Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-11
RUINS ON THE RHINE,
Rev, George Hodges Points Out the
Significance of the An
cient Castles.
TIE RICH RELICS OF PAST AGES
Found in the Tottering Towers and Pal
aces That Abound Along Ger
many'S Famous River.
THE RICH RELICS OF PAST AGES
EYE AND IMAGINATION APPEALED TO,
By the Grand Panorama Of Picturesque and His
torical Scenes.
rwRrrrEN For THE pIsPATcH.1

The beauty and glory of Antwerp and
Cologne center about their wonderful cathe-
draI churches. When you think of Ant
werp you remember the sweet music of the
carlton raining down from the lonely spire.
And the thought of Cologne brings always
o vision of that vast roof uplifted into the
sky, upholding its two tall fingers in ever
lasting benedictlon. But the interest of
Heidelberg and Nuremberg is of a different
kind. Ali that is best here centers in the
castle.
All the way along the Rhine, as you
watch the changing panorama of the shores,
you are impressed by this constant balance
of church and castle. Village after village
is built along the river, and every village
has one long street where every house faces
the water, red-tiled, timber-built, with
stair-cased gables, and of every hue and
shape, and beside every landing-place is
the same double row of green trees, each
trimmed exactly like the other, like the stiff
little forests OF the toy villages, and every
where are two great buildings which tower
up above all other sort whatsoever. At one
end of the village is the church; at the other
is the castle.
1t makes one think of the escutcheon
which is cut over the watch-tower gate at
Heidelberg, on one side lion with cross;
on the other side lion with a sword. 1t
takes one back to that old day when the
priest and the prince, and the Emperor and
the Pope, stood out before all other men and
strove for the mastery. Every village In
the Rhine Valley is a symbol OF it. To fear
God and to honor the king were the two
chief duties of mems lives in those times.
The Church represented one and the castle
the other. Along these Shores and in these
lands of Germany and Italy ragged that
fierce conflict between the great powers,
political and religious, which makes up so
large part of medieval history. But in
the Rhine towns as one sees them from the
deck of the steamer, the two are well bal
anced as they ought to be,
SIGNIFICANT RUINS.
except that the castles are all in ruins
now, while the churches are all alive, and
sounding every dav to the voice of prayers
and praises. The church stands for peace
and love, while the castle stands for variance
and violence. The ruins are insignificant
when YOU think OF that. You are reminded,
y =
defiant fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, still
planted by the Rhine bank, ready for battle,
that the DAYS OF violence are not quite
passed. Everywhere on this side the water
YOU see soldiers. The streets are bright
with uniforms. At every turn you come
upon some man of war, or marching COM
pany Of them. Nevertheless the symbolism
Of the ruined castles is true one. Their
day is gone BY. The time of anarchy and
highway robbery and turbulent barons and
armored knights is happily of the past. We
are bound TO have peace in these days, even
if we have to purchase it with dynamite.
The times are better. Men are wiser and
kinder than they used to be. The castles
may we'll go to ruin.
The Rhine scenery is beautiful, but not
remarkably beautiful. Except between
Coblenz and Bingen, tits even common
place. The Monongahela is as fine. The
Rhine banks are more romantic than lovely.
Their interest is not so much in their shapes,
as in their human associations. 1t is the
glass OF legend and history through which
these shores are seen which makes the Rhine
perhaps the most delightful river in the
world. We saw the Rhine banks from be-
meath an umbrella, and between rain drops
but they made US unmind.ul of the weather,
Here is Drakenfels, where lived the
dragon which Siegfried killed. And across
the way is Rolandseck, where Roland bull
q castle, so that chapter for each of the
two great medieval ePics is written OF
these two banks. Here is the head office o
the Apollinaris Company, whose sign bring
us back into the present day. All along
are terraced VINEYARDS From this fine cras
the Lorelei of the old stories tempted he
victims to destruction. YoDder is Rhein
fels, the grandest of the Rhine castles, ant
bevond is Sooneck the most beautiful
Here is the Mouse tower, wherein tn
wicked Archbishop Hatto was very prop
erly eaten alive, and beside it is Bingen
"Fair Bingen on the Rhine" :"
MAYENCE AND HEIDELBERG.
And so the traveller comes to Mayence
with its fine cathedral where the pillar
are guarded by sculptured bishops, and it
market place. where women in queer dresse
sell their garden stuff, and its square witt
Thorwaldsen's Gutenberg standing in th'
midst of it. And a railway journey bring
US to Heidelberg.
Heidelberg Castle stands on a great wooded
mountain, looking into the long valley o
the river Neckar. Six hundred years ago
they laid the first stones OF it. Since ther
what scenes have been enacted here! Wha
beauty of color in the old banqueting hal
and kingsl What ringing OF armor in thest
vaulted passages when the alarm of wa
sounded from one of the great towersl Loui
XIV, of variously unpleasant memory, frs
made ruin here, making good long mari
In the score which Germany holds agains
France What was then rebuilded wa.
struck by lightning in a great storm 10(
wears ago. 1t lies now unroofed, vine
covered, with ragged walls against the sky
and the windows open to all weather, crown.
ing the hill top with the most magnificent
pile of ruin in Europe.
Outside. where its walls faced the world
presumably hostile world, all men being
accounted enemies till they could prove the
contrary, stranger" and foe" being thu
same word in the language of that day
actually synonymous outside, the walls Srt
grim enough and blank enough. They
tower up, with strong Notifications at every
angle, and high places to look out from
strong and defiant. But you cross th'
bridge over the old moat, and get into thu
courtyard, and everything is as beautiful a
art can make it. Here are the fronts OF tn
great buildings, and they are covered witt
great carved marble statues of saints ant
heroes. Charlemagne and David, Justict
and Jupiter, and scores more, still standing
upbroken most of them. against the un
rooted walls, and between the blanl
windows.
STRANGE RELIC OF THE PAST.
Away down below, beneath the ground
in one of the countless su bterranean chamber
is the great tun, the biggest wine cask il
the world, empty now, but thrice in iti
history full and drawn out glass by glass to
ouench the thirst of knights and ladies'
You climb up a considerable distance Of
stairs to get on top of it. Forty-nine thou.
soud gallons, they. say it held-a singular