The ancient Landgraves of Hesse Darmstadt have become Grand Dukes, with
a material accession of territory, the present sovereign ruling over
some 700,000 subjects. The old castle is still standing in the heart of
the place, if a town which is all artery can be said to have any heart,
and we walked into its gloomy old courts, with the intention of
examining it; but the keeper of the keys was not to be found. There is a
modern palace of very good architecture near it, and, as usual,
extensive gardens, laid out, so far as we could perceive from the
outside, in the English taste.

A short distance from Darmstadt, the Bergestrasse (mountain road)
commences. It is a perfect level, but got its name from skirting the
foot of the mountain, at an elevation to overlook the vast plain of the
Palatinate; for we were now on the verge of this ancient territory,
which has been merged in the Grand Duchy of Baden by the events of the
last half century. I may as well add, that Baden is a respectable state,
having nearly 1,300,000 subjects.

The Bergestrasse has many ruins on the heights that overlook it, though
the river is never within a league or two of the road. Here we found
postilions worthy of their fine track, and, to say the truth, of great
skill. In Germany you get but one postilion with four horses, and, as
the leaders are always at a great distance from those on the pole, it is
an exploit of some delicacy to drive eight miles an hour, riding the
near wheel-horse, and governing the team very much by the use of the
whip. The cattle are taught to travel without blinkers, and, like men to
whom political power is trusted, they are the less dangerous for it. It
is your well-trained animal, that is checked up and blinded, who runs
away with the carriage of state, as well as the travelling carriage, and
breaks the neck of him who rides.

It was quite dark when we crossed the bridge of the Neckar, and plunged
into the crowded streets of Heidelberg. Notwithstanding the obscurity,
we got a glimpse of the proud old ruin overhanging the place, looking
grand and sombre in the gloom of night.

The view from the windows next morning was one of life in the extreme.
The principal market-place was directly before the inn, and it appeared
as if half the peasants of the grand duchy had assembled there to
display their fruits and vegetables. A market is always a garrulous and
noisy place; but when the advantage of speaking German is added to