Germany presents. On our right the hills were covered with vines to the road side; while, on our left, the rich alluvial plain stretching towards the Rhine was well cultivated, and offered a fine but perhaps over-level contrast. We chanced to have, as a fellow-traveller in the diligence, a young lady of humble rank from one of the Calvinistic districts of Switzerland, who was proceeding to Germany to fill a situation as nursery governess. The party was, as is not unusual, chiefly English; and as the ruler of the nursery rather piqued the self-love of her fellow-travellers, by preferring the contents of a book to their conversation, I ventured, on a suitable opportunity occurring, to proffer an exchange of books, not doubting that hers was a romance. The title proved—“ Que faut-il faire pour étre sauvé 5 On reading which, one of us presumed to remark, “ Soyez tranquille, Mademoiselle, toutes les jolies femmes sont sauvées naturellement." The incense was not offered in vain, so that we were all benefitted by her entering into an animated conversation, and the young lady has no doubt since learnt that the object of her little book is not in Germany considered so difficult of attainment as in Switzerland.

Darmstadt is chiefly a modern town, and is clean, regular, and handsome. The grand duke's principal residence is here, but he happens at present not to be in good odour with the people of his little duchy, as the taxes are considered somewhat burdensome. The late grand duke's taste for music is stated to have amounted to a degree of harmonious craze, and Darmstadt had, during his life, one of the best operas of Germany. By this means he managed to keep the minds of his subjects in tune; but since his death, the people finding that the opera is worse, while the taxes are higher, have be come dissatisfied. A characteristic anecdote related of the old duke states, that one day, while engaged at the rehearsal of an opera, an alarm of fire was given, and all the company were about to rush out, when the duke begged they would first enquire where the conflagration was. It was immediately ascertained to be at the palace; on hearing which, he requested they would oblige him by proceeding with the rehearsal, as there was an abundance of people at the castle to attend to the fire. It has been alleged that his peculiarities must have been imported by some German traveller for Sir Walter Scott's use, and that he was in some respects the original from which his good king Rene was drawn. The present duke is, however, supposed to be suffering for his father's musical extravagance, in the unpopularity arising from an exhausted treasury; and he is further unfortunate in having for an immediate neighbour the prince of Nassau, one of the most popular in Germany, whose territory being comparatively rich, the taxes are not felt to be oppressive. The comparisons which, under such circumstances, cannot fail to be drawn, are very unfavourable to the government of the present grand duke of Darmstadt; and many of his peasantry are seeking in emigration to the new world a relief from the taxation they so loudly complain of in the old.

We reached Frankfort in time for the last two days of the fair, of the existence of which we had an immediate proof, in not being able to obtain rooms in the first hotel. In sauntering through some of the second-rate streets, we found a number of tents full of Dutch toys, pipes, cutlery, &c., which was all that inet our view of the commerce

of the occasion. The fair has, however, already lasted nearly four weeks, and yesterday notice was given, as usual, that strangers must no longer vend their wares in Frankfort. Though there are some very handsome streets here, yet there are also more than a sufficient number of an opposite description, as might be expected in so ancient a city. The halls of the Maison de Ville are enriched by portraits of all the elected emperors of Germany for many centuries; and this honour, which has now ceased, appears to have fallen latterly altogether into the hands of the Austrian family; while it is a singular coincidence, that the last niche remaining in the wall is occupied by a portrait of the late emperor of Austria, who was the last elected emperor of Germany. Frankfort for many generations prided herself in the honour of having the elected emperors crowned within her walls. The numbers of Protestants and Catholics are here so equal, that it is difficult to say which sect predominates; but there is also a considerable number of Jews; and Frankfort is the Ville de Naissance of all the Rothschilds. The new cemetery, at a little distance from the town, is tasteful and extensive, including among its arrangements rooms where the dead bodies of poor persons, whose relatives have not proper accommodation, may be placed till the period of their interment arrives. While so placed, springs attached to bells are put in contact with their hands, and are intended to give notice to the persons in attendance, should any moving principle of life remain. Other preparations are also made in case any of the sleepers should awake; but it is almost unnecessary to say, that during the eight years of the system, no instance of reanimation has occurred, and probably during a century to come none may arise. The intention is, however, highly creditable to the benevolent feeling of the inhabitants and authorities of Frankfort. One of the principal attractions here is the statue of Ariadne seated on a Panther, by Danneker. The figure is so perfectly beautiful that one might almost have excused the old sculptor had he proved a modern Pygmalion; but the professor has done better, for at nearly eighty years of age he proved not insensible to the softer charms of a youthful lady, who now cheers his declining years as Madam D—; and it is pleasing to find that the heart of so ancient a sculptor has not been quite converted into marble. In Ariadne the artist has realized the perfection of form and loveliness, without that expression of soul which is the chief charm in the works of many other sculptors. In looking at Canova's Venus, for instance, one's eyes constantly turn to the face to contemplate the expression of modesty and of soul which there so enchantingly co-exist; whereas in this, by Danneker, the eyes are contented to rest chiefly on the charms of figure, and it would be difficult to decide which is the higher achievement, a countenance so lovely as to cause the figure to be overlooked, or a form so perfect that the face is almost forgotten. Had Lord Byron studied this Ariadne, he would scarcely have spoken so disparagingly of the "nonsense of the stone ideal." The museum of natural history here is extensive, and the picture gallery, which is the Sunday afternoon lounge, is not deficient in interest; containing many good Flemish pictures, a beautiful sea-view by Claude, and a splendid work by Canaletti. There are also some good modern pictures, particularly one by Professor Schadow of Dusseldorf, illus

