de,--the
grimy power that destroyed the feudal system. The Reformed religion
found an advocate at Constance in John Huss even before Luther
fulminated against Rome; printing was accomplished by Gutenberg at
Mayence; and now steam and electricity have awakened a new era.

Caesar, Attila, Clovis, Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, Rudolph of
Hapsburg, the Palatine Frederick the First, Gustavus Adolphus, and
Napoleon have been victorious upon its banks. What more could fate do to
give the stream an almost immortality of fame?

Little by little there were established on the banks of the river
populous posts and centres of commerce. The military camps of Drusus had
grown into settled communities, until to-day are found along the Rhine
the great cities of Basel, Strasburg, Speyer, Worms, Mayence, Coblenz,
Cologne, and Duesseldorf, and between them are dotted a series of cities
and towns less important only in size, certainly not in the magnitude of
their interest for the traveller or student, nor in their storied past.

Of the more romantic, though perhaps not more picturesque, elements of
vine-clad slopes--where is produced the celebrated _Rheinwein_--the
rapid flow of Rhine water, and the fabled dwelling-places of sprites and
Rhinemaidens, there is quite enough for many an entertaining volume not
yet written.

After traversing several of the cantons, the Rhine leaves Switzerland at
Basel, on its course, through Germany and Holland, to the sea. Its chief
tributaries are the Neckar, Murg, Kinzig, Aar, Main, Nahe, Lahn,
Moselle, Erft, Ruhr, and Lippe. Its waters furnish capital salmon,
which, curiously enough, when taken on their passage up the stream, are
called lachse; but, when caught in autumn on their way down to the sea,
are known as salmon. It affords also sturgeon, pike, carp, and lampreys.
Its enormous rafts of timber have often been described, and should be
seen to be appreciated. They often carried half a village of people, and
were of great value. To-day these great rafts, however, are seldom seen.

In summer, when the tourist visits the river, its course is
comparatively calm and orderly; it is only in spring, when the snows
melt rapidly in Switzerland, that "Father Rhine" is to be beheld in all
his might; for then the waters often rise a dozen feet above their
common level. Its depth from Basel to Strasburg averages ten to twelve
feet; at Mayence, twenty-four feet; at Duesseldorf, fifty feet.

To Basel, thr