Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-10-19
SCOTT HoMEwARD BOUND.
Description of His Trip From Choux-de-
fond to London.

| fond to London.
| London, England, Oct. 4--Editor
ARGUS: Wednesday last we babe
farewell to Chaux-de-fond and the
beautiful Juras, and have arrived at
this stage of our homeward journey
| Crossing the German frontier into Al
SAGE, we tTaVersed the level and fertile
country which stretches between the
left bank of the Rhine, and the Vorges
mountains that rise dimly in the
west. We passed many large and
! fiourishing cities, and, at the village
of Egisheim, had a fine view of the
ruins of its old castle, in which Pope
Leo IX, who was count of Egisheim,
was born Twenty-Five miles further
on we caught our first glimpse of the
tall spires of Strassburg cathedral,
and before long we were wandering
about the streets of this quaint old
city. Strassburg is a curious, old
fashioned city which has always been
distinctively German, in spite of its
long occupation by the French prior
to the war of 1870. Its principal OBJ
ject of interest is the cathedral, which
was founded in 1918, and is reputed
one of the finest existing specimens of
Gothic architecture. The stone car
wings are so exceedingly delicate and
beautiful, that the building looks as
though it were seen through screen
of open stone. In the south trans
cept of the cathedral is the famous
astronomical clock, which was con-
structed to replace the ancient clock
built in 144S. 1t is fifty feet in height
by thirty in width, and is a marvel of
mechanical skill and ingenuity. 1t is
climb of 725 steps to the platform,
but we were well rewarded by the
magnificent view, embracing the Vor-
ges mountains; the windings of the
Rhine, and the Black Forest, the last
mentioned being such a region of love
" valleys and pine clad hills, that one
wonders how it could ever have been
christened Black In the stone
work on the platform are carved the
names of Voltaire, Goethe, and many
other celebrities, Notwithstanding the
old adage to the contrary. From
Strassburg to Mayence, we passed
through a country that at once show
ed the productive energy and thrift of
the German people. One after an
other, the great cities of Landau,
Mannheim and Worms, were passed,
afTording but a fleeting glimpse of
their large mills, and beautiful sub
urbs. As night came on, we frequent
" caught sight of columns of lame,
shooting high into the air from foun-
dry chimneys: and just after dark we
arrived at Mayence, and caught a
beautiful picture of the Rhine, as it
lay sparkling under the rows of lamps
along the river front.
We continued our journey from
Mayence by steamer on the Rhine.
1t is impossible to convey by letter an
adequate idea of the interviewer beau
ty and romance that one encounters
in the ride of 116 miles down this
lordly river to Cologne. We were
but a few miles out from Mayence
when the region of romance was en-
tered. Almost every lofty crag holds |
ruined or restored castles in all stages
of picturesqueness; and every jutting
rock in the water, or on the bank, has
its legend. Bingen, with its castle |
and quaint old Mouse Tower, the |
latter being on an island in the river.
are scarcely passed when the great |
national monument, erected after the |
war of 1870, is discerned in a com