Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-09-17

4 12iP ACROSS BAvARiA.

A ecrrsspcndens Of tho Tines writes
hon Tim;
/ wrote last iron the H0llenthss, on tn'
eve Of our tight csstwSrd 70 bavafis'
4, ocrcss which We arc now working our was,
We have escaped none Goo soon from tns
Not. dusty plain 81 ser Lower breisgsu
Tr~nrh border sccns rank with choieri
ara tssayN with the last breath cf dyins
men. But Of the Journey scuthward u
YAsc. er Of Bale ITSELF, there Il but little h
b. Md. Countless travellers have already
dexcrthed i,s stately cathedral Of dsrk-fed
sandstone and rs massive bridge across
the xh,nc, 70 "shoot" the central arch
az which 4 fayorite exploit with the
holder swimmers OF the neighborbood. But
this bridge has lost the quaint memorial
which was once its most prominent feature
and concerning which many fantastic 10
esnd has gone forth from one end Of Ger
srany 10 the other. In the days when the
TOO sections into which Bale is divided by
the Rhine formed two distinct towns,
known, respectively. as Gross Basel (Grca'
Balsl and Klein Basel. little BAlc.) u hap
pcned-as Il not infrequently does happen
In such cases that deep enmiy arose
between the two neighbors, which by
degrees grew TO such a height that
two citizens Of the opposing boroughs
could never meet without coming 70 blows
ut once. Finally, the men Of Great Bale
resolved 10 end the quarrel ut one blow,
aud marched an armed force across the
Rhine bridge one dark night. intending 10
take their tro' bleaome neighbors by sur.
prise. But the citizensoi Little Bale, who
had been previously warned al the honor IN
store for them, gave their visitors such 0
warm reception that the latter were glad u
t.ke TO their heels. leaving behind them
good many wounded, who were promptly
attended 10 by the simple method oi
throwing them into the river, IN
accordance with the humane custom
OF those times. In memory OF this
rpuise the patriotic municipality oil
Little Ba.o erected upon the bridge a
clock tower furnished with an apparatus
by means q which, nj the first stroke OF
noon, out came little man who thrust ont
his tongue toward Great Baale, snapped
his fingers dsrisiyely, and went in az lin.
This he continued to do for considerable
time under the protection OF his construct
ors, despite all the efforts OF the outraged
burghers Of Great Bale TO suppress him ;
but the reconciliation Of the two towns ul.
timatcly occssioned the closing Of this OBJ
poxious exhibition.
Beyond Bale the Rhine changes its aspect
20 completely that. with the bills OF swift
zerland on one side and those OF Swabia on
the other, II Is not easy to believe that this
beautiful river which sweeps foaming
around the base OF steep rocky ridges, or
ciiiters so joyously amid green vineyard,
and yellow corDfields, can really be the
brown, thick, canal.like stream sentinelled
ty melancholy lookins poplars, which one
sees flowing between low. fiat. mars1y
banks past Worms and Mannheim. Just
before reaching Wilchingen YOU cross
the frontier OF Switzerland, which bulges
out ecross the Rhine at this point rs II
on purpose 10 give the ordinary tourist a
chance OF saying that he has been in Swiss
territory without the trouble OF quitting
the train In which he is passing from one
part Of Germany to another. But he IL no
sooner into Switzerland than he is out OF
1t aaain-yery much after the style OF that
sarcastic FreUch ambassador who, being
Indignantly ordered by microscopic Ger
man Grand Duke to "quit his dominion
within tweniy-iour hours" answered
with low bow, "If your Highness
will take the trouble TO look out OF
the window you will see me crossing the
frontier in less than five minutes" Short
ms your stay in the Hclvetiln republic il,
however, IL has eustom.house at each end
of IT, and your amazed baggage has scarce
" recovered from the shock Of one exsmi-
nation when II suddenly finds itself SUBJ
jected 10 a second. But all this Is forgotten
when the train bats in front OF the qusint
little toy station OF Neuhausen, and you
step out on 10 The brow OF the hill over
hanging the Rhine. Far below you there
eddies up from broad, deep cleft between
two dark, wooded ridges The cloud OF spray
thrown of from white hill OF lespng wa
ter, which You know ct once TO be tho great
cataract cooily styled the Fall OF Schaf-
bausen," Just as II one were 10 call Niagara
the "Fall OF Suspension BRIDGE
Among the many romantic stories ASSOC
ciated with the famous waterfall Ia one that
would have offered matchless field TO the
sombre genius OF Edgar Poe or Nathaniel
Haw tEorne. Hitber came one fine summer
evening ut the close OF the last century the
young Viscount Montague. the last survi-
wing representative OF one OF the most an
Client and distinguished families in Blitain.
Bnt for generations past a Kind OF fatality
bad appeared to hang over il, which
popular superstition traced back TO
the day when the Lord Montague
OF the Tudor period aysiled himself
Of Henry Wills hRh-handsd dissolution
Of the religious houses TO seize upon the
broad monastery lands on which he bad SO
often cast a ccsetous eye. The sp0iler was
holding high reyel IN bis own castle few
nights later when the door OF the great BAN
qutting-hall swung open with sound as
OF q mighty wind, and through the startled
jewellers strobe tall figure In monks
frock and cowl, which sternly confronted
Lord Montague himself with words that
echoed through the huge vaulted hall like
the roll Of distant thunder. "The servants
OF the church sheltered the houseless beg
gar, and now they are beggared anil
houseless themselves. They who built
this castle were our helpers and our
friends, and now Il their descendant be-
come an enemy and a rObber. But the
gain that was earned by violence aud
wrong shall never prosper. Lord OF Mon
tague. thou hast slnned not against man,
but against God. aud his elements shall
punish the. BY fire and by water shall
the race OF Montague end" Then the
lord OF the castle sprang up in wrath and
babe bis men fall upon the daring
intruder. But when they would have
seized him be was gone and the castle
gates were found fast locked and barred as
before.
Years rolled on years, and one genera
tion 81 Mon,agues followed another, and
still the threatened judgment was DELAYED.
But men whispered TO each other that the
curse had not been spoken IN vain. War
and sickness, accidents by food and field,
the headsman's axe and the stormy sea,
Topped the stately branches Of the ances-
trail tree one by one, till at length the house
OF Montague survived only in the tall,
ri o~h xUh m gf
along the bank OF the Rhine with his be.
trotbed bride and her mother on that
memorable summer evening long ago.
Very wistfully and anxio,isly did the
fond girl watch her lovers bright,
fearless cotntenance, for the memory OF
the ancient curse was ever present to her
mind. and she had noticed that the quiet
retirement Of his usual manner was sud
denly replaced by that feversh and almost
boisterous sayety which tradition declares
70 be the sure forerunuer Of n Sudden and
violen. death. But when the dazzling
summer sunshine awoke her early next
morning, she arose quite inclined To laugh
ut Der fears OF the previous night; and,
finding that the viscount had already gone
out, she went forth 10 meet him, little
dreaming what she was about to see.
As tll-luek would have II, Lord Monta-
cue he'd got into an argument over night
with two or three local residents as to the
Feasibility Of shooting the formidable rap
Ids above the waterfall, aud the honest
Switzes had declared that In their opin-
lon IL might be POSSIBLE TO accomplish the
feat. but hitherto no one had ever had
the courage 10 attempt IL. Nothing more
was needed 70 set the young mobiles hot
Norman blood on fire. and by sunrise