The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-08-23
THROUGH The MOSEL VALLEY
A TRIP IN GERMANY OFF THE
BEATEN PATH.

BEATEN PATH.
The Mailed Fist Ut MetE-sights and Assoc
Citations Of Ancient Treyes-Wtnes,
Food. Steamboat Travel c Castles
Old and New Aleng the MG=oi River.
CoBLENTs, Aug. 2.-Tourist ridden, the
foaming Rhine flashes past the pretentious
front OF Ehrenbreitstein. while the purse
weighted American scorns It's saloon
steamers and souds up and down the river
banks smothered in the dust Of his auto
mobile. We two world pilgrims who have
CROSSED the frontier from Paris and dreamed
our way into Coblentz by a route unknown
to the victims of the beaten path smile over
our after dinner Mocha and resolve TO make
glad the waste places Of our hearts by never
telling any one What we have seen.
But after all we relent. The victim Of the
beaten path will not try 1t, for the hotels
are generally primitive. the travel still
more 90. and worst Of all the porters do not
all speak English. In some places no one
speaks English and the French Is almost
as wonderful as the German.
From Paris to Nancy 1t Is by no means
difficult. for you get good express trains
| on the Avrioourt route and excellent dining
cars. All you have to do Ia TO watch the
waiter when you pay your bill, for they
1uggle change wonderfully, and like most
Europeans they think Americans were
created especially to be done.
There Is no particular reason for staying
at Nancy except to hear the extraordinary
French. They call a franc q 'frawnk'-the
Jaw" short but broad-and a banque d
sbawnk.' And let the womenfolk know
that they have large and attractive shops.
But that Is about all.
The famous cathedral L. a d~isillusion
when you see 1t. One shoulders to think OF
what Mark Twain would write about 1t.
Don't stop here unless you need rest.
Take the first train out for Metz. But don't
| fail to put In at least one day in this de-
lightful German city.
1t has a beautiful e~splanade, where you
, can sit in the shade and hear the band play
| ing in the garden OF the division command
| ant Just across the park. 1t has O magnif-
| cent Gothic cathedral, built In the four
| teenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
with some thirteenth century stained glass
that feasts the eye and the mind. 1t has
| charming drives along the upper Mosel
River, and 1t has ~antiquated streets and
houses and bits Of ancient walls and for
tiacations. But these are not what will
| most impress you. That will be the barring
| here Of the mailed fist Of Germany.
In Frankfort-am-Main for instance. you
| will find 400 soldiers, but in Metz, where
| half Of the population 10 French and you
| hear both the languages Of the heights OF
| Gravelotte and the sweeping cavalry charge
! of Mars-la-Tour spoken almost equally,
you find an army corps Of 50 regiments,
"A 900 men. Uniforms are as common as
civilian clothing and the military salute
is seen on every hand.
Barracks, barracks, barracks o pass
in every quarter as you ride through the
town. Our goodman. q Frenchman by
birth, speaking In German, said: 1T did
| not cost the Germans much to build those
barracks Doubtless Bismarck and Moltke,
who counted the cost, had other ideas.
At any rate Wilhelm II. seems to be sat
isfed that his Franoo-German capital
needs much more careful Watching than
the Rhine
Go from Metz to Treves, which the Ger
mans call Trier. 1t Ii q two hours ride
| and mostly follows the Mosel. When you
| come to Treves you find q charming little
| city, beautifully situated, and crowded
with historical interest. Your Baedeker
will tell you how to find the Roman ruins,
| the Porta Nigra--the finest antique rem
nant in northern Europe-the Roman pal
ace, which the people here believe was
built by Constantine, the Roman baths
and the amphitheatre where Constantine
threws Franks to the wild beasts.
But suddenly you will recall that the
Archbishops Of Treves filed some pages
OF history and you will drop into the Middle
Ages and thence dow to the second Ger
man reformation. when the modern revolt
against Catholicism was made. You may
perhaps recall the dream OF German soli-
darity too, a dream not quite realized in
these tense days.
Frederick William Nv. of Prussia was an
honest King and he cherished q lovely
dream Of internal peace among the religious
bodies in his realm. When he laid the
cornerstone OF Cologne's cathedral he
cried: Through ages Of peace among men.
rich in the peace Of God. may the cathedral
of ColoRne tower above this city and above
Germany to the end OF time!' There Was q
banquet and John Of Austria gave this
toast: sNo Austria. no Prussial A great
united Germany firm set as her " noun
tains!' Yet Heinrich Heine n
ia, Koniesworte. dss sind SchAtEe
VIE tief i'm Rhein der Niblungsort.-
However. they speak German-after a
~fashion-in Vienna. and they sing the
lieder OF Schubert and Brahms-after a
fashion-in Berlin. Austria and Germany
are still shouting peace and good will to
one another. They ship whole cargoes Of
it up and down the Danube. But the toast
Of Arohduke John fell fat on the page Of
history. and the beautiful dream Of Fred
eriok vanished even as the smoke Of his
pipe.
In this ancient city Of Treves in August.
1874, Arnold. the new Bisbop. caused the
seamless coat Of Christ, the cathedral
treasure. to be solemnly exhibited, and
there began q monster pilgrimage hither.
THOUSANDS gazed upon the sacred relic
and were cleansed Of their ills. Protestant
scholars jeered at the exhibition, but worse
than that some Catholics condemned 1t.
Ronge and Blum led the opposition. They
\ founded christian Catholic congrega-
/ - 49, ~on~ AZ nronia, thn i,xtor AZ