The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-09-05


today thy stream divine?" Divine is, in
deed, the word to use when speaking of
the Rhine. Words are but poor weak
things to tell of its beauty, and convey
but faint impression of its splendor and
its glory. How can l describe, as l have
seen, those great cliffs rising up from the
river banE S, crowned wSth castles gray
with wears; the quaint little towns nest
ling at their feet, and the beautiful river,
ever rushing northward. Or how can 1
picture the Rhine at sunset, its waters
golden and red in the setting sun, the hill
tops slowly passing outof sight lost in the
radiance of purple mist. And when the
moon has risen, and the water IS silver in
its clear white light, and the great noun
tains stand out black against the sky-it
made me think of some beautiful scene in
a play, too lovely to be real, too sublime to
last. 1 shall never forget the, Rhine, the
most beautiful river in the whole world.
We left Cologne on the last day of June
at 10 in the morning We went as far as
Bonn by boat as the roads are not good
until that town is reached, and the great
scenery only commences at that SPOT
Bonn 10 an old unive rsty town of some
forty thousand, and dates back to s, A. ID.
Here we launched, and mounting our
wheels, started on our journey down the
Rhine. The roads were perfect, level, first
rate in every respect. After short spin
of twelve miles we came to a small village,
called Mahiem, and, crossing the river on
primitive sort of ferry, worked by chains,
reached Koingswinter
Koingswinter is favori,e German sum
mer resort, with large number of hotels,
built on the river front, but all of them
PAINFULLY empty of guests. We put up at
the European, where we we're well eated.
The next day we went to an incline rail
way up to the top of the Drochenfe1s, some
three hundred feet above the Rhine. Here
are the ruins of an old castle, famous in
the Middle Ages, also very modern Feer
garden and the usual books of views fol
sale. But the view from the summit, the
panorama of river, hill and great fertile
plains, scattered houses and towns, as far
as the eye could see, will ever linger with
me as eight of lifetime No ore who
visits the Rhine should miss this trip
That is how we spent Dominion Day, So
many miles from home.
The next morning we again mounte our
well tired and faithful wheels and started
southwark. Ghe scenery became even
grander as we went on our way. We pass
ed great castles, perched on top of high
rocky hills, lots of little towns with their
cobbled streets and quaint old houses, and
funny little dogs which banked at US and
which we regularly kicked, Finally we
pulled into Andernach, typical Rheinisb
town, where we spent the night. We put
up at an old-fashioned large hotel, we be
ing the only guests, so, in consequence
owned the place. In the evening we had
the family, consisting of the wife of the
hotelkeeper, his two daughters and little
son, singing German songs to us on the
moon sbone on that old historical river
and their sweet voices raug OUT on the |
evening air, said to my friend: Where |
in the world but Germany could one see
such sight as this?" Yes, where indeed? |
Sing on, brave, hospitable German people |
your watch on the Rhine" it will ever
be German while the heart of the nation |
beats as true as it does today.
We pulled out of ALdernach the next !
day July 81 and, after the usual beautiful
ride, reached the city of Coblence. Cob
lence, city of $4,000 people, is a great
stronghold of the army. Here we saw the
German soldier everywhere we went and
fine specimen of a soldier he is, too. There
are not many things in Coblen2e to interest
the tourist What impressed me most were
the great barracks, symboical of the
strength of the Fatherland There is a
splendid bridge of boats across the river
and good deal of river shipping.
Our most beautiful ride was from Cob
lence to Bingen. The scenery fairly ex-
celIed ITSELF and the road was-well, what |
you can't see in Canada. We passed the |
great castle of Rheinstein, one of the most |
picturesque in Europe, built in the elev-
enth century, now the property of the EN- |
peror, and, as evening came on, we rode in |
to Bingen' Fair Bingen on the Rhine"
remember. many years ago, when at
school, trying to force that delightful |
poem into my youthful brain, and wish
ing, from the bottom of my heart, that the