Movatterモバイル変換

PILGRIMAGES TO THE SPAS
IN PURSUIT OF
HEALTH AND RECREATION;
WITH
AN INQUIRY
INTO THE COMPARATIVE MERITS
OF
Different Mineral Waters:—
THE MALADIES TO WHICH THEY ARE APPLICABLE,
AND
THOSE IN WHICH THEY ARE INJURIOUS.

By JAMES JOHNSON, M.D.
PHYSICIAN EXTR. TO THE LATE KING.

LONDON:
S. HIGHLEY, 32, FLEET STREET.
1841.

[i]

PRINTED BY F. HAYDEN,
Little College Street, Westminster.

[ii]

PREFACE.

The observations and reflections contained in the following pages, arethe results of several autumnal excursions in the line of the GermanSpas, undertaken partly for health, partly for recreation, and partlyfor information on a subject that now interests a large portion of Englishinvalids. The contents of the volume are like the objects which gaveit origin. They are miscellaneous—and probably this character will be objectedto, on the principle, “ne sutor ultra crepidam.” I have yet to learn,however, why a physician should be debarred from indulgence in generalobservations or reflections, and confined exclusively to professional topics.His education, habits of thought, and knowledge of human nature do notparticularly disqualify him for a task which is daily undertaken by people ofall grades of acquirement, and degrees of ability. The truth is, that beingtoo independent to write for the mere purpose of catching the approbation ofothers, I have followed the bent of my own inclinations, and, if taken to taskby censors, have little other reason to offer for my conduct than the oldone—“stat pro ratione voluntas.”

There is one portion of the book, however, (a very small one, some twentypages of letter-press) which may require some apology. The course of theRhine leads to most of the German Spas, and is therefore traversed annuallyby multitudes of invalids as well as tourists. Every castle and promontory onits banks has its legend, and these traditions contribute to fix the picture ofthe locality in the mind’s eye, by association, for ever afterwards. In one ofmy excursions, some years ago, it struck me that these legends weredesigned,originally, each to convey some moral precept—at all events, I became convincedthat they werecapable of beingmoralized. Under this impression,I condensed the principal traditionary tales that have theirlocale in sight ofthe voyager, and deduced what I considered to be the moral or useful preceptswhich they concealed under a wild and improbable fiction. If I have failedin this attempt, the intention, at least, was good. Throughout the wholevolume, my object has been to compress into small space much useful informationfor invalid or tourist, and, on all occasions, to start subjects formeditation or reflection, well knowing, from long experience, that such occupationsof the mind on a journey, are eminently conducive both to pleasureand health.

In the principal or professional portion of the work, I have endeavoured tocollect all the information in my power, and, in the exercise of my judgment,to sift the grain from the chaff, thus to steer clear of the extremes ofexaggeration and scepticism. There has been too much of theformer abroad,and too much of thelatter at home. Holding myself perfectly free from allobligation to subserve local interests on one side of the channel, or foster[iii]national prejudices on the other, I have spoken my mind, with equal fearlessnessand, I hope, impartiality.

The typography of this volume will prove that, although I must pleadguilty to the charge of “making a book,” it has not been constructed on theapproved principles of “book making.” By certain mechanical processeswell known “in the trade,” this slender tome might have been easily expandedinto two or even three goodly, or at least costly octavos, without the expenditureof a single additional line, word, or thought. But, bearing in mind the oldGreek maxim that “a great book is a great evil,” I was determined that,should my lucubrations come under this head at all, the evil as well as thebook should be on a small scale. Spa-going invalids have evils enough, Godknows, to carry on their shoulders, without the addition, of a “Mega Biblion”in their wallets.

There is one defect in this work, however, which common honesty compelsme to point out to the intending purchaser, before he parts with his money. Ifthe travelling invalid expects to find here a catalogue of the post-houses, thesigns of the inns, the prices of the wines, the fares of the table-d’hôtes,the pretensions of the cuisine, &c. &c. &c., except upon very rare occasions,he will be woefully disappointed. All this species of information, and a greatdeal more, will be found in that excellent emporium of peripatetic lore—“Murray’sHandbook.” But even this useful feature in the “red-book,”is not without its alloy. The character of caravanserais is perpetuallychanging, as well as that of their landlords; and when one of these gets agood name in a guide book, the afflux of travellers to that point too often causesthe master to become proud, the servants lazy, the fare bad, and the billexorbitant. Many a bitter anathema have I heard launched against the“Handbooks, &c.” for leading tourists and invalids to be starved and fleecedat the “Red Lion,” when they might have fared sumptuously and cheaply atthe “Black Swan.”

Still, the Handbook is equally invaluable and indispensable to the continentaltraveller; and, as far as the Spas are concerned, Dr. Granville’s work is fullof information on this subject. The profession and the public, indeed, aredeeply indebted to Dr. Granville and Mr. Edwin Lee for opening out widerand clearer views of the continental mineral waters; but the subject itself,so far from being exhausted, is only in its infancy of investigation. Whetherwe regard the constituent elements of the waters themselves, their physiologicaloperation, or their remedial efficacy, there is ample room for many futureinquirers.

I have now only to return my sincere thanks to the various German andother physicians on the continent, from whom I received oral, written, or publishedinformation, and to say that I shall feel myself honoured by any futurecommunications from the same sources, on the subject of the Spas.

JAMES JOHNSON.

Suffolk Place, Pall Mall,
May, 1841.

[iv]

CONTENTS.

[1]

PILGRIMAGES TO THE SPAS.

(First Pilgrimage.)

Many tribes of the greatJohn Bull family appear, of late years, to haveabjured “red port” and “brown stout,” in favour of several breweries onthe Continent, and especially in Germany. These breweries are deeplyseated in the bowels of the Earth, and the art and mystery of their brewingsare far beyond the sight and cognizance of man. Whether cocculusIndicus, logwood, sloe-juice, or opium enter into their gigantic vats andboiling cauldrons, it is hard to say; but, however manufactured, they arethrown up on the surface of our globe,pro bono publico—greatly to thedetriment of doctors, druggists, and apothecaries, in this and in manyother countries.

The subterranean distilleries are conducted on the homœopathic principle—viz.that of employing the minutest quantities of active materials—probablyin order to do the least possible harm. They have many andgreat advantages over the homœopathic laboratories. They diffuse theiringredients through such immense potions of water, that, to get at a fewgrains of theformer, we are obliged to ingurgitate some quarts of thelatter. Now the mere mechanical flow of such prodigious doses of fluidthrough the various outlets—the bowels, kidneys, skin, &c. must sweepaway morbid secretions, and contribute to the breaking down of obstructionsin different organs, independently of the medicinal agents that arediffused through the mass of liquids in the greatest possible state of divisionand solution—circumstances which enable them to permeate andpenetrate through innumerable capillary tubes and complicated glandularapparatuses, where grosser materials could never reach.

The natural fountains of Hygeia, however, have other advantages andauxiliaries, of which the laboratory of the chemist, and the pharmacy of[2]the practitioner are deprived.Hope itself, though often resting on fallaciousand exaggerated histories of cures, contributes much to the accomplishmentof even marvellous recoveries. The severing, or even relaxingof that chain which binds care round the human heart, and augments thesufferings and the progress of disease, is no mean ally of the spa. It istrue indeed, that the “splendid misery” of the great, and the corrodinggrief of the exile, cannot be thrown off by change of climate—

But the valetudinarian in pursuit of health, is somewhat differently circumstanced.The change of scene and air—of food and drink—of risingand retiring—of exercise and conversation—in short, of the whole moraland physical conditions around him, effect, in many cases, such a mentaland corporeal improvement, as makes easy work for the mineral waters—especiallywhen the extreme dilution of their contents is taken intoconsideration.

Let it not be supposed, however, that this picture is without any reverse.Many diseases—especially organic ones—are aggravated by the journey toa distant spa—by the imprudent use of the water—by the warm or hotbathing—by the enthusiasm or ratherhydromania, of the spa-doctor,who, having little acquaintance with the constitution of the patient, extolshis favourite spring, and recommends it in almost every complaint. Toseparate probabilities from improbabilities, and impossibilities from both,will be attempted occasionally in the following pages, as we pass in reviewsome of the principal resorts of invalids on both sides of the Rhine.

THE STEAMER.

TheBatavier, all humps and hollows—the reverse of what one wouldexpect in anythingBatavian—and as ugly a black whale as ever flounderedthrough an Arctic Ocean, received an ample cargo on the 3rd. ofAugust 183—. I shall not attempt to minutely analyse such a numerousas well as motley group, on the short acquaintance of twenty-sixhours. It was pretty evident, however, that we had on board representativesof various classes of society—more especially of the arts, sciences,[3]and professions. The lawyer had left his clients to live in peace—thedoctor had left his patients to die in peace:—and the pastor had committedhis flock to some vicarious shepherd. The merchant had handed hisledger, and the banker his money-shovel to their clerks—and it seemedas though half the shopocracy had left their counters in care of theshopmen.

All was bustle and confusion among the steamers starting for variousdestinations—and I verily believe that the inhabitants of Pompeii did notrush in greater haste or in greater numbers to the sea, when chased bythe ashes and lava of Vesuvius, than did the inhabitants of the metropolisto the banks of the Thames on this beautiful morning! There were to beseensenators, who had patriotically injured their own constitutions whilereforming that of their country—tailors from Bond Street, going to Viennaand Athens to measure the “Corinthian pillars of the state,” on the philosophicalprinciples of Laputa—aldermen from Bucklersbury, to exude aportion of green fat and callipash in the valleys of Switzerland—geologicalchemists, with hammers, bags, and blow-pipes, bound for the mountainsofTaunus to ascertain the age ofMother Earth, by means of the fish-bones,oyster-shells, and pebbles, which she had swallowed at some of hergrand suppers—antiquarians journeying to the Roman forum to disinter thebones of M. Curtius and his horse, which had lain so long in their marblecerements—engineers from a new joint-stock company to survey a line ofrail-road over the Great St. Bernard—candidates for the Traveller’s Club,going toqualify by crossing some pons asinorum over the Danube—touristsof all calibres; some to make a tour simply; some to write a tour badly;but the greater number to talk of a tour afterwards—nabobs from theEast; some with the complexion of a star pagoda; some as pallid as asicca rupee; and others as blue as Asiatic cholera—Cantabs, with theirtutors, going to study spherics among the Alps of Oberland—Oxonians,to collate Greek and gibberish among the Ionian Isles—Missionariesfrom Paternoster-row and Albemarle-street, to convert foolscap into foodfor circulating libraries, and the “bitter wassers” of Germany into Burgundyand Champaigne for themselves—Conservatives flying from the“West-end,” to preserve the remnants of a shattered constitution—landlordsfrom Green Erin going to spend their rack-rents in the fashionablesaloons of Baden Baden—roué’s from St. James’s, repairing, as aforlorn hope, to the Cur-saals (anglice,Cursed Hells) of Nassau andBavaria—bacchanals,debauchees, andgourmands, hastening to Kissengenand Carlsbad, in hopes of restoring their jaded appetites andreducing their tumid livers—Judges from Westminster, who, in all actionsof “RusversusUrbem,” had lately determined in favour of theplaintiff, without reference to the jury—Bishops, who had left their blackaprons on the Banks of the Thames, to have a peep at the lady withscarlet petticoats on the banks of the Tyber—aspiring youths of enlarged[4]views and high pretensions, determined to see the world from the summitof Mont Blanc—pallid beauties, from Portman Square, with theiranxious mammas, bound to Ems and Schwalbach, in hopes of transmutingtheir lillies into roses, by exchanging the midnight waltz for the “mittag”meal, and fiery port for the sparkling “wein-brunnen”—faded belles andshattered beaux, of certain and uncertain ages, repairing to Schlangenbad,for satin surfaces and renewal of youth. We had members of both houseswho had inhaled sulphuretted hydrogen gas to such an extent, in St.Stephens, during the session, as to cause violent explosions of malodorousphilippics, to the great annoyance of their opposite neighbours:—thesewere on their way to the Alps for pure air before the next eruption. Herewere seen veterans from the “United Service,” whose memories had survivedtheir hopes, bound on a pilgrimage to Waterloo and Camperdown,to heave a last sigh over the setting sun of martial glory, and the degenerateæra of insipid peace. Here were whigs, tories, radicals and revolutionists;together with men of high church, low church, and no churchdoctrines, but all (incredible to relate) unanimously agreed on one principle,that of the “mouvement.”[2]

These and hundreds, not to say thousands of others, whose avocations,objects, and pursuits were only known to themselves—

were rushing to the Thames, and deserting the Metropolis, as though itwere the “City of the Plague,” or the seat of Asiatic cholera.

But to return to the Batavier. Honour to the man who first appliedsteam to locomotion. His ingenuity has enabled him to distil from watera light vapour which conquers the ocean from whence it sprang. It morethan half diminishes the terror of the sea and the miseries of the voyage.It brings Lisbon and Gibraltar within the same distance of London asEdinburgh used to be. Though lighter than the air we breathe, it canresist the impetuosity of the heaviest storm, and stem the torrent of themost rapid river. It has nearly broken the trident of Neptune, and ownslittle allegiance to his sceptre. Steam may now say to the watery god,what the ocean monarch once said to a brother deity—

[5]

Æolus may unchain the winds—Boreas may bluster, and Auster mayweep; but steam heeds them not. Resistance only lends it strength, andoppression elasticity. The offspring of eternal and implacable enemies(fire and water), its birth is invariably and necessarily fatal to its parents.The new Being thus generated is as gigantic in power as it is transitory inexistence. Imprisoned for a moment, it bursts its barriers—regains itsliberty—and dies! But these struggles for freedom work the iron wingsthat impel the monster steamer through the briny waves. Deep in thewomb of this moving volcano, we see the fires of Ætna glowing—cauldronsboiling—pumps playing—chains clanking—Ixion’s wheels incessantly revolving—steamroaring—and volumes of smoke belched upwards, todarken the skies with artificial clouds. Could some of our forefathers risefrom their graves, and behold a steamer flying over the waves against windand tide, and without oar or sail, they would be not a little astonished,and curious enough to know the name of the planet to which they hadbeen wafted after leaving their native earth.

THE SEA.

Campbell, our immortal poet, has dedicated an amatory epistle to thesea, descriptive of her various charms. When in good humour, no ladyhas a smoother face, or a more smiling countenance, and she then welldeserves the title of “mirror of the stars,” which the bard has gallantlyconferred on her. But when ruffled in temper, she is one of the veriesttermagants I have ever encountered. She will then fret and foam—aye,and proceed from words to blows, knocking about her friends and her foes,like stock-fish.

Many have been the philtres and objurgations proposed for securing her“crispid smiles,” and obviating her “luxurious heavings;” but few ofthem are of any value. I have found it best to lie down, bandage myeyes, and let the angry Goddess have her own way. In the presentinstance her marine majesty was in a singularly mild mood, during thepassage. A nautilus might have spread his sail and gone to sleep insafety. We approached the low sand hills concealing a still lower surfaceof country—struck on the Brill—and after two or three rolls, the Bataviertumbled like a whale into the Maas. We were soon abreast of Schiedam,whence volumes of smoke and vapour redolent of gin were wafted over usby the northern breeze, while a hundred windmills were whirling roundas far as the eye could reach. It is curious that in Holland, the mostwatery country in the world, grain is ground by means of wind; while inSwitzerland, the most windy country in Europe, corn is ground by meansof water. A moment’s reflection clears up the paradox. In Holland,[6]water sleeps during seven days in the week, unmolested, save by the occasionalcrawling of the trackschuyt:—in Switzerland, every stream leapsjoyously from rock to rock, grinding the corn, washing the linen, spinningthe flax, turning the lathes, and performing a hundred domestic services.

ROTTERDAM.

In a few hours after passing the Brill, we arrived at the most bustlingand thriving town in Holland. A protracted line of shipping, receivingand discharging their cargoes—an even jetty or quay, planted with majestictrees—and a long row of noble-looking houses facing the river, precludeall view of Rotterdam. It is impossible to get a prospect of any Dutchtown except from its highest steeple. Immediately, as is my custom, Iascended the spire of St. Lawrence’s cathedral, and there enjoyed a magnificentcoup-d’œil of the fine sea-port, and the adjacent country, as far asthe Hague. Each street is a kind of duplicate (double portrait) of thequay: the centre of almost every one being Macadamized, not with graniteor gravel, but with the masts, yards, decks, and high bugger-luggs ofships. This species of Macadamization not being the most convenient forcarriages or pedestrians, the broad trottoirs on each side, roughly pavedand thickly planted, serve for all kinds of viators, and must give ampleencouragement to corn-cutters, blacksmiths, veterinary surgeons, andcoach-builders.

Nine-tenths of the houses present their gable-ends to the street—a highflight of steps leading to the hall—and a coach door at the side, leading tothe court. Each mansion (where there is not an open shop) is a merchant’scastle, flanked with warehouses filled with goods, neatly furnished, andkept remarkably clean. The inhabitants differ from those of an Englishtown much less than the inhabitants of any other continental city. Thewomen are far more fair and handsome than either the French, Germans,or Italians—and the word “comfort,” unintelligible in any language butour own, is practically legible in every street of Rotterdam.

I made my bow to the statue of Erasmus, though the name called upsome scholastic recollections, not of the most pleasant kind, as connectedwith his Naufragium: after which, we perambulated this city of “ships,colonies, and commerce,” till a late hour in the evening.

From the moment that John Bull first sets foot on any part of the Continentbetween Scandinavia and Cape Coast Castle, he begins to pay dailythe penalty of early-acquired and long-continued bad habits. But this isnot all. Some of his good habits stand in the way of his comfort andhealth. The sooner he makes up his mind to the change, the better. Andfirst, of sleep. If he means to enjoy the blessings of “tired Nature’ssweet restorer,” he must repair to his chamber as soon as possible after thesun has taken his evening bath in the Atlantic. And he should springfrom his couch before, rather than after, Apollo pleases to—

[7]

In most of the continental towns, the streets are as silent as those ofPompeii after ten o’clock; but the bustle begins at day-light, and he musthave taken a strong dose of opium who can sleep after that hour! Thecocks are crowing, the carts are clattering, the waiters are knocking upthe travellers going off by diligence or steamer, the travellers themselvesare bawling out for “eau chaude,” “warm wasser,” “boots,” “coffee,”or the “billet”—in short, the jargon of different languages resoundingthrough the lobbies for an hour or two after day-light, would put Babel toshame. And last, not least, the eternal ding-dong of bells, especially inCatholic countries, from dawn of day till eight o’clock, might convince themost sceptical Protestant thatpurgatory is no fable, but an actual punishmentinflicted by the priests on this side of the grave, as a foretaste ofthe future!

Still, in most of the continental towns, there is an interval of five orsix hours in the night, during which the wearied limbs of the travellermay rest, and his ears may be relieved from discordant sounds. Not so atRotterdam. The night is infinitely more noisy than the day. It is thenthat the real bustle begins at theHotel des Pays Bas, and along thewhole line of the quay. The absence of light appears to operate on thisamphibious race in the same way as it does on frogs, bats, and owls, andvarious animals addicted to nocturnal depredation. By midnight the sailorsof different nations begin to get sober for the second or third time sincemorning, and the work of loading and unloading, craning and carting, &c.begins in good earnest. The eternal chorus of “yo heave ho,” from athousand throats, o’ertopping, but not drowning the boisterous din of unutterablediscord on all sides, would rouse the god of sleep from his bedof ebony, and put his prime minister, Morpheus, to flight.

How the Rotterdamers preserve their lives in the midst of stagnantwater surrounding and pervading every habitation, and ingurgitated byman, woman, and child, is only explicable on one of two principles—perhapsof both. They are accustomed to it, as the eels are to skinning:—orthe neighbouringScheidam poisons the animalculæ, and prevents theirpoisoning the people. There is yet one other supposition. In everyhabitation and chamber of Rotterdam, and indeed of Holland, there isvery perceptible to the senses a malodorous effluvium, composed of threedifferent gases, and emanating from gin, peat and tobacco. This “tertiumquid”—this “tria juncta in uno”—may possibly tend to counteract,or, at all events, to cover the malarious exhalations continually rising froma quiescent pool, into which thedebris of all utterable andunutterablethings are daily and nightly plunged![3]

[8]

THE HAGUE.

I have long been tired of rambling through museums and picture-galleries—churchesand palaces—gardens and promenades; but I am absolutelysick of the endless and reiterated descriptions of all these and athousand other things, which every tourist delineates anew, as if he hadbeen the first visitor that ever saw the lions!

In these catalogues there can be nothing new, even to the fire-sidetraveller, and I shall pass them by, with merely an occasional reflection orremark. I find but one or two notes in my diary of the Hague—one, therecord of a most capital BULL—not made by an Irishman, but by a Dutchman—the“Jeune Taureau,” by Paul Potter. This sturdy, stiff-necked,sandy-haired representative of my countrymen, is no bad sample of thebreed. I wish a certain animal of this species, which stands in FleetStreet, with a mouth wide open, and greedy for all kinds of provender,were to be brushed up a little,a la Paul Potter. I am sure it would increasethe number of spectators, if not of subscribers, to our witty, keen,and sarcastic hebdomadal of Temple-bar.[4]

At the dull aristocratic and academic town of Leyden, we crossed a sadmemorial of fallen greatness—the drivelling descendant of the majesticRhine, reduced to the dimensions of a canal, and, like the degenerateoffspring of some renowned hero, disgracing the line of his noble ancestor!Restive and perverse in its last act, it onlyflows when the tideebbs, andstands motionless during the flood. Leyden being a university “open toall parties,” and influenced by merit only (with a little gold), it imposes nooath on the candidates for its degrees—whatever may be the creed of theaspirant.

HAERLEM.

This is a phrenological city, distinguished by a remarkable bump—thelargest “organ of music” in the world. But there is a greater lion in[9]Haerlem than the great organ—one whose distant roarings have struckmore terror into the heart of John Bull than did ever Napoleon, with hislegions at Boulogne. This monstrous birth of the French revolution—thisoffspring of atheism and education, in which the orthodox light isextinguished—

is neither more nor less than a “normal school.” As this term is not inJohnson’s Dictionary, it is inferred by our home oracles, that it exists notin any language, ancient or modern. As I cannot give its derivation, Ishall try at its definition. It is a school where “boys and girls are taughtthe rudiments of knowledge without wrangling about creeds.” It is alikeopen to the Jew and the Gentile, the Protestant and Catholic, the Baptistand Anabaptist, the Unitarian and Trinitarian. Now as each of thesesects holds its own theology to be the true orthodox one, I do not seehow anyone form of religious instruction can be combined with elementaryeducation. We might as well try to force the same note on all theinmates of a menagerie, as the same creed on all the elèves of a normalschool. And, after all, why should theology be taken out of the hands ofthe pastor, to be put into those of the pedagogue? May not letters betaught without a Liturgy—and cyphering without a Catechism? We seethat, in two of the most Protestant countries—Prussia and Holland—thesystem works well, at least peaceably. The children of various sects canlearn to read without ridiculing, and to write without stigmatizing eachother’s creeds. They live in peace while acquiring the rudiments of humanknowledge at school—and they repair to the chapels or synagogues oftheir parents to hear the word of God, where it is most properly delivered.A youthful harmony or even friendship is thus generated among all persuasions,and is never afterwards entirely obliterated.

But I imagine that an unnecessary dread of this “tree of knowledge,”whose mortal fruit—

is entertained by the good people of England. Reading, writing, andarithmetic do not constitute knowledge, but merely the machinery bywhich it may be afterwards acquired. These rudiments are, like the typesof the printer distributed in their compartments—void of learning orscience in themselves, till they are worked up by the compositor—who,himself is only an instrument in the hands of a higher agent. “Theinstruction given in the schools (says an excellent observer, Mr. Chambers)is deficient of nearly all that bears on the cultivation of the perceptiveand reflective faculties, and consequently the expansion of theintellect.” This education rarely extends beyond reading, writing, arithmetic,and geography—while the superior orders are taught the French[10]language. At or under 14 years of age, the child leaves school andmerges on the ordinary avocations of life. There is in Holland nearly atotal absence of scientific instruction. Words not things are taught, andno taste is generated for literature. Yet this elementary education atschool, and religious instruction at home, have rendered the people remarkablefor order, piety, and morality. In no other country is there solittle crime or squalid poverty.

I wish I could say as much for civil as for religious liberty in thiscountry. The press is more completely muzzled than any cart-dog inLondon. The latter may open his jaws so far as to growl; but the pressis hermetically sealed in this submarine territory. No book can be translatedor published without the censor’s license—nay, a hand-bill, announcingthe importation of Warren’s blacking or Morrison’s pills, cannotbe printed or affixed to a wall, without a license and a stamp! In a conversationwith an intelligent Dutchman respecting this restriction on thepress, I was completely silenced by the following argument. I believe,said the gentleman, that in your profession,prevention is considered to bebetter than cure. I assented. Then, said he, I observe in all your newspapersthat people are tried, and sometimes severely punished, for publishinglibels, although the authors may not believe them to be such atthe time of writing them. Now the paternal Government of Hollandprevents such misfortunes and evils from happening to its subjects, byexamining the document before publication, and thus taking on itself theresponsibility, in case it should turn out afterwards to be libellous. Therewas no answering this argument. The Dutch are the most patient animalsthat ever lived beneath a yoke, or bowed beneath a load of taxes.Talk of John Bull’s rates and taxes! They are bagatelles compared tothose in Holland! Every species of business, from the cobbler to the ship-builder,is taxed after a graduated scale, varying from a few shillings totwenty or thirty pounds annually. Every dwelling, every window, door,fireplace—even the furniture, is taxed according to its value! The taxeson houses are more than a fourth of the rent! The necessaries of life are,in fact, extremely dear, and were it not for the solace of tobacco, gin, andcoffee, the poorer classes of Dutchmen would die in their dykes under thepressure of hunger and taxation, notwithstanding their loyalty toKing,and love ofVaderland!

AMSTERDAM.

How often does the monotonized traveller in Holland and Belgium sighfor the luxury of a zig-zag mule-track along the steep acclivity of somealpine height, as a change of scene from the eternal right-lined chaussée,terminating out of sight, beyond the verge of the horizon, or dipping apparently,like Pharaoh’s route, into a lake or the ocean! The Haerlem[11]pavé is constantly menaced by the Zuyder-Zee on the right, and theGerman Ocean on the left; but it escapes a watery grave, and safelylands the weary tourist in Amsterdam. Ascending the tower of theStadthouse, or palace, I cast my wondering eyes over the largest communityof beavers that ever lived upon logs, or drove their far-fetchedpiles into the muddy bottom of lake or pool! Strange that the dry landof this our globe should not afford space enough for cities or towns, withoutinvading the Adriatic and the Zuyder-Zee for the sites of Venice andAmsterdam! From this bird’s-eye view, the confusion and commixtureof land and water is inextricable and incalculable. The city stands onnearly one hundred detached islets, connected by more than three timesthat number of drawbridges—the houses rising bolt upright out of thewater—each street being a quay lined with trees—and each mansion awarehouse, as evinced by the crane and rope at the attic for hoisting ingoods, furniture, fuel, and provisions. The space between the houses andthe water, is much narrower than at Rotterdam, and I think the bustleand activity of commerce are far less conspicuous in the northern thanin the southern entrepôt. The water, though capable of floating ships,is unfit for cooking or drinking—and, were it not for the springs ofSeltzer, and the distilleries of Scheidam, I imagine that hydrophobiawould universally prevail.

I suspect that the Amsterdammers were originally a colony from Palestine.Like the “chosen people,” they are much fonder of conveyingmerchandize from one hand to another, than of manufacturing any articleof trade or commerce. The only fabrications that I could see, were thoseof ships to carry, and houses to contain goods. The building of houseshas long been limited to the re-construction of those whose foundationshad given way—and naval architecture has received many checks—theannihilation of the whale-fishery among others. But the red-herring stillcheers the heart of the Hollander, and qualifies the brackish water of theZuyder-Zee. While wandering through the streets in the evening, Ifound that gin-palaces were not confined to England. They are on asplendid scale here, and frequented by better classes of society than in theBritish metropolis. We saw burgesses—probably burgomasters—withtheir wives, and sometimes with their children, drinking, smoking, andlistening to the dulcet sounds of Swiss or Bavarian hurdi-gurdies. Thiswas not quite in keeping with the grave, moral, and religious character ofthe Dutchman.

It is not my inclination—to say the truth, it is not my forte—to describethe lions of Amsterdam—or of any of the other dams in this hybridoffspring of land and water. It was quite enough for me to see theshows—their pictorial delineation I leave to those of my tourist brethrenwho have studied under that inimitable painter, and hero of the hammer,Geo. Robins, Esq. They can readily transmute a varnished treckschuyt[12]into a Cleopatra’s barge—a buggerlugg into a bust of bronze—a Flandersmare into a prancing Bucephalus—a brick trottoir into a tesselated pavement—ora Belgian flat into a garden of the Hesperides. The worst ofthis is, that, by the time they have ascended the Rhine, or entered Switzerland,their stock of the picturesque is expended, and they have only thesublime to draw upon for the remainder of the tour.

To see the sights of Amsterdam, the gilders and stivers must be in perpetualmotion. Even at the doors of the churches, the padré’s demandyour money for admittance into their cold, damp, and dreary tabernacles—amost unusual practice on the Continent.

In order to vary the journey, we returned by Utrecht to Rotterdam:—butalthough the route wasalter, the scene wasidem—and I will notdetain the reader with any account of it.

BATAVIAN CHARACTERISTICS.

Of all the geological ups and downs which the surface of this globepresents, none is more remarkable, or less remarked, than that which theland of Holland has undergone. Every particle of its soil must oncehave occupied some higher land or even mountain of the Continent, beforeit travelled down to take its bath in the ocean—ultimately to rise tonearly the level of the sea—then to be rescued from the waters, partly bythe operations of Nature, and partly by the industry of man. Even nowthe mighty Alps are daily crumbling down, and every shower of rain,and mountain torrent washes down its quota of soil to the Mediterraneanor the German Ocean.[5] Should no volcanic revolution interrupt thesewatery changes, a period must come—ten thousand years are but a dot inthe stream of time—when the high lands will be worn down into alluvialdeposits which, rising from their oceanic beds, will become annexations tothe existing plains. The lower heights will of course shew the effectsof this “wear and tear” sooner than the snow-clad Alps; but even theselast must one day undergo that transmutation and transplantation towhich all sublunary things are destined. This is no imaginary speculation.It is not in Holland alone that we see vast tracts of land carrieddown from the hills—buried in the deep, for a time—and afterwardsrescued from their watery beds. The Delta of the Nile was once amongthe mountains of Abyssinia—the Sunderbunds have spread far and wide tothe south of Calcutta, dividing the Ganges into a hundred mouths—extendingthe land into the bay of Bengal, and sustaining myriads ofanimals, and even man himself—the Mississippi and the St. Lawrenceare digging the grave of the Alligagny mountains—the mighty Andes—“Giant[13]of the Western Star,” who now

is silently and slowly suffering disintegration by thePlata andAmazon,committing its atoms to the depths of the Atlantic, thence to emerge, atsome remote epoch, the habitation of races of animated beings that haveno types, perhaps, in the present or past creations. Even the cloud-captHimalaya, whose base extends over thousands of miles, feeds with itssubstance the insatiate mouths of the Indus, the Ganges, the Burrhampooter,and the Yrawaddy, whose turbid waves roll down to distant seasthe alluvial tribute; themselves the unconscious ministers of an Almightywill!

Thus it would appear that thelevelling principle is as operative in thephysical as in themoral world—among mountains as well as among men.But there is one great and essential difference between the two. TheHimalaya may require thousands of years longer to wear down than theCordillera. This is merely a difference in time. But no time, or space,or circumstance can effect an equilibrium in the moral or intellectualworld. If such a level could be obtained, it would instantly perish, orrecede to a greater distance than ever. Equality of this kind, likeHeaven’s bright bow—

Equal right can never lead to equal might.

But to return from this digression. How is it that the Helvetian andthe Hollander, whose countries are the very antipodes of each other—whosemanners, customs, and pursuits are as different as Alps are fromsand-hills, should yet present a more striking similarity in one moral feature,than the inhabitants of any other two countries? Of all the nationsof Europe, the Helvetians and Hollanders, inhabiting the highest and thelowest grounds in the world, are most enthusiastically attached to theirnative soils, and experience the greatest degree of nostalgic yearningwhen separated from home. Theamor patriæ of the Swiss is proverbial—thatof the Dutchman is quite as strong, though not so well known.

“The Hollander (says Mr. Chambers,) is bred up from his infancy tohave the highest ideas of his “Vaderland”—of her people—her warriors—herwealth—her power. He is taught to consider thisVaderland asstanding highest in the rank of nations—that every thing belonging toher isbest. He is an admirer, without being a benefactor of his country—apatriot without public spirit—contented and self-satisfied with hiscountry and every thing belonging thereto.”

The Helvetian can hardly be more enamoured of his mountains than isthe Hollander of his alluvial plains! But whence this coincidence? Isit that the Dutchman remembers thehigh descent of his native soil—that[14]it floated down from the Alps and other highlands—that it was redeemedfrom the ocean by his labour and skill—enriched, fertilized, and adorned bythe industry of his forefathers—and, finally, that it had become, under hisfostering care, a second “Garden of Eden,” the pride of Batavians, andthe envy of the world?

Or is it that extremes approximate?—That the hardy Helvetian, raisedabove the storm’s career, but whose—

can look, with feelings of pride and independence, from his airy citadelof health and activity, down on surrounding nations—whilst the phlegmaticHollander, secure from winds and waves, under the shelter of hisbreak-water ramparts, surveys with kindred feelings and self-gratulationshis fertile flats, his irrigated fields, and commerce-bearing canals—hissenses steeped in that musing mood, that “fool’s paradise” suspendedmidway between the excitement of gin, and the tranquillity of tobacco?

Be this as it may, there can be little doubt that the moral and physicalcharacter—the inward temperament and outward man—are all very muchmodified by the climate, the soil, and the circumstances around us. Itmight not be difficult to shew that the prominent characteristics of thepeople in question are modified by these external agencies. The Hollanderis accustomed to watch, with the patience of a cat, for that precise periodwhen the alluvial deposits on his shores have attained that level whichpermits him to stretch out his mounds of earth, and grasp the piece ofnewly-emerged ground for future culture:—hence hispatience andvigilancethrough life, while watching the opportunity of benefiting himself.He observes, from infancy, the labour and expense of realizing this propertyin the soil:—hence hiseconomy, even to parsimony. His climateis damp and cold: his temperament is thereforephlegmatic. The surfaceof his country is flat and monotonous; without monuments of antiquity,historical renown, or classical recollections:—there is, consequently,no morepoetry in his composition than in a Dutch cheese, or a stagnantcanal. Living beneath the level of the ocean, he is liable to inundationsfrom the watery element:—he is therefore habituallycautious of all contingencies.The equinoxes, the vernal and autumnal floods, the changesof the moon, are all important epochs and events in a submarine territory;—heis, therefore, acalculating animal, from his cradle to his grave.At war with the elements, he is naturallybrave even to obstinacy, whetherthe cause be right or wrong; and will fight to the knees in blood,rather than either advance or retreat. Monotony being almost universal,ideality is nearly null:—the Dutchman, therefore, smokes during thegreater part of his time, in default of conversation—tobacco being, atonce, the cause and the excuse fortaciturnity. In Holland there arenearly as many canals for communication, as there are dykes for defence:—the[15]Batavian is, therefore, eminentlycommercial:—but the limits ofthe soil being narrow, and the population dense, colonization becamenecessary, despite of the “Vaderlandsleifde,” and emigration continuesthough the colonies have dwindled away. The intellectual viewsof the Hollander are nearly as limited as his geographical. There are nomountains, whence a wide and varied prospect can be taken in by the eye—neitherare there academic eminences, from which the mind can soarinto the regions of literature, science, art, or philosophy. As it is infinitelymore difficult to raise dykes than children—to extend the soil, thanto swell the census—so the Batavian has been a political economist longbefore the science was taught by Malthus, or practised by Martineau, inthis country. As a merchant, he is honest and honourable in his negociationsabroad—punctual as his pipe in receipts and disbursements athome. Exclusively occupied with the concerns of self—whether ruminating,fumigating, or calculating—he has little time, and less inclination,to meddle with affairs of state. The measure of his patriotism is amplysufficient for an abundance of loyalty—and if “passive obedience andnon-resistance” be cardinal virtues in subjects, then the Dutch ought to bedear to the heart of their sovereign. I have no doubt that they are so.It is only a matter of reciprocal feeling—for assuredly the sovereign isdear to the Dutch.

Embarking at Rotterdam, the steamer ploughs its weary way throughthe muddy Maas for three long days, before it reaches Cologne. Onenight is spent in the malodorous town of Nymeguen—and the other onboard—so that, altogether, this is one of the most monotonous voyagesthat could well be projected. There is not even the satisfaction of findingone bank or place more ugly, or more uninteresting than another—whichwould be some little variety, and afford some subject for remark. Allis puddle-dock in the near, and sand-bank in the distance. Here andthere the spire of a church, the roof of a house, or the mast of a schuytappears on the horizon, for a time, and vanishes again in the blank.

COLOGNE.

If the narrow streets of Cologne be famous, or rather infamous, for badsmells, it is to be recollected that thewaters of that ancient city are morevaluable than thewines of the neighbouring Rhine:—that they are carriedto every corner of the earth—and prized for their delicious flavour, beyondthe richest productions of Rudesheim or Johannisberg. Thus good comethout of evil—and the most grateful perfume is exhaled from the most malodorouscity of Europe. “Give a dog a bad name,” and the sooner youshoot him the better. Yet if a stranger arrived at Cologne, by day or bynight, not knowing the name of the place, he might traverse its numberlessand crooked streets, without remarking more disagreeable scents than his[16]nose would encounter on the banks of the Tiber, the Arno, or the Seine—inthe wynds of Auld Reekie, the Gorbals of Glasgow, the purlieus of theLiffey—or even of father Thames, between Puddle-dock and Deptford.I will not maintain that all the little rivulets which meander the streets ofthis town, after a shower of rain, are the veritable “Eau de Cologne” ofMessieurs Farina; but I must say that the olfactories of my fair countrywomanof the “Souvenirs,” were more delicate than impartial, when shepenned the following sentence. “But the dreadful effluvia of the black,filthy streams that defile every street, penetrated even through the foldsof pocket-handkerchiefs soaked in perfume.”—Souvenir, p. 93.

Fiction being the “soul of poetry,” we need not wonder that theBardshould seize the opportunity of having his fling at poor Cologne. AccordinglyColeridge exercised his wit and his acrimony in the followinglines, in which he apostrophisesCloacina, and the nymphs, “who reigno’er sewers and sinks.”

Probably it was this real or supposed pollution which caused the nobleriver to dive into the sands, soon after passing Cologne, and hide its headfor ever. It cannot be denied that Cologne is a city of the dirty andmalodorous order—and we cannot much wonder at the fact, seeing thatit was Roman in the beginning, and has never changed its nature or namefrom the days of Germanicus to the present moment. After passing fromthe Romans to the Franks, and from the Franks to the Germans, it becamea “Holy City”—and that was enough to ruin Rome itself. Itbecame, of course, the rendezvous of priests, monks, and nuns, and theseat of abbeys, monasteries, nunneries, and churches. Notwithstandingthese misfortunes, it rose into a rich and flourishing entrepôt of commerce,when its bigotted ecclesiastical government took the wise resolutionof banishing the merchants, because most of them were Jews andProtestants. The exiles settled in other cities on the Rhine, and left theswarms of monks and priests among their rotten relics, to starve and“stink in state.” Here we have a key to the malodorous effluvia thatpenetrated the perfumed handkerchief of the lady of the “Souvenirs”—forI will be bold enough to aver that she did not leave a nook or cornerunexplored in Cologne, where anythingcurious was to be seen. It is agreat pity that Napoleon, when he suppressed the convents and monasteries,did not order the scavengers and police to sweep out all themouldering bones, putrefying flesh, and decomposing integuments ofsaints and martyrs that have been congregated in churches, chapels, andother monastic institutions for two thousand years. If this had been[17]done at Cologne, there would have been no occasion for perfumed handkerchiefsto the noses of travellers.

By the way, where were the brains of the three magi, orwise men ofthe east, (whose skulls are crowned and impearled here,) when theyallowed the suicidal decree to go forth against the merchants of Cologne?These relics of the church perform miraculous cures of physical ills; butthey never, by any accident, prevent, much less punish, the perpetrationof moral mischief. The schoolmaster is much more wanted than the scavengerin Cologne!

The first rush is made to the hotel—and the next to the Dom Kirche—anunfinished cathedral, of course—like all great abbeys—for, if finished,no more contributions could be levied. A tower of the cathedral,intended—abbeys,like some other places, are “paved with good intentions”—tobe 500 feet high, but which only attained the altitude of 20 feet,throws all sentimental tourists into ecstasies. From its brother, whichgrew up much taller, a good panoramic view of Cologne and vicinity isobtained. Then comes the tomb of skulls—the crania of the three magi—Caspar,Melchior, and Balthasar—stolen by the mother of Constantinefrom the Holy Land—conveyed by some mysterious agency from Constantinopleto Milan—and thence pillaged by Barbarossa, and presentedto the Bishop of Cologne! For 700 years these empty skulls have beengazed at by the millions of numbskulls still emptier, that have come tovisit them! They are decorated with gilt crowns, set with pearls—andtheir names are written in ruby characters!

Near these holy, but harmless relics, are deposited, among many massesof bones and filth—“les entrailles” of Queen Marie de Medicis, togetherwith the head of St. Peter, &c. &c. &c. But in the church of St. Ursula,things are done on a grander scale. The bones of 11,000 English ladies,who were wrecked in the Rhine,on their voyage to Rouen!! are heredeposited—the owners having taken the veil rather than join in wedlockwith theHuns, who then possessed the Holy City. Other records saythat, in imitation of Lucretia, they sacrificed their lives to preserve theirhonour—and their bones were carefully preserved from that time to this!Did the fair lady of the “Souvenirs” hold her “perfumed handkerchief”to her nose, while contemplating these blanched remains of her heroicsisterhood?

The city of Cologne measures seven miles in circumference—her streetsare narrow—and her houses are high. Yet the population scarcely exceeds[18]50,000 souls—with bodies attached to them!! Thus then, it isevident that this Holy City is one vast cemetery, partly above, and partlyunder ground—a huge museum of mouldering anatomy, useless alike tothe living and the dead, and only commemorative of the weakness, darkness,ignorance, and superstition of the human mind!

I confess that I was silly enough, nearly twenty years ago, to spendsome days and dollars in exploring these mummeries at Cologne; andthose who prefer such pursuits to the pure air of the mountains, andthe smiling landscapes of Nature on the banks of the Rhine, may followthe example.

At nine o’clock in the morning, we left the Hotel du Rhin, and repairedto the busy banks of the river, where steam was hissing, and tourists werebustling into the vessels. Five or six arches of the bridge suddenly slippedtheir cables, and swinging round by the impulse of the stream, opened afree passage for the ascending and descending boats. Away they wentupwards and downwards, full of passengers—some on the tiptoe of expectationto see the wonders of the Rhine—others, having satisfied theircuriosity, were winging their way home, to the chalky cliffs of OldEngland.

THE RHINE.

And here we change the land of facts for the land of fictions. We nowenter the regions of romance and robbery—of love and murder—of tiltsand tournaments—of dungeons deep and turrets lofty—of crusadesagainst the creed of the Ottoman abroad, and of forays against the propertyor life of the neighbour at home—of riot and revelry in the castle,and of penury and superstition in the cottage—of beetling precipice andwinding river—of basaltic rock and clustering vine—of wassail war andvintage carol. It is probable that few ascend this famous river withoutexperiencing some feelings of disappointment, although none will acknowledgeit, lest their taste should be condemned, and themselves voted to bebarbarians, insensible alike to the beauties of nature and the wonders ofart. But the Rhine, like many a fine child, has been spoiled—especiallyby poets and painters. The tourists and romance-writers, too, have combinedto spoil the Rhine-child—for although all romance-writers are nottourists, yet all tourists are,ex officio, romance-writers.

Thus the mountains of the Rhine, though none of them are muchhigher than the rock of Gibraltar—are represented as “stupendous”—everydingle and dell that opens between the hills, is painted as morebeautiful than the valley of Rasselas, Chamounix, or Grindenwalde—theriver itself is made to flow like liquid emeralds or sapphires, though it receivesso many muddy streams, after its partial filter in Constance, that itis nearly as yellow as the Tiber, and as turbid as the Thames, before it gets[19]half-way between Schaffhausen and Dusseldorf.[6] The vines too, whichare strung on stunted sticks, like onions,—enclosed between rude stoneterraces—and which more frequently disfigure than embellish the banks ofthe Rhine, are extolled beyond those of Italy, which are gracefully festoonedfrom tree to tree, bending down the branches with the weight ofdelicious grapes. Notwithstanding these and many other deficiencies onthe one hand, and exaggerations on the other (which all will acknowledgein their hearts, though none will declare by their tongues), the Rhine isthe most picturesque, beautiful, romantic, and interesting river on the faceof our globe. I have twice ascended, and thrice descended the stream,from its source in the Alps to its sepulture in the ocean—with variouslateral excursions—and still with undiminished pleasure. But then Icame to the survey with a conviction that, like all other places of the kind,it was flattered by the painter, falsified by the poet, and dressed in meretriciousornaments by the tourist and novellist. I was therefore not disappointed,but highly gratified.

DRACHENFELS.

Knowing, from experience, that the first twenty miles of the Rhinefrom Cologne, are totally devoid of interest, I left my companions at theirwine in theRhenischer, and started in the diligence for Bonn—andthence to Godesberg, where I slept. Long before sunrise I had crossedthe Rhine, and threaded my way up the steeps of the Drachenfels. Thisis probably the finest view on the Rhine—far superior to that which SirF. Head has described as taken from the top of a tree on the hill behindthe Bad-haus at Schlangenbad.

“The Drachenfels, which is the steepest of the Seven Mountains,has infinitely the advantage of situation, rising abruptly from the river toa stupendous height, clothed midway with rich vines and foliage, and terminatingin red and grey rock. On its brow are the ruins of an ancientcastle, standing on their colossal and perpendicular base—a type of man’sperseverance and power. The magnificent and picturesque prospectswhich encompass on all sides this enchanting spot, as if Nature, with aprofuse and lavish hand, had diffused around so many and varied beauties,that having exhausted her wonted combination of mountain, hill, and dale,with water, flowery mead, cultivated field, mantling forests, and luxuriantvineyards, she had by this profusion of witching scenery peculiarly markedit for her own.” This description is not exaggerated—which is saying agreat deal for it. The Drachenfels, indeed, has been immortalized by[20]legendary tale, poetic lore, and pictorial delineation. An ingenious artistof the present day, (Mr. Leigh,) has recently given a panoramic viewfrom the summit of this rock, with all the fidelity and minuteness of thepainter. I can corroborate the description, though I could not imitate thepicture. A short extract or two will serve as specimens.

“The whole of this delicious panorama was bathed in a flood of subduedgolden light, which intermingled its luscious hues with the coolertones of twilight. As if preparing to receive the setting sun with glory,the horizon emitted a deep yet brilliant crimson lustre, spangled withflakes of gold, while richer and more fantastic streaks of purple appearedready to envelop its glowing form as it slowly and majestically sailed behindthe darkened curtain of the distant hills. The nearer features ofthis lovely scene, illumined by the silvery aspect of lingering day, wereinvested with a tranquil dignity and beauty which soothed the vision as itembraced their harmonious contours, softened by the genial light. Themore distant objects partook of the hue of the glowing west, and,by their deep tone, enhanced the paler radiance of the more immediateprospect.

“The character of the entire scene is extremely imposing: the sitewhence it is beheld is sufficiently lofty to command an immense extent,yet not so elevated as to make all around dwindle into collections of spots.Its beauty is not of that uniform description which presents an endlesssuccession of cultivated points, without offering any features of strikinginterest; for, while on the one side, the eye glides along vast and variedplains, on the other, it ranges over all the diversities of a mountainouscountry, from the bare and rugged castled crags to the green uplandsshelving down to picturesque valleys and streams.

“To the north the series of gentle eminences and valleys lose their individualdistinctions, and blend into one extensive plain, patched with thevaried colours of their produce, and dotted with the divisions of trees andhedges which unite by their graceful lines the numerous villages that intersectit. On this variegated expanse the serpentine course of the unruffledRhine may be traced like a stream of molten silver, flowing onwards towardsCologne, its bright bosom continuously seen, occasionally bearingspecks of vessels gently descending with the current. Innumerabletowers and spires gleam amidst the verdant glades, or peer from thedeepening woods; and as the eventide breeze flows through the gentleair, the pleasing and varied harmonies of chiming bells, afar and near,break upon the ear.”

“On the same side, a series of gradual elevations, shelving down tothe Rhine, forms the commencement of the cluster of the Drachenfels,whose bold forms sweep majestically around the towering rock of theDragon, like the turbulent waves of the ocean against the soaring lighthouse.Turning to the west, the conical form of the Godesberg, surmounted[21]by its picturesque towers, and relieved by the sparkling habitationsat its base, stands out conspicuously from the deeper toned ridge ofhills, by which it appears shut in between Bonn and Rolandseck. Behindthis wooded screen are the diversified forms of the Eifel chain, extendingin various ramifications towards Spa, Treves, and Luxembourg, occupyingthe territory between the Mosel and the Maas.”

“On the shore beyond, embowered amidst the surrounding uplands, isthe partially concealed town of Oberwinter; beyond which, a sharp pointof land juts into the Rhine, nearly opposite the village of Unkel. Fromthis point commences the interminable series of mountain summits, whichstretch along the horizon in all the grandeur of form, harmony of composition,and fascination of colour. The eye rises from the placid bosom ofthe Rhine, in which the pure sky is serenely mirrored, and, after dwellingwith rapture on the gorgeous hues of the nearer landscape, it glides withincreasing fervour over the air-drawn bulwarks which tower around thislovely scene. These choice materials of redundant Nature, tipped withthe magical hues of a gorgeous sunset, and a translucent twilight, and investedwith the majesty of sweeping yet mellow shadows, sufficientlyaccount to my own mind for the lengthened description in which I havewith all humility indulged.

While viewing this magnificent scene from the little Caffé, perched asclose to the edge of a precipice as the ruined castle itself, it was impossiblenot to recall the words of our immortal bard and country’sboast—Byron.

[22]

From this spot the ruined tower of Godesberg, all lonely on a conicalmount, looks like a solitary vidette on his out-post, while the sevenmountains around us—

It is here that the poetry of the Rhine commences, together with itslegendary lore, and romantic scenery. After a comfortable breakfast atthe Eagle’s Nest Inn, and a slight survey of the topography of the rock’snarrow crown, I climbed to the highest practicable part of the ruin, andseating myself securely, had several hours of leisure to contemplate thescene, and indulge in meditation. On former occasions, I had read thelegends of the Rhine, while wandering on its banks, more for amusementthan instruction, yet it never till now crossed my mind that, in the comparativelyrude ages when they were written, they might have beenintended,each to convey some moral lesson. The more I reflected on this subject,the more I was impressed with the idea, and, at all events, I determinedto try my hand at the extraction of a moral from each tale, whether suchmoral were originally intended or not. I could not do better than beginwith the—

LEGEND OF THE DRACHENFELS.
(No. 1.)

Every visitor to this place is shewn the cavern, once occupied by a hugedragon, to whom the neighbouring inhabitants paid divine honours, andeven offered human sacrifices. The prisoners of war were considered tobe the most agreeable victims to this Pagan monster. Among a numberof recent captives was one day found a beautiful young lady, educated inthe Christian religion. Her beauty was raising a quarrel among the conqueringchiefs, when the Elders advised that the cause of the contentionshould be consigned to the dragon. She was accordingly led to thesummit of the rock, and chained to a tree. Multitudes were assembledto view the sacrifice. The first rays of the sun that darted into thecavern, roused the voracious reptile, who issued from his den, and directedhis tortuous course to the usual place of his bloody feast. As soon as hecame in sight, the destined victim drew from her bosom the crucifix andimage of her Saviour—fixed her eyes on the emblem of redemption—andcalmly awaited her fate. The monster gazed on his lovely and helplessprey, already within his grasp—slackened his pace—stopped—appearedpetrified, with his basilisk eyes rivetted on the virgin. She stood as firmas the rock beneath her or the faith within her! A thrill of horror ranthrough the assembled crowd, and the silence that prevailed was still asthe grave. The moment of suspense was agonizing to the spectators;[23]but continued only a few seconds, when the dragon sent forth a horribleand unearthly yell—darted over the precipice—and disappeared for ever!The multitude flew to the lady, unbound her chains, and fell at her feet,as if she were an angel from Heaven. Conversion to the true faith amongthe neighbouring people followed—a chapel was erected on the spot wherethe miraculous interposition took place—and it was thenceforth consideredthe cradle of Christianity in that part of the country.

MORAL.

The moral of this legend is sufficiently obvious. But it goes far beyondthe miraculous interposition of Providence, too commonly and too impiouslyproclaimed in Protestant as well as in Catholic states. The legend illustratesa great principle of human nature—the power of religion over the fearof death—even when that death is aggravated by the horrors of mercilesscruelty and ignominious torture! Nor is it any drawback on true religionthat afalse faith will sometimes exert a similar influence in the hour oftrial. The Hindoo widow mounts the funeral pyre of her husband, underthe influence of a religious persuasion that she is performing a sacred dutyto the dead—and braves the devouring element in the hope of joyful immortality.It is also true that a few minds of a certain mould will spurnthe fear of death, under the influence of a greater fear—that of dishonour.The Roman stoics, without the aid of religious faith, might prefer fallingon their own swords, to the disgrace of dragging the captive’s chainsbehind the triumphal chariot of the conqueror:—but neither Cato norCassius would have stood unmoved before the dragon of Drachenfels.

The serenity of the Christian in the hour of peril, the agony of sickness,and the approach of death, contrasts greatly with the sullen abandonmentof the stoic, and the reckless desperation of the infidel.

Here my meditations were broken by seeing the long black banner ofthe steamer wreathing over the placid river, and impinging against thesides of the hills. Descending from my airy seat, I soon joined my companionson the crowded deck, and proceeded on our voyage. It is fashionablefor modern tourists to draw characteristic sketches of the passengersin steam-boats on the Rhine. I think it is one of the worst theatresthat could be selected for that purpose. The scenery itself, and thelegendary tales which fix the localities in the memory, are quite sufficientfor ordinary attention, without attempting to dive into the peculiarities ofindividual character, which are not so easily fathomed as the sentimentaltourist would have us to suppose.

We have scarcely got disentangled of the Drachenfels, when we findourselves between a ruined tower on the summit of a volcanic peak on theright, and a spruce hotel in the midst of the Rhine, on a little island to[24]our left. The former is the far-famed Rolandseck, and the latter is theancient convent of Nonnenwerth converted into a modern caravansera.

ROLAND AND HILDEGUND, OR THE FATAL AFFIANCE.
(Legend the Second.)

The beautiful Hildegund and the valiant Roland (nephew of Charlemagne)were ardently beloved by, and betrothed to each other. Roland,however, postponed his marriage, till he had, once more, unsheathed hissword against the infidels in Palestine. Every day of his absence seemeda year to his Hildegund, who often listened in her bower to the praises ofher lover carolled by the boatmen of the Rhine. News arrived that theHoly City was rescued from the Saracens, and that peace was signed:—ButRoland returned not. One evening a military knight craved hospitalityat her father’s castle. He had just returned from the seat of war,and, to eager enquiries respecting Roland, related the manner of his deathon the field of battle, covered with honourable wounds! The effect onthe amiable Hildegund may be easily conceived. After a short noviciatein the convent of Nonnenwerth, she took the veil, and next morning herlover arrived at her father’s castle, expecting to fly into her arms! Petrifiedby the astounding intelligence that Hildegund was wedded to Heaven,Roland abjured all society—built himself a hermitage on the hill overlookingthe convent, and sat at its door from morning till night, listeningto the matins and vespers that ascended from the living sepulchre of hisbetrothed. One day he saw a funeral on the island, and soon learnt thatit was that of his Hildegund! The next day he was found dead, sitting atthe door of his hermitage, his face turned to the convent!

MORAL.

The moral of this tale is homely, but not the less important on thataccount. The misery resulting from long-existing affiances, where time,or space, or adverse circumstances separate the betrothed, is of dailyoccurrence, and comes within the observation of every one. How oftendo we see females kept in this state of uncertainty till every prospect ofother settlement in the world has vanished—and, after all, where thehappiness of one party is blasted for ever by the death or inconstancy ofthe other! Protracted courtships are bad enough; but prospective marriagesare far worse! Sat verbum sapientibus—or ratheramantibus.

A certain personage in the drama of the above legend, is deserving of apassing word—viz. the eaves-dropper—one of those unlucky tale-bearers,whose officious tongues too often destroy the peace of whole families, andthat withoutmalice prepense on the part of the babbler!

[25]

THE LAST NUNS OF NONNENWERTH.
(Legend the Third.)

The history ofNonnenwerth discloses a curious trait of human nature,which has seldom been noticed. In the first moral storms of the Frenchrevolution, a number of nuns and novices of noble families, took refuge inthe Sestertian convent of Nonnenwerth. They remained tranquil tillNapoleon came to the throne, when a great disaster threatened to overwhelmtheir peaceful asylum. The emperor was a calculating philosopher,as well as an able general. He foresaw that monasteries andconvents—especially the latter—were bad nurseries for conscripts; andtherefore, in imitation of our Eighth Henry, of blessed and pious memory,he suppressed them all, with one stroke of his pen! The nuns of Nonnenwerthpetitioned for an exemption from the proscription, but petitionedin vain. Josephine, like Juno, interceded with the sceptre-bearer, andbegged that the convent on the Rhine might be made an exception to thegeneral rule—that the nuns might be suffered to remain, and add to theirnumber as death thinned their ranks. Napoleon, like Jove—

They were permitted to retain possession of the convent during theirnatural lives—after which, Nonnenwerth was to revert to the state.This was a great concession, and the nuns were satisfied, as they themselveswere provided for—and some favourable revolution might occurwhen they were gone.

Time rolled on smoothly,—and, although a sister occasionally paid thedebt of nature, the event did not make a very serious impression, but onlyafforded topics of reflection on the uncertainty of human life, or perhapsrecalled to the memory of the living some traits of goodness and amiabilityin the dead, that had, somehow or other, escaped their notice whiletheir sainted sister resided amongst them. But every year diminished thenumber of the survivors, till, at length, the vacant chambers and the contractedcircle at prayers and refection, forced themselves on the notice ofeven the most inobservant of the sisterhood. And now it was that theunwelcome question began to obtrude itself on the thoughts of the nuns:—“Whoshall go next to her long abode?” It required no great extentof arithmetic to shew the strength of the establishment at present, ascompared with ten or twelve years before—and each sister began toassume the office of actuary, and calculate the probable duration of lifewithin the walls of the convent! From this time, the serenity of theirminds was somewhat disturbed. The question would obtrude itself ontheir thoughts, even in their devotions, and rise occasionally in thetroubled dream.

[26]

Meanwhile the inexorable tyrant did not fail to knock as regularly atthe gate of the convent as at the door of the peasant’s hut on the neighbouringmountain.

The social circle was narrowed every year—the number of nuns fell to 20—15—12!About this time a new question, still more appalling thanthe other, flashed across the mind of every inmate of Nonnenwerth. Itwas not as to who should be thefirst to—

but who was likely to be thelast to wander in solitude round the desertedchambers, recalling the well-known features of each departed tenant,—or,who was to be thelast on the bed of sickness or death, without a sister’ssmile to soothe her sufferings—or a sister’s tear to mark the spirit’sflight? This new subject of reflection absorbed all others. Even religionfailed to calm the troubled imagination of frail mortals placed in suchsingular and unnatural circumstances! Any one of them could reconcileherself to the idea, however triste, of dying in society—but none of themto the horrible thought of living in solitude, and departing unwept!

This little community resembled aTontine, but with all the advantagesof such an institution completely reversed and turned into calamities.In the civil Tontine, every lapse of life renders the remaining livesmore valuable—in the Tontine of the convent on the Rhine, it renderedthem more miserable—the consummation, the ultimatum of human misfortunes,being still reserved for—the last Nun of Nonnenwerth!

In one short year of epidemic influence and moral depression, thesolemn requiem was six times heard in the convent chapel, for the reposeof souls no longer to be troubled by mundane cares or fears. This reducedthe sisterhood to six.

There are physical pains which the body cannot long sustain—and soare there moral prospects on which the eye of reason is unable to dwell.This was one of them. The remaining nuns took immediate steps tosecure other asylums—and soon afterwards separated from each other,[27]and from Nonnenwerth—for ever! The island reverted to the state,and the convent was converted into a caravansera, whose doors areever open to the travelling novice, without reference to age, sex, creed,or country.

This short history will suggest various reflections to the mind. Thelegislator will see that solitude is more formidable to many minds thandeath itself—while the philanthropist will be convinced that monasticinstitutions are contrary to nature, and, as such, can never exist, withoutconstant supplies from society at large. The vanity of human wishes iswell illustrated by the history of Nonnenwerth. The nuns thoughtthemselves fortunate in securing a beautiful, healthy, and tranquil asylumfor life—little knowing how soon the convent would appear to them morehorrible than the dungeon of a prison!

Reverting from history to romance, we cannot leave the Seven Mountainswithout noticing the—

TREUENFELS; OR, THE ROCK OF FIDELITY.
(Legend the Fourth.)

In a lonely and desolate valley near the Rhine, some remains of a tombare seen, with an inscription, of which the word “Liba” only is legible.Liba was the beautiful daughter of the Chevalier Balther, and betrothed tothe brave and amiable Count de Grunstein, whom she loved. But, the“days of true love seldom do run smooth.” Balther owed a grudge tothe pious but severe Englebert, Archbishop of Cologne, and instigatedsome of the prelate’s vassals, who were also indisposed to the Archbishop,to take away his life. Several of the malefactors were seized and executed;all confessing at the scaffold that Balther was the person who promptedthem to the murder. These confessions induced the Emperor to ordera troop of soldiers to burn the original conspirator’s castle and all withinits walls. The order was duly executed, and, in the middle of a stormynight, the flames ascended to the apartments of Balther and Liba. Theaffectionate daughter, with the greatest difficulty, and with wonderful presenceof mind, conducted her aged father through a subterranean passage,to the neighbourhood of the chateau; but not before the old man wasdreadfully scorched by the fire. A cavern in the mountain’s side affordedthem shelter from the vengeance of the Emperor, and the affectionatedaughter sustained her parent by fruits and roots collected every night inthe vicinity of their retreat. Meantime Balther’s eyes were entirely destroyedby the inflammation resulting from the flames of the castle; but hebecame reconciled, or at least resigned, to his afflictions and fate. Oneday, he begged to be conducted to the mouth of the cavern, where he[28]might inhale the pure air, though he could no longer enjoy the cheerfullight of Heaven. The dutiful Liba indulged the wish of her afflictedfather, and, while they were sitting there, she espied, at no great distance,her faithful lover, Grunstein, leaning in melancholy mood against a tree,his javelin and dogs at his side. The first impulse of nature was to rushinto his arms, and implore his assistance; but love and reason instantlychecked her. She reflected that the asylum in Grunstein’s castle wouldonly expose her betrothed lover to the persecution of the Emperor. Atthis moment, her father cried out that he saw the sun and the blue sky,though his eyes were entirely destroyed. The maiden looked around, andbeheld a black speck in the heavens. She fell on her knees, and imploredthe mercy and forgiveness of the Almighty towards her parent. Baltherjoined in the prayer, and, at that instant, the thunder roared, and a flashof lightning reduced the father to a cinder, and the pious daughter to acorpse! Grunstein roused from his reverie, commenced his descent, and,in his way down into the valley, beheld the fair form of his betrothed Liba,apparently asleep—but totally lifeless! He erected a chapel on the spot,dedicated to “Notre Dame des Douleurs,” and a tomb in the rock for hisLiba, where the name still remains legible.

MORAL.

The moral of this tale is two-fold. It illustrates the force of filial affection,and the certainty of retributive justice.

The artful instigations of Balther, which induced others to commitmurder, evaded the law of the land, but did not escape the Eye of Heaven.The cruel and illegal steps of the Emperor, in burning the castle, thus involvingthe innocent with the guilty, cannot be too severely reprobated,though it was consonant with the tyranny of those dark ages. It mayseem inconsistent with divine justice, that the innocent and affectionatedaughter should have been struck down by the same thunderbolt thathurled vengeance on her father’s guilty head. But although “the waysof Providence are dark and intricate” in appearance, they are not, as theRoman philosopher asserts, “puzzled in mazes and perplexed witherrors.”The amiable Liba may have escaped a life that might have been embitteredby the memory of her father’s fate, and tainted, in the eyes of the world,by a father’s crime. She might have involved her faithful lover in ruin—andthus have made a bad exchange of easy death and eternal happiness,for a lingering existence of misery and degradation!

The fidelity of Liba, in this legend, is only a fair sample of that moralheroism and natural affection, that pervade the breasts of the daughter, themother, and the wife, as compared with those of the son, the father, andthe husband. The comparison is by no means flattering to the “strongersex.”

[29]

At a very short distance from Nonnenwerth, we pass the town ofUnkel on our left hand; and here the stream of the Rhine is narrowedby some remarkable basaltic rocks on the opposite side of the river.These ought to be observed by those who have not seen specimens ofthis production of volcanic fire. It is the same kind of rock as that whichis seen at the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, and at Staffa in the Hebrides.These basaltic columns had so much obstructed the navigation of theriver at this place, that some of them were obliged to be blown up,about forty or fifty years ago.

Passing byRemagen on the right hand, andLinz on the left, we sooncome to the ruins of Argenfels, close to the banks of the river, with itslegendary tale, which need not be noticed. Near this we have a specimenof theFlying-bridge, so common on this and other continentalrivers. A mooring is fixed in the middle of the stream, from which along chain or rope, suspended by small boats at convenient distances,extends to the passage-boat, which swings from bank to bank, at the endof this long rope, exactly like the pendulum of a clock, only it is horizontal,not perpendicular. There is no occasion for oar or sail. The helmof the passage-boat being turned to port or starboard, the stream of theriver acting on it, swings the tail of the pendulum, with its load of passengers,from one bank to the other in a few minutes. Nothing can bemore simple or philosophical—but not one in one thousand of the passengers,up and down the Rhine, comprehend the principle.

We soon get so accustomed to “castled crags” and mouldering castles,that we are rather surprised, on turning our eyes from the ruins of Argenfelson our left, to see an ancient chateau (Rheineck) on our right, resuscitatedfrom the sepulchre of its forefathers, and perched in new life onan airy cliff. An old tower stands at one end, like the head-stone of agrave, reminding the modern mansion that it too will be a ruin in itsturn!

Rheineck has undergone some of the transmigrations of Vishnou. Itwas a Roman fort, and bore the imperial eagle on its banner. Then itbecame a robber’s castle, and received the spoils of its master, torn fromtheir rightful owners. And now it is the residence of a philosopher (ProfessorHolweg)—the seat of science, letters, and humanity. It is said tobe constructed in strict imitation of the castles of feudalism on the Rhine.But although Rheineck has changed masters, it is still under the protectionof the same tutelar divinity—Mercury, among his other numerousavocations, having been the god of letters as well as of robbers.

Passing by Brohl on the right, we come to one of the most imposing[30]and extensive ruins on the left—the shattered and scattered fragments ofHammerstein Castle, crowning the mount and craggy rocks of the samename. The precipices descend in rugged and jutting promontories to theshores of the Rhine, each crowned with some remains of the ancient royaland magnificent chateau, and presenting scanty terraces of the vine, creepingup the crevices.

We soon afterwards range along the ancient town ofAndernach, theruins of which, with modern towers and spires, are backed and flanked bya vast screen of basaltic mountains of sombre hue and antique grandeur.Here Drusus Germanicus erected one of his fifty towers, in his Rheinishcampaigns, and in the time of Julius Cæsar.

The banks of the river now become more approximated, and the streammore rapid. Steam, however, bids defiance to stream, and the vesselploughs its way, though with greatly retarded velocity. There is butlittle remarkable between this and Coblentz, except the beautiful littletown ofNeiwied, with its flying-bridge, near which Julius Cæsar crossedthe Rhine—and, eighteen centuries afterwards, General Hoche, with thevictorious French army, performed the same feat, but with far more difficulty.Here the Jew and the Gentile—the Protestant and the Catholic—theQuaker and the Sceptic—all live upon equal terms, and with equalrights, unmolested in the free enjoyment of their various beliefs or disbeliefs—andtravelling quietly towards the grave, or whatever “undiscoveredcountry” may lie beyond that bourne, without jostling each otheron the road, or forcing their creeds down the throats of their reluctantneighbours!

When will the “liberty of conscience,” in our own proud country,be uncoupled with inequality of political rights, or unattended by therancour of theodium theologicum!

COBLENTZ.

The cities, towns, villages, hamlets, and even the houses along theRhine, bear a closer resemblance to one another (each in its class) thanin any part of the world through which I have wandered. Even the oldcastles, and the rocks on which they are built, are often such fac-similesof each other—that it is next to impossible for the acutest perception,joined with the most retentive memory, to retain distinct ideas of theseobjects, passing in rapid succession before the eye of the tourist!—

Coblentz, like Macedon, has a river—nay, a brace of them—onebrown, the other blue.[9] As necessary consequences, there are two[31]bridges, as unlike one another, as any two things of the same kind canwell be. One rests its foundations on the rocky bed of the Moselle—theother on the turbid surface of the Rhine. There is a number of streets—agreat number of houses—and a still greater number of people, amountingto some 12,000. Then there are churches enough, considering thenumber of church-goers—and in some of them, there are more deadbodies present at divine service, than living souls. There is a palace—notthat of a prince, but of justice. There is good water and good wine;but both of them are brought over the Moselle bridge. Of hotels, thereis no lack; the masters and “kellners” of which can tell a “hawk froma handsaw”—and more than that, they can distinguish an Englishmanfrom a native, as readily as they can a Thaler from a Kreutzer. Coblentzhas evidently more strength than wealth—more soldiers than merchants—moreshells than yolks—more articles of war than of commerce. Herhigh loop-holed walls along the banks of the river, with one or twowharves, shew that she is compressed into a military fortress, rather thanexpanded into a fine mart of commerce!

EHRENBREITSTEIN.

The following are the sentiments of two pictorial artists. “The wholesurface of the rock, glowed with the richest hues of sunset—its naturallydeep-toned and richly coloured form assuming an endless diversity oftints combined with a focus of harmonious light, and relieved by thebroad shadows of the surrounding objects.”—Leigh.

“We behold the mighty and stupendous rock of Ehrenbreitstein,crowned with fortifications—the Gibraltar of the Rhine—rising in toweringmajesty, and frowning in sullen grandeur on the beautiful and picturesquecity of Coblentz, casting its deep and darkened shadow over thecalm and glassy surface of the Rhine beneath.”—Tomlinson.

I have been often past, and sometimes over this “broad stone ofhonour,” and, I confess that, to my eye, it is about as shapeless and unpicturesquea mass of mountain as I ever beheld. It is a huge truncatedcone—the lower-fourth of an enormous sugar-loaf—an Egyptian pyramid,cut down to the first floor—or rather it is a gigantic butcher’s block, onwhich a good bit ofmangling has been done in its time. There is reallybut little that excites interest about the fortress, except its massive andpassive strength—itsvis inertiæ—its impenetrability by shot or shells.You might as well batterBen Nevis as Ehrenbreitstein! You mightsweep its rugged brow of every man, mortar, parapet, and bastion, but[32]the rugged, dogged rock would stand in all its “brute force,” unmoved bythe iron showers that fell on its head!

“TheGibraltar of the Rhine!” No man who ever viewed that renownedfortress, would have made the comparison. I resided on the rockseveral months, and every feature of it is as fresh in my mind’s eye, as itwas 40 years ago, when I last left it. Imagine a gigantic rock rising outof the ocean to a height of fifteen hundred feet, connected with the mainland only by a narrow, low isthmus of sand—with three sides perpendicular(North, East, and South), and one sloping at an angle of 45 degreesfrom the summit of the mountain to the water’s edge, sprinkled with littlegardens and lodges—while the sea-line is bristled with batteries andflanked by spit-fire tongues, bearing the heaviest artillery, behind whichlies a town, containing specimens of every nation between the Ganges andthe Atlantic. Through the perpendicular cliffs that overhang the neutralground, vast galleries for cannon, and profound excavations for ammunition,are cut, tier over tier, pointing destruction upon every foot of theisthmus below. Then the ruins of the old Moorish castle, perched on thecrags at one extremity of the rock, whileEuropa Point, a high table-landa hundred feet above the level of the sea, stretches out to the South,like a splendid parade, with barracks, hospitals, &c. But oh! from O’Hara’stower on the summit, what a glorious prospect! The boundless and tidelessMediterranean to the East—the vast and heaving Atlantic to the West—thefantastic mountains of Grenada to the North—and Africa fadingaway towards Carthage and Algiers to the South.

There is not, there cannot be a spot on this earth where such an extensive,magnificent, varied, and beautiful view (one hundred miles in radius)can be obtained, as from the summit of Gibraltar—a spot unique, betweentwo mighty oceans, and two great continents—having Africa and Europe,the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as it were, at your feet!

Is it nothing to stand on one of the “Pillars of Hercules” and contemplatethe other within a few miles of you? Descending into St. Michael’scave, near the apex of the rock, we find ourselves surrounded bythousands and tens of thousands of stalactitic figures, assuming the grotesqueforms of everything which the most fertile imagination could conceive—dispersedthrough caverns where human step has never been ableto trace the depth or extent—and supposed to form subterranean, or rathersubmarine, communications with the opposite fortress of Ceuta in Africa!Wander through the town, and you will observe the costume, the language,the manners, the habits, the productions, the features—almost thepassions and thoughts of every people on earth—from the Calmuc Tartarof the East, to the Red Indian of the West—from the Laplander of theNorth, to the Hottentot of the South. To compare Gibraltar with Ehrenbreitstein,then, is to compare “Hyperion with a Satyr”—or Vesuviuswith the funnel of a steam-boat. I leave the prodigies of valour performed[33]by Englishmen, in taking and retaining the key of the Mediterranean, outof the question, believing that Prussian arms would, under similar circumstances,have achieved equal exploits. Of all nations,we have the leastreason to doubt the prowess of Prussia. She fought at our side, when thedestinies of Europe vibrated in the balance!

COBLENTZ TO MAYENCE.

Between Cologne and Coblentz it is mere child’s play for the tourist.The stream is wide, and the attractive objects are so reasonably distantfrom one another, that the traveller has time to consult his map, peruseSchreiber, and even con over some of the shorter legends, between castleand castle. But it is another affair above Coblentz. The stream becomesmore confined and tortuous—the banks more abrupt and contiguous—theruins, towns, and villages more numerous—the embarkations and debarkationsmore frequent, with all their consequences of hurly-burly amongthe passengers, topsyturvy of luggage, scrambling after books, charts, andsacs-de-nuits, bowings, kissings, and embracings, or, as Hood would say,“omni-bussings,” among goers and comers, together with the clatteringof plates and dishes, and the chattering of all known and unknown tongues—these,and many other interruptions, sadly discompose the contemplationsof the philosopher, and the musing meditations of the tourists inpursuit of the picturesque, or the Syntaxes in search of the sublime.

The “Rhenish Confederacy” must have had a most salutary influencein fraternising the people of these provinces. Not only does every Germanin the steamer salute his “cousin Germans” on both cheeks; but, if hisneck were long enough, he would kiss every man, woman, and child, onboth banks of the river, from Cologne to Constance! These palpable inosculations,however, being impracticable, the caps and hats are convertedinto social telegraphs, which

and establish a chain of sympathies and reciprocities between land andwater along the whole course of the Rhine.

STOLZENFELS.

We have proceeded but a little way above Coblentz, when we find ourselvesbetween two remarkable ruins—one on the banks of the Lahn,(Lahenec), and one on our right—Stolzenfels. This last has a shortlegend attached to it, which may be glanced at,en passant.

The robber chief of this strong-hold was remarkable, even among theRhine-robbers, for cruelty and ferocity. This was not all. He contemnedthe gods, and laughed at religion as the superstition of the ignorant.[34]In the intervals of robbery and murder, he amused himself with tormentinghis vassals, whose lives hung upon the mere caprice of their tyrant lord.One evening, while carousing and scoffing, the light of the moon was suddenlyobscured—flocks of ravens flew screaming through the air—darknessoverspread the Rhine—and distant thunder was heard growling among themountains. The Stolzenburger turned pale, and, for the first time in hislife, fell on his knees to pray. Before he could utter a word, a dreadfulcrash was heard—a thunderbolt had struck the castle—and the tyrant wasburied in the ruins!

MORAL.

A death-bed repentance may be better than none; but that piety whichis extorted by terror, hardly deserves the name.

The long and straight reach of the river, from the entrance of the Lahnto the chateau of Liebneck, presents no striking feature, except the frowningcastle (now an hospital) ofMarksburg, crowning an apparently inaccessiblemountain, which modern art might render impregnable. In anotherreach or two, we pass Boppart, and come to the scene of a legendarytale.

THE BROTHERS; OR, LIEBENSTEIN AND STERNFELS.
“The course of true love never did run smooth.”
(Legend the Fifth.)

A little aboveBoppart, but on the opposite side of the river, two moulderingruins, on two craggy rocks, close to each other, arrest the attentionof even the most indifferent passenger. The legend attached to them isof a very melancholy character. A nobleman had two sons and an amiableward, of whom both of the brothers were enamoured. The elder resignedhis pretensions, and retired to Rheuse, a part of the family estate.The younger was affianced to, and beloved by, the beautiful ward,Eloise,whose name deserves to be transmitted to posterity. The Holy, butinsane Crusades, however, induced the intended bridegroom to join themilitary bigots of that day, in a war of extermination against the Musselmen.The result of his religious zeal was the conquest—not of the HolyCity, but of a Grecian mistress, with whom he returned to his castle onthe Rhine. The elder brother (Liebenstein), incensed at this double crime(profanation of the crusade and breach of his vows to the lady), challengedhim to mortal conflict. The amiable ward (Louisa) rushed between thecombatants—prevented fratricide—and immediately took the veil. Theguilty pair led, at first, a riotous, but soon a wretched life. The Grecianlady proved faithless, and eloped! The brothers became reconciled—livedin the contiguous castles, whose ruins are still seen—and died without[35]issue!—The property of the ward was dedicated to the purpose of foundinga convent (Bornhoffen) at the foot of the mountain on which the castleswere built. As to the brothers—

MORAL.

The darker features of this drama are every day seen on the stage oflife. Lovers’ vows plighted, soon to be broken—man’s promises of eternallove cancelled—women’s hopes and happiness blighted—but perfidysooner or later punished.

It was enough for Sternfels to bring home a mistress from Palestine,without parading his guilty partner before the eyes of his betrothed andinsulted Louisa. Yet this,and worse, we every day witness! Sternfels’punishment was not light. The ingratitude of his mistress, and a life ofsolitude and remorse, were severe chastisements!

Winding along from the ruins last-mentioned, we come to a very strikingobject, a little short of St. Goar, which attracts the attention of allpassengers. It is a dismantled fortification, still black with the powder bywhich it was blown up in the French revolution. TheRheinfels waslong a robber-fortress of the first water, and its tyrant chiefs carried theirdepredations and extortions to such a height as to league all the adjacentprovinces against them. The chiefs held out and defied the country; butat length the strong-hold fell—and, with it, the whole of the brigand castleson both sides of the Rhine.

LURLEY, OR THE ECHO.
(Legend the Sixth.)

Almost immediately after passing the ruins of the Rheinfels, we enter anarrow and sombre river gorge, where the stream is impetuous, turbulent,and tortuous; the cliffs of dark basalt rising almost perpendicular, but inrugged strata or layers, inclining in all directions from the horizontal tonearly the vertical. Here the Rhine like its sister the Rhone—

And here is still heard that prattling nymph, MissEcho, who, like manya descriptive tourist, repeats her parrot-note for the tenth time—with noother variation than that of diminished force and distinctness. This lady,who, when young, was dismissed from the skies for allowing her tongueto wag too freely, has since endured the severe punishment of keepingsilent, except when spoken to! She is not permitted to ask, but only toiterate questions—having the privilege, on some rare occasions, and insome peculiar places, of repeating the said question, or rather the lastword or syllable of it twice or even many times. The present spot is oneof these favourite localities—and the voices which she loves to hear and toimitate are those of the cannon, the bugle, and the horn. The clankingand plashing of the steamers are unfavourable to the delicate iterations ofEcho, and often drown her voice entirely. Though not so witty as hersister of Killarney, who answers, instead of repeating the questions putto her, yet she occasionally cracks a joke on the mayor of the neighbouringtown, when some stentorian German bawls out from the oppositerock, “Who is the mayor of Oberwesel?” The damsel, with a faint butclear titter, replies, “esel”—or ass! so that lord mayors on the banksof the Rhine, as well as of the Thames, are sometimes treated withridicule.

There can be little doubt that boat-wrecks, raft-wrecks, and loss of lifewere of frequent occurrence in a locality like this, where the rapid streamis twisted into whirlpools, between rugged banks, the very proximity ofwhich increases the difficulty of the passage, and the danger of drowning,where the vessel or flotilla is stranded. The eddying surge, the sunkenrock, and the serrated perpendicular shore, in a dark and tempestuousnight, must render the navigation of this dreary ravine most hazardous—andescape, in case of an overturn, all but hopeless.

That a place so singular and so perilous, coupled with a remarkable andmusical echo, should become the scene of some popular or superstitiouslegend, is not at all wonderful. Accordingly a fourthSiren was addedto the classical list, and located on the banks of the Rhine, instead of thecoast of Sicily, to lure (lurlei) the enchanted mariner from his helm oroar, by her melodious song, and wreck himself and bark on the treacherousrocks. Lurley carried on the trade of her elder sisters for some time,with considerable success, but not without some redeeming qualities; forshe often pointed out the best places for the poor fishermen to cast theirnets. At length a young Palatine Count determined to emulate the heroof Ithaca, and break the spell of the enchantress. For that purpose heembarked on the Rhine, and steered towards the dangerous pass, butwithout taking the precaution of the wily Greek, to stop the ears of thecrew with wax, and cause himself to be bound to the mast. As the[37]count’s barge approached the rocks, Lurley poured forth one of her mostmelodious lays over the face of the river. The men dropped their oars,and the count’s senses were all absorbed in listening to the divine strains.A sudden eddy of the stream whirled the boat’s head towards the shore—anotherdashed her against the rocks—and, in another instant, all wereengulphed in the boiling whirlpool!

This catastrophe caused a great sensation, and the count’s father sent aveteran warrior, with a select party of soldiers, to surround the rock, andseize the sorceress. On approaching the summit, Lurley was seen for thefirst time by human eyes, with arms, ankles, and neck encircled withcorals, and even her flowing tresses braided with the same emblems of thedeep. She demanded their purpose. The veteran announced his determinationto force her into the Rhine, there to expiate the death of theyoung count. Lurley replied, by throwing her corals into the river, singingat the same time—

Instantly a great storm arose—the river boiled with foam—and twotowering waves, bearing some resemblance to milk-white steeds, surgedalong the rock, and boreUndine (for such was the nymph) to her paternalgrottoes under the waters. From that time the song of Lurley wasnever heard; but her spirit still hovers about her favourite rocks, andmimicks the voices of the boatmen as they pass the place.

The veteran warrior returned to the count’s father, and was agreeablysurprised to find the son safely returned to his paternal mansion by thekindUndine.

A contemplation of this locality irresistibly leads me to the conclusionthat, here existed in some remote period, a cataract, similar to that nowexisting, but rapidly crumbling down, as at Schaffhausen. The alluvialplains between Heidelberg and the present bed of the Rhine, were unquestionablya large lake, which would be drained by the wearing downof a cataract at some lower part of the river. When the falls of theRhine at Schaffhouse are reduced to mere rapids, it is probable that thelake of Constance will become an alluvial valley. The valley of theRhone was once a lake, till the flood-gate at St. Maurice gave way, andconverted the lake into a plain. The huge walls of basaltic rock piled upin strata on each side of the Rhine at Lurley, torn by fire and worn bywater, draw the mind to contemplate the myriads of years which musthave rolled along, since first they upsprung from the bowels of the earthin liquid lava—and the countless ages required to form this sombre gorgeby the mere attrition of the unceasing current!

[38]

SCHOMBERG.

While passing the picturesque little town of Oberwesel, and just beyondthe Lurley-rocks, we raise the eye to the ruins ofSchomberg, possessingsome interest to the British traveller, as the patrimonial castle of DukeSchomberg, who lost his life in the battle of the Boyne. Alas! that thevery name of a mouldering ruin should, after the lapse of a century and ahalf, engender in the breasts of the same people, living under the samegovernment, professing the same religion, speaking the same language,and having the same interests, such deadly sentiments of hatred and animosity!No two feudal robbers and enemies on the banks of the Rhine,ever viewed each other with such cut-throat propensities, as do the Orange-manand White-boy on the banks of the Boyne! A century and a halfhence, when the fiery passions of the present day shall have long beenquenched in the grave, and the immortal spirits shall be awaiting the verdictof a final tribunal, posterity will scarcely believe that, amongst theirancestors, Christian charity meant murderous extermination—and thatthe surest road to Heaven was that which was tracked with the blood ofour neighbours! The glorious orb of day shines as joyously over thosemouldering ruins, as when the proud castle first rose in majesty over thefrowning precipices—nay, as when the Rhine itself first began to tricklefrom the virgin snows of the Alps:—and why should not the heavenlylight of Christianity shed its benign influence over the professors of thatfaith, as well now, as when theRedeemer inculcated charity and forbearanceduring his mission on earth? No! It is much easier to preachthan to practise the Christian virtues—and the former is considered themore efficacious of the two, by the disciples ofFaith.

THE SEVEN SISTERS; OR, THE FATE OF COQUETTES.
(Legend the Seventh.)

