The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-08-02

as men, 60 out each morning to work j
the fields. TWAS no uncommon thing
see one or two men with half a doze
women, planting or hoeing together in
field, and SO far as We could Judge th
women did as much work as the men. TIN
is but one result Of the great military sye
TENS which are main tanned by the Euro
pean nations, drawing from the occupa
,tions of life hundreds of the best laborer
of the land, and not only compelling thei
families to suhsist without their aid bu
also by their taxes to support them in en-
forced idleness.
Who has not heard of the Cologne Cattle
dral, whose foundations were laid GOO year
ago and upon which, although it was nom
inaliy completed in 1880, workmen are stil
engaged2 This magnificent Gothic struc
.ture, with its forests of thousands of spire
and pinnacles and its army of figures and
images, is one of the finest ecclesiastical
ediices in Europe and is pronounced b!
many the finest in the world. Its length il
$50 feet and its width at the transept 2Of
feet. From the pavement to the top of the
nave is 150 feet and the south tower is 511
feet high, the Hottest work of man. I'm.
like most cathedrals, it has no central choil
screen, thus giving an unbroken and most
impressive view throughout its entire
length. The stained glass windows are
especially fine and represent various scrip
tural scenes. The chapel Of the Three Kings
contains gorgeous shrine enclosing the
bones of the Magi, which were taken to
Constantinople in the fifth century, after
wards brought to Milan and from thence
transferred by Frederick Barbarossa to
Cologne. Many other costly relics are
kept for exhibition in the treasury. The
church of st. Ursula, not far from the
Cathedral, is reputed to contain the bones
of eleven thousand virgins, who, with st.
Ursula, were slaughtered by the Huns in
the fifth century, when returning from u
pilgrimage to Rome. The bones make a
CHASTITY exhibit, being distributed about the
church in cases built into the walls and
used for decorative purposes generally.
They may do very well as relics, but, ac-
,cording to Professor Owen, many of them
are from the lower order of animals.
> The praises Of the Rhine have been so
often sung and in SO many different keys,
that to pass an entirely original opinion
upon it is an impossibility. The tourist
who takes the steamer at Cologne for the
trip, will be very apt to experience a feel
ing of disappointment, as from that place
to Coblentz, almost the only point of in
tegest-except Bonn, with it's University
is Drachenfels' or Dragons Rock, which,
with its ruined castle, rises on the east
bank, about 500 feet above the river. Here,
in cave which can still be seen, according
to the legend, once dwelt terrible dragon
whose constitution required diet of beauti-
tul christian maidens. But one day dam
sci was thrown to the aforesaid dragon who
had the presence of mind to hold out the
cross to the monster as he sprang with
open mouth to receive her, and he was so
thoroughly disguised that according to one
version he forthwith drowned himself in
the Rhine, while others say that he was
slain by the maiden lover, who afterwards
built the castle. This is fair specimen of
the legends which are connected with al
most every castle on the Rhine, but as
scarcely any two versions of the same
legend can be found which agree, our
egends and spare us the trouble of repeat
ng them. Alas! however, for the dragons,
alas! for the legends The whistle of the
locomotive is heard in the SieUgngeDirge
and railway runs to the very top, where
The castled crag Of DrachenfeIs
Frowns Ger the wide and winding Rhine
Coblentz, one the most important cities
IN the Rhine, is situated at the mouth of |
he Moselle and has population of about |
1900. 1t is, however, as military posi-
ION that Coblentz is important. On the |
opposite side of the river rises the mighty
ortress Ehrenbreitstein, the +" Gibraltar of |
he Rhine" 1t is practically impregnable |
nd has accommodations for 4O, COO men.
The garrison at the present time consists
t only 200O.. From its walls fine view
f the Rhine and MoseIIe valleys can be OBJ
aimed, From Coblentz to Bingen, a dis
ance OF about forty miles, includes the
most interesting portion of the Rhine. We
ass Stolzenfels, harrisburg only
thine castle never Acknowledgment,
and hebenstein, or the Broth
rs, Thurnburg, and reach st. Goar ON
he west bank, with the Rheinfels, the
argest and most imposing ruin on the rocks
bout 400 feet above the village Just be-
ond and on the opposite side of the stream
re the rocks of the Lorelei, where, in an
lent times. according to the legend, dwelt
lovely maiden whose wondrous beauty
1red passing sailors to destruction in a
at the base of the mountain.
he rocks in the river have been removed,
he mountain pierced by railway tunnel
nd the maiden at present makes no more
'ouble than is to be expected of the fair
aughters of Mother Eve. From this point
} Bingen is by far the finest scenery of
us famous river. The mountains ON either
de rise abruptly several hundred feet
boye the water and the winding course of
le stream presents q new view at every
I'm. half dozen or more ruined castles
'e IN sight all the time, rising from crags ,
nd peaks of the rocks, or, like Pfalz, built
4 an island in the middle of the river for 1
10 purpose of exacting tribute from pass /,
g vessels. just before reaching Bingen
9 pass the "Mouse Tower" also on an ISL
I'd, rendered famous by hestory of Bishop
alto and the rats. At Bingen, "Fair
lpgen on the Rhine," the hills recede
pldiy from the banks of the stream, the .
% OF the river widens and fertile fields on !
Their shore taken the place of the rugged 6
emery through which we have just passed
I'd from that point to Mayence, our stop
ng place, there is but little Of interest. The
hine is frequently compared to the Hud-
n, and each possesses some points of
periority over the other. The European
yer is not more than one-half or two
lrds as large as the pride of the Empire
ate, and consequently has not that grand
ID powerful sweep as 1t rolls oceanward.
It its course is much more cratic, thus
wing greater variety of views with an
uai amount of material. The CatskiIls.
lleh form the background to a large
are of the Hudson river scenery, are {
ach more lofty than any of the mountains
ar this portion of the Rhine, but the
Traced and vine covered hills which rise
ong the banks of the latter stream, give {
phase of beauty which is unknown on the
rmer; while the hundreds of ruined