Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-10-26
SCENES ON THE RHINE.
Julian Hawthorne Writes of Go.
 logne and Bonn.
Tho Most Magnificent Specimen of Gothic Architecture in t1o syorld-The Muti- lstion of u Eionk's Corpse and
 What Camc Of It.

It was quite dark long before we reached Cologne, writes Julian Hawthorne III the Chicago News; in fact, it was near mid night, and nothing could be seen as we ap- preached the city but ls5hts, grad dually mul- tiplying. The great cathedral was invisi ble, but when we emerged from the railway station, behold! there it rose directly over our heads, a mighty cliff of carven stone as- cending to and losing itself in the darkness of the midnight sky. We gazed and clam bered into our wagons and were driven around the Zuiichs Platz (which contains not only the cathedral, but the establish mentS of the various firms which profess to sell the only genuine cologne water), and through some narrow and devious streets to our hotel, situated about quarter of a l mic away. After 8 nlouthful of supper 1 there was nothing so attractive fer the mo- ment as bed, and to bed we went. Our beds were of the familiar German pattern, short and narrow. with wedge-shapcd pillow and Q wadled coverld; but we slept the l dreamless sleep Of exhaustion.
 1 The next morning we took the train to the 1 university town of Bonn, twenty miles away. As we left Cologne and got out into l the plain the vast mass of the cathedral, 1 with it's twin towers, rose higher and higher | above the roofs of the surrounding city un- l til at length the city sunk altogether out of sight and the cathedral alone remained and | possessed tho horizon. The proportions of 1 this wonderful structure are so perfect that 1t IS impossible, while, in its immediate vicinity, to realize its enormous dimensions. They are revealed only by distance, but l when they are revealed they almost sur pass expectations. It is beyond question the most magnificent specimen of gothic | architecture that the world has ever seen one of the few creations of man that abso- lutely satisfy the craving of the human mind for perfection. Bonn is one of the prettiest of university towns, with long, shady avenues and handsome villas in the outskirts. The college buildings are of the simplest architecture. The broad Rhine, of a yellowish green hue, hurries by on one side, and a few miles further up rlses the mount ain of the Drachenfels, with it's ruined castle on the summit.
 At the little church on the hill near Bonn there was wide view over broad and fertile plain for the members of the expedi- tion that visited it. The cathedral rose like a distant mountain peak on the horizon. The Rhine flowed through the landscape in a long curve, and along it's banks crept three or four regiments of hussars engaged i'll some drill maneuverS. There were masses of clouds in the sky and shadows and sunshine fitted across the face of the earth. A fresh westerly breeze was blow ing and the atmosphere was exhilarating.
 We descended in the crypt of the church, where the dead monks lay in collins on each side of the dark and narrow vault. The D flesh had dried and shriveled upon their
 bones, and their garments had partly crum-
 bled to pieces with age, but the expression
 and character of each face was preserved, and the sight, strange to say, was not disa- greeable The withered faces had an aspect !, of profound peace. Each figure lay with
 his hands folded across his breast One of , them, however, had died of lockiaw, and t his mouth was wide open, giving him most
 singular and grotesque appearance. There ; was also story connected with this indi
 vidual. An Englishman with a mania for D relics had broken off a thumb from this body and carried it away, but many years after
 ward he had sent it back with the request
 that it be restored to its proper owner, and . adding that misfortune had pursued
 him ever since he had committed
 the robbery. The ghost of the out
 ragged monk had given him nc
 rest. So there lies the thumb on the with
 cred breast, and the letter is preserved 1T
 the archives of the church. The amiable
 little priest who told us the legend smiled
 at us as he told it with a childish pleasure 1T
 this confirmation of the reality of his re
 ligion. 1t was a memorable scene-tht
 dark crypt, lighted only by the lantern il
 the hands of our guide, the dusky corpse!
 in their open coffins and the silent crowd O
 Americans gazing and listening.
 , Returning to Bonn we got into rive
 steamer under the guidance and by the in
 yitation of the American Consul at Cologne , a gentleman who throughout treated IL with the utmost cordiality and attention
 and proceeded up the river to the Drachen
 fels.
 The ruin of Drachenfels shows the amaz
 ing massiveness with which the old builder
 built. Only fragment of the town re
 mains, rising straight up from the vertica
 face of the precipice for sixty feet, but S e true are the lines ;Ad so ponderous tn V workmanship that it may well stand as it i
 now for another thousand years. w
 cIambered and rambled over it, and tn . photographer took our photographs, and w . made very merry in the old robber strong hold, where the noble robbers themselve
 had been merry centuries before. But tn
 hour came when we must depart, and be
 fore long we found ourSlyes back in G ', logne, with the memory of q day oh tn