Cupid is not a god that may be safely tampered with. His arrows aresharp, his feelings are keen, and his resentments are sometimes implacable.Seven beautiful sisters resided in the castle of Schomberg, overhangingthe Rhine; and their hearts were as insensible to love as are the sevenrocks in that river near Oberwesel, which now bear their names. Theircharms and their wealth attracted crowds of suitors from various quarters.The sisters, however, gave smiles to all, yet favours to none of their admirers.Proffers of marriage were always declined, and sometimes treatedwith levity. Vanity was their ruling, almost their only passion, and adulationwas its food. Their public suitors were the subjects of their privatemerriment. But mischief sometimes mingled with their mirth. By words,looks, or demeanour, they occasionally seemed to shew a preference to certain[39]of their admirers. This led to jealousies, quarrels, bloodshed, andeven death. The ranks, however, were constantly filled up by adventurousand ardent lovers, as the Byzantine throne (according to Gibbon) wasnever without a tenant, though the grave was always ready dug at itsfoot! But beauty, which is the gift of Nature and Chance, is the firstcharm which falls before the hand of Time. The sisters had only this onepersonal attraction, and it began to fade. The suitors diminished in number,and at length totally disappeared! It was then too late to remedythe evil of their own vanity and cruelty. The scene of their formerflattery had now become insupportable, and they prepared to removeacross the Rhine to a sequestered retreat, where their wounded pride andpresent humiliation might alike be buried in obscurity. They selected adark night for leaving their castle and passing the river. When near theLurley Rocks, the gnome of that place, who had often witnessed the imprudentand unfeeling conduct of her neighbouring sisters, lured the boatmentowards a treacherous sunken shoal, when the vessel was overturned,and all were buried in a watery grave! The Seven Sisters are still seenoccasionally, in very low states of the river, raising their heads out of thewater, in the form of rocks, and struggling with the foaming and impetuouscurrent!

MORAL.

The moral of this short legend is transparent. The coquette, the flirt,the jilt, is a kind of moral swindler who, having no feelings or affectionsherself, trifles with those of others. It must be confessed that there aresimilar characters among the other sex, who are, if possible, still more reprehensible.But the female who plays this disreputable game, runs agreater risk, for obvious reasons, than the male deceiver. The foregoinglegend illustrates the danger of relying on mere personal charms, as thegreat magnet of attraction. Qualities and accomplishments of mindare more durable, and more to be depended on, than beauty of form orfeature!

PFALZ.

The robbers of the Rhine were not content with building depôts forstolen, or rather plundered goods, on every eminence, and levying “blackmail” on every kind of land carriage; but they invaded “the free navigationof the Rhine,” as some of their descendants now do. A rock onthe river whereon to erect a toll-bar was a great treasure in days of yore.The quadrupeds of the mouse-tower were much less voracious and graminivorous,than the bipeds of the same. The latter might not perhapshave nibbled at the body of a bishop, but they took good care to shear hisflocks, in their transit up and down the Rhine. Nearly oppositeCaubwe pass close to an object which looks like a dwarf castle, sailing up thestream on the back of a whale. This was a very convenient edifice for[40]the Rhenish palatines of the adjacent castle ofStahlee. It served thepurpose of a custom-house, to collect the “rint,” and a prison to securethe refractory:—in other words, it performed the double function of dungeonand douane. One of the involuntary tenants of this narrow crib,was the own and the only daughter of Conrad, the palatine himself, whosename was Agnes. The lady had been betrothed, with her parents’ andher own consent, to Henry Duke of Brunswick; but a king having offeredhis hand, Conrad commanded her to change her affections, and set themon a higher rank than that of a duke. Agnes demurred in her ownbreast, though not openly; for affection, like faith or belief, will not comeor go at our own bidding—much less at that of another. In the temporaryabsence of the father, Agnes, with the consent and privity of hermother, was privately married to the duke. When Conrad learnt this, heordered his daughter to the Pfalz, till the marriage could be dissolved.Meantime it soon became evident that certain proofs of prior attachmenton the part of Agnes, would be too unequivocal to escape the notice of theregal suitor, if the marriage were annulled; and Conrad, after a doubleconfinement of Agnes in the Rhine prison, became reconciled to the duke—andall ended happily.

PassingBacharach and the “Ara Bacchi,” which shews its propitiousface in fertile vintages, we soon come toLorch, where we have alegend that must not be passed unnoticed.

TEMPTATION, OR THE HALL OF A HUNDRED MIRRORS.
(Legend the Eighth.)

Three students from Nuremburg, determined, during one of their vacations,to make the tour of the Rhine. Arrived at Lorch, they learnt thatthe sombre and triste valley of Wesperthal, behind Mount Kedrick, wasthe habitation of hobgoblins, who failed not to harass and frighten everyone who penetrated into its dreary recesses. This account only stimulatedtheir curiosity, and tempted their courage. They therefore repairedto the valley, and were soon treading on fairy ground. While wanderingabout, they came to an enormous mass of rock, bearing some rude resemblanceto an old castle. In its sides were several apertures, like gothicwindows, and its summit was something in the shape of a dome. Presentlyat one of these apertures there appeared three young ladies of surpassingbeauty, who, instead of frowning on the young cavaliers, invitedthem, by their smiles and signals, to approach the castle. They soonfound a narrow door, through which they entered, and passing along akind of avenue, they came to a stair-case, which they mounted, and entereda vast and magnificent vestibule. They had scarcely time to cast aglance around them, when they were involved in the most Cimmerian[41]darkness. After groping about, for some time, they discovered a door,which they managed to force open, when they found themselves in asplendid hall, illumined by hundreds of chandeliers, and covered from thedome to the floor with brilliant mirrors. But instead of finding the threenymphs, who had beckoned them from the windows, they were astoundedby the sight of at least three hundred, who all stretched out their hands,at once, while welcoming the three youths to their father’s mansion!The students were stupified, not knowing which to address, or whom tosalute, so bewildered were they by the reflection of three hundred beauties,and double that number of hands, from the surrounding mirrors!Their embarrassment was not lessened by the peals of laughter set up bythe mischievous nymphs. In the midst of this scene, a door opened, anda venerable old man, with locks like snow, but clothed in jet black vestments,entered. “Welcome, my children,” said he; “you are come, nodoubt, to demand my daughters in marriage. You shall have them, andwith each a hundred weight of solid gold. But there is one condition.My daughters have lost their pet birds, and you must search for them,and bring them back from yonder wood.” “Take each your partner,”then said the old man, in a voice of thunder. The youths stepped forward,each to seize the hand of his mistress—but grasped only empty air.At this, the father joined his daughters in a peal of laughter. When themerriment had subsided, the old man led the young suitors to the realnymphs, whose salutes assured the students that they were real flesh andblood, and whose beauty soon captivated their whole souls. They werenow eager to fulfil the condition imposed upon them. “You will recognizetheStarling,” says the old man, “by the riddles which it has gotby rote and is always propounding—theRook by its hoarse croak—andtheMagpie, by the burthen of its chatter, being the birth, parentage, andeducation of its grandmother.” They set out for the forest, and soonfound the three birds, perched on the branch of an oak, chattering andchanting the ditties which they had been taught in the chateau. I haveonly room for the magpie’s theme—

The young gentlemen soon secured the pet birds, and returned withthem to the castle. But what a change presented itself to their horrifiedsenses! The chateau was gray with moss—the hall deprived of its mirrors[42]and lustres, and only exhibiting naked walls! In three niches, satethree withered, tawny, toothless hags, with wine and fruit before them, onthree small tables! They instantly rose, and stretched out their wrinkled,yellow, and skinny arms to embrace their lovers, while they mumbled andsnivelled, from mouths and noses, their nauseous welcomes, and mostloving assurances of eternal attachment and fidelity! To add to the mortificationof the bridegrooms, the three pet birds joined their mistresses insuch a chorus of squallings, croakings, and catterwaullings, that the youngmen were obliged to stop their ears to keep out the infernal din! Meanwhilethe withered witches led their paramours to the tables, and presentedthem refreshments, for which they had little stomach. Each,however, took a glass of exquisite wine, which they had scarcely swallowed,when they fell into a state of complete insensibility! When theyawoke, which was not till mid-day, they found themselves lying amongprickly bushes at the foot of a tall rock, worn into furrows by the stormsand rains, their limbs so cold and stiff that they had the greatest difficultyin retracing their steps! While dragging their weary limbs along, theywere saluted from every projecting rock by the old hags—and from everybranch of tree by the chatterings and croakings of the cursed pet birds!On clearing the valley, the young gentlemen made a vow never again topay attention to the allurements of female beauty, when proffered on the“voluntary system” of the nymphs ofWesperthal.

MORAL.

I think the allegory of Wesperthal is little inferior to that ofCirce,or even of the Syrens. It combines, indeed, the morals of both. Underthe head of curiosity and thirst of rash adventure, are shadowed forth theheadstrong passions of youth. Then the allurements and temptations bywhich they are so easily led from the paths of virtue—the Cimmeriandarkness in which they are plunged—the blaze of false light, glitteringtinsel, and meretricious splendour that attracts them on to their ruin—thepenalties which are soon exacted from this short-lived felicity—the stuporin which their senses are drowned—and the remorse and horror in whichthey finally wake from the delirium of “passion’s wild career.”

Among some sly strokes of irony conveyed in this allegory, the accomplishmentsof the “pet birds” are biting satires on the education andmental habits of their mistresses in the chateaus of that time. Happilyfor us, there arenow no charades of the starling, croakings of the rook,or magpie chatterings about ancestral honours, among the wives anddaughters of the nineteenth century.

[43]

THE DEVIL’S LADDER.
RUTHELM AND GARLINDA, OR LOVE REWARDED AND INHOSPITALITY PUNISHED.
“Omnia vincit amor.”
(Legend the Ninth.)

There cannot be a doubt that the legend of the “Devil’s Ladder,”was clearly intended to convey a double moral, as will presently beseen.

Over the little town ofLorch, rises abruptly the craggy, and apparentlyinaccessible mountain ofKedrick, on which is a solitary tower.Sibo, the Chief of Lorch, was a gloomy, eccentric, and rather misanthropiccharacter. One stormy night, a decrepid old creature, of extremelydwarfish stature, rapped at his door, and demanded the usual rights ofhospitality, commonly accorded in that age of chivalry.Sibo drove himfrom his gate with rudeness, and even brutality. Next day, when thedinner-bell rang,Garlinda, the only child ofSibo, a beautiful girl,twelve years of age, was nowhere to be found! Search was made in alldirections, but in vain. A shepherd, however, reported that, early in themorning, he saw a young girl, who was culling flowers at the foot of theKedrick, surrounded and seized by a number of little old men, who climbedwith her up the mountain. The chevalier cast his eyes towards the summitof the steep, and clearly discerned his daughter there, who appearedto be stretching her arms towards her parent’s habitation! The vassalswere summoned, and numerous efforts were made to scale the rock; butevery attempt was frustrated by fragments of stone coming down the precipiceswith such fury, that the men were forced to fly for their lives.The wretchedSibo now endeavoured by penances, prayers, donations tothe churches, monasteries, and convents, as well as distributions amongthe poor, to propitiate the powers above, and regain his only child.Heaven seemed hardened against him, and the gnomes of Kedrick retainedtheir captive. The only consolation of the father was, that Garlinda wasseen at sunrise and sunset, looking from her airy prison down to the valleyof Lorch. Days, months, and years rolled on, without any prospect ofregaining his lost treasure. Meantime, every care was taken of Garlinda’shealth and comfort by the fairies of the rock—and especially by an agedfemale gnome, who watched her assiduously, and occasionally gave herhopes of deliverance from captivity.

Four years had now elapsed, andSibo gave up all expectation of recoveringhis daughter; whenRuthelm, a brave young knight, who haddistinguished himself in the wars against the Infidels, returned to the[44]place of his nativity, near Lorch. On learning the fate of Garlinda, hedetermined to effect her rescue, or sacrifice his life. Her father promisedthe hand of the lady to her deliverer. Ruthelm reconnoitred, withanxious eye, every side of the rocky mountain; but no part offered theleast prospect of escalade. It rose like a rugged wall in every direction!Returning to his chateau in pensive meditation, he met a diminutive dwarfon the road, who accosted him, and asked him if he had heard the storyof Garlinda’s captivity on the summit of Kedrick? On replying in theaffirmative, the dwarf hinted that he could effect her freedom if Ruthelmpromised to marry her. The lover eagerly closed with the proposal, andthe dwarf vanished from his sight.

The youthful knight began to fear that the promise of the dwarf was adeception, when an aged female gnome stood before him, and presentinghim with a small bell, desired him to repair to the valley of Wesperthal,a gloomy and haunted ravine behind the Kedrick, and there seek theentrance of a deserted mine, which he would recognize by two old pinetrees that grew at its mouth. When he had descended a few steps intothe mine, he was to ring the bell thrice, and abide the result. Ruthelmwas punctual to the directions, and found the place. As soon as the bellwas rung, a light was seen rising from the bottom of the mine, and presentlya dwarf appeared, and demanded what Ruthelm wanted. He relatedthe promise of the female dwarf, and her injunction to ring the bellwhich she had given him. The dwarf examined the bell. The inhabitantof the mine commanded Ruthelm to be at the foot of the mountain beforethe dawn of next morning. Then drawing a small trumpet from hisgirdle, he sounded it thrice, when instantly the ravine and the wholevalley swarmed with gnomes carrying ropes, hatchets, saws, and hammers.In a few minutes trees were heard falling down the sides of theravine, felled by the axes of the gnomes, while hundreds of these nimblegentry were busily employed in forming the wood into the different partsof the ladder.

Ruthelm slept little that night, and was at his post before the dawn ofmorn. He found the ladder placed against the perpendicular precipice,and reaching to its highest pinnacle. He began to mount the ladder;but the terrific vibrations and oscillations of the slender machine, requiredall the courage of a hero, and all the devotion of a lover—

At length he reached the summit of the rock, and was rewarded for hishazard, by the sight of Garlinda reclining asleep in a bower of roses andeglantine. Her beauty surpassed all that had been reported, even by herown friends. While gazing on the sleeping nymph, she awoke, andRuthelm dropped on his knee. At that instant the little old man, who[45]had carried off Garlinda, stood before them, and, with frowning looks,demanded the name of the intruder, the cause of his visit, and the meansby which he had ascended the mountain? Ruthelm firmly replied, thathe came to deliver Garlinda from her prison, and restore her to an affectionate,but broken-hearted parent—that the means of his access wouldbe explained by the bell, which he held in his hand. Garlinda, at thesewords, burst into a flood of tears, and entreated the dwarf to allow her tovisit her father. The dwarf paused for a moment, and then replied:—“Yourfather, Garlinda, has been amply punished for his inhospitality,and you deserve reward for your patience and resignation. For you, SirKnight, (addressing Ruthelm,) the jewel you seek is not yet purchased,even by the perils you have encountered. A more dangerous task remains—thedescent from this mountain. You must return by the ladder; I willconduct Garlinda by a secret path to her father’s mansion.”

Ruthelm, in descending the ladder, found infinitely more difficulty thanin his ascent: and several times his head turned giddy, and he was nearlyprecipitated to the bottom of the ravine. When he reached Sibo’s castle,he found the daughter in the arms of her father, who was weeping forjoy.Sibo, from that moment, kept his gate open to every object ofdistress—a practice which was continued by Ruthelm and Garlinda,during a long series of years.

MORAL.

To counterpoise the baser passions and propensities of our nature, theOmniscient Creator has implanted others in the human breast of an ennoblingkind. Thus charity and benevolence antagonise selfishness andavarice. But these passions and propensities, good and bad, are not leftto contend with each other in anarchy, like jarring elements. Over themis placed a power without passion, an emanation from the Deity, designedto control the vicious and foster the virtuous workings of the spirit, eitherby direct influence, or, which is more common, by nullifying the bad bythe good propensities.

It is this God-likeReason, which distinguishesMan from theBrute creation. The latter have but one governing passion orinstinct,each, from which they cannot deviate, and which never fails to lead themto their proper objects. But even inMan, and especially in uncultivatedstates of mind,Reason is too often unequal to the governance of theunruly passions, and requires the aid of another and higher power—Religion.

Reason may, and too often does, err; but instinct is as undeviating inits course as the earth in its revolutions round the sun. Whenever thevoice of Reason and the dictates of Religion are resisted, and ultimatelydisregarded, some prominent passion from the vicious side of humannature is sure to gain and to retain the mastery. The consequences need[46]not be told! Every day that vice retains possession of the soul, diminishesthe chance of virtue regaining the ascendancy:—Hence the evil ofprocrastination in the work of reformation!

But to return. Hospitality to the stranger, and charity to the indigentare virtues so universally acknowledged, that few are bold enough to denythem in theory, though there are manySibos who are chary of the practice.The sums which were lavished on monasteries and convents, inuseless remorse, would have saved the Chieftain of Lorch many a bitterhour of reflection, had they been judiciously applied to the relief ofpenury and misfortune, before he was made to taste the bitter cup ofanguish himself!

The other part of the legend illustrates the well-known fact that—

And not only hope, but accomplish things apparently impossible ofachievement. Ruthelm was not the only one who has fallen in love ofunseen objects, and only known through pictorial or descriptive representations.Few have passed the juvenile period of life without havingsome imaginary goddess or hero in their thoughts, endowed with all thevirtues and charms which—

Whether time and experience have alwaysrealized (as Jonathan wouldsay) these golden dreams, can only be determined by the knowledge ofeach individual.

Leaving Lorch, then, on our left, (in ascending the river) our attentionis strongly attracted to a renovated chateau on our right—Rheinstein.Here we must halt for a few minutes.

THE BRIDAL OF RHEINSTEIN; OR, THE RUNAWAY MARRIAGE.
(Legend the Tenth.)

About midway between Lorch and Bingen, on our right hand, standsthe renovated castle of Rheinstein, on a romantic eminence, and very nearthe Rhine. It is no longer a desolate pile of ruins, but the habitationof a royal prince of Prussia, whose proud banner floats on its loftyturret. No destructive missile or drawn sword now repels the inquisitivestranger. The draw-bridge falls at the approach of Jew or Gentile, richor poor—and the renovated halls are thrown open to the inspection of allvisitors.

Tradition informs us that the original castle was inhabited by a BaronSifred, a dissolute young robber, who carried off from France, a beautiful[47]maiden, and detained her in durance vile within his impregnable fortress.The captivity of the lady, however, made a wonderful revolution in thebaron’s life. The noise of revelry and arms was superseded by the soundsof the lute—andYutta became the bride ofSifred. Twelve months oflove and happiness flew rapidly round, and Yutta presented her husbandwith a pledge of their affection—a female child. The mother survivedthe birth only a few hours. The baron shut himself up in his castle, anddedicated his time to the education of his daughter.

Guerda grew up to the delight of her father’s declining years—and tothe relief of wandering pilgrims, who sought refuge in the castle, and whosounded the fame of Guerda’s beauty far and near.

Hosts of suitors now flocked to the castle, but they were referred bySifred to an approaching tournament at Mayence, where his daughterwould select the most valiant knight. Her appearance at the assemblageexcited universal admiration; and two knights determined to win herhand—Kuno of Reichenstein, and Conrad of Ehrenfels. The latter wasthe elder, and of a fierce disposition—the former was evidently preferredby the lady. Notwithstanding prodigies of valour, Kuno was defeated,and Conrad claimed the hand of Guerda. The father received the victoras his future son-in-law; while the dejected Kuno prepared to join anexpedition to Palestine. The hapless Guerda was overwhelmed withgrief; but her father was inexorable! The day of the nuptials was fixed—thecavalcade, with Guerda, the pallid victim of parental tyranny,mounted on a milk-white steed, proceeded towards the chapel, which wasmidway between the castle of her father and that of Kuno of Reichenstein.When near the sacred edifice, Guerda’s horse suddenly reared andplunged, endangering the life of the bride. Conrad, while endeavouringto seize the reins, received a dreadful kick from the furious steed, whichprostrated him on the ground. The animal immediately darted forward,like an arrow from a bow, and never stopped till he carried the betrothedto the very gate of Kuno’s castle. Her lover, who witnessed this excitingscene, flew to the gate—gave admittance to Guerda—dropped theportcullis—and secured the treasure! Conrad was killed by the blowfrom the steed, and Sifred soon afterwards gave consent to the nuptials ofKuno and Guerda.

Would that, in every mercenary and ill-assorted match, the bride weremounted on so spirited and sensible a palfrey as that of Guerda, whenproceeding to the altar! Therunaway marriage of Rheinstein was farpreferable to many of those slow and stately processions which attend thecontracts of fashionable modern life!

[48]

THE RAT OR MOUSE-TOWER.
(Legend the Eleventh.)

It appears that there were corn-laws, or at least corn-monopolists, indays of yore as well as now. A dignitary of the church (notour church),the bishop of Mentz, had well-stored granaries, and fared sumptuously.A time of scarcity arrived. The populace begged for bread; but thebishop would only give them blessings. These would not fill the stomach,and the clamour becoming louder, the bishop waxed wroth. Heflung open one of his granaries containing but little grain. The peoplerushed in—he bolted the doors—and set fire to the building! Murderwill be out, sooner or later, and even punished in this world. The ratsand the mice took up the cause of their masters. They cut through thefloors and ceilings of the palace—nibbled holes in the arras—and pokedtheir little noses through to smell the fat bishop. This was notice toquit, or furnish a cannibal supper for the unwelcome intruders.

The holy man betook himself to a tower in the middle of the Rhine;(Tours des Rats) but the nimble little quadrupeds swam across in legions—scaledthe tower—and devoured the bishop!

The moral is good, though the tale is improbable. But if theAutoda Fé of the bishop was a romance, the atrocity of the action has toooften been surpassed even in our time—and that by “butcherly blockheads”in the cause of bigotry and superstition, though in the name ofreligion!

I suspect that the moral of the “Mouse or Rat Tower” lies muchdeeper than is supposed. It seems to indicate that, although the rich andthe powerful may sometimes evade the law, they can never escape punishment.The inward monitor cannot be stifled, cross what rivers, seas, ormountains we may—

which I would liberally translate thus:—

[49]

The mice were meant to represent the conscience of the cruel bishop,from which, neither the streams of the Rhine nor the battlements of thetower could protect him.

CHANGE OF SCENE.

After passingBingen, the poetry of the Rhine disappears—or sinksinto smooth but unimpassioned prose. The “castled crags” and precipitouscliffs soften down into sloping glades and country villas—the riverwidens, and becomes studded with innumerable islets, verdant to thewater’s edge—the majestic and romantic features of the scenery arechanged into the beautiful and the fertile—it is like turning from thestatues of Mars and Bellona to those of Cupid and Psyche! The legendsand tales vanish with the rocks and ruins where they had a “local habitation”—romancedegenerates into reality—the fervid imagination issoftened down into sober judgment—and the excitement of admirationsubsides into the tranquillity of reflection! The eye is spoiled for thecharms of the wide-spread Rhinegau, teeming with the grape, and withevery necessary of life; yet the landscape is loveliness itself. What ithas lost in sublimity, it has fully gained in beauty.

The sun had just set beneath the horizon, and while—

our contemplations were broken by the steamer suddenly sheering alongsidethe jetty at Biberich, and discharging its cargo of human beingsclose to the royal palace of Nassau. After the usual bustle attendant onthe transmigration of souls, bodies, and baggage, from water to land, wewere safely deposited, in less than an hour, at the Adler Hotel, within astone’s throw of the celebratedKochbrunnen, or chicken-broth distilleryat Wisbaden.

WISBADEN.

This is one of the most celebrated spas in Germany—and more frequented,as amedicinal spa, than any other by our countrymen and women.It is only four miles from Biberich, near Mayence, and is very pleasantlysituated, with a ridge of the Taunus to the north-east, while the countryis open between it and the Rhine, in the opposite quarter. It is a veryhandsome town, of seven or eight thousand souls, and the capital of theduchy of Nassau. It is, itself, in a slight depression of the ground, but[50]not so much as to impede a free circulation of air. Wisbaden is healthy,though rather warm, owing, probably, to the hot springs under the surface.The temperature, however, renders it a good winter residence forthose who are unable or disinclined to seek the shores of Italy or othersouthern localities. The neighbouring country produces all the necessariesof life in abundance, and the vicinity of Frankfort, Mayence, and theRhine, secures it the luxuries, when required. Excellent water is conductedfrom the Taunus for the use of the town. TheCursaal is themost magnificent in Europe—the hotels are numerous and good—thewalks and rides exceedingly varied, cheerful, and salubrious. There arefrom ten to fifteen thousand annual spa-drinkers and bathers—while a fargreater number spend a short time at Wisbaden for pleasure. A considerablenumber of the hotels have bathing establishments—the Eagle isthe oldest—and is well appointed. In turning up from this hotel towardsthe Cursaal, we stumble on theKochbrunnen, (the scalding spring,) thegrand source of the drinking waters, and also of several baths. It hasrather a mean appearance, and the water looks rather of a greenish-yellowcolour, and seems turbid in the well, with a scum over a part of it, whichis called “cream,” and is considered by the chemists as a peculiar animalor extractive matter, whose nature and source are unknown. The taste isthat of weak chicken-broth with rather too much salt. There are upwardsof nine hundred baths in the different establishments.

The plantations, extending from the back of the Cursaal to the oldruin of Sonnenburg Castle, are very beautiful—and thence are paths cutamong the umbrageous woods to thePlatte, the Duke’s Summer-house,on one of the mountains of Taunus, whence a magnificent view is obtained—Rhinewardand Inland.

The road to Schwalbach and Schlangenbad present fine airy drives andwalks over high, open, and unwooded grounds, communicating healthand vigour to the enfeebled frame.

As may be supposed, the Romans were well acquainted with Wisbaden,and close to the Kochbrunnen, in the Romerbad, may be still seen theremains of several Roman baths—and one in particular having twosprings of its own. But the monuments of antiquity in this place arenumerous.

Three grand theories respecting the causes and sources of thermalsprings divide the transcendental philosophers, naturalists, and physiciansof Germany. These are the electro-chemical—the volcanic—and thevital.Wurzer expresses the opinions of the first class thus:—“AsNature is performing her operations in her immense laboratory, she hashere agalvanic apparatus of immense size. Extensive masses of mountains,perhaps of unfathomable depth,probably form the individual platesof this voltaic column.” This is tolerably bold. While Brand andFaraday are dissolving metals by the tiny galvanic apparatus in Albemarle[51]Street, Nature is manufacturing mineral waters at Wisbaden, Ems, andCarlsbad, on a magnificent scale! Lichtenberg, however, surpasses Wurzerin the sublimity of his ideas on this subject.

“In the distilling operations of Nature, the belly of her retort sometimeslies in Africa—its neck extending all over Europe—whilst its recipientis in—Siberia.”!!

Bischoff, Struve, Kastner, and others, are more moderate in theirflights. They ascribe the origin of some thermal springs to volcanicoperations in the bowels of the earth—of other springs to the gradualsolution of their component parts in subterranean reservoirs.

The third class of philosophers have boldly cut the Gordian knot, insteadof untying it, and erected thermal springs and mineral waters generallyintoanimated beings which transfuse their vitality into the bodies ofthe spa-drinkers, and thus cure all diseases!

“These and similar observations (says Dr. Peez, of Wisbaden,) compelus to admit the existence of apeculiar vital principle in mineral waters,communicating to the human body either an attractive faculty more consonantwith the medicinal component parts of the water; or, acting by itself as ahealing power upon the diseased organism.”[12]

Theitalics are those of Dr. Peez, and not mine. German mysticismcould hardly be expected to go farther. But it has outdone itself, as thefollowing extract will shew:—

“The partial effect of the medicinal component parts of mineral watersis pushed back, as it were, retreating under the ægis of a general powerwhich directly excites the autocracy of the animated animal body, andcompels it to act according to the particular quality of the mineral springdetermined by its component parts.”—(104.)

Here we have a good specimen of German ideality, and transcendentalmystification![13]

My friend, Dr. Granville, like every other man of genius, has a hankeringafter a theory; but he was too shrewd not to see that this monstrousGerman hypothesis of “vitality” would be too large even for the[52]swallow of John Bull. He has therefore substituted a much more rationaland intelligible reason for the effects of thermal spas—namely, theircaloricity, as differing materially from that of common water heated tothe same degree of temperature. It is very easy to conceive that cauldronsthat have been kept boiling in the bowels of the earth for thousandsof years, will have diffused the caloric more uniformly and minutelythrough the waters, and dissolved more completely the mineral ingredients,than pots and kettles in the laboratory of the chemist. This, inall probability, is the solution of the mystery respecting the superior efficacyof thermal spas.

The composition of the Kochbrunnen is as follows:—Forty-four grainsof common salt—five of muriate of lime—one and a half of carbonate oflime, out of fifty-nine grains in the pint. The remaining nine grains arenot worth enumerating, as the salt and lime are clearly the main ingredients.There are only seven cubic inches of carbonic acid gas in thepint. The temperature is little short of 160° of Fahrenheit. Let usbegin with the baths. At a temperature of 86° to 90°, the bath generallyoccasions a slight sensation of chilliness, which goes off in a fewminutes, and is succeeded by a feeling of comfort—serenity of mind—andultimately a degree of weariness or lassitude, inclining the bather to liequiet and repose himself. The volume of the body rather diminishes thanexpands, and the skin of the hands and feet are gently corrugated—thepulse becomes slower and softer—irritability is lessened—spasmodic feelings(if they existed,) disappear under the soothing influence of the waterson the nervous system and circulation—the functions of the intestinaltube are encreased, as are those of the skin, kidneys, and various glandularorgans.

At a temperature of 94° to 98°, the bather, at the moment of immersion,experiences an agreeable sense of warmth—the vital powers are exalted,and all the functions of the organs are put into a state of increasedactivity. The pulse expands and quickens, but is still soft—and all thesecretions and excretions are augmented after leaving the bath.

As the weight of the body is increased from half-a-pound to a poundand a half, while immersed, there can be no doubt that a considerable absorptiontakes place. At above 98°, or blood heat, the bath excites thepulse and renders it both full and hard—embarrasses the breath—flushesthe face—reddens the whole surface of the body—excites perspiration—powerfullydraws the circulation to the skin—and not seldom causes[53]head-aches, vertigo—and even apoplexy. Douches and shower-baths areoften ordered before the plunging or vapour-bath. Lavements of the spa-waterare also employed—and it is said with good effects, relieving thestomach from the ingurgitation of so much fluid.

Preceding, and sometimes during the cure, the following phenomenaoccur in a majority of cases, in addition to those already described:—viz.a prostration of strength—headaches—giddiness—constriction over theeyes—drowsiness. In some cases, there will be constipation—loadedtongue—loss of appetite—oppression about the chest—feebleness of thelimbs—nervous irritability—disturbed sleep—perspiration—palpitations—eruptionson the skin. These symptoms are acknowledged by the spa-practitionersthemselves to indicate an inconvenient use either of the bathsor the drink—or some abnormal susceptibility of the constitution—orsome impropriety of regime. They soon disappear by lessening the applicationof the remedy, and taking some aperient medicine—an omission,however, which most of the spa-doctors are sure to make, trusting, asthey do, almost entirely to the operation of the waters.

It is necessary to remark that, the rheumatic and gouty who resort tothese waters, (and they are by far the most numerous classes,) must expectto suffer a considerable increase of their complaints at the commencement—amountingoften to acute pain and even inflammation of the partsaffected. The local medical authorities represent these as the sure precursorsof great relief, if not a radical cure of the maladies in question.I would advise patients to be on their guard in this respect. The firsttwo individuals whom I fell in with at Wisbaden, and whom I formerlyattended, were in imminent danger of their lives, from the effects ofdrinking and bathing in the waters. One was on the verge of apoplexy—andthe other in a fair way for a rheumatic fever. Both were soonrelieved by aperients, colchicum, and starvation.[14]

There is another class who experience no uncomfortable symptomsduring the use of the waters, which operate by the skin, the kidneys,and the bowels—and these proceed quickly and favourably to a restorationof health.

There is still a third class who experience no relief from the waters, butrather an exasperation of all their maladies. The spa doctors give themthis consolation, that, long after their return to their homes, they willprobably get much better—or quite well! The following passage fromDr. Peez, should awaken precaution.

“Let us now take into consideration a phenomenon we observe firstafter patients have for some time been drinking, or bathing in, the thermalwater of Wisbaden, and which might alarm timorous minds. The reaction[54]taking place in the beginning of the patient’s making use of thewater, mentioned above, returns withsome individuals. I have observedthis being the case particularly with females of a hysteric disposition, attendedwith atendency to hemorrhoïdal complaints, who, for that reason,were very irritable. Bathing in, and drinking thermal water of this placefor a fortnight, three weeks, and longer, are extremely favorable,—eachday is attended with additional success: one ailment after the other disappears;a pause then ensues, the irritability of the body rises—the patient’ssleep grows restless; some complain of palpitating of the heart,oppression of the chest, and slight vertigo. In this case it is necessaryto cease bathing, at least for some days, and to observe what naturemeans by that excitation. This, however, commonly ceases in the courseof a few days, when the patient may again take the bath without hesitation,and with advantage, provided he be careful to follow the direction ofhis physician. Others, however, in that case have attained to the limitsof bathing, prescribed by nature, and if they obstinately transgress theselaws, their career on the road to recovery takes a retrograde turn. I haveseen such improvident bathers, who, not knowing the nature of thesephenomena, continued bathing without consulting their physician, wereseized with spasms, spitting of blood, and other ailments.”

It is remarked by Dr. Richter, that as the greater number of patients atWisbaden are afflicted with gouty or rheumatic complaints, so they mustexpect to experience the specific effects of the waters more sensibly thanother people. It is not uncommon therefore for these to suffer, at thebeginning of the course, very high states of excitement, pain, and eveninflammation of the parts involved in the original malady. This may beencouragement to perseverance; but it may also prove extremely hazardous.The following case from Dr. Peez, will exemplify this remark.

“The abdomen of a lady aged 52 years, having been afflicted for a longtime withplethora abdominalis, began at last to swell and to grow hard,her complexion being tinged with a greyish-yellow colour, whilst her organsof digestion were impaired at the same time. She was particularly alarmedby occasional palpitations of her heart, most commonly troubling her atnight, and obliging her to quit her bed. Having bathed in, and drunk,our thermal water, the palpitations grew more violent, and rendered itnecessary that a small quantity of blood should be taken from her occasionally.”

In the third week of the course, she was seized with a copiouspurgationof morbid secretions, when the palpitations vanished—the abdomenbecame soft—the complexion cleared—and she was soon well.

Now it is clear that this good lady laboured under congestion of theliver, jaundice, and loaded bowels. Nature rescued her from the heat ofthe Kochbrunnen, by a process which ought to have been instituted threeweeks before.

[55]

I shall endeavour to shew in other places, that these crises, spa-fevers,bad-sturms, and re-actions, described by the foreign writers on the Spas,are often attributable to the want of combining some mild mercurial alterativeand aperient with the use of the waters. Many cures are preventedor rendered ineffectual by the dread of mercury entertained by the Germanphysicians.

The followingauxilio-preservative (if I may so term it), will befound of essential service every night before taking the morning waters.

We shall now advert to the remarks of Dr. Richter, who has publisheda very sensible little treatise on the Wisbaden waters, in the year 1839.

Group of Disorders in which the Waters, either Internal orExternal, or both, are likely to be useful.

1.Complaints having their seat in the abdominal organs, and especially inthe biliary apparatus.—The signs or indications of these are—acidities—eructations—furredtongue—troubled digestion—loss of appetite—sense oftightness or oppression about the stomach and bowels, after food—costiveness,or relaxed bowels—congestion about the liver, with or without enlargementof that organ—hypochondriasis and hysteria—hæmorrhoids andtheir consequences—irritations about the kidneys and bladder—sequencesof residence in tropical climates.

2.The various forms of gout and their sequences.—Besides the regularor periodical gout, Dr. Richter enumerates the multitudinous forms whichit assumes when latently preying on different organs and structures.There is no end to the proteian features of masked gout—extending asthey do from the terrific lacerations oftic douloureux down to the mostanomalous morbid feeling, whether internal or external. “In all these,”D. R. avers, “the waters and baths of Wisbaden are eminently beneficial.”The baths, when assisted by the internal use of the waters, bring anomalousand latent gout into its proper place and form—into the extremities,thus relieving the interior.

3.Paralysis, general or local—the sequence of apoplectic attacks, orthe consequences of metastases of gout, rheumatism, or cutaneous eruptionsfrom the surface to the brain or spine—also those paralytic affectionsoccasioned by the poisons of lead, arsenic, mercury, &c. or contusions or[56]other injuries of the head and back. Dr. Richter cautiously observes that,during the use of the Wisbaden waters for the foregoing class of complaints,it will often be necessary to bleed, cup, or leech, as well as to takeaperient medicines from time to time, under the guidance of the medicalattendant.

4.Scrofulous complaints, of all kinds and degrees.

5.Rheumatism, with its various consequences. Of course it ischronicrheumatism that is here meant, with enlargements of joints, contractions,effusions into the capsular ligaments, &c. which attend on and follow thatpainful class of diseases.

6. Thesequences of mercurial courses for various diseases, both in thiscountry and between the tropics.

7.Several pulmonary complaints, occasioned by repressed gout, rheumatismor cutaneous eruptions.

8. The Wisbaden waters (like many other mineral springs) are laudedas efficacious in certain complaints and defects of both sexes, which it isnot convenient or proper to notice in this place.

COUNTER-INDICATIONS.

Dr. Richter dedicates a chapter to those complaints which are notbenefited, but injured by the waters of Wisbaden.

1. Allacute diseases—that is to say, diseases accompanied by fever orinflammation, are totally and entirely prohibited from these waters. Butthis is not all. Wherever there is febrile action in the constitution, orlocal inflammation, however subacute, or even chronic, the use of thermalsprings, either as drink or baths—but especially the baths—is dangerous.“These waters, internal and external, will excite the circulation andnervous system (already too much exalted) into the most dangerous reactions,and lead to the most deplorable consequences.” P. 43.

Phthisical affections, except in the earliest stage, and before any materialchange has taken place in the lungs, preclude the idea of utility fromthese waters. Emaciation, from internal suppuration in any organ, andresembling phthisis, forbids the waters of Wisbaden. The same may besaid of cachectic habits, where the blood is broken down, and the solidswasted. Dropsy of the chest, abdomen, or skin will be prejudiced bythese sources—and in short, all diseases connected with, or dependent ondefect of vital energy; or, in other words, debility of constitution generally.Catarrhal affections of kidneys and bladder—fluor albus—severe[57]derangement of the digestive organs, (grand derangement des organs dela digestion)—chronic diarrhœa, &c. with emaciation, will derive no benefitbut injury from these waters. All tendency to spitting of blood—allenlargements of the glandular abdominal organs with debility and wasting,prohibit the use of Wisbaden waters. The same holds good withrespect to stony concretions in the kidneys or bladder—biliary concretionsin the gall-bladder or ducts—scirrhous formations in any of the organs ofthe interior, or exterior parts—all organic affections of the heart or largevessels—epilepsy—catalepsy—St. Vitus’s dance—very inveterate formsof gout, with chalk-stones, paralytic lameness, and considerable debility.In some of these last cases, Dr. R. thinks that, when directed with skilland caution, the waters may afford some relief though nothing like a cure.Sterility, with constitutional exhaustion and debility, has little to hopefrom Wisbaden.

The reader will here perceive a long list of maladies which the Wisbadenwaters will not cure, but aggravate. It is very rare for a spa-doctorto offer any such list. Their springs are panaceas for all the ills to whichflesh is heir. There is a passage in Dr. Peez’s work respecting the bathswhich deserves attention. He remarks that there is a point ofsaturationin the use of thermal waters, beyond which it is dangerous to proceed.But this point of saturation is difficult to ascertain. The following is notvery consolatory.

“The temperature of the bath must be made to correspond as exactlyas possible with their individuality. Baths that are butone degree toowarm or too cool, will very soon produce the point of saturation. Neitheris it advisable that such a person should bathe daily, nor, in the beginning,stay in the bath longer than 15-25 minutes: for his great irritabilityvery easily provokes in the very beginning those excitations that arethe forerunners of critical secretions and accelerate the appearance of thesymptoms of overbathing, and if the patient be not exposed to the dangerof a violent artificial fever, the success of his cure is, at least, renderedvery doubtful. He is, in this case, obliged to discontinue bathing so longthat the time intended to have been spent in bathing passes, or must beprolonged considerably.” 161.

In many people this critical point ofsaturation is announced by veryrestless sleep, disturbed by dreams—or somnolency by day—tenderness ofthe eye to light—uneasiness, despondency, and anxiety, without anyadequate cause—derangement of the digestion—loaded tongue. If thesesymptoms be overlooked or disregarded, phenomena of more importancepresent themselves, such as palpitations—difficulty of breathing—profusesweats—nausea—and finally a fever. Dr. P. is very averse to anyactive remedies to reduce the fever of over-bathing, and especially bleedingor purging. He advises that nothing be done but to desist from bathing,and to take some cooling acidulous waters, as those of Selters or Fackingen.

[58]

The same author assures us that the Wisbaden waters are extremelyeasy of digestion—that they improve the appetite—open the bowels, in amajority of cases—are eminently diuretic—but occasionally produce constipation.From all that I could observe myself, these waters have verylittle aperient effect.

To enumerate the diseases for which the Wisbaden waters are renownedwould require a small volume—at least according to the testimony ofPeez. In one word, they cure all diseases in general, and many othersin particular!! On looking over the works of spa-doctors, we must cometo one or other of the following conclusions, viz. there must either be auniversal conspiracy among the faculty of Europe against spas, and infavour of their own monopoly of thinning the ranks of the population byphysic—or the world is deaf to the entreaties of the water-doctors, anddesire not to be cured—or, what is not quite impossible, the virtues ofmineral waters are a little too much extolled by those who have the administrationof them. It is perhaps fortunate for the world that one orother of these prejudices or infatuations prevail—otherwise there wouldbe no bills of mortality—no doctors—no undertakers—in short, manwould be immortal even in this world!

There will still be a considerable number, however, of afflicted beingswho will not despise the blessings so freely and so cheaply offered by thehigh priests of Hygeia.

It is pretty well known that a kind of monomania prevails among allclasses on the Continent respecting hæmorrhoids—a complaint almost asmuch dreaded by the English as it is courted by foreigners. By the peopleit is considered quite a god-send—the absence of it being a calamity,and its presence a talisman against every malady—by the physician, itssanative powers are represented as only inferior to the waters of Wisbaden,Kissengen, or Carlsbad. By the physiologist and pathologist hæmorrhoidsare calculated to bear the same relation to the constitution that thesafety-valve does to the steam-engine. Without the one, the boiler wouldburst—without the other the German would die. In a word, the Germanhad rather live without his pipe, than without his piles!

To the deficiency, absence, or interruption of hæmorrhoids are attributedchiefly all those obstructions of the abdominal viscera which lead to dropsyand other fatal diseases. The waters of Wisbaden are represented ashaving the normal or salutary power of restraining piles, when in excess—encouragingthem when languid—and reproducing them when accidentallyarrested.Hypochondriasis is one of the grand forms in whichsuppressed hæmorrhoids harasses the patient for years, according to thecontinental pathology.

“How often,” says Dr. Peez, “does it, however, happen, that an abdominaldisease exclusively confined to the nervous system, suddenlychanges its character, preferably affecting the bloodvessels, and thus istransformed into an active hemorrhoïdal disorder!

[59]

“I have had occasion to observe the case of a husbandman, who hadbeen suffering the torments of hypochondria for some years; he wasemaciated and ill fed. His means did not allow him to attempt a radicalcure, and he applied only from time to time for my assistance, when hissufferings were most painful. In spring 1821 he was suddenly seized withpalpitations of the heart, and when these ceased, his pulse continued forsome months to be full and hard, as in the case of fever. Discerning thecharacter of his disorder, I made him come to Wisbaden. Here he tookhalf-baths, drank the water in copious doses, and was cupped in his legsseveral times. In twelve days the hemorrhoïds declared themselves in theusual shape and delivered him from his melancholy, anxiety, and oppressionof the stomach, which had tormented him so long.” 196.

Dr. Peez informs us that the sequences of tropical diseases are radicallycured by the Wisbaden springs.

“Among the consequences of these endemic diseases of the Indies wemust reckon: tumefactions of the liver, and the spleen, which frequentlyare encomous, as well as other tumors in the cavity of the abdomen:swellings and obstructions of the intestinal glands (which frequently alsoare the products of malignant cutaneous diseases, peculiar to the torridzone), obstinate jaundice, spasms of the stomach, accompanied with avomiting of food.

“The English and Dutch physicians have these many years been in thehabit of sending patients of this class to Carlsbad or Wisbaden, after thoseof the former first had tried Cheltenham to no purpose; and these twosprings produce, in the above mentioned diseases, an effect really wonderful.”198.

Now we were told by the more cautious and candid Dr. Richter, a pageor two back, that “all enlargements of the glandular abdominal organs,with debility,” were diseases not to be remedied by these waters. Allthese morbid growths are attended and nourished by more or less of chronicinflammation, and in these cases the Wisbaden, or any other thermal baths,are more likely to do harm than good. The aperient waters of Kissengenor Pulna are far more efficacious and safe. Dr. P. has a chapter onthe efficacy of these waters in “paralysis the consequence of apoplexy.”Now every physician knows that the cause of the paralysis succeedingapoplexy is the clot of blood effused in the attack, and the damage whichthe brain has received in the neighbourhood of that clot. Nature, atlength, absorbs the effused blood, or surrounds it with a sac, and then theadjacent brain gradually recovers its function, if within the power ofnature, and the motion of the paralyzed limb is regained in proportion.How this salutary process is to be accelerated by the baths or waters ofWisbaden, I cannot imagine; but I can very easily conceive that thesewarm baths may readily interrupt the work of nature, and convert a paralysisinto an apoplexy. Such conversions, in fact, do occur every year at[60]the German thermal spas. He says, “paralysis arising fromplethora willbe cured with more facility by means of the thermal waters, than thatwhich is caused by the accumulation of lymph in the brain or the spinalmarrow.” This doctrine may be true in one sense, but it is dangerous inanother. Paralysis from plethora is undoubtedly more susceptible ofcure than dropsy of the brain or spine; but it must be a most hazardousattempt to try the waters of Wisbaden for plethora of the brain orspinal-marrow.

Our author’s directions for using the waters appear unobjectionable, andtherefore I shall cull out some of his chief rules.

1. The waters ought to be drunk fasting, and before the bath—usinggentle exercise and cheerful conversation between each draught. Thecup should never be emptied at once, but sipped slowly. Some peoplemay drink four hours after dinner, but in less quantities and at a lowertemperature.

In gouty affections, and where the skin is torpid, the water should bedrunk as hot as possible—and even in bed, if necessary. Some find itbetter to drink it luke-warm, and mixed with a little milk. Half an hourafter finishing the waters, breakfast, (chocolate, coffee, or egg-milk, orbroth with the yolk of an egg,) may be taken. “The less nourishmentthat is taken between drinking and bathing the better.” Half an hour oran hour should elapse even after the lightest breakfast, before the bath.It is dangerous to bathe when heated or perspiring. “Persons taking awhole bath, should immerse themselves into the water only by slow degrees,up to the neck, having previously sponged the chest and abdomenwith the bath water.” If seized with headache or vertigo in the bath, itis too hot, and ought to be left immediately. Baths in which you perspireare too hot, spoil the appetite, weaken the patient, and put him outof humour all day. “All baths, even those of common water—sometimescause a sensible congestion of blood in the head.” The head should thenbe sponged with cold water. Great care should be taken to avoid sleep inthe bath—or even after a hot bath—but after a tepid bath it may be allowed.

In many cases it is very beneficial to use friction, by means of a brushor sponge, whilst in the bath. The duration of the bath is a quarter ofan hour to an hour and a half. People should always begin with theshort period—and not too high a temperature. Where it is desirableto encourage gentle perspiration after the bath, the patient should go to bed.

As all sudden extremes are repugnant to nature, invalids, when travellingtowards watering-places, should begin to adopt the regimen andhours which they must follow at the spas. A few tepid baths of plainwater are useful preparations, and light cooling diet, should be employedfor a week or two before arriving at the spa.

The following sketch of the motives, hopes, and prospects which leadinvalids to spas—and their routine of life and enjoyments at those places,[61]is drawn by aSpa Doctor of twenty years’ standing. It is nearly freefrom the sins of commission—but not ofomission. It is penneden couleurde rose—and, like the speech of an advocate, it slurs over all features ofthe case that might seem disadvantageous to the cause of the client.I shall supply some deficiencies at the end.

“It is owing, in a great measure, to the enlivening influence which atemporary residence at some watering-place exercises on the mind of thevisitor, that the most successful results are obtained there, and which thebest endeavours of the regular physician can seldom effect at home.

“Persons not labouring under serious disorders—such as men of business,who purpose only to repose from the fatigues with which the performanceof their official duties is attended, and to partake of the amusementsafforded by bathing-places—the man of letters, who takes refugein them for relaxation from his serious studies;—the tender mother,resorting to them to obtain relief for a beloved daughter—all thesehave disengaged themselves, as much as possible, from the trammels oftheir professional and domestic occupations and relations, and enter thisnew world with renovated spirits. The cheerful and gay life of a bathing-establishmentpresents to all of them charms with which they wereentirely unacquainted before. Individuals of all ranks, gathering therefrom neighbouring parts and the most distant countries, united therewithin narrow confines, mostly for one and the same purpose, meet forthe first time in that motley assemblage, and also hail each other, perhaps,for the last time, for a long series of years. This variety, this contact ofindividuals, frequently distinguished by high rank and eminent talentsand accomplishments, enhances the charms of indiscriminate social intercourse,and adds an additional value even to the patient’s solitary hours,as I have frequently experienced myself, by ushering in the dawn of ahappier futurity.

“The variety of interesting objects that present themselves to his view,attracts his attention, and occupies his eyes and imagination, and kindredspirits find many opportunities at watering-places to meet and to formfamiliar connexions. A common purpose, the same society, the participationof the same amusements and pleasures, facilitate the formation ofmany interesting connexions. The opportunities of mutual intercourseare numerous: the social meetings are not hampered by the trammels ofceremony, and we readily acknowledge and enjoy mental and social talentswherever we meet with them.

“The patients meet early in the morning on the public walks and atthe wells. There they interchange their wishes and hopes of recovery.Many are on the eve of returning health; and, encouraged by the improvingstate of convalescents whom they daily see, or by the perceptionof encreasing strength, feel themselves elated with the pleasing hope ofexperiencing in their own persons the successful results of bathing which[62]they behold in others. New hopes awake in others that are still groaningunder the burden of severe and painful disorders, when they hear manyof their acquaintances bless the beneficent spring that has restored to themhealth and the means of enjoying life.

“Here plans for the amusements of the day are discussed, appointmentsfor shorter or longer excursions made, according to the strength and inclinationof each individual; and these excursions, this enjoyment of theopen air, contribute a great deal to heighten the salubrious efficacy of thewells. A cheerful mind exercises the most happy influence on the body,and who could indulge his melancholy bent and remain a cool observeramidst the charms of nature and in the society of persons that are endeavouringto enjoy them?

“Now the patient takes the bath, and is happy to remain in the congenialfluid to which earth communicates her vital warmth; he feels himselfstrained more closely to the bosom of our common mother, whilst he issurrounded by the salubrious liquid, issuing from her womb, and joyfullypresages the tendency of her mysterious powers.

“After the bath the patient regularly indulges himself with a few hoursof rest, which affords him additional enjoyment. He notes down whathe has seen and heard, reads, writes, or directs his steps to the colonnadeof theCursaal, (pump-room,) where a select band of performers on windinstruments gives an additional zest to the charms of the morning hours,until the company meet in the dining-hall, where they sit down to a comfortabledinner, seasoned by the sweet sounds of excellent music.

“Happy would it be if temperance and a sensible conversation didalways characterise these meals, and if all would be mindful, that theoffended Naiad severely punishes all kinds of excess, by which the strictregimen she requires, is profaned!

“In the afternoon the plans formed in the morning are executed, eachpatient trying the strength he has regained;—and, in the evening, thelovers of dancing repair to Terpsichore’s temple; whilst others spend theevening in one of the parties that are formed in every bathing establishment.After the fatigues of the day, a balmy sleep, which is interruptedno more by restlessness, improves the encreasing strength, and the dreamsthat formerly were the mirrors of a melancholy reality, are superseded bycheerful sports of fancy.

“These are the general outlines of a life that may be led at a much-frequentedwatering-place, and by many is realized in a shape still morepleasing and refined. The great diversity of enjoyments that may be procuredat these places, allots to each as much as he may want, and sometimeseven more than many a one desires.”[15]

[63]

But is there no drawback on this scene of sunshine? Do all experiencethe invigorating influence of returning health? No. Not one half! Dothe hypochondriacs who resort to Wisbaden in shoals, throw off their loadof mental despondency and bodily infirmities? Let Dr. Granville, who isnot inclined to depreciate spas in general—and “Spas of Germany” inparticular, decide the question.

“What a dreadful picture of human wretchedness the hypochondriacat Wiesbaden presents! He is sombre, thoughtful, or absent, in themidst of a laughing world. For ever brooding over his fate, his diseaseabsorbs the whole of his attention. He disdains even the most triflingconversation with his fellow-creatures, and flies from those ephemeralacquaintances which are so easily formed at watering-places, exactly becauseone cares little how soon after they are forgotten. In fact, hewould feel himself alone in the world, and never concern himself aboutthose around him, did he not envy their healthy looks, their firmer muscles,and their sounder stomachs, which can sustain an indigestion with impunity!”

There are a great many others, besides hypochondriacs, who are destinedto feel the melancholy effects of blighted hopes in these last resortsof suffering—and who turn their weary steps homewards, without thecheering expectations that gilded their journey to a foreign land!

But is there no risk of receiving, in exchange for dear-bought health,a moral contagion that poisons the springs of life, and saps the foundationof every virtue? Beneath the gilded domes of that splendid mansion—thatpalace of Plutus—thatCursaal, orCurst Hell—the dæmons ofplay exhibit their piles of glittering ore—those “irritamenta malorum—

familiarizing the uninitiated eye to scenes of desperate speculation—imbuingthe soul with the wicked thirst of gold unjustly acquired—of plunder,without fear of punishment—of robbery, without danger of the gallows!The atmosphere of this Pandemonium—for the devils are in legions here—istoo infectious to be long resisted. The open manner in which the viceis practised by day, and by night—in the presence of multitudes of allages, nations, and both sexes—on the sabbath of the Lord, as well as onthe day of work—this legalization, not merely permission of a violation ofmorality, religion, and social order, which, in England, must skulk in holesand corners—the kind of social heroism with which the most destructivevicissitudes of fortune are borne by some of the hardened haunters of thesesplendid hells—these and various other circumstances combine to mask thehideous mien of the monster, and strip the crime itself of half its horrors,till, by daily presentation, it becomes at length endurable without terror,and embraced without remorse! The neophyte has no sooner wound up hiscourage to the staking of his piece of gold, than the spell of security is[64]broken—the charm of serenity is dissolved—the flood-gate of the passionsis thrown open—the “auri sacra fames” takes possession of the soul—andthe dæmon of the night enrols one more name on the list of hisvictims!

The Spartan practice of exhibiting the drunken slave to disgust therising generation with the vice of inebriety, was a doubtful experiment atbest—but, in the present case, there can be no doubt at all as to its inapplicability.There is always seen a certain proportion of the fair sexround the gambling-tables—many of them playing with quite as muchdesperation as the men. It is melancholy to state that, we too often seedelicate English females squeezing in between parded Jew and whiskeredGerman, to stake their gold or silver on the gyrations of a ball or thecolour of a card!

Here is an excellentnormal school, where the wives, and daughters,and sons of our nobility and gentry can learn the rudiments—“and somethingmore”—of heartless vice and headlong dissipation, without referenceto sectarian creed, theological faith, or national religion;—while the childrenof the Protestant peasant and mechanic would be contaminated bythe presence of Catholic or Dissenter in the same grammar-school, whenacquiring the rudiments of reading and writing! If this be not “strainingat gnats and swallowing camels,” I know not what is!

And here I may glance at a curious species of one-sided morality strictlyenforced by the late Duke of Nassau—the prohibition of gambling in the“curst-hells,” among his own subjects; while free permission is givento all foreigners to rob and plunder each other at roulette and rouge etnoir, in the open day—Sundays and Saturdays! When I saidfree permission,I was wrong. The license to gamble is sold to the bankers ofeach Cursaal (curst hell) for a large sum—which goes into the ducal treasury.I puzzled my brains, for a long time, in the attempt to discover theprinciple of this law, and at length found it, as far off as China. Thegeographers of that country represent the Celestial Empire as occupyingnearly the whole of the dry land of this globe—the various other countriesof Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, being located as small islandsdotted in the ocean, and inhabited bybarbarians. Now it is clear thatthe late Duke considered his Duchy of Nassau as the Celestial Empire ofEurope, the other nations, as Russia, Prussia, Austria, Italy, Spain, England,America, &c. being mere barbarians, whose morals were not worthpreserving—whose souls were not worth saving—and whose gold alonewas worth gathering into the royal exchequer at Biberich![16]

[65]

The young sovereign of Nassau has now a good opportunity of signalizinghis accession to power by abolishing the gambling tables of theCursaals. The income derived from the licensing of “hells” cannot yieldgood interest here or hereafter.

THE ADLER, OR EAGLE BATH.

It is not my custom to entertain my readers with the names of hotels,the prices of wines, or the hours of table-d’hôtes. These pieces of informationI leave for others. The present anecdote is an exception to thegeneral rule. Having arrived late at Wisbaden, we put up at the nearesthotel, which was the Adler, or Eagle, the one where Dr. Granville resided,and the locality of which is not considered the very best by him. Wefound it a very good hotel, and well supplied with excellent baths. Earlynext morning, my friend Mr. Cooper, of Brentford, and myself, took out ourtickets from the “Bade-maitre” in the hall, and strolled round the establishment,without meeting with any person whatever. As several of thebaths were standing open, we went into the first two that struck our fancy,and bathed. I observed an unusual quantity of the scum or cream on thesurface of mine, and which I could have dispensed with. I took the opportunity,however, of examining this cream, by means of four out of thefive senses, viz. by sight, touch, taste, and smell. Before I left the bath Icame to a conclusion as to its nature and origin. I have not a doubt that,at the great deluge, an immense posse of white antediluvian bears, then aslarge as elephants, were swept from the polar regions, and hurled headlonginto the great cauldron beneath Wisbaden. There they have been simmeringfrom the days of Noah—their flesh, fat, and marrow oozing updaily, in the shape of cream or bear’s grease, as well as broth, through theKochbrunnen, greatly to the advantage of the Wisbadenites, and the benefitof those afflicted with gout, rheumatism, and the stiff-joints of old age.[17]I am astonished that Dr. Granville and Sir Francis Head should haveframed so puny an hypothesis as that of theKochbrunnen andChicken-broth.Why, I appeal to every one who has travelled in Germany,whether it would be possible to extract an ounce of fat from all the cocks,hens, and chickens in Nassau, even if stewed in a Papin’s digester for sixmonths together. No, no. The cream and broth of the Kochbrunnen arethe veritable essence and decoction of the antediluvian bear, spiced perhapswith a sprinkling of the “organic remains” of wolves, tigers, jackalls,hyenas, and other small gear.

While I was dressing after my dip in this delectable soup, and carryingout the details of my theory, a series of heavy blows and unintelligible[66]vociferations at the door, induced me to think that the hotel was on fire, orthat the Kochbrunnen had exploded. I hastily drew the bolt, when inrushed the infuriated bath-master’s cad, with his Medusa-faced cadess,breathing forth all kinds of imprecations on my devoted head; and, fromtheir gestures and actions, menacing me with a drowning instead of aplunging bath! I instantly threw myself into a posture of defence, determined,if I must drink the bear’s broth again, that the cad or his gentlemate should have the first gulp. On seeing this, they retreated a few feetbut still kept up a roar of abuse, till I had finished dressing, when myfriend Cooper joined in the affray. The assailants followed us, till I hadnearly got to the bad-master’s office, where, opening one of Dr. Granville’svolumes, which I had under my arm, I pointed out the notice (not toofavourable) which had been already taken of the Adler, and told him thatI, too, was aspa-tourist, and would render his baths either famous orinfamous, by the portrait which I should draw of them, as a warning tomy countrymen. The bath-master was astonished, and not a little terrified.He immediately summoned his cad and cadess, informing them thatthe English gentleman was anauthor, and threatened to publish inEngland an unfavourable account of the hotel and baths. The “cream”of the jest soon came out. It appeared that a dandy of sixty—a Cupidof the grand climacteric, had occupied for the season the bath which Iused, taking care that the water should be turned in over night, in orderthat the cream, or bear’s grease, should have time for concretion on thesurface, and thus “smoothe the wrinkled brow,” as well as lubricate theunpliant joints, of this veteran Adonis. The denouement disarmed me ofmy wrath, especially when I recollected that, in this land of minuteregulations, I ought not to have descended into a vacant bath, without theexpress sanction of the bad-master’s cad, in the subterranean regions. Thehotel itself is a very excellent one, and its master, who speaks English, avery civil and obliging host. I recommend it to my countrymen, with thisproviso, that they never go into a bath that has an unusual proportion ofbear’s grease on the surface, without the cad’s permission, lest they spoilthe watery mirroir of some antiquated Narcissus, who hopes—vain hope!—bymeans of baths and broths, to relume the lack-lustre eye—to effacethe time-ploughed furrows from the faded cheek—to communicate elasticityto the indurated muscle—vital heat to the stagnant veins—activity to thebody, and energy to the mind:—and all these,after the allotted hours ofhuman existence have danced their giddy rounds[18]—after the cup of enjoymenthas over-flowed, times without number, and is now drained to thedregs—after,

[67]

has begun to afford feeble shelter against the storms of moral adversity,and the stings of physical infirmity—after the discovery of Solomon, that“all is vanity,” has been amply verified! That humanity should stillcling fondly to the cheerful clay,after all these warnings, is not wonderful,because it is the natural impulse and instinct of every animated being,from the gnat to the elephant. But that reasoning man, and woman too,should attempt, not merely to conceal the ravages of time, but deck themout in the false colours of youth, is a mortifying reflection and preposterousexhibition! We see it however, every day—and the Adonis of the Adleris an exquisite specimen.

I shall close this Chapter with an extract from a little work on the Spasof Nassau, published in 1839, by my friend Mr. Lee, who practised threeyears at Wisbaden, and made himself well acquainted with the remedialefficacy of these waters.

“It is becoming evident in England, that the high reputation whichthe Wisbaden springs have always enjoyed, for the cure and relief of goutyand rheumatic affections, has not been over estimated, from the numberswho annually return home in an improved state, several of whom havingfor years been subject to repeated attacks of gout, have escaped any recurrenceafter a course of the baths, during the whole winter and spring,and have returned in subsequent seasons greatly improved in appearance,more for the purpose of more effectually preserving themselves from arelapse, than from any actual necessity. In cases of long standing, of theatonic kind, with or without deposition of calcareous matter in the joints,occurring in persons beyond the middle period of life, the Wisbaden bathsare calculated to render the most eminent service; indeed, according toDr. Peez, the more inveterate the gout is, the more effectually can it becombated by these waters. Though bathing is the essential part of thetreatment, it is advisable in most of these cases to combine with it theinternal use of the water. Mild douching will also tend very much to thedispersion of local swellings, puffiness, stiffness of the joints, of the wrist,fingers or foot, and also of chalky concretions,although it should not beused if there be a tendency to inflammatory action, nor until a certain numberof baths have been taken. During an attack, the baths will require to besuspended, till the more severe symptoms have subsided; when the patientmay again begin, by previously drinking the water, while confined to hisroom. In general, patients who have been accustomed to free living donot bear a low regimen, and will be the better, after the inflammatorysymptoms are allayed, for being allowed some solid food if an inclinationbe felt for it; care being taken, that the quality be plain and light, andthat the quantity be small. In cases of erratic, irregular, or repelled gout,these baths will also most probably be productive of great benefit, and notunfrequently cause the morbid action to restrict itself to one spot; a moreregular attack being sometimes induced, previous to an amelioration taking[68]place. Persons who have only experienced two or three attacks, but inwhom the predisposition is strong, may generally expect to derive permanentbenefit from the baths; provided they are subsequently cautiousin their mode of living, and do not indulge too freely in the pleasures ofthe table; on the other hand, where there is much tendency to acute inflammation,in persons of a plethoric or highly irritable habit, I shouldconsider Wisbaden less likely to suit than a warm alkaline spring, as Vichyor Teplitz. I should be inclined also to counsel many young persons, inwhom the gout developed itself at an early age, in consequence of astrong hereditary tendence, to give the preference to a spring of this kind;though it is probable that they would equally derive advantage from Wisbaden.It cannot be expected however, that a single course of the waterswould suffice to eradicate the disease; and, in order to have the chanceof a permanent cure, persons afflicted with gout would do well to return,for two or three consecutive seasons, to the springs from which they derivedbenefit; passing the intervening months in a suitable climate, andpaying attention to the regulation of their diet and mode of living.

“As the mornings are frequently chilly, and it is of importance toprevent the action of a cold atmosphere on the surface of the body, whileunder a course of bathing, I do not in general recommend, to Englishpatients, the very early hours of rising and drinking the water, adoptedby the Germans; six, or half-past, will be sufficiently early, even forthose who take their bath before breakfast, and for those who do not, anytime between that hour and half-past seven; breakfast being taken anhour after drinking, and consisting of tea or coffee, according as the oneor other is found best to agree. Those who dine at one o’clock, shouldagain drink about seven in the evening; while for those persons whoprefer dining at four, or later, from two to three will be the best time fortaking their second dose. The effects of the water are thus better sustainedthan when the whole quantity prescribed is taken in the morning,and an interval of four-and-twenty hours allowed to elapse between theperiods of drinking; the water is often thus better digested, and is wellborne, when the distention of the stomach by the same quantity if takenbefore breakfast, would disagree and give rise to unpleasant symptoms,or occasion a too active operation upon the bowels or kidneys.—It isalso advisable, when a full course of these and other mineral waters isrequired, to recommend a temporary suspension of the course, and changeof air for three or four days, after a certain period of drinking and bathinghas elapsed; by this means, the system is not too early saturated, and thepatient returns to resume the use of the water, in a more fit state for itsabsorption, and with a greater probability of more durable benefit.

“Most chronic rheumatic affections will be removed or greatly relievedby the Wisbaden baths. In the slighter cases, not of long standing, ashort course, for about three weeks, will be frequently sufficient. In the[69]more intractable cases of articular and muscular rheumatism, as also inthe pains of a rheumatic nature affecting the face, head, and other parts;a more prolonged course will often be required, combined with the use ofthe douche. In some cases the hot bath, vapour-bath, or douche, may beadvantageously employed, especially in elderly persons whose skin is dry,and seldom perspirable. Where however the complaint has supervenedupon, or has been continued from an acute attack, in which any symptomsof the heart or pericardium being affected, were present—which is morefrequently the case than is generally supposed—it would be well to ascertain,by auscultation and percussion, that none of those symptoms remain,as they would very likely be aggravated by the employment of the water.Those rheumatic affections depending upon long exposure to wet or cold,to which military men on duty are peculiarly subject, are especially relievedby these baths. Two or three bad cases of this kind fell under myobservation last year, in which the most beneficial and unexpected resultsfollowed a full course of the waters. One gentleman in particular whoreturned from India invalided, was scarcely able to get about with theassistance of a stick; who was sceptical of the power of mineral waters,and not over-attentive with respect to his diet, recovered the comparativelyfree use of his limbs before he left Wisbaden, and was completelyrestored when I met him about a month afterwards, in a steamer on theMediterranean, being on his way to rejoin his regiment.”

“Those nervous pains recurring in paroxysms affecting the branchesof particular nerves of the face, head, or extremities, to which the termneuralgia or tic is generally applied, and which not unfrequently originatefrom a rheumatic or gouty diathesis, from the suppression of habitual discharges,or of cutaneous eruptions—which causes, though perhaps somewhatexaggerated by continental practitioners, are not sufficiently attendedto in England—are more likely to be relieved and cured by a properlydirected course of mineral waters, than by pharmaceutical remedies orlocal applications. To many of these cases Wisbaden would be exceedinglyapplicable, especially when the functions of the skin are sluggishlyperformed, and there exists a congested state of the abdominal or pelvicviscera, with retardation or irregularity of the periodical secretion infemales. In those cases which appear to arise from other causes, as moralinfluences, a high state of nervous excitability, &c., I should be more inclinedto recommend waters of a different kind, of which I shall have tospeak presently. Water or vapour douches may in general be advantageouslycombined with the baths and the internal use of the same water—orof a water of a different nature, as that of Homburg, Marienbad, &c.according as circumstances may seem to indicate their employment.

“The state of abdominal plethora, with congestion of the liver, andobstruction in the circulation of the vena portæ, termed by the GermansUnterleibsvollblütigkeit, with its consequences, as impaired digestion, deficient[70]or vitiated biliary secretion, piles, &c.—occurring for the most partin persons about or beyond the middle period of life, who have beenaddicted to the pleasures of the table, and marked by more or less protuberanceof the abdomen, with diminished muscular and nervous energy—isone well calculated to be relieved by the use of the Wisbaden watersinternally and externally employed. The baths, by exciting the activityof the nervous and vascular systems, and by determining powerfully to thesurface, tend most materially to equalize the circulation and remove theinternal congestion, while by the internal use of the water the secretionsof the mucous membranes, of the alimentary canal, of the liver and kidneys,are improved in quality, and often perceptibly increased in quantity;—atthe same time that the mesenteric glands and absorbent vessels arestimulated to increased activity, and the digestion is consequently improved.Even when, under these circumstances, the drinking of the wateris not followed by immediate sensible effects, either upon the bowels orkidneys, it is frequently not the less efficient on that account, and unlesssome inconvenience be experienced, it should be persisted in, as after acertain time copious critical evacuations will often occur, and be followedby immediate relief; whereas were similar effects produced by artificialmeans, as the exhibition of drugs, the relief would only be temporary,and the frequent repetition of the same or analogous measures, would benecessary, and would tend but little to the permanent amelioration of thepatient. In several of these cases, especially where there exists hardnessor tension in the region of the liver, spleen, or in other parts of the abdomen,the douche will be of material assistance in the treatment.”

“In many cases of paralysis, baths of mineral waters offer the mostefficient, and often the only means of arousing the nervous energy of thesystem, and of the paralysed parts; and few have a more beneficial influencein this way than those of Wisbaden; but here again it cannot alwaysbe determined beforehand, that baths of this kind will be more effectualthan those of other springs containing but a small proportion of solid andgaseous substance, as the latter occasionally succeed after the failure ofthe former. In the obscurity which still envelops the mode of action ofmineral baths, this cannot be satisfactorily accounted for, except upon theprinciple of idiosyncrasy, or by the supposition that the disturbing actionof a thoroughly impregnated spring is less adapted to certain of thesecases, than the more tranquilizing and sedative influence of a simple thermal,or slightly alkaline, warm spring. In most instances, however, wherethere does not exist a high degree of nervous excitability, or tendency tofulness in the cerebral vessels, the baths of Wisbaden may be used withgreat prospect of advantage; especially when the complaint is of a rheumaticorigin, depending upon the impression of poisonous influences uponthe nervous system, as malaria, the abuse of mercury, or the employmentof this and some other metals by workmen; as also in those cases, where[71]the disease appears to be of a purely local nature, not connected withcerebral disease, but arising from deficient energy of the nerves of the part,or of the spinal marrow, consequent upon exposure to cold and wet, orother analogous causes. Even in paralysis affecting a limb or one sideof the body, remaining after an apoplectic seizure, baths of this and othermineral waters may often be advantageously employed, provided there beno symptoms of cerebral congestion, or organic disease. Plethoric individuals,and those whose digestive organs are disordered, will frequentlyrequire some preparatory treatment, previous to using the baths, in paralytic,as well as in other diseases. These, then, are the principal diseaseswhich the Wisbaden waters are more especially calculated to relieve, andin which their use in the form of baths and douches is the most essentialpart of the treatment. There are besides various other complaints towhich the external or internal use of the water, or both combined, is extremelysuitable, in common with several other mineral springs; but ofwhich the peculiar circumstances of each case require to be investigated,in order to enable the practitioner to decide upon the springs likely to bemost effectual. Of these, many scrofulous affections will be cured orgreatly ameliorated by the internal and external application of these waters;particularly enlarged lymphatic glands of various parts, and of the mesentery,occurring in children or young persons of a torpid habit, with tumidupper lip and abdomen, a vitiated state of the intestinal secretions, and aharsh dry condition of the skin. Here the exciting and resolvent powersof the waters are exceedingly effectual, by improving and augmenting thesecretions of the alimentary canal, and of the skin; and, by stimulating theabsorbent and vascular systems, mostly cause the speedy diminution ofglandular or bony swellings.

“Another case, in which the Wisbaden springs are often eminentlyserviceable, is, where there is a general disordered state of the health,without the existence of any actual disease, or material derangement ofany particular functions, except perhaps impaired digestive powers—as isvery frequently seen in Londoners, and inhabitants of other large cities,closely engaged in trading, mercantile or professional occupations; as alsoin those who have been resident in a tropical or unhealthy climate: sucha state, though relieved and palliated for a time by medicines, not unfrequentlyterminates in serious functional or structural disease, if allowedto continue for a long period—and nothing would tend more effectuallyto its removal than temporary absence from the cares of avocation, changeof air and mode of life, and the employment of a mineral spring likeWisbaden, followed by that of a chalybeate water, in those cases where itis not counterindicated.

“The same may be said of several cases of hypochondriasis, withdisordered digestive powers, to which Wisbaden is applicable, both onaccount of its waters, tending to rectify the deranged state of the digestive[72]organs, and also from the beneficial influence which would be exerted inmost instances on the patient’smorale, by the movement of the place, itscheerful appearance, the beauty of its environs, and the neighbourhood ofso many objects of interest. To some patients of this class, tepid bathingwith the internal use of a cold gaseous spring is most applicable. Toothers again, certain other mineral springs are best adapted.

“The suppression or painful performance of periodical functions peculiarto females, is frequently benefitted by the Wisbaden baths; especially,if the cause be cold, checked perspiration, or a congested state of the abdominalor pelvic viscera. Some syphilitic affections, especially wheremuch mercury has been employed, and certain chronic cutaneous diseases,as psoriasis, impetigo, &c. where the skin is generally in a dry state; asalso eruptions of the face depending upon derangement of the alimentarycanal or liver, will often be removed, by baths of a warm saline water, likeWisbaden; and likewise by sulphurous or alkaline springs, either alone, orcombined with the internal use of the same, or some other mineral water.In certain bronchial and laryngeal affections, with cough, and scanty ordeficient expectoration, the Wisbaden baths, combined with the internaluse of the water, and the inhalation of its vapour, may be expected to beof material advantage.

“On the other hand, these springs, like most others, will generally beprejudicial in organic disease of the lungs, heart, or large vessels, in disorganisationof the abdominal or pelvic viscera, with fever, profusehemorrhagy or dischargesper vaginam, either depending upon relaxationor upon the presence of hypertrophy, polypus, or other structuraldisease.”[19]

SCHLANGENBAD.

The extensive cook-shop and laboratory under Wisbaden have communicatedno small portion of caloric to the air, as well as to the waters ofthat place. We no sooner begin to ascend the slopes or ridges of theTaunus than we experience a remarkable transition from languor and oppressionto vigor and elasticity—not confined to thephysique, but extendingalso to themorale. Of the two roads from Wisbaden to Schlangenbad,we preferred the mountainous, or inland route, to that along theRhine, for the sake of a bracing air and a boundless prospect. We trottedmerrily along the hills and vales of the Taunus, over a Macadamized road,till, in two hours, we found ourselves, all at once, in a romantic dell orvalley, bounded on both sides, by densely wooded mountains rising nearlyperpendicular, from the narrow space between. In this small compass rise[73]three or four huge buildings, white as snow, and each having more windowsthan there are days in the year. I set them down as manufactoriesof cotton or cutlery, but the absence of all clanking of machinery or hissingof steam, soon undeceived me. On driving into a little square betweenthe two principal Hoffs, all was silent as Pompeii—and not a human beingwas seen in any direction. There was no competition here between thetwo chief hotels—both belonging to one master—and he the sovereign ofthe country. As it was about 12 o’clock, all true Germans were in theirholes and corners, meditating on, and preparing for the grandbusiness ofthe day—the onslaught of thecouteau andfourçhette at themittag table-d’hôte.To the Serpent’s Bath, the intervening hour was dedicated. Thecosmetic and renovating qualities of the Schlangenbad are nearly as far-famednow as the cauldron of Medea was, in days of yore. The Old Manof the Brunnens dipped his pencil in prime copalvarnish, when heembellishedthe baths of this sequestered valley. The description is a realbijou of its kind,—a diamond of the firstwater—equally profitable to thepen of the painter and the purse of the royal proprietor!

“The baths at Schlangenbad are the most harmless and delicious luxuriesof the sort I have ever enjoyed; and I really quite looked forward tothe morning for the pleasure with which I paid my addresses to this delightfulelement. The effect it produces on the skin is very singular; itis about as warm as milk, but infinitely softer: and after dipping the handinto it, if the thumb be rubbed against the fingers, it is said by many toresemble satin. Nevertheless, whatever may be its sensation, when thereader reflects that people not only come to these baths from Russia, butthat the water in stone bottles, merely as a cosmetic, is sent to St. Petersburgand other distant parts of Europe, he will admit that it must be softindeed to have gained for itself such an extraordinary degree of celebrity:for there is no town at Schlangenbad, not even a village—nothing thereforebut the real or fancied charm of the water could attract people intoa little sequestered valley, which in every sense of the word is out of sightof the civilised world; and yet I must say, that I never remember to haveexisted in a place which possessed such fascinating beauties; besides which,(to say nothing of breathing pure dry air,) it is no small pleasure to livein a skin, which puts all people in good humour—at least with themselves.But besides the cosmetic charms of this water, it is declared to possessvirtues of more substantial value: it is said to tranquillize the nerves, tosoothe all inflammation; and from this latter property, the cures of consumptionwhich are reported to have been effected, among human beingsand cattle, may have proceeded. Yet whatevergood effect the water mayhave upon this insidious disorder, its first operation most certainly must beto neutralize thebad effect of the climate, which to consumptive patientsmust decidedly be a very severe trial, for delightful as it is to people inrobust health, yet the keenness of the mountain air, together with the[74]sudden alternations of temperature to which the valley of Schlangenbadis exposed, must, I think, be anything but a remedy for weak lungs.

“The effect produced upon the skin, by lying about twenty minutes inthe bath, I one day happened to overhear a short, fat Frenchman describeto his friend in the following words—‘Monsieur, dans ces bains on devientabsolument amoureux de soi-même!’ I cannot exactly corroborate thisGallic statement, yet I must admit that limbs, even old ones, gradually doappear as if they were converted into white marble. The skin assumes asort of glittering, phosphoric brightness, resembling very much white objects,which, having been thrown overboard, in calm weather within thetropics, many of my readers have probably watched sinking in the ocean,which seems to blanch and illuminate them as they descend. The effectis very extraordinary, and I know not how to account for it, unless it beproduced by some prismatic refraction, caused by the peculiar particles withwhich the fluid is impregnated.

“The Schlangenbad water contains the muriates and carbonates of lime,soda, and magnesia, with a slight excess of carbonic acid which holds thecarbonates in solution. The celebrated embellishment which it produceson the skin is, in my opinion, a sort of corrosion, which removes tan, orany other artificial covering that the surface may have attained from exposureand ill-treatment by the sun and wind. In short, the body iscleaned by it, just as a kitchen-maid scours her copper saucepan; and theeffect being evident, ladies modestly approach it from the most distant partsof Europe. I am by no means certain, however, that they receive anypermanent benefit; indeed, on the contrary, I should think that theirskins would eventually become, if anything, coarser, from the removal of aslight veil or covering, intended by nature as a protection to the cuticle.

“But whether this water be permanently beneficial to ladies or not, thesoftness it gives to the whole body is quite delightful: and with two elements,air and water, in perfection, I found that I grew every hour moreand more attached to the place.”

This glowing description of the Old Man has worked a greater miraclethan that of changing water into wine. It has actually transmuted thespring of Schlangenbad into liquid gold—aurum potabile! If the authorbe accused of “exaggeration”—(now a dangerous term)—he may quotethe sentiments of theEsculapius—the Apollo of the place.

“Never did bath produce such delightful sensations as the Serpent’sBath at Schlangenbad. These salubrious waters exert on the body anagreeable and gentle pressure—voluptuously expand the limbs—and tranquillizethe nerves and the blood. You rise from the waters of Schlangenbadlike a Phœnix from its ashes. Youth becomes more beautiful—morebrilliant—and old age is imbued with new vigour.”[20]

[75]

Well done Dr. Fenner! You have beaten the “Old Man of theBrunnens” fairly out of the field! Why the very waters themselvesmust have blushed when they saw the account of these their miraculousqualities—and the serpents must have waltzed merrily round the pinetrees that overhang the source of the magic Brunnen.

And yet the whole is little more than an ingenious romance, closely alliedto the legends of the neighbouring Rhine—as the story of the Drachenfels,for example. It is unnecessary to comment on thePhœnix of Dr. Fenner.That fabulous bird speaks for itself; but Sir F. Head’s account requiressome remark. In the first place, the appearance of the limbs and body ofthe bather, is precisely the same as in other clear and tepid waters, asthose of Wisbaden, Baden-Baden, Wildbad, &c.—or, indeed, in plainwater. The “glittering phosphoric brightness,” and the blanching andillumination of sinking bodies in tropical seas, are all the offspring of afanciful or poetical imagination. Then again, the soapy, satiny, andunctuous feel communicated by the Schlangenbad waters, is not peculiarto them. The first time I ever bathed in the Ems waters, many yearsago, I remarked this, and can never forget the sense ofbien-être which Ithen experienced. And no wonder, for the waters of Ems are infinitelymore alkaline—especially in the baths—than those of Schlangenbad.The effects, however, of these last on the skin, appeared to me moremarked and pleasant than those of Wildbad, Wisbaden, or Baden-Baden.The tranquillity and sedative qualities of the Serpent’s Bath are somewhatexaggerated by the “Old Man,” and outrageously so by Dr. Fenner;but nevertheless they possess these influences to a considerable extent.

And here I must say that my friend Dr. Granville appears to haveviewed poor Schlangenbad with a jaundiced eye.[21] The waters of theKochbrunnen may have stirred up the bile—for assuredly the waters ofSchlangenbad are clearer, and the mountains are higher, and the trees arelarger than he has represented them. The very description of CaptainHead proves the transparency of the waters—and the following passagefrom Mr. Lee, which I can corroborate, will remove the stigma from thebaths themselves.

“The bathing-cabinets, notwithstanding the depreciating terms inwhich Dr. Granville has spoken of them, are exceedingly convenient,more so, indeed, than at most other baths, and infinitely superior to theclosets for undressing adjoining the piscinæ at Wildbad. They are forthe most part lofty and well ventilated, and are divided into a dressing-roomand a large and spacious marblebaignoire capable of containing fiveor six persons; though it is only intended for a single person; bathingin common not being the practice at Schlangenbad. The bather consequently[76]is not obliged to lie down in water about two feet deep, but hasample space to play or move about, the water being admitted in largequantity, so as to rise nearly breast-high; the temperature can also beincreased by the bather, at pleasure, by admitting more warm water,though some persons, in the height of summer, prefer bathing in thewater at its natural temperature,—about 22° Reaumur. A bath of thiswater, like others of the same class, imparts softness to the skin, with apleasurable sensation while it lasts, and a feeling ofbien-être for theremainder of the day.”[22]

The waters of Schlangenbad contain only about six grains of solidsubstances in the pint—half of which is carbonate of soda—and verylittle carbonic acid gas. Small as these ingredients are, they are largerthan those in the waters of Wildbad, or Pfeffers. They are, as CaptainHead observes, safe waters, both for bathing and drinking. The temperaturebeing about 86°—something higher than Buxton, they may beused by many people without any artificial increase. But, generallyspeaking, it will be prudent to raise them ten or twelve degrees for goutyand rheumatic patients. Every body knows—or has been told—that themedicinal virtues of Schlangenbad waters were discovered by a hide-boundheifer—and proved by a young lady under a similar state of skin. Whetherthis story be true or fabulous, I cannot tell; but I apprehend thatits cosmetic and satinizing properties are those which draw most of itsforeign customers from the shores of the Baltic, and the banks of theThames. Captain Head justly suspects the durability of the satin skin—andthere is little doubt that if half a pound of soda or potash were addedto a common warm bath in England, the same softness of surface wouldbe the result.

I do not much wonder that the “Old Man” should have become enamouredof Schlangenbad, considering the disposition which he evinced forsolitude, contemplation, and reflection. The locality is well adapted for all[77]these. Society is so concentrated in this little valetudinarium, and soquiet withal, that human nature may be studied with a kind of “microscopiceye,” and all its modifications, peculiarities, and eccentricities notedwithout distraction or bustle. On the mountain’s romantic brow, underthe shade of the sombre pine, and in the stillness and serenity of theforest, the mind has ample time to meditate on, and inwardly digest theobservations made in the little miniature world below.

As one o’clock approached, the solitude of Schlangenbad began to exhibitsome symptoms of change. From various points of the compassisolated individuals, bearing the marks of illness, were seen carefully pickingout the softest—or, at all events, thesmoothest stones of the pavé,over which to wend their way, towards what an Irishman would call“three centres” of attraction. Soon afterwards, we heard three or fourbells simultaneously sounding, when immediately the solitary videtteswere succeeded by whole columns marching to their appointed rendezvous.Never did veteran Roman phalanx advance with more steady pace—moredeath-like silence—or more inflexible resolution, to the assault ofbarbarian foe, than does a German corps—men, women, and children—tothe work of demolition at a mittag table-d’hôte.

