our sentiments will not meet with general concurrence we expect, but it is consolatory to know that many men of great acquirements and European experience heartily approve of them all.

We, for obvious reasons, shall not weary the reader with a narrative of visits paid to the churches of Belgium, with descriptions of Paris and the cities of France, or trips on the banks of the Rhine; but pass on at once to begin our remarks at a beautiful little town on the confines of Central Europe, often visited, but not sufficiently admired.

Who has not heard of Heidelberg, — that seat of ancient learning and modern radicalism? For ages its university has been crowded with students, who, spreading over all parts of Germany, have exercised no little influence on national politics, besides extending the literary fame of their alma mater. The town boasts of a most magnificent situation at the base of wooded mountains, on the left bank of the Neckar, not very far from the junction of that river with the Rhine. Overlooking the houses stands a ruined castle of great extent, where formerly the Electors Palatine held court, regaling their friends with the contents of the great wine-tun, now as empty as the fortress which guards it. How we enjoyed a ramble among the groves and gardens which adorn the terraced walks on the hill-side, and from which a view is obtained more beautiful far than any which tourists have witnessed between Coblentz and Bingen! In

BANKS OF THE NECKAR.

5

the foreground, beneath us, were the antique buildings, clustering around a stately church; the fine old bridge spanning the river; and the villas of the opulent burghers embosomed amongst foliage. Beyond, our eye wandered over the Rhenish valley, till it lighted on the indistinct summits of the Vosges. We lingered a few days at this lovely spot, fortunately long enough to witness a thunderstorm of extraordinary violence. The houses in the square seemed to shake; their inhabitants were dumb with astonishment, as peal after peal awoke the echoes of the impending rocks, and prepared the way for the waterspouts of heaven. Even now we think with awe of the roar of that artillery.

Glad to escape from the beaten track of tourists, we followed the course of the Neckar as far as Heilbroun. There is a wildness in the midst of fertility, about the banks of this stream, which one seldom meets so near the great highways of nations. Within a few miles of Heidelberg are scenes resembling more those to be witnessed in the Highlands of Scotland, or the lower valleys of Switzerland, than any in populous Germany. The road, however, soon leaves the rocky glen, through which the river forces its way, and traverses an open country, where barley, rye, potatoes, and tobacco are the staple crops. Not an isolated house there presents itself, the people all living huddled together in villages; a precaution quite

6

AGRICULTURE OF WIRTEMBERG.

necessary in former ages, when every man's hand was against his fellow. The fields around these hamlets are much more fertile than those at a distance from them, it being difficult to convey manure in sufficient quantities to the latter. The absence of cattle grazing surprises the Englishman who travels in this, as well as most other parts of the Continent. These animals are, in most European countries, fed within doors; their owners alleging, with some reason, that much valuable food, which oxen tread under foot in Britain, by this means is saved, while, at the same time, the cows thrive remarkably well in their confinement. We have made particular inquiries on this last point, and find men in lands far apart coinciding in opinion that this habit is not prejudicial to the health of cattle. A perfect avenue of fruit trees, -walnuts, pears, apples, and cherries,-extends almost the whole way from the suburbs of Heidelberg to the frontier of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and from thence onwards to Heilbroun. When will Englishmen be sufficiently civilised to permit such ornaments to flourish, unmolested, on their highways? Alas! in most parts of our country, fruit in exposed situations is never allowed to ripen; the law of meum and tuum, if known, being by no means respected. Even the privilege of walking in public gardens we grossly abuse. This destructive spirit is not creditable to the nation; it indicates a lamentable want of proper feeling, of

that refinement which gives dignity to the character of man.

It is a pretty drive from Heilbroun to Stuttgard among the tobacco-fields and vineyards of northern Wirtemberg. The peasantry wear the usual blue cotton blouse or frock-coat, and a singular threecornered cocked hat, the latter of which has rather a ludicrous appearance. The women are exceedingly plain-looking: you always find them at work among the crops, and perhaps this exposure to the weather mars their beauty. We were not much impressed with the splendour of Stuttgard. It is a very ordinary sort of place, with little of a metropolitan aspect, and no buildings to boast of except the Palace. Nevertheless it stands in a pretty valley, blessed with abundance of good things. Yet perhaps nowhere in Germany does the spirit of disaffection, of restless, meaningless inquietude, more widely prevail. The people seem swayed by hastily conceived impulses, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, grasping at shadows without substance, anxious to revolutionise society on no fixed plan. It is strange how ill-considered are the movements of some welleducated clever men, who at present preach discontent on the Continent. They really do not know what they would be at; their sole object seeming to be to emulate the Parisians, and perform a notable coup-de-main. If this opinion be incorrect, on what principle can the outbreaks in

Wirtemberg and Baden be accounted for? Earnestness in the support of wise and rational reforms in government we admire. It has saved our own country from untold disasters. But no such laudable feeling actuated those bloodthirsty anarchists who have of late been playing their part in southern Germany. They profess hatred to tyranny only to get an opportunity of tyrannising themselves. Without one quality requisite for statesmen, they would at once seize the reins of power from Hamburgh to Constance. We hope that the cause of liberalism will not long suffer from the fanaticism of these erring men.

Ever since the revival of letters in Germany, mental speculation has absorbed the attention of it authors; suppositions, ideas, theories, imaginations, without end, having emanated from their pens, addressed, not to the public, but to those possessed of a smattering of scientific knowledge. Unlike the writers who influence affairs in England, these philosophers only dream: they live not in a real but an ideal world; their startling opinions producing discussion for a while, but speedily sinking into oblivion. In no country of the world do books circulate more freely: perhaps a greater number of works appear annually at Leipsic than in any other European or American town. But neither reading nor writing proves sufficient in itself to educate a nation. A country may be thickly planted with schools, and yet the