The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1878-09-07

en- sands.' The Rocky Mountain
were to me familiar playground
and | knew every inch of the Sierra
from Yreka to Yosemite Valley. Ev
cry one of the big trees l knew b
name; and the Falls of Niagria wer
mingled with the associations of m,
ooyhoOd. One pleasure was yet il
reserve for ME, | had never seen th
Rhine.
Mayence was reached, and rushet
down to the river. / recollect once
in my boyhood's days, going through
a hole in the ice, when | was trying
to cut the alphabet in capitals, wind
ing up with the American eagle. Th,
sensation was very much like that
experienced at my first look upon ths
Rhine. The romance of life wa.
destroyed; the visions of years went
up in a balloon and felt that I haC
been the victim of the most atrocious
humbng that ever was palme6 of
upon an unfortunate tourist. The
scenery reminded ME of some of the
worst stretches of the Erie Canal, foi
with the better class of scenery il
would not begin to compare. i" Ali
said Gubbs, this amt the part, me
boy. Wait till you get down few
miles, and then you'll see something .
The shock l had received had
Knocked all the romance out of me,
and l had begun to grow savagely
critical. Mile after mile was passed ;
at last we reached a portion of the
Rhine where the hills made some
faint attempt to look like mountains.
.Dotting the crags and nilltops here
and there might be seen some crumb-
ling old ruins or moss covered walls /;
and even when then the houses were
in good repair they mi st have been
exceedingly uncomfortable to live in.
What did they know about tele-
graphs, telephones, stationary wash
tubs, and all other modern con-
vellienceg One place, pointed out to
me as one of the most romantic upon
the Rhine, looked about like second
class brickyard, while no portion of it
will compare with the noble land
scape of the Hudson. / am aston
ished that two respectable nations
should ever have had a fight about
it. There are plenty of places where
sou could buy just as good a river
fora song, and there are parts of the
world ! know where they give them
away for nothing.
Evening brought us to Cologne
with its traditional. smells and its
Cathedral. The Cathedral is to CO.
logne what Genesee Falls are to Roch-
ester, the great feature of the place.
Begging assails you as you descend
from the railway station, mendicity
follows your footsteps wherever you
go. Even beneath the shadow of
Gods sacred altar youare not exempt,
foI there neither the priest nor the
levite feels inclined to pass you by.
The beggarly spirit which is the bane
of Continental Europe to day, seems
to have infested all classes. Foreign
ers of every degree are looked upon
as legitimate game. Decidedly tile
most respectable and aristoeratic
class of people to be found on the
continent are the waiters-arrayed
in their swallow tailed coats and i'm
crasats, / really envied
their distingue appearance. 1t would
add no interest to these letters to
attempt to describe the Cathedral of
Cologne. The grandeur of it's Gothic
the splendor Of its deco
rations, the magnificence of its pro-
portions, | am ashamed to confess,
made on me but little impression.
| believe in churches and in church
the community where
they are not sustained is miserable
Dne to me ; but | do not believe in
that ostentatious display which rears
a temple at a cost of countless mil
lions, while the poor wretches whom
Il was reared t0a save, are dying of
at its very gates.
Of all continental countries Bel
gium seems like one of the most blest
from the moment You cross its |
borders new state of affairs becomes
manifest. Decency, good order, thrift,
industry, good government, are plain
Is the handwriting on the wall. Such
lusbandry is to be seen in very few
places in the world, and it really ap-
pears as if there were no Lrones in
his Belgium hive: work, work, work,
,esounds on every side; towns, villa
yes, and cities, follow each other in
,apid succession all along tho route,
ill you reach the beautiful city Of
Brussels, which is second to Paris
,nly. In all of its associations, save
.he art element alone, it surpasses the
French capital. One of the noblest
on the continent of Europe
s to be seen at this place, which in
combined with simplicity,
nagnilicence with purity and taste,
elaborate ornamentation without taw-
Try display, | have seen nothing that
will bear comparison with it; aud the
memory of its grand and noble aisles
will live among my pleasantest conti-
lental recollections, when Strasboul
With its famous clock, and Cologne
With its Infamous smells, are for
GOTTEN. Yours truly, BROADBRIM.
IT,, Il az, All.