Falling into the ranks of the largest column, we soon found ourselvesin the salle-a-manger of the New Bad Haus, where about one hundred satdown to dinner. There was a fair proportion of English—full an eighthof the whole. There is little difficulty in distinguishing the German fromthe Britannic guests. The sallow complexion, black and broken teeth,matted locks, extravagant mustachios—and transcendental salutations atmeeting and parting—are some of the most prominent features of distinction;yet there are many others of a minor cast.[24] An inferiority inthe cloth of the coat—a peculiarity in what a sailor would call “the cut ofthe jib”—enormous rings on the fingers, and brooches in the breast, arecharacteristic of our German neighbours. Independently of these, you maysmoke a German in any part of the room—or scent him at a quarter of amile’s distance in the open air, if the wind be favourable. For althoughhe ceases to smoke when he begins to eat, yet from one pocket the reekingpipe is exhaling its odours—while from the other, a load of the“cursed weed” itself is diffusing its aroma in all directions. But I findthat I have been mistaken in giving a truce to smoking during the act ofeating. The fair author of “Souvenirs” has corrected me. “Yonder[78]is an old gentleman actually eating and smoking at the same time—thelong pipe being pushed into one corner of his mouth, so as to leave anentrance in front for the spoon or fork.” On reading this passage, Icould not help feeling certain anatomical and physiological difficulties inthe way of this triple function of mastication, smoking, and swallowing,being all simultaneous. I believe I can explain the phenomenon, however,without questioning the fact of the fair writer. Every person musthave seen a horse eat oats and hay, with the bit of the bridle in hismouth. It was so with the old gentleman. All Germans have numerousvacancies among their grinders, and the one in question was able to keephis pipe ready lit for service between the courses, in one corner of hismouth. But it is certain that the triple or even double function of smokingand eating simultaneously, is next to impossible.

These external peculiarities of the German are probably not more strikingto John Bull, than are the singularities of the latter to the German.As to internal qualities—moral and intellectual—my conviction is, that theGerman has far more head and heart than nine-tenths of his continentaland insular neighbours.

In fine, the more I have seen of the Germans, the more I admire theirhonesty, zeal, single-heartedness, quietude, order, hospitality, learning,and humanity. These solid qualities leave the little personal peculiaritieswhich I have sketched above, as “dust in the balance.”

It is not quite so easy to discriminate between the German ladies andthose of our own country, as between the gentlemen of the two nations.One reason is, that the German ladies do not smoke long pipes, and wearlong mustachios. I shall not libel the sex, as Pope has done, by makingthe colour of the hair the characteristics of women:—

There is one peculiarity in the manners of the German fair (besides a certain“je ne sçais quoi,”) which is, theirbowing instead ofcurtseying,on meeting or parting from friends—and that quite as low as theirbrothers, fathers, and husbands. This was the reason of my introducingthe term “bussel-rending” in the description of a Germansalaam.

TABLE-D’HÔTE.

Not being deeply versed in the science of gastronomy and its nomenclature,I shall introduce the following order and succession of dishes asdrawn by a fair countrywoman (Souvenirs of a Summer in Germany,)whose fidelity of description cannot be doubted.

“First, as usual, was the soup—then the invariable boiled beef, withits accompaniments of pickled cucumber, onions, or sour krout. Afterthe beef, is a course of cutlets, sliced raw ham, omelettes, and vegetables.Then come partridges, chickens, sausages, ducks—all which are replaced[79]by various kinds of fish—some so besauced and bedecked with garnishes,that they are hardly recognizable as belonging to the finny tribe—andpyramidical dishes of cray-fish. The puddings come next, with smokingboats of fruit and wine-sauce. Is this the finale? Not at all. Thepudding is a kind of æra, whence fresh courses take their date. A moreformidable array of dishes next makes its appearance. Roast joints—req,(a kind of deer,) geese, turkeys, hares, &c. &c. with innumerablesatellites of preserved pears, plums, cherries, salads, &c. This substantialcourse is followed by sweets—cherry tarts—enormous cakes, all spicesand vanille with a snowy summit of powdered sugar—custards, creams,&c. The dessert and bon-bons close the proceedings.”

Now, it is to be observed, that this was the bill of fare at Schwalbachor Schlangenbad, where nine-tenths of the guests are notoriously invalids.It would scarcely serve for a dejeuner a la fourçhette at the sumptuariesof Baden or Wisbaden. The fair authoress admits that the German partakesof every dish; but argues that he does not eat more in the aggregatethan the Englishman. This statement is so decidedly contrary to allobservation, that I can only account for it by supposing that the fair ladynoted more accurately the compliments to “la belle Anglaise,” proceedingout of the mouths of her favourite Germans, than the provender whichproceeded in a contrary direction. Is it likely that the keeper of aGerman hotel would dress more dishes than are generally consumed,seeing that the price of the whole dinner is under two shillings? Not heindeed. The fact is undeniable that the Germans—indeed all the continentalswho can afford it, eat not only a greater variety and complicationof “dishes tortured from their native taste,” but a greater quantityin the aggregate. The question naturally arises—what is the consequence?Compare the complexions of the Germans and English. Noone will attempt to deny that the contrast is most striking. The tints ofhealth predominate in the looks of the Islanders—pallor and sallownessin those of the Continental. But the lady may reply—“nimium ne credecolori”—complexion, like beauty, is only skin-deep. Be it so. We shalllook deeper. Let us follow the example of the horse-dealer, and examinethe teeth. If my fair countrywoman has preserved any “souvenirs” ofthese important actors in the drama of human life, she will not be inclinedto maintain that a German is like an elephant—with a mouth full of ivory.I never saw the hearty laugh of an honest German, without thinking of atemple—whose portal consisted of broken columns of ebony. If 40 Germans,at the age of 40, were compared with the same number of English, at thesame age—all taken indiscriminately from the streets of Vienna andLondon—what would be the comparative number of sound teeth in theheads of the two classes? I shall attempt a calculation presently; meantime, it will be admitted on all hands, that the Germans are woefullyafflicted with unsound teeth. What is the reason? A pair of mill-stones[80]will grind only a certain quantity of corn—or last only a certain numberof years. It is the same with the human mill-stones, or molares. Theywill only grind a certain quantity of food, or do a certain amount of labour,before they are worn out, like their namesakes in the mill. Now if theGermans eat one-third more than the English—and I firmly believe theydo—then their teeth have one-third more of work, and ought to experiencea corresponding degree of wear and tear. This, however, will notaccount for the premature decay of the teeth, but only for their wearingout sooner than under other circumstances. We must seek deeper forthe causes. As the millstones are spoiled and rendered useless by allowingimproper things to be mixed with the grain, as pebbles, &c. so theteeth are injured by the quality as well as by the quantity of our food.The oils, acids, tobacco, and other deleterious substances, for ever mixingwith continental meals, must greatly injure the organs of mastication aswell as of digestion.

The human frame is a congeries of organs, all in harmony, when inhealth, and each assisting the others. But when we deviate from simplicityand temperance, these same organs quarrel with each other, tothe detriment, and sometimes to the destruction of the whole constitution.The stomach is one of those patient and willing organs thatwill work wonders for years and years; but at length it will rebel—andeven retaliate. The teeth, which have long sent down immoderate quantitiesof food, too often of the most abominable composition, for thestomach to grind over again, become visited with pains and penaltiesby the offended organ, under the vain hope that less work will be donein the upper mill. The warning is unheeded; and then the stomach beginsthe process of demolition in good earnest. It is in this state of,what the geologists would call “transition,” that we see the teeth of theGermans—and, it must be confessed, of the English sometimes also—ina state disagreeable to the eye, offensive to the nose, and injurious to thehealth. The stomach, which has inflicted this punishment on the mouth,so far from being benefitted thereby, is still farther injured by the failureof mastication; and then the various organs and functions of the bodybecome involved in the consequences of long-continued deviations fromthe paths of Nature, simplicity, and temperance!

If this penalty be still considered as imaginary, I shall adduce morecogent arguments. The bills of mortality contain very stubborn facts.Let us take the two capitals of Germany and England—Vienna andLondon. In theformer, one twenty-fourth of the population goes to thegrave annually:—in the latter (London) one-fortieth part only. In thelanguage of the insurance-offices, “the value of life is more than one-thirdgreater in London than in Vienna.” Now this difference will surelynot be attributed to climate merely—since the continentals themselvesanathematize the climate of England, and the fogs of London, as most[81]“horrid.” Here then we have some clue to the comparative number ofteeth in individuals of the same age, at home and abroad. We shall probablyfind the proportion of 24 to 40 (the ratio of mortality) as exhibitinga fair estimate of the number of teeth in equal masses of the populationin Germany and England. Thus, for example, if the Englishman, at theage of 50, have twenty teeth in his head, the German, at the same periodof life, will have only twelve, and so on.

But to return to the table-d’hôte. A glance round the “salle-a-manger”brought a strong conviction on my mind, thatFame had eitherexaggerated the virtues of the Serpent’s Bath, or had excited hopes thatwould seldom be realized. A majority of the guests were females; andnot a few of these were of a certain—or rather of anuncertain, age. Ofthe males, the greater number were evidently dandies in decay. I neverremember to have seen, in the same compass, a greater variety of featureand complexion—indicating a re-union, in this sequestered spot, of individualsfrom various and remote regions. But however diversified in externalphysiognomy, there was one point in which there was a wonderfulcoincidence and similarity—that point was—not the point ofbeauty. Itis with mortification, I confess, that the English portion of the guests didnot form a prominent exception to the general rule. To say the truth,the whole company exhibited sorry samples of the great European andTransatlantic family;—and if appetite was any index, the majority had methere, partly for health, but principally for—re-creation. How far thetransmutation from age to youth—from decrepitude to vigour—from thewrinkled skin to the polished surface, was effected by plunges in theSerpent’s Bath, I had not time to ascertain. I candidly acknowledge thatI never saw areal phœnix—but ifthese were specimens of Dr. Fenner’sphœnixes, “rising from their ashes,” then I must say that they very muchresembled a batch of old cocks and hens roosting at Schlangenbad duringthe molting season.

The first impression which a stranger receives, while prying throughSchlangenbad, is that the waters have an uglifying rather than a beautifyingeffect on the human frame. This is erroneous. We do not go throughthe wards of an hospital to search for samples of rude health—neitherought we to go to Schlangenbad for specimens of smooth skin and delicatecomplexion.

We rambled through winding and umbrageous paths up the mountainbehind the Old Bad-haus, to its summit—and I think there are few placesin the world better adapted to profound meditation, while, at the sametime, inspiring the most pure, bracing, and salubrious atmosphere. Idescended in a contemplative mood, when I stumbled into a long kind ofgallery or hall, which looked like an enclosed promenade. There theaccursedroulette-table met my eye and excited my choler. What! Inthis valley of Rasselas—in this asylum of health—in this peaceful retreat[82]from the stormy passions of the city—to find the symbol of Hell, and theinstrument of the devil, was more than I could bear with patience! True,it was deserted. Not a human being was seen in the place; but its presenceindicated too surely the work of destruction that would go on inthe evening. Julius Cæsar, I think, observed that the Germans, in histime, were so passionately addicted to gambling, that, when they had lostall their money and goods, they would stake their wives and children!It therefore seems to be impossible to eradicate this dreadful propensityfrom the German mind. Still the public exercise of it might be prevented.The King of Saxony prohibits andprevents smoking in Dresden! If sucha miracle as this can be wrought in Germany, we need not despair, evenof gambling!

SCHWALBACH.

The wizzard of Nassau—the knight of the “Bubbles,” has wrought areal modern miracle—the transmutation of water into wine, or rather intonectar.

Every spring in the Duchy has danced more merrily, and bubbled morebriskly to the beams of the rising sun, since the children of Albion haveswarmed round the living fountains, in search of health or amusement.Well may Dr. Fenner say—“cette reputation est due surtout aux Anglais.La plume caustique deHead a puissament contribué à nous faire-faire uneconnaissance plus intime avec cette nation.” The pen of Sir Francis maybe likened to the bath of Schlangenbad—

By “ornavit” I do not mean theembellishment which is sometimes synonymouswith exaggerations or distortions; but merely that charm whichthe pen of genius can throw round the most common subjects. Schwalbachis still as it was, in a deep narrow valley—and invisible till we arewithin a few hundred yards of it. The houses, though more generallypainted, and greatly increased in number since the time of the “Old Man,”are still as though they had been shaken in a bag and scattered throughthe ravine, without the slightest regard to order or regularity. Sir Franciscould find no shops in his time—now he would find a bazaar! The townis still somewhat in the form of a Y or a fork, at the end of one prong ofwhich is theStahl-brunnen—while the other prong, or rather prongs,boasts of two hygeian fountains—theWein-brunnen and thePaulinen-brunnen.TheWein-brunnen is the most powerful—theStahl-brunnenis the most palatable—and thePauline is the most fashionable.The climate of this place, according to the testimony of Dr. Fenner, supportedby that of Sir F. Head and others, is very pleasant and salubrious.On the hills we have cool breezes—in the valley shelter from cold winds—in[83]the woods, ample shade beneath umbrageous foliage, when the sunis powerful and the heat oppressive.

When the “bad humours” of the spa-going invalids have been washedaway by copious libations at Aix-la-Chapelle, Ems, and Wisbaden—whenthe gouty and misshapen limbs have shrunk into “the lean and slipperedpantaloon,” beneath the powerful influence of the Kochbrunnen, theRagoczy, and the Sprudel—when the purple nose of the alderman hasfaded into the pale proboscis—when the turgid liver, the tumid spleen, andthe over-fed corporation have receded within the normal boundaries of adouble-reefed waistcoat—when the knotty and contracted joints of rheumaticgout have taken their departure, leaving a legacy of the crutches—when—

when tottering palsy has been discharged from Wisbaden and Wildbad, asmuch reduced in general, as recruited in local power—when blighted ambition,wounded pride, ruined fortunes, and corroding cares, have sappedthe energies of mind and body, and marked their impress on the pale andsickly countenance—when the “green and yellow melancholy” of hopelesslove or severed affections wanes to the alabaster hue on the maiden’scheek—thenSchwalbach, with its ruby fountains and sparkling gases,comes to the rescue, and works as many miracles and metamorphoses assteel and carbonic acid can any where effect. The saline spas of Germanyare all of the radical cast. They are qualified to break down and expelthe rotten and decayed parts of the constitution—but they can seldombuild up or repair the vacant spaces. The chalybeate spas, among whichSchwalbach holds a distinguished rank, unite the principles of conservatismand reform. They are calculated to preserve the original constitution,and tore-form those portions that have been pulled down and extrudedby the “mouvement,” or radical waters of the saline class.

In none of the three springs is there more than three-fourths of a grainof iron to the pint—and in the Pauline—the most fashionable one—thereis little more than half a grain; but it contains nearly 40 cubic inches ofcarbonic acid gas to the pint, which, with six grains of carbonate ofsodium, two grains of carbonate of lime, and nearly three grains of magnesia,makes it the most ætherial and aperient of the three sisters. Thewater of the Wein-brunnen is limpid, pleasant to the taste, and sparklinglike champaigne. It is very easy of digestion, even when taken in considerablequantity. Almost immediately after being swallowed, it producesan agreeable warmth in the stomach, and thence diffuses a sensationof comfort, nearly amounting to pleasure, through the whole frame. Itacts gently on the bowels in most cases. It is easily preserved in bottlesfor any length of time.

[84]

The Stahl-brunnen is the greatest favourite with the ladies. It containsabout three-fourths of a grain of iron, and little more than threegrains of other substances in the pint. It is sharper and rougher to thetaste, and has more of the inky gout than either of the other springs. Itis also much more refreshing and exhilarating. The carbonic acid is veryabundant. The waters more nearly resemble Champaigne than the othersources, and quickly diffuse a powerful energy over the whole frame.Formerly these waters caused an eruption on the skin; but they do notso at present.

The Pauline was only discovered in 1828, at a depth of fourteen feet.The quantity it discharges is prodigious. The taste is extremely agreeableand refreshing. It is one of the mildest and purest chalybeates thatis known. It is very easy of digestion, and operates very gently on thebowels. By quickly amalgamating itself with the blood, it is rapidly diffusedthrough every organ and tissue of the body, producing favourablechanges there, and proving a general restorative. The vigor which it inspiresis remarkable from day to day—and the change of complexion frompale to rosy, is equally surprising.

The waters of Schwalbach, generally belong to the class of æthereal orvolatile chalybeates—very agreeable to the palate, and producing a slightand temporary feeling of intoxication. Their chief ingredients are steeland carbonic acid, in such a state of combination as gives the iron a greatefficacy in consequence of its minute solution in the waters.

“At the same time (says Dr. Fenner,) that this spring causes agreeablesensations in the palate and stomach, it excites the muscular fibresand the nerves of the whole alimentary canal, into a state of activity—invigoratesthe circulation—corrects the secretions—increases them whendefective—and gives new vigor to the whole process of digestion andnutrition. In doing this it enlivens the spirits, and imparts tone to theintellectual functions.”

The indications for using the Schwalbach chalybeates, according to thesame authority, are the following:—

1. In atony or debility of the stomach and bowels, whether fromnatural constitution, or from excesses previously committed—whetherisolated from other complaints, or connected with affections of otherorgans, as the liver, spleen, &c. This atony eventuating in difficult,painful, or imperfect digestion, with all its consequences, is remedied bythe waters. It is in these kinds of complaints that the Stahl-brunnen ischiefly employed—“the Wein-brunnen being too strong, and the Paulinetoo volatile.” Strict regimen, in such cases, is indispensible.

2. When the blood is in a watery or deteriorated condition—when it isdeficient in red globules—and consequently not fitted to support the energiesof the muscles, the tone of the nerves, or the functions of the greatorgans of assimilation, secretion, &c. It is in such cases that the chalybeates[85]produce their most brilliant and unequivocally good effects. Females,from the delicacy of their constitutions, the effects of civilization,and certain disorders to which their sex subjects them, are the peculiarvotaries of these springs. Hence those affected with chlorosis—withhæmorrhages—with menorrhagia—hysteria—obstructions, &c. are seenflocking to Schwalbach, there to regain strength, colour, and health.

“Quels que les noms des maladies qui se developpent, ici le maladepeut esperer, avec raison, d’etre gueri. Quelques semaines suffisent souventpour regenerer ses humeurs d’une maniere sensible.”

Although this is the assurance of aSpa Doctor, yet the nature ofthese waters, and the reputation they have obtained, produce a considerabledegree of confidence in the assertion of Dr. Fenner.

3. In great weakness of the nerves, and where their influence is notsufficient to impart energy to the various functions, particularly of chylificationand sanguification, the chalybeates of Schwalbach are said tohave proved eminently serviceable. Dr. Fenner asserts their efficacy inhypochondriasis, hysteria, melancholia, and in partial and complete paralysis.In sterility they have also acquired considerable reputation.

COUNTER-INDICATIONS.

The waters of Schwalbach have limits to their medicinal agency, andare even injurious in many states of disease.

1. In plethoric states of the constitution, accompanied by irritable conditionof the heart and great vessels—in sanguineous temperaments—andin all cases where there is a tendency to local inflammation or generalfever—or even to congestion in any of the organs or tissues of thebody. “High attacks of acute inflammation, of hæmorrhage, and ofapoplexy, have followed the imprudent employment of these chalybeates.”—Fenner.

2. In those cases of indigestion, connected with, or dependent on,organic disease of stomach, liver, spleen, kidneys, or mesenteric glands,these waters would be improper and hurtful.

3. But the chalybeates of Schwalbach are not to be recommended incases where the vital powers aregreatly prostrated—the blood and humoursextremely vitiated—or the nervous system too much shattered.“Those who venture on these waters, under such circumstances, andwhere the constitution is at so low an ebb,—‘trouvent, loin des siens etde leur patrie, une mort certaine et premature.’”—Fenner.

The waters are taken fasting. The best season is the spring and summer.From one to three glasses are prescribed, with a quarter of anhour’s exercise between each glass. After this a light breakfast, wherethe bath is not used.

[86]

THE BATHS.

These are prescribed in the morning, after taking a glass or two of thewaters. They are generally given at a low temperature, such as 90° ofFahrenheit, unless ordered otherwise. They therefore are several degreeslower than the heat of the bather’s blood, and about the same heat as theexternal surface of the body. They feel neither warm nor cold; but it isasserted by Sir F. Head, who used them for some time, that they imparta feeling of invigoration soon after immersion—and “he could almosthave fancied himself lying with a set of hides in a tan-pit.” The sameauthor remarks that they are very apt to produce—“headaches, sleepiness,and other slightly apoplectic symptoms.” He thinks these effectsmust result from not immersing the head as well as the body. In thishe is mistaken. The best way to avoid such consequences is to keepthe head cool—and the atmosphere of the bath is and must be many degreesbelow that of the water. The bare head will therefore be coolerout of the bath than in it. But the fact is, that the symptoms above-mentionedare not seldom apt to occur in all tepid and warm baths, fromthe action of the waters on the nervous and vascular systems of the surface,producing an excitement and determination to the brain. Theyshould be taken as warnings, and not be trifled with.

Upon the whole, the waters of Schwalbach, from what I could learnon the spot, and from those who have prescribed them, and used them,are very useful and mild chalybeates, which may be considered as a kindof “finish,” after the powerful alterative waters of Wisbaden, and thestrong alkaline waters of Ems;—always remembering thatSchlangenbadis to give apolish to the surface at the end of the process.

GERMAN SOCIETY AND MANNERS.

There are few places where a stranger can have a better coup-d’œil ofGerman habits and manners, than at thespas; where all ranks and classes,from the prince to the peasant, are jumbled together, without ever jostlingeach other. They drink together, bathe together, walk together, talktogether, smoke together, joke together, dine together, muse together,sup together—and, then go to bed, all with the greatest decorum, quietude,civility—and I may add, ceremony.

“The company,” says Sir F. Head, “which comes to the brunnens forhealth, and which daily assembles at dinner, is of a most heterogeneousdescription, being composed of princes, dukes, barons, counts, &c. downto the petty shop-keeper, and even the Jew of Frankfort, Mainz, and otherneighbouring towns; in short, all the most jarring elements of society,at the same moment, enter the same room, to partake together, the sameone shilling and eight-penny dinner—still, all those invaluable forms of[87]society which connect the guests of any private individual were moststrictly observed; and, from the natural good sense and breeding in thecountry, this happy combination was apparently effected without anyeffort. No one seemed to be under any restraint, yet there was no freezingformality at one end of the table, nor rude boisterous mirth at the other.With as honest good appetites as could belong to any set of people underthe sun, I particularly remarked that there was no scrambling for favouritedishes;—to be sure, here and there, an eye was seen twinkling a littlebrighter than usual, as it watched the progress of any approaching dishwhich appeared to be unusually sour or greasy, but there was no greediness,no impatience, and nothing which seemed for a single moment tointerrupt the general harmony of the scene; and, though I scarcely hearda syllable of the buzz of conversation which surrounded me; althoughevery moment I felt less and less disposed to attempt to eat what for sometime had gradually been coagulating in my plate; yet, leaning back in mychair, I certainly did derive very great pleasure, and I hope a very rationalenjoyment, in looking upon so pleasing a picture of civilized life.”

It must be candidly confessed that this scene, which is every where thesame, exhibits a striking contrast to spa-society in England, where eachclass forms a clique that repels its neighbour, as one electrified ball repelsanother. It is therefore highly desirable that thecause of this happy concordancethroughout the whole chain of society on the Continent, shouldbe ascertained, in order, if possible, to introduce it into our own country.Sir F. Head seems to attribute it to a high degree ofcivilization or refinement.“I fear it cannot be denied that we islanders are very far frombeing as highly polished as our continental neighbours.” If civilizationconsist incivility, I admit the truth of this assertion. But a Gentoo iseven morecivil than a German—and a Chinese is more ceremonious thaneither—yet we do not place the Hindoo or the Hong at the very top ofthe tree of civilization.

But I apprehend that this harmonious amalgamation of all ranks andclasses in Germany is not to be traced to one, but to several causes. Iwould attempt to account for the phenomenon by one, or more, or all ofthe following circumstances.

1. Natural disposition.—2. Education, inducing habit.—3. Comparativepaucity of trade, commerce, and manufactures.—4. Government.

1. We see peculiarities in the natural dispositions of nations, as wellas of men. Some evince a disposition to music, another to arms, a thirdto navigation, a fourth to agriculture, a fifth to commerce, &c. The Germansmay have a natural disposition to order, quietude, and politeness.Of this I am by no means sure.

2. What is man, individually or collectively, but the creature of thosecircumstances in which he is placed?—of the elements around him—ofthe education impressed on him—of the religion within his breast—of the[88]examples before his eyes? In all the lauded and laudable traits of characterdelineated by Sir. F. Head, the German has been trained from hisinfancy—and from these he has neither inducement nor inclination todeviate.

3. The third circumstance I consider to be very operative. The struggles,the collisions, the jealousies—the host of evil and of excitingpassions, which agitate a commercial, trading, maritime, and manufacturingcountry like England, have, comparatively, no field in Germany;where life is far more allied to agricultural and pastoral, than to commercialand manufacturing pursuits. There is as much difference betweenthe Germans and the English, generally, as between the peasantry ofLincolnshire and the mechanics of Birmingham—between the chaw-baconsof Hampshire, and the black and white devils of Merthyr-Tidvill andSheffield.

4.Government.—I attribute no small share to this class of influentialcauses in modifying the manners of a nation. In absolute monarchies,where the will of the sovereign is the law of the people, thelatter are notlikely to be so frisky, boisterous, and turbulent, as under a limited andconstitutional government, inclining to democracy, where the vox populiis not seldom the vox Dei—and where—

On another occasion I shall allude to the minuteness with which theGerman governments regulate the most trifling concerns of life, whenmentioning that a passenger in a public diligence is forbidden to move fromthe seat allotted to him, to the next vacant one at his side, without permissionfrom the post-master of the first town at which the conveyancestops! In such countries would the Age, the Satirist, or even theTimesbe long allowed to take liberties with crowned heads, courts, or ministers?No verily! Their tongues would soon be as smooth, and civil and ceremonious,as those of the crowds of spa-drinkers around the Wein-Brunnenof Schwalbach![25]

Whether the state of things on the South side of the Channel be betteror worse than that on the North, I presume not to say. Davus sum, non[89]Œdipus. But I think I have proved that, while these differences exist, themanners and habits of Germany are not likely to blend or amalgamatewith those of England. Nothing, I think, would produce this fusion ofthe two people, except some strange geographical revolution that mightconvert the British Isles into a small appendix to the Continent; without“ships, colonies, or commerce”—without iron mines or coal mines—withoutcotton or cutlery—without fisheries or factories—without steam-enginesor printing-presses—but above all, without that great national or normalschool of agitation—theParliament—where deputies learn to “speakdaggers,” and chartists are encouraged to make pikes—where orations aredirected not to the ears of theCommons, but to the eyes of theConstituents—wherethe campaign is opened with a speech recommending concord;carried on with speeches full of discord; and concluded with aspeech of gracious accord—finally, where multiplicity ofmotion in thebeginning is synonymous with paucity ofaction in the end. When allthese incentives to turbulence shall have vanished, and also when Englishstomachs shall prefer sour krout and rancid oil to roast beef and brownstout, then, and not till then, may Sir Francis hope to see his favouriteGermanpolish and Gallicvarnish lacquering over the rough manners ofhis native Isle.

HEIDELBERG.

Many a time have I dragged my weary limbs up the series of steepterraces that lead to the old red Castle of Heidelberg. Not being able tofeign ecstasies which I do not feel, I fear I shall give great offence to thosesentimental tourists who discover in this town, castle, and surmountinghills, romantic views and picturesque beauties of the first order. Upon this,as upon all other occasions, I appeal to the unbiassed feelings of the travellerhimself. The mouldering ruins of the Red Castle have something aboutthem too modern for antiquity, and too antiquated for the modern. I amunable to give anyarchitectural explanation of this impression—unless itbe the following:

The view from the Castle, and from the Botanical Garden above it, overthe alluvial plain that stretches to the Rhine, and embracing the countryto the West of that river, is interesting, but neither striking nor romantic.The tinyNeckar, that meanders along its rocky bed, in the travellingseason, excites our apprehensions lest it should fare the fate of the Arethusa,and disappear altogether. When heavy rains descend among themountains of the Black Forest however, it makes up for its torpidity in thedry weather, and thunders past Heidelberg in great foam and fury.

[90]

In rambling through the streets of Heidelberg, whose University is oneof the crack seminaries in Germany, we cannot help recognizing the students,although deprived of their red caps and long hair, by order of Government.They have a semi-academic, semi-barbarous,—or, perhaps,more properly speaking, a semi-ruminating, semi-fumigating appearance,not very distantly allied to the revolutionary or bandittal.

The German students of this and other Universities having ineffectuallyendeavoured to regenerate—id est—to revolutionize their country,were put under theban of Austria and Prussia, a procedure which verycompletely secured them against doing any mischief—to the State. Thuscramped in their generous and patriotic enterprize to involve society inwar, they formed societies for warring among themselves, called theverbondungs,or congresses, for regulating, arranging, and conducting duels!!The following graphic description of one of these fights, was drawn up onthe scene of action, in November 1839, by an eye-witness.

“On Wednesday last, as I took my customary walk after dinner, a friendcame up to me, and told me that he perceived by various circumstancesthat a ‘lorgehen’ was about to take place. He pointed out to me a mansauntering lazily along the bridge, with a basket slung over his shoulder,and who stopped at every minute to look down into the water, or watch abarge dragged with difficulty against the stream by its single horse. Anold woman sat at the corner of a house, a short distance up the river, ina position which commanded a view of the bridge and the road from thetown, and a man pushed a boat about objectless in the middle of the river.These, to the initiated eye, gave certain evidence of what was going on;these persons being all employed in watching, that an alarm may be givenin case of the police gaining information of the affair. We walked forsome distance up the right bank of the Neckar, till we arrived at theopening of a mountain gorge, down which a small stream rushed impetuously,and from which a girl was apparently filling her pails. We ascendedthis pass for a short distance till we arrived at a dirty, dilapidated house,which my companion pointed out as the scene of these disgraceful combats.We ascended to the door of the beer-shop by a flight of brokensteps, and passed through a passage into a yard, where two men weregrinding, to the highest pitch of sharpness, a long, thin, basket-handledrapier; the blade resembled, in shape and sharpness, two blades of a pen-knifeplaced back to back. In a few minutes we mounted to the firstfloor, and traversing a low room set out with tables and benches for refreshment,passed into a lofty and spacious saloon, without furniture ofany sort, but a few forms placed against the walls, and a table with towelsand a basin of water, in one corner. In the opposite corner of the room,at about four yards apart, were marked upon the floor two letters in chalk;these, the initials of the verbondungs to which the combatants belonged,marked the position of the fighters. A few students stood listlessly about,[91]smoking or talking in whispers. A man entered, and threw down nearthe scene of action a bundle of swords, a huge, thickly stuffed glove,reaching to the shoulder, and a piece of matting resembling a mattress, tobe tied round the middle of the second, to guard against chance thrusts.Thus some minutes passed, till at length one of the gladiators themselvesappeared. He was a short, but strongly and beautifully proportioned youngman, having a pleasing countenance, with a thin silky moustache, and longglossy, black hair, reaching far below his cap, which was drawn closelyover his eyes, and bore the colours of his club. His body, from the chestdownwards, was enveloped in a thickly stuffed leather apron, imperviousto every blow, but slashed and stained in a hundred places from the effectsof former contests. The neck was covered also with a thick defence,above which he could hardly lift his chin. Lastly, his right arm was bandaged,and wrapped so carefully with paddings, that it was necessary tohave a person to support it until the moment of fighting. The body wasonly covered by a ragged and dirt-soiled shirt. Thus equipped, with hissword-arm resting on the neck of a companion, the little hero began towalk up and down the room to promote circulation and to exercise thelimbs. In a few minutes his antagonist entered, habited in the samemanner, his cap decked with his peculiar colour, resting his arm likewiseon a friend. He was a tall and handsome youth, his face was pale asdeath, but his step was firm as he paced the saloon for the same purpose asthe other. At this minute not a sound was heard but the tramping of thetwo combatants and their seconds as they passed and repassed each otherwithout the slightest regard. Neither of them spoke a word, and theseconds but seldom addressed to them in a whisper some sentence of adviceor caution. Presently a movement was observed towards the approachingscene of action; the few and almost indifferent spectators drewround, and a chair was placed within, beside which the judge stood tomark the number of the rounds. The combatants were led to their respectiveposts, their right arms extended, holding their rapiers in hand, andresting still on the arm of a friend. The seconds planted themselves attheir left side, equipped in their defensive trappings, and holding abovetheir heads a blunted sword. ‘Silentium!’ exclaimed the judge. Thequiet which reigned before became instantly doubly quiet. One secondcried aloud, ‘Verbindite Kling’ (‘fasten blades’ literally), placing at thesame time, the point of his mock weapon a little in advance of his principal,the other doing likewise. ‘Los’ instantly followed, and the glitteringswords of the two gladiators were crossed for battle. A moment theylooked at one another, then their blades flashed in the air, a blow wasstruck and parried, and the seconds struck their arms up with a cry of‘Halt!’ The heavy sword arm was again rested on the attendants, and amoment’s pause ensued. ‘Silentium!’ repeated the judge, and anotherround began. Whenever a blow was aimed, whether it took effect or not,[92]the seconds interfered, and the round was ended. Thus they continuedthrough twenty-two onsets without pause, except to replace a broken blade,or for a fresh cap on the head of the combatants. The latter of the twowas a wary swordsman, who had fought frequently before. He watchedcautiously the movement of his adversary, and, whenever his stroke failed,made a quick and well-directed blow at his head. He, though it was hisfirst battle, guarded well: but at length the blade of his opponent passedlike lightning through his cap, and inflicted an awful wound on his head.A large space was laid bare, and his whole person deluged in blood: hislong thick hair hung matted and discoloured over his shoulders. In a fewmoments, however, he retaliated fully upon his antagonist, his face waslaid open from the ear to the nose, effectually marking him for life. In all, fivewounds were given, three of which the smaller of the two received, having,besides that on the head, one under the right arm and one under the ear;the other had also a gash under the ear. In about twenty minutes thenumber of onsets was completed; the combatants retired, their paddingwas taken off, and the worst part of the affair began—namely, the sewingup of the wounds. Here they are in the habit (as if to punish as much aspossible the folly of these duels) ofsewing up even comparatively triflingwounds, so that the mark is seen certainly for years after its infliction.The tall man in a short time was able to walk home; the other, however,was compelled to have a carriage, so weak had he become from loss ofblood. This, I must tell you, was an unusually bloody combat, as in twoothers, which I saw immediately after, not a single wound was given. Theaverage number of duels taking place daily is seven: the consequence is,that every third man you meet in the street has a gash across his face.”

Bad as is British pugilism, it is exceeded in atrocity by this barbaroussystem of German duelism. What says the government to it? Virtuallyand literally this:—“you are naughty boys, and deserve to be punishedfor thus hacking and carving each other; but, as paternal solicitude forthe happiness of our loving subjects is our ruling principle, we will—pensiona surgeon to sew up your wounds. There, now, be gone—but mind,young gentlemen! nopolitical discussion in your verbondungs! If youare ever caught atthat, perpetual incarceration will be your lot!” This isliterally the fact. The state not only winks at this Gothic war among thestudents, but pays a state surgeon for attending the wounded![26]

The parents of youths going to universities of all kinds, have somereason for anxiety—if they knew all:—but theverbondungs of Germanyare a disgrace to civilized Europe!

[93]

BADEN-BADEN.

Along almost the whole way from Wisbaden to Baden-Baden, we haveBelgium on our right, and Devonshire on our left. The road, whichgenerally skirts the bases of the undulating hills to the eastward, hashardly a rise or fall, the alluvial and fertile plain stretching away tothe Rhine, till the mountains of Alsace arrest the attention on the westernbank of that river. The whole space between the hills and the river,was, indisputably, a lake, at some remote period, drained by the breakingdown of some obstruction to the stream—probably in the vicinity of thepresent Lurley-rocks.

Five or six miles from Rastadt and the Rhine, embosomed in a narrowdell, and encircled by steep and wooded hills, lies the far-famedBaden-Baden.The comparative localities of Wisbaden and this place, might beimagined by supposing the former to be a saucer, and the latter an egg-cup.And yet the air of Baden, though in an egg-cup, is fresher if notpurer, than that of its celebrated rival of Nassau, where there are noeminences of any altitude within some miles of the town. It is true thatthe thermal springs of Wisbaden are a few degrees higher in temperaturethan those of Baden, but this is quite insufficient to account for the differenceof atmosphere.

A very few visits to the wells in the morning, the hells in the evening,and the hotels in the middle of the day, will convince any observanttraveller that three-fourths of the sojourners at Baden, go there to drinkwine rather than water—and to lose money, rather than regain health.

The thermal springs here are of great antiquity. They served to scourthe Roman legions stationed at Baden, in the days of Aurelian, as theynow do to scald the pigs and poultry of the butchers and poulterers of thesame place. The far-famed Ursprung issues from the ruins of an oldRoman structure on the side of a hill overlooking the town, at a temperatureof 154 degrees of Fahrenheit, and in quantities sufficient towash and drench the whole town, visitors and all. The water is translucid,and tastes much less either of the chickens or salt, than its contemporaryof the Kochbrunnen at Wisbaden. It has, however, especiallyin the baths, a very faint odour of bear’s grease, or green fat, which Ihave noticed when speaking of the Kochbrunnen. The whole of thesolid contents in a pint of the water, are only about 24 grains, of whichcommon salt makes 16 grains, the other ingredients being chiefly lime, indifferent combinations with sulphuric, muriatic, and carbonic acids. Thereis just iron enough for the chemists to swear by—but not for the drinkersto distinguish by taste.

Whatever mayhave been the reputation of the Baden waters, takeninternally, I apprehend that their fame is not very great in the presentday. On several successive mornings, between five and eight o’clock, at[94]the Ursprung, I never could muster more than 130 bibbers—many ofwhom appeared to have been attracted to the Paleotechnicon from curiosityrather than in search of health. Except occasionally a fashionablelady’s-maid, or governess, no English were seen at the spring. Thewaters being led, however, into all the principal hotels, where there arebaignoires in abundance, the number of bathers outstrip very considerablythe number of bibbers. Although the waters of Baden are neitherso potent when drunk, nor so stimulant when bathed in, as those of Wisbadenand many other places, yet they manage to do a fair proportion ofthe annual mischief occasioned by hot mineral springs in general. Thermalspas and quack doctors, indeed, have more good luck than usuallyfalls to the lot of men and things. They completely reverse the order ofevents in the moral world. Their good actions are graven onbrass—theirevil deeds are written inwater. Unless some illustrious character receivehis quietus in a hot bath—as the Duke of Nassau did at Kissengen—

we seldom hear a word about the inferior souls who are deprived of theirterrestrial tenements by the boiling Kochbrunnen, Ursprung, or Sprudel.And, when a great man actually falls a sacrifice, sufficient mischief is donebefore his death, by his example and recommendation. It is well knownthat the Duke of Nassau’s preference of the Kissengen waters to those ofhis own Wisbaden, drew many illustrious patients to the former springs,who would have been contented with the latter. That the hot mineralbaths produce a powerful effect even in health, and still more in disease,we have ample proofs. We need only take the testimony of my friendDr. Granville himself, who will not be suspected of any prejudice or timidityin respect to these agents. “One of the first effects of the hot waterbath at Baden (and I may say the same of Toplitz, Carlsbad, Wisbaden,&c.) produced on me, was an almost irresistible inclination to fall asleep.To resist this is of the utmost consequence.” “The operation of bathingin water endowed with much power, from heat and other circumstances,is not to be viewed lightly. Much mischief has arisen—nay, fatal resultshave followed, from its indiscriminate adoption. A rich merchant, who,but a few hours before, had been noticed on the public promenade afterdinner, on the day after our arrival, was found dead in a bath at 8 o’clockof the same evening. A lady was pointed out to me, who had lost theuse of her limbs after using three hot baths.”

The injurious effects of hot baths, even of common water, are dailywitnessed at home—and these agents are still more powerful abroad. Theirphysiological effects on the normal or healthy constitution, as mentionedabove, by Dr. Granville, I certainly did not experience in my own person;but this might be from the thickness of my skull, the hardness of my brain,or the weakness of my circulation. The sensations produced by these[95]baths were always of the most pleasant kind, with far more disposition toruminate than to sleep. In these effects, indeed, consists much of thedanger. There are few diseases, however unsuited for hot bathing, thatdo not appear to be soothed or mitigated, at first, by this agent—and thisapparent relief throws the practitioner off his guard, and leads the patientto extol the remedy, and persevere in the hazardous experiment, till themischief actually occurs. There is, in truth, much less danger from improperdrinking of mineral waters, than bathing in the same. The stomachor other organs are pretty sure to give ample notice of approachinginjury from the imprudent use of mineral waters internally taken. Notso in the case of bathing. While the train of destruction is preparing—nay,at the moment when the match is applied to the train, the victim islulled into a fatal security, not only by the absence of painful feelings,but by the positive induction of sensations the most pleasurable.

It is unnecessary to reiterate the precautions already stated in otherplaces, as to the use of warm and hot bathing here. Rheumatic, gouty,paralytic, and cutaneous affections are those which can reap much benefitfrom theUrsprung—and, in these cases, all inflammatory and congestivestates of the constitution, as well as of particular organs, should be carefullyremoved, before the waters are used, either internally or externally.

It would be easy to resuscitate ample testimonies, lay and professional,to themiraculous efficacy of theBaden springs, in all diseases, curableand incurable. An attendance among the fragments of antiquity roundthe Ursprung must convince the most credulous thatBaden, as I saidbefore, is not the Pool of Bethesda, as far as its healing virtues are concerned,though its waters are daily “troubled” by angels somewhat differentfrom those that descended, for benevolent purposes, near the HolyCity.Baden is, in fine, neither more nor less than a fashionable place ofpleasure, dissipation, vice, and gambling—abounding in hot-baths, hells,hotels, scandal, and good scenery.

The last item in the above list has been most grossly exaggerated, asany one will acknowledge who has visited the place and compared itsscenery with the following bombast.

“The surpassinggrandeur of the scenery has been so constantly dweltupon, that the hopeless task of description is unnecessary. Should youlove all that isawful, sombre, wild, andgrand in scenery, wander buthalfa mile from town, and you may be lost amid the dark valleys that windthrough the pine-covered mountains.”—Mrs. Trollope.

Now I most positively deny that there is anything either grand, orawful, or sublime, in the scenery of Baden. The valley is picturesque,romantic, or even beautiful—and the view from the ruins of the old castle(rather more than half-a-mile, by the way, from the town) is extensiveand very fine; but the sublime and the awful do not enter into the compositionof Baden scenery. You must wander among the Alps for these.

[96]

Lest I should be suspected of taking a cynical view of Baden-Baden,I shall adduce the following quotations from Dr. Granville.

“Here men, as well as women, took their places at, or stood round,the several tables of “roulette” and “rouge-et-noir,” which werein full play. One only remark I will venture to make in reference to thissubject—and that remark will be an expression of deep sorrow, at havingobserved the daughters of Englishmen, to all appearance highly respectable,joining the circle of such as pressed round the tables, to stake theirpetite pieces, and be elbowed by some rude fellow-gambler, who had probablyas little character as he had money to lose.”

I am happy to say that in the interval between 1834 and 1839, whenI last visited Baden, some improvement seemed to have taken place inthis respect, especially among our fair countrywomen. I saw very few ofthem in the act of gambling, but the sight of such scenes—during thewhole of the Sabbath day—is most injurious to our youth of both sexes!I cannot say so much for the balls in the evening. They are the samenow as when Dr. Granville wrote.

“Away whirled the galoppe-dancers in giddy circles, until the verybreathing of the fair partners became audible, and their countenances lostall traces of placid loveliness. And the rude grasp andétroite liaison,during such dances—do they become the modest nature of an Englishwoman—orof any woman? Oh, it grieved me to see the graceful—elancé—andexquisitely elegant Mrs. M——, at the slightest invitationfrom a booted hussar, or an embroideredattaché, or a disguisedvaurien of the lowest class, plunge with them into all the attitudes,now violent, and now languishing, of a dance better suited for bacchanalianor Andalusian representation! And she bore on her alabaster and[98]shining cheek, the deep round flush of consumption, which parched herlips, and made her fly, at the termination of each performance, to the refreshment-roomwith her partner—there to quench, with perilous experiment,the inward fever, by an ice dissolved in freezing water; while thebig drops of moisture stood on her forehead, or trickled down her face,increasing the general disorder of her appearance.”

Yes! Theroulette and thewaltz are the veritable “normal schoolsofagitation” for the sons and daughters of the nobility and gentry of the—happy,pious, and Protestant England!

WILDBAD,
OR THE ELYSIAN FOUNTAIN OF THE BLACK FOREST.

The glowing description of this mineral spring, and the all but magicaleffects of its baths on the human frame, as given by Dr. Granville, haveled hundreds of additional visitors to the sequestered valley of the Enz—somein quest of health, but many to satisfy curiosity, and test the picturewhich has been drawn in such flattering colours by the talented author ofthe “Spas of Germany.” The difficulties, however, which Dr. Granvilleexperienced in his journey from Baden-Baden to Wildbad, must havedeterred a great number of spa-tourists from visiting the Elysian fountainof the Black Forest. The journey occupied thirty hours, including onewhole night on the road. We accomplished it in eight hours, by an excellentroad, with the same pair of horses, and with ample leisure to lunchand rest midway. This route lies through some of the most beautiful,picturesque, and romantic scenery on the Continent. It is only thirtyEnglish miles, six or seven of which Dr. Granville pursued, when by somestrange intelligence or mistake, he turned to theright, at Guernsbach,and wentwrong all the rest of the way.

Sick of the frivolities and dissipations of Baden-Baden, we started ateight o’clock in the morning for Wildbad; and, wending our course up asteep acclivity, everywhere covered with pines, we passed theMercuriusBerg, with its altar dedicated to the god of thieves—

just as the Romans had left it, together with the frowning ruins of Eberstein,where thievery rose to the rank of robbery, and was christenedunder the high-sounding title ofFeudalism! The higher we ascended,the denser became the woods, and the darker the road. There is somethingpeculiarly sombre and solemn in the pineries of the Schwartswald,through many parts of which I had formerly journeyed. The vast extentof the forest, the great number and altitude of the hills and mountains,the gigantic growth and height of the trees, the darkness of the foliage,and the intensity of the silence, occasionally augmented rather than[99]broken by the distant and scarcely audible stroke of the woodman’saxe, all combine to form a scene of solitude well adapted for contemplationand reflection.

After an hour’s labour, we gained an open space, when the eye has anopportunity of ranging over a sea of peaks and mountains to the Southand East, all clothed in the dark green livery of the pine to their utmostsummits. To the North and West the prospect was nearly as unlimited asfrom the Alte-Schloss, from Radstad and the Rhine up the valley of theMourg to Guernsbach, which seemed like a white speck on the river at aprodigious depth below us. Down to this little town we cautiously slid,with drags on the wheels, winding in serpentine courses, often along thebrinks of dangerous ravines, but every little vale or valley cultivated tillthe forest forbad the plough, the spade, and the scythe. The little town ofGuernsbach, built on both sides of the Mourg, with a good bridge across,contains nearly two thousand inhabitants—almost all of whom liveby theproduce of the mountains, and a good number of the poorer classesin thewoods themselves. Here the raftlets and rafts are seen descending to theRhine, afterwards to aggregate into flotillas carrying hundreds of rowers,steerers, and navigators,—and conveying the Black Forest into the flats ofHolland. But a little farther on, I shall take more notice of this immensetraffic and source of wealth. The Castle of Eberstein and the churchcrown the heights over the town. Here Dr. Granville, instead of crossingthe bridge, turned up along the banks of the Mourg, and had to go all theway to Stuttgardt, on his way to Wildbad.

From Guernsbach we ascended another lofty mountain to the romanticvillage of Laffenau. The prospect of the valley of the Mourg, withGuernsbach on its banks, and a sea of pine-clad heights in every direction,is most beautiful. Near Laffenau we have the “Teufels Muhle,” orDevil’s Mill, with its legendary tale—briefly as follows:—

ThePrince of Darkness took it into his head, once on a time, toturn parson, and to preach from a chair or pulpit, still called by the nameof that right reverend divine. His audience became more numerous thanenlightened, when an angel, from quite a different quarter, pitched his tenton a neighbouring peak, and held forth in opposition to the man in black.The eloquence of the new preacher drew away great numbers from the old.Satan, in hopes of disturbing the congregation of his rival, vented his ragein some caverns in the rock, and in growls and groans that resembledthunder. But still the audience of the new preacher multiplied. Thiswas more than any preacher, human or divine, could bear; and the oldgentleman forthwith built himself a mill, the noise of which, together withthediabolical hootings, yells, and howlings of the miller and his men, hehoped would distract the audience of the orthodox ecclesiastic. Even thiswould not do, and his reverence of the cloven foot and long tail betookhimself from words to things. He hurled masses of rock across the valley[100]against the successful candidate for popular applause, with as much easeas a man would pitch quoits. This was “too bad;” and therefore a boltfrom Heaven was directed against this teacher of impieties which demolishedthe mill, and prostrated the miller and his crew amongst the ruins!The disturber of the peace fell with such force among the rocks that theprint of his body remains evident to the present hour.

The legend concludes with one piece of intelligence, to the truth ofwhich most people will assent: namely, that after the above event, thearch enemy has seldom ventured to hold forth from the pulpit,in propriapersona, but has employed a great number of emissaries in human shape,who disseminate among mankind, and some of themex cathedra, too, those“false doctrines, heresies, and schisms,” which scandalize the church andcause dissensions among the people.

With the exception of a few miles, the whole route from Baden-Badento Nuenburg, is a series of steep mountains and narrow valleys, presentingthe greatest variety of scenery, from the picturesque and beautiful, upto the romantic, wild, and savage character. A thunder-storm, with heavyrain the preceding night—and now a beautiful day, with brilliant sun, gaveus every advantage; while the mountain air, with active and passive exercisein alternation, produced, at once, sensations of health and hunger, solittle felt in the close and deep valley of dissipation which we had leftbehind us at Baden.

SCHWEIN-GENERAL.

It was on the summit of a lofty mountain between Laffenau and Herrenalb,that we fell in with one of those generals, or, I should rather say,field-marshals, (immortalized by the “Old Man of the Brunnens”) who,with three or four aid-de-camps, was marching and manœuvering a“swinish multitude” of raw recruits among these alpine heights. Theywere evidently less a fighting than a foraging party, levying contributionson every thing edible in these sombre pineries. It was also manifest that,whether from the morning air or the supperless night, they were by nomeans over nice, either in their olfactory or gustatory senses; for nothingseemed to come amiss to them, or to prove unsavoury or indigestible. Butalthough provender turned up at almost every step, they were a grumblingand grunting, as well as an awkward squad, and so prone to predatory excursions,that the schwein-general and his staff were constantly floggingthem into the regular ranks. Their long legs and lank sides shewed thattheir fare was not of the most fattening nature—or, that they had littleelse than predatory rations to live upon. They had been called out earlythat morning, by bugle and horn, from their various bivouacs in Laffenau,[101]with more appetite than order, for their mountain drill. The general (orfield-marshal) with his aid-de-camps, and some vigilant videttes, of thecanine species, had no small difficulty in compelling their guerilla corps ofmaurauders to keep “close order;” for they were constantly deploying tothe right and to the left—shooting a-head—or straggling in the rear, despitethe proclamations of the general, the stripes of the subalterns, and the bitingrebuffs of the quadrupeds, who, ever and anon,lugged back into the rankssome long-faced and bleeding deserter, amid the grunts and groans of hissympathising companions, on whom, however, these summary sentences ofa drum-head, or rather mountain-head, court-martial appeared to makebut a transient impression.

On taking leave of General Swein, I could not help making some“odious comparisons” between him and some other generals, “meliorisnotæ,” in various parts, and at various epochs of this world.He did not,like too many of his order, lay villages in ashes, and massacre the inhabitantswhen rushing from the flames—or deliver their wives and daughtersto the tender mercies of an enfuriate soldiery—he did not murder hisprisoners in cool blood, by nailing them to trees, as marks for an undisciplinedrabble of fanatic banditti to exercise their muskets—he did not dragcitizens of a free state from their homes, and consign them to the minesand wilds of Hyperborean regions—he did not mock the forms ofHeavenlyjustice, and slaughter the victims of his ambition or revenge in thefosse or on the glacis—he did not turn the fertile district into a frightfuldesert, as the effectual means of ensuring peace—(“ubi solitudinem faciunt,pacem vocant”)—he did not perform these or any similar exploits,and,therefore, he has had no pious advocate to justify his crimes, or impartialhistorian to record his virtues!

Descending by a long and zig-zag road from the Swine-General’s camp,we arrive atHerrenalb, situated in a romantic glen, enclosed by loftymountains. Here we lunched, and rested our horses, who certainly hadbetter fare than their masters. Black bread, bad butter, hard eggs, andchopped hay for tea, were devoured without grumbling, in consequenceof the canine appetite acquired on the alpine heights. On leavingHerrenalb, we pass on our left, one of the most singular and fantasticgroups of basaltic rocks which I have anywhere seen. They appear likea gigantic fortress, with buttresses and embrasures. A traveller has remarkedof these productions of subterranean fire, that—“on croirait qu’uneimagination fantastique a presidé a leur formation.” They probably issuedfrom a deep-seated volcano, in the form of molten lava, at the time whenStaffa and the Giant’s Causeway rose from the bowels of the earth, andcongealed in pillars on the shores of Antrim and Argyll.

From these “fragments of an earlier world,” these real monuments ofantiquity, compared with which, the Pyramids of Egypt are as mushroomsof yesterday, and whose rugged brows the rains and tempests of tenthousand years have not yet smoothed, we ascended to a great height, andreached a comparatively open and partially cultivated country, betweenFrauenalb on the left, andRothensal on the right. This alpineplateau continued for six or seven miles—the prospect towards the Northand West being of great extent, over a fine champaigne country which,from this altitude, appeared like an immense plain. The South and Eastpresented a vast sea of mighty mountains, the insurgent billows of whichwere feathered with perennial forests. After doubling the North-westernextremity of a high alpine ridge, we turned short round to the right—plungedinto a deep wood—and descended quickly by a precipitous routeto the town ofNuenburg, situated on the foaming Enz, in a narrow andgloomy valley. Here we got black bread and water for the horses, andSeltzer water with wine for ourselves. While the horses were resting,we scrambled up to the ancient chateau, now occupied by the foresters.From this there is a good view of the valley of the Enz, for a few milesabove and below the town. The valley is here not more than five or sixhundred yards broad at the bottom, with the river in the centre, and thepine mountains rising abruptly on both sides. We had now about eightmiles to Wildbad, close along the right bank of the river, and consequentlywith only a gentle ascent the whole way.

The valley of Wildbad, between Nuenburg and the town of Wildbad,is about 1400 feet above the level of the sea—and the mountains on eachside about 1500 above the river. It resembles a good deal theValléed’Enfer, well known to most travellers. There is but a narrow border ofcultivated ground on each side of the Enz—in some places not exceedingtwo or three hundred yards—in others, creeping up the steep acclivitiesnearly a quarter of a mile. Hay, corn, and potatoes are the chief productionsof the valley. The pine occupies every slope not cultivated; theforest, on each side, presenting a serrated border, the salient angles sometimescoming nearly down to the banks of the stream—the interspacesbeing occupied with potatoes or some culinary vegetable. But the Enzitself presents more bustle and activity than its banks. Small and precipitousas is the torrent, it is made to carry the mountains—or at leasttheir forests, on its slender back. The flotteurs or rafters are a race andcraft distinct from the wood-cutters, who hew the trees in the mountains,and hurl them down their steep sides to the river. The Enz falls 370 feetin the short distance of nine miles between Wildbad and Nuenburg, and[103]yet they manage to float down numerous rafts, or rather raftlets, two orthree hundred feet in length, along this trajet. The method is simplebut ingenious. At convenient distances, dikes or dams are run diagonallyacross the stream, with a sluice or flood-gate in the centre. When thegate is shut, the back-water accumulates so as to float the raft from thenext dam higher up. The rafts are narrow, but very long and jointed.When one, two, or more have arrived at the dam, the head of the raft isbrought close to the sluice—the gate is opened—and away darts the raft,with a loud noise and fracas—dashing against the rocks—each joint, asit passes over the dam, rising up like the dorsal fin of a huge whale rollingabout in the sea. In this way they are conveyed from the mountainsto the Rhine—the raftlets augmenting in breadth, or number of trees, inproportion as the stream augments and enlarges into a river. As everymountain must have a valley, so every valley must have a rivulet. Howeversmall the stream, it can be dammed so as to float one tree at a time—andwhen contributary streamlets from the mountains enlarge the parentstream, the raftlets increase in size also. Thus the main wealth ofWildbad is constantly floating down the Enz, consigned to distant countries,but leaving profit for the merchant, and affording employment forthousands and thousands of the industrious poor. The raftlets growninto rafts, having arrived at the Rhine, change hands, and the localboucherons, or floaters, return to their native valleys to renew their laboursfrom spring till the approach of winter. The aggregated rafts now becomeflotillas, capable of bearing an army on their backs, and actuallyinhabited by four or five hundred—not seamen but raftmen, while theyglide down the majestic stream of the Rhine.

Let us see whether this animated scene of industry, hilarity, and wealthhas any back-ground to the picture—any alloy to the pure metal. Manya gaudy tissue, embroidered robe, and sparkling gem, has been producedby sordid hands, amidst penury, disease, and despair! The wood-cutterof the Black Forest mountains leads a gloomy and miserable life. Hislabour is eternally the same—affording no food or reflection for the mind—theworkmen being secluded in dark and dreary forests for days, weeks,and months, without any communication with their families; while theirchildren are entirely neglected, as far as education is concerned! Theyare, as it were, cut off from human society—become morose, taciturn,melancholic—or even misanthropic. What is worse, they are frequentlybrought home maimed, lamed, or stricken with some dangerous or fataldisease! They almost always die prematurely. Yet the facility of gaininga livelihood by cutting and floating wood, leaves very few inhabitantsof this valley inclined to pursue any mechanical occupation. The trees,when felled and the branches lopped off, are dragged in traineaus to theedges of the declivities, from whence they descend along cleared tracks,or a kind of wooden tunnel, by their own weight, to the vicinity of the[104]river. A little field of potatoes—a wooden hut—a couple of goats to feedthe children—and a pig to be killed at Christmas—constitute the wholeriches of the woodman, whether of mountain or valley.

After a very pleasant drive of nine miles along the right bank of the Enz,we came suddenly upon the little town of Wildbad, now celebrated forthe divine effects of its baths on the human frame. The town contains279 inhabited houses, and 115 buildings of other kinds. It is nearlyequally divided by the foaming little Enz, the backs of houses, on eachside of the valley, being actually built against the feet of the mountains.As these are some 1500 feet high, an hour, at least, of the rising, andanother of the setting sun, are unseen and unfelt in Wildbad—except inthe curious phenomenon of the sunshine creeping down the western mountainin the morning, and up the eastern mountain in the evening.

The valley of Wildbad lies nearly North and South, and consequentlythe winds are felt only in those two directions. The temperature of theatmosphere necessarily varies considerably, but cold prevails over heat.Snow ordinarily lurks on the summits of the mountains from the middleof November till the middle of May. From the first of July till the middleof August, the heat is generally great. “In a hot summer (says ProfessorHeim) the temperature is almost insupportable about mid-day, when thebreeze is scarcely perceptible in the depth of the valley.” In June, July,and August, the thermometer in Wildbad mounts occasionally to 90, inthe hottest days—and falls correspondingly in the winter. In the season(months of June, July, August, and September) of 1834, there were 47clear days—five thunder-storms—and 34 rainy days. In 1837—35 cleardays—44 rainy days—and 11 thunder-storms. During the years 1834-5-6and 7, the mean temperature of the four summer months, at mid-day,was 66° of Fahrenheit, which is very moderate. Lightning has neverstruck any of the houses in Wildbad—the contiguous mountains provingexcellent conductors. There are no peculiar diseases at Wildbad, exceptthose produced by scanty food and hard labour. Scarcely any goitres orcretins are seen here. The inhabitants hardly ever take any other medicinesthan the warm waters of the place. Doctors would inevitably starvehere, were it not for the foreign visitors. The water of Wildbad is excellent,both for cooking and drinking. Pulmonary complaints are exceedinglyrare in this valley, and indeed in the Black Forest generally. Thesame may be said of goitre and cretinism.

We took up our quarters at theBear, exactly opposite the baths, andhad no reason to complain of our accommodations in this hotel. Mychamber was in the back of the house, just over the noisy little Enz; butits murmurings only lulled me to a sound sleep, after the keen mountainair, and the healthy exercise of the day.

It is only within these few years that Wildbad has become much known,through the writings of Drs. Flicker and Granville. Professor Heim has[105]now added to the means of its publicity. In 1830, the number of batherswas 470—in 1837, 1,003—in 1838, the number was 1,235. In this list,the real bathers and drinkers only are inscribed. The mere passengers ofa day or two are omitted. In 1837, there were only ten English, whoused the waters. In 1838, there were 130. In 1839, about the middleof August, when I was there, the number had still encreased. Theaccommodations hitherto have been insufficient. In this year, 1840, anew and grand edifice will be completed, capable of contributing to thecomfort—would that it may not add to the gambling luxury or destructionof—a large number of visitors! ThePalace, which is close to thebaths, is open to the public—in fact, it is a hotel, for the refreshment ofbody and mind. It would be unjust, not to commemorate here the wise,salutary, and beneficent injunction againstgambling, which is rigorouslyenforced by the government. May it continue in force,per omnia seculaseculorum!

The warm baths of Wildbad issue from several sources in the graniterock; but are collected into four basins, isolated from each other, andunder particular regulations. Just opposite the Bear Hotel is the placefor drinking the waters, a few feet below the surface of the square ormarket-place. There are two spouts, and I observed for two hours thedevotees of this Hygeian spring. I should have little hesitation in swearingthat there was not a single malingerer (to use a military phrase forone whofeigns disease,) in the whole group, amounting to about sixty oreighty. They all bore intrinsic marks of indisposition; but the maimed,the lame, the paralytic, and the rheumatic, constituted nine-tenths of theassemblage. I had an early note from Professor Heim, politely offeringto shew me the baths. With him I proceeded to theFurstenbad, orPrince’s Bath, in which Dr. Granville bathed. On entering theBad, Ifound it occupied by two persons—one quite naked, the other with whitedrawers on—while Dr. Fricker, who stood on the steps with a watch inhis hand, was directing the operations. I naturally shrunk back, with anapology for intruding; but my kind and honest friend, Dr. Heim, pushedme forward, observing, that there was “no offence.” The bather was aRussian General, Comte ——, and he who sat behind him in the bath,rubbing his back, was the bad-meister. I entered into conversation withthe General and his medical director, and found them agreeable, intelligent,and frank communicants. The douche having been applied, andthe bathing process finished, I withdrew for a quarter of an hour, whilethe bath was preparing for myself. Most of my readers must have reador heard of these celebrated waters by Dr. Granville, and I must hererecord his account of the surprising sensations which they produce on thehuman frame immersed in them.

“After descending a few steps from the dressing-room into the bath-room,I walked over the warm soft sand to the farthest end of the bath,[106]and I laid myself down upon it, near the principal spring, resting my headon a clean wooden pillow. The soothing effect of the water as it cameover me, up to the throat, transparent like the brightest gem or aquamarine,soft, genially warm, and gently murmuring, I shall never forget.Millions of bubbles of gas rose from the sand, and played around me,quivering through the lucid water as they ascended, and bursting at thesurface to be succeeded by others. The sensation produced by these, asmany of them, with their tremulous motion, justeffleuraient the surface ofthe body, like the much vaunted effect of titillation in animal magnetism,is not to be described.It partakes of tranquillity and exhilaration; of theecstatic state of a devotee, blended with the repose of an opium eater. Thehead is calm, the heart is calm, every sense is calm; yet there is neitherdrowsiness, stupefaction, nor numbness; for every feeling is fresher, and thememory of worldly pleasures keen and sharp. But the operations of themoral as well as physical man are under the spell of some powerfully tranquillisingagent. It is the human tempest lulled into all the deliciousplayings of the ocean’s after-waves. From such a position I willinglywould never have stirred. To prolong its delicious effects what would Inot have given! but the bad-meister appeared at the top of the steps ofthe farther door, and warned me to eschew the danger of my situation;for there is danger even in such pleasures as these, if greatly prolonged.

“I looked at the watch and the thermometer before I quitted my station.The one told me I had passed a whole hour, in the few minutes I hadspent according to my imagination; and the other marked 29½° of Reaumur,or 98¼° of Fahrenheit. But I found the temperature warmer thanthat, whenever, with my hand, I dug into the bed of sand, as far down asthe rock, and disengaged myriads of bubbles of heated air, which impartedto the skin a satiny softness not to be observed in the effects ofordinary warm baths.

“These baths are principally used from five o’clock in the morninguntil seven, and even much later; and again by some people in the evening.The time allowed for remaining in the water is from half an hourto an hour; but it is held to be imprudent to continue the bath to thelatter period, as experience has shown that such sensations as I felt, andhave endeavoured to describe, prove ultimately too overpowering to theconstitution, if prolonged to excess.”[29]

Dr. Kerner, who preceded Dr. Granville, makes use of the followingexpressions, quoted by the latter author.

“The use of the Wildbad waters cannot be too much commended.They serve, indeed,to make the old young again; while younger persons,who have become prematurely old, owing to exhaustion, and those who[107]are exhausted by close application and incessant fatigue,rise out of thesebaths with new strength and youth.”

Although I called to mind these identical expressions, as applied byDr. Fenner to the Serpent’s Bath at Schlangenbad, and remembered alsomy disappointment; yet I could not divest myself of the pleasing anticipationsthat Wildbad would realize the effects recorded by my friendDr. Granville, and that I should retreat from this romantic valley at leastten years younger than when I entered it. I dispensed with the attendanceof the bad-meister—locked the door—descended into the bath—and creepingto the identical spot where Dr. Granville experienced the “ecstaticstate of a devotee, blended with the repose of an opium-eater,” I waited,not without some impatience, the advent of this fore-taste of Paradise.But no such good fortune awaited me! I eyed the gas bubbles that rosearound me, not indeed “in millions,” nor even in dozens—but so sparinglythat I could have easily numbered them, eager though they had been to“quiver through the lucid water” in their ascent to greet my friend andconfrere a few years previously. With every wish to be pleased, and withthe most minute attention to my own sensations, I must confess thatI experienced no effects from the waters of Wildbad, other than I didfrom baths of similar temperature and composition, as those of Schlangenbad,Baden, and Pfeffers.[30] They have the same advantage as thePfeffers, in maintaining the same temperature, however long we may remainin them—the stream running in and out of the baths. Whetherthis may not sometimes tempt the bad-meisters to save the trouble andtime of emptying the baths after each bather, I do not profess to know.With respect to the bed of warm sand at the bottom, I think it is morepleasant to the feelings than to the imagination. It is impossible thatitcan be changed; and the idea of lying down in a bed which a leper mayhave just left, is not the most pleasant in the world. For myself, I shouldprefer the clean marble, or even the wood to this substratum of sand. Itis but justice to state, that there is a rule for all persons to go through thequarantine of a plain bath before commencing the medicinal. Such a rule,however, was not imposed upon me—nor I believe, on the generality ofcasual bathers. I stayed in the bath half an hour, and felt exceedinglyrefreshed by it. I have no hesitation, therefore, in giving it as my opinionthat the waters of Wildbad are inferior to none, in their medicinal agency,[108]as baths of a non-stimulant and simple kind. Their improper use is notnearly so hazardous as those of Wisbaden, Kissengen, or Carlsbad, whosesaline ingredients act powerfully on the sentient extremities of the nerves ofthe skin, and too often excite dangerous commotions in the animal economy.

In the course of the day I fell in with my bath acquaintance, Count——, the Russian General, and had a long conversation with him. Hehad been in the memorable campaign of 1812, and had, for some years,laboured under a paralytic affection of the lower extremities. He assuredme that in four or five weeks of these baths and douches, he had regaineda good deal of power in his limbs; but his general strength had decreased,and he was about to repair to Schwalbach, in hopes that the chalybeatesprings there would invigorate his constitution. We had a polite invitationto a fête at the palace that evening, from the gallant General.[31]

In respect to the “bathing in company,” I confess I have a repugnanceto it on many accounts, only one of which I shall state. The pleasure ofconversation, in such places, is dearly purchased by the impossibility, (forthe bather must go in a light dress,) of employing friction and shampooingon the naked surface—one of the greatest luxuries and salutary processesthat can possibly be practised in warm-baths of any kind. This objectionalone is entirely fatal to the “community of bathing,” laying aside theindelicacy of the thing.[32]

[109]

The douches are easily and simply performed by a kind of pump andhose, by which the warm water is directed against any part of the body,and with any degree of force. A new source was discovered last year,near the Furstenbad, which will greatly extend the means of bathing singly.Already the refuse waters from the baths are sufficient to turn a mill asthey run out from the baths to the Enz—the river never freezing in thetown.

In chemical and physical properties, the waters of Wildbad closely resemblethose of Pfeffers and Schlangenbad. They are clear and odourless;but have a mawkish taste. In a pint, Professor Sigwart found 3½grains of saline matters, of which nearly 2 grains were common salt—halfa grain of carbonate of soda—and nearly the same of sulphate ofsoda. The other ingredients are chips in porridge, if we except a meretrace of iron. When boiled, it disengages a very trifling quantity of carbonicacid gas. The air which bubbles up from the waters contains (accordingto Gaeger and Gaertner) five parts of carbonic acid—7 of oxygen—and88 of azote. Since that analysis, it has been found that there islittle or no oxygen in the air. The temperature varies in the differentsources from 88° to 99° of Fahrenheit. It is quite independent of summer,winter, storms, or calms.

When waters, so simple as scarcely to differ from the purest springused for drink, produce medicinal effects, the cause is attributed to somemysterious power, incognizable by the senses and inimitable by human art.

Professor Heim takes up the same hypothesis as others before him, andDr. Granville among the rest, that the caloric of mineral waters is of aspecific kind, analogous to the vital heat of the body. “It is a heat incorporatedwith the water by a chemico-vital process.” “And as no externalwarmth can supply the body withvital heat, so no artificially createdtemperature can be a real substitute for the natural heat of thermalsprings.”

The temperature, then, of the Wildbad waters being that of the humanblood, immersion in them produces but a slight sensation of heat, the surfaceof our bodies being below that of our blood in temperature. Thesensation is that ofcomfort—a word not to be more nearly translated intoFrench than by the term “bien-être.” Here Professor Heim quotes, ofcourse, Dr. Granville’s description of the “ecstatic” feelings which he experiencedin these waters. He adds:—“But another circumstance which,more than all the rest, conduces to this favourable impression, is thedynamiccombination (le lien dynamique) of the solid and gaseous elements—thespirit of the water—received from the hand of Nature, in the bowelsof the earth. It is this general impression on the whole human organism,which effects the cure of divers sufferings and maladies, by awakening and[110]reviving the vital powers enfeebled or prostrated—and thus restoring activityto the circulation and to the nervous system, through which a reactionand energy is communicated to all the functions of the body.”

These effects, Prof. Heim acknowledges, cannot be accounted for bythe chemical composition of the water. The cosmetic qualities of Wildbadand Schlangenbad, he thinks, may bepartly owing to the soda containedin them, which forms a kind of oily soap on the surface, and givesit that feeling of lubricity and softness, so much vaunted: but he believesit to beprincipally owing to the peculiar power of the bath to invigorate thefunctions of the skin as well as of the internal organs—a power greater,he maintains, in the waters of Wildbad than of Schlangenbad.

Although these waters generally produce an exciting or exhilaratingeffect, yet in a certain number of instances, they cause a sense of lassitudeand heaviness in the extremities, with an inclination to sleep, especiallyafter leaving the bath. These effects are commonly attributable to improperuse of the baths, or staying too long in them, in consequence ofthe pleasant feelings derived from them. Dr. H. recommends all personsto stay but 10 or 15 minutes in the bath at first, gradually increasing thetime to half or three-quarters of an hour. In some, the head is affectedwith vertigo—in others, there is oppression on the chest—all which soongo off, after five or six baths.

“It is to be remembered that a majority of the bathers experience the‘reaction fever’ (fièvre de réaction) in the course of the treatment. Theperiod of its occurrence is uncertain, and often it is so slight as to passalmost unobserved by the patient. This, however, is the critical momentprecursory of the cure. This state of irritation seldom lasts more than afew days, and generally disappears without any internal medicine. Thisreaction is precisely that which ought to inspire the greatest hopes in thepatient, as it announces a change in his constitution, and a victory overhis malady. The disagreeable sensations, however, which he feels, oftenputs him out of humour with the baths, especially if old pains and discomforts,that had ceased, now re-appear, which they often do. He becomesimpatient and morose, when he is re-visited by rheumatic pains,neuralgia, gout, hæmorrhoids, &c. which he had thought to be extinct.Such re-action, however, is indispensable towards the victory of nature andthe baths over the disease for which they were employed. The waters ofWildbad, indeed, are remarkable for this reproduction of old disorders, atthe moment they are eradicating the more recent ones.”

These most important properties of the waters of Wildbad are passedentirely unnoticed by Dr. Granville, and from my own knowledge, severalEnglish have left Wildbad, at the very time they were on the point of experiencingthe greatest benefits. This reaction or bath-fever, is common,as I have shewn, to most of the medicinal waters, as was seen under thehead of Wisbaden, Kissengen, &c. At the former place I saw several[111]well-marked instances of it, and satisfied myself of its reality. I have notfound any description of it in the accounts of the German Spas publishedin England. It is a subject of the greatest importance to the invalid.

The following case is related by Dr.Kaiser, formerly director of thesebaths. I have greatly abridged it.

“An officer, aged 26 years, fell down a flight of stone stairs, andpitched on the right haunch, or hip-bone. He was stunned to insensibility,from which he slowly recovered. When examined, the right legand thigh were cold as ice, but no fracture or dislocation could be discovered.He was confined several weeks to his bed; and then couldonly hobble about on crutches with great pain. At length he was able todispense with the crutches, but every motion of the limb caused greatagony. He tried the waters and baths of Wisbaden; but experienced nobenefit. Thirteen months after the accident, and when the excruciatingpains had rather gained than lost force, he came to Wildbad. The firstbath produced no sensible effect. The second called forth some pains inthe loins, where he had felt no inconvenience previously. These augmentedafter the third bath till the seventh, when they became so violent,that he could not stand, and was confined to his bed. At this time hesuddenly experienced a most painful sense of coldness in the right foot,which was succeeded by heat, reaction, and ultimately a profuse perspirationover the whole limb, and even in the loins. From that time he was ableto move the leg without pain, and quickly regained the power of walkingwithout a stick.”

The Wildbad baths are celebrated for the removal of those variouspains and aches which not seldom attend old gunshot and other wounds.A case is related of an officer who had been wounded in the arm by amusket-ball in the late war, and who was harassed by pains in the site ofthe wound for many years afterwards. The use of the Wildbad baths re-openedthe wound, from whence a piece of flannel was discharged, andthe pains ceased.

These waters are considered to be specific in certain female complaintswhich are difficult of removal, and subversive of health, in toomany instances.

“La proprieté de rajeunir, que les dames vantent tant dans le bain deWildbad, il faut moins la chercher dans sa vertu cosmetique, que dans lacirconstance que je viens de signaler.”

It is to be remarked that it is not in all persons that the re-actionabove alluded to takes place. In many there is a gradual amelioration ofhealth, without any perturbation of the constitution, and only marked byan encreased action in the functions of the skin and kidneys—sometimesof the bowels.

“On the other hand, says Professor Heim, where the malady is obstinate,there is a greater struggle in the constitution, attended with considerable[112]fever, disorder of the secretions, irritation of the nervous system,full pulse, restless nights, distressing dreams, loss of appetite, dry hot skin,occasional hæmorrhoidal discharges, purging, gouty attacks, cutaneouseruptions, &c. which precede a restoration of health.”

These are trials which require the fortitude of the patient, and the vigilanceof the physician. It is not to be wondered at that, when theyoccur in the stranger, and especially in the English invalid, who has littleconfidence in the foreign practitioner, and finds himself ill in a secludedvalley like that of Wildbad, great alarm should be produced, and muchprejudice raised against the baths and waters of the place. The worst ofit is, that a similar train of disorders may arise from an injudicious use ofthe baths, and where no salutary crisis is the result.

These are circumstances which ought to be pointed out to our countrymenand women, who are too often led to distant mineral watersand baths by flowery descriptions and miraculous cures, without anywarning as to the consequences that may ensue—whether salutary ordangerous. The concealment of this spa or bath fever, is any thing butbeneficial either to the waters or the water-drinkers. It deceives the one,and injures the reputation of the other. The local physicians of thesemineral springs never omit to point out the consequences of bathing in,and drinking the waters, as I have already shewn by several quotations;and it is highly desirable that all spa-goers should be aware of them.[33]

Cutaneous eruptions are frequent consequences of the Wildbad waters,and are considered salutary. The kidneys, next to the skin, shew thegreatest sensibility to the action of these waters. In some people (especiallywhere the waters are drunk as well as bathed in,) a most copiousand clear secretion is produced; but this is seldom a critical or salutarydischarge. It is when the secretion from the kidneys is deep-coloured,sedimentous, and exhaling a peculiar odour, especially in gouty subjects,that benefit may be confidently anticipated. The bowels are seldom actedon by these waters—more frequently, indeed, constipation is the result,requiring aperient medicine both before and during the course. Thehæmorrhoidal and monthly periods are promoted by the waters, thusrelieving plethoric fulness of the abdominal organs.

“In dispositions to rheumatism, cutaneous complaints, erysipelas, catarrhalaffections, neuralgia, chlorosis (green sickness,) tubercles, scrofula,[113]difficult and premature accouchments, the waters of Wildbad are stronglyrecommended.”

Professor Heim warns the patient not to be discouraged, even if heleaves the waters unrelieved, or worse than when he commenced thecourse. The cure will often follow, when the individual has regained hishome, weeks or months after leaving Wildbad.

It is only since 1836, that a source of waters for drinking has been discoveredand established at Wildbad. The mineral ingredients do notmaterially differ from those of the baths. They are now very generallyused in conjunction with the latter, and are found to be very useful auxiliaries.They sit lightly on the stomach, and prove rather aperient thanotherwise. They increase the appetite, and promote materially the actionof the skin, kidneys, and glandular organs generally.

Disorders for which the Waters of Wildbad are chiefly used.

Dr. Fricker has laid open to Professor Heim the records of 25 years’observation and experience of these waters; from which, and also fromhis own practice, the latter physician has, in ten chapters, classified themaladies for which the baths and waters have been employed, detailingnumerous cases, and superadding commentaries of his own. It will benecessary to skim lightly over the heads of these chapters, in order toshew the properties of the Wildbad spa in its direct application to practice.

I.Rheumatism, Gout, and their Consequences.—“Our baths have alwaysmaintained great reputation for the cure of these two classes of tormentingmaladies, arising from different causes, but presenting many traits ofcharacter in common.” The author cautions the bather against using thebaths, where there is any acute or even subacute inflammation in thejoints, muscles, or internal organs. It is in thechronic and painful formsof gout and rheumatism, together with their numerous consequences,that the Wildbad waters will be found beneficial—indeed, according tothe authors abovementioned, almost infallibly curative. Messrs. Frickerand Heim trace many cases of tic, vertigo, deafness, affections of the sight,asthmatic coughs, intermissions of pulse, tracheal and bronchial affections,&c. to suppressed gout and rheumatism, as they are often removed by thebaths and waters. Fifteen cases in illustration are detailed with greatminuteness by Dr. Heim, to which the Wildbad bather may refer on thespot.

II.Affections of the Spinal Marrow, and its Consequences, Paralysis.—Diseasesof the spinal marrow are seldom recognized in their early stages,[114]not indeed till symptoms of paralysis begin to shew themselves in thelimbs. This class of complaints is daily augmenting in number, as thebaths of Wildbad can testify. These waters have, says M. Heim, oftendissipated the symptoms which usually precede attacks of paralysis,and therefore, if used early, would be more useful than when taken afterthe paralysis is actually developed. But even here, it is averred that theprogress of the malady is frequently arrested, and an amelioration procured.

When the paralysis of the lower extremities is complete—when the individualis no longer able to walk or stand, without assistance, the watersof Wildbad have often produced wonderful effects in restoring power—indeedit is curious that, according to the physicians aforesaid, these bathsare frequently more successful in these cases than in those which are notso far advanced towards a complete paralysis. An immense number ofcases are detailed by Dr. Heim under this head; and I am tempted to extractone, which is the case of a countryman of our own.

“A young English gentleman, after bathing in a river, the water ofwhich was very cold, became completely paralytic of the lower extremities.He came to Wildbad, and, without consulting any physician, commencedthe warmest of the baths. At the end of a fortnight he foundhimself so considerably improved, that he was able to lay aside his crutches,and walk by the aid of a cane. At this time the coronation of our youthfulqueen was announced, and the patient determined to assist at theceremony. He bore the journey well—and returned to Wildbad after afew weeks, without any relapse. He took a second course of the baths,and left Wildbad ultimately in a very improved condition.”

Those paralyses which affect one side only, are almost universally theresult of an apoplectic attack. “When these attacks have been occasionedby suppressed hæmorrhoidal discharges—eruptions of the skin suddenlyextinguished—engorgements or obstructions of the organs of the abdomen—femaleobstructions at a certain period of life—metastases of gout orrheumatism—in such cases of hemiplegia, the Wildbad waters have provedserviceable, and it is delightful to see so many of these paralytics leaveWildbad every season, with firm steps, although confined for years previouslyto the couch, or crutches.”

Professor Heim wisely cautions those who have been of a plethoric constitution,from too free an use of the baths, till they have ascertained howthey agree with their constitutions. Before any amelioration takes place,the patient generally experiences some pricking pains and tinglings in theparalyzed parts, followed by a sense of heat, perspiration, and increase offeeling. To these symptoms succeed a gradual restoration of muscularpower, accompanied by a sense of electrical sparks passing along thenerves. Numerous cases of paralysis of one side are detailed by Dr.Heim.

[115]

III. and IV. These chapters are dedicated to paralysis occasioned bypoisons—and also to cases of local paralyses of particular nerves—as thoseof the face. I must pass them over. The waters appear to have beenuseful in many of these instances.

The 5th Chapter relates to affections of the joints—to lumbago—sciatica—whiteswellings of the knee—contractions, &c., in which the bathsof Wildbad are lauded. One caution, however, is invariably enjoined—notto use the waters while there is any inflammation actually existing.

TheSixth Chapter is on diseases of the bones, with numerous cases,which I shall pass over.

TheSeventh Chapter treats of diseases of the skin, cured or relievedby the Wildbad baths and waters. Herpes—ringworm—prurigo—pityriasis—acne—inveterateitch—fetid perspirations, &c. &c. are said to bethose which receive most advantage from these waters. Indeed I thinkit probable that the eulogiums are not much exaggerated as to this classof complaints.

Chap. VIII. relates to scrofula and glandular affections generally. Insuch complaints it is of the greatest consequence to conjoin the internalwith the external use of the waters of Wildbad. These waters are muchemployed by people with goitre, and Drs. Fricker and Heim consider themvery beneficial in enlargements of the liver, spleen, and even of the mesentericglands.

Chap. IX. Wildbad appears to have attained some considerable reputationin female complaints. Next indeed in number to the class of lameand paralytic patients, which I saw around the baths and waters of thisplace, were the chlorotic females, whose countenances exhibited the“green and yellow melancholy” of Shakespeare’s “love-sick” maiden—

There are more ailments than love-sickness, however, which cause theyouthful maid to “pine in thought,” and exchange all her lillies for thepallid rose—the sparkling expression for the lack-lustre eye—and theelasticity of youth for the languor of premature old age. For the irregularitiesand obstructions that generally lead to this chlorotic state, thebaths and waters of Wildbad are strongly recommended. Dr. Heim aversthat, of late years, he has only failed in one instance to bring thesefemales to a state of regularity and health—where no organic disease existed.[116]Although this is rather a startling assertion, yet the concourse offemale invalids to this place, bearing such unequivocal marks of a particularclass of ailments, offers a fair presumption that many receive benefitthere, else the numbers would diminish instead of increasing from year toyear. I can also easily believe that a course of these baths, with the dailyingurgitation of large potions of a simple diluent water, may remove manyobstructions, and, at all events, bring the constitution into that conditionin which some good chalybeate, as Schwalbach, Spa, or Brockenau, mightexert a powerful influence on the restoration of health.

The new spring for drinking is at a temperature of 92°, and containsfour grains of saline substances in the pint, of which two are muriate ofsoda or common salt. It is used like other thermal waters, and is slightlyaperient, but chiefly alterative.

The public walks to the southward of the town, extend nearly a milealong the noisy Enz, and are very pleasant. A contemplative philosophermight there indulge his sublime speculations—the poet his “waywardfancies”—and the devotee his celestial meditations, with little interruption.

The counter-indications, or disorders not benefited, but aggravated bythe waters of Wildbad, are not materially different from those mentionedunder the head of other thermal springs—as plethora, or fulness—tendencyto apoplexy, to hæmorrhage of any kind, or to engorgements or inflammationsof any of the internal organs. Neither are they proper in cases ofconsiderable debility. They are not to be used in inveterate catarrhalaffections of the kidneys or bladder, attended with wasting of strength,and probably with organic disease—in chronic diarrhœa—diabetes—internalsuppurations—confirmed phthisis—indurations of spleen or liver in anadvanced stage—dropsies—scirrhus and cancer—biliary and urinary calculi—organicdiseases of the heart—varicose veins—hypochondriasis andhysteria, with debility—original or idiopathic epilepsy, chorea, catalepsyand other convulsive affections of this nature—sterility dependent on organicdisease of the reproductive viscera—alienation of mind, &c. On noaccount should women in a state of pregnancy use the baths or waters ofWildbad.

I have now presented the reader with all the information which I couldcollect on the spot, from the conversations and writings of those best acquaintedwith the nature and properties of the waters. Most of theEnglish spa-goers will be disappointed in the magic effects of the baths,as somewhat highly-coloured by Dr. Granville—and will consider thelocality as too sombre; while the appearance of the bathers and drinkers—beingveritable invalids—many of them on crutches, and many apparentlyon their way to the grave—will prove anything but cheering to theBritish hypochondriac, and the sensitive nervous female. A considerablenumber of English leave Wildbad in a day or two after arriving there—and[117]of the few who take the waters, the majority become alarmed at thespa-fever or irritation, abandoning the waters at the very time they arelikely to prove serviceable.

