ph. It is not a good story in any of its
evolutions, but it is one that to know is almost essential to
intelligence.

"Returning to Coblentz, we passed our sixth night on the Rhine. We
there hired a boatman to take us to Bonn. Between Coblentz and
Andernach we passed what are termed the Rhine Plains. These are some
ten miles long, and are semicircled by volcanic mountains, whose fires
have long been dead.

"We now approached the Seven Mountains, among which is the
Drachenfels, famous in fable and song. These are called: Lohrberg,
1,355 feet; Neiderstromberg, 1,066 feet; Oelberg, 1,429 feet;
Wolkenberg, 1,001 feet; Drachenfels, 1,056 feet; Petenberg, 1,030
feet; Lowenberg, 1,414 feet.

"The Drachenfels is made picturesque by an ancient ruin, and it is
these ancient ruins, and associations of old history, that make the
Rhine the most interesting river in the world. Apart from its castles
and traditions, it is not more beautiful than the Hudson, the Upper
Ohio, or the Mississippi between St. Paul and Winona. But the Rhine
displays the ruined arts of two thousand years.

"The Drachenfels has its wonderful story. It is said that Siegfried
killed the Dragon there. The so-called Dragon Cave or Rock is there,
and of this particular dragon many curious tales are told.

"In the early days of Christianity the cross was regarded as something
more than a mere emblem of faith. It was believed to possess
miracle-working power.

"In a rocky cavern of the Drachenfels, in ancient times, there lived a
Dragon of most hideous form. He had a hundred teeth, and his head was
so large that he could swallow several victims at a time. His body was
of enormous length, and in form like an alligator's, and he had a tail
like a serpent.

"The pagans of the Rhine worshipped this monster and offered to him
human sacrifices.

"In one of the old wars between rival princes, a Christian girl was
taken captive, and the pagan priest commanded that she should be made
an offering to the Dragon.

"It was the custom of the pagans to bind their sacrifices to the
Dragon alive to a tree near his cave at night. At sunrise he would
come out and devour them.

"They led the lovely Christian maiden to a spot near the cave, and
bound her to a tree.

"It was starlight. Priests and warriors with torches had conducted the
maiden to the fatal spot, and stood at a little distance from the
victim, waiting for the sunrise.

[Illustration: A CLEFT IN TH