Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-08-02
JOURNEYINGS ABROAD.
Heidelberg Reached and De
scribed.
A visit TO the Tomb of Charlemauxe-
The wonderful Church of IL Ursula
and the Magnificent Cathedral Mt
Coiogne-Of for Nuremberg.

AK Ia Cnhpeie, once Tue uWciiinS pidCc
of Charlemagne. and his tomb is beneath
the floor of the wonderful octagon nave
of the cathedral which he built "a mar
velous structure of grandeur and solid
ity. Two hundred years after his death
the tomb was opened. and the mighty
monarch was found clothed and crowned,
and seated in his chair of state. The
tomb was closed and has never been re-
opened. The Rolf house. or city hall. is
venerable in age with wonderful
frescoes representing the various scenes
in the history of the principally. Mod
ern heating apparatus is being placed in
the building which is open to the public
for one mark, and one is carried back
hundreds of years in memory to the
stirring scenes o: the fourteenth century
In the cathedral of Cologne is the Ia
nous SHRINE of the three kings who brought
their gifts to the Saviour. The shrine is
about three feet by two, and two inches
in height. The front is of solid gold. the
back and sides of silver gilt. and all in
laid with precious stones of immense size
and value. In the treasury are also
ancient testaments and croziers, rings,
seals. manuscripts, books illustrated, the
top of the staff of st. Peter. an endless
array or articles of enormous value and
great antiquity. The cathedral is, as
you know, the most perfect specimen of
gothic in the world, beautiful beyond de-
scription, without any Of the ugly tombs
which disfigure most of the churches in
England and the continent. The church
of IL ursula contains the bones of the
saint and also of the IL 900 virgins who
were murdered with her. These bones
are in an enormous stone ssr-
cophagus, some twenty or more
in number, in the affairs, walls
and ceilings - everywhere Small
openings covered with glass enable one
to see the bones. In the treasury attached
to the church is the shrine of the saint,
and around the walls of the treasury the
bones are built in the plaster-rows of
skulls and other parts of the body. The
leg of the saint stands on the altar in a
silver gilt receptacle, also bones of other
persons in great numbers. Here are
seen the foot of Saint Stephen, the
loin of our blessed Lord, two thorns
from his crown, the finger of
the first arch. bishop of Cologne and iu-
Vulnerable other relics of departed wor-
thies-men and women. One Of the
water jars from the marriage feast is also
shown. with an elaborate pedigree by the
sacristan of the church, who said he had
acted in that capacity for thirty eight
years. Think of living among these
bones for that length of time. l do not
vouch for the authenticity of the legend
of the bones, but certainly they are of
very great practical value, thousands of
people having visited them annually for
years. and the income must have been ana
is today something enormous. Now it
occurs to me that in all parishes there are
q good many people nominally members,
who pay nothing whatever to the fund of
the parish. If these people could only be
persuaded to leave their bones to the par
ish, they might be reverently cared for
and in time perhaps bring in quite q rev.
enue. and in this way many persons might
be of some practical use and value after
death if not before. An unique bridge of
boats spans the Rhine at Cologne which
is used very extensively by the people.
The smells Of the streets are something
awful nothing any where in the world
like them-in strength or variety. You
take boat at Cologne at S:45 g. m for
Bengis or Msygiance, reaching Bengia at
p. m. in time for the train to HeIdel-
berg or Frankfort. The boats are fine
steamers, long and narrow and very
swift. The views have often been de-
scribed and never exaggerated, l am very
sure. The old castles are numerous
enough to please anybody and very inter,
esting. The sides of the mountains are
NIT IL
whole days ride, and one wonders how
anyone can stand on such steep slopes
long enough to gather the fruit. Heavy
terraces of stone work are built every
where, running in every direction, up
hill and sideways and across, miles and
miles of them, and the labor and ingenu-
ity excites ones wonder. | have often
wondered where the wine all came from;
l now wonder where it all goes. Frank
fort on the Maine is an exceedingly inter-
esting commercial city, well built up with
modern buildings, and containing many
very ancient ones. Most quaint they are
with their high steep gables and project
ing stories; houses on either side nearly
touching towards the top. Goethe's
house is here with memorials of the poet
which are exhibited for q consideration.
Fine palm gardens, museum of pictures,
statues, etc, very ancient rath house
and the old bridge with whose legends
some OF the boys at school may be famil-
lar.
The ride from Frankfort to Held
elberg is through a charming coun.
try under a high state of cultiva-
ton, and what can one add to what
has been already said of this beauti.
full city with its ancient and honor
able university, its castle and the beauti-
full walks and old drives. the boys" of
the university in their many colored caps
OF white, blue, green, yellow, etc., indi-
eating, | presume. the class or school to
which they belong. Some of these youths
are slashed with sword cuts in duels for
which the German universities are ia
nous. Today one young student was
seen who had seventeen distinct
slashes on head. face, etc. Great
of them are awfully disfgured in
consequence. The castle is in far better
state OF repair than / expected and one
is shown all over it, with its museum of
paintings. seals, books, ETC., its big tier
holding $4,000 gallons of wine, old armor
and other old iron in endless profusion
Here is shown the largest stone axe in the
world.
The Veeckar runs through the town and
has junction with the Rhine some dis
lance below. From the Koenigstadt or
Kings Seat 905 feet above the castle one
has a most extensive view of the valley
OF the Veeckar and Rhine. the city, ETC.
Thousands of acres of grain are seen,
every foot of ground in the valley being
under the finest state of cultivation.
Wolfsbrunnen or VOLTS Fountain is in a
dark but lovely dell some two miles fir ON
the castle and your writer enjoyed walk
this a. m. OF ten miles to the fountain,
then nm the maintain IN tho oaof acd