To those, however, who prefer quietude to fashionable frivolity—and asecluded glen to a dashing, gambling Kursaal, the baths and waters mayprove serviceable in many of the complaints above enumerated. I wouldadvise all who sojourn at Baden-Baden, or who pass near Wildbad, tovisit this place, were it only for curiosity, and the singular scenery of itsneighbourhood. The journey from Baden-Baden is an easy one of a singleday—but that day should be a fine one, else all the pleasures of the excursionwill be lost. In fine, I can conscientiously aver that, in respectto Wildbad, I have neither exaggerated its merits—

SCHAFFHAUSE.

Winding through the sombre solitudes of the Black Forest, we entertheVallée d’Enfer, through the narrow and frowning pass, whereMoreaustemmed the torrent of the Austrian legions, as did Leonidas the myriadsof Xerxes in the Straits of Thermopylæ. Little did that able but unfortunategeneral dream, during his memorable retreat through the BlackForest, that, a few years afterwards, he would meet his death fromthe mouth of a French cannon, while combatting in the ranks of theAllies.[34]

What a curse wouldforeknowledge prove to man, although so ardentlydesired by curious and eager mortals! A single glance through the telescopeof futurity would render us miserable for life! If good was in store,we would relinquish all efforts to obtain it, as being certain. Every daywould seem an age till the happiness arrived—and when it came, allrelish for it would be gone. On the other hand, if the glass showed misfortune,sickness, and sorrow in the distance—the prospect would soondrive the wretch insane!

TheDisposer of events alone can be the safe depository of prescience.

RHINEFALLS.

I have always experienced some degree of disappointment at the sightof waterfalls. Where the volume of water is great, the fall is, comparatively[118]trifling—and where the descent is from a great height, then thestream is insignificant. If theNiagara could be translated to the Staubach,and the mighty St. Lawrence thundered from a height of eighthundred feet into the valley of Lauterbrunnen, the scene would be awfullygrand, and sufficient to startle the Jaungfrau on her icy throne.

The Rhine, at Schaffhause, falls about seventy or eighty feet, andis by no means impressive, even when viewed from the camera obscuradirectly opposite the cataract. We drove from the town on a beautifulmoonlight night, and descending the stairs on the left bank of the river,we came close to the water’s edge, and also to that of the fall itself.Here is the spot to see and hear the deluge of water, all sparkling withfoam, in the mild light of the moon, come thundering from aloft, andthreatening every instant to overwhelm the spectator in the boiling flood.If terror be a source of the sublime, there certainly is some degree of thisemotion, mixed with the contemplation of a vast mass of water rolling downfrom a great height, apparently in a direct course towards us. The roarof the cataract, too, is unlike that of any other sound, and adds considerablyto the effect produced on the sense of sight.

I do not know how the association of ideas first commenced, but Inever see a great waterfall, or a rapid river, without their suggestingthemselves as emblems of time or eternity. The torrent rolling alongin the same course through countless ages—

without change or rest, is calculated to excite reflections on the greatstream of time itself—and that inconceivable abyss—eternity—to whichit leads. But all things move in circles. The water that runs in theriver, mustfirst fall from the clouds—and the rains that descend from theair, mustfirst rise from the earth. And so, perhaps, time and eternitymay be but parts of one vast, immeasurable, and incomprehensible cycle,without beginning, middle, or end!

It is probable that, ere many centuries roll away, the falls of the Rhinewill become merely a rapid. The stream has worn down four or fivechannels in the rocky barrier, leaving three or four fragments, resemblingthe broken arches or piers of a natural bridge, standing up many feetabove the surface of the water where it begins to curl over the precipice.The centre fragment is much higher than its brethren, and it is surmountedby a wooden shield, (how they managed to place it there is noteasily imagined,) with the arms and motto of Schaffhause.

The torrent, thus split into four or five divisions, has given rise to some[119]extravagant comparisons, one of which is their similitude to five foamingwhite steeds, that have broke away from their keepers.

The next best place to that which I have mentioned, for viewing thefalls, is in a boat, brought as close as prudence will permit to the boilingeddies. In a camera obscura opposite the falls, is a reflected picture ofthe cataract—but I cannot imagine why it should be preferable to thereal object before our eyes.

There is a “German Switzerland” on the banks of the Elbe—and sois there a “Swiss Germany” on the banks of the Rhine. From Schaffhauseto Constance, Zurich, Berne, and even Geneva, the country ispretty and well cultivated; but it is notSwitzerland till we get past theabove points, and penetrate among the mountains. For the same reasonthat we should ascend the Rhine from Holland, we ought to enter Switzerlandfrom the North, so that the grandeur and majesty of the scenerymay be always on the increase till we ascend the Splugen, the St. Gothard,the Simplon, the St. Bernard, or the Mount Cenis.

Pursuing our route to the nextSpa on the list of this tour, we come toZurich.

Zurich, like Geneva, is situated between a placid lake and a crystalriver. Lake Leman, having filtered its waters, discharges them throughthe “blue and arrowy Rhone,” into the tideless Mediterranean, not topass on to the vast Atlantic, but again to rise in exhalations to the clouds,and fall—Heaven knows where. The lake of Zurich has a different taste.It sends its purified waters through the Limmatt, to mingle with theRhine, (also freed from impurities in the lake of Constance,) and thenceto find its way to the great Northern Ocean—probably to visit theThames, the Ohio, or even the Ganges, before it makes another aerialvoyage to the skies.

[120]

The scenery about Zurich is tame and insipid, compared with that aboutGeneva, where the Jura and the high Alps in the distance, contrast withthe lovely Pais de Vaud in the vicinity of the lake.

LAKE OF WALLENSTADT.

This lake, which is only a good day’s journey from Zurich, presents, inmy opinion, the finest lake-scenery in Switzerland. The mountains, onthe northern shore, rise almost perpendicularly to the height of five or sixthousand feet, sprinkled with ledges of rock, on which are perched theshepherd’s chalet, and giving footing and scanty nutriment to the pine andalpine shrubs and flowers. The mountains on the southern side are equallyhigh, but not so perpendicular in their descent to the lake; but the wholecircle of scenery is most magnificent. The transit of the lake is east andwest, a distance of some twelve or thirteen miles, and the passage isusually favoured by a kind of trade wind, which blows from the westwardduring one part of the day, and from the eastward during the other. Thelittle village ofWesen, is the point of embarkation from the Zurich side,and is situated most romantically under stupendous mountains. Westarted at two o’clock, with carriage, horses, and live lumber, in the passage-boat,which did not convey much idea of safety, being low, flat, andrigged with a tall frail mast and square sail. The dangers of the Wallenstadtnavigation are, no doubt exaggerated; but it is evident that, alongthe whole of the northern board of the lake there is but one small spotwhere a boat could put in for safety in a storm. Along this shore wesailed with a fine breeze, and enjoyed the prospect of one of the finestscenes in Switzerland. The mountains on the northern board are so highand precipitous, that I think it is physically impossible for a gale of windto blow direct on the shore, when a boat comes close to the rocks. It couldonly be by the impulse of the waves that a boat might be forced amongstthe breakers. Accidents, however, very seldom happen. The afternoonwas clear sunshine—the boatmen abandoned the oars, being wafted alongby a fine breeze—the song was commenced—and theRanz de Vachewas returned from the ledges of rock, and patches of vegetation amongthe cliffs, by many a blithsome shepherd, tending his flocks, or collectinghis little autumnal harvest—the long and slender cataracts poured insheets of gauze along many a craggy precipice—and the whole scene waskept as a moving panorama by the steady progression of the boat.

In the enjoyment of Swiss or Alpine scenery, everything depends onthe state of the atmosphere, and on that of our health and spirits at thetime. Hence it is that one person is delighted with a prospect, whichanother passes without pleasure or surprize at all. Of this I am certain,that a good view of this lake’s scenery can never be erased from thememory.

[121]

We landed at the little town of Wallenstadt, situated near the lake, ina marshy and malarious locality, often inundated by the floods, and veryinsalubrious. No traveller should sleep here, as the distance toSargansis only eight or nine miles.

We slept at this rook’s nest, perched on an eminence above malariousand alluvial marshes, and at the foot of a high and craggy mount, fromthe summit of which there is a superb prospect of the Rhine on its way toConstance, and of a sea of Alps, of all altitudes—many of them shiningwith snow and glaciers. Those who do not like to mount the Scholberg,may still enjoy a magnificent panorama from the ruins of an old chateaujust above Sargans, and which is of very easy access. The town itselfpresents better air than fare—the two inns being little better thancabarets,but health and appetite compensate well for coarse viands and hard beds.

BATHS OF PFEFFERS.

Among the strange places into which man has penetrated in search oftreasure or health, there is probably not one on this earth, or under it,more wonderful than theBaths of Pfeffers, situated in the country ofthe Grisons, a few miles distant from the Splugen road, as it leads fromWallenstadt to Coire. They are little known to, and still less frequentedby the English; for we could not learn that any of our countrymen hadvisited them during the summer of 1834.

Having procured five small and steady horses accustomed to the locality,a party of three ladies and two gentlemen[36] started from the little town ofRagatz on a beautiful morning in August, and commenced a steep andzig-zag ascent up the mountain, through a forest of majestic pines andother trees. In a quarter of an hour, we heard the roar of a torrent, butcould see nothing of itself or even its bed. The path, however, soon approachedthe verge of a dark and tremendous ravine, the sides of whichwere composed of perpendicular rocks several hundred feet high, and atthe bottom of which theTamina, a rapid mountain torrent, foamed alongin its course to the valley of Sargans, there to fall into the upper Rhine.The stream itself, however, was far beyond our view, and was only knownby its hollow and distant murmurs. The ascent, for the first three miles,is extremely fatiguing, so that the horses were obliged to take breath everyten minutes. The narrow path, (for it is only a kind of mule-track,) oftenwinded along the very brink of the precipice, on our left, yet the eye couldnot penetrate to the bottom of the abyss. After more than an hour oftoilsome climbing, we emerged from the wood, and found ourselves in oneof the most picturesque and romantic spots that can well be imagined.The road now meanders horizontally through a high, but cultivated region,[122]towards, the village of Valentz, through fields, gardens, vineyards, andmeadows, studded with chaumiers and chalets, perched fantastically onprojecting ledges of rock, or sheltered from the winds by tall and verdantpines. The prospect from Valentz, or rather from above the village, is oneof the most beautiful and splendid I have anywhere seen in Switzerland.We are there at a sufficient distance from the horrid ravine, to contemplateit without terror, and listen to the roaring torrent, thundering unseen,along its rugged and precipitous bed. Beyond the ravine we see themonastery and village of Pfeffers, perched on a high and apparently inaccessiblepromontory, over which rise alpine mountains, their sides coveredwith woods, their summits with snow, and their gorges glittering withglaciers. But it is towards the East that the prospect is most magnificentand varied. The eye ranges, with equal pleasure and astonishment, overthe valley of Sargans, through which rolls the infant Rhine, and beyondwhich the majestic ranges of the Rhetian Alps, ten thousand feet high,rise one over the other, till their summits mingle with the clouds. Amongthese ranges theScesa-plana, theAngstenberg, theFlesch, (like agigantic pyramid,) and in the distance the Alps that tower round Feldkirckare the most prominent features. During our journey to the baths, themorning sun played on the snowy summits of the distant mountains, andmarked their forms on the blue expanse behind them, in the most distinctoutlines. But, on our return, in the afternoon, when the fleecy cloudshad assembled, in fantastic groups, along the lofty barrier, the reflexionsand refractions of the solar beams threw a splendid crown of glory roundthe icy heads of the Rhetian Alps—changing that “cold sublimity” withwhich the morning atmosphere had invested them, into a glow of illuminationwhich no pen or pencil could portray. To enjoy the widest possiblerange of this matchless prospect, the tourist must climb the peaks thatoverhang the village, when his eye may wander over the whole of theGrison Alps and valleys, even to the lake of Constance.

From Valentz we turned abruptly down towards the ravine, at the verybottom of which are theBaths of Pfeffers. The descent is by a seriesof acute and precipitous tourniquets, requiring great caution, as the horsesthemselves could hardly keep on their legs, even when eased of their riders.At length we found ourselves in the area of a vast edifice, resembling anovergrown factory, with a thousand windows, and six or seven stories high.It is built on a ledge of rock that lies on the left bank of theTaminatorrent, which chafes along its foundation. The precipice on the oppositeside of the Tamina, and distant about fifty paces from the mansionor rather hospital, rises five or six hundred feet, as perpendicular as awall, keeping the edifice in perpetual shade, except for a few hours in themiddle of the day. The left bank of the ravine, on which the hospitalstands, is less precipitous, as it admits of a zig-zag path to and from theBaths. The locale, altogether, of such an establishment, at the very[123]bottom of a frightful ravine, and for ever chafed by a roaring torrent, isthe most singularly wild and picturesque I had ever beheld; but the wondersof Pfeffers are not yet even glanced at.[37]

From the western extremity of this vast asylum of invalids, a narrowwooden bridge spans the Tamina, and by it we gain footing on a smallplatform of a rock on the opposite side. Here a remarkable phenomenonpresents itself. The deep ravine, which had hitherto preserved a widthof some 150 feet, contracts, all at once, into a narrow cleft or crevasse, ofless than 20 feet, whose marble sides shoot up from the bed of the torrent,to a height of four or five hundred feet, not merely perpendicular, but actuallyinclining towards each other, so that, at their summits, they almosttouch, thus leaving a narrow fissure through which a faint glimmering oflight descends, and just serves to render objects visible within this gloomycavern. Out of this recess the Tamina darts in a sheet of foam, and witha deafening noise reverberated from the rocks within and without thecrevasse. On approaching the entrance, the eye penetrates along a majesticvista of marble walls in close approximation, and terminating inobscurity, with a narrow waving line of sky above, and a roaring torrentbelow! Along the southern wall of this sombre gorge, a fragile scaffold,of only two planks in breadth, is seen to run, suspended—as it were—inair, fifty feet above the torrent, and three or four hundred feet beneath thecrevice that admits air and light from Heaven into the profound abyss.This frail and frightful foot-path is continued (will it be believed?) nearlyhalf a mile into the marble womb of the mountain! Its construction musthave been a work of great difficulty and peril; for its transit cannot bemade even by the most curious and adventurous travellers, without fearand trembling, amounting often to a sense of shuddering and horror.Along these two planks we crept or crawled, with faltering steps and palpitatinghearts. It has been my fortune to visit most of the wonderfullocalities of this globe, but an equal to this I never beheld.

“Imagination, (says an intelligent traveller,) the most vivid, could notportray the portals of Tartarus under forms more hideous than thosewhich Nature has displayed in this place. We enter this gorge on abridge of planks (pont de planches) sustained by wedges driven into therocks. It takes a quarter of an hour or more to traverse this bridge, andit requires the utmost precaution. It is suspended over the Tamina,which is heard rolling furiously at a great depth beneath. The walls of[124]this cavern, twisted, torn, and split (les parois laterales contournées, fendues,et dechirées) in various ways, rise perpendicular, and even inclinetowards each other, in the form of a dome; whilst the faint light thatenters from the portal at the end, and the crevice above, diminishes as weproceed;—the cold and humidity augmenting the horror produced by thescene. The fragments of rock sometimes overhang this gangway in sucha manner, that the passenger cannot walk upright:—at others, the marblewall recedes so much, that he is unable to lean against it for support.The scaffold is narrow, often slippery; and sometimes there is but a singleplank, separating us from the black abyss of the Tamina.[38] He who hascool courage, a steady eye, and a firm step, ought to attempt this formidableexcursion (épouvantable excursion) in clear and dry weather, lest heshould find the planks wet and slippery. He should start in the middleof the day, with a slow and measured step, and without a stick. Thesafest plan is to have two guides supporting a pole, on the inside of whichthe stranger is to walk.”

We neglected this precaution, and four out of the five pushed on, evenwithout a guide at all. At forty or fifty paces from the entrance thegloom increases, while the roar of the torrent beneath, reverberated fromthe sides of the cavern, augments the sense of danger and the horror ofthe scene. The meridian sun penetrated sufficiently through the narrowline of fissure at the summit of the dome, to throw a variety of lights andof shadows over the vast masses of variegated marble composing the wallsof this stupendous cavern, compared with which, those of Salsette, Elephanta,and even Staffa, shrink into insignificance. A wooden pipe, whichconveys the hot waters from their source to the baths, runs along in theangle between the scaffold and the rocks, and proves very serviceable,both as a support for one hand while pacing the plank, and as a seat,when the passenger wishes to rest, and contemplate the wonders of thecavern. At about one-third of the distance inward, I would advise thetourist to halt, and survey the singular locality in which he is placed.The inequality of breadth in the long chink that divides the dome above,admits the light in very different proportions, and presents objects in avariety of aspects. The first impression which occupies the mind iscaused by the cavern itself, with reflection on the portentous convulsion ofNature which split the marble rock in twain, and opened a gigantic aqueductfor the mountain torrent.[39] After a few minutes’ rumination on the[125]action of subterranean fire, our attention is attracted to the slow butpowerful operation of water on the solid parietes of this infernal grotto.We plainly perceive that the boisterous torrent has, in the course of time,and especially when swelled by rains, caused wonderful changes both inits bed and its banks. I would direct the attention of the traveller to aremarkable excavation formed by the waters on the opposite side of thechasm, and in a part more sombre than usual, in consequence of a bridgethat spans the crevice above, and leads to the Convent of Pfeffers. Thisnatural grotto is hollowed out of the marble rock to the depth of 30feet, being nearly 40 feet in width, by 26 feet in height. It is difficultnot to attribute it to art; and, as the whole cavern constantly reminds usof the Tartarean Regions, this beautifully vaulted grotto seems to be fittedfor the throne of Pluto and Proserpine—or, perhaps, for the tribunal ofRhadamanthus and his brothers of the Bench, while passing sentence onthe ghosts that glide down this Acheron or Cocytus—for had theTaminabeen known to the ancient poets, it would assuredly have been ranked asone of the rivers of Hell.

One of the most startling phenomena, however, results from a perspectiveview into the cavern, when about midway, or rather less, from itsportal. The rocky vista ends in obscurity; but gleams and columns oflight burst down, in many places, from the meridian sun, through this“palpable obscure,” so as to produce a wonderful variety of light andshade, as well as of bas-relief, along the fractured walls. While sittingon the rude wooden conduit before alluded to, and meditating on the infernalregion upon which I had entered, I was surprised to behold, at agreat distance, the figures of human beings, or thin shadows (for I couldnot tell which), advancing slowly towards me—suspended between Heavenand earth—or, at least, between the vault of the cavern and the torrentof the Tamina, without any apparent pathway to sustain their steps, butseemingly treading in air, like disembodied spirits! While my attentionwas rivetted on these figures, they suddenly disappeared; and the firstimpression on my mind was, that they had fallen and perished in the horribleabyss beneath. The painful sensation was soon relieved by the reappearanceof the personages in more distinct shapes, and evidently composedof flesh and blood. Again they vanished from my sight; and, tomy no small astonishment, I beheld their ghosts or their shadows advancingalong the opposite side of the cavern! These, and many other opticalillusions, were caused, of course, by the peculiar nature of the locality,and the unequal manner in which the light penetrated from above into thissombre chasm.

[126]

Surprise was frequently turned into a sense of danger, when the parties,advancing and retreating, met on this narrow scaffold. The “laws ofthe road” being different on the Continent from those in Old England,my plan was to screw myself up into the smallest compass, close to therock, and thus allow passengers to steal by without opposition. Wefound that comparatively few penetrated to the extremity of the cavernand the source of the Thermæ—the majority being frightened, or findingthemselves incapable of bearing the sight of the rapid torrent under theirfeet, without any solid security against precipitation into the infernalgulf. To the honour of the English ladies, I must say that they exploredthe source of the waters with the most undaunted courage, and withoutentertaining a thought of returning from a half-finished tour to the regionsbelow.[40]

Advancing still farther into the cavern, another phenomenon presenteditself, for which we were unable to account at first. Every now and thenwe observed a gush of vapour or smoke (we could not tell which) issuefrom the further extremity of the rock on the left, spreading itself overthe walls of the cavern, and ascending towards the crevice in the dome.It looked like an explosion of steam; but the roar of the torrent wouldhave prevented us from hearing any noise, if such had occurred. Wesoon found, however, that it was occasioned by the rush of vapour fromthe cavern in which the thermal source is situated, every time the doorwas opened for the ingress or egress of visitors to and from this naturalvapour-bath. At such moments the whole scene is so truly Tartarean,that had Virgil and Dante been acquainted with it, they need not havestrained their imaginations in portraying the ideal abodes of fallen angels,infernal gods, and departed spirits, but painted aHades from Nature, withall the advantage of truth and reality in its favour.

Our ingress occupied nearly half an hour, when we found ourselves atthe extremity of the parapet, on a jutting ledge of rock, and where thecavern assumed an unusually sombre complexion, in consequence of thecliffs actually uniting, or nearly so, at the summit of the dome. Here,too, theTamina struggled, roared, and foamed through the narrow, dark,and rugged gorge with tremendous impetuosity and deafening noise, thesounds being echoed and reverberated a thousand times by the fracturedangles and projections of the cavern. We were now at the source of theThermæ. Ascending some steps cut out of the rock, we came to a door,which opened, and instantly enveloped us in tepid steam. We entered agrotto in the solid marble, but of what dimensions we could form no estimate,since it was dark as midnight, and full of dense and fervid vapour.[127]We were quickly in an universal perspiration. The guides hurried usforward into another grotto, still deeper in the rock, where the steam wassuffocating, and where we exuded at every pore. It was as dark as pitch.An owl would not have been able to see an eagle within a foot of its saucereyes. We were told to stoop and stretch out our hands. We did so,and immersed them in the boiling—or, at least, the gurgling, source of thePfeffers. We even quaffed at this fountain of Hygeia.

Often had we slept in damp linen, while travelling through Holland,Germany, and Switzerland. We had now, by way of variety, a wakingset of integuments saturated with moistureab interno, as well asab externo,to such an extent, that I believe each of us would have weighed atleast half a stone more at our exit than on our entrance into this stew-panof the Grison Alps.

On emerging into the damp, gelid, and gloomy atmosphere of thecavern, every thing appeared of a dazzling brightness after our short immersionin the Cimmerian darkness of the grotto. The transition of temperaturewas equally as abrupt as that of light. The vicissitude couldhave been little less than 50 or 60 degrees of Fahrenheit in one instant,with all the disadvantage of dripping garments! It was like shifting thescene, with more than theatrical celerity, from the Black Hole of Calcuttato Fury Beach, or the snows of Nova Zembla. Some of the party, lessexperienced in the effects of travelling than myself, considered themselvesdestined to illustrate the well-known allegory of the discontented—andthat they would inevitably carry away with them a large cargo of thatwhich thousands come here annually to get rid of—rheumatism. Iconfess that I was not without some misgivings myself on this point,seeing that we had neither the means of changing our clothes nor of dryingthem—except by the heat of our bodies in the mountain breeze. TheGoddess of Health, however, who is nearly related to the Genius of Travelling,preserved us from all the bad consequences, thermometrical andhygrometrical, of these abrupt vicissitudes.[41]

We retrograded along the narrow plank that suspended us over theprofound abyss with caution, fear, and astonishment. TheTamina seemedto roar more loud and savage beneath us, as if incensed at our safe retreat.The sun had passed the meridian, and the gorge had assumed a far morelugubrious aspect than it wore on our entrance. The shivered rocks andsplintered pinnacles that rose on each side of the torrent, in gothic archesof altitude sublime, seemed to frown on our retreating footsteps—while[128]the human figures that moved at a distance along the crazy plank, beforeand behind us, frequently lost their just proportions, and assumed the mostgrotesque and extraordinary shapes and dimensions, according to the degreeof light admitted by the narrow fissure above, and the scarcely discernibleaperture at the extremity of this wonderful gorge. TheTamina,meanwhile, did not fail to play its part in the gorgeous scene—astonishingthe eye by the rapidity of its movements, and astounding the ear by thevibrations of its echoes. It seemed to growl more furiously as we recededfrom the depths of the crevasse.

At length we gained the portal, and, as the sun was still darting hisbright rays into the deepest recesses of the ravine, glancing from themarble rocks, and glittering on the boiling torrent, the sudden transitionfrom Cimmerian gloom to dazzling day-light, appeared like enchantment.While crossing the trembling bridge, I looked back on a scene which cannever be eradicated from my memory. It is the most singular and impressiveI have ever beheld on this globe, and compared with which, theBrunnens are “bubbles” indeed![42]

[129]

While examining the waters, the baths, and the internal economy of thevastvaletudinarium that stands in this savage locality, the bell announcedthe approach of the second, or superior dinner, which happenedthat day to be rather later than usual. TheSalon, overlooking thetorrent of the Tamina, was soon replenished with guests of the betterorder; the canaille, or swarm of inferior invalids having dined two hoursor more previously, in the commonSalle a Manger. It needed butlittle professional discrimination to class and specify them. The majorityproclaimed the causes of their visits to the Pfeffers. Rheumatism, scrofula,and cutaneous diseases, formed the prominent features in this motley assemblage.Invalids, with chronic complaints, real or imaginary, such asabound at all watering places, foreign and domestic, were mingled in thegroup; while a small portion, including our own party, evinced anythingbut corporeal ailments—unless a “canine appetite” at a genuine Germantable-d’hôte may be ranked among the evils to which English flesh isheir. Some monks, from the neighbouring monastery, (to which the Bathsbelong,) took rank, and indeed precedence, in this small division. Themountain breeze and fervid sun of the Convent of Pfeffers had bronzedthem with much of that nut-brown complexion, which travelling exercisein the open air had conferred on their British visitors; while their sleekcheeks and portly corporations proved, almost to a demonstration, that theholy fathers descended into the profound ravine of the Tamina to give theirbenediction to the waters, rather than to drink them—and to add a sacredzest to the viands of theRefectory, by the alacrity with which theyswallowed them. Their appearance illustrated the truth of the adage—“Whatwill not poison will fatten.”

Waters of Pfeffers.

The Waters ofPfeffers have neither taste, smell, nor colour. Theywill keep for ten years, without depositing a sediment, or losing their transparency.But we are not to infer that they are destitute of medicinalpowers, because they possess no sensible properties. In their chemicalcomposition, they have hitherto shewn but few ingredients; and those ofthe simpler saline substances, common to most mineral springs.[43] It does[130]not follow, however, that they contain no active materials because chemistryis not able to detect them. Powerful agents may be diffused inwaters, and which are incapable of analysis, or destructible by the processemployed for that purpose. The only sure test isexperience of theireffects on the human body. It is not probable that the Baths of Pfefferswould have attracted such multitudes of invalids, annually, from Switzerland,Germany, and Italy; and that for six centuries, if their remedialagency had been null or imaginary.[44] Their visitors are not of that fashionableclass, who run to watering-places for pleasure rather than for health—or,to dispel the vapours of the town by the pure air of the coast or thecountry. Yet, as human nature is essentially the same in all ranks ofsociety, I have no doubt that much of the fame acquired by the Baths ofPfeffers, has been owing to the auxiliary influence of air, locality, changeof scene, moral impressions, and the peculiar mode of using the waters.Their temperature—100° of Fahren.—certain physical phenomena whichthey evince, and the nature of the diseases which they are reported to cure,leave little doubt in my mind that their merits, though overrated, likethose of all other mineral springs, are very considerable.

The disorders for which they are most celebrated, are rheumatic andneuralgic pains, glandular swellings, and cutaneous eruptions. But theyare also resorted to by a host of invalids afflicted with those anomalousand chronic affections, to which nosology has assigned no name, and forwhich the Pharmacopœia affords very few remedies. As the Baths belongto the neighbouring Convent of Pfeffers, and, as the holy fathers affordnot only spiritual consolation to the patients, but medical assistance indirecting the means of cure, there is every reason to believe, or, at least,to hope, that the moral, or rather divine influence of Religion co-operateswith mere physical agency, in removing disease and restoring health.

The Waters of Pfeffers are led from their sombre source in the cavern,along the narrow scaffold before described, into a series of baths scoopedout of the rocky foundation of this vast hospital, each bath capable of accommodatinga considerable number of people at the same time. The[131]thermal waters are constantly running into and out of the baths—or ratherthrough them, so that the temperature is preserved uniform, and the watersthemselves in a state of comparative purity, notwithstanding the numbersimmersed in them. The baths are arched with stone—the window to eachis small, admitting little light, and less air:—and, as the doors are keptshut, except when the bathers are entering or retiring, the whole space notoccupied by water, is full of a dense vapour, as hot as the Thermæ themselves.The very walls of the baths are warm, and always dripping withmoisture. Such are theSudatoria in which the German, Swiss, andItalian invalids indulge more luxuriously than ever did the Romans in theBaths of Caracalla. In these they lie daily, from two, to six, eight, ten—andsometimes sixteen hours![45] The whole exterior of the body is thussoaked, softened—parboiled; while the interior is drenched by large quantitiesswallowed by the mouth—the patient, all this while, breathing thedense vapour that hovers over the baths. The Waters of Pfeffers, therefore,inhaled and imbibed, exhaled and absorbed, for so many hours daily,must permeate every vessel, penetrate every gland, and percolate throughevery pore of the body. So singular a process of human maceration inone of Nature’s cauldrons, conducted with German patience and Germanenthusiasm, must, I think, relax many a rigid muscle—unbend many acontracted joint—soothe many an aching nerve—clear many an unsightlysurface—resolve many an indurated gland—open many an obstructed passage—andrestore many a suspended function. The fervid and detergentstreams of the Pfeffers, in fact, are actually turned, daily and hourly,through the Augean stable of the human constitution, and made to routout a host of maladies indomitable by the prescriptions of the most sagephysicians. The fable ofMedea’s revival of youthful vigour in wastedlimbs is very nearly realized in the mountains of the Grisons, and in thesavage ravine of theTamina. Lepers are here purified—the lame committheir crutches to the flames—the tumid throat and scrofulous neck arereduced to symmetrical dimensions—and sleep revisits the victim of rheumaticpains and neuralgic tortures.

Hydropathy, Hydro-sudo-pathy—or Hydrotherapeia.

These are the titles given to a system of healing human maladies bymeans of perspiration and cold water. It is making rapid progress inGermany, that land of ideality—and the tribe of other pathys.[132]Homœopathy—allopathy—and even spa-pathy are in danger. Although it is nonew system, being practised for a long time by the Russians, yet it isonly about fifteen years since Priestnitz, a Silesian peasant, introduced itamongst his native mountains, and in a shape and manner differing somewhatfrom the Russian practice.

There can be no doubt that the application of cold water to thesurface of the body, whether generally or locally, is a powerful agent,when skilfully managed. The chill that is painfully felt on the firstplunge—the recoil of the circulation from the surface to the great centralorgans and vessels—the shrinking of all external parts—the rapid abstractionof animal heat—the hurried respiration—and last and mostimportant of all—the reaction which follows the bath—are all importantphenomena, that may work much good or evil in the animal economy,according as they are watched and regulated. The reaction after the coldbath is not less curious than the recoil. The heart and great internalorgans seem overwhelmed and stunned, for a time, by the first shock.But soon after emerging from the bath, they begin to recover energy, andto free themselves from the volume of congested blood, under which theylaboured. They then drive the circulation to the surface with increasingforce, filling and distending the vessels of the skin beyond the normal ormedium condition. With this distension comes a glow of heat all overthe body, and a feeling of elasticity, or bien-être, which it is difficult todescribe. A third series of phenomena now commence. All the glandularorgans of the body now take on an augmented degree of activity,and their secretions become more copious than before the bath. Contemporarywith this increase of secretion internally, the skin itself acts morevigorously, and not only the insensible, but the sensible perspiration becomesmore copious. In fact, the cold bath gives rise to a series, or ratherthree series of phenomena, very closely resembling a paroxysm of ague—viz.the cold, hot, and sweating stages. After a few hours all the functionsreturn to their normal or usual routine of duty.

But things do not always run thus smoothly. If any particular internalorgan be much disordered in function, or at all changed in structure, it isvery apt to be so overpowered by the recoil or first shock of the cold bath,that when reaction comes on, it is only partial and imperfect, in consequenceof the weak organ or organs remaining in a state of congestion,and incapable of freeing themselves from the overplus of blood determinedupon them by the retreat of the circulation from the surface.Then we have headache, lassitude, drowsiness, general malaise, or localuneasiness, imperfect reaction, scanty or disordered secretions, with manyother uncomfortable feelings, instead of that elasticity and buoyancy whichhave been already noticed.

Before proceeding further on the cold bath, let us glance at thepeculiar manner in which it is employed by the hydro-therapeutic doctors[133]of Germany, who have now establishments in many of the principaltowns.

About four or five o’clock in the morning, the patient is wrapped up tothe chin (while in bed) in a thick woollen shirt. Outside of this is placedanother covering of down, fur, or any warm and impermeable material.In a short time the disengagement of animal heat from the body thusenveloped, forms a fervid atmosphere around him, which soon induces acopious perspiration, in the greater number of individuals. It has beenobserved that, in diseased parts, as for instance, in the joints of goutypeople, the perspiration was longest in breaking out. When the skin isobstinate, friction and other means are used to accelerate the cutaneousdischarge. When the physician judges that the perspiration has beensufficient, the patient is quickly disrobed and plunged into a cold bath,which is kept ready at the side of his bed. The first shock is very unpleasant;but that over, the invalid feels very comfortable, and when theprocess is likely to prove favourable, there is frequently observed on thesurface of the water a kind of viscid scum, the supposed morbid matterthrown off from the body. The period of immersion in the cold bath iscarefully watched, for if protracted too long it proves hurtful, or evendangerous. Some people will not bear the cold immersion above a minute—othersare allowed to remain till the approach of a second shiver.Where the patient is very delicate or weak, the temperature of the bath israised a little. In other cases, the bath is artificially depressed below thenatural temperature of the water.

On emerging from the bath, the patient is quickly dressed, and immediatelycommences exercise, and drinks abundantly of cold water. Thelimit to this ingurgitation is sense of pain or weight in the stomach.The patient, although rather averse to the cold drink at first, soon becomesfond of it, and will swallow fifteen or twenty goblets with a keenrelish. After the promenade and cold drink is over, a nourishing breakfastis taken. All stimulating or exciting beverages are entirely prohibited.The appetite generally becomes keen, and the digestion, even ofdyspeptics, strong and effective during this course. Between breakfastand dinner is variously employed, according to the strength of the patientsor the nature of the disease. Some take riding or pedestrian exercise—othersgymnastics—and a few have more cold water, as a plunging orshower bath.

The dinner is to be light, and soon after mid-day. It is generally takenwith a keen appetite. During the three or four hours after dinner, all exerciseof mind or body is forbidden, but sleep is not to be indulged in.Towards evening, some of the stronger patients repeat the same processwhich they underwent in the morning; but those who are weak, or in whomthe crisis is approaching, only take cold water to drink in moderation.[134]After a slight supper the patient retires to sleep, in order that he may earlyresume the routine of the water-cure.

The professors of this system vary the mode of application almost infinitely—especiallythe external application of the cold water, according tothe general or local seat of the complaint. They act very much on thedoctrine of revulsion or derivation. Thus when there are symptoms offulness or congestion about the head or the chest, a half-bath or hip-bathof cold water is employed, disregarding the first impression of cold on thelower parts of the body, but looking to thereaction which is to take placethere, and to the consequent derivation of blood from the head and chest.Foot-baths, cold lotions, fomentations, and poultices are variously used,according to the nature or seat of the malady.

Like the spa waters, thishydrotherapeia produces, in a great manyinstances, acrisis. For some days the patients feel themselves muchmore energetic and comfortable than before the course was begun; butafter a time “a veritable state of fever is produced, the result of thisgeneral effervescence.”[46] Then the symptoms of the complaint, whateverit may be, are all exasperated and acquire an increase of intensity—even olddiseases, that were forgotten, will sometimes re-appear—but all this commotionis the precursor of a salutary crisis and a return to health. A kindof prickly heat, with itching of the skin, is a common occurrence in thecourse of the cure. “The effects produced even on organic diseases bythis hydro-therapeutic treatment would convince the most sceptical of itswonderful efficacy.”—Engel.

The diseases to which this remedy is now applied in Germany are numerousand very different. Fevers, even of the most inflammatory kind, aresaid to yield to it. Pure inflammations of vital organs are fearlessly submittedto it. The first case related by Dr. Engel, is one of pneumonia,well marked, in a young girl who had been exposed to a current of coldair after violent exercise in the heat of the day. Dr. Weiss ordered herto be enveloped in a blanket, wet with cold water, and then other blanketsover the wet one, with plenty of cold water to drink. Some ameliorationof the symptoms followed; but in two hours they were again intense.Two foreign physicians accompanied Dr. E. to the bed-side of the patient,and prognosticated a fatal termination unless she were bled, and the coldwater treatment declined. Dr. E. with the greatest confidence, orderedthe blanket to be again wetted with cold water. This second applicationwas followed by increase of the burning heat, and also by delirium. Notwithstandingthe remonstrances of the foreigners, Dr. E. was still firm inhis purpose—and ordered the wet blankets to be applied every half-hour.[135]No change took place till after the sixth application, when the kidneysacted copiously. The seventh application was followed by diminution ofthe thirst and heat—the patient became more tranquil—began to perspire—andfell into a short sleep. The perspiration continued copious fortwenty-two hours, and was kept up by the drinking of large quantities ofcold water. The perspiration having ceased, the patient was put into acold half-bath (slipper) where the respiration became more free. On beingtaken out and covered over she perspired copiously. The wet blanketswere now applied only twice a day, with an occasional half-bath. On thefifth day she was well. (Weiss.)

Before proceeding farther, it will be proper to explain that the transitionfrom a hot bath to a cold one, even in a state of perspiration, is not half sodangerous as most people imagine. It is well known that if we jump outof hot water into cold, we resist the shock, and bear the effects of thelatter better than if we took the plunge without any preparation. Butthen there is a strong prejudice thatperspiration is an insuperable bar tothe application of cold water to the surface. If the individual has comeinto a state of perspiration from bodily exercise, and especially if he befatigued or exhausted—then the cold water would be dangerous. But thisis not the case, to any extent, when he is warmed either by the hot bath,or by the accumulation of heat generated in his own body. This is provedby authentic facts which have come under my own observation. Fortyyears ago, when the Russian troops were encamped in the islands ofGuernsey and Jersey, the soldiers constructed rude stone huts or ovensalong the beech, for vapour baths. Into these they put stones, and heatedthem by fire, when they poured water over them, and thus filled the hutwith a dense vapour. When the men had continued in this rude vapour-bathtill they were in a state of perspiration, they leaped into the sea, andswam about till they were tired. All this was done, partly for health, partlyfor pleasure. It is well-known to all northern travellers that the Russiansare in the habit of steaming themselves in the vapour-baths, and thendirectly rolling themselves in the snow. Every one, too, must have observedpostillions dashing their foaming and perspiring horses into any convenientwater at the end of their journey, without the least fear of their animalsbeing injured by the dip.

Here then is a complete counter-part, or rather prototype of thehydro-sudo-pathy,as already described. But there is one process which willappear incredible to most people—that of procuring perspiration by meansof blankets wetted with cold water. Let us see whether an illustration ofthis may not be found. Every one who has read the Waverly Novels musthave been struck with the singular practice pursued by some Highlanders(outlaws I think) who were obliged to pass many winter nights unshelteredon the freezing mountains. When they were desirous of sleeping, theydipped their plaids in the freezing water of the nearest pool or stream,[136]and, wrapping themselves in this dripping and gelid mantle, went quietlyto sleep! So long as the plaid kept wet, the Highlander kept warm, andslept soundly; but the moment it got dry, the man was awoke by thecold, and proceeded to the brook or stream to saturate his bed-clothesagain with cold water. Here we have the prototype of the German processdescribed in the case of the girl with inflamed lungs. By what processofreasoning the Silesian peasant and the Celtic mountaineer, arrivedat the knowledge of these curious facts, would be difficult to imagine.There was probably no reasoning in either case, but chance, observation,and experience.

It is sometimes more easy to explain a phenomenon when discovered,than to arrive at it by any process of reasoning previously. The wet plaidby confining the animal heat of the Highlander, soon occasioned a warmatmosphere around his body, which kept him comfortable. But as soonas the plaid got dry and its texturepervious, then the animal heat rapidlyescaped, and the feeling of cold dispelled sleep. In the case of pneumoniarelated by Dr. Weiss, the wet blanket was surmounted by several otherblankets, which effectually prevented the escape of animal heat, whichwould soon accumulate and eventuate in perspiration. In such cases therewould be a chill at first, succeeded by reaction, heat, and transpiration.We see this exemplified every day, where cold lotions are applied to aninflamed part. If the clothes are defended from the external air, theysoon become warm, and form a fomentation—whereas, if exposed to acurrent of air, they will almost freeze the part by evaporation. Dr.Weiss’s patient would never have perspired, if the wet blanket had notbeen covered by dry ones.

We are now prepared to glance at some other cases recorded by theprofessors of hydropathy.

Dr. Engin relates the following cases of catarrhal and rheumatic fever.A delicate female, aged 30 years, was taken ill on the 27th of April 1837,with the abovementioned complaint, but was under an allopathic doctortill the 30th, when Dr. E. found her labouring under acute pains in thejoints—inflamed throat—difficulty of swallowing—joints swelled and red—inabilityto move—pulse 100. The patient was enveloped in a cold wetblanket, over which several dry ones were placed, twice a day, for threedays consecutively. She soon began to perspire copiously each time ofapplication. On the fourth day she was plunged into a cold bath whiledeluged with sweat. This was repeated twelve days in succession, theinflamed joints being kept, in the intervals, covered with cold wettedcloths. During all this time she was ordered to drink plenty of coldwater. The fever and all the other symptoms gradually diminished, andfinally disappeared. Towards the end of the treatment a critical eruptionappeared on the skin.

This was certainly as unfavourable a case for the hydropathic treatment[137]as could well be imagined; and the fact of its being put in practice, evenwith impunity, may afford matter for reflection.

Cases are detailed by Dr. Engin and others, where scarlatina, erysipelas,herpes, and other cutaneous eruptions, were treated on hydropathicprinciples, and seemingly with success. Hæmorrhages of various kinds,from nose, lungs, bowels, &c. are subjected to this treatment, as well as ahost of chronic maladies, including constipation, hæmorrhoids, amenorrhœa,chlorosis, liver complaints, jaundice, gout, rheumatism, melancholia,hypochondriasis, hysteria, epilepsy, tic douloureux, gastrodynia, scrofula,rickets, &c.

Now, although I should be far from recommending this practice in manyof the complaints where it has been employed, yet, as the institutions forthe hydropathic treatment are now spread all over Germany, and open tothe inspection of all medical men, (unlike the hocus-pocus fraud, mystery,and deception of homœopathy,) it would be unwise not to examine into asystem which shocks our prejudices rather than runs counter to historicalfacts and philosophical reasoning.

At all events, this system corroborates a practice which I have nowfollowed and publicly recommended for many years; namely, the “Calido-frigidSponging, orLavation.” This consists in sponging theface, throat, and upper part of the chest, night and morning, withhotwater, and then immediately withcold water. I have also recommendedthat children should be habituated to this sponging all over the body, asthe means of inuring them to, and securing them from, the injuries producedby atmospheric vicissitudes. It is the best preservative which Iknow against face-aches, tooth-aches, (hot and cold water being alternatelyused to rinse the mouth,) ear-aches, catarrhs, &c. so frequent and distressingin this country. But its paramount virtue is that of preservingmany a constitution from pulmonary consumption, the causes of whichare often laid in repeated colds, and in the susceptibility to atmosphericimpressions.[47]

END OF THE FIRST PILGRIMAGE.

[138]

[139]

(Second Pilgrimage.)

CHEMIN DE MER—CHEMIN DE FER.

A short run of fourteen hours from the Tower, on a road as smooth asthat of the Great Western Railway, deposited us safely at Ostende—a kindof flat and fortified Gravesend, where John Bull, as far as tongue andtable are concerned, is as much at home as if he were in Deptford orGreenwich. At six in the morning, every thing is bustle among the baggage,and it requires half a dozen omnibuses to convey travellers, trunks,clothes-bags and band-boxes from the hotels to the station. And here Iwould advise every passenger to mark thedestination on every package,and take care of the receipt ticket, otherwise he may find, on his arrivalat Brussels, Liege, or Antwerp, that his luggage has travelled to quite adifferent quarter, requiring a “reclamation” to be sent along the lines, andperhaps two or three days’ delay! One of my trunks, and that too,the one containing the “sinews of war,” was “absent without leave,”when I reached Brussels, and was afterwards found lying in the office atGhent!

Short as was our passage to the Station by theomnibus, it gave riseto a warm discussion respecting this very convenient and economicalvehicle, which was considered by one of the party as a great recent improvementon hackneys, cabs, and stage-coaches. An Irish Tutor, however,who was one of the company, maintained that theomnibus was incommon use more than two thousand years ago, in every country betweenthe banks of the Ganges and the pillars of Hercules. This was so startlingan assertion that the gentleman was called on for proof. “That Iwill give,” said he, “from the tenth Satire of Juvenal, which commencesthus:”—

[140]

The cockneys stared at each other, and one or two gentlemen laughedmost immoderately. TheDomine proceeded to translate the passage forthe benefit of the ladies, and others who might not possess a knowledgeof the dead languages.

“Omnibus in terris” there are OMNIBUSES in all countries, “quæsunt,” that lie, “a gadibus,” between Cadiz, “auroram et gangem” and thebanks of the Ganges.

This ingenious distortion of the celebrated passage in Juvenal, was deliveredwith such assumed gravity and apparent honesty, that it carriedconviction to nine-tenths of the passengers, and those few who detectedthe sophistry, were so much pleased with the joke, that they applaudedthe learning of the Theban. Nor would it have been very easy to provethat he wasliterally wrong. “Omnibus” was in use wherever the latinlanguage prevailed; and though not specifically designed as a vehicle forpassengers and luggage, it was employed to carryall kinds of things—hencethe application of it to the modern and very useful Noah’s Ark on fourwheels.

A good deal of scepticism has been expressed respecting the “flyingDutchman” of the novelist and others. But I do not see why we shouldnot have a “flying Dutchman,” seeing that we have “flying Belgians.”If, in the good old times of Marlbro’, Napoleon, and Wellington, a trainof artillery moving at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour, was calleda“flying” train, surely a train going at the rate of twenty-five or thirtymiles an hour, and carrying a small army with its baggage on its back,deserves the epithet of a “flying train.” Never was country better calculatedfor rail-roads than a great portion of Holland and Belgium. Youhave only to lay down sleepers and rails in any direction, and all is readyfor the engine. Nor is there any extra expence required for guarding manor beast against accidents. The train brushes along the sides or gable ofa cottage—dashes through the centre of a village—plunges through thesuburbs of a city—skips over a public road without disturbing a stone ofthe pavé—darts over a canal—and all with scarcely a rail or fence toprevent intrusion on the lines. The Belgians are either very cautious, orvery reckless of life. You will see men, women, and children standing orsitting within six feet of the trains; but no accident seems ever to occur.As for cattle straying on the rail-roads, there is little danger of that; foryou may travel from Ostende to Liege, without seeing ox or ass, cow orcalf, sheep or goat—or anything with four legs—except in the towns. Allis corn, hay, potatoes, and clover—or clover, potatoes, hay and corn—orsome combination of these four staple articles.

But neither rail-roads nor love are found to run always smooth. As we[141]approach Liege the ground becomes so rugged, and the hills so steep, thattunnels of prodigious length and depth are necessary to complete the lineto Liege, Aix, and Cologne. It is said the Americans contemplate a perforationof the Allighany Mountains, in order that rail-roads may be extendedto Kentucky. The task will not be much less difficult to connectOstende with the Rhine. But the persevering industry of Germans—the“improbus labor”—will conquer all obstructions.

ANTWERP ROUTE.

While the train is flying along between Brussels and Liege, let us glanceat the Antwerp route. It is generally preferred to that of Ostende—thoughfor what good reason I am ignorant. The land is surely morenatural to man than the water. True the difference between the tworoutes consists chiefly in the length of the river voyage; but, of all thenavigations which I have ever experienced round this globe, the “Navigationof the Scheldt,” is amongst the most insipid and monotonous.To me, too, it recalled scenes the most triste, and reminiscences the mostdolorous. The very lapse of time itself (31 years) since I first anathematizedits malodorous and malarious banks, is not a very pleasing retrospect.But the recollection of what passed there in 1809, can never becalled up without pain and mortification!

While the steamer was ploughing her weary way between Flushing andCadsand,Memory, that mysterious power, quickly reproduced the drama,on which the curtain had fallen for more than thirty years! The hundredpendants floating in the air—the masses of troops, whose polished armsgleamed in the sun—the frowning and hostile ramparts and batteries oneach side of the pass covered with thousands of soldiers and citizens—thedaring rush of three men-of-war (in one of which, theValiant ofseventy-four guns, I then was,) into the Scheldt, while shells were burstingover us, and the heavy shot whistling through our rigging—the debarkationof the British troops—the bombarding and battering of Flushing—theconflagration of the town—the sorties of the garrison, repulsed, scattered,and driven back by British bayonets, as quickly and certainly asthe Ocean’s surge is shivered into foam by the perpendicular rocks—thedevastation of the ramparts by the showers of shot and shells for everthundering against them—the awful preparation for storm—the capitulationof the garrison;—all these and many other scenes rose on the intellectualmirror, and flitted round the mental diorama, as fresh as when theywere first spread before the material eye.

Then came the still darker side of the drama, on which Memory, evenyet shudders to dwell! Our hopes and expectations scattered on the winds—thegreat object of the Expedition (French fleet) secured beyond our[142]reach, though before our eyes—while our luxurious commander was employedin eating turtle and throwing theshells at the enemy.

The stimulus of action, the expectation of booty, and the prospect ofbattle being withdrawn, vexation and disappointment prepared the way forthe deadly poison of malaria. Now came the “foul fiend of the fens” ina hundred horrid forms; and, like a destroying angel, mowed down theranks of our legions, lingering on these pestiferous plains in disgust ordespair! Happy were they who fell victims, at once, to the destructiveagent. Many of those who survived the endemic, were harassed to theirdying days by repeated attacks of the Walcheren malady.

Yet, on both sides of the river, the country is a luxurious garden,—teeming,equally, with the necessaries of life and the seeds of death.

The city of Antwerp itself is worthy of a visit, there being numerouspaintings by the Flemish masters of the art, while the citadelcalls forth exciting recollections of valiant assaults, and equally gallantdefences.

LIEGE.

Liege is quite metamorphosed—revolutionised—or, more properly speaking,Cockrellized—within the last twenty years. In times of war, it presenteda picture of peace—and now, in times of peace, it exhibits thebustle of war. It is no longer the quiet abode of burghers, as in the daysof Quentin Durward! In every direction you observe tall chimnies belchingforth volumes of dense smoke—forges roaring—steam-engines sobbinghammers clattering—and files grating—all in the preparation and constructionof various kinds of destructive weapons, from a 42-pounder to apitchfork! Liege, in fact, is now the Brumagem of Belgium, and canrival the great British manufactory of metals in no small degree. Musket-barrelscan be procured at Liege for three shillings each! Let Englandlook to her corn-laws! The “factory system” has not greatly improvedthe manners, habits, or morals of Liege. Those who have not visited thisplace for ten or fifteen years are astonished at the difference among thelower order of the people.

The country around Liege, and between that city and Aix and Spa, ismagnificent—equal in beauty, cultivation, and fertility, to the finest partsof Devonshire—or indeed of any other shire in England. Unlike Franceand many parts of the Continent, the country here is spangled with handsomevillas and neat cottages in every direction.

CHAUDE FONTAINE.

About six miles from Liege, on the road to Spa, most beautifully situate,[143]lies the little warm spring of the above name. The waters are limpid,inodorous, and tasteless. The temperature is 90½° of Fahrenheit. Thespecific gravity is that of common water. It contains small quantities ofcarbonic, sulphuric, and muriatic acid, and also some lime. One hundredpints of this spring yielded 240 grains of saline matters—of which 88were common salt—91 carbonate of lime—14 sulphate of lime—15 muriateof magnesia—12 alumine—and 15 silice. They are, therefore, veryanalogous to the waters of Pfeffers, Wildbad, and Schlangenbad—andmay be used for the same purposes as their more celebrated contemporaries.They may be reached in nine or ten hours from Ostende, by therail-road. A young lady from England, who bathed in these waters once,and sometimes twice a day, remarked that she always “felt like eel” afterleaving them, and throughout the same day. I do not exactly know whatthe “eel-feel” is, but I can easily believe that it is not precisely that whichthe eel itself experiences when it changes its mud-bath for the hands ofthe cook.

SPA.

Thirty miles South ofAix-la-Chapelle, and twenty-four South-eastof Liege, embosomed in a sombre but rather romantic valley of the Ardennes,liesSpa, formerly one of the most aristocratic and celebratedchalybeates of Europe.

We proceed from Liege to Spa along the valley of the Vesdre, and amore beautiful drive can hardly be met with. I do not think it inferior tothe banks of the Meuse, and it certainly is much morebeautiful than manyparts of the Rhine. The sides of the valley are clothed with wood, orcultivated carefully, from their very summits, and studded with beautifulvillas, cottages, and hamlets, in all directions. At every winding, we seehundreds of men at work, carrying the new rail-road over rivers andthrough the solid rock.

“Cette route charmante decouvre à chaque detour de ravissants vallonsqui laissant aperçevoir au loin des maisons de plaisance, de vieux chateaux,et de riants villages. Les cotes escarpées des montagnes qui en dessinentles sinuositées parsemées d’arbres, de rochers, et de precipices.”

At the village of Pepinsterre, about sixteen miles from Liege, we quitthe Aix-la-Chapelle road, and turn up to the right. The whole way fromthis to Spa is a constant ascent, the air becoming more bracing, and thescenery more wild, or of the Ardennes-forest character, till we approachthe town through a triple avenue, the centre one a pavé, and the side[144]ones for walking or riding. Spa itself lies in a very picturesque dell, theeastern side of which is very abrupt, and covered with wood. The housesare all white and clean, and the locale, altogether, pleased me more thanalmost any spa I had previously visited.

Yet the place is comparatively abandoned! We saw very few Englishthere, and up to the 23d July, 1840, only about a thousand names wereentered on the books, many, perhaps most, of whom were casual visitors,or merely passengers to other spas! I fear the good citizens of Spa willnot erect a statue to Sir Francis Head.

A catalogue of the emperors, kings, queens, princes, and nobility of allgrades (laying aside the gentry and bureaucracy) who have lined their ribswith steel, and tanned their slender chylopoietics in the Pouhon or Geronsterre,would fill a volume. Our countrymen bear a conspicuous part inthis roll of worthies. Henry the Third, of France, visited Spa in thesixteenth century—in the same, Charles Stuart, having lost his kingdom,repaired to Spa to regain his health. In 1717,Peter the Great drankthe waters of the Pouhon and Geronsterre—in one single year, (1783,)the list of princes, dukes, and princesses, alone, amounted to 33, besidesthe hosts of inferior gentry.

The following history of one of our countrymen, recorded byHenryde Steers, the Sydenham of Spa, is not a little curious:—“In 1620,arrived here a Milord Anglais, accompanied by his medical attendant.The College of Physicians in London, who had been consulted in thiscase, instead of putting Milord into a strait-waistcoat—or, at all events,under surveillance, recommended him to the care of De Steers, at Spa.This unfortunate gentleman laboured under monomania of three distinctforms, which attacked him periodically, and in succession. During thefirst ten days of every month, he neither ate, nor drank, nor spoke. Hekept to his room all the time. On the eleventh morning he would risefrom his bed early, go out a hunting, and come home hungry, eating anddrinking enormously. This was his occupation during the second decadeof the month. In the third decade, the scene entirely changed. He becamepassionately fond of music, and squandered hundreds upon thesquallini’s of that day. At the end of the month the taciturnity andfasting, &c. returned.”

It is hardly necessary to say that De Steers, being unable to prevail onthe monomaniac to drink the Spa waters, the patient returned to England,and became a furious and confirmed maniac.

“As soon,” says Dr. Dordonville, “as the roads to Spa were renderedpassable, the English, travellers by disposition, and great admirers of thepicturesque, thronged to the fountains, and filled the town by their magnificence.They loved to expend their riches; and those, whose energeticpassions threw them into dissipation, introduced a fatal and ruinousluxury.”

[145]

Although the caprice of fashion, and the attractions of other watering-placeshave damaged Spa, it is still resorted to by many people of thiscountry, and great numbers from France, Belgium, and Germany.

POUHON.

This is the most ancient of the springs. It is situated in the middle ofthe town, surrounded by a marble basin, whence is bottled immense quantitiesof the waters for France, England, Holland, and Germany. Steers,who practised here for twenty-five years, is not behind his brethren of thespas, in his eulogies of the Pouhon waters. “They have an agreeabletartness, and have worked many miracles. Their effects are all but supernatural,and have excited the curiosity and admiration of physicians andphilosophers who have come here from various countries.”

It is very clear when received into a glass, which becomes covered onthe sides with bubbles of air, that also rise on the surface. The acidulousand piquant taste is succeeded by a smack of steel. On standing forsome time there is a deposition of iron at the bottom of the glass, in consequenceof the disengagement of carbonic acid. Peter the Great, whocame here exhausted, and menaced with dropsy, completely recovered—andhis statue stands over the Pouhon as no mean certificate of the medicinalpowers of the spring.

Thesecond source,Sauveniere, is half a league out of the town,and situated in a romantic spot. This spa contains less iron than thePouhon, and used to precede the others in drinking.

TheGeronsterre was known toDe Steers. It is to the south of thetown, but now of easy access by a beautiful road. This spring disengagessome sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which distinguishes it from the others.

TheTonnelet is situated between the Pouhon and Sauveniere, and hasthree springs, all of the same quality.

Constituents of One Gallon (231 Cubic Inches).

From the above it will be seen that iron and large quantity of carbonicacid gas are the main ingredients in the spa waters—and consequentlythat they are simple chalybeates—without aperient qualities.

[146]

Superb baths have been erected near the Pouhon, for the accommodationof visitors.

MEDICINAL AGENCY.

M. Dordonville is the most recent author on the Spa waters, as he hasresided there for many years, on account of his own health. Accordingto him, the first perceptible effect of drinking the Spa waters, especially iftaken on an empty stomach, is a slight affection of the head resemblingthat which results from taking champaign. Four or five glasses suffice toproduce this phenomenon, especially at first. As this arises from thecarbonic acid gas, it is very transitory. This abundance of gas rendersthese waters very pleasant to drink, but they are far from agreeable whenthe gas has escaped—and they are then less easy of digestion. Hence thebottled waters are far less efficacious than at the sources. Since the maniaof Broussais, it has not been uncommon for French visitors to take thewaters mixed with gum Arabic, by which precious mess the springs wererendered nauseous and indigestible. We may agree with Dr. Dordonvillethat the action of Spa waters is not confined to the stomach, but extendsto various organs with which the stomach is bound in sympathy. Thisapplies to debility of the digestive organs and its consequences; but wemust be cautious how we employ this chalybeate where there are any obstructionsor engorgements of other viscera, merely because they are diuretic,and promote absorption. Both De Steers of old, and Monsr.Dordonville, of the present day, assure us that these waters require to betaken in large doses, and for a considerable time, otherwise they will doharm instead of good. “Those who cannot take them in this mannerought to desist from taking them at all.” Mons. D. has seen many peoplewho have taken from 300 to 350 ounces of the waters daily.Peterthe Great generally took twenty-one glasses (three ounces each) everymorning. Dr. D. however, wisely leaves it to the feelings of the patient,how many goblets he daily takes.

These waters have been found very beneficial in chronic diarrhœa, asmight indeed be expected; butlarge quantities of any liquid taken in suchcases, are detrimental, especially when conjoined with the pedestrian exercisesthat are recommended. We can hardly subscribe to the doctrinethat these chalybeates are beneficial in obstructions of the liver, and enlargmentsof the spleen—especially the former, considering that they have noaperient quality. The same observation applies to enlargement of themesenteric glands.

On the kidneys they have an evident action, andDe Steers, the Sydenhamof his day, calls themvesical.

“The waters of Spa remove heat of the kidneys and bladder, and expelgravel more effectually than any other remedy.”

[147]

One of the most general effects of these waters is an increase of appetite,and most patients acquire flesh as well as strength under their use.

It is, however, to people of pallid complexions—leucophlegmatic constitutions—andgeneral debility, without organic disease, that these watersmay be very useful. The pallid female, affected with complaints peculiarto the sex, may expect to acquire a healthy complexion, and generalstrength from the waters of Spa, assisted by mountain air and daily exercise.Sterility is one of the many maladies for which they are loudlypraised by the resident physicians.

The sulphuretted chalybeate of the Geronsterre is recommended by Dr.D. in tuberculous affections of the lungs—a recommendation which needsconfirmation, as the Americans say.

REGIMEN.

M. Dordonville remarks that no small portion of those who come toSpa, do so for pleasure, and not for health. These may eat and drink andexercise as they would at home. But the invalid must pursue a systematicregimen. The ancients always recommended aperient medicine previouslyto taking mineral waters—and even De Steers made a point ofgiving a gentle purgative to his patients every eight or ten days. Thehorror of opening medicine entertained by people on the continent, medicalmen and all, is productive of infinite mischief, when chalybeate waters,and all those not aperient, are used. M. Dordonville cautions the drinkersof Spa very strongly against exposure to cold—a necessary advice in amountainous region, where vicissitudes of temperature are frequent. Thewaters are best taken early in the morning fasting; or before meals.Some people drink them at their meals, without injury. Most of theinhabitants of Spa have no other beverage. In affections of the chestthey may be mixed with milk—especially those of the Geronsterre. M.Dordonville considers the Spring as the best season for the waters of Spa,and regrets that tyrant fashion prevents invalids from coming to thesewaters till the middle of Summer, or even till Autumn. From five tofifteen minutes’ interval between the glasses is to be observed, with exerciseduring that time. He recommends a light breakfast to be taken atthe fountains, after the waters, where delicious milk, fresh eggs, goodbutter, and bread can always be had. From twenty to forty, or evensixty days are necessary for a complete course of the waters. The samephysician cautions us against compound dishes or the least approach torepletion while taking the Spa. “The great rock on which patients splitis the pleasures of the table.”

The environs of Spa are very picturesque, and even romantic—the ridesand promenades being extensive and varied in this mountainous region.The railway from Ostende or Antwerp takes the invalid or visitor to withintwenty-four miles of the Spa, and will soon take him within six miles of[148]the town: and therefore the place may be reached on the third day fromLondon.

Springing from my couch at five o’clock, in the morning after myarrival, I first drank a large tumbler of the Pouhon, and started up themountain for the Geronsterre. The ascent is constant and rather steep;but the mountain air gave me fresh vigour, and I reached the fountain(three miles) without the slightest fatigue. It is prettily situated in akind of pleasure-ground, with shaded walks and pleasant benches forpromenade or repose, while taking the waters. The water itself did notconvey to my olfactory nerves that decided odour of sulphuretted hydrogenwhich Dr. Dordonville maintains it does. It certainly tastes somewhatdifferent from the Pouhon, and they urge you to swallow it quickly,lest the malodorous gas should escape. It was in vain that I told theNymph of the Spring that I was not sick, but only drinking the watersfrom curiosity. Still she urged, and so did some of the drinkers, that themost precious ingredient would vanish into air, if I did not gulp it downin an instant: I now took an eastern road over the brow of the mountain,through a wild forest, but along a good road, and reached theSauveniere,after a long walk of nearly three miles. Here I quaffed at thesource whence the Duchess of —— imbibed new life, or at leastrenovated health, and hung up her votive tablet, in the shape of a domeand colonnade, in gratitude to the fountain and its tutelar saint, Apollo.It tasted to my palate much more inky than its neighbour the Geronsterre,as, indeed, it ought to do, having more than double the quantity of iron,and nearly half as much as the Pouhon.

From thence I turned down a narrow road to theTonnelet, about amile distant from the Sauveniere. It was the briskest of them all, to mypalate, containing more carbonic acid gas than even the Pouhon. Thechalybeate taste was very marked, and the water, upon the whole, verypleasant. By this time I had swallowed four large tumblers of mineralwater, and walked seven miles before breakfast, which was very well forthe first morning. I experienced no sensation whatever about my head,nor any other than a sense of fulness in the stomach, and very little appetite.Another walk of more than a mile to the town, dissipated the senseof fulness and brought me an excellent appetite, which was again removedby eggs, coutelets, potatoes, and coffee, at the hotel de Pays Bas. Afterbreakfast, the pedestrian exercise was again resumed, and the heights tothe eastward of the town, with all their devious and intricate paths, werecarefully explored. The views from these heights are various and beautiful—theair delicate and exhilarating. Descending to the town, andresting half an hour, I repaired to the bathing establishment, close to thePouhon, and ordered a mineral water bath, at a temperature of 98°. Ifound that the bath-master trusted entirely to his hand, for the regulationof temperature, and on testing this “rule of thumb” by the thermometer,[149]he had only made a mistake of six degrees, the instrument exhibiting104°, instead of 98°. This, however, is very common at all bathingplaces. The chalybeate bath produced in me no other sensations thanthose arising from saline or plain baths elsewhere. The carbonic acidwas all gone, and the water tasted merely mawkish. It has very little ofthe stimulating effects of the Wisbaden or other potent waters. AlthoughI did not rise from the bath “rajeuné comme un Phœnix,” I experiencedgreat refreshment after twelve miles’ walking-exercise, and repaired to thethree o’clock table-d’hôte in thePays Bas, with more natural appetitethan I had felt since leaving Modern Babylon. A siesta of an hourafter dinner was equally pleasant and salubrious. After some ramblingsabout the town, a visit to the Redout finished the day’s work.

The magnificent “grande salle” in this splendid edifice, was occupiedwith the ball, while the “Dæmon-robber bands” were plying theirvocation at the end of the room. The play, however, seemed to go onlanguidly; and the waltz appeared to have more attractions for the companythan the roulette. The dancers and spectators were by no meansdistinguée. There was not one fine woman in the room. We did notdistinguish more than half a dozen English in the whole assembly. Theywere almost all French, Flemish, and a few Germans.

Thus ended aSpa-day in the Ardennes. I do not recommend an imitationof it to all those who go to Spa for health. But if the pedestrianexercise were superseded by equestrian or carriage exercise, I think amore effectual plan for the recovery of health could hardly be devised. Tothose who are very delicate, the paths that are cut along the face of thewooded precipices overhanging the town, afford most beautiful walks,sheltered from the winds, and commanding pleasing prospects of Ardennesscenery. The air there is bracing and elastic.

It is not likely that such a “Haven of Health” as this is, should bewithout its Cursaal, or gambling-table. The two grand hells are the Redoutand the Vauxhall. A few years before the Revolution the Church sustainedsome damage in slander by these mansions of morality. It appearsthat the Bishop of Liege, who united a temporal with an eternal concernfor the souls of the good citizens, had granted a monopoly of fifty yearsgambling to the proprietors of the Redout—of course without any otherconsideration than the advancement of religion and the good of the people.But a rival establishment (Vauxhall) having been started, the Bishopissued an ordonnance against the new tables, as not being orthodox. Anappeal was made to the legislature, and the holy canon was reversed, onthe principle that, as in a free state like that of Liege, “every man had aright to do as he liked with his own”—and as gambling was not contraryto law, so the Bishop had no right to grant a monopoly to gamblers.This was an awkward affair; but an amicable arrangement was soon madebetween the Bishop and the proprietors of the two hells, by which the[150]man of God modestly declined a tenth of the spoil, and only accepted athird of the profits of the tables at the end of each season! “LePrinceEveque recevra le tiersdes Benefices que se feront dans ces deux maisonssur les jeux, apres la saison des Eaux.”

In this way things went on smoothly for a while; when lo! a thirdCursaal raised its lofty head to share the spoils of hazard with the noblefirm of “Bishop,Redout, andVauxhall.” This was too much forthe conscience of M.L’Eveque. He justly considered that two royalroads to the regions of his “friend in black” were amply sufficient—andthat to open a third would only be adding another facility to thealready “faciles descensus Averni.” He therefore sent a file of “gens-d’armes”to turn the tables on these scoffers at the holy command of theirBishop, which led to wars and bloodshed. The Bishop, finding his palaceof Liege rather warm for him, appealed to the Emperor of Germany—orrather to Prince Metternich, then at Coblentz. Metternich decided infavour of the original hells, as being under the benediction of the Bishop,or perhaps of the Pope—and therefore incapable of doing any thing inconsistentwith the orthodox religion! Soon after this, Metternich andhis master had more important games to play in the French Revolution,and how Mons.Levoz, the unfortunate proprietor of the new Cursaalfared, this deponent knoweth not.

Spas are under the dominion of more influences than fashion. Whocould have supposed that the medicinal virtues of mineral waters should bedeteriorated or even destroyed bypolitics. Yet such is the case. WhileHolland and Belgium were under one crown, the Dutch dolls flockedannually in great numbers to paint their cheeks in the Pouhon or Geronsterre,returning to their dykes with a cargo of steel that secured them, forten months, against the damps and debilities of their vapoury atmosphere.But no sooner had the “Braves Belges” revolted, than the chalybeatesof Spa lost all their efficacy, and grass is now likely to grow, andwater to run in the streets of this celebrated place! The Dutch andmost of the English at present resort to the Brunnens of Nassau—thechalybeates of Brucknau—or the boiling Sprudel, for that health andrenovation which they used to seek and obtain in the forest of theArdennes!

It would be equally useless and impertinent in me to attempt a revulsionin the tide of spa-goers; yet, when I reflect on the locality of Spa—itsfacility of access (forty-eight hours from London)—the efficacy ofits waters—the salubrity of its air—the variety of its promenades anddrives—the excellence of its hotels—the cheapness of living—and the seclusionwhich is attainable by all—I cannot help regretting that fashion,caprice, or some inexplicable spell should turn the tide of British invalidsso completely fromSpa, and impel it with irresistible impetus towards theBrunnens ofGermany.

[151]

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.

Antiquity is to a city what noble blood is to an individual. Theformermay fall into decay, and thelatter into poverty; but the pride of ancestrysupports them both in their fallen greatness. The Romans had excellentolfactories, and a keen scent for steam or sulphuretted hydrogen gas,wherever these issued through cracks or fissures of the earth, in their widedomains. They were very fond of warm baths—and very wisely madefrequent use of them with no small advantage, considering that theseLords of the Creation had no linen shirts, and wore thick woollen, andprobably somewhat greasy garments next the skin. The boiling cauldronunder Aix poured forth its nauseous and malodorous broth as freely whenCæsar was mustering his legions on the banks of the Rhine, or whenCharlemagne, many a century afterwards, was uniting his Franco-Germansubjects in the same place, as now, when the “Dampschippe” and“Chemin de Fer” are daily bringing hundreds of customers and guestsfrom the distant shores of Albion and Erin. Innumerable Roman relicsare here found—and actual baths were discovered, where the brother ofNero probably bathed.

Aix is situated in latitude 50° in the midst of a gentle valley, environed,at some distance, by well-wooded hills. The substratum is calcareous, butthere are unequivocal marks of volcanic agency in the neighbourhood.The town, like London, presents an old city environed by a new one—especiallytowards the Borcette. The old town, in which almost all thehotels, and indeed the baths are situated, is very irregular, and cedes tofew continental cities in the roughness of its pavements.

TheFontaine Elisée, the chief or only place for drinking the waters,is situated exactly between the old and new towns, close to the theatre,and is one of the handsomest places of the kind amongst the spas ofGermany—forming a remarkable contrast with the Hygeian fonts of Ems,Wisbaden, and Baden-Baden. In the midst of the façade, 270 feet inlength, rises the rotunda (resembling the Temple of Vesta at Rome) nearlyfifty feet in height, supported by columns, flanked by two open colonnadesending in cafées, and fronted by a promenade among trees. The fountain,from which issue two streams, is situated ten or twelve feet below thecolonnade, at the bottom of two flights of marble steps—one for descendingto the font, and the other for ascending from it. There is ample spacein front of the fountain for slowly bibbing the fervid spring. The wholeis surmounted by a marble bust of Hygeia—taken from a German Princess—andcertainly exhibiting more benignity of mein than beauty offeature. The two High Priests who fill the glasses from the two streams,have nosinecure of it from six till eight o’clock every morning. I counted300 drinkers the first morning—and then, being tired, I counted no more.[152]It must be the reputation, and not the taste or flavour of these waters,that draws such multitudes of invalids to them every year. The odour ofsulphur is exceedingly strong—the temperature 129° Fahrenheit—thetaste most nauseous—exactly resembling the washings of a gun-barrel,with a dash of rotten eggs. It is astonishing how soon the palate andolfactories get reconciled to these and other malodorous waters. On thesecond morning I felt little or no repugnance to them. They are clear ascrystal.

The best baths are at theHotel de l’Empereur (where the superiorand hottest source is found), and which is also a very good hotel. Themaitre (Mr. Nuellens) is a pleasant fellow, who speaks English, and isvery attentive to his guests.

As Aix-la-Chapelle is not a place of resort for those who seek pleasureonly, the great body of the real visitors are really invalids, or think themselvessuch. The few attendants on sick friends are seldom seen takingeither the waters or baths.

At such a place the experienced eye of the physician can detect, with atolerable approach to accuracy, the prevailing maladies for the removal ofwhich these waters are employed. The drinkers can readily be dividedinto three, if not four classes. 1st. I observed a certain proportion, chieflyfemales—perhaps a twentieth or thirtieth part of the whole,—who wereclearly “malades imaginaires”—and whose complexions, features, gait,voices, and condition of body, evinced the absence of all organic disease,or even functional disorder, of any consequence. They appeared, however,to be full as anxious to imbibe the prescribed quantity of this terrible compoundof sulphuretted hydrogen gas, muriate of soda and a few othersalts, as any of their neighbours, who shewed too evident marks of corporealsufferings.

Thesecond class—and by far the most numerous—were those whosecountenances and tout-ensemble indicated the presence of various functionaldisorders—more especially stomach complaints, biliary obstructions,cutaneous affections, and uterine derangements. A large proportion ofthese were likely to benefit from the sulphur salines of Aix. Thethirdclass could not be mistaken. The melancholy sequences of apoplecticattacks (paralysis)—swelled limbs—dropsical effusions of the body—jaundice,—enlargedlivers and spleens—diseases of the heart—last stages ofindigestion—kidney diseases—panting asthma—hectic cough—in short,the long black catalogue of organic diseases, which no waters but thoseof oblivion could ever wash away.

Yet hope, which clings to the human heart, had collected this unfortunateclass—and not in very small numbers—round the fountain and thebaths—to return to their homes with blighted expectations, there to lingerout a wretched existence!

The German physicians appear to be convinced that mineral springs[153]are not merely waters impregnated with various mineral and gaseousmatters, with or without increase of temperature; but that they are possessedofvitality—living beings, in fact, whose life is transfused into thehuman organism, thereby communicating energy to the solids and purityto the fluids of our bodies—in other words, correcting and expelling diseaseand restoring health! Even the venerableAlibert was smitten withthis German transcendentalism, and he observes of the Aix waters—“thesesprings, under the empire of Nature, most undoubtedly enjoy aspecies ofvitality (une sorte de vitalité) in common with other livingbodies on this globe. They areanimated by a multitude of principles,which will long, perhaps for ever, elude the most laborious researches ofchemistry. The waters of Aix-la-Chapelle, whether used internally or inbaths, act as potent restorers of vital energies. Their constituents arepowerfully aided in efficacy by the high temperature and the impregnationof divers gases. Taken internally they excite the action of the abdominalviscera—detach mucosities and other morbid secretions, and evacuatethem by the bowels, kidneys, and skin. The inhalation of the vapourrising from these waters has been very serviceable in many cases of pulmonaryaffections.”

Thisvitality hypothesis did not escape the notice of my friend Dr.Granville, who appears, however, to have thought it rather too large forJohn Bull to swallow, without some qualification. He therefore substituted“caloricity” for “vitality,” in order that so good an idea mightnot be lost—and that somemysterious agency might aid the natural operationof the German spas. This mode of explaining theignotum by theignotius is, no doubt, very ingenious; but, for my own part, I shall atonce acknowledge my ignorance, not only of the manner in which mineralwaters are formed in the bowels of the earth, but of theirspecific action(if any) on the human frame.

The spa doctors candidly allow that the waters of Aix, “if taken toohot and in quantities too large, may produce irritation, and even purgation.But the latter is not a very common effect of these waters. Insmall doses they are favourable to digestion; and, taken in moderation,they are not calculated to weaken.” As baths, these waters act on thesurface, and, by sympathy, on the internal organs, exciting the nervous,secreting, and circulating organs. The temperature of the blood (98°) isconsidered the best for the bath. “If taken at a higher degree, or toooften, they are dangerous.”

Let us now advert to the bill of fare which Alibert, Monheim, Zillerland,Dordonville, Reumont, and others, have spread before the invalids resortingto Aix-la-Chapelle. I shall endeavour, here and elsewhere, to formsome scale or estimate of the probable, doubtful, and dangerous agency ofthe waters and baths.

[154]

The foregoing is a tolerably copious list of maladies which may bebenefitted by the waters of Aix-la-Chapelle—and from their sensible qualitiesand long-established reputation, there is little doubt but thatfashionhas drawn away from them to other more favoured places, many whowould have derived great advantage from their use. The remarks ondrinking, bathing, and preparatory measures, will be found under the headofEms, to prevent repetition.

Borcette.

About a mile and a half from the “Fontaine Elisée,” in a romanticlittle dell, over which the rail-road will soon pass, lies Borcette. Thewaters resemble those of Aix-la-Chapelle, but they are (one of the sources)entirely devoid of the sulphuretted hydrogen gas. The temperature isabout 150° Fahr. The water is clear, and has an acidulous taste. Thereis one source where the waters are sulphurous. Latterly a chalybeatespring has been discovered here. Borcette is more quiet, and the airfresher than in the town, and the baths are a good deal frequented. Thenew town, from the Fontaine Elisée to Borcette, is very handsome, andthe theatre is a most beautiful building.

Aix-la-Chapelle

Presents more Lions than the “Vitalised Waters” of Alibert. Withinits cathedral are preserved some of the most venerable relics that everpious Catholic bowed to in adoration—relics—

trophies over time, which might make St. Januarius blush, and give the[155]head of the church a fit of the jaundice! A tithe of these cannot benoticed. 1. The robe of the Virgin Mary which she wore at the nativity.It is made of cotton, and is five feet and a half in length.—2. A nail fromthe holy cross.—3. The head of St. Anastasius.—4. One link of the chainwhich bound St. Peter in prison.—5. Some of the oil which flows from thetomb of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and which is possessed of miraculouspowers in curing various diseases!—6. Several fragments of therodof Aaron.

Who would believe that this rod of Aaron has never once scourged theDemon of Play and his disciples, who carry on their diabolical works in thedepth of night, under the very nose of Charlemagne, surrounded as he isby such stupendous relics, and aided by the prohibition of the Prussiangovernment?[48]

EMS.

No German spa is better known to the English thanEms, lying in a narrowvalley of the Lahn river, only six miles from Coblentz, in the Duchyof Nassau. The town is built on the right bank of the little river, and theslate hills rise almost perpendicularly behind it. The sun’s beams arecollected into a focus there, during a great part of the day, and the air ishot and sultry. These hills, on both sides, are covered with vines, trees, orcultivation. The walks about Ems are not so well shaded as at Wisbadenand some other watering-places in Nassau; but there are plenty of donkeysand guides to take the invalids up to the higher grounds for pure air. Theenvirons are very pretty, especially the road to Nassau, about five milesfrom Ems.[49]

These waters did not escape the notice of the Romans, whose coins andother vestiges have been found there. The waters issue from the foot ofthe eastern slate mountain (Mont de Bains) and their sources are hiddenfrom human eye and investigations.[50] They are clear and transparent as[156]crystal, when first drawn in a clean glass. The chief fountains are theKesselbrunnen and theKrachenchen—thefirst has a temperatureof 115° of Fahrenheit—thelatter, only 83°. These are the drinkingsprings. There are several others, varying in temperature from 80° to 124°,and used as baths. Some of them are about the temperature of the blood,and fit for general bathing, without increase or reduction. They have thetaste of chicken-broth, with a slight smack of iron. They preserve theirphysical qualities (excepting temperature) for forty-eight hours, uncorked—whencorked and sealed, they are said to keep good for several months.They are light and easy of digestion.

The Ems waters are eminently alkaline. A pint (of the Kesselbrunnen)contains 20 grains of bicarbonate of soda—two of carbonate of the same—twoof carbonate of magnesia—one of sulphate of soda—one of commonsalt (muriate of soda)—and a very minute trace of iron. All thesprings contain nearly the same ingredients—but the Krachenchen shewsmuch more carbonic acid gas than the Kesselbrunnen, on account of itslower temperature.

Thilenius (the elder and younger) the Nestors of Ems, make the followingobservations on the waters.

“They operate on the human constitution mildly but efficiently, withlittle disturbance to the functions of the body. On this account they agreewell with delicate persons, whose nerves are morbidly sensitive,—the sadeffects of mental emotions, civilized life, and other debilitating causes.They are, therefore, peculiarly suited to the female constitution.—Theymay be employed, too, in advanced stages of disease, where other mineralwaters of more exciting qualities, would be inadmissible. Their alkalineproperties enable them to resolve obstructions, and free the functions ofthe kidneys, skin, liver, and various other secreting organs—especiallythe uterine vessels. They correct tenacious and morbid bile, as well asacidities—and thus prove aperient in a mild degree. Their intimate connexionwith carbonic and sulphuretted hydrogen gas enables them to giveactivity to the secreting vessels, and evacuate unhealthy humours, whilethey give vigour to the whole organism, oppressed by chronic diseases.They have, at the same time, a soothing and tranquillizing effect on thenervous system. No waters, with the exception of Schlangenbad, producesuch a pleasing and salutary operation on the skin, which theycleanse, soften, and leave in a sattiny state, thus improving the complexion,[157]and clearing the pores. They are potent in discussing glandular swellings,and promoting absorption of abnormal deposits.”

The foregoing exposition of the general effects of the Ems waters ismore rational, modest, and just, than we shall usually find in theeloges of most other spa doctors. We shall now give a catalogue of theparticular maladies for which these waters are specially recommended—marking,as usual, the probable, the doubtful, and the dangerous, withthe numbers 1, 2, and 3.

From this amplecarte des maladies (and I have omitted several whichwill not bear publication in this country) the valetudinarian will be able toselect the dish that suits his taste—or rather the evil which he wishes todischarge. I have endeavoured to estimate the value of the remedy.Thilenius, indeed, expresses an apprehension that readers may be scepticalas to the power of one remedy curing so many and such different diseases.But he says—“let the sceptic come and see.” Who can combat the followingargument?—“The result of our most profound researches is thefirm persuasion that mineral waters are the gifts of Divine mercy to sufferinghumanity.” The same might be said of every medicine; but medicinesoften do harm, and so do mineral waters, unless administered with prudence.It will be seen that the stigma of No. 3 (dangerous) has beenaffixed in no instance to the Ems waters; but this applies to drinking themand not to bathing. I cannot too often repeat my conviction that thereis far more mischief produced by spa-bathing than by spa-bibbing—especially[158]in the case of the Ems waters, which are by no means of such anexciting nature as those of Wisbaden and several other warm springs. Inevery case where there is either local inflammation or constitutional excitement,these and other thermal waters are dangerous as baths.Thilenius himself remarks as follows:

“The condition of the body, when these waters are used, may be comparedto that in which a kind of fever exists. It includes a period of fouror six weeks, or even longer, in inveterate maladies. In this period, thewaters exert their influence for the removal of the disease. This influenceis felt, sooner or later. It is more or less distinctly perceptible, accordingto the nature of the complaint. It manifests itself, generally, by a kindof languor, in which the patient expresses himself as being ‘affected bythe waters.’”

The waters of Ems have had greater reputation in affections of thechest than most other mineral springs, in consequence of the strongrecommendation of Hufeland, who observes:—“We know how fewmineral springs there are that can be used with safety in diseases of thelungs. Patients with such affections are commonly prohibited from visitinga mineral spring. Here the reverse is the case; and, in my opinion,Ems stands alone, with Selters, in this respect.”

It is quite evident, however, that it is in the more incipient cases ofpulmonary diseases only, that Ems could be of any service—namely, wherethe tubercles are few in number, and in an unexcited condition—wherethe cough is slight, and the expectoration merely mucous, without feveror emaciation. In affections of the trachea, however, dependent on chronicinflammation of the mucous membrane, the waters and locality of Emshave been found highly beneficial, as the crowds of people from all partsof Germany can testify. It really would be well worth trying Ems, insuch cases, before undertaking a long journey to Pisa or Rome.

Since the above was written, and while staying at Ems, in July, 1840,I met with a recent work by Dr. Doring, bath physician at Ems, fromwhich I think it proper to make some extracts.

“Among all the maladies which are alleviated or cured by the waters ofEms, the affections of the chest are of the first consideration.

1.Pulmonary Complaints having their origin in other parts of the body.—Wherethese result from congestion or engorgement of the viscera ofthe abdomen, connected with gout.

2.Loss of voice, hoarseness, &c.

3.Chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx, trachea,and bronchia.—When this affection has attained the name and nature ofpituitary phthisis, the waters of Ems work wonders, especially where this[159]state depends on latent gout, rheumatism, or repelled cutaneous complaints.TheKesselbrunnen is very efficacious in such conditions of the mucousmembrane. If the malady has not advanced beyond the limits of curability,the warm baths prove auxiliary to the internal use of the water.

4.Chronic inflammation of the substance of the lungs themselves.

5.Debility of the chest.—However vague and inexact this term, thereis adisposition to pulmonary disease to which it may be applied, and whichit is of great importance to recognize. One of the chief symptoms is asusceptibility to colds, or irritability of the mucous membrane of the chest,accompanied by oppression, weight, and hacking cough. If this be neglected,it may lead to serious disease. A protracted course of the Kesselbrunnen,repeated for several seasons, has been found very efficacious insuch states of the respiratory apparatus.

