side of the river!"

"Oh, I'm going to visit the mermaid," responded Paul and a few minutes
afterward he was in her embrace; or rather in the embrace of the noted
Lurlei. Instead of swallowing him up, as had been anticipated, it only
whirled him around a few times; he soon succeeded in getting away with a
few strokes of his paddle and rapidly overhauled the terror-stricken
occupants of the press boat. He dashed alongside and with a
dexterous twist of his paddle, sent a shower of water over the astounded
and horror-stricken Simnick, who was sure that the voyager must be crazy
to take such risks.

"Why," said Paul, "there are a thousand more dangerous eddies in the
Mississippi that have never been heard of," and he laughed heartily at
the danger he had passed.

At Coblentz the Strassburg boatmen refused to go any farther so they
were sent home. The guiding of the press boat was now left to the
tender mercies of Simnick. Some of the press men occasionally
volunteered to help him. His erratic steering brought him showers
of abuse, the occupants of the boat became so nervous that they
earnestly desired Paul to remain as near them as possible. Paul knowing
that his baggage was aboard, did not require a second invitation. Once
Simnick landed the party on a bar, before they got the boat afloat
again, all excepting Simnick's master, the Count, were compelled to
take off their shoes and shove her off.

Shooting pontoon bridges was the greatest danger. On approaching one,
all were aroused and the press men's-hearts were kept pretty close to
their mouths. The Count, seated forward in his little carriage, was
almost knocked over board, while the boat grazed some spar or bridge.
On each of these occasions, the imprecations of the Count, both loud and
deep, fell harmlessly around the stolid Simnick. The Count adopted new
tactics when approaching a place where bad steering would be likely to
cause serious trouble. He would, by the aid of his hands, get down from
his carriage and seat himself in the bottom of the boat with the
expression of his face, saying:

"Well, if I have to die, I will not have my brains knocked out."

The fifth day after leaving Strassburg, the party reached Cologne, where
they were received by the booming of cannons and ringing of bells. The
greatest excitement prevailed in the quiet old town and Paul was the
recipient of many honors and presents. Several poems were dedicated