ry
just views of the system, and anxiously deprecated its influence in our
Country.

We visited many shops, and found the richest collections of curiosities
and antiquities. Here we met with several American friends upon their
tour; and at Frankfort we took leave of our New York friends, whose
kindness and agreeable company we had been favored with for a few days.

We took the rail for Heidelberg, on our way to Strasburg. The whole of
the first few miles was through a very flat-looking country, and our
interest was not called out till we came to Darmstadt, a fine town, with
thirty thousand inhabitants. We saw a tall column, but could not find
out its historical allusion. This is the capital of the grand duchy of
Hesse Darmstadt. In passing through Odenwald, we saw a tract of woody
country; and off to our left we were quite sure that the scenery must be
very beautiful. The hills in the distance form the boundary on the
eastern part of the valley of the Rhine; and the mountain ranges are
richly covered with vineyards and castles all the way, parallel with the
railroad. This beautiful region is called the Bergstrasse, and I am sure
a week or two on these hills would amply repay the pedestrian. It is in
these wild regions of romance that the Castle of Rodenstein is found,
some ten miles from Erbach; and not far from it Castle Schnellert, where
the wild Jager is supposed to live, who haunts the forests and gives
spectral forewarnings of battles. Off to our left there was a constantly
shifting panoramic view of hill top and ruins.

Heidelberg is sweetly situated on the bank of the Neckar--a beautiful
river, and one that I long to trace by its course through wood and hill.
This town is famous for its university and castle. It has about seven
hundred and fifty students. We could only see the castle, and admire its
exterior. The college was founded in 1386, and is very distinguished as
a law school. The library is very large and excellent. The barbarian
Tilly is said to have provided litter for his cavalry from books and
MSS. out of this then magnificent collection. The ruin of this glorious
old castle dates from 1764, when it was burnt by lightning. It is built
of red stone. If I live, I hope to visit this place again, and make a
thorough exploration of this stupendous ruin. It is here, in a cellar,
that the largest wine butt in the world is found, and it will contain
eight hundred hogsheads. It has long been empty, however.