve hours
brought me to Passau. This took me
through Wurtsburg, Nuremberg and Re.
sensberg, neither Of which / could spare
time to visit. The country along this
route Is devoid Of interest, much oft be-
ing quite level and covered with pine
forests. Passau is on the beautiful blue
Danube" which, in fact, Is not at all blue,
but Of q y%ellowish green color. AT this
point II is Joined on one side by the river
Inn, and on the other by the liz. On the
rocky heights opposite Passau, and 425
feet above the Danube, Ia the strong
fortress oil o~berhaus, from which, on the
following day, l had some splendid
views, embracing the three rivers, With
several towns beneath me, q fine rolling
country all around, and snow.clad noun
taius away in the distance. I wonder
why Il IL that we hear 60 little said Of the
beauties OF the Danube. For my part, /
am half inclined TO regard a boat ride on
the river as more interesting than aver
the better known Rhine. From Passau
TO Linz the river is narrow, rapid and
exceedingly crooked, and almost all the
way the rough, rocky, pine clad hills rise
often from the very waters edge, and at
some points to the height Of thousand
ieet. The stream Is so rapid and crooked
that at 4 number Of places four men we're
required at the wheel. One Of the bends
was 80 abrupt as to make a huge
promentory, the old castle on the
top Of which we twice passed
In the space Of ten minutes, both times
1t being Immediately above US. There
are but few towns, and consequently but
little trade until Linz Is passed. As
along the river, 30 here, old castles and
ruins appear on may hill tops, but |
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