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trating a sacred subject, the expression of which is calculated to produce as elevating an effect on the mind as the works of many of the first ancient masters; but time alone can mellow tints. This city is understood to be rich in the pride of wealth and the aristocracy of commerce. At Cassino several of the English papers may be seen, and that most obliging of bankers, the English consul, is always polite enough to facilitate the admission of strangers who have occasion to communicate with him.

Frankfort has at length reluctantly become a member of the German commercial confederation,-a step so manifestly injurious to her prosperity, as political subserviency to the greater powers of Germany can alone explain; and when an independent commercial city thus sacrifices her interests at the dictation of others, it is reasonable to infer that she is no longer really free. The manufacturers of Prussia and Saxony do not of course require, like those of England, to make a depôt of Frankfort, as they can supply their merchandise to the various towns of Germany by direct channels of communication; but if Frankfort had continued true to her own interests, all the customhouse officers of the confederation could not have excluded British manufactures from the extensive country which surrounds her. At present, Saxon cottons appear to be the most used and esteemed in this quarter, but a manufacturing spirit is now establishing itself in the Prussian provinces of the Rhine; so that, though Saxony may be at present a principal gainer by the convention, Prussia is likely soon to reap the chief advantages as regards both profit and influence. Many observations which I have recently heard in the smaller states confirm the inference that the military pride of the Prussians causes them to be disliked privately throughout Germany. Whether the fact of their being a more energetic people arises from constitutional difference and superior intelligence, or is the result of conscious national superiority as compared with their neighbours, it would be difficult to determine. The high tone and intelligence of their government has however communicated itself to the officials, and, through them and the press, is diffused among the whole body of the people. The pride of nationality, politically considered, thus produces much good, and the Prussians appear to possess it in a higher degree than any of the other people in Germany. A very probable solution of the greater smartness of the people is the three years' military training they undergo; and however great an encroachment this may be on personal liberty, yet, if the effect is that the individuals are thus improved for life, it may be considered even to them as gain. Corporal punishment is not permitted in the Prussian service, and every circumstance tends to cause military life to be highly regarded, while the three years of military training must doubtless afford a host of agreeable reminiscences, when the young soldiers become in after-life duly citizenized; and even the callous thus acquire some national spirit. It will probably become a matter of imperative necessity for the smaller states of Germany, as a means of self-defence, not only to imitate the Prussian system of military training, but to maintain a good understanding with each other; else it is more than probable that many of them may ere long cease to occupy a place in the political map of Europe.

Rail-roads, cotton-mills, and beet-root sugar manufactories, are at

present her chief outlets for what little speculative spirit the Germans possess. Rail-ways are talked of from Frankfort to Mayence, to Leipsic and to Carlsruhe; but the number of small states through which they must pass, and the revenue at present derived by the various governments from posting and public travelling, are serious obstacles to their formation. Beet-root sugar manufactories have long existed in France, and for some time in Belgium, but are new in this quarter. If, however, they are advantageous concerns in the former countries, they must be much more so in central Germany, in consequence of the greater cheapness of land and labour, as well as the increased expense of transporting tropical sugar from the more distant sea coasts. The principal objection to this description of sugar seems to be, that, though when properly refined its colour is beautiful, there is comparatively little sweetness in proportion to the bulk. If Germany annually imports, as is stated, fifty million pounds of cotton twist from England, and pays the confederation duty on it, amounting to half a million of dollars, it follows that this amount is capable of being saved to the consumers as soon as the spinning machinery of Germany is sufficiently extensive to supply the requisite quantity. It is, therefore, reasonable to infer, that the demand on England must shortly cease for this article.