6.Tubercles of the lungs; or pulmonary consumption.—This dreadfulmalady, which cuts off such prodigious numbers of the human race, ismore frequently arrested in its progress by theKesselbrunnen, than byany other remedy. At the same time it is proper to remark that neitherthis nor any other remedy will prove efficacious, if the disease be confirmed.It is where the tubercles are in a nascent or latent state, that the Ems waterstend to purify the blood, and prevent further deposition of tuberculousmatter in the air-cells. Perhaps, too, they may cause absorption of thosealready deposited. It need hardly be urged that the earlier the waters areused the better.

7. In obstinate and neglectedcatarrhs of the mucous membrane of thetrachea and larynx, the Kesselbrunnen has produced the most beneficialeffects.

8.Spitting of blood.—If this proceeds from irritability of the lungsthemselves—from active congestion—or general plethora, the Ems waterswill be absolutely injurious. But if the hæmorrhage be symptomatic ofdisordered conditions of the liver and other abdominal organs, then, theEms waters taken internally, but not as baths, may prove serviceable. Thesame reasoning will apply to asthma.

9.Scrofula.—Daily experience has proved the efficacy of the alkalinewaters of Ems in scrofulous affections generally.

10.Nervous disorders.—The waters of this spa have a singularlysoothing and tranquillizing effect on the nervous system, as great numbers[160]of patients can annually testify. Hence they are much used in hypochondriasis,neuralgia, tic douloureux, periodical head-aches, chorea, &c.

11.Congestions of the liver and abdominal organs generally—hæmorrhoids—jaundice—engorgementsand indurations of the uterus, ovaries,&c.—colics, cramps, and epigastric pains—heart-burns—vomitings, &c.These are all ameliorated or cured by the waters of Ems.

12.Gout.—The action of the Ems waters on the constitution is tothrow out the morbid matter from the blood—the cause of this painfulmalady in all the normal and irregular forms. At the same time, if themalady be of long standing, and the individual of weakly constitution, thewaters of Wisbaden or Carlsbad will be more efficacious than those ofEms.

13.Rheumatism.—The same observations will apply to this as to gout.

14.Chronic eruptions and ulcerations of the skin are greatly benefittedby this spa.

15.Disorders of the urinary organs.—In no class of disorders have theEms waters gained more reputation than in this, including catarrh of thebladder, gravel, stone, diabetes, &c.

16.Catamenial irregularities.—Females from all parts of Europe resortto the waters of Ems for the cure of these troublesome complaints, includingsterility, chlorosis, &c.”[51]

I have introduced this quotation from one of the most recent writers onthe waters of Ems, and himself a practitioner there, of considerable repute;but do not, and cannot vouch for the strict accuracy of all theobservations contained in it. As in most of the writings of spa doctors,it must be taken “cum grano salis.”

COUNTERINDICATIONS.

According to Dr. Doring, these are as follow:—

1. The Ems waters are hurtful in all acute or subacute inflammationsof any organ or structure whatever.

2. In people of florid complexions or plethoric constitutions, especiallyif there be any disposition to hæmorrhages, or determination to the head.

3. In dropsical effusions of chest, abdomen, or cellular membrane.

4. In organic diseases of heart or great vessels.

5. In confirmed consumption, and in marasmus from whatever cause.

[161]

POINT OF SATURATION, OR CRISIS.

The Crises produced by the waters of Ems are not so distinct and frequentas those resulting from some of the more potent spas. They actmore gently and more slowly than the generality of mineral waters.Nevertheless, the following observations of Dr. Doring are to be carefullyattended to.

“There are certain cases, constitutions, and forms of disease, in whichit would be unsafe to continue the Ems waters up to the point of saturation.Thus if, after two or three weeks’ course, there occur little indispositionsor discomforts—feelings of debility—a sense of prostration—achange of usual temper—an increase of sensibility; or even an irritabilityor moroseness—an unusual propensity to sleep, with agitatingdreams—a loss of appetite—or, on the contrary, a thirsty white tongue,bitter taste in the mouth, oppression and distention of stomach, derangementof bowels and kidneys, and acceleration of pulse—it is then timeto lessen the quantity of the waters, or entirely to stop them for somedays. The foregoing are indications of over-drinking, or over-bathing, towhich the termueberbaden is given, and should never be neglected.”

As at Wisbaden, there is occasionally an eruption on the skin, after afew baths, and this is considered to be critical.

Thilenius, contrary to the custom of most of the spa doctors, admitsthat, although the waters alone cure many disorders, yet, in a great manycases, appropriate medicines are absolutely necessary. He contends, however,and I believe with justice, that many diseases give way to the combinationof the waters and medicine, which resist the latter, if unaided bythe former.

The preparation for the waters of Ems, as of all other mineral springs,is of the greatest importance, and is but too little attended to. Manypatients repair to these sources, either exhausted by long-continued illnessand the fatigues of the journey, or in a state of excitability from tonicsand other medicines. In the one case some restorative remedies are to beexhibited, and in the other, quietude and saline aperients are necessarybefore the waters are used, internally or externally. Temperance is indispensibleboth before and during the use of the waters.

GENERAL RULES FOR TAKING THE WATERS AND BATHS.

The best season is between the beginning of May and the end of September.The waters are taken early in the morning. Weakly personsshould begin with small portions, till they are accustomed to the springs.The morning is also considered the best time for bathing. The patientshould immerse himself slowly—first to the knees—and afterwards thewhole body, having first sponged the face and neck. Those who are subjectto determinations of blood to the head should keep a handkerchief[162]moistened with cold water to the head during the bath. A bladder ofcold water is still better. The individual should not lie quiet in the bath,and much less should he go to sleep. He should keep constantly rubbingor sponging the body or limbs—and if not able to do this, a servant shoulddo it for him. He should not remain more than ten minutes in the water,at first—and he should gradually increase the time to half an hour ormore. Those whose skins are very sensitive ought to bathe in a flanneldress. The temperature should be from 94° to 98° of Fahrenheit. Onleaving the bath, the individual ought to wrap himself up in a warmsheet, and when dry to dress himself. It is recommended then to retireto his bed-room and remain lying on the bed for a quarter or half an hour,but without sleeping. Those who are aged, weakly, or nervous, may takea glass of milk or a cup of coffee, after the bath. Most people can takea glass of milk and Ems waters mixed. The latest time for bathing istwo hours before dinner. One bath in the day is quite sufficient.[52]

The waters are drunk, sometimes before, sometimes after bathing.They should be sipped warm at the source, otherwise some of their volatilequalities are lost. The quantity taken, like that of food, must beregulated by the power of digestion. Too much water, like too muchfood, will produce the same distention and discomfort of stomach. Thesame temperance and frugality is necessary in both cases. From two tothree wine-glassfuls of the waters taken twice, thrice, or four times, atintervals of a quarter of an hour, will in general be sufficient. Some cow’sor goat’s milk may be mixed with the waters. Gentle exercise, betweenthe doses of water, is essentially necessary. In some cases it may beproper to take a few glasses of the waters two or three hours after dinner—notsooner.

Asthmatic people, and those labouring under serious maladies of vitalorgans, are recommended to take a few glasses of the waters in theirbeds, early in the morning—but never to exceed a pint in this way.

A light breakfast may be allowed in half an hour or an hour after thelast tumbler of water at the springs. It is fortunate that near this, asnear most alterative waters, there is a chalybeate—viz. Schwalbach—wherethe patient may be very conveniently sent, when no farther progressis likely to be made at Ems; or where a tonic is necessary after the debilitatingeffects of the latter have taken place. Those who cannot visitEms may take the bottled waters at a distance, with very little loss ofvirtue. They will keep for several months. They are used with considerablebenefiten lavement. Of thedouches or local application of the watersto the ailing region, I need not speak.

The regimen, while taking these and other waters, is of some consequence.[163]Coffee or chocolate half an hour after the last glass, with breadbut no butter, is the rule of the day at Ems. Tea is prohibited, as toomuch favouring perspiration—a rather unnecessary precaution I imagine.A liquid preparation of rice (calledcontent) with some spice, is recommendedto those of very nervous temperaments for breakfast. Betweenbreakfast and dinner, some light avocation, conversation, or reading—afterwhich a promenade. Temperance is essentially necessary at these waters,as they generally excite the appetite. The dinner hour of one o’clock atthetable-d’hôtes is a great bore to all who are not downright ill—andthese had better dine at home. The siesta is condemned in strong termsby Thilenius, if there be any fulness about the head, or if the individualbe plethoric; but to the weakly this indulgence is allowed. The earlydinner draws after it, as a necessary consequence, some supper—so that,upon the whole, the four o’clock dinner, without supper, will be found themost convenient and salutary.

Of the gambling-tables I shall take another opportunity to speak:mean time the following remark of Thilenius will not be inappropriatehere.

“He who cannot gamblewithout losing his temper, should avoid thehazard-tables.” This is easy morality! The physical effects of passionand all the horrible emotions of mind at roulette, are merely considered ashurtful to the body of the bather; but no idea appears to be entertainedthat these are detrimental to the soul as well as to the body. The fact is,however, that none but gamblers by profession, and not all of them, canwin or lose money without passion, although they may contrive not toshew it strongly in their countenances. In every point of view, therefore,moral and physical, these hells on earth ought to be shunned aseagerly as those of the nether regions.

I may now make a few cautionary remarks on the dangers of bathingand drinking the waters of Ems, and indeed of mineral waters (thermal)in general—a subject little touched upon by writers at the spas themselves.I cannot too often or too strongly warn every one against warm baths, whohas the slightest degree of local chronic inflammation going on in anyof the organs of the body, as evinced by white tongue, dryness of skin,accelerated pulse, evening thirst, or scanty action of the kidneys. Theexciting mineral waters, taken internally or externally, will be almost certainto raise the chronic into a subacute, or even acute, inflammation,with a corresponding grade of constitutional irritation. Of this I haveseen many instances, both at home and abroad. The existence of suchconditions should be carefully ascertained before the spa is introduced: andproper means taken to remove all traces of inflammation. But even wherethere is no proof of any inflammatory action, the state of plethora orgeneral fulness of the vessels renders warm bathing hazardous. In all, oralmost all organic diseases of internal parts, especially of the heart, brain,[164]or lungs, the warm bath is to be eschewed. The tide of the circulationcarried to the surface by the hot bath, must have a subsequent recoil, andthen the weakened organ may suffer. Besides, the warm and, still more,the hot bath excites the heart and great vessels into increased activity forthe time, and the blood is carried with greater force towards the brain,endangering congestion there. But what are the admonitory symptomsor phenomena by which the patient may judge, when danger is approaching?The spa doctor is not always at hand, in these emergencies. He isoften too much employed at such times. When giddiness, sleepiness,chilliness, confusion of thought, weariness, head-ache, pains in the limbs,unusual sounds in the ears, sparks before the eyes, loss of appetite,oppression after food, feverishness, thirst, languor, depression of spirits,inability to sleep at the usual hour, malaise or, in fact, any uncomfortablefeeling, not previously felt, occurs soon after drinking the waters, andespecially after bathing, and if these, or any of these recur after the secondor third day, let the waters be suspended till advice is taken. I am wellaware that the spa-doctors will say—“oh these are critical, or evenfavourable symptoms, demonstrating the efficiency of the spring.” AllI say is—Beware! you are standing on a precipice!

We must now take leave of Ems. It is a very hot place in warmweather, and I must say that the exterior and interior of the houses arenot in the most perfect accordance. The fogs are frequent in the mornings,and the heat oppressive in the middle of the day. Few people can sleepwithout some of the windows being kept open, and the danger of catchingcolds is not inconsiderable. The reputation of the waters is very extended.The Empress of Russia and her daughter were swallowing them freelywhile we were there (1840), and seemed to require them or some otherrestoratives, as they exhibited any thing but hyperborean complexions.Several physicians have recommended a residence at this spa during theWinter; and I am inclined to think that it would not be a bad sejour forpeople with tracheal affections, or irritable conditions of the mucous membraneof the lungs.

FRANKFORT.

This celebrated city has changed its nature, but not its name—thelatterbeing now more appropriate than ever. It is afree-fort, that is, it isfree from fort or citadel—rampart or fosse—glacis or sallyport—cannonor mortar—shot or shells! All these have been converted into much betterthings—gardens, shrubberies, and promenades. Frankfort, I apprehend,has more of nominal freedom than real liberty. The protection of theGerman potentates is stronger, no doubt, than her ancient walls; butshe is as much under the surveillance and control of these “highmightinesses,” as ever she was under that of her military commandants,[165]when a first rate fortress. Be that as it may, Frankfort is now a greatemporium or re-union of commerce and carriages—of Jews and of Gentiles—ofbankers and of brokers—of lenders and of venders—of consulsand of caléches—of voitures and of retours—of envoyés and employés—infine, it is a large “normal school” for studying the first lines of diplomacy,trickery, traffic, and stock-jobbery.

The old and the new portions of the city present a curious contrast—youthand beauty united to age and ugliness!

One of the great lions of Frankfort is the cemetery, a few miles out oftown. It is a huge “painted sepulchre,” marble without, and mummywithin. This “city of the dead,” is not much smaller than its neighbourof the living. True, the mansions are on a smaller scale, and the chambersare low, dark, and unventilated; yet their inhabitants—

shew no symptoms of discontent, feuds, or family quarrels. They sleepwithout dreams, unagitated by the habitual passions which invade thebosoms of those whom they have left in the busy city on the banks of theMain. If the rage for cemetrical building goes on at the present rate ofimpulse, a time must come, when the cities of the dead will equal, both innumber and extent, those of the living—and necessity will then compelthelatter to have recourse to the ancient mode of sepulture—incineration.A small urn, instead of a costly tomb, will then hold the ashes of ourfriends and ourselves, without any encroachment on the soil that suppliesus with food, fuel, and raiment. And, after all, this seems a less revoltingprocess of preserving some frail memorial of those we loved and honoured,than that of committing them to the earth, there to “lie in cold obstruction,and to rot,” the prey of worms, and all crawling things!

I believe there are few people, of reflective minds, who can wander roundthe splendid cemetery or lonely churchyard, perusing the brief memoirs ofthe silent inhabitants below, without feeling some of those sentiments andemotions, which Hervey cloathed in language. These records of the dead,short as they are, will be found, each, to contain at least two facts or truths—thebirth and death of the individual. I wish as much could be alwayssaid for the lengthy biographies of the living! These authentic documents—these“bills of mortality”—teach us one important truth, viz.—thatlife is a loan, and not a gift, granted to a piece of clay, withoutinterest indeed, but with the power of resumption at the pleasure of thelender, with or without notice.Death, again, is nothing more than thepayment of a debt—the surrender of a policy. Has man any just causeto murmur at the shortness or uncertainty of life, because the vital sparkanimates, without solicitation, his atom of earth—sparkles for a few moments—isextinguished by the same invisible hand—and is reduced againto dust? If this be all, if the brief existence of man be “rounded by a[166]sleep,” he has little cause to be proud of the intelligence which distinguisheshim from the inferior animals.He alone, of all created beings,knows that he must die—a bitter thought at all times—and cruelly bestowed,if death be annihilation! As we see no proofs of injustice in the otherworks of the Creator, it is fair to presume that there is none here, andthat the fore-knowledge of death in this world is indicative of life inanother.

If an inhabitant of another planet were to visit our cemeteries, graveyardsand churches, perusing the necrological literature of those localities,he would soon come to the conclusion that this our little Globe was a perfectParadise, inhabited by the most amiable of all God’s finite creatures.Every stone would present him authentic proofs that the whole communityconsisted of affectionate fathers, loving husbands, virtuous wives, indulgentparents, dutiful children, and sincere friends! What would behis astonishment when, on mixing in the busy haunts of men, he foundthem everywhere engaged in public wars or private quarrels—in litigations,persecutions, robberies, and assassinations—torn with all the vile passionsof envy, hatred, malice, jealousy, and malevolence—distorting the goodactions of their neighbours, and exaggerating their failings—violating thelaws of Nature, and evading the laws of man—in fine, exhibiting a picturethe very reverse of that which he found delineated on the tablets ofthe departed!

In this perplexity, he would fly back to his native planet, and reportthat the inhabitants ofTerra were a race of beings inexplicable in theircharacter—the dead allangels—the living alldevils! And yet nothingwould be more erroneous than such a report. The haunts of the livingand the habitats of the dead—the city and the cemetery—the cheerfulvillage and the country church-yard, being found to contain the same relativeproportion of good and evil spirits. The reason of the discrepancyabove alluded to, has been appreciated in all ages—“de mortuis nil nisibonum.” The shroud is our last and kindest mantle. Its texture is soclose as to conceal all our vices—but at the same time so transparent as toreveal all our virtues. It is not then on tombstones that we are to seekfor truth!

KISSENGEN.

This is comparatively a young cub amongst the great spa-lions of theContinent; but it is one that is likely to attain an immense size. Dr.Balling, resident physician at this spa, and, still later, Dr. Welsch, son-in-lawof Dr. Maas, have published on these waters.

Kissengen is situated almost in the heart of Germany, in the kingdomof Bavaria, and can be reached in two or three days from Frankfort. Thewaters issue from the earth in a valley stretching from north to south—the[167]surrounding heights, covered with woods, and not averaging more than600 feet in altitude. The valley itself is fertile in corn, wine, and fruits.The little riverSaale runs through the centre of it. Kissengen is nearlyequidistant from Wurtsburg, Bamberg, Meiningen, and Fulda. Its latitudeis 49° 50´, north—and it is not more than 600 feet above the levelof the sea.[53] The temperature, from April till October, is moderatelywarm. In consequence of the great evaporation of saline water at thesalt springs, the atmosphere is a good deal impregnated with saline principles,and is similar to sea-air. It is considered beneficial in all scrofulousaffections.

There are a great many mineral springs here, but it will only be necessaryto notice the Maxbrunnen—Ragotzy—Pandur—Soolensprudel—andTheresienbrunnen.

1.Maxbrunnen.—This rises near the Cursaal and Conversation-house,with a bubbling or boiling noise—clear as crystal, and exhaling its gaseouspearls with great rapidity. The carbonic acid gas adheres to the sides ofa glass and gives the water a milky appearance. All the springs ofKissengen abound in this gas. The temperature is 52° Summer andWinter. The taste is acidulous and refreshing. According to Kastner(1833) a pint of this spring contains nearly 30½ grains of solid matters,and 31 inches of carbonic acid gas. The principal ingredients are 18½grains of muriate of soda—1 grain ditto of potash—3 grains muriate ofmagnesia—2½ grains of carbonate of lime—1½ grains of sulphate of soda—1grain sulphate of lime. This spring contains no trace of iron.

2.Ragoczy, or Ragotzy.—At the southern extremity of the colonnadeis seen this spring, together with that of thePandur. The Ragoczy riseswith considerable noise, discharging air-bubbles freely. The water is notso clear as that of the Maxbrunnen—having a blueish cast. The temperatureis nearly the same as the other. The taste is salt and bitter, with a degreeof astringency. But the taste varies very much from day to day—at onetime the salt, at another the bitter, predominates, with, occasionally, aferruginous savour. It requires four large pumps to exhaust the spring.

The pint contains 85 grains of solid matters, and 26 cubic inches ofcarbonic acid gas. Of these 85 grains, 62 are common salt—6 muriateof magnesia—3 carbonate of lime—2 carb. magnesia—2 sulphate of soda—2[168]sulphate of lime—2 silex. The other six grains are immaterial, exceptthe subcarbonate of iron, of which there are three-quarters of a grainin each pint.

3.The Pandur.—Only 34 feet distant from the Ragoczy, the Pandursprings to light, with great noise and bubbling. Its taste is more salt, bitter,pure, and piquant than that of the Ragoczy—“and is much more relished bythe ladies.” It is so plentiful that it can furnish from eight hundred to athousand baths daily. The pint contains 76 grains of solids—of which,57 are muriate of soda—5 muriate of magnesia—5 carbonate of lime—2carb. of magnesia—about half a grain of subcarbonate of iron—1¾ grs.of sulphate of soda—28 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas.

4.Soolensprudel.—About a mile from the foregoing springs, and inthe middle of the valley, near the bank of the river, this remarkable springwas discovered by boring 311 feet through the earth. It does not flowin an even uninterrupted stream, but rises and falls at irregular periods—oftenwith a noise resembling cannon. It generally ebbs and flows eightor nine times in the twenty-four hours. When the water is at its greatestheight, it boils, and roars, and foams at a great rate. This spring risesthrough a salt-water mine, if the expression can be used. Its solid contentsare enormous, namely 172 grains in the pint! Of these, commonsalt alone amounts to 107½ grains—muriate of magnesia 24½ grains—muriateof lime 4 grains—sulphate of soda 25 grains—carbonate of magnesia6½ grains—carbonate of lime 1½ grains—subcarbonate of iron notquite half a grain—carbonic acid gas 30½ cubic inches. From this it willbe seen that, in solid ingredients, the Soolensprudel outstrips all theother springs. In temperature too, it differs from the others, being 66°,or as nearly as possible that of the sea.

5.Theresienbrunnen.—This springs from a depth of 140 feet, and dischargesitself with a bubbling noise like the others. The water is clearas crystal, and whitens the sides of the glass with the carbonic acid gas.The temperature is 52 or 3°. The taste is tart, saltish, agreeably pleasantand refreshing. The quantity furnished is abundant. There are 29½grains of saline matters in the pint, with 28½ cubic inches of carbonic acidgas. Of these, 18½ grains are muriate of soda—2¾ muriate of magnesia—2½carb. magnesia—2 carb. lime—1½ sulphate of soda, with some slightquantities of minor ingredients.

Between this spring and the Maxbrunnen there is a considerable affinity;but the Theresienbrunnen has the advantage, in possessing a greater proportionof carbonic acid gas, by which the saline matters are held in morecomplete solution.

[169]

MEDICINAL EFFECTS AND PROPERTIES OF THE KISSENGEN WATERS.

The various springs, in their physical and chemical properties, have onecommon and characteristic physiognomy. They rise from mountains ofthe same formation, and with more or less identity of force. They allcontain abundance of muriate of soda and carbonic acid gas. “Mineralwaters, however, cannot be estimated merely by their physical and chemicalqualities. Each spring is an organic whole (ensemble organique), andpossesses its peculiar mode of existence—‘et a sa propre maniere d’etre.’”[54]“In general, the springs of Kissengen, when taken internally, excite thenutritive functions of the body—alter them—promote the various secretionsand excretions—and thus resolve, purify, and re-organise the animalmachine.”[55] In addition to these effects (which an ordinary mortal mightbe content with), the springs of Ragoczy and Pandur possess a strengtheningand tonic quality, in consequence of the iron which they contain.The Soolensprudel, whether taken alone, or mixed with the Ragoczy, actsbriskly as an aperient. “In this combination of tonic with alterativeproperties, the Kissengen waters (Ragoczy and Pandur), have no equalsin the spas of Germany.” “In all the other spas it is the solvent principle(principe resolutif) which predominates—in these, the various principlesare united harmoniously.” The efficacy of these waters is greatlyincreased by a series of baths of the same. The order of these baths isranged as follows:—the Maxbrunnen is gently exciting, and at the sametime tranquillizing—the Pandur is solvent and promotes the secretions—theRagoczy, alterative and tonic—the Soolensprudel profoundly penetratingand strongly solvent. The sensible effects of these baths are of a refreshing,animating nature—altering and bringing the functions of theskin into a normal or healthy condition, and establishing the harmony betweenthe cutaneous surface, and the various organs and membranes ofthe interior—thereby dispersing disorders of those parts. To these effectsDr. Balling adds those which result from the absorption of the finer andmore soluble ingredients of the waters, which pervade all the organs andtissues through the medium of the circulation. The doctor asks, whereare to be found such baths as these, containing such various minerals,and so easy of combination, as to meet every variety of malady?

“These mineral waters (internally and externally) applied to the surface—takeninto the circulation—or digested in the stomach or duodenum, opposethemselves, in the living organism, to morbific matters—afterwards excitingand assisting nature to expel these morbid principles from the body.Inthis case an irritation, a re-action is established throughout the whole constitution,converting chronic diseases into those of a greater or less degree ofacuteness, accompanied by febrile symptoms. This fever assumes a septenary[170]type, lasting, sometimes one week, sometimes two. In this stageit requires the greatest care on the part of the patient, and the greatestvigilance and skill on the part of the physician, to manage this febrile period,so as not to let it run too high, nor yet to fall short of the salutary range.It is only in this stage, that the diseased organism perceives its malady—andit is absolutely necessary that the patient should feel ill, if he hopes torecover his health.”[56]

Dr. Balling is perfectly right when he says that this febrile re-actionrequires the greatest skill and care. But is it not evident that among theshoals of patients who take the waters of Kissengen, or any other watersof the kind, several must experience danger, and some even fatal effects,from this re-action? We may be sure that the late Duke of Nassau had thebest advice at Kissengen, and yet he lost his life by the warm bath there!

The waters of Kissengen are recommended by our author with dieteticand prophylactic intentions, to prevent diseases and correct a dispositionto them, as well as to remove them when fully developed.

The waters of Maxbrunnen are excellent means for preserving theconstitution from dispositions, or, as they are termed, predispositions todiseases, arising from original taint, or following attacks of acute inflammatorycomplaints.

The waters of the Maxbrunnen internally, and of the Pandur in baths,have been used for many yearsdietetically as preventive of scrofula, inthose whose parents had been strumous, or who themselves shewed a tendencyto it—and also of affections of the mucous membrane of the chest,and also of the abdomen. They are used habitually against disposition tovenous congestion of the abdominal viscera, the prolific source of gout,hypochondriasis, hæmorrhoids, cutaneous eruptions. Among the chiefsymptoms of the abdominal plethora, Dr. B. adduces acidity, disagreeabletaste in the mouth, uneasy digestion, tension and fulness of the hypochondria,sense of oppression at the chest, turbid urine, irregular bowels,constipation, dry skin, or malodorous perspirations, eruptions on the surface,&c. For these symptoms the Ragoczy and Pandur are reckonedheroic remedies.

Among the maladies actually developed, or developing themselves, Dr.B. has arranged the following, with short remarks on each, as being peculiarlyunder the influence of the waters of Kissengen.

1.Catarrhal affections of the mucous membrane of the chest, so far advancedas to be threatening phthisis, have been cured or greatly benefittedby the waters of this spa. They are said to be equally efficacious in affectionsof the mucous membrane of the kidneys, bladder, and uterine system,as well as of the alimentary canal.

[171]

2.Rheumatic complaints.—Great numbers of patients afflicted with thelarge tribe of rheumatic affections, resort annually to Kissengen for relief,and, as is asserted, with remarkable success.

3.Scrofula, developed, as well as brooding in the constitution—now souniversally diffused among society—has, in the waters of Kissengen, apowerful remedy—more especially enlargement of the mesenteric glands,tubercles of the lungs, &c. Many unmarried females present a complicationof scrofulous and nervous symptoms, indicated by enlargement of themesenteric glands, pains and tenderness of the abdomen, hysteria, irregularmenstruation, and numerous symptoms of disordered digestion. Theseare much benefitted, if not cured, by the Kissengen waters.

4.Hæmorrhoidal affections.—The Ragoczy and Pandur are famous inthese complaints, so prevalent on the Continent, and regarded with somuch importance there. It will be a sufficient specimen of German pathologyon this point, to remark that the very enlightened physician whosework I am quoting, looks upon latent piles as indicated by the followingsymptoms: viz.—head-aches—perspirations—pain in the spleen—cutaneouseruptions—vertigo—diarrhœa—asthma—blennorhagia—ovarian tumors—weaknessof sight—spectral images before the eyes—vomiting ofblood—swellings of the liver, uterus, &c.—discharges of blood from thekidneys, bowels, &c. “In all these masked forms of hæmorrhoids, thewaters of Kissengen are more or less beneficial.” p. 49.

5.Gouty affections.—Where gout wanders about, and annoys the internalorgans, the waters of this spa are asserted to be of great efficacy.

6.Cutaneous eruptions.—These are looked upon as only external signsof internal affections—especially of disorder in the abdominal viscera, forwhich the Kissengen spas are almost specific.

7.Hypochondriasis.—The vast number of hypochondriacs who annuallyresort to Kissengen, are, Dr. B. thinks, incontestible proofs of thegood effects of the waters. Considering that hypochondriacs run everywhere, and seldom get cured, this proof is rather equivocal.

8.Hysteria, in all its various forms.—9. Melancholia.—10. Asthma—whendependent on abdominal affections.

11.Stomach complaints.—12. Affections of the bowels.—13. Ovarianand uterine diseases.—14. Neuralgic affections, tic douloureux, &c.—15.Debility.—16. Various complaints following acute diseases, as fevers, inflammations,&c.

[172]

PHYSICAL EFFECTS AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF THE DIFFERENTSPRINGS.

1.Maxbrunnen.—This water, when taken early in the morning, causesa certain degree of irritation in the fauces and nose, that leads to slightcough or sneezing, succeeded by a sensation of heat in the stomach, andnot unfrequently by some confusion or giddiness in the head, as if fromwine. These phenomena are speedily followed by a comfortable feeling,refreshment, and agility. After a few glasses of the water are drunk, thesecretion from the kidneys is augmented considerably, followed by perspiration—andultimately by some action on the bowels. This last effect,however, does not generally take place till after the waters have been usedfor a few days. The mucous secretion, however, both from the bowelsand air-tubes is always increased—especially if there had been previouslyany tracheal or bronchial affection. This spring is found to be most beneficialto people of bilious, phlegmatic, and plethoric temperaments. Peoplewho shew a decided disposition to catarrhal affections, or inflammation ofthe mucous membrane of the lungs, will do well to mix the Maxbrunnenwater with an equal quantity of whey. Scrofula, chronic bronchitis, indigestion,and other affections, are benefitted by these waters.

2.Ragoczy.—A glass of this water taken fasting, causes a refreshingwarmth in the stomach, followed by some degree of distention, with slighteructations of gas. The head next becomes affected, with a sense ofpressure in the front, and even some degree of giddiness. If sufficientexercise be taken between each glass, a gentle perspiration occurs—thekidneys act more freely—and phlegm is expectorated from the mucousmembrane of the air-passages. All these symptoms are generally followedby two or three actions on the bowels. This cycle of phenomena occupiesfrom two to four hours, when the symptoms all subside, and thepatient feels comfortable during the remainder of the day. These phenomenacontinue for some days—and as the appetite augments, it is toooften indulged freely, with inconvenience. At the end of a few days, allthe functions of the body, but especially the mucous secretions, take on aconsiderable degree of activity—and the secretions themselves becomechanged in quality as well as quantity. From the end of the first weektill the end of the second, the general state of health is much altered, inconsequence of the excited condition of the whole organism, which isnow roused into action against the malady. “The patient becomesirascible, capricious, discontented;—the waters no longer render him comfortable,brisk, or increase his appetite:—on the contrary, the tonguebegins to be furred, the appetite to fail, the secretions to become irregularand morbid, not only from the bowels, but from the other mucousmembranes, and even the skin, which often exhales a peculiar acidulous[173]odour.” The urinary secretion gets thick and sedimentary, with a predominanceof acid or alkali, and a scum over its surface. If the liver orspleen were affected, they now become softer, and the abdomen is sensibleto pressure. The same is observed in the other abdominal and pelvicorgans when previously affected. In short, when the patient begins tothink that the waters are disagreeing with him, and making him ill, theDoctor is of a very different opinion, viewing this re-action as a salutaryeffort of Nature, assisted by the waters, to expel the morbific matter orcause of disease from the system.[57]

3.The Pandur.—The physical effects of this spring are nearly the sameas those of the Ragoczy. It acts a little more strongly on the kidneys,skin, and bowels. On this last account it is a most useful spring in allabdominal congestions, torpid bowels, and sluggish liver. On the sameaccount also (its aperient qualities) it causes less of the re-action describedabove, affects the head much less than the Ragoczy, and also thechest. The effects of the Pandur, when taken in the evening, are worthyof notice. If two or three glasses are taken in the evening, it has acalming, tranquillizing effect on the whole system—promotes sleep—orproduces it if the individual were previously wakeful. At the same timeit promotes perspiration, and secretion from the kidneys; but does not acton the bowels—unless a large quantity be taken. About eight or nine inthe morning, however, it opens the bowels comfortably, especially ifassisted by a few morning glasses of the same water. In this respect itdiffers greatly from the Ragoczy—which cannot be taken in the evening.It is also an important auxiliary to the Ragoczy. The Pandur is preferableto the Ragoczy in all cases where an alterative, solvent, and aperienteffect is more desirable than a tonic. It is fitter for young femalesaffected with abdominal and uterine plethora—or indeed plethora of anypart, than the neighbouring spring. It is also more profitable in nervous,irritable habits than the other. Where constipation obtains, it is peculiarlyuseful.

4.Soolensprudel.—It is only about two years (before March 1839) thatthis water has been used internally. It is strongly purgative and solvent.Two or three glasses taken fasting, are sure to produce one, or even several[174]evacuations from the bowels, without griping or inconvenience. Althoughthere is a very small quantity of iron in the Soolensprudel, yet, in combinationwith the carbonic acid gas, it does not weaken the digestiveorgans, so much as some other waters of the saline kind. It may begiven, as an aperient, in all cases where the Ragoczy and Pandur areproper.

THE BATHS.

The effects of all the Kissengen waters, when used as baths, have a considerableresemblance to each other. The plus or minus of carbonic acidgas, and of iron, make the chief differences. As the baths have hardlyever been employed without the internal use of the waters, their effectscannot be positively ascertained as under other circumstances. The generalphenomena, however, may be stated as follows:—

The patient feels soothed, refreshed, and even strengthened, by the firstfew baths; but about the seventh day, the symptoms of re-action commence,and then the pleasing sensations of the bath disappear—and he feelsenfeebled and uncomfortable after leaving the water. These phenomenaincrease. The skin becomes relaxed—slightly reddened, and copiousperspirations break out—or if not, the kidneys act vigorously. If therebe any cutaneous eruptions, they increase, become inflamed, and dischargefreely. Rheumatic and gouty pains are exasperated, and sometimes carriedinto a state of acute inflammation, with fever, which lasts three or fourdays, and then disappears. In such cases, the baths must be discontinuedfor a short time. In general, most of the diseases which are ultimatelycured by the baths and waters, are, for a certain period, renderedworse. In the course, or rather towards the end of this re-action, certaincritical evacuations take place, more especially from the skin, accompaniedby a peculiar odour—or boils or other eruptions break forth—or depositionstake place in the urine, sometimes even of blood—or by the bowels. Thiscrisis past, a state of amelioration takes place, and now the baths shouldbe discontinued, not at once, but gradually.

The morbid conditions which require the bathsmore than the drinkingof the waters are—chronic affections of the skin—rheumatic and goutycomplaints, whether external or internal—neuralgic affections—complaintsdriven from the surface to the interior.

We need not dwell on the slight differences which take place in the useof the baths of the Maxbrunnen, Pandur, and Ragoczy. The baths ofthe Soolensprudel deserve a remark or two. The baths of this source aremore powerful than those of the others, often producing considerable heatand irritation of the skin, accompanied by corresponding re-action of thesystem generally—even to fever, which requires marked and vigilant attention,otherwise very serious consequences may result. At the same time,it may be observed that the baths of the Soolensprudel are less disposedto affect the head and the chest, than other baths of weaker powers, if used[175]with caution. They have hitherto been chiefly employed in cases ofconfirmed scrofula, both external and internal—in uterine and ovarianaffections—in inveterate rheumatic and gouty complaints.

In the after-cure, the waters of Bocklet and Bruckenau, chalybeatesboth, are almost essential, to restore the strength, after the alterative andaperient waters of Kissengen, and after the struggle which the constitutionhas had with the malady.

1.Season.—Dr. Balling conceives that different complaints requiredifferent periods of the season for their removal by the waters of Kissengen.In general, however, the time is from the middle of Spring till theend of Autumn.

2.Preparation.—Dr. B. gives us some advice on this point, which wecan seldom follow—namely, to dismiss all care, before we visit Kissengen!—tobring with us a statement of our case from the physician in ordinary—tobring warm clothing, adapted to Winter as well as Summer—not tobring unnecessary family and servants—to travel leisurely from home toKissengen—to rest a few days after the journey, before the waters or bathsare taken, and consult with the physician of the place.

3.Mode of taking the waters.—The time is from six till eight o’clockin the morning. The quantity of the waters taken must depend on thecapability of the stomach to digest them. As there is much carbonic acidgas in the waters, they ought to be drunk quickly, each portion. TheRagoczy and Pandur are generally taken cold; but, in particular cases,the chill may be taken off them. Ten or twelve minutes should intervenebetween each goblet of the waters. The first glasses are more easily digestedthan the later ones. Easy walking between the glasses is beneficial.All persons disposed to congestions about the head or chest, asevinced by giddiness, or oppression in the act of breathing, should be verycautious and moderate in the use of these waters. In the period of re-action,the symptoms should be marked by the patient and communicatedto the physician. Breakfast may be taken in half an hour after the lastgoblet of water. If the waters are taken in the evening, it should be fouror five hours after dinner. These regulations apply chiefly to the Ragoczyand Pandur. The Maxbrunnen spring is generally drunk with a moderateproportion of whey or milk.

THE BATHS.

The waters of the Maxbrunnen remain clear when heated. The othersbecome a little turbid by the heat. Patients are recommended not to bathein any of these waters for three or four days after their arrival. Theyshould be taken for some days internally, before the baths are used, in[176]order that the bowels may be free, and the secretions improved. Theyought to be employed to the point of saturation—which generally takesplace in a shorter time than by the drinking of the waters. The bathsare taken before noon, and after drinking the waters, before breakfast—orin the evening. The baths, however, may be taken two hours after a lightbreakfast—and are more agreeable to most people at this time than beforethe repast. Once a day is often enough. They are generally raised to96° or 98° of Fahrenheit—and half an hour is the usual period of immersion.It is prudent not to stay in more than ten or fifteen minutes atfirst, and to gradually increase the period, till it comes to thirty or fortyminutes.

“Patients who are disposed to convulsions, vertigo, faintings, or fulnessabout the head, should not use these baths but with extreme caution.Such people ought to keep the head covered with cloths wet with coldwater during immersion.”[58] These baths are absolutely prejudicial, if thepatient goes in when heated, perspiring, or excited by passions of the mind.The bather ought not to plunge at once into the bath, but first to spongethe chest and stomach with the warm water. It is hurtful to read in thebath, and more so, to go to sleep. On the contrary, the bather shouldkeep in constant motion, to use friction with his own hands over the chestand abdomen. “If, during immersion, the patient be seized with feverishheat, chilliness, shivering, head-ache, oppression on the chest—or any kindof malaise, he should immediately quit the bath, and examine whether ornot the temperature has been too high or too low. He should dress himselfquickly on leaving the bath, and take some turns in the dressing-roombefore going into the open air. Gentle exercise after the bath is verybeneficial.”

The point of saturation from the baths is considered by Dr. Balling asa matter of great importance. This point is not attained till the morbificmatters are expelled from the constitution, and all the secretions have becomehealthy and natural—especially those from the intestinal canal. Thetime necessary for attaining this desirable condition will be different indifferent constitutions—and in different diseases. Generally speaking, itrequires two weeks of the bath. After this period the patient and physicianshould be on their guard, and watch well the phenomena as theyoccur.

The effects of these waters on the human organism do not cease whenthe drinking and bathing are left off. They often continue for a longtime, and complete the cure which was left incomplete at the spa. It buttoo frequently happens that, when patients experience no relief at medicinalspas, they are told to hope for a cure from theconsecutive effects of[177]the waters. They are often disappointed. In respect to the Kissengensprings, we are informed by Dr. Balling, that unless they produce thereaction already described, during the time the patient is using them, noconsecutive effects are to be expected. But, on the other hand, if the reactionclearly shews itself at the springs, considerable consecutive effects,of a salutary nature, may be confidently looked for—and the remainderof the cure may be safely trusted to nature at the patient’s own home.The system of diet enjoined by the Kissengen physicians, and Dr. Ballingin particular, is nearly as rigid as at most of the other spas, where certaindoctors have hobbies which they ride to death beyond the Rhine as wellas in this country.

ORDER OF THE DAY.

At six o’clock in the morning the band marches and plays through themiddle of the town to the garden, summoning the sick to their morningpotations. “It is here,” says Dr. B. “that a most curious scene presentsitself to the musing eye. Eight hundred or a thousand invalids (for comparativelyfew others go to Kissengen) are quickly assembled in the walksof the “Jardin de cure,” of all conditions and ages—the prince by theside of the tradesman—the queen by that of the peasant girl—all havingbut one object in view, the recovery of health. Nothing can be more interestingthan the general physiognomy which characterises the wholemoving mass of human beings.

The great spas present a morbid physiognomy each peculiar to itself.Carlsbad exhibits the yellow and earthy—Ems the pallid and hectic—Pyrmont,the pale chlorosis—the “green and yellow melancholy” of thelove-sick maiden. Kissengen has its peculiar physiognomy—but it is adeceitful one—a countenance of morbid fulness and floridness, little indicativeof the grave maladies which lie concealed.”

This garden is of considerable extent, and contains numerous walks.Those who like to be in the crowd may find their wishes satisfied in themiddle alleys—those who are fond of solitude, may indulge their meditationsin the remote paths. Those who are fond of comparing noteswith their brother and sister sufferers, have ample means of doing so, inthis asylum of valetudinarians.

At eight o’clock all disperse to their breakfasts; after which they eitherrepose for an hour or two, or take some walking exercise. At eleveno’clock, the bathing process commences, after which another promenade orrepose—and then the one o’clock dinner. After dinner, and perhaps acup of coffee, the promenades in the garden, and the excursions into thecountry are made. In the evening, the garden, the conversation-halls,theatre, and gambling-tables, are the great places of resort.[59]

[178]

I shall conclude with the following remark of Dr. Balling.

“In speaking of the gaming-tables of the Kurhaus, which are open fromthree till ten o’clock every afternoon, it is to assert, in the most positivemanner, that all such games are eminently injurious to invalids, and greatlyobstruct the cure of their complaints. This is the case whether the individualwins or loses money. In the state of excitement, almost febrile,produced by the waters themselves and the re-action of the constitution,the valetudinarian runs the risk of some dangerous perturbation in theanimal organism, which may cost him his life, and, at all events, must interruptthe salutary operation of the springs.”

P.S.—On visiting these waters in August, 1840, I found that thenumber of English invalids had somewhat decreased during that season.The reputation of the waters, however, is evidently on the increase. Isaw several English who had experienced considerable benefit in stomachcomplaints; whilst others complained much of the bad effects of thewaters on the head and nervous system. They are powerful waters, andrequire attention. The spa doctors of Kissengen now enjoin a most rigidsystem of diet, which greatly aids the medicinal effects of the waters. Nowine is allowed. The food is confined to soup and a little meat, withoutany pudding, fruit, vegetables, or made dishes of any description! Thisdietary, with early hours and plenty of water, must go a good way toinsure restoration of health, independently of the medicinal ingredients inthe springs.

BOCKLET.

When the waters of Carlsbad or Kissengen have washed away the superfluousgreen fat and ill-assimilated roast-beef from the body ofJohnBull—the sour krout and rancid sausages from theGerman—and thecaviare and train oil from theRuss—then these worthy personages repairtoBocklet orBruckenau, to undergo a very different process from thatof depuration—namely, to have their ribs lined with steel, and their stomachsconverted into gizzards. According to my information, those whocome to these acidulous chalybeate springs with digestive organs in a stateanalogous to that of blotting-paper, go away from them, with the sameorgans in a condition very closely resembling well tanned sole-leather!

The visitors of Carlsbad and Kissengen, are all radical reformers, tearing[179]up by the roots the numerous vices and abuses that have crept into theirconstitutions;—but at Bocklet and Bruckenau, they become eminentlyconservative—carefully rebuilding the various dilapidated portions of thebody corporate in the firmest manner, and on the most durable foundations.

Bocklet is only half-a-dozen miles from Kissengen, and the waters containlittle more than two-thirds of a grain of iron to the pint; but then thereare 31 cubic inches of free carbonic acid gas, which confer on the ironthe greatest possible state of solution, and consequently the greatest degreeof energetic action on the human frame. In the pint of this water, also,there are 27 grains of muriate of soda—six grains of sulphate of soda—sevengrains of carbonate of lime—nearly two grains of carbonate of magnesia,with some slight saline impregnations, of no great importance. Thewhole of the solid contents are between 40 and 50 grains in the pint.These ingredients, however, gently modify the action of the iron, andrender the water much safer, in many complaints and constitutions, thanthe purer chalybeates (as for instance Bruckenau) where the astringencyand stimulation of the steel are unmitigated by saline counter-poises. Dr.Hans, the Apollo of Bocklet, is loud in the praises of these waters, takeninternally and used as baths—and indeed, from their composition and theirphysiological action, I think it probable that they are of greater utility,and applicable to a wider range of diseases than any other chalybeate inGermany, or perhaps in Europe.

At no spa do the applicants live more completelyen famille than here—alldining, drinking, and promenading together, sans ceremonie.

The cuisine at Bocklet appears to be under the superintendence of thedoctor. We dined at the one o’clock table-d’hôte, and had nothing butsoup—some bouilli—and roast chicken, instead of the endless courses atother table-d’hôtes. The whole, with a pint bottle of wine, cost abouteighteen-pence for each person! Bocklet, however, seems but little frequented,compared with Bruckenau, though its waters are of an excellentquality. The drive from Kissengen along the side of the Saal, is verypleasant, and passes the Soolensprudel and salt works, which we stoppedto examine. The Soolensprudel was in high feather, foaming and boilingover into conduits that conveyed it to the baths. It is well worthseeing.

There are some pleasant excursions in the neighbourhood, where timemay be killed, and health promoted by the same process.

The air for a mile or two around the salines strongly resembles sea air,where there is much sea-weed on the shore. It is very grateful andrefreshing.

[180]

BRUCKENAU.

At the distance of sixteen miles from Kissengen, a route requiring fivehours and a half, with strong horses, over a road which is by no meansabundant in good scenery, but exuberant of steep hills and rough causeways,liesBruckenau, between two lofty and wooded hills, in the prettybut certainly not romantic valley of theSinn—a chalybeate much frequented,even by royalty—the King of Bavaria having a residence therefor taking the waters in the spa-season. There are three or four springs—two,the Sinnberger and Wernarzer, close together, on the left bank ofthe river—resembling tolerable, and only tolerable, soda-water, in taste,having scarcely any savour of steel—and containing not more than a grainof solid matters in the pint. The former of these is much used in calculouscomplaints—scrofula—and chronic affections of the mucous membraneof the lungs. Dr. Schipper affirms that the water of the Sinnbergerpossesses a peculiar, or rather specific influence on the skin, in thepromotion of perspiration.

The Wernarzer is nearly the same in taste and composition; but is moreused in dyspeptic complaints, or morbid sensibility of the gastric and intestinalnerves.

It is on crossing the little river Sinn, that we come to the lion of theplace—theBruckenauer, springing up under a large red pavilion, anddischarging its contents through four tiny wooden tubes, into a circularbasin, encrusted with the red oxide of iron. I saw none of the commotionwhich Dr. Granville describes; on the contrary, the Bruckenauer isone of the most quiet and placid wells which I have ever seen, consideringthat the water contains 36 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas to the pint,which ought to make it as frisky as Champagne. It is pleasant to thetaste; but not more so than the Weinbrunnen at Schwalbach—the Pouhonat Spa—or the Pandur at Kissengen. In fact, I was greatly disappointed,as far as taste is concerned, in the waters of Bruckenau, soexaggerated are the accounts which have been published respecting theirethereal, sparkling, exhilarating, piquant qualities.

The chalybeate nature of the Bruckenauer is unequivocally evinced bythe great deposition of iron on all parts of the basin in which it is contained—andby the strong iron gout which it leaves in the mouth afterbeing swallowed. Although there is only a quarter of a grain of steel inthe pint, yet this mineral is at its maximum of oxidation, in consequenceof the great proportion of carbonic acid gas, and theBruckenauer istherefore held to be the clearest and most pure chalybeate in the world.The physiological effects of this spa are considered to be highly stimulating,tonic, and astringent—augmenting the velocity of the circulation,and the volume of the pulse—oxygenating the blood—giving tone to the[181]body, and colour to the lips and cheeks of the blanched female. In additionto these valuable qualities, the Bruckenau waters are said to possess theopposite ones—of tranquillizing (“arresting every symptom of irregularmobility,”) of the nervous system. Now, if all the spa-doctors, betweenCarlsbad in the East, and Saratoga in the West, combined to certify thisfact, I would remain sceptical. I will not maintain that such conflictingqualities are incompatible with each other; but it would require veryweighty facts to induce me to believe that they co-exist in this pure chalybeatespring.

Bruckenau is to Germany what Tonbridge Wells is to England. Althoughthelatter spa contains much more iron than the Continental one,Bruckenau has greatly the advantage in the large proportion of carbonicacid gas, rendering the German chalybeate infinitely more tonic than theEnglish.

The water of Bruckenau, then, like all pure tonics, is a powerful enginein skilful hands; but a dangerous weapon when wielded without judgment.Debility, or at least a feeling of debility, attends almost everydisease, whether acute or chronic. To remove this symptom is the constantprayer of the patient, and the great embarrassment of the practitioner,who knows that those remedies which augment the general strength,too often increase the activity and danger of the local disorder. It mustbe owned that in medicine, as well as in other professions, there are individualswho, for the sake of ill-got fame and sordid pelf, will pander tothe appetites, prejudices, and ignorance of the public, and, through theagency of food and physic, force, as it were, the general strength beyondthe level at which the local malady can be safely remedied. The fireis smouldered but not extinguished, and is sure to break out, sooner orlater, with redoubled violence. But the object of the doctor is attained—thefees are secure, and his skill is already attested by the deluded victim,who is ashamed afterwards to recall the testimony. The attempt to restoregeneral health or strength by tonics or chalybeates, where there exists alocal disorder of any organ or structure, is not merely illusory, butprejudicial or even dangerous. Hence the necessity of an accurate examinationof all the organs, before a course of tonics is entered on athome, or a journey to a chalybeate spa abroad. Much expense, fatigue,and disappointment would be saved by such a preliminary investigation.It is in cases where the general health and strength are breaking downunderfunctional disorder, and where this disorder is corrected by otherspas or proper medicines, that the chalybeates of Spa, Schwalbach,Bruckenau, or Bocklet, act like a charm in restoring energy to the constitution,taken internally and used externally.

The chalybeate bath requires caution and attention, as well as thedrinking of the waters. Although much of the iron is lost by the escapeof the carbonic acid gas, still the corrugation, redness, and roughness of[182]the skin produced by immersion in the chalybeate bath indicate a powerfulagency, and when lassitude, drowsiness, head-ache, or sense of exhaustionfollow the bath, the patient should be on his guard, and eitherdesist, or report to the bath physician.

There must be an especial freedom from all organic disease, and evenfrom functional disorder—especially disordered function of the liver ordigestive apparatus, attended with morbid secretions, where such a pureand powerful chalybeate as Bruckenau can be safely employed.

The King of Bavaria has erected here a Cursaal apparently intended torival, or rather to eclipse its celebrated namesake of Wisbaden. It is astructure of great height, dimensions, and decorations, surrounded on allsides by a fine open colonnade, and presenting a noble portico. At thetable-d’hôte, of one o’clock, there sate down about eighty or a hundredguests; but many of them were, no doubt, visitors from Kissengen. Theyseemed to defy the rigid injunctions of the Kissengen doctors, and probablyconsidered that during the “Nach-Kur” or after-cure, and while theywere lining their ribs with steel, they ought to have a commensurate latitudein the enjoyments of the table.

FRANZENSBAD.

At the distance of three short miles from the town of Eger or Egra, inBohemia, lies Franzensbad, a spa of considerable reputation. The situationis not very pleasant, being rather bare of wood and shade, and the surroundingcountry by no means picturesque. The town, or village, in fact, isin the midst of a great bog, and the houses, like those of Amsterdam andVenice, are built on piles driven into the ground. Franzensbad is a colonyfrom Egra, and dates only from 1795. It took its name from the principalsource—Franzensquelle. The houses are modern, clean, and cheerful—thewalks, though not yet sufficiently numerous or shaded, are in progress—andthe bazaars furnish all kinds of necessaries, and even luxuries,to the spa-goers.

I. FRANZENSQUELLE, OR BRUNN.

This is the lion of the place, and is the first spring on which we stumbleon our way from Eger. Its name was formerly the Egra, and its waters,which are now exported to every corner of the earth, still go by the nameof Eger water. It is supposed to have been known for eight hundredyears past. The spring is placed under a circular temple, from which thebazaar colonnade stretches round two sides of a square. It sends forth275 cubic inches of water per minute, at an invariable temperature ofabout 49°. The water of this well is clear as crystal, and discharges greatnumbers of bubbles of gas, which coat the sides of the glass. It is a long[183]time before it becomes turbid in the vessel. In the course of several daysit begins to be decomposed, and lets fall some particles of oxide of iron.This spring is in continual agitation, emitting with some noise its carbonicacid gas. It has no odour of any kind, and the taste is very pleasant,piquant, and refreshing. The après-gout, or after taste is decidedly chalybeate.Mixed with a fourth part of white wine and some sugar, theFranzensquelle forms a remarkably agreeable beverage. If the sugar bein fine powder, and briskly stirred about in the glass, the whole foams uplike Champagne.

Physiological properties.—The Franzensquelle is considered by all thebest medical authorities on the subject, as at one and the same time, solvent,strengthening, and stimulant. Its chief contents are as follows: ina pint or pound of the water, there are 34 grains of solid matters, and 30½cubic inches of carbonic acid gas. The chief ingredients are ¾ grain ofsilex—6⅓ grs. bicarbonate of soda—one third of a grain of oxide of iron—1¼grain of carbonate of lime—19 grains sulphate of soda—7 grains ofmuriate of soda—in all 34 grains.[60]

Although it contains one-third of a grain of steel, and that minutelydissolved by means of the carbonic acid, yet the Franzensquelle may beadministered to people who are both irritable and debilitated, without anydanger of proving too heating or exciting.

Its internal use produces the following effects. 1. It acts on thenervous system, which it strengthens, tranquillizes, and diminishes irritability.2. On the muscular system it exerts a tonic effect. 3. Onthe vascular system it produces an increase of activity—accelerates thecirculation—augments the red colour of the blood, as well as the animalheat of the body. It also increases the functions of digestion, assimilation,and nutrition. 4. It dissolves mucus in the bowels, expels worms,and rarely produces constipation. On the venous circulation of the liverit is believed to act in a very salutary manner—dissipating congestions inthat quarter. 5. On the uterine system it acts vigorously, proving bothtonic and stimulant. Hence it is much used by females of pale complexions,watery blood, and various derangements peculiar to the sex. 6. Thewater of this spring is diuretic, and beneficial to the kidneys, when theirfunction is disturbed. 7. It is asserted that the Franzensquelle is usefulin relaxed states of the mucous membrane of the trachea and bronchia.The union of a solvent and tonic property is attributed not so much to the[184]combination of saline and chalybeate ingredients, as to their antagonism,thus producing a new agent of specific powers. And here I consider itbetter to take the opinion of the venerable Hufeland, on these waters, thanthe assertions of the spa-doctors themselves. The following sentimentswere published by the celebrated Prussian physician in 1822.

“When I speak of the waters of Franzensbad, it is as of an old andvalued friend. The renown of these waters has continued ever since thedays of Hoffman, and I myself have witnessed many remarkable cureseffected by them. In 1820, I drew a parallel between the waters ofFranzensbad and those of the Kreutzbrunn, at Marienbad—all from personalobservation. It was long the custom in Berlin and other largetowns, for the merchants, men of letters, politicians, and, in fact, thegreater part of the bureaucracy, to tear themselves from their various occupations,and take the waters of Franzensbad for a month. They almostall laboured under a complication of functional disorders, as difficult andpainful digestion, constipation, deranged secretions, or gouty affections.While taking the waters, they were separated from their offices—kept earlyhours—lived temperately—and enjoyed exercise in the open air. Theeffects were remarkable. They laid in a stock of health for the remainderof the year—and thus prevented functional disorders from advancing intochanges of structure. Frederick the Great was one of those who profitedby the waters of Franzensbad. This illustrious monarch often becamea prey to the most miserable feelings and gloomy sentiments. In 1748,this state amounted to a high degree, aggravated by a tertian fever andvarious gouty affections. At this period the king considered that his dayswere numbered, and that his last ones were at hand. His physician prevailedon him to try the waters of Egra (Franzensbad), where he completelyrecovered his health, and lived to an advanced old age.”

“Although the waters of Franzensbad belong to the chalybeate class,their properties are quite peculiar. They are very ethereal, and combineso much saline matters with the iron, that they are penetrating, easy ofdigestion, tonic, exciting, animating without heating, solvent of obstructions,aperient, and favourable to the promotion of healthy secretions andexcretions. These waters are incomparable when the object is to purgewithout debilitating—to increase the activity of the blood-vessels withoutheating or producing congestion—to strengthen without constipating. Itfollows from this, that there are few chronic maladies for which these watersare not an effectual remedy—and few persons who will not bear theiroperation well.

“I shall now briefly allude to the principal complaints to which thewaters of Franzensbad are particularly applicable.

“In the first rank standsHypochondriasis, especially if accompaniedby atony of the bowels, congestion of the abdominal vessels, constipation,hæmorrhoidal tendency, or determination of blood to any of the vital[185]organs. In such casespure chalybeates would only augment the evil;whereas the saline chalybeates are of the greatest benefit. Chronic nervousaffections, with or without cramps or spasms of stomach and bowels,are a class that derive great advantage from these waters. The same may besaid of all chronic disorders, the sequel of long-continued indigestion, withflatulence, acidities, and eructations. Hæmorrhoids, whether fluent or dry,are ameliorated or removed by the waters of Franzensbad. They are almostspecific in biliary derangements, from torpid liver up to actual jaundice.Finally, in reverting to the case of Frederick the Great, I can aver that,for the long catalogue of human afflictions, the consequences of sedentarylives, full living, anxieties of mind, and crowded cities, the waters ofFranzensbad are inimitable—even if only taken for a month each season.I have frequently ordered them, and with great advantage, in affections ofthe mucous membranes of the chest—and even where there were strongindications of tubercles in the lungs. In these last cases, however, it willbe prudent to exhibit them in combination with warm milk—especiallyasses milk. In chronic affections of the kidneys and bladder—in graveland calculus, I have given the waters with benefit. These waters are notinjured by time or carriage.”

Such are the sentiments of the celebrated Hufeland, and I have preferredthem to the statements of the spa doctors themselves, for very obviousreasons.

II. THE SALZQUELLE.

This spring is situated in a turfy meadow a few hundred yards to theeastward of the Franzensbrunn, at the end of a long colonnade. It isdefended from the rain by a circular dome. It throws up 133 cubic inchesof water per minute. It is perfectly clear, and disengages much carbonicacid gas. It takes a good while to become decomposed, when it throwsdown some whitish flakes, but no oxide of iron. It has no odour, andthe taste is brisk and refreshing, rather alkaline, but not in the leastchalybeate.

Contents.-¼ grain of silex—7 grs. of bicarbonate of soda—a mere traceof iron—1½ gr. carbonate of lime—13½ grs. sulphate of soda—7 grs. ofmuriate of soda—total about 30 grains, with 20 cubic inches of carbonicacid gas in the pint.

From the above analysis it is evident that theSalzquelle differs notessentially from the Franzensbrunn, except in the iron, which is infinitelygreater in quantity in the latter than in the former. The Salzquelle bearsconsiderable analogy to the waters of Carlsbad and Marienbad. It isequally penetrating, solvent, and easy of digestion as the Franzensquelle,but less irritating, and more refreshing. Weak people, and those who are[186]disposed to congestions of blood, bear this spring better than its chalybeateneighbour. Hufeland, in 1823, published the following opinion.

“Franzensbad has gained much by the discovery of the saline (Salzquelle)spring. I am acquainted with all the German spas, and have nohesitation in stating that this source is quite peculiar in its nature, andhitherto inscrutable. The physiological action of this spring is equallymild and penetrating, promoting the secretions rather than the evacuations.The waters of this source are more easily borne than those of thechalybeate.”

III. THE COLD SPRUDEL.

This is a small circular well, close to another very large and oval one,both of which are at a short distance behind the bazaar colonnade. Thiswater is in continual motion, like its more celebrated namesake at Carlsbad;but does not leap so high, and is quite cold. It furnishes 3648 cubicinches of water per minute. When poured into a glass it is clear andeffervescent. The taste is agreeable, refreshing, and slightly chalybeate.It has no flavour; the quantity of carbonic acid gas which it disengageswhile drinking, often causes sneezing.

Contents.—6⅓ grs. bicarb, soda—⅒ gr. of oxide of iron—1¼ gr. carb.lime—20 grs. sulphate of soda—6½ muriate of soda—total 33½ grs. inthe pint, with about 30 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas.

From the above analysis it appears that the Cold Sprudel holds a place,both chemically and medicinally, intermediate between the Franzensquelleand the Salzquelle. It is more solvent and aperient than theformer—butmore exciting and irritating than thelatter. It is unnecessary to go intodetails as to the cases in which the one source is preferable to the other.A combination or alternation of the two will often be more beneficial thanan exclusive use of either.

IV. LOUISENBRUNN.

Close to the Sprudel, and under the same canopy, boils up in prodigiousquantities, the Louisenquelle. The basin is of a large oval form, and containsseveral springs within itself. It disgorges 27,056 cubic inches ofwater per minute! It is in perpetual agitation, like its neighbour theSprudel, and serves exclusively for bathing. The carbonic acid gas boilsup in large and innumerable bubbles, with considerable noise. It appearsturbid in the basin, but is perfectly clear in a glass. The taste is quite aspleasant as that of the Franzensquelle, but without the after-taste of inkproduced by the latter source.

Contents.—⅑th of a grain of silex—4 grs. of bicarbonate of soda-¼ ofa gr. of carbonate of iron—1¼ gr. carb. lime—16 grs. sulphate of soda—5[187]grs. muriate of soda—total 27 grains, with 24½ cubic inches of carbonicacid gas in the pint. It may be stated that the waters of Franzensbadare used externally as baths—cold, tepid, or warm, in all the diseases anddisorders for which the same waters are used internally.

P. S.—Since the above was written I have received the following informationfrom a most talented pupil of St. George’s Hospital (Mr.Spitta),respecting a new source which had not been quite in operation when Ivisited Franzensbad.

“One source yet remains to be noticed, of recent date truly, but stillby no means to be overlooked—the Weisenquelle, or Source de la Prairie.It is situated still further eastward of the Franzensquelle than the Salzquelle;and is principally remarkable for containing a small quantity ofsulphur in the form of sulphuretted hydrogen gas.

Drs. Kœstler and Palliardi have each published a small paper on itsvirtues.

It contains the most salt of any of the wells at Franzensbad. In sixteenounces there are 25.6554 grains of sulphate of soda—9.3254 ofchloride of sodium—8.9787 of bicarbonate of soda—besides carbonatesof lime, magnesia, iron, (.1780 gr.) magnesia, stronthian and lithion,phosphate of lime, subphosphate of alumina, and silica, each in smallquantities; together with .0588 of a peculiar salt termed by Zembsch theanalyst, “quellsaures eisenoxydul,” or oxide of iron in combination withan acid peculiar to this well—making in all 46.6903 grains of salinematter.

This source gives off a great quantity of carbonic acid, and when youapproach it the well-known odour of sulphuretted hydrogen is immediatelyrecognised.

According to the same chemist, Zembsch, 16 ounces contain 30.691grs. of free carbonic acid, and .162 gr. of sulphuretted hydrogen. Itsmedicinal properties are like the other springs, aperient and antacid, butfrom its containing so much salt, and so little iron, it forms a sort of intermediatespring between the Salzquelle, which has the merest trace, andthe Franzensquelle, which contains about one third of a grain of thatmetal in the pint.

It is not so much employed as the other springs; so that its specificeffects dependent on the sulphur it contains have not as yet been very distinctlyobserved.”

GAS BATHS.

These and the Mud-baths to be presently described, are becoming veryfashionable in Germany. From every inch of surface in the peat bogaround Franzensbad, carbonic acid gas is constantly issuing forth in suchquantities that its extrication is audible and visible, wherever there is water[188]on the ground. To have a reservoir of this gas, it is only necessary tobuild a house, and prevent the carbonic acid from being dispersed in theair. It is there collected, and baths and douches are constructed for itsready application to the body generally, or to any particular part thereof.The Gas-bath or building at Franzensbad, stands within thirty or fortyyards of the Franzensquelle, and from the ground of this house, which isof very moderate extent, there issues 5760 cubicfeet of gas every twenty-fourhours!! There is little doubt that the extrication of carbonic acid isequally plentiful in any and every part of the bog in which the town issituated. I should think that to go to sleep on the ground, in a calmSummer’s night, would be inevitable death. As it is, the good people ofFranzensbad, inhabitants and visitors, must be perpetually inhaling an atmospherewell impregnated with this gas. I do not suppose, however, thatthis is productive of any injurious effects.

The gas is conveyed into the bath through a cock at the bottom, andthe patient, being either dressed or undressed, sits down on a little stool,while a wooden lid or cover, with a hole that fits tolerably close to theneck, is placed over the body, the head being in the open air. They havesmall tubes through which they can apply the gas to the eyes, ears, or anypart of the body, in a stream, the velocity of which can be augmented ordiminished at pleasure. They can also diminish the intensity of the gasby applying a piece of muslin or taffeta over the pipe, or over the eyes orears that are subjected to the stream. I did not try the gas baths here,but at Marienbad I used them generally and locally, accompanied by mykind friend Dr. Herzig of that place. Standing in the bath, the cock wasturned without my being aware of it, and, in a few seconds, I felt a sense ofheat ascending quickly along my legs towards the body. Without thinkingof the gas I stooped, and put my head down towards the aperture ofthe tube, by which I inhaled as much of the carbonic acid as caused asudden faintness. Dr. H. and the bathman quickly extricated me frommy perilous situation, and I went on with the bath, while my head was inthe open air. I found that the following representation of the sensible,and physiological effects of the bath, as given by Baron Aimé, is sufficientlycorrect. 1. The gas excites and even irritates the skin, producing apricking, and soon afterwards a strong itching on the surface, accompaniedby heat, and ultimately perspiration. 2. The gas stimulates the nervesof all parts to which it is applied. I had a stream directed on my eyes,which caused a most profuse flow of tears, with strong sense of heat.When it was applied to my ears, a sense of heat, and a considerable noisewere the effects produced.[61] 3. It is asserted by physicians of the Continent[189]that this gas is extremely useful when applied to old, ill-conditioned,and irritable ulcers, as soothing and promotive of healthy discharge, andultimately of cicatrisation. 4. Although the breathing of this gas is asmortal as that of the Grotto de Cane, yet if diluted with plenty of atmosphericair, it is thought that it might prove serviceable in some states orstages of phthisis, asthma, &c. 5. The action of this gas on the eyes andears I have already mentioned. Its remedial agency is much extolled incertain disorders or diseases of those organs, attended with atony or morbidirritability of their nerves and structures. 6. These baths are chieflyemployed in cases of paralysis attended with stiffness, feebleness, or spasmodicmovements. 7. In chronic, inveterate affections of a gouty orrheumatic nature—chronic sores—glandular swellings—and various cutaneouscomplaints, the gas baths are applied, and, as is affirmed, with success.8. In uterine affections, irregularities, &c. attended with torpor,debility, and irritability.

Upon the whole I am disposed to think that the gas baths are activeagents, and that they may be made useful ones, when carefully applied.

MUD BATHS.

Among the novelties—transcendentalisms, or, as some would call them,extravaganzas, of Germany, theMud Baths deserve the “passing tribute”of a short notice. But alas! there is “nothing new under the sun”—orunder the earth. To the mud of the Nile and the Ganges, virtues almostmiraculous—even the creative power of life—have been attributed, timeimmemorial. Who does not know that the life ofMarius was preservedby a mud-bath in the Minturnian marshes?—The instincts of animals,too, are not to be overlooked: We all know the extreme tenacity of lifepossessed by eels—owing perhaps to their frequent use of mud-baths.Swine are proverbially subject to cutaneous complaints, especially measles;to prevent or cure which, Nature seems to prompt the daily employmentof mud-baths, in the Summer season. A remarkable instance of the forceof instinct is afforded by the Indian buffalo. That animal immerses himselfdaily, during the hot season, in mud, up to the very nose; by whichmeans, we may conclude that he avoids the jungle fever, or cures himselfof liver-complaints. The alligator offers another example. When he hasswallowed a buffalo or a tiger, he buries himself up to the nose in mud, onthe oozy shores of the Ganges, no doubt for the promotion of digestion.

It is unnecessary to multiply the virtues of mud-baths. Those whodesire ocular proofs must repair to Franzensbad in Bohemia, where theywill see—not mud but bog-baths in perfection; though they are now alsogot up very well in Marienbad, Carlsbad, Teplitz, and other fashionablespas.

I have alluded to the plentiful supply of bog which the immediatevicinity of Franzensbad offers to the mud-bathers. This earth contains[190]the following materials:—viz: The fibres of plants not decomposed, andwhose organization is recognizable—matters soluble in water, such asvegetable substances rich in carbon, and of a yellow colour;—sulphate oflime—sulphate of magnesia—sulphate of iron—alum—bituminous extractivematter—oxide of iron—fine sand.

Thus we see that the mere boggy material of the mud-bath containsmany substances that may and do exercise a considerable physiologicalaction on the body; and medicinal agency on the constitution.

The peat bog is carried to the neighbourhood of the baths, and thereallowed to dry to some extent. It is then sifted and separated from thewoody fibres and coarser materials, when it is mixed with the mineral waterof the Louisenquelle into the consistence of a very soft poultice. In thisstate it is heated by steam to a temperature varying from 80° to 100° ofFahrenheit, when it is ready for the bather, being worked up by means ofwooden instruments and the hands into a complete black amalgam. I tookthe mud-bath here, at Marienbad, and Carlsbad, and do not regret theexperiments. I confess that, at first, I felt some repugnance, not fear, inplunging into the black peat poultice; but when up to the chin (temperature97°) I felt more comfortable than I had ever done, even in thebaths of Schlangenbad, Wildbad, or Pfeffers. The material is so dense,that you are some time in sinking to the bottom of the bath—and I couldnot help fancying myself in Mahomet’s tomb, suspended between Heavenand Earth, but possessing consciousness, which I fear the prophet did notenjoy. There was one drawback on the mud-bath, or peat-poultice. Wecannot roll about, like a porpoise or whale, as in the water-bath, withoutconsiderable effort, so dense is the medium in which we lie; but I foundthat I could use friction to all parts of the body, with great ease, in consequenceof the unctuous and lubricating quality of the bath. Aftertwenty minutes’ immersion, I felt an excitement of the surface, quite differentfrom that of the common mineral warm baths—even of those ofWisbaden, Kissengen, or Schwalbach—attended, as I fancied, by elevationof spirits.

Whilst I was thus philosophizing, like Diogenes in my tub, the thoughtcame across my mind that I would have a dive in the sable mixture. Iknew that the sun and winds had so tanned my complexion, thatit wouldnot suffer by immersion; and if my hair should get dyed black, the changewould certainly be for the better. I therefore disappeared like an eel inthe mud; but, on emerging from the bog, I thought I should have beensuffocated before I cleared my face from the tenacious cataplasm. I hadnow been nearly half an hour in the Schlammbad, and prepared to quit,as the mixture was fast cooling down, and the heat could not be kept up,as in the water-bath. On raising myself slowly and perpendicularly, withat least twenty pounds of mud on my surface, I caught a full length portraitof myself in the glass, and I think the view would have sickened[191]Narcissus of self-contemplation for ever!! I was really shocked at mysudden metamorphosis into the Œthiopian, and began to doubt whetherI should ever “change my hue” again. The warm water-bath was closeat hand, but I had the presence of mind not to jump into it at once, asI should, in that case, render it a black wash-tub; but by clearing awaywith both hands, some sixteen or eighteen pounds of peat varnish frommy body, I rolled into the clear fluid, where it required half an hour’s rubbingand scrubbing to purify myself from the “Bain de Boue.” Both onthis, and on subsequent occasions, at Marienbad, Carlsbad, and Teplitz,I experienced a degree of exhilaration, strength, and elasticity from themud-bath, which I had never done from any other. The iron in thesebaths, instead of corrugating the skin, as I expected, imparts to it a glossyor sattiny feel and softness quite peculiar—and much more in degree thanthe waters of Schlangenbad.

The bog-earth is well picked, and in some places sifted, so as to removeall the fibrous and woody parts, leaving the fat unctuous substance to bemixed with the mineral water of the place. In general these baths producea pricking sensation, and sometimes an eruption on the skin, an effectwhich I did not experience.[62] They are therefore much used in old andobstinate cutaneous complaints, as well as in glandular swellings, sequencesof gout, rheumatism, &c. They are very exciting to the nervous system,and should not be used where there are any local inflammations, or muchgeneral excitability of the constitution. They do not lose their heat sorapidly as the water-baths, and consequently they maintain the volatileand penetrating principles longer than the latter. They are much employedin paralysis, chronic ulcers, and cutaneous affections.

Here and at other spas where mud-baths are employed, I met with severalveteran warriors, whose aching wounds reminded them too often of battlefieldsand bloody campaigns. They almost all agreed in attributing moreefficacy to these than to the common baths—and I think, from what I haveseen, heard, and felt, that there is much truth in these statements. TheSchlammbads have one advantage over the others, which is more prized onthe Continent than in England—the facilities which they afford the bathers,both male and female, of receiving morning visits from their friends whilein the mud, and that without any violation of delicacy, propriety, or decorum;for there, persons are more completely veiled than in any dress, evenof the most dense and sable furs of Russia. An English lady of rank, atTeplitz, was visited by her physician and friends while immersed to thechin in peat-bog. They read to her, and conversed with her till the signal[192]was given for exchanging the black varnish for the limpid and purifyingwave, when they retired.

The rules for taking the Franzensbad waters and baths do not varymaterially from those of other spas. The following concise direction isfrom the pen of Dr. Clarus.

“A complete course of these waters requires at least four weeks. Whenit is thought desirable to take of more than one source, the change fromone well to another should not be abrupt, but gradual. We may commencewith one glass of the Salzquelle, and each day increase by the glass,till, in a week, we come to six or seven glasses, taken at intervals of aquarter of an hour. After this period, the Salzquelle is to be decreased,glass by glass, and replaced by the Cold Sprudel. This change is to go onduring the second week. At the end of a fortnight, the Cold Sprudel is tobe changed, in the same gradual manner, for the Franzensquelle, which isto be continued till the end of the course, unless some circumstances ariseto alter the arrangement. Those who are of very weakly constitutions,and especially if they labour under any pulmonary complaint, will do wellto add some warm milk or whey to the mineral water.”

The baths are generally taken about two hours after breakfast. Theyought not to be taken unless the bowels are daily opened, either by thewaters or by aperient medicine. The temperature of the baths should beabout 98° of Fahrenheit, or that of the blood.

Baron Aimé has collected from various sources a host of cases, of allkinds of maladies, cured or relieved by the waters of Franzensbad; butinto these it is unnecessary to go. Here the tyrant fashion has caused acomparative desertion for the more attractive localities, if not more sanativesprings, of Marienbad, Carlsbad, and Teplitz. The qualities of the mud,and the profusion of the gas, at Franzensbad, however, may probably turnthe current by and bye in its favour.

Extract of a Letter from Mr. Spitta to Dr. Johnson.

My Dear Sir,—I cannot quit the subject of Franzensbad withoutentering into some detail on the celebrated Mud-baths. One hears muchof mud-baths at different spas of Germany: but agenuine Schlammbad isseen only in Bohemia, and especially at Franzensbad.

The mud is obtained, as you are undoubtedly aware, from a large bogor moor, situated at the back of the Louisen and Caltsprudel wells, which,according to Dr. Kœstler, who accompanied me to examine it, is nine milesby three in extent; and he tells me also that the same schlamm extendsto adepth of 20 feet. Indeed the whole village may be said to be restingon this peat-earth; for you cannot dig up the soil to any depth withoutdiscovering it. The surface of the moor looked singularly black andbarren; here and there, however, I discerned some yellow and white[193]efflorescences. The yellow was by far the most abundant; and, wishingto know its composition, I collected a considerable quantity and broughtit to England. It is a highly acid salt, permanently reddening litmuspaper, and extremely styptic and acid to the taste. I dried some carefully;and found that 100 grains which had been completely desiccated, yielded97.6 grains soluble in distilled water. The solution was dark brown, ofthe colour of beer, and contained an acid per-sulphate of iron. The remaining2.4 grains consisted principally of iron in combination with somevegetable acid, or extractive matter.

I was sorry I could not collect sufficient quantity of the white efflorescencefor examination. I merely remember itstaste to have been equallystyptic and disagreeable as the yellow.

There are several minerals found in this moor. I am indebted to Dr.Palliardi (one of the resident medical men) for a good specimen of bluephosphate of iron; of the hydrated red oxyd of iron; and for one of greatinterest discoveredthere by himself, termedKieselguhr. This substancewas first described by Professor Ehrenberg, of Berlin, to be an aggregation,or to speak more accurately, the shells of a collection of differentspecies of infusoriæ. It is said to be pure silica—it is white; extremelylight and friable, and forms one of the most beautiful objects for the microscopeI have seen. I have a great quantity; and shall be happy tofurnish yourself, or any friend that may desire it, with a specimen.

I do not know whether you visited Dr. Palliardi’s study; it would havebeen well worth the trouble. He is at once a mineralogist, a botanist, anornithologist, entymologist, chemist, and physician. I was pleased atthe simplicity with which they made a mud-bath—they merely picked andsifted the mud (the sun having previously, to a certain extent, dried it)and digested it in the water of the Louisenquelle warmed by steam. Theappearance of a bath when ready is anything but prepossessing; I mustconfess, however, on making the trial, I was agreeably disappointed.

Notwithstanding my qualms, Dr. Kœstler insisted on my taking one, andmaking myself acquainted with his darling Schlammbads from personalexperience; and I must say, when quietly seated in the mire, the sensationswere by no means disagreeable. In other hot mineral baths I almostinvariably experienced an oppression and anxiety at the chest; but here,I know not why, the breathing was quite natural, and not at all hurried.The black mess was extremely acid, violently and instantaneously reddeninglitmus paper; and it exhaled a peculiar odour which I can compare tonothing but to blacking. Its taste was styptic and saline—styptic evidentlyfrom some salt of iron, and more saline than the water of any other mineralbath. This is no more than would be expected when the quantity ofsalt it contains is considered. I am informed by Dr. Kœstler that everybath requires 250lbs. of schlamm, in which are contained 33lbs. of salts.And this statement I should imagine to be tolerably correct, for I find that[194]120 grs. of this mud yield 15.5 grains of matter soluble in water. Thesolution is light brown, very acid, and contains the following substances:1. A volatile acid, which was separated by distillation at temp. 230 circ.and which had many of the leading characters of acetic acid, and on whichthe peculiar odour of the bath depends.—2. Some fixed extractive matterin combination with iron.—3. A large quantity of the persulphate of iron;and 4. some sulphate of soda.

In examining this specimen, I was mostly struck with the very largequantity of iron, and the comparative small quantity of other saline matter.For a wonder it contained nochloride. There is a salt kept by the chemistsat Franzensbad, purporting to be the salt contained in the mud.Had they said—made from the mud, they would have been correct. It isperfectly neutral and efflorescent, and is nothing else but sulphate of soda,with just sufficient persulphate of iron left unremoved, to tinge its solution.The fact is—it is prepared by neutralising the acid solution of the mud bycarb. soda, and thus precipitating the iron, and retaining the salt of Glauberin solution—one or two crystallisations furnish it tolerably pure. Theopinion that it contained the phosphate of soda and phosphate of iron, isunfounded.

In many respects, the mud-bath is unique in its action on the humanbody. From the quantity of saline matter it holds in solution, it acts asa powerful stimulus to the skin, exciting the capillaries to renewed exertions;hence its great use in gouty and rheumatic paralysis. The chalkyand fibrinous depositions which form this disease are absorbed under itsinfluence; and so effectual is it, that Dr. Kœstler, the oracle of Franzensbad,will prophecy the recovery of a patient from this disheartening complaint,after the far-famed hot springs of Teplitz have been tried in vain.

It is to this same property perhaps that its influence in chronic painfulaffections of single nerves is to be attributed. The point whether salt isactually absorbed from a bath is not, I believe, absolutely decided; butcertainly, if the fact be true, as is my firm belief, it is worthy of remarkto those patients who look for the tonic effect of the absorption of ironinto the blood, that it is in the mud-baths only that this metal is containedin a soluble state. In the baths ofSchwalbach, so famous for chlorosis,there is plenty of iron; but it is in the form of an insoluble carbonate:yet it is stated to be absorbed by the skin, and to produce its well-knowneffect on the coloring matter of the blood; it has always appeared to methat, provided chlorotic patients could bear the stimulation applied to thesurface, the mud-baths of Franzensbad would be pre-eminently serviceable.This remark applies equally to some forms of hysteria; and to those irregularmuscular contractions of the limbs termed chorea. Indeed it is tothe absorption of this iron, I deem that the exhilarating effect universallyexperienced after their use is to be attributed. Dr. Kœstler quoted to metwo cases of diabetes, in which these baths were extremely useful; he[195]could not however say were actually effectual. In conclusion, cutaneousaffections of a chronic character, unattended by fever, will be most effectuallybenefitted; and I believe that these very obstinate complaints, whichbaffle in so determined a manner the skill of the medical man, will derivemore benefit from the mud-baths of Franzensbad than from any othermineral baths, with one exception—those of Kreuznach. I have enteredmore fully than I had originally purposed into this subject; but I trustthat its very great interest, both in a scientific and medical point ofview, will be deemed a sufficient apology for trespassing so long on yourpatience.

I am, dear Sir,

Your’s very sincerely,

Robert J. Spitta.

MARIENBAD.

At the distance of sixteen or eighteen English miles from Eger, lies thenow celebrated spa of Marienbad, though a place of yesterday, comparativelyspeaking. It is situated in a gorge or small valley between cheerfuland pine-clad hills; and the houses being all modern, look extremelywell. Numerous shady walks are constructed in every direction; and twomurmuring and crystal streams run rapidly down the valley. Three ofthe springs are within a few hundred yards of each other—viz. TheKreuzbrunn, the Carolinenbrunn, and the Ambrosiusbrunn. The Ferdinandsbrunn,lies about a mile out of the village. There is another springstill farther in the woods, which contains only 7/10ths of a grain of solidmatter in the pint of water. It is called the Marienbrunnen.

I. THE KREUZBRUNN.

This is the lion of the place. It is the strongest of them all—its predominantqualities beingsolvent, with an ulterior stimulant and tonicproperty. It boils up under a beautiful building resembling a small Greciantemple, from the entrance of which a fine shaded promenade, with a bazaaron one side, and a dell on the other, extends to the Carolinenbrunnen. Ina pint of this spa there are 28½ grains of sulphate of soda—10 grains ofmuriate of soda—7½ ditto of carbonate of soda—3 grains of carbonate oflime—2 of carbonate of magnesia—⅒th of a grain of iron—some vegetableextract, &c. making 52 grains in the whole. The cubic inch of watercontains about a cubic inch of carb. acid gas.

Physiological Effects.—This water sits easy on the stomach. Five orsix glasses are generally taken in the morning, without inconvenience, andeven with pleasure. When impurities, however, exist in the stomach orbowels, the Kreuzbrunnen often causes sickness or disagreeable eructations,[196]and then some opening medicine should be taken. If this water causes asense of distention, weight, or oppression at the stomach—or diarrhœa, orloss of appetite, it is a sign that the water is taken in too large quantity—ortaken too fast—or taken too long—or, in fine, that it is not agreeingwith the individual. Very often, however, it is more owing to errors ofdiet than to the nature of the waters that these phenomena occur.

In general the appetite is increased by the Kreuzbrunn, after the thirdor fourth day. It augments considerably the action of the kidneys, thewater becoming more pale and copious—and this effect generally continuesduring the period of the cure. It acts on the bowels also—five or sixglasses usually operating two or three times. The exported water is moreaperient than that taken at the source. The evacuations are often of agreen, black, or brown colour—or glairy, and gelatinous. Sometimes darkcoagulated blood is passed. When the motions become watery, theKreuzbrunn is not answering the purpose. The discharges above-mentionedafford indescribable relief to the sufferer.

Things do not always, however, proceed so quietly. Occasionally theabdomen becomes distended—the pulse accelerated—the bowels get confined—andthe fears of the hypochondriac are then greatly augmented.According to Dr. Heidler, Dr. Herzig, and others, these symptoms arecritical, and soon disappear, when Nature has accomplished her object bya discharge of vitiated excretions. It is quite a mistaken notion that thedark or green colour of the motions is owing to the minute proportion ofsteel contained in the water.

Thecirculation is sometimes disturbed. The head becomes giddy, thechest oppressed, the pulse hard and frequent—with a sense of prostration,or, on the contrary, of excitement. These are considered by the authoritiesabove-mentioned, as precursors of the critical discharges, and return ofhealth. In many cases such stormy crises do not take place, and thecure is effected gradually and imperceptibly. In people of plethorichabits and irritable temperaments, when any of the foregoing symptomsoccur, it is safest to mix the water with some warm milk, or allow the carbonicacid gas to escape before it is taken. The Kreuzbrunnen, however,is one of those solvent, and, at the same time, tonic waters (according toDr. Heidler) that may be taken by almost every one, whatever the age,sex, or constitution, with little or no danger, even where there are complicationsof organic diseases of the heart, lungs, or great vessels. Insuch cases, the dilution with warm milk and the extrication of the gas, willbe proper. Dr. Heidler cites the case of a young lady who came toMarienbad labouring under sympathetic hectic fever, and who had hadhæmoptysis. The stomach would retain no food—especially the dinner.Constipation was obstinate, and nocturnal perspirations were profuse. TheKreuzbrunn waters were taken, and, after eight days, the fever ceased.In four weeks more the stomach became retentive. Next Summer, however,[197]she returned to Marienbad, with the evening vomitings as before.Eight days’ course of the waters dispelled the sickness, and she recoveredher health. The physicians of Marienbad exhibit the Kreuzbrunn topeople who have had apoplectic attacks, provided all symptoms of congestionbe removed before the waters are begun. In hæmorrhoidal andother sanguineous fluxes, the same source may be used; but in moderatequantities.

