t many people merely pass up or down
the river in a steamer, in a day and a night, and only see the ruins and
the other scenery by gazing at them from the deck of the vessel. But in
this case they get no idea whatever of the Rhine. It is necessary to
travel slowly, to stop frequently at the towns on the bank, to make
excursions along the shores and into the interior, and to ascend to the
sites of the ruins, and to other elevated points, so as to view the
valley and the stream meandering through it from above, or you obtain no
correct idea whatever of travelling on the Rhine.

The work of ascending to the old ruins would be a very arduous and
difficult one for all but the young and robust, were it not for the
assistance that is afforded by the donkeys that are kept at the foot of
every remarkable hill that travellers might be supposed desirous to
ascend. These donkeys have a sort of chair fitted upon them, that is, a
saddle, flat upon the top, and guarded all around one side by a sort of
back, like the back of a chair. The trappings are covered with some
kind of scarlet cloth, so that the troop of donkeys standing together
under the shade of the trees, at the foot of the hill which they are to
ascend, make a very gay appearance. The donkeys look very small to bear
so heavy a load as a full grown person; but they are very strong, and
they carry their burden quite easily, especially as the distance is not
very great. For these mountains of the Rhine, celebrated as they are for
the romantic grandeur which they impart to the scenery, are, after all,
seldom more than a few hundred feet high. There is also, almost always,
an excellent path leading up to them. It winds usually by zigzags
through the groves of trees, or between gardens and vineyards, in a very
delightful manner, so that the ascent in going up any of these hills
would make a very pleasant excursion even without the ruins on the top.

Such, in its general features, is the mountainous region of the Rhine,
as it appears to the travellers who go to visit it at the present day;
and it was this region that Rollo and Mr. George were now going to
explore.

CHAPTER V.

THE SIEBEN GEBIRGEN.

The word _Sieben_ means _seven_, and _Gebirgen_ means _mountains_.[6]
Thus the _Sieben Gebirgen_ is the Seven Mountains. It is the name given
to a mountainous mass of land which rises into seven or more principal
peaks, just at the entrance of the romantic part of the Rhin