It has long been much the fashion for the press in Germany to speak of England as a country on the eve of ruin by its debt. They either do not, or will not, know our wealth, industry, and resources, as compared with Germany; for it would be just as reasonable to suppose an English nobleman ruined because he owed as much as would make bankrupt a highland laird. Nothing therefore could have more surprised these prophets of evil than the twenty millions paid by England for negro emancipation, and that a nation they had been writing of as ruined, should pay such a sum voluntarily for an object of benevolence, and borrow the amount without affecting the value of her debt, did seem to them passing strange.

It was yesterday remarked to me, by a lady of this country, that she did not like Mrs. T.'s book on Germany, because she praised every thing, except the smoking of the gentlemen. This is certainly the last accusation which some years since one could have imagined ever to have been brought against that authoress, but every thing in this country has happily appeared couleur de rose, so that she really does seem to have been making atonement to the Germans and the Parisians for her offences against the people of the new world. As regards the Germans this is scarcely to be wondered at, for the mildness and amiability of their manners is such as to disarm criticism, and whether one judges of them by physiognomy or demeanour, they seem so devoid of malevolence that a traveller might be almost justified in concluding, that more malice and uncharitableness exists in a district of some countries than in a German kingdom. Thus the "School for Scandal" would scarcely, I conceive, be considered by a German audience as a natural picture. The delicacy of Mrs. T.'s language, the point of her remarks, and the keenness of her powers of observation, render it highly desirable that she should continue her literary pilgrimage, and keeping in view the German lady's remark, really point out such improveable peculiarities of inind or manners as she may meet with. No one is more able to enact

the censor, and if she succeed in persuading the ladies of Germany to moderate their excessive devotion to domestic drudgeries, and betake themselves to the pursuits of literature, their country will owe her an eternal debt of gratitude for its increased refinement. On this subject, a professor of Belle Lettres has beautifully remarked, that after gaiety has lost its charm, and society its powers to soothe,-when friends and fortune have flown, and even character may have been misrepresented, literature is the mind's best resource, and frequently proves more fruitful in rational enjoyment than the more worldly blessings that are departed. The Germans being a peculiarly reflective people, this falling back upon literature would be to them even more appropriate than to the English, for Madame de Stael has honourably characterized their country as "the land of thought." Indeed it is so much a land of thought, that it is perhaps scarcely sufficiently a land of action. There are, I believe, comparatively few female German writers, and those are chiefly of Prussia and Saxony; but that there are numbers weil qualified to shine in all the lighter departments of literature need not be doubted. Mrs. S., the talented and sole representative of her sex in the courts of science, is this season also travelling in Germany; affording another glorious example of mental cultivation to its ladies, among whom the higher mathematics are not at present in much repute. Several anecdotes with which we became acquainted at Frankfort led to the conclusion that an enlightened cominercial aristocracy, such as here exists, is equally or perhaps more favourable to intelligence, and the establishment of benevolent charities, than that description of aristocracy which usually surrounds a German court.

The drive from Frankfort to Mayence is pleasant, and the country is one of considerable agricultural richness. Mayence itself is so dull a town, that the only subject which can interest a stranger is making a comparison between the Prussian and Austrian troops which assist the Grand Duke of Hesse Darmstadt in doing its garrison duty. Soon after leaving Mayence by the steam-boat, we passed the celebrated Johannisberg vineyard, of which many desire to taste the produce, but comparatively few really do so. Previous to the French revolution this valuable vineyard appertained to an ecclesiastic, and was afterwards given by Napoleon to Marshal Kellerman; while finally at the Congress of 1815, being placed at the disposal of the Emperor of Aus ria, it was presented by him to the present proprietor, Prince Metternich.

To a person who had previously sailed both up and down the Rhine,-who had seen it in sunshine and in mist,-with the eyes of soberness and reason on one occasion, and under the influence of its own produce on the other, there remained no means of increasing its charms by novelty. If "the best of life is but intoxication," it might probably have been pardonable to have this day sought from Rhine wine, that excitement which an unfavourable atmosphere prohibited the Rhine scenery from affording: being, however, as yet only morning, the stimulus of coffee was all that decorum permitted an indulgence in.

R. C.