The effects of the Kreuzbrunn on the nervous system are much dwelton by Dr. Heidler and the other practitioners. They are considered to beantispasmodic, and are highly praised in the numerous and Proteian formsof hysteria, hypochondriasis, weakness of stomach, &c. Many patientsof this kind recover at the Kreuzbrunn, after vainly trying more tonicand chalybeate springs elsewhere.

In cases of pure debility, both of body and mind, the more tonic watersof the Carolinenbrunn (to be presently noticed) are prescribed, togetherwith baths of the same. This water is much used in tremors of the limbs,paralysis from mere weakness, or from losses of blood, excesses, severeillnesses, distresses of mind, &c. It is to be remembered, however, thatmere debility is but seldom the cause of these nervous sufferings; and thatthe feelings of lassitude and exhaustion, the small pulse, cold extremities,cramps and spasms, so frequent among hypochondriacs, are generallysymptoms or effects of congestion in the vessels of the liver and abdominalorgans, giving rise to irritation in the nervous system, constipation, andmorbid secretions. The classes of people who become hypochondriacalare those who have lived well, both in food and drink, and who have led anidle life, mental and bodily. In such, the pathological condition above-mentionedis likely to occur. The action of the Kreuzbrunn is eminentlycalculated to clear away viscid and unhealthy secretions, and rouse thecirculation of the liver and glandular organs of the abdomen. TheMarienbad physicians employ the Kreuzbrunn in gravelly complaints, butin small quantities, and with good effects apparently.

The physiological action of this water on the lymphatic or absorbentsystem, is very striking, as might be expected. Tumours of the glands,especially if not of long-standing, disappear or greatly diminish during acourse of the Kreuzbrunn. Cutaneous complaints are generally curedor ameliorated by the same waters assisted by baths.

But it is chiefly in chronic complaints of the abdominal, andespecially of the digestive organs, that the Kreuzbrunn is famous. Thesymptoms which indicate the use of these waters, according to Dr. Heidlerand the other physicians of Marienbad, are the following:—yellow, pale,or cachectic complexion—loss of appetite—distaste of food—sickness—furredtongue with bitter taste in the morning—acid or rancid eructations—oppressionor cramps about the stomach—distention and tenderness ofthe abdomen, local or general—colics—kidney-affections—constipation—diarrhœa—dysury—deposits[198]in the water—irregularities of females—sterility—leucorrhœa—hypochondriasis—hysteria—epilepsy—variousand anomalous nervous affections—headaches of all kinds—giddinesses andvertigo—noise in the ears—sleeplessness—asthma—anxiety about thechest—palpitation of the heart—languor of the muscles—cold extremities—feeblecirculation—atrophy, &c.

II. FERDINANDSBRUNN.

This spring lies about a mile out of the town, and has a greater affinityto the Kreuzbrunn than any of the other wells of Marienbad. Its constituentsare as follow:—In the pint there are 17 grains of sulphate ofsoda—7 grains of muriate of soda—6½ carbonate of soda—3 of carbonateof lime—2 of carb. magnesia—⅓rd of a grain of carbonate of iron—tracesof carbonates of strontia, manganese, and lithian—in all 36½grains—with 146 inches of carbonic acid gas to 100 cubic inches of thewater.

From the above analysis it will be seen that the Ferdinandsbrunn containsnearly three times as much steel as the Kreuzbrunn, with considerablymore of carbonic acid gas; but it contains much less of thesulphates and muriates of soda. Hence it is more tonic, and less aperientthan the master-spring, theKreuzbrunn. The water is clear and transparentin the glass—sparkles like champagne—and has a most agreeablerefreshing taste. It leaves a slight smack of ink on the palate. It maybe administered in the same class of maladies as the Kreuzbrunn is appliedto—and that either simultaneously, alternately, or successively. Thus,where the solvent powers of the former spring are still wanted, but thedebility of the patient requiring a more tonic source, the Ferdinandsbrunnmay be advantageously conjoined with the Kreuzbrunn, or substituted forit during a period. It may be as well to cite a case or two here from myfriend Dr. Heidler.

“A gentleman, 60 years of age, who had led a sedentary life, and experiencedmuch trouble of mind, became extremely hypochondriac. Whenhe arrived at Marienbad, his complexion was cachectic—eyes dull and sunk—tonguefurred—appetite gone—abdomen distended, but not tender—hæmorrhoids—bowelsinactive—discharge of bloody mucus occasionallywith the motions—some eruption on the skin—slight wandering goutypains—skin dry—pulse small and slow. The Kreuzbrunn was first tried,but produced watery evacuations, and distention of the stomach. TheFerdinandsbrunn was therefore substituted at the end of ten days. Thiswater, in conjunction with mud-baths, produced, in the course of fiveweeks, the most salutary effects, clearing the patient of his hypochondriasis,and nearly the whole of the other symptoms.”

Case the second.—“A gentleman, 50 years of age, who had lived well,[199]became weak and cachectic after some considerable hæmorrhoidal discharges—oneof them amounting to several pints of blood in one day. He hadderived considerable advantage from the waters of Carlsbad the precedingyear, but it increased the intestinal hæmorrhage. On his arrival at Marienbad,he presented the following symptoms:—complexion pale, andinclining to a yellow tint—lips bloodless, as was the tongue, and even thepalate—swelling of the eye-lids—small appetite—sleeplessness—rose frombed more fatigued than when he lay down—great difficulty of breathing,but without any symptoms of water in the chest, on ascending stairs—abdomendistended, but soft, and without tenderness—constipation anddiarrhœa alternately—the pulse feeble and 85 to 95—skin rough and dry.

“The Kreuzbrunn was tried, but caused oppression at the stomach—diminutionof appetite, and watery evacuations. The Ferdinandsbrunn wasthen employed, and agreed better, and produced more consistent motions, butvery unhealthy—some blood was passed each time from the hæmorrhoidalvessels. The appetite soon increased—the digestion improved—and sleepbecame more refreshing. Towards the end of the course, which lastedfive weeks, he was able to go up stairs without difficulty. He returnedtwo years afterwards to Marienbad, with the same symptoms, and wasagain relieved.”

The Kreuzbrunn is preferable to the Ferdinandsbrunn, where the invalidis of sanguine temperament, robust, inclined to apoplexy, or hæmorrhages.Also for females who are subject to miscarriages—and, in general, for allthose who shew a tendency to fulness or congestion in any of the vital organs—diseasesof the chest—derangements of the circulation—inflammatorycomplaints—and diseases of children.

III. CAROLINENBRUNN AND AMBROSIUSBRUNN.

These two springs are near each other, and only a few hundred yardsdistant from the Kreuzbrunn. They come under the head of “acidulouschalybeates,” and only differ from each other in strength—the Carolinenbrunnbeing rather more potent than the Ambrosiusbrunn, as the followinganalysis will show. TheCarolinenbrunn contains in the pint of water,2½ grains of sulphate of soda-½ grain muriate of soda—⅔rds of a grainof carbonate of soda—nearly a grain of carbonate of lime—3 grains ofmagnesia—⅓rd of a grain of carbonate of iron—in all amounting to about9 grains—and 123 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas in 100 cubic inchesof the water.

TheAmbrosiusbrunn contains only six grains of solid matters in thepint—the iron being only ¼ of a grain. The other ingredients are thesame in kind as in the Carolinenbrunn, but one-third smaller in quantity.The carbonic acid gas is also rather smaller in quantity.

Dr. Heidler considers the Ambrosiusbrunn as bearing considerableanalogy to Bruckenau, Bocklet, and the Stahlbrunn at Swalbach; but as[200]far as the chemical composition is concerned, there is much difference, asmay be perceived by reference to those springs. Dr. H. prefers the Ambrosiusbrunnfor children, and also for adults of very weak and delicateconstitutions, as preparatory to the water of the Carolinenbrunn. It iseasy of digestion, and may be taken for a long time, without inconvenience.It is very useful in gravelly complaints.

The Carolinenbrunn is of more extensive application than the Ambrosiusbrunn;but much less so than the Kreuzbrunn, or even the Ferdinandsbrunn.Experience has shewn that the “acidulous chalybeates,” whoseproperties are exciting and tonic, are much less useful in chronic diseasesthan those which are solvent, and which produce crises in the course oftheir operation—especially through the medium of the bowels and thekidneys.

The first impression of the Carolinenbrunn on the stomach is excitantand refreshing, like all other acidulous springs. It has been generally usedby the inhabitants as common drink; and yet it does not digest so easy,among the invalids, as the other springs of Marienbad—many of themexperiencing weight and oppression at the epigastrium, particularly if theyare weak and irritable constitutions, or labouring under any congestion orengorgement of the abdominal organs. It is much less aperient than theKreuzbrunn and the Ferdinandsbrunn—indeed it often confines thebowels, and then the patient must take some of the other waters with theCarolinenbrunn or aperient medicine. This spring is the strongest in ironof all the others. It bears the greatest affinity to Schwalbach and Spa;but is a stronger chalybeate, and contains more carbonic acid gas thanthey do. It leaves anaprès-gout of steel on the palate, as also of sulphur.[63]

The Carolinenbrunn may be classed amongst the exciting and tonicwaters. It moderately excites the circulation and the nervous system, bya transient stimulation, which does not leave a debility behind. Althoughit is not aperient, it rarely produces astringent effects, like bark, steel andother tonics. It augments the action of the kidneys—and may be said togently increase the activity of the whole organism, without checking anyof the secretions. It is therefore prescribed, with much advantage, in allcases of pure debility, and unattended with any fever or local inflammation.Care ought always to be taken that the bowels are cleared of allimpurities before this water is used, and that constipation is guardedagainst during the course. It is used in baths. The rules for using thewaters are not materially different from those enforced at other spas. Theseason lasts from the beginning of May till the end of September.

[201]

THE BATHS.

The baths of Marienbad are on a splendid scale—including the mineralwater—the gas—and the mud baths. The grand source of the waters forbathing is theMarienbrunn, which furnishes 5280 cubic feet of water in24 hours. The basin is large and capacious—entirely covered over—andthe carbonic acid gas boils up in all directions, and in globes and globulesof all sizes, with astonishing vehemence and agitation. The disengagementof gas here is, in my opinion, much more striking and wonderfulthan at the Cold Sprudel and its neighbour at Franzensbad. There isalways a thick stratum of this deadly gas incumbent on the surface of thewater. There is an admixture of sulphuretted hydrogen gas with thecarbonic. All the experiments that are made on animals at the famousGrotto del Cane, near Naples, may be repeated here with perfect success.The Marienbrunn is more elevated than the bathing-establishments, sothat the water is conveyed fresh from the source, through pipes that preventall decomposition.

PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE BATHS.

1. Soon after entering the bath—say at blood heat—innumerable globulesof carbonic acid gas are seen on the surface of the body. 2. Many peopleperceive a redness of the skin, soon after immersion, accompanied by asense of heat, even when the bath is not above 88° or 90° of Fahrenheit.3. Some people of irritable and sensitive constitutions, on the contrary,experience a slight shiver, even when the temperature of the water is abovethat of the blood. This phenomenon is, however, rare. 4. The bath occasionsa prompt and copious secretion from the kidneys. 5. Many peoplewho have had old wounds, fractures, or ulcers, feel pains in the parts,while immersed in the water. 6. The same may be said of gout andrheumatism; and this renewal of pains is considered a favourable omen.7. Old and ill-conditioned ulcers soon assume a more healthy appearanceunder the use of the baths, and take on a more active, or even inflammatorycondition. Ulcers ought to be covered with oil-silk or other defencewhile the patient is in the bath. 8. In the course of the bathing—generallyafter ten or fourteen days, any eruptions that previously existedbecome more developed—and very often new cutaneous eruptions come out.These are considered to be more or less salutary.

The Marienbrunn water is much weaker than the Kreuzbrunn and otherdrinking springs, and is soon decomposed by exposure to the atmosphere.These baths are contra-indicated, or even prejudicial in cases of dropsy,phthisis, aneurysms, irritations or inflammations of any important organ,especially if accompanied by fever or suppuration—disposition to hæmorrhages,or vomitings of blood—disposition to miscarriage—paralyses theresult of apoplexy. With these exceptions there are few chronic diseases[202]which may not be benefitted by the Marienbad baths in conjunction withthe internal use of the waters.

It is chiefly, however, in gout, rheumatism, tic-douloureux, paralyticdebility without preceding apoplexy or affection of the head, scrofula, cutaneouseruptions, stiffness and contractions of joints, and old sores, thatthe baths of Marienbad are recommended as essential auxiliaries to thewaters internally. The baths are generally used at a temperature of 94°to 98°, and at any time of the day except when digestion is going on afterdinner.

MUD-BATHS.

These are in great requisition at Marienbad. The peat bog is foundnear the spa. It is of a very dark brown colour—friable when dried, andunctuous to the feel when wetted. It is here, as elsewhere, the product ofvegetable matters decomposed by water, and highly impregnated with carbonicacid gas and sulphuretted hydrogen, which gases are disengaged inprodigious quantities. Much sulphur is found in this earth, together withvarious mineral salts, as hydro-chlorate of soda, sulphate of soda—sulphatesof lime and magnesia—carbonate of iron—silex—alum—bitumen,&c.

Besides the general effects of hot, warm, and tepid baths of mineralwater, the mud-baths exhibit effects peculiar to themselves. They may betaken at a higher temperature than water-baths, without inconvenience.They are never employed cold. They excite the skin much more than theliquid baths,—cause a greater degree of redness—bring out more eruptions—andstimulate the nerves of the surface, as well as the vessels. Theyare employed by the Marienbad physicians in all those cases where themineral-water baths are used. They are preferred, however, to the latter,in all those maladies where the natural and salutary crisis takes placechiefly through the excretories of the surface, and by determination to thejoints, as in gout; and in those cases where the disease is attributed tochecked perspiration. The mud-baths are much employed by Dr. Heidler,Dr. Herzig, and others, as local applications in various local maladies, as,for example, in swellings and stiffness of the joints—old wounds—ulcers—neuralgicaffections, &c.

As the stratum of mud in contact with the body soon loses some of itscaloric, it is proper and even necessary, to keep moving about in the bath,and using friction with the hands as well as motion with the limbs. Thefluid bath, which is placed at the side of the mud-bath, loses temperaturealso, while the bather is in the latter, and as it is often a moveable tub,warm water cannot be always added to it—therefore it should be two orthree degrees higher than usual when operations are commencing. Notime should be spent in the washing-bath longer than is necessary forcleaning the surface of the body.

[203]

Having used the mud-baths both at Franzensbad and Marienbad, andaccurately watched their effects on my own person, I can aver that I perceivedno difference, either in sensible properties or physiological results,between the mud-baths of the two places. I always felt more exhilaratedthrough the day, when I used the mud, than when I took the commonmineral-water bath.

GAS-BATHS.

At Marienbad, as at Franzensbad, the carbonic acid gas rises from theearth in such abundance, that it is only necessary to inclose a piece ofground and form a reservoir, when the deadly mephitic gas collects in suchquantities as would destroy the whole population of those spas in a fewminutes! But as the most potent poisons have been converted into themost efficient remedies, so has this deleterious emanation from the bowelsof the earth, been made an instrument for restoring various lost powers inthe human frame. The application of this gas is only of modern date.The first notice I have seen is in the Dict. des Sciences Medicales, 1812.Since then Dr. Heidler, Dr. De Carro, and others have published on thissubject. The gas-bath was first used at Marienbad about twenty yearsago, on the following occasion. Dr. Struve, of Dresden, had been usingthe waters and baths of Marienbad for a painful affection of the left thighand leg, which prevented him from walking without crutches, and, on anylittle exertion, caused the most excruciating pain. A number of lymphaticglands were swelled in the course of the vessels of that limb, and thevessels themselves were enlarged and inflamed, though the limb was emaciated.He had a gorged liver and hæmorrhoids. He exposed the afflictedmember daily to the action of the carbonic acid gas, which always floatson the surface of the Marienbrunn; and the following were his words:—“Isoon felt an agreeable warmth creep up the limb exposed to the gas,which went on increasing, accompanied by a sense of formication (creepingof ants) over the skin. After half an hour’s application, on the first trial,I removed from the Marienbrunn, by the aid of my servant and crutches;but my astonishment was great, when I found that I could put my foot tothe ground with increased power, and that the painful titillation soon subsided.In the course of a few days the power of the limb was so faraugmented that I was able to walk without crutches or even a stick. Icontinued, however, the Kreuzbrunn water internally—the mud-poulticesto the limb—and the gas-bath for three weeks, when the cure was completeand permanent.”[64]

This almost miraculous cure attracted Dr. Heidler’s attention to thesubject, and, from that period, he has made numerous experiments on otherpatients, with this new remedy, as well as on himself personally, and[204]published the results in the year 1819, at Vienna. The succeeding yearsix gas-bathing chambers were constructed, and now, (August 1840) thisgas-bathing establishment is on the completest scale of perfection. TheCount St. Leu, and Marshal Schwarzenberg, were among the first patientswho used the gas-baths after their establishment in 1819. The physiciansof Marienbad have, ever since the last-mentioned period, employed thisremedy in a great number of cases and diseases, and, they informed me,with great advantage.

The sensible effects are chiefly as follows:

1. A sensation of heat (sometimes preceded by a slight coldness) verysoon is felt after entering the gas-bath, beginning at the feet and mountingupwards over the whole body, in the majority of cases, but, in others, itis most sensibly experienced in those parts of the body or limbs which areor were the seats of diseases. In the abdomen, and especially in the lowerparts of the pelvis, this pleasant sensation of heat is more felt than in thechest—a fact which led to the application of gas to certain complaints inboth sexes attended with torpor and debility of particular functions.

2. A sensation of twitching, formication, and even pain, is often theresult of the gas-bath, especially in parts which have formerly been theseat of fractures, sprains, wounds, or severe gout or rheumatism. Thesepains are so acute as sometimes to force the patient to quit the bath beforethe usual time has expired. On the other hand, most excruciating painsof rheumatism, tic, &c. unaccompanied by inflammation, have been instantaneouslyrelieved by the application of the gas. 3. Perspiration isgenerally produced or augmented by the bath, either at the time of immersion,a few hours afterwards, or in the following night. 4. The gas-bathsometimes brings on, at others regulates, periodical discharges,hæmorrhoidal or otherwise. 5. The gas-bath is exciting or even irritatingto the organs of respiration, and should not be used where there is anyinflammatory action or congestion in the chest. 6. If a certain proportionof the gas gets mixed with the common air, and is thus breathed, it producesgiddiness, vertigo, anguish at the pit of the stomach, and oppressionabout the lungs. If thepure gas is breathed, instant death is the result.A few years ago the life of a female peasant was lost by the stupidity ofher husband, who put the cover of the bath over her head, instead of beinground her throat. No one is now allowed to take a gas-bath without themedical or some experienced attendant.[65]

[205]

The carbonic acid gas is generally employed here in commixture with asmall proportion of sulphuretted hydrogen gas.

The mode of action of the gas-bath being decidedly stimulant, it shouldnever be employed where stimulants are improper. The disorders in whichit is most employed by Dr. Heidler, Dr. Herzig, and other physicians atMarienbad, are the following:—1. Suppressed or scanty menstruation—especiallyafter the waters and common baths have been used withouteffect. 2. Suppressed hæmorrhoidal discharges, in which the mineralwaters may also be employed. 3. In scrofulous ulcers and swellings,aided by the mud-baths and mineral water. 4. Various derangements ofdigestion, where there is no plethora of any of the abdominal organs. 5.In gouty affections of a painful kind, without actual inflammation, andwhere the other baths and waters have proved ineffectual. In such cases,the gas-baths often bring out an acid and fætid perspiration on the painedpart. 6. In some chronic affections of the sight, as amaurosis, not accompaniedby inflammatory symptoms, the local application of the gashas been found useful: also in deafness dependent on torpor of the nervesand membranes of the ear, or where the natural secretion is defective ornul. Great caution, however, is necessary in the local application ofstreams of this gas to the eyes or ears, where there is any tendency tovertigo, or fulness about the head.

The gas-baths are taken locally or generally. In the general bath thepatient should be lightly cloathed, as the gas generally induces perspiration.When it is used locally, by way of douche, it may often be appliedto the naked part, or with a gauze covering over the surface, especially ifto the eyes. Care should always be taken to prevent the introduction ofgas into the lungs—or even into the mouth or nose, lest disagreeable consequencesshould ensue.

This new remedy has attracted individuals of both sexes to Franzensbadand Marienbad, from the wilds of Russia, and from various parts ofthe South and centre of Europe. Those who come with the greatestanxiety, and with the most ardent hopes, or at least expectations, to thegas-baths, are such as have long sighed, but sighed in vain, to become—

placing, apparently, more faith in the physical operation of the waters,baths, and gases of the spas, than in the intercession of saints or even theprayers which they had offered up at the shrine of the Madonna herself!How far and how often the gas-baths have wrought the happy revolution,I cannot say. The doctors have firmly asserted, and the patients havewillingly believed the “flattering tale.” As the gas-baths are seldomtrusted to alone, it is impossible to say with accuracy, what share theyhave in the general restoration of health, and the consequent invigorationof the constitution. Upon the whole, I left Marienbad with the strong[206]conviction on my mind, that its waters and baths were among the mostefficient in the list of the German spas.

The valley of Marienbad is well sheltered, and surrounded by pines inthe immediate neighbourhood of the spa; but we have only to mount acouple of miles on the Carlsbad road, when we get into a high open country,with a bracing air and a boundless prospect. Some parts of this routeare extremely picturesque—I would almost say romantic, especially a fewmiles from Marienbad, where the road winds down a precipice in numeroustourniquets, into a valley surrounded on all sides by steep acclivities, somebare and rugged, others crowned with woods. A rivulet roars through thevalley, and a village, a convent, and some factories, give cheerfulness andanimation to the scene.

P.S.—Before quitting the subject of the Marienbad waters, I mustdedicate a few lines to a small brochure on these waters, published by myfriend Dr. Herzig, in the Summer of 1840.

The water of the Marienbad springs has a soothing effect on the nervoussystem, and checks vomiting and pain in the stomach and bowels, in consequencepartly of the carbonic acid contained in the water, and partly ofits property of increasing all the secretions.

In plethoric persons it often proves stimulating, and causes headache,redness of face, and feelings of cerebral congestion—owing probably to thecarbonic acid and the iron contained in it.

Its most marked effect is to increase all the secretions, especially thoseof the bowels, liver, kidneys and skin—large quantities of mucus are dischargedwith the stools. The mucous secretions of the bladder, and alsoof the vagina, are usually much increased at first, but subsequently greatlydiminished, when these organs are in a state of weakness. Various formsof cutaneous eruption often make their appearance, and rheumatic andgouty pains are usually increased at first, but subsequently disappearduring the use of the waters.

The digestive and nutritive functions are quickened and invigorated, andthe patients acquire strength and liveliness, in consequence of the improvedstate of the intestinal secretions. The Kreuzbrunn waters at Marienbadproduce similar effects to those of the Carlsbad and the Kissengenwaters; but the former are more purging and evacuant, and act less uponthe vascular system, and more upon the digestive functions than they do.

The diseases in which the Marienbad waters are most useful, are—

1. All congested states of theportal system of veins, indicated by torpidbowels, loss of appetite, hæmorrhoids, and gouty complaints; and the[207]various diseases connected with inactivity of the abdominal circulation,such as hypochondriasis, dyspepsia, morbid sensibility, headaches, &c.Numerous cases of chronic rheumatism and gout, which are so frequentlyassociated with congestion of the vena portæ, are relieved by the use ofthe Marienbad waters.

2. Diseased state of the mucous membranes, such as some obstinatecatarrhs, affections of the mucous coat of the bladder, uterus, &c.

3. Plethora, sanguineous congestions, crampy pains of the limbs, absentor difficult menstruation, and the numerous morbid symptoms dependentupon this state.

4. Torpor of the bowels, and its host of attendant evils.

“By means of its property of increasing all the secretions and excretionsof the body, and of bringing out cutaneous eruptions and gouty affectionsto the limbs, the Kreuzbrunn waters at Marienbad are an excellentremedy in numerous diseases which depend either upon a plethoric state ofthe abdominal circulation, or upon the accumulation of impurities in thebowels, or upon an unhealthy condition of the mucous membranes. Atthe same time, they subdue the morbid irritability of the whole system, orof individual parts; they remove congestions, plethora, and various evilsdependent upon these. They are especially useful in all cases whereNature herself seems to be striving to induce either an increase of the secretions,or a flow of blood from certain parts, as the nose, anus, &c.”

When the Marienbad waters do not prove sufficiently aperient, a smallportion of Glauber or Epsom salts may be added to it. In some cases,the waters will agree better, if previously heated; and in others, theyare usefully combined with a little warm milk, or with a small portion ofwine.

Dr. Herzig is an attentive physician, who speaks English, and may beusefully consulted by my countrymen. I have also to express my gratefulthanks to Dr. Heidler, the spa physician of Marienbad, for his kindness andattention.

[208]

CARLSBAD.

This is denominated theKing of the Spas, whilst Baden-Baden is theQueen. I wish his majesty of the “Warm Wassers” had condescendedto hold his noisy court a little nearer to that of his royal consort. Twohundred and thirty miles from Frankfort, through a country that is notalways very smooth, or very interesting—with dust in some places half afoot deep on the roads—the thermometer at 80°—and the rate of progressionfive miles an hour, is a tolerable sacrifice to the hygeian goddess ofthe Sprudel! It is not improbable that many of those who travel to Bohemia,in search of health, might find it in various other directions, andmuch nearer their own doors. The journey itself requires some goodstamina, as well as resolution, and, if borne well, gives promise of successat the Sprudel.[67]

I suppose Carlsbad claims the prerogative of curing by the “Royaltouch,” all those maladies that resist the powers of his subject spas—andeven of the Queen’s own at Baden.

I think I have discovered one cause of the great efficacy of the Carlsbadwaters, which has escaped the notice of the spa doctors, including myfriend Dr. Granville. In travelling to Bohemia, the invalid must, on amoderate calculation, swallow full a pound of sand and dust on the road.This being mixed with an indefinite quantity of grease, oil, and vinegar,at the hotels, forms a kind of amalgam, resembling “fuller’s earth,” the[209]clearing away of which, by the hot and alkaline waters of Carlsbad, mustleave the stomach, liver, kidneys, and other internal organs, as bright andshining as a newly-scoured copper kettle.

It is ascertained that Carlsbad is built on a thin crust of limestone,forming a dome over several immense cauldrons of boiling mineral water.At present the chief crater of this aqueous volcano offers a safety-valve forall the superfluous soda-water unconsumed by the subterranean spa-goers;but it has often been feared that the whole dome may one day fall in, whenthe bibbers and bathers, the ramblers and gamblers, the sick and the sound,will all have a dip in the Sprudel at its natural temperature, and withoutthe expense of 48 kreutzers for the bath!

On some occasions the usual vent of the Sprudel has become obstructed,and then the ground in the neighbourhood has trembled and vibrated,as if from an earthquake. At one time the pent up water burst out inthe bed of the river: and here they have formed a large shield of woodand stones, clasped with iron, with a plug or safety-valve in the centre,along the sides of which the steam and water now oozes out, and theaperture can be enlarged at any moment by removing the plug, whenanother Sprudel rises in the middle of the Teple.

Be this as it may, Carlsbad may now be considered as the grand“Maison de Santé” of Europe, where the patients support themselves,on the principle of the Sanataria in general, and where Mr. Owen mightfind his social system almost perfect. Thus we have at Carlsbad (and indeedat most of the great German spas,) our food in common—our physicin common—and even our physician in common. The air we breathe, thewater we drink, and gardens and walks where we exercise, are all in common.The socialists might even find little reason to complain of that“accursed thing,”matrimony, for althoughmatches are occasionallyprojected at Carlsbad, I believe thatmarriage is seldom perpetrated there.[68]

[210]

This great valetudinarium then presents four or five wards or hygeianfountains, of which theSprudel stands most conspicuous. I was completelydisappointed at the first sight of this lion of the Spas. The descriptionsand drawings of the spring are most outrageously exaggerated. Onewould expect to see a fountain of boiling fluid rising to a height of six oreight feet, and falling down in fervid and foaming showers. No such thing.During half the time, it does not rise above the level of the kettle in whichit boils; and is often below that mark. Then it mounts a foot or so,and every now and then spirts a small irregular and ragged pillar orcolumn of foaming water to a height of two, three, or perhaps four feetabove the reservoir. More frequently, however, it squirts a jet of waterto one or the other side of the kettle, which splashes into the conduits thatcarry it off. The whole of the kettle, reservoir, and exits are coated withcalcareous deposits, and, in many parts covered with green matter, thebodies or receptacles of animalculæ. Still the Sprudel is a stupendousebullition of hot medicinal water from some infernal laboratory, amplysufficient for the expurgation of a whole nation! The temperature of thewater is 168° of Fahrenheit, each pint containing about 44 grains of solidmatters, of which the sulphates, carbonates, and muriates of soda form 37grains. A trace, and merely a trace, of iron is found in the water. Somevery recent analyses have also detected traces of iodine, and of an animalsubstance, together with some sulphuretted hydrogen gas. Its taste iscertainly not very agreeable and rather mawkish—and though clear at thefountain, it is turbid when cold. It very much resembles the Cockbrunnenin savour.

The second spring is theMuhlbrunn, whose temperature is nearly 30°below that of theSprudel; but whose constituent salts are the same.Nevertheless this difference of temperature is supposed to produce a differencein the taste of the water, and renders it more acceptable to thestomachs, or at least to the palates, of many of the drinkers at Carlsbad.[69]

TheNeubrunn is separated from the former source only by a coveredwalk, and marks 144° of heat. It did not appear to me to be so much invogue at this fashionable watering-place, as the Muhlbrunnen.

[211]

Behind the Neubrunn there is a hill, cut into terraces and gravelledwalks, where rises theTheresienbrunn—a spring much frequented bythe ladies, and indeed by both sexes. The temperature is only 134° ofFahrenheit, and the water is almost tasteless. These three (with the Hygienequelle,close to the Sprudel) are the chief springs, which are muchfrequented by the great mass of bibbers at Carlsbad.[70]

The waters of all the springs deposit abundance of calcareous matters,which crystallize in stalactites of all shapes and hues, calledSprudelstein,and give employment to numerous hands in the formation of snuff-boxesand various kinds of bijoux.[71] As incrustations form on the surfaces ofany woody, mineral, or vegetable substance immersed in these waters, afear is sometimes engendered in timid minds that similar incrustationsmight form in the stomach, bowels, or kidneys of those who drink them!It has been proved by Dr. De Carro and others, that the stalactitious depositswill not take place on anyanimal substance, with the exception ofthe teeth. Even here, the quantity of stony matter is so small in a dozenbeakers of the Sprudel, that nothing is to be apprehended to the teeth onthis score. It would, perhaps, be a happy circumstance for Germany, ifthe Sprudel had the faculty of encrusting the teeth with a calcareousenamel! If such were the case, the whole of the five springs at Carlsbadwould be insufficient to supply dentrifice varnish enough!

[212]

A serio-comic anecdote is related of a hypochondriac, who had drunkof these waters for some weeks before thepetrifying thought flashed acrosshis mind, (in consequence of some uneasy sensations in his stomach) thatincrustations were forming in his interior. From that moment he becamefirmly convinced that snuff-boxes, heads of canes, Madonnas, and evencrucifixes, were torturing his entrails! He drenched himself daily withdrastic purgatives—but, unfortunately, no stalactites came forth: on thecontrary, his inward pains and miseries were increased by the very meansthat were employed to expel the enemy! Whether he ever recovered fromhis imaginary sufferings is not known.

Another source of terror to the timid and nervous drinkers at Carlsbadhas lately arisen. A learned German philosopher has discovered livingfossil animalculæ in the waters of Carlsbad. Now if these little salamanderscan “live and move, and have their being,” in the Sprudel at atemperature of 167°—or rather in the bowels of the earth, where thewater is at the boiling point, or even in the form of steam, it may well besupposed that they would thrive luxuriously in the temperate climate ofthe human stomach, where the heat does not exceed 98° of Fahrenheit.However, the drinkers of the Thames water need have no fears respectingtheInfusoria of Carlsbad, which would soon be devoured by the proteiformmonsters which are daily ingurgitated by the citizens of London.

I have already stated that some of the philosophic spa doctors havebroached the doctrine, that mineral waters are merelysecretions from onegreat watery being residing deep in the bowels of the earth! As the secretionsfrom the human body are very various, so the secretions from themother Spa are almost innumerable, and thus the infinite variety of mineralwaters is readily explained and accounted for. Q. E. D.[72]

The situation of Carlsbad is very picturesque—I might say romantic.It might be pretty well characterised by a single line, descriptive of a verydifferent locality—the valley of theUpas tree:

[213]

The town is built partly in the valley, partly on the ledges of graniterocks that rise abruptly behind it, to a height of 1500 feet, while the lazyTeple—

creeps at a snail’s space through the vale, contrasting remarkably with theboisterous, foaming, upheaving, and boilingSprudel, that gushes fromunknown and unfathomable depths in the bowels of the earth, carryinghealth and life to its unnumbered votaries.

Carlsbad cures, as a matter of course, nine-tenths of human maladies;but as King of the Spas, it has a royal prerogative of a curious and importantnature—namely, the power of curing those diseases which resistthe virtues of all other spas and all other remedies! In answer to a question,“why Carlsbad sustained its reputation undiminished?”Hufelandreplied—“C’est qu’il guérit des maux rebelles a tout autre moyen curatif.”It is true that, if we take the testimonies of the other spas, none of whichadmit their fallibility in any case, this prerogative of Carlsbad would belittle more than a sinecure; but the promises of spa doctors, like thewaters which they prescribe, must be takencum grano salis; and we maysafely conclude that some maladies present themselves at the Sprudel whichhave resisted the Cockbrunnen, as well as many other brunnens betweenthe Rhine and the Danube.[73]

The attestations to the power of the Carlsbad prerogative would fill avolume. One just before me, as recorded by Dr. Granville, on the authorityof a British nobleman, well known in the world of wit, is worthyof notice. Lord A——, it appears, through the efficacy of the Carlsbadwaters, “had lost apleuritic adhesion under the sternum (or breast bone)the consequence of neglected inflammation in the chest, which had annoyedhim for a long time, and resisted all curative means. The complaint madehim short-breathed in ascending hills, and gave him a dragging sensationwhenever he sneezed—all which symptoms have since disappeared.”

[214]

Whether his lordship’s breathing, and consequently his years, have beenlengthened by the dissolution of substernaladhesions, or by certaincorporatereforms effected by the Sprudel, may admit of some doubt; but thenarrative shews on what sort of evidence the miracles of the spas sometimesrest! Not that this evidence is worse than we have often at home—witnessthe attestation on oath by a nobleman, that he saw St. John Longextract quicksilver from the brain of a man who had taken mercury—andthe solemn assertions of grave and learned doctors, that an Irish girl couldsee through her navel, and hear with the points of her fingers!!

If we estimate the number of cures by the number of candidates, this spamust be “a sovereign remedy” for many of our ills. But this criterion isnot always correct. It is not always the physician who sees most patientsthat cures most diseases. But Carlsbad, like other bads, has a very convenientpostern to retreat through, when hard pressed for testimonials.Thus, if the first season fails, the most confident hopes are held out thatthe second will succeed. If the second turn out a miscarriage, then thethird will prove infallible! It requires no ghost to prophesy that, if thepilgrim of the spas goes two successive years to Bohemia, without relief,the third pilgrimage will, in all human probability, be to that “undiscoveredcountry,” whence no invalids return to tell their tale of disappointment!If a patient die at home, it is because he did not visit Carlsbad—if atCarlsbad, because he came too late.

The waters of Carlsbad were formerly used almost entirely as baths—butnow it is just the reverse—they are chiefly taken internally. In formertimes the bathers passed eight or ten hours in the baths, as they now doat Leuk, Baden, and Pfeffers. My friend De Carro thinks that, formerly,cutaneous complaints were more rife—and now, that liver and stomach affectionsare the prevailing maladies—hence the change from bathing to drinkingat this celebrated spa. There may be some truth in this. The taste of thesewaters very much resembles that of weak chicken-broth, with a flat andalkaline savour. It has been seen thatsoda, combined with sulphuric,muriatic, and carbonic acids, is the chief agent in the Carlsbad waters.Soda uncombined with acids, either out of or in the body, has rather adeleterious effect on the organs of circulation and digestion. “But theCarlsbad water (says Chev. De Carro) though used for a long time, reanimates,vivifies, excites the appetite, and promotes digestion—thus withproper regimen, restoring the patient to health.” Doubtless the efficacy ofthe waters is augmented by the admixture, however small in quantity, ofother elements, as the oxide of iron, the carbonic acid, the iodine, andmaterials yet unknown, diffused in extreme solution, through a fluid of avery high temperature, which enables the component parts of the springto permeate the minutest vessels of the body. The Carlsbad salts arefound in the renal secretion, as well as in the cutaneous transpiration, afterbeing taken internally. These waters act by exciting the stomach, bowels,[215]kidneys, liver, and abdominal organs generally, augmenting the secretionsand excretions—especially those of the intestines, sometimes it is said evento purgation, when they are taken in considerable quantity. This effect,however, must be rather unfrequent, for I found no one, including myself,who experienced it. “They excite the circulation, so as frequently to producepalpitation of the heart, and determination of blood to the head. Thiswater augments the activity of the absorbents; but it is not till after itsother operations, that it acts as a directtonic.” Purgation is not consideredby the Carlsbad doctors as essential to its beneficial agency, which isoften produced without any action on the bowels, but only on the varioussecretions already mentioned. In all cases, however, it is necessary toguard against constipation, by adding some Carlsbad salts to the water, orexhibiting some other aperient. Although these waters contain no sulphurettedhydrogen gas, or extremely little, they produce fætid eructationsfrom the stomach when drunk—but they have not a corresponding effect onthe alvine evacuations. “The operation of the Carlsbad waters, in fact, iswhat is called ‘alterative,’ or ‘deobstruent;’ and as such they are applicableto a long list of maladies arising from congestion or obstructionin the abdominal organs, particularly the liver, spleen, mesentery and otherglandular viscera, attended by debility of the stomach, heart-burn, acidity,distention, eructations, constipation, jaundice, biliary concretions, hypochondriasis,hæmorrhoids, head-aches, giddiness, gouty feelings, cutaneouseruptions, scrofula, and urinary obstructions.”[74]

This is an encouraging picture, but I have no reason to consider it asovercharged. Dr. De Carro observes, that it is impossible to explain themodus operandi of such simple and minute ingredients on the humanorganism. “Whoever, he remarks, has experienced a crisis (called alsothe spa fever—the bad-sturm, &c.) in his own person, will never doubt thepower of the Carlsbad waters.”

Dr. De C. compares the action of the Carlsbad waters on the humanframe to a good filter that separates all impurities from the constitution.

“Hypochondriacal affections appear nowhere under more various formsthan at Carlsbad; and the misanthropic and pusillanimous feelings of thoseunfortunate beings, passing, without known motives, from hope to despondency,from moroseness to exaltation, deserve the greatest indulgence andsympathy. When we see so many hepatic and splenetic patients whose temperdepends entirely on the state of their abdominal functions, we feel disposedto forgive the materialism of the ancients, who placed the seat of somany passions in the liver; we remember unwillingly theFervens difficilibile tumet jecur, thejecur ulcerosum of Horace, as synonymous ofjealousyandviolent love, and we understand how they could say that mensplenerident, felle irascunt, jecore amant, pulmone jactantur, corde sapiunt.”

[216]

The worthy Doctor deplores the disappointments and mortificationswhich many invalids from far distant lands annually experience here,when they learn, to their grief and dismay, that the mineral watersare totally inapplicable to their maladies! They have then only thealternative of laying their bones in Bohemian soil, or undertaking anotherlong, fatiguing, and expensive journey towards their native land. Dr. DeCarro blames the ignorance which prevails among the faculty generally,respecting the medicinal properties of the Carlsbad and other spas. Butthe spa doctors themselves, and spa tourists, are not entirely blameless.The exaggerated accounts that are published respecting themiraculouspowers of almost every spa in Germany, are quite sufficient to misleadpractitioners and patients who have no personal knowledge of thesevaunted springs. One great object of the present volume is the attemptto sift the grain from the chaff, or to filter these waters and depurate themof their gross crudities and absurdities.

“The Carlsbad waters (says Dr. De C.) are detrimental when there areany symptoms of inflammation, congestion, or vertigo present. If theseexist on the arrival of the invalid, they must be removed before he takes thewaters; if they occur during the use of the waters, these last must beimmediately discontinued.”

Dr. De C. observes, that these springs are detrimental in phthisis or anygrade of pulmonary complaint—and that, in general, they aggravateorganic diseases of all kinds, and hasten their march. Here then is a rulewhich applies to many of the spas besides Carlsbad—namely, that the constitutionshould be free from inflammation, congestion, and structuralchanges in any organ, before the waters can be safely taken. Dropsicalaffections, even where no organic disease can be detected as their cause,are aggravated by the Carlsbad waters. Dr. De C. relates a melancholyinstance of a nobleman who was sent there from a great distance—only todie of dropsy.

In chlorotic and amenorrhœal disorders, Carlsbad waters are beneficial;not so much from the minute quantity of iron they contain, as from theirstimulant and deobstruent qualities. Females ought not to use thesewaters at all times.

A painful complaint which often presents itself at Carlsbad isbiliarycalculi. Dr. De C. thinks that the waters are almost specific in suchcases. He lately attended an invalid who had come from a great distanceto Carlsbad. On the third day of using the waters a prodigious numberof gall-stones, of all sizes, were expelled. He has often found gravel tobe expelled from the kidneys and bladder during the use of these waters;but he does not vouch for theirlithontriptic powers—that is, their powerofdissolving urinary calculi, although this quality has been attributed tothem by some physicians.

It is in chronic gout, especially of the wandering and misplaced kind,[217]that the Carlsbad waters have acquired considerable renown, disputing thepalm with Wisbaden itself. It is in general necessary to take some chalybeatewaters, in such cases, after the course at Carlsbad is completed. Itis acknowledged by Sir John De Carro, that more than one visitation toCarlsbad will be necessary in gouty affections of any standing.

In the nervous tremors occasioned by quicksilver, these waters have beenfound very beneficial, both internally and externally.

THE CARLSBAD STURM, OR CRISIS.

From the age of 35 years, Dr. De Carro was subject to severe attacksof gout, each attack generally lasting ten or fifteen days, followed by muchdebility, with great tenderness of the feet. The intervals were of variousduration—sometimes months—sometimes years. The complaint is hereditaryin his family for four generations. About fifteen years ago (1825) oneof the paroxysms ceased suddenly on the third day, followed by alarmingsymptoms—difficulty of breathing—irritation about the throat—total lossof sleep—copious muco-purulent expectoration, of an acrid and acid taste—rapidemaciation—cadaverous expression of countenance—and all thesymptoms of approaching laryngeal phthisis. From these, however, hegradually emerged; but a sense of constriction in the trachea remained,occasioning loss of voice and many uncomfortable feelings. In April 1826,many of the symptoms above-mentioned returned, with considerable violence,and the Dr. removed from Vienna to Carlsbad. The waters of thisspa are not beneficial in pulmonic complaints generally, but Dr. De C. consideredhis own malady as misplaced gout, and he commenced the waterson the 17th of May, at the Neubrunn. “During the first three days hefelt no effect whatever. He had been unable to get higher than seven gobletsdaily; but, on the fourth day, he felt as if he were drunk—lost his appetite—staggeredon his legs—had indistinct vision—burning cheeks—excitedand agitated circulation—overwhelming drowsiness, and total inability toread or write. These violent symptoms continued for three days, andweremuch mitigated by copious evacuations, (tres soulagé par des evacuationscopieuses) and, the storm having subsided, he continued the course ofwaters for six weeks, without further inconvenience. The bowels becameregular, and there was a copious but fætid secretion from the kidneysduring the whole time. All the symptoms of misplaced gout disappeared.”[75]

Dr. De C. observes that, had he not been a physician, he would havelooked upon the above symptoms as forerunners of apoplexy. I am quiteconfident that they were so, and that the apoplexy was warded off by the“copious evacuations” that were procured, whether by nature or art. Ihave seen several instances of this “bad-sturm,” and have no doubt of their[218]being owing to some inflammatory action going on in some part of thebody (as was clearly the case in the present instance), or to the neglect ofaperient medicine taken in conjunction with the waters. The misplacedgout, such as Dr. De C. presented, is readily relieved by saline aperients,with small doses of colchicum and counter-irritation, without the risk ofthe “bad-sturm,” which is a violent conflict between the constitution andthe remedy. It is when the complaint is quiescent, and all inflammatorysymptoms removed, that the Carlsbad and other mineral waters arebeneficial.

Dr. De Carro has a short chapter on the East and West Indian invalidswho resort to Carlsbad annually, for the relief of broken-down constitutions,and especially for affections of the liver, the spleen, and for the consequencesof intermittent and remittent fevers contracted within thetropics. The worthy doctor, who has the usual dread of mercury, so widelyinfecting the Continental faculty, seems to hint pretty broadly that manyof the Anglo-Oriental and Occidental diseases, are as much owing to theremedies as to the climate. Be this as it may, he gives the pagoda-complexionedgentry great hopes of benefit from the waters of the Sprudel.

The regime laid down by Dr. De Carro, is rather more liberal than bysome of his confreres at the German Spas. Breakfast should not be takentill an hour after finishing the last goblet. Besides the exercise which istaken while drinking the waters, he recommends half an hour’s promenadeafter leaving the spring, if the patient be not too fatigued. The breakfastitself may be coffee, tea, or chocolate, according to the habits or inclinationsof the invalid. Coffee is rather hazardous where there is any tendencyto inflammatory action in the constitution. The bread and thecream are excellent at Carlsbad.Dejeuners a la fourçhette are inadmissiblehere. The dinners at Carlsbad are very abstemious, as theTraiteursare obliged to regulate them by the orders of the faculty. They presentno temptation to commit excesses. A very temperate use of plain andwell-boiled vegetables is permitted. Salads, cheese, herrings, anchovies,and all raw fruit are strictly forbidden. The supper should be a little soup—andthe time of going to bed is ten o’clock at the latest. Gambling isforbidden. The beer of the place, and light wines are permitted. TheBohemian, Hungarian, and Austrian wines are wholesome; but those ofthe Rhine, the Rhone, and Moselle may be used. It is recommended tokeep the mind tranquil and contented! Alas! the prescription is easilywritten, but what pharmacy can supply the drug?

The season at Carlsbad extends from the first of May till the 30th ofSeptember. It is divided into three epochs. From the 1st of May tillthe 15th June, those who love quietude, economy, and health, will go tothe spa. From the latter period till the middle of August, when the airis nearly as hot as the waters,Carlsbad swarms, like a bee-hive, withlegions of invalids and their friends, who lead, as Dr. De Carro says, “une[219]vie bruyante,” and pay handsomely for their accommodations. The last sixweeks, like the first, are more quiet, cool, and reasonable in expense.Those, too, who are anxious to have long interviews with their doctors,and pour out all their complaints into his attentive ear, will avoid the hotand fashionable season, and prefer the beginning or end.

It is remarked by Dr. De C. that a considerable number of people annuallyresort to Carlsbad without any other complaint than constipation ofthe bowels, obliging them to be constantly taking aperient medicine.“The waters of Carlsbad generally establish the regularity of the bowels,and during their use no aperient medicine whatever should be taken.” Asthe causes of constipation are chiefly sedentary avocations, there is littledoubt but that a journey to Bohemia, and the waters of the Sprudel, willgenerally obviate this troublesome complaint or inconvenience; but Igreatly doubt whether the Carlsbad waters will prevent its return, whenthe causes come again into operation.

Here our worthy author enters his protest against the codes of minuteinstructions which are often issued by far distant practitioners, who haveno personal knowledge of the spas, for the guidance of the patients, andby which they are often led into great errors or even dangers, by neglectingto consult some physician on the spot, respecting the proper waters todrink and the best mode of taking them. All indeed that the distantphysician ought to do is, to investigate well the complaint, and recommendsuch spa as he deems proper, leaving the details of application to the discretionof the medical practitioner on the spot.[76]

Since the publication of Dr. De Carro, many monographs on the Carlsbadwaters have appeared by different authors, some of which have been noticedin the annualAlmanack of Carlsbad, composed and published by Dr. DeCarro himself. This little annual is of a miscellaneous nature, combiningamusement with information, and never omittingone particular item—alist of all the visitors, with their titles, avocations, rank, andcelebrity—wherethere is any fame. It may be as well to glance at some of thesemonographs, so as to pick out as much information from them as we can.

Dr. Bamberg, of Berlin, published a paper on the modern practice ofCarlsbad, in the year 1835, from which I shall collect a few facts or opinions.Dr. B. was astonished to find at least ten drinkers at theNeubrunn orMuhlbrunn for one at the “Old Man of the Valley,” the splendidSprudel.The Theresebrunn too, was not less frequented than her sister Naiads.It appears that a spa-doctor, now dead, had denounced the Sprudel as a mostdangerous water on account of its high temperature, and prejudicing thevisitors against it, by alleging, when other arguments failed, that it mountedup to the head with the same force and velocity with which it springs[220]from its hidden source! The prejudice was erroneous. All the watersare from the same source, and the temperature of the Sprudel is generallyas low as that of the others before it reaches the stomach. The Carlsbaddoctors, however, are often greatly teazed by the directions brought byvisitors from their own physicians, respecting the particular springs whichthey are to use. Some prejudice still hangs over the Sprudel, and that itis generally looked upon as of superior power to the others, is proved bythe character of the drinkers there. The sick are more seriously ill—theiraspects more sinister—and their figures more demonstrative of organicdiseases at the Sprudel than elsewhere. But fashion comes in to the aidof prejudice. The Archipelago formed by the Neubrunn, Muhlbrunn, andTheresebrunn, is decorated so elegantly, and the temperature so drinkable,as the water rises from its source, that we need not wonder at the multitudesthat crowd around them, especially when the physicians assure theirpatients that the waters of these fountains are precisely the same as theSprudel.

The Sprudel possesses two very curious and clashing properties—thatof creating stony concretions where they did not previously exist, and ofdissolving them when already formed—like the famous sword of antiquity,whose rust healed the wound inflicted by its edge. The Carlsbad watershave the power of dissolving calculi in the human bladder, and are muchresorted to for that purpose. Dr. Bigel, of Warsaw, has published hisown case, in a letter to Dr. De Carro, some particulars of which may herebe stated.

Dr. B. became affected with calculus after the age of 60 years, havingpreviously passed several renal calculi, and was operated on by the lithotriticapparatus. The stone was smashed, but several of the fragmentscould not be discharged afterwards. He was then conveyed in a kind oflitter many hundreds of miles to Carlsbad, where he took the waters underthe direction of Dr. De Carro. On the third day of taking the Theresebrunn,and that in small quantities, Dr. B. became affected with fever,such as he experienced after the operation of lithotrity. This was relievedby copious perspirations. Returning to the waters, a similar attack offever was kindled up on the fifth day—but with it the expulsion of severalfragments of stone, and much solace in the organ. The fragments, whichhad hitherto been of a dark brown colour, were now white, and their surfacessmooth and polished. The white colour was found to penetrate tosome depth from the surface. Dr. B. changed from one spring to anotherof higher temperature, till he finished with the Sprudel. At each of thesources he passed pieces of stone, and after their disappearance for a fortnight,the bladder was explored, and no more calculi were discoverable.All uneasiness in the bladder ceased from this time.

Dr. Creutzburg made some experiments on urinary calculi subjected tothe action of the Carlsbad waters, and the results appear to be favourable[221]to the idea that these waters are beneficial in calculous complaints. Andnow, when lithotrity is so frequently employed, instead of lithotomy, thesewaters may prove eminently useful in polishing and softening the fragmentsleft after the operation.

But the waters of Carlsbad do not limit their powers to the solution orexpulsion of vesical calculi; they have done wonders in people afflictedwith biliary concretions. Dr. De Carro had a patient, aged 40 years, whoevacuated daily, by means of the waters, not only large quantities ofgravel, but numbers of gall-stones, of various shapes and sizes. Liver-complaintsoccupy a considerable figure among the maladies which aretreated at Carlsbad—and biliary calculi are very frequently observed there.Dr. De Carro has related numerous instances where the baths and thewaters of Carlsbad have appeared to dislodge the gall-stones, and carrythem off by the bowels.

The Carlsbad baths, which are now much more used than formerly, oftenbring forward masked gout, rheumatism, or neuralgic pains that had lainmore or less dormant in the constitution for months or years.

Before quitting these celebrated waters, I must take a short notice of alittle work just published by a rising young physician of Carlsbad, whoseacquaintance I had the pleasure of making there.

The learned author gives a most elaborate account of almost every workthat has been published on these famous waters, since their discovery bythe Emperor Charles IV. in the sixteenth century. His book is, in short,a catalogue raisonnée of the writings of his predecessors. The few practicalobservations contained in it may be thus stated:

The medicinal powers of the Carlsbad waters are the following:

1. They invigorate the primæ viæ, and dislodge from them all impuritiesand accumulations. Hence in various forms of dyspepsia, arising from asedentary life, from torpor of the bowels, &c. they are especially useful;also in chronic jaundice, obstinate head-aches accompanied with constipation,&c.

With such patients the use of the Carlsbad waters often act as anemetic for the first day or two.—Corpulent indolent persons, who feed toomuch and take little exercise, are always benefitted.

In all obstructed and infarcted states of the abdominal viscera, the useof the Carlsbad waters may be recommended. Hence, in many cases ofhypochondriasis and hæmorrhoids, they are beneficial: also in enlargementsof the liver, spleen, and mesenteric glands.

In addition to these maladies, we may enumerate many cases of amenorrhœaand dysmenorrhœa—diseases which are so often dependent upon[222]accumulations in the bowels and general torpor and plethora of thesystem.

2. The Carlsbad waters have the effect of freeing the blood of acrimoniousparticles, either by neutralising and discharging them out of the body, orby causing a metastasis and derivation of them to the joints or to the skin.Hence in various forms ofinternal gout and rheumatism, they are singularlyuseful; the disease being often drawn from the internal viscus whichmay happen to be affected to some outward part.

3. The Carlsbad waters cleanse the urinary passages of calculous deposits.

And lastly, they often effect a cure in a number of anomalous diseases,whose causes are not known, and to which indeed, a name cannot begiven; as, for example, loss of power and feeling in the limbs, a tendencyto syncope followed by cramps, some cases of epilepsy and asthma; alsoin certain disturbances of the mental functions. In all these cases, theCarlsbad waters seem to act as analterative.

The venerableHufeland published in 1815, a treatise on the chief medicinalsprings in Germany. He recommends the use of the Carlsbadwaters in cases of constipation, tympanites, incipient disorganisation ofthe stomach and bowels and other abdominal viscera, more especially ofthe liver, of chronic jaundice, of congestion of the mesenteric and portalveins; also in nervous ailments, as amaurosis, hypochondriasis, and in variousforms of calculous disease. He also strongly recommends them inmost of the forms of gout. The Carlsbad waters, in addition to theirpurgative qualities, are possessed of remarkable alterative powers, so thatoften they effect quite a change in the state of the blood and other fluidsof the body, depriving them of all acrimonious and hurtful particles, andrestoring them to a condition of health. Hence their striking utility innumerous cases of cachexia, which are irremediable by ordinary medicaltreatment.—Hlawaczek.

VALETUDINARIUM.

It is often more easy to ascertain the internal condition of the bodythrough the medium of external phenomena, than that of the mind throughthe physiognomy of the countenance. To the experienced observer, thecomplexion, the expression, the eye, the gait, the tone of voice, the figure,the proportion of the different parts of the body, and many other indicationsincapable of description, convey very authentic information respectingthe condition of organs and structures that are far removed from sight. Itis in a greatsanitarium like this, where invalids are gathered from allquarters of the world, that a young physician, under the guidance ofan old one, might beneficially study thephysiognomy of diseases. For,although the greater number of spas have much that is common, both asrespects the waters and the maladies for which they are taken, yet each[223]spa, or at least, each class of spas, exhibits some characteristic featuresamong the mass of visitors, indicative of the maladies which led them tothe Hygeian fountains of the place. Thus it is impossible to stand longat theFontaine Elisée of Aix-la-Chapelle, without discerning a largesprinkling of cutaneous complaints, however carefully they may be concealedby the wearers of them. It is in vain that—

the features of theleper disclose the worm that torments him by dayand by night. The French and Germans are universally imbued with thedoctrine that the repression of a certain malady, which has got the musicalsoubriquet of “Scotch-fiddle,” is the cause of half the evils to whichflesh is heir. On this account, the continental folks have a great longing,or rather a violentitching for sulphureous waters. The slightest odour ofsulphuretted hydrogen gas in a newly-discovered spring, is a real treasure—andin the old ones, it is sure to preserve reputation to endless ages!

The neighbouring mineral source—Spa—together withSchwalbach,Brockenau,Bocklet, and other chalybeate springs, attract a differentclass of votaries—namely, the pallid, the debilitated, the leucophlegmatic—those,in fact, who have been sucked, and left bloodless by vampyrediseases.

The emblem ofWisbaden might be a swelled and gouty foot—thatofWildbad a crutch, or a hobbling paralytic invalid—Kissengen, thetumid liver and green fat—Marienbad, the paunch of Falstaff, and thejaundiced eye.

ButCarlsbad presents a greater medley than any of the other spas thatI have visited. When we contemplate, even for a single morning, thecrowds that surround the Sprudel alone, presenting specimens of almostevery human infirmity, not in solitary cases, but often in trains of twentiesor thirties in succession—when we consider that, in these various specimens,there are many that are of a diametrically opposite nature to eachother—yet all cured or relieved by an upheaving fountain that never variesin temperature, taste, or composition—doubts may well arise whether thereis not some truth in the sarcastic remark of an eminent philosopher,—that“there are more falsefacts than falsetheories in physic.”—But there issomething to be saidper contra. 1st. Many complaints which arethought and believed to be cured by mineral waters, are onlyrelieved protempore—and the contradiction seldom or never appears. 2d. Many differentdiseases are produced by thesame causes acting on different constitutions.Thus luxurious living and idleness will, in one person, inducegout—in a second, hæmorrhoids—in a third, liver complaint—in a fourth,rupture of a bloodvessel in the lungs—in a fifth, congestion in the brain—ina sixth, paralysis—in a seventh, stone in the kidney or bladder,—andthe list might be far extended. Now, if the same cause or class of causes[224]produce such a number of different maladies; there is nothing unreasonablein the supposition that the same remedy, or class of remedies, may be usefulin abating or even removing those varied disorders.

3d. With the exception of a few specific remedies, such as mercury,sulphur, colchicum, and ergot, with the real nature of whose physiologicaloperation on the human frame little is known, almost all the other medicinalagents act through the medium of the digestive organs, the liver, thekidneys, and the skin. Now, the mineral waters of such spas as Wisbaden,Kissengen, Marienbad, Carlsbad, &c. act through these organs also,and contain the elements of many of our most efficient remedies. Theyhave, besides, great advantages over ordinary medicines at home, in consequenceof the exercise of travelling, the change of air, and the alterationof habits that precede the course of the waters.

4. Through what channels do the noxiousphysical agents enter theconstitution and produce disease? Through the digestive organs and skin,without doubt,—to which may be added the lungs, which may imbibe theprinciples of disorder with the oxygen from the air we breathe.

5. But there is a great class ofmoral causes of diseases, acting on thebody through the medium of the mind—a class so extensive thatPlatoconsidered it to be the origin of all corporeal maladies!

6. Against these moral agents the great spas possess powerful auxiliarycounter-agents,as preventives, in the form of amusements on the spotand abstraction from cares. They also present the means of removing(if removeable) the effects which these moral causes have already inflictedon the bodily frame.

7. The far greater number of physical remedies act by altering and improvingdisordered functions and secretions—by evacuation—and byimparting tone to debilitated organs or the whole constitution.

8. It must be allowed that mineral waters contain, to a very considerableextent, the requisite ingredients for fulfilling one or all of the foregoingindications.

9. It is often found to be beneficial to combine tonics, alteratives, andaperients in the same formula or prescription, in order that the three indicationsalluded to, may be simultaneously accomplished.[77] It is undeniablethat some of the spas contain within themselves this combination of chalybeates,aperients, and alteratives, either of which ingredients can be increasedat pleasure on the spot.

[225]

10. The medicinal agents in the mineral waters, though in much smallerquantities than when given in prescriptions, have a much better chance ofsuccess, in consequence of their being so largely diluted by the hand ofNature, and the temperature of the diluent being so very high, in most ofthe springs.

11. The early hours, and the exercise taken while drinking mineralwaters, have powerful influence in promoting their salutary operation.How many invalids, in England, would start from their beds at five o’clockin the morning, to drink salt and water till seven or eight o’clock, usingtheir limbs all the time in locomotion? very few!

12. The warm bathing, which generally precedes or accompanies thedrinking of the waters, has also great effect in augmenting the medicinalagency of the waters taken internally. The circulation is drawn to thesurface—the insensible perspiration augmented—and various internalorgans sympathise with the skin and are relieved from habitual congestion.

13. The habit of early rising, which is unavoidable at the great spas,leads to many other good habits. Early meals and early bed-going followof course, and of consequence. The excursions in the middle of the day,undertaken while devoid of care, and free from business, contribute not alittle to the efficacy of the spas, and to soundness of repose at night.

14. When I observed that many of the German spas combined tonic,with aperient, and alterative qualities, I by no means averred that thesequalities were always well proportioned for all complaints and various constitutions.On the contrary, they are often very deficient in one or otherof these qualities—and it is by overlooking this defect, and trusting solelyto the remedial agency of the waters, that continental physicians commita grand mistake—especially in the treatment of British patients.

15. The digestive organs of our continental neighbours are habituallyin a far more tender and excitable condition than those of our countrymen,[226]in consequence of their greasy and sloppy food, and the poverty and acidityof their wines and other drink. They cannot, therefore, bear medicinesof any strength, without great suffering. Relying on identity of constitution,the mineral waters are often administered ineffectually by foreignphysicians to the people of these islands. These last are washed anddrenched, from day to day, and from week to week, while the glandularorgans (the liver in particular) not directly affected by the waters, becometorpid in function, and vitiated in their secretions. Hence it is that, aftera week or a fortnight, much derangement takes place in the digestive organs—febrileirritation is set up—the nervous system is impaired—andthen, when the patient declares that the waters are disagreeing with him,thespa doctor consoles him with the information that the spa-fever orcrisis has come, and, if he lives through it, he will be much better thanbefore it commenced! All this, in nine cases out of ten, might be preventedby taking a small dose of blue pill—a couple of grains, for instance—overnight. In this case, a much smaller quantity of the waters wouldbe sufficient in the morning, and the liver and other glands would beroused to simultaneous action with the bowels. The physicians of Cheltenhamand Leamington act on this plan, and render the course of waters farmore beneficial than they otherwise would be. The crisis or spa-feverappears to me an act of salutary rebellion, on the part of Nature, againstthe injudicious employment of the waters, and an effort to restore the equilibriumof function among the great organs, which equilibrium has beendisturbed by the waters themselves.

16. It is a well-known fact that soldiers, sailors, and even civilians, willrecover from illness much sooner in a public hospital than in their ownhomes—although attended by the same physician or surgeon. The sameapplies to infirmities of mind as well as of body. The individual whobecomes insane, has infinitely less chance of recovery at home amongsthis friends, than among strangers in an asylum. A great valetudinarium,like the spas, comes under the same rule. How is this to be accountedfor? I have heard the aphorism of Rochefaucault quoted in explanation,viz. “that we derive pleasure from the sight of misery and suffering inothers, even when they are our dearest friends.” From long acquaintancewith human nature, I venture to say that, in this celebrated aphorism—orrather sophism—the author of it only statedhalf a fact, and drew fromthat half fact afalse inference. The emotion which we involuntarily experienceat the sight or the intelligence of misfortune or affliction in others,whether strangers or friends, is not unmixed—but a compound ofcommiserationfor the afflicted, and a feeling ofsecret satisfaction (magnified byRochefaucault intopleasure) at our own immunity from the evil. Twosailors are on the lee yard-arm furling the mainsail in a tempest. The shiplurches—the yard-arm is swept by a wave—and one of the sailors is tornfrom his hold, and plunged into the deep. Will the French philosopher[227]persuade us that the seaman, who clings to the yard and escapes death,feelspleasure, unmixed with sorrow, at the sight of his drowning mess-mate?The poet, who saw and described a catastrophe identical withthe above, but on a larger scale, was far from entertaining the sentimentof the philosopher.

17. But there are other and adequate causes assignable for the more rapidrecovery of health in public places of resort for invalids, than in privatelife. Man is the creature of habit; and habit results chiefly from imitation.In a great watering-place, we acquire, or at least comply with, habitswhich we would not attempt at home. How many delicate and fashionableinvalids would start from their couches at sun-rise every morning, in London,and drink repeated draughts of nauseous compounds before breakfast?How many would dine at one, instead of seven o’clock? How manywould retire to bed at nine o’clock, instead of midnight or later? Howmany gourmands and Bacchanalians, in England, would comply with therigid rules of abstemiousness enjoined by the spa doctors, and which theydare not infringe, lest the disobedience might render the waters useless, oreven injurious?

The revolution in social, but insalutary habits alone, would cure halfthedisorders for which the aristocratic valetudinarian flies to the spas. Ifthe maxim of Rochefaucault, too, have any foundation in truth, what aprodigious source of pleasure must the spa-goer find in the differentwatering-places, where he daily contemplates almost the whole of themoving mass of mortals around him labouring under more or less of bodilysuffering! But, admitting the less humiliating explanation which I haveattempted of the philosophical maxim, the result will not be materiallydifferent. Every one affected bydisorders at all curable, will see manyaround him who are evidently afflicted bydiseases beyond the reach ofremedy. While commiserating the fate of their neighbours, they have apleasing consciousness and assurance that they themselves are not in sucha hopeless condition. As for the victims doomed to an early grave,theynever despair. They see daily recoveries going on around them—andhope, “that comes to all,” does not withhold its balmy influence even fromthem! The resounding Sprudel is pouring forth its healing waters forthe incurable as well as for the curable, whilst the veil of mystery thathangs over its origin and source, exaggerates, on the well-known principle,“omne ignotum pro magnifico,” the virtues of its miraculous qualities!The season of the year in which the journey is made and the waterstaken, is not a little favourable to the recovery of health, and, combinedwith the sanguine expectations of recruited vigour and emancipation fromsufferings, gives wonderful efficacy to the spa.

[228]

GASTEIN, commonly called WILDBAD GASTEIN.

Gastein, Pfeffers, and Teplitz are triplet sisters of the same qualities,physical and medicinal. They are so pure that they may be, and are usedas spring water for drinking and culinary purposes. The locality of Gasteinis only inferior in romantic scenery to that of Pfeffers. It is muchsuperior to that of Wildbad. It is situated on the frontiers of the Duchyof Salzburg and Carinthia, in the midst of mountains ten thousand feet inheight, and its fervid springs, several in number, rise on the borders, andin the very middle of a cataract that foams and flies over a precipice, witha noise like thunder, into an abyss of nearly 300 feet in depth. It is thelittle riverAche that descends from the mountains, and forms the strikingfeature of the landscape at Gastein, which was once a place of wealth andconsequence, by reason of the neighbouring mines; but is now only a valetudinariumfor the recovery of health. The people of this neighbourhoodare of remarkably robust and vigorous constitutions, well made, andhandsome in appearance—pastoral in their habits, and simple in theirmanners.

There are six available springs, besides those which rise in the bed ofthe torrent. The highest is the Prince’s Well, near the Chateau, andwhich is a very abundant source—furnishing 13,680 cubic feet of water inthe 24 hours—the temperature being always 37° of Reamur, or 115°Fahrenheit. It is used conjointly with the water of an adjoining spring,called the “Doctor’s Well,” which is one or two degrees higher in temperature.This last furnishes 3,600 cubic feet of water in the 24 hours.These two sources supply, by means of a pump, the new baths near theChateau. Another is named after the Emperor Francis—and another still,that of the Hospital, at the foot of the Richeuibein, throwing up the astonishingquantity of 72,720 cubic feet of hot water in the day and night!All these springs are on the right bank of theAche; but there are othersources on the left bank also—the aggregate of all being upwards of onehundred thousand cubic feet of mineral water in the 24 hours.

There are ten or a dozen establishments for bathing at Gastein—someof them not the most splendid or convenient in the world. The practiceof bathing in common is not very unusual here, and consequently upwardsof 150 people may bathe at the same time. The complaint of Dr. Granville,that the baths are seldom completely emptied during the day, is notwithout foundation in truth. Gastein is now probably the only placewhere men and women bathe together.

“The common bath (says Dr. Streinz) in which gentlemen and ladiesassemble together, contains 365 cubic feet of water, and requires nearlyfour hours to fill it. It will accommodate fifteen or sixteen persons, whocan walk about in the water, or rest upon seats which are fixed there for[229]the purpose. At each side of the bath there is a large dressing-room, onefor the men, the other for the women. Around the bath runs a gallery,where the friends or acquaintances of the bathers can assemble, and enterinto conversation with them.”[78]

It is quite useless to go into minute topographical details. Those whorepair to Gastein will not need them—and those who stay at home willnot read them. We shall therefore proceed to the properties of the watersthemselves. It has been already observed that they are purer than anyspring water, and so clear that you can discern particles of gravel at adepth of some feet. They spring from the earth without noise or bubbling.In certain damp states of the atmosphere, and preceding rains, some peoplehave perceived a slight odour of sulphuretted hydrogen gas in thesesprings; but it is so questionable that they may be used as common beverage.They suffer no change, when exposed to the air, nor deposit anymatter. Their temperature has been stated. When polished silver is immersedfor four or five hours in these springs it becomes tinged of a brownishyellow colour, not easily effaced. The water leaves incrustations onwood or other articles exposed to its action, which incrustations are soft,astringent, and bitter to the taste. These waters have a remarkably vivifyingeffect on flowers, fruits, and vegetables exposed to their influence.In a pint of the water there is about 2⅔ grs. of solid matters, chiefly sulphateand muriate of soda, with a minute trace of iron. When broughtnear the magnetic needle it draws the loadstone sensibly towards it, whichquality diminishes as the water cools. It has been ascertained that theGastein water is composed of three, instead of two atoms of hydrogen toone atom of oxygen.

These waters are used as common baths—vapour-baths—and taken internally.The douches are also much employed. Their remedial powers,seeing that they have no chemical properties worth notice, have calledforth much speculation—the conclusion, however, being, that the cause ofthis medicinal agency is veiled from human ken. This being the case, ourobject is to investigate the actual effects of waters so pure on the humanframe. This, which is mere matter of observation, is far from being aneasy matter. Spa doctors become unintentionally prejudiced—and spatourists are often credulous—while patients themselves are often deceived—attributingvirtues to the waters which sprang from various other causesthat received no credit at the time. It is affirmed by Dr. Streinz andothers, that the waters of Gastein, whether used internally, or externally,or both, produce a certain degree of excitation in the human constitution,evinced by some increase of temperature in the body—of power in themuscles—of animation in the eye and countenance—of clearness in thecomplexion—of acceleration in the circulation—of activity in the nervous[230]system—of exhilaration of spirits. Those who bathe in them experience(as they say) unusual pleasurable sensations. The surface of the bodybecomes soft and smooth, with a slight but pleasant pricking, and sometimesa minute vesicular eruption. Dr. Granville’s description of theeffects of the Gastein baths, however, is directly the reverse of Dr. Streinz,who observed them so long in others, and experienced them in his ownperson.

“The effect (says Dr. G.) produced by the water on the skin of thehands during the first ten minutes of immersion in it was curious. Thebath corrugated and crisped it as if the hands had been held in very hotwater for a considerable time; and on passing my hand all over the body,previously to the skin of the fingers becoming crisp—in fact almost immediatelyafter going into the bath—instead of gliding smoothly and oililydown it, as at Wildbad, it felt ruvid, and the two surfaces seemed to meetwith resistance, as if a third body, slightly rough, like the finest sand, laybetween them.”

Here then we have two physicians giving diametrically opposite accountsof the physical phenomena produced by the same waters—shewing howlittle dependence can be placed on individual descriptions—the said phenomenavarying according to the temperament, state of health, or eventemper of mind of the personal observer!

It is stated by the German physicians that, after the third or fourth bath,some indisposition is usually felt—some giddiness about the head, and arelaxation, or sense of weakness in the limbs. These symptoms disappearin a day or two by repose and abstinence. The use of these waters renderspeople more susceptible of atmospheric impressions, of the electric kind,especially before or during a storm, accompanied by a sense of prostrationor exhaustion, and heaviness about the head, with depression of spirits.The internal exhibition of these waters promotes the action of the bowels,and still more of the kidneys, attended by increase of appetite. Thedeposits of this water are extolled as applications to old wounds and inveterateulcers.

“Long and multiplied experience (says Dr. Streinz) has proved that thebathe of Gastein re-animate the vital powers that were almost extinct—comfortand give tone to the flabby limbs—communicate new and vivifyingheat to the blood—vigor to the nerves—and, through the medium of themagnetico-galvanic principle, re-establish the activity of the whole animalorganism. Those who labour under direct debility, are those who haveexperienced most benefit from these waters—as those who have lost theirstrength from excessive efforts of the mind, large discharges of blood, ortoo copious and violent evacuations of any kind—those who have neverperfectly recovered from severe acute diseases—who labour under disordersof the digestive organs—tremors—hypochondriasis—hysteria—neuralgicpains—inveterate gout and rheumatism—paralysis—contractions—affections[231]of the spine—scrofula—mercurial diseases, &c. Their excitingqualities, however, render it necessary that both patient and physicianshould watch their physiological action on the body, and observe a verymild and abstemious regimen.”

Dr. Granville appears to be quite as confident in the efficacy of theGastein waters as Dr. Streinz, Dr. Storch, or any of the most sanguineof his German brethren.

“I have no more doubt of the power which this mineral spring possesses,in the diseases for which it has been recommended, than I have of theeffect of bleeding in subduing inflammation.”

My friend’s “grain of faith” is not like that of a mustard-seed—it isas large as a cocoa-nut! At all events, I cannot swallow it; and entertainvery strong doubts indeed of the efficacy of Gastein water in such amultiplicity of serious diseases as are comprehended in Dr. Granville’s orDr. Streinz’s catalogue. I can easily conceive that these waters, assistedby the mountain air, the romantic scenery, and the journey to the place,may produce all the effects which can be expected from such waters asPfeffers, Wildbad, and Schlangenbad; but that they can work like magicI entirely disbelieve.

PRAGUE.

Whether we view this ancient capital of Bohemia from the bridge below,or the monastery above, we must acknowledge that, next to Constantinople,Prague is the most picturesque city in Europe. It is, however, from thecentral arch of the longest bridge in Germany, and certainly the mostsainted one, that we have the finest view of a vast amphitheatre rising tierabove tier, from the broad stream of the Moldau, till the highest ridgesof the precipices seem groaning under the massive piles of buildings thatcrown their brows. The huge structure, called theHradschin, the palaceof the Bohemian kings—frowns over endless domes, spires, turrets, minarets,churches, convents, and cathedrals. The eye comes down at lengthto a bridge more holy, though not more handsome, than the Santa Trinitaover the Arno. There are nearly as many saints standing on the parapetshere as there are sinners traversing the body of the bridge! The mastersaint (St. John Nepomuck) was a priest, who, refusing to disclose the secretsof the confessional, was pitched into the Moldau by King Winceslaus forhis contempt of court. But murder will not sleep; and a flickering flamehovered over the spot where the priest lay in his watery shroud, till he wasdiscovered, and his body encased in a gorgeous silver shrine, which maybe still seen in the cathedral (enclosed within the Hradschin) and is, perhaps,the most costly tomb in the world. The silver alone weighs thirty-sevenhundred weight! The body of the sainted priest lies in a crystalcoffin of great value! The lions of Prague would require a volume for[232]description, and as Murray has dedicated twenty-seven columns to shortnotices of the chief objects of curiosity, I shall not say a word on thishead. Three or four days, or a week, may be well occupied here, andthe environs are very pretty. But it is worthy of notice that, in this beautifuland picturesque capital of Bohemia, the average duration of life, isone-third less than in London! The annual mortality in Prague, is one intwenty-two. In London it is not more than one in thirty-two. TheJews, who are here, as at Rome, crowded into a low and dirty quarter onthe banks of the river, are longer lived than their tyrannical Christian oppressors.They are also more prolific.

We spent a few days very pleasantly at Prague; but when preparingto start for Teplitz, I was horrified at finding that I had lost the receiptfor my passport—and that too, in Austria! The Commissionaire at the“Drei Linden,” seemed even more terrified than myself, and thinking hewould contrive to make a job of the business, I marched off to the Bureau,and candidly stated the loss I had sustained. The officer, having casta scrutinizing glance at me, took down a huge pile of passports, andsoon singled mine out. “Voila, Monsieur, votre passport,” was all hesaid, and he never made the least difficulty, or seemed to consider it theslightest favour, to deliver me the precious document, without producing areceipt! I say again, and again, the Austrian police is grossly slandered.They are the most civil and polite on the Continent.

TEPLITZ.[79]

A long journey of sixty odd miles from Prague, through a countryvaried, and often interesting, brings us to the fertile valley of Teplitz studdedwith chateaux and villas, and well cultivated. The hills and mountains, formany miles before we reach Teplitz, are all conical and volcanic. This isthe greatwash-tub of Germany. What prodigious masses of exuviæ,suds, and sordes, must annually float down the Elbe to fertilize its shores!Three great public baths (and now a fourth, at Schoneau) for men, women,and children, respectively, display an immense number of human beings—allAdams and Eves without fig-leaves—immersed in water at a temperaturesometimes of 114° of Fahrenheit, inhaling a dense steam, throughwhich you could formerly have scarcely distinguished them—panting,perspiring, and streaming blood from scarifications on their backs to preventtheir brains from being torn up by the excited circulation! Suchwas a picture from whichDante might have drawn some of his scenes inthe inferno—except that here, it was not the “purgatory” of guilty souls,but the “expurgatorium,” of unclean bodies.[80]

[233]

The natural temperature of these waters is from 120° to 84°—and thechief ingredient is carbonate of soda—about two or three grains in thepint.[81] The private baths are upwards of eighty in number, in the town,besides the long range of most elegant new baths in the village of Schonau—decidedlythe most superb bathing-places in Europe, and are in fullrequest from morn till dewy eve. The water is limpid, and soon after immersionin a blood-heat temperature, or even lower, the surface of thebody (according to Dr. Granville) becomes rough, rigid, and even wrinkled—acondition that obtains for some time after leaving the bath.[82] Perspirationalso is visible on the skin, in big round drops, while the individual isproceeding to dry and dress. At a higher temperature than that of theblood—say from 108° to 112° or 114°, the action of the bath on the circulationand excitability is emphatic, and must often be extremely dangerous.The excitation first induced, is, and must be followed by a correspondingdegree of depression or exhaustion. The reputation of the Teplitzbaths is probably as much founded on the high temperature at which theyare used, as on the composition of the waters themselves. There oughtto be a mart at Teplitz for the sale of cast-off or second-hand crutches!“I may state (says Dr. Granville) that the specific virtue of these bathslies in the power they possess of restoring a cripple—it matters little fromwhat cause—to perfect motion and elasticity.” Among the list of maladiesthat may be perfectly cured here, we have—“all cases of suppressed gout,chronic rheumatism, diseases of the articulations, paralytic affections, contractedlimbs, old wounds, night pains in the bones, and many other diseases.”—Granville.Again, Dr. G. avers that—“with proper managementI should not despair of recoveringfrom all his ailments, the mostpitiable object of gouty tyranny.” These are strong assurances. But Iwould strenuously caution the victim of suppressed gout respecting thebaths of Teplitz, where the temperature is much higher, though theingredients are not much stronger than in the waters of Wildbad orPfeffers.

A physician, though young in years, yet of good promise, at Teplitz,[234](Dr. Richter) has written an interesting little work on these waters, and asit is in French, I would recommend it to the perusal of those who go toTeplitz for the purpose of bathing. During my stay at this celebratedspa, I had the advantage of Dr. Richter’s company and experience throughthe whole of the bathing establishments, and, through his influence, waspermitted (being only a doctor) to visit the public baths—even those inwhich the women were bathing, with the greatest facility. It was atSchonau that I first saw the female bath in full operation. There mightbe about twenty women in the basin, when Dr. R. and myself entered.There was a slight commotion among the bathers on my first appearance,which quickly subsided, when my profession was announced and my privilegeexplained. Dr. R. published his work in 1840, and it is the mostauthentic guide and authority on the subject. I shall here give a condensedanalysis of the small volume.

The various sources of the waters here differ but little in their chemical,physical, or even thermal properties. The water is limpid, and does notbecome turbid by standing, nor does it disengage bubbles of gas or air,with the exception of the Gartenquelle. The temperature varies from120° Fahrenheit (the Hauptquelle), to 80° (the Gartenquelle). Thetunnels and reservoirs over which the waters pass become coated with abrownish-yellow substance, composed chiefly of silex and acidulated oxideof iron. There are other depositions and incrustations into which thecarbonates of lime and magnesia, as well as manganese and strontia, enter.In the wells of Steinbad, Stadtbad, and Gartenquelle, there have been observedvariousthermal oscillatoria. These waters do not present the sameslowness in boiling and cooling that some other hot spas have evinced.

The great disproportion between the physiological action and the chemicalcomposition of the Teplitz waters, has given rise to numerous speculations,and support the grand argument that there is an occult quality inmineral waters which defies our minutest chemistry. One thing is obvious,that these waters are alkaline, saline, and chalybeate—and consequentlythat they possess, at one and the same time, solvent and tonic qualities,which are greatly augmented by their temperature. Dr. R. very properlyinvestigates their physical and physiological action, according as they areapplied hot, warm, tepid, or cold to the body. They may be termed hot,when above 100°—very hot when approaching to 120°—warm at blood-heat(98°)—tepid, when under 90°—and cold at the temperature of the earthor air.

The very hot bath (110° to 115°) produces quickly a general excitationof the circulation and sensibility, like all other hot waters. It augmentsthe secretions, ending in considerable perspiration—and followed ultimatelyby relaxation in the muscular and fibrous systems, and a general softeningof all the solid parts. When the bath is very warm, we have often, inaddition to the foregoing phenomena, oppression at the[235]chest—anxiety—palpitation—vertigo—dimness of sight—heaviness about the head—syncope—andeven apoplexy. It need hardly be added, that baths at such atemperature as to induce the foregoing train of symptoms, are very dangerous,and hardly ever necessary.

But even at a moderate temperature—96° or 98°—these baths produce,after a few days, sleeplessness, constipation, great disposition to perspiration,emaciation, susceptibility to cold or damp, aggravation of gouty orrheumatic pains, the aching of old wounds, prostration of strength, &c.These occur about the eighth day, and, after more or less duration, graduallydisappear. After this period, there generally appears an eruption on theskin, of a whitish yellow or red colour, accompanied by considerable itching,discharging a watery humour, and finally desquamating, with occasionallysome fever.

If the baths be continued longer, the prostration and lassitude increase,accompanied by great irritability and moroseness, loss of appetite, furredtongue, nausea, fætid eructations, repugnance to the bath, wandering painsin the limbs—in fine, fever is kindled up, with inflammation of the mucousmembrane of the stomach and bowels. This is what the Germans call“das ueberbaden,” or over-bathing—and occurs after eighteen or twentybaths—sometimes not till after forty or sixty.

Dr. Richter conceives that, in all cases where it is deemed proper tostimulate the circulation and the lymphatics—to rouse the energy of thenervous system when paralyzed—to excite strongly the functions of theskin—to depurate bad humours—to expel a morbid principle from theconstitution or the internal organs—to relax contracted tendons or muscles—toreduce abnormal or morbid growths—it will be necessary to haverecourse to thehot baths of Teplitz, watching their effects, and moderatingtheir action from time to time, according to circumstances.

Thewarm baths (95° to 100°) re-animate the human organism—causea sense of comfort (bien-être)—gently excite the circulation—equalize theexcitability of the nervous system—and impart elasticity to the muscles.They do not cause perspiration: but rather absorption of fluids, internalas well as external—resolve enlargements of glands or other parts—correctacidity—prove diuretic—and excite the healthy action of the uterinesystem. The symptoms of “over-bathing,” described under the headof hot baths, less frequently occur, with the warm bath—are more moderatein degree, when they do occur—and are longer in making their appearance.It is needless to observe that these are much safer than the hotbaths.

The tepid baths of Teplitz (84° to 94°) diminish nervous irritability—disposeto sleep—render the respiration slower—soften and abate the actionof the heart and arteries—diminish the size of external parts—increasethe action of the kidneys and internal glands—promote absorption. Withthis temperature of the waters, the symptoms of “over-bathing” seldom[236]appear. It may be remarked, that they have here, as at Wildbad, bathswhere the waters rise through the sand at the bottom of the basin. Asthe spring is constantly rising and running away, the temperature cannotbe regulated, and those springs are selected for the sand-baths, wherethe temperature is about blood-heat. The same advantages are attachedto the sand-baths here, as at Wildbad—namely, that the waters are alwaysrunning in and out of the bath, which is kept at the same degree of heatalways. The same advantage attaches to the stone-baths at Pfeffers, andthe latter are, I think, more cleanly—at least to the imagination.

The internal use of the Teplitz waters is considered favourable to thephysiological or remedial action of the baths. They have some aperientproperties—promote mucous and other secretions—but their chief actionis on the absorbents, and therefore they are most used in those cases wherethere are tumours to be dispersed, or abnormal growths to be removed.There can be little danger in drinking such pure waters as those ofTeplitz.

The special or particular maladies for which the waters and baths of thisplace have long been renowned, were already stated in the extract fromDr. Granville. Dr. Richter has dedicated a chapter to themodus operandiof the Teplitz baths on gout, both local and in its complications withaffections of the digestive organs, lungs, heart, &c.—on chronic rheumatism,in its various seats, and with its painful consequences, as swellings ofthe joints, ankylosis, muscular contractions, loss of power, &c.—paralysis,numbers of patients affected with which, come annually to Teplitz, tothrow away their crutches, and—“retourner gaiement dans leurs foyers.”The noise, however, of a brilliant cure too often brings to Teplitz paralyticsufferers, with organic diseases of the brain or spine, and thereforebeyond the reach of all remedy. Rickets, disease of the hip-joint, andspinal distortion, are said to be eminently relieved, and often cured by theTeplitz waters. The same may be said of various cutaneous diseases,especially in their chronic forms—suppression of the natural or habitualevacuations—ulcers—disposition to gravel and stone—old and painfulwounds, healed or open—diseases resulting from metallic fumes—swellingsand engorgements of the liver, spleen, and other abdominal organs—hæmorrhoids—nervousasthma—chronic sickness—colics—hysteria—hypochondriasis—derangementspeculiar to females—sterility—in short, threefourths of human affections, in their chronic or tedious conditions!

The counter-indications are here much the same as at the other thermalsprings—namely, states of plethora, local or general—and all dispositionsto inflammatory or feverish affections. The cautions and precautions neednot be repeated in this place.

Mud-baths have been established at Teplitz since 1835—one establishmentis at the Stadtbad—the other at the Schlangenbad. The peat-bogit found to the north of the town, and contains, according to the analysis[237]of Messrs. Wolf and Pleische, the sulphates, muriates, carbonates, andhumates of soda—lime—magnesia—iron—and much ulmine and otherorganic remains. They are prepared in the same manner as at Franzensbadand other places, and are much used in cutaneous complaints—rheumatismand gout of obstinate character—deformities and nodosities, thesequences of these maladies—neuralgic and paralytic affections—metallicdiseases—tumours and indurations of glandular structures, as of the liver,spleen, mesentery, ovaries, &c. They are wisely forbidden in organicdiseases of the heart and other vital viscera, in high grades of nervous irritability,and in all predispositions to hæmorrhages, on account of theirhigh powers of stimulation. An English lady of rank was using themhere, and spoke in high terms of their salutary effects.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The town of Teplitz is not very interesting. The street that leads fromtheMarket-place to thePlace du Chateaux, is chiefly composed ofhotels—none of them of first-rate character. From the Prince de Clairy’spalace (which looks like a cotton-factory in Manchester) we turn down anabrupt little street to the great bathing-places—including the Herrenhaus,and the gardens behind, where the waters are drunk by a very few persons.The gardens behind the Prince de Clairy’s residence are umbrageous andpleasant; but the masses of stagnant, or almost stagnant, green water,amongst them, are neither agreeable to the eye nor healthy to the constitution.

The neighbourhood of Teplitz is very beautiful and picturesque. Awalk of fifteen minutes up a steep ascent from the Herrenhaus takes usto theSpitalberg, from the summit of which, where there is an imitationof a ruin, a fine view may be taken of Teplitz and the surroundingcountry for twenty miles in every direction. A still finer and more extensiveview is had from theSchlossberg, two miles distant from Teplitz,and mounted without much difficulty. The mountain is crowned with theold ruin of a strong castle, from which a magnificent panorama is seen.To the South-East we contemplate Boreslau, and the numerous conicalheads of the Mittlegebirge mountains, as far as Aussig, where the silverElbe is seen flowing along.—To the North-East is the long line of theErzgeberg (Metalliferous) mountains, the frontiers of Saxony—while directlyNorth, the battle-field of Culm, with its three brazen monuments,lies stretched before us, with all its historical associations and recollectionsof the brave but bloody deeds which were there enacted, even in our owndays!

The history of the Schlossberg is veiled in obscurity. It was a rebel’sor perhaps a robber’s citadel, some eight hundred years ago; but has beena mass of ruins since the time of the Hussites. It was partially rebuilt,[238]in the fifteenth century, by John de Wresowec, and its praises were chantedby the poetMitis.

The walls which then “all but reached the clouds,” have now, all butcrumbled into dust, like Wresowec and all his ancestors and descendants!It was from this ruin that the Emperor of Russia, the Emperor of Austriaand King of Prussia surveyed, with no small anxiety—perhaps fear—thegreat events that passed underneath them on the field of Culm.

Upon the whole, Teplitz may be considered as the most fashionablebathing-place in all Germany—scarcely a season passing, without crownedheads and flocks of nobility coming here to rid themselves of bodily infirmitiesor cares of the mind.

Translation of a Note received from Dr. Richter, of Teplitz, (by Mr.Spitta) dated 18th Sept. 1840.

My Dear Sir,—In my little work on the waters of this place, I findI have entirely omitted to mention the subject ofparalysis, occasioned bymechanical injuries, and especially those which sometimes follow difficultaccouchements. On this topic, Dr. Siebold, one of the most eminentobstetrical practitioners in Germany, has published his opinions, andstrongly recommends the baths of Teplitz, as more efficacious than anyother remedy.

I omitted also, in my “Environs of Teplitz,” to allude to the mineralwaters of Püllna, Sedlitz, and Saidschitz, so celebrated all over Europe,and which are situated at four leagues from Teplitz, on the Carlsbad road.The village of Püllna lies in a beautiful plain, two or three hundred yardsfrom the Chaussee, on the right; and the mineral springs themselves areclose to the road. I refer you to Mr. Spitta for further particulars.

P.S.—A rail-road is forming between Dresden and Prague, to run byTeplitz. This will render the communication between London, Teplitz,and Carlsbad, extremely easy and quick.

I am, dear Sir,

Your’s truly,

Theodore L. Richter, M.D.

Teplitz, 18th Sept. 1840.

Extract of a Paper of Mr. Spitta’s on the Waters of Püllna, &c.

Within a morning’s drive from Teplitz, are situated three mineral springs,little known, yet in many respects extremely interesting—Püllna, Saidschitz,and Sedlitz. They all yield a water of a similar nature, rich in thesulphates of magnesia and soda; and which is so peculiarly bitter, as tohave acquired the title of “Bitterwasser.”

[239]

Having heard so much of this bitterwasser in Germany, and of the powdersof Sedlitz at home, I was anxious to ascertain the true nature of thesprings; and see if they really afforded a mineral water so agreeable andsalutary as we get in England by dissolving our “genuineSedlitz powders.”I proposed an excursion, and Dr. Richter, of Teplitz, with his usual urbanity,kindly accompanied me.

So near as Teplitz is to these springs, it will doubtless appear strangeto others as it did to me, that, no one, not even the people at the post-office,where we ordered the carriage, could tell us their exact position. Sogreat a traffic! so much Sedlitz salt prepared! one hardly knew how toaccount for such ignorance. Püllna, indeed, they had heard of; for, beingon the road from Carlsbad to Teplitz, it could not well have been overlooked;Saidschitz was conceived, by possibility, to exist; but, as to poorSedlitz, where all our powders come from, its very existence was denied;nor was it, till we were within a mile, that we learnt its situation from afew wandering peasants.

I may mention a few of the general characters of these bitterwasser springsbefore noticing each separately. Their method of formation is peculiar.Large circular holes are dug into a stratum of earth, which contains thesaline ingredients; in these the rain-water is allowed to collect: it dissolvesthe salts, and yields the bitterwasser. It is really very remarkable,that a stratum of soil should be found containing so large an amount ofsaline ingredient; and not the less singular, that it is of so limited an extent;thus, at Saidschitz, it has a diameter of about a quarter to half amile; and a well dug beyond this area will yield no bittersalz. The soilis easily recognized by its yellow-white colour, and by the fact that nothinggrows upon it. The plautago indeed, and some species of hieracea (hawk’sweed) exist there; and I had the curiosity to bring home a specimen ofthe former plant, because the man who had been some years in charge ofthe wells at Saidschitz, knew the character of the soil, and judged of thepropriety of sinking another well in any given spot, by its presence orabsence.

In a geological point of view, these springs are not without interest.They are, if I may be allowed so botanical a comparison, a completelydifferent genus of the great class “mineral spring.” It has been asserted,that mineral springs in general are formed by solution of the salts in theneighbouring mountains, by the rain-water which passes through them.This opinion, for many reasons, hasseemed to me erroneous; but thesesprings furnish aproof by analogy, of great weight. For here are springsreally formed by such an artificial method; and what happens? Thesoil furnishes (which is not the case with the soil in the neighbourhoodof any other springs) the same water by artificial digestion. The lateDr. Struve succeeded in this manner in forming a very capital Püllna.[240]Again, these springs formed so artificially are uninfluenced, like others, byvolcanic shocks, and earthquakes. The Hauptquelle, at Teplitz, stoppedfor a moment, during the earthquake at Lisbon, and then rushed forthwith redoubled violence. Many other sources also have been similarlyaffected. Indeed, from Lyall’s account, it seems to be no uncommon circumstance:and new ones have even risen into existence, at such awfulcrises. On they go, however, the bitter springs, from year to year, totallyregardless. They have no fixed temperature; because, as I presume, theyare not in connexion with the centre of the earth. They have no fixedlevel of water, from the same cause. They vary, on the contrary, likeall other common springs at the surface, with the temperature of the atmosphere,and the quantity of water which percolates the earth to supplythem.

SAIDSCHITZ.

The first we visited was Saidschitz, about three hours drive from Teplitz:and I would advise none but those anxiously desirous of medical observation,to venture there. The road is shocking; at one part I waswalking, whilst my friend Dr. Richter was reclining in the carriage.Suddenly a large rut appeared, and I feel convinced, that, had not thecoachman and myself propped up the side of the carriage, which wasfalling towards us, it would, with all its professional contents, have beenquietly precipitated.

Arrived at length, and eager to taste the water, of which so much had beensaid, I swallowed some of the most nauseous physic it is possible to prescribe.Instead of the nice saline draught whichour Sedlitz powder makes, oftartrate of soda and potash, rendered even effervescent by the succeedingadditions of carbonated soda and tartaric acid, the bitterwasser of Saidschitzconsists of a strong solution of Epsom and Glauber’s salts; and I need notsay that the term “bitterwasser” is most appropriately applied. Thereare twenty-two wells at Saidschitz, all capable of furnishing a large quantityof water, though few only are in actual use. They are included, as Ipreviously said, within an area of about a quarter of a mile; and each wellis covered with a small wooden shed, like a hay-cock. When drawn, thewater is quite clear, and without any bubbles of carbonic acid. It has nosmell, but a slightly brown color, depending on the presence of a peculiaracid, termed by Berzelius the “chrenic” (χρηνη, source). It undergoes noalteration by standing.

Most of these properties would have been anticipated from an inspectionof the following analysis[83] published by Professor Berzelius.

[241]

Sixteen ounces contain,

The water is not allowed to be bottled at Saidschitz, but is sent to Bilin,a little town about two hours drive from Teplitz, for that purpose.

Saidschitz salt however is prepared there in considerable quantities.The water is evaporated to a proper degree of concentration, when thethree sulphates of soda, potash, and magnesia, crystallize. They presentcrystals of large size. Again dissolved and concentrated, the latter saltis separated from the two former by its greater solubility; and the newsolution, when crystallized, furnishes the Saidschitz salt—a tolerably puresulphate of magnesia. The popular term in Germany for sulphate ofmagnesia corresponding to our “Epsom salt” is “bittersalz;” but it isknown also as Saidschitz and Püllna salz; so that, if you enter a chemist’s,and demand a salt with either of the above titles, he will supply you froma certain bottle, labelled sal-amarum. If you ask for Sedlitz-salt, he willsmile at your ignorance, and quietly tell you he does not keep it; and forthis, we shall presently see, there is the very best of reasons. The princeis said to get about 1200 florins of good Austrian money annually by hissalt making.

SEDLITZ.

It is but a quarter of an hour’s drive from Saidschitz to Sedlitz; a namebetter known, perhaps, in England, than that of any other spa in Germany.For who has not had a Sedlitz? agenuine Sedlitz? or who has not boughta box of these powders, with the acid in the blue and the alkali in thewhite paper? as though the wondrous spring could produce a salt, acid oralkaline, at the pleasure of the chemist who dispensed it?

Large manufactories indeed must be there! and how thriving a village[242]Sedlitz must be!! A few miserable hovels, however, soon undeceive you,tenanted by the poorest of the poor. There are nine springs, not separatefrom the village of the same name, as at Saidschitz, but interspersedamong the houses; and really it requires no small discernment to distinguishwhich are dwelling-houses, and which represent the wooden shedscovering the wells. Spring, No. 2, is the only one in use; and well,No. 2, the only one supplied with a bucket. The bucket was lowered bya rope and windlass (just conceive how civilized a bath-place); and broughtup, full of water, for our inspection. I was not caught twice; I did notventure to taste this Bitterwasser with so much rashness. Its taste, color,and other physical properties, are exactly similar to those of Saidschitz-water,except that they are rather less marked, from its containing a smallerquantity of mineral ingredients. The following analysis by ProfessorSteinmann will be interesting.

Sixteen ounces contain,

But where is the salt-manufactory, asked Dr. Richter? The woman wasastonished—she knew not, nor had she ever heard of such a thing, althoughshe had been in charge of the wells for thirty years. Her agedmother solved the difficulty. About thirty-three years ago. PrinceLobkowitz rented Sedlitz of the “ordre des chevaliers de l’etoile rouge,”and then a salt apparatus was in action. Finding, I presume, that Saidschitzwas a more prolific source of bittersalz, he stopped the process atSedlitz; so that absolutely, for the thirty-three long years that we havebeen drinking and enjoying ourgenuine Sedlitz powders, not a single atomof salt has been prepared.

But it is said, Saidschitz salt has been prepared, it imports little, thatthe mere name should have been mis-spelt. I answer—truly; a mere verbalerror is of no moment; but when it is found, that the salt of Saidschitz andSedlitz waters is sulphate of magnesia or Epsom salts; and when further itis observed, that the renowned Sedlitz powders are composed, for the most[243]part, of Rochelle salt, or the triple tartrate of potash and soda, I confess,it seems that more than a verbal error is committed.

Like Saidschitz, the waters of Sedlitz are bottled at the establishmentof Prince Lobkowitz, at Bilin. Some is sent into Germany; by far thegreater part goes to Paris; none to England. The bottles are knownby the peculiar manner in which they are stopped; they have metal collarsround the necks, on which metal caps are screwed. It is a singular circumstance,that, at Teplitz, not a single bottle of Sedlitz water could beobtained.

Before quitting Prince Lobkowitz and his springs, I may notice anotheringenious application of the Saidschitz water. At Bilin there is a mineralspring, containing the carbonate of soda, about 23 grains in the pint.The result is anticipated. It is concentrated considerably by evaporation,and mixed with the Saidschitz water, also much concentrated; a doubledecomposition of the proximate elements of the carbonate of soda inthe one, and the sulphate of magnesia in the other water, ensues: anda very capital carbonate magnesia is precipitated. The prince is said toadd 500 more florins of good Austrian money to his income by thispreparation.

PÜLLNA,

The last of the three bitter springs, lying on the road from Carlsbad toTeplitz, is the property of the village of that name, close by, but is rentedat present, by a private individual. Compared with the two former, itis quite an elegant spot. There is even a small white hotel opposite thewells; where, if fortune smiles, and you are in time for Table-d’hôte, youmay get a dinner; but if not, you must fare, as we did, on “butter-brod.”It contains, moreover, a few baths, supplied with water from the springs;and one patient, Baron Christophe de Campenhausen, with his medical attendant,was resident there for the cure. An attempt at a registry of thevisitors is also made. About thirty people, perhaps, may have seen Püllna,certainly not more than half a dozen English. Of the three bittersprings,the waters of Püllna have been by far the most drank—it is said that300,000 of the Püllna dumpty bottles are annually circulated. Bittersalzis also made here in considerable quantity.

The wells are scattered over a larger area than either at Saidschitz orSedlitz; but have the same odd appearance. The physical characters of abitterwasser, its yellow tint, oily consistence, and horribly bitter taste, arehere most strongly marked. The last analysis (which I obtained at Püllna)is by Dr. Ticinus, professor of chemistry at Dresden; and it will be seenhow extremely concentrated a water it is.

Sixteen ounces contain—

[244]

I shall add but one word on the medical properties of the bitterwassers.As a glance at the analyses would anticipate, they are solvent anddiuretic. They are aperient, however, without being at the same timestimulating; as is the case with the Salzbrunn at Franzensbad, from itsabundance of carbonic acid, and with the Carlsbad water, from its heat.They, especially the Püllna, which is employed the most frequently, are toostrong to be taken pure. One-third to the half of a dumpty bottle, with anequal quantity of luke-warm water, will be found an efficient and tolerablypalatable dose. A medicine of this kind, repeated regularly every morning,is of the greatest advantage to persons habitually costive from sluggishnessof action in the muscular fibre of the intestine, brought on bysedentary lives, much study at late hours, &c. If this state be accompaniedwith hæmorrhoids, the remedy, from its gentle effect, is still morevaluable. In congested states of the liver and spleen, they are efficient;blood is determined to the intestine, to the relief of the portal vessels. Inactual jaundice, they are even prescribed with advantage.

In mentioning the leading properties of these bittersprings, I do notthink I should be inclined (were he willing) to send a patient there; for Ishould expect to hear, either that he had been upset in his journey, orstarved on his arrival. But I have another motive. From the very natureof the water, containing so little carbonic acid, and so little iron, it can beimitated with great success. I saw Struve’s process at Dresden; and Ihave taken that made at the Brighton spa, with all the effect of the originaland genuine Püllna. It seemed to me a remedy worthy of more patronagethan it had hitherto received.

Finally, I would not wish, from what I have said, to depreciate thecharacter of our very old and tried friend, the “Sedlitz.” On the contrary—I[245]hold him in much veneration. One word only I would add tohis title—I would call him the “Genuine (London) Sedlitz Powder.”

Robert J. Spitta.

P.S.—I may as well state here, for the information of travellers, andespecially of invalids, the ready means of communication that now exist,independent of the rail-road abovementioned.

The whole run may be done in six days; the traveller sleeping everynight in his bed, and undergoing no fatigue whatever in the day. Theopposite course will require an additional day, on account of the stream ofthe Elbe, but may be performed with great ease by all, to whom economyof time, money, and bodily exertion is of any moment. It is only an easyday’s journey from Teplitz to Carlsbad, and 24 miles from thence to Marienbad.The route through Saxon Switzerland alone, will well repay thejourney, which is almost all by water, and the far greater part by riversteaming, where there is no chance of sea-sickness. In fine, the line ofthe Elbe offers, as it were, an invalid carriage, by which the most frailvaletudinarian, or the most crippled victim of gout or rheumatism, mayrepair to the great fountains of health in Bohemia, with almost as muchease as if reposing in an arm-chair. J. J.

THE ELBE—SAXON SWITZERLAND. TEPLITZ TO TETCHEN.

CULM.

On leaving Teplitz, we pass through a highly picturesque country, fullof mountain scenery, but not of that Alpine grandeur which excludes fertility,cultivation, and beauty, till we come to the Thermopylæ of Bohemia—thebattle-field of Culm—whose history, though “Ære perennius,” isyet commemorated by three monuments—the Russian and Prussian dedicatedto the memory of those heroes who fell in the combat—the Austrian,to the general who turned the fortune of the day—and changed a doubtfuland sanguinary battle into a splendid and decided victory.[84] The three[246]monuments are of very different stature and dimensions. The first wecome to is the Russian, a Gothic pyramid of cast iron, of great height,bearing on its summit the figure of Fame. The portrait of the heroOsterman, who, with 8000 Russians, checked Vandamme and 40,000Frenchmen, is sculptured on one side. This monument is like Russia itself,infinitely more colossal than either of the others. The Prussian, like itskingdom, is the smallest of all—while the Austrian, is next in dimensionsto the Russian, and dedicated, as was observed, to the hero who conquered,and not to those who fell in the battle. After all, this was perhaps thewisest plan. The living hero would feel pride and pleasure in contemplatingthe monuments; but, alas!

No! the blood of the brave has, no doubt, fertilized the soil of this beautifulvalley, while the bodies of heroes, who drew their natal breath on thebanks of the Gneiper and the Vistula—the Elbe and the Danube—theRhine and the Rhone—the Seine and the Tiber, have served to fatten thebirds and beasts of prey, as well as the mould of mother-earth—migratinginto myriads of new existences, and completing the mysterious circle oftheSamian Sage!

When we glance at this infinitessimal speck of human consciousnessand identity, surrounded and swallowed up by the countless cycles of otherand ephemeral modes of existence, we may well marvel thatman—reasoningman—should be the only creature on this globe who wageseternal war—against his own species! One would think that the span ofhuman life was narrow enough, without abridging or annihilating it byfire, famine, and the sword! War indeed is a game which—

It is rather singular that, in our days, at least, though monarchs occasionallylose their crowns in these games ofhazard, they rarely part withtheir heads at the same time.

Three Emperors and a King played one of those fearful games ofhazardin the valley of Culm. From the summit of the Schlossberg the royalEagles of Austria, Russia, and Prussia beheld, with astonishment, if notdismay, the sudden and unexpected descent through a gorge in the Erzebirge[247]mountains, the fierce, the rapacious, and the ferociousVandamme,at the head of forty thousand Frenchmen, flushed with the victory ofDresden (27th August, 1813) and pouncing on the scattered troops of theallies in the valley, quite unprepared for such an unexpected onslaught!The “Cock of the North,” andhe of the Danube, “immediately retired.”Not so the regal bird, with two heads, from the Elbe and the Oder.He clapped his sable wings, as he snuffed the sulphurous fumes from theroaring cannon—directed several movements of the allies below—and presenteda wall of steel, to a cloud of cossacks, flying before the enemy—thuscompelling them to face their foes.

Meanwhile,Osterman and his eight thousand Russians slowly anddoggedly retreated (fighting) before Vandamme and his forty thousandFrench, till within two miles of Teplitz, when the Gallic general consideredthe crowned heads as inevitably within his grasp! Here the Muscovitesstopped short—wheeled round—and crossed the narrow valley, like anavenue of knotted oaks that might be borne down or torn up by the furiousstorm or lightning’s flash, but never would bend. It was in vain thatthe “ferocious” Vandamme brought up line after line of his men againstthe northern phalanx. They were repulsed, one after the other, as thebasaltic columns of Staffa repel the onsets of the Atlantic surge! As individualsfell in the Russian ranks, the lines instantly closed again, as ifby a vital and instinctive movement of the whole body! When the lastcolumn of Vandamme had failed to break the Russian phalanx, the furiousand disconcerted Frank retreated in his turn, and encamped on the field ofCulm for the night. This gave time for the panic-stricken and disorderedallies to collect, combine, and arrange for the grand struggle of the comingday. The dawn (30th August) had not yet unveiled the peaks of thesurrounding mountains, when all were ready and panting for the sanguinaryconflict.

The allies under Schwartzenburg may now have outnumbered the Frenchunder Vandamme, but theirmorale was depressed by the recent disastersat Dresden, and theirphysique exhausted by their almost superhuman exertionsin dragging their cannon, baggage, and ammunition over the ruggedsummits of the Bohemian mountains. On the other hand, the Frenchwere elated beyond measure by the recent and successive victories of Lutzen,Botzen, and Dresden—but still more by the star of Napoleon, which[248]was now rising, like a Phœnix from the ashes of Moscow, and approachingits second zenith on the banks of the Elbe. Daylight, however, hadscarcely enabled the armies to distinguish friend from foe, when they rushedsimultaneously into mortal conflict. Vandamme lay between a greatcrescent of the allies on the West, and the towery ridge of Erzeberg in hisrear, and from which he had descended the preceding morning. The“fiery Frank” fought like a tiger encompassed and goaded by hunters—whilethe “furioushun” successfully repelled his repeated efforts to breakthe line of the allies, and even drove him nearer and nearer to the mountainbehind. The pass of the Erzeberg, through which Vandamme descendedinto the valley, now presented the only opening by which he couldeffect his egress out of it. The order for retreat was given; but what wasthe surprize of the French on entering the defile from below, when theybeheld a body of Prussians enter it from above! The surprize and consternation,however, were mutual. Kleist, who, with five or six thousandPrussians, had been wandering among the mountains since the disaster ofDresden, and who was now hurrying to Teplitz to join the allies, wasthunderstruck to see the French scrambling up the defile to meet him,and considered his retreat as cut off. Vandamme looked upon himself asin precisely the same predicament. Kleist knew that the French columnswere pressing onward in his rear—Vandamme knew full well that the Austro-Prusso-Russianarmy was close at his heels. The object of each corpsin the defile was therefore to cut through its opponent, and escape in thedirection of its friends. Under these impressions, they rushed into tumultuouscombat, and were soon mingled in inextricable confusion. Theofficers of one corps were sometimes in the midst of the soldiery of theother, andvice versa—all fighting pell-mell like two hostile mobs, withoutorder or command—individually rather than collectively—often wrestingthe arms from their opponents, and fighting with the weapons of theirenemies! So desperate a struggle on such a precipitous pass, was never,perhaps, witnessed since the days of Leonidas in the Straits of Thermopylæ!The Prussians had the vantage ground, inasmuch as their ownweight gave them an increased momentum in rushing down the declivity—theFrench had greatly the advantage in numbers, both in horse andfoot; but Kleist prevailed, and Vandamme and his army were hurled backinto the valley below, when the allies closed round them and the GallicEagles surrendered!

On the field of Culm the sable wing of destiny threw a shade over thestar of Napoleon, which never afterwards regained its splendour, or stayedits downward course, till it sunk in the far Atlantic. On the plains ofMarne and Waterloo, indeed,[85] that star emitted some vivid corruscations;but they only tended to exhaust its fire and accelerate its fall!

[249]

TETCHEN.

Full of ruminations on the vicissitudes of human life—the vanity ofman’s hopes—and the nothingness of his works—we drove through ahighly picturesque valley, at the foot of the last range of the Bohemianmountains, till we suddenly debouched on the silvery Elbe, at the bustlingand boating little town of Tetchen. The first object which arrested ourattention was a huge pile of white buildings standing on a bold and juttingpromontory some seven or eight hundred feet above the right bank of theriver, with thrice as many windows in its walls as there were eyes in thehead of Argus. Various were our conjectures as to whether the edificebefore us was an immense barrack, an overgrown convent, where half thedaughters of Bohemia might prepare for another world, or a great factory?Even the oracular authority of the “red-book” could not persuade usthat it was a palace. The river at this place is always crowded with boatsof all shapes and sizes laden with merchandize—chiefly hewn stone fromthe rocky banks, and timber from the pine-clad mountains. We had somedifficulty in getting the carriage along between a precipice on the left, andthe stream on our right, but at length got safely housed in theJosephsbadHotel—“in one of the most romantic situations which the banks of the riverElbe afford.”—Murray. Here we learnt that the great pile of building wasactually the palace or castle of Count Thun, and crossing the ferry wescrambled up through a straggling town to the rear of the castle, and thenclimbed up a road of rock that led to the chateau, and which was steepenough for goats, though the tracks of wheels, worn in the smooth andprecipitous stone, shewed that less agile animals than the ibex had draggedtheir weary way to the summit. The view from the castle is remarkablypicturesque, though rather hemmed in by hills, rocks, and mountains—thewinding Elbe soon disappearing in the dark ravines ofSaxon Switzerland.Count Thun’s library is, I believe, the great lion of the castle;but as I never could derive much amusement or information from a surveyof the backs of books, we returned to our eagle’s nest, the Josephsbad,and slept sound over the murmuring Elbe. There is a chalybeate springhere of some local reputation, and certainly an invalid could not easilyselect a more romantic spot for the restoration of health than Tetchen.

We embarked in a gondola early in the morning, and immediately entered“Saxon Switzerland,” a tract of country extending from Tetchen tothe neighbourhood of Dresden, and perfectly unique in character, bearinglittle or no resemblance to Switzerland, or to any other country in theworld through which I have passed. It has none of the snowy solitudes,the sparkling glaciers, or the majestic altitude of the Alps; but it has ageographical and geological physiognomy, of which there is “nil simileaut secundum” on this globe. The river runs through a gorge, which is,in fact, a gigantic excavation—a huge crevasse—a profound chasm, in the[250]rocky bed of an antediluvian ocean, disclosing glimpses of “the worldbefore the flood,” and letting out some of the “secrets of the prison-house.”Whether this ocean-bed was raised from its dark abyss by theagency of subterranean fire, or was left uncovered by the subsidence of thesuperincumbent sea, may admit of question; but no doubt can be entertainedas to the formation of those rocky walls that now rise a thousandfeet high on each side of the stream. They are piled, layer over layer, instrata of different thickness and different density—but all as horizontal asthe ocean under which they once lay. They were all, therefore, depositionsfrom the sea, and considering that most of these strata are hardenough to form millstones, imagination is lost in the vain attempt to estimatethe countless ages that must have rolled away during the depositionand consolidation of even a single stratum—how many millions of years,then, must it have required to form layer over layer, of this immense crust,at the bottom of the ocean, leaving aside the unknown intervals that musthave elapsed between the various deposits!! Again, the elevation of theearth, or the subsidence of the waters, so as to produce the complete denudationof this rocky district, could not but occupy ages of ages. Inwhatever way this long chain of stratifications took place, it is quite evidentthat it was long subjected to powerful currents. The layers are allgrooved and furrowedhorizontally, in the line of the river, and notperpendicularly,as by rains descending along their sides. It is true they are oftensplit perpendicularly and irregularly; but this is quite the work of timeand decay—not at all like the horizontal smoothing, the consequence oflong-continued watery friction. Some travellers have supposed that theriver Elbe has hewn its way through these rocks and formed the hugeravine on the principle—

But as the very summits of the rock (800 feet high) shew the same proofsof horizontal “wear and tear” as the lowest strata, what must have beenthe state of the surrounding country, when the Elbe was 800 feet above itspresent level? It was covered with water, and the grooves in the rockswere the effects of currents, not rivers—in other words, they arediluvialand notfluvial phenomena. But the banks of this stream are not the onlyplaces here which exhibit proofs and records of a deluge. The neighbouringcountry, especially on the right bank, and where no rivers exist, isstudded with “fragments of an earlier world,” all bearing the same marksof watery attrition, from their highest to their lowest strata. Althoughmany of these “splinter’d pinnacles,” are columnar in shape, they aretabular in construction—all shewing horizontal strata (where they havenot tumbled down), and all evincing a greater wear and tear of the interstitialmaterials between the layers, than of the layers themselves—another[251]proof of the lateral and not perpendicular action of the waters by whichthey were worn smooth.

We descended slowly in our gondola, the day being splendidly clear,and the wind blowing fresh against us, which retarded our progress, butfavoured our examination of the infinitely varied scenery in this romanticgorge. At Neidergrund, on the left bank, we were stopped by the lastAustrian Douane, for examination of passports; and then continued ourdescent. At this place, however, there is a huge fragment of rock whichmust have rolled from the adjacent cliff, at some remote period, but whichis now perfectly smooth in every part of its surface, from the friction ofthe floods. In this stone, there is also a polished excavation, with a narrowdoor, in which, it is said, a pious hermit once resided. Hence its name—“Monchenstein.”It is worth examining while the tardy Douanier isporing over your passport, and filling unmeaning columns in his mustyjournals.

A league farther on, where the right bank rises like a wall to a stupendousheight, and demonstrating the stratifications with peculiar distinctness,we come to a huge pile of buildings, overhung by massive crags of rocks,and forming a douane, police-station, and hotel. Here we encounter theSaxon Custom-house, where our trunks were opened and examined—anoperation which was never once performed by Prussian, Bavarian, or Austrian,during our whole journey. And here I must do the Austrians, whoare represented as so veryaustere in their police and douanes, the justice tosay that, in no part of their dominions did we ever experience the slightestinterruption or inconvenience in respect to passports; nor did they everask us for the key of a trunk on entering, travelling through, or quittingtheir territories.

From this place (Herrnskretchen), excursions are often made, by peoplewho have plenty of time on their hands, to the summit of the “Winterberg,”where a very extensive prospect of Saxon Switzerland and theBohemian ranges is obtained. The mountain prospect is hardly worththe toil of the mountain journey. Better prospects are obtained from twopoints to be presently noticed, where the view, though not quite so wide,is infinitely more distinct and striking, and where the points themselvespossess the highest degree of interest, which the summit of the Winterbergdoes not. ThePreberchthor, however, a league and a half fromHerrnskretchen, is worth seeing. It is a gigantic natural arch of rock,exhibiting well the stratified formation, and looking like the portal of someenchanted castle, being 60 ells (French) in height, the same in breadth, and30 in depth. The arch itself is 1400 feet and more above the level of thesea. The summit, or key-stone of the arch forms a kind of narrowslanting platform, 30 or 40 feet in length, from which a romantic prospectopens on the view.

The Kuhstall (or cow-house) is another natural arch, where the strata[252]of rock appear to be somewhat bent as they stride over the aperture below.Various other “disjecta membra” of an antediluvian world are scatteredabout between the Winterberg and Schandau.

We remained but a short time at Schandau; and, after dinner, hired agondola, where a female rowed manfully against the breeze, assisted byher husband and brother, and in a couple of hours we reached

KŒNIGSTEIN.

This is one of the lions of Saxon Switzerland—a kind of jung-fraufortress that has never yielded to shot, shell, or escalade. It is situated onthe left bank of the river, near the town of Kœnigstein, from whence weascended by a long and steep road that required full an hour before wearrived at the gate of this impregnable fortress. The Saxon war ministerbeing governor of Kœnigstein, our passports procured us admission, withan orderly to shew us round. One of the most prominent features of thiscountry is, the projection from its surface of numerous truncated cones ofthe same kind of stratified rock which compose the banks of the Elbe.They rise almost perpendicularly from plain or hill, to various heights ofone hundred to seven or eight hundred feet, with a flat surface on the top,like a sugar-loaf with its upper third cut off. Kœnigstein is one of thelargest of these natural forts, and the strongest. It springs from an elevatedground, and is at least fifteen hundred feet above the level of theElbe that flows at its base. The walls are not columnar, but masses ofhorizontal strata piled upon one another, precisely like those composing thebanks of the river, the highest as well as lowest layers presenting the samehorizontal “wear and tear,” produced by the action of long-continuedcurrents of water. The plateau on the summit of this antediluvian citadeloccupies a space of two or three acres, which, considering the locality,supports a good deal of vegetation, trees, and fruit. Excavations in therock serve as bomb-proofs for provisions, ammunition, and military barracks,if assailed. The plateau is encircled by a coronet of cannon and mortars,and in the spaces between the embrasures, immense heaps of stones arepiled up, to be hurled on the heads of those who ventured to approach therocky ramparts of this aerial fortress. Down through the centre of therock a well is bored to the depth of 1800 feet, and from this source anabundant supply of excellent water is drawn up by a wheel, like a tread-mill,worked, or rather walked, by half a dozen soldiers. In the centre ofthe plateau there is a circus, where the governor with one of his aide-de-campswas galloping round, for air and exercise.

We made the entire circuit of the ramparts, and from these the mostextensive views are taken in every direction, embracing scenery so strange,romantic, and beautiful, that no language can do it justice—nor pencilneither! At its eastern base flows the winding Elbe, and directly opposite,[253]on the other side of the stream, risesLilienstein, about three miles distantfrom Kœnigstein, and of a precisely similar shape and composition.A German prince, who was also a Polish king, had the courage and dexterityto scale theLilienstein, and was so proud of the exploit, that hecommemorated it by an inscription near the place of ascent. Napoleon,in one of his German forays, succeeded, with incredible labour and difficulty,to elevate some guns to the summit of this gigantic rock, in orderto batter Kœnigstein, but his labour was lost, for the shot fell short ofthe sister fortress. But Kœnigstein might have laughed at Bonaparte evenif his cannon could have swept the houses from the plateau of the Saxonstrong-hold. It would have remained as impregnable as ever. Theview from this spot takes in the whole or nearly the whole of SaxonSwitzerland, and extends to thirty or forty miles in every direction—fromthe Winterberg toDresden, the towers of which are plainly visible. Allthe peculiar rocks in the shape of truncated cones, as well as those massesof pillars and cliffs about the Bastei, are distinctly seen from Kœnigstein.Mr. Russell has the following passage in his work on Germany.

“The striking feature is, that in the bosom of this amphitheatre, a plainof the most varied beauty, huge columnar hills start up at once from theground, at great distances from each other, overlooking in lonely andsolemn grandeur, each its own portion of the domain.They are monumentswhich the Elbe has left standing to commemorate his triumph overtheir less hardy kindred. The most remarkable among them are the Liliensteinand Kœnigstein, which tower, nearly in the centre of the plain, to aheight of above 1200 feet above the Elbe.”

I have marked a sentence, in italics, because it conveys an erroneousidea. It may be poetical; but it is not philosophical. If the Elbe wasthe Deluge, or the Deluge was the Elbe, all well. But I think Mr. Russellwould hardly contend for this identity. The fact is, that theDeluge woreaway the softer parts from around Kœnigstein, Lilienstein, and all theother Steins, ten thousand, or, more likely, ten million of years before theElbe was born! The diminutive stream of the river merely conducted itsrills from the mountains through the bottom of the chasm hollowed out bythe mighty currents of an antediluvian ocean.

It required two hours to visit the cloud-capt towers and frowning battlementsof this impregnable citadel, whose walls were not built by humanhands, but constructed beneath the waters of some mighty deep. Themagnificent and singular scenery which everywhere bursts on the astonishedeye from the cannon-crown’d crest of Kœnigstein, can never be erasedfrom the memory.

We descended from the fortress to the town, tired, hunger’d, but highlygratified by the excursion. Fickle Fortune is not always profuse of hergifts. The feast of the eye this day was purchased by a fast of thestomach. Notwithstanding the care we had taken to order the “huhn[254]gebraten,” the “schinken,” the “kartoflen,” and other little mattersfor dinner, all of which were civilly promised, with a hearty “ja wohlmynheer,” into the bargain; yet, to our mortification, up came the infernalor at least the eternal dish—mutton-chops, composed of old meatpounded into a paste, squeezed into a mould, fried with butter, coveredwith flour, and pierced with the ribs of some “schaf” that might havebeen slaughtered the preceding year! Remonstrance was vain, and complaintwas unavailing. Dish after dish was returned untouched—and dishafter dish of thesame materials, came back again, in other forms! Witha sorrowful heart and an empty stomach, I called to mind the first line ofOvid’s Metamorphoses—

As a forlorn hope, we requested some cheese; when, lo, after a quarter ofan hour’s expectation, in came a wedge exhaling such a complication of allhorrible and unutterable odours, that we were glad to launch it out of thewindow among the pigs—and even they scampered off in all directions atthe sight, sound, and smell of this unexpected and apparently unwelcomevisitor! Good comes out of evil. This last consummation of our miseriesfortunately obliterated our appetites as effectually as a fit of sea-sicknessin a gale of wind. The beds were as bad as the board, and the smell ofthe cheese seemed to have called forth myriads of the most minute, agile,and animated beings, who appeared toleap and skip with joy, over ourbeds and round our dormitory—but whether in search of the savoury“kase,” or bent on more sanguinary depredations, I will not pretend todecide. This I know, that the frolicksome gambols of these black and saltantimps conduced but very little to sleep, notwithstanding the lightnessof our supper. Mr. Murray says that theInn at Kœnigstein is “tolerable.”It may be so, but theinmates are intolerable! I do not thinkthat Horace spent a worse night in the Pontine fens, when he was assailed,on one side by the “mali culices,” and on the other, by the “ranæ palustres.”We had not the “mali culices,” it is true—but we had far worse customers,themali pulices!! In fine, it was the “frogs and flies” of Treponti inItaly,versus the “fleas and cheese” of Kœnigstein in Germany. I wouldpit thelatter against theformer any Summer’s night of the year!

THE BASTEI.

We left Kœnigstein early on a beautiful morning in our gondola, and intwo hours we were housed in New Raden, at the foot of theBastei.Having procured a guide, we commenced a laborious and steep zig-zagascent towards the summit of the arch-lion of Saxon Switzerland. Itrequired an hour or nearly so, to accomplish this task—each tourniquet of[255]the ascent opening out more and more extended and splendid prospects.At length we got into the “regio petrea,” or stony region—sometimeswinding round the bases of huge cliffs—sometimes squeezing throughnarrow fissures of the rock—and at others, crossing profound chasms overslender wooden bridges, or rather foot-paths. When almost despairing ofgaining the summit before our strength was exhausted, we suddenly foundourselves on a small but level platform, on the highest pinnacle of theBastei, and commanding a complete view, not only of the immense massof splintered rocks around us, but of the whole country in every direction.In all my peregrinations round this globe, I never met with any localityor prospect similar to the one which burst on my astonished sight at thisplace!

We stood on the verge of a tremendous precipice, eight hundred feet inheight, and overhanging the Elbe below. Though its brow is fringed withan iron ballustrade, I observed that very few ventured to look over thefrightful bourne,

In the opposite direction, rises one of the most singular scenes that everopened on the human eye. The billows of an angry ocean suddenly convertedinto stone, while agitated by a furious hurricane, might convey some,but a very imperfect, idea of this astonishing locality. The fractured rocks,though all presenting the stratifications so often mentioned, and most ofthem still horizontal, assume almost every shape and form that imaginationbodies forth in the autumnal clouds that range themselves along thewestern horizon, as the cortege of a setting sun, on a beautiful evening.Pyramids, cliffs, spires, columns, ruins, cupolas, turrets, battlements,castles, colossal statues and fantastic figures—of everything, in short,which a fertile fancy can conjure up in the animate or inanimate world.[86]

[256]

After the first emotions of surprize and astonishment have subsided,we begin to ask ourselves what convulsion of Nature could haveproduced this scene of devastation, destruction, and dislocation? Wasit an earthquake?—a volcano?—or adeluge? Coupling this last ideawith the acknowledged fact that all these fractured rocks were once a seriesof level and solid strata at the bottom of the ocean, the remarkable expressionin Holy Writ rushed on the mind—“And the fountains of thegreat deep were broken up.” Whether this indescribable scene of disruptionand dilapidation was produced by any one of those three causes,or by all in succession, must for ever remain a secret sealed from humanken,—but it is abundantly evident, from the vast masses of debris alongthe banks of the river, that the winds and rains are constantly disintegratingthe softer materials of this “Mer de Pierres,” and carrying themdown towards the stream of the Elbe, which acts its part in conveyingthem to the bed of the great Northern Ocean, there to form new deposits,preparatory to some other revolution in our planet, which may once moreraise the bed of the sea into terra firma—and overwhelm our mountainsand plains in unfathomable depths of the vast watery element!

Various paths are formed among the intricacies of the rocks here, andseats formed for contemplating

And few minds can dwell on such a scene without profound reflections onthat AlmightyPower whose operations are displayed here on such a stupendousscale.

The external or distant views from the Bastei are still more striking thanthose from the fortress of Kœnigstein—more varied in their character, andhaving Kœnigstein itself, and also Lilienstein, as most prominent features inthe landscape. The rocky mounds in the same shape as the Lilienstein,which stand up in every direction, are all seats of legendary tales, nearlyas numerous as those of the Rhine.

We were not a little surprized to find in this eyrie a very comfortablehotel—the romantic situation of which has no equal in Europe, or in theworld. But we were still more astonished to find horses and carriages inthe court-yard of the inn! We were, at first, inclined to disbelieve theevidence of our own senses: but soon discovered that the northern approachto the Bastei admits of a good carriage road, so that invalids orweakly tourists may ascend to the very edge of the plateau on the summitof the highest rock, without the slightest fatigue. Near the hotel, thereis seen a gigantic excavation in the rock, five times the size of the Coliseumin Rome, and very much in the form of a huge natural amphitheatre, surroundedby a towering rocky wall, of immense height, which wall iscrowned by a great variety of grotesque and colossal figures, bearing more[257]or less resemblance to animals and artificial constructions. Here is a veryloud and distinct echo, which adds to the interest of a scene quite uniqueon the face of this globe.

We descended by the same path by which we ascended, enjoying theprospects from various points, and bidding adieu to the most interestingspot we had ever visited.

ELBE to DRESDEN.

Our little gondola floated down the silver Elbe towards Dresden on abeautiful day, the right bank of the river still preserving its superiority ofscenery over the left. Indeed I think the former bank little, if at all, inferiorto even the best parts of the Rhine—besides the advantage of innumerablewhite villas, vineyards, gardens, and orchards, scattered from thesummit of the hills down to the water’s edge.

PILLNITZ.

Passing the fortified town ofPirna a on the left, we arrived at the summerresidence of the royal family atPillnitz; but too late to avail ourselvesof the permission given to foreigners to see, from a contiguousgallery, the regal banquet at dinner-hour. The lions had not only fed,but fled—perhaps to realize our nursery estimate of the felicity attendanton crowns and sceptres—

I certainly feared that the faithful adhesion of Saxony to the fortunesof Napoleon, though it saved the “galleries” and “green vaults” of Dresden,had not tended to an overflow of the royal treasury—and I was quitesure that the battle of Leipsic and the Congress of Vienna had by nomeans enlarged the territories of the Saxon Monarch. As to the Queen,Boney’s inordinate love ofbees must have greatly thinned the ranks ofher majesty’s hives on the sunny banks of the Elbe, and diminished thesupply of honey for the use of herself and maids of honour.[87] Be that asit may, I sincerely hope that noSaxon queen will ever be reduced frombread and honey to bread andcheese—for in that event, her majesty’s casewould be hopeless.

We greatly regretted that we had not a glimpse at that magnificentlioness of Pillnitz, the Princess Amelia, sister to the monarch, andPlaywriterto Germany in general. How she, as a Saxon princess, contrivedto depict on the stage, “the domestic manners of the Germans,” as Mrs.[258]Jameson very artfully terms her dramas, is beyond my comprehension, unlessshe imitated the Eastern Princes of former days, who wentincog. amongtheir subjects. Be this as it may, I confess I do not see any delineationof character in these plays that might not be picked up in the library,theatre, and drawing-room, by any clever girl of Princess Amelia’s calibreand talents. There is a clearer insight into domestic manners in one ofHorace’s Odes or Satires (vide Sat. VIII.,) than in the whole of the Princess’splays put together.

DRESDEN.

We approached this city on a beautiful evening—its numerous spiresand domes, its raised terraces, shaded promenades, broad river, and handsomebridge, making a favourable impression on the stranger’s mind. Thebridge, though said to be the finest in Germany, would make a sorry figurealongside of our Waterloo—and it bears on its centre arch a memorial thatis not likely ever to appear on any bridge that crosses the Thames—themarks of a blow-up by a French General. The memorial, however, is notvery complimentary to the Gallic soldiers, who performed the exploit toprevent the allies from running—after them! I wish the bridge regulationover the Elbe was enforced on all bridges, and even streets—viz. that ofcompelling passengers to take the right-hand side, by which they avoidjostlings or collisions. The new town, on the right bank, is the unfashionableone—the old one, the reverse—though the streets of the latterare narrow, the houses high, and very dull as well as unadorned.

You have scarcely descended from the bridge on the left bank, when youfind yourself entangled between a palace, a church, a theatre, and a minister’shuge hotel, or rather bureau. Here I observed what I had hithertoscouted—an “iter ad astra”—aroyal road to heaven. From the windowsof the palace a royal arch strides across the street, and enters theCatholic church, high up, near the regal box or pew over the altar!—Onthe opposite side rises the theatre. ThusReligion sits calmly, but proudly,between Comedy and Carousel; and the same musical corps which “swellthe notes of praise” in the solemn anthem of morning mass, fill the airwith the dulcet notes of Terpsichore, in the evening Opera. Such easytransitions would excite some remark in holy England—though there isnothing, after all, in these double duties of the vocal train—“vox etpretærea nihil.” But the sight of an English king going every Sunday tomass would astonish his Protestant subjects. Not so in Dresden. TheSaxons are just as much Protestants as the British are; yet they take noumbrage at their monarch preferring the Romish to the reformed ritual!!Would that such peaceable and charitable sentiments were universal in theworld!

The palace itself is the most strange, straggling, and sombre mass or rather[259]chaos of state prisons that ever monarch inhabited—unless it ishe of theTartarian regions. It runs up the side of one street—down that of another—cutsa third in two—swallows up a fourth in toto—and then scattersitself into squares, courts, platzes, galleries, museums, &c. from which astranger would find no small difficulty in extricating himself, except by theaid of Ariadne’s clue, or a rope-yarn longer than any that was ever spunby a Greenwich pensioner. No wonder that their majesties take theirannual departure from this gloomy abode most punctually on the first dayof May, to enjoy the pure air and romantic prospects of Pillnitz and theBastei.

The picture-galleries here have procured for Dresden the title of “theFlorence ofGermany.” I think the “Green Vaults,” and “PorcelainManufactories,” entitle it to the additional appellations of“Royal Toy-shop of Saxony,” and “China-Warehouse of Europe.”

As good Protestants we first went to the cathedral—but as service wasover we climbed to the summit of the dome, and there we had a most completepanoramic view of Dresden and the surrounding country, renewingour acquaintance with our old friends Kœnigstein and Lilienstein, whichstand proudly forth as gigantic guardians of an enchanted land. The domeof the cathedral is the first spot which a stranger should visit, as it is theonly place which spreads everything before him, as on a map, and all intheir just proportions and distances. The city of Dresden is by no meansextensive, even when including the old and new town; but the surroundingand distant country presents scenery of great variety and beauty. Thesouthern views take in Saxon Switzerland—the northern, the fertile plainsand vales that stretch away towards Leipzig and Berlin. It is from thiselevated position that the great field of battle between Napoleon and theallies (26th and 27th of August 1814) now smiles in peace and cultivation,instead of being bristled with cannon, and strewed with human sacrificesat the altar of Mars. The fortifications are now levelled to the ground,or converted into beautiful shaded walks, gardens, and groves, that leadout to meet a laughing landscape in every direction. One, and only one,melancholy object arrests the wandering eye of the delighted observer—themonument ofMoreau, on the spot where he fell by the side of the EmperorAlexander. A plain free-stone block commemorates at once, thedeath of the “hero Moreau,” and the last victory of Napoleon! Fromthat moment, the star of this “child of destiny” began to fade in lustre,and descend from its meridian. The battle of Culm and the disastrousdefeat at Leipzig completed the liberation of Germany; whilst the strugglesin France and Belgium afterwards, were only the pangs of a dyinggiant!

It appeared thatFortune had, in Napoleon’s case, determined to wipethe stain of fickleness from her character; but that she became exhaustedby, or, almost ashamed of, pouring incessant favours on a man, whose[260]talents were as brilliant as his ambition was boundless; and whose philanthropywas so weak that the blood of the whole human race wouldscarcely have satiated his thirst of power, while the faintest hope of attainingor retaining it remained!—a man without moderation in prosperity,magnanimity in adversity, fidelity in matrimony, philosophy in exile, orreligion in death.[88] He expired in the crater of an extinct volcano—asuitable sepulchre for one who had grown up amid revolution, storms,political earthquakes, and the thunders of war. His ashes, which reposedin peace during twenty years, have been exhumed from the grave, andcast like a fire-brand upon a huge pile of the most inflammable and destructivecombustibles that were ever amassed for the explosion of anothermoral volcano!

It was for a nation like France, to demolish the altar of the living God(to use the words of Montalivert) to make room for the ashes of a Deistdead!

While memory retraces the page of history, written in blood on thesmiling landscape beneath us, the eye rests once more on the pyramidalblock which marks the fall of one of the ablest and best children of therevolution. Some dastard, under the cover of night, nearly effaced theword “hero,” and substituted for it that of “traitor.” Man is judged inthis world by hisactions—in the next world by hismotives. IfMoreauwarred against his country, he was a traitor—if he warred against a tyrant,who usurped the sceptre and destroyed the liberties of his country, he wasapatriot.

Taking a last circumspective view of the splendid prospect around us,we descended from the dome of the cathedral, and bent our steps to theCatholic church, where high mass was about to be celebrated. Here wefound a sacred precept at once completely violated. “Whom God hasjoined let no man separate.” But the wife is here severed from her husband,and the sister from the brother—for what good purpose I am unable[261]to divine. If the two sexes are not allowed to pray together, lest thescandal of assignations should result, the priesthood of Saxony are as littleacquainted with human nature as they are with the Aborigines of NewHolland.

But what becomes of this regulation, when we see that it only extendsto thepit, while in the galleries of this holy opera (for high mass is neithermore nor less than a sacred drama), the ladies and gentlemen are allowedto listen and laugh—or peradventure to pray, during the service?

The music here is said to be the best in Germany—and I suppose it mustbe so. If the object of sacred music be the elevation of the soul to thehighest pitch of religious fervor and devotional enthusiasm, the accomplishmentof that object may be doubted where a multiplicity of violinsand other instruments drown rather than accompany the choir and theorgan. There is, however, one exception to this doubt. When, in theperformance of the solemnrequiem, and at the words—

the trumpet pours its loud notes along the vaulted roof of some loftycathedral, which reverberates them on the crowd below, in imitation of the“last trump,” whose awful sounds shall penetrate every grave on thisglobe—burst the marble cerements of the tomb—and summon theirshivering tenants to the foot-stool of their God—the effect is almostmagical! And well it may be so. The very idea of such a stupendousand miraculous event, involving the hopes and fears, the rewards andpunishments, the eternal peace or endless misery of the whole human race,is sufficiently astounding and overwhelming in itself; but when heightenedby the most artful and gorgeous imitation that human ingenuity couldinvent or effect, the impression is beyond description or even conception!

The picture-galleries are the master-lion of Dresden, and as a merecatalogue of the paintings—not a “catalogue raisonnée”—fills a goodlyoctavo volume, the reader may be assured that I will not, even if I could,inflict on him a critical notice of this celebrated collection, reiteratedadnauseam, by so many connoisseurs in the art and mystery of the craft.Would that the pictorial critics would keep their unintelligible jargon andpuzzling lingo to themselves! How many hundreds and thousands ofthe visitors of galleries have the cup of enjoyment dashed from their lips,while admiring paintings, by hearing some pert hypercritic condemn themas deficient in “depth of shade,” “breadth of colour,” “truth of tint”—orsome arbitrary quality which his brain has engendered to bewilder theuninitiated, and display his own refinement of taste and judgment! Thenthe host of pseudo-critics, who prick up their ears and catch thefiats ofthe connoisseur, become actual pests in the galleries, retailing thedicta of[262]their superiors, and scattering doubts and dissentions among the confidingcrowd—

In such a prodigious collection the great majority of pictures must be ofinferior note, and unworthy of attention. There are, however, a vastnumber of gems and chef-d’œuvres, and on these, the traveller will, almostalways, find artists (male and female) constantly employed in copying—manyof them for their daily bread—not a few, as amateurs, even of thehighest rank in life. Here, then, are a series of guides, more practicalthan all the critics which commit their lucubrations to the press.

Although Saxony is a Protestantstate, it is a Catholickingdom, andtherefore there is a good sprinkling of sacred subjects in the Dresden galleries.The intentions of delineating the mysteries of our holy religion oncanvas, may be pious, but the attempt to do so is little less than impious.What required the miraculous power of a Deity to effect, is not likely tobe imitated in oil and colours by the hands ofman. The great truths ofreligion are addressed to the heart rather than to the eye—to the internalfeelings rather than to the external senses—to faith rather than to demonstration.Let the painter beware how he tries to reducethese to sensibleand visible representations!

Be this as it may, the stranger will always find artists and artistes busyin copying Bellini’s “Christ”—Titian’s “Tribute Money”—the samepainter’s “Mistress”—Veccio’s “Virgin and Infant”—P. Veronese’s“Adoration of the Virgin and Child”—“The Finding of Moses”—Giorgione’s“Meeting of Jacob and Rachael”—“The Marriage of the Dogesof Venice with the Sea”—the “Four Doctors of the Church,” by DossoDossi—Raphael’s “Madonna de san Sisto,” the jewel of the gallery,which was bought for £8000—Corregio’s “Virgin and Child”—the“Virgin and Infant in the Manger,” the second gem of Dresden paintings,—the“Recumbent Magdalene”—“the Sacrifice of Isaac,”—“Venusand Bacchus”—Rubens’ “Descent of the Fallen Angels”—Van Dyk’s“Charles I. and Family”—Rembrandt’s “Own Self and Wife”—Poussin’s“Discovery of Moses in the Bullrushes”—Claud’s “Acis and Galatea,”&c. These and scores of others are in perpetual transition from the wallsof the galleries to the easels of the copyists—hence a common complaintthat such collections as these give the highest encouragement to imitators,and almost annihilate originality.

THE GREEN VAULTS.

This royal toy-shop—this magnificent museum of costly curiosities, mightsatiate the eyes and appetites of all the Arabian princes and princesses—ofall the Persian shaws and Peruvian monarchs, that ever lived—nay, it[263]might leave theGrand Mogul himself (could his court be re-establishedin Hindostan) nothing to wish for or want!

“Whoever,” says an intelligent traveller, “takes pleasure in the glitterof precious stones—in gold and silver, wrought into all sorts of royal ornaments,into every form, however grotesque, that art can give them,without any aim at either utility or beauty, will stroll with satisfaction throughthe apartments of this gorgeous toy-shop. They are crowded with crownsand jewels, and regal attire of a long line of Saxon princes;[89]—vases andother utensils seem to have been made merely as a means of expendinggold and silver—the shelves glitter with caricatured urchins, whose bodiesare often formed of huge pearls, or of egg-shells, to which are attachedlimbs of enamelled gold. One is dazzled by the quantity of gems andprecious metals that glare around him:—he must even admire the ingenuitywhich has fashioned them into so many ornaments and unmeaningnick-nacks. But there is nothing that he forgets more easily, or that deservesless to be remembered.”

Mr. Russell’s opinion has been cavilled at, as not giving sufficient praiseto the merit of patience labour and skill that have been expended on thisroyal collection. If these had resulted in things that were either usefulor ornamental, the merit might have been granted; but neither the one northe other has been the consequence of an expense equal to that of thenational debt. The best exception to this general censure is—“theCourtof the Great Mogul,” representing the EmperorAurengzebe upon histhrone, surrounded by his guards and courtiers, in appropriate costumes,according to the description of Tavernier. There are 132 figures, all ofpure enamelled gold, which costDinlinger eight years’ labour, and theSaxon treasury eighty-five thousand dollars! This is decidedly the mostelaborate and meritorious work in the Green Vaults; but is it more so thanthat which was proposed byDinocrates—the carving of MountAthosinto a statue representing Alexander? I think the latter was the morenoble of the two. The Macedonian project would have given occupationand subsistence to tens of thousands of labourers for half a century—thematerials being barren rock. The Saxon enterprize occupied only one manfor eight years—the material being pure gold, and precious jewels. Butas men, women and children will run after pretty baubles, glittering gewgaws,and rare curiosities—and as a tax of one shilling a head is levied inthe Green Vaults, a tolerable revenue is derived from this royal shew-shop,independent of the constant influx of wealth from the legions oftravellers that ascend and descend the Elbe. It is but justice to acknowledgethat the curators who attend visitors around these costly treasures,are polite and accomplished gentlemen, who speak various languages, andare ever ready to afford the fullest information on every subject. These[264]vaults, the picture-galleries, and armoury, &c. are open every day in theweek to the public.

RUSTKAMMER.

If a tour through the Green Vaults excites reflections on the ingenuitywhich man has evinced in carving inanimate materials into the shapes andforms of various living things, an inspection of the immense armoury here,is calculated to call forth emotions of a very different description! Here wefind the ingenuity of man exerted and tortured in the invention of innumerabledeadly weapons by which his fellow man may be carved into fragments,pierced with wounds, or battered into mummies![90] The Rustkammercertainly leaves the Tower of London at immeasurable distance in the rear,not only for the variety of instruments used in general warfare, but forthose which were employed in tilts, tournaments, and the chase. Here wesee not merely the arms of the feudal ages, but the horses, the knightsthemselves, and all the trappings and accoutrements thereunto belonging.

The prodigious labour and wealth expended on man, horse, armour, andtrappings, excite our astonishment rather than our admiration. The greatvariety of drinking vessels, horns, goblets and cups of all dimensions, andadapted for all depths of potation, would have charmed the heart of theBaron of Bradwardine, and, well nigh eclipsed the “Blessed Bear” ofthat hospitable old Highlander! But what shall we say to the armour ofthose days—for instance, that of Augustus the Second, surnamed theStrong? The French giant, who displayed his powers some years ago, atthe Adelphi theatre, would hardly strut under it, weighing, as it does, morethan two hundred pounds!

It has been observed that—“were Europe thrown back, by the word ofan enchanter, into the middle-ages, Saxony could take the field, with aduly equipped army, sooner than any other power. We cannot easily formany idea of the long practice which have been necessary to enable a manto wear such habiliments with comfort, much more to wield such armswith agility and dexterity. But the young officers of those days worearmour almost as soon as they could walk, and transmigrated regularlyfrom one iron shell into another, more unwieldy than its predecessor, tillthey reached the full stature of knighthood, and played at broad-sword,with the weight of a twelve-pounder on their backs, as lightly as a lady bearsa chaplet of silken flowers on her head in a quadrille.”

The “twelve-pounder” on the back is a pretty considerable bounce, faroutstripping Jonathan’s sea-serpent, since a “twelve-pounder” wouldweigh at least fifteen hundred pounds! But let that pass. No disciplineor early tuition would enable a person of the present day to fight in the[265]armour of the middle-ages. It would require a series of generationstrained in the habits, diet, and manners of those times, to produce a progenycapable of enduring such coats of mail, or wielding such Herculeanweapons as were in use seven hundred years ago. The present age doesnot yield to that of any former period, in heroic deeds or personal courage;but science now supersedes brute force, and the energies of the brainamply compensate for diminution of muscular strength.[91]

As there is but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous—fromsolemn tragedy to laughing farce—so are there only a few paces betweenthe great magazine of toys in the green vaults, and the great magazineof manslaughter in the Rustkammer. From these depôts we turn away,more in pity than in admiration, to repositories of a very different kind—thoseof the peaceful arts, that mingle with, and contribute to, our domesticcomforts and social enjoyments, and which combine elegance with ornament,and utility with beauty. Need I allude to the Saxon porcelaine,celebrated over Europe and the world.

I own that I entertained a secret hope that the number ofother lions inthis city would drivethis particular one out of the memory of my better-half.I had three reasons for this hope or wish:—1st, the saving of expense—2d,of carriage and breakage—3d, of—smuggling! But I had calculatedwithout my host. Just when we had come to the conclusion, thatwe had now seen all the sights, it was suddenly recollected that the best ofall was happily yet in reserve—the porcelaine manufactory! No. You mayas well attempt to drag a lady from Geneva without purchasing trinkets,as from Dresden without buying China. A compact, however, was signed,that we were only to enjoy the luxury of viewing the repository, withoutencumbering our luggage with any of its precious but brittle wares.Nevertheless, it happened that some of the articles were found to be so“dog cheap,” and so pretty withall, that, to leave the Elbe without takingaway some specimens of its renowned manufactures, was considered to bea kind of travelling solecism, if not a porcelaine suicide! It was urged,moreover, that thead valorem duty, at an English Custom-house, wouldbe—next tonothing. I strongly suspect that this prophecy, like manyothers, tended to fulfill itself, and that theduty was, as predicted, next tonothing!

We had been bored, for some days, by the Laquais de Place, to make anexcursion to a place called Tharand, about ten miles from Dresden, a localitywhich was represented as the ne plus ultra of all that is sublime and beautiful[266]in natural scenery—and moreover, that it was visited by every traveller whopassed through Dresden. So we posted off one fine morning, and arrived atthis valley of Rasselas. We found it situated where three narrow and steepdefiles meet at one point, and where the ruins of an old castle, perchedon a sharp promontory, overlook a small village on one side, a watering-placeon the other, and the road to Dresden in front. The locality hasnothing of the sublime, little of the beautiful, and less of the romantic inits composition. It is a picturesque spot, but not worth the trouble ofgoing three miles to see it. The lacquais de place will always endeavourto eke out an additional day’s boar hunting, when lionizing is at an end.

Of the Dresdenese themselves, it is “not my hint to speak.” Theyare like most other people under similar latitudes, institutions, and governments.Like most continental folks, they are fond of sitting in the openair, smoking their pipes and sipping their coffee. And no wonder. Theair of the Bruhl Terrace, raised above the Elbe, and commanding a fineview of the opposite bank, as it stretches away towards Saxon Switzerland,contrasts wonderfully with the stagnant atmosphere and gloomyapartments of their own houses. The demolition of the fortificationsround Dresden has given such lungs to the Saxon metropolis as mustgreatly increase the longevity of its inhabitants—contrary to what is likelyto occur to the “heroes of the barricades,” who will now be barricaded,with a vengeance!

Saxony being a favourite pupil of the “Grande Nation,” the “gloriousdays of July” were rehearsed on the banks of the Elbe, and a representativeconstitution was extorted, without much force, from the king. The conversionof one archon (mon-arch) into three hundred archons elected bythe people, and forming the “tiers etat,” or house of representatives, didnot realize the golden dreams of the country. On the contrary, as theodious task of levying taxes was shifted from the shoulders of the king,who was always economical, to be divided among 300 representatives, thelatter body nearly doubled the taxes, being now mere tools of the court!

However, the Saxons have obtained important privileges, and greatextension of the franchise. Among other valuable rights acquired, by thepeople, is that ofelecting their executioner! This interesting functionaryis considered a kind of gentleman—at least he is an officer of state, whichis next thing to it—and has a house, land, and several perquisites attachedto the office. Among these last is a claim to the bodies of all horses andcattle that die a natural death. This revenue from hoofs, horns, and hides,is said to be very considerable. It would be equally amusing and edifyingto hear the professions and promises of the candidate forheadsman[92] deliveredfrom the hustings, during the canvass. One of the promises ortemptations held out by this “limb of the law”—this “sharp practitioner”—this[267]member of theexecutive—would, doubtless, be that, should any ofhis constituents honour him with their custom, he would be happy toservethem, on the shortest notice, on the most liberal terms, and with the utmostdispatch!

DRESDEN to LEIPZIG.

The steam-engine possesses the all but miraculous power of contractingspace and expanding time. Thus, it compresses the sixty-two miles betweenDresden and Leipzig into fifteen miles—while it enables a threehours’ run by rail to throw off an expansion of ten spare hours to see thegreat emporium of books on the banks of the Estler, which hours wouldotherwise be spent in traversing the most monotonous road that ever manor beast drew their weary limbs along! Corn, corn, nothing but corn, orthe bare stubble from which it was cut, meets the tired eye between thecity of the pallet and the city of the pen. We become as sick, indeed,of wheat and oats, as the unwashed artisan of Birmingham is of the lawsthat confine these oceans of grain to the banks of the Elbe and the Vistula,instead of being diffused through the factories and work-shops ofEngland—to appease the hunger and invigorate the limbs of a dense andmanufacturing population. The rapidity of the train, the clanking of themachinery, the belching of steam, the evolution of smoke, and the scatteringof burning cinders, render the three hours’ journey bearable enough.There is but one long tunnel, (between Dresden and Magdeburg) throughwhich the train runs and roars and spits its fires—while at another place,it leaps clean over the river Elbe! A rail-road in the North of Germanyis quite an oasis in the desert. One hundred and forty miles from Dresdento Magdeburg, with Leipzig in the centre, occupy only seven or eighthours, instead of three or four toilsome days by the snail-post.

LEIPZIG.

Having had a good deal—perhaps too much—to do with books, I hadsome curiosity to see this great mart ofbuckhandlungs—at once thecradle and the grave of literature! The first thing that strikes the strangeris the eternal “buckhandlung” over every second door in the city.The next, is the paucity of carriages—a drowsky or a private vehicle beingrarely visible. The third object is perpetually reminding us, not withoutsighs and groans, of the smooth trottoirs over which we were wont to[268]glide in modern Babylon. Of all the towns through which I have limpedand hobbled in my journey of life, Leipzig bears the palm for maimingand laming the unfortunate visitor, by means of its sharp stones and unevenpavée. I wonder that the seven-leagued and iron-shod boots ofthe students, together with the innumerable tomes ofheavy literature thatare biennially carted through the streets of Leipzig, have not ground offthe angles from the said stones. Yet they have not.

As I was unwilling to do the penance of Peter Pindar’s pilgrim, I directedmy steps to the observatory, and mounted its highest balcony, whenLeipzig and its contiguous battle-field lay stretched beneath me. Theastronomer kindly pointed out the topography of the city and its vicinity,with minute details of the great combat which he himself had witnessed.Leipzig is a curious compound of the modern and the antique—one sidebeing new and the other old. But in every street, bustle and businesswent on, while on every countenance thought and reflection were so visiblypainted that one would suppose the whole of the books that came tothe two fairs were studied by the inhabitants. The demolition of the fortificationshas secured the Leipzigers two things—the presence of healthfulwalks, and the absence of bloody sieges—blessings and curses whichthe Parisians seem neither to desire nor dread. Cities should never beconverted into fortresses. The extent of the works and the number of thepeople are causes of weakness and not strength. A fortress should onlycontain soldiers, who can lay in provisions against long investment, and onwhom, not on citizens, the horrors of war should fall.

I have said that this city is the cradle of literature. No biblio-parturientauthor in Germany would think of being confined, and delivered ofhis bantling of the brain, without the aid of a Leipzig accoucheur.Whether his cerebro-gestation may have lasted nine months, or, as Horacedirects—as many years—

Mr. Brockhaus, or some of his obstetrical brethren in Leipzig, must usherthe “nouveau né” into light.

But I have also said that Leipzig is the grave as well as the cradle ofliterature, or rather of its authors. At every fair there is a number offairies on the look out for every promising birth, which is immediatelykidnapped—wrested from its lawful parents—and sold in distant markets!In other words:—whenever a work of merit, or apparent merit, appears inthe Leipzig fair, it is pounced upon by literary sharks and vultures fromFrankfort, Wirtemburg, and other places, and instantly reprinted for thebenefit of those who have gone to no outlay in brains or money! It is invain that authors and publishers complain. Theformer are told that,although they have pocketed nothing by their long literary toil, they haveearned reputation, which is greatly superior to sordid gold; while the[269]publishers are laughed at for their foolish speculations! Hence it is, thatauthors of the most splendid talents and universal renown, are often forcedto publish by subscription—a mode that would damn, or at least, degradethem in the eyes of a British public. It may be said that—

and that, though authors and booksellers are defrauded, the public aregainers. But private industry is as deserving of protection as private property—andthere can be no doubt that many men of great talent andlearning are discouraged by these piracies, and deterred from embarking inliterary labours. This uncertainty too prevents all liberal outlay on paperand type, both of which are disgracefully bad in Germany.

Leipzig is not without interesting associations and reminiscences. Butsome of the historical are too remote—some too recent—to be dwelt onhere. The poetical are too extravagant—and the literary too mystified formuch notice in this place. Yet we cannot bid adieu to this cradle andgrave of literature, without a passing thought on two of its magnates—Gottschedand Klopstock—theformer, the father of modern Germanlearning—thelatter, the Goliath of the same. Gottsched was born to bea great man—for his stature was such that he abandoned, through puremodesty, his native land, and took refuge in Leipzig, lest he should bepromoted to the rank of a grenadier in the army of Frederick the Great.There he claimed the character of an universal genius, acting, at once, thephilosopher, grammarian, critic and poet. But his body was bigger thanhis brains, and he is now consigned to oblivion—perhaps unjustly so. Hislanguage then (1740-60) was just emerging from barbarism. It was aperiod of transition, and shewed no signs of vigorous life. “He introduceda more cultivated style—attacked pedantic extremes—and exciteduseful controversy.”

Passing over Schlegel, Gellert, and other literary lions of Leipzig, wemust bear in mind that it was from this mart of learning that the greatKlopstock, like a huge gymnatus electricus, caused Europe to vibrate bythe birth of his Messiah. “It roused all Germany from Leipzig to itscircumference; and Bodmer, from the valleys of Switzerland, hailed itsauthor as the morning-star of a new æra.”

RETROSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE TOWER OF THE OBSERVATORY.

He must be a stoic, or something more, who can stand on this time-worntower, without recalling to mind those stupendous events which occurreda quarter of a century ago, around the base of the building. No event,ancient or modern, can at all compare with the battles around Leipzig, inOct. 1814: whether we look to the magnitude of the armies—the discipline,valour, and enthusiasm of the men—the talents and skill of the commanders—orthe momentous object for which they fought. Six crowned heads—three[270]Emperors and three Kings—were present at these terrific conflicts,and witnessed the carnage and havoc amongfive hundred thousandsoldiers engaged for several days and nights in mortal combat!! This wasnot the undisciplined rabble, or the effeminate retinue of an Orientaldespot, crossing the Hellespont in pride and ignorance; but veterans fromevery country between the mountains of Norway and the mouths of theDanube—between the Atlantic on the West and Siberia in the East.These battles were not for mere victory, or to decide some political quarrelbetween two or more states. No. It was for the very existence of sceptres—forthe independence or subjugation of every empire and kingdomin Continental Europe. The struggle was between the oppressor and theoppressed—between Napoleon the aggressor, and the allied Sovereigns, asdefenders of their crowns, hearths, and altars. The one army had thedisgrace of a hundred defeats to obliterate and avenge—the other thelaurels of a hundred victories to preserve and sustain. The French foughtfor the glory of their country, or rather of their Emperor, and the conquestof Europe—the Allies, for the liberation of their soil from thraldom, andthe repulsion, if not the deposition, of a tyrant invader.

Such a prodigious accumulation and concentration of martial hosts,—excited,agitated, and impelled by the fiercer passions of our nature—byambition, hatred, and revenge—portended the approach of some greatcrisis in the affairs of the world. The feeling on both sides was, evidently,“aut Cæsar aut nullus.” The grand crisis was indeed at hand. ThebenignantStar of Peace and Justice was about to rise, in splendour, fromthe East;—while the malignantMeteor of War, that had scattered, fortwenty years, plague, pestilence and famine over a groaning world, wasabout to descend from its bad eminence, and be extinguished for ever inthe Atlantic surge.

Napoleon, with all his strength of mind, was superstitious; havingsome peculiar notions about fate, and destiny, and stars and fortune—asthough these imaginary beings had any power to control the laws of Nature,or interfere between cause and effect, whether in the moral orphysical world.

It is not improbable that, when, in the night of the 15th October,Napoleon saw three “death-rockets” rise from the southern horizon,streaming their pale but brilliant light high through the Heavens—and,when, immediately afterwards, he beheld four blood-red meteors springingup far far to the northward, indicating too plainly that the signal from thegrand Austro-Russian army in the South was answered by the Swedo-Prussianin the North, his moral courage may have experienced a momentarydepression, and his superstition an alarm! There was little time,however, for reflection. Action, action was soon required. At the dawnof day the Austro-Russian army attacked the whole southern front of theFrench position with great fury but no success. Six desperate attempts[271]were reiterated, one after the other—but all failed! This was discouragingenough—worse remained behind. The moment of exhaustion amongthe allied troops was seized upon by Napoleon, who, by one gigantic effort,pierced and penetrated the very centre of the allied line, while Murat,Maubourg, and Kellerman, dashed through the gap with the whole of thecavalry! At this moment of frightful peril, when the torrent of Frenchtroops was pouring through the fatal breach with irresistible impetuosity,shouting and exulting in the successful exploit,Alexander called to hisfaithful Cossack guards, and pointing to the column of French cavalry thatwas thundering forward in the rear of the allies, addressed a few, and buta few words to them—probably not dissimilar from those of our own poet,at another terrific combat—

The valorous Pulk right well fulfilled the emperor’s order. The “furiousHuns” sprang, like tigers, on the “fiery Franks,” and not only chargedand checked the headlong torrent, but rolled back the dense mass ofcavalry at the point of their spears, with destructive carnage, through theopening by which it had penetrated the Austro-Russian line. Thus, atthe moment when all appeared lost for the allies, a handful of semi-savagesfrom the banks of the Don overwhelmed the finest body of French horsethat ever paraded on the banks of the Seine—and that with the King ofNaples at its head!

After this rebuff, the fickle goddess forsook her favourite child! Theassailing armies hemmed in, closer and closer, the contracting circles ofNapoleon’s troops, and after days of ineffectual struggles to revive a sinkingcause, the hero of a hundred victories was obliged to sue for an armistice!No answer being returned, the mortified emperor prepared forretreat. But even here Fortune turned her back on him. The Saxontroops threw off their allegiance, and even fired on their former companionsin arms, while endeavouring to extricate themselves from the western gateof Leipzig! The only bridge, too, by which they could escape, was blownup by mistake, while twenty-five thousand Frenchmen were left prisonerson the other side! Napoleon with difficulty reached the western bank ofthe Estler—Poniatouski was drowned in that muddy ditch—and a merewreck of the Gallic army reached the Rhine. From that day, the star ofNapoleon descended till its light was quenched for ever in the westernwave! Of all the auxiliaries and mercenaries which various passions,propensities, necessities, or interests had attracted round the standard ofthe victorious emperor,one only remained true to its trust in the memorableretreat from Leipzig! Italians, Bavarians, Saxons, Swedes—

[272]

It may not require any great fortitude to meet the scowl or scorn ofour enemy, whether conqueror or conquered; but he must have nerves ofiron who can look in the face offriend betrayed. The sight of the gallantand deceived Poles, bearing nobly the hardships and miseries of a disastrousflight, might have wrung tears of remorse from Napoleon’s eyes. But hehad no heart. Egotism was the nutriment on which even his ambitionfed. What said he, when viewing the wretched remains of his army whenit halted at Erfurt, on the 23d of October? “They are a set of scoundrels,who are going to the devil.” Retributive justice ordained thathe himselfshould not be far behind them!

The Tower of the Observatory stands close to the Estler and the sceneof the dreadful evacuation of the town, the death of Poniatouski, and theblowing up of the bridge. It also commands a view of most of the theatresof operations during the successive battles, besides an excellent bird’s-eyeview of the town itself. No one should fail to visit this spot, and recallthe mighty events which occurred around it.

MAGDEBURG to HAMBURG.

A good railroad whisks us along, through monotonous corn-fields, fromLeipzig to Magdeburg, in three or four hours. This is the strongest fortification(always excepting Kœnigstein) on the Elbe—and contains morethan fifty-thousand people, garrison and all. It is, or ratherwas, inSaxony; but, thanks to the auspices of Napoleon, in favour of his pet ofDresden, it is now Prussian, and likely to be long so. It is of immenseextent, and would require thirty or forty thousand men to defend it—consequentlydouble that number to invest it. As all great virtues are assailedby virulent abuse, so all strong cities are honoured with long sieges. Thehistory of Magdeburg should be printed and posted on the gates of Paris.It has had its ups and downs in its day. It was besieged many a time,and sometimes taken. Although it repulsed the famous Count Wallenstein,in the thirty years’ war, it fell, after two years’ siege, before the magnanimousTilley (1631), who sacked the city; but in his humanity, spared thewhole of the inhabitants—exceptthirty thousand, whom he massacred,without distinction of age or sex!! These are among the “splendidmiseries” to which fortified towns and cities have been entitled, time immemorial—fromthe days of Alexander andTitus, to those of Napoleonand Wellington—from the sacred heights of Solyma, to the sandy plainsof Haerlem! This doubtful glory—this dangerous pre-eminence, appearsto be the height of a great people’s ambition—though it is probable thata nation’s strength has more in its moral courage and physical energies,than in dead walls and deep ditches.

[273]

A steamer starts at five o’clock every morning from Magdeburg toHamburg, and when the Elbe is not very low, the passage may be performedin one day. But fortunately, or unfortunately, we had not had a wet day, orhardly a cloud in the sky, from the day we left London, till our return to thatmetropolis, and therefore the river was so shallow, that we were forty-eighthours on the voyage. There never was a vessel that had a greater partialityfor the ground than ours—and when once her keel and the sand came incontact, it was as difficult to separate them as to disengage two furiousmastiffs joined in mortal combat. Our captain, too, had a singular methodof loosening his vessel from her hold on the shoal. Instead of carryingout an anchor astern, and dragging her off in that direction, as we dragdogs from one another by their tails, he invariably took the anchor outa-head, and after prizing the vessel as far forward on the bank as possible,he then tried the retrogressive plan, and, of course, succeeded, though sometimesafter two or three hours’ delay. At length we came to a dead stop—forthere was not three feet water in any part of the river; so we wereobliged to shift into another steamer, “below bar” and jogged along, asabove the barrier, but more of our time passed aground than afloat.However, we had a very pleasant society on board—people from variouscountries—very good table-d’hôte—but, as the weather was fine, and theberths close and crowded, I picked out the softest plank I could find ondeck, and slept in the open air, during our descent of the Elbe. There islittle or no improvement of the scenery between Dresden and the mouthof the river. The Elbe pays a heavy fine in the shape of monotony forits short but romantic route through Saxon Switzerland!

HAMBURG.

From the muddy wharves and quays, we scramble up through steepstreets, every second house having an inscription, or rather an advertisementin English on its walls or over the door Of the Babel tongues thatsalute the ear in every part of this city, the English seems to hold the nextrank to German and Dutch. Whether it was from the lowness of theElbe, and the long drought, I know not, but the canals that penetrate farup several of the streets, appeared abominably filthy and malodorous.Three-fourths indeed of their bottoms were bare of water, and only exhibitedreeking mud, well impregnated with all kinds of animal and vegetabledebris, and admirably calculated to spread pestilential disordersthrough the city.

At length we got to what might be termed “the West End,” though itis here the North or North-East quarter, and the scene is entirely changed.We find ourselves, all at once, on the borders of a spacious lake, which isnarrowed in the middle, and spanned there by a bridge, exhibiting on itssurface numerous pleasure-boats, and on its banks a succession of handsome[274]buildings. Shaded walks and terraces are constructed along the shores,so that these lakes (for they may be considered as two formed by a bridge)really present a most refreshing picture to the eye in Summer, and furnisha magnificent skating-plain in Winter. The levelled fortifications are nowconverted into superb and extensive promenades, gardens, and shrubberies,exhibiting a pleasing contrast to the endless batteries, fosses, and bastionsof Magdeburg and other fortified towns. No city or town on the Continent,that I have seen, presents anything like thebustle ofbusiness thatis going forward in every street of Hamburg. Leipzig is nothing to it,since it wants all the elements and materiel of maritime commerce. Thegreat hotels face the lake (which, by the bye, is a monstrous dam formedby a dribbling stream, the Alster) and theSalles-a-Manger there, shew usthat we are almost clean out of Germany, and nearly in the heart of oldEngland. The table-d’hôte is at four o’clock, where good substantialjoints and dishes dance merrily round the table, and are eagerly demolishedby stomachs sharply whetted on the exchange, the bureaus, warehouses,and shops of this most singular entrepôt of European merchandize; TheHamburghers and Leipzigers appear to belong to the class of ruminatinganimals, who flock to the table-d’hôte for the purpose of swallowing, orrather bolting their dinners, dispensing entirely with the process of mastication,and leaving the triple functions of rumination, digestion, and calculationto go on simultaneously, not successively, by which many hoursof valuable time are daily gained for the dispatch of business. I will notmaintain that this bolting system, followed by the hard labour of two importantorgans, the head and the stomach, at one and the same time, isequally as well calculated for the preservation of health as for the accumulationof wealth; but probably it is not more insalubrious than theennui, the inertion, the eternal pipe, and the poisonous dishes of the noncommercialGermans in general.

It is upon the same principle of economy of time, and division of labour,that the Hamburghers hire professed mourners to weep and wail over theirdeceased relatives. By this ingenious procedure the business of the livingis not interrupted by the departure of the dead—perhaps not even on—

When the Hamburghers levelled their fortifications to the ground, theytook care to leave certain portals or barriers standing, by which they mightbe enabled to levy contributions on—“the stranger within their gates,”as well as on those who are outside. The nocturnal tax on ingress andegress increases with every hour after sunset, and the bustle and confusionoccasioned by the embarkations and debarkations of steam-travellers withtheir luggage, baffle all description. The drowskies and their cads,the porters and their wads, the janitors, the police, and the watermen—all[275]jumbled in the darkness of the night about the water-gate of the city—allvociferating in the most discordant jargon; but all united in the strictestharmony of action, as to one operation—the patriotic endeavour to emptythe passengers’ purses of every stray mark that might be encumbering theirpockets—such a scene is not easily delineated, nor will it be forgotten!

A good steamer, fair weather, and a pleasant company, rendered a forty-eighthours’ run to modern Babylon an agreeable variety in the chequeredscenes of a long tour.

[276]

CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS
OF
GERMANY AND THE GERMANS.

Having now brought my various perambulations (at various times) throughGermany to a close, it might be thought possible that a traveller could formsome definite idea—or draw some distinctive character of the people themselves.This is more easy in theory than in practice. If an intelligent Japanesewere conveyed through the air to Connaught or Kerry, and dropped therefor a month, to observe the manners, habits, and character of the inhabitants:—ifhe were thence deposited in Yorkshire, for an equal time—thenamong the mountains of Wales—and finally in the Highlands of Scotland:and if, after all this, “he returned to the place from whence he came,” andwas asked for some characteristic sketch of the British nation, he wouldbe not a little puzzled. In the first place, he would assert that he hadvisited four nations, differing as much from each other as the shamrockdiffers from the rose, or the thistle from the leek. They differed in appearance,language, dress, manners, diet, drink, avocations—soil—climate—and,for aught he knew, in religious creeds. If pressed for some one characteristiccommon to all, he might be tempted to reply that the only onething in which they all agreed was—to eat potatoes. However varied werethe other component parts of their food, they allate potatoes. Now if,within the narrow boundary of the British Isles, we find such diversityamong their inhabitants, what may we expect in that huge democracy ofautocracies that stretches from the Baltic to the Adriatic—from the banksof the Rhine to the confines of the Russ—which extends over a surfaceof fifty thousand square miles—bears a population of 38 millions of souls—and,what is still more remarkable, sustains a weight of 38 sovereignties,of all shapes and sizes, from Imperial Austria, of 12,000 square miles,down to the principality of Lichtenstein, covering the enormous area of[277]ten or eleven! Throughout these vast and varied territories, there is diffusedall the varieties of physical organization, moral temperament, andintellectual capacity, characteristic of the great European family. Andyet there is a certain degree of family likeness in these 38 sovereignties,that can hardly be mistaken.

1.Physiognomy.—The large head, the square face, the blue eyes, thehonest countenance, the solemn gait, the modest mein, and the punctiliousmanners of the German, are everywhere conspicuous.

2.The Language.—This, it must be confessed, is grating enough to theear; but it is far more disagreeable to the eye! When will Germanydiscard that barbarous, or at least Gothic system of hieroglyphics, by whichbad paper is disfigured by worse type! There is something so singular,not to say startling, in the German language, that if a mummy who hadslept in one of the Pyramids since the days of Sesostris were to awakeamong a mixed company of antiquarian unrollers, the German tonguewould surely be the first to tickle its withered ears.

3.Ideology.—The Germans are great dreamers—magnificent dreamers.The Italian may imagine, the Frenchmen invent, the Spaniard may ruminate,and the Dutchman may calculate; but it is the German who candream while wide awake. A German will dream you a dream, as long(to use a nautical phrase) as the main-top-bow-line; or rather as an epicpoem, and as full of reality as the latter.

4. If the four British races were unanimous only in one thing—theeating of potatoes;—the 38 sovereignties beat them in this respect. Allranks and classes smoke tobacco—and both sexes devour sour-krout, grease,and vinegar.

5. ThePatience of the German is proverbial. He is patient in politics,affliction, adversity—and, what is still more commendable, inprosperity.Hence he wins and loses at the gaming-table with more equanimity thanany other man.

6. InReligion, Germany presents nearly as many creeds as principalities.These, however, shoot forth from the Reformed Church. Popery istoo poor a soil for the growth of “heresies and schisms.” It will not beara plurality of faiths. If Catholicism be not the true belief, we must admitthat Catholics are the true believers. Of all the deviations from theProtestant Church in Germany,Rationalism andScepticism are the most[278]prominent and dangerous. Speaking of the latter, Dr. Hawkins observes:—“Wemust anticipate, however reluctantly, that, not only in Germany,but in some other parts of Europe, the heaviest calamity impending overthe whole fabric of society is the lengthening stride of bold Scepticism.”And, after describing the tenets of theRationists, the same authorityremarks:—“They consequently disclose to us the frightful fact, that allthe essential doctrines of Christianity are unreservedly rejected.” A questionmight here be asked: is this widespreading state of no belief—of noreligion—preferable to Catholicism, mixed up with a few superstitions anderrors?

We hear constant complaints that Popery is on the increase. How canit be otherwise? Where and when wasunion not a source of strength,anddivision of weakness? The ProtestantHigh Church is like a brilliantmeteor shooting through the air in splendour and brightness; butconstantly detaching from its own body some vital elements of its ownexistence. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, is like a snow-ballrolling along the ground, with apparent humility, a dense and cohesivemass, alike tenacious of that which it possesses, and attractive of thatwhich falls in its way.[93]

7.Affability.—I have before remarked, and it is remarked by all travellers,that, in no part of Europe or the world, are affability, amenity, andsuavity of manners, in social intercourse, more conspicuous among allclasses, orders, genera, and species of society, than in Germany; or a morecomplete absence of all prominent or repulsive distinction of ranks. Iendeavoured to account for this by education, habit, and example. Butthere is one other cause adduced by Dr. Hawkins, which I overlooked—thenumerous sovereignties and states into which Germany is divided, the veryinter-collisions of which tend to preserve a smoother surface, and a greaterequilibrium of urbanity, than under one great monarchy, or even republic.I shall attempt to illustrate this moral phenomenon by a physical one. Letus take two small and tranquil lakes, one to represent England, and theother Germany. Let a large stone be dropped into the centre of theformer, and we shall quickly observe a series of waves or undulations,rolling in excentric circles to the remotest edges of the water, in everydirection—all parallel, all close to each other, but never touching or mingling.This exactly represents the gradations of rank, classes, professions, and[279]avocations in England. They diverge from the central monarchy inparallel lines down to the peasant—always in close approximation; butnever touching or amalgamating.

Into the other lake, let 38 stones, of various shapes and sizes (correspondingwith the 38 sovereignties) be precipitated in as many differentparts of the glassy mirror. What shall we see? Not the series of distinctwaves rolling from centre to circumference—but a chequered surface whereone undulation is broken, crossed, or neutralized by another, and wherelarge or definite circles of waves are nowhere perceptible. The applicationof this simile to German society requires no explanation.

8.Education.—It is acknowledged that, in no other country is educationso cheaply and amply provided as in Germany. It is remarked byDr. Hawkins, that theresults of education in Germany and in England,are very different. In theformer, the student is almost entirely engrossedby the physical and practical sciences—whilst the English one is verymuch occupied with theology, morality, classics, poetry, and rhetoric.“Yet in the end, the Englishman becomes most practical, and the Germanthe most theoretical and sentimental.” With all due deference to Dr.Hawkins, I doubt or rather deny the fact, that the practicaleducation ofthe German renders him theoretical: or that the theoreticaleducation ofthe Englishman makes him practical. Will Dr. H. maintain that a goodeducation in the physical and practical sciences would convert an Englishmaninto a theorist or sentimentalist? No, it would not. It is not theeducation, but the different circumstances in which the two people areplaced, after leaving the schools, that produce the contrast noticed byDr. Hawkins. A complaint is made that this facility of education leadsto surplus candidates for professional honours; and the German governmentsendeavour to divert the aspirants into other channels than the learnedprofessions. But where is therenot this surplus? In England, whereeducation is expensive enough, the ranks of the church, bar, and medicine,are crowded to suffocation. Two causes of this operate in Germany.The cheapness of education—and the cheapness of living afterwards.—Twoor three in England—the redundancy of population, and the choakingup of the war-channels, those waste-pipes and safety-valves of society.To these may be added the restless ambition of the shopocracy to pushsome of their sons into the carriage from behind the counter.

A considerable portion of the English consider that education (amongthe lower classes) without a particular creed, is worse than no educationat all. The real, though not the acknowledged meaning of this is, thateducation, or knowledge, is, in the abstract, orper se, an evil rather than agood. It would be much better to openly and candidly maintain this doctrineat once, than mystify it under the term “religious instruction,” thatis, instruction combined with aparticular creed. An ingenious casuist[280]might easily shew—perhaps prove—the truth of the anti-education doctrine.Beginning with the Garden of Eden, he might quote Scripturethat knowledge first

And descending along the stream of time, he might adduce proofs that, inexact proportion as nations advanced in knowledge, they became discontented,refractory, immoral, and irreligious. But though it is maintainedby the High Church party in England, that a particular creed, withoutknowledge, is preferable to knowledge without a particular creed; yet itis confessed that thelatter is not always an infallible corrector of the evilinherent in learning. We too often find sin and science in those academicbowers where the thirty-nine Articles are regularly inculcated, and implicitlybelieved.

Be this as it may, in Germany, reading, writing, and arithmetic—Greek,Latin, and mathematics—astronomy, geography, and navigation—anatomy,physic, and surgery, &c. &c. are taught in public seminaries without referenceto any other creed than that of the general truth of Christianity ascontained in the New Testament.

Some few particulars of the system of education in Prussia, may not beuninteresting.

Every department has a board of education, which employs school-inspectors,residing in the chief towns. Every circle and parish has also itsschool-board—and every school its proper inspectors. The clergyman ofthe parish is,ex officio, one of the inspectors. The whole system is underthe cognizance and control of the Minister ofPublic Instruction, assistedby a Council. The seminaries are divided into—1. Elementary orPrimary Schools—2, Burgher, or Middle Schools—3, Universities.

Parents unable to prove that they can give their children a competenteducation at home, are compelled to send them to school at the age of fiveyears. Masters are obliged to give their servants and apprentices a suitableeducation between the seventh and fourteenth year. No child canbe removed from the school till examined by the inspectors. Poor parentsare furnished with the means of sending their children to school. Theschools are supported by endowments—tax upon property—and contributionsfrom the affluent. The schools are built in healthy places, with playgrounds,gymnasiums, &c. “The first law of every school is to train upthe young so as to implant in their minds a knowledge of the relation ofman to God—and to excite them to govern their lives according to thespirit and precepts of Christianity.” The daily occupations begin and endwith a short prayer and some pious reflections. The New Testament shallbe given to those who can read. The more advanced scholars shall havethe Bible. “This book shall also be used for the religious instruction inall the classes of gymnasiums (or middle schools.)” “Clergymen are to[281]seize every opportunity, whether at church or on visits of inspection, ofreminding teachers of their high and holy mission, and the scholars of theirduty towards the public instructors.” There are numerous “normalschools” for training up schoolmasters. Of all the children in Prussia,between the age of seven and fourteen years, it is calculated that thirteenout of every fifteen, are educated in the national schools.

9.Learning.—That depth of erudition should be a necessary sequenceof cheap education may admit of question, or, at least of cavil; but onething is certain, that, whether as apost hoc, or apropter hoc, this articleis more abundant in Germany than in any other country. Germany is, infact, the great European granary of learning—a granary sadly infestedwith rats and mice from poorer soils—whole shoals of these vermin beingseen crossing the Rhine annually, with all the voracity evinced by theirforefathers, when in pursuit of the Bishop of Maintz!

But Germany is also a vastminery, where thousands are digging in thedark, during the best years of their lives, extracting the most precious literarylore from the masses of rubbish in which it lies concealed. Aroundthe mouths of these mines are always hovering certain birds of prey, ofpassage, and of furtive propensities, which, under cover of the night, commitdepredations on the shining ore that is rescued from its grave by thelaborious miner. Among these are the literary cormorant, the gull, thedaw, and the magpie, who no sooner getcrammed with the German spoils,than they fly off to their roosts and nests to exhibit them as the legitimateproduce of their own industry. I have known more than one, two, orthree of these daws who, having plumed themselves in German feathers,strutted as proudly as if their habiliments had been of genuine indigenousgrowth!

The German seems to court, and to cultivatelearning for the sake ofitself, rather than of its attendant advantages. He climbs the rugged steepsof science—wanders over the flowery fields of literature—or explores thedark and mysterious labyrinths of metaphysics—with little hope, and lessprospect of reaping more than empty fame,—and that too often posthumous!Yet the German is as modest in the profession, as he is industriousin the pursuit of knowledge. In his patient researches, he is hardly everled aside to the right or to the left, by ambition, vanity, or avarice. Truthis his object—accuracy, impartiality, and laborious research, are the channelsthrough which he reaches it. Not that he is insensible to honours ofall kinds. On the contrary, like the whole of his countrymen, a ribbon,a cross, or a star, is to him not only a symbol of distinction but an objectof worship.

The German illuminati, whether literary, philosophic, or scientific, immersedin their libraries and laboratories, far removed from the excitementof politics, commerce, arts, or manufactures, not seldom lean to the speculative,[282]rather than to the practical—to the mysterious, rather than to theobvious.—Hence the transcendental dreams and extravagant experiments,which daily rise, like meteors, from this land of ideality and metaphysics,soon to dissolve in air—thin air. Yet these eccentricities are not attributableto peculiarity of education, or idiosyncrasy of constitution; butto those extrinsic circumstances in which the German is placed.

10.The Press.—The freedom with which this powerful engine iswielded in the different states of Germany, varies very much. BetweenVienna and Leipzig-liberty of the press, there is nearly as much differenceas between Negro freedom in Virginia and London. But the censorshipexists everywhere. The manuscript of volume, magazine, or newspapermust first undergo the revisal of the phlegmatic and inexorableCensor,who strikes out or alters every passage or paragraph which has any tendencyto exercise the imagination, excite the feelings, or appeal to thepassions. This at least, is the policy of Austria. Now it would requirebut little ingenuity to prove—or at least, persuade, that this is the veryne plus ultra of good government. What engines are so potent in theorigination and propagation of evil as imagination, feeling, passion? Howpraiseworthy is it in the Austrian Emperor to stifle and suppress all combustiblematerials of this kind!—How beneficial would the Censorshipprove in England! Take, for instance, the subject oflibel—so well calculatedto introduce all kinds of hatred and ill-will amongst Britons. TheAge or theSatirist might, without the possibility ofprevention, assertthat “theQueen was—anything but a gentlewoman:”—and that “theChancellor of the Exchequer was latelydetected in picking the pocket of oneof his neighbours on the treasury bench!!” Now if such paragraphs camebefore an Austrian Censor, that redoubtableofficial would either erasethem entirely and cite the audacious editor before one of the tribunals, orsubstitute something like the following:—“From all parts of the countrycongratulatory addresses are pouring in upon herMajesty, in consequenceof the recent happy event.” And in respect to the allegedpick-pocket,it would probably run thus:—“The recent financial measure of the Chancellorof the Exchequer (the imposition of a tax on rent-gatherers), hasgiven universal satisfaction to all classes of the community—with the exception,perhaps, of Daniel O’Connel, M.P., who opposed the measure sostoutly in parliament.”

But theprevention of all sources of excitement and irritation amongstthe community, so much preferable to thepunishment of them afterwards,would not be the only advantage of a shackled, that is, a censoredpress.The great majority of writers, who, being defective in imagination, feeling,and passion—in other words, ofgenius—are now consigned to oblivion,would, under the paternal Austrian system, spring up in myriads, andgreatly tend to render the Plumbean rule of authority a veritable wand of[283]Mercury, soothing the great mass of society into soporific torpor, andsilencing effectually those turbulent spirits of the age, who stir up men’sminds to mischief! Away then with those hot-headed enthusiasts whoprefer a “libertas periculosa” to the Austro-patriarchal system of“servitudo quieta,” where the fiat of the sovereign is the fate of thesubject!!

Then think of the incalculable benefit that would accrue to society fromthe suppression of those myriads of critical and political reviewers, trimestral,mestral, hebdomadal, and diurnal, who batten and fatten on the vitalsof authors, scattering their quivering members to the winds, or flingingthem about, like firebrands, to inflame the passions of the community! Infine, tillprinces muzzle the press, there will be no millennium betweenthem and theirpeople.

11.Domestic Manners.—A treatise on thedomestic manners of theFrench and Germans, is like an essay on the rail-roads of the Alps in thedays of Hannibal—or steam-navigation in the voyage of Nearchus—orthe mariner’s compass in the Periplus of Hanno. Let us hear the testimonyof one who resided long in Germany, and was intimate with theirhabits and language.

“The Germans are not so domestic as the English, yet perhaps more sothan the French. The taste of themiddle and lower classes carries themnecessarily to public gardens, coffee-houses, the table-d’hôte, and thetheatre. A large portion of the male population dine daily at the table-d’hôte,and here a considerable portion of their time is dissipated. Thehigher orders, in addition to the theatre, derive one of their chief gratificationsfrom a Summer visit to some of the mineral springs; and herethey live all together in a family manner—entire families at these bathedine and sup, and even breakfast in public.”—Bisset Hawkins.

It is really no paradox, therefore, to say that an insight intodomesticmanners in Germany, will be best acquired inpublic—where all classes,high, middle, and lower orders “live and move and have their being!”

12.Women.—Perhaps in no country of Europe (as indeed the precedingsection would indicate) are the barriers around female honour more feeblyraised, or less vigilantly guarded;—yet in no country is female virtue morefree from stain. “Here the temperament of woman is cast in a happymould. Gentle, kind, unambitious, unaffected, she is less intent uponadorning herself, than in administering to the happiness of those aroundher. She is fenced round with few artificial restraints; and, in society,she often meets with too much laxity of opinion and usage. Her full andconfiding heart requires a helpmate on whom to lean through life. Thissupport granted to her, she generally exhibits all the domestic virtues intheir vernal bloom.”

[284]

To this it has been objected that, the number of children born out ofwedlock in Germany, is infinitely greater than in England. Thus, in thegreat city of Prague, more than a third of the children born annually areillegitimate. But mistresses may be virtuous without being married—andthey may be married without being virtuous. In many countries marriageis only a civil, and not a religious rite. The neglect of that ceremony,therefore,in such countries, involves neither sin, nor crime, nor disgrace.The slenderliaison of affection is often stronger and more durable than themassive chains of matrimony. The frequency of theseliaisons, therefore,is to be attributed to the influence of public sentiment, rather than to depravityof the female heart. The facilities, indeed, of effecting divorce inmany Protestant States of Germany render the tie of marriage little morethan a nominal bond that can be conveniently cancelled, when passionscool, tempers clash, or interests predominate!

13.Morality.—Although there can scarcely be genuinereligion withoutmorality; yet there may be great display ofmorality without religion.Germany affords a proof and illustration. In no other country is thereless ofreligion—in none is there less ofcrime. The apparent paradoxis easily solved. Crime is punishable by the laws of man, in this world;—irreligionis punishable by the laws of God, in another. In a countrywhere little or no religion prevails, and consequently where there is littleor no belief in future rewards and punishments, it may readily be supposedthat the fear of the magistrate is much more efficient than the fear of theLord.

14.Socialism.—Smoking is not so sociable an affair in Faderland as insome other countries. In this respect, indulgence in tobacco presents agreat contrast to that in tea. If you visit a cigar divan in London, or anestaminet in Paris, you will find “the flow of soul,” if not the “feast ofreason,” in conjunction with the fumes of the “cursed weed.” Not sobeyond the Rhine. The German shrinks within the cloudy atmosphere ofhis pipe, like a snail within its shell, and there remains imperturbable,immoveable, and insensible to the external world. Meanwhile the soulretires to some remote nook or corner of the brain—probably the pinealgland—and there taking its metaphysical siesta, dreams of all imaginableand unimaginable things! This appears to be the real explanation of theidealism, mysticism, and transcendentalism of the German character.

15.Time.—By half the world or more—by all who have much to do,whether by the head, the hands, or the feet—time is regarded next tohealth, as the most valuable article: by the other half—or a large portionof it—time is looked upon as little better than a drug, and readily barteredaway for the merest trifles!—Nay, it is often voted to be a greatbore, and[285]a thousand ways and means are invented to kill the bore. In Germanytime is not over-rated, on the one hand, nor despised or hated, on the other.All Germans have something to do (for who is without his pipe), and fewhave very much work on hand. The German, therefore, takes everythingleisurely and coolly—never permitting himself to be hurried or flurried—evenby the sound of the dinner-bell, or the march to the table-d’hôte. Itis seldom of any use to bribe the waiter or the postillion to increased velocity.The cook and the horses not being participators of thedouceur, arenot at all inclined to assist in the completion of the implied contract betweenthe other parties. The German never attempts to “kill time,”well knowing that in such a conflict the enemy must be ultimately victorious.But he daily and hourly offers him anarcotic, by which his scythemay be blunted, and his ravages obscured.

Of all the mythological divinities,Time is most familiar to us, throughthe medium of his works:—for he himself is invisible, inaudible, intangible.Time is cloathed, on one side, with flesh and blood:—the other is a nakedskeleton. In his right hand he holds a wand, by which he calls into existence,every instant, countless myriads of beings throughout the animaland vegetable world—leading them forward to maturity and age. Hisskeleton hand is clenched on a crooked falchion, with which he smites,destroys, and annihilates everything which he had previously created—thusrealizing the fabled monster that eternally devours its own progeny![94] Itis a melancholy spectacle—but it could not have been otherwise! It ispossible that the Almighty could have created a single pair immortal—butthe power of multiplying could not have been conferred without the penaltyof death!

Tyrannical, inexorable, and pitiless, as he is, yetTime is not withoutsome redeeming qualities. 1mo. He is strictlyimpartial. He slackensnot his pace at the command of the monarch—he hurries not his stepsat the prayer of the slave. 2do.Time mitigates everymoral ill that isunattended with culpability or remorse: and although he too often aggravatesphysical maladies, yet he invariably diminishes our sensibility topain, and thus tends to reconcile us to our lot of suffering. 3tio. He issure to remove from the sphere of their operations all tyrants, oppressors, andevil-doers; thus giving the world a chance of better successors. 4to.Timeis a great enemy to personal beauty, of feature or form—apparently deemingsuch qualities to be dangerous accompaniments to length of years. On theother hand, he is more favourable to virtue, honour, morality, andreligion,of whichtimealone never deprives the individual till the curtain falls.

Ontime past, hallowed in memory and mellowed by distance, we look[286]back as on an old and valued friend, whom we did not sufficiently appreciatewhile living, but who is now lost to us for ever.

Time present we too often contemplate through the haze of prejudice,passion, or impatience; underrating his value, overlooking his flight, andneglecting the advantages which he offers, till, all at once, we find thattime present has changed intotime past, and vanished from our grasp!

Time to come—is that fairy-land of promise—of air-built castles—ofhopes that are seldom to be realized, of fears that are generally exaggerated—ofphantoms, good and evil, conjured up by imagination on thedim horizon of our mental vision, which dissolve as we approach, or fly aswe follow!! Yet these phantoms of futurity form the solace and themisery of half the world!

16.Titles, Decorations, &c.—From the savage, with the ring in his nose—theserjeant, with the tassel on his shoulder—the prince, with the staron his breast—up to the monarch, with the diadem on his brow—all andevery of the human race, are nearly insatiable in the pursuit of honours,titles, distinctions, or decorations. I do not presume to determine whatnation or people mostdesire these pomps and vanities; but I think it willbe allowed that the Germans are not behind their neighbours in thedisplayof them. The French may dispute the palm on this point; but I doubtwhether they will gain the victory.John Bull appears to be theleast ostentatious of the European family, often pocketing his stars andgarters, when travelling, by which he saves in money what he loses ineclat.

After all, this weakness of the German and Frenchman is very pardonable.Those who havefairly earned honours are under no obligation toconceal them; and those who have not done so, are not called upon toproclaim the secret—especially as so many of their friends and neighboursare always ready to kindly perform that office gratuitously.

17.Aerophobia.—From one end of Germany to the other, among allages, ranks, and professions, anAEROPHOBIA, or dread of fresh air, universallyprevails! If you take a seat in the diligence or eilwagen, yourGerman neighbour in the corner closes the windows immediately, lest abreath of pure air should enter the vehicle. On arriving at the hotel,half poisoned by the disoxygenated atmosphere of the coach, and enteryour chamber, you find all the windows securely fastened, and the air ofthe apartment a mass of heavy mephitic vapour, like that which issues froma long unopened tomb. If you descend to the spies-saal, where the air isstill farther vitiated by the fumes of tobacco, and throw open a window,you are stared at by the ober-kellner, the under-kellner, and every “gast”in the “haus,” as a person deranged. I had long puzzled my brains toaccount for this aerophobic phenomenon, and, at last, traced its cause to[287]theGerman stove—that black brewery of mephitism, which, bearing amortal antipathy to the fresh air of Heaven, imbues every one who sitsnear it with the same prejudice. In fine, the German exhibits as great ahorror of oxygen, as he does a mania for azote!

And what is the consequence of this?—Why, that the Germans are tentimes more susceptible of colds, rheumatism, face-aches, and tooth-aches,than the English, who live in a far more variable, wet, and ungenial climate.This aerophobia is one of the causes too, of that sallow, unhealthyaspect which all Germans, who are not forced to be much in the open air,exhibit. It is no wonder that they swarm like locusts round their numberlessspas, in the Summer, to wash away some of those peccant humoursengendered by their diet, and fermented by their stoves.

18.Female Peasantry.—Among a barbarous people, we always find thatthe weaker sex have the harder work. It is not very flattering nor yetcreditable to the pride of civilization, that in many parts of Europe, andeven in Germany, the female peasant is little more than a beast of burthen,with worse food and more care than the ox or the horse. Wherever wesee three persons employed in agricultural labour, two of them are sure tobe women. They cut the corn, and thrash out the grain—dig the potatoes,and carry them home—whilst the large baskets on their backs are filledwith everything that requires transportation from the fields to the house,or from the house to the fields. One of the most revolting instances ofthis female slavery which I have seen, was in Belgium, where, on the lineof the railway, we observed women sitting with large panniers on theirbacks, into which the men were shovelling the earth, gravel, and stones, tobe carried away by the females—many of them young women! Everytime that the earth or gravel was thrown into the pannier, the shockcaused a violent vibration of the whole female frame, from head to foot!The sight was really disgusting.

In travelling through many parts of Germany we are often surprised atthe paucity of men, and cannot help wondering where they are, or whatthey are doing! Women are the universal drudges here!

19.Status quo.—Among all ranks and classes of Society in Germany,from the prince to the peasant, there is, or thereappears to be, a completeamalgamation, approximation—in fine, anequalization in one thing—politeness.But the approximation goes no farther than the hat, the cap,and the bow. It would be almost as easy for a Pariar in India, or a Ladronein China to break the boundaries of his cast, and rise through theranks above him, as for a German of low grade to mount into the circlesof the nobility. Each ascending series is all but hermetically sealedagainst the inferior one! What is impossible to be done, is not thereforeattempted—perhaps it is scarcely desired. All this is reversed in England.[288]Here we have but very little reciprocity of external and formal civilityamong the different ranks; but the barriers between them are to easily—orat least so frequently overleaped, that almost every individual has an ardentwish, and is engaged in a constant struggle to rise above the grade inwhich Nature or accident placed him at birth. It is evident that this contrastedstate of things, quite independent of politics, must produce tranquillity,if not content, in the one country—commotion and even strife inthe other. At the same time it generates industry, energy, and enterprizein England.

20.Locomotion.—It is passing strange that the mercurial brains of ourFrench neighbours should never have infused any quicksilver into the heelsof their horses! No. There they go at the old jog-trot of five miles anhour, over the “long rough road,” which seems as if it had been stretchedout over hill and dale, by some invisible and gigantic apparatus, into astraight and narrow line, which is as tiresome to the eye of the travelleras it is to the limbs of the horses. In plodding Germany, however, wedo not expect velocity in man or beast—or that the schnell-post should goat any other rate than the snail’s pace. In that country time and spaceseem to be confounded or amalgamated;—a league signifying an hour,and an hour a league, the word “stunde” (derived no doubt from“stand”) being applicable to either or both.

There are several reasons, indeed, for the tardiprogression of a Germanvehicle, independently of the breed and the build of those animals thatdraw it along.First. The German never does anything in a hurry. Hehas more time on his hands than any other man. His days are longer—hisnights are longer (though his beds are shorter) than those of an Englishman.Why then should he hurry over the pleasant journey, or curtail thesalutary range of travelling exercise?—Secondly. A German’s luggage istwice the size and weight of an Englishman’s, besides the huge crate inwhich it is stowed above or behind the carriage.Thirdly. There is anoutlay of time, labour, and expense in frequently cleaning the harness ofthe horses—the body, the wheels, or the leather of a carriage. This outlayis prudently avoided by the German, who trusts to the winds and rainsfor disencumbering his harness and eilwagen of some layers of thoseweighty and numerous incrustations that have slowly formed on their surface.Fourthly. There are no Collinge’s patent axletrees in Germany,which will hold oil for a month; and although the post-master chargessome kreutzers for “grease” at every station, small is the portion of thatlubricating article which reaches the hot and creaking gudgeons of theponderous locomotive!

But the primary and fundamental cause of tardiprogression in Germanymay be traced to the roads themselves, which, though much improved inmany places, are still villainously bad, and require the hardest and heaviest[289]wood and iron to withstand the tremendous succussions which the vehicleis destined to experience at every step. Besides, as the German chausséemarches straight forward over hill and dale, without deigning to windround the one, in order to evade the other, so theschnell-post mustnecessarily go at a snail’s pace to the end of the chapter—or, at all events,to the end of the journey.

21.The Burschen.—Perhaps no country, except Germany,could generate,orwould tolerate a large class of the rising generation—studentsby profession, but demi-ruffians by habit—who are organized in clubs, andbanded in clans, for no other purpose but the violation of all law, order,decency, and morality! The supreme felicity of the Burschen is to swillbeer, smoke tobacco, and fight duels. If they submit one hour in thetwenty-four to the rule of the professor, they rule him, and tyrannize overothers during the remainder of the day. Most of the hours that can bespared from duelling, fencing, and dancing, are dedicated to what theyterm “renowning”—that is, of working all kinds of mischief—enacting allsorts of absurdities—attracting everybody’s attention—and earning everyone’s contempt and detestation. The evening and much of the night arespent in the ale-house, where the summit of the Burschen’s ambition is,who can drink most beer, smoke most tobacco—and vociferate with theloudest voice—

While bellowing about liberty, justice, honour, and truth, the Burschenwill tyrannize over others with the most despotic sway—break the swordof justice over the victim’s head—trample on the laws of honour—andviolate the sacred truth!

“Full of lofty unintelligible notions of his own importance—misled byludicrously erroneous ideas of honour—the trueBursche swaggers andrenowns, choleric raw and overbearing. He measures his own honour bythe number ofscandals (duels) he has fought; but never wastes a thoughton what they have been fought for. He does not fight to resent insolence;but he insults, or takes offence, that he may have a pretext for fighting.The lecture-rooms are but secondary to the fencing-school.That is histemple—the rapier is his god—and the “comment” (the Burschen laws)is the Gospel by which he swears.”[95]

Such is theBurschen, or collegiate youth of Germany. The fraternityitself is called the “Landsmannschaften”—a confederation of variousclans for the double purpose of fighting among themselves, and defending[290]the corps against the Philistines, as the rest of the world is called!Fortunately for society, this odious freemasonry which is forced on thestudent at first, is dropped with the cap, long hair, uncouth coat, andJack-boots, the moment he bids adieu to Alma Mater—and he settlesdown among his brethren thePhilistines, discharged from theLandsmannschaften,like an old soldier from the army, with nothing but honorable(?)scars to remind him of the days of “renowning” and “scandalizing,”in Gottingen, Jena, Leipzig, or Heidelburg. It is said, but Idoubt the assertion, that this three years’ training in habits the mostobjectionable, seldom, if ever, exerts any influence on the citizen in after-life—andthat he becomes as peaceable, civil, and obedient to the laws, asthose who had never set foot within the walls of a university.

Be thisas it may, it becomes a serious question whether initiation intothe Eleusinian mysteries and eccentric, not to say barbarous, habits of theBurschen, be conducive to the welfare of British youth? The effects ofEnglish universities are not always thrown off with the cap and gown!Let parents ponder on theLandsmannschaften.

22.German Cookery.—I am not going into a disquisition on continentalcookery in general, nor on German in particular. Man has been characterizedas a “cooking animal,” and if refinement in this noble art andscience be a proof of civilization, our Gallic and Saxon neighbours muststand unrivalled. The New Zealander, who roasts his hog, his dog, andhis prisoner in the same oven, sinks very low on the gastronomic scale—noton account of his canine or cannibal predilections, but because he cannotso mystify and transform the original materials of his laboratory—thegenera and species of his animal and vegetable stock—as to defy Orfilahimself to ascertain whether they had been inhabitants of the air, theearth, or the “waters under the earth.” As I think I have made a smalldiscovery that may prove of some importance in the cuisine of my nativeland, I shall here communicate it,pro bono publico.

In almost all the cities, towns, and even villages of Germany, we find onthe bill of fare certain dishes that are great favourites withJohn Bull—namely,beef-steaks—mutton-chops—veal cutlets—pork-chops—lamb-chops,&c. To be sure the titles are not very easily pronounced; but thekind host is always ready to furnish you with rind-fleisch, schwein-fleisch,lamms-fleisch, kalbfleisch, or hammelfleisch, without doubt or delay. Whenthese come on the table, they are so nicely browned, and crusted over withbread-crumbs, flower, butter and other mysterious compounds, that, exceptby the external figure, and the protuberant rib, no discrimination betweenthe different dishes could possibly be made. Nor will the taste detectschweins-fleisch from any of the other fleshes. All agree, however, in thetenderness, flavour, and delicacy of the steaks, chops, and cutlets. Then,again, they remark, how well the fat is taken off, leaving nothing but the[291]meat; while the bone comes out as easy and as clean as if it had beenboiled and scraped in a separate vessel! These eulogies attracted myattention, and I began to examine the chops and steaks accurately. Avery slight dissection demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that all was a composition.A few further intrusions into the cuisines explained the wholematter, without difficulty. The cold meat, of every description, is poundedin a mortar, with pepper, salt, and spices. When wanted, it is pressedinto moulds (like butter) according to the shape required—an old rib orbone is thrust into one end of the chop—the whole is well covered withcrumbs of bread, flour, or other habiliments—made smoking hot in theoven—and brought to table as most delicious mutton-chops, veal cutlets,pork-chops, beef-steaks—or—anything you please to demand.

Do I blame or criticise this ingenious manufacture? Far from it. Thepounded and compounded chops and steaks are better than original ones—areeasy of digestion—require little or no mastication—are savoury to thetaste, and warm to the stomach—and, what is of some consequence, theyare economical, and always ready for dressing at any hour of the day ornight. The only part of the compound to which I object, is thebony-part.These bones remain in the kitchen, like heir-looms, serving from generationto generation, as far as I know, and if the cook takes the trouble towash them daily, with the spoons’ and forks, my objection vanishes at once.The above discovery explained an enigma which often puzzled me whentravelling on the Continent—namely, the impossibility of getting cold meatat a hotel—even a few hours after the most splendid table-d’hôte.

I can have no reason—or at all events no right, to question the taste ofour continental neighbours in the preparation of their food. To Germancookery, German spas, German baths, and German waggons, I owe theloss of fifteen pounds in weight, and that in a late tour of two months.But then the lost flesh was London fed—and I gained in strength far morein proportion than I lost in weight. This may prove a valuable hint tothe race of aldermen, and many others besides.

23.Gallic and German Patriotism compared.—The temperature of aFrenchman’s patriotism seldom reaches the boiling, or even the fever point,unless he is, in act or imagination, the aggressor or agitator. It requiresthe fuel of pride, ambition, glory, revolution, or conquest, present orprospective, to keep up the steam of national enthusiasm among ourGallic neighbours. Not so beyond the Rhine. A German’s patriotismrises in proportion as “Faderland” is borne down by misfortunes, ortrode upon by the foot of the haughty foreigner. The flame of devotionto country never burns with greater intensity in a German’s breast, thanwhen it is apparently extinguished by the pressure of the victorious enemy.Both these propositions are proved by history. Every one knows thesacrifices which the people of France made in the late war, while Napoleon[292]was trampling on the liberties of Europe. Yet, when the tide of hisglory ebbed, and the energies of Germany and other countries carriedforward the contest into the heart of France—the French nation sunk intoapathy, stupor, or indifference. So, on a recent occasion, when the thunderof British cannon demolished the ramparts of a Syrian despot—a vice-regalslave-driver—and reverberated from the pyramids to Montmartre,the flame of patriotism glowed in every Frenchman’s breast, from theMediterranean to the Moselle—and already theMarsellaise hymn depictedtheEagles, as pluming their wings and wafting their flight overthe Alps and the Rhine—over the Tyber and the Thames! For, althoughthe word “patriotism” means, in all other languages, the love of natal soil,yet in the French vocabulary, it signifies the love of revolution at home,or of conquest and spoliation beyond the limits of France.[96] The wantonand threatening insult, though only prospective and intentional, whichshe lately held out to Europe, called forth a “German Marsellaise,”tuned to true patriotic principles, and containing no menace—no allusionto former invasions of France, and capture of her capital. The wholeburthen of the song, and conclusion of each verse, breathed only the firmresolution to resist aggression, and preserve their “Faderland” independent.

German patriotism, in the long run, will prove superior to Gallic ambition.The love of country is a nobler and safer passion than the loveof conquest.[97]

The French tell us that the English are detested on the Continent—butto adduce any reason for this, would be quite unlike a Frenchman—whoseassertion needs not the vulgar auxiliary of proof. The only plausiblecause which he might urge for this anti-Britannic hatred, is the fact thatthe English assisted the continental nations to drive the French back overthe Rhine, and up to the Boulevards—hence the detestation of Germany,Russia, Spain, &c. against England! This is quite the Gallic style ofratiocination.

24.Prisons.—There would seem to be two, if not more, kinds ofliberty—political and personal; or national and individual. They do notalways run parallel. When our Gallic neighbours placed theCap ofLiberty on the head of aCourtezan, and worshipped her as aGoddess,the prisons were overflowing, and most of the inmates lost their caps—in[293]which their heads happened to be at the time! No one will contend thatGermany is overburthened with political liberty—but I believe that theproportion of out-door to in-door prisoners there, is as great as in thiscountry. To say the truth there are not many temptations to take up freequarters within the walls of a German prison—for althoughHoward, thatgreat practical reformer of “proved,” that is to say,approved abuses, wasthere; yet the hard labour, low fare, bastinado for men, and whip forwomen, afford little encouragement to transgression of the laws. Tothe honour of Austria be it said, that the functionaries are strictly enjoinedto apply the whip and bastinado, with all due regard to themoral feelingsof the prisoners, and with the most scrupulous attention to the forms andceremonies prescribed for those occasions!

In respect to food, the following is the Austrian dietary. “The prisonerhas one pound and a half of breadper diem—a farinaceous dish with milkthrice a week—and on Sundays a soup, with a quarter of a pound ofmeat, and the farinaceous dish again.”Hawkins. This, it must be confessed,is meagre fare; buthalf of what the prisoner can earn,beyond hisdaily task, is given to him for the purchase of additional comforts.

Instruction, both religious and lay, is provided by the state—consistingof reading and sometimes of arithmetic—but notwriting, as that mightlead to correspondence not entirely composed of love-letters or letters oflove! It is clear, indeed, that the Emperor of Austria (though himself aPapist) has no great faith in the dogma of aPope—

At all events, Prince Metternich has not recommended his master to followthe example ofHeaven in teaching his subjects to writeletters; nor is itlikely that the veteran and wily minister will introduce a penny postage,to enable the subjects of the whip and bastinado to—

Nevertheless there are many good points about German prison-discipline.The classification of the prisoners—the separation of the juvenile from thehardened offenders—the law of rendering labour the only means of procuringanything like comfortable diet—the regularity of religious instructionand duties—the laudable exertion of Government to reinstate theliberated and punished prisoner in the social position previously occupied—notforgetting the humane injunction never to hurt thefeelings of theflogged—are all worthy of praise and imitation.

25.Beds and Bed-rooms.—A German sleeping-room presents a realparadox—beds that are at once plural and singular—plural in number, butsingular in office. One would suppose that all the men in that countrywere monks, and all the women nuns. You look in vain for the large and[294]comfortable bed, on which John Bull and his spouse are accustomed torepose when at home. Nothing of the kind will you see here! From themoment that a married couple set foot on the Continent, the wife is divorced,if not “a mensa” at least “a thoro.” I have said that the Germanbeds aresingular. They are so in every sense of the word! In othercountries, they are designed to promote rest and sleep. In this they actlike strong coffee or green tea taken at ten o’clock. In a German bed, thetwo extremities of the victim are “perched up aloft,” while the body is“under hatches.” The only personage who can attain anything like horizontalityin these cribs, is the corporation gourmand after a good eighto’clock table-d’hôte. If he turn in, or rather turnover on his face, withhis feet on the taffrail, and his stomach stowed in midships, he will be ableto bring his head, his spine, and his heels into something approaching aright line. In this position he will have the great advantage of sleepingon his supper, and thus evading the pressure of the night-mare. Whenthe woolsack is laid over the traveller’s body, the whole resembles the oldmoon in the lap of the new.

It is very fortunate for John and Jane Bull that before they sojournlong in Germany their travelling constitutions will have begun, like newclothes, to suit them—and, which is of greater consequence, they will havegot rid of the most inconvenient article, by far, of their luggage—(andthat is saying a good deal, when a lady’s baggage is in transit)—namelythe—idea ofcomfort—an article which even the douanier never searchesfor, as being not only out of his beat, but out of his mother tongue!

Many circumstances had, long ago, impressed me with a high sense ofthe value of atravelling constitution, as a kind of Mackintosh against“skiey influences;” but none more so than an occasional glimpse at themysteries of the laundry. If a traveller happens to forget some valuablearticle at his hotel, and hastens back to his chamber about mid-day, he willbe rather surprized to find the bed-linen on the floor, nicely sprinkled withwater, preparatory to a squeeze under a high-pressure engine, which rendersit of a glossy smoothness, and diffuses the watery element so equally,that it feels delightfully cool to the next—and even to the tenth tenantof the caravansera! I fear that this is often the case nearer home, andwhere there is no “travelling constitution” to resist the vapour-bath of exhalentsheets in our foggy and cold atmosphere! The contracts betweenmasters and chamber-maids for the supply of damp linen to hotels, are toooften contracts for the supply of coughs, consumptions, and rheumatismsto travellers—greatly to the advantage of doctors, druggists, and undertakersafterwards!

Tourists who can afford space for leather sheets among their luggage,should take these useful articles with them, as there are more maladies thancolds and rheumatismscontracted in caravanseras, and for which there isno provision made in thecontract between host and passenger.

[295]

It must be acknowledged, however, that, of late years considerable improvementshave taken place in the bedding line. In several parts of Germany,in the Autumn of 1840, we found very comfortable mattresses,blankets, coverlets, and sheets, to our no small joy and surprize.

26.German Stove versusEnglish Chimney.—That a room heated byinvisible caloric—with an atmosphere stagnant as the dead sea, humid as aScotch mist, and odoriferous as a slaughter-house—should prove morecongenial to the lungs of persons in the first or last stage of consumption,than an apartment with a blazing fire at one end, a large column of hotair rushing up the chimney, and a thousand tiny streams of cold air stealingin through the chinks and crevices of doors and windows, I do not, fora moment, deny. But, that the general balance of salubrity is on theside of the German stove, and against the English fire-place, I very muchdoubt. I admit that the air of an English room, heated by fire, is frequentlychanging the degree of its temperature, not only as a whole, butin different parts of the same chamber. This is the alpha and omega ofContinental objections to the English plan—and it would not be difficultto show that this variability of heat, so much complained of, is a powerfulpreservative against atmospheric disorders in general. Nothing is more certainthan that the most effectual way of counteracting the effects of suddenchanges in the temperature of the air around us, is tohabituate ourselvesto these vicissitudes. It is in this way, that daily sponging of the face,throat, and other exposed parts of the body, first with hot, and then immediatelywith cold water, generally prevents face-aches, ear-aches, tooth-aches,and catarrhs, by habituating those parts to changes of temperature. And itis on this principle, that a person who has been for some time in an Englishroom, where variations prevail, goes out into the open air afterwards, withfar less risk than he who has been for an equal time in an actual sudatorium,at a high and unvarying range of temperature. But let us look alittle more closely into the affair. In the room heated by a German stoveand consequently where there cannot be a free ventilation, every individualis breathing the identical air that has circulated through the lungs of everyother individual in the same place—through the air-cells of the scrofulous,the scorbutic, the asthmatic, the consumptive, &c.—air that is notonly deprived of its oxygen, but loaded with animal effluvia of a veryquestionable character! Add to these the malodorous essence of tobacco,much of which must drip down the throat, as well as into the receptaclebelow the bowl of the pipe, during the day, to be exhaled inpoisonousgases through the rooms at night! All must have experienced the debilitatingeffects of disoxygenated air in crowded rooms, even where therewere various facilities of ingress and egress for the breath of Heaven. Butwhere these facilities are wanting, the depression of the vital energies isindescribable. In short, I am of opinion that nothing can compensate for[296]the ventilation produced by the English chimney. Those who stand or sitnear a partially opened door, or a broken pane of glass, may catch cold, orface-ache, or rheumatism, it is true; but if I am to die or to suffer fromatmospheric influence, let me do so in pure, rather than in mephitic air!

I have grounded these reasonings on salubrity alone—leavingcomfortout of the question—as indeed it must be round the German stove! Why,the very sight of a cheerful fire in a Winter evening, is worth a Germanstove with the table-d’hôte thrown into the bargain! In a good fire wehave company, conversation, and even meditation. I do not wonder thatthe Persees adore fire, as an emanation from the sun itself. I muchdoubt whether the Egyptians would have worshipped a German stove, evenwhen they were so over-godly as to deify cats and crocodiles! But, togive the devil his due, the German stove is not without some good qualities.It is cheap—it does not set fire to ladies’ dresses—nor cause chilblainsby scorching the fingers and toes in frosty weather. But as a drawbackupon these negative good qualities, it renders the Germans a race ofhot-house plants, who shiver in the blast whenever they issue from theirvapour-baths, and are infinitely more liable to take cold than if they hadcome from an English room.

The introduction into this country of theAnglo-Germanic stove—thatunsightly and unsocial laboratory of sulphur and suffocation—will not, Ithink, succeed. It is bad enough in Germany, where the Dutch tiles withwhich it is covered, emit no bad smell, and have a comparatively light andcheerful appearance; but here the hybrid iron mass—that dark lantern,“cui lumen ademptum”—is positively a nuisance. It may be borne, andeven prove useful, in large halls, where there are constant currents ofcool air. In a sitting-room or other chamber, it is very offensive—at leastto my senses, from its metallic and sulphurous emanations. I had ratherpitch my tent in the crater of Vesuvius, the valley of Solfatera, or thehut of a charbonnier in the Maremma, than in the vicinity of that sabledistillery of “Northumberland diamonds,” from which every ray of lighthas been previously extracted by the gasometer.

27.Verlobung, or betrothing.—The German system of affiance appearsto me to be a long courtship, and “something more.” It is a kind of“little-go,” or ante-marriage contract, attended with form, ceremony, andsequences. The affianced pair send out their cards bound together in thesilken bonds of Hymen, in perspective—are waited on and congratulatedby their friends,—are always invited together to parties, where they sitnext each other at table, engross each other’s conversation, and appear like—orratherunlike, man and wife. At page 24 of this volume, I venturedsome observations on the danger and the miseries that often attend onaffiances, or long-promised marriages. Notwithstanding the approval ofMrs. Jameson, I still hold my opinion. That lady indeed, is not blind to[297]some of the consequences of the verlobung. One of them will be sufficient.“As the bridegroom is expected to devote every leisure momentto the society of his betrothed—as he attends her to all public places—asthey are invariably seated next each other,—they have time to becometolerably tired of each others’ society before marriage, and have nothing leftto say.” This is a charming prospect for matrimony! The soft looks, thefine speeches, the glowing sentiments, nay even the pretty riens, are allexpended during the protracted affiance, and when, at last, the knot is tiedindissolubly, the gallant gay lothario is, as Rosalind says—“gravelled forlack of matter.”

But Mrs. Jameson says that this long state of probation enables theparties to study well their respective characters, and detect failings andfaults which a short courtship would be apt to over-look. Now the affianceis either binding or not binding. If the latter, of what use is it? Iftheformer, it is small consolation to the bride or bridegroom to ascertainthe causes of future misery before even Hymen lights his torch! But whois unaware that courtship is a kind of warfare, in which the belligerentstake good care to mask their weak points and magnify their strong positions.The Germans themselves, indeed, have an adage that runs in little accordancewith the tediousverlobung.

28.March of Population.—Nothing exhibits a greater contrast betweenEngland and the Continent than the progress of population. I believe itgoes on at least three times as fast in the British Isles as in France andGermany. Many causes may be assigned for this disproportion. Theimmense outlet for redundant population in our colonies—the prodigiousextent of our commerce and manufactures—the early period of marriage,especially in Ireland—these are among the chief causes of the rail-roadspeed at which the multiplication of mankind goes on in this country. Onthe Continent, it is just the reverse. The pace of population there is quite“a la schnell-post.” But lest this degree of velocity should endanger thestate waggon, government (in many parts of Germany) has affixed a dragto the wheels, in the shape of a law prohibiting matrimony, unless thehigh contracting parties can produce proof of their possessing ways andmeans for supporting themselves and families. If this regulation obtainedin Great Britain, it would stop one half of the marriages in Scotland, two-thirdsof those in England, and nine-tenths of those in Ireland. Here isa hint for the Poor Law Commissioners, that may induce them to bring aBill into Parliament for the prevention of imprudent marriages, whichwould be more effectual in checking pauperism than the terrors of theworkhouse.

[298]

But, when we consider that colonization and commerce carry off an immenseredundancy of British population, how are we to account for thepermanent or domiciliated population of these islands increasing so muchmore rapidly than that of the Continent, where the safety-valves are ofsuch narrow dimensions? There are some causes of these different ratesof progression, which are little known in this country; but the chiefcause must be the greater degree of prudence exercised by the people ofFrance and Germany than by the people of Great Britain.

29.Poetry.—The transition from population to poetry is not so abruptas might at first appear; for although we may have population withoutpoetry, we shall rarely have poetry without population. Looking at thewords of the German language, a stranger to that language would be aptto conclude that it must be as difficult to mould them into music or poetry,as to convert hob-nails into ivory teeth—the bristles of a boar into theermine of a judge—or the rocks of Iona into columns of crystal. Yetnothing would be a more erroneous prejudice than this conclusion. TheGerman, like the English language, is so rich insynonimes, as to afford everyfacility for the intonations of the musician, and variety of expression ofthe poet. The poverty of the French language in this respect, presents aremarkable contrast to the German and English. French poetry musthave the jingle of rhyme to make it bearable by the ear. A French poemin blank verse, would be like a monkey striding along on huge stilts,exciting roars of laughter from the spectators. But this poverty in synonims,renders the French language more precise, and the individual wordsless equivocal than in any other. Hence its universal advantages in diplomaticcommunications, where the synonims of other tongues would giverise to perpetual ambiguity and quibble.

A curious, not to say ludicrous, attempt has lately been made by anAmerican author to transplant the poetry of Goethe and Schiller intoEnglish byliteral translation, the said author maintaining that poetrywillbe poetrystill; and that the more close and servile the traduction, thebetter will the spirit of the original poetry be preserved! The followingrather favourable specimen of this attempt to clothe German ideas inEnglish words, is quite a “curiosity of literature,” and worth preserving.

Now if any Transatlantic Philistine can crack the shell of this Germannut, and extract an eatable kernel, he must possess amanducator prettyconsiderably stronger than that with whichSampson cracked the skullsof the ancient Philistines in the Holy Land—the jaw-bone of an ass.

THE END.

NEW MEDICAL WORKS,
PUBLISHED BY S. HIGHLEY, 32, FLEET STREET,
OPPOSITE ST. DUNSTAN’S CHURCH.

REES ON DISEASES OF CHILDREN.

THE DISEASES OF CHILDREN, THEIR SYMPTOMS, AND TREATMENT,

A Treatise intended for the use of the Student, and Junior Practitioner.

ByGeorge Augustus Rees, Surgeon to the General Dispensary for Children; late Demonstratorof Anatomy at the Aldersgate Street School of Medicine, 12mo, Price 5s.

BENNETT ON THE COD LIVER OIL.

A TREATISE ON THE OLEUM JECORIS ASELLI (COD LIVER OIL,)

With Cases illustrative of its beneficial effects in certain Forms of Gout, Rheumatism, and Scrofula.

ByJohn Hughes Bennett, M.D., late President of the Parisian Medical Society; of theRoyal Medical, and Royal Physical Societies of Edinburgh, &c., 8vo.

THE DENTAL ART.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON DENTAL SURGERY.

ByC. A. Harris, M.D., one of the Editors of the “American Journal of Dental Science.”8vo, plates, Price 18s. bound.—Baltimore.

JOHNSON ON TROPICAL CLIMATES,

Sixth Edition, 1841.

THE INFLUENCE OF TROPICAL CLIMATES ON EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONS,

ByJames Johnson, M.D., with additions byJames R. Martin, Esq.,late Presidency Surgeon, and Surgeon to the Native Hospital, Calcutta, 8vo, Price 18s.

PILCHER ON THE EAR.

A TREATISE ON THE STRUCTURE, ECONOMY, AND DISEASES OF THE EAR.

ByGeorge Pilcher, Lecturer on Anatomy and Surgery at the Webb-street School of Medicine.

A NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION,

In which an entirely new set of Plates is given, with additional Illustrations,8vo, Cloth lettered.

ASHWELL ON DISEASES OF WOMEN.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DISEASES PECULIAR TO WOMEN,

Comprising their Functional and Organic affections. Illustrated by Cases derived from Hospitaland private practice.

BySamuel Ashwell, M.D., Obstetric Physician and Lecturer to Guy’s Hospital.

• Part I.—Functional Diseases, 8vo, Price 7s.
• Part II.—Organic Diseases, which completes the work, nearly ready.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH.

A GENERAL, MEDICAL, AND STATISTICAL TREATISE ON THE NATURE ANDCAUSES OF HUMAN MORTALITY. ByJohn Reid. 12mo, Price 6s. 6d.

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF SURGERY,

BEING AN OUTLINE OF INFLAMMATION AND ITS EFFECTS.

ByG. T. Morgan, A.M., Formerly Lecturer on Surgery in Aberdeen. Price 18s.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

A LECTURE ON THE NATURE AND CULTIVATION OF THEMEDICAL PROFESSION,

Designed as a Guide to Students. 8vo. Price 1s.

HOCKEN ON AMAUROSIS.

A TREATISE ON AMAUROSIS AND AMAUROTIC AFFECTIONS.

ByE. O. Hocken. 8vo, Price 10s. 6d.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

AN ESSAY ON THE INFLUENCE OF CONSTITUTION IN THE PRODUCTIONOF DISEASE. 12mo, Price 2s. 6d.

WEATHERHEAD ON DISEASES OF THE LUNGS.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE PRINCIPAL DISEASES OF THE LUNGS,

Considered especially in relation to the particular Tissues affected, Illustrating thedifferent kinds of Cough.

ByG. H. Weatherhead, M.D., Consulting Physician to the Metropolitan Free Hospital, &c.8vo, Price 7s. 6d.

WEATHERHEAD ON HEADACHS.

A TREATISE ON HEADACHS,

Their various Causes, Prevention and Cure. 2nd Edition, 12mo, Price 4s.

“The Dyspeptic or Sick Headach is described with great truthand clearness, more faithfully indeed than by any Author thatwe are acquainted with. We hope Dr. Weatherhead will pursue hisinvestigations.”—Johnson’s Medico-Chirurg. Rev.

WEATHERHEAD ON VENEREAL,

THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY AND PRESENT STATE OF THE VENEREALDISEASE EXAMINED, wherein is shewn that Mercury never was necessary for its cure,as well as the injurious consequences that result from its employment, &c.

ByG. H. Weatherhead, M.D. 12mo, Price 6s.

FRENCH SURGICAL PRACTICE.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SURGICAL PRACTICE OF PARIS;
ILLUSTRATED BY CASES.

ByW. O. Markham, M.D. 8vo., Price 5s.

“We have read this work with considerable interest. The Author givesin a short space a comprehensive, and we believe accurate sketch ofthe present state of Surgical Practice in Paris. He mentions the namesof most of the eminent surgeons in that city, whose cliniques he hasattended, and whose opinions and treatment of many important surgicaldiseases he has given detailed accounts of. We strongly recommend itsperusal.”—Dublin Medical Journal, Jan. 1841.

MORGAN ON THE EYE,

ILLUSTRATED BY EIGHTY COLOURED REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DISEASES,OPERATIONS, ETC., OF THE EYE.

LECTURES ON DISEASES OF THE EYE, DELIVERED AT GUY’S HOSPITAL.

ByJohn Morgan, F.L.S. 8vo. Price 18s. Cloth lettered.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

A LECTURE ON TETANUS, Delivered at Guy’s Hospital. 8vo, Price 2s.

BELL ON THE TEETH.

THE ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, AND DISEASES OF THE TEETH.

ByThomas Bell, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S.,

Lecturer on Diseases of the Teeth at Guy’s Hospital, and Professorof Zoology in King’s College. Second Edition. 8vo. Price 14s. Clothlettered. Containing upwards of 100 Figures, illustrative of theStructure, Growth, Diseases, &c., of the Teeth.

LAWRENCE’S ANATOMICO-CHIRURGICAL PLATES

THE SIZE OF NATURE,

I.—THE NOSE, MOUTH, LARYNX, AND FAUCES.

Anatomico-Chirurgical Views of the Nose, Mouth, Larynx, and Fauces, with explanations andreferences, and an Anatomical Description of the parts.

ByW. Lawrence, F.R.S., Surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.

Folio. Price 10s. 6d. plain.—£1 1s. coloured.

II.—THE MALE AND FEMALE PELVIS.

Comprising—

• Front Views of the Male and Female Pelvis, in which the Bones are seen in their natural connectionwith the principal Ligaments, so as to shew the Construction, Figure, Outlines, Boundaries,and Dimensions of the Cavities in question.
• The External Organs of Generation in the Female.
• Superficial and deeper seated Views of the Male Perineum and Anus.
• Muscles of the Female Perineum and Anus.
• Lateral Views of the Male and Female Pelvic Viscera in their natural situation.

⁂ The Subjects were selected by Mr. Lawrence, who superintended the dissections, most ofwhich he executed himself, and furnished the Descriptions and Explanatory References.

Folio, Price 10s. 6d. plain—£1 1s. coloured.

LUCAS ON THE CURE OF SQUINTING.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CURE OF STRABISMUS OR SQUINT,
BY OPERATION AND BY MILDER TREATMENT.

With some New Views of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Muscles of the Human Eye.

ByP. B. Lucas, Surgeon to the Metropolitan Free Hospital, &c. 8vo, Price 6s.

Illustrated by Plates.

“We would strongly recommend every surgeon who may have to treat for thefirst time a patient with Strabismus, to study the Treatise attentivelyfrom beginning to end. Mr. Lucas seems to possess the rare quality ofconveying a great deal of knowledge in a few words.”—Provincial Medicaland Surgical Journal.

“Mr. Lucas’ book gives a plain, unpretending, and trustworthy account ofthe matter.”—Dublin Medical Press.

“Mr. Lucas’ work is in our opinion the most comprehensive and indeed thebest on the subject which has yet appeared.”—Edinburgh Monthly MedicalJournal, March, 1841.

“This is a sensible and useful treatise.”—Medical Gazette.

“The plan of Mr. Lucas’s Treatise is well conceived, and the executionof it at once scientific and practical.”—British and Foreign MedicalReview, April, 1841.

“The most complete account hitherto published of the pathologicaltheory of Squinting, and its different varieties and causes; and of thecircumstances requiring or contra-indicating the performance of theoperation.”—Edinburgh Medical Journal.

JOHNSON’S TOUR TO THE GERMAN SPAS.

PILGRIMAGES TO THE SPAS IN PURSUIT OF HEALTH AND RECREATION.

ByJames Johnson, M.D., Physician Extraordinary to the late King.

8vo. Price 9s.

JOHNSON’S ECONOMY OF HEALTH.

THE ECONOMY OF HEALTH;

Or, The Stream of Human Life from the Cradle to the Grave; with Reflections, Moral andPhysical, on the successive Phases of Human Existence.

Third Edition, enlarged and improved. 8vo. With portrait. Price 7s. 6d.

JOHNSON ON CHANGE OF AIR.

CHANGE OF AIR;

Or the Pursuit of Health and Recreation, illustrating the beneficial influence of BodilyExercise, Change of Scene, Pure Air and Temporary Relaxation.

Fourth Edition, enlarged. Price 9s.

JOHNSON ON GOUT.

PRACTICAL RESEARCHESON THE NATURE, CURE, AND PREVENTION OF GOUT. 8vo. 5s. 6d.

JOHNSON ON INDIGESTION.

AN ESSAY ON INDIGESTION;

Or, Morbid Sensibility of the Stomach and Bowels as the proximate cause of Dyspepsy, NervousIrritability, Mental Despondency, Hypochondriasis, &c., with

Observations on the Diseases and Regimen of Invalids on their return from Hot andUnhealthy Climates. Tenth Edition. Price 6s. 6d.

PORTRAIT OF DR. JAMES JOHNSON,

Engraved by Phillips, from a Painting by Wood, Price 10s. 6d.

MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL REVIEW,

AND JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL MEDICINE.

Edited byJames Johnson, M.D., Physician Extraordinary to the late King; andHenry James Johnson, Esq. Lecturer on Anatomy in the School ofSt. George’s Hospital in Kinnerton Street.

Published Quarterly on the 1st of January, April, July and October, Price 6s. Containing Reviewsand Bibliographic Notices, Selections from Foreign and British Journals, Chemical Reviews andHospital Reports, Miscellanies, &c.

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL SCIENCE.

Edited byDr. Harris, Baltimore, andDr. Parmly, New York.

Vol. I,—1840-41, 8vo, Price 15s.

A SYSTEM OF ANATOMICAL PLATES
OF THE
HUMAN BODY.

A New and Improved Edition in One Volume, Folio, Price £6 6s. coloured,Half-bound in Russia or Morocco.

ACCOMPANIED WITH DESCRIPTIONS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL, PATHOLOGICAL,AND SURGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

BY JOHN LIZARS, F.R.S.E.

Professor of Surgery to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; Corresponding Memberof the Medical Society of Emulation of Paris; and Lecturer on Anatomyand Surgery, Edinburgh.

The Parts may be had Separately, 7s. 6d. plain, or 10s. 6d. coloured.

Part 1, THE BONES.—Parts 2 & 3, BLOOD-VESSELS.—Parts 4, 5, & 6, MUSCLESAND LIGAMENTS.—Parts 7 & 8, THE BRAIN.—Parts 9, & 10, THEORGANS OF SENSE.—Part 11, THE ORGANS OF GENERATION.—Part12, THE GRAVID UTERUS.

In this Edition the letter-press hitherto forming a separate 8vo Volume, is printed in Folio theSize of the Plates.

LIZARS’ PRACTICAL SURGERY.

A SYSTEM OF PRACTICAL SURGERY, WITH NUMEROUS EXPLANATORY NOTES.

Illustrated by 250 Figures engraved on copper, explanatory of the Operations, &c. of Surgery.ByJohn Lizars, Professor of Surgery to the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.8vo. Cloth Lettered. Price £1 1s.

An Appendix to ditto, containing the Operation for the Cure of Squinting,with Plates, Price 1s.

TEXT BOOK OF ANATOMY,

FOR JUNIOR STUDENTS.

ByAlexander J. Lizars, M.D., Lecturer on Anatomy and Examiner to the Universityof St. Andrews. 12mo, Part I. Price 6s.

M. LUGOL ON IODINE IN SCROFULA.

ESSAYS ON THE EFFECTS OF IODINE IN THE TREATMENT OF SCROFULOUSDISEASES.

Translated from the French ofM. Lugol, by Dr.O’Shaughnessy. 8vo. Price 8s.

DELINEATIONS OF THE
PHYSIOGNOMY OF MENTAL DISEASES.

BySir Alexander Morison, M.D.

Royal 8vo, Price £3 10s. With upwards of 100 Plates.

HOOPER’S MEDICAL DICTIONARY,

CONTAINING AN EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS IN

• ANATOMY.
• BOTANY.
• CHEMISTRY.
• MATERIA MEDICA.
• MIDWIFERY.
• PHARMACY.
• PHYSIOLOGY.
• PRACTICE OF PHYSIC.
• SURGERY.

And the various Branches of Natural Philosophy connected with Medicine;

7th Edition, revised and enlarged byDr. Klein Grant.

Octavo. Price £1 10s., Containing 1400 closely printed pages.

COOPER’S SURGICAL DICTIONARY.

A DICTIONARY OF PRACTICAL SURGERY; Comprehending all the most interestingImprovements from the earliest times to the present period; an Account of the Instruments andRemedies employed in Surgery; the Etymology and Signification of terms, &c. &c.

BySamuel Cooper, Professor of Surgery in University College.

8vo, 7th Edition, revised and enlarged, containing above 1500 pages. Price £1 10s.

FIRST LINES OF THE PRACTICE OF SURGERY.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

Explaining and Illustrating the Doctrines relative to the Principles, Practice, andOperations of Surgery.

6th Edition corrected and enlarged, 8vo. Price 18s.

HOOPER’S PHYSICIAN’S VADE MECUM;

OR, MANUAL OF THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PHYSIC.

New Edition, enlarged and improved byDr. Ryan, Fcap. Price 7s. 6d.

BECK’S MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE.

ELEMENTS OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE.

ByDrs. T. R. Beck, andJohn B. Beck.

Sixth Edition, including the Notes of Doctors Dunlop and Darwall. 8vo, Price 21s., 1000 pages.

CLOQUET ON HERNIA, BY McWHINNIE.

AN ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTS CONCERNED IN INGUINALAND FEMORAL HERNIA.

Translated from the French ofCloquet. With Explanatory Notes, byA.M. McWhinnie,Teacher of Practical Anatomy at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.

Royal 8vo., with Plates. Price 5s.

PHILLIPS’S PHARMACOPŒIA.

A Translation of the Pharmacopœia Collegii Regalis Medicorum Londinensis, MDCCCXXXVI,with copious Notes and Illustrations; also a Table of Chemical Equivalents.

ByRichard Phillips, F.R.S., L. and E. Fourth Edition, Corrected and Improved. 8vo.Price 10s. 6d. Cloth lettered.

LAENNEC’S MANUAL OF AUSCULTATION.

A Manual of Percussion and Auscultation, composed from the French of Meriedec Laennec.

ByJ. B. Sharpe. 18mo. Second Edition, Improved and Enlarged. Price 3s.

“You will find it of great use to have this book, when you are at thepatient’s bedside. Laennec’s work is too large to be studied during thewinter, when you are attending hospital practice, and have so many otherengagements; but this little book will be extremely useful, while youare learning how to use the ear, and may be carried in the pocket.”Dr.Elliotson’s Lectures, (Lancet).

SMELLIE’S OBSTETRIC PLATES.

Exhibiting, in a Series of Engravings, the Process of Delivery, with and without the Use ofInstruments, accompanied by Anatomical Descriptions and Practical Instructions and forming

A SUITABLE ATLAS TO BURNS’s MIDWIFERY,

and other Treatises requiring Plates.

Price 5s. in cloth boards; or, with Burns’s Midwifery in One Volume, cloth lettered, £1 1s.

“Judiciously selected, and ably executed.”—Medico-Chirurgical Review.

STOWE’S CHART OF POISONS.

A Toxicological Chart, exhibiting at one view the Symptoms, Treatment, and Mode of Detectingthe various Poisons, Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal; to which are added, ConciseDirections for the Treatment of Suspended Animation.

ByWilliam Stowe, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Ninth Edition. 2s. Varnished and mounted on cloth with roller, 6s.

“We have placed the Chart in our own Library, and we think that nomedical practitioner should be without it. It should be hung up in theshops of all chemists and druggists, as well as in the dispensaries andsurgeries of all general practitioners.”—Medico-Chirurgical Review.

CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE

Considered in relation to Mental Organization. ByM. B. Sampson,Royal 8vo, Price 6d.

⁂Reprinted from the Spectator Newspaper, by the Trustees of theHendersonian Fund.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF PHRENOLOGY,

Comprising Accounts of the Lives of persons remarkable in some mentalrespect, whether of intellect or feeling. Together with accurateDelineations of their Heads, byG. R Lewis, and a Statement ofthe Measurement and Development of the Individual organs.

No. I.—Courvoisier (Executed for the Murder of Lord W.Russell), Royal 8vo, Price 2s. 6d.

The Text by Dr. Elliotson.

RAMSBOTHAM’S MIDWIFERY.

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS IN MIDWIFERY.

WITH A SELECTION OF CASES.

ByJohn Ramsbotham, M.D. 2 vols. 8vo. Price £1 2s. 6d.

“It is refreshing to turn from the pompous puerilities with which thepress has recently teemed in the shape of “Outlines” and “Manuals” ofMidwifery, to the “Observations” of Dr. Ramsbotham. We have here some ofthe most important subjects connected with parturition fully discussed byone who speaks not only of what he has read, but of what he himself hasseen done, and the result is correspondingly satisfactory, in that theObservations are really practical.”—Medical Gazette.

PHARMACOPŒIA HOMŒOPATHICA.

EdiditF. F. Quin, M.D. 8vo. Price 7s.

FOX ON CHLOROSIS.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE DISORDER OF THE GENERAL HEALTH OFFEMALES CALLED CHLOROSIS.

BySamuel Fox. 8vo. Price 6s.

COLOURED DIAGRAMS OF THEREFLECTIONS OF THE PERITONEUM AND PLEURÆ,

With Anatomical Descriptions.

The Views are as follows:—

• I. Vertical Section of the Abdomen, and its contents viewed laterally.
• II. View of the Formation of the Meso-colon and Mesentery.
• III. Transverse Section of the Peritoneum through the Epigastric and Hypochondriac Regions.
• IV. Horizontal Section of the Thorax and its contents.
• V. Vertical Section of the Thorax and its contents.

ByG. D. Dermott, Lecturer on Anatomy and Surgery. Price 4s. 6d.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR,

A CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE LOCALITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF THEARTERIES IN THE HUMAN BODY.

12mo., with Plates. Price 6s.

THE LONDON DISSECTOR.

Or System of Dissection practised in the Hospitals and Lecture Rooms of the Metropolis.

FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS.

ByJames Scratchley. Eighth Edition, Revised 12mo. Price 5s.

ROWLAND ON NEURALGIA.

A TREATISE ON NEURALGIA.

ByRichard Rowland, M.D., Physician to the City Dispensary. 8vo. Price 6s.

“Dr. Rowland’s Work on Neuralgia does him great credit, and will bereadily consulted by every one who has to treat an obstinate case of thisMalady.”—Medical Gazette.

“Dr. Rowland’s Book is a very useful one.”—Johnson’s Medico-ChirurgicalReview.

“The Volume before us is a creditable monument of its author’sindustry.”—British and Foreign Medical Review.

GUY’S HOSPITAL REPORTS.

Edited byGeorge H. Barlow, M.A. and M.D., andJames P. Babington, M.A.

Vols. 1 to 6 for the respective years 1836 to 1841, Price 13s. each, In boards, with Numerous Plates.

A half Volume is published in April and October of each Year.

CONTENTS OF No. XIII:—forOctober, 1841; With Plates.

• DR. BARLOW—Observations on Certain Diseases originating in Early Youth, Illustrated byCases of Defective Expansion of the Lungs.
• MR. A. TAYLOR—Medico-Legal Report of the Evidence given on a recent Trial for Murder byPoisoning with Arsenic.
• DR. HUGHES—A Remarkable Case of Abdominal Effusion, resulting from Mesenteric Tumour.With Observations on the Effused Fluid, by DR. REES.
• DR. CHEVERS—On Acute Aortitis.
• DR. HUGHES—Cases of Malignant Disease of the Lung.
• MR. B. COOPER.—Reports of Cases requiring Capital Operations, which have been performedsince October, 1840.
• MR. HINGESTON—On a Case of Intestino-Vesical Fistula.
• DR. REES, & MR. S. LANE—On the Structure of the Blood Corpuscle.
• MR. T. W. KING—Account of a Patella broken transversely, and reunited by Bone: withRemarks on the Nature and Treatment of similar Injuries.
• DR. BABINGTON—On Chorea.

No. XIV. WILL BE PUBLISHED IN APRIL, 1842,

Beginning the Volume for that Year.

LEE ON DISEASES OF WOMEN.

Researches on the Pathology and Treatment of some of the most important Diseases of Women.

ByRobert Lee, M.D., F.R.S. 8vo. Plates. Price 7s. 6d.

“In taking leave of Dr. Lee’s work, we feel it to be alike our pleasureand duty once more to record our opinion of its high and sterling merits:it ought to have a place on the shelves of every physician in thekingdom.”—Johnson’s Medico-Chirurgical Review.

CLUTTERBUCK ON BLOOD-LETTING.

ON THE PROPER ADMINISTRATION OF BLOOD LETTING, FOR THECURE AND PREVENTION OF DISEASE

ByHenry Clutterbuck, M.D.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

AN ESSAY ON PYREXIA; OR, SYMPTOMATIC FEVER,

As Illustrative of the Nature of Fever in general. 8vo. Price 5s.

PARIS’S APPENDIX TO THE PHARMACOLOGIA.

Completing the Work according to

THE NEW LONDON PHARMACOPŒIA.

With some Remarks on Various Criticisms upon the London Pharmacopœia, 8vo, 2s. 6d. orbound with the Pharmacologia in One Volume, cloth lettered, Price £1 6s. 6d.

WALLER’S MIDWIFERY.

ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL MIDWIFERY;

Or, Companion to the Lying-in-Room.

ByCharles Waller, Lecturer on Midwifery. Second Edition with Plates. 18mo.

Price 4s. 6d.

SELECTA E PRÆSCRIPTIS;

Or, SELECTIONS FROM PHYSICIANS’ PRESCRIPTIONS;

Containing Lists of the Terms, Abbreviations, &c., used in Prescriptions, with Examples ofPrescriptions grammatically explained and construed, and a Series of Prescriptionsillustrating the use of the preceding Terms. Intended for theuse of Medical Students.

Eighth Edition, with Key. 32mo. cloth. Price 5s.

BOYLE’S DISEASES OF WESTERN AFRICA.

A PRACTICAL MEDICO-HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE WESTERNCOAST OF AFRICA,

TOGETHER WITH THE SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, AND TREATMENT, OF THE FEVERS AND OTHERDISEASES OF WESTERN AFRICA.

ByJames Boyle, Colonial Surgeon to Sierra Leone. 8vo. Price 12s.

“To all Army and Navy Surgeons who may have to visit Tropical Climatesgenerally, and the African Coast in particular, Mr. Boyle’s volume isindispensable, and indeed we strongly recommend it to the perusal of ourbrethren in all countries.”—Johnson’s “Influence of Tropical Climateson European Constitutions.”—Page 359.

“Mr. Boyle’s Volume is evidently the work of an experienced TropicalPractitioner.”

“His descriptions of the Diseases of Africa, particularly of the Fevers,are excellent, and his practical suggestions bear all the stamp ofobservation and experience.”

“We can conscientiously recommend his book as a safe TropicalGuide.”—British and Foreign Medical Review, April, 1841.

DIEFFENBACH ON THE CURE OF STUTTERING.

MEMOIR ON THE RADICAL CURE OF STUTTERING BY SURGICAL OPERATIONS.

Translated from the German, ByJoseph Travers, Late House-Surgeon to St. Bartholomew’sHospital, 8vo, with Plates, Price 3s.

DIEFFENBACHON THE RESTORATION OF THE NOSE.

Surgical Observations on the Restoration of the Nose, and on the Removal of Polypi and otherTumours from the Nostrils. Translated from the German of Dieffenbach. With the Historyand Physiology of Rhinoplastic Operations. Notes, &c. ByJ. S. Bushnan, M.D., 8vo.With 26 Plates. Price 12s.

MACFARLANE’S CLINICAL REPORTS.

CLINICAL REPORTS OF THE SURGICAL PRACTICE OF THE GLASGOWROYAL INFIRMARY.

ByJohn Macfarlane, M.D., Senior Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary. 8vo. Price 7s.

THOMAS’S PRACTICE OF PHYSIC.

THE MODERN PRACTICE OF PHYSIC: Exhibiting the Character, Causes, SymptomsPrognostics, Morbid Appearances, and Improved Method of Treating the Diseases of all ClimatesByR. Thomas, M.D. 10th Edition, Revised and considerably Enlarged. One thick Volume8vo. Price 18s. boards.

PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT MADE SCIENCE INEARNEST.

Being an attempt to illustrate the First Principles of Natural Philosophy by the aid of Popular Toysand Sports. Foolscap 8vo. 4th Edition. Price 10s. 6d. With numerous Illustrations.

HILL ON LUNATIC ASYLUMS.

TOTAL ABOLITION OF PERSONAL RESTRAINT IN THE TREATMENT OF THEINSANE.

A Lecture on the Management of Lunatic Asylums and the Treatment of the Insane; withStatistical Tables, showing the complete Practicability of the System advocated.

ByR. G. Hill, late House-Surgeon of the Lincoln Lunatic Asylum. Royal 8vo. Price 6s.

UNDERWOOD ON THE DISEASES OF CHILDREN.

A TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OF CHILDREN.

With Directions for the Management of Infants.

Ninth Edition. With Additions, byDr. Marshall Hall. 8vo. Price 15s.

SPURZHEIM’S WORKS ON PHRENOLOGY, &c.

• THE ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN. 8vo, Plates. Price 14s. APPENDIX to Ditto, 3s. 6d.
• PHRENOLOGY IN CONNECTION WITH PHYSIOGNOMY. Royal 8vo, Plates. £1 2s.
• PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLES OF PHRENOLOGY. 8vo. 7s.
• PHRENOLOGY, OR THE DOCTRINE OF THE MIND, and of the Relations betweenits Manifestations and the Body. 8vo. Plates. 16s.
• SKETCH OF THE NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 12mo. 6s.
• OUTLINES OF PHRENOLOGY. 12mo. 2s. 6d.
• OBSERVATIONS ON INSANITY. Plates. Royal 8vo. 10s. 6d.
• ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION. 8vo. 7s.

BLAINE’S VETERINARY ART.

THE OUTLINES OF THE VETERINARY ART; or, a Treatise on the Anatomy, Physiology,and Curative Treatment of the Diseases of the Horse, and subordinately, of those ofNeat Cattle and Sheep.

ByD. P. Blaine, Fourth Edition. With Surgical and AnatomicalPlates. 8vo. Price £1 4s.

ANATOMICAL SKETCHES AND DIAGRAMS.

ByThomas Wormald andA. M. McWhinnie, Teachers ofPractical Anatomy at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. 4to. Price 4s. each Part.

The Four Parts now published are intended to illustrate the greater partof the course and distribution of the whole of the Cerebral Nerves,the various important regions of the front of the Neck, the course ofrelations of the Thoracic Duct in the Neck, the distribution of theLaryngeal Nerves, the regions of the Axilla and bend of the elbow-joint,in the order most convenient for their examination. The Series will becompleted in about Six Parts, embracing the more intricate parts ofAnatomy.

FLOOD ON THE ARTERIES.

Illustrated by many Wood-cuts and Plate.

THE SURGICAL ANATOMY OF THE ARTERIES minutely given, and especially arrangedfor the Dissecting Room, together with the Descriptive Anatomy of the Heart, and the Physiologyof the Circulation in Man and Inferior Animals.

ByValentine Flood, A.M., M.D.,

Lecturer on Anatomy and Operative Surgery in the North London School of Medicine.12mo. Cloth lettered. Price 7s.

DR. KNOX’S ANATOMICAL ENGRAVINGS.

A Series of Engravings descriptive of the Anatomy of the Human Body. Engraved byEdward Mitchell.

TheBones.	FromSue andAlbinus.	4to. cloth, 19s.
TheLigaments.	From theCaldanis.	4to. cloth, 12s.
TheMuscles.	FromCloquet.	4to. cloth, 1l. 5s.
TheArteries.	FromTiedemann.	4to. cloth, 2l.
TheNerves.	FromScarpa.	4to. cloth, 1l. 12s.

“We have examined the illustrative plates which have accompanied thesepublications; and we have in consequence arrived at the conclusion, thatDr. Knox and Mr. Mitchell have effected that which the student of Anatomyhas so long desired. We have now a work which every tyro in the sciencemay study with advantage, and every practitioner derive improvementfrom.”—Johnson’s Medico-Chirurgical Review.

GRAINGER’S GENERAL ANATOMY.

ELEMENTS OF GENERAL ANATOMY,

Containing an Outline of the Organization of the Human Body.

ByR. D. Grainger, Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology. 8vo. Price 14s.

“Of this Junction of Anatomy and Physiology we highly approve; it rendersboth sciences more interesting to the student, and fixes the principlesmore firmly in his memory.

“We may state, without hesitation, that Mr. Grainger has displayed greatability in the execution of his task, and that his ‘ELEMENTS OF GENERALANATOMY,’ will long maintain the first rank among works of a similardescription.”—Lancet.

“Mr. Grainger is well known to the profession as one of the mostdistinguished anatomical teachers of the day, and therefore eminentlyqualified as a writer on that branch of science to which he has devotedhimself.”—“Mr. Grainger has produced the most complete British systemof Physiology: his style is good, his language clear and concise,and his information the most extensive hitherto published in thiscountry.”—London Medical and Surgical Journal.

GRAINGER ON THE SPINAL CORD.

OBSERVATIONS on the STRUCTURE and FUNCTIONS of the SPINAL CORD.

ByR. D. Grainger. 8vo. Price 7s.

PORTRAIT OF R. D. GRAINGER, ESQ.

Engraved byLupton, from a Painting byWageman. Price 10s. 6d.

RETROSPECT OF A MILITARY LIFE.

DURING THE MOST EVENTFUL PERIODS OF THE LAST WAR.

ByJames Anton, late Quartermaster-Sergeant of the 42nd, or Royal Highlanders, 2nd Edition,Foolscap 8vo, Price 6s.

MILNE’S VIEWS OF THE STEAM-ENGINE.

TWO VIEWS, being a Perspective and Elevation and Section of the Steam Engine. FromDrawings byJohn Milne. Accompanied by Letterpress Descriptions and Explanations.

SIZE OF EACH PLATE, 39 INCHES BY 26.

The large scale on which these plates are engraved fits them especially for the use of Lecturersor Schools. They are coloured and varnished, and mounted on cloth, with brass rollers. Price ofthe Pair, £1 10s.

JUDD ON THE VENEREAL.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON URETHRITIS AND SYPHILIS:

Including a variety of Examples, Experiments, Remedies, Cures, and a New Nosological Classificationof the various Venereal Eruptions; illustrated by numerous coloured Plates.

ByWilliam H. Judd, Surgeon in the Fusilier Guards. 8vo. Price 25s.

CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEMPRODUCED BY CIVILIZATION.

Considered according to the evidence of Physiology and the Philosophy of History.

ByRobert Verity, M.D. 2nd Edition. Enlarged. 8vo. Price 6s.

“The many important questions put forward in these pages, added to theprofound views often taken of them by the learned Author, render thispublication worthy the deepest attention. It Is written in a nobleand perspicuous style, frequently reminding us of Lord Bacon, andcontains a lucid statement of theories which we believe to be true andvaluable.”—Monthly Chronicle, Dec. 1840.

BILLING’S MEDICINE.

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF MEDICINE.

ByArchibald Billing, M.D., A.M.,

Member of the Senate of the University of London; Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, &c.8vo. Fourth Edition, Cloth. Price 10s. 6d.

“We know of no book which contains within the same space so much valuableinformation, the result not of fanciful theory, nor of idle hypothesis,but of close persevering clinical observation, accompanied with muchsoundness of judgment and extraordinary clinical tact”—Johnson’sMedico-Chirurgical Review.

“The work of Dr. Billing is a lucid commentary upon the first principlesof medicine, and comprises an interesting account of the receiveddoctrines of physiology and pathology. We strongly recommend not only theperusal but the study of it to the student and young practitioner, andeven to the ablest and most experienced, who will gain both informationand knowledge from reading it.”—London Medical and Surgical Journal.

MACILWAIN’S MEDICINE AND SURGERY,
ONE INDUCTIVE SCIENCE.

Medicine and Surgery one Inductive Science, being an attempt to improve its Study and Practiceon a plan in closer alliance with Inductive Philosophy.

ByGeorge Macilwain, Consulting Surgeon to the St. Ann’s Society, &c.8vo. Price 12s.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

THE UNITY OF THE BODY,

As illustrated by some of the more striking Phenomena of Sympathy with a view to enlargethe grounds and improve the practice of the

CONSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT OF LOCAL DISEASES. 8vo. Price 6s.

ANNESLEY’S DISEASES OF INDIA.

SKETCHES OF THE MOST PREVALENT DISEASES OF INDIA.

Comprising a Treatise on Epidemic Cholera in the East, &c. &c. ByJames Annesley, Esq.Of the Madras Medical Establishment. Second Edition, 8vo. 18s.

“Mr. Annesley is a man of such ample experience, sound judgment, andscrupulous fidelity, that every thing falling from his pen is highlyvaluable.”—Dr.James Johnson, (“Influence of Tropical Climateson European Constitutions.”)

KOECKER ON ARTIFICIAL TEETH.

AN ESSAY ON ARTIFICIAL TEETH, OBTURATORS, AND PALATES,

With the Principles for their Construction and Application. Illustrated by 21 plates.

ByLeonard Koecker, Surgeon-Dentist. 8vo. Price 10s. 6d.

THE ANATOMICAL REMEMBRANCER,

OR, COMPLETE POCKET ANATOMIST, 2nd Edition. 32mo. Price 3s. 6d.

PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION, BY THE SAME AUTHOR,

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL REMEMBRANCER.

WILLSHIRE’S PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY.

THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY; STRUCTURAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND SYSTEMATIC,Condensed and immediately adapted to the use of Students of Medicine. ByW.Hughes Willshire, M.D., Edin., Member of the Botanical Society of London, Lecturer onBotany at Charing-Cross Hospital, and at the Aldersgate School of Medicine. 12mo. Price 6s.

LIVES OF EMINENT NATURALISTS,

WITH PORTRAITS. Small 8vo.

• First Series: Containing Cuvier, Linnæus, Buffon, Pennant, Aristotle, Sir T. S. Raffles, andSir J. Bankes. Price 5s.
• Second Series: Containing Bruce, Bewick, Lacepede, Lamarck, Sir R. Sibbald, La Vaillant,Haller, and Aldrovandi. Price 5s.
• Third Series: Containing Sir H. Sloane, Pliny, Werner, Camper, John Hunter, and MadameMerian. Price 5s.

A NEW SYNOPSIS, OR THE
NATURAL ORDER OF DISEASES:

Containing their Definition, Principles, and Treatment, with a New Pathology ofFever and Inflammation.

ByRobert Stevens. 8vo. Price 7s. 6d.

RAILWAY MAPS.

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND. With all the Railways. Size, 33 Inches by 21.Engraved by Lizars.

Price 5s. each, in Leather Case. 7s. 6d. Mounted and Varnished, with Roller.

JARDINE’S SCOTTISH SALMONIDÆ.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCOTTISH SALMONIDÆ, BySir William Jardine, Bart.

Parts I, & II, Elephant Folio, Price £3 3s. each, coloured.

JARDINE AND SELBY’S ORNITHOLOGY.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF ORNITHOLOGY, by SirW. Jardine, Bart., andP. J. Selby, Esq.

In Numbers, Royal 4to. Price 6s. 6d. Imperial 4to. Price 12s. 6d. Containing Six coloured Platesof new and interesting Species, with copious Descriptions. Seven Numbers are now published.

CORNARO ON HEALTH AND LONG LIFE.

SURE METHODS OF ATTAINING A LONG AND HEALTHFUL LIFE.

With the Means of Correcting a bad Constitution.

ByLewis Cornaro. 38th Edition, 18mo, Price 3s.

GREEN ON MEDICAL REFORM.

THE TOUCHSTONE OF MEDICAL REFORM.

In Three Letters, to SIR ROBERT H. INGLIS,Bart., M.P.

ByJoseph H. Green, F.R.S., Professor of Anatomy to the RoyalAcademy, &c., 8vo, Price 2s. 6d.

HIGHLEY’S GENERAL MEDICAL CATALOGUE,

OF MODERN WORKS, WITH THEIR PRICES AND DATES.

Corrected up to October, 1841. Price 1s.